"Just as I thought! This means that Albedo-sama is the one closest to Momon-sa — san right?"
Although he did not acknowledge it verbally, but Ainz nodded in answer to Narberal's question.
"I am aware of the danger."
Ainz lifted his right gauntlet and indicated his ring finger:
"But I need to do this personally. Just giving commands from within Nazarick will lead to making mistakes in this unknown world. There is a need to go outside and experience this world myself… maybe there are better methods to accomplish this, but I feel uneasy with so many unknowns."
He answered solemnly through the gap in his helmet. As Narberal answered "I get it now." and made an enlightened expression, Ainz asked her with a bit of uneasiness:
"I have a question for you… do you believe humans are low-class creatures?"
"That's right, humans are worthless scum.", answered Narberal from the bottom of her heart without the slightest hesitation. Ainz mumbled softly "Ah, so you feel the same way.", but since his volume was too low Narberal didn't hear him. He continued to rant: "That's what her personality is like, that's why I didn't want to enter a human city. I should understand the character of my subordinates first."
That was one of the reasons he didn't took Albedo along. She was absolutely convinced humans were low-class creatures. If Ainz brought someone like her into a city full of people, it could only end in a blood bath if he slipped up; it was nothing to joke about. Another reason was Albedo's inability to disguise herself, she was unable to hide her horns and wings.
And then there was the main reason, which he couldn't say out loud.
A mere salary man like Ainz didn't have the confidence to run an organization just by reading the reports of others. That was why he dumped the heavy responsibility of running Nazarick to the talented Albedo. If a subordinate was excellent, giving to the said subordinate free reign would be the best decision. Inept supervisors who butted in needlessly would only cause a tragedy.
And Albedo was bound tightly with the dual locks of 'loyalty' and 'love'. That was the reason Ainz could leave the Great Tomb of Nazarick in her hands.
Love, huh…
Whenever Ainz saw Albedo or heard her express her love for him, Ainz would be reminded of how he carelessly edited Albedo's setting. When the server was about to shut down, Ainz modified Albedo's 'character setting' to be deeply in love with Momonga — who was Ainz. Back then he didn’t know he would be transported into this unknown, alternate world, he only intended to pull a little joke at the very end.
A person like him.
Thinking deeper about it — even if Albedo didn't mind — what would his friend Tabula Smaragdina think if he knew what Ainz had done?
And how would he feel about this? To have the NPC he created rewritten by a friend…
He was taking advantage of that, using the fact that Albedo wouldn't betray him. He hated himself for this.
Ainz shook his head to get rid of his negative thoughts. All of his strong emotions became suppressed after he turned into an undead, but he could feel emotions of this level as if he was still a human. If his mind really became that of an undead, he wouldn't have to feel such a sense of guilt anymore.
Distracted by such thoughts, Ainz turned his helmet towards Narberaclass="underline"
"… Nabel, I won't ask you to stop thinking like that, but you have to suppress it. This is a human city and we have no idea what kind of powerful people we might meet, so don't attract unnecessary attention from the enemy with such thoughts."
Narberal bowed deeply to express her fealty towards Ainz, but he reached out to her, lifted her face and warned:
"One more thing, I am not sure if humans will feel threatened… by our killing intent when we want to fight or are in the midst of battle. But it appears that we do emit such an aura. So don't act recklessly without my permission, understand?"
"Understood Momon-sa — san."
"Very good… the tavern that was scouted beforehand should be in the vicinity."
Ainz looked around him.
There were several shops open for business, with a handful of visiting customers. To the side were a few workmen in work aprons carrying goods.
They searched for the tavern in this shop-populated zone by matching the pattern of the drawing in Ainz's hand with the pattern of the signboard. Since Ainz and Narberal couldn't read the language of this country they has to resort to this.
Shortly after, they found the target 'pattern'. Ainz sped up unconsciously and Narberal followed.
Dusting the dirt off his armored boots, Ainz walked up 2 steps, opened the double doors with both hands and entered.
Almost all the windows were closed, giving the indoors dim lighting. Those who were used to the bright light outside wouldn't be able to adjust immediately. But for Ainz, who had nightvision, this amount of light was more than enough.
The interior was spacious; the first floor was the dining area with a counter. Two cabinets were placed behind the counter, with a few dozen wine bottles on it. The door next to the counter probably led into the kitchen.
At the corner of the dining area was a right angled stairway leading to the 2nd floor. According to the counter lady, the 2nd and 3rd floor were guestrooms. A handful of patrons were scattered around some of the round dining tables. Most of them were men and the atmosphere felt hostile.
Everyone was looking at Ainz and they seemed to be taking his measure. The only one who ignored Ainz was a woman sitting in a corner who was staring at a bottle on her table.
This scene in the tavern caused Ainz to raise his nonexistent brows under his helmet.
He had mentally prepared himself for this, but it was still filthier than he thought.
In YGGDRASIL, there were many dirty and disgusting places and even the Great Tomb of Nazarick had one of them. Examples would be the hall of the Lord of Terror or the giant cavern of poison worms.
But this filth was different.
There were scraps of food all over the floor and unknown liquids; weird stains on the wall; a mysterious cube-shaped item moulding in a corner…
Ainz sighed in his heart and looked around the tavern.
There was a man with a dirty scarf around his neck, with his sleeved rolled up to show off two muscular arms. There were several scars that were either from a beast's claw or a blade wound.
His looks were somewhere between a brute and a beast, scars could clearly be seen on his face and his head was shaved.
He looked more like a bouncer than the owner, holding a rag while observing Ainz openly.
"Looking for a room? How many nights?", he asked from across the room with a voice that sounded like a broken bell.
"We want to stay for one night."
The boss answered crudely:
"…Copper medal. Communal hall will be 5 copper coins per night. Oatmeal with vegetables will be complementary, one more copper if you want meat. The oatmeal might be replaced with bread several days old."