Chapter 140.5: Volume 15: Chapter 3: Aura's Hard Work (5)

Aura stood holding a bow, at a place some distance away from the village. Made of metal, it was far more burly than the ones the Dark Elves normally used.

It was also taller than Aura.

Aura drew and loosed the string repeatedly, making the bow screech. It was a greatbow that originally belonged to the village, one that even the strongest of them weren't able to draw. The Dark Elves initially widened their eyes when they saw a child draw it so effortlessly, but they also immediately made expressions that said they had come to terms with it.

"The way this was stored leaves a lot to be desired. It's making all these sounds because parts of it have deteriorated, you know? Is this why no one was able to draw it? Hnnn, it feels unstable. I wonder if the arrow will really go where I aim it at..."

Her current target was called a 'Giga Horn Elk', a magic beast similar to an elk. Despite its huge antlers, it could move gracefully inside the forest using [Forestwalker]. This ability made its charges extremely destructive.

Aura would have probably looked like a stylish hunter if she stood still while passionately tracking her prey with a sharp gaze, but Ainz couldn't see any tension in her side profile—she was just being her usual self. She was nonchalant, like she was just about to pick up some random stone and throw it.

In contrast, the other three rangers from the village—two men and one woman—were in a completely different stance. They were hiding from the prey's senses, their faces the epitome of seriousness itself. Ainz didn't know how they did it, but they were also wiping out their presence by clearing their minds of all thoughts.

These dark elves had yet to nock their bows, although they were holding them.

Normally, they would all shoot at the same time to prevent the prey from escaping and to also reduce the chances of a disastrous counterattack, but they were not doing so now because they didn't want to get in Aura's way.

The fact that they all stayed on the ground this time showed their intentions.

Normally, Dark Elves positioned themselves on trees that were as safe as possible, fearing counterattacks from prey. They would then wait for the kind of prey they could deal with. Bushwhack-style hunting, so to speak. The fact that they were on the ground despite that, demonstrated their trust in Aura.

And what was Ainz doing as the one worst at stealth among the members of this hunt? The one and only [Perfect Unknowable]. He was using it so much that he started to feel uneasy whether he was relying too much on it. Anyhow, after he hid his presence with it, neither the prey nor the dark elves looked like they had noticed him. He had been following them this entire hunt, but Aura was the only one who sensed him.

Aura released the arrow.

About the same time—or maybe just a little later, in the time it took to blink—the Giga Horn Elk moved its head to observe its surroundings.

It probably noticed the twang of the bow that sounded out of place in the forest.

Ainz thought that should not have been possible as the sound was extremely low. Furthermore, the target was so far away that it normally couldn't have heard it, so why did the Giga Horn Elk react then?

It was most likely just a coincidence, or maybe it had some sort of special ability. If it was none of those then maybe—although it was just Ainz's conjecture—it preternaturally sensed the aura of an attack coming towards it.

But, for all its intuition, the arrow managed to sink into the Giga Horn Elk's head without resistance like it already predicted the monster's response before it was shot.

Even with the arrow sticking out of its head, its body twitched but did not collapse.

It didn't matter if it was a magical beast or just a normal one, animals as a whole had a lot of vitality.

It would have been a fatal attack if Aura had equipped her usual YGGDRASIL-made bow, but this bow borrowed from the village was just not powerful enough.

This clearly shows that the gear and weapons do greatly affect one's strength. Well, looks like Aura didn't use any special abilities this time, so maybe the results would change if she used any.

The beast tried to leap away with the arrow stuck deep into it. Deeply wounded, it chose flight over fight.

Aura loosed another arrow without any hesitation, like she had already predicted the elk's reaction.

Pierced once more in its head, the Giga Horn Elk finally collapsed to the ground.

"Well, that's how it's done."

"As expected of Fiora-sama."

In contrast to Aura's calm, the nearest dark elf man raised his voice, full of passionate admiration. He's Plum Ganen, the village's vice Master of the Hunt and the leader of the hunting party this time.

Ainz didn't feel that he was putting on an act and even considered him as a strong ally for Aura in a sense. Nevertheless, he made Ainz's face twitch.

