Chapter 20 - Volume 3 (2/2)

He did not want to ad will More than that, he sounded like victory was at hand for hi the distance, but the thoughts welling up inside her checked her step

…Why isn’t Ainz-saic caster, he can’t possibly beat e This must be a bluff!

“My friend Peroroncino toldyou After I ca everyone’s information However, aside from my black history (Pandora’s Actor), you are probably the NPC in Nazarick hom I am the most familiar”

“Didn’t you say… you didn’t know , of course Wasn’t that obvious? I thought that perhaps if I said so, you would take the bait That’s because it would be quite hard to win if you saved your Impure Shockwave shi+eld until the end”

The flow of bloodto the undead, but Shalltear could feel hers draining froh her entire body

That was not a lie

Nothing he was saying here was a lie

Ainz Ooal Goas standing before her without running away because he was confident of attaining victory

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Shalltear’s lips parted and she wailed, the better to vent the e up inside her breast

Shalltear was the lion, Ainz was the rabbit, she should have been the hunter — no, that rong

This should have been a battle between lions; it was just that Shalltear had treated him as a rabbit—

The anxious and uneasy Shalltear clutched at her Spuit Lance, intending to finish this battle right away, intending to kill her foe with strike after strike, even if he fought back —

An instant before that, the spell Ainz cast went off, and he reached into his robe

A clear, crisp sound rang forth

Shalltear could not help but doubt her eyes

This was impossible

The Spuit Lance had bounced off some kind of white ic, Shalltear would have pressed the attack, because she knew Ainz did not have much MP left That would simply have been his death throes However, Shalltear froze as she beheld the scene before her

That pure white radiance was not the work of ic

—It was from a suit of are sapphire set into the breastplate, which radiated a pure, holy light

That suit of armor was on Ainz’s body, and it had repelled the thrust of the Spuit Lance

Froht, Ainz looked toward Shalltear

No… he was probably looking down on Shalltear

She was angry, of course, but Shalltear did not have the energy to spare on that, because a cold voice spoke to her:

“Fro to end this battle in melee co as a hand struck the nificent table, which shuddered from the blow it had taken

The Guardians here had been watching the battle intently

They had struck the table several times, but this was the first time that particular person had done so

“I!”

“…Touch Me-sama, is it?”

Albedo squinted at the crystal

“Correct! That Is Touch Me-sama’s Armor!”

Cocytus seemed very excited — no, in truth, he was very excited — as he exclaied to one of the nine people in YGGDRASIL who possessed the class of World Champion

Only the winner of the developer-sanctioned tournament could possess the class of World Champion, and the company awarded a special piece of equipment to the champion as a prize

Touch Me had chosen that suit of white armor This specially-made armor complemented his status as a World Champion, and its abilities exceeded those of divine class ite it on par with Guild Weapons Of course, since it was a gift to the champion, only the World Cha the warrior transforer bound by any job-related penalties, and can e’s tone was filled with respect, and Albedo murmured in awe

“To think his plans had been laid out that far in advance…”

Albedo broke out in goosebu into a warrior via ic, one could equip several iteh specific job classes This was a method the developers had implemented to allow players without specific classes to make use of items such as shurikens, vajras, kasa, and other bizarre pieces of equipment However, it would seem that spell’s remit also extended to those prize items issued by the developers to World Chaht That Far Ahead… I Ah the battle had not yet been decided, the Guardians present were filled with inco and wealth of experience, which had allowed hiuide it to fruition

And as the Guardians watched the crystalwithin theain

“That Is!”

Again, Cocytus raised his voice

Part 3

—The sound of clashi+ngforth

“Gyaaaaah—!”

