143

It was the next morning. Ainz had decided to set out early to take back the former Dwarven Capital, Feoh Berkanan, but just as he was about to leave, a familiar face appeared at the door.

It was Gondo.

Ainz tilted his head. He had no idea why he might be here.

"—Are you here to send me off?"

"No, I have come to lead the way."

Ainz blinked. Granted, he had mentioned that he would need a Dwarf to show him the way. Judging by how the Council had immediately complied with the request, Ainz surmised that this Dwarf's mission would be to keep an eye on him, so he thought that they might select an unrelated Dwarf.

"After parting ways with you yesterday, I heard many things from the other runesmiths. I feel that I know the route to the Royal Capital better than any other Dwarf."

"Then, can you find an alternate route if the tunnel to the Capital collapses? You may need to adapt to changes in the situation as they come up. Is that alright?"

"I've studied up as much about them as I could. Please allow me to guide you."

"Umu."

Ainz began to think.

In truth, bringing Gondo along carried more demerits than merits. However, if the Council had approved, then if Ainz was the only one who disapproved and requested a change, the chances of him getting someone else as a guide would be very low.

"...Are you a warrior, or do you have some way to fight?"

"No, I don't. I have no confidence in my skills pertaining to that field. However, I am prepared to face any danger, and nobody will blame you if I perish. In addition, I have my father's cloak. That was also a reason why they chose me."

The cloak of invisibility lent a lot of weight to his argument.

While Ainz had planned to protect his guide anyway, he felt uneasy about bringing along a Dwarf with no combat ability. And while he could still resurrect him with magic even if he died (provided he had sufficient levels), Gondo might have the mindset of "it's all over" if he died.

"Do you need to verify if I've chased all the Quagoa out of the Royal Capital? If you die along the way, it'll make things very difficult for me... and then there's the matter of the runesmiths. I'd much rather you stayed here."

Gondo slowly approached Ainz and quietly said:

"The Royal Capital has a vast treasury. If it hasn't been plundered yet, then it will contain many Dwarven treasures. There should also be some of my father's weapons and technical manuscripts from the royal family in there. Who knows, there might even be secret manuals left behind by runesmiths of the past."

"Hoh..."

With that response, Ainz indicated that Gondo should continue.

"I wish to secretly obtain them. ...While it seems rude to ask this of Your Majesty, may I please ask you to turn a blind eye to this when you retake the Capital?"

"...Before that, do you have any way to open the Treasury?"

"No. However... I believe Your Majesty should be able to do something about that, right?"

Does he really think I can do anything?

"So you want me to become an accomplice to a petty thief?"

"I believe the correct explanation of what would happen is that Your Majesty wished to see if the Treasury had been burgled, and thus opened it to check. Then, you were briefly distracted, for just long enough. I would be that petty thief, bearing no relation to Your Majesty."

"...The line of Dwarven royalty has been severed. Is that correct? Is there a ledger recording the treasures that should be within the vaults?"

"I am afraid there is none."

"It is very important to make sure of that. It would be very dangerous if there was a record, you know? I cannot approve of this. ...More importantly, does that treasure not belong to your country? Does it not shame you to steal it?"

Gondo laughed scornfully.

"Well, those manuals don't mean anything to a country that gave us and runecraft up, don't you think?"

It's treason, then? Though that thought passed through Ainz's head, the truth was that it did him no harm. On the contrary, letting these books languish in the Dwarven nation would be a waste.

More to the point, Gondo's theft would completely break his ties to the Dwarven Kingdom. The Dwarven Kingdom would not tolerate a criminal who had looted their treasury. This matter could be used as a form of blackmail, and it would become a shackle that would render Gondo completely incapable of betraying the Sorcerous Kingdom.

However, it could also be used against Ainz in a similar manner.

"...Indeed. There's no point in letting people who don't need it have it either. Indeed, it might be that my eyes might fail me at that time. Still, like I mentioned earlier, you need to search out any catalogues of the treasures. I'd like to avoid any future disputes."

"Understood. I shall do as Your Majesty commands."

"Then, we'll leave matters at that."

While they had walked some distance away to discuss this, someone with keen hearing might be eavesdropping on them.

"Then, let's change the topic. Tell me about the hazards we might face before reaching the Dwarven Capital. A basic outline is fine."

"A good question. All who wish to reach the Dwarven Capital must pass three trials."

"Trials? Interesting. Summarize them."

"Mm, the first trial is the Great Rift. There is a slope ahead of the gate that leads to the fortress. After the fortress is the Great Rift that splits the earth. Now that the suspension bridge has been strung, it hardly qualifies as a trial. However, when crossing it, one must prepare oneself to receive concentrated attacks from the enemy."

"Do the Quagoa use ranged weapons?"

"Umu, I haven't heard of that before. However, it might be dangerous to assume they don't, right?"

It made a lot of sense. The possibility also existed that they could use the magic weapons from the fortress.

"Then, the next trial is an area of flowing lava. Even the heated air alone can be fatal. One must cross it via a narrow path of trimmed rock. There have also been sightings of a huge monster there from time to time."

"A monster, you say?"

The form of Guren, Area Guardian of the 7th Floor, came to mind.

If the monster was similar to it, things would be very troublesome indeed.

...Come to think of it, Slimes and human society are quite closely linked. Is it the case in this country as well? If they have rare slimes here, I'd like to bring them home.

Just as Ainz thought of the slimes that lived near the sewer filters, Gondo moved on to the last trial.

"The final trial is the Maze of Death. It is a cave with countless branches, filled with poisonous vapors. If one inhales those vapors, their limbs will be paralyzed and their hearts will stop beating."

Gondo looked towards Aura and Shalltear.

That gesture seemed to be saying that Ainz might be fine, but those two would be in trouble.

They'll be fine... Well, I guess I can tell him when we get there.

"And what is the right path through the caves?"

"Regretfully, I do not know. I looked through all my connections, but even the elders did not know. Neither did the members of the Council. Perhaps it might be recorded in an archive...:"

"But you didn't find it either, did you? Well, I doubt you'd be able to easily locate a document that was so critical to national security. We'll gather information when the time comes and adapt to the situation."

Ainz committed the information about these trials to memory, and gestured to the others.

"Let's go, then."

Ainz, Shalltear and Aura took the lead. Gondo lined up with ten or so soldiers and their commander on their way to retake the fortress, and then the gates slowly opened. The stench of death filtered through the gap, so they had an idea what to expect, but then a gruesome scene revealed itself to all present.

The gentle tunnel which sloped down was broad and it had been levelled for easier passage. However, the walls and floor were covered in blood, guts and chunks of meat. Quagoa corpses littered the ground.

"Urk!"

The stench of gore, offal death filled the room. It was too much for Gondo, who had no experience as a warrior, and he began retching. The Dwarven soldiers' faces had turned green, and not because of any trick of the light.

Ainz's body had no concept of nausea, so it did not cause him any problems. However, he did not enjoy this smell.

A squelching noise came from underfoot. It would seem he had stepped on the innards which had fallen out of a bisected Quagoa.

Ainz sighed and then cast [Mass Fly], allowing everyone to take flight.

It would seem the Death Knights had revelled in their carnage here. Anyone who slipped and fell in this tunnel of blood would surely lose their strength to the filth and the stench. More importantly, the sight of someone lurching around beside them while covered in blood was a gruesome one.

The group descended the sloping passage, unblemished due to the flight spell.

Thanks to the dimly glowing rocks embedded along the way, there was still some light to see by. However, the space between each rock was filled with darkness. Of course, Ainz possessed darkvision, and it posed no problems to him.

After going down the slope — a distance of about 100 meters — they could see the entrance to the fortress before them. No, it would be more accurate to say that it was the fortress' back door.

Once they passed through the opened doors into the fortress, they could go beyond the fortress and cross the suspension bridge ahead. After travelling west from there for several days, they should be able to see the former Dwarven Capital.

