Part 8: Scavenger Hunt
"Now then, our next game shall be the Scavenger Hunt!" Demiurge joyously declared.
Said declaration was met with little fanfare and more than a few collective mutters.
"Uh…Demiurge? Didn't we already do that?" Aura raised her hand to talk. "That was the very first game."
"Incorrect, though I suppose your confusion is somewhat understandable until I give further context." He rebuked her with a smile and a wag of his finger, getting his audience to listen keenly. "The first challenge was a Treasure Hunt; a search for random items hidden within the sand with value to everyone. This Scavenger Hunt will involve very specific items, with their value only of worth to the ones who seek them out."
And his audience was right back to being confused. With that, Sebas handed Demiurge a thick deck of cards. They were too large to be a standard deck. They more resembled flashcards.
"Each of you will be given a card. It will be your job to locate whatever is written on the card and claim it as yours. At which time you may come up to me to receive another card with a new object to locate. At the end of ten minutes, whomever has acquired the most cards is declared the winner."
"Oh!" Ainz's fist touched down softly on his open hand in realization. "I remember this game now! It was a popular thing done in a few school anime back in the day and we even did it once at the company picnic to help everybody unwind. It's a classic Japanese event game. Good job, Demiurge!"
One by one the archdevil passed out the cards to all participating players, including Ainz this time, figuring the risks were low enough for him to partake.
"Do keep in mind you are not allowed to get a new card until after you've found your item first." Demiurge explained further. "We are creations in service to the Supreme Beings after all. We do not have the luxury of failing in our assigned duties and hoping our next will be within our grasp."
"LUXURY? SUCH. FAILURE. COULD. BE. NOTHING. LESS. THAN. A. DISGRACE!"
"Well put, Cocytus."
"And…begin!"
At the sound of Sebas' whistle, the many NPCs scattered in a frantic search; sand flying through the air behind their footfalls.
"DO. ANY. WATERMELONS. EVEN. STILL. REMAIN. AFTER. THE. 2ND. CHALLENGE?" Cocytus' tusks clicked over what his card was asking him to acquire, moving his way over towards where said game had been played. "HMM. QUITE. THE. TRIAL. INDEED."
"A sword taller than you are? Guess we're lucky you got that card, huh?" Lupusregina chuckled as she read over Entoma's shoulder, whose motionless face still somehow managed to give her a dirty look.
"A book? I'm sure Lord Mare would have one but does it matter what kind…?" Yuri wondered aloud.
"I'm looking for a Rod of Incubus. Does anyone know what that is?" Mare asked the maid staff at the snack shack.
"What kind of cards are these?" Ainz thought privately to himself. Admittedly his experience with this kind of game was limited but he'd always been under the impression the items were supposed to be more generic, which, in fairness, some of them were. But then others were incredibly specific or weirdly circumstantial. Cocytus might not have been able to even play if he'd ended up with Entoma's card.
It was then that Ainz took notice of Albedo and Shalltear; the only two NPCs whom had received their cards yet had not joined in with the mad dash of the other. Strange. They were easily the most competitive of everyone here. So what was the difference this time? They both seemed oddly…tense, for lack of a better word.
Walking softly as to not attract their attention, Ainz moved himself into position a short bit behind the two, in an attempt to peek over their shoulders. Unfortunately, Albedo's wings and hair blocked too much of his view. The only way to get a better look would be to get closer and he dared not risk that. He had to settle for Shalltear's card alone, her shorter height giving no barrier to the skeleton's line of sight.
Real breasts
"WHAT KIND OF CARDS ARE THESE?!"
Ainz's mouth could only hang agape at the bizarre mix of things being requested during such an innocent seeming game, as Shalltear's eyes left her card and travelled up Albedo's body, stopping…around the area she would rather not acknowledge. How heavy did those things have to be and how did that flimsy material not just snap trying to support… Shalltear quickly shook her head to do away with such thoughts.
Albedo's own eyes soon made their way into looking down upon her rival. Neither Ainz nor the vampire knew what her card said but given the face upon her that matched Shalltear's, the same mix of embarrassment and restrained contempt, it would seem her desired object was right beside her as well. She just didn't want to admit it.
The two finally locked eyes, their faces going from red to pale to red again, an unseen game of chicken playing out before them as to who would make the first move.
Whether it was fortunate or un, Ainz couldn't really say, both finally broke at the same time and turned their hands away from each other in a huff, stomping off to different ends of the beach.
Shalltear's target was closer and thus she arrived there first, grabbing the person forcefully by the shoulder.
