novelraw Chapter 466: Probing
Chapter 466: Probing
After coming to a stop a few hundred meters from the army of Angels and Undead, Vahn didn’t have to wait long before Albedo, modeling her ebon-black armor, appeared in the sky before him.
"You must be the rumored Dragon that has taken up residence in the Re-Estize Kingdom..." Albedo remarked, her raven-black wings bristling out to her sides, stabilizing her in the air as she crossed her right hand over the left side of her breastplate and bowed, stating, "His Majesty, the Sorcerer King, has been expecting you."
"So it would appear..." Vahn noted, stepping forward in his human form with Lupica, Blanche, and the members of Blue Roses formed up behind him.
"Hmmn? And you are...?" Albedo questioned, raising her head and staring at Vahn, pretending not to recognize him.
"I am the very Dragon you see before you," Vahn declared, smiling as he explained, "I find it more comfortable to speak and interact with people in this form."
"I see. Then, permit me to introduce myself..." Albedo hummed, raising her gauntleted left hand to her face, causing her helmet to disappear and revealing her exquisite, smiling features as she appended, "My name is Albedo. I have the tremendous honor of serving as His Majesty’s Chief of Staff and the Sorcerer Kingdom’s Prime Minister. I would say that it is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of such a grand and majestic Dragon, but it remains to be seen if the intentions behind your visit are friendly or antagonistic..."
"Then, allow me to be the first to demonstrate goodwill," Vahn proferred, floating forward and materializing a rainbow-hued crystal nearly as large as his torso, explaining, "This is the crystallized heart of a dead Prismatic Star. Its output is limited, but it functions as an limitless source of Magical Power. I’m certain that a nation that calls itself the Sorcerer Kingdom will be able to find an effective use for it..."
"Wait, is he serious...?" Gagaran asked, her voice hushed but still audible to Vahn as she was standing on top of his head.
"I’m certain it has some kind of failsafe or restriction that prevents it from being misused for nefarious purposes..." Keno asserted, sporting a deeply conflicted frown.
’If it’s not one side complaining, it’s the other...’ Vahn sighed internally, handing over the Prismatic Star Crystal. Albedo was similarly surprised by his gift, but other than some subtle changes in her aura, she didn’t show it in the slightest. Not until...
"If handled by an able jeweler, it can be refined into a gemstone that’s considered the epitome of wedding stones..." Vahn teased, restricting his voice so that only he and Albedo could hear him. Once again, there were no significant changes to her expression or demeanor. Her pupils, on the other hand, went from thin, snake-like slits to full circles, accompanied by a veritable tidal wave of Succubus pheromones streaming out of her like a wall of heat—invisible to the naked eye.
"Your gift has been received..." Albedo stated calmly, her black feathers rustling ever so slightly as she half-turned to append, "Once our side has confirmed it is not a weapon of some kind, His Majesty may wish to meet and thank you directly. In the meantime, please ground yourself and allow our forces to escort your party into the city. I shall arrange for you to stay in our most luxurious guest estate..."
"Then, until the time of our next meeting. I wish you well, Prime Minister Albedo..." Vahn expressed smoothly, placing his right hand over his heart and offering a slight nod.
"What a Gentleman. Or, perhaps it would be more prudent to call you a Gentledragon~?" Albedo hummed, narrowing her luminous yellow eyes before turning to depart. Vahn matched her timing, returning to the top of his head, where the members of Blue Roses awaited with expressions full of doubt and concern...
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After landing on the ground, drawing his dragon form into himself, and boarding a red and cold carriage adorned with ghostly green flames and pulled by high-ranking Undead steeds known as Soul Eaters, Vahn was unsurprised when Keno questioned, "Why did you entrust a nation like the Sorcerer Kingdom with such a powerful artifact?"
Though Lupica and Blanche frowned at his flanks, the duo restrained their urge to lash out, allowing Vahn to explain, "To begin with, the methods to refine that crystal do not exist in this world. Secondly, while it’s true that it provides an unlimited source of Magical Power, its base output isn’t much greater than, say, the heart of a Dragon Lord. To someone as powerful as the Sorcerer King, it will most likely end up as a showpiece or an object of study."
Leaning back and reclining his head, Vahn, closed-eyed, attested, "It’s the same logic that’s applied with approaching a powerful Dragon Lord without receiving permission for an audience. If your gift does not satisfy them, the best-case scenario is that they send you away without hearing the reason for your visit..."
"In the end, Lord Vahn’s treasures are his to give away at his discretion," Lakyus stated, reminding, "Our priorities as members of Blue Roses are to ascertain the situation within the city and to make contact with Momon of Darkness. It isn’t to question Lord Vahn’s methods."
"On that note, we can meet up in the evenings to discuss what each of our Parties has uncovered throughout the day," Vahn appended, opening his eyes to state, "Though, if I’m not mistaken, the Sorcerer King won’t wait until the crystal has been fully analyzed before sending someone to escort me to his palace. His Kingdom is still in the phase of establishing its legitimacy. And, given my affiliation with the Re-Estize Kingdom, there is a good chance he views me as a bridge that can link the two Kingdoms without the need for a conflict."
"Then, while you’re meeting with the Sorcerer King, Blue Roses will try to get in contact with the local Guilds and Temples—assuming they haven’t all vacated the city," Lakyus decided, her expression serious, professional.
