The Two Leaders

by Kugane Maruyama

  “I’m really glad you’re okay!” She hugged him hard.

  “You too.”

  His hands went around her, hugging her back. It was a tight embrace but comfortable.

  Her tears overflowed and ran down her cheeks.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Idiot!”

  “Sorry to bug ya while you’re flirtin’, but…”

  They both let go simultaneously. Though a little sad about that, she turned to Lupusregina. “Lupusregina! The troll—” Shifting her gaze, she saw something that defied description.

  “Oh yeah. He’s that raw-hamburger-lookin’ thing over there. Just gotta grill him up, and he’s done.”

  In the direction her bloody holy staff was pointing, there was a gory lump of meat on the ground. There was nothing to show that it had once been a troll. The sight of it trying to regenerate was beyond horrifying and made Enri feel sick.

  “Ahh, I’m glad you’re both all right. Seems like the other guys did okay, too.”

  Enri heard the voices of the other goblins coming their way. It sounded like the fight by the front gate had ended in victory.

  “Hup.”

  A red column like fire raining out of the sky enveloped the troll, and the stink of burning flesh filled the air.

  “That’s it for the troll. Anyhow, my work here is done, so I’m gonna head back. Nfi, Lord Ainz highly praises your work on the purple potion and would like to invite ya to his house, so ya better prepare yourself! Er, I mean, look forward to it!”

  As if she’d said everything she wanted to say, she turned on her heel and headed for the back gate.

  “Thank you!”

  The eccentric maid neither turned around nor stopped at Enri’s shout but just waved a hand.

  “Boss lady, boss man. We’ll lead everyone over here. Please rest.”

  The goblins ran off without listening for a reply. Enri thought they could have left at least one behind, but she was more worried about Nfirea, so she lent him a shoulder as they walked.

  “Phew…” Their sighs overlapped coincidentally. Then they both looked up at the stars at almost exactly the same time.

  “She saved us.”

  “Yeah.”

  “We were lucky.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I never want to do anything like this ever again.”

  “Yeah.”

  Silence fell between them. Then Enri suddenly remembered something. “I don’t know if I love you or not, but I don’t want you to go away anywhere.”

  “…Mm-hmm… Yeah.”

  “Does that mean I love you?”

  “…I dunno. But if it does, I’m glad.”

  Enri and Nfirea waited for the goblins shoulder to shoulder while quietly gazing up at the night sky…

  Epilogue

  “Boss lady, looks like yer ready.” That was Jugemu’s remark to Enri when he came into her house and saw her.

  “Yeah, but…you don’t think I look weird?” Enri asked, staring at the figure she cut in her best clothes, the ones she wore only for the harvest festival and other celebrations.

  “Nothing weird about ya at all, right, boss man?”

  “Yeah, you look pretty, Enri.”

  “Agh!” Enri blushed and saw Jugemu and Nemu grinning out of the corner of her eye. Their smiles were more wicked than warm.

  She was of a mind to say a word or two to them about those expressions, which had been appearing more frequently as her relationship with Nfirea progressed. At the same time, she wisely knew that her face would only become redder if she tried, so she kept her mouth shut.

  Still, leaving them like that was dangerous. Especially Nemu.

  Sometimes her sister asked her questions she had a hard time answering.

  I feel like she’s developed an awful lot mentally over the past few days… I should let Nfirea rescue me here…

  Catching her pleading glance for assistance, her boyfriend chimed in.

  “Uh, ahem! By the way, how’s it going with the magic sword? Last time I asked it sounded like you were having trouble because it was different from other swords you had used.”

  The greatsword Jugemu carried was a magical blade he had acquired in the attack a few days ago.

  “I finally got used to the weight and center of gravity, so I can use it as well as my other swords now. As ya might expect of a magic weapon, it’s sharper and whatnot. However, it’s a bit lame that the poison running down the groove only lowers yer opponent’s strength.”

  “Really? It sounds like an amazing effect.”

