The Cost of Compliance
Quite— no, very rude. The letter ordered me to bring a bouquet of Pailen flowers in person by noon. Of course, the body of the letter was a touch more civil than that. Ah. Or perhaps not. Maybe the fact that she had bothered to use honorifics while making such a demand only made it seem even more insolent.
"Ten minutes left."
I leaned against the wall and glanced at the distant clock tower of the city hall. The streets were empty and silent in the dead of night. It didn't look like she was coming.
"Tsk..."
I had expected as much. Lady Lichtenburg may have yielded to me, but she hadn't thrown away all of her pride. Meeting all three conditions—by noon, in front of the Imperial Academy, in person—was unlikely. At best, a maid might show up at the academy tomorrow morning with the flowers in her stead. If that happened, I would have no choice but to resort to more drastic measures. I needed to show her that threatening her daughters wasn't an empty bluff. Perhaps I should sneak into the Lichtenburg estate one night and detonate some explosives in the garden. That would make her grovel properly again. Or maybe not. She might still keep her back straight.
"Ugh."
Pride alone wouldn't get her anywhere. Just as I was wondering how to handle her if she kept resisting, a carriage rounded the corner and came to a stop. The emblem of House Lichtenburg was emblazoned on its side. I had assumed a servant would step out, but—
"Hmm."
"......"
To my surprise, the lady herself descended. This was far more unexpected than I had anticipated. Noon. In front of the Imperial Academy. In person. I hadn't expected her to meet all three conditions. Then again, it was too early to relax. There was still the possibility she had come without the Pailen flowers just to spite me. The bundle wrapped in cloth in her hands certainly looked like a bouquet, though...
"What are you doing?"
Lady Lichtenburg asked sharply, apparently sensing the flow of mana. Just in case, I had deployed a perception-dampening barrier to prevent our conversation from leaking out. While I couldn't hide the fact that we had met, the contents of our discussion absolutely could not escape.
"I merely muffled the sound."
"Then drop the pretentious tone."
"Haha. If you insist."
"......"
What? Why did she suddenly look angry just because I switched to casual speech as she wanted?
"Did you bring what I asked for?"
"Before that, I would like you to stop this nonsense."
"What nonsense?"
"Summoning people in the middle of the night and treating them like servants."
Lady Lichtenburg glared at me. So she hadn't come here in complete submission after all, despite fulfilling my demands.
"Why should I?"
"Pardon?"
"Why should I do as you say?"
"......"
She stared at me with a venomous expression, her lips pressed tightly together—the look of someone who had encountered a beast not even worth speaking to.
"There's a saying that one word can repay a thousand gold in debt."
"......?"
"It means you shouldn't ruin all your hard work with a single careless remark at the end. If that's how you're going to be, then I have no choice but to respond accordingly."
"......"
Her mouth parted slightly in surprise. Her lips twitched as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out. She lowered her head and muttered in a voice barely louder than an ant's crawl—
"......I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I said I'm sorry... for speaking so rudely."
"......"
I nearly let out a sigh of disbelief. I hadn't expected such a clean apology. This woman always dropped her pride at the most unexpected moments. She was truly unpredictable in every way.
"But if you keep doing this, it puts me in a difficult position as well. I have a life of my own. If you keep summoning me like this..."
Lady Lichtenburg avoided my gaze as she spoke. She seemed to be under a misunderstanding. Most people who held another's weakness tended to gradually escalate their demands, forcing the victim to reveal new vulnerabilities that could then be exploited further... She probably thought I was trying to turn her into something little more than a slave.
"I hope you won't misunderstand. I called you here today because I urgently needed something. Naturally, I'll provide compensation for it."
"C-Compensation?"
You heard correctly, my lady. Compensation.
"You'll compensate me?"
"Of course. If you receive goods, you should pay for them, shouldn't you?"
"D-Do you mean the price for my sins?"
"I believe that's already been paid. Or is my memory mistaken?"
