Final year exams over!

I haven’t gotten back results yet, but I am definitely dead for more than half of them.

Frostfire10

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The Capital City of the Kingdom

Translators: Frostfire10, Henet, Skythewood

Re- Estize Kingdom. The capital, Re-Estize.

There was only one sentence to describe the city that was home to nine million souls. It was an ancient city. That was the most accurate way of describing it. The sentence not only described the city's long history but also hinted that the daily lives of its citizen was utterly simple or the ancient city was unlively at all, forever unchanging.

If one wandered through the streets on foot, they would understanding the meaning behind those words.

Lining the sides of the road were many ancient households. Those houses lacked in both glamour and freshness. However, it depended on how one looked at things.

There were those that appreciate the long history behind those houses.

The royal capital was such a city, with many unpaved roads. Once it rained, the road will be muddied. It could not be said that the Kingdom was a backwater country. But compared to the Empire and the Theocracy, there were many aspects that the Kingdom was lacking in.

The streets could not be considered wide.

Still there were no people that walked in the middle of the street, directly in the path of horse-drawn carriages. Yet the pedestrian traffic was rather haphazard as people went about their business.

On such major roads, the people living in the capital had been long used to such chaotic road conditions. It was normal was pedestrian to meet others front to front. But they instinctively avoided colliding with each other.

Sebas was walking in a corner of the city.

The road he was walking on was one those rare paved roads within the capital.

Furthermore, the road was rather wide. On his left and right were rows of large and elegant mansions. This area was an important part of the capital. Hence, there were plenty of people here and the area seemed lively.

Within the crowd, there were several people who turned their heads and took another look. But Sebas paid them no heed. With a ramrod straight posture, he continued along the road. One step at a time.

He had already determined his destination. He moved forward unhesitantly. Since his arrival at the capital, Sebas visited this place several times.

Soon his destination was within sight.

There was a long wall in front of him with an approximate height of six meters. It was estimated that the wall stretched up to 150 meters to his left and right. Just behind those walls, one might be able to see the pointed roof of a tower. The tower was not considered tall as it reached up to five stories. Yet, the building gave off a feel that it was rather tall as there were no other building within its vicinity that had a similar height.

There were several buildings that surrounded the tower.

The buildings belonged to an organisation where a majority of the magicians within the Kingdom were a member of, an organisation that specialised in developing new magic, an institute that specialised in educating potential magic casters. The headquarters of the Kingdom' Magician Guild.

Sebas walked along the wall. Soon, he stood in front of the main gate. As the steel gates opened, he noticed the existence of sentries that stood to the left and right sides of the gate.

Sebas was not halted by the warriors but was glanced upon as he walked inside the compound.

A set of white slanting stairs lay before an ancient chalk white building. The structure was approximately three stories tall with a set of large doors. Of course, the doors were opened, welcoming its daily visitors.

Sebas walked through the door.

The entrance hall spread out from there. A breeze seemed to come from above the three story high ceiling, where several magical chandeliers were hanging down.

To his right were several sofas, where the visitors could use it for their discussion.

To his left was a bulletin board, several magicians and adventurers were carefully examining the contents of the papers placed there.

Deeper inside was a counter, where several young men and women were seated. Every single one of them were wearing the same uniform, a set of long robes with the insignia of the building sewed on the breast.

On either side of the counter stood a pair of skinny wooden dolls, of the kind used for sketching. They were the size of actual humans and they had no facial features — Wood Golems, in other words. Apparently, they were being used as sentries. The fact that they had not posted any human sentries inside must have been pride on the part of the Magician's Guild.

Sebas paid no mind to them as his shoes pounded out a steady beat as he approached the counter.

The young man at the counter noticed Sebas and greeted him with a look. Sebas nodded in return. He was a frequent customer here, so both of them were familiar with each other.

Smiling gently at Sebas, the man made his usual greetings.

"Welcome to the Magician's Guild, Sebas-sama." After a few breaths, he continued. "How may I help you today?"

"Yes, I'd like to buy a spell scroll."

"Do you have one in mind?"

"No, may I consult the usual list?"

"Certainly."

