Chapter 45: Nazarick and the Otherworld (7)
E-Rantel was unusually noisy today.
It all began with a rumor spreading from the Adventurer's Guild. Word was that an Adamantite adventurer from the Empire had arrived in the Kingdom—specifically, in E-Rantel. The fact that she was Adamantite was shocking enough, but the countless rumors surrounding this particular Adamantite stirred people even more.
The youngest Adamantite.
The first solo-team Adamantite.
Such titles followed her. The fact that she was a young girl, yet operated completely alone, left people in disbelief. Anyone who knew even a little about adventurers—anyone who had ever experienced the work, even a Copper—understood how extraordinary that was. According to the staff members who claimed to have seen her, she appeared to be an indifferent-looking girl, carrying herself with a poise unbefitting an adventurer. Her appearance seemed rather worn-out, yet her steps had strength, and her attire instantly marked her as a magic-type caster.
Was she truly alone? Was she truly Adamantite?
Did she truly look like a girl? Rumors flew everywhere through E-Rantel. And because E-Rantel itself had a hero-ranked Adamantite team, "Darkness," who had risen to the top at unprecedented speed, comparisons grew even louder. Naturally, most people believed she would be inferior to E-Rantel's own heroes.
To think she actually came here.
Nabe, Nabe of Darkness, was stunned.
She knew the girl was supposedly coming to the Kingdom, but she never imagined she would come to E-Rantel—as if deliberately aimed. What she had dismissed as an unlikely possibility had come true. Perhaps her master, Ainz Ooal Gown, had foreseen this from the beginning. Nabe let out a sigh, blaming herself for being so relaxed and unprepared.
She paused to think.
Arche Eeb Rile Furt. Nabe was notoriously bad at remembering human names, but if it was Ainz's order, she had to memorize them even by force. Thus, she remembered the information on Arche. Most of it was gathered by Yuri, so it was nothing special—anyone could know it. Still, the fact that Nabe remembered information about a human at all would probably move Yuri to tears.
She may be Kaiser's disciple, but in the end, she's just a weak human.
Still, openly dismissing her would be unwise. If Arche became upset or hurt, Kaiser might also be displeased, and that could damage Nazarick's future relationship with him. Ainz's worries lay precisely in that area. …If asked whether Nabe could maintain a friendly relationship with Arche, Nabe would have to say no. She didn't want to. But this was Ainz's command. Whether she could do it or not, she had to try.
No—becoming friendly was only a hope. If they never crossed paths, then Arche would have no opportunity to form a bad impression of Nabe, and neither would Kaiser hear anything unpleasant about Nazarick. They wouldn't become friendly, but nothing bad would happen either. One of the sayings of the Supreme Beings came to mind:
If you stay still, you've already cleared half the path.
Taking that phrase to heart, Nabe decided to simply avoid Arche entirely. Even if Arche actively sought her out, Nabe felt confident she could evade detection. But running around the town avoiding someone would be suspicious. Making it obvious would be a problem.
"Ah, Nabe! Just who I wanted to see!"
…Who was this again?
She remembered only that he was a cockroach-like human. Someone she encountered fairly often. One of the humans Ainz—disguised as Momon—had told her not to antagonize.
His name was… Ainz… something. She remembered only that it resembled the name of the Supreme Being, Ainz, which filled her with a flash of disgust.
A worthless human dared to share a name with the Supreme Being—the absolute ruler who commanded even the Supreme Beings themselves. She felt an urge to incinerate him where he stood, but Ainz's orders took priority over personal desire.
Yes. Ainzach.
He was the guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild. Nabe felt a bit proud that she remembered. She addressed the insect-like creature before her.
"What is it?"
She wanted to snap "What do you want?" but Ainz—while in the form of Momon—had always drilled into her the importance of polite speech for human interactions and social life. So outwardly she had mastered the ability to use polite language, no matter what she felt inside. Of course, the fact that she still occasionally let insults slip continued to be a headache for Ainz—but Nabe remained blissfully unaware of that.
"There's an emergency request. Momon's not here, but… could you take it?"
"What is the request about?"
"An undiscovered ruin has been found. We want it investigated."
Nabe hesitated.
If it was truly a ruin, it might contain great treasures. Perhaps something Ainz desired. Her loyalty flared up—and at the same time, she realized something. With this request as an excuse, she could avoid meeting Arche entirely. If she had to leave E-Rantel for work, Arche would have no grounds to blame her. It wouldn't be avoiding the problem—it would be fulfilling her duty. And if luck favored her, she might even uncover unknown items or truths in the ruins.
Having reached that conclusion, Nabe spoke.
"Very well. I'll hear the details."
"Good! Come upstairs!"
Ainzach seemed delighted.
Nabe didn't care in the slightest whether he was pleased. As long as "Darkness" accepted the request, they had to complete it. She had absolute confidence in any extermination job, but the contents of this request were unclear—so she should hear everything. Ainz had not forbidden her from accepting requests, but he had said clearly: If you take one, you must complete it flawlessly. The reputation of Darkness must not be tarnished.
