Rumble, rumble...
Accompanied by a heavy bass sound that shook the bottom of the stomach, the massive double-leaved doors, carved in relief with the seventy-two demons recorded in the 『Lesser Key of Solomon (Lemegeton)』, slowly opened to the left and right.
What overflowed from the gap in the doors was not merely physical light. It was an overwhelming, dense torrent of magic power that seemed to pin down the very laws of the world itself.
Suppressing the blinking of my hundreds of pupils to the absolute limit, I silently glided into that divine sanctuary with my body of black fog sunken to a height barely above the floor.
The main part of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the Throne Room.
It was filled with a majesty on an entirely different plane, one that could not be fully expressed no matter what environmental data or high-resolution texture information was stored in my brain.
Hanging from the dome-shaped ceiling, which boasted a height that required one to look up, was a massive crystal chandelier that made even the word luxurious seem cliché, filling the entire space with a warm yet majestic light.
On the walls to the left and right, massive flags bearing the crests of the Forty-One Supreme Beings, embroidered with gold thread on crimson fabric, hung silently without wavering in the faint magical breeze.
And at the very back of that vast space.
Situated atop a gentle staircase of several dozen steps, was the 『Throne of Kings』, which looked as though it had been carved from a single piece of pitch-black crystal.
As if enveloped by the absolute aura emitted by the World Item itself, our Supreme Master, Ainz Ooal Gown, sat upon it.
The Skeletal King quietly planted the guild weapon in his hand, the 『Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown』, into the floor, while dark red points of light flickered silently in the depths of his eye sockets, which were as dark as the abyss.
Beside him, clad in a pure white dress, the Overseer of the Floor Guardians, Albedo, stood by like a beautiful sculpture perfectly enhancing her Master's majesty.
However, they were not the only ones in this Throne Room.
Before the King - upon the crimson carpet spread at the bottom of the stairs - the figures of prior guests were already present.
One was a young girl with translucent white skin, clad in a crimson dress.
Her silver hair was beautifully tied up. In stark contrast to her lovely appearance, the space immediately surrounding her was filled with the scent of blood and dense killing intent.
She was the Floor Guardian governing the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Floors, and the True Vampire boasting the highest single-target combat capability in Nazarick, Shalltear Bloodfallen.
And the other was an elderly gentleman resting on one knee, lined up beside Shalltear.
Clad in a perfectly tailored pitch-black butler's uniform without a single wrinkle, his posture, with his spine straightened perfectly, emitted a honed presence reminiscent of a steel sword.
He was the Head Butler of Nazarick and the close-quarters combat specialist who directly commanded the Pleiades, Sebas Tian.
...I see. They were already in the middle of a meeting.
Capturing their figures with my countless pupils, I instantly analyzed the situation.
Ainz currently thirsted for information on this unknown New World and was issuing directives in all directions.
That reporting session was taking place in this Throne Room at this very moment.
Noticing the presence of a massive lump of black fog approaching without a single footstep (naturally, since I have no physical feet), Shalltear and Sebas, who were resting on one knee, directed only their gazes slightly toward me.
"...Ara, who might you be?"
Shalltear narrowed her crimson eyes slightly and muttered suspiciously.
Her gaze contained a mixture of pure interest toward my ominous, grotesque form, and a faint color of vigilance questioning, "Whose permission did you get to stand before the Supreme Presence?"
To her, who was Nazarick's ultimate spear, a special entity like me with practically zero combat capability likely appeared as an incomprehensible monster, even if we were systemic colleagues.
Sebas, on the other hand, did not break his expression in the slightest.
Maintaining the strict countenance framed by his white hair and white beard, he sent a short but polite glance my way before immediately returning his face toward Lord Ainz.
I could sense no hostility or excessive vigilance from the presence he wore. There was only the quiet pride of one fulfilling their duties.
...Shalltear Bloodfallen, and Sebas Tian.
Deep within my black fog, I spun the sea of my thoughts at high speed.
Shalltear is hot-blooded, a martial-faction member who finds pleasure in trampling her enemies with sheer power.
That strength and arrogance of hers will eventually carry a massive risk. She is truly an extremely difficult to handle, dangerous colleague.
In contrast, Sebas is one of the leading candidates for the Alliance I am trying to build behind the scenes.
His high Karma value and sense of justice should eventually become a powerful breakwater against Demiurge's atrocious plans.
