[In some parts of this chapter, Pandora's Actor and Narberal will be addressed as Momon and Nabe. Please keep that in mind.]
The five walked towards the gate in awkward silence.
Not one was willing to speak up. John attempted to break the silence by trying to say something, but the mere fact that one of the world's few strongest adamantite-cass adventurers are escorting him, and the additional notion that he thinks himself as nothing but a manager of some "meager" mercantile company running originally in the former Re-Estize kingdom, made him shudder with a slight sense of fear.
Cun was the complete opposite, however, despite the fact that he didn't break the silence. All he did was watch in awe at the two, taking down unrecognizable notes and drooling every once in a while.
Momon looked at him confused as Nabe looked at him with slight disgust.
As the gate appeared in their sights, John decided to break the silence once and for all.
"The carriages we possess are over there. It seems that my men have already traded the required goods and are ready to depart at my command."
Momon looked at the line of caravans, with the men seemingly waving towards them.
"I see. So these are the caravans we have to defend?"
John chuckled. "Indeed so, Momon-dono. They aren't too much, no?"
Momon glanced back at the caravans.
"We can handle it."
Nabe merely nodded in response.
John put his hands together. "Thank you. And for the pay? It seems we haven't discussed about it yet, so I would like to get that out of the way as soon as possible."
Momon rubbed his chin.
"Just get us into the Slane Theocracy. That alone should suffice."
John was seemingly shocked.
"Just entering? I-I think that's a bit less in terms of pay, Momon-dono. Maybe we should give you something more..."
Momon's eyes gleamed.
"Entering is enough."
John took a quick glance at Nabe, seemingly impatient. He gave a sigh.
"I understand. I'll try to leverage with the border guards on the matter."
Momon and Nabe nodded in agreement.
They soon approached the caravans, with many of John's men watching the two adventurers in awe. John led them to the biggest caravan in the party and flipped open the curtains.
"I hope this hospitality is more than good enough."
Nabe looked around the space and gave a nod of approval.
Momon responded promptly.
"Then, if you'll excuse us..."
The two entered without hesitation, following John, Cun and two other men holding valuable trading goods.
They all sat down, with Nabe and Momon on the left and John, Cun, on the right. The two men that just entered put down the goods and left appropriately.
Cun seemed to be on the brink of bursting with excitement. John slapped him in the head.
"Don't do anything crazy, boy. You hear me?"
Cun nodded frantically and kept to himself. Momon chuckled.
The caravan soon moved, with the others behind following suit. A quick inspection check on the border gates was conducted as one of the demihuman inspectioners entered John's caravan.
"Oh? The heroes of Darkness? Heading to the Slane Theocracy I see?"
Momon nodded. "Yes, we have some matters to intend there."
The inspectioner scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to John. "Well, good luck on your trip."
All of them nodded promptly as the caravan moved forward. Momon and Nabe looked back at the city of E-Rantel as it began to get out of their line of sight.
***
Ainz was still sitting in his office room, pondering.
He had already sent out Pandora's Actor and Narberal to investigate the Slane Theocracy, Albedo and Shalltear to certain punishment for their wrongdoings, and Demiurge for the diplomatic affairs.
The World Item incident still very much concerned him so. Knowing the fact that Shalltear's World Item was that of resisting mind control, it only helps to support one theory.
Was someone from the other side controlling their emotions somehow? Was that why they acted so arrogantly?
Ainz stared at the faded World Item. He attempted to cast magic on it.
The World Item shined a bright white. Soon, it started emitting some sort of unknown aura. Considering it dangerous, Ainz pulled out a transparent box-like object from nothing and put it right on top of the World Item. The aura was trapped inside.
The hell was that?
Ainz sighed as he stared at the ceiling.
He also was relieved that the seemingly "mind-control power" went only as far as to creating a sparring battle between Albedo, Shalltear, and their respective opponents on the other side. If things went farther, Albedo might've used the "Ginnungagap", which would've brought the forest on the other side doom.
If that's the case, should I go too...?
Ainz shook his head. No way would he do that. Doing so would essentially mean jumping into a pit of fire.
I'll call on Demiurge to also investigate such matters. Hopefully, something like this won't happen again...
A <<Message>> came out of nowhere and seemingly surprised him. He cleared his throat in embarrassment as the maid looked at Ainz, bewildered.
<Report?>
<Yes, Ainz-sama. We are on our way to the Slane Theocracy via a merchant party.>
<Did any of you sense anything odd along the path so far?>
There was a slight hesitation.
