Hello, I'm still here and thankfully healthy. I hope all of you are as well.

Nothing lasts forever, not even the ongoing global situation. So hang in there while still being reasonably cautious. It will pass, and we will get through this.

Nevertheless, let's get on with the show. See you again in the afterword.


[X][X][X]


"Goodbye, Lily"

Ainz lowered his hand as the [Message] spell ended. Right now, he was standing in the wilderness of the grassy plains within the sixth floor of Nazarick. The Amphitheater was visible in the distance, and the forest where Aura and Mare lived was also visible at a distance in another direction. The sky was still as beautiful as always, as Blue Planet had dreamed it. Ainz wanted to enjoy the view a little more, but there was a relatively urgent matter he had to take care of.

Right next to him was the ruin of a crashed spaceship he had just teleported away from E-Rantel into this place, with the assistance of a good number of security measures and countermeasure spells to prevent as many people as possible from knowing about this. Along with the spaceship there was also a person, Guardian, who was standing leaned to the spaceship with her arms folded, staring at Ainz with narrowed eyes.

"I apologize for alarming you, but I believe the people of this planet is not quite ready to witness such a technological marvel yet"

"Yeah, but you also cut me off from my operator in the process. I bet she's now panicked out of her wits. But never mind, the link was probably about to overheat soon anyway"

Guardian shrugged as she spoke the last part. Ainz then replied without changing his tone of speech.

"I shall compensate you later, but for the time being I would like to talk with you about a few things, if you are not too exhausted yet"

"Well, alright"

Ainz then pulled a bench from his inventory. Its appearance was just like a standard, garden-variety wooden bench, but it was actually a magic item which was activated when sat on by exactly two people. Once the bench was active, when one person said anything, only the other person could hear them no matter how loud they spoke. The effect could easily be replicated with a simple spell or a cheap scroll, but Ainz simply wanted to have something to sit on with Guardian while saving one security measure while at it.

"Sit here"

Without saying a word, Guardian sat down on the bench right after Ainz did so. The bench didn't show any visual sign of activation, but that was exactly how it was made. The security measure was actually unnecessary because this place was within the depths of Nazarick, but Aura and Mare were around standing guard, and one of the topics Ainz wanted to talk to Guardian about was not something he wanted any other Nazarick denizens to overhear, not even his trusted Floor Guardians.

"I did not get to see what exactly happened back there, so I would like you to tell me why you suddenly got a ship to bring you all the way back to E-Rantel and why it fell down upon arrival"

Guardian put one leg over the other and folded her arms before she began speaking her answer out.

"My operator, her name's Xiera by the way, informed me that there was a Dark Falz attack on that city, so she sent us a hastily-calibrated Fighter ship to transport us there. The abnormal photons got the better of it in the end, though"

"I see. Speaking about which, how did you manage to establish communication?"

"Heh, Xiera gets angsty about her cup size, easily agitated, and is a chronic peeper. But I never doubt her skills when it comes to this"

Ehh, ARKS is really filled with weirdos...

"Still, the link she managed to establish can only work on one person at a time, and not for long until it needs cooling down"

"Hmm, I neglected to ask this the last time we talked. If you got here by yourself, does that mean an ARKS ship is somewhere nearby?"

"Yeah, parked behind the moon and pretty badly damaged after a major battle. We are prioritizing repairs before working around this planet's photons"

Wha-? So right now everybody on this world could look at the moon and not realize that a gargantuan spaceship is right behind it?

"A-Anyway. I happened to overhear something when you talked with Ryu back then and..."

Ainz was briefly silent, and then he took a deep breath. The question he was about to ask Guardian would probably be a very major topic which could change everything about his views and goals.

"I am curious about this planet you called... Earth"

"What about it? To us it is just another planet which we put surveillance on and assist as necessary when Phantom-related problems arise. Well, I made some friends there, but that's all about it"

"What is your general impression about the civilization there?"

"Hmm? Eh, it's alright. Their technology is much more advanced than this planet though still far behind ARKS, but thanks to ether it rivals ours in one aspect; communication. Every civilian just lived in the relatively similar fashion as the civilians of ARKS. School, work, all that stuff"

Hmm, I guess it's not the Earth I know. Just a planet which coincidentally has the same name.

"The friends I made there are some high school students from a city named Tokyo"

At the moment Ainz heard the last word, he turned his head to Guardian in a speed which would sprain the neck of any normal human. His mouth also went agape while this was happening. The sudden action startled her, she almost jumped from the bench.

