Hello, another two weeks have passed, so it is time for another chapter.

See you again in the afterword.


[X][X][X]


The trip to the job location had been smooth. There were no disruption either from outside or inside. The members of Foresight had been keeping an eye on Erya just in case, but he had never done anything weird during the trip. Although, the sight of his unpleasant attitude towards his slaves had been quite appalling.

Momon, the dark warrior of Darkness, had been seen chatting with several people during the trip. His attitude had been overall friendly, though he somehow seemed to avoid the Workers. To be exact, it was quite apparent that he had been specifically avoiding Foresight.

Right now, the Foresight Team, Sheep and Rose included, were standing on a high ground which could overlook the destination of their current job. The four original members had been discussing several things about the job while Sheep and Rose had been just listening behind.

"By the way, did you guys notice? About Momon"

Hekkeran asked the others. He also looked at Sheep and Rose, telling that this matter involved both of them too. Arche was the first to answer.

"Yeah. Quite subtle, but Momon had been avoiding us"

"Hey, leader. Do you think it is because of back then?"

"You mean when I spoke about our reason for taking this job, Rober?"

"Yeah. Maybe he actually agreed with Erya, but didn't say it outright as courtesy"

"Possible, but in the end we can only speculate"

Hekkeran shrugged as he said it. Even if Roberdyck's guess was true, nothing would change about the job. They would explore the ruins as specified in the job description and return with results. Momon's opinion on them wouldn't matter.

"Actually, I have a different guess on that"

Rose suddenly spoke out. Her tone was straight, as it had ever been since the moment she had blocked Erya's attack. It really felt as if Rose had become a different person altogether, since there was no sign of the shy personality anymore.

"Oh, care to share your thoughts, Rose?"

"Momon has been avoiding the two of us. Isn't that right, Sheep?"

Rose looked at Sheep as she said it. Sheep nodded without changing her face expression.

"Yeah, sometimes the two of us walk around on our own during breaks. Momon always showed some kind of reaction whenever he saw us and immediately walked away. That didn't always happen to you all, right?"

The four Foresight members got into thinking after hearing Sheep's remark. Arche was then the first one to spoke in response.

"Come to think of it, you're right. But why?"

"Don't tell me-"

Imina cut her words short. Her face looked worried. She immediately continued after taking a quick breath.

"-Momon was in the Empire because he was in the hunt for you?"

Arche and Roberdyck were surprised hearing Imina's words. Hekkeran, while trying to stay calm and collected, then spoke in response.

"It is actually likely. For what reason an Adamantite Rank from the Kingdom was all the way in the heart of Baharuth Empire? The news about the Adamantite Rank job must have reached the Kingdom and he was late to notice the job closing"

Both Sheep and Rose had already known for a while that a bounty had been placed on their head in the form of an Adamantite Rank job for adventurers. However, Hekkeran also had heard the news that the particular job had been recently closed, noting that Sheep was not a demon and not dangerous. Just now, Hekkeran began to regret his mistake of not taking the details of the news. He had been so delighted hearing that Sheep was no longer hunted by officials, he just had gone home immediately to tell her and Rose. He had forgotten that news often spread late, and some people might take longer to be aware of it.

"His partner is a magic caster. She might have seen through the illusion spells and now he is keeping an eye to his target, that is you, Sheep. He probably took this job for convenient transport home and to keep you in his sight. Two birds with one stone"

"I think we should explain to him before he does something fatal"

Arche spoke her suggestion, but Hekkeran immediately responded.

"The thing is, how? It is my mistake that I didn't get the details of why the bounty on Sheep was closed. Remember that he is an Adamantite Rank adventurer and in his eyes we are, to put it bluntly, illegal adventurers doing an illegal job. We can't expect him to believe us right off the bat"

"Heh, yeah, that's understandable. Nobody would reach the highest adventurer rank without being skeptical to possibilities. Still, what should we do on this matter?"

Imina spoke her opinion, agreeing with Hekkeran and asking a question. Everyone then went into thinking for a moment.

