Whacked out 60% of this in one sitting. My brain is dead.
Maruyama: It is long.
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The Days Part 4
Translators: Frostfire10
As Nimble disappeared into the crowd of people, the three of them placed the fruit into their mouths. However, they refrained from taking a bite.
"Now, do you trust that man?"
"Probably."
"How foolish of us to ignore Ainz-sama's orders and insist on following."
Solution and Narberal slightly lowered their gazes.
"However, as expected of Ainz-sama to identify three benefits for doing this one action."
"Well, one of them was thought of by Demiurge."
As Ainz sent a cursory glance towards Narberal who then bowed.
"Lead him on well."
"Of course. We will continue to act to the best of our abilities."
"I do not believe that Jircniv is the type of man to do such a thing but…. Demiurge said it was a possibility."
"However, it is such a terrible role to play. Even if it is an act, saying that Ainz-sama can only rule over us by using his overwhelming power."
"….Aura-sama is doing most of the work though?"
"Ah yes. We will let leak that Aura has only joined me in order to secure the rights of the elves. Narberal's actions are in preparation of that…. Then Solution. Is our tail still following us? Did they lose sight of us?"
Solution bit into her fruit and began to munch on it. However, as if she had a separate mouth, she spoke clearly.
"Yes. We already stand out and so there is no problem."
Ainz vigorously wiped his face with a handkerchief, as if the juice had stained his face. Especially near his lower jaw.
"This is just in case, but there is the possibility that they are additional guards that Anoch-dono posted to guard us. I do not give you permission to attack them. I intend to let them flounder for a bit longer. Such that they do not disperse…. Or that we lose them."
"There is no problem. They might be intending to hide themselves, but they have already been locked on by my skills, and so as long as they do not distance themselves to leave my range, we will not lose them."
The assassin, Solution, declared this with confidence.
"Then everything is proceeding smoothly."
"Yes. However, Ainz-sama's tour of the capital. Will someone stumble upon one of Ainz-sama's countless strategies? Well, no one can possibly match up to Ainz-sama's wisdom."
"It is fine. The battle begins from here. Split them up and distract them with the crowd."
The two responded only with their eyes, and Ainz squished his handkerchief squarely into his pocket. The other two had finished their fruit, and they were cleaning their fingers with a clean handkerchief.
"However, it seems that I truly am unable to eat."
Even if Ainz could bite into the fruit, he had nothing to hold it in and so the juice dripped down his chin. Well, even if he had a mouth, he had no throat, stomach or a tongue and so he could not even taste anything.
While thinking that it was a waste, Ainz looked at the half eaten fruit he was holding.
"Should I toss it?"
The frugal part of him was screaming not to, but nothing better came to mind. He did not want to dirty himself with the juices as he walked after all. He also did not want to throw it into his item box.
Since there was food being sold in this square, there should be a trash can somewhere. And so as Ainz looked about for one, he noticed that he was the centre of attention.
Of the two women in front of him.
"These are my leftovers, but do you want them?"
"Yes!"
"Definitely!"
"….If you want some more we can just buy some you know?"
"Not at all!"
"We would like that one please!"
Ainz was taken aback by their seriousness, but he still offered his fruit.
"There is only one so split it between the two—“
Before he could finish his sentence, Solution reached out for it.
Her hand completely covered Ainz's hand which held the fruit. And when it retracted, there was nothing left on his hand.
"Uwa…."
"Thank you for the meal."
Narberal was left in shock as Solution let of a sigh of satisfaction. It was as if their emotion state was in complete opposition.
"Solution. You were a great friend."
"….Narberal. This could not be helped."
"What is? If I could not understand it, I would face you in battle with all my might."
Oi oi.
Before Ainz could stop them, Solution, mouth unmoving, spoke.
"That man has returned. For the act, it would be bad if you were eating Ainz-sama's fruit right? In addition, you would not be able to talk."
Narberal's eyes opened wide and she quickly turned around. Seeing Nimble rushing back, she gave him the evil eye.
Chi
She clicked her tongue. Sending another sharp gaze to Solution, she spoke without moving her mouth.
"I will not forgive you next time."
"It cannot be helped."
Glaring a bit longer at the proudly smiling Solution, Narberal's expression immediately returned to normal.
"Apologies for being late. These are skewers of Einock mutton."
