Chapter 3
Mare looked away from the book he was reading to check for movement at the gate to the 7th floor.
He felt a little feedback of power and placed a bookmark before setting the book down beside the chair. Mare grabbed the staff beside him, the Divine-class item Shadow of Yggdrasil. As he went for the magic item hanging around his necklace with the other hand but stopped mid-action. There was no need to contact his sister. Since there were no reports of an intruder, the person approaching had to be a comrade.
Mare shuffled his way down with small steps as he headed toward the gate. His sister liked to jump down to the colosseum from the audience seats, but Mare didn't. The stairs were there for a reason and using them seemed like a show of loyalty to the Supreme Beings. They had probably intended for the stairs to be used. But I can't say that to sister… She'd give me a scary glare…
So he decided that at least he would not let the generosity of the Supreme Beings go to waste and went down through the stairs. Beyond the waiting room, there was a figure known to him.
"H-hi, D-did you wait long?"
"Oh oh! Isn't it the floor guardian, Mare-sama! For you to come here personally, I am honoured."
The clown, dressed in a pure white costume with a mask shaped like a bird's beak, bowed to Mare, who did the same.
"Hello, Pulcinella-san. What are you here for?"
"Well, I don't know if you're aware or not, but I'm currently working under Demiurge-sama's orders. Today, I came as Demiurge-sama's messenger. Please, take this."
The clown handed over the folder he was holding.
"If it's from Demiurge-san, is this the memo folder?"
"That's correct. My, my, for Mare-sama to come out personally. I was really lucky. If it had been Aura-sama I would have needed to ask her to call you."
"Huh? Is that so?"
The memo folder was a system devised by the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown, himself. It was a system that allowed floor guardians to write down non-urgent messages and communicate with each other. Nothing similar existed until now. When Mare accepted the folder, he got a strange feeling and muttered "T-this is…" while staring at it.
"H-huh? But why couldn't you give it to my sister?"
Since Aura was a floor guardian as well, there should be no reason why the message couldn't be delivered to her as well. She was also a hard worker, she wouldn't just throw the folder in a corner somewhere.
"I don't know the details myself. But Demiurge-sama gave me the specific order to not give it to Aura-sama and hand it directly to you."
"I see… W-what about Demiurge-san?"
It was a short question, but Pulcinella understood what he meant.
"…I can't say I fully understand what he meant either. However, I believe the answer or the reason would lie in that folder."
"Ok… Uh, hmm, speaking of which, uh, what's Demiurge-san doing right now?"
"He's conducting a breeding experiment. Humans can breed with each other, but can't breed with demi-humans. Is this not a true tragedy? For lovers to be unable to bear the fruit of their union just because they're from different species! To save such unfortunate souls, Demiurge-sama is working hard. To develop that possibility between humans and demi-humans!"
The clown spoke as if he was reciting a speech with both arms wide spread and pointing at the sky. Mare blinked at Pulcinella, who changed so suddenly.
"Ah, please excuse me. I've gotten too excited over Demiurge-sama's generosity of trying to bring joy to humans. Please, forgive me."
"Ah, it's, uh, fine."
"Demiurge-sama said that he would make himself, or rather the demon he's impersonating, the target of the human's hatred, so they wouldn't resent each other. Such immense selflessness! This Pulcinella cannot even see because he moved me to tears."
Pulcinella motioned to wipe his tears on top of his mask. Of course, there were no actual tears and he spoke in his regular cheerful tone, which didn't sound sad at all.
"…Why would they hate him?"
"I cannot understand why they would hate our kind and generous Demiurge-sama, but he said that himself. Ah, speaking of which, listen to this. Because Demiurge-sama was so generous, he took pity on the starving livestock. So he made them exchange children with each other, roasted them and put them on the table. If he was heartless, wouldn't he have served them up without exchanging them?"
"I-Is that so?"
"Of course. He even allowed them to say farewell by bringing over both parents and letting them sit by the table. For there to be someone like Demiurge-sama, who would be considerate enough for the family to say farewell while smiling… There won't be anyone besides the Supreme Beings. I'm sure of it."
