“Then forgive me for troubling you, Mare.”
“Yes!”
Mare resolutely answered, his young face showing off an unwavering resolve.
The one who designed Mare, Simmering Teapot-san, why did you make him wear this kind of clothes?
Was it to create a contrast to Aura’s attire or was there another reason?
Just as Momonga was thinking about this, Mare asked a question.
“If-, If I may ask Momonga-sama… Why are you dressed this way?”
“… Eh, Well…”
Because he wanted to sneak away — Of course he could not say that.
Mare looked up with sparkling eyes and watched the troubled Momonga. How would he deceive him? If this fails, then his act of being a dignified superior would go to waste. There was no subordinate who would approve of a superior who wanted to sneak away. Momonga tried to come up with an excuse but was unable to think of anything, but at that moment a voice spoke up behind them.
“It is simple, Mare”
Turning around Momonga was immediately entranced.
She could be seen as a beautiful lady standing in the moonlight. The bluish moonlight illuminated her, making her shine as if a goddess had descended. Her black wings were waving, blowing a gust of wind in front of them.
It was Albedo.
Although Demiurge had also arrived, due to Albedo’s beauty Momonga did not notice his presence immediately.
“Momonga-sama wore the armor in order to conceal his name, to avoid interrupting anyone’s work. If they saw Momonga-sama’s arrival, everyone would stop what they were doing and salute in respect. However, Momonga-sama did not want to interfere with everyone’s work and that’s why he dressed up as the Black Knight.”
Is that right, Momonga-sama? Hearing Albedo’s question, Momonga immediately nodded:
“As expected of Albedo, to see through my intentions.”
“As the Commander of the Guardians, this is a given. No, even if I was not the Commander, I believe I would still be able to understand Momonga-sama’s heart.”
Smiling, Albedo gave a deep bow, while Demiurge showed a complicated expression.
Even though he disagreed with her, he had no way to clear up her misconceptions.
“So it was like that…”
Mare realised after hearing the explanation.
Looking at her line of sight towards Mare, Momonga saw something incredible. Albedo’s eyes suddenly widened, as if her eyes were going to pop out, and with jerky movements she pointed towards Mare’s finger.
Just as Momonga started thinking about it, Albedo’s face suddenly returned to her original beautiful appearance, as if the scene from before was just an illusion.
“… Anything wrong?”
“Ah, no, nothing is wrong… Well then, Mare, sorry to bother you. Continue your work after some rest.”
“Ye-, Yes! Then Momonga-sama, I will retire first.”
Momonga casually nodded, Mare then left while rubbing the ring on his finger.
“Speaking of which, why is Albedo here?”
“Yes, because I heard from Demiurge that Momonga-sama would be here, I decided to give my regards. I apologise that you have to see my dirty appearance.”
Hearing the words dirty, Momonga looked at Albedo, but was unable to think of her as dirty at all. Although there was a bit of dirt on her clothes, it totally did not detract from her beauty.
“Nothing of the sort Albedo, your beauty will not lose its luster over something like this. Of course, having such a beautiful woman run around like this feels wrong to me. But right now, the situation is quite dire, so forgive me. I hope that you will continue your hard work for Nazarick.”
“For Momonga-sama, no matter how difficult it is, there will be no problems!”
“Thank you for your devotion. Right… Albedo, there is something I want to give to you.”
“… What… Is it?”
Humbly bowing her head, Albedo asked in a dull tone. Momonga took out a ring and of course it was a ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.
“As the Commander of the Guardians, you would definitely need this.”
“… Many thanks.”
Her reaction differed greatly from Mare, so Momonga felt somewhat disappointed. But then he immediately realised his mistake.
The corners of Albedo’s mouth started to spasm, her face was constantly changing. Her wings were constantly trembling and that was because she was suppressing her urge to spread them. Taking the ring — she was already tightly clutching it — she started to tremble. No matter how stupid the person, her excitement was obvious to everyone.
“Continue with your loyalty. As for Demiurge… We will talk next time.”
“Understood, Momonga-sama. I will continue to work hard in order to earn the right to receive this great ring.”
“That’s it. With that the things I’ve wanted to do is done, I should return back to the 9th floor before I receive a scolding.”
Seeing Albedo and Demiurge lowering their heads in response, Momonga activates his ring of Ainz Ooal Gown and started to teleport.
The moment the scenery started to change, he thought he heard the sound of a girl screaming “Kyaa!”, but since the idea that Albedo would use a crude expression like that was absurd, Momonga just assumed he heard wrongly.
Part 2
The outskirts of the village were getting closer.
While running, Enri heard the constant sounds of metal hitting metal.
With a prayer, she looked back — and saw the worst possible situation. A knight was right behind the sisters.
Just a little bit more and he would catch up with them.
Enri held back the urge to curse about her situation, she no longer had any strength left to waste complaining.
Her breath felt short, her heart pumped so hard it felt like it was going to burst and her legs trembled constantly. Perhaps soon, she would be too exhausted and just fall to the ground.
If she was alone, she might have given up hope and lose all strength to run.
But holding the hand of her sister gave Enri the will to keep on running.
Yes, it was all because of wanting to save her sister, that Enri continued to flee now.
While running, she kept on looking back.
The distance had not changed. Although the knight was wearing armor, his speed was not slow at all. The difference between a highly trained soldier and a normal village girl was obvious.
Enri felt chills go down her spine. If this continued… It would be impossible to bring her sister to safety.
— Let go.
These words entered Enri’s mind.
— If you’re alone, you may be able to escape.
— Do you want to die here?
— Splitting up wouldn’t necessarily be safer.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!”
Screaming loudly, Enri angrily reproached herself.
She was the worst sister.
Her younger sister looked like she was about to cry, but why wasn’t she already crying?