The Dwarven Crafter

by Kugane Maruyama

  Ainz had grown as a warrior. No, it was more accurate to say he had learned how to take full advantage of his abilities. Even if his physical strength didn’t improve, he could still develop in other ways.

  Unlike back in the days when they were mere data, the NPCs of Nazarick now had hearts and minds that allowed them all to think for themselves. That was true for Shalltear as well. The Shalltear of tomorrow would certainly be different from the Shalltear of today.

  “Instead of repeating the same things over and over, I should have her attempt different things so she can grow… She may very well make mistakes. It’s not that I want her to, but even if she does, those around her can back her up. That’s why I’ve called on you, Aura.”

  Aura probably got along with Shalltear better than Mare, and he figured Aura would be good at taking charge.

  She had been listening quietly, but now she nodded firmly.

  “…But if we move too far away from her contractual obligations in the name of giving her more varied experiences, that’s wrong as a company—er, organization.”

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “…Well, for instance, it would be unforgivable to force her to do things she didn’t want to do.”

  “Obeying your commands is why we exist, Lord Ainz!”

  “…You don’t think it’s wrong to make Shalltear do things that go against what Peroroncino intended? If my orders contradict what Bubbling-Teapot wanted, how would you feel about following them, Aura?”

  “Urk! That, uh…” She lowered her eyes nervously. She probably couldn’t say That would be a problem in front of Ainz.

  “That’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m just trying to make a point. Anyhow, I’m going to have Shalltear take on a bunch of trials and see how she grows. That’s why I’ve chosen to bring her along.”

  “I see! Such a deep, complex reason—brilliant as always, Lord Ainz!”

  Those at the top must challenge those below to allow them a chance to grow.

  This was the policy of a manager in a business book Ainz had read after being transported to this world.

  The reason he hadn’t been able to give Shalltear chances to grow until now was because the stakes had been too high and also his general lack of time. But now—no, there was no chance except now.

  “The rest I’ll explain once Shalltear gets here. I don’t want to say it all twice.”

  Just as he finished speaking, a knock sounded on the door, and Decrement checked to see who it was. “It’s Mistress Shalltear.”

  Apparently, the one they were waiting for had arrived. Ainz ordered Decrement to show her in.

  “Shalltear Bloodfallen, at your service!”

  Ainz had been about to say, Good of you to come, but he froze when he laid eyes on her. He blinked for a few seconds and then asked, “Wh-why are you in full gear?”

  She wore full plate armor and carried her Pipette Lance.

  “My lord! I’m prepared to protect you now! I shall utterly annihilate any who dare to defy you!”

  Ainz eyed Aura to ask what they should do about eager and wide-eyed Shalltear. He couldn’t exactly fault her thought process.

  “Agh, aren’t you being a bit impatient? You could listen to what Lord Ainz has to say before jumping into action.”

  Shalltear pouted at Aura’s teasing. Before they could get into it, Ainz held up his palms to warn them.

  “Shalltear, I can see where you were coming from, and it certainly wasn’t a mistake. But what we’re doing this time is a bit different. Forgive me for not explaining well enough.”

  Ainz hurriedly explained the objective of their journey to the dwarf country and establishing friendly relations.

  It confused Shalltear. “A-are you quite sure you want me for that?”

  “…There are several reasons I chose you. Protecting me is one of them. But the most important one is to have you gain experience. I feel like I can’t leave this job to you due to Blood Frenzy, but that’s just me. But if I let you try it out, maybe we’ll find that you’re actually suited to it.”

  Shalltear’s eyes gaped. “Understood, Lord Ainz! I’ll be sure to achieve results you can be proud of!”

  “…Very good, Shalltear. For this assignment, you’ll be working under Aura. She’ll be your superior, and you will follow her orders.”

  “Understood!” Shalltear bowed her head.

  She seemed a little too high-strung, but that was better than lacking motivation. He just didn’t want her to spin her wheels going nowhere.

