Ainz PoV:

 

Location: Throne Room, 10^th Floor of The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick

 

Ainz maintained his act of a dignified, omniscient ruler while fumbling on the inside. His choice of selecting an undead skeleton race for his account had come in handy once more. It had helped him through many such dilemmas in the past.

 

Only individuals possessing intelligence comparable to Albedo or Demiurge could discern a subtle variance in his emotions. But this was not a common occurrence. The others could mostly discern his emotions only when his emotions were disturbed enough to override his emotion suppression.

 

During this period of time, Ainz thought over how exactly should the coming conversation with Jircniv and Fluder go instead of listening to the mindless praise flowing towards him.

 

While Ainz was someone who liked it when things were prepared for in advance with no surprises, this was not the first time he had to adjust to changing situations on the fly. He was certain he could manage this situation as well.

 

*Thud*

 

The gates to the throne room opened as Sebas led Jircniv and Fluder in front of him. Both of them followed the example of everyone else in the room and bowed down. Jircniv was no longer an emperor he was in the past but Ainz’s subject now.

 

It was only appropriate for him to bow down as well unlike last time when Ainz had allowed him to speak on relatively equal terms.

 

‘Why does he look like that?’ Ainz pondered as he eyed Jircniv who had multiple scars over his body. He looked much the same as the last time Ainz had seen him except for these scars and a more mature air that hung about him.

 

It had not been a long time since Ainz had last seen Jircniv for such a change to have taken place. Ainz could also see Albedo and Demiurge’s brains spinning, coming up with conjectures about this situation.

 

But it was not like Ainz was completely clueless, especially as he had his own experience to draw conclusions from. Based on the information they had acquired, players seemed to show up in the New World at different points in time.

 

Even if all of them had stayed playing YGGDRASIL until the very last moment, they had shown up in the New World many years apart. Although Ainz was no scientist and he was nowhere near smart enough to understand the reasons behind this, he could make out that there was a huge time difference between different worlds.

 

Even if it had only been a little while since Ainz had shown up on Earth, it might have been centuries in the New World. Well, he will have all answers from the visitors who had showed up.

 

“You may raise your heads. It’s a pleasure to meet both of you. I was expecting both of you for a while now.” Ainz greeted them while using vague phrases to let everyone fill in the gaps on their own.

 

Jircniv seemed to flinch when he heard Ainz’s words but he was probably mistaken. Jircniv was arguably the one individual whom Ainz would acknowledge as being among his friends. Of course, he was not as close to Ainz as the members of the guild.

 

Regardless, Ainz had always made sure to treat Jircniv with respect. Being an emperor, Jircniv was one of the few people who could understand him and his worries, after all.

 

“As expected, all of this was a test from you, Lord Ainz!” Fluder exclaimed.

 

‘What test did I give to the both of you and when? I don’t remember doing any such thing! What part of my casual greetings gave you the confirmation that I gave you some sort of test?’ Ainz was already thoroughly confused about where this conversation was heading.

 

Not to mention him, even the smart bunch were confused and seemed to have an existential crisis because they made a mistake of missing this ‘test’. Despite this, all the NPCs present seemed to have no doubt that whatever was happening was a part of Ainz’s plan. He knew how their minds worked too well by now.

 

“Umu, you have done well to pass my ‘test’. Now, everyone else here is unaware about this ‘test’ or how you succeeded, so please explain it to them.” Ainz replied as everyone focused their attention on the duo.

 

‘Yes, please explain what the test I have given to the both of you in simple words!’ He internally exclaimed. The ‘explain my plan to me’ technique was now one of his most mastered techniques as a ruler.

 

Especially after all the experience he had using it on Albedo and Demiurge

 

“The test that Lord Ainz set was, of course to manage the sorcerer kingdom on your behalf while seeking out a way to meet you in your personal realm,” Fluder replied.

 

‘No, I did no such thing. I didn’t even know we would end up on Earth and I didn’t leave you with a test to seek me out. I wasn’t even thinking of the New World because I was more concerned with saving Lilith. Also, Earth is not my personal realm.’ Ainz mentally denied everything he had heard but the words coming out of his mouth were different:

 

“Hmm, and I presume you have done the task I assigned properly? You did successfully seek me out in my ‘personal realm’.”

 

“I apologise, Lord Ainz. I have failed the trust you have placed in me. I will accept any punishment you give me.” Ainz almost flinched as Jircniv shouted and bowed down to ask for forgiveness.

 

‘Seriously, you didn’t do anything wrong as I didn’t know about this test. But I will have to calm him down soon or the NPCs will actually start punishing him for whatever his ‘failure’ is,’ He could see them starting to glare towards Jircniv already.

 

“You have sought me out so you have at least completed half the task. And to do so despite not getting positive results is worthy of praise. I have always told my aides that failure is not the important thing, but instead what we learn from it. You were an emperor yourself, so you should understand this.

 

So I ask you this Jircniv, what is this failure you speak of? I will be the one to judge whether you have truly made a mistake.” Ainz was almost getting flashbacks to having said similar things to Cocytus.

 

“Yes, Lord Ainz. I…” Jircniv went on to explain everything he had experienced so far while everyone listened.

 

‘200 years? It’s been quite a while for them. And they thought I gave them some test while managing the sorcerer kingdom for all this while. Their loyalty is truly commendable. Knowing Jircniv’s capabilities, he might have even succeeded if not for the arrival of this new player called the god of revival.’

