Only the man who looked like an undead in the middle was showing his face, and his clothing was elegant. The man held a black stone in his hand and seemed to be concentrating.
Their soft whispers were transmitted into Ainz’s ears with the wind. Their pitch changed in unison and sounded like a prayer, but it didn’t feel like the solemn prayer offered to those who had passed on and more like an evil ritual desecrating the dead.
“Shall we launch a sneak attack?”
Narberal said softly into Ainz’s ears, but he shook his head and said:
“It’s useless. They seemed to have noticed us.”
Having no special abilities to hide himself, Ainz just walked boldly towards them. He avoided the light of the cemetery as he moved, but the enemy could see as clear as day if they used 「Night Vision」. From Ainz’s experience, the summoner and the summoned monsters had a telepathic link. After killing so many undead, by now their opponent should have detected Ainz’s approach.
In fact, several of them were staring at Ainz’s group.
They probably didn’t attack because they had something to say. That was Ainz conclusion while he walked towards them.
When Ainz group walked into the light, the suspicious group took a stance and one of them told the man in the middle: “Kajit-sama, they are here.”
Okay, that one is definitely stupid… No, maybe he is just pretending to be retarded. Let’s hear what they want to say.
“Ara, what a beautiful night. Don’t you think it is a shame to waste it on boring rituals?”
“Hmmp… I will decide if it is suitable for rituals. Anyway, who in the world are you? How did you break through that mob of undead?”
The man in the middle of the formation — if it wasn’t an alias, this man called Kajit had the highest status here — asked Ainz on behalf of everyone.
“I am an adventurer who was commissioned a quest to search for a missing youth… You should know who without me saying the name right?”
The group took a stance, confirming Ainz’s suspicion that they were not innocent bystanders.
Ainz looked from under his helmet at Kajit who was scanning the surrounding with a bitter smile.
“Is it just the few of you? Where are the rest?”
Hey, hey, would anyone ask like that? He might be on guard against ambushes… but ask after using your brain a little. From the looks of things, this guy is nothing but an abandoned chess piece.
Ainz shrugged weakly and replied:
“It’s just us. We flew all the way here using flight magic.”
“Lies, that is impossible.”
Ainz felt there was a hidden meaning behind Kajit’s confident words and asked:
“Believing or not is up to you. Back on topic, if you return the youth unharmed, I could spare your life alright? Kajit.”
Kajit glared at the moronic disciple who addressed him by name.
“—And your name is?”
“Before that, I have something to ask. Apart from you all, is there anyone else?”
Kajit looked at Ainz with cold eyes:
“It’s just us—”
“—It’s not just you, all right? There should be someone using melee weapons… Planning a surprise attack? Or are they hiding because they fear us?”
“Ohh~ You investigated the corpse~ Impressive~”
A woman’s voice came from the direction of the shrine.
The woman showed herself slowly, a metallic clanking sound could be heard with every step she took.
“You…”
“Ara~ We’ve been found out~ It’s pointless to keep hiding. By the way~ I was only hiding because I am unable to use 「Conceal Life」~”
The woman smiled bitterly, replying to Kajit who sounded rather fierce.
Despite showing a strong front, they still didn’t use the hostage Nfirea─── Maybe Nfirea was already dead. As Ainz was thinking about that, the woman asked:
“Could I know your name? Ah, I am Clementine. Pleased to meet you.”
“… It’s useless, but I will humor you. I am Momon.”
“I have never heard that name before… what about you?”
“Me neither~ I have gathered information about all the high-level adventurers in this city, but there wasn’t anyone named Momon. Why do you know about this place? The death message indicated the sewers though~”
“The answer is under your cape. Show it to me.”
“Wahh~ Pervert~ Ecchi~”
After saying that, the woman─── Clementine’s face twisted. Her grin was so wide it almost reached her ears:
“Just kidding~ You mean these?”
Clementine lifted her cape, revealing a scale armor with a multitude of colors. But Ainz excellent eyesight saw through the truth behind the armor immediately. This wasn’t a scale armor, but metallic medals.
There were numerous adventurer-medals there. Platinum, gold, silver, iron copper, there were even mithril and orichalcum too. These proved that Clementine had been killing adventurers and taking their medals as trophies. The clanking of the metals were like the grudging moans of the dead.
“It was these trophies… that told me about this place.”
Clementine had a baffled expression but Ainz didn’t want to explain.
“… Nabel. Take care of the men including Kajit. I will take on this woman.”
After Ainz finished, he warned Narberal in a soft voice to pay attention above her.
“Understood.”
Kajit smiled mockingly while Narberal had cold eyes and an uninterested expression.
“… Clementine. Let’s fight over there.”
Ainz didn’t wait for Clementine to respond and walked away. He was very sure his opponent wouldn’t refuse, and the sound of leisurely footsteps behind him proved his point.
After going some distance, the place where Narberal and Kajit were at was hit by a brilliant and deafening lightning. This lightning was like a cue, prompting Ainz and Clementine to glare at each other.
“Could it be that the people I murdered in that shop were your companions? Are you angry because your comrades are dead~?”
As if she was mocking, Clementine continued:
“Hahaha, that Magic Caster was hilarious. Believing someone would come to the rescue ‘till the very end~ It was impossible to last ‘till help arrived with that tiny bit of stamina… Was that rescuer supposed to be you? Sorry~ I killed them.”
Ainz shook his head at Clementine who was all smiles:
“… No, no need to apologize.”
“Really? Such a pity~ It is really interesting to infuriate those who get agitated when their comrades get mentioned. Hey, why are you not angry? How boring! Are they not your companions?”