"I guess…"
Mare gave a flat response to Pulcinella's enraptured speech. He didn't care what happened to anyone who did not belong to Nazarick. After a couple of seconds, Mare erased all thoughts of Demiurge's livestock.
"Plus, when starving, their head might say yes, but their stomach might not. Demiurge-sama has thought ahead and after warning them, made sure they ate it all, down to the last bit. He is a truly generous—"
Feeling that the story would not end, Mare quickly interrupted.
"—How's Guren-san doing? If I want to send the message back, I might need to relay it to him, but I don't know what he's doing and where."
"…'he' or 'she', I personally theorize Guren is genderless. Last time I saw that person was when Demiurge-sama wasn't present and it was lying in ambush around the 7th floor's gate as per orders by Ambition-sama."
"I-is that so."
Mare remembered what Guren looked like.
An area guardian which hid its gigantic body in lava and pulled the unsuspecting opponents into terrain that was advantageous for itself. It was 'only' level 90, but because it was optimized for combat, in terms of pure fighting ability, it ranked amongst the strongest in Nazarick and could even fight evenly with some floor guardians. Thus, it was the most suitable one to defend the gate of the 7th floor.
"Ah, it seems I was too chatty. Since I already passed on the memo folder to you, I will now go off to spread smiles and laughter."
"T-Thank you."
Mared bowed his head and Pulcinella replied softly. "No need to thank me at all. I am satisfied just watching your smile, Mare-sama."
The clown dramatically shrugged his shoulders . "Until we meet again."
And he disappeared through the gate to the 7th floor while waving.
After watching him disappear, Mare opened the memo. Filled with feelings of superiority and treachery from the fact that only he could read it and not his sister, Mare quickly scanned the page. He blinked a couple times after he finished reading it.
This… it's more like a message from Ainz-sama than a memo.
The message was addressed to only the male guardians and praised them for their usual hard work. The following content could be summarized as invitation to take a bath together if they had time. The names of the participants listed were Ainz, Oshikuru, Demiurge, Ambition, Sebas, Mare and Cocytus. The first four people had circled 'participating' between the choice of participating or not participating.
"Uh, what's the date going to be…"
There was a side saying that the date was undetermined and that would be arranged for the most convenient date for the participants. The message said it would be fine not to join, but Mare just couldn't refuse a proposal from his kind and generous master. No, there would not be anyone in the Great Tomb of Nazarick who would refuse. Mare picked up the pencil that was included in the file and circled the "participating" next to his name.
"…Ehehe."
He smiled while looking at the circle beside his name, but dark clouds soon shrouded his heart.
"Uh, but… how do I give this to Cocytus?"
There were several mentions across the message to not tell anything to the female guardians and Mare could feel his master's intention of wanting to keep it a secret amongst the male guardians. In this case it would be best for him to hand the message personally.
If I keep it a secret and sneak out… it won't be good, right?
Unless it was due to orders, Mare would always tell Aura where he was going, even if he was just going to visit another guardian. It was the right thing to do since Aura and Mare were both tasked with defending this floor.
Mare grasped the magic item hanging around his neck.
S-sis? Can you hear me?
An immediate reply came. I can hear you Mare. What's up?
Ah, that's a relief. Uh… what was it?… yes, I need to go visit Cocytus right now. I'll be back soon.
… To Cocytus?
Yea. I need to hurry.
… What's it about?
Mare's shoulders flinched for a brief moment. He felt like his voice would crack, but then he barely managed to squeeze the words out.
N-n-n-n-nothing? It's nothing… but I need to go.
Hmmm… Aura's voice sounded as if she was suspicious, and the thought of that caused Mare's hands to be soaked with sweat. But he couldn't help it: it was Ainz-sama's orders. Apart from Mare and Aura's creator, his words ranked higher than any other Supreme Being's. It took priority over anything else.
Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Go then. Remember that the 5th floor is cold, so protect yourself against it… Ah, but if it's you there won't be a problem.
Y-yeah. It's fine if I use magic. Then I'll be off.
If he kept talking for too long, he might give something away. So Mare quickly took his hand off the magic item. It sounded like his sister was trying to say something else before she was cut off, but whether it was fortunate for him or not, he couldn't hear it.