The Fortress' entrance was littered with Quagoa corpses. Some of them looked like they had not been killed by the Death Knights, but gnawed. Those must have been the victims of the Death Knights' zombies.

Ainz's undead detection did not pick up any contacts. It was probably because the zombies had reverted to regular corpses after the Death Knights were destroyed.

Ainz looked around. There were no undead reactions now, but if he left them like this, things might become dangerous, given the characteristics of this world's undead.

"It is commonly accepted that leaving corpses untended will result in undead spawning. What do you plan to do?" Ainz asked the soldiers who had been following them.

"Yes, sir. We will clean them up," the commander answered. "Well, we say clean, but it's more like dumping them into the Great Rift in a place where it won't matter even if we attract a monster."

"And after that, you'll need to repair the fortress, and then find out how the Quagoa attacked? It seems you have a lot of work ahead of you."

They would part ways here. The only people who would be taking part in the reclamation of the Dwarven Capital were Ainz, Aura, Shalltear and Gondo. Well, the Hanzos were around as well, but they did not need to know that.

The Dwarves smiled bitterly. While it was true that the investigations were risky — they ran the risk of encountering Quagoa, after all — it was nothing compared to Ainz's task of attacking the Quagoa main camp. That was probably what they meant.

"Then, we'll enter the fortress. We will go in first to ensure it is safe, so wait outside until then. To be on the safe side, could you protect Gondo?"

After the commander replied in the affirmative, Ainz stepped through the open door.

As he stood at the center of the tragedy, Ainz asked Aura (who was standing behind him) a question.

"Aura, can you sense anyone using a stealth ability to hide here?"

"Nope. There's nothing alive in this fortress."

Aura put her hand on a long ear, and made a listening gesture as she answered. If Aura the ranger said so, then there would be nothing living within this fortress.

Still, they could not lower their guard.

The person who had defeated Ainz's Death Knights should have passed through here. If that person had taken a lot of stealth-specialized classes, they might be able to deceive Aura's perceptive abilities.

Still, anyone like that would generally have poor attack power, and they would be easy to deal with even if they launched an ambush.

There were many corpses within the fortress, but unlike the sloping passage from earlier, there were Dwarven corpses everywhere.

Ainz passed through the fortress and towards the gate which was opposite the one through which they had entered. After opening the gate, he saw the Great Rift yawning before him, and not even Ainz's vision could see its bottom.

Since there were no Quagoa beyond, it would seem they had retreated without setting up a base of operations here..

"This should be the Great Rift..."

Ainz turned to look from left to right.

"But there doesn't seem to be anything like a suspension bridge here... no, is that a bridge stump? If that's there, then that means..."

"It might be that the the enemy destroyed the bridge during their retreat," Shalltear said from the side.

"Hm..."

If their enemy was a powerful being who could easily defeat a Death Knight, was there a need to destroy the bridge? If this was meant to block their attack, that meant that they were not confident in their strength — No.

Ainz shook his head.

Death Knights were rare in this world. Thus, the enemy must have surmised there was a powerful entity controlling the two Death Knights. That being the case, losing the bridge would not be a big loss.

"Not bad... Tell the Dwarves that the path is safe."

"Understood!"

As he watched Shalltear head towards the Dwarves, he saw Aura squatting down. He wanted to ask what she was doing, but given her diligent expression, it would be best not to interrupt her focus.

Ainz turned to look at the Great Rift, then picked up a stone and threw it in. There was no particular meaning to it; he had done so on a whim. Still, he could not hear the stone striking the bottom.

"Its depth is unknown, Your Majesty," said the commander whom Shalltear had brought back with her. He must have seen what Ainz was doing. "We've sent two expeditions to investigate, but neither of them came back."

"I see. There were probably monsters there. ...Have those things ever come out?"

"Sir, there hasn't been anything like that to date. Therefore, we decided not to send in expeditions. Probing too deep would be unwise."

"Well, that's right."

Ainz could make incorporeal undead like ghosts, and by using magic to share their senses, he would be able to mount a full investigation. However, now was not the time for that sort of thing.

Given the present circumstances, investigating the Great Rift was a low priority. Still, it had to be done. In YGGDRASIL, places like this often concealed valuable items or dungeons.

If the shitty devs had their way, they'd hide a tunnel at the bottom of the Great Rift, and there'd be rare ores inside that tunnel. No, they'd definitely do that. In fact, it's happened before.

"—Then, we shall cross to the other side, pursue the fleeing Quagoa, and press them back into the Royal Capital, then."

The flight spell was still in effect, so that was not a problem in itself. However, what worried Ainz was whether or not something would crawl out of the darkness.

It was an incident from YGGDRASIL, but Ainz could not help but recall the time when he had been crossing a lake and spotted a giant serpent-like monster swimming below. It was not a pleasant memory, but that experience had been put to use in the creation of the 5th Floor—

After bidding the commander farewell, the four of them took flight, with Shalltear and Aura looking out below them. His worries from just now were ill-founded, and they reached the other side without seeing anything else below.

That said, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief when his feet were once again firmly planted on terra firma. Granted, he had to keep it secret from the others.

Ainz surveyed his surroundings.

There were only four enemy corpses here, which meant that the Death Knights had been defeated in this place.

"Shalltear, there are a few things I need to tell you now."

After calling Shalltear to him, Ainz glanced at Aura, and saw her inspecting the ground.

Perhaps it would be better to call Aura over as well. He thought that, but then he mused that he wanted to have Shalltear take the lead this time round. He could explain a simplified version to Aura afterwards.

"Hang on a bit, Ainz-sama!"

Shalltear took out a notebook and flipped it open.

"Please, go on."

"Oh. Umu. A notebook, huh... Very attentive of you. Ahem! Er— we are now about to enter a very dangerous area. As for why it is dangerous, that's because there is a being who can defeat two of my Death Knights. While comparing Death Knights to you is something of an insult—"

"—It's nothing of the sort, Ainz-sama. I will use my full strength to do battle with any powerful being who could defeat the Death Knights you created."

"No, you must not use your full strength."

"Why, why is that? If the enemy is strong, shouldn't I attack in earnest — forgive me for asking such a question of you, Ainz-sama!"

"Not at all. Your question is very sensible."

Ainz put his hands behind his back, and then told her how to deal with an unknown enemy.

"That said, you must be aware of how the opposition expects us to act. What the enemy wants most is information — our fighting ability, in other words. They might use expendable ambush troops and the like to gauge our combat strength. In other words, they will verify our abilities and when they feel they can achieve victory, they will attack us in such a way that they cannot lose and we cannot flee."

"To think they would actually do that..."

"Granted, we don't know if the enemy will go that far—"

"Ah... Ainz-sama..."

Aura called to him in a nervous tone, something which was very unusual for her. Under normal circumstances, he would stop his explanation to Shalltear and listen to Aura.

However, he was in a very good mood since this was a chance to speak at length about one of his specialties.

Therefore, Ainz turned to Aura and put his index finger to his mouth.

"Ah, yes!"

Understanding dawned on Aura. Ainz was giving an earnest lecture, so he wanted her to be quiet. She understood what Ainz was trying to say.

"Like I was saying, Shalltear. I would do the same thing if I were fighting a strong foe. No, my friends would do the same as well."

"The Supreme Beings would do that too? But, comparing this enemy to the Supreme Beings is a little..."

"Really? You should assume that the enemy can do everything I can do. Only a fool thinks that they are special and gets full of themselves. Remain ever-cautious. In any case, I do not wish to let the enemy see our full fighting strength."

Keeping the Hanzos in hiding was also to disrupt the schemes of the enemy.

"Therefore, Shalltear, I will lay several restrictions on you when you are travelling with me to the Dwarven Capital — before we reach the enemy's headquarters."

"Yes! What sort of restrictions are these?"

