“...I see. If we do them a favor… but will we be accepted, as demihumans? The Sorcerous Kingdom is a nation of humans, is it not?”

「……原来如此。……卖个人情的话……可是，身为亚人的吾等会被接受吗？魔导国是人类的国家吗？」

“No, it is not. The Sorcerous Kingdom is a nation ruled by one of the undead.”

「不，不是的。魔导国是一个由不死者的王所统治的国家」

“The undead!?”

「不死者！？」

Both the prince and the Zern surrounding him exclaimed as one.

不止王子，周围的蓝蛆们一起发出了惊叫声。

“Are you telling us to go to such a dangerous place!?”

「妳说要我们前往那么危险的地方么！？」

Every race harbored a strong hatred of the undead. Even Neia had been that way before she had come to understand the Sorcerer King. As she realized that the people before her were just like how she had been not too long ago, she was deeply moved.

对不死者抱有强烈忌讳感这点无论对于哪个种族来说都是一样的。即使是宁亚，在不了解魔导王之前也是如此。一想到眼前的它们和不久之前的自己如出一辙，宁亚就有那么一点感慨万分。

“A moment please. The Sorcerous Kingdom might be ruled by one of the undead, but its great ruler is an open-minded and noble king, and I have personally witnessed humans coexisting peacefully with demihumans within the country.”

「请等一下。魔导国虽然是由不死者统治，但身为统治者的那位大人是位非常开明高尚的伟大君主，而且我也亲眼见证了国内人类与亚人们和平共处的景象」

“You’re actually calling the undead great, I can’t believe humans are so--”

「竟然说不死者伟大，人类和我们——」

“--Be quiet. Neia-dono, I apologize if my subjects have given offense. However, is the Sorcerer King truly as great as you say he is?”

「——住口。吾的臣子们失礼了，宁亚阁下。不过，汝所说的那位魔导王真的有那么伟大吗？」

“Yes.”

「是的」

Neia held her chest high and replied thus to the prince’s question.

面对王子的质疑，宁亚挺起胸膛断言道。

“... We cannot read the expressions of human beings. But I understand that someone as brave as you -- who has delved deep behind enemy lines in order to effect a daring rescue -- must be saying so with unshakable confidence.Then I shall not believe in the undead Sorcerer King. I shall believe in you, who believes in the Sorcerer King! Please relay that to him.”

「……人类的表情我们完全无法分辨。但吾明白，有着敢于深入敌后实施救援这般刚勇的汝，是带着无法动摇的自信做出回答的。吾也去相信他好了，不是身为不死者的魔导王，而是这样的汝所相信的魔导王。——就去拜托这位传说中的魔导王吧」

“Ohhhh!” the Zerns cried out in joy.

「哦哦！」蓝蛆间传出了喜悦的叫声。

“It seems we have reached a decision. In that case, I pray you will flee to the Sorcerous Kingdom with all due haste, my prince. Unfortunately, there is some very bad news, namely that one of Jaldabaoth’s trusted demons will be coming soon. I thought it would be a few more days before he arrived… but it will be bad if we are found. Alright, let’s go.”

「已经得出结论了。那么就请王子争分夺秒尽快逃往魔导国吧。当下不妙的是，那亚达巴沃的亲信恶魔似乎过来了。还以为那家伙要几天后才会来……。但被发现就麻烦了。好了，请赶快吧」

As a species, the Zern were largely composed of females, with very few males. Pretty much only the king and the prince fell into the latter category. If a tribe’s males were wiped out -- although there were cases where females could change sex -- the tribe would be set on the path to extinction.

蓝蛆这个种族基本都是由雌性构成，雄性的数量非常少。差不多就只有国王和王子而已。如果族群的雄性全灭了——虽说也有雌性变性的情况——那么这个族群基本就是前途渺茫死路一条了。

Therefore, the prince needed to flee to an absolutely safe place -- the Sorcerous Kingdom, which was why they had had the preceding discussion.

因此王子有必要先一步逃往绝对安全的场所——魔导国，所以才会出现刚才的提议。

“Jaldabaoth’s trusted demon? He’s coming?”

「亚达巴沃的亲信吗？那家伙会过来？」

There was a word the Zerns had said which she could not ignore.

蓝蛆们的话语中出现了一个无法置若罔闻的词汇。

“Mmm. Have you not seen him? He has three trusted demons by his side, and one of them is coming here.”

「嗯。汝等没有见过吗？那家伙身边有三只亲信恶魔，过来的就是其中之一」

“...We need to defeat him here.”

「…………那家伙，要在这里打倒」

As he heard CZ’s words, the prince -- who had been left on the ground -- suddenly sprang up.

听了希丝的短短一言，被放在地上的王子突然蹦跶起来。

“Are you insane!? You two must be quite strong to have been able to rescue me, but even then, you’ll never be able to defeat him!”

「这是在开什么玩笑？从能救吾出来这点考虑汝等大概是相当的强者，但即便如此也是无法战胜那家伙的」

The label of “strong” only applied to CZ, but Neia could not find a chance to cut in and thus she could not clear things up.

所谓强者只有希丝就是了，但找不到插口时机的宁亚并没有机会解释。

“...They say he teleports between many cities… Him coming here is a rare opportunity. If you miss it, you won’t get another.”

「…………听说那家伙会通过传送在多个城市间移动。……它若在当下这时机过来，那就是千载难逢的好机会。错失良机的话，很难再有下一次」

“That is true…”

「汝说的确实没错……」

“My prince!”

「王子！」

“Calm down and think about it. If we can kill one of Jaldabaoth’s aides, his chain of command will fall into chaos, and it will be harder for them to find us, who are not heading for the hills but for the Sorcerous Kingdom… then, is it possible to defeat him?”

「冷静地考虑一下。要是能杀掉亚达巴沃的一个亲信，它的指挥系统就会出现错乱，想要找到不经由丘陵而前往魔导国的吾等就会更加困难的吧。……那么，真的有打倒它的可能性吗？」

“...Don’t know. But this is the only chance.”

「…………不知道。但机会只有现在」

“Then let’s take it. We’ll take a chance on the strength that let the two of you kill the Vah Un!” the Prince said. He had been quite shocked when he saw the demihuman’s corpse on the way back. “Listen well, all of you. From now on, we will help the two of them defeat the wicked Jaldabaoth’s minion!”

「那就赌一回吧。就赌在能仅以二人杀死那水元素巨魔的汝等的力量！」在返回的路上面对那具亚人尸体大吃一惊的王子说道。「你们听好了。我们从现在开始，就要帮助这二人击杀那万恶的亚达巴沃的亲信了！」

“Yes!”

「是！」

“There are two humans, and six of us. Until recently, the eight of us were mutual enemies, but now we are comrades in arms. Such is the stuff of which heroic sagas sing.”

「人类二人，吾方六人。直到前几天还互相敌对的八人现在要携手挑战强敌了么。所谓的英雄谭说的正是如此的事情啊」

Eh? Surprised, Neia rechecked the number of Zern present, and after seeing that she had not been mistaken, she hurriedly spoke up.

诶？吃了一惊的宁亚以防万一数了数在场的蓝蛆数量，确认了自己没有理解错误以后，慌张开口说道。

“Wait, please wait. You don’t need to get involved in this, my prince. After all, we came here to protect you!”

「等等，请等一等。请不要连王子也参加战斗。我们就是为了保护王子才过来的啊」

In addition, what could this prince do in combat? However kindly one wanted to interpret his intentions, he was still a gigantic maggot that crawled on the ground. Honestly, it would be less troublesome if he simply followed them like a VIP.

而且本来它这位王子就算参加战斗又能派上什么用场呢。就算以再善意的目光来看，它也就是只爬在地上的大蛆虫罢了。说真的，要是他单纯是想作为一面旗帜跟过去的话，就还是少添点麻烦为好。

“I see, so to you, your mission is over since you have helped me escape. I see, I see. However, with my help, it should be easier to defeat Jaldabaoth’s henchman. No, I should say that without me, it will be very hard for you to defeat him, even if you are the heroes who defeated the Vah Un.”

「对汝等来说，只要让吾成功逃脱就算是达成使命了么。原来如此、原来如此。可是，如果吾进行协助的话，应该能让打倒前来此处的亚达巴沃亲信的难度更低一点。不，应该说如果没有吾就很难打倒它。即使是打倒了水元素巨魔的英雄们也是一样」

CZ was the one who had defeated the Vah Un. Neia had nothing to do with it. Even so, the prince still counted her as a hero, which made her very embarrassed.

那只水元素巨魔是希丝一人打倒的，完全没有宁亚的功劳。尽管如此王子还是把宁亚也算在了英雄里面，着实是让她羞愧难耐。

“So, do you mean that we can do it if we borrow the strength of the Zerns?”

「那个，您的意思是只要借助诸位蓝蛆的力量就做的到了吗？」

The prince made a strange noise.

王子发出了奇妙的叫声。

“No, no, great heroes. It’s not like that. I can cast spiritual spells of the fourth tier.”

「不，不是的。英雄阁下。别看这样，吾也是有着能使用第四位阶精神系魔法的力量的」

“The fourth tier?”

「第四位阶？」

Neia was surprised. The fourth tier of magic was a realm that only geniuses could barely reach after much hard work. In the Holy Kingdom, the only people who could cast such spells were the high priestess Kelart Custodio and the Holy Queen Calca Bessarez.

