Chapter 4
"How long has it been since we came here? Three months?"
"About three months, yes. Time sure flies."
"Do you like it here?"
"Yes. Its fascinating and beautiful."
"Yes, I think it's incredible too. But it is not our world... Would you consider leaving this world, Ainz-san?"
He pondered the question before. "I don't know. Maybe. But I think we can stay a little longer."
"What if we find a way to go back to our world?"
Ainz looked at Wololo-san, in his Lion form, but did not yet find the words to reply him.
"Would you take it? What if I wanted to go back, and you wanted to stay, but we can only make the decision together?" Wololo was not playing fair with that sort of question, and surely if they decided together. He felt he would probably yield to his request.
Maybe he should not be so selfish to admit he really enjoyed it here so far, other than the humongous expectations placed on him by the denizens of Nazarick.
"I have not put much thought into that. Been focused on making the best of what we do have, and deal with what we face here." To some extent, it was true. He was taking life in the New World, one day at a time.
"If we have that option, what would you do, Ainz-san? Do you have something to go back to?"
Mentally, Ainz knew the answer was no. Reality was dreary. Mechanical. A cog in the corporate machinery.
"If the door was in front of you... what then?" Wololo's questions was directed at Ainz, and also at himself. He too, wasn't sure. Sometimes, when in doubt, you speak to another that shares the circumstances with you.
"How about you? Do you want to go back?" Ainz asked back.
I'm the one asking you here. Wololo too pondered the question before but couldn't decide what he liked better. He wondered whether this was some kind of computer simulation and they are merely experiencing it through some ultra impressive virtual reality interface.
Is this real?
That was a question he couldn't answer, yet. It felt real, it seems real, and yet, because he had the contrast of his "real world", he wasn't too sure. But what makes a reality less real than any other? For the NPCs they surely only had one reality, and this was it.
"I cannot answer you, Wololo-san. Maybe some day. If you find the way back, let me know." Ainz said, and Wololo tapped the elder lich on the shoulder, and walked away.
"Sure thing, Ainz-san." Maybe it would be for the best, if they just go with the flow for now.
….
Albedo overheard. All of it. .
She was walking over to meet Ainz-sama for their usual daily briefing in the throne room, but when she noticed Wololo-sama's presence together with her love, she then decided to wait for the two supreme beings to finish their conversation. After all, it is not in their nature to interrupt supreme beings in their affairs.
"Why would wololo-sama ask if Ainz-sama would leave us?" She didn't understand it. "Was it something we did?"
Wololo walked out of the throne room then, and smiled.
"Ah, Albedo. Here for your briefing?"
"Yes, Wololo-sama." She bowed politely, but inside she was trying to hide her confusion and fear over the conversations the two supreme beings had shared.
"He's all yours now." Wololo smiled again, and teleported away with his ring.
"Why would Wololo-sama suggest my beloved Ainz-san to leave us?"
After the briefing with Ainz-sama, she wasn't settled. She replayed the conversation over and over, and her fears and worries only snowballed.
"Demiurge. We need to talk."
"Hmm. What is the matter?"
"It's about something I overheard between Ainz-sama and Wololo-sama."
…
….
Arana admired the slim blade that Wololo had given her. Made of some kind of dark metal called obsidian, it glowed slightly when Arana channelled her energy into it.
She was amazed when she picked up the blade the first time. A spider like her somehow knew how to used the sword, and used it well too. She could not understand it at all.
Wololo, when giving Arana the extra levels through the dungeon's available allocation, had given it to a warrior skill tree focused on close combat weapons. He didn't tell her about it, so to her, it seems incredibly unusual how she knew the way of the blade so well.
Unable to shake off how oddly familiar she felt with the blade, she practiced. The goblin handy-man built a practice dummy for both the Gabbadar the skeleton and Arana, and occasionally they would have a spar or two. The skeleton, being entirely focused on the warrior and berserker class easily beat Arana on the way of the sword, but is balanced by Arana's innate racial skills such as her venom,her lesser spider summons and her webbings.
In a real fight between Gaddabar and Arana as they are now, the skeleton has an edge due to innate poison immunity and his attacks pack a bigger punch than Arana.
A loud clang.
They were interrupted by the goblin handy-man that was hauling a iron chair over to the chambers.
As with all dungeon's, and all affairs in this world, currencies are always needed. And for dungeons, there were various ways these can be earned. One was to raid humans and is perhaps the most profitable.
Another, taking advantage of the sewers, was the amount of things the humans above them throw into it. Setting up filtration nets, they collected the coins that somehow fell into the sewers. In a day, they could recover some 2 silver coins worth.