Ending the slightly long greetings, the young man placed a large book on the counter.

The pages of the book were made of high-quality paper that was thin and white as snow, while its cover was made of leather. The overall article was of exquisite construction. The letters upon the cover were imprinted in gold, and the cost of this book alone probably beggared belief.

Sebas brought the book over to himself and paged through it.

Regretfully, Sebas did not understand the words written upon it. Or rather, it might be better to say that beings from YGGDRASIL were unable to comprehend them. Despite the bizarre principle which translated spoken language in this world, written text was not translated.

However, Ainz had given him a magic item that could solve this problem.

Sebas produced a spectacle case from his breast pocket and opened it.

A pair of eyeglasses sat within. Its bridge was made of a platinum-like metal, and at a closer look, it seemed to have been inscribed with tiny characters, or some kind of textured pattern. The lenses themselves had been ground out of a crystal that resembled blue ice.

He brought them to his eyes.

And in his blue-tinted field of vision, the previously illegible text was translated.

"Hmm..."

He turned the page quickly, but yet with grace.

Sebas' hands made one believe that they would continue forever, but they suddenly stopped. He then moved his gaze slightly.

"Is something the matter?"

Sebas looked at the girl by the counter and asked in a gentle manner.

"Ah, it's nothing.."

The girl blushed and lowered her face.

"I just thought.. you looked very handsome."

"Is that so."

Sebas smiled, and the girl's face flushed even redder.

Sebas, the white-haired gentleman, was a person who could mesmerize others on sight. He was good-looking, but the way he carried himself was even more striking. When he walked on the streets, nine out of ten women — regardless of age — would turn to take a second look at him. It was no wonder that the counter girls found themselves entranced by him, and it was also a common occurrence.

Sebas found that understandable, and then turned his eyes back to the tome.

After some time, Sebas raised his head.

"Could you tell me about this spell.. [Floating Board], I believe it is called?"

"Certainly." The young man began his spiel. "[Floating Board] is a 1st-tier spell which creates a translucent floating platform. The size and carrying capacity of the platform varies with the caster's magical power. However, when cast from a scroll, it is limited to a surface of one square meter and can carry a maximum of 50 kilograms. The created board moves behind the caster, and can be a maximum of five meters away from him. Since the [Floating Board] can only follow behind the caster, it cannot be made to move in front of the the caster. Should the caster turn around, the board will slowly move to his back. It is primarily a transportation spell and can commonly be seen during earthworks."

"I see," Sebas nodded. "Then I'll take a scroll of this spell."

"Of course."

The young man was not surprised by the fact that Sebas had selected a low-demand spell like this. After all, just about all the scrolls Sebas had purchased were for unpopular spells like this. Besides, being able to empty surplus stocks was a godsend for the Magician's Guild.

"Will one scroll be enough?"

"Yes, please. Thank you."

The youth gestured to a man sitting nearby.

The man — who had been listening on their conversation — immediately rose to his feet and opened a door leading into a room behind the counter, which he entered. Scrolls were expensive items, and even with guards posted, it would not do to pile them up on the sales area.

"We shall prepare it immediately, and we would request for your patience."

"Eeeh." (TL: I know that this is not noble sounding, but I could not think of anything else.)

Sebas made a nod of understanding, left the counter and stood aside. This was as he the number of people working at the counter was fixed, and he did not want to impose on them.

The man returned after five minutes. In his hands was a roll of scroll.

"Sebas-sama."

Sebas took out a small bag from his pocket and returned to the counter.

"Here it is."

Sebas looked at the parchment on the counter. The rolled parchment was sturdy, and its appearance was different from paper that was easily acquired. The name of the magic was written in black ink, and Sebas checked that it was the one he wanted. Then he removed his glasses.

"This is the one. I'll be taking it then."

"Thank you very much." The man politely lowered his head. "This scroll is a 1st Tier Magic Scroll and it will cost 10 gold coins."

Compared to potions it was cheap, but this was as scrolls could only be used by someone who could use the same type of magic. Basically the price of potions would be higher as anyone could use them.