  “Now then, I appreciate your zeal, Shalltear, but let’s rein it in a little… All right, time to think about who to bring with us. Thoughts?”

  “Lord Ainz, may I ask something?”

  Surprised at the voice coming from somewhere he didn’t expect, he turned his attention to Decrement, who was perfectly composed.

  “What is it? You have something?”

  “Yes. If you’re going to the dwarf country, Lord Ainz, I think it would be advisable to bring several of us maids along as ladies-in-waiting. Rulers have been accompanied by staff to take care of their incidental needs since ancient times. In fact, if you don’t have ladies-in-waiting, they may make light of you in the dwarf country.”

  “I see… You do have a point.”

  Ainz had gleaned from his spying the fact that Jircniv traveled with several carriages, and in one of them were well-dressed women. They must have been the people who took care of the emperor wherever he went. If they had all stayed at Nazarick, he could have investigated further, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

  Well, perhaps it was rather impolite of him to have allowed the emperor’s party to leave right away without hosting them for a night. Ainz had ultimately deferred to his guest’s wishes because no matter how many times he offered accommodations, Jircniv had stubbornly insisted on leaving. Maybe the polite thing to do would have been to convince him to stay.

  There was even a chance that if they had gotten along better at that time, Jircniv wouldn’t have proposed his nation becoming a vassal state when they met at the arena.

  Whoops, I’m off on a tangent… What Decrement said does make sense, though. But…

  He recalled her data. Though each of the forty-one regular maids had different faces, their data and equipment were the same.

  The grotesques known as homunculi didn’t excel at anything in particular and were extremely weak, being level 1. In terms of ability points, they were stronger than a level-1 humanoid, but if the two fought, the homunculus’s chances of winning were only about 60 percent.

  The maid outfits they were equipped with had a decent amount of defense but were still only upper grade. Even if that made them tough by this world’s standards, a Yggdrasil player would find their gear as flimsy as paper.

  To be blunt, there was no way he could take them into the dwarf country about which they knew almost nothing and where players could be lying in wait for them.

  “It’s unfortunate, but I can’t do that. If I need attendants—Shalltear, would it be possible to bring some of your vampire brides?”

  “You needn’t even ask. All in Nazarick are subordinate to you, Lord Ainz. Simply say the word.”

  “I see. Decrement, your proposal is very natural, but the problem is that you’re so weak, I would be anxious for your safety in unknown lands.”

  “I’m aware of the danger!”

  Ainz held a hand up as a request for her to remain calm. “Your attitude—the way you all devote yourselves to me—gives me joy. So I tell you what I’ll do. Once we confirm the dwarf country is safe, I’ll send for you via Teleport. Until then, let’s leave the work to the vampire brides.”

  Decrement opened her mouth a few times, but no words came out, and she bowed her head. Ainz preferred that she understand herself rather than just accept his orders, but it seemed like that would be difficult.

  He looked away from her. He had no other methods with which to persuade her, and no matter what sh
e said, he wasn’t going to change his mind.

  It didn’t cost much to resurrect a level-1 NPC. But that wasn’t the issue.

  Who would ever want to expose their friends’ children to danger?

  “So, Shalltear, let’s bring—hmm—six vampire brides. And let’s round up another thirty knights. Five of them will be Hanzos I recently summoned.”

  He had chosen the number thirty at random. He figured that was an acceptable number. Or maybe it was because that was the number of players on a team.

  “While we gather party members, I’m going to get in touch with Cocytus. Yes. I’ll go ahead of you two and talk to him. Once you’ve finished organizing the party, use Gate to come to the lizardman village. Then we’ll head north to look for the dwarf country. How does that sound?”

  “Roger!”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  The two guardians agreed to his plan. Ainz had hoped one of them would present a better idea, but nothing came up. He didn’t think these two were flunkies who would blindly agree, but it did make him nervous when the only response to anything he proposed was a yes, sir—since it wasn’t as if he was confident in his own thinking.

  “So do you have any proposals for the entourage?”

