Momonga knew all of this, but h still spoke of conquering this world, because seeing its beauty awoke that juvenile desire within him. In addition, as he was getting into the mindset of being the leader of the dreaded guild Ainz Ooal Gown, those words accidentally fell from his mouth.
And there was one more reason.
"…Ulbert-san, Luci★Fer-san, Variable Talisman-san, Bellriver-san…"
It was because he remembered what his former guildmates had once said, "Let's conquer one of the worlds in YGGDRASIL."
He knew that Demiurge, the wisest mind in Nazarick, would understand that taking over the world was just a child's joke.
If Momonga had seen the smile that had spread across Demiurge's frog face, he would surely not have left matters at that.
But Momonga did not look at Demiurge, instead turning his gaze to the horizon, where the infinite expanse of the earth and sky met.
"…This is an unknown world. But am I the only one who made it here? Did the other members of the guild come here too?"
Although one could not play multiple characters in YGGDRASIL, his comrades who left might have made new characters on the last day of the game. Also, given that he had been online so close to the forced logoff time, Herohero-san might have come here too.
The fact was, Momonga's presence here was an anomaly. The unknown circumstances that had brought him here might have brought his comrades who no longer played the game here with him.
He could not contact them with a 「Message」, but there might be many reasons for that. They might be on a different continent, or something had changed in the spell's effect, and so on.
"…I see… then as long as the whole world knows the name of Ainz Ooal Gown…"
If his comrades were here, then the name of the guild would reach their ears. Once they found out, they would come over. Momonga was that confident in the strength of their friendship.
Deep in thought, Momonga looked over to Nazarick, and saw a curious sight.
A wave over a hundred meters across was moving along the land as though it were the sea. Little ripples rose from the surface of the plains, slowly heading in the same direction as they fused together, finally becoming small hillocks as they approached Nazarick.
The gigantic pile of dirt shattered against the sturdy walls of Nazarick, like waves crashing against the shore.
"…「Earth Surge」. He used his skills to enlarge the effective area, as well as his other class skills…" Momonga muttered in respect.
In all of Nazarick, only one person could use this magic.
"That's Mare for you. It seems camouflaging the walls is an easy task for him."
"Indeed. Mare has also recruited several golems and undead — who are tireless — to help. However, their progress is slow and hardly ideal. In addition, some gaps will be left after moving the earth, which will need to be filled with plants. That will only increase his workload further."
"…Concealing the walls of Nazarick was a time-consuming task to begin with. The only question is whether he will be discovered as he works. How is our perimeter security?"
"Our early-warning net has already been constructed. We will know of the intrusion of any intelligent beings within five kilometers, and we will be able to observe them without their knowledge."
"Well done. However… this net is manned by the underlings, right?"
Demiurge replied in the positive, and Momonga suggested it might be good to erect another security net, just in case.
"…I have a plan for the security net. Put it into motion."
"Understood. I will discuss this with Albedo and then combine her suggestions with your orders. Also, Dark Warrior-sama—"
"—It's fine, Demiurge. You can call me Momonga."
"Understood… may I ask about what you plan to do next, Momonga-sama?"
"Since Mare has carried out his task splendidly, I intend to check in on him. I also plan to give him a suitable reward in person…"
A smile appeared on Demiurge's face. It was a gentle look that seemed completely out of place on a devil's face.
"I believe your thanks will be the finest reward he can receive, Momonga-sama… my deepest apologies, I suddenly remembered something I have to do. As for Mare…"
"It's fine. Go, Demiurge."
"Thank you very much, Momonga-sama."
As Demiurge spread his wings to fly off, Momonga aimed for a point on the ground and landed, donning his helmet along the way. The Dark Elf near Momonga's destination seemed to notice his descent and looked up, surprise written all over his face as he saw Momonga.
Mare ran over with a tatata sound as Momonga landed upon the ground. The hem of Mare's skirt fluttered around his thighs as his legs pumped up and down.
