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Chapter 221 ~ Visitors

“General Enri! We’ve got a visitor!”

“Hm?”

Enri snapped out of her daze and instantly returned to attention, overlooking the villagers in the field. 

The familiar voices of Peter, Lukrut, and Brita rang through the fields, shouting their instructions to the villagers swinging mithril swords and shooting arrows out of seemingly ornamental bows. 

A full plate mail of steel armor stronger than any metal, even mithril, leather armors made of the hide of mythical beasts, and various other similar equipment adorned the bodies of the villagers. 

No, no longer villagers, but militias. 

Having suffered through and barely surviving the tragedy thanks to Ainz and Zero, Carne had adopted the method of conscriptions to build up sufficient defenses when tragedy of similar scales were to descend upon them in the future. 

All healthy, able-bodied male adults from every single household, which may exclude one who will continue their family business and labor work, must undergo combat training and serve as militia for a time. Females were also welcomed and were taught basic combat, self defense, and archery. 

Every single villager assented to the proposal put forth by Enri, who received the idea from their savior, Zero, himself. 

And now, they were all training diligently, adorning the new gears and weapons of unimaginable worth and power loaned to them by Nazarick, which would be repaid in gold, wheat, crops, or wares of equal value, with minimal interest and long years. 

To Enri and the villagers, they were nothing less than armaments of the Gods, granted to them to defend themselves and prevent such tragedy to befall them once again. Yet another grace and kindness given to them by their saviors. And for the more pragmatic, an investment that showed their trust in them. 

But nevertheless, the trash items Nazarick had granted the village of Carne still sparked fervorous determination to improve themselves and protect their loved ones and homes themselves this time. 

They were still getting used to it, including members of the Swords of Darkness who had decided to settle down in the village and became Enri’s confidant and also received their own special sets of equipment from Nazarick. 

‘I must’ve been more tired than I thought…’

The meeting with the blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers, hunters, and farmers last night took longer than expected and went deep into the night. 

Although it was productive and things were progressing smoothly, thanks to the keen insights of Ainz’s delegates who often came to give advice and their help, a lack of sleep was often unavoidable for Enri, who had now become the head of the village. 

Enri quickly shook her head and turned towards Jugem, the goblin warrior summoned from the “Horn of the Goblin General” given to her by Ainz. 

And Enri’s eyes widened when she saw the figure to his side. 

“A delegate from Lord Ainz has arrived, my lady.”

“Ah, of course! Welcome! I’m sorry for not welcoming you myself.”

“I-It’s fine. U-Uhm, I-I’m Mare. I came under the orders of Ainz-sama to help you with farming.”

The beautiful little boy clutched the wooden staff in his hand, fidgeting shyly. His legs were bowed and was slightly slouched as he looked up towards Enri. 

At first, Enri was shocked to learn that Mare, who looked very much like a beautiful young elven girl, was actually a man, given his attire. But, she quickly get used to it, not questioning her nor anyone her savior sent forth. 

“I see. Thank you very much! Then, please come this way. We can go to the farm immediately. We’ve just finished harvesting a few days ago, so this would be the best time if we were to try to do something new!”

“U-Uhn!”

Enri led Mare to the farmland just outside the wooden village walls and explained to her what they were doing in the meantime. 

“I see… Uhm, t-the way you’re doing it is… Q-Quite inefficient… It will take too long for the soil to recover their nutrients… and they’ll eventually dry up…”

Enri nodded, acknowledging his words as concern colored her face. In fact, what Mare had said was exactly one of the biggest concerns the farmers had brought up in last night’s meeting. 

They’ve noticed that the wheat had been becoming harder to grow and the quality had also decreased over the years. 

“Mm, our farmers had also said the same thing… What do you think we should do, Mare-sama?”

“I-I will plow the land and revitalize it for now… T-Then, you should do what is called “Crop Rotation”... You can use these seeds to try it…”

Mare then brought out several pouches of various different seeds and a parchment with written and drawn instructions on how to perform rotational farming and began explaining. 

And Enri, though a bit confused, still nodded nonetheless.

“I see… Well, I might not understand it fully, but if that’s what Ainz-sama says would be better, then he must be right…”

“T-That’s right! Everything he says is always correct!”

Enri smiled as Mare, for the first time, looked at her with bright shining eyes and excitement. 

“A-Ainz-sama had also decided to give you several skeletons under his command that could help with farm work without the need for food and rest. It will definitely make it easier for you to farm massive swaths of land!”

“Really? That would be amazing! Thank you very much, and please relay my gratitude to Ainz-sama and Zero-sama as well!”

“Uhn! I will tell them!”

Mare nodded with a bright smile. And in his heart, one more tally was drawn in the “pleasant and useful human” in favor of Enri. 

“Ah, Enri! Oh, I’m sorry. Were you in the middle of something?”

Enri and Mare both turned to the voice and saw Ninya, along with the rest of the fully armored Swords of Darkness. 

