Right so... long time no see it's been a while. Where have I been some of you may ask? That's simple, I've been suffering through what is commonly known as writer's block, it is a terrible disease of the mind that affects writers all over the world resulting in the deaths of stories everywhere.

Alright jokes over, I'm back and with a vengeance. I wanted to have a chapter out on the 27th of August but that thing mentioned above prevented me from doing so. I almost ended up skipping to the wave (which I've had written since I released chapter 3) leaving any development of Ainz and Raphtalia' relationship in the dust; I didn't want to do that.

This is the chapter where we are going to start diverting from cannon, I'm going to warn you now some things may change, others will stay the same. It will change though.

One last thing before you start. I have - as some of you may have noticed - put the tag (active story) in the summary, as long as that is there, this story is not dead.

I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I don't own the Overlord(オーバーロードŌbārōdo?) Light novel, manga or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.

I do not own the Rising of the shield hero (Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari) Light novel, manga or Anime series created by Aneko Yusagi


Chapter 6

A few days had passed since Ainz' meeting with the shadow. When he wasn't in combat, or studying the growth of his companion, he was thinking about the wave and how to handle it. He had gone through that particular memory several times in his head already, trying to glean any information he could from it and come up with strategies and ways to handle them.

He wanted to level up quickly; that was his main motivation right now besides going home, the latter beginning to feel like a long term goal - frustratingly, he could no longer open a gate to his world. He had theories as to what could have changed but they were just that, theories - and the wave seemed like the best opportunity to level up almost as if it was offered to him on a silver platter for his own indulgence.

After a long time contemplating, there were two ways he could handle it. One was the cautious route; playing the hero he was supposed to be, using the shield, it's abilities and his spells to kill groups of monsters at a time... but this approach would put the people he was supposed to save in unreasonable danger. That, and he'd already blown any chance of using this option long ago, as a result of the vermilion nova he had cast in spite.

That, and the other three heros are likely to head straight to the wave boss, assuming that the prior knowledge of the games they played truly matched up with this world. If it did, it may be worth trying to re-establish a working relationship with one of them, but that's likely not going to happen.

That left the other option... which was probably the more realistic route, was to go all in. Of course, this had its own downfalls, one of which would be announcing himself to the world as a player… something that he had not taken lightly when deciding. He hadn't discovered any signs of their existence in this world yet, but even so it wasn't impossible. After all, this was his second time being transported to another world. What's there to say it hadn't happened to another?

Then, there were a few events he could think of that would take place after the wave.

He would probably be called for an audience with the king, something he was actually looking forward to. After that would be the Church; one of two things would happen. Either they would be dissuaded from going after him, or, they would double down and react more aggressively towards him. The upside to this, though, was that he would no longer need to worry about their schemes.

Next, he would gain recognition or infamy from the countries surrounding Melromarc. Whether this was a good or a bad thing, he was uncertain, but it may lead to other interesting developments.

But the most apparent factor and the thing that reinforced his decision was that he would likely be able to gain incredible amounts of experience and levels for himself and the girl. Of course there was a risk that the monsters of the wave gave no xp upon death, a concern that he would have to keep at the back of his mind for when the time came...

Suddenly the sound of petering feet on cold stone filled the room, disturbing Ainz from his inner thoughts. Turning slightly from his seat, he gazed upon the source and chuckled lightly at their appearance. He probably shouldn't have laughed at her considering that he may have inadvertently caused her current look, after the advice he had given her the night before.

"Have you tried fighting the nightmares?"

Her brown hair could be described as an extreme case of bedhead, as if to match the aesthetic of her hair's look, noticeable bags appeared under her eyes.

"Raphtalia, sleep well?" the Overlord asked as she sat down on the couch across from him.

"No…" she grumbled out, dropping her head on the opposing cushion.

"I see. Well, I'll give you some time to wake up before we move out. Today, I want to go into town to conduct some business and gather information. After that, we will be going to a village north of here."

"Mhmm," she mumbled drowsily through the cushion. Ainz took a moment to observe the girl, amazed at how quickly she had grown. For every level after 10 she had started to grow, now her appearance matched her level;15.

The magic iron armor plate that covered her chest had risen slightly as the young figure of a woman became more apparent and the armor, while still loose, was not as loose as it used to be.

