185

Ainz's group had brought Dwarven-made tableware and various other things with them, they had become quite the burden. These were things that were meant to draw the Dark Elves' interest, same as those souvenirs from just a while ago. It was also for that reason that they had to be arranged in a way that would be overflowing with appeal and not just carelessly placed randomly.

In other words, they were making a showroom.

While Ainz, who had absolutely zero confidence in his aesthetic sense, was collaborating with the twins to decorate the Elf Tree, Aura stopped moving.

"Uncle. The sounds of six sets of footsteps are heading this way in a straight line. There's no indication that they're erasing their presence and they're approaching us. Judging from the lightness of the footsteps, they're children, I guess?"

Oh. Ainz also stopped decorating and turned his gaze toward the entrance. He truly hadn't imagined that they would come today. As Ainz was feeling thankful toward the children, the face of the boy he had given the candy to peeked through the entrance.

Ordinarily, you would call the act of peeking into other people's homes nothing else but rude, but it seemed to be normal in this village.

"Hi there, did you perhaps come to invite Aura and Mare to play, I wonder?"

"Yea, uh, yes. That's right."

Was he a little surprised by the appearance of the room? Ainz gave a broad smile to the boy who answered nervously.

"I see. I see. We've been waiting for you. Alright you two, go on and play with the other children."

"Eh? Uh, umm, un-uncle. It's just, you know. The room's not cleaned up yet…"

"Oh, that's alright, Mare. Your uncle will take care of the rest. Just leave it all to me! Uh-oh, your uncle doesn't have much confidence in his aesthetic sense though. If you say later that it should be arranged another way, we'll go with that!

Ha-ha-ha."

Aura and Mare looked shocked at the laughing Ainz.

Certainly, if it had been the usual Ainz, he wouldn't have laughed with a "haha-ha" or even at all, so it wasn't as if he didn't understand their feelings.

Although he thought his persona as an uncle was a little unnatural, if he were questioned about it later, he would insist he was just acting.

"—If that is what uncle says… I got it! I'm coming, just gimme a sec. Well then, let's go Mare."

"Y- yeah."

The twins went out, and a smile of satisfaction that came from the bottom of his heart showed on Ainz's face.

This makes me want to give even more candy to the children who came to invite Aura and Mare to play with them as a token of my gratitude! No, wait a minute…? How would those two react if they found out the children had come to invite them out of their desire for candy? They might be shocked.

Honestly, he didn't think those two were that delicate, but—

It's because I'm not Chagama-san. It's not as if I know everything about those two.

That being the case, I should probably act based on the assumption they will be shocked, after all. If this became some kind of trauma and they said they couldn't make any friends, I would never be able to face Chagama-san. That said, I wonder what kind of game they're going to play?

Ainz narrowed his eyes and yearned for the old days.

Suzuki Satoru's glory days. He remembered the figures of those forty people—

and one more person—who gathered together in a game called YGGDRASIL.

The friends gathered together there—each lived in their own different worlds.

Those who lived in Mega Corp arcologies, those who lived in the inferior Dome Cities, those like Satoru who lived in a harsh environment, and those who endured even more deteriorated environments.

The same game united those total strangers that would have had no contact with one another otherwise.

"…Games can overcome borders. It does overcome borders. No, I wonder if it's correct to say that only through games can one overcome them? And finally…you can become friends even if you live in different worlds, just like I…just like we did…"

The overwhelmingly powerful Guardians and the frail children. When they leave his place their connection would probably also be lost. And yet—

"—I would be overjoyed if they learned that the existence of friends was this wonderful thing."

It was only natural, but the figures of those two weren't at the end of his line of sight.

And yet, it was as if he could see the figures of the twins.

If they played with the children and found out they couldn't get along, then it couldn't be helped.

It was the same for Ainz too. He didn't know exactly how many Players he had interacted with in YGGDRASIL, but it was probably a considerable amount. And yet, there existed only forty-one people who he could call friends.

It wasn't as if he could build a friendship with every person he encountered.

All the two of them needed was the chance to meet a person they thought they could be friends with. If they learned that making friends wasn't so bad after all, then he would consider everything that happened here to be a success.

Ainz dropped his gaze toward the ring finger of his right hand, where he wore no ring, and smiled just a bit—

I've also thought about this before, but shouldn't I be striving so that Demiurge, Albedo, or even Shalltear could make friends? …Well, maybe not.

He decided not to think about that matter too much, because just thinking about it a little bit had ruined his good mood.

At any rate, why hasn't anybody come by to see me? From what I picked up when I was eavesdropping with [Perfect Unknowable], they should be holding the welcome party any time now, right? Are they coming to get me when it's time? Don't tell me they're planning to make it a surprise?

He also had his own circumstances, so being suddenly invited would be troublesome.

Above all was the fact that Ainz couldn't eat food. He didn't know what kind of party they were holding, but if it was the usual, then even among a gathering of powerful and influential people of the village, food would also be laid out in front of him. In a situation where he absolutely could not touch that food, how would the other parties react?

There was no doubt they wouldn't think well of him.

If they were totally different races, they would probably think that this kind of thing was normal and a host who provided food that wasn't palatable to their guest should be reproached. However, Ainz had transformed into a Dark Elf with illusion magic. So while there might be some foods that he could say he couldn't eat due to allergies, he couldn't just say he couldn't eat any of the food. That would be impossible to gloss over with his usual excuses.

For this reason, it was necessary for him to take the initiative and prepare a reason ahead of time.

Or are they being thoughtful, thinking that I'm probably tired, so they don't intend to come and get me right away? In that case, I wouldn't mind if they postponed the party itself, but it would still be a problem even if they came to get me after they've finished the preparations…Should I go see them? Ainz pondered for a bit, then shook his head from side to side. No, let's give up on that idea. Then…if somebody does come, should I ask that Dark Elf if they would deliver a message for me?

Ainz recalled the sights he had seen when he was lurking in the village in his [Perfect Unknowable] state.

Morning and evening meals were usually brought together, but time-wise it should be any time now, right? Then how about I try asking the person who will bring the food?

Or maybe regardless of whether I'm a traveler or not, food is distributed based on one's contribution to the village? If that's the case, then they won't bring food to us, who don't work? No, that shouldn't be the case, Aura has been working hard and I brought many souvenirs. They'll probably feed us for a week even if we don't work.

Of course, even Ainz had no intention of not working. He had called himself an arcane-type magic caster. If it were limited up to the Fourth Tier, he even intended to use magic should a time come when it was necessary.

He was even ready to go hunting in place of Aura.

Since he didn't know how their relationship would progress from now on, he had no intention of accepting any charity.

It might still be just a little early time-wise. If they come, I'll just tell them. If they don't come, then I can just go to them. Moreover…there's also information I want to go and get.

***

After she had been sent out by her master, Aura had been at her wit's end the whole time.

Her master's proposal was to "play with the children in order to learn the Dark Elves' customs." However, doubts about that proposal had emerged in her mind.

It wasn't as if children didn't know what the customs were, or that they were a people that lacked customs, she had a feeling that it would be absurd to think that she could grasp the customs of the Dark Elves from the things she could learn from the children. Wouldn't the things she learned from the adults be the customs of the Dark Elves living in this Sea of Trees? She felt that it was dangerous to learn from children, even though they didn't know what the correct customs were for a proper comparison.

Harboring a misguided view of customs might itself be typical for children, but I wonder if that was the objective I was sent out for? In that sense, it would be more childlike.

She might just be overthinking it. However, "always use your head," the words she had been told by Albedo prior to their departure, flashed into her head.

