“Calm down! This story ended a long time ago!” Ainz raised a hand and ordered them to relax. They regained some of their composure, but the tranquil surface hid roiling hot lava underneath. Ainz hurried along with his story, partly just to change the subject. “When they used Ouroboros, it made it so we couldn’t get into the world where the mine was. During that time they probably made a search and discovered it. By the time the seal broke and we were able to get back in, the mine had already been stolen.”
Most of the guild members had died in the reckless take-back operation that followed, but Ainz tactfully left that out.
“Okay, what I wanted to say was this: The world had been sealed, but if you were in possession of a World Item, you could still get in. Likewise, even if our enemy is observing us with a World Item, they shouldn’t be able to find us.”
While several voices claimed to understand, Ainz wondered whether that was really the case.
There was a very good chance, but there was nothing that made it absolute.
When another one of the twenty, Wu Xing Controlling Cycle, had been used, players in possession of World Items had received messages from the devs and items in apology. The apology read: “The changes to the world made with a World Item shouldn’t really apply to those of you holding one, but we realized it would put too heavy a burden on the system to keep only your data the way it is. Therefore, we are taking the liberty of making an exception and modifying it.”
So there was no guarantee they could avoid a World Item’s effects, although that time was an exception.
The World Item protecting Nazarick was a specific countermeasure for intelligence magic and the like. If it couldn’t prevent World Item surveillance, it was meaningless.
“That’s why I thought they’d try to get in touch with Momon, but…the only ones who approach him are mothers with newborn babies and adventurers.”
It was all people saying things like, “Please touch my baby so he’ll grow up strong,” “Please hit me so I can grow stronger as an adventurer,” or, “Please shake my hand.” Nobody requested a private conversation.
That was why Ainz was awaiting the enemy’s move with various apparent vulnerabilities in different places.
That was one of the reasons he hadn’t given Cocytus a World Item—to make him a decoy to lure out the enemy. They were terrifying because they were unknown. If he could get them to show themselves even just once, he’d be able to take appropriate measures against them.
“Regarding that…will you forgive me for saying something foolish?”
“What is it, Albedo?”
“As you said, your plan is to reveal the unknown, but could it be that perhaps the reason the enemy stays away is that you are an unknown?”
Ack… “Th-that’s fine, Albedo. I’ve taken that into consideration.”
No, he most definitely had not. He’d been convinced that because he was a certain way, his enemy must have been, too. …What a stupid mistake. Has this been a giant failure from the very beginning, then?
“Then please excuse me. Also…”
He couldn’t sob, Miss Albedo, please just stop. Ainz felt like he’d taken an important test and realized after time was called that he’d missed a bubble and filled all the answers in off by one.
“You told them that you defeated Shalltear with an item…”
“Yes, that’s what I reported to the guild. I wanted to avoid Momon seeming so strong that people would be afraid of him. Apparently magic-sealing crystals are extremely rare, so I doubt someone would break one just to test it. That means the story that I unleashed a crystal—that I beat her with an item—is plausible, and people probably won’t be so on guard against me.”
“What you say is true. Against someone who believes crystals are very rare items, it’s an effective plan.”
The vagueness of her words nagged at him like a piece of food stuck between his molars, and he grew even more anxious.
“But would it work against someone who has multiple crystals like you, Lord Ainz?”
“…Huh? Ohhh, I see what you mean.” He pretended he understood, but really he wasn’t getting it.
What if there were someone who had a bunch of crystals? It’s still true that in this world they are extremely valuable items. Is Albedo worried that someone would break one to experiment? He didn’t think so.
His brain took the bad feeling he had and ran with it. He hated himself because he wanted to ask her to explain better, but he’d already gone and acted like he knew everything. More importantly, is it even okay for me to be the one deciding Nazarick’s plan of action? It’s like I thought I was navigating a ship, but we’re actually climbing a mountain…
He wanted to run away. As fast as he could.
He’d experienced now and then the weight of being a ruler—it was especially heavy when he failed—and he just couldn’t handle it. He let out a sob in his mind.
Of course he couldn’t run away. Now that he’d taken on the name Ainz Ooal Gown, he couldn’t leave behind the Great Tomb and the NPCs his guildmates had created—they were treasures. More than anything, he didn’t want to be a parent who abandoned his children.
I’m also worried you’ll betray, abandon, or give up on me. That’s why it’s so important for me to be the Ainz Ooal Gown you hope for and believe in.
That was why he made such a grand impression. He practiced in front of the mirror to master a pose he was confident projected “ruler.”
“It’s not an issue, but I understand your worry very well.” Then he looked around. “Albedo…please explain it to the other guardians.”
“Oh yes, my lord. If there were someone with multiple crystals like Lord Ainz…who was familiar with what powers crystals had, they would see through the lie. In other words, they would know that it wasn’t a crystal he used. I don’t know how seriously Shalltear fought, but the ones who used the World Item would regard Momon and her as equally strong. So perhaps they’ve decided that approaching Momon, the mysterious warrior who showed up suddenly in E-Rantel, is dangerous. I believe that might…have something to do with it.”