His attitude was just too positive.

His fiery eyes were filled with a mixture of respect, adoration, and passion—just like how that girl with scary eyes in the Holy Kingdom looked after her resurrection. Frankly speaking, he should not be looking at someone who looked at least like a child on the surface with those eyes.

This was the second time she hunted with this party and it was not like this the first time.

It was true that Aura fought back the Ankyloursus, but Plum Ganen only considered that as a measure of her battle prowess and not her talent at hunting. In fact, while under [Perfect Unknowable], Ainz heard him saying that he proposed the hunt because they wanted to estimate her skill as a ranger.

But- the way Aura (effortlessly) traversed the forest gave Plum goosebumps, her ability to erase her presence bedazzled him, and by the time he saw her skill with the bow, his eyes started shining with admiration. It was a bit comical to see him standing there with his mouth wide open. And so, he ended up being the number one Aura fanatic in the village.

However, he was a painful impediment to Ainz's plan.

As long as someone like this existed, it would be hard to turn Aura back into a normal child in their eyes.

It could have been easily handled if this was just them cozying up to Aura to use her, but the fact that it was not the case troubled him the most.

Killing them is only the last resort after all...

"Hey now! You can praise me later, can't you? Take it apart already!" "Yes! Understood, Fiora-sama!! Let's do it, everyone!"

The two remaining dark elves, who were sending strange glances at Plum, also started moving out. They too admired Aura, but were able to remain cool-headed after seeing Plum's extreme reaction.

The elk's legs were tied with a rope, and the other end of the rope hung over a branch. They then pulled on the rope to try to hang the carcass upside down, but the elk's gigantic body proved difficult for the three of them.

Aura reached for the rope and pulled it with a light "hoy!" The corpse that proved difficult for the three elves was easily raised up.

"As expected of Fiora-sama!"

Aura frowned a little at Plum's praise.

Ainz could understand.

He nodded as the faces of Nazarick's denizens flashed across his mind.

Getting praised for the wrong things made one feel bad, but getting exaggerated praise for simple things was also weird in its own right. They might end up thinking about whether or not they were being made fun of.

While Ainz was wondering if it was his lack of self-confidence that made him feel that way, the field dressing continued. A male dark elf put his hand over the prey, covering the carcass in something like a white fog. It looked like a special skill that froze the prey's body. Ainz didn't know any such skill from the ranger's skill list, so it's either a druid skill or something from other classes this dark elf had.

After that, they bled out the body and collected the blood in a bowl underneath. He heard that they did it to prevent the germs in the blood from multiplying. Maybe the aforementioned dark elf's power wasn't enough to freeze the entire body.

The blood collected in the bowl was also used for cooking.

During their first hunt, Ainz heard that they rarely took back the blood with them for the fear of drawing predators toward them.

They dug a hole and threw the head and entrails into it.

They would also take some of the offal with them usually, but the elk's carcass was too large for them this time.

They stopped field dressing the carcass after that.

The Dark Elves' custom was to perform the steps like skinning only after they had brought the game back to the village.

Although Ainz called it the Dark Elves' custom as if he was knowledgeable on hunting, if one were to ask him "what's the normal custom then?" he could only answer that he actually knew nothing about hunting. Maybe the Dark Elves' custom was the same as the common one.

The dark elves lowered the carcass to the ground and tied it to a pole. With a "heave-ho!" they raised it. It looked like they found it quite heavy. Although Ainz couldn't be sure, it looked like the adage "half of what you bag is what you get to eat" holds true.

Aura was not helping them carry it as she was entrusted with the task of guarding them.

The party started their journey back to the village.

Generally, a successful bushwhack hunt took a lot of time. However, thanks to Aura, this hunt has been completed relatively quickly, resulting in the joyful expressions on the dark elves' faces. Though the dark elves lived in the forest, leaving the safety of the village exhausted them mentally.

"—Fiora-sama was totally awesome. That was some great shooting today."

Plum was the first to start talking after they started to walk back. Those were not words of flattery, but what appeared to be his feelings from the bottom of his heart.

