Overlord Volume 2 Chapter 2 Part 2 + Interlude

Part 2

Although it was some time from dusk, the adventurers were already setting up camp.

Ainz took the wooden poles handed to him by others and erected them around the campsite. Because they had to shelter a horse and wagon, the campsite in question was around twenty meters on each side and covered a fairly large area.

The poles went into four points around the campsite, and then thin, blackened ropes were tied around the poles, forming a perimeter. Finally, they tied a knot in one of the ropes and pulled it over to their tents, where they attached a big bell to it. This was their alarm system.

As Ainz was driving the poles into the ground, Narberal came around.

...Narberal should have some work to do… maybe she's finished. But if that man (Lukrut) made her mad again, all I can do is gently reprimand her...

With those thoughts in mind, Ainz turned around. As he did, Narberal spoke, in a low voice that suggested that she was holding back feelings of anger:

"...They should not be troubling you with work like this, Momon-san."

Ainz sighed in relief as he learned the reason for her anger. He looked around, and then quietly replied:

"Everyone's working together to pitch camp. It would be odd if I was the only one not doing anything, no?"

"Have they not seen your extraordinary fighting skill? People should do what they are suited for, so this sort of work should be left to weaklings like them."

"Don't say that. Listen, we need to establish ourselves as powerful individuals, but we mustn't project an image of arrogance while we do it. You need to check yourself a little too."

Narberal nodded to show that she understood, but her displeasure was evident on her face. She was only going along with this because it was an express order from Ainz himself.

He could tell that her loyalty was enough to overcome her unhappiness. On the other hand, the thought that this might cause a slip-up at an inopportune time made Ainz feel uneasy.

The truth was that Ainz was having a lot of fun with these outdoor activities. After all, this was something he could not experience in the virtual world of YGGDRASIL, let alone real life, and thus it was filled with novelty. Although the whole thing had taken too much time, it also reminded Ainz of the adventures he had exploring unknown places in YGGDRASIL.

If I was the only one who came to this new world, without the whole of Nazarick with me, I'd probably have gone travelling without a second thought.

The undead did not need to eat, drink, or breathe. That being the case, they could climb high mountains with their own two legs, or walk into the ocean depths. He would have enjoyed himself by witnessing the unknown vistas of the world.

However, now that his comrades' treasures — his loyal subordinates — were here, Ainz felt that he should repay their loyalty by ruling Nazarick well.

Ainz cast his thoughts aside and calmly returned to his work. After hammering the four wooden poles into the ground, he tied the rope around them and then raised the tent over it.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Think nothing of it."

Lukrut was inside the tent, and he thanked Ainz without looking at him. It was kind of rude, but it was not as though he was slacking off either. He had been digging a hole for a stove since just now.

The magic caster — Ninya — was pacing about the surroundings, incanting a spell as he went. This was an 「Alarm」 spell, and as the name suggested, it was a spell of warning that would trigger if anything trespassed on their camp. Though it had a small area of effect, it was still useful just in case.

This spell, which did not exist in YGGDRASIL, made Ainz narrow his eyes.

Although he had handed the task of learning about unknown magic to other people, as a magic caster, he still felt the desire to know about spells he had never seen before.

The magic Ninya used was a spell of the arcane type, like the kind that Ainz could cast. In addition, it looked very similar to a YGGDRASIL spell. Ainz had used a racial skill called Dark Wisdom to perform a rite which increased the number of spells he knew.

Could I learn spells that weren't in YGGDRASIL by making a live sacrifice? Or is there another way? There's so many things I know nothing about...

As Ninya realised Ainz was staring at himself, he smiled and drew closer to Ainz.

"Ah, there's no need to watch me so intently. It must be pretty boring, right?"

"Well, I'm curious about magic, and I'm interested in what you're doing, Ninya-san."

"No way… I'm probably far below Nabe-san, aren't I?"

"It's because you know spells that Nabe doesn't."

Narberal nodded slightly, but Ainz noticed from the corner of his eye that the look on her face was more of jealousy than regret.

"I'd like to cast spells like you, Ninya-san."

