Overlord (WN)

It was a hard bed, but if you try to sleep, you will.

She recognised that lucid dream. That particular scene in her dreams made her happy. It would be a good dream if it was able to let her indulge in that moment of happiness again.

There were no presence of enemy nearby. She was confident that she can switch her attention towards them even if they appeared.

Just a little, I shall enjoy my dream—-

The throne room. Ainz who had arrived late walked slowly.

Separated left and right, the Guardians, the combat capable maids, and the servants that the Guardians had specifically selected had their heads bowed

Not even one person moved, and there was a silence where not a breath could be heard. The only sounds were made by the owner of this room—-Ainz’s footsteps and the sound of the staff hitting the ground.

He climbed the stairs, and sat on the throne.

“Raise your heads.”

In response to Ainz’s words, everyone’s heads raised without a hint of disorder. Their movements were perfect, like they had practised beforehand. Ainz felt a sense of satisfaction.

At the head of the right side was Demiurge. Behind him were Shalltear, Aura and Cocytus.

Sebas was at the head of the left. Behind him were the combat capable maids. And after a gap, the subordinates of the Guardians were arranged in rows.

The first were the subordinates that Demiurge brought.

Their staunch figures were covered in black hardened scales with large bat-like wings sprouting from their backs. A dark malevolent aura permeated from their bodies. Their bodies were supported by a devilish whip-like tail. Sharp fangs protruded from their mouths, with razor sharp claws that cuts like a katana.

On their heads were pairs of long and twisted horns, on their backs were similar but shorter horns. Their faces were covered with scales, making them look like a twisted hybrid of men and insect.

They were the image of a demon. They were not the highest level, but they were high class level 80 Abyssal Lords.

The next example was Aura.

If Demiurge brought one type, demons, then hers was variety. Various monsters assembled.

With squirming tentacles and multiple heads, Arendagrost.

The Tsuveck Priest Lord was holding a decorative scepter which emitted a golden radiance, and was a pinkish frog-like creature that wore in a classy cleric outfit. Most of the time, the creature would wear a crown, but under the presence of Ainz, the crown was placed on its side.

Others like Sphinx Lord where the sph 3nh* was enshrined sat next to it.

*This is a real thing.

Next was Cocytus.

His entourage were a group of warriors with armors that radiated a platinum gleam. Some placed their katana on their side, some held long spears, some even carried bows on their backs and they carried a variety of weapons.

Underneath an armoured body like Cocytus. Swordmasters of the Beetle Race.

They did not wear armour in Yggdrasil, but in this world they can and so he gave some to them. They were a race that possessed a high chance of critical strikes and had the special skill known as <Vorpal Beheading>. They were the most feared vanguard even when not fully equipped.

Lastly was Shalltear, and her subordinates were one race.

Their skin was like white wax, with no visible traces of blood vessels and their eyes shined like red rubies. The parting of their crimson lips revealed the long canines teeths beneath. Each of them were blessed with the charm of an adult women.

They were all vampires.

Their bodies were only covered by a thin layer of lace gown that revealed their ample cleavage. Underneath the thin gown were luxurious jewellery that emitted a golden light. Their clothes did not hide the figure of the wearer, so one could almost see through to the skin underneath the semi-transparent dress, as if they were naked.

Their appearance suited the desire of the perverted Shalltear, who was designed to have fetishes of necrophilia and big breasts.

Including Sebas and the combat maids, all the subordinates who were allowed to enter the throne room were all present.

“Firstly, I would like to apologise for acting on my own.”

Ainz expressed his remorse to all those present, but no hint of regret was detected. The apology was a just a superficial gesture, but the act itself is important to Ainz. Ainz acting alone was his sole discretion, the apology was meant to prevent any loss of confidence from his minions and also to banish any thoughts from the underlings that Ainz was not confident in their abilities.

Fully understanding his intentions, none of his subordinates voiced out any concerns. Ainz continued to speak.

