The lands to the south of Ansur were rolling hills dotted with patchwork fields of farmland and open grazing lands for ranchers and their herds. The roads were simple hardened dirt in most places, and stuck in between areas of farmland almost as if an afterthought were isolated groups of houses for what Ainz assumed were the families of those who tended the fields and animals in those particular areas. The roads were traveled only by the occasional horse and rider, or rancher, moving from one field to another, allowing Ainz and Hara to speak a length about many subjects as they traveled.
Magic was their primary topic.
Hara started by going through the Book she had acquired, reading it aloud as it hovered before her by Ainz's magic, allowing her to refresher her own knowledge, and to explain to Ainz how the local magic worked.
The penultimate answer was not badly, but awkwardly.
From what the book explained, in surprising conciseness, was that magic could be wielded one of three ways. The first and most common way was through study. One needed to learn the spells words, and motions associated with it, as well as the meaning behind both of these and the spells effects to cause the spell to actually take place. It explained that this was due to most people not having a high amount of Mana in their bodies, so by using specific motions and words the body gathered the Mana from the air around them and properly envisioned the effects, allowing it to take place.
The second way that magic was cast was a streamlined form of the first way. The book claimed that only those with ample quantities of Mana, or a natural affinity for certain forms of spells could do as such, but those with these could simply use a motion and the name of the spell to cast a spell. Though it also admitted that such a way of casting was rare and often limited to Archmages or races with a natural inclination to magic, such as High elves.
The third way to cast magic was highly specific, using an arrangement of materials, symbols and other such things to create ritual circles, runes or the like to cast long lasting spells upon objects or to create an effect. These were varied form creating cells of magic that stopped passage either way, to creating areas of healing or walls of magic. Essentially it was a form of ritual magic like those that existed in many games and systems.
The book also explained that the primary difference between the three classifications of magic. Elemental, Holy and Dark. Elemental was an obvious classification. Dark magic encompassed anything the church thought ill of, such as curses, necromancy and mind magic, while Holy magic encompassed mostly protective magic and healing, and was primarily used ritually it sounded like.
Knowing how magic was wielded and its proper classification was important, as it finally allowed Ainz to figure out where his own magic technically stood. His was exclusively he second way of casting, as with a simple word and a planned location or target the magic would take effect. And his magic counted almost entirely as elemental or dark, as that was primarily what he had access to in Yggdrasil.
The main issue was trying to figure out how he was actually casting his magic though, as that way of casting insinuated a deep knowledge of the spell itself something that felt odd to consider. He did after all know all of his spells well, had memorized each and every lone of them, the effect, Mana cost, range, cool down time and other such information to be of most use to his allies, but that was knowing the knowledge from the perspective of a game, not from the perspective of actual magic that seemed to answer his very whims and even his emotions.
Was game knowledge somehow sufficient to cast magic? Was he somehow converting game knowledge into practical real-world knowledge without realizing it? Was something else? It was the most prominent question in his mind related to magic and he still had no real answer as of yet.
The other conversation they had on short occasion as they traveled was on the topic of the land itself. Hara was knowledgeable enough to give Ainz basic information on the landscapes, some information on what history people were allowed to know, and upon the splintered cultures that existed in Eostia.
These questions and answer periods continued for the entire time that the pair traveled. At the night they set up a simple camp of a bedroll for Hara and that was it. Meals were again, something only Hara partook in, and because of that it was easy for them to push the small amount of travel rations they had acquired before leaving Ansur.
As they got closer to the village however, Ainz began to notice that Hara was seeming to be a bit off, and on the sixth morning as they departed from their camping location she finally seemed to have enough of holding back what she wanted to say.
"Um, Sir Ainz?"
"Yes?"
"I, may not have been completely truthful about not knowing for sure what could be under my family home. About what this key leads to." Hara said nervously as they slowly walked down the road.
"So it does not contain a deed to the village's lands then?" Ainz asked for clarities sake as he noticed Hara still limping a bit, insisting as she had each morning to travel under her own power and not be carried.
"No, it does contain the deed, that I know for sure. Melodie's family entrusted mine to keep it safe, Because my parents had the strongest safe in the village. It just, I remember my parents mentioning something else being in that chest, and it might be the real reason someone is after the key I have."
"I take it by being so close you now feel the need to explain things in some detail then?" Ainz asked as the pair crested a hill and could then see the lands below them. Including what appeared to be some form of village beside a patch of forest that looked far too dark to be natural.
"Yes . . . that, is my, was my home," Hara said as she pointed to the village in the distance, maybe two or three kilometers away. "That is where my parents fell, where everything changed."
"Telekinesis," Ainz suddenly spoke as he lifted Hara up and placed her on his shoulder. "Tell me what you will as I walk us there."
"My . . . my family originally comes from the east, from the land that lady Princess Knight Kaguya hails from. My parents did not speak of it often, but it was alluded to that the reason was related to some lost, or stolen, treasure of some kind."
