Saving Resources

Although the name "Hakimi" sounded a lot like the language he spoke, when he talked with the villagers in Carne Village, he realized they weren't speaking his language.

It was as if everything had been translated into words each person could understand, like they'd eaten a translation konjac. So "Hakimi" might not have been speaking his language, either; it could simply have sounded similar.

Then there was that slap as a form of greeting. Nearly all YGGDRASIL players came from his country, and even if there were people from other countries, there couldn't have been many. Momonga was certain that slapping someone as a greeting wasn't a custom in any region of his country.

That made it more likely that the assassin was a local.

No...

Wait...

Momonga realized that his eagerness to learn the enemy's identity had made him lose his basic skepticism. He had immediately decided that the person in Enri's memory was the one who had tried to assassinate him.

That was a terrible habit. It could easily lead him to the wrong conclusion. Based solely on Enri's memories, the boy was clearly just a traveler who had come from far away.

Besides, among the three suspects, the Slane Theocracy was the likeliest. Of course, it was still possible that the boy belonged to the Slane Theocracy...

"Lord Ainz?"

Demiurge's voice interrupted his thoughts. Momonga hurriedly apologized. "Sorry. There's no need to stay here any longer. Let's go back."

"Yes, Lord Ainz," Demiurge replied.

Momonga was about to leave when he noticed Enri glaring at him with hatred. He hesitated, then said to Nirost, "Stop torturing her. Give her a painless death."

"As you command, Lord Ainz. You are truly merciful," replied Nirost, who had been silent until then, adding a little praise for good measure.

"By the way, Lord Ainz, I have a suggestion," Demiurge said.

"Go ahead." Momonga nodded. He was growing more and more pleased with Demiurge. He knew his own abilities best: he was nothing more than a worker bee who had only graduated from elementary school. But with Demiurge at his side, he felt much more at ease.

Trusting capable subordinates was one of a ruler's virtues, too. Momonga felt he was beginning to grasp the art of kingship.

"I suggest we send her body back to Carne Village," Demiurge said.

"Oh? Tell me what you have in mind." Momonga didn't understand.

"Lord Ainz, are you hoping to find that human?" Demiurge asked.

"That's right. I am." Momonga nodded. Whether or not the boy was involved in the assassination, he didn't want to overlook a possible lead. If the boy was involved and Momonga let the chance slip by, it would be a huge loss.

"I'd like to set up a dormant move. Although Lord Ainz already knows what the human looks like, finding him may not be easy in the short term. If we make too much noise, he might hear about it and flee.

"Given my assessment of the situation, the human may feel grateful that Carne Village took him in and return there. We can't be certain, of course, but setting up a dormant move costs us nothing."

Demiurge smiled confidently.

Momonga suddenly understood. As expected of Demiurge—he'd thought of that, too. If the boy was a kindhearted person, there was a chance he would return to Carne Village later.

Then they could wait for him to come to them. If the boy was a player, that possibility was even greater.

Momonga knew that "Ainz Ooal Gown" had a terrible reputation. Perhaps the boy had been transported to this world at the same time as Momonga, and attacked him after seeing who he was. Momonga could understand that kind of behavior; he wasn't blind to his own reputation.

If the boy was a player who had attacked him because of who he was, then at least Momonga could be sure he was a good person who despised evil. That would make it even more likely that he'd return to Carne Village.

Of course, it would be wonderful if things really went as he imagined. But it was also possible that the boy would turn out to be nothing more than an ordinary local.

In any case, Momonga gladly accepted Demiurge's suggestion and left him to handle it. He also instructed him to withdraw as soon as he had returned the body to Carne Village and finished setting things up.

It would be a disaster if something happened to Demiurge along the way.

Momonga then left the interrogation room and went to the Throne Room, where Pandora stood at attention beside the throne.

"Ohhh, Lord Ainz! You have returned!" Pandora snapped into a textbook-perfect salute, addressing Momonga in flawless German as he appeared in the Throne Room.

The military coat draped behind him flapped with his exaggerated movements. His face was smooth as a raw egg, with only three black holes for features.

His actions and words made it easy to imagine the stern, serious expression that should have been on his face.

Momonga's sense of shame flared up, only to be suppressed by the undead's passive skill, which forced him to calm down. Luckily, he and Pandora were the only ones there. Otherwise, he really would have wanted to crawl into a hole.

Back when he was in his chuunibyou phase, he had thought this sort of character setting would be cool, so he had given Pandora those mannerisms. But now it was all a source of embarrassment.

"Ahem. I've already told you not to act like that, or speak German," Momonga reprimanded him sternly.

For some reason, he worried that the other Guardians might betray him, but he had never felt that way about Pandora.

Maybe Pandora's chuunibyou behavior dulled that suspicion. Or perhaps it was because Momonga had created him. Either way, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.

"Yes, Lord Ainz!" Pandora brought his legs together, his boot heels striking with a sharp click. He still answered in German.

I'll have to find a chance to pardon Albedo. Pandora is better suited to the empty Treasury.

But Momonga had other things to arrange, and couldn't be bothered correcting Pandora. He immediately sent a message to Sebas.

A short while later, Sebas came from the Ninth Floor and appeared before him.

"What do you require of me, Lord Ainz?" Sebas bowed.

"There's something I need you... your subordinates to do." Momonga had been about to give Sebas an order, but suddenly changed his mind.

If he remembered correctly, reviving a Guardian cost five hundred million gold coins. Though Nazarick had assets worth around 420 billion, they weren't in YGGDRASIL anymore. Every resource was now irreplaceable.

He had planned to send a Guardian away from Nazarick to investigate the boy. But if a Guardian went out and was killed, they would lose the equipment he was carrying, and the five hundred million gold coins needed to revive him would be a huge expense.

In that case, he might as well send the Pleiades, who were lower level. Their equipment wasn't as good as the Guardians', and even if they had to be revived, it wouldn't cost nearly five hundred million.

Besides, being lower level had benefits beyond saving resources. They still didn't know what the New World was like, and sending out a level-100 NPC without warning might draw unwanted attention.

The Pleiades battle maids were around level 50. That wasn't particularly high, but it wasn't low, either, and they shouldn't attract much notice.

All the NPCs' names were on Nazarick's guild list. If anyone died, Momonga could revive them immediately and ask them what they had learned.

That way, all he had to do was wait patiently here for news, along with the dormant move Demiurge was setting up.