Ainz read the last of the documents in the binder he was flipping through,
turned back to the top page, and stamped the corner with his personal seal.
After a moment's hesitation, he followed that with a stamp of approval.
With that, the contents of the binder—a solution to what Ainz considered to
be a political concern of the highest order—were now ready for Albedo to
staff and put into action.
Lumièlle was waiting at his side, and he handed her the binder. This
completed his work for the day.
Ainz looked at the clock.
The hands showed half past ten.
Ainz began work each day at ten exactly. He had been working for only
thirty minutes, but this was typical these days. From the get-go, his duties
usually occupied him only until noon. Now they took even less time.
When he'd been working in the trenches as Satoru Suzuki, he'd never
dreamed of starting work this late in the day—barring outright tardiness.
But that was Satoru's idea of normal. Employees at the megacorps might
well find themselves starting far later in the day. According to Ulbert,
having regulated hours at all was a luxury.
People in this world—villagers like Enri and Nfirea—rose with the sun
and worked until it slipped back under the horizon.
The average city dweller was much the same but rose a little later and
stayed up awhile after dark. Having a source of light made all the
difference. But the nobility, with their many magic lamps, often stayed up
very late—and slept in to compensate.
The ten o'clock start time was hardly the Nazarick standard.
Nazarick was the sweatshop to end all sweatshops.
Take the regular maids; they were split into morning and evening shifts,
working long hours as a matter of course. Cocytus's minions guarding the
ninth floor were much the same. Their downtime was poorly defined, as
there weren't any regular breaks at all. No snack time, no cigarette breaks.
Yet, most of the staff had no complaints about this treatment.
Hoping to cultivate a positive work environment, Ainz had discussed the
matter with the regular maids.
The result had convinced him they were all off their rockers. Or perhaps,
put more diplomatically, they were a very dedicated bunch.
When they mentioned with absolute seriousness that there were items
preventing fatigue that would let them work indefinitely, Ainz had felt a
chill run down his spine. When asked if they had any complaints, the few
who did…asked to be allowed to work more.
Since then, he'd enacted some reforms.
Maybe he was simply forcing his values on everyone, but he felt dutybound to take employee welfare seriously. And his reforms started with the
regular maids.
They were extremely low-level to begin with. It helped that they all
looked like beautiful young women. He didn't wish to show favoritism but
couldn't help being softer on them than, say, Cocytus.
If Ainz gave an order, almost everyone in Nazarick would obey it. But
careless commands could dampen their motivation.
So he had to sell them on it.
This was his pitch:
Someday, the regular maids might find themselves in charge of human
workers. And basing their orders on their own routines could result in their
overworking those humans, which was bad.
They had reluctantly agreed to reduce their working hours and increase
their free time.
Before, they had been given a single day off after forty-one days of
labor. He'd doubled that!
They now had two days off.
Ainz felt like this was not a significant change, but changing too much
too quickly would be pushing his luck. He'd taken the hint and been forced
to compromise here.
His goal was a full-fledged vacation system—paid time off, summer
breaks, holidays—the works. He was a long way from making it happen.
Why was he pushing to implement these reforms despite NPC
opposition? Satoru Suzuki had never once received such benefits, and
perhaps he'd always had a yearning for them.
Currently, he was trying a different tactic.
Ainz himself was not working much. He had hoped that seeing
Nazarick's head honcho slacking off would cause a sea change in the
mindset of those beneath him—convince them they were allowed to work
less.
Naturally, half his motivation stemmed from his conviction that the
more active a role a man of his mediocre talents played, the worse things
would go for Nazarick.
But this tactic seemed doomed to failure.
Nazarick's denizens had changed their mindset. They believed it was
only natural for Ainz to do nothing, and they should work extra hard
instead.
Ainz had never done much beyond rubber-stamping things, and now he
had even less to stamp. That was probably a net win. He was not a gifted
man, and piling work on his plate would do Nazarick no good at all. But he
felt bad for whoever was picking up his slack.
Sigh…
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two maids watching him
intently. Their gazes were a force to be reckoned with. One was on Ainz
duty, while the other was assigned to this room. If he made the mistake of
meeting their eyes, they would immediately ask what he wished done, so he
had learned to avoid that.
They don't need to be that serious. I'd much rather they relax. They're so
tense, it's turning my stomach.
When was the last time he'd seen a maid smile? Ainz wondered. With
another internal sigh, he spoke to the maid at his side.
"Lumièlle."
"Yes, Lord Ainz?"
"Just to be sure, that is the end of my work today?"
"Yes, Lord Ainz. That will be all."
She was on Ainz duty for the day, and in Albedo's absence, the regular
maids now performed secretarial duties for him.
There were no audiences or negotiations on today's docket.
But there was always the possibility something might crop up. He could
never really relax. When Entoma was forced to Message him about an
unexpected turn, it was always a headache and left him nursing an upset
stomach.
"Ah…"
Ainz's gaze shifted to the other desk in the room.
Albedo had been very insistent that it had to be in here, but she was
currently away.
Most of the time, she worked with him, but only a few days had passed
since they had toppled the Re-Estize Kingdom capital, and she had her
hands full, running all over Nazarick or overseeing operations out in the
field. He hadn't seen much of her.
He'd asked the maids how she was faring and heard that she was pretty
strung out. Because she had too much work or because she hadn't seen
him?