"You're greedy, Momon-san. To think you'd want spellcasting ability even though your swordsmanship is so amazing… no, I should say that you're being an adventurer, right?"

"Magic doesn't seem like the sort of thing you can learn in one or two days. Well, you need to connect to the world, but only people with the appropriate talent can do it. If not, you'll need to take a long time to experience it."

Those words came from Lukrut, who had cut in without turning to look from where he was setting up the campfire. Ninya's face turned serious:

"Mm. Momon-san, I think you have that talent. You're different from other people… kind of like you're not human at all…"

Ainz's non-existent heart seemed to lurch in his chest. Ainz wondered if Ninya had sensed that he was undead.

Although he had already veiled himself in illusions and counter-detection spells, Ninya might have seen through Ainz with an unknown spell or some other special ability. Therefore, Ainz asked Ninya:

"...Is that so? I feel that I am strong, but not inhumanly so. You've seen my face as well, so wouldn't you think that as well?"

"I'm not talking about appearances… it's just that after seeing you fight, you're clearly beyond the realm of humanity. Taking out an Ogre in one blow… as I thought, a real man gets by on strength, not looks. And you've got a beauty like Nabe-san with you."

Upon closer consideration, Lukrut seemed to be saying that the illusionary face which Ainz showed them was an ugly one. However, when he thought about the looks of everyone he had met so far, Ainz could only sit down and accept his opinion.

There's too many handsome men and beautiful women in this world! Even the passers-by look attractive. After coming here, I've got a worse opinion of my own looks...

"Appearances aside, Lukrut has a point. A hero is someone who surpasses the realm of human possibility. I get that feeling from you too."

"No, that's too much… I wouldn't dare claim to be any sort of hero, even if it was to be polite."

As Ainz feigned embarrassment while answering Ninya, he resisted the urge to sigh in relief.

"If it's convenient for you… would you like to meet my master? Master's talent lies in detecting an individual's magical power. If you were born with magical potential, Master should be able to sense it. When it comes to arcane magic casters, Master can even differentiate between them by the tiers of magic which they can cast."

"I've been meaning to ask for a while… is that talent the same as the one possessed by the Empire's head magician?"

"Yes, it's the same talent."

Ainz could not let information like this slip through his hands. He had to continue asking about it.

"...What is this ability like?"

"Ahh, according to Master, we magic casters radiate something like an aura from our bodies. The more adept one becomes in magic, the stronger this aura becomes. Master has the ability to see these auras."

"Oh… oh."

Ainz immediately suppressed the quiet surprise in his tone, and in order to cover it up, promptly responded in a more normal tone.

"This was how Master gathered up talented children and trained them in magic. I was recruited by Master in that way," Ninya continued.

Ainz nodded and cursed silently in his heart. There's people with abilities like that. This could be troublesome...

"Then, if I wanted to learn how to cast spells, where should I begin?"

"For starters, you'd need a proper teacher."

"...And how about becoming your disciple, Ninya-san?"

"Hm… you should probably find someone more skilled than myself. However, schools in the Kingdom are very exclusive and people without connections can't join the guilds that handle magic. Even if you could join, most of the recruits would be immature kids. It would be very difficult for someone of your age to get in without some kind of special networking, Momon-san. On that note, the Empire has a full-fledged magical academy, and the Theocracy has a very high standard of magical education as well, though that's for divine magic."

"I see, so if I entered the Empire's magical academy, I could learn magic?"

"That would be pretty difficult. The academy is an educational institution run by the government, so I think you'd have to be a citizen of the Empire to study there."

"Is that so…"

"And as for becoming my disciple, though I apologise for it, I must refuse. I have something I want to do, and I don't have the free time to train people."

Ninya's face went grim. There were hints of hostility amidst the negative emotion there.

Maybe I shouldn't pry too deeply. There's no merit to doing so.

Just as Ainz came to that conclusion, Lukrut interrupted his train of thought with casual words:

"Oi~ sorry to interrupt your conversation, but dinner's ready. Do you mind calling those three back here?"

"Let me go, Momon-san."

"Ehhhh~ Nabe-chan, you're going off? Why not stay with me and make a dinner filled with love?"

