Chapter 47: An Invitation to "Move In"
The carriage moved slowly through the royal capital's streets.
The view through the window was nothing like the barren landscape outside the city walls. The paving stones were flat and wide, and the buildings lining both sides were mostly stone construction, their outer walls painted in various colors, giving them a respectable appearance in the afternoon light.
Now and then another carriage passed alongside, the sound of its wheels on stone rolling through the street.
Lucian sat by the carriage window, lifted one corner of the curtain to look out, then let it fall and turned to Sebas.
"It can certainly be found there."
His tone carried the easy certainty of someone stating an obvious fact.
"The Mages Guild in the capital has the most comprehensive collection of magic scrolls in the Kingdom. Whatever Mr. Sebas is looking for should be available there."
He raised a hand and pointed through the window. Following the direction of his finger, a considerably grand building was visible — its outer walls standing well above the surrounding houses, casting a wide shadow in the sunlight. People in long robes came and went through the entrance at a brisk pace, their hems swaying as they moved.
Sebas followed the gesture and glanced briefly at the building, gave a small nod, and said nothing further.
Lucian lowered his hand. His gaze rested on Sebas's face for a moment.
A merchant from the Baharuth Empire.
The Empire's investment in magic outpaced the Kingdom's by a considerable distance. It was home to Fluder Paradyne — called the strongest human magic caster alive — who could work Tier 6 magic.
If collecting magic scrolls was the purpose of this journey, a merchant from the Empire traveling to the comparatively magic-poor Kingdom to make his purchases was a story that did not hold up well under examination.
Lucian recognized the hole in the cover and chose not to mention it. There was no benefit to pointing it out, and backing Sebas and Solution into a corner would only make things dangerous for himself.
The carriage continued through several streets and turned down a quieter side lane. The buildings here were shorter than those on the main road but more carefully maintained — their walls freshly whitewashed, windowsills dressed with flowers in various colors.
"Mr. Sebas and Miss Solution don't have lodgings arranged in the capital, I imagine."
The observation was thrown out as a minor aside, the tone of someone remarking on a small logistical detail.
Sebas tilted his head slightly toward him but said nothing.
Lucian smiled. The expression sat easily in the afternoon light.
"I keep a house here in the capital. Nothing as grand as the main Aindra family residence, but it's quiet and comfortable enough."
The carriage came to a stop before a row of joined townhouses.
Lucian stepped out first, stood on the stone steps, and gestured for Sebas and Solution to follow.
The row was three houses wide, each two stories tall — grey-white stone walls, dark-timbered doors and windows. Compared to the lavish noble estates of the capital, they were modest, but every detail was clean and well-considered, the care of the owner present in each one.
"I'm rather fond of quiet, so when I purchased them, I bought the entire connected row together."
He said it lightly, as though it had been a small and obvious decision.
The price of property in the royal capital was genuinely ruinous.
When Lucian had purchased these three houses, he had signed the papers through clenched teeth. Every time he saw that figure in the account books afterward, it cost him something.
But staying close to Sebas and Solution had required it, and so he had gritted his teeth and done it.
The cover story he gave was that Lakyus, after her falling-out with their parents over her decision to become an adventurer, would have somewhere comfortable to stay in the capital. That foolish little sister had been genuinely moved by the gesture for quite some time afterward.
"Mr. Sebas and Miss Solution can take the one on the right."
Lucian raised a hand toward the rightmost house, his voice sincere and easy.
"It'll make it simpler to follow through on the hospitality I promised."
He finished speaking and looked over at Solution.
Solution was standing behind Sebas. Every line of that precise face said she wanted no part of this.
Her brow was lightly furrowed, lips pressed together, gaze moving between the house and Lucian with unconcealed distaste.
"I am not living in—"
"Miss."
Sebas's voice was quiet. It cut Solution off at exactly the right moment.
"Don't forget our master's instructions."
The old man shifted slightly and looked at Solution, those pale grey eyes carrying a warmth that was also, unmistakably, final. He said nothing more, only looked at her.
Solution held Sebas's gaze for a moment, something shifting behind her eyes. Then she turned her head away and was silent.
"Then we'll take you up on your hospitality, Mr. Lucian." Sebas turned and inclined his head.
"Please don't mention it, Mr. Sebas." Lucian waved it off, his smile warm. "I'll have some daily necessities sent over later. If there's anything else you need, just say so."
"Thank you."
Lucian looked at Solution once more, then turned and walked back toward the middle house.
Solution.
Battle maid. Amorphous slime Lv10, initial chaos Lv10, assassin Lv2, poison master Lv4, master assassin Lv1, and others — fifty-seven levels combined. Genuinely formidable. In the Kingdom, the people capable of matching her could be counted on one hand.
But only that.
Fifty-seven levels was unremarkable in the Great Tomb. With the right preparation, Kingdom forces might not be entirely without options against her.
For Lucian, Solution held almost no strategic value.
If anything, a direct line to Ainz's ear was an uncontrollable variable.
The only quality worth noting was her appearance in human form — but at her core she was a karma -400 amorphous slime, a genuinely evil creature, and most people who learned what she actually was would probably find their interest in her disappear rather quickly.
Still, the purpose of the "suppression of the Death-Spreading Sword Corps" operation had been largely accomplished.
A reasonably solid relationship with Sebas had been built.
Sebas was perceptive enough to have seen through the surface-level fairness of their arrangement — he would understand that Lucian's real intention had been to protect him and Solution from the bandits, not to use them as bait.
And Sebas had accepted anyway. Which meant Sebas had acknowledged owing Lucian something.
Lucian had been able to feel some of that in the tone of Sebas's conversation afterward.
Add to that the lodgings — using these accumulated debts to put Sebas in an obligated position when the time came should present no particular difficulty.
At this moment, Lucian could no longer see either of them, but he could picture it clearly enough.
Sebas was almost certainly making a careful examination of every room — checking for surveillance magic items, hidden mechanisms. With Sebas's level of caution, that would be the first thing he did.
And Solution was probably standing nearby, her face still wearing exactly that expression.