Multiverse: A Journey Beginning as a Supreme Sovereign

"Zarathustra, you're here!"

At the sight of Saigō's arrival, Momonga seemed to have found his backbone at last, finally letting out a sigh of relief as the awkward atmosphere dissipated.

"Mm. How are things, Momonga?"

Saigō's Devil's Eye swept over the many Floor Guardians kneeling on the ground.

Noticing Saigō's gaze, the Guardians pressed their kneeling bodies even lower, doing their utmost to convey their humility.

"I previously sent Sebastian outside the Great Tomb to conduct a preliminary investigation. Sebastian will now provide us with the answers."

Momonga spoke, striving to imitate the commanding tone Saigō had used when ordering Albedo earlier.

At the same time, Momonga's somewhat flustered voice rang out in Saigō's mind.

Although the game had changed and many of its functions had vanished, the private chat function remained. For Momonga, that was truly good news.

"Zarathustra, I followed your instructions and tested the loyalty of these NPCs. For now, their loyalty doesn't seem to be a problem."

"...But just as you said, we have no idea whether the other members added settings or traits like traitors when creating their NPCs."

"You know it, and I know it. Those guys really might have done something like that!"

Momonga felt a terrible headache coming on. Back when Yggdrasills had merely been a game, everyone loved messing around. It was not as if there would be any serious consequences.

But now that the game had become reality, some of those settings created for fun could very well become trouble.

"In the past, the Guild Weapon could be used to view and modify NPC settings, but ever since this change occurred, that function has disappeared."

"...Still, we can use the magic and items from the game, and you are still the strongest in the world. That's a rare piece of reassuring news."

With the hand speed honed through years of being single, Momonga typed away in their private chat within his mind.

Although Saigō wanted to tell him that the game had voice chat, Momonga had probably simply grown used to typing.

At this moment, Momonga deeply regretted not taking the time to thoroughly understand all the guild's NPCs earlier.

Back then, NPCs had merely been programs based on settings. None of the guild members had paid them much attention.

If he had not gathered all the Floor Guardians this time, Momonga would not even have recognized them all, much less pronounced their names properly.

Saigō nodded subtly.

He was someone who pursued details and exercised extreme caution.

Having climbed little by little from the bottom to the upper ranks in that Cyberpunk society with its rigid class structure, Saigō's greatest strength, aside from his talent, had been his caution.

He had only watched the first season of Overlord and knew nothing about what came after.

Judging from the first season, it had been nothing more than a power-fantasy anime.

But when everything in an anime became reality, Saigō had no choice but to be more careful.

Logically speaking, this post-transmigration world of swords and magic contained beings capable of rivaling Ainz Ooal Gown—or perhaps even surpassing it.

One crucial question remained: why had the Great Tomb of Nazarick been transported here? Until they unraveled that mystery, they could never lower their guard.

Basic reasoning made it clear that the cause of this transmigration had to lie within this world of swords and magic, rather than in that Cyberpunk world.

Furthermore, at the time of the transmigration, Ainz Ooal Gown had already fallen below twentieth place in the guild rankings.

Perhaps some of the guilds ranked above Ainz Ooal Gown had been transported here as well.

The members of those guilds were not particularly frightening. The troublesome part was their World Items.

That was the first concern.

The second was that the first world Saigō had appeared in was Little Garden, a place overflowing with Asura Gods and Buddhas.

With Saigō's current strength, he could barely be considered one of the Six Great Devils.

In a world filled with Asura Gods and Buddhas, there were certainly quite a few people as strong as him—or even stronger.

If some monster he could not defeat emerged in this world, and he was killed because he had failed to remain sufficiently cautious, that would be utterly laughable.

Thus, Saigō did not find Momonga's habit of fighting wits with the air amusing in the least. On the contrary, he wholeheartedly approved of it.

From a godlike perspective, Momonga's behavior seemed a little foolish.

But in reality, a person like Momonga was exactly the kind who lived longer than anyone else!

