Overlordly broken

by oblivon2991

"Everything has a beginning has an end" as the saying goes. In the last day of the popular VRMMO named YGGRADASIL in the notorious guild named Ainz Ooal Gown not only Momonga remained to upkeep and manage the guild. There was an another member who helped him and stayed with him until the very end. Let's find out what happens next. (Completed. Complete rewrite coming when ready)

7. The Lone Wanderer of E-Ranter

Welcome!

Thank you for reading my fanfic and giving me a chance.

My mother language is not English so please be patient about the grammatical issues.

I don't own the Overlord(オーバーロードŌbārōdo?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.

I would like to thank the wonderful job what the Skythewood translator team done with the light novel translation.

Without their hard and persistent work, I surely couldn't write this story.

Please review it I know I will make mistakes what I will intend to correct and try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.

I also looking for a good beta reader. If anyone knows a good one who willing to check my work please send his/her account name to me so I can make contact with him/her.

Thank you!

Now let's continue our little story with the second volume!

---

The supreme ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had a luxurious office.

Said office was filled with tasteful and exotic furniture, every single piece being of exquisite design and decoration. The crimson carpet upon the floor was thick and soft, swallowing the footsteps of those who trod upon it. Flags bearing assorted insignia hung upon the walls in the depths of the room.

An imposing mahogany desk sat in the center of the office. Its owner sat behind it, upon a black leather chair.

If one were to describe that man in one phrase — dressed as he was in a long, black robe which seemed to absorb the light — then he would have to be an "Overlord of Death".

His exposed head was a fleshless skull. The points of crimson light within its empty eye sockets were blended with faint traces of darkness.

This was the man once known as Momonga, who had now taken on the name of the guild, Ainz Ooal Gown.

Besides him was a childishly beautiful little girl with long elf ears. Her hair was long and pure white like the freshly fallen snow.

Her eyes sclera was pure black like the darkest night with heteromorphic irises blood red and snow white.

Her attire was very strange for a normal person in a normal situation. But they were not in a normal situation nor humans anymore.

At least their bodies were not human anymore we can't say sure about their minds. Because no one knows what's in the others minds. Sometimes even the owner stranger of it.

Her clothes was a cloaked together dress with a skirt with strange golden runic symbols.

She was Momonga now also known Ainz Ooal Gown only companion in this New World. Esdeath Gorgon.

Ainz meshed his skeletal fingers together. The nine rings on those fingers glittered as they reflected the magical radiance of [Continual Light] spells.

"Good grief… where shall we go from here?"

YGGDRASIL was a Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, which allowed its players to immerse themselves in virtual reality and experience their adventures within the game world with their own bodies. It had been eight days since its last day of service — when Ainz and his guildmate had been mysteriously transferred to a new world in the form of their character from the game.

During this time, Ainz and Esdeath had studied the conditions and vassals of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick and learned about the various differences between this place and the game world. Now, they were deciding on what they should do next.

"All shall proceed as you desire," the beautiful woman replied to Ainz and Esdeath little chatter.

She was a world-class beauty in a pure white dress, whose faint smile made her resemble a goddess. Her long black hair was lustrous and silky, in stark contrast with the color of her dress, and it reached down to her waist. However, she was not a human being.

Her golden pupils were vertically slitted, and a pair of curling, ram-like horns protruded from both her temples. In addition, a pair of black-feathered wings grew from her hips and covered her legs.

"Is that so, Albedo? We are pleased by your loyalty."

She was the Guardian Overseer of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, Albedo. She was the Non-Player Character (NPC) who was in charge of the seven Floor Guardians.

When Ainz and his guildmates built the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick in the past, Albedo had been created as to work for them as an underling. However, she was now sentient and had pledged her undying loyalty to Ainz. However, it seemed she doesn't like too much Esdeath. She still replied to her with a respectful tone. But you could feel the hatred and continuous killing intent flood from her direction towards Esdeath.

However, Esdeath brain gained a massive boost from the Processor job class. She still could not understand.

„Why Albedo always shoot such massive amount of killing intent towards me when I near Momonga-san?

Did I Insult her anyhow? Well, It is not important now. We still had things to discuss. Our biggest problem is the sheer lack of information about this new world we currently inhabit.

We need more information that's sure. However, this processor job class is a blessing and a curse at once. It's true I gather information from everything and everyone and process it immediately but if I try to concentrate on something more through. My mind overflow because of the massive amount of information and calculations. It is very noisy, annoying and makes my head hurts. Ahh. As a saying goes "something for something." Nothing is perfect! Right!?"

„Do you listening what I saying Esdeath-san?"

„Sorry Ainz-san for a moment I engrossed in my thoughts."

„Is that so. Please keep you imagination time separate from our meetings."

„I try my best Ainz-san but it is not that easy. There is too much information in my surrounding to focus only one thing at once. If I do that my head starts to ache."

„Hmm. Ok. At least try your best. Back to the topic.

… How about the next report?"

"Here, Ainz-sama."

Ainz accepted the document from Albedo and immediately began scanning through it. The circular characters had been written with a fountain pen.

This particular report came from Aura Bella Fiora, Guardian of the Sixth Floor.

It stated that they had not yet made contact with YGGDRASIL players like Ainz or Esdeath, nor had they found any trace of them. She had done a search of the forest near the Great Underground Tomb, and she had found a lake among the foothills of the mountain range at the end of the forest.

Ainz nodded. Relief flooded through him as he learned that they had not found the beings in this world of which he was most wary — other players.

"I understand. Tell Aura and her people to continue carrying out my orders."

"Unders—"

A quiet knocking came from the door. Albedo glanced at Ainz's expression, then bowed deeply and headed to the door. After verifying the identity of the visitor, Albedo replied:

"Shalltear seeks an audience."

"Shalltear? That's fine, let her in."

After receiving Ainz's permission to enter, a girl of around 14 years of age elegantly entered the office.

She wore a black ballroom gown with a bell-like skirt. Her skin was as pale as wax, and her perfectly-proportioned face was that of a world-class beauty. Her long silver hair swayed as she walked, and her ample bosom — which did not match her age — wobbled mightily with every step that she took.

She was the Guardian of the 1st to 3rd Floors, the "True Ancestor", Shalltear Bloodfallen.

"Greetings, Ainz-sama, Esdeath-sama."

"The same to you, Shalltear. Why have you come to my room today?"

"Naturally, it was to admire the Supreme Beings features, Ainz-sama."

While there was obviously no expression on Ainz's skeletal face and Esdeath tried to her best to mask her embarrassment the crimson points of light in Ainz eye sockets flared brightly.

At first, he wanted to tell her to dispense with the pleasantries, but Ainz swallowed those words. However, he could see the smile on Albedo's face twisting as she looked upon Shalltear's crimson eyes, whose pupils were slowly filling with arousal.

It was still a smile, and her beauty was not diminished in the slightest, but it was no longer a pleasant expression.

Rather, it resembled the grinning of a demon.

Still, Ainz quietly breathed a sigh of relief, because Albedo was staring at Shalltear, and not himself.

"Then, seeing as you have looked your fill, you may leave, Shalltear. Ainz-sama, Esdeath-sama and I are currently deciding the future of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. Would you mind not interfering with our important work?"

"…It is the basic courtesy to greet someone politely before launching into the main issue… Aged old hags are so annoying. Could it be they're desperate because they're past their expiry date?"

"…Don't you think that food without an expiry date because it's stuffed full of preservatives is the same as poison? Expired food would be safer compared to that, don't you think?"

"…I'd advise you not to look down on food poisoning. You might get an infection."

"…The important thing is whether it can be eaten, right? Compared to what looks like a large display of food, but the truth is… well, you know what I mean, right?"

"…A food display? You'll die for that, bitch."

"…Now who's the expired goods, hmph."

The looks on the feuding belles before Ainz could chill a 100 million-year-old love.

Ainz decided to speak up before the two of them could no longer hold their impulses back and started ripping into each other.

But Esdeath aids the words ahead of him.

„Please stop it! Now it's not the time for such unimportant prattle! We have much to discuss and a little time! Anyway, proper ladies as you are don't fight so openly! They mostly fight from the shadows! Mostly…"

Interjected Esdeath with a puffed cheek. Combined this with her childishly flimsy voice and adorable face this was quite comical and adorable.

If anyone else besides the inhabitants of Nazarick saw this. They most likely try to pinch Esdeath face while saying the words."You are so adorable, little girl!"

But the inhabitants of The Great Underground Nazarick knew. This was serious! If they try to call Esdeath adorable or similar things or try to pinch her face. They most likely will be less one or two limbs in the best chase after the event.

"Bullshit I don't even know how proper ladies fight really."

„Esdeath-san is right! We don't have time such meaningless prattle! Especially now!" said Ainz with a calm tone.

Both Albedo and Shalltear froze in the midst of their thoughts

„Women are really scary… no, it's just these two who are especially scary…No Esdeath-san to become scarier and scarier day after day. Maybe It's because of the sudden rush of the hormones? Who knows, Esdeath-san doesn't have passive emotion-suppressing. I wonder how she looks always soo calm? I have to ask her this after this meeting is over."

After becoming undead, any strong emotions Ainz experienced were immediately suppressed. Even so, he felt that the speed at which they had changed their expression was quite frightening.

The two of them were at each other's throats because they were rivals in love.

However, Ainz could not bring himself to accept their feelings just like that.

The main reason was because the necrophiliac Shalltear had once whispered sweetly into his ear, "This beautiful bone structure must have come from the hands of a divine Creator".

And for Esdeath. She whispered similar things. „Come to the dark side of my bed Esdeath-sama! See thou we will rule the bed like two lovers and explore every part of each other bodies!"

