Ainz had been initially worried that the spell wouldn't work.

Yet, he instinctively knew it was active the moment that he used it. Another new benefit of being in this world.

In Yggdrasil, time stopping measures didn't actually stop time. Instead, they induced a sort of 'paralysis' on the opposing player. All that the enemy would see was a black screen while they were immobile. There was no real way to program actual time stopping in a virtual game with multiplayer, after all.

Here, though, it was true time altering magic. The leaves and the winds themselves had stopped blowing- this was not just altering people's perception of time, it was true time alteration.

"So... there are no countermeasures against time spells?" he mumbled to himself.

No one had attacked him. No one had moved. Meaning that there were no demihumans who could resist his Chronomancy.

Within Yggdrasil, once one passed level seventy it was essential to keep gear that nullified Chronomancy- else you would be one-shot by any mage who was capable of using it.

So there was no one here who had such items- meaning they were all very weak.

No, even if one was low levelled one could equip items from a higher level Player. And items warding against Chronomancy usually had minimal user requirements given they were practically a must-have.

Still, now the fact remained that he had to decide on what to do.

He could not use [Fly] as magic did not work while the world was paused, however with his ridiculous strength he catapulted himself up towards the watch tower.

"Urgh..." he muttered as he latched onto the floor of the watch tower with a single bony hand. He looked patently ridiculous right now, he realized, like the character Cliff Hanger, and he was very glad that no one could see him like this. Well, they could see him- but they wouldn't be able to 'see' him- alright you know what I mean. With barely any effor he lifted himself up into the watch tower.

He was now face-to-face with the demihuman, and with one of his hands he clutched the child out of its grasp. He then cast [Delay Magic: Death]. It was incredibly important that one timed the [Delay] part correctly, as if it was too early, the spell would fail, and if it was too late, there was hardly a point in stopping time at all.

It was a skill only five percent of Yggdrasil players had mastered- needless to say he was within that elite group.

As he waited for time to restart, he began charting out his next move in his mind.

Yes, he had saved this child- but that still left the problem of there being multiple humans left in the camp. As he glanced downward, he saw several of them. The camp had a few buildings inside as well as a ditch, so there could be captives hidden there.

How should he proceed?

He could summon several High Wraiths and let them ooze out their fear auras, driving all of them mad. This would ensure that none of them would actively want to kill the human hostages, but it could still lead to deaths as those suffering from fear would move erratically.

If he had the ability of Demiurge, one of the guild NPCs, he could simply use his voice to control everyone present there. Alas, he had no such skills neither did he have any high-level Bard-type skills.

If he had the spell [Mass Domination] he could use it to take control of everyone here- but the shitty devs had made that spell too cumbersome to try and learn, even with his skill Dark Wisdom.

That left one option...

The world began moving again, and the child within Ainz's arms was strangely quiet- he had been expecting it to cry out, but it appeared to be too weak to do even that.

"YOU- ... huh?" he heard Remedios say behind him.

"[Mass Hold Species]!" Ainz said. A large group of individuals were paralyzed as they were held motionless by this spell. He then cast it four more times until he had gotten everyone within the camp.

But he was not done yet. "[Summon Undead Tenth]!"

With this spell, an Eyeball Corpse appeared besides him. This monster was extremely weak for such a high-levelled creature, but it had extremely powerful Divination magic, such that it could see what even Ainz could not. It took the form of several eyeballs of mismatched colors and sizes amalgamated into a giant amorphous blob.

"Is there anyone else around us who could flee or observe us?"

"Indeed Summoner, there are three entities out there by the corner of the woods. They have turned tail and fled- they are most likely scouts of some sort," it said.

"[Create Mid-Tier Undead]!" Ainz said, bringing forth a Soul Eater. "Ensure that none live to see what has happened."

The summon did not need to be told twice as it bounded off into the forest, returning quickly with three corpses.

"Excellent," Ainz said, though there was an issue given that he would need to recast [Mass Hold Species] over and over if this continued, and even his immense reserve of mana would be depleted by that soon.

He turned to face Remedios. "We need to deal with the demihumans quickly."

'Deal with' according to Remedios involved slaughtering each and every single one of them, save for two whom Ainz interrogated via the [Dominate] spell.

They were still killed of course following this.

The humans they rescued were happy enough, though they were all haggard and starved in a way that only victims of famine in documentaries looked like. Many of them made Remedios look like the picture of health by comparison.

The man whose son Ainz had saved had fallen to Ainz's feet, weeping as he gushed out his thanks. Ainz was unsure of how to react to this until Remedios thankfully pulled the man away, reassuring him that this was only something natural, and that his thanks should actually be directed to the Holy Queen.

