Chapter 1 - The Sorcerous Kingdom of Ainz Ooal Gown



Part 1

The Sorcerer King. The absolute ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick and the Sorcerous Kingdom of Ainz Ooal Gown. A being who ruled the 41 Supreme Beings, and the last of them who had remained in Nazarick. At this moment, that entity who should have been enjoying the attentions of his subordinates was curled up on a soft bed, reading a book.
魔导王，那边是纳萨力克地下大坟墓以及安兹·乌尔·恭魔导国的绝对支配者。既是统领四十一位无上至尊的人物，同时也是最后一位留在纳萨力克的存在。而这样一位理应享受着部下们服侍的人物，此时此刻，正俯卧于柔软的床铺上看着书。

Said bed had been moved from the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick and brought to this place -- to the private chambers of the former ruler of E-Rantel, Mayor Panasolei, which had been partially remodelled and converted into Ainz’s own chambers. There was a fragrance from when his bed was in Nazarick which he could not detect from his bed over here.
从纳萨力克地下大坟墓搬来，并放在了这里——由耶·兰提尔曾经的统治者，帕纳索雷市长住所的一部分改造后，所建成的安兹自己的私室——的床铺。从那张床上安兹并没有闻到，在纳萨力克的床上时能闻到的那种香味。

Perhaps it’s because the bed here doesn’t have perfume sprayed on it, Ainz thought as he leaned his weight onto the bed in question.
恐怕是因为这边的床上没有喷香水吧，将体重交给床安兹这么想到。

Of course, sleep was a completely needless action for an undead being like Ainz.
当然睡眠对于身为不死者的安兹来说，是根本就不需要的行为。

Indeed, the remnants of his humanity told his mind that he should be tired. That was why Ainz occasionally did this sort of thing, lying down on a bed to cool down his overheated head and heart. However, that was only a temporary thing. Thus, lying down like this for a long time like a human being would do was actually quite meaningless.
确实人类的残渣正诉讼着精神上的疲劳。所以安兹有时才会像现在这样，为了使发热的心灵和头脑冷却下来而躺在床上。不过那也只是暂时的罢了。所以像现在这样，和人类一样长时间的躺着，其实是毫无意义的。

Of course, there were always a few exceptions to the rule.
可凡事都有例外存在。

For instance -- yes. For instance, while reading. In particular, when he was mindful of the way others were looking at him.
比如说——没错。就好比是读书的时候。尤其是，在意着他人目光的时候。

It should be daytime soon… oh!
（差不多也快天亮了吧……哦！）

A weak ray of sunlight filtered in through the gap in the curtains, giving Ainz a rough idea fo the time. With that, he stuffed all the books he had been reading until just now back under his pillow.
从窗帘的缝隙中照射进来的一缕微弱的阳光，令安兹悟出了大致时间。随即便将直到刚才都还在看的书，随手塞到枕头的下面。

Then, he inclined his skull to look over to the corner of the room.
然后不活动头盖骨，仅仅是将视线转向了房间的角落。

He saw a maid standing there.
在那里站着的是一名女仆。

She was one of Nazarick’s regular maids, and she would be attending to Ainz today -- to be precise, she would have attended him since yesterday. Currently, she was elegantly seated on a chair, her back ramrod straight. However, that posture had not changed since last night. From what Ainz knew, none of the maids had failed to remain seated.
她是纳萨力克里一般女仆中的一人，今天——更为正确的说，是昨天——负责侍奉安兹的人。虽然她现在正笔直地挺得腰板，以非常优雅地姿势坐在椅子上。但从昨晚起这个动作就一直没有过改变。而且就安兹所知，其它的女仆也是没有一个是坐不住。

Her line of sight was constantly fixed on Ainz, barring several momentary distractions.
那视线无时不刻的注视着安兹。若是除去些瞬时间的走神的话，一直都是。

It was a truly indescribable burden.
真是一种说不出来的重圧啊。

Of course, she had not intended to exert this pressure. Doing so allowed her to respond immediately to any emergency. However, it made an everyman like Suzuki Satoru, want to cry and beg “spare me, please”.
当然了，她肯定没有想过要施加压力吧。那是为了万一发生什么事的时候，能够马上对应而采取的态度。但那对于身为一般人的铃木悟来说，简直就逼得他想大喊拜托放过我吧。

