Chapter 12

Upon making their declaration, the incorporeal monsters flew back to their creator and master, ruining the clear blue sky with their horrifying shapes.

"Huh? —The heck? That's all?" Zaryusu's mouth gaped idiotically. So the Great One used those powerful undead just to tell us that?

But what he really couldn't believe was what happened at a signal from the ruler of death, when the silver-haired girl brought her hands swiftly together. The moment her hands connected…the hazy undead ceased to exist.

"Whaaat?!" Zaryusu was so surprised he shouted in spite of himself.

They hadn't returned the summoned monsters but just wiped them out.

Eliminating undead like that was something priests could do. Usually they had enough trouble just exorcizing them, but with a big enough disparity in power, it was possible to annihilate them. But doing so to a large number would be much harder.

In other words, the silver-haired girl was probably about equal to the King of Death despite being a follower. The other servants lined up with her were probably just as powerful.

"Heh-heh-heh…" Zaryusu couldn't stop laughing. Of course he couldn't. What else was there to do but laugh? This stark power imbalance was just…

"Zaryusu!"

"Oh, brother!" Hearing the voice from below the wall, Zaryusu looked down to find Shasuryu and Crusch.

They climbed up and examined the caster's party.

Crusch crammed herself between Zaryusu and Zenbel. She nearly caused Zenbel to fall, but he decided to let it slide.

"So that's the enemy boss? Just looking at him makes me start to expect a knife in the back. He looks like the elder lich you guys beat, but…he's probably way stronger, huh?"

"…Did you finish on your end?"

"Mph, pretty much. Crusch and I are both out of magical energy. And from what those horrendous messengers said…we have to take care of that first. About that…will you come with me?"

For a few moments, Zaryusu just regarded Shasuryu in silence. Then he nodded emphatically.

For a split second, Shasuryu made a pained expression, but before anyone else could notice, his usual face returned.

With that, he hopped off the wall. The thin ice over the marsh broke and a splash rang out, but it quickly froze again.

"Okay, we're off."

"Be careful!" Zaryusu gave Crusch a tight hug and then jumped down after his brother.

Zaryusu and Shasuryu walked over, crunching through the ice. As they approached, Zaryusu felt Death's gaze on them as if it exerted physical pressure. And from behind, he sensed concerned looks. The strongest one must have belonged to Crusch. He desperately suppressed the intense emotions that made him ache with longing.

Abruptly breaking their silence, Shasuryu spoke.

"…Sorry. Because if this talk goes badly, we're sure to be killed as an example."

Zaryusu knew that. That was why he'd squeezed Crusch so tightly.

"… I don't think it's is goal... But considering how many there are of them, I just couldn't let you go alone. Besides, they'd probably think we were making light of them if we only sent one."

Zaryusu was a lizardman people knew and an appropriate second for the dialogue, but caste-wise he was a traveler. If he were killed, it wouldn't greatly affect lizardman solidarity. Even if a hero died, as long as the chiefs were still around, the lizardmen could fight.

The pair walked in silence. One step, then another, always closer to Death. When they were a few steps away from the huge boulder on top of which the enemy leader was, they called out.

Lizardmen didn't have the custom that many other races had, that superiors should be elevated. Of course, considering they'd come for a discussion, one could say this treatment was rude.

In other words, it could mean only that their enemy had called them there under the guise of a dialogue but had absolutely zero interest in talking to them.

But really it was presumptuous of them to expect equal treatment. Certainly Zaryusu and the others had won the previous battle, but one look at the enemies lined up on that rock and they had to admit, even if they didn't like it, that their win was meaningless. It'd been nothing more than child's play.

"Here we are! I am the representative of the lizardmen, Shasuryu Shasha. And this is the strongest lizardman!"

"Zaryusu Shasha!"

Still, there was no sense from their voices that they were trying to curry favor. They knew it was a foolish move. But it was their very last bit of pride. That battle may have been child's play to their enemy, but they couldn't let the pride of the warriors who had died be for nothing.

There was no reply. The king on his throne only gave them an openly appraising once-over; there was no sign of movement.