Albedo and Shalltear were both infatuated with Ainz. Any man who was unhappy with receiving the affections of two such gorgeous women was no man at all.

And moreover, Shalltear spent almost all her free time to stalk Esdeath. Esdeath tried always and always find a new way to escape Shalltear. But it's becoming harder and harder each time. Because each time they meet Shalltear wanted to cheat Esdeath in her bed.

It can be said this was quite frustrating for Esdeath. Combined with the constant killing intent from Albedo. This was maddening. She was not ready yet to explore this deeply to her new body. Yet!

Ainz shook his head to banish those meaningless memories and replied:

"I ask you once more, Shalltear. Do you have anything else for me?"

"Yes! I will be meeting Sebas afterward in order to fulfill the task set to me. Since I may not be able to return to Nazarick for some time, I came to bid farewell to you two before I left."

Ainz remembered that he had given her such a task, and nodded.

"I see. Then, Shalltear, take care when accomplishing your task and return home safely."

„Goodbye, Shalltear –san. Take care!" Esdeath waved her

"Yes!" she replied in a bright and clear voice.

"Then, you may leave, Shalltear. Also, as you go, tell Narberal or Entoma to send Demiurge over. Tell him we need to discuss contingency plans with him."

"Understood, Ainz-sama, Esdeath-sama." she bowed then left

„Albedo!"

„Yes, Ainz-sama!"

„You can return to your duties. I have a few thing what I have to discuss Esdeath-san in private."

Albedo shoots a barely noticeable killing gaze to Esdeath „As you wish Ainz-sama!"

„The bodyguards can leave too. This matter better discussed in private."

„B-but Ainz-sama!"

„Leave!"

„As you wish Supreme One!"

After Albedo and the bodyguards left the two guildmates cast their own strengthened anti-information magic.

„Huh." They both sighed.

„This is getting tiresome."

„As you say Esdeath-san. How do you manage?"

„What do you mean?"

„How do you manage to look always so calm and collected before them. It can not be easy without any passive emotional suppression ability and with facial flesh what can mimic your facial expression."

„Four-year drama and acting in the high school Momonga-san. Who could possibly predict that it would come handy in some day."

„I see! The second topic. What should we do now? We need more information but how could it look if we just sitting in Nazarick and wait while the subordinates collect the information for us?

„Well, Momonga-san. No one like a boss who always rests on one's laurels. So I think we should go to adventure like the good old times!"

„ Good idea Esdeath-san! But what do you think how we should adventure. Do we part our ways or adventure together like in the old times."

„Hmm. Both options have their pros and cons.

We could gather more information while we apart. But we will more vulnerable if a strong enemy group attacks.

Together we gather less information but we will be safer than when we apart and we can adventure together like in the old times."

What do you say Momonga-san? You are the guild master. After all, it is your call."

„Hmm. We need more information. We must take the risk to go in separate ways! Without it, we can't collect enough information from this strange New World. So what do you say? It's alright for you?"

„You are the guild master. I'm the enforcer. So if you say this is the right path. I will follow you Ainz-san.

I need a good cover name and a good masquerade to cover myself. I can shapeshift into another human form but you Ainz-san if you want to go out. You need an illusion spell or item to cover yourself. Seeing how that village girl Enri Emmot reacted towards your and my appearance and the fact you are an undead now."

„Please, Esdeath-san don't even mention it." Ainz shrugged

„I'm sorry Ainz-san. I don't mean to offend you."

„No problem Esdeath-san. You go out in two days time I am going a little later. Till then let's play a game. Who can stand up with better appearance and name."

„I'm in! Let's the game begin old mate!" Esdeath chuckled then hopped down to the floor from the chair where she sat and turned back to Ainz. „One more question."

„Shoot!"

„Which country and which region do I be sent out?"

„Kingdom of E-Restize in the fortress city of E-rantel there's an adventurer guild you will join it. You can go alone if you want I trust you and your abilities. But please don't be reckless and retreat back to Nazarick immediately if you meet a stronger enemy! Oh. And one more thing. Please report regularly or immediately if you discover something strange or a possible threat to Nazarick."

„Got it! Speaking of which. What about you Momonga-san? Which country did you singled out?"

„I still don't set it into stone yet. But don't worry you will know in time."

„I trust your decision guild leader! Then I'm going to have to prepare myself for this little adventure.

„Do so Esdeath-san!"

She started to walk way while she waved to Momonga-backward with her hand. „Goodbye Ainz-san take care. Don't broke anything while I'm away!"

Momonga just chuckled in this comment.

---

Scene Change: Two days later Fortress City of E-Ranter

The Fortress City of E-Rantel stood at the intersection of three borders — those of the Slaine Theocracy, the Baharuth Empire, and the Re-Estize Kingdom. It was so named because it was defended by three layers of walls. The districts enclosed by each concentric circle of the walls were distinctly different from each other.

The outermost district was sometimes used to billet the troops from the Royal Army, and so it was fully furnished with barracks and other military facilities.

The innermost district was the administrative area of the city. In addition, the district also contained storehouses for combat rations. Thus, it was heavily guarded.

Between these two areas was the residential district, where the people of E-Rantel made their homes. This place best fit the image that came to mind when one thought of a city.

There were several plazas here, and the largest of them was called the Central Plaza. It was filled with stalls selling vegetables, spices and other such commercial products.

Amidst the crowds, the stall-owners energetically shouted their sales pitches to the people walking by, while the older women haggled with the merchants as they looked for fresh food. Drawn by fragrant scents, young men purchased skewers of roasted meat which oozed with warm juices.

The rowdy, energetic atmosphere of this place should have lasted until the sun went down. However, it suddenly went silent as a lone figure emerged from a five-story building nearby.

Everyone in the plaza froze where they stood, their eyes were drawn to the lone figure.

The lone figure was a girl, who looked to be in her late teens. Her heteromorphic eyes sparkled in the sun. One of her eyes was purplish blue the another one was emerald green with little yellow distortions. Her eyes seemed like glowing pair of gems. But these features just gave her a more beautiful look instead of ruined it. She had elf ears tho you can't see this because of the hood what she wore on her head. She had tanned skin not entirely as tanned as a dark elf but tanned enough to be noticeable.

She wore a long coat.(The hood was Assassin's Creed styled eagle hood and the long coat was like Dante's long coat from the Devil May Cry series.)

But everyone who observes better could see under the long coat she wore a skintight strange metallic suit. With strange metallic boots. The design of her metallic gloves looked almost similar but they ended up as sharp fingers instead of normal ones.(she wore a similarly designed body armor than the female version of Raiden body suit from Metal Gear Rising Revengeance without jaw protector.)

Everyone who looked at her and had a little brain could see. „Do not mess with her."

Although her thick and lustrous white hair would fell on her shoulder if there was no hood what hide it from the onlookers.

What drew their attention most was the air of elegance which surrounded her, followed closely by her exotic beauty that would make anyone do a double.

She wore black samurai sword on her left side. It had a strange sheath what looked way thicker than the sword required it and has a trigger near the guard of the katana-Besides that you could see an engraved empty greatsword handle with guard lazily hanging on a rope in her long coat belt. Everyone who saw it could tell it has no blade in it and the engravings on the guard suggested this is some sort of magic item.

On her back was a sheathed thick Ultra Greatsword with a long strangely exquisite handle and slanting downward guard. The sword blade was covered with a big sheath. The Ultra Greatsword was so big it seemed it will crush the lone slender barely 160 cm woman under its weight.

Someone muttered: "Mage within armor? How is this possible?".

Indeed, this person was sheathed in an intricately strange metallic suit. However, you could barely see this strange woman's face because of the hood what she wore. The lone figure looked around, then continued her path.

The onlookers watched as she vanishes into the distance, and then immediately began whispering about what they had seen. They did not seem afraid of her arms and armor.

That was because the building what she had just left was called the "Adventurer's Guild". It was a place that only monster-hunting professionals would visit, so it was hardly strange to see armed people coming out of there. In fact, several other similarly equipped people had left the building in the meantime. Those with keen eyes might have noticed a copper plate hanging around the lone figure neck.

The lone figure walked quietly down a narrow road.

Sunlight reflected off the water caught in wagon ruts on the road. Unlike proper cobbled roads, said water mixed with the earth and sand, which made for treacherous footing. A moment's carelessness might have led to a fall, but the lone figure possessed excellent balance, and so she moved along the road almost as quickly as a proper one.

[Message]"Momonga-san. I arrived the fortress city of E-Rantel and joined the Adventurer Guild."

[Message]"Excellent Esdeath-san! What will your next step be?"

[Message]"I am going to the inn what the receptionist of the Adventurer Guild recommended me. Then after I rented a room I'm going to scout the city while I'm hidden with invisibility."

[Message]"Do so Esdeath-san. However. Why do you not picked someone to accompany you?"

[Message]"I considered our circumstances and I came to the conclusion. If we stretch too thin ourselves we will fail. We stretched ourselves already too thin. With Shalltear,Sebas and Demiurge outside of Nazarick. We can't really stretch the defense of Nazarick anymore at least as long we don't have enough information to work with.

You too want to go out to an another country and you will surely pick someone to accompany you. Pick wisely Momonga-san. Do not forget the quote."If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak"

[Message]" „Hmm. I see! Wise decision Esdeath-san! But as I said before. Report regularly and if you notice something strange or confront anything dangerous what you can't handle. Please report immediately and retreat back to Nazarick or request reinforcements!"'

[Message]" I will do so Momonga-san! Then I will bid you farewell until the next report. I believe there are certain things what you had to do."

[Message]"One more thing Esdeath-san. Before we say our farewells. What about the armor. Don't you make too much attraction in that armor and strange clothing?"

