Chapter 67Overlord First Half Chapter 67: The Capital City of the Kingdom Part 7
Ainz-sama loves me and I love you guys.
Peace!
The Capital City of the Kingdom Part 7
Translators: Frostfire10, Skythewood
ăClimb walked along the main street of the Royal Capital. Climb blended perfectly into the mass of humanity, given that he had few distinguishing features about him.
ăWalking around the town in white full plate would draw attention, so he removed it. While he could use certain alchemical items to change its color, he was not that attached to it. Besides, there was no need to go around in full plate armor while walking on the streets.
ăInstead, Climb was lightly equipped. His most noticeable points were the chain shirt below his clothes and the long sword hanging from his waist.
ăPeople with such outfits could occasionally be seen in the crowd. The crowd would part for people in heavy armour.
Â
ăWhile Climbâs outfit should be correct, it was incorrect as well.
ăAs a soldier he should be wearing  soldier-like clothes, and he should be wearing the pure white full plate armour that was given to him by Renner. Of course, Climb did have an excuse.Hewas not working as a soldier now, and he should not use Rennerâs armour unless he was protecting her. In addition, it was embarrassing to stand out too much.
ăHowever, Climb was a soldier, and adventurers would disagree.
ăDressing in an eye-catching way was not a strange thing for adventurers. Of course, this was excluding cases where secrecy was necessary. The reason why adventurers had eye-catching outfits was related to their publicity. Giving off a strange impression left a strong impact, and increased the rumours about them.
ăAdventurers who thought that this was embarrassing, were in fact thought of as fools. However, there were exceptions; Â [Blue Rose] who Climb was meeting, was at such a level where such tactics were unnecessary.
ăAt their level, they would make conversation just by walking along the street.
ăSoon, he saw an adventurerâs inn along the road. Not all of the plot of land was used for the inn, there was the main building, a stable and a large field that was probably used for training.
ăIts beautiful exterior promised an equally exquisite interior, and the guest windows were fitted with pieces of clear glass.
ăThis was the Royal Capitalâs most expensive inn and was a gathering place for adventurers who were confident of their skills and able to pay the onerous bills.
ăClimb opened the innâs door.
ăThe drinks bar cum dining hall occupied the entire first floor, but it was sparsely populated with adventurers, considering its size. This clearly showed the rarity of high-paid adventurers.
ăThe clamor within the inn quieted for a moment as several curious gazes were thrown in Climbâs direction. He did not mind, and looked around the interior.
ăThe place was full of strong adventurers, and most could probably defeat Climb. Among them were people who could instantly defeat him.
ăHowever, the people he was looking for were not at that level.
ăHis gaze instantly stopped in a corner of the bar. It was natural. There was no way he could overlook such existences.
ăIn front of him â in the innermost depths of the inn â was a round table. It was located outside the area that was in the bright light of the chandelier. He looked at the two people seated around it.
ăOne of them was tiny, dressed in a long black robe which covered their entire body.
ăTheir face could not be seen. It was not because the light was insufficient, but because they wore a strange, ful
l-face mask set with a bloodstone. There was a narrow crack running along eye level, but that did not even reveal the color of the eyes underneath it.
ăThen, there was the other person.
ăIf the first person was a midget, then this one would be a giant. Seeing this person brought the word âboulderâ to mind. Indeed, that person had a stout and massive body, but that girth was not born of obesity.
ăThat personâs arms reminded observers of logs, while the neck which held the head up seemed as wide around as a pair of a womanâs thighs. The head which sat upon that neck was squarish in shape. The heavyset chin â currently clenched closed â and the way that personâs eyes surveyed its surroundings reminded one of a carnivorous beast. The blonde hair upon that head was trimmed short for the sake of practicality.
ăThat personâs chest bulged mightily under their clothes, as though on proud display. Said chest resembled nothing so much as thoroughly-honed pectoral muscles. Put more clearly, this was no longer a tender feminine bosom.
ăThis was the A+ adventurer teamâ Blue Rose.
ăThey were two members of the famous adventurer party comprised of only women.
ăThe magic caster: Evileye, and the warrior: Gagaran.
ăClimb headed towards them. They had probably noticed him the moment he walked in, but since he walked towards them, they probably confirmed that it was him. One of them nodded and spoke in a loud husky voice.
âYo, cherry boy!â
ăThe gazes that had been slowly drifting away all focused on Climb once more, but nobody mocked him. Instead, they turned away once more, as though in sympathy for him.
