Author's Note: I enjoy writing this story too much but don't worry, followers of the Church of Hakuno, I'll update some of my Digital Human Series soon.
Here's the Q&A, no spoilers.
Did anyone see the display of Super Tier Magic outside of Nadeshiko's kunoichi?
Possibly, but from a far distance, the pillar of magic from Super Tier Magic looks very similar to the chakra pillar caused by Yukimaru. It may be that people could have confused the two. I won't offer any spoilers of if they did see it or not.
Can Kamui be prevented by Tier Magic that blocks teleportation?
To an extent, something like [Dimensional Lock] blocks all teleportation within its area of effect. So, by that logic, Kamui can't be used to leave. As for intangibility, that's a different matter. I do not consider chakra to be the same as Wild Magic, so Platinum's exception doesn't apply.
Can Ainz inscribe his spells into chakra seals?
No.
Are mana and chakra the same considering Ainz resisted a restraining jutsu?
No, they are not. Also, Ainz resisted the restraining jutsu due to his equipment; he has a ring that nullifies all movement impairing effects. This would include methods outside of spells, such as skills or abilities from warrior or thief-type classes. In which does not use mana.
Being X?
No spoilers.
Does Edo Tensei summons count as undead or puppets? Can Ainz take control?
Undead, and maybe.
The Overlord of Nadeshiko
Skewed Diplomacy Arc
Chapter 15
Suzuki Satoru sat directly across from the Elder of Census, the old lady managed several papers with a dexterity unbefitting her age. It almost astonished him how quickly the woman managed to work through the recent event, something that Ainz chalked up to a combination of experience and perhaps some sort of preserved vigor brought up by her kunoichi background. All the Elders were kunoichi, even if they were retired by now, that didn't discredit their previous training.
Perhaps chakra kept them physically more capable than the average person?
"Lord Ainz, I have managed to create a population count of the refugees," The Elder of Census lent over a small stack of papers, which Ainz took by the hand. "The total is over two-hundred and forty-one individuals, originating from the north-west edge of the peninsula. The village was primarily a rice farming and fishing community," She brought out a map, and pointed to the general location of the now decimated village's area. "They served as one of our primary imports of those products as well."
Two-hundred and forty-one was not a small amount, it was almost a tenth of Nadeshiko's total low-estimate population count of three-thousand. If such a group of people immigrated permanently into the village, it would be an eight percent increase.
An instant growth of eight percent was nothing to sneeze at.
He skimmed through the papers but paid attention to the elder's words and actions, as Shizuka wasn't present to remind him later; his wife currently busy accessing the mission parameters against the undead perpetrator. Ainz already knew the incident was caused by the [Death Knight], but was confused on how it remained summoned in this world. Although he was aware that summons can stay for around forty-eight hours, which was about the time it would have taken for it to destroy the village and its residents to flee to Nadeshiko, he could still concentrate and feel the connection to the summon despite the two-day expiration occurring not a few hours ago.
Also, he'd set it to patrol the area around the lake where the Three-Tails used to reside; why had it ventured out of its designated place?
The only explanation he could think of was that the undead summon had been aggroed by an enemy, who kited it to the village. The term, kited, implied that the enemy purposely kept attacking it to keep its attention and avoid the [Death Knight] returning to its prior patrolling state, forcing the summon to keep following the aggressor.
However, that made the assumption that the potential enemy was aware the summon was a video game unit. Which meant the possibility of a Player.
Any Player at level 35 or higher could easily do such an action.
But, couldn't the chakra ninja do such a thing too? It was certainly a Job Class with the movement speed potential to accomplish a kite maneuver.
Wait, primary imports?
"Was this an indirect attack on Nadeshiko?" Ainz said aloud.
"It's possible, Lord Ainz, attacking our means of obtaining food for the village will affect us in the long run," The Elder of Census said. "In the short term, we have the food reserves to manage the situation and avoid starvation, but unless we acquire another means of food imports, we're looking at a huge loss in our primary grain source."
"And seafood?" Ainz inquired. "Also other grains, such as wheat?"
"There are still plenty of fishing villages along the coast of the peninsula, we can trade with them. As for other grains, there is a community growing fox millet near the western border. As for wheat, barley, azuki beans, buckwheat, those are imports from the Land of Fire. We do receive soybeans and rice from Kirigakure though, just not a significant amount," She answered.
Suzuki Satoru barely knew the crops the elderly woman mentioned. He didn't realize how much diversity there was in staple crops, but such knowledge wasn't exactly useful on Earth where vegetation was almost entirely wiped out. And he wasn't a nature fanatic like Blue Planet was.
