Текст книги "Overlord - The Man in the Kingdom - Part 2"

Автор книги: Maruyama Kugane

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

Bastard– Sebas swallowed the word in his mouth.

Ainz has forgiven him, but Demiurge hasn’t. That’s probably why he was interfering with Sebas on the matter of what to do with Tsuare.

“That has its merits as well. What do you think, Sebas?”

“...Tsuare cooks mostly home-made meals. To say if it’s fitting for Nazarick… I cannot offer a solid answer.”

“Home-made meals. I doubt boiled potato is fitting for Nazarick.”

“I believe Demiurge is being short-sighted right now. Perhaps she can only cook home-made meals right now, but the Head Chef can teach her. We need to look for long-term investments.”

“Then, why not just have her help me in my breeding pens? Grinding up all that meat is also quite a chore.”

“I—”

Ainz watched the noisy scene quietly. Beyond them, he could see the scenes of the past unfold. The ghosts of their creators, illusions from the past...

♦ ♦ ♦

“Then where shall we go today?”

“To the Fire Giants.”

“To the Ice Dragons.”

“...Ha… Ulbert-san, don’t you remember that some people need the rare drop from the Fire Giant Boss, Surt?”

“It seems like Touch Me-sama is the one who doesn’t remember that there are people who need to kill the Ice Dragon to fulfill their class-up requirements.”

“...That may be, but Yamaiko-san needs the rare drop to enchant an item.”

“No, I’m not particularly…”

“You mean the ‘The Flame of the Beginning’? Then you would need ‘The Ice of the Beginning’ as well. Let’s go to the Ice Dragons.”

“...Thanks to all the cash items, it has a high drop rate now. Compared to the Dragons, Surt has a lower drop rate, so let’s get that out of the way first.”

“Then I’ll go buy the cash item for it now.”

“...But, but, but…”

“...How about going for some erotic monsters like Succubus?”

“Shut up, younger brother.”

“If it’s demonic monsters, I want to go get the Lords of the Seven Deadly Sins. Of course, we would need some more preparations.”

“...Touch Me-sama, stop trying to solo-play this. Considering the members we have now, it’s most efficient to go get the Ice Dragons.”

“No, no, isn’t it you who’s trying to solo-play, Ulbert-san? When did we ever care about efficiency?”

“Can the top mage and top warrior stop fighting…”

“They were like that from the start. Ever since I invited them to join the guild.”

“To be talking with that weird, pink slab of flesh, Touch Me-san is brave.”

“...Teapot-san, Peroronchino-san, should I use the Guild Master’s authority for the no weapon loot?”

“Didn’t some guild put up the guide for the Lords of Seven Deadly Sins before?”

“They defeated “Pride”, it just got uploaded today.”

“They say a World class item will drop after defeating all seven, since they’re World class threats.”

“Speaking of World class items, why don’t we use ‘Calroic Stone’ to make a golem core?”

“Nuuboo-san, shouldn’t we focus on weapons?”

“Making armour isn’t bad either.”

“Shouldn’t we think some more about this? Since it’s an item we can ask the GMs for, we should consider it some more.”

“Isn’t that right? Momonga-san?”

“I know how to get more ‘Caloric Stone’, but we already spent so many minerals from The Seven Hidden Mines.”

“To never be able to attain it unless we own all of them, it’s a headache.”

“Yea, as long as different guilds own different parts of the mine, we can’t get it back once we use it. It’s not like they’ll just sit around while we take them over one at a time…. How about leaking this information to a place like Trinity? Some are bound to get greedy and come running for it. We can strike when they’re exhausted from fighting each other.”

“You want to sell the information to the Alliance as well and make them fight with each other? You really are a strategist, Punitto Moe-san.”

“Speaking of the Alliance, it seems he’s hatching another plan against them.”

“What? Why?”

“It seems like they stole a World-class item from some guild, which is now really mad at them.”

“Oh man, though I think an alliance between top guilds like last time would be difficult.”

“—Then can Momonga-san decide?”

“That sounds good, Guild Master. What do you want to do?”

“...Eh? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention… What were we talking about again? ...We’ll just go with a vote like last time.”

“No objection.”

“Me, too.”

“Then new gold coin to vote for Ulbert-san. Old gold coin to vote for Touch Me-sama. Now they will pitch their plans to you guys.”

♦ ♦ ♦

“Be. Quiet. You’re. Before. Ainz. Sama.”

