Overlord, Vol. 10: The Ruler of Conspiracy

Chapter 1 | The Nation of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown

1

The King of Darkness—that is, the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and the Nation of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown…
He was the leader of the Forty-One Supreme Beings, the one who stayed in Nazarick until the end, attended by his subordinates, and at the moment, he was lying on his stomach in a soft bed reading a book.

This bed, which had been brought from the Great Tomb of Nazarick to Ainz’s room in the partially refurbished home of the former E-Rantel ruler, Mayor Panasolei, didn’t give off the same nice fragrance of the one in his private chambers in Nazarick.

It’s probably because this one hasn’t been spritzed with perfume
, thought Ainz as he lay on the bed.

Of course, as an undead, Ainz didn’t require sleep.

Certainly, there were times he lounged in bed to cool his head and heart when the remnants of his humanity pled mental exhaustion, but those moments were brief. There was no point in long stretches of lying around like he was doing now.

But there’s an exception to every rule.

For example—when reading. Especially when he was conscious of how he was perceived by other people.

The sun should be coming up soon… Oh!

Grasping the approximate time of day from the light spilling through the crack in the drawn curtains, he readily thrust the book he had been reading under his pillow.

Then he glanced at the corner of the room without turning his head.

A maid was there.

She was one of the regular maids of Nazarick, and today she was on Ainz duty— Well, technically she had been on shift since the day before. She was sitting perfectly straight with gorgeous posture, and she hadn’t shifted at all since the previous night. As far as Ainz knew, not a single maid ever relaxed their posture.

Ainz was bathed in her stare. It was unceasing, barring a few blinks.

The pressure was indescribable.

Surely she didn’t mean to intimidate him. She probably only wanted to be ready to assist him at a moment’s notice, but the normal guy Satoru Suzuki wished she would give him a break.

This was probably true for anyone, but he felt awkward with someone constantly staring at him. Particularly when someone of the opposite sex was staring, he felt like he must have been doing something wrong even if nothing had happened.

The biggest issue was that anytime Ainz made the slightest move, she would sync up and silently begin to move with him.

Let’s be frank.

It was torture.

Of course, Ainz was the absolute ruler. If he told the maid to stop, she surely would. But remembering the look on her face when he brought up the subject in a roundabout way, he couldn’t bring himself to give her the order.

Almost immediately after coming to this world, he had set out adventuring as Momon, meaning this was the first time he really had maids working at his side. This explained the surprising degree of loyalty with which they performed every task. Ainz understood that, so it didn’t feel right to simply enforce his will on them.

Maybe they’ll get sick of it after a little while.

It had already been a month since he started thinking that.

Though he was mildly concerned at the possibility things might always be like this, he set the issue aside for the moment because it would take forty-one days for all the maids to take their turn at Ainz duty anyhow.

So this is the struggle of being a ruler… There’s the work to maintain Nazarick, planning for the organization’s future, and living up to my subordinates’ expectations… I sure do admire people at the top. No wonder they get paid so much.

Ainz slowly sat up as he contemplated how off base he had been, once upon a time, thinking that executives were awarded fat salaries for doing next to nothing.

In the same instant, the maid soundlessly rose from her chair as if they were connected by string.

Despite being on watch the entire night, she employed brisk movements.

“—I’m getting up.”

“Yes, my lord. Then if you’ll excuse me, I shall take my leave. After I brief today’s maid, she will take my place.”

Instead of thanking her, Ainz merely uttered a dignified “mm,” waved a disinterested hand, and gestured for her to get going.

Even Ainz felt he was being awfully arrogant.

But apparently people liked it.

When he had Hamusuke survey popular opinion, their number one reaction was,
It feels like I’m being dominated and Lord Ainz is fully in charge
. At first he wondered if they were all kinky masochists, but after thinking on it further, he realized that there was a suitable way for rulers to comport themselves. He figured that was what his subordinates wanted.

At the office, employees naturally wanted their boss to carry themselves in a manner becoming of a company president.

In that sense, he felt this attitude was appropriate for the King of Darkness, and in actuality, whenever he had a free moment to spy on the ruler of the empire, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, he saw that he acted the same way.

Still, from Satoru Suzuki’s working-adult perspective, not expressing any appreciation was strange.

“…Then have a nice rest.”

“Oh! I humbly thank you for your kindness, Lord Ainz.” The maid bowed low in gratitude. “But thanks to this item you lent me, I can work for you without rest.”

No, that’s not what I was going for
, said Ainz in his head.

Certainly with the Ring of Sustenance equipped, the maid could stay awake day and night, no problem. But wasn’t it hell sitting in a chair all night long doing nothing but watching him? He understood that attending him made his subordinates happy, but there was no need for this much service.

I think we could at least get rid of night duty…bed duty.

To the maids, it was only natural to give their all for their master.

One of them said something to that effect.

Give their all for their master? What would happen if I said I was going to be their equal?

Unlike when he was first transported here, he was now confident that his subordinates’ loyalty was absolute. The possibility of a revolt, barring outside influence—and assuming Ainz didn’t do anything to disappoint them—was zero. So perhaps changing their relationship and living among the NPCs as their equal was an option.

Then he would be free from this ruler lifestyle that was constantly tying his brain in knots. Plus—

—maybe it could be like the old days with the guild.

Sometimes when Ainz talked with the NPCs, he saw his old friends in them. That made him want to interact with them not as ruler and subordinate but—

No.
Ainz mentally shook his head.

As long as he wasn’t sure what might disappoint them, it would be dangerous to change the system too much. And if they wished for a master-follower relationship, then it was his job as their master to maintain it. It was his duty to the guild’s NPC children as the last remaining creator.

The maid excused herself and left the room.

That moment, as if in direct response to her exit, Ainz got busy. First, he took the book out from under his pillow and replaced it with a different one. It was one with a difficult title; a single glance was enough to make anyone lose interest in reading it. He took the book he’d been reading during the night and stored it in his space—his inventory.

Having put it somewhere it couldn’t be stolen very easily, he breathed a sigh of relief.

This was one of his duties as a master.

He didn’t want to spend all night reading books so hard they would make his head hurt. If possible, he wanted to read how-to books or fun stuff. But if the others found out he was reading that sort of thing, it would reflect poorly on him as a ruler. That was why he obsessed over details like this.

Incidentally, he came up with this plan because he knew that the maids would move the book when they made his bed.

After finishing everything he needed to do there, he pushed aside the delicate silklike fabric hanging down from the canopy and got out of bed.

Right then, there was a knock at the door. The next maid entered.

When she saw Ainz rising from his bed, her face filled with joy, and she approached. The one in charge of serving Ainz—“on Ainz duty”—must have been her.

“Morning, Fith.”

Her face lit up so much, she was positively dazzling. “Good morning, Lord Ainz! I’m happy to serve you today!”

If Fith had a tail, she would have been wagging it with all her might. He suddenly remembered that Pestonia wagged her tail.

Fith wore the same maid outfit as Foth before her. Unlike the combat maids, all the regular maids wore the same uniform. But when their appearance changed—or more specifically, when the girls who wore the uniform changed—there was still something refreshing about them.

He recalled a friend’s words, which had been stressed so often it was obnoxious: “Simple maid outfits are great, but ones with all sorts of accents are the best.” They continued. “In other words, maid outfits are fantastic any way you do them. The maid outfit is the greatest invention in the history of humanity. Viva maid outfits!”

Ainz didn’t know the word
viva
, but he guessed it had something to do with admiration. Or maybe his friend had made it up. Even moments like this reminded him of his old guildmates.

He gazed at the maid with a wry smile—although, naturally, his face didn’t move.

“L-Lord Ainz, is something the matter?”

When Fith, clutching her apron, asked him that with an embarrassed look on her face, he realized how impolite he was being.

“Sorry. I was just… Yes, I guess you could say I was fascinated.”

“—!”

“Shall we go, then?”

“Yeegh? Er, yes. Understood!”

The maid answered in an energetic, albeit slightly flustered voice and followed behind Ainz as he passed through several rooms.

The difference between this place and the ninth level of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was so great, the two were impossible to compare. For that reason, when Ainz announced he was moving in, the guardians were against it.

Because it wasn’t luxurious enough for a Supreme Being.

Because it lacked the proper defenses and counterespionage measures.

Because, because, because…

But Ainz overrode all their concerns and declared the place as his residence—because it seemed to him that it was part of his duty as king, in the same way that Jircniv lived at the imperial palace in the empire’s capital. And to Ainz and Satoru Suzuki, the mayor’s manor was plenty splendid in the first place. Remembering his house in his original world, there wasn’t even a way to compare the two. Besides, his room on the ninth level of Nazarick was a bit too big and showy anyhow.

When it was a game, the interior design hadn’t bothered him, but when he actually started living there, he didn’t know what to do with himself. He had wanted to just curl up in a corner. Followed by Fith and the eight-edged assassins who came down from the ceiling of the room connected to his bedroom, Ainz walked over to his dressing room.

Several maids on standby there bowed reverently. Fith quickly took her place in line with them.

“Lord Ainz, what will you wear today?” Fith asked, full of energy.

…Oh, her eyes sure are sparkling. Well, I have the feeling every maid’s eyes sparkle at this. I’ve heard that women like clothes, but…is that why? Or do they enjoy coordinating outfits?

He was slightly fed up with the fuss but didn’t let it show. Instead he said, “Hmm,” in a voice he thought sounded distinguished—and he was confident because he had rehearsed it.

Honestly, there was no reason for Ainz to change his clothes.

One night rolling around in bed with a magic robe wasn’t going to wrinkle it. And his body didn’t produce anything like sweat that would dirty it, either. All that would ever get on it was dust in the air, which would come off if he so much as brushed it. Everywhere he went had been meticulously cleaned by the maids, and he didn’t eat or drink, so there was no way for him to get his robe filthy.

He would have had no problem wearing the same thing every day.

But none of his subordinates would allow it. Well, it made sense. If their absolute ruler never changed what he wore, it would affect his reputation.

That being said, Ainz wasn’t very confident when it came to coordinating an outfit.

He could select the proper gear when he made battle preparations after taking the abilities and skills of his opponent into account while speculating about their likely tactics and devising a strategy to counter them, but…

Satoru Suzuki could tell to some extent whether a certain necktie went with a certain suit or not due to the limited experience he had accumulated. But for the question of whether this combination of a purple robe with a silver pattern and a silver necklace with four large diamonds went well together or not, he had no idea. Plus, his body was all bones.

But if he didn’t look sharp, there was a possibility that his character as a ruler would be brought into question. That would amount to a betrayal of the subordinates who served him so faithfully. He needed to put his all into clothing just like everything else.

There was just one critical problem.

Even if he looked bad, who would tell him? This was exactly like how no one would dare say a word when a major company’s president’s toupee was slightly off-kilter.

Given all those factors, he had only one choice.

“—Fith, I’ll leave it up to you. Find something appropriate for me to wear.”

“Understood! You can count on me, Lord Ainz! I’ll put my body and soul into the selection!”

You don’t have to get that pumped up about it
—is what Ainz always thought, but he never told any of the maids that.

“Red would look very dashing on you, Lord Ainz! So I think today’s outfit will be built around the color red. Is that all right with you?”

“…I told you before that I would leave it up to you. No need to ask.”

“Yes, my lord! Understood!”

If he wasn’t confident, he would have someone else decide—all he needed was to have the maids choose for him.

The crimson robe she brought out gave him pause. It was such a bright red that it nearly gave him a headache, and it had several large gems attached to it like buttons. It would have been fine if they were all one color, but the gems sparkled in a total of six various hues. On top of that, there were mysterious letters embroidered around the edge in gold thread.

Is this a proper piece of clothing? Does this fall within the realm of fashion common sense?

He felt like one of those guys sandwiched between signboards, decked out in neon lights. He never would have chosen this on his own. Moreover, he wondered why he had ever bought such a robe in the first place. He didn’t recall any of the guild members forcing it on him, so by process of elimination, it had to have been his own doing.

Was it a bonus item? Was I forced to accept it alongside something else? …Well, I guess it doesn’t matter now.

Remembering why he owned the thing wouldn’t make it disappear.

It would have been easy enough to reject it, but that would have meant it was a lie when he said he was leaving everything to Fith. Besides, it was possible that the only one who thought the outfit looked lame was Ainz and that the majority of people found it fabulous. No, there was a pretty good chance that was the case.

Finally, although it sounded nasty, the one who chose the robe was Fith, so if anyone said anything, blaming her was an option.

I’m the worst boss.

Ainz felt guilty and realized perhaps this was what it meant to be corrupt. He was well aware that deflecting blame wasn’t how a boss—or anyone at the top—earned praise. Still, there were things he had to protect.

In order to defend his position, he was willing to sacrifice his subordinate. This was what it was like to be forced into that situation.

“—Sorry.”

“Oh, my humble apologies!”

“No…I was just talking to myself. It’s nothing you need to worry about. By the way…” He decided to try asking just in case. “I was wondering: You don’t think this robe is too loud for me?”

“Not at all! You look great in anything, Lord Ainz! And while I think your mainly black and dark-brown robes are charming, if that’s all you wear, there’s other good sides of you we don’t get to see! This one expresses your tremendous power and—”

He interrupted the torrent of words. “Ah, if it looks good, then that’s fine. Will you dress me?”

“Understood!”

Fith glanced at the other maids.

Ainz stood there, and the maids disrobed him without a word.

Being dressed by women was a slow-roasting embarrassment, even as a skeleton.

But apparently, for an absolute ruler, this was utterly normal.

Or rather, it was for Jircniv. The same thing was mentioned in a book Ainz had read, too.

He watched silently as the maids did their thing.

Before long, Ainz stood before the mirror in the crimson robe. It really was garish. That was the only word for it.

…Well, aesthetics in this world are pretty different, right? There’s a good chance this is the proper way for a ruler to dress…probably?

To quash his lingering anxiety, he recalled the example of how people reacted to Hamusuke.

“Well then, shall we go?”

As he headed off with Fith, Ainz thought in his heart of hearts,
I could really use some time to relax.

With his garish red robe fluttering behind him, Ainz headed for his office. When he reached the entrance, Fith hurried ahead and respectfully opened the way for him.

I can at least get the door myself
was something he thought on a regular basis, but the maids always seemed to enjoy their work so much with expressions that seemed to say,
Yay, I’m working!
leaving Ainz no choice but to silently accept this automatic manual entry system.

Ainz brought Fith and the eight-edged assassins into his office.

In the center of the room, exactly like in Ainz’s office in Nazarick, rested a massive desk that oozed dignity. This, like the bed in the other room, was spare furniture brought from Nazarick. In the back of the room was the flag of Ainz Ooal Gown—the flag of the Nation of Darkness.

Ainz crossed the room and went to the bay window. On top of a nearby shelf was a not terribly large glass box with a miniature forest reproduced inside. It didn’t look like there were any creatures, but Ainz stuck a finger in and flipped up a leaf.

There, hidden from the sun, was a tiny animal.

Its slick, flesh-colored form was coated with a slime it apparently secreted, and on one end, its body resembled human lips.

Ainz observed the Lip Bug closely.

“Nice complexion. I’m glad to see you doing well.”

He remembered being told that the color was important. He had been shown a few different Lip Bugs and learned how to tell which one was in the best condition. This one was definitely doing better recently.

Ainz took some fresh cabbage off a plate nearby.

“Look, Slimy Boy! Time to eat!”

When he moved the cabbage toward the Lip Bug, it chomped down. He let go and the bug continued munching away.

The creature finished the cabbage in the blink of an eye, and Ainz gave him a couple more leaves.

Entoma had warned him not to feed it too much, so he left it at that.

Having eaten its fill, the Lip Bug must have been satisfied. It slowly returned to the shade of a tree in the box, where it could relax.

“At first this thing creeped me out, but now that I’ve had it for a while, it’s pretty cute,” he murmured to no one in particular with a sunny smile on his face before replacing the box’s thin lid. The fact that he used a lid that wouldn’t pose much of an obstacle if the bug was serious about escaping showed that he was caring for it properly. Then again, it was a mercenary monster that he’d summoned with gold pieces, so he wasn’t sure if it would just run away eventually on its own.