"Hmmm, so your ancestors perhaps stole, or were responsible for the loss of something important, so left for another country in the hopes of being forgotten about," Ainz figured out loud.
"Maybe, it was never said clearly," Hara said before shaking her head. "My family ran a Silk farm, while Melodies's family were the nobles that controlled the land the village was on. They were good and fair, and everyone in the village was happy, though some were vocally against our silk farm because the Weavers got out once or twice."
"Weavers? I take it they are not simple worms then, yes?"
"No, Weavers are large and intelligent Spiders. They don't have very strong poison, and they form family groups and are intelligent enough that they understood that my family farmed heir excess silk while protecting them. When I was young, me and Melodie were good friends, and her sister didn't like me, probably because she was afraid of the weavers, while I was good at caring for them," Hara said before letting out a slight chuckle. "I remember taking one with me to school one day. The teacher got upset with me and everyone but Melodie was terrified of it," Hara described with a chuckle.
"Sounds like a good childhood," Ainz commented.
"It was, while it lasted. I recall, there was some friction between Melodie's family and that of a neighboring noble. You recall how it was said that my village was destroyed by the dark queen's monsters?"
"Yes, it was said a force split off and went for the village. A strange and unlikely seeming idea when it is this many days south of the city itself."
"Yes. That was the official story," Hara said grimly. "In truth, Brigands attacked the village. They stormed in, killed the guards, and began pillaging and raping and killing. They had a troll with them, controlled it somehow, but shortly after the attack began, the dawn Templars arrived and killed them, saving those of us that did not die in the attack, or where hidden by their families. I had been playing with Melodie, and the two of us and Aria all hid together."
Ainz was quiet for a moment before he let out a low hum. "How quickly di the Templars arrive to protect the village?"
"Within an hour or so."
"That is too quick. The city is six days away; they had to have already been on the way."
"Yes. Melodie told me years later that she had dug up some information as a knight. Information that claimed that he Templars were warned of the attack by an anonymous tip."
"Strange. The brigands themselves would not tip their hands as such . . . Perhaps the ones behind their attack then? Or someone using it to weaken the cities defenses?"
"She thought that too, but was never able to find anything more out," Hara said with a shake of her head. "I was never able to even see my parent's bodies. The three of us, and the few other not killed in the attack, were taken by the Templars to the city. Melodie was already set to join the knights as an apprentice a year later; and I was set to do the same for the magician's guild, so we were sent to them early. You know the rest of the story.
"You dabbled in necromancy and were caught," Ainz said with a nod of his head. "How did you get discovered?"
"I . . . brought a cat hit by a wagon back to life. It then went off on its own but, its body kept rotting and it was seen a few days later. I got caught in the act a few days after that. They had to call in the church to catch and deal with the cat."
"Hmmmmm. How did you get the key if you were with Melodie and her sister??"
"That morning my father gave it to me, he told me to never let it fall into untrustworthy hands, and that he felt I needed to have it for some reason. Like he knew what was coming."
"Curious," Ainz commented as he thought about the details he now knew. A village attacked, the Templars alerted to it, but not so quickly they could save it. An unknown force after a key that could hold a deed, or an ancient treasure hidden behind its lock. There were number of possibilities as to what or who was behind all of these events, but without more information it would be difficult to be sure. "Is there anything else of importance?"
Hara shook her head. "Not that I can recall. I was young; I didn't pay attention to anything except playing and doing my chores when not learning at the village church."
"I see. Do you expect anything to be in the village now?"
"The weavers have either died out or just continued living I would guess, but I can't imagine much left. The brigands set fire to a lot of the village, and because they had a monster with them the village was declared off limits for a long time. It wasn't allowed to be inhabited again."
That detail confused Ainz greatly. Humans were tenacious, and even after great cataclysm would often move back to places that had been destroyed. The fact no one was allowed to was strange. "How are you sure the safe is still there?"
"It was in the basement, and the basement of our home was made of stone, to help store silk before it was delivered the city. Even if my house is gone, the basement should still be there."
Ainz nodded and asked nothing further as he thought over everything. Something was missing. A lot of things were missing actually, but there was something else that was bothering him more. They had been attacked in the city itself by brigands after the key, so they had they not been attacked while outside of the city yet?
The rest of the distance to the village was spent in silence, but as they got closer Ainz was able to pick out a few details of note about the village they were approaching. The buildings did indeed look burnt down, many looing to be burnt husks. A shattered manor stood at one edge of the village, also burnt, and the forest beside the village was not actually burnt, but appeared black from ash being stuck in the tree's boughs. There also was the sound of rhythmic wood chopping, something that set Hara on edge in an instant as soon as she heard it.
"A, wood axe? Is someone here?" she asked nervously as she began glancing around,
"I assume you wish to find out before heading for the ruins of your home?" Ainz asked expectantly.
