181

He then threw the strange sculpture into the air.

This was the best he could do to not cause a suspicious death that would trouble him later.

Ainz immediately entered the [Gate] without waiting for the sculpture to hit and dispelled the [Gate] without a second thought.

"Good. I will go get the final confirmation. Wait for a bit, both of you."

"Okay! Understood! Only a little more, right? Good luck, Ainz-sama!"

"Ah, I-I think it should be f-fine if it's Ainz-sama but…p-please take care because I t-think that your mana could be low"

Receiving the twins' encouragement, Ainz recast [Perfect Unknowable] and used [Greater Teleportation] to appear in the elf's room again.

"Shit! That's painful! Why the hell would it fall on its own?! First of all, why am I sleeping in such a place?! Did I drink…I feel like I didn't… Shit, that's painful…"

Ainz looked at the wide-awake elf, who was taking his rage out on the shelf. He smiled at the elf, who was becoming more and more tearful from the pain.

Nicely done! A perfect crime!

The elf didn't look like he was acting and he also didn't seem to suspect anything. —No, it looked like he did have suspicions about the sculpture falling on him, but he probably didn't think that some strange person came into his room and threw it on him.

"…Wait a minute"

Ainz stopped before he could activate [Greater Teleportation] as he heard the suspicion in the elf's voice.

Did he notice something? Maybe not pinned on us, but still that there's an intruder?

Was there some kind of monitoring equipment—magic item here because it's a shop? I didn't find any though…

"…Is Tsungoga-sama trying to tell me something?"

Tsungoga-sama? I don't remember any such monsters in YGGDRASIL…

"Tsungoga-sama. Tsungoga-sama. Please speak if there's anything I should know"

The elf kneeled on the floor, his head to the ground and the sculpture in his hands held high. That was the model pose of devotion a highly religious person would take.

…so it's just the native religion? That aside, why does this guy talk to himself so much?

Is he intentionally doing this because he thinks that there's someone around? Or is he just simply praying to this god called Tsungoga?

The elf seemed to be a different person from the one they kidnapped and used.

Ainz hesitated for a moment about whether or not he should kidnap the elf again and kill him, but he ended up deciding not to. For now, it was more likely that he was just praying, but it was still better to be on guard. Ainz wanted to leave something behind to monitor him if possible, but that would be difficult even for Ainz. There was no convenient spell for that. The most he could do was to use magic to check in at times.

Ainz clicked his tongue—although he didn't have one—and returned to Green Secret House using [Greater Teleportation].

The twins, who were waiting for him, smiled when Ainz dispelled [Perfect Unknowable] and gave him a thumbs up. Honestly, he was a bit uneasy about the elf's behavior at the end, but since they couldn't do anything about it, he chose not to tell the twins in case they turn uneasy.

(T/N: Ainz appears to be parodying a stereotypical manager on a business trip for the following section)

"Okay, everyone. Thank you for your cooperation with everything so far. With that, today's work is done." The twins looked puzzled at Ainz's exaggerated action, but immediately smiled again. "As it is getting late, please turn in early so that you won't feel exhausted tomorrow."

The twins replied with an energetic "Okay!".

"With that, although the day has already changed, I will now decide the time we should be waking up at. Yes—I don't mind you waking up whenever you want, but don't go sleeping until noon now you hear? Right-o. If you wake up by 9 o'clock, I will bring you our breakfast from Nazarick"

They answered with a loud "Okay!". While Aura slightly poked Mare with her elbow, it didn't look like she was bullying him.

"Okay, with that—thanks for the hard work everyone!"

Upon hearing Ainz's words, the two of them also followed with, "thanks for your hard work!".

"Well then, that's all folks!"

-x-X-x-

They set off, heading towards the Dark Elf village.

Relying on what that elf had said, they raced across the ground on Fenrir's back. If they could have discovered their target from the sky, they would have headed there without stopping, but unfortunately, it couldn't be discovered even with Aura's talents.

It was hard to breathe as they ran through the forest—it was as if Ainz were being smacked in the face by air that had absorbed the very greenery. That characteristic, and extremely potent on top of that, scent of a forest made his nasal cavity tremble. It may have just been Ainz's imagination, but he could feel that it was different from the air in The Great Forest of Tob. If it weren't just his imagination alone, then though this world may resemble YGGDRASIL, there were major differences, and it was brimming with various other changes.

As he idly mused over this, the urge of wanting to travel all over this vast world put just a little thrill in his heart.

If the average Joe was to proceed down the pathless path through The Great Sea of Trees with its dangling vines, jumble of trees, and more impeding them, it would obviously be impossible to proceed in a straight line. Before they knew it, they would find themselves heading in a completely different direction.

From what they had heard from the man, the distance to the Dark Elf village was about a week's travel.

Although the Elves were adapted to the forests, if they could progress 15 kilometers a day within this Sea of Trees, they would be doing well. Based on that, the villages would be separated by about 100 kilometers. Ainz and company covered that distance on foot in a little over an hour. If it hadn't been necessary for them to check their surroundings, they would have arrived even faster.

That was just how incredible Fenrir was. Fenrir's ability, [Forestwalker], had been particularly useful because all the trees, dense thickets, and such moved as if they were avoiding Fenrir; thus, they were able to travel in an approximately straight line. No matter how great Fenrir himself was, they shouldn't have been able to have come this far on foot in such a short amount of time had it not been for [Forestwalker].

But—

"I think it's somewhere around here…"

Aura, who was sitting in front of Ainz, tilted her head in confusion.

Since Elven villages were constructed using trees, it was rather difficult to find one in the middle of a forest. Of course, this was the exact reason why their civilization developed to use trees to construct their villages. The Royal Capital of the Elves, with all its surrounding trees cut down, was the exception to this.

That being said, it should have been impossible for it to have been so cleverly hidden that Aura—a ranger with high-ranking abilities in her own right—

couldn't find it. Since it was difficult to imagine that they had just failed to notice it on the path they took to get here, they might not have reached their target village yet.

"As long as we weren't mistaken about the distance to our destination, there's no problem. If anything, it would be a problem if we got too close."

Ainz touched the mask he had equipped with his hand. "I want us to find the village before they find us. I want information on them, so we're going to conceal ourselves somewhere we won't be found."

What he was most scared of was that they had come to a completely wrong place. However, he wasn't really worried about that being the case.

Of course, if one were to tell him to go into a place without a single point of reference (like the Sea of Trees) without any hesitation, Ainz would absolutely not be able to do that. The directions he got from the elf were: "once you've gone about 2500 paces there will be a huge boulder, and from there turn in the direction where three trees are standing in a row, advancing around 3000 paces,"

and so on. Ainz thought his explanation was less than crystal clear.

But not to Aura.

Certainly, there had been occasions when even Aura was confused and had to search the surrounding area, but she was still mostly confident and had guided them this far.

Were rangers always this amazing, or is it just Aura who's amazing...

He hadn't felt it as much when they were making their way to the Dwarven Kingdom, but this trip had led Ainz to conclude mentally that this would have been impossible without a ranger accompanying them.

Even YGGDRASIL had this kind of dense forest, but in hindsight, they were still adjusted for the Players. He didn't think a real jungle would be this formidable.

But on the flip side, it was just a fact that this experience had a certain excitement to it.