What he did understand was his company, in this case being Nadeshiko Village, had been reliant on goods from various sources to keep itself afloat. A delicate balance of trade was now interrupted through an incidental fault of its CFO, Ainz himself.
Or was that still COO, Chief Operating Officer?
His position was a strange one, perhaps some combination of the two?
"How long until we start experiencing notable food issues?" Ainz questioned.
"Provided other farming communities aren't affected, Nadeshiko won't suffer any sort of starvation. The problem lies in our reputation, if we cannot uphold our ability to resolve the situation on the peninsula we're responsible for, our trading partners might hold back on delivering supplies in fear of their safety and that of their cargo," The Elder explained.
So, outside of a reduction of particular resources, the company wasn't in any immediate danger. It was sort of an event where Nadeshiko's stock prices fell a bit, but would remain stable provided there weren't any other incidents.
"Let's say we lose the support of more traders providing foodstuffs," Ainz said, speaking in a theoretical sense. "If we were to keep the refugees as civilians, how long can Nadeshiko last?"
The woman remain quiet for a bit, no doubt doing some mental calculations, Ainz waited patiently for an answer.
"Nadeshiko would face complete starvation in two months at the current rate of consumption," She finally answered. "We could stretch it with rationing, but not every crop remains unspoiled longer than a few months."
"Only two months? I presume Nadeshiko doesn't have large reserves in food then," Ainz replied.
"Our population is small compared to the Great Villages, and though I dislike to admit it, we never had the foresight to properly prepare for such situations," She said.
"Umu, I see," Ainz replied.
Why didn't the Elder just say 'Hey, we don't have a food problem right now, but can if this continues' instead of going through all this elaborate explanation? Sure, Ainz might have extended the conversation a bit, but that's because he had to keep up appearances as a decent high-ranking employee.
And this was only the Elder of Census! What about the others? Will they also talk a lot instead of getting directly to the point? Just say what's the problem, don't drag it out!
He missed the informality of the guild.
At least Shizuka was rather direct, a small saving grace there.
"Thank you for your advice, I'll bring it up with Shizuka later," Ainz said.
"It reassures me that you will, Lady Shizuka is ignorant in many ways," The Elder said.
Did… Did the elder just insult her village leader? He knew that they had a shaky relationship, but Ainz didn't expect such open disrespect behind Shizuka's back. Sure, his wife had fought against the village culture with her previous lover, but that was years ago, and Shizuka still had followed the village traditions afterward. Why was it such a big deal to create conflict between the leader and the Elder Council, it all sounded like a needless grudge.
Also, everyone was ignorant of something, and in the few days that he'd seen and conversed with Shizuka, the woman did her job quite well in his opinion.
In fact, considering that Shizuka had been doing as well as she had been while in conflict with her own council… There's a solid chance that the ill-preparedness and mismanagement of Nadeshiko Village weren't because of its leader, rather, its political conflict with the council.
Ainz kept this thought to himself but made a mental note to investigate what else the Elder Council had inadvertently or purposely done to Nadeshiko. While there didn't seem to be any indication of what Ainz knew of political corruption, that didn't mean personal bias hadn't affected the village's wellbeing.
Then again, his own perspective of political corruption was influenced by Earth's mega-corporate complete control over the governments. Which may be considered overkill on this world's version of it.
"Then I'll be on my way," Ainz said his goodbye and left the room, he couldn't help but sigh, even if he lacked the ability to breathe.
What a major headache.
It was strange, he couldn't even physically have headaches, yet some phantom illusion of the sensation crept its way to his mind.
"What's next…" He tried to bring his thoughts away from the issues and focus on anything that interested him. There wasn't much he could do about the food situation right now, so it would be best to switch to solving problems that could be dealt with.
He's doing it again… He's laser-focused on work.
Though, oddly enough, it didn't feel like work in the traditional sense of his office job. Rather, it felt like managing Ainz Ooal Gown back when many of his guild members were active, especially in its early days after they conquered the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
Maybe he had a thing for management games? He surely had the skill for it, keeping the guild afloat hadn't been a simple task, and twelve years of YGGDRASIL had him managing more than his inventory.
Actually, speaking of inventory, he still had that chakra slime suit. He should bring it to research and development, a small building he recalled from the tour Shizuka gave on his first day in Nadeshiko.
