The Dark Warrior

Part 1

There were two routes from Re-Lantier to Carne Village if you travel by horse-drawn carriage.

After going north, keep right by hugging the edge of the forest. Or go east then turn north.

This time the former route was chosen.

Since there was a higher chance of encountering monsters along the edge of the forest, taking this path was the wrong choice from a bodyguard’s perspective.

Even so, everyone still chose this route. This was done in order for Ainz to fulfill his promise to Peter and hunt monsters. Although there was a lot more to lose than to gain, they were still able to choose this path without worries because Momon and Nabel were there. In addition, Narberal demonstrating her ability to cast tier 3 magic ‘Lightning’ when they left the city was a big factor

And technically they were not entering the forest. Rather, they were traveling along the border between the forest and the plains, so the monsters they might encounter wouldn't be too strong. With the ability of the group, they should be able to manage. In addition, by taking this route, the monster encounters would allow the members to verify each other’s combat prowess. With these points in mind, they decided on this route.

The sun reached its zenith after they left Re-Lantier; they could see a dense, primitive forest in the distance. The giant trees’ luscious branches and leaves were dense to the extent that sunlight could not penetrate the forest. This reduced visibility produced the illusion of being swallowed by darkness. The gaps between the trees looked like gaping maws, waiting for prey to enter; the eeriness made the party uneasy.

The group adopted a formation that surrounded the carriage as they advanced. The driver is of course Nfirea, the ranger Lukeluther was in front of the carriage, the warrior Peter on the left, the druid Darwin and Magic Caster Ninya on the right, while Ainz and Narberal were at the back.

Because the field of vision was wide, no one was on guard. However, Peter became more serious at this point:

“Momon-san, from here on will be dangerous grounds. We won’t encounter monsters we can’t handle, but to be safe, we need to careful.”

"Understood."

Ainz nodded and thought of something.

If this was a game, what monster that we will encounter is dependent on the place, but reality is different. God knows what kind of difficult enemy might pop up.

Based on the battle of Carne from a few days prior, and according to the intelligence revealed by the interrogated Sunlight Scripture prisoners, Ainz was confident that he was strong. But that was his power as a Magic Caster; Ainz was currently wearing armor forged by magic, and thus was unable to chant most of his spells.

With his suppressed strength, could he still play the role of a competent vanguard? Not only that, but an escort’s victory condition was not to defeat the enemy; rather, his job was to thoroughly protect his charge, in this case, Nfirea. Pondering this, Ainz felt uneasy.

He planned to dispel his armor if a crisis arose, but in doing so, he would have to kill his traveling companions or alter their memories. Ainz didn't wish to do such a thing.

That's too much of a hassle.

Ainz turned his head and looked at Narberal, who nodded upon sensing his gaze.

They had discussed beforehand and Narberal was to use higher tier magic in a pinch, up to tier 5 and hope to resolve the problem. If this weren't enough, Ainz would dispel his armor and fight seriously.

Seeing the duo exchange gazes — with Ainz still wearing a close helmet — Lukeluther misunderstood something and flirtingly joked with Narberal:

"It’ll be fine, don't worry. As long as there's no surprise attack, it won't be too hard. And with me scouting, no enemies will sneak by. So Nabel-chan, I am strong right?"

Narberal ignored Lukeluther and his serious expression:

“Momon-san, may I crush this… lower life form (Mosquito)?"

"Cold words from Nabel-san get!"

Everyone smiled awkwardly at Lukeluther, who gave a thumbs up and didn't react to Narberal's cruel response. They assumed that Narberal didn’t consider all humans as lower life forms, only specific people.

Ainz rejected Narberal's sincere request and felt his nonexistent stomach hurting. They were journeying with humans now, so he wished that she would keep such thoughts to herself.

Nfirea seemed to have misunderstood something and interjected:

"It will be fine. From here to Carne Village, we are in the territory of the 'Virtuous King of the Forest', a powerful monster. Unless we are extremely unlucky, we won't encounter any monsters."

"Virtuous King of the Forest?"

Ainz recalled the intelligence collected from Carne Village.

‘Virtuous King of the Forest’ is a monster capable of using magic, possessing incredible power. It lives deep in the forest, so there are few eyewitness reports, but its existence has been around for quite a long while. Some even say it is a several hundred years old four-legged silverish, white beast with a snake-like tail.

I want to meet it. I'm not sure if rumors are true, but it might possess incredible intelligence if it’s been alive for so long. It got the title of Virtuous King of the Forest after all. If I can capture it… It should bolster Nazarick's strength.

Ainz imagined the appearance of the monster in his mind.

Speaking of the Virtuous King of the Forest, some extinct animals looked… Looked like monkey… Ah, orangutans. Forest man… Or sage? With a snake as its tail… Was there such a monster?

Thinking YGGDRASIL had that sort of monster, Ainz finally found the answer:

It’s a Nue!..The appearance should be the head of a monkey, body of a tanuki, limbs of a tiger and tail of a snake… I’m not sure if it was a monster from Yggdrasil, but it might have been summoned just like those angels.

As Ainz was thinking about Nue in YGGDRASIL, Lukeluther spoke to Narberal in a flirty tone again:

“Hmmm, if I complete my job flawlessly, would the cute Nabel-chan change her attitude towards me?”

Narberal clicked her tongue with disgust.

Lukeluther acted as if he were hurt, but no one consoled him. Everyone treated their interactions as a comedy.

Under the scorching sun, the group chatted leisurely as they advanced. Their shoes were stained by juice from trampled grass, the smell of which was prominent.

Looking at the group wiping away their sweat, Ainz was grateful for his undead body. He was unfazed by the bright sunshine and wasn’t tired from wearing the heavy armor.

Only Lukeluther remained lively, joking while the group moved in silence:

“Everyone, there is no need to be so careful since I am on lookout. Nabel-chan trusts me; look at how calm she is.”

“Not because of you. It’s because Momon-san is here.”

Narberal frowned. Thinking that things might get out of hand, Ainz places his hand on Narberal’s shoulder, and her expression warmed instantly.

Observing their interaction, Lukeluther asked:

“Say, Nabel-chan and Momon-san, are you two a couple?”

“Cou-couple? What are you saying! That’s Albedo-sama!”

“You!” Ainz shouted. “What are you saying, Nabel!”

“Ah!”

With her eyes wide open, Narberal covered her mouth with her hands. Ainz coughed and spoke coldly:

“… Lukeluther-san, could you please not make baseless assumptions?”

“… Ah- my bad. Just kidding. Ah— Could it be that Momon-san already has a significant other?”

The way Lukeluther bowed suggested that he wasn’t sorry at all, but Ainz wasn’t as mad as before. Picking Narberal as a companion was a really stupid decision.

But despite thinking that he picked the wrong person, Ainz didn’t really have a choice since she was the only one he could rely on. Almost all of the created NPC’s in Ainz Ooal Gown were heteromorphic; few of them could be brought into a human city. Narberal was pretending to be a human, and at least she had the appearance of one… but Ainz forgot to take her personality into consideration.

From the look of things, maybe the other battle maid, Lupusregina Beta, would’ve been more suitable, but it was already too late for that.

Because of her blunder, Narberal’s face was pale, so Ainz gently patted her on the back to calm her. A good superior must be able to forgive the first mistake of his subordinate. But if she repeated her mistake, he would need to reprimand her appropriately. If she became depressed or reserved because of a mistake, then the mission would be negatively affected thereafter.

More importantly, she only mentioned Albedo’s name. There was no need to alter memories — probably.

“Lukeluther, cut the crap and stay alert.”

“Got it.”

“Momon-san, I’m sorry for the rudeness of my companion. It is wrong to make conjectures about the affairs of others.”

“Don’t worry. If he can keep that in mind in the future, we can just let this go.”

The two of them looked at Lukeluther’s back and heard him mumbled “Wah— Nabel-chan hates me now. Ugu, her opinion of me is totally negative.” His head depressingly drooped.

“That fool…! I will lecture him later. And I will pretend I didn’t hear anything just now.”

“Well, I will have to trouble you with that. Since Lukeluther is on guard, let’s leave it to him. I would like to find out a few things.”

“No problem. He caused trouble for you, so just let him work to compensate you.”

After Peter smiled in acknowledgement, Ainz walked to Ninya and Darwin’s side. He switched positions with Darwin, who then walked alongside Narberal.

“I have a few questions related to magic.”

After Ninya nodded, Ainz started to ask. Nfirea looked over as well, interested in Ainz’s question.

“If bewitched or controlled by magic, a person may divulge confidential information. As a countermeasure, are there any spells that will conditionally kill an affected a person after he answers a few questions?”

“I’ve never heard of such magic.”

Ainz turned and looked at Nfirea from behind his helmet.

“I don’t know either. Magic to correct or strengthen something can be activated after a fixed period of time, but not to the extent you speak of.”

“… I see.”

Ainz was disappointed to not hear the answer he was hoping for.

And so, the problem of how to use the survivors of the Sunlight Scripture will have to wait.