Right now, she and Mare were the only ones serving their master. Since that was the case, as a representative of the Guardians she should show no shame and use her head to think about all kinds of things.

She grasped her Golden Acorn Necklace, invoked its power, and addressed Mare. She then received an immediate response.

「—Yeah. I think so too.」

Mare, who answered, wasn't grasping his necklace. That was because when the sender invoked it first—the activation of the item— it was a necessary action, but it wasn't necessary for the receiver to do so, even to continue the conversation.

「 If that's how it is then…there's probably some objective beyond us just playing together to learn their customs after all? Just what on earth do you think it could be? Since Ainz-sama said the word "friendly," when he came to this village, could it be a part of that? Because us playing with the children will become our appeal to the idea that we're friendly? 」

「That might also be part of it, but…hmmm… Oh, maybe we're going to take in the children?」

「What? If that's what it is, wouldn't it be better to win over the adults? I thought they were just a nuisance, but there were guys who looked like they could easily be won over.」

They were starting to understand the meaning behind them playing with the children less and less.

「If that's the case, I wonder then if Ainz-sama is thinking about using the children to do something? 」

Aura said to Mare as she stared at the backs of the six children walking in front of them.

They were weak, fragile beings, and they weren't of high social status either. It was a mystery where their utility value lie.

「What kind of use do they have? Hostages?」

「I can't completely deny that possibility, but I don't really think that's it.」

「Children… Children… Using children to gather information?」

「Hmmm, but I wonder just what information would children know?」

「That's right, isn't it…」

It was a little difficult to imagine that information only the children held would be important. Or could it be that he also wanted the children's information because it had already been analyzed from multiple angles?

「I mean, c'mon, isn't all you've been doing is just shooting down of all my ideas? Don't you have any guesses that would make you go 'this is it!' or something? 」

「Hmmm…」After a short time had passed, Mare's voice once again echoed in her head.「Oh! Could he be thinking of taking these children to E-Rantel?」

「I see… That might be it, but if that's the case wouldn't it be better to take the adults after all?」

「Children who don't really know much about things are easier to win over, or something… Hmmm. Maybe he's thinking of taking not just the children, but everyone in the village?」

「Oooh, is that it? …But you know, if the target is the all Dark Elves in the village, I don't think he would tell us to play with the children to get closer to them.」

If it were just as Mare had said, they would be working to win over the adults too. It might be different if the opinions of the children carried a lot of weight, but in the three days that Aura had stayed in the village, she hadn't caught sight of any indication of that at all.

However much she thought about it, she couldn't believe that the children had any special value.

「Then, I wonder if it really is just to cultivate friendly relations and gather information from the children after all?」

「I guess that's all it is… But when you think about it, it certainly might be just that. I mean, it's frustrating, but nothing else comes to mind except that…Well, adults might be tight-lipped, but because they're children, they would just let information slip out. Yeah! If I was Ainz-sama, who really valued information, that would be an idea I would have! Then we have to bring up all sorts of subjects don't we?」

「Do your best sis.」

「Good luck to you, too. If it's just the two of us, we can speak normally, so we have to practice, you know.」

「That's only because we're using the necklace…」

The children walking in front of them stopped.

In a corner of the village, there was no playground equipment to be found, nor did it appear that there was anything in particular there at all. Of course, Aura knew that sort of equipment wasn't anywhere in the village from her usual walks around it.

No, Aura recognized that her own ideas were wrong.

It was entirely possible that one of the children here could use magic to produce playground equipment.

In her sensory range as a ranger, she detected that an adult was watching them—one person.

「Oh, it's that guy. He's watching me again.」

「Who is he?」

「Don't look at him. The best ranger in this village is at our 10 o'clock. That guy, ever since I came to this village, he'd be looking at me sometimes, right? But he wouldn't come near me.」

「Like maybe they're feeling suspicious, but because they don't have any concrete evidence, they're keeping you under surveillance. Something like that? 」

「Something like that. Be careful not to do anything that would make them suspicious of you too, Mare. We have to inform Ainz-sama about this later.」

Aura tried to ignore the man.

He probably thought that an excellent ranger like himself wouldn't be noticed, or maybe his objective was to let himself be noticed—perhaps he intended to silently keep them in check by letting them know that "I'm keeping my eye on you."

It was annoying, but she couldn't kill him. If she were to kill him, it would be with the permission of her master, and she would have to create a set of circumstances where it looked like he had been killed by the Ankyloursus or some other magical beast. She would then have to come up with a simple alibi.

Well, it could be easily done if you were Aura the Beast Tamer.

"…So what are we doing in a place like this?"

"Okay! Let's Play House!"

The biggest boy said in a loud voice. It was like he was trying to get them to agree through the sheer energy with which he said it.

—Play House?

Of course, Aura knew what kind of game that was.

It's a type of role-playing, right? If I remember correctly… Bukubukuchagama-sama regretted it when Peroroncino-sama said that, "I want to be the baby and have mommy rub my head and tell me everything's going to be okay."…Is that what we're going to do?

Aura pictured herself rubbing Shalltear's head and saying "there, there. You'll be okay."

Ah, so something like that…But will I be doing that, or will I be the one it's being done to?…

It would still be fine if she had to take on the mommy role, but having the role of the baby was embarrassing. Or rather than it being just some role-play, wouldn't it be an insult to Bukubukuchagama-sama if she, who had been created as a Floor Guardian by the Supreme Beings, were to play the role of a baby?

Though Yamaiko-sama and Ankoro Mocchi Mochi-sama did laugh when they heard about Peroroncino-sama's actions…Bukubukuchagama-sama might get angry with me…

It was simple enough to say she didn't want to play that game. However, in order to gather information and to also loosen their lips, it might be necessary for her to agree to it. Everyone was the same in this regard. Say there was someone who accepted your proposal versus someone who rejected it.Who would you like better? Plus, those who played the same games together could usually become friends.

On the other hand, what would happen if she said she didn't want to play that game?

If that were the case, Aura didn't have the confidence that she could make a good suggestion if she were asked what game they were going to play then.

Aura could suggest a few games to play. For example, foot races, tree climbing, "sword fighting", and so on. However, those kinds of games were clearly decided by differences in how good you were at playing them and more.

Also, there shouldn't be any child who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Aura and Mare—especially Mare—in terms of pure physical abilities.

If that were the case, they would be boring games that had a foregone conclusion. In order to cheer them up, they could just let themselves barely lose.

But, it was common knowledge that Aura was supposed to have—had driven away the Ankyloursus Lord. If a person as strong as that started saying, "oh no, I lost!" in a foot race or something, then even a child should realize that she was losing just to butter them up. If their relationship could be deepened though something like that, then those children would have to be people of great character.

So, if you were to ask her if there was an option of not playing, that would be impossible.

Because her absolute master had told her to "go play."

If that were the case—

"Si-sis… c-could it be…"

Mare had a startled expression on his face. He probably remembered the same things as she did, and arrived at the same conclusion.

Aura used all the strength in her body to give the frightened Mare her best smile.

"So this really has been an 'extremely high-level mission,' Mare!"

-x-X-x-

Having sent out Aura and Mare to play and after he had finished putting their things away, Ainz leaned against the wall, idly looking up at the ceiling while occasionally glancing at the small memo pad in his hand.

He had nothing to do.

Since they didn't have that much luggage to begin with, it didn't take long to tidy up everything. He just had to consult with those two on how to coordinate the interior when they got back.

