Chapter 61
(TLN: I’ve been using Illusionary Hand for Ainz skill for a while, but to keep it consistent between the translation of this WN and the manga, I decided to follow LHTranslation, they used “Phantom Hand” for it. And actually, his name was just Ain without the “z”, but adding z makes it sounds better for me, or should we change it into just Ain?. Another difference between Manga and WN is Grint’s mother’s name, her name was Camilla in the Manga, but it was Alma in the WN)
「…I don’t understand, nya…」
It was 4 am already. They were only reading a few sheets of paper in her hand, but he had spent several hours thinking about it.
「Kuh~ Kuh~」
「Why is Chris sleeping there, nya?」
「…I guess she was just tired」
「This is the first time I’ve ever seen a knight of the King’s Guard falling asleep on the Crown Prince’s lap, nya… Not just a mere knight, but Chris is the Grand Marshal, nya!」
Of course, Ainz had never heard of it before either. No wonder, it was unheard of for a knight to do such a thing. Probably, even in the long history of Ishtalica, Chris might be the first one to ever do such a thing.
「I mean. Why is Chris in such an uncomfortable position, and why is she still holding the doc.u.ments, nya…?」
Chris was still holding the doc.u.ments while lying on Ainz’s lap.
「Err, it was because professor Oz said that if anyone other than Chris-san touched it, it would burst into flames」
「Can’t she just put it on the table, nya? Are you stupid, nya?」
…He got so annoyed that Kadyma said he was stupid that he wanted to get up and pull her ear if he could, but he couldn’t right now.
Seeing how peaceful Chris was sleeping on his lap, he hesitated to wake her up.
A few hours ago, Chris thought that this would take a lot of time, so she changed into her casual clothes, so she wouldn’t have a hard time sleeping while wearing her armor.
Ainz even worried that her hair, which had been untied and spread all over his lap, might get tangled up.
「She’s just like a no-good sister, nya…」
「What was that, isn’t that just like you?」
Kadyma was Olivia’s sister, and she was just like a no-good sister for her… That was what he meant.
「…How dare you, nya!?」
It was almost morning, and they hadn’t slept at all, but their tension was not like that of a late night.
And amid that indescribable tension, Kadyma excitedly jumped at Ainz.
「Too bad」
「Y-you coward, nya! That’s not fair, nya!」
「Well, it’s my win, so just please sit calmly over there」
He was using his Phantom Hand to stop Kadyma. Dullahan would never have thought that it would be used for something like this. In fact, Ainz had never thought of using it for anything like this either.
He used his Phantom Hand to put her on the sofa.
「…What do you want me to do at this hour, nya?」
「Well, sorry, I feel bad for asking you. Where’s Dill?」
「I gave him a break, nya. Good grief, Ainz… what a cruel guy for keeping Chris up at this late, nya. By the way, when did Chris fall asleep, nya?」
「Maybe about less than an hour after she changed her clothes」
Kadyma opened her mouth wide, revealing her shiny fangs. It looks like it would hurt to be bitten by her.
It was quite rare to see her surprised face, so he decided to take a closer look.
「It’s too early for you, nya!」
「Well, you must be tired now. Are you done with that?」
「Sort of, nya. So… is that the doc.u.ment that is troubling you, nya?」
「…Well yeah. I wonder if things go on like this, I might turn into a monster as Kadyma-san had predicted」
「…Tell me more about it, nya」
Over the past few hours, Ainz had come up with several hypotheses. Of course, it was based on the data Professor Oz had given him.
「All demi-humans have the potential to become monsters. That’s my conclusion」
「Just like what I thought, nya」
What the researchers found in their research was the potential of a demi-human “core”. That seems to be the keyword.
「It also means that they’ve been able to verify it. The experiment seems to be simple, but the technology used is ridiculously complicated. The principle of it was briefly explained with: Dissolve the energy of a magic stone into a demi-human and aim for the growth of their core, then the core will get stronger and they’ll gradually turn into a monster」
「Nya… That sounds painful, nya. Think of the toll it must take on their body, I’m pretty sure a lot of the test subjects must have died, nya」
Kadyma understood the effect of the magic stone’s energy on the human body.
That was why it was easy for her to imagine what the result would be.
「As expected of Kadyma-san, you’re right. It was written that 99.9% of the test subjects died」
「…They have a successful case, nya!?」
「Yes. It was written that they had killed it after it transformed into a pretty dangerous monster. It seems that it had lost its mind and killed the researcher」
「…I see, nya. It was not really a success then, nya, anything else?」
「The rest is just my hypothesis though, you want to hear it?」
It was now Ainz’s turn to tell his hypothesis to Kadyma.
「Go on, nya」
「What I’m doing is probably the same thing. I can absorb the energy from the magic stones, and the only difference is whether or not there’s any pain in the process」
「Wait a moment, nya. Ainz’s toxin decomposition skill was able to eliminate things that are harmful to your body, right, nya? …In other words, you won’t absorb anything that could poison anyone, nya!」
「I mean, it’s not really a poison, right? It is only the result of an “evolutionary” change in my core that is going to turn me into a monster… So, it’s not like it is a bad thing」
After a few moments of silence, Kadyma sighed heavily.
「…I’m a little thirsty, nya, does Ainz want some water too, nya?」
Maybe she couldn’t stand the tension, or maybe she just wanted to take a break. He didn’t know which it was, but Kadyma went to get some water.