"Umu. Concerning magic... while I permit you to use spells of up to the 10th tier, you are not to use too many different spells. At the very most, limit yourself to one or two of them."

"...I see, this is to deceive the enemy and make them overconfident, and then defeat him with a counterattack. That being the case... why not limit me to 5th-tier magic or lower?"

"No, the enemy will not be lulled into a false sense of confidence that way. In the moment that the enemy thinks they have the measure of our true strength and seeks to utterly destroy us, we have a chance to strike a fatal blow to the enemy. In my case, if I saw the enemy attack me with just a few techniques and no spells beyond the 5th tier, I would immediately conclude that the enemy was trying to keep their abilities a secret."

"In that kind of situation, what would you do against that sort of enemy?"

"I'd think of how to learn more about them. For instance, I'd briefly abandon an expendable base. Then, I'd slowly gather intelligence. Once the enemy gains a base, they'll feel the desire to hang on to it. That sort of attitude will limit the enemy's actions, and they'll invariably reveal their true colors."

"Is there a need to be that cautious?"

In a game, one could still recover from a loss. However, in this world, there was the chance that they would not be able to bounce back. This was especially true when it came to Ainz, who had not yet finished his experiments on player deaths.

"All these are things you do in response to the circumstances. Shalltear, you need to think, no?"

In any event, he should leave things at that. Ainz turned towards Aura.

"Then, Aura, what is it?"

"No, it's nothing."

Aura's eyes were sparkling.

He had no idea what had brought that on, but perhaps she had felt impressed by the tactics he had explained to Shalltear.

Hm~ it might be the absolute basics, but I guess I should give Aura some guidance too, no? Should I lend out that book of PK tactics? But that's the only thing I have which gives me a leg up on the NPCs... What should I do. Also, letting information spread too widely isn't good, someone told me that before...

Just as Ainz fell into thought, Gondo spoke up.

"Ah, I'm sorry to interrupt you while you're discussing strategy, but shouldn't we move forward? If the path collapses, we'll have to find another route."

"That's true... Shall we travel by magical beast?"

"It might be better not to. We might encounter small passages along the way, and if we're mounted, we'll have to leave the beasts there."

He had thought of using a ridable undead creature like a Soul Eater. He could simply re-create one if there were any problems. However, it would be wiser to listen to the words of his guide.

"I understand. Let's go, then."

***

"His Majesty has set out!"

As they heard this, six of the Dwarven Councillors — the High Priest of Earth, the Director of Food Production, the Cabinet Secretary, the Brewmaster, the Master of Caves and Mines, and the Merchant's Guildmaster — shivered in delight.

It was true that the Sorcerer King had not done anything so far. Still, they could not rest at ease when an undead being — one who hated the living — of such power walked the streets.

The people here were gathered to ensure the safety of the city and its people. Thus, they had to consider the worst possible scenarios that might result before committing to a course of action. For instance, the Sorcerer King might have suddenly turned violent and begun massacring children. These worries plagued them all day, and they considered various countermeasures and useful proposals.

Now that the object of their whispered discussion was no longer here, what was wrong in savoring the sweet release from their burdens?

"Bring the wine! Bring the wine!"

Just as the parched earth craved the rain, alcohol was essential for exhausted hearts to heal.

Nobody could possibly object to that.

"Still, he'll be back, right?"

The air turned stagnant all of a sudden, and a gloom settled across all of them.

Their pumped fists sank powerlessly down.

"Should we run?"

"Where can we go? If we flee after signing that pact with him... Also, we asked him to reclaim the Royal Capital for us, right? If we were in his place, wouldn't we be angry at this?"

"Well, he might get angry... but I wouldn't have the confidence to take a hardline stance against a being like that."

"Ah. Yes, I understand how you feel."

"...Is that really alright? What happened to your pride, Merchant's Guildmaster?"

"Ah, it's not as though we could make a fair deal with such a thing, right? Generally speaking, deals can only be made between two equal parties in equal circumstances, right? Therefore, it's de facto impossible to make a proper deal with someone who's far more powerful than you."

The Dwarves sighed as one.

Nobody here felt that the Sorcerer King would fail to reclaim the Royal Capital. That much was obvious just by glancing at the magical beasts he left behind. And then, he was a person who had the luxury of leaving behind monsters like that when he knew there was a Dragon waiting for him.

"Then, let's change the subject. Can anyone estimate when he'll return?"

"How would we know? It's not as though we can ask the man himself. If he chuckled and said 'Right now', I'm pretty sure I'd piss myself."

Those were shameful words, but none of the Dwarves laughed at them.

"...It can't be helped. If he did that to me, I'd piss myself too."

"Same here. I might even shit my pants."

They looked at each other as they uttered those crudities.

"Have we learned anything new? Do we know anything about that Gondo?"

"Nothing at all, only that he gathered the runesmiths."

"The runesmiths? Was it about going to the Sorcerous Kingdom?"

"Who knows? Why don't we summon one of them and ask him about it?"

"That's a good idea, but it'll tip our hand to His Majesty, no? It's too dangerous to act rashly. Only an idiot would touch a heated crucible, after all."

"If that's the case, then we'll have to tell the runesmiths that we want them to go to the Sorcerous Kingdom. Then we can casually ask them about it. How about that?"

"...I'm not confident in my ability to do so."

The Dwarves murmured, "Me too" in response.

"Alright, then let's forget about asking them. It would be foolish to dig needless holes and end up falling to our deaths."

Everyone here agreed with that. If they angered Ainz by prying too deeply, many lives might be lost.

"Then, let's inform the two of us who aren't here about tomorrow's business and not to interfere with the smiths. I heard the commander-in-chief will be coming here afterwards, but what about the forgemaster?"

"I'll go, then," said the Cabinet Secretary. "I'm interested in the sort of masterpiece he'll produce. Also, I'm wondering what sort of metal the Sorcerer King gave him."

"He only said it was a rare metal, but you can't get any rarer than adamantite, can you?"

"So it would be more like orichalcum, then?"

The Dwarves were an underground race. Even if their jobs had nothing to do with metallurgy, they would be very interested in a metal they had never seen before.

"If only we could grab him and make him show us. He's been very busy of late, right?"

After receiving the metal from the Sorcerer King, the Forgemaster hurriedly returned to his workshop. Everyone knew the reason for his haste, and so they did not stop him.

"Well, the smithing should be well under way, considering it's him. Making a chain shirt ought to result in a few extra loops, so maybe we could borrow a few of those."

After a chorus of approvals, the Council session dissolved.

After that, their tired bodies craved rest, but the Dwarves were a race which hosted drinking parties even as they spoke of taking a break.

"Wine tastes especially good at the workplace," they said as they downed special, Dwarf-only beverages with high alcohol content. Amidst all this, the Cabinet Secretary suddenly thought of something snuck out of the meeting room that was now a beerhall.

Needless to say, he was going to meet the Forgemaster.

The Forgemaster's workshop was huge, as befitted a man who was responsible for the Dwarven nation's blacksmithing. In all likelihood, it was one of the biggest buildings in Feoh Gēr. It employed many Dwarven artisans and its heat — which could melt adamantite — and the pounding of its hammers on anvils had never stopped before.

However, it was silent today — an occurrence which made the Cabinet Secretary's hairs stand on end.

He was sure that the crucibles were lit.

That was because the temperature went up as he neared them.

In that case, what was the reason for this silence?

The Cabinet Secretary quickened his pace, as though impelled by the unease flowing out of him.

He had come here before, so there was no hesitation as he plunged in towards the crucible where the smiths should have been working.

He saw the blacksmiths, all of whom were familiar faces.

Unable to help himself, he sighed in relief. However, when he noticed the worried looks on the blacksmith's faces and the direction where they were all looking, the unease which seized his heart seemed to come back to life.

"What's wrong?"

As he called out, the eyes of the blacksmiths lit up, as though their savior had arrived.

"He's locked himself in there and refuses to come out."