"A-alright! Time to hurry."
Mare activated the most important ring he received from his master.
Immediately after he teleported, Mare felt something white sticking to his was snow flying in the air. Mare's breath condensed into a white cloud which was instantly blown behind him. It was the result of the snowstorm and the extreme cold in the area.
The snow and ice flew along with the storm in a frenzied whiteout, and the endless snow covered any trace of footprints almost immediately. Though the weather was designed to make any invader lose track of where they were, it was usually not this severe. Usually, the black clouds in the sky would drop a few sprinkles of snow, and even though this was a "gloomy world, the clouds never completely covered the sky.
"…Huh…"
Mare looked to the left and the right. He had used the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, so he had to be close to where he wanted to go.
Mare moved swiftly after finding his destination. There were no footprints left where he walked. There was no soft sinking sensation like stepping on snow, it felt more like walking on hard ground.
This pure white world without a trace of anybody else seemed to be telling Mare that there was only snow here. Of course, Mare knew with his passive magical ESP that this wasteland was just a disguise. The ambushers knew that he was the 6th floor guardian, that was why they didn't show themselves.
Mare silently arrived at his destination. In front of him was a gigantic white sphere that resembled an upside down wasp's nest. Surrounding the structure were six towering crystals, their sharp edges pointed to the sky. There were human-like silhouettes visible on the inside.
As Mare stepped forward, an unnerving cracking sound came from below his feet. As he turned his attention to the floor, he could see that he was standing on a sheet of smooth ice, unlike the snow-covered plain he had been walking on thus far. The ice looked thick, but he could tell there were dark shadows lurking just under the ice. Mare kept on walking and he took each step with confidence, as if he knew the ice would not break. Despite the cracking and crunching noise, Mare arrived before the gigantic sphere without a problem.
"E-excuse me. Uh, is Cocytus-san here?"
Mare spoke towards one of the gigantic crystals instead of the sphere. In response, monsters with the appearance of a female human phased through the crystal. Their number corresponded to the number of crystals and they wore pure white clothes. Their skin was blue-white, their hair black. They were Frost Virgins, level 82 ice-type monster, that served as sentries for Cocytus' residence, the "Snowball Earth", as well as his bodyguards.
"Welcome, Mare-sama. Well met."
"Uh, what about, uh, Coctyus-san?"
"Cocytus-sama is currently outside the Great Tomb of Nazarick, visiting the lizardmen village."
"I-is that so..."
The frost virgin bowed and replied.
"Yes. If you have a message to leave for him, we'll take it for him. What do you wish to do?"
Mare hesitated.
Since he came this far, he could just leave the folder in Cocytus' room and leave a brief message with the frost virgins. But considering the content of the memo, giving it directly to Cocytus would be fully respecting the master's commands. So how would he go to Cocytus, who was outside.
There was no special rule forbidding the guardians from going outside Nazarick. However, there were conditions to meet before going outside. It was because their masters had forbidden all independent activity outside the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The information gathered so far indicated that level 100 beings like the Floor guardians would be unimaginable walking disasters in the outside world. There would be no problem for Mare, one of such walking disasters, to engage in independent action. It was the outside world that should be afraid of him. Besides, they could ruin the Supreme Beings' plans, so they had to be discreet and mostly go only in places already controlled by Nazarick, unless they went undercover.
There was also an unknown entity, probably an enemy, who had somehow transferred Nazarick to the New World. There were even glimpses of player activity, at least in the past. They needed to take extra precautions because they could not assess how many or how strong the enemies were.
"Hm, mmm. What should I do…"
Anyone who wanted to go outside, save the Supreme Beings and those who joined them, needed to be joined by at least five level 75 servants. Mare had two dragons as direct subordinates, but they were too big to be discreet. It would be best to ask his sister for her pet monsters, but then he would have to explain his task. cConsidering how that conversation would go, he did not want to do something so scary.
Then an epiphany struck him. It was perfect in both level and number.
"S-sorry, but can you guys come with me?"