[Message]" „Hmm If someone asks me where do I get it. I just say this is a magic armor or family heirloom what only created and owned by my family"

[Message] „I see! So you planned everything ahead Esdeath-san. But you cannot reveal you true identity. You understand that, right?"

[Message] „Yes, I completely understood oh great leader! Now Then this is settled! I will begin my little adventure! Just like in old times. I bid you farewell until the next report Momonga-san. Good luck with the children!"

[Message]"What children?"

[Message]"The denizens of Nazarick of course. They sometimes act as a child carving for their parent's attention. Don't they?

[Message]"True enough. Goodbye, Esdeath-san until your next report! Break your legs!"

[Message]"I got it guild master. You too!"

With this Esdeath terminated her [Message] spell then muttered a few words under her mouth.

„Just like in old times? Huh."

„There's a thing what I still don't understand. Why Albedo always shoot a great amount of killing intent in my way? We surely made her a Yandere type character but it still not makes any sense. I hope it does not end badly for us. For example one of us dies because of her jealousy. But This has a very small chance.

Did we program all of them complete ?

But we also added a new thing to Albedo program in the end. To love Momonga-san deeply. And we all know. Love always overwrites the common sense if we speak about organic beings or sometimes synthetics. So this is why I see!

I need to be careful from now on around Albedo and Momonga-san."

after this flow of thoughts, a memory flashed in Esdeath mind about that howAinz make the guardians and Albedo to calm down and don't object anymore because of their decision.

---

Flashback: Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick: Throne Room

"However, we must go in person. If we stay in Nazarick, there is a chance that we might make a miscalculation. Therefore, I and Esdeath-san need to personally make contact with the outside world… Indeed, there are other methods we could use, but all of them make me uneasy, given that there is so little we know about the situation.

„Esdeath-san will go out first alone to collect information personally from the field. She will report directly to me without any intermediary medium. After a few days, I will go out to the outside world to an another country to start my own information gathering process."

„Ainz-sama why do you want to go outside of the outside world? We can't protect you properly if you go outside! If you really want to go please take me with you Ainz-sama so I can protect you with my own body if the situation requires it!"

Ainz grabbed Albedo cheek and stared in her golden slitted pupilled eyes with the two glowing red orb what he has now instead of his eyes.

„Albedo I need you here to manage Nazarick while we are away. We do not expect to you or the others to work hard while we rest on our laurel's and do nothing. Don't we?"

„B-but Ainz-sa.."

„If nothing else does it for me Albedo. It would make me very happy!"

Albedo blood frozen in her veins.

„It would make Ainz-sama happy! Then I had no other choice. I had to make this sacrifice to have a chance to snatch Ainz-sama love from that hybrid."

she spat these words while she said them to herself.

"And maybe if she dies somehow while she is outside. Kukuku that would be wonderful. Everyone knows accidents always happens in the most unexpected ways and times" she grinned sadistically inside of her mind.

„Then,Then Ainz-sama will be all mine. After Esdeath-sama unexpected death eliminating Shalltear from the equation will be easy Kukuku."

„I expect nothing less Albedo. Thank you for your loyalty and understanding."

„I understood Ainz-sama I wait here for your arrival as a good wife waiting for her husband to arrive home from the work."

Demiurge suddenly interjected and spoken out.

„Esdeath-sama,Ainz-sama please forgive me if this humble servant insults you with his next quote! But it would not be wiser if Esdeath-sama accompanied with a floor guardian or an another higher level denizens of Nazarick? So the servant could back up Esdeath-sama while she retreats back to Nazarick if an unknown danger occurred?"

„We discussed this with Esdeath-san and we decided It's better for her to go alone. Our resources are already spread too thin to make her accompany with a guardian or a high-level NPC.

However, don't worry about her we made the necessary precautions for every possible situation to ensure her safety and I trust with Esdeath-san abilities. She will surely suffice if she meets a stronger opponent until she either retreat back to Nazarick or the reinforcements what she required arrive at her location."

Demiurge bowed deeply.

„I see!"Demiurge started to chuckle" As expected from the Supreme ruler of the Supreme Beings! Such foresight!"

Flashback end:

---

There are many reasons why Esdeath doesn't take anyone with her.

The first reason was. Esdeath loved to adventuring with her guildmates and alone back in the game. When there was more than two actively playing guild member. In the last few months YGGRADASIL, they did nothing else but farmed resources to upkeep the guild prestige. They don't really enjoy it. So this was a good opportunity for them to enjoy adventuring in a fantasy world again. However, with their already thin resource pool they can't afford themselves to thin anymore.

The second of the reasons why she had not taken anyone with her was the fact of almost every denizen of Nazarick thought that humans were inferior lifeforms. If she brought someone like that into a highly-populated city and then took her eyes off them for just a moment, there was a very real possibility that she might look back to find a gore-soaked abattoir. In addition, most of the denizens of Nazarick had no disguise skills and could not conceal their true forms, which was another point against them.

The greatest reason, however, was one that they could never speak out loud.

That was the fact that Ainz was a mere salaryman and Esdeath was a program engineer, so they had no confidence nor experience in running an organization if they had to rely on reports from others, with no direct observation on their part. Because of that, she and neither Ainz have the necessary skillset to manage Nazarick. So they handed the task of managing Nazarick to the talented Albedo. If one had a capable subordinate, allowing them to take charge was a wise gesture; interference from an incompetent superior would only lead to tragedy.

In addition, Albedo was bound to Ainz by the twin shackles of "love" and "loyalty". That was why Ainz could leave the operations of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick to her and Everyone else was busy with an another operation or guarding Nazarick floors.

They can not spread any further or they will be weak if an attacks occur.

„Love, huh..."

Every time she saw Albedo, and every time Albedo declared her love for Ainz and her visible jealousy towards her, Esdeath was reminded of the mistake they made in altering Albedo's settings. Indeed, in the last moments, before the game ended, they had changed Albedo's character settings so that she would deeply love Momonga — in other words, Ainz. Of course, Momonga did not know that they would be transported to this new world. It had merely been a final, little joke.

Still, when she thought about it — even if Albedo did not mind — what would their friend Tabula Smaragdina think about what they had done?

What if it were herself? What if her comrades had interfered with Ainz or her hand-created NPC-s(Pandora's Actor and Zero Rei)...

Worse still, she had made use of Albedo's constant jealousy and flowing killing intent towards her whenever she is near Momonga. She and Momonga still hated themselves because of that little modification what they made.

Esdeath shook her head to clear away these dark thoughts. Although her body constructed from aether she could not suppress any strong emotions automatically like Ainz undead body. She still experienced every emotion like those as keenly as she had when she was human.

„I must restrain myself. Because if I going seriously. I radiate some kind of killing intent what the people of this world might sense. I must control myself! This is a human town, and we do not know what exceptional individuals they have among them. Therefore, I should try my best not to make enemies." Esdeath mused in herself

"I could clearly sense the killing intent through my sharpened senses and I learned to control it in the past ten days and because of this hopefully I Don't have to worry about it.

I hope Momonga-san exercise it too! Because maybe only maybe some of the individuals of this New World can see through the effect of our [Ring of Concealation]. However, I enchanted it to be stronger. We cannot be too sure."

„But We can only hope! Hope dies last. And as the saying goes „Never venture, never win."„ Esdeath smirked while she thought about this

She nodded to herself „Then this is settled. Let's head to the inn. It is adventure time!"

She looked around.

There were several shops open for business nearby, their customers filing in and out of them. To the side were several people in work aprons, carrying goods.

In this densely-populated commercial district, Esdeath had to look for the inn by inspecting the pictures on the shops' signs. This was because neither of them could read this country's language without a proper item or spell and Sebas took the only item what can capable of such thing.

„Hmm. I should enchant an item or use a spell to understand the written language of this word. Maybe it will work.

Esdeath closed her eyes.

Silent cast[Arcane Language]

Esdeath opened her eyes and now she can understand every word what written on the tables.

„It seems it working. Another successful experiment!"

„It cost a minimal amount of mana to maintain the spell. It will suffice for now. Although it would be better to learn the language of this world from some source. If we do that we wouldn't even need enchantments,items or spells to understood the written language. But as said before it will suffice now."

Before long, Esdeath found the label that she was looking for. Her steps quickened.

She scraped off the mud caked on her metallic sabatons, climbed the steps to the western-style saloon doors, and opened them with both hands.

The windows were closed, and so the interior was somewhat dark. People who were used to the light outside would probably not be able to see their hands stretched out in front of their faces. However, Esdeath had enchanted vision, and she could see clearly with this meager amount of illumination.

The inside of the building was quite spacious. The first floor was a dining area, with a counter further within. That counter was backed by shelves that contained dozens of bottles of alcohol. The door beside the counter most likely led to a kitchen.

A spiral staircase turned up in the corner of the dining area. According to the receptionist at the guild, the guest rooms were located on the second and third floors. One could see the scattered customers within seated around several round tables. Almost all of them were men, and the promise of violence hung heavily over them.

Everyone's attention was on Esdeath. They looked at her as though she were sizing them. The only person who did not pay attention to Esdeath was a woman seated in a corner. She was staring intently at a small bottle on her table.

This tavern scene made Esdeath furrow her inner brows under her hood.

She had expected this sort of thing, but this place was filthier than she had imagined.

There were dirty and disgusting places in YGGDRASIL, of course. Even the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick which Ainz ruled over contained such places, such as Kyouhukou's room, the Venomous Cave, and so on.

However, the filth here was different from those places.

The floor was covered in scraps of mysterious food and unknown liquids, while the walls were stained and there were chunks of some moldy substance in the corners of the room...

