"A whole outfit, huh?"

The Baharuth Emperor rested his chin in his hand as he analyzed the report. That arm rested on the arm of the large, golden-embroidered furniture, while his other hand held the documents. One leg dangled from the furniture, and he looked every bit the part of powerful, perhaps even lazy, royalty. His royal garb, decked in red and gold, almost appeared to blend in with the scenery.

But the careless appearance was only a mask for a extremely shrewd and intelligent young man who would do anything for his country's advancement; Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix.

"Our intelligence network suggests that it was the 'Sunlight Scripture'," the other man in the room, an older gentleman with a generous beard, replied. He looked unassuming, save for the amount of facial hair he sported. His eyebrows almost seemed to be in competition with his beard, both his brows and beard being long and flowing. His attire was just as eye catching as his beard, it's long sleeves and high quality fabric leaving no doubt he was a powerful caster. Underneath his bushy eyebrows were the wise eyes of a spellcaster who has reached heights many of his peers can only dream of; The 6th Tier of magic.

Jircniv's piercing gaze zeroed in on the scroll in his hand. "The Sunlight Scripture..."

Jircniv's intelligence network already had some information on the Slane Theocracy's military. They had a standard military, as well as undercover units, dubbed scriptures. One of the scriptures, the Black Scripture, they did not have any large amount of information on, yet.

"That's their demihuman hunting group, right?" Jircniv asked, sitting up. "How did they get routed so quickly?"

"And that is the interesting part!" Fluder exclaimed, suddenly sounding much more excited. "The entire Scripture was defeated with less than five observable spells, according to our spies." Fluder guided his fingers through his beard. "Our reports indicate he was able to nullify physical damage from the monster summons attacks...truly astonishing if true."

Jircniv chuckled, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"This sounds like a powerful spellcaster," Jircniv ventured, playing with a loose strand of his own hair. "I take it you would like to learn from this person?"

Fluder only laughed knowingly.

"I would very much consider it, yes," he said honestly. They both knew that if this spellcaster was powerful enough, Fluder would seek them out before Jircniv could even blink.

"But on another note," Fluder smoothly changed topics. "It appears that one of the spellcaster's associates may be an Imperial."

"What?" Jircniv rarely showed surprise on his face, but for one of his own constituents to be involved with this stranger and he's never heard of them?

"Who is it?" Jircniv asked.

"It's only speculation, but here is a description that one of the spies was able to extract from a survivor."

Fluder handed a scroll to Jircniv, which showed a detailed sketch of the strange woman's visage. She looked quite unassuming, save for her eyes, which, quite frankly, looked like they belonged to a sociopath. They were narrowed, with pupils of a disturbing blood red. Another detail that stood out to him was the description of both red eyes and red hair. While the eyes were not purple, she looked very similar to someone he knew long ago. It was just those eyes...they made it easy to break whatever familiarity he was seeing...

But that wasn't important. It was just a coincidence.

Jircniv closed his eyes for a moment as if thinking of something, before returning the scroll.

"She does have a striking resemblance," Fluder commented offhandedly, as if reading Jircniv's mind. The Emperor, however, scoffed.

"It's superficial at best," he replied. For a moment, he grew silent, his chin resting in his hand. "I'm more concerned about the spellcaster," he finally spoke, looking at Fluder. "She may be working for that individual if the description of his clothing and gear is anything to go by. She's most likely a mercenary or companion at best."

Jircniv deduced that the spellcaster was the leader of that group in Carne Village, if the description from the intelligence report was to go by.

Flowing dark robes, embroidered with scarlet orbs that rested on shining pauldrons.

There was no way he wasn't the leader of that team that annihilated the Sunlight Scripture.

"We'll need to find out more about this person, and by proxy, we could possibly enlist all of them as useful tools," he thought aloud.

And if this spellcaster is as powerful as Fluder might think he is, Jircniv thought.

I wouldn't have to worry at all about Fluder's loyalty, if that spellcaster will work for me.

The goal was to make first contact with the magic user before the Re-Estize Kingdom caught wind of him. Since Carne Village was associated with that King's border city, it may not take long before the news reaches him.

