The Dwarven Crafter

by Kugane Maruyama

  “Yes, my lord!”

  The search would go faster if everyone helped, but Ainz wasn’t reckless enough to do that under these strange circumstances. He told everyone to gather around so they could conduct some investigating. With them standing by behind him, he began to open all the doors.

  Every building was identical to the first.

  Occasionally, he found a house with furniture, but it was always a bookshelf at this place, a desk at another—never a fully furnished space.

  This is going to take too long.

  “Aura. You’re the one with the keenest senses. Are there any people around here?”

  “No, I don’t sense anyone.”

  “All right… Then, let’s split into two teams and have a look around. Shalltear, take command of your undead and guard me. Aura, after you go to the house of the dwarf Zenbel stayed with, take care not to stray too far, but go through the city and figure out why the dwarves left.”

  The two guardians acknowledged their orders, and Ainz noticed Zenbel bowing his head in thanks.

  He nodded benevolently and used Fly.

  Slowly, he floated into the air.

  It was an extremely dangerous thing to do if it was possible someone was lying in wait for them, but he somehow felt confident no one was here.

  “Lord Ainz!”

  Shalltear flew into a panic after him.

  “This is too dangerous! Please come down!”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I was too lax.”

  He had acted on a baseless feeling and flown into the air where it would have been easy to take a shot at him. It was only natural that Shalltear was upset.

  “But since I didn’t get attacked, it seems more and more likely that there isn’t anyone here. Or it’s possible that if someone spotted me, they’ll move closer to gain more info. Keep an eye out.”

  “…Please don’t use yourself as bait.”

  Squishy Moe said that sometimes it was the right decision for the leader to act as bait… But I guess Shalltear can’t accept that, since she’s my escort, not my guildmate…

  “Forgive me.” Ainz peered below.

  It was indeed a city. It was laid out like a Go board with tons of nearly identical buildings.

  “There’s a fancy building. And over there, too.”

  Most of them seemed to have been pressed from the same cookie-cutter mold. But scattered among them were a few larger buildings.

  “Should we check it out?”

  “…Why don’t we call Aura back first? If someone is lurking over there, there could be trouble.”

  Shalltear had been right on the money every time for a while now.

  “Lord Ainz!” Aura’s voice called out from underneath with perfect timing. When he looked down, she was there with Zenbel. The way she was waving had to be meaningful.

  “Seems like they found something.”

  “It does indeed.”

  Exchanging a glance, the pair landed next to Aura. The undead showed up a moment later.

  “Look, Lord Ainz!”

  Aura led them to a house and pointed through the open door.

  He looked around, but it seemed no different from the buildings he had already investigated. He couldn’t find anything special about it.

  “This is the house of the dwarf Zenbel knows?”

  “No, this is a different one. While he was taking me to that house, we passed this one and noticed the door was slightly open. And when we looked inside, see? There are footprints. And they don’t seem like dwarf tracks. Zenbel, dwarves don’t go barefoot, right?”

  “Nope—I mean, no, they don’t. They wear things on their feet. They almost never take them off, even indoors. I remember seeing lots of guys with sturdy-looking shoes reinforced with metal.”

  “So these definitely aren’t dwarf footprints.”

  “How much can you tell from those tracks?”

  “Hmm.” Aura cocked her head slightly. “First, it’s a creature that walks on two legs. And between the left and right feet is a line—that’s a tail.”

  “Perhaps it could be something like a lizardman?”

  “Nope, it’s something else. Slender instead of thick like Zenbel. And there’s dust in the footprints, meaning it’s been some time since these prints were made. Whoever they are, they don’t come often…and it seems like they left right after coming in… Maybe it was someone who found the dwarf city and felt curious?” Aura checked around the house and then turned toward the street. “It wasn’t just one, either. There seem to have been…quite a few actually. Fourteen at least.”

  “How far can you follow the trail? This is our only clue. I want to trace their route back as much as we can.”

  “Understood. Then will you please come with me?”

  He had no reason to refuse.

  The party set off with Aura in the lead. Her attention was on the ground, so Ainz had Shalltear go right behind her for protection.

  Most of the footprints went exactly where Aura guessed they would. In other words, like Ainz’s group before, there was no apparent destination to the movements—they simply seemed to be investigating the houses.

  After tracking for a little while, Aura suddenly stopped and stared ahead at something down the path. When Ainz followed her gaze, he noticed one of the large buildings he had spotted from above.

  “Here the prints meet up with another bunch—the same number actually. The other group seems to have come from that direction. What should we do? Do you want to follow the other group’s tracks?”

  “…No, we should find out where the first group’s tracks went. We can check out the other group later.”

  “Understood!”

  Aura started walking again, and they crossed town before eventually reaching a building up against a wall.

  It seemed to be only a single story but filled a considerable area.

  “…I doubt anyone is here, but I’ll use a spell just in case. There’s a chance that enemy defensive magic could burst around me, so everyone please stand by at a bit of a distance.”

  Using intelligence-gathering magic sometimes resulted in getting countered. The only one in the party who could possibly die after only one hit was Zenbel, but Ainz saw no point in needlessly sapping his subordinates’ strength.