For now, the coins collected has been piled up next to the orb, and the energies will reach out to the coins should it need to. New rooms, higher level monsters, traps, all require coins to create. The coins could also be used to buy decorations for the rooms as well.
So coins are pretty important, but depending on location and what surrounds it, different dungeons have different ways of generating coins. Gold mines, for example, could be mined and would generate so much gold that raiding would not be required. But negative mana itself doesn't generally appear around gold veins, as gold itself generates tiny amounts of magic dispersal. It's also how gold has been used the symbols of royalty and the clergy.
For now though, he wanted a Treasury for the sewer dungeon's operations. A Treasury would be better protected, and there is a minor discount with a Treasury around. That too, costs money.
So with the 120 or so silver coin, and the dungeon orb in hand, he willed the creation of a small Treasury, about 6 feet wide, 6 feet long and 10 feet tall. The coins melted and merged with the dark energies, and it zapped the area where he imagined the Treasury to be. An explosion later, and after the dust subsided, what appeared was a metal door, that led to a reinforced chamber.
And he had few coins left to put in the Treasury.
…
…
Demiurge rarely had visitors, what more Albedo.
But as Albedo narrated the conversation, he could appreciate the gravity of the matter.
"We as guardians will have no one, if they leave us. Without the divine beings, we are lost!"
"We must never let that happen."
"What do you think we can do?"
Demiurge wondered. There had been arguments and discussions amongst the divine beings in the past, but have traditionally been settled by way of a vote. But with only two divine beings, it then became a lot more personal.
Unless commanded to, they would never raise their sword against the supreme beings. But..
"Do you think we should monitor the Ainz-sama and Wololo-sama?"
Demiurge had to collect his thoughts. Monitoring them would prove a challenge, and if they want to do it discreetly, even more so. The supreme beings have incredible knack for detecting observation, a byproduct of their many years of experience in the ways of Yggdrasil.
It had to be done in a way that neither of them would suspect. Perhaps it should be done on the guise of protection, as Ainz-sama currently has assassins around him all the time.
"Are we over thinking this? The supreme beings love us greatly and they would not leave us." He asked.
"Are you doubting my hearing?" Albedo was not being her usual self. Maybe the idea of losing her love made her slightly disturbed.
"No. But the supreme beings often speak strange things amongst themselves." Indeed Demiurge was referring to the way the supreme beings used to joke with each other and tease each other, and though occasionally it is highly insulting, it's actually a joke. "It is how the supreme beings discuss things, and they will surely let us know."
"I believe we should take precautions."
…
…
Anna was mad.
She was asking them all whether they see her shadow. To them, she looked perfectly fine, and yet she kept talking about the shadow talking to her and shadow standing upright as if it's a human being too.
Anna, was not mentally stable.
It's been a week since she started behaving this way. They have brought her to a clergyman which tried some exorcism but did not solve anything. It merely made Anna even more mad. The Mage guild did not detect anything on her either, and instead of believing the mage's guild, she went on about how they are wrong and the shadow really was there.
It was a mental issue.
Perhaps trauma. Though they do not recall anything that would seem particularly traumatic, as caves and dungeons are normal affairs for them in the past, and she certainly did not behave like this.
Her teammates, frustrated and unable to do anything at her condition, decided to leave her at the inn, and left for their own quest. Without her. It was a painful decision, but with her unstable mental state she may be a risk.
Alone in the inn. The shadow appeared again,
"They don't believe you."
"No. No. They are not like that. It's all your fault. You. You are evil!"
"But I am just your shadow. If I am evil, so are you."
"No. You are evil." She was exhausted. Her sleep was shallow, disturbed. And her ability to think rationally as mages often do was impaired by the exhaustion.
"Why are you here? Why do you do this to me?"
The shadow did not reply. It merely smiled, revealing it's vampirish fangs.
She collapsed onto the bed. Can I sleep well, at least?
The shadow did not have eyes, but had two red glows in place of them. It looked over her, placing it's palm on her head. "That, is up to you."
…
…
It's the dark surroundings again. She wasn't tied or anything, though. The floor still the dark substance she seen in earlier dreams.
"Not this again?" She sighed.
She saw her shadow in front of her, seated on a chair that looked like a throne. "Hello, Anna."
"What do you want?" She was angry. She was frustrated. She was helpless.
"I want you to realise who you are." It stood up from the throne, and reached out to touch her forehead.
The moment it's black fingers touched her forehead.
She saw images of her compatriots discussing her condition amongst themselves. It wasn't pleasant, and even discussed was whether to kick her out of the Black Spear.
One even said, "she's replaceable."
Her heart sank. Those were not the friends she remembered.
"Lies. It's all lies! These are fake!"