Nimble held out several skewers towards them. The large potions of meat were cut into several portions and so the fats glistened on the surface, and the grilled portions looked delicious. Mixing together with the scent of the meat, the sweet smell of the sauce stimulated one's appetite.
"No no, Anoch-dono. Apologies for making you run. Narberal, you can eat my portion."
"Thank you very much."
As if forgetting the meaning of restraint, Narberal stole the skewers from Nimble's hands.
And one after the other, they disappeared into their stomach. And seeing this savage method of eating, Nimble had a slightly shocked expression on his face.
It was a method of eating that did not match her beautiful face, but it strangely suited her. He was surprised by how curious that fact was.
"Now Anoch-dono, where will you guide us to next?"
"Ah yes. How about the Great Institution or the Imperial Academy of Magic? We cannot enter unless we get permission, so this time we can only view it from the outside though."
"That will be great. I have a deep interest in the academy that the Empire prides itself on. I have discussed this with Fluder, but I have considered hiring people who can effectively manage my territory."
"Is that so. Then I would have applied for permission. Then afterwards shall we take a look at the Imperial Art Museum or the training grounds?"
"Hoo. So there's even an art museum. That does sound interesting."
While wondering if everything there would be extravagant pieces, Ainz spoke.
"Yes. It will be nice if something peaks the Archduke's interest."
"Anoch-dono, I look forward to seeing this then."
"Understood. Then since it seems that Narberal-sama has finished eating, so shall we move on?"
"Ah, let's do that."
And then—
■
"—So they did split up."
Narberal and Nimble. Ainz had separated from the two of them and looked around the small alleyway. The quiet alley was lifeless, and since the sunlight was blocked by various things, it was quite dark despite being noon.
There were also some stray weeds peeking out through the cracks in the stonework, showing that this place was not managed well.
Combining all of those factors, the air reeked of solitude and danger.
It was a scene that would cause one to be cognisant of the fact that no matter the world, eliminating. the gap between the rich and the poor was impossible.
"As expected."
Solution spoke from behind him.
Ainz nodded his head and began to walk forward. He did not have a destination in mind. Or rather, as Ainz had no knowledge about the capital, he had no idea where he even was.
There were no landmarks for him to remember. The drab houses merely continued onwards endlessly.
But Ainz acted with confidence, as if he knew exactly where he was.
This was certainly not an act. If one knew that they could easily return home with magic, anyone could walk about with this attitude.
"So Solution. Is the tail still attached to us?"
"….Yes. There is no problem. They are continuing to follow us while maintaining a set distance."
"Still following…. Well, it's fine. We have done something so stupid as leaving our guard. They should attack us soon. It is unclear how many there are, but do not reveal your true abilities. I forbid you from letting our opponents learn our true power."
"Unders…." Solution suddenly stopped speaking. "Ainz-sama. There are several human prescences in front of us."
"….What is the probability of it being a coincidence."
"I cannot say that there is none, but there is quite the tension in the air."
"Hmm…."
Ainz glanced in front of him, but saw nothing. And he could not feel any of the tension Solution had mentioned.
However, it was impossible for the skills of the assassin, Solution, to ever fail.
"Is it an act?"
"It is possible. What shall we do?"
"A foolish question." Ainz made a wry smile. "We shall fall for their trap. I am interested in how they will attack us."
"Understood. Then Ainz-sama. Then shall we turn leftwards at the next turn?"
"I see, so it's there."
Following Solution, they headed towards the location filled with human prescences.
And he felt that his eyes had gone awry.
Ainz expected a web of people to attack them. However, in reality, it was five dirty looking men surrounding one girl.
The men were muscular, but they were not a threat to them. In fact, their neither weilded nor equipped any weapons.
In contrast, the girl was in her mid-teens. Her figure was about average. In his original world, she would attract gazes, but here, she was slightly above average.
However, what attracted Ainz's attention was the clothes the girl wore. It was the clothes that the students of the Imperial Magic Academy had worn.
"….It seems that they will not attack us. Shall we ignore them?"
Losing interest, Solution blandy spoke. In contrast, Ainz had a different idea.
"It's a trap."
Seeing her master speak with such determination, Solution could not hide her surprise and confusion.
"A trap?"
