Chapter 107: 106
Coming out of the training room and shaking his head, Ainz sighed.
Well, at least Jalter… Ainz still felt bad about coming up with such a ridiculous name.
In any case, Jalter apparently did not feel any romantic emotions for Ainz. And, to be honest, Ainz himself was very glad about it. Who can blame him for it? Lately, his life has been spinning at such a speed that it was difficult for Ainz to imagine what the next twist of fate would bring him.
In any case, there was at least one girl in Chaldea who did not have any romantic feelings for him. That was good, great even!
Ainz chuckled out joyfully. At least, until his suppression of emotions cut the elation he felt from not being a Harem Protagonist… Although he does have the face of one.
Eh, still, if he were in his skeletal body, he would be glad to have any girl at all that would pay attention to him… Although he wasn't sure he would be able to get along with a girl that is romantically attracted to a skeleton. Why did he feel goosebumps?
Ainz recalled one of Perroroncino's favorite quotes for a second. How did it go again…
"Any guy would cater to a tree if it would take the first step..."
It's amazing that once he was in the center of female attention, this seemingly truthful note from his friend became so plausible.
In any case, his mood after communicating with Jalter was excellent. His mind has even managed to calm down a little and is now able to function without giving him panic attacks every second, trying to slowly deal with the entire confused situation of his relationship with the girls and Servants. And so, with his mind returning to its normal functions, he was now prepared to face his greatest challenge yet.
Definitely, he was ready to do the most heroic act in the world.
He was ready to meet Da Vinci.
If he were to be honest, Ainz was even somewhat ashamed that he had ignored Da Vinci for so long. Besides, considering Leo's 'persistent' nature, it would not have been all that implausible for Da Vinci to find a way to crawl into the Singularity after Ainz if she were to be ignored any longer. If she were to be left without receiving any answers, Ainz could definitely see her doing such a thing with the sole purpose of extorting answers from him. There would be no escaping Da Vinci's curiosity.
Ainz was sure that the girl had a lot of complex questions that she wanted Ainz to answer. Ainz was also thoroughly convinced that he could not give a decent answer to any of these questions. But, there is one silver lining that Ainz could count on. He has managed to cope with the Demon Kings, Servants, Gods, Singularities - and even, he shuddered just thinking about them - the newly discovered women in his personal life!
And so Ainz believed that his favorite tactic, 'just pretend that you understand what is being said and say meaningless phrases meaningfully and with confidence' will save him this time too.
Therefore, Ainz took a deep breath and walked slowly away. Perhaps to his doom.
Da Vinci's workshop… The moment of truth.
Ainz remembered its location quite well. He has after all, visited it more than once. Therefore, finding Leo's preferred habitat was not at all difficult. Somehow, even with the labyrinthian and almost eldritch-like corridors, Ainz found it quite easily.
Stopping in front of the door, the most ordinary of doors, behind which lay one of the most eccentric scientists and the most powerful adversary Ainz had ever met. Ainz steeled his resolve, and then knocked lightly on the door.
Behind the door, in response to Ainz's knock, Ainz heard an unexpectedly low curse, followed by... the sound of rustling papers? The noise reminded Ainz of paper wrappers for some reason.
'Did I come at the wrong time?' - Ainz asked himself before knocking lightly again without getting any more sound in response. Hmm, had Da Vinci given up searching for Ainz and was now going about her own business? A business from which Ainz had distracted her from? It would be a comical, but still somewhat unpleasant situation if that were so. However, judging by the fact that all the sounds from beyond the door have died down, Ainz made up his mind. With a small prayer for luck he slowly tried the door handle. Seeing that the door is unlocked, he opened it, before taking a look inside.
Da Vinci's workshop, as opposed to the torture rack Ainz expected, immediately appeared in front of Ainz's eyes - as cluttered as usual. Overcrowded cabinet shelves, tables filled to the top with dozens of unfinished formulas and records. Some mechanical artifacts scattered in various places and, where they were unlucky, appear to have fallen from the shelves and tables to the floor, and remained there, partially covered with sheets of papers...
