Calca Bessarez

Calca Bessarez (カルカ・ベサーレス) was the Holy Queen of the Roble Holy Kingdom. Unfortunately, as the nation's first female monarch, her rule was met with criticism and she was one of the first major causalities during Jaldabaoth's invasion of the Holy Kingdom.
== Appearance ==
Calca was a young woman with long vibrant hair of spun gold and lovely cyan eyes. Her face was as beautiful as a freshly-bloomed flower, exuding majesty and dignity, earning her the praise "The Treasure of Roble." She was likened to that of an angel and many who saw her gentle smile went on to describe her as a saint.
== Personality ==
Calca Bessarez was a very kind person who cared deeply about the well-being of her people and the safety of her nation. Unlike the Custodio sisters, her kindness also extended to sparing demi-human children from being killed. She also wasn't quick to judge something just because of their nature, including that of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Additionally, she yearned for love and it frustrated her that she had yet to find a worthy man. Calca's major source of frustration was her unmarried status and the rumor that she was in a relationship with the Custodio Sisters, which she denied.
As the Holy Queen of her nation, she seemed unwilling to use underhanded means to consolidate her rule. While this held her back from being an excellent ruler, her regime remained stable as she was kind enough to not respond to the noble's criticism in any manner, preventing an outright conflict from occurring. Her kindness also did not reach the point of being an outright detriment, presumably because of Kelart Custodio doing the dirty work beneath her notice, and did not impact her decision-making during a crisis. 
Shortly before her death, Calca is revealed to have grown disenchanted with her own idealism, recognizing the impossibility of it all, and was willing to sacrifice lives during Jaldabaoth's initial invasion. Showcasing that Calca held more devotion towards her duty as Queen and leader of her Kingdom and was willing to compromise her previous beliefs if it ensured the survival of her nation. 
== Background ==
As a divine magic caster, Calca spent some degree of her time forming spells dedicated to skincare. Calca's determination was shown when she volunteered herself as a guinea pig. As a result, she accumulated much knowledge in that field over time. Calca was considered to be the most skilled beautician by the human kingdoms due to the amount of work she had done on achieving it. However, she had never publicly announced it, so nobody knew about her hobby.
Due to her low place in the order of succession, only males had inherited the Holy Kingdom until now leading to the nobles' view Calca should never have taken the position of Holy Queen. Because of Calca's beauty and divine magic abilities being recognized, the crown had eventually been placed upon her brow. Her kindness deterred her from taking a hard-line stance against the Demi-Humans, adding to her struggle of fully winning over the Southern Holy Kingdom's trust, a division her predecessors also failed to overcome.
To successfully prevent a rift between the north and the south, the Holy Queen chose to ignore baseless allegations made by the southern nobles. One of those claims about her was that they assumed Calca was granted that position only because she had something special going on with the temples, as well as secretly receiving assistance from Kelart Custodio. However, that allegation may have been true, as she had ascended the throne with the firm backing of the previous Holy King and particularly the temples and Kelart presumably silenced the southern nobles in her place.
Ten years later, while certain voices disapproved of her kindness, Calca had not made any mistakes which could lead to criticism and thus, she was able to continue ruling the Holy Kingdom through an era of relative peace. As the Holy Queen of her nation, she did not take part in strategy meetings when it came to dealing with demi-human invasions. Instead, she let her presence be known to the soldiers as their country's leader to help boost their morale, hope of defeating the enemy, and bolster the faith among her nation's paladins and clerics. 
== Chronology ==
=== The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom Arc ===
 and The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom II Arc
Upon learning that the Great Wall was breached by the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth (Demiurge), allowing an army of over a hundred thousand demi-humans into the Holy Kingdom, the Queen issued a general mobilization order to the entire nation.
During a private meeting with Remedios Custodio and Kelart Custodio in the city of Kalinsha, Calca pondered the future of her nation. Despite reassurances from Remedios that the Holy Kingdom would survive Jaldabaoth's onslaught, she was worried about the financial aftermath of the Holy Kingdom once everything was over. Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by her Chief of Staff informing the three that Jaldabaoth had attacked and invaded the city. The queen and her advisers went to confront the Demon Emperor.
While confronting Jaldabaoth, she believed that he may have wanted to parley and attempted to stall him while her subordinates prepared for a counterattack, all the while becoming frustrated at Remedios for her repeated interruptions. However, the demon instead revealed that he merely wanted to investigate the city, to see if there was a being in the Holy Kingdom that could match him, as he wished not to repeat his failure in the Re-Estize Kingdom. Seeing that Jaldabaoth was unwilling to negotiate, Calca ordered the angels to attack and also provided support for her subjects. As a result, Remedios "managed" to cause the demon to crash into a building and Calca urged the quick casting of the Ritual of Holy Fire against the Demon. However, Demiurge swapped places with a summon Evil Lord Wrath, "assuming" a more demonic form that appeared to be immune to all attacks.