For a moment, something peeked out from below, then vanished again… no, Momonga was not interested in looking under Mare's skirt. He was just curious about what he wore underneath it.
"Mo-Momonga-sama, w-welcome ."
"Mm… Mare, there is no need to be nervous. Take your time and go slowly. If you're not used to it, you can also dispense with the polite language… though only when we're in private, of course."
"I, I can't do that, how could I not speak respectfully to a Supreme Being… actually, Nee-chan shouldn't be doing that too. It, it's terribly rude…"
Although he disliked children being so formal around him, Momonga said:
"I see, Mare. Well, if you insist, then I am fine with it. However, I want you to know that I will not force you to do so."
"Y-Yes! …Al-Although, may I ask why you came here, Momonga-sama? Did I make a mistake…?"
"Of course not, Mare. In fact, I came here to praise you."
The expression on Mare's face went from fear that he might be scolded to surprise.
"Mare, your work is very important. Even with our security net in place, the inhabitants of this world may be over level one hundred. If we are faced with opponents like that, concealing the Great Tomb of Nazarick will be our top priority.."
Mare nodded furiously in agreement.
"Which is why, Mare, I wanted to let you know how satisfied I am that you have carried out your task. In addition, I want to tell you how relieved I am that you were the one handling this matter."
One of the ironclad rules of society that Momonga believed in was that a good boss should compliment the good work of his subordinates.
The Guardians thought highly of him; conversely, in order to have them continue to be loyal to him, Momonga had to act in a way that was worthy of their praise.
Allowing these NPCs that his guild members had made together to feel disappointment or betrayal because of his actions would shatter his golden record as a guild master. It would be like a mark of failure branded on Momonga. Because of that, Momonga had to be careful to maintain the air of authority befitting a ruler when he spoke to the NPCs.
"…You understand what I'm thinking, don't you, Mare?"
"Yes! Momonga-sama!"
Mare might have been dressed like a girl, but the fact that he was a boy was evident from his panicked face.
"Very good. Then, for your hard work, I shall give you a reward."
"How, how could I accept such a thing? I was simply doing my duty!"
"…You deserve a reward for your good performance. It's only natural."
"It, it's not like that! We exist to give our all for the Supreme Beings, so working hard is only to be expected!"
This back and forth went on for a while, and the two of them could not meet in the middle. Momonga decided to cut this sequence of events short.
"Then, how about this. In exchange for this reward, continue your loyal service to me. That should do it."
"Is, is that really all right?"
To cut him short, Momonga produced the reward in question — a ring.
"Mo-Momonga-sama… you've taken the wrong thing out!"
"No I—"
"—It can't be right! That's the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, a treasure which only the Supreme Beings possess! I can't accept a reward like that."
Momonga was shocked at how the unexpected reward was making Mare tremble.
He was correct in that this ring was intended for the guild members. Only one hundred of them had been made, so that meant that there were only fifty nine rings without owners — no, fifty eight. As a result, they were quite precious, but the reason for this gift was not just as a reward, but the hope that it would be put to good use.
In order to put Mare's rampant imagination at ease, Momonga sternly said, "Calm down, Mare."
"I, I can't! How could I accept a valuable ring that only the Supreme Beings should possess—"
"—Calm down, Mare. Teleportation is blocked in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and that generates all kinds of inconveniences."
After hearing this, Mare slowly regained his composure.
"My hope is that during an enemy attack, the Guardians will command their respective Floor's forces. At the same time it would be quite sad if a Guardian was unable to move around freely due to the teleportation block. Therefore, I give this ring to you."
Momonga raised the ring on his finger high. It glittered brilliantly in the moonlight.
"Mare, I am pleased with your loyalty. At the same time, I understand your reluctance as an NPC to accept this ring which symbolizes us. However, if you truly understand my intentions, you will accept my orders and this ring with them."
"But, but, why me… shouldn't everyone else have gotten one too…?"
"I had intended to give the others these rings; however you are the first. This is because I am pleased with your work. If I gave this to someone who did no work, then this ring would have no meaning. Or do you intend to devalue this ring?"
