Remedios led the militiamen to another battlefield. They repeatedly looked back at him as they left.

Ainz looked at the empty space where they had been and muttered to himself.

“Eh? ...That bitch, she actually dumped it all on me.”

This ridiculous state of events made Ainz reveal his true nature

Normally, wouldn’t we have a scene like “oh, let’s fight together~” or something? Or “thanks for coming, we’ll leave them all to you”? At the very least she could have been polite about it, we could have gone back and forth several times about “will you be alright here?” and so on… And not even a single word of gratitude after being saved? What the hell, man?

Frustration built in his heart. However, it did not reach the level of true anger, so it was not suppressed. It was like a tiny flame of indignation simmering inside him.

It was as though how someone had messed up and forced him to work overtime, and the person in question had said that they had something on and just up and left.

No--

I would’ve been more angry. Like say, if I was going home to play YGGDRASIL… and the guild had plans already, and being late would cause problems for everyone. It happened before, and while everyone forgave me back then...

Thus fuelled, the miniscule flames blazed up into an inferno, and then they were forcibly extinguished.

“Hm… While my anger’s been suppressed, I’m still unhappy. That’s the first time I’ve been treated so rudely.”

While she had shouted “shut up” at him before, the situation had been different back then. In the first place, they had agreed that Ainz could sit this battle out, but Ainz had still rushed over as reinforcements. Surely anyone who had an inkling of common sense would have taken a different tone when addressing him.

Everyone Ainz had met until now had been at least minimally polite.

That was why Ainz found it strange.

After cooling his head and searching through his memories, Suzuki Satoru recalled having met people like Remedios several times before.

Still, none of it comforted him.

Ainz turned his still-irate gaze on the three demihumans.

Granted, it was not entirely their fault either.

Ainz understood that he was simply taking it out on them.

What should have happened was that Remedios’ relationship meter with Ainz should have maxed out when the latter saved her from danger, she should have apologized for treating Ainz this way all this time, and then worked hard for Ainz in all ways in the future. That was why Ainz had been observing Remedios from the air with 「Perfect Unknowable」active all this time, and then stepped in to help her when she was in trouble.

But in the end, things had turned out like this.

He could not understand how they had ended up this way.

If the department’s quota was not met and it was close to the end of the month and someone stepped up to make up for the shortfall, surely everyone would be grateful to that person, right? Especially if that person had finished his own work long ago and had come back from his leave to help them.

Ainz had been observing the battlefield from above, and he had a firm grasp of the big picture. There were many more dangerous places than this. He was even aware that the girl who had glared at him all this time was in danger.

Even so, he had chosen to come to this place because he wanted to sell a favor to the highest ranking person he could -- better to rule in hell than serve in heaven and all that -- and he had judged that the captain of the Holy Kingdom’s paladin corps was the highest-ranking person here.

However--

“I really am annoyed.”

As he grumbled without thinking, Ainz heard a piercing laugh.

“Heeheehee. Looks like you’ve been left here. Heeheehee, how sad, how sad.”

“An Elder Lich. In other words, an individual that’s powerful as a magic caster. Is there a need to be careful? I haven’t seen that wall-making spell before, but it seems to be of a fairly high tier.”

“Hmph. So it’s still a magic caster, then? Don’t really feel like fighting it. In the end, you need to beat a warrior if you want people to sing tales about you.”

The three demihumans seemed to have recovered from the bizarre situation enough to banter with each other. Ainz turned to look at them, and his eyes focused on the ape-like demihuman among them who seemed to have laughed just now.

“Does it matter? First we kill him, then--”

“--Shut up.”

Ainz interrupted their conversation and cast a silent eighth-tier spell,「Death」.

The ape-like demihuman’s smile was frozen on his face as he slowly collapsed.

“...What? What did you--”

“--I told you to shut up, didn’t I?”

Ainz once again cast a silent 「Death」spell.

The four-legged demihuman collapsed in the same way as just now.

“Eh? Ehhh? What happened? What’s going on?”

The female demihuman who remained still did not understand what was going on, but it would seem she had already understood who had done it.

“Was, was it you? You killed those two in an instant…?”