"W-What? Did I just say something I shouldn't have?"

"N-No, but the name of the city... Could you name other cities or countries on Earth you know?"

Guardian went back into relaxed posture after hearing Ainz, and then she began speaking her answer.

"Well, Tokyo is in a country named Japan, then there is Las Vegas in America, and London..."

Ainz could not hold his jaw from dropping even further hearing Guardian's words, it dropped to the point it looked like it could come off anytime.

It's really my Earth! B-But how!? Earth is supposed to be a garbage world covered in eternal smog, where nobody but the rich could afford education beyond elementary!

While Ainz was highly distracted by the reveal he had just heard, Guardian narrowed her eyes and spoke again.

"My apologies beforehand for the assumption, but... are you actually an Earthling?"

Guardian's question made Ainz felt as if he was stabbed by divine blades from every directions at once. He was so overwhelmed, he couldn't think up what to say next. All that popped up within his mind were questions of whether talking with Guardian like this had been a huge mistake.

Thankfully, his emotion suppressor came to his rescue again and he was glad for it. He immediately spoke up with his default, straight tone of speech.

"What made you come up with that conclusion?"

"To begin with, you were interested in Earth, and then your reaction when I mentioned Tokyo and other cities was... very prominent. Moreover, as far as I can observe, your condition matches the people of level 1 ether aptitude"

Ainz had no idea at all about the last part. He was not fully sure if inquiring further would be a good idea, but with the current state he might as well go for it.

Might as well jump into the water if you're already wet, like they say.

"I have no idea about what you just told me, so I need you to elaborate"

"Hmm, then I guess I have to tell you about how Earth could link to our universe"

Guardian took a single, deep breath before she began telling her story.

"On Earth, there is a very popular video game titled Phantasy Star Online 2. Players of the game play as an ARKS operative going on missions and completing quests to grow stronger and take on higher challenges. However, we later found out that the game was part of a conspiracy utilizing ether to classify the ether aptitude of people. To put it simply, people with no ether aptitude will play by remotely controlling their game body, called avatar, with the gaming device. People with level 1 aptitude become the avatar and move around like moving their own body, and people with level 2 aptitude play with their own body in the game, eliminating the need of an avatar. The ones behind the conspiracy sought out those who had level 2 aptitude"

Guardian stopped to take a breath while Ainz froze up hearing everything. Guardian didn't notice, so she resumed her speech.

"Regardless of which case, the so-called game actually utilizes ether to cross dimension and embody the players within ARKS, or full transfers in the case of level 2 aptitude, and so we had a surge of unregistered ARKS operatives roaming around and doing works. Therefore I was sent to investigate the matter. The rest is a long story which I think is irrelevant to you"

Guardian turned her head to Ainz, stared at him for a brief moment, and resumed speaking.

"Since this body of yours should be an avatar, I assumed that you are an Earthling of level 1 aptitude. But I apologize if I've been wrong"

Ainz didn't respond to Guardian's words. His mind was going into overdrive thinking how he should follow up to everything which had been revealed to him within such a short time. He didn't want to repeat the history of spilling everything to Ryu back then which he had regretted later and subsequently made him spend a great deal of mana to correct. In the end, he came up into a decision within a few seconds and spoke.

"Guardian. I believe you are correct, but just partially. I am indeed a former Earthling, but the Earth I came from is very likely not the same Earth in your knowledge"

Guardian put her hand on her chin and narrowed her eyes once again.

"I see. There's already a mirror dimension which has its own ARKS, so it is very possible that there is a different mirror dimension with its own Earth as well"

Ainz nodded before he began speaking again.

"I will not speak further than that for my own reasons, and I would appreciate it if you keep the fact that I am a former Earthling just to yourself. Nobody else, not even the subordinates I trust with my unlife, knows this fact, and nobody else will"

"Eh, but what about those two who have been keeping their eyes on me?"

Guardian looked forward, taking notice of Aura and Mare who were standing at a stone's throw distance away.

"No worries, I have arranged a magic spell which makes our conversation exclusive to us alone as long as we both are sitting on this bench"

Hearing Ainz, Guardian looked down on the bench she was still sitting on and gave it a few taps with her palm.