<There seems to be a slight presence of anti-monster magic around the area we're currently in.>
Ainz rubbed his chin.
<That should mean the Slane Theocracy is monitoring the area. Be wary of any Slane Thoecracy soldiers as some may identify both of you as non-human.>
<I understand, Ainz-sama. We will try to conceal our real identity to the best of our ability.>
The <<Message>> cut short immediately.
***
The four once again sat in awkward silence as the journey lagged on.
"I have a question, Momon-dono, Nabe-dono..."
Momon and Nabe looked at John, who spoke first.
"Hm?"
"Why do you need me to leverage you for entrance into the Slane Theocracy? I assume you two already have a permit to enter."
Momon glanced upon the horizon. "Well, in truth, we never stepped foot into such a country before, since we're not hu-"
Nabe nudged him with a slight terrified look.
"Hu?"
"*Ahem* My apologies. Anyways, we never visited the Slane Theocracy so we're unsure of its admission process or its permit system."
John looked hard into Momon.
"Interesting. With you been famous, strong heroes and all, I'd expected you two to have traveled all across the continent."
"Oh, please, don't flatter us; we haven't done all that yet."
John chuckled lightly, his fat belly rumbling.
"Well, I guess both Momon-dono and Nabe-dono have their own private reasons. I won't intrude."
Cun sat in silence, seemingly still scribbling notes.
A loud thud was heard.
John peeked out the caravan.
"What was that?"
Suddenly, a huge boulder came out of nowhere and barely scraped his nose. It crashed on the side of the road with a loud "boom".
"Golems!" someone shouted from one of the caravans.
John yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Everyone take cover!"
Nabe and Momon hopped out of the caravan, wielding their weapons.
"Momon-dono? Nabe-dono?"
Momon looked back at John and his party.
"Leave these golems to us."
The two charged at the horde of golems with immense speed.
Momon lifted his great sword high in the air, ultimately cutting a golem in half with one strike. He hopped onto the dead body of the cut-up golem, using it as a jump pad to tackle the other golem, drilling through him with both his blades.
As he got to his feet, a golem tried to ambush him. Nabe quickly casted the spell <<Lightning>>, sending a bold of lightning right through the golem's head. Another golem appeared behind her, in which she activated <<Fly>> to fly away in a speedy fashion.
"<<Thunderlance>>!"
Pointing her finger towards a near-perfect line of golems, the spell shot through the air like thunder, piercing through all the golems like a skewer.
Pandora's Actor observed the situation and charged towards another golem, who threw a boulder at him with great force. With one quick slice, he cut the boulder in half, causing the two halves to fall towards the side and out of harm's way. Upon approaching the golem, he did a few quick slashes, cutting him up into pieces.
John observed, gobsmacked.
"Incredible ... I knew they were strong, but for them to be this strong ..."
Cun watched as he started to drool and squirm again. John glanced at him in slight disgust.
A stray boulder from the fight suddenly came flying towards John's caravan.
"Incoming!!"
John's men tried to pull him out of harm's way, but it was too late; the boulder was nearly at his position. John closed his eyes, expecting the worst.
A bolt of lightning was suddenly seen as it broke the boulder into tiny pieces. As John opened, he saw Nabe glaring at him.
"Mind your surroundings."
Nabe then seemingly looked away and continued to focus on the other golems.
No wonder they call her the Beautiful Princess. She is truly both strong and beautiful...
John was lost in thought as Cun literally fainted.
"That boy ... how obsessed is he?"
He sighed as he watched the fight continue.
***
It took less than 5 minutes for Momon and Nabe to exterminate all the golems. When they returned, they were covered in golem blood and carrying golem ears and noses.
"Give them towels to wipe the blood off."
The men hustled and gave them towels, which both of them accepted. John glanced at the body parts they brought back.
"Are those for the adventurer's guild?"
"Sort of. We-"
Nabe nudged him again.
"Yes, they are for the guild. We're going to register them when we get to the Slane Theocracy."
John wondered why Nabe nudged Momon, but he gave up on the thought.
"Then, shall we continue?"
The two nodded as they hopped into the caravan. It wasn't long before the party started moving again.
"Sorry, I have another question, Momon-dono, Nabe-dono..."
"Yes?"
"You only said accessing inside the country, but what part of the country exactly are you guys going to? Sorry for not asking earlier."
Momon chuckled. "No, no it is ok. We are headed to the capital city. If you don't mind, can you take us there?"