The one who answered was the female demon. "Our master doesn't believe you're in the correct posture to hear him speak!"

"…What?"

In response to their confusion, the woman called to the man with a tail, who was standing next to her. "Demiurge!"

He acted immediately, saying with a strange, commanding voice "You will bow down."

Suddenly Zaryusu and Shasuryu got down on their knees and dropped their heads until touching the ice. They couldn't help but think it was the right thing to do. And then they couldn't get back up. No matter how much strength they put into moving, they didn't budge. Their bodies had been robbed of all freedom, as if a giant invisible hand were pressing down on them from above.

"Don't struggle."

The moment this second command reached their ears, somewhere in both Zaryusu and Shasuryu a new brain grew, a brain that'd listen to someone else's orders. They sensed themselves moving according to it.

Seeing the two weakened lizardmen bowing humiliatingly, the demon lady seemed satisfied and spoke to her master. "Ainz-sama, it appears they've assumed the listening posture."

"Thank you…

Now, raise your heads, lizardmen."

"You are permitted to raise your heads."

Moving the only part of their bodies that they could freely, Zaryusu and Shasuryu looked up as if in awe of his supremeness.

"I am the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown. I offer you my thanks for showing us how strong and determined the lizardmen are. Congratulations, with that your kind has earned my respect."

What? Has he come to say that?! Does he mean to spare us then? Hope blazed up as a flame in Zaryusu's heart, but he held it back. It was still too soon.

"Now then, what I'd like to discuss is…you entering under our rule."

Shasuryu was about to say something, but the caster Ainz stopped him by raising a hand slightly. Realizing nothing good would come of ignoring him and speaking, Shasuryu obediently kept quiet.

"But I'm sure you don't want to be ruled by those you just defeated in battle. So we're going to attack you again in four hours. If you can claim victory yet again, I promise to withdraw entirely. I'll even pay an adequate amount of reparations."

"… May I ask a question?"

"That's fine. Ask away."

"Will the one attacking be you… Sir Gown?"

The silver-haired girl behind him arched her eyebrows and the lady demon's smile disappeared. Perhaps they didn't feel the address was up to their master's level. The reason they did nothing about it must have been because their master didn't seem to care.

Indeed, paying no attention to the title he'd been given, Ainz continued, "No. The one attacking is a trusted aide of mine… just one. His name is Cocytus and he's the one your kind should thank for being ruled and not exterminated."

Hearing that, Zaryusu was assaulted by despair, as if the world were crumbling. If the enemy were going to attack in numbers, the lizardmen might have had a chance as maybe it would have been just some more of the same unpleasant army from the day before. In that case, they would have had a slim chance of winning.

But that chance was gone. It would be a solo attacker.

An enemy that had lost once already, after displaying this much force, would send a single man to attack? Unless it was some kind of punishment for the attacker in question, the ruler of Death had complete faith in him.

There was only one thing that person could be: another with unfathomable power, such that the lizardmen stood no chance of winning.

"We surren—"

"Don't be boring or worse, coward. I said I respect you now, don't make me change my mind. So don't say you'll surrender before you've even fought. Also, we'd like to taste a proper victory."

As if robbing Shasuryu of his words, Ainz crushed the end of his sentence.

In short, you mean to make an example of us? You scum, Zaryusu snapped in his head. Being the stronger power, they would expunge the reality of their loss with a massacre. In other words, what was about to occur was ritual sacrifice, nothing less than trampling lizardmen in order to rob them completely of their will to rebel.

"That's all I wanted to discuss. I'll be watching in four hours, so make it entertaining!"

"Please wait! Will this ice melt?"

Win or lose, it would be brutal for the lizardmen to live on a frozen lake.

"Ohhh… right." It seemed he'd really forgotten, his tone was that flippant. "I just didn't want to get all muddy walking in the marsh. Once we get back to the other side, I'll cancel the spell's effects."

"What?" Both Zaryusu and Shasuryu gasped in shock, unable to believe their ears. He froze it just because he didn't want to get muddy?! The expression This can't be! wasn't nearly strong enough as the power imbalance was too great. This one was a being who could bend nature like it was nothing. And for any stupid whim he wished. This is who we've been up against? Both Zaryusu and Shasuryu were assailed by the fear of lost children.