Out in these backwater regions…if anything were to happen…I can totally understand that desire for the unknown… The World Searchers, huh...

Explorers were those who pursued that excitement. The figure of a true adventurer that Ainz sought.

Throw it all away and walk around exploring this world, eh…

Finding himself idly considering such things once again, Ainz shook his head.

There was no way he could do such a thing. It was an act that would never be permitted for Ainz Ooal Gown, the Supreme Ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

However—maybe it would be allowed if it was just for a little bit. Not abandoning Nazarick, but taking a paid vacation like he was this time.

Come on, I'm just thinking about the same thing over and over again. Honestly, I guess I can't claim that it doesn't come from the desire to drop this heavy baggage and run away... In the end, am I just going around in circles without any development? Am I incapable of growth because I'm an undead? Or is it because I am me? When I think about that, all I can do is sigh... Haaa. Well, there's no point in thinking about unhappy things. Anyway...this time is with Aura and Mare, but how about I bring Cocytus and Demiurge along if there's a next time?... I haven't brought them along since that one time..

Ainz recalled when they acquired the land ship at the Katze Plains.

Okay! Let's get rid of those pessimistic thoughts and think positively. If I were to go on the same kind of journey again, it would be pretty rough doing it without a ranger, but trying to overcome that challenge through wisdom and insight might be pretty entertaining.

It was precisely because Aura was here this time that they were able to make it this far in good shape, but it was a little disappointing that this meant Ainz hadn't done anything at all.

Of course, he could just butt in and say he'll handle things himself. If he did, Aura would probably be considerate and step aside for him. If Ainz were to make a mistake, she would surely think of something to help him while being careful not to offend him. However—

—Oh god, anything but that. Because I already feel like I'm getting in the way of running the Sorcerer Kingdom enough as it is!

Therefore, the best way to get what he wanted was to have an adventure without Aura. That way everyone could rack their brains together and have some fun. However, it should be noted that Ainz only thought of it this way because he had confidence that his powers could pull through during an adventure.

For example, if he was in some unknown place and lost his bearing, he could return from anywhere using [Teleport].

For example, even if some unknown magical beast came charging out of that thicket, he would be able to deal with it somehow, and even in the worst case, he could still flee back to Nazarick.

Sending adventurers out into the unknown world. That in and of itself wasn't a mistake. Even Ainzach, the guild master himself, endorsed it. However, it's not good to consider myself as the standard for an adventurer. Really, when I see Aura playing an active role in a place like this right before my eyes, I can feel the necessity of properly training up the adventurers.

It wasn't as if Ainz particularly wanted the adventurers to die.

We're conducting training in the Great Forest of Tob but…

The levels of danger in the Great Forest of Tob, which was under the complete control of Nazarick, and here were wildly different. It might not be a bad idea for the adventurers to gain experience at the Great Forest of Tob and hold the final exam here, but the circumstances surrounding that would require further discussions with Mare.

"Uh, um, Ainz-sama?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry Aura. It seems I got a little wrapped up in my own thoughts.

So, what did you need?

"Ah, well, what do we do now?

Ainz looked up at the sky. He couldn't see it through the green leaves growing in abundance on the branches. However, the red-tinged sun casting its light over the earth was more than enough for him to know what time it was.

"Hrm. The same as last time, we secure a place that is hard to find and separated from the activity area of the Dark Elves, or any other intelligent life, and that's where we'll stay."

"Understood! Well then, could you grant me a little time?"

"Of course," Ainz replied and Aura nimbly jumped off Fenrir. However, just as Aura looked like she was about to dash off, Ainz hurried to call for her to stop.

"Wait, Aura. Take Fenrir along with you. You don't need to worry about us waiting here. I'll summon a monster as a substitute for Fenrir. Right, Mare?"

"Y-yes, Ainz-sama."

Mare, who was behind Ainz, answered in a fluster. In other words, starting from Fenrir's head, Aura, Ainz, and Mare were riding on his back in that order.

Because they could sense anyone that approached them with Fenrir's powers of perception, Ainz and Mare were extremely grateful for him being there since they lacked those abilities. However, if that was the case, it meant that Aura would have to act alone.

It would be one thing if she had spells that summoned monsters like Ainz did, but Aura didn't have that ability. He was worried about sending her out into this unknown land without a shield. Using a magic item as a substitute was one way to deal with this, but it required one action in order to summon a monster. When he took into consideration things like time limits and such, he didn't consider it to be a good move.

I think I'm worrying about it too much, but Aura will finish her job quicker by taking Fenrir along.

Aura displayed an attitude like she was going to say something, but she responded, "Understood." And so, Ainz and Mare dismounted, she got back on Fenrir, and then she took off. The figures of a girl and a wolf immediately disappeared into the trees of the forest and became invisible.

"Now then, Mare. Let's conceal ourselves in this area as inconspicuously as we can so that we won't be found. Someone finding us here would put all of Aura's hard work to waste."

"Y-yes. Uh, umm, so then, we're going to use Green Secret House?"

"That will be fine, but before that there's one thing we have to take care of."

If Ainz were alone, [Perfect Unknowable] would be the most effective solution, but he couldn't cast that spell on others. On top of that, Mare couldn't use it so it was necessary for them to take completely different measures, which was why monster summoning was mentioned earlier.

Ainz took a small statue out of his Inventory—it was a magic item.

Statue of the Magical Beast・Cerberus.

A magic item from the same creator as the Statue of the Animal・Warhorse that he had once used before. Fully engraved right down to the bulges of the muscles, brimming with the feeling of movement, it was a magnificent piece and like a work of art.

When Ainz used it, it instantly swelled up and the magical beast appeared.

What appeared was, of course, Cerberus.

It could bite with its three dog and lion-like heads, scratch with its razor-sharp claws, and bite with its poisonous snake-like tail. All its attacks could also be imbued with fire damage, and it possessed complete resistance to flame and poison. It was a large, high-ranked magical beast with considerable combat abilities.

That strength could be better understood when speaking in the terms of monsters that could be summoned through [Summon Monster 10th].

Although, if it were against an Ainz-class Player, it would not be a very difficult monster for them to deal with. That said, there wasn't anything they could do about that.

A summoned monster's role was to attack an enemy's weak point, trigger traps, increase the number of available moves, or to simply serve as a shield. They were not meant to defeat other Players on their own.

Certainly, if Cerberus were continuously buffed through the use of a skill, it would be able to fight even better. For example, some of the undead that Ainz summoned were wearing Geta of Strength. And yet, if you compared them to Players with martial classes in the same level range, then no matter how unfavorable a comparison it was in terms of battle strength, so long as they were neither greatly mismatched nor some absurd build, one-on-one the Player would rarely lose.

The first reason Ainz had chosen Cerberus and not an Eyeball Corpse or other undead was because he had judged that a beast-type monster's sensory abilities would be higher.

And one more reason was because he had concluded that a monster with exceptional senses of smell and hearing rather than vision would excel in their role as a detector in the Sea of Trees.

Cerberus might lose to Fenrir in terms of levels, but in the end, he did have three heads. There was no doubt his sense of smell was also three times greater—

probably.

"Wow."

Mare said in surprise because a magical beast he was seeing for the first time had appeared in front of him. There was no way it could have been because he thought it looked strong.

