Overlord - The Lizardmen Heroes - Куганэ Маруяма - Страница 74

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...Ah.

“No… problem, Albedo, I already considered that possibility.”

He didn’t. Ainz was assuming the enemy was thinking the same thing like him, trying to gather intelligence on him.

… What an error. Did I get it wrong from the very beginning?

“Excuse me, also…”

Albedo-san, please stop— Ainz cried in his heart. He felt like a candidate who was reviewing the question script after the exam and realized all his answers were wrong.

“About releasing the information that Shalltear was defeated with items…”

“Yes, that’s what I reported to the guild, that is to prevent the people from fearing Momon if he gets too powerful. Sealed magic crystals seemed to be a rare item here, it must be difficult to destroy the crystal for experiments. Destabilizing the crystal and using it to defeat Shalltear is a more convincing story, and people would be less guarded against Momon.”

“You are absolutely right. For the people who think sealed crystals are rare, this isn’t a bad method.”

Albedo’s roundabout way of speaking made Ainz feel uneasy.

“... But if the other party possess multiple crystals like Ainz-sama, wouldn’t the situation be different?”

“... Hmm? Ah, that’s what you mean.”

Ainz made an enlightened expression, but didn’t understand at all.

So what if the other party possess several sealed crystals? It was a fact that sealed magic was valuable in this world. Was Albedo worried about the crystal being broken during experiments?

But that didn’t seem to be all.

An ominous feeling flashed across Ainz’ mind. He wanted Albedo to explain further, which made Ainz hate himself for acting cocky earlier.

Is it really okay for me to be the ruler and decide the policies of Nazarick? Am I steering a ship up a mountain without knowing it?

Ainz felt like running away.

He couldn’t bear the burden of a ruler he had experienced several times — a burden that grew heavier in the face of failure — Ainz kept complaining in his heart.

But he couldn’t do that. Since he took the name of Ainz Ooal Gown, he couldn’t abandon the creations of his comrades— the NPC and the treasures in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. More importantly, he didn’t want to be a parent that abandoned his children.

I also worry whether you all will betray, abandon or give up on me. Nonetheless, I will act the part of Ainz Ooal Gown that meets your expectations and is worthy of your trust.

And so, Ainz made a relaxed expression he practised before the mirror and said in a pose filled with the confidence of an Overlord.

“No problem, I understand why you feel uneasy.”

Ainz then looked around him.

“Albedo… Do share your worries with the other Guardians.”

“Ah, yes! If the enemy possess multiple crystals like Ainz-sama… Someone who knows about crystals, they would be able to tell this information is false. They will be sure that Shalltear was not defeated by the crystal— although they couldn’t know if Shalltear was at full strength, users of World class item will assume that Momon is as strong as Shalltear. They will then conclude the mysterious warrior Momon who suddenly appeared in E-Rantel is someone dangerous right? They might also suspect that Shalltear might be related to Momon…”

“... Albedo, and Guardians, what do you think the enemies’ next step would be?”

“Pardon me. I think that if our foes plan to oppose Ainz-sama, they will spread rumours of Momon working together with the vampire even if there is no proof. They would not want Momon to gain further fame.”

Urghhh— Ainz moaned in his heart.

Part of the goal of going to E-Rantel was to gather intelligence, but the main target was to raise the fame of the Momon persona— and a tiny part of wanting to run away. The original plan was to wait for the great hero to be born and then reveal Momon’s true identity, turning all his fame to that of Ainz Ooal Gown, spreading this name throughout the world.

He also wanted to show his PK guild will change in this world, so he did good deeds using the name of Momon. But these plans were probably done for.

“Hmm? Demiurge, let me ask you, would it be more effective if such rumours were spread after Momon became famous?”

“Aura, that would be a bad move. If Ainz-sama has garnered enough fame, the masses will just think of such news as malicious rumours. They should cut off the roots before his fame grows.”

“A wonderful insight, Demiurge.”

Ainz nodded in response to Demiurge who was bowing his head, acting as if he had the same idea.

“I will ask another question. If that is so, why hasn’t the enemy started spreading rumours yet?”

After hearing Ainz’ query, Demiurge raised a finger.

“Number one, they have not completed their investigation on Momon-sama yet. If Momon-sama did defeat Shalltear in a straight fight, they wouldn’t want to incur his wrath. They might want to pull him into their camp. Number two—”

He raised another finger.

“What if their encounter with Shalltear was just a coincidence? They might have been passing by with some other purpose in mind, just some unrelated third party.”

“That is impossible, Demiurge, the possibility is very low…”

Ainz said that, he just realized this scenario wasn’t impossible.

He was totally convinced that the attack had been targeted at Shalltear— or targeted at the denizens of Nazarick. But Shalltear was attacked shortly after teleporting. If the attack really had been targeted at Shalltear, they had been eerily precise.

Was he blinded by the fear of the unseen enemy?

Ainz narrowed his eyes— or rather, the red glow in his eye sockets.

In the end, the problem was insufficient intelligence and being shorthanded. They needed more power.

Anyway, the biggest problem is that our intelligence network is too small.

Sebas had been tasked with that too, but the intelligence gathered by a handful of agents were limited. In the beginning, he thought it would be enough to gain basic information about this world, but that wasn’t enough in the current situation.

The intelligence gathered by an adventurer and the butler of a merchant had less importance and quality than that of a high government official.

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