"Can we?" Hara asked hopefully. "My home is on the villages opposite side."
Ainz nodded as he entered the village and took in the old devastation. Burt husks of homes, piles of ashes and half burnt and broken bones, some underneath the rubble. There were even a few places were arrows were stuck in the walls of building, their hafts long since burnt or rotted gone, leaving just he head stuck in warped wood. It did not take long for them to find the source of the noise, as when Ainz came around a building he could see down a street to the remains of a large building that, unlike the rest in the village, appeared to be of oriental design. It was as devastated as all the other buildings in the village, but unlike the others here was a group of rough looking men with wood axes chopping into the burnt spars and rubble of the building, as if trying to dig out the foundation.
Unfortunately one of the men also chose that moment to turn and saw the two of them.
"Hey, look alive, we have guests," He said, loud enough to be heard by Ainz and Hara.
"Why are they-" Hara began to ask quietly, stopping when Ainz shifted his shoulder, jostling her a bit.
"Greetings, I apologize for surprising you men, we are simple travelers and saw this village ruins, and hoped we could find a place to rest our weary feet for a time. I hope we are not interrupting something?"
"No, we're just simple scavengers, hoping to find a quick buck in these old ruins," the man who had first seen them said with a smile on his face as he placed his axe down on the ground, resting an arm on its shaft. "You know, old steel and iron, damaged jewelry, thing that can be sold or melted down, that sort of thing,"
"Ah, yes that makes sense. Have you been successful?" Ainz asked as he noticed some of the other men whispering to each other and pulling out what looked to be a letter of some kind. "I would not expect much in such a ruined place, but that building does look different. A merchant's villa perhaps?"
"Good eye, that's what we figured," the man said before shaking his head. " Problem is they used solid wooden oak in the spars of this place instead of pine, so even burnt down its hard to-" the man stopped talking when one of the others came up beside him and handed him the letter, whispering and pointing at it. The man's expression shifted to curiosity, then he glanced at Ainz and Hara, and it shifted to something grim. "Heh, you almost had me going there."
"Pardon?" Ainz asked, not liking the sudden shift in the man's tone.
"You heard me," he said before looking directly at Hara. "Girl hand over the key and I will let the both of you leave here alive. I'd prefer not to kill needlessly if it can be helped.
"I'm not sure what you mean," Hara said, playing ignorant, though Ainz could feel her shift on his shoulder nervously.
"You are not playing coy girl, we've been payed a lot of coin to unearth the safe under this place, and we were told to watch for you. Hand over the key, and you get to live," the man said as his allies hefted their axes, while a couple took out swords and brandished them.
"Who is paying you?" Hara demanded, no longer trying to hide anything as anger filled her tone.
"Heh, were not paid to reveal our client, but look girl, we're grave robbers, scavengers, the like. Not killers. Give us the key and you can go, you have my word."
" . . . .What do you want to do?" Ainz asked quietly after as second of silence.
"What?" Hara said as she turned look at Ainz helmeted face.
"Do you wish to fight them, or hand them the key, or perhaps run?"
"C-couldn't you kill them?"
"I could, easily. However my killing them serves no purpose when it is ultimately your choice," Ainz said before letting out a chuckle.
"I- I can't fight them, I have no weapon, and I'm still rusty with magic."
"If it is a simple case of needing a weapon, I can get you one in a matter of seconds," Ainz said with another light chuckle. "And if you wish to fight them, I will assist without issue if needed."
Hara seemed to think for a moment before carefully slipping off of Ainz's shoulder to the ground, only stumbling slightly as she landed. She then looked at the scavengers and shook her head. "I am not giving you my property. Leave."
"Not a smart choice girl," the first man said as he took a few steps forward. "I don't want to kill you, so hand it over."
"You realize I was a knight, right?" Hara asked.
"Sure, but your alone, and everyone knows you knights only know how to kill monsters, not people. sides, there's more of us than you, and while your friend is big, he doesn't look to dangerous."
"Really, then perhaps I should change your perceptions of myself," Ainz said as he took a step forward so he was standing beside Hara. "Create Greater item!"
In the instant he spoke and held out a hand a glowing circle appeared in the air and formed a bright silver sword that then floated in front of Hara. She took it in one hand and gave it a few swings, finding it light and perfectly balanced. Perfect for cutting flesh.
"By the Goddesses Tits, what the hell!?"
"He, he just summoned a weapon? Can magic do that?!"
"He's a mage? I've never heard of a mage making weapons!"
Some of the scavengers exclaimed in surprise, while their leader seemed to be surprised as well, but was better at hiding it as he hefted his axe. "Hey now. Look, all we need is a key; it's not worth any of us killing anyone over it, right?"
"Your right it isn't. So leave," Hara said seriously as she held her sword In front of her with one hand so the point was level with her eyes.
"Screw that, we get a bonus if we get that key and the safe together!" one of the scavengers yelled as he suddenly ran toward Hara and Ainz.