"Die, inferior being (centipede). Unless you want me to pour boiling oil down your throat so you can't utter such nonsense again?"

"Enough, Nabe. Let's go together."

"Yes! Understood!"

After thanking Ninya, Ainz approached the two people working quietly on the ground, a short distance from the tent.

Peter and Dyne were focused on caring for their weapons. They oiled them to prevent rust from building up, inspected them carefully to see if they were bent, and so on.

There were fresh dents on their armor, and cracks on their swords from where they had clashed with the Goblins' weapons. Naturally, these defects had to be remedied as soon as possible, and the two of them were so focused that Ainz did not know whether he should call out to them.

After telling them that dinner was ready, he informed Nfirea about the matter at the place where the wagon was tied up, a short distance away.

♦ ♦ ♦

The sun touched the horizon, and the group had their dinner against the ruby radiance of its dying light.

In their hands, they held bowls of thick stew flavoured with bacon bits, as well as toasted bread, dried figs, walnuts, and other nuts. This was today's dinner.

Ainz looked at the bowl of stew in his hands. It appeared to be very salty. He could not feel the heat of the bowl through his metal gauntlets, but judging from the way everyone else was digging into it with big mouthfuls and not blowing on it to cool it down, it should have been just the right temperature.

Now then, what shall I do?

Ainz was undead, and he could not eat with this body of his. In addition, he had disguised his appearance with an illusion. If he tried to drink soup with his skeletal mouth and body, it would probably spill out right away.

He could not let the others see that, no matter what.

This was unknown food and drink from an unknown world. Though the dishes before him were plain fare, Ainz felt that it was a shame to not be able to enjoy them.

Though he no longer had a need or desire to eat, he was unhappy with the fact that he could not consume the delicious-looking food that piqued his curiosity.

For the first time since he had come to this world, he regretted this undead body of his.

"Ah~ is there something you're scared of eating?" Lukrut asked as he noted that Ainz had not touched his food.

"No, it's just a personal matter."

"Is that so? Then you don't need to force yourself, right? Although, we're eating now, so could you take off your helmet?"

"...It's a religious reason. I can't eat with more than four people on a day when I take life."

"Oh… that's an unusual faith you follow, Momon-shi. Still, the world is large, and religions like that aren't particularly strange."

The doubt in their eyes faded away once they learned that it had something to do with religion.

It seems religions in this world are a complicated matter.

As Ainz thought that, he gave silent thanks to the gods he did not believe in for somehow letting him muddle through this. Then, he asked Peter:

"I recall your team name is Swords of Darkness, but I don't see a black blade among you…?"

On the topic of the group's weapons, Peter used a longsword with an ordinary enchantment, Lukrut favored the bow and arrow, Dyne used a mace, and Ninya used a staff. Peter's sword and Lukrut's backup shortsword were both blades, but neither of them had a color that was anywhere close to "dark."

There was a technique to tint metal a different color by depositing a special powder on its surface, so creating a black sword was not a difficult task. Rather, it seemed odd that none of them bore a blade of that color.

"Ah, so it's that kind of question."

Lukrut smiled bitterly, as though someone had brought up an embarrassing memory. Ninya's face flushed bright red, a distinctly different color from the fire's glow.

"They're the swords of Ninya's dreams."

"Come on, that's enough, I was just being childish."

"That's nothing to feel bad about! It's important to have a great dream!"

"Give me a break Dyne, I'm serious."

Good-natured laughter accompanied Ninya's teasing by the other Swords of Darkness. Ninya, on the other hand, was so embarrassed that he was looking for a hole to crawl into. It would seem the name Swords of Darkness contained a secret that only its members knew.

"Well, the name 'Swords of Darkness' refers to the swords borne by one of the Thirteen Heroes."

The smiling Peter stopped there, seemingly unwilling to go any further.

Even if he says that, I'm not sure what's going on… still, I know that the Thirteen Heroes were the superheroes who destroyed the Demon Gods, who were rampaging across the world two hundred years ago. If I'm ignorant about these heroes and their gear… would it be embarrassing? Or should I just say that I know?

