Inside Ainz's office, Ainz was currently in a panic.
After he finished his meeting with the Emperor of the Empire, the Guardians who had participated in the meeting all gathered here on their own accord, clearly wanting to know the detailed plans of the great Ainz.
The so-called plan… Ainz himself wanted to know!
Now, looking at the Guardians kneeling before his desk, Ainz could only wave his hand, signaling them to rise, and secretly glanced at Demiurge and Albedo, not seeing any significant difference in their expressions from usual.
That is to say… he probably didn't embarrass himself or surprise them during his meeting with the Emperor of the Empire, right?
Initially, after following Demiurge's suggestion and learning that the Emperor of the Empire was visiting Nazarick, Ainz himself had subtly asked Demiurge what else he needed to pay attention to when meeting the Emperor of the Empire.
However, the answer he received was simply, "Everything will proceed according to Ainz's plan. Please act according to the predetermined plan, Ainz."
The key is! Ainz didn't even know what the predetermined plan was! So, his meeting and conversation with the Emperor of the Empire were almost entirely improvised.
The process… was basically just polite formalities. He said he came to apologize, so he magnanimously forgave him, and then used this as an excuse to go to the surface. As the first step in conquering the world, he was confident in this.
Demiurge had mentioned it before, and he had also roughly guessed a little from eavesdropping on Iri's words, so he only needed to handle this issue during the meeting. Everything else was just rambling.
However, when the Emperor proposed an alliance, Ainz was still a bit confused. This was an unexpected proposal. Demiurge and Iri hadn't mentioned it. An alliance with the Empire seemed to have no losses for Nazarick.
And based on the mentality of "having one more friend is better than one more enemy," Ainz didn't think much and directly agreed. This should also be within Demiurge's predetermined plan, right?
If not, Demiurge and Albedo should have shown very puzzled expressions. When he agreed, Iri, who was beside him, also said nothing. It seemed he made the right choice. With that said, his meeting with the Emperor of the Empire this time should have gone smoothly.
"The Emperor of the Empire has already acted according to our plan. Next…" Ainz intended to play a trick here. He originally wanted to directly throw the topic to Demiurge, letting Demiurge explain his entire conceived plan.
"Ainz, there's one thing I don't quite understand. Why ally with that Empire? And even send Little Yi over there? Wouldn't it be better to just crush such a country with military force?" Shalltear asked, looking puzzled.
Uh… Shalltear had also questioned the alliance in the main hall, but Shalltear really didn't learn her lesson!
To use force against an opponent whose background is unclear, aren't you afraid they also have some strange items and will control you again?! Ainz thought to himself.
"Shalltear is right. Mare and I broke into their Capital. It's nothing impressive!" Aura also expressed her confusion.
Of course, Ainz understood that Shalltear and Aura were not questioning his decision, but rather wanted to confirm why he would do so, wanting to know the reasons and causes, so as to avoid making mistakes due to not understanding the situation. For Shalltear, who had already made mistakes, asking such a question was indeed very reasonable.
As for the reason for the alliance?
Uh… it was simply because he felt that an alliance would not harm Nazarick, and after the alliance, he could also find excuses to communicate more with the Emperor of the Empire and even secretly learn a bit of imperial governance from him. Of course, this reason could absolutely not be spoken aloud.
So now, facing Shalltear and Aura's questions, how should he answer?
First, when he agreed to the Emperor of the Empire's proposal for an alliance, Iri, Demiurge, and Albedo, who were beside him, showed no reaction.
Although Iri wasn't here now, Demiurge and Albedo were still here. If his decision just now had conflicted with Demiurge's plan, Demiurge would definitely have expressed his doubts immediately. However, he didn't, which means his decision was correct. So, he would explain it based on this first! Ainz thought to himself.
"I think conquering by force is very foolish, Shalltear," Ainz said, feigning authority, then secretly glanced at Demiurge and Albedo.
He saw that Demiurge and Albedo were still the same, not showing any abnormality.
It seemed his choice was indeed correct. So now he could throw the topic to Demiurge and let him explain to Shalltear.
"Demiurge." Ainz looked directly at Demiurge, feigning a very authoritative and serious tone as he called out to him. Usually, as long as he called Demiurge, he would directly give an answer. He hoped it would be the same this time.
"Yes! Ainz! Please forgive these incompetent ones who failed to comprehend the greatness of Ainz," Demiurge replied.
"No, Demiurge… don't speak too harshly." Ainz was instantly bewildered. This wasn't the explanation he wanted!
"My apologies, please forgive me, Ainz," Demiurge continued.
"Hmm… then, Albedo." Demiurge actually refused to speak, so he would switch to Albedo! Ainz felt a bit flustered.
"Ah… Ainz's benevolence is truly befitting of Ainz…" Hmm… skip Albedo. As soon as he saw her lovesick face, Ainz felt a chill down his spine.
Neither of the two he could ask for help was an option, and Iri wasn't here either. He was isolated and helpless.
Uh… then he would use Iri's previous explanation!
"A righteous cause, and legitimacy," Ainz said.
"Huh? Righteous cause? Legitimacy? Ainz… I don't quite understand what you mean," Shalltear said, looking utterly confused. In fact, not just Shalltear, but all the Guardians, except for Demiurge and Albedo who had participated in the previous conversation, were as confused as Shalltear.
"Yes, conquering by force is easy, but doing so will create too many enemies. This time our opponents are humans, not primitive civilizations like the Lizardmen. So, we need a legitimate excuse. The plan for the Empire invading Nazarick incident was precisely this. Therefore, we used this as an excuse to demand an apology from the Empire, and the Empire expressed its willingness to assist us in restoring our nation. Thus, our next move gained the support of a nation, and therefore gained legitimacy," Ainz continued to explain.
"Restoring… restoring our nation? Uh… what is this?" Shalltear was even more confused.
Ainz could also understand… After all, when Iri spoke of this, only Demiurge and Albedo were present. Shalltear's reaction was normal, because when Ainz himself secretly overheard Iri and those Black Workers talking about Nazarick's "history," Ainz was as confused as Shalltear was now.
"Shalltear, this is a plan conceived by Ainz…" Albedo interjected. He would leave this to Albedo to explain!
"Albedo, please tell everyone about Nazarick's background!" Ainz said.
"Yes! Ainz!" Albedo nodded in agreement immediately.
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