Overlord (LN)

They first returned to the Sixth floor’s entrance with [Gate]. Then, Ainz sent a [Message] to Aureole to open a Gate to the Ninth Floor. Naturally, the gate between the Eighth and Ninth Floors worked without an issue. If that wasn’t the case, then it was highly likely the Ariadne system would be triggered.

There really was no need to take this roundabout way. Though he couldn’t teleport everyone there at once due to the capacity limit of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, he could have just made the trip twice. It was Ainz’s cautious heart that made him go through all this trouble just to give the elves the wrong impression. The fact was that he was extremely reluctant about showing the ring’s abilities to others.

Cocytus’ subordinates, who were on guard duty, bowed their heads deeply at Ainz’s arrival.

“—Thank you for your hard work.”

Ainz gave them a simple magnanimous greeting, befitting the aura of a ruler.

Following Aura and Lumière, the three elves came out from the Gate and bunched up together. They froze in their tracks the moment they saw the monsters bowing to Ainz.

It was not like Cocytus’ vassals were being hostile toward them. That was a natural reaction, just like how a normal person walking through a forest would freeze if they saw a tiger suddenly appearing out of a bush.

One of the elves was slightly pushed from behind.

As they froze before the gate, they were being a nuisance for Mare, who walked behind them. Even though he only pushed her lightly (probably controlling himself), it was fatal for the tense elf’s sense of balance.

“Hiyee…” letting a pitiful cry, she collapsed onto the floor. Blood drained from the other elves’ faces, and though they immediately tried to get her back up, the collapsed elf had trouble standing back up. It looked like she couldn’t force her legs to work.

“…Don’t be afraid. There’s no one who would lay a hand on you in Nazarick.”

“Y-yes…”

They probably didn’t doubt Ainz’s words, but even so, their tension wouldn’t let up. The elves by her side were quickly nodding their heads, their hair flying around from how hard they were nodding. As for the elf still on the floor, it seemed like she was on the brink of tears.

Ainz could say with confidence that it would be problematic going forward if this continued. He had to make their hearts a bit more pliable at the very least.

“…Let’s head for someplace to take a short rest before heading to the cafeteria…[Gate]. Aura, pick her up.”

“Okay!”

“N-no need for Aura-sama to do something like t…”

“—It’s fine, It’s fine. Okay, let’s go.”

Aura briskly lifted the collapsed elf, ignoring her pleas, and put her over her shoulder. Of course, as she wore work fatigues, there was no skirt to peek under.

The place connected by the [Gate]’s dark hemisphere was Ainz’s personal room.

There were three bowing maids inside with cleaning equipment at their feet.

“Good work everyone. I will leave soon after taking a short rest here. I don’t mind if you continue with your work.”

The maids replied in the affirmative and bowed again while the others came out from the [Gate].

The elves started gawking at their surroundings with their mouths open, looking like idiots. It seemed like they found everything around them quite exotic, different from the twins’ home. They also looked less tense compared to before, probably because the regular maids were far more agreeable than Cocytus’s monster-like vassals.

“Aura. Let her sit in that chair over there.”

After Ainz pointed to Albedo’s chair, Aura quickly put the elf down on it. Albedo’s desk was spotless, just like her. By the way, Ainz’s desk was spotless too, albeit in a different sense of the word.

“Th-thank you very much…”

Ainz tried to speak as gently as possible to the seated elf bowing her head, “no need, I can understand your shock, but just as I said before, be at ease. No one in Nazarick would bring any harm to you, so I don’t mind if you take it easy.”

Well, it’s not like they would suddenly feel at peace with just those words.

Ainz turned his back towards the elves, went over to one of the maids, and issued an order to her quietly, “we will head to the cafeteria soon. Make sure that we will not meet anyone except you maids on our way there. Do the same thing in cafet…” -eria as well, he wanted to say, but did not. “No, nevermind. There’s no problem with the cafeteria being used as usual. Rather, it would be better if the others use it like normal.”

“Yes, understood. I will take my leave then.”

“Sorry for interrupting your work, but I’ll be relying on you.”

“Such words are not needed, Ainz-sama.”

He approached her because she was the maid nearest to him but seeing how she threw looks of victory at the other maids, it seemed she thought of it differently. Her colleagues frowned a bit at this with undeniable vexation.

The maid with orders turned her back to her colleagues and walked out of the room with a spring in her step.

Ainz could sense (which should be rare for him as an undead) the other maids concentrating their gazes on his back. No doubt their eyes were filled with anticipation for any special kind of work that could be coming their way. By the way, he couldn’t perceive anything from Lumière, probably because being his maid-in-waiting for the day was special in itself.

It felt like he was sitting on needles (of course that wasn’t the intention of the maids), Ainz forced himself to look away from the maids and towards the elves.

He confirmed that their breaths had returned to normal.

“It seems like there are no more problems…let’s head out then”

He didn’t want to rush them as he thought it would look forceful, but he didn’t want to stay here any longer.

After he confirmed the elf could walk again, Ainz took the lead and left the room. The maids looking at him with chagrin could be ignored.

While on the way to the cafeteria, he could sometimes hear the elves’ gasps of admiration from behind him, saying “amazing” and “beautiful”.

Ainz wanted to boast but he endured it and continued to walk ahead without looking behind him.

They eventually reached the cafeteria without meeting any other NPCs along the way. Except for the fact that it took more time than usual because of how slow the gawking elves were—also because Ainz slowed down when they passed through the places he took special pride in—there were no other incidents.

Nazarick’s cafeteria was created with a company or a school’s cafeteria as its inspiration (of course, Ainz’s school or company did not have them so he didn’t know if that was really true), so the mood was a bit different from a restaurant.