'Holy Queen... what on Earth did she do?' Ainz mused at Remedios's words, though he supposed as a loyal paladin that was just what she had to spout to people.

"Remedios... there is something that I need to talk to you about. Aside," Ainz said.

Once the two of them were out of earshot, Ainz said, "What happened back there? Why did you freeze?"

"I... I couldn't figure out what to do. I-I wanted to save the child but-" Remedios stammered, no longer having the conviction she did just a moment ago.

Ainz put a gloved hand on her shoulder. "You shouldn't have lowered your weapon. You let your enemy know that hostages are useful, and you caused more casualties this way."

"What would you have me do instead?" Remedios asked briskly.

"You should have killed both him and the child," Ainz said. "It was what I was going to do. Once the demihumans realized that hostages are worthless and they are outnumbered, they would focus on fleeing on not kill the hostages for multiple reasons- including no reason other than to just spite us. It would have saved more lives in the long run."

"That goes counter to everything we stand for," Remedios replied. "Justice is to save everyone... even the weakest of the weak. The Holy Queen imagined a world where none of her subjects lived in sorrow, and as her paladin, it is my sworn duty to make that vision come true."

Ainz sighed. "And yet, you couldn't, could you?"

"But you did," Remedios said. "If what you say is true, why did you save that child?"

"..." Ainz paused. "It's... complicated. But the time will come when that isn't possible. A time when I cannot kill all witnesses. Or a time where you have to choose what to do."

"And when that time comes," Remedios said, "I will stand by my justice!" She then adjusted her sword.

'That sounds so cool!' Ainz thought, and immediately after: 'And it's sooo stupid!'

"Now, I have things to do," Remedios said. From her tone, it appeared that she was disappointed in Ainz somewhat- something that hurt Ainz, but he was far more confused as to what she was getting at. "Ah- yes, I thought I recognized you, Squire Baraja! We have much to discuss!"

'What on Earth was that?' Suzuki wondered as he saw Remedios turn away to talk to one of the human prisoners.

Ainz would've buried his head in his hands if he wasn't in public. What even was this woman? She had initially reminded him of Touch Me, but even Touch Me wouldn't be so hard headed. It was as if she would not budge even an inch when it came to her principles.

This would not be a problem if she had the skill to back her ideals up, but all she could do was standby helplessly like a crashed computer when she was faced with a situation that put her moral code into jeopardy.

She had the attitude of the main character of an anime- with the powers and skills of a background filler character by his standards.

She was going to get into trouble in the future- and he wasn't going to be around to help her with it!

Oh, who was he kidding? He was most likely going to have to mop up whatever mess she got herself into.

Why? Well, although he hated to admit it to himself, a part of him admired the way that she was. She was the first person he had run into while visiting this world, and... though he couldn't place a finger on why, he felt as if he was drawn to her like a magnet to iron.

And with a grunt, he turned away.

Neia Baraja had been rescued.

Perhaps 'rescued' was a bit of a stretch- it was closer to 'being put under new management.'

She had spent the last few days leading a small group of stragglers as far away from the invading demihumans as possible. She had been largely successful in this attempt until she had finally reached the end of her rope- resulting in the deaths of the majority of her compatriots. Those who were not lucky enough to die quickly were instead taken to be reserve food for the demihumans along with her.

And such would've been her fate- were it not for the actions of a certain paladin.

Granted, from what she understood, it was not Remedios Custodio who had saved them- but that masked magic caster behind her.

A necromancer... many of her fellow former prisoners shied away from the man because of this simple fact. All denizens of the Holy Kingdom had an excellent reason to depsise the undead, as such, many recognized those who used the undead as nothing better than them.

Neia, however, did not share their sentiments. She had heard how the magic caster had saved a child hostage- something that even Remedios could not do. Before she could approach him to express her gratitude, however, she had been accosted by Remedios.

"Squire Baraja! Just where have you been?" the Grandmaster asked.

Neia was so shocked to see Remedios she struggled to come up with a response. Last she or anyone had heard, Remedios was dead. Because if she was alive, most people would assume that she would be like Neia- attempting to bring together some semblance of a resistance.

But boy it was clear that whatever Remedios was doing, it had taken a massive toll on her. Neia was hardly the picture of health, but the lessons from her father had helped her scavenge for food in the wilderness- most of the time, that is. Remedios looked nearly skeletal now.

Not that you would think so based off how she acted.

"I uh..." Neia began to get words out, but Remedios did not seem to actually want an answer.

"Anyway, duty calls for your, squire! I require your skills in stealth and tracking," Remedios said. She then placed a hand on Neia's shoulder. "We need to get going?"

