“I see ~su, then I’ll leave it to you ~su.”
Ainz deactivated his offensive barrier.
“Alright ― then let’s begin the combat recording. Whose point of view are you using? I don’t mind if it’s mine, you know?”
“I think I was supposed to do the recording ~su.”
In truth, Ainz was fine with anything. Anyone’s perspective would have been alright.
In addition, the memories of sparring with his friends were coming back to him, and Ainz began to enjoy himself.
Simulated battles with his friends were a fundamental part of devising new techniques and using new equipment.
He had often sparred with Touch Me, but those battles did not count and had not been entered in Ainz’s PVP record.
Since Ainz had never won even once, his win rate would have dropped if they had been recorded. He had never taken it seriously, simply treating it as “training” since he knew he could not win. Ainz always emphasized that.
“Shall we begin, then? You need to prepare yourself to kill me. Of course, I won’t kill you.”
“No, actually, it’s alright if you kill us.”
Before Ainz could say that he did not want to do so, Yuri stated the reason.
“Ainz-sama, we are not the actual members of the Pleiades. All of us are Greater Doppelgangers.”
“What!? What did you say?”
“We are musicians of the Erich String Orchestra under Chacmool-sama of the Five Worsts. By Albedo-sama’s order, we have transformed into members of the Pleiades.”
“―Is that so?”
He looked at them several more times, but Ainz could not tell the difference between them and the Yuri and Lupusregina which he knew. He could not help but wonder if this was a lie they were telling so he could kill them without worries during the fight.
Perhaps one of them was fake. He had once heard that the best lies were those that had a little bit of the truth sprinkled into it.
Ainz could not see through the Doppelgangers’ disguise. There was a spell that could dispel the Doppelgangers’ shapeshifting, but using that spell would keep them from transforming again for a period of time due to the spell’s effect. In that case, having them transform into the Pleiades would be meaningless. It would be a different matter if Ainz had learned lower tier spells but—
No—
“Hm, it does seem like Lupusregina is speaking differently from normal. What’s going on?”
Lupusregina’s face went blank for a moment.
“Is that strange, Ainz-sama?”
The Greater Doppelganger pretending to be Lupusregina changed its way of speaking. That was probably its usual speech pattern.
“Ah, those aren’t the usual expressions she uses.”
“But Lupusregina-sama always spoke like that in front of us…”
When a Doppelganger impersonated someone, it was more difficult for people closer to the target to see through their disguise. That was because they used a form of telepathy during their shapeshifting to read the surface thoughts of the people they were speaking to and those around them in order to extract information related to the target they were impersonating and then apply it to their impersonation act ― at least, that was what their entry in the monster encyclopedia said.
According to Pandora’s Actor, that ability had become real in this world.
However, that was simply to discern the possible reactions that the impersonated subject might have, and it did not read minds or search through memories.
In addition, since this ability was a form of psychic attack, it was useless on Ainz and other undead creatures. One could also simply resist it if the level difference was great enough. That was probably why it could not discern Lupusregina’s possible reactions from Ainz and had given the game away.
Incidentally, it was more likely that Doppelgangers would out themselves when facing multiple people, because each of them would have a different impression of the target.
Umu. Why did Lupu always add a ~su at the end of her sentences in front of them? Ahh, I see, so it was to make them sound out of place. Perhaps she was trying to help me. What a cute little rascal she is…
“…Hm? My apologies. I have another question that is unrelated to combat. While Albedo has given you an order, who would have priority if I were to tell you to abandon that order?
“Naturally, the words of the Supreme One would have priority, Ainz-sama. However, I must sincerely apologize that we will obey orders from our summoner, Anyami Shirabe-sama, above all else.”
“…Hm? Who’s that?”
Was there an NPC like that? As the question grew in his heart, the flames in Ainz’s eyes flared as he heard Doppel-Yuri’s answer.
“That would be Temperance-sama.”
“Eh? Temperance-san? Anyami? Ahhh… well, that does work as a physical description… but still, Anyami Shirabe?”
“Yes. Temperance-sama once asked to be addressed that way, so Chacmool-sama instructed us to do so as well.”
“…After I return to Nazarick, I would like to hear all about this. Anyami Shirabe, huh.”
This was the first time he had ever heard him refer to himself that way.
Ainz could not help laughing as he learned that a former friend had referred to himself that way in a place where nobody else knew. This was truly a cunning trap, set to decrease his fighting spirit.
Ahh, no, no. I mustn’t fall for Anyami Shirabe’s trap! Fu, fufu…
Though he knew it was not the right time to do so, he recalled the guild member in question.
How had he looked and felt when he had given that name?
Ainz narrowed his eyes as he reminisced about his friend from the past, and then he saw a surprised look on the face of Doppel-Yuri as it tilted its head. Ainz sensed that he had become careless and pulled himself together.
He could remember his old friends later. Right now, he ought to analyze the Doppelganger’s words.
After this, I’d like to question all the vassals and NPCs about the sides of themselves that they’ve been hiding. Fufufu ― now then! Another question comes to mind…
In the absence of a direct order, vassals like Doppelgangers would obey the NPC in charge of them. In that case, what would happen if a certain NPC wanted to kill Ainz and gathered many high level vassals and ordered them to attack Ainz with their strongest moves? Of course, this would happen while Ainz was unable to detect or stop them.
Would they carry out that order? Or would they disobey it?
“…You’re also ready to come at me like you want to kill me, is that it?”
“Yes. Those are the orders I have received, and I have determined that I also have your permission, Ainz-sama.”
Doppel-Yuri’s answer made Ainz wrinkle his ― nonexistent ― brows.
…Isn’t this dangerous? It’s probably best to see exactly where the boundary lies.
If even Ainz could think of this, then Albedo had most likely verified it herself, Still, he ought to make sure, just in case. He could not let a hole in security go unpatched.
“…Indeed. I permit you to use your full abilities to kill me in this battle. Then swear on the name of Ainz Ooal Gown once more. Can you swear that what you said about your true identities just now was the truth?”
“Yes. This we do swear, upon the names of all the Supreme Beings.”
Yuri and Lupusregina transformed their hands into alien-looking objects.
“―Ah!”
“What? What is it, Doppel-Yuri?”
“Ainz-sama, there is one thing I forgot. Our equipment was borrowed from the Pleiades. Therefore, can we trouble you to recover them for us if we are killed?”
Doppelgangers could even copy the clothing and equipment of their targets if they wanted to. However, they could only duplicate appearances, and not the equipment’s abilities. Since they would gain no benefits from the gear, when fighting a magic caster like Ainz, the difference between them would be like that between heaven and earth. Therefore, they had no choice but to borrow the real thing from the originals.