ăThey did this because they knew that showing the slightest bit of disrespect to Gagaranâs guest was not so much bravery, but foolhardiness. Yes. Even A and B Class adventurers.
ăWhile being called in an embarrassing manner, Climb maintained a calm face and continued walking.
ăNo matter how many times he pleaded with her, Gagaran refused to address Climb by his proper name. That being the case, the best course of action he could take was to give up and pretend he did not care.
âGood to see you again, Gagaran-saâsan. And Evileye-sama.â
ăHe arrived before the two of them and bowed.
âOh, itâs been a while. What, come to sleep with me, have you?â
ăGagaran jerked her chin, indicating that he should take a seat. There was an evil, savage grin upon that square face of hers. Climb simply shook his head blankly.
ăGagaran said the same thing every time, to the point where it had become something like a form of greeting. However, she was not joking in the slightest. If Climb answered âyesâ, even in jest, she would immediately drag him into a singlesâ room on the second floor.
ăGagaran, who prided herself as a âcherry pickerâ, was such a person.
ăIn contrast to Gagaran, Evileye faced stoically forward, her face unmoving. Perhaps she was eyeing Climb under her mask, but he could not be sure of that.
âNo, thatâs not it. Aindra-sama bade me come.â
âHm? Leader did?â
âYes. A message. She will stay with Renner today.â
âOk. Is that it?â
âYes, that is all.â
âHmm, youâve troubled yourself over a small matter.â
ăGagaranâs face lit up with a broad smile, and Climb remembered that he had something else to tell her.
âToday I had the good fortune of sparring with Stronoff-sama. The move you taught me then â the big downward chop â met with Stronoff-samaâs approval.â
âOh, that move!â Gagaran had taught him that blow in the practice yard behind this inn. Her face split with a grin. âHehe, not bad, kid. StillâŠâ
âYes. I wonât be satisfied with just that. I will continue to practice and seek perfection.â
âYouâve got to keep training, of course. But you should also think about what to do if someone counters that move. Think of a move to continue from it.â
ăClimb did not reply but instead seriously considered her words. Gagaran smiled at him. She implied that he did not need to think that hard.
âOriginally you should have a countless repertoire of moves and respond accordingly. But you canât do that.â She indirectly said that Climb had no talent, and continued. âAnd so become confident enough to attack thrice consecutively. A series that your opponent cannot handle.â
âYes.â
âOf course, that wonât work when fighting monsters. But against humans, that ought to be enough.â
âYes.â
âWhile youâll be in trouble once your opponent sees through your attack patterns, it ought to be effective the first time you face any foe. Hammer them, hammer them and keep hammering them.â
âUnderstood.â
ăClimb nodded heavily.
ăThis morning, he had only managed to get one hit in on Gazef. On every other occasion, Gazef had seen through him immediately and he had been counterattacked in turn.
ăThen, could he lose confidence because of that? Of course not.
ăCould he allow himself to fall into despair because of that? Of course not.
ăIt was the opposite.
ăIt was precisely the opposite.
ăA mere commoner like himself had been able to come that close to the strongest warrior in the Kingdom â no, the surrounding countries. Climb knew that Gazef had not begun to show his true power, but to Climb â who had been walking a pitch-black path with no light in sight â it was a tremendous dose of encouragement.
ăIt was like telling him:Â Your efforts were not in vain.
ăAs he thought about that, he fully understood what Gagaran was trying to say.
ăHe was not confident that he could develop a good combination attack, but he was willing to try. A flame had been lit in the depths of his heart. He was determined to become stronger, so that he could draw out more of Gazefâs strength the next time he sparred with the Warrior Captain.
ââŠRight, I think you asked Evileye about something before, didnât you? Something about learning magic?â
âYes.â
ăClimb glanced at Evileye. At that time, she had merely laughed at him from under her mask and the matter had been forgotten. Asking her the same thing now, when nothing had changed, would only yield the same answer.
ăHoweverâ
âKid.â
ăA muffled voice reached his ears.
ăHer voice was quite surprising, even without removing the mask she wore. The mask she wore was not particularly thick, so it should have been easy to make out the qualities of her voice. However, there was no way to tell Evileyeâs age or any emotional inflections from it. At the very most, he could conclude that she was female. It was an emotionless, even voice that sounded both old and young at the same time.
ăThat was probably because Evileyeâs mask was magical. But why did she have to conceal her voice? Climb did not know.
