The Dark Warrior (5 page)

He began to speak, half resigned. “We’re going to build reputations undercover as famed adventurers in this city. One reason for that is to obtain information that adventurers, i.e., powerful people, have. I want to put a special emphasis on rumors about other
Yggdrasil
players like me. Once we earn a higher ranking plate, we’ll be offered jobs appropriate to that level, and the information we’ll acquire will probably be more accurate and useful. So, for the time being, our top priority is to succeed as adventurers.”

As Narberal acknowledged this, Ainz began to list the pending issues. “But we already have some problems.” He took out his small leather pouch, loosened its mouth, and emptied it into his hand. There were coins, not very many, with not a glimmer of gold to be seen. “For starters, we have no money.”

There were a few reasons he had handed over a potion in the dispute earlier, but one was that he wasn’t confident he could settle things with cash. It would have been too pathetic to have to say he didn’t have any money back there.

Narberal looked at him with a dubious expression, and Ainz added, “Well, I mean, we have money. But most of it is
Yggdrasil
gold. I want to only use that as a last resort.”

“But why? Didn’t you already confirm that
Yggdrasil
coins have monetary value here?”

“That’s true. When I went to Carne, the gold coins… Yeah, they told me one was worth two of their gold coins used for exchanges. But if I use
Yggdrasil
gold in this city, there’s no telling what might happen. If we’re not careful, it could basically be the same as announcing that there’s a
Yggdrasil
player here. I’d like to avoid that while we still don’t know this world very well.”

“Players…beings with the same rank as my lord, but recalcitrant rabble who once raided Nazarick.”

Ainz furrowed his nonexistent brow at her use of “my lord,” but he decided to say nothing for the same reason as earlier. “Yes. We need to be on our guard against them.”

He, Ainz Ooal Gown, had reached the highest level in
Yggdrasil
, 100, but among players, that wasn’t such a rare thing. Indeed, most players had done it. Among them, Ainz knew he was on the higher side of mid-ranking, power-wise. That was because instead of taking only classes suited for an undead caster, he had chosen some for the role-playing element, regardless of power. Taking into account his multiple god-tier items and how many cash shop items he had, he would probably land on the more powerful side of average, but there would always be someone stronger.

That was why he had to avoid being discovered by other players. If he rushed into the wrong battle, there would be any number of opponents he wouldn’t be able to beat.

And players were originally humans, so many of them would probably side with humans. If players like that came up against someone like Albedo, who saw humans as lower life-forms, they might decide the Great Tomb of Nazarick and Ainz Ooal Gown in its entirety were enemies of mankind. That’s why he’d decided it was dangerous to be out and about with her.

But I had no idea Narberal would be the same way…
Ainz wasn’t an enemy of mankind; however, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them if it was necessary to achieve his goals. Still, he wanted to avoid head-on confrontations with players.

“In that sense, it really was a waste.”

“What was?”

“That we lost that Nigun fellow so fast. He probably had a lot of info, but we finished him off on such a simple question.”

Of the members of the Sunlit Scripture he had captured in Carne, only ten were still alive. The others had died during their interrogations and become fodder for Ainz’s undead summons. He recalled the info they’d forced their prisoners to cough up and laughed at himself.

“Most players would probably back the Slane Theocracy, huh?”

The Slane Theocracy was a religious nation that believed in the Six Gods who appeared six hundred years earlier. In the words of the Sunlit Scripture members, it was a country working toward a world where weak humans would prevail over the other more powerful races and prosper. If there were players who had retained their humanity, they might approve of the Slane Theocracy’s teachings.

This world was not one where humans were top of the heap—here, humans were considered one of the inferior races. Yes, they had built grand cities like this one on the plains, but their living on the plains was simply a sign of their weakness.

In fact, the plains was a dangerous place to be. There was nowhere to hide, and it was easy to be spotted by enemies. The reason they had chosen to settle there was that, for a fragile race without eyes to see in the dark, stronger legs, or better stamina, there was nowhere else besides the plains where they could build a habitat for themselves.

There were races more physically able than humans, with superior civilizations, but they hadn’t been able to conquer the continent because when the Eight Kings of Avarice tried to rule it five centuries earlier, the ensuing struggle resulted in diminished racial power. If that hadn’t happened, humans probably would have been wiped out.

Arriving in such a world, one would probably want to side with the humans. That’s precisely why Ainz was keeping his distance from the Slane Theocracy—he was wary of other players.

“Anyhow, as far as money goes, I had you bring those swords the fake knights from the Slane Theocracy had because I figured we could sell them in a pinch, but…I’d like to find some work before it comes to that.”

“Understood. So you’re saying we’ll go to the guild again tomorrow, then?”

“Yes. Really, I’d like to tour the city and gain some knowledge, but that will have to wait until we earn some money.”

“Very good, my lord. I, as a combat maid, shall provide my full support.”

“Great. Thanks, Narberal.”

Satisfied with Narberal’s deep bow, Ainz cast some magic and clad himself in illusion and armor. “I’m going to go have a look at our surroundings. You stand by here.”

“I should go with—”

“No thanks. It’ll just be a quick peek. I heard there is a huge graveyard; I’d like to see that, if possible… And the reason I’m leaving you here is in case any intruders show up. Make sure not to let your guard down for a second. So far, I don’t think we’ve made any slipups, but it’s not an exaggeration to say we’re in enemy territory. Stay alert.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And take care of our periodic check-in.”

Ainz left the room and Narberal heaved a sigh. She then massaged her temples up and down. Her eyes had been sharp, but now they drooped as all the tension went out of her expression. Even her ponytail sagged as though it, too, were out of energy.

But she hadn’t forgotten her supreme master’s orders.