Apart from its gigantic crucibles, this foundry also contained a workshop for the personal use of the Forgemaster, although it was closer to a miniature foundry in its own right. The Forgemaster was a dedicated worker, and when handling important projects, he would often lock himself inside and not emerge for several days.

That was a fairly common occurrence. The Forgemaster's disciples and the other blacksmiths should not have had that distressed look on their faces.

"...It's not strange, is it?"

"It's true that he locks himself up fairly often... but there's no sound of hammering. And it's been half a day — no, almost an entire day."

"...So maybe he's just drawing up the plans for the design?"

"That's never happened before."

The Cabinet Secretary stroked his beard.

He did not feel this was particularly surprising. However, if the forgemen all felt the same way, then it should probably be an emergency.

"Then why don't you open the door? Is it locked?"

"No, it's not locked. However, whenever the Forgemaster retreats to that room, he hates people opening that door."

"I see. ...So you want me to open it, am I right?"

It would be difficult for the Forgemaster's disciples. But someone of an equivalent rank might have a better chance of not incurring the Forgemaster's wrath.

I drew the short straw. Well, it can't be helped.

"I understand. Then, let me do it. You lot should go first. Just take it as though I insisted on going in myself and you won't get involved."

After the smiths thanked him, the Cabinet Secretary stepped up and knocked on the door.

However, there was no response, no matter how many times he knocked.

Fearing the worst, he flung the door open with all his might.

It was the same familiar room. Surprisingly, there was no heat, even though he was only a door removed from the huge crucible. That was due to magical air conditioning. When he shifted his gaze, he saw a crimson flame blazing within the depths of the crucible.

And then, he saw someone facing the fire.

What, he's there, isn't he? Just as the Cabinet Secretary was about to sigh in relief, he once again held his breath.

That was because he could sense something strange and inexplicable in the air. Why was the Forgemaster silent? According to the smiths outside, he ought to have reacted immediately to the intrusion.

"Oi."

Those words were little more than an exhaled breath, but the man should have heard it. Yet there was no response from the Forgemaster.

"Oi!"

The Cabinet was nervous now and he shouted, but as expected, the Forgemaster did not react.

Panting heavily, he advanced to the Forgemaster's side.

"—Hey!"

"What?"

An answer at last. The Cabinet Secretary almost collapsed on account of the strength fleeing his limbs.

"What? What? Don't make me—"

The Cabinet Secretary's words trailed off.

Why had the Forgemaster not turned around to look at him?

Worried for his friend, the Cabinet Minister circled around to look at his face.

He looked different from usual — as though he were a hunted animal. More important than that, he had a ghastly expression on his face, as though he was ready to massacre his own people.

"...What happened?"

The Forgemaster's face finally moved in response to the words which had slipped out by themselves. No, only his eyeballs moved, turning to look at the Cabinet Secretary's face.

"What happened? What... happened? Hmph!"

The Forgemaster's hand moved. He picked up his tongs, plucked out the searing-hot metal ingot from the fires of the crucible, and then chucked it at the Cabinet Master.

"Uwaaaaah!"

The Cabinet Minister scrambled away desperately, and the ingot landed on the ground with a thud.

"You bastard! Are you trying to kill me?!"

He could not tolerate this, not even from a friend.

However, the Forgemaster smiled coldly.

"Kill you? Well, you'd think that."

Then, he reached out and grabbed the ingot. Blacksmiths typically wore heat-resistant gloves, but the shocking thing was that the Forgemaster did not. Neither was he wearing any magic items that bestowed such an effect.

He had grabbed the heated metal ingot with his bare hand.

So reckless and ridiculous was that move that the Secretary imagined he could smell and hear the Forgemaster's flesh sizzling. The Forgemaster practically spat his words out at the wide-eyed Cabinet Secretary.

"It didn't heat up!"

"What, what did you say?"

"This damn thing won't heat up at all!"

Before he knew it, the Cabinet Secretary had caught the ingot tossed his way. For a moment, he imagined that it was emitting a searing heat, but t was not hot at all. In fact, it was surprisingly cold.

"What, what is this?"

That was a pointless question. In all the Cabinet Secretary's knowledge, there was only one thing which corresponded to the description of a metal that did not get hot even when heated. Thus, the question was merely a formality.

Indeed, the Forgemaster's next words confirmed his suspicions.

"It's the ingot that damned undead gave me! I've heated it for an entire day and it won't get hot! I've hammered it and it won't change shape! I can't even leave a mark on it! How the hell am I supposed to make armor with this?!"

"You, you don't think he gave you a metal even he couldn't work with?"

"I'd like to think so too. But look, there's a shortsword made of the same metal! I can mark the ingot with it! The hell does 'most experienced craftsman' mean?! I'm nothing more than an idiot who can only stare dumbly at a hunk of unknown metal!"

The Cabinet Secretary struggled to think of how to comfort the high-strung Forgemaster.

"Then, then what if you asked that undead being how to work it—"

"Those who ask when they don't know are wiser than those who don't ask when they don't know? Something like that, right? That's true. The dwarves of days past do have a point. But — what does my experience count for? Look at these hands."

He forcefully thrust them out. They were a pair of craftsman's hands; thick, heavy and scarred from old burns. Any artisan could take pride in such hands.

"I've touched metal ever since I was a stupid disciple. I've done it longer than anyone else, until now. Because of that, it was only natural to be praised as the most outstanding artisan of my peers. And the reason for that is because I worked harder than anyone else!"

The Forgemaster's face was twisted into knots.

"I've given my life to blacksmithing. I don't think anything is impossible, and I've always believed that any metal can be shaped to any desired shape. —What a joke I am! Haha! What was I using to deceive myself? I was nothing more than a tiny frog in a well! And to think I dared call myself a genius. I was such a fool."

"No, all you need to do now is start learning again, right?"

"That's right. Yes, you're right. Though it pains me to hear it..."

The Forgemaster tightly clutched the ingot in his hand.

The fact that the Forgemaster's face had gone completely blank worried the Cabinet Secretary.

"It's fine. You're right. All I need to do is start learning again. Then, what are you doing here?"

"What am I... you... Ah, forget it. That undead king has left this city. We'll be holding a Council meeting tomorrow, and I came to get you. Also, don't interfere with the runesmiths."

"Is that so... I understand. Then, I'll see you tomorrow."

The Cabinet Secretary still felt uneasy, but he could not bring himself to show it.

Fatigue of the body translated to fatigue of the spirit. The Forgemaster would probably recover after a good night's rest. After forcing himself to accept that explanation, the Cabinet Secretary returned home.

However, the next day, he learned that the Forgemaster had disappeared with the ingot.

-x-X-x-

It was said that there were three trials along the way to the former Royal Capital of the Dwarves.

The first was the Great Rift.

Needless to say, one could not cross it on foot. Of course, one could also look for a way around it, but that increased the chances of encountering monsters. The monsters who lay in wait within such terrain were a fearsome threat to the Dwarves.

It was very difficult to evade an ambush launched by monsters who could sense the footsteps of their targets and attack from underground. One false move might lead to being swallowed and digested. In addition, there were monsters who could launch psychic attacks and deliver lethal blows while the minds of their victims were still confused.

In places like these, humanoids like humans, Dwarves and Elves were little more than prey animals.

While the safest way across would be to take the overland route which cut across the mountain range, that path was still dangerous even for surface-dwellers. One had to worry about being attacked from above by creatures like Perytons, Harpies, Itsumades, Gigant Eagles and other monsters, as well as large flying animals. Since humans had small cones of vision above and below them, a moment's carelessness might lead to missing an ambush from above, which in turn contained the risk of being slain in one blow.

Thus, merely crossing the Great Rift was a trial in itself.

Because of that, the Dwarves had built a city nearby and raised a suspension bridge. Once the bridge had fallen, nobody would be able to cross, and the Great Rift would serve as an impassable barrier to protect the city.