"Indeed. Normally, would one ever encounter a girl being surrounded by men simply by entering an alley? Such good timing. How foolish."
"I…. see….."
"This is a trap set-up by our tails. They're asking us to save this girl. Basically, their goal is to force us to save this girl."
"Then shall we ignore her? Or shall we kill the girl?"
"No, let us fall for their trap. It is unclear how the saving of this girl will be beneficial for them. By falling for this trap, we can tease out their goal."
"As expected of Ainz-sama. Such foresight."
"Look, they seem to have no desire to hurt the girl. They seem to be waiting for us. A pitiful act. It cannot be helped, it is about time for the main character to enter stage right."
"Yes!"
Ainz slowly showed himself, and spoke in a mocking tone to everyone present.
"What are you doing surrounding this girl?"
The faces of the men surrounding her turned into ones of confusion. It was as if they were expecting someone else.
Did they expect the Empire's Four Knights to show up?
Seeing their faces, Ainz was amused at how he had already screwed up their plans.
"Get lost."
Ainz pointed at them, and gave out a command. It was filled with confidence that only an absolute overlord could own.
"W, what is it, you."
One of the men, the most reliable of the lot, raised a panicked voice and looked around. Ainz could not hide his smirk, seeing the man searching for others.
"Unfortunately we are the only ones here. Hurry up, you can attack us you know? But I'll give you a chance. Get lost."
They probably understood that they were being made fools of. The men's faces reddened in anger, and their faces contorted in rage.
Taking them to be hostile, Solution smoothly stepped in front of Ainz. With a wave of her hands, a flurry of knifes appeared in her grasp.
Anyone would feel intimidated seeing sharp knives. And these were clearly not for protecting oneself, but for inflicting fatal wounds on others.
"What!"
Either from seeing Solution wielding knives, or wondering from where those knives came from, those men were shocked. Or they possibly finally understood what those knives would be used for.
"….Shall I kill them?"
"Hmm…. Well I don't mind. Send the corpses back to our true residence."
"Understood."
Murder.
Seeing the two of them talk about it normally, as if it were a daily topic, the expressions of those men changed.
They had probably noticed it, that they were picking a fight with beings that lived in a different world than theirs.
"W, what are, you guys…."
"There is no need for a walking corpse like you to know."
The men's faces were clearly set in fear.
This was as they understood that the cold words of the beauty before them, was backed up with true ability.
That was not all. They felt something unfathomable about the approaching Solution. Her hunched figure told them that she was just waiting for one of them to try to escape.
Such a waste.
Ainz shrugged in his mind. From the men's reactions, it was clear that they had no knowledge of their ability. Basically, they were disposable pawns.
Then the probability that the girl was the real aim was high.
"Now, shall we make everything up til now a joke, or get to the main point. It is up to you. This is my last warning."
The men glanced at each other, and began to flee like rabbits.
If he wanted to kill them, most of them would be dead. In fact, Solution looked towards Ainz for permission to kill them. However, Ainz did not nod.
They were not even worth killing.
That was Ainz's evaluation of those men. There would be no problem if they let them go.
And so Ainz forgot about those men.
The powerful being, Ainz Ooal Gown, had no need to put anyone but the best humans in his mind. Ainz turned towards the girl, and spoke kindly to her.
"Are you injured?"
"T, t, th, thank you very much."
The girl spoke words of gratitude. Her face was pale, and her mind had not yet caught up to the situation. Not only that, she was still shaking from fear. The reason for which was mainly Solution, and then Ainz. It was probably because Solution spoke of killing them.
Ainz reflected a bit.
It was a terrifying thought that the people who saved her from those men actually belonged to an even darker part of society. They should have been a bit more indirect. On top of their opponent's objectives not being clear, they should have avoided anything that would gain the attention of the authorities.
Well regrets are only born after the fact. (Note: This is a pun about the Japanese word for regret)
While floating around such a thought in his head, Ainz looked at the girl, and failed to hide his confusion.
Her fear seemed too natural.
It was as if she was truly a girl paralysed by fear.
….Was she perhaps truly a normal person?
While shaking his head, he crushed this suspicion in his heart. It was not an event in a game, and so there was no way that this was a coincidence. They had coincidentally entered an alley, and coincidentally there was a poor girl surrounded by rough men. The entire thing being a coincidence was impossible.
