I don't know how the notification system works here, but I have just recently (March 6th 2018) edited this chapter to correct some glaring mistakes I noticed. If anyone following got some notification or such, I'm sorry to say that there is still nothing new yet.
Hi all, author here.
After moving this story into crossover section and observing for a while, I decided to move back to the regular section. The crossover section was pretty dry and it seemed like there was nobody from the Phantasy Star section coming at all. In short, lack of visitors.
I will try my best to not include outside materials other than Ryu's combat spells and a few quirks.
In any case, here is the next chapter
"Good morning, Ryu-san!"
Ryu was still barely awake when Lily said that. He really wanted to sleep again, but he also felt that he shouldn't. With a little bit of forcing, he got up into sitting position on his bed. His sleepwear was a knee-length black boxer and a plain white T-shirt.
"Good morning, Lily"
Ryu looked at his companion. It was pretty clear that she just woke up as well. Her hair was still loose and a little messed up like a bed hair normally was. Also, she was still not wearing her armor.
"Did you sleep well, Ryu-san?"
"Of course. It really feels good"
Ryu was glad that he had obtained a good amount of payout from his first job. Thanks to that he had paid his entry fee debt to the guild and still had more than enough to stay at a better inn than the one he had visited back then. This inn he was staying at was a bit expensive, charging two silvers per night for this double room, but it was overall better than the temple. Also, the fee included simple meal course twice a day on request.
The amount of money Ryu had was enough to stay in this inn for around two weeks without taking any more jobs. Therefore, like the five adventurers who were with him yesterday, Ryu decided to rest for two or three days.
"So what are we gonna do today?"
"Well, first, getting out of this bed"
Ryu stood up from the bed and stretched his arms.
"And then..."
Within a blink of an eye, Ryu's clothes changed into his usual priest-like suit, complete with the hat, gloves, and shoes.
"... get dressed"
"If only I can do it like you, Ryu-san"
Lily chuckled after saying her remark about Ryu's convenient way of changing clothes. Photon clothing is indeed convenient like that, and it doesn't affect the performance of photon armor, which is why some ARKS operatives felt free to wear weird or eccentric outfits into battle. Ryu was not among those operatives though, preferring elegant outfits that suit his combat role as spellcaster.
Nevertheless, the question of what to do today still remained. Ryu went towards the window to look outside. His room was located on the second floor of the inn building, so he could have a wide view of the streets and the market area at a distance.
The sky was still not too bright, the time being still dawn and all, but he could see people already busy with their activities. Merchants setting up shop, commoners, adventurers walking towards the guild, and town guards patrolling.
Ryu noticed one group of guards across the street. One of them, seemingly a higher rank, was reading a written report from a patrol group. Seeing that made Ryu remember the basic problem he had back at the guild. Being illiterate of this world's written language was a significant hindrance and would hurt him in the long run.
"I think we should find someone to teach us how to read. What do you think, Lily?"
"Great idea, Ryu-san! That way we will be able to look at jobs ourselves!"
"Let's go to the guild and see if someone can help us"
After having breakfast downstairs, Ryu and Lily went to the Adventurer's Guild. They went to the receptionist desk immediately.
"Welcome back. How may I help you?"
"We're looking for someone who can teach us how to read. Do you know where I can find such person?"
"In that case, you can go to the temple. Alternatively, you can also make it a job request here"
Ryu pondered on the options. If possible, he didn't want to go back to the temple again. However, the alternative was a bit strange. Posting a totally non-combat job in a guild filled with people who go into combat for a living felt out of place. Moreover, he had no idea how much money he should post as the reward.
Still, the latter option might be more practical. The main purpose of learning to read was so he and Lily would be able to take a look at jobs themselves. What teacher would be better other than fellow adventurers?
"I will take the second option"
"Tell me the message you would like to post, your contact location, and the reward"
"Just make it simple like 'a fellow adventurer looking for someone to teach how to read' or something to that effect. My contact location would be the Silver Star Inn. As for the reward... do you have a recommendation? I honestly have no idea how much this is worth"
"In that case, it can be set as 'on agreement' so you will negotiate with the one accepting"
Ryu was about to agree, but suddenly...
"I will take that job"
Ryu turned around to look at the person who just spoke. It was a pretty young girl, though not as young-looking as Lily. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, a common trait of local residents. Her hair was cut short, barely reaching her shoulders. Her eyes were half closed, as if she was very tired and could fall asleep anytime. Her clothing was light and simple, telling the implication that she was a magic caster. Her plate was of gold color.