“…Albedo and the rest of you guardians, if that is the case, what do you think their next move will be?”
“If I may be so presumptuous… It’s possible that if they mean to oppose you, they’ll spread a rumor that you’re in league with the vampire, even if they have no way to back it up, in order to take you down. They probably aren’t happy that Momon is making a name for himself and growing more powerful.”
Urrgh, Ainz groaned in his mind.
One reason he’d gone to E-Rantel was to acquire information, but his other purpose was to make a name for his persona, Momon—and also, just a bit, to run away. Once he’d birthed a great hero, his plan was to reveal his true identity, take all the accumulated praise for Ainz Ooal Gown, and spread the name far and wide.
It would also hopefully have the effect of showing that the former infamous PK guild had turned over a new leaf; Ainz was helping people under the name Momon. But now all that might go up in smoke.
“Nnn, but Demiurge, wouldn’t it cause more damage to spread the rumor after Momon became famous?”
“Maybe, but it depends, Aura. If Lord Ainz has enough renown, the rumor might just be regarded as a lie to make him look bad. They need to get him before he becomes too big and experienced.”
“Magnificent, Demiurge.” Ainz gave a magnanimous nod to Demiurge as he bowed and acted as though he’d been thinking the same thing.
“Then let me ask you something else. Why hasn’t the enemy done that yet?”
Demiurge raised a finger. “First, they haven’t finished gathering information about Momon yet. If he really clashed with Shalltear head-on and won, they wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. They might even want to have him as a friend. Second—” He raised another finger. “What if their meeting with Shalltear was just random happenstance? They might have been on their way to do something else—a totally uni
nvolved third party.”
“There’s no way they just happened to meet her, Demiurge. That’d be a ridiculous coincidence…” But Ainz realized as he spoke that the possibility did exist.
He had concluded that the incident was an enemy attack aimed at Shalltear, or perhaps even at Nazarick, but she had been attacked not long after they had arrived. It seemed way too precise to single her out under those circumstances.
Am I jumping at shadows? Ainz narrowed his eyes—the red flames in his empty orbits.
In the end, his problem was inadequate information. He needed more help. He wanted greater power. The biggest issue is that we haven’t established an intelligence network. That was what he’d ordered Sebas and his crew to do, but there was only so much intelligence a few agents could gather on their own. At first he had been thinking it would be enough to just acquire a basic understanding of the world, but things had progressed to the point where that wouldn’t cut it anymore.
They couldn’t gather the information they needed as simple adventurers and the butler of a merchant. This was because the facts known to ordinary citizens were completely different from that of government executives and other influential people.
He also didn’t have anyone who could do the analysis to tell what was important and what wasn’t.
“Sheesh. One way or another, our biggest issue right now is lack of information. We have to be on guard against an enemy we can’t see, so we’re not moving fast enough…”
In response to Ainz’s grumbling, a glint heralding a brilliant plan appeared in Demiurge’s eye. “Then what about joining a country, Lord Ainz?”
After a silent moment, Albedo said, “Ohhh,” as if she understood.
Ainz followed her a beat later. “Oh, I see what you’re getting at, Demiurge.”
But the other three guardians cocked their heads like they didn’t get it. Then Aura meekly posed the question. “Lord Ainz, why would that be a good idea?”
Ainz was glad his face didn’t show emotion. “Sheesh… Mare, Shalltear, do either of you understand what Demiurge said?”
Both of them shook their heads.
“I see. Then there’s no helping it. Demiurge, tell them.”
“My lord, understood. Everyone, Lord Ainz has been concerned about the possible existence of a powerful, unknown enemy. If we were to encounter that powerful enemy, we’d need a way to settle things via negotiation.”
Teacher, I don’t understand. It was written on the faces of the three students, plus one.
Professor Demiurge, sensing his explanation was too difficult, began again after adjusting it to their level. “What if Lord Ainz were controlled by a World Item?”
“I’d kill the jerk controlling him!”
“…No, that’s not what I mean, Aura. Basically, if he were controlled, that could be an excuse, right? We know with absolute certainty that someone is out there controlling people with World Items, so that makes it fairly persuasive.”
“In other words,” Assistant Professor Albedo took over from Professor Demiurge, “we pretend to be under someone’s umbrella to create a justification for Nazarick’s actions going forward. If we say we had no choice because our country ordered us to do something, we can shift the blame to some extent, even if we have an enemy on the same level as us. If they wanted to avoid a head-on battle, they’d probably put up with it, right?”
“I see… Even if our enemy took offense at something we did, if we had a reason, we could pull in a third-party ally… Is that what you mean? I’d expect nothing less from Lord Ainz…”
Ainz reached out a hand to pet his chair’s head like an evil villain petting the Siamese cat in his lap. “The one who came up with this plan wasn’t me—it was Demiurge. If you want to praise someone, you should probably praise him.”
“No, that’s not true. It seemed you had already reached the same conclusion.”
