“Nothing seemed noteworthy. Your proposal was ideal, Lord Ainz.”
“Y-yes. When Aura told me about it, I thought the same thing.”
Mm? Have they not realized the children they were playing with might be about to watch their parents head off to die in battle? Or have they noticed and aren’t in a position to argue with my idea? He studied their expressions. I’m not sure. Perhaps I should double-check?
If it was the former, this might make them sad and cause fractures in their newfound friendships. It never hurt to ask.
“They might end up sending the parents of the children you played with.”
Both looked confused. The twins glanced at each other and then back at him. Aura spoke for them both.
“That’s true. What of it?” She looked genuinely baffled. “Is that a problem?”
“…No, not at all.”
Ainz didn’t ask why they’d reacted that way.
He just assumed they hadn’t made friends.
Or like how my friends wound up prioritizing real life, these two always place Nazarick first. In which case, what should I do?
He hesitated, but then Aura put a hand to her ear, listening to something distant. Were they saying something important? Ainz and Mare stayed quiet so as not to interfere.
“Lord Ainz, they’re discussing you.”
“Can you hear what they’re saying?”
“Yes, more or less this—” Aura changed up her voice, doing a (bad) imitation. “You ask why we must keep it secret that this proposal came from him? He hails from a land near this human country. If word reaches the humans that he proposed this, might that not cause problems for him in the future? Do you think that might happen, elders? We can’t be sure. But it’s our duty to take precautions against the possibility Other villagers are agreeing with that. They intend to keep the secret.”
“I see. Thank you, Aura.”
“Er, um…this way nobody will find out you manipulated them?”
He hadn’t manipulated anything, so why did Mare think this? He considered asking. He’d merely offered a suggestion. But there were more pressing matters at hand.
“As long as mind-control spells exist, death is the only way to completely contain information.”
“Should we?” Aura asked.
“No, we shouldn’t. There’s no benefit to doing so. Or let me put it this way—there’s no downside to the Theocracy learning about what happened here. They’re already a potential enemy. We have no plans to ally ourselves with them, and supporting the enemy of your enemy is only natural. In fact, that’s the upside—my name and face are lies. They might end up fruitlessly searching for a man who doesn’t exist.”
Ainz paused to gauge their reactions.
“…Still…it’s a shame. If the Theocracy had attacked this village directly, we could have profited further.”
The twins looked at each other, lost. Mare asked this time.
“Er, um, Lord Ainz? Why didn’t we make them attack this village? Like, um, killing Theocracy soldiers disguised as a dark elf and then leading them here.”
Good question.
That would have been far more beneficial to Nazarick. Ainz was well aware. Conceptually, it was similar to baiting monsters into other parties. The reason he hadn’t…
I didn’t want to.
Ainz had enjoyed his time in this village. And he was reluctant to set the place aflame himself.
This sentiment was only natural. No one wanted to do unpleasant things. But that was a luxury not afforded to the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. As their leader, he must always prioritize his organization’s profits. But this time, he’d gone with his gut.
Perhaps that amounted to betraying Nazarick.
I talked about them making friends, but I had all the fun.
He would have to ensure this did not happen again. He would make Nazarick’s gains his top priority and act accordingly.
That was his duty as the sole remaining guild member, the master of the NPCs.
Swearing a solemn vow inside, he waffled on how to answer Mare. Perhaps it was better to just admit he’d made the wrong call.
“…Yes, I considered it. Perhaps for Nazarick, we should have. Yet, my own weakness stayed my hand. Unbefitting of Nazarick’s ruler. It shall not happen again.”
They both looked shocked.
“Er, um…I don’t think that’s true!”
“Yeah, everything you do is right, Lord Ainz!”
As they consoled him, they reached the home they’d been borrowing for a week. They merely had to gather up the things left here and they’d be ready to pull out.
They hadn’t brought all that much, so this took no time. Baggage in hand, they stepped outside. Aura looked up. Ainz followed her gaze and spotted the apothecary master running their way.
His weeklong master soon reached them.
He was slightly out of breath. Given his apothecary skills, he was probably high level, but his physique was not impressive. It was hard to judge what classes he’d taken, but his stats were likely not much different from an arcane caster’s.
This did not seem to be a parting gift. He’d come directly here from the meeting. A last good-bye?
“What’s wrong? Forgive me for not directly saying farewell—”
“No, I figured I should do my provisional student one last favor. Several of the women are intent on accompanying you back to the city. I saw them racing off to their homes. If you don’t plan on entertaining their companionship, you’d better leave quickly.”
“Huh?”
“Huh, my ass. They’re likely not just trying to hang off your coattails, but you’ll be the only person they can rely on in a whole new town, and they know that might help seal the deal. And in our culture, many wives or many husbands are perfectly acceptable as long as you can provide for them. And you’re from a clan that split off from ours; it wouldn’t hurt to bridge that gap. If the other villages knew… Well, I’m on your side, but you get my drift.”
This was a disaster.
If they laid so much as a single hand on him, his disguise would be ruined. And he couldn’t be sure these ladies wouldn’t try.
The elves saw undead as mortal enemies, and dark elves likely shared that attitude.
Ainz could not reveal himself until he had fully placed the dark elves under his wing. And since he had plans to do so eventually, he couldn’t exactly harm the women intent on leading the way.
“Uh, did you seriously not see this coming? Not even a bit? Come on, man! You’re supposed to be smarter than that! I thought you realized that this could happen, but just didn’t think they’d be this quick to act. Get a grip. Be grateful I warned you.”
Ainz had only one option.
“……Come on, kids! Move out! Bye, Provisional Master!”
Time to run for the hills.
Without a further word, the three of them raced off.
They were soon in the woods and kept on going. They ran until they were sure they’d not be followed and at last drew to a halt.
“…We’re good. No one’s coming after us. Are we going back to Nazarick now?” Aura asked.
Relieved by this news, Ainz grinned. Well, his face didn’t actually move. He hadn’t even bothered manipulating the illusion.
“We will not. Going back to Nazarick and procuring troops would have its advantages, but I don’t want to waste the opportunity. The three of us are going to pull off a trick Squishy Moe once taught me.”
“A-and what is that?!”
Mare’s eyes were sparkling. Ainz was quite pleased with himself. If their reactions had been dismissive or uninterested, his emotions probably would’ve triggered the automatic calming.
Proudly, he answered.
✦ ✦ ✦
“A variation on a kill steal.”