"Really? Well, maybe it's awesome for you people...but there's always someone better than the best. How should I put it...a relative?...nn— Maybe it's rude. Well, anyway, there's someone more awesome than I am. Ah! I was not talking about my uncle by the way."

"...I heard that the uncle-dono and the brother-dono will be reaching the village today or tomorrow, but are they excellent rangers too?"

"No, they are not rangers."

"Is that so? I thought they would be skilled rangers considering the two are crossing the forest alone...Then what kind of people are they?"

"...it's true that they are skilled people. As for what they are exactly skilled at, you will understand soon. Look forward to it. That aside, sorry, but can you let me concentrate on guarding the party? I can easily escape by myself, but with everyone in mind, noticing a threat even a second faster could be a matter of life and death, right?"

She was probably unsure about how much she could talk about Ainz and Mare, so she used a good excuse to cut him off. The question was how the other side took it.

Could someone really accept if the person you were having a pleasant talk with suddenly cut you off, even if the reason made sense? Wouldn't the person feel hurt depending on their character?

I think it's fine because he is a fanatic, but he is also someone powerful in that village. I should prepare countermeasures in case he starts to hate Aura and drag down the village's opinion of her...

Ainz thought that a fall in Aura's status in the village was not necessarily a bad thing at present, but it would be troublesome if it deteriorated too much.

But Ainz's worries were useless, just as he had predicted.

"Please forgive me! To think I didn't notice it!"

Plum bowed with a tremendous force. If he weren't carrying the carcass, he would have probably performed a dogeza—or some Elven form of apology equivalent to it. This kind of excessive response was why he was thought of as a fanatic.

"Aah—Well, you are moderately skilled yourself so you probably would have noticed it normally right? Looks like you were taking it a bit easy because I am here, but that only means you think highly of my skills, right? I am happy about that, but I want you to pay a bit more attention to time and place"

hooo—She is good at consoling someone from a superior position...Maybe that is her experience as a Floor Guardian speaking. I feel a bit happy if this is a sign of an NPC's growth...Or maybe is it something Bukubukuchagama-san left in her? That would be a thing worth celebrating in its own right, because it's a sign of Chagama-san living through Aura.

Imagining a pink blob behind Aura—which certainly doesn't make for a good picture—Ainz's immovable face made a smile.

The party heeded Aura's words and continued their journey back without disturbing her. And like that, they reached the village without being attacked by beasts even once. After he confirmed that they had reached the village safely, Plum raised his voice.

"—Everyone! Rejoice! Fiora-sama bagged a big one this time as well."

Ainz clicked his tongue.

He expected this would happen, but also realized that he could do nothing about it. It was natural for hunters who headed out into danger to be proud of their kills, and it was also natural to let everyone know who hunted it. Plum probably did it especially because Aura was an outsider, in order to make her position better.

But Ainz didn't wish for such goodwill.

Villagers who were walking across the walkways spanning the Elf Trees gathered together, looking at the massive carcass with looks of admiration.

"Okay then, I'll be going back."

"Yes! Please leave the remaining work to us Fiora-sama!!"

Leaving the work to Plum, Aura headed to the house the village lent her.

He wanted to go after Aura, who was walking back alone, but he couldn't do that. He needed to know how Aura's position was changing inside the village.

Aura continued to walk, only turning her head back to look for Ainz who stood still, floating in mid-air.

She looks so lonely...

Maybe it was just Ainz being too sentimental, but that's what her side profile told him.

In this village, there were people who looked at Aura with awe and there were people who respected her, but there were none who approached her as a friend.

She was not being seen as a girl on a journey, but as an existence above them all and someone to bow to in respect. Just like Ainz had thought before, that was not a bad thing in and of itself.

But, it was bad for Ainz's goals.

I have to turn Aura from being the village's hero to just a regular child...but that's difficult whichever way I look at it. If I try to undermine the position she built up before I reached this village, I will be turned into a pariah instead...well, that's natural. After being helped by her, the village will obviously value Aura more than the relative who came afterward.

Ainz remained in that place as the other Dark Elves started to gather one by one. Naturally, there were also Dark Elf children around Aura's height in the group.

