Overlord (WN) Volume 2 Chapter 7 part1

Hi Guys, please thank Henet for tanking 70% of the previous 2 chapters. He is the only reason why I can pump these out so fast 😀
Frostfire10
Maruyama: These peaceful days will continue for a few chapters
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The Days Part 1
Translators: Frostfire10, Henet
The large mansion that Jircniv introduced to him stood in the middle of the courtyard, with various other buildings located to the sides of it and a small yet beautiful garden placed nearby. In the rear grew various trees and a clean and refreshing wind blew past.
This was undoubtedly one of the best plots of land in the Empire.
There were other mansions nearby, but compared to this, they were only fighting for second place.
The mansion was very well constructed and seemed to be owned by a great noble of past.
Brought along by Jircniv, Ainz was guided into the main building. The floors were polished without a single speck of dust, and the smudged glass windows were also clean up.
The countless rooms each contained well-crafted furniture, and Ainz could live here immediately if he so wished. Although considering the number of rooms, it could not be helped that some would be left bereft of purpose.
Many of the furniture pieces were calming colours such as black or brown. Rather than being gaudy and extravagant, there seemed to be an emphasis on tranquillity.
There may have been people that felt that since it was so dark, the curtains and fabrics should be of bright and light colours, but Ainz was extremely satisfied with this.
The inherent peace of the furniture tickled Ainz's heart.
Ainz did not like extravagant objects. He was not minimalist, but he was a man who liked a Japanese sense of calm.
If it were the game world, he would not have minded extravagant items as he would not use them for long. However, if he had to live there, being surrounded by gold and silver would stress him out.
Ainz was not a crow that likes shiny objects.
He could especially not understand the aesthetic sense of weaving gems into clothes. In fact, he wondered why he even bothered collecting such clothes.
He could not recall what he thought at the time, but he had no intention of joining Rio's Carnival and so he chased away those thoughts.
And to the friend next to him, he spoke his true feelings.
"It is a wonderful mansion."
Hearing Ainz's words and reading the emotion hidden between them, Jircniv showed a smile of relief.
"I am happy that I could be of use, Ainz."
"No no, don't say that Jircniv."
"Is that so? Thinking about Nazarick where you live, I feel that this is too pitiful in comparison, but I hope that you understand that this is my limit."
"….Jircniv. Your target comparison is wrong. Comparing anything to the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick would naturally cause it to pale in comparison. Taking that as an exception, this is a wonderful mansion."
"Ah, yes. Comparing it to your home was indeed foolish."
There was no way that the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick which he made with his friends could fall flat in comparison with this. This was what Ainz's meant, but all those who laid eyes on the 9th Floor which could be called the realm of gods would agree with him.
And because this difference was clear as day, Ainz answered honestly. He had forgotten all of the ways in which he should have nicely told this to Jircniv.
And despite being told such words, Jircniv was not angry at all.
As the Emperor, as the Crown Prince and a man who had lived a special life, Jircniv was surrounded by the special.
The best furniture, the best art, the best clothes, and the best women.
And because his sense of aesthetics was trained well, he understood Nazarick's beauty far more than Ainz.
And that was why he believed that Ainz's words were natural.
When the two of them agreed on the splendour of Nazarick, Ainz grumbled.
"However, it is a bit big."
"Big?"
Ainz nodded in agreement.
Comparing to the number of people he planned to bring to the capital, there were too many rooms. To the point that most would be left empty.
And even if he brought more to fill the rooms, that in turn would create for problems.
The reason for this was that Ainz did not fully understand the Empire and its level of public safety. Bringing low-level characters who could not protect themselves into a dangerous location would be his failure as a master.
And while he considered leaving them empty, he did feel that it was a waste.
He then asked Jircniv.
"….I want to ask something, to what level of personnel can I bring?"
"….That is…. Ah that."
Jircniv finally understood.
When Ainz asked "to what level", he meant how far could he go in bringing anthropomorphic people here.
"Because the Death Knights were in the parade, would they be fine?"
Jircniv made a wry smile.