Not only should Saigō refrain from discouraging his tendency to fight wits with the air, he should support it.

He even needed to set himself an imagined target first: there were monsters in this world!

A great battle had once taken place in the sixth-floor arena during the game. There were forty-two VIP seats in the arena.

Saigō was currently seated in his own VIP seat, listening to Sebastian's report while considering his own matters.

"Lord Zarathustra, Lord Momonga, I have just led the Pleiades to investigate the surroundings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

"...According to our findings, the Great Tomb is no longer in Helheim of the Nine Worlds. It has appeared upon a plain."

"This plain does not exist on our maps. As you two lords predicted, the Great Tomb has encountered an unknown unexpected event."

"...We have discovered a human village on the plain. Please instruct us on how we should proceed, my lords!"

Dressed in a butler's uniform, the handsome old man with white hair and beard placed one hand over his chest. He knelt on the ground and delivered his report in a solemn, steady tone.

He was the butler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Sebastian, a standard butler's name. He had been created by Takemikazuchi.

Just like his creator, he was someone who protected the weak and upheld justice.

Among the Great Tomb of Nazarick's residents, whose justice values were generally negative, his was the highest positive value. He even belonged to the extremely good alignment, making him a singular flower blooming from the mud.

If anyone in the Great Tomb was most likely to be a traitor, Saigō felt that this old man would be the first suspect.

However, Saigō knew Takemikazuchi's character. He would never add such prankish settings to an NPC he had created.

Loyalty was also part of the justice Takemikazuchi upheld. The truth was probably that even if everyone else betrayed them, Sebastian never would.

Upon hearing Sebastian request instructions, both Momonga and the Guardian overseers instinctively turned to look at Saigō.

Whenever the guild had held activities in the past, Saigō had always been the one truly giving the orders.

The Guardians who retained their past memories naturally regarded Saigō's commands as their first priority.

As for Momonga, he had merely been an ordinary employee in real life. He had never been a leader, much less understood the art of leadership.

If his skill had not continuously kept his emotions calm, he would probably have panicked and exposed his weakness before the Guardians by now.

"Sebastian..."

Giving orders had long become Saigō's habit and daily routine. He slowly spoke the butler's name.

"Your servant is here, Lord Zarathustra!"

Sebastian immediately lowered his head, listening for the Supreme Sovereign's revelation.

"You..."

Saigō had just been about to say something when his voice paused. The Black Flame beneath his hood flickered, and a surge of delight rose within his heart.

He had suddenly sensed a response from the darkness that had birthed him. Someone had accepted an invitation he had sent out!

My Wife Is Your Most Loyal Dog!

Though inwardly delighted and eager to immediately see what had happened, Saigō remained perfectly composed.

He looked at the several Floor Guardians kneeling before him, each expressing their loyalty.

The Guardian of the first through third floors was Shalltear Bloodfallen, a True Vampire who looked like a noble, elegant young girl of merely thirteen or fourteen.

The fifth-floor Guardian was Cocytus, an insectoid who resembled a scorpion transformed into humanoid form, his body covered in peculiar bones. He was brave and battle-hardened.

Aura and Mare were the sixth-floor Guardians, both Dark Elves.

Due to the personal tastes of their creator Bukubukuchagama, Aura, the elder sister, was valiant and dashing, like a young boy.

Meanwhile, Mare, the younger brother, spoke weakly and always wore women's clothing.

That alone revealed Bukubukuchagama's personality.

The seventh-floor Guardian was Demiurge, a pure demon created by Ulbert, the Calamity of the World who was always at odds with Takemikazuchi.

Together with Sebastian, the butler, and Albedo, the overseer, these people were the Great Tomb of Nazarick's most important members.

As for the other members and Floor Guardians, they were either mere alchemical creations without self-awareness or unsuitable for leaving the areas they guarded.

After pondering briefly, Saigō slowly said, "...For the Great Tomb, the most important matter now is our lack of information."

