“Ah, you know. I feel that taking notes is a good idea, but that shouldn’t be the whole point, right?”
Shalltear looked at her with a baffled expression on her face.
“Got it? Maybe taking notes makes you think that you’ve done a good job. But what you should be doing is recording the important things and using them to teach yourself how to deal with similar situations, right? Is it really okay to take notes like this?”
“It seems okay…”
“Well, if that’s the case, then great. Just in case, you should go over them again once you return to your room. Try to think about what Ainz-sama had in mind and then put yourself in his place and imagine what you would do in his shoes.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, really.”
After saying that, Aura suddenly wondered why she was saying that sort of thing to Shalltear. And then, for some reason, she felt that guiding her in that way was very natural to her.
Haaa. For some reason, I feel like I have a useless little sister… It might be a little disrespectful, but I wonder if Bukubukuchagama-sama felt the same way?
They prepared to set out on a particularly brilliant morning. That said, their preparations were nothing more than walking out of the magically-created tower and forming up in a column. Ainz felt that this was much less enjoyable compared to his travel preparations from his time as Momon.
After that, they continued their search, but their efforts from dawn to dusk yielded no fruit.
As the sun sank below the slopes of the mountains, Ainz narrowed his eyes.
They had travelled more than 100 kilometers on the backs of their magical beasts — in other words, they had exceeded the distance to the Dwarf city which Ainz had estimated. Yet, they found nothing. In other words, they would have to begin the time-consuming task of combing the countryside.
Ainz used magic to create a resting place as before, and then, it was time for the next day — in other words, the third day.
Suddenly, Zenberu exclaimed in a strange voice.
“Over here! I remember this place!”
There were no more trees in sight, only a field of rocks. Zenberu’s voice echoed exceptionally loudly in this place.
“Your Majesty! We should be very close!”
“Is that so! Then, everyone, proceed with caution!”
In accordance with Ainz’s orders, the group formed up into a neatly-ordered column.
“Then, I’ll leave this to you, Zenberu.”
“You can count on me!”
The group advanced, led by Zenberu.
Finally, they saw something which looked less like a cave than a crack in the mountain.
Ainz had seen something similar in Zenberu’s memories, but he felt that it should have been bigger. Still, this was probably the right place, given Zenberu’s overjoyed reaction.
The memories were Zenberu’s own; the Lizardman’s perspective ought to be more reliable than Ainz’s fragmentary glimpses.
Ainz smoothed out his mussed-up robe, and gestured to Aura.
Acting as they had planned earlier, Aura led her beast towards the fissure.
“Kingdom of the Dwarves! His Majesty Ainz Ooal Gown, King of the newly-founded Sorcerous Kingdom of Ainz Ooal Gown to the south, has come to pay you a visit! Will you not send someone to receive him?!”
The voice of Aura the herald echoed through the fissure.
Yet, there was no response.
Aura looked at Ainz with an expression that said, “What should I do now?”
Ainz indicated that she should announce them again.
And so, Aura shouted at the top of her voice once more.
However, there was still no response. There was no sign of anyone appearing even after waiting a while.
Zenberu had said that there should be guards watching this exit in order to prevent intruders from the outside. If this was the case, someone should have heard Aura’s voice.
Were they avoiding the Dark Elf?
Ainz recalled Aura for the time being, and then summoned Zenberu.
“It’s your turn now. Go shout a bit and see how it goes.”
Ainz cast several buff spells on Zenberu. While it did not guarantee his safety by any means, it greatly reduced the danger he might face compared to being sent out without those spells.
Zenberu drew near the cave and shouted. Still, there was no response.
“…Hanzos.”
“Presenting ourselves to the Master.”
The ninjas poured out of Shalltear’s shadow. The other Hanzos were arranged behind the Hanzo Leader.
“Infiltrate the interior and verify the situation. Do not be spotted.”
“It shall be done. May I ask how far we should investigate? The Dwarven city is said to be riddled with mining tunnels. Fully investigating the intricate web of those tunnels will take a long time.”
“Perform a cursory inspection. Focus on the central region and the administrative areas of the city. You may investigate the tunnel interiors later.”
“Understood.”
The Hanzos took off in a sprint, following their Leader. The way in which they ran, leaving afterimages behind them, was a motion unique to high-level ninja-type monsters.
Ainz indicated that Zenberu should return to the center of the group — allowing him to wait in a safe space. He could be very useful when negotiating with the Dwarves.
“—Shalltear, don’t slack off on security.”
“Understood!”
After using a skill, Shalltear was fully armed and armored in an instant. She surveyed her surroundings carefully, not letting a single detail escape her.
Now that Shalltear — the strongest Guardian of Nazarick — was ready for battle, no opponent, however strong they might be, could instantly kill her with a single combo. That said, experience was the important thing when fighting players, and giving that task to the inexperienced Shalltear was quite dangerous.
In other words, the experienced Ainz might still need to act as a role model for her.
Ainz carefully watched his surroundings as well. Soon, the Hanzos returned. They had taken longer than expected, probably because they had travelled a long way.
The Hanzos lined up before Ainz and fell to one knee. Naturally, their leader spoke for them.
“—Ainz-sama, we have discovered what might be a Dwarven residential area. We searched it, but found no signs of life.”
“—What happened?”
“We did not investigate thoroughly, but there were no corpses or any sign of household products within the houses. Neither were there any signs of battle.”
“It would seem the Dwarves abandoned this city of their own will, for some reason.”
He glanced at Zenberu, who seemed very shocked as well. He might only have known him for a short time, but he had gained a bit of insight into Zenberu’s personality, and this did not seem like an act.
“—All right, then. Lead us to the residential district.”
“Yes!”
Ainz followed behind the Hanzos. This was unknown territory and he could not be careless here. Shalltear, Aura and Zenberu were also escorted by high-level undead and magical beasts.
The only ones left outside were the low-level Vampire Brides and the Mammoth-like magical beasts.
This was done to set a trap. Any unknown beings who saw them as enemies would surely start whittling down their fighting strength from the part of their forces which they were confident in beating. In addition, it was basic tactics to begin attacking their supply lines in the hope of learning something from the objects which they dropped.
Thus, he did not leave them there alone. He had also positioned a Hanzo nearby, in concealment.
That Hanzo was not there to rescue them.
Rather, it was there to observe the enemy and learn about their attackers. After that, being able to learn their fallback point — or better yet, their home base — would be an unexpected bonus.