Ainz wiped his hands with the cloth sitting next to the box. He sat in his chair and leaned back after completing his morning routine.

Work? It’s not as if I have a set start time, but once it reaches around this hour, I begin feeling gloomy. I guess I haven’t really managed to shake my old habits…

There wasn’t a single document on his desk or even a speck of dust.

It was very different from Satoru Suzuki’s workspace.

The reason for the tidiness was that he didn’t have any work that carried over to the next day. Ainz’s job was to make big decisions not carry out miscellaneous tasks. Once the decisions were made, the rest was left to his subordinates.

…It’s so rough, though. For the first time, I’ve realized that it’s the weight of responsibility that makes work so unbearable… That mental exhaustion—the pressure—is tougher to handle than physical labor. Also, I think it’s about time for that thing to get started.

He didn’t even have to look at a clock.

Just then, there was a knock on his door. Fith, who was standing by, confirmed the identity of the visitors.

“Lord Ainz, it’s Mistress Albedo and the elder liches.”

Her tone was deferential even when speaking of the elder liches because Ainz had personally created them.

“I see. Let them in.”

Fith yielded the way to the visitors. Albedo led six elder liches, each holding paperwork, into the room.

“Good morning, Lord Ainz.”

Following Albedo’s greeting, the elder liches all bowed deeply.

“Right. Morning, Albedo. Seems like we’ll be having good weather again today.”

“Yes, I heard the sky will be clear all day. Of course, the weather can be changed to whatever the absolute ruler of this world wishes. Do you have any requests, Lord Ainz?”

All I wanted to do was use a benign topic as an excuse to have a conversation, and that’s where you go?

“That won’t be necessary. I’m not against fluctuations in weather. Sun is nice, but rainstorms with lightning have their own charm, and silently falling snow is rather atmospheric. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that each day begins with the pleasures of capricious weather.”

He wasn’t opposed to the changing weather in this world. With its healthy environment, the rain was actually a blessing, just as Blue Planet had once explained to him.

It was good for nature to stay natural.

“Understood… I did notice that you weren’t interested in controlling the weather, but I took the liberty of making the suggestion just in case—since you don’t always order us to fulfill your desires.”

“…I don’t? I’m pretty sure I do…”

When he thought about it, there wasn’t really anything specific he wanted. Back when he was Satoru Suzuki, there wasn’t anything unrelated to
Yggdrasil
that he really pined for. And now there was even less. He wasn’t sure if it was a side effect of becoming an undead or not, but there was a good chance it was simply his personality. If there was anything he wanted, it was rare items to add to his collection. And…

Ainz smiled sadly and shook his head gently.

“Well, maybe that’s true. But it’s only because there’s nothing I truly desire. If I think of something, I’ll give the order.”

“When the time comes, I, as captain of the guardians, will promptly select those most capable of satisfying your request.” Albedo bowed her head slightly, and when she lifted it up again, her face was a little red. “By the way, your outfit today is delightful. It’s radiant. No, the clothes are radiant because you’re the one wearing them, my lord.”

Albedo really laid on the praise.

I’m gleaming because this thing has jewels instead of buttons. It’s not like my head shoots out beams of light
, thought Ainz as he nodded.

“Is that so? Thank you, Albedo.”

“You needn’t waste your thanks on me, my lord. I only speak the truth. You really are—”

Albedo was getting excited. He sensed she was going to start rambling and held up a hand to stop her. “That’s plenty, Albedo. Now then, those are the documents you guys processed yesterday, right?”

“…Yes, my lord.”

Albedo’s cheeks were pouting slightly in a cute way as she directed the elder liches to set the papers on the desk.

Each bundle was thick. Ainz didn’t have that many things to deal with, but the information accompanying each matter was extensive. In this world, like at a company, solving complex problems required lots of data on a wide variety of subjects.

Ainz braced himself mentally. Morning was always a time to steel his resolve.

Satoru Suzuki had been a mere employee. He had never been involved in running the company he worked for. If asked whether such a person could rule an entire country, he could say with confidence: No. Even someone involved in operations at a company would undoubtedly have had a hard time running a nation.

Even worse, Ainz was an absolute ruler. Even if what he said was wrong, his subordinates would execute his orders to the letter.

Was there anything more terrifying than that? With one wrong word, Ainz could cause a mass suicide.

So what was a king to do?

The answer was simple—he would deal with it the same way he handled the clothes he was wearing. In other words, delegate matters to someone who had the ability.

The skill required of a boss was to assign personnel duties that matched up with their strengths.

That said, handing off every single thing would be bad. Sure, he could leave everything to Albedo, but even if he was king only for show, the position entailed responsibility.

There were certain times and jobs where it was impossible to run away by uttering the phrase
I don’t know
.

Consequently, he always properly reviewed all the papers that came to him before stamping them with the state seal.

After clearing a few at a rhythmical pace, he paused, internally chose one as his goal for the day, then read everything he was supposed to know about it. But…

…I don’t understand this. It’s about supplies, right? Is it important? I bet the elder liches know… I created them! What’s with this gap in comprehension…? This is so hard to read. It’s like a law or something.

There were numerous points where it said to refer to the appendix, which sent him flipping through the documents, but then he encountered words at the bottom of some pages that negated the conclusions above. On top of that, there were multiple negatives in one sentence, which made it difficult to parse.

“Albedo.”

“Yes, Lord Ainz! Is there something bothering you?”

“No, it’s unrelated to this, but I just remembered: What’s going on with the laws?”

Though they were calling themselves the Nation of Darkness, they didn’t have any of their own laws yet and were simply using the kingdom’s in the meanwhile.

“I’m in the process of drafting them, but if we force them on people, we can expect discontent to build in various corners, so I’m unsure how to go about it.”

Albedo thought nothing of humans, so the statement was rather unlike her, but Ainz was relieved.

“I consulted with Demiurge, and…with the current laws of the kingdom, your powers as absolute ruler are weakened. Therefore, we were considering adopting only the first chapter of kingdom law and strictly enforcing that.”

“I’m fairly confident in other matters, but”—that was a huge lie; there was almost nothing he felt sure about—“unfortunately I don’t know much about laws. You guys can do what you think is best. I trust you.”

“Yes, my lord! Understood.”

Albedo looked happy. Her wings were also fidgeting. For some reason he couldn’t fathom, she—and Demiurge—still thought that he was a genius who was always thinking one step ahead of them. So whenever he said he didn’t understand something, it seemed that they were thrilled to have a chance to fulfill their purpose as beings created to be intelligent and knowledgeable.

“But I will say, Lord Ainz, there’s no need to lie and claim you don’t know much about laws…”

“No, it’s really true. I have no idea how to handle legal issues.”

“Ah, I see now. You’re coming from the perspective of an absolute ruler, unbound by legislation. I understand.”

Ainz had the feeling she was misunderstanding him, but he didn’t say anything—mostly because he didn’t know what to say. Instead, he let a suppressed laugh slip out. Though he was barely familiar with the concept, he felt like this might be like when a child wanted to proudly announce something to their parents.

“Did I amuse you?”

Albedo’s puzzled face made Ainz even happier. But it was rude to laugh on his own.

“Sorry. You’re cute when you’re happy—or something like that. It’s hard to explain.”

The moment he said it, the eight-edged assassins flinched on the ceiling, but there was no further movement.

“Oh dear! How embarrassing!”

Albedo hid her face in her hands. Then Ainz noticed how hard she was blushing and finally realized how mortifying his words were. He cleared his throat and tried to look anywhere else. It seemed that he always ended up spewing cheesy lines whenever he interacted with the NPCs, whom he loved as his friends’ children.

While he chided himself, he stamped the last of the documents. For now, his work was done.

When he handed them to Albedo, who had been busy wiping her mouth, she turned them over to the elder liches.

“Okay, let’s do our usual thing. Here are today’s suggestions.”

Ainz took a sheet he’d prepared out of a drawer. This was a list of proposals from all the various members of Nazarick. He was collecting opinions and ideas about where the future of the Nation of Darkness might be headed.

Ainz always ran his eyes over it and presented a clean version to Albedo in the morning.

“It’s such a waste of your precious time for you to do things like edit this list.”

“No, there could be suggestions for me personally in there. And besides, I don’t sleep. I have to do something to keep busy.”

That was a lie. Well, it wasn’t a lie that if he was doing nothing, he would be bored, but he had no shortage of diversions: reading, soaking in a bath, rehearsing his acting, mock battles, etc. So to have to do this sort of thing
was
a bit…

Actually, some of the ideas were Ainz’s.

If he suggested them directly, he risked everyone bending over backward to realize an idea they were secretly unhappy with and ending up with miserable results. He wanted Albedo to consider the proposals fairly, so he kept everything anonymous. By the same token, his competence would never be brought into question, so keeping everyone’s true identities hidden killed two birds with one stone.

Ainz read the first proposal.

“Hmm… ‘It would be good to build a facility to educate children. Discovering promising individuals and training them will lead to a future increase in Nazarick’s power. Even if it isn’t a direct boon, it could still lead to discovering new technologies and the fortification of the tomb,’ is what this person has to say.”

Ainz looked straight at Albedo and readied a question for her. “This is a solid proposal that clearly outlines the benefits of its plan. I can tell whoever submitted this has a great mind. We could even distribute this as an example of a strong proposal.” After praising the document from the perspective of a working adult, he returned to a more serious expression—although his face didn’t move, of course. “Who do you suppose wrote this?”

“I think it was Yuri Alpha.”

She answered immediately. And Ainz agreed.

“Right. It must be Yuri. So what do you think about it, Albedo?”

“I think it’s utterly stupid. Pigs should live as pigs, be useful to their owner, and then die. They shouldn’t live any other way. There is no reason for them to know another lifestyle, nor do they have the right to choose one.”

“That’s a harsh way to put it, but I agree. You can become a cog in society with a bare minimum of education. Living and dying like that is good enough. Spreading technology is tantamount to giving away the power to threaten— Hmm?”

“What’s the matter, Lord Ainz?”

“I remember having a similar conversation a while ago. Who was I talking to? Narberal and…oh, Lupusregina. Right, about potions… Oh, I didn’t need to explain all this stuff to you, since you already understand. How embarrassing. Do me a favor and forget I ever mentioned it.”

“N-no! I believe it’s important for us to compare ideas! So please! Please continue!”

“O-oh… Well, it’s embarrassing, but, well, I’ll warn you that these are just my personal thoughts. If anything is wrong, correct me.”

There was nothing more embarrassing than explaining something cleverly to someone who was already well versed in the subject. Though Ainz worried that Albedo would think he was an idiot, he shared his opinions about technology.

Knowledge and education, as well as information, were the first weapons that humans—and in this world, other beings as well—could wield. While the spread of knowledge could increase a nation’s strength, it also had the potential to foster discontent that didn’t exist before.

That was why a ruler had to consider whether to give the people a weapon or not. There was a real chance that it could be turned against them.

Ainz had learned good lessons on the value of information back during his days in
Yggdrasil
. That was why he dispatched the two Baleares to make potions in Carne, a location that he had under adequate surveillance. He could monopolize the advancements and ensure they didn’t leak.

Ainz wanted the ruled to remain under his rule and to keep the ignorant living in ignorance. But it was imperative to develop new technology and increase his nation’s strength. Ultimately, it was a question of which way the weapon of knowledge was pointed.

“In conclusion, new technologies can be shared with and used among those who are absolutely loyal to the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Older technology that won’t cause issues if the masses use it can be allowed to spread freely. I think the saying goes, ‘The fruits of wisdom are only valuable if monopolized,’ if I’m not mistaken.” After speaking his mind, Ainz stole a glance at Albedo’s face. She didn’t seem confused or distrusting. “And here is my main point—Albedo. This is going to sound like the opposite of what I was just saying, but I think we should adopt this proposal.”

Albedo’s eyes grew wide for a moment.

“To what end, my lord?”

“Sentiment. And I think Yuri has a point.”

“It seems to me that the disadvantages are far greater… Or is it that you would plan to establish the school in a remote region? Certainly if you made sure no information leaked to the outside world via brainwashing, there would be more benefits…”

“I won’t be doing anything like that. It’s a bit different from Yuri’s idea, but I think it would be good to build an orphanage in this city.”

While living as Momon, Ainz had learned that shrines ran orphanages. If that was the case, he figured he could open one in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown.

“Basically, the core issue we’re contending with is the possibility of Nazarick’s technology leaking to the outside world. To prevent that, all we’d need to do is simply operate the facility normally and not share any knowledge greater than what any local would know. And if someone shows promise, then and only then would we start to think about their future. That would work, right?”

“…I see. Certainly if that was all, then it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“And I’m thinking we could employ widows as the staff.”

“So you would be giving jobs to—and thus saving—women who must be struggling in poverty after losing their husbands in that battle where you displayed some of your great power. Rescuing widows and orphans sounds like a brilliant way to boost approval in your rule… I expected nothing less from you, my lord.”

“Indeed. However, taking action after various widows appeal to Momon with their plights will only improve his reputation. If that happens, mine will hardly budge. That means we need to act quickly, before anyone comes to him with the idea. In order to do that, first of all…I order Pestonia and Nigredo to be released from disciplinary confinement.”

Ainz was sharp enough to notice the light in Albedo’s eyes change slightly.

“With all due respect…I fear that pardoning the crimes of those who went against your judgment without punishment will upset the rule of order in Nazarick.”

“Didn’t we punish them by putting them in disciplinary confinement?”

“I find that extremely lenient. Your words are our everything, Lord Ainz. Going against them is the greatest sin. Personally, I suggest beheading.”

“That’s…” He had been about to say
ridiculous
, but he realized how much the denizens of Nazarick worshipped him and the other Forty-One Supreme Beings. To deny that would be cruel.

That was also precisely why they had to be forgiven. Ainz’s friends were the ones who designed their personalities. It could have been said that Pestonia’s and Nigredo’s actions were the will of his friends.

If Ainz demanded it, Albedo would no doubt obey. But that was his last resort. First, he wanted to try to persuade her.

“Ultimately, the order I issued was to prevent the outside world from discovering that Nazarick was pulling the strings behind the incident in the kingdom. We needed to dispose of children as well, of course. But Pestonia and Nigredo saved an infant who won’t remember a thing. That means there was never a need to eliminate the baby. You could say they accurately interpreted my intentions.”

“They twisted your words as was convenient for them. That sort of behavior mustn’t be tolerated.”

“Albedo—”

Albedo was the captain of the guardians. He understood how she felt. That’s why he was trying to find a good way to persuade her. The wry smile he wore when he wasn’t sure what to do appeared on his—naturally immobile—face.

“Lord Ainz, making that face is no fair…,” Albedo murmured, blushing slightly.

Ainz touched his face. “Hmm? Really?”

“Yes,” she said in a faint voice before averting her eyes and sighing. When she looked back up, her expression was back to normal. “Understood. After all, your words are our everything. I will happily obey.”

“I’d really like you to agree based on logic not emotion…”

“That’s no problem. I doubt there is anyone in Nazarick who would be dissatisfied with their release other than myself.”

“I see… That’s good. Then I’ll have those two run the orphanage.”

“Understood. I will inform them of the decision.”

“Thanks. I guess we should move on to the next item?” Ainz swallowed hard. Next on the list was something he’d suggested. “…Hmm. This doesn’t seem like that great of an idea, but…well, I’ll read it anyway.” He continued, glancing at Albedo to observe her expression. “Someone says we should create uniforms to increase solidarity within Nazarick.”

Albedo’s beautiful eyebrows angled downward immediately. “…What an outrageous, trashy proposal. Who submitted that?”

Ainz suppressed his urge to reply,
I’m sorry
, and instead appeared flummoxed. “Ah, well…I don’t know. I already got rid of the original slips of paper.”

“This is no good. I can’t believe someone would waste your precious time with this utterly inferior suggestion. I think we should perform a survey and come up with some punishment for whoever turned it in.”

“W—! We don’t need to do that! Got it, Albedo? Absolutely no survey.” Despite internally going,
Whoa—whoa—whoa
, Ainz stated his position with confidence. “I wanted to hear a diverse range of opinions from all sorts of beings who reside within Nazarick, which was why I declared I wouldn’t be upset no matter what kind of proposals are suggested. If you rebuke any of them, that would make what I said a lie. That could instill the belief that everything I say from here on is a lie. If everyone begins to shrink away like that, it’ll make asking for their opinions in the future more difficult… The moment you set foot outside this room, you erase that proposal from your brain, Albedo.”

