Hello again.

I won't repeat myself about the ongoing situation. I'm simply hoping for the best.

The show still goes on, at least.


[X][X][X]


Shining Golden Pavilion Main Lobby. Present Time.

As Ryu walked into the lobby of the Shining Golden Pavilion, the others of the group followed behind. Some random staff members nearby could be noticed having confused expressions, their eyes glancing at two different persons whom Ryu could easily guess to be Rose and Guardian even without looking. Not paying any heed to them, Ryu walked straight to the front desk, where a male receptionist welcomed him professionally despite showing the same confused expression for a very brief moment.

"How may I serve you, sir?"

"I would like to rent an additional room, preferably close to my existing room"

"Certainly, sir. Let me check the availability for you"

Ryu replied with a nod as the receptionist sat down to retrieve a log book and then opened it. It only took him about half a minute until he smiled and stood up before speaking to Ryu.

"You are in luck, sir. The room right across yours is available"

"Great. I will rent that room, then. One month in advance like my existing room"

As Ryu said it, he pulled his coin pouch from his photon inventory behind his coat and took several platinum coins. He then handed them to the receptionist, who received it and wrote a receipt.

"Please wait while we prepare the room. You may use the lounge or the restaurant free of charge"

The receptionist said it while handing the written receipt, which Ryu received and put into his coat.

"I will leave for a while and return later today"

"Have a safe trip, sir"

The receptionist bowed as Ryu turned to the rest of his group.

"Well, now that it's been taken care of, let's go to the guild and register Guardian as well. Though I bet this time it won't be as quickly as you two"

Ryu's eyes were on Rose and Hikaru as he said the last part. Both of them shrugged, clearly displaying that they didn't care much about the coming course of action.

"Is it really necessary?"

Guardian asked with one arm on her hip and her face straight. Seeing her like that, Ryu couldn't help smiling a little because he felt that he saw Rose in Guardian.

"Necessary, maybe not. But it helps in a lot of things in life while we wait for ARKS to come safely instead of getting stranded like us here"

"Hmm, alright. I see no loss in that. Lead me there, then"

Since nobody disagreed, the group soon left the Shining Golden Pavilion building and headed towards the Adventurer's Guild. Thanks to everybody being able to fly, they would arrive within a few minutes. However...

"Hey, look there"

Alice spoke to Ryu while pointing to a direction slightly to the left. Ryu turned his head, and he immediately saw a familiar man standing on the roof of one of the buildings.

"Isn't that Janus?"

"Yeah"

"Let's approach him and see if we can talk with him again"

Ryu gave a hand gesture to the rest of the group to slow down, and then pointed at Janus. Understanding the notion, everybody turned their flight and approached Janus, who seemed to be expecting them.

"What are you doing here?"

Ryu was the first to talk by asking the question. Janus folded his arms and replied with a straight tone of speech.

"I figured if I wait somewhere between the guild and the city's most luxurious inn I would encounter you all sooner or later"

Right after saying that, Janus jumped down to the small alley next to the building, and the group followed. The alley below had no other people walking around and the atmosphere gave off the vibe that muggers could jump out of a corner anytime. Thankfully the sun was currently in the right position to provide ample illumination.

As Ryu and the rest of his group landed on the ground, Ryu spoke to Janus.

"So you were waiting for us. What do you need?"

"You remember that I came here to investigate something, don't you? I want to ask a few questions regarding that, if you don't mind"

"Sure, what-"

"No!"

Ryu's approval was cut short by several persons intervening simultaneously. Being startled, he looked back. It seemed the ones intervening were Hikaru, Rose, Alice, and Guardian.

"You can't just agree right away in this kind of place, oniichan!"

"Really, you're the kind of guy scammers love"

"We're professional adventurers. Act like one, even though he's my own father"

"Right, you have to- Wait, he's your father?"

Guardian quickly turned her head to Alice. Ryu was a little surprised that Guardian didn't know yet, but then he remembered that back then when Janus had been introduced to the group by Alice, Guardian had been busy talking with Xiera.

