Chapter 2: Sierra heads to the royal capital.

The Kingdom of Feltos, located in the heart of the Aures Continent, was one of the three great nations of the land—vast and unshakably secure.
The current king, like his predecessor, was renowned as a man of exceptional talent.

––Three weeks had passed since the subjugation of those monsters.

Sierra was alone, riding in a carriage bound for the royal capital.
By sheer luck, she had hitched a ride with a merchant who happened to be heading from the provinces to the capital.
Once they cleared the forest, the capital would come into view—she had stopped there several times before for work.

“Sierra-chan, we’ll reach the capital soon!”

“Yeah. Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem at all! My old man always said, ‘If you find a girl in trouble, help her out’—it’s practically his catchphrase!”

“I see.”

“Actually, I was kinda hoping you’d point out that it’s ‘girls only’…”

“Is it really just girls?”

“Now you say it!?”

Sierra’s mind worked lightning-fast when it came to combat, but for everything else she was worse than average—or rather, she simply had no interest.
She could manage the bare minimum of human interaction, so the fact that she’d successfully hitched this ride was nothing short of miraculous.

(Dad said if I just stuck out my thumb someone would pick me up…and it actually worked.)

Because that half-baked knowledge had paid off, Sierra now regarded her father as a font of wisdom.
Worried that Sierra’s worldview was skewed almost entirely toward the novels her father read, Ainz had once handed her a certain notebook.

(The “Normie Notebook”… I haven’t really looked at it yet, but he said to check it if I ever got stuck.)

Even though she wasn’t particularly stuck right now, Sierra flipped it open anyway.
The very first page read, in slightly messy handwriting:

[Rule #1 of being normal: Never go all-out in everyday life.]

Sierra tilted her head.

(So going all-out is bad… does that mean everyone holds back normally?)

“…Hey, mister.”

“Hm? What’s up? Feeling sick from the shaking?”

“No, that’s not it— Are you holding back right now?”

“Wha— You want me to floor it!?”

“No, not exactly.”

(I don’t really get it, but whatever, I’ll just do what it says.)

Sierra nodded, satisfied.
Fundamentally, she wasn’t very bright—or rather, outside of battle she was below average.
The academy in the capital she was heading to on her father’s recommendation required a written exam even for referred students.
She could read and write at a basic level, but reaching the passing standard in the short time remaining was going to be difficult.
Sierra, however, wasn’t particularly worried about it yet.

“I’ll keep it safe, but feel free to nap if you’re bored.”

“Okay, I’ll do that—”

Sierra nodded and started moving toward the back of the wagon, only to freeze mid-step.
She sniffed the air.

(This smell…)

Leaning out from the swaying wagon, Sierra scanned their surroundings.

“Mister.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Maybe you should get a little serious after all.”

“Eh? What do you—”

Before the merchant could finish, it appeared right in front of them.
Bursting out from the left side of the road ahead—

“Uwaah! A c-centipede!?”

“No, that’s a millipede.”

A millipede easily larger than a human charged straight at the wagon.
The horses panicked and veered right.
Naturally, that turned the cargo bed toward the millipede.

“KISHAAAAA!”

“Hii—!”

“Get down.”

Sierra gave the terrified merchant a single calm order.
A sharp whoosh cut through the air.
At the same moment, the millipede’s body split clean in two.
Its head kept flying forward with momentum, but Sierra kicked it away.
The bodily fluids that splattered toward the wagon were blocked when Sierra threw off the robe she had been wearing.
Only a few drops landed on her cheek.
They sizzled with heat the instant they touched her skin, but Sierra casually wiped them off without a care.

(Yeah, the fluids are corrosive, just like I thought.)

“S-Sierra-chan…!? That sword…!”

The merchant’s shock was understandable.
Up until a moment ago, Sierra hadn’t been carrying anything conspicuous.
Yet now she gripped a sword whose blade was stained a distinctive crimson.
Sierra didn’t answer his question.

“Thanks for the ride this far.”

“Wh-what are you talking about…?”

“In return, I’ll take care of those things.”

At her words, the merchant cried out in panic.

“That’s insane! You saw it, right!? They’re coming in a swarm! It’s not just one or two! And if you jump off a moving wagon you’ll get seriously hurt!”

Hearing that, Sierra blinked in mild surprise.
Living with her father Ainz, jumping off moving wagons had always been perfectly normal to her.

(Well, jumping off doesn’t require going all-out, so…)

Trying dutifully to follow the “Normie Notebook” her father had left her, Sierra answered leisurely.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll handle it half-assed.”

“Eh— wai—”

Ignoring the merchant’s attempt to stop her, Sierra leapt from the wagon.
Gravel and dead leaves exploded outward where she landed.
Without pause, she kicked off the ground.
The impact alone gouged the earth.

“KISHA—!”

Before the giant millipede could react, Sierra closed the distance faster than the eye could follow and swung her sword.

(Head gone, torso bisected—that’ll finish it.)

Her combat knowledge came straight from her father.
She knew the traits and weaknesses of well over several thousand types of monsters.
Against the one rushing from behind, she swung backward without even turning.

“A red… sword…? It can’t be…”

The merchant muttered to himself after Sierra had jumped off.
On this continent, there was no one who wouldn’t recognize it.

“Ainz Walker…? No, he’s supposed to be a man…”

He immediately dismissed the thought.
Either way, all the merchant could do now was pray for the safety of the girl who had leapt into danger.