It was as if Cocytus had splashed cold water on both of them. Both looked over at Ainz and the colour of their faces changed. It was impossible to read any emotion from the red flame that lit his empty eye sockets, but they could feel something strong coming from his gaze. Both acted before a strong reprimand came their way.

“I have committed a grave mistake in front of Ainz-sama.”

“I have no excuse for such poor behaviour.”

The reaction they received was an incomprehensible one.

“– Hahahahahaha!”

Bright laughter echoed throughout the room. Very happy and bright laughter. Sebas, Solution, Demiurge, Cocytus, no one could remember Ainz laughing so happily and blinked in surprise.

“Of course, of course, you are forgiven. That’s it! Fighting like that! Hahahaha!”

Sebas had no idea what had struck Ainz right now, but let out a breath of relief.

“Hahaha… che, passive skill kicked in.”

His master returned to a calm mood like a puppet whose strings had been cut. But everybody shared the thought that Ainz was in a good mood. Ainz spoke to Sebas with a bright tone.

“Sebas, I understand what you are talking about, but to bring a human to Nazarick… Very well, I shall see her before I decide. Bring her.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. As you command.”

Sebas was puzzled at Ainz’s strange orders, but brought Tsuare over immediately.

“Ainz-sama, I have brought her.”

“Good work bringing her—”

Suddenly, Ainz leaned forward from his chair. The way he studied Tsuare was peculiar. Wondering if it was out of displeasure, Sebas glanced at Tsuare. There was nothing different about her from earlier and couldn’t understand why his master was suddenly treating her so.

“...Looks alike.”

The small murmur that leaked out probably wasn’t intentional.

“...Welcome, Tsuare. But I will remind you that I do not give second warnings. It is because I respect choices, even if the outcome is bad. Now if you understand this, I will pose my question. This will all be over if you lie, and it will also be over if it’s not the answer I am looking for.”

Sebas could hear Tsuare gulping beside him. With such threats, it was impossible to tell what would happen next.

“Then, what is your real name?”

He could not understand the intent of the question. Why ask something like that? Sebas could see her eyes racing from side to side. Her attitude told the full story.

‘Please answer honestly.’

Sebas prayed in his heart.

If it was something she didn’t tell even to him, there must be something about her true name. Even so, to lie to the Master would only result in the worst situation. Silence continued, and after some time had passed, Tsuare replied in small voice that resembled mosquito buzz.

“T, Tsuare… Tsuareninya.”

“Last name?”

“It’s Tsuareninya Beiron.”

“Is that so… Is that so… Then I will ask again, Tsuareninya. Do you wish to live in The Great Tomb of Nazarick, in another word, somewhere I rule? ... The Great Tomb of Nazarick is not a place where humans live. I don’t want to say it’s impossible for them to live there, but there are simply no such things as humans there, so I do not know how suitable it will be for you. If you want, I can give you a sizable sum of money and you could live happily amongst other humans.”

It was an almost unnecessarily generous offer, but Tsuare did not hesitate for a moment to answer.

“I, I wish to live with… Sebas-sama.”

Ainz nodded slowly, and the flame in the empty eye socket weakened.

“Very well then. Heed me, my loyal servants.”

Everyone bowed their head and Tsuare followed suit.

“From now on, I shall protect Tsuare under the name of Ainz Ooal Gown. I could also treat you as a guest of the Great Tomb of Nazarick if you wished, you know?”

“T, thank you, but I wish to work alongside Sebas-sama.”

“...If that is what you wish for. Then I shall place you under Sebas’ direct command as a temporary maid. Sebas, assign her appropriate work. Also, for Pleiades, switch from Six Star System to Seven Sister System, and change the leader accordingly. However, we won’t move her and Yuri Alpha will be the temporary leader instead.”

Solution bowed deeply.

“And let all in the Great Tomb of Nazarick know that Tsuareninya is protected under the name of Ainz Ooal Gown, not to mention she will be a comrade as well.”

All except Tsuare and Ainz bowed.

“Is there any objection, Demiurge?”

“I have none. Your word is the law in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. However, I believe there will be those who cannot understand why you let a human into this blessed land. What shall I tell them?”

“...Strictly speaking, Yamaiko-sama’s younger sister, Akemi-sama, was a dark elf but still welcomed at Nazarick. Just because she is a human being, I don’t think there’s much of a difference.”

Ainz looked at Solution before continuing.

“If that wasn’t the case, we would probably need to kick out your youngest as well.”

“I am unsure if an immortal would qualify as a human being.”

“That might be so, Solution. Well, Demiurge, announce my decision. If anyone objects, tell them to come to me and I shall explain it to them personally.”