It would be easier to swallow to say that this whole thing was a deep plan made by a puppeteer.
However, it was difficult to erase all of his doubts.
If that was the case, then what about his explanation from earlier.
Taking a sidelong glance at Solution, Ainz tried to extract a bit more information from the girl.
"I see. That is goo…."
Suddenly, Solution whispered something into Ainz's ear.
"….Ainz-sama. Someone is coming over."
"Excuse me." Ainz turned towards Solution and walked slightly further away with her. "….Is it our tail?"
"No. It is from a different direction."
As he wondered about who was approaching, Ainz looked in the appropriate direction.
After some time, a young man approached, looking about as young as the girl. From how he was out of breath, he probably ran all the way here. The autumn air was cool and refreshing, but yet sweat streamed down the boy's forehead.
He had quite the elegant face, but the most attention drawing aspect was the eyepatch covering his left eye.
In a world where magic could heal even lost limbs, wearing an eyepatch either meant that he lacked the funds to get his eye healed, or that it was a magic item.
Ainz gauged the boy's clothes, and believed that it was the latter.
He, like the girl, also wore the uniform of the Imperial Magic Academy
Seeing the girl unharmed, the boy let out a sigh of relief and the pent up tension left his face.
"So you're ok!"
Sensing the girl's fear, the boy looked at Ainz with eyes of caution. Reacting to the boy's faint sense of hostility, Solution slowly stepped forward. She showed no signs of hostility, and she did not hold any of her knives.
However, Solution was a creature that could easily kill a human even without any such knives, and she was not so merciful that she would forgive a lesser creature like a human to face her lord and master with any amount of hostility.
The boy was in a far more dangerous spot that the men from earlier.
Sensing this, Ainz raised his hand in front of Solution, informing her of his intent.
Solution immediately bowed and returned to her original position.
"N, no!"
Finally seeing the emotions on the boy's face, the girl shouted in a panic.
"These people helped me!"
Confusion showed on the boy's face, and he looked between Ainz and the girl several times.
Ainz shrugged his shoulders.
And with that, the wary expression on the boy's face melted away.
"Is that so, apologies for my misconception."
"N, no, it's fine—"
"Don't come to such a dangerous place you idiot."
Before Ainz could finish speaking, the boy turned to the girl and began to scold her.
"Yeah…. Sorry."
In apology, the girl lowered her head. And like that, the two began to talk about why she had come here.
For some reason, Ainz felt extremely out of place here.
He felt that an uncle like him should not enter this private space that they had created, that an invisible barrier was holding him back. To put it simply, it felt wrong to do so.
Ah, I wanted this type of youth.
Ainz began to reminscience at this sight, but the emotional waves were immediately quelled.
Ainz got irritated at this.
After gaining this body, everytime he felt strong emotions, they were immediately and forcefully repressed. Basically this sudden calming of his emotions meant that he felt particularly strong emotions just by gazing at these two.
I did not wish for that that much!
Ainz scolded his own heart. Ainz had immediately begun working after he had graduated from high school, and so his student life was quite short. In addition, his middle and high school life was not that great.
However, in contrast to those dark days, his time in Yggdrasil was amazing and even golden.
Yes— Ainz's youth came during his time spent with his friends in Yggdrasil. And it was not such a cheap thing that he would feel envious of the two before him.
Because feeling envious of the two in front of him would stain the wonderful days that he had spent with his friends.
As he felt internally irritated, the two's conversation ended and they turned to face Ainz.
"Thank you for saving me!"
"….A, ah. No trouble at all…."
"And so we will take our leave."
"Ah, be careful."
Looking at the suddenly kind uncle-like Ainz out of the corner of their eyes, the two began to walk away.
The two left together, but although they walked side by side, they were not glued together. It was as if they were aware of the strange atmosphere they were creating. As he watched them leave, Ainz sighed in disbelief.
"….So they really, were unrelated…. A simple coincidence…. Are you serious…."
Solution's expression turned to one of shock as her master looked like he was about to collapse.
"I, is something wrong?"
"I, I'm shocked, Solution. It seems that this was truly an unrelated coincidence…."
"No, it is foolish to believe that that is it! There is the possibility that everything was just an act for us to lower our guard! I believe that it is impossible for Ainz-sama's predictions to be off!"
