“—Your Majesty, I am very grateful to you. But I have already decided my reason for living.”
“Then, allow me — no, the Sorcerous Kingdom to provide the financial assistance for your endeavours. Allow me to become your patron and aid you in the advancement of runecraft.”
Gondo’s eyes went wide, and he exclaimed in shock:
“You, are you serious? This, this is incredibly good fortune… this is unbelievable!”
There must be some catch to this unimaginably tempting offer. Anyone would think that way. Ainz understood how Gondo must feel.
“Well, all I can say is that I hope you can believe me. However, someone like you who isn’t a runesmith probably won’t be able to develop those techniques you were talking about, am I right?”
Gondo’s mouth pressed flat, and he went silent.
“Therefore, I wish to recruit all the runesmiths in the Dwarven Kingdom to my country, to work on developing runecraft techniques under your direction.”
“What, what does that mean?”
“It means exactly what it implies. I will gather all the runesmiths and compare their knowledge to serve as the prototypes for new techniques. For that reason… I hope you can help me recruit them. Is that impossible?”
Gondo considered it, and then replied
“No, it should be doable. Almost all the runesmiths have given up on their craft, but there should be a lot of them hoping for a chance to shine.”
“And then you will move their hearts… then, Gondo. How about it? Will you help me? WIll you give your soul to me? How far are you willing to go for me?”
“What?”
“It will be very difficult to revive an almost-lost art if you do not focus all the runesmiths on a single objective. This is why you cannot slack off on the recruitment of talent. I want to bring all the runesmiths to my country. Thus, it is quite likely that I may have to employ certain… unsavory methods. This may lead to my collaborators performing actions which might be termed treason to this country.”
“What, was that it? The answer is simple. If you want my soul, then take it all, the whole thing. It is a small price to pay in order to make runecraft live forever.”
Gondo extended his hand.
Ainz took it.
“I am undead. Does that sit well with you?”
Gondo laughed at Ainz’s words.
“As long as you can make my dream come true, I don’t care if Your Majesty is undead or the fearsome Lord of the Frost Dragons.”
“Then, first things first, can you lead us to the Dwarven Kingdom? I plan to sign a treaty of friendship with the Dwarven King in order to recruit runesmiths for my country. After all, it would be difficult to recruit people if our countries have no ties between them. In addition, I believe the Dwarven Kingdom has strict controls on the export of technology, am I correct?”
“That should be fine. There’s hardly any demand for runecraft. Ah, also, the Dwarven Kingdom no longer has a King. The country is ruled by a regent council which is headed by several leaders.”
“Umu. I’d like to hear about that. Can you talk as we walk? I’d like to hear a rough outline of it.”
As Gondo spoke to him, the exit to the tunnel finally appeared before their eyes.
After the three of them emerged, they were welcomed by Shalltear, among others. Naturally, Zenberu was there as well.
Although Gondo had been expecting a mass of undead, he could not help but take a defensive stance as he saw the magical beasts as well. The fact that “there are no Dark Elves” had already dealt him a blow, but now his mumbling reached Ainz’s ears.
Shalltear quietly stepped forward and bowed.
“Ainz-sama. Forgive me for bothering you just as you returned, but there is a slight problem.”
“…Where are the rest of the Hanzos? What happened?”
“Yes! Actually, someone else entered this cave, through the tunnel in the building to which Aura guided you. My deepest apologies for only telling you now, but I have already sent some of the Hanzos to investigate.”
“There’s no need to apologize, Shalltear. You chose wisely. We’ll wait for the Hanzos to return, analyze their reports, and then decide what to do. Then—”
He paused, then glanced at the Dwarf who had once stayed here. The Dwarf was not paying attention to the events on this side. Instead, he was engaged in an animated conversation with Zenberu. Listening closely, it seemed to concern the Dwarf that had saved Zenberu.
“—Gondo. Pardon me for a moment, but it seems someone has infiltrated this city. There is a possibility that the use of force will be warranted here. When the time comes, I hope you will serve as a witness to your nation that such a course of action could not be avoided.”
“Of course. Leave that to me. Although, I hope you will limit any damage caused to a minimum.”
Ainz nodded. It was only natural to avoid obstacles that would affect future negotiations.
“Shalltear, how’s our perimeter?”
“I’ve already dispersed Aura’s beasts into the vicinity… How’s that, Aura?”
“That should work. Even if the enemy can turn invisible, my beasts can still sniff them out.”
“I see. Then let’s wait for the Hanzos to return.”
After a while, they did.
According to them, the opposition seemed to be Quagoas. There were over 100 of them. Gondo was listening from the side and seemed quite shocked. This was far in excess of a mere scouting force; in all likelihood, this was a combat group, or a migrating tribe.
There was only one course of action Ainz could take.
“…Shalltear. Capture them all. Can you do that?”
“If that is your command.”
“Then I command you to do so. Do you understand why I want you to capture them?”
“It is to question them and prevent word about us from leaking out.”
Ainz nodded grandly.
“Correct. If we only capture one of them alive, then we can only interrogate one of them. This increases the chance that we might be compromised and that we might end up learning false information. In addition, we must consider that we may need to make an example of them.”
There was one more thing Ainz did not mention because Gondo was there — that simply believing one side of the story might turn out poorly for them. Who knew, it might be better to strike a deal with the Quagoa than the Dwarves.
“Go then, Shalltear. I await your good news.”
3
Shalltear and her underlings picked up the pace as they headed towards the location of the Quagoa. They leapt from roof to roof at breakneck speeds. Since she was already in armor, she did not have to worry about the several layers of breast pads within her clothing.
She glanced back at Aura, who was following from behind.
The fact that she was being followed by a Guardian — who was supposed to stay by her Master’s side — was proof that he did not trust her.
That was only natural.
She might not remember her failure, but she had heard the details from others.
Although her compassionate Master had said “Shalltear, you did nothing wrong”, that could not possibly be true. Thus, she had been waiting for a chance to scrub away the stink of failure from herself, but sadly that chance had not come.
Aura might have comforted her, but that was not what Shalltear wanted.
Shalltear looked ahead, her gaze full of strength. She would not allow herself to make any mistakes on this journey.
Before long, they reached a building near their objective. Shalltear looked down on the Quagoa from its roof.
There were many silhouettes visible, of the kind that the Hanzos had described.
“Now then — what shall I do…”
Shalltear pondered the matter.
Aura should have heard what she said, but Aura merely folded her arms, intent on remaining silent. That too, was expected. Before Aura had come here, her Master gave her an order: “Keep an eye on Shalltear’s movements. If she looks like she’s about to begin massacring them, make her stop by any means, even if you have to hit her. Apart from that, you are not to interfere with Shalltear’s battle plans.”