Nobody would feel comfortable if they were stared at constantly like this, especially if it was a member of the opposite sex doing it. Even if nothing happened, it made him feel like he had left something undone somewhere.
无论是谁一直被这样注视着的话，都会觉得不自在的吧。特别是来自于异性凝视，就算什么事也没有，也会让人觉得是有哪里没有做好。

The most important thing was the way she silently responded to  Ainz if he made any movement at all.
最重要的是，只要安兹稍微地有点动作，她也会随着不出任何声音地、跟着做出反应。

Simply put -- it was a misery.
直截了当地说吧。

太痛苦了。

Of course, Ainz was an absolute ruler. If he forbade her to do so, she would stop. However, when he thought of the looks on the faces of the maids when he said so, he could not bring himself to speak the words waiting in his mouth.
当然了，安兹是绝对的支配者。不让她这么做的话，她也会停下的吧。可是回想起要这么说
时、女仆脸上所浮现出的表情，都到了嘴边的命令也说不出来了。

After coming to this world, Ainz had swiftly taken action in the guise of Momon. This was not the first time the maids had surrounded him in service. Until now, they continued serving him with an awe-inspiring loyalty as they faithfully carried out their tasks. It was because he knew this that Ainz could not bring himself to make them bend to his will.
转移到这个世界后，安兹很快便作为飞飞开始了活动、像这样让女仆们围着自己服侍，这还是头一回。为此她们现在正以令人惊叹的忠诚完成这自己的任务。而正因为知道这点，安兹才没能涌现的出强硬地让她们服从自己的想法。

Besides, they would get tired of it after a while.
反正过一段时间就会腻了吧。

It had been a month since he had thought that.
而自从他这么想以后，也已经过了一个月的时间了。

The idea that this state of affairs might continue forever filled Ainz with some degree of unease. Because the maids took 41 days to complete a cycle of their schedule, he decided to leave that matter for the future, but that line of thinking had merely kicked the can down the road until now.
说不准会一直这样持续下去，现在的情况令安兹开始有了些许的不安。由于女仆们轮班一次就要花四十一天，以后再去想就好了、的这种想法让这个问题一直搁置到了现在。

Are these what they call the chains of commanding… managing Nazarick, planning the group’s policies, responding to my subordinates; wishes… people who stand at the top really are great, no wonder they hae such high salaries...
（这就是作为支配者的痛苦吗……维持纳萨力克的运营，组织今后的计划，还有回应部下们的期望等等……站在顶点的人物还真的伟大啊，有高收入也是理所应当的嘛）

Now that he understood what they were going through, Ainz laughed at the foolishness of his prior thinking, that people who stood so high and did so little could collect so much pay. And then, he slowly rose from the bed.
明明身处高层却成天无所事事，还拿那么多工资。自己曾经的想法是多么的愚蠢啊，感同身受地体会着这一点一滴，安兹慢慢地从床上坐起来。

At this moment, the maid silently rose from her seat. It made him feel as though there were a rope connecting them.
这个瞬间，不禁让人觉得好像有根绳子在连着似得。女仆也不发出一点声响，静静地站起来了。

How could her movements be so graceful after staying awake through the night?
明明执一个晚上的夜班，其动作却仍非常的机敏。

“--I’m up.”
「——起来了」

“Yes. Then, your servant shall take her leave. After this, today’s maid will come to take over from me.”
「是的，那么属下便先行告退。交接之后，将由负责本日的女仆来接班」

Ainz did not say anything along the lines of “I’ll leave it to you”, but simply grunted and waved his hand to indicate that she should carry on.
安兹没有说什么类似于拜托了这之类的话，而只是随意挥了挥手「呜嗯」了一声，下达了开始行动的指示。

Perhaps I’m being too arrogant, Ainz thought.
这态度未免也太傲慢了些，安兹自己也是这么觉得的。

Still, it might have been better like this.
可是，这样的反响却反而比较好。

He had sent Hamsuke to ask some questions, and the maids’ first response seemed to be, “It feels like he’s dominating us, Ainz-sama is the best” or something like that. It would seem they were all masochists, and while it had troubled Ainz when he had first heard it, after thinking calmly about it, a ruler ought to act and dress the part. It was what his subjects would wish for.
根据让仓助去听取调查的结果，女仆们的反应中榜上第一的好像是「有种被支配了的感觉，安兹大人最棒了」的样子。她们的性癖都是M吧，虽然刚听到时这让安兹感到很是困惑，但是冷静后仔细一想，支配者本来就应该具备与其相符的打扮与态度，部下们也都是这么的希望。

