The Ruler of Conspiracy Read online

  Copyright

  OVERLORD, VOLUME 10

  KUGANE MARUYAMA

  Translation by Emily Balistrieri

  Cover art by so-bin

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are

  the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  ©Kugane Maruyama 2016

  First published in Japan in 2016 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo. English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo, through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.

  English translation © 2019 by Yen Press, LLC

  Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Maruyama, Kugane, author. | So-bin, illustrator. | Balistrieri, Emily, translator.

  Title: Overlord / Kugane Maruyama ; illustration by So-bin ; translation by Emily Balistrieri.

  Other titles: Ōbārōdo. English

  Description: First Yen On edition. | New York, NY : Yen On, 2016–

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016000142 | ISBN 9780316272247 (v. 1 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316363914 (v. 2 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316363938 (v. 3 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316397599 (v. 4 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316397612 (v. 5 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316398794 (v. 6 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316398817 (v. 7 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316398848 (v. 8 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316398862 (v. 9 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316444989 (v. 10 : hardback)

  Subjects: LCSH: Alternate reality games—Fiction. | Internet games—Fiction. | Science fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Science Fiction / Adventure.

  Classification: LCC PL873.A37 O2313 2016 | DDC 895.63/6—dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016000142

  ISBNs: 978-0-316-44498-9 (hardcover)

  978-0-316-44499-6 (ebook)

  Prologue

  When Albedo entered the room, she breathed in deeply.

  Unfortunately, there was no scent left behind to tickle her nostrils. Of course there wasn’t. Her beloved master’s body performed no metabolic processes, and he didn’t even breathe, so how could he leave behind an odor?

  But she could sense his smell—with her heart.

  When she inhaled air from a room her master had been in, it put her heart at ease.

  That’s what it’s like to be a maiden in love.

  “Tee-hee-hee!” She let slip an intoxicated giggle and clamped a hand over her mouth.

  It wasn’t truly an issue that her teeth had been visible, since no one was around to see, but it simply wasn’t ladylike.

  Albedo sat softly on the bed and then lay down.

  She sniffed a few times, but as she had suspected, her nose picked up nothing. Still, it gave her profound joy to lie in the bed of the one she adored.

  This was perfectly normal behavior for a maiden in love. Anyone who took a woman doing the same thing in the bed of the man she loved, yet feeling nothing, and lumped her together with Albedo in the “maiden in love” category was offensive rabble who knew nothing of true love.

  “Ahhh…”

  She stopped her hand just as her fingers sought the pleasure below her waist. Now wasn’t the time.

  I guess I’m getting addicted, she thought, among other things, as she sat up.

  For the moment, she had to finish the day’s work.

  With the establishment of the Nation of Darkness and the conquering of E-Rantel, her workload had increased dramatically. The reason being that the civil servants under the previous ruler, the Re-Estize Kingdom, had fled—that is, returned to the kingdom, leaving government posts understaffed.

  Undead created by her master were supposed to take over those roles, but she was still educating them—which took time and added even more to her workload.

  In the not too distant future, she would have some free time, but for now, she would probably stay busy.

  Of course, Albedo didn’t equate having lots of work with suffering. No, she was sure that not a single resident of Nazarick found laboring for their master unpleasant. On the contrary, it was only natural that the harder they worked, the more ecstatic they grew.

  “I would like to see the results of my teaching soon, though…”

  For a few days or a couple weeks. Even if a month was impossible, she wanted to leave the government up to the undead and see how they would do.

  As luck would have it, she was thinking it was about time to visit the kingdom for some talks. She knew that, since her master was so overflowing with wisdom, he would be fine without her. But that would mean forcing the absolute ruler to do work that was beneath him—odd jobs.

  A king had a king’s duty.

  “Speaking of which…I wonder what direction Lord Ainz is planning on taking the Nation of Darkness in.”

  The nature of the country itself…

  Once that was decided, they could make laws and policies that matched.

  For instance, if it was a country that made all humans work for Nazarick as slaves, they would have to create laws that completely enslaved humans. They would also have to decide all sorts of details such as how to interact with neighboring human countries and what approach they would take with the humans of other countries.

  But she still hadn’t gotten a clear answer on that from her master yet.

  It was as if the Nation of Darkness was currently missing a critical pillar in its foundation and still based its overall structure on the old house—that is, the kingdom.

  Was this the shape her beloved master’s country would take? Or was he waiting for something?

  If it was the latter, she felt endlessly ashamed that she wasn’t able to discern his plans.

  This was the struggle of serving a master with such a sage mind that it left everyone clueless.

  Her master had the ability to plan in a way that allowed him to accomplish multiple objectives in one fell swoop. Sadly, that left her always feeling bad for not being able to think as far as he could.

