The Two Leaders

  Copyright

  OVERLORD, VOLUME 8

  KUGANE MARUYAMA

  Translation by Emily Balistrieri

  Cover art by so-bin

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  ©2014 Kugane Maruyama

  All rights reserved.

  First published in Japan in 2014 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION ENTERBRAIN. English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION ENTERBRAIN, through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.

  English translation © 2018 by Yen Press, LLC

  Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Yen On

  1290 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10104

  Visit us at yenpress.com

  facebook.com/yenpress

  twitter.com/yenpress

  yenpress.tumblr.com

  instagram.com/yenpress

  First Yen On Edition: September 2018

  Yen On is an imprint of Yen Press, LLC.

  The Yen On name and logo are trademarks of Yen Press, LLC.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Maruyama, Kugane, author. | So-bin, illustrator. | Balistrieri, Emily, translator.

  Title: Overlord / Kugane Maruyama ; illustration by So-bin ; translation by Emily Balistrieri.

  Other titles: Ōbārōdo. English

  Description: First Yen On edition. | New York, NY : Yen On, 2016–

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016000142 | ISBN 9780316272247 (v. 1 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316363914 (v. 2 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316363938 (v. 3 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316397599 (v. 4 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316397612 (v. 5 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316398794 (v. 6 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316398817 (v. 7 : hardback) | ISBN 9780316398848 (v. 8 : hardback)

  Subjects: LCSH: Alternate reality games—Fiction. | Internet games—Fiction. | Science fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Science Fiction / Adventure.

  Classification: LCC PL873.A37 O2313 2016 | DDC 895.63/6—dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016000142

  ISBNs: 978-0-316-39884-8 (hardcover)

  978-0-316-39885-5 (ebook)

  E3-20180811-JV-PC

  Story 1 | Enri’s Hectic, Eventful Life

  1

  Enri Emmott’s day began early. She had to start preparing breakfast before the sun was even up. That was partly because she wasn’t quite as used to the work as her deceased mother, so she took longer. The other part of it was that she had to make a huge amount of food.

  Cooking for Nemu, herself, and the nineteen goblins who had sworn allegiance to Enri—twenty-one people, plus two more for a total of twenty-three—meant she was beyond busy; her situation was more aptly described as a battle. Enri could still hardly believe that the mountain of ingredients towering before her would vanish after a single meal.

  “Well, it is six times larger than before, after all.”

  Taking a deep breath, she rolled up her sleeves, ready to begin.

  She quietly chopped the vegetables, then switched knives and sliced the meat. The order of what needed to be handled when was already decided.

  Enri had never been a very good cook, so her efficient preparation of so much in such a short time was a perfect illustration of what humans were capable of under pressure.

  The sound of Enri’s cooking woke up her little sister, who wandered into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

  “Morning, Enri. I’ll help.”

  “Morning, Nemu. I’m fine here, so please do what I asked for yesterday.”

  Nemu made a pouty face for a moment but ended up obeying with no complaints, offering a single “okayyy” before shuffling away.

  Enri stopped for a moment.

  Pain shot through her heart.

  Her ten-year-old sister used to be a lively girl who had no qualms about trying to get her way, but ever since the attack, her childlike innocence had faded, and she did exactly what Enri told her without so much as a peep. She’d become such a good girl it was depressing.

  Their parents’ warm smiles flickered across Enri’s mind. It had been several months since the attack, but the emotional scars hadn’t completely healed.

  If it had been some sort of illness that claimed their lives, then at least she would have had time to prepare herself. Maybe the pain wouldn’t have lingered so long had it been a freak accident or natural disaster that was nobody’s fault, but the deaths of her parents were different. There was plenty of blame to lay.

  Enri squeezed her eyes shut. In front of the others, she did her best not to let any weakness show, but when there was no one around, her loneliness gouged at the scars in her heart.

  “Yeah…”

  Behind her eyelids, she saw their kind parents. Even when she opened her eyes, they were still there. Touching memories filled her mind.

  Spurred by the dark spiral of emotions inside her—hatred for the people who killed their parents—she swung the carving knife with a mighty heave. Its momentum carved a clean slice through the meat.

  She furrowed her brow at the dent she’d inadvertently made in the cutting board. I should know better. If the knife gets chipped, it’ll be hard to fix. Sorry, Mom.

  This was the knife she had mournfully inherited from her mother. She apologized for treating it carelessly and put a lid on the hole in her heart.

  As she was running her finger along the edge of the blade to make sure it wasn’t chipped, the door next to her opened.

  The one who entered wasn’t human, as evidenced by his small stature. It was a type of subhuman known as a goblin.

  “Good morning, boss lady. It’s my turn today… Is something wrong?” The goblin bowed politely and looked at Enri’s hands with concern.

  The goblin conducted himself as a subordinate, even though she was just a village girl, because she was the one who had summoned him.