And Arthuria standing in the midst of the pandemonium.
Ainz blinked before taking a close look at Arthuria. Arthuria blinked as well, then slowly pulled her hand aside, as if to hide something.
The hand that held...
Ainz blinked and strained his memory. "Is that… hmm, what was it again... Hamborgar? Or something like that at least"
The Arthuria in front of Ainz appeared not in her usual appearance, dressed fully in armor and with her faithful blade at her belt. Instead she was dressed in an evening dress of black silk, beautifully contrasting with her golden hair and shimmering golden eyes.
She would appear very stunning if not for the half-eaten sandwich in her hands. A sandwich still partially wrapped in paper. The contrast of the alluring dress with the almost comical sandwich looked absolutely inappropriate. Arthuria's cheeks stuffed like that of a hamster was simply the icing on the cake.
"Hmm…!" - Arthuria blinked, coughed and then swallowed. Before immediately taking another bite of the... Hamburger, yes, that's exactly what it was called! - "W-why are you interrupting my meal!?"
"On your cheek…" Ainz involuntarily stretched out and mimed brushing off invisible crumbs from his cheek. After which Arthuria, realizing what was implied, frowned and brushed a couple of crumbs off her face, "Yes, that's better."
Ainz froze while looking at Arthuria. She froze in response, before exhaling and shaking her head. "Come in and close the door."
Ainz did not object to the implied command and took a step inside the room, closing the door behind him.
However, Ainz was also unable to continue to ignore what he saw in front of him.
Arthuria, in her black armor, cloaked with an aura of inhuman power and the detached coldness of a tyrant, Ainz was used to associating with. A girl with the figure of a warrior or a king and the demeanour of one was easy for Ainz to interact with. Even if he had seen her some other time dressed in her evening dress, his perception of the girl would not have changed much. Even if he were to meet her in Da Vinci's workshop, she would have looked the same as always, like an unattainable cold peak of power and authority.
It was all about the half-eaten hamburger that she was holding in her hand…
Ainz realized that he absolutely did not understand anything right now.
That is, of course, wishing to meet with Da Vinci, Ainz should have been prepared for the unexpected. But even if Ainz was ready for a certain type of surprise - he was still not ready seeing Arthuria quietly eating a hamburger in the corner in an evening dress.
"Yeah", - Ainz nodded and then slowly moved forward.
Arthuria was wary, staring at the approaching figure of Ainz, like he was a danger for some reason. She calmed down when Ainz approached and sat down in an empty seat. Fortunately, there was another empty seat in the clutter that is Da Vinci's workshop.
"Ahem, I guess Bon appetit?" Ainz awkwardly tried to make small talk.
Arthuria blinked, and as if she had just realized she had a hamburger in her hand, she immediately frowned and looked away, - "This is not what you're thinking of."
"Really?", - Ainz, to be honest, didn't even think about anything particular while looking at the snacking Arthuria, but it was interesting to hear her words and excuse for the hamburger.
"Yes, exactly", - Arthuria nodded solemnly, then did her best to wear a serious expression, - "This is due to... a lack of mana. Yes, that's right. I have not been receiving enough Mana, therefore I make up for it by consuming this hamburger."
"Hmm, I see… ", - Ainz nodded. Of course, since Ainz was not that experienced in being a Master, he did not deny that in some random way he could have unknowingly reduced the flow of mana for Arthuria. But some of his sixth sense's - and his excellent ability to identify insolent lies in the face - told him that it wasn't the most plausible excuse Arthuria could think of. "Why not go to Archer then?"
"Hmm," Arthuria froze again for a second. That counter-argument worked too well against her. "I, um... I don't want to... Overexert Archer. Indeed, as King, I definitely must not let Archer…"
"That is…" Ainz waited until Arthuria's words subside, and didn't form a complete sentence thought, after which he nevertheless asked another piercing question, "You don't want to overextend him… After you made him bake six trays of croissants?"
