The Terror of Option

The first thing that Ainz saw after teleporting was a hill. No, it was nothing as tall as a hill; it was more of a rise in the land, six meters tall at the very most.

The raised land was covered in dense vegetation of the kind one might find on the plains, and it gave the impression of having been there for a long time. Many similar mounds dotted the landscape as far as one looked, giving the impression that they covered the surrounding region.

Naturally, this was not the case.

This landscape had been created by Mare, one of the Guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The surface walls of the Tomb were buried beneath these mounds.

Ainz cast a 「Fly」 spell and flew over the heaped dirt. Within his expansive field of view, the only thing he could see was weed-strewn land, with no trace of the surface level of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It was almost completely covered by soil.

Ainz did not linger over this scenery, but continued flying at his current speed.

Once he reached a certain point, the scenery changed, and he felt as though he had pierced some sort of thin membrane. The hilly terrain vanished, and the familiar scenery of his home filled Ainz's eyes.

This was the sign that he had breached the protective layer of illusions.

Without slowing the speed of his 「Fly」 spell, Ainz continued toward his destination, the largest mausoleum at the center. That was because it was the sole entrance to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

As he neared the bone-white steps of the mausoleum, he discovered countless forms beneath him. Suppressing his feelings of anxiety, he landed before them.

"Welcome back, Ainz-sama," said a gentle female voice. It was soon followed by a chorus of other greetings and welcomes.

The woman in the pure white dress who stood before him was none other than Albedo, the Guardian Overseer of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. She was the one with the clearest picture of the current situation.

The four maids behind her were members of the battle maids (Pleiades), and behind them were a line of level eighty vassals.

After speaking to Albedo via a 「Message」 spell, he had given Narberal her orders and then teleported back immediately. The fact that Albedo could gather so many people to welcome Ainz in five minutes spoke volumes of Albedo's skill as an administrator.

Filled with respect for that fact, Ainz raised his hand and waved in response to his vassals' greetings. Perhaps he should have said a couple of words in thanks, but that was not suitable given the circumstances.

"Albedo, about what you said through the 「Message」..."

Had Shalltear really betrayed them?

He wanted to ask that question, but hesitated to do so. Unease surged within him — he feared that if he asked about her betrayal, he would find that it was true. In addition, it was too dangerous to discuss this matter in front of the vassals.

"Yes, shall we discuss it elsewhere?"

"That's right... we should speak of it in the Throne Room, no?"

"Indeed. Then — Yuri, present Ainz-sama with his ring."

A bespectacled maid stepped forward from the maids lined up behind her.

Yuri wore the same basic combat-ready maid uniform that Narberal did, but there were some differences in her outfit.

Narberal's maid uniform was designed to protect its wearer, but Yuri's outfit prioritized ease of movement. The proof of that could be seen in the lack of metal parts on the front of her skirt.

Her metal gauntlets were covered in spikes, and all she had to do was clench her fists to turn them into deadly weapons.

Her wide blue choker was decorated with a small, translucent gemstone. It radiated a light from within, which shimmered and flickered as though cast by a flame.

Her hair was done up in a bun behind her, and her prim features were cool and elegant, giving her an air of wisdom.

She was Yuri Alpha, assistant leader of the Pleiades Battle Maids. As the male Sebas was their leader, it would not be wrong to consider her the manager of the Pleiades.

She held a tray in both hands, which was draped with a purple satin cloth. The cloth itself bore a ring — the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.

Ainz picked up the ring, and placed it upon his ring finger.

This ring permitted its wearer to freely teleport throughout the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Ainz removed it during any excursion to the outside world, because he feared that it might be stolen.

As he looked at the ring upon his skeletal finger, Ainz nodded, as though in approval. The discomfort of not wearing it for several days vanished, replaced by a supreme satisfaction.

"Then, let us go, Albedo."

He could not directly teleport into the Throne Room, so he used the Ring's power to send him to the room (the Lemegeton) which directly adjoined the Throne Room.

After opening the massive doors, Ainz entered in the company of Albedo, heading for the crystal throne. As he walked, Ainz asked the question he had been pondering just now.

"Then, before we start, I have some questions for you. You said that Shalltear betrayed us; then, when she betrayed us, how did Sebas — who was in the same place at her — react? Did he not betray us along with her?"

"Yes. There were no signs of his betrayal."

"Then, did you question Sebas about the matter?"

"I did, and he finished his report to me. According to Sebas, they encountered a group of bandits. After that, Shalltear headed toward the bandits' hideout in order to capture them. Nothing suspicious occurred during that time, and she vocally proclaimed her intent to render loyal service to you, Ainz-sama."

"I see. In other words, something happened after that which made her decide to betray us."

"Yes... in addition, she brought two Vampire Brides with her. However, they seem to have been destroyed."

"...Is that so? But mooks like that... no, that means something happened which destroyed them. Then, I'll summarize what happened on my end."

Ainz had almost finished his report by the time they reached the stairs to the throne. However, he had not gotten to the events of the tomb yet, so he continued speaking.

After it was all finished, Albedo — who had been listening attentively and silently — nodded in acknowledgement.

Ainz wanted to ask if he had handled the situation well, but there was something more important that he wished to know.

He looked to the throne and recited the designated password.

"Master Source — Open."

A translucent window appeared before his eyes. It looked like the console, but was completely different from it.The window had multiple pages within it, each covered in densely-packed characters.

This was the administration system for the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

It recorded the daily maintenance costs, the numbers and types of vassals present, all sorts of magical traps, gimmicks and other such things. One could exert large-scale control over them all from here. While they had still been in YGGDRASIL, one could access this system from anywhere, but after some experimentation, Ainz found that in this world, the system could only be operated from the heart of the dungeon, the Throne Room.

Although it's troublesome to have to come here every time... at least I have the ring to teleport me... so it's not such a big deal.

With practiced movements, Ainz brought up and enlarged the NPC status page.

This page recorded the names of all the NPCs made by the guild members. After changing the sorting method from alphabetical (katakana) order to level order, from highest to lowest, Ainz's eyes travelled down the list — and then his eyes halted on a single spot. Then, he silently turned his gaze to Albedo's face.

"Yes, it has become like this."

Amidst a sea of names written in white, only Shalltear Bloodfallen's name was shown in black.

Ainz knew what this change meant, but—

He looked over it twice, three times, and after realizing that his eyes had not been mistaken, he screamed Impossible! within his heart. If his skeletal face could display an expression, it would be one of shock.

"...Is she dead?"

Ainz continued questioning Albedo. In his heart of hearts, he hoped that something had happened to the system when they had been brought to this world. However, the truth Albedo spoke was unbearably cruel.

"If she were dead, her name would have vanished and left a blank space. In all likelihood, this represents betrayal."

"Well... that's right."

As Ainz replied thusly to Albedo, he recalled the meaning of this change when he had last seen it in YGGDRASIL.

Albedo called it betrayal, but that was slightly different from what the system was displaying. Indeed, broadly speaking it was similar to betrayal, but this color change occurred when a third party used mind control to temporarily make an NPC take hostile actions.

Impossible.

Ainz voiced that denial in his heart once more. Shalltear and Ainz were both undead, which meant that they were of races that were immune to all sorts of mind-affecting effects. How had Shalltear been mind controlled, then?

