“Um, what if they were planning for a siege and thinking about growing vegetables in here?” Mare suggested.
“Oh!” Aura said, nodding. Ainz did the same.
There might not be sunlight, but with druids around, they could easily make fields. The light above might work like sunlight and allow crops to grow.
Aura had dug up the very edge, so perhaps toward the center, it was deep enough for crops to take root.
If we had a race that takes debuffs from sunlight, like Shalltear, we might learn more. Or if it’s a magic item, I could use Appraise Any Magic Item.
If they checked the treasury and found nothing worthwhile, perhaps it would be worth seeing if they could bring those home.
His mind made up, he began following them across the floor. The twins both had skills that prevented them from making tracks, and Ainz was using Perfect Unknowable and Fly, so he had no tracks to leave.
As they reached the center—
“Hmm, I sensed something off and came to see what was wrong, only to find that we have some dark elves. Twin children?”
A voice called out from nowhere.
They spun around and found an elf standing a good ten yards off.
He possessed a cold sort of beauty, with eyes of different colors. Clearly not a servant.
His attitude alone made it clear he gave the orders. He was just that arrogant.
“How?” Ainz whispered, too quietly for anyone to hear.
No such man had been here. He was sure of it. Ainz or Mare might have missed him, but Aura definitely wouldn’t.
He had not been invisible. Ainz would’ve see through that.
Perhaps he’d used some sort of concealment skill to evade Ainz’s detection and also invisibility powerful enough to escape Aura’s, or else…
A teleport? Damn, I should have had Delay Teleportation active.
Aura smoothly moved to stand between Ainz and the elf. Mare’s knuckles were tightening on his staff.
They were clearly bracing for a fight, but the elf did no such thing. To Ainz, he looked entirely exposed, but perhaps that was merely a ruse to bait them in. If he’d had a warrior’s talents, the difference might have been apparent.
Ainz moved away from the twins, waving at the man.
The man’s gaze never budged.
He had not seen through Perfect Unknowable.
Ainz glanced at the twins.
Before they’d started this mission, he’d told them to gather information when encountering anything unknown—unless they detected clear hostile action.
Aura unobtrusively reached for her necklace, gripping it. Likely intent on discussing how to approach this with Mare.
Ainz understood the intent, but it was careless.
If an intruder made any suspicious moves, Ainz would have attacked on sight. Touching your equipment was tantamount to pulling a gun.
Expecting the mystery elf to attack, Ainz got ready to use an appropriate spell…and then craned his head to the side out of confusion.
The elf man hadn’t budged.
He’d clearly seen how Aura had moved but didn’t seem bothered by it.
Was that extreme confidence in his own abilities? Had he just not understood the implications of her action? Or was he also hesitant to attack without learning something first?
“Mm? What’s this? Your eyes… I have no memory of lying with a dark elf. Or did I…? Mm, mm, mm. Let’s just make sure.”
The man’s…intimidation factor, perhaps, seemed to rise. It felt like his entire body grew larger.
Aura clicked her tongue.
“Body of Effulgent Beryl.”
“My, my, my. You can stand up to this? That might be a first!”
“Um, why are you acting all hostile? I will kill you.”
“Indomitability.”
“Ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
The man threw back his head, laughing like he’d never heard anything so funny. Aura’s frown grew dangerously pointy. Her fist clenched very tight, but as Ainz watched, she slowly unclenched.
“Greater Resistance.”
“Splendid! No, no, that explains it. It never occurred to me! Grandchildren! Of course. Even if the children are worthless, the blood might awaken in the next generation! How foolish of me to have let that possibility go unnoticed.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Greater Full Potential.”
“Yes, indeed. I was barking up the wrong tree! Isn’t that right, grandchildren?”
Grandchildren? What the hell? Why would he think that?
“Huh? Are you Lady Teapot’s?”
Ainz felt a wave of panic. It suddenly occurred to him that BubblingTeapot might have been flung here on her own and left this man behind. But—
But there’s no trace of slime here. Is he a shapeshifter, like Solution?
“Teapot? What are you on about?”
No…? Then…is Akemi…?!
Akemi was Yamaiko’s little sister. She’d made an elf character but hadn’t gotten that into Yggdrasil, so he’d spent little time with her.
“Mm…you’re a purebred elf, right?”
“…Whoops. Caster’s Blessing.”
“What an odd ques— Do you not know who I am? That can’t be possible.”
“We do!”
“Y-yes, of course.”
