Overlord, Vol. 11: The Dwarven Crafter

Chapter 4 | A Crafter and Negotiations

1

As the two death knights he created disappeared through the gate, cries of joyful slaughter and shrieks of violent death went up again and again. When he finished slowly closing the doors, perhaps because they were so thick, the massacre on the other side only rang ever so slightly in everyone’s eardrums.

“Now, we should be fine for a while.”

Since Ainz hadn’t used corpses to create them, these death knights came with a time limit, but judging from the prisoners they had taken, the kuagoa weren’t terribly strong. Even without knowing how many were attacking, he was sure those two would be enough to repel quite a lot. Unless the enemy was completely inept, they would probably back down and set up camp after taking too many losses.

Don’t withdraw completely. If you build a camp, then the dwarves will know the danger is still right there. That’ll force them to make a deal with me. I ordered the death knights to take it easy, but…keeping yourself from winning too thoroughly is hard.

With those things somewhat on his mind as he performed various calculations, Ainz examined the supreme commander, who was staring at him with a twitching smile plastered across his face.

He couldn’t think of any reason the dwarf should still be regarding him with a smile that could have been born only from fear, but—at that moment, the light bulb in Ainz’s mind turned on.

He’s used to my face now, so it must be from the screams of the kuagoa on the other side of the door, right? True, the voices of things being killed are unpleasant.

That said, it was the screams of their enemies, so Ainz didn’t think it should be that much of an issue, but maybe it was because the commander was human—because he was dwarven—that he couldn’t agree.

But can you command a military with a mind-set like that? That’s concerning.

Ainz knew it was a worry he didn’t need to have, but nonetheless, that was what he was thinking when Gondo walked up to him.

“All right, Your Majesty. I’m going to head home for a little while.”

“Okay, and you’ll get to work on what we discussed?”

“Of course. I’ll split it up and give them out. The timing we originally discussed is still fine, right? If anything comes up, I’ll contact you via magic.”

Gondo thrust out a fist, and Ainz bumped it. This rapport must have been the result of all the chatting they did on the way over.

He sure talked forever…

Gondo’s conversations were one-directional and seemed like they would never end. It was probably because Ainz had shown some interest in the disappearing art of rune crafting, and the dwarf had been so isolated for so long that the dam just broke.

Ainz had the same feeling—of wanting to talk to someone with the same interests. He keenly understood how Gondo must have felt. But it wasn’t out of kindness that he listened to the dwarf blather on.

Gondo patted the magic pack on his back as he headed off.

The supreme commander seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he didn’t call out to stop him.

“What should we do now? Shall we open the door in a little while to check on the results?”

The commander must have been expecting that question from Ainz. He seemed to already have an answer in mind, as he replied immediately. “It would be rude to keep the sovereign of a nation like yourself waiting here, Your Majesty. First, I’d like to take you to the regency council, where you can inform everyone of your proposal.”

“You don’t need to see what’s happened?”

“Introducing Your Majesty should come first. We sent a message to the regency council that the kuagoa were attacking. I imagine they’re groping for a solution even now. I’d like to bring them a fresh report before they panic and issue inappropriate orders.”

“I see. In that case, I have no objections. Take me to them.”

“Understood. But I fear Your Majesty’s magical beasts will cause chaos among the people. I hate to ask, but would you have them stand by here? If you’ll teach us how, we’ll be sure to look after them…”

Ainz glanced at Aura, and she nodded.

“Okay. Then, let’s have them stand by over there.”

Ainz pointed to a corner of the garrison compound, and the supreme commander nodded.

“Also, there’s no need to take care of them. We’ll handle it. And I’ll only bring three people with me.”

Ainz chose to bring Shalltear, Aura, and Zenbel. He ordered the others to wait with the beasts.

The commander looked somewhat relieved. He must not have wanted undead swaggering around town.

“Then, shall we go?”

“Yes, please.”

Ainz and his party followed the commander openly through the dwarf city. They got enough weird looks that it stung, and he was disappointed to see mothers who saw his face hiding their children indoors.

Certainly, he could have taken measures to not stick out.

If he had worn a mask, there definitely would have been fewer stares. But he had a reason for not concealing his face.

Ainz wanted their arrival to be public knowledge. He couldn’t imagine there were players here if the dwarves had needed help from a foreign country to deal with the kuagoa attack. But it was possible there were low-level players around, or maybe items that players had left behind.

Like those magic-sealing crystals…

That’s why Ainz wanted to leave evidence of his visit. It was so he wouldn’t be attacked with an item like that. It was likely no one would try to do away with him if he approached them like this.

Additionally, he hadn’t decided what sort of ambassadors he would send, but he could certainly imagine using undead. It would be good for the dwarves to get used to seeing them.

“The kuagoa assault came so close to breaking through and yet no one seems tense,” Ainz said. A dwarf who had come out of a pub red in the face with an arm around a friend gaped at him. The dwarves obviously reeked of booze.

“The citizens don’t know the kuagoa are attacking.”

“Is that…all right?”

Aren’t you taking this crisis a bit lightly?

The commander must have understood what Ainz was thinking. “It’s simply that they came so fast, information hasn’t reached the general populace yet. It’s up to the regency council, but I expect that within the next hour, everyone will know.”

“Hmm. Well, I did tell my minions to retake the bridge, but if we do that, will the city be safe for now? That’s something I need to take into consideration if I’m going to be trading with this country.”

“It’s difficult to say. That depends on how many attackers have come, but we also don’t know how committed they are to this invasion. After retaking the bridge, we’ll have to strengthen our defenses and try to figure out what route they took.”

Ainz smiled internally.

It seemed there were still more chances for him to shine—to make this city indebted to him. Having the death knights take the bridge would be fine.

As he was happily walking along, he was assailed by a sudden shock.

“What?!”

Ainz’s voice made the supreme commander jump. “Eeegh! Wh-what’s the matter, Your Majesty, King of Darkness?”

“N-never mind. It’s a personal issue. Nothing to concern yourself with.”

The severity of his voice said,
Don’t ask any more
, and the commander’s questions dried up.

Ainz’s reply was out of character because he was entirely preoccupied.

The two death knights he had created, which were supposed to be on the outskirts of Fehu Jura, had vanished.

There was only one thing that shocking truth could mean.

The death knights had been defeated.

Huh?!

Compared to Ainz, a death knight was weak. But in this world, they were tough enemies even for a country’s finest warriors. If someone could defeat two of them, they had to be formidable. And both had even disappeared at the same time.

Did they get defeated simultaneously?

Was it an area-of-effect attack?

Had a powerful individual slain them with a devastating blow?

No matter what the answer, the culprit had to be an enemy more powerful than the mysterious caster he had met in the royal capital.

If it was an individual, and they took out two defense-type death knights at once, they had to be over level 40.

“Have I found someone?”

The supreme commander glanced up at him in response to his murmur to himself, but Ainz had no intention of speaking with him.

The first thing that came to mind when Ainz thought of an unknown power was naturally another player. If it was another high-level player like him, they would have no trouble killing two death knights.

So the player’s not with the dwarves but with the kuagoa? Is it possible they have something to do with the one who brainwashed Shalltear?

A scorching flame flared in his chest.

The embers he had banked grew with this fuel. But it was suppressed immediately.

No, it can’t be. If there was a powerful player, they would have been able to conquer the dwarf city sooner. There’s a higher chance that the suspect is a strong person originally from this world. But I can’t say for sure. This will require a change of plans, huh…?

Ainz wanted the war between the dwarves and the kuagoa to drag on.

The existence of a clear threat could drive the dwarves under Ainz’s umbrella. But maybe leaving the kuagoa alone—that was to say, giving them time—was dangerous.

If they were a race that occasionally produced powerful specimens… This time they had gotten only his death knights, but who knew how far they would be able to reach in the future? It was better to collar or eradicate them now, while he still could.

The ideal would be to take over the kuagoa and secretly manipulate them to continue threatening the dwarves… But one false move and the jig would be up. Might be safer to drop that idea.

“Your Majesty, the regency council is just over here.”

Ainz looked in the direction the commander was pointing and saw a fairly large—for dwarves, naturally, but also for Ainz—building.

The commander exchanged a couple of words with the soldiers guarding the door, allowing them to pass unchecked.

