Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 29

Captain Iškur returned to them a while later, and Ainz requested that he direct them to a more promising location. As they made their way through the empty city streets, he mulled over the connotations of Baroness Zahradnik’s ‘Justice Radar’.

It was simple to see how Pandora’s Actor had come up with the embarrassing name for the Skill. As a former Human, Ainz thought that the Human-made laws of Re-Estize – which at their core were meant to preserve an orderly Human society – seemed quite reasonable. More reasonable than the laws of his old world, at any rate. As such, it often appeared that the Skill detected ‘criminals’, but the Baroness’ assessment made it far from what it seemed to be.

Alignment with my will, huh. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

At least, by her words, she didn’t run around believing that His Majesty the Sorcerer King was the personification of justice. Ainz didn’t know what he would do if something like that happened.

In a way, it was nice, as she would probably never interpret what he said wrongly, provided that she was actively using the Skill. She had even conveniently packaged her reading of him as the ‘realities of kingship’ – wherein a sovereign couldn’t always do as he wished to and often had to do things that he might not want to. For the greater good of his subjects, of course.

It was both wrong and right at the same time, and he couldn’t figure out whether she had figured that out. As the Baroness was both accommodating and discreet, he doubted that he would ever know unless he worked up the courage to ask directly.

He was both her god and her king, yet somehow her stance on his supposed godhood was something he wished that more people would assume. A powerful individual who was offered respect and acknowledgement for his deeds, but still a person just like everyone else.

Ainz continually tried to convince the NPCs that he, too, was capable of mistakes and did not know everything, but for some reason, it never stuck. If he said black was white they would all accept his statement as fact, yet if he claimed that he was wrong about something it couldn’t possibly be. He was the greatest of the Supreme Beings, who were existences that stood above mere gods.

They crossed several city blocks before arriving at a pretentious-looking building at the end of a walkway lined with dust-filled fountains. In the past, the cracked, dry grounds were probably carefully maintained gardens or some other green space. The building itself was composed of two wings that stretched to either side of the central structure.

“What’s this place?” He asked.

“I don’t know for sure,” Captain Iškur answered, “but it’s filled with the remains of bookshelves and cabinets. There’s a magical vault in the basement – I believe that’s what Your Majesty asked for?”

“Imperial…something,” the Baroness said as she looked up at the writing over the entrance.

The interior was just as Captain Iškur had described, which was strange since that meant it was literally all bookshelves and cabinets. A layer of ash smothered the floor, leaving nothing but the charred remains of the building’s furnishings. Even the metal parts had melted from the inferno, much like their findings from the first castle keep…or was it a mage tower?

“Have you managed to salvage anything from this city at all?” Ainz asked.

“It was already like this by the time I manifested,” the captain answered. “The Eldest didn’t have anything, either. There’s probably been plenty of time for others to pick this place clean – the merchants from Corpus weren’t surprised at all, so it might have been them. Who knows how long anyone’s had to take everything away.”

“Even the lampposts were looted,” the Baroness muttered.

“The lampposts?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” she nodded. “You can see fixtures for magical lighting all over this city, but they’re empty. The only one that wasn’t taken was the crystal in the High Emperor’s staff, and that’s probably because it was too hard to break off. The magical lighting of a city this large is probably worth tens of millions of gold coins. Using our prices, at any rate.”

Little things added up, he supposed. A city filled with magical conveniences accrued over generations was quite the treasure trove as long as one could find a market for everything.

They descended to a basement similarly filled with burned-out remains. At the back of the west wing was the magical vault that Captain Iškur had mentioned. A glance was all it took for Ainz to recognize what was carved into its surface.

A runecrafted vault…

Excitement welled up within him as he recalled the royal vault in Feoh Berkana. Everything within had been perfectly preserved, and the vault itself would be a valuable reference for his Runecrafters in Carne Village. A Runecrafted Vault could stop the Demon Gods and an Ancient Dragon; armour crafted with the same runewords must surely be better than anything that the local markets could offer.

The problem now was how they would open it undamaged. In Feoh Berkana, he had consumed a charge from a valuable Artifact. They were not pressed for time here, however. He checked the time of day before raising a hand to his head, casting a Message spell.

