"Ding! You have new mail!"
Momonga had been reminiscing about the past with Herohero and Naiyuan when a notification sounded.
It was not the system's cold, mechanical voice, but the pleasant voice of a loli.
"Huh, isn't that Bukubukuchagama's voice? Momonga, I never thought you were still using it as your system voice!"
"What a nostalgic voice. I remember Bukubukuchagama gave each of us a voice pack back then, but after Players outside the guild mistook us for perverts, no one used them anymore. I never expected the Guildmaster to still be using it."
Naiyuan looked at him in surprise, while Herohero sighed sentimentally.
"It was Bukubukuchagama's heartfelt gift, after all. And Naiyuan, you've got some nerve saying that about me. Don't think I don't know you're using it too!"
"Huh? How did you know? I clearly never played it in front of you."
"Who do you think you can hide that little secret from?"
Momonga mocked Naiyuan as he opened his mailbox and clicked to view the message.
The mail's contents were simple, only a few short lines. Yet after Momonga read them, he fell silent.
The words that had been on his lips would not come out. The two red points in his eye sockets stared fixedly at the message before him.
"What is it? Why did you suddenly stop talking?"
"The Guildmaster seems to be in a terrible mood. Did something bad happen in the letter?"
After speaking for a while and realizing Momonga had gone quiet, Naiyuan looked at him in confusion.
Herohero also showed a concerned expression and asked what had happened.
"It's nothing, nothing. There's just a problem with one of the company's projects, and they want me to work overtime tomorrow to fix it. I'm feeling a little irritated."
Hearing their voices, Momonga came back to his senses and quickly explained.
"I see. Looks like the Guildmaster's life isn't easy either!"
Herohero did not doubt Momonga's answer. Thinking of his own daily life of overtime work, he could not help but sigh.
Naiyuan found it somewhat strange, but did not think much of it. The servers were about to shut down, after all. He looked calm now, but inside, he was nervous to death.
The three of them continued chatting, and under Momonga's deliberate guidance, the topic shifted.
"By the way, Herohero, you haven't logged in for two years. Naiyuan and I have collected several World Items during that time. Want to take a look?"
Momonga casually redirected the conversation and asked Herohero without leaving a trace.
"I see. It seems the Guildmaster and Naiyuan have been working hard these past two years too!"
Herohero looked at Momonga and Naiyuan in surprise. He had not expected them to collect several World Items in only two years. Nazarick only had eleven in total. But considering the servers were about to close, making them easier to collect, he accepted it.
"So, want to go take a look?"
"Since the Guildmaster has invited me so warmly, I'll gladly accept."
Momonga asked quickly, his words carrying a faint hint of urgency. Herohero hesitated for a moment before happily accepting the invitation. He was curious about what effects these World Items had as well.
"Then Naiyuan and I will go to the warehouse to get the items. Herohero, please head to the Arena on the Sixth Floor and wait for us."
"No problem. See you in a bit, Naiyuan."
Herohero had no objection to Momonga's arrangement. In a flash of red light, he instantly vanished from the Round Table Room.
"Then let's go too, Naiyuan. Don't keep Herohero waiting too long."
Momonga spoke lightly to Naiyuan, then teleported to the warehouse through the ring on his hand without waiting for a reply.
Something was wrong. Very wrong!
Naiyuan stared in the direction where Momonga had vanished, his brows deeply furrowed. What had just happened left him with a profound sense of unease.
Based on what he knew of Momonga, something must have happened for him to change like this.
Could it be that email? But what could it have said to make Momonga so eager to send Herohero away?
Naiyuan felt like his head had grown twice as large. He shook his head, throwing away the guesses in his mind.
Forget it. Since he called me over alone, it must have something to do with me. Things will work out when they come to it. I should let him explain it himself.
The ring on Naiyuan's finger flashed red, and he too vanished from where he stood. The once-lively Round Table Room returned to its usual silence. Forty-two chairs stood neatly arranged, waiting for their owners to return once more.
In the warehouse, Naiyuan appeared amid a flash of red light.
Countless Gold Coins and items lay scattered all around. The Dragon Blood Sword, which had originally shattered into fragments on the floor, had disappeared. It had likely been swept away as trash by an NPC.
"You're here."
Momonga stood silently ahead. When he saw Naiyuan appear, he spoke softly.
"Yeah, I'm here."
Naiyuan replied, and the two fell silent.
Momonga stared intently at Naiyuan with both eyes. He said nothing, but Naiyuan still felt immense pressure.
The air seemed to solidify, making it impossible for him to breathe. Well, this was a game. He had not been transported to another world yet, so he did not need to breathe.
"I..."
"How long were you planning to hide this from me?"
Just as Naiyuan could no longer hold back from asking what was wrong, Momonga's roar cut him off.
"Why didn't you tell me? What the hell are you trying to do, Naiyuan?!"
"Quitting your job, renting out your house, taking out loans like crazy..."
"After hiding so much from me, you even lied and told me your company was on vacation..."
"Naiyuan, tell me what's wrong with you! Aren't we friends? Why did you hide it from me? Why did you lie to me?"
In the quiet warehouse, roars filled with complex emotions rang out again and again. To Suzuki Satoru, all of this was utterly unbelievable. His friend had kept him in the dark for so long.
He was afraid, angry, and terrified. He knew this friend of more than ten years extremely well. Decades of time and companionship had long since formed a tacit understanding between them. Usually, a single glance was enough for them to know what the other was thinking.
But that email had struck him like a blow to the head. At first, he had only been curious why Naiyuan had not gone to work these past two days, so he contacted someone from Naiyuan's company to ask about the situation. Based on what he knew of Naiyuan, Naiyuan was the kind of person who would pretend nothing was wrong in front of him even when something had happened. "I don't like dragging other people into my own problems" was something Naiyuan often said.
But when he learned from the employee that Naiyuan had already resigned, he was so shocked that he immediately wanted to rush home and have a serious talk with him.
In this society, finding a job at all was already a blessing. Even though he was exploited by his boss every day and forced to work overtime, he had never chosen to resign. He did not dare. This dark society never lacked people like him. If he left, someone would immediately take his place.
Suzuki Satoru desperately wanted to go back and ask Naiyuan why he had given up this job. But remembering that today was Yggdrasil's server shutdown day, he temporarily suppressed the impulse. Naiyuan valued this day greatly. The large X marked on the calendar in Naiyuan's room made that obvious. Not wanting his friend to feel bad, Suzuki Satoru decided to ask him tomorrow.
Worried that something might have happened recently, he spent a large sum of money to hire a private detective to investigate Naiyuan's recent information and see whether something had caused his friend to quit his job.
Originally, he had only considered it insurance and had not paid it much attention. But while he was chatting with Naiyuan and Herohero, the detective's report arrived.
After reading through it once, he stared at the system interface in disbelief. His mind trembled wildly, and he felt as though he were standing in a blizzard. Even though he was in the game, he felt a chill run through him.
Forcing down the unbearable emotions within him, Momonga casually dealt with the other two.
If it had only been him and Naiyuan, he would not have held back. He would have kept roaring and demanding to know why. But Herohero was there too. He did not want to drag that friend into this, so he deliberately guided the conversation and got Herohero to leave first, creating a space with only himself and Naiyuan.
Before you continue