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Overlord - Chapter 14
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1
“What is wrong with this food?”
A shrill, hysterical voice sounded, followed by the hard clatter of silverware hitting dishes.
Several people in the dining room turned toward the woman making all the racket. Her face was more than the word beautiful could imply. Her looks were perhaps equal to that most gorgeous princess of the kingdom, the one called Golden. Even warped in her rage, she was lovely. And despite the disturbance she was causing, her movements were elegant and even refined. She had to be a noble from somewhere—the daughter of an elite noble, at that. Pushing back her long ringlets in exasperation, she scowled disapprovingly at the food set in front of her.
The table was crammed with dishes. There were several soft white rolls, just baked and steaming faintly, in a basket. A thick slab of red meat, grilled rare and dripping juices, was arranged temptingly on a plate with sweet corn and mashed potatoes made with loads of butter. The salad of fresh vegetables was still crisp, and its dressing gave off a refreshing citrus scent.
The meals at Fortress City E-Rantel’s finest inn, the Golden Glimmer, were prepared with food that had had Preservation cast on it to retain its freshness—by a more than first-rate chef, of course. This dinner was like a work of art, born of the preparation of the finest ingredients by the most renowned cooks. It was a repast that only royalty, nobles, and successful merchants could eat—and this woman was openly expressing dissatisfaction with it.
It was only natural that the people hearing her remarks, in addition to being surprised, would take an interest in the food they’d always eaten without thinking.
“It’s awful!” Her words seemed so out of place that everyone was dumbfounded for a moment.
During this scene, the only one with unwavering posture and an unchanging expression was the elderly butler in attendance behind her. Even when she whirled around, eyes full of intense emotion, his face remained the same, as if he had no other expressions.
“I can’t stand this city! Make preparations to leave immediately!”
“But miss, it’s already ni—”
“Shut up! I said we’re leaving, so we’re leaving! Got it?”
In response to the childish tantrum, the butler broke his posture for the first time and bowed his head. “Understood, miss. I’ll make departure preparations right away.”
“Hmph! If you understand, Sebas, then hop to it!” She flung the fork she’d been holding, and it c-clanged. Then, indignant, she stormed out of the main dining room.
In the relaxed atmosphere left in her wake, like the calm after a cloudburst, a dignified voice spoke. “Everyone, please excuse the disturbance.” After putting back in place the chair that had nearly toppled over when the woman stood up, the butler slowly bowed to the other diners. Upon receiving the fine old man’s perfect apology, some gazed at him with pity.
“Sir—”
“Yes?” A man who had been standing by quietly moved next to the butler.
“Do excuse us. I hardly think it will suffice as an apology for the commotion, but please allow me to pay for everyone’s meal.”
The faces of the few people who heard what he said lit up with delight they couldn’t conceal. The price for a single meal at the city’s finest inn was something else. For such a price, tolerating a little disturbance was no problem.
Meanwhile, the manager was unfazed, and he responded to the butler’s proposal with a bow. The natural flow of the exchange was evidence that this scene had played out several times since the arrival of this master-servant pair.
Sebas’s eyes moved to a seemingly poor man stuffing his face in one corner of the dining room. Realizing this, the fellow hastily stood and trotted over.
He seemed extremely out of place compared to the other diners. For starters, his appearance didn’t have any of the quality or dignity of the others’, which made him stick out severely. His clothing was the only part of him that compared favorably with the other customers, but it was almost as if the clothes were wearing him; it was even comical how much he looked like a clown clad in finery.
“Sebas, sir…”
“What is it, Zach?”
The other diners furrowed their brows upon hearing Zach’s obsequious way of speaking. With that brownnosing tone, it would be no surprise to find him rubbing his hands together greedily.
However, Sebas’s expression didn’t change.
“Though it may be bold of me as a hired hand, I think it might be best to reconsider leaving at this hour.”
“Because it’s difficult to drive the carriage at night?”
“Well, there’s that, and also, I…uh…need a, I mean…must prepare for the journey, sir.” Zach scratched his head. It seemed like he was freshly washed, but even so, he scratched so hard he scattered everywhere around him whatever he was picking off. Several people’s brows furrowed further. Whether he realized it or not, the speed of his scratching increased.
“But I don’t think the young lady will like your suggestion. No, given her disposition, I don’t imagine she will change her mind,” Sebas declared with a steely look. “So we have no choice but to depart.”
“But yeah…” Eyes darting here and there, he tried to come up with an excuse but couldn’t, and he grimaced.
“Of course, we can’t leave immediately. I have to load the young lady’s bags into the carriage, which will take a little while. Please make the necessary preparations during that time.”
The poor-looking man had a crafty glint in his eye as he went to speak again, but Sebas nonchalantly ignored it—because everything was going according to plan. “So then, what time will we leave?”
“Hmm. How about two or three hours from now? That’s probably the latest we can push it. If we wait longer than that, the highway will be pitch-black.”
Another indecent, calculating gleam appeared in the man’s eyes. And Sebas once again made an effort to ignore it. Licking his lips a few times, Zach spoke. “Heh-heh. That’s probably fine.”
“Good. Then will you go now and get ready?”
After watching Zach go, Sebas waved away the air around him—he felt unclean, like some kind of dirt was sticking to him.
Thanks to his stony demeanor, he was able to suppress the urge to sigh. Frankly, he couldn’t get himself to like inferior beings. His colleagues, like Demiurge and Shalltear, were able to find some joy in treating them as toys, but Sebas didn’t even want to be near them.
The collective understanding inside the Great Tomb of Nazarick was “Those not of Nazarick are inferior creatures” and “With very few exceptions, humans and subhumans are weaklings who should be squashed underfoot.” To Sebas, who agreed with his Creator’s idea that “You can’t claim to be strong if you don’t save the weak,” it was a puzzling way to think, but when he had to deal with someone like Zach, he began to think that perhaps Nazarick’s fundamental opinion was right after all.
“Dear me. And humans are supposed to be such wonderful creatures…” Sebas stroked his neatly trimmed beard with one hand and switched gears to consider what he should do next.
The plan was going well, but he did need to check in with the overseer. As he was thinking about what he needed to do from here on out, he noticed a man draw near to him.
“Seems like you’re in a troubling situation if you have to leave right now.” He was probably in his late forties. His hair was neatly cut, and there were many white strands mixed in among the black. Due to his age and eating well, he had collected quite a bit of excess around his midriff. His grooming gave him a sophisticated appearance, and his clothing struck a balance between gaudy and high class.
“If it isn’t Baldo, sir.” Sebas gave a slight bow.
Baldo generously stopped him. “Ahh, no, no. Please don’t be so formal.”
This man, Baldo Lauffray, was a merchant who was involved in a rather large chunk of the food business in the city and had spoken to Sebas several times. Controlling a commanding share of the food market in the Fortress City E-Rantel, a critical base in wartime, meant that among all the merchants, he was one of the more powerful.