Surely only the supreme commander’s authority could get an undead past a security check despite the way they stared at him wide-eyed.

“Your Majesty, I’m going to report everything to the regency council. My apologies, but would you mind waiting for a little while?”

There was no reason for that to bother him. Besides, Ainz needed him to report in that this undead newcomer had already helped out the dwarf country.

“All right. Where should I wait?”

The commander glanced at one of the soldiers guarding the door, and the dwarf stepped forward. “I-I’ll show you to the waiting room.”

“Oh? Thanks.”

The dwarf, whose voice and body were both trembling slightly, led Ainz to a cozy little room. Actually, considering the average dwarf height, it probably wasn’t supposed to feel small at all. With Aura or Shalltear as the standard, it was plenty spacious. But their party included Zenbel, who was huge. His mere presence made the space feel tighter.

The fact that the soldier had led them to this room after seeing Zenbel meant it was either the largest they had or a room for their most honored guests. In fact, it was so gorgeously furnished, the statues seemed liable to start moving.

Ainz knew from his experience making the Avataras in Nazarick what a pain it was to create such intricate sculptures. It was often the case that something seemingly perfect from the side would look weird from the front.

Ainz picked up one of the statues—a dwarf riding a lizard.

You can understand with just one look why everyone says the dwarves are so skilled. I wish I could make stuff like this… I don’t know if I could remake the Avataras or not, but maybe I could improve if I trained? Anyhow…

Zenbel seemed to feel out of place, so Ainz spoke to him. “I’d like you to stay with us a bit longer, Zenbel.”

“Oh, Your Majesty, I would actually appreciate it if you would leave me here, if possible. To be honest, talking with important people tires my head out.”

Zenbel was speaking a bit strangely. His tone was slightly different from what he’d used while they were traveling. Maybe he was speaking more formally because they were in the dwarf country?

“…Weren’t you once the chief of a tribe yourself?”

“Mistress Shalltear, there’s such a thing as strengths and weaknesses, ya know—I mean, I’m sure you’re aware. And causing trouble for His Majesty would be unforgivable, right?”

Ainz understood what Zenbel was saying, but he shook his head. “No, you’re coming with us. If anything happened and you were too far away, I wouldn’t be able to protect you. I can’t imagine we’ll run into danger, but only a fool lets his guard down. And it’s possible that we’re in the palm of our enemy’s hand right now. Keep that thought in the back of your head at all times.”

“Yes, my lord! I’ll burn it into my memory!”

Ainz didn’t believe the dwarves would try to harm someone who assisted their country, but he figured an extra warning never hurt.

What’s gotten into Shalltear? That was a great reply she made, but did something happen?

“S-so then, Your Majesty, what should I do?”

“Hmm? Just obediently follow our instructions. And no matter what happens, don’t start a fight.”

Zenbel meekly acknowledged, and Ainz nodded at him.

“Okay then. Aura, Shalltear, sorry, but can you see if my clothes look all right?”

Once the two of them had checked his clothes as well as their own, the dwarf soldier came to lead them to the regency council.

•

Ainz was shown to the room where the dwarves were waiting.

He walked proudly in full gear. With his back straight and his chest thrust out, he cut a kingly figure. And where someone else might have worn cologne, he instead activated a black halo and aura. No one could take him lightly once he had done all that.

Instead of carrying a scepter, he wore a gaudy wand on his hip. The spell it contained was tier one, but he had no intention of casting it, so he didn’t expect that to be an issue.

When he had looked at himself, he felt that perhaps he had deviated somewhat from his original goal of proceeding in a friendly fashion, but Aura’s and Shalltear’s reactions were excellent.

Still, those two thought too much of him, so he was still anxious about whether their opinions were really to be trusted or not.

That’s why he asked what Zenbel thought.

Faced with a question about a topic outside his realm of expertise, Zenbel seemed confused, but he said, “Go in like that and they’ll definitely respect you,” so Ainz had trusted him and proceeded without any changes.

But all the dwarves he had met seemed surprised and on edge. That made him nervous, but it also could have been considered an appropriate reaction to a king’s appearance.

“His Majesty the King of Darkness has arrived.”

He could hear the dwarf announcing him beyond the door.

Then it opened, and Ainz entered.

There were eight dwarves inside the space that resembled a conference room.

He had heard from the supreme commander each of their identifying physical characteristics, roles, and names.

The chief of the great earth shrine, despite the title implying otherwise, was in charge of all magic affairs whether faith related, arcane, or otherwise.

The chief of the smith shops mainly supervised blacksmith production.

The supreme commander, who had brought Ainz here, handled everything to do with the military and police. There was a time when he had commanded a huge army, but now there were barely a hundred soldiers in total, so he laughed that he didn’t feel worthy of the title anymore.

The chief of the food industry managed food and other non-blacksmithing products.

The chief of administration dealt with all the affairs the other chiefs didn’t.

The chief of alcohol’s existence was a measure of exactly how much dwarves loved to drink.

The chief of caves and mines, who mostly oversaw mining matters, was one of the most influential members.

The chief of the merchant council handled foreign affairs. At one point, the merchant council had been its own organization, but due to the decline in the number of merchants and generally lower trade activity, the title remained in name only.

Those were the eight members of the regency council.

Ainz slowly examined them. Seven of them gaped back at him. Then his eyes met those of a somewhat tired-looking dwarf—the supreme commander.

Ainz feigned composure, but inside he was completely bewildered.
Hey! I can’t tell these guys apart! You can say
his beard’s a bit shorter
but that doesn’t help if they all look the same length to me! Was the commander lying? Or can he actually tell the difference? What should I do?

In Zenbel’s memories, all the dwarves had the same face, so Ainz had assumed that Zenbel couldn’t tell them apart because he was a lizardman or that it was a personal issue with facial recognition. But that wasn’t the case.

I’m sorry I doubted you, Zenbel. You showed me the truth, huh?

How many times had he lamented the fact that this world didn’t have the custom of exchanging business cards? Feeling the same way today, Ainz braced himself.

It was time for the presentation he had been practicing. Only this time he had two of the guardians and a subordinate of his subordinate watching from behind him. He couldn’t afford to mess this up.

…Maybe I shouldn’t have brought them.

Worrying about it now wouldn’t do him any good. The die had been cast.

However, though he had prepared himself, the conversation failed to start. It had been a good minute since they had arrived, and no one had said a word yet.

What’s going on? If this was a meeting at a company, usually you would first introduce everyone to the guest. Isn’t the supreme commander the go-between here…? I don’t really want to be the one to start. I’m not familiar with court etiquette, and I’m not keen on exposing my weaknesses.

Apparently, court etiquette dictated that the king didn’t speak directly to those below him, and anyone wishing to speak directly to him needed permission. In other words, the king’s person was just that inviolable. Did that mean that if Ainz spoke first, the dwarves would look down on him as a king?

He felt it could go either way.

That said, considering this country’s situation and what I’ve done for them, I highly doubt anyone would dare belittle me. And if anyone did, maybe it would be better not to deal with such idiots.

Having made up his mind, Ainz decided to get things rolling. “I am the leader of the Nation of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown, King of Darkness.”

The dwarves began to move as though their power buttons had been pushed.

“S-so good of you to come, Your Majesty, King of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown. Would you first please take a seat? Your attendants may sit over there.”

Ainz nodded and sat at the head of the table with a practiced air of kingly dignity. Shalltear, Aura, and Zenbel took the seats behind him.

“All right, Your Majesty. Allow us to introduce ourselves. First, I am this country’s—”

And the dwarves each introduced themselves.

Apparently, Ainz had started the conversation off right, but he couldn’t help but be irritated.

Sure, all eight of them could give him their names at once, but his brain’s notepad was full. He was listening, but pairing titles with names and looks was proving difficult.

It was easy enough to remember the names, but when he had to remember their roles as well, that was when he started to have trouble.
Was it the chief of caves and mines or the chief of mines and caves?
Ainz quickly became confused.

Even so, he managed to remember them all. That said, if he hadn’t heard about them from the supreme commander ahead of time, it would have been an impossible feat.

“On behalf of all dwarves, I’d like to thank you. If it weren’t for Your Majesty, our country would have been destroyed.”