宁亚大吃一惊。第四位阶是人类中的天才耗费加倍的努力才能够勉强触及的领域。在圣王国中，除了最高神官葵拉特·卡斯托迪奥和圣王女卡儿可·贝萨雷斯这两位国家高层以外再没人能够使用。

Neia glanced to the side, thinking CZ would be as surprised as herself, but CZ’s face was as blank as ever. That was a difficulty rating 150 maid demon for you -- such things did not even faze her..

想要和希丝分享这份惊讶的宁亚往旁边瞧了一眼，但希丝还是一如既往的面无表情。不愧是难度一百五十的女仆恶魔，这种程度根本不值得她为之惊讶吧。

“A...ah...are all the Zern as powerful as you?”

「那，那个……蓝蛆们都是像您这么强的吗？」

The prince made another strange sound, and thrashed like a caught fish.

王子发出了奇怪的叫声，再次像一只被钓起来的鱼一样蹦跶了起来

“I am special.:

「吾是特别的」

“Precisely. That’s why he is the prince.”

「正是如此。因此才是王子啊」

After hearing the Zern’s proud voice, Neia mused, I see, and recalled the contents of the classes she had once taken.

听到蓝蛆自豪的声音，宁亚在心中念到，原来如此，她想起了曾经课上学到的内容。

That’s right. The royalty of some species are so much more powerful than the commoners that they seem like a different species entirely...

（没错。在一部分异族中，王族和平民之间有着近乎不同种族般的能力差距……）

“That said, I do have weaknesses… namely, I am very slow.”

「但是也有弱点。吾……那个，动作很迟钝」

Well that’s true too, Neia thought. That much was obvious at a glance.

也是呢，宁亚心想。这从外表上就一目了然了。

“If someone approaches me, I’ll be killed without the chance to fight back. Therefore, may I trouble you to carry me? I can cast spells in response to signals.”

「要是被靠近的话就会毫无还手之力地被虐杀的吧。所以虽然有点对不起汝等，能背着吾吗？然后配合信号发动魔法就行了」

“I see. I understand what you wish. However, could the Zern -- that is to say, your royal guards -- not carry you as well?”

「原来如此。您的意愿我了解了。但就算不是我们，让蓝蛆的各位——近卫们来背您不可以吗？」

“Unlike our prince, we specialize in melee combat. And I believe the two of you fight at range?”

「因为我们和王子不同，擅长的是白刃战。而妳们是在远距离进行战斗的吧？」

“That is true… hm. It would be better if CZ-san or I carried him… no, let’s leave that aside for now. It would be bad if we carried the prince over and he ended up dying.”

「正是如此……呢。我或是希丝小姐来背会比较……不、等等这问题先放在一边。带王子过去的话万一他死掉就不妙了啊」

“...Neia. Carrying the prince is significant… That’s why he suggested going with us.”

「……宁亚。带王子过去有其意义。……所以他才会提议同行的」

“Fufufu. Indeed, it is. I say, do you know anything about him? That withered-tree demon who decorates himself with heads?”

「呵呵呵。正是如此。吾说，汝等知不知道那家伙的事情？那种用首级装饰自己的枯木恶魔」

“...There are several demons like that. SIlk Hats, Crowns, Circlets and Corollas.”

「…………这样的恶魔有好几种。按强度顺序的话，高帽恶魔、王冠恶魔、头冠恶魔、花冠恶魔」

CZ counted the four types off on her fingers.

立起四根手指的希丝说道。

“...I believe that henchman demon must be one of them. But… if we encounter a Silk Hat, we ought to flee. Even I could not win against one.”

「…………亲信恶魔就是其中的哪个吧。但是……如果遇到高帽恶魔，还是走为上计。就算是我也赢不了」

“So you knew!?”

「妳知道的吗！」

Neia was surprised, and then that feeling was replaced by anger. When they had prepared for the mission, CZ had said that she did not know much about the henchman demons.

宁亚吃了一惊，随后怒气就涌了上来。事前准备的时候希丝明明就说她对亲信恶魔的事情不是很了解的。

Was that not lying?

那是在说谎吗。

This was because if she was trying to keep information on Jaldabaoth’s army from the Holy Kingdom, it would mean that CZ had never been under the Sorcerer King’s control from the start. It also meant that CZ’s existence did not prove anything about the Sorcerer King’s safety,

这要是为了防止亚达巴沃军队的情报被圣王国知晓的话，希丝从最开始就并不服从于魔导王的支配。也就是说关于魔导王的安危，希丝的存在也算不上一种慰藉了吗。

“...I trusted you! And in the end you were lying to me from the start!”

「……我寄托了那么大的希望!结果到头来都是骗人的么！」

Caught up in her emotions, Neia seized CZ by the shoulders. She used a lot of force, but the maid demon did not seem hurt. It was not because CZ had no emotions, but because that amount of strength was nothing to her.

情绪激动的宁亚抓住了希丝的双肩。非常用力。但女仆恶魔看起来并不觉得疼痛。不是因为她没有表情。而是因为这对希丝来说确实不痛不痒。

The unbearable regret and resentment made Neia want to cry. She had thought that she had forged a bond with CZ, but in the end she had turned out to be nothing more than a laughingstock. Neia could not help mocking herself.

难以忍受的悔恨让宁亚有一种哭出来的冲动。觉得和希丝有那么一些心意相通了的自己，只不过是一个令人贻笑大方的笨蛋。宁亚不由得如此自嘲起来。

CZ’s face was as blank as ever. However, there was a subtle change there which only Neia could read.

希丝果然还是面无表情。只是，她的脸上果然还是出现了一些只有宁亚才能读懂的些微变化。

It was distress, contemplation, or perhaps -- remorse.

困惑、思索、或者是——后悔。

“...I’m sorry.”

「…………对不起」

CZ squeezed those words out after a long silence. It hardly qualified as an apology -- in fact, it only served to stoke the flames of her anger. But right now, CZ seemed strangely helpless, and seeing her like this helped Neia regain a bit of her composure.

在漫长的沉默后，希丝挤出了这样一句话。这句实在不够充分的道歉，反倒会助长他人的怒火。但现在的希丝看起来微妙的无助，她的这幅样子让宁亚的心取回了些许的冷静。

Carefully, like she was doing something she had never tried before, CZ quietly continued.

希丝就像是在尝试从未做过的什么事情一样，小心翼翼地接着说道。

“...If you knew how strong the henchman demon was, you and the others might have been afraid and not carried out the operation. But for the sake of Ainz-sama’s victory… we must win this battle. That was why I lied.”

「…………要是知道了亲信恶魔的强大，宁亚你们可能会因为恐惧而不去进行作战。但为了安兹大人的胜利……这次作战无论如何都要成功。所以才说了谎」

Every word she said had been carefully considered before being put together into a heartfelt, agonized statement. But those words also contained a genuine and immovable faith.

这是每一个词都在反复思量后才说出的，费尽苦心的发言。但又非常强力，其中包含了真挚且无法动摇的强大信念。

Neia did not know how to see through her lies. Not to mention she was a demon -- no, even if she were not a demon, Neia would not be able to tell if a blank-faced girl like her was speaking the truth.

宁亚不晓得如何才能看穿他人的谎言。更不要说对方是恶魔——不，就算不是恶魔，这样一个无表情少女所说的话，宁亚根本无法辨别真伪。

However, even if she were feeding information to Jaldabaoth as a spy, or trying to bring down the Holy Kingdom from the inside, CZ’s actions until now did not match up to those motivations. She ought to have acted more sensibly.

然而，即使她要作为间谍把情报交给亚达巴沃，或者是想从内部击溃圣王国军，希丝至今为止的行动都和这些搭不上边。她应该有更合理的做法才对。

And more than anything else, Neia wanted to believe CZ. Part of that was because her existence was a signpost to the Sorcerer King, but also because the mysterious connection she had to CZ was irreplaceable to Neia.

而且不管道理如何，宁亚想要相信希丝。这当然有她的存在是通往魔导王的路标的原因，但与此同时，和希丝之间那种奇妙的共同感，对宁亚来说已经是无法替代的重要之物了。

“...Alright. I believe you. But please, don’t look down on me any more. I would gladly walk through oceans of fire and climb mountains of blades for His Majesty.”

「……知道了。我相信。但是，请不要再小瞧我了。如果是为了魔导王陛下，我就算上刀山下火海也在所不辞」

CZ looked visibly relieved. As expected, she could not have been a spy. As for why, that was because she was clearly not suited for it. As she thought that, a natural, unforced smile came back to Neia’s face.

希丝显而易见地松了一口气。果然她不可能是间谍。要说为何，她明显不适合啊。这么一想，宁亚的脸上又浮现了自然的笑容。

“Alright, alright, can we get back to the previous topic? If you know so much about them, can you tell us about that demon’s abilities?”

「好了好了，可以继续刚才的话题了吧？要是知道的那么详细的话，那恶魔的能力汝又是否了解？」

“These demons all possess the same abilities, but they are not very strong in their base forms. However, the problem arises when these demons are able to obtain the heads of intelligent creatures… particularly those of magic casters.”

「这种恶魔无论哪只都有着同样的能力，但它的基础状态并不怎么强。然而，问题在于这帮恶魔得到了具有知性的生物……而且是魔法吟唱者的头部以后」

According to CZ, demons of that type could equip themselves with the heads of magic casters and use the powers of the heads’ owners. Silk Hats could use four heads at once, Crowns could use three, Circlets could use two, and Corollas could use one. Their threat level rose exponentially if they managed to obtain the heads of exceptional magic casters.

