Narberal bowed her head and left the room, the leather sack in tow. Ainz watched her back as she left and, despite not having lungs, sighed heavily.
“… The expenses only pop up when I don’t have any money. Damn it all.”
Chapter 3. Those who pick up, those who are picked up.
Translator: Sene9ty
Editors/Proofreaders: JcqC, Ferro, TaintedDream, Namorax, Skythewood, SifaV6, Storm Loki
Part 1
Mid Fire Month (8th Month), Day 26, 15:27
After escorting the old woman to her house, Sebas headed towards his original destination.
The place he arrived at was surrounded by wide walls.
Beyond it, he could see three towers, each five stories tall. None of the buildings in the immediate area reached as high as the towers, making them seem incredibly tall.
The towers were surrounded by several narrow, two-story buildings.
This was the headquarters of the Kingdom’s Magician’s Guild. They needed that wide berth of land in order to create new magic and nurture magic casters. The reason they possessed so much land despite receiving almost zero funding from the Kingdom was because they were the ones in charge of creating magic items.
Eventually, he spotted a sturdy looking door. The decorated wooden door leading to the two story building was left wide open, flanked on either side by numerous armed guards standing watch.
Without being stopped by the guards — receiving only a cursory glance — Sebas stepped through the doorway.
Beyond it was a set of wide, level stairs that led to another door connecting to a splendid, aged building made of white marble. That door as well was left open as if to welcome all guests.
Passing through that door led to a small entrance hall, and beyond it was the lobby. The tall ceiling of the hall was adorned with countless chandeliers that were lit with magic.
To the right was the lobby’s lounge, complete with numerous sofas where several magic casters seemed to be in the middle of a discussion. To the left stood a notice board, numerous adventurers and people wearing the robes of magic casters could be seen staring earnestly at the parchments nailed on the board.
Further inside, several young men and women sat behind a counter. All of them had the same emblem as the one hanging in front of the building embroidered onto their robes.
On either side of the counter stood a skinny, life sized puppet without eyes or a nose— a wood golem, reminiscent of a sketch. It was most likely used as security. Save for the guards outside, the reason that the guards inside the building were not human was probably so that the Magic Guild could appear unique.
Without missing a beat, Sebas steadily approached the counter.
The young man at the counter acknowledged Sebas and greeted him with his eyes. Sebas slightly nodded in response. The two were already familiar with each other because of his frequent visits.
The young man smiled and gave his usual greeting to the man in front of him.
“Thank you for visiting our Magician Guild, Sebas-sama. May I ask for the purpose of your visit?”
“I would like to purchase a magic scroll. May I see the list, per usual?”
“Yes, of course.”
The young man quickly placed a large book on the counter. He most likely already had it prepared when he saw Sebas walk in.
Made with rich, thin, white paper and a leather cover, it was a splendid book. Considering that the words were embroidered in gold thread, it alone would make it quite expensive.
Sebas pulled the book towards him and opened it.
Unfortunately, he could not read its contents. No, it would be more accurate to say that those from YGGDRASIL could not read them. Although he could understand their speech because of the strange rules of this world, written words were a different story.
However, his master had given him a magic item for this exact problem.
Sebas drew out a spectacle case and opened it.
Inside was a pair of glasses with a thin, silver-like frame. Looking closely, they were engraved with narrow letters— patterns. The lens were crafted from blue ice crystals.
As he put them on, the magic within them allowed him to read the words.
He quickly flipped through the pages with meticulous precision and suddenly stopped his hand. His eyes moved from the book and rested on a young woman who was sitting behind the counter, next to the young man. He spoke to her in a gentle voice.
“Is there a problem?”
“N-nothing at all…”
The girl blushed and lowered her face.
“I just thought… that your posture was quite striking.”
“Thank you very much.”
Sebas showed a gentle smile, causing the girl to blush even deeper.
The gray-haired gentleman Sebas was someone who you would be attracted to simply by looking at him. On top of his graceful countenance, he radiated an elegance that turned the heads of nine out of ten women, regardless of age. It could not be helped that the young woman at the counter would mindlessly stare at Sebas; it was quite common, after all.
Sebas nodded and returned his gaze to the book, his hand stopping on a certain page as he asked the young man a question.
“This magic— ‘Floating Board’, could you tell me about it in detail?”
“Of course.”
The young man began his explanation without hesitation.
“‘Floating Board’ is a tier 1 magic that creates a floating, translucent board. The size and weight limit of the board varies depending on the caster, but when invoked from a scroll, it measures one meter on all sides and can hold up to 50 kilograms. The caster can be at most five meters away from the board. Please note that it can only follow, the board will not recognize any other movement commands like leading the front and so on. If the caster quickly turns 180 degrees in place, the board will slowly re-position itself behind the caster. This spell is usually used to transport goods and in construction sites.”
Sebas nodded his head.
“I see. Then I would like one scroll with this magic.”
“Understood.”
The young man was not surprised by the fact that he chose a rather unpopular magic. Most of the scrolls that Sebas would buy were the unpopular kind, such as this one. The Magician Guild could only be grateful to him for helping them get rid of their surplus stock.