This was Ainz’s first visit here since the time when he visited all the establishments in Nazarick just after they first came to this world, but it looked like nothing had changed much. He could faintly hear young ladies engaging in animated conversations and the sound of cutlery from inside.

It was probably filled with the regular maids and others who also worked on the Ninth Floor. Maybe there were Area Guardians present as well. It was a bit late for lunch but perhaps due to the shift system, it looked lively. If they could see the maids eating their lunch peacefully, the elves should understand what kind of place this was. They might feel like outsiders but still, this atmosphere of everyday life should calm them. That was why he did not order them to clear the cafeteria.

But the moment Ainz entered the room, the mood suddenly shifted.

First, it turned completely silent.

The happy voices from before and the lively sounds of diners completely disappeared. The mood froze over, it was completely out of place for a cafeteria.

Then—Everyone turned to look at Ainz, their eyes wide open and their motions at a standstill.

This was the feeling of being an outsider.

As though he was a heteromorph with negative karma who just stepped into Alfheim.

“—Don’t mind us. Continue with your lunch.”

A few here and there, mostly the regular maids, started eating again upon hearing what Ainz said, but there was no indication that their conversations were going to start again. Everyone ate in silence.

Ainz did not want to interrupt their lunch at all. He started to feel a bit isolated but, well—on second thought, it’s not like he couldn’t understand their feelings.

If a CEO who had never visited till now suddenly appeared in the cafeteria, it would probably turn out like this. Suzuki Satoru would likely do the same in this situation. Perhaps it would have been different if this company was a lot smaller, the kind where the distance between the boss and the employees was much closer.

That’s probably impossible in this case though…

It would be extremely difficult to suddenly change his image as the admirable dictator Ainz-sama into one of an Ainz-san that was loved by everyone.

Maybe if everyone found out he was an idiot, such a change could be possible, but he would not be able to bear it if he ended up getting scorned instead (which was unlikely).

“Well then, let’s enter.”

Turning back to the party, he tried to observe the elves’ reactions discreetly.

He didn’t even need to observe them much, they were clearly shriveling up. Understandable. They should have noticed the harmonious mood in the cafeteria before Ainz’s arrival. This was what he meant by “the sudden heteromorph in Alfheim”.

He couldn’t think of a way to solve this.

Perhaps they will get used to this over time, Ainz walked into the cafeteria with such optimistic thoughts.

He didn’t want to make the maids even more tense, so he approached a random table far from them and pointed at the seat opposite his.

“You can sit there.”

The elves started looking at each other with troubled expressions. It looked like they were trying to decide who was going to be stuck with the onus of sitting in front of Ainz. He was probably right in thinking that.

“…I see. Maybe Elven customs are different from ours, so let’s just keep this informal and not worry about those things.”

He tried to give them a way out by acting like he interpreted their hesitation differently. It would not be good if they hesitated too much, he was also a bit afraid of the twins’ reaction if they hesitated too much.

“You there. Sit opposite of me.”

Ainz pointed at the elf standing at the back. If he remembered correctly, she never stood in the middle of the elves, so he thought it was fair that she should be the one who was going to be stuck with him.

Honestly speaking, he did not want to be treated like some kind of baggage. That said, as someone who understood their feelings all too well, he decided to be practical.

It was quick after that.

The seats beside the specified elf’s were immediately taken. Aura and Mare sat beside Ainz.

He wanted to say many things about the fact that Lumière was standing behind him, but decided to bottle it up in the end.

“Now then— Sorry, but this is my first time using the cafeteria, so explain to me a bit about how it works at this hour.”

Ainz asked Lumière because as a regular maid she should have used the cafeteria just like how her fellow maids were doing now.

“First things first—yes. I want to order drinks, so is there something like a menu?”

“There are free drinks and a buffet system at this time. We are supposed to get the drinks and a simple salad from over there by ourselves.”

Looking at where Lumière was pointing at, he could see a row of pitchers that seem to hold the drinks. Beside them were multiple chafing dishes.

“And you can also select one item from the lunch menu here.”

“I see…”

“As the chef is in the kitchen, I believe he will prepare any dish Ainz-sama wishes.”

“Is that so? But there’s no need. If there’s a fixed lunch menu, let’s just select something from there.”

Lumière handed over a sheet of paper.

A menu was printed on it, in Japanese. The elves probably wouldn’t be able to read this. Also—

“…ever heard of Katsudon?”

Elves shook their heads to say no.

“…Aura, Mare, what do these elves usually eat?”

“Just the normal food?”

“Y-yes. M-most of the time, it’s the s-same as ours.”

In that case, did the twins’ never have katsudon? No, they were usually getting their meals served by the delivery service, and they should also be able to make it by themselves.

“Have you never eaten katsudon?”

“No, we have had it before. It’s probably just that they don’t know its name.”

“Ah, so it’s something like that…”

The menu did not have any holograms attached to it, so it stood to reason that they couldn’t match the appearance with the name.

Ainz wanted to ask for “the chef’s recommendation,” but fearing the situation in which he would be told that everything was recommended, he decided against it. “Here…that reminds me. Do you normally eat meat?”

After he saw the elves nod, Ainz selected an item from the menu.

“Hamburg steak meals for everyone here.”

“As for the sauces you can select among the demi-glace, Japanese-style sauce, or cream-mustard sauce. You can also select rice or bread to go along with it.”

“…how about bread and demi-glace?”

He could understand the demi-glace and the Japanese-style sauces, but he wondered what the cream-mustard would taste like.

The fact that he couldn’t taste them himself due to his body was regrettable.

“Okay!”

“Y-yes. It’s ok for m-me too.”

Following the twins’ energetic voices, the elves also nodded quickly in tow. It looked like there were no objections.

“Then, that will be my order.”