The shadow pulled it's arm away, and sat back down on the throne. "Humans are not trustworthy. You may not believe it now, but you will, soon enough."
She cried.
…
…
The royal library of Re Estize pales in comparison to Nazarick. For knowledge of the New World though, and perhaps this was one of the better source of information for old ruins, destroyed cities and forgotten lands.
As with Royal buildings, it is guarded by patrolmen stationed outside, and most patrolmen consider the library to be a relatively unlikely target, so most guards tend to slack off a little around here. The three story tall structure was built some 100 years ago, under the reign of the then King that wanted a proper place for him to keep the writings of his scholars, his generals, and also the gifts of foreign dignitaries.
For mere citizens, this is usually restricted place, on the invitation of the Royal family or a member of nobility.
But he, in the form of a small house fly, managed to slip into the library in the wee hours, through a tiny opening in the window. The library was absolutely empty at about midnight, and there was no guards inside whatsoever. Perhaps they never imagined a library would have any value for thieves, or they were confident in the ability of the guards outside.
Once inside he transformed back into his werewolf form, and started to search for what he wanted. He had heard that the library contained records of old ruins, legendary items that may possibly be world class items, or even monsters that may have originated from Yggdrasil. Comparing histories, was one way to greatly supplement one's understanding of the New World.
He found the maps section. Maps, rolled into large scrolls were stored along a row, before a large table where they were most likely laid open for viewing. Exactly what he needed.
Opening a wormhole to his inventory, he took the entire maps segment and stored into his inventory. Every single map was taken.. And then he took all the historical books too, of stories of legends, the accounts of the eight greed kings, the thirtheen heroes. All taken.
Then he used his detection magic to find books with magic imbued in them, which there are just a few, and took them as well.
In slightly over an hour, the entire second floor and third floor was almost emptied. Half the library was gone.
Happy at what he just managed to secure, he then teleported back to the teleportation beacon he set up inside his new chambers in the sewers.
There would be a lot of things to study. And he summoned creatures to help him with it.
…
…
It took about 3 days before there anyone discovered what had happened in the library. It seems very few people visited the library so the disappearance of the books did not get discovered immediately and the guards themselves do not patrol the inside of the library.
And it was the King himself, along with Gazef, that discovered that they had been raided. They merely wanted to look at some old maps of Re-Estize, and came to find a library that had none of it. An empty library.
The king was furious. Whilst they had copies of various maps stored in the cartographers chambers as well, the library held the original that was made few hundred years ago. There was a sentimental and historical value to them, and their loss enraged him.
"Guards!" He bellowed. The guards quickly rushed in and bowed before the King.
"Yes, your Majesty."
"Do you see what just happened here?" The guards were clueless. They rarely stepped foot into the third floor, but quickly noticed how bare it was. Even the maps that was displayed on the walls had disappeared. They gulped, a wrong word and they may lose their lives for dereliction of duty.
"My apologies, your Majesty."
The guards was immediately asked to explain themselves, and angry as the King may be, he knew they could not have stopped it even if they tried. Magic, was the first thing in his mind.
The adventurers' guild and the Royal guards was commissioned to investigate. A mithril ranked rogue was tasked to be the lead detective, though Gazef himself admired how it happened undetected. It was as if everything vanished. A large number of documents vanishing without a trace indicated some form of magical transportation. It was the only way he could imagine it.
There were no footsteps, and guards did not see anything over the past few days. No clear leads. The rogue was baffled, and certainly the motives were vague. He interviewed those familiar with the books whether there was something of magical properties that was worth stealing, and suspected perhaps it was an inside job. That notion was rather quickly dispelled when one of the junior nobles that came over weekly said that the maps and books are mostly historical records.
Perhaps a history geek? A bookworm? Or someone looking for forgotten stories? The rogue, Landri, was rather baffled. Money, is unlikely to be the motive.
There were some footsteps on the floor, but they were animals. And that did not make sense. Demihuman that do have animal like footsteps had never displayed a penchant for books and maps, and as far as he recalls, most animal hybrids do not even know how to read. There appeared to be some leftover fur too.
Princess Renner, along with Climb came over to survey the damage. It was very interesting that someone would steal the Royal library of old books and ignored the governmental statistics on the first floor. They surely had to see how it was done for themselves, and whether someone was giving them a warning that "he" or "they" or "it" can easily infiltrate the castle grounds.
"Why would someone steal maps and history books?"
"A foreigner most likely. Perhaps someone not of the region that's not familiar with it. Someone that wanted to know more of our country, and our history. And must have had incredible stealth ability to come in. And probably had some form of teleportation magic. Perhaps he or she, was looking for something from the times past."
"Fluder from the Empire?" Climb suggested, remembering that he had teleportation magic.