“And I will change the name I informed you of. Instead of Ainz Ooal Gown—-Ainz is fine.”

The Guardians and Sebas’ eyes widened.

Even Demiurge had a face of surprise. However, it changed to one of understanding.

“We have received your name.”

—-His answer represented all whom were present. All of them bowed simultaneously. Ainz nodded his head and beckoned them to raise theirs before continuing.

“As a result of my self experiments, I have received information, that the humans surrounding us do not pose a threat.”

The minions assembled before Ainz were highly confident in their own abilities, none showed any changes in their expressions even after Ainz’s declaration. They believed that their superiority was natural, but it was slightly worrying.

This was due to a lack of information.

It was true that the Warrior Captain had that sort of power. Even if he did not go all out, he had the ability to defeat a Death Knight. Thinking that there were better people than him was difficult. And based on the Kingdom, they should not be called the weakest of the surrounding countries.

However, the information they had was only from one part of this world.

“Still the information I have gathered is not sufficient to light up the night-sky—-It is weak as embers. To illuminate the world like the sun, I must grasp more information about the world. I hope to choose people to gather this information but—-My original intention was to allow Demiurge’s underlings to achieve this goal, but I do not think that this is enough. Looking at it from all angles, we must infiltrate a human occupied city to gather our intelligence……Now Demiurge, among your subordinates, who is the most suited for this task?”

“It should be impossible. It could be possible to steal information but, we do not have any subordinates that can mix among humans.”

“—-I see. Then what about using illusion magic.”

Among the 50 underlings gathered, only a single hand was raised. Ainz did not expect much from his gathered subordinates. The reason was that in Yggdrasil, monster special abilities were limited to six. This did not even include the usage of magic.

Most of the abilities were centered on roles for recovery, attack, defense, and support purposes. It was extremely rare for them to have other types of abilities.

The only ones who were able to utilise the vast variety of magic in Yggdrasil were none other than players.

In addition, most fairy type monsters could use illusion magic, but there were none within the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick

“……If we include “that” and myself, then three people.”

That number was extremely small.

Should I take that out? While it was guarding an important place, that place was impregnable inside the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. Leaving it there would be to just let a treasure rot away.

But, moving that was something that he wanted to avoid.

Choosing not to move that this time, the next time something occurred then it would be fine.

“Then it cannot be helped. It might be slightly dangerous, but we have too little information. And so we must learn some. Sebas—-”

“Yes.”

“Lend me one of the maids.”

Sebas did not reject. Although he had no intention of waiting for Sebas’ reply. Sebas himself had no intention to say anything else. Any form of rejection would be just be conducted on the surface.

Ainz moved his gaze towards one of the maids standing at the front. Standing there was a woman in her late tens or early twenties.

With a face that would remind one of a Japanese, she gave off a graceful atmosphere. Because of that, although her chest was big, no lewd thoughts could be made.

Her bright and smooth porcelain white skin reflected the brightness of the magical light. Her dark hair was rich and moist, and her obsidian black eyes sparkled.

Out of 1,000 people, 999 would turn their heads to marvel at her beauty again.

“……Gamma. I have a very important mission for you. Pay attention to a lot of things, and once it is over, return immediately to my side. I will say it now. This is a job to collect information regarding adventurers. This is an extremely important mission, do you understand?”

“—-Yes. I shall respond to your will.”

Although Ainz could not remember her name, he remembered her call sign and he commanded her.

Did the maid feel happy from receiving his order, her face reddened. Her side tail wavered in the air.

At that figure, the fire in Ainz’s eye sockets wavered, but without voicing his emotion he continued his order.

“To Sebas I have a different mission. First collect information of the countries’ weapons. Next, find out about how developed the level of technology and magic are. What can and cannot be done. The technology takes precedence. You will have to come up with countermeasures according to the situation.”

This was a fantasy world. It was likely that unimaginable things might happen, things that go beyond the boundaries of the information at hand—-Magic or things related to it.