根据希丝所说，这一系统的恶魔在装饰起魔法咏唱者的头部以后，就可以使用头部原主人的力量。高帽恶魔[Silk Hat]最多能装饰四个头颅，王冠恶魔[Crown]三个，头冠恶魔[Circlet]两个，花冠恶魔[Corolla]一个。而且一旦得到了优秀魔法吟唱者的头颅，恶魔的危险性就会相应地呈指数曲线急剧上升。

“No matter how good a head a Corolla equips, it can only use up to third-tier spells. Silk Hats, on the other hand, can use up to tenth-tier spells--”

「花冠恶魔[Corolla]，无论它装饰的头部有多么优秀，都只能使用最高到第三位阶的魔法。而头饰的恶魔则是能使用到第十位阶——」

“Wait!”

「等下！」

“Hold on!”

「等等！」

Both the prince and Neia interrupted CZ.

王子和宁亚二人的声音一起打断了希丝。

Neia and the prince exchanged looks. While Neia could not read the prince’s face, Neia was certain that he was thinking the same thing as her.

宁亚和蹦蹦跳跳的王子交换了一个眼神。即使无法辨别对方的表情，宁亚也确信王子和自己正具有同样的想法。

“...After you.”

「……您请」

“Umu… er, did you say tenth-tier? Are fifth-tier spells not the highest tier of magic?”

「唔嗯。……呃，妳说第十位阶？魔法的最高位阶难道不是第五位阶吗？」

It was as the prince said. Neia had heard that this was the limit of magic. The reason why she felt that the Sorcerer King could use sixth-tier spells also stemmed from that.

正如王子所说。宁亚所听说的魔法的极限也是这种程度。宁亚会觉得魔导王的话能够使用第六位阶魔法的原因也是如此。

In response to the prince’s question, CZ shook her head as if to say “Haa, what will I do with you.”

面对王子的质疑，哈，真是没办法，希丝以这种态度摇了摇头。

“...The tenth-tier is the highest tier of magic. The spell that Jaldabaoth used to call down meteors from the sky also belongs to that tier.”

「…………魔法最高可以达到第十位阶。亚达巴沃使用的从空中落下陨石的魔法也是第十位阶」

“How, how did he beat -- eh? Eh? No way! Don’t tell me, His Majesty, who stood with Jaldabaoth…”

「那，那种家伙怎么赢——诶？诶？骗人？能和那亚达巴沃势均力敌的陛下难道……」

As the shocking truth hit Neia, the prince was also shuddering in shock.

在宁亚注意到冲击性事实的同时，王子也惊得止不住浑身颤抖。

“The tenth tier? No. It can’t be, right? The tenth tier… Could it be true… And to think, I was so proud of myself and my fourth-tier…”

「第十位阶？诶？不。骗人的吧？第十位阶……。这是真的么……。为区区第四位阶就沾沾自喜的吾究竟……」

No, the fourth tier was already very powerful. He would have been justified in being arrogant. There were precious few magic casters who could reach that level.

不，第四位阶已经是很强大的领域了，就算自满也毫无问题。能达到这一领域的魔法咏唱者真的是数一数就数得完。

“CZ… I’d like to check something, but… can His Majesty use spells of the tenth-tier... too?”

「希丝……我想确认一下，魔导王陛下也能使用第十位阶……吗？」

“...But of course.”

「…………那是当然」

Why are you still saying this, CZ’s tone seemed to imply. She sounded like she was rolling her eyes. It might have been the first time that Neia had so clearly discerned CZ’s feelings.

妳怎么现在还说这种话，希丝的语气里明显带着真是傻眼的感觉。说不定这是宁亚第一次如此明确地判断出了希丝的感情。

The prince, who was also a magic caster, was twitching from the tremendous shock.

同为魔法吟唱者的王子似乎也因为强烈的冲击而浑身乱颤。

“Hah? Hah? So the king of the land to which we are fleeing -- the Sorcerer King -- is such a powerful undead being? Does mastery of the tenth tier mean he is over twice as powerful as me?”

「哈？啥？吾等要逃往的国家的国王——魔导王是那么强大的不死者吗？第十位阶就是说比吾强两倍以上？」

“...Haaa.” CZ sighed deeply. “His Majesty.”

「…………哈」希丝长长叹了一口气。「陛下」

“Eh?”

「诶？」

“...Call him His Majesty.”

「…………要叫陛下」

“Ah, yes, yes. His Majesty is truly powerful…”

「啊，是、是。魔导王陛下真是个强者呢……」

When one thought calmly about it, CZ had actually been quite brusque with the prince of an entire tribe, but since CZ was speaking about matters of fact, Neia tacitly acknowledged her actions as she expressed her agreement.”

冷静想想的话，希丝对一族的王子还真是使用了相当强硬的态度，但因为希丝所说的事情本身是理所当然的，所以宁亚在默认其做法的同时表示了肯定。

“Indeed, Prince-sama. His Majesty is incredibly powerful!”

「正是如此，王子大人。魔导王陛下是位超厉害的强者！」

“Ah, yes.”

「啊，是啊」

“...Prince. If you could find someone that powerful, he would be in your debt!”

「……王子。要是能找到如此厉害的强者，还施以人情的话！」

“You, you’re absolutely right! Then we shall give your earlier proposal -- to search for His Majesty in the hills -- our fullest support!”

「正、正如汝所说啊！好！刚刚汝的提议——在丘陵搜索魔导王陛下的提议，吾就约定会全面进行支援吧」

Neia clenched her fists in excitement.

宁亚兴奋地攥紧了双拳。

“Thank you very much, Prince-sama. -- Now then, CZ, could you continue what you were saying just now?”

「非常感谢，王子大人。——那么希丝，能继续刚才的话题吗？」

“...About how powerful Ainz-sama is?”

「…………安兹大人很强的话题？」

“We were talking about that henchman of Jaldabaoth. Ah, I’d like to hear about the Sorcerer King as well -- could you tell me more after we return safely?”

「现在请说关于亚达巴沃亲信的话题吧。啊，魔导王的话题我也想听，能等平安回去后和我说吗？」

“...Hm. Multi-head demons with multiple equipped heads can use them all at once and cast multiple spells at a time, but there are several conditions. First, each head can only use two spells at once. In addition, there is a limit on how many tiers of spells which can be cast at once. For instance, Silk Hats can cast a maximum of 15 tiers of spells at once--”

「…………嗯。……装饰多个头的恶魔能同时使用这些头颅，一次发动多个魔法。但是也有几个条件。一个是，同一个头同一时间只能使用两个魔法。而另一个是，有时能同时发动魔法总位阶的限制。比如高帽恶魔能使用合计十五位阶的份——」

“--15 tiers! Do spells go up to a maximum of 15 tiers!?”

「——十五位阶的份！难道实际上魔法最高能到达十五位阶吗？」

“...They don’t go that high. The tiers of the spells added together can be up to 15.”

「…………再怎么说也没那么高。是合计十五」

The prince writhed in relief at CZ’s answer.

对希丝的回答感到安心的王子蠕动了一下。

The fact that Neia could surmise a bit of how the prince felt through his actions began to frighten her.

对于有些能从王子的动作中读出其感情的自己，宁亚有点害怕了。

“...Moving on. The important thing is how many heads that demon can equip at once.”

「…………继续话题。所以重要的是那恶魔到底装饰着几个头」

“Two. One is a demihuman head, and the other is the head of a human like yourselves.”

「两个。一个亚人的，还有一个汝等般人类的头」

Neia had a bad feeling about this. Jaldabaoth had been holding a human body back then. Had its upper half not been missing?”

宁亚产生了讨厌的预感。那个时候亚达巴沃所持的人类躯体。它不是失去了上半身么。

“What was that human head like, prince-sama?”

「那个人类的头是怎样的呢？王子大人」

“Unfortunately, I cannot tell apart individuals of species other than my own. Ah, I do know about the other head. It belonged to the queen of the Pandecks, known as the Grand Mother.”

「抱歉吾不擅长分辨同族以外的个体。啊，另一个头的话吾知道，是名为潘德克斯的种族的女王，“国母[Grand Mother]”」

Neia wanted to ask more about the Pandecks and the Grand Mother, but Neia had more pressing things she needed to learn.

潘德克斯也好，国母也好，虽然有些想仔细问问的词汇，但宁亚现在有其他更想知道的事情。

“I’d like to ask about the human. What color was her hair?”

「关于人类那边我想了解一下，他的头发是什么颜色？」

“By hair do you mean the fur on the head? It was light black.”

「所谓头发是指长在人类头部的体毛吧？是浅黑色」

“Black? So it doesn’t belong to someone from the Holy Kingdom?”

「黑色？不是圣王国的人吗？」

Neia’s heart was somewhat at ease. For a moment, she had wondered if the head belonged to the Holy Queen. Now that her guess had been proven wrong, she felt a sense of profound relief. At the same time, Neia noted that this might be a hint to another riddle.

宁亚稍稍放心了一点。仅有一瞬，她想到，那头部会不会是圣王女的呢。这一猜想被否认以后，她由衷地感到了安心。与此同时，宁亚注意到，这或许会成为某个谜团的提示。

She had heard that humans from the south generally had black hair. So that’s it, Neia thought. Had Jaldabaoth come from there, she wondered.

听说南方的人类多是黑色的头发。原来如此。宁亚心想。亚达巴沃是从那边过来的吗，她做出了这样的推测。

To the Holy Kingdom, the south was not a land ruled by humans. Less than half the population was human, and many of those had the blood of other species, and that number was steadily increasing. According to what Neia knew, only the Holy Kingdom, the Empire and the Kingdom were ruled by human royalty. The City-State Alliance and the Theocracy did not have royal families.