The survivors were few, but it would be a waste to dispose of them. To understand the magical theory behind why the Sunlight Scripture members disappeared after dying, they performed dissection on a few of them alive, which was really wasteful. Since they died so easily, wouldn't it have been better to squeeze more information from them? Losing one person meant forgoing the chance to ask 3 questions.

The most regrettable was Nigan, who was the first to die. They lost the one who probably held a lot of information over a few simple questions.

But this failure taught Ainz that using merely the knowledge he had from YGGDRASIL wasn’t enough to handle this world, so Nigan’s death wasn’t a complete waste. It was better to look on the bright side, as he had learnt plenty from this failure too.

As Ainz distractedly thought about these matters, Ninya continued:

“Be as it may, my magic knowledge is quite limited. Magic Casters sponsored and educated by a country might be able to create such a spell. The priests in the Slane Theocracy received a faith-based Magic Caster education. The Empire has mystics, warlocks and mages, Sorcery based Magic Caster schools. It wouldn’t be surprising if other states such as the Yagarande Republic being able to use dragon magic.”

“I see. With the backing of an entire nation, it wouldn't be surprising for any sort of magic to pop up.”

From the intelligence he garnered earlier, the Yagarande Republic was a state formed by demi-humans, with councilors setting the policies. Most worthy of note were the Five Dragon Councilors, said to be very powerful. The Republic was a potential threat to the Slane Theocracy, which preached the principle of human supremacy.

Ainz was interested in this country, but he was still building his base and couldn’t spare the effort to investigate. Just carrying out the current plans had already depleted a lot of Nazarick’s resources.

“Can I ask about something else?”

Ainz asked Ninya other questions and felt satisfied.

Ainz asked Ninya and Peter many things, causing the Sword of Darkness members to look at them with the kind of look that said “They are still chatting”. They talked about spells, martial arts, adventurers, news about the neighboring nation, all in all a wide range of things.

Although these questions needed to be worded carefully, but the responses were very helpful. Ainz was confident that he had learnt a lot more about this world.

But it still wasn’t enough. After learning one thing, more questions popped up, especially when it came to magic. A world built with magic as a foundation was really different, which really surprised Ainz.

The biggest difference was the level of civilization. It appeared to be at the Middle Ages, but it was actually only a few generations behind Ainz’s world; some things were already on the modern level. And all this development was engendered by the existence of magic.

After knowing this, Ainz gave up researching the technology of this world. It was impossible to compare a magically-developed world to a scientific one. There was magic to produce salt, sugar and spices, and people also used agricultural spells to restore nutrients to the farmlands instead of implementing crop rotation.

Believe it or not, the sea wasn't salty. This intel was completely different from what Ainz took to be common knowledge.

Ainz carefully satisfied his curiosity. After some time:

“There’s movement.”

Lukeluther suddenly said tensely. His tone was completely different from the one used when flirting with Narberal. Right now, he looked like a veteran professional adventurer.

Everyone drew their weapons and looked in the direction Lukeluther was facing.

“Where?”

“There. Right there.”

Lukeluther pointed at a corner of the massive forest in response to Peter’s question. The visibility was bad with the forest blocking the way, and there wasn't any movement. Even so, no one doubted Lukeluther.

“What should we do?”

“Don’t force your way. If it stays inside the forest, then let’s ignore it!”

“It would be best to stick to the plan and let Nfirea fall back!”

As they were discussing loudly, there was movement in the forest. The monsters showed themselves.

Fifteen creatures as tall as children were surrounding six giant beings.

The former were the demi-human Goblins.

Each twisted face had a flat nose, and two sharp fangs protruded from each large mouth. Their skin was dark brown, and their messy black hair seemed to be fixed by hair wax.

Their clothes were ragged and looked burnt brown due to either dirt or dye. They wore tanned animal skin on the outside as armor. They had a club in one hand, a small shield in the other.

A cross breed between apes and humans, a monster with a tinge of evil.

The giant beings were between 250–300 cm.

They looked a bit retarded with their jaws sharply protruding out.

The bulging muscles on their arms were as thick as trees, and the muscles almost reached the ground since the giants’ backs were hunched. Each held a tree trunk with the branches removed and they wore only an untanned animal skin on the waist. They smelled even from this distance.

Their skin, full of warts, was burnt-brown in color. Their thick chests and abdominal muscles seemed rather tough. They looked very strong, like shaved twisted gorillas — Demi-human monsters known as ogres.

Almost all the monsters had ragged bags, which appeared to be used for long journeys.

The monsters looked at the group while walking onto the plains. Although there was still some distance, hostility emanated from their ugly faces.

“… Their numbers are a bit high. Looks like a battle is unavoidable.

“Yes, you are right. Goblins and ogres will attack when they see a smaller group. Or rather, their intelligence tells them to gauge combat prowess by comparing numbers, which can be a bit of a hassle.”

Through experience, Ainz knew that this world was nothing like the game, but he was still sort of perplexed by the fact.

Just by observing height and skin color, one could tell that each ogre and goblin had different characteristics, meaning they were individuals. It felt like facing twenty-one different monsters.

“Is reality different from the game?”

As if he were entering a zone without any walkthrough and fighting unknown monsters, this encounter reminded Ainz of the feeling he had when battling in Carne Village. Ainz mumbled in a voice the surrounding couldn’t hear.

“Well then, Momon-san.”

“… Oh, what is it?”

“We agreed to each taking half of the enemies we encounter, but what about now?”

“We can’t split into two teams and dispatch the attacking enemies?”

“It would be bad if all of them run towards one side. Can Nabel use an area attack like ‘Fireball’ and wipe them out?”

“I can’t use ‘Fireball’. My strongest spell is ‘lightning’.”

Ainz remembered that this was the restriction he gave her.

“‘Lightning’ is a row piercing spell right?”

“In that case, how about we lure them into a row so that she can wipe them out from the side?”

“We will need to construct a line of defense to hold them back…”

“I will take care of that. Can I request everyone to protect Nfirea on the carriage?”

“Momon-san…”

“If a mere ogre troubles me, my bark would be worse than my bite. Please watch me dispose of the ogres with ease.”

Ainz’s confident voice told the Sword of Darkness members that this was the best plan, giving them a sense of security.

“Understood. But we won’t watch idly while the enemies attack; we will do what we can to help from the side.”

“Do you need support magic?”

“Ah, we don’t need it. Friends from the Sword of Darkness, please support your own teammates.

“Then we will proceed as you wish. Everyone, if the battle were to commence under these circumstances, since we’re near the forest, won’t the enemies attempt to flee?”

“How about doing it the usual way? We will pull them further out.”

“Let’s do that! Since Momon-san will fend off the enemies’ attack, what about the ones that sneak past, Peter?”

“I will activate my martial arts skill [Fortress] to keep the ogres in check. Darwin, please stop the goblins. Ninya cast defensive magic on me, then concentrate on casting offensive magic. In addition, even if this might be unnecessary concern, please also pay attention to Miss Nabel’s safety. Lukeluther, take care of the goblins. If any ogres break through, you have to stop them. In this case Ninya will prioritize on cleaning up the goblins.”

Everyone looked at each other and nodded, expressing their comprehension of his instructions. The battle plan was smoothly set, their teamwork was excellent.

Ainz was impressed and expressed his approval with a grunt.

He was reminded of his YGGDRASIL days. Ainz and his comrades repeatedly hunted on the battlefield with perfect teamwork. Pulling, tanking, adjusting the attack target. Because they were familiar with each other’s ability, they could conduct group battle in such a manner.

Ainz was a bit biased, but still confident that cooperation among this small group wasn't easy. The Sword of Darkness wasn’t at their level, but he was able to see a shadow of similarity.

“Momon-san, you need any support aside from magic?”

“No, no need. We two will be enough.”

“That’s really… very confident.”

Peter showed a hint of insecurity in his words. If the ones in charge of the defense line went down, it would lead to a domino effect, causing the entire team to collapse. That should be what he was worried about.

After all, this wasn’t a game and their lives were on the line.

"You'll see once we start."

Ainz finished the conversation with this sentence.

“Let’s start when you are ready.”

Lukeluther pulled the string on his composite longbow until it started to creak. The string made a cracking sound as it propelled an arrow straight out, which landed 10 m from the goblins in the plains.

The sudden attack made the goblins sneer at Lukeluther with laughter.

They were mocking at the missed shot. The goblins couldn’t hit a target 120 m away either, but they seemed to have forgotten that.

Being attacked and their superiority in numbers caused the violent tendencies of the goblins to swell, and they started to shout loudly, charging at Lukeluther without reservation. The ogres followed behind.

They lost themselves in their blood thirst, they neither formed ranks nor put up their shields. Their minds turned blank.

Lukeluther smiled after confirming that.

“Watch this-”

He shot again when the distance was 90m. His aim was true, and the arrow pierced a goblin’s head. This goblin, located towards the back, staggered a few steps and fell dead.

The distance narrowed, but Lukeluther’s bow hand didn’t look tense. He believed that someone would protect him, even if his foe were right beside him.

“Reinforce Armor.”