"Come now, Cerberus. When you catch the scent of someone who is not one of us approaching, you will inform us, yes?"

"Grr," the heads of Cerberus growled. It was a way of growling that let you feel their eagerness and confidence. Ainz, delighted by that "leave it to us" feeling that was coming across to him, showed his proud expression to Mare—though he probably couldn't tell.

"Now then, from how many hundreds of meters away can you discern a scent?"

The Cerberus trio— or rather, the number of heads—stopped moving.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, shit" "Huh?" "Hold up" was the mood that was being transmitted, and the anxiety at "hundreds of meters?" was also coming across.

Even if that was what was coming across to him, Ainz could only react to it, and it was more than plausible that the truth was entirely different.

"—That's right. You have three heads. You can do better than Fenrir, right?"

"Kuuun," Cerberus cutely whined and flopped over to expose his belly. Perhaps if it had been a puppy doing it, one would appreciate its cuteness and maybe even Ainz would have rubbed that defenseless belly. However, he was dealing with Cerberus. Bluntly speaking, it wasn't cute. It was the same with that giant body, but his looks were far too grim.

As Ainz stared at Cerberus, Mare fussed over him and rubbed his belly.

"...Hm? What are you doing?"

While being mindful of Mare, who was rubbing his belly, Cerberus slowly got up, and with a determined expression growled, "I'll do my best," "I'll do it," "This is impossible," in response to Ainz's question. It seemed like there were three different sentiments coming across.

What Ainz focused on was that one-third of the sentiments were negative.

"...It's fine if it's too much for you, okay? It's worse if you force yourself and fail...You can at least discern the scents around us and tell when a stranger is coming, right?"

Though Ainz himself had been the one to say it, he had also thought that maybe hundreds of meters was impossible after all.

"He-heh-heh...I can do at least that much." "That's possible." "I can do that."

Ainz nodded at that feeling.

"Then get to it."

Cerberus let out a howl. He sniffed at the scents around him.

Incidentally, Ainz could also give these orders without speaking. It was possible to give orders to summoned monsters even if spells like [Silence] were used. If you wanted to interfere with the connection between the summoner and the summoned, you would need the extremely niche class-build known as the Anti-Summoner Specialist. He gave orders verbally because he thought Mare wouldn't know what was happening if he and Cerberus were just staring at each other.

"Now then, next we will do as you said just a moment ago, Mare, let's create a Green Secret House and hide inside. It's best we are not seen by anyone. "

"Yes!"

Mare looked pleased that his own suggestion had been accepted.

Actually, Mare's suggestion hadn't been off the mark.

Neither Ainz nor Mare possessed concealment techniques that could erase the traces of their passing. Therefore, if they were to carelessly wander around, they might leave behind signs, and if an expert outdoorsman saw them, he could tell where they were at a glance.

And so, it was wise for them to not move from this spot. Using magic like [Camouflage], that was available to druids and rangers, to keep quiet would have been best, but unfortunately, there wasn't anyone in this place that could use that magic. Mare certainly was a druid, but in reality, he was an extremely niche type of specialized druid. His magic itself was geared towards mass genocide, and if he didn't turn to items for help, he should have learned barely any of the common druidic magic, aside from a few buff-type spells.

Given all that, then bringing out the Secret Green House, and concealing their presence by hiding inside it— making a hiding place where they wouldn't create footprints or other signs of their being there by not moving around—was the correct answer after all.

Was it okay for just him to be taking it easy, even though Aura was working so hard?

No, of course, even Ainz knew the expression "the right man for the job." He had a memory of looking it up when he heard it as one of the lines used when he had troublesome work forced on him in the past. And then he remembered Punitto Moe said, "A hard-working person's incompetence is the biggest pain in the ass of all."

So this would be the right course of action.

But, if this was just him as the Sorcerer King leaving things to the Floor Guardian under his command, then there wasn't any problem with it at all.

However—for what reason had Ainz begun this trip?

And the answer was because it was a paid vacation.

Moreover, he being the adult who first suggested it wasn't doing anything, and forcing the kids he had taken out with him to work, the guilt he felt was enormous.

Ainz became desperate and tried racking his brain, but he couldn't assist Aura with her work, and nothing came to mind about anything he should be doing here. About the only excuse he could come up with was that he was keeping Mare company.

Fooling myself by saying I'm taking care of a child...is just running away, huh? That's about the only...way to support Aura that I can come up with... So what do I do? Be respected for also doing the things I had to do...no, becoming an adult that carries out the bare minimum of their responsibilities?

Should he force himself to accept that what he couldn't discover right now was a role for him to play?

However much he thought about it, he couldn't come up with the perfect answer.

A despondent Ainz said to Mare.

"...Well then, let's wait inside the Green Secret House for Aura to get back."

"Yes!"

Ainz felt like he had been saved just a little bit by the cheerful Mare's response.

-x-X-x-

There exists a magical beast called the Ankyloursus.

It looks like a bear from a distance, but if the difference is not quickly recognized, you can kiss your ass goodbye. It ranges from two to three meters in length. It has two pairs of, for a total of four, forelegs, and two hind legs. Sharp, pointed claws over 60 centimeters in length that are used exclusively for combat grow on two of the four forelegs, their hardness surpassing even that of steel. A long, thick tail extends from its lower back, at the end of which is a hammer-like swelling.

.

And finally, the majority of its body is protected by hard armor plates—that developed from scales. The power supporting that huge body is terrifying; a single attack unleashed by those hard, sharp claws and outstanding physical strength is easily able to bisect a person, armor and all.

However—that is all you should be wary of.

It is not as if it has any terrifying special abilities, nor can it employ any powerful magic. The Ankyloursus can only use the spell of [Fragrance], and that in and of itself is not something that can be used in combat. Therefore, while it is placed in the top ranks of predators in the Sea of Trees, it is by no means the strongest species.

However, there was one exception.

A being that was over four meters in length, and through just its physical abilities alone, could slaughter even monsters that had special abilities or could use magic.

It would not be strange for someone not in the know to mistake it for a different species if they saw it—it truly was an Ankyloursus that was worthy to be called a Lord.

It lifted its head from the stomach of the animal that it had been gobbling up until just now and let out a low, heavy bass growl that would fill the hearts of those who heard it with terror. Long entrails spilled out from the corner of its mouth.

Huffing and puffing it expelled breath wet with blood, and sniffed at the air.

Its face was wet with blood, but it was able to sense that there were two scents it had never smelled before. Since they were intermingling with each other it was a mating pair, possibly.

Its belly was already full.

It would be fine to ignore them.

However—that was walking away from the discomfort.

This area was its territory. There was no way in hell it would allow someone to walk around like they owned the place.

It stood up on its hind legs, and after using its claws to scratch away the bark it rubbed its body against a tree. This was to clearly demonstrate that this was its territory, and then it walked off towards the source of the scent.

Along the way, it used [Fragrance]. Through this, it was able to erase its own body odor and the scent of blood that still clung to it. By doing this the huge body of the Ankyloursus approached its prey. If it didn't do that in this forest, capturing prey would be rather difficult.

The scent grew stronger.

There were no indications that they had noticed it. If it had been noticed, they would be acting differently. For example, standing still and searching for a sound.