“As you command. I have no more questions.”

“Then I will confirm everything. We will start withdrawing from the mansion. All guards assigned to the mansion will return to Nazarick immediately. Sebas and Solution will tie up all loose ends in the capital and Demiurge will transfer the wheat. As soon as everything is ready, I will send Shalltear to use ‘Gate’. Any questions?”

Everybody bowed in silence and Tsuare followed suit after observing them.

“Then, Sebas. What will you do with Tsuare? Will you return with her, or should I take her with me?”

“I believe letting her stay with me would cause you the least inconvenience.”

“Very well then, Sebas. Solution, bring all the guards over. I will return with them to Nazarick.”

“As you command.”

After watching the three of them leave, Demiurge asked.

“Did you know of her from before?”

Ainz stood up slowly without answering. He turned towards the wall as if someone stood there and finally opened his mouth.

“Demiurge, I believe that a favour should be repaid with a favour, and an eye for an eye. It also applies to the debts I owe to others.”

Ainz took out a book from midair. The book had a leathern cover and was held together with metal wire. It was too shoddy to truly be called a book.

“There are some parts the Chief Librarian translated, but this is the original copy. This is a diary expressing the anger of a young girl… who had her older sister taken away by some noble.”

There were good sisters in a certain village. Their parents passed away when they were young, but they survived by relying on each other.

But the older sister was dragged off by a noble– a noble who had nothing but bad rumours about him. If the older sister had been able to live happily, the younger sister would have been able to put up with the parting, but the younger sister could guess what would happen from the rumours she had heard. Her older sister would be treated like a plaything and abandoned like trash once he tired of her. This was the truth and the younger sister left the village to find a way to save her older sister, because nobody in the village had tried to help her. Soon, the younger sister realized she had a talent for magic and tried to get stronger to save her sister. However, she passed away before she could realize her goal. The page with one short sentence was the last page of the diary. It was about a new comrade on the mission to gather herbs, praises about two adventurers called Momon and Nabe.

“Thanks to this diary, I have learned much about this world. This is my debt. I will repay my debt to you with your sister.”

Ainz put away the diary whose colours had started to fade due to its age.

“Then I have one request to make of you, Ainz-sama.”

“What is it, Demiurge.”

“I found a strange information amongst Sebas’ reports. I wish for time to investigate further.”

“Is there a problem?”

“It would appear so. I have a place I want to check out and I hope that I can make it there by the time you have returned, but I cannot say for certain as I need to find the place first… I know it is disgraceful to waste your time, but please grant me some respite.”

Ainz reassured Demiurge with a bright expression.

“It does not matter, Demiurge. No doubt you are acting for the benefit of Nazarick. How can I not wait under such circumstances. Go, Demiurge.”

“I am forever grateful.”

 

Part 2

Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th, 15:01

The sun rose and Sebas’ and Solution’s busy day started again.

The reason for being so busy was simple. It would have been easy to leave the Kingdom without a word, but then all the connections and contacts they built up would have gone to waste. Thus they acted as if they were returning to the Empire. With Solution in tow, Sebas exchanged farewells with all the merchants and important guild members he was acquainted with.

Obviously, the conversation didn’t end at parting wishes. It was obvious that people wanted to leave a good impression for future business, not to mention having an opportunity to talk to a beauty like Solution. As a result, each farewell took more than 30 minutes and the day dragged on.

“It took a long time, but the process of moving all the wheat from storage is complete. It seems we can return to Nazarick without a problem now.”

On his words, Solution seemed to beam with happiness. Sebas felt that she was happier about completing the master’s orders than the prospect of returning to the Great Tomb. As Sebas was the one in charge of collecting information in the Kingdom, there were not many opportunity for Solution to feel as if she was carrying out her duties.

At least the farewells were Solution’s work as she needed to appear to be the one in charge. With her strong sense of satisfaction, she almost looked as if she was humming in joy.

As a matter of fact, because she was in such a good mood while talking to the merchants, Sebas was able to negotiate several favourable agreements, like the waiving of storage fees because they had purchased large amounts of wheat.

There are benefits to being a beauty.

Sebas truly thought that while tying the horses at the stables and walking towards the front gate with Solution.

Standing in front of the door, Sebas put the key in the keyhole. He turned the key as he had done many times, but there was no clicking sound of unlocking. Sebas frowned in surprised and met his eyes with Solution.

The door isn’t locked?

With a small push, the door creaked open. The only other person in the manor was Tsuare, but there would be no way that she left on her own.