Fuu, Ainz breathed out. It didn’t look like Lumière was going to head to the kitchen to relay the order, Ainz wondered why. Perhaps someone who was working here would come over to receive their order.

“What about the drinks, Ainz-sama?”

“—aah. I forgot about that. Everyone can go and get what they like. That should be fine, right?”

“Yes. Then I will bring over Ainz-sama’s drink myself. What shall it be?”

“Something suitable—ah, no, get me a hot coffee.”

“Understood.”

The others went to the table with the drinks with Aura at their lead.

Elsewhere, the kitchen suddenly became noisy after Lumière went over there and said something.

As he continued to look, someone came out from the kitchen.

A giant cleaver hung by his waist. A wok on his back. A slovenly, naked torso with “Fresh Meat!!” tattooed on it. And finally, a gold chain around his neck.

Though his face may look like an orc’s, he was an ork, a similar species that was much closer to wild beasts.

(T/N: “ork” last appeared in the EESS, where the kanji read “wild ork” but it’s just katakana here)

There was a pure white toque on his head and a pure white apron around his waist.

This man was the Area Guardian of the cafeteria and the head chef himself.

Shihoutu Tokitu.

Shihoutu Tokitu quickly ran over to Ainz and kneeled. Won’t the chef’s clothes get dirty? is what Ainz thought upon seeing that.

“Ainz-sama! We welcome you!”

“It’s been a long time, Shihoutu Tokitu. I am glad to see that you are the same as ever.”

“HAH!”

Though Ainz said that he looked the same, the last time he met him was just after they were teleported here, back when he visited all the NPCs. Since it had been so long, he was not exactly confident in noticing changes if there were any.

“No, maybe you are slightly thinner now?”

“If Ainz-sama thinks so, then it is so!”

That’s not what I meant! Ainz swallowed his words.

“I noticed the absence of Ainz-sama’s order among the ones the maid relayed…I get it now!”

A masculine smile (though he couldn’t be sure as he did not understand orc expressions) welled up on Shihoutu Tokitu’s face. No, you don’t get it at all, Ainz thought. Was he ever actually understood even once in such situations? Regrettably, he didn’t think so.

“I am to prepare food suitable for a Supreme Being, for the absolute ruler of Nazarick, Ainz-sama!”

While Ainz was muttering “there he goes!” in his mind, Shihoutu Tokitu stood up with vigor and shouted in the kitchen’s direction.

“From now on it’s do or die! A dish suitable for Ainz-sama! A food festival that won’t stop for at least a week, begins!”

“Ooooo,” the sounds of admiration rose from the maids who were listening.

“Oi, wait.”

“HAH!”

Shihoutu Tokitu returned back to Ainz and kneeled again.

It was hard to say this to someone shouting “I am going to do it! I am going to do it!” with all their might. Ainz generally thought that he should go along with what NPCs wanted, but this was a bit too much for him.

“…It looks like you are misunderstanding something. Just to be sure, you do know that I can’t eat food as an undead, right?”

“HAH! So we are to make something that can be enjoyed by sight and smell! That is what Ainz-sama has in mind! Understood!”

Ainz replied to Shihoutu Tokitu while he was trying to stand back up, “oi, wait”

“HAH!”

“Don’t be hasty. I am trying to say that I can’t eat, so don’t waste any ingredients.”

“What are you saying Ainz-sama! Ingredients used for Ainz-sama cannot be considered wasted! Yes!” Shihoutu Tokitu said as he stood up and turned towards the cafeteria. That brought about a round of applause. Not just the maids but even Aura and Mare joined in on it. The elves quickly followed the others in panic.

You don’t have to follow along, you know… Ainz grumbled internally.

“Well, I will start at once!”

“Oi, wait.”

“HAH!”

Ainz spoke honestly to the kneeling Shihoutu Tokitu, “I am going to be frank. I did not come here to eat. I came here to have an enjoyable—yes, an enjoyable conversation. I understand your expression of welcome to a suffocating extent, but I do not care for it that much. Can I get you to understand that I just want to have a calm conversation?”

Ainz could understand why Shihoutu Tokitu was filled with such fanatical motivation. Someone like the ruler of Nazarick, who couldn’t possibly visit such a place, came today. He probably just wanted to give the best welcome possible, but that’s not what Ainz was here for.

“HAH! Then let me reserve the whole place!”

“Oi, wait.”

“HAH!”

“Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. I will repeat myself, I only came here to have a little chat. There’s no need to take things so far, understood?”

Ainz took a quick glance at the others—especially the elves—and found that they were just staring at him with serious expressions.

The maids were already half away from their seats, prepared to leave at any time. The twins acted like this was just normal, while the elves seemed like they were afraid that the situation was going to get out of hand. Even though he selected this place specifically because he didn’t want the elves to feel like that—[board’s bookmark for proofing]

“—I am not being modest, that’s really the reason why I came here. All of you may continue as usual. Please treat me like you would any other guest.”

“HAH! But! To treat a Supreme Being such as Ainz-sama in the same way as others!”

Ainz couldn’t be faulted for using underhanded means if it came to this. He cleared his throat and shifted his tone to sound more serious.

“—Shihoutu Tokitu”

“HAH!”

“I am saying that I want to see what this place usually looks like. If you have been diligent with your duties, you wouldn’t have to do anything special now, correct? Or, are you trying to show me something different from usual because you have something to hide?”

Shihoutu Tokitu gulped and made an expression that was filled with resolve (or that’s what it looked like to Ainz).

“A word please, Ainz-sama! This Shihoutu Tokitu, who had been entrusted with this place by the Supreme Being Amanomahitotsu, never did a single thing that would cause him shame!”

“Of course.”

Shihoutu Tokitu looked puzzled at Ainz’s instant reply.