  “Lord Ainz, at the very least, please allow me to stay near you.”

  “Huh? Then I want to stay, too.”

  “No. You keep an eye on our surroundings from a location where you won’t get caught up in any counter-spell.”

  When Shalltear argued her down, Aura looked to Ainz for support, but he agreed with Shalltear.

  “She’s right, Aura. You’re the most perceptive member of our party. The chances of anything happening may be low, but if someone is lurking nearby, I’m counting on you to take care of them.”

  Since her master made a point of saying that much, Aura reluctantly nodded.

  Ainz created a magic sensory organ and slipped it into the building.

  It really didn’t seem like anyone was in there. He sent the organ deeper inside.

  What in the world is this building? There’s a counter and…are these lockers? There’s no sex separation that one might expect for a bathhouse… Is it some kind of facility unique to dwarves?

  As Ainz watched, his magical eye passed through a number of rooms and reached an area that resembled the tunnel they had just passed through earlier.

  Maybe it’s a checkpoint or some sort of stronghold? Like a place to stop any enemies who enter this tunnel? Does that mean we’ll find another entrance at the back of this place?

  After wrapping up a cursory search and finding no enemies, Ainz described the interior to the others and had Aura check inside to see if the footprints disappeared down the tunnel.

  Ainz, Shalltear, and Zenbel followed. Since the Hanzos would eventually come back, they left the undead and magical beasts outside.

  Ainz whispered a question to Zenbel as they followed Aura. “Are y
ou familiar with this building?”

  “Sorry, Your Majesty. I don’t know that much. All I remember is people saying that big building you were checking out earlier—the one down the road from that spot where we saw all those footprints bunched up together—was used by some kind of official or something. And I think the other big buildings you see sometimes used to be pubs, blacksmiths, shops, and whatnot. Not even the bosses—sorry, I meant to say not even influential dwarves lived in big houses often.” Zenbel also added that he didn’t know the reason behind that custom.

  That was the moment Aura stopped in front of the tunnel.

  “The footprints come and go through here. Should I go ahead?”

  Ainz wasn’t sure how to answer. But that lasted only a moment. “No, don’t. There are still places in this city we should investigate. This will be the last place we cover. And we should make sure we have the Hanzos when we do.”

  The fact that those ninjas weren’t back yet had to mean the tunnels were incredibly extensive.

  When Ainz got back outside, he cast Message and contacted the Hanzo leader. “What’s going on, Hanzo? Still not done?”

  “My apologies for taking so long! But rejoice. We have finally found something noteworthy.”

  “What? Really? Did you find out why the dwarves left?”

  “Nothing as concrete as that, but there seems to be a person deeper inside this tunnel—they’re making noise.”

  “And it’s not a naturally occurring sound?”

  “No, it appears to be digging! What would you like to do? Shall I collect as much information as I can?”

  “No, don’t. First, lead us there. I’m currently by…” He tried to explain his location but didn’t really think he was getting through. “Oh right, I’ll use a torch as a marker.”

  “Understood!”

  Ainz ended the Message and took out a torch, which lit automatically. He handed it to a nearby undead.

  The creature swung it back and forth as a signal for the Hanzos.

  Of course, since Ainz was carrying it, this was no ordinary torch. It was an artifact he’d bought at a shop. When shoved into monsters such as slimes or whatnot, the attack dealt twice the usual amount of fire damage.

  Using such a nice item for this was a waste, but Ainz didn’t have any regular ones.

  By the time the sun was reduced to nothing but a strip of red afterglow in the sky, the Hanzos returned.

  “Do excuse us.”

  “No need for formalities. Time is money. Just take us there on the double.”

  “Understood!”

  Once the Hanzos took off running, Ainz and the others followed atop their mounts.

  Eventually a building very similar to the one they had followed the footprints to before came into view, and the Hanzos stopped. This was definitely their destination.

  Ainz dismounted his beast, and the Hanzo leader explained the situation. “There is a tunnel hidden in this building, and there is someone inside it.”

  “Lord Ainz, there are new prints here. No sign of anyone coming out—only going in. This time there are shoe marks. Judging from the size of the feet, it’s someone about Shalltear’s height. Just one person,” Aura reported as she examined the ground in front of the structure.

  “…We’re going to try to hold a friendly conversation. Even if they attack, I permit nothing beyond defense. Under no circumstances will we attack first. Get that through your heads. And in order to not intimidate the person, Aura will attempt a conversation first. And then…”

  Ainz stroked his face.

  Was it only human society that tried to avoid undead, or was that simply common sense?

  Either way, since Ainz was accompanied by his army of undead underlings, perhaps it would make a better impression if he went in with his face uncovered, demonstrating that he had nothing to hide.

  “Okay. Hanzos, take us to where you heard the noise.”

  With the Hanzos in the lead, they weaved through the building and into the tunnel.

  The low ceiling was proof that the dwarves must have tunneled here. The dwarves in Yggdrasil were of similarly short stature.

  If the dwarves from the game had dug a tunnel, it probably would have been right about this size.