Arthuria blinked. Ainz looked back at her carefully.
There was an awkward silence before Arthuria let out a slow breath, "Okay, I just want to eat a hamburger."
"Okay," Ainz nodded.
Arthuria froze yet again, and then looked closely at Ainz.
"What?" Ainz blinked, "I won't fault you for wanting to eat something. I'm not that ridiculous"
Arthuria blinked again. Ainz blinked back.
It was not in Ainz's nature to condemn other people's weaknesses. And even if it was as ridiculous as the 'cold black king of knights' Arthuria - wanted to lock herself in Da Vinci's office to eat a hamburger. Then Ainz did not plan to say anything critical towards her.
Although, nevertheless, not that he wanted to, there was one thing that Ainz had to ask Arthuria.
"Why are you in Da Vinci's office, by the way?" Ainz looked at the girl, expecting an answer.
She froze, and then looked away, - "This place is just... I… I just encountered it while walking?."
"Really." - Ainz blinked. Arthuria blinked.
The two glared at each other for a few seconds before Arthuria sighed. "Da Vinci took the last hamburger from Chaldea's cafeteria. And she didn't even eat it! She just took it away!"
"And you fundamentally disagree with Leo's decision, don't you?" Ainz smiled, forcing Arthuria to nod with a certain, royal confidence. After which, as if she only realized the essence of what was said, shake her head.
"No, I just…" - Arthuria lost her train of thoughts. Strictly speaking, how exactly should she have continued her explanation so that everything would not end with the rather obvious conclusion? That Arthuria just came to steal food from Da Vinci?
Ainz waited a second before sighing and shaking his head, "Okay, no need to tell me, it doesn't matter anyway."
Arthuria blinked, then nodded slowly and returned to her mearl. Ainz remained silently on the sidelines.
Although watching Arthuria made him remember a few things.
'Hmm, I have never really eaten anything while in my new body…' Ainz thought.
It's funny, because he wanted to get himself a human body in order to enjoy all the delights of life, and he hasn't done anything to enjoy them.
And if it were something like, ahem, physical intimacy, its absence under the current conditions, Ainz was pleased not to be doing such things. A better example is that he never managed to try Archer's cooking. And it was sad, Archer's cooking, judging by the feedback from the Servants, was beyond praise.
However, seeing Arthuria enjoying her hamburger, and Ainz remembering that he hadn't, technically speaking, eaten in one and a half months...
Ainz thought about it for a moment more, before he started rummaging around in his inventory.
Food in YGGDRASIL was one of the many disposable items available for use, giving some kind of buff for a time. Moreover, a high-level cook was sometimes valued over a high-level crafter, such as a blacksmith or an alchemist, as ingredients for high-level dishes were clearly more readily available than materials for high-level equipment and potions. And at the same time, unlike potions or other disposable items, they often provided significant and fairly long-term bonuses, which, moreover, could often stack with each other. So the value of a high leveled cook could not be downplayed.
However, Ainz, as an undead, was deprived of such an advantage. As in the game, his character could not consume food in any form there was supposed to be no point in Ainz having any. However, at the same time, even when he couldn't use it for anything, Ainz was such a miser that he had enough food in his inventory that he could feed a whole city for a whole year and it wouldn't even make a dent in his food stockpile.
Ainz was deep in thought about what dish he should try first. Hmm, 'Ancient Jotunheim Frost Dragon Steak'... The item was definitely not even the highest tier dish in Ainz's inventory, but to be honest, he was a little afraid to try it.
Throughout his life, Ainz ate food that could hardly be called such. Synthetic mixtures and substitutes identical to natural substitutes blobs…
Perhaps if he suddenly jumps over to and try eating the works of the highest culinary art, he simply won't like them. At least that's what Ainz heard from Touch Me said when he went with his wife to a somewhat fancy restaurant - and how much he disliked the food there simply because he was used to his usual diet...