"No, no, of course not!"
"Then take it, Mare. After accepting this ring, continue working hard for Nazarick and myself."
Mare nervously reached out his hand and slowly accepted the ring.
Momonga felt somewhat guilty as he watched Mare. The truth was that he had an ulterior motive for giving him the ring.
That was because once Mare had the ring, it would be more difficult for people to tell that Momonga was teleporting around.
As Mare put on the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, it immediately changed its dimensions to fit Mare's slender fingers. He could not help but stare at the ring on his finger, sighing in relief. Then he turned to Momonga and bowed deeply.
"Momonga-sama, th-thank you for this great gift… I promise that from today onward I will work harder so I do not disappoint you!"
"Then, I'll trust you with it, Mare."
"Yes!"
A determined look appeared on Mare's face as he gave his immediate answer.
Why had Bukubukuchagama-san, who had designed Mare, dressed him like this?
Was it to dress him differently from Aura, or was there another reason?
Just as Momonga was pondering this question, Mare asked a question of his own.
"Ah, excuse me, Momonga-sama… but why are you dressed like that?"
"…Ah, about that…"
Because I wanted to get away — obviously he could not say that.
Mare's eyes sparkled as he looked up to the troubled Momonga. How should he bluff his way through this? If he failed here, all the acting he had done to appear like a commanding superior would have gone to waste. No subordinate would respect a superior who was trying to flee.
Momonga desperately tried to calm himself down, and then help came from an unexpected source.
"That's simple, Mare."
Momonga looked back, and his eyes were instantly drawn to the person he was looking at.
A woman who seemed to be the embodiment of all feminine beauty stood beneath the moonlight. The bluish-white radiance played across her body, which sparkled in response. It was as though a goddess had descended from the heavens to grace the earth. Her black wings flapped, creating a gust of wind.
It was Albedo.
Although Demiurge was behind her, such was Albedo's beauty that Momonga's eyes did not even register Demiurge's form.
"Momonga-sama wore this armor and concealed his identity because he did not wish to disturb the others at work."
"When Momonga-sama approaches, it is only natural for everyone to stop whatever they are doing and bow to him. However, Momonga-sama did not wish to interrupt anyone. Thus he disguised himself as Dark Warrior-sama so the others would not cease in their labors to pay him his due respect. Am I correct, Momonga-sama?"
After hearing Albedo's question, Momonga nodded repeatedly.
"As, as expected of you Albedo, you understood my true intentions."
"It is only natural, as the Guardian Overseer. No, even if I were not the Guardian Overseer, I am confident that I could read your heart, Momonga-sama."
As Albedo smiled and bowed deeply, there was a bizarre expression of Demiurge's face as he stood behind her.
Although it weighed on his mind, he could not object to the people assisting him.
"So, so that's why…" Mare said, with a look of realization on his face.
As he looked toward Mare, Momonga saw a sight he could hardly believe was real. Albedo's eyes had suddenly gone wide open, to the point where it seemed like her eyeballs might fall out. She was pointing at Mare in a strange way.
Just as Momonga was thinking about this, Albedo's face returned to its usual beautiful state, so quickly that Momonga thought it had all been an illusion.
"…What's wrong?"
"Ah, no, nothing… all right, Mare, sorry for disturbing you. Take a break, and continue the camouflage work afterwards."
"Y-Yes! Then, Momonga-sama, I'll be on my way."
As Momonga nodded to him, Mare rubbed the ring on his finger and left.
"Speaking of which, why did you come here, Albedo?"
"I heard Demiurge say you would be here, so I wished to greet you, Momonga-sama. However, I apologize for making you see me in this filthy state."
Momonga looked at Albedo again as he heard the words "filthy." However, he did not feel that the words were fitting. Granted, there was dust on her clothes, but it did not lessen her beauty at all.