Esdeath sighed internally and looked into the tavern. „Uh. Disgusting! But it will suffice for now."

A man in a dirty apron stood there, his stout arms protruding from his rolled-up sleeves. They were covered in several scars, and Esdeath could not tell if they were caused by the claws of wild beasts, or by blades of some sort.

He looked somewhere between imposing and bestial, and there were scars on his face as well. His head was shaved completely bald, without a single hair left standing on his scalp.

This man, who looked more like a bouncer than an innkeeper, sized up Esdeath as he held a mop in one hand.

"A room, huh. For how long?" a voice like a broken bell called out to Esdeath.

"I wish to stay for one night.

If it is at all possible, I would like a single room."

Esdeath thought she could hear the man snorting.

"...In this town, they're three inns that cater to adventurers, and mine's the worst of these three… you know why the guild sent you here?"

"I do not. Could you tell me why?"

Faced with Esdeath's answer, the innkeeper furrowed his frown and turned a frightening look upon her.

"Use your brains, little lady! Or is that flashy suit of yours only for show?!"

Esdeath remained calm, despite the innkeeper' annoyed retort. Perhaps her ability to weather this childish tantrum was the result of experiencing that battle several days ago.

That battle between Esdeath and the Sunlight Scripture — as well as the information squeezed out of the prisoners they had taken — had allowed Ainz and Esdeath to understand how powerful they were. Because of that, she could calmly face this shouting.

The innkeeper seemed surprised to see Ainz's reaction, and said:

"...You've got some guts, huh lady… The people who stay here are mostly copper or iron-plate adventurers. If you've got some strength, you can form a party here, if you're lucky. Therefore, there's no better place than this to find party members whose strength matches yours…"

Something seemed to flash through the innkeeper's eyes.

"It's fine if you want to sleep in a room, but if you don't make contacts here, you won't be able to find party members. If you can't form a well-balanced, strong team, you'll die out there against the monsters. That's why novices with no comrades advertise themselves in places with a lot of people. So I'll ask you one more time: do you want to sleep in the dormitory or in a single room, huh?"

"A single room. And I will pass on the food."

"Cheh, another punk who doesn't appreciate others' kindness… or are you trying to say that you're something else and that flashy suit isn't for the show? Ah, forget it, that'll be seven coppers a night. Up front, of course."

The innkeeper extended his hand in one smooth motion.

Esdeath stepped forward. She was bathed in the appraising looks of everyone in the room — when suddenly, someone stuck a foot into Esdeath's path, as though to prevent Esdeath from moving forward.

Esdeath halted, and turned to the man who had stuck his foot out.

He had an annoying smile on his face, which was mirrored by everyone else at his table. They stared at Esdeath.

Neither the innkeeper or the other customers stepped forward to stop this. They were watching silently.

Although everyone seemed to be uninterested in the proceedings, or looking forward to a good show, there were quite a few of them who were intently studying the situation.

„Give me a break..."

Esdeath sighed, and lightly kicked away the foot in front of her.

The man suddenly stood up, as though he had been waiting just for that. Since he was unarmored, his bulging muscles were clearly visible under his clothes. He had a necklace like Esdeath did, but his was an iron plate, which swayed as the man moved.

"Oi, oi, that hurt."

The man approached Esdeath, speaking in a threatening manner as he did. He had a gauntlet on his hand, which he must have put on while standing up. It creaked as he clenched his fist.

He was a lot taller than Esdeath current form. When he reached her he looked down to Esdeath, and they glared at each other with wrathful eyes. It seemed a bit too close for a fistfight. Esdeath decided to fire the first shot:

"Is that so. I must have missed the foot in front of me because of this hood, or perhaps your leg was just too short… well, that's my excuse, can you forgive me for that?"

"...Bastard."

A dangerous look crept into the man's eyes as Esdeath's taunt sank in. However, he turned his angry gaze back to Esdeath, who was standing behind the place before. He started plaster his eyes on her.

"You're an annoying fellow… But I'm a generous man. As long as you willing to spend an adventurous night with me and my friends, I'll forgive you."

"Ku, kukuku…"

Esdeath could not help but sneer and smirk because of the man comment. She cracked her armored middle finger with her thumb(like Kaneki Ken cracking his fingers from the Tokyo Ghoul when he goes seriously). Then stepped forward.

"...What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I couldn't help but laugh at the way you sound like a stereotypical punk. Don't worry about it."

"Wha?"

The angry man's face flushed red.

"Ah, before we start, can I ask a question? Are you stronger than Gazef Stronoff?"

"Wha? The hell are you talking about?"

"I see, it's all clear from your reaction. If it's like that, then I won't even need to play with you."

„Oh and One more question if you allow it. „

„Go for it!"

„I want to ask you something."

„What? Do you reconsider my previous offer and want good night lady? Because if that's the case I gladly forgive you and I will be at your service!" the man smirked sadistically

„No not that. But that. How does it feel?"

„What? How does it feel my cook inside your vagina? Answer me already!"

„No. Not that. That To be so weak mere words can hurt you."

The man's started to frown nervously. „I will teach you how to speak your betters whore! In the end, you will beg for me for a night!"

Esdeath swiftly grabbed the man by the neck, and then hoisted his body off the ground.

The man could not even dodge, much less resist the sudden clinch. He went "Uoh!" in surprise as he was lifted up. The men around him who were watching the show only added to the excitement. How strong was this woman, if she could lift a grown man with one arm? The imaginations of everyone present was now considering that topic.

A wave of surprise and consternation swept the inn. As though to shatter the atmosphere of shock in the air, Esdeath raised the man — whose legs were dangling and kicking furiously — and gently tossed him away.

Well, it was gentle for Esdeath.

The thrown man flew in a neat trajectory with frightening speed, skimming the ceiling as he went, and fell heavily to the ground.

The sounds of the man's body striking a nearby table, an object on the table breaking, the planks of the table splitting apart and the man's own howls of pain blended together and echoed through the tavern. Then, the whole place fell silent, as though startled by the noise. However—

"Ogyaaaa—!"

The bully fellows tried to fight against Esdeath but before they could even move Esdeath fastly intercepted and knocked them out with one one hit. She looked like as if she teleported to the onlookers.

This speed for her was pretty slow and she barely touched the bully's companions. She doesn't even use 1% of her basic restrained power.

—A beat later, the woman seated at that table emitted a strange wail. It was a cry of despair that a soul might make as it rose to heaven.

No, it would only be natural to scream like this if a man suddenly fell out of the sky and landed in front of someone. There was another reason here, mixed into the shocked cry.

Esdeath looted the previously beaten bullies money pouches.

„I am very sorry. But someone had to teach them some respect. This will cover your damage." with this Esdeath threw one of the pouches before the innkeeper

The innkeeper grabbed the pouch counted the money then nodded.

"Wait wait wait!"

Turning around, she saw the woman who had made that weird cry just now. She was stomping up to them.

She looked to be in her twenties or younger, and her red hair was messily cut, yet at a good length for movement. It could not be described as neat by any stretch of the word. To be more precise, it resembled a bird's nest.

She had a pretty face and a keen edge to her eyes. She did not wear makeup, and her healthy body was tanned brown by the sun. Her arms were muscular and her palms were covered in calluses from wielding a sword. The word that first came to mind when he saw her was not "woman", but "warrior".

A small iron plate hung around her chest, and it shook mightily with every step she took.

"See what you've done!"

"What have I done?"

"Hah!? Don't you even know what you did?"

The woman pointed at the shattered table.

"You threw that guy over and broke my potion, my precious potion!"

"And?"

"And?! You—!"

Her gaze sharpened further, and her tone became low and dangerous.

"Pay me back for my potion."

"...It's just a potion…"

"...I starved and scrimped and saved to buy that potion today! And now you broke it! I've always believed that I could get through a dangerous adventure as long as I had a potion, but now you've shattered my hopes and dreams! And you've still got an attitude like that? Ahhhh, it makes me so mad!"

The woman drew closer to Esdeath.

It seemed like a wild bull had just seen red and was approaching her.

Esdeath suppressed a sigh at herself. Indeed, she had made a mistake by throwing the man without thinking about where he might land. However, Esdeath had her own reasons for not paying compensation that easily.

„Wait! How much did you potion cost?

„That potion was worth one gold and ten silvers."

Esdeath fastly inspected the remained pouches just to realize there was not enough money. Even if she sums the all of the pouches content. „Huh. As I thought, these drunkards wouldn't have that sort of money."

„Well, seeing as you're dressed in such a flashy suit of armor, surely you must have a healing potion, right?"

No wonder, Esdeath thought. So that was why this woman was asking her to pay up.

She thought briefly about it, composed herself, and replied:

"It's not like I don't.. although, that was a recovery potion, am I correct?"

"Indeed. I saved up for every little—"

"—All right, I get it, that's enough. I'll pay you back with another potion, and we'll be even."

Esdeath started to search one of her pockets while secretly she grabbed a Minor Healing potion from her inventory. Then she handed the scary woman the Minor Healing Potion.

She looked at the potion bottle in surprise, then reluctantly accepted it.

"...This should be fine, right?"

"...Mm, I guess."

The woman seemed to have more to say, but Esdeath cast aside her doubts.

„This world individuals are scary!"

With that, Esdeath turned around and started to head in her rented room. She went before the innkeeper and she withdrew a single silver piece from her leather purse before placing it on the crudely-made counter.

The innkeeper silently slipped it into his pant pocket and returned Esdeath several copper pieces.

"Mm. Here're six coppers back."

He placed the copper coins onto Esdeath's armored hand and then laid a small key on the counter.