"Ready to go?" the Overlord asked.

All the girl did was grumble and wave her hand lazily.

...

When the two finally began moving, half an hour had passed. Instead of teleporting straight into the city, he had chosen to walk, killing monsters and collecting their drops as they went.

Once they reached the city walls - after leaving a trail of dead monsters in their wake - Ainz asked her to take hold of his hand, she hesitated for a moment but did so.

"Are you afraid of heights?" He asked, looking into her bright pink eyes.

"I don't think so," she shook her head. "My village was near the ocean, so sometimes we would jump off the cliff into the water, even when Sadeea wasn't there to watch us. Why?"

"You'll see. [Mass Invisibility] [Mass Fly]," weightlessness overcame Raphtalia as she began to float a few inches off the ground.

Her gaze snapped downwards, and she gasped. She looked up at Ainz. '"Wha... what?" she murmured

"Can you still see me?" The Overlord inquired

"Yes, but you're kind of fuzzy," she replied.

"I see, then it's working like it used to…"

"Like what used to?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Just something from a long time ago, you don't need to worry. Now, you have gotten better at using [Message] so I'd like to see how you handle this spell. You should find it easy to control. Just think about what you want to happen," without saying another word, he let go of her hand and flew upward. He stopped just high enough that he was in line with the windows of the castle's throne room, looking down at her watching.

"Hm..." she pouted looking up at him. "I don't like how he doesn't tell me anything, doesn't he trust me?"

After a few failed attempts to move left and right, she learned that the way in which she leaned her body dictated the direction she moved in. She then attempted to fly upwards, only to find that she bobbed on the spot. When that failed she next tried to jump in the air, evidently finding that didn't work either.

Then, finally after what felt like several embarrassing minutes of looking like a fish out of water she gave in and just shouted "I want to go up!"

All of a sudden she felt like the entire world's atmosphere was crashing down on top of her shoulders as the stone wall below got smaller and smaller. Panic began to fill her mind as the image of her teacher - who was looking up at her - got smaller and smaller.

"Stop!" she screamed out into the thinning air, she slammed to a halt, her hair flinging forward. She took a moment to catch her breath and reached for the pendent hanging around her neck ready to send a message for help, but stopped before making contact.

"He's testing me, I need to figure this out on my own." she thought, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath.

Once she opened them again she took a moment to look around. It was a clear, sunny day, without a single cloud in the sky. Whether it was the horizon, Lute Village she had been to the day prior, or the castle town, everything seemed so close, yet so far away.

"I can see the edge of the world…" she mumbled as her eyes went wide in wonder. For the first time in what felt like years, she felt truly free.

She breathed in deeply, and uttered; "Down, slowly," there was a brief pause, then she slowly fell towards the earth. Unlike last time the speed at which the spell moved, this time it was... almost relaxing.

"I don't want to do that again." she stated after coming to a stop next to her teacher.

"I see, that is unfortunate. Then it seems you will be staying behind, today."

"What? Why?" she slumped her shoulders.

"Because we will be using this spell as our primary source of travel from now on; with a few exceptions. I simply wished to see if you were capable of using it properly."

"Can't we just teleport to locations like we did to Lute yesterday?" She inquired in a disbelieving tone.

Ainz looked at her with a raised brow. "She's normally not this forward." he thought as he began to explain. "That's not possible. For me to teleport to a location I would have to have been there before, or have seen an image of it."

"But Lute, we haven't been there before?" She questioned, frowning.

Ainz sighed. "I was in this world for three days before I met you. I mostly spent that time familiarising myself with the local area and people, as well as infrequently leveling up."

"I see." she muttered, slumping her head slightly.

"Shall we go?" He asked.

"Um, just a quick question. You would have saved me right? If I couldn't control it, I mean?"

"Yes,." he nodded, "If you went too far up, I would have stopped you."

"How?" She asked, glaring at him. If he needed to know the location he was teleporting to, how would he save her?

Ainz didn't say anything, he simply held out his arm and slowly waved it from side to side. As he did so, she felt her body moving back and forth in the slight wind, following its movement's.

"Y-you could have stopped me?!" The girl exclaimed, as she continued to follow his movements.

