Author's Note: I wanted to post this last week as a celebratory thing, but knowing my luck, the internet would've been cut off the next day or some shit if I did, lol.

That said, financial woes are still a thing so I may still have the internet cut off. But, I wanted to post this while I still had the chance.

Yes, I know it's predictable as all hell for Naruto to end up with the Swords of Darkness, but it's not like it would make a whole lotta sense for him not to, all things considered. That said, though, that one little difference from last chapter alone is going to have quite the domino effect and it's not the only one that will. =3

Hope y'all enjoy!

Chapter Five: Swords of Darkness

Haruno Kizashi blinked in confusion when he found himself still in the game.

"Well, that doesn't seem right," he said. Then, what he heard gave him pause. Usually, when he spoke ingame, he'd hear his own voice and Yggdrasil would filter it into a more appropriate one for his character. But now… what Kizashi heard when he spoke was much girlier!

Then, he noticed that the bed he sat on was softer and comfier… more real, for lack of a better way to put it. He reached up and touched his face… and actually felt it. Granted, Kizashi could feel something akin to this before, but it was more… artificial, less convincing. He could actually feel and smell the leather, now! He looked down and saw that he was still a chick if those chocolate tits were anything to go by. Kizashi reached down to be sure. Yup, that was definitely missing…

He reached up, panic gripping him as he yanked down the bra. Kizashi could practically hear the cartoonish "boing" when those "mighty knockers" he'd given Mebuki bounced out enticingly.

Yup. Those were tits… those were definitely tits!

Reaching up once more, he grabbed them and gave those funbags an experimental squeeze… and then, the blood-curdling scream that followed could literally be heard throughout the nearest town, nearly half a mile away.

Come next morning, Naruto stirred and forced himself up with a grunt. Damn, this bed was uncomfortable! Maybe going up a rank or two as soon as possible wouldn't be such a bad idea...

Rolling over, he spied the undressed form of Lupusregina.

Apparently, she both slept in the buff, and had a habit of tossing her sheets all over the place, much to Naruto's dismay as it left her very enticing form on full display… that nicely-toned body of hers was so sexy… the way her red hair fell over her form, not at all hiding but pronouncing her curves… it wouldn't hurt to "reward" her for putting up with this shitty room, right…?

Naruto tore his gaze away from her before he could be tempted to… join the werewolf maid. He then turned bright red upon feeling a warm, very foreign sensation in his loins. Was this what it feels like for a woman to be aroused?

It was so strange to him… But not unpleasant...

Pushing those thoughts aside he pushed himself out of bed and got ready for the day. It only took a few moments to get dressed, though he couldn't help but blush at the sight of those tits, the nipples now as hard as rocks as he wrestled with his sexual urges. But, he managed and soon enough, he was ready to head on out.

"Regina." he said, shaking her by her shoulder, doing his hardest to look at her face and not anywhere else, "Psst. Regina… it's time to get up."

"Umuuu~! Five more minutes…'' the battlemaid moaned, turning away from him.

Naruto's eyes trailed down her back until they reached the crack of her shapely ass. Shaking his head after a long moment of staring, totally unaware he'd started licking his lips, disguised youko gave it a rest.

He was sure she'd wake up soon enough on her own.

A small grin stretched his cheeks. Maybe he should go into the town on his own. He was sure Lupusregina would freak if she woke up and "Lord Kurama'' was gone.

It was certainly tempting… but he only had one key. If someone came in and saw those ears, it would raise some unwanted questions. He sighed and then...

Smack!

"Uwaaa~!" Poor Lupusregina nearly jumped out of her skin when Naruto spanked her, jolting awake and falling out of her bed.

Naruto did his best to keep a straight face, having enjoyed that reaction far more than he should have. "Time to get up," he said.

"Er… uh… right…"

And with that, Lupusregina scrambled to her feet. It took her a scant moment to realize she was naked and that her lord, in his female guise, was eyeing her up and down.

Feeling heat rise to her face, she quickly reached for the satchel that contained her clothes.

"Aw… I liked the view," Naruto said teasingly.

The battle maid blushed harder and giggled, legitimately flattered, though still a bit embarrassed.

"Want me to stay like this, then, m'lady?"

Something flashed behind Naruto's eyes."Don't tempt me," he breathed out, turning away from her.

The two of them shared an awkward laugh, more halfhearted on Naruto's part, and soon enough, they headed out.

The first thing "Kushina" and "Regina" saw upon entering the guildhall was a large counter, manned by three receptionists. To one side was a quest board and a few-dozen adventurers were milling about. Heading to the mission board, he decided to take a look.

There was only one problem.

'I still can't read…' Naruto thought in dismay. He glanced at Lupusregina and saw that she seemed to be in the same boat as him. (1)

'Eeeh… fuck it.' he thought, pulling down the nearest quests to him and heading to the receptionist, Lupusregina right on his heels.

"We'd like to take this one," he said.