Ainz Ooal Gown stepped outside the building, he took notice that the sunlight had dimmed considerably since a few hours ago, a dark overcast of grey clouds covered the sky. It wasn't the familiar sight of polluted skies, there weren't any smog and aerosols to fill his sense of smell, rather it was a pleasant, relaxing scent. He took the equivalent of a deep breath, letting the stress fade away as he reveled in the fresh air.
Then droplets of water started to fall from the skies, not the acid rain that tormented any under its cloud cover, but a gentle spray like a cool shower, coating the buildings, plants, and people in a wet blanket. He let the natural rain soak his attire, it was far from discomfort rather a huge relief that carried with it a longing sensation.
It was the first time Suzuki Satoru ever experienced natural rain outside YGGDRASIL.
He dearly wished his friends could be here to see and feel it too
Somebody bumped into him, he hadn't noticed them until the woman ran right into Ainz by accident.
"Oh, pardon me," Ainz began to apologize. "I was blocking the way," He said as he looked down at the figure, drenched in the rain.
He didn't recognize her, her light blue hair was tied back in a ponytail and it was rather spiky at the back. She didn't wear any sort of identifiable uniform from Nadeshiko, rather a green dress with a red turtleneck and fluffy white-collar, neither could Ainz couldn't spot any sort of headband. So, either a kunoichi off-duty or a civilian.
"N-no, it's my fault, my haste made me slip due to the rain," The woman replied, her hand rubbing her forehead before black eyes looked up to see Ainz. "I'll be- Ah!"
She jumped back up and leaped back a considerable distance, indicating her kunoichi training and writing off any civilian tag.
Still, what an odd reaction, Ainz knew he had looks of awe or respect before, but never a surprised retreat to his appearance. Well, everyone acts differently.
"You shouldn't run in the rain, it's quite dangerous," Ainz stated. "Never know when you could get hurt, like now."
"I-I-I…" The woman sputtered out indiscernible muttering.
"I assume, given your previous direction of movement, your haste is directed toward the third hill. What luck, I'm also about to head in that direction," Ainz said. "Since you're a kunoichi, how about you accompany me and we can talk while we walk?"
He wanted to ask about items capable of using chakra, considering that people presumed he knew 'sealing' thanks to misunderstandings, and also the slime suit he had looted before, it was best to gain some sort of common knowledge on the topic before he put himself into a deeper hole.
"I'm Ainz Ooal Gown, but please, call me Ainz," He introduced himself in a friendly manner.
"G-Guren…?" She answered hesitantly.
It sounded a little familiar for some reason, but Ainz couldn't recall, "A pleasure, walk with me." He said as he began walking towards the Academy Hill, making sure to match his speed with the woman who initially walked slowly but hastened when he glanced back at her. "Tell me, Guren, what do you know about items with chakra?"
"W-What do you mean?" She asked.
Was he not clear enough?
"I mean, items capable of controlling the flow of chakra," He began. "Objects that enhance the potency of jutsu, or uniforms that help mold the energy without the need for hand seals."
Unlike with Tier Magic's magical energy, which was used as is when casting spells, a vast majority of ninjutsu and genjutsu required the formation of hand seals to help shape and mold chakra into the desired effect. It was likened to requiring to put in a set of instructions for a computer before it could do something, hand seals functioned as the code, chakra served as the processing power.
However, if a ninja could equip an item that lessened the required code or came with a pre-determined set of instructions, frankly, came hand seal mimicry or pre-loaded with jutsu, then wouldn't that greatly enhance their fighting ability?
It was possible, his conversation with Tokiwa indicated that space-time ninjutsu could be stored in seals, which he considered an equivalent to YGGDRASIL's scrolls or [Sealing Crystal].
"I'm aware of a few items," Guren answered. "The explosive tags for instance are inscribed with special ink that when infused with chakra or lit aflame explode."
An explosive tag, from the kunoichi's description, sounded like a type of grenade. This wasn't surprising, many low-level players in YGGDRASIL used damage-dealing consumable items to complement their actions. That's not to say mid or high-level players didn't use them, but comparable items at such levels were more difficult to find or craft.
"Yes, that is once instance of chakra used for an item," Ainz rolled with the given knowledge. "But I came across a rogue ninja with an interesting suit that helped shape his body using chakra. However, it was specialized to him, but I hope to research and develop new technology for Nadeshiko," He explained.
"A s-suit? I see… That explains that," She replied.
"Umu, it's quite simple when you look at it," Ainz nodded to himself, but internally he was questioning whether or not he'd already lost the kunoichi's attention. She seemed so anxious as if hurrying to get away from him.
