Arshe, what's going on? She's acting so strange… Iri noticed.
Upon arriving at Karn Village and seeing her two adorable younger sisters, Iri noticed that Arshe had been on guard the entire time. While Iri played with her sisters, Arshe just stared from the side, looking as if she feared her own sisters would be taken away.
I wouldn't take your sisters, I'm not a pervert like Shalltear. But then again, it seems the people of Nazarick have already mistaken Arshe for my new servant.
Although it feels a bit strange, with this identity, Shalltear might hesitate to act against Arshe, right? Hmm! I must protect Miss Arshe from Shalltear's poisonous fangs!
Iri looked at Arshe with determination, thinking this. Arshe, noticing Iri's gaze, shivered as if startled by something.
Perhaps Shalltear did something inappropriate to her before, and she's too embarrassed to say. I'm truly sorry, Arshe, for letting you encounter such a perverted Xia Jiu, Iri thought.
After leaving Karn Village, Arshe's previously guarded demeanor softened considerably. So, the next stop was the capital of the Yestijia Kingdom.
After all, Iri was quite curious about the kingdom's reaction after receiving Lakyus's report, although Iri could basically guess what it would be.
After teleporting to the capital, she found a worried-looking Lakyus at the inn where Blue Rose was staying.
Lakyus seemed to have been waiting for Iri to arrive, but upon seeing Iri, Lakyus's already poor complexion worsened.
As it turned out, just as expected… Lakyus first discussed the matter with Princess Lana. Princess Lana also felt that the Old King should be informed, so Lakyus proceeded according to Lana's wishes.
However, the kingdom directly ignored the Black Scripture's invasion. The Old King was quite concerned, even saying he wanted to send a letter to question the Theocracy's intentions.
Then, the nobles who held real power all advised against making trouble, stating that the kingdom's primary enemies now were the Empire and Nazarick. The Theocracy, which was just passing through, hadn't done anything to actually harm the kingdom, so they should just let it be!
The Old King could only reluctantly accept the nobles' advice. Hearing Lakyus say this, and then recalling how Warrior-Captain Gazef had once suggested abandoning E-Rantel in the original work, only to be branded a traitor by those nobles.
The Old King, who lacked real power, was indeed quite pitiful. However, if it weren't for those nobles seeking death, there wouldn't have been the battle of Katz Plains, which was good for Nazarick. If they want to court death, let them! Iri had no intention of interfering.
Since only Lakyus was there, Iri curiously asked about the whereabouts of the other members of Blue Rose. The Twin Ninjas had departed to investigate the Theocracy, Gaguran had gone to the training ground to flirt with men as usual, and as for Irubyue, she said she was going for a walk and then disappeared, so she must have gone to E-Rantel.
In that case, there wasn't much more to do regarding the kingdom's affairs. Before the battle of Katz Plains, according to the timeline, there were still one to two months to wait, which was boring.
With nothing to do, Iri decided to tour the capital again to see if there were any new and interesting items she could acquire. All of this was for Nazarick! She definitely wasn't deliberately preparing specialties for Arshe's adorable sisters! This was just a side trip! A side trip!
So, Iri took Arshe shopping. The first place they visited was the Magic Guild, because magic scrolls could be bought there. Although the prices were steep, after completing the Monster Tree subjugation quest, Iri also received a considerable bonus thanks to Blue Rose.
Oh, by the way, after Iri reported the forest situation to Albedo, Albedo dispatched the Pleiades sisters, who were not on other missions, to clean up the forest floor again.
It was said that the reason the small tree demons appeared was due to the seeds scattered during the battle between the large tree demon and the Guardians.
Originally, those seeds should have been dealt with by the dryads guarding that area, but the dryad had already been moved to Nazarick, so… those small tree demons grew out.
With the tree demons all cleared, Iri directly reported it to the Adventurer's Guild in the name of Blue Rose, attributing the credit for handling the matter to Blue Rose. Now that she was also a member of Blue Rose, she could indirectly increase her own reputation a bit.
Upon arriving at the Magic Guild, Iri expressed her desire to purchase scrolls, but the receptionist mistook her for a disruptive child and tried to kick Iri out.
How snobbish! If Arshe hadn't held Iri back, the Magic Guild would probably have disappeared from the capital.
Finally, at Arshe's reminder, Iri directly slapped her Steel Rank dog tag onto the receptionist's face. It was a literal slap; the receptionist, hit by the dog tag, fell to the ground unconscious.
