By noon on the fourth day of the return journey from Carne Village, the wagon had stopped beneath the shade of several roadside trees.
The two coachmen ate some dried provisions while giving the old horse water and hay.
Nfirea crouched beside the wagon, carefully sorting through the fresh medicinal herbs they had gathered over the past few days.
He turned the bags to let air circulate through them and dampened the protective cloth to keep the plants fresh.
Lucien leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree with a cigarette between his lips.
He opened the system interface visible only to him, confirmed that Ainz was not busy, and sent a voice-call request.
The connection opened almost instantly.
Ainz sounded unusually cheerful, with a rare sense of ease in his voice.
“Lucien, how are things going on your end?
When do you expect to return?” “We’ve finished gathering the herbs.
We’re resting on the road right now, so we should probably reach E-Rantel sometime tonight.” Lucien removed the cigarette from his mouth and tapped some ash against the tree trunk.
“What about you?
Judging by your tone, it sounds like you’ve had a pretty good few days.” “I have.” Ainz gave a faint laugh over the connection.
“The Swords of Darkness and I cleared several monster nests outside the city.
There were quite a lot of them, but they were all extremely low-level creatures.
It was practically a one-sided massacre.” “Not only did I earn a decent amount of money for daily expenses, but…” Ainz paused.
“My adventurer rank increased twice.
I’m Silver-ranked now.” “That means I’ll finally be able to accept requests with actual requirements, and the social standing of the people I come into contact with should improve as well.” “Not bad.
Congratulations.” Lucien smiled.
“Thank you.
However, Lucien, there’s something else I need to tell you.
You should pay attention to this.” Ainz’s voice suddenly became lower and more serious.
“What happened?” “Do you remember the thin man who tried to extort you outside the Adventurer’s Guild when we first met?” “I remember.
The piece of trash I disposed of.” Lucien raised an eyebrow.
He had no idea why Ainz was suddenly bringing up someone who was already dead.
“I’ve spent the last couple of days learning more basic information about this world through the guild.” Ainz explained.
“Adventurer ranks, from lowest to highest, are Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum, and Adamantite.” “The plate worn by the man you killed was Orichalcum.” “There are only a handful of Adamantite-ranked adventurer teams in the entire Kingdom, which means an Orichalcum-ranked adventurer is already considered an exceptionally rare and powerful individual.” Lucien was momentarily stunned.
“Orichalcum?
At that level of strength?” “Yes.” Ainz sighed.
“He may have seemed weak to us, but to the people of this world, someone like that is considered a top-class combatant capable of dealing with major monster incidents alone.” “His body was discovered in a back alley.” “The Adventurer’s Guild is having considerable trouble with the case because he wasn’t from E-Rantel.
He came from the Royal Capital.” “The authorities there already know about his death and are putting heavy pressure on both E-Rantel’s administration and the guild to find the killer within a limited period.” “Pressure from the Royal Capital…” Lucien rubbed his chin.
“Exactly.
They have virtually no chance of tracing it back to you, but to avoid unnecessary trouble, I recommend being even more thorough in the future.” Ainz gave the warning with characteristic caution.
“If something similar happens again, try not to leave a body behind.” “Thanks for the warning.
I’ll keep that in mind.” “What about your side?
Did anything unusual happen while gathering herbs?” “Nothing particularly dangerous.” Lucien shifted into a more comfortable position against the tree.
“Although I did deal with that so-called Wise King of the Forest.” “I heard it was some kind of territorial monster that ruled a large portion of the Great Forest of Tob.” “Oh?
A ruler of the Great Forest?” Ainz’s voice immediately became alert.
“How strong was it?” “Extremely weak.” Lucien sounded almost disappointed.
“It looked like an enormous hamster, maybe five meters long.” “I couldn’t even estimate its level properly because I only summoned a level sixty Shadow Clone.” “The clone didn’t use any skills.
It just kicked the thing once and nearly killed it.” “…A hamster?” The image of a cute little pet immediately appeared in Ainz’s mind.
Scaling it up to five meters made the picture considerably stranger.
“I also learned something about this world’s healing potions,” Lucien continued.
“Nfirea gave me one that he brewed himself.
The liquid was completely blue.” “According to him, healing potions are red immediately after they’re made, but exposure to air quickly causes them to deteriorate and turn blue.” “He said every apothecary in this world deals with the same problem and no one has managed to solve it.” “They deteriorate and turn blue…” Ainz considered the information for a moment.
“That is interesting.
Thank you for sharing it.” “No need to thank me.” The two continued chatting for a little while.
Just as Lucien was preparing to end the call, Ainz hesitated.
“Something else?” Lucien asked.
“…It’s about you.” Ainz sounded awkward now.
“The subject is somewhat personal.
There are a few things I want to ask, but discussing them over a call would be inconvenient.” “Let’s find somewhere private and talk properly after you return to the city.” “Fine.
I’ll see you tonight.” The call ended.
Lucien straightened and shouted toward Nfirea.
“Boss, that’s probably enough resting.
We should get moving.” “All right, Mr.
Vale!” Nfirea quickly responded.
By dusk, the setting sun had painted E-Rantel’s towering walls in shades of gold and crimson.
The wagon slowly passed through the city gates.
At that point, the escort request was essentially complete.
Lucien casually deactivated several passive skills that continuously consumed mana.
It was a habit he had developed in YGGDRASIL.
