The Beyonders

1

“Say, Satoru, why did we come here?”

「呐、悟、为什么要来这附近？」

That suspicious mountain range was the destination of this journey.

这次旅途的第一目的地、就是那座可疑的山脉，

Of particular note was the city near the Kaidinias Mountain Range.

特别是离凯提尼亚斯山脉最近的那座城市。

It was a city of the Aina League, which was located near the mountains -- in other words, a neighbor of Inveria -- Seruk-3.

山脉的附近、也就是茵蓓利亚国的邻国——艾纳同盟国的城市，斯鲁克3号城。

While it was not the capital of the Aina League, it was one of the largest cities in the surrounding countries, and it boasted a population of over 400’000 people. The two of them had been travelling towards the city on their covered wagon for four days now. Keno had no longer been able to contain herself and asked that question.

虽然说不上是艾纳同盟国的首都，但与周边国家的城市比起来，也算得上是数一数二的大都市了，而且人口充足，数量超过了40万。两人乘坐带篷马车，向着目的城市的方向已经走了四天了。按耐不住的琪诺终究还是这么问道。

It had been five years since they had left Inveria.

离开茵蓓利亚已经五年了。

They had not even come near it until now, yet they had suddenly -- in a great departure from their original direction of travel -- moved towards Seruk-3, so it was hard to fault Keno for reacting like that.

明明至今为止连靠近都没有靠近过，却突然——大幅度偏离原定方向——向着斯鲁克3号城前进，也难怪琪诺会有这样的疑问。

In truth, he had no reason to continue hiding the truth from Keno. All he had to do was say :This mountain range might contain the reason that you became undead, so I wanted to check it out.”

老实说、已经没有继瞒着琪诺的理由了。只要老老实实回答「那座山脉或许有让琪诺你们变成不死者的原因，所以想去调查一下」就好。

Even so, Suzuki Satoru could not bring himself to say it.

可即便如此，铃木悟还是没说出口。

That was because even Suzuki Satoru could not explain his reasons for coming here.

因为就算是铃木悟自己，也没办法说清他来这里的理由。

On his part, curiosity was the biggest motivation for Suzuki Satoru to go there, but if he actually said that, Keno would have attacked his explanation from various angles and then made him change take the wagon elsewhere. If Keno had said, “There’s no reason for you to put yourself in danger, Satoru,” then Suzuki Satoru would only be able to reply, “Well, yes.”

就个人而言，好奇心才是铃木悟想去那里的最大理由，但是若铃木悟真这么说了的话，琪诺肯定会从各个方面来推翻他的说法，然后再改变带篷马车的行进方向。要是琪诺说「悟没有必要让自己置身于危险之中」。那铃木悟也只能回答「是啊」了。

The other reason was because Suzuki Satoru did not want to get Keno’s hopes up.

而另一个原因就是，铃木悟不想给琪诺带来无谓的期待和希望。

The greater one’s hopes and expectations built up, the greater the disappointment when they collapsed. It was just like how Suzuki Satoru had clung to the hope that his guildmates would return, and had fallen into despair when he realized that nobody had come.

期待与现实的落差越大，失望也就越大。正如铃木悟一直抱着也许某个公会成员会来的期待，而当他发现谁也没来的时候，变得非常失落那样。

Three years ago, Suzuki Satoru had seen Keno pretend to give up hope. In that case, what would happen if Suzuki Satoru gave her hope now?

三年前、铃木悟目睹了琪诺佯装放弃希望的样子。那么、如果现在铃木悟带给琪诺希望的话又会如何呢。

Suzuki Satoru was clearly uneasy as he glimpsed the past -- when he had first met Keno.

铃木悟显得有点不安，隐约看到了过去——刚遇到琪诺时的样子。

Therefore, Suzuki Satoru did his best to bluff her.

所以铃木悟还是选择了努力糊弄过去。

“Hm? There’s no special reason for it.”

「嗯？也没什么特别的理由啦」

“...Really?”

「……真的吗？」

Keno turned to peek at Suzuki Satoru’s face, but Suzuki Satoru was not afraid. His skeletal face was expressionless and he did not have to worry about the beating of his heart.

琪诺探过头来观察着铃木悟的表情。但铃木悟完全不怕。骸骨的外表上没有一点表情。也不用担

心心脏的跳动状况。

In other words, he could probably lie without being found out.

也就是说即便说谎也应该不会暴露才是。

However, the way Keno narrowed her eyes and kept peering at Suzuki Satoru made him feel a little uneasy. Though his body could not sweat, he still wiped the hands holding the reins on his robe anyway..

但琪诺眯着眼，一直盯着铃木悟的样子，还是让他有点不安。本不可能流汗的身体，握住缰绳的手还是在法袍上擦了一下。

And then, Keno cut in.

而随即琪诺也断言道。

“Li~ar.”

「骗—人」

“I’m not lying,” Suzuki Satoru replied immediately. He was deceiving himself, that must have been it, That must have been why he could reply so quickly. Even he wanted to praise himself.

「没骗你哦」铃木悟立刻回答道。这只是在诈自己而已、一定是这样的。正因为如此、他才能回答的如此迅速。连自己都想夸一下自己了。

His words were immaculately ordered, and he had not shown any emotion. Surely anyone who heard them would think Suzuki Satoru was telling the truth. However...

话语丝毫没有紊乱，仿佛没有表现出任何感情。无论是谁听了都会认为铃木悟说的是实话吧，然而——

“Yes, you are, Satoru. You must be in some sort of difficulty. I’ve been travelling with you for five years -- even if it doesn’t show on your face, I can tell if you’re lying.”

「就是骗人呢。悟、肯定也有什么苦衷吧。自从与你一起踏上旅途已经五年了，即使脸上没有表情，是否在说谎这种程度我还是知道的」

“...”

「…………」

There was power in Keno’s words, and he could sense her great confidence. She was certain that Suzuki Satoru had some other objective in mind. He wanted to say she was overthinking things, but she had seen right through Suzuki Satoru.

琪诺的话语中蕴含着力量，能感觉到她非常有自信。也就是说、她非常确信铃木悟有别的目的。

虽然很想说是自己想多了，但是她的确看穿了铃木悟内心的想法。

Suzuki Satoru unconsciously felt his face. It was cold, bony and skeletal, without any hint of expressions -- how on earth could such a face produce emotions that Keno could read?

铃木悟不经意地抚摸了一下自己的脸庞。冰冷而生硬，没有任何感情的骸骨外表——这样的脸上究竟是怎样浮现出能被琪诺读懂的感情的啊。

“...Well done, Keno,” Suzuki Satoru sighed, as though giving up. “Fufufu,” Keno giggled happily.

「……不愧是琪诺啊」铃木悟放弃似地叹了一口气「呼呼呼」琪诺则爽朗地笑道。

“It’s been five years. I can roughly guess what you’re thinking. After all, I’ve been by your side all this time.”

「已经五年了嘛。大概都能知道悟在想什么了，毕竟一直在你身边嘛」

“...It’s been five years, huh. Indeed, after such a long time it’s possible you might be able to tell what mood I’m in just by looking at my face.”

「……已经五年了啊。也是、这么长时间的话，光是看我的脸，就能知道我现在是怎样的一个心情也说不定」

Character facial expressions could not change in YGGDRASIL. The only way to tell how someone else was feeling was by their voice. Producing a normal voice and minimizing the times he sounded different was not a skill unique to Suzuki Satoru. When he had been depressed, someone else had also seen through how he had forced himself to appear jovial.

在YGGDRASIL中游戏角色的表情是无法改变的。要判断对方当前的心情，只能依靠声音。一如既往的声音，少许不同的声音。这并不是只有铃木悟才会的特技。铃木悟在失落的时候，让自己强颜欢笑的样子也被其他人看穿过。

The words that person had said still lingered in his heart: “We’re friends, after all. That’s probably why I could understand.”

那个人说的话至今还留在心中「毕竟是伙伴，大概还是能明白的啦」

“--Indeed, that’s right, Keno.”

「——是啊、是这样啊，琪诺」

“Hm? What’s wrong? Are you feeling lonely? … Very happy? Satoru?”

「嗯？怎么了？感到寂寞了……啊咧？……很开心？悟？」

“Ah… that’s right. The way I feel about you being able to understand my feelings is definitely not loneliness, Keno. If I had to put it into words… it would be gratitude.”

「啊……没错、琪诺真的能理解我的心情，这种感觉绝不是寂寞。硬要说的话……怎么形容呢……应该是感谢吧」

Suzuki Satoru released the reins in his hands.