It was the chief of caves and mines who spoke. All the other dwarves present followed his lead and bowed their heads as well.

Apparently, the eight of them took turns leading the association, so perhaps it was currently the chief of caves and mines’s turn.

“Don’t worry about it. Everyone needs help sometimes.”

“Your Majesty is so generous. If you ever need help, we’ll do our utmost to assist. Unfortunately, unlike you, who can save our entire country with just two soldiers, I’m not sure there is much we can do.”

“That’s hardly the case. I have military strength, yes, but I’m less confident in other areas. If you could help me with those things, I would really appreciate it.”

“I see. We’d be happy to be of assistance to Your Majesty—and the Nation of Darkness. But first, could you tell us what the purpose of your visit is? The supreme commander explained it, but we’d like to hear once more from you directly, if you please.”

The chief of caves and mines’s eyes narrowed slightly.

His gaze seemed to resolutely declare,
We’ll see through any lies!

I’m not getting many positive vibes from this audience… Well, I suppose it’s only natural to be wary when you’re dealing with such a huge power disparity.

If the top-ranked guild in
Yggdrasil
showed up offering them a World Item and saying they wanted to negotiate, Ainz would have assumed it was a trap, too.

So he wasn’t offended by the dwarves’ reactions.

“First, I’d like to establish friendly relations. After that, I’d like to begin trading between our countries.”

“I see.”

“I heard from one of your people that your main foods are mushrooms and meats. I also heard that you have vegetable fields at the base of the mountains but you can’t grow many varieties or large quantities. We can offer you fresh vegetables and also—are you interested in the alcoholic drinks of the human countries and the Nation of Darkness?”

At the mention of alcohol, the dwarves’ eyes sparkled. It was an extremely honest, easy-to-read response.

“I’ve come to learn that you’re trading with the humans in the east but that the deals aren’t terribly large.”

“That’s right. At the moment, our trade deals are limited to what twenty dwarves can carry. That’s why we’re working on developing bags that can hold an infinite amount of objects.” It was the chief of the merchant council who answered.

“I see. The reason you can’t send a larger dwarf caravan is apparently because the mountain paths are steep. Is that true?”

“Yes.” A different dwarf answered. “The roads are so sheer, we can’t take too much luggage. And if we travel in a bigger group, we would attract the attention of monsters. There are a lot of beasts that will attack despite being outnumbered. It’s especially tricky if we’re set upon from the sky.”

Coming to the dwarf kingdom via a normal method certainly would involve a lot of work. The trade between the empire and the dwarf country must have been so small-scale because the returns weren’t high enough to be worth the risk. But that made the dwarf country a great trading partner for the Nation of Darkness.

At the moment, unfortunately, the Nation of Darkness didn’t have any specialty product that was superior to what could be found in other countries, besides undead. But when dealing with the dwarves, even regular food was an acceptable trade good.

They’re a perfect trading partner.

Ainz grinned internally and said, “If that’s the case, then I recommend negotiating a deal with me—with the Nation of Darkness—and importing foodstuffs.”

“…We haven’t heard where your nation is located yet. Is it somewhere we can carry the cargo on our own?”

“Currently, it would be too dangerous to have you transport everything with your people alone. First, we’ll take the lead, and in the future, I’d like to set up a proper trading route so your people will be able to transport goods safely, too. We’ll even make roads for wagons. Of course, we won’t use anything as weak as horses. We’ll rely on something with more powerful locomotive forces.”

“Do you mean…undead?” one of the dwarves asked with a disgusted look on his face.

Ainz seemed to recall this dwarf was the chief of the smith shops.

“That’s correct. Wagons pulled by undead, who are strangers to fatigue and have the means to defend themselves, are a superior form of transport. In fact, we’ve already implemented them in my nation, and the response from the citizens has been extremely good. And those aren’t the only reasons to use undead—”

Ainz was happily chattering away when the chief of the smith shops interrupted. “I heard undead attack the living, though.”

Ainz pouted due to his internal dissatisfaction but replied with confidence. “It’s true that many people feel that way about undead. And that is a fact: undead despise and attack the living. But!” Ainz forcefully declared, “With an absolute ruler like me, the undead being used in the Nation of Darkness pose no threat. I hope you can trust me.”

The chief of the smith shops twisted his mouth into a frown. He didn’t seem to believe Ainz.

Does he have some bad memory of his family being taken from him by undead?
Ainz thought as he played his trump card.

“My nation also can offer a workforce for hire.”

“A workforce?”

“During my travels, I heard from a dwarf I saved from the kuagoa”—not that Ainz had saved him per se, but it wasn’t a total lie, either, so he decided to score a favor—“about dwarves laboring in the mines. I think we could replace dwarf miners with undead.”

“What? You could do that?” the chief of caves and mines bit out, his eyes open wide.

“Of course. We’ve already attempted it in a human country and succeeded. The mine owner who is borrowing undead has even asked for more hands.”

This was no lie. Albedo had told him about it when he sent a worried Message one time.

“Human countries are doing that sort of thing?” The chief of caves and mines sounded impressed.

“You seem to understand the characteristics of undead…”

“Yes, well, at least the general gist,” the chief of the great earth shrine chimed in.

Ainz asked, “Then I don’t have to tell you what a great workforce undead can be, do I?”

The dwarves exchanged looks and began commenting all at once.

“We understand very well what Your Majesty is saying, certainly. If you can really control the undead safely…”

“If we could use the manpower currently committed to the mines for something else, it’s quite a tempting proposition.”

“But…”

The rest of the sentence must have been,
Can we really trust undead?
Besides, it was only natural to feel resistance toward changing the way things had always been done.

Really, Ainz was only promoting his wares a little; it wasn’t as if he was full-on recommending them already. But of course, he would be happy if the dwarves would accept undead laborers.

“I simply meant that offering such a workforce is one possibility. I understand your anxiety regarding un—”

“Your Majesty, King of Darkness, first, I’d like to ask something about these undead. Would it be possible to use them for defense?”

The supreme commander’s question caused a stir to ripple through the group of dwarves.

“Commander, leaving the safekeeping of our country up to another nation’s military strength is a huge risk!”

“I know that. But His Majesty’s undead are powerful. They could probably halt the kuagoa if they attacked again. Purchasing them as a last line of defense could be a great boon. Our top priority is the safety of the nation’s people. Now that the fort has fallen, we need something else to rely on, some other power.”

“Don’t you think it’s more dangerous to be under the thumb of another country?”

“I’m saying we’re not in a position to discuss such things!”

The chief of the smith shops and the supreme commander glared at each other.

“…How about we leave it at that for now? We can review that later among just us dwarves. It’s not the kind of thing to discuss in the presence of visiting royalty. Apologies for that embarrassing display, Your Majesty. I would appreciate if you could laugh off this argument and interpret it as a sign of how very attractive your proposal is. Now then, what is it you want from our country? I don’t think we have very much to offer, but…”

“That’s not true. First, I desire ore. My country has little in the way of natural deposits.”

“I see.” The chief of the merchant council grinned. “So that’s why you brought up the idea of an undead workforce earlier. Increasing mining yields would result in a surplus. That in turn would lower the price of the ore, is that it?”

Ainz hadn’t thought that far, but he nodded anyway. “That’s exactly it. You saw through my plan.”

A round of “I see” went through the dwarves.

“And I would also like to acquire weapons and armor crafted in your workshops. I recall hearing that items of dwarven make are the best.”

This was a truth multiple people he had talked to agreed on.

But processed goods cost more, and if he bought too much gear from the dwarf country, the number of blacksmiths in the Nation of Darkness would decrease. If there was an obvious gap in the technological skill between the two countries, he preferred to improve his own country’s capabilities rather than committing the blunder of importing too much superior dwarven gear.

On the other hand, without a rival in the market, the blacksmiths in the Nation of Darkness wouldn’t be motivated to improve. It was possible importing equipment produced in the dwarf country would inspire them.

Of course, there were various ways to strike a balance, such as imposing tariffs, but when he thought far ahead enough that he realized it would involve not only convincing the dwarves to buy his products but also spending money on foreign goods, it all started to seem like a pain.

Frankly, it was a matter that could be entrusted to Albedo and Demiurge, but Ainz was thinking about it, too.

