Free The Dark Warrior by Kugane Maruyama

felt stupid. It had to have been that boy.
    “Nfirea Baleare.”
    Ainz realized it was the name he’d heard earlier, and the boy was already approaching.
    “Nice to meet you. I’m the one who made the request.” He tilted his head, and Ainz reciprocated. “So about the reque—” He started to speak, but Ainz held up a hand to stop him.
    “I’m terribly sorry, but I’m already contracted for another job. I can’t take on your request right away.”
    A commotion went through the room. The Swords of Darkness members were especially startled.
    “But Momon, he’s requesting
you
!”
    Seeing Peter’s reaction, Ainz wondered if a request by name was really worth getting so excited about, but…
    “That may be, but it’s only right to prioritize the previous engagement, don’t you think?” It seemed Ainz’s conclusion was not mistaken. Some of the onlooking adventurers nodded; he’d made a favorable impression.
    “But…our request can’t even properly be called a request, and we can’t even pay you if we don’t encounter any monsters…,” Peter mumbled.
    The difference in value of the work between a request from this boy (who is not only famous himself but also has a famous grandmother) and roaming around hunting monsters is enormous. That must be why Peter is trying to give me some space.
Guessing that was the case, Ainz replied with kindness in his voice. “Then how about this, Peter? I haven’t heard anything about the job or the compensation, so I’ll listen to what Mr. Baleare has to say and then we can decide.”
    “That’s fine with me. We’d like to go sooner rather than later, but we weren’t even planning on today or tomorrow anyhow.”
    “Then let’s have the Swords of Darkness come while we talk it over. If we can come to an agreement…or rather, if we can’t, I suppose, I’ll go ahead and prioritize my previous engagement.”
    “What? You want us in your meeting?”
    “Yes. As a concerned party, your input is important to me.”
    Once the Swords of Darkness agreed to the plan, they all returned to the meeting room they had just come from.
    Well, this is a bit hectic.
Ainz smiled wryly and sat in the same seat as before. Narberal sat next to him again, and Nfirea sat one seat down from her. The Swords of Darkness members, like Ainz, all took the same seats as before.
    The first to speak was, naturally, Nfirea. “The woman at reception mentioned my name before, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nfirea Baleare. I’m an apothecary in this city. As for my request, I’m planning to go to a nearby forest, but as you know, the forest is a dangerous place. So I’d like you to escort me but also, if possible, help me collect medicinal herbs.”
    “An escort job? I see.” Ainz nodded confidently, but privately he thought it sounded like kind of a pain.
    Ainz knew that he was strong himself, and if he teamed up with Narberal, annihilating any monster that came at them would probably be a piece of cake. The problem was that when it came to escort duty, he wasn’t so certain he could pull it off. As casters, neither he nor Narberal had the tanking skills that would be useful to guard someone.
    “Compensation would be a fixed amo—”
    “One moment. How convenient that it’s an escort job. Hey, Peter, what would you say to
me
hiring
you
instead?”
    “Huh?”
    “For an escort job in the woods collecting herbs, wouldn’t it be better to have a ranger and a druid along?”
    “Indeed! That is very perceptive of you, Momon. Druids are really in their element in the forest. I’d probably be even more useful than Lukrut!” Some pride slipped into Dyne’s dignified tone.
    Lukrut didn’t seem so amused. “Keep talkin’, Dyney.”
    “With my druid powers, it’s a given that I’d be more useful. And don’t forget that I dabble in the medicinal arts.”
    “Hmm. I’m game, Peter. Seems like I need to show Mr. Druid here who has the superior gathering