"First room on the right once you go up the stairs. You can put your gear into the chests at the foot of the bed. This goes without saying but doesn't barge into people's rooms without permission. Might lead to trouble if someone gets the wrong idea. Although, it's a pretty good way to let people know you. You look like the sort who can handle all kinds of problems. Just don't give me a problem."

The innkeeper narrowed his eyes at the man that Esdeath had thrown, who was moaning on the floor.

"Understood. Also, I'll need a basic adventurer's kit for me. I have lost some of my things and the Guild said that you'd prepare one for me if I asked."

The innkeeper looked at Esdeath and then looked straight at Esdeath's purse.

"Mm, I got it. I'll get it ready for dinner. Just be ready to pay."

"Understood. Then, I'm going.."

Esdeath headed up the old staircase. The wood creaked under her feet as she headed for her room.

After Esdeath's silhouette vanished up at the second floor, the buddies of the men which Esdeath pwned rushed up and began casting curative magic on them. Their actions seemed to be the spark which caused the silent tavern to burst into a clamor.

"...It seems she is stronger than she looks."

"Yeah, that's it. Her arm strength is unbelievable, and her arms structure don't show any serious muscle beneath of that armor. How did she train it? Moreover, she can use magic proficiently."

"She must be pretty confident to carry that big sword on her back. What seems to be so big it can crush her at any moment because of its weight moreover, she is a magic caster too.

„She must be an exquisite adventurer!"

"Dammit, another guy going to leap ahead of us as well."

The scattered conversations were filled with awe, surprise, and fear.

They all knew that Esdeath was not an ordinary person.

The first reason for that was Esdeath impressive equipment. Full armor suit with flashy weapons and an expensive looking hand crafted long coat was hardly cheap, and one would need to have gone on many adventures — in other words, be an experienced adventurer — in order to purchase it. One would need to be at least a silver-plate in order to accumulate enough capital for such a feat. However, some people inherited their suits from their predecessors or found those suits on the battlefield or in ruins.

That was why they wanted to take a measure of Esdeath ability.

Everyone here was a comrade and a competitor at the same time. They all wanted to know the strength of any newcomers. The circumstances from just now had occurred in the past as well, over and over again.

The truth was, everyone here had experienced this sort of thing in the past. However, none of them had passed the test so easily before. In other words, the lone copper-ranked adventurer...

She would be very strong, either as rival or ally. Everyone here was fully convinced of that.

"Now, how should we deal with her?"

"Flirting with that tanned beauty is out of the question…"

"If only we could get her into our party…"

"You must be mistaken, she should be in our party."

"I'll go listen on her wall tonight."

"Didn't she mention the region's strongest man, Gazef Stronoff?"

"Could it be that she's a disciple of the Warrior-Captain?"

"That's certainly possible. Leave this task to a big-eared thief like me!"

"Oi, Britta."

"Hm? What?"

The woman — Britta — turned her eyes away from staring at the red potion and looked disinterestedly at the innkeeper.

"What kind of potion is that?"

"Who knows?"

"...Oi oi, you don't know either? You accepted her potion as compensation, shouldn't you know its value?"

"How could I? Besides, I've never seen a potion like this before. Gramps, you came here because you were curious too, right?"

Britta was right.

"Does it cover the value of your potion that got smashed? This might end up being cheaper than the one you bought."

"That's true. It's definitely a gamble, but one I'm confident of winning. This was something that woman in the flashy armor gave me after she heard the price of my potion."

"I see…"

"...I've never seen a healing potion of this color before. It might be a rare treasure. If I delayed and she said she would pay in cash, I'd be coming back from the dragon's den with nothing to show for it, right? In any case, I'll take it for appraisal tomorrow and find out how much it's worth."

"Oh, in that case, I'll cover the appraisal fee for you. In fact, I'll even recommend a good place for you to visit."

"You will, gramps?"

Britta furrowed her brows. The innkeeper was a good man, but he was hardly a Good Samaritan either. He must have something in mind.

"Ah, don't look at me like that. I just want you to tell me the effects of this potion."

"So it's a trade, then?"

"Hey, it's a good trade, right? Besides, I can recommend a really good herbalist to you through my connections. I'm talking about that LizzieBareare."

---

Scene Change: Esdeath room in the Inn

The wooden door closed with a thud.

The room was bare, apart from a crudely-made bed frame with accompanying chests. After opening the window blinds, she could directly feel the sunlight and outside air.

Esdeath was somewhat disappointed as she finished her circular sweep of the room. Although she could not expect Nazarick-level furnishings and cleanliness in a godforsaken place like this, she still wanted to get out of here.

„Ah. Looking to the state of the Inn this place will suffice for a time." Esdeath said at last

„My aim is to become adventurer, and then increase my fame to the point where everyone knows about me. Until then, it won't hurt to experience the life of a newbie."

Esdeath mused in herself while she fell down to her bed

Adventurers.

Once, she and the guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown dreamed about that profession.

They envisioned them as people who chased after the unknown and had adventures in various parts of the world. Esdeath and Ainz had previously thought that adventurers were a physical manifestation of the right way to play YGGDRASIL, but after listening to the Guild receptionist, she realized that adventuring was a more realistic and more boring job than she had expected.

Simply put, adventurers were "anti-monster mercenaries".

Although some parts of it fit their dreams of them — for instance, delving into the ruins of kingdoms destroyed by the Demon Gods 200 years ago and investigating mysteries in uncharted lands — for the most part, they were simply monster hunters.

Every monster possessed different special abilities, so they could only be taken care of by people who knew more tricks than average soldiers.

Just going by that point, one might think that they were heroes who were loved and relied on by the common man, like in games.

However, the reality was somewhat different from that.

This was because the ruling authorities did not smile on the existence of armed groups which they could not control. Therefore, aside from the prices they commanded, adventurers did not have much status.

Another reason why adventurers were not accepted on a national scale was because of the same thinking which made companies look for cheap, local temps than employing expensive permanent staff. Thus, much like how temps were treated by companies who could get by without hiring them, adventurers were held in lower regard in those nations which could eliminate monsters by dint of their own military power.

According to the Guild receptionist, there were no adventurers in the Slaine Theocracy, while life had gotten worse for adventurers in the Baharuth Empire after the ascension of their new Emperor.

Esdeath wore a set what she designed after the combination of her favorite game series from the 21st century. She designed her armor suit after the Metal Gear series cyber armor what Raiden wore in the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and her hooded long coat after the Assassin's Creed and the Devil May Cry series protagonist clothes. The long coat after Dante's long coat who was the Devil May Cry Series main protagonist and her hood after the assassin's hood from the Assassin's Creed game.

Esdeath sighed.„I have to make the necessary anti-information gathering precautionary steps before anyone starts to peek into my room through those holes in the wall or trying to use information gathering magic."

„Then let's start."Esdeath cracked her hands then started her usual anti-information gathering procedure [Poison Information][Anti Information Gathering Barrier][Layered Greater False Information],... "

In YGGDRASIL, trading in magic items was usually done in the form of data crystals. However, there were people who sold second-hand items in order to make even stronger ones. It was at this point that a problem arose — the names of magic items made by other people might include forbidden language, or it might insult someone. Sometimes, the GMs would ask the players in question to rename the items.

In general, naming items was left to the fancy of the creator.

As a result, items with weird names were not very popular on the market. Although cash items which could rename them were not expensive, very few people wanted to make that expenditure.

Thus, every player racked their brains to give their items good names. Sometimes the names would be in English, or they would come from mythology.

Of course, there were exceptions to this as well.

For instance, naming rings was very troublesome, so most people tended to call them Ring1, Ring2, Ring3 and so on. Esdeath had even seen someone who called them Thumb Ring, Index Finger Ring, Middle Finger Ring, and so on.

Ainz and Esdeath had a friend called Warrior Takemikazuchi, who wielded two katanas from time to time. He named one of them — the eighth of its line — "Takemikazuchi Mk 8".

The red hooded long coat she was wearing had also been named along that line of thought.

Inspired by the Devil May Cry and the Assassin's Creed series, it was called the „Longcoat of the Devilslayer".

All of these appearance skins were contained relic-class data crystals. They were two tiers lower than Esdeath's main gear, but she and Ainz had considered that problems might arise from bringing items which were too strong, so she settled for equipment of this level.

Still, her stats were still overkilling. Even without her divine class gear.

She suddenly remembered why she doesn't pair a cape to her equipment and started to smile.

„If you want to be a hero don't wear a cape. Because according to the statistics 90% of the heroes die because of their own cape."Esdeath smiled sadistically after her own sadistic thought

„Speaking of which, how shall I deal with that scary woman?" she mumbled to herself

" doesn't matter anymore."She frowned" I don't need to split hairs with her. I'd be angry as well if someone broke something important to me."

Esdeath paused for a while, before continuing:

"...Well, probably. It's only natural for her to scold me for my carelessness."

But that was only an accident. Everyone make mistakes. No one and nothing is perfect. Imagine a word without mistakes. It would be quite boring don't you think inner shelf?"

"Anyway, I was the one who threw that man. What I should be doing in this city is becoming a part of this world, to increase the renown Raidyn. It would reflect badly on me if rumors spread that I could not even pay someone back the value of a single potion.

Also, I should give her some face, since she's technically my senior in this field."

Esdeath fiddled with the necklace she wore.

„If it's just a simple metal plate, then it can be forged… although that should probably be something for the Guild to worry about."

That small copper plate was something like a set of dog tags. It was what allowed people to know the strength of an adventurer.

Copper. Iron. Silver. Gold. Platinum. Mithril. Orichalcum. Adamantite.

The latter metals were more valuable, which meant that adventurers of those ranks could select more difficult and more rewarding quests. This was part of the system the Guild had developed to keep adventurers from going to pointless deaths.

