Published at 26th of March 2019 2:14 am

Volume 11, Chapter 3: The Impending Crisis Part 2

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

The group advanced, with Gondo in the lead.

Since Gondo usually travelled underground, he was not very familiar with the surface. Therefore, he had to rely on his sense of direction over the terrain when it came to moving forward. Initially, Ainz was worried about this. But after seeing Gondo advance without hesitation, he began to trust the man. Now, he had wholly entrusted the task of guidance to him.

The fact was that Gondo had no reason to deliberately lead Ainz astray now that the Quagoa were attacking the Dwarven capital. That being the case, there should be no problem having him lead the way.

Under Gondo’s leadership, Aura’s magical beasts moved across the snow like it was a grassy plain.

They boasted high dexterity and great stamina, as expected of high-level magical beasts. Even in the thin air of the snowy mountains and bearing Ainz and the others on their backs, their speed did not decrease one bit. They headed north at speeds of over 100 km per hour.

They had spotted several flying monsters during their journey, but a few threatening growls from the magical beasts scared them all away. Thanks to that, their travel time was cut to a minimum.

In less than a day, they had reached the sole remaining Dwarven city, Feoh Gēr.

Ainz guided his beast over to Gondo and asked him a question.

“...Well then, Gondo. The southern city of Feoh Raiđō was accessed through a fissure in a cave. Is Feoh Gēr like that as well?”

If that was the case, they would need to search for a way in. Gondo — who had initially been frightened by his magical beast, but was now used to riding it — replied:

“Umu. Most cities where Dwarves live are like that. However, Feoh Gēr was designed with considerations for large-scale trade with humans, so it’s slightly different from Feoh Raiđō. Firstly, it’s easy for humans to find, and in order to minimize any discomfort for visitors, they built a huge fortress on the outside. You’ll know it when you see it.”

Ainz looked around after hearing that, but he still could not find any trace of a structure.

“You won’t see it if you don’t head further northeast.”

Gondo’s words were full of confidence. It would seem he was quite certain of where their destination was. Since he was the only one who could lead them, there was nothing Ainz could do if he was wrong, so all he could do was trust him.

While saying “Is that so,” Ainz cast his [Message] spell.

The captured Quagoa had been taken to Nazarick. There, they had been questioned, and their knowledge used to supplement Gondo’s report.

The Quagoa were a race that submitted to the strong, but the Quagoa of the Azellisian Mountain Range were divided into eight clans, all of whom were united under the Clan Lord. They numbered 80’000 in total.

After analyzing this information, Ainz stamped them as a race which held no charm for him.

If he had to choose between helping the Dwarves or the Quagoa, Ainz would choose the former without hesitation.

However, he learned that the metals which the Quagoa ate when they were young determined their strength when they matured. If he let them eat the metals of Nazarick, it could give rise to a powerful individual.

Then, he thought about the prismatic ores in the Dwarven Kingdom.

Even if he had not eaten one of the prismatic ores, perhaps this Clan Lord had reached his station by eating one of the rare metals of YGGDRASIL.

If he was strong enough to capture, then it was worth investigating him.

I should consider taking them in if they can obey the Sorcerous Kingdom, even though I’m not confident about feeding 80’000 people. After all, that’s the sort of country I want.

The country Ainz wanted.

It was a nation where many races lived in harmony under his rule. It was a nation which reproduced the image one had of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown.

It was a nation where his friends, wherever they were, could live and smile.

That being the case, he ought to show these Quagoa some mercy.

Still, if they swear their loyalty to me, where should I put them? This mountain is a little sparse… what about the mountain range to the south of E-Rantel? But there might be residents there too… Umu, what a pain. The Lizardmen have the same technology level as them. Perhaps my experience in ruling them could be put to use. It might be a good idea to let Cocytus handle them.

After thinking this far, Ainz considered the opposite side of the coin.

What if they don’t bend the knee? Shall I rule them by force? Shall I exterminate them? Or should I kill all the adults and use the children for experiments? Is forcing them into one clan and then ruling over them the best way?

As he considered various matters, Gondo’s shout interrupted Ainz’s train of thought.

“Over there!”

Ainz looked where Gondo was pointing, and sure enough, there was something which looked like a fortress built up against the side of the mountain.

The group headed straight for it. While there were many ways to conceal themselves, there was no point in doing so, and thus they proceeded directly and openly.

As they closed the distance to the fortress, the defenders at the fortress spotted them, and the sentries came to life.

Much like what he would do before a sales pitch, Ainz inspected his clothing, and made sure his robe was neat and tidy. Of course, it was a magic item and could not get torn or wrinkled, but his memories as Suzuki Satoru told him that he should check anyway.

After they approached the fortress, the Dwarves cocked their crossbows and took aim from the windows.