âYou have no talent. Work hard somewhere else.â
ăShe did not allow him any room to respond, as though there was nothing else to be said.
ăClimb knew her meaning very well.
ăHe was not talented in magic. No, that was not all.
ăNo matter how hard he practiced his swordplay, how many times he bled and blistered and callused his hands, he could not reach the level he longed for. Low walls which a talented individual might soar over were like insurmountable barriers to Climb.
ăHowever, he could not give up on working hard to surpass that unbreachable limit. Since he had no talent, he had to hope that his unrelenting effort would help him improve in some way.
âHowever, in the legends of the 13 HerosâŠ.â
ăThe leader of the Thirteen Heroes. According to legend, he was just an ordinary person, weaker than anyone else. However, he continued swinging his sword even when injured, and he eventually became a hero who was stronger than anyone else.
ăEvileye was at a loss for words. As if that legend were true.
ăHowever, she squeezed out words of denial.
âTalent being created later in life is a lie. Those who have it have it from the startâŠ.Talent is like a flower just before blooming, and is something everyone hasâŠ.To me, that is nothing more than a false hope. Those are the words of the weak comforting themselves. The leader of the 13 Heros was the same. He had talent, it just bloomed late. He is different from you. Hard work is uselessâŠ.Yes. Talent is something that exists or not. Therefore⊠I wonât tell you to give up, but you ought to know your limits.â
ăEvileyeâs stern lecture was followed by a brief silence. In the end, Evileye broke it.
âGazef Stronoff⊠heâs a good example. People like him would be considered talented. Climb⊠do you think you can make up the difference between the two of you with effort?â
ăHe could not answer. His training today had made him realize that he was nowhere near that league.
âAlright, maybe heâs not such a good example⊠still, the only person I can think of whose swordsmanship approaches his was among the Thirteen Heroes. Gagaran here is good, but she canât beat Gazef.â
ââŠHey donât compare him to me. Gazefâs a man with a foot into the realm of heroes, yâknow?â
âHmph. Youâre a heroic woman too⊠although the woman part is in doubt.â
ăAs soon as Evileyeâs voice trailed off, Gagaran laughed and answered.
âOi oi, Evileye. These heroes in question are monsters with unique abilities that have surpassed the realm of humanity, right?â
ââŠI do not deny that.â
âThen Iâm still human. Just an ordinary person who canât reach the realm of heroes.â
âEven so, youâre still talented. Youâre not an untalented person like Climb. Climb, you shouldnât be fixated on trying to grasp the stars.â
ăClimb knew â better than anyone else â that he lacked talent. Even so, hearing her repeat you have no talent, you have no talent was very depressing. That said, Climb had no intention of changing his lifeâs goal.
ăâThis body exists for the Princess. For her, I willâ
ăPerhaps she sensed a martyrâs resolve from Climb, but in the end, Evileye scoffed from behind her mask.
ââŠSo youâre not giving up, even after Iâve said all that.â
âYes.â
âFoolishness. Utter foolishness.â She shook her head forcefully, unable to understand him. âMoving forward while clinging to an unreachable dream will set you on the way to destruction. You know that, right? Iâll tell you again â you need to know your limits.â
ââŠ.I understand.â
âYou may understand, but you donât care at all, do you? The word foolish does not even begin to describe men like you.â
âWhatâs this, Evileye? Youâre bullying Climb because you care about him?â
ăEvileye rounded her shoulders as she heard Gagaran speak. Then, she turned to Gagaran and grabbed her by the lapels while shouting.
âWill you shut up, you beefcake bimbo!â
âHey, you know Iâm right, right?â
ăGagaran was content to let Evileye hang on to her while she replied nonchalantly. Evileye was speechless for a moment, and then she sank back into her chair. She then tried to change the conversation.
âStart by learning about magic. Once you know more, youâll be able to understand how magic-using enemies think. Youâll be able to pick a more correct course of action that way.â
âWonât learning all those spells be a bit much for him?â
âOf course not. The fact is, there arenât that many spells which magic casters use. Just focus on the commonly-used ones.â
ăIf you canât do that, give up. Evileye spat those words out.
âBesides, heâll only need to study up to the 3rd tier. That shouldnât be a problem.â
âI think there is. They say that the Head Magic Caster of the Empire can use up to the 6th tier, but you know quite a bit about the 10th. Why?â
âHmâŠâ
ăEvileye had a schoolmarmish look on her face as she fiddled around under her robe. Climb suddenly realised that the sounds around them seemed further away now. It was hard to describe, but it felt as though there was a thin film surrounding them.