Terror was deeply etched on her face. Her body was shaking hard.

“Yes, yes,” Ainz carelessly cast a silent 「Death」on the female demihuman as well. “--Hmmm?”

She did not die. Ainz’s「Death」had been resisted.

In the moment he realized this, Ainz’s mind immediately switched into gears, entering a mental state that could be called a combat mode.

Was it a defensive racial characteristic? A protective spell she had cast on herself? Had she resisted it normally? Had a magic item protected her? Or was it something else?

While one could not completely rule out the possibility that it might have been a coincidence, surely she could not have resisted it under her own power. Ainz had observed the three of them as they fought. While he did not think that he had the full measure of their abilities, Ainz was certain that they could not resist the power of his magic in a direct contest.

As Ainz mulled over the reasons for this, he felt that it would be best to stay on his guard and let his opponent make a move.

Perhaps he might discover something that could only be found here. He would like to see the trump card wielded by someone who could resist Ainz’s usual attack methods.

“Hmm… Well, it doesn’t matter what she did. What a waste of time. If I’d known, I would have left that woman alone and gone to help elsewhere. I was thinking that if I fought together with that woman, we could have put on a show of hard-fought triumph, so we would have spent a bit more time on the back and forth…”

***

A chatty undead being stood before her.

What kind of undead creature is this? ...The undead couldn’t possibly ally themselves with humans. Is it being controlled by a necromancer? Still, that power...

While she had no idea what he had done, he had instantly killed two warriors who were on par with her. Could such a powerful undead being even be controlled?

If his finger pointed to her, would she be the one to perish next?

The only people she knew who could do this besides the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth would be the archdemons who were his confidants.

--That’s impossible! Anyone who could control an undead creature who was on par with those mighty beings must be on the level of a god! How could such a necromancer exist?

If this human nation such a necromancer, how could the Demihuman Alliance have pressed their invasion so far?

Should I run? Should I take the chance to flee while he’s acting all relaxed? Or can I even escape?

She did not possess any spells which were handy for escape. After all, she had never been in such danger before and had not felt the importance of learning such spells.

In that case, the only way out is through!

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

She used her battlecry to rouse her spirit, and began to cast spells with her trembling lips.

There was a fourth-tier arcane spell called 「Silver Lance」. It was a physical-type spell, but since it possessed silver properties, it was a tremendously damaging spell against enemies who were weak against silver. In addition, it also had a special effect known as “piercing”, which made it do more damage to unarmored opponents. However, it also had the drawback that its damage could be reduced by armor.

Her trump card was altering this powerful spell to produce new, unique spells.

There was the 「Burn Lance」, which inflicted fire-element damage.

There was the 「Freeze Lance」, which inflicted cold-element damage.

There was the 「Shock Lance」, which inflicted lightning-element damage.

These three spells all did elemental damage, so armor could not reduce their potency, and they still retained the deadly “piercing” ability.

Of course, in keeping with their deadliness, those spells consumed far more mana than fourth-tier spells.

She activated three of these potent -- to her -- spells at once.

She was simultaneously casting three spells, each one of which used a significant amount of mana. In addition, simultaneously casting spells was very draining in itself, and as the shock of using huge quantities of mana hit her, she felt light and floaty, as though she were about to pass out.

“Diiiiiieeeee!”

The three lances flew toward the undead being -- and then vanished without a trace.

“--Hah?”

She could not understand what had happened before her eyes. She could understand if it had taken damage, or shrugged it off. But this -- this was like nothing had happened at all.

The lances had simply vanished.

“Eh? Eh? What? What what?”

“...I gave you all that time and this is the best you can do? Is this the ace up your sleeve? Hm. I guess I didn’t need to let you make the first move out of caution. Now then, there’s not much time left, so hurry up and die. 「Maximize Magic Reality Slash」.”