Now that the suspension bridge had been cut by the Quagoa, the Great Rift was an imposing challenge.

However—

It did not bother Ainz and his company at all. After all, the use of the [Fly] spell rendered it a trivial obstacle.

Then, there was the second trial — the land of molten magma.

This sea of scorching heat shone with blinding radiance. It was an extremely dangerous region where inhaling a single lungful of searing air could char one's lungs within the chest.

The reason why lava could flow uncounted kilometers beneath the earth was most likely because this world was a magical one. There were naturally-formed portals which were close to [Gates] in power, and they joined the magma flows of this region to those of a distant region.

Amidst this searing ocean lurked the reason why this place was considered a trial.

That would be the monster who swam lazily through the scorching sea.

It was a gigantic monster over 50 meters long, which resembled a fish. To be precise, it resembled an anglerfish. However, it did not have a lure on its head, but a tentacle which substituted for hands. It could seize a distant foe and deposit it into the monster's oversized jaws.

Its skin was sturdy and tough, and it grew scales like a normal fish, but their toughness far surpassed that of even orichalcum.

Many monsters grew very powerful because they lived a long time. These individuals were famed as superior specimens, and in many cases they would be classified as a different kind of being from their parent race. This monster had completed a specialized form of evolution, and it had become a unique being, found nowhere else in the world.

And so, these were the three rulers of Mt. Rappaslea, as linked by the [Gate]—

The Phoinix Lord, who ruled the sky;

The Ancient Flame Dragon, who ruled the earth;

And the La-Angler Lava Lord, who ruled the underground sea of magma.

If ranked by the adventurers' difficulty estimates, the master of the molten ocean would score around 140. In all likelihood, one would not survive combat with it.

Fortunately, it was poor at engaging terrestrial targets. One would not be attacked if one stayed out of the magma. However, the road to the Dwarven Royal Capital ran along a narrow, unsteady path that was only a little higher than the sea of molten rock below it.

Quite a number of Quagoa had fallen into the magma during their invasion. Unable to withstand the superheated air which blew up from below, their bodies trembled, which sent them plunging into the sea of molten rock.

However—

The crossing posed no problems for travellers prepared with fire immunity and flight magic. They flew through the air, far above the reach of the La-Angler Lava Lord, and neither party realised the presence of each other.

Thus did Ainz and his company cross the sea of magma.

The trials until now had been easily overcome with flight magic, so it was hard to consider them trials. However, the final trial was a challenge in the truest sense of the word, being a long, twisting and branching series of caves.

It certainly qualified for the title of "labyrinth".

Still, that alone would be too easy to count as a trial. There were no monsters in this area, so as long as one spent time on making a map, one could eventually overcome it. And if that were all that were to it, then it would only qualify as a trial to those who lacked food and water — or, in other words, those with limited time.

Yes — there was another reason why this place was considered a trial.

This area was filled with vents which spewed plumes of volcanic gases at regular intervals, and there were places where the gases collected. In other words, it was a hellish area of invisible, fatal poison, lashed by fierce winds.

There were several routes which led to the exit, but there was only one which did so and also avoided the gas. Even that route might end up being filled with gas if one did not traverse it quickly enough.

Even the use of the [Fly] spell — which had trumped every challenge thus far — would only allow them to scrape along the ceiling. The sprayed gas would fill even the air up there with poison as well. At most, all the spell would do was allow one to avoid the areas where the gas had settled and collected.

However—

Ainz and the Guardians had adequate countermeasures against gas-vector attacks, so it posed no problems to them. Rather, the only one who might be affected by gaseous attacks was Gondo. The undead had their immunities, and gases which did not inflict acid or fire damage would not harm them at all. Aura had a magic item which surrounded her in a bubble of fresh air, so mere gas counted for nothing against her.

In other words, as long as Gondo was protected by magic, he could walk safely through the billowing vapors of death.

And so, the three trials — terrain hazards which were deemed impassable to those without preparation or prior knowledge — were easily conquered by Ainz and his party.

Ainz's spell — the [Bless of Titania], which told its userthe best way through a dungeon — slowly faded away. That was either a sign that its duration had expired, or that its purpose had ended.

"...Hm. It looks like there's a fresh Quagoa corpse inside that cave. But we haven't caught up with their unit yet. I guess a day makes a huge difference."

"Still, we've closed the gap greatly. We've almost caught up with them now," Aura said after inspecting the footprints on the ground.

"...Really now. Then, let's discuss what we'll do afterwards. ...Gondo, we'll be reaching the Royal Capital soon, right?"

"Yes. I've only heard of it in legends, but if those caves were the legendary Maze of Death, then we ought to be there soon."

A bitter expression came over Gondo's face.

"Was that really a Maze of Death, though... The legends said that those who didn't know the way would only find death at the end of their journey..."

Ainz could not answer that question. After all, it had been too simple a challenge. Perhaps it was only a ruse, designed to trick the opposition into thinking they had cleared it before the true trap was sprung. That was not entirely out of the question.

"...When that happens, all we need to do is break through any traps that await. That said, stepping into a preset snare is the height of foolishness. Let's slow down and advance while staying alert."

They had been moving at great speeds to catch up with the enemy. However, they had not caught up with them yet, even after coming all the way here. They should rethink their strategy while operating under the assumption that the enemy had already returned to their base.

"Then, we shall consider what we will do after reaching the enemy headquarters."

After verifying that everyone had nodded, Ainz turned towards Gondo.

"To begin with, Gondo and I will take on the Royal Palace. I will handle the Dragon there."

Neither the Guardians nor Gondo objected to this.

The highest-ranked Dragons were some of the strongest opponents in YGGDRASIL. It was very dangerous to move separately from the Guardians while they did not know the enemy's strength. However, Ainz possessed a World-Class Item. It possessed many powers, and one of them was very effective against Dragons. Therefore, even in the worst-case scenario, he ought to be able to escape it.

In contrast, if he brought the Guardians with him and the enemy was more powerful than expected, then he would have to work harder in order to make his escape.

With Gondo around, the worst that could happen was that Ainz would have to abandon him. He could not abandon the lives of his friends' children. Therefore, the best solution was to not have them with him in the first place.

Dragons, huh... I'm looking forward to this.

In YGGDRASIL, Dragons were mighty foes and also a bounty of riches.

They dropped good data crystals, and they had a higher chance of dropping artifacts than normal monsters. One could harvest their skin, meat, blood, fangs, claws, eyeballs, scales and other body parts for various uses.

One could say they were delicious enemies.

Knowing that he would soon encounter his first Dragon in this world filled his heart with a blend of unease, anticipation and desire. Ainz was so delighted that he was barely able to contain himself.

According to the Dwarves, the mighty Frost Dragon which had laid waste to the Western city might be there. If things went poorly, he might face another battle with questionable odds of victory, much like the one with Shalltear.

Could the Dragon have defeated the Death Knights? I can still manage if it was the same entity, but it'll be troublesome if there was another one. Should I remain hidden and bring up everyone except the Hanzos — no, this ought to be the right choice.

"—Ainz-sama?"

"Hm? Ahh, Shalltear. Forgive me, I was lost in thought. Then, I shall give you two your orders as well. Aura and Shalltear, you are to face the Quagoa and have them submit to my rule. If they dare to refuse, then show them the power of Nazarick!"

The two Guardians replied with forceful affirmatives.

Ainz's gaze shifted to Gondo. He did not look like he had anything to say. That attitude seemed to imply that he would go along with any decision Ainz made.

While Ainz had agreed to clear out the Quagoa, Ainz did not intend to completely exterminate them. He simply felt that the genocide of a race which did not exist in YGGDRASIL was a bit of a waste. Indeed, killing them all might eliminate this race from the world. No, even if that were not the case, they might end up being beneficial to Nazarick in the future.

Of course, they might also be harmful to Nazarick. However, extirpating them before verifying that was something of a waste.

