Hello again, all.
The time has finally come to proceed with the next Volume, which is the 7th. A lot of things will surely change with the additional factors coming into play compared to canon. Without further delay, let's begin the first chapter of the arc.
See you again in the afterword.
[X][X][X]
"Hikaru... Seika...?"
"Yup, that's my real name. I'm already used to everyone calling me Sheep, though"
"Seriously, what the hell?"
Both Rose and Meru were perplexed by the revelation they had just seen. Sheep being actually an ARKS was already shocking, but on top of that she turned out to be the sister of that ARKS guy they had met before. What were the odds of such encounter happening?
Meru still had to make sure, though. While 'Seika' was already a rather unique name, the chance of this being a coincidence was not zero.
"Sheep... Is your brother... Ryu Seika...?"
Sheep's expression changed as Meru asked the question. Without giving time to react, she grabbed Meru's shoulders.
"Did you meet Ryu-niichan!? Is he alright!?"
"Y-Yes. I think he was alright"
Sheep went silent hearing Meru's answer. Gradually, she began smiling and leaking tears. Both Meru and Rose could easily guess that Sheep was glad hearing that the person she had been looking for was still alive and well.
"Thank you! I'm so glad knowing Ryu-niichan is alright!"
Sheep hugged Meru as she said it. Even Rose, who was not in control of the body, could feel Sheep's genuine happiness.
"Meru, should we tell her... that her brother might be under control of an evil undead?"
"We're not even sure if that's really the case, Rose"
"I can't think of another reason he allied himself with that undead, but whatever"
It took a full minute until Sheep let go of Meru. She really looked delighted, unlike her usual calm and rather cold expression she had been showing before.
"Where did you meet him? How's he doing now?"
"I met him... far from here"
Meru couldn't give definite answer since she truly didn't know how far the spot where she had last seen Ryu was from here. Some part of the trip having been spent while tied up and blindfolded inside a closed carriage didn't help either.
"Also, Sheep. Maybe you won't like this but... He was an adventurer when I met him"
Sheep's expression changed the moment she heard it, but then she seemed to be thinking for a brief moment and let out a little sigh afterwards.
"Figures. Can't survive without this planet's money after all. Ryu-niichan must have thought that way"
"Sheep... May I ask... how did you get here?"
"I stole a Gate Ship"
Sheep spoke that answer with a straight face, as if it was just a minor thing.
"What...?"
"ARKS would need months to get here, something about calibrating the warp drive. I just simply cannot wait that long"
"What? It doesn't make sense. They shouldn't take that long"
Rose questioned the long time it would took for the fleet to arrive, but Meru realized something else.
"Sheep... If ARKS acknowledged this planet... doesn't that mean...?"
"Yes, Darkers are on this planet"
"But it is strange that we have never seen any yet"
"Indeed. I know nothing more about that matter, unfortunately"
"By the way, Sheep. Is the Gate Ship you stole...?"
"Crashed and useless now. I guess they weren't lying when they said that I would risk the Gate Ship blowing up warping here"
"What kind of fool is she, coming to help but ending up stranded just like her brother?"
"Hush, Rose..."
"I tried reaching to Ryu-niichan, but it seems my comm broke when I crashed on this planet. I can't even pick yours up right now"
Sheep tapped on an area near her ear with her finger. Meru then tried using her own communication device, and indeed she couldn't pick Sheep up. She also tried if she could pick up Ryu's location, but there was no result. Both Meru and Rose knew that their communication device was on Safe Mode. It was a short range mode which would trigger upon entering places where operating normally would compromise the device. Forcing a normal mode would risk breaking the device completely, so they never attempted it. At this point they could only assume that Ryu's location was beyond the maximum range of the communication device.
"Sheep, now that you know... Are you going to look for your brother?"
Sheep shook her head and let out a small laugh hearing Meru's question.
"I'm not going to search blindly like a fool. Maybe I will take Hekkeran's offer and see if he can find more info about Ryu-niichan first"
Both Meru and Rose was a little surprised that Sheep was more logical than they had expected. Indeed, with the current situation, Meru herself believed that staying put and gathering information would be the best course of action.
