Overlord (Light Novel)

“We don’t mind, but—alone?”

“For now.”

“For now?”

“Yes. I am good at moving through the forest so the others asked me to go ahead. Actually, according to our plan, they should probably reach here by...three days at the latest, I think. My brother and uncle should be joining us by that time.”

Of course, this uncle she spoke of was none other than their master, Ainz Ooal Gown.

“Uncle?”

“Hn. Actually, because our parents disappeared—” Aura continued while making a silent apology to Bukubukuchagama, “—uncle raised us”.

It was easier to tell a white lie but it could become troublesome later if they were found out, so she tried to keep it as close to the truth as possible.

“I see... Sorry for making you remember such a topic. So you came here alone—seeing that you are strong enough to fight back an Ankyloursus, a Lord at that, I can understand”

Aura was surprised as she expected more words of consolation.

Aura thought over it. This was the Great Sea of Trees after all, a place filled with danger. As there was no lack of children who had lost their parents, her story was probably not sad enough to warrant more consolation.

“Then, we don’t mind if you are planning to stay. We can lend you an Elf Tree if you want. So, what do you think?”

“Hn. Please do so”

“Understood. Someone—Apple. Lead Fiora-dono to a vacant Elf Tree. Can you do that?”

It was the Master of the Hunt who answered to that name.

“Of course. Leave it to me. I will lead her to the best Elf Tree in the village”

“Also, since uncle-dono and brother-dono will be joining us in three days, you won’t mind if we held a shindig for you all together then, right?”

“Of course. I will be in your care for a while then.”

“Now that’s done, Fiora-dono. Won’t you tell us the tales of your journey later? And we will also be happy if you would tell us about your country where there are no Dark Elves. We know absolutely nothing about the outside of the forest. Of course, we won’t force you if there are painful memories.”

Well then, what should she do?

Aura started thinking.

There were no benefits to revealing her true identity like an idiot. It could have helped with getting people’s attention, but it had no meaning now as she had already demonstrated her strength. That said, just like how giving out information thoughtlessly was bad, appearing completely reticent would not be good either. In that case, her only options were—to lie, to dole out the truth little by little, or mix the truth and lie in proportion...

I will have to discuss this with Ainz-sama and Mare to not create contradictions when they join us later, but it seems like I don’t have the choice of staying silent right now. If I told them to ask Ainz-sama, who will be coming later, they would be suspicious about my reluctance to talk...

She couldn’t let them have any suspicions in the present situation.

Until she could get a read on their master’s final goal, she should continue to work towards departing this place on friendly terms.

Hnnn. There’s no [Message] yet so Ainz sama is probably telling me to think of the answer by myself, but what kind of answer would Ainz-sama like?

“Fiora-dono, is something the matter?”

It seemed like she was silent for too long. Aura returned a smile.

“Aah, I was wondering if you will believe what I am going to tell you. Well, it’s probably fine to talk a bit about my home and travels. Like about the Trail of the Fey.”

“The Trail of the Fey? Isn’t that supposed to be just a legend?”

Someone among the dark elves surrounding them asked.

“...Things like the Moon’s Road and the Trail of the Fey do exist” Although, they’re inside Nazarick’s sixth floor, Aura added internally. “But I can’t talk in detail about these things with people who are not chosen by the Fey”

“Fufu. Sorry then. Fio...no, is it fine to call you Aura-dono?”

The female elder’s eyes were burning with passion. The answer was already decided. Although Aura didn’t really want to, she couldn’t refuse her considering her master’s orders.

“I don’t mind at all”

“Then, Aura-dono. I have been thinking about it since a while ago, but it’s a nice name”

“Thanks”

Aura replied with a pure smile. She was praising the name given to her by a Supreme Being. There’s no way Aura would refuse such praise. However, as she understood it was just them being courteous, she didn’t try to talk more about that point.

The female elder looked like she was satisfied with her response. She continued to talk in a good mood.

“So Aura-dono is also a Dark Elf chosen by the Fey. That’s splendid...Most of the people in this village are not chosen. That’s why they don’t know how we—the Dark Elves who lived in the North traveled to this place”

...Dark elves came here using the Trail of the Fey? Does it have an ability like that?

The Trail of the Fey inside Nazarick couldn’t teleport people over that big of a distance. They were either mistaking it for something else or maybe there was an entirely different Trail of the Fey.

Aura managed to draw out some intel, but she felt like she may have misstepped a little. On second thought, she denied that mentally. She would skillfully draw the intel out. And—

I will make Ainz-sama praise me!

Aura pumped her fist, filling her heart with resolve.

♦ ♦ ♦

Aura headed to her lodging, led by the Master of the Hunt.

Ainz, who had been following her this entire time using [Perfect Unknowable], let out a sigh in relief.

