After reading through the contents of the thick binder to the end, Ainz returned to the first page and stamped his personal seal with a plop. After a brief moment of hesitation, he also stamped the seal of approval. With this, the matter printed in this binder — from Ainz's point of view, some sort of ultra-high-level solution for a political issue — was approved and Albedo could begin the process of selecting the appropriate personnel to dispatch.
Ainz handed the binder to Lumière, who was waiting by his side. This concluded the last of his work for the day. Ainz glanced over at the clock.
The clock's hands read 10:30.
Ainz's work started at 10:00. In other words, his workday didn't last even half an hour, but this was the status quo as of late. Although Ainz's work generally gets completed before noon, this was still far too quick.
Starting work this late was something that the salaryman Suzuki Satoru had never experienced, swing shifts aside, but that was nothing more than Satoru's personal experience. It wasn't rare for those employed by the megacorporations to start work late and according to Ulbert, the fact that such a shift system existed was a kind of privilege in itself.
Well, considering the work lives of this world's inhabitants (for example, villagers like Enri and Nfirea), starting work at sunrise and going to bed at sunset is the routine.
It was mostly the same for the city dwellers, although their mornings started and their nights ended a bit later compared to the villagers. The availability of magical illumination — or the lack thereof — is the most important factor governing this. Nobles who had easy access to magical illumination were able to start their work late in the morning since they were able to work as late into the night as was necessary.
So, did all of Nazarick start work at 10:00? Not at all.
Nazarick was a black company among black companies.
(T/N: A black company is a Japanese term for companies with poor working conditions.)
First, the regular maids were divided into morning and night shifts, and their working hours were long. It was the same for Cocytus' vassals guarding the Ninth Floor. Break times were vaguely defined at best and hardly anyone took short rests. There was no time set aside for things like snacks or smoke breaks.
Even so, about 90% of those with such schedules were not discontented with their workload.
As someone who wanted to create a pleasant work environment for his subordinates, Ainz had asked the maids about this situation. His impression upon listening to their answers was, "there must be something wrong with their heads." No, perhaps it would be better to say that their loyalty was sky-high.
Ainz shuddered a bit when they said with serious faces that it's completely normal to work without rest when you have items to nullify fatigue.
Furthermore, the only demand made by the remaining 10% that were dissatisfied with their schedules was that they wanted even more work.
However — that's in the past.
Perhaps it was him just being selfish, but Ainz had always wanted to provide his employees with generous benefits. To this end, Ainz started by focusing his attention on the regular maids.
This was because first of all, they were extremely low-leveled. The fact that they were all attractive women was also significant. While Ainz didn't want to play favorites, he always ends up being soft on the maids compared to Cocytus' vassals.
If he accomplished his wish through an order, nearly everyone in Nazarick would obey it without question, but doing so might damage their morale.
So he needed to make a good argument, which he did with the following explanation:
In the future, the regular maids might need to train and manage human maids.
When that time comes, they would need to take care not to overwork the human maids with the work routine they had been following up till now.
While they protested initially, Ainz ultimately succeeded in reducing their working hours and increasing their leisure time.
Previously, they got one day off every forty-one days, but it had now been doubled.
They get two now.
Ainz still felt like nothing had really changed, but there would likely be stronger resistance if he tried to push further. Or rather, that was how Ainz read the mood, so he had to stand down at that point.
Consequently, Ainz failed to incorporate the day-off system — paid leaves, summer vacations, public holidays, etc.
Although he framed it as being for the benefit of the maids, perhaps the real reason he pushed for some kind of paid leave system despite the NPC's opposition was because of Suzuki Satoru's yearning for a concept he never got to experience for himself.
And so Ainz ended up stumbling upon another idea.
As the ruler of Nazarick, Ainz reduced his own workload. He wanted everyone to think that it was alright to take it easy because Ainz himself wasn't doing too much work. Of course, another part of the reason was the possibility that Nazarick would end up in shambles if he did any more than minimum work.
But this idea ended in failure.
The denizens of Nazarick ended up thinking that they had to work even harder to make up for him as it was natural for Ainz to not have to work.
As a result, Ainz's already meager workload, which mainly consisted of just approving things, was reduced even further.
This was probably for the best. There would be disastrous consequences for Nazarick if the less-than-competent Ainz took over a larger share of the workload, but the fact that the others had to work more as a result was something that he did feel bad about.
Haa…
Ainz took a glance from the corner of his eye at the pair of maids who were staring at him unblinking, with stern expressions, and fire in their eyes. One was waiting on Ainz for the day and the other was assigned to his room; both of them would immediately ask "is there anything I can do to assist you?" if he met their eyes. To avoid such an encounter, he could only take peeks like this.
They don't have to take things so seriously… I wish they'd relax a bit… This tense atmosphere is making my stomach cramp up…
Ainz tried to remember the last time he saw the maids smile. Mentally sighing one last time, he called on the maids standing by his side.
"…Well then, Lumière."
"Yes, Ainz-sama?"
"Just to confirm, was that the last of my work for the day?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama. That was the last of it."
The reason he asked the maid attending him was because secretarial tasks were being handled by the regular maids during Albedo's absence.
It seemed as though there were no audiences or negotiations in today's schedule. Even so, work has a tendency to crop up unexpectedly so he couldn't let his guard down. His caution was warranted, as the unplanned work that might emerge in the wake of a [Message] from Entoma tended to be the troublesome type that ends up making his non-existent stomach churn.
"Is that so…"
Ainz looked at the other desk in his room.
Even though the desk had been set up at Albedo's insistence, she was not there now.
Most of the time Albedo worked side-by-side with Ainz in this room, but it had only been a few days since the fall of the Royal capital, so she was quite busy at the moment. She could be seen running around Nazarick and sometimes traveling afar to deal with the issue in person, so her presence here was rare.
Upon questioning the maids about Albedo's status when he wasn't around, Ainz found out that she had been on edge recently. Maybe it was because she was overworked, or maybe it was because she wasn't able to meet with him as often as she'd like.
If it's the latter, maybe it would be best if I increase the time she spends with me There was no reason to deny her wish if that was enough to get her back in high spirits.
"..."
Because no one would speak if Ainz did not, the room fell into complete silence. Truth be told, Ainz wanted the kind of workplace that was filled with idle chatter, but his experience over these past few years told him that there was no way the maids would participate in such a thing.
So lonely.
It seems like this is going to continue for the rest of my life… Well, there's nothing to be done about it. However, maybe there's a need for a change of environment.
Normally Ainz would spend his free time on many different activities.
Equestrianship. Reading books on business under the guise of reading scholarly works. Also books on governance — the reason none of that material managed to stick in his mind was probably because he only ever skimmed through them. It's certainly not because his skull was empty.
He would also conduct various magical experiments.
Recently, he had also started training under Pandora's Actor, in addition to his arms training under Cocytus.
"Now then…"
He spoke as though he was talking to himself, while letting his words reach the entire room — this was done on purpose.
It was time to start taking action.
The plan he would soon commence was to help Aura and Mare make some friends. The first step was to make preparations toward this end. As for what kind of friends they should make, Dark Elves would be his number one choice.
Following that should be members of closely related races like Elves. Though he was expecting a future where all races lived in peaceful coexistence, introducing them out of the blue to Lizardmen or Goblins — as their first friends — was not a good idea.
First, they should proceed with similar races.
He looked at Lumière.
"…We will move to the Sixth Floor. Attend me."
"Understood."
Although she would follow along even if he had stayed silent, Ainz felt that it was probably better to say it out loud.