"Foster father, but yeah"

Ryu folded his arms and gave the situation a little thought. Before he could come up with a decision, Janus laughed a little and spoke.

"Leader by circumstances, really. In any case, your partners are right. Let's get back to the main road"

Everybody soon walked back to the main road where civilians came and went, doing each their own business. The group stopped at a spot where it looked like standing around and talking wouldn't bother other people too much.

"So what do you say?"

Janus asked the question, and Ryu replied with an answer he had come up with while walking.

"Depending on what the questions are, we might answer for free or put on a price tag. You might as well put on a request by name at the guild if you need our help at your investigation"

"Hmm, I'll think about it. But anyway, where were you going when you saw me?"

"The guild. We intend to register Guardian since we will be staying here for a while"

"I see. Hmm..."

Janus lowered his head and folded his arms. He then spoke again after a few seconds of thinking.

"Hey, can I join your team, as a temporary?"

Ryu was a bit startled, and then he glanced at the others. Everybody other than Lily shook their head in denial, and Ryu could quickly understand their main concern. Another local addition to the team meant another local person who would eventually know about the team's alliance with Ainz, which would eventually lead to knowing that Ainz and Momon were the same. Even though the person in question was Alice's father, right now was still too soon for that.

"Unfortunately I have to refuse. The team is already jam-packed enough that I had to rent an additional room at the inn this morning"

"I see. Too bad, then"

"But if you feel like registering as a separate team, I can vouch for your capability and hopefully they will let you start not from the lowest rank"

"Nah, I'm good. Though I wonder, how did Alice end up joining your team?"

Before Ryu could answer, Alice immediately spoke in response to the question.

"Ryu and Lily took me in when my team got wiped out"

"Ah, okay..."

There was a brief silence before Janus spoke again.

"Oh, I shouldn't take too much of your time. I'll take my leave"

"It shouldn't be hard to find us again if you need it"

Ryu offered a handshake as he spoke, and Janus accepted it.

"Right. Goodbye for now"

Janus then turned back to the alley and disappeared from view as he walked into it. Ryu's group then resumed their flight to the guild and arrived there a few minutes later.

As the group entered the guild building, several other adventurers inside glanced at them briefly, before going back to their business. However, about half of them immediately looked back at the group with their eyes widened, and kept staring at them with confused looks on their faces. Ryu and the others paid no heed to it, knowing that the confusion was because there were two Roses now.

"H-Hi! How may I serve you?"

The lady working as one of the receptionists greeted Ryu professionally upon being approached, although she stuttered a little and her eyes sometimes glanced at Guardian.

"As you can see, my team expanded again and I'd like to register the new addition into the team"

"I-I see. We will handle the necessary documentation. In the meantime, the guildmaster wishes to see you if you have the time"

"Very well. I'll go see him then"

Ryu then turned his head to Alice before speaking again.

"Liz, please help Guardian while I go see the Guildmaster"

"Alright"

"The rest can follow me or accompany them. Your call"

As Ryu later walked past the receptionist, Lily and Hikaru followed behind him. Once he arrived in front of the Guildmaster's office, he knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Ryu opened the door upon hearing the voice coming from the other side. As it opened wide, Ryu walked into the room, but his steps immediately came to a full stop upon seeing something.

Rakheshir was there too, looking over his shoulders, and now their eyes met.

From his position of sitting across Ainzach's desk, the visible stacks of paper on top, and his hand holding one sheet, it could be assumed that they were having some serious discussions. Probably about the Dark Falz attack the night before. It was only natural, since the Guildmasters of both the Adventurer's and Magician's Guild had close ties.

But still, Ryu felt something building up inside. His chest began to heat up, his breath drawing short, and a tingling sensation engulfed him all over his body. His rage from that time was resurfacing, and if left as is he would eventually lash out at Rakheshir even though the matter in question was no longer relevant by now.