"I say we feign ignorance and act as usual while keeping watch on our backs. I think Momon has not done anything against us because he is still not sure. I mean, isn't Sheep essentially a demihuman from a faraway country who puts on a disguise for her own safety? Momon is likely to consider that a possibility and is now trying to obtain a definite proof whether Sheep is really a dangerous demon or not"

"If you ask me, you sound like you're grasping at straws"

Sheep said it with a rather snark expression, but she then let out a sigh and continued.

"But I guess that is the best possible course of action for us"

"Don't worry, Sheep. I will protect you"

Rose spoke with a confident face while putting her hand on Sheep's shoulder. Sheep smiled in response.

"I will be in your care, guardian"

"Eh? What?"

"If you'll be guarding me, I might as well call you my guardian"

Sheep let out a little laugh saying that. The members of Foresight felt a little delighted seeing the interaction of the two girls from Oracle.

However, Rose suddenly staggered with her hands on her head.

"What happened, Rose? Did you feel unwell?"

Roberdyck quickly approached Rose and held her, in case she would fall down.

"Ah, N-Nothing. Maybe I was just a little too excited"

"We still have some free time. Why don't you get some rest?"

"Yeah, I guess"

Everyone then went back to the spot where their tent was located. The big job would start tonight, and they needed to prepare themselves as much as possible, both physically and mentally.


[X][X][X]


Rose couldn't shake the strange feeling she had in her head just recently. It felt as if some vague, unclear information was running all over her mind.

"Meru, you there inside?"

"Yes, Rose"

"Did you feel what I felt?"

"Y-Yes. For a moment everything went... weird in here"

"Weird? What kind of weird?"

"I-I don't know. I can't explain it..."

Without any satisfying answer from Meru, Rose couldn't make any conclusion about what had just happened to her. Could that had been some kind of weird spell again? She was now wondering if she should try activating that Martial Art which gave magic resistance, but she felt nothing weird right now. Activating it would be pointless.


[X][X][X]


Night has fallen.

All the teams of workers had gone to the ruins, which was the objective of their job. They all had made their preparations beforehand, not knowing what things they would face inside the place.

"What do you think, Momon-san?"

"Casualties are inevitable..."

Ainz muttered in low voice, but it was still clear enough for the leader of the Gold Rank adventurer team to hear the entirety of his words.

Oh crap, I just said it without thinking...

"I mean, we should be prepared for such an outcome, or maybe even the worst case scenario of a total wipeout. After all, they are doing an expedition on a previously undiscovered place. Nobody knows what kind of danger awaits inside"

"I see. Thank you for your concern"

"I will go back to my tent for now"

Ainz walked back to his tent, which naturally was shared with Narberal and had been set up far away from any other tents. As the result, rumors had started to spread among the adventurers and workers alike, saying that Momon and Nabe were using the tent as some kind of love nest. Ainz didn't outright deny it since the rumors would serve to prevent any of them to pay unnecessary attention towards the place. The price of losing a bit of reputation was still worth it.

After both Ainz and Narberal entered the tent, Ainz checked the surroundings to make sure nobody was watching. Thankfully, the false rumor seemed to be effective.

"Good grief. Now I have to quickly go back into Nazarick and deal with the sudden change of plans. Narberal, I'm going to leave things here to you"

"Understood, Ainz-sama"

Ainz then shed his Momon disguise, fully returning to his own Overlord appearance. Thanks to the sudden turn of events, he had contacted Nazarick periodically, asking Albedo to change the plans. He had not wanted to prolong the contacts and risk leaking anything to outsiders, so he had not allowed Albedo to ask any questions. Therefore, he fully expected Albedo to rain him with questions when he arrived.

[Greater Teleportation]

Ainz immediately arrived at the chamber before the throne room, where he was immediately greeted by nobody else but Albedo.

"Welcome home, Ainz-sama"

"I'm back, Albedo"

Ainz looked around, seeing if there were any of the stealth sentries in the room. Indeed there were several, a standard setup for his security.