This eventually drew out the Vice Guild Master of the Magic Guild, who apologized to Iri and offered to give Iri three magic scrolls for free, which finally appeased Iri.
Originally… Iri believed that her attire and appearance in no way resembled that of an ordinary Adventurer. Although due to her height and appearance, she indeed looked like a child, being underestimated just because of that naturally infuriated Iri.
Since they were offered for free, she wouldn't be polite. Iri flipped through the scroll catalog. Most were recovery and reconnaissance spells, with a few attack spells and some inexplicable ones.
For example, the magic board spell, which was used to airlift Ainz in the Kingdom Arc. Iri had no interest in such things; the magic scroll Iri wanted most was not this one.
In the end, Iri, finding nothing else to her liking, directly chose three Flying Magic scrolls. Actually, what Iri wanted most was Message scrolls. Without them, to contact Nazarick or You Li from the Empire, she had to teleport, which was truly inconvenient.
Although Nazarick had also produced Message scrolls, most of them were supplied to spies operating in the Holy Kingdom.
Given Iri's status, she had priority for their use, but Iri felt it was better to let the spies use them first.
After Iri acquired the three Flying Magic scrolls, she left feeling satisfied. Flying Magic was also a very important spell for Iri.
After all, given Iri's persona, it wasn't easy to directly ask Ainz for a Flying Magic necklace. Moreover, the scrolls produced by Nazarick did not include Flying Magic. For Nazarick, Flying Magic was a spell that anyone with magic could use. Thinking of this, Iri felt a rather subtle emotion.
After leaving the Magic Guild, Arshe looked as if she wanted to say something but held back. After Iri noticed, Arshe finally voiced her question: why would such a powerful magic caster like Iri choose three Flying Magic scrolls?
This question stumped Iri. It was indeed difficult to explain, especially since Arshe's ability allowed her to perceive a person's magical aptitude.
Since Arshe raised this question, it was clear that Arshe had used her ability to observe her magical aptitude at some point without her knowing, which made things difficult.
However, the quick-witted Iri immediately thought of a plausible excuse: she was a specialized magic caster, focusing solely on practicing various powerful and destructive spells.
Therefore, she had only learned some necessary healing spells of the supportive type. After this explanation, Arshe accepted it with a complicated expression.
This made Iri sigh in relief, as Iri had no idea what Arshe had seen regarding her magical aptitude, so she could only make things up.
However… Arshe didn't believe Iri's explanation at all. There must have been another reason for taking three Flying Magic scrolls, one that she couldn't tell her.
Although Flying Magic was a third-tier spell, it was an introductory spell within that tier. Almost all magic casters who could use third-tier spells would learn it. No matter how specialized one was, they wouldn't skip it. Besides, specialization and not learning Flying Magic didn't seem to have any direct connection, did they?
Moreover, Iri was a magic caster who could use Ultimate Magic… When she observed her with her ability back then, she had practically thrown up on the spot. For her to say she couldn't use a third-tier introductory spell… no one would believe it if she said it out loud. So, there must be some special purpose, right?
After all, it was Iri… Although she hadn't known her for very long, she basically understood what kind of person Iri was.
Her nature was not bad, and one could even say her character was quite good, quite kind. Among the monster-infested Nazarick, she was already considered a breath of fresh air.
Hmm! If it weren't for her preference for girls, she could be considered a quite perfect person, but her good character still couldn't hide the fact that she was also a very cunning person.
Her interactions with the Blood Emperor in the Empire and with Princess Lana in the Kingdom earlier clearly demonstrated this. Although with her own intelligence, it was indeed difficult to see through what she was thinking or what she intended to do.
Just as Arshe was pondering Iri's affairs, and Iri was focused on the various street stalls, suddenly, a man flew out of a strangely shaped building, about to crash into the distracted Arshe. Iri, quick-witted, pulled the dazed Arshe aside, and then saw the man, bruised and swollen, rolling on the ground.
Upon seeing this, Iri immediately became displeased. If she hadn't reacted quickly and pulled Arshe away, wouldn't Arshe have been subjected to some unwanted attention from this unknown brute?!
Iri looked towards where the brute had flown out from—a very strange shop. It looked very spacious, and although there was a sign, Iri was illiterate… and didn't know what kind of shop it was. So, ignoring Arshe's protests, Iri angrily stormed into the shop.
"Haven't you learned your lesson yet? With your skill, you still want to learn my sword techniques? Go train for a few more years and then come back!"
Just as Iri stepped through the shop door, before she even figured out what kind of empty shop this was, with nothing inside.
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