The receptionist stared at him and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but that one's restricted to mithril or higher."

"Oh… my apologies," Naruto replied, playing it off as an honest mistake. "I'm new here, so I have no idea what I'm doing quite yet. Would you mind helping us find a mission that's more appropriate for our level?"

"It's fine," the receptionist giggled, finding it rather endearing. "It happens more often than you'd believe."

"Yeah, I could see why," Naruto replied, a sheepish but friendly grin spreading across his face.

Then, the receptionist hummed thoughtfully. Her eyes skimmed over the crowd. "Y'know, there's a group looking for more members at the moment," she said. "They're silver-plates, but they have a reputation for helping newcomers."

"Really?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. Then he smiled brightly. "That would be great!"

"I'll call them over, then," the receptionist chirped.

"So, we heard you ladies needed some help settling in," a man said as he approached their table "Kushina'' and "Regina'' were waiting at. Naruto eyed him and his companions discreetly.

"Yup! That's us." Lupusregina chirped, grinning widely at them.

"Yeah, what she said." Naruto nodded, smiling at them pleasantly.

"I'm Peter Mauk," he said, smiling back. The young man had blond hair and blue eyes, which seemed to be very common in Re-Estize, and appeared to be a warrior. He then gestured to another man in the group. "This is our ranger, Lukrut Volve."

The man in question was garbed in leather armor and appeared to be the more nimble type as one would expect from such a role. He smiled, nodding to them, and then his gaze landed on Naruto. When it did, his smile widened and his cheeks started turning red.

'Oh, no,' Naruto thought, expertly hiding his dismay. 'Not another one…' He smiled politely at the ranger… and Lukrut quite visibly took it the wrong way. 'SHIT!' (2)

"Looks like you two will get along quite nicely," Peter commented with a chuckle. Then, he continued with the introductions. "That right there is Ninya, the Spellcaster."

"Pleased to meet you," Ninya said. She was probably the youngest in their group, looking very boyish, but Naruto could literally smell that this one was actually a girl. She had brown hair, cropped short, and donned a leather robe.

The smile she donned was like a mask, but not entirely fake.

Then, she turned to the leader of their group. "...But, Peter," she protested, looking flustered, "could you not use that embarrassing nickname?"

"Nickname…?" Naruto asked, looking curious.

"He's a talent holder," Peter told him, "and a genius magic caster."

The pronoun used caught Naruto's attention. Was she posing as a guy? Or a tranny, perhaps? It was hard to say… but the disguised youko decided to file that away for later.

"Oh," Naruto looked very interested to hear that. After making those little shits from the Sunlight Scripture spill their guts… literally… and then stitching them back up and making them do it again several more times, they had quite a lot to say about this new world and the many things it had that did not exist in Yggdrasil.

As it turned out, about one in 200 people were born with a "talent" of some kind. These had varying effects and levels of potency. The high-ranking prisoner they'd captured, for example, could predict the weather with 70% accuracy, just by looking at the sky, while one of the many they killed had the ability to bolster any summoned monsters in the area.

These talents couldn't be chosen or changed in any way, though. To make matters worse, many talent holders never had the chance to realize that they had one, since they often had to be identified the hard way.

"It's just that I have a talent that benefits my field is all," Ninya muttered, looking embarrassed.

Deciding to show the girl some mercy before they could get even more off topic, Naruto looked at the last man in their group. "So, who's the big guy?"

Peter perked up, his train of thought having been brought to a screeching halt as he realized that he'd been distracted. "Oh, right," the warrior said, looking sheepish. "That's our druid, Dyne Woodwonder. He uses nature and healing magic. He's also pretty well versed in herbal lore and medicine."

"Pleased to meet you," Dyne greeted. He was the largest in their group, both tall and burly, with long, golden hair and a full beard. The smell of a freshly-mowed lawn appeared to come from the pouch on his belt.

"Together," Peter added, "we are the Swords of Darkness."

Naruto smiled fondly at that, the edgy-ass name making him think of Ulbert. Then, he stood up and did a small curtsy.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Kushina Uzumaki, a magic caster who specializes in pyromancy and illusions. You can call me Kushina. And this is my friend Regina, a cleric who focuses on healing magic."

Lupusregina threw her arm over Naruto's shoulders and waved at them with the other. "Sup."

Of course, the redhead's bosom was pressed up against her lord's face in the process, causing him to blush.

Peter offered a curt nod, before addressing Naruto once more. "So… you're not from around here I take it?"

He shook his head after prying himself from Lupusregina's chest. "No. We decided to go explore the world, but we don't really know much besides what we've heard back home."

The man nodded again, seemingly in thought, "Well, we'd be happy to help. We were just getting ready to head out and deal with a small mob of goblins harassing travelers near the Great Forest of Tob."

Naruto perked up at the name. "Oh, I have a friend in Carne Village," he said. "They're not causing trouble around there, are they?"