"You are..."
"Alice... Alice Vegelshaft. Just call me Liz"
She said that while yawning.
"You need someone to teach you how to read, right?"
Am I going to learn anything if the teacher is a sleepyhead like this?
"You're doubting because I'm a sleepyhead"
That remark caught Ryu by surprise. Either she was a mind reader, or she was just good at reading people.
"Well, aren't there better jobs for you? I mean, you're gold"
"My party is out of commission and I can't be bothered to go out there..."
Ryu turned back to the receptionist lady.
"Do you know her? Is she suitable for the job?"
"If it is her... I highly recommend it"
Ryu turned back to Alice.
"So... do you want me to do the job?"
"How much do you want for the reward?"
"Just do me a simple favor. I don't want your money..."
She yawned again.
"What kind of favor?"
"Something simple that will be over within minutes. You have my word..."
Yawning after every sentence seemed to be her habit. At this point Ryu was starting to get used to it. He pondered on it for twenty good seconds before coming to a decision.
"Alright. I will hire you"
"Good..."
Ryu turned back to the receptionist.
"How do we handle this?"
"Since the job isn't officially posted yet, I will ignore this and consider this as fellow adventurers helping each other. You don't need to do anything further in this regard"
"Thank you"
Alice approached the receptionist and yawned again before she started to speak.
"Can I have unused copies of job papers? Preferably one each of every rank..."
"Sure, please wait for a moment"
The receptionist lady went to a shelf at the back and took some papers. She then put a black stamp over each and handed them to Alice.
"These are papers of jobs which have been completed. They all have been documented so you don't need to return them"
"Thanks... now Ryu-san, Lily-san, let's go"
"Uhh... go where?"
"The place where you sleep. Where else?"
The three of them then left the guild building and went to the room Ryu had rented in Silver Star Inn. There was a small table near the beds, and Alice put the papers on it.
"Now let's begin..."
Alice took something from her dress. It seemed to be this world's equivalent of pen and ink. She put them on the table and flipped one sheet of paper to use the blank back side.
"Tell me... what are the characters of the written language you know? Write them down here"
Ryu complied her, writing all 26 characters of alphabet from A to Z, numbers from 0 to 9, and commonly used marks such as comma, dot, and apostrophe.
Alice looked at them for a minute. Her eyes were still as sleepy as ever. She then took another sheet and put the blank back side up.
"I will write down each adventurer rank from copper to adamantite. Write them down in your language once I'm done"
She did what she said, and Ryu followed, writing each rank name below Alice's writing. She looked at them for another minute, and took another sheet.
"Now try to write a sentence that uses most, preferably all, the characters. Don't tell me what you write"
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
That was the classic sentence Ryu knew that contains all letters. After Ryu wrote it down, Alice looked at them for ten seconds.
"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, isn't it?"
Both Ryu and Lily got surprised, and Lily was the first to jump out.
"Whaaat?! Did you- did you just learned our written language?!"
"Yes, it is quite simple so I can learn it easily..."
"That's still impressive no matter how you look at it"
"Nevertheless..."
Alice then wrote something right below the sentence Ryu had written. It might be the same sentence in local language, but Ryu could never confirm it as of currently.
"I will tell you something about myself... I can learn your language quickly because I am a talent holder"
"Talent holder?"
Lily was completely unfamiliar, but Ryu actually had a little bit of knowledge about that thanks to his conversation with Gazef back then. Although the word is the same, in this case the term 'Talent' means an innate, supernatural ability only about one of two hundred people have. Talent is gained at birth and cannot be changed no matter what.
"I will guess that your talent is something like language comprehension?"
"Yes, as long as correct comparisons exists, I can do what I just did..."
"So, how will it help us to learn your written language?"
After hearing Ryu's question, Liz's right hand projected a small magic circle, and then she offered it as if she was asking for a handshake.
"You two, hold my hand..."
Ryu and Lily looked at each other and nodded. They held Liz's hand together, and the magic circle seemed to fade away gradually until it completely disappeared.
"Look at the front side of the sheets now"
"Don't tell me..."
Ryu flipped all the job sheets that had been flipped. He couldn't believe his eyes. He just suddenly became able to fully comprehend all the written language of this world.
"Whaaaat?! Since when I could read all these?!"
Lily obviously was as surprised as Ryu, though she had no hesitation to express it. Ryu flipped some of the sheets to the back side, and indeed he now could read what Liz had just written there.
"That was part of my talent. Whenever I learn a new language I can make someone else learn mine"
"You have no idea how grateful I am. What should we do to repay you?"