"Can we send any sort of scouts to survey and investigate near there?"

Fluder hummed in thought, and he rubbed his own chin while he meditated.

"I have some skilled understudies proficient in third tier magic," he said, gliding his hand through his beard, in deep thought.

"But we can't make it obvious they are our own people," Jircniv added. He glanced toward the ground, his mind running quickly, formulating ideas and shooting them down just as quickly.

"Are there any 'workers' that can fit the criteria?"

"Well," Fluder showed the first sign of hesitation, which didn't escape Jircniv's notice. "There is one team I have in mind," he admitted after some hesitation. "A former pupil of mine would excel in this sort of operation, but I ask that we not utilize her if it can be helped."

Jircniv nodded slowly in consideration. He knew that the person he was referring to had a particular talent. Didn't it have something to do with measuring a person's magical aptitude?

He did agree that he shouldn't be quick to put an asset like that in a situation like this without having enough information beforehand.

Jircniv shrugged with a single shoulder. "Fine. See if there's a team we can hire through a third party under the pretext of surveying the plains near that peasant village." Fluder acknowledged this with a single nod of his head.

"One does not simply exhibit that sort of power out of the blue for no reason. There's always an ulterior motive." Jircniv smiled, setting the report down on a table next to his furniture.

"Perhaps my Empire can satisfy those motives?"

Ainz felt as though he wanted to sneeze, but the sensation never actually hit.

If I didn't know any better, I would think someone's talking about me.

Ainz walked the halls toward the throne room. As he was coming from his own room, he would be arriving from a rear corridor that would lead to the back of the throne. Once he entered and sat down, it would be obvious to his guests what his station was.

Maybe it was one of those guys, Ainz thought half jokingly, referring to the prisoners they'd just acquired from the Carne Village situation.

Halfway along the corridor, he was met by Albedo in the hallway, who's contained smile grew upon seeing him.

Agh...Why did I change her settings..? Ainz found himself helplessly thinking again.

Nonetheless, he schooled his features -not that he had any fitting facial features to school- as she fell into step just behind him.

"Lord Ainz, the prisoners that you and the...player...have collected have been gathered in the Throne Room as you requested."

Ainz didn't miss the slight hesitation at the mention of Haka. But at least she was trying to be civil about it. That was progress, at least he liked to think so.

"Thank you, Albedo," he sincerely said with an approving nod.

The Overseer seemed to preen at the praise but remained outwardly professional and kept her composure. Her excitement was betrayed by a quick flutter of her wings.

As he approached the door leading to the rear of the throne room, he thought about the information he'd like to know.

Ainz and Haka had convened at the guild meeting room to share what they learned-

Which was still surprisingly little. They knew now the name of the kingdoms that were in power in the part of this world they've been dropped into. The Re-Estize Kingdom to the Northwest, the Baharuth Empire to the Northeast, and finally Slane Theocracy to the South. Ainz at least had a sense of of how the currency calculations operated, but that was probably the most useful immediate infomation.

But what would he even ask them? At most, they seemed to be mid-level, if he were to compare them to a company hierarchy. They hailed from the Slane Theocracy, though- Perhaps he'd ask them about it.

He could see the prisoners as he entered the rear of the throne room. They hadn't noticed him yet, as he was hidden by the raised dais that the throne rested atop of.

He stopped short, as he could hear a heated exchange between two of the soldiers.

"What is the meaning of this?! Have you fell in with an army of monsters?!" Ainz could hear the harsh whisper of the first man. "Have you gone insane?!"

"Silence yourself!" came the harsh whispered command of the other. "If you've seen what I've seen, you would understand!" There was a hushed pause before the man spoke up again. "I think they may be the return of the Six Great Gods-"

"Preposterous!" came the first man's voice. "Is this the utterings of a man fearing death?"

The lack of a reply betrayed the other man's uncertainty.

Albedo, who had patiently stood by Ainz's side, looked at him in concern. "Is everything okay, my Lord? Should I have them executed now?"

"Hm? No..." Ainz replied. "I've been listening to two of the uh...prisoners," he said, remembering his experience as a salaryman. "A person often reveals their true character when they believe no one is watching."

