“Um, so this is how I view things. If we could pull it off with Nazarick, it makes sense people could pull it off elsewhere.”
Ainz wouldn’t be able to pilfer Nazarick’s secrets if he was working alone. Was it wrong to believe that other players’ homes would be just as difficult to infiltrate?
He didn’t think so.
If they could keep information from their foes, their foes could keep information from them. Only a fool would act without that assumption in place.
This was why Ainz had not dispatched spies to the Theocracy—a place where multiple clues hinted at a player’s presence. This country had existed for a long time. If a player lived there, then those years would give them a serious advantage.
As it was, they’d developed spells he didn’t know—like the one that killed you after you answered three questions.
“Naturally, there are times when we must take a risk despite the dangers. But that leaves the question—is that time now? Aura, Mare?”
““Yes,”” they chorused.
“The Great Tomb of Nazarick—we are strong. But we may not be unrivaled. Never underestimate your foes. Never neglect to gather information.”
Both agreed, and he nodded.
“Okay! In that case, let’s watch a while longer. As it stands, we can’t achieve our goal.”
They were here for a kill steal. Well, technically, they were here for something else.
A kill was considered stolen if you spotted someone else fighting a monster and you jumped in and slew that monster yourself, making off with all the experience. To do that here, they’d have to attack either the elves or the Theocracy and do significant damage.
But that was not what Ainz was after.
He was targeting the magic items in the elf castle.
Any half-decent royalty likely had a sizable collection of valuable magic items. And those could be powerful indeed. In this case, he really meant that they’d be swooping to grab the treasure while everyone else was busy fighting.
If the Theocracy had advanced this far, odds were they’d win. The elves’ magic items would fall into Theocracy hands if Ainz did nothing. The last thing he wanted to do was give a potential enemy any advantages. So before they got to any hoard of magical items, he planned to rob the elves first.
One other advantage of this strategy was that he would not be directly opposing the Theocracy. Certainly, if he was caught, they would vehemently reproach him for it. But since they weren’t the Theocracy’s possessions yet, he could make excuses.
So this was less a kill steal and more simple looting.
Ainz had done much the same thing several times in Yggdrasil. He could recall laughing at the sight of an attacking guild occupying the enemy base only to discover the treasury was already empty. That’s why the idea had come readily this time.
Just one problem.
He had no idea what sort of magic items the elf country or castle contained. He should not just assume they had some. They might not! In which case, he was taking a risk for nothing and possibly worsening relations with the Theocracy in the bargain. He would have preferred to gather information before acting.
Even if the elf king did have a collection of magic items, there was a solid chance they weren’t stuck in the treasury during what was essentially their last stand. It would make perfect sense to use them against the invading Theocracy forces. Or even sent off to some other place for safekeeping.
But they didn’t have much time to investigate.
“…Let’s watch a bit longer, then head into the palace. I don’t want them removing the magic items.”
“If they do, I can track ’em.”
“Yes, right. I’m sure you can…but no guarantee they don’t have Forestwalk or the like. Best if we get our hands on them before that happens. Hmm, we’ll have to locate them, too…so perhaps sooner is better.”
“Th-then…?”
“Yes, let’s go now.”
Ainz glanced at the invasion once more.
It had been a week now, so depending on discussions with the other villagers, the dark elves might already be here, fighting.
Part of him wanted to know if they were and where they were posted, but he had just regretted acting inappropriately for his role as ruler of Nazarick. He should focus purely on what they stood to gain from all this.
He turned from the palace to Mare.
“Mare, if the need arises, we might station you on the front line as our tank. Do you mind?”
Best to make sure.
“N-no, I can handle it. Like the village, it, um…the elf capital counts as nature, so there’s no issue. I’ll do my best!”
Neither Aura nor Mare was dressed in their usual equipment. The armor in particular was quite different. Aura was in archer gear, and Mare had switched to a defense set.
These outfits were not provided by Ainz but from the stash BubblingTeapot had left them. They weren’t quite as good as their typical equipment. But they’d been tailored specifically for the twins, so their overall abilities hadn’t taken a major hit.
Still, this was a stealth mission. It would probably be best if Ainz changed up his gear, wearing items called secret shoes like they both were and all three wearing masks. But he had done no such thing.
The main reason was that despite being the most recognizable of them, he’d decided to go with his usual equipment. This was because the two of them had changed their gear and were a bit weaker than usual. If Ainz also changed his and was similarly weakened, that would be too big a risk.
He thought for a long while and eventually settled on the super-reductive idea of just killing any and all witnesses. That eliminated the need for any disguises.
The twins’ armor choices were a lesser motivation.
For backup gear, they had decent stats for one reason—they used data crystals that raised the armor’s total parameters but eliminated gear slots at specific locations. In Mare’s case, he was unable to equip anything to his face, so he couldn’t wear a mask in this armor.
As for the armor itself…
……This is definitely another gender-swapped arrangement.
That was hardly the only eyebrow-raising element.
The only reasonable response was, What the hell kinda armor is that?
Especially Mare’s.
It put the dress in dress armor, and the very eye-catching, skin-flaunting design left his entire midriff exposed.
Yggdrasil armor derived their defensive ratings from three values: the quality of the metal used, the quantity of the metal used, and the data crystal. So it wasn’t like Mare’s torso was actually unprotected; the data crystal portion did provide some coverage there. Essentially a magical defense aura.
It was likely none of the regular soldiers fighting here could even scratch him. But back in Yggdrasil, these exposed points had been designed to make critical hits easier to land.
This was not exactly gear for a tank.
Tanks should be wearing bulky armor like Albedo’s.
BubblingTeapot’s racial weakness in Yggdrasil was an inability to equip armor, but she’d carried a shield in each hand and had a skill that hardened her ooze.
She was a tank herself, so what had she been thinking when she picked this gear for Mare?
She most likely hadn’t been thinking at all.
On second thought, Ainz realized she’d probably put a lot of thought into it. Just…based on her personal predilections rather than combat potential.
Like brother, like sister was what Ainz instinctively thought, but he fought off that impulse, rising to their defense. Mare had originally just been an NPC and was not capable of changing his own gear.
In other words, what he had on now had simply been an alternate skin, just some variety in his wardrobe. Most players likely wouldn’t have bothered making actually viable equipment. That BubblingTeapot had was likely to her credit. This was purely a fashion statement, but the stats were still solid.
Ainz could just see her beautiful smile—not that she had a face—and her brother’s look of horror.