"That simple favor... Just let me sleep here for a while..."
"What? Is that it? I mean, the value seems... unbalanced"
"I learned your language and you learned mine... That is already an equivalent exchange..."
Alice went to climb Lily's bed and fell asleep on it almost immediately.
"Well, she is right in a sense but... still feels weird, doesn't it Ryu-san?"
"Yeah... indeed"
It was still in the middle of the day, but the one problem they had just vanished in an instant like that. They definitely had struck gold on this matter.
"What are we gonna do now, Ryu-san?"
"Let's just go outside and let her sleep as much as she wants. I will write a message for her to see once she wakes up"
Ryu then wrote a short letter using Liz's pen, telling her to use the room as much as she liked if they have not returned by the time she wakes up. After that, he and Lily quietly went out from the room.
"Let's go to the plains outside. Just for some walk"
"Sure, Ryu-san"
"By the way, this has been going for a while, but could you just drop the honorific? We are partners"
Lily looked flustered hearing what Ryu just said.
"I... I can't do that. That would be disrespecting"
Ryu sighed. He had no idea what kind of oath Ainz had her sworn on. All he knew was that when he arrived in the throne room he was presented with standing still, motionless Lily. Without giving a chance to ask, Ainz casted some kind of spell to Ryu and conjured a dark portal.
It will be best if she doesn't see me and my guardians when she wakes up, so you better go immediately. I wish you luck in your future endeavors, Ryu-san
That was the last thing Ryu heard from Ainz before he was hurried into the portal with still-motionless Lily. She woke up immediately after crossing the portal, and she knelt to Ryu, introducing herself and pledging her loyalty.
Ryu had told her to behave naturally and consider him as a partner, which she thankfully had been doing so. However, she still wouldn't drop the honorific no matter what.
After buying some food they could carry for lunch, the two of them walked all the way to the gates of E-Rantel and then to a nearby open field where the city wall was still within sight and far enough from the main road that nobody else would pass by. They were pretty much alone at this point.
"Lily"
"Yes, Ryu-san?"
"If I haven't told you to consider me as partner, what am I to you?"
Lily was silent for a second, then she knelt again like back then.
"You are the one, to whom I swear my absolute loyalty until the day I die"
Her answer was straight, and her eyes were filled with determination. Everything felt very awkward for Ryu, and he hoped nobody was watching.
"Who made you do that oath?"
"My creator"
"Who is your creator?"
Ryu could guess that it was definitely Ainz, but he wanted to see Lily's answer to that question.
"I have no idea at all about my creator. I only know for sure that my purpose is to serve the one he had chosen. And that person is you, Ryu-san"
Ryu's feelings were mixed. From her answers he could make a conclusion that Lily was a summoned creature of some kind. However, she was very human compared to most denizens of Nazarick. She had basic necessities like any other human, and she definitely had her own personality. But her so called absolute loyalty felt somewhat... restrictive.
"Lily, if I told you that you are free to go, what would you do?"
"I will choose to continue serving you"
"What about if I command you to stop serving me? What would you do then?"
"I will do nothing. I will just lie down and wait for death, because I have lost my purpose in life"
Seriously? This is getting out of hand
Ryu let out of sigh, looking at the cruel fate of his partner. He really could not get any idea if her personality was real or she was merely an animated creature with fabricated personality, without her own free will.
"Ryu-san"
"Uhh, yes?"
Ryu was a bit startled. He just realized that he had taken a while pondering.
"You will not abandon me, right?"
Lily asked that question with a worried, round eyed face. With that kind of face, anyone with half a heart would never say no.
"O-Of course not! We are partners and it will continue that way!"
"Thank you, Ryu-san. I feel relieved that I can continue to have a purpose in my life"
Lily said that with a relieved, smiling face.
Seriously, Ainz? Did you intend me to die melting from cuteness overload?
"A-anyway, let's sit down here and have lunch"
Ryu sat down in front of Lily, who was changing her stance from kneeling to sitting. They had lunch there as if they had a quick picnic.
The next hours were spend walking around doing nothing significant. Both of them had no idea what to do, and there was no reason to go back to the inn, so they just kept walking away from E-Rantel, observing the people they passed by.
"Hey, isn't that...?"
Ryu looked at what Lily had just seen. At a distance, a group of familiar people were approaching. It was the Swords of Darkness group, Momon, Nabe, and Nfirea. What caught Ryu's eyes the most was the fact that Momon was riding a large creature.
To be exact, it was a giant hamster.