He had thought that someone would come to see him right away but, all things considered, no one had come yet.

Ainz dropped his gaze to the memo pad in his hand.

What was written on it were the possible situations that could occur after they had come to the village and how to deal with them. However, no one coming to see him was not something that he could have ever imagined happening.

He had to acknowledge that holes had suddenly appeared in the scenarios he had thought up.

It wasn't a shock to him, because he was just an ordinary person after all, so he thought that was just the extent of his ability to plan ahead. What was important was how he was going to recover from this.

There were two main paths that he immediately thought of. One was to be calm and composed while staying in place, the other one was to take action of his own accord.

Ainz chose the former. He chose the path where he could avoid passing them by mistake.

For a short while, Ainz didn't do anything at all. Around the time he started worriedly thinking that maybe he had chosen the wrong path after all, a single dark elf woman finally came and rudely peeked her head into the room from the entrance. People in this village were usually close enough to do this. When she finally made eye contact with Ainz, she acted a little surprised.

Ainz felt a little uncomfortable there.

Would Ainz's presence there really be that surprising?

No, is this sort of reaction appropriate if you were to look into a person's house— though we're just borrowing it—and make eye contact with the person inside? Though considering the sense of distance in the interpersonal relationships of Dark Elves, I have

a hunch this is a little different…

As if she were greeting Ainz, the woman bowed her head once, turned her gaze to the floor, entered the room, and placed the dish she had brought with her on the floor.

The Dark Elves wore shoes even when inside the Elf Trees, because of that, he had some personal reservations about the tray of food being placed on the floor.

That said, given that the Dark Elves sat on the floor when they ate—as far as Ainz had seen, less than half of the people here used a table—this might have been the natural thing to do.

And there was a point he was more concerned with than that.

The distance between them wasn't that great. If she had intended to hand it to him, it could have been accomplished by walking a few steps forward. In spite of that, she just silently placed the dish on the floor. Furthermore, since she first peeked her head in, they hadn't made eye contact once.

Even Ainz understood why.

She had no intention of talking to him.

However—hostility, contempt, hatred—he couldn't feel any sort of negative emotions coming from her. Even when she set down the dish, she had a polite demeanor. It was more reasonable to think that she was just that type of woman

(the type that wasn't good at talking with people).

No, aside from that, I should consider the possibility of her being on guard. An adult with the same level of power as Aura's has come to the village. Seeing that she doesn't know what my background is, it would be natural for her to be on guard, especially around the opposite sex. However, the reason why I brought souvenirs and have been acting this way was so I wouldn't be thought of like that…this is bad…I'm a little stumped about how to deal with this.

He didn't know whether she had any children or not, but it would be troublesome if the women of this village—especially the mothers—started saying things like, "don't hang around those twins," to their own children.

There would be children who would ignore what their parents said, but there would also be kids who would listen to them.

Ainz, brooding, gave up on immediately finding an answer to this problem.

Ultimately, if I don't know this woman's normal disposition then no matter how many assumptions I make about what sentiments or bearing behind her actions was supposed to convey, I would never arrive at an answer.

She set down the dish she was carrying, bowed, and left the Elf Tree. Of course, Ainz also lowered his head with the same timing.

"Phew," staring at the space where no one was, Ainz let out a sigh.

He didn't ask her.

He couldn't directly ask her what was with that attitude. Be that as it may, even if he hadn't asked that sort of question, there were things besides that that he wanted to ask and talk to her about. However, how should he put it, because he had felt that there was a clear wall between them, he hesitated.

It wouldn't be so bad to have the expectation that, while she might have had that kind of attitude, the next person he met might display a far more different attitude.

There was no doubt in his mind that that would provide better results than forcing a conversation on a person who had put up a wall around themselves.

That was what Ainz thought, but looking at the dish of food the dark elf woman had set down, he remembered his time as Suzuki Satoru.

—No! If it's right now, then it's not too late! Rather than letting this fester into a problem later, I should take care of it right now.

It was the same way in a company.

Rather than having a mistake be discovered later, the damage would be minimized if the mistake was immediately reported to one's boss. Because even if you yourself thought it was a big mistake, there were times when it would turn out not to be that big of a mistake after all. However, the damage could become much worse the more time were to pass.

That's right. There were a few things he should talk to the Dark Elves about sooner than later.

Ainz frantically rushed out of the Elf Tree.

He caught sight of the back of the dark elf woman right away. Since the Dark Elves—and Elves too for that matter—had a far better sense of hearing than humans did, she probably heard the sound of Ainz rushing out of the Elf Tree as She was already turning around.

Was it because of his timing in calling out to her? She was quite surprised, that fact betrayed by her voice.

"So, about the welcome party—"

"—Please talk to the elders about that," she answered, speaking rather quickly to cover it up.

.

It was an attitude that made you suspect that she was hiding something, something that she didn't want to say. The first thought that suddenly popped into his head was—it was supposed to be a surprise.

Or rather, that was the only thing that occurred to him.

Of course, a surprise welcome party seemed a little strange, but it might have been a Dark Elf custom, so he should make it a special point to ignore it.

"Is that so… I do not know what you call it in this village, but right now I am in Kayoukazen of the Mourning Moon."

"The Kayoukazen of the Mourning Moon is it?…"

"Yes, do you know of it?"

Of course, it was a ritual and name he had made up. His expectation that she couldn't have known about it was betrayed by the following words.

"Oh, ah, no, that's right…That, somewhere, right! I have a feeling that I might have heard that word somewhere else before…or maybe I haven't."

"Wha?" Ainz panicked. Could there have possibly been some similar word in this village? It would be bad if that were the case.

The worst-case scenario would be if it was the name of some evil ritual. He didn't know how to gloss it over.

However, since the words "Mourning Moon" by themselves also held the meaning of the month of the date of a loved one's death, that meaning should have been transmitted to her. Even if the word "Kayoukazen," a word coined by Ainz, resembled something in the Dark Elf vernacular, he should still have any number of excuses he could use.

Incidentally, the reason Ainz knew the words "Mourning Moon" wasn't because he learned them at the company he worked for, but because it was the name of a Skill in YGGDRASIL. Wondering what it meant, he had looked it up.

"Wa- was that right? N- no, that's right, isn't it? We're all Dark Elves, aren't we? By some chance we might have the same sort of words, right? Although you won't know if the meanings are the same unless you try asking."

"Th- that certainly is right, isn't it? And besides that! Though I might seem to recall that I've heard it before, I cannot say for certain that they are the same 'Kayoukazen.'"

While Ainz and the woman were both speaking back and forth quickly, they each showed a smile like their faces were being pulled taut. Of course, since Ainz's face was an illusion, his expression hardly shifted at all.

"Since this month is the time for me to pray for the tranquility of the dead, I would like to avoid going to places that are too cheerful, like a party, for the time being. Of course, because I imagine that this village has rules of its own, if you absolutely insist, I will participate. However, I would like for you to disregard any food and drink for myself."

"Yes, it is the month you pray for the tranquility of the dead, isn't it? So you are not eating or drinking. I understand."

While thinking "yes, she got it!" he shook his head up and down.

"I would like to talk about this with the elders, but would you mind telling me which way I should go? "

"I-if that is the case, then I will relay it to the elders!"

"Wha? That's so…thank you very much! Well then, thank you for being so understanding!!"

Ainz didn't say things like, "when we were talking earlier, it felt like you were telling me to go tell them myself," he didn't check with her either because her proposal was convenient for him.

He was just going to take her word for it. All that was left was for him to get the hell out of there before she said she had changed her mind or that she wasn't going to do it after all.

