Overlord (Light Novel) Chapter 44

Chapter 10: The Greatest Trump Card

Part 1

Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th Day, 22:31

High above the Royal Capital, a group of people flew like shooting stars through the night sky. Two of them were magic casters sustaining a [Fly] spell, and the two others were their passengers.

One of the latter two was a man in a suit of jet-black full plate armor who carried two massive swords on his back, while the other was a ponytailed beauty. It went without saying that they were Ainz and Narberal.

That morning, the two of them had accepted a quest from the E-Rantel Adventurer's Guild for an unprecedented amount of money. The client was Marquis Raeven. On the surface, it appeared that the Marquis wished to hire adventurers to enhance his estate's security in the wake of the recent disturbances, whose causes were unknown.

The reason was because they wanted to suppress the group known as the Eight Fingers, and they hoped Momon would fight alongside them, against the strongest members of the enemy, the Six Arms.

Normally, adventurers had an unspoken policy of staying out of national matters. In order not to drive off Ainz — or rather, Momon the Black — they had gone to the trouble of preparing a proper request to serve as a cover, and aimed to attract him with a lavish reward.

In YGGDRASIL, there were waypoints that could be used to teleport from city to city, but in this new world, there were no such things. Teleportation magic was a 5th tier spell, which Momon and Nabe should not be able to use, and travelling overland by horseback would take an entire day.

They used accelerated flight spells in combination with the [Floating Board] spell, and together they took Ainz and Nabe with them to the capital at great speeds. How did they do this? The answer was very simple. Ainz and Nabe sat on the floating disk, which reduced their effective weight, so carrying the two of them would not slow them down appreciably. In this way, they had rushed straight to the capital all day long until now. However, time was still very tight even with the use of this trick, and they had already fallen behind schedule. Because of this, Ainz was slightly worried. If he arrived and was told he was no longer needed, what reward, if any, could he collect?

Ainz sighed quietly. He sounded like he was praying, like an employee with a poor performance review hoping against hope for some kind of bonus.

As these thoughts ran through his head, Ainz saw the capital for the first time from the sky at night. He regretted that he could not take his time to enjoy the view. The capital was dark, and it didn't seem like a bustling city at all. Even so, it was a fascinating experience for Ainz, whose eyes could see clearly in the darkness.

Though nothing much happened at first, when he saw the rising black flames, he realised that this was an emergency situation.

“Indeed… it does look like… some kind of magic…”

“What's wrong? Is this sort of thing commonplace in the capital? Or are these fireworks to welcome me?”

“That was one of the eight locations we were supposed to attack—”

“Understood, we will head towards that location.”

Then what are we supposed to do? Ainz looked away from the magic caster's conflicted expression and turned to Narberal.

“Certainly.”

Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th Day, 22:33

Then, hoping that she'd correctly deduced the identity of the black warrior, Evileye cried out.

The moment she made her plea, Evileye realized that she had made a mistake.

If he accepted Evileye's request, she would be directly responsible for his death. What she should have done was to tell him to flee, and if possible, take the bodies of her comrades with him.

“—I understand”.

Evileye held her breath.

And the demon confronting them actually bowed his head, as though he were a commoner showing due deference to a nobleman. It could not possibly be respect; he must have been mocking him. Was this demon merely playing games?

Jaldabaoth? She heard the surprised voice of the man underneath the jet-black helm, followed by a mumbled “What a weird name”.

“Jaldabaoth, is it? I understand. My name is Momon, and like she said, I am an adamantite-ranked adventurer.”

So that's what he's doing, Evileye thought with approval. In order to draw his opponent out and learn from him, Momon exercised his iron discipline and kept his emotions from showing. It was clear why the man called Momon was recognized as a first-rate adventurer.

Even though Momon seemed willing enough to assist, she had the feeling that she would be getting in the way.

“Ah, I see. May I then inquire as to the reason you have graced us with your presence this evening?”

Said noble was Marquis Raeven, who had requested the presence of adamantite-ranked adventurers in the capital, heedless to the risk of running afoul of the unwritten adventurer's policy of not getting involved in politics. One could tell he was desperately in need of the manpower to deal with the Eight Fingers.

