Chapter Twenty

  “I would call that proof enough that he was here.” Albedo said as she looked at the towering fountain of the demon. It was the spitting image of Ulbert Alain Odle. Right down to his favorite double handed spell casting pose. The only question about it was voiced by Demiurge himself.

  “I agree, but even for a Supreme Being… creation was not my lord’s specialty. This, even for him?” He gestured to the fountain of the one the people called ‘The Game Changer’ and went on to say, “I don’t see how he could have done it.”

  “He could. If he had a World Item. Perhaps he had one we’re unaware of, the Supreme Beings didn’t talk about all of those with us.” She added, and taking out her sketchpad, she began to draw the fountain as accurately as she could. If there’d been any doubt left, there was none now. But in truth she hadn’t had serious doubts in some time.

  The only real concern in her mind was confirming what she was already virtually certain of. That Ulbert had indeed gone to the capital city, and what appearance he took on if he had. It seemed unlikely that he wasn’t on his way there, but identification would be difficult at best without a description. Unless he ran out of mana or they just randomly attacked humans until he reverted back. ‘That would pose problems very quickly.’ Albedo reflected while she looked around. The town of Sasbay was, fountain aside, nothing special, even by human standards. The only thing about it that stood out, other than the lake, was just how crowded it had become.

  While Demiurge couldn’t look away from the fountain, seemingly lost in the perfect rendering of his creator, Albedo looked anywhere else, once she’d finished her sketch. ‘There’s no way he stayed in a common tent, even as a lesser Supreme Being than Lord Ainz, there are still standards. However, since he was with some form of escort, they must have had a place to stay…’ That meant an inn.

  “Demiurge. We need to split up.” Albedo said, and he snapped his head around to look at her.

  He understood her meaning without her having to say it, “Naturally. You take the inns on this half,” he pointed to the front facing half of the fountain statue of Ulbert, “I will take the ones on the other half. We’ll find out where he stayed and meet back here by sunset.”

  “I’ll see you then.” Albedo gave a warm smile to the demon whose cunning matched her own.

  Given the crowd, a considerable number of shops had converted themselves into impromptu residences. However, Albedo concluded easily enough that any official travel meant there was likely a persistent place to stay over the years, and it was a matter of just finding that out.

  So she looked for the wooden signs with crudely painted beds that showed the most wear and weathering, and went into them one by one. Despite being a town of only modest size, there was no shortage of inns, ‘Likely because of the lake, and because of its position in the Draconic Kingdom, in time it will be a city, if they had a military presence here, I’m sure it would have already grown into one, but as a place on the crossroads of east and west, its growth over time is inevitable.’ While Albedo enjoyed a chance to sneer at human short sightedness with the wasted potential of Sasbay, it wasn’t enough to make up for the inconvenience of stopping by one inn after another until she found the right one…

  “Yes, officials of the crown often stop by here, I’m Mzok, the innkeeper here, and I’m happy to help...” An older man remarked as he looked over the fine traveling clothes Albedo wore, “But I’m afraid I can’t divulge any information about our guests.” He replied and wrung his hands, Albedo felt his eyeballs practically licking all over her body, her disgust and hatred rose with her frustration, but she kept her face calm. Aside from his obvious lust, she saw the look in his eyes that she knew all too well as representing greed.

  “Did a knight pass through here? Perhaps a group?” She asked and laid a coin of gold down in front of him.

  “Yes.” His eyes averted from her own and went down to the coin.

  “Was there a person with them who was not a knight?” She asked, and set another gold coin down.

  “Yes.” He answered.

  “Was he this tall?” She asked and held her hand up a few inches above her head.

  “Yes.” He answered again, his eyes not leaving the shiny coins for more than a second.

  Albedo continued to ask questions, which he answered only yes or no, selling his information in bits and pieces until she had a complete description of the clothing, face, body type, and finally…

  “Do you know where they were going?” She asked, and set down another gold coin, it was now stacked twenty high, and it was as if it were more a meter measuring her growing hatred.

  “Yes.” He answered again.

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  “Was it back to the capital?” Albedo asked at once.

  He looked down at the stack and waited.

  She reached into her coin pouch, drew out another coin, and laid it with a sharp slap down atop the rest.

  “Yes.” He answered, his tongue licked around his lips several times as he tried to keep his greed from seeping out as drool.

  “Now… about the other man, the knight… I have questions.” She said, and reached into her coin pouch again, he nodded and gleefully repeated his extortionate asking price for every tidbit of information until Albedo knew both of them down to the number of hairs on the chin of Ulbert’s escort.

  “Wonderful. Now, are they already gone?” She asked, and set down yet another coin.

