"Princess Renner?"
Kael couldn't help but feel surprised upon hearing Marquis Raven's accusation. If the change in the kingdom's regime wasn't purely due to aristocratic foolishness, but rather Renner accumulating power behind the scenes, it meant the Great Tomb of Nazarick's tentacles had already reached the kingdom's ruling hierarchy. If so, his plans would need to change immediately.
Raven didn't know what Kael was thinking, but he knew that Kael was the only one who could help him at the moment. He urged, "God Kael, behind Princess Renner there must be an alien organization that destroyed the Re-Estize Royal Capital. They sent people to control my wife and son, forcing me to do things for them."
Raven's face was filled with hope and anxiety as he pleaded, "I beg you, please help me save my family. I am willing to give up everything I own in return!"
Seeing that reaction, Kael smiled as he expected. Although Raven was the strongest of the six nobles, he was also a true slave to his son. Threatening him with his son was the right tactic. Originally, Kael intended to subjugate him for personal gain, but Raven took the initiative to ask for help, and Kael was naturally pleased to see that happen.
However, the actual situation was still unclear. He didn't immediately agree, but instead said, "I can sense your sincerity, but since this is a transaction, I should at least understand your family's current situation first."
"Do you know where they are currently located?"
If one does not know the location or method of hostage confinement, a corresponding rescue plan cannot be formulated. Marquis Raven certainly understood this truth, so he quickly provided the information he had. "Princess Renner had just stolen items belonging to my wife and children, indicating that they have control over my family. However, there is no information about my wife and children's disappearance from my territory."
"So, in my opinion, they must both still be within the castle in my territory. If your people can go to E-Rantel and avoid surveillance into the Lord's Castle, they should be easy to find."
"Yes, that's easy enough," Kael nodded clearly.
As long as the person wasn't taken into the Great Tomb of Nazarick, even if high-tier Guardians were watching, he was confident he could rescue Raven's wife and children. The goals of both parties were clear, and this matter wasn't too difficult to handle. Kael and Marquis Raven quickly reached an agreement.
Raven then wrote a signed letter, which he handed to Kael along with a pocket watch he always carried.
"As long as my wife sees these two items, she will follow the arrangements of the rescue personnel."
"Okay, you should remain as you are during this period. Let's wait until I rescue them."
"Yes."
Putting away the two tokens, Kael reactivated the completely invisible [Perfect Unknowable], then quietly left Marquis Raven's room.
Instead of immediately returning to the Holy City, he searched around the inn to see if any of the Great Tomb of Nazarick's subordinates were monitoring Raven.
Unsurprisingly, in a dark corner not far from the room, Kael found a shadow demon.
He then used the manipulation magic [Memory Manipulation] to control the shadow demon and scour its memories of the surveillance. Because Kael used secret magic when sneaking into Raven's room and when speaking with him, the shadow demon was unaware that the two had met, only recalling a period of silence in the room.
After Kael erased the shadow demon's memories of that time, he felt confident enough to return to the Holy City and arrange the rescue operation for Raven's wife and children.
In the Tenth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, an intense pre-war mobilization meeting was underway.
Ainz Ooal Gown sat upright on the king's throne, and directly in front of him was Cocytus kneeling on one knee, lined up alongside the other Guardians.
"Cocytus, you are entirely responsible for this expedition against the Lizardmen. Do you remember all my instructions?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama."
Cocytus nodded solemnly, and to prove his words, he repeated Ainz's instructions, "My subordinates and I are not to take action in this battle. Simply command the army you have given me to fight. If I encounter an enemy beyond my level, I will cease attack and report the situation to you."
Ainz was very pleased to hear this.
Although one of the goals of this Lizardman attack was to develop the NPCs' ability to think and judge independently, he also didn't want any problems to occur, causing Cocytus to face an enemy he couldn't handle. So after long deliberation, he set up a corresponding code of conduct.
"Very well, go with your army. We await your good news in Nazarick."
"Yes, your subordinate will never disappoint you."
Cocytus accepted the order, then left the Throne Room to prepare for the attack on the Lizardmen.
After he had fully departed, Ainz looked at Demiurge on the sidelines and asked about what he had heard earlier, "Demiurge, how is your investigation into the mysterious city that suddenly appeared on the Katze Plains?"
Since crossing over to the New World, the area Nazarick had already explored was not actually very large, and it was primarily concentrated in three places: the Great Forest of Tob, the Re-Estize Kingdom, and the Abelion Hills.
The reason Ainz now mentioned the Katze Plains stemmed from the human evil organization—Zurannon, who sought refuge in Nazarick.
Previously, when he met the leader of Zurannon—a great mage of the dead at night with a level of about 46—out of curiosity about the undead in the New World, he asked if he knew any other undead.
Then the leader of Zurannon told him that in the foggy world of the Katze Plains there was a great mage of the dead controlling a ghost ship.
Based on the principle of passing, Ainz arranged for Demiurge to travel to the Katze Plains, smoothly bringing the target and the ghost ship under Nazarick's control.
That is, it was during this operation that Demiurge discovered the mysterious city that appeared within the Katze Plains.
"Ainz-sama, your subordinate has checked, and the people currently active in that city are indeed people from the Church of Destiny. However, their alert perimeter is wide, and I did not conduct more detailed reconnaissance of the city to avoid frightening the enemy."
"In other words, it's impossible to determine if the other party's guild fortress is there, correct?"
"Yes, I apologize."
Somewhat ashamed, Demiurge prostrated himself and said.
Ainz waved his hand, "Demiurge, I'm only feeling a little regret, I don't mean to blame you."
"You did nothing wrong. Being able to determine where the other party is already a more important message for us. We truly cannot act rashly until we decide on a response strategy."
"Now let's complete the conquest of the Great Forest of Tob and its surroundings."
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