Behind Lukeluther, Ninya casted defensive spells. Hearing the voice of his teammates, Lukeluther nocked another arrow.

He shot at the 50m mark, hitting the head of another goblin. At this time Peter and Darwin also started moving.

The goblins were nimble, but the ogres had large strides, so their speeds were about the same. But after sprinting about 100m on the grass plains, the ogres with their powerful legs were in the front, with the goblins behind them. The distance was still a bit too far for a wide area spell to encompass all the monsters.

But it was enough, since Darwin’s task was to restrain one of the ogres.

“Nature Bind.”

Darwin cast his spell, the grass under an ogre’s feet started wriggling, turning into vines and binding it. The unnaturally tenacious chains of vegetation locked the ogre in place, making it roar in frustration.

At this time Ainz casually advanced forward with Narberal behind.

Their strides suggested that were taking a stroll rather than intercepting charging monsters.

As the lead ogre approached, Ainz reached behind his back, grabbing the sword hilts. Narberal reached under her cape and drew her sword.

Drawing a large arc, two swords appeared before Ainz.

The bright light entering their eyes made the Sword of Darkness members gasp.

The two swords in Ainz’s hand were flashy and had a length of more than 150cm. Rather than instruments of war, they looked like expensive works of art.

The engraving on the grooves of the swords looked like two intertwined snakes. The tip of the swords spread out like a fan, emitting a cold, sharp radiance.

Heroic weapon.

The swords in Ainz’s hands were the celebrated Hero’s Swords.

His figure made the Sword of Darkness party gasp again. If the scene before caused them to be in awe, the current one made them speechless.

The longer the sword, the heavier it is. Even a weapon enchanted with weight reduction was not easy to wield. They knew from their short journey so far that Ainz had amazing arm strength, but their common sense was unable to accept that someone could wield such a colossal sword so easily.

But…

But Ainz was swinging them as if he were holding clubs, that image was truly awe-inspiring.

“Momon-san… who in the world are you…”

Peter spoke on behalf of everyone as he sighed. As a warrior, he understood how much arm strength was needed to use such a powerful technique. He didn’t know how much time he needed to train before reaching such a stage, which shocked him. He knew they were on different tiers, but the scene before him still made his legs tremble.

Even the dull goblins were frightened by him, slowing down their reckless pace and made a detour towards Peter and the rest.

Only the stupid ogres who were confident in their arm strength charged at Ainz.

The distance narrowed and the lead ogre raised its club.

The swords in Ainz's hands were huge, but the ogre’s club had a wider attack range. When the ogre started its attack, Ainz had already stepped into range.

His was like the wind. He swung the giant sword in his right hand with an even faster speed; the afterimage of a white flash slash seemed to slice through space for a moment.

That slash was too imposing, even though it was not directed towards them, the others felt as though they were witnessing death right by their side.

He ended it in a single attack.

Ainz shifted his attention from the ogre before him to another ogre. As if waiting for Ainz to leave, the top half of the slashed ogre stayed on for a while before finally falling to the ground; the bottom half was still standing. Blood and organs were exposed to the air, creating a pungent smell, emphasizing the fact that this was no illusion.

The downward diagonal slash made a clean cut.

They were definitely still in the midst of battle, but both sides stopped moving time seemed to stop as they silently watch this amazing scene.

Killing in one blow. Even the bulky body of the ogre couldn’t escape the fate of being slashed in half.

“… Amazing.”

Someone grunted softly. The voice was clear in the quiet battle field.

“… Unimaginable. He surpassed Mithril level and reached Orchalcum… No, could it be Adamantium level?”

Slashing in half with a single strike.

It wasn't impossible. A few skilled swordsman or those with powerful magic weapons might be able to do it. But if you wield a two-handed giant sword with one hand, it would be hard to exert the strength that was necessary to slash your enemy in half with a single strike, that was common sense. Two-handed weapons were meant to be held with two hands. The whole point was to use both the slash’s centrifugal force and sword’s weight to attack; it wasn’t meant to be wielded with only one arm’s strength.

Hence either Ainz’s sword was enchanted with powerful magic, or Ainz’s strength in one arm was stronger than a normal warrior using two hands. Or maybe both.

Seeing this shocking scene, the ogres unconsciously stopped, made an expression of horror and backed away. Ainz advanced briskly to close the distance.

“What? Not coming?”

A calm and soft voice sounded out in the battle field.

Such a simple question was enough to intimidate the ogres, because they had witnessed the difference of power between them.

Ainz closed in onto the other ogres at an amazing speed, a speed that someone wearing armor shouldn’t possess.

“Waarghh-!

The ogre let out a howl that was a cross between a wail and a shout, raising the club in its hand to face Ainz who was attacking. But everyone knew that was too slow.

Ainz swung the giant sword in his left hand horizontally after he got close.

The top half of the ogre spun in the air and landed at a different spot from its lower half.

That was an horizontal slash, slicing the ogre in half with one strike.

“Momon-san… is he a monster…?”

Stunned once again by the scene before them, no one objected Darwin’s speculation.

“… And so, the rest…”

Ainz took a step forward, the ugly faces of the ogres froze stiff and they backed further away.

The goblins that made a large detour around Ainz’s defense line attacked Peter and the others. The Sword of Darkness members who were watching the fight reacted to the goblin’s attack and started to move.

Peter lifts up his broadsword and large shield, taking the dozen or so goblins straight on. He stabbed with his sword and sent the head of the leading goblin flying. Peter dodge the spray of blood and began a melee battle with the goblins.

“Take this!”

The goblins bared their yellow teeth and gurgled weird sounds.

Peter deftly blocked the goblins’ clubs with his shield and used magically reinforced armor to tank the attack from the other goblin, which landed on him with a dull thud.

“Magic Arrow.”

The goblin that was attempting to attack Peter from behind was hit by 2 magic arrows and fell silently to the ground.

Half the goblins surrounding Peter rushed at the other 3 party members, all of them ignoring Narberal who was standing beside Ainz, the whirlwind of death.

Putting down the composite longbow, Lukeluther drew a shortsword from his waist. Together with Darwin who was holding his mace, they ran in front of Ninya’s line of fire with their back towards him.

Lukeluther and Darwin took on 5 goblins together and were well matched. They took down one after the other, but it would take a lot of time from the current situation. Lukeluther had a pained expression as he endured the pain of his arm being hit by a club while stabbing his shortsword into the gap of a goblin’s leather armor. Darwin took a few punches and his actions slowed, but didn’t receive any critical wounds.

Ninya watched over the battle tensely, conserving his magic. Some of the ogres were bounded by spells, and Ninya might need to deal with them if the situation changes.

Peter was evenly matched with the six goblins he was fighting, an intense battle.

They weren’t overwhelmed by the eleven goblins because of the goblins’ hesitation in their attacks. After witnessing Ainz’s incredible one hit kill, the morale of the goblins plummet, unable to decide between fleeing or continue to fight.

As if he intended to shatter the morale of the goblins, Ainz swung his giant sword.

The sound of the wind being sliced was followed by a sound of a heavy thud. Twice in a row.

As everyone expected, the body count of the ogre continued to rise. There were only 2 ogres left still clinging on to life, one was bound by grass, the other trembling before Ainz.

Ainz’s helmet turned towards the last ogre facing him. The ogre seemed to had sensed Ainz’s gaze from the thin slit of the helmet, dropping its club and running for the forest with a weird groan. Its speed was faster than its attack just now, but there was no way it could escape.

“Nabel, do it.”

The cold command was issued, and Narberal standing by behind him nodded slightly.

“Lightning.”

A lightning which violently shook the air burst forth, striking the escaping ogre with the sound of thunder. It pierced through the ogre bounded by grass behind it too.

Easily finishing off the 2 ogres.

“Run away!”

“Run away, run away!”

The goblin who watched this scene in this despair screamed and attempt to escape, but Peter was faster than them. The routed goblins were no threat.

The group disposed of the goblins one after another. Ninya who didn’t need to conserve mana joined in the attacks too. The Goblins were turned into corpses, none escaped.

With the intense smell of the corpse as background, Darwin healed Lukeluther and Peter’s injury with ‘minor heal’. Ninya who was free took out a dagger to cut off the goblins’ ears.

Turning in the ears will earn them rewards for the corresponding monsters. Of course, the parts were not always ears, and varies according to the monster. But for demi-humans like ogres and goblins, it were mostly ears.

Ninya who was skillfully cutting off the ears saw Ainz and Narberal searching around the ogre, and seemed to be looking for something.

“Is anything wrong?”

Hearing Ninya’s query, Ainz lifts his head and answered:

“Ah, I was thinking… maybe these monsters will drop items such as crystal.”

“… Crystals? I had never heard of ogres possessing jewelry like that.”

“That’s true. I was wondering if there would be rare items.”

“Indeed. It would be nice if the ogres had treasures.”

Ninya answered as he sliced off the ogres’ ear with practiced movements.

“But… Momon-san is really powerful. I knew you are a warrior confident in your own ability, but I didn’t know you were that good.”

