PSA: see at the end
Steel and Sorcerers - Chapter 9
'I need to get out of here' thought Ainz, as he bent over to pick up the parchment off the floor that he had recently dropped out of shock.
That receptionist had suddenly stood up and waved at him out of nowhere in the middle of talking with the group from the Japanese army, drawing unneeded attention from them to him. He didn't think that they were working together since this was the first time they had been sighted here, and even if they were, he hadn't told the receptionist woman anything incriminating. Thus, his cover should still be intact.
Looking down at the request now in his gauntleted hands, he saw it was to carry some luggage around. Hardly befitting of his capabilities, but one had to start somewhere. Just as he was lining up to inform the front desk that he was taking this job, he spotted one of the other receptionists waving over at him. She was accompanied by a young man with long golden-brown hair that covered his eyes.
Ainz glanced at the group from the Japanese army. They seemed engrossed in filling out their forms, so Ainz made his way to the receptionist who was motioning for him to come over.
She announced to him, "Momon-san, you have been requested for a job by Nphirea Baleare-san", motioning to the boy beside her.
He stepped forwards to speak to Ainz. "Greetings Momon-san, I am Nphirea Baleare, a pharmacist in this city, but please call me Nphirea. I'm planning to go to the forest near Carne village to gather herbs, so I would like your assistance in gathering them, and to guard me during the trip."
'Carne village…' thought Ainz. That was located fairly close to the Japanese army's base. Albedo's report indicated that Nphirea hadn't been seen coming from there, but it was possible he had been in contact with them before they had even started tracking the movements of those coming from the base.
"Why do you have to gather the herbs from the area around Carne village in particular?" enquired Ainz.
"Oh, that's because there are certain herbs that can only be found in that region, or rather, in the Great Forest of Tob" replied Nphirea.
'Hmm…' His explanation did make sense. The Great Forest of Tob was the largest forested area he had seen so far, and it was fairly nearby.
"Will it just be the three of us for the journey?" Ainz asked.
"Yes it will be, although I'd like to make a stop in Carne village."
If it were just the three of them, then Ainz had greater confidence, as he wouldn't have to worry about enemy agents hiding amongst their party. As long as he was able to call for reinforcements from Nazarick then he should be fine, or at least be granted enough time to escape in case of an attack. Actually, he should remind himself to contact Albedo to pre-emptively send in some stealth units once he was out of the city limits.
Ainz suddenly became aware of another problem, albeit a more minor one. This request entailed protecting a third party, something his skills weren't well suited for, especially when in this warrior form. Although, thinking about it, Sebas should be able to provide that role well enough if it's only one person. If so, then there was only one question left to ask.
"Nphirea-san, why did you request me for this particular job? I only arrived here yesterday, and have few connections."
"Oh, about that… Well, I heard about what happened in the inn" answered Nphirea.
"What do you mean?"
"I heard from someone there that you were able to throw a higher ranked adventurer across the room with just one arm. Also, the person I usually hire moved away recently. Not to mention, hiring copper plates tends to be cheaper."
"I see."
Just a few hours later Ainz, Sebas and Nphirea were on the road out of E-Rantel. Nphirea sat in a horse-drawn cart, containers for storing herbs in the back, while Ainz and Sebas walked alongside him.
All of a sudden, Ainz heard a shout from behind him. "Momon-san, fancy meeting you here!"
Wheeling around, Ainz spotted the group from the adventurers' guild making their way towards him.
"Umu. I don't think we've met before?" replied Ainz.
The leader of their group, the one with the neckbeard, followed up with "Don't you remember? We were talking with the receptionist lady when she called out to you guys. Well, I'm sure someone as capable as you wouldn't remember us haha. Where are you headed? We're going to a forest near Carne Village to pick up some various herbs. Anyway, let me introduce the members of my team…"
'Someone as capable as me? And they also just happened to be on almost the exact same mission as him?' This was highly suspicious. These individuals from the Japanese army had just happened to come to the guild on the same day as him, then quickly registered as adventurers and took on a request straight away. And then there was that incident where the receptionist lady had called out to them as well.