"Wait!" their leader called, a second too late as the one scavenger reached Hara and swung his axe down at her.
Hara, instead of dodging the swing or redirecting it, instead swung her sword up at an angle as she took a step forward. The blade collided with the man's wrists as he tried to bring the axe down and cut right through both of his arms, sending his hands and the axe flying to the ground behind Hara with a clatter.
"AH! MY hands!" the scavenger screamed in horror as he took a step backwards and then fell to the ground, trying to push himself backwards as panic filled him.
Hara looked at the man and then pointed an open palm at him. "Heat and fire answer my call, streak and burn, Firebolt!" and a dart of flames the size of a small ball burst forth from her hands and struck the man in the face, knocking his head backwards and making him scream as his skin burned.
"Holy shit she's a mage!" one of the scavengers yelled in surprise.
"But she said she was a knight. Knights don't use magic!" Another exclaimed as he dropped his axe, and pulled out a pair of hatchets clearly designed for being thrown.
"Yes, I was a knight, as in the past," Hara said as she stepped up beside the screaming man and flicked her sword across his throat, silencing him before pointing the bloody tipped sword at the remaining scavengers. "Who is next?"
"Screw you bitch!" one of the scavengers yelled as he, and a few others began rushing forward. Their leader however, appeared to be holding back, going so far as to grab the shoulders of those two closest to him ,stopping them from rushing forward as well.
Ainz watched as the scavengers approached Hara. The first simply rushed at her and swung his axe horizontally. Hara stepped back twice over the first man's axe lying on the ground, and as the scavenger tried to attack again she hooked her foot under the axe on the ground and kicked it up at him. It struck his knees, making him stumble, and in the next second she thrust her sword into the man's throat. She however did not remove it and instead stepped forward, using the blade to push the man backwards to the ground as he gargled and grabbed at the blade with his hands helplessly. She then suddenly pulled the blade out with a flick, sending the man's blood at the face of one of the two men now upon her.
With one of them unable to see, Hara turned to the other and stepped backwards to dodge his swing, only for her leg to twist a bit, making her visibly wince and almost stumble. The scavenger saw and figured he had an opening and swung, only for Hara to block the axe with her sword and then use the axe's head to pull herself forward and stabilize herself. While also driving an elbow in to the man's crotch. The man bent over in pain, and in that moment Hara tossed her sword from one hand to the other and slammed the pommel onto the man's skull, sending him fully to the ground in pain.
"Swing and thrash, blades of wind!" Hara then said as she turned to the man wiping blood out of his eyes and swung her sword, a blade of wind coming out of it and slashing the man's chest, causing him to fall backwards from the force of the spell. She then, as if out of spite, stabbed the man on the ground at her feet and then walked over and stabbed the other in the throat.
It was an interesting fight from Ainz's Perspective. Hara did not seem to care how she fought as long as she won, but appeared to still be having some trouble compensating for her leg being a bit crippled. It was clearly messing with her stances and her ability to move quickly any great distance. But it was still clear she was solidly skilled at fighting.
Something the scavenger leader and the two men he stopped from attacking seemed to realize in the extreme.
"What in the, I've never heard of a knight fighting so dirty!"
"She, she just killed them, just like that!"
The two scavenger's exclaimed in horror as their leader took a step forward, putting his arms out to either side defensively as Hara turned her gaze to him. "Whoa, hold on there, miss knight, I get it, I don't want anyone else dead, especially not my own men."
"You mean to say those who attacked were not yours?" Ainz spoke up, curious by the man's words.
"No, they were sent with the three of us for the job, by the one who's paying us," the leader said as he looked at their bodies. "Well, the one who would have paid us."
"What?" Hara asked.
"As I said, I don't want any death, I'm leaving. We're leaving. Alright?"
"Who paid you to come here and do this?" Hara asked seriously as she pointed the sword at the scavenger leader.
"Don't know their name; all they gave us was the job, and a location to deliver the chest and the key if we acquired it. The person was wearing a heavy cloak and hood, but their accent made them sound like a noble maybe," The leader said with a shrug, still looking at Hara warily.
"Where?"
"Uh, a large tree about two days east of here at a crossroads. It's a well-known landmark I think," the leader said nervously, clearly not liking the way Hara as speaking.
"I know of it," Hara said as she looked at the three scavengers and sighed. "Leave. Get out of here."
"We're going, I'm not stupid enough to pick a fight with a knight that fights like a mercenary and knows magic too!" the leader said as he dropped his axe, and led his two men down the road and eventually out of sight.
". . . Should I have killed them?"
"Did you want to?" Ainz asked simply.
"A Bit," Hara admitted before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. They're gone, and now I know that someone is after what is in the safe. They probably hired those thugs in the city too."
"It does seem likely," Ainz said as he began walking toward the ruined building. "However something does not quite add up."