When they heard Ninya’s words, the 3 who finished healing up said to Ainz:

“Amazing! As a fellow warrior, that was awe-inspiring! How did you train that kind of arm strength?”

“I thought that you must be rich since you are with Nabel-chan, but what kind of rare treasure is that sword? I had never seen such a valuable sword.”

“I feel deeply that the words you uttered in the guild were true, you are at the level of the renowned strongest warrior of the kingdom, impressive.”

Narberal besides him had a proud expression, but Ainz just kept waving his hands:

“That’s too much credit for me, I was just lucky.”

“Lucky…”

Peter’s group smiled awkwardly.

“… After this battle, I agree deeply with the saying that there is always someone stronger.”

"Everyone can easily reach my standard someday.”

Ainz’s words made their smile turned more awkward.

Peter’s group worked hard to become strong and didn't waste the bounties they earned, using it all to strengthen themselves. Because they were comrades like this, everyone maintained a good relationship. Even when they think back of their effort so far, they can’t imagine reaching the same level as Ainz. For Peter’s party, Ainz position was the absolute peak only a handful of people can reach.

This person traveling with them will definitely become a renowned hero, a great man standing at the pinnacle of adventurers.

Everyone believed this strongly.

Part 2

The group made preparations to set up camp, although it was way before sunset.

Ainz held wooden stakes, which had been handed to him, and struck them into the area around the camp. Since it needed to accommodate the entire carriage, the camp had a diameter of twenty meters, a rather large area.

He hammered the stakes into the ground at four different spots and tied thin, black ropes onto them, forming a square. He then tied a knot on the center of the ropes, pulled it to the front of the tents and attached a large bell. This was an early warning net.

While Ainz was planting the stakes, Narberal came up from behind him.

… Narberal should be busy with her own tasks… It would be great if she has already finished them, but if she was provoked by Lukeluther again, I’ll need to have a word with her…

After making his decision, Ainz turned around to look at her, and saw Narberal suppressing her seething emotions as she said in a low tone:

“…There’s no need to trouble Momon-san with such chores, right?”

Ainz breathed a sigh of relief after learning the reason for her anger. He looked at her and said softly:

“Everyone is working hard to make camp, it would be hard to justify if I was the only one idling around, wouldn’t it?”

“Didn’t you show them your exceptional battle prowess? The job should fit the person, tasks like these should be left to the weaklings.”

“Don’t say that. listen, we’re making our debut as powerful adventurers, but we don’t want to leave the image of being arrogant. You have to be careful in the way you speak and act.”

Narberal nodded in acknowledgement, but she looked dissatisfied. She was only doing so because these were Ainz’s orders.

Considering her expression, her loyalty was clearly suppressing her dissatisfaction. On the flip side, Ainz was worried that this would cause them to make mistakes.

He was enjoying the great outdoors. Because he couldn’t experience this in the real world or in YGGDRASIL, it was refreshing for him. Although it took a lot of time, these outdoor activities reminded Ainz of the adventuring for the unknown back in YGGDRASIL.

If the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick hadn’t been transported to this world, and I was here by myself, I would probably travel the world.

The body of an undead didn’t required nourishment or air. He would be able to scale mountains or walk into the deep sea with just his legs. He would enjoy the unknown sights of this world in such a way.

But the treasures left behind by his comrades were now serving him as his loyal subjects, so Ainz felt he should take on his role as Overlord of the Great Tomb of Nazarick to repay their loyalty.

Ainz put these thoughts aside and concentrated on the task at hand. After hammering the four stakes adequately into the ground and tightening the ropes, he returned to the tents.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Lukeluther didn’t look at Ainz when he greeted him. It was a bit rude, but Lukeluther wasn’t idling, he was digging a hole for the stove.

The Magic Caster — Ninya was walking around the area, chanting a spell. It was the warning spell, ‘Alarm’, which would alert everyone whenever anything approached. It couldn’t cover a large area, but it was enough as a precaution.

This spell, which didn’t exist in YGGDRASIL, caused Ainz to squint his eyes.

He delegated the task of collecting unknown magic to others, but unknown spells still stimulated the Magic Caster in him.

The spell Ninya activated belonged to a magic system similar to Ainz and was the closest to YGGDRASIL spells. Because of his racial passive skill [Wisdom of Darkness], Ainz was able to increase the number of spells he could learn.

Can I learn magic that didn’t exist in YGGDRASIL if I conduct rituals with living sacrifices? Or is there some other way? There are so many things to learn…

Ninya noticed Ainz staring at him. He wasn’t as distant like when they first met, but he still gave an obviously fake smile and walked over:

“Ara, don’t need to watch so closely. It’s not that interesting right?”

“I’m curious about magic and I’m interested in what Ninya-san is doing.”

“No way… I am far behind Nabel-san in this.”

“But you know magic that Nabel doesn’t.”

Narberal lowered her head slightly, but Ainz didn’t missed that. Despite the faint light, Ainz didn’t miss that Narberal lowered her head slightly, looking jealous without a hint of shame.

“I want to use magic like Ninya-san too.”

“You’re greedy, Momon-san. You are so powerful with the sword and still looking to harness the might of magic. No, I should say you have the personality of an adventurer, right?”

“Magic doesn’t seem to be something you can learn in a day or two. The first prerequisite is the ability to connect with the world, but only those with potential can do that easily. Others can only understand it slowly with time.”

Lukeluther was hard at work with the stove and commented without looking up. Ninya’s expression turned serious:

“Yeah, Momon-san, I think you have the potential. You are not like other people, you have some sort of… inhuman feel about you.”

Ainz felt his nonexistent heart skip a beat. Ninya was rather vague, but he seemed to have realised that Ainz was an undead.

Although he had used illusion and Anti-Information spells, unknown magic and unique skills might be able to easily see through Ainz true nature. So Ainz cautiously asked:

“… Is that so? I think I am strong, but not to the extent of being inhuman. You’ve seen my face, so you should know that, right?”

“I’m not talking about appearance… After witnessing your strength, I know it was beyond the realm of normal people. Killing an ogre with a single attack… Being human is not about appearance but ability! And you also have a beauty like Nabel-chan with you.”

If you thought about Lukeluther’s words calmly, he was saying that the illusion of the face that Ainz showed was not good looking. But Ainz could only agree after remembering how the people he met so far looked.

There are too many handsome men and pretty girls in this world. The features of the people walking on the streets are great. After coming here, the way I feel about my own face has dropped by two grades.

“Appearance aside, Lukeluther is right. People known as heroes will of course be beyond the realm of common folks. I feel that way too.”

“No, you flatter me. Calling me a hero… is too great an honor for me.”

Ainz answered Ninya, pretending to be shy while stopping himself from breathing a sigh of relief.

“If it is convenient, would you like to meet my teacher? Teacher’s innate talent can appraise the magic power of others, if you have the potential for magic, it will be sensed. Teacher can even categorize the tier of magic for Sorcery based Magic Casters.”

“I’ve always wanted to … That’s the same innate talent as that of the best magician in the empire right?”

“Yes, it’s the same innate talent.”

Since he couldn’t miss this information, he carried on asking.

“… What kind of ability is that?”

“Ah, according to teacher, we Magic Casters have something like an aura around us. The better the magic ability, the more aura there is. My teacher’s ability allows the perception of this aura.”

“Oh…. oh.”

Ainz restrained the low moan of surprise that leaked out instantly. In order to avoid the suspicion of others, he grunt in acknowledgement in a normal tone.

“Teacher uses this method to gather talented children and teach them.”

I was picked up by teacher too— Ninya continued. Ainz tried playing it off as he cursed in his heart. This was bad, someone had such a troubling innate talent.

“What’s the first step to take in order to learn magic?”

“You need to find a good teacher.”

“…. Like Ninya-san?”

“Hmmm— It’s better to look for someone stronger than me. But the kingdom mostly teaches through private tutoring, unrelated personnel won’t be able to enter a magic guild. Those who do get in without relations are small kids who are still immature. For someone the age of Momon-san, it is hard to enter without special recommendations. As for that, the Empire has a good magic academy, the magic education of the Theocracy is also at a very high standard, but only for Faith-based magic.”

“I see, so I can enroll in the Empire’s magic academy?”

“I think that would be difficult. The magic academy is a state-owned education institution, so only citizens of the Empire can study there…”

“I see…”

“As for studying under me, I’m sorry. I have things I need to do and have no time to spare teaching others.”

Ninya’s expression darkens. He seemed to be full of intense negative emotions, his hostility was clear for all to see.

Don’t get too deep into this. I don’t think I will get anything good out of it.

When Ainz made this judgement, Lukeluther interrupted Ainz’s thought with a light tone:

“Hey— sorry for butting into your conversation, but the food is ready. Can you help me to gather the other three?”

“Momon-san, let me do that.”

“Hmmm— Nabel-chan is going? Not staying here to cook with me, creating our memories of love?”

“Die, lower life form (House centipede). I will pour boiling oil down your throat to stop you from saying nonsense, alright?”

“Stop that Nabel. Let’s go together.”

“Yes! Understood!”

After thanking Ninya, Ainz walked towards the two men working silently a short distance from the tent.