Or otherwise trying to run away from there in a straight line. However, they weren't doing either of those actions. Or else—were they thinking they could win if there were two of them?

It approached as quietly as it could until it was close to the scent. It couldn't catch sight of its quarry that was still concealed by the trees.

However, that was enough. It was always like that when it brought down prey. If it could see them, then it could be seen by them. It never rushed until they could see each other, and while cautiously discerning the scent it crept closer, and all at once—closing the distance in the blink of an eye, that was hunting.

It arrived nearby. The scents weren't moving.

Therefore—just like the usual hunts, it instantly broke into a run. Despite having a huge body, it raced through the trees like the blowing of the wind.

Since it didn't have any handy abilities like [Forestwalker], when it made this area its territory it cut down all the trees that would interfere with it being able to easily pass through. Of course, no half-assed trees could stop its charge, but because there were times when an alert quarry had taken advantage of them to escape.

It certainly was overwhelmingly powerful, but it was not as if its hunts were successful every time. That was the reason it made preparations.

The source of the scent was ahead of it.

A little black one, and a big black one. The little one was on top of the big one.

They were not a mating pair. Most likely they were two different animals.

But, it wasn't that strange. There were those kinds of animals. They each helped the other one out. The wisdom of the prey to protect themselves from predators like it. For example, the one on top used some special power, and the one on the bottom ran away, that kind of thing.

But if that were the case, they were both nothing more than mere food.

It smiled.

At this distance, they could no longer escape. The little one didn't look like it would make much of a meal, but the one below it was quite the whopper. Since its belly was full right now, it should bury them in the ground to save for later.

However—something was strange.

It was violently stomping its feet while charging. They would notice no matter how unperceptive they were, and if they noticed they would take some kind of action.

So then why are the black ones not scared? Why are they not running away?

Nearly all the animals that encountered it had those reactions. The only exceptions to speak of were members of its own race.

Or are they just paralyzed with fear?

It thought about it a little while it was running.

The meat of prey frozen in terror was somewhat lacking. As for its preferences, the softening flesh from when the prey was only half killed and was slowly dying—that was its favorite. The meat from prey that had given up on life after its guts had been devoured while it was still alive was the tastiest of all.

"GRRROOOOAAAAR!"

It rose up and bellowed in front of the prey.

This wasn't mere intimidation, this was to instill fear.

—C'mon go ahead and run, you might even be able to stay alive! Do something to improve the taste of your meat, please.

It muttered that in its mind. At this distance, there was already no chance of escape. It was only because the success of this hunt was guaranteed that it could show them a little leeway.

"Oh? I've never seen one of you before. What a cute bear."

The little one was yipping.

Come to think of it, it remembered. I've seen things up in the trees that look like the little one lately. Ankyloursi could also climb trees, but due to their huge bodies, tree-climbing was their weak point. That was why when it was taking prey that was up a tree, it could only eat them after cutting down that tree and knocking them to the ground. However, at that time its belly was bulging, and because they were far away and going after them was bothersome, it let them go.

However, right now, there was no need to hold back on eating them if they were on the ground.

The black one on the bottom was looking this way without moving.

It swung its foreleg with the large claws growing out of it.

First, the one on the bottom so they can't escape.

At the same time as a "ching" sound rang out, its foreleg grew hot—and changed into intense pain.

It lost its balance, and starting from its tail fell backward.

In a panic, it looked at the foreleg that had the intense pain running through it.

It was still there.

It wasn't gone. However, it was in so much pain it was as if it couldn't move.

"GuuUU"

When it looked a long, snake-like, wriggling thing was dangling from the hand of the little one on top. Had it been attacked by that? Then it might be poison.

When it was very young it had been bitten by a huge poisonous snake, and this tingling sensation was similar to that.

"O-kay. I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm not gonna hurt ya."

When the little one swung its hand, a loud BANG came from a nearby tree. The snake-like thing extending from its hand had struck the tree. The force of the impact had burst open the bark as if it had exploded from the inside out.

I can do that much myself. And yet, chills ran through its entire body.

Was this one really little?

Step by step and little by little it began to seem frighteningly big in its eyes.

"It's all right, it's okay. I'm not scary. See, I'm not scary at all."

While it was yipping, the little one on top separated from the big one below. It came down to the ground, and came closer with both its forelegs spread out wide.

It really was that small after all. I wonder just how much of a difference there is between it and me?

I'm the predator and they're the prey—is how it's supposed to go. Then why—how can this one be approaching me without any fear?

It was as if—the quarry were a predator itself.

It moved its eyes from the little one approaching it to the big one.

It was watching them intently.

This was also something it couldn't understand.

No matter what animals had encountered it, they had never taken this kind of attitude before.

It turned tail and fled from the unfamiliar dread.

When it was very young—around the time it parted with its mother and left the nest, it had experienced fleeing from preys that were far beyond its ability to handle many a time. So there was no shame in running away from things it didn't understand.

However, there was something coiled around its hind leg—

"Alley-oop."

Its field of vision spun around in circles.

It was assailed by a sudden feeling of weightlessness, as if it were being hauled up, and then a shock ran across its back.

For some reason, I'm lying on the ground half-turned over.

When it stood up, the long, snake-like thing was coiled around the hind leg that had been pulled, and that little one was holding the part beyond that.

I have no idea what is happening or how, but does this mean that little one knocked me down? Me, by that littleness—

"Geez. I told you not to run away."

The little one growled, baring its teeth.

It was a sound that said, "Make no mistake, I'm going to eat you." Maybe it was an ambush-type predator. Did that mean the one in the tree that time was as strong as this one?

"Hmmm. So it's no good after all, huh. And I can't just keep Ainz-sama waiting...maybe it would be better to just kill it and skin it instead of capturing it. But wouldn't that be a huge waste? I could also use it for my experiments.

Hmmm... Ainz-sama also said that killing should be the last resort..."

It was staring at it. Maybe this meant that it was slow-moving. That was why it used that snake-like thing extending from its hand to capture prey.

It tried tearing off the snake-like thing coiled around its leg. However, it couldn't.

It was firmly dug in and wouldn't budge. In that case, it used the claws that it was so proud of.

There shouldn't be anything it couldn't cut with them.

Gu?

It was baffled. It couldn't cut it. Even though these were the claws that had cut through everything until now, they couldn't cut.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm not gonna fight it."

There was the sound of crunching dirt and sliding grass as its body moved. The coiled snake was being hauled in. It was steadily being dragged while leaving tracks in the ground.

There was no longer any doubt. That little one possessed absurd strength.

"I guess it can't be helped. I don't really like doing this, but I'll try it once...I guess I'll kill ya if it doesn't work."

The snake-like thing was removed from its leg. wuh-PSSSH. Before it could even think, "I should run," a jolt of pain raced through its body.

"GwoOOOO!"

The jolts of pain came in rapid succession. Arms, legs, face, belly, tail—didn't really hurt that much—if it were going to try to cover some part of its body it would be its back. If it twisted its body around its muzzle, it would be showered in agony.

When it tried to endure the pain and flee, its body was pinned down by tremendous strength. When it looked, the big one had placed one of its legs on its back, immobilizing it. It was so powerful that it felt like it was going to be buried deeper and deeper into the ground.

Can this really be happening? For one, let alone two, animals to appear whose power far surpasses my own.