"Shouldn't be," Peter assured. "Goblins know better than to attack a human settlement and piss off the Kingdom. They're more to the northeast, anyway. It's fairly safe and the mission should be easy―perfect for testing the waters. You in?"

Naruto and Lupusregina shared a knowing look.

"Yes."

BOOM!

A band of goblins reeled from the blast, about a week later.

Naruto, thrilled at the gawking looks sent his way, cutely tilted his head, placing a finger on his lower lip. It had an immediate effect on everyone, even the two real females. Lupusregina flushed, while Ninya seemed just a little annoyed at him for outshining her like that.

"Was that too much?" Truth be told, he was holding way the fuck back so as not to arouse suspicion. Seeing how most magic casters were only able use 3rd tier magic at the very most, so he stuck to 1st Tier spells.

...Except Naruto used his knowledge of basic chemistry to… bolster their effect. The first thing he did was cast Grease, creating a puddle of slick flammable liquid before the horde of goblins, halting their charge, and then casting Fire Bolt to ignite it. Then, to send the survivors a little message, he cast Create Water upon the grease fire… which had the exact result that one would expect.

Peter chuckled and shook his head. "No… just unexpected. That was pretty clever for a fresh adventurer. You took almost half 'em out before I had the chance to engage."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, chuckling sheepishly. "Uh… sorry?"

"Sorry? That was great!" Dyne boasted, hoisting his weapon over his shoulder with a friendly smile. "I'm sure you'll rise to gold-plate in no time with talent like that, Kushina."

Naruto ducked his head bashfully to keep them from seeing the shit-eating grin on his face. Playing these chumps for fools was way too much fun. "Th-thanks," he muttered, doing his best to sound embarrassed.

"Right," Peter said, taking a stance in front of Naruto. "Let's mop up the rest before they reorganize!"

But, despite Naruto's explosion scaring the survivors shitless, this fight wasn't over yet as the little green men they'd been sent to kill steeled themselves and readied for battle. To make matters worse, this mission had the unforeseen complication of several ogres joining the fray.

The burly, yellow-skinned creatures stood well over ten feet tall, their hunched backs covered in a layer of brown fur and the both of them wielded small, uprooted trees as clubs. They too were startled by the fire, but when the goblins charged, so too did they.

Peter roared, meeting the horde with sword and board while Naruto, Ninya and Lukrut provided ranged support. Dyne, meanwhile, pinned down a few of the big boys with some crowd control, dozens of vines sprouting out of the ground to halt the ogres. Finally, Lupusregina cast some buff spells on their meat shield, mostly to keep him alive while he hacked away at the little buggers.

Of course, the goblins recognized Naruto as the biggest threat, sending a volley of arrows his way.

"Look out, Kushina!" Lukrut called out, only to see said "mage" expertly evading each and every last one of them.

Unfortunately, this had the side-effect of distracting her teammates... and distracted is not something one wanted to be in a combat situation. As such, a trio of goblins slipped past Peter and Dyne, gunning for the slippery mage. One of them was skewered by Lupusregina and when another got too close to Naruto, muscle memory kicked in.

Backpedaling a bit, the pseudo-blonde instinctively whacked the little fucker with his staff... and just as he was about to kick himself for the wasted effort...

SPLAT!

...Naruto found himself covered in goblin, the impact reducing much of his would-be assailant to a fine mist.

The third goblin, frozen in shock, was also speared. The pointy bit of Lupusregina's staff made quick work of him, finding home in his left eye socket.

Unfortunately, that wasn't all they had to deal with as one of the ogres also got around Peter and charged at the disguised kitsune, but he practically danced around the beast.

"Mirror Image!" Naruto called out, and with that, there were over a dozen cute blondes running about, confusing the ogre as he tried to swing at them. Nearly every time, the makeshift club missed its mark, and the one time it did manage to hit the ogre's target faded away.

Ninya was visibly surprised, recognizing that spell as a 2nd-Tier illusion. Clearly, "Kushina" was more powerful than "she" let on! Pushing that thought aside for later, she cast a spell of her own. "Magic Arrow!"

A flash of gold emanated from the tip of her staff before launching itself at the beast and hitting it right in the eye. The ogre roared and charged at Ninya, more pissed off than hurt.

Lupusregina then took up a position in front of the brunette, her spear-like staff ready to impale the ogre, while Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance and decided to take this up a notch.

"Scorching Ray!"

A red beam shot forth from his staff, hitting the ogre in the back and cutting through him like a hot knife through butter.

Ninya, meanwhile, just stared, the brunette's eyes nearly popping out of her skull as the ogre fell to the ground in a boneless heap. That too was a 2nd-Tier spell, but even a mage who could use that level of magic had no damn business taking an ogre down in one shot, even if it was wounded!

"Looks like the cat's outta the bag," the real Naruto giggled, looking sheepish. "I'm actually a 3rd-Tier, but most of my attack spells are 1st and 2nd." Then, he saw another ogre coming his way and cast another spell to prove it. "Might as well show you what I'm really capable of… Fly!"