Peter and Dyne were focused on maintaining the weapon they used, applying oil to prevent rust, checking it’s alignment and other things.

The armor had fresh dents and the swords had cracks after clashing with the weapons of the goblins. There was a need to repair these as fast as possible, and Ainz was hesitant about breaking their concentration. He needed to inform the two of them, as well as Nfirea who was taking care of the horses, that dinner was ready.

The sun set beyond the horizon, the group dined with the blood red sunlight as background.

Everyone’s bowl was filled with bisque seasoned by bacon, toast, dried figs and walnuts. This was the dinner tonight.

Ainz stared at the salty looking bisque in his hands. He couldn’t feel the warmth while wearing his gauntlets, but seeing everyone eating heartily without waiting for it to cool, the temperature should be just right.

Well, What should I do?

Ainz was an undead and therefore unable to eat. He disguised his appearance with an illusion spell but he would be exposed if he ate the bisque with his skeleton body and mouth.

He couldn’t allow anyone to see his true appearance.

An unknown world with unknown food. It might be just a few simple dishes, but Ainz still felt it was a pity that he was unable to eat it.

Although he no longer had any desire for food, he still felt discontent about his inability to eat when delicious and curious dishes appeared before him.

For the first time since coming to this world, Ainz regretted having an undead body.

“Ah— Is there something you don’t dare to eat?”

Lukeluther asked while looking at Ainz, who wasn’t digging in.

“No, it’s a personal reason.”

“Is that so? Don’t force yourself alright? But it’s chow time now, you can take the helmet off right?”

“… It’s because of religious reasons. On the days when I kill, five or more people can’t dine together.”

“Oh… Momon-san had a strange religion. But since the world is big, it’s not surprising for such a religion to exist.”

Everyone’s suspicious gaze softens when they heard it was related to religion.

Maybe religion is a complicated matter in this world.

Ainz offered thanks to the gods he didn’t believe in for successfully fudging it. To change the topic, he asked Peter:

“You call yourself the ‘Sword of Darkness’, but it seems none of you are using one?

As for the main weapon of the members, Peter used a normal magically enchanted longsword, Lukeluther used a bow, Dyne used a mace and Ninya had a staff. No one wielded a black sword. Peter main- and Lukeluther’s support-weapons were swords, but their colour was anything but ‘darkness’’.

There was a technique that changed the color of metal by applying a special powder, so it wasn’t hard to forge a black-colored sword. Or rather, it seemed unnatural that nobody used a black sword.

“Ah, it’s that question.”

Lukeluther smiled sheepishly, the smile of someone digging up his shameful past. Especially Ninya whose face turned bright red, different from the reflection of the camp fire.

“That was the sword Ninya was after.”

“Don’t bring it up, I was young back then.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of! Having a grand dream is important!”

“Spare me Dyne, seriously.”

The Sword of Darkness group laughed heartily as they mocked Ninya who felt embarrassed enough that he wanted to find a hole and hide in it. The name ‘Sword of Darkness’ seemed to be an inside secret among members.

“The ‘Swords of Darkness’ were the swords owned by one of the legendary ‘Thirteen Heroes’.”

Peter said with a smile, but didn’t elaborate any further.

That’s too vague if he stops here… All I know is that the Thirteen Heroes were heroes on another level that defeated the rampaging demon god 200 years ago. I have no idea who the heroes were, or what equipment they had… Will not knowing these things cause me to lose face? Or should I pretend to know?

As Ainz was feeling troubled, Narberal interjected:

“What is that?”

Awesome. Ainz struck a victory pose in his mind, while the Sword of Darkness members looked stunned.

Not knowing about the magic item they named themselves after might be a bit shocking.

“So Nabel-chan doesn’t know. That understandable. Although he was one of the Thirteen Heroes, he was branded as a villain because others believed him to be of demonic descent. His part is often omitted when telling the tale of the legendary heroes… He was said to be very powerful.”

“The Swords of Darkness were the four swords used by the ‘Dark Knight’ of the thirteen heroes: The magic sword [Chilling Lamp] can emit dark energy, wounds caused by the corrosive sword [Crocodile] will never heal, the death sword [Space] is able to kill with a single scratch and then there’s the evil sword [Malice] whose ability is unknown.

“Oh—”

Everyone smiled awkwardly at Narberal’s uninterested response.

Ainz tilted his head, deep in thought, since the description of these special abilities felt familiar to him.

After thinking carefully, the image of a certain vampire popped into his head: These special abilities were similar to Shalltear’s [Cursed Knight] class.

The lore behind the Cursed Knights was that they were cursed paladins, it was a strong job in YGGDRASIL, but since it had a lot of shortcomings it wasn’t very popular. Some of the skills a Cursed Knight could learn included emitting a wave of darkness, leaving wounds that couldn’t be healed by low-tier healing spells, death curses, and so on.

Ainz squinted his illusionary eyes under his helmet, thinking that this couldn’t be a coincidence. The Swords of Darkness might bestow special skills similar to those of a Cursed Knight, but there was a high chance that this hero had been a Cursed Knight.

If that was the case, one of the prerequisites for becoming a Cursed Knight was level 60, so the ‘Dark Knight’ had been at least level 60— No, considering the skills he learned, he had been at least level 70.

The Demon God fought against such a hero, so their levels had to be about the same. But Nigan from the Sunlight Scripture claimed his Dominion of Authority defeated the Demon God, so the Demon God was not as strong as the heroes.

Judging from the intelligence he had collected, the most reasonable conclusion was that the Demon God wasn’t too strong, but the only way of finding an answer would be obtaining the sword or meeting that hero personally.

While Ainz was thinking, the group continued to chat. Ainz hurriedly focus his attention on their conversation in order to not miss any chance of getting more information.

“—Finding that is my first objective. There are many legendary weapons. There are some that were proven to exist, but it is unknown if they still exist nowadays—”

“Ah, there is a person who already owns one of the Swords of Darkness.”

Nfirea casually dropped the bomb, making all the Sword of Darkness members turn to him:

“Wh-who is it!”

“Wah! Really?! That means there are just three left!”

“Eh, now we can’t give one to each member…”

Nfirea answered cautiously:

“Ehm, there’s an adventurer group calling themselves the ‘Blue Rose’, their captain has the sword.”

“Oh, if it’s that group of adamantium ranked adventurers, then it can’t be helped.”

“That’s right. But since there are still three swords left, let’s work hard and become strong enough to obtain them all.”

“You are correct, since there is one, then the other three must exist as well. I hope those three are hidden in a place no one else can find until we discover them.”

“Ninya, log this in your diary to avoid forgetting about this.”

“Understood, I will pen it down. But that’s my private diary, shouldn’t you record or remember it yourself?”

“Leaving a physical record behind is good!”

“Is that the issue? Dyne…”

“But we have this.”

“What’s that?”

“This, Momon-san.”

Peter took out a shortsword with four small jewels embedded in the hilt. He drew it out to show its black sword body.

Before getting the real thing, we plan to use this as our symbol…”

“Calling ourselves ‘Blade of Darkness’ instead of ‘Sword of Darkness’ would be fine. Anyway, there is no real or fake thing, this is undoubtedly the symbol of our team!”

“Eh… Lukeluther is actually talking sense!”

The Sword of Darkness members broke out in laughter, appearing harmonious.

Influenced by the atmosphere, Ainz smiled along with them. Their feelings toward the short sword was the same as Ainz’s feelings towards the guild’s symbolic staff.

Topics suitable for dinner conversation popped up one after another, the Sword of Darkness members who were the majority held the initiative, talking to Ainz, Narberal and Nfirea from time to time.

Ainz joined in, but still felt some distance from the Sword of Darkness members. Because Ainz lacked knowledge of this world and was hesitant in his words, that’s why he can’t mingle well. This resulted in Ainz talking less, forming a vicious cycle.

When they talked to Narberal, she would come up with weird answers, so they left her out gradually.

Nfirea was handling it well.

He had always lived in this world and was more adapt in being with others. He can join in the topic easily and can read the mood too.

(No big deal. I had comrades in the past too.)

Ainz thought in a tantrum as he watched the party chatting happily under the glow of the camp fire.

Their relationships are great, this is expected of comrades that face death together. Nfirea had also looked envious as he looked at the team.

Ainz also recalled his teammates from the past, grinding his teeth in jealousy under his helmet.

— He was just like them in the past.

“… Your friendships are deep. Are all the other adventurers like this?”

“Probably, they went through thick and thin together as well, if they can’t understand what each other were thinking, what actions they will take, it will be dangerous. Over time, their bond will deepen.”

“That’s right, there are no girls in our team. I heard that it will get rowdy if there is one.”

“… That’s right.”

Ninya continued with an awkward smile:

“If there is, Lukeluther would be the first one to cause trouble. Anyway, it’s because our party has a definite goal right?”

Peter and the others nodded in agreement.

“… That’s how it is. When everyone are thinking as one, the feeling is different.”

“Eh? Momon-san had a party in the past too?”