"Honestly, I would like you to refrain from doing so. This area is where the nobles reside. I understand that you will not do anything strange, but I would not like to see heavily armed guards starting fights with you."
"….I thought that the Death Knights would be perfect as door guards though?"
"Well having them stand there would indeed be enough of a deterrent."
If it were that absolute power, Jircniv whispered.
"Exactly. And as undead, there will be no problem for them to work around the clock. Isn't it wonderful?"
"….While soldiers that need no rest are indeed enticing…. I prefer humans. I do not want to worry about what would happen. And undead are not perceived well after all."
Undead were normally evil existences that hated the living and were detested by priests. Having them walking around boldly in the capital would be very bad.
Ainz agreed as well, but considering that he could hide their appearances with masks during the parade, he honestly saw no problem.
However, if the master of the city disliked it, as a guest, he should refrain from doing so.
"Is that so? That is…. Well, it cannot be helped. It is unfortunate, but I shall bring those who resemble humans. Then for my guards…."
Ainz thought of the possibilities.
It was possible to not post guards, but there was a chance that he would be looked down upon. In the end, posting guards was to show off the owner's wealth. Then he would like to post those powerful ones…. But he did not want to post the NPCs. The difference in importance between here and Nazarick was completely different.
However, excluding the NPCs, he had few subordinates that looked human. He recalled that the Demon Generals who were Demiurge's subordinates looked human, but they did not look suitable as guards. Shalltear's vampires as well.
And he recalled something. What about demi-humans?
"How about lizardmen?"
"….Please refrain if possible. Lizardmen are rare. They can be seen in the Council State which is to the north of the Kingdom but…."
"I see…."
His idea was immediately rejected, and Ainz felt downhearted.
"….Hmm…. Looking at this now, I have few human-like subordinates."
"There are few…. In that palace of yours."
Ainz ignored the tired mumblings of Jircniv, and instead wracked his brains for an idea. From what Ainz understood about rulership, he should push the troubling things onto other people.
Ainz conveniently recalled a certain man.
"….Then I shall request General Ray for help to guard my mansion, and borrow manpower from him."
"That is an excellent idea, Ainz. Your earlier ideas were excellent as well, but we cannot post monsters in the capital. Of course, I do not mind if you request that of me instead."
"No, you have already prepared a mansion for me and I do not want to trouble you further."
"….Thank you for thinking of me. Well, if you change your mind just tell me. As long as you wish for it, I shall make it my topmost priority."
"That would be great, Jircniv. Now, the outside problems are solved, but what to do about the inside. Will it be fine to leave the management of the mansion to non-humans? It should be fine as long as they do not leave."
There were countless things to do within the mansion such as cleaning.
Ainz personally did not mind it, but he had to consider the event when he invited people over.
Ainz did not want to meet other nobles due to the possibility of him messing up, but he understood that some meetings had to occur.
In such an event, a filthy room would be the shame of Ainz Ooal Gown.
And then thinking about the management of the mansion, he felt extremely uneasy.
He considered bringing the maids from Nazarick, but due to the earlier reason, that he did not know about the situation in the Empire, he did not want to bring the regular maids.
And the number of maids within the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick was very low.
There were 41 regular maids, six battle maids, and one Head Maid. If bringing some here would cause them to become unable to take care of Nazarick, it would be very foolish to do so.
In Nazarick, the 9th and 10th floors were cleaned by the regular maids and golems. And there were occasions where slime-type monsters would be used.
Would it be possible to bring the golems and slimes then?
Or should I focus on using only humans to manage the mansion?
Ainz fell into deep thought— And sensing that, Jircniv began to speak.
"Then allow me to find and hire maids for you."
"You?"
"It will be easy to gather simple maids, but we need to gather higher qualities maids for the mansion of an Archduke. Normally, you would use the connections with friendly nobles that you have…. But unfortunately, Ainz, you don't have that do you? Fluder should not have them either. And thus allow me to gather them for you."
"I see…. Then I'll be relying on you."