"Yes," he replied flatly, "Like I said, I wanted to see how you would handle it. All things considered, you did well…"

"Well. I'm Glad. I Passed. Your test." she huffed, crossing her arms and spinning away from him, her eyes squeezed shut.

"As am I," he returned with a hint of amusement.

"Hmph!"

"Follow me down, when you are ready," he announced, releasing his own control of the spell. He began to accelerate downward, towards the earth. Raphtalia's eyes snapped open and she stared down after him, her mouth open.

There was a theory Ainz wanted to test. Whether this was from player intervention in the distant past with the aid of a world item, or the magic of the ancient Dragon Lords, In his world the term "fall damage" did not exist… you could be a level 1 child, or a level 100 player, and you would still take no damage from leaping off of the tallest cliff in the world, landing with nothing but a ruffling of cloth and a crater in the earth to acknowledge what you had just done.

The moment before he landed, Ainz cast [Silence]. Upon landing, not so much as a peep was heard even as the cracks in the pavement began to spread out from the large indented bootprints.

"Nothing," he remarked, closely scrutinizing his HP bar, it hadn't moved so much as millimetre.

"Is it because of my body's durability, or because this world's laws are similar to mine. Perhaps I should test it with someone else… if only I hadn't turned them all into death knights."

"Um… why did you do that?" Raphtalia asked as she lightly touched down.

"I wanted to test something, that's all."

"Won't we get in trouble later?" she inquired, looking at the small crater.

"Umu, probably," he shrugged. "But if need be, I can fix it later," he began walking towards the main street . "Are you hungry?"

"Umu, probably," she teased, following not far behind him.

Just before they were about to turn the corner, Ainz looked over his shoulder and said firmy "Don't do that."

She giggled. Not long after they turned into the main street, they were stopping again, this time at a shady looking shop hidden away in a back alley.

"Um, Suzuki, what are we doing here? I thought we were getting food?"

"We are, but I thought it prudent to acquire some additional funds, first."

"Oh… I see, but ah, why are we here then?" She asked, with a curious expression.

"This man trades monster parts for coin, and from what information I have gathered, has some of the best exchange rates in the city," Ainz replied, fully knowing that the greying man on the other side of the counter was listening to their conversation.

The man looked directly at them with scowl, not the interested one Ainz would expect to find on your typical merchant. "You need to leave, shield hero. I'm not supposed to even be talking with you, let alone doing business with you - king's orders and all that, I'm afraid." The man explained quickly.

"I see… why if I may ask?" Ainz inquired.

The man huffed, closed his eyes and turned his body slightly. Clearly refusing to answer, the Overlord lost interest beginning to move on to another shop.

"Wait a moment!" the merchant called after them.

Ainz stopped and turned his head back to the shop owner, thinking that the man may have reconsidered. Unfortunately... "Normally I would conduct trade with you, god knows I need it, but I will have to be content with the hope that once this mess with the princess is over - when her Majesty returns - that you'll trade with me again. For now let me tell you that I am not the only one you will not be able to do business with, all of Melromarc is barred from conducting business with you."

"There was a lot of information in that speech. I hope you can explain some of it?"

The elder trader stuck his head over the counter, timidly looking left and right down the abandoned alley. Once he confirmed that no one was there, he beckoned them to come closer. "You didn't hear this from me, but there are some new rumors going around that you were framed for what you did, and punished the King and Princess for it; that explosion was apparently part of it."

"You have my thanks, merchant," Ainz replied. The Overlord stood up straight, and reached behind his red cape to hide the fact he reached into his inventory. A moment later, he pulled out a single silver coin from his kingdom, and placed it on the counter. The man reached for it, eyes going wide as he noticed the sheen and artistry of it. "For your trouble."

The trader gave a cautious nod and tucked it into a loosely stitched pocket on the side of his worn cloth pants, leaving the shield hero to his own devices while he went back to sorting the materials behind him.

...

"It seems as though the Shadows have been busy. Perhaps they are attempting to gain further favor with me, if this is what they are able to do in three days it may just work." the Overlord thought as a familiar tent entered his view.