Just as Ainz was agonizing over this issue, Narberal cut in from aside.

"What are they?"

Wonderful. Ainz struck a victory pose in his heart, but surprise crossed the faces of the members of Swords of Darkness.

Just about anyone would be shocked that someone knew nothing about the magic weapons for which the team was named.

"Nabe-chan, you didn't know?… Well, it's not as though it's unforgivable. He was one of the Thirteen Heroes, but because people thought he had demonic ancestry, he ended up being more of an anti-hero instead. Therefore, his origins were covered up in the saga of the Thirteen Heroes… though I've heard that he was a very powerful person."

"The Swords of Darkness belonged to the man known as 'Black Knight.' It was one of the four swords he possessed. There was the demonic blade Kilineyram, which could emit dark energy, the blade of rot, Crocdabal, which inflicted wounds that would not heal, the fatal blade Sfeiz, which could kill with the merest scratch, as well as the evil blade Hyumilis, whose powers are unknown."

"Oh—"

Everyone smiled bitterly at Narberal's unenthusiastic reply.

However, Ainz tilted his head in pensive musing. Those abilities seemed familiar.

After careful thought, the image of a vampire appeared in his mind. Those special abilities were similar to the skills possessed by Shalltear Bloodfallen, who had levels in the Cursed Knight class.

Cursed Knights had the backstory of being corrupted cleric-knights who had been cursed, and they were considered to be a very strong class in YGGDRASIL. However, they had a lot of drawbacks, so they were not very popular. Among the skills Cursed Knights could learn was the ability to release waves of darkness, inflict cursed wounds which could not be healed by low level healing spells, instant death curses, and so on.

Ainz narrowed his illusory eyes under his helmet. This was not a coincidence. While the Swords of Darkness might be weapons with powers similar to those of a Cursed Knight, it was more likely that the hero himself was a Cursed Knight.

If that were the case, when one considered the prerequisites to become a Cursed Knight, it was certain that this "Black Knight" was at least level sixty — no, if one considered that he had to actually learn all those skills as well, he would have to be at least level seventy.

It would seem the Demon Gods were evenly matched against heroes like that, so it was a reasonable hypothesis that their levels were roughly the same. However, Nigun of the Sunlight Scripture said that the Dominion Authority which he summoned could defeat a Demon God, so it would seem that the Demon Gods and the Heroes were not on the same level.

After comparing this new information with what he already knew, it seemed logical that the Demon Gods were not all equally powerful. However, the only way to know for sure would be to meet that hero or obtain that sword.

As Ainz pondered this, the rest of the group continued talking. Ainz hurriedly shifted his attention to their conversation; it would be a shame to miss out on a chance to learn something because he was distracted.

"—So finding those swords was my first objective. There's a lot of legends about weapons out there, but some of them have been proven to exist. The thing is that the existence of the Swords of Darkness is still a mystery—"

"Ah, there's someone out there who possesses one of the Swords of Darkness."

After Nfirea calmly dropped that bombshell, the Swords of Darkness turned on him:

"Who, who's that!?"

"Uwah! Really? So that means there's only three left!"

"Oh, that means we won't be able to distribute them evenly to everyone now…"

Nfirea gingerly replied:

"Er, about that… the person who owns that sword is the leader of the adventuring party called 'Blue Rose.'"

"Geh, adamantite, you say? Adventurers like that? Then it can't be helped."

"That's true. Still, there's three of them left; let's work hard so we can be strong enough to take them into possession."

"Indeed. Since one of them is the real deal, that means that the other three exist as well. I hope these swords are hidden in a place that nobody's discovered until us."

"Ninya, you'd best write it down in your diary so you don't forget."

"I know, I'll write it down for sure. However, the stuff in there is personal, so shouldn't you memorize it instead?"

"It's better to have a hard copy!"

"Is that the problem, Dyne…"

"Still, we have 'that.'"

"What is 'that?'"

"This, Momon-san."

Peter took a dagger with four jewels embedded into its scabbard. It had a black blade.