Using a company as an example, a boss had to look and act like a boss.
以公司为例，社长就应该有社长该有的态度与着装。

When he thought if it that way, Ainz felt that what he had done was what the Sorcerer King would have done. The fact was, when he had sneaked peeks at the ruler of the Empire, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, the man had acted in pretty much the same way.
这样来想的话，安兹也觉得确实那才是魔导王所该有的态度。实际上，在闲暇之余偷看帝国的支配者、吉克尼夫·伦·法洛德·艾尔=尼克斯时，他的态度差不多便是那样的感觉。

Still, Suzuki Satoru had been a working man, and he felt a little uneasy about not saying, “Thanks for your hard work”.
这可对于社会人、铃木悟的视角看来，不说句「辛苦了」实在是有些过意不去。

“...Then, you should go have a good rest yourself.”
「……那么你也下去好好休息吧」

“Ah! --Please allow your servant to offer her deepest thanks for your generosity, Ainz-sama!”
「啊！——请允许属下为您的厚意，献上深厚的感谢，安兹大人」

The maid bowed deeply as she said that, to express her gratitude.
说着女仆深深地低下了头，以表感谢之情。

“However, it is thanks to this that your servant could stay by your side, to attend you without having to rest, Ainz-sama.”
「可是，多亏有安兹大人所拜借的这个。属下即便是不休息，也能够一直侍奉于安兹大人左右」

No, that’s not what I meant, Ainz muttered in his heart.
不，我不是想说这个。安兹在心中这么嘀咕道。

It was true that once one put on a Ring of Sustenance, one would have no problems going without sleep day and night. Still, sitting on a chair and watching Ainz all night should have been nothing short of hellish. Although he was very pleased by their dedication, there was no need for them to go that far.
确实只要装备上营养戒指[Ring Of Sustenance]的话，即使是一天一夜不睡也没有什么问题的吧。可一整晚什么都不干，只是坐在椅子上一直看着安兹的工作。这简直就像是地狱一样啊。虽然如此献身于安兹是让他很高兴，但也没有这样的啊。

At least they should cancel the night shift… the part where they watch me sleep, right?
（至少把夜班……把看床的工作给取消了也是可以的吧？）

As maids, it was only natural that they should faithfully serve their master with their hearts and souls.
身为女仆全心全意为主人尽忠，那是理所当然的事。

He did not know exactly which maid had said it, but Ainz remembered that one of them had.
虽然具体记不清是哪个女仆，但安兹确实有这么听到过。

Faithfully serve their master, huh. What would you say if I wanted to live in as an equal to you?
（为主人尽忠，吗。如果我说想与你们对等生活的话，你们又会做出何种反应呢？）

Unlike how he had felt when he had first come to this new world, Ainz could now confidently pat his chest and say that all his subordinates were absolutely loyal to him. As long as Ainz paid attention to his actions and did not do anything which would disappoint them, there was no chance of their betrayal -- barring outside interference. Then, perhaps he should change the relationship between them, and put himself on equal footing with the NPCs. That might be a good choice to make, at some point.
好刚转移到这里时不同，现在的安兹敢拍着胸脯确信的说、自己的部下们有向自己献上绝对的忠诚。叛乱的可能性什么的，除去来自外因的情况——只要安兹自己注意、不要做出令部下们失望的举动的话，便不会出现的吧。那么稍微改变一下彼此之间的关系，与NPC们平等的活下去。留下这样一个选择项，或许也不错吧。

If that happened, Ainz would be free from this life of being a ruler, of having his brain cells depleted all day long. In addition --
那样的话，安兹便能从现在这种作为支配者，整天消耗着脑细胞的生活中解脱出来了吧。而且——

--it would be like before, indeed, just like during the guild days. I wonder if I could go back to that sort of life again.
（——像以前，没错，像那时的公会一样。是不是能再次过上那种生活呢）

Whenever he spoke to the NPCs, he kept visualizing the images his former friends over them. It was because of that that Ainz that he would not have to relate to them as master and servant, but the way they had in the past --
与NPC们对话时，有时会感觉他们就像是与曾经的伙伴们重叠在了一起似得。而正是因为如此，安兹才会期盼并非那种并非主从，而是像曾经那样的——