An unbelievable sight unfolded before Shalltear’s eyes The edge of the blade cleaved into Shalltear’s chest fro heart

Shalltear’s crimson armor was dyed an even deeper shade of red She scra at Ainz in shock

Ainz held a katana It was a es That sword had cut through Shalltear’s arh paper

Her arendary class iteh it with such ease

Then — there was only one answer

Yes

Ainz was holding one of those feeapons—

Shalltear screahed up blood

“Take the strike from the nodachi The fact that she had jun of how frightened she was of that sword

However, nobody would , even less so if they were denizens of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick

Rather, they would have sympathetic looks on their faces, because they all feared this weapon of the Supreht of this sword, named after and wielded by Warrior Takes

“Did I not say so, Shalltear? Ainz Ooal Gown is invincible”

Ainz stepped forward, and Shalltear immediately took two steps back

“Shalltear, you should know this Ainz Ooal Gown is the combined power of forty one people You had no hope of victory fro with absolute confidence and the uterous battle of earlier had been like treading on thin ice, where one false step ht send hiht the battle to his enemy

Currently, their MP was zero, but Shalltear’s HP was higher

However, after using 「Perfect Warrior」 to become a level one hundred warrior, Ainz’s stats far outstripped Shalltear, as not a pure warrior In addition, Ainz’s equipment was superior to hers

Thatof the past

The man who had turned the tables advanced with even, steady steps

“—Shalltear Bloodfallen, open your eyes and witness the round Tos, and the man whom you praise with your very own nal for the attack

Ainz stepped forward and delivered an overhand strike with the nodachi

Shalltear leapt away, preparing to jump forward as she did Her ai after he h, it was hard to be overly precise with the nodachi Takemikazuchi Type 8, -swathed Take down — and then the tip of the blade halted in front of Shalltear, as preparing to ju forward at incredible speeds

Noone was, it was very difficult to stop a full-strength blow in theThis was especially true when one used a large and heavy weapon

Yet, Ainz could do it This was because he had not used all his force to attack In other words, he knew that the strike would have been avoided, so he had deliberately feinted an opening

The continuation of that attack had also been planned out, down to which strike he would use to follow up It was an instinctive, natural movement for a warrior

Ainz sith to turn it into reality

However, he probably would not have considered these matters had he not experienced combat in E-Rantel He would probably have unleashed onestrike after the other, and taken Shalltear’s counterattacks

Even after beco a level one hundred warrior, he would not have been able to fully utilize a warrior’s abilities, and they would have ended up wasted Much like driving a car, one ht have a license, but there was a world of difference between someone who only had a license on paper and one as used to driving on the open roads Both of thees in circumstances would be drastically different

In other words — experience

During this battle with Shalltear, Ainz felt that this experience was his most potent weapon

♦ ♦ ♦

It’ll be hard to avoid it

That hat Shalltear cal at her, as fast as lightning However, thrusts were a riskyattacks to turn a dangerous situation into an opportunity

Then… it can’t be helped

Shalltear put her hand into the path of the thrust, having decided to sacrifice her left arm

As the blade pierced her pal the thrust to one side

It did not penetrate her chest, but the tip of the sword still drove through her left palm, into the muscle and bone, until it was deeply buried in her left ar the nodachi coursed through Shalltear’s body

Though she was undead, the sensation of being savagely penetrated still filled Shalltear with soh she kept the corners of her mouth raised

It was a smile — not one which an injured person would make, but neither was it a brave front After all, that hat Shalltear had intended

Shalltear tensed her left arm The nodachi halted, pinned down by her ht end up leaving one’s weapon stuck in a foe’s flesh should they miss their mark Hence, they were not very practical in combat In other words, they had a weakness Shalltear knew that weakness, which hy she had sacrificed her left ar in her opponent’s defense

She could not have done so if she could not grasp the nodachi in her left hand in the instant before it impaled her — a feat which she had to perform within tenths of a second

“You’re open now!”

Now that his nodachi was tied up, Ainz had no way of defending against the Spuit Lance

As Shalltear thrust the Spuit Lance at lightning speed, she once o of the divine class weapon in his hand — a hest order — and then withdrew one of the several wooden sticks slotted at his waist

“Hah!? Are you retarded!? How could a little stick like that block the Spuit Lance!? And then you actually let go of your divine class weapon!? Isn’t that a colossalattached to Warrior Takemikazuchi’s divine class weapon was a wise decision, but there was no way he could win after losing that weapon

With asmile on her face, Shalltear vowed to make Ainz suffer more than her left hand had She thrust the Spuit Lance with all her ht — and then it was deflected, with a clear, crisp sound of ainst metal

“Eh?” Shalltear exclaier in Ainz’s hand, and in its place were two kodachis, which had deflected the Spuit Lance One was as blindingly brilliant as the sun, while the other gloith the pure, gentle light of thethe kodachis — began s It would seem that those weapons were the bane of the undead

“You were saying so open, Shalltear?”