“Yes, my lord! I shall do exactly as you say!”

“G-good. That’s the way.”

Ainz was grateful to have a body that didn’t sweat. Otherwise he would have been drenched. But despite his wonderful mind and body, he hadn’t completely recovered from the pain of having his idea called “trashy.”

“…Lord Ainz, this is just a suggestion, but perhaps from now on, I should screen them for you—so no ideas this bad get through.”

“Guh… No, that won’t be necessary. Then it would be you choosing them and me simply approving. If we did that, there wouldn’t be any point in us having this meeting.”

“Oh! Y-you’re right, Lord Ainz. This is our joint task, after all.”

Albedo’s wings flapped, and as if in sync, the eight-edged assassins plastered to the ceiling all flinched.

“O-okay! Looks like you understand, so let’s move on to the next item.” Personally, he had no idea what that was all about, but it didn’t seem like this was the right time to ask, and he didn’t have the confidence to return to the topic later. “So up next we have…”

As he was about to read it, there was a knock on the door.

The two of them looked to Fith, who bobbed her head and identified the visitor.

From beyond the door, he could hear one energetic child’s voice and another faint voice lacking in confidence.

…Pretty sure this is the first time those two have come here at this hour. Is there some kind of trouble? If so, I’m lucky they came while Albedo is here.

He knew who it was, so he could have given the permission to enter immediately. But if he allowed them to enter before Fith reported their names, he would be robbing her of the task she was so thrilled to be performing. Going over workers’ heads would rob them of their motivation. It was important for those at the top to have that kind of consideration.

You must think the same way, Jircniv. You have maids doing all sorts of things for you, too.
Ainz spoke in his head to the mental image of the person he was observing as a model king.

He wanted to be able to discuss their struggles as kings together someday.

“Lord Ainz, it’s Mistress Aura and Master Mare.”

Once Fith had fulfilled her duty, Ainz granted the pair’s entry.

The door opened and two little dark elves came in. They were beaming, and it didn’t seem like anything had gone wrong, so Ainz was relieved.

“Good morning, Lord Ainz!”

“G-g-good morning, Lord Ainz.”

“Yes, morning, you two. I’m glad to see you both looking well.”

After they both exchanged greetings with Albedo, Aura walked around the desk and stood beside Ainz.

Having come extremely close to him, she opened her arms in a V shape.

“Mm!”

In response to Ainz’s confusion, she emitted a sound that wasn’t a word and lifted her arms again. Then she looked at him expectantly, eyes sparkling, and hopped up and down slightly.

When he finally realized what she wanted, he scooted his chair back, put his hands on her sides, and picked her up.

“Wh-what are you doing, Lord Ainz?”

Albedo emitted a dry shriek, but he paid her no mind as he flipped Aura around 180 degrees and sat her down on his right femur. Without a soft thigh of his own, all he could offer her was hard bone, so he had her sit sideways in an attempt to mitigate her discomfort.

“Eh-heh-heh.” Aura laughed half-bashfully, half-happily and smiled up at Ainz. Then Ainz shifted his gaze and waved over Mare, who was standing there fidgeting. Mare approached timidly, but Ainz lifted him up and put him on his left femur all the same.

“U-umm, L-Lord Ainz, m-me too…”

Ainz had just been thinking maybe he should prepare a cushion for next time when Albedo hesitantly approached him. But seating a grown woman on his thigh…bone was plain embarrassing.

“No, sorry…can’t do it.”

“B-but…both of them get…”

“…Albedo, they’re still children. You’re an adult, aren’t you?”

For just a moment he felt like he saw a lightning bolt embodying her shock strike behind her. He did feel like he had been slightly mean, but embarrassing things were embarrassing. In the first place, wasn’t asking for that a form of sexual harassment?

“And what in the world is it, you two? Did something happen?”

The fortress they were building in the Tove Woodlands—the supply stockpile, the fake Nazarick—was complete. The next tasks he had assigned to Aura were the strengthening of its defenses and its concealment. Originally, the plan had been to flee there if any enemy had appeared—to save the real Nazarick from being discovered—but since he had already given the location of the Great Tomb to Jircniv, they were prioritizing the forest compound as a stockpile and evacuation site.

He’d also ordered Mare to build a subterranean tomb on the outskirts of E-Rantel.

There were no immediate plans to use it, but he didn’t want any power to go to waste.

When employing people, personnel expenses were incurred, but with golems and the undead, he didn’t have to worry about that, and Mare could create simple stone and other materials with his magic.

Incidentally, the other guardians had also been assigned jobs: Shalltear was guarding Nazarick and helping with transportation using Gate, Cocytus was in charge of overseeing the lizardman village and the whole lake area, and Demiurge was on business in the Sacred Kingdom.

Thus, at this time, all the guardians stationed in E-Rantel were present before Ainz.

So what had the siblings come for if they already had jobs?

Aura gave a simple answer to Ainz’s question.

“We missed you, Lord Ainz!”

The innocence of the exclamation made him crack a smile. “I see. I’m happy to see you guys, too.”

Ainz pet Aura’s head. His hand must have felt good, because Aura snuggled against it. It was like he was petting a cute little puppy.

“U-uhhh, Lord Ainz, what were you doing? I—I hope we aren’t annoying you.”

“That’s exa—”

“Not at all. How would seeing you ever be annoying?” Ainz said to Mare before turning to Albedo. “Sorry, Albedo. You were about to say something, but I interrupted. Oh, right. Of course I’m never annoyed to see you, either.”

“Y-yes…” Her face was bright red, but she put on a dignified expression. Then she said, “Lord Ainz!”

What?
he was about to ask, but instead his eyes grew large.

“Ogyaa!”

Ainz doubted his ears.
What is she saying?

Proving that he hadn’t misheard her, she bashfully said it again. “Ogyaa!”

…She’s definitely imitating a baby. I mean, if it was anything else, I’d be scared. Why is she doing that? Is it stress because I piled too much work on her? Oh! It could be something to do with Nigredo. We were just talking about releasing her from disciplinary confinement before.

As Ainz was feeling confused despite being undead, Mare began to squirm.

“Umm, I’m, uh, okay, so…if Albedo wants to…”

Those words were a revelation to Ainz.

Basically, in response to him saying that these two were kids and she was an adult, she was putting on an act to say she was a kid, too.

But why an infant? And I still don’t think having Albedo in my lap is…

Then again, she had dared to do something so embarrassing in order to make her appeal. As the one at the top and as a man, he couldn’t ignore that. And Albedo was actually, like Aura and Mare, a being similar to a child. It wasn’t right to pick favorites.

“Sorry, Mare.” Having made up his mind, he let Mare down and waved Albedo over. “Come, Albedo.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Her embarrassed expression from a moment ago had vanished, and she seemed to be bursting with as much anticipation as a puppy about to be taken on a walk when she appeared beside him instantaneously.

For Ainz, still seated, trying to lift Albedo by putting his hands under her arms was more than a little difficult.

“…Sorry, could you sit down from where you are?”

“Yes, my lord! Understood!”

Having traded places with Mare and sitting on Ainz’s left femur facing away from him, she nestled in.

The first thing Ainz felt was softness. She had a mature softness to her body that the children didn’t. Then came a warmth that seemed to seep into him, making him restless.

Wow, is she soft!

She was a level-100 warrior, but it was hard to tell where she was keeping her muscle; to put it unkindly, she was as soft as a mollusk.

“Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee.”

He heard her quietly giggling.

The fragrance wafting up from Albedo’s hair tickled Ainz’s nostrils.

“Hmm?”

That moment, a spark seemed to flash through the brain he supposedly didn’t have.

I’ve smelled this somewhere before. Albedo’s clothes? No. Perfume?

Ainz had definitely smelled Albedo’s somehow relaxing scent before. But he couldn’t manage to find the right memory.

“Hmm…Albedo. Are you wearing some sort of perfume?”

“Yes, I am. Does it displease you?”

“No, not at all. It smells nice.”

Albedo abruptly turned to look at him. Her eyes were open so wide, they scared him a little.

“You think so, Lord Ainz? If you like, you can smell me some more. For an hour—or a whole day!”

“No, I don’t think… An hour is a bit…” To tell the truth, though, he was ever so slightly interested. And if he smelled it more, perhaps he would recall the memory. “Mm, well, will you let me smell just a bit?”

Ainz moved his nasal bones in a little closer and inhaled Albedo’s scent. Since he was closer than before, the somehow comforting fragrance was a bit clearer. Yes, he had definitely smelled it before, but he couldn’t quite remember where. As he desperately followed the threads of his memories, he was interrupted by an icy voice.

“…Lord Ainz.”

For a second, he didn’t know who the speaker was, but then he realized it was Aura. When he nervously shifted his gaze, she had narrowed her eyes in disgust. Her lips jutted out slightly, her cheeks puffed and pouty.

“You’re being kind of creepy.”

“S-sorry.”

She’s right.

He cursed himself for being foolish enough to do something like that in front of a child. From a moral education standpoint, it was awful. At this rate, his old friends would call him out in the tone they’d use if they were angry at their little brother.

“A-all right, both of you. Time to get off my legs. Albedo, let’s continue the conversation we were having before.”

But they didn’t move.

Neither of them budged. They seemed to be waiting to see who would go first.

“Sheesh…”

Ainz picked Aura up and set her on the floor. He heard Albedo chuckle to herself. “Tee-hee-hee.”

“…Aura was the first one to sit, that’s why. You get down, too, Albedo.”

“B-but Aura was sitting there for three minutes and forty-one seconds. I’ve only been here for fifty-seven seconds. I humbly request that I should be allowed to stay for three more minutes.”

“But, Albedo, you spend more time with him.”

“That’s just how it goes. It’s work.”

“Oh? So it’s just work? I’m here because I wanted to see Lord Ainz.”

“Ngh!”

Albedo’s butt squirmed on Ainz’s thigh, and the two girls glared at each other.

He knew why Albedo wanted to sit in his lap, but what was Aura’s reason? Surely she didn’t love him the way Albedo did. In the first place, he didn’t remember doing anything that would be worthy of so much love, and it was too soon for a child like Aura to have romantic feelings.
So then…
Having thought that far, Ainz reached an answer.

I see. She wants me for her own?

It was possible she wanted a father figure. Aura and Mare had been created young. They were at an age where they should have had parents. So maybe she was trying to get what she was missing from Ainz?

He had been thinking that if there was a dark elf country, he wanted to go there to find the dark elf siblings some friends. But Satoru Suzuki had never yearned for a father figure, which was why he never noticed the possibility that Aura and Mare might.

I wonder if the library has moral education books for kids.

When they were merely data, it wasn’t an issue, but now he needed something to make sure Aura and Mare had proper mental development.

Yeah, they need to make dark elf friends! I’ll make that higher priority. Speaking of which…

“Aura. There’s something I wanted to ask you. What happened to those three elves I gave to you and Mare?”

“You mean the ones who tramped into Nazarick with their dirty feet but were pardoned because you’re so compassionate?”

Ainz nodded.

He had given the slave elves accompanying the workers he had summoned to Aura and Mare. Really, he didn’t want to leave any uninvited trespassers alive, but they hadn’t entered Nazarick by choice and they weren’t there to steal his treasures, so he figured it was okay to have mercy on them.

He also thought that since they were elves, maybe they would have a good effect on Aura’s and Mare’s development.

“I see. We left them on our level for now.”

“Left them?”

“Yes, for some reason they bustle around trying to take care of us. It’s sort of annoying.”

“I-it’s like Aura said. W-we can dress o-ourselves, but they still try to help…”

“You need to get your act together, Mare. That’s why they try to change your clothes for you. They don’t do that to me.”

I see. So they try to take care of them, hmm? I guess they are acting sort of like my maids. I identify with your suffering, Mare. Still, it seems to have been worth saving those three. But are former slaves bad for moral education? Hrm.

“Well, we spared them. Don’t get angry and kill them or anything. If they’re too much of a nuisance to you, tell me and I’ll send them somewhere else.”

“Understood! Thank you.”

After Mare nodded, Ainz said, “Now then”—and turned a cold gaze on Albedo—“Albedo, it’s about time for you to get down. I’m sure it’s been three minutes.”

She looked reluctant for the briefest of moments but obeyed silently and got off his lap.

“By the way, what are you guys doing, Lord Ainz?”

“Hmm? Oh, we’re going through the suggestions everyone in Nazarick had about making the country better. Do you two have any ideas? Anything at all.”

Aura’s face brightened up.

“I have a great idea, Lord Ainz!”

“Oh-ho. What is it, Aura? Let’s hear it.”

“Okay! I think boys should dress as girls and girls should dress as boys!”

…BubblingTeapot!

Ainz howled his old friend’s name internally.

For a moment, he hallucinated a pink slime apologizing—
Sorry
—in a cute voice that didn’t match its appearance at all.

“I see. Lady BubblingTeapot’s idea, huh? Certainly, it’s not a bad idea. And implementing the will of the Forty-One Supreme Beings in this country would be good.”

Really?
Ainz wanted to say out loud, but he couldn’t.

Anyhow, he needed to veto the idea. But there was a problem.

These two dressed the way they did out of obedience to BubblingTeapot. If he was going to reject Aura’s idea, he needed to come up with a reason why it was fine for them but not everyone else.

He couldn’t think of anything on the spot.

“Lord Ainz. Shall I begin the process of carrying out Aura’s proposal?”

Why are you in such a hurry?

There’s no time left.

If I allow this, it’s as good as announcing that the Nation of Darkness is a country with deviant tastes. We can’t have that. The only one who would be happy is BubblingTeapot. No, even if she were here, I bet she’d never visit our country.

There are a few people who, if they heard the NPCs they created had attained consciousness, would actively avoid them, never mind coming to visit. BubblingTeapot is definitely one. Yamaiko and Ankoro Mocchi Mochi would probably come, though. They’re all women, so why is she so different…?

Thinking back on her fondly, Ainz stood and gazed out the window. It wasn’t as if there was any meaning in that gesture. He was just buying time. Once he had a way to start figured out, he spun around and looked at all three of them.

“I definitely reject that idea.”

“B-but why?”

Of course you would ask that… But giving all men without a partner on Christmas a mask would be a much better law that that one.

He exhaled deeply. Of course, it didn’t mean anything. He was simply buying more time.

“There are multiple reasons. Do you need me to explain each one, Albedo?”

“Y-yes, p-please.”

He had intended the question for Albedo, but Mare intercepted.
He’s normally so docile, so why is he being so vicious now?
Ainz thought to himself sadly. He was sure Albedo would have said,
No, that’s all right. I’ll explain to these two.
But under these circumstances, he had to explain it himself.

“…All right. I’ll explain. I wonder where I should start.”

Ainz brought a hand to his chin and
hmm
ed. It goes without saying, but that was also to buy time. After thinking so frantically, he nearly broke out in a cold sweat, he had an idea.

“First, hmm. You probably thought that since you two are dressed like that, everyone else should, too, right? That that’s what BubblingTeapot would want? But that’s not true. Yes, you guys are special.”

“We’re special?”

“Exactly. BubblingTeapot has you two dress that way because you’re so special to her… Do you want to make everyone special like that?”

“Of course not!” Surprisingly, the one who shouted was Mare. “I would hate that! I don’t want a ton of strangers to have what Lady BubblingTeapot gave especially to my sister and me!”

“Y-yeah. That’s what I think. You get it, right, Aura?”

“Yes! It was stupid of me to not consider Lady BubblingTeapot’s feelings!”

Whoo!
Ainz suppressed his urge to do a fist pump.

“Other than that…”

Aura and Mare already agreed. Letting the conversation end on a vague note was probably fine. There was just one thing he was worried about.

Albedo murmured, “So we rejected a few,” and Ainz turned to look at her.

With her uncommon intellect, she might have been thinking about something beyond what he could follow. He was worried she might find it weird if he ended the conversation there.

When their eyes met, she cocked her head and smiled.

