I

Along the dusty road leading to the Kurlasif-Pashjagani ridges, in the south-western corner of the world, sprawling across the sands of a gigantic desert, the fertile Leefharti valley leads to a complex system of mountain passes. It is said that such a marvellous natural resource has been the work of a God, for its location would be defiant of the natural laws of the world and life would normally be impossible.

In such a valley, two dark beetle-shaped carriages, trained by twelve black insectoids of gigantic size, were steadily moving towards the mountain passes just outside of the green lands and gently undulated palm trees.

In the secondary carriage, a woman with a long ponytail wearing a simple attire and a worn out brown mantle, sat in silence while absent-mindedly looking at a young elf in his mid teens sporting a newly crafted black skirt. The elf playfully moved forwards and backwards in amusement as the magically enhanced material greatly boosted his warmth while maintaining his skin smooth as silk, without a single droplet of sweat. It was very comfortable and slightly longer than his usual skirt, by his own request, as it also boosted his growing masculinity. So Ainz Ooal Gown predicted, and as always, his predictions revealed themselves correct. A faint smile escaped Narberal's normally imperturbable face. She didnt have enough time to address young Mare properly, although she knew how to call him from then on and what their relationship would be, she still felt a bit uneasy.

"I must remember to keep my composure at all times. Lord Mare needs proper guidance after all. This is such an important task…!"

She firmly nodded, overwhelmed by a surging sense of pride and genuine worry.

"Umm… what are you doing?"

"N-Nothing lord Mar- sorry, Marinee. I was just thinking about something. You neednt concern yourself with my lowly thoughts".

"Okay then…"

Mare looked at her, slightly puzzled, but very much in high spirits. He was exceedingly happy to be allowed to leave the tomb for a bit to go adventuring, as his growth had naturally pushed him towards typically masculine endeavours, encouraged by Ainz himself. That particular occasion seemed quite exciting as well.

He hopped back and forth a couple more times, looking at the front carriage from the large window that separated the two. Inside of it, the supreme leader of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown, was contemplating a topographic chart. With him, the chivalrous warrior Cocytus and the evil strategist Demiurge were attentively observing his reactions.

As he moved his skeletal hand towards a valley located up north a few hundred miles, his index finger pointed at an area and highlighted it with a circular motion. Demiurge's crystal eyes shone as bright as day.

"Ah, incredible! Such masterful positioning and advanced thought process is inconceivable for mere servants like us, it is truly fascinating to see you in action my lord!"

"Umm, thank you Demiurge, of course it was …ahem all calculated in advance".

"But of course. Brilliant planning like this can only be achieved with an unparalleled level of knowledge and power!"

"Indeed"

"Indeed!"

"Indeed…"

"Indeed!"

"… WHAT BRILLIANT PLANNING?"

Suzuki Satoru screamed internally as he tried to figure out what was going on all of a sudden. He was used to Demiurge's boasting of his abilities by now, however, that particular instance was a bit unsettling as he had hoped to recall all of the Battle Maids and invite them in that region of the world to relax and socialize. Moreover, he also had a secondary objective that involved the very source of such plentiful relaxation.

Truth be told, he wasnt completely sure that what he sought out for would be there, but very reliable sources from neighbouring countries had his hopes up: a massive hot spring, probably the largest that world had ever seen, was supposedly located in the area he had indicated on the map. It was said that its waters and steamy fumes could not only restore the body but also the spirit, literally sprouting friendships and good will among people.

He wanted to take that occasion to see for himself, and if what was speculated would've proven itself to be correct, he would have studied the source of its power and tried to reproduce it, redistribute it among his subjects, or redirect it towards multiple areas of the world. Since his near total domination of all lands and hegemony over the sea, Ainz had sought out a way to appease his people without the need for mass executions. Even though his grasp over the physical realm was firm, the revolutionary spirits inside humanoid hearts wouldnt stop giving him problems, no matter how cunning his schemes were to conceal his dominion; day after day, a new riot, attempted coup, or conspiracy had some of his staff working extra hours, especially Sebas and the Battle Maids. While he knew they didnt mind it, as a leader and a father figure he would have very much wanted them to stay out of harms way, no matter how insignificant the danger was, and he also wanted them to strengthen their bonds and live more carefree lives, perhaps even without him for a time.