Extermination is easy, but revival is difficult. Thus, there's only one path I can take. And besides—

"If they are fools who will not swear their loyalty to me, then reduce their numbers to around 10'000 or so. Try and keep the strong ones alive. However, after considering future issues, do not select them purely based on strength. You must make sure an equal number of them are female. In addition, you must not let any of them escape, do you understand? Especially the one that is the equivalent to their king."

"But... Ainz-sama..."

Ainz urged Aura — who looked depressed — to continue speaking.

"We don't know exactly how large the Dwarven capital is, but it seems like quite a large area. It'll be difficult for just the two of us to ensure that none of the Quagoa escape from such a broad space. What should we do?".

"Hm. A reasonable question. Because of that — Aura, it's time for you to shine. Use the World-Class item I gave you earlier."

"Is, is that really alright?"

"Umu. This is when it should be put to use."

"I, I understand!"

Tension was written all over their faces.

"While that there are no use limits on that World-Class item, if the enemy fulfils certain conditions and escapes, ownership of the Item will automatically shift to them. That is the worst-case scenario and must be avoided at all costs."

Ainz recalled the incident where Ainz Ooal Gown had seized possession of it.

How many mails had the enemy sent, begging them to "give it back"?

Ainz snorted.

"If you didn't want to lose it, shouldn't have used it," was the matter-of-fact reply. Nothing was more stupid than a guild which could not accept such a rational conclusion. If they did not want it to be taken, they should have stashed it in their treasury and never taken it out. Therefore, Ainz kept harping on it, even though he felt that there would be no problems with its use.

"Also, you must be cautious of foes you cannot suck into it, because such enemies possess World-Class Items as well."

"That means you won't be able to enter either, right, Ainz-sama?"

"Not when it opens up. However, there are ways to go in if you choose to do so. You need to pay attention to the time lag when that happens... Alright, let's go, then."

Led by Aura, the group set forth.

Perhaps they were near the former Dwarven Royal Capital, but even the naturally-formed caverns were easy to traverse. All the stalactites and stalagmites had been cut down, probably for convenience of passage. They walked on for a time, surrounded by the labor of the Dwarves.

Aura — who walked at their head — suddenly stopped. Then she cupped her hand to a long ear, listening intently.

Ainz and the others kept quiet, waiting for Aura to give the word.

"Ainz-sama, I can hear many living beings ahead, numbering in the hundreds. I can't gauge the exact distance, but I think we'll make contact with them within minutes."

"Hoh... have we caught up to them?"

"No, they don't sound like they're moving. It feels like they're waiting..."

"I see. Did they sense our pursuit? Are they ambush troops?"

If that were the case, they had probably used some sort of divination magic to spy on Ainz and the others.

Ainz smiled thinly.

Until now, he had not let the enemy observe their power. Because of that, they wanted to throw their unit against Ainz and observe their abilities.

From the enemy's resolve and actions, he could sense their anxiety and willingness to sacrifice lives to learn about them. It made Ainz feel that he had won his battle of wits against his opponent.

"Ainz-sama, shall we capture them?"

"Hm, come to think of it, we haven't shown too much of our abilities to the enemy yet. Therefore, let's gather some information before we roll over their headquarters in one fell swoop."

"Understood!"

In addition, even if they did learn about them, they could not devise a counter-strategy that easily.

There were two main types of characters in YGGDRASIL.

There were those who specialized in a certain field, and those whose abilities were evenly distributed.

In the former case, even if one learned about an enemy, they would have a hard time dealing with them if the information did not pertain to their specialty. In the latter case, they might be able to deal with them, but given the even spread of their foe's abilities, said countermeasures against them would not be foolproof.

Of course, there might be people like Ainz who knew many spells and who possessed many items left behind by their comrades, and were thus able to adapt to many circumstances, or someone like Touch Me with very high overall stats, but those were the exception to the rule. Therefore, there was only one thing they had to worry about.

...The number of powerful entities. The fact that I don't know that figure scares me a little. Given that I can't fully verify that particular point, I should probably keep the idea of retreat in mind — hm. Well, in any case, we can't proceed without punching them to see what the enemy has up their sleeve. —Ohh, the spirit of Yamaiko-san is possessing me...

"Shalltear. You are not to go berserk this time, alright?"

"Of course!"

Shalltear readied her Spuit Lance.

"Very good. Normally, we should avoid revealing the fact that we possess divine-class items to the enemy. However, they won't be able to see through it without very good detection skills. Alright, go."

"Understood!"

***

In Feoh Berkanan — the stately, magnificent former Royal Capital of the Dwarves, built during the flower of their civilization — the largest building besides the Royal Palace was the Merchant's Guild, because it contained many rooms used during meetings and temporary vaults used to briefly store resources.

This building was used by many Dwarves, and it was larger than any other structure in the city. However, it was now the residence of the Lord of the Quagoa Clans, Pe Riyuro.

By the time Yozu returned, Riyuro was seated — almost sinking — into a large and soft cushion. His attitude was one which carried on as normal, without entertaining the possibility of anger or anxiety, even after hearing about Yozu's failure.

Yozu bowed, and described what had happened.

While the important details had already been sent via messenger, he was here to explain the details. In particular, he needed to thoroughly elaborate on the Dwarven Kingdom's trump card, the black suits of armor which he had seen with his own two eyes.

Riyuro listened in silence, and then he slowly moved his hand, reaching into a cage beside him. He withdrew a squeaking lizard; a fat, round and juicy lizard, a snack fit for a king.

Riyuro extended the hand holding the lizard toward Yozu.

"—Want a bite?"

"No, no thank you."

"Really now," Riyuro muttered. Then he crushed the lizard's head with his jaws, and Yozu smelled the faint scent of blood and innards.

All 20 centimeters of the lizard disappeared into Riyuro's mouth within three bites.

Riyuro wiped his bloodstained hands and mouth clean with a nearby towel.

"—And so you retreated. What of your pursuers?"

"We're unsure of that. However—"

Since the suspension bridge had fallen, he did not think the enemy would continue their pursuit. And frankly speaking, they had the Dwarves by the throat. All the Dwarves could do was reinforce their defenses, find and seal off the flanking route, and then perhaps they might mount a counterattack on this place.

The reason why they had only committed those two suits of black armor was either because they were foolish enough to split their forces or because that was the sum of their military power.

That was Yozu's opinion, which he shared with Riyuro.

"It wouldn't be strange if there were one or two more of them."

Riyuro seemed to have sensed Yozu's unconscious display of surprise. He poked repeatedly at the lizards in the cage while lazily explaining his meaning.

The Dwarves were confident in their fortress' defense. If it was brought down, they would feel that the chances of their city being conquered were very high. Therefore, it was not wrong to assume that the black suits of armor they had sent out were a significant portion of their total number.

However, since they did not know how exactly the fortress had been conquered, committing all their forces to the frontlines was a dangerous gamble. If there were multiple avenues of infiltration, then they might be lost.

While it was not a situation where they could dole their fighting strength out bit by bit, they did not have the information to commit their entire force to a counterattack either.

Therefore, even if there were more, there would only be one, maybe two more. This was what he had come up with.

Yozu felt that it was exactly as the Lord had said, and he was filled with awe at the wisdom of his Lord.

"Then, who do you think can defeat those Golems?"

"I am certain that you could defeat it, my Lord!"

Riyuro was the mightiest being among the eight clans of the Quagoa. Indeed, his fighting ability was exemplary.

He might well be able to fight the entire Quagoa race by himself and emerge victorious. There had never been anyone as powerful as him in the history of the Quagoa.

Yozu recalled the sight of Riyuro battling a monster in the past. He was absolutely confident that Riyuro's might was superior to that of the Golems.

"Dispense with the pleasantries. Do you truly think so?"

"Yes! I do think so!"

Riyuro chuckled bitterly, but Yozu's reply was earnest. He had no answer besides that.