  After the attack, when the villagers had been discussing how they should probably have lookouts, Enri suddenly remembered the item she had received, and when she used it, those goblins appeared. The villagers were shocked and frightened of the monsters, but when she explained that they were summoned with an item the village’s savior, Sir Ainz Ooal Gown, had given her, they seemed to relax a little. It went without saying that the villagers trusted Ainz Ooal Gown. They were incredibly grateful to him, after all. The work the goblins had accomplished since then completely dispelled the villagers’ remaining doubts.

  “Good morning, Kaijari. I was being a little too aggressive with the knife…”

  Kaijari was one of the goblins who had been summoned. His worried face, furrowed brow and all, seemed like it would be more appropriate on a man-eating bear whose hibernation had been interrupted. “That won’t do. Please be more careful. There’s nobody with blacksmithing skills in this village, ya know. We can’t repair our gear, either.”

  “Oh, that’s right…”

  Kaijari tried to be more cheerful, saying, “Well, we’ll figure something out eventually,” and set about helping to cook breakfast.

  He took smoldering
embers out of a pot he’d brought and lit the oven with a practiced hand. His skill was clear from the way the tiny flame rapidly grew into a roaring fire.

  But he can’t cook… I wonder why.

  The goblins couldn’t make even simple dishes themselves. At first, she thought it was because their diet consisted of raw meat and vegetables, but it turned out they preferred cooked food. Of course, they would still eat something whether it was prepared or not, but…

  Maybe summoned creatures can’t cook? Well, I’m just a village girl, so how am I supposed to know? Having reached that conclusion, she concentrated on her work. Luckily, the knife hadn’t chipped.

  Before long, the two were done cooking.

  There was a lot more food on the table compared to when her mother had been cooking for the family.

  For one thing, there was meat. Of course back then, her family had received a share of meat the rangers sometimes brought back, but it wasn’t nearly as much as they had now. The increase was due to the village operating across a larger swathe of territory these days.

  The surrounding Tove Woodlands provided them with the bounties of the forest: firewood, edible fruits and vegetables, animal meat and skins, as well as all sorts of herbs.

  One could call it a mountain of riches, but monsters lived in the forest as well. Since the villagers didn’t want to risk leading them back to their homes, they hadn’t really been able to lay a hand on any of the resources up until now. Back in those days, the best they managed had been sending in specialists with experience and confidence in their hunting skills to steal some of the riches outside the Wise King of the Forest’s territory. But now, after the appearance of the goblins and the absence of the Wise King of the Forest, the situation had changed quite a lot.

  The villagers were now able to enter the forest and freely harvest the bounties of nature. The efforts of their new, powerful friends were magnificent, giving them access to meat that had been so difficult to obtain before. Fresh fruits and vegetables also showed up with more regularity on their tables. The village’s diet improved dramatically.

  And since the goblins were understood to be serving under Enri, her house had the first pick of any game they hunted.

  A ranger who had joined the village recently also contributed to the improvement of their food situation.

  She used to be an adventurer in E-Rantel. Ever since she moved to the village, she had been working with the rangers and improving as a hunter. Since she used to be a warrior, she was great with a bow and could take down large prey. That also increased the frequency that meat was available.

  The better nutrition naturally affected Enri’s body.

  She flexed her arm for a moment.

  It made quite a respectable bulge.

  Ngh, I feel like I’m getting bigger and bigger lately…

  The goblins probably meant to praise her by saying things like, “Yer putting on muscle lately,” “Let’s power up some more,” “Yer getting some good definition there,” “Aim for that six-pack,” “Lookin’ sharp,” but as a woman it was a bit—or perhaps quite—complicated.

  I haven’t bulked up as much as the goblins hope I will but…I’d really rather not…

  Envisioning the ultimate form of herself that the goblins were hoping for, she quickly chased the image out of her mind as she began plating food on the table. This was another pain.

  There wouldn’t be a fuss over slightly unequal portions, but whether there was meat in someone’s soup or not could turn into a huge problem. She confirmed that every bowl contained the same amount and ratio of ingredients as she went along.

  Soon, right about the time the sweat started rolling down her forehead, she was finished preparing breakfast.

  “Okay, we have to get the other goblins and Nfi.”

  “Yeah, that’s right.”

  “I’ll go call them!”

  When she turned around, Nemu was standing there, eyes sparkling.

  “Did you finish everything I asked you to do?” Enri nodded when she saw her sister nod. “You did? Then go get Nfi and—”

  “No, I’ll go get the goblins!”

  Nemu interrupted her older sister with a sudden shout, but Enri didn’t have any objections. When Kaijari bobbed his head at her, it must have been in thanks.

  “Okay, thanks. Then I guess I’ll go get Nfi.”

  “That’s a good idea! I’ll go with ya, boss lady.”

  No one would be left in the house, but that wasn’t an issue. Enri had never heard of any burglaries in the village.