Once the ranks of soldiers grew to tens of thousands, carrying reserve provisions became costly and laborious. For that reason, the kingdom’s general strategy was to march troops to this city carrying only the bare minimum and supply them here. As a result, unlike other cities, food and weapon merchants possessed quite a bit of authority here.
A man who could be counted among the most powerful in E-Rantel wouldn’t talk to someone just because he found himself eating in the same dining room. Therefore, there had to be some reason he was talking to Sebas. But Sebas and the others had been hoping for this as well.
“Sebas, he’s no good, that one.”
“Is that so?” His expression broke for the first time into a faint smile, and he responded politely in a tone that showed he knew exactly which “one” was meant.
“He can’t be trusted. Honestly, I can’t understand why you’d hire someone like that.”
Sebas got his brain’s gears spinning and searched for the most appropriate response. Telling the truth about why he’d taken on Zach was out of the question, but if he said he hired him without knowing the man’s reputation, Baldo would probably think he wasn’t a good judge of character, and his opinion of him would go down.
They had decided to leave this city, but he needed to avoid damaging his relationship with Baldo. There could come a time in the future when he would want to use him.
“That may be, but no one sold themselves as well as he did. His character may leave something to be desired, but his enthusiasm impressed the young lady.”
Baldo smiled awkwardly. His opinion of her must have just dropped another notch. Well, that was why she was along, although Sebas did feel a bit bad about it—forcing her to play the unlikable role, that is.
“I’m overstepping my bounds here, so please disregard what I’m about to say, but don’t you think you should make a complaint to your master?”
“You may be right, but when I think of the debt of gratitude I owe to this young lady’s father, I simply…”
“Well, there is something to be said for loyalty…,” Baldo murmured and then began hedging. “In that case, I could offer to send someone I trust along with you?”
“That won’t be necessary.” He spoke kindly, but it was a definitive refusal.
Baldo must have sensed his determination, and he tried a different angle. “Are you sure? I really think you should have a proper guard. It’s quite a ways to the capital. And unlike in the empire, the roads in the kingdom aren’t safe. I can set you up with a pretty trustworthy mercenary.”
The nobles who lived on the estates the road ran through provided highway security in exchange for tolls. Charging tolls was the nobles’ right. However, in many cases, they were just in it for the money, and the security they provided was often unreliable at best. As a result, travelers were often attacked by mercenaries turned thieves and bandits.
Thanks to the Golden Princess’s effort to address this problem, highway security forces under direct supervision of the king were out patrolling, but there weren’t very many, and it was not possible to gauge their effectiveness. Interference by the nobles, who feared their rights would be infringed upon, didn’t help matters.
The result was that the highways were not very well protected by the state.
For that reason, merchants generally practiced self-defense by enlisting adventurers or a gang of mercenaries they could trust. Someone as powerful as Baldo would surely know a number of extremely skilled, trustworthy mercenary groups. But Sebas couldn’t accept his offer.
“I imagine you can. However, the young lady isn’t fond of keeping a large entourage. I must do what I can to comply with her wishes.”
“Are you sure?” Baldo, seemingly at a loss, twisted his face into an exaggerated grimace, like a grown-up who was done trying to deal with a child’s tantrum.
“My apologies for being unable to accept your kind offer.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Frankly, I’m eager to do you a favor. If that isn’t possible, I’d like to make a bit of an impression, at least.”
The daughter of a rich merchant from a certain city in the empire and her butler escort—that was the guise under which they had come to this inn, and they gave off the impression of having the means that such a wealthy family would have. The one Baldo wanted to make himself known to was the rich merchant father.
Sebas smiled gently at the fish who had bitten his hook. “I’ll be sure to convey your kindness to my master.”
Something sparkled in the back of Baldo’s eyes, but a moment later, he had hidden it. It was a change normal people wouldn’t even notice, like the twinkle of a star, but it was more than enough for Sebas to catch.
“Well then, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going now. The young lady is expecting me.” He waited for the exact moment Baldo opened his mouth to forestall him.
Having been humored, Baldo observed Sebas’s expression for a moment before talking through a sigh. “Phew, well, I guess it can’t be helped. Sebas, next time you’re in town, come and visit me. My door’ll be open.”
“Indeed. I look forward to your hospitality.” As Sebas watched Baldo go, he murmured, “So many men, so many minds, huh?”
Baldo’s actions weren’t entirely driven by the ulterior motive of profit. Sebas could tell he was genuinely concerned for the lone woman and her butler. It’s because there are humans like him,because there are humans who try to save the weak, that I can’t dislike them. A refreshing smile he didn’t have to force played across Sebas’s face.
After knocking a few times and excusing himself, Sebas bowed and entered the room.
“Please forgive me, Master Sebas.”
As he closed the door, he was met by a woman bowing deeply. If the people from the dining room saw this scene, they would wonder what in the world was going on. The woman was the spoiled young lady with a temper who had been making such a racket earlier.
Her expression now was so calm, it was as if all the hysterics had been a fit of the imagination. The attitude she assumed was appropriate toward someone who held a higher standing. Her face and clothing were the same, but the woman inside seemed to have changed completely. There was one other odd thing, however: One of her eyes—the left one—was closed, though it hadn’t been in the dining room.
“No need to lower your head, Solution. You were only performing your duty. That is all.”
Sebas looked around the gorgeous, spacious room. Of course, to Sebas, who knew what it was like on the ninth level of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, it was nothing special, but that was perhaps an unfair comparison.
They didn’t have much luggage, and he saw that it had been gathered in one corner of the room. They were already prepared to depart. Sebas hadn’t gotten their things together, and there was only one other person it could have been.
“I would have done that. You did not need to trouble yourself.”
“What are you talking about? I couldn’t possibly force more work on you, Master Sebas.” The woman who had bowed—Solution Epsilon, one of the Pleiades combat maids—shook her head.
“Oh? But I’m supposed to be your butler.” Something youthful and mischievous appeared among the wrinkles on his face.
Seeing his heartfelt smile, Solution couldn’t help but finally break into an awkward grin. “It’s true that you’re my butler, Master Sebas, but I’m also your subordinate.”
“…Yes, that’s right. Then I will take the liberty of giving you an order as your boss. Your work is done. I will handle everything else until we leave, so until then, please relax here.”
“…Okay. Thank you.”
“Mistress Shalltear has most likely grown sick of waiting in the carriage. I will go tell her what time we’re leaving.” Sebas lifted up one of the heaviest-looking pieces of luggage with ease. Then, as if suddenly remembering the question, he asked, “By the way, is he working out?”
“Yes. He’s working out quite well.” She pressed on her left eye through her eyelid.
“What fortune. What is the current situation, then?”
“He’s currently meeting with a dirty-looking man. Would you like to hear what they’re saying?”
“That shall not be necessary. I will move the luggage, so a summary of the main points later will be fine.”