It was easier to accept the fact that Shalltear had simply betrayed Nazarick. For example, she might have been unhappy with her treatment and someone on the outside might have offered her better terms, thus leading to her treachery.

If that was not the case, it meant that something had happened when they had come to this world which was outside the scope of Ainz's knowledge.

Ainz recalled Nfirea's face. Indeed, perhaps a talent-holder like himself with some unknown power could have affected an undead mind.

"...Could this be the effect of some being, phenomenon, or special effect that is unique to this world?"

"That is unclear. However, Shalltear's betrayal is clear enough, so I propose that we assemble a strike force immediately."

At this moment Ainz suddenly realized something. Could it be that the vassals who had welcomed Ainz back were intended to eliminate Shalltear? As he brought them back to mind, he noticed that there were many vassals among them who were a rare sight in Nazarick, the ones who possessed holy-elemental attacks which were effective against the undead.

Albedo continued in a voice that seemed to be made of steel.

"I wish to nominate myself as the commander of this expedition and, if you permit it, I would like to have Cocytus as my executive officer and include Mare in our forces, Ainz-sama."

These choices were perfect for destroying Shalltear. It was clear that Albedo was very serious about this.

Shalltear Bloodfallen was very strong. In fact, she was the strongest of the Guardians, barring Gargantua. Therefore, one would need the team members selected by Albedo to be absolutely certain of defeating her, or else one would have a very hard time.

"Do you approve?"

"No, it's too soon to come to that conclusion. Let us verify the reasons behind Shalltear's betrayal first."

"You are indeed compassionate, Ainz-sama. However, as long as anyone faces the Supreme Beings with hostility, there is no need to show them any mercy."

"That's not correct, Albedo. It is not that I am showing mercy to Shalltear, but I simply do not understand why she would betray us."

If this sort of thing could happen to anyone other than Shalltear, he had to figure out a way to deal with it.

If she was unhappy with how she had been treated, then the same thing might happen to the other vassals. Thus, he would have to take the appropriate measures to nip it in the bud.

If this were the result of some sort of domination ability from a talent, he would also need to figure out some way to counteract it.

When he heard from the 「Message」 that an NPC created by his friends had betrayed him, he felt as though he had been condemned by everyone (the other guild members), as a guildmaster. So great was the shock that he had nearly fallen to his knees. However, this was no longer a simple matter of being rebuked by others.

He had to solve this problem not as a guildmaster, but in his capacity as the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It was far too early to despair, and if — though it was impossible — Shalltear had actually been mind-controlled, then he needed to save her.

A superior who put on a high and mighty face but did not save his subordinates while they were in trouble was not fit to be a leader.

Ainz was his subjects' ruler, and he had to protect them.

"Then, do you know where Shalltear is? Have you pinpointed her location?"

"My sincerest apologies, but we have not confirmed that yet. I considered that Shalltear might attack Nazarick, so I had her direct subordinates placed under arrest, and dispatched other vassals to reinforce the First Floor."

"Really now? Then, let's go visit your elder sister to see if we can divine Shalltear's location."

-x-X-x-

The Fifth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was an extremely cold region that had been modelled after a glacier.

A bluish-white iceberg stood in the middle of an endless expanse of white land, like a tombstone. It seemed to glow from within and confused the senses. Snow fell from the heavy, overcast sky above, whipped into a mad dance by the freezing wind which carried frozen vapors on its gusts. In the distance was a frozen forest covered in snow, which looked like giants clad in robes of purest white.

The bone-chilling wind ruffled Ainz's clothing, which fluttered in the wind. Albedo stood beside him, and as he eyed the way she was dressed, Ainz asked:

"Aren't you cold? If you need to, you can put on your armor. We should still have time for that."

Ainz was completely immune to all forms of cold-elemental attacks. He would not be chilled or frozen regardless of how low the temperature went. However, Albedo was a different matter. If she was in her full battle panoply, mere freezing gusts like this would not harm her, but she was currently wearing a white dress. He had asked her about this before teleporting, but he had come away with the feeling that she was just trying to put on a brave front.

However, Albedo simply smiled gently in response to Ainz's worries.

"Thank you for your concern, Ainz-sama, but it is not necessary. Mere cold like this is not a problem."

Ainz nodded and replied, "I see."

Normally, there would be an environmental effect here which applied cold damage and slowed movement. However, operating it required money, so it had been left deactivated. Perhaps she had simply been lucky that they had made that decision early on. Or was it because Albedo had some sort of magic item or skill that negated cold damage?

In truth, the NPCs were equipped by the guild members who designed them. There were only a few of them which Ainz could confidently say he understood thoroughly, apart from Pandora's Actor. That said, he had gone over all their data after coming to this new world.

Questions filled Ainz's mind as he looked at the majestic two-story mansion before him.

This building seemed strangely out of place in this frozen land. It was like a house from a storybook, and seemed to be surrounded by a fairytale atmosphere.

However, its surface was covered in a layer of ice, giving it an uncomfortably cold aura. In fact, the name of this building was about as far from a fairytale as one could get.

Its name was the Frozen Prison.

All of Nazarick's enemies were locked up here.

"Let's go."

With those simple words, Ainz pushed open the frozen main gate. Though it was covered in a thick layer of ice, the gate still opened easily, as though it were welcoming a visitor.

A wave of cold air washed over them in the instant the gate opened. This was because the interior of the Prison was colder than even the freezing environs outside.

It was only after the chilling wind swept over her that Albedo began shivering. As Ainz saw this, he reached into his pocket dimension and withdrew a crimson cape, whose hem was decorated with flame-like patterns.

"Wear this, Albedo. It is not highly enchanted, but it should be enough to ward off the cold."

"To think you would lavish such a gift upon me! My deepest thanks! I shall treasure it all my life."

Ainz had not said that he would give it to her, but after seeing Albedo's radiant smile, Ainz could not muster up any words, but instead looked to the other side of the opened gate.

A silent, dark passage extended within.

"Right, the surviving members of the Sunlight Scripture should be in here."

"Yes. Neuronist should be watching them closely. Ah, how warm, it feels like you're hugging me, Ainz-sama... kukuku."

"...Really now? That's wonderful."

I doubt being embraced by skinless and fleshless arms like mine would feel warm, but of course Ainz did not say that. At the very least, he knew that it would not be appropriate at the present moment.

As Albedo wriggled and twisted around in the cape, wrapping it around herself so tightly she almost vanished into its folds, Ainz strode forth.

"What are you doing, we're running out of time... under these circumstances."

"Ah, ah yes!"

Ainz's passive skill 「Undead Blessing」 allowed him to sense all the undead lurking within the compound. Since it was annoying, Ainz disabled the skill in order to ignore the presence of the undead as he walked down the freezing, blue-white passage. People without countermeasures against movement impairment might end up tripping and falling on the completely frozen-over corridor.

"...Ainz-sama, shall I summon Neuronist? It is unthinkable that she would not come to lead the way, thus forcing the Supreme Overlord of Nazarick to advance by himself..."

"It's fine. Though it's not a bad thing, she talks too much. There is a matter we need to settle as soon as possible and I would like to avoid wasting time."

"Understood. Then, after all this is over, I will lecture Neuronist and caution her not to babble too much."

"No, no, there's no need for that. It does not displease me."

