Ainz narrowed his eyes.
He was raging mad when he just got robbed, but looking back, it was a nice piece of memory. Even though they were massacred and dropped plenty of rare items.
“Outrageous! They dare usurp the territory ruled by the Supreme Beings?! Unforgivable! Please give us the order to counter attack!”
Hearing how angry Albedo was made Ainz turn his gaze.
He could see the hostility and killing intent released by all the Guardians, even the calm Demiurge was revealing a sinister smile. Not just that, even Mare’s reserved expression couldn’t conceal his urge to attack. Ainz couldn’t see Shalltear’s face as she was acting as a chair, but from her stiffened body, her determination was conveyed to Ainz through his rear.
“Calm down! This is all in the past now.”
Ainz raised his hand to calm the Guardians. They looked more settled, but they still felt unstable as if magma was flowing beneath the surface. To change the topic, Ainz continued what he was saying.
“The enemy used Ouroboros to stop us from entering the ‘World’ the mine was situated in. They probably used this chance to search the vicinity and seize the mine. When the seal was undone, we went in only to find that the mine had been conquered.”
During the rash attempt to take back the mine, about half the guild members died at least once. Ainz held back on and didn’t say this out loud.
“I will get to the main point. I mentioned that we were denied access to that ‘World’ but people with World class items could still enter that ‘World’. Hence, it is impossible for them to spy on us even with the strongest World class item.”
As Ainz listened to the enlightened acknowledgement from his subordinates, he still bore doubts on whether this was really true.
The possibility was high, but there was no evidence to prove that it was true.
When using ‘Conflict of the Five Elements’ which was also a ‘Twenty’ like ‘Ouroboros’, the game company sent a message to the owners World class items. Aside from an apology, they also sent an item as compensation. The content of the apology message was: ”Bearers of World class items, by right, you should be exempted from any changes to the world. But it is very challenging to maintain your data while we update the server. Therefore, we have no other choice but to treat this as an exceptional case as we update the server.”
And so, it was impossible for them to defend against this. But that event should be the exception instead of the norm.
Especially the World class item that could defend against reconnaissance magic. It would be meaningless if it couldn’t protect Nazarick from other World class items.
“And that is why I thought the enemy will approach Momon… But those who do approach are mothers carrying new born babies and adventurers.”
They asked Momon to pat the babies’ head to bless them with health and strength. The adventurers requested a handshake and wished to become stronger, but no one wanted to converse with him in private.
That’s why Ainz exposed himself with weak defences this time, waiting for the enemy to make their move.
Not equipping Cocytus with a World class item was part of the plan. Ainz planned to use him as bait to lure the enemy out. It seemed scary because the enemy was unknown, and they could come up with proper countermeasures after ascertaining who the enemy was.
“Regarding this issue… May I share my humble opinion?”
“What is it, Albedo?”
“Yes, as Ainz-sama explained, the plan was to smoke the enemy out. Could the enemy be reluctant to approach us since they too are operating in the dark, just like us?”
…Ah.
“No… problem, Albedo, I already considered that possibility.”
He didn’t. Ainz was assuming the enemy was thinking the same thing like him, trying to gather intelligence on him.
… What an error. Did I get it wrong from the very beginning?
“Excuse me, also…”
Albedo-san, please stop— Ainz cried in his heart. He felt like a candidate who was reviewing the question script after the exam and realized all his answers were wrong.
“About releasing the information that Shalltear was defeated with items…”
“Yes, that’s what I reported to the guild, that is to prevent the people from fearing Momon if he gets too powerful. Sealed magic crystals seemed to be a rare item here, it must be difficult to destroy the crystal for experiments. Destabilizing the crystal and using it to defeat Shalltear is a more convincing story, and people would be less guarded against Momon.”
“You are absolutely right. For the people who think sealed crystals are rare, this isn’t a bad method.”
Albedo’s roundabout way of speaking made Ainz feel uneasy.
“… But if the other party possess multiple crystals like Ainz-sama, wouldn’t the situation be different?”
“… Hmm? Ah, that’s what you mean.”
Ainz made an enlightened expression, but didn’t understand at all.
So what if the other party possess several sealed crystals? It was a fact that sealed magic was valuable in this world. Was Albedo worried about the crystal being broken during experiments?
But that didn’t seem to be all.
An ominous feeling flashed across Ainz’ mind. He wanted Albedo to explain further, which made Ainz hate himself for acting cocky earlier.
Is it really okay for me to be the ruler and decide the policies of Nazarick? Am I steering a ship up a mountain without knowing it?
Ainz felt like running away.
He couldn’t bear the burden of a ruler he had experienced several times — a burden that grew heavier in the face of failure — Ainz kept complaining in his heart.
But he couldn’t do that. Since he took the name of Ainz Ooal Gown, he couldn’t abandon the creations of his comrades— the NPC and the treasures in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. More importantly, he didn’t want to be a parent that abandoned his children.
I also worry whether you all will betray, abandon or give up on me. Nonetheless, I will act the part of Ainz Ooal Gown that meets your expectations and is worthy of your trust.
And so, Ainz made a relaxed expression he practised before the mirror and said in a pose filled with the confidence of an Overlord.
“No problem, I understand why you feel uneasy.”
Ainz then looked around him.
“Albedo… Do share your worries with the other Guardians.”
“Ah, yes! If the enemy possess multiple crystals like Ainz-sama… Someone who knows about crystals, they would be able to tell this information is false. They will be sure that Shalltear was not defeated by the crystal— although they couldn’t know if Shalltear was at full strength, users of World class item will assume that Momon is as strong as Shalltear. They will then conclude the mysterious warrior Momon who suddenly appeared in E-Rantel is someone dangerous right? They might also suspect that Shalltear might be related to Momon…”
“… Albedo, and Guardians, what do you think the enemies’ next step would be?”
“Pardon me. I think that if our foes plan to oppose Ainz-sama, they will spread rumours of Momon working together with the vampire even if there is no proof. They would not want Momon to gain further fame.”
Urghhh— Ainz moaned in his heart.
Part of the goal of going to E-Rantel was to gather intelligence, but the main target was to raise the fame of the Momon persona— and a tiny part of wanting to run away. The original plan was to wait for the great hero to be born and then reveal Momon’s true identity, turning all his fame to that of Ainz Ooal Gown, spreading this name throughout the world.