A decent distance from the dark elf village, Aura raised a bow in her hand.
Made of metal, it was significantly bulkier than what the other villagers
used.
The bow was also longer than she was tall.
When she drew it, it creaked.
This bow belonged to the village, but even their strongest ranger had
been unable to draw it. When they watched a kid draw it like it was nothing,
their eyes shot wide—and then they all nodded.
"This wasn't well looked after. That noise is because bits of it have gone
bad. Could be less nobody could use it than it being unusable. Ugh, not sure
about the aim, though. Will the arrow go where I want it to?"
Aura was aiming at a magic beast known as the Gigahorn Elk. Like the
name implied, the horns were extremely oversize, but it had Forestwalk and
could easily move around the forest—and when it charged, the destructive
force it packed was devastating.
If Aura had her gaze laser focused on it, she might have appeared like a
top-class hunter—but to Ainz's eyes, she looked just like always—
completely stress-free. Like she was about to nonchalantly toss a pebble.
Near Aura were three rangers from the dark elf village—two male, one
female—and their reactions were quite the opposite. They were all equally
grim while hiding carefully, doing their best to stop their prey from spotting
them. Ainz had no way to tell for sure, but he assumed they were holding
their breaths and stifling their heartbeats.
They carried bows but hadn't raised any.
Ordinarily, everyone would fire at once to ensure their prey was downed
and to avoid a dangerous counterattack. They'd abandoned that tactic to
avoid getting in Aura's way.
He could tell that much from their positioning alone. They were all
waiting on the ground below.
Dark elf hunters lived in fear of retaliation, so they nearly always took
positions in the relative safety of the trees above, waiting for the right prey
to appear—an ambush-centric approach to hunting. Their current tactics
were a show of faith in Aura's skill.
Ainz was the worst at stealth in this hunting party, so naturally, he was
doing what he always did—abusing the hell out of Perfect Unknowable.
He'd used it so much lately, he was starting to worry he'd turned into a onetrick pony. But it did make him virtually impossible to detect, and neither
prey nor dark elves had noticed him there. He'd been following them
around the whole time, but only Aura seemed to have picked up on it.
Aura released the drawstring.
A short beat later and the Gigahorn Elk turned its head, looking around.
The loosing of an arrow made a sound that would never be heard in
nature. Had its ears caught that somehow?
Ainz found it hard to believe.
The sound was very faint. And the target was far enough away that it
should render this feat impossible. So how had the elk managed to react?
Coincidence was likely the best answer. Or did it have some relevant
skill? If not, perhaps it had somehow picked up on that subtle shift in the
hunter's disposition the instant she took her shot. Ultimately, that was
nothing more than Ainz's speculation.
Aura may have even predicted this reaction, because her shaft struck the
creature's head as it moved, ignoring all resistance the flesh offered and
burying itself deep.
The Gigahorn Elk staggered but did not fall, despite the arrow piercing
its brain.
Great beasts—magical or otherwise—were tenacious in life.
Aura's standard Yggdrasil bow would easily have robbed it of that
vitality, but the bow borrowed from the dark elves could not fell this elk in
a single shot.
This goes to show what a difference the right equipment and weapons
make. Aura herself seems to be refraining from using any support skills.
Those might have changed the outcome.
Despite the arrow impaling its head, the elk bounded off. Its injuries
were grave enough that the animal chose flight over fight.
But Aura had seen that coming, too. She was already loosing a second
shaft.
Shot through the head a second time, the Gigahorn Elk hit the ground.
"There you have it."
"Most impressive, Lady Fiora!"
She acted like it was no big deal, but the man closest to her gasped with
adoration. Plum Ganen was a hunt adjutant and the leader of the group
accompanying Aura.
His reaction was clearly genuine, and he was a considerable ally. But not
one Ainz welcomed.
This man was a bit too enthusiastic.
The glow in his eyes contained a blend of admiration, awe, appreciation,
and ardor. Ainz had seen this in the Sacred Kingdom—it reminded him of
the girl with the scary eyes after she came back to life. And frankly, not the
sort of look you gave someone who appeared to be a much younger child.
This was their second hunt together, and he hadn't acted like this during
the first one.
Aura had driven off the ankyloursus.
But that had simply been a display of her raw strength. From the dark
elves' perspective, hunting skills were a different thing entirely. The ranger
who'd invited her on the hunt had been mainly curious to see what she
could do—Ainz had heard him say as much under cover of Perfect
Unknowable.
But he'd shuddered at how nimbly Aura had walked the forest, gasped at
how utterly she'd hidden herself, and gaped at the accuracy of her shots. It
was downright comical how wide his mouth opened. Now, he was likely the
most ardent of Aura's admirers in the village.
But given Ainz's goals, people like him were a headache.
It made it that much harder to remind everyone she was just a child.
If he'd been trying to use Aura for his own goals, that would have been
easily handled. But this was quite the opposite.
Killing him should be a last resort…
"Oh, please. You can praise me later. Dress the thing first."