“Understood.” Suddenly her face began to warp. The corners of her eyes dropped, and her lips turned upward; it was a shape close to a smile, but this warping that could have been accompanied by a byoo sound was nearly impossible for a human face. The most apt way one might describe it would probably be “an expression made of clay that got squashed.”
“Oh, Master Sebas, I was wondering about something…”
“What is it, Solution?”
“When we’re done with that man, is it all right if I deal with him?”
Sebas fingered his beard with his free hand as he thought for a moment. “Hmm. If we can get Shalltear’s permission, you can do whatever you like.” Solution looked slightly disappointed, so to cheer her up, he continued, “Don’t worry. I am sure you can have at least one of them.”
“Really? Understood. Then please ask Mistress Shalltear for me. If possible, I’d like that one.” Solution grinned from ear to ear. It was a bright face that would steal anyone’s heart.
Along with some curiosity about the man who had made her look that way, Sebas felt some pity for him. He asked, “So what did he say to you?”
“That he couldn’t wait to enjoy me. So I think I’d like to enjoy him as well.” Her smile brightened.
She was like a child innocently looking forward to what would happen next.
2
It’s been a rotten life.
Hurrying down the road at a trot, the thought echoed through Zach’s mind: It’s been a rotten life.
Life in a kingdom village—the life of a peasant—was far from happy.
After tilling the land, the fruits of their hard labor were taken by the lord of the estate. If it was 60 percent being taken, they probably could have tolerated it. They could eke out a living on the 40 percent they were left with. But when it was 80 percent being taken, that was a huge problem. They could barely make it on 40 percent, so it goes without saying that trying to live on just 20 percent of their crop made their lives very difficult.
One year they had been left only 20 percent, Zach returned home exhausted from working in the fields to find his little sister gone. At the time, Zach was so young he didn’t realize what had happened. His little sister, whom he had loved so much, was missing, and his parents weren’t even looking for her. Now, he understood quite clearly. She had been sold off. These days, thanks to the efforts of the princess known as Golden, the practice had declined, but back then the buying and selling of slaves was commonplace in the kingdom.
So whenever Zach paid for a ********** or passed one in the street, he instinctively looked them squarely in the eye. He didn’t think he would find her, of course, and even if he did, he had no idea what he could say. But he still searched in spite of himself.
The burden of conscription fell heavily on families who lived in extreme poverty. The kingdom rounded up healthy young men from the villages and sent them to the battlefield to align with the timing of the empire’s periodic deployments. Losing their young men for even a month hugely impacted a village’s labor capacity. But that didn’t mean there weren’t those who felt fortunate to be hit by the draft.
Fewer members meant a family’s food consumption decreased. Since conscripted soldiers were given rations, some were able to experience a full stomach for the first time in their lives.
But that was, by and large, the only good part. Even though they were risking their lives to fight, unless they pulled off an amazing feat, there were no rewards. Actually, there were even times people got results and still didn’t get a reward. Only the really lucky ones were rewarded. And when they returned to their village, they had to face the hopeless reality that next year’s harvest would be down by however much labor had been lost during their absence.
Zach had been drafted twice, but it was the third time that changed his fate.
The battle ended, as usual, with little more than a skirmish, and luckily, he made it through alive. But when he thought to go back to his village, he suddenly stopped. As he looked down at the weapon in his hand, he was struck by divine inspiration: Instead of going back to the village, I should find some better way of life.
But as a peasant who had only the bare minimum of training he received on the march, there were not many options open to him. It wasn’t as if he had superior physical strength, and he obviously didn’t have one of those powers some people were born with. Even where knowledge was concerned, about all he knew was how to till the land, what seeds to plant, and when to plant them.
So what he did was to take the one thing he had, the gear temporarily issued him by the kingdom, and flee. He didn’t consider whether it would make trouble for his parents if he ran away. Even if it was so the family could survive, they had sold his little sister. He no longer had any love for them.
It was no easy thing for someone who didn’t know the lay of the land to escape without assistance, so it was fairly lucky that he met people who would help him.
The ones who helped him were a gang of mercenaries. Granted, as a peasant, Zach didn’t have much value for them, but they had lost lots of men in the war and were aiming to increase their numbers as quickly as possible; they were accepting almost anybody. They weren’t a proper organization, just a group of wartime sellswords who moonlighted as bandits.
There’s not much to say about Zach’s life after that. Better to have something than nothing. Better to steal than be stolen from. Better to make someone else cry than cry himself. That was how he lived.
He didn’t think it was wrong. He didn’t have regrets. He was further convinced of that every time he attacked someone and heard their screams.
Zach ran through the slums. He ran desperately, at the moment the sun was setting, through a world stained a deep red.
He’d been running almost the entire way since leaving the inn, so his breath was ragged and sweat beaded on his forehead. Fatigue made him want to rest, asked him if he wouldn’t like to catch his breath, but time was growing short, so he pushed himself to keep running.
And then when he turned tight around a corner—
“Watch out!” Someone who happened to be on the corner grumbled as they jumped out of the way with a metallic jangle.
It all happened so fast it took Zach by surprise, and he looked now at the black shadow.
It was a woman with a nice face. Because of the black cape she was wearing, she melted into the shadows, but from within the darkness shone two curious purple eyes looking straight at Zach.
His temper had grown shorter with exhaustion, so he yielded to his irritation and yelled at her. “That’s what I should say! You’re gonna get hurt! Look where you’re going!”
Though he’d meant to overwhelm her with his shout, she didn’t so much as flinch, just grinned.
The bone-chilling smile caused him to back up instinctively. He didn’t have the courage to draw the knife in his ****** pocket. He was like a mouse frozen by the glare of a lion.
That metallic noise he’d heard when she’d jumped out of his way must have been armor she was wearing. An armed woman—so she must be an adventurer? I picked a fight with the wrong person. Those thoughts went around in Zach’s brain along with the danger alert.
He had no intention of making light of her because “women are weak.” Zach knew that there were strong adventurer teams made up entirely of women. He’d heard the strongest man in the mercenary gang mention them once.
In comparison, Zach may have belonged to a gang of sellswords, but it wasn’t an overstatement to say he was among the worst swordsmen of the lot. That’s how he’d ended up with this kind of work.
As Zach regretted his actions, the flood of sweat elicited by his sprint quickly turned cold. Seeing the fear plastered on Zach’s face, the woman’s frightening smile mellowed into a satisfied grin.
“Mm, well, whatever. I don’t have time anyhow. But if I see you again, I’m gonna kick your butt!” the woman said casually and slipped past him.
He was curious as he watched her go and realized that she was heading into an area of the slums where no one lived. What was a beautiful lady planning to do there at such a late hour? It kindled his interest, but he had something else he needed to do at the moment. Ripping himself away, he set off running once more.