Is he boring her? Did he lose her interest so quickly? Quick, think of something to catch it!
As they approached the bridge connecting the Main and Academy Hills, he noticed that Guren's eyes seem to pan around, looking for something, but avoiding his form.
"Am I unnerving you?" He asked.
"No!" She hastily shouted. "I'll follow! I won't run!"
As he thought, she was desiring to get away from him.
He stopped his movements just before they crossed and turned towards her, "Mhm, then if I may ask, what were you looking for?" He questioned, hoping to gain some sort of understanding and ease her tension.
She instead collapsed to her knees in front of him, bowing down in a dogza.
What did he do?!
Did her terrify her that much?! It was a simple question!
"Please spare me! I'm only searching for Yukimaru, I have no intentions of harming anything in Nadeshiko and deeply apologize for the previous conflict against the village," She begged in apology. "Even if you decide not to spare me, at least let me see him, there is something I must tell him!"
Eh?
Yukimaru?
Ah… That was the boy with the taming ability they'd obtained back at the lake.
Wait, so this woman was tied to the child in some way? His mother? Sibling? No, she mentioned prior conflict with Nadeshiko's kunoichi, which if Ainz recalled, he never did locate that crystal-user while he was there. If this woman was the same crystal-user rogue kunoichi from before… Why the hell did she come to Nadeshiko?
And from the looks of it, without any back-up!
That was like waltzing straight into an enemy guild base! It was such a ludicrous idea, almost utter insanity unless you had a World-Item to back it up, and even then nobody would be dumb enough to head straight in, practically asking to be PKed and their items taken!
A suppressive dampener calmed his emotions back down.
No, wait, this was a great opportunity to gain some outside intelligence. Though, as a rogue ninja belonging to an enemy faction, she'd likely not be so willing to spill out information, even if threatened. Although she seemed willing to relent somewhat, it was best to just…
He raised a hand towards her, "[Charm Species]."
It was a 4th tier spell, as it suggests, [Charm Species] placed the target under a charm, this particular variant was a stronger one that influenced all species and not just the caster's own. The charm would make the target believe the caster is their friend, but it can be resisted by certain means.
In YGGDRASIL, a spell like this could be used to switch the allegiance of mobs or mercenaries, or gather information from hostile NPCs related to quests. Against enemy players, however, it was not that effective.
But he wondered how it would work against the people of this world.
Guren's eyes glossed over, before her expression changed to a kind familiarity, "Oh, Lord Ainz! How have you been?"
"I've been well, Guren. Though, I must ask, who do you work for?" Ainz questioned.
"No one, Lord Ainz, though I used to serve the Snake Sannin, but that's in the past, I'm here now for my own reasons." She answered willingly under the effects of the spell.
"Tell me about the Snake Sannin," He asked.
"Ah… No, I can't do that," She replied.
That was one of the limitations of the spell; Ainz had expected this outcome. While Guren did view Ainz as a friend, likewise, she wouldn't spill any secrets she believed would endanger him or herself. But the reluctance to speak about the Snake Sannin was information in itself, it told Ainz that Guren believed her chances to be better in risking infiltration of Nadeshiko than spilling secrets of her previous allegiance.
"So you believe the Snake Sannin to be stronger than me?" He asked to confirm.
"Yes, he's practically immortal, you might give him a bit of a fight but anyone else from Nadeshiko stands no chance."
Of course, Ainz was aware that the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru, was an S-Rank rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. As someone from one of the Great Five, he would be stronger than an average kunoichi from Nadeshiko, but considering the danger level in the Bingo Book, he might be comparable to the Kage.
Which meant, possibly comparable to a high-level Player.
Also, immortal? Did that imply that Orochimaru was a different race? A heteromorphic like himself, given the serpentine title? Or perhaps, a variant of human, like the rare [Immortal Human] race back in YGGDRASIL? Or perhaps it was more related to his skill set, such as a jutsu or ability that allowed for resurrection on death?
Too many questions, not enough answers. Although the Bingo Book did have a set of pictures detailing Orochimaru's appearance, it did also mention that his appearance can change due to an unknown jutsu. So perhaps Orochimaru was once human but came across a racial change item.
But the Bingo Book in Nadeshiko is also outdated by a full year and has heavy bias and information restricted from its print. It was unreliable as a stratagem against any listed shinobi, acting more like a bounty board.
"You mentioned the boy, Yukimaru, are you related to him?" He decided to get to the crux of the issue.