"What do you mean?" Hara asked as she followed, slower from her leg.
"They knew you could have a key, and had a description of you if that letter was anything to go by. However, they did not know of your skills, or of what I could do. They likely were given this job, before we left the city."
"So whoever is behind this, known a lot of things and planned in advance?" Hara asked, connecting the dots in her head.
"Yes, though such a thing is not of immediate importance," Ainz commented as he surveyed the ruined building. Only a single wall was still standing, and the roof had long since collapsed in on itself overtop the burnt spars and walls. It also seemed that while the building had an oriental design, it was not built with paper walls. Meaning there was a lot of burnt and broken rubble atop the foundation. "Where is the entry to the basement located?"
"Um, I think it was at the back of the house," Hara said as she began hobbling around the structure.
Ainz followed silently, noting that Hara was looking at certain paces on the building and the surrounding village as she slowly walked, likely reminiscing if he had to guess. Eventually there around the back of the building, tucked almost right against the forest of ash covered trees. It also made it clear that it was not the tree's that were covered in ash, but massive amounts of Spider webs that were strung across the trees and between them that were covered in ash. "The weavers you mentioned. They must have been quite large, yes?"
"They were about uh, a meter long and wide," Hara said after a moment of silence. "I think with how tall I am now; they would be almost up to my knees. . . . I wonder if they are still around?"
"The lack of new webs tells me that is unlikely, but, would you like to investigate the forest once you have found the safe?" Ainz asked, admittedly curious if such large spiders were still around as well. They would not be as large as some of the mobs in Yggdrasil were, but the mobs had acted like AI enemies, not living creatures.
"Um, I'll think about it," Hara said uncertainly as she walked along the rubble and suddenly stopped at an areas where the rubble had fallen outward from the house's foundation. "Here, this is where the entrance is.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I think I can," Hara said as she leaned against the rubble. "Yes, I can see the doorway through here. It looks intact."
"Very well, stand back," Ainz said as he faced the rubble and pointed a hand at it. "Telekinesis," the rubble shifted, sending up ashes and dust, then the broken spars and stone began to lift into the air one by one until they were all floating above the rubble, revealing a moderate sized angled trapdoor partly inset into the buildings foundation itself. Throwing the rubble and pars to the side with a crash, Ainz then used his telekinesis on the doors, the old damaged wood ripping off their hinges from the force and taking the small and broken lock connecting them together with them.
"Alright, shall we?" Hara asked nervously as she stared at the now open stairway down into the earth.
"Yes. Though-," Ainz stopped to think for a second as he surveyed the opening. "I may not fit in that entryway."
Hara looked back at Ainz, then back at the doorway and visibly slumped. "Oh."
"Do you recall the size of the safe?""
"Um, it shouldn't be too much bigger than the average chest, though it will be heavier. I think it was made of solid iron."
"Hmm, I am curious to it and the contents. Do you believe you could bring it out? Or to the base of the stairway at the least?"
"Why the base of the stairway?"
"Because I can then levitate it up and out. I must see what I levitate," Ainz explained.
Hara nodded and instantly headed into the doorway and down out of sight, only for illumination to appear a moment later alongside a short chant, a light spell of some form in all likelihood.
The idea of letting someone who was injured drag a heavy objet about wasn't the best admittedly. But the only other real option was using a spell such as Mold Earth, but with the visible damage on the foundation, it did not seem like a smart idea really.
"I may not breath, but being buried alive sounds unpleasant," Ainz muttered to himself alongside his thoughts before suddenly hearing a clatter from down below. "Hara, are you alright?"
"Yes, I just tripped a bit on . . . . Oh!"
"Found something?"
"Well, lots of old silk barrels that are, probably best left unopened," Hara said, sounding a bit annoyed and disturbed, before her voice perked up." I found the chest. It's smaller than I remember and, ugh, I can carry it fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'll be up in a moment," Hara said before, just as she said, she came up and out of the basement with a metal chest barely half the size of her torso. "One second there's something else I need to grab," she then added as she put the chest down and headed back below.
Allowing Ainz to pick up the chest with one hand a d look it over. It was made of roughly pounded iron, as if a solid ingot had been shaped into the form of a box and then ha a lid tactfully tacked on afterword's. The lock appeared to be partly molded into the metal, and the chest had no other defining features aside from how rough it looked.
Except for the fact he could feel a substantial amount of magic from within it, radiating out as if a warning.
"Ugh," Hara grunted as she came outside again, prompting Ainz to look over and find that she was carrying a rather long Polearm, a Naginata Specifically, over one shoulder. What was strange was that the Naginata itself appeared to be in pristine condition. The blade was whitish silver, while the shaft was not wood but appeared too made of some kind of sleek and dark metal. It had no other defining features, but appeared to be of quality craftsmanship.
"I assume that was one of your parents?"