铃木悟攥紧了手中的缰绳。

He had made up his mind.

决定了。

He had prepared himself for this.

已经做好觉悟了。

He was filled with determination that would never waver.

绝不退缩的觉悟。

For that reason, Suzuki told the lie he had prepared beforehand.

正因为如此、铃木悟才说出了早已准备好的谎言。

Our destination is a city of the Aina League, Seruk No.3. I learned that there was a rare item there, and our objective this time is to recover it.”

「目的地是艾纳同盟国的城市，斯鲁克3号城。我打听到那里有珍稀道具的相关情报，这次的目的便是将其回收」

“You’re… lying? I’m not too sure, but it still feels like you’re lying. Oh well, never mind. You’re hiding something, but you must be worried about me, right, Satoru?”

「骗、人？有点不太自信呢，但感觉好像还是在说谎。不过嘛、算啦。虽然悟好像还在隐瞒些什么，但肯定是在担心我吧？」

Suzuki Satoru hesitated over whether he should not, but doing so would mean admitting that he was lying to her.

铃木悟犹豫着是否要点头，但若是点头的话就等于承认了自己在说谎。

“It’s fine, Satoru. Don’t worry about it. Just go.”

「没事的、悟，不要在意啦，走吧」

“Ah, thank you, Keno.”

「啊、谢谢你，琪诺」

As they approached the borders of the Aina League, they found their path blocked by a long defensive line. It was not made of heavy stone blocks, but a simple wooden fence.

在靠近艾纳同盟国边境的地方，长长要要塞防线拦断了去路。构成要塞防线的并不是厚重的石块，而是用木头做的简易围栏。

It was not hard to imagine that it had been built to curb the spread of the yuriniggers. Such defensive structures would be enough to deal with yuriniggers, but the yuriniggers’ true threat lay in their numbers. If an entire nation’s worth of yuriniggers -- in the millions -- flooded in at once, it would be completely useless. However, a few short years would not be enough to build a kilometers-long fence around a nation’s borders.

不难想象这些建筑是为了抑制僵尸的蔓延而建造的。仅仅只是僵尸的话，这种程度的建筑应该足以应对，但僵尸真正的威胁在于数量。有着像一国人民那样的数量——数百万的僵尸一次涌进来的话就真的毫无招架之力了。但想要沿着国境线以公里为单位建造的防线，短短数年的时间还是太短了。

He came to a stop some distance away and used [Fly] to quickly scout the area, but he did not find anything like a checkpoint. All the roads leading to the Aina Miscegenation League had been sealed off. In addition, he had spotted patrols.

在拉开一定距离的地方停下，用<飞行>从上空以粗略地感觉观察了一下，没有发现类似关卡的东西，通往艾纳多种族同盟国的道路被完全隔绝了。在此之上、还确认到了巡逻兵的身影。

He knew that they probably would not let them through, even if he asked them “please let us pass”. Therefore, he used [Gate] to teleport them and the wagon ahead.

即使跟他们说“让我们通过”想想也知道是不可能会放行的，因此使用<传送门>连同带蓬马车一起向前方传送了。

After that, they drove the wagon down unused roads. They felt there was no need to pretend to make camp at nightfall, so they maintained their speed and travelled day and night.

然后沿着早已没人使用的街道行驶马车，感觉也已经没有必要做夜营的伪装工作了，就这样日夜兼程，保持一定速度地前进着

They passed through several cities filled with wandering yuriniggers and were less than a day away from Seruk-3. However, they sensed something was amiss.

横穿了数个有僵尸徘徊的都市，已经离斯鲁克3号城都市只剩距离不到1天的路程了。然而他们却察觉到了一丝异样。

“This is strange.”

「很奇怪啊」

“Indeed, it’s very strange.”

「是啊、是很奇怪」

They had seen all kinds of yuriniggers in Keno’s country. Not all of them had been formerly human. It would seem all living things above a certain size had been converted into yuriniggers. In the wild, they had encountered plodding animal yuriniggers. That much was the same in the Aina Miscegenation League.

在琪诺的国家见到过各种各样的僵尸。并不光是人类的，好像超过一定大小以上的生物全部都变成了僵尸，在野外也遇到过慢吞吞步行的野兽僵尸。这一点艾纳多种族同盟国也是一样的。

However, they were nowhere to be seen as they approached Seruk-3.

可是、在接近斯鲁克3号城都市后就变得看不到它们的身影了。

Perhaps someone had exterminated the yuriniggers, but typically they would have eliminated the animal yuriniggers outdoors as well.

或许是什么人退治了僵尸吗，但通常会连同野外的野兽僵尸也一并退治吗。

That was the problem.

这便是由此而产生的问题。

Suzuki Satoru looked straight ahead. Seruk-3 lay down the road ahead of him, and beyond that was Mt. Kaidinias.

铃木悟瞪向前方——这条道路前方所在的斯鲁克3号城都市，以及在那更前方的凯提尼亚斯山。

If this phenomenon was limited to the surrounding area, then there must have been some kind of connection there.

如果这个异常情况仅仅只发生在这附近的话，绝对是有某种关系存在才对。

Nothing else happened after that, and they arrived at the main gate of Seruk-3. After that, the mountain range descending from. Mt. Kaidinias slowly came into view.

在那之后就这样任何事都没有发生看到了斯鲁克3号城都市的大门。接着从凯提尼亚斯山开始延伸的山脉也呈现开来了。

The gate showed off the size and splendor of the city.

大门表现出了这座都市的巨大以及壮丽。

The Aina Miscegenation League had originally been a country formed from the union of many races. Among them were highly intelligent Giants. That was probably the link here.

艾纳多种族同盟国原本是多个种族联合而成的国家。在那之中也有着高智慧的巨人。所以应该是有这层关系的缘故吧。

However, there were no yuriniggers to be seen here.

然后这里也没有僵尸的影子。

In some cities, one could see yuriniggers spilling out from the city gate, but there were none in sight here. Certainly, that would not be the case if the gate was shut.

在有些都市有时能看到从大门游荡出来的僵尸，但在这座都市则完全看不到。如果大门紧闭的话那的确不会出现那种情况。

But the gates were wide open.

但门本身却是敞开的。

...Could this city have some kind of protection which prevented it from being yuriniggerfied?

（……难道只有这座都市有某种守护，而没有被僵尸化？）

Suzuki Satoru immediately dismissed that notion.

铃木悟立刻否定了这个想法。

The population of Seruk-3 was 400’000.

斯鲁克3号城都市的人口有四十万。

Surely that many survivors would have caused a huge uproar. If they had not abandoned the city, then they would have stayed here, and they would have taken extensive security measures.

有这么多避难民众生还下来的话，应该会引发巨大骚动的吧。如果不放弃都市，就这么住下来的话，应该会有严密的警戒措施。

However, not a single whisper had come from Seruk-3, to say nothing of any security.

但别说警戒了，甚至连一丝嘈杂声都没有从斯鲁克3号城传来。

It was true that they were some distance away. But things were too quiet, even at this distance.

确实还有一定的距离。可就算是在这种距离下也未免太过安静了。

There were no residents and no yuriniggers. It was as though this city had been abandoned.

没有居民、也没有僵尸，就如同被放弃的都市一样。

Did someone come here and clear out the yuriniggers? It’s not entirely impossible, but then why didn’t they liberate the other cities along the way? Or have they all been dominated by an undead of some power, like “Corpus of the Abyss”?

（有谁来到这里，把僵尸都扫荡了？虽然不能说完全没有可能，但也没有理由不解放沿途其他的都市吧？还是说像那个“深渊之躯”一样、拥有一定强度的不死者将其纳入支配下了？）

Indeed, this place was quite a good location when considering the distance from the cities of the living and the surrounding yuriniggerfication. Since it was a major city, it ought to have magical items and books for research.

的确、如果考虑到离活人居住都市的距离和周边僵尸化的状况的话，在选址并不坏。因为是大都市、所以应该有各种各样可供于研究的魔法道具和书籍等物品。

“This place really is fit for the tastes of an undead magician.”

「真是符合死者魔法师喜好的选址呢」

After muttering to himself, the Keno in his head began lecturing him, and so Suzuki Satoru had no choice but to concentrate and think seriously.

一番喃喃自语后，自己脑内的琪诺开始了严格的评估，铃木悟只得重新认真思考了起来。

However, they lacked information. It would seem he had no choice but to enter the city.