Of course, it was extremely expensive itself. However to Sebas, no to his master, it was not a large sum.

Sebas took out a pouch from his breast pocket. Loosening the mouth, he took out a single coin.

A platinum coin.

A value of ten gold coins was placed on the man's hands.

"I have received the payment."

The young man did not test the money's authenticity in front of Sebas. Their transactions thus far had earned Sebas that much trust.

"That old man's really handsome!"

"Mm!"

Debate broke out among the counter staff once Sebas had left the Magician's Guild.

They were no longer wise women, but lovestruck girls who had just met their Prince Charming. One of the men seated at the counter frowned and his face turned sour, but he kept quiet.

On the contrary, one of the other men agreed with the woman's statement.

"He must have had experience serving some great noble."

"Every little thing he does is elegant, fro mthe way he stands to the way he moves."

Everyone seated at the counter could not help but nod.

Sebas' posture, face, clothes and his bearing were full of regality. It was at the level where they would agree if someone said that he was a great noble.

"If he asked me out for tea, I'd definitely accept."

"Mm! Me too! Me too! I'd definitely go too!"

"He looks really learned. You think he's a magic caster too?"

"Beats me, but he might be."

The spells Sebas bought had all been recently developed. That implied a broad familiarity with magic. If he had been ordered to buy a scroll, he could have simply asked the counter staff directly, with no need to browse through the catalogue. The fact that Sebas had paged through the tome was a sign that he was making the decisions on what spells to buy.

This was not something any ordinary old man could do. In other words, they could surmise that he had received a specialist education in magic — that he was a magic caster.historical

"And then there's his spectacles.. they look expensive."

"Are they a magic item?"

"I doubt it, they should just be masterwork glasses, right? Made by the Dwarves, I think."

"Hmm, that's amazing, owning a pair of glasses like that."

"I'd like to see the beautiful girl he came with once."

A voice of objection was raised to the man who muttered his thoughts.

"Eh, that person was too annoying."

"Yes, Sebas-san was quite pitiful."

"Well, she is a peerless beauty, but for her to be that brash..."

"Alright, enough chitchat."

The young man's words cut through their chatter as an adventurer approached the counter.

◆

Leaving the magician's guild, Sebas looked up at the sky and pondered about his next destination.

The first order he received from his master was to collect information about a country's defenses. Of course, it was extremely difficult to obtain such information. To someone who was not an information-type person like Sebas, it was too difficult to gather information about national secrets.

Thus he collected information that probably existed. Examples of such included the equipment of soldiers and information of adventurers gained from bar owners.

It was to investigate the war potential of the country as a whole.

The next was to discover to what level had science and magic been developed to. What was possible and impossible, and especially to what level information gathering type magic was developed.

In a world with the existence of magic, science was not well developed. Of course, there was definitely research about something that everyone could use, rather than a small group of magic users, but it was currently at the point where no information could be found outside a small circle.

And so even he could easily understand Ainz's order of gaining magical technology as well.

What Sebas was doing was preparation for that. He first had to make acquaintances.

The last was to check for the presence of the strong, but this was something that was fine even if left alone. This was as he could not certainly confirm strong existences. In short, he saw the strongest adventurers in the kingdom from afar, but he did not think much of them.

"No, she alone was different..."

Sebas recalled one person, who could be called strong. Compared to Sebas she was far weaker, but compared to a maid under him, she could possibly defeat one.

A person of interest.

Sebas recalled her face, no her figure, and shook his head.

His master had ordered him to investigate her. This was as she could be problematic in future.

And thus, Sebas had nothing necessary to do.

"Now, what to do."

Sebas sighed, stroked his beard and began walking.

He did not have any fixed destination.

Strolling and viewing the city was Sebas' current hobby. He thought of doing such. The sight of him spinning the scroll in his hand and walking was akin a a child in a good mood.

His legs moved him further away from the centre of the capital where the public safety was good.

As he turned more corners, the roads became dirtier and stank of something. It was the smell of living trash and dirty mischief. Sebas walked through the thick atmosphere that seemed like it would dirty his clothes.

Then he suddenly stopped, and looked around. He had entered a small and thin road that seemed to be an alleyway.