圣王国以南的不是由人类主导的国家。这些国家里人类不足半数，即使有也多是和其他种族的混血，这数字还在不断增多。据宁亚所知，国家的领导者的王族由纯粹的人类所担任的国家，就只有圣王国、帝国、王国这几个了。都市国家联合与教国则是并不存在王族。

So that was why no news about Jaldabaoth had reached these human-dominated countries.

所以才没有亚达巴沃的相关情报流通到以人类为主体的国家的这一带来吧。

“...Incidentally, multi-head demons cannot use the abilities of heads which do not belong to magic casters. They do not gain the abilities of warriors by equipping a warrior’s head. That is because there are other demons with those abilities.”

「…………顺便一提用头装饰自己的恶魔，即使装饰了魔法吟唱者以外的头颅也无法使用其能力。装饰了战士的头也不能获得他的力量。因为还有其他拥有这种能力的恶魔」

“In that case, the demihuman’s head… Prince-sama. Can you tell us a bit about that Grand Mother?”

「这么说的话，亚人的头……王子大人。能告诉我们一些和那位国母有关的情报吗？」

“Alright. That is why I want to fight with you. The Pandecks are a species that feed on moss, and they look like us.

「好的。那就是吾说要一同战斗的理由。所谓潘德克斯是一个以苔藓为食的种族，与吾等有着相似的外貌」

In other words, they looked like maggots.

也就是说是蛆虫。

Neia felt a twinge of revulsion at the thought of a demon that adorned itself with the head of maggots.

对于用蛆虫头部来装饰自己的恶魔，感到恶心的宁亚仅一瞬间打了个冷战。

“...Was the Grand Mother also a spiritual magic caster?”

「……那个国母也是精神系魔法吟唱者？」

“Indeed. I use the Yin principle of the Five Elements, but the Grand Mother was the opposite; she used the Yang principle of the Five Elements. Yin and Yang are two extremes, and spells of one can resist or hamper spells of the other.”

「正是如此。与操纵着阴五行力量的吾相对，国母有着操控阳五行的力量。阴阳为两极，能够互相抵消或阻碍对方的魔法」

“...I see,” CZ nodded. “Letting him come with us would improve our chances.”

「……原来如此」希丝点了点头。「让它同行的话胜算会更高」

“Mm. I am glad that you understand. Personally, I am very unhappy that a demon is using the head of the Grand Mother. Indeed. She was my first love, after all.”

「嗯。能得到理解真是令人开心。对吾来说，国母的头颅被恶魔利用这件事也是相当的不快。没错。毕竟是吾初恋的雌性啊」

“My prince!”

「王子！」

“What are you saying! How could you fall for a female of another species!”

「您说什么！竟然被他族的雌性给迷住！」

“Ahhh! That was a childish crush! It’s different now!”

「诶诶！这是幼年的淡淡思绪罢了！现在已经不一样了！」

While it sounded like a saccharine-sweet topic, all she felt about a maggot’s first love was utter disgust.

虽然听起来或许是个青涩酸甜的话题，但蛆虫的初恋什么的只会让人恶心。

“In, in that case, assuming our enemy is a Circlet who can equip two heads at once, how many total spell tiers can it cast at one time?”

「那、那么就假定敌人是能装饰两个头颅的头冠恶魔，它最多能使用合计多少位阶的魔法呢？」

“...A maximum of six tiers. Incidentally, Crowns can cast a maximum of ten tiers.”

「……最高六位阶。顺便王冠恶魔最高是十位阶」

“Then if I use fourth-tier spells, it will only be able to cast spells of the second tier. Of course, that is simply nullifying that bastard, so we need to put more effort into it…”

「那么吾要是用了第四位阶魔法，它就只剩二位阶份额的魔法可用了么。当然这仅限那家伙打算进行无效化的情况，所以还是要多加小心才行啊……」

“...Next is that human head. We know too little about it. Neia?”

「…………那么接下来就是那个人类的头。相关情报还不够。宁亚？」

“I’m sorry. I regret to say I do not know the black-haired person. Still, I’m quite surprised. I thought that you would just wade right into the fight, since you’re CZ.”

「抱歉。非常遗憾我并不认识黑色头发的人。但还真是有点惊讶呢。我以为是希丝的话会毫不在意地去大战一场呢」

“...Ainz-sama said collecting information is very important.”

「…………安兹大人说过收集情报很重要」

“Ahh, as expected of His Majesty. What an excellent notion!”

「啊啊！不愧是魔导王陛下。真是出色的想法啊！」

As Neia said this, CZ reached a hand out to her, and Neia immediately grabbed it and shook.

宁亚这么一说，希丝刷的伸出了手，宁亚则立刻将其抓住上下摇了起来。

“...Good girl. If you were cuter, I’d put a sticker on you. Maybe a furry one.”

「…………果然妳很懂呢。要是更可爱一点就要贴贴纸了。应该要长着毛茸茸的毛皮才对」

“...A sticker? Ah, you put one on me already, so I don’t need another. Please paste it on someone else you like.”

「……贴纸？啊，之前已经给我贴过了，所以第二枚就不需要了。请贴在其他喜欢的人事物上」

“...Mm. You’re the first person to dislike my stickers.”

「…………唔。讨厌我的贴纸的人妳还是第一个」

“Eh?”

「诶？」

Neia exclaimed in surprise as CZ said that she was her first. After that, she immediately realized that perhaps she -- as a demon -- had not had many dealings with humans. No, it was possible that others might have despised her in their hearts but had not dared to voice it, due to their fear of her as a demon. While she wanted to poke fun at her for it, Neia could not do anything like spoil the fun of someone who was loyal to the same supreme being as her. Thus, Neia simply let it pass with a bitter smile.

听到自己是第一个，宁亚惊讶地叫了一声。然后就立刻反应过来身为恶魔的她大概是和人类没有过太多的交集吧。不，也有大家虽然内心厌恶但却因为害怕身为恶魔的她而不敢吱声的可能性。虽想对此进行吐槽，但宁亚做不到给忠于同一位无上至尊的同胞泼冷水。所以宁亚就苦笑着一笑了之了。

“...Indeed, humans do not have fur like we Zerns. That is why they live in houses like these. Why not dig holes like we do?”

「……确实人类和我们蓝蛆一样并没有长着毛皮呢。所以才会住在这种房屋里面啊。像我们那样挖个洞穴住进去也不坏哦？」

“Prince, we’re straying off-topic. We don’t have much time -- we need to deal with this before the humans attack this city.”

「王子，跑题了。时间不多，必须在人类攻进这座城市之前把一切都解决才行」

“...Mm. In conclusion, the prince will be going too.”

「…………嗯。结论。王子也一起去」

Nobody spoke up against it. Or rather, Neia had been the only one to voice her opposition to it.

没有人出声反对。不，好像本来也就只有宁亚在反对就是了。

“Regarding our tactics, we will handle the frontline, but what should we do if there are guards who block us? Allowing a spellcasting opponent to move freely is very dangerous.”

「谈到战术，我们会负责前卫，但如果有警卫兵存在拦住了我们该怎么办。让有着魔法咏唱者能力的敌人自由行动的话会很危险」

“...I’ll engage it in close quarters combat.”

「…………我去和它近身缠斗」

Nobody asked if she could do it. She was one of the team which could defeat the guardian Vah Un -- although that was all CZ’s work -- or so everyone said. Nobody doubted CZ’s abilities.

做得到吗，没有人像这样出声质疑。她可是能将身为守护者的水精灵大鬼打倒的组合中的一人——虽然全是希丝的功劳——大家是这么说的。没有人不相信希丝的实力。

“Alright. Then let’s move. Before approaching the henchman, place us in the barrels and move us in. If you tell them you’re bringing food to the henchman demon on his orders, you’ll be able to get close to him.”

「好。那么就动身吧。在靠近亲信恶魔之前就把吾等放在桶里搬过去。告诉别人是想要食物的亲信恶魔的命令，这样就能靠近它的所在了」

By “us”, the prince was referring to himself, Neia and CZ. As long as the three of them remained undetected, they could continue maintaining their deception -- the Zern betrayal had not been detected. This was a tactic that could only be put into effect now.

所谓的吾等是指王子、宁亚、希丝三人。只要这三人没有被发现，就能继续瞒天过海——蓝蛆的背叛还没有败露——这是只有现在才能实现的妙计。

Once again, CZ and Neia hid inside the barrels they had used to enter the city.

希丝和宁亚再次躲进了被运进城市待过的桶里。

“CZ-san. We’re really lucky.”

「……希丝小姐。我们还真是幸运呢」

CZ poked her head out of the barrel.

希丝从桶里探出头来。

“...Why is that?”

「…………怎么了？」

“Look. Everything’s going well for us. Thanks to the Zern’s betrayal, we managed to save the prince, and even Jaldabaoth’s henchman is here. If we defeat him, we’ll have achieved a great accomplishment. That way, nobody will be able to speak ill of us any more. We’ll also be able to easily assemble a rescue party to find His Majesty.”

「妳看啊。一切都在往好的方向发展啊。多亏了蓝蛆们的背叛，成功救出了王子，而且时机正好亚达巴沃的亲信还来了。如果能打倒他的话岂不是立了大功么。这样的话谁都不能再对我们说三道四了。组建魔导王陛下的救助队也能轻松实现了」

“It was all coincidence.”

「都是偶然」

Neia was defeated by CZ’s somewhat harsh tone.