不过情报不足。看来无论如何都有必要进城了。

“...Say, Satoru. Are you going into the city? The closer we get to it, the less yuriniggers we see… this is the first time we’ve seen this.”

「……吶、悟。所以、你是要进这座都市吗？越是靠近那座都市，就越看不见僵尸了……这种情

况还是第一次遇到」

“While I didn’t come here for that reason… it seems I’ll need to conduct some investigations.”

「虽说并不是为了这个理由才来的……但看来有必要稍微调查一下了啊」

Suzuki Satoru was at a loss for what to have Keno do next.

铃木悟迷茫着该让琪诺如何行动

Should he cast [Create Fortress] outside the city to make a fortress and have her stay in there? Or should he bring her into the city with him? While he would like to be able to draw on her knowledge, he ought to keep her in a safe place.

应该在都市外用<要塞创造>[Create Fortress]做出要塞后，将她留在那儿吗。还是说应该一起带到都市中去呢。虽然可以的话想要借用她的智慧，但还是应该让她回到安全的地方去吗。

Seruk-3 was nothing more than a base camp to investigate the mountain range. He had only come here because of ease of teleportation.

斯鲁克3号城都市只不过是用来调查山脉的营地，为了能够轻松地传送才考虑来这里的。

He had not expected something abnormal like this to happen here, When he thought calmly about it, he realised that he had never once considered the possibility that the culprit and cause for everything might not have come from the mountains, but this city instead. It was a frustrating error.

没想到这里已经发生了异常状况。冷静下来想想、元凶并非山脉，所有的原因都来自于这座都市的可能性，自己从头到尾都不曾考虑过。这是个令人痛恨的失误。

“I want to go too. Ah, perhaps you might think that it’s dangerous and that you’re going to leave me here by myself, but I know more about magical lore than you do. Therefore, I’m going with you, and if there’s fighting -- you’ll protect me, won’t you, Satoru?”

「我也要一起去哦。那个、或许，悟觉得这里会有危险，想把我留在这里独自行动，不过有关魔法的知识我可是在你之上哦，所以我也要一起去，如果要战斗的话——悟会保护我的吧」

“--Ah. Yes. I will protect you. That’s my job -- you’re in charge of the intellectual work, while I take care of anything involving violence.”

「——啊啊。是啊。我会保护你的。这就是职责分工——脑力工作由琪诺负责，暴力工作则由我来负责」

In truth, he would feel better with Keno around if it turned out that there were clues present.

实际上、如果真的存在某种线索的话，有琪诺的智慧确实让人安心。

That being the case, could Suzuki Satoru, as the person responsible for brute force, protect Keno when under threat?

那么、作为暴力担当的铃木悟在受到某种威胁的情况下，能够好好保护琪诺吗。

It should be possible.

应该是可以的。

He had managed to keep Keno safe even when his opponent was the Brightness Dragon Lord -- the most powerful foe he had faced to date. To be precise, he had bought them time to flee. However, only a fool would act in a blind and arrogant way. He had to plot his course carefully for the sake of the future, and he could not be careless this time either.

就连以那个最强的敌人——七彩龙王为对手时，自己也有把琪诺好好地保护了下来。更准确的来说是争取到了逃跑的时间。不过、夜郎自大是愚蠢之人才会有的举动。小心驶得万年船，这次也同样不能粗心大意。

“Keno, I’m giving you the usual crystal. If I give the signal or if you get attacked, you have to use it without hesitating, okay?”

「琪诺，平时的水晶交给你，在我发出信号、或是受到敌人一击时要毫不犹豫的使用哦？」

The item he had produced from his inventory was a spell-sealing crystal imbued with [Greater Teleportation].

从道具箱里取出的是注入了<高阶传送>的封魔水晶。

Spell-sealing crystals were one of the rarest magic items. In turn, they were also very easy to use, and at high levels they were employed in large quantities. As a result, Suzuki Satoru did not have many on him and there were almost no spell-sealing crystals in the gear his friends had left him.

封魔水晶算是稀有度相当高的道具了。于此相对的使用起来也很方便，到了高等级的时候会大量的用到。为此、铃木悟所持有的也并不多，过去的伙伴们留下的道具中也几乎没有封魔水晶。

He had entrusted this valuable item to her for safety’s sake.

为了慎重起见才将如此贵重的道具交给她。

Suzuki Satoru could destroy Keno in a single attack. Therefore, if he met an opponent that was on his level, they could probably do the same thing.

如果是铃木悟的话，只要一击就能干掉琪诺。那么如果遇到击鼓相当的敌人时，对方同样也做得到吧。

It was only appropriate that they take extensive precautions so that they could deal with such an encounter.

为了在遭遇那种存在时能够有所应对，做到有备无患是理所应当的。

As Suzuki Satoru handed the crystal over, he wondered if the spell infused into it was appropriate.

铃木悟一边转让水晶，一边在考虑注入水晶的魔法是否合时宜。

[Perfect Unknowable] might have been more useful for fleeing, but [Greater Teleportation] was the best choice if he wanted to increase the chances of Keno’s survival.

<完全不可知化>在用于逃跑的意义上或许更为便利，但如果是为了拉高琪诺的生存率的话，<高阶传送>就是唯一选择。

Keno using [Perfect Unknowable] might not be enough to guarantee no mishaps.

琪诺光使用<完全不可知化>的话恐怕还无法保证万无一失。

While he had scrolls containing [Perfect Unknowable], a low-level magic caster like Keno would not be able to use them. Wands could not contain such a spell, and so Suzuki Satoru did not have one. If he wanted one, he would need a World-Class Item that could allow him to make requests of the developers. Perhaps Keno could have used a staff, but unfortunately Suzuki Satoru did not have staves imbued with [Perfect Unknowable.”

虽然也有注入了<完全不可知化>的卷轴，但像琪诺这样的低等魔法吟唱者无法使用。短杖[Wand]中无法注入这个魔法，所以铃木悟自然也没有。如果想要弄到的话，只能用能够向运营商请愿的世界级道具[World Item]了。要是有法杖[Staff]的话，琪诺也能够使用，但遗憾的是铃木悟并没有注入了<完全不可知化>的法杖。

[Perfect Unknowable] appeared to be a very effective spell at a glance, but its inability to be applied to others meant that ti saw surprisingly little use in party play. While it was possible that ambushers might use it, both Suzuki Satoru and enemies of Momonga’s level had many spells or abilities to see through it.

<完全不可知化>乍看似乎是相当有效的魔法，但因为它无法对他人施加，在团队行动中意外的派不上用场。虽然也有作为伏兵时用到的可能性。不过与其说是铃木悟、不如说如果对手是飞鼠那种等级的话，拥有能够看破的魔法或特殊能力的情况居多。

In the worst case scenario, one might end up being invisible to friends but not to enemies, which would mean that they could not be healed or supported by their friends.

搞不好会变成敌人看得见而同伴却看不见，从而导致连回复或支援等都做不到的最坏情况。

Simply put, many players considered [Perfect Unknowable] to be a spell that was used on themselves when facing lower-level opponents or numerous opponents.

简单来说、多数玩家都将<完全不可知化>理解为是当对手等级比自己低，或是应付多个敌人时而对自身使用的魔法

Therefore, the average player did not learn that spell, but instead used consumable items to make up the shortfall.

因此、一般玩家都不会选择去学习，而是通过消耗道具来弥补。

Suzuki Satoru was the reverse. Since he could cast many spells, he chose to learn it himself rather than rely on consumables. Therefore, he could not give her any appropriate items at a time like this.

铃木悟却相反，正因为他为了能使用更多魔法，选择不依赖消耗道具而亲自学习，所以到了这种时候也就拿不出相应的道具了

He had not expected that practice to end up being a handicap at a time like this.

没想到在这种地方拖了后腿。

“Mm, got it. Should I set the teleport destination to the usual place?”

「嗯、我知道了。那么传送目的地就定在常去的地方？」

Suzuki Satoru expressed his agreement.

铃木悟表示了同意。

There was a small house in a city over 2000 kilometers away that had been set as one of their teleport destinations.

在距离这里两千公里以上的都市，作为传送目的地之一，是两个人作为避难所购买的一栋小房子。

After that, Suzuki handed over a legacy-class item known as the Ghillie Cloak to Keno.

接着、铃木悟将名为“吉利斗篷”的遗产级[Legacy]道具交给了琪诺

【※请参考百度“吉利服”】

While it looked like a tattered cape with cloth and strings dangling from it, it was an item that conferred exceptional stealth capabilities.

