*Fufufu to think that I could rival the great Ainz-sama in necromancy. After three years of hard training, I have finally broken through my level cap. That accursed Writer's Block condition was quite annoying to break, and I have no idea when it will return, not to mention the terrifying specter of the end game boss IRL*

Quiesce Hazia Quintia was a man known for being calm and collected. The soft smile he kept fixed on his face was one that inspired confidence and loyalty in his comrades. However, as the combat ready members of the Black Scripture walked through the Capital of the Slane Theocracy it took every ounce of effort he could muster to maintain that smile. So much had gone wrong so quickly. The Miko Princess had been attacked and her tressure stolen in the resulting chaos. His sister had, suspiciously, gone missing around the same time. The Thousand Leagues Astrologer had been broken while keeping an eye on the Sunlight Scripture, which they had lost all contact with.

And there was nothing they could do.

Whatever had happened to the Seventh Seat had truly broken her, and struck fear into the hearts of the normally hardened members of the Theocracy's elite forces. She had suddenly become inflicted with a terrible number of effects from poisons to horrifying visions and, perhaps most cruelly, healing magic to ensure she couldn't even find peace in death. That a mind could concoct such a horrifying affliction and use it on another shook their normally stoic hearts. They had been utterly powerless to help their comrade until the magics had finally been exhausted and she could rest. Yet even then, it was clear she was of no sane mind as she often times would sit there blankly staring off into space or madly giggling to herself about 'pink elephants'. They could only hope that, with time, she would recover.

For them, the Black Scripture, Humanity's hidden sword and shield, to be so powerless was maddening.

Quiesce's erratic and troubled thoughts were finally quieted as the assembled members of the Black Scripture arrived at their destination. The simple but spacious hall, often doubling as a more private temple, was the usual place the clandestine group met to receive orders, and it wasn't long before Cardinal Raymond himself appeared. His usual hard expression was nowhere to be seen, a poorly concealed frown showing how upset by the situation he was. The group of hardened veterans quietly waited for him to speak, too curious and tense to dare consider any banter or interruptions.

"*Ahem* The Gods have put a great many challenges before us in recent times. To say that we are to face trials not seen in centuries would not be an understatement." It was clear that something was troubling the Cardinal, but that he was unlikely to be very open in sharing his thoughts with them.

"We have confirmed, to the best of our abilities, the complete destruction of the Sunlight Scripture, with the loss of all members and equipment." A murmur ran through the room at that. The Sunlight Scripture may be comparatively weak, but they were by no means pushovers. For all of them to have been wiped out to the last was worrying, and the loss of their treasures and gear even more so. The Treasures they caried could not simply be recruited and trained to replace the fallen members.

"As you all know by now, they were performing a mission in the eastern regions of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Their goal was to lure out and assassinate Gazef Stronoff. However, they were confronted by and wiped out by a group led by a powerful undead called Ainz Ooal Gown. Little is known about this creature, but we are sure it and its companions are of at least equal strength to Gazef Stronoff. Additionally, we believe this group is also responsible for what has happened to the Thousand Leagues Astrologer." As the troubling news sank in the group's expressions all began to match the Cardinal's. Anyone could tell that this would upset the fragile balance of power in the human kingdoms, and this was a time they could ill-afford such issues. The Beastmen were overrunning the Draconic Kingdom, the elven king was constantly pressing them and the Albion hills were a powder keg. All of this was on top of the imminent revival of the Catastrophe Dragon Lord, a threat to all living beings, and humanity's self-appointed shield was spread dangerously thin.

"Could this undead actually be the Catastrophe Dragon Lord disguised?"

"*Hmm* At this time, we do not believe so. However, we simply do not have enough information to confirm at this time. That is why you have all been assembled. The Black Scripture is to move as one. All able members are to move into the lands surrounding E-Rantel. Your primary objective will be to investigate the revival of the Catastrophe Dragon Lord. At the moment it is our highest priority. However, if you believe you have a good opportunity to control or eliminate the undead Ainz Ooal Gown you are to take it."

"!? Does that mean lady Claire will be with us? As well as the Gods' Treasure?" Their Captain asked. If the Cardinals were willing to deploy such powerful artifacts, then they must truly worry over what these changes could bring.

"Yes. Now is not the time to be meek. We must be decisive and bold, if we wish to seize this day of change. However, that is not the end of your mission. With Seat 7 currently in no position to fulfill her duties and the Windflower Scripture spread thin, many of you will not be returning after completing your mission. Seat 5, you are to take up to three companions of your choosing and establish a presence in E-Rantel." As the Cardinal called him out and gave him such bizarre orders, Quiesce couldn't stop the confusion from crossing his face. That he was being asked to essentially create a spy ring wasn't at all something he knew how to do. However, it looked like the Gods were smiling on him, and the Cardinal was observant enough to elaborate.