"But..."

Ainz smiled bitterly as he watched Albedo furrow her brows from her place beside him. As her master, he appreciated the fact that she was thinking of him, but if she did that, his subordinates might not dare complain in future.

"It is fine. I love you all, regardless of your merits or flaws, because you were all made by my friends of the past. The fault is mine for being unhappy with such meticulously crafted people."

Indeed, if Shalltear had betrayed them because her backstory had been designed that way, then he had to forgive her for it. That was because she was simply obeying the will of her creator, Peroroncino. However, he did not seem like the type who would plant bad seeds in the guild. All this confused Ainz, because Peroroncino was a man who liked joking around and disliked ruining relationships between his friends.

If that's the case, then it should be an external reason after all, no? The way the text was displayed represents that she was mind controlled... although I can't rule out the fact that it might have been a part of her settings I wasn't sure about, or a change in her settings which happened after coming to this world. Besides, I didn't memorize the personality profiles of all the NPCs, and their personalities seem quite similar to those of their creators... I guess nobody could program them without personalities, so that might be why. If that's the case, then Shalltear... could it be that she had something like a time bomb built into her settings? Her creator liked H-Games, so maybe he programmed some kind of event into her which needed to be solved with a walkthrough... uwah, that sounds quite likely.

Ainz sighed weakly, and then he finally realised the oddity in the behavior of the woman next to him.

She was looking forward and walking, but unlike just now, she was not matching his stride. And while her eyes were facing forward, they were not focused on any particular place.

Ainz heard Albedo mumbling something, and he strained to listen.

"I love you... I love you... I love you..."

She was repeating those words over and over again, like a broken record.

"...Oi, Albedo. I said I loved you all. That refers to everyone, right?"

Albedo turned her head toward him in a strange manner.

"But, but that, that means, you love me too, right?"

"Er... erm... well, yes."

"Kufu!!"

Albedo squeezed her legs together and hopped up in an adorable manner — the motion sending her into the ceiling.

Such was the case when one possessed superhuman athletic ability.

Ping! Or rather, it was a boom. A startling crash came from the ceiling, so great was the force of the impact. As they heard what sounded like a bomb exploding, the translucent bodies of several incorporeal monsters poked themselves out of the ceiling.

These were the undead which were hiding within the Prison, which Ainz's skill had picked up.

"Ah, you lot can go back, it's nothing special."

Ainz looked at Albedo before him, so happy that she was humming to herself. Though she had crashed into the ceiling, her racial skills included a certain measure of damage reduction, so it had not hurt at all.

The various undead bowed reverently before vanishing, returning to where they stood ready to meet any intruders.

"...Albedo, we're almost at your big sister's room. Are you ready?"

Albedo's flighty and overjoyed expression turned serious in an instant.

"Understood. Then, I shall retrieve the doll."

"Umu. Give it to me."

Albedo reached a hand toward the wall, and a pale-white hand reached back out, depositing a doll to her hand. It was a baby doll, which was about the same size as an actual baby.

Ainz accepted the doll, and looked it over without averting his eyes.

"How revolting."

The doll was a caricature of a human infant, its distorted features resembling a Cupid doll. Its large, round eyes were particularly disgusting. Ainz furrowed his nonexistent brows and directed his gaze to the end of the corridor. There was a large fresco there, painted on a wall which contained a door.

He saw a mother and her baby. It was a painting of a mother gently cradling her child.

If that were all, it would have been a beautiful painting. However, the passage of time had worn away at the paint, turning it into a hideous sight. In particular, one could no longer see the shape of the baby itself. All that remained was something which looked like a corpse.

Ainz pushed open the door, which slid open with no sound or resistance — and he was greeted by the sound of crying babies.

It was not just the sound of one or two voices. Nor was it the result of an echo.

Tens, hundreds of crying voices fused into one and reached Ainz's ears. However, he could not see any babies in the room.

Still, although he could not see them, they were definitely there.

In this empty room, bare of all furniture, there was a cradle, and a woman gently rocked it.

Though Ainz had entered the room, the woman in the black mourning clothes remained silent, caring only for the cradle she was rocking. Her face could not be seen because her long black hair completely covered it up.

Normally, if an NPC saw a Supreme Being (Ainz) and paid him no heed, Albedo would loudly rebuke them. However, she remained silent. Ainz knew the reason for that, because Albedo's guarded stance told him everything.

"It's about time to begin, no?"

"It should be. Please be careful."

As though on cue, the woman's movements froze. Then, she reached her hands into the cradle, and gently retrieved the baby within. No, that was not a real baby, but a baby doll.

"It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong."

She shook it forcefully and then cast it aside with all her strength. The doll shattered into pieces when it hit the wall.

"My baby, my baby, my baby, my babyyyyyyy—!"

A sound of grinding teeth came from the woman, and with that, the crying noises from the floor and ceiling grew louder. Soon, the source of the sound revealed itself, and lumps of flesh which resembled translucent babies emerged.

"To think Tabula Smaragdina-san put so many monsters in here... how much money did he spend on this?"

These squirming masses of flesh which resembled infants were close to level twenty, and they were called Carrion Babies.

In games like YGGDRASIL, one could place pop monsters within dungeons by paying the appropriate in-game or real-world currency. However, they would not come back to life after being destroyed, so they were more of a luxury to players. Those players that did not focus on roleplaying would not emplace such monsters.

The fact that he had put in so many Carrion Babies here, despite their low levels, was a testament to the meticulous nature of Tabula Smaragdina.

Just as Ainz was starting to be impressed, the woman produced a large pair of scissors from somewhere and gripped them tightly. A keen gaze looked out from her unkempt hair, directed at Ainz and Albedo.

"You, you, you, you, took, took, took, took, my baby, my baby, my baby, my babyyyyyyyyy—!"

"...She really is your sister. The resemblance is very strong."

"Eh!? Re-Really?"

The woman seemed to take the leisurely conversation as some sort of provocation and broke into a run, her killing intent driving her as swiftly as the wind. The woman in the black mourning clothes took unnaturally large strides as she charged, closing the distance to them in but a few steps.

The woman stabbed forcefully at Ainz with her scissors—

"Your child is here."

—And as Ainz presented the doll to the woman, her movements froze immediately, as though someone had pressed the stop button on her. She put her scissors away, and slowly accepted the doll.

"Ohhhhh~"

She cradled her beloved child with infinite compassion, as though she would never let it go. Then, she gingerly placed the baby back in the cradle, before turning her face, shrouded as it was by her long hair, to Ainz and Albedo.

"Momonga-sama, and my lovely little sister. I trust you have been well?"

"It's been a while, Nigredo. You seem... yes, I am glad you have not changed."

The reason why Ainz could calmly handle this chain of events was because he had witnessed this madness before, in the game.

Back then, I was so scared that I screamed.

His guildmate said he had made a new NPC, and asked the other guild members to come see it with him. In the end, everyone had shrieked together and unleashed their full power on Nigredo. It felt quite nostalgic now when he looked back on it.

"Nee-san, it's been a while."

Indeed, this Nigredo was Albedo's older sister. In other words, she was an NPC created by the player Tabula Smaragdina.

If one said that Albedo was the incarnation of his love for gap moe, then Nigredo would be the character that represented Tabula Smaragdina's love for horror movies.

