Taking full advantage of his Veil of the Traveler, Vahn functionally blended into the background as Gazef interacted with the Mage dubbed Ainz Ooal Gown. Based on the Chief's account, Ainz and his attendant, Albedo, had not only saved the village as it was being raided, but they had also healed the wounded. Nearly a third of the village's population had been slain, but as the surviving villagers had been forced to gather in a single location by the time he intervened, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that he had saved them from complete devastation.
murmurmurmurmurmur
Just as the atmosphere began to lighten, the Chief evidently received some concerning news, his expression growing dim after another villager whispered something into his ear.
"What's wrong? What are you whispering about amongst yourselves...?" asked Gazef, his tone firm, leaving no room for the Chief to abstain from answering.
"Forgive me, General. It's just...we just received news that another group of Knights is headed this way..." revealed the Chief, clasping his hands as if he were about to offer a prayer to his God.
"Hooo...it appears they didn't learn their lesson the first time..." hummed Ainz, sounding genuinely amused as he cupped the chin of his mask and gazed in the direction the Knights were approaching—despite them being several kilometers out.
"Shall I take care of them, my Lord...?" asked Albedo, her deep, womanly voice exuding a degree of certainty that left little doubt, at least to Vahn, that she could lay waste to the entire group.
"No. This isn't our battle to fight. And, considering the circumstances, I do not believe they are here for us..." answered Ainz, shaking his head before glancing at Gazef.
"You suspect correctly..." affirmed Gazef, a bead of sweat forming on the left side of his face as he revealed, "I won't get into the specifics, but this is likely a plot to see my head on a stake. For now, we should relocate and discuss this matter somewhere the enemy's eyes can't reach."
"There is a large storehouse near the back of the village..." contributed the Village Chief, prompting Gazef to nod before turning his attention to the cavalry and shouting, "Spread out and conceal yourselves as best as you can! We don't want the enemy knowing our exact number until we've come up with a plan!"
Since Carne's only defense was a single watchtower that had been burnt to the ground in the initial attack, the cavalry was basically fully exposed to an encirclement. It didn't even have a wooden fence to protect it from stray or migrating monsters, so in response to Gazef's shout, the Knights spread out and concealed themselves and their horses behind buildings with walls oriented toward the village's center.
Though he wasn't a member of the cavalry, Vahn was about to have his own horse relocate when Gazef called out to him, stating, "Please, wait a moment, Sir Vahn. I would have you seek shelter with the villagers. And if the opportunity presents, you should flee with them after me and my men open a path."
"Sir Vahn...?" repeated Ainz, his words inflecting upward at the end as he observed Vahn for the first time. The latter wasn't dressed like a Knight at all, but there was a noble air about him. Not to mention, he was one of the most handsome men he had ever seen. It was almost uncanny.
Dismounting his horse and giving its neck a comforting caress, prompting it to lower its head and bump against his own, Vahn whispered, "Take care of yourself..." before seeing the noble off with an appreciative smile. Then, diverting his attention to Ainz, he adopted a relaxed smile, offered a slow, acknowledging nod, and said, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown. Adding to what the Chief Royal Warrior said, my full name is Vahn Mason. I am a wanderer, a Copper-Ranked Adventurer, and a Chaplain—a healer who specializes in combat as well as Healing Magic."
"That's quite the rare combination," hummed Ainz, caressing his chin as if he were in deep thought. Before continuing the conversation, however, he took a step back, suggesting, "I would be pleased to speak with you more on the subject of your wanderings, but for now, we should do as the Chief Royal Warrior suggests and relocate indoors. As a humble Magic Caster, I am not in the habit of standing out in the open and making myself an easy target."
Without waiting for a response, Ainz promptly turned and began heading in the direction of the storehouse, flaring his cape and overflowing robes in the process. His bodyguard, Albedo, briefly lingered behind, her golden eyes faintly visible through the slit of her visor, focused on Vahn.
"Is there something you would like to ask me...?" asked Vahn, prompting Albedo's eyes to narrow before she turned to follow Ainz without deigning to offer a response. He felt like she had been attempting to assess or see through him, but as even high-tier Gods struggled to distinguish him from a completely ordinary human, her efforts were for naught.
"Tough crowd, eh...?" asked Gazef, flashing Vahn an awkward smile before following in Ainz's and Albedo's wake. Vahn chuckled at this. Then, after a thoughtful glance in the direction the attacking Knights were approaching, he muttered, "If this goes in the direction I think it will, a lot of people are going to die tonight..." in a somber tone...
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"Only the Theocracy could afford to deploy this many Mages into enemy territory. And based on those Angels, I would wager a guess they're with the Six Scriptures..." Gazef noted, his brows furrowed and expression grim as he checked the situation outside through a window in the storehouse's records room. He couldn't see all of the enemy, but there were at least six groups of four Mages encircling the route leading out of the village, each sustaining a low-ranking summoned Angel that specialized in anti-cavalry warfare. And at the very center of their encirclement was a group of more than thirty, over which loomed a markedly higher-ranking summon known as a Principality of Observation.
