Chapter 143.1: Volume 16: Chapter 4: A life in the Village (1)

Ainz walked towards the Dark Elf village with Mare in tow.

Mare was wearing the male attire that Ainz had lent him instead of his usual feminine wear. Just like the ones he had lent to Aura, these were just simple clothes that didn't have any data in them and thus, no magic.

This world's clothes wouldn't automatically adjust to fit the wearer unless imbued with magic, but it's different for the clothes from YGGDRASIL and so they fit Mare to a tee. They just had to be careful in a battle with these clothes due to the absolute drop in defensive stats compared to their usual outfits.

Ainz actually thought about having them wear something else at first because of this.

He had already heard from the twins' that Bukubukuchagama prepared a lot of items for them aside from their normal gear.

But, was there really anything suitable among those items to hide their status and true strength in the place they were heading to? Ainz could only shake his head in disappointment. Most of them were things like Aura's animal suit armor or Mare's dress armor; things Ainz would consider as fetish gear. That was how Ainz ended up providing the clothes for them.

In the first place, this was Ainz's plan, so it stood to reason that he should be the one to provide the things necessary.

That didn't mean they were all wearing similar outfits in this case. Mare and Ainz's outfits had one big difference from Aura's.

The two of them were covering their lower faces with cloth, like they were wearing a mask. There was also the bandanna covering their foreheads, so only the area around their eyes could be seen.

Although he felt sorry for making Mare bear with the additional heat, Ainz needed him to do this for his sake.

They found Aura waiting for them at the entrance of the village; though the village didn't really have a place that could be called an entrance. She was not here because she saw them coming or because she was at the right place at the right time through sheer luck. It was because they had already contacted her with a [Message].

Behind Aura stood her group of fanatical Dark Elves. It's rare for the Dark Elves, who spent their daily lives on trees, to be seen standing on the ground like Aura. It was still a dangerous place, even if it was near the village. They were probably doing it because of the trust they had in the strongest person around—Aura—or maybe it was because they wanted to be in close proximity to the one they adored, as much as possible.

There were other Dark Elves gathered on the bridges spanning the trees, looking down at Ainz and the others. Everyone seemed to be talking with the people beside them. Although he couldn't hear the content of their conversations, he was sure they were talking about them.

"Ooo-ncle! Mare!"

Aura, feeling a little embarrassed, greeted them loudly so the gathered Elves could hear it as well. Ainz responded with a wide smile.

He wanted to retort with "I am not an Oncle!" but suppressed the urge, not wanting to mock Aura's mistake.

(T/N: Originally Aura started with an "Oooh" and segued into "Oo-oji-san" (grand uncle) in Japanese, to which Ainz wanted to retort with "I am not your grand uncle". Decided to change it as it couldn't be TLed into English perfectly.)

"Yoo, Aura! Uncle's here!"

Ainz replied in a cheery voice and waved back after putting down the luggage he had been carrying on his back. Then, he lightly patted the shy boy standing next to him on his back.

"Y-yes". Mare gave a brief wave as well. He greeted her with a "sister..." but it's very unlikely that they heard his shy muttering.

Still, it didn't matter if his voice was too quiet. All they wanted was to let everyone know that the man and the boy—Aura's relatives—had arrived.

Well, they need not have waved their hands to show how close their relationship was, but it's not like it would cause any issues either.

Perhaps they had succeeded in their act, because the Dark Elves just continued to watch them silently even as they approached Aura.

"Mmm, with that settled, please allow me to escort—I will show you around"

Ainz grinned upon seeing Aura so troubled and tense. Her face was twitching as she tried to make a smile. Seeing a side of Aura different from how she usually was, warm fluffy thoughts like "She is so cute" and "I want to pat her head" flashed through Ainz's mind—then he immediately calmed down.

"—No. Nn..."

The reply unintentionally came out a little cold, so he cleared his throat and made his voice sound cheery again like before.

"...I have to thank these people for taking care of you, you see. Did you borrow a house somewhere?"

Aura gave an exaggerated nod.

"Then why don't you head over there with Mare? I will catch up later"

"Yes, Und—no, Okay?"

His present role was that of Aura's uncle.

