Overlord (Light Novel) Chapter 58

A day in Nazarick

Translators: Rockgollem

Editing: Skythewood, Namorax, TaintedDreams, Nigel, Ferro, NoirX, Zack Tan, SifaV6

Special thanks to Anon

5:14 Nazarick Time

A droplet of water gathered at the end of the golden faucet, and it slowly swelled, until at last it was pulled down by gravity and splashed onto the floor of the bathroom.

There were several bathing facilities within the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, and this was one of them.

Someone soaked within a stone bathtub that was large enough to accommodate several people at once.

Blue water dripped off a slippery white body. This blue color was not a literary allusion, but an actual blue color, as though it had been produced through a deliberate application of dye.

A blue-colored liquid licked at the porcelain-like body, starting from its feet. Its slippery body defied the force of gravity and crawled upwards, unlike the water which flowed in all directions.

“…Fuaahhhh…”

The bathroom was very echo-friendly, and the thus words which had unconsciously slipped out were unexpectedly loud within its confines

Perhaps it was ashamed by its own voice, but a slender hand suddenly emerged from the blue liquid. The expected sound of water droplets and ripples in the water's surface were nowhere to be found. That was because this liquid was abnormally viscous.

The upraised hand caressed a face which many had praised for its beauty.

“Haa~”

The person in question sighed softly, then let itself fall backwards into the liquid. However, that person's body did not sink into the water. Rather, the blue liquid slowly caught that person's slender frame. The softness resembled a waterbed.

The liquid was clearly sapient.

That point was promptly proven in the next moment.

The blue liquid began to writhe, extruding several tentacles that were the thickness of one or two fingers each. These tentacles began to move, as though to embrace that person. Naturally, the same thing was happening within the blue liquid as well.

It touched the face, the chest, the belly, the arms, the legs ─ as well as the loins.

After seizing its prey, the liquid began squirming, as though satisfied. In truth, it was a Sapphire Slime, a high-level slime variant.

The Sapphire Slime began moving the long, thin tentacles which wrapped the body.

The tentacles infiltrated the tiny crevices of the groin.

“─Ahhhhhh…”

The cry rang out once more. While it was louder than before, that person did not think about lowering their voice this time, simply focused on the sensations of the slime working around and writhing within their body.

The sound of someone talking to themselves echoed through the bathroom.

“─Ah, this feels great. It's too good for words.”

***

The person within the bathtub ─ Ainz ─ muttered to himself as he took a slime bath.

He scooped up a handful of slime and poured it onto his head. The slime which had been hard at work cleaning out the crevices of his pelvis seemed to sense where its master wanted it to clean next. Ainz felt the slime crawling around on his head.

“Huu, this is paradise.”

Ainz's undead body was composed entirely of bones.

He had no metabolism, so his body would not stink or become dirty from bodily wastes. However, this did not mean he did not need to bathe. After all, dust and soot still accumulated on him, and sometimes he would be splashed by his enemies' blood. In the end, he would still get dirty.

Besides, as a Japanese person, he felt very uncomfortable about not bathing.

“I could only take steam baths over there (in my original world). So once I knew I could bathe here, I wanted to soak my entire body into the tub… perhaps bathing is a deeply-ingrained practice for Japanese people.”

He went through the motions of exhaling while he sank further into the slime. The slippery sensation received and accepted his body.

It would not feel strange if he treated it as a viscous liquid.

Normal bathing is very troublesome.

Ainz lowered his head to look at the most troublesome part of his body.

The rows of his ribs came into view.

Cleaning each rib one by one was very troublesome. Ainz recalled his struggle from when he had done it before, and sighed ─ despite the fact that he did not need to breathe.

That was not the only troublesome thing.

His spine was the same way. The protrusions snagged his towel, and he could not clean them off easily in one quick go. He had to slowly clean each individual vertebra.

At the beginning, Ainz had taken great care in bathing himself. However, Ainz soon began to find it tiresome, despite his supposed mental resilience. It took at least half an hour to bathe, and he could not help but think “Are you kidding me?”

After that, he decided to soak into soapy water and turn around inside it like a washing machine. That was a pretty good idea. The problem was that he did not feel clean. If he did not scrub himself, it did not feel like he had gotten all the dirt off him.

Following that, he used a handled brush to scrub himself. That was quite effective.

Granted, the soap and foam went everywhere, but it was not as though Ainz was the one cleaning it anyway. Cleaning was the maids' job, and they were delighted at the chance to show their stuff. It was truly a win-win situation.

However, even this good idea was flawed.

That flaw was not knowing if he had really scrubbed himself clean.

It was just like getting a cavity despite carefully brushing one's teeth; though he thought he had scrubbed himself from head to toe, he was still worried that he had missed scrubbing some part of himself.

In the end, Ainz hit on this solution, which was to let a slime engulf him.

“This technique… as I thought, it's truly revolutionary and unique, a perfect technique that can't be faulted,” he muttered to himself as he looked at the blue slime crawling all over himself.

Ainz nodded happily, satisfied by the method he had invented for easy bathing. For all he knew, this might have been the best thing he had thought up since he came to this world.

“Well done, me!”

As Ainz praised himself once more, he looked to the slime which industriously oozed all over him.

How cute…

Monsters like these were extremely vicious; they could dissolve their enemies with acid and they were strong enough to bend iron bars with ease. Yet to Ainz, they were his bathhouse attendants, who helped get him clean. To some extent, they felt like pets.

Still, while slime baths are good… I'd like to take a regular bath sometime.

There were all sorts of facilities on the 9th Floor of Nazarick. One of them was a large bath. It was a complex of various bathing sub-facilities themed after a spa resort.

“Maybe I'll go bathe there and see what it's like…”

That said, bathing by himself was too boring. That being the case─

“Alright! I'll get the Guardians to go with me. It'd be good if there's a time when everyone's free.”

