"... There’s no need to attack, the problem has already been resolved. Who is commanding
you?"
"Aura-sama and Mare-sama. Demiurge-sama and Sharutia-sama are on alert inside Nazarick,
and Cocytus-sama is patrolling the area around Nazarick."
"So it’s like this...... Too many of us would just get in the way. With the exception of Aura and Mare, everyone else shall withdraw. How many Eight-legged Spiderblade Assassins are here?"
"There are fifteen of us."
"In that case you are to remain on standby with Aura and Mare."
Seeing the Eight-legged Spiderblade Assassins nodding in understanding, Ainz shifted his sight
towards the funeral. When the graves started being covered with earth, the two young girls
started crying non-stop.
Since it didn’t look like the funerals would be ending soon, Ainz slowly walked towards the
village. Albedo and Death Knight followed him.
Although interrupted by the funerals, Ainz still spent a lot of time here learning things such as
common sense. After leaving the vil age chief’s house, the sun was already setting in the sky.
It appears that role in this heroic rescue drama took a lot of time.
But he didn’t consider this time wasted. As he got to know about this world, more and more
unanswered questions were piling up. Learning as much as he did was enough to make him
content.
While looking at a beautiful sunset, Ainz thought about what he should be doing next.
It was very dangerous to act without knowing the situation in this world. The best course of
action was to first collect lots of information by concealing his identity and doing covert
operations. But after rescuing this village, he was no longer able to conceal his identity. Even if
the knights were completely wiped out, they belonged to a nation who would try to find out what
happened. In his old world, scientific investigation was well-developed, and perhaps this world
would have other means of investigation.
Even if there weren’t any well-developed investigation methods, as long as the village survived,
one day someone would find traces of Ainz there. In order to avoid information leaks, the
villagers could be brought back to the Great Tomb of Nazarick. However, the kingdom to which
these vil ages belong would certainly object. It wouldn’t be surprising if such an incident were
treated as a mass-kidnapping.
There were two reasons for stating his name and letting the knights escape.
The first was because as long as Ainz wasn’t hiding inside the Great Tomb of Nazarick, news
about him would slowly start to spread. In that case it would be better if he was the one to
disseminate the information.
The second reason was to spread the news that Ainz Ooal Gown had rescued the villagers by
killing the knights. Of course, the primary intention was to let other YGGDRASIL players catch
wind of this.
Ainz wanted to have a shelter inside the Kingdom, the Empire or the Theocracy.
On one hand, if there were other players in these countries, clues pertaining to their existence
would start to surface. On the other hand, if Ainz were to mobilize all of Nazarick in order to
search for these clues, not only would it take a lot of effort, but the risk would also be high. If
someone had temperament like Albedo’s, giving him the wrong order would certainly create an
unnecessary enemy.
With respect to intelligence gathering, becoming allies with one of these countries had a great
deal of benefits. In order to protect the Great Tomb of Nazarick’s independence, having the
backing of a strong party would be useful. But since he didn’t know about the relative strengths
of these countries, he judged it would be wiser to not hastily associate himself with one at the
moment. Also, since Ainz didn’t know who the strongest person was in this world, he couldn’t let
his guard down. In these three countries, there might be someone even stronger than Ainz.
Becoming a member of one of these countries might bring quite a few disadvantages, but there
should be a lot of benefits as well, right? The question is, how does he gain citizenship?
If the answer was to become a slave, then no thank you. He wouldn’t consider becoming a
black-hearted corporate employee like Meromero either. That’s why he had to reveal his
presence to all forces, observe their reactions and potential offers and choose the ideal side.
These were the fundamentals of looking for a job.
So when should he immigrate? As long as Ainz lacked information, there was a possibility that
Ainz would be manipulated.
Thinking about all this, Ainz wearily shook his head.
In these past few hours, he used his brain too much. He didn’t want to think anymore.
"Sigh … ... Let’s call it a day. We’re done here. Albedo, let’s head back."
"Understood."
Albedo’s answering voice was very tense. Since no danger was present, there wasn’t a need for
her to be on alert.
Considering this, he could only think of one reason as to why. Ainz, using a low tone, inquired:
"...... Do you hate humans?"
"I don’t like them. Humans are fragile and inferior creatures. If I crush them like insects, there would be a pretty sight to behold...... these two girls are exceptions though."
Even though Albedo’s voice was as sweet as honey, what she said was stil very cruel.
Considering that Albedo had the appearance of a warm-hearted goddess, Ainz thought that her
previous sentence was at great odds with her appearance and began to admonish her:
"Is that so..... I understand how you feel. However, I hope you’l calm down a bit, since knowing how to conduct oneself is very important."
Watching Albedo nod frantically, Ainz started to worry.
At this stage, Albedo’s likes or dislikes wouldn’t cause any problems, but that wasn’t necessarily
true in the future.
Knowing the preferences of his subordinates was a matter of great importance.
After noting Albedo’s prejudice against humanity, Ainz started looking for the village chief.
Courtesy obligated him to say his farewells before leaving.
He immediately located the village chief. The chief had a solemn expression and stood in a
corner of the square speaking with several vil agers, yet something wasn’t right. The vil age
chief’s face showed a troubled expression as if something were about to happen.
Did something troublesome happen?
Ainz repressed the urge to say goodbye. When saving someone, one should do it properly. With
this thought in mind, he approached the village chief:
“... What’s the matter, vil age chief?”
The vil age chief’s face lit up with a glimmer of hope.
“Oh, Ainz-sama. There seems to be people riding horses, who look like soldiers approaching
this place…”
“I see…”
The village chief stared at Ainz with a worried look, as did all the other villagers.
Ainz gently raised his hand, telling everyone to be at ease:
“Leave it to me. Al the vil agers wil seek shelter in the vil age chief’s house; the two of us wil stay here.”
A bell rang, and the villagers began to gather. At the same time, Death Knight went next to the
vil age chief’s home to guard it and Albedo stood next to Ainz waiting for his commands.
In order to dispel the vil age chief’s anxiety, Ainz cheerfully spoke up:
“Don’t worry, since this is a special case I’l help you free of charge.”
The village chief ceases to tremble and forces a smile. He probably had already made mental