"I, I apologize, but we have been ordered by Cocytus-sama to guard this place. With the exception of Ainz-sama, we cannot disobey Cocytus-sama's order… Please forgive us!"
"Ah, no, no, it's fine."
It could not be helped. If he had thought about it, then it would've been rather obvious that they couldn't do so. The next idea that came to his mind was to ask Ambition for the demon lords in the 7th floor, but he would most likely be rejected again.
It was difficult to ask for help from any guardians outside the names written on the memo. Also, most servants over level 80 in the Great Tomb of Nazarick were direct subordinates of a guardian and those who were not, were few and far in between.
Then who can I turn to…
Mare suddenly remembered the book he had just been reading.
Does he have any subordinates over level 75? But he's not a guardian, though it would br fine since he's a man as well, if I ask him to keep it a secret…
He turned at the Frost Virgins.
"T-thank you! Uh, I'll be fine."
"Is that so? I understand."
Mare activated the ring. His destination was one of his favourite spots, the Grand Library in the 10th floor of Nazarick.
The scenery changed immediately from a snowy plain to a large room. The Ashurbanipal was decorated simply, with plain black as a base colour, while dim, reddish light illuminated the area. The ceiling formed a gently sloping dome, with a grand set of double doors on the opposite side.
Golems were standing on either side of the doors that led to the Throne Hall. They were almost three meters tall, nearly as large as the doors themselves. The golems were shaped like armoured warriors and because they were made from rare metals, they were stronger than regular golems made by the Supreme Beings.
"Excuse me, can you open the door?"
In response to Mare's request, the two golems put their hands on the door and slowly pushed it open. After a heavy, creaking sound, Mare walked in through the open doors, big enough for several people to enter at once.
The sight that lay before him was more reminiscent of an art museum than a library. Countless decorations added flair to the level, while the bookshelves and even the books themselves looked like ornaments on display.
Not a single speck of dust could be seen on the immaculately polished hardwood floors and the surface was covered in beautiful engraved patterns. The upper area was quite roomy, with a hall-like design, and a balcony extended from the second floor. Even on the second floor there were countless bookshelves, arranged as if they were peeking into the room. The semi-circular ceiling was covered in grand frescos and luxurious carvings.
There were even books in the numerous glass bookshelves across the room. There were many sources of light in the room, but none of them too glaring. As a matter of fact, a regular human like Roune who had visited earlier, frowned as it was too dark for him. But it was impossible for all to take in the whole interior at one glance because the bookshelves covered the scenery at every angle.
Amidst a silence befitting a library, the doors slowly closed behind Mare. It turned darker since there was no light coming in from the entrance. The stillness in the air panned out to create a creepy atmosphere that made silence sound like another noise. Of course, for someone like Mare who could see in the dark just as well as during the day, it was not creepy at all.
Mare headed towards the inside at rather fast pace.
His destination was quite far away considering the size of the area. To either side of the dark elf were rows of bookshelves with countless books arranged on them.
The books in Yggdrasil could be divided into five large categories.
The first category was a collection of recorded monster data, which was required to summon said monsters as mercenaries. There were three types of monsters inside Nazarick: the first consisted of monsters that were created in a similar manner as player characters; the next type consisted of automatically spawning monsters that were under level thirty, the last type consisted of monsters that were summoned as mercenaries. Mercenary monsters needed to be summoned with a book, a special summoning ritual and adequate amount of gold. Thus, they could not be summoned without a book.
The second category was magic items. Certain data crystals could only be imbued into a book-shaped object. Items shaped like books usually tended to be single use magic items. The main difference between a scroll and a book was that while the scrolls could only be used by certain classes, anybody could use a book.
The third category was special items.
It was not uncommon for an item to be required when advancing into a special class, and some of these items came in the shape of a book. Even Ainz had needed a "Book of the Dead" when he evolved from a Skeleton Mage into an Elder Lich.
The fourth category was cosmetic skin data.
These books contained the cosmetic skin data of objects like swords, shields and armour. Players with certain blacksmith skills could put new skins on items with this and other appropriate materials.
The fifth category was simple novels in the form of book shaped items.