The pain continued.

Each time that sound rang out a sharp pain raced through somewhere on its body. Never-ending, like the sound of rain.

Around the time it had already lost the will to resist, the sound finally stopped.

There wasn't any part of its body that didn't hurt. Its whole body was on fire, and it had a feeling it had swelled up to two or even three times its normal size.

"There, now you're nice and obedient, right?"

I'm probably going to be eaten after this. What I've been doing up till now is now being done to me in turn, that's all.

"O-kay. Alright then, looking good. Do you know who the boss is now? Well, shall we get going then?"

However, although it's bearing its teeth, will the little one be able to eat all of me? Or does it intend to share me with the one below it?

Now that I'm the one who has given up on life, there's no doubt I will surely be tasty.

***

Inside the Green Secret House, Ainz was working together with Mare.

First, they lined up the food on top of an obsidian desk that was produced using magic. There was also warm soup, but it was put inside something to keep it warm and they planned to serve it right before they ate. They prepared glasses full of ice for three and placed a bottle full of juice in the center of the desk.

Even with the door of the Green Secret House closed it was still perfectly ventilated, it was made so that through the work of a magical mechanism neither sounds nor smells could leak out from the inside. However, because the protection of that magic wouldn't work when the door was opened, even though the two of them had shut themselves in here, it meant that when Aura came back the smell of the food would leak outside.

Smells could be carried for a surprisingly long distance. Aura, of all people, probably wouldn't commit some blunder like returning to base without confirming the surrounding area was safe, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that a scent flying outside of Aura's sensory range wouldn't be noticed by someone else. In this forest, if someone with intelligence and culture caught the scent of some delicious food, they would surely find it suspicious.

The Dark Elves themselves didn't possess a sense of smell on par with beasts.

However, in this world, it became possible depending on the class build. Even if the person themselves couldn't do it, if they were using a magical beast, and could communicate with it wordlessly, it would amount to the same thing.

In other words, this meant that Ainz and Mare were diligently working away at something that would make Aura's work wasted. Ainz was also fully aware of this.

So, the reason the two of them were cheerfully preparing for a meal was because, even with Ainz forcing his empty skull to work at full capacity, this was the only idea he could come up with to escape his feelings of guilt in the end.

Namely, it was to greet Aura with a delicious meal when she came home tired from work.

Of course, he might be getting his priorities backward by showing his appreciation with an act that would put all of Aura's perseverance to waste. That was why Ainz thought about it the other way around.

Yes, they just didn't have to be found out by another person.

The problem was the smell being spread around the area, and that someone else might be lured in, enticed by it. If that was the case, he just had to make it so the smell didn't spread.

The most fool-proof way was to have the table set, shut the door when Aura came inside, and serve the food. But that lacked impact.

That was why, when the door opened it would be "ta-dah!" there's the food.

That feeling of surprise itself had the biggest meaning and significance.

So, he had returned to Nazarick and had the head chef prepare dishes with as weak a smell as possible. On top of that, the wind elemental that Mare summoned with a magic item sent the air around them up into the sky. All the air including the smells would be sent up to the tops of the trees where it would finally start to spread. Scent particles were heavier than air, he didn't know whether it was the same in this world. For some reason, they might not come back down, and even if they did, by the time they reached the ground they would have become considerably diluted.

But, because when the updraft is created the leaves will sway slightly—not to an extent that Ainz would worry about—but if some sharp-eyed person were watching from the sky, they might feel like something was out of place.

However, a few days ago, when Ainz was doing high-altitude reconnaissance, ordinary birds were about the only things that were flying in the sky, so it was probably fine not to worry.

"U, um, Ainz-sama. It's about time I returned this to you."

Around the time the preparations were finished, what Mare held out was the Orb Ainz had given him a short while ago.

It was a top-quality magic item he had named Elemental Gacha. Inside the transparent, glass-like sphere were four lights moving around in circles.

(T/N: "Elemental Gacha" inferred from "ガチャえれ")

Four times a day you could summon and use an elemental for one hour.

The types of Elemental that could be summoned were fire, water, wind, and earth. There were also the composite Elementals of fire + earth = magma, water + wind = blizzard, earth + water = bog, fire + water = hydrothermal, earth + wind = sandstorm, fire + wind = firenado, and more.

(T/N: "hydrothermal" was 熱水 in JP which is hard to TL. The original suggests water with a temperature range between a hot spring and a deadly caldera, but "scalding elemental" sounds weird)

Among these, the elementals of fire, water, wind, and earth could manifest as high-ranking elementals with levels in the low-40s, mid-rank elementals with levels in the mid-20s, and as lower-rank elementals with levels in the single digits.

On these occasions, a single high-ranking elemental was summoned. The number of mid-rank elementals was random but between 1 and 3 were summoned, the number of lower-rank elementals summoned was also random, but a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 6 were summoned.

In regards to the composite elementals, they could manifest as high-ranking elementals with levels in the mid-50s, mid-rank elementals with levels in the low- 30s, and as lower-rank elementals with levels in the low-10s. However, the number of composite elementals summoned in all cases was one.

Just from hearing this, you might think it sounded pretty useful, but unfortunately the elemental summoned was chosen randomly. Moreover, compared to the lower-rank elementals, getting a high-ranking elemental to appear was difficult. When it came to the higher-ranking elementals it was on the same level as winning a Shooting Star Ring.

It was far too strategically useless to not be able to summon something that suited the opponent or situation. If you summoned an earth elemental when flying in the sky, all you could do was watch it drop like a rock. In fact, they had to use the item three times until Mare could summon a wind elemental.

"No, there's no need for that. I'm giving it to you, Mare. As you are aware, the item is a little iffy, so I'd be happy if you would hold onto it for me if you don't mind. Although it would be a little different if it could summon, say, the highest ranking elementals, defiled elementals, or holy elementals... Furthermore, it was originally restricted so that only druids could use it. If Mare doesn't have it, then its only role as an item would be decorating the Treasure Hall."

It might be useful while your levels were low, but when it came to Ainz and Mare it was an item that couldn't even be used as a shield. For that reason, he had originally placed it in his Inventory thinking he would give it to someone whose levels were low.

"A, are you sure that's okay?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. Rather than leaving it collecting dust in the Treasure Hall, Mare using it would be 100 times more valuable."

"Th, thank you very much! Uh, umm...so are the elementals summoned by this considered the same as having been summoned using magic of that element?"

"Hm?"

"Uhh, I also have an item that can summon elementals, but for those you have to cast a spell with the corresponding element, or that has it as a secondary element, before activating it."

In other words, if Mare wanted to summon a flame elemental using an item, he had to use magic that had flame as a secondary element, for example—

although Mare couldn't cast it— [Fireball] before using it.

"I believe the prerequisites have probably been met, but why don't we test it out once, the next time we have time to do it?"

"Y, yes! Please let me do it."

In the past—this was before he trusted them completely—he had investigated the abilities of all the NPCs, and in doing so he had also learned about their equipment.

The item that could summon elementals that Mare mentioned could certainly summon a single high-level elemental, but could only do so once every twentyfour hours, and the summoning duration wasn't even ten minutes. If he were being honest, the value of the item itself was low. There were plenty of other much more powerful items.

And yet, the reason Mare hadn't switched out that piece of equipment was because Bukubukuchagama had given it to him.