"You're right, Sheep. But I'm a little worried... Do you think we should tell them that both of us are ARKS?"
"Hmm... Well, I say that at least one or two of them already suspect that. They have seen you summoning your weapon and storing it away like I did, after all"
"Yeah... You're right..."
"I guess we better tell them everything during the next meeting and see what they will say in return, though I think I have to tone down a few things since this planet's civilization level is still too far behind to believe about spaceships and such. Don't worry, Rose. We will stick together for as long as you need it"
Sheep held Meru's hands as she said it, trying to assure Meru. Her smile was genuine, and Meru couldn't help feeling grateful for it.
"Thank you, Sheep"
"Meru, I say we also stick with her to be her ally in the case her brother is really under control of that undead"
"How nice of you, Rose... Yes, of course we will"
"Hey, it's the code of ARKS to stick together in difficult times! It's not personal or anything, okay!?"
Meru just laughed a little in her mind, seeing Rose's obvious denial.
[X][X][X]
Later in the evening, the tavern of Singing Apple Pavilion had quite a party. Hekkeran had decided to announce that every food and drink would be on him in celebration of the team's accomplishment. Imina could only shrug and sigh looking at his splurge, though she was not entirely unhappy. After all, the money they had obtained was enough to buy out the entire inn. Giving a treat to this many people wouldn't make much of a dent on his wallet, and he would build better relationship with other people.
Rose and Sheep just sat down on seats located at a corner of the room, seemingly not used to the crowd. Roberdyck, being not too fond of this kind of crowd himself, approached the two girls and sat near them.
"Not used to crowd, eh? Me too actually"
Both the girls didn't respond with any words, making the situation awkward for Roberdyck. He then tried bringing up another topic to end the awkward silence.
"H-Hey, I want to say that you were amazing back then, Rose"
"Hmm? When?"
"When you stood your ground against that burden spell. I didn't know that you could do the same magic resistance Martial Art as mine!"
"Oh... Umm, Roberdyck-san... Actually, it seems that I... copied yours"
"Huh?"
"When you used your Martial Arts near me, I... somehow learned to do them within that instant. I don't know how and why I could do that"
"T-That's even more amazing! It must be a Talent, a very rare one!"
Arche approached the group as Roberdyck said it. She also didn't seem to like the crowd unlike Hekkeran and Imina.
"Hey, something interesting came up?"
"Oh, Arche! You won't believe this!"
Roberdyck excitedly told Arche what he had just heard from Rose. Arche just smiled hearing him, while Rose seemed to be worried. Arche, seemingly noticing, looked at Rose without changing her expression.
"I don't know if that really was your Talent, Rose. But I do know that it has saved our lives. There is nothing to worry about"
"B-But... Isn't it unfair? Roberdyck-san has trained really hard to learn his Martial Arts, while I just instantly copied them..."
Before either Roberdyck or Arche could answer, Sheep took the role for them. She spoke while leaning on her seat with her arms folded.
"Life is unfair, Rose. Sooner or later you just have to accept it. What matters more is the thing you can do in response to the unfairness, either against you or in your favor"
Rose was silent hearing Sheep's words.
"I share the same view with Sheep, Rose"
Arche spoke as her eyes glowed briefly. She then continued.
"I have this rare Talent which enables me to see and measure the magic potential of others. The only other known person to have this Talent is... well, Fluder Paradyne"
"The guest whom we didn't get to see, right?"
"Yes, Sheep. My point is that some people will see this as unfair no matter what, but I just live my life and make good use of this gift I have, and you should do the same, Rose"
"T-Thank you, Arche-san"
"Hey, you can call us all with just name"
Roberdyck nodded as Arche said it.
"By the way... There is something I... we need to tell all of you"
"Really? I'll go fetch those two then. Back in a second"
Roberdyck then left the group to call Hekkeran and Imina. It didn't take him more than five minutes until he returned with both.
"Hey, Rose. Rober told us that you want to tell us something. What is it?"
None of the Foresight members showed any suspicion or such. They were all genuinely just eager to hear what Rose wanted to say, since for them it would mean that Rose has been slowly but surely recovering from her past trauma.
Rose glanced at Sheep before she began speaking.