"Huh. Neat. In that case... I have a question which is kinda... private. If you would allow me"

"Hmm? Go ahead and ask"

Guardian was briefly silent, taking a deep breath and trying to look at Ainz directly in his eyes before speaking out.

"Back then, when you asked about my reason for going so far for Rose's sake, were you actually testing me?"

Eh? What? Testing her for what?

Ainz couldn't immediately answer because he had no idea at all about what Guardian meant. His lack of response seemed to prompt Guardian into narrowing her eyes slightly, and she resumed speaking by asking another question.

"What would you have done, if I have answered differently?"

Nothing! I was merely curious!

Ainz wanted to answer it just like that, but he knew that giving such answer would make him look as if he was making a fool of Guardian, and he didn't want to risk putting a dent on his effort to establish an alliance with ARKS. Even though there was no definite confirmation from her yet, Ainz could easily guess from the available information so far that Guardian was a big shot within ARKS. Possibly one of the top echelons, even. Knowing that, Ainz responded in a way which he hoped would help him evade the worst outcome.

"That depends on how differently your answer could have been"

Guardian slightly smiled upon hearing Ainz's words, and then she spoke in a rather relieved tone.

"I see. Now I understand your intention, and I'm glad that it seems I have passed the test"

Again! What test!? Argh, screw it! I'll just play along!

"Uhh, yeah. I am also glad that you have splendidly met my expectations"

Ainz didn't want this exchange to continue any further, so he quickly thought about a question to divert the topic.

"By the way, I want to ask one more question about the Earth you know about. What was the year of their calendar?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's A.D. 2028"

Ainz put his hand on his chin after hearing Guardian's answer.

110 years before my present time, huh? While the chance is slim, I might want to give this Earth a visit someday, with the help from ARKS...

After having a brief inner thought, Ainz spoke to Guardian.

"I see. Let us end this conversation, because I have heard what I wanted to hear. I shall later give you proper compensation for the information you have shared with me"

"Eh, you don't need to. It was not a big deal"

Without paying much heed to Guardian's denial, Ainz stood up from the bench and Guardian also followed suit. He then put the bench back into his inventory, and spoke to Guardian once he was done.

"I shall lend you a room to rest for the night. This ship can stay here for now, if the two of you don't mind, that is"

Ainz turned his head to Aura and Mare as he spoke the last part. Both of them showed a reaction at the same time.

"If it is by Ainz-sama's command, we won't mind at all! Right?"

Aura cheerfully spoke, coiling her arm around Mare's neck at the last bit of her speech.

"Y-Yes... Of course...!"

[Gate]

Ainz conjured a portal to the 9th floor where he would let Guardian use one of the guest bedrooms. While walking towards the portal, Ainz let out a huge imaginary sigh inside his mind. He was already beyond his limits in mental fatigue, but all the worlds seemed to be adamant in not letting him have a break.


[X][X][X]


Ryu woke up feeling not really rested. After all, so many things had happened within the span of a single day. He still wanted to sleep some more, but the others had woken up and doing so would be embarrassing.

"Alright, let's have breakfast before we go"

The group went downstairs to the restaurant of Shining Golden Pavilion. The breakfast today was arranged buffet-style where various assortments of food were lined up at one section of the room for the guests to take as they liked. In order to enter the buffet without an admission fee, Ryu had to show the key of his room to the attendant standing by the entrance. However, Ryu had been staying here for long enough that the attendant immediately let his group in upon seeing them.

Ryu still prepared five silver coins from his coin pouch, though. Because he was aware of the additional members in his team.

"My group has two new additions like yesterday, so here's for them"

Ryu spoke as he handed the coins to the attendants. However, the attendant shook his head.

"Don't worry, Ryu-dono. The owner has granted them free admission to the breakfast buffet from today on"

"Oh, then please tell him my gratitude"

"Certainly"

The attendant bowed as Ryu's group entered. The meals provided in the restaurant was very grand according to the standards of the locals, and Ryu agreed with that, although the dishes were still not as great as the ones he had been provided with back then in Nazarick. Still, the fact still remained that everything he could eat here were much better than his daily meals back in ARKS, so he just enjoyed the privilege while he still could, and the others seemed to be in the same line of thought.

While the group was having their meals, Ryu spoke to Alice.

"By the way, Liz"

"Hmm?"

"Should we take Janus along later?"