Although he wasn't a bad person by any stretch of the word, he was clearly quite a character.

Under normal circumstances, he was a rational man, but the more he got into something, the more he began revealing his true nature. As he recalled that guild member from the past, Nigredo brushed away the long hair which covered her face, revealing her true visage.

Perhaps she felt that covering her face was being disrespectful to Ainz, but on the other hand, he would have preferred her to carry on as normal.

Her true face was creepy, to say the least. It had no skin, only exposed muscle.

Her mouth had no lips, yet held a beautiful set of teeth. Her eyes shone brightly in the absence of eyelids. An observer might think her beautiful if they looked solely at her eyes or teeth, but taken as a whole, her face inspired nothing but revulsion.

That frighteningly ugly face from the depths of a horror movie contorted. It was hard to tell because of the lack of skin, but she still had muscle tissue on her face, unlike Ainz, so one could eventually surmise that she should have been smiling.

"Then, Momonga-sama, how may I—"

"—Ah, my apologies. You were not in the Throne Room so you did not know, but my name is no longer Momonga. I am now Ainz Ooal Gown. Please address me as Ainz from now on."

There was a gasp of surprise, and then Nigredo slowly raised her head:

"I understand, Ainz-sama."

"Then, Nigredo, I came here to seek your help. Could I make use of your abilities?"

"My abilities? Is it alive? Or unliving?"

"...Probably counts as alive... should probably be living... I'll be frank with you. The target is Shalltear Bloodfallen."

"The Floor Guardian? ...Forgive my rudeness. If it your order, then I will carry it out at once, Ainz-sama."

Though her voice seemed doubtful, Nigredo immediately complied with the request.

"Please, Nee-san."

In response to Albedo's request, Nigredo raised her thumb playfully before casting a variety of spells. There was quite the variety of them, and Ainz mused that he had heard most of them not long before. They were the spells he had demonstrated to Narberal last night.

Nigredo was a magic caster, and she was one of the highest-level NPCs in Nazarick. Though one could not tell from looking at her, she had been designed to specialize in divination and information gathering. That was why Ainz had come here to ask for help with locating Shalltear.

Soon enough — as befitting a person with her skills — Nigredo swiftly announced the results.

"Found her."

"Put it on a 「Crystal Monitor」."

She cast another spell, and a 「Crystal Monitor」 appeared, displaying something which looked like a vast expanse of forest. Someone in armor was standing amidst the trees.

Ainz praised her:

"Amazing. You discerned the location of the target with pinpoint accuracy. I'd expect nothing less of a specialized magic cas—"

As the image in the monitor became clearer, the praise vanished.

The person depicted there was dressed in a suit of red-colored full plate armor which looked like it had been drenched in blood. It wore a swan-shaped helmet which left only the face exposed. Plumes of avian feathers sprouted from either side of the helmet, while the chest and shoulders of the armor had been styled into the shape of wings. Crimson skirt armor covered the lower body.

It held a huge, strange-looking lance in one hand, resembling a pipette one might use in a science class.

This was Shalltear Bloodfallen. She possessed levels in Valkyrie — a divine magic caster class which specialized in fighting power — and she was fully ready for battle.

"The Spuit Lance! That's the divine class item that Peroroncino-sama gave Shalltear!" Albedo exclaimed as she saw Shalltear's weapon.

Ainz had enough divine-class items that he could equip them to every slot on his body. However, this did not mean that they were easy to come by.

YGGDRASIL's magic items were made by embedding data crystals into items, but not all data crystals dropped by monsters were equal. If one wanted to make a divine class item, one would need several data crystals which were classified as "high-rare drops." In addition, one would need to make the container for those data crystals — a sword, for instance — out of extremely rare metals and the like.

As a result, it was fairly common for even level one hundred players to not own a single divine class item.

Even the members of Ainz Ooal Gown — a guild which had ranked among the top ten in the game — could not outfit their NPCs in nothing but divine class items. At the most, they could only give them one or two such articles.

The Spuit Lance which Shalltear Bloodfallen possessed was such an item.

Its name sounded silly, but its power was extremely insidious. When embedded in a weapon, some data crystals allowed their user to absorb a certain percentage of damage dealt and use it to replenish their health. The Spuit Lance was specialized in doing so.

"...Let's head out now."

"Eh? Ah, please wait! Since Shalltear is already fully equipped, it's possible that hostilities will begin on sight, so we need to select several guards to defend your person."

"We don't have time for that; if negotiations break down, we'll retreat immediately—"

"『Forgive the disturbance, Ainz-sama.』"

A female voice echoed through his mind. It belonged to Narberal, who had stayed in E-Rantel.

Anger blazed in Ainz at this untimely interruption.

"What is it, Narberal? I'm—"

I'm busy, he wanted to say, but Ainz cut himself off halfway.

This was because he recalled how he had interrupted Entoma's 「Message」 last night. At the time, he had felt that it could not be helped, but perhaps if he had taken action immediately, the present situation might be different. This was because he could have handed the task of saving Nfirea to Narberal.

This faint sense of regret allowed Ainz to regain his calm.

The NPCs treated Ainz as their Supreme Overlord. Even if he made the wrong decision, they would still treat Ainz's words as their top priority. Because of that, Ainz had to keep calm, act carefully, and avoid making mistakes.

That's a bit much to ask of an ordinary person like me...

As he inwardly laughed at his own flawed judgement, Ainz smiled bitterly as he concluded that it was most likely impossible for him. Then, he felt Narberal's subservient attitude through the 「Message」, waiting for her master's instructions, and his body trembled like he had been struck by lightning.

What am I thinking? I am Ainz Ooal Gown, the ruler of Nazarick, the man who took on the name of everyone else. Indeed, I am not Suzuki Satoru. Impossible? No, now that I've taken on this name, I have to turn the impossible into the possible.

"...No, it's fine. What is it? It must be important for you to contact me with 「Message」, right?"

"『Yes. Someone from the Adventurer's Guild is looking for you, Ainz-sama.』"

"...If it's about last night, tell them to wait... no, that's not right. There should be something else, am I correct?"

"『Yes! You are as perceptive as always, Ainz-sama.』"

Narberal was not being clear, so Ainz let his silence show his confusion. Soon, she seemed to have picked up on that and spoke again:

"『Actually, there is another problem besides that. It... concerns a certain Vampire.』"

"What? A Vampire, you say?"

Ainz turned to look at Shalltear, whose image stood ramrod straight on the monitor.

"Did they mention anything about that Vampire? Like say, silver hair, or crimson armor, or something?"

"『Regretfully, they did not. The person they sent for yourself was little more than a runner. They said that they would explain at the guild, and hoped that you would hurry over as soon as possible, Ainz-sama. I hear that several adventurer teams have already made their way there... the Guild's messenger is nearby; what should I tell him?』"

Ainz closed his eyes. Of course, he had no eyeballs, so it simply meant that the lights in his eye sockets vanished.

"What do you think of Narberal's 「Message」, Albedo?"

After finishing his explanation, Albedo lowered her eyes for a few moments, and then looked back at Ainz.

"Given that we lack information, there will be merits and demerits to either alternative. Thus, you should select according to your personal preference, Ainz-sama. If it were up to me, I would ignore these humans."

After thanking Albedo, Ainz fell into deep thought.