And then there was the question of his almost unlimited undead forces, subtly placed in every country in the New World; his network of remotely controlled undead was working as intended for the most part, however Ainz was still unable to fully control every single aspect of its functionalities. Moreover, an unverified source had stated that several groups of ex adventurers had gathered together some kind of special resource in order to fight his low tier undead forces, Problems like these, while insignificant if taken into account one at a time, would just pile up eventually, and in the unlikely event that new players would appear before him, he needed to keep everyone in check.

Initially, he had tried the power of overwhelming fear ostensibly, succeeding in most of his pivotal challenges in one swift strike. However, not all species were resorting to mere bravado to justify their petty actions against Nazarick's supreme rule. Some were actively vicious and powerful, shadowy figures whose true intentions were barely concealed in contempt and vulture-like mindsets. Intense plotting had started years prior from far away lands and throughout the decades it had expanded into full fledged backdoor alliances and secret organizations.

All of that had been laid out bare in front of Demiurge's eyes multiple times during the past few days. And yet…

"And yet what the hell am I supposed to do now? Come on, think! Think… what would he want me to do?"

A miniscule rattling sound from behind his desk got hold of his attention. He turned ever so slightly, and the corner of his eyesocket met with the slender figure of Shizu. The small, silent maid had tried to be imperceptible as to not disturb the Supreme Being during his planning phase. She was slowly but steadily cleaning one of her presents, a teacup reminiscent of a cat's muzzle, while awaiting further instructions along with the other maids, Solution Epsilon and Lupusregina Beta, all lined up and ready for duty. Since she was the closest of the three to this makeshift throne, Ainz swiftly took hold of her hand and invited her to move in front of him with a gentle motion.

"Very well Demiurge, we shall proceed with the plan. However, I do not wish for my subordinates to remain in the dark. I want you to explain it in a way that even Shizu could understand with ease. Remember, it is important for us all to work together no matter the situation we find ourselves in".

"Splendid my lord. I wholeheartedly agree. I shall commence the explanation then, you three please pay attention because I wont be repeating myself".

As Demiurge addressed the Maids, Ainz could finally take a breather. What followed however, would find him quite unprepared.

"As you may have noticed, we are unable to use teleportation magic in this area. Thus we had to recur to this fancy method of transportation, product of Entoma's insectoid entourage, to be able to climb the mountain passes and uneven rocky terrain with ease. While this isnt unpleasant, it poses a greater question: why is teleportation magic ineffective in this area? That is what lord Ainz wants to know. To that end, he brought us here to witness for ourselves this mysterious phenomenon, but not only that, in his infinite wisdom and incredibly acute foresight, he discovered that this area is inhabited by someone, a large group of people we havent encompassed into our domain yet.

As a result, putting the two together, it is fairly easy to assume that those who havent been yet conquered might have found a way to prevent us to teleport there, in a futile attempt to resist our magnanimous lord".

"New people huh. Surely this is unexpected, but not at all unwelcome. Maybe I still have a chance to find-"

Ainz's thought process suddenly stopped. No, it wasnt wise to give himself false hopes. He brushed his forehead with a rapid gesture of his hand, then kept looking at Demiurge's amused expression.

"Still, the fact that we cant use teleportation magic is totally alien to me. Normally I would suspect a World Class Item, but its effects should have been nullified by ours. This is a little concerning…"

Demiurge kept going, his arms crossed behind his back.

"It wasnt immediately clear to me why lord Ainz would want Mare to join us in this endeavour, however, I soon discovered the true reason behind his masterful plan".

"You did? Now I'm curious".

"The new population we discovered apparently lives inside a reasonably large city, or perhpas it would be best to call it a fort. In essence, it is a star shaped fort with five bastions, containing a mixture of races. I proceeded to study its demographic and discovered that fourty percent of them are humans, while sixty appear to be a subrace pertaining to the elven kingdom. I have tentatively called them albino elves. Beside their pale complexion, they seem to possess no other noticeable differences. Maybe upon further inspection we'll be able to find stat increases, but for now we can label them as simple elves."