"I'm not even sure if we can get into contact with him again. I mean, he said that he would patrol the walls, but how are we gonna find him with how big E-Rantel is? Moreover, hiding in the shadows is his forte even in broad daylight"

"Hmm, yeah, you have a point. I guess we just go after this?"

"I think so"

There was no further conversation other than some minor idle talk. About twenty minutes later, the group left the Shining Golden Pavilion building, exchanged some nods, and flew upwards.

Once they were at a high enough altitude, Alice casted a wind protection spell and took her map out from her magic bag. She took less than one minute of looking at the map and her surroundings until she pointed to a direction.

"Should be around that way"

"Alright, let's go"

Everyone else nodded again after hearing Ryu, and the group as a whole flew straight towards the direction pointed by Alice. While flying, Ryu suddenly remembered that with the whole group going away, the city became essentially unprotected if Elder decided to attack again.

Uh oh, I hope this won't take too long.

Slightly over one hour later, the group slowed down their flight. They noticed the array of ruins below, which was surrounded by slightly elevated land. Ryu remembered that those buildings were indeed the tomb he had entered way back then, accompanied by Sebas and Narberal. Back then the elevated land had not been there yet, but Ryu didn't want to think about it further.

"Yeah, that's Nazarick. So it's actually not too far from Carne Village, huh?"

"You already knew?"

Rose tilted her head while looking at Ryu. Ryu nodded in response before speaking.

"I just remembered that I actually had entered from the surface once, the first day I arrived on this planet. Though I left by the portal spell, so I kinda forgot"

"Hmm, okay"

Before the conversation could go any further, a familiar portal appeared just a few meters ahead from the group's position. Nobody there showed any reaction other than turning their heads towards the portal with their facial expressions unchanging.

"Well, it's his home, so he must have some kind of radar"

Ryu spoke while shrugging, and the others responded with dry approval. Without hesitation, the group flew into the portal, and what they saw at the other side was the guest bedroom where they had slept before. It could be the very same room, or a different room with similar interior setup, but the most important matter for the group right now was the fact that both Ainz and Guardian were there, sitting on chairs facing each other over the dining table. Ainz's head was turned towards the group, and the same applied with Guardian.

"Welcome to Nazarick again, Ignite Maximus Team"

Ainz welcomed the group by greeting them with a straight tone of speech.

"Thank you, Ainz-dono. Also, sorry for coming without notice"

"Shed your worries, I expected you to come here sooner or later after I pulled Guardian here all so suddenly last night, so you did not bother me in the slightest"

"Good to hear. So..."

Before Ryu could speak further, Rose suddenly spoke up.

"What were you two doing here?"

Guardian was the one answering in response.

"Nothing important, just some morning talk after I've had my breakfast"

Ainz then quickly spoke after Guardian's reply.

"Now that everybody is here once again, let us sit down and talk about things which happened yesterday"

Ryu's group looked at each other, each member giving either a nod or a shrug. In the end, one minute later everybody sat around the dining table along with Ainz and Guardian. Ainz cleared his throat before he began speaking.

"Alright, first thing first, I want to ask something to you"

Since Ainz's head was turned towards Ryu, he reacted by putting his right hand on his own chest, clearly asking to confirm it Ainz meant to ask him. Seeing this, Ainz nodded and resumed his speech.

"Do they already know about my other...?"

Ainz glanced at Rose and Hikaru, which prompted them to tilt their heads in confusion. Hikaru immediately inquired about it to Ryu in response.

"Oniichan, there's something you still haven't told us yet?"

"Uhh, yeah. I just thought that it might be better if Ainz tells you both himself rather than me blowing it"

Both Rose and Hikaru immediately turned their heads towards Ainz, expecting him to speak what he was meaning to speak about.

"Alright, then I should just keep this quick and simple..."

Ainz let out a sigh and didn't speak a word for ten full seconds until he finally broke the silence.

"...Momon of Darkness is me"

There was a strange lack of reaction from both Hikaru and Rose, although Ryu could easily notice that they clearly were still letting the information sink in, especially Rose whose mouth was widely agape.

"Wait wait wait, WHAT!?"

Rose stood up from her seat as she broke the silence. Without any further words, she rolled her eyes and fell back down to her seat with a sigh. Meanwhile, Hikaru spoke up with a straight tone of speech.

"So, the Momon guarding the camp back then was a Doppelganger like the ones we fought?"

"Only Momon, indeed. Nabe was still the real one"

"Nobody else knows this?"