宁亚被希丝少见的强硬语气压倒了。

“Eh? Ah, is, is that wrong? We’re lucky because it was a coincidence… well, we were this successful because His Majesty made you his woman, so I guess in that sense, it’s not really a coincidence.”

「诶？啊，没、没错，呢？因为是偶然所以才幸运……嘛，正是有着把希丝变成自己所有物的魔导王陛下的力量才能这么顺利，这么想的话说不定就不是偶然了呢」

“Ainz-sama’s… woman...”

「安兹大人的…………所有物…………」

“Ah, maybe woman wasn’t the right word, huh?”

「啊，所有物这种说法不太好吗？」

“...I don’t mind. Neia.”

「…………我不介意。宁亚」

“Eh?”

「诶？」

“...I like you very much. You’re not cute, but I don’t mind giving you another sticker.”

「…………很中意宁亚。虽然不可爱但果然再给妳一枚贴纸也可以」

It hurt a little to be called “not cute” over and over again, and as she thought this, Neia said, “never mind” and ducked back into her barrel.

被不可爱、不可爱地说个不停多少有点受伤啊，这么想着并出声「不用了」拒绝的宁亚再次整个躲进了桶里。

Part 4

While Neia, CZ and the prince were being moved in their barrels, the Zerns were stopped by other demihumans several times, but none of the barrels were opened and searched. In this way, the three of them reached the vicinity of the henchman demon’s office.

宁亚、希丝，还有王子躲进桶里被运着走的途中，蓝蛆们被其他亚人叫住了几次，但还是一个桶都没被打开检查过，成功地将三人一直运到了亲信大恶魔所在办公室附近。

The three of them emerged from the barrels.

宁亚她们从桶里钻了出来。

They had peeked outside from within the barrels, but security had not grown tight. It would seem the prince’s rescue had not yet been exposed.

装在桶里的时候窥视了外面的情况，不过警备并没有变严。似乎潜入内部把王子救了出来的事还没暴露。

Neia slung the prince onto her back, and while she secured him with a rope, one of the Zern went ahead to seek an audience with the henchman demon. This was a form of reconnaissance.

宁亚背着王子，正在准备着用绳绑住它之类的期间，一只蓝蛆前去请求与亲信大恶魔会见。这样做的目的是为了侦察。

Once everyone had finished their preparations to barge in, the Zern returned.

在所有人做完了闯进去的准备时，蓝蛆回来了。

“He’s alone, no guards.”

「只有它一个，没有警卫。」

Neia frowned.

宁亚皱起了眉头。

Now that Jaldabaoth had been hurt so badly, was he -- as one of only three henchman demons -- not going to strengthen his defences? Or had he relaxed now that the Sorcerer King was dead?

亚达巴沃受了那种程度的伤，仅仅三只的亲信中的一只居然不会去加强防守吗？还是说是因为觉得杀死了魔导王而放松下来了呢？

As all kinds of questions swirled around in her head, the only thing that mattered was the prince’s summation.

虽然各种各样的考量在脑海盘旋，但是王子作为结论的一句话就是一切。

“That means it’s the perfect opportunity to kill him. Let’s go.”

「这样的话，正是杀它的好机会。上了。」

In accordance with the prince’s words, they all moved into action.

各人遵循王子的话语，一起开始行动。

Once one of the Zerns opened the door, Neia -- who stood at the head of the group -- could clearly see what was inside the room.

当其中一只蓝蛆打开门，自站在正前方的宁亚起所有人都看清楚了房间里面。

The expansive office had a ceiling that was a full five meters tall, and it was very spacious. Due to its many superior furnishings, it gave off the impression of a stereotypical luxury suite.

广阔的办公室天花足有五米高，而且非常宽广。由于放了不少上等家具，有着典型的豪华房间感觉。

There was a hideous monster in front of a black, solid-looking table, and it spoke.

异形怪物在黑色而沉重的桌子前发出了声音。

“Humans? Zer…”

「人类？蓝…」

He seemed to be saying something to them. However, they were not here to talk.

对这边说了什么。不过，他们可没打算跟它聊天。

The prince immediately cast a spell from Neia’s back.

宁亚背着的王子立刻解放了魔法。

“[Yin - Five Elements - Grand Fireball].”

「<阴·五行·大火球>」

A feeble-looking flame flew past Neia like it had been thrown into the room. She had heard along the way here that it was a fourth-tier attack spell that was named for its attack power. It was typically the first thing into a room because it would explode upon making contact with anything. However --

不可靠的小小火焰像是被丢进房间一样掠过宁亚飞了进去。在途中听说那似乎是第四位阶的以攻击力着称的攻击魔法。因为一旦着弹就会以其为中心爆发，所以是进入房间前先丢一发的战法。不过——

“[Yang - Five Elements - Grand Fireball].”

「<阳·五行·大火球>」

The flame vanished halfway, like it had been snuffed out by the wind.

火焰在中途像是被风吹散一样突然消失了。

“I knew it…” the prince muttered hatefully.

「果然啊……」

王子恨恨地低喃道。

He did not cast again. That spell had been an experiment. While he had planned to press the attack if it had not been negated, unfortunately that had not been the case. Even if he did not intend to waste mana, he ought to cast spells in accordance with their attacks.

没有放出下一击。刚才的一击是实验。虽然预订是如果没有被无效化的话就会继续攻击，不过很遗憾的并没有实现。就算是为了不消耗无谓的魔力，也应该从现在起一边配合地进行攻击，一边使用魔法吧。

“...Is that the Zern prince on the human’s back? It doesn’t look like the humans captured him and brought him here… Kuhahaha. It’s treason, then? Interesting.”

「……在人类背后的是蓝蛆的王子吧？不像是被人类们抓住了带到这里来的。……哼哈哈哈，背叛了吗？有趣。」

The great demon looked like it had come from a nightmare as it slowly got to its feet, like a mockery of a human being.

慢慢站起的大恶魔犹如从噩梦中跳出的一般，就像是人类的讽刺画的样子。

It was completely naked, so its arms -- that reached down to its knees -- and its legs and its skin-and-bones body were completely exposed.

因为身上一丝不挂，长到膝边的两只手和两条腿以及皮包骨的身体是完全露出来的。

Its body resembled withered wood, so slender and fragile that even Neia felt that she could break it.

枯木一般的身体由于过于纤细，让人觉得连宁亚也能轻松地把它折断。

That withered-wood body did not have a head. There was nothing but a straight line extending from shoulder to shoulder. No, there was a slender -- thinner than a woman’s wrist -- branch protruding from its neck region. There were two fruits on it. Those must have been the so-called heads of this great demon.

那枯木一般的身体没有像是头部之物。从这边肩膀到另一边就是一条直线。不，有个过于细的——比女人的手腕还细的——颈部像枝条一样伸出，在它上面有两个果实。那就是这个大恶魔所谓的头部吧。

“Eh? --Ah.”

「咦？——啊。」

Neia could not help squeaking like that. Such was her shock that it was the only sound she could make at first.

宁亚不禁发出那样的声音。因为过于冲击所以第一声只能说出那种话。

Like CZ said, this was the special characteristics of circlets -- two heads.

希丝所说的，头冠恶魔的特征——两个头部。

One of them belonged to a monstrous-looking maggot. It looked very much like the prince, and given the impression of what she had heard, it was probably the Grand Mother. The problem was the other head.

其中一个是异形的蛆虫。与蓝蛆的王子非常相似，与听说到的印象一样，那就是“国母”了吧。问题是另一个头部。

It belonged to a woman, her eyes rolled up into her head and her mouth gaping open like a fish. Her complexion was bad, but the head did not look like it had rotted or was otherwise damaged, and her blonde hair was even gleaming. She could see bright red flesh at the plane where the head had been severed from the body, and it looked moist enough to bleed. While the fact that the head looked like it had been freshly-removed was quite mysterious, that was how she could immediately tell who it belonged to.

那是半睁着白眼，发呆地半张着嘴，只剩下头部的女性。只是，虽然皮肤气色不好，但是没有腐败或者伤痕，连金发也残留着光泽。头部的断面能窥见通红的肉，眼看着像是要滴出血一样水淋淋的。虽然一副就像是刚刚把头扭下来的，只能说是不可思议的样子，不过正是这样才能立刻辨别出她是谁。

“Kelart Custodio-sama…”

「葵拉特·卡斯托迪奥大人……」

While she had only seen her from afar, there was no way she could have mistaken her for anyone else. She was the highest-ranking priest of the Holy Kingdom.

虽然只从远处看过，不过不可能看错。那是圣王国的神职中最高位的存在。

Confusion and doubt swirled within Neia.

疑惑和疑问在宁亚的脑袋里打着转。

What was going on? Had the Zern lied? Did they think Neia and CZ would consider fleeing if they knew it was Kelart?”

这是怎么回事。蓝蛆说谎了吗？因为知道是葵拉特的话宁亚一行会考虑逃跑吗？

“I see, I see, I see. Oh Zern, does this mean you no longer care what happens to your king and the people in that land. I’ll give you a last chance. If you seize these people, I can let you off with a mild punishment, you know?”

「原来如此，原来如此，原来如此。蓝蛆们啊。既然这样，就是说不管你们的王和那片土地的人们会怎样了吗？给你最后的机会。如果把那些人抓住，只要稍微的惩罚就能原谅你们哦？」

Those fruits -- like grotesque heads -- did not move. Neither did those white eyeballs. They seemed like nothing more than decorations. In that case, where had that voice come from?