"All right, farewell, lizardmen. [Gate]." Having said everything he'd come to say, Ainz waved his hand slightly. A hemisphere of darkness appeared before the throne and he disappeared into it.

"See you soon, walking crocodiles!"

"Good-bye, lizardmen."

"Later, lizardmans."

"Fare ye well, lizardsies."

"Bye, lizardmen."

The two women, the demon and the dark-elf boy who had been in attendance addressed them disinterestedly and followed their master into the darkness.

"U-umm, er, well, take care."

"Eyb-doog, neht llew.

Well then, good-bye."

The dark-elf girl and the strange monster were swallowed up by the darkness.

"You may go free.

Well, give us some fun, lizardmen."

The man with the tail was the last to disappear and when his gentle voice echoed out, the weights holding down the pair of lizardmen melted away.

Left suddenly alone, still prostratng, Zaryusu and Shasuryu no longer had the energy to rise. The freezing chill didn't even bother them anymore. The shock to their minds was far more intense.

"Dammit…" An uncharacteristic utterance coming from Shasuryu. It contained a mixture of emotions.

When Zaryusu and Shasuryu returned, the chiefs of each tribe, who had climbed up on the mud walls to evade the ice, were there to meet them. There were no other lizardmen in the area.

They'd probably figured they would need to discuss in secret. So Shasuryu probably thought he didn't need to hide a thing. He spoke frankly, summing up the so-called discussion.

There was no big reaction to his heavy tale; everyone's breath just caught slightly.

They had probably guessed what sort of negotiations would take place.

"Got it. 'N what about the ice? We can't fight if it doesn't melt."

"That won't be a problem. He said he would cancel the spell."

"That's what you got out of the negotiations, huh?"

Shasuryu just smiled faintly in response to the Small Fang tribe chief's question.

Understanding his meaning, the chief cheerlessly shook his head. "While you were out, we did some investigating, you see, and… there are enemies inside the lake. They all look like skeleton soldiers. It seems like they're standing by in positions surrounding the village."

"No…escape."

"So they're really serious about this…"

"I guess so."

"The four who hadn't met the ruler sighed. Perhaps they had also arrived at the conclusion that it would be a ritual sacrifice.

"Well, what'll we do?"

"Mobilize all warriors. As well as everyone he…"

"Brother…could we do it with just five?" Keeping a slightly confused Crusch in his field of vision, Zaryusu continued his petition to not only Shasuryu but also all the males. "Their intention is to put on a show of their overwhelming power, so I doubt they'll kill us all. If that's the case, then we'll need a leader to unite the survivors. If you think about the future of lizardmankind, it would be a waste for all of us here to die."

Two chiefs looked between Zaryusu and Crusch and voiced their agreement.

"…He's right, don't you think, Shasuryu?"

"Yes. Zaryusu, true."

"Then, having gotten Zenbel's approval, a "Sounds good! Fine by me!", Shasuryu no longer had any reason to veto his brother's wishes. "Okay, let's do that. Someone needs to survive and lead the tribe. I was thinking that as well. Crusch is the right person for the job. Being an albino might be a minus, but her priest skills will be indispensible."

"Wait just a minute! I'm going to fight with you!" Crusch shouted, wondering why they were leaving her behind so late in the game. "Besides, if someone's going to stay behind, wouldn't Shasuryu be better? He's the chief everyone trusts the most!"

"That's why he's no good. Their intention is to show us their overwhelming power. They're aiming to make us lose heart so they can conquer us easier. So no way he will be spared by the enemy now…"

"And also… out of all us chiefs and so on here, you actually have the worst reputation."

Crusch didn't know what to say. It was the undeniable truth that she, an albino, was least popular.

Convincing them with words will be impossible, she thought. So she turned to Zaryusu. "I'll be going with you. Didn't you have me resign myself when you've called me to follow you here? And now you're gonna tell me this?"