Ainz smiled at his good idea.

7:14 Nazarick Time

There were two types of maids in Nazarick.

One group was the combat maids, as represented by Yuri Alpha, and the other was the regular maids who had no combat abilities. The latter were homunculi, with a combined racial and job level of 1, and they were responsible for various jobs in the 10th and 9th floor of Nazarick. In particular, cleaning the various Supreme Beings' rooms was a task of utmost importance to them.

One of these regular maids, known as Sixth, moved rapidly along the corridor, for she was in a rush. This was a simple maid technique ─ not a special skill or anything ─ and it carried her to the cafeteria.

There was only one reason to go to the cafeteria at this time.

When she arrived, almost all her colleagues had already gathered for breakfast and started eating.

The cafeteria was predominantly white in color, with sparse decoration. The echo of the girls' cheerful chatter echoed off the walls like ripples in water. It would not have been much of a problem if there was only one person, but since there were many people speaking, their voices blended into one incomprehensible noise. On top of that, the sound of clinking tableware added to the din.

The maids in the cafeteria could be separated into four main groups.

The first three groups were sorted according to their creators. There were 41 regular maids in total, but it was not because each Supreme Being had created their own maid. Rather, the regular maids were created by the trirumvirate of Whitebrim, Herohero, and Coup De Grâce.

Strictly speaking, the last group was not a proper group by itself. It was composed of those maids who had detached themselves from the first three groups in order to eat in silence, to eat while reading or to talk to maids who had been made by other Supreme Beings.

Sixth, who had arrived late at the cafeteria, belonged to the last group.

She waved to the maids made by the same Supreme Being as herself —they were her sisters, in a sense— and then headed to her usual place.

“Good morning… have you eaten?”

“Good morning. And yes, we've already eaten. Breakfast was so good~ so creamy and fluffy and tasty~”

The person delivering that deadpan reply was called Foire. She was bad at lying, but lied anyway. She had short hair and her maid skirt was similarly shortened to match her energetic appearance.

Contrasting her was Lumiere, who had a neat look about her. There was a mysterious gleam in her blonde hair, which sparkled like there were stars in it.

“Good morning. ─Foire, since you shouldn't need seconds, you can wait here for us. I haven't had breakfast yet, so I'm going to get some. Come, Sixth, let's go.”

Lumiere stood, trailed closely by Foire, who was frantically saying, “I was just kidding, really~”

After concluding their usual dialogue, the three of them went over to the self-service buffet counter. Naturally, they had the maid called Increment, who was quietly reading a book beside them, watch over their seats.

The first thing Sixth took at the buffet bar was a serving of crispy bacon. As a member of the faction which believed that “soft bacon is the devil”, she always went for that first. Next, she helped herself to some soup. Of the three flavours today —soup of the day, corn and onion— she selected the last. After that were sausages, french fries and danishes. Her other plate was piled high with onion salad, almost to the point of spilling. Finally, Sixth placed an order with a masked manservant.

“Um, I'll have triple cheese, double onions, and extra mushrooms.”

The manservant nodded, and began making the omelette.

Sixth returned to her seat to put down her dishes, and then poured herself a glass of milk before returning to where the manservant was waiting with her freshly-prepared omelette.

“Thank you very much.”

The flawless omelette was perfectly prepared, without a single singe mark on it, and she returned to her place just as her friends did.

“Then, let's eat!”

“Let's eat~”

“Let's eat.”

The three of them had their breakfast in silence. Slowly but steadily, they transferred the mountains of food — far in excess of what a normal girl would consume — from their plates into their bellies. It was because they all possessed increased appetites, as a racial penalty.

Because of that, even though they were among friends, they never talked while eating.

Foire chewed while her cheeks were bulging with food, Lumiere ate elegantly, but her fork moved at a ferocious speed, and Sixth ate at a rate in between the two.

Soon, their plates had emptied with startling swiftness, and the three of them downed their glasses after that.

“Huuu…”

The three of them exhaled, the scent of milk heavy on their breath, and then looked at each other.

“Seconds?”

“Sounds good, but let's take a break first.”

***

9:38 Nazarick Time

The village built in the 6th Floor of Nazarick was little more than a row of ten-odd log houses. It barely qualified as a settlement. There was a crop field on the right side of the village, and on the left was an orchard that was several times larger than the crop field.

Naturally, it was surrounded by forest, and when one looked down from above, it might resemble a hole in the forest; or a Green Hole. The trees here had been felled and then dug up by the roots, so by right the ground ought to have been uneven. However, the ground in the village was unnaturally level. That was the effect of Mare's magic.

Many people could be seen working hard in the orchard.

The first person they saw was a human-looking female, whose skin was as lustrous as tree bark. Beside her was a creature which could only be described as a walking tree.

The former was a Dryad, while the latter was a monster known as a Treant.

The Treant placed the Dryad on its branch-like hands and raised her to the upper reaches of a fruit tree.

“There's also ten or so Lizardmen living here. Sometimes they go to the north ─ to the lake where we just visited ─ to have fun. It's not like they live in the water anyway. How strange.”

“The village is bigger than the last time I came. There seem to be more residents too.”

“That's right. That's because we found a few species who were allowed to enter Nazarick after we conquered the Great Forest of Tob.”

“Species who were allowed to enter Nazarick… I recall the conditions were: they have to be heteromorphs, they must not need food, and they have to be good-natured, right?”

“Mm, that's what Ainz-sama told us. Although, the 'must not need food' condition is more of 'must be self-sufficient'… the Dryads and Treants absorb nutrients from the earth, so they don't need to eat in particular. Although, it'll be bad if the earth's nutrients run out, or if it doesn't rain.”

