PSA: Next chapter's going to be pretty long and intense. So long in fact that I broke off part of it to make this one.
Steel and Sorcerers - Chapter 10
Itami and his squad were accompanied by Momon, Sebas and Nphirea as they searched the forest for herbs. The light coming through the foliage was tinted green by the leaves, and illuminated the debris-covered ground in a scattered pattern of light. All around them were thick worn tree trunks, extending out in all directions except from behind, where the blue sky and Carne village could just barely be seen. They all carried large barrels, which they filled with plant leaves and roots as directed by Nphirea. Everything seemed quite peaceful. Nphirea had assured the group that it was unlikely for them to encounter many monsters this close to the edge of the forest, so most of them were fairly calm, and enjoying the natural beauty of the area. However, some of them had other plans.
Ainz was currently carrying a barrel under each arm, standing beside Sebas who was doing the same. But in event of an attack, they would of course drop these in order to protect the others. As he waited for his plan to unfold, he thought back to what had happened soon after arriving at Carne village.
Ainz had been setting up camp inside the village along with Sebas and the others. Although it had been attacked recently and many of its occupants killed, a large number of the buildings had also been burnt down, meaning there was no spare housing available for them. Ainz didn't mind this, as he enjoyed the experience of camping outside, something that he had not been able to do in real life. As he was putting the finishing touches on setting up their tents, Nphirea had come running up to Ainz with a strained expression on his face.
"Momon-sama! Do you know Ainz Ooal gown?" he blurted out.
Ainz suddenly broke out in a cold sweat as his emotion suppression kicked in.
"No, I don't know him. Why do you ask?" he said as calmly as he could.
"Well," said Nphirea, looking up at him determinedly, "I just heard that you and him both had those red potions! You see, they're extremely rare and valuable!"
Ainz internally cursed himself. He knew giving that potion to the adventurer in the inn would cause trouble.
"I see" replied Ainz. "I did meet him in the past, when he sold me those potions."
Just as Nphirea was about to say something Ainz put up a gauntleted hand and continued "But he never told me where he got them from or how to make them. I also don't know here he is now."
"Oh is that so" said Nphirea, a little dejected. He then perked up however, saying "Well actually I heard from Enri that he was in Carne village not that long ago! He saved them from a bunch of mercenaries who were attacking them! Do you think you could help me find him!"
Nphirea was looking up at him with a determined smile. Ainz was silent for a moment. This was a lot of information to process, and his response would be important.
Seeing his silence, Nphirea backed down a little, apologising and saying, "Of course that's only if you want to Momon-san. I understand you might want to protect his privacy, or have some other reason."
To this Ainz replied, "Just out of curiosity, for what reason do you wish to obtain these potions?"
Nphirea looked at the ground, fidgeting a little. "Well, I hadn't really thought that far ahead. To be honest, just getting the knowledge itself on how to make such a rare potion would be enough for me."
"Is that so" said Ainz. "Well, I'll certainly think about your request."
"Thanks you so much Momon-san!" exclaimed Nphirea, bowing deeply before running off.
The faint approaching sound of crashing branches and trembling earth suddenly brought Ainz's attention back into the present. It was time.
"What's going on?" cried Kurata.
"Everyone get behind me" announced Shadu, pointing his halberd in the direction of the incoming sound.
"No, don't!" shouted Nphirea. "It must be the wise king of the forest! It's an incredibly powerful creature, you'll only be killed!"
"Nphirea, and everyone else. Please allow us to take care of this" announced Ainz, Sebas standing firmly by his side.
"No, you mustn't Momon-san!" shouted Itami.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Nphirea.
"Yes, I assure you we will be fine" replied Ainz, "You should all get to safety."
Nphirea had one last thing to say. "I just have one request Momon-san. The wise king of the forest has kept this part of the forest safe from monsters for many years, so please don't kill it. Otherwise, the monsters may return, making it much more dangerous."