"I don't know actually," Hara admitted as she planted its shaft in the ground and looked it over. "I don't recall seeing it before, but it fell out of a cupboard when I bumped into it. But it was clearly a family heirloom of some kind, so I figured I might as well use it so no one steals it."
"That is a good decision, it appears well made," Ainz said with a nod as he put the small safe on the ground.
"Um would you open it?" Hara asked as she took out the key and held it out to Ainz.
"You don't wish to?"
"Something feels, odd about it," Hara said awkwardly.
"Hmm, so you sense it," Ainz said as he reached over and took the key from Hara while picking up the safe again. "Something within this has strong magic, so be ready."
Hara nodded, taking the Naginata in both hands, as if expecting a monster to escape out of the safe when opened.
Ainz shifted the way he was holding the safe and inserted the key and twisted, finding the lock to be stiff, but to still unlock with a heavy click, and no other effects or sounds. Letting go of the key he opened the lid and looked within before placing the safe on the ground o that Hara could also see within.
For inside was a folded piece of paper, and a white misshapen rock.
"That's, it?" Hara asked in confusion.
"It would appear to be," Ainz said as he gingerly took the folded paper and held it out to Hara. "This is likely the Deed."
Hara took the paper and opened it, scanning it for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. "Yes, it is."
"What will you do with it?"
"I, will probably give it to Melodie or her sister. It was their families in the first place after all," Hara said as her eyes drifted back to the safe." Is there, anything other than that stone in there?"
"No. However-," Ainz stopped as he looked at the stone grimly. "It appears the stone itself is what feels magical. And quite powerful."
"But, it's a rock?" Hara question in clear confusion. "Who would enchant a rock of all things?"
"I do not believe it is enchanted, but the rock itself is magical," Ainz said as he reached down and picked up the rock between his fingers. The magic felt strange, like necromancy but subtly different, and a moment later he felt a jolt from the stone.
"Hyahahahahahaah, and another dies from my curse! How pathetic of you to. . . .Wait, you're not dead. Why are you not dead?" Came an energetic and clearly feminine voice that seemed to echo in the air, causing Hara to Tense up and glance around for where it had come from.
"Who?"
"It came from the stone," Ainz said as he looked at it, feeling its magic radiating out with greater force "didn't it?"
Well, yes, my voice came from the stone, I am the stone. More importantly, why are you not dead? You're supposed to be dead!" The voice declared as it loudly hummed. "Wait, anyone who touches my stone is supposed to die but you. . . .Are you-"
"What are you?" Ainz asked carefully, a thought entering his mind of what it could be, but hoping he was wrong. "Or should I ask who?"
"Hrm, why are you not, oh sorry, a question . . . I guess I can answer as I try to kill you. I am a shard of the soul of Mae, the Great usurper!"
"Who?" Hara asked.
"Tamamo no Mae, a Kitsune Fox Spirit known for attempting to bring down a county, and as punishment was killed by the gods. Her bones then turned to cursed stones that killed those who touched them, known as Sessho-Seki. Killing stones," Ainz said before holding the stone up and level to his head. "Correct?"
"Well, that's almost right, I'm surprised you know who I was but know my history wrong. Why would I try to bring down a country? No, I tried to usurp the gods of the east and become a god myself!"
"And failed, clearly,"
"Well, yes. But only because the priestesses of that bullshit filled one true god crap that was spreading over in my homeland took me out. That religion died out right?"
"Um, no. I believe it has become the dominant religion of the east," Hara spoke up. "They only believe in there being one True God."
"Well dammit. I was trying to become a god to help the others beat back that bastard. Looks like they failed."
"More importantly, you are the spirit of Tamamo No Mae then, correct?"
"Um, kind of?" The spirit said unsurely. "I am a shard of what remains of her spirit, not her spirit itself. I exist to kill those who touch me, and mock those who are smart enough not to. You don't seem to be from my homeland though, so how do you know of me?"
"The lands I come from have a similar story of your origin I suppose," Ainz said with a sigh.
"So, it's a cursed stone," Hara summarized as she looked at it nervously. "Should we, destroy it? Seal it away?"
"That would perhaps be best," Ainz agreed, causing the stone to suddenly vibrant as if frantic.
"Wait, hold up, just one second, and just let me talk, okay?"
"Why?" Ainz asked in an almost amused tone. "You clearly stated you were attempting to kill me, and will do so to others if they find you."
"Look I know that but . . . . . . . I need a favor. I want you to exorcise me."
"You are a vengeful spirit, why would you want to be exorcised?" Hara asked, clearly not believing the spirit.
"I . . . every other time I've killed someone when they touch me, I could, feel my other pieces and how many they had killed. . . I don't feel anything. I am the last vestige of Tamamo no Mae, and my origins hope of killing members of the church worshipping that bastard god that took over my origins homeland is, there no chance anymore really. I'm nothing but a chunk of semi sentient death magic and . . . . That's why I can't kill you!" The spirit suddenly exclaimed, going from somber to elated in an instant. "You, you're nothing but a mass of death! A-ha! Now that I get it makes so much sense! You, you're already dead! No, you are death made manifest! A God of death itself!"
