An ethereal silence fell upon the forest, the slight gusts of wind sneaking through the branches the only proof that time had not, in fact, frozen. From behind his mask, Momonga was peeking at the two people who had not as much as twitched since he arrived: only staring at him with slacked jaws.
'This is… a bit awkward' the skeleton thought. He wouldn't call himself a professional at socializing, but he thought it was common courtesy to at least thank someone that helps you out. He tried to distract himself by looking for any more of those creatures, but the pairs of eyes staring him down like hawks made him uncomfortable.
"Maybe the social norm in this world is for me to introduce myself first?" He opened his mouth to speak (not that he needed to), but the words didn't come out. If his experience as a salaryman had taught him anything, it was first impressions really important for establishing new connections. His last-minute rescue had already laid the groundwork, now all he had to do was ride that momentum. As the representative of The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, it was his job to establish himself as someone worthy of the position. After all, he wanted to spread the word of his arrival as wide as possible, so it could reach any of his comrades that might have also found themselves here. As soon as that thought came, a sudden idea popped into his head.
"Greetings, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown." He internally cringed at himself, but he couldn't deny that taking on the guild's name had its merits. The successor of Nine's Own Goal, a guild born out of the desire to unite fellow-minded individuals and to fight against the game's discrimination, it was a name deeply ingrained in all its members' hearts; a name none of them could ever mistake for another. Using it as his own was a logical action, but he couldn't deny it also brought him a small amount of satisfaction. Momonga had been the name of the guild master of Ainz Ooal Gown, but the guild could not continue with him alone. If by taking its mantle upon himself he could honour the precious memories they had all shared together, he would gladly do so. He would ensure their legacy would never fade for as long as he was still alive. Or undead, at least.
Back to the two others present, the man was the first to recover, lowering his head in gratitude:
"Ainz-dono, you have my deepest gratitude for your assistance!" His even baritone spoke of a military man, an idea strongly supported by the set of medieval armour he was wearing, but he still talked with a formality befitting of a noble, albeit a bit forced. "My name is Gazeff Stronoff, the Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom." That name seemed to get a reaction out of the young girl.
"THE Gazeff Stronoff? The traders that come to the village always say that he is the strongest warrior in the whole kingdom, the legendary champion of the biggest martial arts tournament! That Gazeff Stronoff?"
"Ah, yes, that's right" the man in question answered, clearly embarrassed.
As if she was suddenly reminded of where she was, heat rushed to her face as she clumsily bowed before the two of them.
"Oh… I'm s-sorry, I-I…. My name is E-enri Emmot. Lord Stronoff, Lord Ainz thank you very much for saving me!"
Ainz nodded in acceptance, but his attention was focused on the knight in front of him. This man was supposed to be the strongest in all of the Kingdom, yet by his estimation, his level couldn't be higher than in the low fifties. Was he being deceived, or was the level of the inhabitants of this World truly that low?
"There is no need to thank me, I was only passing by after all."
"A magic caster as powerful as yourself just happened to pass by in such a remote area of the Kingdom?" he mused, before lowering his head in shame. "I apologize, I did not mean to insult you. I owe you my life, as well as the life of Miss Emmot, I have no words that can adequately express your kindness." The position of Warrior Captain must truly rank high even compared to that of a regional lord, yet such a man was willing to lower himself before a complete nobody. For a moment, instead of the tall, bearded man in front of him, Ainz saw a knight clad in brilliant silver, a crimson cape flowing behind him and steely eyes full of determination. The man that had been his saviour. His first friend.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Gazeff-dono. "Shaking his head to free himself of the illusion, Ainz focused on the conversation at hand. "The timing of my arrival has indeed been quite suspicious, but that is because it was not coincidental. You see, I was in the process of researching the very creatures that had attacked you."
"I see, so you were looking for these…things." His face briefly twisted in disgust as he remembered the vile substance staining his amour. "I am no monster researcher, but I have never heard of such monstrosities. The Adventurer's Guild must be warned of the discovery of this new species. Are you by any chance an adventurer?"
'So, these monsters are not a common existence. For some reason I'm not surprised, they somehow felt…. foreign. I never encountered something like them back in YGGDRASILL' He hadn't known how powerful they were, so his attack ended up completely erasing them. He regrated that, a piece of those tentacle monsters would have made for excellent research material.