If it's the latter, I'll have to make time for her.
If that was all it took to improve her mood, he was happy to oblige.
"..."
No one here spoke unless he did, so the room was extremely quiet.
Deep down, Ainz would prefer to work somewhere filled with idle
chatter, but the last few years had made it clear he could never expect that
from them.
It was very isolating.
Am I going to spend the rest of my life being waited upon? I suppose
that comes with the territory. But I will have to make a few improvements.
Ordinarily, Ainz had plenty with which to fill his free time.
Horse-riding practice.
Pretending to read academic books while actually reading business
manuals. Or books on politics. He didn't really retain much, likely because
he was mostly skimming them. Hopefully not because his skull was literally
hollow.
Performing magic experiments.
Lately, he'd added doing weapons practice with Cocytus or training with
Pandora's Actor to the menu.
"Okay…," he said, as if talking to himself. This was intentional.
He'd waited long enough.
He had a plan to help Aura and Mare make friends. This would require
some prep work.
What kind of friends would they make? Other dark elves seemed the
most likely; barring that, some other variety of elf. Even with the changes
he was hoping to bring to the world, having their first friends be lizardmen
or goblins seemed like a big ask.
Best to start closer to home.
His gaze turned to Lumièlle.
"I'm headed to the sixth floor. Accompany me."
"As you wish, sir."
She would come with him whether he said to or not, but it seemed better
to be specific.
Ainz used the power of his ring to transport them both to the sixth floor.
One word from him and Lumièlle would bring anyone he wished to see
to his office, and as Nazarick's supreme commander, perhaps summoning
those he wished to meet was the proper way to do things. He had chosen
not to do so in the hopes of handling things peacefully. If there was a
possibility of tension, it was best he go in person and demonstrate sincerity.
A summons was inherently discourteous. A personal visit projected
camaraderie and showed how much he valued them. And having the boss
on your home turf turned up the heat, which made it a little easier to
conduct his business.
He was here to meet three elves. They'd been taken prisoner when the
adventurers who'd been lured into Nazarick itself had been wiped out.
Perhaps I should have pried more information out of them when they
were first placed here, but…that didn't seem very possible back then.
A few years had passed. At the time, he'd heard the bare minimum—no
personal information about the elves themselves or their homes. Ainz had
been attempting to act the part of a friendly undead who'd freed the elves
from the horrors of slavery. Had he attempted to wring details about elves
as a species and where they'd come from, they would never have believed
he was saving them out of goodwill.
But would they react the same way now? Probably not.
The Great Tomb of Nazarick was no longer a monolith.
Nazarick—and the Ainz Ooal Gown Nation of Darkness—had brought
in all manner of other species, so it made perfect sense that they'd been
looking to open diplomatic channels with the elves' homeland and looking
for information on the subject.
Now, I can make all sorts of excuses. The twins aren't being rough with
them or anything…so hopefully they'll open up to me. Well…let's not expect
the world. If I'd thought of this back in the day, perhaps I could have given
better instructions…
He shook off the thought. He didn't want Aura and Mare pretending to
be nice to these elves just because he'd ordered it. Yet, he would never
hesitate to order Demiurge or Albedo to do the same thing…
Like when he'd compared the maids to Cocytus, his judgment was
swayed by appearances. He knew that was wrong but could not free his
mind from those biases. At his core, he was just an ordinary man, after all.
With Lumièlle on his heel, Ainz headed down the darkened passage. A
heavy portcullis stood at the end. Shafts of sunlight streamed through the
bars.
Beyond lay the sixth floor's arena.
He could use a ring to move himself near the twins' domicile but had
avoided doing so because—
The portcullis shot upward like it was fully automated, giving him déjà
vu. He'd come here on his first day in this world and been greeted by this
same tiny figure.
"Lord Ainz, an honor to have you!" a girl's bright, cheery voice said.
"Mm. Aura, I had some business here—and could use your help."
It seemed Aura was on guard duty today. A stroke of luck.
As the Nation of Darkness expanded, each floor guardian had a lot on
their plate. They were spending more time outside of Nazarick. But Albedo,
Demiurge, Mare, Aura, Cocytus, and Shalltear were careful to ensure that
two or three of them were always within the tomb itself.
Albedo, Cocytus, and Shalltear spent the most time here, but Cocytus
had the lizardman village to check on, and Shalltear was in charge of the
dragon messengers.
And when they were away, someone else would stay.
Ainz had never demanded they observe this informal policy.
Once, he had placed Cocytus in charge of Nazarick security, with
Shalltear serving as his backup. But the scale of their holdings had changed
a lot since then. Personally, he felt they needed only one floor guardian
staying behind and was totally fine with having everyone else out and
about.
But he was reluctant to actually voice that thought.
The guardians were acting of their own volition, and he was afraid that
if he said anything, they'd take it as gospel and overrule their own opinions.
He wanted to respect their autonomy.
Albedo and Demiurge were far smarter than Ainz would ever be, and
they'd signed off on it, so his opinions were moot. Conclusions reached by
his guardians would likely be far superior to whatever his inferior mind spat
out.
"At your service, Lord Ainz! What brings you here today?"
"Mm."