Ainz averted his gaze, unsure what her reaction meant. An elder lich happened to be standing where his eyes ended up, and his gaze was drawn naturally to the documents in its hand.

“Ah, so you were thinking about that, too, Lord Ainz? That was the one you looked at the longest. I think it would be fine to discuss it with these two, if you like?”

The sudden remark made him shift his eyes back to her.

“Hmm. So you were thinking about it, too, Albedo.”

“Yes. I was sure you would bring it up. You must have thought it would be all right to talk about it with them, right?”

“I’d expect nothing less from you, Albedo. Even if I don’t say a word, you know what’s on my mind.”

“Nonsense, my lord.” She bowed with a smile and Aura puffed her cheeks up crankily. “But more importantly, I hadn’t considered what you said about Lady BubblingTeapot’s feelings, either. Such is the brilliance of our creators, the Supreme Beings. Your points of view are simply beyond me.”

“Oh, don’t say that, Albedo. I think someday your abilities will surpass even my own.”

She was already way better than him. Ainz wondered, embarrassed, what he was even saying, but Albedo nodded with a face full of determination.

“Yes, my lord! Someday, for sure!”

“Umm, were there any other reasons?”

“Ah yes, Aura. Albedo, tell the other two. Make your explanation simple so even children can understand. Yes, make it easy to grasp.”

Having told her that, he turned once again to the window as if to say,
I’m not talking, you are
. But every bit of his attention was focused on his hearing so he wouldn’t miss a word Albedo said.

“Yes. Actually I was thinking of suggesting it to Lord Ainz later, but there is a bit of a problem.”

“What? Who’s causing trouble? Should we go kill them quick?”

“No, it’s not like that. Actually, we’ve learned that in the near future, there will be a supply shortage. If we told everyone to swap clothing now, it would be a headache unless we told everyone to exchange used clothes.”

What? Really?
It wasn’t as if Ainz could actually ask. He frantically recalled what was written in the documents from before.

There was something about materials, but he felt like there was quite a good amount. But if Albedo said they would be running short soon, it must be true.

Isn’t that actually really bad? But couldn’t we also just buy stuff from the empire or the kingdom? We should still have assets for that in the city.

Albedo answered Ainz’s natural question. “This is a commercial city doing a fairly good job fulfilling its economic role of supply stockpile. But since Lord Ainz took over, almost no merchants have visited from the three neighboring countries. For that reason, our supplies are gradually being depleted.”

“Couldn’t we just bring some in from somewhere that has some? What if we stole from the empire or the kingdom?”

“Sis, th-that’s a bad idea. ’Cause, uh, umm, didn’t Lord Ainz prohibit the use of military force against our three neighbors?”

That was right. He wasn’t sure what the future would hold, but until the city was fully under his control, he wouldn’t allow anyone to exercise military might. Of course, it would be a different story if someone attacked them first.

“Then what’ll we do?”

“Uh—uh, we don’t have to worry, I don’t think. Umm, uh, Lord Ainz will figure something out.”

Ainz wanted to say,
So you’re dumping this in my lap now?
to Mare, but he held himself back. Who could betray the trust of these two kids as Aura chimed in with an “Oh!” while she stood beside Mare?

But as a run-of-the-mill company employee, there was no way he could come up with a proper plan to assuage the city’s economic woes. That was why he played one of his two trump cards.

He slowly turned around and said as if he was completely confident, “Albedo, you’re already working on it, right?”

In other words, he was throwing it at someone capable.

“Yes, soon we’ll be reaping the seeds Demiurge sowed.”

“There you have it. You two don’t need to worry about a thing.”

He did feel a bit guilty when everyone in the room looked at him with gleaming eyes as if they were observing someone amazing—as well as fear of the disappointment that would appear in their eyes when they found out it was all a sham.

But Demiurge, huh? I dunno what kind of plan he’s been concocting, but I’d expect nothing less from him.

Ainz wanted to ask more about this harvest, but there was no way he could do that—because Ainz Ooal Gown was supposed to have a handle on everything.

I know I should probably study economics, but when I read difficult books, my eyes just kind of glaze over… Like, c’mon, there must be a simpler way to explain Keynesian economics. Is my mind simply not as flexible anymore because I’m getting older…?

Ainz had been plenty capable of learning the game systems in
Yggdrasil
. He never bragged, but he had astounded his guildmates by memorizing over seven hundred spells he had acquired. On top of that, knowledge of spells he didn’t have was a weapon that allowed him to read his opponents’ abilities, so he had done his best to learn about all the magic in the game. As a result, he was probably one of the top five in the guild when it came to magic knowledge.

He had accomplished all that, but academic books were simply beyond him.

Hmm? Is it possible I can’t learn anything else because I don’t have a brain?

That was impossible, since he had learned a ton of things since coming to this world, but the terrifying thought sent a chill up his spine.

“Lord Ainz, I was actually hoping to obtain your permission for something…”

“What? Permission?”

He didn’t think Albedo’s proposals required prior authorization. She was so sensible that she would surely make even better decisions than him. But an organization couldn’t function that way. The job of the one at the top was to take responsibility for the actions of those below. For that, authorization was necessary.

“In order to get those humans moving, I was thinking we should send someone to the royal capital. May I go?”

“What?!” Ainz was so surprised, he raised his voice.

He was nervous to send Albedo anywhere with Demiurge out. Not to mention that the city wasn’t fully under his control yet.

More than anything, though, his surprise was largely due to this being the first time Albedo had ever proposed anything like that.

“…It would be…pretty inconvenient to send you away…”

“Oh!” Albedo seemed happy to hear that. “Don’t worry, Lord Ainz. I’ll get the job done as quickly as possible and hurry back to your side.”

“I see… Maybe it’s not a problem if it’s for only a short time. Who are you planning on having manage the city and Nazarick while you’re gone?”

Since Aura and Mare looked curious, it clearly wasn’t them. Ainz figured it definitely wasn’t him, so he had to ask.

“I was thinking of entrusting things to Pandora’s Actor.”

He heard Aura and Mare say, “Pandora’s Actor should be fine.”

“…Him?”

“As you created him, Lord Ainz, he’s a highly valuable asset. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree—do excuse me. I didn’t mean to imply that we are like your children simply because you and the other Supreme Beings created us. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Ainz was bewildered and blinked furiously at the unexpected apology—that is, the sparkle of the red points of light in his eyes dimmed.

“You don’t need to apologize. He is, well, my child… Sorry. It’s not as if I dislike him, but he is an incompetent child… No, I don’t mean he’s bad or anything like that… Agh, what the heck. He is like a child, yes.”

They ended up facing each other in silence, and that wasn’t going to get them anywhere, so Ainz posed a question.

“If Pandora’s Actor is going to be managing things, then what about his job acting as Momon? Am I supposed to do it?”

“No, I certainly don’t mean to foist such basic tasks off on you, my lord. I intend to set things up so that Momon takes on a request to patrol this area.”

Ainz nodded with a grunt of approval.

He had been feeling like he’d like to be Momon for the first time in a while and stretch his wings, but when he thought about it, the situation was very different when compared to his first carefree adventures. There were more nuisances, more matters that required him to stay on his toes. Perhaps it was best to have Momon go on patrol.

“U-umm, but if S-Sir Momon leaves, will there be problems with the humans in the city?”

“No. Lord Ainz’s ploy was a critical success. Because we haven’t done anything nasty to the humans—not that anyone intended to in the first place—they truly trust this Momon character. So if Momon gathers the people of influence in the city before he leaves and tells them to do as we say, there won’t be any issues. And I’m so impressed that they don’t realize they’re being manipulated by a puppet. All I can say is that it was brilliant of you to have seen so far ahead and planned for this right after we were transported here, Lord Ainz.”

“Nnnn…it’s sort of convoluted that they believe in Lord Ainz because they believe in Sir Momon.”

“That’s true, but what other choice do we have to govern the city peacefully? We’ll gradually remove Momon from the picture as we cultivate their allegiance to Lord Ainz. It might take a few years, but that’s just how it will have to be.”

“All right. Albedo, leave things up to Pandora’s Actor, and once you’re done with all your preparations and handoffs, go harvesting. Is there anything you’d like to request to get you started?”

“Understood. Well, I suppose while I’m there I’d like to meet with the human king and negotiate some things. I’ll draft my proposal, so could I trouble you for a review?”

“Sure. Bring it over later.”

He was confident that if it was Albedo’s plan, all he would have to do was give it his stamp of approval.

“Also, this is somewhat awkward to ask for, but could I have a few outfits to wear? I think I’ll need to change while I’m there.”

“I see. Then I’ll give you some things from my collection. Come by in a bit. By the way, is Demiurge—? Ah, never mind. It’s fine. Shall we move on to the next item…? Since you two are here, I might as well ask your opinions, too.”

2

Once their work was finished, the three guardians and the elder liches left the room, leaving only Ainz and Fith—plus the eight-edged assassins clinging to the ceiling.

Actually, Ainz’s work was done now, meaning the rest of his day was free time. He had things he could do, but if he did them early, it just meant he would have nothing to do later. Ainz wondered how to best use this time for a while, then he stood up as he stumbled upon an idea.

“I’m going to go see Pandora’s Actor.”

When he made that declaration and set off walking, Fith followed behind him without a word. Naturally, the eight-edged assassins did, too.

When they left the house, the outside air was still cool—the calendar would’ve told him as much. Ainz thought there was a comfortable breeze blowing, but when he considered that he had complete resistance to chill, he couldn’t help but glance quickly at Fith before they set off.

The complex was mostly made up of three buildings: the main house they had just been in, the offices of the domestic officials, and the second residence. Pandora’s Actor—or rather, Momon—was staying in the second house.

Really, it would have been appropriate for Ainz to have Momon come to him, as the ruler, but he wanted to enjoy a change of pace.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Ainz murmured to himself as they approached the second house. He was peering at a little structure adjacent to it. They called it a stable, but the only one sleeping there now was Hamusuke. Or rather, that’s how it was supposed to be.

As Ainz approached the little stable with a question on his mind, he heard some snoozing breaths. Sleep was a privilege of the living. Hamusuke must have been there.

The sun had already risen pretty high, but apparently she was still sleeping.

Hamusuke had eyes like a cat, so she could see in the dark, but according to her, she didn’t operate in terms of day and night. Her lifestyle had been to eat and then sleep until she was hungry again.

Honestly, when Ainz heard that, the first thing he thought was,
How did you earn the title of the Wise King of the Forest?
He felt stupid for expecting more intelligent behavior.

“If I can get this close before she realizes it’s me, does it mean she’s gone soft? Geez…she’s let herself go. Well, no, I guess I have to consider the possibility that she was up late working last night.”

“She wasn’t. Mistress Hamusuke was here all day yesterday.”

Upon hearing Fith’s damning remark, Ainz tried to come up with something to say in Hamusuke’s defense, but he couldn’t.

Well, she’s a pet anyhow, so expecting more out of her would be barking up the wrong tree. I don’t care if she lets herself go…but it is kind of offensive to have someone around who is just hanging out while I’m working. Of course, that’s just me taking out my frustrations on her…

When he peeked inside the stable, a giant hamster was lying there asleep. It was an image of slovenly sleep that could be perfected only by a nose bubble.

But there was something else that caught Ainz’s eye besides the bold sleeping posture more appropriate for a middle-aged man than any hamster he had ever seen.

Curled up in Hamusuke’s tail was a death knight. That was the mystery undead Ainz had detected from outside.

He had a sensory link with the undead he created, so he had a general idea of where they all were. But when they moved to E-Rantel, he had brought so many that sometimes it felt like a big jumble. To be honest, it was difficult for him to tell exactly what undead he had and where they were at the moment. Still, he hadn’t assigned any to this stable, so detecting one had surprised him.

“Wake up, Hamusuke.”

“Mrrf, that I say.”

Hamusuke rubbed her eyes dexterously—or perhaps it was best described as “in a human way”—and turned around, catching sight of Ainz.

“Ohhh! I wondered who it could be, I did. If it isn’t my master!”

“Right now, no one’s around, so that’s fine, but normally you need to call me Lord Ainz. You’re Momon’s mount, not mine.”

“Of course, that I will, master!”

“Okay. If you understand, then that’s fine…”

Her reply made him want to ask if she really got it or not, though.

Magical beasts, due to their nature as beasts, were particularly susceptible to mind control. That was why he was lending her an item that gave her immunity to those types of spells, but he was still worried that she might end up leaking intelligence for some reason completely unrelated to magic.

“Well, you haven’t made any mistakes yet. I’m putting my trust in you. Now about what I really wanted to ask you: What’s with this death knight?”

“Ohhh! This is my training friend, that he is.”

That’s when Ainz remembered.

Apparently, this was the death knight he had assigned when Hamusuke was acquiring the warrior class—the undead they had used in tests to see if it could level up as a warrior and acquire martial arts.

Ainz had even equipped the death knight with an artifact that dramatically increased experience point gain in exchange for decreased ability points, but he never leveled up. Ainz wasn’t particularly upset because the results were as expected, but Hamusuke began to protest about this and that, so after retrieving his artifact, he let her have the death knight.

That guy…? But the spikes on his armor are rounded off… I didn’t give him to her as a body pillow. I was hoping maybe she would master something as a warrior… Well, whatever. I have plenty of death knights. Letting her have one won’t cause any problems.

At this point, Ainz had so many death knights, it was overkill—he had even been creating them as part of his daily schedule.

“I see. Got it. But even if you’re not a wild magical beast anymore, it’s pretty bad if you don’t notice someone until they get this close to you. We’re not Aura, after all. Shouldn’t you be a little warier?”

Hamusuke looked dejected, and her whiskers drooped. “I am sorry, that I am. In the forest, I was the strongest, that I was. I was never attacked, so I never really had to be on guard, no I didn’t.”

“Didn’t you ever have a child…hood? But wait, what about the Giant of the East and the Magical Serpent of the West?”

“Who? That I ask. Who are they? East? West? What are you talking about? That I wonder.”

A question mark appeared above Ainz’s head. “…The other two you split the rule of the forest with.”

“Oh-ho! I was not aware such creatures existed in the forest, that I wasn’t! Brilliant, master, that you are! I’m impressed with your knowledge, that I am! I don’t know much about the world beyond my territory!”

“You call yourself the Wise King of the Forest, but…”

“It was a human warrior who came into my territory a long time ago who named me, that it was. It was a rather cool name, so I let that warrior go, that I did. How nostalgic!”

Ainz had the feeling he had figured out what happened.

The warrior who had been allowed to escape must have exaggerated the story of facing off against Hamusuke. Even if it was only to justify why they survived while all their friends had been killed.

He could understand the logic of it. Hamusuke was actually quite strong by this world’s standards. The only humans he had met who could defeat Hamusuke were probably Clementine and Gazef.

Ainz suddenly thought of Gazef.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, master? That I ask.”

“Ah…it’s nothing. Just, right… You’re not qualified to be Wise King of the Forest. You’re the Hamster of the Forest.”

“If I remember correctly, a hamster is that animal you mentioned before, master, that it is. You really think I’m a hamster, do you?”

“Yep. You’re a giant hamster.”

“Ohhh! I’m a giant hamster, then, that I am. Do you know where I might find some more of me? That I wonder.”

“Nope.”

His firm negative depressed her.

Ainz felt like maybe he had been too mean, so he consoled her. “I guarantee those who work for Nazarick commensurate rewards. If you continue to work for Nazarick, I’ll make sure to find you some relatives.”

“Ohhh!” Hamusuke’s whiskers perked up. “I’ve always been loyal to you, master, that I have, but now I’ll redouble my efforts to be loyal, that I will!”

“Good, good. So, Hamusuke. Is Momon—I mean, Pandora’s Actor—home?”

“Your double, master? I’m not sure if he’s in, no I’m not. He rides in carriages the humans send around, so he doesn’t always go around with me, no he doesn’t.”

“Ahhh, I seem to remember him telling me he was using the carriages to share information.

“Heh-heh.” Ainz chuckled deviously.

That was all according to his calculations. The people were convinced that they were telling Momon things that Ainz was keeping secret from him and aiming to get him to defect, but actually, Pandora’s Actor was feeding them lies without them realizing.

For instance,
Ainz is a very trustworthy king and is a compassionate being who thinks of the people.

