Successfully Tricked

If they really were enemies, why would they voluntarily reveal that they were looking for "Ainz Ooal Gown"?

Wasn't that the same as telling him to be on guard?

Ainz made a decision.

"Momon is an alias."

He slowly raised a hand and removed his helmet.

What it revealed was a skeletal face devoid of flesh and expression.

Two points of crimson light flickered faintly within his hollow eye sockets.

"My name is Ainz, the guildmaster of the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild."

"Of course, my name is now Ainz Ooal Gown. You can just call me Ainz."

The room fell silent.

If it had been an ordinary adventurer, the instant they saw that skeletal face, they would probably have attacked immediately.

Or perhaps fled for their life in a panic.

The undead were the enemies of all life. That was an unquestionable law of this world.

Higashino Makoto, of course, did neither. He merely raised an eyebrow, looked Ainz over from head to toe, and let out a cryptic remark.

"An undead?"

"That guy did say that the guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown was an undead. I think he even made an NPC specifically to counter you. What was her name...?"

Higashino Makoto scratched his head in feigned confusion, as though he were trying hard to recall something.

"Sha... Shall... Shall-what was it again?"

Ainz said, "...Shalltear Bloodfallen."

Higashino Makoto smacked his forehead in sudden realization and broke into a carefree grin.

"Oh, right! That's it, Shalltear. I heard she was made to the standards of an eroge heroine!"

Then, wearing a lecherous expression, he glanced at Nabe and leaned close to Ainz's ear (skull?) to ask in a low voice, "Hmm, with that guy's personality, he isn't rolling around in bed with Shalltear right now, is he?"

"..."

That Peroroncino bastard!

This was too humiliating!

Green light flashed over Ainz once more as Forced Calm suppressed his embarrassment.

Ainz fell silent for two seconds, then decided to ignore that remark.

"Bukubukuchagama and Peroroncino."

His voice was low. "They haven't logged in for a long time. In fact, the entire guild... only I remain now."

The smile on Higashino Makoto's face finally faded somewhat.

"Only you?"

"Yes."

Higashino Makoto remained silent for a long time. He sat back down in a nearby chair, his fingers continuously tapping against the table.

So long that Ainz thought he would ask further questions, grow angry, become disappointed, or demand to know why.

But in the end, he merely sighed softly and bent down to pick up the spear embedded in the ground.

"Then forget it."

His voice was calm—too calm.

"If he isn't here, then forget it."

"Right. That guy didn't even log in when the server shut down. I knew he didn't have the luck to get transported here."

Higashino Makoto kicked the stool beside him, and the extraordinary force shattered it into pieces.

He tilted his head back and drew in a deep breath. Only after a long silence did he speak.

"By the way, Ainz. I have a question I'd like to ask."

Before Ainz could speak, he raised a hand to stop him.

"Of course, if you think it's inappropriate, you don't have to answer."

Higashino Makoto stood up and ran his right hand through his hair, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

"When did you get transported here?"

Once he confirmed that Higashino Makoto was not probing for Nazarick's secrets, Ainz breathed a sigh of relief and answered his friend's friend without hesitation.

"This year."

"Is that so..."

Higashino Makoto let out a breath, as though he had pondered for a long time before finally speaking.

"Around the same time as your arrival. But I have a World Item specialized in gathering intelligence. According to the information I obtained, we are not the only two Players to have been transported here."

"The earliest arrivals were likely six people who came here six hundred years ago. They are the Six Great Gods worshipped by the Slane Theocracy."

"About a hundred years later, more arrivals appeared—the ones known as the Eight Greed Kings. They fought against this world's original rulers, the True Dragon Lords."

"In the end, they apparently used some World Item, causing the tier magic from YGGDRASIL to contaminate the True Dragon Lords' original magic system and kill most of them—"

After a brief pause, he continued.

"But supposedly, they all died in the end due to infighting and their lifespans."

At this point, Higashino Makoto's expression turned somewhat grim.

"According to the information I obtained, there must be other arrivals, and the True Dragon Lords have not gone extinct either. This world may be more dangerous than we imagined."

"That was also why I was looking for that guy Peroroncino. There's safety in numbers, after all. But since he isn't here..."

"Forget it. I'll be going now. It was a pleasure to meet you, Ainz Ooal Gown."

With that, Higashino Makoto turned and left, his steps crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Ainz watched his departing figure and suddenly spoke.

"Wait."

Higashino Makoto stopped and glanced back at him.

No expression could be seen on Ainz's skeletal face, but his crimson eyes flickered faintly.

"You've been looking for Peroroncino this whole time, haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you been looking?"

Higashino Makoto thought for a moment before answering casually.

"Not that long. Less than a year, I guess. Why?"

As Ainz looked at the young man's back, images of that long-lost world suddenly surfaced in his mind. A vast circular hall, forty-one seats, forty-one banners.

Now, only he remained.

"Higashino Makoto."

Ainz's voice grew deeper, as if he had made up his mind.

"If you do not mind, would you be willing to accompany me to Nazarick?"

Higashino Makoto turned around and looked at him with a faintly amused smile.

"What? Inviting me for tea?"

"Not for tea."

Ainz paused.

"I want you to see with your own eyes the place where he once stayed. And... don't you want to meet that guy's child—no... Shalltear?"

Higashino Makoto did not answer immediately.

He leaned against the doorframe, his spear resting across the back of his shoulders as the afternoon sun stretched his shadow long.

There was scrutiny in his eyes, amusement, and something else Ainz could not see through.

After quite a while, he suddenly smiled.

"Sure."

Higashino Makoto put away his spear and strode back, stopping before Ainz and extending a hand.

"Then I'll be in your care, Mr. Ainz Ooal Gown."

Ainz looked down at that hand, and it seemed as though he saw the shadows of his old comrades.

He reached out—not with a hand, but a skeletal claw—and clasped it.

Cold bone met a warm palm. Two people who had been complete strangers until today had met here because of the name "Ainz Ooal Gown." It was almost like fate.

Yet beneath Higashino Makoto's smile churned emotions known only to himself.

I won!

From the moment Ainz Ooal Gown invited him into the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Higashino Makoto's objective had essentially been achieved.

Rather than letting Ainz be led around by that group of NPCs, it would be better for him to arrange things himself.

As long as Nazarick advanced according to his plan, then even when he became powerful enough to crush Nazarick, he could still choose to spare them!