“A mighty item capable of summoning us to this plane and commanding us has found its way to this city. We are here in order to retrieve it, of course.”

“Unfortunately, that would be impossible. There can only ever be hostility between us.”

“That is precisely so.”

“Well, I understand, for the most part. In that case… you shall be defeated here, any problems with that?”

“That… would be inconvenient. Do permit me to put up a bit of resistance.”

He stepped forward — no, that was not right. The Momon standing in front of her had vanished. He was engaged in an intense melee with Jaldabaoth.

The after-images of countless swords, parried and countered by the extended claws of Jaldabaoth.

There were many ways to render praise, but at this moment, Evileye, who was entranced by the dazzling swordplay before her, could only offer up that single word. It exceeded the blows of all the swordsmen in her memory. She saw the form of a warrior who would cleave through the darkness that wrapped the world and all its evil in one stroke.

An electric current ran up her spine from between her legs, and Evileye's petite frame quivered.

Placing her hands on her breast, she found that of course there was no movement there. Even so, it felt real enough to her.

Evileye clasped her hands together in fervent prayer, hoping that her knight would triumph over the fearsome devil before her.

“Truly spectacular. Crossing blows with a genius warrior like yourself might have been a mistake on my part.”

“Enough with the pleasantries. You're hiding your true power too, aren't you?”

“Could he be a God-kin?”

The offspring of the beings known as “Players” were people who might awaken incredible power from within themselves. The Slaine Theocracy called these people demigods. Or, more precisely, they were the ones who carried the bloodline of the Six Gods within their veins. If they had the blood of others, they would be termed differently.

“My my, it seems I couldn't hide it from you after all. You are Momon-sa—n, are you not?”

“Very well, then. Here I come. [Aspect of the Devil: Tentacle Wings].”

“You are strong. There is no doubt that your might exceeds my own. Though it is not exactly to my tastes, permit me the use of this method. While your own defense is formidable, can the same be said of the small fry behind you? How will you deal with that, then? Perhaps you should focus on defending her, no?”

Evileye was defenseless in the face of this onslaught. She had no more mana to cast 'Crystal Wall'. All she could do was wait and hope for a miracle.

As the sound of metal rang out, Evileye looked up, and saw a stout shield standing before her.

“It's good that you're all right.”

“Ah… ah… Ah! Your shoulder! Are you okay?”

“That's nothing. Attacks of this level aren't even worthy of consideration. Rather, I am glad that you're all right.”

Evileye felt her heart lurch with a badump. Her face was hot under her mask, which felt like it was going to scald her.

“Like I said, enough with the pleasantries. Tell me, Jaldabaoth, why are you pulling away?”

“!”

But—

And then, Evileye's joy fell flat in an instant. She imagine herself in a princess carry position. However, in reality—

—She was being carried like a piece of luggage under his left arm. No, that was actually the best way to do it. Compared to a mature adult woman, Evileye was small and light. In order to maintain his center of gravity, it made perfect sense for Momon to carry her like this.

Maybe if she had hugged him of her own accord, it might have made things easier for him. But she was not confident of being able to hang on to him if he chose to fight at those breakneck speeds again, so she kept quiet.

“Then, shall we begin?”

With that, Jaldabaoth turned and vanished. His movements did not seem hurried, but in moments the distance between them had lengthened, and he faded into the night.

As Jaldabaoth vanished from sight, Evileye began to panic, but Momon shook his head.

Momon did not have to finish the sentence for Evileye to understand.

The fact that Momon was defending Evileye proved that Evileye had value as a hostage.

“Now then, Nabe. What do you think we should do?”

She was too beautiful. A foreigner… with looks like that, she must have come from the south. Evileye kept watching her, unable to look away.

“Should we ignore Jaldabaoth? Isn't stopping that fellow's plans the whole reason why I'm here?”

“—That is true.”

“Hm? Ah, forgive me, I was worried you might have been hit by that attack just now.”

“No—please, don't mind me. I understood your intentions.”

“Thank you very much for all your help. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Evileye, of the adamantite ranked adventuring party Blue Rose.”

He pointed to Gagaran and Tia.

“Resurrection spells… you can use them?”