  “Yes. They stayed only a single night, took meals in their room, and left before noon the following day. They are long gone.” The old man’s answer was calmer than his bulging eyes suggested that he really felt, and Albedo held up one more coin of gold, she clenched it tight in her fingers. [Aspect of the Demoness][Curse Item][Coin][Despair]. She activated her skill, and held the coin at eye level between thumb and forefinger, then with a sweet smile, she laid it with gentle care down atop the stack. “And finally… this is for your discretion.” She said, and he swept the entire stack off the table and into a coin pouch of his own.

  “My thanks, my lady.” He said with a gleeful smile, and retreated before she could change her mind.

  Albedo backed away from his counter and quickly sketched out what Ulbert looked like now, and then left the inn behind.

  A smile lingered on her face long after she returned to the fountain to find Demiurge already waiting, kneeling before the fountain along with a number of humans and praying to the statue as a worshiper would a god.

  ‘At least I can blame my annoyance on the extortion of the corrupt human.’ She thought with resignation, waiting as the fervent prayers continued on, and on, and on, until she could bear to wait no more as the sun started to descend on the horizon.

  When he finally approached her, she didn’t wait for his apology or explanation, she only tilted her head toward the exit of the town, and led him out, explaining as they went. “I have what we need. We’ll return to Nazarick, then from there we’ll go directly to the capital to arrange a place for ourselves.”

  “What about a witness, did you leave them alive?” Demiurge asked as soon as they managed to isolate themselves and the town gate groaned shut behind them.

  “Not for long.” Albedo chuckled and then called out to Shalltear through the message spell, ‘Open the Gate. We are ready to go.’ The whorling vortex appeared a moment later, and even Shalltear had enough sense not to ask anything then.

  Mzok sobbed into his hands, so many bottles were gone, he’d finished his supply of alcohol, and getting more was almost impossible. ‘It’s all futile… futility and sorrow and I’m tired of it. I hate this! I hate my life! I hate everything! I was supposed to be a great man! Instead I’m a joke! A lonely, pathetic, joke! Snatching up coins from travelers and pretending to be somebody… when really I just stare at brown walls while everybody else goes out and adventures! I didn’t even have the courage to join in the real fighting… ever…’ On and on his curses went, his loathing, despair, and misery continued to rise by the minute. ‘I just want to be at peace… is that so wrong…?’ He asked himself and looked out the window of his room, from where he stood, he could see the lake, beautiful in the fading light of the setting sun, he’d seen it over and over again for all his life.

  But Mzok could never remember it looking as inviting as it did right at that moment.

  ‘Show some courage for once, old fool.’ He told himself, and went for the stairs.

  He went down, left the room, left the building, went for the gate, and left it just as it was preparing to close. Nobody stopped to question him. ‘Of course they wouldn’t, why would they? I went to sleep every day here, accomplished nothing, and woke up old, and now there’s nothing left for me! Why would anyone give a shit what happens to an old worthless piece of garbage like me?’ He clutched his coins in his pouch. ‘More money than I’ve ever had at once, and it was candy, just… nothing to her… what a waste of flesh I am… traitor, liar, extorter…’ He told himself as he trudged on toward the waters. The refugee camps only added to his loathing. In the canvas and fabric tents he saw couples lying together, entwining themselves in what happiness they could grasp before the sun set. ‘Even they have futures… happiness… what have I?’ He asked, ‘Nothing.’ He thought, and walked out on to the empty dock. Boats bobbed back and forth occasionally letting out a thudding noise as they hit the walls of the dock to which they were tethered.

  ‘I suppose… I might as well do one honest thing.’ Mzok told himself as he got into a boat and taking out his knife, he cut the rope before grabbing the oars. ‘They’ll have it brought back when they spot it on the water.’ He told himself and noted the insignia on the interior identifying the owner. He then took out his coin pouch and set it beneath a pile of netting so that the owner would find it after it was brought back to him.

  Mzok removed only one coin for himself. He clenched it tight in his hands, ‘Why do I want this one alone?’ He pondered, but there wasn’t a clear answer, he knew only that he wanted it. ‘It’s mine anyway, why shouldn’t I keep it?’ he asked, and as he rowed out onto the water, the sun continued to set, the boat rocked back and forth on the gentle ripples of the nearly still lake, and when the last of the orange light was gone and Mzok got one final look up at the stars with their beautiful twinkling light, he stood, put his hand in his pocket, clenching his last gold coin, and jumped into the water.

  He disappeared beneath the surface, tilted his head up, opened his mouth, and swallowed the water that poured into his mouth. He spasmed, shook, blacked out… and then…

  Nothing. Ever again.