"Back then, depending on the situation, everyone might have died, but now it seems like one of us will be able to make it."

"Don't give me that!" The air seemed to crackle with Crusch's anger. Several tail strikes sounded against the mud wall. The intense emotion was making her tail go out of control.

"Zaryusu, you convince her. See you in four hours." With that, Shasuryu walked off."

Following a moment later were the crack of breaking ice and heavy splashes. The other three chiefs had hopped off the wall and gone with him. Zenbel raised a hand in a slight wave without turning around.

After watching them go, Zaryusu turned back to Crusch. "Crusch, please understand."

"How can I?! Plus, there's nothing that says for sure that we'll lose! With my powers, we might be able to win!"

How empty those words sounded. Not even Crusch herself believed them.

"I don't want to send the female I love to her death. Please just grant this foolish male's wish."

Crusch embraced him, visibly heartbroken.

"That was a dirty move!"

"Sorry…"

"You're probably going to die!"

"Yeah…"

That was true. The chance of his survival was low. No, probably just nonexistent.

"In only a week's time, you stole my heart, and now you're telling me to just see you off?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm so glad I met you, but it was also horrible luck."

Crusch's arms tightened around Zaryusu's back as if to say she didn't want them to ever part.

Zaryusu had no words. What should I say? What can I say to make it okay? Is there anything that can do that? These thoughts tormented him. He remained silent and hugged her back.

After a little while, Crusch looked up. Her face was full of determination. He was worried she would say she was going with them no matter what. Instead she made a clear declaration: "You're gonna get me pregnant!"

"What?!"

"Let's go!"

Ainz and the others' base was where Cocytus had been the previous day, the fortress Aura was in the process of building. If they listened closely, construction sounds could be heard in the distance.

When Ainz entered one of the rooms, Victim, who had been silently following, spoke to him.

"Sredro wen on era ereht fi dennalp sa evael ym ekat lliw I ereh, zniA droL, llew.

Well, Lord Ainz, here I will take my leave as planned if there are no new orders."

"Yes, you may go. Nice work today. Then until we get back, please watch over level one."

"Dootsrednu.

Understood."

Well, now it's clear he really speaks backwards! Anyway…

"[Gate]."

Victim disappeared into the gate of darkness (leading to the first level of the Great Tomb of Nazarick) that Ainz made.

After seeing off the guardian with the most powerful death-activated detainment skill ever, Ainz turned his attention to the room. At the same time, he sensed Aura in the back, staring at the floor.

She had probably been trying to get the interior decoration together for Ainz's arrival. There was evidence of her painful efforts here and there around the room, but it still didn't look as good as Nazarick. She seemed ashamed.

It's really not so bad, though…

Ainz was once a normal person, so it didn't bother him so much. His quarters in Nazarick weren't bad, either, but they were too luxurious; sometimes he didn't know what to do with himself there. Here, he could actually relax, so it was nice. I want an eight-tatami-mat studio. Maybe I should just secretly make one somewhere. Oh! I have to make sure to praise my underling's work. I have to tell Aura how satisfied I am with what she's done here.

Watch over your workers with gratitude. Without trust, they will not flourish. Ainz remembered the words he'd seen framed and hung in the president's office at a client company. He didn't know who'd said it, but he thought it was a great quote. That was how an ideal boss should act. You have to express gratitude in words. If you don't praise people, they won't work… Something like that?

"Aura, you don't have to worry about anything. I think highly of your work and since you prepared this place for me, I consider it equal to Nazarick."

"…Yes, sir." Her eyes widened a little.

Did that make her feel better? Ainz wondered, but he couldn't think of anything else good to say, so he examined the room again to divert the conversation.

It still smelled strongly of wood. Returning to Nazarick would definitely be safer than staying into a so vulnerable location. This place had no defensive spells cast on it yet: it was like a house made of paper. But one could also say it was the perfect place to set himself up as bait to catch a big fish.

Since its location was fairly removed from the lake, the only ones who could come after him here would be Yggdrasil players, if there were any, or those with equivalent power. In other words, he'd planned it so that any raid on this place would reveal a powerful enemy.