Ainz knew that this sentiment was shared among all NPCs.

In spite of there being far better items, the NPCs would not change their own items. If they were to change them, it would just be for another piece of equipment that they had been given at the beginning. Of course, if Ainz gave it to them, like he did just now, they would use the item, but they had never submitted a request wanting to switch out their gear of their own accord. The only time might have been when they were having combat drills and Albedo came pleading that she wanted to borrow various things.

They were all being bound.

That was an extremely rude way of putting it, but those were the words that flashed through his mind.

That went for himself, too—

"—uh, umm, is something wrong?"

Ainz was pulled back to reality by the worried-looking Mare's expression. It seems he had been thinking about meaningless things.

"Hm? Oh, no, nothing, that's right, it's nothing at all. I was just thinking about how if I were Mare, how I should use this item, that's all. Sure enough, summoning an elemental in advance is about all it's—"

The Cerberus on the other side of the door moved.

When Ainz opened the door Cerberus let out a growl, the three heads were pointed in a certain direction. There could be no doubt that this meant

"someone's comin'."

Ainz and Mare looked at one another.

"I had intended not to let any smells slip out but... was my plan seen through?"

"I, I don't think that's what...it is though..."

Cerberus hadn't met Aura and Fenrir. Even so, it had noticed their scents that clung to Ainz and Mare, so I shouldn't react like this.

The two of them looked in the direction Cerberus was glaring together. There didn't appear to be anything hiding in the trees. Mare cupped a hand behind his ears, trying to hear any sounds coming from that direction.

"Uh, umm, it definitely seems like something is heading this way..."

"In other words...it's not them, is it?"

When Aura and Fenrir departed they had gone making nary a sound.

"I, I'm sorry. I can't tell...that much... Bu, but, you're right. As Ainz-sama says, I think if it were my sister she would be coming much more quietly...bu, but... I don't think there's any chance that she would make noise on purpose just to let us know that she searched the area and that she knows there's no problem, and that she's heading back..."

In other words, he didn't know.

"Then I guess it can't be helped. I'll be going as we originally planned."

Ainz activated [Perfect Unkowable] and gave a command for Cerberus to accompany him.

Unlike when it was necessary for him to give verbal commands, mental commands wouldn't be interfered with by [Perfect Unknowable]. However, because even Cerberus couldn't see Ainz, their positioning was important. If they handled it poorly, it was possible he would be sent flying by Cerberus.

Hmmm, [Perfect Unkowable] really does come in handy. It's a shame that Pandora's Actor, who can transform into me, is the only one who can use it. Well, there are others who could do it if I allowed them to use scrolls, but there are things like materials, time limits, and all sorts of other problems with that.

While mumbling and grumbling in his head, Ainz walked following Cerberus' lead. Before long, even Ainz's ears could hear the sound of grass being trampled, and he saw an enormous shadow.

A bear?

However, this was different from your average bear. It seemed to have six legs and looked like its fur was soaking wet and clinging to its body. Maybe it was some sort of magical beast with the special ability to shoot out water?

But what caught Ainz's eye more than that was Aura sitting on its back. She was holding a whip in her hand, and caused the bear-type magical beast to tremble in fear when she cracked it at a regular interval.

-x-X-x-

On the side was Fenrir accompanying them.

…Aura didn't have that sort of magical beast under her command, right? What the hell is going on?

No, he could just ask her about it. It seems they had noticed the Cerberus and were warily looking this way. But, the reason they didn't immediately move to attack was probably because they couldn't confirm whether it was a wild Cerberus or a Cerberus that Ainz had summoned. They seemed to be saying that if it were Ainz's servant, it should somehow have that feeling to it, or would it be different for a summoned monster?

Ainz canceled [Perfect Unknowable].

.

"Ainz-sama!" In an instant Aura, the look of caution disappearing from her face, shouted in joy. "Hey! Giddy-up!"

Aura swung her whip at the bear that seemed rather reluctant to come this way. Letting out a scream that could only be thought of as animal abuse, the bear walked to Ainz, terrified.

When Aura arrived in front of Ainz she dismounted the bear.

"Welcome back, Aura."

"I'm back, Ainz-sama. Uh, I'm sure you have some questions, so let me answer them first. This bear-type magical beast seemed to be the boss of this area, so I placed it under my control! I used a whip to drill it into 'em that I'm the boss. Why did I even do such a thing, how could I tell that to Ainz-sama, right?"

Ainz wondered what the hell "that" was.

...To tell you the truth, I don't know just how powerful that magical beast is...but is it strong enough that the Dark Elves and other animals are wary of it?

"Oh, that's right. When you're as strong as Ainz-sama, you can't tell how strong this small-fry is. Let me see, it certainly isn't that strong, but it seems to have more than enough strength to control this area as its territory. So, if it were your ordinary, average Dark Elf—I think they wouldn't get close because it would be dangerous. Actually, it appears nobody approaches this entire area out of fear of this guy. Therefore, I recommend making this our temporary camping area, on the point that an intruder will hardly ever appear."

"That's wonderful."

I see, Ainz thought.

There certainly was a bigger merit in placing it under their control rather than just killing it. Because it was unclear how much time they were going to spend searching for and observing the Dark Elves with this as their base. If that was the case, then if they killed the lord of the territory, the surrounding area would be in an uproar, and the Dark Elves were likely to come here to gather information.

So it would be better to let it live, in the sense that they could also avoid that kind of encounter.

Be that as it may—

"Aura. It's not as if I'm questioning your judgment, but aren't you already controlling magical beasts to the limits of your ability? There haven't been any magical beasts within Nazarick that have been released from your control due to this one being placed under your control, have there?"

In most cases it was customary for them to be freed in order from oldest to newest, not when one was to choose and release magical beasts, but when they were forced to be released.

It was even the same for summoned and created monsters. In YGGDRASIL, there were few examples of a warning message popping up and being able to select which one to release yourself.

"Everything's A-Okay! Beast Tamers have connections to the magical beasts placed under their control, but I don't have a connection with this one, per se. In other words, that means I haven't placed them under my complete control. I just simply drilled it into him that I'm the stronger one. So I'm not using the Beast Tamer ability to raise its abilities either.

"I see...if that's the case then we can't say it's completely safe, can we? That meant it was possible for its wild instincts to awaken and suddenly attack them."

Having said that, he couldn't imagine Aura overlooking that possibility. She had probably judged that the people here wouldn't suffer the slightest injury from it. However, they had to confirm it, just in case.

Ainz, wondering what level it was around, suddenly remembered his pet.

"...By the way, which is stronger, Hamsuke or this one?"

Aura had an apologetic look on her face.

No, even if you didn't look so distressed... Can't you clearly tell just by looking that the bear-type magical beast is stronger?

"May I be allowed to answer you honestly?"

"Of course. I, the master of Hamsuke, have no reservations at all. Let me hear your unbiased opinion."

"In that case...speaking in terms of pure physical abilities, it's stronger than the old Hamsuke. B, but! Hamsuke can use magic, so if you consider that much, it's difficult to predict which one would win in the event they fought. Because if magic is effective, the course of the battle will be decided instantly. On top of that...the current Hamsuke even has the Warrior class. If it's in an armored state, I think Hamsuke would win without question."