"If this Undead remains at large after your mission, we must have sufficient forces on hand to engage it if things get out of hand. We cannot allow such a being to grow ever stronger at the expense of humanity. Additionally, we have recently learned of several troubling events in and around the city that may have ties to Zuranon. Specifically, the group who we believe are responsible for stealing the Crown of Wisdom. There has also been evidence of your sister's presence." Quiesce's gaze hardened at that. His sister's presence would only spell disaster, and the power of the Crown of Wisdom was nothing to scoff at. He would do what needed to be done.

"If she is found, or you track down the Crown of Wisdom, you are to do whatever you deem necessary to resolve the issue. No cost is too high to rectify these mistakes.

Now, you all have your orders. Time is of the essence. Remember that you act for Humanity. May the Light of the Six protect you."

"May the Six Protect, Your Eminence." Was the fierce cry from the Black Scripture as they headed out to fulfil their duties, confident that their strength would let them protect Humanity and the Theocracy from their enemies.

As Ainz sat waiting for the head of the Adventurer Guild to come and speak with him, he could barely keep himself from twitching. So much had happened in the past few days and he was concerned that he had missed something that gave him away. If he had been exposed, things could get ugly very fast. With the Head Warrior knowing Ainz is an undead, it wouldn't be hard to put two and two together if they figured out his party were made up of non-humans. Hearing the sound of the door opening up behind him, Ainz was thankful his armor concealed his full body flinch as the Guild Master and another man entered the room.

"Ah. Momon-sama. Thank you for coming. This is the head of the Magician's Guild, Theo Rakesheer." Ainzach said, gesturing to the lanky man who had followed him in.

"*Ahem*. It's nice to meet you. However, may I ask what this meeting is about? I imagine it isn't normal for the two of you two meet a Copper Plate."

"True. However, it wouldn't be so unusual for us to meet a Mithril ranked team. Congratulations." Ainzach eagerly said. Ainz was surprised when the man slid a small pile of Mithril plates on lanyards across the table. He had, after all, only signed up as an adventurer a few days ago.

"Thi-this is rather sudden. May I ask why?" Ainz was shocked by the beaming expressions on the faces of the two men before him. Clearly, whatever had warranted this promotion had meant he had attracted a lot of attention form the guilds' leadership.

"True, it is sudden. But, the both of us feel it is completely warranted. We even felt it would have been appropriate to make you Orichalcum for your deeds, but felt a bit rushed. We cannot thank you enough for stopping the cultists last night, and the information you returned with regarding hordes of monsters has proven to be critical."

"Ho?" Ainzach's words had Ainz's mind racing. He had guessed that the cultists would net him some respect, but as no one saw him fighting so he merely figured they'd assume the cultists were weak. It would appear something had made them think otherwise. Plus, the mention of the horde likely meant it wasn't the only one, as there hadn't been time for someone to investigate the one they'd taken out.

"Yes. As I'm sure you suspect, we were able to locate another horde. Another Mithril ranked team, Rainbow, was sent to investigate and came across a swarm of undead attacking a village. They were able to save many villagers because of your information. However, this means that both Tob Forest and the Katze Plains are erupting. It has happened before, but never at the same time and always at great cost." Ainz couldn't help but wonder how coincidental the timing was. That both sources of monsters in the area had erupted just after Nazarick arrived did not bode well.

"We can only hope that we will be able to hold them off until reinforcements from other cities can arrive. We have sent a call for aid, but these things take time, and is no guarantee. Plus, we cannot rule out further attacks. We believe the cultists you stopped were with Zuranon, and they may be responsible for this eruption. Until such time as we find the mastermind of the cultists it can't be ruled out."

'Aaah. We shouldn't have captured their leaders. This is going to be such a pain.' Ainz couldn't stop himself from thinking back to Veres' capture of the two most powerful cultists. They would certainly be able to provide a fount of information, and would be useful test subjects, but he wasn't sure the hassle would be worth it if the Adventurer Guild made a fuss about not finding them.

"In the meantime, we will be relying on you Momon-sama. You and your team have proven yourselves to be powerful heroes and we will need your strength in these trying times." Ainz couldn't stop himself from mentally cringing at the near worshiping tone the two leaders had taken on. He still wasn't getting why the two were so impressed by what they'd done. If the strength they'd shown so far was enough to put them into the realms of heroes, then Ainz may need to severely reduce his already abysmal evaluation of this world's strength. Perhaps meeting the Head Warrior so soon had skewed his idea of power a bit.