Therefore, Ainz thought about it some more. Hmm, lower-leveled items should be less tasty… Or at least that's what Ainz thought - so maybe if he were to try something less rare...
Ainz stretched out his hand, after which a small pot was in his hand - quite warm to the touch. There was even steam coming out of the top, as if someone had just taken it out of the oven. However, Ainz knew that this thing had been stored in an inventory for… At least eleven years. It was one of the many lower tier food items that would only be useful to very low level players… And was still kept in his inventory for some reason… He really should clean it one of these days.
'Convenient' - Ainz nodded to himself, after which he saw Arthuria's gaze, having just finished her hamburger, glued to Ainz's newly appeared food.
"Hmm?" - he asked a question in silence, - "Arthuria?"
She blinked, then turned her gaze to Ainz, specifically the steaming food in his hand, and frowned. "I'm hungry."
"Khm..." Ainz coughed.
Of course, arguing in a theoretical sense. A Servant, as a being primarily of a spiritual nature, should have a bottomless stomach as they would immediately convert it to Mana. So, in a purely theoretical sense, they are capable of consuming any amount of food as the more Mana a Servant has the better… But, at the same time, arguing just as logically, as a spirit, Servants should not feel the desire to eat at all. Still, as demonstrated by Arthuria, the theory did not always coincide with reality.
Ainz thought about giving her some but was reluctant.
Strangely, Ainz had few items of this type.
More precisely, the item 'love-filled country lunch'. Ainz only had two of them. A very strange occurrence considering the miserly Overlord's nature.
Not that it was a high-level item that's so rare that it's very hard to get. On the contrary, it was an extremely low-level item, it was just that the conditions for obtaining it were really hard for characters like Ainz to get.
To start with, it was a reward for one of the 'starting' quests that a newly created character would complete. It goes that some farmer near the very beginning part of the starting city would ask you to find her lost daughter and you were tasked to find her and bring her back to her home. Then after some easy information gathering, it would be revealed that she was captured by a gang of robbers. After some easy fights and one escort mission later, you would complete the quest and get the aforementioned food item. A simple and straightforward quest for a beginner player.
The quest had only one very hard limitation that made it very hard for Ainz Ooal Gown to complete, not that the rewards were good enough to merit such attention in the first place, this quest was given out by humans in the Human's starter city. And NPCs of the human races, especially those with positive karma, reacted extremely negatively to players of the heteromorphic races. Therefore, only two members of Ainz Ooal Gown ever completed this quest. It took some quite rare item to allow them to enter the city and allow them to complete the mission in the first place.
The first, of course, was Touch Me. After all, he liked to complete all the quests related to saving someone, supporting his role-playing as a hero.
And Peroroncino, which was very strange. However, as Peroroncino himself later explained the reason for the completion of the quest - 'hey, you would do it too if you saw just how hot the milf looked!' - which was quite in the spirit of Peroroncino's character.
Ainz thought about it for some time, before taking out the second lunch, an exact copy of the first, and gave it to Arthuria. If he wants to be nostalgic about his friends, a low-level item is not exactly the thing to wax poetic about. Besides it's not like he lacks mementos to remember his friends by. In the end, she had died following his orders, so it was only fair to share with her some food.
A second later, several sets of cutlery appeared from Ainz's inventory… he really should clean his inventory. A second later, he returned his attention back to his meal.
Mashed potatoes and some meat...
To be honest, it didn't look particularly appetizing. No, of course, for Ainz who rarely saw real food in his life, this kind of simple food was still very luxurious when compared to synthetic nutrient blocks that were his usual meals. But even so, Ainz could say with certainty, that it was the most ordinary lunch that a normal villager would eat. At least when compared to the meals literally consisting of a cooked Dragon, this lunch would hardly have been sold for more than a couple of coins.
A second later, Ainz started eating.
The food's taste didn't stand out much either. Even Ainz, usually ready to extol the virtue of the most ordinary things for their quality, could not say anything special about the food.
