Chapter 4: Sierra becomes an intruder.

The royal capital: 《Orguia》.
People flowed in from every province, and year by year the population kept swelling.
Because of that, the city was clearly divided: the wealthy nobles in the central districts, the poor toward the outer edges.
The walls that completely encircled the capital were, they said, already being considered for expansion to accommodate the newcomers.
It was into this capital that Sierra arrived, alone.

“…《Lowsta Magus Academy》… right?”

She pulled a folded sheet from her pocket and checked the information.
It was a map of the capital that Ainz had given her.
Where she stood now was atop the eastern outer wall (hardly a place ordinary people were supposed to visit).
She had climbed up because it seemed easier to spot things from above.
The reason she was heading to the academy: apparently an acquaintance of Ainz’s was the headmaster.
It was a fully residential school, so Ainz had said she’d be able to get used to everyday life there.

“…It’s closer to the center, so I just keep going straight, I guess.”

She had a rough grasp of the direction.
Without hesitation, Sierra leapt down from the wall.
She landed on a street with few pedestrians, so there weren’t many witnesses.

“…Huh, just now?”
“Did she come from the top…?”

A few of the people who did see muttered such things.
Sierra paid it no mind and started walking.
Only after landing did she remember what Ainz had told her.

(Oh right… he said not to do anything flashy in town.)

She was already drawing attention, but she didn’t realize it, and simply resolved to be more careful from now on.
For the time being, she headed toward the academy.
The closer she got to the center of the capital, the more crowded the streets became.
For some reason, eyes kept gathering on her.

“…?”

(They’re staring. Why…?)

Having lived on battlefields since childhood, Sierra was extremely sensitive to other people’s gazes.
The problem was that she was only attuned to murderous intent, so she had no idea what to make of this current feeling.
Under the sunlight, her long silver hair shone even brighter.
She had discarded her robe back in the forest, leaving her pale skin exposed.
Until recently she had been covered in mud, but right before they parted Ainz had given her a set of nice clothes.
“Because you’re a girl, you should dress a little like one,” he had said. She hadn’t really understood.
The reason every gaze was locked on her was simply that she was an impossibly striking girl, but Sierra remained blissfully unaware.
If an assassin had been mixed into the crowd, she would have noticed in an entirely different way.

(…He told me not to get them too dirty, but I already got mud on them when I jumped off the wagon.)

She glanced at her feet and thought that.
Finding an inn first had been an option, but…

(Well, greeting the headmaster first means more freedom afterward, right?)

That thought won out quickly, so she resumed heading for the academy.
Even though the constant stares still felt a little strange, she walked onward without hesitation.
She had explored far more complicated caves while exterminating monsters with Ainz.
Parts of the capital were certainly labyrinthine, but compared to that, this was easy.
She slipped smoothly through the crowded streets and soon stood before the academy gates.

(Another wall…)

That was her honest reaction.
It was smaller than the capital’s outer wall, yet still imposing compared to the surrounding residences.
Lowsta Magus Academy: the place where Sierra was scheduled to take her entrance exam.
She looked left and right.
The grounds were enclosed by walls, and she couldn’t spot the entrance right away.

(Guess I’ll go in from here, then.)

Deciding that, she took a short running start and dashed at the wall.
The passers-by watched her with puzzled expressions.

“What is that kid doing—?”

The moment someone voiced that question, Sierra leapt.
Her first jump carried her almost to the top of the wall.

(Oh, just a little short.)

Muttering that in her mind, she kicked off the wall once more.
Using the vertical surface as a springboard, she vaulted cleanly over and into the academy grounds.
The onlookers could only stare, dumbfounded, as she vanished from sight.
With a soft rustle, Sierra landed.
The place was overflowing with greenery.
Most buildings in the capital were stone, and she had assumed the academy would be the same, especially with walls around it.
But what greeted her was lush, verdant grass and trees.
Sierra quite liked natural places like this.

“…Not bad—”

She was about to voice that thought when she suddenly sensed people nearby.
This time, unlike the stares in town, the presence carried clear hostility.
Two figures approached: a man and a woman.

“What… a child?”

The man looked at Sierra with open shock.
The woman wore the same expression.

“We got an alert from the intruder barrier, so we came running, but…”
“Um, I came to say hi to the headmaster.”
“Say hi—wait, are you the girl the headmaster mentioned…?”
“Ah, the one he talked about this morning…!?”

As though suddenly remembering something, the man exclaimed.
The woman’s eyes widened in realization.

“Probably,” Sierra answered casually.

(…Well, they’re not going to attack me right here, right?)

The hostility she had sensed earlier had eased somewhat.
Sierra quietly released the grip on the 《Crimson Sword》 she had kept hidden behind her back.
Like it was melting into the ground, the blade vanished.
Thus, Sierra, having arrived at the academy, was discovered as an intruder.