Ainz abruptly announced his farewell to the woman, who was flustered by Ainz's sudden and forceful urging, then he walked back to the Elf Tree.

While feeling relieved that she hadn't called out for him to stop—he had ignored her as hard as he could—Ainz returned to their loaned dwelling and picked up the tray she had placed on the floor.

It weighed quite a bit, though from Ainz's perspective it was still pretty light.

It didn't look like an amount of food the three of them could finish eating.

This was, without a doubt, the morning and evening meals—two meals for three people, a total of six servings. When he considered that, it seemed natural for there to be this much, but he also had a hunch that this was still a little too much. That said, this was because Suzuki Satoru had never put that much effort into his meals. In addition, ever since he became Ainz he's had a body that couldn't eat. So this might just be a lot of food based on his intuition.

Maybe you have to take in a lot of calories when you're living in a place like this.

There's no such thing as a totally nutritionally balanced diet anyway.

Their meal consisted of cooked meat—which appeared to have been only roasted <grilled? >—and dried fruit. It was garnished with what looked like a salad of some kind of chopped leaves. In the salad, there were what appeared to be crushed caterpillars and a variety of tree nuts to go along with it.

Incidentally, there was also a dish of assorted roasted caterpillars—big ones—and other bugs.

Aura's assessment of those was, "it wasn't very good." Moreover, due to the lack of variation in the flavors and ingredients, it seemed like one would quickly get tired of it.

Be that as it may, it had sparked his curiosity.

What sort of flavors would spread out in his mouth?

Since insects were packed with protein, Suzuki Satoru used to eat the barbeque-flavored ones often. However, he had never eaten these kinds of fat, whole-roasted caterpillars before.

While thinking it was a little unfortunate that his body couldn't eat, Ainz placed the dish on a shelf in the room downstairs. Finally, he started to think about what he should do from here.

Since the Dark Elves don't have the concept of lunch, the children's playtime should go on for a while—probably.

If the children were counted as part of the workforce, their play time might be controlled to a certain degree, but there were many people who knew Ainz had thrown a word or two at the children about his wish for them to play with the twins. Given that was the case, the adults would probably allow the children to play full-time, at least for today.

In other words, there was a good chance that neither Aura nor Mare would return any time soon. In that case, Ainz decided that he would use the time to pursue his own interests.

Even if he had used [Perfect Unknowable] and walked—well, flown—around the village, he had never shown himself in public and strolled around before. He might even discover something new. The last reason was that there were some places that he thought he would like to visit.

And I've made some preparations, just in case.

Unlike the memo pad he had been looking at just a while ago, this time he produced a proper notebook out of thin air—from his Item Inventory—and made it a point to try and memorize the various things he had written in it.

What had been recorded in it was the production method of a potion that used various medicinal herbs and minerals.

Unfortunately, with Ainz's brain, he could only remember two or three kinds of concoctions at best. However, while Ainz's brain certainly wasn't anything outstanding, you couldn't say it was the cause of all of his problems. It was because the mixing process was fairly detailed—though that would obviously be the case—and it was also rather difficult to memorize them for a person who completely lacked basic knowledge of, and interest in, the production of the aforementioned concoctions.

While Ainz mumbled and recited the mixing process over and over again, he stowed away the notebook in his inventory, went outside a second time, and started walking around town.

A number of Dark Elves recognized Ainz and glanced his way. It wasn't as if he was being watched, what resided in the glances of the people who normally walked around the village were curiosity and interest.

While it would be dangerous if one person could see through his illusion, there was fortunately no sign that a person who possessed such an ability was present in this village. No, if there had been, then there would have been a huge uproar when they arrived at the village.

Though there were villagers who were curious and showed interest, no one came up to talk to him.

In this kind of isolated village, they would probably keep their distance from outsiders, as one would expect. No, even Ainz—no, even Suzuki Satoru— wouldn't try to approach and talk to some unfamiliar face just because they were in the company offices. On the contrary, if anyone did approach and talk to him, it might be logical to think they suspected him of something.

In the first place, Ainz didn't feel he was being alienated.

The twins were the main characters this time, right now Ainz was just an insignificant side character in this play. The problem lied in over-emphasizing that sort of minor role. Yet, the need to call attention to his presence, to a certain degree, would probably appear before long.

He intended on that course of action anyways, in order to diminish Aura's role of a hero down to a mere child when the time was appropriate.

A dark elf in front of him walked toward him.

They would occasionally turn their gaze towards Ainz, but that was nothing more than the gaze you would turn to a person you were crossing paths with.

Perfect. Let's use that as part of my disguise.

Through his use of [Perfect Unknowable], he knew the general layout of the village, but they had established that this was the first time Aura's uncle had come here. He would probably appear suspicious if he were to walk around like he was too familiar with the place. Of course, he could make any number of excuses in that case. For example, Aura had told him, and so on.

However, intentionally making excuses and appearing suspicious to them, were both troublesome acts.

He wouldn't do a single thing that would raise their wariness of him, and if that were the case—

"Ah, excuse me."

"Oh, yes. Can I help you with something?"

He just had to ask one of the Dark Elves that were around there.

"Yes. I heard about it from my niece, but as I understand it, there is a brilliant pharmacist who is the Chief Pharmacist of this village, yes? I would like to pay him a visit, so could you point me in the direction of his Elf Tree?"

They answered Ainz's question honestly, without any suspicion or concealment.

Ainz thanked the dark elf and headed in the direction they had told him—to the Elf Tree that Ainz already knew about.

Along the way, he saw the sight of a dark elf man with his hands sticking out towards the ground underneath a tree.

Wondering what he was doing, Ainz stopped. As he watched, the earth bulged, started moving, and a lump of soil climbed up the trunk as if it were a Slime.

It resembled the [Earth Surge] spell that Mare used, but it was different in various senses of the word.

Whether it be Domestic Magic or the Divine-type magic of the druids, it wasn't the magic of YGGDRASIL, but probably something they had developed over the course of their lives.

The lump of dirt conformed to the man's manipulation without delay and climbed to the top of the tree, which Ainz couldn't see from where he stood.

That was probably the soil the Dark Elves used in their household vegetable gardens.

The Dark Elves had vegetable gardens using planters that they built either inside or on top of the trees. Even though the planters themselves were made from the trees, he had wondered how they had transported the soil up to them, this seemed to be the answer to that.

Ainz was satisfied that he was able to see something interesting, and once again made his way towards his destination.

The Elf Tree he was directed toward was a rather imposing—and thick—one.

It might possibly be the thickest in the village. As expected of the home of the Chief Pharmacist, an influential man in the village.

And on top of that, there was quite a distance between it and the other Elf Trees around it.

This was probably done so there wouldn't be any harm caused to those around it even if toxic substances were produced during the mixing process.

Even if they were a high level—with consequently enhanced immune systems—pharmacists who could withstand the poisons that were produced, it wasn't necessarily the case that children, the sick, or other sorts of people without that kind of resilience would be able to withstand it.

And maybe in addition to that—

It might also be to prevent the theft of information.

From Ainz's perspective, he truly could empathize with the idea of monopolizing information. Both in the sense of protecting one's vested interests and in the sense of wanting to avoid the trouble it would cause if they were stolen.

Everyone knew that a medicine could become a poison if you misjudged the dosage.

So, would the person who willfully stole that information be able to make proper medicine? Probably not. If an inferior imitation appeared on the market and victims of it emerged, then even the pharmacist who originally created the medicine would be suspected.