The carcass was being divided up and handed over to the villagers to cook.

"Now, remember to be grateful to Fiora-sama for hunting this!"

Every time a Dark Elf received their portion, they spoke words of gratitude with their faces full of smiles.

Even skilled hunters like Dark Elves cannot succeed in every hunt. It would appear that getting hold of such good meat was a rare occasion. Ainz heard about this the last time he listened in, or maybe it was the time before that.

The huge pile of meat was gradually portioned out, becoming smaller and smaller. The fanatic Plum continued to say this every time he handed out a portion to someone: "be grateful to Fiora-sama."

Just as Ainz had repeated, he had no complaints about the act itself.

It was true that Aura hunted the prey, and it would be more offensive if someone was not grateful for that, but even so—

"As expected of Fiora-sama. She should be the one to lead this village."

"Aah, absolutely. Not only did she drive away the Ursus Lord, but she is also a first-class hunter. The village would be in safe hands if she were to remain here, but..."

"No doubt, no doubt"

Five dark elf adults gathered around Plum and continued to talk like this.

Their praise for Aura gradually increased. The fact that the children who gathered were also listening was extremely problematic.

"...But Fiora-chan is still a child you know?"

A dark elf male, who smelt of herbs, said suddenly.

The expressions of the fanatical gathering changed at once.

"That's the same as those elders'...those old farts' way of thinking!"

It was an angry exclamation.

Plum, who had been smiling a few moments before, now looked completely different, breathing wildly.

"What is age? Is just being older something great!? No! Certainly, there are people who have accumulated experience and have become skilled with age, but that's not something that naturally comes with age. Age cannot be the absolute yardstick we measure everything against—But, you see! Only ability can be absolute!!"

Ainz agreed with that opinion.

He saw it many times at his workplace. People who were good at something were good at it from the start, while those that were not would never become good no matter how many years they spent on it.

"Superior talent! That's the only power that can protect the most people in this dangerous place! Only ability is absolute! Even if it is someone young!"

"But...Isn't Fiora-chan a bit too young?"

Another fanatic replied coldly to the woman who objected, "isn't that how those elders think? So you are the same as those elders, huh"

"—Haa?"

The woman looked at the dark elf with hostility. Ainz could clearly see that the elders were very much hated.

Frankly speaking, I feel like they are not doing anything that could cause so much hate...

He didn't understand the reason why the younger ones had such a bad opinion of them, but it's been only two days since Ainz started observing this village. It's not like he was observing everything either, so Ainz may have just missed it.

"In order to reject the ideology of the elders—that which prioritizes one's age—should we not instead defer to talented Dark Elves like Fiora-sama and even possibly make her lead the village?"

Stop, please.

Ainz grimaced.

This was not why he sent Aura into the village.

If Aura heard this and if he was unlucky, she might just agree with them and proceed to bring the village under her rule. You could even say that this was a great idea for Nazarick's expansion, but this was not what Ainz desired.

Ainz turned his gaze to the children watching the adults' quarrel.

Unlike their expressions of joy at the food before, their faces were now clouded with unease.

This is the main problem...

Ainz wanted to make friends for the twins.

Unlike the children in Suzuki Satoru's world, the children of this world—like Nemu—could approach Aura with innocence and curiosity. However, from what Ainz had witnessed and from what Aura had said, there was no one like that here yet.

Maybe they were used to suppressing their curiosity because growing up in a dangerous place like the Great Forest required them to do so. However, what was more likely was that they sensed the adults' attitude towards Aura and formed an image of her as someone who lived in an entirely different world from them. In their eyes, Aura was a child who was also not a child.

He had even felt like he should directly intervene and make the village's opinion of Aura fall just so the children could approach her.

It's probably hard to be intimate with...no, friendly with someone deeply respected by the adults... For example, even if the object of respect doesn't differ much from their age...or maybe it is all the more awkward because she is the same age? At least in the conversations I snooped on, I didn't hear parents telling their kids to not approach Aura or ordering them to treat her with the utmost respect. But is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

"Haa..."Ainz ended up letting out a sigh.