Maybe he could sell the gear exclusively at the new Adventurers Guild or lend pieces out to working adventurers.

That would be appealing for low-ranking adventurers, and if it meant more of their lives would be saved, that would benefit the Nation of Darkness as well. And once the items got older, they could be sold at a discount, further increasing adventurer survival rates.

“Your Majesty, there are no words to express our gratitude for all that you’ve done for us, but that’s a question that is difficult to answer on the spot. If possible, we’d like to discuss this at length, especially regarding the weapons and armor. Might we have some time?”

“Of course. I want for you to talk it over until you reach a conclusion. And I’m in no great hurry, either. My subordinates already have first-rate armor. I’m after equipment for my country’s citizens to use.”

Now, then
, thought Ainz.

This is where it gets serious. It’s time to do what I came here for.

“Should we talk about the kuagoa now?”

The atmosphere abruptly tensed.

“I went ahead and dealt with the kuagoa invasion myself. That’s correct, isn’t it, Commander?”

“It’s as you say.”

“And if I hadn’t been there, what would have happened?”

“We had been holding back the kuagoa behind a single set of doors, so if the gate had been breached and Your Majesty hadn’t been there, we probably would have had to mobilize the city’s inhabitants for an urban battle. I imagine that while we bought time that way, others would have found a location to evacuate to and helped the children escape.”

The dwarves all wore sober looks.

It probably helped that the supreme commander had come to talk to them first, but the fact that there were no objections or refutations spoke to what capable individuals were gathered here.

Ainz was confident he could say that because no one was bringing up their ideals, no one was purely interested in what was personally convenient, and no one was arguing based on their emotions. When people who got carried away like that were involved, especially in positions of power, it was a waste of time where nothing was decided, and negotiations would inevitably end on an ambiguous note. The fact that the regency council was nothing like that was praiseworthy.

“Could we hear what would have happened after that? How would the battle have ended up?”

“I can’t say for sure, since we don’t know the size of the enemy army, but if we estimate a thousand kuagoa, we would have been in a fairly precarious situation. It would have been difficult to repel them, and even if we could, the losses of both resources and personnel would have ramifications on the country’s strength.”

The supreme commander explained why that was the case.

It was because the fort at the Great Chasm was so strong. The history of thinking
As long as we have the fort, we’re protected
bred conceit. That was an issue Ainz couldn’t ignore, either.

He had learned himself during the incident with Shalltear what happened when he was careless.

“If you only have one last resort, then its failure spells the end. That’s why I believe we should have another card up our sleeves, even if we have to accept His Majesty’s assistance.”

Ainz held up a hand to interrupt the dwarf who seemed to want to say something. The supreme commander had hijacked the flow of the conversation, but Ainz wasn’t done talking yet. “The kuagoa have been repelled for now, but it’s not as if we’ve secured lasting peace for Fehu Jura. At least, I don’t think we have yet.”

The dwarves looked grim.

After making sure everyone understood that, Ainz felt that now was the time to push. “Without me, the next kuagoa invasion will be difficult to stop. And it would be problematic for me if this country ceased to exist because I want to establish a trade agreement. So how about it? Will you accept my help? With my nation’s strength, I think we can get you set up so at least the kuagoa don’t attack for a while… Yes, perhaps we could take back the dwarf city they’re currently using as their base.”

A tremor disturbed the air.

This was different from their previous reactions.

The chief of caves and mines licked his lips. “Your Majesty, are you saying that would be possible?”

“I would pour all my energy into making it happen.”

The chief of the smith shops crossed his arms with a surly attitude and rolled his eyes to take in Ainz. “That’s too good to be true. Why would you help us that much? What are you after in exchange?”

“Hey, that’s going too far!”

The chief of the smith shops snorted at his fellow dwarf’s rebuke. “You wouldn’t be wary of a stranger suddenly offering you tasty drinks?”

“Mmmph!”

“That’s a fair doubt to have. Then, let’s speak frankly. One reason is that I’m more interested in a diplomatic relationship with your country than with the kuagoa. I think your people are more likely to have common sense, understand what a deal is, and be grateful. And in the first place, which side would be more grateful for the help—the one about to win or the one about to lose?”

“Hmph. That makes sense.”

“And the second reason is that I don’t want mere gratitude but payment in goods.”

“I see, so it’s compensation. Would that be in precious metals like gold or rare ore? Would you want mining privileges as well?”

Yes
, Ainz wanted to say, but he forced himself to hold back.

“No, what I want is something different. I want to invite this country’s rune crafters to my country.”

All the dwarves blinked.

“What? You’re going to have to explain.”

The chief of the smith shops was frowning harder than the others.

“…There are very few rune-enchanted items in the countries around the Nation of Darkness, so they’re prized. In other words, the added value is high, so I want to invite the rune crafters to work in my country.”

“You mean you’ll take them as slaves?”

Ainz replied to the chief of the smith shops with an overt sigh. “No, I won’t do that. Did you listen to what I was saying? I want to establish diplomatic relations and trade, and you’re asking if I want to enslave your people…? Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed. I only want to invite your artisans to craft in my country. That’s all.”

“Then, what if instead we gave you the right to purchase before items go to market?”

“…No. The returns aren’t high enough. If you want to borrow my country’s strength, I want to have the rune crafters working in the Nation of Darkness and selling exclusively to us. That’s what my country wants in return for retaking your former capital. When can I expect a response?”

The dwarves exchanged glances.

“Could we have you wait until tomor—?”

“That’s no good,” the supreme commander interrupted. “You’re forgetting that we’re under attack. If we say we want His Majesty to fight the kuagoa, he’ll have to amass an army. With that in mind, we should decide now, not wait until tomorrow.”

Ainz looked around at the dwarves. “It’s not my place to say anything about that. But if you wait until things are dire to tell me you accept my current offer, that’ll be a problem. If the situation worsens considerably, I’ll take the liberty of adding more terms. It’s only natural that a rush job requires extra compensation.”

“Yes. What the supreme commander says makes sense, and what Your Majesty says is a matter of course. In that case, I apologize, Your Majesty, but could you return to the waiting room? We’ll make our decision as fast as possible.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be waiting in the other room, then.”

Ainz stood up and left, accompanied by his subordinates.

•

Even after the King of Darkness left the meeting room, silence reigned. Finally, someone let out a deep sigh, and the tense atmosphere softened.

“Wh-what is that guy?”

“He’s a complete monster. Commander, what’s this about a ‘terrifying’ monster? Are you sure you didn’t mean ‘utterly bloodcurdling’?”

“I nearly pissed myself!”

The dwarves began shouting at once. All the thoughts they had just barely been holding in flooded out.

“What should we do? He’s clearly evil. If even one of the things he said was true, I’d be surprised.”

“Anyone giving off such an evil aura can’t be good. There’s no telling how many he’s killed up until now!”

“Right. With that horrifying face, I can easily picture him saying something like, ‘Only the heavens know how many lives I’ve taken.’”

“He must be stockpiling weapons for an invasion. For his army of darkness.”

“And the worst part is how everything he says makes sense and is so easy to understand. I’m sure when you sell your soul, the devil behaves exactly the same way. In other words, I bet he’s trying to catch us in a bad deal and reap all the benefits himself.”

“In which case it makes sense that he would go out of his way to ask us nicely. Maybe it’s fine to take him up on his offer, then.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because we can coexist. It would mean that as long as the King of Darkness wants ore, we’ll be under his protection. Think of it like this: The King of Darkness is a very hungry, very thirsty mercenary.”

As the conversation shifted from how dangerous a deal would be to how they would actually be safe as long as they were valuable, one dwarf raised a cold voice.

“You mean you’re willing to serve that undead?”

It was the chief of the smith shops, who had been consistently negative. Everyone else turned to him.

“It’s not about liking it or not. Our country is in crisis. If we don’t at least do something about the kuagoa, we’ll be destroyed.”

“…And we can’t handle the kuagoa on our own.”

“Then, what about asking the empire for help? Wouldn’t it be safer to work with a country we already have a long history with? We don’t know anything about the Nation of Darkness!”

“I doubt we could beat the kuagoa even with the empire’s cooperation. They’re a tough opponent for anyone fighting with weapons. And in the first place, humans can’t see in the dark, so they’re not well suited for combat underground. If we could lure the kuagoa to the surface, it’d be a different story, but we don’t have a way to do that.”