“There are several new scratches around the keyhole. There’s a large possibility somebody picked the lock…”

Before Solution could finish her sentence, Sebas slammed the door open. He didn’t think there would be any traps, and even if there were, he would just smash them apart.

The manor felt empty since everything had already been cleared out. Setting his detection abilities to maximum, he scanned for Tsuare, but he felt nothing.

“Tsuare! Tsuare! Are you in here?”

He shouted while searching the manor. He had searched every corner but there was not a single trace. It was almost as if she had never existed in the first place.

Someone was definitely in here. Considering there’s no smell of blood, she must have been kidnapped. Then what would their demands be…

Sebas balled up his fist tightly.

He was angry with himself, carelessly leaving Tsuare alone in the house. As a matter of fact, he had been apprehensive about leaving Tsuare alone. After his encounter with the underground organization, he knew there would be trouble afoot.

However, he still left her at the manor because of her trauma and her fear of the outside world and strangers. Only reason why she didn’t act up while facing the Guardians was because she could not register them as humans. Tsuare’s reaction back then was an extremely normal reaction of a person who encountered a monster.

Even if Tsuare could’ve been left in the carriage, Sebas had wanted to avoid any possible complications and had left her in the manor.

Because the brothel he destroyed would need time to re-establish itself, and since it would take some time to plan an attack, Sebas had assumed that the ones behind the destroyed brothel would have needed more time to reorganize themselves before trying to take their revenge. In hindsight, it was a disastrous miscalculation, but it was too late now.

As he walked briskly down the hallway, he heard Solution call out for him in reception room.

“Sebas-sama, over here.”

“Did you find her, Solution?”

There was no way she did, because Sebas had checked just now. However with hope, he stepped inside the room to see Solution holding a piece of parchment.

“Something seems to be written on—”

“Please, allow me.”

Even before Solution could finish he snatched the parchment from her. Using the magic item to read the content, he crumpled the parchment in anger.

“Kidnapped. I will follow them and rescue her.”

“It seems like a wise course of action.”

Sebas’ eyes widened as he did not expect Solution to agree.

“However, Ainz-sama ordered us to return to Nazarick. Shouldn’t that be prioritized?”

“But he did not say without Tsuare.”

“Sebas-sama… If you act on your own again, it will be a bigger incident this time. Plus, how are you going to find them?”

“They conveniently left the time and place for a meetup. It seems like they belong to the criminal group that owned the brothel I destroyed.”

“I see. However I still need to send a report to Ainz-sama before you leave. If you had not touched the brothel in the first place, this would not have happened. That goes against Ainz-sama’s order of being covert. If Sebas-sama acts out again, it will mean you disobeyed him once again… Also, did you forget Ainz-sama’s words earlier?”

It was a poignant reply, especially considering who had guaranteed to protect Tsuare.

“Please report to Ainz-sama that she has been kidnapped and that you are awaiting instructions.”

 

Part 3

Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th, 15:15

“Hmm hmmm hmmm~”

Humming along pleasantly, Albedo threaded the needle. She pushed the needle through, and pulled it out. After repeating this step hundreds of times, she had sewn a black cloth on top of the white figure. Next, she stuffed the white figure and it took on somewhat of more circular shape. Looking at the nearly completed doll, Albedo smiled softly. It was a gentle smile of a goddess full of mercy and love.

“Alright! Ainz-sama’s head is complete!”

She clenched her fist in satisfaction and petted her handmade doll head with the appearance of a skull. Small pieces of cloth were sewed on it to become eyes and mouth, which gave it an overall cute look. If Ainz saw it, he would definitely have been embarrassed.

“Then next is the body…”

She gently sat the skull plushie on a corner of her desk and stood up to grab another spool of white thread.

This was Albedo’s room. Originally her room was the Throne Room, so she had nothing in the way of a private chamber. However, Ainz assigned her the common room the 41 Supreme Beings used so that her work as Overseer of the Guardians would not be affected. Just like Ainz’s room, Albedo’s room was large. Albedo didn’t have many belongings with her, so the room looked rather desolate and empty. After two months of her stay though, it was a different story.

One of the reasons for this was the dressing room she was about to open.

It was a room full of Ainz. She had hand made them all by herself. The dolls were in the shape of Ainz and had different poses; some were full-body pillows, some were miniature plushies. This was Albedo’s top secret space and not even the maids who came to clean the room were allowed to peek inside. It was dubbed the Harem Room.