"I-I really had no idea before, but just this afternoon... I realized that... Sheep and I came from the same place"
The four Foresight members didn't look surprised hearing that. Instead, they looked delighted. Imina was the one who then spoke in response.
"That's a relief, Rose! It means you're not alone in a foreign land!"
The other three nodded with a smile hearing that. Rose seemed to be surprised seeing the response, while Sheep looked slightly relieved.
"So, would you tell us a thing or two about the place you came from if you don't mind?"
Hekkeran asked the question without ill intent. He merely believed that there was much gain and no loss in knowing the depth of his partners.
"I will be the one speaking then"
Sheep leaned forward as she said that. All the others sat down and paid full attention to her.
"We came from a country named Oracle. Within Oracle, there is a military organization acting as the vanguard against coming threats. This organization is named ARKS, and its members are called ARKS Operatives. Both me and Rose are such members"
All four Foresight members didn't say anything. None of them had ever heard about such country, so it must be really far away from here.
"There are a number of major cities within Oracle, such as Feoh, Ur, Themis, and many more. I came from Ur"
"I-I came from Laguz"
"Unfortunately, Ur has been recently devastated and my brother went missing during the disaster. I heard news that he is here somewhere, so I came for him. That's all I can say"
"As for me... I actually don't remember how I ended up so far away from home, so I made things up about myself. I'm sorry!"
Rose bowed frantically as she apologized. The four members still needed some time to let everything sink in. Everything that had been said had changed their view about the outside world beyond the borders of the major countries they knew.
"Hekkeran..."
Hekkeran was startled hearing his own name called by Sheep.
"Y-Yes, Sheep?"
"I would like to take you up on your offer earlier this day"
"Oh, about your missing brother?"
"Yes. It turns out that Rose met him once before she met me, though she doesn't remember where"
The Foresight members once again looked delighted hearing that.
"That's good news! With some luck we might be able to locate him and bring you to him soon enough!"
"Is it really going to be fine with you...?"
At first, Hekkeran didn't understand what Sheep meant with her question, but soon enough he realized it. Sheep was here to look for her brother, and once she found him she would leave Foresight, probably taking Rose with her, and return to Oracle. When that happened, Foresight would return to how it had been before; a rather ordinary Worker team among others.
"Well, it will be unfortunate, I won't deny that. But can't be helped, right? It was thanks to you that we are still alive and well today, so we can't be any happier if we can return the favor. Right, everyone?"
"Right!"
"Of course!"
"Yes"
The other three members spoke their approval. Both Sheep and Rose smiled seeing that. Hekkeran then decided to inquire about Sheep's brother.
"So, tell us about your brother, Sheep"
Sheep took a deep breath before she began speaking about her brother.
"He is just a little taller than you. Black hair, facial hair similar to Roberdyck but thicker and covers below the nose too. He wears glasses, and if he still wears the same outfit, he looks like a priest or a noble at a glance. Did he, Rose?"
Sheep then looked at Rose as she asked the question.
"Y-Yes. I believe that he still wore clothes which gave that impression when I met him"
"Also, according to Rose, he was an adventurer when she met him"
Hekkeran nodded, trying to commit all the information he had heard so far into memory. The other three seemed to be doing the same. He then asked a question to Rose.
"Rose, if you remember, what color was his plate?"
Rose seemed to be thinking for a moment until she spoke.
"Purple"
Foresight members were slightly surprised by Rose's answer since the color meant that Sheep's brother was an Orichalcum Rank adventurer, but they all soon figured that it was not that strange since it was evident for them that people from Oracle, or maybe ARKS in particular, seemed to be overwhelmingly strong compared to pretty much anyone here.
"Orichalcum, huh? That makes things easier since it is the second highest rank among adventurers, so he must be quite famous already. Come to think of it, what is his name?"
"Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot somehow. Teeheehee"
Sheep rubbed the back of her head with one hand while hanging her head, the standard gesture of an embarrassed person, with a strange laugh which somewhat felt out of place for her character. She then spoke the name after a brief moment.