畸形的果实一般的两颗头没有动。翻着白眼的眼球也是。似乎真的只是单纯的装饰。那样的话这声音是从哪里发出的？

The prince paid no heed to Neia’s question and castigated the great demon.

无视宁亚的那种疑问，王子对大恶魔大声斥责。

His Zern underlings immediately moved into position to attack at any time.

属下的蓝蛆也摆着随时可以上前袭击的姿势。

“Hmph! What else is there to say at this point? Who’d believe you after you killed the king!?”

「哼！事到如今还要说什么！谁会相信杀死了王的你们！」

“The king? Is that so…”

「王？是那样吗」”

Neia heard what seemed to be surprise in that voice. Reading that was difficult because this demon did not have a head of its own and its expression did not change. After all, it was difficult to read one’s opponent’s face to see if one’s attack had been effective. In that respect, Zerns were also troublesome opponents for humans.

宁亚感觉到声音像是有些讶异。因为这个恶魔没有所谓自己的头，没有表情的变化这点要说麻烦确实麻烦。毕竟无法在给予了有效攻击时，从对手的表情看出是否有效果。从那种意义上来说，蓝蛆对人类也是麻烦的对手。

“My duty is this place, that is outside of my jurisdiction… I see, so it was killed? That was because your king was too much of a fool.”

「我的职责是支配此地，那边是管辖范围之外……是吗，它被杀了吗？那是因为你们的王太愚蠢了吧。」

“What!”

「什么！」

“My, my my. Dear traitors, don’t tell me you came merely to speak? You came here because you thought you could defeat me, no? In that case -- what is your trump card? That human?”

「哎呀，哎呀，哎呀。背叛者啊，你不会只是来耍嘴皮子的吧？是觉得能打赢我才来的吧？既然那样——你们的底牌是什么？那个人类吗？」

A finger tipped with a claw that should have been over 60 centimeters long extended from its hand and pointed at Neia.”

应该有六十厘米长的钩爪从纤细的手上伸出，指向了宁亚。

“As if I’d tell you!”

「你觉得我会说吗！」

The great demon calmly responded to the prince’s outburst:

对于王子的怒吼，大恶魔冷静的回应。

“You don’t have to. Shadow Demon.”

「不用说也行。暗影恶魔。」

The great demon’s shadow stretched out in a sliding motion.

大恶魔的影子像是滑动一样延伸了。

It swelled up, going from a flat plane to three-dimensional. It looked like the commonly spoken image of a demon, but dyed completely black. And there were two of them.

它膨胀起来，从平面化为立体。从外表看起那就是将听说到的恶魔的形象完全涂成黑色的存在。而且有两只。

That was probably why it did not have demihuman guards.

这就是为什么没有配置护身警卫用的亚人的理由吧。

“Kill all the Zern other than the prince. I will seize the prince… Human, if you betray them, I can spare the people in the camps who are valuable to you, up to the number of fingers on two hands.

「你们去杀死王子之外的蓝蛆。让我来捕获王子。……人类。背叛他们的话可以饶过在收容所里你重要的人们哦，数量为两手的手指数。」

The great demon made the same proposal CZ had expected it to.

大恶魔提出了与希丝所估计到一样的提案。

As Neia filled with respect for CZ’s knowing eye, she decided to answer its question in order to make it careless.

宁亚一边钦佩希丝的慧眼一边引诱着让对手大意而回问到。

“Really?”

「真的吗？」

After she carefully ventured her reply, she could hear joy in the demon’s voice.

以小心翼翼的表情像是偷看一样的向它询问后，恶魔的声音中浮现出喜悦之色。

“What are you saying!? Are you betraying us!?”

「汝在说什么！要背叛吗！」

The prince shouted from Neia’s back, and so the great demon’s attention was completely focused on Neia.

王子一从背上大声斥责，大恶魔的注意力就完全地朝向了宁亚。

“Shut up, shut up, shut up. I’m talking to her… I will keep my promise. Tell me how many people you want to protect and help. If the fingers on two hands are not enough, we can continue discussions--”

「住嘴，住嘴，住嘴。我正在和她说着话。……我是会遵守约定的。说出你想保护、想帮助的人的数量吧。两只手的手指不够数的话可以根据交涉——」

The defenseless demon -- who seemed to have forgotten the meaning of caution, was full of openings.

毫无防备，似乎忘了什么叫警戒的大恶魔满是破绽。

The ace up their sleeve (CZ) would not miss that. She leapt out of the shadow of the door and raised her spell gun.

隐藏牌[希丝]不会放过那一点。她从大门的影子中跳出，瞬间架起了魔鎗。

The muzzle spat fire, and the great demon grabbed its shoulder and stumbled back.

枪口一迸发火焰，大恶魔就按住了肩头开始踉跄。

CZ had been waiting alone outside the room for the right timing to launch this surprise attack, and it was signalled the start of the hostilities.

这是由自己一个在房间外面待机的希丝造成的突然一击，也是点燃开战导火线的一击。

The negotiations which had been intended to manipulate their opponent into carelessness were now over. The Zern royal guards sprang at the Shadow Demons. CZ rushed into the room with fearsome speed, slipping past the the frontliners of both sides with lightning-fast footwork, and closed in on the great demon.

引诱对手使其大意而进行的交涉结束了。蓝蛆的亲卫队向暗影恶魔们袭去。以可怕的速度同时冲进房间的希丝维持着那种速度，以闪电一般的敏锐步法穿过了两边阵营的前卫，接近了大恶魔。

“What! The Sorcerer--”

「什！魔导——」

“...No need to explain.”

「…………无需说明。」

CZ hacked with her dagger, and the great demon parried with its claws.

希丝以匕首砍下，被大恶魔以钩爪架开。

While she knew that there was little time once the battle started, Neia vented her unhappiness on the prince behind her.

即使明知战斗开始後没有什麼多餘的时间，宁亚也把不满发泄到背后的王子身上。

“What do you mean, black hair! Isn’t her hair blonde!?”

「什么叫头发是黑色的啊，这不是金色的吗！」

“Blonde? How is that blonde! It’s light black, isn’t it?”

「金色？哪里是啊？那可是浅黑色吧？」

“Eh?”

「呃？」

He did not sound like he was lying. Could it be -- Zerns perceived colors differently from human beings?

并不是在说假话的样子。难不成——蓝蛆的色觉跟人类不同吗？

Neia had once heard that certain species with darkvision could not tell colors apart, only black and white. There were also some who could not discern colors without light.

宁亚听说过不管多暗都能看透的种族中有一部分无法识别颜色，只能分辨出黑白两色的事，还有不是在亮处就不能分辨出颜色的。

The light in the larder was probably so those species could see what color their food was.

食物储存库的照明恐怕只是为了让那种种族分辨食材颜色的东西。

“I”ll tell you later! [Yin - Five Elements - Lightning Claw]!”

「等下再说！<阴·五行·雷爪>」

“Tch! [Yang - Five Elements - Lightning Claw]!”

「啧！<阳·五行·雷爪>」

A stroke of electricity hurtled through the air like the swipe of a beast’s talons, but it fizzled out halfway through.

虽然雷电沿着像是被野兽抓过一般的轨迹在空间奔流，不过那在中途就云消雾散了。

While there were spells like [Five Elements - Soften Steel] which decreased defensive strength and spells like [Five Elements - Harden Steel] which increased attack power, as well as summoning spells like [Five Elements - Call The Lightning Lord], the opposition might not negate those and instead cast a high-tier spell on them.

虽然应该有让防御力下降的<五行·金柔>和让攻击力提高的<五行·金强>这些魔法，也有<五行·雷侯招来>等召唤魔法，不过说不定对手或许不会消除那些魔法，取而代之的是对这边使用高位魔法。

In order to avoid that, the prince simply cast attack spells, which the enemy could not ignore. In addition, he focused on using electricity-element spells, which the enemy should not have been able to resist, and then he used a special ability called Wood Element strengthening. While the demon’s elementalism should have been able to protect against it, the prince’s strengthened spell could not be fully negated, and so it began to take minor damage.

王子为了回避那种情况而只发出对手无法无视的攻击魔法。而且还集中使用了应该不会具有抗性的雷属性，并且使用名为木行强化的特殊技能。虽然通常的五行应该是会防住，不过无法消除王子强化过的部分，渐渐积累些微的损伤。

While the original Grand Mother could have used strengthening techniques just like the prince had, she was now nothing more than an accessory for the great demon. The demon did not possess strengthening techniques of his own and was thus put on the back foot by the power of the prince’s spellcasting.

虽然如果是原本的“国母”会有着和王子同样的强化技术，不过现在它只是大恶魔的附属品。因为并不拥有强化魔法的招式而被王子术法的威力压制着。

Since CZ was taking the role of frontliner, Neia had to do her job as the rear guard. She could not simply serve as transportation for the prince in the face of such a mighty foe. She loosed an arrow from the Ultimate Shootingstar Super which she held.

既然前卫交给了希丝，宁亚也有必要担任好后卫的职责。在这样的强敌面前，不能只是当王子的代步工具而已。以手中的终极超级流星瞄准，射出弓矢。

While her shot against the main body was highly accurate, the great demon easily batted it away with his hand.

虽然瞄准本身非常正确，但是大恶魔轻易地用手把它拨飞了。

“Out of my way. [Shock Wave].”

“碍事。<冲击波>[Shock Wave]”

Kelart’s face -- her lips moved, and she cast a second-tier attack spell at CZ. While CZ’s body lifted off the ground from an impact that was invisible to the human eye, she did not seem to have taken any damage which could have hampered her movements. Neia had expected nothing less of a difficulty rating 150 maid demon.