Currently, they must place great importance upon matters related to magic skills. Especially those skills related to information gathering.

For example: The spell to communicate with the Divine: Oracle, the spell to perceive the past: Retrocognition, or the spell to detect the location of an object: Locate Object, and other such types of magics. One could not really be certain that such spells did not exist. And the stronger the unknown spell, the more unprepared one will be when its existence becomes known.

“The next matter of priority is the discovery of talented individuals of high combat ability. As mentioned earlier, we can presume the combat ability of soldiers serving each country to be relatively low. But there may be other unknown talents within the country that are free agents. We need to find out how our strength compares to these free agents. In other words, we need the kind of information that I’ve ordered the earlier maid to collect, except from another source or angle.”

Monsters, adventurers, the 13 Heroes. If you thought about it, there were a handful of existences of unknown strength. And it was unclear whether there were other players. Even if the strongest person in the Kingdom was weaker than himself, it did not give him a sense of safety.

This might be akin to the thoughts of a madman, fearing the sun would come crashing down.

Ainz even wanted to know what the sun was made of. He would only be satisfied when he is absolutely sure that the sun will not fall on his head.

“Understood, Ainz-sama.”

“Ah, inform the maids the same thing. If possible, I would like you to live in the town, and gain common sense and information. Consider the Kingdom.”

“Understood.”

There was no particular reason why he chose the Kingdom. It was just the place that he could safely ignore.

“—-Next is Aura. There is a large forest nearby, scout the area. If the forest is safe, build a resupply zone and emergency refuge. It’s purpose is to transport material to Nazarick during emergencies. It will also serve as a rendezvous point in case of an emergency evacuation of Nazarick.”

The faces of the guardians looked shocked with a hint of fear mixed in. What sort of attack could penetrate this impregnable fortress? They were alarmed when their master had already considered the possibility that the Great Tomb of Nazarick would be taken down.

The purpose was to increase the vigilance of the guardians, and to prevent them from approaching the task clumsily.

“I am the embodiment of Ainz Ooal Gown. As long as I remain, it will still be our victory. The Great Tomb of Nazarick is nothing but a vessel. As long as it remains within my hands, it will never failure. Do you understand the importance of this assignment, Aura?”

“Yes!”

The reply was brimming with confidence. Aura’s determination could be felt from her voice, and Ainz nodded like he was satisfied.

“Nothing is absolute, you must observe things carefully. We are unsure of how strong are the monsters in this world. Collect the information of those monsters as you encounter them.”

“Yes!”

“According to the circumstances, we may use that area for food production. Do take note of the surrounding areas.”

“Understood. Go to an unexplored area to expand the territory. May I create dummies?”

“Either way is fine. I will leave it to your own discretion.”

“Understood.”

Aura bobbed her head.

Moving his line of sight, Demiurge was next. Ainz was hesitant to give his next set of orders. This order would mostly likely lead to the suffering of many humans.

“…….Demiurge……Although the task is also possible for Cocytus. But I think you are more suited for this task. Henceforth, I will give you this responsibility.” Ainz sighed during his moment of hesitance. “……Bring your servants and take control of one country. Use them for open action, but control matters in the back, do not reveal your existence to others.”

“……Should I take it that the lack of information about current magic and the strength of adventurers is considerably dangerous? Should I wait for Sebas-dono?”

“It is so. Your words are correct. However, around when I, the figure known as Ainz, appears, a Demon King is born, many annoying vermin may seek to slander me. Thus I shall send you.”

“I will use my own methods to gather information while moving among the shadows.”

Ainz nodded his head slowly.

If one used combat capability as the sole criteria, Cocytus was the best choice. If Ainz wanted to dominate a country forcibly, Shalltear would be best. But this task was rather complicated and delicate. The ability to adapt to the situation through some strategic thinking would be more useful than combat ability.

Then there was no one else to send but Demiurge.