"Ryu Seika"
"Alright, we will get to it as soon as we can"
"Thanks, but really. Don't push yourselves"
[X][X][X]
In his private bedroom within Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz buried his own head under his large pillow while rolling his body left and right on the grand bed. His breathing was heavy and short despite having no need to breathe. This was not caused by any kind of status ailment or such, but something much simpler.
Embarrassment.
"Embarrassing! Embarrassing! Aaaargh!"
A massive feeling of shame was all over him right now, thanks to Pandora's Actor during the meeting just recently. Even though there were clear benefits of having Pandora's Actor during meetings since his intellect could rival even Demiurge, it had been very, very difficult for Ainz to keep himself calm in front of the embodiment of his own dark, shameful past. To add salt to the wound, for some reason his innate emotion suppressor was not working on this shame feeling, so he had to live with this for who knows how long.
"Still, he has made great progress. Didn't expect him to find out the hidden properties of Elder Pain this fast"
Ainz lied down with his face straight up, staring at the roof of his bed and also the visible ceiling of his bedroom. With his ability to mimic pretty much anyone down to their skills, Pandora's Actor had limitless possibilities in his methods to do the appraisal of unknown objects. Ainz felt that he had made the right decision to assign this task to Pandora's Actor, despite the major embarrassment he had to endure during the meeting.
"If only I had put him in a more active role back then instead of just following Demiurge's decisions, there could have been much less damage inflicted on our side..."
Ainz let out a sigh while lamenting on the mess up he had made during the operation in Re-Estize Capital. Still, it was all in the past now, and he had to remember his own words that the most important thing was what he could learn from it.
"Oh yeah, I have to go..."
Ainz stood up from his bed and walked away. The time had come to begin the first phase of Demiurge's plan.
[X][X][X]
Arche sighed as she walked towards her team's home base. Almost all the money she had obtained from the undercover job had been spent away. Not on upgrading her gear, but to pay off her parents' debt and its interest. Even then it was still not enough, but thankfully still sufficient to keep the loan shark quiet for a while. However, as long as her parents still kept their extravagant lifestyle, the debt would just keep bloating with no hope of paying them off.
This was a family shame which she never let anyone on her team knew. They didn't even know yet that she had sisters, though she herself had no idea why she had told Sheep about her sisters. In any case, as long as the loan shark was kept quiet like now, he likely wouldn't chase her all the way to the home base and expose this shame of her to the team.
"Something wrong, Arche?"
Roberdyck had been with her for quite a while today because they both had been walking around collecting information about a new potential job. The pay of this job was very high, though not as high as the past undercover job. That past job was an extremely rare case to begin with, so it was fully expected.
"Ah, nothing you need to be concerned about"
"If you say so"
The two of them continued their trip without saying anything. Soon, they arrived at their home base without any trouble.
"We're back"
Arche spoke her greeting the moment she saw both Hekkeran and Imina behind the entrance.
"Welcome back"
Hekkeran replied with a slightly cheerful tone.
"Something good happened, leader?"
Roberdyck asked the question, noticing Hekkeran's slightly brighter than usual mood.
"We will talk about it over there"
Hekkeran glanced at the team's usual meeting table, where both Rose and Sheep were already seated. Understanding the message, it didn't take long until everyone were seated around their meeting table.
The group then discussed about the potential job they had. It was about investigating a recently discovered ruin, which probably would be filled with monsters. In addition, they also discussed various things like the state of the client and the possible risk of having multiple worker teams. Sheep and Rose were left out of this discussion, since the fact still remained that they were outsiders acting as helping hands. In truth, there was no need for them to be here listening to everything, but Hekkeran had decided so for two reasons. One, they had saved the lives of the entire team, so it would be a disrespect to leave them in the dark about a major job like this.
As for the other reason...
"Before I decide, there is something I need to tell you, Sheep"
"Huh? What is it?"
Hekkeran smiled and took a breath before speaking.
"After so many days, we finally got an information about your brother"
Sheep's expression turned quickly to the positive spectrum the moment she heard Hekkeran's words. The same also applied to Rose.
"Really? What did you find out?"
Sheep asked with a quite delightful tone. Hekkeran eagerly answered, being happy to pay the favor back, even though just a little.