As they came closer, the approaching group seemed to notice Ryu and Lily. Peter and Lukrut waved their hand at Ryu and Lily, and they both also waved their hand in reply.
Ryu approached the group and as he got closer he noticed that the wagon Nfirea was driving was filled to the brim with many kinds of picked plant life. Ryu was not well versed in this matter, but at least he could make a guess that those were potion ingredients.
"Ah, Ryu-san and the cute-as-ever Lily-san. It's been a while since we last met. How are you doing?"
Lukrut was still as cheerful as ever.
"We're good. We met a group of Iron rank and did a job together"
Peter and also the rest of the group seemed happy hearing that.
"That's good to hear. Where are you going now? Another job?"
"We're just walking around and about to go back to E-Rantel when we saw you guys"
"Ha! What a happy coincidence! Let's walk home together then!"
Of course Ryu agreed with Dyne's remark.
"By the way, Momon-san. May I ask about your ride?"
To Ryu and Lily's surprise, the giant hamster talked.
"The name's Hamsuke, this milord here, he defeated me and now I am his servant"
"W-whaaaaat?! It talked?"
Lily didn't hold back at all in expressing her surprise.
"Momon-san is really impressive. This majestic beast is a legend named The Wise King of The Forest, and he tamed it just like that"
Peter's short explanation felt confusing for Ryu. While the size was large and its tail was a large snake, the fact that this creature was a giant hamster still remained. Momon riding it didn't look that majestic in Ryu's eyes.
"Hamsuke, I'm coming down for a while"
"Oh, yes, milord"
Momon jumped off from Hamsuke and approached Ryu.
"Ryu-san, come talk with me for a moment. Just the two of us. You guys just keep walking. I will catch up"
"Alright, Momon-san"
After telling Lily to stay with the group, Ryu walked a fair distance from the main road with Momon until pretty much nobody was near enough to hear them.
"Ryu-san. I want to ask. What do you think of her? I mean, Hamsuke"
"She is... a giant hamster?"
"Right?! You think so, too, don't you?!"
Momon looked a bit weird. His tone seemed like he had been holding something in his mind and now he was letting it out.
"What's the matter, Momon-san?"
"Finally someone agrees with me! Everybody else thought of Hamsuke as a majestic beast, like a steed of great honor! They pushed me to ride her, and you know how I feel?"
"Well, if you ask me, if I were in your position I would feel awkward"
"I know, right?! Riding her felt like I'm an old man on a merry-go-round! It's... ah, it kicked in"
"What?"
"Pay it no heed. It's just something in my mind. Thank you for listening to my rant"
"Anytime, Momon-san. By the way, now that it's just two of us... May I confirm?"
"Yes, I am who you think I am. However, I'm currently Momon the adventurer. Remember that"
"You have done so much for me in the past, so I will make sure to keep that a secret between us"
"Good"
After that, the two of them caught up to the group and continued their travel back to E-Rantel. When they arrived, the sky was already pretty dark. During the walk, Ryu learned that Momon had to go to Adventurer's Guild to register Hamsuke. Meanwhile, the Sword of Darkness group agreed to go with Nfirea back to his shop to help unload the cargo.
"What about you, Ryu-san, Lily-san?"
"We're just a tag along, but I think we will go with you to help unloading. How about it, Lily?"
"I'm fine with that"
"Thanks for the extra help"
Ryu and Lily went along with the group while Momon and Nabe went with Hamsuke to the guild. Later they arrived at the backyard of a house. Nfirea parked his wagon in front of the back door of the house and put on a lantern inside the room behind the door.
With Nfirea's directions, everyone else unloaded the wagon's cargo and put them at the designated spot. It took just a little while since Lily was exceptionally strong for her size, so she could carry the heaviest items without breaking a sweat.
"Thank you for your hard work! There should be some cool fruit juice in the house, so please come in for some"
"Sounds great!"
Lukrut was the one responding with delight, and everyone else agreed.
"Then, please come this way…"
Just as Nfirea was about to lead the others into the house, someone opened the door on the other side of the room.
"Hiiii~ Welcome home~"
Before him stood a pretty, yet vaguely unsettling young woman. Her blonde hair swayed in the wind.
"Ah~ I've been worried, you know? I thought you went missing. What poor timing — I didn't know when you'd be coming back, so I had to wait here all this while, you know?"
"…May, may I ask who you are?"
"Eh! You don't know each other?"
Peter exclaimed in surprise. He thought they knew each other, from her familiar tone of voice.