  “It’s not very strong poison. At our level, we can mostly resist it. If it only affects weaker enemies, it’s not very…” Jugemu looked a bit gloomy all of a sudden.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Well…” Jugemu looked up at the ceiling and then reluctantly spoke. “The troll that had this sword… It just seemed strange.”

  “When I saw the corpse, it did seem different from a normal troll, like maybe a subspecies.”

  “No, I don’t mean like that, boss man… The way it moved, the dysfunctional regeneration ability, the feel of cutting into it… It was strange… Yeah, I got this eerie feeling it was already dead but still moving around.”

  “A moving corpse? You’re saying it was a zombie?”

  “I don’t know. That sort of troll could exis—”

  “Heyyy, sorry I’m late!”

  The door burst open.

  Lupusregina walked right into Enri’s house, sun at her back. As if to speak for everyone who had been caught off guard, a light smack sounded from her head.

  “Ah, ow!”

  “You dolt. Is that any way to behave? Please excuse us, everyone.”

  Yanking Lupusregina, who was pressing a hand to her head, behind her, the woman who had been in the rear stepped in front of the door and bowed.

  “I am Lord Ainz’s maid, Yuri Alpha. I’ve come to collect Master Nfirea, Miss Enri, and Miss Nemu. May I come in?”

  “Oh yes, please do. Uh, you too, Lupusregina.”

  The woman thanking them as she entered with Lupusregina was another heavenly beauty.

  “Now then, if you’re ready, I’ll make the preparations to teleport us.”

  “T-teleport? You can teleport?!” Nfirea shouted.

  Enri had no idea why he was shouting, but she figured teleporting must be a big deal.

  I guess it was amazing that time the captain of the Royal Select and his men teleported, too.

  “Oh no. It’s not my own power but that of a magic item Lord Ainz lent to me.”

  “…The horn and the potions… It’s all so amazing. It’s just so incredible that I can’t really take it all in.” Nfirea’s shoulders slumped.

  Enri realized she had the chance to ask something she’d wanted to know for a while and said, “Umm, is it really okay for me to go? And my sister?”

  Today Nfirea was invited to the house of the village’s savior, Ainz Ooal Gown, but she’d been anxious ever since she heard it was probably fine for her to go along. Sir Gown was an immensely powerful caster, essentially from a different world than the one she lived in. Her stomach threatened to cramp whenever she wondered if she would accidentally do something rude.

  “It’s totally cool. This is to celebrate the potion Nfi made, so Lord Ainz said it’s fine for you to come along, since you’re his girl. You don’t gotta fret over manners or etiquette.”

  “…Lupu, please do something about that mouth of yours.”

  “Aw, Yuri, s’fine, isn’t it? They’re my friends, right, En?”

  “Huh? Y-yeah. Yes. You’re right, mm-hmm.”

  The maid named Yuri sighed and walked over to the wall. Suddenly a big wooden frame appeared as if she had pulled it out of thin air. It was like an ornately carved picture frame large enough for people to pass through.

  “Is that…Pocket Space? No, I don’t think you can put such big items in that, so it must be some more advanced magic…”

&n
bsp; “Okay, please enter. Lupu, can I leave guarding this place up to you?”

  “Yep!”

  On the other side of the frame should have been the familiar wall, but instead it opened onto an unknown world.

  Yuri led the way through to the other side.

  Nfirea went next. Enri followed a moment later, and then Nemu, who was holding her hand.

  There was no resistance as they crossed over, and they found themselves in a magnificent hallway lined on both sides with statues that seemed liable to start moving at any moment.

  “Wowww.” Sighing in admiration, Nemu’s mouth gaped, and she craned her neck back to look up at the ceiling.

  Supporting her so she wouldn’t fall, Enri looked up, too. “Fantastic…”

  The hallway’s marble floor was polished to perfection and covered with a gorgeous rug. A bit astounded, Enri thought this must be what it was like inside the royal palace.

  “This way.”

  Yuri’s voice brought her to her senses, and she ran to catch up with the other two, but running seemed so out of place that she slowed to a trot.

