'Ah, what a pain. The fees for Sebas and Solution's expenses are quickly piling up with my own as Momon the adventurer... Being important is expensive...'

As a normal salaryman Ainz had never experienced how much wealthy people had to pay in order to keep up their appearances.
He currently had a good income as a high ranked adventurer, but since he had to stay in the best inn in order to not seem like a cheap person and had his subordinates Solution and Sebas disguised as a rich merchant's daughter and his butler most of the money he earned went wasted.
He just finished eliminating a goblin's tribe, but even that job's money was barely enough to cover everything he had to pay.

'Please gods, don't let my expenses go any higher...'

When he returned to the tomb of Nazarick he found a world class beauty that was waiting for him at the 10th floor.
As soon as her golden eyes saw him she spread the black wings she had at her waist while greeting him:

"Welcome back Ainz-sama"

"Thanks, Albedo. Has there been any problem while I was gone?"

"No issue has happenened, however Cocytus has just arrived and requested an audience with you"

Ainz was surprised and unsettled by that: after all it was the first day after they subjugated the lizardmen, could it be that some complication has already arised?
He handed the task of ruling to Cocytus in order to spur his growth, but also to avoid having to do such a difficult work himself.
For someone unable to handle even his own finances, something like governing a race was way beyond his abilities.
He did not want to see Cocytus, but he had promised to give him all the support he could so he forced himself to find the resolve to this situation.

"Very well, then let him enter. I shall hear him right now"

A maid was then dispatched to relay the message to the guards outside, and after a few minutes the Guardian of the 5th floor made his entrance.
Once he reached the bottom of the stairs to the throne Cocytus bowed in deference.

"Many. Thanks. For. Finding. The. Time. To. Meet. Up. With. Me. Ainz-sama... Actually. While. The. Lizardmen. Seem. To. Have. Accepted. The. Supremacy. Of. Nazarick. Another. Problem. Has. Arised: The. Food. Provided. By. The. Lake. Doesn't. Seem. Enough. To. Support. The. United. Tribes'. Population..."

After hearing that Ainz silently gasped: how could he forget such an obvious matter?
Just because Nazarick was self-sufficient didn't mean everyone outside was the same as them.
What's more, he heard from Demiurge that the lizardmen ate almost exclusively fish, which meant he could not easily fix that issue with imported wheat from the nearly kingdoms.
He had to find a way to quickly gather great amounts of a specyfic nourishment, but how?
While racking his non-existent brain for an answer he suddenly remembered of an item from the Treasury which seemed like the perfect answer: Daghdha's Cauldron.

Note: Daghdha was an irish god of fertility, described as a man with one weapon in one hand which could both kill with one hit as well as return the dead to life and a cauldron which never emptied

He blurted out the name of the item without thinking, but he immediately regretted it: after defeating the raid boss Daghdha he and his guildmates had the chance to obtain one of two quest items.
One was the boss' scythe which had a higher chance than usual to inflict instant death, while the other was his cauldron which was far more interesting: by putting money inside of it one could have in exchange a proportional amount of any kind of base food, which was useful for crafting healing items and meals for debuffs anywhere...
That is, provided one had enough cash to pay for them.
The cost was not a issue when Ainz was still in the server and had the backing of his comrades, but in this new world it was a different matter altogether.
Ainz did not want to use the gold collected by his friends if possible, so the only other way he had to provide for the Cauldron's price was with his adventurer's incomes.
Granted, the item was very efficient in terms of cost so it could probably produce around a hundred fishes for a gold coin, but it was not easy to produce enough nourishment for a whole village.
Plus if other species will be subjugated and required food too...
The costs would definitely become too high even for the earnings of a high rate adventurer...
Albedo who was standing near him congratulated him for his solution:

"An excellent suggestion, Ainz-sama! I'll send an emissary to the Treasury and order Pandora's Actor to fetch Daghdha's Cauldron immediately!"

It would seem he had no time to think for a better answer, so he decided to roll with it.
Still, there was yet one thing he could do in order to partially fix this situation and hopefully limit the strain on his wallet.

"Umu, it seems like this problem is fixed. However... Cocytus: a leader needs to be able to provide for his subordinates' well-being, which includes ensuring they are fed enough. From now on, consider finding for the lizardmen a source of sustenance external to Nazarick as a high priority."

"I. Hear. And. Obey. Ainz-sama! I'll. Take. My. Leave. Then. Many. Thanks. For. Your. Insights."

After Cocytus left the Throne Room Ainz turned his head towards Albedo.

"Albedo, go and call Narberal Gamma. It is time to go take another quest..."