Soon he was moving down a block of the slums where dingy shacks lined the street. He quickly ran his eye over the area to make sure no one was tailing him. Since twilight was waning and the world was sinking into darkness, he made extra sure there were no figures lurking in the shadows. He’d checked numerous times along the way, but he still needed to look one last time.
Satisfied, he nodded, stood before a certain door catching his breath, and knocked three times. Then he waited five seconds and knocked four times.
The reaction to the sign came right away. He heard the squeak of wood from behind the door, and the plank covering the peephole moved. A man’s eyes peered out from the opening. They rolled to take in Zach. “Oh, it’s you. One second.” Without waiting for Zach’s reply, he replaced the plank. Zach heard the heavy sound of a key turning in the lock, and the door opened a crack.
“In ya get.”
The faint smell of something that had gone sour wafted out. This place was the total opposite of where Zach had just been. Expecting his nose to get used to it, he slipped inside.
Once the door was closed, the shack seemed dim and cramped.
The cafeteria-cum–living room just inside the door had a single table. There was one candle standing on it, throwing a weak glow.
A grimy man giving off that vibe reserved for those who made violence their occupation moved the table’s chair and plunked down in it. The wood shrieked. He had a firm build with a thick, muscular chest, and where his face and arms were bared, they had lingering scars. It was the weight of that kind of guy this chair was tasked with supporting.
“Hey, Zach. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“The situation has changed… It seems like our prey is going to move.”
“Agh. Now?”
Zach nodded silently, and the man scratched his scalp under his long, shaggy hair, mumbling, “This late…? Their timing’s awful! Ugh, you can’t do anything about it?”
“Seems tricky. It’s the lady’s demand.”
The man had heard about this woman a few times from Zach, and he scowled. “Use your head, old man! Tell them there’re scary bandits or whatnot out on the roads at night. Come on! …Even an idiot can come up with something. Arrgh. How about busting the carriage wheels? That’d make it so they’d have to leave tomorrow.”
“There’s no way! They’re already loading up the luggage! It’s better to just do it and get it over with.”
“Mm, I guess there’s that…” The man stared into space, thinking for a moment. “So when are they leaving?”
“In about two more hours.”
“Bit down to the wire, no? Agghhh, what should we do? If we get in touch now… There’s not much leeway, so it’ll be a bit of a pain, but they’re nice prey…” The man counted on his fingers as he figured out the schedule.
Standing by silently, Zach looked down at his own hands. “They piss me off, stupid rich people…” He thought of the girl he called the “young lady” and her beautiful hands. No one who had ever worked in a field had pretty hands like that. Peasant hands were all cracked from cold water and tough from hoeing—even their nails were deformed. There were only people with those kinds of hands in the country.
Zach knew the world was unfair, but—
He twisted his lips and bared his teeth. “I can have some fun with the lady, right?”
“I’m first, though. And we’re gonna be taking money for her, so you can’t go too hard. No major injuries.” A vulgar grin appeared on the man’s face. Perhaps driven by that lust, he stood up. “Okay, let’s do it. I’ll contact the boss.”
“Gotcha.”
“I’ll get ten guys together in the usual spot. Make sure you’re there in four hours. If you’re not, we’ll come to you, so be sure to make our prey go beddy-bye.”
3
A single carriage left the Fortress City.
It was a large carriage, with plenty of room for more than six people, drawn by four solidly built horses.
The moon hung large in the sky, making it abnormally bright. That said, driving a carriage at this hour was an extremely foolish move. The smartest way to spend the night was to light a lamp, put someone on lookout, and camp.
Humans didn’t rule the world of the night. Or to put it more accurately, anywhere the sun did not reach was no domain of humans. In the shadows of the night lurked animals, subhumans—all variety of monsters. There were many beings, with eyes that could see in the dark, who would attack humans.
The carriage drove down the highway through that dangerous night, transmitting slight vibrations to the passengers. The reason there were few bumps was not due to superior shock mechanics but because the road was paved with cobblestones.
The cobblestone highway maintenance was initiated due to a proposal by the Golden Princess, but so far only one area under direct jurisdiction of the king and the domain of one of the six great nobles, Marquis Raeven, was done being paved—because the nobility began claiming that if the roads got easier to travel, it would make it easier for the empire to invade.
There was also confusion about who was to bear the cost of the road repairs. Princess Renner’s proposal to get merchants to donate funds hit a setback when the nobles of each domain opposed it, feeling that their right to control the highway would be infringed upon. The result was the current heavily potholed state of the roads.
This area under the king’s direct jurisdiction was well maintained. Even so, it wasn’t perfect. The carriage suddenly lurched with a clank, and everyone inside felt it.
With the bump, conversation inside cut off as if they’d reached a stopping point for one topic. The passengers were Sebas and, beside him, Solution; across from them sat Shalltear flanked by her minions and beloved concubines, two vampire brides. Zach, of course, was in the driver’s box.
After a brief period of silence, Sebas slowly began to speak. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”
“Hmm? To ask me? What is it?”
“You do not seem to get along very well with Mistress Aura. Is there a specific reason for that?”
“…I do not truly think she is so terrible,” Shalltear mumbled, gazing idly at the nail of her pinkie finger. It was pearly white and three-quarters of an inch long. She was toying with a file in one hand, but her nails were already well shaped and didn’t need any work. She seemed to decide she no longer required the nail file, so she flung it at one of her vampire brides.
Then she went to reach out with her now-empty hands toward the chests of the vampires on either side of her until she noticed the expressions of the others, made an awkward face, and stopped.
“It doesn’t seem that way…,” Sebas continued.
Shalltear’s face twisted up like she’d bitten something bitter. “I…ahem, I… Okay. I simply tease her as I see fit because my Creator, Lord Peroroncino, decided we do not get along. Well, Lady BubblingTeapot may have set it so that Aura does not think highly of me, either.”
She waved a hand as if dismissing the topic as uninteresting, and her eyes met Sebas’s for the first time. “Actually, my Creator, Lord Peroroncino, and Aura’s Creator, Lady BubblingTeapot, are siblings. So in a way, it’s like we’re sisters.”
“Siblings—Is that so?!”
“I heard Lord Peroroncino talking about it a long time ago while he was walking through my territory with two other Supreme Beings, Lord Luci★Fer and Lord NishikiEnrai.” Unearthing the treasured memory of attending such great personages, Shalltear’s gaze filled with longing.
“And he said that Lady BubblingTeapot is engaged in a trade known as ‘voice acting’ and that she is rather popular and even provided her voice to ‘eroge’ as well. Sometimes, when Lord Peroroncino bought a great work he had been looking forward to, it would bring to mind his sister’s face, which depressed him.” Shalltear continued on to say that she had no idea what it all meant.
Sebas cocked his head, puzzled. “‘Voice acting’…? If I remember correctly, it involves a lot of talking. Apparently they also sing songs, so they must be similar to bards.”