"Get going?" Neaia croaked. While she had technically been able to scavenge for food, since the demihumans had captured her she had not been fed anything nor even allowed a drop of water. Those were resources the demihumans saw no need to waste on their next meal. Not to mention that weeks of living in the wilderness had taken quite a toll on her. "I can barely stand..." She did not want to join a fight right now and she felt like she had earned a few day's rest at minimum to recover her energy if not a few weeks.

"So?" Remedios asked. "Death does not wait for you to be ready! Death is not considerate, or fair! And make no mistake- as a member of the Paladin Order, you face death every single day!"

"But... isn't the Paladin Order disbanded now?" Neia asked. Most of the members were dead, and their Queen, whom they swore their fealty too was gone. No replacement had as of yet been declared, and given the state of the Holy Kingdom, none would come soon.

"Don't be ridiculous- so long as even one of us survives, our Order will live on!" Remedios said. She then sighed. "I never expected such weakness or reluctance to do your duty from you Squire Baraja! As a Paladin, you need to always keep your chin up and endure whatever the world throws at you! You should be ready to give up your life at the drop of a hat for your country!" Remedios's face darkened. "Many finer fighters than you gladly were slain, you know that, right?"

Neia had no good answer to this. "I see... of course..."

"Good!" Remedios said, slapping her on the shoulder. It was meant to be supportive- but Neia understood given the force on her shoulder that even though Remedios was near-starved, she could still break her like a twig.

A voice reached them, breaking Remedios's monologue. "I would like your attention everyone."

It was the masked magic caster who had come to their rescue. Though he did not raise his voice at all, it still captivated everyone who heard it, who stopped what they were doing at once.

"I know many of you have suffered," Ainz said. "Indeed, no doubt you have. I will be preparing a meal for all of you soon, as well as fresh water. We must now think of the best way forward for ourselves." He then paused. "I believe that we should take all of the survivors and place them in a single secure location, a fortress of my own creation so to speak. While doing so, Paladin Remedios and I will continue on our mission to find the Holy Queen."

Find the Holy Queen? Was that what Remedios wanted her help with.

One of the former captives spoke up. "Forgive me for my rudeness sir, but who are you?"

"My name is Ainz Ooal Gown," Ainz said, spreading his arms.

There were whispers and murmurs from around the crowd.

"Ainz? Have you heard that name before?"

"Is he one of the Colors?'

"Is he an adventurer?"

"Silence!" came Remedios's voice which cut though the noise like a whip. "Citizens of the Holy Kingdom- I an the Grandmaster of the Paladin Order! Many of you may know of me, Captain Remedios Custodio! This man, Ainz Ooal Gown, is an ally of the kingdom- and for now I agree with his plan. I implore that you all get some rest while we tend to your wounds."

The backing of Remedios Custodio was enough for everyone to obey this Ainz person without any quarrel.

Ainz was amazed at how smoothly everything had went.

His 'plan' that he had put out was just his guild's modus operandii- the Great Tomb of Nazarick was nearly unconqurable. As such, they would hole themselves within it and strike out wherever their enemis were weak. He applied the same logic here, their 'treasures'- that is to say, the people of the kingdom would be kept in a secure location while Remedios and he would go to strike out at the demihumans.

He hadn't expected so much support- nor had he expected everyone to go along with what he did.

Back in Yggdrasil, decisions were made in Ainz Ooal Gown via a democratic system with the understanding that no side would bear a grudge against the other regardless of the outcome of the vote.

This country was a Theocratic Monarchy from his understanding and from what he had heard, the notion of a democracy was alien to these people.

Ah, regardless, it was good that things worked out. If everyone agreed with his plans, that must mean that they were correct, right?

The only thing that nagged at him was that there was a gaping hole that even he could see in his plan. Unlike with the Great Tomb of Nazarick, even if he used [Fortress] to house all of these people, the fact remained that he could not remain in two places at once. And from what he had seen, there was no one else here who came close in power to himself. Remedios was likely level 50 at maximum, but if she was quaking in her boots at the thought of an Eighth Tier Spell, then she was probably even lower.

As such, if this Night Lich ever decided to strike out at wherever these people were located, without any NPCs or Mercenary Vassals to guard the area, they would be sitting ducks.

Ainz had attempted to use [Create High Tier Undead] on some of the corpses he was able to find, but it appeared that any undead above level 40 could not be made permanent for some reason. It didn't matter which species he used either.

This was a major flaw in his plan, though he couldn't think of a better solution, and if no one else objected- it couldn't be all that bad.

Right?

"Does anyone have any objections?' Ainz croaked out as a last Hail Mary to see if anyone had any better ideas.