“Ku-hu-hu-hu…”

Albedo hopped around while letting out a strange noises. Then she flapped her wings by her waist and flew straight into Ainz cushion at an incredible speed. It was similar to a rugby tackle. Still hugging the cushion, she rolled around the floor. Because there were countless other Ainz on the floor, it did not hurt. Holding herself in the middle of three Ainz cushions, she laughed creepily.

“Ku-hu-hu-hu-hu, the newest cushion I made from Ainz-sama’s sheets… In another word, I’m sleeping with him indirectly. Ku-hu-hu-hu…”

Albedo buried her face in the cushion and sniffed furiously.

“There is… no smell.”

It was a very sad voice. If someone heard it, they would probably have felt bad for her as well. Because Ainz was an undead, he needed no sleep and his bones had no particular odour to them. He washes his body to remove the dust or wash the blood away, but his body did not excrete anything that could constitute a smell.

“Hm, hmm? This is… perhaps… Ainz-sama’s…!”

However, for a maiden in love like Albedo, it was possible to smell even the faintest of Ainz’s odour. Whether it was her own imagination or not was up to debate.

“Snort snort, sniff sniff”

The way she buried her face in the cushion and sniffed it repeatedly was resembling more of a pervert than the Overseer of the Guardians.

“Ahh~ I’m so happy.”

As the Overseer of the Guardians, Albedo had many tasks to deal with. These included stationing soldiers, constructing the defense network, checking maintenance inside Nazarick, and anything that concerned the Throne Room. There was enough workload to break a camel’s back.

So it was especially important for her to come in here to recharge and feel happy again.

“Ah, I want to see Ainz-sama again! See him again! See him aga~in! See him again.”

Albedo vented her jealousy of Narberal who went on a trip with Ainz while tightly holding onto the cushion. At that moment—

『Albedo』

She stood rigidly. She checked around her while shedding cold sweat before realizing it was a voice carried via magic.

“A, Ainz-sama! What do I owe the pleasure to?”

『I just heard from Sebas, no, from Solution with ‘Message’ that the girl Sebas picked up, Tsuare, has been kidnapped. Form an appropriate squad to support Sebas.』

Albedo remembered Tsuare when Ainz mentioned her. Ainz became Momon and left for E-Rantel immediately, but Demiurge who remained had told the vague details about her.

“Please excuse my rudeness for questioning your great order, but is it worth forming a squad just to save some worthless being like a human? If it involved those who interfered with Shalltear I would understand, but…”

『No, they probably have no connection with Shalltear. This time it seems to be a criminal organization lurking in the Kingdom.』

“Then even more so…”

『Albedo. I swore to protect Tsuare in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown. Do you understand what this means?』

The atmosphere changed from earlier. A burning sensation of rage could be felt all around the room and Albedo could only make a choked up sound.

『You understand! Right!! I swore to protect her with my own name! They kidnapped her despite that. This is an insult to my name and everyone else in the guild! There is no excuse, even if they didn’t know.』

The rage suddenly subsided at the end of the sentence. Because his emotional threshold had been exceeded, the calming effect had activated.

『... I’m sorry. It seems I became too angry at those scumbags. Forgive me, Albedo…』

Due to the master’s remorseful voice, she could finally calm herself down enough to speak. The Supreme Being’s rage affected even Albedo. Even if it was not directed towards her.

“T, there is nothing for Ainz-sama to apologize about.”

Albedo bowed deeply even though there was nobody standing in front of her.

『... Then I’ll entrust this to you, Albedo. Rescue Tsuare unharmed.』

“I shall do as you command! While rescuing her, I shall make sure to exterminate the vermin who annoyed you!”

『Then I’ll entrust this to you. Speaking of which, Demiurge should still be in Nazarick to receive the wheat shipment. He will be the one in charge…』

“I shall go myself—”

『No, Albedo. You need to protect Nazarick. Send Demiurge. Make sure their identity does not get revealed as well. I shall leave this matter in the Kingdom to you and Demiurge. Be cautious.』

“I understand!”

The ‘Message’ ended and silence returned. Albedo slowly stood up and proceeded to put the cushions away.

“...But I really don’t understand.”

In Albedo’s eyes, there was an unnaturally rigid look. She looked towards a corner of the room.

The reason she did not let any maids in the room was to make sure she could monopolize her Ainz dolls and that nobody could touch them. But there was another reason as well.

That was a flag with the emblem of “Ainz Ooal Gown” embroidered on it. The flag which should have been visible as soon as someone entered the room, laid crumpled in a corner of the floor. There was no sign of admiration or respect towards it, only hatred and hostility.