“I see! Then… if I may ask, from how far away can one cast a resurrection spell?”

“That is to say, let's say you wanted to resurrect these two. If you cast your spell from far away… in the Empire, for example, where would they resurrect? In the Empire, or where their bodies lay?”

Curiosity, perhaps? People who could use the 5th tier of divine magic were very rare, so it was not unusual to be interested in this topic.

“I'm not too clear on the details, but I heard Lakyus needs to be very close by in order to cast the resurrection spell. So, with regard to your question, it would be impossible to cast the spell from the Empire, Momon-sama.”

“It would be impossible,” Evileye replied.

If Jaldabaoth was right, not only were they still in danger, but they would also be deprived of a great amount of fighting strength.

“I see… I think I have the general idea now. If possible, I think I would like to meet this Lakyus lady. Would it be possible for me to wait here with you?”

Evileye's words had already left her mouth before she could recover her composure. She did not understand the reason why she had spoken them either. In the instant she heard Momon saying that he wanted to see Lakyus, her heart was filled with resentment. It even shocked herself, and her outburst had alarmed Momon too.

“I… I was hoping to ask about revival magic, and also to meet with the leader of Blue Rose, who are fellow adventurers of the same rank as myself, and who are my seniors besides. That, and Jaldabaoth might be gone, but there's no guarantee he will not return. Is that so displeasing?”

The resentment in her chest vanished the moment she heard Jaldabaoth's name; she knew they had to be on guard against him.

“Then, while we wait, do you mind if I ask about what happened before?”

Of course there was no problem. With that, Evileye went over to the bodies.

“What is this?”

While this was so, Momon noticed during Evileye's reply that she was struggling to wrap up Gagaran's bulky frame, so he decided to lend a hand by lifting up her body with his incredible arm strength. When the bodies were wrapped up, Evileye solemnly clasped her palms together, praying for the souls of the dead and for Lakyus to revive them.

“Think nothing of it. As I was asking earlier, could you tell me what exactly happened here?”

As she spoke of how she had nearly finished off the insect maid, a change came over Momon and Nabe, who had been quietly listening to her story up until now.

His words were neutral, but the anger behind them was unmistakable.

“No, we didn't kill her. Jaldabaoth appeared before we could do that.”

The anger vanished, and Evileye wondered if he had even been angry in the first place. But, the silent Nabe's hard eyes were still filled with simmering wrath. It was difficult to tell if she disdained everyone in this way.

Evileye instantly realized why Momon had been angry. The insect maid had been neutral, and for all she knew, the two of them attacking her might have been the trigger for the present events. They had trod on the tail of a tiger which they should not have.

“Jaldabaoth said that he had consumed part of the Capital in hellfire. A maid following someone like that couldn't possibly be a normal person. I believe my colleagues' decision to fight her was the correct course of action.”

The defensive Evileye and the silent Momon looked at each other, as though peering through her mask and his closed helm. Although neither could see each other's face, Evileye was certain that she was staring into Momon's eyes.

“Mmm. Ah. I see. You were right. I apologize.”

“Ah! Please, raise your head! Such a wonderful person like you should… Ueeeeee?”

While it was true that Momon was an outstanding individual, when you thought about it, using the word “wonderful” to describe him was…

Aaaaah! I can't help it, he's too damn cool! Is it wrong for me to feel like a girl again, just once in hundreds of years? After all, he's a mighty warrior who's stronger than me…

Evileye's body had stopped developing at the age of twelve. As such, she possessed none of the parts that men wanted to see. Whether it came to inducing the fires of lust in others, or satisfying said lust, it would have been very difficult for her. Of course, a certain subset of men would have been very attracted to her, but they were a minority. With a beauty like Nabe nearby, her chances seemed even slimmer.

She didn't quite know what they were doing at first, but when she remembered how she had wailed just now, it came to her. The two of them had taken her cry as a warning.

With nothing to say, the feeling drove her to the brink of tears.

“…D-don't worry about it. I'm truly sorry.”

Nabe returned her sword to her back, as Momon replied to Evileye with one sword in hand.

“Momon-san, look over there.”

“What? That's…”

The wall of flame swayed like a veil, and encircled the city like a girdle.