“Even though I have only interacted with you for a short while, I can see that you are devoted to your work and are truly loyal to the ones you call Supreme Beings. My words just now were quite thoughtless. I take them back and offer my apologies.”

Ainz bowed his head.

“Ooo! Ainz-sama! Please don’t do that! A Supreme Being such as you bowing to me! Please lift your noble face!”

Ainz slowly raised his head and looked straight at Shihoutu Tokitu.

“Shihoutu Tokitu. I am glad that you accepted my apology. But I want you to know and understand. I just want to have a look at how you and this place are normally whilst holding a relaxed conversation. Just treat me like a normal guest.”

Shihoutu Tokitu grumbled a bit, but he seemingly came to a compromise internally and nodded.

“Understood.”

“Is that so, that’s great. A day may come when we will invite VIPs—important people from other places—to Nazarick. You may display your full talent at that time, I will be relying on you then.”

“HAH! —b-but something like bowing to the likes of me…”

“My regret at deriding you was a large part of the reason why I did that, but you may also consider it as my apology to the Amanoma-san who trusted in you and entrusted you with this place.”

Shihoutu Tokitu made a bitter smile, an expression of defeat at the face of such an explanation. But, he immediately returned to his work face. Of course, all of the above was just what it looked like from Ainz’s point of view.

“—In that case, Ainz-sama, I will take my leave to work on the order.”

Ainz watched Shihoutu Tokitu’s back as he left and raised his voice a bit so that it would reach everyone in the cafeteria.

“Sorry for the disturbance everyone. Well then, please continue dining without worry.”

Aura and the others returned to the table, as if they were replacing Shihoutu Tokitu. At a few of the tables here and there, the maids started eating again. It felt like the atmosphere was less tense now. It looked like the incident with Shihoutu Tokitu helped relieve some of the tension.

Aura and the others each held their preferred drinks while Lumière placed Ainz’s coffee in front of him.

He could smell the coffee’s rich fragrance, a mysterious smell with hints of some kind of berry in it.

YGGDRASIL never had any cross promotions with brands but it had a lot of content in it including foodstuffs. Normal games would probably stop at a simple [Coffee-bean] but YGGDRASIL had multiple varieties of them. Each of them was also graded differently with the ones at the highest grade bringing out the best effects from the food.

Therefore, the beans in Nazarick’s inventory were of a good grade and this coffee should certainly be tasty.

This is probably what quality coffee smells like. Would it also taste like berries?

While feeling sad that his body was unable to taste it, Ainz waited until everyone took their seats to speak.

“Well, let’s talk while enjoying our drinks.”

Two of the elves had melon soda while the other one had green tea with ice in it. Following Ainz’s words, they took a sip. The melon soda group blinked in surprise, pressing their hands to their mouths. Their reaction was certainly not a bad one.

“Wow, so tasty.”

“Sweet.”

The two who whispered those words quickly emptied their glasses. Ainz was counting on this to happen. He spoke gently to them, “—How about a refill?”

“Ah, yes, please let us do so.”

The two elves immediately nodded and headed over to the drinks section. There was a spring in their steps.

“It’s good that they liked it.”

“Ah, yes.”

Ainz spoke to the remaining elf. She was probably also interested in their drinks, as she quickly finished her tea and stood up. By the way, both of the twins went with cola and from their expressions, it looked like it was nothing special for them.

Many unexpected things had happened on the way, but it looked like the elves had mostly calmed down. They no longer seemed like they would doubt everything he said just because he was an undead.

As expected, sweet things are effective. There are no women who would hate sweet things. A woman who can resist sweet things simply does not exist…So Mocchimochi-san’s was correct all along. I thought it was just an excuse for her reckless eating habits…

The other two female members of Ainz Ooal Gown had tilted their heads at that statement—although slimes didn’t have necks—but it was not like they denied it either. With the way the elves acted just now, that counted as two things that could probably serve as proof she was not exactly wrong. Well, he still had his suspicions.

Now, at last. I have gone through a lot of simulations in my mind, but I wonder if I can get a discussion about the Elven country going smoothly…

He remembered what they heard from the elves when they met the first time.

There was no name for the country of elves that was said to be in the great forest of the south. Albedo surmised that it was because they never had the need to open diplomatic relations with other races, the other nations were far away from it in the first place. As they had no need to identify their land as something separate from the rest, just calling it a country was enough for them.

However, it seemed like after being ruled for so long by a king, it was being called a kingdom. This king was supposedly super strong. What his strengths and classes were was something they did not manage to find out. At that point, the elves looked at the twins, probably wondering why they did not know about this.

This country of elves was embroiled in hostilities with the Theocracy at the present moment and these elves were sold as slaves after they were captured by the Theocracy. What the war was for and when did it start were questions to which these elves had no answers for.

It was probably because this country of elves did not have a standardized education system. These elves also did not have any interest in learning about such matters. Although after hearing what they said, it seemed like they were at least instructed on more important skills and knowledge (mostly consisting of stuff about monsters). Maybe they felt that history and similar subjects were not useful enough to be taught.

When asked about the dark elves in their country, they replied that although they had never seen them, they do exist. In fact, Aura and Mare were the first dark elves they had ever met. Dark elves are likely a minority in the Elven country, but it didn’t seem like they were persecuted according to these elves. That said, considering the lack of knowledge these elves demonstrated, it was entirely possible that they just didn’t know about it. And—that was all of it.

That was all the information Ainz managed to get out of them at that time.

He had to be satisfied with such meager information just so that they wouldn’t get suspicious. But he had a great excuse for being proactive in asking them now. Patience is a virtue, as the saying goes.

Well, I should make a decision first. Should I make the topic about wanting to open diplomatic relations between our nations? Or how about saying that I want to go to a dark elf village to find friends for Aura and Mare?