"Ah, I see. So that's why Mare… no wait, why would he want Mare to-"

"Therefore, seeing as how effective the adventurers Momon and Nabe have been with recon and intelligence gathering in the past, lord Ainz wanted Mare to experience the same feeling to better understand how such crucial actions are performed, thus encouraging him to take his rightful place among us as an adult first and foremost, and a stronger Guardian second. I have deduced this based on his recent attitude changes and the many occasions where lord Ainz pushed him to pursue the outside world and more exotic friendships, so to speak."

The supreme ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick bursted out laughing. A genuine, benevolent laugh.

"Very good Demiurge, you have summarized my plan perfectly. It is as you say, young Mare needs to mature and make new experiences in the outside world, and for us to be safer and stronger, we must start this investigation at once. Mare and Narberal will enter the city, gather information and report back swiftly. I must admit, this is an exciting prospect, it is not at all unreasonable to assume that this new kind of elven race might pose a threat, still it might turn useful in the long run. There are so many promising outcomes to be found in this new adventure. I will look forward to your progress".

"Of course my lord, I will report back to you regularly".

Demiurge bowed deeply, then took a small envelope out of his pocket.

"This is a map of the area. I have drawn the outskirts of the city and its innermost sections quite clearly, however there are some parts of it that still elude my grasp. For some reason, it has been proven difficult to map every single house and subterranean passage".

"Hmm. So they have dug under the city".

"Yes my lord. It would appear that a large subterranean basin located below the southern part of the city has an intricated web of mines and corridors connecting one another. I will send lower tier demons to monitor the area… discretely".

Demiurge had a plan already formed in his mind. He would act in the shadows while his minions would do the bulk of the work. However, he'd pay close attention to the situation from multiple angles to ensure total domination against the enemies of the Sorcerer King; due to the size of the city and the relatively small patch of land between the walls and the nearby forests, which apparently formed the outer area of the "no-teleportation zone", he needed to put some of the battle maids to work in his stead. He couldnt possibly be seen outside in his current demeanour, as it would attract too much suspicion. Moreover, he was concerned with the general notion of a place in which teleportation magic was forbidden and his own recon had been proven ineffective.

Such a place couldnt possibly exist, and yet, it was right there. Normally as a devout servant of the Supreme Being he'd ensure victory first and foremost, before even attempting such a daring move. However, the particular circumstances were so unique that his carefulness had reached its peak. For a moment, he thought of himself as a chess player forced to move his pieces on a potentially rigged chessboard. One mistake could've costed him the whole match.

As he took his leave, he thought to himself that it was only natural for him to act as such. Even though his immediate concern wasnt aimed at the elves themselves, they might have had the means to destabilize Nazarick in some way. And that was unacceptable.

However, someone wasnt on the same page: as they approached their designed destination, Ainz felt a bit bothered by the whole ordeal.

"Hmm. Even though this is a good time to let Mare experience the adventurer's life, is it really wise to consider those elves enemies by default? Surely a small city like that couldnt pose a threat to our forces worldwide. Exercising caution is always the best course of action, still, I will need to speak to Demiurge in due time. Maybe I can persuade him to reconsider his approach. Plus, they may have a delegation that I could potentially add to the list of new guests. "

For a moment, Ainz's mind focused on the right side of his desk, where a large pile of papers was sitting unattended for a while. Domestic affairs were already filled to the brim with reports of potential insurretions and several suspect illegal activities against the Supreme One.

Of course this wasnt unexpected, and Momonga had someone already working on it for quite some time, but his own involvement in the matter was quite loose. He thought best to let his trusted aide handle things at home and only focus on the most urgent matters. Sometimes it would occur to him that perhaps he didnt have to take that for granted, and he should look further into each and every minute detail of those reports, but for now, he was content delegating most of it to the Overseer. A fleeting thought crossed his mind, right before his skull turned towards the not so distant valley where the fortified city stood.

"I wonder if everything is fine. I should check more often".

.

Far away from the bustling cities and the rattling wagons that were moving towards the southern regions of the world in search for a new home away from the Sorcerous Kingdom, still clinging to prejudice and malicious intents towards the undead and its minions, a lonely servant of the Supreme One was observing the situation for the comfort of her bedroom, far removed from all manners of excess except for her own body.

A maid entered her field of vision. She was a pretty little young one, long blonde hair, a sweet scent of freshly baked bread followed her.

"… disgusting" she thought, pouting a little.

