A few days later, early in the morning...
The weather was lovely, perfect for a long journey. So, early that morning, an old horse stood waiting outside the north gate of E-Rantel, pulling a wooden two-wheeled cart with an adventuring party beside it.
Besides their client, Nfirea Bareare—the genius grandson of a certain apothecary in town—the people present included Peter Mork, leader of the Swords of Darkness adventuring party; the party's scout, Lukeluth Borb; the Magic Caster Ninya; the Forest Priestess, Dain Wood Wanda; and the warrior Momon, dressed in ornate armor trimmed with gold, along with his companion Nabe.
"..."
"Is everyone here? Why haven't we set off yet?"
Ainz Ooal Gown—or rather, the warrior Momon—first glanced around and decided that everyone seemed to be present. He had also been feeling vaguely uneasy for some reason, and now he impatiently turned to their client and asked why they were still waiting.
Since he couldn't read, his adventurer rank was too low—Copper—and he had no money left, he had no choice but to accept the Swords of Darkness' invitation. He was going to escort a certain genius apothecary to the woods north of Carne Village to gather herbs. That would earn him some money, while also getting him points toward raising his adventurer rank to a higher tier.
"Huh?"
"Um..."
"I'm ready to leave whenever."
"Sorry, Captain Mork, but may I ask something? It looks like everyone's here. Why haven't we set off yet?"
Nfirea Bareare was getting impatient too. He wanted to leave soon and finish gathering the herbs he needed. Then, perhaps, he would still have time to visit the person he cared about most in Carne Village.
"We'll be ready soon!"
"We're waiting for one more person, a new temporary member we found just yesterday. Her spells