“Ohh ─ does Mare make rain with magic? Or is it an item?”

“That's basically Mare's job. Same with restoring the earth's nutrients. Some spells allow for big harvests, and I heard those spells can fully restore the earth's nutrients. The Dryads and Treants all say it's so delicious that they'll get fat… but I don't know about the taste.”

As Shalltear chatted with Aura, Albedo slowly surveyed the village with a cold, clinical gaze reserved for examining experimental test subjects. Then, a hint of emotion crept into her eyes for the first time.

“Ara? That ought to be Sous-Chef in the fields, right? What's he doing?”

They looked along her line of sight, and there, within a patch of fenced-off land ─ seemingly hiding behind a large stalk with red fruits growing all over it ─ was a mushroom-like monster squirming around. At a closer look, he was wearing clothes which he did not mind getting dirty as he picked the red fruits.

“It's just like what you saw. They sometimes come here to gather ingredients, and they grow their own plants. Let's go take a look.”

Albedo and Shalltear looked at each other. After verifying that neither of them were against it, and that it would be fine as long as they did not interfere with their colleagues' work, they went over to take a look.

“Hi~ Working up a sweat as always, I see!”

As he heard Aura's cheerful voice, Sous-Chef raised its head to look at the three of them.

“Well, my body doesn't really sweat.”

Sous-Chef grunted like an old man as he stood up and straightened his back. Although he was hunched over in a posture of working the fields, the fact that he had no waist ─ his body was the same thickness from top to bottom, so there was no part of him that was quickly identifiable as a waist ─ meant that they could not tell if his back really ached or if he had done so to change his mood.

After that, Sous-Chef rotated his neck, like someone with shoulder aches. His head was like a toadstool's cap, coated with some kind of purplish-red liquid which looked like it might drip off at any time, but the fact was that it was as solid and mysteriously stretchy as dried glue, so there was no way it would drip off or splash around.

“Say, are those tomatoes?”

Albedo seemed interested in what Sous-Chef was holding, and so she asked him. He brought the fruits before his eyes, then wiggled his head in bafflement.

“Indeed, they are tomatoes. They are tomatoes as everyone knows them. They are not the type which explode after absorbing sunlight, attack people, or radiate golden light when you cut them open; they are ordinary tomatoes.”

“In other words, they're edible, commonly available and ordinary tomatoes, right?”

“Indeed. I do not have the special skills needed to grow vegetables that can produce special effects. Given your interest in these tomatoes, does that mean you are interested in tomato dishes? Unfortunately, I can only make drinks.”

“No, I was simply asking out of curiosity. I believe Shalltear's the one who wants to eat tomato dishes.”

“…Why does everyone think Vampires like tomato juice? Even if the undead eat something, they won't gain any buffs from it.”

“A lot of people in Nazarick don't need to eat.”

Thanks to certain items, most of the NPCs no longer needed to eat or drink.

“There's nothing to be done about it. Food and drink only add to the expenses of sustaining Nazarick. We'd have to spend a lot of money if everyone ate as much as your magical beasts.”

“Ah, wouldn't it be better for me to go outside to make some money?”

“There's no need for that. That's because Ainz-sama and the other Supreme Beings made careful calculations when building this tomb in order to balance income and spending.”

“Oh, so that's why he decreed that only self-sufficient species could enter here. That way, no matter how many came in, the income balance would remain intact.”

“Indeed… eh, didn't you know about this?” Albedo looked to each of the three others present.

“How vexing. Not understanding the very place you were protect is a very big problem. I'll make some time in future and explain everything to you in detail.”

Albedo sighed, then casually regarded the fields. It was then that she noticed that she had seen the leaves of a row of certain plants before.

“Those are carrots… no, are they magic carrots?”

“No, they are not. Have you not heard of them before, Overseer-dono?”

“What do you mean?”

Sous-Chef's eyes turned to Aura.

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“Ah, she did not… I see, she did not tell you about them. Then, what shall we do, Aursama? Will you call them, Aursama? Surely you must have trained them by now?”

“I already filed a report on it─” Aura smiled wickedly. Then, she took a deep breath, then bellowed “─Long live Ainz Ooal Gown!”

Suddenly, the row of leaves reacted to her words and began moving. They wiggled vigorously from side to side, then pulled themselves out of the earth, and their carrot-like roots popped up onto the surface.

They resembled Asian ginsengs, but they were distinctly different from those. They had four discrete limbs, and they moved deliberately and not through reflex. The uppermost parts of the roots ─ near the stem ─ bore cavities and shadows which resembled eyes and mouths.

Shalltear's eyes went wide and she spoke the name of these monsters.

“Could those be Mandrakes? We shouldn't have anything like that in Nazarick…”

“Ah! That's it! I saw the report, but this is the first time I've personally seen one.”

The Mandrakes chorused “Long live Ainz Ooal Gown”, “Long Live Ainz Ooal Gown” as they formed up into ranks.

“They aren't too smart really. Their relatives such as the Galgenmännlein, Alrunas and Alraunes ought to be smarter… but I didn't find any of those when I did a quick search of that forest. However, the forest is big, so maybe I just haven't found them yet. Also, there's a huge underground cave that leads into the mountains. There seems to be a Myconid settlement there, but I haven't made a move on them yet.”

“Still, teaching them to speak like that must have been difficult. I'm very impressed,” Sous-Chef explained as he picked up one of the Mandrakes who were lined up in a row.

The Mandrake struggled; apparently having its stem grabbed was painful.

“Long live Ainz Ooal Gown!”

“Long live Ainz Ooal Gown!”

The Mandrakes broke their ranks to encircle Sous-Chef, as though to protest the mistreatment of their friend. During this time, they said the same thing as before.

“Forgive my rudeness. Aursama, can you ask them to return?”