“Then our only choice is the Nation of Darkness. First, let’s ask for help. We can consider trade once we’ve seen the place.”

“That would be the safest option, but isn’t the whole deal that we start diplomatic relations and trade in exchange for driving off the kuagoa? If we refuse to trade, we’d have to pay an appropriate amount in compensation… I don’t even want to think about how much it would cost to save an entire country.”

The dwarves wore solemn expressions.

“Is accepting his proposal the only way to save our country? I guess all we can do is devote ourselves to one day becoming independent from the King of Darkness, probably several decades in the future.”

Everyone was agreeing except the chief of caves and mines, who muttered, “If we adopt undead miners, we’ll be even more dependent on him in a few decades,” but no one showed any interest in his concern. That was because someone else said something that grabbed all their ears.

There was a loud pound on the table.

“You’re forgetting one very important thing. We can’t force members of our own race to be slaves! I’m firmly against this.”

“Slaves?”

“The rune crafters!”

“Didn’t the King of Darkness tell us they wouldn’t be slaves?”

“Are you serious?! You actually believe him?!”

“Nnngh…” The other dwarf hung his head.

“See? You can’t even say for certain.”

Even if the King of Darkness was telling the truth, it was a hard idea to swallow for anyone who knew the basic fact that undead detested the living.

“They’re not just hostages?”

“I don’t think so. They wouldn’t have to be rune crafters if that was the case. He would have asked for our families.”

“…Do we have any treasures that might change his mind?”

“No. Although, if he takes back the capital and the royal coffers are still intact, we could give him the contents.”

“Nah, he won’t agree to that. We’re getting his help to take back the capital. Would you feel like you got a good deal if as payment for capturing a city, you were told to just take the items out of the treasury?”

“…Honestly, I think we should accept his proposal.”

The chief of the smith shops shot a sharp look at the chief of the merchant council.

“But slaves!”

“You’re just convincing yourself of that! The King of Darkness said they wouldn’t be enslaved. We can send someone in the future to ascertain the truth of it. And in the first place…this is an awful thing to say, but…rune crafting is a technology of the past. Considering they’re about to disappear, I don’t think it really matters if that’s what we hand over. Aren’t we getting a good deal, actually? If that’s the fee?”

“We’ll lose one of our technologies completely!”

“But this is probably the time to sell!”

“I’m against it!” the chief of the smith shops shouted, sending spittle flying.

“Is that conclusion based on logic? It doesn’t seem like it to me.”

“I can’t understand why you all trust the King of Darkness so much!”

At that point, the supreme commander chimed in coolly. Having fought directly with the kuagoa, he was the one who best understood the position the city was in. Which was why, though he had been taking a back seat despite feeling all this talk was worthless, he couldn’t stand by any longer. “It’s less that we trust him and more that without his help, this city is already lost. I can only see your attitude as throwing away the one lifeline we have.”

“Why, you little—”

“I’m the one responsible for the military! And I’m saying that there’s no way to protect this city without accepting His Majesty the King of Darkness’s help! Do you mean to destroy this place?! If not, then what’s your plan to repel the kuagoa without him, you old fart?!”

“Ha! You’ve been calling that monster ‘His Majesty’ this whole time. Are you sure you haven’t committed treason?!” The chief of the smith shops stood and grabbed the supreme commander by his lapels as he laid out his accusation.

“What’s that, old fart? You wanna go? I’m pretty sure it’s only natural to show some respect to someone so unbelievably powerful!
I
can’t believe
you
guys! We’re talking about someone who could easily destroy this country on a whim! If I’m a traitor to our country, then you’re putting its people’s very lives in danger!” When the supreme commander grabbed the smith shops chief’s lapels as well, their foreheads bumped against each other.

“Hey now! It’s fine to disagree, but let’s not start a fight!”

The other dwarves stood up in a hurry and pulled the two apart.

But they glared at each other and seemed ready to grapple again.

“Let’s take a vote for now. If you’re still dissatisfied, we can talk more about it later. That’s healthier than a brawl, right?”

“So what are we voting on, then?”

“First, assuming we accept the King of Darkness’s assistance, who agrees with sending the rune crafters? Put your hands up.”

Everyone but the chief of the smith shops raised their hands.

“Hmm. On to the next item, then. Should we begin diplomatic and trade relations with the Nation of Darkness? Raise a hand if you agree.”

The results were the same as the first vote.

“I see. That’s the end of the debate regarding…His Majesty the King of Darkness. Sorry, Commander, but will you call him in?”

2

Ainz and his party were once again called into the regency council’s conference room. When he went inside, there was one disgruntled-looking dwarf, but the others seemed friendly. The supreme commander appeared relieved.

Apparently, things have gone according to my demands
, thought Ainz with an internal smile.

“My apologies for having you come again, Your Majesty. We’ve discussed your offer, and we’ve decided that we’d like to accept. First, we wish to take advantage of your kindness and garrison your soldiers here. Then we’ll establish a diplomatic relationship and begin trade. But we think the decisions on what particular items and the deal’s exact structure should be made in a separate meeting.”

“That makes sense. For now I’ll lend you enough soldiers to retake the fort immediately and keep the kuagoa at bay. As for diplomatic relations and the rest, I’ll send for someone to handle that at a later date. We can hash those out then.”

Ainz sighed internally.

He didn’t know anything about that kind of stuff, so he needed to leave it up to Albedo. He was relieved they didn’t press him to settle it all now.

“And regarding sending the rune crafters to your nation in exchange for you retaking our capital city, we accept. But in order to make sure they’re being treated properly, we’d like to send an inspection party to the Nation of Darkness in the future. Can Your Majesty agree to that?”

“Of course. I promise the Nation of Darkness will grant access to your inspection party.”

The dwarves were visibly relieved.

Did they want to observe the factory work? They probably wanted to make sure labor regulations were being adhered to.
It’s normal to be incapable of complying with all the regulations, but I swore I wouldn’t produce people like HeroHero. I’ll establish rules that will wow even the dwarves when they come to visit and have the rune crafters doing all sorts of things, including developing their technology.

Ainz nodded at the concerned dwarves.

But wow, I really owe it to the kuagoa. The whole reason we’re in this situation in the first place is that they captured the fort. If this invasion hadn’t taken place at exactly the right time, things never would’ve gone this well, and I’m sure it would have taken a whole bunch of time and money to invite the rune crafters. I feel kinda bad exterminating the kuagoa…

Wasn’t kindness supposed to be repaid with kindness?

“When do you think you will be able to carry out the operation to take back the capital?”

“Hmm… I intend to act immediately.”

It was highly unlikely that the kuagoa who killed the death knights was a player, but he couldn’t say for sure that there were no links. He needed to find out right away.

“Thank you. Fehu Berkana returning to the dwarven fold is truly a dream come true. I’m sure the people will be glad to have Your Majesty’s assistance, too. They’ll probably be willing to tolerate things that otherwise might have been difficult for them to swallow.”

Does that mean if I can’t retake the capital, diplomacy will be tricky? I didn’t really think I was asking so much, but I guess that was only my personal feeling on the matter?

“Understood. Then, let’s get ready.” Ainz nodded and then remembered something. “Oh, I did have a question. Do you mind?”

“Wh-what is it, Your Majesty?” a dwarf asked timidly.

The frightened attitude was bewildering to Ainz. He was fairly sure he hadn’t done anything to scare them, but now he had to wonder. Somewhat anxious, he asked for a favor. “I want to give a present to a lizardman, so I’d like to ask you to use your superior dwarven crafting methods to create some fitting armor.”

Someone behind him gasped.

“Oh right. Zenbel.” Ainz turned around to speak to the shocked lizardman. “It’s for Zaryusu. To celebrate the birth of his baby.”

The reason he brought this up, naturally, was to keep Zaryusu alive. He needed him to father a great many rare lizardman children. It was only natural to give such a man fine armor.

The dwarves all looked at the chief of the smith shops.

With his arms crossed and his lips twisted into a frown as he stared at Ainz, he didn’t seem very keen.

“Well? Will you make the armor for me?”

