“Ahh… An. Heir… My. Blood. Is. Boiling…”
Cocytus seemed to be thinking about something strange.
Eventually, he nodded in satisfaction.
“…Ainz-sama’s. Heir. Will. Surely. Be. An. Outstanding. Magic. Caster. That. Being. The. Case. I. Will. Have. No. Chance. To. Teach. Him. Swordsmanship. As. Expected. His. Mother. Should. Be. A. Warrior. …No. That. Is. Wrong. Because. He. Is. A. Magic. Caster. He. Will. Need. A. Skilled. Warrior. To. Guard. His. Body. Therefore. I. Will. Take. Charge. Of. That. Task. I. Will. Teach. Him. How. To. Deal. With. Melee. Attackers. — No. With. Me. Around. Nobody. Will. Be. Able. To. Get. Close. Enough. To. Threaten. Him.”
Cocytus’s compound eyes seemed to be watching a beautiful vista that only he could see.
“Ohhh… That. Is. Correct. I. Am. Very. Strong. I. Will. Not. Let. Weak. Enemies. Like. That. Near. The. Young. Master. Hmph. Come. If. You. Are. Not. Afraid. Of. Death.!”
Cocytus’ vast arms were moving as he slaughtered phantom enemies in their droves.
He only came back to his senses when the Death Knight thanked him for his time.
“…Cough! Ahem. Then… I. Believe. This. Is. Important. Please. Inform. Ainz-sama. About. The. Matter. Of. The. Succession.”
♦ ♦ ♦
As the Death Knight left the snow globe and entered a world of driving snow, his master’s words echoed in his mind, as he had expected.
The Death Knight lengthened his strides in compliance with the order. No, because there was a long distance between his current location and the indicated location, he would need to move fast in order to avoid wasting Ainz’s time. With a mighty roar, the Death Knight broke into a sprint. He churned the snow aside as he ran, heading toward his master as fast as he could.
Just as he reached the assigned spot and began looking around, a shape of jet-black corrupted the pure white world. Or rather, because the Death Knight was also a black-colored figure, it might be better to say that the blackness of the world intensified.
“Sorry for making you rush, and try not to make so much noise, it attracts attention.”
Upon hearing his master’s first words, the Death Knight hurriedly shut his mouth.
“Cocytus’s quarters are surrounded by subordinates called Frost Virgins, and they have the ability to see through invisibility, so I couldn’t wait there. Ahhh, that was really risky. All right, let me hear your report, then.”
The Death Knight began explaining, and Ainz nodded his head magnanimously as he listened.
“I see. Well, I see the similarities between Cocytus and Demiurge, and how they might get along. As for why Entoma was not included… it’s probably because Sebas’ maids do not work in the same place as him. Although, Grant, Kyouhukou and Gashokukochuuo are on different floors as well… well, no point worrying too much about it.”
After acknowledging that his master understood, the Death Knight continued by speaking about the somewhat unrelated request. Ainz nodded in approval several times as he listened.
“Even among the Guardians of Nazarick, those three can be considered the top among the warrior classes. Cocytus has the advantage against Albedo, but not against Sebas. Sebas is strong against Cocytus, but not against Albedo. Albedo can probably win against Sebas, but not against Cocytus. And his request for training truly reflects Cocytus’ personality… Though, can we really become stronger? If they are strong because their data says they are, doesn’t that mean their limits are also decided by their data?”
His master fell into silence and looked at his hands. The Death Knight sensed that those words were not directed at him, so he kept quiet and remained still.
“These hands can carry, but not wield a greatsword. Does that not illustrate my point? If their limits are already decided, we must be more careful, because we do not know where the danger lies.”
The Death Knight did not know how to help with his master’s uneasiness, and remained silent for the time being. Of course, his master did not expect the Death Knight to say anything.
Ainz’s line of sight shifted, and rested on the Death Knight.
“If I could, I would like to get a naturally-spawned Death Knight from somewhere and train it with a summoned Death Knight, to see if there’s a difference in the outcome… Ah, do wild Death Knights even exist? If they did, I could investigate a lot of things, although… As I thought, gaining this information is vital. Ah, my apologies. Let’s get back on track. What about the next question?”
As the Death Knight mentioned the matter of Ainz’s child, confusion bloomed on his master’s face.
“…Eh? What was that?”
The Death Knight assumed he was being asked to repeat himself, so he did.
“Children…”
Ainz looked at his waist and tilted his head.
“How does he expect me to make a child? Birth one by magic? Maybe super-tier spells might be able to do it…”
The Death Knight watched as his master grabbed his head, unable to help him.
“No, that would be too much of a waste, so it’s out of the question. Children… Well, for now, there’s no need to worry about that. Although, he’s worried about there being nobody left…huh. Well, I certainly understand that feeling. I really do. If someone else had stayed behind… well, things would have been different.”
Those words were not directed at the Death Knight. He could see that his master was looking into the distance, into a different place, at a different time. Ainz shook his head, and looked back to the Death Knight.
“All right. In the future, ask them not to ask about anything related to me at all.”
The Death Knight nodded deeply, in acknowledgement.
“Then, next up will be the dark elf twins. Since there’s two of them, you may not have as much time as you need to ask them the questions, but I think it’ll be fine. I’ll leave it to you.”
As he watched his master leave with the power of the ring, the Death Knight roared, and began heading for the next floor.
Part 5
After the frozen world of ice, he came to a great forest.
After walking along the stone-paved road and exiting the Colosseum, a vast expanse of green stretched before his eyes with seemingly no limit.
The humidity and the temperature of the surrounding air was very conducive for life, and anyone here would be able to smell the signs of nature and the abundant oxygen in the air. Of course, as an undead Death Knight, he did not need to breathe, so all he knew about this place was what his master had granted him.
The Death Knight strode toward the most distinctive tree in the vicinity.
It was a gigantic tree.
Its width was more eye-catching than its height, and one could describe it as a short, fat tree.
Just as he came to the base of the giant tree, a child’s high-pitched voice came from above.
“Oi~ Death Knight, over here~”
Looking up, he saw the form of Aura, one of this floor’s guardians, more than 20 meters above him. She was dangling upside-down from one of the branches, supporting herself with the crooks of her knees, so she looked like a bat. Her hair was pulled straight down by gravity, exposing her forehead.
“So the one who activated that teleport gate was…?”
The Death Knight indicated to Aura that he was the one in question.
“Down to up and up to down. A total of two times. Was that you?”
The Death Knight was confident of that, and Aura revealed an expression of deep thought, pursing her small lips like a duck.
“Hm-mm. Death Knight… does Shalltear have one of those under her? …Or if it’s not Shalltear… Ohhhhh! All right~”
Aura swung her upper body and used the momentum to somersault on top of the branch, where she sat down. Since she wasn’t wearing her shoes, he could see her little toes.
“Then, why did you come here… what do you want?”