“Oh, uh, hrm. Well, I don’t mean to take credit for your idea. Hmm. Besides, joining a country would make gathering information easier as well.” A nation would probably already have the intelligence network Ainz was frantically trying to build, so inserting someone from Nazarick into that network would get them much further than they were now. Ainz’s remark had been an indirect request for feedback from his two wise advisers as to whether such a plan would alleviate his earlier concerns as well, and it caused Demiurge to smile warmly.
“It’s just as you say.”
Ainz could tell that behind his words lurked the sentiment, As expected, you already knew?
“Ohh, aha. Brilliant as always, Lord Ainz, thinking so far ahead… I see… So the lower life-forms can be of some use to us after all.” Following Albedo’s comment, all the guardians, including his chair Shalltear, radiated pure sparkling admiration at him.
Ainz felt extremely awkward, but at least he’d gotten the pair’s approval. He was relieved he wasn’t wrong.
“Then…let’s infiltrate. Which country?”
“The countries in the area are the kingdom, the empire, and the theocracy, correct?”
“Wh-what about a country farther away? The council state or the Sacred Kingdom?”
“I’d like to avoid the more distant countries. And for the time being, while we’re still underinformed, I’d like to steer clear of the theocracy. So the kingdom or the empire… From Sebas’s reports, the kingdom doesn’t seem too appealing, but…I guess we have to think about it. Now then—” He prepared to change the topic and gestured at the mirror. “We’ve given the lizardmen some time. Allow me to make sure they aren’t doing anything that might surprise us.”
A bird’s-eye view of the lizardman village gradually appeared in the Mirror of Remote Viewing. Little specks were running around inside.
Ainz moved his hand, changing the scenery visible in the mirror.
First, naturally, he zoomed in.
That made it clear that the lizardmen were frantically preparing for war.
“Wasted effort…,” Demiurge murmured at them gently.
Okay, where are you? They all look the same… Ainz frowned at the image, trying to find the six from before. Oh! Here’s one in armor. Is this the guy who threw the rock? And here’s the one with the great sword. It really is hard to tell the difference between them. It’s easy if they’re different colors or equipped in different ways…but ah, that one with the arm…found him.
After observing, he restlessly moved the viewpoint around as if he didn’t know what else to do. “…The white one and the one with the magic weapon aren’t here!”
“Errr, what was his name? Zaryusu?”
“Oh yeah. That was it.”
When Aura chimed in, he remembered the lizardman who had come to the negotiations.
“He’s probably in his house.”
“Maybe.”
The Mirror of Remote Viewing couldn’t see inside a house—not normally.
“Demiurge, the Infinity Haversack.”
“Understood.” Demiurge bowed once, took the shoulder bag on the table that had been moved into the corner of the room, and politely handed it to Ainz. Ainz took out a scroll.
Then he cast a spell with it.
The spell created a sense organ that could see the invisible and insubstantial. It couldn’t penetrate a magic barrier if there was one, but it could get through any regular wall, no matter how thick. If for some reason it couldn’t, that would prove that they were up against an opponent who didn’t let their guard down.
By linking it with the Mirror of Remote Viewing, he allowed the guardians to see what he was seeing and then moved the eyeball-like organ floating in the air.
“Let’s try this house first.” He haphazardly chose a shabby-looking house, the nearest one, and sent the sense organ inside. Even though the interior of the house was dark, it looked like broad daylight.
Inside, the white one was pinned down with her tail up, and the black one was mounted on top of her.
The onlookers were bewildered.
/> At first, he didn’t know what they were doing. Then, he didn’t understand why they were doing it.
Ainz moved the sense organ back outside without a word.
“…”
Full of misery, Ainz put his hands to his head.
The guardians standing by exchanged glances, not knowing what to say.
“…An absolutely disgusting bunch, they are. Cocytus is about to attack them and that’s what they’re doing?”
“You’re right, exactly right.”
“Uh, er, u-umm…”
“It’s just as you say, Demiurge. We should punish them!”
“I’m jealous…”
Ainz raised a hand, and the guardians’ comments stopped. “…Well, they’re about to die. I saw in a movie that at times like this, species’ preservation instincts kick in or something.” He nodded as if to approve of his own opinion.
“Just as you say, my lord.”
“That much should be permitted, indeed.”
“Quite right, quite right!”
“Uh, er, u-umm…”
“I wish you would do that to me…”
“…Shut up, you guys.”
The guardians all closed their mouths, and Ainz sighed.
“…Man, I feel kinda demotivated. Well, there’s probably no one in the village we need to watch out for anymore. But don’t drop your guard! They could be coming this way! Aura…” Ainz froze and looked at the two children.
Shit! What have I done? They aren’t old enough to have had sex education— no, it’s still too early! He had the feeling this was how a father felt when the family was watching TV together and a hot love scene came on. What do the mothers and fathers of the world say when their children ask how babies are made? This is bad! How could I do this to BubblingTeapot’s two… Phew, well, it’s no problem. Albedo’s no good. Demiurge could…explain the medical science of it… I’ll make him a candidate. Shalltear…might actually not be so bad? Anyhow, we can figure it out another day.
Shelving the issue for the time being, Ainz cleared his throat. “Ahem. If the security net catches anyone, all the guardians and I will move out.”
The Lizardman Heroes Page 24