“Cheh! What, what’s going on?”

Shalltear could not feel the weight of the weapon which had pierced her left arh it could not exist in the same world as the neeapons which Ainz had prepared Shalltear sensed that they had returned to their original place

“Well, that’s true If you can’t handle a weapon in each hand, sticking to one would be wiser…”

Ainz’s s seemed to have been directed at someone elsewhere

“Then, is that the case for me now?”

Shalltear could not understand what heher balance, theat her

The attack at her neck was a feint; the kodachi nimbly altered its course and streaked at her shoulder It was only by the barest of ed to deflect it

Ainz took the opportunity to close the gap with Shalltear Since his foe was using anearer would make it harder for his opponent to rizzled veteran — one as intimately familiar with that idea

Then, the other kodachi — the sunlit one — sliced into the gap in the Spuit Lance’s defense and lightly pierced Shalltear’s body

“Aaaaaahhh!”

She wailed in pain

Actually being stabbed did not hurt that ony which cay which filled her body like poison That pain was much harder to bear

Ainz worked the kodachi froh to saw open the wound

“Get away from me!”

The distance between Shalltear and Ainz was too narrow to use the Spuit Lance, so she kicked at him He blocked it with a kodachi, but he could not fully resist the kick and was flung back At this moment, Shalltear saw that Ainz’s hands had released the kodachis, and they had another sauntlet covered Ainz’s hand That gauntlet was so big that it nearly dragged on the ground fro position—

“Take this!”

—And as Ainz shouted, he punched her

Shalltear reflexively raised the Spuit Lance to defend herself, but the h the Spuit Lance and washed over her entire body

“Gugyaaah!”

Shalltear yelped pathetically as she was flung backward, as though struck by a gigantic fist The hit did not do e, and the Spuit Lance could block physical attacks, but the knockback effect was enough to overco her

She recovered her lost balance quickly thanks to her ic items, but a fire still burned inside her head

“Ho dare you force such a pitiful sound out of me! I’ll make sure you squeal like that before I tear you apart… huh?”

Her eyes shi+fted, and as she saw a itation vanished

That flare of sunlight caht were naturally targeted at Shalltear

“No, no way, how could that be… Hou Yi’s Bow?”

This weapon had been named after the hero who had shot down the sun while China was still a balkanized mass of smaller countries It was also thewho had created Shalltear

All the Guardians were protected against ranged weapons, so they did not have to worry about siht did not do physical dae In other words, they were counted as ic attacks, and those defenses did not apply

Dammit! I’m out of MP! If I had some, I could defend myself with a spell! I’m out of skills too! If I had known, I should have saved a few uses for… no!

The fact that she had used up all her MP and her skill uses were all the result of their previous battle In other words, she had followed Ainz Ooal Gown’s script to the letter

Shalltear’s eyes turned bloodshot and she bellowed This was the expression of one who had realized their mistake after the fact, and as determined not to admit defeat

“damn you! How did you obtain Peroroncino-sama’s weapon? Was all this part of your plan? How did you prepare all these weapons? Where did you hide them? Was it a skill that activated after you broke those sticks!?”

What on earth was going on here?

It was as though the world itself was bending over backwards to help hiician would I be if I told you the secret of my tricks?”

“A trick!? A trick couldn’t have summoned Peroroncino-sa so is kind of disrespectful towards hi cash ite you have done until now has been dancing in the palht streaked out at Shalltear She kneas useless, but she tried to block it with the Spuit Lance anyway — and then her surroundings were enveloped by a blast of exploding brilliance

Shalltear tried to think as the sacred radiance scorched her entire body Retreating was pointless, and if this went on, there was nothing she could do but let hihter her at his leisure

That white arh defensive power, but he could not possibly be unscathed by a hit from the Spuit Lance All she could do was count on her weapon’s life-absorbing properties as she abandoned all defense and focused on an all-out attack

“Uoooooh!”