With Lumière in tow, Ainz teleported to the Sixth Floor using the power of his Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. If he had ordered Lumière to bring the people he wanted to meet to his room, she would have done so. As the supreme ruler of Nazarick, it probably would be more suitable to call over the people in question.
However, he did not do so because he wanted matters to proceed amicably. For that reason, it would be better if Ainz went in person to express his sincerity.
They would probably feel a sense of intimacy and respect if he went to them instead of rudely demanding their attendance. If the fact that the ruler of this land specially appearing before them could put the right amount of pressure on them, it would be even better.
The people he wanted to meet were the three elves that were captured when those Workers intruded into Nazarick.
…We should have questioned those elves in detail when we moved them to the Sixth Floor… Well, we couldn't back then.
A few years had passed since then, and while some basic information had been gathered about their circumstances, they had not been asked questions about the Elven country or any personal information. That was because Ainz wanted to maintain his position as the friendly undead who had saved the elves from their slavemaster's tyranny. If he had drilled them for specifics about the location of their homes or about the Elven race, they might have suspected that he had ulterior motives and so he wouldn't have been able to preserve his image.
But wouldn't it be the same if they were to be asked those questions now? Not really.
The situation now was different from when they were just the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. It wouldn't be suspicious at all if Nazarick—the Sorcerer Kingdom of Ainz Ooal Gown, which had brought many races under its reign, wished to gain information on the Elven country to open diplomatic relations.
Now I have a suitable excuse for everything I wanted to ask them, plus I don't think the twins are the kind to have bullied them… It would be great if they completely opened their hearts to me, but I should temper my expectations. I would have given better orders back then, if only I could have thought this far ahead…
Even as he thought about this, Ainz disliked the idea of Aura and Mare having to treat those elves with feigned kindness on his orders. Though if it was Demiurge or Albedo he wouldn't have given a second thought.
As with the earlier comparison between the regular maids and Cocytus' vassals, it was not good to let one's judgment be influenced by appearances.
However, Ainz could not rid himself of his bias, probably because he was just an ordinary person.
With Lumière following, Ainz walked down the dimly lit corridor. A large portcullis loomed ahead with sunlight spilling in through the latticed gratings.
Further ahead was the circular arena on the Sixth Floor.
It was possible to directly teleport to the twins' residence using his Ring, but he chose not to because—
—As if it was an automatic door, the portcullis quickly rose up. Ainz suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. He had visited them in the same way on his first day in this world, when he also met the small figure standing before him now.
"Welcome Ainz-sama, we have been waiting for you!"
The energetic voice of a young girl welcomed him.
"Umm. I have some business to attend to, Aura — I will be relying on you."
He was fortunate that Aura was the one on guard duty today.
As the Sorcerer Kingdom expanded, the Floor Guardians ended up taking on a wider range of duties; as a result, they often had to operate outside of Nazarick.
But, at any given time two or three of the following Floor Guardians: Albedo, Demiurge, Aura, Mare, Cocytus, and Shalltear, must remain within Nazarick.
Usually, it was the trio Albedo, Cocytus, and Shalltear, but sometimes Cocytus had to attend to the Lizardmen village and Shalltear had to take care of the dragons.
During such times, the others would stay behind.
This system was not developed on Ainz's orders.
There was a time when Ainz had considered making Cocytus responsible for the defense of Nazarick and designating Shalltear as his assistant, but the size of the domains they managed was much different now. So, Ainz thought it would be fine if the others headed out as long as they left at least one of the Guardians behind.
That said, he felt hesitant about telling that to the Guardians.
It was because Ainz was afraid that as an absolute ruler, his opinion would end up taking precedence over the independent thoughts and actions of the Guardians. He wanted to respect their autonomy.
Additionally, Ainz's opinions were probably meaningless anyway when Albedo and Demiurge, who were both far more intelligent than Ainz, were in agreement.
A Guardian's ideas would certainly be better than Ainz's with his below-average intellect.
"Okay! I understand, Ainz-sama. So what brings you here today?"
"—Umu."
Ainz gave a solemn response to the smiling Aura. To be honest, there was no need to be so solemn just now. The usual "Umu" spoken in a regal manner would have sufficed. However, he ended up responding in a heavy tone as he thought about whether things would go smoothly from here on out.
It ended up having quite an effect on Aura, as her expression turned serious in an instant.
This was bad, it was definitely going to cause another misunderstanding.
"Fu—," Ainz nearly swore out loud. He would not be able to keep his act up if they noticed that something was wrong. He was confident that if he was pressed on it, his act would break down and he could do nothing but ad-lib his way out.
"Furst, yes, first of all, I came here to meet the elves."
"Just to make sure, would I be right to assume you are speaking of those elf prisoners?"
Sorry. As I thought, I shouldn't have covered it up in such an awkward way… please don't look at me with such sincere eyes… I want to see that smile from before…
"…It's just as you have said. I want to know what they are doing now, and then I want to ask them some things to prepare for the next step."
"Understood. Then I will bring them here."
Ainz knew that this would happen. Or rather, that any denizen of Nazarick would probably respond the same way as Aura did now. That's why Ainz continued with the explanation he had prepared beforehand — although it was more of a deception than an explanation.
"N-no, there is no need for that. Because I am here to achieve two objectives."
"…Two objectives, is it? Ainz-sama has considered so many things just for a meeting with prisoners, I see…"
She looked at Ainz with eyes full of admiration. Ainz looked away, unable to say that he had just prepared in advance for possible arguments from Aura and Mare. "My first objective is to put pressure on them by directly approaching them. The other objective… is not directly related to elves, but all sorts of creatures have been moved to the Sixth Floor after we brought the Great Forest of Tob completely under our control. I thought I should see how things have turned out with my own eyes. How about it, Aura? I would like you to show me around the place that has changed the most, if you don't mind."
Basically, management of the Floors was left to their respective Guardians, with Ainz rarely intervening. Therefore, Ainz had never gotten the chance to examine the changes firsthand. That was proof of the trust Ainz had placed on the Guardians. If a subordinate's work was going well, a superior butting in could only be considered a nuisance.
Since he was already going through the trouble of visiting the elves, he thought he might as well take a look. He didn't know how Aura interpreted it but the air around her suddenly became more tense.
"—Understood. So the 'First' was about this." Aura replied with a strained expression.
"And there's no need for the 'if you don't mind' Ainz-sama! Ainz-sama is the absolute ruler of Nazarick. You do not need a Guardian's permission wherever you may choose to go!"
"Eh…? Umm, umu. I'm grateful to hear you say so."
"To say that you're grateful… Well, in that case, I think the Field of Flowers is the area with the most changes, so please let me guide you there."
"Field of Flowers—"Ainz searched through his memories. "It's the place where some of the plant-type monsters were moved, right?"
"Yes, that's correct. Then there's the segregated area where we have relocated the non-intelligent plant-type monsters, and an area inhabited by the intelligent plant-type monsters, some of whom have settled in the village we built a while back and are living like humans do. Would you like to proceed there?"
That village had been constructed inside of Nazarick in case they met other Players in the future, to show that Nazarick was capable of coexisting peacefully with humans. While it comprised several small houses and fields of crops, it was difficult to call something of that scale a village.
But as there was no other suitable word for it, it ended up being called a village nevertheless.
"Does Ainz-sama remember the dryad called Pinison?"
"…Yes, I remember them well."