Of course it was dangerous. But Ainz felt that nothing ventured meant nothing gained.

Nobody's coming, not even now? … Could it really be there are no other players, at least in this part of the New World? …

Ainz created a throne for himself and sat down on it.

"Now then…let's get down to business. It seems like we frightened them pretty well."

"Oh yeah, even more than expected."

"I think it went perfectly, Lord Ainz."

"Indeed—the looks on those lizardmen's faces!"

Ainz smiled with relief at the others' feedback. He hadn't actually been able to read the changes in the lizardmen's faces. They resembled humans more than reptiles, but their expressions were still completely different. "I see. Then I guess the demonstration of our power that Cocytus wanted as phase one was a success." He breathed a relaxed sigh.

Of course, he would expect nothing less from a super-tier spell that could be used only four times a day. He'd gone all out and cast [Creation]; if they hadn't freaked out, it would have been depressing.

"Now then, Demiurge. How long will it take to compile the data about how much of the lake has frozen?"

"We're currently working on it, but due to the ice covering a larger area than expected, progress is slow. If it's all right with you, we'll take a little more time."

Ainz held out a hand to stop Demiurge from kneeling and then placed it near his mouth.

It covered a wider area than expected, so I guess we can call it a successful experiment…

The Creation was a super-tier spell that made it possible to change environmental effects. Players often used it in Yggdrasil to stop the heat in a volcanic region or the chill in an icy region.

Sure, they could have exhibited their power without a super-tier spell. But he had cast it also as a test of scale, to see how far its effects would spread. In Yggdrasil, the [Creation] covered quite a large area. When he'd tried it inside Nazarick, it had covered the entire eighth level, but he didn't know what kind of effect it would have on the outside world.

In Yggdrasil, it affected an area, but he wanted to know how big an "area" was in this world. If he cast it on a plain and it covered the entire thing, that would be overkill.

If he'd frozen the entire lake, that was too wide a range.

Apparently we need to exercise caution with super-tier spells.

"Okay, Aura. How's the security net going?"

"I took the undead you lent me and put them on watch for a mile radius, but so far we haven't caught much of anything. I've also sent out some of my magical beasts with detection skills in a two-mile radius, but I haven't received reports of anyone suspicious."

"I see… There's a possibility someone would use the skill Perfect Unknowable on approach. What about that case?"

"No worries. I teamed up with Shalltear and we're using some undead with good detection skills as well."

"Fantastic."

Aura grinned in response to Ainz's praise. Gone was the depressed look of before.

"We're giving a big enough opening… Why hasn't there been any attempt to observe Nazarick or this place?"

"Could there be some sort of surveillance that the current security net can't pick up? Perhaps by using a World Item?"

Ainz cocked his head in response to Demiurge's question. "… I considered that hypothesis, but…even if there were some sort of World Item surveillance, it wouldn't work… It'd have to be through naked-eye observations or another physical method… I guess there's always magic, but I thought they'd switch…"

The questions on the guardians' faces made him realize he hadn't said enough.

"Hmm… How can I explain this? …There was one time we secretly held a precious-metal mine, and because we had monopolized it, market prices soared. Someone mounted a plot to take it from us with Ouroboros, one of the twenty and succeeded..."

Ainz smiled. He'd been annoyed at the time, but thinking back on it now, it was a good memory, even though he'd gotten killed and dropped some pretty rare items.

"What?! How dare they rob the Supreme Beings of their land! I won't allow it! Please give us orders immediately for its recapture!"

At Albedo's shout, Ainz hurriedly looked over at her. All the guardians were hostile and murderous. Demiurge was usually calm and composed, but even his face was twisted into a frown. Glimpses of determination showed through Mare's timid eyes screaming I'll kill you! and Shalltear seemed to be even more murderous.

"Calm down! This story ended a long time ago!" Ainz raised a hand and ordered them to relax. They regained some of their composure, but the tranquil surface hid roiling hot lava underneath. Ainz hurried along with his story, partly just to change the subject.

"When they used Ouroboros, it made it so we couldn't get into the world where the mine was. During that time they probably made a search and discovered it. By the time the seal broke and we were able to get back in, the mine had already been stolen."