Lady Lichtenburg could never be tamed. Her family's history was one of enduring the oppression of the great ducal houses and the imperial family without breaking. She would never submit to a mere commoner who happened to be a little strong. Continuously inflicting humiliation on her would be a mistake. If possible, it would be better to bring House Lichtenburg to my side as an ally. Erika would be an essential piece in the future, after all. And Yulia too... No, she was already taken care of.
"Already paid...?"
Lady Lichtenburg repeated the words, as if struggling to accept reality. Sending Henderson after me had been infuriating, and I was angry enough to want to take one of her fingers, but if I could bring House Lichtenburg to my side, I was willing to forgive that much. If it meant gaining a partner who could secretly supply me with the items I needed, like today...
Occasionally seeing her grovel before me would be more than enough for me to endure.
"Why? Do you feel that showing me courtesy at social gatherings isn't enough? Then next time..."
"Ah! No! It's fine! I like it this way!"
"Good. Then let's see the goods."
Lady Lichtenburg thrust the cloth-wrapped bundle toward me with a slightly sullen expression. Things had gone reasonably well, but it seemed she wasn't pleased that everything wasn't going according to her own plans. She would do well to get used to that feeling. From now on, things would rarely go her way.
"Here. The Pailen bouquet you ordered. It's fortunate that there were some in the garden. Otherwise, obtaining them would have been quite troublesome."
I tilted one flower slightly and brought it close to my nose. It had a strange fragrance I had never smelled before. Neither its appearance nor its scent resembled any flower from Earth. Just as described in the original work. I quickly activated Inquiry.
Status: Fresh.
Description: A flower used as an ingredient for perfume or Mana Energy antidote. Both the flower and its seeds command a very high price.
It wasn't a lie. Then again, there was no reason for her to lie about something like this. I accepted the bouquet from Lady Lichtenburg with both hands. With so many flowers, it was heavier than expected.
"This is your compensation."
"What is this?"
"Open it when you get back."
I handed her a small envelope. It was a small gift meant to build trust in me. Of course, I doubted something like this would make her trust the monster who had single-handedly slaughtered Henderson, but... Hah. The more I thought about it, the more irritated I became. Why did Lady Lichtenburg have to send Henderson of all people...
"It was a pleasure."
"......"
I dispelled the barrier and smiled. After a moment of surprise at my sudden change in demeanor, Lady Lichtenburg silently glared at me. Trust would have to be built gradually. For now, she could just think of herself as an obedient dog. Or perhaps a vicious hound that could tear my arm off at the slightest provocation. It would take quite some time before this hound became a reliable ally.
"I look forward to our next meeting, my lady."
"My lady...!"
Lady Lichtenburg was utterly shocked. Ignoring her reaction, I took her hand and bowed to kiss the back of it. If there was no one watching, I could show her as much courtesy as she wanted. However, she seemed to interpret this not as politeness but as mockery, her face flushing bright red. Teasing both mother and daughter was truly delightful. With that farewell, I turned and headed back to the Imperial Academy. Fearing someone might overhear now that the barrier was gone, Lady Lichtenburg couldn't bring herself to call out to me.
Reflecting on her expression from moments ago, I soon arrived at the director's residence.
"Welcome back. What was that about?"
"Nothing much. Someone suddenly summoned me."
When I opened the front gate, Emilia came hurrying over to greet me, as if she had been waiting all along.
"Who was it?"
"It wasn't anyone dangerous, so don't worry. Ah, do we happen to have a vase in the house?"
"A vase? Yes, we should have one."
"Then please take care of these so they don't wilt."
"Of course..."
I handed the bouquet to Emilia. For a moment, her expression seemed to turn grim as she lifted the cloth. Or perhaps I was just seeing things due to fatigue.
"Haaam... I'm going to bed now."
"Yes. Good night."
Leaving behind Emilia, whose voice seemed a bit colder than usual today, I headed straight to my bedroom. There were things I needed to think about in preparation for the upcoming event.