"Before we discover the real thing, I planned to use this as the party's symbol…"

"Still, 'Blade of Darkness' would work just as well as 'Swords of Darkness,'" right? Come to think of it, it's not as though it's a fake. It'll make the perfect symbol of our group!"

"Oooh, Lukrut's making sense for once!"

The adventurers laughed, radiating an air of camaraderie.

Ainz was affected by this as well, and smiled in response. They probably felt the same way about that dagger as Ainz did about the staff which represented the guild.

The dinner conversation continued, and Swords of Darkness, having the advantage of numbers, tossed questions out at Ainz, Narberal, and Nfirea.

Ainz responded as best as he could, but he still felt a barrier separating him from Swords of Darkness. This was because Ainz lacked knowledge about this world, and he could not engage too fully lest his ignorance be revealed. Thus, Ainz kept quiet about things he did not know, which in turn led to him drawing even further away from the adventurers in a vicious cycle.

Though the adventurers tried to chat up Narberal, all she did was respond with the verbal equivalent of a home run, leaving them with no way to respond. Eventually, they slowly stopped trying to speak to her.

Nfirea, on the other hand, was handling this quite well.

As a native of this world, he got along better with the others than Ainz. He was observant and could follow the adventurers' discussion well.

...It's nothing. I had friends like these once.

These childish thoughts, almost like a tantrum, ran through Ainz's head as he watched the others chatting happily in the campfire's light.

They seemed very close to each other, but that was only to be expected of a group of comrades who trod the edge of life and death in each other's company. Nfirea had a look of envy on his face as he looked upon them.

Ainz recalled his friends from the past, and under his helmet, he quietly ground his teeth in jealousy.

—Once, he had been like them.

"...Well, you seem like a chummy bunch. Are all adventurers like that?"

"I should think so. After all, adventurers are colleagues who face death together. It'd be dangerous if they didn't understand each other and what they planned to do. So somewhere along the way, adventurers end up being quite close to each other."

"Indeed. After all, we don't have any women in our team. I heard that parties with women tend to have a lot of arguments."

"...Yeah."

With an indecipherable smile, Ninya continued:

"And if there were, Lukrut would be the first to raise questions. After all, our group has a very clear objective, right?"

Peter and the others nodded in unison.

"...Just like that. It feels completely different when everyone is of one mind."

"Hmm? Momon-san, were you in an adventuring party before?"

Ainz did not know how to answer Nfirea's question, but right now, he had no need to make up some strange excuse to cover it up.

"We probably didn't count as… adventurers."

He could not help but take a somber tone as he thought about his past friends. After all, he still had emotions — even though his body was undead — and his friends were the people that Ainz treasured most.

Sensing Ainz's difficulty in answering, nobody pursued the matter, and silence fell upon the group.

Amidst this quiet, so deep and so total that it felt like they were the only people in the world, Ainz unconsciously raised his head and looked into the star-studded night sky.

"When I was still a weakling, a paladin of pure white with sword and shield in hand saved me. Through him, I met four more comrades. And so, we formed a team that numbered six people, including myself. In addition, after that, we met three more weak people like ourselves, and we ended up as a team of nine people."

"Ohh—" someone exclaimed quietly, amidst the crackling of the campfire. However, Ainz was not bothered, and he continued recounting the story of the original nine members of what would become Ainz Ooal Gown.

"They were all excellent companions. A paladin, a swordmaster, a priest, an ass… a thief, a two-sword nin… a two-sword thief, a sorcerer, a chef, a blacksmith… they were all irreplaceable friends. We had countless adventures together, and even now, I still haven't been able to forget those days."

Through them, he had learned the meaning of friendship. He once thought he would have been ignored in YGGDRASIL, like in the real world, but unlike reality, they ended up being the best of friends, who would extend a helping hand to each other at any time. And so, as the number of group members steadily increased, they shared their joys and their sorrows together.

Therefore, the guild called Ainz Ooal Gown was a treasure to Ainz. He would ensure its brilliance was never diminished, even if he had to discard or destroy everything to do so.

"I'm sure you'll find companions like them again someday."

In response to Ninya's comforting words, Ainz snapped:

"That day will never come."