“I see. Got it. But hey…you can wear armor now, so if you have nothing else to do, how about putting it on and training?”

The prototype armor designed for Hamusuke should have been finished.

“Understood, that it is, master! In that case, I would like to see the lizardmen, that I would!”

“All right. I’ll make that happen. If I tell Cocytus, he’ll have someone summoned.”

“I’m so very grateful, master, that I am! Okay, Sir Death Knight! Let’s do our best together, that I say!”

Ainz paid no mind to the passionate friendship between the hamster and the undead and walked away.

From behind he heard her say, “Ugh, be quiet already, that I say!” but he couldn’t imagine the death knight had said anything. He wondered what Hamusuke was going on about but decided to forget about it.

Actually, that one time I gave her… I feel like I’m forgetting something. But if I can’t remember, it must not have been that important.

Despite that dissatisfying train of thought, like a sneeze that wouldn’t come out, Ainz had arrived in front of the second house. He didn’t do anything like use the knocker. Fith, who had been behind him, slipped by.

“Open it.”

“Yes, Lord Ainz.”

Her expression as she opened the door was attentive, but her lips were smiling faintly. She must have been thrilled to have been of use to him.

I’m really glad I observed Jircniv. I really have gotten this ruler thing down now. I feel bad for him, but I’m going to keep watching. It’ll help me learn how to act like a king.

Ainz didn’t thank Fith but gazed at the open door.

“Eight-edged assassins.”

“““Yes, my lord! At your service.”””

The several eight-edged assassins who had accompanied him appeared at his side.

“Go.”

“““Yes, my lord!”””

When he gestured with his chin, the eight-edged assassins gave a more spirited reply than usual and pressed into the building. No one was there besides Pandora’s Actor. Sometimes Narberal was around, but she was usually in the Great Tomb of Nazarick carrying out Ainz’s orders.

He could have left a regular maid here, but he didn’t want the humans who came to visit Momon to think they were being monitored, hence the current state of things. Still, considering the possibility that the enemy who brainwashed Shalltear might infiltrate, Ainz felt he needed to take some sort of precautions.

…That is, if there’s even anyone who could infiltrate this far. Well, only a fool lets his guard down… Mm, still. How long do I have to wait here in front of this door? Am I supposed to go in? Common sense would dictate that I wait here because the eight-edged assassins will return to this spot. But is it very kingly to wait at the entrance like this?

After hesitating for a little while, Ainz decided,
Whatever
, and stepped inside the second house.

He walked with what he imagined was the dignified attitude befitting a king, which he had practiced dozens of times pacing around his room.

But before he went twenty paces, one of the eight-edged assassins returned and threw themselves at his feet.

“Lord Ainz, we’ve called Master Pandora’s Actor for you. He’ll be here momentarily.”

“I see. Then I’ll wait in the sitting room.”

He had been to this house before, so he had a general idea of the layout. He had Fith open the door and unhesitatingly sat in the most honored seat in the room.

It felt strange because his old company employee manners told him he was in the wrong spot, but this wasn’t a hard move for Ainz after all his ruler training.

A short time passed; then there was a knock on the door. He nodded at Fith.

Having received permission, Fith opened the door, and Pandora’s Actor entered—not using magic to transform into Ainz as Momon but in his normal military uniform.

“Lord Ainz, Supreme Being and my Creator—”

“No need for greetings. Sit.”

“Yes, sir!” He clicked his heels together and strode over.

Pandora’s Actor probably intended to display the brisk motions of a military man, but to Ainz it was all unnecessary.
Overblown
was how he would’ve described it.

Pandora’s Actor crossed the room and sat next to Ainz.

Wouldn’t you normally sit across from me?

Everyone has personal space, so Ainz was shocked to find Pandora’s Actor invading his so nonchalantly.

…Well, I guess it’s fine. But he’s right in my face.

He took a good look at Pandora’s Actor. He wasn’t quite as shocking as when he met him in the Treasury. Over time, some of his orders must have toned him down.

“What is i—?”

“N-nothing. Don’t worry about it. Now then, I wanted to ask you a few things. First, tell me news about Momon. I know you’re reporting in to Albedo, but…have there been any problems?”

“Not real—”

“Okay. That’s good. Then I want to ask you, as Pandora’s Actor: Have there been any problems?”

The atmosphere changed.

“Actually, Lord Ainz!” He leaned in so far that Ainz bent backward as if he’d been pushed. “I haven’t the fortitude!”

Before Ainz could even retort with a
Who are you?
Pandora’s Actor continued.

“I haven’t touched a magic item in so very long. I haven’t polished any of the magical objects created by the Supreme Beings. I wasn’t done sorting the data crystals, either. I beg you, Lord Ainz! Give me some time to spend with the magic items!”

“…Is this how I made you?”

“Indeed! These are emotions I received from you, Lord Ainz!”

“…Oh.”

Ainz racked his brain to recall the backstory of Pandora’s Actor. He did remember giving him some sort of personality trait like enjoying the caretaking and keeping of magic items. It made sense, since Pandora’s Actor was the only one in the Treasury. He was surrounded by things he loved and had basically gotten a job in heaven, was what Ainz’s idea had been. But this seemed to be entering fetish territory.

“Don’t you go back to Nazarick every day?”

Half of Nazarick’s undead were made by Ainz, and the other half were made by Pandora’s Actor. His creation’s undead were somewhat weaker than the ones Ainz personally created but still within the margin of error, and there were tons of corpses kept on ice on the fifth level—so many that even with both of them creating undead, they couldn’t possibly get through them all.

“But I don’t have permission to return to the Treasury!”

What state of mind was he in if he wasn’t making his over-the-top gestures like usual?

“I see. Then I’ll have Shalltear give you a ring. And as for the gear you asked me about, I’ll allow it. Just don’t break it.”

“Ye—”

“Cut out the gestures. I thought I told you to talk normally—er, maybe I didn’t. Hmph. Pandora’s Actor!”

“Yes, my lord!”

“Our relationship is creator and creation. I’m very pleased that you endeavor to express yourself as I created you. But I also believe this: that children should surpass their parents.”

“Ohhh…Lord Ainz. You think of me as your child…”

“Right, right. You’re, yeah, my child or at least something…like that. No, you definitely are. That’s why you don’t need to speak German or salute or react so dramatically, and so on, in front of me. Though I created you, I want to see parts of you that I didn’t create, as proof of your growth.”

He turned to look when he heard a sniffle and saw Fith dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.

Why?

Are your tear ducts too loose?

Amid Ainz’s confusion, Pandora’s Actor bowed low. “Understood, Father!”

“…Mm.”

“Just watch, Father. I’ll make all your wishes come true!”

This was a bad idea. I was too hasty.
It was impossible, but Ainz felt assaulted by a headache.

“Pandora’s Actor, you mustn’t tell anyone what happened here today. You understand, right? If people learned you were getting special treatment, it could cause discord. And…for that reason, I’m lowering your importance to me. If I had to choose between saving a floor guardian and you, I would let you go.”

“Of course, my lord! Please let me go!”

When he said it so proudly, Ainz felt guilty.

“Sorry. And, Fith…know that everything that just happened must be kept between us.” When he saw that she nodded, he nodded as well. “Okay, I’m going to go now.”

“Please wait. Since you’re here, there’s something I want to ask you, Father. How do you plan to rule the Nation of Darkness?”

“What?”

“Many of the humans are wondering what direction you will lead this country in. Will you implement expansionist policies? In that case, will they be sent off to war? Things like that.”

Ainz stopped where he stood.

Where was Ainz Ooal Gown headed?

Ainz was just a normal guy, so when presented with the extravagant goal of world conquest, he had almost immediately quit thinking about it. He figured he could leave it up to the smart ones like Albedo and Demiurge.

But the decision of how to rule the country was one he couldn’t avoid.

“Is something wrong, Father?”

“…I’d like to tell you, but I’m still thinking it over myself. I’ll let you know after I’ve consulted with the guardians.”

“Yes, sir!”

Ainz stood silently. “All right, Pandora’s Actor.” He heard a return salute as he left the room.

Before he went outside, he contacted Shalltear using Message to relay Pandora’s Actor’s request before he could forget. If he put off work till later, it often slipped his mind.

When they reached the entrance, Ainz opened the door before Fith could for him.

Then he looked up at the sky.

It was blue.

“I’ll fly.”

That was all he said. He heard the flustered commotion of several people behind him, but he ignored it.

He sailed up into the sky using Fly. Then he landed on the roof of the second house.

E-Rantel was a fortress city built with three concentric walls. From this view, one of the walls blocked his vision.

“I guess I can’t see it. All I can do is go there.”

If he walked the streets, maybe he would get an idea, something he would never come up with if he stayed here.

An eight-edged assassin climbed up the wall.

“Lord Ainz, please wait! It’s too dangerous for you to go alone!”

He couldn’t laugh off what the eight-edged assassin was saying.

Standing out in the open alone was as good as saying,
Go ahead and snipe me.

“Yeah, you’re right. Certainly if Peroroncino was my opponent, I’d be a sitting duck.”

Peroroncino was an archer and the most specialized in ranged combat of anyone in Ainz Ooal Gown, so he would probably have been able to shoot him to pieces. He was a man who had no trouble attacking targets from over a mile away. Lurking in the shadows and sniping—with a bow—was his specialty. That said, Ainz wasn’t planning to get picked off, even against Peroroncino.

He was confident that he could employ several different methods of defense, run away, and switch to attacking. It was training in PvP with Peroroncino through which he had made that possible. He wasn’t going to die so easily. But since here he had to be on guard against moves that existed only in this world, the eight-edged assassin was right.

Ainz couldn’t die yet. At least not until they experimented with resurrecting a player. He needed to act as though he had only one life and prepare a shield.

The safe choice was definitely Albedo, since she was the toughest guardian. But then they would need someone to escort her. Soon it would be a whole procession. He didn’t want to do that unless he was trying to lure the enemy to attack.

In that case, the best would be a disposable high-level minion…

I don’t really have any high-level monster minions. As for mercenaries, I used up most of my summons on Albedo’s subordinates, so I don’t really have the bandwidth to call many more.

Ainz sort of regretted trying to look cool and splurging. But he consoled himself by thinking,
Sometimes bosses have to fake things for appearances.

Wait, wait. I need to think my options through one at a time.

Ainz made a list in his head:

MERCENARY MONSTERS
: Without money, calling on them was impossible.

THE SKILL UNDEAD ADJUTANT:
No good, since it used experience points.

SUMMONS VIA THE STAFF OF AINZ OOAL GOWN:
Walking around with the Guild Weapon was out of the question.

THE SKILL CREATE UNDEAD:
Even Create Upper-Tier Undead resulted only in monsters with levels up to about 70, meaning they weren’t strong enough.

Well, I have a trump card.

He could use Master of Dark Rites to strengthen his Create Undead skill.

Create Upper-Tier Undead could be used four times in a day, but by using up two of those, he could create an undead that was nearly level 90.

Ainz put a hand to his chin and pondered what sort of undead to make. A thief-type eternal death? Or an eyeball type specialized in detection?

Eternal deaths were fantastic but had a continuous passive skill called Aura of Death and Putrefaction. It was a great skill, like a mix of Ainz’s Aura of Despair V (instadeath) and Aura of Despair I (fear), so this undead could deal instadeath and ability point penalties. It was especially adept at the latter. Since the aura wasn’t a psychic effect, even those immune to psychic magic couldn’t protect themselves from this tricky undead.

Using it in a setting where friendly fire couldn’t be avoided would surely create a hellscape filled with agonized shrieks. If he gave the order, the ability could probably be turned off, but it still seemed insane to take an undead like that out and about.

A handful of other terrifying monsters came to mind and then vanished.

…Man, it’s like…they’re all so unattractive… Even though they have great abilities.

They all seemed so incredibly inappropriate for a king to take as his escort on a walk through town.

As Ainz was trying to figure out what to do, his eye landed on Fith as she desperately tried to climb up the wall. He said nothing and jumped down. Partway through his fall, he used Fly to slow himself and practically floated to the ground.

Fith, red in the face with her hands up on a window frame, hurriedly fell in line behind him.

“Fith.”

“My lord!”

“I’m going to town.”

“Understood! I’ll prepare a carriage!”

“No, I don’t need a carriage. I’d like to see the city, this place I rule over. So I think I’m going to walk.”

“What?! But your honored feet will get dirty! I’ll order the streets cleaned at once! And I’ll ready an entourage!”

Most of the streets in E-Rantel were not stone paved. If it rained, they immediately turned to mud.

“No need. I used to live in this city, you know.” That was only technically true, since the moment he had arrived at his inn, he would normally return to Nazarick to create undead… “And I’m going to create an attendant with magic. Nazarick doesn’t need to go out of its way to prepare anyone.”

“…If that’s what you wish, my lord.”

Well, the problem is I’m not sure what to summon. A demon or undead will start bad rumors. Then I should summon something beautiful that will be good for my reputation. What should it be…?

Having thought that far, he finally had his answer.

“I’m going to summon some angels. Let’s go.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Ainz’s karma leaned negative quite heavily, but that didn’t mean he had any trouble summoning angels, whose karma was very positive. Some classes came with a penalty that didn’t let them summon anything with karma too different from their own, but Ainz didn’t have any such restrictions. Incidentally, for those classes who did have that issue, the closer the summoned being’s karma was to their own, the stronger the being would be.

With every con came a pro—that’s how things worked in the game
Yggdrasil
.

Ainz headed for the yard.

Breaking in horses, training hunting dogs—it had been used for all sorts of things, so the neatly trimmed lawn was surprisingly large.

“Okay, I’m ready. It’ll take some time, so please chat with me while we wait.”

“You want to chat with me, my lord?!”

“Yes. Right. Well, tell me something about the ninth level, or— Oh. Will you tell me about cleaning? About cleaning our rooms?”

Without waiting for Fith’s reply, Ainz changed some of his gear and began to cast.

He was using the super-tier spell Pantheon. It was a spell similar to the tenth-tier Armageddon: Good and the super-tier spell Nibelung I, the exact opposite of the super-tier Pandemonium.

Ainz stood there listening to Fith talk as he continued casting. If he needed to cast it in a hurry, he could have used a cash shop item, but it would have been a waste.

Shooting the breeze with a maid isn’t so bad.
That was the sort of thing that was on his mind.

The fact that no maids were allowed in Albedo’s room was news to him.

“I see. That was all very interesting. I just remembered, though—go to my room on the double and bring me Slimy Boy. This won’t work without him.”

“Understood!”

After watching Fith’s maid uniform get disheveled as she jogged away, Ainz stared vacantly at the large open space. While he waited, he reflected on what Fith had said to him.

Albedo had told the maids she would clean her own room because she considered it part of her training as a bride-to-be. And she didn’t want anyone else in the room Ainz had given her.

Ainz grumbled to himself, “Sheesh. Albedo, I understand how you feel, but when someone’s as busy as you are, you should leave the odd jobs to the maids. This is a strange thing to say, but I guess I win as a ruler.”

Eventually, he watched Fith come dashing back, out of breath, bearing Slimy Boy, and Ainz smiled at her good work.

“Thanks.”

He expressed his appreciation briefly and took the Lip Bug from her. Then he stuck it to his bone throat, or rather his cervical vertebrae.

“Mm—mm. Mm.”

He had no idea how it worked, but his voice changed. It had to be a special characteristic of the monster, but he couldn’t quite understand it. All he could do was accept that that’s what it did.

About the time he gave up on his questions, the super-tier spell finished casting, and six angels appeared in columns of light.

They were lion-headed angels with one pair of wings spread out and another wrapped around their bodies. They were clad in gleaming armor, each of them bearing a shield with an eye pattern in one hand and a fire-tipped spear in the other.

These were angels with levels in the 80s, cherubim gatekeepers.

Ainz didn’t know much about mythology, so he had no idea why they were called gatekeepers, but he had a decent idea what sort of abilities they had as monsters.

Cherubim gatekeepers made for great tanks. They also had fairly good detection abilities, so they were plenty qualified as guards.

“Protect me. Don’t kill any enemies; to whatever extent possible, incapacitate them without injuring them.”

“Understood, Lord Summoner.”