『Pandora’s Actor.』

『Command me, Ainz-sama!!!』

Ainz tilted his head to one side, as if he could lean away from the Doppelganger’s ardour.

『We’ve come across a magical vault that you may be able to open. Are you currently in Nazarick?』

『Yes, I’m in the treasury at the moment.』

『I will open a Gate to our location near the cottage on the surface in five minutes.』

『I eagerly anticipate your summons, Ainz-sama!』

He terminated the message, then looked over at the others.

“I’ve called for someone to come and open the vault,” he said, “but I will ask that everyone goes upstairs while he does so.”

Shalltear, Baroness Zahradnik and Captain Iškur left without any questions. When the appointed time came, he cast the Gate spell. Several moments passed in complete silence.

“…Ainz-sama.”

“AAHHH!”

“AAHHH!”

The Gate spell was disrupted and his emotional suppression went into overdrive at the disembodied whisper behind him. He could have sworn he had just lost ten years of his life, but that didn’t matter to the Undead. He turned to glare at Pandora’s Actor, who had foiled his own concealment.

“You–”

“Ainz-sama?”

A streak of crimson flashed down the stairs as Shalltear came flying down in response to his scream. Her glowing eyes settled on something behind him.

“G-Garnet-sama…?” She frowned, “Ainz-sama, I thought I just saw…”

“Go back upstairs, Shalltear. I will call you when we are ready to proceed.”

Shalltear looked over her shoulder several times before disappearing up the stairs once more. Ainz looked around himself, unable to locate the other person in the chamber.

“Pandora’s Actor?”

“Yes, Ainz-sama,” Garnet’s voice replied.

In Yggdrasil, one could see concealed allies, allowing them to lead parties through dangerous areas while stealthily scouting ahead. As a pure arcane caster, knowing that there was a stealthed individual nearby that he couldn’t detect put Ainz on edge.

Come to think of it, Narberal almost attacked Aura when she popped out of stealth that one time as well…

Of the different class archetypes in Yggdrasil, Rogues, Rangers, Bards, Monks and certain races could all have substantial stealth ability. Once this ability surpassed the basic detection ability that most Classes possessed, they effectively left no trace to those without access to advanced detection Skills.

The workings of this mechanic were one of the major weaknesses in the Sorcerous Kingdom’s domestic security. Death-series servitors only possessed basic detection ability, as did Soul Eaters and Elder Liches. Past Level 15 or so, natives with the requisite classes could become undetectable to them when using their concealment Skills. The problem became exponentially worse in environments with plenty of cover.

Of Nazarick’s forces, relatively few with high detection ability could be deployed. Most were a part of the base’s defences and were inactive due to the low maintenance mode they were running. Mercenaries like Hanzos and Eight-Edged Assassins they had small quantities of, but Ashurbanipal was nearly out of resources to summon new ones.

This left Aura as their best deployable detector, followed by Pandora’s Actor using the forms of Rangers like Peroroncino and Tigris Euphrates. Solution was next in line, then Shizu. After Shizu came the Frost Dragons in the aerial transportation network. There were a handful of options that could be summoned with spells, but they were temporary and thus unsuited for maintaining security.

He looked around again, wondering if this world had flaws in its concealment systems that he could exploit. There was no sound, smell nor any other sign of Pandora’s-Actor-turned-Garnet, however – not even the slightest trace of his passage in the easily-disturbed dust that covered everything.

Is it really necessary to sneak around like that?

Well, it was better safe than sorry. Having the Baroness spot him might lead to complications, as well. He forced some confidence into his voice as he spoke to the nothingness around him.

“This is the vault in question. Can it be opened without being damaged?”

In response, a slip of paper appeared out of thin air and fluttered to the ground. Pandora’s Actor was apparently standing right in front of him, and Ainz still didn’t notice a thing. He leaned over to pick up the note, frowning down at the letters written upon it.

Ki...Kine problem?

