“...Send my disciple… No, if this report is true, we should try to build a cordial relationship if possible.”
“That’s the idea, gramps. If he is a man we can put under our control, I will welcome him to the Empire.”
“That will be for the best. In order to glimpse into the abyss of magic, all sorts of knowledge are needed. If possible, I would like to meet a pioneer.”
His voice was filled with desire.
Jircniv knew very well what Fluder desired.
Fluder wanted to peer into the abyss of magic. In order to do so, he wished to seek for a master who'd be more advanced than him.
As for the ones behind, they could take the road — which in most instances, was paved by Fluder — and travel through it.
By taking the path that suits you better in a more efficient manner, one could develop their own talent without any wastage.
However, this wasn’t permitted for Fluder who walked alone at the very front. As he had to tread in the dark, he wasted too much unnecessary effort in his studies. If he could develop his talent without any waste, Fluder would be an even more powerful magic caster.
In order to do so, Fluder thirsted for someone who could guide him. There was a limit to one’s talent, he didn’t want to waste anymore effort.
Fluder nurtured his disciples in the hopes of finding someone who could surpass him, and then pull him ahead. Unfortunately, this has yet to happen.
This was the only wish Jircniv could never grant Fluder, so he changed the topic.
“Also, I want to collect information on the Adamantite adventurers that appeared in E-Rantel. Could you help me?”
“Of course, your Imperial Majesty.”
Chapter 10. The Greatest Trump Card
Translator: Nigel
Editors/Proofreaders: Ferro, TaintedDream, Namorax, Skythewood, SifaV6,
JcqC, ZackTan
Part 1
Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th Day, 22:31
High above the royal capital, a group of people flew like shooting stars through the night sky. Two of them were magic casters sustaining a flight spell, and the two others were their passengers.
One of the latter two, was a man in a suit of jet-black full plate armor, carrying two massive swords on his back, while the other was a ponytailed beauty. It went without saying that they were Ainz and Narberal.
That morning, the two of them had accepted a quest from the E-Rantel Adventurer's Guild for an unprecedented amount of money. The client was Marquis Raeven. On the surface, it appeared that the Marquis wished to hire adventurers to enhance his estate's security in the wake of the recent disturbances, whose causes were unknown.
Ainz knew that that wasn't the whole of the matter, and that he would find out more during the progress of the quest.
The reason was because they wanted to suppress the group known as the Eight Fingers, and they hoped Momon would fight alongside them, against the strongest members of the enemy, the Six Arms.
Ainz could not find any reason to reject this quest.
Normally, adventurers had an unspoken policy of staying out of national matters. In order not to drive off Ainz — or rather, Momon the Black — they had gone to the trouble of preparing a proper quest to serve as a cover, and aimed to attract him with a truly lavish reward.
After some thought, Ainz accepted the quest under a pretense of reluctance, in order not to make himself seem like a crass bargainer. The catch was that he had to make his way to the capital with all due haste.
In YGGDRASIL, there were waypoints that could be used to teleport from city to city, but in this new world, there were no such things. Teleportation magic was a 5th tier spell, which Momon and Nabe should not be able to use, and travelling overland by horseback would take an entire day.
What was to be done, then? The answer was simple, provided by the magic casters of Marquis Raeven.
They used accelerated flight spells in combination with the ‘Floating Board’ spell, and together they took Ainz and Nabe with them to the capital at great speeds. How did they do this? The answer was very simple. Ainz and Nabe sat on the floating disk, which reduced their effective weight, so carrying the two of them would not slow them down appreciably. In this way, they had rushed straight to the capital all day long until now. However, even with this trick, time was still very tight, and they had already fallen behind schedule. Because of this, Ainz was slightly worried. If he arrived and was told he was no longer needed, what reward, if any, could he collect?
Though Ainz had been drawn by the unprecedented reward, it was doubtful that the requester would be willing to pay out to someone who had done nothing.
Ainz sighed quietly. He sounded like he was praying, like an employee with a poor performance review hoping against hope for some kind of bonus.
No matter what, he had to earn this bounty. He had already decided how he would spend it.
As these thoughts ran through his head, Ainz saw the capital for the first time from the sky at night. He regretted that he could not take his time to enjoy the view. The capital was dark, and it didn't seem like a bustling city at all. Even so, it was a fascinating experience for Ainz, whose eyes could see clearly in the darkness.
Watching quietly from above, Ainz’ eyes spotted an interesting sight; a light in the distance.
Though nothing much happened at first, when he saw the rising black flames, he realised that this was an emergency situation.
"Wait! Look! There's a glow of spellcasting, over there!"
"Indeed... it does look like... some kind of magic..."
The magic caster that had followed the pointing of Ainz’ finger didn't seem to think much of it. A normal person would have had trouble making out the glow through the darkness and the distance, much less analyze it.
"What's wrong? Is this sort of thing commonplace in the capital? Or are these fireworks to welcome me?"
The magic caster didn't laugh at the joke. Indeed, the expression on his face was very serious.
"That was one of the eight locations we were supposed to attack—"
"I see. I thought we'd arrived too late, but it looks like we'll be doing some work after all."