"Right! As you wish, Lady Fiora! Come on, rangers!"
The others were wincing slightly at Plum's antics. They had plenty of
respect for Aura, but Plum's behavior was something else.
They moved in, tied ropes around the Gigahorn Elk's legs, slung them
over a branch, and pulled it into the air, upside down. Given the sheer size
of it, this was a tall order even with three of them pulling.
Aura reached out and grabbed the end, going, "Hup!" and giving it a
tug. The beast easily lifted off the ground.
"Amazing, Lady Fiora!" Plum gushed.
Aura frowned at this.
Ainz knew why. He nodded, picturing the faces back in Nazarick.
Unwarranted praise was creepy enough, but effusive praise for the
simplest acts could also be generally uncomfortable. Almost like they were
making fun of you.
As Ainz wondered if this boiled down to a lack of real confidence on the
ranger elf's part, the hunting party carved up the elk.
A male dark elf pointed his arm at their prey and emitted a white mist—
apparently a skill that would keep the meat chilled. As far as Ainz knew,
standard rangers had no such skill, so either this was a druid ability or this
dark elf had some other class.
They slit the elk's throat and let the blood pool in a bowl below. This
was to prevent any pathogens present in the blood from multiplying and to
keep the meat from spoiling. Perhaps that dark elf's ability couldn't cool a
beast of this size without help.
The blood was also often used in cooking.
Carrying blood around would draw in carnivores, so they rarely bled
beasts when hunting on their own. Ainz had heard them discussing this
exact thing during the first hunt.
The head and organs were discarded and went into a hole they'd dug.
Normally, they would haul some of those organs back, but the Gigahorn
Elk's meat alone was more than enough.
That was all they did here.
The dark elves skinned their game only once they were back at the
village.
Ainz acted like he was an expert on the subject, but if anyone asked how
people did things in the rest of the world, he would've promptly admitted
he knew little about hunting. Maybe the way dark elves did things was
typical.
The hunting party lowered the carcass back to the ground and ran a pole
through the rope. Grunting in unison, they hefted it up. It looked pretty
heavy. Ainz wasn't sure what the actual carcass yield was, but it looked
well over 50 percent.
Aura didn't help with any of this. Her job was to watch the perimeter.
Now that their catch was ready for transport, the party started heading
back to town.
Since they usually waited in ambush, it could normally take a while to
fell any prey, but thanks to Aura, they were headed back early, more than
pleased. The dark elves spent their entire lives in this forest, but leaving the
safety of the village was still nerve-racking.
"Great work again, Lady Fiora. Another magnificent shot."
Plum was the first to speak. This was not empty flattery—he clearly
meant every word.
"Oh? I mean, maybe it's better than what you can do, but there's always
someone better. Um, I've got fam— No, that's too rude to say. Anyway,
trust me, there are far more impressive people out there. Oh! In this case,
not my uncle."
"You said your uncle and brother will be here today or tomorrow. Are
they also great rangers?"
"Nope, neither one's a ranger at all."
"Really? I figured if they were navigating these woods without help,
they must also be highly skilled rangers. So what are they?"
"They are highly skilled. Skilled how…? Well, you'll find out soon.
Look forward to it. And sorry—mind letting me focus on keeping watch?
I'm sure I could get away on my own, but with you all along, spotting
things a second faster could make all the difference."
She'd probably been unsure how to describe Ainz's and Mare's abilities
and found a great excuse to end the conversation itself. But how would that
play with Plum?
When you were happily chatting with someone, getting shut down—
even for good reason—was hard to accept. Some people might even turn on
you.
He's a believer, so he probably won't do that. Then again, he does have
some authority. If he holds a grudge and starts trash-talking her, I'll need to
have a plan in place.
Maybe her reputation could afford to take a hit or two, but he didn't
want it dropping too hard.
But Ainz's fears proved unfounded.
"My apologies! I should have realized."
Plum's head snapped down. Had he not been carrying game, he likely
would have dropped to his knees—or whatever the elf equivalent was.
These overreactions were proof he was a true believer.
"Uh, I mean, you're pretty good. I'd bet you're on the ball normally, and
you're just overrelaxed 'cause I'm with you. In a way, it's a sign of how
much you trust me. That's always nice. Just gotta bear in mind that there's a
time and a place, you know?"
Sweet. That's a good trick, doling out praise as a superior. Maybe using
her floor-guardian experience. That has to be a sign the NPCs are growing.
That's a nice thought. Or is it something she inherited from
BubblingTeapot? An even nicer thought. It's almost like she lives on inside
Aura.
Ainz pictured a pink blob floating behind Aura—a pretty uncanny
image, really—and a smile flitted across his unmoving features.
Like Aura suggested, the party moved on in silence, keeping a careful
watch. They reached the village without further encounters. Only when he
was sure they were on safe ground did Plum call out.
"Rejoice, everyone! Lady Fiora took down another big one!"
Ainz clicked his tongue.