This was mostly a lie, or more accurately, he could not remember their face or other such details, only a vague silhouette. So he did in fact remember someone like that. As the fight that occurred shortly after meeting them had left a stronger impression, they were more like an adjunct memory in comparison. Frankly put, Ainz was not good at remembering things like people's names or faces. He was the type to write down his impression of the person he just met on the back of their business card.
"That one is now something like a village chief."
Hearing more from Aura, it seemed as though the plant-type monsters were a capricious lot and the title of village head was just a self-proclaimed position. But having acted as an intermediary between the plant-type monsters that first came to Nazarick and other plant-type monsters, it had become moderately popular.
You could say it was the representative for the plant-type monsters that came from the outside.
There were some plant-type monsters that were stronger than Pinison and tended not to listen to it, but with Aura and Mare's support there hadn't been any problems so far.
The plant-type monsters arriving in Nazarick had all received Aura and Mare's welcome. This "Welcome" consisted of a demonstration of Aura's and Mare's strength, as well as a display of the host of other monsters that followed them.
After having realized the difference between their respective strengths, most of the monsters would end up obediently following the twins' orders.
Also, when the monsters saw the cash shop Woodland Dragons that accompanied Mare, they seemed to be in awe of him, wondering if he was a god.
The final nail in that coffin was when they saw him create rain and increase the nutritional levels of the soil to frightening levels.
"But I don't think all the monsters worship him as a god. Maybe it's because some monsters recognize the events as the work of druidic magic. If I had to explain it, he is more like an existence to be extolled…"
Hmm, Aura pondered.
Ainz more or less understood. It would be something akin to praising a Player as a "god" for creating an awesome-looking set of gear. Or maybe it was something like being an idol. Perhaps it was a mixture of the two.
"—I see, I understand the gist of it. Anyhow, if you two are able to subjugate them without any problems then that's fine. There should be no issues with whatever means or methods you may employ— …ah, umm. That's that."
Ainz was now regretting his choice of words when they were managing just fine. Instead of blathering meaningless words at length, he should have just praised them honestly with a simple "Well done."
He stole a quick glance at Aura's expression, and it didn't seem like she was particularly bothered. But maybe she was just not letting it show on her face.
Superiors should not use words that can demoralize their subordinates, haven't I read that in some of those books on management…?
Ainz gave himself a mental admonition to take more care when choosing his words. And to keep tone and manner of speech in mind as well.
"…Ahem. I would like to see the village but let's just keep it to the Field of Flowers this time. I apologize for that, especially after you went through the trouble of suggesting something specific."
Aura waved her hands about in distress.
"P-please don't mind! As I said before, Ainz-sama is the absolute ruler of Nazarick! Please proceed through this Floor as you please, Ainz-sama. Please let me apologize for my arrogance in proposing such a suggestion!"
"N-no need…"
…Why are you apologizing? Or rather… Isn't that an odd reaction from Aura, not unlike her reaction a little while ago? Is it possible that my attempt to gloss over my mistake when we first met has resulted in this weird reaction? Does she think that I'm plotting something?
Aura's words didn't wait for the unsettled Ainz.
"There exists no place in Nazarick where Ainz-sama should be denied entrance— No, no such place should exist within the entirety of this world!"
No, I think there are many places in this world that I shouldn't be entering, Ainz thought. Notably, there were many places where he thought only women should be allowed to enter, but if he voiced such an opinion then Aura would assuredly reply that it was fine for Ainz to enter regardless. So he didn't reply, as it would quickly turn into an awkward situation (for Ainz at least) if he did.
Taking a quick peek at Lumière revealed that she was nodding along as if to say that was how it should be. Whatever, it was bothersome to come up with reasons for why that wasn't the case.
Taking care to not let such inner feelings show, Ainz spoke gently to Aura.
"Well, then please show me the way."
"Understood! Leave it to me." Aura thumped her chest. "So— how should we travel? Would you like to ride something?"
"That's acceptable. May I impose on you?"
"Yes! Please leave it to me!"
Aura shifted her gaze to somewhere far away and wrinkled her brows in concentration for a few seconds.
"There are other magical beasts nearby but I decided to call over Fen and Quadracile. Is that alright?"
"You don't need my approval for each and every thing you do here. If Aura deems something acceptable, then I have no objections."
"Thank you. Please wait for a bit"
"Aah, then I'll be in your care."
Ainz replied as he looked around the arena.
The most enjoyable walks in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick — such an activity elicited a different kind of joy than the sort of entertainment available on the Ninth and Tenth Floors — could be found on the Fifth and Sixth Floors.
Although it was extremely rare, if the timing was right one could see a luminescent phenomenon known as an Aurora on the Fifth Floor. Unfortunately, it seemed that the probability of its appearance was set very low. In contrast, the Sixth Floor was a place that was entertaining enough for a normal walk. They were about to travel through such a Floor.
Ainz gave a small smile as he felt his stomach ease a little.
-x-X-x-
.
Excusing herself, Aura stepped away from her Master and Lumière to take out a necklace. This necklace was a legacy class item that allowed for two-way communication with its pair. Although it was a relatively weak item, she always kept it equipped because the item's ability was inaccessible to the user unless it had been continuously equipped for two days. Usually items with such special conditions tended to be strong, but that was not the case for this necklace.
Moreover, since a condition for the necklace's usage was that the speaker must hold it in hand, it was difficult to use during tough battles.
But those limitations mentioned above are the item's only usage restrictions, and it does allow for indefinite two-way communication. It was debatable whether such an item was good enough to warrant taking up an equipment slot.
"Mare, Ainz-sama came to visit."
After a short silence, Mare's voice echoed in her head.
"「Eh, eh? Ainz-sama came here in person? What's going on?」"
"What else could it be? It's an inspection, an inspection!"
"「Eeeh!?」"
"Probably to check if we and the Area Guardians are properly managing this Floor. …He decided to inspect only the recently altered Field of Flowers for now… but we should double-check that the Area Guardians are not slacking off right now."
"「Is it because… this Floor is the one with the most outsiders? Or is he just visiting each Floor in turn?」"
"—Ahh, maybe that's the case."
Something clicked into place inside of Aura's mind. Of course, it could have been nothing more than Aura's own imagination, but she thought that Mare was probably right.
"Ainz-sama said he had two objectives in mind but this is Ainz-sama we are talking about… I don't think that it's just those two. Maybe putting some pressure on us like this was his unspoken third objective."
"「Aah… Maybe he is confirming that we are handling our most important and fundamental responsibilities diligently even though our work outside has greatly increased?」"
They had a vague idea as to why he was doing this.
Those who had once envied Albedo and Demiurge for their packed schedules
— for example, Shalltear and Cocytus — were now increasingly being assigned work outside of Nazarick. They had been given the opportunity to demonstrate their loyalty with their extraordinary military accomplishments, especially during the destruction of the Kingdom. Perhaps their master had noticed the kind of festive mood this had created.
No matter what auxiliary duties they may have been conferred, Aura and the others were first and foremost Floor Guardians of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. They had the absolute and unchanging duty of defending, managing, and controlling the Floors that they had been assigned. Maybe Ainz wanted to make sure they were not neglecting their most fundamental duties in light of their increasing engagement with their newly assigned duties.
For Aura and Mare, receiving a dissatisfactory rating directly from their master was the same as saying they had failed as Floor Guardians. If the other Floor Guardians — especially the Guardian Overseer Albedo — heard of this, they would surely reprimand the twins while staring daggers at them. The fact that their master had not told them directly was probably an act of kindness.