“…The flames of Gehenna?”

“That, that, what, what is that? Momon, do you know what that huge wall of flame is?”

“Eh? Ah… no, no, I can't be very sure about that. Can I tell you again after I confirm the details?”

“I need to discuss something with Nabe, please excuse us.”

“Ah, no, it's a personal thing. Please, excuse us.”

On her face was a triumphant smile.

Evileye was unable to suppress the strange feeling boiling up inside her. It was an anger that disgusted her; the flames of jealousy.

Human females were naturally attracted to the strong. When threatened by a powerful outside force, it triggered a reproductive instinct to join with a strong male and bear his children, receiving protection for herself and her offspring. Of course, not all women would select a man in this manner. Personality, looks, many factors could lead to love. Even so, there was a very strong inclination to look for strength in a partner.

It's foolish to want to be protected because you're weak. Instead, all you need to do is become strong, and you won't need anyone to protect you. That should be the way.

Evileye would not age, but Momon would surely grow old and die before her. And no matter how hard she tried, Evileye would never be able to bear Momon's children. Decades later, she would be lonely again. Still, she thought it might be good to live as a woman for once in her life.

“Then, please wait here for a while. I apologize for… Evileye?”

Truth to be told, she did not want to part with him. But she also did not want to hang around the woman to whom she had wholeheartedly admitted her defeat.

Nobody wanted a woman who was too clingy. Men were creatures who wanted to flee the more you tried to tie them down.

What a waste. Even trivia like that has its uses. I should have listened closely… but would it be too late to start now? Will I have time to learn how to be a woman?

She knew now was not the time for idle fantasies, but she knew too little about what was going on, let alone how to proceed, and so she didn't do anything. Even so, Evileye would be going into a battle in which she might perish. In that event, she might as well sigh and earnestly consider something else to prevent her dwelling on it.

She did not know what her body was good for if it could not bear children, but it was an avenue that was still worth thinking about.

The blaze in Evileye's heart roared up, as though challenging Jaldabaoth's wall of fire.

♦ ♦ ♦

“It would be very difficult to listen in on us from so far away.”

Ainz activated a cash item. It had the power to prevent eavesdropping, but it felt like a waste because it was a one-use item. However, he had no choice.

“I see… as expected of our supreme liege.”

This was not the case.

He could not even grasp the meaning behind Demiurge's scheme. Ainz had simply gone into the battle with the idea of showing off his fighting skills in a debut battle at the Royal Capital.

After that he thought he would just be fighting the Eight Fingers just going by his orders, but then he learned that he would be doing battle with adamantite-ranked adventurers. Because he didn't know what was going on at all, Ainz had nearly given up on thinking things through.

If a superior—especially one of a CEO's level—proved himself too incompetent, his subordinates would lose their trust in him.

Perhaps Narberal was too honest, or the words he spoke had been unexpectedly meaningful. Narberal's eyes were filled with respect. As such, Ainz made a request of her under the pretense of ordering her.

“How could that be? There's no such thing. Perhaps there's another reason she's looking so closely at you.”

“That has to be the reason. I roughly understand how that woman thinks. I believe revealing my anger when we discussed Entoma was a fatal mistake. Perhaps I should have just killed her off without hesitation?”

When he had heard Entoma had nearly been killed, Ainz's anger had flared up. Although it had been suppressed in an instant like all intense emotions, in that instant that he had been filled with murderous rage. It was a miracle that he had not promptly chopped off Evileye's head with his sword.

Perhaps I've grown, and learned to control myself.

Ainz reflected that his capacity had grown to match his experience, and the illusion of the face underneath his closed helm smiled to itself. At this rate, there was no doubt that he would be able to become a true ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Or rather, he hoped to reach that stage.

“Is that so? As expected of Ainz-sama, you completely saw through that woman. Such vision could only belong to one destined to sit upon the throne.”

Ainz waved Narberal off in a gesture that also hid his embarrassment. Then, in a steely voice, he issued his command.

Narberal bowed and cast a spell.

In order to better pretend that he had already seen through Demiurge's plans, and not let Albedo and Demiurge suspect anything, he had to minimize contact with them.