"I'll do what I can" said Ainz, before calmly striding off, flanked by Sebas towards the encroaching beast.
"Nooo!" wailed Itami, "All the time I spent sucking up to him will be wasted!"
"Wow, you really came out and said it" said Akira.
"Shut-up and keep moving!" yelled Kuribayashi.
After some time they reached the edge of the forest, where they anxiously awaited Momon and Sebas' return.
After just 15 minutes, the wait was over, but they couldn't believe their eyes at what they saw. Momon and Sebas stood triumphantly before what appeared to be a giant hamster with a long snake-like tail.
Akira nudged Itami. "Hey Itami, you don't suppose that's…"
"Yeah…" he breathed, "The creature that attacked the base about a week ago."
"I'm surprised it survived" said Akira. "The thing took multiple 35mm's."
Their conversation was interrupted when the giant hamster stood up on its hind legs and began sniffing the air. It then looked down at Itami's squad.
"You… You're from that place in the forest! For encroaching on this one's territory, you shall pay the ultimate price!"
The beast charged forth with great vigour, however suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Ainz had bonked it over the head with one of his massive great-swords, causing it to faceplant in the dirt.
"Stop! You may not attack them; they are my companions for this journey" chided Ainz.
"Very well, your wish is my command milord" said the wise king sadly, pulling her face out of the ground and shaking the dirt off her whiskers.
Ainz then turned his attention to Itami. "Sorry for asking, but what did it mean when it said you were from that place in the forest?"
Itami luckily had an answer pre-prepared. "Oh… About that. We actually run a logging operation and plan to set up a trading outpost in the forest. A while ago we came under attack, but luckily managed to repel it."
"I see" replied Ainz.
'Wait, he's not going to ask about how we repelled it?' thought Akira. 'This beast seems to be pretty powerful, and we basically said we were mere merchants, with no real combat capability to match something like that. Does he not care, perhaps he's being polite? Or did he somehow already know?'
"You mentioned you were logging" said Nphirea. "Well, firstly I must humbly request that you not take it too far lest you damage the ecosystem of the forest, but what I meant to say is that Carne village seems to be in need of construction materials. They've already built a wall as I'm sure you saw, but they're in need of building materials to construct living quarters for all the goblins."
Itami knew that all the logs that had been harvested so far were being sent back through the gate for analysis, so said "That sounds interesting. Unfortunately, most of the logs so far have been used in building the trading post itself, but sometime in the future maybe we could provide some."
It was about 8pm in the village. The sky was dark and most of the villagers were asleep, however Itami and some of his squad-mates were still restless.
"Ahh, I'm so bored" groaned Itami, rolling around on his sleeping mat. "How early do these villagers go to bed?"
"Shut up and go to sleep" snapped Adriano.
"Fine then" replied Itami, scrunching his eyes shut. In the past he would've been able to fall asleep on command, then wake-up at a precisely set time without even needing an alarm clock. However, years of staying up late at night reading manga had ruined this ability.
Just as he felt he was dozing off; he heard a distinct thumping sound. This was accompanied by a faint pattering. He instantly bolted upright, unclasping the opening to his tent and stepping outside. The sounds were clearer now, and rather than stopping, their intensity seemed to be increasing.
Itami knew that sound well. The sound of distant cannon-fire.
It seemed Akira was also familiar with the sound, as he soon accompanied him, standing side-by side gazing off into the night in the direction of the forest.
"That's not good" commented Akira.
"Yeah…" breathed Itami. The night air was cold, but he could barely feel it.
"Do you reckon they're alright out there?" Akira asked.
"I'm not sure," replied Itami as the sounds continued. "You don't suppose we can help can you?"
"Nah," answered Akira, looking over the moonlit treetops. "The base is at least 10 kilometres away, and through dense forest. That's at least 15 minutes even if we sprint as fast as Busain Bolt the whole way."
"I guess it's their problem then" said Itami.
"Yep" agreed Akira, as the two continued to stand out there, listening to the sounds of the distant battle.