“……Then when we dominate them, will the [Great Hero of Justice] Ainz Ooal Gown arrive to repel those subordinates?”

“……Yes.”

“Understood!” Demiurge charmingly smiled. “Please let me take on the role as the Demon King for this assignment. I shall adjust the plans accordingly to allow the Hero of the Empire to take center stage.”

“In moderation. But think before you massacre people.”

The smart devilish face of the Demiurge twisted from astonishment.

“Please allow this embarassed one to ask a question. Why thus? A massacre will certainly invite the wrath of the people. I think that this method will certainly be a good strategy to increase the notoriety of the Demon King….. or is it we should be alert for the appearance of heroes? I think it is only those fools who self-appoint themselves as heroes, whom will appear like moths to a flame.”

“Just as you say.”

Ainz clicked his tongue when Demiurge turned his head. He thought that he could let one of Demiurge’s servants be the Demon King and take the reckless position of the hero.

Then according to the situation, he could be used to lure out any potential Players. But, it would be better if Demiurge act behind the shadows. Hypothetically speaking, if a player was present, it was undoubtable that they knew the true form of Demiurge.

“A cornered mice will bite the cat. There are things that I need to be careful with.”

There are not many things that Ainz needed to be on alert for. Basically, it was the unknown that he needed to be cautious with.

To Ainz, the most feared thing was the unknown. The concept was like moving in the dark while using his limbs. No matter what, there has to be a certain sense of caution.

Different from the earlier thought, Ainz was also cautious about something else as well.

“—-I ask the Guardians. We are the strongest. Then is it possible to become even stronger?”

The Guardians looked at each other for a moment. It was a question they had not considered. If their master posed such a question to them, they could not give a suitable answer.

“……I do not think so. We are the strongest, but it is a strength that cannot increase. I will ask another question. Will the weak always be weak?”

“Are you perhaps saying that they are not?”

In response to Demiurge who was representing everyone else, Ainz nodded.

“Yes, Demiurge—-And the Guardians. I believe that their weakness is a weakness that can be improved. Do not ever make light of that. You must be cautious of strong contenders arising from areas not under our observation…… Although I did mentioned not to simply conduct a massacre, you may do so once you have deliberated the matter with me. Demiurge, I believe you work with these conditions?”

“—-Understood, Ainz-sama. I shall take your words to heart and complete the orders that you have given me,”

“If you encounter any talented individuals, find a way to bring him into our group. Could you do that?”

Demiurge expressed an evil smile, and bowed deeply.

“Now, when Demiurge is not around, the responsibility of the first to seventh floors will fall to Shalltear. Similarly when Sebas is not around the responsibility of the ninth and tenth floors will fall to Cocytus. Inform your subordinates of this. However, Cocytus will be in charge of guarding the tomb. Shalltear might act as my limbs. Do you understand?”

“Aye.”

“Ha.”

Accepting Shalltear and Cocytus’ replies, Ainz nodded.

“Ah Yes, summoned beings will continue to exist unless they were told otherwise. He must be more careful when performing summoning magic. As I recalled, summoning creatures were separated into non-permanent and permanent summons. With magic summoning producing the former while special skill summoning creating the latter. I must spend some time for research on this topic.”

Ainz recalled the Death Knight that was waiting for his orders outside of the throne room. He muttered a few words.

“I believe Kouhukou has the ability to summon an unlimited number of his race……”

“……Ah.”

That sentence alone disrupted the quietness of the throne room. Ainz cupped his face, and activated a quick messaging magic. Without a doubt, the receiver was Kyohukou. There was a strange sensation as if a long line that extend into the distance was connecting to something.

And then—-

“Kyohukou!”

—-Ou, It is Momonga-sama, you sound live—-

“B, before that I need to find out something from you. Can you return the monsters that you summoned—-”

—-Yes that. I too am currently facing a problem—-

In truth, he did not really want to hear it, but he could not avoid the topic.