  “If we took my magical beasts—”

  “My undead could—”

  The pair began talking at once and their eyes met. He thought it would devolve then and there into a fight, but Shalltear was the first to look away.

  “Go ahead.”

  “…What’s wrong? Did you eat something weird?”

  “I was ordered to follow you as my superior on this mission.”

  “…Mm, that’s kinda creepy.”

  Shalltear’s eyebrows twitched, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Then, what about having twenty-five of your undead ride my beasts?”

  “I have no objections, but…” Shalltear turned to Ainz. “That makes the total greater than the number Lord Ainz decided. Is that all right?”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “Then, let’s go with that.”

  It seemed like the pair had reached an understanding, so Ainz spoke up. “Okay, time to get cracking. I want the party members selected and ready to go within the next two hours. Don’t make any plans that assume you can teleport back to Nazarick at any time. Outfit yourselves with the intention of not returning for a while. Aura, take extra care, since you’re a living being. All right, you’re both dismissed. I need to let Pandora’s Actor know what’s going on.”

  And I have to Message Albedo, too, he mentally noted.

  •

  “Finally! It’s finally time!” Once they had gotten a short distance from the Supreme Being’s room, where he wouldn’t hear them, Shalltear clenched her fist and crowed. “Now’s my chance to make up for my mistake and show everyone that Shalltear Bloodfallen is worth having around! That took forever…” She stared off into the distance.

  Aura could tell how emotional she was from her unusually casual tone. Shalltear had already been punished for her error, and Ainz had even told her in the Throne Room that it wasn’t her fault. But as a fellow floor guardian, Aura understood the urge to wipe the mistake from her record so much it hurt. But she was nervous.

  “The wait has been so long… All I’ve been getting are simple jobs or duties anyone could do. But… But…”

  “True. But I do think all the jobs Lord Ainz ordered you to do were important.”

  “No doubt, what you say is correct. But there’s a scale of importance.”

  “And I’m sure protecting Nazarick is high up on that scale. Manning the first line of defense against any intruders is a job I don’t think Lord Ainz could assign to anyone besides his most trusted guardian.”

  “Ngh!” Shalltear wasn’t sure how to respond. She fidgeted, tapping her fingers together. “Is that what Lord Ainz really thinks?”

  “Well, maybe. He did say you’re really strong.”

  Shalltear smiled from ear to ear. Her reaction put Aura at ease. Prior to this, she had been worried that if nothing changed, Shalltear would eventually end up doing something excessive and cause trouble for Ainz. If that happened, she wasn’t sure how she would apologize, and she would feel bad for Shalltear, who would have put so much thought into it only for it to go nowhere.

  “And when we were in that human city, Demiurge warned me—only me. He thinks I’m incompetent. If the greatest mind in Nazarick thinks that, then there’s a good chance that the others, including Lord Ainz, who is even wiser than Demiurge, probably feel the same, don’t you think?”

  “I dunno. Isn’t it precisely because he knows more than Demiurge that he doesn’t see you that way?”

  “Ahhh.” Shalltear exhaled hotly. “Lord Ainz is always so brilliant.”

  “Phew.” Aura sighed.

  She felt slightly tired. But she didn’t feel like telling Shalltear in a straightforward way would have much effect when she was nearly at her wits’ end like this, so it was worth attacking from a different angle.

  “But the others with the same amount of knowledge as Demiurge must think that way.”

  “…I can’t deny that.”

  Or rather, it was definitely true. Shalltear’s eyes popped wide open, so before she could say anything, Aura continued. “Lord Ainz wants you to experience lots of different things so he can find out what you’re suited for, right? So you can jump right in, but it might impress everyone, including Lord Ainz, if you study beforehand.”

  “Study beforehand?”

  “Yeah. I mean, you’re about to accompany Nazarick’s most elite being. Maybe you can learn something from the way he does things.”

  “Aha! But…what should I do?”

  “Shalltear. You’re already on the right track.”

  “Oh! I see!”