If it were Nazarick, he would refuse to have unrelated people come in, but if it were this mansion which he cared nothing about, Ainz was fine with it.
"Then, where should the maids live? They are quite accomplished right?"
"Indeed. Normally, they would use one of the rooms on the first floor in the wings, but this mansion was made for comfort and for ease of living. The other mansions are not as good, so you should just have them stay there. And I might talk to some of the nobles but…."
Jircniv smiled. It was a smile that Ainz had never seen on his face before.
"I would like to collect beautiful things."
"Hou. Like the maids of Nazarick?"
"….Apologies. That comparison was bad. Allow me to correct myself, please collect nice looking things."
"Nice looking…. It is true that a certain level of appraisal is necessary."
It was a common occurrence that when a gorgeous unmarried woman was around, men would act completely differently. Ainz was not thinking and so he did not grasp it instantly."
"….Do you not have any interest in women?"
"? Why did it suddenly become a conversation about women?"
"Well…. Because you don't seem interested….?"
"It is about the maids after all…."
Ainz did not understand the meaning of Jircniv's words and tilted his head.
It was a strange act from the man known as Jircniv.
And suddenly, a light bulb sparked to life in his mind. This was as the discussion about eroge that he had with one of his old friends, Peroroncino appeared into his mind.
"….Ah, that. Yes, I do not have much interest in women."
This body was a waste.
Ainz half-jokingly said that in his head. Well, if he actually felt lust, it would not be a joke, but in his current situation, he had almost no lust for the opposite gender.
His permanent sage mode was level 100.
"I see…. Hmm, I see. What about men?"
"….Please spare me."
"Indeed. Well my apologies, I got curious. Now…. I shall prioritise those who can do their job well."
"Yes. That would be best. For the mansion's decorations, I will bring things from Nazarick."
Somehow, there was a hidden meaning in Jircniv's words, but Ainz failed to see through it. Jircniv then spoke to the troubled Ainz to change the subject.
"Then let me guide you to the other buildings. And next would be the gardens."
◆
A myriad of luggage was brought over from Nazarick and placed within the mansion.
They would use basic everyday items prepared by Jircniv but to improve the living conditions of the mansion, some of the decorations of the rooms were changed to better ones.
Other than this, they were erecting magic defences and other forms of countermeasures against possible intruders. The work kept the servants of Nazarick busy.
In the midst of the hustle and bustle, Ainz was inspecting the work on foot. By his side was Sebas, giving an overall explanation on all the work that was conducted.
To most of the explanation, Ainz gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. He did not develop much of an interest nor raise questions about the room designs and their utility. He only listened as Sebas explained.
Then something peaked Ainz's attention.
"That is the current arrangement for the rooms. As for the secondary building to the right, we plan to give it to servants which are not from Nazarick."
Ainz's expression changed slightly as he stared at Sebas.
Seeing that, Sebas's face tensed up slightly as well.
"I see. Prepare the living conditions well. Let everyone know that the Archduke is someone who is gentle to those who served him. At the same time, we must use this opportunity to show off my wealth."
"I obey your command. As a superior being, showing a standard that befits their status is a must."
And I have no idea how to do so.
Ainz did not voice out his true feelings, instead, suppressing it.
Sleeping within Nazarick was a mountain of gold. But Ainz did not intend to waste it. The treasures that he collected with his friends must be only used to strengthen the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
"Remember to cut down on unnecessary expenditure. As I am still a noble without his territory, I still have not seen a trace of any taxes."
Currently, more than half the money that Ainz had at the moment was given to him by Jircniv. The amount he had would increase if he asked, but he would like to avoid owing any more favours.
"Understood, I shall purchase the necessary luxurious goods with the allocated budget. As the number of people is not yet confirmed, insufficiency could be an issue. If such a problem arises, could I purchase directly from the Imperial Capital?"
"……We still have leftover lumber from the construction of the emergency shelter by Aura. Use those for manufacturing. The templates should be available within the library."
"We shall leave it to the blacksmith."