"Maybe he anticipates that we will spread the word of our inspection to the other Floor Guardians, which would motivate them to get their affairs in order…"
"「That's possible. In that case, that might be his fourth objective? I'm sure that there must be something more…」"
Aura couldn't think of anything more. The same went for Mare. It was a little frustrating for them to think that Demiurge or Albedo would surely be able to anticipate Ainz's goals much more accurately than they could.
"Anyhow, let's make preparations."
"「…Eh? Make preparations?」"
"Ah, sorry. I haven't told you yet. Didn't I say earlier that Ainz had two objectives? The first was the inspection and the second was to meet with the elves that were assigned to those vacant rooms."
"「Ah, those people… They are so noisy, always going 'royal family this, royal family that.' I hope Ainz-sama takes them away.」"
Mare spoke with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Mare, whose favorite pastime was lounging about on his futon, seemed to be regarded by those three as someone that was incapable of properly taking care of himself, and so they ended up trying to care for him many more times over than they did for Aura. This included hanging up his futon to dry, helping him get dressed, and sometimes even attempting to bathe him. This was quite too much for Mare, but as he had been entrusted with their wellbeing by his master's orders, he couldn't just bluntly refuse their efforts at caretaking.
"—Ah, Fen and Quadracile are close by. I don't know how long it will take for them to get here, but make preparations immediately, Mare."
"「Um. Leave it to me.」"
Aura cut the connection with Mare and returned back to her master.
-x-X-x-
If any invaders having experienced the horrors of Nazarick were to gaze upon the Field of Flowers with its myriad flowers in bloom on the Sixth Floor, they would probably think that it was concealment for some flower-mimicking monster or a deadly trap. But, there was no such thing here in this place.
Even though the place invited extreme suspicion, the fact of the matter was that there were no traps here awaiting the intruders.
There existed flower-mimicking plant and insectoid monsters in YGGDRASIL, but no such monsters were placed here. Furthermore, there wasn't even an Area Guardian stationed here, unlike what was usually the case with such areas.
This place, which could be considered to be under Aura and Mare's direct supervision, was really just a beautiful flower field.
Certainly, there had been plans to turn it into a trap.
There was no way that any intruders that managed to reach the Sixth Floor would regard this place to be a mere flower field. They would either be wary and hesitant to approach or they would take the initiative and burn it away with firebased attacks that possessed secondary effects. As a countermeasure for such an occasion, there were talks of growing plants that would disperse lethal poison or a paralyzing agent when stimulated by fire. However, the three female members of the guild vehemently opposed such an idea, and so the plan was reworked. The result was this unassuming field of flowers.
That was how Ainz remembered the Field of Flowers, but the field looked different now.
Buds large enough to encompass an entire person rose out of the Field of Flowers. There were twelve of them. A single glance was enough to find them suspect — or rather, one would be certain that there was definitely something suspicious going on. Ainz examined his memories.
There were many monsters in this world that Ainz did not know of, but Ainz was sure that a similar monster had existed in YGGDRASIL.
A recollection flashed through his mind like a shooting star.
"Am I correct in thinking that's an Alraune?"
"Yes! That's correct!"
They were not originally placed in Nazarick nor were they among those summoned after Nazarick's arrival in this world. There was no doubt that they were a foreign species — one of those brought from the Great Forest of Tob.
In the center of the Field of Flowers, there was a shovel stuck firmly into the ground. This was a divine class item named Earth Recover.
Earth Recover was a divine class item with ridiculously high durability, but on the other hand its offensive capabilities were extremely low. That was because most of its data capacity was dedicated to secondary abilities.
Also in the Field of Flowers was a magical beast resembling a giant angora rabbit — a Spear Needle. The idyllic scene of it sitting in the middle of the Field of Flowers munching on a giant carrot had a fairy-tale-like charm, but that was probably not the reason why it was placed here.
While Ainz couldn't confirm his suspicions without asking Aura, he strongly suspected that it was here as a warden.
Despite its appearances, it was still a creature whose level was in the high 60s.
Whatever the alraunes might get up to, there was no doubt that it could easily annihilate them should the need arise.
"By the way, the carrot that the child over there is gnawing on was gathered from the farm. Pinison and the other plant-type monsters used their respective powers to give it large amounts of nutrients, which transformed it from a normal carrot into that giant thing."
"Not nurtured but transformed? Is it safe to let it eat that then? Though weak poisons would have no effect on something of that level…"
"It's not poisonous. I checked with the Head Chef and he gave it passing marks as an ingredient. Regrettably, it doesn't provide any buffing effects unlike the materials that were originally stored in Nazarick. It has simply grown bigger and sweeter."
"That's a great success as a foodstuff, isn't it? Can the ordinary farmers of the Sorcerer Kingdom cultivate it?"
"It's impossible. At present, it's difficult to grow them in large quantities even with the help of the plant-type monsters. Even if we use the power of Earth Recover, it seems that just one of them can suck up a considerable amount of the soil's nutrients… it won't go so far as turning the land into a desert, but unless we use magic to recover the soil's nutrients, the fields would need to be left fallow for at least a year…"
As Ainz and the others looked over the field, one of the buds — the largest one — slowly unfurled.
"That's the Alraune, Lord. It's in charge of all fourteen alraunes here."
Aura introduced it briskly. There was no doubt she was talking about the Alraune that was opening up.
"Fourteen?" Ainz quickly asked, sneakily recounting the number of Alraunes.
"Not twelve?"
"Yes. The other two were recently born and are hiding by the flowers. Should I drag them out?"
"…No, there's no need for that."
Born inside Nazarick, would it be counted as one of Nazarick's monsters? Or was it different? What were its abilities? Many questions came to his mind, but before he could ask Aura the bud had finished blooming.
As he had expected, inside was a feminine-looking monster. Rather, it looked very similar to some monsters he had seen in YGGDRASIL. For something named as a Lord of its kind, not much was different about it except for its size.
Its hair and eyes were the same color as the petals of its flower, and its entire body was green, the same color as its stalk. It was not wearing any clothes, but since its skin seemed to be formed from an amalgam of thin stems, it looked rather uncanny.
The features that were probably eyes were slanted upwards and didn't look friendly at all. It gave the impression that the owner of those eyes was irritated.
Suddenly, Ainz felt a brief pang of nostalgia. It reminded him of a certain girl from the Holy Kingdom with a pair of fierce-looking eyes.
Ainz wasn't one to remember faces easily, but those eyes were something that left a deep impression on him.
The monster's expression warped into something wicked.
"Good morning Aura-sama. On behalf of the green races, I give you thanks for the wonderful sunlight we have received today."
There was no hostility in that crystal clear voice. On the contrary, Ainz could even sense some respect. It seemed that the smile from before was just a sincere expression of welcome, though even now he couldn't help but feel that it was plotting something behind that smile.
The other alraunes rustled their petals, but it didn't look like they planned to open up. However, they could be seen stealing glances at Ainz, their heads unable to be completely obscured by their petals.
Not knowing what that behavior signified, it could not be said that they were being impolite. Perhaps this was an expression of utmost respect in Alraune culture.
"And so—"
The Alraune Lord turned its gaze towards Ainz.
"This is the ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, the king among kings who completely dominates not only that forest but also this entire area, who founded the Sorcerer Kingdom where many diverse races may live together in peace. The absolute ruler, His Majesty, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown!"
After Aura proudly announced Ainz's presence, the Alraune Lord's face turned even more wicked. The petals of the other Alraunes trembled and they slowly started to hide their faces. Was this because they were alarmed or afraid? Or maybe this was a sign of great admiration?
He couldn't be sure from their expressions alone, but Ainz felt like it was probably the latter.