A part of the relief was from the fact that no one strong enough to rival him had appeared and the other part was from how well Aura’s first contact went.

That said, he couldn’t be sure they weren’t just putting up a friendly act. People who could be so nonchalant about the fact that a child just traveled from such a far distance alone should have something wrong with their heads. They would obviously hide their feelings if they didn’t really welcome her.

Maybe he was overthinking it, but he wanted to make sure that they were not just acting. It would be simple if he could just kidnap someone like the elf from before and cast mind control magic on them, like [Charm]. But, dealing with the aftereffects would be bothersome if he had to use [Control Amnesia]. Everything would be easier if he could just kill them though.

First, he should investigate the village’s present mood.

A completely novel topic of conversation known as “Aura” had appeared in this village that didn’t seem to have changed much for a long time. There was no doubt that the villagers were raring to talk about her with others.

Ainz wondered how honest the villagers were going to be when Aura wasn’t around.

With Ainz using [Perfect Unknowable], this was their best chance to gather raw intel, free from any lies.

The three elders returned to their tree and the gathered elves dispersed gradually. The issue was which dark elf should he follow and eavesdrop on. He already noticed a few dark elf children about Aura’s age—a guess based on their height—during the gathering.

Frankly speaking, he wanted to go after the children and hear their opinion on Aura.

But—he heard a voice saying “that girl” from the tree he was close to just a moment ago.

Shit! I should have been listening in on the elder’s conversation!

He should snoop on the elders, who were more likely to talk about the most important things (important, but not for the matter of the twins making friends).

Ainz used [Fly] to smoothly float to the entrance of the tree the elders entered.

He couldn’t find the elders when he peeked inside. The voices were coming from the top of the stairs that extended up from this room. He could hear them from here, but just to be sure, Ainz entered the tree and climbed the stairs with [Fly].

“Now then, how much of what that girl said do you think is real? She did imply that she traveled using the power of the Trail of the Fey after all”

The oldest of the elders was talking in a slightly different manner from before, but that was to be expected. Even Ainz would change his manner of speech depending on who he was talking with. Rather, the people he was more scared of were those who didn’t act like that.

So this was how the elder talked with his friends.

“I don’t think all of that was a lie. Wouldn’t it be difficult for a little kid to travel such a distance without using the Trail of the Fey?”

“You can’t be sure about that. She is strong enough to repel that ‘Ursus Lord you know?”

“Ara, isn’t that the strength of that weapon? You saw it right? That dazzling bow! That’s absolutely something precious! Maybe it’s something the Fey bestowed upon her”

The bow Aura used belonged to Ainz and was not considered strong in YGGDRASIL, but it was probably top-class in terms of gaudiness.

Maybe I should advertise Runecraft™ here too...

While Ainz was thinking, the elders continued on with their conversation.

“I wonder how long that child is going to stay here. I want her to stay here forever if possible”

“No, that’s going to be difficult. It’s more likely that she will immediately set out again after joining up with the uncle-dono and brother-dono later. Ours is not the only Dark Elf village. Maybe they will visit the other villages to establish friendly contacts. I don’t know why that child came here to meet us—her kin, but there’s no reason for her to stick to our village”

“That’s right. We should ask her in detail about why she came to meet us—the Dark Elves. That’s why we should make the welcoming party grand.”

“Aah, you’re right. We have to give them such a grand welcome that they will still think that this village is the best even after visiting the other villages. We should start preparing the foodstuffs in the next three days”

“Won’t the younglings dislike it?”

“No way they will. We are welcoming the family of the kid who saved the village you know? Even they should understand that they have to cooperate on this”

“You’re right...And we can probably use the welcome party to ask uncle-dono about the Trail of the Fey. He would probably talk a bit if he felt welcomed by us.”

“Yes. But I still hope she stays in this village.”

“...why are you so fixated on that idea? Is the fact that she may have been chosen by the Fey so appealing to you?”

“Yes. We—no, the people in the villages around us have already lost most of their Fey Blessing. If that child stays here...”

“You are not thinking about lording over the other villages with that, right? I will oppose everything you do if you are planning on that, you know?”

“I am not planning on anything that warrants your opposition. It’s just, if we can learn how she received the Fey Blessing, maybe we can get ours back as well”

Ainz felt like the Fey they were talking about were not racial beings, but something closer to spirits. YGGDRASIL also had the concept of the Fey Blessing. Maybe the native Fey of this world had such abilities naturally.

It’s also possible that they were building into classes similar to Seelie court and Unseelie court. Those classes should have a special teleportation ability similar to the Trail of the Fey if he remembered correctly.

I should probably make sure of this thing.

He should also share this information with Aura.

The elders continued to talk while Ainz was thinking about this and that.

“If we can do that, the younglings will also change their opinion.”