Executives in a company meeting usually say aloud to each other what they really feel about the employees when they think no one is eavesdropping. He sighed internally, wishing he could have quit his old job earlier. But then again, who's to say he would not have been fortunate enough to end up where he is now? Not to mention he wouldn't have been able to finance all of his guild maintenance...

Albedo's eyes widened, at a loss for words. For Lord Ainz to impart a small inkling of his vast knowledge to only her warmed her heart. She was the only Guardian present at the moment...

Words that were only for her...

"I understand, my Lord. I will forever keep it in mind."

Ainz didn't understand why she sounded so happy about his random advice, but didn't let the thought llinger. Truthfully, he had no idea what those two guys were talking about, and he didn't want to sound like he was stopping only to eavesdrop on a vaguely interesting conversation.

As he stepped onto the dais, the heated but hushed exchange between the two soldiers instantly came to a halt. Collective gasps came from all the prisoners present, but none seemed more shocked than the men that appeared to be directly under that one guy, Marco was his name, he believed.

"An Undead..."

"We're going to die..."

"It's over..."

One man's reaction seemed to be a bit different, however. He had a scar on his face, and short cut blond hair, and while he wore a look of shock, his expression looked more restrained.

They were separated into two groups; on the left was Nigun Grid Luin and the two associates of his who surrendered. Nigun matched the description that Haka gave him. His reaction also enforced the idea that he was the commanding officer.

Standing by the left armrest of the throne was...Oh God, it was Demiurge, Ainz thought. Demiurge was probably one of the most evil NPC's in all of Nazarick, if his flavor text was anything to go by. And if Ainz's theory was true- that their personalities seemed to be influenced by said text, then he would need to keep an eye on him. He didn't want people dying unnecessarily. He glanced at Albedo- yes flavor text definitely had an effect on the NPC's.

On the right were the soldiers directly under the command of Marco de Strada. Ainz subtly shook his head. He wished he could have revived Marco to interrogate him, but he didn't want to use too many of the charges from the wand of ressurection in one day- Who knows when he may need to use it again? And the benefits didn't really warrant a resurrection. They had Marco's direct superior after all, and going by Haka's suggestion, Nigun was willing to cooperate.

"To be clear, Albedo, I wish to spare them," he whispered to her. She appeared to be shocked at the news.

"I am more interested in learning about the world right now," he elaborated. "Taking over the world so many times can sometimes lose its novelty."

"Ah, so that is how it is," she said with a bow of her head. "I understand, my Lord. Whatever you command, we shall enforce your will."

Ainz blinked in confusion, though outwardly, it simply looked as if the pins of light within his eye sockets flared.

What the heck did Albedo mean by 'So that's how it is.'?

Because he didn't know how to respond to that, he brought his fist to his skeletal mouth as if clearing his non-existent throat. He closed the distance to his throne, swiping his arm to the side, which smoothed out his robe as he sat down. The prisoners seemed even more intimidated by the display.

Hopefully, that made me look like a proper ruler, he thought to himself.

Ainz opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Demiurge spoke first. Facing the two groups, he used what Ainz recognized as the [Domination] spell, which when used in the game would stun targets for a limited amount of time.

"[KNEEL] " Demiurge commanded, and the captive audience was forced to their knees. Ainz tapped his chin, impressed. Well, that's new, he thought.

"You are now in the presence of the Supreme being and ruler of The Tomb of Nazarick, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown!" Demiurge introduced. He bowed slightly at the waist towards Ainz as he finished his sentence. "My Lord," he ventured, his cue to speak.

Ainz wasn't expecting all of that. He was simply going to introduce himself and ask his questions. He had to thank Demiurge whe he had the chance, though. It definitely made it sound all the more official.

Ainz's gaze sweeped over the men and they looked even more terrified if that was possible.

We'll, I'm not necessarily trying to scare them. We did enough of that at Carne Village, he thought.

"As my trusted Floor Guardian said, I am Ainz Ooal Gown," he spoke aloud. "Be at ease. If you give me satisfactory information, I may allow you to go free."