Part 5

The world was darkness

世界一片漆黑

She did not even know who she was

连自己是什么也不明白

She wanted to open her eyes -- but she did not know what eyes were

想要睁开眼睛——不知道什么是眼睛

Darkness, the world, she did not know what any of them were

什么是漆黑，什么是世界，都不明白

She did not know why she was thinking of these things

也不明白那么为什么，会想到这些东西

She knew nothing

什么都不知道

She was vanishing

要消失了

She did not know what “vanishing” meant

消失是什么意思也不明白

But she was vanishing

但是要消失了

However, suddenly, she felt like she was being pulled by something

不过、突然间，有了被什么拉动的感觉

From above, from below, from the left, from the right, somewhere--

从上、下、右、左、正中、不知何处——

A world that had reached its completion was pulling her

牵引的对象是已完结了的世界

A pitiful being who had been completed by the works of their friends

因同伴的编造之物而完结了的可悲之人

Someone who had sealed their thoughts away because they felt nothing was more important than that

认为没有比那个更珍贵的宝贝而封闭了思考之人

And then -- an explosion of white light dyed the world

随后——白色爆炸带来的闪光将世界染色

There was a tremendous sense of loss --

巨大的丧失感——

A sense of separation from a whole--

从一个整体脱离——

Neia Baraja blinked several times, seeking to return her vacant field of vision to normal.

宁亚・巴拉哈反复地眨了几次眼睛，想要从模糊的视野中回复原状。

She sensed that something had happened, but she could not remember anything about it. However, she ought to have been fighting demihumans. What on earth had happened?

感觉发生了什么、但什么也记不得。只是、自己理应与亚人们战斗过。到底是怎么了呢。

“...That was a dangerous place.”

「......还真是危险啊」

As she heard that calm voice, Neia narrowed her eyes and looked up with an abnormally keen gaze.

响起了安静的声音、宁亚以异常锐利的半眼朝那里。

It looked dark.

那看上去好似黑暗。

It was not the darkness a child would fear, but the darkness which granted peace to those who were tired.

并不是孩童会恐惧的黑暗，而是能让疲劳之人得到安宁般的黑暗。

It was the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown.

是魔导王安兹・乌尔・恭。

“Yhour… Mhajeshty…”

「陛、下......」

Neia reflexively reached up to him, like a worried child reaching for her parents--

宁亚不自主地将手伸出、如同不安的幼子向父母伸出的手一般——

“Neia Baraja. Do not force yourself to move. Let me take care of this place and rest.”

「宁亚・巴拉哈。不要勉强活动，这里就交给我好好休息吧」

Behind him, she could see the demihumans frantically attacking the Sorcerer King, stabbing him with swords, hacking at him, punching him.

从后方看得见亚人们拼命地对魔导王进行攻击，用剑插上、砍劈、痛打。

However, the Sorcerer King completely ignored them. He spoke to her as though nothing was happening.

然而魔导王却完全不将其当一回事，仿佛没有任何事发生般向宁亚温柔地搭话。

The memory of Buser came to Neia’s mind.

宁亚的脑中浮现出巴塞之时的光景。

The Sorcerer King reached into the sleeve of his robe and after a brief delay, he withdrew a poisonous-looking potion. Normally, potions were blue.

魔导王将手伸入法袍的下襬之中，稍微迟疑了下后取出了看似有毒的紫色药水。说到药水的话一般是蓝色。

Neia did not question the Sorcerer King even as he poured that poisonous-looking potion on her. What the Sorcerer King did must surely be correct.

就算被撒上看似有毒的药水、宁亚没有任何疑问。魔导王所做的一定是正确的。

Reality turned out as she had imagined it. The purple potion that he poured on Neia’s body healed all her wounds instantly. It would seem the Sorcerous Kingdom’s potions were of a different color.

而事实，也与想象完全吻合。洒在宁亚身体上的紫色液体、在一瞬间就让宁亚的伤口痊愈了。看来魔导国的药水颜色并不一样。

“While a full recovery is a long way off, you should recover your energy before that -- what a pain. Tch. The militiamen are all dead… looks like there’s a few left over there. In that case…”

「虽然离完全治愈还有相当一段距离的样子、在此之前先回复疲劳————真烦人呢。啧。民兵已全灭......在那一边还有的样子。那么......」

The Sorcerer King turned to face the demihumans as they attacked him from behind over and over again.