She focused her senses to see if she could perceive what was happening outside the room, but as a caster, it was difficult to mimic a thief’s abilities. She compensated by using a trick of hers.

“Rabbit Ears!” When she cast the spell, a pair of cute rabbit ears sprouted from the top of her head. They began to twitch and pick up sounds in the area.

Rabbit Ears was one of three spells
Yggdrasil
players called “bunny magic.” The other two were Rabbit’s Foot, which upped the caster’s luck, and Bunny Tail, which slightly reduced the amount of enmity they generated. These spells were ridiculously popular because when a female character cast all three, her outfit would change. Narberal didn’t need the other two at the moment, so she didn’t bother.

This was one of the few spells she had learned that wasn’t for combat.

After listening enough to determine the coast was clear, she cast Message.

As if she’d been waiting for the call, a woman’s pretty voice echoed in Narberal’s head almost instantly. “Narberal Gamma. Is something wrong?”

“No, just checking in.”

Narberal was speaking with Albedo, captain of the Great Tomb of Nazarick’s floor guardians. After touching on every detail of their current situation, she said what she knew Albedo would want to hear. “Lord Ainz said there is no one he trusts more than you.”

“Tee-hee!” A strangely excited squeal echoed in Narberal’s head. “Great, great. Good girl, Narberal! Keep on talking me up! That’s an order from the captain of the floor guardians!”

Narberal wondered if that was worth giving an order over, but she realized Albedo was fighting a battle with Shalltear to decide which woman would serve by their lord’s side. When she thought of it that way, an order made perfect sense.

All the while Narberal was coming to understand this, Albedo’s voice kept ringing in her head. “While Shalltear is out, I’ll be gently closing the gap between Lord Ainz and me. He may be an impregnable fortress, but if I strike with wave attacks and establish a bridgehead, he must one day fall! And on that glorious day, Shalltear will cry oh so bitterly!”

Narberal’s brow creased slightly in response to Albedo’s delighted screams. As might be expected, the captain was a bit of a hassle when she got this worked up.

Sounding so cheerful it seemed like she might start skipping, Albedo plotted quietly how she’d have to do this and that, but all at once her voice grew serious. “But why are you helping me? What’s the reason you chose to support me and not Shalltear? Are you trying to get something?”

“It’s simple. If I were asked who was worthy to sit at Lord Ainz’s side, you or Mistress Shalltear, I would answer that you are.”

“Tee-hee! Wonderful! Now, here’s a girl who can see Nazarick’s future—the big picture. Impressive!”

“On top of that, Yuri isn’t very fond of Mistress Shalltear.”

“Ah, Yuri Alpha. I see, interesting. So is it safe to consider the others my allies as well, do you think?”

Narberal pictured deputy leader Yuri Alpha and her other teammates one by one as she answered. “Hmm, I’m not so sure. Lupusregina is more on your side, but Solution probably leans more toward Mistress Shalltear. I don’t know about Entoma or Shizu; they don’t seem particularly attached to either side at the moment.”

“Do you think there’s a way to win Solution over?”

“I imagine it would be difficult. She and Shalltear have some things in common…”

“Oh, right. Their bad taste, huh?” Narberal confirmed, cocking her head in her inability to understand Solution Epsilon’s twisted hobby. Narberal, too, considered all humans save one lower life-forms, but that didn’t mean she wanted to torment them. If they got in her way, she would kill them, and if they made trouble, she would kill them, but that didn’t mean she’d want to go out of her way and take all kinds of time to do it.

“Well, we can’t do anything about that. Very well. Let’s try to get the other girls in my camp, starting with Entoma and Shizu.”

“That sounds good. Solution and Entoma both enjoy eating humans, so it’s possible that if we can get Entoma to ally with you, Solution might follow.”

“Hmm… Got it. Then, to change the subject…will you give me more details about how Lord Ainz, my beloved, is doing?”

“Yes, mistress.”

And so the check-in with Albedo livened up, although there were some brief tiffs such as when Albedo raised a bizarre war cry when she heard that Narberal and Ainz would be sleeping in the same room. Narberal had to cast the same spell four times and Ainz was somewhat disgusted when he returned, but that’s another story.

Feeling the air had taken on a color, Brita sniffed several times like a dog. The faint green component of the smell was probably not her imagination. It was some chemical or mashed plant. That told her she was nearing the block she was aiming for.

Brita followed the road and reached the block where the smell was even stronger. Looking both ways, she stopped before the largest house on it. The other houses in the area were constructed with a store in the front and a workshop in back, while this one was more like workshop, workshop, workshop. Reading the letters on the wooden plate hanging from the door and the sign out front confirmed she was in the right place.

She pushed open the door. The bell attached to the top of it jangled so loudly she jumped. Inside seemed like a sitting room where discussions with customers could take place. Two sofas faced each other in the center of the room, and along the walls were shelves lined with things that appeared to be documents. There was a houseplant in the corner.

The moment Brita stepped inside, a voice called out to her. “Hello there!” A man’s voice. No, it was too young sounding.

When she looked over, there was a boy standing in the back of the room wearing a beat-up work apron, which seemed likely to give off a pungent odor, judging from all the mashed plant material sticking to it. His long blond hair hid half of his face, so she couldn’t tell how old he was, but judging from his height and voice, he was probably in the middle of a growth spurt.

Brita had an idea who he might be. Yes, his grandmother was renowned, but this boy could also be counted among E-Rantel’s celebrities due to his talent.

“…Nfirea Baleare?”

“Yes, that’s me.” He nodded and then asked, “What can I do for you today?”

“Oh, uh, just a moment.”

Brita took out of her pocket the folded paper the innkeeper had given her and handed it to the boy, who had come closer. He opened it and began reading carefully.