  Enri took Kaijari with her and set out after Nemu.

  A breeze carrying the scents of the meadow blew over her as she walked in the morning sunlight. As she deeply breathed in the fresh air, she saw Kaijari was doing the same. She smiled in spite of herself, and when Kaijari noticed, his face twisted into an evil sneer. There was a time when Enri might have been terrified, but after living together as long as they had, she knew for sure that this was a happy expression.

  Enri enjoyed the pleasant weather as she headed for the house next door.

  One of the houses that ended up empty after the recent tragedy was currently occupied by the Baleare family, formerly apothecaries in E-Rantel.

  There were two in their household: the master apothecary Lizzy Baleare and her grandson, Enri’s friend Nfirea Baleare. Both of them were holed up in their home steeping herbs and creating medicines.

  Not participating in communal village life was considered poor behavior that meant being kept at an arm’s length—or in the worst case, completely ostracized—but the Baleares were different.

  The work of an apothecary—making medicines in case someone became sick or injured—was indispensable in a small village like this one. As long as they made medicines, no one would ask any more of them.

  The need for an apothecary was felt especially keenly in a village like Carne, where there was no resident priest who could use healing magic.

  Incidentally, in slightly larger settlements, priests often served as local apothecaries as well.

  When priests used healing magic, they asked for the appropriate fee in return. In fact, they had to. But in the event villagers weren’t able to pay, they were compensated with labor. The priests would use herbs to make medicines for people who still couldn’t pay. Treatments done with herbal remedies cost less than magic healing.

  There was a cleric among the goblins who could close up small cuts in an instant, but the villagers all agreed that they should save his power to deal with serious injuries. Still, there were limits; the few spells the cleric knew didn’t include any that could cure sickness or poison.

  For that reason, everyone was thankful the Baleare family stayed inside their house and devoted themselves to making medicines.

  Despite the fact that they did such important work, almost no one in the village went anywhere near them.

  The reason for that became clear upon approaching the house.

  Enri scrunched up her nose. Kaijari did the same thing—only in a more menacing fashion. A nasty, pungent smell hung in the air all around the Baleare house. It practically seemed toxic. Herbs sometimes gave off sharp odors when crushed, but there was at least something fresh and natural to them; they didn’t produce dangerous smells like this one.

  Exhaling through her mouth, Enri knocked on the door.

  After knocking a few times, she began to think that they might be out. At that very moment, she sensed someone moving on the other side. An instant later, the lock clicked and the door opened.

  Urk!

  She wanted to keep a straight face and not say anything, but she couldn’t handle the air that wafted out.

  It hurt.

  The powerful stench assaulted her eyes, nose, and mouth. It smelled so bad it made the air outside feel like a mild side effect.

  “Morning, Enri!”

  The eyes peeking through a gap in Nfirea’s long bangs were open but terribly bloodshot. He must have stayed up all night
working on his alchemy again.

  She didn’t want to open her mouth with that stink in the air, but it would be rude not to return his greeting.

  “M-morning, Nfi.”

  Her throat felt scratchy for a moment.

  “Good morning, boss man.”

  “Good morning, uh, Kai…Kaijari. I guess it’s morning, huh? I was concentrating so hard I didn’t notice, but since the sun’s already so… Time sure flies… I was doing experiments all night, so I’m kinda tired…” He yawned audibly.

  “Seems like you were really focused on your work—”

  Breakfast is ready, so call your grandmother and come with me, she wanted to say, but Nfirea interrupted her. Well, probably not on purpose. He was just so excited.

  “It’s amazing, Enri!”

  He leaned in. The horrible odor permeated his work clothes, and she wanted to keep some distance, but she was his friend so she suppressed the urge to back away.

  “Wh-what is, Nfirea?”

  “Listen! We’ve finally succeeded in producing a potion using a new process! This is totally groundbreaking! We’re mixing the solution we were given with herbs, and the potion we get turns out purple!”

  All she could do was sigh.

  She had no idea what part of that was amazing. Is it like if you put purple cabbage in some water?

  “And it really does close up wounds! The healing speed is on par with potions made with alchemical items alone!”

  Nfirea rolled up his sleeve to show off the lack of cuts on his slim arm. While Enri thought, His arm might be skinnier than mine, he continued talking.

  “And so—!”

  “Okay, okay, please leave it at that.” Kaijari stepped abruptly forward. “Yer on a high from lack of sleep, ya know? Boss lady, you can leave this to me, so why don’t ya head back first?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Not a problem! I’ll throw some water in his face and whatnot to calm him down, then we’ll be right over. If yer late getting back, everyone’ll worry, right? What about Grandma, by the way?”

  “She’s still focused on her experiments… I have the feeling she won’t eat breakfast. Sorry, I know you worked hard to make it…”

  “Oh, that’s fine. I sort of figured Lizzy might not eat.”