Eventually, they came before a building like the one they found while following the footsteps. The Hanzos stopped here, so this was probably their destination.
After alighting from his beast, Ainz listened to the Hanzos’ explanation of the situation.
“There is a hidden tunnel within this building. The entity in question is inside that tunnel.”
“Ainz-sama, there’s a new set of footprints here. It doesn’t look like it came out of the tunnel, and they only lead inside. The person who made them wore boots, and given their size, I would put them around Shalltear’s height. Also, there’s only one of them.”
Ainz nodded to Aura, who was staring at the ground in front of the building.
“…Let’s try to open a friendly dialog with this person. Even if they attack, you are only allowed to defend yourselves. Under no circumstances are we to make the first move. Do you understand? In order to avoid alarming the other party, we’ll have Aura try to talk to them, and then—”
Ainz touched his face.
Were humans the only species that shunned the undead? Or was it a given fact of this world?
In any case, his subordinates still stood at the head of an undead army. That being the case, he might make a better impression by exposing his face and not hiding his identity.
“Alright, Hanzos. Take us to where you heard that sound.”
The Hanzos led them through the building and into the tunnel.
The ceiling was fairly low, so it should have been excavated by Dwarves. Dwarves in YGGDRASIL were universally short in stature.
If they had dug this tunnel, it would probably be around this height.
Aura’s ears twitched as they moved through the tunnel. That confirmed the accuracy of the Hanzos’ report.
Ainz strained to listen, but he could not pick up the sound Aura had heard.
“Is that it?…Is it close?”
“It’s hard to tell. I can’t judge the distance accurately because of the echoes.”
“Umu. If it’s in a straight line, an arcane eye would be able to reveal the other side’s identity…”
Someone without Aura’s keen hearing — derived from racial or job classes — would not be able to hear anything due to the distance between them. However, if they drew closer, the other party might pick up on the presence of a long procession on the move.
If anyone heard an unknown group approaching them, their first instinct would probably be to flee for their own safety. Of course, having Aura around meant that they would not be able to escape, but the opposition might still be able to elude her if they could [Teleport] or if they had skills which allowed them to meld into the earth.
The wisest decision would be to send Aura and the Hanzos, or for Ainz himself to go, since he could go invisible.
“Then, we’ll send out the stealth-capable people from this point on. Aura and the Hanzos, you’ll go first. I will follow. Shalltear, you should wait here.”
“If that is your order.”
“…No, would it be a bad idea to wait here?”
Ainz looked to the ceiling. It looked like sturdy bedrock, but there were no such things as absolutes.
“Fair enough. Return to the building from earlier and wait for us to return…No, if I do that, the Hanzos will also… Aura, do you think the footprints lead toward the source of the sound?”
“Yes, they’re heading there. The person who made them is probably the source of the sound.”
“I see. Then, can you lead me there?”
Aura nodded.
“Then, the two of us will go ahead first. Everyone except Aura and myself will proceed to the building at the entrance of the tunnel. If anything untoward happens, particularly the appearance of powerful beings on our level, fall back immediately. In that case, we will make our own escape, so do not be worried. The destination for any [Gates] will be Aura’s building in the forest.”
“Understood! But will the two of you really be alright by yourselves?”
“I’m not sure. Well, I’d like to think that we’ll be fine.”
One could consider flaws all day long and end up nowhere. All he could do was accept that he was compromising his safety to some extent as he took action. This was something Ainz had learned recently.
Shalltear had not said anything which made him want to change his mind. Or rather, it might be that Ainz’s orders left no room for objection, so all she could do was obey gracefully.
Ainz set out with Aura. He did not use magic yet since they were still some distance away.
The two of them walked in silence for some time, and then the sound reached Ainz’s ears.
“…It seems whoever’s doing this is doing their best to minimize the amount of noise generated.”
Ainz had no idea why that topic came up, but if Aura mentioned it, then it should probably be correct.
“Does that mean we can assume the other side is on high alert as well?”
“So should we start by capturing them?”
“Only if they seek to flee. After all, if our first contact is violent, it might be very difficult to have friendly relations with them in the future.”
“I understand. Then, let me go ahead and talk to them normally.”
“Proceed. Then, I shall make myself invisible — no, for safety’s sake, I’ll follow behind you while invisible, Aura. If the other party makes a run for it, then we’ll have no choice but to capture them.”
2
After a brief discussion, the two of them prepared themselves and headed for the maker of the sound.
There was a Dwarf-shaped creature in the depths of the tunnel. In this pitch-black world, all they saw was him diligently digging at the walls of the tunnel with his pickaxe.
They were some distance away so they could not be sure, but he seemed to be around 140cm tall. His body was shaped like a beer barrel and his legs were not long. In fact, it was instantly clear that his legs were short.
He wore a brown-colored cape, and the items laid out nearby should all have been his property as well. One of them was an unlit lantern and a water flask.
What’s a miner doing all by himself in an uninhabited city? This is strange. Let’s ask him and solve this mystery.
Aura silently crept towards the miner.
In contrast, Ainz did not seem to care.
[Perfect Unknowable] erased one’s traces and sounds, making the caster very difficult to detect if one did not have very high-level thief-type job classes. Even someone of Aura’s level would have a very hard time spotting him. Ainz registered on her senses as a vague presence.
Once she was close enough to the miner, Aura called out to him.
“Heya. Whatcha doing?”
“Hiiieeee!”
The miner wailed like he was about to die as he turned to face her.
His beard was long — there was no doubt that he belonged to the Dwarven race.
The wide-eyed man pulled his brown cape tight around himself.
However, that was all. The man was still there. However, it would seem Ainz was the only one who thought that way.
“Hmph! Invisibility, huh—”
Aura’s voice made Ainz — who could see through invisibility — look carefully in the Dwarf’s direction. Just as Aura had said, the Dwarf’s image seemed somewhat fainter.
The cape must be a magic item, and doing that probably activates its powers of invisibility. Feels pretty much the same as Shizu…
“Hey, hey, you know I don’t intend to hurt you, right, Dwarf-san? I know you’re there. Let me take a look at you.”
Aura’s adorable and heart-warming tone must have had a great impact on the Dwarf’s heart.
He parted his cape slightly, and peeked at Aura through the slit.
“Are, are you a Dark Elf? What are you doing here?”