Shalltear chuckled. “No.”
“No? What do you mean?”
“What I heard from Lady BubblingTeapot herself is that it involves using one’s voice to give something a soul. In other words, her job is to impart life!”
“Oh! Is that so? What an embarrassing misunderstanding on my part. I humbly thank you for informing me, Mistress Shalltear.”
Sebas and the others were given some knowledge upon their creation by the Supreme Beings, but that was all they had. With no idea of the real things, sometimes misunderstandings arose regarding, say, the occupations of the masters they so worshipped.
Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, Sebas repeated the meaning of voice acting under his breath several times.
“Never you mind. More importantly, Sebas, we’re traveling together and all, so you needn’t be so stiff.”
“Is that so, Mistress Shalltear?”
“To address me as Mistress… We both serve the Supreme Beings. The only reason a hierarchy exists is because of the jobs they gave us. Really, there’s no gap between us.”
That was true. The reason Solution served Sebas, too, was simply because she had been ordered to. Originally, they were equal in status.
“Understood, Shalltear. I will allow myself to refer to you by simply your name.”
“Good. Speaking of not getting along, what about you and Demiurge?”
Sebas pursed his lips.
Seeing that, Shalltear narrowed her eyes like a mischievous child and continued. “It’s not as if the Supreme Beings decided that you two should be that way, so what’s your excuse?”
“…I wonder… I do not quite know myself. It seems almost instinctive; I simply dislike him. Well, he feels the same, so…”
“Hmm… I don’t have anyone like that. Perhaps we harbor the feelings of the Supreme Beings who created us.”
“The possibility is high.”
Sebas nodded with deep feeling, and Shalltear stared at him. Then, considering his line of work, she made up her mind to ask the question she had. “Who’s on the eighth level? I know Victim is, but surely there must be others.”
Sebas raised his eyes slightly at this sudden topic change and gave her a sober look, trying to figure out her motive for asking. Beside him, Solution’s expression changed slightly, but it was such a small movement that it went unnoticed by the pair talking.
“When that large party of fools who opposed the Supreme Beings attacked, they broke through the seventh level but didn’t invade the ninth level where the Supreme Beings were. That means they were intercepted on level eight, correct? I don’t have any memory of it, but they must have come with quite a bit of war potential, so there would have to be someone with equal force to meet them. But nobody knows who. Well, Albedo knows, but that is because she manages things. It’d be strange if she didn’t know.” She continued without paying any mind to Sebas, who was silent. “…I somewhat loathe the feeling that she has one up on me. Who is this top-secret being? Could it be someone Lord Ainz created?”
Touch Me created Sebas, Ulbert Alain Odle created Demiurge, the Warrior Takemikazuchi created Cocytus. But Shalltear didn’t know who the most elite of the Forty-One Supreme Beings, Ainz—Momonga—created. He had to have created someone, so guessing that it was someone on the unknown eighth level made sense.
“…No, I do not believe so. I haven’t heard much, but the name of the one Lord Ainz created is Pandora’s Actor. He is as powerful as me and all the floor guardians, and he guards the deepest reaches of the treasury.”
“I don’t think I’ve heard of him.” Unlike Albedo, she hadn’t been given knowledge of all the beings inside Nazarick, so she was hearing this name for the first time. But even if one needed a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown to get to the treasury, it would be strange for it not to have any security—especially the area farthest inside. All of Ainz Ooal Gown’s best magical items were enshrined there, and she had heard there were even some World Items. Someone created by the most elite Supreme Being was the ideal individual to guard it.
Shalltear’s pride ached slightly at the thought that she couldn’t be the one to do it, but she consoled herself that there was no choice and figured that guarding the first three levels as the primary line of defense was a duty on par with protecting the treasury.
Besides, I’ve been given an important mission.
“Indeed, I have never met him myself, since one must wear the guild ring to reach the treasury.”
“Hmm…” Her reaction seemed to indicate that perhaps she had lost interest, but Sebas didn’t show whether he cared or not. “So in the end, the eighth level remains a mystery, hmm? …That’s too bad.”
“Indeed. We are not allowed to go there, so there must be something, no?”
“Something of what sort?”
“Perhaps something that would attack us?”
“Hrm. Not bad, but what of a death trap that activates with no questions asked?”
“I do not think opponents who were able to penetrate the impregnable Great Tomb of Nazarick—built by the Supreme Beings and protected by us devoted guardians—all the way to the seventh floor would be defeated by something so simple as that…”
“Shall we not sneak a peek, hmm?” Shalltear smiled like a kid who’d come up with a good prank.
In response, Sebas’s face had his usual smile—just a bit bigger. “You would disobey Lord Ainz?”
“No, no, ’tis a joke. Please give me not that frightful glare.”
“Shalltear, curiosity killed the cat. We must wait until Lord Ainz feels it’s time to tell us.”
“You’re right… So, did our prey take the bait?”
Sebas replied without any mention of the sudden change in topic. “Yes, perfectly. All we have to do is reel him in.”
After giving a shallow nod, Shalltear licked her lips and her crimson eyes lit up with a singular sparkle.
Sebas knew at once what that meant and judged this to be a good time to bring up Solution’s request. “About that—there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“…What?” She grumbled at being interrupted in the middle of her happy imaginings of the coming scene.
Sebas continued in a calming voice. “I wonder if you would not mind giving the driver to our Solution here?”
“…He’s an underling?”
“Yes, about messenger rank, I think.”
Hearing this, Shalltear closed her eyes and thought for a time. She must have considered various possibilities before giving her answer, but she nodded emphatically. “Then that’s fine. He doesn’t seem like he would taste very good even if I drank him dry, anyway.”
“Thank you. We’re grateful for your generous consideration.”
“Thank you, Mistress Shalltear.”
“Oh, ’tis nothing. Never you mind.” Shalltear gave a surprisingly tender smile to Solution. Then she moved only her eyes to Sebas. “I hope with this, you would please forget my earlier gaffe.”
“Understood. I never thought you would actually do something so utterly foolish in the first place. A fine joke.”
“Yes, I know. If you had done something like that to me, I probably would have felt the same way. Then I wouldn’t say a word, but I’d have some minions keep an eye on you, and if it seemed like you were going to rebel, I’d immediately rend you limb from limb, then take you in chains to Lord Ainz.”
“I would not do such a thing, Shalltear.”
“You wouldn’t? That almost brings your loyalty into question! Surely you would!” Shalltear and Sebas laughed together, truly enjoying themselves.
“Well, I am an ally to cuties. Moreover, I’m sure it’ll be fun in its own way to give him to Solution after we’re through…”
“So how do you intend to capture them, Shalltear? Paralysis? Hold Person?”
Before leaving for E-Rantel, Ainz had given Sebas the order to “capture humans who can use magic or martial arts—but aim for people whose disappearance won’t be an issue, like criminals.” As part of that plan, Sebas was playing the role of a butler under the thumb of an airhead daughter of a successful merchant. They had been waiting, but then a fish named Zach took their bait.
