The only people who might be lethally wounded by the bolts were Gondo and Zenberu.
While he had thought of sending them to negotiate to prove that they had no hostile intentions, they might end up being shot by bolts if things went wrong, so he abandoned that idea. Instead, Ainz would proceed first, while Gondo and Zenberu would show up later.
He halted his beast outside the effective range of their crossbows and then dismounted. Because he was still within the maximum range of the crossbows, he ordered Shalltear and Aura to stand by and protect Gondo and Zenberu.
After that, all that remained was anti-player strategies.
If there were any players, they would immediately take a defensive stance and fall back. While he could not confirm the presence or absence of players during his talks with Gondo on the road, it was more likely that they did not exist. However, if he was careless, he might end up losing the NPCs (the children) and Ainz did not want to experience that a second time.
All the Dwarves watching him from the window had the same frozen expression on their faces. Thanks to their messy beards, he could not differentiate one individual Dwarf from another, but how should he put this — they looked comical.
Suppressing the urge to laugh, Ainz stepped forward, faking an air of calm.
His hands were raised, to show that he had no hostile intent.
As he drew closer to the fortress—
“Hold it right there!”
— A warning cry rang out. It sounded like its owner was having a seizure. Granted, he was undead, but Ainz could not help sighing internally as he mused, this is a pretty bad reception for someone who’s showing no signs of hostility.
“Why have you come here, undead!”
Ainz stroked his shiny cheekbones.
“I am the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown of the Sorcerous Kingdom, and I have come to forge a friendly relationship with the Dwarven nation. We will not attack you if you do not attack us, so please lower your weapons.”
Confusion appeared in the eyes of the Dwarves watching from the windows. Ainz took this chance to continue speaking:
“After capturing the Quagoa who invaded Feoh Raiđō, I learned of their plans to attack this place. If you have no faith in your strength of arms, then I — my Kingdom — will gladly render assistance. Yes, that’s right — it will be a good show of friendship.”
He smiled, but because he had no skin, the benevolence of his gesture did not carry over to the opposite side.
“What about that Dwarf behind you? Is he a hostage?!”
It would seem the Dwarves were still wary of him.
“How rude. I am a king, you know? Is that any way to talk to a king?”
The Dwarves looked at each other, and then one of them responded.
“No, no… hang on, show us some proof that you’re really a king!”
“—I see. That does make sense,” Ainz agreed. “Then, allow me to introduce him. He is one of you, Gondo the smith, whom I met in Feoh Raiđō.”
Ainz showed off the kingly movements he had been taking great pains to practice.
With the air of a natural-born leader, he gestured to his subordinate to step forward.
A deep sense of satisfaction filled Ainz as he heard the stifled gasps of awe coming from the Dwarves. It would seem his long hours of practice had not gone to waste.
Now that Gondo was here, Ainz — who was in a good mood — showed off another pose of a gracious king and yielded the floor to him.
“Sorry, but can you enter the fortress and explain the situation to them in detail?”
“Umu, leave it to me.”
Gondo advanced to the fortress gates and requested permission to enter, but the gates did not open.
“…What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Maybe something happened?”
“… Is, is that really him?! Is that really Gondo the Weirdo? Maybe someone used magic to take his face!”
Ainz frowned as he heard the Dwarves’ voices. Staying alert was very important, and even Ainz approved of it. Still, they would not be able to make any progress if nobody trusted them.
However, he had heard something about the possibility of meeting an acquaintance here. If that was the case, they would be very fortunate.
“I say, Gondo, can you prove yourself to them by showing your knowledge of this city? Like say, where you live, something that only a person who lived in this city would know?”
“Oh, ohhh, yes… I’ll tell that guy’s wife his secret. Ah, there’s a restaurant called the Black Gold Beard Pavilion! It’s run by a guy whose face looks like an anvil. His food tastes terrible, and the only decent thing there is the stew!”
The Dwarves fell silent. Ainz looked at Gondo, somewhat lost for words. His reply seemed like he was trying too hard.
“Idiot! That place isn’t for eating, but for drinking! Their stout tastes best!”
“Liar! It’s the red mushroom beer that’s the most delicious!”
“What are you saying, their cloudy wine is the best! Just imagine that bubbly fragrance!”
“None of you know what real beer tastes like! Bearded Lady’s the best!”
Ainz made a mental note that the Dwarves liked their beer a lot, and then replied to them:
“How about it? Can you accept that this is the real Gondo? Speaking of which, all we wanted to do was inform you that the Quagoa are trying to circle around the Great Rift and attack this city. All you have to do is send our warning to the people at the top. This way, our country will have discharged its duty, even if the Quagoa attack is a fierce one. It would be quite upsetting if you chastised us afterwards.”
Several Dwarves pulled their heads back from the windows.
Some time passed. It would seem several people were having a discussion.
“Wait there! We’ll send a report to our commander-in-chief!”
According to Gondo, that person was the highest appointment holder in this country’s military.
It would seem they realised that this had to go to their highest authority.
“Kukuku~”
Ainz did not suppress his chuckling.
There was a clattering noise, and when Ainz glanced towards its source, he saw that Dwarves had trained their crossbows on him once more. Their breathing was ragged; they seemed to be in the grip of powerful emotions.
Crap. Are they angry because I laughed?
“Forgive me. In any event, is it all right if only Gondo enters? He’s proven his origins, hasn’t he?”
“No, he can’t, no, it’s not allowed, stay there! Wait there!”
He had not been laughing at them, but it would seem he had upset them all the same.
Ainz’s strong emotions were suppressed, but small emotional ripples could sneak by.
How would a company react if a salesman whom they had never met before before smiled at them as though he had something to hide? Ainz was annoyed at himself for not thinking about that. It had resulted in a mistake.
I should be more careful, Ainz thought as he backed away together with Gondo.
And so they stood there for some time.
When Jircniv came to visit, I provided refreshments, furniture and made all sorts of preparations to welcome them. Don’t the Dwarves do things like that?…No, the circumstances now are different from back then.
In contrast to Jircniv’s prearranged visit, Ainz was essentially a cold-calling door-to-door salesman. He should be grateful that they had not chased him away on the spot.
In addition, he would not be able to enjoy any drinks they gave him, considering his body.
Still, we did give the Dwarves very valuable information. I was hoping for an appropriate response. Well, I can use that as fodder for negotiation during official diplomatic relations. I’ll bear with it for now.