Considerations

Hades worried that Momonga and his companions, infamous in the game, might surround him. That was why he hadn't gone to the village to find out what was happening right away. Still, even if they did surround him, he could survive; it would just cost him a great deal.

He could use one of the World Items—the World Will. If they were still in the game, he wouldn't have hesitated to use it. But now, he had no intention of using it unless absolutely necessary.

After all, it was a one-use item. Once used, it would disappear and reappear at random somewhere in the world. If it happened to fall into Nazarick's hands, he'd be as good as dead.

Faced with Hades's question, Nigun's expression froze. His mind raced as he tried to guess why Hades was asking. No matter how he looked at it, if Hades had asked that question, he probably didn't want anything to happen to the village.

Otherwise, why would someone so powerful take an interest in an insignificant village for no reason?

Of course, it was also possible that he'd asked casually and didn't have any particular thoughts about it.

But Nigun knew that he was at a crossroads in his life. If he made the wrong choice, his life would likely end here.

"I... I don't know. We came to hunt down a traitor. We learned he was here, so the Theocracy sent us," Nigun stammered.

He chose the first possibility, believing that Hades didn't want anything to happen to the village. The people who had slaughtered the villagers were soldiers of their Theocracy. Though they had disguised themselves as Imperial soldiers, they still needed to distance themselves from the matter as much as possible.

Hades nodded. From what he'd seen while observing from the sky, that seemed to be the case. After the burly man had led his people out, the soldiers who had been surrounding the village had gathered together and lifted the encirclement. That seemed consistent with Nigun's story; they probably had no designs on the village.

Still, to be safe, Hades decided to ask a few more questions.

"What's your name?" Hades continued.

"I'm Nigun. May I ask how I should address you, sir?" Nigun's eyes lit up at that, and he felt some of the tension leave him.

"Slane Theocracy, Nigun. What's your rank?" Hades asked.

"I... I'm afraid I can't answer that." Nigun looked troubled. The Sunlight Scripture was considered a secret unit even within the Theocracy.

"Understood." Hades nodded again. Secrecy was necessary in any army. He fixed his gaze on Nigun from beneath his helmet and said, "I don't want to interfere with your mission, but the Magic Caster's companions will probably arrive here soon. I suggest you leave."

"Uh..." Nigun hesitated, then asked, "I don't want to pry into your grudge against him, and I'm grateful that you saved us. Would you be willing to help us with something? I'll pay you."

"Do you think I'm especially easy to talk to?" Hades's tone suddenly changed.

"N-no, I didn't mean that." Nigun waved his hands frantically.

"Then get out of here! I don't have the patience to waste any more time on you," Hades scolded.

This guy was so slow and long-winded. Momonga's companions could arrive at any moment to search the area, and Hades had no desire to go head-to-head with a member of Ainz Ooal Gown.

But if he left, these soldiers who had just fought Momonga would probably be in trouble. And here Nigun was, dragging his feet and trying to hire him for a job.

The situation in this world was still unclear, and Hades didn't want to get involved in the natives' conflicts without good reason. Strictly speaking, he was already involved, but he couldn't let himself get drawn in any further.

"All right, all right. We'll leave at once."

In the end, the threat to his life was enough to convince him. Seeing that his conversation with Hades had gone well, Nigun suddenly remembered the mission to kill Gazef Stronoff, and his heart began to race. He wanted to hire Hades.

Killing Gazef Stronoff would be an easy task for someone as powerful as Hades. Even if the Magic Caster's companions came, Nigun and his subordinates would already have left. Besides, this powerful man would still be here to hold them off.

But Hades's impatient attitude shattered Nigun's hopes. It felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. This was the man who had killed that terrifying Magic Caster. If Hades lost his temper and attacked, they would all die here.

What mattered now was reporting the details of the mission to the Theocracy, not greedily pushing for more credit.

Nigun ordered his subordinates to gather the bodies of their fallen companions. Hades simply stood where he was, waiting for Hanzo's report so that he could decide what to do next.

The entire area had been completely sealed off by magic. If Nazarick's people wanted to find out what had happened here, they would have to come in person.

The area was vast, giving Hanzo enough time to report the enemy's movements and escape. But there was a good chance the enemy would kill him, and there was nothing Hades could do about that.

You couldn't catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den. He needed to learn more about Ainz Ooal Gown and find out whether any members besides Momonga had come here.

This was crucial. Players were in a league of their own compared to NPCs; that was a universally accepted fact in YGGDRASIL. Here, the NPCs had gained life, but judging by the battle just now, Hades still thought they couldn't match players.

At the very least, their equipment was several tiers worse. Although Nazarick's NPCs possessed divine-class items, both he and Hanzo had easily used Time Stop to isolate Albedo and the Elf Twins.

Resistance to time-based effects was not easy to obtain. On that point alone, NPCs couldn't compare to players. If another player had been at Momonga's side during the assassination, Hades's plan would never have succeeded.

Figuring out how many members of Nazarick had arrived was also a way of planning for the future.

As he watched Nigun, who had finished gathering the bodies and was about to leave, Hades suddenly remembered something and called out, "Hey, wait a moment."

"D-do you need something else, sir?" Nigun turned back stiffly and asked, his heart uneasy. Could the things he'd just said have offended Hades? Was he going to settle the score with them now? Some powerful people had their pride, like that lord from the Theocracy.

How foolish of him. He should never have been so greedy for credit. Nigun deeply regretted it.

"I wanted to ask if there's a city nearby. Uh... a city, you know what I mean? Somewhere with a fairly large population," Hades asked.

To avoid dragging the villagers into this, Hades had no intention of going back. Judging by the situation, Momonga might be furious and eager to find out exactly what had happened.

If he went into the village and the villagers saw him, Hades couldn't guarantee what Momonga might do. In YGGDRASIL, Ainz Ooal Gown's members killed people to obtain their equipment. These villagers clearly had nothing of value.

Momonga had no reason to make trouble for them. As long as the villagers didn't see him, Momonga wouldn't get any useful information. He probably wouldn't do anything to them either. That would protect the villagers and himself.

He wanted to wait until some time had passed and things had died down. Once he understood a little more about this world, he would return to the village and ask what had happened that day.

After all, the villagers had shown him kindness by giving him that meal. If he'd been there when disaster struck the village, he certainly wouldn't have stood by and done nothing. But he hadn't been there, so he could only repay them afterward.