"He is now an Adamantite Rank adventurer leading a team named Ignite Maximus located in E-Rantel, a fortress city under Re-Estize Kingdom, which is the neighboring kingdom"
"Ignite... Maximus? Heh, that's Ryu-niichan for sure"
Sheep made a little laugh as she said that, which naturally confused everyone else. Sheep noticed that and provided a quick explanation.
"Those two words carry a meaning to us, to put it short"
"I see"
Hekkeran didn't want to question further, since it was an unwritten rule among Adventurers and Workers alike to avoid questioning the past of their fellows unless necessary. In practice, it was not always followed, but everyone always tried their best to follow that principle.
There was a map on the table, which had just been used to point out the estimated location of the job. Hekkeran then put his finger on a spot which had a symbol of a city.
"This is E-Rantel, the city which your brother has been using as his base of operation. The distance is not too far from the estimated location of this job, but not near enough to reach on foot within a day. We can accompany you there after the job is finished. Although..."
Hekkeran stopped speaking. There was a moment of silence for ten seconds before he continued.
"I'll be frank, Sheep. We, Workers, take jobs knowing that we might lose our life while doing it. That is the risk we always bear in mind. There is no way to know beforehand on what kind of monsters live in the unknown ruin. The chance is not zero that the hostiles inside are much more than we can handle, even for you two. So, if you choose to part ways with us before we enter the ruin, I won't object"
Hekkeran looked at his teammates after saying those words. The others, although with a sign of hesitation, nodded as a sign of agreeing with the statement. The hesitation was natural, since the chance was also not zero that the hostiles there would be too much for the four of them but still weaker than Rose and Sheep, like Piethoms from the undercover job. In that case, this decision to let Sheep and Rose go would cost them their lives.
"Indeed, Sheep. You have someone, a family, waiting for you. We pretty much don't, so we have no burden in that regard"
Roberdyck said those words with confident tone, though a sharp person would still notice that he was merely trying to sound tough.
"But Arche, what about your sisters?"
Arche was totally caught off-guard by Sheep's question. The other members of the team looked at her with surprised look on their face.
"You have sisters?"
Arche just nodded. Although not this soon, she had been expecting that this little secret would be eventually revealed, so she didn't panic or such.
"Uhh, did I just say something I shouldn't?"
Sheep looked at Arche as she said that. Her face showed a mixture of guilt and worry.
"Ahh.. no, Sheep. I never asked you to keep it a secret after all. You're not at fault here"
Arche then looked at her mates, and she nodded once again.
"Yeah, I have little sisters. And truth to be told, I might have to leave this team soon..."
"What? Why?"
It was Rose who suddenly asked in response to Arche's statement, but Sheep quickly held her shoulder and shook her head, gesturing that this was an internal matter within Foresight team, and the two of them had no say in this. Rose, seemingly able to understand the message, silently leaned back to her seat.
The other members looked a little surprised, but nobody said anything. Arche then continued speaking.
"I don't want to go into detail, but I have some family problems and I have decided to leave my house and take my sisters with me. As for when I'm going to do that, it depends on whether we will take this job or not"
Even without speaking further, Arche believed that her mates could get the message that she would do that right away or after getting home from this job. She had determined herself that the money she had spent to cover for the debt of her parents had been the last. Any money she would earn in the future would be kept for herself and her sisters, since she had decided that her parents were not worth covering for.
"I see. It would be hard to go adventuring again if you're planning to take your sisters and raise them on your own"
Hekkeran spoke with an understanding tone. Imina and Roberdyck nodded hearing those words. Hekkeran then looked at both of them and begin speaking.
"This is a sudden topic, but since it is now confirmed that Arche is about to leave the team, and we have saved up a great sum of money from that past job... I'm thinking of dissolving the team and retire"
There was merely a dull response from the others. It was understandable since it would be hard, if not outright impossible, for the team to recover from losing valuable members. Sheep and Rose would definitely leave soon, and now Arche was added to the list. Parting ways would feel much better than finding a replacement, which most likely would never feel the same.
"Right now, we have two options. We accompany Sheep and Rose to E-Rantel and part ways from there, or... we take this job as our very last quest together beforehand"
Hekkeran smiled with a little grin as he said the last sentence. The other three of the team felt the excitement, and they all responded with the same feeling.