“Okay~ Right! Go back!”

Sous-Chef gently placed the Mandrake back on the ground, and the others followed it as they crawled back into the holes they had occupied just now. In just a few seconds, the Mandrakes were back underground, as though they were hibernating for winter.

“I see, it's like an animal's call.”

“You could say that. They simply cry it out like a parrot imitating speech; they don't really know what they're saying. Apparently, there's a minimum level of intelligence, below which you can't understand speech. However, that's still under investigation.”

“Although, all that is from Demiurge-sama; I am simply repeating what I have heard,” Sous-Chef said.

“Hm ─ that's right, Albedo, can I ask you a question? As the Guardian Overseer, isn't it bad that you don't know about the newcomers? What if a spy came in with them?”

Before Albedo could answer, somebody else voiced an objection.

“Ahahaha, that's funny, Shalltear. It's true that the 6th Floor is very large, so it's only natural that you might think that capturing and slaughtering intruders would be difficult. Certainly, it would be troublesome if they managed to escape from the Colosseum and ran around like little spiders.”

Her laughter was hollow, and her eyes were as cold as ice.

“But don't you think you're looking down on me? This place is my hunting ground. Even if they dispersed, I could swiftly hunt down and kill every last one of them. Honestly, even if those people somehow managed to escape the 6th Floor and tried to harm Ainz-sama, they would have to pass through the blazing world of the 7th Floor, and then there's the inviolable 8th Floor to worry about. Even if they wanted to escape, they would have to pass through the frozen hell of the 5th Floor, the dark waters of the 4th Floor, and then your levels… do you think that's possible?”

Shalltear shook her head.

“Not at all.”

“And that's how it is. Therefore, there's no need to worry no matter how many newcomers there are on this Floor.”

“Aura took the words out of my mouth. Mm, in any case, there's a plan going on now to gather all kinds of creatures here.”

“Huh? isn't it just plant-type monsters?”

As she heard Aura's surprised question, Albedo smiled and answered:

“That was the plan in the beginning, but after some observation, we found that no problems came up thanks to Aura and Mare's hard work, so the plan was amended and expanded. That said, this is only at a draft stage, and there's no guarantee that it'll be put into practice. Therefore, even a Floor Guardian like yourself has not been informed yet.”

Albedo told them to keep it a secret, and then she described the plan:

“The name of the plan is 'Project Utopia'. It is a large-scale project beginning with the secret base that Aura built, and its end stage is to gather monsters who can get along with humanity and have them live here.”

“Why is getting along with humanity in particular a condition?”

Albedo smiled, as though implying “I knew you'd say”. That smile looked terribly evil.

“That is the key to the entire plan, the focus of Project Utopia.”

“Permit me to be blunt, but I find it hard to understand. This Nazarick is a haven for the Supreme Beings, and we labor for its sake. Why has it been named that way?”

“This is in order to let the outside world believe that we can coexist with other races.”

“I see… so that was the aim.”

“No way, Shalltear actually understood it…”

Shalltear's face filled with an expression that could shatter a million year-old love, and she glared angrily at Aura.

“Do you take me for a retard?!”

“…Wait… hang on, Shalltear. Might I trouble you to reflect on what you usually say and do before asking me that? Please, just think about it for just a bit.”

And indeed, for just a moment, Shalltear thought back on everything she had said and done until now, and her pupils widened like that of a dead creature. After that, her eyes roved all over, like they were being tossed in stormy waves.

After seeing her utterly pathetic state, Albedo graciously steered the conversation back on track.

“Er, in any case, Ainz-sama came up with this plan. When we discussed the 6th Floor, Ainz-sama once mentioned that he would like to collect various monsters. Surely someone with a limited understanding of the world would never have been able to come up with an idea like that. In the past, I discussed Ainz-sama's wisdom with Demiurge, and the conclusion we reached was that Ainz-sama is a true genius.”

“Anyone would know that Ainz-sama is a genius, though I hear great men tend to speak little.”

“Did Demiurge say that? Honestly… Ainz-sama never simply states his thoughts, and sometimes he does mysterious things. Still, as the saying goes, 'true courage seems cowardly, while great wisdom appears foolish'. That's the sort of person Ainz-sama is.”

Albedo's eyes were moist, and she shook her head.

“I did not even expect Ainz-sama to create the persona of the adventurer Momon. Truly, he is an awesome man… I did not expect everything that took place until now to be in the palm of Ainz-sama's hand…”

“Momon is Ainz-sama posing as an adventurer, right? What's it for?”

“Soon you will understand… the Momon persona will become the bedrock of Ainz-sama's rule. Ainz-sama is far too amazing… perhaps it was his hidden hand at work behind Demiurge's suggestion─”

“What are you mumbling about over there? It's kind of scary.”

Shalltear's voice called Albedo back to her senses, and after coughing lightly, she regarded the faces of the other three.

“Er, where was I? Right right right! Everything Ainz-sama says and does contains great meaning. Therefore, even if you can't reach his level, you need to try your best to Ainz-sama's true intentions from his words.”

“That'll be hard. Ainz-sama's just too smart ─ ah, it's a Spear Needle.”

Two balls of white fluff, each over two meters tall, appeared from inside the village and slowly made their way to Aura's side. They were magical beasts who looked like Angora rabbits.

“They're cute.”

Shalltear stroked one of the furballs standing beside Aura.

“They're so soft, I want to raise one.”

“They feel comfortable, don't they? However, when they encounter enemies, they become as sharp as needles, you know?”

Spear Needles were level 67 monsters.

Once they entered combat mode, they would become a ball of extremely dense spines. If the Spear Needles were killed in this state, their fur would not return to their original soft state. Therefore, when hunting them, one would have to take them unawares and instantly kill them. That was why the players who hunted them were often much higher level than they were.