"….So the possibility still exists."
He felt that it was now unlikely, but he must not be stuck on that one thing.
And Solution was doing her best to comfort him, so he could not stay disappointed forever.
However, Ainz's motivation meter was completely empty. Doing anything more would be a pain.
Any strong emotions would be repressed, but that would not occur until a certain threshold. Thus a weak anger would remain for some time. And so the current Ainz was in a perpetual state of lethargy.
Ainz shrugged his shoulders and spoke.
"Let's go home."
He could just return and give orders to Narberal from the mansion via magic.
In contrast to Ainz, Solution's face suddenly tensed as she faced him.
"Ainz-sama. There is currently a net forming around us."
"….Hou."
"….Their range is currently decreasing."
"Is there anyone else but us within?"
"Yes. We are the centre of the net."
Now it was for certain. Despite thinking that, Ainz felt no confidence. Or rather, he no longer cared about the situation.
"Then let us wait. I am interested to see how they will attack."
"Then Ainz-sama, this way."
Saying this, Solution put Ainz's back against a wall.
After several tens of seconds, a semicircle of eight men jumped off the roofs to surround them.
Despite jumping off, they made no sound and they did not lose their balance. It was as if they were cats. However, Ainz had previously seen Aura do the same at the Colosseum and felt nothing.
Or rather, it was painful to watch them.
Ainz looked upon the men with cold eyes.
All of them were wearing clothes that blended in with the other citizens of the capital, and since they made no metallic sound when they landed, they probably equipped weapons that were meant for secrecy.
Their faces were covered in cloth and so they could not be seen, but the eyes that peaked out from within were without light. It was as if they preferred killing people rather than violence.
They were completely different from the men from earlier, and had a completely different air about them.
For some reason Ainz let out a sigh of relief.
He felt as if the earlier painful atmosphere was being erased.
"How direct…."
The centremost man, probably the most important one, spoke.
"….I have seen the Archduke."
"Is that so…. Would you like my signatu—"
Before he could finish, sparks occured—And several metallic clashes could be heard. Solution had jumped out before Ainz and threw several knives, welcoming the other airborne projectiles.
The long needle-like weapons that fell onto the ground, numbered eight.
Solution had a thin smile on her face as two knives danced into her hands.
"There is no way I would allow any attacks on Ainz-sama."
The scene of her completely blocking all of their attacks was like a miracle, and any sane person would doubt their eyes. In fact, the men finally showed signs of human emotions, shock.
"….Strong."
"….Mu."
They were unintentional slips of the tongue, but they had quite the confidence in their attack. However, despite being able to break it through, they had no intention of retreating.
Their either had a trump card, or it was for a job reason.
Ainz kept that in mind as he watched their movements.
"….As expected of the Archduke's maid. This woman is strong. Several of you die."
"Understood."
Accepting this, the men drew their blades in unison.
They would receive Solution's knives with their bodies, and the remaining men would attack Ainz. The men moved around to get into position.
The air was extremely tense.
It was so quiet that even the sound of breathing would break it, but Solution asked a question.
"Ainz-sama. Shall I kill all of them? Or shall I just barely kill several of them?"
In contrast to the men who readied themselves to die, Solution's words seemed out of place. It was as if she could easily stop any attacks from the men.
However, this was not an overestimate.
It was a fact.
There was a large gap between human men and the one of the Battlemaids of Nazarick, Solution.
And because they felt that gap, the men did not attack. Or rather, they could not attack.
It was as if they stood before a gigantic wall that not even the determination to die could scale.
"Mu…."
"This is…."
"Tsuu!"
The men's eyes showed signs of panic.
They glared at Solution with narrowed eyes.
"No matter what we do…."
"Even eight of us…. Cannot win."
"We need…. Double"
The men easily imagined Solution intercepting all of their attacks.
This was not a battle to the death, but a fight for them to live.
They were mice in front of a lion.
They could neither run nor attack, and Ainz spoke to the leader.
"Now…. Will you listen to me? I am a magic caster? The more time you give me, the more easily I can kill you you know?"
"…….."
"Or can you not tell me this? ….When was a hit on me put out? You won't say just now right?"
"…….."
"….Solution, any more tails?"
"There…. Still is."
"Haa. Well that's the answer…. Now get lost."