Incidentally, the three of them racked their brains about who he was supposed to be: was he Bukubukuchagama's older or younger brother? If he was the latter, then was he older than Peroroncino or younger? In the end, Ainz took on the role of the younger brother of both Bukubukuchagama and Peroroncino.

Aura, who should have been acting accordingly, ended up fumbling around not knowing how to interact with him. Maybe it was because she didn't have enough time to prepare as she was sent to the village earlier, or maybe she hadn't resigned herself to their situation yet, but it seems like she couldn't play the role perfectly yet.

"Hahaha. Take Mare with you then. The journey wasn't that long but let Mare have some rest."

"Y-yes! Understood!"

Perhaps Aura had finally settled on some plan in her mind, as she gave an energetic reply. However, he felt like she had just given up on the character.

Ainz's gaze followed the twins, who were walking away, for a while and then shifted his gaze to the gathered Dark Elves.

There were a lot of people here.

The elders were not here yet, but the gathering was already over half of the village's population. There were also some children among them. He didn't feel any ill will from them, probably due to how much they benefited from Aura's help. That said, there were still some strong gazes that were appraising him, trying to understand what kind of person Aura's uncle was.

It's that Aura fanatic and his followers.

Ainz felt that there was something off about them.

Although he arrived after her with her brother, he was an adult who had sent a child, Aura, out alone into the forest. It was entirely reasonable for people with common sense to have that expression upon seeing him.

Therefore, Ainz wouldn't have felt anything off if a normal Dark Elf—someone who's not an Aura fanatic—made that expression.

But these guys were different.

These were the ones that said things like age didn't matter if someone was talented. They of all people should have found it logical that he would send a superbly skilled ranger ahead alone.

In that case—

{—those gazes have another meaning behind them,} Ainz thought, and after contemplating for a while, he arrived at an answer that matched. {...Aah, maybe they are wondering if she was just being taken advantage of by an incompetent uncle. That's probably the reason for that look in their eyes...uuummm, it's vexing that they are not exactly off the mark. Oops...I should begin soon.}

He had gotten a large enough audience. It was useless to spend more time waiting and he didn't want to let their accumulated curiosity cool down if possible.

{It's been a long time...}

Ainz felt a little tense. Idly wondering if this was how a lecturer in the classroom or a conductor on a stage would feel, he started to speak to the Dark Elves gathered on the trees in a cheery voice, just like the one he used in the orchestrated act he put on before.

"Now that's settled—"

Ainz removed the cloth covering the lower half of his face and displayed what was underneath it.

He showed them a smile and immediately covered his face like before.

"—I apologize. My tribe's tradition dictates that men have to cover their faces like this. Even if covering one's face is considered rude here, please forgive me for not removing it."

No voices of discontent arose from the audience. It seemed like they had accepted Ainz's explanation.

Of course, it was a huge lie.

Ainz wore a rubber mask on his face and had cast an illusion over it Momon-style, but it was only a low-level illusion so rangers with sharp senses might be able to see through it if they looked closely enough. This excuse was to cover up the faults in his disguise.

He hoped that it would be hard to see through the illusion just from the area around his eyes alone.

"Well then—pleased to meet you. Seems like you took care of my Aura... She may have already told you about me, but my name is Ain Bell Fior"

He stated his name, which was thought up by all three of them after exhausting their brains. Well, in reality, the twins' did most of the thinking and he just received the name from them.

"I've brought a few meager gifts with me. Would anyone lend me a table please?"

Suddenly, he saw a nearby tree wriggle a bit before branches grew from it rapidly, wide enough to spread the luggage on it. Someone in the crowd probably used magic.

"Thank you," Ainz gave his gratitude and lifted the luggage from the ground onto the table.

"I don't know if they will be to your liking but I would be glad if you would accept them."

Ainz thought a lot about what he should bring as gifts.

Seeing the elves in Nazarick eat its food with relish, he thought about bringing condiments like salt. Even Ainz knew that salt was something no dish could do without.

So, he initially planned to bring lumps of rock salt with him but realized that although salt was essential for humans, that might not be the case for the Dark Elves.