It wasn’t a merciful order. He didn’t have any qualms about killing his enemies—he was planning for the possibility that someone was pulling the strings from the shadows. Also, Momon had to be the one to kill them.

“We’re off, then.”

After setting up his defenses by deploying the angels around him, Ainz set off.

Summons—including this super-tier spell—vanished after a set amount of time, so he wanted to avoid wasting time as much as possible.

“Angels, Fith is also coming along. Protect her as you do me.”

“Understood, Lord Summoner.”

“L-Lord Ainz! I can’t possibly be worthy of the same protection as your precious Supreme Being body!”

“…Fith. You may be a maid, but you’re also one of my friends’ creations. That makes you extremely valuable to me. Listen, I don’t like repeating myself. Remember what I said and pass it along to your fellow maids.”

“Th-thank you!”

Incidentally, he didn’t mention the eight-edged assassins, who were also no doubt coming along. He could summon those as long as he had
Yggdrasil
gold. They had no value to him besides the fact that it would be a waste to lose them.

“Now then, let’s go.”

Ainz, with an entourage consisting of the six angels, Fith, and a few eight-edged assassins—the rest would stay behind to guard this place—approached the gate.

Standing there was the commander of over twenty death knights Ainz had created, a crypt lord.

He was an undead with a level in the 70s, wearing a purple robe that must have been gorgeous once but was now in tatters, plus a crown so radiant, it didn’t match the rest of his appearance.

Crypt lords had commander skills that strengthened their subordinates, but since the death knights this one was commanding were under Ainz’s control, the buffs weren’t in effect. That said, he was still a great commander, and Ainz had stationed him there because of his appreciation of his abilities.

“I’m going out now. Let Albedo know.”

The crypt lord bowed low as Ainz walked past him into the city.

He didn’t have any particular destination in mind.

More than a walk, he wanted an answer to the question Pandora’s Actor had lobbed at him. He wouldn’t have been able to sort out even the things he could manage on his own if he had to endure constant disruptions.

Ainz set out on his walk, envisioning the future of the Nation of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown, which he controlled.

3

Ainz and his crew proceeded straight down the broad street.

He couldn’t say it was very lively. Compared to his memories as Momon, the difference was clear at a glance. The expressions on the people’s faces were dark, and they were all in a hurry for some reason.

Meanwhile, death knights strode right down the middle of the street. It was probably the group he had patrolling the city as guards. He’d given them simple orders to apprehend anyone fighting or otherwise being violent and to protect anyone who asked for help.

Ainz shifted his gaze toward the wall.

Some of the many death knights he had created were on watch atop it. There were others, like the ones at the gate and the ones on patrol, but probably the weirdest way he was making use of them was having some accompany the slum dwellers he had sent to establish a village.

The people with a high likelihood of ending up in the slums were the second and third backup sons who didn’t inherit fields. Those sorts of men came to the city with their dreams, convinced they would be able to make it there, but slipped into poverty when those dreams didn’t come true. And that’s why Ainz sent them out with the promise of land.

They were headed for the villages that had been rebuilt on the grounds of the lands that had been burned in the Theocracy’s conspiracy. Since they were destroyed by external causes, it would be easy to repopulate them once the original threat was removed.

Those villages had a history of being attacked, so Ainz had death knights and soul eaters go along as guards. He also ordered the undead to help with the field work.

Maybe they weren’t very good at farming, but when it came to basic physical labor, humans couldn’t compare. The undead were heavy machinery that could run twenty-four hours a day without fuel—perfect for working the land or doing any other hard labor; they would surely contribute much to the coming harvest.

What Ainz demanded of them was to establish a village and reach minimal self-sufficiency within a year. From the second year, they were supposed to have harvests on par with any normal village.

Any crops he received as taxes were going straight into the exchange box to be converted into
Yggdrasil
currency. Albedo and Demiurge were thrilled about this project before he even told them the details, so he was sure it would go well.

And so he had lent out the undead so that establishing the villages wouldn’t drag on for years.

Incidentally, the undead were rentals, and the contract stated that in future tax payments, a rental fee would be added on top. He didn’t have to charge, but he put the plan in place because he figured in the future, all sorts of people would be using undead.

As part of that plan, he dispatched a large number of slum dwellers—prioritizing families—out of the city, but it wasn’t as if that was why foot traffic in the streets had dwindled.

The reason there weren’t many people out was probably that Ainz was taking a walk. There were too many people whose eyes became saucers when they saw him and either skittered back the way they came or dodged onto a side street.

It was like walking in an empty wasteland.

Being feared wasn’t a bad thing. It was ten times better than being slighted.

But is this lifeless town really my country?

As long as the Great Tomb of Nazarick and the NPCs who lived there were happy, he didn’t care about the rest. But what would his old friends have said if they saw this? Would they have been drawn in by their nature as undead or monsters and view humans as food? Or would they have retained intense human emotions?

What the heck do I want to do with this country?

As Pandora’s Actor said, he needed to decide national policy as well as his goals for ruling the city.

For example, it could become a country that existed to produce wheat and other food to throw into the exchange box to obtain coins to fortify the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

It could become a country that bred humans for slaughter and to accumulate experience points in the equipment Avarice and Selflessness.

It could become a country where undead performed all the labor and the living didn’t have to do any work at all.

It could…

From a country filled with love to one filled with resentment—what was Ainz supposed to do with this nation bearing his guild’s name? He couldn’t delegate this to his subordinates; it was his responsibility as Ainz Ooal Gown, King of Darkness.

“Fith, what do you think about this city? How is this country?”

“My humble apologies. What kind of answer would be appropriate for ‘how’ it is?”

Too abstract?
Ainz restated his question. “Do you think this country is easy to live in? Tell me what you really think without any flattery.”

“Yes, I think it’s very easy to live in this country under your rule, Lord Ainz.”

Ainz looked to the heavens. He should have known this was what an NPC would say.

“But…”

“Oh? What is it? Whatever it is, tell me.”

“Yes, my lord. The ruler of this country is putting his precious body on display, so why has no one come to worship you? They only peek out from indoors… It’s terribly poor manners!”

Fith was offended. Certainly, there were a lot of people in the shops along the street peeking out at them with bated breath. Some were even scared stiff at the sight of the angels.

“…Fith, you don’t think humans are worth much, do you?”

“My lord, it’s as you say. They are poor things who were not created by the Supreme Beings.”

This was the basic attitude that most in Nazarick shared. A level-1 maid was no exception.

“Fith, what’s most important to me is you guys.”

“Thank you!”

“But I should probably show a little affection to my subjects. They’re the people of the Nation of Darkness, after all.”

“I humbly agree, my lord.”

“Let’s make an ideal town for them. A gentle world like a dream dipped in sweet nectar. It’ll be a place that will make them want to be ruled by me forever.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

“If I’m going to conquer the world, my target isn’t only humans. All races shall kneel before me.”

“As it should be, my lord.”

The ideal-homeland plan…

The plan they’d been carrying out on the sixth level of Nazarick had originally been started in order to show any players they encountered that they were a good guild, like,
Look at all the races we’ve welcomed to Nazarick!

Ainz felt that as an experiment, it was a good one.

“Let’s tell the whole world that under the rule of the King of Darkness is eternal prosperity.”

“That’s simply the truth, my lord.”

If that was how it turned out, he might be able to show off the city proudly if he ever found any of his friends, the other guild members.

The shape of Ainz’s country was surely one where all the races under his rule could coexist. He would take the form of the onetime guild Ainz Ooal Gown from the Great Tomb of Nazarick and reproduce it in this world.

It would be a place where his friends, who might be out there somewhere, could come and have a pleasant time with people of all sorts of races, even if they were grotesques.

Ainz’s eyes sparkled even more brightly.

The Nation of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown should be a country where all sorts of races can coexist. Only the Nation of Darkness can achieve that.

Even if one genius king established a country, there was no guarantee that his child would be an excellent king as well. And neither was there any guarantee that his grandson or great-grandson would be excellent kings. He had heard the saying somewhere that companies went bad in the second generation and went under in the third.

But that wouldn’t happen if an ageless, immortal genius king was the ruler. The ideal government was dictatorship by a handful of geniuses. The presence of figures like Albedo and Demiurge made the Nation of Darkness capable—no, uniquely capable of producing an eternal paradise. Just like Ulbert said, “A dictatorship by a superbeing would be amazing!”

Ainz considered it further.

The guardians, with Demiurge and Albedo in the lead, were racing toward the goal of world conquest, and Ainz hadn’t been able to completely refuse—because he thought it would help get his name out to his friends.

But it wouldn’t be bad to spread his name in a way that wasn’t simply ruling with force, right? Promoting the Nation of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown as an ideal homeland and conquering people with that sweet nectar was one option.

It was a matter of carrots versus whips.

If Demiurge and Albedo were doing the whipping, Ainz could give out carrots.

This is a terrific plan…

Ainz made up his mind. This was the shape of world conquest conceived by Ainz and his vestiges of humanity, not the NPCs who looked down on anyone who wasn’t from Nazarick: rule by overwhelming attraction.

What do I need to do to reach that objective?

As he began walking again, he worked his brain as hard as he could.

Methods different from Albedo’s and Demiurge’s… Methods that don’t rely on force…

Ainz couldn’t imagine the workings of a country. So he pretended he was an employee at a small company.

It was a tiny company that took up only one floor of the building. The only employee was Ainz.

Its product was the splendid governance of the Nation of Darkness. And he had to sell it.

First, he had to think of who would buy his product. He had to get it to the people who needed it. But he didn’t have enough information about who wanted it. Why? It was simple. Because he hadn’t advertised enough.

But it wasn’t a matter of going to all different cities and handing out flyers at the entrance. That would be a waste of time. Ainz was the sole employee. He needed a different way.

There was no mass media to be found like there was in his old world.
There are networks of traveling merchants and whatnot by trade, so would it make sense to advertise within those systems?
Before he realized it, Ainz had arrived in front of the Adventurers Guild.

He had gone there so often as Momon that it had practically become muscle memory.
That’s probably a symptom of workaholism.

Ainz smiled wryly and opened the door.

The counter in the back came into view. There was one receptionist lady sitting there. On his left-hand side was a large door, and on the right was the board. Job requests written on sheets of parchment were posted there. And as for adventurers looking them over…there were none.

The guild was empty. It was impossible to even compare it to the times he had visited as Momon.

Ignoring the receptionist watching him wide-eyed, Ainz stood before the sheets of parchment.

He still couldn’t read the writing, but there were a few words he had memorized. Among them were words for time.

A quick look told him the only jobs available were old ones from about a month ago. In other words, there weren’t many urgent requests; it was mostly recurring tasks.

“…You at the desk. There aren’t many jobs posted. Aren’t there any new requests?”

“Eep… N-no. What’s there is all we have, Your Majesty.”

Were there fewer adventurers around because there were fewer requests?

If so, that was Ainz’s doing.

Ainz had the streets patrolled mainly by his military—death knights—to keep the peace. The threat of monsters must have been eliminated as a result.

If he had the patrols continue, it was possible that the adventurers would completely disappear.

I need to create requests to get them to— No, there’s no reason I need adventurers here.

Anything an adventurer could do, his death knights could do. Well, certain things, such as gathering herbs, would be tricky, but the answer was to lend out death knights to escort apothecaries.

Ainz could currently think of no use for adventurers. For one, hiring them cost money. E-Rantel’s tax revenue had dropped—it couldn’t afford adventurers.

No one will be troubled if the adventurers leave.

Having decided that, he was about to leave the guild.

Besides, that job was so lacking in dreams and aspiration.

He remembered the first time he had visited this city’s guild with Narberal.

Adventurers traveled the world in search of the unknown. He used to think it was a job that embodied the correct way of playing
Yggdrasil
.

If they’re nothing more than anti-monster bodyguards, then once those are unnecessary, they’ll be unemployed. That’s how it goes with any job. If only it was more like in
Yggdrasil
, more dreamy… Dreams? Journeying across the land in pursuit of the unknown? Could that be…?

Something lit up in the back of Ainz’s mind.

If, hypothetically, the adventurer trade changed from being monster extermination mercenaries to seekers of the unknown like in
Yggdrasil
, then couldn’t he have them promote the Nation of Darkness in uncharted lands?

Ainz didn’t want to promote only to humans but to all races. If he wanted to advertise exclusively to people, using merchant connections might have been enough. But if that wasn’t the case, maybe adventurers were the optimal choice.

Ainz
hmm
ed with a nod.

The receptionist had a dubious look on her face, but he ignored that—because if he paid attention to her, the idea he had would fly off somewhere.

The CEO of his own little company, Ainz considered the next steps in his plan.

But at present, the number of adventurers in the Nation of Darkness is trending downward. If nothing changes, it will continue to dwindle, and in the near future, they’ll be pretty much gone. How can I prevent that from happening?

Increasing their number would be easy. All he needed to do was the opposite of what he was doing now. In other words, have the Nation of Darkness pay for monster extermination. But that ran contrary to Ainz’s goal of having adventurers pursue the unknown. One option would be to put in requests for promotion, but Ainz didn’t have the money.

The Great Tomb of Nazarick had mountains of cash, but his personal assets had dried up. The NPCs would surely say that all the money in Nazarick belonged to Ainz, but he was starting this project on his own discretion, so he didn’t really want to dip into their reserves.

As Ainz was thinking, he heard the door open.

When he turned to look, he saw a familiar adventurer staring back at him, immobile.

Hmm? That’s, uh, what’s his name… Yokmoch? No. But it’s something like that.

It was right there, but he couldn’t quite reach it. In that state of frustration, he dug as deep as he could into his memory.

“Moknach…” When he managed to unearth the correct answer, he inadvertently said it aloud.

Shocked to have been suddenly called by name, the adventurer completely froze.

Crap!

It was too late to panic. He could tell the guild staffer was looking over at them now to see what was happening, too.

There was no way the new ruler of E-Rantel, King of Darkness Ainz Ooal Gown, would know the name of a mere mythril-plate adventurer. What possible reason would he have for knowing that? He spun the gears of his brain, but before he could come up with something, Moknach spoke.

“D-did you hear about me from Sir Momon?”

“Yes, I did. That’s right.”

Ainz jumped at that explanation immediately. Two conflicting emotions streaked across Moknach’s face at the same time: anticipation and fear.

Having recovered from the previous moment’s scare, Ainz cautiously analyzed the situation.

If he remembered correctly, this man was the leader of the mythril team Rainbow. He first met him during the vampire hullabaloo. After that, he had spoken with him a few times as Momon, but he hadn’t seen him in a while, so he had nearly forgotten him.

Moknach admired Momon as a hero like all the other adventurers and soldiers did. What did he think of the fact that he had been defeated by the King of Darkness?

Why would Momon have spoken to the King of Darkness about me? Just shooting the breeze? Or did he sell me out?
Those were probably the sorts of ideas going around in his head.

Ainz looked for a chance to turn this awkward spot to his advantage.

“When I asked Momon about capable adventurers, he mentioned you—Moknach from Rainbow.”

Moknach had been mostly keeping his eyes on the ground, but his face jerked up when he heard what Ainz had said. “I-is that true?!”

“You doubt me?”

“No! I would never…”

When visiting a client, the first order of business was to praise them. Most humans weren’t averse to being complimented. Buttering up the customer before launching into a sales pitch was biz talk 101 but also the core of the art of negotiation.

Having successfully driven a wedge into the opening in the man’s startled mental state, Ainz was determined not to let this chance slip by. He launched a question at him. “So why are you in E-Rantel?”

The best way to learn about adventurers was to ask an adventurer.

Moknach hesitated a bit, but then seemed to steel his resolve. “The undead, Your Majesty. The Katze Plain is nearby. There is no shortage of opponents to make money off of.”

Ainz didn’t really get it, but the guy was sweating bullets with a
There, I said it
rebel smile on his face.

Ainz intended to take over the Katze Plain before too long. The rumors of the ship that sailed on land were especially interesting to him.

“I see.”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“No, I mean…”

This fellow wasn’t very articulate. Ainz endured the urge to sigh and pressed his question. “Is that the only reason?”

“…Besides that, well, yeah. Until Sir Momon showed up, we mythrils were the highest-ranking adventurers around, so we got lots of well-paying jobs.”