There was no way they could make friends if this continued.

In that case... should I make a move here and directly ask them to become friends? But I can't be sure that would lead to a good result... Or maybe I should just hope that the situation will change. I wonder if every parent has to go through such hardship...

Pondering over the same question as he had before, Ainz activated [Greater Teleportation], clutching his head at the final words he heard before he teleported.

"—First of all, what do you mean by Fiora-'chan'? It should be Fiora-sama!"

4

A dream.

I am having a dream.

I know this is a dream.

What was it called again?

Yeah, right. A lucid dream.

A dream where you are aware that you are dreaming.

I am a kid in the dream.

And—I was sent flying.

It doesn't hurt. Yes. It doesn't hurt because this is a dream.

Yet, it hurts.

My face throbbed with pain. I probably have a cut inside my mouth from the impact.

It tastes full of blood.

I can taste it even though it's a dream.

Strange.

Is this really a dream, I wonder.

A hand came into my view.

A small hand covered in dirt.

So it's a dream after all.

My hands are no longer so small.

I am relieved.

This is just a dream.

My vision moved.

—no! I don't want to stand. Yet, I stood.

I stood again, picking up the club I dropped.

Mother is standing before me.

She is expressionless. It's like she was wearing a mask. She is looking down at me with cold eyes.

She held a club in her hand, to beat me until I won't be able to stand anymore.

And then she swung it.

The present me could take it, but it was impossible for me at that time.

Just as I started to feel the pain, I'm flying through the air.

More pain coursed through my body after I got knocked to the ground.

My vision blurred.

It's the tears.

Suddenly, I wondered how long it had been since I last cried.

My gaze moved once again.

Mother is saying something.

I look at the club on the ground that left my hands at some point.

Mother probably told me to stand.

But I can't.

It's painful, and difficult.

I probably replied something to that effect while crying.

Mother's expression didn't change, but she slowly lifted her club and took a stance, like she wanted me to see her doing that.

I hear a voice.

I move my eyes, and I see a plump woman running towards us.

She is someone who helped with our household work. She made delicious food.

It's aunt Nazaire.

Her runny omelets were excellent. They were my favorite. Her cooking was the taste of my memories, and also the standard by which I judge other food.

Unfortunately, she has already passed away. If I am going to dream anyway, I would rather dream about eating her food instead of training with my mother.

I later learned that mothers are supposed to cook, but I don't have any memories of eating my mother's cooking. But I do remember someone saying that she likely had her hands full with my training.

I accepted that explanation back then because I was ignorant.

But now—after becoming an adult I can say for sure that was wrong.

I don't even have many memories of eating together with my mother. Most of my memories were of me eating alone.

"Good morning..."

Color returned to the world. Am I going to wake up? They should have woken me up sooner.

It's not like I forgot about it.

Yes, I can understand.

My mother hated me.

She probably found the child born from her rape extremely unpleasant.

So, my mother never celebrated my birthday.

I never received any words of encouragement from her.

Like "thank you".

Or "congratulations".

Or "Isn't that great!".

Even such common words.

In the first place—did my mother ever call me by my name?

I wonder who named me.

But, if she really hated me she should have just killed me.

She could have easily done that.

But I was not killed.

So, it stands to reason that I was not hated.

Maybe it's nothing more than a pitiful hope of mine.

"P-please hold, Faine-sama. She is still a child. It's not good to continue her training in this state"

Aunt Nazaire does not back down even after receiving mother's glare.

Thinking back, aunt Nazaire wasn't an ordinary person either.

"S-she will need to rest soon. I will prepare drinks..."

"She's fine."

"I will tend to her wounds while Faine-sama's having a drink so..."

"She's fine."

All of my wounds were healed by a wave of mother's hand.

The pain went away as well.

"You are fine, right?"

Mother brought her face closer.

A pair of glass-like eyes and a face devoid of any expression. Repulsive.

"...yes...I feel fine"

"That's right," mother turned to aunt Nazaire. "...are you satisfied? She is still alright, and she is already strong enough to withstand resurrection anyway. See? There's no problem at all"

"...Yes. Underst—"

"—Good Morning...Excuse me, is Zesshi-sama in there?"

