Chapter 315: 315 Duel between Two People
Due to the conclusion of the challenge, the spectating crowd began to disperse on the spot, and at the request of the guild staff, they cleared the road so as not to block the way in front of the guild’s entrance and impede business.
The fallen adventurers were also carried away, swiftly clearing the scene and marking the end of an exciting event.
However, Reiger and Ainz remained in place and did not leave.
They looked at each other, and after a while, Reiger took the initiative to approach Ainz.
"Lord Ainz!"
Narberal reacted to Reiger’s movement, immediately placing her hand on her sword, ready to move forward to protect.
"Do not act rashly, and remember to call me Feifei."
Ainz grabbed Narberal, feeling dissatisfied with the behavior of this Nasalik Combat Maid.
Perhaps Narberal was overly protective, but to Ainz, this maid was undoubtedly not very intelligent.
He had told her so many times to conceal their identities and relationship when outside; yet, she still occasionally acted as if she were treating a king and slipped his name, which made Ainz somewhat regret bringing her along.
If it were not for the fact that nearly all the NPCs in Nasalik were non-human and few were suitable to bring to human cities, Ainz really did not want to bring Narberal along.
As for him going out alone, that was even more impossible; the NPCs of Nasalik would not allow their supreme ruler to roam in human territories without any guards.
Having no choice, Ainz had to control Narberal and turned his attention to Reiger, who came before him.
"Isn’t this none other than the Dark Warrior?" Reiger, looking at Ainz who was cloaked in full armor, smiled faintly, "So you’ve come to the city of E-Rantel, too?"
"...Yes, Lord Reiger." Ainz wanted to correct Reiger’s way of addressing him, but remembering that he had introduced himself that way, he felt abashed and simply replied, "I didn’t expect to find you here. I thought you had already gone to some hidden place seeking buried treasures."
In saying this, Ainz also wished to probe Reiger’s intentions.
He was already suspecting that Reiger was a player from "YGGDRASIL", so his wariness of Reiger had escalated to an unprecedented level.
Reiger, not knowing if he had caught on, did not agree with Ainz but instead posed a counter question.
"I’m curious why the Dark Warrior has only appeared in E-Rantel now," Reiger said without a change in tone. "Several days have passed, and I thought you had left the plains and come to the city ages ago. It seems like you have been handling some matters."
Reiger glanced in Narberal’s direction, and his implication was clear to anyone listening.
Narberal stared at Reiger, her pretty face as cold as ice.
"Do not misunderstand." Ainz deliberately blocked Reiger’s line of sight and said composedly, "This is my companion, who has always been with us. On the night we met you, she just happened to go look for a road leading to the town."
In other words, Reiger and Narberal had missed each other’s encounter, which is what Ainz intended to convey.
"I see," Reiger nodded and suddenly asked, "What about that person who was with the Dark Warrior last time? Why don’t I see him?"
"He has gone to the next city," Ainz replied with feigned helplessness. "You know, Lord Reiger, we are avoiding enemies, so it’s advantageous for us to operate in two separate groups like this."
"Alright." Reiger responded with a half-smile, "Since the Dark Warrior says so, let it be."
"I’m glad you understand." Ainz moved his helmet as though smiling at Reiger, "Enough about me, let’s talk about you, Lord Reiger. Since arriving in this city, I’ve heard rumors about you everywhere. It seems you’ve been quite busy these past few days."
"It’s alright," Reiger shifted his gaze to Ainz’s helmet, as if trying to see through it, "After all, I am new here, it’s normal to encounter some unnecessary troubles."
"Oh?" Ainz revealed his intent with his reply, "I heard that you became an adventurer only a few days ago; is that true?’
"Yes," Reiger replied frankly: "The day I became an adventurer was the day I met you, Dark Warrior. It’s quite a coincidence, isn’t it?"
Reiger’s candid admission surprisingly stumped Ainz.
How could he respond?
Should he directly ask why, if he had only become an adventurer then, did he claim this was his main occupation? Wouldn’t that be openly doubting and questioning him?
Ainz did not want to make it so obvious yet.
Therefore, Ainz could only respond with "It is indeed a coincidence" and pondered internally on how to probe further.
But before Ainz could finalize his plan, Reiger spoke first.
"Did you come to the adventurer guild for some purpose, Dark Warrior?"