The image of the Hamsuke that just lazed around sleeping appeared in Ainz's mind. And for some reason, there was a Death Knight next to him.

He became slightly irritated.

Certainly, Hamsuke was classified as a pet, so Ainz didn't mind that he lazed about, you could also say he was working just by walking around with Momon.

On top of that, Ainz also knew that he was working hard to acquire the Warrior class and other skills. And yet, it made him angry whenever he saw someone goofing off next to someone who was working hard.

"You don't have to go so far to stand up for Hamsuke, Aura," but he swallowed those words. It was out of consideration for Aura's feelings. She would never praise Hamsuke.

"I see—" Could he say anything more than I see? Ainz, who didn't want to say anything like "Hamsuke's pretty amazing too, huh," was at a loss, so he decided to ignore it and move on. "—So did a magical beast that strong just happened to be here? Or is it that magical beasts like this are common in the Sea of Trees? It's something I'd like to investigate thoroughly. We haven't spotted any high-level magical beasts on our route so far, have we?"

"Yes. There may have been some that were just passing through, but I didn't see any. Perhaps if we searched, we might be able to find some, but what are we going to do?"

"No, we won't bother with that. It's not as if we came here to find this sort of magical beast."

"Understood, Ainz-sama. But there's something about exploring that is a little attractive. Magical beasts like this bear haven't been found even in the Great Forest of Tob. Therefore, there's a high probability that plants and animals— the native medicinal plants, and things that are unique to this place— optimized for this environment are living here. On top of that, there may be places where some kind of special phenomenon is occurring."

In this world that had magic, places where special phenomena occurred existed.

Water that flowed from bottom to top, a hill where a pillar of rainbow-colored light stood on the days it hailed, a desert where an enormous tornado occurred once every few decades, it seemed that these sorts of peculiar sights could be seen. That's right, could—unfortunately, there still weren't any of those mysterious areas within the territories swallowed up by the Sorcerer Kingdom.

In YGGDRASIL, these sorts of places had unique effects, and rare materials and monsters could be found there.

Would that rule also apply to this world? Let's take the Pillar of Prismatic Light that dropped a Rainbow Stone, as if that light had solidified, after it vanished, for example. This was famous as an item that aided in the creation of magic items.

Wouldn't it be related to the strengthening of Nazarick if that kind of special region could be brought under the Sorcerer Kingdoms' control?

"It doesn't seem likely that the Elves have a thorough knowledge of the Great Sea of Trees. If that's the case, then it's just as you said, Aura. In the future our objective will be exploring this place—that's right, it may be necessary to send out Adventurers."

The undead that Ainz produced were unable to do things like discovering new species of medicinal plants. Maybe it was time for an adventuring party with an undead team of luggage bearers added on to take the stage after all.

"Now then—let's head back. Mare is waiting for us."

"Okay!... Even so, Ainz-sama. This is just to confirm, but is that Cerberus something that Ainz-sama has summoned?"

"Yes, of course, you're exactly right. It's the monster I summoned to substitute for Fenrir."

Ainz walked along with Aura. Of course, Fenrir and Cerberus were also with them. The magical beast bear displayed an attitude that it didn't want to go, but with just one crack of Aura's whip, it mutely came along.

"...By the way, Aura. What are you planning to do with that magical beast? Considering that it hasn't been placed completely under your control, how do you think we should deal with it?"

"Yes. So I'd like to consult with you on this, but is it okay if I bring it back to Nazarick?"

"Are you going to let it roam freely on the Sixth Floor?"

It was one thing if it possessed the degree of intelligence necessary to hold a conversation like Hamsuke, but he couldn't allow a low-intelligence magical beast to roam around freely. Even a magical beast around this level could probably kill the ordinary maids. If that were so, then a portion of the NPCs would be barred from entering the Sixth Floor. And that wasn't all, there were the other plant-type monsters on the Sixth Floor. There was also the question of what to do about their safety.

"I wasn't considering going so far as to let it roam around freely, but I have been thinking I want to try placing magical beasts under my control, excluding the Skills I have as a Beast Tamer. I was thinking that I could use it in that experiment."

"Hmm. If it's something like that I really want to assist you with it but..."

To gain a power that was unique to this world, and impossible in YGGDRASIL.

From the point of view of Ainz, who was thinking about it increasing their own abilities that couldn't grow any further, he should have accepted Aura's proposal.

However—

"It's not like it absolutely has to be this magical beast, does it? Something much weaker...how about starting with a magical beast that's around level 1?"

If it were a magical beast of that order, then the NPCs—even if the ordinary maids were attacked, they could probably manage it somehow or other with the strength of their equipment.

"That might be fine, too..." Aura showed signs that she didn't accept it. "If Ainz-sama says to do it that way then—"

"—No, I'm not saying anything like that, alright? But, I was wondering why does it have to be that bear? Is it that you actually like bears?"

Suddenly, Aura looked back over her shoulder.

"...Fen. I'm going to get mad." Was all she said in a slightly cold tone, and immediately turned her head forward. "—Sorry about that Ainz-sama. It was because Fen looked like he was going to do something weird..."

Ainz looked back, but it didn't feel like he was about to do anything. However, that was probably because she had said something. Ainz returned his gaze and asked Aura a question.

"Ah, well, don't worry about it. Now then, why that bear?"

"Yes. It can't talk like Hamsuke can, but it seemed like it was fairly intelligent. Fen and the others can't talk, but they're really clever, aren't they? I don't think whether being able to talk or not is the end-all-be-all of intelligence. As you would expect, the ones with a certain degree of intelligence are more suited to training."

Certainly, had a feeling that he may or may not have a memory of seeing Fen and thinking the same thing. Suzuki Satoru lived a life unconnected with pets, but that seemed to be fundamentally different from the"good dogs" he heard about in stories. Of course, if you just said it was because he was a magical beast that would be the end of it.

"So that's why Fen sometimes listens to what Mare says, the ones with a certain degree of intelligence are more suited for training after all. Or, you could just raise one from infancy..."

"It would take too much time to do that, huh? Then something that matures in a short time like a dog...Aah, I don't know if that'll be useful for the training of magical beasts in that situation."

In order to train magical beasts, it was logical to try and use them. When you considered that you also had no choice but to accept Aura's proposal.

"...but outside of Nazarick is fine. Look, right now, there's that place where we brought the humans from the Royal Capital are living, right? How about there?"

"That's the fake Nazarick I built, right? The adventurers are using it... How about if I don't let it roam around the Sixth Floor, and I keep it isolated until I believe its training is completely finished?"

"...could that be our point of compromise?"

"Yes! Thank you very much, Ainz-sama. For listening to my own selfish wishes."

Ainz smiled at Aura with her head bowed.

"Not at all. Just as Albedo is conducting combat drills, that attitude of trying to improve oneself is magnificent by itself. All of you NPCs are my—no, Ainz Ooal Gown's—pride and joy."

Aura's eyes were wide open, and she stopped moving.

At that transformation Ainz scolded himself, had he said something he shouldn't have? He didn't have any recollection of that. No—

—I didn't get that feeling, but did I go and say something that made Aura feel uncomfortable from her perspective? Being Chagama-san's pride and joy itself was everything to her, and she didn't give a damn about everyone else, something like that? Or could it be that she's... happy? It's not as if she's smiling... Hmm. Maybe I should act anticipating the worst, instead of expecting the best.