He considered the worst that could happen if he prioritized Shalltear.

He then considered how Shalltear's situation would change if he put the Guild first.

As he thought about the drawbacks of both, he began to feel that either option would lead to disaster.

If his friends were with him, he could probably use the majority vote to make a decision. But his friends were not with him. As the man who had taken charge of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, as the man who had taken its mighty name for his own, he had to make that choice himself.

After a brief period of hesitation, Ainz came to a conclusion.

"Albedo, send someone to keep an eye on Shalltear. I will go visit the Guild in E-Rantel. After that matter is concluded, take me to Shalltear."

"Understood."

"You heard that too, didn't you, Narberal?"

"『Understood. Then, I shall inform the messenger that you will be on your way.』"

"Ah, yes, tell him that. Then, Albedo, forgive me, but I shall be heading to the Guild now."

"I understand. I shall send several vassals out, in accordance with your instructions."

"Please do. Also, I will hand the ring over to Yuri. Take it from her afterwards."

In truth, there was something he wanted to hand to the Head Librarian, but Ainz felt that he no longer had that time, so he teleported himself with the power of the ring.

Now that only the two sisters were left in the room, the mood in the room lightened. As though waiting for this opportunity, Nigredo turned to Albedo, a curious look in her eyes.

"What's wrong? Has something happened to Shalltear?"

"Mm, it seems she has rebelled against us."

"...Unbelievable... How could that be... is it really true?"

"I find it hard to believe myself, but that seems to be the case."

"Then she should be eliminated without delay. But... it seems that is not what Ainz-sama wishes to do?"

"Indeed. Because of Ainz-sama's boundless mercy... no, he probably thinks that killing her without realising why she turned against us would be a big mistake. I'm sure that is what Ainz-sama has in mind."

"Hm~" Nigredo mused, in a tone that seemed somewhere between acceptance and denial.

"I understand. Before you send the vassals out to keep an eye on Shalltear, I will continue my magical surveillance from here."

"I'm grateful for that, Nee-san."

Thinking the conversation was over, Albedo was about to unleash the power of her Ring when she sensed that her older sister still had something to say. When Nigredo was in a rational state of mind, she was the sort of person who would speak frankly, so there was only one reason that Albedo's big sister would hesitate like this.

Although she did not want to inquire about it, when she considered that it might not be about the previous matter, she had to ask, however unwillingly.

"What's the matter, Nee-san?"

"...Since I am not permitted to leave this Frozen Prison, I am unsure about the situation outside. Is Spinel still well?"

...As I thought.

Albedo regretted asking as she thought that, but in an even voice, she replied:

"Nee-san, you call her that..."

"I hate that girl. Even if we were all characters made by Tabula Smaragdina-sama... no, Spinel was made in a completely different way from us. She is not the kind of person to whom people could open their hearts."

"That's not the case, Nee-san. She's adorable."

"All I can think is that you have been deceived by her. Spinel will definitely bring a great disaster to Nazarick someday. I'll wager on that."

"...We will never see eye to eye on that point. I believe that girl will not cause any trouble."

"Really now? Well, if you — if the Guardian Overseer feels that way, then there's nothing left for me to say. However, I hope that you will take my concerns into consideration, in your role as the Guardian Overseer."

"I understand. I will take your words to heart, Nee-san."

Resisting the urge to sigh, Albedo teleported elsewhere.

However, the matter which she could have laughed off usually now stuck in her heart like a thorn.

She felt that everyone created by the Supreme Beings was staunchly loyal to them. Yet, Shalltear had still rebelled against them. If that were the case, anyone else might be next.

For all she knew, her little sister might also betray—

She could not erase these thoughts entirely. Yet, to Albedo, this was not necessarily a bad thing.

Albedo had a baffled, confused look on her face as she reached her destination.

"Ainz-sama, my beloved, I am your loyal dog, your slave."

She declaimed her feelings to a man who was not there.

"Even if all of Nazarick turns against you, I will always stand by your side."

-x-X-x-

"Come, come, come, Momon-san, pull up a chair."

There were six men in the room. Three of them were stout-looking men girt for war, while one of them looked similarly imposing despite his lack of arms or armor. He was the one who had risen to beckon Ainz over. In addition, there was a skinny, neurotic-looking man in a robe, and finally a fat man seated in the innermost part of the room.

Ainz took a seat, under the eyes of everyone else, and then the standing man spoke once more.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the head of this city's Adventurer's Guild, Pluton Ainzach."

He was a powerful-looking middle-aged man.

He had an aura of a mighty veteran about him. There was no doubt that he was an excellent warrior.

"This is the Mayor of E-Rantel, Panasolei Gruuze De Rittenmeier-san."

Ainz nodded, and Panasolei waved slightly in response.

He was fat — no, frankly speaking, he was almost entirely made up of fat. His belly was rounded and flabby, and his chins were overflowing with adipose tissue. The excess of fat made him look like a bulldog.

The hair on his head was sparse enough that his scalp reflected the light, and what little hair which was left had already turned white.

"Momon-san, pleased to meet you."

Perhaps it was because his nose was stuffed up, but he made buhiiii noises when he spoke.

"And this is the leader of the E-Rantel Magician's Guild, Theo Rakesheer."

The skinny man — who looked as frail as a bamboo pole and seemed at least somewhat anorexic — nodded to Ainz.

"And these three are much like yourself, members of the adventurer teams which are the pride of E-Rantel. From the right to the left are Igvarge-san of Kralgra, Perote-san of Tenrou, and Moknak-san of Rainbow."

Those three men each had metal plates around the necks — made of mithril — and each gave the impression of being commanding and even powerful. Their equipment was nothing more than junk to Ainz, but they were still far above the gear sported by most adventurers in this city.

Each of them had different looks in their eyes, but they all shared the same common thread of curiosity.

One of them — the representative of Kralgra, Igvarge — glared icily at Ainz and asked:

"Before that, there's something I'd like to ask you, Guildmaster Ainzach. I've never heard of the name Momon before. Since he's a mithril plate, he should have done something noteworthy, right?"

There seemed to be a little hostility in his voice. However, Ainzach seemed to pay it no heed and cheerfully replied:

"His feats include taming the Wise King of the Forest, as well as settling the graveyard incident last night."

"Graveyard incident?"

Unlike the confused Igvarge, Moknak of "Rainbow" exclaimed in surprise.

"You don't mean the incident concerning appearance of vast quantities of undead?"

"Buhiii~ you're quite well informed. I instructed that the matter not be made public due to receiving some troubling news. Where did you hear that from?"

His words were frequently accompanied by a buhiii, probably due to a blocked nose or some other reason. Nor was there much intonation, probably because he was using his mouth to breathe. It made his words sound strange, as though he were reading off a script.

"Forgive me, Mayor. I merely overheard this, so it's difficult for me to tell you where exactly the news came from. In addition, I do not know much of the details."

The two of them looked at each other and they smiled as their eyes met. Moknak's smile was forced, while the Mayor's was uneasy.

"Hm~ it rings false to me, but forget it. There should be a lot of people who know about the undead running wild. Buhiii~ forgive me, I interrupted by accident."

"It's fine, Mayor. In any case, the Guild concluded that due to his contributions in that incident, Momon-san is a mithril ranked adventurer."