Reiger shifted the topic.
"Yes, that’s correct," Ainz, interrupted in his thoughts, replied: "I plan to settle down in this area first, so I am preparing to become an adventurer."
This statement, however, was not a lie.
He indeed planned to settle down in E-Rantel and to become an adventurer.
There were two reasons.
One was to gather information about this world.
Just like Reiger when he first arrived, Ainz thought institutions like the adventurer guild were good for those unfamiliar with this world to access various types of information. Therefore, he intended to become an adventurer first, obtaining a publicly recognized identity, and then slowly gather information from all sources.
The other was to make a name for himself.
Indeed, Ainz planned to make a name for himself in this world under the identity of "Feifei."
As long as he could make a name for himself, he would be able to become a higher-ranked adventurer.
By becoming a higher-ranked adventurer, he would have the opportunity to take on more challenging commissions, meet the individuals issuing these commissions, and gradually come into contact with the elite of this country, and of this world.
And by connecting with high-status individuals, he could uncover secrets unknown to the common folk and grasp the depth of this world.
If all went well, he might even attribute the achievements and influence of "Feifei", the adventurer who had made a great name for himself, to Nasalik, ultimately spreading the name of its ruler, "Ainz Ooal Gown."
At that time, he might attract players from "YGGDRASIL", and even... attract the companions who had once belonged to "Ainz Ooal Gown."
For this reason, Ainz planned to become an adventurer.
Reiger knew this.
That was Ainz’s strategizing in the original work, which Reiger naturally would not forget.
Therefore, he refused Gejiev’s invitation to go to the capital together and continued to stay in E-Rantel to lie in wait, waiting for Ainz to walk into his trap.
Who would let this cautious guy, who had previously revealed only ninety-nine magic spells, keep his mouth shut after that?
Reiger was still coveting his other magic, of course, he would not miss such an opportunity, to accompany Gejiev to the capital.
At that moment, Reiger acted like a guide, and started explaining to Ainz.
"To join the guild and become an adventurer, prepare five silver coins for the cost of written materials, and if you need a scribe service, you need to pay an additional five copper coins; besides that, there are no other requirements. If you are already prepared, then go to the counter over there and find the staff, and let them help you with the process."
Reiger pointed towards the interior of the guild’s main entrance, from where you could see the counter directly opposite the entrance.
"Thank you."
Ainz nodded to Reiger, expressing his gratitude, then walked into the guild.
"Hmph."
Narberal let out a cold snort towards Reiger, and then followed behind Ainz into the guild.
Reiger watched the two leave, smiled wryly, and turned away.
Since he had already waited for the person, there was no need to rush anything.
Otherwise, displaying an overt intent to get close might start making Ainz suspicious again with his personality.
For now, this was enough; confirm Ainz’s location, check what he plans to do next.
The rest could wait; there would be plenty of opportunities later on.
"Speaking of which, Nasalik is about to face its first major upheaval, isn’t it?"
Reiger recalled a segment from the original story.
"I wonder if that event will still occur?"
The reason that event happened in the original was mainly because Ainz crushed the Holy Scripture of the Sun, prompting a series of reactions from the Slaine Theocracy.
Now that he had crushed the Holy Scripture of the Sun himself, it was uncertain whether the Slaine Theocracy would act as they did in the original work.
If not, then so be it.
If so...
"Then I might be able to shear Demiurge’s wool again, right?"
Thinking of the possibilities within this event, Reiger showed a slight smile.
What Reiger was unaware of was that the Demiurge he mentioned had already made some arrangements concerning him.
"Narberal."
As he walked into the guild, Ainz lowered his voice and addressed Narberal beside him.
"Use ’Message’ to inform Albedo to send over a few Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insects or Shadow Demons."
Upon hearing this, Narberal immediately grasped Ainz’s intention.
"Is it to surveil that bug?"
It was no surprise that Narberal said this.
Whether it was the Eight-Legged Blade Assassination Insect or the Shadow Demon, both specialized in magic and special abilities such as invisibility.
"Exactly."
The eye sockets beneath Ainz’s helmet flickered red again.
"Have them secretly surveil Reiger Brillhaut, track his every move, and report to me daily."
Clearly, after the recent conversation, Ainz had taken a greater interest in Reiger and became more suspicious of him.
"Yes."
Narberal unhesitatingly accepted the command.