"I-it's an honor to receive your grace, sovereign of this land, the ruler of the Sorcerer Kingdom, and above all, the master of Mare-sama and Aura-sama, Your Majesty, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown."
Her wide open arms were probably a form of greeting.
"I am named Violet. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
Oi, isn't that just the color of your hair? Ainz thought.
To put it simply, it was a straightforward name with little thought put into it. Not that this was something that Ainz could say out loud. Making fun of a name that had (probably) been given to it by its parents to its face was not a good idea.
"Umm. I will remember it. Anyhow, this land is entrusted to Aura and Mare. It is unlikely that there will ever be a situation in which you receive direct instruction from me. You should continue to act in accordance with the twins' orders."
He ended his sentence with vague words because he did not know how the twins were managing these alraunes. Ainz had experienced for himself the troubles that could crop up when the CEO and department head gave conflicting orders.
In the first place, he didn't have anything of value to say because he didn't know what work the Alraunes had been given or how they were being handled.
"Understood, Your Majesty the Sorcerer King."
Isn't its etiquette amazing for someone who is supposed to have lived in the forest?
Ainz praised the monster's sense of propriety. When and where did it gain this knowledge? Was she trained by the twins? Or somewhere else—
—Or though how it was speaking might carry such nuance, perhaps in actuality it was speaking in a more Alraune-esque manner? For example, it could be saying something like "Ainz is a very big bud."
(T/N: Ainz seems to be considering whether auto-translate shenanigans are at play here.)
It was good that they could communicate with each other, but Ainz wondered whether this disconnect might create any problems. Well, it wasn't like he really cared about being called a big bud anyway.
And so, Ainz looked around the Field of Flowers.
He thought that the Alraunes were obstructing the view a bit, but at least everything else was still as he remembered. With a barely discernible smile — though his face didn't move of course — he briskly turned around, trying to look as stylish as possible as he twirled his robe. Aura's pet Fenrir and Itzamna were waiting for him there, along with Lumière.
After he started walking, Aura quickly fell in step and inquired, "Is it fine to leave it at just that? Will you grant an audience to the other alraunes?"
"No, that won't be necessary. I saw what I wanted to see. Now, can you take me to those elves?"
"Understood."Aura replied, and together with Aura, Ainz rode Fen through the Sixth Floor.
Soon they were nearing their destination. Looking up, they could see the slightly misshapen tree that was Aura's and Mare's residence peeking through the branches of the tall trees.
After a few seconds, they were clear of the forest and a meadow spread out ahead of them. In the center of the meadow stood a stout tree, wider than it was tall, with its overgrown branches casting shadows across the ground.
Standing before an opening in the trunk of the tree was Mare and the three elves that waited on him. There was no doubt they were there to welcome Ainz.
He didn't know when Aura had found the time to contact Mare, but if it had been immediately after he had arrived on the floor, he might have kept them waiting for quite a while.
It wasn't like he had promised to meet them at a fixed time, so Ainz didn't have any reason to feel guilty.
But, well…
Suppose that Ainz was a branch manager and got a call that the CEO traveling all the way from headquarters had just arrived at the nearest railway station. He too would have immediately gone out to wait in front of the branch office. It was inconceivable that he wouldn't prepare a welcome. With that thought in mind, it could be said that Ainz was at fault for not giving them the exact time he would be coming over.
Ainz wanted to say that he was not at fault because he hadn't thought of that point until he had already arrived, but could that really be considered a legitimate excuse? He wasn't sure how long they had waited for him, but he knew that if he said "You didn't have to wait for me," he would have nothing to say in response to the rebuke that he should be more mindful of others' feelings and the position they were in.
Mare was in his usual outfit while the elves were wearing plain fatigues (which some may consider to be enough for them). Ainz would have preferred if they were better dressed, but since Aura and Mare had decided that it was good enough, that was not something he could say.
Also—
Lumière and the other maids would probably be displeased if the elves were to wear maid uniforms.
The regular maids were quite proud of the fact that they served Ainz. He had heard from Sebas that while maid candidates from the outside would not be bullied directly, they would be indirectly bullied by not being taught how to properly perform their duties and so on.
They probably wouldn't mind much in this case since the elves acted the part of maids serving Aura and Mare, but he couldn't be 100% sure. Besides, they might not like the elves wearing the same uniform as them. The maids think of their uniform as battle gear.
The Fenrir arrived before the four people waiting there.
"Thank you for coming out here to welcome me. I am very pleased with the depth of your loyalty."
Before dismounting the Fenrir, Ainz took the initiative to speak first. He had considered waiting until Mare had greeted him first, but decided that this approach would leave a better impression.
"Th-thank you very much."
Smiling, Mare bowed his head, with the three elves quickly following suit.
Good!
Ainz pumped his fist mentally at the apparent good start he made and looked at the elves after they raised their heads.
All of their faces—no, their entire bodies look stiff. The elves gulped as they received Ainz's stare.
Whichever way you looked at it, all of them were too tense. The question was whether it was caused by fear or something else. In other words, whether this was the fear of imminent death for appearing irreverent or the tension one felt when they met a famous person.
Just in case, Ainz checked if he was releasing his aura. He was not projecting any hostility or killing intent towards the elves so that shouldn't be the cause of their fear.
This is unexpectedly troublesome, though it went smoothly until now…
Opponents tended to be sensitive to the emotions of strong beings like Ainz and end up getting dominated by fear. In a certain sense, this was like getting read by the opponent, so he also received various pointers during training with Cocytus to prevent this. On the other hand, Ainz himself couldn't sense the killing intent of others.
He forced Cocytus, who loathed the idea, to direct killing intent towards him and did end up feeling some pressure. However, he was not sure if that was the thing known as killing intent. Perhaps the undead were just not good at sensing those kinds of things.
The undead were completely immune against mental effects, so perhaps sensing killing intent could be counted as a mental effect in a broad sense.
That said, Shalltear could sense it just fine. Cocytus said "Maybe. Increasing. One's. Ability. As. A. Warrior. Makes. It. Easier. To. Sense. Such. Emotion".
Ainz thought to himself that he should probably include learning the ability to sense such emotions as one of his future goals. Perhaps it was just that Ainz was too thick-skulled to sense such emotions. oops—too many pointless thoughts
Mare started speaking at the same time Ainz started collecting himself together.
"U-umm, y-you see, about Ainz-sama w-wanting to meet w-with these e-elves today, is something the matter?"
Although Mare was more timid than usual, it seems like he had already heard the details from Aura. This made things easier.
Ainz shifted his gaze from Mare to the elves with an exaggerated movement.
The elves turned to look at their feet like they were trying to escape his gaze.
They were visibly trembling.
However you looked at it, this was not born from being tense.
This is probably from fear. Are they still on guard even though they have been subordinated to a pair of dark elf children? Honestly, after pledging their loyalty and living here in peace all this time as the living, it would have been great if they understood that this undead is different from the ones they knew… Well, my appearance is like this.
Even if their minds understood, it would be difficult for their hearts to accept.In this world, the undead were said to hate the living and were considered to be the enemy of all living beings. So it was only natural for these elves to be on guard and tremble in fear at the undead being in front of them.
Maybe their reaction would have been different if they lived under Shalltear and got used to the undead, but there were barely any undead on the Sixth Floor, so there was nothing they could do about this.
—Seeing something once is more effective than hearing about it a hundred times after all
It was the same in YGGDRASIL. Techniques categorized as Player skills were easier to understand by seeing them directly in contrast to just getting a verbal explanation. Of course, he also needed to practice it a few times—no, hundreds of times later to learn it himself.