The only people who might be lethally wounded by the bolts were Gondo and Zenberu.

While he had thought of sending them to negotiate to prove that they had no hostile intentions, they might end up being shot by bolts if things went wrong, so he abandoned that idea. Instead, Ainz would proceed first, while Gondo and Zenberu would show up later.

He halted his beast outside the effective range of their crossbows and then dismounted. Because he was still within the maximum range of the crossbows, he ordered Shalltear and Aura to stand by and protect Gondo and Zenberu.

After that, all that remained was anti-player strategies.

If there were any players, they would immediately take a defensive stance and fall back. While he could not confirm the presence or absence of players during his talks with Gondo on the road, it was more likely that they did not exist. However, if he was careless, he might end up losing the NPCs (the children) and Ainz did not want to experience that a second time.

All the Dwarves watching him from the window had the same frozen expression on their faces. Thanks to their messy beards, he could not differentiate one individual Dwarf from another, but how should he put this — they looked comical.

Suppressing the urge to laugh, Ainz stepped forward, faking an air of calm.

His hands were raised, to show that he had no hostile intent.

As he drew closer to the fortress—

“Hold it right there!”

—A warning cry rang out. It sounded like its owner was having a seizure. Granted, he was undead, but Ainz could not help sighing internally as he mused, this is a pretty bad reception for someone who’s showing no signs of hostility.

“Why have you come here, undead!”

Ainz stroked his shiny cheekbones.

“I am the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown of the Sorcerous Kingdom, and I have come to forge a friendly relationship with the Dwarven nation. We will not attack you if you do not attack us, so please lower your weapons.”

Confusion appeared in the eyes of the Dwarves watching from the windows. Ainz took this chance to continue speaking:

“After capturing the Quagoa who invaded Feoh Raiđō, I learned of their plans to attack this place. If you have no faith in your strength of arms, then I — my Kingdom — will gladly render assistance. Yes, that’s right — it will be a good show of friendship.”

He smiled, but because he had no skin, the benevolence of his gesture did not carry over to the opposite side.

“What about that Dwarf behind you? Is he a hostage?!”

It would seem the Dwarves were still wary of him.

“How rude. I am a king, you know? Is that any way to talk to a king?”

The Dwarves looked at each other, and then one of them responded.

“No, no… hang on, show us some proof that you’re really a king!”

“—-I see. That does make sense,” Ainz agreed. “Then, allow me to introduce him. He is one of you, Gondo the smith, whom I met in Feoh Raiđō.”

Ainz showed off the kingly movements he had been taking great pains to practice.

With the air of a natural-born leader, he gestured to his subordinate to step forward.

A deep sense of satisfaction filled Ainz as he heard the stifled gasps of awe coming from the Dwarves. It would seem his long hours of practice had not gone to waste.

Now that Gondo was here, Ainz — who was in a good mood — showed off another pose of a gracious king and yielded the floor to him.

“Sorry, but can you enter the fortress and explain the situation to them in detail?”

“Umu, leave it to me.”

Gondo advanced to the fortress gates and requested permission to enter, but the gates did not open.

“...What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. Maybe something happened?”

“... Is, is that really him?! Is that really Gondo the Weirdo? Maybe someone used magic to take his face!”

Ainz frowned as he heard the Dwarves’ voices. Staying alert was very important, and even Ainz approved of it. Still, they would not be able to make any progress if nobody trusted them.

However, he had heard something about the possibility of meeting an acquaintance here. If that was the case, they would be very fortunate.

“I say, Gondo, can you prove yourself to them by showing your knowledge of this city? Like say, where you live, something that only a person who lived in this city would know?”

“Oh, ohhh, yes… I’ll tell that guy’s wife his secret. Ah, there’s a restaurant called the Black Gold Beard Pavilion! It’s run by a guy whose face looks like an anvil. His food tastes terrible, and the only decent thing there is the stew!”

The Dwarves fell silent. Ainz looked at Gondo, somewhat lost for words. His reply seemed like he was trying too hard.

“Idiot! That place isn’t for eating, but for drinking! Their stout tastes best!”

“Liar! It’s the red mushroom beer that’s the most delicious!”

“What are you saying, their cloudy wine is the best! Just imagine that bubbly fragrance!”

“None of you know what real beer tastes like! Bearded Lady’s the best!”

Ainz made a mental note that the Dwarves liked their beer a lot, and then replied to them:

“How about it? Can you accept that this is the real Gondo? Speaking of which, all we wanted to do was inform you that the Quagoa are trying to circle around the Great Rift and attack this city. All you have to do is send our warning to the people at the top. This way, our country will have discharged its duty, even if the Quagoa attack is a fierce one. It would be quite upsetting if you chastised us afterwards.”

Several Dwarves pulled their heads back from the windows.