"Well, it's lucky you're here. A noble discovered it previously and hired workers, but it seems they were all wiped out."
"I see."
"So, he invested another large sum and now wants adventurers. Don't worry—it's a formal request. Basically, it's to exterminate whatever monster killed those workers."
"I understand."
"And if possible, we'd like you to investigate the ruin as well."
He talks too much.
Nabe's irritation rose, but she forced it down.
"I do not possess the investigative skills that Mom—… that Momon does."
"No need to worry! We've prepared everything on our side."
"Prepared? I'm not going alone?"
"That's right! I've specially summoned an Orichalcum-ranked team from another town—and even a guest so impressive that the Orichalcum team itself pales beside them! Nabe, you'll be surprised!"
So there would be companions.
Annoying. She might have to protect them. If they died, she wouldn't care—humans were beneath insects. But if saving them elevated her reputation even further, Ainz might praise her. As she imagined receiving praise, Nabe felt her motivation burning fiercely. Mistaking that for enthusiasm for the ruins, Ainzach gave a satisfied laugh.
"I always thought you were cold, but it seems you have a proper adventurer's spirit. Fired up, are you? Anyway, come in—our special guests are the Orichalcum team 'Fairy' and the Empire's Adamantite… Arche herself!"
Nabe froze.
"P–Pfft!? W-Wait—! Kh—!!"
Inside, Arche, who had been calmly drinking tea, sprayed her cup across the room in shock.
....
The Slane Theocracy was in turmoil.
In any case, it was noisy. The moment Kaiser arrived in the Theocracy, he immediately began gathering information. First, he looked into the recent movements of the Theocracy's soldiers. But all he obtained were the same obvious reports: that the Theocracy's secret weapon had been defeated by a mysterious boy, and so on. Which made sense—after all, the strongest and most elite unit, the Black Scripture, handled assassinations and covert operations. Normal citizens would never know the details.
As expected… should I just go inside directly?
Kaiser sank into contemplation.
If he forced his way in, obtaining information would be easy. But he did not want to encounter her—the one called the "Doom of Despair." He didn't know what kind of face he should greet her with… nor what feelings she currently held toward him. Kaiser had been the one who killed her father. And in the end, they had pointed their weapons at each other before parting. Their last meeting had ended that way—so there was no reason to think she held anything resembling goodwill toward him. Kaiser sighed, believing it unavoidable.
Regardless, he needed information. He suspected the Theocracy had used Strongest Holy Scripture, but he needed confirmation. Considering future negotiation with Nazarick, he needed as much information as possible.
"Ah, a foreigner? It's been a long time since someone from outside visited the Theocracy."
"I tend to travel often. Seems the Theocracy hasn't changed much."
"So you've been here before, huh? It's gotten even better than before! All thanks to the Six Great Gods. I offer them my gratitude every day."
It seemed the worship of the Six Great Gods remained as strong as ever.
Not all of the Six Great Gods had been good people. That was why Kaiser had opposed them back then. Though it had been inevitable at the time, it felt strange to argue about it now. What mattered was that the Six Great Gods were dead—and Kaiser was the one who survived. Kaiser hummed to himself, lost in thought.
He ended the conversation curtly and stepped back outside. To be honest, he had been betrayed by the Theocracy more than once, so his feelings toward this nation were not positive. But the ones who stabbed him in the back were already dead. And the Theocracy, at present, was a nation humanity could not afford to lose. Their existence alone increased the number of humans who could be protected.
Fanatics, human supremacists, zealots—call them whatever.
From the viewpoint of ordinary humans, the Theocracy was a force for good. One could argue whether those oppressed minorities would agree, but at the very least, the Theocracy's actions benefited humanity as a whole. From an objective human perspective, they deserved praise.
"…Should I infiltrate quietly?"
He had confidence in stealth. Perhaps it would be best to slip inside, quickly gather information, and leave before anyone noticed. As that thought crossed his mind, something suddenly flashed in the sky. Something was coming straight toward him at high speed.
It took him a moment to realize it was an attack.
Kaiser grabbed the object with both hands. Thunk! The force pushed him back and he crashed into a building behind him with a loud KWANG!! It didn't injure him, but he felt a tinge of guilt for destroying someone's property. What he held in his hands was a scythe-shaped construct of energy.
He tightened his grip, and the energy shattered and vanished. With a wry smile, Kaiser rose to his feet. But then—something rushed toward him, wielding a scythe. He drew a sword from thin air and blocked it.
She was small—smaller even than Kaiser, who was not tall himself. A girl swung the scythe at him. Her hair and eyes were heterochromatic—an unusual appearance, striking in its oddity. What emotion lay in the eyes staring at him? Kaiser returned her gaze with a dry laugh. She still had the habit of hiding her ears beneath her hair.
"It's been a while, Panda girl. Did you really fly over here from the top of that far-off tower?"
"Don't call me that… And don't smile at me like that, Kaiser."
It was the reunion of the two once called the guardians of humanity.
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