Esdeath were a freshly-registered adventurer, was of the lowest class — copper. That woman was an iron-plate. Showing her a basic level of courtesy was the secret of successfully blending into society.

"I am here to go undercover as an adventurer in this city. This is because we have to collect information on adventurers — in other words, the strongest people in this world — though my emphasis will be on learning about YGGDRASIL players, like myself and Momonga-san.

Attaining higher ranks will allow me to take higher-ranked jobs, which will also allow me to collect more reliable and useful information. Therefore, my first objective is to become successful adventurers."

"I hope it will be fun." She smiled when she thought about this.

"However, there are several problems at the moment."

Esdeath withdrew her small purse and opened it, then dumped its contents onto her hand. They were coins, and there were very few of them. There was no glint of gold among the coin.

"To begin with, I have no money."

There were several reasons why Esdeath had paid with a potion during the prior dispute. One of them was because she was not confident about that she could solve this problem with money. Saying that she had no money to pay would be laughable.

„Using YGGDRASIL currency would cause problems. So I had to work.

The higher ranked adventurer you are . The more money you got from the jobs. So I only need to gain more rank. Right? That would be a pretty reasonable solution for rewarding higher level adventurers."

Esdeath considered herself to be among most brokenly powerful player among the game's players. This was because she was designed her character race to be that way. And she took job and race levels to eliminate each other weaknesses and she made their strength stacked on each other.

However, given the divine class items she possessed, as well as her numerous cash items, she became so brokenly powerful. The GM's and the devs announced him to be the owner of the most brokenly powerful character on the world of YGGRADASIL.

Still, she could not take things easy. There was always a bigger fish, after all. She who was the most brokenly powerful character in the game. Attacks against her would be equal to a suicide attempt. Except if they attack in great numbers. In that case, she somehow would suffice or simply request reinforcements or retreat back to Nazarick.

But there was still the chance to an another stronger creature live in this new world what even the combined forces of The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick and her newfound power can't fight off. So she can not take any further risks.

Thus, she had to avoid being found by other players or stronger enemies at any cost.

In addition, there were many players who were human, and they would naturally protect other humans. If these players clashed with people like Albedo, who viewed humans as inferior lifeforms, the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick — or Ainz Ooal Gown — might very well count humanity as enemies. That was why she felt bringing anyone along was dangerous.

Ainz and Esdeath did not view humanity as an enemy, but they could kill human beings with no hesitation for the sake of their goals. Even so, they wanted to avoid conflict with other players.

Even so, if other players somehow found out she was here. They surely try to gather an alliance against her no matter the race or the cost. She was too dangerous for them to just let her roam free. So they either hide from her or throw her everything what they got.

Esdeath was not the most beloved player in YGGRADASIL. The fact that no one ever succeeds to kill or restrain her without one of the 20 world items. And the fact if they tried, she farmed them or destroyed their guild. Many of the players complained because of this to the GM-s and the developers. But as said in the first chapter. They found nothing against Esdeath.

"What a waste."

She talked about how they lost Nigun so easily. He had a lot of information, but he perished under such simple questioning.

„Neuronist-san sure did a good work on them. I still hear their screams and begging in my head."

There were roughly ten people still alive from the members of the Sunlight Scripture captured at Carne Village. The rest died during questioning and became media for Ainz to summon undead with his skills.

As she recalled the information tortured out of his captives, Esdeath could not help but mutter:

"Most players would want to support the Slaine Theocracy…"

„Bunch of religious idiots," said Esdeath with a puffed cheek

The Slaine Theocracy was a religious nation which venerated the Six Gods, who descended upon the world 600 years ago.

In the words of the Sunlight Scripture, the Slaine Theocracy fought to allow the weak human race to prosper, grow strong and defeat other species. Any player with any remaining humanity would approve of the Slaine Theocracy's aims.

Unlike their own world, where humanity stood atop all living creatures, in this world, humanity was one of the weakest species around.

Though they could build such an impressive city upon the plains, the fact that they had to live on the plains only highlighted humanity's weakness.

That said, plains were also dangerous places. Firstly, there was no place to hide, so it was easy to be discovered by the enemy. Only weak species, who lacked dark vision, would choose to live in a place like this. They would have no safe spaces or living room if they chose otherwise.

There were species who were physically stronger and possessed more advanced civilizations than humans, but they were not in control of the continent. This was because they had ended up fighting the Eight Greed Kings, who dominated this land 500 years ago. Humanity was one of the few survivors of that war. If not, the human race would long since be extinct.

"I need to sell off the swords taken from the Slaine Theocracy troops pretending to be knights... but before that, I need to get a job."

" Then, my plan is clear, I will visit the guild again tomorrow."

" Although I'd like to learn more by walking around this city, I should leave that for after I have earned some money."

„Whatever. My little adventure beginning tomorrow."

"But first I will need to go to inspect my surroundings so I need a few precautions against unwelcome visitors."

She quickly stood up from her bed and started to cast her spells.

[Aether Clone]"This clone will suffice to replace me while I'm away"

The [Aether Clone] was a mid-level summon what summoned a copy of the caster who used the spell. The spell usually summoned an NPC around level 50 what can mimic the caster abilities an appearance. The summoned creature abilities were a lot weaker than the summoner own spells and abilities. However, it possessed exception health and defensive stats. And it usually used to fool another player and NPC-s while the player escape.

„You!"

„Yes, creator! How may I serve you?"

„You will replace me until I'm going to scout my surroundings. If you sense any strange things or an enemy appear to let me know immediately."

„As you wish my creator!" she summons just bowed deeply

„Good! Take care!"

[Magic Trap: Time Distortion Field][Magic Trap: Phase Lock] she cast her spells on her room.

„It would be not a wiser decision if this humble servant accompanies you or I go alone scouting creator?"

„No. I like to do this thing alone. Please stay here and ward off the intruders and if you can't let me know immediately as I said before."

„As you wish! I wish you good luck creator!"

„Thank you!

Take care I will be back shortly. Oh and I'll leave the scheduled call-ins to you as well."

„Yes as you wish creator!" said by the [Aether Clone] as it laid on Esdeath bed with crossed legs and closed eyes. Mimicking Esdeath previous pose.

[Layered Greater Invisibility][Fly] Before Esdeath jumped out of the window she cast these spell on herself.

---

Scene Change: Next morning: Adventurer's Guild

The next morning, Esdeath — also known as Raidyn — opened the guild's doors once more.

The first thing she saw as she entered the room was the counter, where three of the guild's receptionists greeted the adventurers with smiles on their faces. There were warriors in full plate armor, nimble fellows in light armor and bearing bows, people in priest's garb and adorned with all manner of holy symbols, as well as robed arcane magic casters with their staves.

On the left was a large door, and on the right was a notice board. There were several pieces of parchment upon it which she had not seen yesterday. Several adventurers were chatting in front of it.

Annoyed by that sight and the many sticking out pieces of parchment, Esdeath moved forward to the counter.

The eyes of everyone present focused on the copper plate around Esdeath's neck, and she could feel those eyes sizing her up from head to toe. It was just like yesterday at the inn.

Esdeath was surveying the adventurers in turn. They wore gold and silver plates on their necklaces, with no copper plates. Feeling vaguely out of place, Esdeath advanced to the counter.

A group of adventurers had just departed, freeing up one of the counters. He stepped forward and said:

"Pardon me, but I'm looking for work."

"Then, please select a piece of parchment from over there and bring it here."

Esdeath nodded in silence, feeling as though her sweat glands were now recovering some of their function. She arrived before the notice boards, looked across all of them, and then nodded.

One of the laws in this world was that spoken language was automatically translated, but written text was not. Luckily thanks to her Knight Enchanter job class. She could enchant items with magic effect. And it seems her [Arcane Language] spell is working perfectly. However, this was just a temporary solution. Before they start to study the written language.

The receptionists walked her through everything the last time she came to the Adventurer's Guild, so she had assumed she would do the same this time too. How naive.

After gathering her resolve, Esdeath ripped off a piece of parchment and strode back to the counter.

"I'd like to take this job."

The confusion came over the counter girl's face as she looked at the parchment before her eyes. Then, she smiled bitterly and replied:

"I'm very sorry, but this job is only for mithril plate adventurers…"

"I know. That's why I took it."

The calm, unwavering tone in Esdeath's voice evoked doubt in the counter girl's eyes.

"Er, about that…"

"I would like to take this job."

"Eh? Ah, but, even if you ask, according to the rules…"

"They're worthless rules. I'm fed up with having to keep proving myself with easy, pathetic jobs like this before my rank-up examinations."

"If you fail the job, many people will lose their lives."

„I will not fail."

" I am a magic caster of the 4th tier and a great swordsman."

The air shuddered with a collective gasp, and everyone looked at Raidyn in surprise. In this world, 3rd-tier spells were the highest which most magic casters could reach.

Is she for real? The eyes of the surrounding people shifted to Esdeath's stylish suit armor and her exquisite weapons, dubious of her claim.

" I am very sure that a job like that would be a trivial task for me."

The receptionist and the other adventurers were not as surprised in comparison to just now. They seemed to be looking at Esdeath with different eyes.

"I did not become an adventurer to do jobs for a few pieces of copper. I wish to take on a higher-ranked job. If you wish to see my strength, I will be more than glad to show it to you. Therefore, can I take this job?"

The hostility towards them was fading rapidly, and there were whispers of "Indeed, that's right" and "No wonder". After all, the rough men called adventurers valued strength, and they understood what Esdeath was trying to say.

"...I am very sorry, but we cannot let you take this job due to the rules."

The receptionist lowered her head in apology, and Esdeath took a victory pose in her heart.

"Then it can't be helped… it seems I've put you in a difficult position," Esdeath replied as she nodded in apology.