Normally, there would be old and classic literature whose copyright ran out a long time ago, but there were also background stories distributed by the development team and also original novels written by players in Yggdrasil. There was also fanfiction based on the worlds of YGGDRASIL or game guides in the form of diaries or novels.
The majority of the countless books in the library belonged to the first category, to summon some monsters as mercenaries. Of course, there was no need to actually hoard so many copies.
Even if they used the guild's entire gold supply, they still would be unable to use even one out of ten books. Because monster data was not very expensive, the guild members started making a massive number of duplicates. The intention had been to hide valuable items amongst a mass of useless ones.
Mare gave the books a sideway glance as he walked past them—
—And then a ghastly shadow suddenly appeared from beyond the bookcases, as if stopping him.
It wore a black hooded robe that seemed to blend into the library itself. On its belt was a jewelry embedded wand, with various straps interweaved with crystals. It had a pale face that looked as if it had been embalmed. Every time it moved, darkness swirled around it ever so subtly. It was an infamous monster amongst undead magic casters types, an Elder Lich.
Their nickname in Yggdrasil was "white palter of false wealth". Since it was only level 30, it had the second-lowest rank in the hierarchy of Elder Lich type. There were also other subspecies that had different colours called "red palter of false wealth" and "black palter of false wealth".
What differentiated it from other elder liches was the fact it wore an armband on its left arm. The words "Librarian J" were written on it.
"Welcome, Mare-sama."
The elder lich spoke in a cracked voice that was barely audible. It bowed respectfully with one hand on its chest.
"I-I came to see the Chief Librarian. Is he, uh, in the inner chambers?"
The elder lich looked as if it was thinking for a second before replying.
"The Chief Librarian has started crafting scrolls not too long ago, so he should be in the Crafting Room."
"Thank you."
"I shall guide you to him. Right this way."
"It's alright! I don't want to interrupt you."
"Please do not mind it. It is our role to help the visitors."
It would be rude to reject him after all this.
"Alright, thank you then."
The Elder Lich made a frightening smile and started walking. Mare looked at the other Elder Lich-type undead he passed by, while following the one that was guiding him.
"Then I shall return these books for you."
"Ah, please. Thank you."
The elder lich looked at the title of the book he received from Mare. "Ah, 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'. Did you find it interesting?"
"Yes, it was very fun! I was wondering what I should read next."
"Then I have a recommendation for you. It's a book that will make you laugh non-stop. It's about murder— Ah, this way."
"Thanks."
Mare opened the door it pointed at.
The room was wide open, but the humongous bookcases at all sides of the room radiated an invisible pressure. Inside the bookcases were countless catalysts such as minerals, precious metals, stones with special attributes, gems, various powders and the organs of animals, all arranged in a neat fashion. Besides those items, there were countless parchments both rolled and unrolled. All these items were materials to make scrolls with.
Of course, these were not all of the Great Tomb of Nazarick's resources. The Treasury contained several hundred times the amounts of the resources here. What was in this room was purely for what was needed here and now.
In the middle of the room was a big drawing board with a parchment on top of it. In front of it was a skeleton of something that looked like a hybrid between a human and an animal. It was not that big, perhaps 150 cm tall. It had two horns resembling those of a devil coming out from its skull, its hands each ended in four fingers and its feet were hoofed.
This strange figure was robed in a saffron-coloured himation. Also there was one himation on its head, wrapped like a hood so the horn would not rip it, and there was one on its waist as well. There were other accessories, such as a silver bracelet embedded with seven differently coloured gems, a necklace with a golden ankh, various rings that looked like twisted fingers and gems on the himation that served as a waist belt. They were all magical items with considerable mana stored inside them.
Although its appearance and equipment were strange, it was actually one of the first undead species, a skeleton mage. It would be a step below the elder lich he had just met. But this one skeleton mage was the Chief Librarian of this humongous library, Titus Annaeus Secundus. It was an NPC created by a Supreme Being for crafting skills rather than combat skills. Its overall levels were also higher than the elder lich from before.
"Greetings, Guardian Mare. I welcome thee."
"Hello, Titus-san. I have a favour to ask."