Ryu knew full well that this was not a good thing. It was immature to hold on to a grudge, especially with the fact that the other party had apologized genuinely for their ignorance. But the feeling of rage still welled up inside anyway, and he couldn't keep it in control no matter how hard he was trying to.

Rakheshir seemed to notice the situation, and so he stood up from the chair he was sitting on.

"Ah, sorry. I guess I should leav-"

Smack!

Thud!

Suddenly, Ryu fell forward, hitting the floor face first. Both Ainzach and Rakheshir, and also Lily, were surprised seeing what had just happened.

Hikaru had just kicked Ryu from behind.

"Ow, what was the big idea?"

Ryu stood up from the floor while rubbing his behind and nose with each hand. Hikaru just glared at him with her arms folded as she spoke her answer out.

"Dummy oniichan, I never asked you to hold a grudge for me"

Hikaru's death glare was like a rain of daggers stabbing directly at his chest. Within an instant he felt cold and shivered even though the room was nowhere near cold. He tried to say something...

"But-"

...which was soon cut off by Hikaru.

"You're always like that, taking me for a child you must defend at all cost, including making the entire world your enemy if need be. For Falz sake, I don't need any of that!"

Hikaru shouted the last part loud, stunning everyone else in the room. After a brief silence, she resumed speaking.

"I would have agreed with you if he had done it with malicious intent, but his intention was to protect you! It was merely a genuine mistake!"

Hikaru's head turned to Rakheshir after saying the last part, seemingly seeking to confirm the statement. But since she didn't change her death glare facial expression, Rakheshir got startled upon their eyes meeting.

"Hwa..! Uhh... I-I mean.."

Hikaru then relaxed her facial expression and let out a sigh with her eyes closed.

"No matter. You're just too stubborn, no matter how many times I speak like this, aren't you?"

Ryu was silent for a few seconds, then he adjusted his glasses while speaking his response.

"Yup, damn straight. That's the way I am"

Hikaru sighed again with a slight smile and her right hand at her hip. Ryu then turned towards Rakheshir who was still stunned after seeing what had just happened, and approached him.

"To be frank, I still don't like you for your prejudice, but... I apologize for my overly violent reaction back then"

"Eh...? What? No, I mean- It's alright! It was me who made a mistake"

"Let's leave it at that, and continue to do business like normal. Agreed?"

Ryu offered a handshake as he spoke. Rakheshir hesitated for a few seconds, but in the end he accepted the offer and the two shook hands.

"Yes, thank you for your understanding"

After the two were done shaking hands, Ryu turned his head towards Ainzach and asked a question.

"So, what did you want to see me for, Guildmaster?"

"Ahh, yes. It's about the attack last night. Thanks to the valiant efforts of your team, the monsters never breached into the civilian district, and therefore there are no civilian casualties. We did still lose a number of guards and troopers, but it could have been significantly worse. So, allow me to express gratitude on behalf of the city and reward you with proper payment in a day or two"

Ryu nodded as he listened to Ainzach, and then he spoke in response.

"I'm just glad that some of us were here when it happened, and you can take your time with the payment"

"Speaking of which, may I know where Ryu-dono and Lily-dono were back then? I was only told that you were on an errand far away. That is, if you don't mind telling us"

"Hmm..."

Ryu put his hand on his chin and began thinking on how much he should let Ainzach and Rakheshir know. He quickly made a decision and immediately spoke.

"A bunch of things happened yesterday, and now my team got another member. That's all I can tell for now"

Ainzach's eyes went wide upon hearing Ryu's words, and he immediately spoke.

"I apologize, but did my ears play tricks on me or you really got a sixth member?"

"Yes, she is downstairs now, registering. She is also from ARKS like me"

Ainzach froze up for a few seconds, then he took a deep breath and began speaking with his eyes straight at Ryu's.