  Even Demiurge, who was as brilliant as her if not more, had grumbled, “I cannot even hold a candle to our master’s wisdom. It’s quite embarrassing.” That being said…

  “No matter what kind of country he creates, all I have to do is abide by Lord Ainz’s decisions.”

  There was only one exception—Albedo didn’t plan on obeying anyone but her beloved master.

  “Though I really have to wonder what he’s going to do…”

  Of course, there was no one to answer her murmur.

  Chapter 1 | The Nation of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown

  1

  The King of Darkness—that is, the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and the Nation of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown�
�� He was the leader of the Forty-One Supreme Beings, the one who stayed in Nazarick until the end, attended by his subordinates, and at the moment, he was lying on his stomach in a soft bed reading a book.

  This bed, which had been brought from the Great Tomb of Nazarick to Ainz’s room in the partially refurbished home of the former E-Rantel ruler, Mayor Panasolei, didn’t give off the same nice fragrance of the one in his private chambers in Nazarick.

  It’s probably because this one hasn’t been spritzed with perfume, thought Ainz as he lay on the bed.

  Of course, as an undead, Ainz didn’t require sleep.

  Certainly, there were times he lounged in bed to cool his head and heart when the remnants of his humanity pled mental exhaustion, but those moments were brief. There was no point in long stretches of lying around like he was doing now.

  But there’s an exception to every rule.

  For example—when reading. Especially when he was conscious of how he was perceived by other people.

  The sun should be coming up soon… Oh!

  Grasping the approximate time of day from the light spilling through the crack in the drawn curtains, he readily thrust the book he had been reading under his pillow.

  Then he glanced at the corner of the room without turning his head.

  A maid was there.

  She was one of the regular maids of Nazarick, and today she was on Ainz duty— Well, technically she had been on shift since the day before. She was sitting perfectly straight with gorgeous posture, and she hadn’t shifted at all since the previous night. As far as Ainz knew, not a single maid ever relaxed their posture.

  Ainz was bathed in her stare. It was unceasing, barring a few blinks.

  The pressure was indescribable.

  Surely she didn’t mean to intimidate him. She probably only wanted to be ready to assist him at a moment’s notice, but the normal guy Satoru Suzuki wished she would give him a break.

  This was probably true for anyone, but he felt awkward with someone constantly staring at him. Particularly when someone of the opposite sex was staring, he felt like he must have been doing something wrong even if nothing had happened.

  The biggest issue was that anytime Ainz made the slightest move, she would sync up and silently begin to move with him.

  Let’s be frank.

  It was torture.

  Of course, Ainz was the absolute ruler. If he told the maid to stop, she surely would. But remembering the look on her face when he brought up the subject in a roundabout way, he couldn’t bring himself to give her the order.

  Almost immediately after coming to this world, he had set out adventuring as Momon, meaning this was the first time he really had maids working at his side. This explained the surprising degree of loyalty with which they performed every task. Ainz understood that, so it didn’t feel right to simply enforce his will on them.

  Maybe they’ll get sick of it after a little while.

  It had already been a month since he started thinking that.

  Though he was mildly concerned at the possibility things might always be like this, he set the issue aside for the moment because it would take forty-one days for all the maids to take their turn at Ainz duty anyhow.

  So this is the struggle of being a ruler… There’s the work to maintain Nazarick, planning for the organization’s future, and living up to my subordinates’ expectations… I sure do admire people at the top. No wonder they get paid so much.

  Ainz slowly sat up as he contemplated how off base he had been, once upon a time, thinking that executives were awarded fat salaries for doing next to nothing.

  In the same instant, the maid soundlessly rose from her chair as if they were connected by string.

  Despite being on watch the entire night, she employed brisk movements.

  “—I’m getting up.”

  “Yes, my lord. Then if you’ll excuse me, I shall take my leave. After I brief today’s maid, she will take my place.”

  Instead of thanking her, Ainz merely uttered a dignified “mm,” waved a disinterested hand, and gestured for her to get going.

  Even Ainz felt he was being awfully arrogant.

  But apparently people liked it.

  When he had Hamusuke survey popular opinion, their number one reaction was, It feels like I’m being dominated and Lord Ainz is fully in charge. At first he wondered if they were all kinky masochists, but after thinking on it further, he realized that there was a suitable way for rulers to comport themselves. He figured that was what his subordinates wanted.

  At the office, employees naturally wanted their boss to carry themselves in a manner becoming of a company president.

  In that sense, he felt this attitude was appropriate for the King of Darkness, and in actuality, whenever he had a free moment to spy on the ruler of the empire, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, he saw that he acted the same way.

  Still, from Satoru Suzuki’s working-adult perspective, not expressing any appreciation was strange.

