"Elizabeth-dono..." You Li Jie glanced at Iri with some unease. Iri was sitting with her in the driver's seat, which made You Li Jie hesitate to speak.
Since it was boring to stay alone in the carriage, Iri simply sat with You Li Jie, and could also enjoy the scenery.
"What's wrong, You Li Jie? And I told you, it's not a formal occasion, just call me Iri," Iri said with a smile. Iri was well aware of the things that the usually serious You Li Jie cared about.
"Iri...dono, why...are you, alone, rushing to the Empire so urgently?" You Li Jie asked uneasily.
You Li knew...Elizabeth-dono before her, was an existence who inherited Ainz's wisdom. Whatever she did, there must be a reason for it. Rushing over with only herself as a guard must also have a purpose.
Although she wasn't doubting Elizabeth-dono, it was more out of concern. You Li had also been Elizabeth-dono's tutor and had taught her many things, so she knew that Elizabeth's current frontal combat power might far exceed her own.
It's just that an open spear is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to guard against. Elizabeth-dono usually seemed to have no defenses, and now she was visiting what could be considered a hostile Empire with only You Li. She couldn't help but worry.
"Actually, it's all Ainz's idea!" Iri replied with a guilty conscience, once again shifting the blame directly onto Ainz. In reality, it was just Iri's own wild imagination, simply wanting to go out and have fun.
When meeting the Blood Emperor, Iri's original idea for adding drama to herself was: to make the Blood Emperor focus his divisive efforts on her, and then after the nation-building arc, to work with Ainz from both inside and out to trick the Blood Emperor.
After suggesting that she serve as a diplomat to the Empire, Iri ran back to her room, intending to make preparations, when she encountered Ecarlate, the penguin who was topping up his QB.
Iri remembered that this guy was Sebas's assistant, and should know the procedures and etiquette for formal visits, so she went to consult him.
The result was that it was better not to ask; when she did, she was startled. The penguin said that a formal diplomatic mission was very important, otherwise it would make the other party underestimate Nazarick's strength, so bodyguards, honor guards, and servant groups were absolutely essential.
The penguin also said that all these things could be prepared immediately if Iri just asked. Iri casually asked how long it would take, and the answer was at least two days. The Blood Emperor would have already returned home in two days!
Moreover, bringing anything from Nazarick that could easily destroy the Empire, and marching grandly into the Empire's homeland, wouldn't that just drive the Blood Emperor insane?
So Iri immediately rejected the proposal and told the penguin to just prepare a carriage suitable for her status.
As for guards... just call You Li Jie. Anyway, the Empire doesn't have a perverted item like Falling Beauty of a Nation. If she couldn't use communication, Iri would have just followed the Blood Emperor to the Empire herself, as the purpose of this trip was just to have fun and put on a show.
Therefore, the penguin prepared this carriage, and to be honest, Iri was still a bit resistant when she saw the two Soul Eaters.
After all, these two things could easily wipe out the Empire, couldn't they? But since she had to show Nazarick's prestige, she could only endure it.
So... Iri set off with You Li Jie, and she didn't tell anyone when they left. She just had You Li report to Ainz through communication. Ainz didn't say anything, probably because Ainz also didn't know about those complicated things for a princess's visit! Otherwise, he wouldn't miss an opportunity to show off Nazarick's strength.
"Although it's Ainz's will, but with only me as Elizabeth-dono's guard..." You Li Jie said, indeed worried about this.
Originally, the penguin had also arranged several assassination blade insects with built-in invisibility as escorts, but Iri rejected them all. There was no need for guards of that level to go to the Empire; You Li Jie alone was more than enough.
"It's fine, I generally understand the situation in the Empire, so You Li Jie doesn't need to worry. Just think of it as a sightseeing trip," Iri said with a smile.
As soon as Iri finished speaking, You Li Jie became alert, looking straight ahead.
Iri also noticed... and looked over, seeing the Blood Emperor's carriage, which was running ahead, slowing down. The Blood Emperor himself also leaned out of the carriage and waved to them, signaling Iri to stop.
"Elizabeth-dono? Should we stop?" You Li Jie asked, looking tense, as if ready to fight at any moment.
"Stop! And You Li Jie, I told you we're going on a trip, please relax a little." Iri looked up at the sky where the sun had already set. It was time for these people to rest and eat, after all, they were humans and needed to eat, drink, and relieve themselves.
"Oh..." You Li Jie agreed with a subtle expression and ordered the Soul Eaters to slow down and stop.
You Li Jie here was an undead, so she naturally had no concept of this. As for Iri's physique, it was also quite subtle; she wouldn't feel hungry even without eating, but after a long time with an empty stomach, she would feel a bit uncomfortable psychologically.
And surprisingly, she had developed a liking for things with a slight bloody smell... it seemed she really did have a bit of a vampire constitution. So Iri would basically symbolically eat something when it was time.
Sure enough, after stopping, the Blood Emperor came over with his two subordinates and invited Iri and You Li Jie to have dinner together. Iri naturally had no reason to refuse and agreed.
However, after agreeing, Iri noticed that apart from the Blood Emperor and two of his Four Imperial Generals behind him, everyone else was keeping their distance. Fulda, however, didn't hide, but stared intently at the two Soul Eaters with an excited expression.
"Why are they hiding so far away? Do you dislike me that much?" Iri asked curiously.
"No, no... that's not it, Elizabeth-dono. They are just afraid of your horses," the Blood Emperor quickly said with a compensatory smile and explained.
"Afraid? How are Little Black and Little White scary? They're clearly so cute!" Iri turned her head to look at the two Soul Eaters, whose appearances were indeed a bit frightening.
Aren't they just skeletal warhorses emitting black mist and glowing slightly? There's nothing to be afraid of, right? As for the names... Iri just came up with them on a whim.
When the two Soul Eaters heard Iri's words, they immediately became restless, seemingly agitated with joy.
This scared the male and female generals behind the Blood Emperor, who quickly drew their weapons, ready to fight for their lives, although the female general looked like she wanted to run away.
Not only these two generals, but those people in the distance, after the Soul Eaters became agitated, directly sat on the ground, and some guards even threw down their weapons and ran, while all the eight-legged horses collapsed on the ground.
"Elizabeth-dono!" You Li Jie lowered herself and whispered into Iri's ear, telling her about the Soul Eaters' special characteristic, which was their indiscriminate fear effect.
And just now, Iri had just given them names and praised them, so the range and intensity of this fear effect became even greater.
This feeling was very similar to the effect of a low-level Despair Aura, no wonder those humans were afraid of these things.
"I see!" After learning about the Soul Eaters' characteristic, Iri turned around, put her hands on her hips, and imperiously commanded the two Soul Eaters in the tone of an arrogant princess.
"Little Black, Little White, retract your fear effect. You are not allowed to release it without my command."
Of course... Iri just said this casually to put on a show, wanting to deepen the Blood Emperor's impression of her as a willful princess.
As a result... these two Soul Eaters were quite obedient and turned off their fear effect. So, it really could be turned off!
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