There were times when Nazarick became uncomfortably quiet for Emperor Ainz. Having little to do, having either done it himself, or now that it was being done for him by trusted subordinates, he tended to lapse into periods of boredom. But today was going to be different, for there was going to be a party in Nazarick. And not just any party, but after the annual reports of his empire, and his annual lecture to the historians of the realm, it was to be followed by the ten day long, 10,000th anniversary of his reign celebration.
The preparations for the latter had taken decades.
Once a year, his guardians, leaders in their own right throughout the New World, would gather at Nazarick to report on their achievements, how they had transformed the world and made it into a grander place in honor of Nazarick and Ainz Ooal Gown.
Demiurge would start. His very name was synonymous with science, research and education. He had founded giant universities and advanced science and technology to unparalleled heights, most recently with advanced astronomy and interstellar space travel. Ainz knew how science could be led astray to terrible ends, so he carefully guided Demiurge against such things. The natural sciences were advanced to insure that the New World was not tarnished in the process, but enhanced, beautified and given great tracts of seas and rivers, forests, plains, mountains and deserts filled with all varieties of plants and animals, many of which had been resurrected from extinct species.
Demiurge took most pride in the creation of new World Items, of such immense power that they could terraform some of the barren rocks in space into lush gardens suitable for colonization some day. They were of course safely kept in Nazarick with that purpose in mind. Ainz was pleased how less malevolent Demiurge was when his formidable mind was creatively occupied with science, as well as delighted with the acquisition of such extraordinary items by Nazarick.
Part of the educational system was the National Academies of Service and Administration. Established by Sebas Tian and his late wife Tsuare, the women's Academy bearing her name; and the men's academy named Tatchi Mi, after his creator Touch Me. They trained the senior government officials and senior bureaucrats to be intelligent and honest leaders, with a strong emphasis on ethics and to actively seek out and help those in need. The majority of their students trained to be private butlers and maids, not to be slaves or laborers, but assistants and facilitators of their employers. Graduates were in great demand and highly paid. They also acted as a clandestine intelligence network for Nazarick.
Cocytus was next. His sadness at seeing so very many great and honorable warriors brought low through endless and mindless battles persuaded him to ask Lord Ainz for a better way. Ainz suggested athleticism and sports, which Cocytus thought was a splendid idea. It turned out as well that he was an inspirational speaker, guiding untold numbers of people into leading healthier and more productive lives, and most any day there were popular sporting events in amphitheaters and gymnasiums in every nation. Likewise his public baths and spas were enjoyed by all ages. Of the races, perhaps humans benefited from this the most, becoming taller, stronger, faster and more handsome as a race.
Lord Ainz could not help but to feel nostalgic for the next report, which came from the dual monarchy of the Elf Kingdom. In remembrance of their late beloved founders of their unified kingdom, their still hetero-chromatic rulers were dark elves descended from Queen Aura, and wood elves, descended by marriage to a wood elf queen from Aura's brother King Mare. To give the report, they selected young elves under 100 years old, wearing pants and ceremonial skirts, respectively, as did all females and males in their delegation. Have 13 generations of elves already come and gone?, asked Ainz to himself. Sad that Bukubukuchagama could not have invested at least her elves with greater longevity. Still, he had to laugh at the elves ostentation and formality. Their highest honor was to be invited to attend the annual report at Nazarick, in their thousands, even if they could not be in one of the great halls personally, but just on other floors. Only two exemplary young members of the royal house received the honor of acting as ceremonial guardians of the 6thfloor of Nazarick for a year.
The reign of Queen Aura and King Mare was marked with rare fecundity among the elven peoples, who now were in far greater numbers than ever before. Useful, because as a people, Lord Ainz had assigned them to be the policemen of the New World. Generally honest and fair to all races, they kept crime to a minimum, and created an air of safety throughout the realm.
Shalltear Bloodfallen could always be trusted to put on a show. A queen and teacher of the fine arts, she was a inspirational whirlwind of song, dance, sculpture, painting, fashion, architecture, furniture and investing creative beauty wherever people looked. She truly had the soul of an artist, Ainz thought to himself. Well, probably dozens of them, he mused. Under her guidance, artisans of all stripes lived in a guilded era of creativity, evolving new and exciting visions in both realism and abstract. Which reminded Ainz of the huge scandal thousands of years before, when she hosted an erotic arts show. At the time it almost caused a riot, followed by an orchestral and operatic performance that did cause a riot, but a generation later barely raised an eyebrow and were seen as classics. She adored all the attention, praise and criticism, as the grand dame of the fine arts.
Ainz suspected, but couldn't prove that she had somehow obtained an ancient music library, because some of the her musical compositions and those of her community of students sounded a little too familiar, but he did not press her on the subject, content as everyone else to enjoy their work. Be that as it may, in most years this was the highlight of the reports and was always well attended.
The next presentation was by the veiled leaders of the Daughters of Nigredo, who ran the New World system of hospitals and hospices, orphanages and foster care, therapy and healing centers for all. Otherwise wearing normal clothing, their veils were out of respect to honor their patroness, who always made it a point to attend that day, whose appearance necessitated her wearing a veil so as not to frighten others.
Part of their presentation would be given by Bareare Pharmaceuticals, whose many products had generated a lot of revenue for Nazarick over the years. They had also taken over the management of various human guilds, for magicians, casters, and even adventurers (now called explorers), turning them into professional societies. For Ainz' convenience, they also produced scrolls and published books, both magical and ordinary, for public libraries and schools. High literacy was seen as a public duty.
The merchant's guilds would piggyback on this presentation, taking the opportunity to display the next years' commercial products, which again garnered great interest. Commerce had boomed ever since the Nazarick innovation of reusable item boxes and inventory scrolls, so up to 500kg of cargo could be transported with the weight of two scrolls, one that maintained the item box, and the other that dynamically listed its contents. Added to this was the system of high quality roads, canals and aqueducts, dams, watermills and windmills, which meant that food and good clothing was available to all. Ainz also strongly improved commerce with things like a lingua franca, a standard written and spoken language; a standardized system of weights and measures and time; and the codified Ainz' Law, both criminal and civil.
Extensive mining, in the mineral rich but otherwise barren mountains, then magically smelted in a pollution free manner, produced a surfeit of metals and minerals, but such an excess of gold, silver and jewels created economic instability. But this was solved with the YGGDRASIL gold, which was reserved for banking and industrial commerce. As gold coin, it was rated as much more valuable than the metal it contained, and its circulation was tightly controlled. This insured that the ordinary coin of the realm could not substantially fluctuate, keeping prices low, wages high, and products and food plentiful.
Other reports, from subordinate leaders and municipalities would be submitted on paper, mostly so, Ainz told himself, he would have something to keep him occupied on slow days. So with the conclusion of the reports and the show for the day, most of the world leaders in attendance would retire to the banquet hall, so the historical review, and the real party, for the descendants of Ainz, could commence. But before they left, Ainz wanted all to know that he had an important announcement to make. A rare thing, guaranteed to headline the immediate dispatches in all directions across the land.
After many years, and in consultation with his beloved first wife Albedo, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown had decided that henceforth, the name he had chosen for the New World was "Momonga" of the "Momon" star system. Planet Momonga. The assembled greeted the announcement with prolonged and honest cheers.