"Solution, you're with me." She declared with no room for debate, turning the golden haired member of the Pleiades around to show her card.
With it being held directly to her face, Solution read the card quickly, understanding now why Shalltear had come to her. And thus the face of apology that soon followed it.
"I'm sorry, my lady." She said when Shalltear finally backed up a bit. Within her arms was Decapitation Fang; Cocytus' halberd, which her own card had ordered her to request from him. "I would gladly give you my aid if I could. But unfortunately, I am not certain my breasts would count as real."
To better emphasize her point, Solution had the skin of her chest, torso, and shoulders to lose what humans would consider to be its "natural" color, allowing to become transparent and show the true dark blue of the predator slime she was.
"My body is malleable and can be molded to fit many desired shapes, the most ideal of course being this form that Lord Herohero designed for me. But regardless of the form, it is still all the same substance." She explained, small bubbles gliding slowly through her gelatin-like body to rise to the surface. "Regardless of how large or real they look, they lack the fat and ability to produce milk that actual breasts would have, just as much as my fingers lack the actual skin and bones real fingers wouldn't."
"Well…do you think it might be fine anyway?" Shalltear asked hopefully.
"I imagine that would depend on the judgment of Lord Demiurge." Solution responded, her head turning in his direction. Shalltear did the same, now able to see the man in question staunchly refusing to allow Albedo to take a new card with her first not yet fulfilled. Fun as it was to see her opponent so thoroughly denied, it didn't mean much good for Shalltear either. He was a stickler for details. That one word, real, was going to be more than enough justification for that devil to dash her hopes entirely.
That avenue closed off to her, the grumbling Shalltear pondered her other options. "So that won't work. There are others I could ask but there's no way Narberal or Lupusregina wouldn't tell that cow I did. And as Overseer she has authority over the Homunculus Maids. So that leaves…"
Slowly, Shalltear's eyes slid across the beach, scanning and search through the many faces presents until she finally found…ahhh. There she is. All annoyance lefts Shalltear's features, replaced by an emotion more than familiar to the vampire. The slits within her irises sharpened, like a predator that had spotted its prey.
Where she stood off in that distance, in the middle of thanking Mare for loaning her his copy of The Wizard of Oz, Yuri Alpha froze, the instinctual warning of danger running through her spine. Were she not an undead, her bikini-clad body would be drenched in a cold sweat, chilling her further even underneath this hot sun. There was no need to look around in search for the one whom had given her such fear. It was almost like she could feel the tongue Shalltear used to lick her lips against her own skin.
Tongue returning back to its proper place within her mouth (for now), Shalltear's mood finally broke into quite the hungry sneer.
"As far as second picks go, I suppose I can't complain." Shalltear said more to herself than Solution, whom gave her superior her space and silence. She knew well by this point to not get in the way when these…cravings hit. She felt bad for her sister, naturally, but there was very little a lowly combat maid could do to stop a Floor Guardian.
And yet, it seemed the heavens deemed fit to send Yuri a savior, as Shalltear found herself suddenly snapped out of her thirst by the repeated taps of a finger on her shoulder.
She turned and found Aura standing before her. Like she had done with Solution, Shalltear was made to read the card placed directly in her face.
A perverse person
This time, it was Shalltear's turn to be frozen. But not by the same fear that'd held the now freed Yuri.
"I mean…I can't say you're exactly wrong, but…"
Even with her age and body held in eternal stasis, Shalltear was still older and taller than the elf girl. Yet somehow, that smug, degrading smile across Aura's features felt like she was just towering over her. She fit the description to a T, but to give Aura that satisfaction…
Between her own card or Aura's, she was being made to swallow some kind of poison.
"What kind of cards are these?" Ainz's repeated to himself once again; calmer, but still shaking his head. Most seemed fine and normal but then there were those that were just so bizarre. "Come to think of it, what's my card say?"
Ainz looked down at the card in his hand.
Someone you like
"…"
"…"
"…"
"NOPE!" Ainz tore the card in half and hid it in his pockets before anyone could see.
"Time is up! Everyone, please gather to present your cards." Sebas announced so that all may hear him, the clock having finally hit its limit.
Everyone participating lined up and Demiurge went down it from right to left. Ainz noticed with some impressiveness how much managed to be gathered in such a short timeframe.
It was quite apparent at just a glance that Cocytus and Solution had made a few trades in order to fulfil their respective cards, but Solution had still pulled ahead of him in the end, even if just barely. Five to four.
Gargantua's arm and only that much was lifted up out of the water, laying itself out beside Entoma with all her others finds as the rest of the body stayed beneath the waves. What the card could have possibly said to have the golem qualify, Ainz couldn't possibly guess, but it helped the maid's total stand at seven.
