Since Ainz had devastated the demihuman camp by himself, then the spoils from the demihumans should have rightfully belonged to him. Dumping them into the Exchange Box would have yielded quite a tidy sum. However, if he monopolized it all, the goodwill he had so painstakingly built up might end up losing its value. That being the case, he ought to write it off as an investment and give it all to the Holy Kingdom. Of course, there might be valuable magical items among the loot, and he had no intention of giving those up.
Normally, Ainz would have gone to the camp by himself and used 「Greater Magic Vision」, 「Detect Magic」 and other such divination spells to examine the scene, but he felt that there was no need to do so. In addition, Demiurge ought to have investigated what magic items the demihumans possessed ahead of time. Even if something had slipped the net, there ought to have been nothing there which could harm Ainz. If there was, then it would have been more eye-catching.
After that, he went to recover the equipment from those three demihumans. As expected, nobody had dared loot the corpses, and so Ainz recovered their magical items without incident. Of course, he had an idea of how powerful those items were from the mana they contained, but he still held out hope for something bizarre or unusual.
He dumped them onto the bed and prepared to magically investigate each and every one of them, but he had something he needed to do first.
“―Now then!”
He deliberately made noise.
Part of that was to psyche himself up, but there was another meaning to it.
There was something he needed to do before sending the 「Message」 to Demiurge.
Ainz took out a scroll ― Demiurge-brand ― and cast a spell, whereupon a pair of bunny ears sprouted from Ainz’s head.
He used them to check for nearby sounds, and it seemed like there was nobody hiding to spy on him. However, that was not enough to put him at ease. After all, there was magic, such as the second tier spell 「Silence」, which could eliminate sound, and then there were also thief skills, so it was too early to conclude that there was nobody around just because he could not hear anything.
It’s thanks to Demiurge’s farm ― which allows us to obtain raw materials easily ― that I can use scrolls this casually. Dumping large quantities of produce into the Exchange Box means we can make back the gold spent on the scrolls without any problems. I’ve thought about this before, but I have a good feeling about the various ways in which Nazarick is developing.
They could still use the ordinary parchment from this world for first tier spells like 「Rabbit’s Ear」. One would need YGGDRASIL materials to go any higher. However, part of the supply problem had already been solved.
While it was true that they could only be used as substitutes for up to third tier scrolls, Demiurge had already done a great deal of work. The first and most indisputable thing was that when considering everything that had been done until now, he was the most deserving of commendation for his contributions. Next would be Albedo and her perfect management of Nazarick.
Ainz then went on to use his ability to create lesser undead and brought forth a Wraith.
Check the surroundings and see if anyone’s spying on me.
After receiving the order, the Wraith left the room without opening the door. Wraiths had astral bodies, and so they could move straight through walls and other such obstacles. Still, there was a limit depending on how thick those walls were, so it was hardly unlimited, but the thickness of the room’s walls were no problem for it.
Ainz focused his mind on the ears he had sprouted.
Even if there was a skillful thief lying in wait, could they really remain motionless if an undead creature suddenly appeared, especially if it was surrounded by an aura of fear? In addition, they would need a concealment ability that could hide them from detection by a Wraith. Of course, deceiving low tier undead was easy, but if someone actually possessed these abilities, then they must be very capable indeed.
Ainz concluded that there could not be such a person. If there was someone like that in this nation, then they should have had them take part in the previous two battles.
That said, I can’t rule out the possibility that someone like that might be wary of me and thus lying in wait. Still, given that woman’s personality, it shouldn’t be possible… if there was someone like that, it wouldn’t be unusual for Demiurge to inform me about them.
It would not be unusual. As he thought of those words, Ainz wondered, Is that really the case?
Surely Demiurge would not have felt that Ainz would have understood even if he did not say anything, right?
…Ah, the more I think about it, the more my stomach hurts…
If such a mistake had resulted, then he ought to gather his resolve and sit Albedo and Demiurge down for a good chat.
Eventually, the undead being returned.
“Was anyone there?”
The undead being replied in the negative. Ainz’s ears had not picked up any suspicious sounds either.
“Is that so? Then hide in the walls and keep an eye on the surroundings.”
After watching the undead being enter a wall, Ainz mentally prepared himself.
Now then, I’ll be casting 「Message」next.
It was a simple thing, but he could not bring himself to do it.
He felt like an employee who knew he would be scolded by his boss after returning to the office.
Still, he could not stay this way forever. His heart would also be heavy if Demiurge contacted him first.
“Time to do it, me!”
After cheering himself up, he sent a 「Message」 to Demiurge. He had rehearsed what he wanted to say in his head countless times and had run more than enough simulations. All he had to do now was say it.
However the 「Message」 connected before he could breathe in deeply to ease his stress ― or rather, there was practically no delay between casting the spell and opening a channel to Demiurge. The response had been way too fast.
“Demiurge, is that you?”
『Indeed it is, Ainz-sama.』
“Umu.” He had practiced this many times. All he had to do now was say it.
“…I was wondering if you had any questions about the divergence of my actions from the report, and so I contacted you. While I understand what you want to say, I feel that Albedo ought to be present as well if there are detailed questions. Return to Nazarick without delay. I will be returning presently as well. We’ll meet in the log cabin on the surface.”
『Understood. Then I will contact Albedo from my end.』
“Ahh, please do.”
He immediately cut off the 「Message」. After that, Ainz sighed deeply.
Ahhh, that’s good. He didn’t sound mad. Ahhh, that was scary.
What should I do if a talented subordinate gets mad at me? he had thought. Ainz’s heart was full of fear; in order to put himself at ease, he channelled new strength into his faltering body and stared at the wall.
The Wraith’s mission was complete. Thanks to friendly fire being on, he could destroy the undead like Shalltear had, but there was no need to waste his strength. Ordering it to return was also a simple task. Incidentally, there was no need to speak either; he could simply issue a mental command. In that way, he could break the tenuous link between them.