It was nothing compared to damaging his image as the supreme ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

While Narberal was talking to Demiurge, it would be up to him to draw her attention.

Part 2

Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 5th Day 00:47

They were all adventurers within the Royal Capital who had responded to a hasty summons. Orichalcum and mithril-ranked adventurers notwithstanding, even lowly iron and copper-ranked adventurers were present for this.

_{The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ʟɪɢʜᴛɴᴏᴠᴇʟᴡᴏʀʟᴅ.ᴄᴏᴍ website.}

The great door to the chamber suddenly opened, and what appeared was a group of women—and one man—causing a stir.

At their head was the leader of the adamantite ranked adventuring party “Blue Rose”, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra.

As the group stood before the gathered adventurers, the youth in white armor unrolled the scroll in his hands, and pasted it onto the wall behind him.

The first to speak was a woman in her forties, a former member of a mithril ranked adventuring party whose eyes were still filled with vitality.

After the room had quietened down, she continued to address the adventurers with an earnest expression on her face.

Every eye turned to the members of Blue Rose, but they remained silent. After all, eyes could not speak like the mouth could.

The Princess slowly advanced, flanked by the members of Blue Rose and Gazef Stronoff.

She bowed demurely to them, and several sighs of affection rose from the adventurers as they saw the delicate sight before them.

Here the princess raised a finger to a part of the map —the northeast corner— and drew a circle around it.

Most of the adventurers nodded in agreement, while some went to the palace windows to look outside. The high walls surrounding the palace meant that they could not see the wall of fire directly, but the reflected light from the flames stained the sky red, and that they could see.

At this, the lower-ranked adventurers breathed sighs of relief.

Lakyus nodded to Renner as she said that.

Renner turned to acknowledge the speaker, an adventurer with a mithril plate upon his neck.

That news sparked a disturbance among the adventurers. They had finally realized that the region encircled by the firewall included the warehouses and shophouses that made up the capital's economic heart.

“It was stated by Jaldabaoth himself.”

“Certainly, it is not out of the question. It might end up being a massive feint. However, I believe it to be accurate. The enemy has not made any movements ever since they set up the wall of fire. More importantly, if what Jaldabaoth says is true, then inaction will mean that all we can do is watch the worst-case scenario unfolding before our eyes. Therefore, we must seize the initiative.”

Lakyus stepped forward with a stern expression on her face.

Adventurers rated the strength of the monsters which they encountered by their difficulty ranking. The higher the number, the stronger the opponent. However, it was an unspoken rule that one should not rely too heavily on difficulty rankings, because it would lead to nasty surprises. The strength of monsters varied even within their own species and at best, a difficulty ranking was an educated guess. Thus, it was not a value that was frequently used. However, it was a simple way to explain things to a group like this.

The absence of Gagaran the warrior and Tia the rogue had already been noticed by the adventurers present. Lakyus looked around at the adventurers in the room.

“With a single blow.”

“Do not be afraid!”

“Certainly, Jaldabaoth is powerful. I can vouch for this, having faced him with nothing to show for it but defeat. That is a monster that no ordinary human can defeat. Even if every person here gathered to fight him, we would simply be defeated as a group. But there is no need to worry. There is a man who can do battle evenly with Jaldabaoth!”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I believe you know this man. From the third adamantite-ranked adventuring team that was recently founded in E-Rantel of the Kingdom— indeed, it is him—”

“The leader of Darkness, the Dark Hero Momon-dono!”

Momon shifted his adamantite plate from within the folds of his crimson cape to where everyone could see it.

In contrast to Evileye's excitement, Momon simply raised a hand in reply, and whispered a few words in Narberal's ear.

“Well, that is a shame. Then, let us make haste, as Momon-sama suggests. Evileye, may I continue the briefing?”

Even though her mask concealed her face, one could tell how Evileye felt from the disappointed tone of her voice.

Renner sketched a line on the map.

“A bow?” came a doubtful voice, “Not a shield?”

She pointed to the support line of the magic casters.

“Hang on! Does this mean… the guards will be fighting on our behalf?”

Just as Renner was about to reply, another adventurer spoke up.

“I have considered this method as well, but is it not true that demons count many flyers among their numbers?”