Shalltear gave voice to a battlecry that did not suit her face A cold, clear voice responded to her:

“The odds of victory are seven to three… I trust I need not say who is who?”

Ainz slowly raised an axe -looking greataxe As she saw this, Shalltear hesitated on whether or not to advance, but in the end she took a step forward

After all, there was nowhere for her to run

“Such adame, Shalltear!”

♦ ♦ ♦

“…Ainz-sama Will Win”

Those words slipped out froe — who lacked a warrior’s knowledge — asked a question

Naturally, Dee was firmly convinced that his master would win However, he needed to know ical analysis, and so he voiced the doubt in his heart

“Why is that? Should it not take a long time to determine victory?”

“Shalltear Has Abandoned Defense For An All-out Attack I Would Have Done So In The Saed his weapons one after the other — in other words, she has no idea what other weapons Ainz-sama possesses Under these circue, Shalltear would conclude that running away is a foolish option after seeing Ainz-sama’s bow Thus, all she can do is close the distance to the attack range of her Spuit Lance and fight The fact that she can no longer use skills and ic only adds to that… at least, that is what I think”

“I see So that’s hoas After all, only you could fully grasp the weapons which the Supres did not show to us, Cocytus”

Cocytus shrugged

“I Only Know Of Their Effects And Names But I Have Not Seen Theh I am unclear on the details In other words, now that Shalltear is coht out the axe—”

“—Blood-Drinking Flesh-Eater”

“Thank you, Cocytus That Blood-Drinking Flesh-Eater does not look very balanced and seems inaccurate However, it should be able to strike Shalltear, who has abandoned her defense”

“I Mentioned It Before But The Entire Fight Has Gone As Ainz-sama Planned I Am In, Awe Of His Prowess”

“Ainz-saht is astounding, as expected of the one who gathered all the Supres… In all honesty, he could probably rule Nazarick easily without us I am somewhat dissatisfied”

“…His Extraordinary Ability As A Magic Caster… No As A Combatant Is Truly An Inspiration”

“Still… the battle is not decided yet, no? Ainz-sae compared to Shalltear, in terms of health”

Albedo simply smiled, because she was certain of Ainz’s victory

“There will be no problem on that account”

“Why is that?”

“That man is Ainz Ooal Gown, our ruler and supreme leader Since he has declared he will seize victory, there is no doubt that he will attain it”

♦ ♦ ♦

Every attack ate away at their health

Shalltear’s attacks restored her health, but the daate the health that Shalltear regained The Spuit Lance chipped away at Ainz’s health, turning this into soame of chicken

Every tih it would chop her arhout her body However, whenever she thrust her lance, which dealt bludgeoning da under her assaults

This feeling… Can I ith this amount of health…?

Joy filled Shalltear’s heart, as she felt that there was still a chance of victory If they continued trading blows, that hts of defense, Shalltear had thrown herself wholeheartedly into the attack, thinking only of seeing which of them would fall first Shalltear, so full of anxiety, finally sht appeared in the darkness

This was because she had been calculating the rate of her health’s depletion The reater her joy would be

“Ahahahaha!”

Shalltear laughed as she struck and was struck in turn

“Ahahaha! Ainz-sama! It seems you’ll run out of health first! The difference in our health will be what deter dumped cold water on Shalltear’s pride

It was a simple sentence:

“…Do you really think so?”

Shalltear realised her foolishness as she heard the voice of the scheress of all the events which had unfolded thus far

Impossible

How did he intend to turn this situation around?

Shalltear did not knoould do it, but a third person’s voice clarified her doubts

“Tiirl’s voice

She had never heard this voice before, which see to be a child It reminded Shalltear of a female voice she had heard before If that woman had pitched her voice differently, it would probably have sounded like this

“Nohat do you think ‘Ti blows andher foe with her weapon, Shalltear had no idea what that question meant A look of baffle thus far has gone as I have planned, that means, the time which has passed has also been within my calculations Nohat do you think that watch meant when it told us that time was up?”