"Sentries, you are dismissed for the moment. Now leave this place"

It only took a few seconds for the sentries to disperse and leave, leaving only Ainz and Albedo in the chamber.

"So, Albedo. The intruders should have already arrived by now. Have the welcome preparations been made, with all the changes?"

"I have made sure that everything is flawless even after the change, Ainz... Momonga-sama"

Albedo made a very warm smile as she said her words, especially the last part. Ainz at first had felt a little conflicted with allowing Albedo to address him with his old name whenever there were only the two of them, but seeing her being happy like that made him sure that he had made the right decision.

"Great. I look forward to the results"

Both of them then moved into the throne room. While walking the long hallway, Ainz wondered why Albedo had not questioned him for the sudden change. It was good for him that he did not have to deal with a barrage of questions, but he couldn't help being curious about it if it didn't happen at all.

Should I inquire about it? It is merely my own curiosity, so it is unnecessary, but what if she actually has questions but doesn't dare to ask? That would be insensitive of me if I just let it pass.

In his conflicted mind, Ainz in the end decided to ask.

"Albedo..."

"Yes, Momonga-sama?"

"Don't you have questions in your mind?"

"P-Please pardon my ignorance, Momonga-sama. I seem to be unable to grasp your meaning"

"We had a plan to deal with the situation at hand, which came into play because of a preceding plan courtesy of Demiurge. However, I just suddenly asked you to change this plan without allowing you to ask-"

Ainz cut his own explanation short. He had just realized the error of his.

Oh that's it! She isn't asking me any question because I myself had not allowed it!

"M-Momonga-sama? Is there something wrong?"

Ainz then quickly answered Albedo's confusion.

"Albedo. I did not allow you to ask questions because back then I was still masquerading as Momon in the middle of those humans. Now that I am here, you may ask any questions you have regarding the sudden change of plan"

The two of them arrived right at the throne as Ainz said the word. Ainz immediately sat down on the throne while Albedo stood next to him.

"I have no questions, Momonga-sama. I believe all the changes you have made are for the greater good of Nazarick"

Ah shit, here we go again.

"Albedo, everybody in Nazarick has been told by myself that my mind is as flawed as any human out there, and you are no exception. The changes I have asked you to make are very likely to be flawed in your eyes, since everything was quickly brewed in response to a sudden unexpected turn of events. Are you sure that you have no questions?"

Albedo was wordless for a little less than ten seconds, but after that she spoke.

"Then, would Momonga-sama tell me, the reason behind the changes? I deeply apologize if this offends you in any chance, but it is outside the boundaries of my imagination that Momonga-sama would be so... merciful towards the filthy intruders stepping into Nazarick"

As Albedo said her words, a bunch of monitors viewing the groups of workers appeared in front of Ainz. Ainz paid no heed to the monitors yet, since his focus was to answer Albedo's question.

I expected that question the most.

"Yes, under normal circumstances, none of the intruders would be allowed to come back alive after stepping into Nazarick. That was the original plan. However, the circumstances are far from normal. Take a look at this group"

Ainz pointed at one of the monitors. This particular monitor was displaying the group which had Mel Rose among them. Albedo took a quick look at the monitor and immediately noticed.

"Oh, the girl from back then, coming from the same place as Ryu"

"Indeed. I have no idea how and why she is among the intruders, but it is my best interest to make her my ally in hopes of making things easier to ally with ARKS Organization once they arrive. If I stick with the original plan while sparing her, she won't take it well and complicate matters. One thing to keep in mind is that ARKS has awarded her with equipment of higher grade than Ryu, so it is quite likely that in ARKS she is a bigger shot than Ryu despite her appearance"

"I see. What a magnificent insight, Momonga-sama"

Ainz wasn't that pleased with Albedo's praise, since it was likely the way NPCs always thought of him as some kind of god despite his confession. He continued speaking anyway, paying no more heed to the praise.

"But there's something more in this group which caught my interest. You notice it, Albedo?"