“Ehh? Really? That's scary…”

Shalltear might have said that, but she was still caressing them nonstop.

“However, if I don't give the order, they won't go into a combat state. Now, if there were enemies nearby it would be a different matter, but no hostile invaders would be able to make it all the way in here. At the very least, the other Floors would send a report.”

“That's true. It's only to be expected. The top three floors are filled with vassals that have excellent detection abilities. It would be very difficult for someone to sneak in here without being noticed by them.”

Just then, Aura froze, and she turned to the Colosseum.

“What's wrong, Aursan?”

“The teleport gate to the 7th Floor just activated.”

“From below? Demiurge ought to be outside now, so… could it be one of your subordinates? Is it alright to not take a look?”

“Hm ─ Mare's around, so there's no need to worry. If anything happens, he'll contact me.”

Aura tapped the earring around her neck.

“Besides, it's hardly a rare thing. You need to take teleport gates at specific locations and go up level by level if you want to go from a lower Floor to an upper Floor. Oh yeah, didn't somebody use magic because they didn't want to run─”

“Ahem! Nazarick is an impregnable fortress.”

“Indeed. Not even that super-tier spell [Sword of Damocles] or my World-Class Item could destroy an entire Floor at once. That's why we must not let the Ring which allows for at-will teleportation to be taken.”

All eyes went to the ring on Albedo's left ring finger.

“Mare apparently hands the ring to someone else for safekeeping when he heads out. From that, you can tell how important the rings are ─ ah, Mare contacted me.”

Aura moved away from the others and grabbed at her earring, and then she began a conversation with the absent Mare. The three of them looked at Aura, whose face was slowly turning serious, and by the time they had finished talking, she looked very unhappy.

“I'm sorry. Mare apparently needs to head out for something, so just in case, I'll be going back.”

“I see. Then… why don't we head back ourselves, Shalltear?”

“I don't mind.”

“I'd like to do something in the fields first before I go. Also, I'd like to chat with the Dryads and the Treants.”

“Then we'll each go our own ways. Thank you for coming, everyone. Thanks to you, I know how to spend my vacation time. If we're free some other day… yes, next time, we should all bathe together.”

Part 2

9:28 Nazarick Time

Mare looked up from the book he was reading, slowly shifting his eyes to peek at the teleport gate which led to the 7th Floor.

Sensing a faint wave of power, he put his bookmark between the open pages and quietly laid it on the chair beside him. He then picked up the staff beside him, the divine-class item known as “Shadow of YGGDRASIL.”

Mare brought his empty hand to the magical item dangling before his chest, but then it stopped halfway.

There was no need to contact his sister. He had not received any reports of an intrusion, so the person who came must have been a friend.

He moved his legs and jogged over to the teleport gate directly below him.

His big sister enjoyed jumping down directly from the spectator seats, but Mare did not like to do that. He felt that since there were stairs installed in the arena, he ought to take them on the way down. That was how one showed their faithfulness to the Supreme Beings. The stairs were meant to be used, after all.

But I don't dare tell onee-chan that… she'll look at me in a scary way…

Mare decided that at the very least, he would not waste the Supreme Beings' efforts, and so he ran down the steps, and then he ran past the resting area. It was then that he saw someone standing before a huge round mirror that flashed with all the colors of the rainbow.

“For… forgive me for keeping you waiting.”

“Oh! If it isn't the Floor Guardian, Mare-sama! Thank you for coming all the way here. I am utterly delighted.”

The clown before him was dressed in pure white and wore a mask that resembled a crow's beak. He bowed, and Mare nodded in response.

“Hello, Pulcinella. What happened today?”

“Oh yes, as you know, Mare-sama, I am currently working under Demiurge-sama, and today I have come as an envoy from Demiurge-sama. Please, take this.”

The clown swiftly handed over the folder he was carrying.

“If Demiurge-san wants me to have this, does this mean it's a circular?”

“Precisely. Ah, I'm so glad it was you who came, Mare-sama. How fortunate. If Aursama had come, I would have to ask her to fetch you.”

“Why? Is… is that so?”

The circular notice system had been invented by the ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown. While it was little more than writing down non-urgent news and other miscellaneous matters on a piece of paper and letting the various Floor Guardians circulate and read it among themselves, something like this had never been practically used before.

Therefore, Mare stared in bafflement at the folder he had just received, muttering “So this is…” to himself.

***

Mare looked at the books on either side as he walked.

Suddenly, a ghostly form appeared from between the bookshelves, as though to block his path.

The ghost wore a black robe, and it seemed to meld into the darkness of the library. There was a jewelled wand on its waist, and several jewels tied to its belt.

There was a waxy, corpse-like face beneath the robe's hood. Its hands were skin and bones. Every time it moved, the faint darkness surrounding it shifted as well.

It was an especially famous monster among the undead magic casters known as Elder Liches.

In YGGDRASIL, they were nicknamed White Counterfeiters. Monsters like these were level 30 and were ranked second among the Elder Lich family. There were other, palette-swapped monsters like these in YGGDRASIL, colloquially known as the Red Counterfeiters and the Black Counterfeiters.

However, he differed from the average Elder Lich in that he had an armband on his left arm.

The armband read “Librarian J”.

“Welcome, Mare-sama.”

The Elder Lich spoke in a hoarse, garbled voice, then bowed in deference, slowly but deeply, with one hand clasped to its chest in a prim and proper movement.

“Ah… ah, I came to look for the Head Librarian. Er, is he in?”

The Elder Lich struck a thinker's pose, and then replied:

“The Head Librarian is currently making scrolls, so he is in the workroom.”

“Thank you.”

“Allow me to show you the way. Please, follow me.”

“How could I impose on you like that? I can't keep you from your work.”

