After returning from the Crimson Demon Village to Axel, Makoto hadn't even rested for two days when he heard a piece of news—
A force named [Ainz Ooal Gown] had occupied the border city of E-Rantel in the Re-Estize Kingdom and declared war on the kingdom.
Makoto was a bit confused when he heard this.
The fact that this happened wouldn't surprise him. After all, it had also happened in the original Overlord story.
But the problem was, before this, wasn't Ainz supposed to have Demiurge create a disguise as 'Jaldabaoth' and the two of them put on a double act, thereby raising Momon's reputation among the common people, and only then make a move on Re-Estize?
How come this 'Jaldabaoth' character hadn't even appeared yet before they made their move?
Yu stood beside him and analyzed expressionlessly, "Senpai, it might be that our actions stimulated Ainz."
As he spoke, Yu recalled his impression of this novel and continued, "Ainz is originally someone who likes to overthink and fight against thin air. Now that he sees an unfamiliar force developing so quickly, he's probably getting anxious too."
After listening to this analysis, Makoto thought it made sense.
But at the same time, he couldn't help feeling that oftentimes, readers really think more than the author.
Everyone is a reading comprehension expert. It's comparable to how every time One Piece updates, a bunch of people look for Oda's foreshadowing.
Araki, the old demon who often forgets his own settings, also said in an interview that readers remember some settings better than he does.
The Author himself has also felt this way. He used to wonder, how could an author forget his own settings?
Later, after writing his own book for a few million words, he only remembered, after being reminded by readers, that he had such settings...
"Should we make a move, Senpai?" Yu asked again.
The main quest issued by the Reincarnation System this time was 'rule the world'.
And Yu, who had read the original Overlord novel, also knew that the main quest of this book was the same.
But from certain aspects, Ainz was pushed into that position by his subordinates.
But no matter what, under these circumstances, the goals of their group of players and Ainz conflicted. They would eventually have to settle things.
Makoto thought for a moment and smiled. "Not urgent. Let's strengthen ourselves first."
There was no need to worry too much about Ainz's side. With his personality, he would hesitate for half a day just to fight a goblin, let alone face someone like him who now ruled multiple countries.
Moreover, Nazarick did have many trump cards. He also needed to prepare more.
Yu followed behind Makoto without objection.
It was only when Yunyun walked over from the hallway, her face slightly red, and sidled up to Makoto that Yu stopped, realizing he should give them space.
But just as Yu turned to leave, he took two steps and stopped again.
"Senpai, after all, Nazarick's people are characters you created. Logically speaking, you are a higher existence than the Supreme Beings. Those NPCs should be loyal to you."
Yunyun was full of question marks. She couldn't understand what Yu was saying at all. Before she could ask, Makoto had already pulled her into his arms.
Makoto himself also found Yu's idea quite interesting.
The NPCs of Nazarick were absolutely submissive to the Supreme Beings. There was no doubt about that.
But if they were told that the Supreme Beings were also created by an even higher existence, would they pledge allegiance to this 'Supreme Being of Supreme Beings'?
It was hard to say.
But not to mention whether these people would believe it, even in the original work, not everyone unconditionally submitted to the Supreme Beings.
For example, Albedo, and Ainz's 'own son', later formed a [Supreme Being Hunting Squad].
The purpose was to prevent other Supreme Beings from returning and taking Ainz's position.
…
In just one week, without any surprises,
The Sorcerer Kingdom, ruled by the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, was established in E-Rantel. It then counter-attacked the Re-Estize Kingdom, annexing the entire kingdom and becoming the continent's premier powerful nation in one fell swoop.
Over the next two years, the [Nishikawa Grand Alliance], led by Makoto, consisting of the Belzerg Kingdom, the Kingdom of Melromarc, the Elroad Kingdom, and several other countries... and the Sorcerer Kingdom, led by the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, began crazily annexing surrounding countries. One side acted, then the other, like an arms race.
After two years, the two major forces had formed a standoff.
However, the public reputations of the leaders of these two forces were completely opposite.
On Makoto's side, when occupying other countries, they basically killed as few as possible.
Either, as in the battles with the Belzerg Kingdom and the Kingdom of Melromarc, they used Conqueror's Haki to knock out all the small fry, or Yu shot and killed the enemy leader directly.
In short, they minimized the damage as much as possible.
On the Sorcerer Kingdom's side, whether it was Ainz himself or his level 100 NPC subordinates, they killed everyone, regardless of who they were.
Under this comparison, Makoto's reputation actually grew better and better.
If one had to find something to criticize, it might only be that he had too many women around him.
But to be honest, for such a great figure, that kind of thing didn't even count as a flaw.
The female NPCs inside Nazarick who coveted Ainz's body even wished Ainz could learn from Makoto.
But the problem was... he had nothing down there.
In a recent operation against the Roble Holy Kingdom, Ainz might have realized that continuing like this wasn't good.
So he sent an envoy delegation, wanting to first persuade the leader of the Holy Kingdom... the [Holy Queen] Calca Bessarez.
That was the one from the original work who was used as a greatsword and swung around.
However, this queen, who bore the nickname [Holy Queen of Purity], rejected Ainz's active invitation.
After all, the Sorcerer Kingdom's violent suppression over the past two years had already made the various nations fearful.
And the Holy Queen's ideal was to 'create an ideal country where no one cries'. Although this wish sounded a bit laughable at first, it still showed her character.
No matter how you thought about it, it was impossible for her to cooperate with Ainz.
Moreover, over these two years, the Sorcerer Kingdom had already become notorious. If you suddenly send an envoy delegation saying you want to unify through peaceful means, who would believe you?