"The girl next to her, isn't it?"

"Correct. She is concealing them with some low tier illusion magic, but it can be seen easily that she actually has horns and her left eye is unnaturally red"

"Perhaps some kind of demon in disguise, Momonga-sama?"

"I don't know, but I will find out. Are there any more questions, Albedo?"

"Nothing, Momonga-sama. Your answer to my previous question has assured me that you have made the decision for the greatest benefit of Nazarick"

This again...

Ainz just sighed, deciding to stop caring about the matter for the time being.

"Alright, let us watch how things are going to unfold"


[X][X][X]


Momon, or to be exact; Pandora's Actor disguising as Momon, sat idly in one side of the tent while Narberal also did the same at the other inner side of the tent. He had been ordered by Ainz to take his place as Momon the adventurer while Ainz himself remained within Nazarick to monitor the intruders. There was nothing special he had to do. He only had to take turns guarding the camp site with the adventurers. Therefore he just waited until his turn came.

After a long moment of silence, suddenly Momon heard a commotion outside. He could easily guess what was happening since he had all the information about the renewed plan, but he was supposed to be an adventurer who still didn't know anything. Therefore he stepped outside and approached the source of the commotion.

"What is happening here?"

"Oh, Momon-san. One of the teams just returned. But..."

Without letting the adventurer speak any further, Momon stepped further forward to see the returning team. From the information he had received, he could immediately recognize that the returning team was Dragon Hunt, a five-men team led by an old man in green armor; 'Green Leaf' Parpatra. However, there were only three members here including the old man. The warrior and the cleric were missing, and the ones here were far from good condition.

"What has happened to your team? Where are the other two"

"W-We were attacked by undead monsters coming out from the ground"

"They... didn't make it..."

The thief and the magic caster answered with heavy breath. They were wounded, but their wounds seemed like nothing compared to their leader, whom they had to carry with their shoulders. His green armor was smeared with red all over, and one of his legs bent to a way a human leg was never supposed to.

Momon took a vial of red liquid from his bag and splashed its content all over Parpatra. Within seconds, a magical light covered Parpatra's body and put him back into shape. Some wounds still remained, but it could be said that he was once again fit for battle.

Parpatra stood straight and still after his two comrades let him go from their shoulders. There was a silence as the other people were astonished by the healing effect of the potion, but just a few seconds later Parpatra dropped on his knees and slammed his fist on the ground.

"Goddammit!"

Parpatra's wail clearly displayed his regret. A regret of being powerless, unable to have everyone come back alive. The thief and the magic caster, ignoring their wounds, tried to comfort Parpatra. Momon then spoke to break the gloomy mood.

"From what I have seen, it seems the dangers in the ruins were too great for you to handle. Are the other teams still fighting there?"

Parpatra stood up, his face still showing regret but he had calmed down in general.

"We split up with the other team. They went further into the tomb while my team volunteered to explore the surface for possible missed secrets. We got to walk around for a few minutes, but suddenly several undead skeletons, not the regular skeleton commonly known, appeared from the ground"

"What kind of skeleton?"

"I have no idea. None of us had. They seemed to be regular skeleton warriors, but they were equipped with magic armor and weapons. We were overwhelmed and cornered but... Those two sacrificed themselves for our escape"

Parpatra was silend for a few seconds, and then he stomped his foot on the ground.

"Goddammit those two! I should have been the one doing that! I have lived my life, but they were still young with a future ahead of them!"

Another silence lasted for a few seconds before Momon spoke.

"I won't give you any wise words or such, since I believe you actually don't need any. For now, patch yourselves up and rest. Let's just hope the other teams will be as fortunate as you"

Momon then turned around and began walking away back to his tent.

"Wait, Momon-san! T-That potion was unlike anything I had ever seen! This old man can easily tell you used a secret trump card to help us! H-How much should I pay you for the potion?"

Momon stopped and turned his head to glance at Parpatra.