Even if it was essential, it could be the case that the Dark Elves required it far less than humans. In that case, its worth would be reduced in their eyes.

Also, as Ainz found out, they didn't seem to use anything similar to salt in their cooking sessions—at least not during the ones he snooped on. He also didn't see any Elves salting their meat. That they had the magic to prevent their meat from spoiling was probably a major reason why they didn't.

Maybe they actually did use salt, but only on the rare occasion because they found it precious? That didn't seem to be the case either.

Well, it's not like he could go around checking all of the kitchens for salt just because he could use [Perfect Unknowable].

Considering this absence of salt and how they didn't waste the blood of their prey, perhaps they were satisfying their need for salts from the blood as carnivores do.

Incidentally, because E-Rantel didn't have anything like rock salt mines or salt lakes, their salt was produced by the magic casters who were proficient in domestic magic. They also imported some from the Empire and the Kingdom. That's why he was told the price of salt increased a bit for a while under his rule, but that no longer seemed to be an issue.

Ainz vaguely remembered reading something like that from the documents that passed by him. Albedo had probably dealt with it.

Anyhow, Ainz decided not to bring salt.

In its place—

"These are metal knives created by dwarves, you see? Splendid, right? I heard that you make some very strong ones here from trees using magic but they probably aren't stronger than metal, right? These are made by dwarves who are especially good at smithing. They are first-rate stuff"

The first thing he took out from the bag was a slender and thin wooden box that held a cleaver in it. He followed with arrowheads and cutlery knives, arranging them neatly on the table.

This was a trade fair, to bring foreign exchange to the Dwarven Country which was under the Sorcerer Kingdom's economic sphere.

Of course, this village which was self-sufficient didn't have the coin to pay. A method to bring foreign currency into this village would have to be prepared in this case, but Ainz thought that this was a chance for the Sorcerer kingdom to act as their intermediary and thus bring them under its economic sphere as well.

The issue was that he didn't discuss this plan with Albedo.

{—I don't expect a plan thought up by my useless brain will go smoothly, but it's not like there's anything to lose...there's not, right?}

So, there's no problem even if it failed, but he would be praised if it succeeded. Ainz held such hopes privately, but he knew that the greater the anticipation, the greater the disappointment would be when he failed. So he tried not to think too much about it.

{It won't be an issue at all even if they were to say "we don't need it." I only brought them out of goodwill so it would just end with a "sorry that it's not to your liking." But...the mood seems good.}

The eyes of the Dark Elves around him were sparkling. The first to speak was the Master of the Hunt.

"Can I take a look?"

"Please, please. Go ahead and feel it in your hands"

Approaching Ainz, he first reached for the arrowheads. A natural choice. He would be a little surprised if the Master of the Hunt reached for the cleaver first instead.

"Splendid work. I heard the Dwarves are a race that live in the mountains, so they really can make such fine things... These are valuable goods, correct? What could be a good barter for this ..."

{...Ooh, just like I predicted.}

The businessman Suzuki Satoru chuckled to himself.

He managed to give a successful presentation of the things his audience wanted.

Some of the Elves still used currency as the Elven Royal Capital used to trade with human society before the breakdown of their relationship, but it's doubtful if such a remote village participated in that trade or even had Elven peddlers visit this place either. Therefore, bartering was the norm here. Just as he had expected, "rare and excellent goods" like these were greatly welcomed.

"...I brought these not to barter, but to give them to everyone. Please distribute them as you like later."

The Master of the Hunt, who was checking the sharpness of the arrowheads with his hand, made a bitter expression.

"No, we are the ones who are indebted to your niece, Fiora-dono. To receive these without giving anything in return..."

"No, no. These are meager gifts, a mark of our affection and gratitude. Please accept them, but if you want to barter for something...I have magic items that were produced using a splendid technique of Dwarves called runes."

Ainz can feel the sparkle in the Master of the Hunt's eyes intensify.

"Runes? A magic item you say?"

"Yes, that's right. It's a magic item created using runes. I am using it myself, but depending on the barter I will consider it. According to them, it's just a rudimentary thing but I can't give away a magic item for free. Plus, it was originally somewhat pricey as well."