It's the same principle as the story of [The Boy Who Cried Wolf].
After being rejected, the Sorcerer Kingdom's envoy delegation returned to the capital, E-Rantel, and reported the matter.
The first to learn of this was Demiurge, who was responsible for the Sorcerer Kingdom's strategic planning and intelligence agency.
After learning from his subordinate that the Holy Kingdom had refused, Demiurge was furious.
He tore the Holy Kingdom's reply letter to shreds, veins bulging on his forehead, and gritted his teeth as he roared, "These damned humans... how dare they reject Ainz-sama's goodwill!"
Demiurge took the letter, now torn to pieces, to the throne room.
Ainz sat on that overly exaggerated throne, somewhat surprised that Demiurge would be this angry.
Demiurge knelt on one knee, his voice full of suppressed anger.
"Your Majesty the Sorcerer King, regarding your suggestion to contact the Holy Queen and have her submit to our Sorcerer Kingdom, the Holy Kingdom has replied."
As he spoke, Demiurge looked up, his voice suddenly rising several decibels. "They actually refused!"
Ainz's expression froze slightly.
Demiurge continued. The veins on his forehead pulsed. "These humans simply don't know what's good for them! His Majesty the Sorcerer King, in his rare great mercy, was willing to give them a way out, yet they are so ungrateful! I believe we should immediately launch a war against the Holy Kingdom and round up the humans there as feed for my farm!"
Hearing the tone of deep hatred and disgust in Demiurge's voice when he said the words 'humans', Heiji, Jodie, and the others present couldn't help swallowing their saliva.
'Wow. They hadn't considered our feelings at all.'
'We are human too, you know!'
Ainz's fingers tapped twice more on the throne's armrest, then stopped.
He was now a bit troubled.
The Sorcerer Kingdom's territory was growing larger and larger, but its reputation was getting worse and worse.
When he first established the nation, he had only considered how to strengthen Nazarick's power and prevent the great threat of Makoto. He had overlooked the importance of public opinion.
Part of the reason was also that his human sense of right and wrong had been affected by his undead body.
It was only now that he realized this that his notorious reputation was already hard to salvage.
"Demiurge..."
Ainz's voice echoed in the throne room. "If we continue to use violent suppression methods to annex other countries, it will not be beneficial to our long-term interests."
Demiurge looked up, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "This subordinate has long prepared for this matter."
Then, Demiurge informed Ainz of his plan.
Create a fake identity of a Demon Lord-class enemy named 'Jaldabaoth', use this identity to attack the Holy Kingdom, and then have the Sorcerer Kingdom act as Heroes to 'save' them.
This way, they could both acquire the Holy Kingdom and restore the Sorcerer Kingdom's reputation.
Ainz stroked his chin and thought this method was pretty good.
Heiji's eyes widened.
The other former members of The Avengers Team had the same expression.
'At the end of the day, wasn't it still about killing people?'
It was completely different from the methods adopted by Makoto's group.
To be honest, before transmigrating, Heiji and the others had thought Makoto was already bad enough.
But after coming to this world, they realized Makoto was still too gentle.
They suddenly envied Kaito, who had quit the team back then... at least he didn't have to be around these madmen every day.
"Uh, um... Your Majesty, isn't there a bit of a problem with this method?" Heiji swallowed his saliva and raised his hand.
Demiurge turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Heiji's face.
Although he didn't speak, the meaning in that look was obvious... who do you think you are?
The only reason you can stand here is because you got in through the back door. Do you really think you have the right to speak at this meeting?
Ainz didn't mind, though. He let Heiji speak.
"If that happens, I think the Holy Kingdom would be more likely to seek help from the Nishikawa Grand Alliance." Heiji forced himself to speak, enduring the slightly dissatisfied looks from the other Floor Guardians.
Nishikawa Grand Alliance... that's what Makoto's force was called by the various countries now.
This name easily reminded people of the Pokémon League in the Pokémon world.
But to be honest, the structure of the Nishikawa Grand Alliance was indeed very similar to the Pokémon League.
Isn't the Pokémon League essentially multiple regions governed by a large organization, each region operating independently on a daily basis, and if one region encounters a great enemy, other regions send reinforcements?
In the anime, when the Kalos region was in chaos caused by Lysandre, the Hoenn region sent Daigo as reinforcement.
And now, the Belzerg Kingdom was the 'Kanto Region' of the Nishikawa Grand Alliance, and the Kingdom of Melromarc was the 'Johto Region'.
"Your Majesty, please be at ease."
Demiurge chuckled lightly. "I will cut off the route from the Holy Kingdom to the Nishikawa Grand Alliance. They will have no choice but to ask the Sorcerer Kingdom for help."
Heiji slapped his forehead.
'Damn. I had no ideas left either.'
"Um... Your Majesty."
Saguru also summoned his courage to speak. "Can't we learn from the Nishikawa Grand Alliance's methods? For example, use hypnosis magic to control the soldiers, then capture the king and force them to submit?"
"Impossible."
Sebas stepped out from the group of ministers, his face also carrying a hint of regret. "It might have been possible before. Now, that method won't work."
If it were when the Sorcerer Kingdom was first established, before its reputation had been ruined, using this method might still have made other countries submit.
But two years had passed. The Sorcerer Kingdom's reputation had become completely tied to words like 'brutality', 'bloodthirst', and 'insanity'.
At this point, it was already too late to try copying Makoto's homework.
Ainz sighed inwardly, also feeling that this matter was a bit regrettable.
But it was only to that extent. The longer he spent transmigrated, the less human component remained in his heart.
"Let's go with Demiurge's plan."