"My plan at the beginning was to keep nobody outside myself and my trusted subordinates from knowing, but a lot of things happened. However, I still do not wish for more people to know. Therefore, I expect all of you to keep the fact to yourselves"

Hikaru didn't speak in response to Ainz's words. She put her hand over her chin while gazing at Ainz with narrowed eyes.

"What has the masquerade been for?"

"Well, that is..."

"To watch over me!"

Lily suddenly intervened with her usual cheerful and excited tone of speech when Ainz was about to tell his answer.

"Papa sent me to accompany Ryu-san alone, but he still watched over me in secret! Whenever I got in too much trouble, Papa always helped me! Please don't think bad about Papa, Rose-san, Hikaru-san!"

Ainz looked at Lily before he spoke soon after.

"Lily, I appreciate that you are trying to defend me, but there was no need for you to do that. I would give my answer in any case"

"Teehee, sorry..."

Lily put her hand behind her head, which was a clear posture of being embarrassed. Not paying much heed, Ainz glanced at Rose and Hikaru and began speaking.

"I simply wanted to see how the civilization in this world works and experience part of it myself. It should be obvious that this physical nature of mine would need some sort of disguise, no?"

"Right..."

Hikaru responded with just one word with narrowed eyes and her arms folded.

"But even with my powers limited as Momon, I still ended up being significantly stronger than the people of this world. So as a result I quickly climbed the adventurer ranks. That is all I can say about this matter"

"Hey, I wonder what happened to some workers who didn't return to the camp?"

Rose suddenly asked right after Ainz finished his speech. Without being fazed, Ainz replied with a straight tone of speech.

"If you meant Erya, he perished to Nazarick's defense system. As for his slaves, they survived and are now under the care of my subordinates"

"Heh, good riddance"

Rose grinned a bit as she spoke, and Hikaru nodded slightly in accordance. Ryu was a little confused, so he spoke up.

"I have no idea about the person mentioned just now, but hearing that he had slaves I'm guessing he was not a likable person"

"Daaamn straight!"

"Totally..."

Ryu just gave a wry smile hearing both the replies from Rose and Hikaru. Seemingly noticing the somewhat awkward situation, Ainz quickly spoke up.

"Let us put that aside. What I would like to know for the time being is your plan for your future course of action, now that Guardian seems to have taken care of her business in Slane Theocracy"

Ryu went into a thinking posture briefly before he began speaking.

"Well, E-Rantel was attacked by Elder, so I plan to stay on guard there for a while and take Adventurer jobs that might be related to Darkers while at it"

"I see. What about Guardian? Do you plan to take her along?"

Ryu looked at Guardian briefly before he looked back at Ainz and gave his answer.

"I don't have any authority over her, so whether she wants to come along with us or not is her call"

"I see. Guardian, do you want to say something about that?"

Guardian folded her arms and briefly pondered before she spoke out while looking at Ryu.

"So, as someone most experienced in living with the locals of this planet, what bad things can happen if I go along with you, in your opinion?"

"Probably nothing significant. We can tell them that you are Rose's twin sister, and the worst that can happen is probably just some rumor. Being classified as Adamantite Rank Adventurer really helps"

"I see. I'll be in your care then"

Ryu nodded, and then Ainz spoke.

"Now that it is settled, I would like to know about the crashed ship. What are your plans regarding it?"

"Eh, I was about to destroy it anyway. I can dispose of it for you before leaving, if you want me to"

"Hmm? In that case, may I... I mean, may Nazarick have it and make use of it?"

"Sure, if you think that pile of scrap metal is gonna be useful for you"

"You have my gratitude. Come to think of it..."

Ainz conjured a small portal and inserted his hand into it, and then he pulled out a familiar necklace and handed it to Alice.

"This is for Guardian, but since she still has yours I'm giving this to you instead"

"Thank you"

Alice received the new Flight Necklace, and Ainz looked at Ryu once again before speaking.

"I have no more questions. Are there any questions from any of you?"

Guardian raised her hand a bit slowly, and Ainz noticed it. He nodded as a sign of approval.

"What is your motive for allying with ARKS? I mean, I'm glad to have a strong ally, but I believe you are expecting something from us in return, aren't you?"

"Good question, but in truth, the answer can be summed up into one word; Benefit"

Ainz stopped briefly to clear his throat before he began the more elaborate explanation.

