“This makes it even more suspicious. I don’t know what these numbers mean... It could be
dividing the city into 8 parts along the compass axis and the intersection of 2 and 8, or some
sort of address... Did Ninya really have enough strength left to think so complicated? ... Even if
Ninya wrote it, how much information was leaked by the enemy? This is too much of a
coincidence.”
Lizzie frowned her already wrinkled face, and looked as if she was angry with Ainz’s surprisingly
calm demeanor. She then shifted her gaze to the four corpses on the ground:
“Who were these people?”
“... They were adventurers commissioned along with me by your grandson. After we parted,
they probably came here to unload the herbs.”
“What! They were your comrades!?”
Ainz shook his head:
“No, they were not. We just happened to be adventuring together.”
These cold words made Lizzie disillusioned.
“Speaking of which, I had been thinking about this, but I would like to ask your opinion. What do
you think about them turning into zombies?”
“... 「Create Undead」. The enemy has someone who could use magic of at least the 3rd tier.
What other possibilities were there?”
“I think we should deal with this promptly.”
“Isn’t that obvious... What do you want to say?”
“... The enemy could have used either mind control or hidden the bodies, but they didn’t. They
only did something like this for their own amusement. They either didn’t care about being
exposed or had absolute confidence in escaping. Hmm... I don’t know which is it. Since they
could turn corpses into zombies, they should be able to bring them back with them right?”
If the goal was to kidnap Enfrea, they could buy enough time to escape just by hiding the
bodies. But they didn’t do that, meaning they were planning something else, or wanted Lizzie to
do something.
The latter would be easier to deal with, but it would be troublesome if it was the former. Enfrea’s
life and ability was valuable, but might not be useful for long. Would those merciless criminal let
Enfrea go safely after utilizing him?
Lizzie who understood what Ainz meant turned from green to white. She didn’t know where in
this big city he was kidnapped to, but it would take too long to search.
The only clue was the sewers, but Ainz had doubts about it.
Enfrea’s lifeline was diminishing with each passing second.
Ainz said calmly to the tense Lizzie:
“How about commissioning a rescue party?”
The calm voice continued:
“Isn’t this something you should request of an adventurer?”
Lizzie’s eyes shined, she seemed to understand what Ainz was getting at.
“You are lucky, Lizzie Bareal. Before you is the strongest adventurer in the city, and the only
one who could bring your grandson back safely. If you commission this job to me, I will accept it.
But... The price is very heavy, because I understand how hard this job is.”
“Indeed... If it is you... The one with that potion... tamer of the Virtuous King of the Forest, there
is no question that you’re strong... hire, I want to hire you!”
“Is that so... Are you prepared to pay this heavy price?”
“How much would satisfy you?”
“───Everything.”
“What?”
“Give me everything you have.”
Lizzie stared with her eyes wide open in surprised and trembled.
“Your everything. If Enfrea returns safely, give all that you have to me.”
“You...”
Lizzie back away from fear and said in a soft voice:
“When you say everything... it doesn’t mean money or rare potions... I heard the devil would
grant any wish in exchange for human soul. Are you a devil?”
“... Even if I am, it doesn’t matter, does it? Do you want to save your grandson?”
Lizzie was silent, and nodded as she bit her lips.
“Then there is only one answer right?”
“Yes... I will hire you. I will offer everything to you, so save my grandson!”
“Good, the contract is agreed. Let’s make haste, do you have a map of this city? Lend it to me if
you have one.”
Lizzie felt it was bizarre, but she immediately took out a map and handed it to Ainz.
“Next would be finding where Enfrea is.”
“You can do that!?”
“I have to use this method. I am not sure if the enemy is dumb or...”
Ainz didn’t finish and just shifted his gaze on the 4 bodies in the room.
“I will start searching now, go to the other rooms and look for clues, see if the people who
kidnapped Enfrea left anything behind. If kidnapping Enfrea is also a diversion, then things will
be bad. You are more familiar with the house and better suited for this.”
After chasing Lizzie out with a random reason, Ainz turned to Narberal.
“What does my liege plan to do?”
“Simple. Look, all their medals are gone, probably taken by the one who attacked them. The
question is why they didn’t take something more valuable, but just the medals... What do you
think?”
“My apologies, I have no idea.”
“That is because──”
Ainz heard a sound in his mind when he was talking halfway. It was a 「Message」.
『Ainz-sama.』