“Anyway, don’t force the guests to talk about it. Not only that. Be respectful to uncle-dono and brother-dono who will be visiting us soon. I really don’t want bad rumors about this village and the Dark Elves to spread around when they return back to their country”

Ainz’s eyes—or the holes in the skull that pass for eyes–turned dimmer.

fumu... Is this village the wrong choice? I really don’t want to let Aura be used as a tool in internal squabbles.

He would never let the children entrusted to him by Bukubukuchagama be hurt. Ainz felt irritated with the female elder.

...I should tell her not to get close to the adults...I just have to hope at least the children here are pure.

After hearing they had changed the topic to the welcome party and confirming that they were not suspicious of Aura, Ainz cast [Greater Teleportation]. After reaching his destination, he dispelled [Perfect Unknowable].

A-Ainz-sama. Welcome back.

Mare, who was waiting outside the Green Secret House, gave a little bow.

“I am back, Mare. Looks like everything’s fine here.” An Eyeball Corpse he summoned using [Create Undead] was floating beside Mare. Ainz looked around for the huge thing that should be there, but couldn’t find it.

“I see. So Fenrir isn’t back yet”

“Y-yes. Not yet”

Fenrir was entrusted with bringing back the Ankyloursus that ran away from the Dark Elf village.

If the dark elves had brains, they would try to follow the trail of the Ankyloursus to deal with it while they had the trump card known as Aura.

So, they would have to fool the hunting party’s eyes first if they wanted to bring the Ankyloursus back to this temporary base.

However, the Ankyloursus was large and did not have any stealth skills, so it would be difficult for it to erase its trail by itself. Someone else would have to do it instead.

They found Fenrir to be suitable for the task. Fenrir had an ability called [Forestwalker]. The plan was to make Fenrir carry Ankyloursus here on its back so that there would be no traces left behind.

Of course, Ainz could go there and teleport back with it using [Greater Teleportation] or he could carry it with [Fly] like Narberal did, but Ainz had to go along with Aura to the village to gather intel. In case there was an emergency, he would also be responsible for exterminating the enemy or helping Aura escape, so they entrusted that task to Fenrir.

Looks like my prediction is off...I thought they would immediately send out a team with Aura to finish off the Ankyloursus...Maybe I should just fetch it myself if there’s still time.

“I see. Then let’s wait here for a bit. Anyhow, you are probably worried so I will tell you...well, you probably guessed it already seeing me returning alone. You didn’t receive any messages from Aura right?” Mare nodded at Ainz’s question. “Well, that’s how it is. Seems like Aura infiltrated the Dark Elf village without any issues.”

The twins had an item that enabled two-way communication between them. If Mare didn’t receive any distress signals from Aura, it meant that she was safe. Still, it was possible that Aura wasn’t able to respond to an emergency swiftly and ended up being incapacitated. They couldn’t be careless.

There was also the fact that Aura changed to far weaker gear in order to blend in better with the villagers. It was far easier than usual to kill Aura in her current state.

The fact that Ainz didn’t appoint something to guard her in secret while he knew this was because they as a group had decided not to.

After a discussion with Aura and Mare, they ended up choosing not to deploy any guards around Aura. This made Ainz worry so much that he would probably go unconscious from stomach pain if he had a stomach.

Ainz continued to regret it even now, wondering if they made the wrong decision. Perhaps there was a better idea out there. For example, Ainz could create incorporeal monsters using [Create Undead], maybe they should have placed things like that somewhere around her.

There were two advantages to not having anything guard Aura. One was that they would be free to summon monsters that were more suitable to deal with the emergency situation that might arise. The other one was—

—It will be easier for Aura to forget about Nazarick for a bit if there’s no one from Nazarick around, especially guards, who in a sense are her subordinates. She can interact with the Dark Elves in a more relaxed manner without putting on a bold front then.

—Maybe Aura could make friends then.

But, at present, a critical problem had risen in Aura’s path to making friends.

That is, Aura ended up becoming something like a savior of the village.

He didn’t think that The Red Oni Who Cried plan was wrong. He just didn’t have any other method that could make Aura infiltrate the village faster and better. Still, the present situation had gone a bit too far.

Ainz couldn’t have become friends with the members of “Ainz Ooal Gown” in the real world where they were not equal. Similarly, Aura, as the savior of the village, could not interact with the ordinary village children on their level.

Ainz had to bring her down to the same level as them.

Yes, that’s right.

Ainz would have to pull Aura down into becoming just a normal child.

Ainz looked at Mare.

It was probably unfair that Aura was given a chance to make friends while Mare wasn’t. He wanted to give a chance to Mare as well.

Aura and Mare were children entrusted to him by Bukubukuchagama. He should then treat them equally.

Of course, he should take their personal characteristics into account while nurturing them. That said, they should both be given equal opportunities.