Their plan must be to get close to him under the guise of being fellow adventurers, then turn on and ambush him somewhere along the way. Probably in the forest, where it was closer to their base and would be easier for assailants to hide.
They were currently just out of sight of E-Rantel. At this point it would've been reasonable to Ainz to pre-emptively attack and destroy them before they had the opportunity to carry out their plan. Information could be extracted from them via torture back at Nazarick so there wasn't any need to play along with their charade. However, there were three reasons why he didn't do so. Firstly, they were in the company of Nphirea, who seemed to be a fairly influential figure in the community. Attacking first would likely cause him to view them in a negative light, and Ainz wasn't confident in his use of memory-altering magic just yet. The second reason was that if he attacked first, then there was the chance he would be counter-ambushed, and the third reason was that there was the ever so slim possibility that them seeking him out was all a coincidence, or unrelated.
So, for the moment he would hold off on performing a pre-emptive strike, but remain cautious, and try to probe for information about their intentions.
"Oh, really? We also happen to be going to the Great Forest of Tob to gather herbs" said Ainz.
"What, no way!" shouted Itami, fist-pumping the air. He then adopted a sleazy expression and moved up right next to Ainz, looking him over. "Someone with such impressive armour must've been on loads of epic adventures, and look at these swords!" He then looked over at Sebas. "By the way what's your relation to him, how come you two are travelling together?"
"I am but a simple travelling monk. I happened to meet Momon-san on his way to E-Rantel, so we decided to go there together. I learned he wanted to apply as an adventurer there, and since I had nothing better to do I decided to do so as well" replied Sebas.
"Oh, I see…" said Itami. "Anyway, where did you come from Momon-san! You must be a noble right? Or maybe you started off as a commoner and worked your way up the ranks?"
'This guy asks way too many questions' though Ainz. He might be trouble in the future if he keeps this up. Although perhaps there may be the opportunity to ask some questions of his own.
"I… started off as a mere commoner. After several years and with the assistance of many comrades we built up our strength together. I'll never forget those days. As for where I'm from… I travelled here from a nation to the far south" said Ainz, remembering how the Sunlit scripture members had described the look of his illusory face.
"Where do you hail from Itami?" he then asked.
"Well," said Itami, a stupid grin forming on his face. "We happen to be… from an island nation in the far e-"
Kuribayashi had punched him in the shoulder.
"Ah, right… We are from an island nation to the far west!"
Ainz mused that this was a similar response to what they had given the theocracy mages.
"If you don't mind me asking, for what reason did you travel so far as to get here?" enquired Ainz.
Itami pondered his response for a moment. "Although it is not as noble a pursuit as I'm sure yours must be Momon-san, we came here seeking adventure, and to experience a new world. I in particular am in search of elves. Actually, you seem very knowledgeable Momon-san, do you know where I could find any?"
"I'm sorry, but I am unable to help" replied Ainz.
Itami was suddenly pulled to the back by one of his group members.
"What is up with you!" whispered Kurata furiously. "You've been sucking up to him this whole time, and it's getting kind of weird!"
"Aww, are you getting jealous?" replied Itami.
"Argh shut it! Just tell me what's going on. You do have a reason for this right?"
"Yes, actually I do" said Itami. "This guy looks pretty rich and influential, I bet if we can get on his good side he'll tell us all sorts of valuable info, and even do favours for us. Not to mention, just look at his armour, and those gigantic swords. If something like the giant hamster that attacked base camp a few days ago suddenly appears, do you really think Shadu can protect us?"
'He did have a point' thought Kurata. Shadu had been assigned as their security detail for this operation, and despite how skilled the higher-ups said he was, he was still just a human in the end. Not to mention, the only weapons he had was a sword and halberd despite having heard that not even machine-gun fire was enough to hurt the beast that had previously attacked the base.
"For just this once, I agree with you Itami" sighed Kurata. "We should also ask him what he knows about magic."
"Alright, that sounds good. How about you go ask him?" said Itami.
"What, no! That's your job!" blurted out Kurata.
"Nah, my throat is getting a bit sore, I'm afraid it's up to you this time" grinned Itami. "Don't worry, you'll be fine, I have my utmost faith in you."