"Just one incident? Just by handling one matter? No adventurer who's gone through rank placement examinations would be happy with that, am I wrong?"

He was not even pretending to be polite any more. Igvarge displayed his naked aggression on his face, and then someone spoke coldly from the side.

Ads by Pubfuture

"Hmph. Frankly speaking, I have to say that I'm not happy about Momon-dono's mithril rank either, Guildmaster."

The man who cut in was the head of the Magician's Guild, Rakesheer. There was a derisive expression on his face, though Ainz understood that it was not directed at himself, but at Igvarge. However, Igvarge did not realise this, and smiled at Rakesheer in a friendly way.

"I'm glad you see it my way, Guildmaster-san."

"Ku, kuku."

Rakesheer's lips grew even thinner, as though he had heard something amusing. It was not a friendly gesture, because he had a scornful look in his eyes.

"Is that so? I feel that our views are diametrically opposed."

"What do you mean by—"

"Really, that's enough out of you, Igvarge-kun. There's people in the Guild who feel Momon-kun was worthy of an orichalcum plate."

"What!?"

Igvarge's face seemed to be asking how that was possible.

As he saw it, Rakesheer's mocking smile grew so wide that it twisted his entire face.

"Momon-san broke through a horde of thousands of undead with just his partner — no, he had the Wise King of the Forest as well, for a total of three people — and defeated the people conducting an unholy ritual."

"—Anyone with some stealth training could do that!"

Rakesheer sighed, in a somewhat exaggerated way.

"Indeed, you are correct. Initially, I felt that this was not enough to qualify Momon-san for orichalcum rank. However, the discovery of a set of bones bore testament to Momon-san's might."

At that point, Rakesheer turned to Ainz in his suit of black full plate armor, a stern look in his eyes.

"...That is to say, the bones of a Skeletal Dragon. Momon-san slew a frightening undead creature that possessed absolute resistance to magic."

"Well, uh, yes! Skel-Skeletal Dragons are strong! But mithril ranked adventurers can still def—"

"—Can still defeat two of them at the same time?"

"Say what!?"

Igvarge's gasp of surprise was joined by the other two adventurers. Then, there was a subtle shift in their attitude as they looked toward him. They were like observers trying to plumb the depths of a lake.

"We found the remains of two Skeletal Dragons at the scene. Could your teams break through a horde of thousands of undead, slay two Skeletal Dragons, and kill the hitherto unknown masterminds of this conspiracy in such a short time? Other adventurers were present at the graveyard, and they reported the presence of twisted spirits like Wraiths. Could you have traversed such deadly ground?"

Igvarge bit his lip, unable to respond.

"Then, let me ask you another question. I hear that the only other member of Momon-san's party is a woman. She is a magic caster, which means that she would have been completely useless against Skeletal Dragons and their complete magic immunity. Under these circumstances, with only one other... no, even with the Wise King of the Forest by your side as well, could you have made such a great accomplishment?"

Rakesheer bowed to Ainz and said:

"Please allow me to thank you on behalf of the city, Momon-san. If not for your swift response, many more lives might have been lost. And while I can only speak for myself in this matter, you have but to come to me with any request you have and I will do my best to fulfill it."

"You praise me too highly, Guildmaster. I was simply fulfilling Bareare-san's request, and I solved a problem along the way."

"Fufufufu..."

Rakesheer laughed, and there was an undercurrent of respect amidst his laughter.

"It seems you are truly worthy of an orichalcum... no, an adamantite rank. To think someone could take such a mighty accomplishment and pass it off which such humility, as though it were nothing of note. I heard that your companion can use magic of the third tier as well... is that correct?"

"Your praise honors me... but I do not wish to casually show my hand."

"Is that so? What a shame."

Igvarge's face and ears turned red as he watched the way Ainz and Rakesheer spoke lightly to each other. Then, he bellowed:

"We could do the same thing if we got everyone together! Besides, it's his fault that he's got so few teammates, right? He can't get anyone because he's no good!"

The air in the room grew tense even as it grew frigid, and then the sound of a buhiii~ rang forth.

"Let's leave the matter at that. We didn't gather everyone here to fight now, did we?"

After that last buhiii~, Igvarge sat down, seemingly deflated. However, he still glared hatefully at Ainz. The two guild leaders watched this sight and shook their heads helplessly.

"I understand that you all value strength, but that is not the topic we are here to address, so why don't we settle the matter quickly?"

"Thank you, Mayor."

"Muu? I have no idea why you would thank me, but you should probably continue speaking. The fact is, I'm not quite sure what is going on."

"Understood. If only I could have reported it right away..."

"Don't worry, I was handling a matter in connection with Stronoff-kun myself."

There was another buhiii~

"Now then, let's get to the point—"

"Before that, shouldn't we show some basic courtesy and remove our helmets?"

Igvarge cut in once more with a mocking words. He was not incorrect in saying so, but he was also being quite annoying. The other adventurers frowned as well.

"It's fine. This time, he has a point. I have been somewhat rude."

However, the false face Ainz revealed when he removed his helmet was a plain one, which was not particularly attractive.

"Since I come from another country, I wore my helmet to avoid drawing trouble. Please forgive my lack of manners."

"Cheh, so you're a foreigner."

"Shut up, Igvarge. Adventurers protect all humanity from monsters and as such, borders do not exist for them. As a fellow adventurer, I am ashamed at your griping about the unspoken rules which govern our guild."

As the voice castigating Igvarge's second interruption rang forth, he realised that everyone else in the room felt that way, so he reluctantly fell silent.

"...Well, it's because of this sort of thing that people have loaded opinions of foreigners."

Several of the people smiled bitterly at Ainz's words. Igvarge's own face had turned from pale to almost white, but by the time Ainz put his helmet on again, there was no complaint.

"Then, I hope we won't get sidetracked any further. Let's get right to it."

"Well, it's because someone was late that we haven't heard about anything until now."

"That was a mistake on my part. Please forgive me."

Ainz lowered his head in apology. He had experienced this sort of thing before as a salaryman, where his bosses announced that they would only begin once everyone had arrived. Thus, all he could do was suppress the urge to go home, because he truly understood how they felt.

When contrasted with Igvarge's hostility and constant jibes, Ainz's sincere apology made him seem that much more noble. Igvarge scoffed angrily as his scowl deepened, because he was well aware that the general opinion of him had fallen even further.

However, there was someone who was even angrier than Igvarge.

"...Are you quite done yet? One more interruption and you can get your ass out of here."

As expected, it was Ainzach who had spoken up. His eyes were filled with rage, and there was no trace of his previous calm in his voice. Naturally, he was glaring at Igvarge.

Igvarge inclined his head slightly to apologize.

Ainz was confused as he observed Igvarge's reaction. Given the hostility the man had shown him just now, it would not have been strange for him to break into a grade-schooler's tantrum, as though complaining to his parents. Why had he chosen to back down?

After a brief period of thought, he came up with something.

What would people think of Igvarge if he were chased away from a gathering of mithril-ranked adventurers? Even if the truth got out, there would be some people who would believe that he had been ejected from the group because he was useless. If that happened, his standing within the adventuring community would plummet. That was probably why he had shut up.

"To summarize, about two nights ago, some adventurers patrolling the outskirts of E-Rantel encountered a Vampire. Five of them were killed by the Vampire. I have gathered all of you here because of that incident."

