Can They Still Slaughter the City?

"The defensive arrangements for Nazarick shall be set as follows. Albedo, once you have finished organizing all defensive works, hand over your duties to Pandora. I must apologize for having to confine you to the Frozen Prison for a time, though should any enemy invade, you are permitted to sortie."

Momonga felt a deep sense of regret toward Albedo. Had he not been defeated so miserably, he could have dismissed Demiurge's proposal by citing Albedo's lack of time-based resistances.

But he had been thoroughly crushed, failing even to catch a glimpse of his enemy's appearance. In Momonga's view, even if he had offered such an excuse, Demiurge would likely have countered by arguing that Albedo's failure to detect the enemy in advance was a fault in itself.

The enemy had employed an ambush and assassination. If Demiurge were to claim that failing to monitor every movement in the surroundings was an error, how could he possibly defend Albedo?

If his authority remained untarnished, he would naturally have the confidence to refute such claims, or even forcefully suppress Demiurge's questioning. However, for a loser to offer a rebuttal would only make it seem as though he were shirking responsibility for his failure, leading the Guardians to view him as an incompetent ruler who relied on mediocrity.

"Tabula Smaragdina, I am sorry. I failed to protect your child."

"Ainz-sama, your previous order forbade all Guardians from leaving Nazarick. However, if that remains the case, your subordinate will be unable to complete that task. Please, Ainz-sama, provide your instructions." Demiurge asked.

Eh? Eh? What task? Oh, he must mean that matter I left entirely to Demiurge. Does that task require leaving Nazarick? What on earth is it? I really want to know, Momonga thought to himself.

"You are the exception, Demiurge. You are free to leave Nazarick to carry out that matter." Momonga paused for a moment, retrieved a ring from his Infinite Backpack, and added, "To facilitate your actions, I bestow this Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown upon you. I hope you will make good use of it."

"I am deeply grateful for Ainz-sama's trust. Your subordinate shall give his all to offer everything to Nazarick." Demiurge stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and accepted the ring. Though his expression remained calm, his heart was stirred beyond measure.

"Cough, cough. Everyone, return to your respective posts and act immediately." Seeing that everything that needed to be said had been addressed, Momonga spoke thus. Next, he needed to head to the Treasury to notify Pandora of his new appointment.

"Ainz-sama, there is one more matter. How shall we punish Aura and Mare?" Demiurge reminded him.

"Ugh..." Momonga let out a soft, mournful sound. He hadn't expected Demiurge to remember that. He pondered for a moment and looked toward the Elf Twins.

Suddenly recalling something, he asked, "Mare, can you completely conceal the surface structures of Nazarick?"

"Eh? Com... completely cover them? I... I can do that," Mare said cautiously.

"In that case, consider this your punishment. Furthermore, the covered terrain should look natural. Hmm... I recall there is a forest nearby. If possible, I would like you to plant vegetation and trees so that it connects with that forest. Can you manage that?" Momonga asked.

"No... no problem, Ainz-sama." Mare thought for a moment and added, "Bu... but wouldn't that look a bit abrupt? Perhaps... perhaps we could expand the range and have my sister drive monsters to live in the forest. That way, enemies wouldn't be able to determine the exact location of Nazarick."

"Hmm... that is acceptable. In that case, Aura, you shall assist him in completing this task as your punishment as well." Momonga nodded. After Mare's suggestion, he realized that merely covering the immediate area of Nazarick was indeed unwise; it would be best to have the entire perimeter of Nazarick border that forest.

Although this might seem strange to those familiar with the region, it would effectively mask Nazarick's true location. At the same time, if anyone were to intrude, it would be convenient to capture them and extract information about the outside world.

After all, even if the terrain were altered naturally, those familiar with the area would still find something amiss, so it was better to use the connection to the forest as a cover.

After leaving the Throne Room, Aura and Mare walked side-by-side along the path leading out of Nazarick, when Demiurge's voice came from behind them.

"Mare."

"Ah, De... Demiurge, is something the matter?" Mare looked up at him.

"Nothing of importance. I only wish for you to understand that concealing mistakes is not a good thing for Nazarick. On the path to world conquest, even the slightest error can lead to dire consequences," Demiurge said.

"I... I understand." Mare nodded.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Aura clenched her fists and questioned Demiurge. Although she often scolded Mare, she was fiercely protective of her younger brother.

"Ah, my apologies. I meant no malice. Toward you, or toward Albedo, everything I do is for the sake of Nazarick and Ainz-sama. I shall take my leave now." Having said this, Demiurge departed quickly.

Aura looked at Mare and asked, "Did you tell him what happened?"

"No... no, Sister. He contacted me on his own. I didn't say that Ainz-sama had been killed; I only said that Ainz-sama was in Nazarick," Mare said.

"Is that so? It seems he guessed it, then." Aura pinched her chin in thought for a moment. "One cannot enter Nazarick directly using teleportation magic, so if Ainz-sama's figure wasn't seen on the surface structures, but he appeared directly inside Nazarick..."

Aura shook her head helplessly and said to Mare, "This isn't your fault. That Demiurge fellow is just too clever. However, the next time something like this happens, you can just have him petition Ainz-sama directly."

Hades followed the direction Nigun had pointed out. The fifty-kilometer journey was not particularly far, and using flight, he arrived quickly. He saw an ancient-style city with triple-layered walls.

This city with its massive walls felt somewhat familiar, as in his original world, arcologies were built with high walls to isolate the impoverished classes.

People from large conglomerates lived in the arcologies of the inner city, cut off from everything in the outer city. Due to irreconcilable class issues, terrorist attacks against the wealthy were frequent in the inner city.

Because arcologies possessed comprehensive police forces to protect the safety of the wealthy, even if a terrorist attack occurred, it was handled swiftly, and the perpetrators were captured.

Hades understood that this social environment would create many people who harbored hatred for society. On the internet, the wall separating the wealthy from the poor had already vanished, so the speculation that the members of "Ainz Ooal Gown" were a group of people who hated society was not entirely without merit.

Now, he had already struck against "Ainz Ooal Gown," and this city was the perfect place for him to hide his tracks.

As long as he disguised himself as a local and did not expose his identity, Hades did not believe that "Ainz Ooal Gown," no matter how insane they were, would go so far as to slaughter an entire city.