Nigun himself seemed to be realizing something as he saw his face, but Ainz couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was he was thinking.

Nigun also raised his hand. Ainz had to respect his willingness to cooperate even though it was obvious he was discomforted by his surroundings.

"You may allow him to stand," Ainz instructed Demiurge. The demon nodded dutifully and faced Nigun.

"[YOU MAY STAND ] "

On shaky legs, Nigun slowly stood up, realizing he was out of breath.

For him to be mentally fatigued after seemingly just kneeling and standing was unbelievable to the Scripture commander. He warily kept his eyes on the bespectacled demon and the Undead.

The Undead...perhaps his theory, that only started as a quick deduction to escape death, was beginning to seem more and more plausible-

Nigun swallowed, forcing himself to speak, lest he looked like some fish out of water. And he surely felt like prey. His Death Knight captors were unmoving behind him, but they're presence was unmistakably there. The eyes of the two demons, who appeared to be advisors to the Undead, made him feel unbelievably small.

The Undead seated on the throne, whose infernal lights in his sockets seemed to burn right through him, was no doubt the leader of all of these entities.

Could this be Surshana, One of the Six Great Gods? This only enforced his lofty theory into a slight belief.

"Speak your mind," Ainz offered, his voice sounding surprisingly refined. He rested his pronounced chin in his fingers, while his elbow rested on the armrest of the throne. It gave the impression that he was thinking, and the pose looked almost odd on an undead such as he.

"Lord Ainz Ooal Gown," Nigun began, lowering his hand. "As I have told your uh...associate, Lord Haka," he spoke carefully, "Me and my subordinates had surrendered and are willing to cooperate with you-"

"You traitor!" One of Marco's men shouted, struggling to get to his feet. He was unsuccessful, however, and could only genuflect with his arms uselessly. The Death Knight behind him hefted his tower shield in warning, making Nigun and the man flinch, but it made no move to attack.

"Human," Albedo suddenly spoke up. "Interrupt in the presence of Lord Ainz again," she warned, "And you may find your head separated from your neck." Her sweet sounding voice was at such a conflict with the violent threat that the man couldn't form words. This seemed sufficient to scare the man into submission, and he dared not say anything further.

"I am doing what is necessary to survive, you fool!" Nigun whispered harshly to the man. He took a breath, turning his attention back to Ainz.

"I will tell you all that I know, I-" Nigun hesitated, wondering if he was really going through with this.

Was't this the equivalent to betraying his nation?

But what choice did he have?! It was either show some initiative in being useful to these people or die.

It was simple; he did not want to be on the receiving end of someone who could destroy the level of power like the Dominion Authority by simply looking at it.

"All I ask is for your protection of me and my men!" He shouted, bowing his head, and clapping his hands together once above his head.

The man he'd been arguing with earlier only scoffed, though he didn't dare to say anything.

"First, I would like assurances," Ainz replied after a pregnant pause. "How do I know what info you have is even useful to me?"

Nigun racked his brain for an answer, and could feel sweat run down his brow. A short-lived relief ran through his system as he remembered the cardinals speak of a weapon with power to control higher danger level enemies.

"Have-Have you heard of a weapon called Downfall of Castle and Country?"

There was another pregnant silence, and Nigun wondered if he had misspoke. Was the information useless? He dared to glance upward, only to see that Ainz had straightened up in his seat.

"So that exists here..?" he heard the Overlord mutter.

So this being had indeed heard of it. Nigun thought that at this point, he shouldn't even be surprised.

"Mister Nigun, you have indeed given me useful information," Ainz announced. "You wouldn't happen to know where it's stored, do you?"

Nigun shook his head. "No, Lord Ainz, I do not."

Ainz only hummed in response, as if he was expecting such an answer. "If that exists, that must mean..."

Ainz lowered his head in thought. To everyone present, he looked to be pondering something important.

Downfall of Castle and Country; that's the name of a world item, and a dangerous one at that. From what Ainz could recall, it had the ability to cast mind control on a target, ignoring any sort of level restriction. That meant that any of Nazarick's denizens were in danger of being effected by it if they are not equipped with a world item themselves. Ainz himself did not have to worry about being effected, as he thought of the orb embedded just under his ribcage.