And just like that, he and his illusory clones took to the air, swirling about and swapping positions with each other to confuse the goblins with bows.

"Scorching Ray!"

And yet again, the ogre she hit bit the dust, removing all doubt that he could one-shot them and crushing two goblins to death as it hit the ground. Then, another one died… and another one, and another one. It was then that the Swords of Darkness as a whole were at a loss for words. To think that a girl so young would be capable of something like this!

"This girl…" Peter muttered.

"Is she for real?!" Lukrut asked, looking amazed, jealous, and… aroused. "She has to be platinum-level to pull that off! At least!"

Naruto had to hide his amusement at that. Truth be told, if he wanted to, he'd have ended this fight before it even started with a single Explosion, but that would have clearly been too much. Hell, judging by their reactions right now, these poor fuckers would probably all die of a collective heart attack if he did that!

Speaking of reactions, after seeing five of the seven ogres go down so quickly, in addition to that initial explosion, the small horde knew damn well that they were way out of their league. In a frenzied panic, they all turned tail and ran.

"Don't let them escape!" Peter called out.

"Seriously, 3rd-Tier?! At 14?!"

Naruto sat on his ankles, looking incredibly sheepish as Peter stared at him like he was capable of taking over the world or some shit.

After the dust had cleared, the corpses were looted, and that fire was put out before it could become a problem, Naruto, Lupusregina, and the Swords of Darkness set up camp a little farther south.

"To be fair," Lupusregina chimed in, "she had a hell of a teacher."

"Still, though," Ninya countered, a jealous pout on her face, "most people can't use 3rd-Tier magic until their mid-twenties at least... if at all"

"Guess I have a talent," Naruto said with a chuckle. "Not sure if it's a talent-talent or not, but I sure as hell have a knack for magic. Been good at it from the start."

It was the best excuse he could come up with on the fly. He honestly wanted to avoid shit like this, but at the same time, that ogre could have potentially killed Ninya if he hadn't done something about it… and her group would've been dealing with threats on both sides soon after. Needless to say, getting a full team of silver-plates killed was not something Naruto wanted in his resume. While he was confident in Lupusregina's abilities, that still wasn't a risk he wanted to take… more because of her hatred towards humans than anything.

He also knew himself more than well enough to be aware of his limits. That said, Naruto quickly realized that holding back enough to pass himself off as a 1st or 2nd-Tier caster would be too difficult in the long run, so he decided to rip the bandaid off right then and there.

"I'm just as confused as you guys are about the goblin I splattered, though... Couldn't tell you how I pulled that one off." Of course, one potential explanation came to mind, which he'd have to test later, but they didn't need to know about that.

"Sounds awfully familiar," Dyne commented after a moment of thought. "She's a faith-based caster, but the leader of Blue Rose is capable of 5th-Tier magic. They say she could wield 3rd-Tier magic around your age, too."

"Blue Rose?" Naruto asked, looking interested. He'd heard of them, too, but his information on that group was quite limited. Was that chick with the black sword a player, perhaps? It certainly sounded like a possibility...

"Another adventurer group," Peter said. "They live in the Royal Capital and are friends with Princess Renner."

Naruto filed that little nugget away for later. Apparently, he would be taking Gazef up on that offer after all…

"To think we met a copper-plate with that kinda power," Lukrut chimed in. "And a cute one at that… it's kinda hot~!"

Naruto cleared his throat, averting his gaze while a certain redhead giggled. Truth be told, Lupusregina found his situation far more amusing that she should.

But then, she took it upon herself to help him out, leaning in closer to whisper into his ear. "If you ever need to... vent," she said, "feel free to use me all you want~!"

Naruto's eyes went wide and he turned bright red, reduced to a sputtering mess by the offer, much to the group's collective amusement—all of them assuming that "Regina" was giving her friend some… advice, as it were.

"F-flattering as this conversation has been," Naruto chirped, deciding to change the subject before shit got way the fuck out of hand, "if you all don't mind, I'd like to check on that friend in Carne Village on our way back."

"That seems fine," Dyne commented. "It's not too far out of our way, anyway, and we'd be able to stay there for one night."

"Also," Naruto added, "Carne Village is in the Wise King's territory, so it should be a relatively safe path, at least from monsters."

But then, Lukrut abruptly slunk right next to Naruto and slipped an arm over his shoulders, drawing a squawk from him. "Oh, don't worry your pretty head, my lovely Kushina~! Nothing can get past my senses; if any monsters try to come anywhere near you, I'll spot them from a mile away!"

The disguised youko twitched violently as this man immediately started to test his patience and self-control...

'I'MMA KILL HIM!'

Juuust a teensy bit...

"Sounds good to me," Peter announced. "We'll stay here for the night and start heading there in the morning."

In the dead of night, a hooded figure snuck into the cemetery of E-Rantel.