"How utterly disgusting… even after all the work I've put into Nazarick… after the total conquest of the known world… I still…!"

She casually pointed her index finger towards the maid. That homunculus might have been fifteen, maybe eighteen at best. She was very pretty and joyful.

"Ah, good morning lady Albedo! What a lovely day it is today. I'll be leaving soon, please be at ease. Lord Ainz has tasked me to adjust the sheets, check up on the refreshments and assemble a new cooking group".

"New… cooking group?" she didnt understand. Why would her beloved Momonga prepare all of that, if they were the absolute rulers of the continent? Was it for a new batch of guests? But then, why even have guests in the first place?

"It doesnt make sense…. It doesnt it doesnt it doesnt!"

Albedo threw a light punch at her pillow. Then another one. And another one, this time with a little more force put into it.

"Lady Albedo is… is everything allright?" the maid seemed genuinely concerned. She stopped what she was doing and observed her reaction attentively.

"Oh? Yes, keep doing what you have been told to do, I am perfectly fine".

There was no trace of discomfort on Albedo's face. She looked so pretty and cheerful. The maid felt a surge of relief in her chest. If for some reason she had offended her, she wouldnt have been able to forgive herself.

"Tell me, who are the new guests?"

"Umm, I'm not sure. Lord Ainz said that they're a delegation from a foreign country and they wish to speak to us. And this is just the first in a long series of meetings. It seems like more people want to be our friends now than ever before! Isnt that amazing?"

"Yes… it is I suppose…"

Albedo wasnt pleased. She looked forward to a world completely dominated by the Supreme Being, her lover and the greatest entity to ever have lived. Momonga was the peak of supreme achievements, an unbeatable strategist and a force to be reckoned with. Nobody should stand in his way, even so-

"Those meetings are utterly pointless. What a waste of resources. Why should Nazarick be on friendly terms with anyone? We should be the rulers of the world. Our magnanimous Lord Momonga will trample any opposition with ease, there is no need for such formalities".

Albedo moved her hand slightly below her chest, reaching for her belly with her fingertips.

She felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction coming from her empty womb all the way to her heart. A wild, flaming heat rose, and immediately after that, rage. An uncontrollable mixture of angst and frustration penetrated her body by means of her fingers.

The small homunculus maid who was distractly finishing her tasks with a cheerful attitude was already outside, leisurely strolling towards a service corridor that would lead her to her next assignment. There was no resting for her, as well as all the other maids, who didnt get tired in the slightest and all responded to the call in unison for the glory of Ainz Ooal Gown.

It was for that purpose that she was created, to serve and obey. Albedo thought so as well.

She was, after all, a servant first and foremost. But she was also a lover, and a chosen among the Guardians. She had been given the highest honour of all, as Overseer, her role was instrumental to Nzarick's advance.

"Then why… do I feel so-"

Albedo's instincts told her to stop. There was no point. She kept stirring her own volition where it would never be possible for her to see comfort. She knew that and yet it was difficult, if not at all impossible, to remain calm.

She pulled herself up, brushed her hair in one swift motion, and immediately set foot outside of her quarters, her gaze sharp and bored.

The guest rooms were set up to accomodate persons of interest to Ainz himself. A large quantity of refreshments were being prepared and made available by the remaining maids on the ground floor. They were all busy, ready to receive new people and display the might of the strongest nation in the world as a reminder that there was no better way to keep their heads on their shoulders than to follow them and peacefully submit. Any sensible man would know that they had much more to gain from an alliance, or peaceful annexation, than with any revolution.

However there were a considerable amount of fools in the world, and thus lord Ainz had established this new approach in an effort to solicit delegations from all over the world to suppress dissent and execute problematic subjects unwilling to cooperate in their respective homelands. In order to be seen as liberators and promoters of justice, the only way forward was through diplomacy, at least with the strongest nations still standing, to ensure that Ainz Ooal Gown's hands would be considered pristine. "Eliminating potential threats by proxy", that was what Demiurge had deemed necessary. Lord Ainz acquiesced with the clause that no Guardian had to be directly involved in it, because their fame had started to give away some of their most obvious schemes from the past decades, and their late confrontations with the nations surrounding Re-Estize had been particularly fierce.

"Ah, splendid work! A fine example of cooperation, excellent!".