In short, that's what this was.

"—Hello, do you mind if I come in?"

Ainz called out into the interior of the Elf Tree.

There was no reply.

Knocking on the trunk of the Elf Tree, he called out one more time.

When he strained his ears, he could hear the sound of something being rubbed and scraped together.

"If you'll pardon the intrusion."

Ainz just walked in of his own accord. Then, he immediately caught sight of the back of a slightly plump male Dark Elf. Although it could be due to a lack of exercise, this sort of physique was probably the result of having food delivered that was commensurate with having a prominent, high-status job. First of all, it was probably safe to assume that this wasn't an apprentice, but was indeed the master of this house—the Chief Pharmacist.

Sitting on the floor and turned towards a low-sitting desk, the pharmacist single-mindedly rotated his arm.

On the desk were an ordinary mortar and pestle, a Yagen mortar and pestle, and other rudimentary tools. The pots on the shelves probably had herbal medicines inside them. Herbs and plants that appeared to be medicinal hung down from the ceiling.

(T/N: Yagen (薬研) is a type of mortar and pestle that is used to crush ingredients for herbal medicine in Japan. Picture a boat-shaped bowl for the mortar and imagine the pestle is a wheel with a rod in the middle.)

The odor of bitter medicines and green grass mixed together and flooded into Ainz's nasal cavity, reminding him of Nfirea and his grandmother's workshop.

The Dark Elves possessed a far greater sense of hearing than humans did. Be that as it may, it would only be slightly better compared to humans, so Ainz had no way of distinguishing whether the Chief Pharmacist had noticed but dared to ignore him, or whether he hadn't noticed him because he was so focused on his work.

Ainz called out to him once more.

"Excuse me. Do you have a moment?"

There the Chief Pharmacist stopped his hand that was grinding for the first time and looked over his shoulder, sending Ainz a reproachful look and knitting his eyebrows.

"You—ah, I see. That face concealing cloth. If I'm not mistaken, you're that man from the same place as that girl who came here a little while ago. An Arcanetype magic caster was it? "

"Yes, that's right. It seems that you are already well-informed about me."

When Ainz tried to remove the cloth, the Chief Pharmacist spoke.

"—That won't be necessary. It is the custom of your tribe, right? There's no need to show me your face. It's not like I care about what you look like anyway. You're fine as you are now. I accept your greeting. —Okay. Well then, if you're done here, please go home. I'm busy."

Grumbling, that was all he said. As if he had lost interest, his gaze returned to the desk. It felt like there was a thick border around that surly attitude. Despite that, Ainz was relieved.

This sort of person wore their heart on their sleeve and spoke candidly. If they straight up said, "you're bothering me, so get out," to get rid of him, then from there even if Ainz were to display his abilities as a salesman, it would be extremely difficult to get them to look at him.

However, he hadn't said anything like that. In other words—it meant that there was still room to get him to listen to what Ainz had to say.

While watching the back of the Chief Pharmacist as he was grabbing the mortar and pestle, Ainz asked him a question.

"What is it that you are making right now?"

"What's it matter to you?"

There was some harshness in his words. He didn't have time for useless conversations.

"—Is that right?" Ainz answered. After he let some time pass by, he then asked,

"…First, I would like to ask you about what medicinal herbs you use to cure a stomachache in this village. Is it Kiine peel <bark? >? Or is it Kandiane root?"

The Chief Pharmacist's hand suddenly stopped. Just as he did a short while ago, he twisted his neck and looked over his shoulder to stare at Ainz a second time.

"Could you wait for a bit?"

"Yes, of course."

The Chief Pharmacist turned his back on Ainz again and started grinding once more. However, even from behind, Ainz could tell that his attitude had changed a little.

It seemed that the basics of the salesman's art of conversation—searching for a shared topic, like interests or hometown, with the person you're talking to— from his time as Suzuki Satoru had been useful.

Hypothetically, consider the difference between a salesperson you had no common ground with versus someone with the same interests. If the contents of what they're peddling, its appearance, price, windows of delivery, payment, and so on were all the same, then a business contact would usually choose the latter.

Since the Chief Pharmacist seemed to be a person who was passionate about their work, he had guessed the topic of medicines would be the best one to curry favor with him.

"I was just…making it right now. Kiine doesn't grow around here. That's why…we use Azen leaves. As you might know, when you grind up Azen leaves, their efficacy quickly fades.

However, it is also problematic if the speed of the grinding is too fast and they heat up."

When he had finished grinding them enough, he poured a gooey liquid into the mortar. "This liquid is a secretion that comes from cutting into the Nere tree. By mixing it with this, there will be no change in efficacy. That being said, one more step is necessary because using it like this weakens its efficacy."

The Chief Pharmacist once again turned to Ainz and unreservedly scrutinized him from head to toe. His nose then moved like he was sniffing for something, after which he frowned.

"…There's no smell. Hey, show me your hands."

Ainz did as he was told and showed him his hands. Because Ainz more or less knew what he wanted to say, he showed him the backs of his hands—his fingers.

For the time being, the Chief Pharmacist shouldn't be able to touch him with the distance between them, Ainz thought about what to do if the Chief Pharmacist were to approach him and searched for the words to explain it away.

"The smell of crushed plants—if you're a pharmacist, that smell that would naturally be soaked into your body, the residue that would stain your fingers, isn't there. I heard you were an Arcane-type magic caster but…does this mean you're performing the techniques of the pharmacists in some other way?"

Since he had planned on visiting this place, he could have crushed some medicinal herbs to cloak his body in their scent beforehand and gain the Chief Pharmacist's trust. On top of that, because Ainz's hands were just illusions, it was possible to make them hands the Chief Pharmacist would approve of.

However, there were two reasons Ainz hadn't done those things.

The first one was because the Bareare family wasn't like that. Certainly, that smell would drift out while they were working, and the smell that permeated their workshop and work clothes was quite intense.

However, it wasn't as if they were constantly cloaked in that smell. If anything, Nfirea and the rest of them seemed to be very concerned about nothing other than deodorizing themselves. Of course, that might just be the Bareare family, but when faking one's identity, your words and actions would be more natural by using a real person as a reference. You could finish without having to fret over every single word or comment and create lies.

The other reason was because Ainz was totally ignorant about herbal medicine.

Even if he rubbed on the smells, changed the color of his fingers, and assumed the identity of a pharmacist's apprentice, he would probably be found out when the Chief Pharmacist asked him about dosing as he would not be able to give a straight answer.

If he was suspected of being a total fraud from that small tear in his disguise, then his activities in this village wouldn't bear any fruit.

"No, that's not quite correct. My master also practices Alchemy, it was nothing more than a little bit of the knowledge they had taught me."

This was accordingly in character for Ainz to aim for the last possible moment to avoid having his lies seen through, and so that no contradictions would arise from what he had said earlier.

"…Hmph. So that's it."

Ainz immediately sensed that the Chief Pharmacist had lost interest in him.

This couldn't be helped. You could also say it was exactly as he had imagined.

It was for this reason that he had prepared one more trump card to draw his interest. Ainz came closer to the Chief Pharmacist until he was standing next to him, who was once again facing his desk. Ainz placed his trump card among the things on top of the desk.

"…This is a potion that contains a healing power that was brought from a certain place."

That potion in the glass bottle—which was made in E-Rantel and didn't have a speck of refinement to it—was one of the potions the Bereare family made in the process of creating the red healing potion. The red potion was already completed—right now,they're focusing their energy on developing a version that used cheap alchemical solutions or herbs—so contrary to expectations, this potion was rarer nowadays.