As he listened to the description of the Vampire, Ainz's hopes shattered like spun glass.

The sole surviving adventurer had been too afraid to give a proper description, and had only noted details like clothing, hair color, and the like. However, the thing that had stood out most clearly was "silver hair and a large mouth."

Despite it being just a muddled description, anyone who knew Shalltear would immediately think of her once they heard it. Ainz was certain of the Vampire's identity in his heart.

I have no idea how things ended up like this, but things might go badly if I don't alter the memories of the survivor. I'll have to do that some other time.

As Ainz furrowed his illusionary eyebrows, the discussion continued apace.

"I see. I'm not too clear about this incident myself, but I would be wasting everyone's time if I asked for a full explanation. I'll ask if anything I don't understand comes up."

"Understood. Then, gentlemen, do you have any questions?"

"When you say 'the outskirts,' where exactly do you mean by that?"

"It's a place about three hour's walk from the north gate. There's a large patch of forest there, and the incident took place within the forest."

"What rank were those adventurers?"

"They were iron plates."

"...I'd like to ask, but why have you brought so many adventurers on board for just one Vampire? Is there going to be a competition of some sort?"

"He's got a point. Platinum ranked adventurers can deal with a Vampire. I have no idea why you've gathered so many mithril ranked adventurers."

"The answer for that is simple: because that Vampire is very powerful."

Everyone looked to Rakesheer in surprise as he interrupted.

"A very powerful Vampire..."

"Could it be you're trying to say that the opposition is a high-end Vampire... the Vampire Lord 'Landfall' who was mentioned in the Saga of the Thirteen Heroes?"

"We do not know if the enemy is indeed a Vampire Lord, but according to the adventurer who encountered the Vampire, the Vampire used the third tier spell 「Create Undead」. I trust I don't need to tell you adventurers the implications of that?"

They had nothing to say. The stiff looks on their faces spoke for them.

"Hm~ I have no idea what that means, so could you tell me?"

"Forgive me, Mayor-san."

"Anything which could use magic of that tier is of platinum rank at the very least."

Panasolei frowned as he began getting a better picture of the situation.

"In other words... I won't speak like this any more."

Panasolei's eyes sharpened, and just that was enough to change the image he projected to everyone else. He had turned from a fat, lazy pig to a savage wild boar. Or rather, this was Panasolei's true face.

"In other words, it's exactly as what you're saying, Guildmaster-san. A monster on par with a platinum ranked adventurer party, with platinum ranked powers on top of that."

"It is as you say."

"So it's basically strengthening something which is already strong?"

"That is a valid way of looking at the matter."

"How would you describe it, in terms of the size of a comparable military force?"

"A military force... that's a somewhat tricky question."

Rakesheer racked his brains, and then spoke again.

"Let me get this out of the way first, this is just my personal opinion and it's by no means a final, unassailable assessment. If you want to think of it in terms of a group of fighting men, given the fact that the undead do not tire, nor do they eat or drink... I guess you could compare it to an army of ten thousand."

"Say what!?"

A look of shock came over Panasolei as he heard this, and he looked to the other adventurers, as though seeking their opinion of those words. Apart from Ainz, everyone nodded in agreement with the words of the Magician's Guild's leader.

As though picking up the baton from Rakesheer, Ainzach continued speaking:

"To continue where Theo left off, only about twenty percent of the adventurers in the Kingdom can be considered to be at or above platinum rank. There are around three thousand adventurers in the Kingdom, so among the eight million people of the Kingdom, there are only about six hundred platinum ranked or higher adventurers. Do you understand now? Platinum ranked adventurers are that rare."

"Is that so? I wish I did not understand, but I do. Then, with this situation in mind, I would like to ask you adventurers: are you confident in eliminating this creature? If not... well, then how about asking the Warrior-Captain Gazef-kun for help?"

Gazef Stronoff. He was the mightiest warrior of the Kingdom, superior even to adamantite ranked adventurers. A man that was arguably the Kingdom's ace in the hole.

However, Ainzach immediately shot that proposal down.

"It may be true that no warrior is capable of beating Stronoff-dono. However, if Stronoff-dono faced a party of adventurers that was weaker than himself, the victors would undoubtedly be the adventurers. This is because adventuring parties have many methods of attack and defense — to continue the example of using Stronoff-dono, the party can use four times the amount of spells and martial arts as Stronoff-dono can. The impact of this difference is particularly marked when facing monsters who possess unique special abilities."

"Umu..."

"The ideal solution would be to recruit orichalcum and adamantite ranked adventurers for this. But before it comes to that, I would like the strongest adventurers in our city to set up a defensive line to keep the Vampire from invading us."

"That would be giving up the initiative, don't you think?"

"That is the best possible outcome of the worst-case scenario. Need I remind you that our foe is a one-man army?"

"I... I don't want to imagine the terror facing such a fearsome foe would entail..."

One could follow an army of ten thousand by their tracks and evade them easily. In addition, prodigious quantities of supplies would be needed to keep such an army on the march, so it would be difficult for them to do battle for long.

However, what if that army was compressed into a single person? And what if that person was able to use 「Invisibility」 or was adept at covert operations?

"Still, as an adventurer, I have to say that forming a defensive line will be very difficult, Guildmaster-dono. After all, coordinating our teams will need a fair bit of training time..."

"Well, in lieu of that, what do you think of everyone just deploying together?"

The adventurers promptly shot down the Mayor's proposal.

"I doubt that would be possible. In order to work as closely as that, we'll need to craft intricate battle plans, but the more complex the plan, the more likely it will go awry when something unexpected occurs. Rather than risk that, it would be better to not work together and just operate independently. Speaking of which, why did that Vampire appear there? What news does the Guild have about it?"

"About that... since the enemy is a powerful Vampire, the Guild does not have the full details on it at the moment. Just as we were about to put a scouting party together, the incident from last night occurred, which dispersed our forces."

"...I see. So you're worried that these two incidents are linked?"

"Indeed, that is so."

"Didn't Momon-shi take care of the graveyard incident? Was there anything on the bodies of the masterminds that would tie the two events together?"

That question plunged the room into a brief silence.

Ainz was puzzled. The Adventurer's Guildmaster — who had fielded answers without any hesitation — now turned to the Mayor, a questioning look in his eyes. Still, when one thought about it, this was information pertaining to the criminals that had conducted a terror attack on the city. There were things which could and could not be said to adventurers.

"From their belongings, we learned the enemy was from Zuranon."

The faces of the three adventurers turned grim.

However, this was the first time Ainz had heard that name. He fervently prayed to the gods he did not believe in that the others would not question him on this topic about which he knew nothing.

Ignorance is frightening, I need to learn more.

"That undead-controlling secret society? I guess they really are linked with that Vampire."

"So their aim was to trigger incidents within and outside the city to split our forces? Or are both of them decoys, and is the real plan about to begin... this is terrible."

"The most important thing is to make a reconnaissance. From what the rangers told us, there's a cave near the location where the Vampire was sighted. Apparently, that cave is a bandit's hideout..."

"It's quite likely that the Vampire has already departed that location... still, there's a non-zero chance of it remaining there, so we should send someone over—"

The adventurer who spoke immediately shut his mouth.