"That sounds absurd," Ainz said, inwardly worried about how the spirit came to such an answer.
"What? No it isn't. I've only heard of gods being reborn into people, but there are stories of people becoming gods from being powerful enough. So which are you, a reborn god of death, or a newly formed god of death? Or wait; are you a foreign god maybe? I heard that was a thing I think."
"That is quite absurd. I am simply a mage from a distant land, I am not some kind of god," Ainz said seriously, hoping that the spirit would not push such an avenue of thought any further. Especially since Hara was giving him a strange look.
"Sure, you might not be a god, but you easily could be I'd wager. And you're not fooling me anymore. You are very much dead. Not that it matters when I'm a vengeful spirit stuck to a rock once bone. Look, can you just like, exorcise me with your necromancy? If you do that my death curse will still remain on the stone. I get to finally cease existing, and you get a free Sessho-Seki, sounds like a good deal, right?"
"It sounds like you are desperate and insane, it was it sounds like," Ainz stated.
"Wait, I have a question. How did you arrive here?" Hara suddenly asked before the spirit could speak up again.
"Where is here?"
"Eostia."
"I do not know, but would assume I had been smuggled here or something similar."
Hara looked conflicted but said nothing else and took a step backwards.
"Look, are you going to exorcise me or not? I may only be a shard of a spirit, but living in a stone sucks, and maybe when all of the stones are dead my spirit may move on. Maybe. I'm not sure, I just hope so."
Ainz let out a long sigh and brought a hand up and touched it to his mask, forgetting for a second that he couldn't grab the bridge of his nose in aggravation. "Very well, I will destroy you."
"Thank you kindly. In addition to having use of the killing stone, perhaps you would like a piece of advice from someone who tried to become a god?"
Ainz let out a short chuckle. "And what dice would you give, hmm?"
"Gods and those that can challenge them can bend the rules of magic and even create their own by thinking of it and dictating words and meaning to them. I learned this too late to use it against the usurper of the east, but perhaps you will use it well."
"Hmm, I see, that is a curious piece of information perhaps," Ainz admitted, feeling as if a missing piece of the puzzle on magic he was wondering out suddenly made sense. If strong enough beings could simply bend the rules that other races considered strict and exact, it would explain a number of discrepancies in many of the tomes he had read. "Now then, I shall end you."
"Please do!"
"Very well then," Ainz said as he suddenly tossed the Sessho-Seki into the air a bit to the side of where He and Hara were standing. "Astral Smite."
In that moment a beam of pure white light seemed to descend from the sky and sear through the very air over the stone. And in that moment, the slight sparkle the stone held seemed to be burnt away, leaving just a simple stone that fell to the ground. walking over and picking it up Ainz looked it over. He could still feel necromantic energy from it, but it was lesser than before and had nothing else attached to it.
"Did it work?" Hara asked uncertainly.
"Yes, this is now a simple killing stone," Ainz said as he put it into a pocket of his robes. "Though I admit I am unsure of what I would use such a thing for."
"It will kill anyone who ouches it, right?" Hara asked curiously.
"Hmm, yes, though perhaps it would be more accurate to say it would kill any it touches. Those with a high enough resistance to magic, or skill in necromancy, would be immune it would seem."
"I see," Hara said absently s her gaze drifted toward the forest, and the huge amounts of webbing covered in ash.
Ainz inwardly chuckled as he took a step toward Hara. "Well, we have acquired the deed and the stone, and you have acquired an heirloom weapon. Do you still wish to investigate the forest itself?"
Hara seemed to suddenly light up, though did not look directly at Ainz. "Please, thank you."
"It is of no concern," Ainz commented as the two of them headed into the forest and began heading as deep as they could.
The forest appeared to be some form of hardwood, similar to oak but not the same, and every one of the trees were large and strong, and covered in webbing of various types. It was difficult to tell with the ashes covering everything but there were a few kinds of web, but it was also clear that a number of the tree's in places had burn marking on them as well.
"I see that the village was not the only thing enflamed."
"Yes but . . . it's odd," Hara said as she glanced around. "I don't recall hearing anything about the forest being on fire, and the bandits that attacked the village came from the direction we did," Hara said as she stepped up to a tree covered in burn markings with a pile of ash at its base and scratched at the burned bark. "I think, this might be more recent."
"It is," Ainz said as he pointed further ahead, prompting Hara to rush forward.
There, in a large clearing, were the signs of battle. The desiccated remains of large spiders, alongside the dried or rotten remains of men. Some were tangled, as if the spiders had died as they went for the kill and ha impaled men on their stingers or fangs, while in other places the bodies of both were strewn around haphazardly, left where they had fallen. The bodies of people all seemed to be wearing simple leather armors or other basic gear. Some had swords that lay on the ground; others had axes that were stuck in the bodies of dead spiders or in the tree's and a couple even appeared to have staves or bows.