The demon made a beeline towards the Holy Queen, whom he easily captured and restrained. Calca squirmed and tried to struggle, but she could not escape Jaldabaoth's hold. After her face was smashed into the ground and a few more swings, she lost the will to resist him. Calca found herself an unwilling weapon of his pleasure, in which the demon sadistically used her as a club to attack her allies. Calca was brutalized, her face and body damaged beyond recognition.Overlord Volume 12 Chapter 1: Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth
After the city of Kalinsha had fallen, she was reported to have died by her subjects, with her body currently missing. A majority of her family were captured and the last bit of authority went to the remaining nobility in the Southern Holy Kingdom.Overlord Volume 12 Chapter 2: Seeking Salvation
Once Ainz Ooal Gown was recruited to liberate the Northern Holy Kingdom, the Liberation Army discussed whether it was possible to use him to resurrect her so that the Holy Kingdom would regain its leader and political stability. Neia Baraja relayed their request to Ainz, who said it was difficult, but not impossible, as long as the corpse of the Holy Queen was still intact. It's implied that Ainz had no intention of resurrecting the Holy Queen, as Demiurge's Holy Kingdom takeover plan presumably required getting rid of both her and Kelart while leaving Remedios alive without their guidance.Overlord Volume 12 Chapter 3: Beginning the Counterattack
When Jaldabaoth confronted Remedios again the second time, the top half of Calca's body was already missing. Remedios suddenly charged and attacked him with her holy sword, Safarlisia. However, Remedios's attack did not do the slightest damage to him. Retaliating back with an attack of his own, Jaldabaoth swung the deceased Holy Queen at her that left the woman temporarily immobile from the impact and screaming in despair. The demon's powerful attack caused the corpse of Calca to sustain heavy damage when using her. The demon later cast aside the charred body onto the ground, as he was looking for a chance to dispose of it.Overlord Volume 13 Chapter 5: Ainz Dies
After the liberation of Kalinsha, it was stated the corpse of Calca Bessarez was cremated for burial. Caspond stated that, originally, they were planning to use a [Preservation] spell on Calca's body and give her a state funeral after driving off Jaldabaoth. During Neia Baraja's speech promoting Ainz and her "weakness is a sin" philosophy to her followers following Jaldabaoth's defeat, she honors Calca's memory as having been an "excellent queen".Overlord Volume 13 Chapter 7: Savior of the Nation
== Abilities and Powers ==
Calca was a fairly powerful divine magic caster. However, Calca's magic was focused on maintaining her appearance, which helped keep her skin looking young and inspired her soldiers with her beauty. Thanks to experiments that Calca conducted on herself, she had developed new divine spells for skin care. She was a genius who could use 4th tier spells at the tender age of fifteen.
In terms of political ability, while maintaining overall command of her nation, Calca's rule was under constant scrutiny by the southern nobles. On Maruyama's governing ranking, the Holy Queen was positioned just below the middle, right below the "mediocre" King Ramposa III. This relatively low ranking stems from her being unwilling to resort to more underhanded tactics, effectively limiting herself and relying instead on Kelart Custodio to perform such duties. Despite these shortcomings, Neia Baraja refered to Calca as "an excellent queen" in her speeches to her followers, helping solidify her legacy among the populace as a beloved ruler following her passing.
In spite of her idealism impacting her ability to govern without the assistance of her subordinates, Calca proved surprisingly decisive and willing to drop much of her philosophy during a crisis. During Jaldabaoth's initial invasion, Calca mourned the soldiers sent to delay his arrival, but understood that her role as a monarch was to "trade the lives of the few for the survival of the many" in sharp contrast to her captain's 'save everyone' approach throughout the invasion. When confronting Jaldabaoth, she calmly attempted to stall and discover the demon's intentions until it became clear he had no interest in parleying.
=== Job Classes ===
* Cleric
* High Priestess
* Holy Queen
=== Main Equipment ===
* Unnamed Crown: It is a magic item, which was the binding focus for the ritual spell "Last Holy War", that had been passed down through the Holy Kingdom.
=== Active ===
* Holy Ray: A 4th tier spell, it creates rays of light used to pierce the intended target.
=== Summon ===
* Principality of Peace: A 4th tier spell summoned angel.
== Relationships ==
=== Caspond Bessarez ===
Calca's relationships with her brothers were tense since almost all of them struggled to get power, even after her ascension at the throne. However, Caspond was an exception to it because he happened to share values similar to her own. Out of all her siblings, Caspond was the only one that she was able to have trust in.
=== Remedios Custodio ===
Calca's birthday was close to that of Remedios's, so they ended up becoming friends. Although she understood the danger of the country having someone so touchless and fanatic like Remedios at her side, she never distanced from her friend due to the latter's strength and loyalty. Remedios's conviction and forthright made her Calca's spiritual oasis, which she relied upon in troubled times. 
However, despite her devotion, Remedios often failed to interpret and follow Calca's more nuance views on subjects such as Ainz and Demi-Humans much to her queen's frustration. While a powerful and loyal captain, Remedios proved to be inadequate at leading what remained of the Northern Army without her queen and sister's guidance, as was part of Demiurge's design in killing the latter two. By the time of her queen's death, Remedios remained the only one fully committed to her queen's ideals including Calca herself who had grown to doubt her own idealism. 