  After they walked a short distance, they came upon another frame in the wall. It was like the one from before except for two things. First, it was many times larger than the other one—several people could walk abreast and pass through without a problem. Second, they couldn’t see through to the other side; there was something covering the frame, like a thin film, radiating the colors of a rainbow.

  “Please proceed through this one just like the last one.”

  Enri and Nfirea exchanged glances.

  “Okay, want to go together?”

  They held hands. Lined up—Nemu, Enri, Nfirea, from left to right—they stepped into the frame.

  For just an instant, Enri thought she saw a woman wearing red on the bottom and white on top standing among falling pink blossoms—

  “Welcome.”

  A chorus of perfectly synchronized voices greeted them.

  This was a hallway even more gorgeous than the last. Beautiful maids had lined up along either side. In the very back stood a figure wearing a strange mask and a robe such a deep raven black that it seemed to suck in the light. It was the caster who had saved their village, Ainz Ooal Gown.

  Enri stood there blankly with her mouth hanging open.

  A glittering chandelier hung from the ceiling, and there was not so much as a speck of dust on the white floor.

  The lovely women lining the splendid hall seemed to have come from a fantasy world.

  As she was standing, dazed, in this dream world, Enri felt Nemu suddenly let go of her hand. It registered hazily in a corner of her mind, but in the next instant she was jerked back to reality.

  Nemu had taken off running.

  “Wow! Wow! Awesome!” she shouted, racing around at top speed. She sprinted past the maids and over to where Ainz was.

  The sight must have been too much for her to handle, so she couldn’t contain herself as she went on a giddy rampage.

  “Wooooow! Amazing!”

  “Nemu! Get back here!”

  Enri ran after her a moment later. Her sister’s incredibly rude behavior turned her entire body into a fountain of sweat.

  But this place, lined with beautiful maids, was like a holy sanctuary. Enri didn’t feel as though a village girl like herself should be racing around. Her legs expressed her contradictory thoughts directly and ended up moving with a gait like a dying frog.

  While Enri was herking and jerking, Nemu had no trouble reaching the village’s savior.

  “…Is it really that amazing?”

  “Yeah! It’s way too amazing!”

  “I see. So it’s amazing, huh…? Well, yes, I suppose it is…” Ainz slowly reached his hand out and gently caressed Nemu’s head.

  “This is where I live. It’s great, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, really great! Did you build it, Sir Gown?”

  “Ha-ha-ha-ha. Yes, that’s right. I built it with my friends.”

  “Wow! Your friends are great, too!”

  “Hah! Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

  Cheerful laughter echoed throughout the corridor.

  Then Enri and Nfirea finally, nervously reached them. Enri grabbed Nemu’s hand with a squeeze and the nuance that she wouldn’t let her go again.

  “We are humbled and honored by your invitation! Thank you very much!”

  “Oh, you don’t need to be so formal. We’re here to celebrate the creation of your new potion. I do hope you can relax.”

  “My humble apologies, Sir Gown, for my little sister Nemu’s rudeness.”

  “It’s really nothing to worry about. She was moved by the sight of my home, right? In that case, it’s my fault, isn’t it?” Ainz replied in good humor. “Let’s see… The plan was to hear from Nfirea, but… Nemu. What do you think? Would you like to take a tour of the house that I—no, my friends and I—built?”

  “Yeah! I wanna see! Please show me your awesome mansion!”

  “Ha-ha-ha. Okay, okay. I’ll show you all sorts of things.”

  Ainz seemed to be in such a good mood that Enri couldn’t say a word.

  Ainz told Enri he wanted her to wait in the sitting room while he showed Nemu around, so she sat lightly on the sofa.

  Like a little animal that had been kidnapped from its nest, she glanced around nervously at her surroundings. Sitting next to her—though there was plenty of room, they sat huddled together—was Nfirea, who was so on edge that he also seemed like a frightened animal.

  Enri had already known that the savior of the village, the great caster Ainz Ooal Gown, was an amazing person, but her imagination hadn’t gone far enough.

  She felt like she’d wandered into a storybook world where a princess would appear; everything was so glittering and dreamlike.