  Partway through, Aura’s ears began to twitch, making it clear that the Hanzos’ report was no mistake.

  Ainz strained his ears, but he couldn’t hear what Aura had picked up. “Oh… Is it close?”

  “I’m not sure. It’s hard to gauge the distance because of the echoes.”

  “Hmm. If it’s a straight shot, I could send forth a magic eye to figure out what we’re dealing with, but…”

  For anyone without racial or class bonuses that granted sharpened senses like Aura’s, the sound was still too far away to hear.

  But if their group got any closer, the target was liable to detect them.

  Anyone with common sense would prioritize their safety and flee if they realized a bunch of who-knows-what was coming near. With Aura on the chase, they probably wouldn’t get away. Then again, if their quarry could use Teleport or had a digging skill, escape was a distinct possibility.

  Sending Aura and the Hanzos in alone was probably the smartest move. Maybe Ainz could include himself, if he was invisible.

  “Only those who can operate in a clandestine manner will go forward. Aura and the Hanzos. Plus me. Shalltear, you’ll stand by here.”

  “As you command.”

  “…Well, maybe having you stand by here is a bad idea.”

  Ainz looked up at the ceiling. He thought the rock seemed solid, but he couldn’t be completely sure.

  “Yeah, on second thought, go back to the building we were in before and wait for us to come back. But then the Hanzos… Aura, do you think the footprints are leading toward where the noise is coming from?”

  “Yes, they are. I’m not sure, but it seems like the owner of the footprints is probably the source of the noise.”

  “I see. You can lead me there, right?”

  Aura nodded.

  “Then, just the two of us will go ahead. Everyone else, pull back to the building at the entrance of the tunnel. In the event something unexpected happens, especially if you encounter someone at your level, withdraw immediately. We’ll do the same on our own, so don’t worry about us. Set the exit of the Gate as the structure Aura erected in the forest.”

  “Yes, my lord! But will you really be all right with just the two of you?”

  “I don’t know, but I’d like to think so.”

  If he imagined all the things that could go wrong, there would be no end to it. At some point he had to just resign himself to whatever would happen and make his move. That was one of the things Ainz had learned recently.

  Perhaps Shalltear couldn’t think of anything that might change his mind. Either that or she simply accepted his order. Whichever it was, she didn’t raise any further objections.

  Ainz proceeded with Aura. There still seemed to be a ways to go, so he didn’t use magic.

  After they walked in silence for a time, the sound began reaching Ainz’s ears as well.

  “…They’re trying their best not to make too much noise.” Ainz had no idea why Aura thought that, but if she said so, it must be true.

  “Then we can probably assume our target is on guard, too.”

  “Should we catch them first?”

  “If they try to run. If our first contact is violent, it will be extremely difficult to build friendly relations.”

  “Understood. Then, I’ll start by talking to them like normal.”

  “Yes, do that. I’ll go invisible—no, I’ll go with Perfect Unknowable—and stand next to you. If they make a break for it, then we have no choice. We’ll capture them.”

  2

  The pair discussed a number of things, and once their preparations were complete, they advanced toward the source of the noise.

  At the end of the tunnel was a small humanoid. In this world of total d
arkness, he was completely absorbed by his work of digging into the tunnel wall with his mattock.

  Ainz couldn’t be sure, since they weren’t that close yet, but the digger appeared to be a little over four and a half feet tall with a body like a beer barrel and legs that weren’t very long—it was probably safe to just call them stubby.

  The digger was wearing a brown cloak, and on the ground nearby were what seemed to be a bunch of tools. There was also a lamp, which wasn’t lit, and a canteen.

  A single miner here in an abandoned city? This seems awfully strange, but I’m sure things will clear up after I ask a few questions.

  Aura approached without making a sound.

  On the other hand, Ainz walked without a single concern.

  Perfect Unknowable erased all sounds along with any other trace of Ainz that could be detected. Only an awfully high-level thief would be able to sense his presence now. Even Aura had a hard time finding him—she had only the faintest feeling he was actually there.

  Once she had gotten close enough to the miner, Aura spoke up. “Hello. What are you doing?”

  “Eeheegh!” The shriek sounded like a soul leaving its body.

  The miner had a long beard—there was no doubt this was a dwarf.

  Wide-eyed with fear, the miner wrapped himself up in the brown cloak.

  But that was all he accomplished. The dwarf was still there. But apparently the only one who thought that was Ainz.

  “Hmph! Concealment, huh?”

  When Aura said that, Ainz, who could see through invisibility, examined the dwarf more closely. Sure enough, Aura was right. The miner was a bit faded.

  So the cloak is enchanted, and that’s how he activates the Concealment? That’s sort of like Shizu.

  “Hey, hey, it’s not like I want to hurt you, Mr. Dwarf. I know you’re there, so let me see you.”

  It was obvious how Aura’s cute, friendly demeanor made the dwarf waver.

  He opened his cloak ever so slightly and peeked at her through the gap. “A-are you a dark elf? What are you doing here?”

  “Hmm? I came to visit the dwarves, but all I found was an empty husk of a city, so I’ve been looking for someone to find out what happened here. Then I ran into you.”

  “I—I see…”