To his right walked the girl he had acquired a few days before, a worried expression firmly planted on her face. Cautious of the place they were heading to. She knew he wasn't going to return her to this place after the way he had treated her, she would have ran if that was the case but even so she still had a sick feeling surging at the base of her gut likely from coming back here so soon after leaving.

"Um, Sir, what are we doing back here? Are you getting another slave?"

"No." he replied firmly. "The king has made things difficult for me. Normally I would not suffer through such tactics but after what that trader told me I've decided to lay low - for now - and give the king and the church no more chances to ruin my image any further, instead I will work through a proxy."

"Oh… is that a good idea?" she asked with concern looking at the pavilion ahead, remembering the personality of the pudgy man.

"He's the only one I can entrust with a task like this one, his lust for coin makes him rather predictable so I intended to make a deal with him."

"Hmmm, this won't end well…" she hummed wryly.

Before they even reached the entrance of the massive tent, the slave trader was standing there with an ear to ear grin on his face as if waiting for them to arrive.

"You were expecting us?" the Overlord asked with an unseen raised brow.

"Oh, yes indeed, Sir," he chuckled. "Given current happenings I expected you eventually. Just not so soon, imagine, my surprise."

"I'm sure. Then, shall we move inside. I'd like to keep this confidential."

"Indeed!" the slaver exclaimed. His impossible, greedy smile somehow got wider as he spun around on the edge of his heel and walked back inside with his new business opportunities following not far behind.

Once they reached the smaller tent inside, Ainz was immediately beset with a question. "So dear Sir, what service may I provide you with today? Perhaps another slave?"

"No. A partnership if you will, I require a proxy to conduct transactions in lue of myself; The resale of monster goods and wares, that kind of thing."

"Oh, consider me intrigued…" Beloukas exclaimed coyly then suddenly took on a depressive atmosphere, that Ainz found to be more than fake "...but, as I'm sure you already know, the King's recent proclamation to traders operating in Melromarc prevents me from doing business with your illustrious self. This partnership will be quite hazardous to my business-"

"Stop." the Overlord spat, looking straight into the pudgy man's eyes.

"What?" the slaver exclaimed in surprise, not expecting the declaration at all.

"I am not one who 'beats around the bush' so to speak, I prefer to get straight to the point, whether it's politics or business, as such I can assume you were going to explain that dealing with me would put you at risk; you would have likely started somewhere around twenty-five to thirty percent with the expectation that I would work you down. So how much do you want? Be reasonable."

"I see…" the trader retorted with a disappointed sigh. "Well, I suppose that's one way to take the fun out of it." Beloukas grumbled. "How does twenty percent sound?" he inquired as he made his way over to one of the draws that surrounded them and pulled out a length of white parchment and an ink pen with some kind of gem or crystal inlaid within its shaft. The pen was in a word fat, as to accommodate the crystal, but not so much as to make it look uncomfortable.

He then moved over to his desk on the opposite side, gesturing for Raphtalia to move aside and grabbed a small ink pot before making his way back to the parchment on the centre table.

Ainz watched patiently as the small man started writing down what looked to be a contract with lines for what was assumed to be details added later. The Overlord found it odd that for some reason he did this with the generic feather quill that came with the ink pot and not the expensive looking ink pen he had gotten out earlier.

Once he was done, Beloukas dropped the quill to the side and picked up the pen, then looked at Ainz.

"Duration of contact and condition?" he asked as he placed his thumb on top of the crystal that started to grow a faint blue.

"That looks like a… no it can't be?" "Ah before you start, may I have a look at the pen you are holding?"

"I suppose it can't hurt. But Sir, please be careful it is a rather expensive item that is very hard to replace."

"I see, what is it used for?" The Overlord asked, taking the pen carefully from the man's hands.

"It is a mana channeling pen that is used in the creation of binding contracts. Traders such as myself use them to make deals that could last year's, which is why they are hardly brought out."

"And the crystal inside the pen; what are its properties?"

The man's face flattened. "Sir, the gem channel's mana, it can be used to enchant or even make materials; thread, metals or in this case ink."

"Did I ask something I shouldn't have? No matter."

"So it couldn't be used to say seal a spell inside to be released later?"

"Oh, my apologies I thought you were being dull… to my knowledge I do not think that has ever been attempted with this kind of crystal, you would need to speak with a jeweler who specialises in accessory creation, not my speciality I'm afraid."