--No, Ainz thought as he mentally shook his head.
——不对，安兹在心中摇了摇头。

While he did not know what might lead his subjects to be disappointed in him, such a dramatic change in circumstances could not possibly be a wise decision. In addition, since he knew that they craved a master-servant relationship, it was his responsibility as their master to continue in that capacity. At the same time, as the last person who had remained here, he had to do everything he could for the NPCs -- his children.
既然不知道什么会令部下们萌生失望的念头，那么大幅度地改变现有的体制可不是个明智的选择。而且既然他们所渴求的是主从关系的话，那么将其维持下去便也是主人的义务。同时，这也是身为最后留在这里的人，必须要为NPC[孩子]们所尽的义务。

The maid bade her goodbyes to Ainz, and then left the room.
女仆向安兹说了声失礼后，便先行告退离开了房间。

In that moment, Ainz sprang into action. First, he exchanged the books under the pillow with other books. The book he had used as a substitute had a very complex title -- just flipping through a couple of pages would make anyone lose the will to continue reading. Then, the book he had been reading last night went into his personal pocket dimension -- his item box.
刹那间，安兹便展开了行动。首先是将枕头下的书和别的书交换。被换上的是一本有着让人非常难以理解的标题，光是翻两下就会使人丧失去读他动力的书。然后则是将昨晚所书则藏进了自己的空间——道具箱里。

After placing it into a place where it would not be easily stolen, Ainz breathed a sigh of relief.
在将其收进了不会轻易被偷走的地方后，安兹哈的叹了口气。

That too, was part of his responsibilites as a master.
这也是身为主人的义务。

He certainly did not want to read those brain-burning books all night. If possible, he would like to read some popular books instead. However, being spotted reading such books would damage Ainz’s dignity as a ruler. Therefore, Ainz was forced to take such troublesome measures.
才不想一晚上去看那种烧脑的书呢。可以的话真想去看看那种入门类的书籍。可是，要是被部下们发现安兹在看这类书的话，对于支配者的威严可不是一件好事。为此，安兹才不得不做这样麻烦的事。

Incidentally, he had already taken into consideration the fact that the maids would move the books under the pillow to another location.
顺带一提女仆在铺床时，会将枕头下的书放到别处去的行动，也被考虑在了这个作战计划之内。

Now that he had finished everything he could do on the bed, Ainz pushed aside the thin silk canopy which shrouded the bed, then dismounted and rose to his feet. Just then, several knocks came from the door. Shortly after that, the maid who was due to take over the next shift opened the door and entered the room.
躺在床上能做的都已经做完了，安兹将从床顶垂下的薄绢似得布揭开，下床站了起来。
而就在此时，房门被敲了几下。紧接着，换班的女仆便打开门走了进来。

As she saw Ainz getting off the bed, she smiled and approached him. It looked like she was the maid who would be assigned to accompany Ainz today.
看到安兹正要起身下床，她便露出满面的笑容靠了过来。今天负责侍奉安兹的值班女仆，想必就是她了吧。

“Good morning, Feis.”
「早上好，菲斯」

A blindingly brilliant smile dawned on the maid’s face.
女仆的脸上露出了，仿佛让人睁不开眼的灿烂笑容。

“Good morning, Ainz-sama! I’ll be in your care today!”
「早上好！安兹大人！今天一天也请多多指教了！」

If Feis had a tail, she would probably be wagging it with all her might. That made him remember that Pestonya had wagged her tail in the past.
如果菲斯有长尾巴的话，现在一定正全力摇摆着吧。突然想起来，说起来佩丝特妮也有过摇尾巴的呢。

Her maid uniform was the same as the one worn by the previous maid, Woss. As a regular maid, her outfit was different from the battle maids, being identical through all their members. However, their exact appearance varied -- probably because it was different women wearing them.
她所身着的女仆服与先前沃斯所穿的一样。身为一般女仆，她们的服饰与战斗女仆不同，都是同一款式的。可由于外貌——穿着的女性不同——看上去倒也有几分新鲜。