The axe in Ainz’s hands vanished, beco white shi+eld and armor, Ainz rese crisply as it deflected the Spuit Lance’s attack

Things being as they were, Ainz had probably turned to defense because of that female voice, but Shalltear had no idea of the reason for that As he went on the defensive, Ainz’s voice reached her ears a of metal

“Do I even need to say it? The battle is over, and victory has been decided”

Why? Shalltear was still at twenty five percent health How has victory been decided, Shalltear wanted to screaic cannot kill you in one hit when you’re at full health Then, all I need to do is reduce your health until it can do so And it would seem our back and forth just now has heavily depleted your health”

“…Ahhh, ah, ahhhhhhhh—”

Shalltear desperately attacked, trying to shut her opponent up and block out the knowledge of her iainstout continuously, the interval between them less than a tenth of a second Shalltear’s continuous attacks lashed at Ainz like a storinable speed So skillful was he that it seeet wet As he effortlessly blocked the attacks against him, he continued:

“…It’s true that I aical defense is superior Then — you should understand what I’ht? I’m about to make my move, Shalltear All you can do is pray that I miscalculated”

“Kuuuuuuuhhhhh—!”

♦ ♦ ♦

Knowing that defeat was at hand, Shalltear continued her frenzied string of attacks Though her features were distorted, her looks were not diambit

Despite what he had told Shalltear, his plan had not gone as sin with, super tier ic was like a skill, and did not consuic, and he could not access it when transformed into a warrior

Once he dispelled the warrior transforic, he would not be able to equip his armor and shi+eld and they would fall off him That would make it very difficult for him to resist Shalltear’s attacks If she decided to use a skill of soh HP daic

That would spell defeat for him

However, he had no other way to win

Ainz briefly went over the ti of his actions First, he would dispel the warrior transformation, and then he would use a cash item

He sate in the use of cash ite in YGGDRASIL This was the difference between a game and reality — between entertainment and survival

Now!

He blocked Shalltear’s full-tilt attack with his friend’s shi+eld, and then he glared at her

He dispelled the warrior transforic circle appeared around hilass-like cash item—

—And then he suddenly hesitated

This was because a wave of guilt flooded through hily created

His hesitation was a fatalShe noticed the item in Ainz’s hand and thrust her Spuit Lance, enhanced with a skill Her plan was to destroy Ainz’s hand

Having dispelled his warrior transformation, Ainz could not possibly avoid Shalltear’s attack—

♦ ♦ ♦

—And then she felt so

Just as the Spuit Lance was about to destroy the ite on her spine That was clearly hostility

Someone hostile had appeared beside Shalltear, so obviously that she could not ignore it

Shalltear averted her eyes from Ainz to see who that enemy was

And then — she found that there was nobody there

Ainz’s spell had created a two hundred meter-wide expanse of desert nobody else was there beside Shalltear and Ainz The hostility she had felt just noas nowhere to be found, as though she had been daydreaood!” Shalltear exclaimed as she came to her senses, but by then it was already too late

The hourglass shattered, reducing the casting time of the spell to zero

“「Fallen Down」”

With those words, a brilliant flash erupted between the

Shalltear could feel her body disintegrating in the incredible heat

Her carbonized right arm crumbled to dust, while the Spuit Lance slowly fell to as probably the ground in this bleached-white world Her face was shrivelled up fro heat, and all she could see before her hiteness

Her throat was dried up too — in fact, she did not know if her throat had also been incinerated — so it was difficult to speak Still, there was one thing she had to say Shalltear Bloodfallen ive praise:

“…Ah, long live Ainz Ooal Gown-sas”

This was her sincere respect for the als The heatwave seeh her body could not inably free

Someone who should not have been there appeared in Shalltear’s vanishi+ng consciousness That someone was the person that had allowed this victory to take place

The undead could ignore just about any for effect However, there were certain abilities that produced si That person had used such an ability

Shalltear smiled, and said:

“…Shorty”

Thus satisfied, Shalltear vanished into a world of white

♦ ♦ ♦

Aura dispelled her skill 「Sky Eye」, and her puckered pink lips returned to their original shape There was a look of annoyance on her face as she began scolding someone as not there

“You duet h you were undead? That’s just so stupid of you”

“What, what’s wrong, Onee-chan?”