Selling things cheaply brought customers, but if it went too far, it might end up creating a class of customers who would refuse to buy anything if they were not cheap enough.

Dwarves could sell it however cheap they wanted to, but that's not the case for Ainz. In fact, he should sell it at as high of a price as possible here. The issue was that this village didn't have anything he wanted. No—there could be something Ainz just didn't know about yet.

{Frankly speaking, Runecraft™ hasn't brought any good results yet, and there is not much demand for it either. But, it's too hasty to come to a conclusion yet, even though it's an unprofitable department. I have to take the long-term view on it, say, about a hundred years.}

"That said, I don't think a village like this with a lot of druids would need it."

With such a disclaimer, Ainz took out a metal stick from his pocket. He was already prepared to present it like this so there was no hesitation in his actions.

"This thing lights a short flame at its tip. It's more for use as a fire starter instead of a light source because the flame will disappear if it leaves your hand."

As he did not hear a negative response like "what, that's it?" Ainz felt a bit relieved.

"I also have a few others, but that's for later. I am hoping I can join the kids in the temporary lodgings soon to relieve some of the journey's exhaustion."

The gathered Dark Elves made empathetic expressions.

While they didn't travel far from their village, they knew how dangerous the place they lived in was. They understood the need to take a rest after traveling through that.

"—Sorry for asking you this while you are exhausted, but can you answer two questions?"

"Yes, please"

It's that Aura fanatic named Plum.

Ainz turned serious. If he answered wrong, there was a possibility that the guy would turn into their enemy. On the other hand, if he gave an answer they wanted, he would become a strong ally.

"The first one is...do you have any Elf blood flowing through you?"

"Oi, you are being rud—"

Master of the Hunt tried to stop him but Ainz waved his hand slightly, expressing that he didn't mind it.

"It's fine. No one has said that to me before...but does that look to be the case?"

"Ah, no, don't mind it then. It just felt like that."

"Is that so?"

Sharp.

Incredibly sharp.

Ainz was currently using the face of some elf he saw in the Royal Capital, with only the skin color changed to match the Dark Elves. Ainz thought it was perfect and even Mare didn't find any problem with it, but for genuine Dark Elves his face probably looked uncanny, enough to sense it just from the area around his eyes.

"...I've never heard of anything like that from my parents, but if you feel that way, maybe some of my ancestors married Elves in the distant past...and the other question is?"

"Fiora-sama is extremely talented as a ranger, but are you the same?"

So he would attach "-sama" to the niece's name even when he was talking with her uncle. Feeling a strange sense of admiration at his staunchness, Ainz wondered whether he should ask why he was attaching "-sama" to his niece's name, or was it better to not broach that topic?

He couldn't decide which was the correct option, but he should answer his question first.

"No, I do not have talent as a ranger like that child, but I am confident in my ability as a first-class wizard."

"...uizaad?"

"Yes, Wizard."

Plum's eyes darted around.

{Ah, he looks like someone who doesn't know what a wizard is...is that even possible? No, a wizard is someone who acquires and uses magic through learning. In a place like this without an education system, it's unlikely someone like that could appear...right? Well, then maybe it's reasonable that they don't know?}

He didn't really know the exact reason behind this lack of knowledge, but if it was as he had expected, then he just had to make the other party understand.

"I mean, an arcane-type magic caster."

"Arcane...I see. I see. That's awesome. As expected of Fiora-sama's uncle."

He felt like he could hear the guy thinking, {well, I don't understand it, but it sounds awesome so let's praise him anyway.} But, that's fine. He was used to getting fanatically praised for everything in Nazarick, so much so that such an obviously blunt way of getting praised was rather refreshing.

"Aa—, Seems like my explanation was not good enough. Wizard is...a job that uses magic, like druids."

"Ooh! I see! Then you can create food too?"

"Eh? Ah, no, sorry. There are also wizards like that...I heard, but unfortunately, I can't do that. To be specific, I am more proficient in magic that eliminates enemies."

He remembered hearing that domestic magic could create condiments and spices, but wondered if it could also do high-quality foodstuffs.