"I had no intention to heal you. My hand slipped and I spilled the bottle I had on my hand. You don't pay for someone else's mistake"

Without waiting for response, Momon resumed walking away from the group of people.


[X][X][X]


Ainz and Albedo was still in the throne room, watching the monitors which displayed the fates of the intruders. His attention was currently focused on the one monitoring the surface level of Nazarick.

"Two casualties from that group... They are weaker than I expected, but still within reasonable range"

Albedo, standing straight right beside Ainz, asked a question after hearing Ainz's words.

"What would you like to do with their bodies, Momonga-sama?"

Ainz diverted his eyes to a different monitor, no longer paying heed to the monitor he had previously been watching.

"Leave them there for now. Now, about this group. The original plan for the group going that way was to divide them and send some of them to Kyouhukou, Neuronist, and... ah whatever. Anyway, is the new plan working smoothly?"

"Yes, Momonga-sama. They have not suffered any casualties so far from facing a horde of POP monsters, but they have exhausted a great deal of their powers. Soon, a group of Elder Liches will be sent to scare them off towards a teleportation trap which has been set up according to the new plan"

Ainz nodded hearing Albedo's explanation, and without thinking he muttered a single word.

"Good"

"Oh!"

Albedo showed a somewhat surprised reaction. Ainz went on alert immediately, thinking that something wrong had just happened.

"What? Something wrong happened?"

"Ah... no. It's just..."

Albedo had a hesitation in her speaking.

"I felt delighted, hearing the praise from Momonga-sama..."

"Oh, you scared me for a moment there"

This time, Albedo's face showed guilt and looked grim upon hearing Ainz's words.

"M-My apologies for the disruption! It was a foolish mistake of mine, causing Momonga-sama to worry needlessly!"

Albedo frantically bowed while Ainz, with his body pose unchanging, facepalmed in his mind.

Really, do I have to be so careful in speaking any words in front of her, and likely all other Floor Guardians as well? Did they really get the message from back then that I am not to be overly revered?

"Let's just focus on the matter at hand. Now about this group... revert to the original plan. Let Hamsuke deal with this guy"

"As you command, Momonga-sama"

"Finally, about this group. The main focus and reason for all the changes of plans. I shall leave to the room planned for this matter. I will leave the rest here to you, Albedo"

Ainz stood from his throne as he said it. Albedo bowed as he began walking away.

"Understood, Momonga-sama"

Ainz walked towards the room designated for the new plan. In his mind he hoped things would go smoothly, but nevertheless he was still worried that they wouldn't.


[X][X][X]


WHOOSH!

POMF!

Another group of undead monsters had been slain by Foresight Team. They had encountered so many hostiles within the ruins, but they still showed no sign of exhaustion.

That was mainly because the two temporary members, Sheep and Rose, had been doing most of the work. Both of them had killed every hostiles they encountered with a single attack. Sheep had been using her bow which had no ammunition limit since the arrows were energy bolts materialized out of thin air, while Rose launched fireballs from her sinister-looking purple staff.

The members of Foresight couldn't help being in awe despite having witnessed the power of Sheep and Rose. Both of them had once said during some idle talk that in ARKS they were nothing special.

If such power was nothing special, how strong the strongest person in ARKS could be?

That was the single question running in the mind of every Foresight members. The existence of such a powerful country like Oracle with a military organization consisting of numerous soldiers as strong as Sheep and Rose on average sounded very daunting for them. They couldn't imagine what would happen if someday the leader of Oracle decided to declare war against the countries here. As far as their knowledge went, only Slane Theocracy and Argland Council State would possibly have a fighting chance. It was probably an irrational fear, but nobody could know what the leaders of Oracle were thinking.

Still, the team knew that right now the two ARKS walking along them were their allies, and those two had saved their lives without expecting anything in return. There was no reason to doubt them.

DRRD!

"What!?"

Suddenly, the wall next to the group slid down fast, revealing a small hidden space behind it. Right inside the small space, there were two undead monsters the Foresight team would have big trouble against: Elder Liches. In addition, it was apparent that the two Elder Liches had prepared a [Fireball] spell while being hidden by the wall before. The team had been pretty much ambushed.