She faintly heard a woman's timid voice. This was not a voice inside her dream. It came from reality.

Her consciousness broke through the surface.

She could see the ceiling. This was her own room. There was a presence of a person in the room, besides her. Maybe it was because she wasn't fully awake, but she couldn't feel any hostility from the person.

"If I am going to dream anyway, at least let me dream about something magical..." she whispered. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Feeling something moist on her fingers, she realized that she cried at some point. "—I woke up, just now. Can you wait a minute?"

"Hiyeeee! Please don't worry about a lowly person like me! I will wait however long it takes, so please take your time!"

She didn't say a single thing to threaten the woman, but she was extremely scared. Feeling like sighing again, Zesshi rose from the bed and put on a coat that hung on a nearby chair.

She knew who came to her room from their voice.

Zesshi felt like she didn't need to take time dressing up as the visitor was a colleague of the same sex, and it would be rude to make her wait in the next room until she got completely dressed up.

When she opened the door to the next room and entered it, she found the visitor standing there like she didn't know what to do with herself.

"—Sorry for making you wait. It would have been fine if you took a seat"

"No, no, I didn't have to wait for long at all. That said, heheheh. Sorry for disturbing Zesshi-sama's rest. I would be glad if you could forgive me."

She servilely bowed with an amicable smile on her face. Also—probably unconsciously—she even started rubbing her hands together. For one of the trump cards of the theocracy—the 11th seat of the Black Scripture, with the title of "Infinite Magic," and one who reached the realm of heroes—this behavior was too pathetic.

"So then, won't you take a seat?"

"No, no, no, no. That's not necessary. I will return immediately after giving the message so something like sitting on Zesshi-sama's sofa..."

She shook her hands in a fluster.

She didn't have to reject it so vehemently, Zesshi thought.

"Nothing will happen just because you took a seat, and it's not like I will get angry you know? No, I really won't...you don't have to be so abject...aren't we colleagues?"

When she heard that, an obsequious smile floated to the woman's face.

"Ehehehe, I apologize that Zesshi-sama has to call a worm like me her colleague."

"No, you don't really have to go that far... You see. Among the people I've dealt with—among the members of the Black Scripture that I had mock battles with, you are the most servile you know? ...to think that you used to be so conceited."

The Black Scripture was a gathering of heroes. Therefore, occasionally some newcomers would think too highly of themselves. One of Zesshi's duties was to break them in. Therefore, even though all of the Black Scripture were her colleagues, she was only acquainted with the haughty guys.

That said, it was something she did to every member of the Black Scripture who grew arrogant, so it's not like this woman was special. Even the captain, who she disciplined harder than this woman—she sometimes even regretted that she might have gone too far with the captain—treated her normally now. Yet, only this woman acted like this.

Maybe just getting broken in was already a bit too much for this woman.

I should take into account things like their personality next time...

"It's bad to be arrogant, but couldn't you at least act a bit more confident?"

"Heh, eheheh. I can't do such a thing before Zesshi-sama"

She started rubbing her hands even more intensely.

Zesshi thought she didn't do anything that would make her go this far.

She only advanced while taking the woman's magic head on, mounted her, and just single-mindedly punched her in the face—and because it was supposed to be training—took care to not kill her while beating her into a pulp.

Zesshi had seen her not recognizing her defeat, throwing out her spells even when pinned, so she admired her as someone with a spine. Since then, she had even learned to cast spells while bearing the pain. She was someone with a desire to improve herself.

Zesshi felt a little sad seeing a person she had high opinions of acting like this before her.

"...And so, what's the matter today? Though I have an idea what it is about"

"R-right. As expected of..."

"—Aa, enough with the flattery."

"Ah, Y-yes. As the elf subjugation army started advancing further, I was entrusted with informing Zesshi-sama to start her preparations to head out."

"Is that so..."

The woman's face twitched when she saw Zesshi smiling. Zesshi wondered why because she wasn't making a scary face but just smiling normally.

"I wonder if I could clear one of the bones stuck in my throat at last."