"From what I have learned so far about Darkers and Dark Falz, they are bringers of destruction who annihilate anything without care, while I plan to eventually expand my territory, bringing peace and prosperity under my flag. Darkers are obstacles getting in the way of my goal, and ARKS is an organization specialized in exterminating them. If by simply allying myself with ARKS I can outsource the pest control for basically negligible cost, there's no reason not to do that, no?"

Guardian folded her arms again, leaned to her seat, and let out a small sigh.

"Yeah, you have a point. But keep in mind that ARKS will refuse to be involved in major conflicts unrelated to Darkers"

Ainz nodded as a response.

"Your remark is duly noted. Any more questions?"

The others looked at each other briefly, and everybody shook their head as their eyes met. Ainz noticed their gestures, and therefore he spoke.

"It seems there are no more questions. Then, I shall send you back, unless any of you still have something to do here"

Once again, the others looked at each other and shook their heads subsequently. Ainz nodded seeing that, and so he raised his hand and conjured a portal. Everyone stood up from their seats as the portal materialized, and Ryu put his hand forward toward Ainz, offering a handshake, which Ainz accepted without any sign of hesitation.

"Until we meet again, Ainz-dono"

"Until we meet again, indeed"

As the two shook hands, Rose nonchalantly walked into the portal. Ainz quickly turned his head towards the portal as he noticed it.

"Ah, wait-!"

It was a little too late because Rose had already disappeared from view as Ainz spoke. Everyone else looked at Ainz in confusion, and Ryu was the first to inquire.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah, I should have said earlier that the portal doesn't lead to the usual spot. I figured that now all of you can fly..."

Hearing what Ainz had just said, Hikaru facepalmed hard while Guardian and Alice rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, Lily immediately ran into the portal and disappeared from view as well.

"Guess we should go, then"

Ryu shrugged as he said that, then he walked into the portal after giving Ainz a quick goodbye gesture. The others followed right behind him, and as it had been implied, the other side of the portal was located high in the sky. The moment he walked out of the portal, his foot stepped on thin air and he immediately felt the sensation of falling, which was still quite panic-inducing even though he had expected it and ARKS operatives were generally used to this kind of thing, supposedly. Perhaps not using the Gate Ship for a while had dulled his readiness.

Ryu didn't activate his Flight Necklace right away since the ground, which he could quickly recognize as E-Rantel, was still quite far away. Instead, he repositioned his body into a straight vertical diving posture, causing his falling speed to accelerate.

Soon after, Ryu noticed Lily and Rose down below, holding each other's hands. Ryu repositioned his body again to make himself fall slower and maintain the same level as the other two. At this point, Ryu could easily see that Rose was pouting.

"This is why I don't trust him"

"Well, at least this is faster than going home from that spot"

"Yeah, whatever"

Less than one minute later, everyone slowed their fall with their respective flight spell and landed on the ground smoothly on their feet. Some citizens glanced at them, but nobody among those citizens paid any more heed than that. The group didn't care about the brief gazes as well.

Ryu looked around to see where they had landed within the city, and he immediately spoke upon noticing something.

"Well, we are right in front of our inn. What a convenient coincidence"

"Heh, so what now?"

Guardian asked with her arms folded.

"Well, now that there are six of us, I'm thinking of renting another room in the inn"

"Do you have enough local money for that?"

"More than enough"

Ryu then entered the building of Shining Golden Pavilion, with the others following behind. He still had no idea for how much longer he would be staying on this planet, but now that there was someone in the group with a working communication link to an ARKS ship, he felt that it would happen quite soon.


[X][X][X]


Palace of Slane Theocracy. High noon. A couple days after present time.

"Thank you for coming, Raymond"

"It was no problem, Your Excellency"

Raymond Zarg Lauransan, the Cardinal of Earth, respectfully bowed to the Pontifex Maximus who was sitting behind his work desk. His body was slightly leaning forward and his hands were cupped in front. For Raymond, the Pontifex's body posture was a clear sign that he was currently concerned about something.

"Take a seat there"

Raymond nodded hearing the Pontifex's words, and he sat down on the seat in front of the desk, which had several stacks of paper on either side. Raymond glanced at both sides briefly before he spoke up.

"What is the matter you are concerned about?"

The Pontifex smiled a little with his eyes slightly narrowed before he replied.