âDonât panic. I just used a pointless little magic.â
ăClimb did not know that the activation of that item was a sign of how worried she was about being overheard. All he knew was that Evileye intended to answer Gagaranâs question in strict seriousness. Now that she had gone to that extent, he sat up straight in his chair.
âIn ancient myths â little more than legends â there was mention of beings known as the Eight Greed Kings. They were known as gods, and the tales speak of how they once ruled this world with that absolute power.â
ăClimb had heard the story of the Eight Greed Kings. While they were not too popular, given that they were only childrenâs tales, anyone with a little bit of knowledge would know of them.
ăIn summary, the beings known as the Eight Greed Kings appeared 500 years ago. Some said that they stood as tall as the heavens, some said they looked like Dragons, but in any case, the Eight Greed Kings devastated the nations in an instant, dominating the world with their power which could move mountains and part the seas. However, their desires ran deep, and they fought each other for their possessions, resulting in their mutual extinction.
ăThis story was not popular for obvious reasons, but debate raged over whether or not it was merely a childrenâs fairytale. Climb personally felt that it had been greatly embellished. However, a small group of people among the adventurers believed that the Eight Greed Kings existed â and that they commanded powers beyond those of any in this modern age.
ăThe proof of that was a city within the deserts far to the south. Rumors said that it was the capital built when the Eight Greed Kings conquered the continent.
ăAs Climb lost himself in his thoughts, Evileye continued speaking.
âApparently, the Eight Greed Kings possessed numberless powerful magic items, and the mightiest of them was called the [Nameless Spellbook]⊠at least, thatâs what people call it. Thatâs the answer to everything.â
âAh? So those spells are recorded in that book?â
âIndeed. They say that the Eight Greed Kings of legend left that unimaginable powerful magic item behind, a book which records all the worldâs spells. Also, they say that due to some kind of magic, even newly-developed spells appear within its pages as well.â
ăClimb knew of the Eight Greed Kings, but not of this tome. He had a rough idea of how valuable this item truly was, but he remained silent and listened.
âIt is as Gagaran predicted, including me, there are no people who can use higher than the 6th Tier, yet I know the higher tiers. Of course, there are not many people who know about the Nameless Spellbook.â
âAhâŠ.I didnât either.â
ăEvileye nodded and continued.
âIn that book there are records up to the 10th tierâŠ.but in fact everything until the 11th tier is recorded. It seems that there is only one of the 11th tiers recorded. I only heard about this, and so I am not sure if there is only one. There might be other 11th tiers that were not found.â
ăClimb gulped.
ăThis talk was probably at the level of classified information. If leaked, an unprecedented event would occur. Was it fine for adventurers who knew the value of information to give it away for free. Such a worry was born in Climb.
ăAnd glossing over the emotion similar to unease, Climb asked Evileye.
âWill, will you be searching for that [Nameless Spellbook]?â
ăThat was a question born from his belief that since they understood how precious it was, and that they were the highest class of adventurers and could reach it.
ăEvileye snorted, as though to say, Donât be ridiculous.
âHmph. They say that the book is defended by powerful magic and nobody can touch it but its rightful owner. I know my limits, so I donât desire it. Iâd rather not die in a stupid way like the Eight Greed Kings.â
âYour leader is said to wield one of the weapons belonging to a member of the Thirteen Heroes⊠does she feel the same way?â
ââŠ.The scale is different. This one is something that can rival all the past and present magic items put together.â
ăWell, from what I heard from it, I donât really know myself. Evileye ended her words there.
âSo, properly learn about magic.â
âUnderstood.â
ăHearing Climbâs reply, Evileye showed one of her rare moments of hesitation, and spoke.
âIf you want power, you can choose methods to stop being human.â
âForsaking humanity⊠you mean like the demons in stories?â
âStuff like that, or turning into an undead or magical beast. The undeadification is the most famous.â
âNormal humans cannot do that.â
âTrueâŠ.When one turns into an undead, they may lose sight of themselves. Burnt by their ideals, this was a method to achieve them butâŠ.When the body changes, the heart follows with it.â
ăThe voice beneath the mask was tinged with a certain emotion. It was pity.
ă Gagaran noticed how Evileye was staring into the distance and deliberately spoke up in a bright voice.
âWell, the Princess would probably faint if she woke up and saw that Climb had become an Ogre.â
ăEvileye had probably sensed the good intentions behind Gagaranâs words. Her voice returned to its usual emotionless pitch.