"Oh, the capital? We're actually going there, too, so there should be no problem."
***
[Two days later]
The party of caravans were halted by a checkpoint, which was a castle tower bearing a flag with a white background and a blue ornate multi-candle stand enveloped by an equally blue olive crown with two blue bars horizontally bordering the edges. It was the Slane Theocracy border checkpoint.
Pandora's Actor opened a private <<Message>> with Narberal.
<There seems to be a high density of anti-monster magic past this checkpoint.>
<Indeed so. Is that why you brought those golem parts?>
Pandora's Actor glanced at the bag of ears and noses that was emitting a weird aura.
<Yeah; this will be used to cover our identity as non-humans if they accidently see through our deception.>
Narberal looked inside the bag.
<You infused them with magic?>
<Mhm. It's to put them off. You wouldn't expect golems to have that high of magical aptitude, huh?>
Narberal glared at Pandora's Actor as he chuckled nervously.
<Now, now. Don't get angry.>
<Shut it.>
"Oi! You four! We demand an inspection!"
The two approached the checkpoint station with John and Cun as soon as the caravan they were riding it got through, now waiting for the rest.
As they passed through the border, one of the mages sensed something was off.
"Show me the bag."
Nabe was about to unsheath her sword to attack until Momon put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to give up on the battle stance and feel frustrated.
Momon handed them a bag.
"I assume whatever you sensed was off was this."
They looked into the bag to see a bunch of noses and ears, emitting magic.
"They seem to be monster parts alright," the inspector observed, "though I'm not sure what type."
The mage of the station looked closely into the bag. He then glanced back at Momon.
"This was infused with magic, yes?"
Momon shrugged. Nabe looked like she was about to die of impatience.
The inspector glared at the two adventurers. "We'll need to investigate you two further. Come with me."
John tried to stop them. "Now, hold on, they-
"Stop right there."
The inspector and John turned around to see a man in a white, golden-accented suit with light-brown hair and green eyes. He was mounted on a horse.
Momon and Nabe looked at the man in bewilderment.
The man hopped of his horse, petting him in the process. He approached the two without hesitation.
"You two are the famous 'Heroes of Darkness' Momon and Nabe, I presume?"
Momon flinched a tiny bit. "Yes, that is indeed us. And who are you?"
"Oh, where are my manners? Forgive me, I tend to not disclose my full name, but you can call me E.D."
Why not disclose your real name?
"E.D.? Peculiar name, I see. Your initials?"
The man named E.D. chuckled. "Not really, but you can say. You can also call me Ed if you want."
He turned towards the inspector, whose attitude seemingly changed.
"I assume they have those magic-infused monster parts for a reason, no? They are top-class adventurers, after all, why bother being suspicious of them?"
Ed's smile gave off a vibe of discomfort.
The inspector stuttered. "Y-yes. You two may pass."
Even the mage went silent.
"Good, good." Ed smiled.
"Question..."
"Hm?"
"Why are you helping us?"
Ed scratched the back of his head.
"No particular reason. I just assumed that adamantite-class adventurers like you two should be able to get through the borders without issue. Don't know why the border guards are suspicious of such famous human adventurers."
"Right..."
Pandora's Actor pondered.
Something seems off about this.
He and Narberal looked at the people at the checkpoint.
<They're acting differently towards that Ed human.>
<I'm aware. Is he some top-grade official in the Slane Theocracy?>
Narberal sighed.
<It seems to be the case. We should try avoiding him at all costs.>
<I concur. We should indirectly spy on him. Maybe he would help us lead to the spy Ainz-sama was talking about.>
Narberal stood there in silence, seemingly in agreement.
Ed looked at them and wondered why they were standing there in silence observing him.
He shook his head as he mounted onto his horse.
As the caravans continued to get through the checkpoint, Ed approached the two adventurers.
"A small request. May I accompany you two?"
Momon looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"
"You see, I'm supposed to write a detailed article about the daily lives of adventurers, and I need source material. Would you help me?"
The two looked at him with even greater suspicion. Why ask them this here of all places?
Momon sighed. "I suppose so. Be my guest."
Ed seemed delighted. "So, where are you guys heading next?"
"The capital, I suppose."
Nabe looked like she wanted to jab Momon but gave up in the end.
Ed looked outside of the border and sighed.
"I see. Let's get going when your caravan party is ready."
As he and his horse trotted towards the caravans inside the border, Pandora's Actor and Narberal glared at Ed.
Something's really off about him...