"This is…purple?" The Chief Pharmacist picked up the bottle. "The container isn't colored…The reason it isn't blue…something is mixed into it?"

The Chief Pharmacist raised the bottle up and shook it while looking at the bottom.

"There's a small, really only a slight deposit on the bottom…yes…?"

He was muttering to himself.

"May I?"

"Go right ahead."

The moment Ainz granted his permission, the Chief Pharmacist opened the lid of the bottle and without any hesitation, lightly cut his hand with a knife. He then splashed the potion onto that small cut.

It was a fairly good amount. He had used about half the bottle.

The cut closed—you couldn't say that it was instantaneous—at a visible speed.

"That's fast…I couldn't even calculate the time it took…? The medicinal herbs and magical reagents used to make it…are in this deposit? "

He sure talks to himself a lot, huh…Or rather, that knife, wasn't it the one he was using to chop something up until just a moment ago? And on top of that, he was able to use it in that way…Wasn't the effect not supposed to activate if you didn't use the whole thing, regardless of the wound? No, that was probably because in an extreme situation, like in the middle of combat, you wouldn't be able to consider things like wound depth to calculate the amount to use, would you?

The Chief Pharmacist licked off all the potion that covered his hand and then smelled it.

"I smell Azen…?" He seemed to notice that it was something else faster than Ainz could slip in a retort. "Is that not it…? Is it the smell of my own hand?…odorless and tasteless…for concealing?"

…Concealing what?

"No—" the Chief Pharmacist spun his head around and fixed his gaze on Ainz.

"Are all the healing medicines of the city this color?"

"That is incorrect. I hear it was spread there via the undead king who rules over E-Rantel. I do not know all of the details of how it came to be but, well, it is valuable. In fact, the color of the common healing potion in circulation is blue."

The Chief Pharmacist heaved a heavy sigh.

"An undead king?…No, that's not the problem, I guess…though I also have a feeling that it is a problem, well, it's…fine? Mm. So, you wouldn't mind if I kept this?"

The Chief Pharmacist pointed at the bottle with about half of its contents left.

"Depending on the conditions." Upon confirming that the Chief Pharmacist was waiting for what came next, Ainz continued, "the price is information. If it's you, who has served the role of a pharmacist in this Sea of Trees, I believe you hold knowledge that can only be found here. I believe things would be balanced if it were to be in exchange for that information but…what say you?"

After silence had reigned over them for a little while, the Chief Pharmacist opened his mouth.

"…For what sort of purpose do you want to use that knowledge?"

.

If Ainz recalled the attitude of the Chief Pharmacist from just a little while ago, he would have a rough idea about the answer he would be pleased with.

Those were probably the words, "to aim for the top as a pharmacist," "I want to be an even greater pharmacist than I am now," et cetera. However, Ainz could not say that.

"It is not that I have any particular purpose in mind. So long as I can get a hold of that information, I might be able to use it in some business in the future, and my thirst for knowledge will be satisfied."

Just as Ainz had predicted, the Chief Pharmacist looked a little angry.

"…That's what you want it for?"

"As I said just a moment ago, I am an Arcane-type magic caster. I pride myself on those abilities being extremely high, but my skills as an alchemist are nonexistent, and my master told me that I had no talent in that field. Therefore, I do not have the least bit of intention to live as a pharmacist. However, information is another matter. Information is power, and a weapon. Those who have it and those who do not are completely different. Lastly, the debt of gratitude I would owe would be larger."

"—debt of gratitude?"

"Yes. Since I have no intention to become a pharmacist, you should be reluctant to teach me your secrets—am I right?" Without waiting for the Chief Pharmacist's reply, Ainz continued. "If that is the case, then the only question that remains is: can you offer me information that is equal in value to the unknown healing potion, an extremely rare thing, in exchange? Thus, the difference in this trade would become a debt of gratitude."

"You might end up accepting information about trivial mixes or plants, you know? And then I might declare that I haven't taken on any debt. Or, can I assert that the price I paid was higher and that you are the one who will be in debt to me?"

"Even so I don't mind, you know?"

The Chief Pharmacist made a face that said, "what?"

"There are two demerits you receive by doing that. One is that you cannot lie to yourself. The feeling of guilt you'd get from exchanging some useless information for something really valuable would stay with you, would it not?"

"Hoo."

"And one more. You would be appraised as a brazen and unscrupulous person.

Should there be a next time, our past association would be taken into account.

And, if I were to talk about this in the city, how would the others—the pharmacists whose knowledge is greater than my own—feel about it, how would they think of you?"

"—I see. The knowledge of the savages of the frontier would be evaluated as only of that level, and the Dark Elves who live in this forest, and their pharmacists too, will be the targets of derision, huh. Would I be evaluated as a pharmacist who can't even discern the value of the medicine that was handed to them?

Would I be considered a pharmacist who doesn't have knowledge that could balance out the trade? Or, would I be judged to be a greedy pharmacist who can't conduct business fairly?"

"Though you might also be praised for buying an expensive item for a lower price."

"…Is that how pharmacists in the city think? They try not to pay the proper price for the things they are offered?"

"Many kinds of people live in the city after all. I cannot say for certain that there are no people who are obsessed with the short-term benefits and do not have foresight. Well, those sorts of people will soon disappear thereafter because a second chance will not come their way ever again. On the contrary, it is those merchants who look after first-time customers who will be given a chance of success. As the saying goes, you must lose the fly to catch the trout."

"Heh-heh-heh," the Chief Pharmacist laughed in amusement. It was the first time he had smiled since Ainz got there. "You really are a smooth-talker, aren't you? You sure run your mouth a lot."

Ainz breathed a small sigh of relief. He had thought the Chief Pharmacist would be a much more emotional Dark Elf.

To put it bluntly, for a very average salesman, customers who put their emotions out in the open presented many, many problems. Personality-wise, the kind of people who prioritized their own feelings over the merits and demerits of an action, even after they were explained to them, were quite troublesome.

Ainz remembered hearing that in most cases, those were the sort of people who would decide on the specifications one day and come back to say to change them the next day.

It seems that there was an opinion that if one were to be a first-rate salesman, that kind of customer would be a piece of cake to handle once they got their foot in the door, but for Ainz—from the perspective of an average salesman like Suzuki Satoru—they weren't someone he would want to do business with.

"That is the first time I have been told that."

He really had never been told that.

"Isn't it just that everybody thought of you that way and just didn't say it out loud?"

Unlike a moment ago, the Chief Pharmacist seemed to be in a good mood.

"Is that right? Though I myself do not believe so."

"Heh-heh-heh—Now then, when it comes to the knowledge that will balance out the value of this potion, there's nothing I can offer except the secret medicines I know. How long are you planning on staying in this village?"

"It is not as if I have definitely decided, but I intend to leave this village in a few days. Perhaps around seven days at the longest."

The Chief Pharmacist's mouth twisted into a grin.

"I see…In that case…"

A few moments passed as he remained silent just as he was. Ainz didn't say anything.

"For the time being, if we only have that short a time, then it would be impossible to drill my secret medicines into you. For medicines that are considered secret, you must grasp the minute changes—the changes in the necessary ingredients in each season—recognize them by scent and touch, and finally, you have to carefully alter the amounts you use. Putting it bluntly, I want you to stay here for half a year so I can beat those changes into all five of your senses."

Ainz wanted to say, "you just have to write them out on a sheet of paper," but if he did, the Chief Pharmacist might be displeased, so he didn't say anything.