Shalltear’s role was to catch that fish along with the rest of his school.
“Ha, I don’t want to do something so involved. Lord Ainz said he didn’t mind if I drank their blood and made them slaves as long as I caught them. Investigating each one seems like a bother, so I’ll just drink them all up.”
Sebas nodded without vocalizing his, I see. But if that was her plan, he had some serious worries. It was due to this appraisal that he slipped up and said, “In that case, perhaps Demiurge would have been best for this mission. He can manipulate opponents like Aura can with her breath…”
Demiurge had a skill called Incantation of Influence, a powerful mind-control ability. It would have been incomparably useful for this type of job where they had to capture their opponents.
“…Huh?!” All of a sudden Shalltear emitted an unbelievably low grunt.
The atmosphere in the carriage was suddenly very heavy, flooded with a skin-penetrating chill. As if even the horses sensed it, the carriage suddenly lurched with a huge clunk. The pale skin of the vampires on either side of Shalltear grew paler, and Solution’s whole body trembled. Even Sebas, who was, theoretically, as strong as her, felt a chill go up his spine.
She had the strongest genuine urge to kill out of all Nazarick’s floor guardians. An animosity swirled that made it clear that all her scuffles with Aura were nothing but child’s play. Depending on how this was handled, a battle only one would walk away from could break out.
From Shalltear’s crimson irises, vermilion spread over the whites of her eyes like oozing blood. “Sebas—try saying that again. Or would you, a dragonman, want to fight me in your current form”—her fully crimson eyeballs rolled wildly—“to the death?”
“I misspoke. Please forgive me. I just worry that perhaps your Blood Frenzy may activate…”
Shalltear responded with silence.
Sebas could tell it was because she was worried about that herself.
In Yggdrasil, strong classes were given weak points and penalties to make the game balanced. One of Shalltear’s handful of penalties was that if she got too much blood on her, she would be at the mercy of her killing urge, and in exchange for a jump in combat ability, she would lose control—Blood Frenzy.
So Shalltear was liable to ignore orders and go on a rampage. Ainz had actually chosen her for this mission by process of elimination. Albedo had to protect the Great Tomb of Nazarick while he was gone. Then out of the two remaining guardians, Cocytus and Shalltear, Shalltear was the only one who could pass for human at a distance.
For a few seconds she breathed deeply in and out. It was probably to control her anger but perhaps also to suppress the anxiety that had welled up in her mind.
She took one last big breath and her face was the same as always—that of a bewitching, innocent little girl. The color of her eyes had also gone back to normal.
“…Anyhow, it’s faster if we drink them up because then they’re our slaves. And it’s not as if we have to bring them back alive. Lord Ainz said it’s fine. And I’ll keep Blood Frenzy under control.”
By sucking up all of someone’s blood, vampires could create unconditionally obedient subordinates. Normal vampires could make only lesser vampires of inferior intelligence, but Shalltear could create vampires that had more or less the same mental faculties as humans. There was a limit to the number she could make, but when operating on the premise that it didn’t matter if the captives were taken dead or alive, she was surely a superior hunter.
“Yes, I will do a splendid job carrying out the duties Lord Ainz bestowed upon me, and my praises he will sing: ‘Nice job. You’re my most precious slave.’ And then he’ll say, ‘You are the one most fit to stand at my side.’”
“Please forgive my thoughtlessness.” This was an honest expression of Sebas’s feelings. What he had said was abusive toward Shalltear, and also…“I didn’t realize it was a slight to Lord Ainz for choosing you, as well—how rude of me. I hope you will forgive this unpleasantness.”
Just as he was saying, “And you as well,” with bows to Solution and the vampires, the carriage jolted and they heard the horses neighing.
“…We appear to have stopped.”
“Yes…”
Shalltear had been deep in a daydream about the joy her successful completion of this mission would bring her master, but now she grinned like a little girl planning something naughty. Sebas stroked his beard with a silent smile.
4
The ten men who had come out of the nearby forest made a half circle around the carriage. They were all outfitted differently. Not all their equipment was well made, but it wasn’t shoddy, either, and it was clear they took care of their weapons.
They were talking among themselves, wondering what to do with their prey, what order they should go in, and so on. They were completely unguarded. They had done this innumerable times—it would have been stranger if they felt randomly nervous for this one.
Zach hopped out of the box seat and trotted over to the men. Of course, he cut the reins beforehand to ensure no escape. He had also already rigged one of the doors so it wouldn’t open—only the door facing the group of men would work.
The men flashed their weapons so the prey inside the carriage could see—a silent warning about what would happen if they didn’t hurry up and get out.
As if in reply, the carriage door slowly opened.
A beautiful woman came into view in the moonlight. The mercenaries—no, the bandits—focused their vulgar grins and lusty stares on her. Delight was written on their faces.
One among them was shocked—Zach. His surprise in a nutshell: Who’s that? He didn’t know. But he’d recognize the carriage anywhere. That discrepancy threw him into a sea of confusion, and he couldn’t say a word.
When another woman dressed the same way appeared, a couple of the others began to look perplexed. Zach had told them all he was bringing a young lady who didn’t know a thing about the world and her elderly butler. Then another girl appeared, who looked young enough to call a child, and all their doubts no longer mattered.
Her fine silver hair sparkled as it reflected the moonlight. Her crimson eyes glistened with a bewitching luster. Unable even to utter words of admiration, the bandits just sighed at her loveliness. It was a moment that proved how even animal lust would melt away in the face of true beauty.
An indecent smile played across Shalltear’s face, and she walked readily up to the men, basking in their fascinated gazes.
“Thank you all for gathering here for me. And may I ask who is the most distinguished among you? I’d like to do some negotiating. Is it you?”
Noticing that all the bandits turned to look at one man, she judged that she had all the information she needed. In other words, every other man was unnecessary.
“H-hmm? Negotiate?” The one who seemed like the leader finally recovered from his initial encounter with this peerless beauty and took a step forward.
“Ahh, forgive me. That was just a mischievous joke to gather some intelligence from you. Really, do forgive me.”
“Who the hell are…?” whispered Zach, and Shalltear turned to him.
“You must be Zach. I’ll hand over Solution as promised, so can we have you just wait over there?”
A few of the men looked at one another for an explanation, but—
“Heh. You have some pretty nice equipment there for a kid… Ooh, I’m gonna make you squeal.”
A bandit who happened to be standing in front of Shalltear reached out an arm for her chest, which was quite big for her apparent age. Then—it fell to the ground.
“Please don’t touch me with your filthy hands.”
He gaped at his arm, now missing everything past the wrist, and let out a late scream. “Ahhhhh! M-my hand! My haaaaaand!”