She was all smiles, but his grunt was rather somber. There was no real
meaning behind that gesture of gravitas. He could simply have done his
usual authoritative grunt. But he had qualms about the potential for success
in his endeavor, and those worries weighed upon him heavily.
The effect was immediate. Aura's smile vanished.
Uh-oh. She had definitely read too much into that.
"F—" He almost swore. But that would just make her wonder why he
was upset, and if she pried into it, his entire charade would crumble. He
knew he would bumble it. "First, I'd like to meet those elves."
"…To clarify, by elves you mean the captive ones?"
Ugh, sorry, my scramble to clean up my mess left you guessing. Please
stop looking so concerned. Go back to the smile!
"…Exactly. I'd like to check on their current situation and ask them a
few things before deciding on my next course of action."
"Certainly! I'll bring them right here."
He'd seen that coming. Every Nazarick denizen would react exactly like
Aura just had. Ainz had the next part of the rationale ready…or perhaps it
was more of a rationalization.
"Th-that won't be necessary. I have two goals here."
"…Two? Your great mind considers so many possibilities, even when
you're just meeting with captives!"
Her eyes gleamed, impressed. He had just come prepared with certain
narrative devices for the twins' benefit, but unable to admit that openly, he
settled for not quite meeting her eye.
"First, if I go myself, that will pressure them to a certain degree. The
second is not directly related to the elves themselves, but since we placed
the Tove Woodlands under our control, quite a few outsiders have begun
living on this floor. I was curious how they were getting on and figured I
should have a look myself. What do you say, Aura? Do you mind showing
me to the area that has undergone the most dramatic change?"
Ainz was basically letting each guardian handle their floor without much
direct input from him. That meant he had yet to see any of these changes for
himself. That was a matter of trust. If his subordinates were doing their jobs
well, then his suggestions would simply be a distraction.
But he was here anyway, so he'd thought it would be fun to have a look.
He wasn't sure how Aura interpreted this—but it sure altered her demeanor.
She was positively crackling.
"Absolutely. When you said first, I knew there must be more!" Aura
said, nodding emphatically. "And, Lord Ainz, I would never mind taking
your requests. You are the supreme ruler of Nazarick, and no matter where
you go, everyone you'll find is working for your pleasure!"
"Oh… Mm, well, I'm glad to hear it!"
"I'm grateful for your kind words. Hmm, I'd probably say the flower
field has changed the most, so I'll take you there!"
"The flower field…" Ainz ransacked his memory. "We moved some
plant-type monsters there, yes?"
"That's correct. We have a fenced-off area where we transplanted nonsentient plant monsters and an area where the sentient ones dwell. Some of
those have occupied that village we made a while back and are living a lot
like humans do. Would you like to see that?"
The village had been built with an eye for having humans live within the
walls of Nazarick. If they ever ran across another player, he could insist
they had plans afoot for peaceful coexistence even within the tomb. It was
basically just a collection of small houses with fields around them—hardly
large enough to call a village. But the name had stuck for lack of a better
alternative.
"You remember the dryad Pinison?"
"…Yes, naturally."
This was mostly a lie. He couldn't recollect her face at all, more of a
general shape. But he remembered encountering someone like that—or
rather, he had clear memories of the battle that followed, and his vague
impression of the dryad was simply part of that package. Ainz had never
been good at remembering names and faces. He'd been the type who
scribbled notes on the back of business cards, recording the impressions
they'd made on him.
"She's basically the village's mayor."
It sounded like plant monsters were pretty free-spirited, so Pinison was
mostly just calling herself mayor. But she had been the first to reach
Nazarick and had helped mediate disputes between later arrivals, so she had
a fairly good reputation. At the least, she was functioning as the
representative for all the plant monsters from outside Nazarick.
Some of the other plants were stronger than Pinison, so she didn't
always get her way, but the twins were backing her, so there had yet to be
any significant problems.
Upon arrival in Nazarick, the plant monsters had been welcomed by
Aura and Mare—or rather, been shown a demonstration of their combat
skills and how all the other monsters obeyed them. Keenly aware that they
stood no chance, most monsters were disinclined to argue with the twins'
orders.
A lot of monsters had seen Mare give commands to a woodland dragon
(a cash store monster) and began wondering if he was actually a god. This
had only gotten worse when they saw him make it rain and increase the
soil's fertility to a genuinely alarming degree.
"I don't think every monster's started worshipping him. Some of them
are perfectly aware it's druid magic. I think a lot of them just admire him."
Aura stopped to think about that one.
Ainz felt like he understood. It was how he and his friends used to see
someone kitted out in amazing gear and started calling them a god among
players. Maybe mixed with a bit of idol fandom.
"I believe I understand. As long as they're obeying your orders, I see no
problem. No matter the means or the motives involved. Mm, yes. What I
said."
Ainz was already regretting this. That was not how he should have
described their work.
Instead of blithering a bunch of nonsense, he should have stuck to
simple praise. Well done! would have sufficed.
He glanced at Aura's expression, and she appeared unperturbed, but that
could just be a poker face.
I don't want to go around making demotivational speeches! All the
business books agree that's counterproductive!
He would have to be more careful with his words. His manner of
speaking and tone of voice could also use a lot more work.
"Ahem. I'll have to look at the village some other day. For now, let's
stick with the flower field. My apologies, Aura."
Aura hastily waved both hands.