“H, but since he was deep in the forest, all he could see in any direction was trees Still, he could tell what Aura was looking at fro

She should have been observing the battle between Shalltear and her er skill to expand her field of vision to about two kilo watch over the surroundings with the help of the Eyeball Corpses

“Th-Then, has the battle been decided?”

“Mm Ainz-saht too”

The forest Guardian could defeat — appeared in Mare’s mind It was a sensible conclusion; how could the one who led the Supres be defeated?

“Then, Onee-chan, should, should we go collect Shalltear’s equipment?”

Aura considered what she had seen before ter her skill

“Ainz-sama should have recovered it all We’ll fall back as instructed”

“Mm”

Mare knew his sister was in a bad ed her commands

Aura’s best friend had been mind-controlled, and made to point her lance at the beloved master to whom they had all sworn their loyalty While her execution was the expected outcome of such a course of action, she still felt upset about it

Part 4

He opened the name list in the Throne Room, and as expected, the space which should have contained Shalltear’s name was blank This verified that Shalltear was dead, and so phase one of the plan was concluded

Ainz’s heart ached While he knew that there was no other way, the fact that he had personally couilt

In his heart, Ainz apologized to Shalltear Then he gulped, and turned to the gathered Guardians

“Then, the next step will be to resurrect Shalltear Albedo, pay attention to Shalltear’s name If she reh I may overstep myself, I propose that you should allow us to deal with it ourselves”

Cocytus and Aura ie’s words, while Mare despondently agreed as well Only Albedo ree’s passionate words interrupted Ainz’s

“We are fully aware that your orders are to be respected above all else, Ainz-sarind ourselves to dust in order to obey them However, as your loyal servants, we cannot allow you to be placed into danger once aze shi+fted from Ainz to Albedo

“If Shalltear betrays you once more, then we shall eliminate her as your Guardians We pray that you atch us do so, Ainz-sama”

Now that he understood the Guardians’ intentions, Ainz could not offer any further resistance

“I understand Guardians, if Shalltear betrays us once more, you may deal with her as you see fit”

The Guardians nodded in acknowledgement

Ainz felt miserable as he watched them

What a pathetic excuse for athis far, he still had to let his beloved children kill each other

The root cause of it all was his foolishness It was all his fault

Ainz wanted to sigh, but as he saw the gentle expression on Albedo’s face as she stood to the side, he decided to s it

“Ainz-sama, all you need to do is stand aside and watch To who vanishes? Though ill not have been abandoned, ill still be lonely if all the Supreone”

“…Indeed It’s very lonely to not have anyone by your side”

Ainz’s eyes had unconsciously turned to the the flags hanging within the Throne Roo on the eht… It must have been that way in the Treasury too… What a fool I was”

Afterto himself, Ainz turned to face the Guardians

“Protect ins now!”

Their spirited replies washed over Ainz as he grabbed the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown that floated in the air beside him, and turned it toward a corner of the Throne Rooold coins there, about five hundred million of them That was the sum needed to recall Shalltear to life

Normally, he would have needed to use the keyboard to perform the necessary operations, but he no that it was no longer necessary

The ed shape, from a solid to a liquid

Watched by the Guardians, the old formed a river, which flowed to the saold co a huolden puppet, and its golden gloeakened

Soon, the golden glow had vanished co white, waxy skin and platinum blonde hair There was no doubt that the person before him was Shalltear Bloodfallen

“Albedo!”

Ainz kept his eyes fixed on Shalltear as he bellowed Albedo’s name

“Please be at ease It seems the mind control has been terminated”

“Is that so…”

Ainz unconsciously touched his chest in response to the powerful sense of relief flooding hiesture calmed his spirit Then, he reached into his pocket dimension and retrieved a black cloak, before he strode over to the supine Shalltear

Her eyes were tightly shut, and her chest was not round, like a corpse Still, the undead were essentially animated corpses, so that was hardly unusual

So unusual—

The chest he had just seen was so flat that it hardly see where to put his eyes, Ainz’s gaze left her chest and looked elsewhere

The freshly resurrected Shalltear was naked (of course), so he had no idea where he should be looking Ainz was so panicked that he forgot that all he had to do was look elsewhere

His vision had sharpened greatly fro, so he could see certain places very clearly

Shalltear’s body was carelessly displayed, and her thighs were slightly parted—

—Ainz hurriedly threw the black cape over her

The cape spread inher entire body

It’s not like I regret doing that! I’m undead, so I have no sexual desires! No, that should be, al at Shalltear’s body because I was sined with parts under her clothing You’d never be able to take off all your clothes in YGGDRASIL anyway, so that’s why I took a peek That’s right, it’s not because I ondering if she had hair down there or anything!