When Ainz asked again, the other dwarves pressed the chief of the smith shops, and he nodded, though he didn’t seem happy about it.

“What size? We can cover the cost.”

“Magic armor adjusts automatically. Is it possible to enchant it like that here?”

“I don’t know about magic. That’s under the chief of the great earth shrine’s jurisdiction.”

“Lower-tier magic is doable. But is that all right with you, Your Majesty? I’m sure you can get more powerful enchantments in your realm.”

Truth be told, there weren’t really any good magic artisans in the Nation of Darkness. Magic artisans were casters with a specific set of skills who belonged to the Wizards Guild, but at present the Wizards Guild in the Nation of Darkness was as good as disbanded.

Aside from that, there was the option of enchanting it in Nazarick, but that would require
Yggdrasil
data crystals. Since he couldn’t acquire any more of them in this world, he wanted to conserve his supply as much as possible. At present, no members of Nazarick possessed the skills to enchant items the way they did in this world.

In other words, it was virtually impossible to enchant things in the Nation of Darkness. But that didn’t mean Ainz had to come out and say so.

“In that case, we’ll just fortify them even more. The main thing is that I want armor made in this city. It can serve as advertising for dwarven gear, too.”

“Oh-ho.” The chief of the smith shops smiled slightly. “I’m sure we can have it done within a week.”

“Is that so? Glad to hear it. All right, I’ll take the capital by then. Well, I might finish early and just enjoy myself around town.”

“Hmph. Then, I’ll make it faster.”

He didn’t mean that it would be unfortunate to make Ainz wait. More likely, he meant he wanted Ainz out of the city, so he would get it over with as soon as possible.

Why does he dislike me so much? I’m basically a hero to this country! Not to mention the soon-to-be liberator of its occupied capital. I’m fairly certain I haven’t done anything to earn so much hate… Is he just one of those stubborn types?

“Regarding payment—”

“Like I said, not necessary.”

“For the production costs this time, I’ll accept your offer. I mean in terms of sample merchandise. Can you tell me what you can do and what price you can do it for?”

“…Setting prices isn’t part of my job. Hey, merchant council chief. I’ll leave the pricing up to you.”

“…In which case, the price depends first on the type of metal you use…”

“I see.” Ainz took care in phrasing his next question so as not to reveal his true feelings. “What’s the name of the most valuable metal this city has?”

If something like types of prismatic ore were mentioned, there was a possibility he would have to scrap all their negotiations thus far and conquer the dwarves by force.

But that worry turned out to be unnecessary.

The metal the dwarf mentioned was adamantite.

“Adamantite, huh? There’s nothing harder? Or even if it’s not quite as hard but is some rare metal that can only be mined in these mountains or something, that would be of interest, too.”

The dwarf said he didn’t know of anything.

It was possible they were keeping it secret and simply not answering honestly. Which meant they would never answer a straight question. However, if he used Charm or some other mind manipulation power, the dwarf would retain the memory of Ainz’s manipulation, so he couldn’t do that unless he killed him afterward. Unfortunately, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to acquire any more information at the moment. Gondo had said he didn’t know of anything, either, so all Ainz could do was hope the older rune crafters had an idea.

Ainz hid his disappointment and grasped the ingot he had kept under his robe for this occasion.

“Then, allow me to offer this metal. You can let me know how much it will cost to process it.”

What he produced was a level-45 metal. It wasn’t all that strong, but it was far harder than adamantite.

With armor made of this, Zaryusu’s defense would increase dramatically and he would be protected from almost any opponent this world had to offer.

“What is this?”

The puzzlement on the smith shops chief’s face when he picked up the ingot convinced Ainz that they weren’t able to mine metal like it in this area.

“Disap…” Ainz nearly slipped up and said
disappointing
out loud but managed to trail off instead. This armor was going to be a gift for Zaryusu; he didn’t feel like it would be very nice to whine in front of the artisan who would create it. “It’s a fairly decent metal. I’m pretty sure I have a weapon made with it. Excuse me for a moment.”

Ainz stood, left the room, and opened his inventory. After digging around a bit, he took out an oddly shaped dagger—often in
Yggdrasil
one would come across items that weren’t for practical use but for fashion. Then he returned to the meeting room.

At the sight of Ainz entering with a dagger, the dwarves all started to get up; he slid it across the table, and luckily it stopped in front of the chief of the smith shops.

Instead of picking it up, the dwarf just stared at it in fear. There must have been something bothering him about it.

“This is made of the same metal. It’s a dagger, and what I want you to make is armor, so I’m not sure how useful a reference it will be, but… Do you think you can do it?”

For some reason, the chief of the smith shops blushed. “I’ll do it!”

In response to the dwarf’s enthusiastic reply, Ainz nodded. “Great. Thanks. For now, I’d like a mail shirt. I’ll lend you the dagger, so if you need it for something, feel free to use it. Zenbel, you’re probably the one who knows the most about Zaryusu. If he has questions about the size of his body or something, answer them.”

“Got it, Your Majesty.”

“Well…that’s all I have for the moment. Unless you have something, I’ll take my leave.”

“Where will you go, Your Majesty?”

“Oh, Commander. You remember the dwarf I saved down south, right? I was invited to his house, so I’m planning to stay there tonight… We can save the welcome ceremony and whatnot for later.”

Of course, he couldn’t very well say,
Don’t hold one because I don’t want to make a fool of myself
.

The supreme commander looked a bit troubled. “What Your Majesty says is quite right; however, I can’t help but feel it would look bad for the savior of our country to arrange his own accommodations. We’ll prepare our finest room, so would you do us the honor of resting there?”

Ainz thought. What the commander was saying made sense. There didn’t seem to be any reason to refuse the offer.

“All right, let’s go with that. Later on, I’ll pay a visit to Gondo, the dwarf who guided me here, and let him know about the change of plans as well as apologize.” Ainz asked if that would be fine, and neither the supreme commander nor anyone else had any objections.

3

A dwarf opened the door again and came in. It was a rune crafter. There weren’t many in the city who still called themselves rune crafters, but this was one of them.

Gondo had handed something from the King of Darkness out to all the rune crafters he knew, and the effect was massive. It wasn’t even time yet, but 90 percent of them had already shown up at his workshop-cum-laboratory. He was sure the others would be there by the appointed hour.

“Over here!”

“Oh! Hey, Gondo. I made it, kid!” The dwarf coming toward him with thumping footsteps had an expectant look on his face. “So can I have the thing you promised?”

How many times had he repeated this exchange so far? It was a pain, but it was work, so he sucked it up and gave the same response he had given to all the others. “The King of Darkness has something to tell everyone. Then you can have it.”

“What?”

“I’m pretty sure I told you before I gave you the small bottle. There’s something the King of Darkness wants to tell you, and if you listen to everything he has to say, then you’ll get a big bottle.”

“Oh yeah, now that you mention it, I do seem to remember something about that.”

“If you understand, then please go take a seat and wait.”

“Okay… But, kid, I, uh…”

He didn’t need to hear the rest to know what it was about. It was the same thing all the other rune crafters had said.

“Only His Majesty the King of Darkness has that tasty drink. I’m sure you know that. Did we ever have anything so delicious in our country?”

“Y-yeah. You’re right. That mellow flavor… The heat in your stomach after it flows down your throat…”

“Uh-huh, I know, so go sit down.”

“Why so heartless? I’m sure you drank some, so you must know how I feel.”

“I didn’t have any. I don’t like alcohol.”

“What a waste! You’re missing out on eighty percent of life, kid!”

“Sure, sure. Now go sit down. Look, all those guys drank it, so you can have more fun chatting with them.”

“Ooh, okay!”

The dwarf walked off cheerfully but then froze and turned back. Most of the other crafters had done the same.

“Hey, but, kid…”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Are you sure? It’s just that—”

“I’m really all right, so… Okay?”

“…I getcha. But remember this: You can count on me anytime.”

With that, the crafter walked off again. He took a seat and began discussing the drink with the other crafters.

Gondo sighed, feeling a twinge of pain in his heart.

What he had received from the King of Darkness to distribute among the rune crafters was alcohol.

Gondo didn’t drink, but dwarves were suckers for tasty spirits. He had assumed that if they handed out a small bottle of a rare drink and promised larger portions to any crafters who attended a meeting, probably half of them would show up. That had been his proposal, but…

It was practically a full house.