“You needn’t scream so much simply because you’ve lost a hand. You’re a man,” Shalltear said quietly, and nonchalantly waved her own. At the same time, the man’s head thudded to the ground.
She isn’t even holding a knife; how did she do that with just her pretty hands? All the bandits were reeling from the mental shock, dumbfounded by the dreamlike event—the scene was unreal. But fear of what happened next jolted them back.
The blood spewing out from the man’s severed neck gathered, as of its own will, above Shalltear’s head and formed a sphere.
Shalltear and the others from Nazarick knew it was made using the skill Blood Pool.
But the first thing the men thought, not aware of the true nature of the inhuman feat they were witnessing, was She’s a caster!
If they were a bit more knowledgeable, they should have been able to give a more specific warning. Caster was, at best, a broad category, and the way to approach them differed per class. The first thing one might think, seeing Shalltear clad in nothing but a dress, might be arcane-type magic. Or maybe psychic type. But since no one had cried out anything like that, it was safe to assume they had no understanding of magic; in other words, they thought anything they couldn’t understand was “magic.”
Shalltear looked at the bandits, who were scrambling to get their swords up, with disinterest. “Well, this is a bore. You two can take it from here. Just don’t do that or that…understand?”
“Yes, Mistress Shalltear.”
The vampires to her rear on either side stepped forward and punched the face off a bandit about to swing his sword at Shalltear.
It was like they’d hit him as hard as they could with metal rods. With a noise like a balloon popping, the bandit flew into the air. All kinds of matter—a mix of blood and brains—splattered out of his head. The fluids glittering in the moonlight were beautiful precisely because they were so horrifying.
The sound of the tumbling corpse pulled to the ground by gravity—with half its head blown away and pink brains spilled from the gaping wound—that was the bell that signaled the start of fear and agony for the bandits, joy to Shalltear, and the beginning of the battle.
Zach watched the scene unfold with a disbelieving, twitching smile on his face.
The scene before him was too much.
Just the smell of blood was making him sick. Human arms and legs were being torn off as if they were made from paper; heads gripped between two hands burst like pomegranates. Armor was ripped off, hands jammed into the torsos. Glistening-wet intestines, yards of them, were yanked out. That they didn’t immediately die from all this showed how resilient humans were.
On the ground was one who had tried to run and had both his legs smashed. There were white things—bones—protruding through the flesh and skin. He was frantically clawing at the dirt with both hands, trying to get even a little farther away from the fear, struggling to live even a little longer.
The young, peerless beauty’s off-key laughter as she looked down at the man prostrate at her feet, begging for his life, grated strangely on Zach’s ears.
Why is this happening…? Zach thought desperately.
No matter how one tried to sugarcoat it, the natural law at the root of this world was survival of the fittest. That the strong should take from the weak was completely and utterly normal, and Zach had done it himself. But he wondered still if things this awful should be allowed to happen.
There was no excuse. There was no way he could accept such horrific methods of killing. Then what do I do? They happened to not be attacking him at the moment, but if he tried to run, he was sure they’d do something to make it so he could never do such a thing ever again—something so painful it would make him vomit.
Through his clothes, he touched the dagger in his ****** pocket. How useless. These monsters could tear off people’s arms like they were nothing. There was no way he’d be able to fight them with that thing.
What did I do to deserve this? He’d never thought of doing a thing to these monsters.
Zach wrapped his arms around his body, as he was trying to hide himself, even a little bit. His rhythmically chattering teeth were too loud. What’ll I do if they hear me and come this way? He desperately tried to stop the noise, but the chattering continued against his will.
What are they, anyway? I have no idea who these freaks are.
Just as he thought that—
“Zach. Come this way.”
—he heard a voice behind him, a clear, refreshing voice that didn’t match the brutal display before him. He turned around, terrified, to find the one who had hired him standing there.
She was usually raising her conceited voice to make a fuss—he never imagined he’d see this expression on her face. If he had any presence of mind, he would have been on guard, but confused in this strange world reeking of blood, he had no leeway to sense something was off.
“Who are those people?!” His voice trembled as he shouted shrilly at the young lady who hadn’t seemed to know a thing about the world. “Don’t you think you should have told me they were coming if they were coming?!” Yeah. If she had done that, none of this would have happened. These horrors are all this unpleasant woman’s fault. “Don’t just stand there. Say something! This is all your doing!”
Fed by impatience and fear, Zach’s anger flared, and he reached out to grab Solution’s breasts and roughly shook them back and forth.
“Understood. Come this way.”
“…Y-you’ll save me?”
“No. I thought you could entertain me some at the end…” She put her cold white hands over the top of his and squeezed. Still holding them, she set off walking. “Master Sebas doesn’t much care for this sort of thing, so even though I have permission, let’s do it over here.”
Zach couldn’t understand what she was saying to him. Being taken off somewhere separately made him feel like maybe, just maybe, he had a chance at surviving.
He shut his ears to the screams that could still be heard behind them.
What could I have done? Zach was weak. There was no way he could have saved guys who were supposed to be stronger than he was.
“Please don’t be too rough. I’d like it…if you could be gentle.” She’d invited him into the shadow of the carriage, and while she was whispering, she reached around her back to loosen her dress. Zach was dumbfounded. What is she doing? He watched her as if he was studying a strange creature, trying to make out what it was doing.
Still, her hands didn’t stop, so he finally asked her, “Wh-what are you doing?”
“I wonder…” She loosened the bustier she was wearing underneath her dress.
As if waiting for that moment, the tightly restrained mounds jumped out. They came to conic points, and her white skin was almost translucent in the moonlight. Zach gulped in spite of himself.
“Go ahead.” She ****** her bare chest at him, all but saying, Touch me.
“What…?” Forgetting everything, he simply stared at her.
She was beautiful. She had a body more beautiful than any woman he’d ever seen before. Up until now, the prettiest girl he’d ever had was, as might be expected, in another raid on a carriage. By the time his turn had come around, she’d been limp and could barely move a muscle—she’d just spread her legs like a frog. That hadn’t stopped her from being beautiful, though.
But the woman he was with today was even more gorgeous and she would react. Desire lit a fire inside him. The area between his legs especially was growing warmer; panting like a dog, he slid a hand over her skin.
Silk—that’s what it felt like.
No longer able to hold himself back, he dug his fingers into her perfectly formed ****** and squeezed.
Glerp—his hand sank in.
Her skin was so soft Zach felt like his hand sank right into her—that’s what he thought at first, but with one look at his hand, he saw and understood a moment later that he was wrong.
His hand had literally sunken into her body.
“Wh-what is this?!” he yelped, unable to comprehend the situation, and tried to pull out his hand. It didn’t budge. And then, instead of coming out, it was dragged in farther. Inside, Solution’s body had countless tentacles. She wrapped them around his hand and seemed to be trying to suck him in.