“The usual application of [Fly] will only serve to draw the eyes of the enemy to ourselves. I had considered starting at a high altitude, then suddenly plunging to the ground and using the buildings of the city to block the enemy's vision while we assaulted them at high speed from cover… but there is another matter to discuss before this. You mentioned earlier that when retreating, the battle lines would spread, and the defense would weaken. The same applies to our enemy. So for this battle, we are not a shield, but a bow.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, you will be the bow of our Kingdom, drawn and loosed, to pierce our foe straight through the heart.”

Forming the adventurers up into a line was a feint intended to thin out the enemy.

“…how about Red Drop? Even if they are adamantite-ranked adventurers, I don't see how two people can break through by themselves. To be safe, don't we need someone to screen them before they reach Jaldabaoth?”

“At the moment, they are performing a task within the borders of the Republic. We have already used [Message] to inform them of the situation, but returning will still them take half a day. By that time, it would be too late. So this time round, we are not counting their strength into our plans.”

“…Our battle strength has been greatly depleted with the loss of two of our members. Tina and I will join the battle line and fight. Evileye will be doing something else.”

“Then let me ask another question. I'd like to ask the Warrior Captain something. What about the nobles' house troops and warriors? Blue Rose has already lost two members. You should be taking their place in battle. Couldn't you lead those troops into battle, and let Blue Rose handle the task of clearing the path for Momon-san?”

Gazef stepped forward.

There was a hubbub among the adventurers, and the same person spoke up again.

“Indeed, that is so. My duty is to stay in the Royal Palace and protect the members of the Royal Family.”

This was especially since they were taking the Kingdom's strongest man as their bodyguard.

Therefore, the one who spoke for him was Lakyus.

The room calmed down somewhat as Lakyus finished her piece. Everyone was trying to control the anger they did not want to show to Renner.

“Yes, Princess!”

“Although it is a very dangerous task, I must still entrust you with it. When we enter the enemy stronghold, there might be survivors. Please rescue them.”

Still, Climb answered immediately.

Everyone looked at Climb as though he were mad.

“Will that be all right, Brain Unglaus-sama?”

“Ah, it's no problem for me.”

♦ ♦ ♦

In other words, making introductions.

Their lines followed similar patterns from announcing their party names, admiring his equipment, hoping to meet him again and sharing stories of their adventures. It was similar to how one might exchange business cards at work, but while business cards had physical forms, verbal introductions would only linger as memories.

The important thing was to remember the party name and what rank they were. And of course, he would only pay attention to the higher-ranking adventurers. Iron and copper-ranked adventurers came to greet him too, but they lived in different worlds, and so forgetting them was not an issue. It was like how a department head would not bother remembering the salarymen of a small company he visited.

Someone had even taken their gloves off to shake hands with him, with him in gauntlets and all. It must be a matter of rank, Momon thought as he looked at the back of the person who had just said hello.

His hair was a shocking pink.

Adventurers in the capital really were a different thing altogether. Just because there were so many people in the capital did not mean that one had to go so far just to stand out.

During Ainz' life as a salaryman, pink hair would have been considered strange, but in this world, even kids could dye their hair.

Ainz had never once registered a party name, but the party called Darkness had one more member, the slim beauty who now stood behind him.

In the end, adventuring society is just like working life…

Around the time where Ainz's hand would have started getting sore from shaking if he had been a human, the stream of adventurers approaching began dwindling down. Sensing an opportunity, Evileye approached, cutting in front of the person who was going to shake Ainz's hand. They couldn't complain, though. The adventurers had made their introductions in order of rank, from highest to lowest. Being at the tail end of the line, the ones remaining were the novices, and they certainly could not speak out against the adamantite-ranked Evileye.

Ainz glanced at her through the slit of his closed helm, and then he spied Gazef from the corner of his vision. If he was still there, that could only mean one thing.

The nearby listeners' eyes went wide.

Ainz turned from Evileye and continued speaking to the adventurers who had come to see him.

That was what it meant to be a cog in a machine.