Even if they thought of him as incompetent because he couldn't do that, he wouldn't mind it. He knew himself to be mediocre, so if the other party thought him as incompetent then it would just be a reflection of his own thoughts.

Rather, he would even feel happy if that was how they saw him.

But—he couldn't let himself be thought of as incompetent while he was acting as Aura's uncle. Ainz was currently standing in for Bukubukuchagama after all.

"Enemies...I see...then you can hunt, right? I understand. As expected of Fiora-sama's relatives."

This guy was supposed to be a genuine hunter, so what the hell was he talking about, Ainz wondered.

Taking down external threats was probably a part of a hunter's duty in this village, but that would not be the only one. Returning with food from the dangerous forest would be their primary work. If taking down enemies was enough for one to be called a hunter, then this village should have been filled with fully-armored burly-looking warriors instead.

But Ainz, who was neither a hunter nor one of the villagers, couldn't point it out to him. It would be bothersome if he ended up hurting the other party's feelings.

Aura and Mare would be living here for a while so he couldn't go around creating discord with the villagers. No amount of apologizing to the twins would be enough if his arrival made them look bad in the villagers' eyes. He would feel even more guilty because, even if that were to happen, Aura would surely say "don't worry about it" with sincerity.

Anyhow, it was better to explain it clearly and get a verbal acknowledgment from him. He didn't want to be accused of lying or some other things later. After all, the twins would be constantly aware of his actions here. The circle of Nazarick's most intelligent people would probably conclude with a "sasuga!" even if Ainz made some idiotic mistake, but he was scared that the children would ask him "why did you do that? Please tell us" innocently. He didn't want to use the "think for yourself" card with a child.

While Ainz was having such thoughts in rapid succession, Plum nodded like he understood it more or less, and finally replied.

"Really, that's great. Splendid!"

Was it really so splendid? Ainz wondered, but he was fine with it if that's how it looked to the other party. This situation wasn't bad either. Ainz decided to go with the flow.

"I am not too confident about my hunting skills as I have never hunted, but I am happy that a skilled hunter from this village thinks so about me." With this, they would be the one responsible for calling him a hunter and expecting good hunting skills from him. "That kid is probably helping you with the hunts...I think, but let me take over that duty from her. Can you let those two play in the village meanwhile?"

Plum made an expression like he just heard something preposterous. Ainz didn't think he had said anything particularly strange and tried to recollect his words, but he couldn't find anything wrong with them.

"I came here hoping to let those city kids experience life in a Dark Elf village, so I want them to experience something they can't in the city...right, like the games the children in this village play, if possible."

"I see. So life in a city is a lot different from the village, huh."

The Master of the Hunt nodded in understanding. Ainz was unsure what city life looked like in the Master of the Hunt's mind, but he was not responsible for the other party's own misunderstandings. He might have lied a little, but he was not exactly wrong either. He could make any number of excuses even if he was solicited about it later.

"—Can I ask a question as well?"

The one who spoke was a man who looked like a ranger, standing on the walkway. That was true for all the Elves here but he had quite a pretty face, it would be appropriate to describe him as "cool."

"Please go ahead."

Ainz was not happy about this and didn't want to get questioned at all if possible, but he couldn't say that to his face.

The elf hesitated a bit before asking his question.

"Does Fiora-dono have a fiance?"

"Fuaah?" Ainz nearly exclaimed before suppressing himself. The question came out of nowhere.

After he became flustered at why the hell would this man ask such a weird question, Ainz observed the people around him. Like him, they were also surprised.

{...Seems like he is acting on his own. That aside, why is he even interested in Aura's fiance...? He wants to know if there's someone in the city we came from...Fuu. There's nothing to think about. There can only be one reason for his interest.}

Ainz felt confident that he understood the intention behind the question. In fact, there could be no other reason behind it.

{He wants to have Aura's bloodline in this village. I am sure I saw a few boys among the children.}

Ainz glanced at the children for just a moment. There were many boys just as he had expected.