葵拉特的脸——口唇微动，向着希丝发出了第二位阶的攻击魔法。虽然希丝的身体因为肉眼不可见的冲击波而微微一动跳起，不过看来没有受到使动作变得迟钝的可见的伤害。不愧是难度一百五十的女仆恶魔。

“[Yin - Five Elements - Lightning Claw]”

「<阴·五行·雷爪>」

“[Yang - Five Elements - Lightning Claw]”

「<阳·五行·雷爪>」

They cast the same spells at each other again, and a feeble current of electricity surged past the demon’s body.

再次发动相同的魔法，微量的电流在侧近恶魔的身体流过。

“[Open Wounds]!”

「<开放性创伤>[Open Wounds]」

That counterattack was a spell that would worsen any wounds. Naturally, it was targeted at CZ, who was being attacked by the demon’s claws.

那是作为反击的使伤口恶化的魔法。目标当然是正处于恶魔钩爪攻击下的希丝。

All she could see was CZ’s back. However, her dexterity did not seem to have decreased.

只能看到希丝的背影。不过感觉她的敏捷度毫无降低。

Sweat ran down Neia’s back.

宁亚的背上流下了一道汗水。

She was the only one who could heal. Therefore, she was naturally the healer. However, while she could tell how badly she was hurt, she lacked the combat experience to tell how severe others’ wounds were. In particular, people like CZ who were not particularly expressive might exceed their limits and collapse before she realized something was wrong with them. Therefore, she had to be more mindful of CZ and the prince. It was just like doing one thing with her right hand while doing another with her left, and she was so busy that she began to get confused.

在我方当中，能进行回复工作的也就只有宁亚而已。所以自然就承担起回复的任务了，然而，如果自己倒是还好说，对于别人到底受到什么程度的伤，在没有充足的实战经验之前是很难判断的。特别是像希丝那样不怎么将感情表达出来的人，恐怕很有可能在发现不妥之前就超过了极限而倒下了。因此，希丝和王子的动向要更加注意才行的。仿佛就像右手在做着什么事的同时左手在做另一件事那样，忙得不可开交令人混乱。

Still, she had to do this.

但是，不这么做不行。

The prince kept casting attack spells, while CZ took minor damage as she swung at the demon with her knife. Both of them were perfectly completing their tasks, and she could not simply give up and say that she was the only one who could not do this.

王子不停地施放着攻击魔法，而希丝则是用小刀挥切着恶魔同时也受到一些砍伤。他们各司其职完美地完成着所承担的任务，在这之中只有自己办不到这样丧气话是绝不能说出来的。

“[Heavy Recover].”

「<重伤治愈>」

Neia judged that CZ had been badly hurt, so she activated the item the Sorcerer King had lent her and cast a third-tier healing spell on CZ.

判断着希兹身上的伤势变多了的宁亚，启动了从魔导王那里借来的魔法道具，向希兹施展了第三位阶的治愈魔法。

“I see!”

「原来如此！」

Neia’s instincts told her that the attention of the faceless demon was on her.

宁亚通过直觉察觉到无脸恶魔的视线向自己转来。

The great demon’s words implied that it knew the identity of the healer -- who ought to be destroyed first. In fact, the great demon still had enough strength to cast an attack spell on Neia after negating the prince’s spell.

大恶魔的那句话大概意味着知道了最初应该要击溃的回复者是谁了吧。实际上，大恶魔将王子的魔法无效化后还以余力向宁亚放出攻击魔法。。

“[Shock Wave].”

「<冲击波>」

An invisible pulse of force rushed at her like a warhammer swung at full power.

像是全力挥出的战锤般、不可见的冲击向这边袭来。

She could hear sickening cracks from inside her body, and she writhed in agony from the pain which coursed through her.

从体内发出让人感到不快的嘎吱声，剧痛在全身翻腾乱窜。

It hurt more than the spell the Vah Un had used on her. She could not believe CZ had taken an attack like this with such nonchalance. She now knew why Kelart Custodio had been hailed as a genius. It was because of that powerful hit.

比起水元素巨魔所使用的魔法要来得更加痛。无法相信原来希丝是一直若无其事的正面吃下这样的攻击。终于明白葵拉特·卡斯托迪奥为何能够占据天才之名了。就是这般如此强烈的一击。

“Aieeee!”

「噫噫噫噫！」

Even though she grit her teeth, Neia could not prevent a choked cry of pain from escaping her.

即使咬紧了牙关也无法抑制住而发出了嘶哑的悲鸣声。

“Are you alright!?”

「没事吧？！」

“I, I’m fine!”

「没、没事！」

Neia answered the prince, who was worried for her.

宁亚回答了担心她状况的王子

“I’ll call all the Zern--”

「接下来就是把蓝蛆全都——」

“--No. I’ll protect Neia.”

「——不行。宁亚由我来守护」

CZ spread her arms, standing like she was shielding Neia.

希丝张开双臂，用像是袒护一样的姿态站着。

The great demon was huge, and he made CZ look tiny. Therefore, he must be able to see Neia without any impediment. However, Neia was very happy inside.

大恶魔身形高大，使得希丝的身形则很小。因此即使这样做也是能完全看得到宁亚吧。不过，心理上确实是非常高兴的。

“What!? Ahhhh!”

「什么？啊啊！」

The demon cried out in a hoarse voice. It would seem CZ had done something to him, which had had an effect.

大恶魔发出了嘶哑了般的声音。看来是希丝采取了什么行动对它产生了影响吧。

Did she use a special ability? Or maybe a spell?

（是不是用了什么特殊的能力呢？或者是魔法？）

She was not sure what exactly had happened, but Neia sensed the great demon’s murderous intent weakening. Of course, she was probably imagining things. After all, there was no reason why this great demon should want to kill her any less right now.”

虽然不清楚到底做了什么事、但宁亚仿佛大恶魔的杀意有所削弱的感觉。当然，应该是错觉吧。

毕竟在这个瞬间大恶魔没有任何减弱敌意的理由存在。

If there was another attack like the last one, another spell as powerful as the last one, she ought to be able to bear it. No, she wanted to bear it.

要是再来一击，是和刚才那样的程度相当的魔法的话应该还是可以忍耐下来的。不，是想要忍耐下来。

She had recovered the mana she had lost during the battle with the Vah Un, but the number of times she could use [Heavy Recover] was still unknown, so it was best to save up uses as much as possible. However, if she wanted to tread the line of requiring healing, it would also mean that if she messed up, she would go beyond her limits. It was very difficult to determine the right time to heal.

在与水元素巨魔作战时所消耗的魔力都悉数恢复了，然而<重伤治愈>还能用多少次是未知之数，因此还是尽可能地保留着来使用比较好。但要是想尽可能踩着线治疗的话，只要有半点差池就会突破临界点。要准确看准正确的治疗时机是非常困难的。

“And she’s wielding the bow that Ainz-sama lent her!”

「还有她所持有的武器是、由安兹大人借出的这把弓！」

Her voice sounded very loud for CZ. She was probably raising her volume to better praise the Sorcerer King. This was a life and death battle, but she could not bring herself to mention it. After all, this was an action taken by CZ, the strongest person on their side, and one who was surrounded in an aura of veterancy. She might have a plan in mind.

对于希丝来说是相当大的声音了。恐怕是想夸耀魔导王而发出的高声吧。虽想说现在是在性命攸关的战斗之中吧，但却又说不出来，这是在我方之中最强的，也是展现出久经沙场的氛围的希丝作出的举动，想必是有什么打算也说不定。

“What!? You mean, by the Sorcerer King!?”

「什么！是那个魔导王的！」

There was surprise in the henchman demon’s voice.That was the Sorcerer King for you. He must have heard from Jaldabaoth that he was an opponent to be wary of.

亲信恶魔高声表示惊讶。不愧是魔导王。这个亲信一定是从亚达巴沃那里听说了是必须要警戒的对手吧。

“Yes! It’s a Runecraft™ bow!”

「对！是由卢恩而制的弓！」

Having heard something she could not overlook, Neia warned CZ.

听见了不可忽视的话语，宁亚发出了警告。

“CZ! Don’t tell him about us!”

「希丝！别让对方知道我们的底细！」

“What! So it was a weapon made with the ancient, lost art of Runecraft™! A weapon like that might even be able to kill me!”

「什么！原来那就是用失传已久的技术、卢恩符文而制作的武器吗！要是使用那样的武器的话，说不定可以杀死我的啊！」

Why was he explaining that in such detail? As Neia thought that, she immediately felt ashamed. Right now, she was fighting with an incredibly powerful adversary with her life on the line. A weakling like herself did not have the luxury of contemplating such matters.

为什么要做出这么清楚的说明呢，正这样想着的宁亚立刻感到了羞耻。现在可是和绝对的强者在拼上性命地战斗着的。像是自己这样的弱者根本没有一丝的余裕去思考这样的事情。

“So it was Runecraft™! Amazing!”

「居然是卢恩啊！真是了不起！」

The henchman demon kept on speaking in a very guarded tone. Perhaps it was doing so to distract Neia. In fact.

亲信恶魔用着非常警戒似的声音继续说到。这可能是为了让宁亚注意力涣散，才作出这样的行动也说不定的。事实上——

“Runecraft™?”

「卢恩？」

The prince’s surprised voice came from behind her. That was why Neia had to speak.

背后传来了王子惊讶的声音。正因为如此，宁亚必须要说。

“No! This is not such a weapon!”