As Ainz tried to explain his actions to… so so to reach her was because he wanted to cool down his overheating head

Also, he deliberately ignored the fe, “If you are interested, I have no objection to displayingpleasure”

As Ainz stood before her, Shalltear’s cri the presence of someone nearby She blinked sleepily and looked around, finally resting her gaze on Ainz

“Ainz-sa just woken up However, he could hear the loyalty in her voice Although Albedo and Nazarick’s adiance, Ainz was delighted to confirm it with his own ears, and he knelt down to embrace Shalltear

“Uh, ueeh?”

It was hard to believe that such a slender body possessed such startling physical abilities

Ainz paid no heed to Shalltear, as babbling in a thoroughly baffled way, and tightened his grip on her

“Wonderful… no, I’m sorry This was all my fault…”

“Eh? Ah, I’m not sure what happened, but I’m certain that you couldn’t have made a mistake, Ainz-sama”

Shalltear’s ice-cold hands returned the eiven that she seerope hi to verify her sense of touch after her resurrection He pretended that he did not hear her saying, “Ah, shall I have my first time here…”

However, Albedo immediately made her displeasure known

“…Ainz-sama, I believe Shalltear is tired, so we should leave her be for now”

“Indeed”

Perhaps there was a penalty for resurrecting NPCs, just as there was for players After all, this was the first resurrection ever since co to this world

“Tell me the details later Before that, I have soo of Shalltear, a look of disappointlared sharply at Albedo Albedo responded with her usual s at each other as usual, but Shalltear averted her eyes instead

“Yes, do ask ht, Ainz-sama, why am I in the Throne Room? Then, there’s the matter of my body, and your treatment of me, Ainz-sama Have I caused any trouble?”

“I was about to ask you that Do you re that happened?”

“Ah, yes”

“…Sorry Shalltear, tellyou remember”

Shalltear’s o She had no impression of what had happened after that, until now

Ainz could have used the tenth tier spell 「Control A short stretches ofamount of MP needed to affect five day’s worth of ic casters Not even Ainz and his extraordinary MP regeneration rates could do it

Of course, the resurrection process ht be such that NPCs lost their memories of the past few days Alternately, perhaps several people athered to do it

He lacked information at the present moment, so he could not solve that mystery

Still, he could be sure that whoever had used the World Class Ite without a trace

It’s quite troubleso behind the scenes The ene for a chance to strike at Nazarick… no, perhaps I should be glad that this incident didn’t escalate… In any case, I’ll e myself on whoever did this to Nazarick

Ainz quelled the anger which even his undead traits could not fully suppress, and gently asked Shalltear:

“Are there any other problems with your body?”

If this world was like YGGDRASIL, then there should not have been anything else The NPCs should not have lost levels, but he was unsure if the same applied to this world as well For all he knew, the NPCs would lose levels, just like player characters would

Shalltear felt herself up before answering Ainz:

“I don’t think there’s anything”

“Is that so?”

After Shalltear answered, a look of shock ca, Ainz felt uneasiness welling up inside him

“Ainz-sa?”

“My chest is gone”

The faces of the Guardians twisted as they heard this, with expressions of We want our concern back written all over thee had his teeth bared

“Don’t you knohat you did? How could you say so like that!?”