"—Yes, that's right Mare. I want to ask one…yes, one simple question of those behind you."
Elves started to breathe shallower and faster.
They didn't need to be so afraid, Ainz wanted to say from the bottom of his heart. Of course, he couldn't just say, "nothing to fear~" in a cheery voice. He couldn't break his character of Nazarick's ruler, Ainz Ooal Gown, but it would be troublesome if they didn't feel at ease.
"…you don't have to worry so much. I didn't come here to harm you."
He wanted to continue with "so be at ease", but stopped after thinking that even he wouldn't believe it if told so by a fearsome being. Even if the CEO invited them to an informal gathering, he would doubt there would be any employee who would ignore their status that easily.
Haa. Bothersome…
While he knew it would be a bad move, he suddenly felt like casting [Dominate]. It was because he was not confident he could cajole them or make them feel at ease.
One would remember what they said and did even after said magic ended.
Furthermore, the use of mind control magic is considered barbaric in other countries.
He didn't know how elves saw it, but they certainly would not find it to be pleasant.
In fact, if someone did that to anyone from Nazarick, even Ainz would wait for an opportunity to kill them.
Of course, Ainz wouldn't hesitate to use it to gather important intelligence. If anything he would even be willing to cast [Control Amnesia] without a doubt.
But, there's no need to go that far in the present scenario. It's not like he was sure they did something bad or was hiding information from him.
—Zen, beru? It was different back then. If I use magic to get information that I could easily get by talking to them, it would cast doubts on Aura's and Mare's abilities
The twins, no, everyone in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had undying loyalty towards Ainz, they believed that whatever he did would be correct (which was a dangerous way of thought in his opinion) .
That's why he should not try to give the impression that he was dissatisfied with their work as much as possible. He could not fathom what such a misunderstanding could lead to, plus it's not like he was dissatisfied with their work.
If he was going to use mind control magic, he should have done that in the first place.
.
He didn't do that when they were initially captured because he wanted to make them allies through goodwill—he wanted to position himself as their savior.
Considering such an investment was placed in them up till this point, using mind control magic to force them would be short-sighted.
"—um. First of all, this isn't the place to have a conversation. Let's move elsewhere."
If he was not confident in opening their hearts through words, he could just use a different method. First, a change of place.
"In that case, let's go upstairs!"
"Y-yes! Please do that!"
"Aa—"
Ainz turned his gaze upwards—towards the giant tree.
How was this place as the venue for their conversation?
In a certain sense you could call this the elves' home turf, so wouldn't it be easier for them to talk here? But if they did that, who was going to prepare the drinks? Would it be Aura and Mare? No, it wouldn't be an issue if Lumière, who came along, did that.
Not bad. In the end, the only difference is whether the conversation would take place in a harmonious or tense atmosphere. Whether they would open their mouths out of goodwill, or out of pressure. Ummm, there's not much time left. Weird, even though I have already prepared presentation material and simulated their questions and responses… like I did in the Dwarf Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom… Am I getting a bit out of touch lately?
He was invited by the other side, so he should reply as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, he would always end up overthinking in such situations.
…Speaking of which, I never saw the regular maids providing the guests with drinks without orders. N-no, they did it… once… maybe
There was no way they didn't prepare the drinks. When Ainz ordered them before, they immediately provided a choice of drinks. So they were probably stored somewhere in Ainz's room. The regular maids were working themselves hard every day to become the perfect maids. It was hard to think that they would forget or were just insensitive to such needs.
So it meant they probably thought that since Ainz the ruler did not drink, then the others shouldn't as well. It's similar to how it was awkward for subordinates to take a drink when the CEO didn't.
The correct way to do things would be to prepare drinks for Ainz (even though he couldn't drink) and then on top of that provide them for others as well.
I feel sorry for the guests we had until now…
He decided to talk about it with Pestonya later, as he was getting flustered that he was wasting too much brain power on things unrelated to this meeting.
Wait, that's not what I should be thinking about now. I should be deciding on the place for our drinks. The twins would think that I don't like having tea at their house if I wait any longer. That will be bad. But—!
Troubled, Ainz looked around.
"Ah!"
Ainz suppressed his shoulders from twitching at Aura's sudden vocalization.
His mind was also forcibly cleared of excessive thoughts with this sudden scare.
"Is Ainz-sama thinking of having the conversation somewhere else on the Sixth Floor?"
"Mm, umm. That's right. The weather is great so I was thinking maybe we should do it outdoors."
"In that case, I will make preparations. We have parasols and a table with us! These were the things Bukubukuchagama-sama used when she had to converse with the other Supreme Beings! We can use them. There's a vacant house in the village. Also, I haven't shown it to Ainz-sama yet, but there's a gazebo on this floor too!"
"I remember visiting it with everyone."
Ainz suddenly remembered the time spent with his comrades talking about meaningless things.
—I feel like I am remembering them less and less recently Perhaps it was because he stopped seeing his comrades' shadows in the NPCs.
It's either because he was slowly forgetting about his former comrades or maybe he had started seeing the NPCs increasingly as independent entities. It would be fine if it was the latter case, but it would be sad if it turned out to be the former.
All of Suzuki Satoru's pleasant memories that shine even now were made with his former comrades.
—That's not it! These are not past memories! Ainz Ooal Gown is still here! It is still alive!
Ainz let out a sigh while his heart burned with emotions he could not describe.
He turned his gaze towards Aura and Mare.
…Everyone… I wonder how they felt when those people left this place… No, they were still NPCs back then. If at that moment… oops
He shook his head.
His thoughts were going on too many tangents. He had to make sure this plan succeeded.
Ainz took a look around, it seemed like no one noticed anything was weird with him.
They were probably thinking that he was musing on Aura's proposal. Now was a good time to put a lid on his thoughts.
"Well then… This floor is not bad but this is such a rare occasion, we may as well have our conversation somewhere else. Maybe it's good to have them take a look at other places under our rule."
If he wanted to count on their goodwill, it would be better if it was in a place they were used to, but he just wanted to get away from here.
In that case, what would be a good place? There were two options. One was ERantel. The other one was Nazarick's Ninth floor.
These elves would form a good impression if they were to see the various races coexisting in E-Rantel, but he couldn't be sure that there wouldn't be any problems. If something violent were to occur, like them being attacked, he had many ways to protect the elves and it would also help earn the elves' trust.
However, it would be troublesome if someone did something to give the elves a negative impression. For example, if someone were to put on an act and call the Sorcerer King the source of all their hardships.
As a part of the plan, maybe he could mind control some humans and have them work in tandem, but it would just make the elves suspicious.
In the first place, Ainz was a source of fear in E-Rantel. Though there were people who admired him, they were in the minority. The ratio was something like 70 to 30 unfortunately.
Therefore, it would be a bad idea if he were to let them see people in fear of him. Also, there was the danger of the elves getting the wrong idea that the various races in E-Rantel were brought there as slaves.
With that in mind… As I thought, it should be the Ninth Floor. In that case, where on the Ninth Floor?
Should it be Ainz's room, counting it as practice for Lumière in providing refreshments?
Ainz pondered.
Getting drinks in the CEO's room or having drinks in a cafe. Which one will put him at ease if he was in their place?
"There's only one answer. There's nothing else to think about. Let's go to the Ninth Floor. There is the cafeteria. Let's talk while having a light lunch—did you have your lunch yet?"
"N-no, not yet"
"I see. Then the timing's just right."
Actually, Ainz was also trying to loosen them up by having their stomachs filled.