"...Which Clan were you born in?"

A surprising question. After Yozu stated his birth clan, Riyuro fell into thought once more.

"I see... In that case, you must really think I can win, then?"

"What, what does that mean?"

"I simply suspected that you might consider this a chance to eliminate me. It is true that I am stronger than anyone else in the entire species. Because of that, you might seek to have me battle the Golems after underestimating their strength. Then, the Golems would kill me. Well, if you did that, then nobody would be able to defeat the Golems... but they would be damaged during their battle with me, and then you might be able to crush them with numbers."

Although the Lord to which he had pledged his loyalty cast his suspicions upon him, Yozu's heart was filled with nothing but respect.

If he were in Riyuro's place, he might not have thought so deeply into the issue.

Yozu firmly believed that Riyuro was the true Lord of the Quagoa, and his loyalty deepened ever further.

Riyuro did not quite understand the man before him, and asked Yozu a question.

"...Why did you not immediately answer that you had no such intentions?"

"Yes! My, my deepest apologies! I was merely entranced your deep insights, my Lord! As you have said, I harbored no such intentions!"

Riyuro laughed loudly.

"What an interesting fellow you are! ...The men I granted you were lost for nothing, so there must be a punishment for that. But I will not inflict wounds upon you, which might affect your future development. In truth, you learned about the Golems and returned here after realizing that it was important information. In addition, your anticipation of enemy pursuit and the allocation of part of your troops to the defense of the city shows your keenness of thought."

"Thank you very much!"

Yozu bowed deeply.

"Now, I have a question for an excellent leader like you. How shall we gather more information about those Golems?"

"By attacking the shorties' nation."

"That is one way to go about it. If you do so, we might be able to learn if there are truly Golems in reserve."

"Yes! If there aren't any more, then we must conquer the city as soon as possible no matter the losses we suffer."

"Umu", Riyuro nodded.

If it was a matter of lives, then much time would be needed to bear and raise them. However, Golems only needed to be built. Time was not on their side, but on the enemy's.

"What other methods are there?"

"Forgive me, but I cannot think of any at the moment."

Riyuro thrust his hand into the lizard-filled cage and withdrew another lizard.

"...Would you like one?"

Do I look that hungry?

It was true that he had fled back here with all his strength, and he had not even eaten or rested properly so far. However, he was not thirsty or hungry enough to beg from the king's table.

"No, thank you."

"Really now," Riyuro replied. Then, he chewed off the lizard's head like he had the previous one. After devouring it like before, Yozu asked Riyuro a question.

"Then, my Lord. Have you thought of any other methods?"

"Ah, yes. We can ask that fellow. His wisdom is far beyond mine... Although, the troubling thing is that the payment he demands will be equally high."

"By payment you mean... could it be!"

Yozu immediately guessed it from those words.

"Correct. We must give the Dragons—"

Just as Riyuro was about to speak, there was a disturbance from outside, and then the doors swung open with a great crash.

"Clan Lord!"

It was one of the guards.

"Looks urgent, what happened?"

"Yes! There seems to be someone headed toward this city!"

"Where are they coming from?"

According to the guard, they had come from the flank where Yozu had positioned his troops. In other words, they had come from the Dwarven nation.

"So they've sent out pursuit troops... I underestimated the stunties."

With that, Riyuro rose to his feet.

Yozu's eyes seemed to ask him where he was going. Riyuro sensed this, and replied:

"It seems we've been saved a lot of decision-making. I will go meet the Dragons now."

"Are you going to ask about the Golems?"

"No. I'm going to convince them to deal with the approaching stunties. Since they're stunties, they'll have their Golems in tow. Then, we should have them fight the Dragons and weaken both sides. ...Hmph. Might as well let them earn their keep."

The Clan Lord was deeply furious about how the Dragons had taken the best spot in the city — the Royal Palace — for their own. This was something which only his most trusted confidants knew, in addition to how the Clan Lord had cleverly hidden those feelings and bowed to the Dragons.

There was an overwhelming difference between the power of Dragons and the Quagoa.

Therefore, they had to feign an air of servitude until they could pare down the Dragons' strength. However, there were very few beings who could fight on even terms with the Dragons in the mountain range. With one notable exception aside, those would probably be the Frost Giants.

And now the chance had come, Riyuro said.

"Yozu, it's not too likely, but just in case, begin moving toward the ruins district. I don't want you to get involved in the battles of Dragons."

One district of the Dwarven Royal Capital had been completely destroyed before the Quagoa had taken it over. The Quagoa had not rebuilt this area, in order to use it as a staging ground to gather a vast army. It would seem that it would finally be put to use.

"Understood."

"Then... can you help me prepare some offerings for the meeting with the Dragons? They like jewels, so prepare some of them. I trust you also know that they're very greedy and won't agree to the initial payment right away. They'll surely raise their price. With that in mind, prepare some lower-valued items as well."

After nodding to Riyuro to show he understood, Yozu immediately began the preparations.

***

The mightiest species in this world were the Dragons. There were races which could adapt to the harsh lands where humanity could not reach. The Azellisia Mountain Range was no exception, and the Dragons ruled the roost here.

These Dragons were known as Frost Dragons.

Usually, Dragons had slender bodies. Those did not resemble the crawling forms of lizards so much as they did those of cats. Among them, Frost Dragons were even slimmer, like snakes.

Their scales were bluish-white, but as they grew older, they turned the white of snowfall. Having adapted to their environment, they possessed cold immunity, but in contrast, they were vulnerable to fire.

In addition, there was the trump card of the Draconic races. They possessed the fearsome power of freezing Dragon's breath.

The Lord of these Frost Dragons, Olasird'arc=Haylilyal, coiled around his throne, looking down on the Quagoa who craved an audience with him.

"So, you have come. What is the matter?"

"Yes, I am deeply honored to be granted an audience with the mighty White Dragon Lord, Olasird'arc=Haylilyal—"

"—Dispense with the formalities. Get to the point."

That said, Olasird'arc's eyes narrowed slightly.

Being a Dragon Lord had a special significance among Dragons. It was a title only given to those who had reached the highest age category (Ancient) among the Dragons, or powerful Dragons who possessed special powers, or those Dragons who could use exotic magic. These outstanding Dragons were awarded the title of Lord.

Being addressed by such a glorious title was quite pleasing.

"Yes! Firstly, I wish to thank you for granting an audience."

The Quagoa waiting behind the Quagoa Lord produced a beat-up old sack.

They opened it, and as expected, the glitter of gold spilled forth.

It was not enough to satisfy him, but that amount should have been all the Quagoa could manage, so he had to bear with it.

"Alright then, what do you want."

"Yes! In truth, there are some uninvited guests with designs upon our homes, so I was wondering if we could call upon your matchless might, White Dragon Lord-sama."

"Hm..."

To Olasird'arc, Quagoa were an inferior species. They were beings who should revere the mighty Dragons, and they were comparable to his possessions. It was somewhat aggravating to allow them to be killed at will. However, it was equally infuriating for him to have to take action on the behalf of such inferior lifeforms.

Olasird'arc's gaze fell upon his glittering throne — a small mountain of gold and precious stones.

One habit which united all Dragons was the love of precious metals, jewels, magic items and related wealth. Olasird'arc was no exception in this regard.

However, while he might be able to dig tunnels and excavate precious metals or raw gemstones, he could not process them. In addition, the mighty should not be doing such things. That was what slaves were for.

Thus, it did not matter if he roused himself to labor on the behalf of his slaves. His heart surged with such generous feelings.

"And who are these people?"

"We are not sure. We have not grasped their true identity yet. However, they should be Dwarves."

"Dwarves. ...Umu."

Olasird'arc glanced at the great door behind him.

Behind that door was the Dwarven City's former treasury.

No matter how many times Olasird'arc had attacked it, it had not opened or been destroyed. The protective magic worked on it by the Dwarven runesmiths had defended their treasures from all the attacks he had brought to bear on it.