Gondo emitted another sigh. Personally, he would have liked to avoid this sort of trick and instead appeal to their pride as crafters.

But maybe that was an issue of his own ego.

The King of Darkness had managed to gather everyone using the quickest optimal method. Gondo was sure that if he had tried to assemble them all based on pride alone, it would have taken much longer.

Half the crafters were desperate prisoners of the despair resulting from the horrible situation they were in, their gloomy future prospects, and the loss of the proof that they and their ancestors had been alive. There weren’t many who still called themselves rune crafters and did that sort of work. Most of them had taken their workshop signs down and now led dark, dreary lives that earned just enough for their daily bread.

Would this light become a flame inside them once again?

When it was time, Gondo counted heads. No one was missing.

“Well? Lord Ainz is asking if he can start.”

It was Aura, the dark elf who assisted the King of Darkness, who had jogged over to him.

“Oh, can you tell him that everyone’s here, so he can go ahead?”

“Sure thing.”

The girl dashed away. As Gondo watched her go, he cocked his head.

He didn’t really understand her.
Why does such a terrible monster value her as an aide? Is she proof of his friendship with the dark elves?

As Gondo was thinking those things, Ainz Ooal Gown got up on the slightly raised dais. Another woman aide was beside him.

“Whooooaaaa!”

“It’s an undead!”

“An enemy?”

The dwarves made a clattering commotion. Of course they did. Undead were the natural enemies of all life.

“Th—”

“Quiet.”

The woman, Shalltear Bloodfallen, raised a bottle she held in her hand.

Everyone could see the amber liquid gleaming inside. The dwarves knew what was good for them, and they all shifted their gazes from the face of the undead to the bottle and fell silent.

“Lord Ainz, did you say something?”

“No, nothing. Thank you, Shalltear… Now then, I appreciate you all coming. We have enough of these bottles for everyone, so please take one as you leave. Until then, I’d like you to listen quietly to what I have to say. Of course, if you don’t think an undead could say anything worthwhile, you can leave right now. But in that case, we won’t be able to give you a bottle.”

The King of Darkness surveyed the dwarves.

His attitude and the pacing of his pauses conveyed an overpowering awesomeness befitting someone on a throne. His dramatic demeanor was especially magnificent. Power seemed to thrum in his very being, down to the tips of his fingers.

“So…may I begin?”

The dwarves nodded, maintaining their silence.

“For starters, I am Ainz Ooal Gown, King of Darkness. I am the ruler of a land south of these mountains, past the Tove Woodlands. I am truly happy to make the acquaintance of you rune crafters. Now, what I have to say is extremely simple, and it’s a request. I want you to come to my country and work on developing innovative enchantment technology using your runes.”

Gondo felt like he had been stabbed through the heart with a thorn—a small thorn made up of emotions like despair and resignation.

He shook his head slightly.

Clearing his mind of the memories of his father and grandfather, Gondo surveyed the rune crafters and saw that they all wore grim expressions. It didn’t seem like they would respond favorably.

“’Scuse me, I have a question.” The dwarf who put his hand up glanced at Gondo. “Why do you want our technology? Honestly, it’s on its way out even in this country.” He was one of the oldest of the rune crafters.

“…That’s simple. I want to have you reproduce lost knowledge.”

“Lost?”

In response to the dwarf’s puzzled look, the King of Darkness drew a sword from thin air.

Everyone yelped.

They were astounded to see him pull a sword out of nowhere. Additionally, the sight of a skeleton king with a sinister aura wielding a sword was terrifying. Those were both certainly factors.

But Gondo, like the others, shouted mainly in awe.

It was such a beautiful sword with a black blade. The sharpest blade they had probably ever seen gleamed with the magic it harbored.

“What…what a gorgeous sword…”

“Amazing… I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life…”

“Ohhh! What a wondrous sight!”

The King of Darkness held the sword up where the dwarves could see it. Gondo followed the sparkle without thinking.

“Now, dwarves, I want you to focus on the blade.”

When Gondo looked where the king’s bony finger was pointing, he yelped in spite of himself. “Ah!” All the other crafters reacted in the same way.

There were twenty purple runes carved into the blade.

But Gondo was the only one who knew that one of them was the rune the king had mentioned when they first met in the tunnel.

Aha, so that’s why he knows so much about runes.

He must have studied the sword and learned that way.

“I want to ask the crafters here a question. This sword has twenty runes carved into it. Is that possible?”

The answer was obvious.
No, it can’t be done.
No matter how much any of those present labored, it was impossible. But here was a sword that laughed at them for it.

The crafters stood up with a clatter. Passionate flames burned in their eyes. Yet, it was a completely different emotion from when they were talking about the drink. They all pressed in on the King of Darkness like zombies swarming around a living thing.

“Let me see!”

“Please! Let me touch it!”

“I might be able to learn something! I beg you!”

“Stay back!” The silver-haired woman scowled at the approaching dwarves with a terrifying grimace. Just as the dwarves froze from the chill that went through them like an icy blade—

“Quiet, all of you. What a racket.”

There was a true ruler.

He had a presence that only someone who was certain of his sovereignty could produce. Or perhaps it was because he was a being who ruled even death.

Gondo realized that when they met in the cave, the king had merely been concealing that part of himself, acting so Gondo wouldn’t shrink away. It was only now that he laid eyes on his true form.

I can’t read his expression, but he seems happy. Must be because everyone is reacting the way he wanted.

“Wait, crafters. Listen to the end. When I’m finished, you can touch it. Until you’re seated once more, I’m not saying anything else, and I won’t give you the sword.”

Reluctantly—withering beneath the energy of the king—the dwarves returned to their seats.

“Thank you. Now I’ll continue. My question from before—is it possible to carve twenty runes into a single sword like this?”

Everyone’s eyes gathered on the eldest veteran. His shook his head sadly. “No. As far as I know, the most that can be done is six.”

The revelation caused a stir and shouting erupted.

“What? Six? I’ve only ever seen five.”

“…Oh, I suppose lots of people aren’t aware. It was two hundred years ago, but the king at the time had a hammer with six runes. It’s one of the dwarven treasures from the rune crafters’ golden age.”

Gondo remembered his grandfather—the face of the master rune crafter who had a hand in producing weapons two hundred years ago.

“Ohhh! You mean the hammer that could cause massive earthquakes? I heard of it in a song…”

“Yes. Even in the age where such crafters said to possess both genius minds and supernatural skills were working, there were no weapons carved with twenty runes…”

“I see. Then, this must have been made with technology that has since been lost.”

“What? Your Majesty doesn’t know?”

“I don’t know how it was made. I merely acquired it. And…the ones who created it are no longer of this world.”

“How awful… So another precious technology has been lost.”

The crafters all wore pained expressions. Gondo was brimming with the same feeling.

“That’s exactly why”—everyone looked up when the King of Darkness spoke—“I want to bring it back. That’s why I want your power. I want you to create something on the level of this sword.”

Silence fell.

It went without saying how practically impossible that would be.

Even the most skilled rune crafter present could probably carve no more than four into a single piece. The king was telling them to accomplish something five times more difficult. But they couldn’t admit it was impossible. Having been shown the godly work of an artisan who must have lived in the past, their pride as crafters didn’t allow them to reply with a no.

Gondo felt as though that sword was a challenge from past crafters to the crafters of today.

“I want to make one,” a quiet voice said.

Soon, it was more than one.

“Me too.”

“I’m up for the challenge as well.”

“Heh. I want to drag it right out of the legends and into the present day.”

“Nah, I’ll be known as a new legend!”

“What are you talking about? That job’s too important—it’ll have to be mine!”

Suddenly someone was clapping. It was the King of Darkness up on the dais. Gondo had no idea how he was making that sound with his boney hands, but a caster that great could probably do anything.

“Wonderful. But do you think you fellows here are enough people to develop the technology? Can you rival the legends? You might be able to, but you might not. For that reason, I’d like you to take apprentices in my country and spend the rest of your lives working toward this goal.”

Another silence.

Gondo understood their feelings so much that it hurt.

They had clung to this declining technology in the dwarf country, and now they were being given a last chance at glory—wasn’t it worth risking their lives for? “Okay, now I’ll give you the sword.”