"Therefore, you don't mind if it's not the secret medicines—though I don't

know if they'll balance the scales out from the perspective of value—but instead, medicines that are thought of as rare. You don't mind if I taught you the processes to mix them, their prescription, and other knowledge about them?"

"No, that will not be a problem. I shall leave it up to you."

"All right then—starting today, let's have you stay here and I'll teach you. Since we don't really have much time. I'm gonna beat it firmly into that body of yours."

"—What?"

That's a problem. That is absolutely a problem.

He wanted to decrease the danger of his illusion being found out by even a little bit. On top of that, his body didn't need to eat, sleep, or even use the toilet.

No matter how well he acted, it was certain he would be thought of as abnormal and he would be found out.

"My apologies, but my niece and nephew are here with me, so I must decline that request. I do not mind if you reduce the number of medicines you teach me, so would you be willing to compromise? Because I am going to record it properly."

"…Oral transmission only. I won't allow a single record of them."

"That is a…"

Ainz hemmed and hawed.

He didn't have the confidence that he could memorize everything, even with instruction.

Certainly, for YGGDRASIL, the game he poured everything he had into, remembering the vast amount of information that was in it wasn't the least bit difficult. However, if you asked him if he could remember information that he had no interest in like in this situation, he would have to shake his head in the negative.

In general, if one were to look at it from a boss's perspective, would you not worry if you had subordinates who only listened to what you said and didn't take any notes?

The Chief Pharmacist probably took a different meaning from Suzuki Satoru's—a working adult who considered such things—silence. He opened his mouth.

"It seems like you're dissatisfied. But, you know? I won't even say that I want to know the production process of your potion. I'll spare you that much."

"Being told not to take even a single record is a little troubling…I do not have confidence in my own ability to remember things. Therefore, would you allow me to take just a few notes so I can remember.?"

"What the hell are you saying!" the Chief Pharmacist said, spit flying out of his mouth. "I'm gonna make your body remember! As a pharmacist's apprentice, you're receiving instruction so that you can immediately tell how much the amount of what you're holding right now weighs!"

It felt difficult to answer with, "No, I can't do something like that.' If that were the case, maybe he should lie?"

He held no intention of paying lip service to the idea that "you mustn't tell lies." There were even times for white lies. Maybe he should say that in this case, he shouldn't tell a lie with ill intent.

—This is so troublesome.

From the flow of the conversation, it appeared that he would become an apprentice and receive special instruction here, but the reason he had come to see a pharmacist was only on a small hunch that he could obtain information if there were any available. He had considered—if he was able to obtain even a fragment of the Dark Elves' herbal medicine and find out if it was more advanced than the Sorcerer Kingdom's—potentially importing it in some way like sending out technical intern trainees.

As a part of that plan, they would bring back the technology they learned and research it in pursuit of pharmaceuticals. It wasn't as if Ainz himself wanted to beg to be instructed on the subject.

Frankly speaking, he had said the price was information, but even if it were to be in the form of taking back a single bottle of a potion made here that had value, and then handing that over to Nfirea, there wouldn't have been a problem—well, maybe only a little one. There was no doubt that if it were him, he could analyze it and tell what kind of medicinal herbs it was made from and more.

Hmmm. Maybe the way I went about our first contact was a little mistaken?

However…that was the only way to draw out his interest…You could even say that things proceeded this well because I had that. It's also not as if, when I think about the possibility that even the medicine we receive couldn't be analyzed, it would all be a total wash but…Now then, what do I do?

"What's the problem!"

It didn't look like Ainz would be given very much time to think. In that case then, just like always, he wouldn't leave things to chance.

"…Certainly, my master also said 'so your body remembers it.'"

The Chief Pharmacist nodded his head countless times while faintly muttering exactly, obviously, the city pharmacists get it too.

"However, in the same spirit, they also said this: 'take proper notes because you're stupid. So you don't make me say the same things over again and over again.'

"…Wha?" The Chief Pharmacist's eyes went wide open, and his eyebrows then raised in concern, and asked, "…stu…pid you say?"

"Yes, that is what I was told by my master."

"I-I see…No, no, masters are strict with their disciples. I don't think they were saying that seriously, you know? Look, what you were talking about just a little while ago was well reasoned, and was formed to seal off my escape routes. That definitely wasn't something someone stupid could do."

I'm being consoled…

It seemed that it was also the same for the Dark Elves, that they didn't know what to say when the other party themselves declared, "I'm stupid." Because the world they lived in wasn't a kind one, Ainz had thought that he would be cast away, but that didn't appear to be the case.

He had complicated feelings about it, but all he could do was capitalize on this. Ainz responded.

"No, I'm sure there's something wrong with me. My ability to remember things is weak."

"I-I see…"

Ainz asserted it with confidence, and on top of that, the Chief Pharmacist had averted his gaze as if his head had been pushed to the side.

They both fell silent.

There was a fairly good chance that the Chief Pharmacist would say that there's no way he could teach things that could turn into poison if the amounts were mistaken to someone like him.

However— "I get it," a voice that sounded like it had accepted something suddenly leaked out of the Chief Pharmacist.

When Ainz was wondering what it was that he "got," the Chief Pharmacist showed an expression that was akin to admiration but only for an instant. Since it immediately returned to the expression that wouldn't change from a little while ago, it was a momentary change that could make you think that it was a trick of the eye. It definitely wasn't Ainz's imagination.

In his head, Ainz slightly braced himself. He didn't know what it was, but it appeared that something inside the Chief Pharmacist had resonated with what he had said.

Ainz felt like he could see a demon he knew very well smiling behind the Chief Pharmacist.

…What the hell did I just imagine? That would be really weird, wouldn't it?

"…If that's how it is, then it can't be helped. Seven days at the longest, meaning there's even a possibility that you'll leave this village even earlier, right?

Repeating the same explanations over again means squandering even more of our time. Make sure to burn those records when you've remembered them properly, okay?"

He didn't know what had caused the change in the Chief Pharmacist's attitude.

While keeping his guard up, Ainz answered as he normally would.

"Yes, I promise."

"You get it, then. In accordance with your request, I will teach a rather difficult mixture. My instruction will be strict, but you won't cry about it, will you?"

Ainz didn't remember anything about a request, but even leaving that aside for the moment, this was the only thing he should probably say right at the start.

"No, please teach me gently."

The Chief Pharmacist's mouth fell open with a pop, and then he made a face that looked like he had swallowed a bitter bug.

It wasn't as if Ainz had negative opinions about strict instruction. However, between strict and gentle, he was the sort of person who would choose the latter.

"You got some nerve…"

"No, but I wouldn't like it if you beat me with a heated pole or something?"

"Y-your master does things like that?"

"No, they do not do things like that, but—"

"Even I wouldn't do such a thing like that, alright!"

"I would be very happy if you did not."

When Ainz shrugged his shoulders like he was joking, the Chief Pharmacist looked disgusted.

"Haa. I think I understand your personality a little bit. Though I also do feel a little sorry for your master. Come on, I'm gonna teach you straight away. From here I'm going to cite the names of several medicines and their effects. If they're ones you know then it'll be useless…no, they can't be said to be useless? I guess it wouldn't be so bad in the sense that you'll learn about the difference in the ingredients used and more. Well, anyway, tell me which ones you want me to teach you."

"Thank you very much. However, before that, one question…Are you alright with a verbal agreement?"

If he were to say, sign a contract or cast some spell, it might be better to just have him pretend that everything they had talked about until now didn't happen.