A cold voice rang out. It was Ainz that spoke.
"…….."
"You are sacrificial pawns to test my power. Then it is not beneficial for me to kill you here. You people don't want to die right? Then this is beneficial for both of us."
"….How foolish. Killing us."
With a 'whoosh', the neck of the man who spoke was split in half.
The large amount of spurting blood fell to the stones like rain.
"Ack, ack."
The man applied pressure on his throat, but the blood did not stop. The man's eyes rolled about in his head as they finally rolled back into his eye sockets.
"….W, what?"
"An ambush….?"
None of the men understood what had happened. However, those who saw solution's arms felt their eyes widen. At some point in time, the knife Solution was holding was stained in blood.
It was clear that that knife had slit his throat. However, considering their distance, that knife could not have reached him. It was also impossible for it to have been thrown and reclaimed so quickly.
Then how?
However, if one looked slightly beyond the knife, the reason was apparent.
The men's eyes widened. At this unexpected sight.
Her arm extended. Originally, Solution's arm was thin and slender. It was apparent even above her maid's clothes.
However, the current Solution's arm completely ignored any human limitations of bone and flesh, and changed to a thin and sticky object. It was over two metres in length, and was something completely impossible for humans.
They understood how her arm sliced the throat of the man. That whip-like arm attacked him at speeds that their kinetic vision failed to notice.
The expression of shock remained on their faces as they jumped backwards.
In order to escape her range.
Audible gulped could be heard.
And as if it were a signal, Solution's gummy and malleable arm returned to her human form. However, she did not try to hide her strangeness.
"Describing the extremely wise Ainz as 'foolish'…."
Solution wryly laughed, and her face collapsed into a gel. The eyes that peeked out from beneath their masks were widened in shock. Her previously well-kept face was like a lie as it changed into a slime-like substance.
"….I attacked because I was unhappy but…. I should have embraced him instead. I should have let him feel his skin melt and his flesh burn, right Ainz-sama? In order to let him regret those words."
As the thick smell of blood enveloped the area, Solution's words were extremely out of place.
However, the thought behind those words caused the all men to turn their knives from Ainz, and to Solution. No, in fact— It was about the time that her face changed that they wanted to do so. They had only lost the timing to do so.
"….Oh dear. My maid is dangerous. And more scary than the knives you are holding."
"Haha that is not the case. And rather, Ainz-sama, what shall we do?"
"….Solution, I will clean this up."
"Understood."
Ainz took a step forward, and took out an item he had been preparing since Solution stepped in front of him.
"Look at this."
Ainz raised a giantic gem.
It was so large that it was questionable that it was real.
However, it was not Ainz's goal to simply show them this gem. The men simply need to look his way.
At the same time that he raised this gem, Ainz activated his spell.
His chantless spell enraptured the men's consciousness.
"Now, preparations are complete."
The first thing to do was to identify their true identity.
In fact, he did have some inkling of their identities. However, with the failure from earlier still fresh in his find, he could not bring himself to ask them until now. If he made another mistake he would crawl into a corner.
Ainz made a small cough.
"Now, allow me to ask what you people are."
The men who were compelled through magic, though normally would not talk even through torture, began to speak.
"We are Ijaniya."
"Hou! So you really are Ijaniya!"
"Do you know of them, Ainz-sama?"
"Ah. I heard of them from Fluder. There was an assassin amongst the 13 Heros called Ijaniya. His disciples who learnt his skills became an assassination group. Hiring them takes quite the sum…. But who hired you?"
"We do not know."
"….Why?"
"We simply received the order to kill the Archduke from our superiors."
"Ah, is that so. I see."
It was natural. They were nothing more than the ones who did the dirty work.
Then the possibility that they knew nothing of the information he wanted.
Hmm, Ainz went deep into thought.
He had originally no intention to kill them, but it was now gone.
He had wanted the skills of an assassination group like Ijaniya. To strengthen Nazarick, and from the standpoint of a collector.
However, releasing them unharmed and having his life threatened would not be interesting.
"Anyway I shall release you all. However, I have to punish you for aiming for my life."
Ainz thought of a great idea, and had a large smile plastered on his face.
There were two figures inside a certain alley.
"They were so useless."
One of them, a woman, spoke in a joking manner as she scratched her short blonde hair.
