How could he learn the magic he wanted from the protagonist?
It was a question Riezel had been thinking about ever since he arrived in the world of Overlord.
One should know that the protagonist, Momonga, was far different from the previous protagonists Riezel had encountered.
Not only was Momonga undead, one of the heteromorphic races with no sense of humanity, but he was also a max-level player from a game named YGGDRASIL.
As someone who had crossed into a strange and unknown world, bringing along his entire guild, it could be said that Momonga completely distrusted anyone in this world. In the original work, he was even nearly on the opposing side of the entire world, viewed as a figure of the evil faction, akin to a demon lord in typical fantasy stories.
Momonga himself didn't think from the perspective of humans but fought solely for the Great Tomb of Nazarick, for Ainz Ooal Gown, and for everything left behind by his former guild companions.
For the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Momonga could issue numerous ruthless orders and decisions, including but not limited to torturing innocent humans to death.
As long as it was for the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Momonga could even treat human children as test subjects, with cruelty that could rival Muzan.
No, in some ways, Muzan might be even more merciful than Momonga.
At least Muzan didn't think about torturing humans, while Momonga might, as long as it benefited the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
For this reason, Riezel was sure that he would never get along with Momonga, and there was no way he could just run up to him, casually ask to be taught Tier Magic, and have him happily agree.
Momonga was definitely not that kind of nice guy.
Needless to say, learning Tier Magic from this cautious, Nazarick-focused undead was a tough puzzle that required serious and careful thought.
Of course, the simplest way was to fight Momonga directly.
As long as they fought, Momonga would inevitably use magic, and Riezel could steal a few of them in the process.
However, in a single battle, Momonga would at most use around ten magic spells, and there was no way he would display all of the over seven hundred magic spells he had mastered.
Besides, knowing that only a small portion of these seven hundred magic spells was detailed in the original work posed a significant problem for Riezel, who needed to confirm the exact effects of each magic to learn them.
Moreover, if Riezel really did that, it would only make him an enemy of Momonga, making it extremely difficult to learn any more magic from him later on.
Because of this, Riezel temporarily suppressed the urge to fight Momonga and came up with another idea—a trade.
In other words, Riezel would offer something that Momonga wanted in exchange for his magic.
According to the original work, what Momonga wanted most at that moment was, without a doubt, information about this world.
Understanding this, Riezel planned to meet Momonga before he began gathering information, when he severely lacked it, making his knowledge the most valuable to him.
Needless to say, the whole idea of being an information dealer was something Riezel made up just to start the conversation.
Sure enough, after hearing Riezel call himself an information dealer, Momonga took the bait.
However, considering Momonga's cautious personality, there was a chance he was still testing him.
In that case—
"You said you all are travelers, so is it okay to ask where you're from?"
Riezel didn't immediately agree to Momonga's offer but instead asked a rather blunt and somewhat sensitive question.
"...Does your information business have restrictions on nationality or something? Do you have to know where your clients are from before selling?"
Instead of answering, Momonga responded with a question, staring intently at Riezel as if trying to figure something out or maybe just raising his guard.
"Not really..." Riezel shrugged casually. "But considering how we met, both the circumstances and the setting being so strange, and now you're suddenly asking me for information, I can't just agree to that, you know?"
"So, you don't trust us?"
Seeing that Riezel had brought up such a sensitive topic, Momonga's wariness eased slightly, and he continued probing.
"If that's the case, then the feeling's mutual. Just like how you suddenly appeared before us, claiming to be an information dealer—such a coincidence makes it hard not to wonder if this was planned."
"If you say so, then we can't trust each other..." Riezel shrugged casually. "In that case, you won't trust the information I provide either, right?"
Indeed.
Given their current situation, whether the information Riezel offered was true or fake, Momonga couldn't help but question it.
Momonga did need information, but he wasn't about to blindly trust someone who had just appeared in front of him.
Seeing Momonga silent and seemingly lost in thought, Riezel calmly smiled and spoke again.
"In this kind of situation, the best way to handle things is to act like this meeting never happened, no?"
In other words, they should part ways right then and there, pretending they had never seen each other.
As Riezel made such a suggestion, Momonga was momentarily stunned.
"In that case, I'll be taking my leave. I wish you a pleasant journey."
Riezel didn't give Momonga any time to think and immediately turned around, leaving without hesitation.
His steps were neither confused nor hesitant, and he carried an air of calm that made everyone who saw him instinctively understand one thing—this young man truly intended to leave and wasn't staying for any ulterior motive.