"N-not at all! Like I said, all of Nazarick is at your disposal, Lord Ainz.
We'll go wherever you like. It was presumptuous of me to suggest anything
at all!"
"N-no…"
Why is she apologizing? Wait, she's been acting out of character since I
arrived. Did my awkward fumble earlier provoke some odd
misunderstanding? Does she think I'm plotting something?
While his mind scrambled, Aura kept talking.
"If you want to go somewhere, Lord Ainz, then everywhere in Nazarick
—nay, the world—is open to you."
Ainz was pretty sure the world had plenty of places that he would be
well advised to avoid. Any number of places where only women were
allowed, for example. But if he said that here, Aura would likely insist she
didn't mind. That would be supremely awkward—for Ainz, at least—so he
opted to say nothing at all.
He glanced at Lumièlle and found her nodding in complete agreement.
Pressing the point didn't seem worth it.
Careful not to let his feelings show, he turned to Aura.
"Then lead the way," he said.
"Yes, sir! Happy to oblige!" She thumped her chest. "How should we
travel? Shall I summon a ride?"
"Yes, that sounds good."
"Coming right up!"
Aura turned her head, staring into the distance. Her brow furrowed,
focusing. This lasted only a few seconds.
"There are other creatures closer to us, but I decided to call Fen and
Quadracile instead. Will that work?"
"No need to ask my opinion on everything. If you deem it best, I will not
argue."
"Thank you. It will be a brief wait."
"Understood."
Ainz let his eyes wander around the arena.
If you wanted to enjoy a stroll in Nazarick—or take a break from what
the ninth and tenth floors had to offer—the fifth and sixth floors were just
the ticket. If you were lucky, you might catch the glow of the aurora on the
fifth floor, but that was a rare sight indeed. The odds of encountering it had
been set incredibly low. In that sense, you were more likely to have a good
time wandering about here on the sixth. As he was about to.
Ainz smiled, feeling the knot in his stomach ease.
With a quick by-your-leave, Aura stepped away from her master and
Lumièlle, taking out her necklace.
The twins' necklaces were a legacy item that let them contact each other.
They weren't particularly powerful, but they kept them equipped at all
times for the simple reason that the function would not work until they'd
been worn for two days straight. Normally, items with downsides like that
made up for it in strength, but these necklaces were exceptions. And to
make it work, the one activating the ability—the one calling—had to clutch
the necklace in their hand, so it was hard to use during any serious combat.
There were no other use limits. They could call each other whenever
they needed.
That was the nature of the necklaces—opinions would be divided on
whether they were any good at all, and certainly on whether they were
worth using a precious item slot on.
"Mare, Lord Ainz has graced us with a visit."
A moment later, Mare's voice echoed in her head.
"Er, he has? Lord Ainz, in person? Here? What for?!"
"Isn't it obvious? An inspection."
"Augh!"
"I think he's making sure the domain guardians and the two of us are
looking after this floor properly. This time he's just going to look over the
new flower field, but best we double-check none of the domain guardians
are slacking off."
"This floor does have the most outsiders on it. Is that why? Or is it just
our turn?"
"I think that's the reason, yes." She had already connected the dots.
Naturally, it was pure speculation, but it felt right to her. "Lord Ainz said he
had two goals, but this is Lord Ainz. It can't be just two. So maybe his third
goal was to make sure we're giving it our all."
"Oh…with all our new outside work, he wants to make sure we aren't
neglecting our most important core duties?"
Aura had some idea why that might be needed.
Once, Albedo and Demiurge had divided everything between
themselves, leaving the other guardians—especially Shalltear and Cocytus
—to stare in envy. Now everyone had more work taking them out of
Nazarick. When they'd crushed the kingdom, their respective might had
given them the opportunity to prove their loyalty. And their master might
suspect these changes had everyone a little giddy.
No matter what else lay on their plates, they were Nazarick guardians.
Defending and managing their assigned floor was an ever-present duty. He
must want to remind them not to let all their new assignments distract from
that.
But forcing their master to express concern about their work
performance was a dereliction of duty. If the other guardians—especially
their captain, Albedo—learned of this, they would be in for a furious
scolding. Refusing to spell it out was their master's way of showing
kindness.
"Maybe the goal is to have us spread word of his inspection, so
everyone figures out on their own that they should tighten the reins."
"Sounds right. That would be a fourth goal! I bet there's even more."
Aura didn't know what else there could be. Mare was equally stumped.
Maybe Demiurge and Albedo would get it, but the thought of having to ask
them was humiliating.
"Anyway, get ready!"
"Um, for what?"
"Oh, sorry! I forgot to tell you. I mentioned two goals, right? The first is
the observation, but the second goal is to meet those elves we gave that
empty room to."
"Oh, them. They won't shut up about the whole royalty thing. Is Lord
Ainz gonna take them away?"
Mare sounded pretty frustrated.
He loved lying around in bed, but those elves seemed to think he needed
looking after and fussed over him a lot more than they did Aura. They'd
hang his bedding out to air or put clothes on him, sometimes even bathe
him. Mare found this all more than a bit unnecessary, but they were here by
his master's orders, so he couldn't refuse their "help."
"Oh, Fen's almost here. Not sure how long it'll take us, Mare, but be
ready."
"Mm. Got it."
Aura ended the call and went back to her master.