{Does he have a son among them? ...It's really hard to know a Dark Elf's age from their appearance, isn't it? But, the thought of their marriage never crossed my mind till now. Well, isn't it fine if there's someone who Aura likes? I'll need to make sure that person is decent first though, as Bukubukuchagama's stand-in! ...Oops, going on the tangents again. I will have to decide if I will lie here or tell the truth.}

But he didn't even need to think about it. Telling him the truth wouldn't hurt them at all. Instead, they would have to follow with lie after lie if he lied here.

"...No, there's no one like that right now."

"Is that so."

The man looked a little relieved.

{...Is he the type who interferes too much in their children's choice of a partner? This is bad. I came here to make friends for the twins. It would be bothersome if this guy pushed his son front-and-center while making it hard for the other children to approach the twins. I have to figure out more about this...}

"...By the way...can I ask for your name?"

The guy immediately put forward a crisp appearance.

"I am named Blueberry Egnia."

Ainz knew about a food called blueberry. Like that Plum guy from before, maybe it's a Dark Elf tradition to prefix their name with a food's name. In that case, he should have just given Aura a fake name as well instead of worrying about how she would feel getting called by a fake name by her potential friends. What troubled him was that he didn't know if their native names for the fruits were getting translated into something he knew, or if they were just using the same names without knowing their meaning—that these were traces left behind by Players.

"...I see. I will keep it in mind. Blueberry Egnia-san right?"

"Yes. That's right. Thanks for trying to keep me in your mind."

Ainz didn't understand why he was being thanked.

Before Ainz could ask him, a small commotion started among the Dark Elves.

Ainz immediately understood the reason for the change. Looking towards where the Dark Elves' attention gathered, he found the elders as expected.

He could hear a few voices around him asking, "why are they so late?"

Ainz sighed internally. This was going to be troublesome, just like when Aura visited.

{Is there any company where the employees would bad-mouth each other in front of outsiders? People sometimes grumbled, but they would never hurl insults...I think? Umu. Is it fine to let Aura stay in this village? ...or should I just hope that the children will not get pulled into this? But how would those children behave after hearing their parents bad-mouth others? I don't know...Anyhow, I should make sure my actions don't adversely affect Aura and Mare.}

He could guess what was going to happen now, but he didn't want to stick his head in unnecessary trouble. He only wanted to maintain their neutrality,

so he would need to respond skillfully in this situation. That meant—

{I just have to mimic my simulations to a T!}

{Well, come at me,} Ainz postured internally. One of the elders started speaking, ignoring the stares around him.

"One from the same descent as the sapling Fiora. You did good to travel here from a faraway place."

{Sapling? Just as I thought.}

Ainz grinned mentally.

It was the Dark Elf way of speaking. In this world, the words of various races were translated into something Ainz could understand. The fact that this word "sapling" was translated as such meant that there was no hidden meaning behind it. If it meant young boy or girl, it would have been translated into the words Ainz knew. So, prefixing "sapling" to the children's names was no more than a convention.

They probably started with a Dark Elf-style phrase to estimate how knowledgeable he was, as a Dark Elf adult living in the city.

From Aura's investigations—and Ainz's eavesdropping—they knew that there were two factions in this village; one faction placed importance on traditions like the elders and while the other was filled with youngsters who wanted to be free from those shackles. The elders probably wanted to see which faction Ainz and his ilk—Dark Elves who lived in a city—were more amenable to.

{...I want to maintain distance from both factions. We might end up getting pulled into a faction if I was to say something careless here. If we were to decide to join one, I think the faction liked by the parents of the children Aura and Mare will be playing with—probably the youngster faction—would be the better choice. But, I am not sure if that's the right faction...there's just not enough information. Evading them by saying something appropriate and insisting that's how we normally greet is probably the best course of action here.}

Ainz already expected something like this, so he was prepared beforehand.

"—As a traveler who treads the same earth, I offer my gratitude to you, denizens of this forest, for your hospitality toward us, travelers from a far-flung forest."

Ainz said something that sounded authentic without thinking too much about it. The elders blinked once and then sighed with an "ooh".

That certainly was not the sign of a bad impression. In fact, he could sense that his words got a good reception.

"Both the Sawtooth and Ring-Cupped Oaks are similarly sturdy, and both are majestic in their rise towards the heavens. I am satisfied. If the trees continue to flourish, they will certainly give birth to a forest someday."