First of all, it’s absurd for someone like me who has no experience in raising children to think about things like these. Who should I go asking for advice on being a father... Ainz suddenly thought of Nfirea. Not a bad choice. He is a good father. But—

Yes. There’s one problem with Mare.

And it’s not his timid personality.

It’s about Bukubukuchagama-san making Mare crossdress to match her tastes.

He already noticed that most of the Dark Elves in the village wore long trousers. There were also some who wore long skirts, but all of them were women. Furthermore, he felt like they were still wearing long trousers underneath those skirts. He couldn’t be sure as he didn’t go around peeking under the skirts after all. Maybe those were tights, not trousers.

Aura explained that exposing bare skin was a bad idea when you live in a forest, so maybe that’s why they were wearing trousers underneath.

[Perfect Unknowable] gets dispelled when you attack someone. No, to be more precise, it’s when you do something that can be considered harmful. In that case...would lifting the skirt a bit and peeking under it be considered an attack?

Such a doubt never came to Ainz’s mind until now.

Ainz took a quick glance at Mare’s face.

“Ah, Eh, Wh-what’s the matter?”

Am I an Idiot? What the hell am I thinking?

The non-degenerate side of Ainz—no, the normal side of him scolded himself.

Of course, he knew he couldn’t do something like that, but his curiosity about an unexplored area of magic was strongly urging him.

—Stop! Me! What are you thinking?! Wanting to peek under Mare’s skirt is already beyond the bounds of curiosity!

Although Mare would probably allow it if he asked—

—What am I even imagining?!

“Wh-what happened?”

“—Nothing, my mind just went to some weird places...I will probably try it in the future, but it’s not a matter for the present and I will test it on someone else if and when I do it.”

Ainz didn’t feel the need to explain more to the puzzled Mare.

Anyway, Albedo was the better choice to experiment with—at least the more acceptable choice—compared to Mare.

Another voice inside him objected that Mare was different from Albedo. Ainz cleared it from his mind along with his prickling curiosity.

Anyhow, Mare will likely be marginalized for his dressing style. That should absolutely be avoided...but I wonder why he dresses like that... No, No, not that. That’s not what I should be thinking about right now...it’s Chagama-san’s decision so it’s absolutely wrong to tell him to change. It’s wrong but...is it fine to ask him to change temporarily? It should be alright for Mare to live with Aura in the village if he stopped crossdressing...but...

Ainz never expected he would be put in such a difficult position because of the tastes of his friend in the past.

“You see, Mare. I have something to discuss with you...”

“Yes”

Mare looked at him with a serious expression.

...Chagama-san. Am I doing something wrong?

A pink blob surfaced in Ainz’s mind. He got a little irritated at the pink blob, which was giving him a thumbs up for some reason.

“E-excuse me...”

“...Sorry, Mare. I was thinking about something...” Ainz let out a sigh from his non-existent lungs and turned to look at Mare directly. “Mare. I want you to stop wearing female attire for a while.”

That was too short of an explanation.

Ainz understood this and continued before Mare could change his expression.

“Listen just as I said it will be temporary because you do know I am planning to take you along to the village to act as Aura’s support? So because the clothes you wear are too striking as a part of preparations for infiltration I hope you can change to different clothes for this mission.”

Ainz talked on and on at a hurried pace.

Mare continued to stare at Ainz. He was probably thinking why he was the only one being told to do so because Ainz didn’t say anything like this to Aura.

Ainz couldn’t get any more words out.

No feasible excuse came to his mind. Actually, it’s illogical to consider a man dressing like a woman weird but not vice versa. Did Bukubukuchagama think so far ahead—

No, it’s her taste—or more like her fetish. She is Peroron-san’s sister after all

His only option was to deceive Mare then. Luckily Aura also changed most of her gear and weapons because the equipment they usually wear in Nazarick was just too striking. He never thought that would come in handy in a time like this.

“I also asked Aura to change her gear a bit right? It would be bad if they were to get suspicious of our overly powerful gear. So how about it?”

This is underhanded...letting Mare decide is the same as pushing the responsibility onto him

“U-understood. Leave it to me Ainz-sama.”

“Is that all right?”

“Y-yes. If it’s for i-infiltration I think Bukubukuchagama-sama would understand”

“I-is that so. Umu. She would certainly understand our reasons.”

Ainz sensed Mare’s feelings for Bukubukuchagama through his devotion to his attire, he tried to think how his friend in the past would have reacted in this place.

It’s highly likely that she would just faint in agony and start apologizing to Mare...No, the opposite reaction is also entirely probable, I think...?

With this, he could probably consider Aura and Mare’s friend-making plan to have proceeded into the final stage.

“Good, then let’s complete our preparations and join up with Aura”