There was this one girl in the audience who was looking at him with a piercing gaze- he was sure that she wanted to verbally eviscerate him based off how she was glaring at him, but she said nothing.

No one in the audience objected to him at all.

"Well then, let's uh... start with the food!" Ainz said.

His magic item was stretched to its limit trying to feed all the prisoners here- if they ever found more stragglers they would need to get a more reliable source of food. There were several Druidic and Divine spells which could create food, but he knew none of them. Any magic items that could make fruit or the like were still within the vaults of Nazarick. They could not scavenge for food as most of the meat was suspect, and although Ainz felt that perhaps they could eat the demihuman corpses the fact that no one else had suggested this till now made him think it was taboo.

He did not need to waste any more health potions as Remedios had taken it upon herself to heal any serious injuries among the prisoners- Ainz was worried that she might exhaust her mana, but when he asked her about this Remedios simply replied, "I have enough mana for now, and we are not going to be fighting until tomorrow morning, so it should be fine."

Well, that was good enough for him.

In the end, Ainz decided to build his [Fortress] near a rock formation he had seen on his way over while coming to this place. The rocks formed a natural encirclement around a small oasis and large patch of grass. By building his Fortress near the entrance, it formed what was essentially a one-way blockade into a large area. It was a classic 'motte and bailey' strategy that he had heard Punnito Moe speak of in the past.

Of course, the rocks were of very little use in guarding against demihumans, many of who could scale them easily with their hooves of fly over them with their wings, but at least the people would have somewhere to run to if danger struck.

"Alright then!" Remedios said, observing what Ainz had done. She seemed to be pleased with it, which greatly boosted his own morale. "Citizens of the Holy Kingdom! We will continue in our search for more people! Please never give hope- and remember that your Holy Queen continues to watch over you."

There were some mild cheers at these words. Ainz felt that they were rather hollow- but who was he to judge?

"Let's teleport back to that place then!" Remedios told him the very next morning.

"Right... is there a reason she is coming with us?" Ainz asked.

"This is Neia Baraja, Squire in training with the Paladin Order! She has some skills from her father with respect to Thief-type classes!"

"Ah, Captain, they are more of Ranger-type than Thief-type..."

"The important thing is that she can help us track down the vile demihumans who took our Queen away!" Remedios said. "Is that not right?"

"Uh... yes... I will do my best..." Neia muttered.

Ainz was wondering why she still had that scary look about her. Did she hate him? As he understood some people just didn't like him because he was a necromancer, but she never seemed to let her gaze off.

"Ah, nice to meet you," Ainz said. He then glanced at her up and down.

"Uh, is something wrong?" Neia asked.

"Oh it's nothing," Remedios said. "Ainz is an upstanding citizen, but he does do minor crimes like peeping on women in their baths. He was probably just wondering what you looked like naked."

"EH?!"

"DON'T SPREAD RUMOURS LIKE THAT ABOUT ME!"

Ainz tried to calm down. "I just noticed that you weren't carrying a weapon with you."

"Ah, I lost my sword some time ago," Neia said.

"Squire Baraja!" Remedios said. "This is absolutely unacceptable! That sword was a symbol of your devotion to the Paladin Order! How dare you lose it?!"

"Relax, I'm sure in the chaos and confusion she must've lost it," Ainz said. No one could fault her for that, right?

"Still," Remedios said. "If this was a normal time she would be flogged for such an infarction."

"Eh...!" Neia said, almost close to tears.

"Ah, you can borrow a weapon from me," Ainz said. He almost plucked out a sword when something occurred to him- "What is your choice of weapon? You are a Ranger, are you not?"

"I... I should train with the sword," Neia said. "But I'm more confident with... the bow to be honest."

"I see," Ainz said, pulling out a bow and handing it to her. She seemed quite shocked at what he had just done. "This weapon is called the... uh... Shooting Star Super! Use it well."

"These letters... are they Runecraft?" Neia asked.

"Ah, yes," Ainz said. Those runes were just decorations and didn't do anything, but did actual Runecraft exist in this world? He would want to know more, but it looked like Remedios was getting impatient. "There is another thing!"

He handed her a pair of goggles. "These enhance vision, grant night vision, prevent status afflictions like [Blindness] and also boost accuracy!"

"No need to give her so much," Remedios said. "You're spoiling her!"

"No, in the end, I have no use for it, and I might as well give it to someone who can use it," Ainz said.

Truth be told it was a rather low-grade item by his standards. The reason he had actually given it to Neia was because it would hide those scary eyes of her when she wore it.

"Ah, th-thank you," Neia said, putting them on.

Well, now she looked far less threatening. And even kind of cute, now that Ainz thought about it.