The toadman envoy quickly traversed the lake underwater and reached the middle: the lake was shaped like an upside-down gourd, with the lizardmen dwelling in the shortest half.
The bigger other part was inhabited by huge sea monsters so the toadman had to swam near the shore in order to avoid them.
He kept swimming until he reached a place where the lake had a branch to the right.
There it split into numerous smaller ponds, which were ideal for the toadmen to live.
That was because despite having a bigger size and a more humanlike appearance, their skin was still similar as normal the toads' one so they had to keep themselves well hydrated.
However living on the lake's surface through stilt houses was dangerous due to the sea monsters being able to easily crush the buildings to force out their inhabitants.
That said since the toadmen were 1 meter long from head to toes mere insects were not enough to satiate them so the shoals of fishes who dwelt in the lake were an invaluable resource, thus they lived on the shores where they made their settlements.
In order to protect their skin from the heat of the sun while conserving the rain's precious water they made the roofs with a net of branches that prevented the sun rays to pass while the raindrops could go through freely and ensured the soil was kept moist.
The houses were then connected with passages with a similar design as the houses which divided the available space in sectors and made the villages look like oversized beehives.
Since toadmen could hop like their smaller cousins they were able to quickly jump from one sector to another without being bothered by having to travel short areas before frequently turning, while enjoying the air-conditioned spaces created this way.
Once the toadmen reached his tribe leader's house he quickly bowed in front of him: "Gaphyphy is back with news, Greazht-sama! It appears that the lizardmen have finished the battle against the invaders from the forest and managed to win!"

Greazht opened one of his eyes as he heard that: when they found out that their old enemies had banded together they feared an assault to avenge their previous defeat at the hands of the humanoid amphibians so they sent in spies to observe them while they prepared to fight back.
Once the toadmen uncovered it was a defensive act they relaxed, but kept surveying from afar what was happening.
If they drew too close they risked being spotted so they had to stay hidden underwater where they could run away quickly if needed.
That also meant that they could only have a rough estimate of the situation, but it seemed that the lizardmen had managed to repel the initial invaders.
Since they likely suffered heavy losses however this was a golden chance to finally clear out the toadmen's hated enemies and obtain the full control of the lake and its resources.
The only problem would be convincing the Toad King to gather the troops for battle...
Greazht preferred to keep the interactions with his monarch to the bare minimum so he was not elated at the idea of going to parley with him.
That was because that individual was a tyrant of the worst kind.
The toadmen used to be led by a council of elders, however the one who would be later known as the Toad King one day suddenly appeared and slew them all, thus taking control of all the tribes.
He dwelt inside a cave underneath the waters of the lake, with a net of informers who supposedly had the task of relaying his decrees, but whose primary duty was actually to ensure no one dared to challenge his supremacy.
If Greazht wanted to mobilize his people's full military might then there was no way but to have the acceptance of the Toad King, so he rose up his feet and went to the lake.
He then jumped in the water and swam quickly to the entrance of the Toad King's lair.
There the path deviated upwards until the toadmen arrived in a cavern outside the waters.
The space inside was very wide, yet thanks to all the torches it was possible to see the details inside: a straight path lead to a pond where a toad resided.
His body was bloated, most likely from his lifestyle since even in that moment he was eating, with a group of toadmen who acted as his servants, who were continuously giving him fish heads and other delicacies while ensuring that the embers around him kept the cavern's temperature at optimal levels.
The pudgy toadmen opened his eyes and looked at the newcomer, then croaked:

"Who dares to enter my lair?"

The tribe leader immediately bowed while answering:

"Your loyal subordinate Greazht, here to deliver some interesting news for Your Majesty!".

Despite the harmless look of the tyrant, Greazht knew he should not underestimate him: right after he became the Toad King a group of rebels went in that same cave to assassinate him and avenge the elders, however none of them came back.
According to the rumors he heard the Toad King's power resided in what was beyond the curtains that were currently on his back: one of the toadmen's most powerful ability lied in their ability to use their voice to charm the other species and control them.
This allowed the toads to subjugate the great beasts that lived around the lake and use them to win the battle against the lizardmen.
This power only worked on less intelligent species, however the Toad King had somehow managed to enslave something strong enough to single-handedly defeat all the elders, who were experienced fighters on their own right and who could control any of the creatures usually employed by the toadmen.
After pondering for a while the Toad King spoke:

"Hmm, very well. Depending on what you have to say I'll decide whether to forgive your intrusion here".

The situation was dangerous, Greazht could heard something growl behind the back of the tyrant, however he was confident he could avoid the same fate that befell the rebels who entered the cave a few years before.

"Yes, we have just discovered that the lizardmen have fought a battle with an unknown enemy who left both sides in dire straits! We can exploit this situation to exterminate them once and for all! I humbly ask for your permission to rally our forces and finish the lizardmen off!"

The Toad King closed his eyes, while thinking.

"Umu, this is indeed intriguing... An unknown enemy, uh?... But if they were about equal in might with the lizardmen it should not be a problem... Thinking about how those filthy inferiors are polluting with their presence my lake makes me furious... Very well, I'll allow you to gather My troops. However remember that failure will not be an option. Now go and return when you will be able to declare that all the lake belongs to me!".