"Something like that." He answered vaguely "Do not worry, I will personally relay all the information I gathered here." By that, he meant he will drop all the work to one of the Hassans. Being the boss did have its perks after all.
"E-excuse me!" Enri suddenly exclaimed. She had been so overwhelmed by everything that happened, she had needed a moment to gather herself. "I know I am in no position to ask for more favours, but my village is still- "she was cut off by the hand that gently gripped her shoulders.
"There is no need to worry Mis Emmot, me and my troops have already dealt with those miscreants. I left my men back in the village; they will make sure to protect your people." Gazeff assured her.
Emmi's face lit up, all the day's fear and worry washing away, leaving behind nothing but tiredness and relief, her expression regaining her youthfulness. It was akin to a child's comfort in knowing that the adults had stepped in and now every problem will magically solve itself. Ainz on the other hand silently frowned, realizing that he was the only one aware of the actual situation. He considered speaking out, but he decided to first check on his partner.
"Jeanne, what is the situation in Carne Village?" Ainz had been extremely confused when the NPCs had expected him to be able to communicate telepathically with them. Sure, there were items that allowed that, but it was not something he could just do with no help all of the sudden. The way he was accomplishing that now was with the help of the spell Message.
"Oi, Master, perfect timing. I have dealt with the weaklings attacking no problem, but there is another issue." A musical voice answered him, a voice whose tone did nothing to hide the undeniable mark of cruelty lurking underneath. "Some of the villagers seem to be infected with some sort of tentacles in their head, it's making them try to attack me."
Ainz could feel a hint of anger bubbling inside of him. The aloofness in Jeanne's voice made it clear that she was in no apparent danger, but the idea of someone trying to harm his friends' precious creations filled him with rage. He tried to quell the desire of rushing over there immediately, his mind starting to go over the information present. There was no unsubtle connection between the monsters that he encountered and the parasites the NPC described. "Is there any way to differentiate between the infected and the regular people?"
"None that I could see" came the bored reply.
"Then dispose of all the villagers. We can't afford to let a potential enemy escape." the easiness the words came out with almost terrified him.
"Understood, Master" she joyfully responded, before cutting off the communication. Ainz didn't need to see her to picture the giant grin splitting her face right now.
His call ended, and the masked man turned his attention towards the young village girl, still being comforted by Gazeff. 'I just ordered the death of everyone she knows, yet I feel nothing' he sorrowfully thought. He knew that he had lost a part of his humanity, it was the extent of that loss that unnerved him. The image of Touch-me briefly flashed in his mind once again. His honourable friend who never abandoned someone in need, what would his role model think of what he had become?
'No, first and foremost my priorities lie with the NPCs." Ainz steeled himself. He will not act with unnecessary cruelty, but he will not allow any threats towards the members of Nazarick, under any circumstances. If that meant becoming a monster befitting of his appearance, then so be it.
He turned to address his new-found companions when suddenly the enemy detection spell he had set up beforehand flared up. Not wasting a second, he cast Anti-life Cocoon, a small magic barrier forming around the two humans just in time to stop the upcoming attack from reaching the two of them. Credit to the man's experience, it seemed Gazeff had also noticed the threat beforehand, his emerald-like sword already unsheathed from its scabbard. Whether he would have made it in time, it was hard to tell.
Colliding with the barrier, two gigantic monstrosities hovered over them, their huge clubs crashing uselessly against the magical protection over and over again. Ainz easily recognized them: the sickly-green skin, the deformed teeth peeking outside their mouth, the small yellow eyes brimming with cruelty. They were one-for-one copies of the trolls he had known from YGGDRASIL. Their large, burly arms wielded the weapons with such strength the earth beneath them slightly shook with each swing, but they couldn't even begin to dent the barrier. Breathing heavily, the air coming out of their mouth like steam, the two monsters let out a frustrated roar, before finally noticing another presence in the small clearing. The next moment, they were mindlessly rushing him.
Barely heeding them any attention, Ainz raised his hand to stop Gazeff, who was trying to come to his aid, gesturing to the girl next to him. Enri was still standing crouched with her hands over her head, not realizing the attacks were no longer directed at her. She still looked scared, but she was faring much better compared to her encounter with those strange tentacle monsters. He supposed those left quite an impression on her. Seeing her shaking, Gazeff reluctantly nodded, taking a step forward to once more stand between the girl and the threat.