"You know me well. The truth is, some reports from our abroad informants have just come in, and some of the contents are... interesting"

"Hmm? Let me have a brief look"

The Pontifex nodded, and he handed a few sheets from one of the stacks to Raymond, who then took a few minutes to read through them quickly.

"So Ryu Seika has a sister... who has dragon blood running through her veins?"

"Hmm, and the description of her looks mentions that she has multiple pairs of horns growing on her head, and one of her eyes is bright red"

Raymond narrowed his eyes a little after hearing what the Pontifex had just said.

"Common folks will immediately assume her a demon with that kind of look. But nevertheless, it says here that she was like that because she was once kidnapped and used as a subject for cruel experiments"

The Pontifex shrugged slightly upon hearing Raymond's remark, and then he immediately spoke.

"That is the news floating around the people there. The real truth is up in the air, because for all we know, it might be a fabricated backstory made by the angels for their covert mission purposes"

"Hmm, true..."

Raymond put the sheets down onto the desk, folded his arms, and leaned to his seat. The Pontifex then spoke again.

"What I can't wrap around my head until now is the bit which says that Ryu's sister arrived along with someone else, whose physical description matches with Guardian Angel"

"What about it?"

The Pontifex was briefly silent before he spoke to answer Raymond's question.

"The date of the arrival is the night of the same day when Guardian Angel was still asleep inside the confinement chamber"

"Oh... the implications... there are many possibilities. Could be a twin sister, impostor, or Guardian Angel herself having the ability to exist in multiple places at once"

The Pontifex lowered his head, putting his hands over it. Without changing his posture any further, he spoke.

"And none of us can inquire about it because Guardian Angel isn't here anymore. Well, even if she is still here, inquiring about it might put their covert mission in jeopardy. Being unable to get answers really sucks, don't you think, Raymond?"

"Yes, quite. So, what do you need me here for?"

"Nothing important. I just wanted to let loose a bit by verbally discussing this with less formal speech. I know I can rely on you when it comes to this"

Raymond smiled with a slight chuckle hearing The Pontifex's answer.

"By the way, Raymond. How's the repair work going?"

"So far it is right on schedule, the buildings should be as good as new by the next three days as previously planned"

The Pontifex sported a prideful smile as he heard Raymond's answer.

"Magic sure is convenient, but good work nevertheless"

"Thank you"

"Also..."

The Pontifex leaned forward before speaking to Raymond in a lower voice than before.

"How is she? Have you confirmed that she has received Guardian Angel's blessing?"

"Ahh... yes. She indeed now can use the same attack moves used by Guardian Angel back then. Those moves are notably stronger than all the moves she knew, barring her own trump card that is"

The Pontifex leaned back to his seat after hearing Raymond's answer.

"I wonder why Guardian Angel chose to bless our Godkin with even more power. Could it be that... an even greater danger is looming around, so Guardian Angel decided that we would need all the help we could get?"

Raymond and The Pontifex looked at each other with their eyes narrowed. They both could feel some chills running down their spine amidst the nearly total silence within the room.

Half a minute later, Raymond finally broke the silence.

"I honestly can't imagine what kind of impact we will suffer, should a threat too big for our Godkins to overcome emerges"

"Indeed, Raymond. But with so many things happening up to now, we can't simply shake the possibility off. I mean, Sunlight Scripture was annihilated by a single magic caster, then Black Scripture suffered casualties by the hands of a mysterious vampire, which was later slain by a single Adventurer team consisting of just two members, from whom we also got information that there is another vampire of comparable strength..."

The Pontifex let out a deep sigh before he spoke again with his eyes straight at Raymond's.

"...Moreover, now is about the time, isn't it?"

Raymond furrowed his brows and put his hand over his bearded chin before replying to The Pontifex.

"Yes, indeed. The once-every-century Advent of The Gods... Come to think of it, isn't it very possible that the covert mission of the angels are related to this?"

"You have a point, Raymond. But for now, I think we shouldn't think too hard about it, and just be grateful for the blessings granted to us in preparation for what's to come"

"Indeed"

Raymond spoke his approval with his head slightly lowered and his eyes gazing at the flat surface of the desk. A complete silence enveloped the room once again.


[X][X][X]


Afterword:

Now Ignite Maximus team has just expanded again with the addition of Guardian into the team, but none of them knew yet about the primary objective of Janus, and also the fact that there are others with their own investigation missions. Will they ever encounter each other, and what would be their response once that really happens?

That will be the story of another chapter, so see you again in two weeks.