The hostility in Ainz's tone startled everyone, even himself. Alarmed by what he had said, Ainz slowly rose to his feet.

"...Forgive me. Nabe, I'll have my dinner over there."

"Then I shall go too."

"Really… well, if it's a religious matter, then it can't be helped."

There was a hint of regret in Peter's voice, but he did not insist on their staying.

Although Ainz noticed the depressed look on Ninya's face, Ainz did not intend to say anything more to him.

Perhaps a simple "I'm not bothered by it" would have sufficed.

♦ ♦ ♦

The two of them had their dinner in the corner of the roped-off campsite area.

The ones who stayed behind discussed the pair which had left. It was only to be expected, given what the absent people had accomplished today.

Then, the conversation grew to a halt, and silence descended upon the group. The campfire crackled and spat glowing embers which danced into the sky. As Ninya watched the glowing traces vanish into the air, he muttered in a self-chastising tone:

"...I think I said something I shouldn't have."

"Umu. It seems like something happened in their past."

Dyne nodded deeply, and then Peter continued:

"I guess they were all wiped out. I've seen that sort of reaction from people who lost all their friends in battle."

"That... must be hard to bear. Even if we're used to walking the edge of death together, losing a friend is still…"

"That's right, Lukrut. The words spoken just now were not the best that could have been said."

"Well, what's said cannot be unsaid. Therefore, we need to do something that makes him change his mind about those words."

Ninya looked quite depressed as he replied, and then he quietly continued, "I know what it's like to lose someone, so why didn't I put myself into his shoes?"

However, nobody responded to him.

The campfire's logs cracked loudly and spat embers amidst the silence.

In an attempt to lighten the heaviness in the air, Nfirea gingerly spoke:

"...Momon-san's fighting was really spectacular."

As though waiting for these words, Peter immediately added:

"Yeah, I didn't think it would be so amazing. He cut an Ogre clean in two…"

"That was seriously over the top."

"Beating an Ogre in one blow is amazing in it's own right, but how good do you have to be to cleave it in half?"

The Swords of Darkness looked at each other after hearing Nfirea's puzzled question.

Nfirea was a young man who was famous for his innate talent, as well as an excellent magic caster. Although he might well shake the world with his abilities, it was difficult for him to understand the full extent of Ainz's prowess without another warrior for comparison.

With that in mind, Peter began explaining to Nfirea, in a way that was as easy to understand as possible:

"Normally, greatswords are used in a hacking fashion, but he employed a slashing method. Usually, when using a greatsword one-handed, it would be very difficult to sever the limbs of enemies as large as Ogres… but it would seem there's an exception to that now."

Nfirea gasped as he heard Peter's words. Peter felt that Nfirea was not sufficiently awed, and decided to name someone he might be more familiar with:

"Honestly speaking, I think Momon-san is on the same level as the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain."

Nfirea's eyes widened in astonishment. He finally understood what the Swords of Darkness thought of Ainz's abilities.

"...That is to say, he could be an adamantite ranked adventurer… those people who are the highest ranked adventurers, living legends, in other words, the mightiest human beings?"

"Indeed," Peter replied as he nodded gently. Nfirea looked around at the other members of the Swords of Darkness, who were also nodding in approval.

He was dumbfounded.

Adamantite ranked adventurers possessed guild plates made of adamantite, a rare magical material which was the hardest metal known to man. If adventurers and their numbers formed a pyramid, then adamantite ranked adventurers would occupy the peak, and would be correspondingly scarce. Both the Kingdom and the Empire only boasted two teams of adamantite ranked adventurers each.

Their abilities were at the zenith of human potential. One might even call them heroes.

And Momon was a person who could rival them.

"That's incredible…"

One could hear the utter amazement in those words.

"At first… The first time I saw Momon-san, dressed in a suit of stylish full plate armor while wearing the copper plate belonging to the lowliest of adventurers, I felt pretty jealous, but now that I've seen that he has the skills to match his looks, there's nothing more I can say. He — Momon-san's abilities are worthy of his full plate. I'm kind of jealous of how strong he is..."