The flower field on Nazarick's sixth layer had blooms of all colors.
Theoretical invaders would have to survive pure hell to get this far and
would likely assume this area must have monsters in disguise or fatal traps
lurking within. They would be wrong, of course.
It merely looked ominous. In fact, nothing here was for invaders at all.
The world of Yggdrasil did have plant monsters that could disguise
themselves as flowers, and plenty of bug monsters besides. They just hadn't
been placed here. There was generally a domain guardian stationed
anywhere noteworthy—but again, not here.
Arguably, it was under Aura's and Mare's direct purview, but it was just
pretty flowers.
There had been plans to add traps.
No one capable of reaching the sixth floor would ever believe these
were simply regular flowers. They'd be too suspicious to go near or try and
get the drop on lurking threats by setting the field on fire. The idea had been
to counter that with flowers that released a virulent poison or paralytic
when burned. But the three female guild members had violently objected to
this, and they'd gone back to the drawing board. The result—a field of
completely normal flowers.
That was the flower field Ainz knew. A far cry from what he found
today.
Giant blossoms sat in the center of the field, each large enough for a
human to fit inside. Twelve in all. Obviously unsafe—or outright
threatening.
Ainz searched his memory.
This world had many monsters Ainz was unfamiliar with, but he'd seen
a monster like this in Yggdrasil.
"Are those an alraune?"
"Yes! They are!"
There had been none within Nazarick, and no one had summoned any
since their arrival here. This was an exterior species—creatures brought
here from the Tove Woodlands.
There was a conspicuous shovel stuck in the ground near the field's
center.
A god item, the Earth Recoverer.
As a god-tier weapon, it had obscene amounts of durability, but its
actual attack power was horrifyingly low because the bulk of its data had
been dedicated to its support power.
Nearby was a creature resembling a giant Angora rabbit—a spearneedle.
It was sitting in the middle of the field, munching away at a gigantic carrot.
What an idyllic sight. Downright bucolic. But that was likely not the
creature's purpose here.
He'd have to ask Aura to be sure, but he felt confident it was on watch
duty.
The spearneedle's level was in the upper 60s. It could easily wipe out
the alraune if they tried anything.
"The carrot it's nibbling on was grown in our fields. Pinison and the
other plant monsters combined their abilities, giving it tons of nutrients, and
were able to alter ordinary carrots to that size."
"So it's been engineered to be that size and didn't grow that big
naturally? Is it safe to eat? Then again, considering this spearneedle's level,
I'm sure no ordinary poison would do much."
"It's not poisonous at all! We checked with the head chef, and it meets
his standards for consumption. The downside is that eating it doesn't
provide any buffs like the food we had in Nazarick to begin with. It's just
bigger and sweeter."
"But from a logistics standpoint, that sounds like a success. Can these be
grown in ordinary farms in our territory?"
"Nope. Even with the help of the plant monsters, we're still not capable
of growing them in large numbers. Even with Earth Recoverer's power, a
single carrot absorbs a ton of nutrients from the soil. Not enough to cause
desertification, but if you don't use magic to restore the earth, you'd have to
leave the field fallow for a year."
As they looked over the field, one of the blossoms—the largest—began
to unfurl.
"The alraune lord. In charge of the fourteen alraune here," Aura
whispered. Clearly indicating the unfurling flower.
"Fourteen?" Ainz asked, counting again. "Not twelve?"
"The other two are newborns and are hidden beneath the flowers.
Should I pull them up for you?"
"…No, that won't be necessary."
If they were born within Nazarick, did they count as Nazarick denizens
or not? What were their abilities? Many questions sprang to mind, but
before he could throw any of them at Aura, the alraune finished blooming.
Within was a female form, exactly what he'd expected—her appearance
the spitting image of the alraune he'd fought in Yggdrasil. This one was
apparently a lord, but size aside, there was no other visible difference.
Her hair and eyes matched the petals around her, while her body was the
same green as her stem. She wore no clothes, but her body was formed
from thin, coiled tendrils, so the overall impression was rather unsettling.
The eyes turned up at the outside, which did not make her look friendly
—if anything, she seemed openly irate.
Ainz felt a wave of nostalgia. There was a certain girl in the Sacred
Kingdom who had a similar intimidating glare.
He'd never been great at remembering faces, but her eyes had really
stuck with him.
This monster's face twisted ominously.
"Good morning, Lady Aura. We bathe in glorious light once again, and I
speak for all that is green when I offer my gratitude."
She spoke with a voice like a bell, and there was no trace of hostility in
it. Her tone sounded quite reverent, in fact. Apparently, that sinister smile
was supposed to be a welcoming one. Ainz still wasn't fully convinced
those twisted lips were anything but wicked.
The remaining blooms stirred but did not unfurl. Their eyes peeked from
among the petals, stealing glances at the visitors.
Unsure what they intended by this behavior, Ainz couldn't exactly call it
rude. It was possible that in alraune culture, this was a sign of the highest
respect.
"Is this…?" The lord glanced at Ainz.
"You stand before the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the one who
conquered your forest and the regions around it, the king of kings who
reigns over all races in the Nation of Darkness. The absolute authority, His
Majesty, the King of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown!"
As Aura started boasting, the lord's smile grew all the more malicious.
The other alraune fluttered their petals, hiding their faces from view.
Caution? Fear? Or merely genuflection?
