At this moment, Sticky Rice Cake was flying south according to Ligurit's instructions, and had two more passengers on her back.
The two new passengers were Ligurit, one of the Thirteen Heroes, and Ged, a craftsman from the Dwarf Kingdom who used to be the head of the Dwarf Kingdom's smelting workshop. As for Ligurit's new destination, Ellie didn't know; she just followed her instructions and kept flying south.
It was clear that Ligurit had a purpose for this journey, and she wasn't just a traveler with no destination as she had claimed earlier. As for places further south, Ellie didn't know, and with Ligurit present, Ellie couldn't very well ask Bell or Dragon Maid.
Speaking of Dragon Maid, Ellie had not originally intended to go to the Dwarf Kingdom, as there was no point in going now. So, she suggested dropping Dragon Maid back at the Dragon Kingdom on the way, but Dragon Maid flatly refused.
She said she wouldn't leave until her mission was complete. But wasn't her mission already complete? Staying here would only get in the way.
Furthermore, the Dragon Queen valued Dragon Maid so much that Ellie didn't plan to transform Dragon Maid into a being like Bell for the time being. So, she didn't particularly want this fellow to run out and interfere. Moreover, with Ligurit, who understood the player's situation, right in front of her, she should know more about the sealed player than Dragon Maid.
However, Ligurit's final request for Ellie to give her a ride didn't mean that the Old Hag Ligurit trusted Ellie, at least that's how Ellie felt.
After getting on Sticky Rice Cake's back, Ligurit still occasionally brought up matters related to Yggdrasil to test Ellie. Ellie, who was already prepared, naturally wouldn't fall for it and managed to muddle through everything, as Ellie had truly never been in that world and genuinely didn't know.
Subsequently... Ligurit shifted the topic to Ainz.
"Ellie, you're not a human race, are you? Demi-human? Or a monster race?" Ligurit asked a question that sounded quite rude. This question immediately stunned Ged, the Dwarf uncle. Bell already knew, and as for Dragon Maid, she didn't show any strange expression, as if she had known all along.
"Uh... I don't really know? But I can confirm that I'm not a human race." Ellie gave an ambiguous answer. Of course, Ellie couldn't say she was a True Ancestor again.
After all, her appearance was quite similar to Shalltear's. Although she didn't know if Ligurit knew about Shalltear's existence through the Platinum Dragon Lord, she still had to try her best to avoid making the Old Hag suspect that she was in league with the "evil" vampire that the Platinum Dragon Lord had encountered.
"Hmm? You don't even know your own race?" Ligurit clearly wasn't very accepting of this statement. When Ellie brought up this claim, she had already thought of what to say next.
"I don't know. If you say I'm a monster, I've always had this human appearance, and I can't transform or anything. Although I once suspected I might be a vampire among the Undead, I'm not afraid of mercury or faith-based magic. Healing magic can be used on me without any harm. If you say I'm an Demi-human!" Ellie said, while lifting her hair to reveal her ears. She didn't have pointed elven ears like Zesshi Zetsumei; she looked human in every way.
Aside from her strength being completely unrelated to humans, her appearance was indeed that of a true human. This was also thanks to Demiurge for not shaping her into something strange.
"However, when people usually question my identity, I always lie and claim to be a True Ancestor, a high-ranking vampire. Anyway, that thing only exists in books, and no one has ever truly seen what a True Ancestor looks like." Ellie spread her hands and spoke with a rather helpless expression.
"That's truly interesting. Rumor has it that the Magic Kingdom's king is a giant skeleton, and that skeleton's daughter is such a young lady with an appearance no different from a human. Forgive me for making a joking remark, but you weren't picked up from the roadside, were you?" Ligurit mentioned Ainz and spoke in a joking tone.
"I don't know. Ever since I gained consciousness, I've been called a princess by those around me, and my father wasn't originally like that; he was once a normal human!" Ellie replied with a very displeased tone.
Strictly speaking, this wasn't a lie. Before he transmigrated, wasn't Ainz a normal office worker? He was indeed a normal human, right?