"No, but I've grown attached to him. And feel guilty and responsible for what happened to him in the past," She answered truthfully.
"Why?"
"I killed his parents when I was young, it was a test by Orochimaru, but upon remembering that…" Guren closed her eyes and sighed; not speaking any further.
Ainz couldn't feel any sympathy for her, but now recalled the boy's attachment to this person. He had been vocal about it at the camp and on the return trip to Nadeshiko. That child had a unique taming ability; Ainz could use Guren as a motivator to get Yukimaru's cooperation.
Of course, Ainz had no plans of forcing Yukimaru, he'd not be able to face his friend Yamaiko if he'd mistreated children under his protection. Not that she'd approve of the child soldier mindset of the ninja world, but that was still outside his control to change.
Hold on a minute, if Guren was a rogue ninja back from the lake…
"Did you aggro the Death Knight to another town then to mingle in with the refugees?" He questioned.
"Death Knight? No, I didn't do anything, just lucked out with the group," She admitted.
So she wasn't the culprit for that.
Guren grasped her head and started mumbling to herself; Ainz took it as an indication that she was beginning to resist the spell's effects. He had gotten quite a few answers, and unless he tried a higher tier spell, wouldn't be able to gain anything substantial.
Ainz Ooal Gown didn't want to risk using higher-tier spells for mind control, at least while in the public view of Nadeshiko. He had already risked showing off other types of Tier Magic, there would be only so much Shizuka could cover for him. Besides, Ainz knew that mind control would place much suspicion on him, and he didn't desire anyone in Nadeshiko to fear him.
A 4th Tier charm spell could be passed off as a type of genjutsu, at least, that's how he assumed genjutsu could work. The books were not too clear on the possibilities of genjutsu beyond illusions and mental effects.
Well, he'll capture Guren for now, it wouldn't be wise to leave a rogue ninja wandering in the village.
Maybe she'll join the village, he had the bait, just needed a good hook and line.
"What, no… He's… He's not a comrade," Guren seemed to now recover from the status affliction of [Charm Species], which was quicker than he thought would occur.
Mhm… Did chakra give passive resistance to particular status effects? Or was Guren high enough of a level to not be affected as long by a 4th Tier spell?
He raised another hand to use another spell-
-And four kunoichi jumped in, kneeling before him.
Where did they come from!?
His surprised emotion dulled back down.
No, wait, they were always following him. He'd known about it this entire time, but they were just so much weaker- Er, a lower level than him that they barely registered. Ainz hadn't been as actively observant as normal because he was relaxed, Nadeshiko was already friendly territory in his mind.
"Lord Ainz, we're here at your sign," One of the female kunoichi said.
A sign?
They didn't appear earlier, did they mistake his other arm movement for a sign?
"Umu, arrest this woman. She's a rogue kunoichi, but has agreed to cooperate. So treat her fairly for now," He ordered.
Guren glanced up, then around, but resigned herself to being arrested. "I cannot face you, I'll go."
"As you command, Lord Ainz."
It had been an incredibly hectic day for Nadeshiko's leader, Shizuka Gown. If dealing with the aftermath of the refugees wasn't enough, having to work with members of the Elder Council certainly gave her a major headache. Fortunately, they were more tolerable today and could work alongside her when it came down to it. After that, it was organizing the refugee's temporary residence, gathering information that led to their current situation, then meeting with numerous residents of the lowest hill for a number of things. That didn't include trying to think of a suitable response team based on Ainz's suggestions for whatever entity had destroyed the village in the first place.
Then Ainz did something again, he managed to immediately locate and imprison a rogue ninja that infiltrated Nadeshiko Village without so much a fight breaking out and causing any collateral damage.
It just kept happening, these events just kept happening with him around!
So, when the night hours arrived and Shizuka finally managed to meet up with Ainz back at their house, she slammed the door and walked straight up to the large figure that was Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Ainz…" Shizuka trailed off, her glare directed at the man who sat on a comfortable chair while reading a book.
He lifted up his head, his odd mask's expression now looking at her. "Ah, Shizuka, how-"
"Ainz, what the hell?!" Shizuka blew her casket, bottled-up emotions erupted into her shouting.
"Huh!?" Ainz was taken aback by her sudden increase in volume.
"You said there wouldn't be any rogue ninja, and not a few hours later, I heard word that we had one imprisoned in containment! And you just… Just happened to waltz right into her and disable her with a fuss!"
"In my defense, I said I doubted there would be any, not that there wouldn't," He replied in a strictly logical tone. "And the rogue kunoichi was- Well, she was entirely cooperative, there was no danger to Nadeshiko."