虽说看上去好像是挂着很多布料和线的破烂斗篷，但却是更够赋予额外隐秘系能力的道具。

While it was almost useless without concealment skills, it also possessed effects in addition to that, and those additional effects were quite good.

虽然没有隐秘系技能的话就几乎没有意义，不过有额外的附加效果，为了特化而追加的额外效果还挺高的。

Once Keno put it on, even the level 100 Suzuki Satoru would see Keno as becoming blurry -- as though she were blending into the landscape -- once she put it on. It was very effective against adversaries with low perceptive abilities.

就连百级的铃木悟，如果不是目不转睛的盯着看，穿上后的琪诺就会显得有些模糊——就好像溶入了风景中一样。对发现能力较低的对手来说有着很好的效果。

Incidentally, Suzuki Satoru had forgotten who he had bought it from and he only had the one piece, so he had kept it in its original state.

顺便一提、这件已经不记得从谁那里买来的道具，铃木悟只有一件，所以自己依然保持原样。

He told Keno -- who was blurred and indistinct thanks to the Ghillie Cloak’s powers -- to cast [Fly] and [Invisibility].

指示因斗篷的力量而变得模糊的琪诺使用<飞行>和<透明化>。然后两人就开始向都市接近了。

The two of them looked down on the city from above.

两人从上空看向都市。

The lack of obstructions meant that their opponents would have a clear view of them too, so it was very likely that they would be attacked. On the other hand, it also meant that it was easy to collect information while flying.

没有遮蔽物的地方对于敌人来说也同样一览无余，所以有攻击向这边飞来的可能性非常高。不过从另一方来讲，这样飞行也更适合收集情报。

After weighing the former against the latter, Suzuki Satoru decided that the latter was more important. Of course, he had also used [Delay Teleportation] and other such spells to protect himself. If they were attacked, he would be able to protect Keno as well if he was nearby. That was the power of his gauntlet, the legacy-class item Guardian Heroes.

将这两方面放上天平，铃木悟选择了后者的重要性。当然也使用了<延迟传送>[Delay Teleportation]之类能用的魔法来作为警戒。如果在遭到攻击，只要在附近的话，也能够成为保护琪诺的盾。这是装备的护手、遗产级道具——英雄守卫[Guardian Heros]的能力。

As they looked over the city, the abnormality of this place became even more apparent.

而随着眺望都市，这里的异常性也变得更为鲜明了。

“Satoru… there’s nobody here at all.”

「悟……一个人都没有呢」

“Yes, there’s nobody here, and -- there aren’t any yuriniggers around either.”

「是啊，没有人，而且——哪儿都没有僵尸呢」

After checking their surroundings, he pondered the strangeness of this city as he descended to ground level with Keno.

确认完毕后，一边和琪诺降落，一边思考着都市的异常性。

The possibility which came to mind was that someone had invaded the city and then wiped out 400’000 yuriniggers.

得到的可能性就是有谁侵入到都市中，然后扫荡了四十万僵尸。

But that would probably be very difficult to do.

但是那种事恐怕很难做到吧。

It was not that they would lose to yuriniggers, the weakest of the undead, but at the very least they would have left corpses behind.

并不是说会输给僵尸这种最低等程度的不死者。但至少、应该会留下尸体才对。

Corpses vanished over time in YGGDRASIL, as did those of yuriniggers. But in this world, the yuriniggers’ corpses should have remained forever after being struck down. Of course, dead yuriniggers would begin to rot and after a while they would become skeletonized, and after that the bones would disintegrate.

在YGGDRASIL中的话，尸体会随着时间消失，僵尸也是一样的。可是在这个世界中的话，僵尸在被打倒后，尸体应该会永远残留下去才对。理所当然的，死掉了的僵尸从腐烂开始，经过一定时间后会变成骨头，再经过一定时间后才会崩落吧。

As an aside, moving yuriniggers would not rot or harbor maggots because they were animated by negative energy. However, the loss of negative energy once they were defeated meant that they would rot as normal, flies could lay eggs in them, and small animals would gnaw on them.

虽然是题外话，还能够行动的僵尸因为有着负能量生命的关系，并不会腐烂，也不会寄生蝇虫。可一旦被打倒后，负能量生命消失后就会像一般那样开始腐烂，蝇虫在其中产卵，小动物会进行啃食。

It had been over 40 years since that incident.

从事件发生开始已经过去四十年以上了。

Was it possible that someone had buried or cremated 400’000 corpses--

有没有可能是已经将四十万尸体掩埋或是火葬了呢——

“--Keno, do you think an army invaded this place, killed all the yuriniggers, buried them and then left?”

「——琪诺，你觉得会不会是军队攻入了这里，打倒所有僵尸，进行安葬后回去了呢？」

“I doubt it. While you could take about 10’000 soldiers to dig a huge hole and then bury them all in it, it would be very obvious and there are no signs of it now.”

「我想不会。虽然只要带上一万人左右的士兵，挖个巨大的坑洞，然后将尸体丢进去埋掉就行了。但那样一眼就看的出来，现在哪里都没有那样的痕迹」

“What about cremation?”

「火葬呢？」

“It sounds even less likely. After killing a yurinigger, you could just throw it into a house and burn them with it. But on the whole, I don’t see any signs of burning.”

「我想更不会了。打倒僵尸后只要将其扔进房屋里，连同房屋一起烧掉就行了。不过大致看下来，也没有烧过的痕迹呢」

Currently, Suzuki Satoru had not seen any similar signs either.

目前为止、铃木悟也同样没有看到类似的痕迹。

It was clear that Keno had examined the area more carefully than Suzuki Satoru, but that was no cause for alarm. That had become a clearly established fact during their five-year journey.

很明显琪诺观察的比铃木悟更仔细，不过这没有什么好惊讶的。在这五年的旅途程中、这一点已经是很清楚的事实了。

“If there were a way to do it, then surely it would be an assembly of high-level priests turning undead at the same time, right?]

「如果有的话——那也是高级神官的集团施放的破坏不死者之类的吧？」

“I see…”

「原来如此……」

That would have disintegrated the yuriniggers, and it would explain their absence. However, there was a limit to how many times one could turn undead each day, and low-level priests could not use that ability often. Therefore, it would probably be impossible to annihilate a swirling horde of 400’000 yuriniggers without committing sizable numbers to the task.

因为如果是那样的话僵尸会变得七零八落地碎裂，僵尸的消失也就能接受了。不过、破坏不死者有每天的使用限制，如果等级低就无法使用那么多次。因此、要是不投入相当的人数，想将浊流一般涌来的四十万僵尸群破坏殆尽是做不到的吧。

While news would leak more easily as more people took part, Suzuki Satoru had not heard about anything like that even though he had kept his feelers out and listening.

虽然参加了的人数越多情报就会越容易泄漏，可是尽管打算好好地竖着天线，可铃木悟还是没有得到那样的情报。

“Or could it have been a “super-tier spell” like the kind you cast, Satoru? Of course, the existence of a spell with that area of effect would be another matter entirely, but we won’t be able to tell if we don’t enter the city, right?”

「还有就是悟用的“超位魔法”来着？虽然如果有那种广范围魔法的话就另当别论了，不过不进入都市详细调查的话是无法弄清楚的吧？」

“That’s true. We’ll proceed with caution, then.”

「也是啊。那就小心点进去吧」

“Yup!”

「嗯！」

The two of them entered through the city gates.

两人从正面通过大门。

While [Phase Door] would have made entering the city safer, they had to discover what had happened and if anyone was hiding within by using themselves as bait.

虽然用<出纳送门>一下子潜入都市内更安全。但首先得以自身为饵，试探发生了什么，是否潜伏着什么人。

Naturally, Suzuki Satoru would be fine even if he were attacked from inside the city, so he walked in front of Keno to block the line of fire to her. While it would be pointless if the enemy used an area-effect attack, he would be an excellent shield for her against single-target attacks.

当然了、悟为了即使受到来自都市内的攻击也没问题，而走到琪诺的前面遮住了射线。虽然敌人以范围攻击轰过来的情况这么做没有意义，可如果是对单攻击的话自己就是优秀的肉盾。

They passed through the city gates without incident, and they saw a wide street.

平安地通过无人的大门后，出现在面前的是大街。

This was probably the largest street in the city.

恐怕是这个都市最大的大街吧。

There were no signs of yuriniggers in this place which should have been lively and bustling, and they could not hear anything despite pricking up their ears. All that remained was a nauseating silence.