"My apologies! I didn't mean any harm. Hearing you say that, it feels like there must be some story behind it." Ligurit apologized with a smile.
"It's a long story..." So, Ellie recounted the fabricated backstory of Nazarick. Naturally, Ellie was gambling by telling this to Ligurit.
Although Ligurit might at most have learned about the Eight Greed Kings' past deeds from the Platinum Dragon Lord, if she told this story directly, the Old Hag would definitely go to the Platinum Dragon Lord for verification later. After all, the Platinum Dragon Lord was from that era, so this would inevitably expose the lie. But then again! Ellie naturally had a prepared excuse for when it was exposed.
"So there's such a story behind it..." Ligurit fell into deep thought after listening. Everyone else also looked very surprised. After all, according to Ellie's story, Ellie, who was in front of them, was a several-hundred-year-old monster. Ellie's age was older than everyone present combined.
"Waking up in this strange era, we no longer recognized this world. My elder brother and I, who were fortunate enough to return home, found that my father was still the same as before. So, my elder brother and my father had some disagreements. My elder brother believed that we did not belong to this era, and he was unwilling to meddle in the affairs of this world again. At first, my father also agreed with my elder brother's view and did not intend to emerge from underground. However... another unexpected incident occurred, which made my father decide to return to the surface." Ellie said, feigning a helpless expression, and then brought up the incident of the Empire arranging Black Workers to invade.
"Such a thing actually happened? Fluder actually incited that Emperor to do such a thing." Ligurit said, quite surprised. It seemed she didn't know about this, as it was considered a rather confidential matter on the Empire's side.
"After that, father disregarded my elder brother's opposition and returned to the surface once again. So, my elder brother and father went their separate ways." Ellie continued.
"So there's such a story behind that boy that girl fancies. Hahahaha... How tragic, to encounter such a high-difficulty situation right from the start. Sorry... I didn't mean anything by it. So, Ellie, whose side are you on?" Ligurit burst into happy laughter.
"I'm not on either side; I only stand with the side I believe is right. Sometimes it's my father, sometimes it's my elder brother." When Ellie saw Ligurit laughing earlier, she naturally understood that the 'girl' Ligurit referred to was likely Evil-Crushing Lolita.
It seemed that the matter of Evil-Crushing Lolita Irubyue falling for her Momon brother had reached Ligurit's ears. It appeared Ligurit must have had regular contact with Lakyus and her group, or at least they exchanged information. However, if she had communication with Lakyus, how could Ligurit not know about her joining Blue Rose? Ellie thought, "I need to pay attention to this."
"So you remain neutral? No wonder you did so many things in E-Rantel." Ligurit said, maintaining her smile.
"Actually, it's more like being a fence-sitter, right? After all, on one side is my respected elder brother, and on the other is my esteemed father. All I can do is try my best to stand between them and act as a buffer." Ellie replied.
However, hearing Ligurit mention E-Rantel made Ellie wary again. Ligurit's reference to E-Rantel's affairs probably referred to the things she had done in E-Rantel, right? If that were the case, it could basically be confirmed that Ligurit was indeed investigating the Magic Kingdom's affairs, and this point also needed to be noted.
"You truly have it tough, having to run to a godforsaken place like the Slane Theocracy all by yourself. Generally speaking, the Slane Theocracy shouldn't welcome you, should they?" Ligurit suddenly shifted the topic to the Slane Theocracy. Mentioning the Slane Theocracy here was a bit subtle.
Although Ligurit was one of the Thirteen Heroes praised by the Slane Theocracy, and she herself was human, logically, the Slane Theocracy should treat the Old Hag very well. However, the adjective she used when referring to the Slane Theocracy earlier was "that godforsaken place."
That means that the Slane Theocracy must have made Ligurit unhappy at some point for her to speak this way. At least from the adjective, Ligurit disliked the Slane Theocracy. This might also be related to the Platinum Dragon Lord, perhaps?