"Hmm, I see. Then do you know how I may get into contact with one of these jeweler's and if possible someone who is acquainted with this type of gem?

"I do, but I'm afraid to say he is out of town at the moment, though if you allow me, say three days. I should be able to organise something."

Ainz nodded. "Very well, but we should make it four days and meet some time in the early morning in case we need to travel."

"Very good Sir," the small man exclaimed with a teeth-baring grin. "Shall we get back to the object at hand?"

"Yes." the Overlord nodded, handing the pen back to Baloukas.

"Duration of contact?" He asked, putting pen to paper.

"Unspecified or until we both mutually agree on termination?"

"That is very fair of you Sir. Would you like me to read it to you once I am done?"

Ainz gave a simple nod and watched closely as the ink dipped pen made contact with the parchment below.

Every word placed into the missing segment glowed a light blue similarly to the crystal before fading into appearance with the normal ink.

"Sir, Could I ask you to print your name here, here and here?" The pudgy man asked after reading the agreement in its entirety

"Hmm, this may be difficult. I do not know this world's written language."

"And I don't think it's possible for me to Chanel pure mana, I would require a priest class like Pestonya; that's not something I can do at the moment. Maybe [Negative touch] could work… it's technically a form of mana."

"Oh, there is no need to worry about that dear Sir. You use the language of the hero's do you not? I believe that will work as long as you believe that to be your name."

"Oddly specific words..."Ainz looked at the man with a raised brow. "That should be fine, but could I ask you both to leave until I am done."

"Why?" Raphtalia asked, surprised.

"Whatever for?" Inquired the slaver with a suspicious scoul.

"A personal reason, one I do not wish to discuss at this time. It will only take a moment, I will call you once I'm done."

"Very well… this way girl." Beloukas stated, walking through the curtain door and out of sight.

Raphtalia stood still for a moment, looking at Ainz before she turned and followed the small man.

Left alone Ainz reached to his right gauntlet and twisted. With an audible "chink" he pulled the entire gauntlet off revealing his skeletal arm.

He placed the gauntlet on the table and picked up the pen and began to use [negative touch].

The gem glowed in a deep purple and began to almost scream. Not knowing if it was due to the negative energy or the amount of mana being pumped through it, he tried to reduce the flow somewhat.

After a few seconds the howling of the gem died down into a low hum that was still loud enough to hear. Finally he put pen to paper and each stroke of his name "Momonga" in kanji glowed a deep purple that did not fade.

"Hmm, I half expected it to rot, the paper must be enchanted as well." He mused, finishing the last signature.

"You may come back in now." the overlord stated grabbing his gauntlet and quickly locking it back into place.

"No complications I hope?" Beloukas inquired as he made his way inside with Raphtalia.

"None that I could perceive. Though this gem's mana capacity is lower than I expected… I assume its strength is determined by its size?"

"Yes, that is correct. Now," he clapped his gloved hands together and walked past Ainz. "Let's see if everything is in order." Taking a moment to confirm that everything was properly signed and in order, he rolled the parchment carefully and placed it safely into the lock box hidden under the centre table, after which Beloukas smiled widely and clapped his hands twice in an elegant manner.

From the far sides of the massive tent, two cloaked individuals appeared - saying nothing to either Ainz and Raphtalia as they passed them - quickly standing before the slaver in a stiff manner.

"Yes Master?" They queried simultaneously.

The pudgy trader looked up to Ainz expectationaly. Acknowledging the man's unsaid request Ainz once again reached behind his back, into his inventory and pulled out a small unassuming leather pouch he then placed on the wooden counter. The man looked at the pouch and then back to the giant in armor with an expression that seemed to ask "Seriously, is that all?"

Ainz sighed and began to explain. "Despite appearances, that bag can hold five hundred kilograms of items; it's completely full…" he looked at the cloaked assistants. "When you empty it, make sure you do it slowly or it will all come out at once; It will get messy very quickly.

"In that case…" the trader mumbled and looked to his assistants. "Get the wagon."

There was not a single moment of hesitation as the two politely bowed and sped out of the small tent, separating to get everything that was needed.

"I have another request."

"Oh?" The slaver hummed with a smile.

