Ainz's fury, the Great Tomb's countermeasures, and the debut of the master of overthinking

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Ainz was furious beyond measure, stamping his feet over and over.

Even six rounds of forced emotional suppression had failed to calm him.

Not even the presence of all the Guardians could temper his fury.

Mare's screams and final words hurt worse than being killed himself.

He had not even had time to bid the Warrior Captain and the others farewell. He had hurried away with an excuse, intending to summon his subordinates.

But he was already too late.

What awaited them were Mare's screams.

All the Guardians knelt on the ground. Wearing a sorrowful expression, Albedo urgently tried to soothe him:

"Lord Ainz, this was not your fault."

Only after the seventh round of forced emotional suppression did Ainz barely regain his reason:

"My apologies. I lost my composure just now."

Albedo immediately replied:

"Lord Ainz, we would never blame you."

After repeated rounds of forced emotional suppression, Ainz addressed the Guardians:

"Mare's sacrifice will not be meaningless."

"We will find the enemy."

Every Guardian wore a solemn expression:

"Yes, Lord Ainz!"

Ainz looked at his loyal subordinates, then at Mare's name, which had vanished from the guild roster, and the available resurrection option.

He could not help breathing a sigh of relief.

It was a blessing amid misfortune.

Mare was a guild NPC. Upon death, he returned to the guild and could be resurrected.

In short, Ainz went to the Treasury and prepared the five hundred million gold coins required for the resurrection.

Demiurge made a cautious suggestion:

"Lord Ainz."

"This dragon killed Mare with ease. Presumably, it is a world-class boss."

"Even the resurrection could cause complications."

"Please allow us to protect you, Lord Ainz."

Ainz nodded:

"Be ready!"

The Guardians went on alert, and the resurrection ritual began.

History had taken a winding course. The Slane Theocracy had sent no one to eliminate the Warrior Captain, nor had it mistakenly believed the Catastrophe Dragon Lord had been resurrected, so the incident with Shalltear had never happened.

Instead, Mare had died.

Like Shalltear, he was successfully resurrected, but something seemed off about his expression.

"Lord Ainz?"

"Sister?"

Mare woke looking utterly confused, because Aura was hugging him and sobbing loudly.

Ainz finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Everyone examined Mare's condition and confirmed that he had forgotten the past few days.

Perhaps it was a mechanism of the New World, or perhaps it was something unique to guild NPCs.

Ainz did not mind, though the loss of so much equipment was painful.

"Mare, although this is cruel..."

"We hope to help you remember everything that happened."

"Aura."

Aura soon picked up the Golden Acorn Pendant and played the recording.

Mare's panicked, despairing voice echoed through the Throne Room once again.

"Aaaah!!!!"

The agonized scream frightened Mare into covering his ears.

The Guardians all showed anger, along with a trace of solemn concern.

Once Ainz saw that everyone understood the enemy's strength, he spoke:

"Demiurge, you are responsible for the Great Tomb of Nazarick's defenses."

"You will report on the situation."

Deeply honored, Demiurge bowed solemnly:

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

"Everyone, this is a crisis unlike any the Great Tomb of Nazarick has faced before-a catastrophe in which we confront a world-class boss directly."

"Every Guardian must remain vigilant and annihilate the Great Tomb of Nazarick's enemies under Lord Ainz's leadership."

Demiurge began by giving everyone a lesson in the proper mindset.

Everyone felt that he was absolutely right, and even Ainz felt somewhat reassured.

At least no one was accusing him of issuing reckless orders that had led to Mare's death.

He had barely relaxed before Demiurge's next words shocked him:

"Even in this crisis, I must acknowledge that everything remains within Lord Ainz's control."

What?

Ainz was stunned on the spot.

He had only wanted to claim a little more land in the Re-Estize Kingdom. How had that become some far-reaching master plan?

Not just Shalltear, but even Cocytus and the others looked bewildered.

Ainz hastily said:

"Demiurge, you should explain."

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

Demiurge answered simply:

"Lord Ainz's plan was to control the entire Re-Estize Kingdom Pioneer Corps through his dual identities as the adventurer Momon and a magic caster."

"First, to establish a foothold for the Great Tomb of Nazarick in the Re-Estize Kingdom."