Ainz was pondering his recent conversation with Itami, and wondering what questions he could ask next, when he saw a different group member approaching him timidly. His name was Kurata if he remembered Itami's introductions correctly. Come to think of it, their names did sound very Japanese. The young man made his way over to Ainz as they walked along. As he was looking down at the ground, all Ainz could see was his black hair.
They walked side by side for a time, but he didn't say anything, prompting Ainz to break the ice. "Kurata, was it? Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" he said as warmly as possible.
"Umm, I was wondering if you knew anything about magic" he asked nervously.
Ainz's emotion inhibitor activated at these words, halting the sudden surge of anxiety he had just experienced at those words. Did he know he was actually a mage somehow? Or was he trying to figure out what abilities he had so they could take him down better? This was way too direct wasn't it? Thinking about it, Kurata could pass this question off as simply trying to evaluate the abilities of a fellow party member.
How cunning. Unfortunately for them, this provided an excellent opportunity for Ainz to provide some disinformation.
"Being a warrior, I regrettably know very little about magic" answered Ainz, "Although, I have heard a little about its use throughout my travels."
"Oh," said Kurata dejectedly, before following up with "Umm, does your companion know any?"
"He is a monk, thus he knows some body enhancement and healing magic" replied Ainz.
At this, Kurata's face lit up. "Oh really! You wouldn't mind if I asked him a few questions about how it works then would you?"
Ainz felt he had steered himself into a bad situation. "That should be ok... You'll have to ask him if he's fine with it though."
More motivated now, Kurata looked to Sebas, who was walking a few metres to the left of Ainz. "Would it be alright if I asked a few questions about how your monk skills work?" he asked.
As Sebas put a hand to his chin as if to ponder his response, Ainz stared at him through his helmet, silently willing him to avoid the question somehow.
Sebas smiled at Kurata, "Well, since you asked so nicely I don't see why I couldn't explain one or two things."
'Damn you and your kindness!' Ainz wailed internally.
It was in the very early hours of the morning at around 3am. The Great Forest of Tob was darker than the night, as the foliage obscured even the meagre light from the moon and stars. Various sounds could be heard such as the distant screeches of birds and wild animals, and the muted movement of nocturnal predators.
Boranai was a goblin mage who was part of the Southern Goblin Tribe Alliance, or rather what was left of it. Around 10 days ago they had come across a peculiar structure in the forest, and decided to investigate. Much to their surprise they found themselves in the middle of a large human settlement with an abundance of meat. However, half-way into their feast they were driven back by the humans, who wielded strange magical weapons that created loud bangs when used. Now all that was left was himself, a single ogre, and five other goblins. They didn't dare return to that place in case the humans found and chased after them. Even worse, due to the disaster, the northern goblin tribe alliance were now the stronger faction and had taken over their territory, forcing them into hiding.
He was about to go and wake up the next goblin for lookout duty when there was a sudden sharp pain in his neck. Surprised, he felt around and pulled out what looked like a strange arrow. It's shaft was much thicker, and the arrowhead had a sharp needle point.
In these few moments that it took for him to identify the object, there were sudden bursts of noise from all around him. It was a 'chuffing' sound, like when one forcibly blew air out through their lips. This was accompanied by the wet sound of projectiles piercing flesh, and the dull thud of objects hitting the ground at high speeds tossing dirt into the air.
Boranai quickly clambered to his feet and cried out, sounding the alarm, but found he was unsteady on his feet, with his vision beginning to blur. The only responses he got from his cry were the groans of his dying tribe-kin.
Using his darkvision, he desperately whipped his head around, staff clutched to his chest searching for the attackers. To ordinary creatures, the forest would appear pitch-black, but due to this ability he could see as if it were as bright as day.
This helped little though, as his vision became ever blurrier. With his legs giving out he was struggling to prevent himself from collapsing, let alone locate the assailants.
In the end, he finally fell to the ground and his vision blacked out. All he had managed to see were the trees and bushes of the forest.
PSA: Since Itami's squad are basically the substitute for the swords of darkness now, I wonder if they'll meet a similar fate haha.