“Yea, but I can protect this child with my skill, so it’ll be able to fight alongside me for long enough.”
“But do you not think it would be a waste to divert your resources like that? You will have plenty of openings in a battle like that. How about strengthening it by changing the equipment? I heard that mount-class monsters could be equipped with armour and horseshoes.”
“That’s right. You can change its equipment even if the mount was summoned with a skill. It’s somewhat related with Aura’s question earlier. For example, if you equip it with horseshoes imbued with the power of flight, it could go around flying, but since I already equipped it with speed enhancing equipment… That might be difficult.”
Albedo lightly petted her mount that was standing beside her. But the bicorn staggered a little as if Albedo had put some strength behind her tap. There was no way that the mount she summoned would be unable to bear such a light tap. When Albedo started frowning, wondering if the beast was being rebellious, Aura asked another question.
“Hehe~ So what’s the name?”
“It’s a bicorn, like you said earlier.”
“No, not that. I don’t mean the species name, but its name.”
“Does it need one?”
The vampire shrugged at Albedo, who looked like she wanted a second opinion.
“Probably? It is your pet after all.”
“It’s not really a pet… Does the same one come out every time I summon?”
On hearing Albedo’s question, Shalltear raised her voice after having a good idea.
“How about asking Kyouhukou? He is very skilled in summoning others of his species, so he would be very knowledgeable on the subject.”
“…I refuse. I feel bad because as a comrade in Nazarick, I shouldn’t dislike him, but I just can’t help it…”
“Ah… It can’t be helped. I’m sure he means well, but sometimes he tries to crawl up through your clothes. Though it seems like others like Entoma often visit him.”
“Do not speak of something so unpleasant. It makes my body itch just thinking about it… It truly is a room of terror. It is a floor under this one’s control, but I do not wish to ever go there.”
“…Shalltear, did you know? Entoma calls that room the ‘snack room’.”
“Eeeeeh? Really? Really?! Uwaaah~ I don’t want to go near Entoma ever again.”
Albedo agreed. She didn’t want to be near anyone who would go around calling those things snacks.
Amidst the ominous atmosphere, Aura spoke in a loud voice to change the subject.
“Going back to the original topic, are you going to name it?”
“Well, if I do, what should I call it?”
Albedo murmured while sinking into deep thought. Since she would be riding it, she didn’t want to name it anything embarrassing. Amidst all the words and characters, an idea rang out like a song in her head.
“What could you possibly be mumbling about?”
“Ah, sorry.”
Albedo answered as if she had just woken up from a dream.
“If Ainz-sama permits me, I will give it a name that carries all my feelings with it: ‘Top of the World’.”
“Hmm. It is a good name. Is it supposed to refer to the one who stands at the peak of the world, Ainz-sama?”
Albedo simply smiled but did not answer.
Shalltear’s brow rose to a dangerous angle.
Aura interrupted the tense atmosphere that was going to erupt at any moment between those two people.
“Well, what about it! Since you summoned the bicorn, let’s move on to the next experiment!”
“Alright.”
While Shalltear was staring her down, Albedo turned around, stepped on a stirrup and mounted the beast with such a light movement for someone who was fully armoured. The moment she sat on the saddle, she could feel the bicorn’s body shuddering when they came in contact.
“What’s wrong?!”
Albedo let out a loud exclamation in surprise. Her bicorn, which was level 100, should not be staggering around so easily. Then she remembered when she petted it. Perhaps the problems started back then, but what was the cause?
“Aura! Shalltear! My bicorn’s acting weird. Can you check it out?”
The two realized that the bicorn was already staggering and could barely stand.
“Eeeh, come down first, Albedo.”
“A-alright.”
Albedo finally thought about it after listening to Aura.
The bicorn staggered and finally collapsed. It was breathing hard and the skin was full of sweat.
“…Perhaps you put on a bit of weight, Albedo?”
It was not intended to start a fight. To a bystander, it looked like the most likely reason.
“That’s rude! Considering all the muscle, I’m in the ideal weight range!”
“Maybe its muscles atrophied because you didn't ride it for such a long time?”
“What? How’s that… Since it’s a summoned mount, shouldn’t it be the same as summoned monsters? There’s no way that would happen.”
“How about I try to ride it?”
“Regrettably, no. This is my mount. Others can’t ride it. If you try to do it by force, it unsummons.”
“How about just asking the bicorn directly? Eh, bicorn, what’s the matter?”
Aura asked. It was not because Aura could communicate with horses, but because bicorns were relatively intelligent enough for her to try. However, bicorns could not speak and made only horse-like sound.
“If talking is too much… Can’t it write?”
The bicorn neighed like it agreed.
The three looked at each other.
“Aura, can’t you do something incredible with your power?”
“What do you mean by ‘something incredible’? We already talked with each other long time ago to fully figure out the extent of our abilities. Did our Overseer forget that, too?”
“Ara… Then how do you normally communicate with Fenrir?”
“Normally, I just tell him to do this and that.”
“But do you not talk with it? If you put in enough effort, can you not do the same with this child?”
“Just because I can communicate with the ones I’ve tamed, don’t assume I’d be able to do the same with everyone. Plus I’ve already tried it. You know Rororo, the hydra that the lizardmen are raising?
I can’t seem to connect with him.”
The three looked at each other.
“…When in trouble, is Demiurge not the solution?”
“Unfortunately, Demiurge’s outside Nazarick on Ainz-sama’s orders. He’s rarely in Nazarick these days. I can still contact him, but I’d rather not unless it’s for official business.”