魔导王转过身面向从背后反复进行攻击亚人们。

There was fighting all over the city at this very moment, and someone was dying with every second that passed. However, in that moment Neia completely forgot about that, because her eyes were stolen by the glorious back of the Sorcerer King who had risen to protect her.

现在这个瞬间战斗还在这个都市的各处发生、每一秒钟都有人丧失生命吧。但是，仅在这个瞬间宁亚完全忘了那件事，为了保护自己而奋起、被魔导王那英勇的背影夺去目光。

Her unease and worries about the demihuman army were completely gone.

对于亚人大军的不安与担忧、那些感情已不复存在。

That was -- what Neia had longed for.

那个是——宁亚一直向往的身姿。

So it was here all along. I see...

（原来就在这里。是这样啊......）

Neia was certain that she had found the perfect answer to the doubts that she had been holding on to all this time.

宁亚对于至今为止自己一直抱持着的疑问、确信已得到了那个疑问的完美答案。

The Sorcerer King casually cast his spells.

魔导王毫不费力地放出魔法。

A dazzling stroke of electricity raced along the top of the city wall. It was apparently a spell called 「Chain Dragon Lightning」.

眩目的雷电在都市壁上奔走通过，那个似乎是称为<连锁龙雷>[ Chain Dragon Lighting]的魔法。

The demihumans on the wall were swept away in one go, so easily that it was hard to imagine there had been a life-and-death struggle here earlier.

在都市壁上的亚人们被一扫而空，仿佛让人无法想象在这里曾经发生过死斗一般轻易地扫荡了。

“Did… yhou… dhefeat… them… all?”

「全、部......都打倒了......吗？」

“No, there were some people still fighting some distance away, so I was trying not to catch them in it. However -- 「Napalm」ah, that’s all of them. Next we have to deal with the idiots climbing up.「Widen Magic Wall of Skeleton」.”

「不，因为离这有一段距离的地方还有人在战斗，所以想办法不将他们卷入。所以全部——<焼夷>[ Napalm]啊啊......这下就是全部了。接着是解决掉爬上来的愚者们吗。<魔法效果范围扩大化．骸骨壁>[ Widen magic．Wall of skeleton]」

A wall of bones suddenly sprang up on the outside of the city wall, where the demihuman forces were. While she could not see the other side because her vision was blocked, she could hear the demihumans on the ladders wailing, followed by the sound of something falling and hitting the ground hard.

外侧、亚人军势所在一侧的都市壁、如追加一般由骸骨所制成的墙壁耸立着。虽然视线被遮蔽而无法看见另一侧，但是听见了乘着梯子上来的亚人们发出悲鸣的声音。然后落下、与大地激烈碰撞的声音。

“Now to take care of their forces which are already in formation… I sent some undead over there before this, they’ll take care of it in short order.”

「接着是解决布阵中的军势......那边的话在来这里之前已事先将不死者送了过去，不久就会清理完毕吧」

As he spoke, he took out another potion. It was completely different from the one just now, being stored in a beautiful, slender phial. While she had no idea what the potion inside it could do, it looked like it must be a very valuable item.

一面说着一面取出另一瓶药水，与刚刚的完全不同、是非常漂亮而纤细的瓶子。虽然不清楚里面装入的药水性能，但能看出一定是非常高价的物品。

“I, ahm fhine, Yhour Mhajeshty…”

「我、没事的、陛下......」

“...Enough of that. I’m sorry I was late in saving you.”

「......别客气，不好意思这么晚才来救妳」

The Sorcerer King shielded the upper halves of his eye sockets like he was being dazzled as he poured out the contents of the bottle. The sense of weakness she had been feeling since just now melted away. However, her body still felt heavy. She felt like something had been scraped away from herself, but matching it -- no, exceeding it -- was a warmth in the core of her body.

魔导王如同感到眩目一般一边以手覆盖自己眼窝的上半部、一边洒出瓶中的液体。直到方才还有的脱力感如融化般消失。但是、身体很疲倦，有着自己之中的某些东西被削减了的感觉，但与之相同程度，不、在那之上，感觉体内的芯中蓄积一股温暖。

She could get up like this. While her body still hurt so much that she was in tears, she could not remain in such a disgraceful posture in front of the person who had come to save her.