Ainz gleaned nothing from their expressions, but he felt it was most
likely the second.
"A-a pleasure to make your acquaintance, ruler of this land, king of the
Nation of Darkness, and, above all, master to Lady Aura and Lord Mare,
Your Majesty, the King of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown." She spread her
arms outward, presumably in a gesture of respect. "My name is Murasaki,
and I am at your disposal."
Her name literally meant purple. Maybe because that was the color of
her hair? Ainz had no idea.
What an uncreative, lazy way to name something. Of course, he
obviously couldn't say that aloud. There were few things more insulting
than scoffing at a name bequeathed by one's parents. Or at least, that's
where he assumed it came from.
"Mm, I shall remember it. That said, I have left this floor in the charge
of Aura and Mare. It is unlikely I shall ever offer direct orders here. You
may continue to act as they have instructed."
He had no clue how the twins were handling these alraune, so he kept
things unspecific. It was a real headache if the CEO said anything that
contradicted the departmental manager's instructions. He'd experienced that
firsthand.
He had no idea what function these creatures fulfilled or how they were
being treated, so there was nothing he could safely say.
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
Ainz was impressed. Despite her forest upbring, Murasaki had
impeccable manners. Where and when had she acquired this knowledge?
Had the twins coached her, or…?
Perhaps she's simply saying something more alraune-like, in the general
ballpark. For all I know, she might have said, Ainz, your bud is so big!
It was a relief that they could understand each other, but he couldn't
shake the apprehension that this could create problems without anyone ever
noticing until it was too late. Not that he would object even if she had called
him a big bud.
Ainz glanced around the flower field.
The alraune obscured the view a bit, which was a shame, but otherwise
it was exactly as he remembered it.
Ainz smiled faintly—naturally, his actual face of bone didn't move an
inch—then swished his robes as majestically as he could before turning on
his heel to rejoin the giant wolf and itzamna and Lumièlle.
Aura was immediately at his side.
"You're done here?" she asked. "Don't want to give the other alraune an
audience?"
"I don't see the need. I've accomplished what I came to do. Take me to
the elves next."
"Very well!" Aura said. They hopped on Fenrir and rode off across the
sixth floor.
Soon, they neared their destination. Looking up through the branches, he
could see the somewhat oddly shaped tree that Aura and Mare called home.
A few moments later, they left the woods behind, emerging onto a
grassy knoll. At the center of this clearing was a stout tree, wider than it
was tall, its close-knit branches casting a large shadow across the ground.
There was a gaping hollow in the tree's trunk, and before it stood Mare,
with three elves in attendance. They had come out to greet Ainz upon his
arrival.
He wasn't sure when Aura had sent word to Mare, but if it had been
right after his arrival on the floor, they must have been waiting awhile.
He'd made no specific appointment, and there was no need to feel guilty
about this, logically speaking.
At the same time…
If he was a branch manager and got word that the company's president
had arrived at the nearest station, he would have immediately gone to stand
out front. Failing to be there to greet a superior was out of the question. He
knew that yet had failed to be more specific with his schedule, meaning this
was on him.
This eventuality had not crossed his mind until he had arrived, so a part
of him wanted to let it pass without comment. But was that appropriate?
Regardless of how long he'd actually kept them standing here, saying
something thoughtless, like Oh, you shouldn't have waited up, would only
be demeaning and emphasize their position in the hierarchy.
Mare was dressed in his usual gear, and the elves wore drab fatigues.
Some humans might've found that alluring in its own way. Ainz thought the
choice of clothing was a bit…off…but if the twins wanted it this way, he
wasn't going to argue.
More importantly…
If they were dressed as maids, Lumièlle wouldn't be the only one
objecting.
The regular maids seemed to take great pride in personally serving Ainz.
If he brought in outsiders as potential new additions to the staff, perhaps
they wouldn't be overtly mean. At the same time, Sebas had mentioned they
might engage in some passive-aggressive pettiness. Purposely neglecting to
teach the new hires how to complete a certain task, for instance.
If these elves waited on only Aura and Mare as maids, then it might
ruffle fewer feathers, but that wasn't guaranteed. Just seeing them dressed
in the same uniform might be provocative. The maids considered those
clothes their battle gear.
With that thought, he realized Fenrir had reached the waiting party.
"I appreciate your coming out to greet me," Ainz said, making the first
move while still mounted. "I am thoroughly pleased with the depth of your
loyalty."
He had considered waiting until after Mare greeted him, but thanking
him first was important to impart the impression that he was nice.
"Th-thank you," Mare said, smiling and bowing. The elves followed
suit, lowering their heads.
Good.
Ainz thought this interaction had gotten off on the right foot and pumped
a fist inside his mind.
When the elves raised their heads, he looked them over.
Their faces—and bodies—were very stiff. When they sensed his gaze on
them, they gulped.
Anyone could tell they were anxious. The question was whether that
sprang from fear or something else. In other words, was it fear that a single
false move would end their lives, or was it more like the tension that
typically came with meeting someone famous?
Just in case, Ainz doubled-checked to ensure he had no auras active. He
felt no hostility or animosity toward these elves, so that couldn't be the
source of their fear.
This could be tricky. I thought I was getting better at it, too…
When beings as powerful as Ainz experienced strong emotions,
everyone nearby could sense it, often striking fear into their hearts. This
could betray what he was thinking, so when training with Cocytus, he'd
received some pointers on controlling it.