  “…Then have a nice rest.”

  “Oh! I humbly thank you for your kindness, Lord Ainz.” The maid bowed low in gratitude. “But thanks to this item you lent me, I can work for you without rest.”

  No, that’s not what I was going for, said Ainz in his head.

  Certainly with the Ring of Sustenance equipped, the maid could stay awake day and night, no problem. But wasn’t it hell sitting in a chair all night long doing nothing but watching him? He understood that attending him made his subordinates happy, but there was no need for this much service.

  I think we could at least get rid of night duty…bed duty.

  To the maids, it was only natural to give their all for their master.

  One of them said something to that effect.

  Give their all for their master? What would happen if I said I was going to be their equal?

  Unlike when he was first transported here, he was now confident that his subordinates’ loyalty was absolute. The possibility of a revolt, barring outside influence—and assuming Ainz didn’t do anything to disappoint them—was zero. So perhaps changing their relationship and living among the NPCs as their equal was an option.

  Then he would be free from this ruler lifestyle that was constantly tying his brain in knots. Plus—

  —maybe it could be like the old days with the guild.

  Sometimes when Ainz talked with the NPCs, he saw his old friends in them. That made him want to interact with them not as ruler and subordinate but—

  No. Ainz mentally shook his head.

  As long as he wasn’t sure what might disappoint them, it would be dangerous to change the system too much. And if they wished for a master-follower relationship, then it was his job as their master to maintain it. It was his duty to the guild’s NPC children as the last remaining creator.

  The maid excused herself and left the room.

  That moment, as if in direct response to her exit, Ainz got busy. First, he took the book out from under his pillow and replaced it with a different one. It was one with a difficult title; a single glance was enough to make anyone lose interest in reading it. He took the book he’d been reading during the night and stored it in his space—his inventory.

  Having put it somewhere it couldn’t be stolen very easily, he breathed a sigh of relief.

  This was one of his duties as a master.

  He didn’t want to spend all night reading books so hard they would make his head hurt. If possible, he wanted to read how-to books or fun stuff. But if the others found out he was reading that sort of thing, it would reflect poorly on him as a ruler. That was why he obsessed over details like this.

  Incidentally, he came up with this plan because he knew that the maids would move the book when they made his bed.

  After finishing everything he needed to do there, he pushed aside the delicate silklike fabric hanging down from the canopy and got out of bed.

  Right then, there was a knock at the door. The next maid entered.

  W
hen she saw Ainz rising from his bed, her face filled with joy, and she approached. The one in charge of serving Ainz—“on Ainz duty”—must have been her.

  “Morning, Fith.”

  Her face lit up so much, she was positively dazzling. “Good morning, Lord Ainz! I’m happy to serve you today!”

  If Fith had a tail, she would have been wagging it with all her might. He suddenly remembered that Pestonia wagged her tail.

  Fith wore the same maid outfit as Foth before her. Unlike the combat maids, all the regular maids wore the same uniform. But when their appearance changed—or more specifically, when the girls who wore the uniform changed—there was still something refreshing about them.

  He recalled a friend’s words, which had been stressed so often it was obnoxious: “Simple maid outfits are great, but ones with all sorts of accents are the best.” They continued. “In other words, maid outfits are fantastic any way you do them. The maid outfit is the greatest invention in the history of humanity. Viva maid outfits!”

  Ainz didn’t know the word viva, but he guessed it had something to do with admiration. Or maybe his friend had made it up. Even moments like this reminded him of his old guildmates.

  He gazed at the maid with a wry smile—although, naturally, his face didn’t move.

  “L-Lord Ainz, is something the matter?”

  When Fith, clutching her apron, asked him that with an embarrassed look on her face, he realized how impolite he was being.

  “Sorry. I was just… Yes, I guess you could say I was fascinated.”

  “—!”

  “Shall we go, then?”

  “Yeegh? Er, yes. Understood!”

  The maid answered in an energetic, albeit slightly flustered voice and followed behind Ainz as he passed through several rooms.

  The difference between this place and the ninth level of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was so great, the two were impossible to compare. For that reason, when Ainz announced he was moving in, the guardians were against it.

  Because it wasn’t luxurious enough for a Supreme Being.

  Because it lacked the proper defenses and counterespionage measures.

  Because, because, because…

  But Ainz overrode all their concerns and declared the place as his residence—because it seemed to him that it was part of his duty as king, in the same way that Jircniv lived at the imperial palace in the empire’s capital. And to Ainz and Satoru Suzuki, the mayor’s manor was plenty splendid in the first place. Remembering his house in his original world, there wasn’t even a way to compare the two. Besides, his room on the ninth level of Nazarick was a bit too big and showy anyhow.