Another plus was that it had an extremely short range.

But Haka was in danger if she were to be targeted by such an attack. She did not have any world items equipped.

He idly glanced up at the prisoners, who shrunk at his intimidating gaze, although he wasn't paying them any real attention at the moment.

Haka would be fine if she didn't draw any attention to herself any time soon, but if the mind control was cast on her...

The only way to remove the effect was Wish Upon A Star or by the controlled character being killed and then ressurected.

He rubbed his chin with a finger. In a worse case scenario where that would occur, it would give him the chance to test if ressurection could work on a player in this New World, but in the back of his mind, he didn't want to kill the possibly only friend from their home reality's real life.

But the benefits of knowing were too great to ignore.

He sighed. This was a problem for future Ainz, he decided. And maybe that future was a long way off, if it would even occur in the first place.

"It would be rude of me not to compensate you in some way," Ainz suddenly spoke up, looking Nigun in the eye. "Knowing of that item's existence in particular, it wouldn't matter to you much, but I find it very helpful."

Nigun breathed a visible sigh of relief, and Ainz could see his shoulders sagged as if a weight was lifted from him. "Thank you, Lord Ainz!"

"You said you wish for protection...I will discuss this with the one who spared you," Ainz continued. I have to thank Haka. If she hadn't spared this guy, I never would have known of there being a World Item here! Where is she, anyway?

"What to do with the rest of you?" Ainz asked rhetorically. It was decided he would spare Nigun and his men, but what about the other faction that seemed opposed to Nigun's decision to surrender?

"Allow them to stand," Ainz ordered Demiurge. The Arch Demon inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"[YOU MAY RISE] ," came Demiurge's magically powered instruction. The men found themselves no longer magically weighed down to the ground. Nigun's direct subordinates remained by their commander's side, while the others who were under the late liutenant, Marco Di Strada, remained on the opposite. It was clear they weren't quite intent on falling in line.

"So," Ainz ventured, looking at the still rebellious faction. "Do you have any useful information?"

"You may be extremely powerful, Undead-" the outspoken man from earlier who opposed Nigun spoke up.

Ainz tuned him out at this point, already expecting that he was not going to be cooperative. Demiurge and Albedo looked about ready to attack the man, but Ainz raised a hand as if letting the man speak. Even Nigun and his soldiers were watching warily, as if waiting for a train wreck to occur.

He wasn't listening to what the man was saying, but internally debating on whether to send him to Nueronist or not. He doubted he'd get more information more useful than knowing the existence of world items from this group in particular.

"-Are you listening, skeleton?" Ainz finally tuned back in. All eyes were on him as the soldiers watched him warily with bated breath.

Ainz lazily raised his hand toward the man, who watched him questioningly.

"[Grasp Heart] "

To the soldiers, it looked as if he simply clenched his hand, and the man dropped to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Demiurge simply smiled in amusement as the men cried out in surprise. Ainz turned his attention toward his Guardian Overseer.

"Albedo, send them," he pointed at the terrified group opposite of Nigun's, "to Neuronist." Albedo smiled, obviously pleased by the command.

"Yes, milord, at once."

As the Death Knights moved forward to apprehend the combative group, all the while with their protests, Ainz tapped his chin. A thought came to him...perhaps he could use the stronger-willed prisoners if they could resist Neuronist, if only for an hour or two.

"Albedo, those who are still strong minded after two hours with Neuronist, have them healed and brought back here, including the dead one." He turned to Demiurge, wondering if he should involve him somehow to at least keep him busy.

"Demiurge, the rest that break before the two hour mark, I will send to you."

Demiurge smiled wide, bowing at the waist. "Ah, you spoil me, milord."

"Think nothing of it," Ainz answered. If I remember Demiurge's flavor text correctly, he also is a master at gathering information as well. Maybe he can get some info out of them that I can't. "If you learn any important information from them, report it to me."

As the Death Knights dragged the group away, Nigun and his men watched them get taken away, white-faced.

I guess I can put them in a guest room until Haka returns. Again, where is she?