But... How strange...
Ainz swallowed another helping of the mashed potato.
Strange, very strange...
There was nothing special about the food in front of him, but... For some reason, Ainz suddenly remembered something.
Hmm...
So many years have passed, but for some reason he was remembering it right now...
Ainz blinked some tears away.
He was now thirty-six years old, hmm... It happened... When he was thirteen...
Twenty three years, ha...
Twenty-three years ago...
For some reason, completely unexpectedly, Ainz suddenly remembered a memory from so long ago.
He was sitting in the kitchen, completely tired after another long day from work. He was still quite a young boy then, but there was little choice and he had to work. His family has always been… Poor. His family didn't even have enough food to send him to high school, and was so poor that he had to go to work to keep the family from going without food.
However, what kind of work could be entrusted to him, a thirteen year old boy? Certainly nothing that pays much.
So he worked as, hmm… What was he called back then...
Ah, right. 'Chief Assistant to the third executive of the first sales department' - yes, Ainz remembered.
Contrary to the overly extravagant name, he worked as a courier. Well more of a glorified errand boy really. Back then, he was not trusted to carry any documents or goods at all, so he usually just handed out reams of paper or bought coffee for his boss...
Even so, his work did not last long - only about ten hours or so. So sometimes he even managed to get home before six in the evening. Still, due to the long hours, he came home tired...
And always, his mother would be in the kitchen, cooking.
She worked some insignificant job from another sales department, with an even longer work hours than him. So much so that she also got very tired even during the day. But whenever Ainz came home he knew that his mother would greet him with a tired smile, with a whole plate of his favorite sandwiches.
They too, objectively speaking, have never been particularly delicious. Synthetic meat, industrially grown vegetables, and stale bread...
But for some reason, Ainz always remembered it as the most delicious thing in the world.
After his mother passed away from overwork, Ainz would try to make the sandwich his mother always made, but he never succeeded. Maybe he purchased the wrong bread, or maybe he didn't cut the meat correctly. Whatever the reason may be, but for some reason he never managed to get the sandwich to taste the same.
It was strange, but for some reason, the most pleasant memories from his childhood were not the days when he was able to go to school. It was not the one time when his family was able to celebrate his birthday. His happiest memory was that cold November day. He was completely wet, his coat was torn, the boss yelled at him for one reason or another at work. Needless to say when he returned to his house he was thoroughly miserable...
Back in those days Mother was not at home often. He remembered that that day she was called back to work for some reason. No lights were on at home and it was cold and no hot water because the pipes froze and the heating had to be repaired...
And on the table in the apartment's small kitchen, so small that when Ainz got older it took a long time to adapt to it again, there is a plate with cooked sandwiches and a note from his mother.
Of course the sandwich was almost ice cold...
But for some reason, that very moment in time was probably his happiest childhood memory...
Ainz blinked and then looked at the dish in front of him.
"Hm, it's finished", - Ainz was quietly surprised.
It's funny... For some reason... For some reason, the taste of the quite bland dish reminded him of that cold November day so long ago.
"The food tastes... Bland", - Arthuria spoke after a second, putting aside the cutlery.
Ainz exhaled, - "Yes."
It was useless to argue with the very factual observation, the food really didn't have any special taste to it…
"I liked it," Arthuria nodded.
Ainz blinked and looked at the nodding Arthuria, "You said that the food is bland though?"
"In a good sense of the word," Arthuria replied.
Ainz continued to silently look at the girl for several seconds... Then he smiled, - "Yes, in the best sense of the word…"
Arthuria silently nodded in response, after which they both looked away, each thinking about something different...
"The taste reminds me of…" - Arthuria said slowly, after which she quieted down - "No, it was nothing."
Ainz glanced at her, he wanted to ask. But... if, with Jalter, his attempts to make her speak were more likely only succeeded because of the situation. Right now… right now simply wanted to bask in the memories for some time more. If Arthuria wanted to share then… that's great.