“Think nothing of it. Aiding users of the library is my duty.”

Since he had already said as much, continuing to refuse would be rude.

“I understand, then I'll have to trouble you.”

A smile appeared on the Elder Lich's ghastly face, and then it led the way forward.

As Mare followed him, he glanced at the other Elder Liches and caster-type undead they passed along the way.

“Oh yes, would you like me to put that book back for you?”

“Ah, please do.:

The Elder Lich took the book from Mare and looked at the title.

“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, hm. Did you enjoy it?”

“Mm, it was very interesting! I'm thinking about what I should read next.”

“Then allow me to recommend you a book. This one is very funny, it concerns a murder ─ ah, we have arrived.”

“Thank you very much.”

Mare opened the door which the Elder Lich had guided him to.

What was supposed to have been a spacious room felt oppressive and cramped, thanks to the large shelves on all sides.

The shelves were filled with countless reagents ─ ores, precious metals, element-imbued rocks, various powders, organs from several animals ─ all arranged in neat rows. There was also several stacks of parchment ─ some were rolled up, while some were simply laid there.

All these were the materials needed to make scrolls.

Of course these were not all the resources which the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick possessed. There were several hundred times this amount stored within the Treasury.

Only those supplies which would be promptly used were stored in this room.

There was an extrlarge drawing table in the center of the room, with a piece of parchment opened upon it.

Before the table stood a skeleton which looked like a fusion of human and animal bones.

It was not very tall. It was around 150 cm in height.

Two demonic-looking horns protruded from its head, and it had four-fingered hands. Below its ankles were cloven feet.

This bizarre creature was wrapped in a saffron himation. Apart from that, a hood of similar material lightly shrouded its head without being pierced by the horns, and there was another piece of cloth around its waist.

(TL Note: A himation is an ancient Greek garment worn over the shoulder)

In addition, it wore a silver bracelet with a multi-colored jewel set into it, while there was a golden ankh around its neck, and it had several complex-looking and strange rings on its bony fingers, which looked like they were twined around the digits. There were jewels attached to the himation which took the place of a sash. Each of them was a fairly potent magic item.

It wore several scrolls at its belt, like they were swords.

While it had a unique outfit, it was actually a Skeleton Mage. It was one of the basic undead species, and the stage before the Elder Lich.

However, this Skeleton Mage was the Head Librarian of this massive library ─ Titus Annaeus Secundus.

This being had not been created by the Supreme Beings to focus on combat power, but production ability. In fact, its total level was higher than that of the Elder Lich just now.

“You have come just in time, Guardian Mare. I bid you welcome.”

“Ah, nice to meet you, Titus-san. I came to ask a favor of you.”

“I see. Then tell me what business you have here.”

“Ah… yes. Um. I'd like to borrow your vassals here who are above level 75.”

“I understand. You intend an excursion, I believe?”

“Eh? Y-yes, that's right. How did you know?”

“…I have never forgotten the words of my ruler, Ainz-sama. After that, I considered your situation and I guessed it immediately ─ very well.”

He spent only a moment in contemplation.

“I shall lend you the Overlords within this library ─ Cocceius, Ulpius, Aelius, Fulvius and Aurelius.”

(TL Note: These are all the second names of various Roman Emperors)

“Eh? Really?!”

“But of course. In all honesty, their battle potential is somewhat excessive for the library. Rather than have them do dusting all day, far better to have them be your escorts. I am sure it would make them very happy.”

“Ah… ah, er, thank you very much!”

“That said, some recompense is due. I would have you assist me with a task, the creation of scrolls.”

“Ah, certainly! What should I do?”

“Fret not. Once I say 'now', kindly cast a 4th tier spell upon this scroll. That is all.

“What… what sort of spell should I cast?”

“The choice is yours.”

Mare looked puzzled. Being told to decide for himself was quite difficult. He did not know if he should just use an ordinary spell.

There was a small desk beside the drawing table with the parchment. Titus reached a bony hand out at the desk and touched a pile of glittering gold ─ YGGDRASIL gold coins.

Suddenly, the gold YGGDRASIL coins melted below his bony palm, and they flowed along the parchment like they were sentient.

The golden serpent crawled along the parchment, and then dispersed, as though it had already decided where to go.

In the time between breaths, a golden magic circle covered the parchment. The mystic tracery was both complex and delicate.

“Now.”

Mare ─ who was nervously awaiting his cue ─ cast his spell like he had been startled.

Mare felt his spell being sucked up by the magic circle.

Normally, that would have completed the scroll. That was what Mare had thought.

Until that moment ─

***

There was a bright red blaze.

Something impossible happened upon the drawing table.

Mare looked in shock as the parchment burned like it had been soaked in alcohol, but within a couple of moments, the fire had gone out.

***

The events just now felt like an illusion. There was no trace of a fire within the room. Not even the smell of burning lingered.

However, there was evidence on the table which proved what had just happened was no illusion.

That was the remains of the parchment ─ its ashes.

Titus seemed to have anticipated this, and he calmly picked up the ashes to examine them.

“So you can't imbue them with 4th-tier spells. I seem to have confirmed that it has nothing to do with the caster's power.”

Titus muttered, “ten years old was a failure” and made notes.

“Er, what… what just happened? What did I do wrong?”

“Pay it no heed. I attempted to use the materials of this world to make scrolls in order to save on parchment costs, but their quality is simply atrocious.”

***

The tier of a spell limited the materials that could be used to make a scroll which contained it.

For example, scrolls made from average parchment could hold a 2nd tier spell at the very most, but not spells of a higher tier. If one used the highest grade of parchment ─ that made of dragonhide ─ one could scribe a 10th-tier spell into it.

Naturally, dragonhide was a special material, which required one to slay a Dragon.

