Ainz left the Elven treasury along with Aura.

The conclusion was that they dont know yet if it met their expectations or not. Ainz wasnt sure about the value of a lot of things there, like the strange fruit which was larger than a palm fruitactually larger even than Aura.

The fact that most of the items were made of materials easily collected from nature instead of precious metal was even more disappointing, but he still held a slight hope that they had some rare or unknown abilities.

So, Ainz wasnt exactly in a bad mood. In fact, he was feeling pretty good.

The goods were not here anymore.

Ainz sent them to the log house near the overground level of Nazarick using [Gate].

He probably surprised the Pleiades on standby in the log house, but he didnt have enough time to explain the situation to them while Mare was still left alone. He only managed to loudly command them to carefully store the items sent inside the log house considering that some of them could be dangerous.

After everything was done, Ainz resolved himself and turned to Aura with a serious expression; which was the same as his usual bony mien.

Well then, I am relying on you! Aura!

Okay!!

Aura gave an energetic reply, turned her back to Ainz, and squatted.

Frankly speaking, the speed at which he could run was completely different from Aura's. He would probably be easily left behind. Of course, she would slow down a bit as she would have to carefully follow the trail of the Elf Kings blood. Still, Ainz wouldnt be able to keep up despite that. He also had equipment that would greatly raise his speed alone, but a change of equipment didnt just mean changing the required part and being done with it.

The gear Ainz usually equipped were strictly coordinated for things like the overall resistance distribution, equipment weight, and the increase and decrease in parameters. He would need some time to go over the coordination again if he were to break the balance. He wouldnt need to spend time if he used consumable items like scrolls to increase his speed instead, but his miserly nature stopped him.

He wasnt sure if he could keep up with Aura even after going through all that trouble either.

So they chose the most suitable option herehe was to be carried by Aura.

Of course, an adult man getting carried by a little girl was extremely, extremely embarrassing. Even Ainz felt a bit ashamed of that. His embarrassment gradually accumulated, probably because the suppression wouldnt kick in with such lukewarm emotions.

But Mares life depended on this choice.

Mare would win against the Elf King without a doubt. From Ainzs estimation of the Elf Kings strength, he had no chance at victory; he was also exhausted and heavily wounded on top of that. However, there were no such things as absolute certainty.

Ainz hesitated to ask about the situation through a [Message] even though he wanted to, fearing that he could end up diverting Mares attention in the middle of a fight. So, it was best to meet up with him even if by only a second sooner.

ThenAinz should throw away his embarrassment if need be. It was not a choice he made as Suzuki Satoru, but as Ainz Ooal Gown.

Naturally, there arose one more doubt after that.

How exactly should he be carried?

If he was going to be carried by Aura, then there was the choice of getting carried in her arms like a princess. Maybe some would even prefer a ride on her shoulders. Ainz chose to be carried on her back. No, to be precise, it was Aura who decided that.

At first, Ainz proposed to be carried over her shoulder like a piece of luggage. He would have been less embarrassed that way and it was also more suitable in the sense that he could ironically joke that he was unnecessary baggage.

But, upon proposing that, Aura told him, I cant handle Ainz-sama like luggage. After he realized that it would take some work to persuade her, Ainz gave in.

He didnt dare propose getting carried like a princess. His mental stability wouldnt have held.

So, he ended up getting carried on her back.

Having already resigned himself to it, Ainz climbed onto her small back, cheering with a dokkoisho in his heart. Following that, he took out a short sword from the item box and held it. He was not sure if he would need it, but it was better to be prepared.

An Elemental Skull created from Ainzs [Summon Undead Tenth] floated beside them.

Why didnt he create an undead to carry him in Auras place then? There was a simple reason why he didnt.

Its because he would need to leave someone behind as a diversion in a critical situation.

He intended to use an undead for it so he and Aura could escape. So, he decided not to summon one to ride it.

Of course, he could just get down from the undead when they met an enemy, but that moment could end up being fatal.

Ainz felt that he was being too cautious, but this was a battlefield where the chances of something unexpected happening were too high. It was necessary to make preparations to some extentlike to retreat immediately with an undead as a wallfor their own safety.

Elemental Skull was more of an attacker than a tank. He summoned it despite that because the tank wasnt always the most appropriate choice to use as a diversion. Incidentally

He wouldnt recommend an attacker acting as a tank in YGGDRASIL. Furthermore, only monsters like Touch Me-san were able to build into being both a tank and an attacker at the same time so he wouldnt recommend that either. Well, it was more like no one would be able to do that normally.

However, if one wanted to insist that they could, they were free to do so.

Aura sprinted.

Following the faint trail of blood, she descended down the stairs for a few floors. Then she stopped.

She looked away from the floor towards the direction they were heading for. Ainz followed with his eyes as well but couldnt sense anyone there.

He wanted to ask her what the issue was but decided to wait for her words, ready to command the Elemental Skull immediately if something unexpected happened. Ainz also thought about another possibility.

And he was right.

...Ainz-sama, I received a message from Mare

I see

Ainz replied with a serious tone. It sounded out of place considering he was sitting on Auras back, but he had to use a tone befitting of their master.