He took some time getting here so he was worried that they had already finished their lunch. Well no, they were informed beforehand of his arrival. They couldn't have had leeway to have lunch when they did not know the exact time he would reach them.
"Good. Then let's have our talk while having lunch."
Ainz turned his gaze towards the elves. "How about that?"
The elves started panicking, trying to push each other into being the one to ive an answer. The one in the middle ended up replying, more as a result of her being pressured on both sides rather than her willingly standing up as their representative.
"Y-yes. If it's fine with Aura-sama and Mare-sama."
It was certainly not something he could decide on without asking the twins, Ainz thought, so he asked them as well.
"If it's no problem, I want to take them to the cafeteria. What do you think? I want the both of you to come as well if possible."
"It's okay with us! Right, Mare?"
"Uh, nn. Ah, no, I mean yes. I am fine with it just as s-sister said."
"That's good. Well then—" Ainz looked at the elves. "I am going to open a [Gate]."
-x-X-x-
They first returned to the Sixth floor's entrance with [Gate]. Then, Ainz sent a [Message] to Aureole to open a Gate to the Ninth Floor. Naturally, the gate between the Eighth and Ninth Floors worked without an issue. If that wasn't the case, then it was highly likely the Ariadne system would be triggered.
There really was no need to take this roundabout way. Though he couldn't teleport everyone there at once due to the capacity limit of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, he could have just made the trip twice. It was Ainz's cautious heart that made him go through all this trouble just to give the elves the wrong impression.
The fact was that he was extremely reluctant about showing the ring's abilities to others.
Cocytus' subordinates, who were on guard duty, bowed their heads deeply at Ainz's arrival.
"—Thank you for your hard work."
Ainz gave them a simple magnanimous greeting, befitting the aura of a ruler.
Following Aura and Lumière, the three elves came out from the Gate and bunched up together. They froze in their tracks the moment they saw the monsters bowing to Ainz.
It was not like Cocytus' vassals were being hostile toward them. That was a natural reaction, just like how a normal person walking through a forest would freeze if they saw a tiger suddenly appearing out of a bush.
One of the elves was slightly pushed from behind.
As they froze before the gate, they were being a nuisance for Mare, who walked behind them. Even though he only pushed her lightly (probably controlling himself), it was fatal for the tense elf's sense of balance.
"Hiyee…" letting a pitiful cry, she collapsed onto the floor. Blood drained from the other elves' faces, and though they immediately tried to get her back up, the collapsed elf had trouble standing back up. It looked like she couldn't force her legs to work.
"…Don't be afraid. There's no one who would lay a hand on you in Nazarick."
"Y-yes…"
They probably didn't doubt Ainz's words, but even so, their tension wouldn't let up. The elves by her side were quickly nodding their heads, their hair flying around from how hard they were nodding. As for the elf still on the floor, it seemed like she was on the brink of tears.
Ainz could say with confidence that it would be problematic going forward if this continued. He had to make their hearts a bit more pliable at the very least.
"…Let's head for someplace to take a short rest before heading to the cafeteria…[Gate]. Aura, pick her up."
"Okay!"
"N-no need for Aura-sama to do something like t…"
"—It's fine, It's fine. Okay, let's go."
Aura briskly lifted the collapsed elf, ignoring her pleas, and put her over her shoulder. Of course, as she wore work fatigues, there was no skirt to peek under.
The place connected by the [Gate]'s dark hemisphere was Ainz's personal room.
There were three bowing maids inside with cleaning equipment at their feet.
"Good work everyone. I will leave soon after taking a short rest here. I don't mind if you continue with your work."
The maids replied in the affirmative and bowed again while the others came out from the [Gate].
The elves started gawking at their surroundings with their mouths open, looking like idiots. It seemed like they found everything around them quite exotic, different from the twins' home. They also looked less tense compared to bmn efore, probably because the regular maids were far more agreeable than Cocytus's monster-like vassals.
"Aura. Let her sit in that chair over there."
After Ainz pointed to Albedo's chair, Aura quickly put the elf down on it.
Albedo's desk was spotless, just like her. By the way, Ainz's desk was spotless too, albeit in a different sense of the word.
"Th-thank you very much…"
Ainz tried to speak as gently as possible to the seated elf bowing her head, "no need, I can understand your shock, but just as I said before, be at ease. No one in Nazarick would bring any harm to you, so I don't mind if you take it easy."
Well, it's not like they would suddenly feel at peace with just those words.
Ainz turned his back towards the elves, went over to one of the maids, and issued an order to her quietly, "we will head to the cafeteria soon. Make sure that we will not meet anyone except you maids on our way there. Do the same thing in cafet…" -eria as well, he wanted to say, but did not. "No, nevermind. There's no problem with the cafeteria being used as usual. Rather, it would be better if the others use it like normal."
"Yes, understood. I will take my leave then."
"Sorry for interrupting your work, but I'll be relying on you."
"Such words are not needed, Ainz-sama."
He approached her because she was the maid nearest to him but seeing how she threw looks of victory at the other maids, it seemed she thought of it differently. Her colleagues frowned a bit at this with undeniable vexation.
The maid with orders turned her back to her colleagues and walked out of the room with a spring in her step.
Ainz could sense (which should be rare for him as an undead) the other maids concentrating their gazes on his back. No doubt their eyes were filled with anticipation for any special kind of work that could be coming their way. By the way, he couldn't perceive anything from Lumière, probably because being his maid-in-waiting for the day was special in itself.
It felt like he was sitting on needles (of course that wasn't the intention of the maids), Ainz forced himself to look away from the maids and towards the elves.
He confirmed that their breaths had returned to normal.
"It seems like there are no more problems…let's head out then"
He didn't want to rush them as he thought it would look forceful, but he didn't want to stay here any longer.
After he confirmed the elf could walk again, Ainz took the lead and left the room. The maids looking at him with chagrin could be ignored.
While on the way to the cafeteria, he could sometimes hear the elves' gasps of admiration from behind him, saying "amazing" and "beautiful".
Ainz wanted to boast but he endured it and continued to walk ahead without looking behind him.
They eventually reached the cafeteria without meeting any other NPCs along the way. Except for the fact that it took more time than usual because of how slow the gawking elves were—also because Ainz slowed down when they passed through the places he took special pride in—there were no other incidents.
Nazarick's cafeteria was created with a company or a school's cafeteria as its inspiration (of course, Ainz's school or company did not have them so he didn't know if that was really true), so the mood was a bit different from a restaurant.
This was Ainz's first visit here since the time when he visited all the establishments in Nazarick just after they first came to this world, but it looked like nothing had changed much. He could faintly hear young ladies engaging in animated conversations and the sound of cutlery from inside.
It was probably filled with the regular maids and others who also worked on the Ninth Floor. Maybe there were Area Guardians present as well. It was a bit late for lunch but perhaps due to the shift system, it looked lively. If they could see the maids eating their lunch peacefully, the elves should understand what kind of place this was. They might feel like outsiders but still, this atmosphere of everyday life should calm them. That was why he did not order them to clear the cafeteria.
But the moment Ainz entered the room, the mood suddenly shifted.
First, it turned completely silent.
The happy voices from before and the lively sounds of diners completely disappeared. The mood froze over, it was completely out of place for a cafeteria.
Then—Everyone turned to look at Ainz, their eyes wide open and their motions at a standstill.
This was the feeling of being an outsider.
As though he was a heteromorph with negative karma who just stepped into Alfheim.
"—Don't mind us. Continue with your lunch."