Following a suppressed sigh, Gazef turned his attention to Ainz, standing next to him, and stated, "Lord Ainz. If you are willing, I would like to hire you. Just name your price, and I swear on my honor that it will be paid to you in full."
"I refuse," responded Ainz, raising his guantleted right hand in a stopping gesture before firmly expressing, "This is not a matter an outsider such as myself should get involved with. I have given the people of this village my word that I would keep them safe, but I hold no desire to get involved in a conflict between rival nations. Forgive me."
"You've done nothing to warrant forgiveness. Rather, knowing you will be here to protect the village will allow me to face the enemy without fear or regrets," expressed Gazef, presenting a sincere smile as he extended his right hand to Ainz for a handshake. For a brief moment, the masked Mage stared at him in silence, his thoughts a mystery. Then, sounding pleased, he accepted Gazef's hand and remarked, "You're a great man, General. To commemorate that fact and our meeting, there is something I would have you take with you—a gift."
"A gift from a Great Mage like yourself? I'm honored..." responded Gazef, looking genuinely humbled despite Ainz presenting him with what looked like a wooden matryoshka doll.
As Vahn continued to watch the interaction between the two men from a table near the center of the room, his impressions of both Gazef and Ainz steadily increased. He felt it would be a shame for Gazef to perish in what was clearly a ploy by both the Slane Theocracy and the nobles of his own country to eliminate him, but he couldn't stop the man from marching into battle and fulfilling his duty. It was the path Gazef himself had chosen, so while he was prepared to heal the man if he managed to return, he wasn't going to antagonize an entire nation or slaughter a contingent of Mages to protect him from the consequences of his actions.
Exacerbating Vahn's feelings of guilt, Gazef turned to him and adopted a broad, reassuring smile as he stated, "You should be safe here under the protection of Lord Ainz. And since I may not get the chance later, I would like to, once again, offer my gratitude for your assistance. I have no doubt you will save many more lives in the future."
Rising from his seat and moving around the table he was seated at, Vahn accepted Gazef's extended hand, grasping it firmly as he asserted, "You have the qualities and temperament of a true Hero, Gazef Stronoff. It was an honor to have met and traveled alongside you, even if only for a single day and night..."
"The honor was mine, Sir Vahn..." countered Gazef, adopting a gratified smile and giving Vahn a curt nod before releasing his hand and promptly departing to mobilize his men. In his wake, Vahn suddenly found himself alone with Ainz and the masked Mage's attendant, Albedo, both staring at him as if they were trying to probe the true nature of his being.
Following a brief but tense silence, Ainz piqued Vahn's curiosity by asking, "Does the name Yggdrasil mean anything to you?"
"Quite a lot," responded Vahn, raising his right brow as he continued, "It's a name commonly associated with the World Tree, linking nine realms and the void from which negative energies and destruction flow. I've also seen it associated with ships, cities, and weapons. Why do you ask?"
"Then, what about the term DMMO-RPG?" asked Ainz, the severity in his tone giving Vahn pause. He didn't need Sis's help to understand that Ainz was using modern gaming terms, with MMO and RPG commonly standing for Massively Multiplayer Online and Role-Playing Game, respectively. The moment he realized that, it wasn't difficult to infer that Ainz was someone from the modern world, transported to a fantasy setting based on a game he had likely played exhaustively.
"I haven't heard the term DMMO-RPG, specifically, but I've heard terms like VRMMO and FDVR-RPG," answered Vahn, causing Ainz to, somewhat surprisingly, hunch forward and ball his hands into fists, visibly excited by his response. Then, following a brief flash of green light, he calmed down and composed himself, fixing his posture before stating, "Then the two of us have much to discuss following this incident. For now, I need to erect a barrier around this facility. Please do not leave this village before we have a chance to speak."
"Sure, sounds good," responded Vahn, maintaining his smile and offering an affirming nod. The brief interaction told him pretty much everything he needed to know about the current setting. Ainz was clearly someone who had been transported to a new world and was trying to make sense of his situation. There wasn't much information he could offer the man, but if his situation were particularly desperate, he could make arrangements for his safe return to his original world. Otherwise, it was obvious to him that Ainz was narratively significant to his current setting. Allying with and watching him was marginally less contentious than siding with an established group or power...
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Though the majority of his cavalry unit was wiped out, Gazef's life was ultimately spared by Ainz intervening at the last moment, using the tiny totem he had gifted Gazef to swap places with him. Vahn wasn't a witness to what followed, but as he treated Gazef's injuries, he could feel massive fluctuations in power—at least by the setting's standards. When Ainz later came to retrieve him, he was notified that the enemy had been annihilated to the last man. The casualness of the reveal left Vahn at a brief loss, as it suggested that Ainz felt nothing after killing nearly a hundred people. But when he was once again requested to accompany the man for a chat, he accepted, following Ainz and Albedo through a portal of purple and black energy to what looked like a spacious stone conference room with a long, very expensive-looking wooden table covered in a crimson, gold-trimmed tablecloth—encircled by 41 thrones...
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