Overlord (LN)

Albedo could not help exclaiming. She could not think of any reason why this level 100 Bicorn would be unsteady on its feet. Suddenly, she recalled what had happened when she had patted the Bicorn.Could it be that some problem had occurred then? If that were the case, then what was the cause?

“Aura! Shalltear! Something strange is going on with my Bicorn. Could you help me take a look?”

Just then, the Bicorn began to wobble. It looked like it could no longer stand up. The two of them looked at it and realized that there was something abnormal going on here.

“In... in any case, you should get off first, Albedo!”

“Al... alright.”

After hearing Aura say so, Albedo finally responded by jumping off the creature.

The wobbling Bicorn promptly collapsed. It was panting heavily and its coat was covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

“...Albedo, did you get fat?”

Shalltear was not saying that to make fun of her. Any observer would have thought the same thing.

“How rude! I’m always watching my weight because I’ve got more muscle than most!”

“Then, could it be that its muscles wasted away because you haven’t been riding it regularly? By the way, I raise all my kids free-range, and I often take them patrolling around the 6th Floor.”

“Eh? How could that be... speaking of which, [Summon Mount] ─ isn’t it just like a normal summoned monster? There’s no way it could get weaker.”

“Would you like me to ride it?”

“I’m sorry, but it won’t work. This is my mount, and nobody else can ride it. If anyone tries, it’ll automatically unsummon itself.”

“Then how about asking the mount itself? Hey, Bicorn, what’s wrong?”

Aura asked it a question. It was not that Aura could speak with horses, but magical beasts like Bicorns ought to have pretty high intelligence, so Aura hoped that it would understand human speech. Of course, the Bicorn could not speak, so all it could do was neigh like a horse.

“It can’t speak... don’t tell me it can’t write either?”

The Bicorn whinnied in the affirmative.

The three of them looked at each other.

“Aura, can you use your skills to do something amazing?”

“I can’t. Besides, what do you mean by amazing? Didn’t you ask me what abilities I had when we had our one-on-one chat a long time ago? Don’t tell me you forgot that too, Guardian Overseer-dono!”

“Ara... how do you usually communicate with Fenrir, then?”

“I just tell him to do this and that.”

“So you speak to him, right? So if you try, you should be able to communicate with this Bicorn, am I correct?”

“Just because I can communicate with the beasts I control doesn’t mean I can speak to all beasts. And besides, I already tried. The Lizardmen have a pet called Rororo, right? I don’t know why, but I just can’t get through to him.”

The three of them looked at each other once more.

“...If we’re stuck, the only one we can turn to is Demiurge, after all.”

“Unfortunately, Demiurge is now working abroad on Ainz-sama’s orders. He hasn’t spent much time in Nazarick recently. I can contact him, but frankly speaking, I don’t really want to consult to him if it’s not related to work.”

A look of jealousy appeared in Shalltear and Aura’s eyes. Demiurge ─ who ran around working for their master ─ was the object of the Guardians’ envy.

“Ah~ I really do envy him. I know that the defense of Nazarick is an important job, but if nobody invades, then we won’t have a chance to show our stuff, and it makes me wonder if I’m actually useful. I want to go outside and accomplish something so I can work hard for Ainz-sama.”

“All I’ve done recently is make mistakes...”

“Don’t worry, Shalltear. I think that you’ll have the chance to work for Ainz-sama soon ─ no, I’m sure you’ll have the chance to do so. But you need to be a bit smarter, otherwise that might be a bit tricky.”

“Don’t you think that’s... a little harsh?”

“Ahhh, the fact is, you did mess up. You need to produce results worthy of a Guardian.”

Shalltear grit her teeth, and then suddenly her face brightened up, as though a light bulb had just switched itself on above her head.

“Ku, ku, ku, now why are you all talking bad about me? What I wanted to say was that if Demiurge wasn’t around and we couldn’t ask him, then I would lend you a helping hand instead. Well, since it can’t be helped, I’ll look it up for you!”

Shalltear took out a book. It appeared thick and heavy, like it had a thousand pages at the very least. However, to Shalltear ─ who looked like a girl on the outside but who was anything but on the inside ─ its weight was nothing much.