As Albedo delivered a rebuke on everyone’s behalf, Shalltear’s shoulders treone so li on the floor All he could do atch Shalltear argue with the other Guardians, and ponder various questions about resurrection

In particularly, he hoped that Cleraveyard, would also lose their memories after resurrection, as Shalltear had

Still, that was just being optimistic

Since he did not knohy Shalltear had lost her uarantee that their resurrection through h s, Shalltear had already begun tearing up under Albedo’s one-sided torrent of abuse

As Ainz watched the scene before him, he recalled a scene froaer brother), and the rest of his suildmates

The NPCs before him were like his past comrades

♦ ♦ ♦

Ainz slowly reached a hand out, and then stopped in lass was blocking him

A profound sense of loneliness filled Ainz’s heart

It felt as though the memories of the warm place where the Guardians existed was little e on a monitor — and he was on the other side

If he stepped into it, they would pledge their loyalty to him That was a form of awe, and not the warmth he had felt when he had been with his friends

He felt that it was a terrible shame

Just as Ainz’s hand fell powerlessly, Albedo turned around — as though sensing soe about Ainz — and watched hi at hi when the flames in his eyes suddenly flared up

That was because Albedo was gently holding her hand out to him After a moment’s hesitation, Ainz took her hand, and thus he was pulled into the circle of the Guardians

Albedo was the first to speak, and then the other Guardians followed suit

“Ainz-saht! Please give this du!”

“Indeed She Needs A Stern Lesson”

“You’ll remember Ainz-sah, maybe it would be better not to be too strict… er, erm…”

“—Ha, hahaha”

Ainz could not keep his laughter fro his mouth despite the baffled looks frohter did not just come from his mouth, but from his heart

After he was satisfied, Ainz silently turned back to Shalltear

“I have told Albedo before, but the fault for this does not lie with you, Shalltear It is I — who possessed all this infor — who most deserves to be rebuked for this Shalltear, you did nothing wrong Remember that”

“Thank, thank you, Ainz-sa what happened to Shalltear Can you do that?”

Dee bowed to show that he understood

“Ah, then there’s the matter of Sebas—”

“He will be bait”

As Ainz cal one of his subordinates as bait, the Guardians merely nodded, with the attitude a properthe considerations of the round Toue

“I a to do this, but it cannot be helped… I do not knohy Shalltear was targeted, but if the opposition is looking for a new victi with her This hy I did not call him back to receive a World Class Item… Albedo, select a few clandestine operatives to keep an eye on Sebas and his surroundings… He ht be bait, but I do not intend to allow Sebas to be so easily taken Infor the ene his orders, Ainz narrowed his eyes — in other words, the flarew dim

…Someday I shall meet the person who used a World Class Item on Shalltear When that day comes, I shall return the favor with interest!

“Understood I will select the appropriate personnel as soon as possible”

“Please do Thanks to Shalltear,that NPCs can be resurrected, but I do not wish to kill any of the NPCs ain”

Moved by those words, the Guardians lowered their heads They had probably sensed how much Ainz valued thes, the effect on thereater

Shalltear see had happened to her A look of shock crossed her face, which soon turned into one of utestured that she did not need to take it to heart Just then, a voice came from the side

“Ah, then, Ainz-sama”

“What is it, Mare?”

“Erm, ah, should… should I remove all traces of the battle?”

“There’s no need for that Did you know? When one breaks a spell-sealing crystal, it releases powerful energy, enough to level the surroundings”

“Eh? Is, is that so?”

“…My apologies It’s a lie, of course What is false is true and what is true is false Magic-sealing crystals seem to be rare items, so nobody should be able to test that Albedo, put a few scratches on the ite Then, we’ll need to have the blacksed armor and put soh an intense battle”

“Understood”

“In addition, perhaps I have been too careless so far, which allowed hidden enemies around Nazarick to harthen Nazarick Part of that is to use my skills to create an undead army I think I’ve mentioned that before… het that In any case, this will be my top priority I would like to make some preparations to recover corpses from E-Rantel which can be used to make an undead army”

“About that, Ainz-sa, Albedo?”

“If I a, when you use a hu undead, the undead thus created are quite weak, despite being mid-tier Is that correct?”

“Indeed Is there a problem?”

The most powerful undead he could ht Scripture were level forty Beyond that, the undead would vanish with the passage of ti with the corpses that served as theirthat order, I had considered ways of obtaining fresh corpses Perhaps you could consider using non-human corpses?”

“…I trust you do not intend to use the corpses of Nazarick’s vassals?”

“No, that is absolutely notother dely beautiful — and terribly cruel — se What do you think of attacking and destroying them?”