Her face was well-kept, but she had the cuteness of a feline. Like how she would occasionally showed the fierceness of a predator. And the way that her muscles were built around her body, she held the elegance of a feline beast as well.
That cat-like girl wore leather armour, and four stilettos hung from her waist. And apart from that were two morning stars as well.
It would not be wrong to view her as a warrior.
She was a woman who felt confident and comfortable in her own abilities.
Her narrowed eyes flashed a light blue, and it spoke volumes of the state of her heart.
"Don't you think so? They called themselves Ijaniya, and I paid quite the sum."
"…………"
In response to the woman's question, a barely audible growl could be heard.
Next to the woman was an extremely tiny, strange man.
Firstly, the only thing he wore was a cloth wrapped around his waist. However, the strangeness was not limited to his clothes. His flesh and limbs were thin to the point of almost non-existence, similar to how a mummy would look.
His wide open and exposed eye sockets faced the woman, and his toothless gums moved up and down.
Since his voice was extremely small, it was not clear what he said. However, the woman seemed to completely understand what he said, and immediately replied.
"Ah well. They were sacrificial pawns. I wanted to see a portion of the rumoured Archduke's strength."
Physically, it was impossible for the woman to see Ainz's location from where she was. However, she spoke as if she were actually present at the scene.
"…………"
"Yeah, that's true. In the end, which do you think was the one who controlled them?"
The woman was speaking of the gem that Ainz raised.
"The Archduke can use magic. But it might be due to the item."
"…………"
The woman nodded.
"Ah, yes. I agree."
"…………"
"Now, what should we do?"
"…………" The mummy-like man seemed to say something to her, cause her face to harden. She then clicked her tongue. "…………"
"Really? If the Black and Sunlight move, even I would be in trouble…. You are bad with them as well right? Especially with the Black Scripture filled with only Hero-class people."
"…………"
"Eh? Windflower? Aren't they the Scriptures' information jockeys? Then shall I kill them?"
"…………"
The mummy spoke out in a strong manner with a series of sounds that were certainly not words. In response, the woman scratched her head.
"Yes yes. I will kill them. I won't fool around I said. Even I won't play with the Theocracy's special units. It'll be fine, trust me."
"…………"
"Ah yes. After this job is over, let's find the person that the Windflower is looking for, the one that stole the national treasure of that miko. And then that idiot who went missing. Well, I don't care about her but I have to recover those really rare items."
"…………"
The mummy shrugged its shoulders, and the woman brightly laughed.
"Agreed. We don't have enough people. If we need to match the 11 disciples of the Black Scripture, and so we just need to increase it. Our religion is in need of people after all."
"…………"
"Ah, yes." The woman's face broke into a smile. "Since I betrayed them now it's 10. Now now thank you for your hard work."
"…………"
"Yup. Then let's begin. Firstly let's kill them all."
Ainz saw Nimble rushing over, and raised a hand in greeting.
Seeing that, Nimble doubled his pace and quickly reached Ainz.
Nimble was out of breath, and it was clear how much he had ran. Allowing him a moment to catch his breath, Ainz turned his gaze to Narberal.
Even though Narberal was above Level 50, she was of a magic casting class and so her physical ability was not high. Nimble's was probably higher. In addition, since she was not strengthened by magic items, she was also out of breath, and her face was red.
And that Narberal slightly moved her head, not due to her exhaustion. And Ainz grasped the meaning in her action and frantically tried to repress the smile forming on his face.
"Haa, haa, Archduke. Apologies for separating from you."
Nimble did not even wipe the sweat off of his brow as he apologies to Ainz.
"Ah, it is fine. I was able to stroll through the Capital nice and slow."
Having the guide and guard lose their charge was extremely shameful. However, since Ainz's plan involved this step, blaming Nimble would be pitiful.
That was why he quickly changed the subject.
"However…. It seems that it is quite noisy over there, but did something happened?"
Ainz looked in the direction that Nimble ran from. It was quite earlier, but it was currently in a ruckus.
Nimble made a clear disgusted expression. He opened and closed his mouth several times, and he finally steeled himself to speak.
"….It seems that we found a strange group of insane people over there."
Seeing Nimble trying to be indirect, Ainz asked again.
"Insane….? In what way were they insane?"