"Hm? Ehehehe~ I came to kidnap you~ I need someone to use the spell which summons a biiiiiiig horde of undead, 「Undeath Army」, so could you be my magic item? Onee-chan's begging you~"
Everyone, Ryu and Lily included, drew out their weapons.
"That's a seventh tier spell which hardly anyone can use, but it can be cast with the Crown of Wisdom. You can't control all the undead it makes, but you can guide them! What a perfect plan~!"
"Nfirea-san, fall back! Get out of here!"
Peter eyed the woman warily, his sword in hand, and spoke in a steely tone:
"She's going on and on because she's certain she can kill us all. Since you're her target, the only way to turn things around is for you to escape"
As Nfirea withdrew in a panic, the Swords of Darkness closed ranks in front of him, turning themselves into his meatshields. Lily stood next to them while Ryu was a bit behind.
"Ninya, you go too!"
After Dyne spoke, Lukrut shouted.
"Take the kid and run! Weren't you going to save your kidnapped sister?"
"That's right. You've got something you have to do. Though we might not be able to help you until the very end… at least we can buy you some time"
"Guys…"
Ryu was speechless hearing the bit of Ninya's story. At this rate he felt that he must keep them all alive no matter what.
"Mmm~ how touching~ I'm about to shed a tear myself, mm. But if he escapes, it'd be troublesome for me. So let's leave one to play with~"
The girl smiled happily and withdrew a pair of stilettos from under her robe as she saw the doubtful gaze on Ninya's face as he bit his lip. Just then, the rear door swung open, revealing a sickly-pale, stick-thin man, who looked like one of the undead.
They were caught in a pincer attack. The Swords of Darkness' faces turned grim.
"…You're getting carried away"
"Ah~ What're you saying, Khazi-chan? Weren't you the one making preparations so their screams wouldn't spill out? It's just one person, so let me enjoy myself~"
The way the girl smiled with her teeth bared sent a chill down Nfirea's spine.
"Then, since there's nowhere for you to run, let's have some fun~"
Deband!
Ryu immediately casted his defense-buffing tech. Both the girl and the pale man looked surprised. The rest other than Lily weren't any less surprised.
"Oh, it seems like someone is more than meets the eye. Better be prepared, Khazi-chan~"
"Lily! Hold that girl off! Everyone else, let's break through this man!"
Shifta!
The offense-buffing tech seemed to reinvigorate the Swords of Darkness' morale. They immediately turned around towards the pale man. Lukrut fired an arrow to the man, but it was deflected by an invisible barrier around the man. A flicker of the barrier could be seen for a second, and it seemed the arrow managed to make a crack.
[Shield Wall] [Reinforce Armor]
The man casted a spell on himself, making the barrier visible again for a second. The crack on the barrier was mended and now it became seemingly sturdier than before. Dyne charged at the man quickly and swung his mace with all his might. Again, the attack was deflected but a crack appeared.
Before the man could repair the barrier, Peter followed up and slashed with his sword. The man jumped back to evade, but it created an opening for everyone to get out.
"Everybody, get out!"
Meanwhile, Lily had been struggling to fight the sinister girl. She was in defensive stance, trying her best to deflect all attacks while at the same time blocking the way so she wouldn't be able to assist the pale man. The girl was very agile, and Lily had a hard time keeping up with her speed.
"Playtime's over!"
After saying that, the girl thrusted her stiletto at Lily. Lily deflected the attack, but she immediately got kicked with a sweeping kick. The kick was so fast she could not anticipate it at all. She fell flat on her back, and before she could recover...
"Too slow!"
The girl stabbed a stiletto at Lily's unprotected right thigh. To be exact, it was impaled clean through and nailed to the floor.
"Aaaaaaugh!"
"Music to my ears~"
The girl pulled her stiletto, now covered in Lily's red blood, from Lily's thigh. A lot more blood flowed from the two-sided wound left behind.
Resta!
With a cast of the healing tech, the wounds closed as if they never happened. The sinister girl looked a bit surprised, and then she turned towards Ryu.
"So we got a healer here, huh? I guess I must eliminate you first~"
[Pace of The Wind]
Without giving a chance to react, the girl jumped to Ryu with two stilettos pointed to him. She was aiming for the heart. She jumped at a speed where Ryu wouldn't even have time for his brain to process what was happening.
However, instead of getting impaled through, Ryu got thrown back to the outside by the force of the strike. His photon armor protected him, so all damage he received was minor impact damage. He immediately stood up. The girl came out from the door, walking slowly with confidence.
