The riders acknowledged wordlessly and rode into the air with a tug of the reigns. Their forms turned immaterial as the riders passed through the branches and flew into the sky.

“Okay, the nets have been set. All that is left is to appraise them.”

“Yes! Ah, don’t we need to test their durability?”

“We don’t need to spend that much time. I am not looking for a fight, just a chat with them.”

Ainz really meant it. He didn’t like battles. He was willing to resort to ruthless means as long as there was something to gain, but personally, he detested cruel behaviour. Ainz wouldn’t intentionally step on ants and a resolution through dialogue would be the best method.

Fenrir reached the opening in the forest. Although it was referred to as an opening, it was just a place with relatively fewer trees.

Just like how trees around a demonic tree would wither, trees wouldn’t grow in some places. There could be plenty of reasons for that, and the reason here was probably because a monster was in residence.

The trees felled by axes were scattered all over. It was a pitiful sight, as though someone had messed the place up in frustration after a hiccup in a major construction project.

“How amusing. Aura, they are probably mimicking your structure. The works of fools are so ugly. This is what happens when creatures living in caves want to build something.”

“That is so, Ainz-sama. This is their nest.”

There was a crack near the black, burnt ground.

“...Can’t they even decorate a little? Well, forget it, let’s leave knocking for next time.”

Ainz followed Aura as they moved into the cavern near the clearing. Glancing ahead, he could see that the slope at the entrance was slight and the space within was rather small. The ceiling was high, which allowed huge creatures to move freely.

… This reminds me of a dungeon exploration during my gaming days. When I found a cave in the mountains, I would get excited and wonder what was inside.

Back then, the one leading the way would be Tigris Euphrates, Ainz— or rather, Momonga would follow behind. Momonga would summon undead to support them. These undead would be sent ahead of the party to trigger traps, in what was called a “warrior’s disarm” or “summon disarm”.

How nostalgic…

Ainz who was reminiscing the past walked briskly, but his good mood only lasted several seconds. The stench coming from below made Ainz frown— even though he didn’t have brows. It wasn’t the pungent smell of gas, but that of decomposing animal fat.

Is this a trap to conceal the smell of gas with that of rot? Can the dumb beings living in caves make such an elaborate trap… This is probably a coincidence.

Ainz was an undead that did not need to breathe and had absolute resistance against such airborne attacks. Aura was protected by magic items that would block the effects of the stench if it was an attack. Hence, this place simply smelled bad.

“The Giant of the East does not seem to be a hygienic creature. It would be great if it is intelligent enough to converse with.”

“That is true. However, that will be difficult. Judging from the footprints, they are several barefooted creatures living in this cave. The prints are large, so they must be at least two meters tall.”

“I see… And that is one of them.”

They descended the slope in the next second, and Ainz saw the monsters that lay beyond.

“Ainz-sama, that is an ogre…”

Two of them were carrying something with a bloody scent into the cave . Ainz pointed at them with a wry smile. If this was a dungeon crawler, he would have killed the ogres in silence and proceeded to clear the floor quietly, but this time the objective was a bit different.

“...I didn’t come here to wipe them out, I need to chat with them in a friendly manner... Hey, you ogres there, sorry for interrupting your meal.”

The two ogres looked at Ainz in unison and roared. Echoes were loud in the caves, so Ainz wasn’t able to tell where the roar in response came from, but it probably came from the depths of the cave.

“What a loud doorbell, how tasteless... Aura, fall back.”

Watching the ogres become more agitated, Ainz sighed. He understood that they had no intention of conversing with him.

“Skeleton! Skeleton! Bad!”

The ogres came before Ainz with their murky words, swinging their clubs.

“Anyhow come—” The ogres raised their clubs high and swung down “in house—” as they attempted to send Ainz and Aura flying. However, their non-enchanted clubs would never be able harm them. “Say sorry—” The ogres struck again.

Ainz head was clobbered hard and his vision shook a little. It didn’t hurt, but it still made him mad. Anyway, Ainz would kill anyone invading Nazarick in a fit of rage. When he thought about it that way, it was only natural that they would attack him, so he took it without complaint.

An envoy of peace would lay down his arms and wait for the situation to unfold.

The ogres arriving afterward didn’t have clubs, and simply reached for Ainz and Aura with their bare hands. They probably wanted to grab him after seeing that clubs were useless. Ainz furrowed his brows for a moment, although that gesture couldn’t be seen since he was a skeleton. It was fine for them to grab him, but Ainz saw through the darkness that the hands of the ogre reaching for him were covered in blood.

“Filthy.”

Ainz immediately took a staff out of thin air and swung it. It wasn’t imbued with any special magic, only an enchantment that increased the blunt damage it dealt. The head of the ogre reaching for him exploded. The ogres were splashed by the splattered brains and blood, and stepped back after dropping their clubs.

“You, you no skeleton…”

“It is troubling to think of me as a skeleton. I am here to meet your boss, the Giant of the East. Can you get him to come here? Well, he will probably come anyway if I wait.”

Ainz waved to shoo them away, and the ogres sprinted into the depths of the cave.

“Ara ara, I showed them the difference between our abilities too soon.”

Ainz touched the place where he had been hit by the clubs as he made his way slowly down the slope. This seemed to be their dining area, with the remains of numerous corpses lying everywhere. Ainz and Aura continued walking while avoiding those places.

“I messed up, I accidentally used too much strength because it was annoying. I was planning to negotiate with them before the talks broke down and it turned into a massacre…”