Lupusregina bowed and exited the room, followed closely by Narberal, who seemed more like a policeman escorting a criminal. After the two of them vanished out the door, Ainz turned to the Guardian beside him.
“Aura, the Giant of the East and the Serpent of the West, do you know—”
Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside the room.
“Ainz-sama is amazing! I can’t believe he thought so far ahead, and in such detail! He must be some kind of monster!”
The voice that came through the thick door was not very loud, but it was enough to interrupt their conversation. Given that they could hear her words so clearly, how loudly was she yelling in the corridor, just outside?
“...Should we tell her how thin the doors are?”
“I think she’s just too excited, maybe a good punch will cool her down—”
There was a smashing sound from outside the door, and then the sound of something heavy being dragged slowly away.
“Aura, I don’t think you need to go any more. Back to the previous topic; let me know what you’ve found.”
“Yes. Er, I’m very sorry, but I haven’t heard anything about the Giant of the East and the Serpent of the West. After we fought that tree monster called Zy’tl Q’ae, I did a quick sweep of the forest, aside from the underground caverns, which I didn’t investigate. I didn’t find any strong enemies…”
“Well, if they’re only as strong as Hamsuke, I understand why you wouldn’t have paid any attention to them.”
Even a gardener would not know how many ants were crawling in his domain. If they occasionally missed a strong enemy, that could only be chalked up as part of the job.
“I am truly sorry. Then, Ainz-sama, will we be doing house-cleaning?”
“That sounds like a good idea. We’ll get rid of those pesky flies and put the forest under Nazarick’s complete control.”
“Got it! Then, I’ll send some of my pets along—”
“Mm, about that, it seems a little boring that way. I’d like to see what sort of creatures this Giant of the East and Serpent of the West are, who can rival Hamsuke.”
“Then, shall I bring them here?”
“No, I think I shall go visit them in person. Thanks to Hamsuke, I’ve found another way of appreciating the value of antiques as well.”
Ainz laughed at the puzzled expression on Aura’s face.
“Well, of course that’s not all. I also intend to make sure Lupusregina is doing her job…”
Late at night in the forest, Fenrir ran smoothly without making any noise. There were places where branches protruded or which were covered by vines, but it didn’t matter for the two riding on it.
Fenrir was like a spirit without physical form, not harming even a blade of grass with its strides. One of Fenrir’s skills was hastened movement over land.
“Further ahead would be the suspected residence of the Giant of the East as reported by my subordinate.”
In the dense vegetation which blocked out the lights from the stars and moon, Aura didn’t sound nervous at all. Unlike the vision of normal humans, she and Ainz could see as if it was noon.
“Is that so. The Giant of the East and the Serpent of the West, it would be too greedy to hope that both of them would be here. I will leave the absent Serpent of the West to you, Aura.”
“Okay! I will work hard! What should we do about the fools who oppose Ainz-sama?”
“Let’s have a chat with them first.”
Aura turned back to look at Ainz with a baffled face.
“Hmm? Aren’t you going to turn them into your subordinates?”
“The Giant of the East and the Serpent of the West are unknown monsters. It would be better to start with a chat. They are precious monsters that didn’t exist in the game after all.”
“Ainz-sama is so kind.”
Aura wasn’t being sarcastic.
“Re-really? I am only kind to those who I can make use of— and the residents of Nazarick… If they are equals with Hamsuke, they should have some use, that’s how I see it. Rare items are worth collecting.”
“I heard what you mentioned just now, but is Hamsuke really that valuable?”
“Of course. As a guinea pig.”
Hamsuke was undergoing intense training as a warrior under the tutelage of Zaryusu. By the way, an undead created by Ainz was also one of those disciples. Would the two of them —one a beast and one a corpse— be able to master warrior skills? If the undead could be taught to use martial arts, the combat potential of Nazarick would increase tremendously. Ainz didn’t think it was possible, but he would never know unless he did the experiment.
“It is important enough to warrant the blacksmith making a suit of armour for it?”
“You are well informed. This is one of the reasons. We will be sending Hamsuke out to battle in the future, so improving defence is necessary.”
If she learned martial arts, Hamsuke would be able to wear full plate armour. However, evasion and mobility would be lowered if the armour was equipped right now... In order to counter this—
If Hamsuke learns martial arts, that would allow for smooth movements, even while wearing full plate armour. If we were in the game— No, even right now, I am unable to wear metal armour.
Considering that, we are a long way from success… If there was another Hamsuke, we could test another method…
Overall, the exact differences between this new world and the game rules were still a mystery.
Demiurge would be able to find out by experimenting thoroughly, but Ainz didn’t feel like doing so for some reason.
Magic, something that runs contrary to the laws of physics, exists in this world. The concept that nothing is true, everything is permitted might have been forced onto me…
“Is something the matter, Ainz-sama?”
“Hmm? No, nothing. Why do you ask?”
“Because you looked as if you were thinking about something, I was just wanted to know if that was the case.”
“Ahhh, that so? Just pondering trivial matters, nothing important.”
“I see.”
Aura faced the front once again in relief, her silky blonde hair swaying with the movement. Ainz shifted his gaze down that slender back— at his hand that was wrapped around that petite waist.
What a slim waist. That’s how kids are...
Ainz didn’t have any children himself and was curious. He tapped her waist and back lightly, as if to confirm something. Ainz did so gently since they were on Fenrir, but Aura still jumped and turned around with a jerk.
“Uwah! What-what is it Ainz-sama?!”
Her entire face was red, something even someone without night vision would be able to tell.
“Ahh, nothing, I just felt that your waist was really slim. Are you eating well? You might have equipment that sustains you without having to eat, but you can still eat if you wish to, right?”