连这个曾经应该非常充满活力的地方也没有僵尸的身影，即使竖起耳朵也没有听到任何声音。只剩下令人恶心的静寂。

It looked as though all the city’s residents had abandoned it. However, it did not feel like they had left of their own free will. The goods in the stores remained in place -- though they were spoilt or rusted -- and after checking, even the coins were where they had been.

那是种仿佛所有的居民放弃了这个都市一般的光景。但是让人不觉得是自主放弃了的。毕竟店里的商品都还好好的放着——虽然都生锈或者变坏了，调查过后连货币也好好地放着。

While it did not seem like they had left of their own free will, it did not seem like someone had invaded either.

虽然不可能是自主地离开，但也不觉得是被什么人入侵了。

No -- is it possible someone whose objective was not money had invaded this place?

（不——有可能是被目标并非是金钱的什么人入侵的吗？）

Magic items were more precious than mountains of gold and silver. If this city had a powerful magic item, then it might be more valuable than all the wealth in this city.

魔法道具有着金山银山都买不下到的价值。如果这个都市有个强力的魔法道具的话，说不定只要对它出手，这个都市所有财物合起来的价值都没它高。

However, that theory was also suspect. While one could not rule out the possibility that such an item existed, surely there ought to be a more elegant way of obtaining it. Like say, sending someone with thief skills to sneak into the city and so on.

不过这个推测也有值得怀疑的地方。虽然不一定没有盯上那种道具的人，不过有的话应该会有更精明的方法吧？比如让拥有盗贼系特殊技术的人潜入什么的。

“Ah, Satoru. You can dominate the undead, can’t you, Satoru? Can you use that ability to order yuriniggers to go outside?”

「那个、悟。悟可以支配不死者吧。可以用那种能力让僵尸全部到外面去吗？」

“It’s possible, but there are various conditions for dominating the undead. For instance, there are limits on the maximum number of undead that can be controlled at one time and how powerful of an undead being can be dominated. If everyone in this city became a yurinigger, then guiding them anywhere would be annoyingly repetitious.”

「虽然做得到，不过支配不死者有着各种条件。比如一次能支配的不死者的合计等级和数量之类。如果这个都市的全部居民都化为了僵尸，要把它们诱导到什么地方的话得重复到厌烦为止喔」

“Even so, if they were undead, surely they could ignore their lifespans and do it over and over again, right?”

「即使这样、反正是不死者所以可以无视寿命限制重复去干吧？」

“You mean a cabal of undead beings like “Corpus of the Abyss”? While it’s not impossible… do you mean they’d be walking around and dominating undead over and over again inside this city? If it were me, I think it would have been fine to leave them alone since I was undead and wouldn’t have been attacked anyway… mm, if that really was the case, then I’d have to take my hat off to their diligence.”

「你是说来了像“深渊之躯”那样的不死者集团吗？虽然不是做不到……不过在这个宽广的都市里重复来回走和支配？只是我感觉既然是不死者就不会被袭击所以置之不理也没事啊……嗯、如果是那样的话真是努力得让人敬佩」

“What if it were because of a item?”

「那道具之类呢？」

“From what I know, there are no unlimited-use items like that.”

「就我所知——没有能无限使用的道具」

If such a balance-breaking item did exist, it would probably be a World-Class Item or something similar.

如果有那种破坏平衡性的道具，应该是世界级道具那类的吧。

“...Hm. I can’t break through the limits of my imagination no matter how much I think. We really do need information after all.”

「……唔。就算再继续想也突破不了想像的层面。果然有什么情报就好了」

“Then how about taking a look in the castle?”

「那去城堡看看？」

Keno was pointing to the castle of the marquis who ruled the surrounding lands. It was situated on a small hill and they could clearly tell how solid its walls were.

琪诺所指的方向是支配近邻的侯爵城堡。位于略微高起的山丘上，可以看出围着它的是相当坚固的城墙。

Suzuki Satoru agreed with that suggestion.

铃木悟赞同了那个意见。

If there were any traces left behind, they would probably find them in the castle. After all, it was the most luxurious and comfortable place in the city, which made it perfect as a home base. Also, the castle sported several imposing towers, which made it feel like the ideal place for overlooking the city.

如果有谁留下了形迹的话应该也会在城里吧。毕竟是都市里最为华美、同时也是最宜居的地方，作为据点正为适合。而且城里耸立着好几座尖塔，要俯视城镇感觉是个理想的地方。

The two of them cast [Fly] spells and headed toward the castle in a beeline.

两人正大光明地——使用<飞行>魔法，几乎直线地前往城堡。

If they looked down, they would see an empty city below them. It was a hollow metropolis, without so much as the presence of small animals. Having yuriniggers wandering around would probably have made it less scary.

俯视的话能看到无人的都市。那是恐怖得连小动物的气息都没有的空虚都市。要是还有僵尸在晃悠反倒没那么可怕吧。

“Still, there’s no movements here at all.”

「不过，什么动静都没有呢」

While he had coolly spouted some stuff about movements and the like, Suzuki Satoru was not very clear about what he was saying. However, it was true that certain monsters had an overwhelming presence about them. The monster he had encountered with the most powerful presence was the Brightness Dragon Lord.

虽然帅气地说出动静什么的，不过铃木悟并不怎么清楚那方面的事。只是、部分怪物会释放着压倒性的存在感是事实。铃木悟所遇见过的怪物中发出最巨大存在感的便是七彩龙王。

“...Was this city destroyed by something else… hm?”

「……这座都市是因为别的理由被毁灭……吗？」

“A plague? Poison? But that would be weird, no? If a plague had broken out here, then they would have burned the victims, and I think there would be signs of that within the city.”

「疾病？毒？那就奇怪了吧？假设就算是发生了疫病，那种情况也会焚烧处理，我觉得都市内会有好

几处那种痕迹」

They had found what looked like paupers’ districts when they were observing the city from above, but no traces that looked like scorch marks.

从上空观察都市时，得知虽然有像是贫民窟的东西，不过实在没找到那样的痕迹。

Just as Suzuki Satoru was beginning to admire Keno’s focus, she continued speaking.

就在铃木悟钦佩琪诺看得真仔细时，琪诺继续说道。

“Since there were no such signs in the pauper’s district, where a disease would have the highest chance of spreading, I think that would rule out such a possibility.”

「既然疫病蔓延可能性很高的贫民窟也没有那种痕迹，那种可能性不就可以驳回了吗」

Suzuki Satoru had not thought that far ahead. He had to hand it to Keno.

铃木悟可没法考虑到那种程度。不愧是琪诺。

“In that case -- did the destruction of this city lead to some kind of chain-reaction yuriniggerfication? For example, was it because a monster with an instant death field was walking around inside the city or something?”

「那么——是不是这座都市毁灭而引起了连锁性的不死者化现象呢？例如会不会是我这样可以展开即

死气场的怪物在都市内来回移动什么的？」

“But if that were the case, wouldn’t it be strange that there were no corpses? It’s as though everyone here suddenly vanished. And it would also be very strange for people setting out from this place to abandon all their wealth…”

「不过如果是那种情况，没有尸体这点就奇怪了吧？简直就像所有人在一瞬间内消失了一样。而且如果是自发从这里逃离的话把财物全部丢下也很奇怪……」

Suzuki Satoru and Keno tilted their heads in bafflement.

铃木悟和琪诺不解地歪着脑袋。

When they reached the castle, the two of them walked inside without any hesitation.

到达了城堡的两人毫不犹豫地向里前进着。

Kemp he’d Suzuki Satoru’s hand.

琪诺握住了铃木悟的手。

This was a bad move in a dangerous place.

在危险的地方这是步坏棋。

Fighting while holding someone’s hand was very disadvantageous. However, Suzuki Satoru held Keno’s hand tightly without saying a word.

占用了一边手会在进入战斗时变得十分不利。但是铃木悟什么都没说握住了琪诺的手。

After that, they did a quick survey of the castle, but they could not find any traces. Of course, neither Suzuki Satoru or Keno were detector-types, so they would not have been able to spot any high-level thieves hiding in here, However, there was a piece of evidence which made them conclude otherwise.

然后虽然把城堡大致都巡视了一圈，不过什么形迹都没能发现。不用说、因为铃木悟和琪诺都不是探知系，如果潜伏着高等级盗贼职业的话没可能发现得了。但是、有证据让他们确信并非如此。

“The dust is in piles. Looks like this castle was left empty a long time ago, and nobody else came in either.”