He'd expected as much and knew he could do nothing to stop it. Hunters
took all the risk for the sake of the village. It was natural for them to boast
about their prey and appropriate to give credit where it was due. And Aura
was an outsider, so he was taking pains to secure her position.
But Ainz didn't want this kind of attention.
The villagers on the bridges above gasped at the size of the elk.
"I'll go on home, then."
"Okay! We'll take it from here, Lady Fiora!"
Leaving Plum to it, Aura slipped through the gathering crowd, heading
for the quarters they'd lent her.
Ainz wanted to follow after her, but he had to keep track of any subtle
shifts in her position here. That wasn't an option.
A few steps out, Aura turned her head, looking up to where Ainz was
floating.
She looks lonely.
He might simply be reading too much into it, but he caught a distinct
whiff of melancholy from her profile.
Some dark elves feared her, others revered her. But not one of them
acted like a friend.
She'd earned respect—not as a child traveling the world but as a
superior being. Not to repeat himself, but that position itself was not a bad
thing.
It just didn't match his goals here.
Aura is the village's hero, so they can't treat her like a kid. That makes
things tricky. If the pedestal she's on crumbles before I get here, they might
send me packing. Can't blame them. Even if we're related, a latecomer
won't have the achievements Aura's racked up.
As Ainz hovered, the dark elves gathered round. Some of them were no
bigger than Aura herself.
The meat was dressed, portioned, and passed into waiting hands.
"Help yourselves! And thank Lady Fiora for it!"
The dark elves smiled, expressing their gratitude.
Even veteran dark elf hunters didn't always bring back prey. And game
of this quality was rare indeed. Ainz had heard as much during his scouting
missions.
The mountain of meat steadily dwindled away. Each time a piece was
taken off, Plum told them who to thank.
Again, that alone didn't bother Ainz.
Aura had felled this beast. If they hadn't been grateful, he would've
been livid. Still—
"Lady Fiora is amazing. She's the sort of person who should lead our
village."
"You can say that again. She not only drove off that ursus lord, but she's
a top-class hunter. If she stays, the village is secure."
"True, true."
Plum had five grown dark elves gathered around him.
Their opinion of Aura was only growing. And the children were
listening—that was the problem.
"…But she's just a child?" one man said. A man who smelled of grass.
The faithful's brows furrowed.
"That's what the elders think. They're a bunch of fossils!"
A roar of anger.
Plum had been smiling happily a moment before, but now his words
came out in a shout.
"Does growing old make you better? Of course not! Sure, you gain some
measure of experience, and some acquire improved skills. But age alone
doesn't guarantee either! Age is a useless metric on its own! Real skills are
all that matter!"
Ainz agreed on this point.
He'd seen plenty of workplaces. Those with skills did well, and those
who didn't would be humps their whole lives.
"Ability! That is what is most important in a world this dangerous! Skill
is the only real measure! No matter how young they might be!"
"But…isn't Fiora a little too young?" a woman ventured.
Another faithful glared at her. "How is that different from what the
elders say? Are you one of them?"
"Wha—?"
The woman glared at the speaker. The elders clearly had few fans among
the villagers.
Honestly, they don't seem to be doing anything that bad…
Ainz didn't understand why the younger villagers were so prejudiced.
But he'd only been watching the village a couple of days and hadn't learned
everything about them in that time. Maybe there was a reason he just hadn't
figured out yet.
"If we're gonna banish the elders' stupid outdated beliefs, we need to
follow a truly skilled dark elf—like Lady Fiora! Maybe we should even
appoint her our new leader!"
Stop.
Ainz winced.
That was not why he'd sent her here.
If she heard them talking, she might even agree and take over the village
on the basis that it would benefit Nazarick. That wasn't what Ainz wanted.
Ainz turned to the children who were watching the grown-ups argue.
Their delight at the hunt's bounty was gone, and they looked nervous.
This is bad.
Ainz wanted the twins to make friends.
These weren't like the children in the world Satoru Suzuki came from.
Nemu was a good example—the children of this world were innocent, and
curiosity alone should have made them approach Aura by now. But from
what he'd seen, not one of them had gone near her. Aura's reports
corroborated this.
The children of this village had grown up with the peril of the forest
always looming. Perhaps that had stifled their natural curiosity. But it was
more likely they'd picked up on how the grown-ups felt and believed she
was out of their league. Aura was a child, but not one of them. And that
distance kept them apart.
If her reputation took a hit, maybe it would be easier for them to
approach Aura.
It's hard to be friendly or get close to someone the grown-ups admire,
even if they are the same age. That might be why she seems
unapproachable. From what I've heard, their parents aren't telling them to
stay away or mind their manners, which is some small salvation…or is that
also bad?
Ainz let out a sigh.
At this rate, they'd never make friends.
Guess I'll have to step in. I can ask them myself. That won't guarantee
the outcome…but I'll have to hope it makes a difference. Do all parents
struggle like this?
Ainz had to wonder. The last thing he heard before casting Greater
Teleportation was—
"—And how dare you call her just Fiora! She's Lady Fiora to you!"