The person in question was a woman around 20 or so with short, golden locks. Her hooded, jet black cape reached down to her hips and she sported long stockings, mismatched sabatons, and naught but a pair of black panties under her fauld. Her pretty face sported the look of a hungry kitten as she practically glided across the ground, deftly avoiding the magical illumination of the crypt as she seemingly moved like a ghost.

"I'm here~!" The girl's tone was a playful one and that announcement was the only sound she'd made in the past hour. Then, she pushed the doors of the mausoleum open and entered.

All of the slabs therein were empty, nary a sign of the dead or their belongings in sight.

"I'm coming in," the girl sang, approaching an inconspicuous carving in the wall. She pressed her hand against it. The carving moved inwards and there was a click followed by the sound of grinding stone. A path opened up, a staircase leading downwards made visible, and she descended.

The staircase curved half way and led to what looked like an underground cave with several tunnels leading out. Though the floor and walls were of earth and mud, it looked man-made. The air was also quite fresh down here, either by magic or ventilation. She neither knew nor cared.

This place was not part of the cemetery, despite its location, but rather something far more sinister.

Menacing tapestries lined the walls, the whole cave was illuminated by red candles made from human blood, and the reek of low-tier undead came from the tunnels, thoroughly marking this cave as the headquarters of Zuranon―an evil organization of mages responsible for many a tragedy within the kingdom.

The girl's attention was quickly drawn to someone who entered through one of the tunnels.

He was a scrawny little shit, his eyes sunken in. His complexion was pale as a corpse and the man didn't have a single hair on his head.

"Hellooo, Khashi~!"

Khajiit Dale Badantel frowned deeply at the girl's playful greeting but didn't dare say something that would come off as rude, or smartass-like. He knew what type of woman she was. An excuse was all she needed―and a lot of times she didn't need one at all… but woe be upon those foolish enough to give her such a thing.

"Clementine," he greeted back with a stiff nod. "You're not here to cause trouble are you? I've had enough of that for one day already."

"Nope~!" The now-named Clementine giggled, pulling out something small that sparkled in the candle light. "I'm just here to deliver this is all~!"

It was a circlet made of silver chains… one that was a bitch to get her hands on, but she managed.

Khajiit couldn't contain his surprise. That was one of the treasures of the Slane Theocracy!

"The Crown of Wisdom," the man muttered in breathless shock.

"Yup, yup~!" Clementine giggled again. "Found a cute girl wearing it for some reason. Looked so out-of-place on her head, so I took it off… and then she went utterly mad! She curled up into a ball and pissed and shat herself while gibbering like a loon!" The girl busted a gut, laughing her ass off at the memory.

It went unsaid that the "cute girl" in question was the Miko Princess, a girl at the center of the Slane Theocracy's rituals. As a former member of the Black Scripture, Clementine knew full well what she had done, but she didn't give a shit!

"Surely this wouldn't come free," Khajiit said, eyeballing her cautiously. "What do you want?"

"Well, you see," Clementine chirped. "I mighta found a guy who can wear it. I mean, there's a pretty outstanding talent-holder in town, no~?"

"I've heard the rumors… So you have reason to believe this kid could do it, huh? So why are you coming to me? I'm sure you could handle kidnapping one person."

"Juuust want you to wreak a little havoc on my way out is all. Make my job easier, y'know~?"

"A distraction, then…"

Clementine grinned at him. "Yup, yup~! I'll even help you with your ritual while I'm at it~!" Truth be told, the girl just wanted to sew as much chaos as she could; his help was entirely unnecessary, but the gig would be so much more boring without it!

Khajiit returned the smile with an evil one of his own. "Very well, I shall gladly aid you, then."

Two days after setting out to Carne Village, the group was closing in on their destination, all the while chatting it up amongst themselves and getting to know each other a bit more.

Naruto in particular was having a rather nice conversation with Ninya, thankful that Peter got Lukrut to back off for the time being.

"Seriously, 35 spells?" Naruto asked, legitimately impressed. "That's amazing!"

That may have been just a bit hyperbolic, especially coming from him, but the girl was certainly powerful for someone from this world… especially given her age.

"Y-you're too kind," Ninya said shyly, blushing hard and averting her gaze.

That was so adorable; it took the disguised kitsune all of his might to keep himself from hugging the girl! "I call it as I see it," he said. "With your talents I can see you becoming a well-known adventure in the near future!" And he genuinely meant it as well; she and this small band of adventures were on their way to becoming legends in their own right.

"Ninya's always been the strongest of the group," Peter commented fondly. "He's just too modest for his own good."

"Indeed," Dyne chimed in. "At this rate, he'll be a gold-plate in no time."

"M-Ms Kushina's far more impressive, though," Ninya countered, doing her best to misdirect their attention before she was overwhelmed.

"That doesn't mean you won't get there eventually," Naruto told her with a chuckle. "Even I had to start from the bottom."

It took every ounce of Lupusregina's self control not to laugh at how absurd the notion of these whelps catching up to her Lord Kurama was.