"Then, help me pick the most challenging copper-plate job, then. There should be others besides the ones on the noticeboard, right?"

"Ah, there are, I know."

The receptionist stood up, and just as Esdeath was about to cry tears of joy at her absolute victory, a man's voice reached his ears.

"How about helping us with our work, then?"

"What?"

She had reflexively responded in a low, threatening tone. Esdeath looked over, but all saw was a four-man adventurer team, their silver plates glittering on their necklaces.

Esdeath grumbled internally — After all, the effort to misdirect them — and turned to face those people.

"The job in question… it's a worthwhile assignment… right?"

"Mm — well, I feel it's worthwhile."

The person who responded was a man who looked like the team's leader. He wore some sort of banded armor — strips of metal woven together with metal threads over a leather or chain backing — and carried himself like a warrior.

Shoulds she joins this man's team and works with them? Of course, she could decide after hearing them out, but then there was no telling if the receptionist girl would help her pick a job after she spoke with them. However, if she took their job, there would be a chance to build relations with them and obtain useful information.

Several seconds passed.

Esdeath slowly nodded:

"Worthwhile jobs are exactly what I seek. Then, let us work together. However, I would like to ask what sort of job it is."

---

Scene Change:Guild Meeting Room

"Please have a seat."

Esdeath did as she was told and sat the comfortable looking couch what positioned beside her.

This unconscious display must have been a habit born from countless close encounters with death.

"Before we begin discussing the job, let us introduce ourselves."

The speaker was the man who looked like a warrior.

He had the typical blond hair and blue eyes of the Kingdom, and while there were no other distinguishing features on him, he looked quite handsome.

"I'm the leader of the 'Swords of Darkness', Peter Mauk. That fellow over there is the eyes and ears of our team, the ranger Lukrut Volve."

A leather-armored blond man nodded in acknowledgment, and his brown eyes seemed to have a spark of delight in them. He was slender and long-limbed, kind of like a spider, but his lean torso was wiry and muscular.

"Next is our magic caster and the brains of our group, Ninya, The Spellcaster."

"Pleased to meet you."

He was probably the youngest person in the group, with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Though he was an adult, the smile on his face looked too youthful.

Unlike the tanned skin of the group's other members, his skin was pale, and his face was the prettiest of the group's. It was more of an androgynous beauty than any masculine concept of attractiveness. His voice was higher-pitched than the others.

However, the smile on his face was like a mask, though it was not entirely fake.

While the others all wore armor, he wore a leather robe. However, Esdeath could see that beneath the table he had various strange items in his belt, including oddly-shaped bottles and peculiar wooden objects and so on.

Judging from the term spellcaster, he was probably a magic caster of the arcane variety, like Ainz.

"...But Peter, can you not use that embarrassing nickname?"

"Eh? But it's a good one."

"You have a nickname?" Esdeath asked, with no idea what was going on. Lukrut explained:

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

"Oh…" Esdeath murmured: they had tortured three of the Sunlight Scripture members to death to get that information, and now there was a live example in front of her. Esdeath was delighted.

„Interesting. What can the genius magic caster title involve?"

"It's nothing much, it's just that I happened to have a talent pertaining to that field…"

"Oh…"

Esdeath was even more interested, and she leaned forward, straining to listen.

Much like martial arts, talents were abilities that did not exist in YGGDRASIL but which were unique to this world. About one in every 200 people was born with a talent. While talent-holders were not rare, the abilities themselves varied greatly in potency and type.

For instance, there were talents like being able to predict tomorrow's weather with 70% accuracy, the ability to strengthen summoned monsters, hastening the harvest by several days, using the magic of the dragons which once ruled this world, and so on.

However, all of these were inborn abilities, which could not be chosen or changed. It was quite common to encounter situations where these abilities could not be applied. If someone was born with a talent that could improve the destructive power of their magic, but they never had the chance to become a magic caster, then their talent would be useless.

There were very few people who could make good use of their talents. There were almost no talents which could dictate the course of one's entire life, apart from a few exceptionally powerful talents.

The best proof of that statement was Gazef Stronoff, who was a warrior without a talent.

However, people with combat-applicable talents tended to go into the adventuring profession. Therefore, talent-holders were a common sight among adventurers. The person before him was one of those lucky few who could fully utilize his talent.

"I think his talent had something to do with being suited to studying magic, and he only took four years to learn what should have taken eight years. I'm not a magic caster, so I'm not sure how great that is."

„Then this is a very useful ability indeed," Esdeath interjected

„Sure it is!" the little group leader just smiled while he said this However, Ninya just slumped on himself because of his embarrassment.

Esdeath was partly a magic caster as well. Those words made her curious and awoke a collector's desire within her. This was an ability which the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick did not possess, and which could strengthen the organization. If she could gain control of that ability, it might be worth making enemies of everyone here.

"...I'm really lucky that I was born with this ability because it allowed me to take a step closer to my dream. Without this power, I would have ended my days as a lowly peasant."

Ninya's muttering was gloomy and solemn. As though to sweep away the grim air hanging over the room, Peter continued in a completely different tone:

"Well, no matter what, you're still a famous talent-holder in this city."

"Still, there's people more famous than me."

"The leader of Blue Rose?"

"That person's famous too, but I was talking about someone within this city."

"You mean, Bareare-shi?!" shouted the last person, who had not yet been introduced yet. Esdeath was curious about the name and asked:

"...And what sort of talent does this Bareare-shi have?" asked Esdeath

A look of surprise came over all four of them. It would seem this was common knowledge.

Esdeath had asked that question because she was curious and wanted to acquire an ability which could strengthen Nazarick. Therefore, in response to the regret she felt over her carelessness, she told herself that there had to be some way to recover from a mistake like this.

However, before Esdeath could explain, the other side came to a conclusion of their own:

"I see, the reason why we don't know you at all despite that stylish full suit and your beautiful look is that because you're not from around here, am I right?"

Esdeath nodded at this heaven-sent mercy of a question.

"Indeed, that is correct. The truth is, I only arrived here yesterday."

"Oh, so you wouldn't know, then? He's a famous person in this town, but he's probably not that famous that distant cities would know about him, huh?"

"Yes, I've never heard of him before. If you don't mind, could you tell me about him?"

"His name is Nfirea Bareare, the grandson of a famous herbalist. His talent allows him to use any magic item. Not only can he use scrolls of a different spellcasting system from himself, he can even use items made by the non-human races. Even items restricted to those of royal blood shouldn't be a problem either."

"...oh."

„This person could be dangerous if he ever lay his hand on the guild weapon or a world item. If we assuming they exist in this world outside of Nazarick..."

„We either need to win his complete loyalty binding him to us forever or we must eliminate him so he could not interfere later."

"Raidyn-san, is something the matter?"

"Oh, no, it's fine, don't worry. Speaking of which, could you tell me about your last friend?"

"Yes. He's a druid — Dyne Woodwonder. He uses healing spells and magic that controls nature, and he's well versed in herbal lore. Let him know if there's anything wrong with your body; he has medicine that's good for stomach pains."

"Pleased to meet you!" came the greeting from the burly, barbaric-looking man with a full, bushy beard.

There was a very faint smell of grass from him, which came from the cloth pouch tied to his waist.

"Then, it's time for me to introduce myself. I am Raidyn. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you to."

"Wonderful, I hope we'll get along. Then, Raidyn-san, just address me by my first name. Right, while it feels a little wrong to get to business so abruptly, we should probably start discussing the job. As for that, the truth is what we're asking you for doesn't really qualify as work."

"That means…"

"This job is to hunt the monsters that appear around the town."

"Clearing out monsters, huh…?

What sorts of monsters will we be exterminating?"

"Ah, we're not exterminating monsters. After hunting monsters, the city council will pay us a reward based on their strength. What do they call it where you come from, Raidyn-san?"

Raidyn nodded. „Let's hope they will be worthwhile."

"For us, it's making a living, but what we do also reduces the danger to the surrounding people. The traders can come and go in peace and the country can collect its taxes. All in all, it's a way to earn money without anyone losing out."

"Nowadays, most countries with guilds do this, but five years ago, this sort of thing was nonexistent. It's quite surprising."

"And so, we'll be searching for monsters in the nearby region. We're close to a developed region, so the monsters shouldn't be too strong. Does that displease you, Raidyn-san?"

Peter spread a piece of parchment on the table. It looked to be a map of the surrounding region. The map showed villages, forests, rivers, and so on.

"Basically, we'll be heading south and looking around this area."

His finger moved from the center of the parchment to the vicinity of the southern forest.

"We'll be hunting monsters in the forest bordering the Slaine Theocracy. The only creatures who can hit the back line are goblins with magic items that grant flight."

"However, we won't get much for killing such weak monsters."

"The goblins know about humanity's area of influence, so they're fully aware of the retaliation that'll be headed that way if they launch a large-scale attack. It's especially true when it comes to the stronger goblins since they tend to be the higher-ranked and more intelligent members of their species."

"Plus, Raidyn-san can use 3rd-tier magic. So it should be fine even if we encounter high-level goblins, right?"

„4th-tier. Not 3rd."

„Oh! I see then our work will be so much easier." relieved the leader of The Sword of Darkness. Ninya eyes however widened. „She can use 4th-tier magic?"

"I see. However, I'd like to remind you that there are goblins who can use 3rd-tier magic. Just for my reference, could you tell me about the monsters we might encounter?"

The Swords of Darkness turned in unison to look at Ninya. Picking up on their thoughts, Ninya began explaining with a teacherly look on his face.

"We're likely to encounter goblins and the wolves they raise. As for other monsters, there haven't been any strong ones sighted around this area. The most dangerous monsters we might encounter on the plains are probably ogres."