For that reason, the guild Ainz Ooal Gown's members had banded together to farm Dragons, but that was from the YGGDRASIL days. Until they could verify that this world contained Dragons ─ as well as other beasts ─ Ainz had sensibly imposed a restriction on the use of dragonhide.

He could not do something foolish like expend a non-renewable resource. After all, there was no telling when he might need to use it.

***

“You can't use my Dragons!”

“But of course. I will not do such a thing. Beginning with your Dragons, all these specially-summoned beings are the will of the Supreme Beings made manifest. Harming them is strictly forbidden.”

Mare breathed a sigh of relief. Titus looked at him with interest in his eyes, then swept the ashes into a bin.

“Er, then, does that mean this world's parchment isn't suitable for making scrolls?”

Mare's eyes looked toward the remains.

“That is quite possible. No, I do not know yet. It might be that my manufacturing methods are unorthodox in this world. For instance, they seem to produce potions in a markedly different way.”

“But… is that really so? If it's just one failure, couldn't it be the parchment's fault?”

“Just one, you say? I have already used the parchment from the outside for various experiments, but whenever I attempt to imbue a spell above the 3rd tier into them, I receive the same result each time ─ destruction. It is quite likely that the parchment burns because the magical power cannot be infused into it.”

“…But the magic casters in this world all use that sort of parchment, right?”

“No, what I just disposed of is probably not a typical piece of parchment used by the magic casters of this world. Of course, after considering that there are various nations in this world, I cannot guarantee that nobody has used a parchment like this one. When I used the parchments of the nations near Nazarick─”

Titus produced a stack of parchment which seemed different from the piece just now.

“─The experimental results were even worse; they were limited to 1st-tier spells.”

“So that means the humans know how to make good use of poorer materials?”

“No. I believe it might be a technological difference. While it pains me to admit it, their technique is, to some extent, more refined than ours. I would love to acquire this new technology and improve my skills.”

“That's amazing!”

Mare felt nothing but respect for the Head Librarian's spirit of self-improvement.

“All this is for the Supreme One's sake. Then, Guardian Mare, as we agreed, I shall lend you the Overlords. Come with me.”

***

10:28 Nazarick Time

He handed his ring to someone else along the way and then reached the surface. There, Mare and company performed a mass teleport and arrived in the middle of a room within a stone structure in the Lizardman village.

This building was constructed of sturdy, heavy stone. Iit could only be built in a place with sufficiently firm ground, thus requiring construction techniques the Lizardmen did not possess. Needless to say, the people who had built this place were a third party ─ a group from the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

The reason to have people come all the way from Nazarick to build this structure stood behind Mare's back. The object which stood within the depths of this building explained everything.

Mare bowed deeply to the object in question. The Overlords travelling with him bowed as well.

A stone statue made in the image of Ainz Ooal Gown, ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, stood upon an elevated platform. It was so lifelike that it seemed as though the original had been turned to stone. The way it raised its staff radiated the dignity and gravitas of a ruler.

All manner of offerings adorned the altar before the statue. Naturally, those offerings were worthless in Mare's eyes, meager tributes of flowers and fish and the like.

However, Mare was not displeased.

That was because the ones who had made those offerings were filled with genuine respect and reverence. For instance, fresh flowers did not grow in the swampland, but in the forests which were very dangerous to the Lizardmen ─ they must have risked their lives to pick them. The fish were the Lizardmen's staple diet, but the offerings were much bigger than the average fish. Mare understood that they had only chosen the most impressive specimens to offer up.

“Mm,” Mare nodded in satisfaction.

Seeing common riffraff express their respect for his great master made him very happy.

“Well done.”

He spoke to reassure the Lizardmen who were peeking fearfully at him.

They were the personnel responsible for cleaning this sanctuary. They possessed druidic abilities, which were rare among the Lizardmen, and they wore badges with the guild emblem of Ainz Ooal Gown around their neck.

There was a vast difference between their stations and that of Mare, between that of the conquered and their conquerors, so there was no need to thank them for their hard work. However, for the reasons mentioned earlier, Mare had been so satisfied with their labors that he had decided to thank them for it.

Mare left the Lizardmen bowing nonstop behind him, and led the five Overlords out of the sanctuary.

Before him was a patch of swamp, the Lizardman settlement. It seemed more developed than before.

Indeed, they had lost many people during that war. However, the five tribes were now one, and in the end they had formed a stronger, larger village.

The boundary fence encompassed a wide area. At some point, watchtowers had been built in the muddy swamp, and upon each of them stood a skeleton ─ probably a Nazarick Old Guarder ─ scanning the surroundings with an arrow nocked to its bow. Several Nazarick Old Guarders could be seen walking around in the swamp; presumably, they were conducting reconnaissance in case of enemy attack.

“Ah, where's Cocytus-san?”

Cocytus stood out in many ways. If he were in the village, then he ought to be instantly visible from here; if he were inside a building, there ought to be vassals like the ones Mare brought along waiting outside. With that in mind, he looked around the entire village, but could not find him.

“Could one of you please ask where Cocytus-san is?”

“Certainly. A moment, please.”

One of the Overlords ─ Aurelius ─ headed back into the sanctuary.

Mare looked out at the swamp ─ at the Lizardmen's peaceful and quiet village. Nobody here was wary of the Nazarick Old Guarders. Even the Lizardman children were the same way. Both sides seemed to be coexisting like it was the natural thing to do.

Though they were attacked and conquered by the undead, they don't seem to bear any resentment for them. Was this because of Cocytus-san' policy of friendliness? Or is this the nature of the Lizardmen?

As he idly pondered the matter, Aurelius soon returned.

“Forgive the delay, Mare-sama. The people in the sanctuary do not know the whereabouts of Cocytus-sama. However, they say that Shasuryu Shasha ─ the leader of the tribal alliance ─ might know.”