"Of course, of course. I shall heed thy request."
"Y-yea. Uh, you know, I was wondering if you could lend me some servants over level 75 from here."
"I understand. Thou seek'st to go outside."
"Huh? Y-yeah. You guessed it."
"Mine ears hath never forgotten a word from the Supreme Overlord Ainz-sama. Also, considering thy position, 'tis an easily deducible conclusion — Good!"
He made a decision in a flash.
"I shall lend thee the Overlords of this Library: Cocceius, Ulpius, Aelius, Flavius and Aurelius."
"Eh? Really?!"
"Of course. Verily, their presence here is an extravagance. They would rejoice having the chance to defend thine person as opposed to these ancient tomes."
"T-then, uh, thank you very much!"
"But that doth not mean it shall be for free. I shalt ask one thing from thee; to aid in the creation of a scroll."
"Ah, yes! What do I need to do?"
"Be at ease. When I speaketh so, activate thine 4th tier magic towards the scroll."
"C-can it be any kind of magic?"
"The decision shalt be thine to make."
Mare frowned. It was most difficult for him when he needed to make a decision. He wondered if a regular spell would be fine.
Titus reached for a small table besides the drawing table with a parchment laid on top. There was a mound of gold coins gleaming on top of the small table, gold coins from Yggdrasil. Some of the Yggdrasil gold melted under the skeletal hands and flowed onto the parchment as if it had a will of its own. The golden fluid flowed to a point on the parchment before spreading out. In the time it took to take a breath, there was an intricate golden magic circle on top of the parchment.
"Ready."
Mare quickly cast the spell after waiting tensely and he could feel his magic being sucked into the magic circle. A regular scroll would have been complete at that stage, or so Mare thought. Until—
—There was a scarlet flame. Something that should not have happened occurred. Mare watched on in panic as the parchment burned up like high alcohol content liquor and vanished within the blink of an eye.
There was no trace of what had happened, as if it had been an illusion all along. Not even the smell of burning remained. But there was one piece of evidence that spoke of what had taken place.
It was the ashes from the parchment. Titus picked them up as if he had expected it to happen.
"T'would seem, it cannot hold a 4th tier spell. The puissance of the wonderworker changeth nought about the outcome."
Titus wrote down a memo saying "Heat: ten year's old skin cannot withstand" while grumbling.
"Uh, w-why was it like that? Did I…"
"Thou doth need not mind. Mine experiments with the bounty of this world hath been devised to limit the depletion of Nazarick's reserves. But surely this harvest must be of a base quality, not of dragonhide."
There were limits on what kind of materials could be used for scrolls, depending on the tier of magic they were intended to contain. For example, regular parchment could be used to store 2nd tier magic, but nothing above that. A scroll made with materials of the highest tier like dragonhide, could contain even 10th tier magic.
Of course, dragonhide was an extremely rare item that could not be obtained except from killing a dragon. All the members of Ainz Ooal Gown used to hunt dragons together back in the past, but that was back in the days of YGGDRASIL. Because of that, Ainz limited the usage of dragonhide until they could confirm the existence of dragons and other creatures in this world. There was bound to be a moment they would need the materials, and it was foolish to use their supplies without being able to replenish them.
"No, not my dragons!"
"Perish the thought. No need for such measures exists. Thine dragons were specially summoned by the wills of the Supreme Beings. T'would be unthinkable to harm such blessed beings."
Titus disposed the ash, which was all that remained of the scroll, into a waste bin. As he did so, he looked at the relieved Mare.
"Uh, does that mean the parchment from this world isn't suitable for making scrolls?" Mare said as he wondered about the ash.
"T'would be very likely. Or not… I recant my previous statement. 'Tis difficult to tell. 'Tis not unthinkable for mine methods of artifice to be a deviance in this world. For instance, the methodology of potion manufacture diverges vastly from those methods I know to be efficacious."
"T-that's a possibility? But are you sure it's the parchment's fault after just one failure?"
"Just one? I hath experimented repeatedly with various parchment materials from the surface. But with magic over 3rd tier, t'all ended the same: in flames. Tis most likely because the parchment could not contain the magic and combusted as the result."