"I have to apologize in advance, that unlike Hikaru-dono and Mel Rose-dono, your new member won't be able to skip ranks all the way to Adamantite from day one. What I have done for Hikaru-dono and Mel Rose-dono yesterday was already a grey area to begin with, and I can't afford to do it again within a timespan this short"

"I see. It's understandable and I expected it"

Ryu made a slight nod as he spoke. Ainzach looked relieved seeing the response.

"I'd like to see your new member after she's done registering if you don't mind, but before that... Would you tell us how strong she is?"

Ryu put his hand over his chin, going into a thinking posture before speaking.

"Well... Imagine a monster, a very powerful one that is strong enough to make my team of five risk casualties taking it down"

"Yes...?"

"She can solo that monster"

Ainzach and Rakheshir froze up hearing Ryu's statement. The former quickly spoke up after just a couple seconds.

"P-Pardon me, Ryu-dono! You were not joking, right?"

Before Ryu could respond, Ainzach shook his head while lowering it.

"No... you're not the type to joke around randomly"

Ryu folded his arms, understanding that his explanation was hard to immediately believe.

"To put it into perspective, back home I'm just a random soldier while she is the hero of the country"

"Jeez, oniichan. You're not a mere random soldier"

Hikaru spoke with one hand on her hip, but her voice was somewhat low so perhaps none of the Guildmasters heard her.

"O-Okay... But why is the hero of your country all the way here?"

Ryu briefly pondered if he should tell Guardian's mission in detail, and then he spoke up after deciding.

"She was on a secret mission, which she has accomplished recently. She'll be here for a while until ARKS comes to pick her up and take her home"

"Ah, I see. But wait! Doesn't that mean most of your team will go home along with her? Last time I remember, you're here because you're stranded, aren't you, Ryu-dono?"

"Perhaps, but not indefinitely. This place now has Darkers and a Dark Falz looming, so I believe we will still be around to keep everyone safe"

"I see, I see. Good to hear that"

Ainzach nodded as he said his remark on what Ryu had said.

Knock! Knock!

The door was suddenly knocked on by someone outside.

"Who's there?"

Unlike before, this time Ainzach asked for identity before letting the people outside come in. Perhaps because this time there were more people in the room.

"Alice Vegelshaft, along with the rest of Ignite Maximus"

The voice replying was indeed Alice's.

"Please come in!"

Ainzach spoke with mild excitement. It was pretty easy for Ryu to notice that both Ainzach and Rakheshir were eager to see the new member, the supposed hero of ARKS more powerful than the rest of the team combined. Ryu himself was eager to see how these two would react upon seeing Guardian, he couldn't help chuckling a bit.

The door opened, and the remaining members of Ryu's team entered the office. Instead of looking at the newcomers, Ryu's eyes were focused on the facial expression of the two Guildmasters.

And it was just as expected. Both Guildmasters had their eyes going wide and their mouths hanging agape within less than two seconds, and Ryu couldn't help laughing seeing that.

"So, gentlemen. Meet Guardian, our newest member, and also the twin sister of Mel Rose"

Ryu spoke to both Guildmasters while trying hard to hold his laugh upon seeing their fazed expressions.

"Hi there. I'm Melrose, but to prevent confusion I'm addressed by title and I keep my look vastly different from my twin"

Guardian spoke up with one hand raised right after Ryu's introduction. At this point Ryu noticed that even after registering she still didn't have her Adventurer plate yet.

"Guardian, they still haven't given you a rank plate?"

"Yeah, they asked me to see the Guildmaster for that because they didn't know whether they should put my starting rank at Copper or not"

Everyone else looked at Ainzach after hearing Guardian.

"W-Well, like I told Ryu-dono just recently, I can't immediately let you skip all the way to Adamantite. I'm really sorry about that"

"Eh, whatever works for me"

Guardian shrugged as she spoke. Ainzach then opened a drawer on his desk, took out a piece of paper, and wrote on it. A minute later, he put a stamp on the paper and handed it out.

"Guardian-dono, give this to the lady downstairs. She will give you your plate. Mithril is the best I can do for now"

Guardian approached Ainzach and received the paper.

