“Really now. All right, then. [Charm Species]. Done, can you answer my questions?”
“Ahh, of course! What do you want to know?”
The Quagoa behind him could not help but gasp at his earnestness.
Charm magic caused the target to regard the caster as a trusted friend or colleague. However, since friends would not tell friends to kill or hurt themselves, the targets would not obey orders which would result in such. Also, the term “friend” was also a bottleneck of sorts; there were secrets which people would keep even from their friends, so this magic would be ineffective at winkling out such information. If that were the case, more powerful mind control spells would be needed. However, such measures did not appear to be necessary this time round, a fact for which Shalltear thanked her luck.
“Firstly, are you really the greatest one here?”
“Ahhh, I was appointed the leader of this group. Oi, quiet down there, she’s a friend so it’s fine to tell her. Ah, could you keep that a secret?”
“Of course. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“Ahhh, yes, we are, I’ll trust you, then. Still, those guys… Especially that guy, is he undead?”
The Quagoa stared at Shalltear’s glorious master. It annoyed her, but she had to bear with it to extract information from him.
“It’s all right. We’re friends so you’ll believe me, right?”
“Is he your minion?”
I’ll fucking kill you, Shalltear almost said. However, she swallowed those words. That was because her master spoke before she could.
“That’s right. She is my mistress.”
“Ho, that’s my friend for you, you’re amazing.”
“Th-thank you.”
Shalltear agonized over these complex feelings, which she could not put into words. Although she wanted to roll around on the floor, she could not waste the loving assistance which her Master had given her.
The Quagoa commander fell into deep thought, and the Quagoa behind him went, “What happened?” “What’s going on?” “Are we the only ones who don’t know that she’s a friend” and so on. However, the Quagoa commander ignored them, and a twisted look dawned on his face, which was probably a smile.
“I get it. Since you said so, I’ll believe you. After all, we’re comrades joined by a firm bond of friendship, aren’t we?”
Shalltear snorted.
“Then, could you speak loudly enough that the people behind me can hear? Who are you people? What are you doing in this city?”
Normally speaking, they should have been suspicious that a friend did not know this. However, this was the greatness of magic. The Quagoa commander replied without raising any doubts.
“We’re a detached force from the invasion force. We came here to kill the Dwarves which might have fled to this city.”
“Say what?!” the Dwarf exclaimed in shock. “What, what does that mean?”
“Shut up and keep quiet, Dwarf. Filthy races like yours should be exterminated.”
“Alright, alright, that’s about enough. You were saying something about an invasion force?”
“Ahhh, sorry, I seem to have gotten a little over-excited. There’s a Dwarven city north of here. The invasion force was raised to destroy that city. The problem is that the suspension bridge over the Great Rift is protected by a fortress, so our attacks have always been defeated. However, we’ve found a shortcut that bypasses the Rift and runs alongside the fortress, so we’re planning to use that to wipe them out in one fell swoop.”
Shalltear narrowed her eyes at the Dwarf. His expression looked ghastly. Apparently this was very bad news.
“When will the attack come?”
“We’re a detached force, we split off from the main body so we don’t know the exact time. But I think it should be today, or maybe tomorrow.”
Shalltear overheard the conversation between her master and the Dwarf.
“That said, will the city actually fall if the suspension bridge is taken?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ve heard that since the enemy needs to use the bridge, they can only attack one spot. Thus, we can use the magic items within the fortress to repulse them. However, if the fortress is taken, the enemy will have a clear path to the city, and it’ll be hard to stop the advance of a large army. If that happens, we might have to abandon the city and escape to here, but if we’re ambushed here, the Dwarven race might be wiped out.”
The Quagoa commander chuckled deviously as he listened to their conversation.
“So are you the only detached group?”
“We’re the only ones who were sent here. We don’t know how strong the Dwarven city is or how many men we’ll need, so most of our troops are there.”
“Ain — eh, ah, then, then, is there anything you want to ask?”
I can’t say Ainz-sama, Shalltear fretted as she tried to piece her next words together.
“…There’s not much else. Strictly speaking, we only need to know how to communicate with their main body or something similar.”
After Shalltear repeated her Master’s question, the charmed commander babbled like a brook.
“Nope, our mission wasn’t seen as very important. In the end, our job was just to hunt down anyone who fled.”
Shalltear looked back to her Master, who nodded to her.
“How should we deal with them?”
“…Gondo, I’m sorry about this, but can you prepare to travel?”
The Lizardman and Dwarf understood the meaning behind those words, so they turned and left in silence. Ainz watched them leave, and gave Shalltear her next orders.
“…Then, let’s go. Shalltear, send them all back to Nazarick. They are to be observed. Whether they are to be killed or spared depends on the kind of relationship we forge with the Quagoa. Do not kill them until they are fully hostile to us. However, order some light experiments to be conducted. The hardness of their claws, the physical and magical resistance of their bodies, that sort of thing. Although, some of them might die as a result… Order them to minimize the number of deaths.”
“Understood.”
Shalltear immediately cast her [Gate], opening a portal to the surface of Nazarick.
“Come, you lot get in here.”
Led by the Quagoa commander, the others followed him in one after the other. Some of the Quagoa stood in place, frozen by fear, but Shalltear simply picked them up and chucked them through the [Gate].
After sending them all through, Shalltear briefly returned to Nazarick as well. She repeated her master’s orders to the Old Guarders standing by there, and then returned through the still-open [Gate].
Beyond it was Shalltear’s Master. His arms were crossed and he seemed to be waiting for her.
“Your collection of information was very thorough, Shalltear.”
The first thing he said was to praise her! Shalltear’s flat chest surged with heat.
“Yes!”
Shalltear reflexively got to her knees. That was the only appropriate position to take in response to her Master’s praise.
“—Mm, umu. I look forward to your loyal service in the future.”
“I understand, Ainz-sama!!”
“Don’t stay like that. Stand up. We’ll need to discuss things with Gondo…This is a chance to have them owe us a big favor.”
“How fortunate. Ainz-sama, your actions seem to be blessed.”
Their gazes met, and they smiled.
Granted, her Master’s face did not move, but Shalltear was absolutely certain that he was smiling.
“Then, let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Mmmm~ This is great! The two of us, walking side by side… Haaa, I’m so happy.
Shalltear left the building as she savored the taste of happiness.
“Gondo, sorry for the wait. What do you want to do now?”
“Would anything we do even make a difference… It takes about six days to travel underground to the city. It’s too far for us to bring that information back to the city.”