"There's no need to ask, is there?"
"Count me in on the latter, leader!"
"The same for me"
Hekkeran's grin widened as he heard the responses from the others. Before he made another speech, he looked at Sheep. He wanted to ask about Sheep's course of action during this job, and so he did.
"What will you two do? I'm not taking back my words. You are free to part ways with us before we enter the ruins"
Sheep didn't take long to answer with a determined face.
"Looking at your enthusiasm, I can't help feeling that I want to stick with you through this"
"M-Me too, if you don't mind"
Hekkeran smiled and nodded hearing the statement from Sheep and Rose.
"It's settled then. Let's make this job the most memorable experience we will have!"
The other three members cheered in response to Hekkeran's words, while the two temporary members just sat still on their seat, smiling as they watched the unfolding event.
[X][X][X]
It was a silent, uneventful midnight at the Imperial Palace. Most of the staffs barring the guards on duty were peacefully sleeping on their beds. Most lights were off, leaving the guards with bare minimum illumination, which was not a problem for them since they were trained and equipped for this kind of environment. Only those with outstanding, high level stealth classes could get past them unnoticed.
Inside Emperor Jircniv's private bedroom, there were two persons lying on the bed; One man and one woman. The man was none other than Emperor Jircniv himself, and the woman was his newest concubine: Hilma Cygnaeus. They were positioned apart from each other, having just done a 'pleasure' session. They were covered in blanket from chest down, and now they were just blankly staring at the ceiling.
"You seemed to be a little troubled, Your Highness. Is there something in your mind?"
Jircniv's response to the question was dull. He believed that there was no worth sharing his personal concern to someone else if there was nothing to gain from it other than some empty emotional support. However, since right now the other person was quite clever unlike his other women, there might be something to gain. An advice which might be useful.
"Tomorrow, a plan will be set in motion. Everything necessary has been prepared without fail, but I can't help feeling that something will go wrong, terribly wrong"
This was unusual for him. Ever since the beginning of his reign, Jircniv had experienced an uncountable amount of events. He was fully aware that plans could go wrong, and contingency plans were there in preparation to possible follow-up scenarios. He had seen events where everything went according to plan, and he had also seen others where unexpected things unfold and a contingency plan had to be used. He had never been worried out of his wits, yet right now that was exactly what he was having in his mind.
"The plan to send Workers to the ruin, I suppose?"
Jircniv was mildly surprised. He had never told Hilma about this plan. It was not intended to be a top secret matter to begin with, but the fact that she knew meant that she really got some skill in obtaining information about internal affairs. Jircniv couldn't help getting impressed, even though just a little.
"Quite impressive that you know. Care to explain how did you get the info?"
"Sorry, Your Highness. It is my trade secret"
Hilma answered in a slightly smug tone. Jircniv couldn't help feeling a little excited since this was the first time a woman denied him answer, and it was quite a refreshing feeling.
"Heh, figures"
"So, is this... Ainz Ooal Gown person... really interesting?"
Jircniv didn't want to ask how Hilma had got her hands that far into the detail. He now felt that he might as well tell everything since she would somehow find everything out anyway.
But he wouldn't.
"You can tell, can't you?"
"Fufufu, indeed. But despite your worries, Your Highness won't just cancel it, right?"
"That should be obvious already"
"Then there is no use worrying over it"
What Hilma had just said was right. If he was already determined on not cancelling the plan to probe the residence of Ainz Ooal Gown, he should brew multiple follow-up plans in anticipation of the possible outcomes instead of just worrying like he was now. Jircniv was already aware of that from the beginning, but Hilma's words were the trigger he subconsciously needed to confirm it.
"Heh, thanks for the advice"
"I'm flattered, Your Highness. But you have already known this from the beginning, right?"
"Of course. My title as The Emperor isn't just for show"
The two of them let out a little laugh, and then they went to slumber. For Jircniv, it felt like a rare moment where he could sleep with his mind at peace for once.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
As you may have noticed, since the responses for my question in the last chapter were in favor of 2 week intervals between chapters, that will be the way I release chapters. New chapters will be posted on Friday night at my time zone.
See you again later.