Eclair was ecstatic. The maid who had been carrying him until now placed him gently on the floor of the newly built residence for temporary guests of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, just short of 300 meters away from the entrance,

"What do you think of our new fine establishment, lord Sebas? Isnt it nice in there? I'll have you know that each and every corner of its interiors has been polished to perfection! And it's all thanks to me!"

Sebas had remained there to supervise the work as instructed by lord Ainz. The place would have soon received a considerable amount of people, according to him, so he was happy to fulfill a regular assignment that would befit a butler. However, he didnt seem too eager to celebrate. He kept checking a long list of names while scrutinizing his surroundings.

"Hmm. I wonder…"

He called all the homunculus maids in one place. They came in mere seconds, forming a perfect line. Despite their fear of the outside world, they seemed to be extremely diligent and well organized when addressed by Sebas. It looked as if his mere presence was enough to extinguish even the smallest trace of concern.

"There's one missing. Where is Coco?"

"Umm, I think I know where she went, lord Sebas. I saw her inside. She should've been here a while ago" one of the maids spoke up "she had very simple tasks to accomplish as I recall. Umm… might have been near lady Albedo's quarters".

"I see. Well then, there shouldnt be any need for concern. We will wait a couple more minutes. The delegations will arrive this evening at the earliest so there is plenty of valuable time ahead of us".

But the wait proved itself vain. Nobody came out from the 9th floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Sebas set out to find out for himself what was going on. Nobody would ever dare disobey lord Ainz's orders, that must have been clear. And if anyone of the sort were to inhabit Nazarick, he would personally set their record straight and put their heads back to work.

He looked far and wide, assisted in this endeavour by Pestonya whose directions had been easy enough to understand. However, despite their best efforts, there was no sign of the missing maid.

No reports had been made of external forces approaching Nazarick's defences, and nobody seemed aware of possible intrusions. It was unthinkable that anyone would be able to reach the royal suite unnoticed.

"We cant do anything more for now. Please assemble a search team and have her found. I dont want to greet lord Ainz with such troubling news".

Sebas had been firm. With her new orders, Pestonya hurried up and recalled a group of maids to perform the task at hand.

"What's all the commotion down there? Is there a problem?"

Albedo approached Sebas with a slightly annoyed look. Despite that, her impeccable smile was still as reassuring as always.

"We cant find one of the maids. Have you seen her? She was supposed to report back a few hours ago".

"Hmm. No, I havent seen anyone in a while".

A brief moment passed, then her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Oh, wait, I did in fact. Was she supposed to be here? I have seen a little one enter a service corridor outside. It lead somewhere around the bar area as I recall. Although I do not usually interact with that place, so it's possible that she actually went on a stroll of her own accord".

Sebas rubbed his chin with his index finger, deep in thought. "There is no way…"

"Oh? And what can I do about that? I'm not here to supervise the servants you know. Ask the head maid for a proper explanation. I'm sure there was some other task she had to accomplish. Lord Ainz is so generous that he bestowed more work for them to do every day, more than ever before!".

With that said, Albedo turned around and went straight for her office. She didnt appear more concerned or stressed out than usual, Still, Sebas couldnt stop thinking about something.

"… must have been my imagination. I'm sure there is an explanation for everything. Now, onto the next task. All I can do is wait for a detailed report".

As she approached her desk, Albedo frowned upon seeing all the amassed papers, perfectly collected in alphabetical order, destined to her supervision.

It wasnt so muh as physical distress, but rather mental fatigue that plagued her soul. Frustration kept mounting in spades as she flipped through the first pages of a report, casually picked from one of the many alreadly lined up next to the pile.

"We request the courteous attention of the Prime Minister..."

"As humbly suggested by our king, we ask…"

"Please do take into consideration the matter at hand…"

"Fluff. All of it."

She wanted to dismiss all of that trash. Those words, albeit never uttered, not even outside of the supreme one's presence, had been incessantly occupying her mind. There was nothing else to add to it: kings and commoners asking for favors, pleas of countless nobles not to take their possessions, knights asking for permission to bear arms in the Sorcerous Kingdom's territory, adventurers wanting to hunt down monsters in name of Ainz Ooal Gown. And then, from that trivial nothingness, some actual demands would rise above the constant boot-licking; prefects and judges condemning the Sorcerous Kingdom's actions, asking for fair trials before the laws of men. Foolish humans pretending to be friendly and then stabbing her beloved Momonga in the back. Instead of being grateful for the priviledge of being alive, they dare oppose their dominion openly, going as far as inquiring for an investigation.