So it’s about pay.
Maybe the best option was to allocate a portion of the nation’s budget to rewarding adventurers.

“I’m also from around these parts, so I know lots of people. And all sorts of magic items show up in this city, too.”

“Oh, magic items?”

“Yes. A single item can save your life, so it’s only natural for an adventurer to choose a place with a good selection on offer as their base.”

It was true that even in
Yggdrasil
, he had heard stories about parties being saved from annihilation by a single item, and come to think of it, there were lots of people who seemed to be adventurers at the market in the imperial capital. In other words, if he could sell magic items on a larger scale than the imperial capital, he could lure adventurers to his country.

If he made random items with data crystals and held an auction, people would probably go nuts. But that would eat up Nazarick’s assets, and that was before he even considered that any technology developed as a result could come back to bite him.

I guess sprinkling them around like bait wouldn’t be bad? But I’d really prefer to avoid using Nazarick’s resources. I guess that means developing various items with the technology of this world? And things that can travel between nations? Mm…that’s a tall order. I’ll put this line of thinking on hold for now.

“Umm…” Moknach’s somewhat restrained voice brought Ainz back from the depths of his thoughts. “Your Majesty, I wonder… Why did you ask me that? Honestly…” Biting his lip, Moknach continued in a pained voice, “We can’t stand up to a single one of your undead, even in a group. And those undead are protecting the city now. In the Nation of Darkness, adventurers have practically no purpose.”

What could Ainz say? What kind of answer would make a good impression on the adventurer…plus the receptionist lady who was watching them closely along with the other staff members who had appeared at some point?

Would dissembling and saying,
There’s no reason I need to tell you
, to avoid making a big mistake, be the safer route? But that could make them suspicious. He needed something more…

No, believe in yourself. I’m a man who’s gotten through plenty of sticky spots like this. I’m sure things will work out this time, too—probably!

Ainz was filled with determination.

But if you understand that much, then what are you doing here, Moknach? Is it because it’s your hometown? Do you have a girlfriend or something?

The direction the King of Darkness took the conversation would depend on the answer. “Before I tell you why, answer my first question. Why are you in this city right now?”

“B-because…” Moknach trailed off. Then, though somewhat nervously, yet with a resolute expression, he said, “Because of Sir Momon. If Sir Momon is staying here to protect the city, someone like me—someone who was born here—can’t very well run away. It’d be so lame.”

That instant, Ainz smiled.

Though he was slightly acquainted with the man as Momon, Ainz was surprised that he was so open.

“I see. Then I’ll answer your question as well.” He left a weighty pause and then continued in a dignified manner, “Because of Momon. I wanted to know what adventurers with the potential to become like Momon desire, what they’re after.”

Moknach’s eyes opened wide. Ainz heard a few of the staff members gasp.

“Momon is strong, but more than that, he’s a noble man.” Saying it himself was awkward, but he couldn’t help it, since those were the characters he was playing. “And I see in adventurers the spark I see in Momon.”

Perhaps his regular rehearsals were worth it. When he finished making his powerful remark, it was like a bolt of lightning struck the ground behind Moknach.

“B-but Momon is a Supreme Being—only a chosen few can reach his level. There’s no way we could be like him…”

“Are you saying Momon doesn’t have an eye for potential?”

“What?! D-did Sir Momon say we have that potential?”

“Not in so many words, but…” Ainz performed the laugh he had practiced—a kingly laugh. He made it seem like he thought it was funny even if it wasn’t. “Even if you don’t reach it, what about your child? Or your grandchild? Perhaps from among you, more like Momon will appear. I’m an immortal being, the king of the Nation of Darkness. It’s only natural that I would work toward getting the next Momon to pledge his wholehearted loyalty to me. That is the purpose that I, as a ruler, see in the Nation of Darkness’s adventurers. Well, there is another, but I haven’t quite figured it out for myself yet, so allow me to omit it.”

The area fell deathly silent.

Huh? Did I say something wrong? Doesn’t this guy adore Momon?

Ainz was getting anxious when Moknach bowed deeply.

“Your Majesty, I am grateful for the opportunity to have met with you like this and to have had the chance to hear some of your thoughts.” When Moknach lifted his head, the earlier impressions of anxiety, fear, and suspicion had faded, and he was wearing a cheerful smile. “…You’re a formidable man. The charming charisma you possess is even greater than your immense magical power.”

“I’m glad, too—to have met one of the excellent adventurers I’m hoping to win over in the future.”

Moknach’s face relaxed slightly, in a happy way. “But, Your Majesty, the Adventurers Guild has always been uninvolved in politics. I’m the same way. Do you think you can change our minds?”

“Hmm. That was my goal in coming here. Not that the idea is set in stone yet… You at the desk. Tell the guild master the King of Darkness is here to see him.”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty!”

The receptionist who had been listening intently dashed off.

“Then if you’ll excuse me…”

Moknach, completely changed from when he had first entered, bowed politely and took his leave.

Okay…now what?

There were three important points to Ainz’s half-formed idea of using adventurers to spread word of how wonderful the Nation of Darkness was.

The first was strengthening the Adventurers Guild. Acquiring an organization with only a dozen people in it wouldn’t mean much.

The second was training them. Weaklings wouldn’t be able to travel very far, and if it took too long to share the news about the greatness of the Nation of Darkness, there wouldn’t be as many benefits.

The third was that he needed good-willed cooperation on the previous points. He figured he could probably pull it off with Momon, but having Ainzach’s voluntary commitment would make things easier.

First I should negotiate with Ainzach to solve this third issue. But, man, making a presentation with no data is rough. Ahhh, my stomach hurts.

All he could do was hope the guild master was out, but the first thing the receptionist said when she came back was, “Right this way.”

Ainz looked up at the ceiling before following her.

4

Ainz traveled down the hallway he had walked many times as Momon and was led into not the guild master’s office but a room farther back that was used to receive visitors.

There he met a man in the virile prime of his life with sharp features, Guild Master Pluton Ainzach.

Momon knew the man—and had even been dragged to an adult establishment by him before, but for King Ainz Ooal Gown, this was their first meeting, so he had to keep that in mind and be careful how he acted.

“What a surprise, Your Majesty. I’m overjoyed as a citizen of this country that you would grace our humble guild with your presence. It may be a shabby place, but please take a seat.”

Ainz accepted Ainzach’s offer and sat down.

Fith stood behind Ainz. There were three angels in the room. The rest waited outside.

“Really, I should be the one visiting you, so I thank you for coming.” Ainzach had taken a knee and now bowed his head.

The attitude made Ainz wince.

The tone of the man’s voice was totally different from when he dealt with Momon. It was warm and polite but only that. When Ainz realized it was only business talk, he smiled wryly—not that his face moved, of course.

Ainz shifted his gaze to the other door in the room, the one he hadn’t entered through.

It was the door to the guild master’s office. If he was Momon, they would be talking in there, so the fact that they were in the sitting room made him feel like there was a barrier between them.

“Is something wrong, Your Majesty?”

Ainzach had raised his head and was looking at Ainz.
I focused too much on the other room and neglected him.
Ainz scoffed at himself for his foolishness.

He was only laughing at himself, but Ainzach’s expression stiffened.

Ainz hated himself for being rude, but the King of Darkness couldn’t very well apologize. He decided to try to move the conversation forward and leave things vague.

But what was the proper way to behave with the guild master?

Ainz was only just starting to feel out this role of king, and he had no idea how to interact with the head of the Adventurers Guild. He eventually decided to go with what he thought might work.

“You may have already heard, Ainzach, but I have a proposition for you.”

“My humble apologies, Your Majesty. I’m afraid I haven’t heard, so if you would be so kind as to explain from the beginning…”

From their exchanges when he was Momon, Ainz knew that Ainzach was a shrewd man who could tell a lie with a straight face. It seemed like there was a fairly good chance he actually already knew what was going on. Perhaps that was why he didn’t appear at all surprised to see the angels.

In that case, they could cut to the chase. Ainz spoke frankly.

“I’m absorbing this guild into the Nation of Darkness.”

“…I see. I’m sure no one will stop you.”

“Oh? I heard that adventurer guilds don’t align themselves with any nation. You don’t care?”

“Everything will be as you wish, Your Majesty. We exist under the rules of your country. If you decide to rule the guild, I cannot protest.”

Ainz chuckled to himself. It seemed like Ainzach noticed. The emotions deep in his eyes seemed to waver slightly.

“That’s true, but I imagine your plan is something like this, right? You’ll tell all the adventurers to head to the kingdom or the empire and then hand me an empty shell of an organization.”

As Ainz stared at him, Ainzach shrugged as if to say,
So you’ve already thought that far ahead?

“Your Majesty is as brilliant as I expected. Adept at not only ruling and governance, you can even see through our thoughts… Did you use a spell to read my mind?”

“I didn’t use any magic. It’s simply experience.”

“Because you’ve lived a long time? Dear me, what a formidable man you are. What will happen to me, then?”

“Nothing.”

“…I won’t thank you.”

“I don’t need your thanks. I want you to listen to me. The reason the Adventurers Guild didn’t work for the country was because it existed to protect the people. That’s why it never gets involved in fights between people. That’s what I’ve heard—is it correct?”

“Your Majesty, what you say is true. Even when you occupied the city, we didn’t put up a fight.”

“There was that Momon fellow who stood in my way, though, yes…?”

“Urk,” Ainzach groaned.

Well, nothing good would come of forcing him into a corner. Ainz moved the conversation forward, taking care to defend Momon. “Well, we can let that go. Besides, we’re cooperating on one matter—the peaceful rule of the city, that is.”

Ainzach looked like he wanted to say something, but Ainz continued without reacting.

This was the most important part.

He had to convince Ainzach to cooperate on a friendly basis with the Nation of Darkness.

Ainz recalled all the gripes and grievances he’d heard as Momon.

“…All right, I wonder about part of what you said earlier. You agreed that adventurers exist to protect people, but how far does your definition of
people
extend?”

“What do you mean?” Ainzach’s expression said he didn’t understand what Ainz was getting at.

“Does
people
mean humanoids? Or just humans? Are elves, half elves, and the other races living alongside humans included?”

“Well, sure, they’re included.”

“That’s strange. In the empire, elves are slaves, right? Does that count as protecting them? They aren’t criminals who broke imperial law, right?”

Ainzach lowered his gaze. Then he looked back up at Ainz.

“…I’m one guild master from the kingdom. I can’t claim to know what their philosophy is in the empire.”

“Trying to escape with a vague answer…?”

Ainzach’s eyes widened. Flames of fear blazed deep within.

“Your Majesty, I was being sarcastic…”

“Sarcastic? So it wasn’t the truth? Then I’ll ask again. Are you trying to get out of this with a vague answer?”

Ainzach looked down. “…It’s as you say.”

“You say you protect elves and half elves, yet you don’t. Why is that?”

Ainzach prefaced his response with the fact that he didn’t know how things worked in the empire. “Even adventurer guilds aren’t completely immune to a country’s influence. Adventurers claim to be free and declare themselves outside of any rule, but they still live under their nations’ laws. We’re armed. That’s why it’s particularly dangerous to use our force against the country. That’s probably what the guild in the empire thinks.”

“Yeah. But if you live under the laws of a country, then you should have no qualms about being absorbed. So why are you so against it?”

“The empire and the kingdom both have their eyes on us. Only adventurers have the power to fight strong monsters, after all. They won’t make any impossible demands as long as that stays the same. But it won’t work the same way with you, Your Majesty. If we were absorbed, it’s conceivable that you would force us to use our might as a military force against the people.”

“So the main reason you don’t want to be absorbed by the country is that you’re scared that your power as adventurers would be turned on the people?”

“That’s correct, Your Majesty. We don’t want to be used for oppression or war; we don’t want to be involved in anything that will result in so much loss of life.”

Got him.
Ainz chuckled. He didn’t say that he had known as much already.

“Sit down. I’m going to explain what I want you guys to do.” Ainz ordered Ainzach to sit down facing him again. After the guild master nervously took his seat, Ainz began his explanation. “I’m thinking about having the adventurers perform a completely different job. I want them to discover the unknown and make the world a smaller place.”

Ainz had the feeling Ainzach was looking directly at him for the first time.

“For example, in the south between the Theocracy and the Sacred Kingdom, there is a wasteland, but do you know the details of the terrain and what sorts of monsters live there?”

“No, there are many different subhuman tribes that live on that land, but no kingdom adventurers who went there ever returned, so we have almost no information about the area.”

“Then how about the mountains southwest of here on the border with the Theocracy?”

“We don’t know much about that area, either.”

“Doesn’t that strike you as pathetic? Well, no, considering the adventurers’ jobs, I suppose it can’t be helped. They’re an organization for protecting the people. They don’t need knowledge about places where there are no people, then, do they? Although there could be herbs growing there that might help people…”

Ainzach pursed his lips at the jab.

“Once the Adventurers Guild is under my control, I want to have adventurers fill in those blanks.”

“…Couldn’t you have your men do it, Your Majesty?”

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Ainzach. I heard that you used to be an adventurer yourself, so could you say that again—keeping in mind the definition of
adventurer
? Do you really exist only to battle monsters? I thought adventurers were people who made the unknown known—at least, until I actually investigated.”

Ainzach bit his lip—so hard that it seemed like it would break and bleed.

“We have to protect the people.”

“No, you don’t. In the Nation of Darkness, I, the ruler, will protect the people. You know it to be true based on the recent decrease in requests, right?”

Ainzach assented with a groan.

“So what will you do now? Leave the Nation of Darkness to protect the people in the kingdom and empire? Then you’re no more than mercenaries who specialize in monster extermination.”

Ainz paused. Now it was time for the invitation. He had to use his full brainpower when choosing each and every word. “Your suggestion to have my subordinates perform these tasks, it isn’t wrong. While my subordinates are adept at killing enemies, however, in most cases I question whether they would be able to go into the unknown and build amicable relations with the people they find there, embarrassing as that is to admit. That’s why I’d like the adventurers to take on this task, if possible.”

He was extremely curious about Ainzach’s reaction to this, but his presentation wasn’t over yet. “Well, I’d be having them do such dangerous work, so I’d want to back them up in every way possible. In such a case, it would make sense for the guild to be under my umbrella, no?”

“…Couldn’t you put in requests like normal?”

“Ah, I see. You must be very confident in your abilities. I can’t fault you for that kind of courage.”

“Wh-what do you mean, Your Majesty?”

“You’re saying it’s fine for the Nation of Darkness to disavow any adventurers who journey into the unknown and have an unlucky encounter in an area with people who espouse a different culture, right? And you’ll clear up any issues that arise on your own as the guild? If you’re going to exist as an independent organization, that would be only natural. You’ll have to agree to resolve problems in a way such that the Nation of Darkness doesn’t incur any losses.”

Ainzach fell silent.

“That’s what it means to exist independently and not under a nation, right? In other words, if a foreign country took action, you guys would be responsible for handling it… Does what I’m saying seem strange to you?”

“Not at all, Your Majesty.” Ainzach shook his head to emphasize his position. “I agree with every word you’ve said.”

“There you go, then. But if we did that, the number of adventurers—people in such a technical trade—would decrease. In the time it takes to develop capable people, attrition of already outstanding individuals would be a huge loss. That’s why I want the guild under my umbrella. And then rather than issue orders, I’d do my utmost to provide you with support.”

“That’s quite an enticing proposal… If you don’t mind me asking one question, though, would this exploration of unknown lands be for the purpose of helping the Nation of Darkness invade?”

“That’s a difficult question to answer. There’s no way I can claim that it would never turn out that way. We might even find that the people in the unknown lands are planning to invade us and end up attacking preemptively. For the subhumans in the wasteland, it might be that we invade in the name of demonstrating our power to those ogres, orcs, and so on. If you found violent monsters sharpening their claws nearby, wouldn’t you want to get the jump on them?”

“Yes, I see what you mean. But…”

“…Hmm.”

“What is it, Your Majesty?”

“No, sorry to break the flow of the conversation. You were going to say something more, weren’t you? Go ahead and continue.”

“…Understood. What I was worried about was the possibility of annexing peaceful people by force.”

“For example, what race are you thinking? Elves?”