'This is the only chance for Ainz to awaken.'
In the original work, Ainz never rose to the ranks of the strong and remained a minor supporting character who was friendly toward Hurtlocker. According to the setting, Ainz possessed tremendous talent, but his vicious nature and weak mental fortitude prevented him from utilizing it, leading to his downfall. In other words, if I could fix his mindset, he had the potential to become a valuable ally who would greatly aid the future story's progression.
That was why I had chosen this combat magic practical class as the timing for his awakening. In the original, Hurtlocker saved Ainz when he was in danger. After that, Ainz stopped being jealous of Hurtlocker and became a loyal dog who followed him everywhere, showering him with mindless admiration and assistance. But what if no one saved Ainz when he was in danger? Would he die without ever fixing his personality, or would he learn humility in the face of death's terror, awaken, and survive?
I decided to bet on the latter. If I failed...
"Hoo..."
I could just consider it as discarding one extra. I had been too greedy trying to save too many people. It was time to start moving more calculatingly.
...
"O-Oh, you're back?"
"Yeah..."
Letting out a sigh as she entered the house, Lady Lichtenburg came face to face with Erika. Had she been waiting to greet her? Having just suffered a humiliating experience, Lady Lichtenburg felt as if all her wounds had been healed. Though it was strange that Erika was dressed in outdoor clothes...
Well, people sometimes wore such attire indoors too. Lady Lichtenburg decided not to make a big deal of it.
"Mother. Who did you go to meet?"
"Huh? Just... an important person. You don't need to know. I'm tired, so I'm going to bed."
"Ah, yes! Mother."
Lady Lichtenburg answered curtly without realizing it and passed by Erika. It wasn't a lie. If someone with enough power to single-handedly slaughter everyone in this mansion wasn't an important person, then who was? Of course, she didn't mention that the man had treated her like an errand girl and humiliated her to his heart's content. Just thinking about it again made her dizzy. Staggering into her bedroom, she firmly closed and locked the door.
"Hoo. What on earth is this?"
First, she needed to check the "compensation" Schluss had given her. Lady Lichtenburg picked up the knife on the table and tore off the seal. Inside was a single note and an investment certificate.
"What...?"
Feeling puzzled, she unfolded the note first.
—This is compensation equivalent to ten times the price of the flowers. That is, if you can trust me and wait just two weeks.
It was incomprehensible. Tilting her head, Lady Lichtenburg checked the investment certificate.
—The owner of this certificate possesses 10 shares of the Holy Knights Order.
"The Holy Knights Order?"
Lady Lichtenburg's eyes narrowed. Wasn't that the small provincial knight order that had been gaining some recognition recently? She had heard recently that their stock price had risen. She was sure she had kept yesterday's stock chart. Opening the drawer, she took out the scroll and unfolded it.
"Holy Knights Order... 100 Tirion."
Ten shares at 100 Tirion each would total 1,000 Tirion. But that quantity of Pailen flowers should be worth at least 100,000 Tirion...!
Schluss Heinkel had given her a mere one-hundredth of the value as "compensation."
"Hah! Really... How absurd."
She hadn't expected much since he was a commoner, but she felt strangely annoyed. If he was going to do this, he shouldn't have bothered with compensation at all. What kind of compensation was a measly one percent? Her irritation surging, Lady Lichtenburg was about to tear up the certificate when—
—This is compensation equivalent to ten times the price of the flowers. That is, if you can trust me and wait just two weeks.
She glanced at the note once more, then shoved the certificate into the drawer. If what he said was true, this certificate would be worth 1,000,000 Tirion in two weeks. Its value would have increased a thousandfold.
"Ha... Haha..."
The thought was so ridiculous that laughter escaped her lips. It didn't make sense. A stock rising a thousand times in just two weeks? Scoffing at the absurdity, Lady Lichtenburg slammed the drawer shut.