Some time passed. It would seem several people were having a discussion.

“Wait there! We’ll send a report to our commander-in-chief!”

According to Gondo, that person was the highest appointment holder in this country’s military.

It would seem they realised that this had to go to their highest authority.

“Kukuku~”

Ainz did not suppress his chuckling.

There was a clattering noise, and when Ainz glanced towards its source, he saw that Dwarves had trained their crossbows on him once more. Their breathing was ragged; they seemed to be in the grip of powerful emotions.

Crap. Are they angry because I laughed?

“Forgive me. In any event, is it all right if only Gondo enters? He’s proven his origins, hasn’t he?”

“No, he can’t, no, it’s not allowed, stay there! Wait there!”

He had not been laughing at them, but it would seem he had upset them all the same.

Ainz’s strong emotions were suppressed, but small emotional ripples could sneak by.

How would a company react if a salesman whom they had never met before before smiled at them as though he had something to hide? Ainz was annoyed at himself for not thinking about that. It had resulted in a mistake.

I should be more careful, Ainz thought as he backed away together with Gondo.

And so they stood there for some time.

When Jircniv came to visit, I provided refreshments, furniture and made all sorts of preparations to welcome them. Don’t the Dwarves do things like that? ...No, the circumstances now are different from back then.

In contrast to Jircniv’s prearranged visit, Ainz was essentially a cold-calling door-to-door salesman. He should be grateful that they had not chased him away on the spot.

In addition, he would not be able to enjoy any drinks they gave him, considering his body.

Still, we did give the Dwarves very valuable information. I was hoping for an appropriate response. Well, I can use that as fodder for negotiation during official diplomatic relations. I’ll bear with it for now.

Still, it would probably be better to change and avoid giving offense.

First, he took out a fake Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. It was a perfect cosmetic copy, down to the metal used in its construction. However, that was all; it did not possess even a tenth of the power of the original, and it was merely socketed with jewels that had the same color as the original.

Ainz imbued the staff with a red glow, which quickly darkened. Why did it have such an adjustment function? His past companions’ obsession filled him with irritation.

It did not seem to be linked to his own aura.

Ainz radiated a black halo from behind him, but as expected, the staff’s aura did not change.

Is it just a visual effect?

There was a sudden clatter, which snapped Ainz out of his thoughts. When he turned to look at the source of the sound, he saw three Dwarves seated on the ground.

They looked like the Dwarves manning the fortress, but at the same time they seemed more impressive. In truth, two of them were better-dressed than the other. That one must have been a soldier in this fortress, and the other two would probably be his superiors.

...Why are the three of them sitting there? Is sitting down to talk the proper etiquette amongst Dwarves? ...They’re staring at me with eyes wide open. It would be annoying if it’s a Dwarf-only expression.

Their mouths were hidden by their beards, so it was difficult to see the looks they had on their faces.

Baffled, Ainz nevertheless extended a hand to the seated Dwarfs.

One could take that as the intention to help them up, or that he wanted to shake hands. But in truth, he wanted to tell them that he would rather talk while standing.

It was hard adjusting to different cultures. If he handled this poorly, the other side might take offense.

If they attacked him with something like, “You should have done some research on our country’s customs since you wanted to form a relationship with us”, he would have nothing to say in response.

Though he was very uneasy about this, Ainz gave thanks to his unmoving face, and kept his hand extended.

The Dwarves glanced back and forth between Ainz’s face and hands, a troubled look on their faces.

Hm? Could it be that they’re afraid of me?! ...Well, given that I look like this… it can’t be helped, right? Reactions like this are kind of expected from humanoid society...

Although they feared him in E-Rantel as well, they had not reacted in this way. Therefore, it might be that taking the hand of a highly-placed person was impolite in their society.

In the end, the worried Ainz decided to pull them up by the hand.

Since they have the time to waste on this pointless business, it should mean that the Quagoa haven’t attacked yet. If they did attack, we could have them owe us a big one, but just warning them about it would count as a small favor, so I should bear with it. Ahhh, what a shame. Still, which one of them is their leader?

“Well then, I am the Sorcerer-King Ainz Ooal Gown. Are you the gentlemen who are in charge of welcoming me?”

He did not know which of the higher-ups was of higher rank, so he addressed the space between them. Then one of the Dwarves nodded forcefully, like he was trying to shake something off his face.

“Ahem! I, I am the man in charge of the military—”

“The military— I see.”

So this was the commander-in-chief. Ainz was surprised. He had not expected their top man to come down in person.

Could it be that this country has heard of the Sorcerous Kingdom before? Or rather… was it because I brought them news at a very opportune time?

“—Are there any problems with the Quagoa? I do apologize for making you come down in person during a busy time, commander-in-chief.”

The commander-in-chief’s eyes went wide.

“I see… so you already know why I came, then?”