"Alright, thank you"

After Guardian took the paper, Ryu spoke to Ainzach.

"Is there anything else you need from me, Ainzach-dono?"

"Ah, for now there is nothing. Thank you for your time, Ryu-dono"

"Alright, we'll take our leave. Also, we're going to borrow one of the conference rooms"

"Sure, use any vacant room you like"

Soon, Ryu's team left the Guildmaster's office. After the door closed, Ryu immediately spoke to the rest of his team.

"There's something I want to talk about. Let's go to a room for that"

Everybody agreed, and they went into one of the vacant conference rooms. After everybody was properly seated, Ryu began speaking to the others.

"Well, now that the team has six people, I'm thinking of splitting it into two groups. Not officially, we all are still going to be one team. The purpose is to make a pact between the two groups"

"What pact?"

Rose tilted her head while asking the short question.

"A pact that there must be at least one group staying in this city at all times. We were lucky last night that three of us were here, but who's to say that Elder won't attack like that again while we're somewhere else for one reason or another? I mean, Elder could have attacked again while we were at Nazarick this morning and there would have been nobody to defend the city because I assume Momon and Nabe are currently not in town"

"Hmm, yeah. That's a valid reason"

Guardian spoke her remark with her arms folded while leaning back to her seat.

"So, what do you all think?"

Ryu looked at the others one by one, expecting any comment coming out from one of them.

"I don't see why not. Sure"

Hikaru spoke her approval, followed by the others.

"Yeah, and Meru agreed with you too"

"Good idea, Ryu-san!"

"Yeah, good idea. Now we just need to decide how we split up"

Ryu nodded after Alice spoke her remark.

"We have the option to split up the same way as before, but does anybody have a different idea?"

Right after Ryu finished his question, Hikaru raised her hand, prompting everyone else to look at her.

"I want to be in the same group as oniichan"

"That means Guardian will have to switch places with you, since Lily is mandated by Ainz to stay close to me. Are you fine with it, Guardian?"

Ryu looked at Guardian, who just shrugged in response.

"Eh, works for me. Moreover, I get to stay close to Rose in accordance to my mission"

"What about you two?"

Ryu looked at Alice and Rose as he asked. Both of them shrugged as well.

"It's not like we're separating far anyway"

"Yeah, Meru is also fine with this"

Ryu nodded, and he spoke to close the short meeting.

"Alright, if nobody else has any topic to discuss, let's go back to the inn and see if the new room is ready. We'll decide what to do for the remainder of the day after that"

Everybody exchanged a nod briefly before standing up and leaving the conference room. With the groups settled, Ryu hoped that at least E-Rantel would be safe, although he still felt worried that Elder might later decide to attack a different city far away.


[X][X][X]


Baharuth Empire, Imperial Palace. Morning, several days later.

Not even an hour had passed since sunrise, but the office of Emperor Jircniv was already filled with several important figures. Among them were Emperor Jircniv himself, his secretary Loune Vermillion, Imperial Court Wizard Fluder Paradyne, all members of the Four Imperial Knights, and several other relevant staff for the ongoing matter. They had been discussing the upcoming trip to The Great Tomb of Nazarick, which would happen today as soon as all preparations were done and confirmed.

Loune stood straight and spoke to all others in the room with a slightly raised, yet still dignified tone of voice.

"To ensure that each of those present in this room understands the current plan of action, I shall repeat the main points."

Loune briefly stopped to clear his throat, and immediately resumed his speech.

"His Majesty, Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, shall leave to visit the residence of Ainz Ooal Gown, namely the structure referred to as the 'Great Tomb of Nazarick', today. A formation of six royal carriages drawn by Sleipnirs shall be utilized, disguised as merchant carriages to prevent drawing attention from those of the Re-Estize Kingdom. They shall be guarded by members of the Royal Guard, likewise disguised as mercenaries, and members of the Royal Air Guard, who will be under [Invisibility]. In addition, another squad shall be dispatched to arrive there ahead of time and relay information through [Message]."