From your attitude, it doesnt seem like Mare asked for help. So, did he capture the Elf King without an issue?

About that...it seems like Elf King was already killed

What?

From Ainzs point of view, the Elf King without his primal earth elemental was weak, but not enough to be unable to escape from or be killed by the inhabitants of this world.

...So there is one more strong individual here other than the Elf King. What did Mare do after that?

Yes. He took down that strong individual, but it seems like they are still breathing. What are your orders? Mare said that its highly possible they are holding some important information, that they could have probably watched the battle between Ainz-sama and Shalltear...

What? You mean that battle? ...Could they have a world item? ...We will go there, secure them, and immediately return to Nazarick...theres no time. Aura, it will probably be hard on you but I will be depending on you for just a little bit more.

Aura specifically mentioned the enemy to be a strong person instead of people so they were probably alone. However, it was also possible that Mare chose those words because it was a group where only one of them was strong while the others were just riff-raff. Its better to retreat to a safe place as quickly as possible when one was unsure about the enemys numbers.

That will not be a problem. Butwe will be going fast. Ainz-sama, hold on tight.

Aura dashed the moment her words ended. She was far faster than before, not slowing down even at the corner, but instead kicking off the walls to change directionsit felt like a jet coaster, though he had never ridden one. Although this body couldnt be affected by fear, he felt a bit afraid. Perhaps his line of sight being this low to the ground increased his sense of fear.

He could move at about the same speed when he changed into a warrior, but running on his own two legs was completely different from experiencing these sudden curves, accelerating and decelerating at someone elses whims.

They saw Mare after what felt like a few seconds to Ainz.

Mare was carrying an unknown human over his shoulder, dexterously holding his own staff and something that looked like a strange sickle together in one hand.

He had a lot of questions like I heard he was killed but where is the Elf Kings body? or what happened to his magic items? but they couldnt have such a relaxed conversation in a hostile area.

They should retreat for now.

Ainz, carrying himself brazenly with a serious expressionlike he wanted the others to understand that this had been necessary and that it was completely normalclimbed down from Auras back. He thrust the short sword into the floor.

It was hard to memorize this featureless corridor in a short amount of time, but it should be a bit easier if its the place he stuck a recognizable sword in. He also memorized this short sword very clearly so he could use magic to connect to here directly.

Then, he activated [Gate].

Go ahead.

After a shy acknowledgment, Mare entered the gate while holding the human.

Ainz dispersed the Elemental Skull and followed after him along with Aura.

The other side of the gate was where he previously threw the contents of the Elven treasury. Ainz found Entoma, who probably came over to retrieve the items, bowing upon his arrival. She probably guessed that they were going to come through when she saw that a [Gate] had been activated again.

Death Knights, who were likely here to help Entoma, were standing around aimlessly.

Welcome back. Ainz-sama

Umu. Continue with the retrieval, Entoma. Is the ring with you?

Yes, it is

Then give it to Aura. And, Aura. This ones an important source of information. It will be bad if she dies. Quickly, but carefully, carry her to the frozen prison. On that note, I dont think we will have to remind Neuronist, but dont forget to take off her gear

A-ainz sama, may I have a word?

Whats the issue Mare? Is there something to worry about?

Y-yes. This human...? Was very strong. I cast [Sandmans Sand] on her, but if she woke up for some reason, I dont think Neuronist-san can win against her.

...I see. Then stay beside that woman until either Aura or I have arrived. Be on guard.

Aura wore the ring and activated it, teleporting while holding the woman somewhat gentler than Mare did. After seeing her depart, Ainz turned to Mare.

Well then, Mare...why do you think that human watched the battle between Shalltear and me?

This was his greatest doubt.

Y-yes. That human used both Ainz-samas [The Goal of All Life is Death] and Shalltear-sans [Einherjar]. Its impossible that it was completely unrelated to that battle!

What!! What did you say!!

Normally, having a single skill strong enough to be called a trump card was the limit. To hold two such skills was impossible in Ainzs opinion. In that case, Mares hypothesis was probably right. Maybe it was something like a copy skill.

You did good taking her down without killing her, right?

Y-yes. I too thought that she would end up dying from [Petit-Catastrophe] but, it looks like she had a lot of HP, so she didnt die luckily.

You used [Petit-catastrophe]!? ...to think that she didnt die from even that...that human is certainly strong. Youve been really fortunate...So what happened to the Elf King?

Hearing about the end of the Elf King from Mare, Ainz wrinkled his nonexistent brows. [Time Stop] didnt work on him, so it was highly likely that he was equipped with an item to nullify it. He wanted to retrieve the equipment, but he also wanted to gather intelligence from that woman at the same time.

Retrieving the equipment should be prioritized, as that human wouldnt be escaping from Nazarick anytime soon.

{Then, let's send Pandoras Actor. He can also search around for stuff that Ive missed. Or, should I send him to investigate that human...no, I am better than Pandoras Actor at that. In that case...}

Ainz turned towards Entoma.

Entoma. Just wait for a little bit longer. I will be calling Pandoras Actor.

After hearing Entomas answer, Ainz activated [Message].