Besides, he probably could even imagine what Arthuria wanted to tell him.
"Yes, I find the taste to be nostalgic as well," Ainz nodded.
His mother died twenty-three years ago.
He was not in pain thinking about it. He was an adult after all, and he has lived with it for twenty-three years. He had accepted what had happened, it's just…
Since then, for some reason, he never again managed to find those sandwiches from his childhood. And he never managed to cook them myself.
It was probably the bread, or something. He always bought the wrong one…
Ainz grinned sadly and looked up, "It's a pity, but I don't have more of this."
Arthuria silently looked up as well. It seemed they were both in sync about this. - "That's a pity... And for the better, perhaps."
"Yes, perhaps", - Ainz smiled.
Silently, the two continued to sit, consumed by their own thoughts, pasts, and memories...
"Archer does not know how to cook it", - Arthuria suddenly started, - "And my royal cooks too. Only Lancelot knew how... It was strange, because he doesn't know how to cook at all…"
"That's indeed strange," Ainz nodded as well.
"That was a long time ago, wasn't it?" Ainz asked the question without trying to provoke Arthuria to talk.
"Yes, it was a long time ago", - Arthuria nodded, - "We were... On a campaign. We were fighting… the picts, probably? Lancelot and I went ahead of the army to scout out the enemy, or was it the terrain? Anyway, during the trip, unexpectedly rain fell and the rest of the knights had to make camp and we were far away. We... we hid in some cave, for the rain to end… And Lancelot offered to cook something. The cooks stayed with the army, you see, and we were already hungry… Lancelot didn't know to cook mind you. He really didn't know how, but he was cooking then, perhaps for the first time in his life. As expected, it turned out quite badly…"
Arthuria then fell silent.
Ainz looked knowingly at Arthuria, "But they were pleasant memories aren't they?"
Arthuria slowly turned her gaze and a spark of something else flashed in her eyes, full of aloofness, of coldness, - "Yes. Nice memories."
After that, the two were plunged into their memories again.
Name: Arthuria Pendragon (Artoria Pendragon Alter)
Racial level: Dragonoid (2)
Class level: Swordsman (15)
Cursed Knight (10)
Witch (5)
Commander (5)
Tyrant (10)
Others (20)
Total: 2 Racial Levels + 65 Class Levels = 67 General Levels
HP: 80
Mana: 95
Physical Attack: 80
Physical Defense: 0
Agility: 20
Magic Attack: 0
Magic Defense: 60
Resistance: 40
Special ability: 95
Ability: Excalibur Morgan
Level: 95
An extremely powerful ability with low cooldown that deals massive AoE damage focused with dark and negative energy. It is extremely effective against a large number of strong angels or other players of positive karma. It is however absolutely useless against undead and similar dark creatures.
Skill: Mana Burst
Level: 80
A skill that allows the user to spend mana for a short-term self-buff, increasing their agility, physical strength, and damage done. The added damage is infused with dark magic and negative energy. Burns through mana.
Skill: Instinct
Level: 60
A passive skill that, with some probability, allows the user to acquire information about the enemy, the attacks he would use, and any special abilities and equipment he possesses. Also allows determination of the approximate level of the target.
Player comments:
-Everyone, I do proclaim! Physical defense is not needed! Come join me, I have created a clan, "Suicide Squad" - solely in honor of the classic film. Absolutely no defense! We only accept builds without physical defense! Everyone! Join us! We will all die together!
-...What do you want me to tell you? That this build does tens of thousands of damage? Well, yes, it does. And then it gets an attack from the boss or even a mook and dies. We've seen a lot of you like this lately... Seriously, is making builds without Phys Def becoming a trend?!
-I think the other commentators are too cruel. Seriously, yes, it is a build without physical defense... But just see how much damage it does! Low agility is justifiable if there is also an ability that also increases speed. Such a large amount of MP is also essential for this enhancement! Yes, not the best build, but damn it! Compared to the builds that sometimes come across here… Well, at least it's playable!
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