"Very good. Other than this, we have raw materials within the treasury. Seek the aid of Pandora's Actor to transport the materials from there."
"Understood."
"Other than this, how many maids did you bring over?"
"Yes, Narberal, Lupusregina and Solution had arrived together. Yuri, Shizu and Entoma will arrive at a later time."
"You plan to bring over all the maids under your command I see. Would it create problems for Nazarick?"
"There will be no problems, Ainz-sama. The 9th and 10th Floors are now under Pestonya's management. During my time in the Kingdom, I have allocated part of my duties to her. She has gained some experience since then."
"I see…..if there are no issues, I will let it be. With the number of maids, we will be bringing over, the mansion would be too big. Don't overwork them. Just use the personnel at hand until Jircniv's people arrive."
"On this matter, I have a suggestion."
"What is it?"
"The ladies that I picked up from the Kingdom's capital. Until today, they were assigned to work as maids. I hope to assign them here."
A sudden thought came into Ainz's head. Was it lonely sleeping by yourself? Since it would make the discussion awkward, he swallowed them instead.
"….Are they up to the task? I am afraid the maids that Jircniv will be bringing over will be excellent. If their work is not up to par with them, they could view Nazarick as a place with subpar maids."
"I do not think there will be any problems. The girls have undergone strict training. Even Pestonya acknowledges their abilities."
"Hou…."
"I feel that it would be better to bring the human maids over here."
Ainz considered the matter silently. What Sebas mentioned made sense.
In an organisation that comprised mainly of non-humans, its members could make mistakes due to their poor understanding of human nature.
"It is indeed a problem to not have a sufficient number of maids. Fine, bring them over."
"My deepest gratitude."
"Next would be the security arrangements—"
It was the issue that Ainz was the most concerned about.
Although he had made arrangements to borrow sentries from General Ray, he did not place much faith in them. Most likely, they would be weaker than expected. Hence, there was a need to prepare a separate security team from Nazarick.
Currently, there were no people that displayed open hostilities against Ainz after he established himself within the Empire. However, it did not mean that there will not be any in the future. There were no traces of Players within the territories of the Kingdom and Empire but it could be due to the fact they were simply overlooked.
Other than this, there was the matter with the Theocracy. After analysing all the intelligence, he received from Fluder, Ainz received the worst answer possible.
"—The scent of Players is strong there…."
"Players is it?"
"…No, nothing. Forget about it. Rather, I would like to listen to matters related to security. How are the preparations going?"
"Yes, I plan to deploy Earthworms to guard the gardens. They can monitor everything from underground."
Earthworms, as implied by their name, were enlarged and poisonous versions of earthworms. While this description alone did not make them sound fearful, but in reality, they were carnivorous creatures that could emerge from the ground and swallow a person whole. They could also fire out poisonous acids and could use several druid spells. Their level was above 60, stronger than the battle maids.
"The rooftops will be under surveillance by Gargoyles and the rooms will be protected by Knights Golems and Shadow Demons."
"Speaking of which, I believe those Earthworms should not attack the sentries under General Ray's command?"
Until today, without any direct orders from Nazarick, there were no reports of any allies attacking one another. Like with the Lizardmen and the Hydra. However, there were some doubts about whether such a problem could crop up later, especially amongst the unintelligent monsters.
"It should not be a problem. But as a precaution, we have placed the worms within the poisonous hole and they should be under our complete control."
"……I see. Then it would not be an issue…..after being there."
"With priority given to Ainz-sama's room, we are also preparing some defensive measures for the other rooms as well, such as escape routes."
"The preparation of escape routes is very important. Other than teleportation spells, do you have any other plans?"
"Of course, we currently digging an escape tunnel."
"Very good. Your report is sufficient. For the task at hand, I will leave it under your command."
"By your command."
"Until all the preparation work is completed, I shall be waiting in my room in Nazarick. Report to me immediately if anything happens."
"Understood"
Ainz took a brief glance at Sebas before he teleported back to Nazarick. He needed to have a discussion with Fluder in order to prepare some countermeasures against the Slane Theocracy.