Ainz spoke without a hitch and finally nodded in satisfaction.

Frankly speaking, even he couldn't understand what he was saying. It's not like he was thinking about anything in the first place. He couldn't expect the listeners to understand if even he, the speaker himself, didn't. But unexpectedly, the elders were nodding just like him.

They behaved like they understood his words.

Suzuki Satoru, the salaryman, found their reaction very familiar. He had seen many situations just like this. No, he should say that he understood it because he himself did that all the time.

{Ah, how should I put it? This is how superiors react when their subordinates use jargon or abbreviations they don't know of...}

Silence permeated the area for a while after Ainz ended his greetings.

"...That's good to hear. Then let us take our leave as well. Long greetings to someone after a long journey would make one grow ivy after all"

"Ivy, is it?"

Ainz unintentionally repeated the word back. Maybe that was how Dark Elves say that it's not good to extend a conversation too long, but then it should have been translated as such to his ears. It sounded too literal to him.

They probably heard Ainz's unintended question, but despite that, the elders turned away and started walking back, ignoring him.

"...what?"

It didn't go according to his simulation.

Ainz looked at the gifts he had brought.

He originally expected that they would request the distribution of gifts to be left to them.

{Eh? ...Only greetings? What does this mean? Did I make a mistake?}

Ainz felt uneasy, like this was an interview that ended too quickly. This was exactly how one would react if the interviewer asked "are there any questions?" after just a few words.

If they had shown clear signs of dislike at Ainz's words from before, he would have chalked it up as valuable experience even if they end up having to move to another village.

However, he didn't get any reaction out of them at all at the end of their conversation, so he was not even sure if he had left a good impression or a bad one.

On observing the people around him, he couldn't feel any dislike or hostility directed at him. Rather, it looked like they too were puzzled by this development.

{I don't understand at all...but, there's no use in thinking further. Depending on the situation, maybe I should use [Perfect Unknowable] to snoop on them and what exactly they are thinking.}

Ainz stared after the retreating elders and then asked a nearby villager as if he suddenly remembered something about a related matter.

"...Seems like I am welcomed at least. I have something to talk about with the elders, are they busy?"

"Eh? Aa, I..think?"

The villager replied with a vague answer in a fluster. He probably racked his brain for an answer from the previous conversation.

"There's a tree that's used by the elders for meetings, I will show it to you later."

The Master of the Hunt, who was closest to him, extended a lifeline. Ainz could understand why Aura called him uncle.

"Right, I will try to have a talk with them when there's time. —Now that's dealt with, let me go and join those two at the house. I hope someone can lead me to our lodgings."

"I will be happy to do it!!"

Ainz's non-existent heart jumped out at the sudden voice from his side.

It was Blueberry.

He had probably climbed down to the ground from the walkway silently while Ainz was talking with the Master of the Hunt.

"...Sudden shouting is bad for the heart, so could you please stop?"

"S-sorry...I will be careful so that something like this won't happen in the future."

Ainz couldn't admonish Blueberry more after seeing him this extremely apologetic.

He wanted to show that he was a tolerant person. He also didn't want to agitate the man further into doing unpredictable things.

"I am glad that you understood...Now then, I am probably troubling Blueberry-san, but can you please lead me there?"

"It's no trouble at all. If there's anything in this village that troubles you, please call me. I will try to help as much as possible."

"That's reassuring to hear," Ainz replied and started walking after Blueberry. However, that didn't mean his work was done yet. His most important task still remained.

Ainz stopped on the way, his eyes landing on a group of kids and-although it was hidden by the cloth—he smiled at them.

There were 4 boys and 2 girls, a total of 6 children.

Two kids, a boy and a girl, looked younger than the twins. One boy was of the same age and the remaining three looked older.

"Yaah, you kids" Ainz greeted while walking toward them.

None of the adults around stopped him out of wariness. Ainz had probably left a good impression on them with his behavior since his arrival.

"I hope you will look after Aura and Mare."

"Eh?" said the children's faces. He couldn't stop here. He needed something to push them on. Frankly speaking, it was for this moment that Ainz even set out on this journey.