I shouldn't speak to Gazef. Even if it's just for a moment, and even if it's been two months ago so he shouldn't remember… but if he does remember, I won't be able to do anything about it. However, there's no getting around it. Although I feel uneasy, I should probably let Nabe take it on first, and then lower my voice a little before speaking to him…I've been speaking for quite a while, so if he hasn't heard it by now he probably never will. Still, I'd better be careful.

“Understood.”

That was the plan, to satisfy Gazef's curiosity by letting him see Momon's face.

Ainz prayed so in his heart while he turned back to the adventurers who were seeking him.

_{The latest_epi_sodes are on_the ʟɪɢʜᴛɴᴏᴠᴇʟᴡᴏʀʟᴅ.ᴄᴏᴍ website.}

It was Evileye's voice. She was still hanging around. Why couldn't she have been a good girl and gone over with Narberal? Of course, he didn't reveal his irritation. In fact, to avoid suspicion, he replied to her in a gentle voice.

This was nothing for anyone who had worked in a company before.

How annoying. Stop cutting in when I'm making introductions.

After the line of adventurers had dispersed, a quick look revealed that Gazef was gone. He suppressed the urge to burst into dance, and instead spoke calmly to Evileye.

“Mmm? What do you know, he's gone. He's a busy person, it makes sense that he couldn't stay. Although, it does seem quite rude that he didn't even say a word of thanks to our ace, Momon-sama, who's going to protect the capital. How rude. Let me get him for you.”

He had accidentally raised his voice. Ainz continued in a more even tone.

“Is that so… Since just now, I've been thinking that you were a generous man, Momon-sama.”

I can't trust anyone who wears a mask after all… what a pain. Still, why does she wear the mask? It must be some kind of magic item…

In YGGDRASIL, illusions were simply another set of item skins over that could be activated through the spellcasting console, but in this world, illusion magic was real. That ebing the case, it would make sense for items that pierced illusions to exist… In E-Rantel, nobody saw through it, and after I heard from the Magician's Guildmaster that one needed experience to see through them, I got careless… there are also quite a few orichalcum ranked adventurers here, what a blunder…

Nobody's on their guard, I guess my secret's still safe… from now on, I won't remove my helmet in the capital unless I have to. Someone might have a talent for seeing through illusions.

“Please, call me Evileye. You are my savior, Momon-sama, you need not be so formal with me.”

“Then, Evileye, let's go over there…”

It was an extremely delighted reply. Not knowing what he had done to please her so, Ainz allowed himself to be dragged by Evileye towards the princess.

Naturally, the central topic was Momon, the top-ranked adventurer.

“Not just him, right? I've seen Red Drop too, and I got the same feeling from them. He seems perfect in just about every way. I guess being adamantite-ranked isn't just about strength.”

“Is that so? Still, he was summoned by the princess and still took his time to say hello to novice adventurers. Someone like that can't possibly exist, right?”

Murmurs of approval came from the adventurers around them.

“Normally, you'd expect him to go over to the princess while his partner attended to the novices, right?”

“Same here… this may sound kind of bad, but maybe he doesn't understand this sort of thing. Does he have his priorities straight?”

“Maybe he does. Maybe his priorities are just different.”

“Then there's nobody better than him. I mean, look at him, he's adamantite-ranked and yet he treats the freshest copper-plates like they were battle buddies. Look at their faces.”

True enough, the novice adventurers had a look on their faces like a kid who had just met their idol.

“Get lost, who the hell would want your nasty ass? He's got a beauty on his team.”

“Of course they have, if not why would they form a team by themselves?”

The fourth man to interrupt had an orichalcum plate on his neck.

“…Have you been spying on us all this time?”

“Heh, well, I guess,” the first adventurer said.

“The operation starts in one hour, so we'll be moving out shortly. Because we don't have much time, please relay the message to any of your party members who aren't here. In any event, once we leave the palace, just stick with me.”

Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 5th Day 01:12

The youth in white armor who had been listening quietly thus far suddenly broke his silence.

“What is it?”

“What's this, Climb? Are you saying the Momon-sama I recommended isn't enough?”

“No, no, of course not. That was never my intention—”

The katanwielding warrior, Brain, stepped in to defend Climb.

“You are Brain Unglaus? The one who serves her Highness on the recommendation of Gazef Stronoff and Climb?”