Moreover, it wasn't because he feared Momonga, Demiurge, or even the beings surrounding him from the shadows that he wanted to leave, but simply because he believed this deal wasn't going to happen, so he left without hesitation.
Everyone, including Momonga, came to the same conclusion.
*Step!*
Demiurge, who had been silently standing behind Momonga, took a step forward, apparently wanting to stop Riezel.
Clearly, there was no way they would let him leave just like that.
No matter who this information dealer was, the fact that someone had appeared so close to them as soon as they were transported to this unknown world meant that he had to be captured, no matter what.
Even if he had no ulterior motive and had just wandered here by chance, they couldn't let him leave and spread the word, which could attract others and threaten the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
It wasn't just Demiurge thinking this, as the others hiding in the shadows also felt the same.
Eventually, evil and murderous auras stirred once more, unsettling the atmosphere over the grasslands.
"Wait."
Just then, Momonga spoke up, but this time, his words were directed at both his subordinates and Riezel.
Seeing how Riezel showed no hesitation in preparing to leave, Momonga finally believed that he hadn't shown up in this place with an ulterior motive.
In the end, Momonga began to trust that Riezel truly was an information dealer.
"Although the situation didn't really allow for it, we did need some information."
Momonga tried to persuade Riezel, softening his tone.
"How about this? We'll only buy information that doesn't involve personal or group interests—just basic info that, even if shared with shady people, won't have serious consequences. How does that sound?"
Upon hearing this, Riezel stopped in his tracks, and a slight, almost imperceptible smile formed at the corner of his lips.
After standing in place for a moment, Riezel acted as if he were considering whether Ainz's offer was worth accepting before turning around.
"And how exactly would you like to purchase this information?" Riezel asked calmly.
"How? Wait, are there different ways to buy your information?" Momonga immediately asked.
"Of course."
Riezel replied, nodding with a calm expression, then began explaining.
"Information is a product for an information dealer, after all. Since it's a product, some can be sold to everyone, but some can't."
"When it comes to information, it can be sold to many people multiple times, but some clients don't want to see that happen."
"So, if my client requests that the information not be sold to others, the price goes up. Some clients also ask that the fact they bought the information from me not be sold as well, which requires an additional fee."
"How about you? Do you have any extra requests?"
Upon hearing Riezel's explanation, the red glow in Momonga's eyes flickered slightly.
'Such detailed business practices? It seems like this guy is really the real deal...'
Momonga's suspicions about Riezel were almost entirely dispelled.
"I only need basic info, probably stuff everyone already knows, so I don't need to ask for it not to be sold to others."
"However, you're right. If the fact that we bought information from you or that you ran into us here gets sold as part of your business, it could cause us some trouble."
"So, to avoid any of our enemies coming after us, it looks like I'll have to make an extra request for you not to let any info about us leak. Can you handle that?"
As expected, Momonga didn't want any of their information leaked.
For this purpose, Momonga even made up a story about enemies, and although he didn't spell it out directly, it gave the impression that he and his companions were actually fleeing from someone's revenge, leading them to this place by accident.
Regardless, this explained their background and reason for being in these grasslands.
However, one thing was sure—like professional schemers, both Momonga and Riezel were clearly trying to lessen each other's suspicions.
"If that's the case, I'll have to raise my price a bit." Riezel smiled faintly. "So, what kind of offer can you make?"
"I'm not sure how information dealers around here usually charge..." Momonga shook his head. "Can you explain it to me?"
"I can't speak for other information dealers, but as for me, I accept gold coins, weapons, or magic items." Riezel replied, explaining briefly. "No matter where they're from, even if they're from a faraway country, I'm confident I can put them to good use."
"Hou... that's pretty impressive..." Momonga remarked, becoming more cautious.
It couldn't be helped.
Riezel's explanation revealed a lot of information to Momonga.
No matter where the gold coins, weapons, or magic items came from, he could put them to good use?
Didn't that mean this information dealer could recognize items from anywhere?
If he pulled out coins or items that didn't exist in this world, wouldn't this information dealer immediately become suspicious of his origin?
Maybe this information dealer would even suspect that he was not actually from this world?
If that were the case, using money or items from YGGDRASIL for this deal was out of the question.
In that case, what else could he use to pay?
Momonga started to feel troubled.
Seeing Momonga lost in thought and seemingly troubled, Riezel smiled inwardly and then said something that would calm him down.
"Actually, apart from valuable items, I also need valuable information, like leads on secret treasures, hidden ruins, artifacts, or perhaps... knowledge of magic."
Riezel's true motive finally became clear.
"Magic?"
Momonga repeated the word, and his heart skipped a beat.