Personally, Ainz was not great at sensing hostility from others. Cocytus
had been extremely reluctant, but at Ainz's insistence, the guardian had
directed those emotions at his master. There was a sort of…pressure, but
Ainz couldn't really discern from that whether someone wanted to kill him
or not.
Perhaps the undead simply weren't sensitive to these things. As a
general rule, they negated psychic effects entirely. He felt it was reasonable
to argue that sensing enmity was a form of psychic feedback, after all.
But Shalltear seemed to have no trouble detecting it, and Cocytus had
said that improving your skills as a warrior would help it become second
nature. Perhaps he would get better over time. A worthy goal if nothing
else. And Ainz couldn't rule out the possibility that he was just inherently
oblivious.
Whoops, my mind's wandering.
He refocused just as Mare spoke up.
"Er, um, so, ahem. L-Lord Ainz, you said you w-wished to speak to
these elves. May I ask what about?"
Mare was being extra timid today and had clearly spoken to Aura ahead
of time. He could cut to the chase.
Ainz looked from Mare to the elves, consciously turning his head. Their
eyes darted to the ground, fleeing his gaze. They were visibly shaking.
That was definitely not just tense.
This must stem from emotional fear. I have child dark elves like Aura
and Mare in my employ, and they still don't trust me? They already know
living creatures have sworn fealty and live here in peace. Honestly, why
haven't they figured out that I'm not like the bog-standard undead by
now…? I suppose I can't help the way I look. Perhaps their minds
understand but their hearts won't listen.
In this world, all undead loathed the living. They were the mortal enemy
of all who lived. Coming face-to-face with a being like that would put most
people on edge. Terrify them, even.
Perhaps if he'd placed them under Shalltear and they had more
experience with the undead residents of Nazarick, they'd have gotten more
used to the general concept and handled this better, but there weren't many
undead on the sixth floor. There had been no natural opportunity.
Seeing something with your own eyes is better than hearing about it
from a hundred others.
This had been true in Yggdrasil as well.
Game-play techniques, acquired skills—simply demonstrating them was
far more useful than issuing verbal instructions. Ainz would always follow
up by practicing a hundred—if not thousands of—times, committing ideas
to heart and making them his own.
"Yes, that is true, Mare. I have one…yes, a simple topic to discuss with
them."
The elves' breathing grew shallow. Rapid.
He longed to tell them there was no need for fear, but cheerily going,
Aw, don't be so scared ♪, was out of the question. He couldn't drop the act.
He had to be Ainz Ooal Gown, ruler of Nazarick, at all times. He'd have to
find some other way to settle them down.
"But do not worry. I am not here to harm you in any way."
He came very close to asking them to relax but then figured he'd never
buy that line from anyone he feared. He was better off leaving it unsaid. If
the boss urged someone to speak freely, could anyone actually forget who
they were speaking to?
Sigh. What a hassle.
He knew it was a bad idea, but using Dominate to control their mental
states would make this easier. Certainly easier than trying to make them feel
safe with words alone.
But if he did use a spell like that, once it was over, they'd remember
what he'd said and what they'd done. And most people in this world viewed
mind-control spells as intrinsically barbaric.
He wasn't sure if elves were among them, but he doubted they
considered it a good thing. In fact, if someone did the same to anyone in
Nazarick, Ainz would immediately begin looking for an opening to deliver
the culprit a fatal blow.
Naturally, if they had a need for information, he would not hesitate to
resort to those measures. He had no qualms about using Control Amnesia
right after, either.
But there was no need to go that far here. They had done nothing wrong,
and he had no reason to believe they were hiding information. Most of all…
This isn't like the Zen…bel (?) situation. Using spells to get information
where a conversation would suffice is like scolding Aura and Mare for
failing to get the intel I need. I wouldn't blame them for interpreting that as
my doubting their skills.
The twins—no, everyone belonging to the Great Tomb of Nazarick—
believed Ainz could do no wrong. In all honesty, it was an alarming
proposition, but he had to act in accordance with their unswerving faith.
And that meant he should do his absolute best to avoid coming across as
doubting their ability to fulfill their duties. No telling how they'd react, and
he would never think anything of the sort in the first place.
Besides, if he wanted to use mind-control spells, they could have done
that ages ago.
He'd decided not to when these elves were first captured because he
wished to seem friendly and welcoming—to maintain the fiction that he'd
saved them from their suffering. That had been an investment in the future,
and throwing that away for a magical shortcut seemed rash.
"Mm, well, speaking here won't do. Let's move."
He didn't think he could convince them with words alone, so he'd have
to try something else. Location was a good start.
"Then come on upstairs!"
"Y-yes, please do!"
"Ah…"
Ainz glanced up at the tree above.
Would this work as a setting for their conversation?
In a sense, this was their home turf. That might make it easier to talk to
them. But who would prepare the drinks? Aura or Mare? No, he had
Lumièlle with him; she could handle it.
Not a bad idea. Will this conversation be a relaxed one or fraught with
tension? Will they be volunteering information in a friendly manner or
relinquishing it under duress? Hmm, I don't have time. I swear, I used to get
my presentation notes in order first, predicting how they'd respond, what
questions they'd ask. That's exactly what I did with the dwarves and the
Sacred Kingdom. Am I getting sloppy?