"Mmn. Sounds good..." Vahn affirmed, his right brow rising as the carriage they were all riding in slowed to a stop. Before being permitted entry into E-Rantel, new arrivals, regardless of their status, needed to be taken into a closed room to see how they would react to the presence of a powerful Undead. Similar Undead were responsible for the city’s public order and security, so if a person were deathly afraid or felt compelled to attack on sight, precautions would need to be taken to ensure their prejudice didn’t result in their untimely demise...
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In an effort to alleviate their frustrations with the members of Blue Roses, Vahn christened the Kingly room that had been arranged for him with the sounds of Lupica’s and Blanche’s moans. His Domain allowed him to keep track of everything occurring within and around the luxurious hotel where he and the members of Blue Roses were residing. But, just in case, he had a second version of himself waiting inside a sitting room, casually reading a book he had procured from a nearby bookshelf.
fwoom
Drawing Vahn’s attention away from his book, a Gate materialized a few meters from where he was seated, followed by Albedo emerging with her characteristically flawless countenance and naturally alluring smile.
Raising his brows, Vahn remarked, "I wasn’t expecting you to be the one to come—not that I’m complaining. It’s been too long, Albedo. How have things been going between you and Ainz?"
"Thanks to Lord Vahn, they’ve been going well. Though there have been a few difficulties that have arisen..." Albedo responded, her smile becoming more alluring as she sat next to, rather than opposite, Vahn.
"What difficulties...?" Vahn questioned, various possibilities entering his mind. Coincidentally, it was the second of these that Albedo confirmed, sighing, "We are searching for a method around it, but it would seem that my status as a former NPC prevents me from becoming pregnant. It is too soon for Lord Ainz and I to conceive, but when the time comes, I fear that I will not be able to meet his expectations..."
"I can see how that would trouble you..." Vahn affirmed, his brows rising as Albedo positioned her left hand on his thigh, met his gaze, and asked, "Is there anything Lord Vahn can do to assist us? Surely the Dragon God of Infinite Possibilities has a solution..."
"In fact, I have helped tens of thousands with this exact problem..." Vahn stated, causing Albedo’s brows to rise in surprise as he promptly removed her hand from his thigh and assured, "When Ainz approaches me with this issue, I will provide him the means to bless you both with a child. All I ask in return is that you treat that child well—not as a potential heir, but as the living embodiment of your love for one another..."
"As expected of Lord Vahn...your compassion and magnanimity are truly boundless..." Albedo sighed, a rare, honest smile adorning her face before she playfully disclosed, "And to think I was about to offer you everything but my heart in exchange for granting my wish..."
"You’ve said it yourself, haven’t you? Everything that you are and possess belongs to your Lord, Momonga. As his friend, I would not dare encroach upon that..." Vahn stated, prompting the faces of Minato and a few others to appear in his mind. He hadn’t stolen Kushina away, but in hindsight, he could have refused her advances. He just didn’t have the heart to refuse a woman who genuinely opened herself to him...
While one of his clones teleported over to the Kunoichi compound to pay Kushina a surprise visit, Vahn discussed with Albedo various solutions to her and the other former NPCs’ procreative issue. That was evidently the reason for her visit, so, instead of spending a few hours fucking as a form of payment, they used the time to discuss the Sorcerer Kingdom’s future and its seemingly inevitable expanse into an Empire...
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kacha
After parting ways with Vahn, Albedo returned to Nazarick and made her way to her office, where the familiar figure of Demiurge awaited her with a characteristically devilish smile.
"Well, how did it go...?" Demiurge asked, his circular glasses reflecting in a way that disguised the eyes behind them.
"Precisely as anticipated..." Albedo responded, a sly smile adorning her face as she explained, "The Dragon God refused my advances. Then, as if to demonstrate his loyalty and friendship with Lord Ainz, he presented me with no less than six solutions to Nazarick’s reproductive issues."
"Magnificent...!" Demiurge exclaimed, briefly spreading his hands wide before adjusting his glasses and asserting, "This further demonstrates that the Dragon God has a weakness for what he perceives as beautiful and particularly vulnerable women. He’s already limited his actions once to keep his promise with Lupusregina Beta. If we can engineer a situation where he feels beholden to someone loyal to Nazarick, we may be able to influence his actions even further..."
"Indeed," Albedo affirmed, her expression gaining a hint of severity as she added, "The issue with that is his apparent ability to read the minds and see into the dreams of those he has direct contact with. We need to learn more about those and any other forms of discernment he possesses, lest he learn of our attempts to control him. If that happens, he could become an insuppressible threat to Nazarick..."
"Yes. I am well aware of the dangers. We are dealing with a Dragon God, after all..." Demiurge acknowledged, positioning his hands behind his back. From there, he and Albedo discussed measures to expose more of Vahn’s myriad powers and skills—specifically through their current assets. It was no coincidence that Lupica and Greater Doppelganger #17 had been sent to attend and monitor him. As summoned beings, their prospective deaths would have a greater impact on Vahn than the death of Lupusregina, who could simply be revived. The duo could be resummoned as many times as needed, but while their appearances might be the same, their characters and experiences would be reset to their default state—effectively making their deaths permanent...
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