Ainz recalled something that one of his friends had said so often that it seemed to have taken up residence in his ear: “Although simple maid outfits are good, accessorized maid outfits are better”. There was also a postscript to that: “In other words, maid uniforms are the best, no matter how they are. Maid uniforms are the greatest invention of human history. Heeha, maid uniforms~”
安兹的脑海里回忆起了，曾经快听出耳茧来的、同伴的话语。「虽然形式简洁的女仆服也不错，但果然施以了其各种各样装饰的女仆服也棒极了啊」这句话还有后续。「也就是说女仆服无
论怎样都是最棒的啊。女仆服才是人类有史以来最伟大的发明。嘻哈。女仆服」

Although Ainz did not know what he meant by “heeha”, it was probably some sort of exclamation. It might have also have been some personally-invented term of his. In this way, Ainz recalled the memories of his past companions, bit by bit.
虽然安兹不知道嘻哈是什么意思，但恐怕是代表了某种感叹之意吧。又或者是他所自创的词汇也不一定。在这样的点滴之中，安兹都能回想的起与过去同伴们之间的记忆。

Ainz smiled bitterly -- though his facial expression did not change, of course -- and silently looked at the maid.
浮现出苦笑——当然安兹的表情是没有变化的——安兹默默地注视着女仆。

“Ai-Ainz-sama, is, is your servant not adequate in some way?”
「安、安兹大人，属下有什么不周之处吗？」

Feis seemed vaguely ashamed as her hands tightly gripped the apron of her uniform. It was then that Ainz realized his carelessness.
因为攥住女仆服围裙部分、露出些许羞涩面容的菲斯所提出的问题。安兹这才注意到了自己的不注意。

“Forgive me. It seems I was… yes , it seems I was somewhat entranced by you.”
「不好意思了啊。我稍微有些……对，稍微有些看的入迷了啊」

“--!”
「————！」

“Then, let’s go.”
「那么就走吧」

“--Eh? Ah, yes. Understood!”
「——嘿？啊，是的。遵命！」

The maid following behind him froze for a moment, but still managed an energetic reply. Ainz passed through several rooms. What he saw there could not possibly be compared to the scenery of the 9th Floor of the Tomb. Thus, when Ainz had decided to stay here, the Guardians had voiced their objections one after the other.
身后伴随着稍微愣了一下，但还是精神十足的做出了回应的女仆。安兹穿过了数个房间。
那里的景象与纳萨力克地下大坟墓第九阶层之间，有着根本不需要比较的压倒性的差距。所以当安兹决定住这里的时候，守护者们都纷纷提出了反对意见。

Item. This place is lacking in taste as a residence for a Supreme Being.
曰、此处作为无上至尊的居所，其品味有些欠妥。

Item. This place lacks defensive ability and has inadequate protection against spies.
曰、防御能力有所欠缺，防范间谍的准备也不够充分。

Item. Item. Item.
曰、曰、曰——

However, Ainz had shouldered through all these obstacles and selected this place as his home.
但安兹还是排除了万难，将这里作为了自己的住处。

This was his responsibility as a King -- after all, Jircniv too lived in the Imperial Palace of the Imperial Capital. Or at least, that was what he wanted people to think. The fact was, this place was luxurious enough for Ainz, no, for Suzuki Satoru. His old home was even less worthy of comparison. In addition, his room on the 9th Floor had always been too unreal, too large.
这是作为王的义务——吉克尼夫也一样是住在帝都内的帝城的——为了让人这么认为。说到底，就安兹，不，铃木悟看来就这市长的邸宅就有够豪华的了。回想起自己曾经的家，那更是没得比。而且第九阶层的房间本来就太浮夸、太大了。

He had not minded it when it had still been a game. However, now that he had actually lived there, he was acutely aware that there was no place for him within its walls. All Ainz wanted to do was to burrow into a corner of the room.
游戏的时候倒是没有那么在意啦。但现在真的要住那里了，就能够切实的体会到，那里没有自己的容身之处，只会让安兹想要缩进房间的角落里。

Ainz led Feis and the Eight Edge Assassin that had dropped down from the ceiling to the dressing room.
安兹率领着菲斯、和从天花板上降下来的八肢刀暗杀虫[EightEdge·Assassin]，所来到的是礼服室。

Several regular maids were already there and waiting for him. As one, they executed respectful bows to him. Feis swiftly joined their ranks as well.
早已再此等候着的数名一般女仆，恭敬地向安兹行了一礼。菲斯也迅速的排进了她们列队之中。