If Ainz himself didn’t know what his words meant, there was no way anyone else could, either. But the elders all nodded in return.
As if they followed every word.
Satoru Suzuki had been in the workforce long enough to know exactly what that meant. He’d seen this happen before. Or more accurately, he’d been the one nodding.
That’s what this is. It’s how a boss acts when a subordinate is rattling off a bunch of jargon or abbreviations they’ve never heard before.
With the conclusion of Ainz’s greeting, there was a brief silence.
“……Glad to hear it,” an elder said. “We shall take our leave of you now. Lengthy salutations after a long journey are like overgrown vines.”
“Vines?” Ainz asked without thinking.
Perhaps dark elves simply said that when they didn’t want to linger. In that case, he should have heard it as words that conveyed that intent instead of a literal translation.
They must have heard his question, but the elders turned and walked off anyway.
……Huh.
That wasn’t how he’d planned it.
He looked down at the gifts he’d brought.
He’d expected the elders to insist they be in charge of passing them out.
Um? They came just to say hello? Why? Did I mess up?
The meeting ended so quickly, it made him nervous. It was like being asked if he had any questions two minutes into a job interview.
If they’d grown visibly irked by his performance and made it clear he’d screwed up, he would’ve at least learned something, even if it ultimately meant Ainz would have to try a different village.
But they’d betrayed no response at all, so he had no clue if this was good or bad. This couldn’t even be called a learning experience.
A cursory glance at the onlookers confirmed that no one seemed particularly disgruntled or hostile. They all seemed pretty baffled, too.
I seriously don’t get it. But no use pondering. Maybe I’d be better off using Perfect Unknowable to sneak into a meeting of the elders and see what they made of me.
Ainz glanced once more at their retreating backs, then turned to the villagers nearby.
“Apparently I’ve been welcomed. I did have more to discuss with the elders, but…are they busy?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah…sure.”
The villagers were being a bit evasive. To Ainz, it looked like they were racking their brains for an explanation.
“The elders gather at a specific tree. I’ll show you the way later,” the hunt master said. He certainly possessed a certain dignity. Ainz got why Aura had mistaken him for someone much older.
“Sounds good. I’ll have to stop by when they have more time. For now, I’ll join the children. I’d appreciate a guide…”
“Allow me!”
A loud voice suddenly cut in. The unexpected shout almost made the heart Ainz didn’t have leap from his chest.
It was Blueberry.
He must have quietly moved off the bridge while the hunt master was talking.
“Sudden yelling is bad for the heart. I don’t recommend it.”
“S-sorry about that. I’ll make every effort to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
Blueberry acted like he’d done something awful, so Ainz couldn’t exactly press the issue. Partly he felt it was best to be magnanimous and partly he wanted this dude to settle down before he did anything else wild.
“I’m pleased you understand. Well, then, Blueberry, if you could show me the way?”
“It would be an honor. While you’re in this village, if you need anything—anything at all—just come to me, and I’ll help in any way I can.”
“Good to know,” Ainz said.
He followed Blueberry’s lead, but he wasn’t quite done yet. The most important thing was still to come.
On the way, he paused, his eyes on the children. He smiled at them—though it was hidden beneath the cloth.
There were six kids here, four boys and two girls.
Two of them were smaller than Aura and Mare. One boy and one girl. One boy looked about their age, the other three a little older.
“Hey there,” Ainz said, moving over to them.
The adults around didn’t brace themselves or try to stop him. Likely because Ainz had made a good impression so far.
“I hope you have fun with Aura and Mare.”
The kids all looked surprised. He couldn’t let this end here. He needed one more push. Quite frankly, this exact moment was the whole reason he had embarked on this trip.
“I’d like you to include them in your games. I’m sure they’d easily win anything athletic, so I’m hoping you can find something else to play, something we don’t have in the city.”
Mare had helped him rehearse for his planned exchange with the elders. However, Ainz had been on his own while getting ready for his conversation with the children. That practice had been entirely inside his mind. He was sure it must’ve had all kinds of problems.
Screwing up while the grown-ups were watching could certainly be counterproductive. That was also the last thing Ainz wanted to do in front of the kids. But he had his doubts they’d let an outsider talk to their kids without anyone watching. He had to make the most of this opportunity.
He pulled a leather pouch out of his pocket.
From it, he produced an orange lump, the size of the tip of his thumb.
“Hold out your hand,” he said, addressing the boy in front. Ainz reckoned he was the leader of the village children.
Careful not to make direct contact with the boy’s hands, he dropped the lump into the waiting palm.
This wasn’t like a cashier returning change with zero physical contact.
Ainz would’ve chosen to pass out things normally if he could, but his hands were illusions. If the kid actually touched them, he might notice something was wrong.
That had to be avoided at all costs.
Hmm, what if I cut off a criminal’s hand and used that flesh and skin to make a glove? I bet someone in Nazarick is good at that sort of thing. But they might object to it being human… Neuronist would probably be into it, though.
“Errrr…what is this?”
This kid was staring at the lump in his hand, not sure what to make of it.
“It’s candy,” Ainz said, smiling. “Sweeter than fruit. Don’t bite it, though. Just let it sit in your mouth. Though…I suppose really good fruit might be sweeter…”
He wasn’t too sure about that part.
In this body, Ainz couldn’t confirm the flavor himself. At best, he could tell how it felt against his teeth. He wasn’t sure how good these sweets really were. He did have candy before in the world he came from. That said, he’d never tried Yggdrasil candy, so even if those became real, he couldn’t be sure they actually tasted good.
And in this world, fruit with magic properties existed, so Ainz had to entertain the possibility that there could be fruit sweeter than the candy he’d brought with him. There was even a chance that the dark elves ate that fruit all the time.
Still, he was fairly confident this candy would outdo ordinary fruit.
This world didn’t have much in the way of selective breeding, so fruits were not always diner friendly. There were some in Nazarick who were actively researching this field—the sous-chef, for example.
The boy hesitated but put the candy in his mouth.
The kids around him—as well as Ainz and the grown-ups watching—all waited for this poor brave soul’s reaction.
“Whoa! Wow! It’s so sweet—how?!”
The boy’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. Ainz grinned. The kid spit out the wet candy and looked it over, stunned.
I’m glad he liked it. And no allergic reaction, either… The odds of that were low, but still.
“I have some for all of you.”
Ainz proceeded to dole out candy to the kids.
Some of the adults looked like they wanted to try, but he ignored them. This bribe was meant for the kids, and there was no use giving it to anyone older. It had meaning only when offered up seconds after asking them to play with Aura and Mare.
And once he’d finished passing the candy out, he pressed that point home, keeping his voice nice and friendly so it wouldn’t sound like a threat.
“Have fun with the twins!”
Ainz walked away, confident he had done his bit. He was sure nobody would stop him.
Yeehaw!
A triumphant cry from the heart.
This presentation had been a smashing success. No—he let his smile fade. Not that he’d actually been smiling in the first place.
He’d only know if this was a success when those children came to invite Aura and Mare. Still—
I’ve done everything I can. But why didn’t Blueberry say anything? I gave his kid some candy. Wouldn’t any normal parent thank me? Or is Blueberry’s kid not part of that group? Are there more kids somewhere? Hngg, guess I’ve gotta keep my wits about me.