When he was not in combat, any passive ability that constantly drained MP was turned off so that his mana remained at a healthy level.
He was not a dedicated magic caster, after all.
His natural mana recovery was not high enough to comfortably support so many continuously active abilities.
Night gradually settled over the city.
Dim oil lamps began appearing outside the shops along both sides of the street.
Lucien continued escorting the wagon until they finally reached Nfirea’s potion shop in the common district.
“Mr.
Vale, thank you very much for everything you’ve done.” Nfirea stood beside the wagon and bowed deeply.
“If you hadn’t been with us, we might not even have made it into the Great Forest.” “This is the remainder of your payment.
Please accept it.” He handed Lucien a coin pouch filled with the agreed amount of silver.
Lucien took it, weighed it briefly in his hand, and tucked it into his coat.
“You paid me to keep you safe.
I was only doing my job.” “Unloading the cargo wasn’t part of the contract, though, so I’ll leave that to you.” “Take care.
Maybe we’ll work together again sometime.” “Of course.
Have a safe evening.” Lucien turned and started walking away.
He planned to buy something to drink, then send Ainz another message and ask what subject was so important that it required a private conversation.
He had barely taken a few steps when his enhanced hearing caught an unusual sound from inside the potion shop.
Footsteps.
Lucien frowned.
Something was wrong.
Night had already fallen, yet no lamps were burning inside the building.
That suggested no one should have been home.
So why were there footsteps in a dark, apparently empty potion shop?
More importantly, they were unnaturally light.
Deliberately controlled.
“Miss, are you a friend of Mr.
Nfirea?” It was the bearded coachman’s voice.
He sounded confused but polite.
“He’s unloading the wagon in the back.
Are you waiting here for him?” Then came a high-pitched female voice, light and playful, with a faintly unstable tremor beneath it.
“That’s right.
I’ve been waiting for him for sooo long.
I’m practically aching all over~” The instant Lucien heard that voice, his entire body stiffened.
He would never mistake it.
It belonged to the female assassin who had been traveling with the strange staff-wielding half-undead man inside the underground stronghold.
Why was she here?
“Shit!” [Blink] Inside the potion shop, dim candlelight flickered.
Clementine wore a viciously sweet smile.
One hand was hidden behind her back.
Between two fingers, she held a narrow stiletto whose edge gleamed coldly in the darkness.
The bearded coachman stood innocently in front of her.
Completely unaware of the danger, he even gave her a good-natured smile, apparently assuming she might be some woman visiting Nfirea privately.
He began turning toward the back of the shop.
“Please have a seat, miss.
I’ll go get…” “No need.” Clementine’s eyes curved pleasantly.
“Because none of you will need to talk much longer~” Her expression was flirtatious enough to belong to a succubus.
At the same instant, her hidden right hand shot forward.
The stiletto became a blur as it drove straight toward the coachman’s chest.
Fast.
Precise.
A strike intended to kill immediately.
The bearded man’s smile had not even disappeared when the only thing reflected in his eyes became a rapidly approaching glint of steel.
And then…
Clang!
His eyes registered that he had been saved before his body could even begin reacting.
Lucien, who should already have left, appeared in front of him without warning.
A short blade glittered in his hand.
With a single strike, he knocked Clementine’s stiletto away.
Using the force of the collision, Clementine lightly retreated three steps and landed beside the counter.
She tilted her head in surprise.
This stranger had never appeared in any of the information she had gathered.
“Hm?” Her eyes traveled over Lucien from head to toe.
Then she smiled again.
“My, my.
You’re fast.” “Are you a friend of our little Talent holder?” “That really startled me, you know~” Lucien ignored her nonsense.
After that single clash, he already had a rough understanding of her ability.
To put it confidently, in a straightforward one-on-one battle, this madwoman had no chance of defeating him.
But she was still an assassin.
Her exact abilities were unknown.
The room was narrow, packed with counters, shelves, and clutter.
And Lucien still had to protect the client who had only just finished paying him.
His entire body remained tense.
He held the short sword horizontally in front of his chest.
“Mr.
Vale?!
What’s happening?!” Nfirea and the second coachman, the one with dark stubble, heard the commotion and hurried in from the rear courtyard.
The sight of the confrontation stopped them cold.
“Get out!” Lucien did not turn around.
His voice carried an urgent edge.
“You two, get Nfirea into the street.” “Go straight to the Adventurer’s Guild and find a warrior named Momon.” “Now!” Once his fragile client was safely out of the danger zone, Lucien could fight without restraint.
“R-Right!” The bearded coachman finally snapped out of his shock.
He grabbed the stunned Nfirea and joined the other coachman as they hurried toward the front door.
But before the three could escape…
“Where do you think you’re going?” A hoarse, elderly voice came from the darkness near the entrance.
The bald, hunched old man slowly stepped inside.
He wore a tattered black magic caster’s robe and held a staff set with a purple crystal.
In his other hand rested a black orb radiating dense negative energy.
Ghostly shapes resembling tormented souls drifted constantly across its surface.
The Orb of Death.
Khajiit Dale Badantel stood in the doorway with both magic items in hand.
A cruel, greedy light shone in his murky eyes as he stared at Nfirea.
“None of you are leaving.” Nfirea and the two coachmen were forced backward.
They retreated behind Lucien, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Lucien stood in the middle of the cramped potion shop and narrowed his eyes.
(To be continued.)