But it would be even more awkward if he carelessly apologized. Therefore, Ainz only had one measure he could take.

"Oh, that's right. To show our appreciation for all your hard work, we've prepared a meal. I prepared it together with Mare, you know. Oops, of course, none of us know how to cook, so all we did was carry it back from Nazarick."

He glossed over the whole thing.

"Hahaha," while he continued to laugh, he took the opportunity to peek at Aura's appearance.

Hm? She's not mad? It might be a forced smile, or it might be a smile of flattery, but she is smiling, right?

Aura was smiling so broadly that he couldn't believe it was insincere. She might have been happy at hearing that a meal had been prepared. Or maybe she was happy at being praised by Ainz?

At any rate, I need to give the NPCs a whole lot more praise, don't I. Ainz hardened his resolve to do so. He had a feeling that one of the Guild Members had said in a voice devoid of emotion, "Gratitude is something that isn't transmitted to the other party if left unsaid. If you think you're transmitting it and say nothing, then before you know it your wife's discontent will accumulate outrageously."

Was that Touch-san?

While he was desperately trying to remember, the Green Secret House came into view. When they were all standing in front of it Mare, who was monitoring things from the inside, opened the door.

"Welcome back, si...sis."

"Yeah. I'm home."

She could see a fully set dining table behind Mare. Aura's gaze raced over it.

Ainz was also racked with tension.

"Wow, it looks so delicious!"

Seeing Aura's face break into a smile, Ainz was relieved. He had been a little worried she would say something like, "Aww, and I was in the mood for katsudon today..."—while thinking that was something she would definitely never say.

Because he rarely had the chance to share a table with someone, he had been worried that his pickiness about the food had become extremely dulled and crude.

"Yes, the head chef would be happy to hear you think so. In addition to that, I also had Fenrir's portion prepared, but..."

They had placed an enormous huge lump of meat, exclusively for Fenrir, on top of a stump they had prepared next to the base. It was a cow they had been raising for livestock, so fresh that it had only just been strangled, and the blood was still dripping. The dairy farm was in a place that was separated by a short distance from Nazarick, a vast plot where the cattle were largely left to graze.

The head chef said, "I personally prefer the taste of grain-fed to grass-fed meat for that breed." Perhaps he had a big influence, or other people felt the same way, but it wasn't a very popular choice of meat within Nazarick.

Originally they weren't allowed to graze, maybe we should raise them so they become even more delicious. However, they didn't have enough manpower for that. In E-Rantel, among the people who had been forcefully moved in order to create the demi-human district—its nickname— there were hardly any people who had skills related to animal husbandry, and even if there had been, they would have gone in the direction of the frontier villages.

Be that as it may, it was just someone who was fussy about the taste talking, there weren't any problems if it were a magical beast's feed.

"...What should we do about the portion for that magical beast bear?"

"He'll be fine even if he doesn't eat. It looks like he ate right before he ran into me. On top of that, apparently one kind of training.is not giving him any food until he completely understands that I'm the boss, and obeys me."

"Is that so... No, well, it might certainly be exactly like that. Even for humans or other races, the ones that have been mentally pushed to the breaking point, fully obey us."

They entered the Green Secret House while saying that and other things.

"You can go ahead and eat."

When Aura said that before going through the door, Fenrir, who had been patiently waiting, sank his teeth into the meat. The magical beast bear just blankly watched that sight. That figure with the sagging shoulders certainly did appear human-like, and just like Aura said, it made you feel like it did possess some level of intelligence.

Incidentally, Cerberus didn't need dinner. Even if you gave a summoned monster food, it would be pointless. It wasn't as if there weren't any cases when they were strengthened by giving them food that granted Buffs, but at least right now Ainz didn't feel an ounce of necessity to do that sort of thing. "Huh? You serious?" "Bullying is not cool!" "So hungry." Having decided that, Ainz had a hunch those were the reactions to his decision coming back from the Cerberus, but it was probably just his imagination.

The three of them arrived at the table Ainz had prepared.

"Go on and eat."

The two of them said, "Thank you for this meal," in unison. Naturally, Ainz was not able to eat. Aura was the first one to eat.

"Ainz-sama! This is delicious!"

"Mm-hmm", Mare nodded in agreement with his sister's words. Ainz smiled at the two of them.

"That's great. I'll pass it along to the head chef...I want you two to listen to what I have to say while you're eating, but we know from Aura's investigation that we'll be fine even if we build a temporary base in this area. Therefore, we will choose a place to relocate the Green Secret House, and after that's finished I want us to take action in order to find the Dark Elf Village."

The two of them stopped eating and earnestly listened to what Ainz had to say. Well, even Suzuki Satoru would have stopped eating if his boss started talking about something job-related.

"After that, we will establish friendly relations with the Dark Elves. As our plan to carry that out—so long as Aura permits it, I want to carry out Mission: Red Ogre Cried."

Ainz grinned. He had once carried it out with his friends, and those friends had dubbed it a dirty trick. In truth, right when he was thinking about using a monster he had summoned himself, Aura brought back just the right magical beast for the job. If she gave her approval to use it, there would be no other hand to play as magnificent as this one.

It not being under her complete control was an element of uncertainty in the plan, but conversely, that would also increase the realism.

He didn't know whether it differed by the individual or by their race, but there was no uniformity in the acting ability of monsters. The Evil Lord of Wrath had given an outstanding performance, but according to Shizu it seemed that, "the Circlet Demon was a damn ham."

(T/N: "damn ham" as in "ham actor", the original is "クソ(kuso) 大根 (daikon)" = "shitty actor")

He had wanted to conceal their identities and strength, but wouldn't it be better if they could just slip right in? If it were fine to spend however many years on it, there might have been a much more different way to go about it, but when he considered the Theocracy he didn't think they had that much time.

"Cried because of sadness? Or cried as in shouting? Ainz-sama, just what is this plan?"

(T/N: Original line had puns on "cried", hard to TL.)

Ainz once more grinned at the curious Aura. At one time, it was one of the many things he had learned from his friends.

It seemed that the strategy's name was based on something, but Ainz acted like he knew, without actually knowing. But he could explain what that strategy was if he based his explanation on his real experiences with it. Ainz opened his mouth—

"—Oh! It's The Red Oni Who Cried, right? I read that book recently!"

Being the first time he learned the source of the strategy's name, Ainz closed his mouth and slowly looked up at the sky.

If he had seen a majestic blue sky here, Ainz's mind, its own ignorance beaten into it by a child, might have also learned a thing or two. He might have received the consolation that he was small compared to the entire world.

However, all he saw was the ceiling of the Green Secret House. After he had stared at the unremarkable ceiling for a bit, he turned his face to see Mare's pure and innocent smile.

The possibility still remained that Mare was jumping to the wrong conclusion.

"...Is that right? You're something else, Mare. I've never read that book before. You say it's called The Red Oni Who Cried..."

"Yes! So the contents of that book are—what we're going to use that bear that my sister brought back to do, right!"

Oh yeah, probably, that's a bull's eye.

"...Uh huh. Yeah. You sure are amazing Mare..."

And so, Ainz showed the two of them a smile.

-x-X-x-

.