They would be on guard if the conversation was about something on national-level relations. It was easier to make them talk if it was a reason that a normal person could sympathize with. Moreover, Ainz need not lie as he was really aiming for the second reason, so it would be easier for him. Ainz was a person who could lie as much as he wanted to but that didn’t mean he liked to do so. It was just that he wouldn’t hesitate to lie if there was some benefit to be had.

It was also better not to lie in case they somehow managed to figure out the truth later.

That should be the easier way…but I can’t imagine how it would turn out if I bring reason up in front of Aura and Mare

He was afraid they would feel duty-bound to make friends. In his honest opinion, friendship was something that was formed gradually with people with similar hobbies. He wouldn’t call it friendship when someone was ordered to do it. Ainz remembered his friends from YGGDRASIL—his former guildmates. Those comrades he made from chance meetings and through fate’s machinations.

It was just that he didn’t know if children needed to make friends or not. Ainz…Suzuki Satoru didn’t have any during his childhood and that didn’t cause any problems for him in his opinion.

Being that kind of person, the fact that Ainz was even thinking about things like making friends was because Yamaiko used to say something to that effect long ago. At the same time, he also remembered Ulbert responding with, “that’s the pipe dream of people who live in a different world than us”, sarcastically laughing at her words.

Ainz didn’t know who was in the right here. In any case, there was nothing to lose by having friends.

In that case, how about I stop thinking about it in terms of them making friends and tell them it’s about making dark elf acquaintances? Whether they become friends or not will be up to them. Of course, it’s all the better if they manage to make some

With that said, if there was an extreme difference in power and standing between two parties, wouldn’t it be a hindrance to the development of friendships? Everyone was equal in YGGDRASIL.

—Ainz frowned a bit as some of his friends came to mind suddenly, but he immediately shook his head, clearing away those memories.

They probably wouldn’t have become friends if they had met in the real world with its inequalities. With that thought in mind, the first step should be to approach the dark elves in the Elven country on equal terms as much as possible. Dark elves from the Sorcerer Kingdom’s top echelon and dark elves that are a minority in the Elven country wouldn’t make for a good match at all.

Apart from trying to conceal our status as much as possible…umm. Do all fathers around the world have to think about these things this much? I wonder how Touch-me san did it, maybe I should have asked him for more details.

While Ainz was worrying about the soon-to-be-had conversation, the elves returned back to their seats. All of them went with cola.

Oh no, I didn’t get my thoughts straight yet… I should not ad-lib everything.

But, there was no time left. As long as the twins were here, he could only say that this was about opening diplomatic relations. If things wouldn’t go smoothly, he could just bring up the idea about making friends as a side topic. Or, maybe he could spin it as his wish to deepen relationships with the dark elves as a part of micro-level diplomacy.

“Well then—let’s proceed to the main topic.”

The elves who were guzzling their drinks like it was the last drink of their life, suddenly stopped.

“We have established a nation named the Sorcerer Kingdom at present. The plan is to have various races live in coexistence. Some humans, dwarves, goblins, orcs, and lizardmen have already become citizens of our nation. Leaving aside whether or not the Elves would approve of this, I want to initiate diplomatic relations with the Elven nation as well as trade relations. As such, I wish to visit your nation. Won’t you cooperate with us?”

Even though it was just an excuse right now, it was not bad to have diplomatic and trade relations with the Elven country. However, there was a critical problem.

Ainz cannot be the emissary for this matter.

Conferring with the foreign affairs of another country and making a treaty to open diplomatic relations was something out of Ainz’s capabilities. Although it went smoothly with the dwarves, he doubted that he would succeed in the same way again. Rather, it was more likely to end up the opposite of what he intended.

Therefore, he wanted to send wise people in his stead if they were to engage in diplomacy. Albedo was the best choice for this, but he didn’t want to assign her any additional work as she would be busy for a while managing the occupied territories of the Kingdom.

She would probably say “it’s fine” if he ordered her, and she would probably be right. But, that would mean she would have to overstretch herself to make it work, so Ainz needed to keep his subordinates’ mental health in mind to not overwork them.

Ainz would have been extremely happy if they just made this conversation just about making personal acquaintances with the Dark Elves instead of making it about something so important.

“Eh, Ah, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama? What exactly does this cooperation entail?”

Ainz shrugged slightly at her cautious response.

“First, I want to hear some details from you. Also, just ‘Ainz’ is fine, you know?”

“We will be at your service if it’s something we know-” the elf replied with a determined look, “b-but please forgive us for not being able to address you so…”

Aura, Mare, and the maids around them who were secretly eavesdropping had perplexed expressions.

If elves called him Ainz, then they would be told that they were being “over-familiar” and should “understand their position.” But, if they did not, they would be told, “how dare they refuse Ainz-sama’s order.” They were probably feeling conflicted because they knew that they would react in that exact way.

He didn’t intend to scold the maids listening in. It’s not like they were doing it out of malice or simple curiosity. He felt they would go “me, me” to be on call if he needed them during this conversation.

“…Is that so, that’s regrettable. So, returning to the topic at hand… How is the Elven country? How do you deal with monsters seeing that you live in the forests?”

The elves had confused expressions, as if they were just asked a weird question.

“While we live in the forest, our homes are on the top of trees, because it’s dangerous on the ground.”

“We make our homes by transforming trees using druid magic.”

“The trees suitable for such magic are also grown by magic. We call them Elf Trees.”

From what they said, it seemed like the Elves could change the shape of trees using druid magic. Like creating cavities inside the trees or shaping bridges between trees. An Elf village was just a place where tens of those structures were bunched up together.

This method of making things out of Elf Trees seemed to be at the core of Elven culture. Not just homes or furniture, they could also create weapons and armor out of it. It was possible to make the arrows they used for hunting to be as hard as iron.