「灰尘…都堆积起来了。看来这个城堡从很久前就没了人，也没人进来过」

It looked like the castle had been abandoned before the undead conversion had begun, or perhaps the city had been abandoned with it.

看起来就像是不死者化开始前就放弃了这个城堡，或是同时放弃了都市。

“What should we do?”

「该怎么办？」

“After a quick look around, we haven’t spotted any signs that anything happened in the castle. First, let’s go take a look at the treasury. There might be powerful items inside.”

「粗略巡视了下，感觉这个城堡里也没有发生过什么事的痕迹。首先到这个城堡的宝物库看看吧。说

不定有什么厉害的道具。」

“Yup.”

「嗯」

They broke the sturdy door and negated the magical traps with Suzuki Satoru’s magical resistance, then proceeded to plunder all the treasure within. That said, it had not been done for acquiring money, but more because Suzuki Satoru was interested in acquiring rare items.

破坏掉坚固的大门，施加的魔法陷阱以铃木悟的抵抗力强行无效化，盗取里面的所有宝物。虽说这样并非为钱，只是铃木悟想得到稀有道具的兴趣。

The appraisal of the treasure had taken place as it was being looted, so it finished over an hour after the robbery was complete.

姑且同时在鉴定，所以离盗窃结束为止经过了一小时以上。

“No powerful items here.”

「没有厉害的道具啊」

“Yeah. While there were no powerful items, it seems there are quite a few pieces with historic value.”

「是呢。虽然没有稀有的道具，不过有好几件似乎很有历史的东西」

While he knew that they were accessories and the like, that was all he knew. And while Keno, responsible for the knowledge work, was familiar with art, magic noble society and so on, she was not learned enough to determine whether or not a particular object was historically significant. All she understood was that it looked valuable.

虽然知道那是装饰品之类，不过也只能知道那大概是那种东西的程度。负责知识方面的琪诺虽然熟知艺术、魔法、贵族社会等等，可造诣并没有深到能分辨出从历史观点来看物品是否贵重。因此、只能理解到总觉得像是贵重品这种程度。

“We won’t be able to sell them, right?”

「不过卖不掉吧？」

“Yeah. I won’t sell them, anyway. After all, we have money to spare. Plus, it would be troublesome if we got wrapped up in annoying things after selling something with a history.”

「嗯。不会卖的。毕竟钱绰绰有余。而且贩卖有历史的东西被卷入麻烦事里就难搞了」

Keno laughed happily.

琪诺开心地笑了。

“After all, the YGGDRASIL item you sold caused an incredible ruckus, Satoru.”

「毕竟悟拿去卖的YGGDRASIL的物品引发了不得了的事情啊」

Suzuki Satoru could not help but be embarrassed. Looking back now, it had been a pretty good experience, but he wanted to apologize to Keno for the trouble he had caused her back then.”

铃木悟不禁有些尴尬。回忆起来、那次虽然也说得上是趟不错的经验。不过他充满了那时给琪诺添麻烦了的想谢罪的心情。

“I won’t repeat that mistake again. After all, standing out isn’t a good thing, especially to undead beings like us.”

「那种失误不会再犯。毕竟显眼也不是好事。尤其对身为不死者的我们来说」

This world ran on the axiom that the undead were the enemies of all living beings. The two of them were heretics for wanting to enter the world of the living. They were practically traitors.

这个世界的思维是不死者是所有生者之敌。打算进入生者世界的两人是异端者，就像是投身敌阵一般。

“Still, we managed to help someone in trouble because you sold that, right, Satoru? I don’t think your judgement was wrong.

「不过正因为悟卖了那个才帮上了正在为难的人吧？我觉得悟的判断并没有错哦」

Keno seemed to have misunderstood something. He could not care less if some human he did not know lived or died. Ever since his body had ended up like this, he had not felt anything like love for his fellow man or whatnot. The only important things to Suzuki Satoru were his friends.

琪诺似乎误会了什么。谁会去管那些不认识的人类的死活啊。自从变成这幅躯体起，对人类的爱那种东西就几乎没感到过。对铃木悟来说、重要的就只有伙伴而已。

“--Hm? What’s wrong, Satoru?”

「——嗯？怎么啦，悟？」

“No, nothing’s wrong, Keno. Still, we need to let a valuer look at them at. However, if they’re from too far away, it’ll decrease their historical value. What a pain.”

「不、什么事都没有，琪诺。不过、得在哪里对在这里的各种装饰品鉴定才行。只是、太远的话对于历史性价值的评价又会降低，真为难啊」

“While I’ve told you this before, you don’t need to worry about my share, right? After all, you gave me all sorts of things, didn’t you?”

「虽然好久前就说过，不过不用在意给我那份哦？毕竟悟借了给我各种各样的东西嘛

“Don’t worry about that. After all, it’s only natural for a sempai to take care fo his kouhai.”

「不用在意那些。毕竟前辈照顾后辈本来就是理所当然的嘛」

As undead beings, they had no daily expenses. While it was not as though they could not live without selling accessories which might have historical value, they were items obtained through their adventures, so he had to reimburse half their value in cash to Keno.

身为不死者的两人在日常生活无需开销。虽然也不是不卖掉或许具有历史性价值的装饰品就无法生活，不过那些姑且是在两人的冒险中得到的道具，要把一半价值的现金交给琪诺。

He took that sort of thing seriously even between guild members. He could not be lax on that.

那种事即使是在公会成员间也必须认真对待、不能疏忽。

“Also, our travelling expenses were all paid by you, weren’t they, Keno? These things need to be split evenly, so would I do something dumb like not sharing the money we obtained with you? LEt’s not talk about who does more or less work, okay? We divided the jobs up into knowledge and the use of force… hm? So we’ve got an operational allowance but no managerial allowances?”

「而且旅费等等作为队伍花了的费用是从琪诺那儿拿的吧？明明那些得均摊，会有获得的金钱不均分这种蠢事吗？别说谁干活多谁干活少哦？我们一个负责智力一个负责暴力。……咦？明明有营业津贴却没经理津贴？」

Keno looked at Suzuki Satoru with a baffled expression on her face, as if to say “what the hell is he talking about?”

琪诺一副“在说什么呢”的感到不可思议的表情。

“Ahem! Uh, anyway, that’s why. We need to share everything valuable evenly. Got it?”

「咳咳！嗯、就是因为那样。首先把得到的有价值物品均分。明白了吧？」

“Uh, um. Thank you, Satoru.”

「嗯，嗯。谢谢你，悟」

“No, you really don’t need to thank me. After all, we’re moving as a team, and I need your strength from time to time, Keno.”

「不，真的不用感谢我也行。毕竟我们作为队伍行动着，有时也需要靠琪诺的力量」

“But, I don’t know how I’ve helped…”

「不过，我，哪有帮上忙……」

“Well, you’re better in the artistic department, and now you’re better than me in terms of magical knowledge, right? We’ll have to look to the future. In other words, this is an investment.”

「毕竟艺术领域是琪诺比较擅长，现在关于魔法的知识也比我还厉害吧？还是得看从今以后喔。换句话说就是前期投资」

“I understand, Satoru. I’ll work hard!”

「明白了、悟。我会更加努力的！」

He did not mind even if she did not go out of her way to work hard. Keno had been incredibly helpful even as she was now. However, rejecting her determination might mentally scar her, so he decided to accept her.

就算不需要特意努力也没关系。即使保持现状琪诺也非常能帮上忙了。不过否定她的决心说不定会在她心中留下伤痕。所以肯定了她。

“Hm, we’ll go with that, then, Keno.” As he saw Keno looking delighted, Suzuki Satoru remembered the reason he had come here. “Now then, let’s continue looking around this castle a little more and look for the reason why there are no undead in this city.”

「嗯、就那样吧，琪诺」看着似乎很高兴的琪诺，铃木悟想起了到这里来的理由。「那么、再稍微调查一下这座城堡，探寻一下这个都市没有不死者的理由吧」

“What should we do?”

「要怎么办？」

“Oh yes, there’s the top and bottom. Let’s check the bottom first.”

「对了、上面和下面。要调查的话先调查下面吧」

“The gaol? Given that this big castle wasn’t meant to be used as a fortress, I think usually they’d build a prison elsewhere, don’t you think?”

「牢房？因为这么大的城堡不是作为要塞使用的，我觉得一般会在另一个地方设置牢房哦？」

“But wasn’t there a gaol in your castle, Keno?”

「不过琪诺的城堡里也有牢房吧？」

“Yeah, there was. But it wasn’t used for normal people, but to briefly confine high-status people. But it didn’t look like it had been used ever since I was born.”