ââŠIndeed, thatâs a way too. Transmutation-type spells can briefly allow you to change into another species. Iâll be frank, theyâre valid options for improving your physical attributes.â
âI think Iâll pass on that.â
âIf you simply desire strength, then changing into another species is quite effective. After all, the human body is hardly exceptional, and the same abilities are more effective when oneâs basic physical attributes are improved.â
ăThat much was obvious. Between two evenly-skilled opponents, the one with the better physical attributes would have the advantage.
âThe fact is that many of the Thirteen Heroes were nonhumans. The Warrior-Captain of the Air Giants and his Axe of Cyclones, the Elf Royal Family who bore the special characteristics of the ancestral Elves, and the Black Knight who wielded the Four Swords of Darkness â the original owner of our leaderâs Kilineyram â was also a human with demonâs blood.â
âThe Four Swords of Darkness, huhâŠâ
ăćäŸă13è±éăăŁăăăăăšăȘăăšă2ă3çȘçźăźäșșæ°è ăšăȘăæé»éšćŁ«ăŻ4æŹăźćŁăæăŁăŠăăăšăăăăThe Evil Sword Hyumilis, the Demon Blade Kilineyram, the Sword of Decay Crocdabal, and the Deathsword Sfeiz. 13è±éăšăăććšăŻćŸĄäŒœćșăźé ćăźććšă ăăæé»éšćŁ«ăŻăăźäžă§æăçŸćźćłă«æșąăăććšăȘăźă ăăăăăŻ4性æé»ćŁăźć ăź1æŹăăăŁăŠăăè ăăçćœæé«ăźćéșè ăăŒă ăźăȘăŒăăŒă§ăăăăšă«è”·ć ăăă
âThe Demon Blade Kilineyram, created by condensing infinite darkness, is said to be the mightiest of the four⊠I have a question, is it true that if it unleashes its full power, it could project enough dark energy to swallow a country whole?â
âWhat are you talking about?â
ăEvileye asked in a confused tone.
âOur leader said something about it when alone. That suppressing such power could only be done by a woman that served god like her.â
âIâve never heard of anything like that beforeâŠâ Evileye tilted her head in surprise. âStill, if the owner says that, it might be true.â
âThen is there really a Dark Lakyus, born from the dark side of her spirit?â
âWhat?â
âNah, I just happened to hear her muttering to herself again. Donât think she noticed me, so I decided to take a listen, and in the end she ended up saying, âIf you get careless, this being of blackness born of the source of all darkness shall take over your body and release the Demon Bladeâs powerâ or something. Sounded pretty bad.â
âThis⊠well, we canât rule that out. Some cursed items can control their ownersâ minds⊠things would be pretty dire if something like that happened to Lakyus. SoâŠ.Did you ask her what she was talking about?â
âAh. I did. She blushed red and told us not to worry.â
âHm. It must be pretty embarrassing for a priest â who should be the one removing curses â to end up falling victim to a curse herself.â
ăClimb could no longer pretend to be unmoved, and he frowned.
ăFrom what he had seen and heard, Lakyus might well be under the control of an evil magic item. He became even more worried as he thought about where he had just been..
ââŠWill Renner-sama be in danger?â
ăEvileye stopped Climb before he could rush out.
âDonât worry. I doubt the situation will deteriorate. She wonât be taken over unawares, even if the power of darkness threatens to take her over. Weâll have to take the fact that she didnât tell us as a sign that sheâs confident of controlling it herself. Iâm certain she has the mental strength for it. Still⊠I didnât expect the sword to have that kind of power. Even Iâve never heard of that before.â
ăEvileye felt slightly frustrated about her lack of knowledge. And that she should search for more knowledge not just for satisfaction.
âShould we talk to Azuth for safetyâs sake?â
âIâm not too happy about asking a rival for help, but⊠well, she is his niece, so we should let him know, at least.â
âHm, then shouldnât we do that right away?â
âMm. We should just prepare ourselves to back Lakyus up at any time.â
ăGagaran and Evileye rose, and so did Climb.
âSorry, Climb. I really wanted to have some fun with you, but I donât have the time.â
âPlease, donât worry about it, Gagaran-sama.â
ăGagaran carefully studied Climb, and then laughed tiredly.
âMm, alright, then. You should be going back right away, so weâll leave our leader to you. Good seeing you around, cherry boy.â\n