Ainz wanted them to demonstrate this magic as it did not exist in YGGDRASIL. They were surprised at that request because from their point of view, the tree the twins lived in was an example right there. It looked like they thought it was a mutated Elf Tree (because it looked different) that could only be transformed by those two.

Furthermore, as that magic can only be used on Elf Trees, it didn’t work with other trees. Because the Elves lived in such conditions, monsters that were good at climbing trees like snakes or spiders were their natural enemies. Although they had things like a nightwatch, those monsters also tended to be good at concealment; there were still victims every now and then. On the other hand, they did not get attacked as much by monsters that couldn’t climb because it was easier to fight them off.

It seemed like the Elven capital (the only place the Elves could call a city as they were not a populous race) was the only settlement that was constructed in a place without the forest’s cover, on the shore of a crescent-shaped lake. The “seemed like” was added because these elves never visited the capital and only heard about it from others.

They could establish that city on a plain because there was a giant monster in the lake that captured and ate any large monsters that came nearby.

I see… Ainz thought.

As druid magic could also provide water, living on the trees was advantageous for them. As for flying monsters, the canopy of the Elf Trees could act as a shield while also hiding them.

Living in such circumstances, it was natural that most of the Elves gain abilities as rangers or druids. In other words, they could not survive without developing such abilities.

I don’t know how class selection works in this world, but seems like without jobs like farmers among them, the Elves are more likely to be better fighters than humans

He continued, asking them about the lifespans and population of the Elves.

They were evidently not that concerned about how long they lived, seeing as they did not know their own lifespans. It seemed like the oldest person there was thought to be over 300 years old. By the way, these elves didn’t even know their own age. It was likely that they did not have the concept of a birthday.

Perhaps it was due to their long lives, they did not give birth frequently like humans and thus their populations were much smaller. However, upon learning more, Ainz thought that the number of children they had was not small at all.

In YGGDRASIL’s setting, an elf’s lifespan was a thousand years…they age up quickly in the first 10 years and then in the last 10 years, I think? I don’t remember the exact details, but I think it’s something like that. Or am I wrong? Also, if they supposedly gave birth once every decade… if we consider 200 years old as the start of adulthood and 400 years old to be when infertility sets in…20 children? I want to learn more details about this in the future.

“Then—If I were to return you to your former village, where would I go?”

Elves started looking at each other.

I see, of course they will not talk about it. It’s important information after all.

After a while, one of the elves inquired hesitantly.

“E-excuse me… But are we going to be sent back to our homes?”

“…mm?”

Noticing their strange choice of words, Ainz realized his mistake. “…That’s right. I forgot that your village was attacked by the Theocracy.”

These elves were not soldiers, just people who were living in the village that were captured during the Theocracy’s attack on it. From their point of view, it was painful to return back to that place. Plus, their safety could not be guaranteed.

“Let’s do this. Instead of returning you to your village, we’ll take you to a safe place. Do you have any such place in mind? A village with your relatives or if there aren’t any, how about the capital?”

“The capital…”

“Please forgive us. We don’t know any other place except the surroundings of our village…”

“I wonder which place can be considered a safe place…”

These elves were unfamiliar with information outside of their village, but that wasn’t something limited to these girls. It’s the same for the villagers from the Kingdom or the Empire.

People in this world mostly live out their entire lives at their place of birth, especially for those without education. Though they would barely know about their neighboring cities, the other cities in their country might as well be foreign lands to them.

While Ainz was pondering over this, the elves spoke again.

“Excuse us…but are we really going to be sent back outside?”

“That’s what I planned to do. If we are to engage in diplomacy with the Elven country, keeping you here would make the other side dissatisfied. You understand, don’t you? I kept you here until now as an emergency measure, but it will be hard to continue doing so. However, I am not cruel enough to release you in a land under the control of the Slaine Theocracy. That’s why I asked you for a safe location—”

Although Ainz did not intend to be the emissary, returning these three back safely would probably help with future diplomacy.

Seeing that the elves wanted to say something, Ainz asked them, “what’s the matter?”

“Is it possible to let us continue staying here?”

“…hmmmm.”

Ainz moved his gaze to the drinks in front of the elves. There was no way that was the reason right?

“…why? …I can understand if you don’t want to tell me, but please do if possible.”

“About that—”

The elf representing them took a quick look at the twins.

“…Aura, Mare. It looks like your drinks are nearly finished. Why don’t you go and get some more?”

“Eh!?”

“Okay! Understood Ainz-sama—Let’s go Mare.”

Splendid.

Ainz admired Aura’s quick wit.

If he was in Aura’s place, he wouldn’t have understood so quickly that he was being told indirectly to get away for a while. Or perhaps his “working adult senses” would have instantly understood it.

One could stand to reason that Aura was better than Albedo or Demiurge at reading the mood. Ainz could imagine Demiurge with a grin saying, “so that’s what it is, Ainz-sama”.

Those two would completely misunderstand my intentions…to the point where I sometimes doubt if they are doing it intentionally. Or are they really doing it intentionally?

“Eh, eh?”

Aura dragged away the still puzzled Mare by his arms. Ainz spoke after they were distant enough, “can you say it now?”

“Y-yes.”

The elf replied, after confirming that the twins are far enough from them with a quick glance. A Dark Elf’s sense of hearing was better than a human’s and rangers like Aura were even better at it. The elf before him was probably whispering with that in mind, but it was highly likely that Aura could still hear them.

“We are already used to our life here, and we cannot return to that life again… This place…Aura-sama and Mare-sama’s house is the best.”

“Eh?”

Ainz initially lowered his volume to match the elf’s, but he let out his usual voice at the sudden surprise.

He thought that they were joking for a moment, but after he saw the other two nodding seriously he understood that was their true sentiment.