"Certainly not, Albedo. Your radiance could never be diminished by something as insignificant as dirt. That said, I feel a little uncomfortable about making a beautiful maiden like yourself run around. However, since this is an emergency, I must ask you to continue working for Nazarick for the time being. I apologize for that."
"I can endure any hardship as long as it's for your sake, Momonga-sama!"
"I am grateful for your loyalty. Ah, yes… Albedo, I have something to give you."
"…What might that something be?"
As Albedo lowered her head and calmly replied, Momonga brought out a ring. Naturally, it was a Ring of Ainz of Ooal Gown.
"You will need this item in your position as the Guardian Overseer."
"…Thank you very much."
Her reaction was so different from Mare's that Momonga was somewhat disappointed. However, he immediately realised that he was mistaken.
The corner of Albedo's mouth was twitching and she was desperately trying not to let her expression change. Her wings were shuddering because she was trying her best not to spread them. The hand which took the ring had clenched up (when had she done that?) and then it opened up, trembling mightily. Even an idiot could see her excitement.
"Continue your loyal service, As for Demiurge… some other time."
"I understand, Momonga-sama. I shall continue working hard in future to prove myself worthy of such a mighty ring."
"Is that so? Then, I have abandoned the tasks that I must take care of. I'd best return to the Ninth Floor before I get scolded."
After seeing Albedo and Demiurge lower their heads in response, Momonga activated the teleportation effect of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.
In the instant before the scenery changed, Momonga thought he heard a woman shouting "ALL RIGHT!" However, he felt he must have been mistaken, because there was no way Albedo could have made such a crude sound.
Part 2
They were close to the outskirts of the village.
Enri heard the sound of clanking metal from behind her as she ran. It was a rhythmic sound.
She looked behind with a prayer in her heart — as expected, it was the worst-case scenario. A knight was chasing the Emmot sisters.
Just a little further.
Enri took a deep breath and forced herself to soldier on. She had no energy to waste on anything else.
Her breathing was rapid, her heart beating hard enough that she felt it would burst, and her legs were shaking mightily. Soon enough, she would be completely exhausted, and she would collapse and not get up.
If she were alone, perhaps she might have lost the strength to run and given up.
However, she was holding her little sister's hand. It gave her the energy to run away.
The truth was that the powerful desire to save her sister had kept Enri going until now.
As she ran, she glanced behind again.
The distance between herself and her pursuer had not changed. Even in armor, the man's speed had not decreased. This was the difference between a trained warrior and a village girl.
Sweat ran down Enri's back as her body went cold. If this kept up… she would not be able to escape with her sister.
—Let her go.
Those words echoed through her head.
—Perhaps you could escape by yourself.
—Do you want to die here?
—It might be safer if you split up.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Enri shouted at herself for those thoughts through her clenched teeth.
She was the worst sister imaginable.
Why was her little sister holding her tears back?
It was because she believed in her big sister. She believed her big sister would save her.
As she gripped the hand of her little sister — that hand which gave her the strength to flee and fight on — Enri steeled herself and hardened her resolve.
She would never abandon her sister.
"Ah!"
Enri's younger sister was as tired as Enri herself. Therefore, she suddenly stumbled, yelped, and almost fell.
The reason why the two of them had not fallen was because they were holding tightly onto each other's hands. However, Nemu's near-fall caused Enri to falter herself.
"Faster!"
"Ah, yes!"
Although she wanted to run on, her little sister was starting to cramp up, and she could not move fast. Enri wanted to pick up Nemu and run, but the sounds of metal drawing up beside her filled Enri with fear.
The knight beside her held a bloodstained sword. In addition, his armor and helm were covered in traces of spattered blood.
Enri pushed Nemu behind herself and glared angrily at the knight.
"It's pointless to struggle."
There was no compassion in those words. Instead, there was only mockery. Those words implied that running would only end in death anyway.
The anger in Enri's heart boiled over, and she thought, What was he saying?
The knight raised his sword to Enri, who had stopped moving. However, just before he could swing it down on them—
"Don't look down on me!"
