Overlord (book 1)

matching swords and a full set of armor. But these horsemen, even though they were also

wearing armor, had no discernable uniform. Some wore leather, while some didn’t even wear

armor, exposing the chainmail vest usually worn underneath.

Some wore helmets, while others did not. The only thing they had in common was that all their

faces were exposed. All of them were equipped with the same kind of sword, but some carried a

bow, or perhaps a pistol, a mace or other spare weapons with them.

To put it nicely, this group looked filled with veteran warriors who have seen countless

battlefields. If you weren’t feeling too generous, they looked like a ragtag mercenary group.

In the end around twenty horsemen rode into the square. Although they were wary of the Death

Knight, they were still more or less able to neatly arrange themselves in front of the village chief and Ainz. From within their ranks a single man emerged and rode towards Ainz.

This appeared to be the leader of these men, having the most eye-catching and courageous

appearance. He slowly surveyed his surroundings, looking at the village chief, then at the Death

Knight and then at Albedo. He looked around for quite some time. But upon realising that the

other party remained motionless, he suddenly pierced Ainz with his sharp eyes.

Even while being he was stared at with such fierce eyes, Ainz remained calm and unmoving.

This kind of pressure wouldn’t even cause the tiniest ripple in his heart.

Not because Ainz wasn’t afraid of these eyes, his imperviousness was simply a side-effect of

him being an Elder Lich. Perhaps his YGGDRASIL abilities allowed him to be full of self-

confidence.

Having surveyed the area, the captain spoke with an imposing voice:

“——I am a knight captain of the Kingdom of Re-Estize, Gazef Strolonoff. Under orders from the

king, I have come with a punitive force to fight against the knights of the Empire and have been

patrolling around various vil ages.”

His deep, smooth voice resounded in the square and the village chief behind Ainz muttered:

“A knight-captain of the Kingdom…”

This person was never mentioned during my talk with the chief——With a slight undertone of

blame directed at the village chief, he asked in a low voice:

“.... What kind of person is he?”

“According to the traders that pass through, he was the champion of a tournament held in the

past, which was used to determine the King’s personal guard. Presently he is a direct

subordinate to the King and commands an elite group of soldiers.”

“Is the person in front of me real y that great…?”

“.... I don’t know. This is only hearsay.”

Ainz carefully looked at the horsemen; they clearly had the same emblem on their chests. Their

emblem looked very similar to ones here in the vil age. That said, there wasn’t enough

information and thus his identity couldn’t be ascertained.

Gazef looked at the village chief:

“You must be the vil age chief. Could you tell me who the man standing next to you is?”

“Do not bother. Hello, Sir Knight-Captain of the Kingdom, I am Ainz Ooal Gown, a Magic

Chanter. Because the vil agers were attacked by knights, I came to here to rescue them.”

Stopping the village chief who was about to answer, Ainz gently saluted, and introduced himself.

Gazef quickly stepped off his horse, making a loud sound from his heavy metal armor, he stood

on the ground and made a deep bow:

“Thank you for saving this vil age, I am unable to repay your kindness.”

The air shook slightly.

As a Knight Captain, he would probably have been part of the privileged class, so showing such

respect to a no-name like Ainz in a world with clear differences between the social classes

would be a huge surprise to anyone. That said, in this country, or even the entire world, human

rights had yet to be fully established. Just a few years ago, there were still countries practising

slavery.

Even though their standings were completely different, Gazef still got off his horse to bow to

Ainz. It was clear what type of a person Gazef is.

Ainz’s intuition told him that Gazef’s identity as Knight-Captain of the Kingdom wasn’t fake.

“.... No need to be so polite. In fact, the purpose of this was to receive a reward, so there is no

need for thanks.”

“Oh, a reward. That is to say, you are an adventurer? Hmm… I see. Looks like you seem to be

a great adventurer…...But please forgive my ignorance, I have never heard the name of Master

Gown before.”

“I am a traveller who just happened to pass by here, so I am not a very wel known figure.”

“... Currently travelling eh. I apologise for wasting the time of such an outstanding adventurer,

but would it be possible for you to tell me what happened to the men who came and raided this

vil age?”

“It would be my pleasure, Sir Knight-Captain. Most of the knights who came and raided this

village are already dead; they should be unable to cause any more trouble. Is there a need to

continue explaining?”

“... Kil ed…. Was it the by the hand of Master Gown?”