Ainz was troubled.
It could also be described as a sense of guilt.
However——
Ainz stared sharply in the direction of Shalltear’s probable position.
“To break the control of a World Class item, this is the only way.”
These words were blurted to convince himself
Seeing the worried look in Aura and Mare’s eyes, Ainz felt that letting these two continue to worry was not helpful and changed the subject.
“Well then, you two go cooperate with them and do a good job scouting the surroundings.”
Ainz’ finger was pointed at four masses of flesh floating in front.
They were about two metres in diameter and the body was pink in colour. These monsters also had countless murky eyes which looked like they were haphazardly sewn together using eyes removed from the carcasses of many different types of creatures.
They were undead created using the spell 「Create high-tier Undead 」, known as Eyeball Corpses.
Ainz used his maximum number of summons per day to create these Eyeball Corpses because they had a hidden ability —— the nemesis of magic and special ability users.
Those cloudy eyes were not mere decoration, but had excellent visual capability, perhaps matching or even exceeding that of Aura’s vision as a ranger. Although their offensive power was low, their value this time was in their surveillance rather than combat, with the purpose of assisting Aura.
“Understood! However, will they obediently listen to my commands?”
“Not a problem. I can assure you on this point. In addition, I will use magic to help telepathically link you together. This way you can be at the centre of command and patrol safely.”
“Yes! Although it will be faster if I act personally, we do not know what kind of forces the opponent has! I understand now! Then after Mare uses magic to increase our stealth, we shall prepare the ambush in this area.”
“No problems then, I leave it in your care.”
Ainz silently revealed an invisible smile
Demiurge, who was the last to enter the room, quickly walked inside and went straight to a vacant seat to sit down. Normally, he was never one to display such rough behavior, his mood was already fully conveyed without the need for explanation.
“So, care to explain yourself?”
Demiurge closed his eyes and fiercely asked Albedo, who was one of the people seated around the same table.
“Why would you agree to this?”
Although his voice was steady, it was thinly veiled, everyone was able to hear the sharp undertone.
People would feel more agitated when a normally calm person showed strong emotions because the dichotomy was substantial. However this was not the case this time because Demiurge’s expression was extremely anxious, and even his companions had never seen him so worked up before.
However, blatantly facing this hostility and question filled with murderous intent, Albedo remained as her usual self.
“Wasn't that Ainz-sama's decision? How could we subordinates defy……”
“—— Why?”
A question as sharp as a knife interrupted Albedo’s speech.
“Why? When Ainz-sama headed towards the human city, you were the one who vehemently insisted that a Guardian accompany him. Why would you agree to the matter this time? At that moment you should have also been concerned about Ainz-sama’s safety.”
Albedo nodded in reply, and Demiurge’s expression contorted.
“Well then, I will ask again! Why did you agree to this?”
It was almost as if the room was vibrating in anger. This was completely unlike an emotion that Demiurge would show.
Cocytus slowly turned his head and gazed worriedly at the two people.
“......Furthermore, shouldn’t you have known that Ainz-sama was lying?”
Demiurge asked in a low tone suppressed with anger.
After Albedo nodded once again, Cocytus mouth moved with a metallic sound. Both persons knew that this crisp and high-pitched noise was often made when Cocytus had questions. Albedo explained:
“...... A short time ago, I told you what Ainz-sama told me, the reason why he went ahead by himself. Didn’t you find this strange? From Ainz-sama’s reasoning, wouldn’t it be safer to attack in waves? Wouldn’t it be safer if we were to attack one by one and slowly reduce Shalltear’s stamina and magic?”
“......It is as she says, Cocytus. A tactic that we can easily come up with, there is no way that Ainz-sama overlooked this. In other words, Ainz-sama has deliberately lied to hide a greater reason.”
“What. is. this. reason?”
“I don’t know…… which is why I ask, Albedo. If you already knew this, why did you still allow Ainz-sama to go forth alone?”
“Because the Ainz-sama a few days ago and the Ainz-sama right now are like two completely different people.”
Demiurge who was squinting and now slightly opened his eyes had a thoroughly confused expression, telling Albedo to continue explaining.