"But don't the magic casters in this world use parchments like the one from just now?"
"In all likelihood, the magic casters of this world utilize regular parchment. I cannot conclude that practice is universal in all the countries of this world. But when utilizing the parchment found in the countries near Nazarick—"
Titus took out a roll of parchment that was a little different from the one he just used.
"—the experiment concludeth that 1st tier magic was the limit."
"Does that mean humans have always been using crude and unrefined materials?"
"Probably not. The difference doth lie in the process of manufacture. Though it paineth me to admit it, their technique is quite refined. I can but master this new methodology and thereby improve myself."
"You're amazing!"
Mare felt respect towards the Chief Librarian who took great effort to polish and improve his abilities.
"Tis be thanks to all the Supreme Beings. Now then, Guardian Mare, I shall lend thee the Overlords as promised."
Mare arrived in a stone building in middle of the lizardmen village after depositing the ring back in Nazarick and using mass teleportation.
The lizardmen did not possess the capabilities to build with stone materials, which needed a strong and solid foundation in humid and marshy land. It was a given that outsiders had built it, the ones dispatched from Nazarick.
One of the reasons why Nazarick had bothered to send someone over to build something like that stood behind Mare, in the deepest part of the building. Mare bowed towards the figure and so did the overlords who accompanied him.
The figure that was a couple steps above the ground was a stone statue of the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown. The statue looked extremely realistic, as if Ainz himself had been petrified, and the way it was swinging the staff to the front gave a commanding aura that was befitting of a ruler.
There were numerous offerings laid out in front of the stone statue. From Mare's point of view, all these offerings were worthless. They were trivial objects such as flowers and fish. But Mare was not displeased by the offering. The tributes conveyed clear feelings of admiration and worship.
For example, flowers did not grow in the marshes, but in the forest. As the forest was dangerous for the lizardmen, someone must have risked his life to get these flowers. Also, the fish were far bigger than the ones the lizardmen ate and he could tell they had selected the best to offer.
So Mare nodded his head in satisfaction. The fact that some rabble from nowhere had finally recognized the greatness of his master made him happy.
"Thanks for the hard work."
Mare spoke first to some lizardmen who were fidgeting and stealing glances his way. They were there to clean the temple. They all possessed the abilities of a druid and one their neck was a medal with the guild symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Between them and Mare, their difference in their statuses was like the gulf between the heavens and the earth. Their relationship was that of a ruler and a servant and there was no need to praise them for their hard work. But due to their respect to Lord Ainz, Mare felt a sense of satisfaction and praised them.
Then, Mare left behind the lizardmen who were bowing and left the temple with the overlords.
What stood before them was the swamp and the lizardmen village. It was more prosperous than before. Their population had decreased due to the war, but with the five tribes united, they formed a large and healthy village.
Wooden stockades surrounded a large area, though one would wonder how they had managed to erect watchtowers on soft ground. White skeletons, probably Nazarick Old Guarders, stood watch with their bows from the top of the watchtowers. They appeared to be patrolling to ensure that no intruders could make their way inside.
"Uhmmm, where would Cocytus-san be?"
Coctyus was easily recognizable in more ways than one. If he was in the village, he would be spotted easily and even if he was in one of the houses, since his servants would be standing around outside. Mare had looked around the entire village, but Cocytus was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, let's go look for him."
Mare looked at the swamp and at the peaceful lizardmen village. There was no sign of anyone being wary of the Nazarick Old Guarders and the lizardmen children did not seem to mind either. They co-existed as if it was natural.
Even though the undead invaded this place and they're now subjugated, they don't seem to hold any grudges. Is it because Cocytus-san's integration policy is working well or are the lizardmen naturally like this?
Mare and company walked towards the centre of the village.
They noticed there was another waterfront of a swamp different from the one before. A sizeable construction was underway. The water was dammed off and close to ten stone golems dug up the dirt and the lizardmen carried off the dirt in a handcart off to somewhere. When Mare was observing and wondering what they were doing, a lizardman saw and approached them.