"I don't care. Trust is important, right? Who knows, maybe what you put in writing will get passed around and get carried all the way back to me? All that'll happen then is I'll scorn you. 'So that's the kinda people city pharmacists are,' is what I'll say."

"I see, I understand. It's also a big loss for me if the assessment of the city pharmacists was lowered. I absolutely promise not to put them in writing and let them be distributed."

***

Seeing off the back of the man until he was no longer in view, the Chief Pharmacist let out a soft laugh.

How long had it been since he had last seen anyone off? It might have been the first time since he gained the status of Chief Pharmacist in this village.

—He is a surprisingly shrewd man. Are there a lot of people like him in that cityplace?

There couldn't be. No, if that were the case, it would be a crazy story.

I'd heard that the number of inhabitants in the city was greater than all of the Dark Elves living in this forest. That man should be counted among the upper echelons of them. If a man who thought that much was common in the city, you would have to be wary of the details so as not to be fooled, wouldn't you?

The man humbled himself as a failure and so on, but if that were true he wouldn't run his mouth like that. It was true even more so if he considered the flow of the conversation and the information that had been given to him, he would never go on a fool's errand.

If that were so, why had he been so hung up on writing down the Chief Pharmacist's teachings on paper? Maybe he didn't think the Chief Pharmacist, who had gotten angry with that, would reject teaching him?

However, the reason the Chief Pharmacist hit upon the idea that he had some kind of objective, was because he started saying things like his memory was bad, or calling himself stupid.

All the things he was taught, he could secretly write on paper later. In spite of that, it was necessary for him to declare he was going to take notes right in front of the Chief Pharmacist until it put him in a bad mood.

In other words—

—I didn't get it right away, but what that man wanted to convey to me was probably two things. One was that he's "not hiding anything."

Of course, he couldn't trust him just like that. It might be that even as the man showed him something true, he could be hiding something else behind that truth.

Unfortunately, he couldn't fully trust a man he had met for the first time today that much. And yet, for him to say "I will not cover anything up and thus lay my thoughts bare before you," held major significance for potentially building a trusting relationship between them.

And finally, the other reason he could never say out loud was probably him asking to be taught an appropriately difficult level of mixture even given his lack of time. One at the level of definitely not being able to remember no matter how many times he saw it.

He, who wasn't even a specialized pharmacist, trying to learn high difficulty level mixtures was outlandish. On top of that, pretty much all of the difficult mixtures utilized only precious medicinal herbs. Maybe it was for that reason he couldn't make a direct request himself.

In other words, he was a man who knew shame.

However, the Chief Pharmacist didn't think the second meaning was really a problem.

Originally, based on the conditions of the exchange of that unknown medicine—which he thought to be related to the one from legend—he had considered it to be okay to offer up his secret medicines.

The Dark Elves' secret medicines were split into three major categories.

The first one was medicines that could be made through difficult mixing procedures.

The second was medicines made utilizing extremely rare medicinal herbs.

The third was dangerous drugs that had an excessively potent efficacy.

Those were the three.

He had stated the first one as the reason why he couldn't pass on the secret medicines to him, but he considered teaching him the medicines that were in the second category.

It could be that medicinal herbs that are rare in this region might be abundant in the city or wherever, that was often the case with medicinal herbs. However, if he said that, it wouldn't have gotten them anywhere. Or rather, since those under the first category were impossible to teach him and there was no way he was going to teach the dangerous drugs in the third category, his answer had already been decided.

And in this case, he had also thought there would be a benefit for himself too, he could offer up the ingredients that were rarely found here and were highly prized even in the city at an appropriate price simultaneously.

If he returned to the city, spread the medicines he had been entrusted with, and they became precious materials as a result, then people from the city might come here to the Dark Elf villages to do business to try and obtain them. When he saw the purple potion, he knew that the city's medicinal use was at an appropriately high level. Having a chance to obtain that material and knowledge, even the Chief Pharmacist didn't think it sounded so bad.

Just from that man's arrival, he didn't know whether or not it would give rise to interactions between the village and the city in the future. However, even if you were to tell him that he should accept the request based on that practical perspective, there would be no doubt that the Chief Pharmacist would have frankly disagreed with that sentiment instead.

If he had had a personality that could be influenced by some rational conversation on the merits and demerits, the villagers probably wouldn't mutter the word "obstinate" around him, and he probably wouldn't be without a wife at his age. It wasn't as if he didn't worry about it so long as he was esteemed by his fellow pharmacist friends, but as of now, he had yet to give thought to trying and changing himself.

That man talked about gains and losses. If it had been way before, it would have been an argument that he couldn't stomach. However, it was about his gains and losses as a pharmacist, interestingly enough. If in some far-off place his efforts as a pharmacist were mocked, he would have no way of knowing. He had no way of knowing, but if you were to ask him if he was okay with that, his answer would be "absolutely not."

Because he had perceived value in what that man had offered up, he couldn't relax if he didn't return something of equal or greater value.

He felt that the man really was a smooth talker, because he had attacked from the two fronts of logos and pathos simultaneously.

Normally, the one who taught held superior standing while the one who was taught held an inferior standing.

However, it wasn't like that this time.

Teaching was the price of that potion. What's more, the man had taken the stance of leaving it up to him whether or not he would teach him. At this point, you could say their positions were equal.

And that man immediately went on to say that he was going to take notes to open up hostilities.

If the other party doesn't hide anything—and acts in a way that can gain my trust, then I should also adopt an attitude so that man will trust me. However—

That was an extremely different problem.

As he was returning to the sitting table, the Chief Pharmacist scrunched up his face.

I don't think I can do something like that.

The Chief Pharmacist himself knew he was bad at getting along with others.

Even looking back on the times he had passed on knowledge to the villagers, he could declare that he hadn't been a good teacher.

Flicking a glance at the dried leaves, which were a type of narcotic, that were on the medicinal herb shelf, the Chief Pharmacist shook his head. That stuff was aimed at easing pain and could also be used to eliminate stress. However, it wasn't very appropriate for an educator to use it.

"Nothing else I can do but try my best, huh."

The Chief Pharmacist mumbled.

But, well, it seemed like acting wasn't his strong suit. To go so far as to stare at me so hard he even forgot to blink…does it mean that he's that interested in me? Hehehe…he looked younger than me based on his looks, but he certainly is young…I guess he did have a pretty cute side to him after all, huh?

-x-X-x-

Ainz, Aura, and Mare were having their morning meal.

Of course, because Ainz couldn't eat, it was really just Aura and Mare who were eating. It wasn't only the dishes—which brought out the flavors of the ingredients—that the Dark Elves had provided them.

There were also things from Nazarick that Ainz had put into his Inventory and brought here with them.

After each bite of the dishes the Dark Elves had provided them, Aura and Mare would write their impressions of it on the paper next to them, they would then be shown to the intellectuals of the various races in E-Rantel and researched.

However, as of right now, they had not made a single surprising discovery—

including things of monetary value. They didn't know what would happen to their relationship with this village hereafter, but there didn't seem to be any materials that they could use as the basis to form beneficial trade relations with.

The reason Aura and Mare were recording their impressions of the food after each bite was so that when they were asked about it, even Ainz would be able to answer.

However, there was just one problem: being used to the food of Nazarick, no good impressions of the Dark Elf cuisine came from the refined palates of Aura and Mare. But the only people who could possibly say "it doesn't taste good" to the people who made it were people who didn't consider others' feelings, people who wanted to worsen their relationship. In other words, and for the sake of the argument, children.

Therefore, their meal took quite a long time to finish.

.