"Do not get too excited, it will not bring you any monetary gain." To this the man seemed to deflate.

"Very well. What is it?" He asked with a disappointed tone.

"While your… minions are out I'd like them to get a cooked meal for-"

"Me! I'm sick of eating fish…" Raphtalia blurted out.

"Well then, I will order them to pick something up on the way back. If that is to your liking Sir?"

Ainz gave a slight nod in response while the girls' bushy brown tail began to wag back and forth happily at the prospect of eating something other than flame roasted fish.

"Alright, then perhaps while we wait, can I interest you in something that may appeal to one such as yourself Sir?"

"Perhaps, it depends on what it happens to be."

"I suppose it does," the man replied with a chuckle. "Just a moment." He continued, making his way around the central table to a wooden box laying in the corner.

"This is what is called a monster egg lottery. For just a hundred silvers you're guaranteed to get at least a filolial; a monster chick that will double in value if properly taken care of."

"A filolial? I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Yes, you must have seen them; those big birds that pull carriages aroun- wait, come to think of it I don't think I've seen one since I left this place a few days ago." said Raphtalia with a thoughtful expression.

"Indeed. The day the heroes were summoned, there was a mass exodus of domesticated filolial's from the city. According to reports I've been privy to, the flock doesn't want to come anywhere near the city."

"Hmm, I wonder if thats my fault… How has it affected business, personally?"

"Very little, when my filolial ran off I simply used one of the horses I had on hand. The rest of the city had some issues adapting but otherwise nothing much changed, mostly using horses and dragons, with slave labour filling in the rest." said the slaver with a greedy, prideful smile.

"I see. And these dragons, I can assume they are not a true dragon; wings, four legs, breathes fire or some other element and can talk? Just some big lizard?"

The slaver chuckled lightly then began to explain with an amused tone "That would be funny to watch if they were. Thankfully it is the latter, what you refer to as a "true dragon" is what we of this world call "Pure bloods" or "Dragon Emperor" if you're more inclined to boost their ego."

"Oh! My father told me about a guardian dragon that kept watch over the area where he grew up." Raphtalia chimed in.

Ainz gave a nod to the girl, he would tuck that information away for later. "It seems they are just as arrogant as the ones I am familiar with. Do you know what power they hold and what their general personality is like?" "I don't want to fight another Platinum Dragon Lord if I can help it." He added in thought.

"In terms of power… I can't say, I've never personally met one. However, I hear they are rather well mannered and tend to keep to themselves except when in heat, as you might expect." the small man chuckled.

"Typical. I will have to decline the offer for now." Ainz replied flatly.

"Are you sure? only a hundred silver, if raised well it could get you up twenty gold pieces were you to sell it."

"The answer has not changed, perhaps another time. Besides, even if I wanted one I don't have one hundred silver."

"Now that is a predicament… then, why not use one of the favours I owe you?"

"From the coins? Not a chance. I'm saving those for another time when they are worth using."

"How wise of you… then perhaps after you receive your share?"

"What is it you really want? Why do you want me to take one." Asked Ainz incredulously, looking down into the greedy man's eyes.

"More coin, my dear Sir." Beloukas replied looking back up with a wide smile.

"Hmph, liar." Ainz huffed looking down at the little man, his eyes glowing a faint red as a bit of tension hung between them.

"Ah, sorry to interrupt you two but they're back." Raphtalia stated, interrupting the two's staring contest.

"Yes Master, it is as the girl says, we have returned and are ready for our next task." The masked assistant exclaimed, stiffly standing to the side of the girl.

"Alright! Let's get this started." the small man clapped and walked past Ainz.


No this isn't all, I'm planning on releasing another chapter next week and another in the week after that with a possible 4th in the week after that (no promises), with the 4th finally covering the wave! I know it's not what some of you wanted after such a long wait, but I thought it would be better than releasing a nearly 60 page 25k word chapter all at once, it would get pretty tiresome for some people to read. That, and I need time to finish 3 and rewrite 4.

In the next chapter we will be finishing up Ainz' wager with Erhard and what consequences may have come from giving prismatic ore to a blacksmith who was Ill equipped to handle such a metal and just what it took to forge it.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review and a follow.

I'll see you in the next one!