  Aura couldn’t think of anything immediately, so she left it all up to Shalltear, but she did wonder momentarily if things would work out all right. Still, the ball was already in Shalltear’s court.

  Please do something that makes sense…

  She prayed to her god, the Supreme Being BubblingTeapot. Lady BubblingTeapot, please watch over Shalltear, your brother Lord Peroroncino’s creation!

  3

  Ainz traveled to the lizardman village using Gate.

  The Hanzos accompanied him for protection. Of the five of them, one had red cloth wound around his right arm.

  It wasn’t enchanted or anything, merely indicating that he was their leader.

  Ainz simply thought they would be easier to manage that way, but the leader was far happier than expected. It was obvious from a glance that he was grinning beneath his mask.

  All Ainz had done was hand over a scrap of cloth, so he felt a bit guilty.

  Guarded by those minions, Ainz appeared in a location facing a statue of himself.

  This was the designated teleportation point, so he had seen it numerous times, but he never got over the embarrassment it roused within him.

  In Satoru Suzuki’s world, there were the occasional statues of founders. But wasn’t it embarrassing if the statues were created while they were alive?

  What bewildered him even more was that one part of his face was different. It must have been changed to depict him more beautifully.

  Do I look cooler with cheekbones like that? I have no idea. Whose aesthetic sense are we going by here anyway?

  With those things partially occupying his mind, Ainz turned to the prostrate Cocytus and lizardmen.

  As he gained experience role-playing a ruler, he had gotten used to these over-the-top displays. But as a regular member of society, Satoru Suzuki didn’t like them. But he recognized it was a demonstration of their loyalty to him, so he couldn’t ask them to stop.

  “Raise your heads.”

  With complex emotions swirling inside, he permitted them to rise, and it was like they finally came back to life.

  “LORD AINZ. I THANK YOU FOR COMING ALL THE WAY HERE.”

/>   Cocytus was still on a knee, so Ainz gestured for him to stand. “Mm. Thanks for all your hard work. I got your report. I took a quick glance and nothing seems wrong, so that’s great. You’re doing a praiseworthy job.”

  “THANK YOU! EVERYTHING IS MADE POSSIBLE BY YOUR POWER, MY LORD.”

  I didn’t do anything, though, Ainz thought as he accepted Cocytus’s flattery. If he said anything, he knew from experience it would just turn into a back-and-forth of, No, not at all. No, no, really. No, no, no, seriously.

  “…Even so, a good job deserves a reward.”

  He had given Albedo and Mare Rings of Ainz Ooal Gown, while Aura had received a watch that featured BubblingTeapot’s voice, and Shalltear now possessed Peroroncino’s Encyclopedia of monsters. He had also bestowed upon Demiurge a demon statue that Ulbert had made.

  Additionally, Ainz had offered the lives of the lizardmen to Cocytus, but he felt like it was about time to give him a proper reward.

  “You say you don’t need anything, but rewards and punishment keep all in order. Those who don’t reward cannot punish. Now, Cocytus, what is it that you desire?”

  “B-BUT, LORD AINZ. THERE IS NO GREATER REWARD THAN SERVING YOU.”

  If Cocytus wished for something similar to Solution’s request of innocent humans, that would be an issue in and of itself, but his reply was equally problematic.

  Someone from the guild had once said that anyone who answered the question What do you want to eat? with Anything’s fine only to later whine Yeah, Italian would have been better was a stereotypical pain in the ass. Ainz agreed completely. Everything was a hundred times easier if people simply stated what they wanted.

  “…Cocytus, understand that sometimes having no desire is worse than being greedy. I’m giving you an order. You have one week to tell me what you want. Let’s assume it will be some sort of physical object. Understood?”

  Cocytus looked a bit troubled, but Ainz ignored that and repeated, “Understood?”

  “IF THAT IS YOUR ORDER, LORD AINZ.”

  “Yes, it is. Now then, Cocytus, I’m here to talk to Zenbel.”