“Ainz Ooal Gown… How boring.”

In place of the flag of Ainz Ooal Gown, Albedo had raised a different gigantic flag instead. A flag so large, it resembled an opera curtain.

“This, Great Tomb of Nazarick is only yours. I, Albedo wish to only serve you. Ah… One day, I want to hear your great name once again…”

Chapter 7. Attack Preparations

Translator: Rockgollem

Editors/Proofreaders: Ferro, TaintedDream, Namorax, Skythewood, SifaV6, JcqC

 

Part 1

Lower Fire Month (9th Month) 3rd, 18:27

Brain stuck around until the guards Climb called for arrived. When he started to head back to Gazef’s house, the sun had already set and his stomach stung in hunger.

...If I kept Stronoff hungry, I’d feel bad.

He pushed open the doors as if it was his own house, but it was only because he had permission from Gazef to do so.

As he started to walk towards the room Gazef loaned to him, Brain heard footsteps heading towards him. He thought it was probably Gazef, and confirmed it when the footsteps were heard coming downstairs.

“You’re late Unglaus. Where did you go?”

There was no hint of criticism in his voice. Seeing that Brain didn’t reply and fell into deep thought, Gazef’s eyes beamed with curiosity.

“If you’re okay with it, do you want to tell me about it over a meal?”

It was a true sight for sore eyes. Brain replied as he rubbed his stomach.

“That sounds like an amazing idea. So, where to?”

With a slightly surprised expression, Gazef guided him to the dining room.

“Do the servants cook for you? Or do you cook the meals yourself?”

Gazef smiled bitterly at the empty question.

“No, I’m quite terrible at cooking actually.”

He continued after pondering a little.

“Maybe the servants are getting old, since the food always seems under-seasoned. After a day of hard work, you want to have something strong, but the servants don’t seem to be too understanding.”

“The Kingdom’s mightiest Warrior Captain is forced to eat under-seasoned healthy food?”

Brain smiled as he teased Gazef, but Gazef replied tensely as always.

“Unglaus, I would love to present you with the gourmet under-seasoned healthy food of my home, but we’ll have to do with food I bought from outside.”

“If it is so, I must thank you for being so considerate.”

Seeing Brain smile, Gazef broke into a little laughter. However, his counter-attack commenced.

“But what about you, can you cook?”

Gazef’s sword of rebuttal missed and slice through thin air.

“Nothing complex and only simple stuff. It’s a big problem if you can’t cook during training trips or expeditions.”

Nodding slowly, Gazef brought a little basket that was tucked away in a corner of the dining room. The basket was big enough to fit a baby and a smell that stimulated the nose and stomach wafted into the air.

The two men sat facing each other.

After taking out several dishes from the basket, they filled their glasses with wine and raised them for a toast to each other. There was no particular reason they shared a cheers and gulped down the wine in silence. Brain took two big gulps before setting down the glass.

He let out a deep sigh and murmured with shaky heart.

"... It’s been a long time since I had a drink.”

“It’s the same with me. I haven’t had a meal in my house lately either.

"... The palace duties must be difficult.”

“Ever since I became the Warrior Captain, there seems to be always something.”

“Defending the royal family as well?”

“That too. As a matter of fact, that’s the main duty.”

After hearing Gazef’s stories Brain could feel how puritan Gazef was. He could afford to stray around from time to time, but he kept moving forward in a straight line.

‘A person like this is sure to be hated by the nobles.’

As if Brain’s assumptions were right, Gazef’s stories barely contained any mention of nobles. Despite being in a high position like Warrior Captain, most of stories were about his life as a soldier or about the royal family. There were no stories of some hoity-toity dance gala.

Changes were happening in neighboring countries such as the Empire, but in the Kingdom a large wall of different status stood between the nobility and commoners.

For Brain, this whole situation was hilarious.

He devoted all his time training to defeat Gazef, and he expected a fight to the death the next time they met. Now, they sat drinking as friends. As if his thoughts were read, Gazef smiled as well.

Their glasses clanged once again, but feeling a little drunk, they clinked too hard and some wine spilled onto the table.

“Try not to spill it onto the food.”

“It might taste better with some wine on them.”

“I don’t know much about taste… Unglaus, perhaps you are the same too?”

“Brain. Just call me Brain.”

“Alright, then I am Gazef.”

“Ok, Gazef.”

They laughed and clanged the glass once more.

Gazef’s stories were diverse and there were plenty of things Brain did not know about. As the atmosphere heated up, Gazef asked shamelessly.