"Ee... I... I just wanted to find a way to smelt iron ingots, and I... I wasn't planning to embezzle them..." The Dwarf immediately confessed.
Ah!! So it was that Dwarf who stole the iron ingots he had commissioned the Dwarf Kingdom to forge armor for the Lizardmen!?
Ainz finally understood who this Dwarf was. Hey, hey! This was too much, wasn't it? His daughter was too capable! He hadn't even thought about this matter. Nazarick's warehouses and his own bag still had a ton of the lost iron ingots, and Ellie actually managed to catch this Dwarf!
This was too terrifying, wasn't it? One should know that during the time he left Nazarick for the Dwarf Kingdom, Ellie had not returned to Nazarick. How did she know about this?
Or did she have some way of knowing what he had done in the Dwarf Kingdom? Thinking this way, he felt that his daughter was even more terrifying than Demiurge and Albedo!
}
"Hoh... Then why didn't he come directly to me? Instead, he just ran away?" Although Ellie was extremely flustered, the matter of how she knew he was in the Dwarf Kingdom could be set aside for now. First, he needed to deal with this dwarf.
Since Ellie brought him back, she must have had her reasons. Ugh... Daughter, please don't always give your dad such difficult problems.
"That's because, that's because..." The dwarf's face immediately flushed red, looking as if he was too embarrassed to speak.
Ugh... Could this be his daughter's intention? Seeing the dwarf's hesitant and embarrassed expression, Ainz probably understood why the dwarf had stolen his iron ingot.
His previous interactions with the dwarves showed that many of them had extremely strong pride in their forging techniques. The dwarf had also just said that he took the iron ingot only to find a method for smelting it. After all, only that iron ingot was stolen; the dagger given to him was returned completely intact.
This confirmed that the dwarf was not lying. It seemed their technology couldn't smelt the iron ingot he gave them?
Hmm? Was this why Ellie sent this dwarf to Nazarick?
Indeed... To find a method, he was willing to abandon his country and steal an iron ingot. As a craftsman, this was truly rare. However, Ellie's real intention in doing this was to prevent information about Nazarick's technology from leaking, wasn't it?
If that was the case, then he understood why Ellie had caught this dwarf and brought him back. The dwarf probably had bad luck, running into Ellie while searching for a method. Then Ellie recognized the iron ingot as something from Nazarick, and so she captured him and brought him back. That's probably how it happened, right? Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why Ellie would bring the dwarf back.
"Ainz is asking you a question!" Albedo, standing nearby, yelled at the dwarf, clearly annoyed.
"It's alright, Albedo. I understand the basic situation." Ainz raised his hand and waved it, signaling Albedo to be quiet.
"My deepest apologies, Ainz!" Although her words were an apology, Albedo's eyes, as she looked at Ainz, sparkled with admiration. She probably misunderstood something again!
"I will send someone to teach you the smelting method. I can provide all the tools and equipment. So, can you complete my request?" Since the person was already here, he might as well conduct an experiment!
He wanted to see if the dwarf craftsmen of this world could forge equipment from Yggdrasil materials. Ainz had originally planned this, and then... Hmm?? Could it be! Was his daughter's true purpose this? No, no, no, that shouldn't be. Ellie was born and raised here; she shouldn't know about Yggdrasil.
Although Ellie was indeed taught knowledge related to Yggdrasil when Albedo and Shalltear took care of her after she was born, to have such foresight would be too much, wouldn't it?
But... but that was Ellie. Otherwise, how could he explain her just throwing the person in front of him without any explanation? She must have trusted her father to understand her intentions well, right?
Ugh... "Of course I can! As long as I can smelt this iron ingot! As long as I can forge this iron ingot into equipment with my own hands! I'll do anything!" The dwarf answered excitedly.
"Very good, Mare... Please take this dwarf to his companions." Ainz gave the order to Mare, who acknowledged it and then led the dwarf out.
Upon hearing this command, the dwarf looked confused, probably wondering who Ainz meant by his companions. It seemed he didn't know that many Rune Craftsmen from the Dwarf Kingdom had already relocated here.
After seeing the dwarf being led away, Yuri did not take her leave... This indicated that his daughter had brought him a surprise.
Ugh... The scare was probably not just this dwarf. Ainz felt like clutching his non-existent stomach again.
"Ainz, there is one more very important matter to report to you." Yuri continued. See... and she said "very important." So the dwarf earlier was just a small scare; this time it was going to be a big one?
"Go on..." Ainz said, mentally prepared.
"Elizabeth returned this time with several companions. She instructed me to arrange two of them. The dwarf just now was one, and the other is a Slane Theocracy individual. Elizabeth said that person has now sworn allegiance to her and arranged for her to work in the orphanage." Yuri said.
"Is that what you mean by 'very important'? Is that Slane Theocracy individual a pink-haired person?" Albedo, standing nearby, spoke first, without waiting for Ainz to ask. What was going on? Ainz was a bit confused.
"Yes." Yuri gave a direct affirmative answer.
"That's Bell. Little Ellie brought her back last time, and she did reveal a lot of information about the Slane Theocracy to us. There's nothing to be surprised about." Albedo said.
"Little Ellie-chan, really. She rarely comes back and doesn't even come to see us..." Shalltear interjected from the side.
"Albedo, please let me finish. The pink-haired one is not important. What's important is... the other one, a black-haired woman who looks similar to the pink-haired one!" Yuri's expression became a bit tense as she said this.
"What do you mean?" Albedo continued to ask, which was also what Ainz wanted to ask.
"There was also a black-haired woman who returned with Elizabeth. Aside from her hair color, her appearance was almost identical to the pink-haired one mentioned earlier. Besides that... when Lupusregina Beta and I went to greet Elizabeth, we clearly felt a strong hostility and killing intent from that black-haired woman. And... that black-haired woman, both Lupusregina Beta and I felt a pressure from her, like facing the Guardians of Nazarick." Yuri continued, very tense.
"What did you say! Such a person exists near Little Ellie!" Albedo and Shalltear immediately became agitated. It should be said that all the Guardians present became agitated.
Only Aura and Sebas were more restrained, not showing too much emotion in front of Ainz, though Aura still showed a somewhat uneasy expression, and Sebas furrowed his brow. Ainz, however, knew how popular his daughter was among the Guardians.
Ainz himself was also very surprised. He never expected his daughter to find someone suspected of having strength equal to the Guardians of Nazarick. But if that was the case... wasn't Ellie in a very dangerous situation?
But... strangely, even Yuri and Lupusregina Beta could feel the strong one's hostility. That child Ellie couldn't possibly not feel it, could she?
Or was it? Did she have some new plan? Did she know and pretend not to know? Or was there another possibility?
But merely the fact that the black-haired woman emitted hostility towards Nazarick's personnel was enough reason to believe that Ellie might be in danger now. This alone was enough to give him reason to act.
But that was Ellie, Ellie who inherited the wisdom of Demiurge and Albedo, Ellie who accomplished many things on her own. She must have had her own considerations for traveling with such a dangerous person, right?
If he interfered without permission, what if he ruined her plans? Where would he, as a father, put his face then?
But... she was the princess of Nazarick, and also his daughter. A father who didn't worry about his daughter's safety didn't exist. Although he was very anxious and worried right now, ugh... Before making a hasty decision, he should first understand the situation carefully!
After a flash of green light, Ainz spoke.
"Yuri Alpha, tell me everything you heard and saw, without any omissions." Ainz, sitting on the throne, rested his face in his hand and asked with great majesty.
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