"This... it's a bit embarrassing to talk about; quite a few things happened during that time." So, Ellie recounted her experiences in the Slane Theocracy again. Naturally, it was a modified version, completely concealing all the parts where she used schemes and tricks.
She simply brought up the superficial matter of the Slane Theocracy using Downfall of Castle and Country to control her and make her work for them. Bell, the only one present who knew the truth, was tightly closing her eyes and tugging Dragon Maid's arm. When Ellie decided to sacrifice the Slane Theocracy, her only concern was that this simple-minded elder sister would act unnaturally. It seemed there was no need to worry about her at all.
"So the Slane Theocracy also hides such a thing..." Ligurit narrowed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. Naturally, Ellie knew what Ligurit's purpose for this trip was: the Platinum Dragon Lord had entrusted her to collect information on Yggdrasil-related equipment. So, Ellie decided to sacrifice the Slane Theocracy.
"Ellie, can you describe the appearance and performance of the equipment that controlled you in detail?" Ligurit continued to ask. Good! It seemed she had taken the bait. This way, she could somewhat divert Ligurit's attention to the Slane Theocracy. Having read the script, one could indeed do as one pleased.
"Uh... I don't really remember. Although my memory has recovered, my impression of that time is quite vague. I just remember seeing that sister, who was wearing a dress-like outfit, cast something on me, and then I saw the golden patterns embroidered on her clothes begin to glow and shoot towards me. Because the distance was too close at that time, I couldn't dodge at all, so I planned to directly use magic to see if they could cancel each other out. Then I didn't know anything. When I woke up, that sister was already dead, she should have been killed by my magic, and at the same time, my memory was gone. So I was deceived by the lies of that sister's companions at the time."
Ellie feigned a look of deep concentration, trying to recall, and vaguely described the situation at the time. Although Ellie knew that the cheongsam was the actual Downfall of Castle and Country, telling Ligurit directly that the cheongsam was what controlled her would be clearly telling Ligurit that she understood the information about that cheongsam! That's why she deliberately described it so vaguely.
"Hmm... it seems the most likely thing that controlled you was the dress worn by the person you killed. It seems it's necessary to investigate further." Ligurit herself deduced the true form of Downfall of Castle and Country. After all, from Ellie's description, the first thing that came to mind was that strange dress.
"Bell, do you have any information about that dress?" Ellie turned her head and asked Bell.
"I don't know anything. I'm just a low-level personnel; information about such treasures is completely beyond my reach." Bell replied. Ellie bringing up Bell at this moment naturally had ulterior motives.
"Judging by this person's attire, she should be a priestess of the Slane Theocracy, right? Priestesses should have a chance to come into contact with the treasures of the Slane Theocracy, shouldn't they?" Ligurit's attention shifted to Bell. That's right, Ellie's goal was to make Ligurit notice Bell, thereby bringing up more topics about the treasures of the Slane Theocracy.
"No, you've misunderstood, Madam. Although I am a priestess... I'm just an apprentice priestess. I don't have the opportunity to touch those treasures. I'm very sorry to disappoint you." Bell said quickly, her eyes tightly shut. She had been sitting for so long, she should be used to it by now, right? Ellie really wanted to complain about Bell's fear of heights.
"An apprentice?" Ligurit turned her head and glanced at Ellie, seemingly wanting Ellie to ask her something else. It seemed Ligurit misunderstood that she and Bell were not on the same side and wanted Ellie to use her status as a princess to interrogate her!
"Ligurit, if Bell says she doesn't know, then she really doesn't know. After all, the status of a priestess in the Slane Theocracy isn't as good as outsiders say, otherwise I wouldn't have specifically chosen Bell to be a diplomatic envoy." Ellie said, feigning a rather displeased expression.
"Hmm? So there's another story behind this?" Ligurit's interest was once again piqued by Ellie. Of course, this was why Ellie mentioned Bell.
"Yes, Ligurit, have you heard of the Crown of Intellect?" Ellie continued, then thought to herself: Plan successful...
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"