"Please let those two play along with you all. That said, you probably can't win against them if you play games that involve moving your body. So I would be grateful if you could invite them to play something different, the kind of games that they can't play in the city"

Ainz had simulated his conversation with the elders with Mare's help. In contrast, he had simulated this conversation with the children by conferencing with himself in his mind. There were probably going to be mistakes and some things he had forgotten about.

He couldn't be seen making mistakes by the adults as it could affect them adversely hereafter. That was why he wanted to talk with the children alone as much as possible, but it's doubtful if they would allow him, some unknown outsider, to interact with their precious children without an adult's supervision. He would have to use this chance now.

Ainz brought out a leather pouch from his pocket.

Then he took out an amber-colored lump half the size of his thumb from it.

"Now then, hold out your hand"

The one Ainz spoke to was a boy standing at the head of the group. He was probably the leader of this village's children.

Ainz dropped the lump in the boy's palm, taking care not to let their hands touch directly.

Though it looked like a bribe, it was certainly not one.

Ainz sincerely wanted to give it to him normally instead of dropping it from above, but his hand was an illusion. If they were to touch, he might find something wrong with the texture.

He absolutely had to avoid that.

{Ummm. What if I cut some criminal's hand and make a glove with the muscle and skin? Maybe Nazarick has someone good at that task...I wonder if they would hate it if it was a human's hands though, but someone like Neuronist might like it...}

"Eh, T-this is..."

Ainz spoke gently to the boy who was looking at the weirdly shaped thing in his palm.

"It's candy. It's sweeter than fruit. Ah, it's the type where you lick it, not the type you chew. But...I don't know if it's sweeter than the truly tasty fruits..."

Ainz stated with slight hesitation.

Due to his body, Ainz couldn't confirm the taste himself. At most, he could only check how it felt to chew, so he was not confident about their taste. He had certainly experienced licking candy in his previous world. But now, though the YGGDRASIL candy that he had never tasted before turned miraculously real, he could no longer taste them.

Taking into consideration that there were fruits with magical powers in this world, it was entirely possible that some could be sweeter than this candy. It was also possible that the Dark Elves were used to eating such fruit normally.

He had heard that the fruits of this world were not always easy to eat because selective breeding techniques did not progress much. That was why there were people inside Nazarick who were trying their hand at selective breeding.

For example, the Sous Chef.

The boy nervously put the candy into his mouth.

The kids around him—also Ainz and the adults watching them—waited for the unlucky (and also brave) boy's reaction.

"—Sweet!! Tasty! What the heck is this thing!!"

Ainz smiled at the boy's response, whose eyes were wide open with surprise. Ainz's expression remained the same even after seeing the boy, who from sheer surprise, took the candy out from his mouth, dripping with saliva.

{I am relieved that he didn't dislike it...Allergy is the only other worry, but, well, that's not very likely...}

"Come, come. Let me give you some too."

Ainz called them and gave out candy to each child.

There were also some gazes from the adults as if they wanted some, but he ignored them. This bribe was specifically for the children. There were no benefits in giving the adults some too. He was handing them out to the children because they were the ones he entrusted Aura and Mare with.

After everyone received some, Ainz repeated his request. Of course, he made sure that he didn't sound like he was threatening them.

"Well then, please take care of those two."

With his task done, Ainz started walking again. After realizing that no one stopped him—

{Hell yeah!}

—he let out a cheer internally.

The presentation went great, Ainz thought, but then he immediately abandoned the thought and became serious.

He would only know if he had succeeded or failed when those kids came to invite the twins to play. That said—

{—I did what I set out to do. But...Why did Blueberry-san, who was walking in front me, not say anything? Parents should at least give a simple "thanks" if their kids were given candy, right? Does that mean his child was not among that group? Are there other children? Good grief. Seems like I have to work a little longer.}

Mini-FAQs:

Q: Where are we at?

A: 35/347

Q: Why so short?

A: CH4P2 is almost ready but just needs a bit more proofreading, will release it tomorrow.

Q: Who's {that one}?

A: Who {that one} was supposed to be changes depending upon which meaning you chose for 欠けている so this was left as vague in the TL as it was in the original