「不是啊！并不是这样的武器！」

As Neia shouted, she sensed CZ and the henchman demon freeze for an instant. That must have been it. When two opponents were evenly matched, all they could do was stare at each other without being able to make a move. That must have been it.

当宁亚大叫出来时，她感觉到希丝与亲信恶魔的动作有那么一个瞬间好像停了下来。一定就是那样吧。就是当他们势均力敌时，只能互相紧盯对方却无法作出进一步行动的那样，肯定是这样。

“Rune…”

「卢恩……」

“No!”

「不是！」

Neia shouted without regard for anything else, and the henchman demon grunted under his breath.

不顾一切的大叫，让亲信恶魔只能「咕呣」地低声念着。

“Is that so… then next, I’ll… [Blindness].”

「是吗……。那接下来、那么……<盲目化>[Blindness]」

The spell that came out of nowhere blackened Neia’s vision. He must have done so to render the healer powerless.

突如其来的魔法使得宁亚视野被漆黑充满了。这么做想必是为了让治疗者无力化。

The item Neia had borrowed only allowed her to use [Heavy Recover], and not spells that could heal her blindness.

宁亚所借来的魔法道具终究只是让她可以使用<重伤治愈>而已，并不是连从盲目状态中回复的魔法都能用。

A priest or a divine magic caster could have cured that easily. Unfortunately, there was nobody like that here.

要是这里有神官或者是信仰系的魔法吟唱者在的话想必会轻松恢复吧。然而，可惜的是并没有这号人物在这里。

She did not know how long the darkness would last, but if she wanted to heal CZ, she would have to get within touching range of her.

这个魔法的黑暗持续时间不明，但要是对希丝进行治疗的话，必须近到能触碰到的距离才能——

“I can’t see!” It was very important to tell her comrades what had happened to her. “CZ! If you’re hurt, you need to tell me!”

「我的眼睛什么都看不到了！」向同伴传达自己被做了些什么是非常重要的。「希丝！要是受伤了的话请告诉我好吗！」

“...Mm.”

「…………嗯。」

“Sorry, I don’t know spells that can heal this condition of yours!”

「抱歉！吾并不会从这样的状态中恢复过来的魔法。」

“Don’t worry about it!”

「请别在意！」

After responding to the apology from behind her, Neia pulled her bowstring taut. She ought to be able to hit her target from memory alone. This was the fruit of the experience she had gained from fighting the Vah Un and many large-sized adversaries. The bowstring twanged.

回答着身后传来的谢罪声，宁亚拉紧了弓弦。对于那样巨大的躯体，凭记忆也应该能射中的。这是从与水元素巨魔的一战中，得到了不少与巨大体型的作战经验的结果。嘣的一声弓弦音响起。

“--Guwaaaargh!”

「——咕噢噢噢噢！」

She heard the henchman demon wail in pain.

听到了来自亲信恶魔满是痛苦的悲鸣声。

“You did it! It tried to dodge, but it had the opposite effect! Nicely done!”

「成功了！看来是想回避却起了反效果的样子！射得漂亮！」

After hearing the prince’s explanation, Neia realised how lucky she had been and prayed to the Sorcerer King.

听到了王子的说明，明白到这是何其的幸运啊，宁亚向魔导王祈祷着。

“...Keep shooting like this.”

「…………就这样继续坚持下去。」

“Eiii!”

「诶！」

“Mm!”

「嗯！」

Although the sound of the Zerns fighting the Shadow Demons around her made it very hard to tell what was going on, Neia focused on CZ’s wounds and the henchman demon’s location and kept shooting at the latter.

虽然四周响起的蓝蛆与暗影恶魔战斗声使得要听清楚这边的动静非常困难，但宁亚还是将全身心的注意力，放在了希丝的负伤程度，以及亲信恶魔的所在位置上，并不断地进行着攻击。

Perhaps it was because he had been hurt and realised that he would lose if he did not defeat CZ first, but the henchman demon focused all its attacks on CZ. In addition, it kept casting [Blindness] spells on her, trying to disable her like it had Neia, but she resisted all of them, so they had no effect.

不知道是不是因为受了伤之后，发现了要是不先将希丝击倒的话自己就会输掉的缘故，将攻击全部集中在了希丝的身上。而且想一口气使其无力化——就像施展在宁亚身上的<盲目化>那样的魔法不断施展着，但是基本上都被抵抗掉，好像并没有发挥出效果的样子。

In that case, all she had to do was keep pressing it.

要是那样的话只要继续紧逼上去就好了。

Just as the prince’s mana was about to run out, victory came to them like a matter of course. The prince’s cries of joy were even a little annoying.

差不多在王子的魔力用光的时候，胜利像似理所当然般的收入囊中。那个瞬间，王子欢天喜地的叫声甚至可以说很烦人。

The Zerns fighting around them had taken losses, but they had emerged victorious.

四周一同奋战的蓝蛆们虽然也是有所减员但还是获得了胜利。

However -- the spell on Neia had not yet expired. She still could not see anything. Still, it was not a permanent spell. In all likelihood, it would wear off after some time had passed, and the only reason why it had lasted this long was because Kelart Custodio was very powerful.

然而——宁亚的魔法仍然没有解除。视野仍然一片漆黑。虽说如此，不过也绝不是永远失去视力的魔法就是了，相信只要经过一定的时间效果就会解除的。能持续到现在恐怕只是单纯的因为葵拉特·卡斯托迪奥的魔力很强大而已吧。

While she could not see anything, she could sense the presence of the Zerns approaching her.

虽然什么都看不到，但身边的气息可以感受得到蓝蛆们正向这边聚集着。

“My prince! I’m glad you’re alright.”

「王子！您没事真的太好了。」

“Ahh… please consume Grand Mother-dono’s remains with all due respect.”

「啊啊。……国母殿下的遗骸请庄重地吃掉把。」

So you’re eating it, Neia thought.

要吃掉的啊，宁亚在心中吐槽了起来。

And with all due respect. Since they had said as much, all she could do was accept it as a unique tradition of their species.

要庄重的，既然是这么说了，那只能接受了是他们一族特有的凭吊仪式吧。

“Neia. What should we do with the human’s head? Shall we eat it too?”

「宁亚啊。人类的头要怎样处理？汝等要吃掉吗？」

“No, please don’t. We humans don’t have such burial practices. We will return it to the city with all due respect.”

「不、不是的。我们人类是没有这样的下葬方式的。我们会庄重地运会城市里去。」

“I see… human burials are quite strange. No, surely you must think the same of ours as well. This is probably what they call a culture clash. Also, I am deeply grateful to you. If it was only us, we could never have--”

「这样啊……人类的葬礼还真是奇特啊。不，对于汝等来说也会这样看吾等吧。这恐怕就是所谓的文化差异了。另外对于汝等真是感谢不尽。要是只有吾等的话是绝不可能——」

“--Wait. There’s no time to keep talking. Let’s move.”

「——等下。已经没时间在这里继续聊天了。开始移动吧。」

She could hear a disturbance in the distance. It would seem the Liberation Army had finally made contact with the Demihuman Alliance. Either that, or soldiers had heard the sound of the battle just now and come here to see what was going on. Whichever one it was, they could not stay here for long.

听到远处传来了骚动的声音。看来是往这边行军的解放军终于发现亚人联合了。或者是听见了刚刚的作战声音的士兵们向这边过来的声音吧。无论是哪一方的原因都表明了此地不宜久留。

“That’s right, CZ-san. Then, please help the Liberation Army attack Kalinsha as we arranged.”

「说的也是呢，希丝小姐。那么就如预定那样，请让解放军协助攻略卡林夏吧。」

“Umu, I understand. You lot!”

「唔呣。我明白了。你们！」

“Yes! We shall move right away. Will you and the humans be entering the barrels, my prince? We will carry you outside the city.”

「是！我们会尽快展开行动的。王子和人类们要进入桶内吗？我们将您们运送到城外为止。」

While she could not tell because she could not see, she could sense CZ hesitating. The reason for that was obvious -- she hated the barrels. Neia felt the same way.

虽说因为看不见而不明白情况，不过多多少少还是感受到一旁的希丝散发出犹豫的气息。理由很清楚，是嫌弃那个桶子吧。宁亚也是相同的想法。

“...We’ll help too.”

「…………我们也帮忙吧。」

“Mm. Once I recover from my blindness, I’ll help too.”

「嗯嗯。等我从盲目状态中恢复过来后也来帮忙吧。」

The prince was thrashing on her back like a caught fish. He was jumping for joy. Neia was a little depressed by how well she had adapted to the situation.

身后的王子像被捕获的鱼那样活蹦乱跳。那是欢喜的雀跃。连这种事都能理解，宁亚对自己的适应性感到有点消沈。

“If our allies are setting out, then let us go as well. Of course, my mana has ben depleted so I cannot cast any big spells, so I shall cast strengthening spells on you instead.”

「战友要出发的话，那么吾一同启程吧。当然，魔力已经几乎耗尽了所以也放不出什么大型魔法，那么就给汝等施加强类魔法好了。」

“My prince!”

「王子！」

“Be silent. Do you intend me to be a male who sends his allies to their deaths.”

「别吵了。你们是要说让吾成为为战友送行的雄性吗！？」

“...That ought to be enough. Let’s go.”

「…………到此为止吧。要走了。」

CZ urged them on. She seemed eager to get away from the barrel.

希丝催促着。像是迫不及待要逃离那个桶子似的。

“Then I shall send you to where our colleagues are gathered. Please get in.”