「嗯，有啊。但那并非是用于普通人，而是用于暂时禁闭地位高的人的牢房。不过看来自我出生起就没有用过」

“Perhaps there’s a gaol like that here too. Let’s go take a look. If it’s not there, we’ll look in the city and check inside the cells in the guards’ duty posts.”

「说不定这里也有那种牢房。去去看吧。没有那个的话到城镇去，探寻一下士兵值班室的牢房也好」

They found the gaol soon enough, but it was empty. The interior was piled high with dust as well, so there probably had not been anyone inside it.

虽然很快发现了牢房，不过里面是空的。里面同样积满灰尘，应该是一开始就没有谁在里面。

“What a shame. Let’s continue heading upwards, then. I saw several towers when observing this castle from the outside -- let’s go check out the surroundings from there.”

「真遗憾啊。那就接着往上走吧。从外面观察这个城堡的时候，有好几个尖塔。从那儿眺望周围吧」

“Yup!”

「嗯！」

Perhaps the highest tower had been used as a landing platform for flying monsters, because it was very wide and very heavily defended against attack and invasion.

最高的尖塔不知是否也被用作可以飞行的骑乘怪物的升降场，非常宽广、被处以了避免从那被入侵的严密防守。

“Uwah~”

「呜哇」

Keno exclaimed in delight at the panoramic view of the city.

琪诺对那可以一览都市的地方面露喜色发出了称赞。

Suzuki Satoru thought, you saw it all from the air while using [Fly], so why does this scenery excite you so much? However, he was smart enough not to actually say that.

虽然在铃木悟看来、明明也以<飞行>在空中飞过，这种程度的景色为什么会让内心激荡呢？不过他还是有不说出那种话的脑子的。

When Suzuki Satoru had set foot upon the peak hailed as the highest in the world, he too had been moved by the way he could see everything from the summit. But what had truly left the deepest impression on him was the battle which dfollowed.

铃木悟在登顶被称为这个世界最高的山之际，从山顶俯视一切的那种光景也让他感到感动。不过说起来，最让他留下印象的是之后的战斗。

Suzuki Satoru watched Keno run around in circles and looking around in all directions, and as he saw her display the childhishness that matched her appearance, he smiled.

从一边一圈圈地跑一边向四周放眼望去的琪诺身上感到了与外表年龄相符的的孩子气，铃木悟展颜一笑。

After that, he began examining the city, with the mindset that someone had to do what they came to this city for, even if it was just himself. Then, he found something which bothered him.

之后以只有自己也得好好地完成到这里来的目的这种心情开始观察起了城市。接着、他发现了一件在意的事。

While there were three gates leading into the urban area of the city, the gate leading to the mountain range seemed to have split open.

虽然这个都市的市区城墙有三扇门，不过其中一扇，向着山脉方向的门看上去似乎开裂了。

“Keno, look at that. What do you make of it?”

「琪诺，看看那个。你是怎么想的？」

“Hm~ it doesn’t look like it was broken from the outside, but burst from the inside? Although… if it wasn’t destroyed by some terrible strength… how should I put it?”

「唔—。感觉不是从外部而是从内部破坏的？不过……比起说是以可怕的力量毁坏……怎么说呢？」

“Want to go take a look?”

「要去看看吗？」

After receiving Keno’s approval, Suzuki Satoru cast [Fly] and the two of them headed straight for it. And then--

得到琪诺的同意，铃木悟使用<飞行>两人一起往门直线移动。然后——

“Satoru, this is…”

「悟、这是……」

“Yeah, you’re right. Something strange happened here… no, in this city too.”

「嗯、没有错。在这里……不、这座都市里也发生了异常情况吧」

One of the doors of the gate they had reached was leaning to one side. It had not been caused by age. And he could see the forms of the city’s residents there.

他们所到达的门有一边的门扇倾斜了若干。明显与老化不同。而且那里有着这个都市的居民的身姿。

No, it would be better to say that they had once been the forms of the city’s residents.

不、应该说是曾经是居民的人们的身姿吧。

Countless bones were scattered in front of the gate, within the gate, and behind it. They looked like they had been trampled to bits.

门前，门里，以及门后面散乱着无数像是被踩碎了一般的白骨。

He did not know whether to call it a coincidence, but there should have been many more bones which had been pulverized into a powder and swept away thanks to exposure to the elements.

该说是偶然吗，因为偶尔有并没曝于风雨的东西残留在那里，所以成粉消失的骨头应该也不少吧。

And since the bones had been crushed, there was no wau to tell how they had died.

正因为骨头粉碎了，才无法预测到因为什么原因而死亡。

“I trust there’s no doubt that there were once the city’s residents?”

「毫无疑问是本来的居民吧」

“Yeah… did some emergency occur, some confusion that caused everyone to flee for their lives? Or were they turned into yuriniggers, dominated, and then herded outside?”

「对啊。……是发生了紧急状态，大家争相逃命引发的混乱导致的？还是说变成了僵尸，在被支配下被赶到了外面？」

“Probably the latter. I can’t see any luggage scattered around, only bones and clothing.”

「是后者吧。除了骨头和衣服之外没有大件行李散乱的情况」

An investigation of the tumbled bones revealed rings and other such items, but there were no gems or other things one would have taken with them while fleeing.

调查了散乱着骨头的地方后虽然发现了戒指之类的物品，不过没有理应在逃命时方便携带的宝石之类的东西。

Suzuki Satoru looked beyond the door -- at the place where the yuriniggers of this city had probably been headed.

铃木悟盯着门的对面——恐怕是在这座都市的僵尸们前往的地方。

“...If someone used [Create Undead], the undead produced would be under the control of their maker.”

「……使用<不死者创造>的话，产生的不死者会处于施术者的支配之下」

After realizing what Suzuki Satoru was trying to say, a look of shock appeared on Keno’s face.

察觉到铃木悟想说什么的琪诺露出了惊讶的表情。

She could see a tall, steep mountain.

能看到非常险峻的高山。

It was Mt. Kaidinias.

是凯提尼亚斯山。

Its summit was wreathed in clouds and she could not make it out.

山顶笼罩着云，无法窥见全貌。

Suzuki Satoru took out his map and checked to see where the large road extending from the gate would lead.

铃木悟拿出地图，调查从门开始延伸的大道通往哪里。

This road seemed to circle around the base of Mt. Kaidinias and led to other cities. If they went down it, they would be able to reach other countries.

这条大道以于凯提尼亚斯山山脚迂回的形式延伸，通往其他都市，再进一步前进就能到达其他国家。

“Now then -- stay here, Keno.”

「那么——琪诺你就留在这里」

“A-ah, could I not? Would that be alright?”

「那、那个，还是不要了吧、好吗？」

Keno spoke as though she was afraid. She had probably understood the real reason why Suzuki Satoru had come to this city.

琪诺像是害怕一样地说到。她应该已经理解了铃木悟来这座都市的真正目的了吧。

“It’ll be fine, Keno. This was why we hunted “Corpus of the Abyss”. You heard it from those guys too, didn’t you? Intelligent undead beings of great power remain animated even when their creator is destroyed. Even if I annihilate the mastermind behind the yuriniggerfication, it won’t affect you, Keno.”

「没问题的，琪诺。狩猎‘深渊之躯’也是为了这点。琪诺也从那些家伙那里听说了吧？拥有智能的强大不死者，即使施术者死亡了也能活动。即使消灭了引发这场僵尸化事件的罪魁祸首，也不会因为那个原因影响成为了不死者的琪诺」

“No! That’s not it!! I’m worried about you, Satoru!!!”

「不对！才不是那样的原因！！我是担心悟你啊！！」

“--Huh?”

「——诶？」

“I mean, this is a being that turned so many people in such a large area into the undead! It’s definitely not normal! Even you couldn’t do it, Satoru!”

「毕竟是让这么大范围的人们变成不死者的存在！绝对不普通！那是连悟都做不到的事吧！」

“Ah, hm. I couldn’t do something like that.”

「啊、嗯。我做不到那样的事」

“In that case! In that case!” Keno’s face twisted in agony, and then she instantly resumed her normal expression before it kinked up again. “Doesn’t that mean there’s a chance you might get defeated, Satoru!?”

「既然这样！既然这样！」琪诺因为悲痛而扭曲的表情瞬间变回平时的表情，然后再次扭曲「悟这不是也有被打败消灭的可能吗！」

Indeed, that was true. He ought to admit it. He could not definitively state that “It won’t happen”.