"...The Great Tomb has undergone a transformation and arrived in another world, yet we know nothing about this other world."

"Whether the people of this world are strong or weak, whether they pose a fatal threat to the Great Tomb, and..."

"...Since the Great Tomb of Nazarick has come here, does that mean other guilds may have arrived here as well?"

"You should know that Ainz Ooal Gown has never had good relations with other guilds. If we encounter them, it may very well lead to a brutal slaughter."

Saigō's Black Flame fingers tapped against the armrest of his chair.

Based on the information he knew, he inferred that the Eight Desires Kings from his memories were very likely the guild that had ranked among the top three in the game.

Just as Ainz Ooal Gown possessed the Great Tomb as its base, Saigō knew that one of those higher-ranked guilds also had a guild headquarters such as a floating city.

Furthermore, those guilds had many members, so their guild bases would inevitably contain even more Guardians.

In terms of growth potential, Saigō far surpassed these so-called players.

He possessed limitless possibilities, while the players' strength had already been fixed.

But at his current level of strength alone, he could not completely crush every Yggdrasills player.

He was naturally invincible in a one-on-one battle, but if there were too many max-level players armed with piles of strange items, even Saigō could only avoid their edge for the time being.

Without Saigō, Ainz Ooal Gown had reached ninth place in the guild rankings at its peak. After he joined, it had risen to seventh.

Saigō knew that he was only worth the strength of two guilds, and those had merely been among the weaker ones in the top ten.

The guilds at the very top would not be easy to deal with.

If I'd known this would happen, I should have stayed home more and watched more anime. Now look at this—I know practically nothing about this world's background.

Saigō sighed helplessly to himself.

What had the first season of Overlord even covered? In truth, it had covered almost nothing. The background of the entire world remained a blank slate.

Saigō felt that his present circumstances served as a warning to future generations: even if you enter society and begin working, even if you are exhausted every day—

—you must not forget why you started. Do not overwork yourself. Make time to watch anime, read novels, and play games to relax.

That way, if you were transmigrated one day, you could handle things with ease instead of ending up in a predicament like his.

"Shalltear, Sebastian, Demiurge!"

Saigō slowly spoke as he emerged from his thoughts.

"Your servants are here!"

The three people Saigō had named stepped forward, kneeling solemnly and lowering their heads.

"Shalltear and Sebastian, your appearances most closely resemble humans. Demiurge, you are skilled in transformation magic. You are therefore suited to infiltrating human society. I leave the task of gathering intelligence to the three of you."

"...Some of the Pleiades maids can also be put to use."

After a pause, Saigō turned his head toward the silent Momonga beside him. "...I leave the coordination of intelligence-gathering in this New World to you, Momonga!"

"...As the person in overall charge, you must fulfill your duty. I will be responsible for internal affairs within the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

Hearing Saigō's order, Momonga immediately panicked.

Fortunately, at that crucial moment, his skill, Compulsory Release, activated once more, calming him down and preventing him from embarrassing himself before the Guardians.

He hurriedly opened their private chat. "...What is this, Zarathustra? Why am I the one responsible for gathering intelligence outside?"

Saigō replied calmly, "...Ainz Ooal Gown now consists of only the two of us. Naturally, you must bear responsibility as well. Besides, you are skilled at organizing intelligence. You are the most suitable person for this work."

In the past, the members of Ainz Ooal Gown had divided their duties clearly. Saigō had managed the guild's overall strategy, while Momonga had been responsible for gathering information on the game and other guilds.

Everyone else had their own duties as well. Those without any particular talents simply served as fighters.

"No, that's not what I mean. As one of the only two members left in the guild, of course I am willing to shoulder the work."

"...It's just that, Zarathustra, wouldn't it be better for you to handle matters outside? I'm not good at communicating with people. You should handle external affairs while I stay in the Great Tomb. That should be the most reasonable arrangement!"