Loune briefly stopped again to draw a quick breath before resuming.

"In accordance to the policy stating that at least one of Four Imperial Knights has to remain in the capital at all times, 'The Unassailable' Nazami Enec shall be the one to stay. Therefore, the one to receive the [Message] in His Majesty's stead shall be 'Fierce Gale' Nimble Arc Dale Anoch. The remainder of the Four Imperial Knights shall go along with the convoy to stand guard as necessary"

Loune continued while Jircniv was calculating every possible factor in his mind. He had arranged everything he could think of to be prepared, and so far he hadn't hit a snag yet. But all those were just preparations for something which had so many unknown factors involved. Jircniv couldn't help worrying that all these preparations would fall apart and mean nothing in the end, given what they had witnessed.

Jircniv couldn't mull further on it, since Loune spoke directly to him after finishing his recap.

"Have I missed something, Your Majesty?"

Jircniv calmly turned his head towards Loune and spoke in his usual calm tone of speech.

"No"

Jircniv then stood up from his seat and glanced over all other people in the room.

"We are going to proceed as planned. Do a final rechecking on your parts, and then we shall depart immediately! Dismissed!"

Without saying a word, all people other than Jircniv stood from their respective seats and left the office. Jircniv sat down again and went into a serious thinking posture, but it didn't last long because he immediately stood up again and left the office as well like the others before him.

Jircniv went to his private bedroom, which also functioned as his own study. On his desk, there was a thin stack of paper, which contained a confidential report delivered just the day before. The report had been delivered via [Message], so it was a given that it should be treated as a preliminary report that shouldn't be taken at face value.

As of right now, the only ones who had read the contents of the report were the specially assigned scribe who had received the [Message] and written this report, Jircniv himself, and...

"What do you say, woman?"

Without looking, Jircniv spoke to the woman who was sitting on the chair at another part of the room. The woman was Hilma Cygnaeus, formerly one of the division leaders within Eight Fingers, officially his concubine, secretly his advisor.

"It's irrelevant"

Hilma spoke with her arms folded and one leg over the other, sporting a bossy posture on the chair.

"Irrelevant, you say?"

"Yes, everything in that report is very likely irrelevant to this Ainz Ooal Gown you are going to visit. The recent attack on E-Rantel, though... it might have been Elder"

Jircniv smirked hearing Hilma's remark. She had told him many things about Elder, the strange yet strong being she had dealings with. According to what Hilma had told him so far, Elder had once claimed that he was an entity known as Dark Falz, but he didn't care about what he was. Instead, Elder just sought after exciting battles.

"You sure got lucky he didn't kill you like a monster he is and really honored the deal to boot"

Hilma didn't show visible reaction towards Jircniv's remarks. She just replied with a related question.

"Aren't you concerned? A vicious, yet intelligent monster is running loose. It is just a question of when he will come after the Empire"

"Of course I am concerned. However, the pattern of his appearances, either confirmed or suspected, suggests that he will stay looming over the Kingdom for a while. If he is really a battle seeker like you claimed, as long as these two Adamantite Rank teams, Ignite Maximus and Darkness, stay within the Kingdom, he will too. And that will work in my favor"

Hilma just smiled, not showing any sign of being confused. Jircniv was mildly impressed because he knew most other people would question the last part of his statement, and this exchange highly suggested that Hilma was not among them.

Nevertheless, Jircniv lowered his head towards the report on the desk again and spoke.

"I'm more concerned about the other event which happened within the Slane Theocracy. Their higher-ups are keeping what exactly happened a tightly guarded secret, but rumors and a few witnesses claimed that an angel, a genuine one and not the cheap summons, descended down from the heavens and gave blessings to their people"

Jircniv was briefly silent before he resumed.