"Second, to protect the Great Tomb of Nazarick from invasion by outside forces."

"Third, to obtain rare information about this world by befriending important figures in the Re-Estize Kingdom Pioneer Corps."

"I originally thought Lord Ainz had only these three objectives."

"Only when Mare encountered the dragon did I realize there was a fourth."

"To investigate whether any beings existed that could threaten the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

So that was it.

Realization dawned across the Guardians' faces, and even Mare grew a little excited.

It was such an honor to give his life for Lord Ainz's cause.

No, that wasn't what I was thinking at all.

Ainz coughed and nodded:

"Very good. You have deduced all my objectives."

"You flatter me, Lord Ainz."

"But deducing the objectives is not enough. What we need is to catch the enemy."

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

"Our investigation revealed that the man named Luke belongs to a hidden organization called the [Dragon Worship Cult]."

"They worship powerful dragons, reportedly the True Dragon Lords who once ruled the world, as well as the Divine Dragon who stands above them."

"Whenever the Dragon Worship Cult encounters a powerful creature, they choose to offer it as a sacrifice to the Divine Dragon."

"That thief joined the Pioneer Corps because he had heard that powerful monsters inhabited the Great Tob Forest, and intended to offer them to the Divine Dragon."

"Instead, he encountered Lord Ainz."

So it was an accident!

Ainz suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Shalltear could not help asking:

"So it was actually an accident?"

"We cannot assume that!"

Demiurge's cold rebuke startled Ainz.

"There is a seventy percent chance it was an accident. The remaining thirty percent is that the enemy planned it."

Not understanding, Shalltear asked:

"Why do you say that?"

Good question, Shalltear!

Known as the Great Tomb of Nazarick's foremost strategist and the original master of overthinking, Demiurge naturally did more than flatter people.

"Because of the item in his possession."

"That scroll contained the tenth-tier spell Time Stop, the ninth-tier spell Perfect Unknowable, the eighth-tier spell Teleportation, and Greater Slow."

"Is that something an ordinary thief could possess?"

Even the Great Tomb of Nazarick wasn't that extravagant!

Shalltear could not help asking:

"But wasn't he a member of some organization?"

Demiurge replied:

"Shalltear, would you entrust a Vampire Bride with protecting the Pipette Lance?"

Impossible.

Shalltear caught on, her head a muddle:

"Th-then what could the reason be?"

"In the remaining thirty percent of possibilities, the enemy learned through prophecy or some other means that something would happen to the Pioneer Corps, and specifically ordered someone to bring this Trap Scroll!"

"Their information simply wasn't accurate enough."

"The proof is that they targeted Mare, not Lord Ainz!"

So that was it.

The only problem with Eve's plan was that the scroll was too precious.

How could Demiurge, the Great Tomb of Nazarick's foremost strategist, fail to notice that?

But it did not matter.

As long as he believed the Dragon Worship Cult existed, that was enough.

There was still a mountain of evidence waiting for him.

After hearing the explanation, Ainz had a clear understanding of the entire situation.

"Demiurge, your thoughts match my own."

Demiurge immediately glowed with pride:

"Lord Ainz, I have merely glimpsed a tiny fraction of your wisdom."

"From now on, you must no longer appear casually among the Re-Estize Kingdom Pioneer Corps. You can use Double Phantom to disguise yourself."

"Meanwhile, we will dispatch personnel to investigate the Dragon Worship Cult and prepare defenses against traps."

"The Re-Estize Kingdom's Warrior Captain would make an excellent stepping stone."

"The appearance of powerful figures such as the adventurer Momon will certainly attract the Dragon Worship Cult's interest."

"Once we find the Dragon Worship Cult's followers, we can launch our counterattack."

"We must also keep an eye on information from the Argland Council State, because that thief came from there."

Ainz concluded:

"Very good. Demiurge's proposals are my orders."

"As you command, Lord Ainz."

All the Guardians bowed together. Only Ainz silently felt Momonga's Orb, the World Item housed within his body.

If necessary, he would face the enemy even at the cost of losing levels.

Before that, he had to thoroughly investigate all relevant information.

The Great Tomb of Nazarick began to act.

But their efforts were destined to be futile.