Ainz didn’t know how to answer Nfirea, but he didn’t need to fudge it with weird excuse.

“We weren’t really… adventurers.”

As he remember his comrades in the past, it's understandable for his tone to become heavy. Even though he was an undead, he still had emotions, and his comrades from the past were the people Ainz missed the most.

Sensing Ainz had things he did not want to talk about, no one pressed him and the place turned silent.

It was so quiet they seem to be the only ones in the world. Ainz lifted his head gently and look at the night sky full of shining stars.

“When I was still weak, I was saved by a paladin dressed in pure white, who was holding a sword and shield in each hand. He introduced me to 4 other team mates. Including me, we were a 6 men party. Soon after, three other members who were weak just like me joined, and the nine of us founded the original team.

“Oh───”

With the crackling sound of the campfire, someone grunted. But Ainz wasn’t bothered and continued to remember the ‘original nine’ of his guild ‘Ainz Ooal Gown’.

“They were an excellent bunch. Paladin, swordmancer, priest, dark… bandit, dual wielding nin… dual wielding bandit, sorcerer, chef, blacksmith… Irreplaceable good friends. We experienced countless adventures, I still can’t forget those days.”

Thanks to them, he learned what friends are. He thought he would be ignored in YGGDRASIL too, but the reality was different, they were perfect teammates willing to lend a hand. As they slowly increased their members, they experienced an amazing life going through thick and thin.

That’s why the guild ‘Ainz Ooal Gown’ was an important treasure for Ainz. Even if he needed to give up everything and destroy the world, he wanted to protect its legacy.

“You will find comrades like them again someday.”

Ninya’s consolation made Ainz lashed out fiercely:

“There will never be such a day.”

His voice was full of hostility. Shocked by his own words, Ainz stood up slowly:

“… Excuse me… Nabel, I will eat over there.”

“I will join you.”

“I see… It can’t be helped since it is a religious issue.”

Peter felt it was a pity, but didn’t persuade him to stay.

Even though Ninya looked depressed, Ainz still decided to not say anything to him.

Just saying ‘I’m not taking it to heart’ will be enough.

The two of them seemed to be dining at the corner where the ropes were tied.

When the person who was here just now, the rest will discuss about him. Especially since the subject is the focus of attention, it was natural to do so.

As their conversation ends momentarily and everyone were silent, the camp fire crackled. Ninya looked at the sparks disappearing and reproach himself:

“… I think I said something I shouldn’t have.”

“Well, we didn’t know what happened earlier.”

Dyne nodded strongly while Peter continued:

“Maybe they were wiped out. People who lost all their comrades in battle will react that way.”

“That sort of things… is unbearable. Even for us who spend our lives on the edge of death, losing companions is still…”

“You are right, Lukeluther. I was careless with my words.”

“You can’t take back the words you said. So we need to do something for him to change his mind about those words.”

Ninya was depressed and mentioned softly: “I know how it feels to lose your companions, why didn’t I put myself in his shoes?” But no one responded to this.

In the silence, the firewood crackled and spit out sparks once again.

To change the heavy atmosphere, Nfirea cautiously said:

“… Momon-san was amazing today.”

Waiting for these words, Peter followed up:

“Yeah, I didn’t think he would be that awesome. Cleaving the ogre in half with one strike…”

“That was incredible.”

“Defeating an ogre with one attack is amazing, but how skilled is he to cleave it in two with a single hit?”

In response to Nfirea's baffled question, the Sword of Darkness members looked at each other.

The renowned young man Nfirea wasn’t only born with innate talent, he was also an excellent Magic Caster. He possessed talent that would allow him to shine brightly in the future, but there was no warrior around the same level as him, so it was hard for him to understand just how powerful Ainz was as a warrior.

Peter gave Nfirea a simple explanation:

“Normally, huge swords are used to inflict blunt trauma, but he’s actually using them to ‘slice’ his enemies apart. It is hard to cut a bulky guy like that with one hand… but there are exceptions.”

Nfirea seemed impressed by Peter’s explanation. But feeling the impression wasn’t intense enough, so Peter dropped a name for comparison:

“Frankly speaking, I think Momon-san is already at the same level as the Kingdom’s Knight-Captain.”

Nfirea opened his eyes wide with shock.

He finally understood what level the Swords of Darkness judged Ainz to be at.

“… You mean he is a match for adamantium ranked adventurers… the highest tier of adventurers, living legends and the pinnacle of human strength, right?”

“Absolutely.”

Peter nodded gently. Nfirea looked to other members of the Sword of Darkness, they all nod in agreement.

Nfirea was speechless.

Adamantium was a magical metal created with the most advanced technique. It was the peak of the pyramid of adventurers and very few in numbers. Both the Kingdom and the Empire had only two teams who managed to reach that level.

Their abilities reached the highest levels of humanity and they were literally heroes.

And Ainz could match people like them.

“Amazing…”

These words were full of praise.

“In the beginning… When we first met, I was jealous of the flashy full body armor on Momon-san despite him being the lowest copper medal adventurer. But since we witnessed that his power befits the armor, I am convinced that he is worthy of it. He — Momon-san’s full body armor matches his capabilities well. I’m envious of his strength…”

The warrior Peter wasn’t wearing a full body armor, but a weaker equipment known as chain mail. This wasn’t his equipment of choice, but the best armor he could buy with his budget.

“It’s fine, Peter can surely afford an excellent full body mail in the near future.”

“Yes, if you look forward to that kind of power, you have to work hard towards your goal. You should be grateful of how lucky you are, you can actually reach the goal you want to achieve.”

“Ninya is right, just set Momon-san as your goal and work towards that. We’ll help you, so let’s work hard together.”

“That’s right! Just work hard step by step! Judging from Momon-san’s appearance, he definitely spent a longer time training than you!”

Dyne’s words raised Nfirea's doubt.

“Have you seen Momon-san’s face under his helmet?”

Ainz didn’t take off his helmet after meeting Nfirea, even during meals. They didn’t even know how he drinks water.

“Yes we did. It was a normal face… but it wasn’t from around here, he has black hair and eyes just like Nabel-san.”

“I see… did he mentioned which nation he was from?”

The members of the Sword of Darkness looked at each other, feeling that Nfirea was very concerned with this matter.

“We didn’t ask with that much detail…”

“Is that so… Ah, no, if he came from a far away nation, the potions he uses might be different from the ones used in this region. As a pharmacist I am very interested in it.”

“I see… indeed, he and Nabel-chan seemed to be from the same place, but their appearance differs so widely… he would never be considered as a handsome man. Will anyone like him?”

“Appearance is nothing, since he is so strong there must be plenty of girls falling for him.”

Indeed, strong men were more popular because there were monsters in this world and humanity was considered an inferior race. Stimulated by their instincts, most women would prefer strong men.

“Sigh— Won’t my love ever bear fruit…”

“Impossible. It had no signs of bearing fruit at all.”

Ninya remembered Narberal’s reaction and replied with an awkward smile.

“No such thing. Anyway, I need to chase her. I need to be proactive for it to work. She is a super beauty okay? If she treats me just a little bit friendlier, I will be a winner in life.”

“… She is really beautiful, indeed…”

Dyne said with a heavy expression and noticed Nfirea seemed a bit uneasy.

“Nfirea-san, is something wrong?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing…”

“Eh?” Lukeluther made a sinister smile and said: “Did you fall for Nabel-chan?”

“No way!”

Nfirea answered in an unnecessary loud voice hastily. His intense reaction made Peter felt uncomfortable to continue asking and he relaxed the tension:

“Lukeluther, that’s too much. Think before you speak.”

After Lukeluther apologized sincerely, Nfirea looked troubled, not knowing how to react to the apology:

“No, it’s not that. Well… I feel uneasy… is Momon-san that popular?”

“… Appearance aside, with his strength, the possibility of him being popular is high. And from the looks of his armor and sword, he is probably rich…”

“Ah…”

Nfirea looked gloomy, Peter asked with the concern of a senior taking care of his junior:

“Is something bothering you?”

Nfirea was hesitant to speak and his mouth opened and shut like a goldfish. Peter and the others didn’t press him, they won’t force him if he doesn’t want to say it. Shortly after, Nfirea steeled himself and opened his heavy lips…

“Erm- Because I don’t want the person I like in Carne Village to fall for Momon-san.”

Sensing the emotions behind these words, the Sword of Darkness entourage smiled.

“Alright then, let big brother teach the young one some tricks-”

Peter gave Lukeluther a punch, making him scream weirdly. The Sword of Darkness group ignored his pained expression and continued to console the stunned Nfirea.

Under the shine of the campfire, the youth finally smiled.

─── At the same time.

The forehead was pierced along with the iron helmet.

His comrade shook wildly for a moment before falling like a kite with its string cut. The metal armor made a deafening sound in the dark night. He prayed for someone to hear this sound and rush over, but no one should be stupid enough to do that.

This impoverished region was filled with abandoned zones. That was why he met with his client here.

The man glared at the woman before him. But he couldn’t hide the fact he was just putting up a brave front. His morale was gone after seeing the woman killed 3 of his companions consecutively with ease.