The King of Darkness stepped off the dais, held the sword by the blade, and offered the grip to one of the older dwarves—whether by coincidence or because he had looked into it ahead of time, it was unclear—who was second only to Gondo’s late father in terms of being considered a genius at rune crafting and one of the more articulate crafters present.

The dwarf’s hand did not reach out.

It was only natural to be nervous, getting handed such a splendid sword.

“A-are you sure? You’re fine giving this sword, the likes of which is impossible to acquire again, to me?”

“You are no longer dwarves lured by the promise of drink but rune crafters with the spirits of challengers. I can trust you. Plus, I’m going to be away from this city for a time, so I’m just lending it to you while I’m gone.”

The dwarf straightened up. “…I see. Then, I shall humbly borrow it, Your Majesty.” He bowed low and reverently received the sword.

“By the way, I don’t know much about this sort of crafting. Would it be possible to simply carve runes on the blades of tools or whatnot and then enchant them?”

“No, that wouldn’t work, Your Majesty. Runes are letters imbued with mana. We draw that enchantment out when we carve them. If a powerful caster were to try to enchant them, the runes would warp.”

“Hmm…”

“By the way, you said you’re leaving Fehu Jura for a while. Where are you going?”

“I’m going to your old capital.”

A wave of groans passed through the dwarves.

“To that ruined—?”

“To that dangerous—?”

“But the kuagoa still control—!”

These were the voices Gondo heard.

He had heard all those things before, but there was something else that he couldn’t simply let go in one ear and out the other.

“If he’s going from here, there are three trials waiting for him. Will he be all right?”

“You mean the Three Impasses? They say it’s impossible to get past them. Even if you can manage the first one, getting through the Maze of Death is impossible.”

It was mainly older crafters talking about them. Sure enough, their experience as his elders meant they knew some things Gondo didn’t. He would have to get the details and report to the King of Darkness.

One of the older rune crafters straightened up and warned the king. “Your Majesty, that place is a dragon lair now. The king of the frost dragons, the White Dragonlord, might be there, too. That’s the dragon who destroyed the city we once had in the west, Fehu Teiwaz. Your Majesty is powerful, but I humbly caution that the dragon is every bit as strong. Please be careful.”

“…Dragons, huh? They make exceedingly intriguing opponents. I’ll be sure to keep my guard up.”

After that, there were a few more simple questions and answers before the meeting ended. They probably didn’t want to take too much of the king’s time because he was on his way to recapture the capital.

Or maybe they just wanted to start investigating the sword.

Gondo didn’t know which, but given the fire in their eyes, he guessed it was the latter.

•

The urge to shout
Yahoo!
came over Ainz.

He always felt that way after giving a presentation. That hadn’t changed from when he was Satoru Suzuki. Whether it succeeded or failed didn’t matter—deep down, he just wanted to bask in the sense of liberation.

“Amazing, Lord Ainz! You really inspired them!”

“You were splendid, my lord. The only one in all of Nazarick who could accomplish such a thing is you.”

Aura’s and Shalltear’s comments made him want to blush and shyly answer,
Nahhh
, but he held himself back. If it were Albedo or Demiurge, he would have been examining their expressions to know for sure if they were being serious or sarcastic, but when it was these two, he could simply accept the compliments. Satoru Suzuki would have said,
Agh, I’m beat. Guess I’ll grab a drink
, and saunter over to a vending machine, but the ruler of Nazarick and king of the Nation of Darkness couldn’t behave that way.

“Oh, it was nothing. Albedo or Demiurge could have gotten them even more excited.”

“No, they couldn’t have!”

“She’s right! Those two couldn’t have manipulated them as skillfully as you did!”

Ainz wasn’t so sure about that, but it was true that he hadn’t expected everything to go quite this well. He even felt slightly guilty.

It went without saying, but the sword he showed the dwarves was from
Yggdrasil
.

Yggdrasil
didn’t have a rune system. It was possible that it existed in the code, and the players simply never discovered it, but in any case, the runes on that sword were just for looks—pure decoration.

But it did well to stoke the dwarves’ curiosity as to how it was made. He hadn’t expected them to get so worked up, and he felt sort of bad if they were coming to the Nation of Darkness specifically to re-create that sword.

But he suppressed the feelings of guilt.

The Great Tomb of Nazarick absolutely needed to be strengthened. He needed to amass fighting power to resist the people in possession of World Items and players he would probably encounter in the future.

Ainz looked at Shalltear.

The little vampire girl with a slight blush of color in her cheeks (though when he thought about it, he had no idea how that was possible). A child left to him by his friend Peroroncino. And the first NPC he had been forced to kill with his own hands.

The rage that billowed up inside him was quickly suppressed. Still, he would never forget that someone out there in possession of a World Item had forced him to do such a thing.

If he could get his revenge, the unhappiness of others due to a lie he had told was a trivial matter. The most important people in this world were those of Nazarick. Anyone else’s lives were two or three notches less valuable.

Only a madman would value all lives equally.

If all lives are equally important, then put a criminal who tormented and murdered people in one electric chair and in another, put someone precious to someone who blathers on about equality, before telling the idealist to kill one. If that person can choose which to kill by rolling a die, then I’ll be convinced they truly believe what they say.

But Ainz would absolutely kill the former—because he knew that all lives were not equally important. There was a huge difference between the people of Nazarick and everyone else.

“You’re really always so brilliant, Lord Ainz!”

“How very true!”

The pair’s overestimation of him continued, and it was starting to prick at his heart. Especially—

“Don’t say stuff like
manipulate
; that sounds awful. I only told them the truth.” He said it loud enough so that Gondo could hear it from behind him.

But Ainz didn’t get any reaction, so he turned around, perplexed.

Gondo, who had come to see him off, was trudging along with his head hanging down.

“…What’s wrong, Gondo?” he asked, and Gondo looked up.

“…Your Majesty, King of Darkness. Does that mean the regency council agreed to sending the rune crafters away during the meeting you just had?”

“That’s right. They’ll send an inspection party to make sure we’re not mistreating them, but they fully agreed to my plan.”

“I see… So the people in charge have really decided that we don’t need runes anymore…”

Tears spilled down Gondo’s face.

Ainz was surprised. Apart from childhood, it was awfully rare for him to see a man cry.

The technology he admired, the technology he was so proud of, had been declared worthless by his country; that must have been why Gondo was crying, but Ainz wondered if that was really true. In other words, the dwarf country wasn’t in a position to reject the request of someone offering them reinforcements.

Sacrificing something small for the greater good was the correct decision for a nation.

Ainz would kill any number of humans to protect the greater good of Nazarick.

But he didn’t need to say that to Gondo.

“Yes, Gondo. It seems this country has determined that it doesn’t need runes any longer. When I said I wanted the rune crafters, they hardly resisted at all.”

He needed Gondo, and the other crafters who might hear about this from him, to give up on this country to some extent. It was probably impossible to get them to completely turn their backs on the people of their ancestors, but even so, he needed to make them want to devote themselves completely to the Nation of Darkness.

Ainz put a gentle hand on Gondo’s shoulder. “But I’m different. I see potential in runes.”

Even if Gondo’s ideal never came to pass, as long as Ainz monopolized this uniquely skilled group of crafters and tasked them with conducting research into rune crafting, then if he ever encountered an enemy wielding rune weapons, he would be able to counter them.

Knowledge is power.

“…One country may have discarded them, but another country will protect them. That means this is far from the end, right?”

When he patted Gondo’s shoulder a few times, the dwarf roughly wiped his face. “…Thank you, Your Majesty, King of Darkness. I’ll do my best to fulfill your hopes.”

“Good, good. I expect a lot out of you.”

Ainz smiled to appear trustworthy, but of course, his face didn’t move.

Anyhow…
, he thought.

He was glad to have gotten some information about the dwarf capital. He would have to ask Gondo to check if there was anyone else who had additional information. And he needed to ask the supreme commander about it as well.

In
Yggdrasil
, dragons didn’t have life spans. I wouldn’t be surprised if some individuals have unimaginable power. The ones likely to be there are frost dragons, eh…?

A fading memory of the face of a boy—no, a girl—came to mind.

“She was going to look that dragon up for me… What a shame.”