“Ah, then, um, let's go visit him and take a look.”

Mare's entourage proceeded under Aurelius' leadership. They did not cross over the swamp to go to the Lizardman village, but followed the edge of the lake, walking a short distance through the forest. The forms of Nazarick Old Guarders could be seen in the distance.

Once the group exited the forest, they saw a large-scale construction project under way on the other side of the swamp.

The flow of water here had been dammed, and roughly ten Stone Golems were excavating the soil. The sand and mud they dug up were carried away by Lizardmen with pushcarts on the shore.

As Mare watched what they were doing, a strapping Lizardman ran over in a hurry.

This Lizardman was covered in old wounds. His physique was imposing and he was distinctly different from the average Lizardman. The medal around his neck swung wildly due to his haste in running over.

The medal was a symbol of loyalty, and also a mark of protection. It was not magical in itself, but by wearing it, they could prove that they were Ainz's property. Therefore, nobody from the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick who revered the Supreme Beings as gods could harm the Lizardmen intentionally. Of course, it would be a different matter if they deserved death, but fortunately, the Lizardmen were not that stupid. They knew their place and acknowledged the strong as their masters.

“I welcome you, Mare-sama. My name is ─”

“You're Shasuryu Shashsan, right?”

“Indeed, I am. I am honored that you know my name.”

“Ah, I… I heard it from Cocytus-san… ah, do you know where Cocytus-san is now?”

Shasuryu waxed thoughtful for a bit.

“I recall Cocytus-sama brought several of his subordinates and several dozen trainee Lizardmen on his expedition to subjugate the Toadmen.”

“Toadmen?”

“They are the demihumans who live in the northeastern reaches of the lake. They look like frogs, and we do not get along too well with them. They possess the ability to control large monsters and magical beasts, so they are very tricky opponents for us. I hear that there was a war once during my grandfather's time. We were soundly defeated and one of our tribes was dissolved as a result.”

“As… as expected of the northern species, they're quite strong.”

This lake was shaped like two smaller lakes joined together, or an inverted gourd. The smaller lake on the south where the Lizardmen dwelled was half swamp and half lake, and due to the shallow water there were few large monsters there. In comparison, the water in the larger northern lake was deeper, so many large monsters lived there, and they were stronger than the monsters of the south. Of course, it made little difference to Mare.

“That's right, when you mentioned Toadmen, were you talking about a species called the Tuvegs?”

Mare was referring to the monsters who lived in the poison swamp around Nazarick in the past. He knew his sister had several of those monsters as servitors.

“Well, I am not too sure about that. Perhaps you could ask Cocytus-sama after he comes back? He will probably return soon.”

“I understand. Then, I'll ask about something else, about… about that. You seem to be building something big here, but what is it? It's quite a distance from the village, but it doesn't look like a fence or some other kind of defense…”

“Yes. In truth, we are building our fourth fish preserve here.”

As he heard Shasuryu's words, enlightenment dawned on Mare.

It was good that the Lizardman tribes could be united. But once their population grew, food shortages would naturally result. While many people had died during the war, they could not hunt or trap enough to feed their people. Of course, they could solve that problem by returning to their former villages to fish, but Cocytus, the new ruler of the Lizardmen, did not agree.

It was one thing for the entire village to move as one to another part of the swamp, but if only a few people moved by themselves, there was a high chance they would be attacked by monsters. The Lizardmen's numbers were already greatly decreased. Cocytus did not want to lose more of them.

In order to ensure the prosperity of the Lizardmen, Cocytus took action to solve this problem ─ the food problem.

First, he imported rations from Nazarick ─ with Ainz's permission, naturally ─ and distributed it to the Lizardmen. After that, he began studying methods to ensure a sustainable food supply. It went without saying that the solution he had discovered was the fish farms built by Zaryusu. After that, he discussed the matter with Demiurge, and began to build superior fish farms.

They had worked at a fever pitch and built three gigantic fish farms, and this was the fourth one.

“But the fries haven't been raised yet, am I right?”

“Yes. What we… no, what my brother learned was not raising them from fries, but breeding already-grown fish. However, thanks to Demiurge-sama's guidance, we have made preparations to farm fish fries. If all goes according to plan, we should be able to support twice the present population of Lizardmen through the produce of the fish farms. “

“I… I see. In a few years' time, you won't need to take fish from Nazarick. Ah, of course, if an emergency crops up, I imagine you are always welcome to take fish.”

“Every member of our tribe is deeply grateful to Ainz-sama's merciful kindness in giving us so much fish… although, the fish Ainz-sama gave us lack internal organs, so how do they live? Are they like certain monsters who do not need to eat? No, they do not even have bones; what sort of lifeforms are they?”

“They are the food which was made by the power of Ainz-sama and the other Supreme Beings.”

The food Cocytus had given them was made with a magic item called Dagda's Cauldron.

“What!? Ainz-sama could actually make enough fish to feed us all!?”

Shasuryu shook his head.

“When Zaryusu and the others visited the fortress of the Supreme Ones and came back with tales of what they had seen, it sounded like they were dreaming. They said the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick contained many smaller worlds within it, a true land of the gods. Is Ainz Ooal Gown-sama truly a god…?”

“But of course.”

Why was this Lizardman stating the obvious? Mare could not understand him and tilted his head in confusion.

Ainz Ooal Gown was the greatest of the gods. He was their creator.

“I see. So all this was bestowed upon us by Ainz-sama. My thanks to Ainz-sama.”

_{The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ʟɪɢʜᴛɴᴏᴠᴇʟᴡᴏʀʟᴅ.ᴄᴏᴍ website.}

“Mm. I'll let Ainz-sama know that.”

Chapter end