Despite the strange circumstances, Solution’s shapely face didn’t register any change. She just gazed silently at Zach. She had the cold, merciless expression of a scientist who had just injected a test animal with a lethal substance. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Hey! Stop! Let me go!” Zach formed a fist with his free hand and slugged Solution in the face as hard as he could.
Once, twice, three times… He didn’t care if his fist got thrashed; he delivered hits with his full body weight behind them. Solution took his all-out punches straight to her pretty face without so much as flinching. It didn’t even look like she felt any pain. Meanwhile, what his hand felt when he punched her sent a shiver up his spine. It was like punching a soft leather bag submerged in water. The impact of hand to bone that he expected never came. She was definitely not human.
The hellish scene behind them that he’d forgotten in all the excitement flitted across his mind. He bit back a scream. He’d finally realized—that the woman baring her skin in front of him was a monster, too.
“Do you understand now? Then I’m going to start, okay?”
Before he could ask her what they were starting, his swallowed-up hand was assailed by acute pain, like it was stabbed by hundreds of pins at once.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
“I’m melting you.”
He heard her cold words through the pain, but he didn’t understand what they meant. The idea was too great a departure from the world he knew.
“I love watching things melt. And you said you wanted to get inside me, so it works out perfectly.”
“Gyyyaaaaagh! You fucking monster! Dieeee!” Zach spat, suppressing the pain as he drew the dagger in his ****** pocket. In one smooth motion, he dug it deep into Solution’s face. She jumped.
“That’s whatcha get!” But he realized how shortsighted he was a moment later.
What happens to the surface of a lake when someone stabs it with a knife? At most, maybe it makes some ripples. And that’s what happened now.
With the dagger still sticking out of her face, Solution rolled her eyes to fix them on Zach and began to speak.
“My apologies. I have physical attack resistance, so you can’t hurt me that way. Anyhow, I’m going to melt you now, okay?”
A pungent odor filled the air and a few seconds later the dagger slipped out of her face and fell to the ground, its blade dissolved. Her beautiful face beneath it was unharmed as claimed.
“What even are you?!” he whimpered. The fear of his imminent death made him half forget the insane amount of pain radiating from his hand, and now his eyes were shedding big teardrops. The answer he received made him want to plug his ears.
“A predatory slime. I don’t have much time, so I’m going to swallow you up all at once, okay?”
His arm was slurped inside her instantly. Her power was so overwhelming that Zach’s resistance was futile. “Stop stop-stop-stop-stop! Help-help-help!” He cried, screamed, and begged for his life, but the force that was sucking him into her body remained strong. It was strength a human had no chance at fighting, and it swallowed up his shoulder.
“Lilia!” With that name shouted as his last word, Zach’s face was sucked into Solution’s body. And the rest of his body was engulfed, just the way a snake eats.
In just a few minutes, there were no longer any living things in the area. Now, there was nothing but the pungent odor hanging in the air.
No, there was one man who still had his life. He worked his tongue furiously as he groveled at Shalltear’s feet—he was cleaning. She’d gotten some cerebrospinal fluid on her high heels when she randomly stomped on one of the bandits’ heads.
Once her heels had regained their pretty shine, she cast a satisfied look at him. “Nice work. Now then, as promised, we won’t kill you.”
The man’s face had been twisted in fear, but now he looked up at her from his bootlicking posture, moved with gratitude. He bowed frantically, giving thanks. Shalltear looked at the doglike man with a mother’s affection and then snapped her fingers.
“Drink up.”
The man realized what those words meant when the two vampire brides came up next to him.
“You’ll be given life as an undead, so I wasn’t lying.”
As she watched the vampire brides bite into him ferociously, his life draining swiftly out of him, Shalltear called to Solution, who was walking over from the direction of the carriage, adjusting her disheveled chest and neckline. “Oh, finished already?”
“Yes, I’m quite satisfied. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. We’re both from Nazarick, after all. So, did Mr. Human feel any good?”
“We’re still in the middle of it. Would you like to see?”
“Oh? Can I? Then could you show me just a bit?”
The man’s arm suddenly popped out of Solution’s face. A pungent odor filled the area—coming from the arm. Having been bathed in a strong acid, its skin was melting off, and the muscles smoked as the blood running over them reacted with the acid.
The arm, looking as though it had reached out of the surface of a lake, groped around frantically for something to grab onto. With each twist, fluids oozing from his dissolved skin went flying everywhere.
“My apologies, I didn’t realize he was still so lively,” Solution said with the arm still sticking out of her mouth. Then she began to casually cram it back into her face. Once she’d stuffed the flailing arm in all the way, she smiled again.
“Wow. It’s impossible to tell from the outside that you just swallowed a whole person.”
“Thank you. It’s because I’m empty inside. And I think, since I’m this sort of creature, there must be some magical effect at work.”
“Huh. Perhaps it’s none of my business, but when will he die?”
“Hmm. If you told me to kill him now, I could secrete a stronger acid, but he seemed to want to get inside me so badly; I think I’ll let him enjoy it for a day or so.”
“You can’t even hear him scream. Did you burn his vocal cords?”
“No, they sometimes suffocate if you burn their throats, so I put part of my body inside him to hold them still. That’s also how I keep the smell from coming out.”
“I must say, the amount of care you take with these things, enjoying them up to the last possible second, is impressive. So, can you pick where you want to burn? For example, could you choose just one part you want to burn?”
“Yes, I can do that quite easily. As proof of that, I have various items such as scrolls and potions stored in my body right now, and none of them are being harmed. I could move around like normal even if I put you inside me, Mistress Shalltear—that is, as long as you didn’t run amok in there…”
“Really? Wow, predatory slimes are fascinating… Would you care to have some fun together another time?”
“Sure…but what will we play with?” Solution flicked her eyes to the vampires behind them.
Shalltear noticed her reaction and smiled in delight. “They’re not a bad idea, but I was thinking that if there was an invader, we could catch it and ask Lord Ainz for permission…”
“Very well, then please call me when the time comes. It would be fun to swallow one up to their chest and leave the rest hanging out.”
“Nice. You must get along with the Officer of Torture.”
“Mistress Neuronist? The special-intelligence-gathering officer? Unfortunately, I can’t keep up with her.”
Shalltear was about to open her mouth to speak again when a voice called out from behind them. “Solution. Everything is ready here. Let’s leave soon, shall we?” Sebas had changed the reins and was sitting in the driver’s box.
“Of course. I am coming now. Mistress Shalltear, I regret to take leave, but if you’ll excuse me.”
Shalltear looked up at Sebas while Solution bustled into the carriage. “Well, Sebas, we part ways here.”
“I see. So you know where the bandit hideout is now?”
“Yes, we’re going to attack it and see if there is anyone with the type of information Lord Ainz is seeking. This time was a disappointment.”
“I see. It was a pleasure to work with you, Mistress Shalltear.”
“Thank you for that. Let’s meet again in Nazarick.”
“Yes, now if you would excuse me—”