First, it seemed like the food quality in Nazarick was on a different level. Elves normally ate fruits, meats, and vegetables by either roasting or boiling them. The amount of passion Nazarick puts into its food was completely different.

The elves said with certainty that they were not confident they could ever adjust to their former lives after getting used to the food here. By the way, pizza seemed to be their favorite.

I see… Culinary diplomacy does not seem like such a bad idea. Being able to access such fine cuisine should be a point of appeal. …are they dwarves or what!

The elves also had other reasons.

The level of safety here was also completely different. Even if they lived in a moderately safe place like a village created by druid magic, it was impossible for a year to pass without any casualties occurring due to monsters. In contrast, one could sleep peacefully in Nazarick even without having someone to guard the night.

They had a lot to say, but if it was something like this, there was no need to get the twins away from here. As Ainz wondered if there were more reasons, she added, “and being able to serve those two is a joy.”

“…aah,” Ainz nodded empathetically.

Those two were of a similar race to the elves and were cute children to boot. They probably had doubts about serving children, but Aura’s and Mare’s personalities had likely won them over.

Even Ainz would select the twins if he was asked which of the Floor Guardians he would like to serve. No, if someone did ask him, he would probably say something like, “I can’t choose because everyone is wonderful”. But if he was being honest, it would be those two. Next in line might be Cocytus. He really didn’t want to serve the others.

Still, he thought this was something that could be said in the twins’ presence. Although he thought that they had something else to say, it seemed like this was the end of their talk.

Honestly, I don’t understand at all. Wasn’t it fine for the twins to hear this? Was there something in the previous conversation that would get them reprimanded by the twins? …well, whatever

“Very well. Then I want you to continue working in Nazarick as you have done until now.”

There was no reason to refuse their wish.

The elves looked happy upon hearing Ainz’s response. It didn’t seem like they were putting on an act to flatter Ainz. “Although, if we are talking about employing you formally, we will need to discuss salary and welfare first. I will order someone to look into it.”

It appeared that the elves did not understand what Ainz was talking about, but this was an important issue to him.

How these elves were to be treated would become an important factor when they establish friendly relations with the Dark Elves in the Elven country. They could say that after freeing the elves from slavery and looking after the elves, the elves were just paying back what they had received. But, there was a limit to such excuses. Their present situation of uncompensated labor mirrored the practices of a black company. He did not want the Dark Elves that might visit here in the future to get such an impression.

In that case, he just had to use these three to set Nazarick’s precedent as a white company.

Ainz took a quick glance at the maids around them.

They were cupping their hands behind their ears as if to hear them better while trying to make it look like they were resting their chins in their palms.

They were not at all concerned about their appearances.

He didn’t feel like reproaching them since he thought that it was just a display of their loyalty, but he at least wanted them to hide it a little better.

I should make a contract with these elves as soon as possible. Also, should I try extending the white company treatment from these elves to the regular maids?

He could try, but he was afraid that the maids who just wanted to work more would direct their ire at the elves who were the cause for the increase in their leisure time. Of course, he didn’t think they would go as far as killing the elves, but he needed to be careful if he decided to extend the treatment to the maids.

“…Leaving that aside, I want to borrow your help in our excursion to the Elven country. I want you to act as guides, if possible. Of course, Aura and Mare will also come with us. It’s just that we’re not familiar with Elven etiquette so it would help if you were to act as our intermediaries.”

The elves looked at each other and shook their heads.

“Forgive us, but we don’t have confidence in acting as guides. As for being intermediaries…although we have traveled around our village, we are also not sure about things like etiquette…”

“Is that so…”

“Sorry!”

“Ah, you don’t need to bow.”

It would be bothersome to visit an unknown place without a guide, but it was not like he was sure these elves could be of use. If he was going into the unknown anyway, it would be better to not force them to come along. They might even end up becoming a burden.

Ainz turned around and beckoned Lumière over. After she brought her face closer to him, Ainz whispered “just a bit more” and lifted his cup. Of course, the contents of the cup were not touched at all. Just to be sure, he gestured in the twins’ direction with his eyes.

He thought he was being a bit obtuse but it seemed like she quickly understood and left with a simple “excuse me”.

“And—what is the general opinion on Dark Elves among you Elves?”

“They are splendid beings.”

Ainz wrinkled his brows at the instant, somewhat suspicious response.

He would be happy if that was how dark elves were thought of but their answer felt off.

Ainz could immediately think of the reason why. It was about Aura and Mare.

“—No, that’s not it. I am asking about the relations between the Dark Elf race and your race of the Elves.”

“They are splendid beings.”

“That’s not…”

He probably couldn’t do anything about this kind of kowtowing. After being treated as subordinates of the twins’ for so long, they couldn’t possibly say something like, “Dark Elves are an inferior race after all.” Rather, it would be scarier if they were the kind of people who could say something like that.

“As I have mentioned before, I want to open diplomatic relations with the Elf country. I also want to entrust this to the twins. That’s why I want to know how Elves as a whole look at Dark Elves. I don’t want them to be mistreated if Elven society holds negative opinions of Dark Elves. So what do you think? I need an honest answer.”

The elves looked at each other.

“Honestly, as our village did not have any dark elves, we’ve only met them here for the first time. That’s why we didn’t have any opinions about them. The most we know was that they migrated from the north to the great forest.”

“We’ve heard of their dark skins from hearsay and were surprised to see that was true.”

“I don’t remember the villagers saying anything bad about the Dark Elves, but I would ask you to keep in mind that this is only about our village.”

It looked like they were no longer trying to flatter him or tell any lies. So the younger (maybe calling them young was stretching it a bit) Elves didn’t have any bad opinions against Dark Elves.

