Overlord Volume 1 Chapter 5 Part 2

Part 2

As he walked along the night-veiled plains, Ainz raised his head. What greeted him was the beautiful sight of stars in the sky.

Ainz sighed at the scenery for the second time, and then he headed back to the village.

He had gone a little overboard.

As long as Albedo was by his side, he could not afford to appear useless to her. As her master, he needed to act in a fitting manner in front of his subordinates. While he might have gone a bit too far, it still fit the role he was playing.

He did not know if he had passed or failed, but it would be fine as long as Albedo was not disappointed.

Ainz could not see Albedo's expression of, Damn, Ainz-sama was so cool, kufufufu~ under her closed helmet. Since he could not tell what she was thinking, he went over the day's proceedings once more.

"Still, Ainz-sama, why did you save Gazef?"

Why indeed? Ainz could not articulate his feelings at that time, so he tried to approximate them for her:

"This was a problem we caused, so shouldn't we try and settle it ourselves?"

"Then why did you give him that item?"

"I was laying the foundation for future plans. Letting him hold it would be a good thing for me."

Ainz had given Gazef a cash item from YGGDRASIL, but he had a great many of them. Although he could not replenish his stock of them, giving one away was not a great loss.

In addition, Ainz was actually happy to have less of those items.

That was because those were consolation prizes from the 500 yen gacha draws, which reminded Ainz of how profligate he had been with his spending and his poor lifestyle then. In addition, while he had spent countless 500 yen coins on finally getting the ultra rare item that was the top prize, his former comrade Yamaiko had gotten it on the first try. The impact of that incident cast an indelible shadow in Ainz's heart.

He had wanted to throw those consolation prizes away, but when he thought of the 500 yen it had cost… he could not bear to wastefully dispose of it.

"Well, it doesn't matter who ends up with that item in the end, or if it ends up being used or not. It's no loss to me."

"...Would it not have been best to let me take care of things? There was no need to trouble Ainz-sama to personally aid those inferior lifeforms… surrounding them was hardly a difficult task, which is why I submit that Ainz-sama did not need to personally take the field."

"Is that so…"

Without a device to measure power levels, that was all Ainz could say in response.

In YGGDRASIL, one could determine the strength of an enemy by the color of their names. Beyond that, one could only rely on information from one's friends and walkthrough sites.

Ainz could not help but feel nostalgic.

If only I had learned some divination-type spells — Ainz thought, with a hint of regret. Of course, he did not know if those spells could be used here. However, if he could, then he would not have to be as nervous as he was now.

Still, there was no point worrying about what he did not have. Ainz decided to think of something else:

"...I know your strength, Albedo, and I trust you. However, I would like you to discard such shallow thinking and remember that an enemy who is stronger than myself could appear at any time. This is especially true given that we do not quite understand this world… so I hoped Gazef could do our work for us."

"I see… so you used him as a pawn to feel out the enemy's strength. It is quite fitting to use inferior lifeforms like humans in that way."

Although the closed helm revealed none of her emotions, her freshly-flowered joy was obvious in her voice.

Ainz had once been a human beng, and now he was undead. From just now, he had sensed that Albedo hated humans very much. However, it did not upset him or make him feel depressed. Rather, he felt that such thoughts were quite suitable for the inhuman Guardian Overseer of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

"...Indeed. However, that is not all. Since we saved him at the brink of death, he will be even more grateful to us. In addition, since the enemy was a special forces unit, the country's higher-ups will not investigate the matter too openly. That was why I stepped in."

"Ah… as expected of Ainz-sama... so that was why you took the commander and the others alive. Marvellously done!"

Ainz could not help but feel proud when he heard Albedo's praise. After all, he managed to put together a sensible, coherent plan in a short period of time; perhaps this was his leadership talent at work. Just then, Albedo's cheerful voice entered Ainz's self-satisfied ears:

"...Still, was it necessary to take the angels' swords with your precious body, Ainz-sama?"

"Is that how it looked to you? When we first came to Carne Village, we used the knights on the outskirts to verify that my High Tier Physical Nullification was still working normally."

"Indeed, you are correct. I verified it with my own eyes as well. However, I did not wish my eyes to helplessly watch the swords of those despicable angels piercing your body, Ainz-sama."

"I see. Though you were my shield, I did not take your feelings into consideration. You have my—"

"—And even if I knew you would emerge unscathed, which woman would want to see the man she loves being stabbed by swords?"

"...Ah, yes."

Ainz did not know how to answer, so he let it slide as he continued to the village. Albedo did not seem to want to press the matter and followed quietly.

Once they reached the village, the villagers, led by the Death Knight, came out to meet them.

They lavished praise and thanks onto them, and Ainz saw Gazef among the villagers.

"Oh, Warrior-Captain-dono, I'm glad you're all right. I should have gone to your side earlier, but the item I gave you took some time to work, which was why I was almost too late. My apologies."

"What are you saying? It is I who should thank you, Gown-dono. After all, you saved me… speaking of which, where did those fellows go?"

Since Gazef had changed his tone somewhat, Ainz decided to nonchalantly inspect him.

Gazef had taken off his armor and carried no weapons with him.

He was bruised all over and half his face was swollen up, like a strange-looking, misshapen ball. Yet, a fire burned within his eyes.

Ainz turned away, as though he had seen something brilliant. His eyes reflexively went to the ring Gazef wore on his left ring finger.

So he was married. It's probably good that his wife won't need to shed tears for him. As he thought about that, Ainz decided to carefully put on an act:

"Oh, I chased them off. I couldn't take care of all of them, as I thought."

That was a lie, of course. They had all been shipped back to the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. Gazef narrowed his eyes a little, but neither of them spoke. The air between them grew tense.

In the end, Gazef broke the silence:

"Truly amazing. I do not know how I can repay you for your help, Gown-dono. Please, look for me when you come to the Royal Capital. I will welcome you with open arms."

"Is that so… then, I will have to impose on you when the time comes."

"...Gown-dono, I do not know what plans you have, but would you be willing to travel with us? We will be staying in this village for a while."

"Is that so? Well, I was planning to move on, though I have not decided my destination yet."

"Still, it's already so late, travelling now would be…"

Gazef cut himself off halfway:

"Forgive me, there was no need to worry about a mighty being like yourself, Gown-dono. Then, please seek me out when you reach the capital. My doors will always be open to you. In addition, I am deeply grateful to you for your gift of a full set of equipment from the knights who attacked the village."

Ainz nodded, and decided that he had taken care of everything he needed to do in this village. There had been more things to do here than he had expected, and he had spent more time here than he had planned.

"Let's go home, Albedo," Ainz said in a voice low enough that only Albedo could here. She immediately turned around joyfully in response — although she was still wearing her full plate armor.