Most of the guild members had died in the reckless take-back operation that followed, but Ainz tactfully left that out.

"Okay, what I wanted to say was this: that world had been sealed, but if you were in possession of a World Item, you could still get in. Likewise, even if our enemy is observing us with a World Item, they shouldn't be able to find us since everyone here now has at least one World Item."

While several voices claimed to understand, Ainz wondered whether that was really the case.

There was a very good chance, but there was nothing that made it absolute.

World items could be modified, at least back in the game. He recalled one time the shitty devs themselves had made a mistake making a world item that overpowered all others. Plus, Oshikuru had a trump card which was an enhanced World Item. However, nobody else was known to have managed such a thing in Yggdrasil.

Ainz turned to look at Oshikuru.

He answered the unspoken question. "Nothing can escape my bad eye, Ainz-san. The only way we could not notice being spied upon would be by an unknown type of magic or some advanced technology like satellites. It may be the former, but for the latter, that is most unlikely given this world's technological level. Even if we must never drop our guard, I'm quite sure this operation proved successful in a sense that nobody is currently on our tail. And of course things with the lizardmen are going well too…"

"Hmm, but at least the Theocracy should be trying to spy on us. Or maybe they're too afraid to do that now…" I'd hoped the Theocracy or any other great power in this part of the world would get in touch at least with "Thunder and Lightning", but the only ones who approach us are mothers with newborn babies and adventurers! It was all people saying nonsense like, "Please touch my baby so he'll become great!", "Please hit me so I can grow stronger as an adventurer!" or "Please shake my hand so I'll have good luck!…"

"Regarding that… will you forgive me for saying something foolish, Ainz-sama?"

"What is it, Albedo?"

"As you said, your plan is to reveal the possible unknown enemy who gave that World Item to the Slane Theocracy, but could it be that perhaps there is no such enemy, that the Theocracy really inherited it from their so-called "gods" after they all died?"

"Don't be so quick to dismiss justifid worries, Albedo!… But I've taken that into consideration."

No, he most definitely had not. He'd been convinced that because he was a certain way, there was no way an enemy would have behaved in a manner he never would, bringing a World Item in another country and without backup for the group holding it.

…What a stupid mistake. Has this all been in my mind from the very beginning, then? Well, at least Oshikuru-san had always suggested it since the night of the fight against the Black Scripture. If I overthink too much, he relies too much on his instinct. Together, we make a good team. If only I could announce we share command… but he's right, it would probably confuse and upset everyone in Nazarick.

He'd experienced now and then the weight of being a ruler. It was especially heavy when he failed and he just couldn't handle it. He let out a sob in his mind.

Of course he couldn't run away from ruling. Now that he'd taken on the name Ainz Ooal Gown, he had to lead the Great Tomb and the NPCs his guildmates had created: they were treasures. More than anything, he didn't want to be a parent who didn't protect his children. I'm also worried you'll betray, abandon, or give up on me. That's why it's so important for me to be the Ainz Ooal Gown you hope for and believe in.

That was why he made such a grand impression. He practiced in front of the mirror to master a pose he was confident projected a fitting "ruler" impression.

"Now then…" He prepared to change the topic and gestured at the mirror. "We've given the lizardmen some time. Allow me to make sure they aren't doing anything that might surprise us."

A bird's-eye view of the lizardman village gradually appeared in the Mirror of Remote Viewing. Little specks were running around inside.

Ainz moved his hand, changing the scenery visible in the mirror.

First, naturally, he zoomed in. That made it clear that the lizardmen were frantically preparing for war.

"Wasted effort…," Demiurge murmured at them gently.

Okay, where are you? They all look the same… Ainz frowned at the image, trying to find the six from before. Oh! Here's one in armor. Is this the guy who throws rocks? And here's the one with the great sword. It really is hard to tell the difference between them. It's easy if they have different colors or equipped in different ways but… ah, that one with the arm… found him.

After observing, he restlessly moved the viewpoint around as if he didn't know what else to do. Then he realised something.