这样的话能够起身，虽然身体四处还是痛的冒出眼泪，即便如此在前来救助的人面前可不能用像这样失礼的姿势。

“Stop -- Miss Baraja. There’s no need to force yourself to stand.”

「停下——巴拉哈小姐。没有必要勉强爬起来」

While she wanted to get up, Neia obediently lay back down as her shoulders were pushed down.

虽然想要爬起来，但肩膀被推回去所以宁亚再度躺平。

“Yes, like that… I’ll get someone to carry you. --You lot, over here!”

「就那样......让人搬运就行。——你们、在这里！」

The Sorcerer King waved to what seemed to be militiamen.

魔导王向似乎是民兵的人挥手。

It was at this point that Neia realized that for the sake of expressing her gratitude, she had not yet asked a question which had to be asked.

到这宁亚才忽然发觉、为了表达感谢而还没有询问一定得问的问题。

“Your Majesty, will you be alright? You came to help us and used the mana you should have been saving to fight Jaldabaoth.”

「陛下、没有问题吗？来救助我们。用掉了为了与亚达巴沃战斗而留存的魔力」

“It’s fine. It couldn’t be helped, considering that it was for the sake of saving you.”

「没问题。考虑到是为了救妳的话也是没有办法的事」

“Your Majesty…” A weighty stone seemed to have fallen from her chest. “I understand.”

「陛下......」胸中担忧如盘石落下「我已经明白了」

“Hm? What is it?”

「嗯、什么呢」

The Sorcerer King waited for Neia’s reply.

魔导王等待着宁亚接下来的话语。

“I understand what justice is.”

「正义究竟为何、我明白了」

“--Ah, so you’ve found the justice that belongs to you? That’s wonderful. ...Protecting the weak, or something?”

「——啊啊、妳找到了属于你自己的正义了吗，那真是太好了。......保护弱者、之类的吗？」

His voice was full of tenderness, and so Neia replied with confidence.

充满关怀的声音，所以宁亚满怀自信地说出。

“Your Highness is justice.”

「陛下即是正义」

For a moment, the Sorcerer King froze.

只一瞬间、魔导王停止动作。

“....Hm???”

「…………嗯？？」

“I understand now! Your Highness is justice!”

「我终于明白了！陛下即是正义！」

“...Ah, is that so. You must be tired. Don’t you think it would be better to rest? You’ll think of strange things when you’re tired. Surely you won’t want to roll around on the bed and make weird noises after you calm down, right?”

「………………啊啊、是吗。是累了吧，好好休息比较好哦？在疲劳状态下总会去想一些无聊的事。你也不想在冷静下来之后，在床上一边发出奇特声音一边滚来滚去吧？」

“I’m a little tired, but more importantly, my heart has cleared up. I am absolutely certain that Your Highness is justice!”

「我有点累，但在那之上我的内心有如拨云见日一般，我确信陛下是正义的想法绝不会有错！」

“No, nono, I said so back then, but I’m not justice. Look, what they call justice ought to be a concept like protecting the weak is common sense, or something, That kind of… uh, abstract concept. Right? I mean, normally speaking.”

「不、不不，那个时候也说过了，我不是正义。你看、所谓的正义是那种像是保护弱者是理所当然或类似的概念、那个.........呃、抽象概念？的什么东西才对吧、一般来说」

“No. Justice without power is meaningless, but power like what Jaldabaoth possesses is not justice either. Therefore, being strong, and using that strength to aid others is truly justice; in other words, Your Majesty is the incarnation of justice!”

「不。无力的正义没有意义、但像是亚达巴沃那样仅拥有力量也不是正义。那么有着力量、并且将那股力量用于助人才真正是正义、也就是说陛下是正义的化身！！」

As Neia’s eyes went wide while she spoke, the Sorcerer King suddenly raised his hand, and then placed it over Neia’s eyes like he was coaxing her to sleep. The cold sensation of his fingerbones made Neia’s cheeks relax into a smile.