Shizuka rubbed his head, trying to calm herself a bit down. What Ainz had mentioned was correct. He never did say there wouldn't be any, only that it was unlikely.
Still, Shizuka continued, desiring to obtain some answers for once, "I can barely wrap my head around how you've been doing things. You can fly, create a fully furnished tower with a jutsu, hold scrolls with cost-free usable jutsu, use space-time ninjutsu to teleport, have objects which defy anything I knew about, defeat and seal away a Tailed Beast with little to no damage to yourself by yourself…" She started listing off.
"… Ah," Ainz leaned back against his chair. "I haven't exactly been secret with those."
"Not to mention, you completely overturned the Elder Council's political weight, have the civilians' complete trust in you, can speak diplomatically in a way that made even Konohagakure retreat, convinced my kunoichi to follow you without hesitation, and have knowledge on whatever the hell destroyed the coast village!"
"Hey, wait, that's a bit-"
"And! And! You seem to be perfectly fine with the literal environmental transformation occurring nearby with those wolves, which you also tamed!"
Shizuka finally stopped her rant and took in several deep breaths. It might have been immature of her to do that, but it sure felt good to finally relieve the stress.
Ainz remained silent.
After a full two minutes, Shizuka recovered enough to break the previous tension.
"Sorry…" She apologized firstmost. "I know everyone has their secrets, but I'm just so confused that it affected my emotions."
"No, it's fine, I can understand your feelings," He replied. "To answer most of your concerns, you can liken my abilities as a type of… Bloodline Limit. Although I may have implied it to be a type of sealing, it isn't actually that," He answered.
Shizuka nodded, she knew that Bloodline Limits can be incredibly odd and fascinating. But was also aware they can be a double-edged sword. "What does your Bloodline Limit do exactly?"
"I can't do jutsu, it's all an act," He spoke honestly.
"Huh? But you did-"
"I can imitate jutsu, but not exactly," Ainz replied. "It's an entirely new Bloodline Limit, I call it Tier Magic."
"Like something out of a book?" Shizuka said.
"Sorta, think of it as a different method of using chakra that isn't bound to the same rules as yours but likewise has its own rules. Now, as for the items, I found them all in ruins so can't answer you on those. Does that satisfy your curiosity, Shizuka?"
She sighed, "A bit… I imagine it must have been extremely difficult to learn, that might explain your intelligence…" She trailed off.
"Umu, it took many years," Ainz said. "I'll explain more in the future, I hope you understand."
Shizuka still had other things she'd mentioned in her rant that remained unanswered but understood it couldn't be exactly explained all in one conversation. "I'll accept learning this, but we are husband and wife, even if only done so for cultural reasons, at the very least we shouldn't keep too many secrets from each other," Shizuka did not deny keeping secrets, after all, she was the leader of a kunoichi village, it was practically in the job description.
"Tokiwa came over this morning," Ainz changed the subject, but she let it pass. "She mentioned we both have to attend the meeting with the Mizukage."
Shizuka sat on a chair across from Ainz, "I never met the Mizukage, but have exchanged letters. She seems like a woman that wants to right the wrongs of the Hidden Mist Village, but I remain skeptical."
"It is still two days away, which means we'd need to leave by tomorrow," Ainz said, knowing they'll need to get there by boat.
"The village is in such a delicate position from the recent refugees," Shizuka groaned. "I honestly wish to stay and stabilize the situation more, and also deal with that death creature."
"Tokiwa also mentioned you'd have to go, but that was before the refugee situation, are you sure I can't go by myself?" Ainz questioned.
Shizuka tapped her fingers against her arms, "No, it would be like saying directly to the Mizukage that we don't trust them or value them enough to send the leader to negotiation."
"You ignored their invitations for years now," Ainz pointed out. "That's the same exact message."
"Ugh," Shizuka had to admit, it practically was. "Then all the more reason."
"Just us then," He said. "No others?"
"I don't have anyone else free, except Kluke's team, but I rather not send outside the team with a newly graduated student… Who is also a Jinchuuriki," She replied.
"Keep them here then," He said. "Can the village survive for a few short days?"
"The Elder Council might be a pain in my rear, but they're competent at least, it'll survive. And Tokiwa is nearly my exact strength, so defense-speaking, she can handle most threats."
"Umu, that's that then."
It'll just be her and Ainz together on a trip to Kirigakure.
… Wait, this didn't count as a honeymoon right?