"Still, though," Lukrut chimed in, slipping in and pulling the umpteenth undignified squawk from Naruto by pulling the "cute blonde" into a one-armed hug. "I mean, to kill so many ogres that quickly… You're on your way to the very top with talent like that, my lovely Kushina~!"

"Th-thanks," Naruto muttered awkwardly, just… taking the complement. Was this karma? As in actual karma for getting that Kashu boy infatuated with a woman who never existed? A higher power he somehow pissed off? Just bad luck, perhaps?

Whatever it was, he wanted to kill it… and this fucker!

Of course, Lupusregina had discreetly offered to get rid of Lukrut for him… many times, in fact. But as tempting as that was, it seemed like a bad idea to say the least.

"Now, now," Peter, reprimanded, giving Naruto's tormentor a light whack on the head. "Stay alert, you; we can't have our ranger letting himself get distracted, y'know."

"Spoilsport," Lukrut teased, before backing off and returning to his position in the rear.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. If this kept up, the man had no idea how long he could maintain this cover of his. Lupusregina and the girl were tempting his inner demons enough with their presence alone and that guy trying to get into his pants wasn't helping!

He looked into the distance and saw that the forest was coming to an end. The path they were taking also started to turn. If he wasn't mistaken their destination should be around that corner.

"Looks like we're getting close," Naruto said. That was good. He could finally relax and check on… wait…

The rustic little shire was in the distance, looking rather quaint and peaceful… but Naruto didn't remember that fence.

Apparently, a large, wooden barrier had been erected in his absence. Then again, they were attacked recently, likely still recovering from having their population cut in half, so it was pretty safe to assume that the new chief had this defense put in place as a deterrent.

"Something wrong?" Peter asked.

Naruto shrugged. "The fence wasn't there before is all," he said. "I was a little surprised to see it."

"Did something happen?" Lukrut asked.

"A while back," Naruto replied. "Makes sense that they'd be more cautious now as a result, though. Guess they put it up while I was in E-Rantel." Upon giving it a second look, the fence appeared to be made of logs, which meant that it was at least somewhat resistant to being cut down. He could also see small gaps in between, so anyone with a bow could potentially take a shot at their attackers from relative safety.

It was crude, but not a terrible defense.

But then, Ninya cut in, looking troubled. "I don't know…" Her frown deepened as they drew closer. "Maybe I'm looking into it a bit too much, but I grew up in a village like this one, so I know what it's like. That said, there are two things that look kinda suspicious: the fields haven't been tilled yet, despite the time of year, and they've already harvested some wheat…?"

They all looked in the direction she was pointing and saw that some of it had indeed been taken in prematurely.

"It's strange," Ninya muttered. "Maybe something happened?"

"I'll scout ahead using Fly and Invisibility," Naruto announced. "I'll let you know if I see anything fishy with a Message."

"Be careful," Lukrut said hastily.

The disguised youko nodded politely, before turning his attention to the village. "Fly! Invisibility!" With the first spell, his lithe frame briefly flickered with green aura and with the second, he seemed to fade away. Then, he took flight, the resulting "whoosh" being the only sound they heard afterwards.

As Lupusregina and the Swords of Darkness continued on their way, Naruto flew close and saw nothing amiss, at least in terms of the villagers' movements. That was good. 'Then again,' he thought, 'if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing… Silent Magic: Detect Magic!'

Naruto carefully slipped in closer, getting into range to see if he could sense any spells or magical effects in the area. He came up negative and was just about to leave when something caught his attention.

Slipping closer for a better look, Naruto was surprised by what he saw.

Goblins…

They were hiding in the wheat near the fence. These ones were different, though. The ones they killed before were scrawnier and far less intelligent, but these ones… they were large for their species, more robust, and carried themselves like trained soldiers, if that archer approaching the others was anything to go by. (3)

"Any sign of the one who went invisible?"

"No, sir."

"Dyno did say she used two spells…"

"She was too far away for me to say for sure, but it seemed to be flight magic. She could be anywhere."

Yup, these guys were definitely more organized… and a hell of a lot smarter.

'They look like goblins from Yggdrasil,' Naruto thought. 'Clearly, they were summoned by one of those horns… does that mean that creatures summoned by items are permanent…?'

That was something he'd have to look into later. He did still have that crystal, after all… In either case, though, something clearly happened while he wasn't looking if Enri ended up using one of those horns.

'Well, best see what I can do to establish peaceful contact,' Naruto thought. 'Clearly, they think we might be hostile, so I'd better clear things up with them…'

That thought in mind, Naruto floated down so that he was in front of the goblins, sat down, and dropped the invisibility spell. Predictably, they were all on guard in an instant, the leader and two archers popping out like daisies, poised to strike if he tried anything.

"Sorry if I scared you," he said, "something looked off about the fields being left unattended, so I scouted ahead to make sure nothing was wrong."