  Above the fireplace on the left and right hung glass birds that seemed liable to fly away at any second. If I broke one of these I’d probably never be able to pay him back even if I worked my whole life…

  The sofa she was sitting on was pristine, and she worried the dirt from her clothes would get on it.

  The light shining down from the first chandelier Enri had ever seen in her life was neither torchlight nor candlelight but magic. She seemed to remember there being a chandelier at the Adventurers Guild in E-Rantel, but it hadn’t been lit, and it wasn’t as grand as this one.

  All the furnishings were tasteful and of excellent quality, especially the impressively solid ebony lacquered table sitting in front of her. Even if she didn’t know the prices of these sorts of things, she could tell they were extraordinarily expensive.

  The painting on the wall was so detailed it was as if the artist had taken a beautiful live woman and covered her in paint.

  She wondered if it was really all right for them to walk in their shoes on the carpet. It was so soft she wondered if she should lift up her feet as she sat on the couch and try to minimize their contact.

  Enri was so nervous she thought she might collapse.

  “Maybe we should have gone with them.”

  Ainz had opposed it, but now Enri’s stomach was doing somersaults worrying about Nemu being on her own.

  “I hope she’s not causing trouble for him…”

  “I’m sure she’s fine. Sir Ainz is a very understanding man. I don’t think he’ll be bothered just because a little kid does something rude.”

  “Mm, but you know, I heard making a noble angry can get you killed…”

  “I’ve heard those stories, but I’ve never seen it happen. E-Rantel is directly under the king’s jurisdiction, so no nobles have flown off the handle there that I can remember… Is Sir Gown a noble?”

  “You don’t think so? I’m pretty sure only a noble would be powerful enough to have such splendid rooms and collect such pretty maids.”

  “Hmm… I wonder. I don’t think even nobles can get maids that pretty…”

  Enri’s eyebrows stealthily tilted to a dangerous angle.

  Alt
hough she’d called the maids pretty, too, it was uncomfortable to hear it from Nfirea. Just as she rolled her eyes to glare at him, they heard a knock.

  “Eep!”

  She jumped, and since Nfirea was so close they were touching, it spread to him, and his whole body shuddered.

  The knock sounded again. As Enri thought frantically about what she was being asked to do, Nfirea spoke. “Uh, umm, please come in.”

  “Excuse my intrusion.”

  As Enri was falling in love with Nfirea all over again for the coolheadedness that had led him to the correct answer, a maid came in pushing a silver service cart. It was a pretty woman wearing an immaculate maid uniform that even an amateur could tell was well tailored. On her face was a gentle smile, but Enri’s mind was seized by the worry that the moment she looked at them, she would suddenly scowl furiously and say, Wh-what have you done?!

  “I’ve brought you something to drink.”

  “Th-that’s okay!”

  The maid was momentarily caught off guard by Enri’s hasty reply. She shifted her eyes to Nfirea and then looked back at Enri. “…Oh, are you sure?”

  “Y-yes.”

  Enri’s stiff nervousness and Nfirea’s timidity must have conveyed their feelings to her. With a genuinely kind smile, she sat next to Enri, who was paralyzed with nerves. She put a friendly hand on her shoulder.

  “Lady Emmott, please don’t be so nervous. You and Master Baleare are our guests. All you need to do is relax while you wait.”

  “B-but…I just think what would happen if I accidentally broke something…”

  “Not to worry. You could break any of the things here, and Lord Ainz wouldn’t be upset.”

  “Wh-what? Any of these things?”

  Enri got a headache just thinking of the prices of the things in this room. Is she saying these things aren’t important to him at all?

  “Yes. Lord Ainz is exceedingly wealthy.”

  “Th-that I know.” Because he’d given her that amazing magic horn like it was nothing.

  “So you can relax. As long as you don’t destroy something on purpose, I’m sure he would smile and forgive you. And I think he would be able to repair the item with magic.”

  “Still…I just…”

  “I understand. Then how about a drink? Perhaps it will put you more at ease.”