宁亚睁大眼睛说出时，魔导王突然将手举起、接着如哄孩子睡觉一般覆盖在宁亚的眼睛上，宁亚因那手骨的冷冽感触而放松了脸颊绽开笑容。

“...Ah. If you shout too loud, won’t it make your wounds hurt? After this, we can slowly continue what you were talking about just now.”

「............啊啊。如果发出太大的声音会让伤口疼痛吧？之后再慢慢地继续刚刚的话题吧」

“Yes! Your Majesty!”

「是！魔导王陛下！」

She heard the sound of several footsteps, and by shifting her gaze, she saw the forms of paladins and militiamen approaching her.

听见复数的脚步声、一移动视线就发现朝向这里走过来的圣骑士和民兵的身影。

“Your Highness! Thank you very much for coming here to help us!”

「魔导王陛下！非常感谢您到这里来帮助我们！」

“Don’t mention it.”

「不用介意」

As he answered, the Sorcerer King slowly rose to his feet. Neia felt lonely as he stood up and wanted to reach for the Sorcerer King’s robe, but then she realised that doing so would be terribly shameful and so she curbed herself.

一面回答、魔导王一面缓慢地起身。因王起身离去而感到寂寞的宁亚、不禁想将手伸向魔导王的法袍，但发现想做的动作实在是太过于羞耻而使劲忍着。

“--No, actually, maybe you should. Therefore, I hope you will take Squire Baraja to a safe place in order to show your gratitude. While you can’t see it from here, I’ve already sent the undead I made into the demihuman encampment, so it should be alright for you to stand down for a while.”

「——不、那就请你们介意吧，所以希望你们表达感谢，将这位宁亚・巴拉哈运往安全的场所。虽然在这里看不到，但我已经将作成的不死者送去了亚人的阵地，暂时让警备放松一点也没有问题才是」

“Your Majesty--”

「魔导王陛——」

“--Neia Baraja. And also, the people of this country. Let me handle the rest. I promise you that I will do my best to save the people of this city.”

「——宁亚・巴拉哈，以及这个国家的民众们，之后的事就交给我吧，我向你们约定会尽可能将这个都市的人们救出」

The Sorcerer King floated lightly into the air.

魔导王轻飘飘地浮上空中、

“Also, there’s one more thing. Can you help me transport the bodies of those three demihumans over there? They were strong foes, so I want to study them carefully.”

「然后有件事，那边三只亚人的尸体能够帮忙运送吗？因为是强敌所以想要详细调查」

The three corpses to which the Sorcerer King pointed looked like they had once been very imposing demihumans.

魔导王所指的方向有着三只的尸体，那是相当有气魄的亚人。

“Move them with their wargear. Don’t worry about being rough with them, but do not misplace their equipment. I’ll leave that to you.”

「连着武装一起运输，用粗糙的方式对待也无所谓，但不要丢失道具。那么就拜托你们了」

As he watched the Sorcerer King fly into the air, a paladin turned to Neia.

目送飞上天空的魔导王，圣骑士将脸朝向宁亚。

“Squire Neia Baraja, while we would like to carry you… the lack of materials for a stretcher makes things difficult, so can you stand?”

「从者宁亚・巴拉哈、虽然想就这样带妳走……但没有担架的材料所以有点困难，站得起来吗？」

“Yes, somehow.”

「是、勉强可以」

Neia slowly got to her feet. Her legs were trembling, and they ached as soon as they took her weight. Neia grabbed onto the shoulder of a militiaman and leaned on him.

宁亚慢慢地起身，脚在发抖、一负荷起体重就涌出疼痛，宁亚抓在从其中一名民兵借来的肩膀的上面。

Looking down from the city wall, the defensive unit that was supposed to be near the west gate was gone, and there were no bodies. The sound of clashing blades on the wind seemed to be coming from far away, so taking the shortest route down from the side tower ought to be alright.

从都市壁往下窥视、在西门附近防守的部队已经不在，也没有任何一具尸体，乘着风而来的剑戟声相当遥远，从侧塔降下以最短距离前进也不要紧吧。

Neia sought the form of the Sorcerer King who had disappeared into the sky, and as she thought that it was a shame that she could not see him, Neia entered the side tower.