He'd been offered an invitation. He had to respond as soon as possible.
But moments like these always sent his thoughts spiraling away.
…You know, I don't think I've ever seen the regular maids offer drinks of
their own accord. Or, no…maybe one time…I think?
It wasn't that they couldn't. Ainz had ordered it once, and they'd offered
up a broad selection of refreshments, soda included. They must be kept on
hand somewhere within Ainz's room. The regular maids were constantly
striving to be the best attendants they could be. He couldn't imagine they'd
ever be discourteous or let anything slip their minds.
So perhaps they believed that since their ruler could not drink anything,
no one else should, either. The same way it was tough for anyone else to
order booze if the boss wasn't drinking.
He felt the correct response would be to prepare a drink for Ainz—
whether he could drink or not—and then offer drinks to the guests.
I feel bad for everyone who's visited me.
When he got back, he'd have to consult Pestonia on the matter. Then he
realized this was unrelated to the issue at hand and hastily course-corrected.
Wait, wait, what the hell am I thinking?! I need to focus on where we'll
drink. If I waste any more time, they'll think I don't want to come in! That
would be awful. But…!
At a loss, he glanced around.
"Oh!" Aura suddenly said, and Ainz barely stopped his shoulders from
twisting. Perhaps the shock had been so great, his emotions had been
forcibly calmed. "Were you thinking of speaking somewhere else? Not here
but out on the sixth floor?"
"M-mm. Indeed. It's a nice day, so I thought we might talk outside."
"We can make that happen. We've got a table and an umbrella ready!
Lady BubblingTeapot once used them to chat with the other Supreme
Beings! She made it so we can use them! There are unused houses back at
the village, and I didn't show you this before, but this floor actually has a
gazebo, too!"
"Yes, I've been there with the others."
Ainz found himself recalling the idle chatter he used to have with his
guildmates.
I feel like I get lost in these memories less than I used to.
Maybe he no longer saw the shadows of his friends in the NPCs as
often. Was he forgetting his old companions, or had he begun to properly
see the NPCs as individuals? He preferred the latter explanation, but the
thought that the former might be true was saddening.
Everything Satoru Suzuki had—all those dazzling, happy memories—
had been shared with them.
No! It's not just memories! Ainz Ooal Gown lives here and now!
Emotions he could not put a name to scorched his heart, and he let out a
long breath. His gaze turned to Aura and Mare.
When…when they left this place, how did that feel? No, at the time, the
NPCs were nothing more. If not, then… Argh.
He shook his head.
His thoughts were growing increasingly fragmented. He had to focus on
the task at hand.
Ainz glanced at the faces around him, but nobody seemed to suspect
anything amiss.
They must have thought he was considering Aura's proposition. Best he
put a pin in his musings for now.
"Let me see… This floor isn't bad, but…why don't we go elsewhere?
Show them other parts of our domain."
If he really wanted this to be a friendly meeting, holding it in familiar
territory was effective. But he was inclined to leave this place.
In which case—where could they go? Two ideas sprang to mind.
The first was E-Rantel. And the second—the ninth floor of Nazarick.
If he showed off how the city was filled with many races, living in
harmony, he felt sure it would leave a good impression. But there was no
guarantee nothing would go wrong. Direct assaults or violence could be
easily dealt with and explained away. But what if someone made a terrible
impression? Acting like they were suffering because of the King of
Darkness? That would leave him worse off than he was now.
He could use mind control on a crowd and feed them all lines—but that
might make the elves suspicious. It didn't seem like an effective strategy.
And Ainz was still widely feared in E-Rantel. There were those who'd
learned to admire him, but not many. Less than 30 percent, all told.
Showing people acting scared of him would be inadvisable. And if the elves
assumed the races there were little more than slaves, the whole thing would
blow up in his face.
In which case…the ninth floor. But where on it?
Should he take them to his office and have Lumièlle practice serving
drinks?
He considered that.
Drinks prepared in the boss's office? Or drinks at a café? Which would
be more relaxing?
"The answer is clear. Where else could we go? The ninth floor it is.
There's a cafeteria there. We can eat—have you eaten?"
"N-no. N-not yet."
"Excellent. Then the timing works out well."
He'd had that in mind from the start.
Most people let their guards down when their stomachs were full.
But it had taken more time to get here than he'd expected. He'd been
afraid he'd arrived too late, but luck had been on his side. No—they'd been
warned of his arrival the moment he reached the floor. Uncertain when he'd
appear, no one had considered eating first.
"Good, then we'll chat over lunch," Ainz said. He turned to the elves.
"What say you?"
They quickly looked at one another, silently wrestling with which of
them would have to speak. The one in the middle wound up answering, less
because she spoke for all of them and more because she'd been beset from
both sides.
"Y-yes, Your Majesty. If Lady Aura and Lord Mare approve, we'd be
happy to join you."
Ainz agreed. They could hardly accept without involving the twins. He
turned to them.
"If you've no objections, shall we take them to the cafeteria? I'd love for
you to join us as well."
"We're in! Right, Mare?"
"Er, um. Uh, I mean, yes, Aura's right! I-I'm in."
"Glad to hear it. Then…" Ainz glanced at the elves. "Let me open a
Gate."