"Well, I'm glad we can be of assistance. Please don't hesitate to ask us for help."

'What the hell are you saying!?' Before he could stop himself, Ainz had replied to the two men with the curtesy expected of someone from Neo-Japan, only to realize he'd practically handed them a blank check to bother him about every little thing. Thankfully, it looked like the guild leaders were truly grateful for his assistance and took his words to be those of a hero. If they hadn't been so enamored with his budding reputation, they have capitalized on the opening to use Momon for their own ends.

"It's wonderful to hear that. I have no doubt that you will save many people." Any chance Ainz had of getting out of this mess were dashed as he saw the brilliant, hopeful smile on Ainzach's face.

"Erm. Ok. Is that everything you wished to speak about?" Ainz said despondently, not really hoping he'd be able to get out of the meeting and away from those looks any time soon.

"Ah, sorry. No. I'm sure your team must be tired right now, but we must ask you to go on a quest for us." A quest, Ainz thought, was a very poor choice of words given they seemed to only be acting as monster slayers so far.

"As we have found more hordes, the city will be going into a state of emergency until we can be sure they have all been eliminated. Every Adventurer ranked Gold and above within the city is being dispatched to scout them out, as well as contact the local villages so they may seek refuge behind the walls. However, we must also contend with trade caravans that are supposed to come to the city. We have already sent out messengers out to inform the surrounding cities to cut off the merchants, but there are several caravans already on the road. Some of them have been delayed, and we fear they may have been attacked. We must ask that your team investigate."

This whole adventuring thing, Ainz thought, is turning out to be more of a chore than expected. He really had no interest in wandering around looking for trade caravans and monster hordes, but judging by the look on the two guild masters' faces he really couldn't say no.

"Alright. My team will prepare to leave. Please give me all of the relevant information so that we know what to look for." Ainz died a little inside as he spoke, almost hoping for some reason to get out of doing the quest. It would be incredibly boring for them to walk everywhere, but they couldn't appear too inhuman in their ability. Even with them knowing 'Nabe' can likely fly and maybe even teleport, and Hamsuke is quite fast, there were limits to what they could do. Plus, the cheapskate inside Ainz shriveled at the thought of consuming Nazarick resources to look for trade caravans.

Sensing he had an opening to leave, Ainz was quick to make his exit once they'd given him a scroll containing the details of his 'quest', well before the two guild masters could ask any more questions or give him more work. He hurried outside of the guild hall as quickly as he could without appearing rushed, and started navigating his way over to the Bareare home. There, he saw that the wagon Nifirea had traveled to Carne in was now loaded high as the grandmother and her grandson packed up to leave the city. Thankfully, the city gates were still open so they'd be able to leave for Carne.

He'd managed to convince Lizzy that it would be for the best to settle in Carne, away from prying eyes, and she'd agreed once she'd realized Nifirea would likely be targeted again. Nifirea, for his part, had been giving Ainz odd looks ever since he'd woken up and been told what had happened. He had no idea what the boy could be staring at him about, but he worried the boy may have figured something out.

"So, how'd it go?" Veres asked him, walking over from where she'd been helping to load the wagon. They'd wanted to get the family out of the city before people could ask any questions, so Veres and the maids had helped them pack while Ainz went to the meeting.

"Here. We were given Mithril Plates." Ainz said, passing out the little plates of metal. They all quickly put on the new plates, happy to have at least some of their strength recognized.

"Incredible. Your strength truly is amazing Momon-sama." Lizzy said, having noticed their new ranks. Nifirea just looked on, brow furrowed, clearly deep in thought as he tried to piece something together.

"Thank you. Now, I believe we should be going. We will escort you, but Mel and I will be breaking off. We have another assignment from the guild we will need to complete." Ainz informed the group. His companions, clearly disappointed to hear they had more to do already, merely nodded in agreement. The Bareare's, sensing their desire to leave, quickly finished packing up their belongings. It wasn't long before the wagon was rolling towards the gate as the group set out for Carne.

"Hm?" However, before he started after them, Ainz noticed he was being pinged by a [Message] spell.

"What is it?" He asked. He was surprised to hear Albedo speaking to him, not expecting the Guardian Overseer to take the time to message him unless it was truly important.

"[Ainz-sama, Shalltear has returned. She wishes to report to you in person. I have already received a preliminary report and agree with her.]" Ainz's non-existent brow furrowed at that. That the two of them both felt necessary to tell him in person indicated the odds were high something had gone wrong.