"…The white one and the one with the magic weapon aren't here!"

"Errr, what was the male's name? Zaryusu?"

"Oh yeah. That was it."

When Aura chimed in, he remembered the lizardman who had come to the negotiations.

"He's probably in his house, maybe with the other one."

"Maybe. Oshikuru-san, would you mind…?"

"Of course, boss. Let's see what are those two up to…"

They all watched his eight eyeballs rolling in all directions, piercing through magic veils, natural obstacles and man made objects.

After a short while, a grin appeared on his face. Then he said: "Oho, found them. It seems these lizardmen are performing a very interesting exercise… one difficult to describe. I think it best if we all see it, Ainz-san. They're in a nearby house, the shabby one with a tall pole in the middle of it."

The hell? Now I'm curious!

The Mirror of Remote Viewing couldn't show what was inside a house, not normally. But…

"Demiurge, the Infinity Haversack."

"Understood." Demiurge bowed once, took the shoulder bag on the table that had been moved into the corner of the room and "politely handed it to Ainz. Ainz took out a scroll.

Then he cast the spell written on it.

The magic created a sense organ that could see invisible and insubstantial. It couldn't penetrate a magic barrier if there was one, but it could get through any regular wall, no matter how thick. By linking it with the Mirror of Remote Viewing, he allowed everyone in the room to see what it was seeing and then moved the eyeball-like organ floating in the air.

"Here's that house." He said after finding it and sent the sense organ inside. Even though the interior of the house was dark, it looked like broad daylight. Inside, the white one was pinned down with her tail up, and the black one was mounted on top of her.

The onlookers were bewildered.

At first, he didn't know what they were doing. Then, he didn't understand why they were doing it.

Ainz moved the sense organ back outside without a word, but with a murderous side glance at Oshikuru who barely restrained himself from laughing.

Full of misery, Ainz put his hands to his head.

The guardians standing by exchanged glances, not knowing what to say, just like their leader did not. At least to the Floor Guardians. He knew full well what he wanted to say to Oshikuru whose wide grin just wouldn't go away.

"…An absolutely disgusting bunch, they are. Cocytus is about to attack them and that's what they are doing?"

"You're right, exactly right."

"Uh, er, umm…"

"It's just as you say, Demiurge. We should punish them!"

"I'm jealous…"

Ainz raised a hand and the guardians' comments stopped. "…Well, they're about to die. I saw in a movie that at times like this, species' preservation instincts kick in or something." He nodded as if to approve of his own opinion.

"Just as you say, my lord."

"That much should be permitted, indeed."

"Quite right, quite right!"

"Umm, er, uh…"

"I wish you would do that to me…"

"…Shut up, you guys!"

The guardians all closed their mouths and Ainz sighed while Oshikuru chuckled.

"…Well, there's probably nobody in the village we need to watch out for. But don't drop your guard! They could be coming this way! Aura…" Ainz froze and looked at the two children.

Shit! What have I done? It's all your fault, Oshikuru! You and your stupid jokes! They aren't nearly old enough to have had sex education, it's still too early! He had the feeling this was how a father felt when the family was watching TV together and a hot love scene came on. What do mothers and fathers of the world say when their children ask how babies are made? This is bad! How could I ever do this to Buku's two… Phew, well, it's a problem. Albedo's no good. Oshikuru's the worst. Demiurge could explain the medical science of it… I'll make him a candidate. Shalltear… might actually not be so bad? Anyhow, we can figure it out another day.

Shelving the issue for the time being, Ainz cleared his throat. "Ahem. Aura, if your security net catches anyone suspicious, we all will move out."

In the event a Yggdrasil player showed up, he wasn't planning on keeping his promise of staying out of the lizardman village. If the tribes couldn't be made allies, he would crush them and all the players who sided with them using the full power of Nazarick to prevent an intelligence leak, even if he had to bring out the big guns from level eight and to release the kraken. Which consisted in telling Oshikuru to attack without holding back.

But it seemed like nobody would show up to oppose Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Okay, when it's time for the show, let's kick back and enjoy Cocytus' battle!"