“You’re both terrible actors!” Ainz wailed. They’d sounded like they were reading off cue cards. In fact, they hadn’t fooled this elf a bit, and his jaw dropped.
“Y-you really don’t? Impossible! Honestly, I heard the dark elves lived at the very outskirts, but you are remarkably uncivilized.”
He glared at them.
“Since you’re my grandchildren, I’ll forgive it once, but ignorance is a sin. I shall ensure you’re properly educated.”
“Educated, huh? But who are you actually? Just to be clear, I’m assuming you’re the elf king?”
Aura suggested as much because the elf king was the only person who seemed likely to have any real strength.
“Life Essence. Oh!”
Ainz let out a yelp of surprise. The man had quite a substantial health pool. Easily higher than the Pleiades. In Yggdrasil terms, he’d be at least level 70. Definitely not a foe to be taken lightly.
“Sigh… How sad. Did your parents teach you nothing? What could possibly be more important than knowing the name of the king, the pinnacle of the elf species? Decem Hougan!”
“Shit.”
Ainz swore under his breath.
He’d seen it coming, but the confirmation was worth a little swearing.
So much for all that sneaking around. It felt like a huge wasted effort.
A major threat—probably—who should have been out there diminishing their future enemy’s forces, but instead? He was going to have to eliminate the man himself.
It was hard to find any excuse to let the king live now. If he’d been weaker, perhaps overpowering him and erasing his memories would have been an option, but Life Essence suggested this man’s combat abilities—or at least his HP—were astonishingly high by the standards of this world.
Naturally, if it came to a fight, the Nazarick denizens would certainly win. The three of them were all level 100. But capturing him? That was another story. They couldn’t afford to let their guards down.
Like his sudden appearance, this elf—Decem—likely had some previously unknown abilities. Without adequate information, trying to capture instead of kill…was far too risky.
But at least Akemi’s name hadn’t come out, which meant there was a solid 90-percent chance she wasn’t involved. If she was, her name would have been in there somewhere.
If this elf was the son of Yamaiko’s sister, killing him would have been a last resort.
“You’re the king? Then why are you here? The humans are attacking! Go out and fight—protect your citizens.”
“Mana Essence… Interesting.”
Decem’s magic pool was also huge for someone from here. Almost as large as Shalltear’s.
Given elven culture, if Decem had sizable pools of HP and MP, then he was most likely a druid, like Mare. And probably a back-line type.
“Why should I do that? You have some odd ideas about kings. A king is an exalted being who the populace must pay tribute to. Not someone who cleans up after them. Superior beings show those beneath them mercy. And mercy is something you beg for, not demand. Even if it is not granted, lesser beings must come to terms with that fact.”
The hell was he on about?
Ainz couldn’t believe his ears. If he meant anything he was saying, this king had bats in the belfry. He felt sorry for the elves suffering under his rule.
“So you’re not gonna help them? But, uh, I guess some of that makes sense.”
“Y-yes, I can’t say it’s entirely wrong…”
Hah?!
Ainz swung around, gaping at the twins. This didn’t look like a scheme to curry favor.
What part of that crap had made any sense? How could it not be entirely wrong?
O-or am I the one who’s wrong? Maybe that’s how kings are supposed to think? Jircniv was a bit like that, I suppose… What about the kuagoa king? He was super servile.
“Hmm. You are my grandchildren. You may be unlearned, but you have the minds to comprehend truth.”
“Ugh, I’m wasting time. I should use…Magic Ward: Fire.”
“But you’ve made one fatal error,” Aura said. “Only the Supreme Beings are worthy of tribute, not some lowly elf like you. But I guess if you wanna make the elves around here serve you, knock yourself out.”
No, no…that’s so many kinds of wrong. But nothing I say can change it. I guess I get how Aura and Mare feel. If we could make friends outside of Nazarick…I suppose I’ll have to place my hopes on Shizu and the girl with the scary eyes. My attempts didn’t work out this time…or, given how she acted when we left, Shizu wasn’t… Perhaps Sebas…? Argh, I’m getting distracted again!
“What? The Supreme Beings? Is that what the dark elves believe?” Decem considered it, then shook his head. “So be it. I can always hear more later.”
“Do you have that kind of time? Like I said, the humans are busy sacking your country.”
He’d wasted a moment, so Ainz hastily cast his next spell.
“False Data: Life.”
Then a vibration shook the room from below. The Theocracy must have finally broken out the siege weapons.
Decem and the twins both glanced at the floor, falling silent. Ainz kept casting.