「Yeah, please」
「Okay, nya… What a h.e.l.l of nephew you are, you always get into so much trouble, nya」
「Well, my bad」
「…By the way, I have one idea, nya」
「Hmm? What is it?」
Kadyma came back with two gla.s.ses. As soon as she sat down, she seemed to have an idea and started talking about it.
「What is the demerit of being a monster, nya?」
「W-well, maybe I won’t be able to talk anymore…」
「That’s a misunderstanding, nya」
「Eh…?」
「I mean, if Ainz were to evolve, he wouldn’t become one of those small fries, nya」
Kadyma’s lack of sadness gave Ainz some hope.
Her next words even came out with a slightly joking tone.
「It reminds me of Dullahan, nya. He was a monster, nya, but if he were to wear normal clothes, n.o.body would be able to tell whether he was a monster or not. The same goes for Elder Lich, nya」
「Y-you’re certainly right…」
「I don’t really like to say this kind of thing, nya, but… when that really happens, Ainz’s evolved race can be recognized as your alternate race, nya… Father would probably agree to it, nya」
Somehow, Ainz was able to regain his spirit when he heard that. He could feel warmth returning to his limbs, which had been feeling cold. Ainz thought to himself that it seemed it was just him that had been thinking too much about it.
「I think I need to go to the bathroom for a moment… I’m sorry, Chris-san, heave ho」
He gently shifted her head to his side and stood up. Then he went to the bathroom.
「Okay, nya. …Well then」
After watching Ainz walk away, Kadyma went to get herself more water. Then she opened her mouth and spoke while filling the water.
「Chris. Don’t tell anyone what we just talked about, nya, even to Dill… or Father, nya」
「…So Kadyma-sama noticed me, huh?」
Chris was actually awake all this time. Kadyma, who realized it, decided to keep her mouth shut.
「I realized it when Ainz used his Phantom Hand before, nya. I am a Cat Sith, so I’m sensitive to that sort of thing, nya… And remember, you cannot tell others about this, okay, nya?」
「…But I can’t do anything if His Majesty orders me to tell the truth…」
「Then our talk will be quick, nya」
When Kadyma finished pouring her water, she slowly turned around. There was something graceful and beautiful about her movements, so much so that the time it took her to turn around seemed like minutes. When she turned around, she had a somewhat divine expression on her face that even Chris, who had been in the castle for many years, had never seen before.
「…Christina Wernstein. I, The First Princess, Kadyma von Ishtalica, issue a Royal Decree to you. I forbid you to speak of any information you may learn during our trip regarding Ainz’s monster transformation. This information shall not be divulged to any other beings, including other members of the Royal Family… Well, I guess that’s good enough, right, nya?」
Kadyma was undoubtedly a member of the Royal Family of Ishtalica. Chris felt an aura of dignity that she could not imagine from her usual atmosphere… Chris also nodded her head in response and agreed to it.
And as far as Chris knew, this was the first time Kadyma had issued a Royal Decree.
「Good, nya. I’m glad you obediently agreed to it, nya. …Good grief, this serious manner is exhausting, nya…」
「…Kadyma-sama, what are your thoughts on this?」
「You mean the worst-case scenario for Ainz, nya?」
「…Yeah」
Kadyma hadn’t told Ainz about the worst-case scenario. She had only given him the best parts of the case. Which showed how kind she was to him.
That was why Chris wanted to hear what Kadyma was really thinking.
「…I think the past may repeat itself, nya」
「The past…?」
Chris returned with more questions about her mysterious words… but it seemed that their time was running out.
「I’m back… Huh, Chris-san? You woke up」
「A-Ainz-sama!?」
「Hey hey, You don’t have to be that surprised, you know?」
Ainz came back from the bathroom. Of course, now that he was back, their talk must come to its end. It was not something they wanted to talk about when Ainz was around.
「Ainz. Chris was embarra.s.sed to have fallen asleep on your lap, nya」
「I-is that so…? But you don’t have to say it like that!」
Kadyma thought she had to follow up. She knew that Chris was vulnerable to such sudden situations, but her reaction was different from what she had expected.
After all, it was true that she had fallen asleep on his lap, and now she was aware of how embarra.s.sing it was.
The atmosphere was quite serious a moment ago, but because of her, she only became more embarra.s.sed.
「W-well, you don’t have to worry about that… It’s not like you were drooling or anything」
「D-drool…!? R-really, Ainz-sama? Y-you can’t be serious…」
「 As I said, you didn’t! Aah, whatever!」
「Haah… You guys are still being so noisy even at this hour, nya…」
Kadyma was pleased to see that the atmosphere was back to normal. She then shared some of her thoughts with Ainz and Chris, but if she was being honest, it was something that Kadyma couldn’t predict either. There was no evidence, and it was hard for her to make a.s.sumptions.
That was why the best thing she could do now was to pray. She may not believe in any G.o.d at all, but she still felt like praying at times like this.
All that was left was to keep thinking so that the results of her research would be useful, even if only a little.
Chris was still a little fl.u.s.tered from the embarra.s.sment, but Ainz managed to calm her.
It was almost morning, but all the three of them decided to rest for now.
They decided to start their activities around noon today. After deciding that, they all went to their own rooms to rest.
It was kind of confusing since they’d already slept for over a day, but that also meant, two more sleep and it would be the day of their appointment with Professor Oz.
They had gone all the way to the Magic City of Ist to look for clues. But Ainz decided that he’d spend this day enjoying the streets of the magic city.