“Well, perhaps.”

“That has to do with national policy, so I can’t just lump them all together. If it would benefit the Nation of Darkness to invade and rule them, then I would do that, but if there are no merits, I wouldn’t. Isn’t that only a matter of course when it comes to a country? I will say, though, that if it’s simply an invasion, I have an army plenty large enough. I don’t expect adventurers to collect intelligence on enemy countries or test out invasion routes. I just want them to seek the unknown and make lots of discoveries. That I can promise. By the way,” he began again and asked Ainzach a question. “You guys consider attractive races separate from the rest, huh? Why didn’t you object to the annexation of peaceful peoples when I mentioned invading ogres and orcs?”

“B-because they’re subhumans…”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha. I see; I see. So that’s how you think. I understand now, yes. So what’s your answer?”

Ainzach seemed like he wanted to say something, but he shook his head right away. He must have had a change of heart. “Do you need an immediate answer on this, Your Majesty?”

“I’d like a reply, but I imagine there’s a lot of groundwork to be laid down, consultations to be made. I’m sure it will take a little time. But first, I want to hear what
you
think, Ainzach.” Ainz sat up sharply and fixed his eyes on Ainzach, the distance between them negligible. “I don’t like that you’re all merely exterminators. It’s so sad—and you call yourselves adventurers. Ainzach, what do you think? Won’t you adventure for the Nation of Darkness—for me? I really wish for you all…” Ainz paused momentarily. He put energy into his gaze and his tone. “…I wish for you all to be adventurers.”

Tension filled the room. Ainz held his breath—not that he needed to breathe any air to begin with—and observed Ainzach, waiting for a response as if he was observing an opponent who had just collapsed from a special attack.

“…I think it’s a very enticing proposal.”

The light in Ainz’s eyes seemed to dim. Usually in cases like this, the next comment would be the reason why it wouldn’t work out.

“But I need to gather opinions from a lot of different people about whether we can accept it or not. Certainly, if you really want to utilize adventurers in that fashion, it sounds like a dream. And it would make sense for the guild to be structured under the country’s umbrella. If you’re asking for the opinion of one former adventurer…I’d like to cooperate.”

Huh? So this went well, then?

“I see…”

Ainz leaned back on the sofa.

The joy of his presentation going well slowly overcame him. It was like the feeling of leaving a client’s office and calling one’s company from a café to report in, wanting to shout,
We did it!
He never thought he would be able to use his experience as an adventurer in this way. No, it was probably because he had that experience that he had even come up with this idea.

He remembered there was one other thing he had to bring up—about the Nation of Darkness’s future.

“Oh, there’s one other thing.” Ainz held up a bony finger. “Earlier when you mentioned protecting the people, you agreed that it meant humanoids, right? Regarding the fact that adventurers existed to protect the people.”

“Yes, that is what I said, Your Majesty.”

“And when I was talking about invasions, you said you didn’t care about subhumans, right?”

Ainzach nodded as if to say,
What about it?

“The Nation of Darkness accepts all races as citizens. Not only humanoids but subhumans and grotesques as well. If you say that the purpose of adventurers is to protect the people, I’m going to have you protect subhumans and grotesques as well.”

Ainzach’s eyes widened. “What are you saying?!”

“…What’s wrong? I don’t understand what you’re all riled up about. My country doesn’t distinguish between humanoids, subhumans, and grotesques. As long as I rule over them, they are all people.”

“Th-that’s i-insanity. It can’t be done, Your Majesty!”

“You don’t think so? I heard there’s a country north of the kingdom called the Council State or something like that. Isn’t it true that all sorts of races coexist there?”

“I have heard that about that country, but… No! You’re telling us to coexist with races that consider us food?!”

“Aha! Yes, that’s right. I won’t permit free citizens of the Nation of Darkness to eat one another. I’ll enact a law against it. Does that make it better? I won’t stop anyone eating people from other countries, although I don’t mean to go poking my nose into my citizens’ diets… Well, wait, it’s probably not good for your mental health to see members of your own race being sold as meat at market… I guess there’s some room to think this over more.”

According to Lupusregina, the villagers in Carne were coexisting with goblins and ogres, so it probably wasn’t impossible for the city dwellers, although he understood that it would be more difficult to manage with more people involved.

“Wh-what in the world are you thinking?”

“Don’t act like you’re so confused. Or rather, why don’t you cooperate with your fellow living beings? As an undead, I can’t comprehend it. To me, there’s no difference between humans and goblins. Everyone is equal under my rule. Of course, above you all are me and the people working directly beneath me.”

Ainzach’s face went through a flurry of expressions and eventually composed itself once again.

“So goblins will be beneath you—as citizens of your country?”

“Were you not listening to everything I just said? I told you ogres and orcs would be included, didn’t I?”

“O-of course I was listening. I thought you meant as slaves…”

“That’s just the sort of thing I would expect someone from the race that enslaved elves to say. I’ll repeat it: All citizens beneath me will be equal.”

Ainz felt, as he looked at Ainzach, who seemed to be breathing raggedly, that the man wasn’t grasping his intentions.

To speak in extreme terms, all citizens would be slaves of the inhabitants of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, but Ainz didn’t phrase it that way. It wasn’t necessary. If they didn’t notice, he didn’t care.

“There are already a number of goblins under my protection. A group of them will probably come to E-Rantel soon. You should try talking with them. I have no doubt your conception of what a goblin is will be shattered. And lizardmen apparently don’t eat meat very often at all. They eat fish. Dryads and trents are fond of clean water and sunlight. They only attack humans out of self-defense.”

“You rule over all those races already?”

“Of course. I’ve already had a number of subhumans and grotesques as citizens in the past. Oh, but we’re getting off topic. Ainzach, I can assume your stance on the Adventurers Guild being absorbed as an organization of the Nation of Darkness is one of approval?”

“…If you’re not lying, Your Majesty, then I’m fine with it.”

“You sure are a worrywart. I’m not lying. I’m going to have adventurers pursue the unknown.” If possible, he wanted them to go in composite teams of various races. “I’ll leave the explanation to the adventurers up to you. Anyone who doesn’t like the idea of being an adventurer in the Nation of Darkness as a constituent member of the country is free to leave.”

“You’re sure?”

“Forcing them to work won’t turn out well for either of us. Still, I think making big changes to the way things work would be a pain, so let’s maintain the current system to some extent. For the time being, the main change will be a review committee from the Nation of Darkness to preside over the guild master.”

It was also important to provide added value so the adventurers would want to belong to the Nation of Darkness’s guild. “As for national support, first I’ll establish a training center. Having adventurers getting killed by unknown monsters in uncharted lands would be a major loss. I want training to be more thorough—at a training center that incorporates actual battles against monsters. Maybe building a dungeon and having them clear it would be a good idea. It would help get them accustomed to team combat as well.”

He could have the auto-spawning undead from Nazarick work on that. And then once it was done, they could be the monsters in it.

“That’s a wonderful idea. But it sounds like quite the construction project.”

Ainz would use undead who didn’t require a salary, so he would probably be able to build it cheaply. But he didn’t have to admit that. It was important to make people indebted to him when he could.

“I’m sure it will require an unprecedented initial investment, but it’s within the realm of necessary costs. Adventurers are important assets to the Nation of Darkness.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“It’s nothing. So what do you think? Adventurers should find this an attractive offer, right?”

“Certainly…it’s quite enticing for lower-ranking adventurers… But what if they switch to the kingdom or empire once they’re trained up?”

“I won’t allow it. It’s going to be an organ of the state! That would be treason.”

“I see… I’ll need to explain that properly.”

“What would attract medium- and high-ranking adventurers?”

“That would probably be the amount of compensation.”

“Well, you can’t eat on dreams alone.”

“There’s that but also the fact that you can’t face powerful monsters without collecting powerful weapons, armor, and items. Those items are expensive.”

“Ah, so it’s about gear.” Mass-producing items would make them cheaper, but there weren’t very many high-ranking adventurers. That meant the items would be custom-order equipment, which would raise the price again. The other issue was probably a lack of creators who could produce such items. Perhaps it would be a good idea to solve that problem, too. “I also want to let as many adventurers as possible know about my proposal—the ones in the kingdom and empire, as well. Do you have any ideas how to do that?”

“The Adventurers Guild you’re creating will be far better than the ones in the kingdom and empire. If you spread information everywhere, the other countries’ guilds will take measures to stop you from poaching their members. Adventurers are like a trump card in some ways. I don’t think there would be very many rulers happy to see an exodus of talent from their country.”

“You’re right. What do you think we should do?”

“It’s difficult to provide an immediate answer. Could I have some time to think?”

“Indeed. I need to think about what to do going forward as well.”

He had the feeling he was biting off a bit more than he could chew with this major plan. He would probably need to take a step back and think, talk things over with some people.

Ainz stood. “All right…” He was about to say,
If you’ll excuse me, then
, but that wasn’t what a king would say. “That’s it. Farewell.”

Ainzach stood and bowed. “Understood, Your Majesty.”

Without looking back, Ainz left the room through the door that Fith opened.

He wanted to sigh in spite of himself, but he was still in the other party’s building. It was too soon.

Followed by his cherubim, Ainz left the Adventurers Guild. Then, after walking a little while, he finally emitted a small sigh.

Ahhh, I’m beat.

Ainz Ooal Gown wasn’t saying he was tired, but Satoru Suzuki inside him was clamoring for a break to rest his overheated brain.

I’ll take a break before talking to Albedo about the idea to fold the Adventurers Guild into our organization. I have to think of some pros so she won’t be able to pass on the idea… I guess I have a lot to do.

Ainz walked on in silence. He prayed that something good would come to mind while walking and refrained from using travel magic.

Ainzach opened the door leading to his office, and a new guest entered.

The extremely lean, nervous-looking man with a delicate frame was Ainzach’s old friend, the head of the Wizards Guild, Theo Rakheshir.

“What a surprise, Pluton. I never imagined the King of Darkness would show up while we were talking. Do you think he caught on to something?”

“I don’t know.”

Ainzach had been in a meeting with Rakheshir since early in the morning, as was their habit.

Since the city had been captured by the King of Darkness, they met only in the morning—because they knew many undead disliked the sun. Of course, given the undead patrolling the city, that measure was useful only for easing their minds.

Their meetings were generally for sharing information, but they hadn’t touched upon the future plans of the guilds. Mainly because while the Nation of Darkness was being established, those who could leave for the kingdom or empire had already left. The Wizards Guild had sent most of their magic items away, and only a few members remained in the city. It was essentially as if the city’s Wizards Guild had disbanded.

But in terms of intelligence analysis, there were many important matters that required attending.

Adventurers had weak national ties but would be accepted in the Nation of Darkness? Would he send people after fugitive adventurers? If they made it over the border, would there be international demands to turn them in? What about wizards?

How could they reach out to Momon, who had put himself in harm’s way to protect the people? And how should the Adventurers Guild treat Momon?

The shrines had kept silent, and the King of Darkness had drawn a line, but would that status quo continue? Would a resistance rise up in the future?

These were all difficult problems the pair had trouble answering even after wringing all their knowledge out. If some sort of incident happened and they weren’t prepared, they would be in trouble. The biggest problem was the shrines.

Would the shrines allow themselves to be ruled by a king who was one of their intolerable enemies, an undead? Their current silence made the question even more unnerving.

There were also the shrines from neighboring countries. If they weren’t careful, it was possible that the shrines from other countries would independently declare a holy war on them, forcing the shrines within the city to make a move as well.

The reason no one from the shrines was present at these meetings was because their position was uncertain. Ainzach and Rakheshir were wary about inviting them only to end up embroiled in some conspiracy.

That said, they didn’t think the shrines could beat the Nation of Darkness. What they were worried about was a massacre. If Momon became a sword for the King of Darkness and started slaughtering them, what would they do? And in case something like that truly came to pass, who would provide medical treatment for the citizens of this country?

That was what they had been getting headaches about when the King of Darkness showed up.

“But he did notice you were here.” The fact that the king had looked at the door and laughed to himself proved it. “It’s possible that he got word of our secret meetings somehow.”

“What? Then…”

“Probably. I bet he meant for you to hear all that, too.”

It didn’t take much to hear what was going on in this room from the next, so he knew that Rakheshir must have been listening in on their conversation.

“It’s not just in your head?”

“No, it can’t be. At the very least, His Majesty knew someone was there. He might have thought it was someone from the shrines.”

At the time, it was such a surprise, Ainzach had been shocked and confused, but thinking over it now, it was only embarrassing. He had snuck around hiding his friend and earned himself a king’s snickering for his narrow-mindedness.

He should have called Rakheshir in; they could have had a frank conversation among all three of them.

Not that he felt his conversation with the King of Darkness had been a heart-to-heart. But the king had spoken to a citizen with all the dignity of a ruler. Meanwhile, how had he acted?

Amid Ainzach’s brow furrowing, Rakheshir addressed him coldly. “So what are you planning on doing? No, you don’t even have to say it; I already know. You’re calling him ‘His Majesty’ now.”

“Don’t you think I did it because someone could be listening in?”

“If they are, then you gave away the fact that we noticed.”

“You wouldn’t consider the possibility that I was under some kind of Charm spell?”

“I wouldn’t say there’s zero chance of it, but no, it couldn’t be that. Charm spells have a time limit. I’m sure even the King of Darkness can’t keep one going indefinitely.”

“You never know. Maybe the King of Darkness can.”

“Please stop. You might be right, and that’s disturbing. He can use the godly eighth tier of spells, after all.”

The two of them smiled, and then Ainzach’s expression grew serious once more. “I think we can cooperate with him.”

“You’re going to assist with the invasion?”

“…Isn’t it only natural to see strong countries governing the weaker ones?”

“You’ll tacitly allow it even though you know it will only end in misery?”

“We don’t know that for sure. In the first place, has His Majesty made anyone miserable since he took over here?”

Rakheshir fell silent.

Actually, to their surprise, they were unable to name anyone who had met with misfortune.

“Aren’t some adventurers out of work?”

“Well, yes, but that’s… Don’t get snide with me.”

“Yeah, that was a cheap shot. Anyhow, he was here, so shouldn’t you have asked him what he intended to do about the shrines?”

“Hold on. What would we do if by me probing, he said,
Now that you mention it, they’re in my way. I’ll abolish them
? I don’t want to live with the weight of being the spark that led to a massacre.”

“Do you think he would do something like that?”

“No, quite the opposite. He has an extraordinary intellect. Honestly, it surprised me. It almost makes me wonder if that undead face of his is just a magic disguise. Yes—he reminded me of Sir Momon.”

“I can’t think of any way that’s not rude to Sir Momon.”

In response to his scowling friend’s offended jab, Ainzach winced. “You’re right. It’s not very nice to lump everyone’s hero and an undead king together. But they are the same in that they both possess power that deviates from the realm of what normal humans are capable of, aren’t they? In a word…yes. I get a unique feeling from them, vibes they must only put out because they are both transcendent.”

“I see. Then I suppose I sort of understand.”

The pair fondly envisioned their hero Momon.

“All right,” said Ainzach after a pause, fixing his gaze squarely on Rakheshir. “If you don’t intend to cooperate with His Majesty, Rakheshir, could you stop visiting me?”

His reasoning was obvious. It was possible that documents related to running the nation would begin appearing in his room. It would be problematic for an outsider to come into the space at that point.

The King of Darkness’s words had impacted Ainzach so much that he felt motivated to say such a thing to his friend.

The new image of what an adventurer would be called to him. Some people did become adventurers for a chance to trek through lands unknown. Most of them, however, either caved in when faced with the reality or died. Only a handful of adventurers were capable of such a journey. But if the King of Darkness, a caster with absolute power, was backing them, he could see new possibilities opening up.

This was the birth of true adventurers.

Rakheshir murmured, “Ainzach, you know our Wizards Guild is pretty much disbanded, right?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then as your old friend, I’ll support you. And once this is over, shall we go off together in pursuit of the unknown?”

“Ha-ha!” Ainzach laughed. “At our age? Heh-heh, you want to?”

“Could you really resist? Make sure the King of Darkness doesn’t have an age cutoff for the Adventurers Guild.”

The pair’s cheerful laughter echoed throughout the room.