"Hmm..."

He had mindlessly walked here, but even in an alley without any landmarks, he had a rough sensing of where he was. And so he immediately understood he had walked for a while.

To someone of Sebas' physique it was not a large distance, but if he walked normally it would take quite some time. It would be rude to the person waiting at home to come back late.

"..Should I go back?"

In all honesty, he wanted to continue walking, but wasting time on an activity which was half-leisure would not be permitted.

Sebas turned on his heels, and walked through the alleyway.

As Sebas forged silently ahead in the darkness, he saw a heavy steel door in front of him — about 20 meters away — suddenly creak to life as it opened, and light leaked out from within. Sebas stopped and watched silently.

The heavy door was opened, and a large bag was left outside. The thing inside was soft and it changed shape upon impact.

The door opened on Sebas' side, and he could not see the person hidden by the shadow of the door. However, the person who threw it out and opened the door returned inside immediately and nothing else happened.

Sebas raised his eyebrows for an instant, and wondered if he should continue walking or continue in a different direction. After a short hesitation, he continued into the once again silent alleyway.

The distance between himself and the bag closed. The mouth was open, but Sebas kept his gaze away from it. And he paid no mind to the bad smell coming from it. He did the same thing for the slightly ajar door.

Curiosity killed the cat.

It bade him no good to hold interest in the bag or the door that reeked of danger. Sebas decided as such.

Sebas stuck to the wall on the opposite side, as if avoiding the bag.

And—His correctly pounding footsteps stopped.

Sebas felt that his pants had caught on something. Sebas wondered if he should look down, faced forward and stopped moving. Sebas wavered and was confused.

This was an extremely rare sight. If anyone from Nazarick was here, they would have an expression of extreme surprise. That was the situation Sebas was in.

Sebas prepared himself and looked down. He saw what he expected.

A small hand grasped Sebas' pants.

It came from the half naked woman sticking out from the bag—

The mouth of the bad was fully open, and the top half of the woman was left in the open.

The originally healthy blue eyes were dirty and muddled. Her strewn and not long hair was extremely messy, possibly due to a nutrition-poor diet. Her face could not have been said to be beautiful or ugly. It was natural. It was hit and swollen to the point of a ball.

In addition, her extremely thin body did not have a drop of life left in it. So he could not determine her age. She could have been an old hag or a young girl.

Her skin was like dried wood, and pale red welts were dotted across her skin.

She was like a corpse. No, she was not dead. The fact that she was grasping Sebas' pants was enough proof of that. However, that was if you considered one to be alive if it was breathing.

Such was her existence.

"...Could you please release your hand?"

There was no reply to Sebas' words. It was obvious that she was not ignoring him. This was as her swollen eyes were opened to a crack, and nothing was reflected in her dirty gaze.

"Could you please release your hand?"

Sebas repeated himself.

If Sebas moved his leg, the fingers that were thinner than branches would fall. This was as those fingers had no more power to them and it was only due to luck that they were still holding on.

Yes, fortune would never visit twice.

"...Do you have something you want to say to me?"

When Sebas tried to move—

"Oi."

A threatening low-pitched voice could be heard.

The figure of a man appeared from the door. His thick arms were akimbo. The man had a face full of scars, and he had the atmosphere of someone who worked in violence.

"—Oi, old man. Where the fuck did you come from?"

The man narrowed his eyes and glared at Sebas. He then made an obvious click with this tongue, and pointed with his chin.

"Get lost old man. You can leave safely if you go now."

Seeing that Sebas did not move, the man took a step forward. The sound of the door closing could be heard from behind the man.

"Oi. You deaf, old man?"

He worked his shoulders and cracked his neck. Then he slowly raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. He was clearly not afraid to use violence.

"Hm.."

Sebas smiled. Coming from an aged gentleman like Sebas, that dignified smile clearly displayed a matchless calm and compassion. Yet, for some reason, the man stepped back as though a ferocious carnivore had appeared before him.

"Uh.. uh, uh, what're you—"

Shaken by Sebas' smile, the man could not finish the words he was trying to form. He staggered back, without realizing how heavily he was panting.