Peter the warrior did not wear full-plate. Instead, he sported a suit of banded armor, which was somewhat less protective. This was not by personal preference; rather, it was the best body armor he could afford with his limited resources.

"Don't worry about it; I'm sure you'll be able to buy a suit of full plate soon, Peter."

"Indeed. You should work hard towards that goal. Really, you should be glad that you're fortunate enough to be able to witness an example of what it's like to be at the top."

"Ninya's right, all you need to do is work hard to reach the target of Momon-san. We'll support you too, so let's move forward together."

"That's right! Slowly but surely, your hard work will pay off! I'm sure that Momon-shi must have trained even longer than you did!"

Dyne's words awoke doubts in Nfirea's heart:

"Have you seen what Momon-san looks like under his helmet?"

Ainz had not removed his helm after meeting Nfirea, not even while eating. How he drank was also a mystery.

"Yes, we have. He looks like an average person… though not one from nearby. He and Nabe-san have black hair and black eyes."

"Is that so… did he say which country he was from?"

The Swords of Darkness looked at each other, and they suddenly realized that Nfirea seemed very interested in that topic.

"Well, he didn't elaborate much on that…"

"Really now… ah, no, I was just thinking that if he came from a distant country, he'd use different potions than what was available in the surrounding region. It's just my curiosity as a herbalist talking."

"I see — well, he does seem to be from the same place as Nabe-chan, yet their looks are worlds apart — he doesn't look handsome at all. Would anyone like people like that—?"

"Well, he doesn't look like much, but with his strength, I'm sure there must be countless girls throwing themselves at him."

Powerful individuals were popular. This was because this world had monsters in it, and humans were on the bottom end of the power curve. As a result, the innate instincts of women made them desire strong males.

"Haah~ don't tell me my feelings will never bear fruit~"

"Nah, it's impossible. I don't think there was even a flower to begin with," Ninya replied with a bitter smile as he recalled Narberal's reaction.

"Utter nonsense. In any case, the important thing is to keep pushing and pushing and pushing. Eagerness is the key. 'Sides, she's a super hot girl, right? If she's just a little bit nicer to me, it'll mean I've won at life."

"...She does look very pretty…"

Halfway through his somber reply, Dyne noticed that Nfirea had a bitter look on his face.

"Nfirea-shi, is something wrong?"

"Ah, no. Er, it's nothing…"

"Oya?"

Lukrut grinned lewdly. "What, you're in love with Nabe-chan?"

"Of course not!" Nfirea retorted with unnecessary loudness. From the intensity of his reaction, Peter sensed that they should not keep pressing him. Instead, he said:

"Lukrut, you're being rude. Think before you talk."

Nfirea looked uncomfortable, and he was not sure how to respond to Lukrut's sincere apology.

"No, it's not like that. Well… I'm just a little uneasy… would Momon-san really be that popular?"

"...Looks aside, he'd be a hit just going by his strength alone. Plus, he looks pretty wealthy, given the armor he wears and the swords he carries…"

"Ah…"

Nfirea's face was cast in shadow. With the tone of a senior speaking to a junior, Peter carefully asked:

"Is something the matter?"

Nfirea wanted to speak, but cut himself off halfway. The effect repeated itself over and over again, making him look like a goldfish. However, Peter and the others did not press him — there was no need to force an answer out of him if he did not want to talk about it. Soon, however, Nfirea made up his mind, and finally managed to speak.

"Um — it's because I don't want to let the person I like in Carne Village fall in love with Momon-san."

The Swords of Darkness deftly picked up on the hidden message within those words, and then smiled warmly.

"All right then, young man. Onii-san here will teach you his amazing technique—"

Peter punched Lukrut, drawing a queer howl from the latter. The Swords of Darkness paid no heed to the look of agony on Lukrut's face and made to comfort the stunned Nfirea.

Lit by the radiance of the campfire, the boy finally smiled.

♦ ♦ ♦

At the same time—

The thrust went through the steel helmet, along with the forehead beneath it.