Albedo flipped nervously through the pages of a document clad in black leather. She knew what that meant; the secret service set in place by herself was doing spendid work. With Demiurge's assistance, she had been able to find and neutralize several terrorist organizations and isolated cells aiming at overthrowing Momonga's rule. Surely their small numbers and weakness was no concern, but the mere fact that they existed posed a threat in her eyes. They had to be eliminated, destroyed, vanquished, pulverized, utterly erased from existence. Her eyes glimmered with joy while reading of the unspeakable tortures that the secret service's executors were inflicting upon those foolish enough to even try.

While her fingertips were frantically scouting for new information, a small, slightly torn piece of paper slipped through the pages and down onto the table. Annoyed, Albedo took it and almost threw it aside, if only for a small symbol barely visible on one of its corners.

"This region hasnt been conquered yet. And… it's so far away from here. Who dares-"

After reading a couple sentences, her train of thought suddenly stopped. A large, malignant grin formed on her beautiful poker face.

.

"Ah, look at that! It's magnificent, isnt it?"

Ainz Ooal Gown, the most powerful being on the planet, was now seated at the top of a hilly rocky formation in the middle of nowhere. Apart from the distant valley that lead to the new, mysterious city scouted by Demiurge and the battle maids, there was nothing but a bare, conspicuously brown terrain all around him. Masses of dark brown rocks and reddish pebbles were his only companions. A couple of small fissures appeared to be humming a melancholic hymn; a delicate, ondulate sound was barely perceptible from where Ainz stood.

"I… suppose so, my lord" Narberal looked around, slightly confused.

"Wait for it. According to my sources it should occur… right about now!" Ainz casted his arms in the pale blue sky of the late afternoon, The sound produced inside the fissures started to grow closer, then the earth itself trembled and shook violently. A powerful earthquake seemed about to destroy the rocky formations where Ainz stood with the force of a thousand tsunamis.

Narberal hovered above ground a few feet, ready to help her master at any time. But, as if nothing had occurred, the earthquake ceased shortly after; in its place, a powerful eruption of gasses came out of the fissures, and then hot, steamy water flooded the barren plain.

"Marvelous! So it was all true after all! Hahaha!" Ainz seemed overjoyed. Maybe, for the very first time after almost a decade, he had truly found a solution to his most pressing problems.

He let the hot water pour on his impermeable robe; the steamy fumes filled the air all around and then came down almost reaching the valley below. Every corner of the rocky barren terrain was completely engulfed in hot, white steam.

"You can breathe normally, Narberal. Do so and then come closer".

"Yes my lord, as you wish".

The maid touched the ground, exhaling light puffs of vapour. Amidst the foggy atmosphere, Ainz's tall, imposing figure was the only thing perfectly visible. She approached her master with puzzled eyes.

"Very well. There seem to be no visible change. Please come closer".

"C-Closer than this much, my lord?"

"But of course. Look me in the eyes, as close as possible".

"I see…"

Narberal's steps became uncertain, then she slowed down. Her face was but a few centimeters from Ainz's skull.

"You seem troubled. Is there something wrong? Your cheeks are bright red".

"No o-of course not my lord. I'm perfectly fine".

"Good. Hmm, let me examine you further".

Momonga's skeletal fingertips touched Narberal's cheek, then moved gently under her chin and on to her earlobe.

"Hmm. Allright then, there seem to be no side effect whatsoever. No status alterations either. This pleases me greatly. We can move onto the next phase".

"Next… phase, my lord?"

"Indeed. Next, I will strip…"

"Wha-"

"… you of your conscious self for a few seconds. I'm sorry but this is crucial. I need to be absolutely certain that the fumes in this land are doing what they're supposed to".

Narberal closed her eyes for a moment. She calmly sat down to recuperate as her heartbeats returned to normal.

"Are you okay? Maybe I should reconsider. There seem to be quite an excess of steam around here".

"No, please proceed as you see fit. I'm ready to do anything you wish of me".