"Oh crap!"

Hekkeran shouted, even though he knew that the spell launched by the Elder Liches would utterly destroy the whole team no matter how quick they could jump away from the spot. They would die there from failing to notice the surprise attack.

That was what would have happened if there were still only four of them.

BOOM!

A violent explosion happened in the dark hall of the ruins, but strangely the structure still remained perfectly intact. There was no collapsing rubble or such, though everyone's vision still got obstructed by the dust for a few seconds. Soon, the dust settled and it was known that the party members were totally unharmed. No speck of surprised expression was visible in their face. This was thanks to the defensive buff spell from Rose which she had casted and maintained since the team's first encounter with undead monsters down this dark hall. The spell had once protected them from [Grand Fireball] casted by an Evil Deity, so mere [Fireball] casted by Elder Liches was nothing.

SCHWING!

Sheep slayed one Elder Lich with a single shot from her bow, while Rose slayed the other with the spell which materialized spears of light to stab the target, the same spell which she had used to slay Piethoms.

"Good work, Sheep and Rose"

Both Sheep and Rose nodded with a smile in response to Hekkeran's words. The team was about to continue their walk through the dark hall since there was nothing of interest within the small hidden space other than the disintegrating remains of the two Elder Liches. However...

"Careful! There's still magic inside that space!"

Arche spoke her warning, and suddenly a purple magic circle materialized on the wall inside the hidden space. Without giving anyone time to react, several chains made of magic energy shot out from the magic circle and grabbed Rose, who was the closest from the magic circle. Not wasting any time, the chains quickly and forcefully dragged Rose into the circle.

"A-Aaah!"

Rose screamed as it happened. Within an instant, both the circle and Rose disappeared without a trace.

"Rose!"

Everyone shouted Rose's name and ran towards the small space, but...

DRRD!

BLAM!

The wall quickly closed with a loud banging sound. All the members of Foresight froze seeing what had just happened, while Sheep drew her bow, preparing to destroy the wall.

"No, Sheep. Even if you destroy the wall, Rose will not be there"

Sheep didn't say anything for a few seconds, but then she put her bow down and looked at Arche, the one who had just spoke.

"...Explain"

"That thing was some kind of teleportation trap. I have never seen one which could forcefully drag a specific target like that, but I'm sure Rose was simply teleported somewhere"

"What should we do then?"

Hekkeran then took the initiative to answer Sheep's question.

"We keep going forward. We will eventually run into whoever is behind this and kick their ass for messing with us!"

Hekkeran sounded very determined saying those words. His motivation was genuine.

"Took that right out of my mouth"

"Damn right, leader!"

"Count me in on that"

The other three members spoke their approval and solidarity out. Hekkeran could notice Sheep smiling a bit at this moment.

"Well, that is if Rose has not done that already by the time we get there"

"Could be. Ha! They had no idea what kind of trouble they had gotten themselves into!"

"Lead the way then, leader"

The group then continued walking down the dark hall of the ruins. They had just lost one party member, but they were still optimistic that they would reunite.


[X][X][X]


Ainz sat down behind his work desk. His arms were folded and rested comfortably on the table. There was nothing placed on the table, and there was nobody else in the room other than himself, not even stealth sentries. Right now, he had nothing to do other than waiting for an important guest whom he expected to arrive anytime soon.

WHOOSH!

BAMF!

"Ow-!"

As Ainz had expected, a magic circle materialized at the other side of the work desk right above the seat for guest and dropped the expected guest right on top of the seat. Ainz kept himself silent, intending to let her collect herself after what had just happened to her.

It only took the guest a few seconds to notice Ainz's presence.

"A-Ah, you are-"

"Welcome to my home, Mel Rose"

Ainz couldn't confirm whether Rose or Meru was the one in control of the body. Judging from the clothes, it should be Rose. But Ainz didn't want to make assumptions hastily, so he had decided to address her with their name as a whole, which he thankfully still remembered.