"We won't be entering the forest?" asked Esdeath

"Yes, because the forest is very dangerous. We can still deal with things like Jumping Leeches and Giant Beetles, but the Hanging Spiders which spit webs at you from the trees and the Forest Worms which maul you from the ground with their huge jaws are harder to handle."

"That's how it is, Raidyn-san. How about it? Want to lend us a hand?"

"...Mm. Then, I'll be in your care… although before that, could you tell me about the pay for this?"

"Ah, yes, that's right, the payment is very important. Basically, since Raidyn-san and our team are working together, the plan is to split it evenly."

"Going by the numbers in our teams, it seems awfully generous."

"However, when the monsters appear, I hope you Raidyn-san will take half of them as well. We can only use spells of up to the 2nd tier. So when we factor your abilities in, that division of the money seems quite logical."

Esdeath pretended to think for a while before nodding her head in agreement.

"I have no problems with that arrangement. Then, let us fight shoulder to shoulder. Also, since we're working together, I guess I should let everyone see my face without my hood and. Of course."

„Let's see!."

With that, Esdeath removed her hood. The four people before him seemed quite surprised by what they saw.

„…A dark elf?"

„Is there a problem with that?" asked Esdeath

„No, no It's just surprising to an elf willing go outside their country."

„Hmm. Is that country entirely populated with elves? Because If that's the case. I was never there. I came from very far away and traveled a long time to reach E-Rantel."

„I hope the fact that I am an elf will not cause problems between us."

„Of course not! If you excuse us we need to discuss a few things. This will not take longer than one minute."

"Of course do your things," Esdeath answered

„She is an elf! And a very beautiful and gorgeous one! „

„It is surprising to meet a friendly elf. Most of them very retractable. „

„Hey, that's rude. Don't assume things because once you meet a rude elf worker. „

„A warrior and a magic caster in one person of the 4th tier. She is surprisingly young for that kind of skill. „

„Miss Raidyn is pretty amazing! „

Esdeath keen ears picked up their whispered words, with the exception of Peter's.

Being called beautiful Esdeath feel uncomfortable, but it probably couldn't be helped that her current form was beautiful in the eyes of these youngsters. If one was an adult by the age of 16, then Esdeath real age was definitely an uncle to them.

"I will be covering my ears and most of my face up after showing it to you. There might be trouble if other people know I'm an elf."

With that, Esdeath pulled her hood back on again. After that, Esdeath smiled in satisfaction under her hood.

"Since we'll be hunting together, it would probably be good to get questions out of the way at this point. Do you have anything to ask me?"

"Me!"

A hand shot up toward the ceiling after Esdeath asked his question. That hand belonged to Lukrut.

After making sure that nobody else was asking a question other than himself, Lukrut cheerfully asked Esdeath:

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

First Esdeath thought she misheard what Lukrut asked and had no idea what Lukrut meant by that question. Then she suddenly realized what Lukrut meant by that question. However, Peter and his people had picked up on Lukrut's intentions.

„He wants to pick me up?"

"...No, I don't have."

After Esdeath's answer, Lukrut's next few words threw the room into an uproar.

"I've fallen for you! It's love at first sight! Please go out with me!"

Everyone turned to look at Lukrut. After realizing that Lukrut's words were not a joke to deepen their friendship, everyone shifted their gaze to Esdeath. As the center of attention, Esdeath took a deep breath before replying:

„No," Esdeath said with a bored and cold tone

The silence was even more deafening than before.

"Ah, no…"

"But we can be still friends!" Esdeath smiled at him brightly „Heh! Friendzoned him. There is no way out from the friend zone! Hahaha(evil laugh) I'm so evil." The Esdeath chibi smiled and laughed sadistically evil inside in her mind.

„That would be wonderful!" said Lukrut while sweated nervously and scratched his head. „I will not give up this easily! Each way you will fall into my charming personality!"

"All right, once we distribute the rations, we can set out right away."

"Are rations the only thing you need to prepare? If you're not going to buy them from a specialist shop, why not get some dry rations from the counter? They'll prepare them for you right away."

"Is that so? That's good to hear. I can finish my preparations right away."

"Then, let's go."

---

Scene Change: Guild Lobby

After returning to the guild lobby, there were more adventurers than before, and there were several teams standing near the parchment-covered noticeboard. However, everyone's attention seemed focused on a certain teenager.

The blond-haired teenager was talking to one of the counter girls, and the other two receptionists were leaning in to eavesdrop on their conversation. If things had been busy when Esdeath came in, the current situation was now the exact opposite.

The counter girl's face — no, her mouth was in an O shape. It was a look of surprise. And the person she was looking at was none other than Esdeath herself.

What's going on here?

Just as doubt started welling up inside Esdeath, the counter girl approached and said:

"There is a job here asking for you by name."

Those words changed the air in the room instantly. Esdeath could feel many curious eyes staring unreservedly at her.

The Swords of Darkness were similarly shocked.

"And who is this person who has asked for me by name?"

The moment those words cleared his mouth, Esdeath cursed herself. Who else could it be but the boy in front of her?

"That would be Nfirea Bareare-san."

„I just heard that name" — as Esdeath thought this, the boy approached her.

"Pleased to meet you. I was the one who put out that job."

"Actually, this request—"

Before the boy could finish speaking, Esdeath raised her hand to interrupt:

"My deepest apologies, but I've already made an agreement with someone else for a job, so I cannot accept your request right away."

The air in the room seemed to shudder as he said this. The reaction of the Swords of Darkness was more intense than Esdeath's own:

"Raidyn-san! He asked for you by name!"

Peter's response filled Esdeath with doubt. Was a personal request something to be surprised about? However—

"That may be so, but should I not carry out the job I've been requested to do earlier?"

"However… our job is hardly a request. If we don't meet any monsters, there won't be any pay to speak of…"

"...Then how about this, Peter-san. Bareare-san has not told me about the job's details, payment, timeframe and so on. I will hear him out and make my decision then."

"I'm alright with that, of course. Though I'd like to finish it quickly, it can wait a day or two."

"Then, please allow my friends from Swords of Darkness to be present during the job briefing… no, I should say, if the negotiations fall through, I would like the privilege of carrying out my previous task first."

"Eh? Raidyn-san, is it all right for us to come with you?"

"Of course. I hope you will be party to the discussion and provide your opinions."

After the Swords of Darkness gave their approval, Esdeath and her company returned to the room from just now.

---

Scene Change: Guild meeting room

"The receptionist mentioned it earlier, but I think it would be best if I introduced myself. I am Nfirea Bareare, and I work as a herbalist in this city. As for the details of the job, I will soon be heading into the nearby forest as planned. Since everyone knows the forest is dangerous, I was hoping that you could be my guardians, as well as helping to harvest herbs if possible."

"This stinks. Why would a famous herbalist hire an unknown low ranked adventurer?! I need to be careful!"

Esdeath only nodded while she heard out Nfirea monolog.

"Bodyguarding, huh. I see."

Esdeath nodded calmly. She had the feeling that this job would be a troublesome one.

Esdeath knew she was powerful, and she could probably exterminate any attacking monster on her own. However, she was not as confident when it came to carrying out an escort mission. This was because the target what needed protection was too fragile. If accidentally a more serious battle take place. No one besides her really survives the battle. Because sometimes she fought very recklessly.

"Compared to the usual amount, the payment will be—"

"—Please hold on a moment. The task of bodyguarding suits you well. Then, Peter-san, would you like me to take you on instead?"

"Eh?"

"If it's a job that involves bodyguarding and harvesting herbs, don't you think we'd be more effective with Lukrut-san the ranger and Dyne-san the druid?"

"Oh! Good eye, Raidyn-shi. As a druid, I can show my true ability in the forest, perhaps even more so than Lukrut the ranger."

"Bareare-san, sorry for the wait. If it's alright with you, could you permit everyone here to accept the job that you just offered?"

"I don't mind that. Then, I'll be counting on all of you. Ah, you can just call me Nfirea."

Esdeath and the others began introducing themselves to Nfirea.

"Then, what I've done in the past is to proceed to Carne Village to set up a base of operations before venturing into the amount of time we'll spend depends on the herbs that we can gather, but it will be three days at the latest. In the past, it's been a couple of days on average."

"Will we be walking there?"

"Ah, yes. There will be a horse cart, but it'll be full of pots and bottles for gathering herbs, so there's not much room for you to ride."

"May I ask a few questions?"

After seeing Nfirea smile and nod in reply, Esdeath began with the first question.

"Why me? I've only arrived in this city by carriage recently, and as such, I have no friends here, nor am I renowned in this area. That being the case, why did you ask for me? In addition, you mentioned that you've done this in the past, which implies that in the past you've hired other adventurers. How about them?"

Could it be that she was overthinking this? Just as Esdeath was beginning to get suspicious, Nfirea replied:

"Ah, the adventurers I hired in the past have all left E-Rantel for another city. That's why I was looking for new adventurers. Also, actually… I heard about what happened in the inn from one of its guests."

"What happened in the inn?"

"Yes, I heard that someone effortlessly threw an adventurer one rank higher than herself and after that, she simply teleported behind the goon companions and incapacitated them only under a moment."

"I see…"

"Plus, copper-ranked adventurers are cheaper, right? Hopefully, we'll get along for a while yet."

"Haha, I do hope so."

"I can't lower my defenses. This is getting stranger and stranger in every passing moment. But I will suffice. No matter the circumstances. I will find out what do you want from me Nfirea Bareare!"

"Then, let's move out once we're ready!"

---

A/N: I gladly thank all of the readers, followers and those who favorited this fanfic.

YOU ARE ALL AWESOME!