Even though they were a minority, it looked like they weren’t being persecuted. Perhaps it was because the Elves didn’t have the leeway for such things when they were being threatened by an external force–the Theocracy. Or perhaps the forest was just that much of a difficult place to live in.

“…by the way what about the undead?”

“Enemies that sully the forest.”

“Disgusting beings.”

“We rarely encounter any though.”

“Ah, yes.”

Immediate answers.

While Ainz wondered why they weren’t taking into consideration the feelings of the twins’ master, he couldn’t say that out loud.

He certainly asked them to speak honestly just now, but this was too honest. These girls were the type who would get fired because they truly believed in the CEO’s words when they were told to be informal.

Still, with that established, he was now certain that he could not be the emissary. Maybe this was for the best. He could use this as an excuse to not be the emissary. It was certainly not because Ainz wasn’t talented enough.

Or should he take the steps in proper order—dispatch diplomats, start diplomatic relations, and then head over to the Elven country.

But we don’t have such diplomats. …The fact that we can’t trust the human officials in charge of internal affairs is a weak point… Or maybe there are some and I just don’t know about it. In that case, how about asking Albedo to dispatch adventurers? No…that system isn’t stable enough yet to send them out to represent the nation…or maybe I am wrong. After all, it’s me we’re talking about.

If he informed Albedo about this, she would probably say that the adventurers would work just fine. But—

—the critical issue here is the lack of time.

Due to the hostilities with the Theocracy, the Elven country was pretty much pushed into a corner. This had been the case since before these elves were captured. If things went badly, it was entirely possible that the Elven country would be destroyed soon.

The collapse of the Elven country was not a setback for Ainz, because they would be far more effective in establishing diplomatic relations if the Sorcerer Kingdom could extend their help in that scenario. So, would it be better if they just waited for the collapse? That was not the case.

They didn’t have the luxury of watching the situation from the sidelines, especially because he highly valued the rarity of the Dark Elf lives.

Maybe I should just send the two of them ahead—no, I can’t do that. I don’t feel comfortable sending them alone into an unknown place. Although I understand that they are level 100 NPCs and are not children…we should just ignore the stuff on international relations and concentrate on getting them friends. I should also go with them just as I have planned

He had no plans to join in the war with the Theocracy and save the Elven country at this point in time. Ainz didn’t want to turn the Theocracy into the Sorcerer Kingdom’s enemy due to his independent action.

He wanted to know Albedo and Demiurge’s thoughts on this matter, but he feared that they might find out his skull was empty if he did that. If Ainz couldn’t manage the conversation, his idiotic utterances might end up being taken seriously and cause damage to Nazarick in the future.

It’s not a bad idea to tell them to evacuate just the dark elves after visiting the Elven country. In that case…is there a need to take someone along other than the twins?

It was better to take stealthy guards like Hanzos along instead of leading something like an army in case he did decide to take someone along.

Like that time in the Dwarf Kingdom.

“I see…”

Ainz stared at the three elves. They would be in that lizardman’s position this time.

“I-is something the matter?”

“Nothing, I am just talking to myself.”

He could take one among the three with him, leaving the other two here. As long as he held them hostage, the lone elf probably wouldn’t do anything that would be negative to Ainz.

Not bad at all.

Even if they understood that they were being held hostage, he could insist that was not the case.

Ainz looked over to the twins. They immediately understood his intentions. Aura, Mare, and Lumière returned to the table.

“By the way, what kind of gifts would make Elves happy? Things like gold and gemstones?”

“We don’t use metal currency so I don’t think gold would work…”

“I think our village would be most happy about the food and maybe rare herbs. Minor scrapes and such can be healed by magic but poison and disease need a talented druid to cure them. So portable herbs are highly valued.”

“Not clothes, since we also make them from Elf Trees”

“Homes, arrows…and even clothes. Looks like Elven druid magic is very convenient. You can’t do that, right Mare? ”

“Eh? Ah, y-yes. I can’t use such magic.”

Perhaps this peculiar brand of druid magic itself was a mark of Elven progress. He wanted those techniques if possible, but Nazarick’s residents probably wouldn’t be able to use them. This reaffirms the fact that making the residents of this world prostrate before Nazarick and bringing them under its reign would be the main factor that could tip the scales of victory in a hypothetical guild war.

But—

I should assume there were guilds—those who were teleported in the past—who already did this. I should tell this to Albedo and have her look into rethinking our national strategy on war.

It stood to reason that if someone like Ainz could think of this, other Players could as well. Only idiots would think of themselves as someone special.

Maybe it will be a good idea to transport large amounts of food through [Gate] upon reaching the Elven villages to make them more friendly to the Sorcerer Kingdom.

He remembered it being effective in the Dwarf Kingdom. Things would go smoothly if he could just remember his experiences in the Dwarf Kingdom and build on them.

I also felt like wanting to run away then too, didn’t I…

“…the best way to do this is to first find the crescent lake, visit the royal capital that was said to be on its shore to collect information, and then head to Dark Elves’ village.”

“We are going to a Dark Elf village?”

Aura looked like she wanted to say something, but she probably couldn’t ask in detail in front of the three elves.

If possible, Ainz didn’t want to tell them they were visiting the Dark Elves’ village to find them friends. He didn’t want them to make friends just because he ordered them to.

“That’s right. That’s what I intend to do. I am going to need your help there.”

He deliberately ignored Aura’s behavior, but he still got a pair of energetic affirmations in return.

What should I do next…persuade the others? I can’t make the same excuse I used for the dwarven expedition…

He wasn’t confident about the next step, but he had to succeed here because he also wanted to use this as the groundwork to bring the concept of paid vacations to Nazarick.

At that point—maybe they were waiting for the conversation to die down—the dishes were brought over.

“Well, enjoy yourselves.”

With Ainz encouraging them, the elves took to the food with relish.