With her white, smooth scales, she stood out among the other lizardmen in many ways. The medal on her neck swayed left and right from hurriedly running over. It was the symbol of being a subject and a way to protect them, but the medal itself had no magical properties. The fact they wore it around their neck showed that they were Ainz's "property". Thus, no one under the command of the Great Tomb of Nazarick's Supreme Being was to harm the lizardmen. Of course, if there was a good reason for a lizardman to die, that was a different story. Whether they were lucky or not, lizardmen showed respect to the "strong and none dared to step out of the line.
"Welcome, Mare-sama. My name is—"
"Crush Lulu, right?"
"…That's right. It's an honour for you to remember me."
"Ah, I heard it from C-cocytus-san… Say, do you know where he is at right now?"
Crush appeared to be deep in thought.
"He headed out with his subordinates to subjugate the Toadmen with a sizeable number of lizardmen for area familiarization. I'm sure he'll be successful, but I can't say when he'll be back exactly, though surely by sunset—"
"Toadmen?"
"They're demi-humans living in the north eastern side of the lake. They look similar to frogs and aren't friendly with us. They have the skills to tame large monsters, so they're a very annoying opponent for us. I heard there was a big war in my father's father time. It seems we suffered a devastating defeat, to a point that one of the tribes had to disband."
"They sound strong. Fitting for a species living to the north."
This lake looked as if two lakes were joined together in shape of a gourd. To the south was the smaller lake - where lizardmen lived with roughly half being the swamp and other half being the lake. Since the water level was relatively low, there were not many large monsters. Comparatively, the northern part of the lake was deeper with many gigantic monsters and they tended to be stronger. Of course, from Mare's point of view, the difference was tiny.
But his curiosity certainly wasn't tiny.
"… This is a different topic, but it looks like you're building something big here. What's it for? It "doesn't look like a defense system for the village…"
"Yes, we're building the fourth fish farm."
Mare understood after she explained the details.
It was good that the lizardmen tribes were united, but there was the issue of their food supply. Even though there were many who died in the war, there was limited amount of food they could hunt from this area alone. The solution was to go back all the way to where the old villages used to be and hunt there, but the new overseer of the Lizardmen, Cocytus, did not allow this.
Unlike when moving in large groups, like an entire tribe, when travelling in small numbers, there were chances of being attacked by monsters. Cocytus was worried that the already small number of lizardmen would be reduced even further. So Cocytus tackled the issue of food head-on for the prosperity of the lizardmen.
First, he had brought over food from Nazarick, with Ainz's permission, and distributed it to the lizardmen. Next, he searched for a way to gather food semi-permanently. What naturally caught his attention was Zaryusu's fish farm. After a discussion with Demiurge, Cocytus went ahead with creating an even more effective fish farm. The construction of fish farms were being carried out at extreme speed, and there were currently three gigantic fish farms, with this one, the fourth, on the way.
"But you can't start farming them while they're hatchlings, right?"
"Yes. Our - no - my husband's knowledge only relates to raising the fish that were somewhat grown already. But Demiurge-sama taught us the basics, so we're also preparing the fish farm for the hatchlings as well. I predict that within few years, we'll have doubled the food supply just from the fish farm."
"I-is that so. In a few years, we won't need to bring in any fish from Nazarick. And of course, you'll always be able to get them during an emergency."
"We are all grateful to Ainz-sama from the bottom of our hearts. It was because he gave us so many fish… Speaking of which, the fish we received had no organs. How did they live? Are they creatures that don't need food, like some monsters? No, considering they don't have any bones as well…"
"It's food made by the Supreme Beings like Ainz-sama."
What Cocytus brought over was food made with item called "Dagda's Cauldron".
"Is that true! He could create enough fish for all of us to eat!"
She shook her head solemnly.
When Zaryusu and others staying over at the great castle came back for a bit, they told stories of a dream-like world. They told of the various worlds in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, like a true realm of a god.
"Is that so. This is all thanks to Ainz-sama. Thank you."
"Alright. I'll convey your thanks to him. Anyway, while we wait for Cocytus, can you show me around?"
"Of course, Mare-sama. But I'm sure Cocytus-sama will soon be back after a glorious victory."