"Hmph! A large portion of that was likely bent and blown out of proportion, but nevertheless, the Theocracy may obtain a degree of people's favor from this event. Whether it will bring my Empire good or bad tidings, still remains to be seen"

Without waiting for Hilma to respond, Jircniv turned back to the door and walked towards it.

"I should go now. You better go too, because this room becomes off-limits the moment I leave the palace"

"Best of luck, Your Highness"

Hilma stood up from her seat and bowed as Jircniv walked past the door. He felt quite refreshed after speaking out to Hilma about the report instead of keeping everything to himself like he had always been doing before. He was now determined and confident on the upcoming war of words and wits against Ainz Ooal Gown.


[X][X][X]


At the Adventurer's Guild of E-Rantel, the main lobby was a little quiet compared to the usual. A large portion of the adventurers standing there were staring at the group of three people standing in front of the job board. One of them was a known member of Ignite Maximus, but the other two were the center of attention.

"So, which one?"

"You know I can't read any of these"

Rose, one of the two aforementioned people, grinned as she heard the reply of Guardian, the other person. On the other hand, Guardian rolled her eyes and let out a small sigh, clearly looking annoyed. She then folded her arms and pouted while looking at Rose.

"When will you tell me how you can read this planet's writings?"

"It's-a-se-cret! Don't tell her, Liz!"

Rose replied with a clearly teasing tone of speech while winking towards Alice, who had been watching the two's whimsical interaction.

A few days had passed after Guardian was officially registered as an Adventurer, but so far the team as a whole had been doing essentially nothing because every single day had been peaceful. Therefore, to quell some boredom and acclimate both Rose and Guardian, especially the latter, towards Adventurer works, this sub-team decided to take an Adventurer job.

"You're really enjoying yourself, huh?"

"Hey, at least now I'm better than you on one thing!"

Not going to have any more of this, Alice intervened by speaking out.

"Anyway. In the case there is no suitable job, there is still also the option to exterminate wild monsters. As long as we bring home proofs, we will be paid accordingly"

"I see. Well, since I can't read any of it thanks to this brat, I will just leave the choosing to both of you"

"Hey, who are you calling 'brat'!? That applies to you all the same!"

The two redheads gritted teeth at each other while Alice shook her head with a large sigh.

"Come on, you two sisters. Can't you just get along?"

Hearing Alice's annoyed voice, Rose was the first to turn her head towards Alice and speak her reply while grinning.

"Of course we get along! This is the way we get along! Besides!"

Rose stopped her speech, then she leaned over to Alice and spoke in a lowered voice.

"If I have to call her anything, Guardian would be my mom!"

"W-What!?"

Guardian, having seemingly heard what Rose had just said, was startled with her face slightly red from blushing. Alice was also startled, but then she glanced at Guardian and let out a laugh.

"Pfft! You have a point there"

"See? Meru agreed with me, and she's laughing too!"

"Oh, come on"

Guardian rolled her eyes again as Rose grinned and Alice tried to hold her laugh. In her mind, Alice was quite glad that her new partners were unique, but not in any way worse than Ryu and Lily.


[X][X][X]


"Hmm?"

"What is it, Lily?"

Lily just responded to Ryu's question by pointing at her own ear, which Ryu immediately understood.

"Oh, Message"

Ryu, Lily, and Hikaru were currently sitting around their room in the Shining Golden Pavilion. Since the other sub-group of the team was going to take a random job at the guild to familiarize Guardian with the system, Ryu's sub-group stayed within E-Rantel as part of the pact they had agreed upon.

"Huh? Uhh, please let me ask Ryu-san first, Papa"

Lily turned her head towards Ryu before speaking.

"Papa wants me to come"

"What kind of timing is this?"

Ryu shook his head and sighed, but Lily immediately spoke again.

"No, Ryu-san. Papa wants only me to come"

"Eh? That's a first"

After saying his remark, Ryu looked at Hikaru, who shrugged in response. Ryu pondered about the situation briefly, and came into a decision.