“……What seems to be the problem?”

—-The room that is under my charge is filled by my brethren and it is getting crowded. If it continues, the occupants of the room will burst out. Should I leave the matter as it is? Please rest assured that I have ordered the undead serfs under Shalltear-sama not to eat my kin. Hence—-

“Enough-!”

The shoulders of Aura and Shalltear trembled in fear. They could guess what would happen from Ainz’s shout. Cocytus as an insectoid could not understand the meaning behind those expressions, and continued facing front. Sebas remained expressionless while Demiurge looked like he found something interesting.

“……Shalltear.”

“……Aye.”

“The room is full, right?”

Shalltear’s body shook as if the ground was moving beneath her.

“Buck up!”

Aura supported her in a panick. Shalltear mumbled about something while her gaze lingered in the air. That particular room was spacious till the point that it could be consider a floor. A situation where the room is completely filled to the point of bursting. It was something unimaginable. No it was something that one never wanted to think of.

“In short, open up the other areas of the floor while creating a new quarantine zone. Do not allow them to spread.”

“Understood, Cocytus. May I requesteth thy assistance on this?”

“Fumu. I. Do. Not. Understand. What. Is. There. To. Be. Feared. But. Since. You. Requested. My. Assistance. I. Shall. Oblige.”

The problem should be solved. Ainz considered the next step.

There was nothing left, all instructions have been delivered. The remaining matter was to discuss the minor details with the instructed parties.

Then should he end this?

No, there was one more thing. The most important thing was left.

An existence that would not change anything. When people felt that, they would look for a relationship

Then what was Ainz’s situation?

Work could be done by anyone. Even if he was not around there would be no problems. He had no parents. And no friends. And no lover.

The funny thing was that to Suzuki Satoru—-Momonga, there was nothing but [Ainz Ooal Gown]. And even though his companions had their own reasons and left, they would never betray Ainz.

He sent his gaze towards the Guardians and their subordinates.

In truth, would the NPCs that were created by his friends in Ainz Ooal Gown swear loyalty to him even when they do not have the full picture of the situation?

Yes—-He was nothing but [Ainz Ooal Gown]. Then—-

“I shall give you the highest order!” Ainz paused for a moment. He saw the expressions of his servants stiffen. “Let the legend of Ainz Ooal Gown be eternal”

His right hand grasped the floating Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. At that moment, as if responding to his will, the numerous jewels that decorated the staff, started to emit different colored lights. The surrounding air swayed with it.

“No matter how many there are, we will wipe off all the existing heroes. Ainz Ooal Gown is the only true hero—-”

Ainz Ooal Gown stood at the pinnacle of Yggdrasil. Completing numerous famous quests. To protect its name was the greatest return that he could offer to his past comrades. This world would not be exempted from it as well.

Suzuki Satoru—-Momonga would not betray [Ainz Ooal Gown] again.

“Let all those who exist know! If they are those whom are more powerful, we shall use methods other than force. If it is someone that has numerous magic casters as his underlings, we shall employ other strategies. Currently, we are at the stage of preparation for grand show that is to come. Let the world know the glory and might of Ainz Ooal Gown!”

Ainz’s voice was full of ambition, and it spread from the throne to all corners of the throne room.

At hearing the voice of their lord, the occupants of the room simultaneously lowered their heads, directing their utmost respect to the Leader of the Supreme Beings.

Ainz physically felt the undying loyalty of his subordinates as he thought.

He felt a strong sense of nausea for giving those instructions to Demiurge earlier. In the future, many innocent humans would be tortured as an outcome. However, he did not regret his decision. No, it was something that he should not even feel regret for. To make Ainz Ooal Gown a legend, he should not dwell on those sacrifices.

Ainz was a but a mere salaryman. He did not have any natural talent nor strong will, not to mention that his confidence was low.

There were parts where he was lost. There were also painful parts.

He could do nothing but proceed.

For the sake of people able to face his friends—-