What the hell is he talking about, Ainz thought. Naturally, he did not actually say it.

“—Of course. That is correct.”

He nodded magnanimously, in the regal manner he had practiced many times before.

“...I see. ...Well, as you know, we’ve somehow halted the Quagoa advance for now — no, we’re trying to hold them back.”

“Ho. Hoho. ...And?”

Ainz wanted to ask the Dwarf what he thought Ainz knew, but since Ainz had already pretended that he was well-informed, that line of questioning was ruled out.

But has anything leaked out about me?

All he could do was hang on to that thought as he looked forward to their response.

“Before that, I heard from my men that you obtained your information after questioning some Quagoa captured in Feoh Raiđō. Do you have any evidence to support it?”

“There is Gondo, a citizen of this country—”

“—Material evidence.”

“Hm, so, you want to see the captured Quagoa, then? I can bring forth several of them and you can ask them yourselves.”

“An immediate answer… It seems I will have to be frank with you, then. ...At this rate, an evacuation to Feoh Raiđō will be very difficult.”

“Commander…!”

Judging by the reproachful tone taken by the man beside the commander-in-chief, Ainz guessed that the man was harping on the fact that the commander-in-chief was talking about military secrets in front of Ainz. However the commander-in-chief calmly continued:

“His Majesty already knows everything. It is as he said — the fact that someone who should be commanding at the frontlines is here is a clear sign of a stalemate. Since he already knows that, it should also be easy to imagine what our troops — who cannot look forward to any reinforcements — intend to do.”

No, I was just asking to be polite. However, Ainz could not speak the truth, and instead he nodded, in the practiced manner of a true ruler.

The commander-in-chief described the terrible state they were in.

The fortress defending the Great Rift had fallen, and they had been pushed back to their final defensive line. Only one gate stood between them and the enemy, and if it fell, the foe would pour into the city and many Dwarves would die. While they had originally planned to buy some time for people to flee to Feoh Raiđō, it was clear that the survival of the entire species would be in doubt if the plan was not radically altered.

After Ainz learned of the Dwarves’ dire straits, he smiled in his heart. Everything was developing in a favorable direction for him.

“How about this? I will lend you the use of my forces to beat back the Quagoa for the time being. What do you think?”

The commander narrowed his eyes, as though to hide the emotion within them.

“Can you do that? But…”

Traditionally speaking, one would need to put down the terms of a deal in writing before a contract could be signed. There were many advantages in handling matters in that way. However, if he freely lent them his strength, he would earn the gratitude of everyone present. One could make gains with a loan that one could not with a written agreement, and Ainz was gunning for that.

Between the fixed and the formless, the formless was generally more troublesome. It was like paying for a meal at a restaurant based on one’s mood. There was the chance that one would be overcharged compared to paying a fixed price.

Generosity is often similar to greed, hm? Did Punitto Moe-san say that?

“After coming all this way and taking so much effort to find you, it would be quite troublesome for me if the country I wished to befriend was destroyed. Won’t you accept my help?”

“...But if we don’t have the approval of the Council…”

“Well, as long as there’s enough time, it should be alright. This is simply an offer of assistance from me. The final decision is yours. Of course, the Council should settle important things in session… but you should know how this sort of thing usually ends up. Meetings go on from dawn to dusk and in the end nobody can come to a conclusion. While it would be a shame to let my journey up to now go to waste, it can’t be helped.”

“...Your Majesty, are you confident in your ability to repulse the Quagoa?”

“If they are only of the calibre that we saw in Feoh Raiđō, then it should be child’s play.”

Mm, Gondo nodded from the side.

“Of course, that is before the Quagoa break into the city. It is very difficult to eliminate only the enemy during a chaotic melee. I trust you wouldn’t want to stand by and let the fighting spill over into the Dwarven city? So I think that right now, your one little door is your last chance, right?”

A bitter expression came over the commander-in-chief’s face—

“—How much longer do you have? How many more days can the gate hold out?”

Ainz’s repeated hammering on the point seemed to have made up the commander-in-chief’s mind for him.

“...I understand. Your Majesty, I pray you will lend us your nation’s strength.”

“Commander-in-chief!”

Another soldier called out in a panicked voice, and the commander-in-chief glared sharply at him.

Then, the commander-in-chief apologized briefly to Ainz before taking the other man some distance away, so he could not hear.

Then, they talked.

He could hear fragments of conversation, like “this is bad”, “un—”, “Quagoa”, “we still”, “danger before us”, “in any case” and so on.

The general idea seemed to be that it would be hard for them to deal with the Quagoa on their own, so they should take advantage of this opportunity and gamble on it.

It would seem the time had come for one last push.

Infusing strength into his voice, Ainz called out:

“Don’t you think it’s about time to decide your future plans now?”

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