Sebas tucked the scroll—marked with the sigil of the Magician's Guild—that he had been holding into his belt. Then he took a single step forward, closing the gap to the man, and extended a hand. The man could not even react to that movement. With a silent whisper, the hand holding on to Sebas' pants fell to the floor of the alley.

That seemed to be the signal for Sebas to seize the man by the lapels—and then he easily lifted his body off the ground.

Anybody seeing this would surely wonder if this was some kind of joke.

Just going by appearances, there was no chance Sebas could take this man in a fight. Be it in terms of age, musculature, his thick arms, height, mass and the aura of violence around him, the younger man had the advantage.

And yet, this distinguished old gentleman was lifting up this heavyweight with one hand. It was a scene that one would believe only if it was the opposite.

—No, that was not the case. Perhaps an eyewitness would be able to sense the difference between the two of them. While humans had poor instincts, they could still sense a sufficiently great difference between two parties.

The difference between Sebas and this man was—

It was—

—The difference between an absolute superior and an utter inferior.

The other man — who had been lifted completely off the ground — flailed his legs and twisted his body. Then, when he thought to take Sebas' hand in both of his own, his eyes filled with fear as he realised something.

He finally realised that the man before him was nothing like what his appearance suggested. He also realised that pointless resistance would only serve to anger the monster before him.

"What is she?"

As the man began stiffening in fear, that cold voice bored its way into his ears.

That voice was as clear and quiet as a softly-flowing brook, The sheer contrast with the hand that was easily lifting him up only heightened the man's fear.

"She, she's a worker in our place."

Sebas' grip was loosened, allowing the man to speak. The man raised his voice in fear and panic. At his response, Sebas immediately replied.

"I asked you what she was. And your answer is that she is a worker?"

The man wondered if he had said the wrong thing. However, it was the most correct answer he could have given under the present circumstances. The man's eyes were wide in fear, trembling like those of a frightened little animal.

"It's nothing. It's just that some of my colleagues view humans as objects, so I believed that you too viewed people as objects. If you held that point of view, then you would not consider yourself to have done something wrong. However, you answered that she was a worker. In other words, you considered her a human being. Am I correct? Then, allow me another question. What were you going to do with her?"

The man thought for a moment. However—

One could almost hear the squeezing.

Sebas' grip intensified, and the man was briefly breathless.

"—Uggghhh!"

Sebas tightened his grip on the man, making it harder for him to breathe, and the man gave off a queer wail. Sebas was sending a message: "I won't give you time to think — answer now."

"She, she was sick, so I was taking her to a temple—"

"—I do not like being lied to."

"Aiiiieee!"

Sebas' grip grew even stronger, and the man's face flushed red as a cry leaked out of his throat. However generous he might have been by discounting the fact that he had put someone into a sack for transport, the man's actions of dumping said sack into an alley did not feel like he was taking a sick person to the temple for treatment.

It was just like disposing of rubbish.

"Please.. stop.."

The man was having trouble breathing. He thrashed wildly as he realised the mortal danger he was in. Sebas casually blocked the fist headed at his face with one hand. The flailing legs hit Sebas body and dirtied his clothes, but Sebas was as stoic as the mountains.

—But of course.

There was no way that a human's legs could move a mass of steel of several hundred kilos. Even when hit with large legs, Sebas continued calmly and as if he felt no pain.

"I advise you to tell the truth."

"Gahhhh—"

The man was unable to breathe, and Sebas narrowed his eyes at the man's crimson face. He let go of the man just before he had passed out.

With a great thump, the man fell to the alley floor.

"G-guwaaargh!"

The main expelled the last dregs of air within himself as a gasped cry, and then greedily drank in the fresh air in big gulps. Sebas continued looking down on him in silence. Then he reached out for his throat again.

"W-wait.. p-please, wait!"

While bearing with the fear of understanding what Sebas' outstretched hands meant, the man fell away from them.

"The tem— that's right! I was taking her to the temple!"

He was surprisingly strong willed. Or was he fearful of something else.

Sebas thought as such and-->>

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