The woman who killed his comrades flicked the short Stiletto that was dripping blood. The blood splattered in the surroundings, leaving the Stiletto shining coldly like before.

“Hmm hmm hmm- You are the last one pal-”

The woman bared her teeth, showing the smile of a carnivore.

“You, why are you doing this?”

He felt this question was dumb, but the man really doesn’t understand why he ended up in this state.

The men were not adventurers, they are known as ‘workers’ or twilight workers, accepting jobs bordering on being criminal, or even committing crime directly.

It was possible for others to bear grudges against them, but they had never worked in this city or seen this woman before.

“Ah, why am I doing this? Ara- I just want you pal-”

Unable to understand the woman, the man blinked for a while and asked:

“What, what do you mean?”

“The grandson of that renowned pharmacist is not home right now- I need someone to keep a look out for me and tell me when he returns. I don’t want to do something that troublesome-”

“Then just make such a request! That’s not what you are trying to do!”

These workers were willing to even break the law, so he doesn’t understand the reason why the woman wants to kill him.

“Ara ara ara, you might betray me-”

“If we receive the agreed remuneration, we won’t betray you!”

“Hmm? Let’s change that a bit okay? I like killing people, I love it, I can’t help myself.”

“Ah, I like interrogating too”, the woman added with a smile.

After listening to this abnormal reason, the man made a serious face:

“What the hell is wrong with you?!”

“What exactly is the reason? Because I had to keep killing for my job? Because I was always compared to my excellent big brother? My parents devoted all their love to him? Or perhaps because I was toyed with before becoming strong? Maybe because after messing up and getting captured, I was interrogated for days? Having to eat a scorching pear is really painful, yo.”

Before him was just a young girl. But that vanished in an instant and the woman smiled again:

“Just kidding, all of that was a lie. Fake, fake~ I didn’t experience any of that. But even if everything was true, knowing the past won’t change anything. I turned out like this because of accumulated experiences~ Ara~ Speaking of which, this is thanks to Kaji-chan collecting intelligence for me, allowing me to contact you guys immediately~ You know how long it takes just to find help these days-”

From her hand she released her Stiletto, letting it fall. It stabbed deep with the aid of only gravitational acceleration. This sharpness meant the Stiletto wasn’t made of mere steel.

“This is orichalcum. Or to be more exact, it’s mithril covered with orichalcum. It’s amazingly good stuff.”

Having such a rare weapon proved the strength of this woman, which meant he had no chance of winning.

“Now then… time for the next step. If you get heavily injured, pal, you won’t be of use… But no matter how much I hurt you, Kaji-chan can mend you with faith based spells- This means I can enjoy torturing endlessly?”

As the woman said something creepy, she took out another Stiletto from under her robes.

“Using this should be good… Sorry if I miss-”

The woman stuck out her tongue and apologized, looking really cute. But her heart was still clearly black.

The man turned his back to the woman and sprinted. Although he heard the sound of the woman pretending to be surprised, he just focused on escaping. In the darkness without light, he ran with the sense of direction he was so proud of.

But with a cracking sound, the calm and cruel voice of the woman came from behind:

“— too slow.”

His shoulder felt an intense burning pain. Thinking he was hit by the Stiletto, his mind was covered by a shadow.

— Mind control.

The man resisted with all his might, but the shadow intensified.

The sound of a friend came from behind.

“Ara— Are you okay? Is the wound deep?”

“Yeah, it’s no big deal.”

The man turned and smiled at his friend.

The woman made a scary smile upon hearing this.

Part 3

Setting off at sunrise, the group followed a road hidden by the grasslands.

“We will reach Carne Village before long.”

Hearing that from within his group — Ainz has also been here before — but on the surface only Nfirea has been here before, all of his travel companions nodded in unison. Other than that they didn’t have any other reaction, they just walked quietly. Nfirea, the one who spoke also had an impatient expression.

There was an exceptionally awkward atmosphere between them. The one who created this atmosphere, Ainz, hid his mood under his helmet.

Ninya kept on looking at him with eyes of disdain, but this was his own fault, so he could not say anything.

This was also influenced by yesterday’s speech.

He apologised to everyone during breakfast, it should have been easy to forgive at that point, but he was unable to say the simple words “I forgive you”.

Although Ainz knew he was being petty, he was unable to let it go.

Even after turning into an undead, which changed both my body and my mentality, I’m still like this…

After turning into an undead, all of his stronger emotions would be dampened, but all his weaker feelings wouldn’t disappear completely. The fact that his petty anger was still around after such a long time was proof of this. His past companions had an important place in his heart. Although they were deep feelings, it would be slightly bad if he continued this way, but right now he had no intention of being the one to change the mood.

Being aware that his feelings were like that of a child throwing a tantrum, Ainz was angry with himself for his childish behavior.

Within this awkward atmosphere there was only one exception — Narberal, who was walking next to Ainz. Because she hadn’t been harassed by Lukeluther, she was happy enough to start humming.

With that, the group quietly walked forward, quickly arriving on the outskirts of Carne Village.

“W-well! The view here is so vast and open, perhaps we don’t need to march in formation—”

Lukeluther deliberately said so.

Looking to one side, only a vast green forest could be seen, casting some doubt on his statement. Also, it was part of the basics that one shouldn’t let his guard down even in open areas, so it would be wise to keep walking in formation even now.

It was just that everyone knew the reason they were silently walking like this wasn’t because of the vigilance required by adventurers.

“… It is very important to stay vigilant. Just like this… eh, let’s just proceed to the village.”

“Of course! In order to avoid being attacked, it is important to keep alert at all times!”

Even Peter and Forest Druid Dyne replied in succession, Lukeluther also gave off an expression that said “Not about that”.

“Maybe a Dragon will fly here from a faraway place and attack us.”

Ninya also said. Hearing those words, Lukeluther quickly responded:

“What kind of weird development is that. Use your common sense, how could that kind of thing happen, Ninya!”

“Of course it is impossible. It’s only a rumor that there are dragons on the outskirts of Re-Lantier. I heard that in ancient times, there were dragons that could freely manipulate the weather, but I have never heard of anyone seeing a dragon recently. Ah, no… recently I’ve heard that Frost Dragons were seen near the Azellerisia Mountains, but that was really far to the north.”

In ancient times? Considering what the men from the Sunlight Scripture have said, dragons are the strongest race of this world…

In YGGDRASIL, dragons were also considered the strongest enemy race. Not only do they have powerful physical attack power, physical defense and endless stamina, they were also able to use numerous special abilities and magic.

They had already reached a special level.

YGGDRASIL had many different types of monsters, among them were named monsters along with regional monster chieftains and they also had very strong world-class monsters. Even if six teams consisting of six members each were to fight against these monsters, their chances of success would be very low.

Other than the boss who appeared at the end of the main-story, “Devourer of the Nine Worlds”, there were still the “Eight Dragons”, the “Seven Demon Kings of Sin”, the “Ten Great Angels of the Tree of Life”. The expansion “Valkyrie’s Downfall” also introduced new bosses, the “God of the 6th Day” and the “Five Rainbow Buddhas”. Altogether, there were thirty-two level-breaking monsters. Some of these bosses were from the dragon race, which showed the preferences of the developers.

If dragons really exist, then I must be extra careful. In YGGDRASIL, dragons were a race with indeterminate lifespan, so meeting a dragon with power beyond imagination wouldn’t be strange.

“Ah — if you don’t mind me asking, but what’s the name of the dragon who’s able to change the weather?”

Ainz wasn’t shameless enough to calmly ask something of the person he had a quarrel with, so he quietly whispered. But it was still loud enough to catch everyone’s attention, so Ninya quickly turned his head around.

They were acting like a quarreling couple, Ainz wanted to use that question as a chance to reconcile with Ninya.

Ainz could not resist thinking about the scene he saw in a coffee shop in the past to compare with this situation.

Having said that, since it was Ainz who asked the question, Ninya showed a small, cheerful expression. The members of the Dark Sword and Nfirea smiled as well and only Narberal was unmoved. Speaking of which, ever since this morning, Narberal didn’t even notice the awkward atmosphere between those two.

“Terribly sorry! Once we’ve returned to the city, I will look that up!”

No, there is no need to be so excited… Just saying that you don’t know is good enough… I only wanted an answer…

Just that he did not say those words.

“Eh, in that case Ninya-san, if time permits, would you please help me check it out?”

“I understand, Momon-san!”

Everyone nodded in satisfaction, making Ainz feel embarrassed. The situation would be different if it was the other way round, but being oldest person in the group he couldn’t help feeling ashamed.

“Alright, we should be arriving at Carne Village soon…”

This would be the first cheerful thing he said all morning, but suddenly Nfirea went silent.

Everyone started looking at the village as it gradually came into view. It was a simple village that was situated next to a forest. No strange atmosphere could be felt from it and there was also nothing of interest, so nobody knew why Nfirea suddenly stopped talking.

“What’s wrong, Nfirea-san? Did something happen?”

