Momonga's Dilemma

Demiurge remained indifferent to Albedo's murderous glare. It was not as if he hadn't sought instructions from Ainz, but Ainz's own response had already made everything clear.

Even Ainz, rather than lose a shred of face, had no intention of overlooking the mistake Albedo had committed. This indicated that Ainz was extremely dissatisfied with the incident.

As the most loyal servant of the Supreme Being, he had to resolve Ainz's troubles. Such dereliction of duty could absolutely not be ignored, or the situation would only grow more severe in the future.

Demiurge looked at the murmuring Guardians and said in a clear voice, "The situation is not as Albedo described. Ainz was not merely repelled..."

"Demiurge!!!" Albedo snapped, her voice sharp and her gaze icy and terrifying.

Yet, Demiurge continued addressing the Guardians, "In reality, Ainz was killed by the enemy. All of this occurred because of Albedo's negligence. Does anyone still have questions regarding my proposal?"

As his words fell, no one voiced an objection, though they all looked at Demiurge with shock and uncertainty. While they had previously heard from Albedo that Ainz was only repelled, their capacity to accept the truth had increased significantly, even upon hearing the worse outcome.

Naturally, anger followed acceptance.

"Ainz, this subordinate has no objections to Demiurge's proposal. Failing to fulfill one's duties as a Guardian is a grave dereliction. However, I believe such a punishment is insufficient and hope to see it intensified."

Shalltear was the first to step forward. Setting aside her rivalry with Albedo, she believed that whether as a Guardian or for the sake of Ainz, one should be willing to die in battle rather than allow Ainz to suffer the slightest harm.

Albedo, meanwhile, had not only failed to repent for her mistake but had attempted to conceal and downplay it. If not for Demiurge, they would all have been kept in the dark.

"Ainz, I agree with Shalltear's proposal. To commit such an error is no longer a simple matter of negligence; even self-execution would not be excessive."

Cocytus, who considered himself a warrior, could not accept that his master had been killed while his master's blade remained intact. Though he knew he should not impose his own principles upon others, it did not stop him from agreeing with Shalltear.

"Ainz, this subordinate believes Lady Shalltear's proposal is appropriate." Sebas also concurred. While he lacked the warrior mindset of Cocytus, he was the head butler of Nazarick and would naturally not condone such a mistake by a subordinate.

After nearly all the Guardians had expressed their opinions, Demiurge looked toward the Elf Twins. "Although you two were also negligent, your errors are insignificant compared to Albedo's. How you are to be dealt with depends on Ainz's decision."

With that, Demiurge bowed to Momonga. "Ainz, the matter is clear. I ask that you strip Albedo of her position as Overseer of the Guardians and imprison her in the 'Frozen Prison' to reflect."

Now that all the Guardians agreed on the punishment for Albedo, Momonga knew in his heart that she could not be blamed; the enemy had used "Time Stop" magic.

Even though he and his companions had armed these level-100 NPCs with divine-class items, there was still a gap between them and players. Aside from specific racial traits, time resistance could only be acquired through equipment.

However, during the era of YGGDRASIL, NPCs played a negligible role in guild defense, which relied primarily on traps. He and his companions had set up level-100 NPCs merely for roleplay.

No one had deemed it necessary to grant NPCs time resistance, as the lack thereof was not considered a serious issue in YGGDRASIL.

During a "Time Stop," one could not launch attacks. Even if one used "Delay Magic," it could only delay a single offensive spell; there were no such restrictions on buff spells.

In short, while precise operation and time resistance were essential for player PvP, they were unnecessary for guild NPCs.

It was precisely because of this that the current situation had arisen; Albedo lacked time resistance, which was completely beyond her capabilities.

Momonga did not want to punish Albedo, but if he failed to do so, he feared it would breed dissatisfaction among the other Guardians. He had to consider everyone's opinions.

If only a Guardian would step forward now to speak for Albedo, he would not be in such a difficult position and could use the opportunity to lighten the sentence.

Right, Aura and Mare!

Momonga suddenly realized that they had not caused Demiurge much dissatisfaction, and their responsibility was the smallest. Furthermore, Demiurge knowing about this incident likely meant one of them had been the informant.

Although Demiurge had not expressed dissatisfaction with the Elf Twins, he had still mentioned punishing them at the end. Therefore, to clear their own names, they at least needed to speak up for Albedo now.

Hmm... that's a way, but I cannot openly demand the Elf Twins to step forward.

Helpless, Momonga could only stare at Aura and Mare, hoping they would grasp his intent.

Suddenly, Aura and Mare felt a chill. They realized that Ainz had been staring fixedly at them for some time.

Mare's body trembled, his pointed elven ears drooping lower, and Aura, usually so energetic, stood stiffly in place, looking perfectly behaved.

Finally, unable to withstand Momonga's silent gaze, Mare tremblingly stepped forward and raised his hand.

"Oh? Mare? Do you have something to say?"

Momonga felt a surge of joy. As expected of Mare, he understood my intent.

"A... Ainz, I... I... I agree..." Mare stammered.

"Hm? Agree to what?" Momonga paused.

"Agree with Shalltear's proposal," Mare said quickly. Ainz must have been staring at him because he hadn't stated his position.

"Ah... uh..." Momonga froze again.

That's not right. Why is it like this? Mare, this isn't what I wanted to hear, Momonga screamed inwardly.

"Ainz, I also agree with Shalltear's proposal," Aura added immediately.

With the exception of Albedo, even the Elf Twins, who had committed only minor errors and had yet to speak, had now stated their positions. Demiurge spoke to Momonga once more, "Ainz, please, you must agree. If we condone this mistake, it may lead to even greater errors in the future."

Momonga naturally understood that if small mistakes were left unchecked, they could grow infinitely. But the problem was that Albedo truly could not be blamed for this.

Yet, he dared not refute Demiurge. Regarding this matter itself, he felt his authority in the hearts of the Guardians had already diminished. If he insisted on going against the opinion of the majority now, he feared he would end up estranged from his subordinates.

If his authority were still intact, Momonga would have rejected Demiurge's request on the grounds that Albedo lacked time resistance.

But now, he could not do so.