"This, these bodies are only a few years old!" Hara exclaimed as she ran between the bodies of both person and spider, looking over the wear of their gear and the state of their bodies. All of the equipment was rusted or tarnished in some way from time and the environment, and the bodies rotted in many places or become desiccated from dry air and time.
"Yes, it seems this was a planned attack," Ainz said as he slowly walked around and surveyed the devastation, noticing a couple of things as he did. "These people, they all are equipped with the same gear, and the gear itself has no customization or personalization upon it."
"Meaning they are not individual mercenaries," Hara said in clear anger, "They are a group that was sent here to exterminate the weavers!"
"Hmm, is it possible that the guild had put out for their extermination if they went feral?"
"No, Weavers are disinclined to fight people. They go after birds, lizards and large bugs. They don't attack people," Hara said as he stood in front of a dead Weavers body, still impaled on a spear, and appeared to be quivering with rage. "This was an intentional extermination!"
"Hmm, how many Weavers do you think would be in the forest?" Ainz asked as he looked over the area, noting dozens of the large spiders.
"Only a few dozen more at most. Their numbers were usually split between the male and female ones, and the females ones are smaller," Hara said as she set off further into the forest.
It didn't take long for them to encounter another smaller clearing, one filled with smaller spiders, clearly killed by people before the larger ones appeared to assist.
It was then, as Hara looked over more of the bodies, that Ainz noticed something was strange. At one side of the clearing there was a spider's corpse, larger than the others, with its front half of its body seemingly stuck in a tree, only its abdomen out in the open with several spears and swords stuck in it. What truly set it apart though, was this spiders abdomen, and presumably its whole body, was not the dark bluish purple of the others, but a bright white color. "Hara, there appears to be something of interest here!"
Hara came over and gasped, rushing up to the side of the white spider's corpse and looking saddened. "Dammit, I expected it . . . but dammit"
"You knew this one more directly perhaps?" Ainz asked.
"Shiro was the biggest male weaver, and very intelligent. He was, kind of like my pet dog in a way. He was the one who I had to care for first when I was learning, and he even let me ride on his back when I was younger," she explained as she took a step backward and let out a heavy sigh, only for her gaze to then be locked downward. She dropped to her knees and lifted up the dead spider's abdomen a bit. " Shiro's stinger is missing!"
"And that is surprising when it was fighting?"
"Yes. A weaver's stinger wouldn't come off unless it had gotten stuck in something extremely hard. Like a shield of a metal plate. Shiro's stinger was barbed after all."
Ainz was silent for a moment as he considered this information and nodded. "Telekinesis."
Answering his words, Shiro's corpse began slowly shifting out of the tree trunk. Its head came out first, revealing that most of its front legs had also been in the tree truck, and judging from the scratch markings on the ground and the tree, it had been going after something. A something that became clearly a human as a desiccated body with a large stinger embedded through its chest plate was dragged out from its foot being stuck in the spider corpse's mouth. The human corpse was interesting though, as it had on its belt a small scroll case that its desiccated arm was wrapped around.
A Scroll case that Hara immediately noticed and instantly went after, tearing the corpses arm right off its body to pluck the scroll case off its belt and open it up. Inside was a waxed scroll with a broken seal, and as Hara unrolled it, her expressions darkened.
"I take it that the scroll is not what you expected?"
Hara nodded. "It contains orders to kill all the weavers, to make it impossible for the village to be I habited again by having no economy. It also references the bandit attack being called by the same one who gave this order to these mercenaries, and is signed by a Noble!"
"And you wish to kill them now that you know this information?"
"No, I want to destroy them, but I can't, I don't have the power, the ability, or the rank," Hara stated grimly. Before suddenly smirking. "So I'll give this information to someone who can destroy them."
"Oh? And who do you believe could undermine a noble of these lands in such a way then?" Ainz asked curiously. After all, the aristocracy of the land seemed as needlessly complicated as medieval Europe's was.
"I will give it to Aria. As a member of the Dawn Templars, she can use the information, and bring it directly to the Princess Knight, and I believe she will deal with it appropriately."
"I see. Despite the fact she thinks ill of you?"
"Even if she doesn't like me, this was her home too."
"I see. Then, is there anything else here you wish to look into?"
"No but . . . thank you, for going along with this request of mine," Hara said as she turned to Ainz and Bowed to him.
"It is fine; I have learned much from this little trip. It is of no consequence," Ainz admitted with a wave of hand. "Let us begin heading back to Ansur. I am sure we do not wish to be late."
"Yes. . . .But, may I ask something?" Hara asked as the pair began to leave the forest.
"And that is?"
"Why do you keep insisting you are not dead?"
Ainz simply let out a groan of annoyance.