Not noticing that Ainz was trying to repress a smile, Nimble replied.
"I am not sure about the details, but they were dancing over there naked in a profane manner. And when the knights tried to apprehend them, they avoided their grasp with excellent movements…. They attracted quite the attention…. Just what were they thinking…."
"I see. I see."
It was not clear how Nimble interpreted Ainz's expression, and so he tried to explain himself.
"Please wait, Archduke. Normally such strange things would never happen. Why on this particular day…."
"….No no, it's nothing important. They had simply gotten drunk and danced naked. It happens. When they wake up they will realise what they have done and cry. It is good that they are healthy, but it will be great if they don't catch a cold."
Seeing Ainz smile heartily, Nimble joined him.
■
Returning to the mansion, four Battlemaids and Sebas welcomed them back.
This was the usual procedure. However, if this were the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, there would be flags and ceremonial guards, and the Guardians and subordinates would be participate, and it was extremely extravagant. At worst, Ainz's own voice would be drowned out by the noise.
It was quite lonely, and Ainz wanted something of this level.
Nodding in response to their greetings, Ainz walked to his private room. The two maids who had followed behind him had separated at the entrance hall, and they began their own work.
Matching Ainz's footsteps, Sebas walked next to him.
Ainz felt a sense of incongruence at this. It was not rare for Sebas to follow behind Ainz, in fact it was extremely commonplace. However, he would almost never walk next to him.
"What is it?"
In response to Ainz's question, Sebas immediately replied.
"A guest is here to see you."
Ainz recalled that the carriage had not stopped when they had returned to the mansion.
However, matching such a large mansion, there was a large garage that could fit one or two carriages. The extra carriage was probably hidden there.
Frowning at the fact that he missed this fact, he asked Sebas.
"….What? Who is it? Is it Jircniv?"
"No, not at all. It is an envoy from the Emperor. He has been waiting for four hours."
"….An envoy? Why is he here? And waiting for four hours…. That was about when we left to sightsee? This is bad. I shall meet him immediately."
"Before that, I shall prepare a change of clothes."
"….Yes. Meeting him wearing this would be bad."
If it were an envoy of the Emperor, he would be of suitable status to meet the Archduke. Even Ainz could understand this.
He immediately returned to him room to change, and switched from his illusion to his mask, and walked to the room where the envoy was waiting.
Seeing the envoy rise to greet him, Ainz promptly raised a hand to stop him. He sat down on the opposing sofa and immediately apologised.
"Please allow me to apologies for making an envoy of Jirc…. The Emperor wait this long."
"Not at all, Archduke! There is no need for you to lower your head!"
Stopped from bowing his head by the envoy, Ainz immediately returned to his upright position.
"You have my gratitude. And why did the envoy come all this way?"
"Yes."
The envoy spread open a parchment, and read out its contents.
It was a formal invitation to the palace in three days for award ceremonies and congratulations for winning the war. And for his position as Archduke to be officially recognised.
Even Ainz understood that he was one of the people being awarded in the ceremony. There were several things he was unsure about, but he could probably memorise the etiquette by then.
Ainz then heard the envoy's next words.
"And afterwards, there will be a Ball where the ambassadors of various countries will be attending." (TL Note: Ball is Budoukai in JP)
"……..What?"
In contrast to the frozen Ainz, the envoy made a frightened face. He wondered if he said something strange, or if he said something to upset the Archduke. His expression was filled with unease.
That was why he asked in a panic.
"Is something wrong, Archduke?"
Ainz asked the panicking envoy the burning question.
"Martial…. Arts…. Tournament?" (TL Note: Martial Art Tournament is also Budoukai in JP)
"? Ah, no. Apologies. It is a Ball."
Understanding the confusion, the envoy clarified and properly enunciated his words.
And confirming that he had not misheard, Ainz spat out his next few words.
"……..What…. Did you say?"
************************************************
Ainz "It's a trap." DOYAA!!
Ainz "Indeed it is." DOYAA!!
There is probably no Ore Tueeeeee MC that has mastered dance. Or rather is there even a protagonist who has knowledge on how to participate in social events?
And so the next arc will be [The Ball]. I can finally bring out that character!
Due to the novelisation in June, adding another new chapter will be difficult. July will be tight as well. Please wait patiently for it. So long folks.