“Ah, never mind. It’s just that this sturdy fence wasn’t here before…”

“Is that so? But looking at it, there doesn’t seem to be anything special about it at all. To be honest, this kind of defence is a bit shabby for a frontier village, isn’t it? This village is located next to the forest, so they probably use it to stop monsters. It wouldn’t be strange if there was an even stronger fence, right?”

“Eh— What you said may be true… but Carne Village was protected by the Virtuous King of the Forest, they never needed a palisade before…”

They all looked at the village. From what they could see, the village was completely surrounded by the walls, some of them were even fashioned from wood that would break easily.

“How strange indeed… what happened here….”

Even after hearing the young man’s uneasy questions, Ainz still didn’t say anything, because the last time he visited the village it was as the Magic Caster ‘Ainz Ooal Gown’, and right now he was the Adventurer Momon.

Ninya interrupted with a serious face:

“Maybe I’m worrying too much… but I clearly remember the village from the last time I came here, and I noticed two very suspicious differences. One is that even now I don’t see anyone working in the fields and the other one is that some of the wheat has already been harvested.”

Looking towards the direction Ninya was facing, they could clearly see that parts of the wheat fields had already been harvested.

“I see. In that case… what exactly happened here?”

Ainz with an uneasy expression said to everyone:

“…Everyone, please leave this to us. Nabel, please use your flight magic to survey the village.”

After listening to Ainz’s instructions, Nabel activated her concealment magic and disappeared. Following that, Narberal finished chanting her flying magic, then no trace of her was left behind. Everyone waited on the road, when Narberal’s figure suddenly reappeared in the same place and she gave her report:

“…The villagers are moving normally within the village and it doesn’t look like they are under orders or commanded by someone. There’s also another field on the other side of the village where the villagers are currently working at.”

“… Well, looks like I was just too worried.”

“There shouldn’t be any problems then. In that case, we should continue… right?”

Peter looked for Nfirea’s and Ainz’s opinions, who both agreed.

Since the road to the village became narrower and narrower, the group formed a single column and walked to the entrance of the village.

The wheat fields scattered on both sides of the road swayed in the wind and dyed the wheat green. From their point of view, it looked like they were immersed in a green pond.

“Eh?”

The carriage was rattling forward when Lukeluther, who was second in line, suddenly spoke in a puzzled voice and carefully looked at the wheat fields. Even though it wasn’t harvest time yet, the wheat stalks still reached a height of seventy centimeters, making it difficult to look into the sea of wheat.

“What’s wrong?”

Ninya, who was walking behind him, asked with a perplexed voice.

“Eh? Nothing, maybe it’s just my imagination?”

Lukeluther’s head was full of doubts, but he increased his pace and quickly closed the distance between him and Peter.

Ninya also looked in the same direction, confirming there was no movement and then moved forward quickly.

The wheat even grew onto the road to the village, making it look like it had been flooded by the sea. For the sake of creating a path they considered cutting down the wheat, but doing so would surely get them into trouble.

“I really hope that the villagers will properly tend these fields. Leaving it like this would be too wasteful.”

Peter, who was walking in front of them, knocked over many ears of wheat when his thigh armor grazed them. Seeing that, Peter muttered to himself, feeling that something was off about the situation.

His intuition, which had been honed through countless dangerous situations, was warning him. Would green ears of wheat really fall over this easily?

Looking carefully at the fields, Peter realised there was a pair of eyes staring straight into his. There was a small creature that could hide their whole body inside the wheat field. Although he couldn’t make out the facial features that were hidden by the wheat, they were definitely not human.

“What!”

Surprised, Peter wanted to shout a warning to his fellow comrades, but the creature — a demi-human — spoke first: “Could you lay down your arms?”

The short demi-human had already drawn its weapon, no matter how fast Peter could move, his opponent would still be faster.

“Oh-oh, please lay down your weapons. Could you please convey this message to the people behind you? We do not wish to use these bows and arrows to kill you.”

Hearing a soft sound coming from another place, he looked in that direction and discovered a cleverly hidden hole in the fields from which the upper halves of some demi-humans could be seen. They were also using the wheat to camouflage themselves.

Peter could not help feeling hesitant. According to what this creature was saying, it looked like there was room for negotiation.

“… Could you spare our lives?”

“Of course. If you surrender.”

Peter was at a loss.

He had to stand in front of the carriage and ensure that none of the arrows would reach Nfirea on the carriage. He also had to grasp the numbers of the enemy and the composition of their troops.

It was important to confirm his opponent’s objective, but right now he could neither surrender nor reject his opponent’s proposal.

As if they were able to see through Peter’s confusion, two additional demi-humans stood up with a rustling sound.

“…Goblins.”

Ninya whispered.

The demi-humans who just stood up were of the same race as the goblins from yesterday. They raised their bows and arrows, targeting with their sharp eyes.

Should they fight?

Ninya, Lukeluther and Dyne looked at each other, using their expressions to read each other’s intentions.

Compared to humans, goblins were weaker in terms of height, weight, muscle and other physical abilities. Since they had night vision, it would be difficult to fight them in the dark, but if it was under the sun in broad daylight, they wouldn’t be a difficult opponent for the battle-hardened members of the Dark Sword..

Furthermore, there was Ainz as well, so the fight should be as easy as yesterday’s one.

If it was a fight against goblins, Peter was confident he would win, even if he had a hostage to rescue.

But there were other reasons Peter was unable to act decisively.

In simple terms, the goblin in front of him looked well-trained. Compared to the weak and gaunt goblins from yesterday, the goblin in front of him had a good physique, a body with sturdy muscles.

Not only that, the way the goblin was holding its bow was also very good. Yesterday’s goblins looked like children waving sticks around, but the goblin in front of him looked like a soldier familiar with the bow.

And finally, its weapons looked well cared for, comparable to the weapons of the members of the Dark Sword.

Since humans can train to become stronger, obviously even monsters can do so as well. Naturally the same applies to goblins.

Therefore, the goblins in front of him could very well be much stronger than any of the previous demi-humans the Dark Sword had fought before.

Then a different voice blew down with the wind past the wheat fields, Lukeluther hurried looked to the rear.

“… Hey, hey, have we already been found out?”

A goblin lifted his face out of the field, sticking his tongue out. It was possible that it wanted to sneakily attack from behind but didn’t have good enough sneaking skills to fool the ranger Lukeluther. Even though he had noticed the goblin, it didn’t improve their situation at all.

Calmly looking around, they noticed that the fields were full of movements, looking as if there were still things hidden inside. All of them seemed to move towards the carriage, slowly closing the encirclement.

They were in an extremely disadvantageous position.

The members of the Dark Swords could no longer think of a way out of this dilemma.

Ainz used his hand to stop Narberal, who was going to slaughter all of them, and after observing the goblins he confirmed that his guess was correct.

“These are the goblins and goblin archers summoned by the 「Horn of the Goblin General」.”

If these goblins were under the control of the girl he gave the item to, then they should avoid any hostile action. They should think of some countermeasures, but since they were no match for Ainz or Narberal, there shouldn’t be a problem.

Looking at the calm and easy-going Ainz, the goblins said:

“That man wearing the full body armor, if possible please do not act rashly. We do not wish to fight.”

Ainz once again stopped Narberal's actions and with a guarded and stiff voice he said:

“Don’t worry, if you don’t attack us, we won’t move as well.”

“I thank you. These guys may be strong, but they aren’t really scary… You on the other hand, along with the lady next to you… my instinct tells me it would be terrible if the two of you become my enemies.”

Ainz didn’t speak up, but shrugged in answer.

“Please wait here for a moment until elder sister comes over,”

“Who is this elder sister you speak of! Is it that person occupying Carne Village!”

Nfirea’s agitated shout surprised the goblins.

“Nfirea, calm down. I don’t need to tell you has the upper hand right now. Looking back at what Narberal has said about the village, there are still some strange areas. So before we know more about the situation, I hope we can avoid any unnecessary conflict.”

Although he had heard Ninya’s advice, Nfirea could not conceal his anxious mood.

Only that his face showing his determination to fight to the death, turned into a face of discontent, his clenched fists slowly relaxed.

Seeing such drastic changes in Nfirea, Ainz felt both surprised and confused.

Of course, since it was just a short journey he didn’t know everything about the youth’s personality, but even then he didn’t think his reaction would be that extreme. Maybe this village was more to him than just a place he got his herbs from.

Feeling suspicious, Ainz looked at the youth. The goblins on the other hand felt Nfirea’s anger, and were looking at each other with puzzled expressions.

“Eh— This feels different from before…”

“Elder sister’s village was recently attacked by Knights of the Empire, we are just being careful.”

“The village was attacked…! I hope she’s fine!”

Seemingly responding to Nfirea’s cry, a girl under the protection of the goblins appeared at the village entrance. Seeing the girl, Nfirea opened his eyes wide, shouting the girl’s name loudly:

“Enri!”

Hearing his shout the young girl also replied with a voice that sounded like they were good friends, full of kindness and warmth:

“Nfirea!”

At this point Ainz thought about what he heard before.

“A-hah, her pharmacist friend… wasn’t a woman, but a man.”