"Guwaargh!"
—Enri forcefully punched the knight's metal helmet. That strike carried the anger that filled her and the desire to protect her little sister. She did not care that she was striking metal with her bare hand. She hit him with every ounce of her strength.
There was the sound of something like bones cracking, and soon pain spread throughout Enri's body. The knight wobbled under the force of the mighty blow.
"Hurry!"
"Yes!"
Enri bit back the pain and made to flee again — and suddenly a line of scorching heat bloomed on her back.
"—Ggk!"
"Damn you!"
The village girl punching the knight in the face had shamed him, hence his anger.
He was swinging his sword wildly, having lost his cool. As a result, his first blow did not cause a mortal wound. However, that was the end of her luck. Enri was hurt, and the knight was filled with rage. The next blow would certainly take her life.
Enri looked at the longsword raised high before her.
Panic was written all over her face as she watched the malevolent gleaming of the terrible swift sword, and she realized two things.
The first was that her life would be over in a few seconds. The second was that an ordinary village girl like herself had no way of fighting that fate.
The tip of the sword was stained with some of her blood. As her heart beat faster, the pain spread through her body, along with the scorching heat of her wound.
The pain she had never felt before filled her with fear and made her want to throw up.
Perhaps vomiting would clear the feeling of nausea that filled her.
However, Enri was looking for a way to live, so she had no time to throw up.
Although she wanted to abandon her struggle, there was a reason why Enri had not given up until now. That was the warmth pressed against her chest — her younger sister.
She had to let her sister live.
That sole thought kept Enri from giving in.
In contrast, the armored knight in front of her seemed to be mocking Enri's resolve.
The raised sword swung down.
Perhaps it was because all her energies were concentrated here, or because her brain was working overtime because she was on the verge of life and death, but Enri felt that time was passing very slowly, and she desperately tried to think of some way to save her little sister.
However, she could not think of anything. All she could do was use her own body as a shield, letting the blade cleave deeply into herself, in the hope of buying time for her little sister to escape.
As long as she had the strength, she would hang on tightly to the knight or the sword he stuck in her, holding on tight and not letting go until the flame of her life guttered out.
If she could do that. she would gladly accept her fate.
Enri smiled, as though she were a martyr.
As a big sister, this was all she could do for Nemu. The thought made Enri smile.
Could Nemu escape the hell that was Carne Village by herself?
Even if she fled into the forest, she might run into patrols of soldiers. However, as long as she could survive, there was a possibility of escape. In order to give her little sister the chance to survive, Enri would bet her life — no, she would bet everything.
That said, the idea of being hurt again frightened her, so she closed her eyes. In this world of darkness, she prepared herself for the pain that would come—
Part 3
Momonga sat on a chair and looked at the mirror before him. The roughly one meter wide mirror did not reflect Momonga's face, but a patch of grass. The mirror was like a television set, showing images of a distant plain.
The grass of the plains swayed in the wind, proving it was not a still image.
As time passed, the sun slowly rose, its light banishing the darkness that covered the plains. This pastoral scene, almost poetic in its beauty, was a stark difference from the former location of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the desolate world of Helheim.
Momonga reached out to the mirror and swiped his hand right. The mirror's image changed.
This was a Mirror of Remote Viewing.
This was a magic item used to display an image of a specific region. It was a very useful item for player-killers, or player-killer-killers. However, there were low level spells which occluded information-gathering spells that could hide people from the mirror's eyes. In addition, it was easy for users to be counterattacked by offensive barriers, so it was an average item at best.
However, for the present circumstances, an item which could show the outside world was a very useful item indeed.
Momonga enjoyed the movie-like quality of the grass within the mirror as the image changed.
"It would seem that I can move the image with a wave of the hand. That way, I won't have to keep looking at the same spot."
The scenery and the angles with which it was viewed changed within the floating mirror. Although he had made several mistakes so far, Momonga kept changing his gestures to alter the landscape within the mirror, hoping that he would find someone. However, up till now, he had not found any intelligent beings — for instance, humans.