That was a natural reaction. After all, anyone heading to a likely location of that Vampire was essentially saying that they wanted to walk right into danger. If they really encountered the Vampire, and if the Vampire was as powerful as rumored, then certain death awaited them.

Those words were an indirect way of telling someone to kill themselves.

"...Let's leave that aside for now. It's more important to strengthen the city's defenses. After all, the Vampire might have infiltrated the city during this time, for all we know."

"...Well, it would be easy enough to infiltrate the city, as long as it could use magic. After all, this is not like the Imperial Capital, with air cavalry and magic casters on patrol."

One could use 「Fly」 to enter from the air, or walk right in with 「Invisibility」 for concealment. Magic was very troublesome to deal with, which was why consolidating their fighting strength and mounting a defense was the most logical course of action.

"Still, it's really hard to do anything without any concrete information. We really should investigate that cave!"

The opinions of everyone present gradually began shifting in favor of that extremely sensible proposal.

It would be very bad for Ainz if that came to pass.

Allowing Shalltear's appearance to become public knowledge would be a very bad thing. Although he did not know exactly how it would play out, allowing Shalltear's current appearance to disseminate through the city — perhaps even through the nation — would make covert actions very difficult in future.

Ainz desperately tried to think of a way to guide the situation in another direction.

In the end, there was only one way to avoid exposing Shalltear's identity.

Ainz gulped — though there was nothing for him to swallow — and said:

"To begin with, you are mistaken. That Vampire has nothing to do with Zuranon."

"Why is that, Momon-kun? Do you know something about this?"

"I know the name of that Vampire, because I have been hunting that creature for a long time."

"What!?"

The air shuddered.

Ainz's brain spun into overdrive — the main event was about to begin.

"It is an extremely powerful Vampire. In truth, the reason I became an adventurer was to collect information about them."

This was a red herring; but Ainzach took the bait.

"Them? Momon-kun, did you just say 'them?'"

"Yes, I did. There are two of these Vampires, and one of them, the silver-haired female, is known as..."

He suddenly stopped here. Originally, he was going to say "Carmilla," but a name like that was far too normal for a female Vampire. If there were any other players around, that name would swiftly clue them in about his presence. Just as he was waffling over what name to give them, a flash of inspiration struck, and he blurted a name:

"Honyopenyoto."

"Eh?"

That idiotic-sounding reply had not come from one mouth; just about everyone had exclaimed in the same way.

"...Her name is Honyopenyoko."

He had come up with the name himself, but he felt that it was slightly different from the one he had mentioned just before that. Still, if anyone pressed him with their doubts, he intended to maintain that he had misspoke.

"Honyo-penyo...?"

"It's Honyopenyoko."

While he had given a female Vampire a name ending with "ko," no YGGDRASIL player should have been able to guess that he had made it up. Filled with pride at this perfect choice of names, Ainz smiled smugly under his helmet.

"Is, is that so? That Honyo... ah, forget it! Since we know that female Vampire's name... It's about time you told us your true identity, no? Which country are you—"

"I apologize, but I cannot say that right now. Currently, I am on a highly secret mission. If you find out, I will have no choice but to leave this land, and then you will have to deal with the Vampire yourself. I do not wish to have this become an international incident. You understand, don't you, Mayor?"

The Mayor nodded slowly, and as Ainzach saw this he bit his lip and looked intently at Ainz.

The Guildmaster's stare meant nothing to Ainz. However, he did not know if they had bought his story or if it contained any contradictions. Those two points of uncertainty filled Ainz's heart with unease, but Ainz brushed it aside with an brusqueness that would brook no interference and continued:

"Our team will handle the reconnaissance. If we find the Vampire there, we will slay it on the spot."

Thus spoke the late-coming Warrior of Darkness.

Though they could not see his face, they could feel the confidence and determination brimming in his voice.

The air filled with a pressure which might have been mistaken for rumbling, and the sigh which followed made everyone think they had made the sound.

"Then, ah, the other teams will—"

"—Will not be needed. I do not need them to slow me down."

He waved off all opposition to that plan.

That tactless declaration was made with the utmost audacity.

That gesture was not a wise one, not among fellow adventurers of equivalent rank. However — all the adventurers here were grizzled veterans of countless life-and-death struggles. They could sense that his attitude was not born of recklessness, narcissism, or pride, but had been coldly, carefully calculated. At the same time, it spoke volumes of Momon's own strength that he could make such a statement.

This was an extraordinary man.

It seemed as though his black armor was growing before their eyes, and the pressure they felt made them imagine that the room itself was shrinking. They could sense that this man was one they could not hope to surpass; as though he were an adamantite ranked adventurer.

This man was a hero.

Ainzach choked his words back, and then took several deep breaths. In fact, everyone present was doing the same, and the Mayor even opened up his collar, his sweat flowing freely.

In a quiet voice, as though whispering into Momon's ear, Ainzach asked:

"—What about your payment?"

"I don't mind discussing that afterwards. However, after this incident is resolved... after the discovery and destruction of the Vampire, I would like an orichalcum rank at the very least. That would make it more convenient for me when I track that other Vampire, because it is tiresome to have to keep proving my strength."

Everyone present gasped in realization.

Adventurers did not work for cities or countries, but this city did not have any orichalcum ranked adventurers at the moment. If he became one of the highest ranked adventurers of this city, everybody would know his name. In addition, the rarity of orichalcum ranked adventurers meant that their fame would spread even further. In this way, people would come to him with dangerous missions, and it would allow him to learn about powerful Vampires.

However, there was a man whose heart refused to accept this, even if he had already been persuaded on an intellectual level.

A chair screeched, and as all eyes went to the source of the sound — needless to say, it was Igvarge, who had been hectoring Ainz all this while.

"I can't bring myself to believe in your strength. Be-Besides, it's still not clear if that Vampire is as strong as you say. Even animating that corpse could have been done through a magic item. We're going with you!"

The reason why Igvarge could still muster up his opposition to Ainz despite being shaken to the core was purely because of his hostility towards Ainz and his refusal to acknowledge him.

However, his fellow adventurers did not approve of his attitude. Perote spoke in a barbed tone:

"Igvarge, that tone of yours—"

"—It's fine."

Ainz readily agreed to the request. However, there was no kindness in that reply; the following words were cold and ruthless.

"That said, I must warn you that if you come along... it'll be certain death for you. Your entire party might be killed as well, for all I know."

That matter-of-fact tone did not sound like a threat, nor did it sound like a joke. It was a flat prediction of the future, which sent a shudder through Igvarge's body. In fact, everyone present was chilled to the bone by that statement.

Ainz shrugged.

"That's my warning to you. If you don't mind, then by all means, do come along."

"Of, of course!"

He was bluffing, but he could not back down here. He could not run away from this. How could he, an adventurer of equal rank, disgrace himself before someone in power like the Mayor?

Just as the tension built again between the two of them, Ainzach — who had calmed down a little — asked Ainz:

"It's all well and good to be confident, but is there any basis for that confidence? Of course, we know that you are strong, but surely you must know that the foe is no pushover either. Frankly speaking, we're not sure if we can leave everything to you either. If... if for some reason you're defeated, we need to think about what to do after that..."

Without skipping a beat, Ainz replied:

"I have a trump card."

====================================

Character Data

====================================