The only warning he received that the trolls reached him was when the clubs made contact with his skeletal body, before bouncing off harmlessly. The monsters stopped in their place, their hideous heads tilted in confusion. That was the only expression they had time to make, because in the next instant one of them spontaneously combusted, while the other's heart was crushed by Ainz's boney appendage. There was no point in keeping both of the corpses intact, only one research material would do for now.
"What rude fellows to barge in unannounced. It seems the forest is determined to kick us out, shall we continue our conversation in a more pleasant setting?" he addressed the other two, releasing the barrier. Enri's eyes were shining in admiration. She had known magic casters were supposed to be powerful, but the one in front of her far surpassed those expectations. Even a village girl like her could tell that she was in the presence of someone who commanded unrivalled strength.
On the other hand, Gazeff's expression twisted in alarm: "Ainz-dono, behind you...!" The attack was predictably ineffective, but this time he was pushed forward, much to Ainz's surprise. The troll whose heart was crushed had stood up, his eyes now bloodshot and moving in an almost mechanical manner. From the corner of his eye, Ainz saw that now little tentacles were coiling inside his left ear.
'So these are the monsters Jeanne talked about." he mused.' They could make for troublesome undercover spies, and seem to also boost their host's strength. The troll is now 15, maybe even 20 levels higher than before. Still, this is a good opportunity. I forgot to ask Jeanne to bring a few of them for samples, this is the perfect chance to acquire one.' Before the infected creature could do anything else, he cast Greater Teleportation on him. To anyone standing by, it looked like the corpse had just evaporated, but it was actually transported to s dungeon deep inside Nazarick. After this, he would have to inform Medea about its arrival.
"Very impressive work, it's honestly making me feel like I should step up my training." Gazeff praised him. "I am surprised I have not heard of a magic caster of your calibre before. Even Fluder, the Empire's greatest mage, would be hard-pressed to replicate even half the prowess you displayed just now."
"You flatter me needlessly" Ainz waved him off "I simply do not like to stand out in the public eye, I consider reclusiveness to be more productive for my research. These excursions of mine are not something I usually partake in, but I must say this experience has proved quite fruitful."
As he approached the two of them, he took notice of the slight wounds that covered the girl near him, peeking behind a layer of dirt and dust. They were all superficial at best, only there to serve as proof of the girl's hardships, but Ainz still took out a healing potion from his Spacial Inventory and handed it to her. As hypocritical of him as it was, he had already saved her, so he would make sure to keep her unharmed to the end.
"Just a sip is enough to cure all your wounds, but you are free to keep the rest of it."
"A red potion?" the girl eyed the contents of the vile with hesitation.
"Is that unusual?" he inquired.
"All the potions I have seen so far have been blue."
"Indeed, it's the first time I have heard of such a healing serum." Gazeff also informed him.
Ainz inwardly cursed, he couldn't afford to cast suspicion upon himself. The image he wanted to cast off was one of a mysterious and powerful, but kind stranger. It was a fine balance to maintain, any careless mistake would ruin all the progress he had achieved so far.
"Is that so? That is a special concoction of mine, I haven't used any other potion in a while. Ah, but I assure you it works just as well as a regular one."
At his encouragement, Enri took a small gulp, eyes widening as all her scrapes and bruises shined briefly, before disappearing as if they never existed.
"This is amazing Lord Ainz! I never knew potions could be this effective! Is it really alright for me to hang on to such a precious item?"
"Consider it a gift from me." Ainz rushed to end this discussion as quickly as possible.
"Thank you!" The poor girl looked completely out of her depth; she had never been shown such kindness from a complete stranger before.
"Anyways, we should be on our way, should we not?"
"Indeed, "Gazeff responded. "If you do not mind, I will take you up on your previous offer. I would appreciate it if you'd accompany us back to Carne in order to escort Miss Enri home. Plus, if those monsters happened to approach the village, it would be reassuring to have someone so dependable by my side."
"I do not mind." it would be too cowardly of him to just turn away. He knew what sort of destruction awaited them, and he was the one responsible for it. He will not reveal that fact, but he would see for himself the hell he had created.
Soon enough the smoke made itself visible to the impromptu party making its way through the woods. As the three of them rushed over, only one wasn't surprised by the image of smouldering flames surrounding the burning village.
Author's notes:
I have not had pineapple juice in a month now. I am in a very dark place.