"Y-Your home...?"

Mel Rose responded with a question spoken with a worried facial expression. From the way she responded, Ainz could make a guess that the one controlling the body right now was Meru but still wearing Rose's clothing. The reason for such setup was not Ainz's business so he didn't bother to ask anything about that matter.

"Yes. This is The Tomb of Nazarick, the one and only home of me, Ainz Ooal Gown. Now, would you tell me why you are among those intruding my home?"

Mel Rose averted her eyes, looking downwards. She was unable to give any answers.

"I expect you to answer quickly since my automatic defense systems are fully functional, and mind you, many of them are lethal against mere humans. Depending on your answer to my later questions, I may decide to deactivate them and spare those intruders. But I can't do anything for the ones who already perished"

Mel Rose suddenly twitched for a moment upon hearing Ainz's words. She then immediately spoke.

"It's a long story. In short, I grouped up with some people and we had a job request to explore a newly discovered ruin"

At this point, Ainz could make a guess that Rose had switched with Meru and now was the one in control. Ainz felt worried a little since he remembered that his standing in Rose's eyes was not that good compared to Meru, who at least seemed to be more trusting. He continued his speech anyway.

"I see. It's human nature to be curious, but the fact still remains that Tomb of Nazarick is my home and now there are intruders trying to loot it"

"Would it satisfy you if we leave without taking anything?"

Strangely, Rose seemed to be responding better than he had expected. Ainz actually had expected her to be angry now.

"I would have been, if you haven't damaged my home and killed a number of my minions already. However, I will offer you a deal"

"What kind of deal?"

"I want you to be my ally. If you agree I will spare as many as I possibly can, if they have not been killed by my defense systems already"

"Ally?"

Rose looked confused hearing the short proposal.

"Maybe I worded it too vaguely. I simply want you to stay around within my reach, so I can contact you when needed"

"Like Ryu, you mean?"

"Yes, like him"

Rose folded her arms, seemingly thinking. Ainz couldn't tell whether she was thinking alone or conversing with Meru, whatever their method of communication was.


[X][X][X]


"What do you think, Meru?"

"I'm not sure, Rose... But if we don't accept, the others will die..."

"He really drove us into a corner, huh...?"

"I'm sorry... I should have stopped them from taking the job..."

"Don't be sorry for everything that is not your fault"

"But..."

"In any case, there is one thing we should not do"

"What is it?"

"Don't let him know that Sheep is also an ARKS"

"Oh, yeah... Perhaps you're right"

Rose was aware that right now it couldn't be confirmed whether Ainz had put Ryu under some kind of mind control or not. By taking the offer, and therefore putting herself in the same position as Ryu, she would have the chance to see if Ainz would put such thing on her sooner or later. If he knew that Sheep was also an ARKS, Ryu's sister even, he would definitely give the same offer to Sheep in a way that she wouldn't be able to refuse. If Rose's assumption about mind control was correct, in that case all three ARKS on this planet would fall into his grasp without any hope to get out of it.

With that decided, Rose nodded at Ainz.

"Alright, I will take your offer. As if I had any other choice anyway"

"A wise decision"

"So, would you let them all go now?"

"Yes, but just letting them go like that won't be entertaining, for me and them alike. I have a scenario planned to let them go, alive and well, in a magnificent way, and I need your cooperation. Are you in, Mel Rose?"

"What?"

Rose could only respond in confusion.


[X][X][X]


Afterword:

So Ainz seems to have planned a supposedly spectacular show in place of the original plan. What kind of show will he pull off? Will it be magnificent like he claims, or will it be just overrated and ordinary?

Well, in the end, it all will depend on how well I can write the coming scenario.

On an unrelated news, this fic has become quite a long runner without me knowing it. One year and a half, and still counting. Do you like long-running stories like this or smaller scale ones which end rather fast? Your answers won't change my plan for this story, so feel free to speak your opinion.

See you again later.