"Kushina!" Lupusregina called out, running to Naruto's side, the Swords of Darkness in tow.

He raised his hand and gestured for her to stand down.

"They're just trying to protect the village is all," he said.

"You're kidding, right?" Peter asked. He'd never heard of goblins doing such a thing! Granted, they also looked a little weird, but still!

"I mean, they jumped out to threaten me when I appeared too close," Naruto pointed out with a shrug. "Also, the people inside are just fine, despite one of the gates being wide open and a few more of them being in the village itself. It's the only logical conclusion I can come up with."

Literally everyone present was unnerved by how nonchalant he was being, despite the sword at his throat…

"I figured Ms Emmot would need these guys' help eventually," Naruto explained. "I just didn't expect it to happen so soon."

The goblins all perked up at the name. Clearly they knew the woman Naruto mentioned. The Swords of Darkness, meanwhile, only had even more questions!

"Tell Ms Emmot that a friend of Kurama wants to speak with her in private," the youko chirped, flashing them a foxy grin. "She'll know who I'm talking about."

"Try anything funny and I will kill you," the leader warned.

Lupusregina looked very displeased to hear that, but calmed her tits when Naruto raised his hand once more, gesturing for her to back down. So, she did… for now.

A flustered, panting Enri soon arrived, bolting the hell over here the instant she heard that name. After catching her breath, she looked at the group in question and saw a young girl, just barely into adulthood, sitting in front of the gate with Jugem's sword at her throat.

She looked like a magic caster from what Enri could tell and a red-haired woman in black and white was glaring daggers at the goblin in question. There were four others with them, all apparently men.

Judging by their necklaces, these people were all adventurers…? They almost never visited this area, but given how close they were to E-Rantel, it wasn't unheard of for such a party to stop by and rest every once in a blue moon.

"S-someone wanted to talk to me?" Enri asked.

"Hello~!" Naruto chirped, giving the actual blonde a friendly wave.

Taking that as her answer, Enri nodded. "A-alright… Come with me, then."

Jugem, the leader of Enri's goblin troop, then sheathed his sword and backed off from Naruto, allowing him to stand up, before calling out to a couple of his comrades. "Dyno, Paipo," he said, "let's go with. Everyone else, keep an eye on them."

The lone female goblin and a burly male with a mohawk scampered to his side and they opened the gate. But, then, the redhead in Naruto's party looked like she was about to protest.

The youko, however, nipped that in the bud. "It's fine Regina," he assured. "This'll only take a few minutes." With that, the three goblins escorted him and Enri to a nearby building where they could have some privacy.

Once they were inside and the door was locked, Naruto tapped his staff. "Private Sanctum!"

The goblins all flinched, two of them drawing their swords.

"Juuust making sure this conversation stays private," he chirped.

Jugem looked to the female goblin and she nodded.

"It's an anti-scrying spell," she explained.

"Wanted to make sure that no one finds out that I'm posing as an adventurer… at least for now," Naruto added.

"Posing…?" Jugem asked, looking suspicious.

Naruto grabbed onto his robe with the hand holding his staff and with a woosh, the whole outfit was replaced with his Divine-Class gear while he himself took on his true form… minus the vulpine traits.

"L-lord Kurama," Enri gasped.

"Ello~!" Naruto chirped.

Jugem looked to the female goblin once more. "An illusion?"

"No…" She shook her head. "Actual shapeshifting…"

"So the rumors are true," the third goblin muttered. Then, he furrowed his brow in confusion. "But isn't the Hero of Carne Village named Ainz?"

This guy fit the description, but…

"Kurama's my real name," Naruto said. "Aside from you three, Enri, her sister, and that redhead in my party are the only ones in the area who know it… for now."

"Y-yeah," Enri chimed in, before addressing Naruto. "That aside, our new chief wanted to ease the villagers into the idea that they were saved by a demihuman," she said. "Please feel free to take on your true form if that's more comfortable."

'A demi-human, huh…?' Naruto smiled in amusement. Well, kitsune did look close enough to beastmen in particular when donning their humanoid form―even those of the malevolent variety, so it's easy to see how they came to that conclusion. (4)

And so, he took on his true form for what felt like the first time in eons, before stretching his tails with a grunt, followed by a sigh of relief. "After being in disguise for so long," he said, "you have no idea how refreshing this is!"

Enri giggled at that, before addressing the goblins. "It's okay, you guys, he's friendly."

The goblins looked at her oddly, but laid down their arms. They were still suspicious of the apparent beastman, but kept that to themselves.

Then, the blonde returned her attention to Naruto. "So, what brings you here?"

"I wanted to check on you," he replied. "Did something happen?"

"Another troop of men from the Baharuth Empire," Enri sighed.

"Ah, shit…" Naruto growled, before sighing. "Sorry I couldn't help you with that. Thought I killed them all."

"It's fine," she assured. "I don't think anyone could've expected it to happen again so soon. They came about a few days after you left."