"That's strange~~ I didn't get to stab you. The sensation of stabbing that girl's leg back then also felt hindered. You're really an interesting fellow~"
Ryu glanced back and forth between the opponent in front of him and the Swords of Darkness group struggling to fight the pale man. The man had quite a lot of support spells on him, making himself pretty much invulnerable to any attacks the group could throw at him. Thankfully, it seemed that his offensive was rather weak, so with Ryu's earlier Deband tech the group were protected from his attacks. Nfirea was cowering near his parked wagon, knowing that these enemies wouldn't let him flee.
It was a stalemate over there, and this sinister girl in front of Ryu was much more dangerous. If she suddenly decided to attack the group, they might not survive.
Lily came out from the door attempting an attack from the girl's back. However, she evaded the attack easily.
"I would like to play with you longer, but I am pretty pressed on time~"
[Flow Acceleration]
With incredible speed, the sinister girl jumped towards the Swords of Darkness group and impaled Ninya from the back clean through the stomach. Everyone was totally dumbfounded.
"Argh..."
"Ninya! No!"
The girl then grabbed Ninya by the neck and pointed another of her stilettos to Ninya's face. Ninya was still alive, but he was bleeding out.
"Don't even try to move. Don't try to heal him as well, unless you want my weapon stuck inside him~"
She was right. While Resta could remove small foreign object inside wounds, there was no guarantee for a case of a whole weapon impaling through like that.
"Let's strike a bargain. You come with us, pretty boy, and I will let him go~"
Nfirea was baffled hearing it.
"You better decide quickly. This boy doesn't have long~"
"Y-yes, I will go with you!"
The rest of the Swords of Darkness group were speechless. They were totally out of options. They really wanted to not give the sinister girl what she wanted, but if they try to stop her they would be killed and Nfirea would be taken away anyway. This girl was on a whole different league than them.
"B-but you will keep your word, won't you?"
"Ah, I usually don't. But since today is a special day I will~"
After saying that, she pulled her stiletto from Ninya's back. Blood spurted from both sides of the wound and he fell down to the ground. The girl calmly went away from him to Nfirea, who had accepted his fate.
Resta!
With a single cast, the wounds closed, but Ninya was still unconscious. The rest of the Swords of Darkness hurried to him. Dyne examined him, opening Ninya's clothes and looking worried. He noticed something while doing this.
"He... no. She will be fine"
The sinister girl seemed to overhear them, looking back at them while walking away with the pale man and Nfirea.
"Oh, so the boy turned out to be a girl all along, eh? No matter, enjoy the short life you have remaining~"
After saying that, the two people disappeared into the darkness along with Nfirea.
There was a complete silence for some minute, until Peter broke the silence.
"Dammit! Who the hell are them?!"
He shouted with a single hard pound on the ground with his fist.
"Especially that girl. We're just no match for her"
Everyone agreed with Lukrut's remark.
"I'm really sorry that I was unable to stop her"
Ryu apologized, hanging his head in shame.
"It's all my fault. I was not strong enough to hold her off"
Lily also apologized, hanging her head in shame as well.
"No, it's nobody's fault. Our opponent was just too strong"
Peter said that without looking at Ryu. His remark was genuine, and it seemed that inside his mind he was cursing his weakness.
"In fact, we should thank you"
"Eh?"
Ryu was startled. Why should he be thanked?
"If both of you weren't with us, all of us would have been killed"
"That's right. They might have taken Nfirea, but we are all still here. We will find a way to take him back"
Ryu was speechless hearing Peter and Lukrut's words. He couldn't tell them that he actually had a chance to beat both of the enemies, but the heat of battle and the fact that he had to protect an ordinary person had made him panic and forgot to cast offensive techs.
That might be the better outcome, though. Casting his tech in a residential area like this might cause significant collateral damage.
"In any case, what should we do now?"
"Momon-san and Nabe-san should arrive here soon. I suggest we wait for them, and then we plan our next move"
Ryu agreed with Peter's suggestion. While it would be faster to directly go to the guild, they might not meet along the way if Momon was already done and took a different road. Moreover, Ninya was still unconscious.
Nobody seemed to care about the fact that Ninya turned out to be a girl, probably because it was not the most important matter at hand.
Ryu and Lily sat down on the ground, leaning on the parked wagon's wheels. He had a bad feeling about what was about to come soon, and he hoped Momon would arrive soon. Perhaps Momon would have to fight as Ainz in this unfortunate case.
Note from author:
Like the group in previous chapter, Alice is a cameo of a clanmate.