确实没错。应该承认吧。自己无法断言「不会」。

“Ah, Satoru. Did you enjoy our travels together?”

「那个、悟。和我一起旅行开心吗？」

“--yeah. I was as happy as I had been with my former friends. Yes. I was happy, really, I was.”

「——嗯。就像和曾经的同伴旅行一样开心。嗯，真的、真的很开心」

He understood why those World Searchers had kept doing all those things he felt were pointless. He also understood the joy of exploring the world that the management and the developers wanted to give to the players.

他理解了World Searchers为什么老是做那些自己觉得无谓的行为。也理解了运营和制作者想给予玩家的那种快乐的探索世界的理念。

His journey with Keno had been a very enjoyable one.

和琪诺的旅行真的很开心。

“In that case, why don’t we keep travelling? I’m undead like you, so we can travel forever, can’t we, Satoru? Let’s go and see a broader world! There’s so many places we haven’t seen before! Can you forget about this, please?”

「既然这样、就一直旅行下去吧？我和悟一样是不死者所以可以永远一起旅行哦？一起去看看更宽广的世界吧。有好多我们没看过的地方！忘掉这种事、好吗？」

“...I could. It’s not right to do something my friends don’t like. Trying to put someone in my debt would only vex them.”

「…………也是啊。干同伴不喜欢的事并不正确。就算硬卖人情也只会让别人困扰吗」

“Y-yes. Let’s, let’s go travelling together, forever, okay? Just the two of us. We’re undead, after all! Don’t do dangerous things and continue travelling with me…”

「对、对啊。一起、一起永远地、一直旅行吧？我们两个一起。毕竟我们是不死者！别做危险的事了、一起继续旅行吧……」

That was correct.

那是正论吧。

Suzuki Satoru had no right to determine Keno’s happiness. If travelling together was happiness, then wasn’t doing so showing kindnes to Keno? However --

铃木悟无法决定琪诺的幸福。如果所谓一起去旅行就是幸福，那么做不就是对于琪诺的温柔吗？但是——

“Keno Fasris Invern!” Suzuki Satoru shouted, and Keno’s shrank away from him.

「琪诺•法斯莉斯•茵蓓伦！」

铃木悟刚大声说到，琪诺的身子就畏缩起来。

“Y-yes… I’m sorry, Satoru. Please don’t get mad…”

「是、是的……对不起，悟。不要生气……」

“I’m not angry… Being a princess should be a job, right?”

「我可有没生什么气……公主算一种职业吧？」

“Huh?”

「嘿？」

Keno’s mouth hung open in a stupid-looking way. She was probably showing how she could not keep up with the sudden change in topic and did not understand his meaning. Suzuki Satoru mocked himself in his heart. Ah, it couldn’t be avoided.

琪诺像是呆住一样张开口露出一副蠢相。这是话题过于跳跃而无法理解的其中意思的表现。铃木悟在心中嘲笑自己。唉、这也是没办法的事吧。

“Like I was saying, being a princess is a job, right?”

「所以说、所谓的公主是一种职业吧？」

“Is, is it? It doesn’t feel that way to me…”

「是、是吗？我怎么感觉不太一样……」

“So, does that mean kings and queens are unemployed? Is that not how it is?”

「那、国王或者女王就是无业者吗？不是那样的吧？」

“When you put it that way, that might be the case… is it?”

「那么说的话说不定是那样……是那样吧？」

“Now, on to the next item; gaining the approval of more than half of the guild’s members -- well, there’s only one person, but that counts as more than half.”

「那接着下一项。得到工会成员过半数的同意——虽然只有一个人但也超过半数了啊」

A baffled look appeared on Keno’s face.

琪诺露出一副不可思议的表情。

“In addition, you’re a heteromorphic creature of the type known as a Vampire, Keno. In other words, you have cleared all the requirements. Now then, Keno Fasris Invern. I recognize you as a member of Ainz Ooal Gown. You shall be the 42nd member. Or should I say, the second member of the New Ainz Ooal Gown?”

「再加上琪诺你是名为吸血鬼的异形种。换句话说就是全项通过。那么、琪诺•法斯莉斯•茵蓓伦。我认可你为安兹·乌尔·恭的一员。你将第四十二名公会成员。又或者、该说是新生安兹·乌尔·恭的第二名成员呢？」

Ainz took out the ring of Ainz Ooal Gown from his inventory and gave it to Keno.

安兹将从道具箱里取出的安兹·乌尔·恭之戒交给了琪诺。

Keno’s expression flashed from shock to normality to shock again.

琪诺的表情瞬息万变地从惊愕到普通状态又变成了稍微惊讶。

She had heard Suzuki Satoru talk about how important that ring was to him countless times. It stirred her emotions up enough that they had to be forcibly suppressed.

这枚戒指对铃木悟来说有多重要，至今已经听他说过很多次了。这足以让琪诺的情绪波动大到被镇静了下来。

“Can… I?”

「可以、吗？」

“Mm. Keno, you’re one of us, a member of Ainz Ooal Gown. You have the right to take this ring.”

「嗯、琪诺是我们、安兹·乌尔·恭的一员。有拿着这枚戒指的权利」

Of course, this ring would only be truly useful in a place like Nazarick. Without Nazarick, it was simply the proof that one was a member of the guild.

当然了，只有在名为纳萨力克的地方这枚戒指才能发挥它真正的意义。在没有它的现状，这只不过是身为公会一员的证明罢了。

...And now there are two members of Ainz Ooal Gown… who knows, it might be a good idea to find another 58 members in this world.

（……这样就有两个安兹·乌尔·恭的成员了……说不定在这个世界再找五十八个成员也不错呢）

“Thank you, Satoru!”

「谢谢你、悟！」

Keno put the ring on delightedly, as though she had forgotten what had happened just now.

就像忘记了刚才的事一样，琪诺很高兴地戴上了戒指。

Suzuki Satoru watched her, and then faked a cough before speaking.

铃木悟边看着她那个样子假咳了一声说道。

“Now then, Keno. To me, there is one thing I cannot tolerate under any circumstances.And that would be -- forgiving anyone who has done wrong by a member of the guild and who is still at large.”

「那么、琪诺。对于我来说有一种无论如何都无法饶恕的事。那就是——原谅让公会的一员遭罪自己却逍遥自在的家伙这种事」

“No, it’s just a little hardship. Travelling with you--”

「不、不过并不是只有遭罪哦。和悟一起旅——」

Suzuki Satoru did not let Keno finish her sentence.

铃木悟没有让琪诺说到最后。

“--I might be able to resurrect your yuriniggerfied parents back into human beings.”

「——说不定能让你变成僵尸的双亲复活为人」

Keno froze, and her eyes wavered.

琪诺的动作停了下来，她的眼眸摇摆不定着。

“...Keno, this is what you hoped for, isn’t it? To stay as one of the undead, and resurrect your parents, am I wrong? Or do you want to become human, along with your parents?”

「……琪诺、这才是你希望的吧。你保持着不死者的状态，然后把双亲复活为人、没错吧？或者是把你和你的双亲都变回人类」

“Can, can you do it?”

「做、做得到吗？」

“I don’t know. But Keno, nothing would delight you more, am I right?”

「不清楚。不过琪诺、这才是对你最大的幸福，不是吗？」

Keno looked in all directions, and then she lowered her head and quietly replied, “Yes.”

琪诺的视线四处摇摆着。然后把头低下了一会的她小声回答「嗯」。

In that case -- Suzuki Satoru’s course was set.

既然这样——铃木悟的心意也就定下来了。

It was only natural that a guildmaster would fight for his guild members.

公会会长为了工会会员战斗是理所当然的。

“--Keno.”

「——琪诺」

Keno raised her head suddenly as she heard the iron in his voice.

琪诺因为那钢铁般的声音猛地抬起了头。

“Do not let your guilt bind you. There is no need for that at all. I must go, first to see what caused this all to happen, and then, depending on the circumstances -- I’m very sorry, Keno, but you must stay here.”

「不要被罪恶感所束缚。一点必要也没有。我得走了，首先得查明是什么原因引发了这个现象，

然后根据情况再——虽然很抱歉但琪诺、你就留在这里吧」

Keno hesitated for a few seconds, and then she nodded.

琪诺犹豫了几秒，然后点了头。

She was no fool. She understood that she would be holding him back.

她也不是笨蛋，明白自己会拖后腿的。

“Now then, I’ll use [Create Fortress] to build a fort some distance away. You don’t mind staying in there, do you?”