A subtle change in the glowing runes over the vault’s surface was the only indicator that Pandora’s Actor was tinkering with the magical devices that secured the door. Unlike many of the other Rogues in Ainz Ooal Gown, who went for combat specializations and branched out into Assassin paths, Garnet was a classical Rogue. This made him unparalleled at picking locks, disarming traps, and tinkering with devices and machines both magical and mundane.

A minute later, the sound of mechanisms moving within the vault issued into the air.

“Is it unlocked?” Ainz asked.

Another slip of paper appeared.

Ich habe die Aufgabe jetzt erfüllt.

Ainz had no idea what it said. He crumpled up the note and put it away.

“Well, if everything’s taken care of, it’s time for you to head back.”

“Eh? Was? B-but–”

“I told you,” Ainz said as the portal to his Gate opened again, “no German!”

He waited for several moments, looking around the chamber as the vault’s mechanisms continued to work. Was he gone? He probably was. He left the Gate open for a while longer just in case.

Are you gone? I’m closing it now…

After the portal closed, a dull rumble filled the chamber as the door of the vault shifted inwards and started to roll away. Ainz called for Shalltear and the others, and they made it back in time to see the triple doors slide out of sight.

Baroness Zahradnik went ahead, her gaze scanning what lay beyond.

“It’s…empty?”

Unlike the royal vault of Feoh Berkana, the interior did not contain piles of treasure that glowed with the light of buried magic items. Confusion and a sense of disappointment settled over him. There were no piles of coins, nor were there any tapestries, statues or any other pieces of artwork. The only thing inside appeared to be the Undead that had spawned over the long passage of time.

“Wait, there’s something here…”

The Baroness knelt and stretched her hand towards a dust-covered object on the floor, then stopped.

“Do you see anything strange about this, Your Majesty?”

Ainz walked up behind her. He sensed the trace of an enchantment.

“「Appraise Magic Item」.”

A book? It doesn’t have a name…

“There’s preservation magic on it,” he said. “There doesn’t appear to be anything else – it’s an unnamed item.”

Baroness Zahradnik peered at the book for several seconds before picking it up and dusting it off. Beyond her, something stirred.

“Look ou–”

His warning came too late. Over two dozen metres away, a cluster of round objects suddenly broke open, shaking off the dust that concealed them. A multitude of fleshy tentacles shot out towards the young noblewoman. Her eyes widened in surprise as they wrapped themselves around her arms and legs and body.

The tentacles constricted around her and pulled, but her Freedom effect caused them to phase through. The book in Baroness Zahradnik’s hand fell to the ground. In its place appeared her softly glowing glaive.

Ainz, Shalltear and Captain Iškur watched as Baroness shot forward with blinding speed. Tentacles and viscera flew through the air as she dismantled the first of the two-metre tall Organ Eggs. Flesh and bone and body parts scattered everywhere when the rest of the Undead in the vault haplessly fed themselves to the whirlwind of pure violence in their midst.

The sound of the Baroness’ boot heels echoed in the deathly silence that followed as she returned to pick up the book again. Her gaze went to the three of them.

“Is something the matter?”

“N-no,” Ainz shifted his eyes away, “it’s nothing.”

Baroness Zahradnik frowned slightly before returning her attention to the book.

“Shalltear,” Ainz muttered, “whenever you have her over, make sure she never runs into that fellow.”

“He might look that way, Ainz-sama,” Shalltear leaned towards him and whispered back, “but he’s actually quite a nice person.”

“Which would make it all the more tragic,” he told her.

Ainz turned his attention back to the Baroness, who continued flipping through the pages of the book.

“What does it say?”

“I can’t read most of it,” she replied. “Dates, numbers, a few names, some words that have survived to the present day…from how it is structured, it might be a journal or a logbook. It has a very informal look: there are no seals or official-looking forms, so it may even be a diary.”

The Baroness continued flipping through until about halfway, where all that was left were blank pages. She kept going, and a frown marred her expression when she reached the last page. Looking back up, she turned the book around to show him.

Is it something she thinks I can read?

Shalltear leaned forward to look down at the book with him. To his surprise, her lips moved as her crimson gaze crossed over the letters written on the page.

“Remember us.”

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