A few here and there, mostly the regular maids, started eating again upon hearing what Ainz said, but there was no indication that their conversations were going to start again. Everyone ate in silence.
Ainz did not want to interrupt their lunch at all. He started to feel a bit isolated but, well—on second thought, it's not like he couldn't understand their feelings.
If a CEO who had never visited till now suddenly appeared in the cafeteria, it would probably turn out like this. Suzuki Satoru would likely do the same in this situation. Perhaps it would have been different if this company was a lot smaller, the kind where the distance between the boss and the employees was much closer.
That's probably impossible in this case though…
It would be extremely difficult to suddenly change his image as the admirable dictator Ainz-sama into one of an Ainz-san that was loved by everyone.
Maybe if everyone found out he was an idiot, such a change could be possible, out he would not be able to bear it if he ended up getting scorned instead (which was unlikely).
"Well then, let's enter."
Turning back to the party, he tried to observe the elves' reactions discreetly.
He didn't even need to observe them much, they were clearly shriveling up.
Understandable. They should have noticed the harmonious mood in the cafeteria before Ainz's arrival. This was what he meant by "the sudden heteromorph in Alfheim".
He couldn't think of a way to solve this.
Perhaps they will get used to this over time, Ainz walked into the cafeteria with such optimistic thoughts.
He didn't want to make the maids even more tense, so he approached a random table far from them and pointed at the seat opposite his.
"You can sit there."
The elves started looking at each other with troubled expressions. It looked like they were trying to decide who was going to be stuck with the onus of sitting in front of Ainz. He was probably right in thinking that.
"…I see. Maybe Elven customs are different from ours, so let's just keep this informal and not worry about those things."
He tried to give them a way out by acting like he interpreted their hesitation differently. It would not be good if they hesitated too much, he was also a bit afraid of the twins' reaction if they hesitated too much.
"You there. Sit opposite of me."
Ainz pointed at the elf standing at the back. If he remembered correctly, she never stood in the middle of the elves, so he thought it was fair that she should be the one who was going to be stuck with him.
Honestly speaking, he did not want to be treated like some kind of baggage.
That said, as someone who understood their feelings all too well, he decided to be practical.
It was quick after that.
The seats beside the specified elf's were immediately taken. Aura and Mare sat beside Ainz.
He wanted to say many things about the fact that Lumière was standing behind him, but decided to bottle it up in the end.
"Now then— Sorry, but this is my first time using the cafeteria, so explain to me a bit about how it works at this hour."
Ainz asked Lumière because as a regular maid she should have used the cafeteria just like how her fellow maids were doing now.
"First things first—yes. I want to order drinks, so is there something like a menu?"
"There are free drinks and a buffet system at this time. We are supposed to get the drinks and a simple salad from over there by ourselves."
Looking at where Lumière was pointing at, he could see a row of pitchers that seem to hold the drinks. Beside them were multiple chafing dishes.
"And you can also select one item from the lunch menu here."
"I see…"
"As the chef is in the kitchen, I believe he will prepare any dish Ainz-sama wishes."
"Is that so? But there's no need. If there's a fixed lunch menu, let's just select something from there."
Lumière handed over a sheet of paper.
A menu was printed on it, in Japanese. The elves probably wouldn't be able to read this. Also—
"…ever heard of Katsudon?"
Elves shook their heads to say no.
"…Aura, Mare, what do these elves usually eat?"
"Just the normal food?"
"Y-yes. M-most of the time, it's the s-same as ours."
In that case, did the twins' never have katsudon? No, they were usually getting their meals served by the delivery service, and they should also be able to make it by themselves.
"Have you never eaten katsudon?"
"No, we have had it before. It's probably just that they don't know its name."
"Ah, so it's something like that…"
The menu did not have any holograms attached to it, so it stood to reason that they couldn't match the appearance with the name.
Ainz wanted to ask for "the chef's recommendation," but fearing the situation
in which he would be told that everything was recommended, he decided against it. "Here…that reminds me. Do you normally eat meat?"
After he saw the elves nod, Ainz selected an item from the menu.
"Hamburg steak meals for everyone here."
"As for the sauces you can select among the demi-glace, Japanese-style sauce, or cream-mustard sauce. You can also select rice or bread to go along with it."
"…how about bread and demi-glace?"
He could understand the demi-glace and the Japanese-style sauces, but he wondered what the cream-mustard would taste like.
The fact that he couldn't taste them himself due to his body was regrettable.
"Okay!"
"Y-yes. It's ok for m-me too."
Following the twins' energetic voices, the elves also nodded quickly in tow. It looked like there were no objections.
"Then, that will be my order."
Fuu, Ainz breathed out. It didn't look like Lumière was going to head to the kitchen to relay the order, Ainz wondered why. Perhaps someone who was working here would come over to receive their order.
"What about the drinks, Ainz-sama?"
"—aah. I forgot about that. Everyone can go and get what they like. That should be fine, right?"
"Yes. Then I will bring over Ainz-sama's drink myself. What shall it be?"
"Something suitable—ah, no, get me a hot coffee."
"Understood."
The others went to the table with the drinks with Aura at their lead.
Elsewhere, the kitchen suddenly became noisy after Lumière went over there and said something.
As he continued to look, someone came out from the kitchen.
A giant cleaver hung by his waist. A wok on his back. A slovenly, naked torso with "Fresh Meat!!" tattooed on it. And finally, a gold chain around his neck.
Though his face may look like an orc's, he was an ork, a similar species that was much closer to wild beasts.
(T/N: "ork" last appeared in the EESS, where the kanji read "wild ork" but it's just katakana here)
There was a pure white toque on his head and a pure white apron around his waist.
This man was the Area Guardian of the cafeteria and the head chef himself.
Shihoutu Tokitu.
Shihoutu Tokitu quickly ran over to Ainz and kneeled. Won't the chef's clothes get dirty? is what Ainz thought upon seeing that.
"Ainz-sama! We welcome you!"
"It's been a long time, Shihoutu Tokitu. I am glad to see that you are the same as ever."
"HAH!"
Though Ainz said that he looked the same, the last time he met him was just after they were teleported here, back when he visited all the NPCs. Since it had been so long, he was not exactly confident in noticing changes if there were any.
"No, maybe you are slightly thinner now?"
"If Ainz-sama thinks so, then it is so!"
That's not what I meant! Ainz swallowed his words.
"I noticed the absence of Ainz-sama's order among the ones the maid relayed…I get it now!"
A masculine smile (though he couldn't be sure as he did not understand orc expressions) welled up on Shihoutu Tokitu's face. No, you don't get it at all, Ainz thought. Was he ever actually understood even once in such situations?
Regrettably, he didn't think so.
"I am to prepare food suitable for a Supreme Being, for the absolute ruler of Nazarick, Ainz-sama!"
While Ainz was muttering "there he goes!" in his mind, Shihoutu Tokitu stood up with vigor and shouted in the kitchen's direction.
"From now on it's do or die! A dish suitable for Ainz-sama! A food festival that won't stop for at least a week, begins!"
"Ooooo," the sounds of admiration rose from the maids who were listening.
"Oi, wait."
"HAH!"
Shihoutu Tokitu returned back to Ainz and kneeled again.
It was hard to say this to someone shouting "I am going to do it! I am going to do it!" with all their might. Ainz generally thought that he should go along with what NPCs wanted, but this was a bit too much for him.
"…It looks like you are misunderstanding something. Just to be sure, you do know that I can't eat food as an undead, right?"
"HAH! So we are to make something that can be enjoyed by sight and smell!
That is what Ainz-sama has in mind! Understood!"
.