The kitsune frowned. "Meaning there was another party ravaging the countryside," he mused aloud. That wasn't nearly enough time for another troop to mobilize, cross the border and attack without some high-tier teleportation magic; anyone of that caliber would've singlehandedly wiped this village off the map, though, so a second troop was the most likely answer. (5)

"A-apparently, yeah," Enri muttered. Then, she gave him a thankful bow. "B-but you were a much bigger help than you think! When I used that horn and these goblins came to help, Carne Village was saved again!"

Naruto smiled at that. "I'll be sure to come by soon and leave someone here to help out," he said. "Just in case."

"You don't have to…"

"But I want to." the redhead smiled at her. "Can't have a cutie like you getting herself hurt, now~!"

Poor Enri sputtered in embarrassment at that, turning bright red.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction if his life depended on it. "I can assure you, it's fine. I'm happy to help. So… how are you doing now that it's all blown over?"

"F-fairly well," the blonde replied. "Feeling a bit out of my element, though."

"How so…?"

"Well, the goblins are all loyal to me as I'm sure you can tell… and well, because of that I've found myself becoming the captain of the watch of all things!"

"That is so cute!" Naruto let out another hearty chuckle. The thought of this poor, little thing being thrust into such an ill-fitting position was one hell of a guilty pleasure!

Enri only blushed harder. "That aside, though, I'm doing well enough. Getting used to it, thanks to Jugem's encouragement."

She gestured to the leader of the goblin troop.

Naruto smiled at him and gave the goblin in question a respectful nod. "Thanks for helping her out," he said.

Uh… sure…" Jugem didn't quite know how to respond to that, but accepted his gratitude nonetheless.

"So, how have you been?" Enri asked.

"Could do without that ranger in my party constantly hitting on me," Naruto said with an exasperated sigh. Then, he smiled. "That aside, it's been… enlightening. I've been posing as an adventurer for a while so I can explore and learn about this world more freely." Then, he gave her a sheepish grin. "In the process, though, I learned that I can't read this country's language."

"That… is adorable." The blonde giggled. "Well, the villagers have been pestering me to learn how to read for some reason. Maybe we can do it together?"

'Why did you have to put it like that?' Naruto smiled, ignoring his raging boner as best he could.

Enri didn't seem to notice, much to his relief.

Those words evoked the mental image of her back pressed against the wall, skirt lifted, with Naruto between Enri's spread legs and holding her up while pounding the ever-loving fuck out of the blonde. Hopefully, she didn't see the bulge starting to form...

"Sounds like a plan," he chirped. "One more reason for Ainz Ooal Gown to pay Carne Village another visit, eh?"

Mebuki (Player: Haruno Kizashi)
[The Lewdest Elf in All of Yggdrasil(self-proclaimed)]

Race:
Dark Elf

Racial Classes:
None; humanoids don't have them.

Job Classes:
Warrior: 15
Sorceress: 15
Battle Mage: 10
Eldritch Knight: 10
Duskblade: 10
Necromancer: 10
Artillery Mage: 10
Heavy Artillery Mage: 5
Siege Wizard: 5 (6)
Warlord: 5
Archmage: 5

Total:
100 (Job)

Character Stats:
HP: 69
MP: 100
Physical Attack: 80
Physical Defense: 40
Agility: 60
Magical Attack: 80
Magical Defense: 40
Resistance: 50
Special: 50

Karma Rating:
-100 (Neutral ~ Evil)

1: I really fucking liked this detail; you have no idea how common it is for the character who ends up in another world entirely to be inexplicably capable of speaking and reading the local language. Granted, they can still speak it for no discernible reason, but I loved how Naruto and Momonga couldn't read at first.

2: In the absence of Nabe, I simply could not resist. XD

3: Not sure if this is the case in the LN, but in the anime, the goblins Momonga helped the Swords fight were indeed much smaller and scrawnier than Enri's goblin troop.

Found it kinda weird that this was apparently not addressed in the anime… at least to my knowledge. Correct me if I'm wrong, eh?

4: Seems legit.

5: I don't remember what the canon explanation for Enri summoning the goblins was, but that seems like the logical conclusion on the matter, so I'mma go with it.

6: When randomly imagining Megumin in Overlord and what her stat card would probably look like, purely for shits and giggles at the time, I couldn't help but picture one of her classes being called Siege Wizard as a result of remembering that montage of her using Explosion on the castle… It just sounded so fucking awesome that I had to add it somewhere! XD

Bakuretsu, bakuretsu, lalala~!

Parting Note: And that's another one done... with a lot less ANs this time around, though that's not a bad thing by any stretch. XD

I hope the rest of 2020 is good to y'all and that things improve for everyone, not just myself and my poor wife, lol. She's been stressing out a lot lately.

Can't make any promises, but I'm hoping to have the next update for this fic and The Mirran out on New Years' Day. If I cannot, however, rest assured that I will have them out as soon as I can. Stay safe and happy holidays!