His obsession with the contents of the vault had long faded, and that door was little more than a scratching post for his claws. However, when he heard about the Dwarves, the smoldering embers in his heart ignited once more.

If these Dwarves could make it here, perhaps they might have a way to open this vault.

Is it time to abandon the Quagoa? The Dwarves are more useful, in various ways.

As Olasird'arc contemplated these matters, he glared coldly at the Quagoa beneath him, and the Quagoa Lord's pleas finally came to an end.

"I am sure that you will be able to defeat the Dwarves or whatnot with contemptuous ease, White Dragon Lord-sama. Please, lend your strength to us! Needless to say, when they are defeated we will offer up double the sum from just now, no more than that!"

His greed tickled by that last line, Olasird'arc's face twitched.

"...I see. I shall consider it."

"Please wait! White Dragon Lord-sama, the enemy is close! And the Dwarves seek to retake this city!"

Olasird'arc turned his keen gaze upon the Quagoa.

"What do you mean by that? Are you implying that these measly Dwarves can evict me from my nest?"

"I did not say that! But, there's no telling what the Dwarves intend to do! For all we know, they might have a way to destroy this city!"

"Do you not think they would have done so already if that was the case?"

"It is very likely they intend to destroy the city from the inside!"

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"Hm," Olasird'arc thought. It seemed a little far-fetched, but it could not be entirely ruled out.

This place was absolutely necessary for the creation of a Draconic Empire.

After claiming the Dwarves' Royal Palace, he had ordered his wives to lay their eggs here, and then raise his children as they grew.

In the past, they had randomly found a place to lay eggs and left them there, or kicked them out of the nest a year or two after they were born. That would not strengthen the Draconic race.

I must increase the number of my offspring, and then subjugate the Frost Giants. Then, I can completely dominate this mountain range, Olasird'arc had thought.

The Frost Giants and the Frost Dragons were the apex predators of this mountain range. Therefore, they had struggled for a long time to determine who was the top dog.

The Frost Giants were immune to cold, which meant that the Frost Dragons' trump card of icy Dragon breath could not harm them. The power of the massive weapons which the Frost Giants wielded could not be overlooked, even by Dragons. If they came in numbers, the Dragons might well be defeated. Indeed, there were Frost Dragons who had lost to Frost Giants, and who were used as hounds by them.

Naturally, the Frost Dragons knew that too. If Olasird'arc were one of them, he would not miss the chance to destroy a powerful foe before their numbers could increase. If he had to abandon this territory, then the Frost Giant tribes would surely unite to attack them before he could seize a new seat of power.

Olasird'arc regarded his concubines, sprawled lazily around the room.

They were three female Dragons.

There was the youngest of them, with a single alabaster horn, Mianatalon=Fuviness.

The one who had fought with Olasird'arc for territory many times, Munuinia=Ilyslym.

And then there was the only Dragon in residence here who could use divine magic (albeit only of the 1st tier), Kilystran=Denshushua.

"What do you think?

"...Why not help them? After all, the miserable little Dwarves are hardly fearsome foes."

"I agree too. Frankly speaking, I don't care what they say. But if the Dwarves attack, knowing that we're here, that would be equivalent to looking down on us. We ought to carve fear into the hearts of those cocky little creatures."

He turned his gaze from Muninia — who was scratching at the floor with a sharp claw — and towards Kilystran.

"And what say you?"

After addressing Kilystran, she tilted her head.

"I oppose and approve of it. I oppose it because we cannot be sure that these attackers really are Dwarves. In addition, if they're attacking while aware of our presence, they must have surely taken our power into consideration. However, while the very idea of destroying the city is absurd, a mechanism capable of doing so is not out of the reach of Dwarven technology. It would be foolish not to respond to that."

Olasird'arc smiled bitterly. She had such a twisted personality. That was why he liked her.

"So, the ayes have it. —Well then. I shall accept your request, inferior Quagoa."

"Yes! You have our deepest thanks!"

As Olasird'arc glared coldly at the Quagoa kowtowing before him, he made a pronouncement.

"However, you must offer ten times the previous amount of tribute."

"Ten! Ten times?!"

Olasird'arc snorted at the Quagoa Lord, who had raised his head.

"You do not even know who is attacking. That much should be expected. ...Then, what will you do? If you cannot produce the requisite amount, then you can deal with it yourselves."

"Please, please wait! We will offer the tribute! Please let us offer the tribute!"

Suddenly, Olasird'arc thought of something.

Could the Quagoa actually pay that much gold? Or was it because the Dwarves were unimaginably powerful foes, which was why they were trying their best to get him to commit no matter how much they had to pay?

Well, it doesn't matter. If they can't pay, then just as Munuinia said, I will carve an indelible terror into the hearts of those weaklings (Quagoa).

"Then, begone."

"Yes! But... when can we expect your arrival?"

"Soon. Until then, wait."

"Yes!"

As Olasird'arc watched the Quagoa leave, Mianatalon asked: "Will you be going in person?"

"As if. Of course not."

Olasird'arc was the most powerful Dragon here. That being the case, it would be foolish for him to actually fight on the behalf of his slaves even if he was paid. Therefore—

"Who should I send over... Whose child would be best?"

They were all his children. Every Dragon here with the exception of his concubines was bound to Olasird'arc by blood.

"In that case, send my child."

"Yours? Who?"

Kilystran had birthed four children for Olasird'arc, and each of them was a Dragon of over a century of age. They were far more powerful than the Quagoa.

"The eldest, of course."

"Hejinmal, then?"

Olasird'arc frowned.

"That boy might look like that, but he has a good head on his shoulders and he will see the opposition for what they really are. If they turn out to be Dwarves, don't you think he'll bring about a most agreeable negotiation? You must be starting to tire of Quagoa slaves, no?"

"Can he do all that? Can the other children not do it?"

Olasird'arc agreed with what Munuinia said.

"Better than Toranjelit, at least."

"...Kilystran. The most important thing for Dragons is the power of their bodies. One cannot defeat power and speed with one's head. Olasird'arc beat me because his body was stronger than mine. Remember that. Toranjelit's superior body is far better than that of Hejinmal's!"

Toranjelit was one of Olasird'arc's children by Munuinia. In terms of raw strength, he was the best among his offspring.

"But things will turn out poorly if you don't think. If you send out your child — who might kill the Quagoa for no reason — who knows what they'll end up doing?"

"That's enough."

Olasird'arc halted Munuinia, who was about to say something, and then looked at Mianatalon's face. She seemed to find all this squabbling terribly boring.

"Let's go with Kilystran's idea and call Hejinmal over."

"It's no use. He won't come."

Olasird'arc sensed his plan falling apart right from the start.

Munuinia chuckled, a thin, unhappy sound. It would be troublesome if they argued again, and Olasird'arc raised his voice.

"Just break down the door or whatnot and drag him out."

"Ara, I didn't destroy your fortress because you asked me not to. Does that mean you're giving me permission? Although, it may not just be the door that gets destroyed."

Indeed, he remembered saying those words. While Dragons were skilful, they could not rebuild a door once destroyed, and they did not know magic which could do that. Therefore, if they destroyed something, they would leave it where it was.

As the White Dragon Lord, it would be a shame to live in a castle filled with holes. Therefore he had demanded his concubines and his offspring adhere to that rule.

Although his concubines would probably go if he ordered—

"It can't be helped. I'll go, then."

"Please."

Olasird'arc looked at Kilystran with an indescribable expression on his face.

The fact that he had to go in person despite being a Lord did not sit well with him. In response to that, should he allow a few Quagoa to live here and let them work for him?

However, Olasird'arc abandoned the many possibilities which appeared in his mind.

He could not bear the thought of having inferior lifeforms like the Quagoa running around his fortress. Someday, when he defeated the Giants, he would have them work for him as slaves.

Until then, he would have to bear with it.

***