“I know you're much stronger than Climb, but even that isn't a guarantee of the man's strength. And besides, didn't you lose to that old hag?”

“Uuuu…” Evileye whimpered as Lakyus scolded her.

“After you lost, you said you lost to Rigrit, not the rest of us.”

Between the laughing Tina and the crying Evileye, the mood in the room had lightened up considerably.

“He sounds very interesting. What kind of person is he?”

“His name is Sebas.”

“…What kind of person is he?”

Isn't that Sebas himself?!

It couldn't be helped, I was too busy…

In any case, this boy was a valuable contact that Sebas had made. If he were disposed of too early, it would be a waste of Sebas' hard work. And carelessly casting away the work of one's underlings was something a superior should avoid at all costs.

More importantly, I don't think he was mentioned in the report, was he? I hope that wasn't the case.

“Of course Momon-sa—n is stronger than him.” Narberal stated in a voice brimming with confidence. Evileye quietly nodded in agreement.

“Well, if my companion says so, then there must be some truth to the observations of both sides. I believe he should be able to stand on equal footing with me.”

“From just now…”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Speaking of which, is it possible to use the dark energy to attack demons and the like?”

Evileye's unexpected question drew a surprised response from Lakyus. She seemed to find the concept unthinkable.

Lakyus' eyes went wide.

A demonic sword? Hang on, I think I've heard of this weapon before… not in YGGDRASIL, but this world… got it! From Ninya! The Demonic Sword Kilineyram, said to be able to release dark energy. Although… an entire country? It sounds like an exaggeration, but it might have a power that comes close enough.

Just as everyone's attention turned to Lakyus, there was a knocking on the door, and two men entered shortly after.

Everyone bowed their heads in respect upon hearing Renner's words.

After the simple greeting, Ainz and the others were about to step outside because the princess wanted to address the two nobles. Most of the details of the battle plan had already been decided. Searching for Sebas had been abandoned due to a lack of time and manpower. All that was left was to wait for on-site orders.

After listening to Renner pray with her head bowed low, Ainz and the others quietly exited the room.

The only ones left were Raeven and the second prince — Zanack Valurean Igana Ryle Vaiself — and Renner.

“We overheard the details in the secret room…”

“There's one question you didn't answer. Why did you have to form the guards up into a battle line. Are they stepping stones?”

“Bait.”

“The adventurers said so too; Jaldabaoth's army of low-ranked demons cannot be allowed to run free in the capital. Therefore, we have prepared a feeding ground for them where they will gather to feast. If they gorge themselves on the guards staked out as bait for them, their bloodlust will be dulled, no?” Renner smiled.

However, humans were creatures of emotion, and the emotion they would feel when hearing of this plan was revulsion.

“If there were, surely you would have mentioned it by now, would you not, onii-sama?”

It was true, he did not have a better plan than Renner's. He had ideas, certainly, but they were either impractical or impossible with the resources available. At the moment, all he could do was acknowledge that Renner's plan was the best of a bad lot.

“Then, permit me to seek clarification. Why give Climb such a dangerous task?”

Zanack had been making his rounds in the Royal Capital, putting on the act of the prince who cared for his people. After that, he had also begun spreading the rumors that the crown prince had been hiding in the safety of the Royal Palace. This would make himself look good and diminish his brother— who was his rival.

But then, when one thought about how Renner had revealed her obsession over Climb yesterday, something was definitely wrong here.

“Of course, Climb has a chance of dying. In that event, Lakyus will use a resurrection spell on him. It won't be cheap, of course, but an expense like that won't be a problem. And after he's been resurrected, Climb will be weakened from a loss of life energy. During that time, I will take care of him. I'm sure nobody will object to me caring for a person who died and was resurrected for following my orders.”

“—Isn't there a chance Lakyus might die as well?”

“It seems everything is within your calculations, little sister.”

_{Visit ʟɪɢʜᴛɴᴏᴠᴇʟᴡᴏʀʟᴅ.ᴄᴏᴍ, for the best no_vel_read_ing experience}

“Yes,” his sister answered, with a smile as beautiful as a blossoming flower. Zanack shivered all over, and beside him, Raeven also fought to suppress the chill which ran down his spine.

Chapter end