 

Ainz mulled over what he had just heard. He did not know any player that had the name or title called the god of revival. He also did not know of any black knights. YGGDRASIL was a game that necessitated exploration of information.

 

He had knowledge of quite a lot of things in YGGDRASIL but he did not know of them. It was likely that this player and his guild were not very highly ranked. But anyway, this player might have been around level 100.

 

“To have allowed some rabble to uproot Lord Ainz’s kingdom, spread his religion as a god and still show your face in front of Lord Ainz! Do you…” Albedo started screaming but was cut off by Ainz:

 

“Enough, Albedo! I have already said that I will be the one to judge this matter.” He reprimanded her.

 

“P-please forgive me, Lord Ainz,” Albedo bowed down. Ainz didn’t have the time or energy to care about her right now so he just waved his hand as if to forgive her.

 

“I pardon all your mistakes so far, Jircniv. I know you would have done well in managing my kingdom if not for this God of Revival. You have done exceptionally considering the circumstances you faced.”

 

Jircniv looked at him in disbelief. It seemed that he believed Ainz would give him a horrible punishment. Ainz lamented at the fact that age seemed to be getting to his friend. He seemed to have become more delirious and forgotten how easy-going Ainz was.

 

“You must be tired after this long journey, both physically and mentally. Why don’t you rest for a while? Sebas, lead the both of them to one of the guest rooms so that they can rest. We will speak again after a while,” Ainz commanded.

 

“Th-thank you for forgiving me, Lord Ainz,” Jircniv fumbled and thanked Ainz before he was escorted out of the throne room with Fluder.

 

“Lord Ainz, when did you give a test to Jircniv and Fluder? Did you know that the young lady would summon us to this world and left a task to them in advance?” Shalltear enquired.

 

“Heh, why are you asking such obvious things, Shalltear? Lord Ainz must have heard the young lady’s plea for help and decided to leave everything in the New World behind,” Aura responded with confidence before Ainz could even think of a reply.

 

“What do you wish to do now, Lord Ainz? Should we just leave that rabble to trample on your glorious sorcerer kingdom?” Albedo asked.

 

‘Hmm…’ Ainz himself was thinking about how to proceed. Fluder had discovered a technique that allowed him to come here and said that it would be possible to go back as well if someone with greater MP used the magic.

 

Theoretically, it was possible for Ainz to head to the New World. But what merit did such an action hold? None of his future goals could be achieved there and there was no point in fighting with an unknown opponent he had no knowledge of.

 

Defeating this god of revival had no benefit to Nazarick. He was not like Being-X or the other entities on Earth that deserved Ainz to study them carefully and amass strength to defeat them in the future. For all intents and purposes, engaging with this player seemed like a waste of time.

 

An argument could be made that they might get the players resources and items but was that really enough of benefit for them to visit the New World?

 

“What do you all of you think? I don’t want vague answers that are just based on revenge.” He decided to seek out their thoughts regarding this. His second sentence dissuaded those like Shalltear or Aura from giving mindless remarks.

 

“I believe you should take this opportunity to visit the New World, Lord Ainz. Recapturing the New World can provide a staple bank of resources for our upcoming efforts on Earth. Not only the resources of this god of revival but even the people.

 

We can turn the entire New World into a factory for obtaining resources, undead and more. But there is a second reason as well,” Demiurge provided his opinion.

 

Ainz thought that what Demiurge said had merit to it. As mentioned earlier, Ainz was already at a point where he could commit any sort of horrendous deeds if it was for his benefit. Considering it was Demiurge who said this, if going through with this plan would benefit his goals then he would gladly do it.

 

“What is the second reason?” Ainz enquired.

 

“The second reason is the young lady. It seems that the young lady will inevitably be going to other worlds with unknown dangers and challenges in the future.

 

You could take this chance to take the young lady with you and guide her personally in a world that is relatively less dangerous before she leaves. This way you can be more mentally at ease with her safety. Of course, whoever accompanies her in the future will make sure to protect her,” He replied.

 

Contrary to what Ainz had expected, his opinion was not based on material gains but about Lilith. He had reason to believe that this was the main reason. It was likely that Demiurge noticed how uncomfortable he was with the thought of letting Lilith leave on her own.

 

‘The idea is not entirely bad. We don’t have to conquer the New World and defeat the player quickly. They won’t find us on Earth, anyway. Maybe we can go on a short one week trip. Oh wait, there was the huge time difference. Well, we will see. We won’t spend much time there anyway.

 

I was planning on making sure that Lilith knows how to protect herself anyway so I can use this opportunity. Since going to other worlds is inevitable, it would be better if her first world travel experience is with him,’ He finished his thoughts before speaking:

 

“Very well. I will take Lilith with me to the New world. Albedo, Sebas, Yuri and Narberal will be going with us as well. Demiurge will take over Albedo’s duties while we are away. We won’t be gone for too long, just a few days,” Ainz commanded.

 

“As you wish, Lord Ainz!” They replied. Albedo seemed ecstatic that she will be going with him while others like Shalltear, Aura and Mare were visibly disappointed. He could even hear Shalltear gritting her teeth as Albedo gave a smug smile at her.

 

“Let’s end today’s meeting here. Make plans and preparations according to what I have said.” Ainz spoke and then used the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown to leave the throne room

 

***

~There is just one more chapter for this background arc to be over. The main storyline can begin from chapter 20. Hope you enjoyed reading!~