The body shook violently, and then collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The metal armor clanged loudly in the night. He prayed that someone would hear the sound, but nobody would come to E-Rantel's beggar's district, which had practically been abandoned by the residents. That was why the client had arranged to meet them here, after all.

The man glared at the young woman before him. However, it was clear that he was just putting on a brave front. He had lost the will to fight after seeing the woman casually kill three of his fellows.

The young woman who had murdered his colleagues flicked her bloodstained stilettos. The ichor scattered in all directions, and the blades recovered their cold shine.

"Nfufufufu~ and then there was one, Onii-san~"

The woman revealed her canines with a predatory grin.

"Why, why are you doing this?"

He knew it was a stupid question, but the man had no idea why this was happening to him.

These men were the dropouts among adventurers. The term for them was "Workers," or dusk workers. They took on jobs which were borderline, or sometimes outright illegal.

This might have been the result of some sort of grudge, but he had never worked in this city before. Neither had he seen this girl before.

"Ah, why I did this? Well now~ I just wanted you, Onii-san~"

The man could not understand what the girl was talking about. He blinked several times, and then asked:

"What, what do you mean?"

"That famous herbalist's grandson isn't at home~ I wanted someone to keep an eye on them for me and see when they got back. I can't be bothered with such troublesome things~"

"Then all you needed to do was ask! Weren't you planning to do that in the first place!?"

Workers like themselves would gladly take illegal jobs, so he had no idea why this girl was slaughtering them.

"Nonono, you might have betrayed me~"

"We will never betray our employer once we've been paid the appointed fee!"

"Hmmm~? Then how about this? I like killing people, I love it, I'm absolutely crazy about it. Ah, and I like torture too," the young woman added with a giggle.

After hearing this nonsensical reply, the man's face hardened and he said, "You're insane! Why!?"

"Why…?"

The young woman's voice changed. The joking, teasing tone from just now was gone.

"Hmmm… I wonder why? Perhaps it was because my job involved killing lots of people? Maybe it was because I was constantly compared to my amazing big brother? How they loved him instead of me? Or how I was raped constantly before I became strong? Because my friends died in front of me? Or maybe it's because I messed up and got captured and tortured for several days? Heated choke pears hurt, you know~"

It seemed as though there was only a little girl before him. But in the blink of an eye, a smile bloomed on the woman's face.

"Just kidding~ I was making it all up, it's a lie, a lie — never happened to me. Still, even if you knew, would it change anything? I'm this way because things piled up — ah, speaking of which, I need to thank Khazi-chan for helping me suss out all this info, I'm so glad I could meet you all right away~ you should know how long it takes to find help~"

The girl released her stilettos, which were pulled down by gravity and sank into the ground. Judging by their abnormal sharpness, they must have been made of something other than simple steel.

"This is orichalcum~ More precisely, its orichalcum alloyed over mithril. Pretty good stuff."

The fact that she bore such exotic weaponry was a sign of the woman's prowess. In other words, he had no chance of victory.

"Then~ time for the next step. I can't use you if you're heavily wounded, Onii-san… buuuut Khazi-chan can heal you with divine magic no matter how much I hurt you~ which means I get to enjoy torturing you as muuuuch as I like, no?"

As she uttered those bone-chilling words, she drew another pair of stilettos from under her robe.

"These should be good… sorry if I miss~"

It was adorable, the way she stuck her tongue out at him. However, her filthy, blackened heart was visible for all to see.

The man turned his back to her and ran. Although he heard an exaggerated gasp of surprise from the young woman, he still ran with every ounce of strength in him. He was proud of his sense of direction, and he used it to the full as he ran through the lightless dark.

However, there was a clattering noise from behind him, followed by the woman's calm voice.

"—Too slow~"

Searing pain filled his shoulder. His first thought was that he had been stabbed by a stiletto, and then a shadow fell over his thoughts.

It was mind control.

The man desperately tried to resist, but that only mired his consciousness further in darkness.

The voice of "a friend" came from behind him.

"Ah~ Are you all right? Is the wound deep? "

"Mm, no, it's fine," the man smiled as he turned to face "his friend."

"Is that so? That's wonderful~"

A dreadful smile bloomed on the young woman's face.