"Very well, then look at my hand".

Ainz opened his palm in front of her. A gentle blue light emerged, then little blue flames poured out of it, forming a circle.

"Tier ten: Veil of Remembrance".

Immediately after casting the spell, Narberal's eyes lost their vigor, her pupils became of a solid black colour and her head fell slightly to the side. This spell was equivalent to Palm of the Puppeteer, however, it let most of the bodily functions of its target completely dormant so that the caster could control their subconscious and actively seek for their truthful, completely honest cooperation. Moreover, it didnt require direct contact for it to work.

Momonga rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

"Narberal, do you recognize this voice?"

"Yes. You are… my one and only master, lord Ainz Ooal Gown".

"Very good. Then, please answer truthfully. How do you view humans, and humanity as a whole?"

A few seconds passed in total silence. Ainz was expectantly awaiting for her answer.

Then, all of a sudden, Narberal's body moved on its own accord. At first, nothing but a small twitch of an arm.

"Humans? Humans… and humanity…"

"Uh, yes. Let me repeat the question. How do you-"

"Humans? and… HUMANITY?!"

Her body immediately stood up, as if moved by pure rage, her face contorted with a nasty, sadistic, grimacing smirk.

"Humans need to behave and stay in their place. Which is, at the bottom of the food chain, right next to dirt and feces. If I see a human stepping out of line, my duty is to crush their skull and feed their brains to their children. Humanity as a whole is a filthy stain on our society. We should get rid of -"

"Uuuh okay okay I get it! Please stop answering you made your point quite clear!"

Ainz moved his hand in front of Narberal in a sweeping motion, and as nothing had happened, strength returned to her pupils.

"I feel dizzy... did the test produce the results you desired?"

"Um, not… exactly but I guess we will get there, eventually. Do not worry, there is plenty of time ahead of us. You are dismissed, thank you for your cooperation. Return to the camp and wait for Demiurge's instructions. Contact me directly should anything relevant happen. And remember, whatever you do, do not kill a single living thing unless they have the specific intent to harm you or Mare. This is a unique situation, so I expect you'll behave properly".

"Yes my lord. As you command".

As he saw off the battle maid, Ainz Ooal Gown, the most powerful being in the world, felt completely powerless.

"Did I fail once again? The fumes produced from this source should have cooled off Narberal's head. I was expecting at the very least a mild change but…"

He stood immobile, looking at the setting sun reflected in the gentle waters slowly evaporating from that place. A deep sigh, imperceptible to anyone but him, made him aware once more of his fragile human origins.

"No. I cant give up now. How long has it been again? 70 years next month as I recall. The situation cant stay the same forever. I want to quell dissent and inspire confidence before moving onto the remaining lands at the far ends of the world. Maybe there I will finally find someone else like me. Or better yet…"

A fleeting memory of Touch Me's hand on his shoulder gave Suzuki Satoru the chills. A surge of renewed strength filled his heart. Swiftly, Ainz grabbed an ampoule from his inventory and filled it to the brim with the hotspring's water, then he touched his lateral lobe with his index finger.

"Cocytus".

"YES. LORD. AINZ?"

"I need you to guard more than just the wagons. Set up camp here, at the hotspring. Nobody shall enter or exit this area for the time being. You have my permission to recruit whoever you feel necessary for the task from the nearby forests. I need this place clear from anyone but me until I say otherwise".

"AS. YOU. COMMAND. MY. LORD".

Satisfied, Ainz returned to his meticulous research.

Previously Cocytus had seen the fire brimming vividly in his master's eyesockets, from the onset of that journey to the very moment of his call, and thus had renew his own expectations; he was eager to give battle, for the amount of years without any conflict worth noting had given him time to fine tune his own arsenal and sharpen his senses, however there were no opponents strong enough to grant him his most recurrent wish, to cherish a victory so complete that his honor as a warrior would be sanctified by lord Ainz's praise.

With the whole group in a state of high alert, ready for action and fully mobilized, Demiurge deemed his inspection of the area surrounding the encampment satisfactory enough.

"Very well, it is time to move. We shall commence our operation at dawn. Everyone, I'll be expecting your absolute cooperation. Let us do a perfect job as its customary of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Make Lord Ainz proud".