Mare stood next to his sister with some notable shame, still having only one card in his hand. Evidently, he never managed to find his item, though given how specific it was Ainz couldn't really fault him on that. Didn't keep the poor boy from looking even more pathetic when surrounded by Aura's five finds. Err…six, actually. The choice to stand by Solution was a deliberate one. It would seem she took the place Aura had initially sought Shalltear for, fitting the description enough for Demiurge to count it.
Albedo and Shalltear…still one card each.
Continuing down the line, Demiurge reached CZ Delta, within her arms, its feet dangling down towards the sand, being the same cat from before. Apparently she had refused to let it out of her sight since lunch. Using one arm to still keep the animal supported, she presented her cards not as a hand but rather a stack. For you see…
"An outstanding total of thirty-two cards!" He announced with such awe, immediately gaining the attention of all the others.
"But…where's all the items she found?" Aura asked the natural question. Looking on both sides, behind, and even under, all that was there was the cat and CZ herself.
Taking the cards from her, Demiurge started to flip through them.
"Something fluffy."
CZ held up the cat before her body. "Nyan!" It went, stretching out its paw in salute.
"Something you find cute."
"Nyan!"
"A creature with fur."
"Nyan!"
"Animal with a hat."
"Nyan!"
"Something that walks on four legs."
"Nyan!"
Shalltear snatched the cards from Demiurge. "Wait! Do they all have to do with that cat?!" She exploded, Albedo looking over her shoulder as she flipped through them at a rapid pace. Indeed, in one way or another, every prompt they read could be applied to the little beast in some way or another.
In spite of the accusations of unfairness, Demiurge only gave a chuckle, smugly pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose with a finger.
"I did say the winner was determined by whoever collected the most cards, and that you must merely fulfill the requirements of the cards you have in order to get a new one. I never said that you couldn't use the same item to fulfill the requirements of multiple cards." He said with a taunting wag of his finger. He was beaming, seeming so full of pride for the maid. "Unfair? Perhaps. But I wouldn't be much of a devil if I couldn't appreciate exploiting a technicality."
"He's Ulbert's creation all right." Ainz's mind couldn't help but comment, punctuated with a tired but still amused sigh. Sometimes his old friend could be even more of a Chuunibyou than Momonga with how into character he'd get. That golden-masked old goat.
"I would have had thirty-three, but I don't know where he went." CZ said in that same even tone that always carried her voice as Shalltear reached the final card.
Someone who disgusts you
"I almost feel bad for him." Ainz thought, being the only one to notice the cat giving a nervous sweat through its fur. Probably because he was the only one who knew the truth.
Regardless, the combat maid's collection still easily outnumbered those of her peers and the results could not be contested enough to change the result.
"The winner is CZ Delta." Sebas made it official.
"Nyan!"
Some clapped, as befitting good sports. Others, they felt the instinctive urge to object out of pride. But…
"Well…whatever." Albedo said with closed eyes and a shaking head, flicking the card over her shoulder (which Demiurge immediately caught). "Hardly a true test of our abilities anyway."
"Exactly." Shalltear seconded as she threw her own away, apparently also seeing the value in letting it go rather than potentially be made to face her shame again. "It is simple luck of the draw. Even a human could claim a great victory through something like that."
"Very true. Some of these games were intended purely for fun, I suppose. We'll have to wait for the next one for our contest to truly resume."
"Agreed. Something that'll actually be a competition between us."
Aura was the only one blatant enough to roll her eyes over the pair as they continued walking away, likely trying to put as much physical and mental distance between themselves and the game as possible. By contrast, CZ was one of the NPCs who didn't care enough to even take notice. Smiling softly, she scratched lovingly under the cat's neck as Demiurge and Sebas went around collecting the rest of the cards.
"Demiurge, may I see that card?" Ainz came up behind him, pointing at what he'd caught from Albedo.
"Hm? Oh, yes, of course, my lord. Go right ahead." He handed the card over willingly.
Taking the thin paper between his large skeletal fingers, Ainz read it.
Your best friend
Though the skull itself could not move, Ainz did feel like his eyes had widened somewhat.
He looked back over to the distance, Albedo and Shalltear still there, complaining back and forth about how such a game was no real test of their skills, punctuated by how much the other should fear when they'll get serious in the upcoming rounds.
"…Heh." Ainz found that single small chuckle escape his throat.
Author's notes: Yes, this was partially inspired by Isekai Quartet, as well as a small bit from the Sports Festival in My Hero Academia.