Behind them were a couple of wagons filled with the freshly harvested wheat and vegetables with a few farmers there on the driver’s seats, holding the horses’ reins. 

With the peace and security that came after the tragedy thanks to their saviors, and the enchanted hoes and farming tools speeding up the farming process and increasing their yields

For the first time, the village was able to fill up their barns and warehouses with still a couple of wagons to be traded for coppers and silvers. And the village’s morales and gratitude to their benefactors raised to the skies. 

Ninya, recognizing the young elven girl and her attire, immediately thought of her as one of the delegates of Lord Ainz, and quickly lowered herself in a bow to apologize. 

“Ah, Ninya… Sorry, I’m currently showing Mare-sama our farms. Do you need something?”

“It’s nothing. We’re just here to tell you that we’ll be on our way to E-Rantel to sell off the wheat and vegetables in the wagons here. We’ll also be selling it to the villages on the way, so we might be gone for several weeks.”

“Oh, I see. Alright. Take care. We’ll be fine with Jugem-san, the ogres, and the others here. Especially now that we’ve received the incredible weapons and armors from Ainz-sama!”

Although having all of the village’s best fighters, the Swords of Darkness, gone was a bit unnerving, Enri believed in the villagers and in the amazing equipments granted to them by Ainz-sama. Moreover, Ainz-sama had also cleared the part of the forest nearest to them off the more dangerous monsters. 

They’d be able to handle themselves, as long as nothing short of a disaster were to come. 

“Mm. Then, we’ll be going now. See ya’!”

Ninya waved and bowed towards Mare, before leaving along with the Swords of Darkness and the wagons. 

“Alright. I’m sorry for the interruption, Mare-sama.”

“U-uhn, it’s fine. T-Then, I’ll be starting, okay?”

“Yes. We will be counting on you.”

Enri said excitedly and bowed in gratitude. 

She never would’ve believed what she would be seeing a few moments later. 

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Lustrous and gleaming under the clear skies of the royal capital, a beautiful jet-black carriage, drawn by four massive, muscular stallions, rode through the streets of Re-Estize, attracting the gazes of passersby.

Within the spacious, decorated interior, a tall and massive figure of a man clad in luxurious black gold robes sat on the velvet couch. Sleek black gloves covered his hands and a crimson mask hid the neutral expression of a human man behind it. 

The villagers of Carne who witnessed his figure a few weeks ago would’ve recognized him in a heartbeat. The figure of their savior, Ainz Ooal Gown; the mighty spell caster and generous benefactor who they owed their current livelihood to. 

But the figure within the carriage was not him, but a doppelganger. A Level 100 Greater Doppelganger, created by Momonga himself. 

Pandora’s Actor sat in silence, his brilliant mind, on par with even the most intelligent of the Guardians – Demiurge and Albedo – recalling the words of his dear Vater. 

‘Extract as much information as possible. And commit to nothing unless it is inline with our plan. The stage is set, and everything shall fall into place.’

The spreading corruption within the kingdom, thanks to the doppelgangers and succubi led by Demiurge and Albedo. The toy princess they’ve secured nudging the royal family to a favorable position. The intensifying activities of the underground organization, Eight Fingers, pushed by Yuuji-sama’s master plan in the shadows. And the imminent upcoming war with the Empire. 

The stage has been set, and everything shall fall into place one way or another, as her dear Vater had said. 

The Kingdom had no other choice, except the ones the Supreme Beings had foretold. 

The fact that the King had personally invited Providence and Ainz Ooal Gown to the palace to “reward” them for their achievements, was proof that everything had gone according to their plans. 

Such a grand, yet meticulous master plan that could only be designed by intelligence beyond comprehension and a divine foresight of a Supreme Being; How truly magnificent. 

The world was a board to them. Everyone and everything within it, its pieces. And they, the masterminds who moved kingdoms, countries, and empires to their will. 

‘Wie großartig! How blessed am I to be created by such a God! To call him Vater!’

He cheered and praised within his heart. He could hardly wait to see all the plans of the Supreme Beings become reality, inevitably.

Before long, the carriage came to a stop. 

He could hear voices outside. It was the doppelganger who acted as the coachman conversing with the guards. And soon, the door to the luxurious carriage opened, allowing Pandora’s Actor to alight. 

Before him, two rows of royal knights stood in salute, and the Royal Guard Captain himself, Gazef Stronoff, stood to welcome him personally. 

“It is an honor and pleasure to meet you once again, Lord Gown.”

“Stronoff-dono. Likewise.”

The royal captain responded with a gruff sound. His eyes then looked to Ainz’s side, only to find someone missing. 

Pandora’s Actor immediately sensed his confusion and answered before he could ask. 

“I apologize in advance. However, my friend, Zero, is unfortunately unable to come, and I have come to represent the both of us. I hope that would suffice.”

“I see. It is unfortunate. My King wishes to meet both of you, if possible. However, he will understand. Please, this way..”

“Very well. Lead on.”