"Alright, go ahead"

Lily nodded, and then she spoke to the other side of the [Message] spell, who was definitely Ainz.

"I will come, Papa. Where will you make the portal?"

Within a single second, a portal appeared right next to Lily, who was briefly startled. She soon looked back at Ryu and Hikaru, seemingly expecting any of them to say something.

"Well, whatever he is going to need your help for, make your father proud, Lily"

"Yeah. Make him proud"

Lily nodded and smiled after hearing the words from Ryu and Hikaru.

"Yes, Ryu-san, Hikaru-san! I will!"

Lily then jumped into the portal, which disappeared as soon as she disappeared from view. After a few more seconds of silence, Ryu and Hikaru looked at each other.

"So, what now?"

"I dunno"

Hikaru shrugged again as she spoke.

"Let's just stroll around town again"

"I'm fine with anything"


[X][X][X]


Whoosh...

Lily stepped out from the portal which Ainz had conjured for her. What she saw first was the fact that she was now inside the office which she had already visited several times before. Ainz was there, sitting on his seat behind the desk with his arms resting on the surface of the desk.

"Hi there, Papa!"

"Welcome back to Nazarick, Lily"

"It's good to be back! So what do you need from me, Papa?"

Lily spoke while walking to approach Ainz. She still had no idea why her father had suddenly called her to come alone. Seeing this, Ainz made a slight nod before speaking.

"For that, we should wait for a bit. Take a seat anywhere you like"

"Alright, Papa"

Lily then sat on one of the seats right in front of Ainz's work desk and removed her helmet out of courtesy before putting it on the desk. Just a few seconds later, there was someone knocking on the door.

"You may come in"

Ainz spoke his approval, and the door opened. The one who came into the room was a familiar man clad in black full plate armor. Lily was slightly surprised seeing the one coming in.

"Momon-san? But... oh, the Doppelganger"

Ainz let out a minor laugh as he heard Lily's remark.

"Hahaha! Yes, but he is not a mere, simple Doppelganger"

Ainz then looked straight at the Momon figure who was still right beside the door.

"Come here, and show your true self"

The Momon figure nodded, and he walked to approach Ainz's work desk. As he walked, some kind of magic smoke engulfed him briefly, and what came out from it soon after was a humanoid figure wearing a bright yellow high-ranking military uniform. His head had no facial features other than three black holes resembling a pair of eyes and a mouth, and his hand was too scrawny for human standards, in addition to lacking one finger.

Lily's eyes went wider and her mouth was agape as she saw the transformation happening. She soon turned her head to Ainz, silently asking about the new guest. Ainz glanced at her in response before speaking.

"Lily, allow me to introduce you to Pandora's Actor. He is one of the Area Guardians of Nazarick, created by my own hands..."

Ainz paused briefly before resuming his speech.

"...just like you. So, I can say that he is your big brother"

Ainz then looked at Pandora's Actor and spoke again.

"I believe I have briefly told you about her before, but here is your little sister, in the flesh"

Both Lily and Pandora's Actor turned their heads, looking back and forth between the other and Ainz, without any word to say. After about ten seconds, Lily finally broke the silence with her head turned towards Ainz.

"Papa, I... I have a big brother?"

Ainz nodded in response.

"Yes. I apologize for not telling you sooner, but indeed you do"

Within an instant, Lily jumped from her seat and hugged Pandora's Actor, who was still a little startled.

"Yaaaayy! I have a big bro!"

"Oooh! Unglaublich! I finally meet meine kleine schwester!"

Pandora's Actor happily spun around while holding onto Lily. Ainz had mixed feelings about this. He felt somewhat delighted seeing the family reunion, but he also felt embarrassed with his creation's use of German mixed into his sentences. But all in all, he felt glad that he finally had a chance to have both his "children" to meet each other, even if only briefly.


[X][X][X]


Afterword:

Coming up next, Jircniv visits Nazarick. Also, Guardian's first job as an Adventurer might not be as simple as expected.

See you again in two weeks.