=== Kelart Custodio ===
Kelart was a close friend of Calca and thought of her as a sister. Due to Calca’s sheltered naivete and unwillingness to use underhanded and cruel methods as a ruler, it's been implied that Kelart was the one to do so in her stead in order to solidify her position as Queen and fend off her opposition.
=== Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix ===
While Calca's views towards Jircniv remain unknown, Maruyama stated that the latter hates her due to her having all the necessary talent to be an excellent ruler, yet chooses to hold herself back. In the Web Novel, she is the third most hated woman by Jircniv after both Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself and Draudillon Oriculus.
=== Ainz Ooal Gown ===
While Calca never met Ainz, she spoke of him respectfully as a 'loving ruler' and encouraged her subordinates to not prejudge him. This perspective surprised Remedios and Kelart greatly, given their nation's dogma towards the undead. However, as a member of the clergy, she was still wary of the Sorcerer Kingdom and its inhabitants.
== Trivia ==
* Calca Bessarez is the first female human monarch that appears in the Overlord series.
* Interestingly, the word "Calca" can mean "ramrod" (槊杖) in Japanese.https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/槊杖 The ramrod is a stick-like instrument used to push explosives into a rifle. Calca met her demise when she was turned into a stick-like weapon against her own troops by the summon Evil Lord Wrath acting as Demiurge's proxy.
* On Maruyama's Governing Ranking, the Holy Queen was over the Dragon Lord Olasird'arc and below King Ramposa III, adding that her unwillingness to resort to underhanded tactics holds her back. However, this placement does not factor in the contribution of the Custodio Sisters to Calca’s rule.
* Despite being the Holy Queen, Calca was noted to not have obtained the full support of the Southern Nobility of the Holy Kingdom due to her being the nation's first female ruler, deemed too innocent and kindhearted in her decision making for the kingdom, and her refusal to take a hardline approach against demi-humans. 
** This, in turn, has caused her to further turn away from using dirty/underhanded methods and ignoring the Noble's criticism and baseless rumors when ruling. As a result, Calca's rule remained stable for 10 years with the Southern Nobles being unable to point to any direct mistakes or criticisms on her part.
*** As implied, due to this aversion to use underhanded tactics and methods, the one who ultimately took on the role of using these methods to help her properly run the Holy Kingdom was Kelart Custodio, one of Calca’s most trusted advisors and friends, who gained a notoriety among the nobility of the Holy Kingdom, specifically the Southern Nobles, for being the hardliner in Calca’s faction.
** In the author's Volume 12 notes, he reveals that Calca's male predecessors had also failed to fully win over the Southern Nobility. Factoring in the Nobles' sexism and their perception that Calca had cheated to earn the throne, Calca proved to be at an even greater disadvantage than the previous kings in winning them over.
** According to Maruyama, if she were willing to do dirty deeds, Calca, with her tremendous charisma, beauty, and high-level priest skills, could possibly end up just below the 'excellent' Pe Riyuro in terms of ruling one's respective nation under the author's Governing Ranking.Overlord Volume 12 Author Thoughts
* Maruyama noted that Calca has a very high positive karma rating of more than +200, the highest known karma rating outside of Nazarick and second only to Sebas Tian.https://twitter.com/maruyama_kugane/status/924969197448212480
* According to Maruyama's blog, the Holy Queen Calca Bessarez is confirmed dead.Overlord Volume 13 Author Miscellaneous Calca is the first ruler of a country known to have been explicitly killed off in the present setting of the Overlord series.  
*In the Overlord community, she has been joke as a 'Holy Weapon' due to her being used as a club by Evil Lord Wrath.
*Calca remains the first and only ruler to perceive Ainz in an arguably positive light without being first manipulated or intimidated by Nazarick first.
*Calca's open-mindness towards Ainz, Demi-Humans, and willingless to sacrifice lives is ironically in stark contrast to Remedios, Calca's captain and friend who claims to promote her queen's ideals.
== Quotes ==
* (To the Custodio Sisters about Ainz): "—A king's duty is to love his nation, love his people, and grant them peace. As long as he does that, it should be fine, right?"
* (To the Custodio Sisters about the Sorcerer Kingdom): "The two of you are harsh. Still, you can't just badmouth people without even seeing them, right?"
* (To the Custodio Sisters after becoming the Holy Queen): "I will grant happiness to the small-folk, and make a country where nobody will cry."
* (To Kelart): "No, I didn't mean that, Kelart. You're not at fault. The blame lies with me since I didn't pay attention to news about other countries."
* (To Kelart about Remedios): "Of course I told her. I told her about how Jaldabaoth attacked the Royal Capital, how the adventurers defeated Jaldabaoth, the other demons that appeared, and how the Warrior-Captain defeated them all. I told her everything...so it must have been squeezed out by other things and gone in one ear and out the other."
* (To the Custodio Sisters): "...I will let the small-folk live their days in happiness, and make this a country where nobody will be hurt."
== References==
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