Gazef, who came earlier, bowed to the arriving princess, when he came downstairs from the third floor. "Your Majesty."
Other than Fluder, in terms of the qualities that Princess Renner had suggested, the mage that he encountered, Ainz Ooal Gown fits the bill. He too was a foreigner and had immense magical prowess and teleportation ability. Surely if he wanted to, raiding the library would not be a challenge at all. But he did not see why Ainz Ooal Gown would do so.
He kept his mouth shut anyway. Some servants that are around are also servants of the noble faction that would like to associate Gazef with a thief, even though he knew the noble faction cared very little for the books and maps in the library. In fact, it was quickly used as fodder to attack the royalist for being weak, incompetent and unable to protect some books from being stolen. How could you depend on them, if the royalist cannot even protect books?
"If it is magic as you say, orichalcum level adventurers are all suspected as well. They easily possess the ability to do such a raid, with their skills." The rogue suggested.
High ranked adventurers and mages of the city is immediately suspected, and the rogue sent out his colleagues to interview them and confirm if they had any idea or were nearby the castle at the time. Interviews were just the first phase, though. Next was to consider some kind of magical tracking of the stolen items.
All adamantium adventurers are to be interviewed too, though Princess Renner herself vouched for the Blue Rose, that they were with her over the past few days, and would certainly did not have to steal anything, since she would have given them access anyway. .
…
…
The news of the theft at the Royal library was heard even in the town of E Rantel. Most adventurers thought little of it, after all, books and maps can be rewritten and maps redrawn.
The adventurers Momon and Nabel was carrying out their regular adventurers duties of slaying monsters, when a rogue came over to the guild, and asked to interview them, asking where they were during the time of the theft.
"Im helping to clear some monsters from the Western ridges at that time, and if I remember correctly I never left the vicinity of E Rantel. You can approach the guild master. He commissioned the quest."
Inside, Ainz wondered whether this was Wololo's doing. After all, he was in the capital, and with his shapeshifting form, and how things just vanished, it certainly was within his capabilities.
"Thank you for your time, Momon-san. It's a pleasure to finally meet you and the lady Nabel in person. The kingdom's 3rd adamantium ranked adventurers, surely someone as upstanding as yourself would not have done such a thing." The rogue, Landri was not holding back on his compliments. Perhaps he mentally calculated some day he would need his help.
"You are welcome, Landri-san."
The guildmaster himself verified and attested that Momon was in the city of E-Rantel, protective of their town's hero.
Ainz knew Wololo was up to something, and felt a little excited. He remembered how he always kept some of his projects a secret from the guild, only for the surprise element later on when his latest creation was unveiled to them. Occasionally the guild members would stumble over him working at the project and he'd try very hard to hide them, like a boy desperately hiding his lewd stash from his mother.
He laughed at the thought, and told Narbarel after the rogue's interview. "I suspect Wololo-san is behind this. It's so like him. But please don't ask him and spoil his surprise. He probably wants it a secret before he shows it to us." He made a gesture as if implying a spectacular explosion. "Boom!" The he laughed again.
He recalled the time when Wololo made some kind of fireworks display that looked like the logo of Ainz Ooal Gown, and shot it over the tomb and all the nearby cities on New Year's Eve. It was simultaneously amazing, and at the same time, frightening, because it seemed like the entire world was exploding.
...
"Albedo-sama, I'm here for my weekly report." Narbarel messaged, alone in the room. Ainz had went out to see the town a while.
"This week we slayed some monsters made about 32 gold and 7 silvers in quest rewards. No unusual occurrences. Ainz-sama was really happy at the progress of things back in Nazarick, especially the progress with the lizardmen."
"Ah… it's what a good wife should do to keep the home in order. What else did Ainz-sama say about me?".
"That's all, Albedo-sama."
"Oh…." her wings drooped a little, as if expecting more praise from her master but didn't get it.
"Oh. We were interviewed by some scummy human rogue, suspecting us for stealing books and maps in the Royal capital. Ainz-sama said Wololo-sama is behind it, but told me to not mention it to Wololo-sama. He then said it is Wololo-sama's secret and when he shows it to us, it'll go "boom"."
"Wait. Repeat that again."
"Huh? Oh okay, Albedo-sama. Ainz-sama said he suspects Wololo-sama to be behind to books and maps theft in the capital. He said it's a secret and we should not ask Wololo-sama about it."
Albedo's mind scrambled to piece together why she heard and the discussions the two supreme beings were having previously. What are the maps for? Is Wololo-sama looking for a way to go back? Why is it a secret from us? Why is he hiding it?
She cannot allow it.
Ainz-sama cannot leave. Ainz-sama cannot leave her.
…
…