He repeated the same simple gestures over and over again, but all the images he got were the same: plains. Momonga was starting to get bored, so he looked at the other person in the room.
"What's wrong, Momonga-sama? I stand ready to heed your every command."
"No, there's nothing, Sebas."
Sebas was the other person in the room. He might have been smiling, but his words seemed to hold some kind of subtext. Although Sebas was absolutely loyal to him, he had objected to Momonga's excursion to the surface without bringing his followers along.
Indeed, just after Momonga returned from the surface, Sebas had accosted and lectured him.
Momonga said what was on his heart.
"What will I do with him…"
Being with Sebas made Momonga think of his guildmate Touch Me. After all, Touch Me-san was the one who had designed Sebas.
Still, he didn't have to make him so similar to himself. Even the way Sebas gets angry reminds me of him.
After grumbling in his heart, Momonga looked back to the mirror.
Momonga's plan was to teach Demiurge the hard-learned lessons of how to control the magic mirror. This was what Momonga had meant when he spoke to Demiurge about another security net.
Although it would have been simpler to leave this task to his subordinates, Momonga wanted to handle this task personally. The truth was that he wanted to use his can-do working attitude to inspire and gain the respect of his subordinates. Therefore he could not be seen to give up halfway. Still, why can't I switch to a higher vantage point? If only there were a manual… With these thoughts in mind, Momonga went about the painstaking work of figuring the mirror's controls out by boring, repetitive trial and error.
He did not know how long it had been.
It might have only been a while, but so far his work had not borne fruit, and he could not help but feel like this was all a waste of time.
Momonga casually waved his hand with a vacant expression, and his field of vision suddenly expanded.
"Oh!"
Surprise, delight, pride, Momonga's exclamation was filled with all of these. At his wit's end, he made a random gesture and the screen suddenly did as he wanted. This was a cry of joy one would expect out of a programmer who had pulled eight hour's worth of overtime.
Cheering and clapping answered him. The source of these two sounds was Sebas.
"Congratulations, Momonga-sama. Your servant Sebas stands in awe of your prowess."
Granted, this was the fruit of extensive trial and error, so you don't need to go that far. Momonga thought that, but when he saw that Sebas looked quite happy, he decided to humbly accept the butler's praise.
"Thank you, Sebas. Although I apologize for making you accompany me for so long."
"What are you saying? Staying by your side and obeying your orders is the reason for a butler's existence, Momonga-sama. There is no need to thank or apologize to me… although, it is true that this process took quite some time. Momonga-sama, would you like to take a break?"
"No, there is no need for that. Undead like myself are not affected by negative statuses like fatigue. If you're tired, you may go and rest."
"Thank you for your kindness, but it would be unthinkable for a butler to rest while his master worked. With the aid of magic items, I am not affected by fatigue either. Please allow me to stay by your side until the end, Momonga-sama."
Momonga realised one thing from his conversations with the NPCs; namely, they casually used game terms in their speech. For instance, skills, job classes, items, levels, negative statuses, and so on. If he could use game terms with them in an unironic way, it might be easier to give them orders.
After agreeing to Sebas's request, he continued studying the ways to control the mirror. Finally he discovered a method to adjust the height of his viewpoint.
Momonga smiled in satisfaction, and began looking for a populated area.
Finally, an image of something like a village appeared on the mirror.
It was located roughly ten kilometers south of Nazarick. There was a forest nearby, and wheat fields surrounded a settlement. It appeared to be a rustic farming village. By the looks of things, the village itself was not very developed.
As Momonga zoomed in on the village, he felt that something was amiss.
"…Are they holding a festival?"
People were running in and out of their houses this early in the morning. They looked panicked.
"No, that is not a festival."
That steely voice came from Sebas, who was watching the display with a keen look in his eye as he stood beside Momonga.
There was an undercurrent of disgust in Sebas's stern words. As Momonga enlarged the image, he too furrowed his nonexistent brows.