"Is it an emergency? I'm occupied, and won't be able to get free for some time." He said, hoping it wasn't something critical. If he had to teleport back to Nazarick now it could cause a lot of issues.

"[I believe it can wait. I have already dispatched some forces to validate Shalltear's report. They will need some time to acquire the information.]" Ainz breathed a sigh of relief at that. He had no idea what he'd do without the succubus acting as his assistant, and he was glad she also had the ability to act intelligently on her own.

"I see. I will be there as soon as possible." Ainz terminated the message and hurried to catch up with the group, the heavily laden wagon not having stopped its inertia to wait for him. Veres, having noticed he was hanging back, fell back to speak with him some distance away from their human traveling companions.

"That was Albedo. I need to return to Nazarick. You'll need to take care of the guild assignment on your own. Here, take this." Ainz handed Veres the scroll with the information on their assignment.

"What was it?" Veres' confusion and concern were clear. If he needed to head back to Nazarick then it was likely not good.

"I don't know. Apparently, Shalltear found something and Albedo didn't share it over the [Message]." Ainz said. The two walked along in silence for a while after that, thinking on what it could be. They had no trouble exiting the city, the guards not terribly interested in stopping anyone form leaving. The group stayed together on the road for some time, until a fork in the road indicated where Veres would have to break off. Ainz, deciding that it was a good time to also get away from the group, informed the party that they were splitting up.

"Um, Momon-sama. Can I ask you something before you go?" Ainz wasn't too surprised to see Nifirea had finally worked up the courage to ask his question, it had clearly been eating him since they left the city and if the group was separating, he wouldn't have another chance to ask.

"You may. I may not be able to answer though." He said defensively, not really willing to share anything.

"Are you connected with Ainz Ooal Gown?" There were sharp inhales from Ainz and his companions. Clearly, the boy had figured something out and was now worried about submitting himself to some undead.

"Um. I just want to say, thank you for saving Enri!" The boy, having taken their reactions as confirmation, surprised them by thanking them, or Ainz Ooal Gown, for saving his crush. Clearly, the boy had some fortitude if he was willing to look past Ainz being undead.

"I don't think anyone who would save a simple peasant like that is too bad of a person, so thank you." The girls relaxed at that, accepting his words for truth as he called Ainz a kind person. Ainz, for his part, was simply to stunned to respond.

"Thank you for your kind words, Nifirea. We can talk more another time, but I believe we have work to do now." Veres said, ushering the boy and his grandmother on. The two were soon on the road again, the two maids and their newest furry addition in tow.

"Well, that was a surprise. I wonder how he figured it out. I guess we probably gave it away by sending them to Carne." Veres spoke absent mindedly as she watched the group disappear around a hill.

"Ye-yes. I need to get to Nazarick. I don't want to push it off." Veres merely waved him off before heading in the direction of where the trade caravan was supposed to be. Ainz took a few moments to collect himself, then teleported back to Nazarick.

Soon, he found himself sitting behind his desk in his office once again, a veritable mountain of papers having piled up in his absence. Albedo was quick to arrive with an incredibly nervous looking Shalltear in tow.

"So, what is it you wish to report?"

"I failed! I'm sowwy Ainz-sama, I co-couldn't control myself and I failed!" The vampire practically wailed. Ainz nearly fell over in shock, both from her words and from the frigid glare being sent Shalltear's way by Albedo.

"U-umu. It's okay. I believe you didn't mean to fail and will learn from this experience. It wasn't terribly important anyways, and Veres was able to capture a Martial Arts user." Ainz said as kindly as he could. However, his words seemed to have the opposite effect as intended, as Shalltear started to cry even harder, her small frame being wracked by sobs.

"I-I'm sowwy. I'm a failure as a Guardian. I can't live with myself for letting you down so please Ainz-sama! Please, Ainz-sama! Pu-punish me!" Ainz really didn't get why the girl was so upset. Sure, she hadn't succeeded, but the mission was just a shot in the dark to try and find useful test subjects anyways, and they could always find more. Also, he'd be highly disappointed in Both Shalltear and Albedo if they had called him back for this.

"*Ahem* We can talk about your punishment later. Now, is that why you called be back to Nazarick, or is it something else."

"It's something else Ainz-sama. Although Shalltear's failure is a disgrace to Nazarick, she did bring back information about threats to us."

"Ho?" That caught Ainz's attention. They'd yet to find any concrete threats to them since coming to this new world, but there was evidence of other Players having been around. Shalltear, finally calming herself down to a soft sniffle, began to speak.

"Ye-yes Ainz-sama. I believe I may have encountered a World Item."

.

.

.

"What?"