In a setting where these two are present simultaneously, what kind of presentation will I give as the "Keeper of Knowledge"?
This holds extremely significant meaning for future corporate politics, the power dynamics within Nazarick.
"——Welcome, Tawil Balah."
From atop the throne, Ainz's heavy, majestic voice echoed.
I instantly sank my body of black fog even lower, made the cluster of pages orbiting me retreat behind my back in unison, and took a posture of the utmost fealty.
"I am at the absolute pinnacle of honor to be summoned into Your presence, Lord Ainz. I have brought the analysis results You commanded from my Vault of Wisdom."
My voice echoed low through the Throne Room.
At the same time, independent of my will, pale blue runes floated gently into the air, visually supplementing my words.
"Mmm. I have high expectations for your work. ...However, wait just a moment. I am currently in the middle of hearing initial reports regarding the situation outside from Sebas and Shalltear. It would be good for you to hear their reports as well, in order to cross-reference them with the data you possess."
"Yes, My Lord. As You command."
I folded my ink tentacles and quietly stood by behind Shalltear and Sebas, at an appropriate distance and position so as not to obstruct their reports.
Being able to listen in on the reports of other departments right beside them was an incredibly fortunate opportunity for me.
If I could grasp in real-time what they had uncovered in the outside world and what Ainz was concerned about, I could optimize how I presented the 『Executive Summary』 I had prepared to make it even more effective.
"Now then, Sebas. Continue your report."
Obtaining Ainz's permission, Sebas quietly opened his mouth.
"Yes. This is the report on the basic investigation regarding the geography surrounding Nazarick and the social structure of the humans, as commanded by You, Lord Ainz."
Despite his old age, Sebas's voice resonated well, and was extremely logical and easy to hear.
"Currently, our Great Tomb is positioned at the edge of a vast plain, deep within a dense forest region. Furthermore, we have confirmed the existence of the borders of a human nation called the Re-Estize Kingdom and a fortress city named E-Rantel at a location not too far from here."
"Yes. E-Rantel.... Do we know anything about its scale or its defensive forces?"
"A detailed analysis of their forces must wait for future infiltration investigations. However, judging from the construction of the outer walls and the movements of the soldiers on guard duty, no high-tier magical barriers or powerful magical signatures capable of threatening Nazarick's defense mechanisms were detected. Their armaments also appear to primarily consist of outdated equipment utilizing iron and steel."
While listening to Sebas's report, I cross-referenced it with the database in my brain.
The low level of the Sunlight Scripture's Equipment that I had analyzed and the City's Defense Level that Sebas had visually confirmed matched perfectly. And add the knowledge I got from the anime and the light novel…
Just as I thought, the baseline of this world is truly hopelessly low when viewed from YGGDRASIL's standards.
"However, Lord Ainz."
Sebas dropped the tone of his voice slightly and continued with careful word choices.
"While the human race is fragile individually, when they gather and form a society, they can exhibit unforeseen power. It appears there are complex political conflicts between their nations. If we carelessly intervene in their society, we risk stimulating unknown alliances or hidden factions that we have not detected. I believe that for the time being, we should maintain a phase of falsifying our identities and cautiously gathering information."
A perfect Risk Management perspective.
Inwardly, I nodded deeply at Sebas's competence.
Not underestimating them just because they are weak, but remaining vigilant of the unknown social structure itself.
This is an opinion that perfectly aligns with the "Cautious Approach" that Lord Ainz desires most.
It is incredibly reassuring that the person I am trying to form a covert alliance with is this rational and competent.
"Mmm... It is just as Sebas says. We have not yet grasped the full picture of this world. Continue to proceed with information gathering as our highest priority."
Lord Ainz also nodded with satisfaction at Sebas's report.
"——Lord Ainz. Is that truly fine with You?"
At that moment, a voice with a sickly sweet, yet terribly ruthless resonance cut into the Throne Room.
It was Shalltear.
While remaining on one knee, she looked up at Lord Ainz, her crimson eyes shining eerily.
"While what Sebas says has a point, from my perspective, it seems rather cowardly. There's no need to go out of our way to sneak around investigating such fragile humans. Wouldn't it suffice to suppress them head-on and force them to spit out information through sheer power?"
At Shalltear's words, the air in the Throne Room grew taut for a brief moment.
Sebas remained silent, keeping his gaze facing forward, but an aura of quiet rebuttal - implying she was shallow-minded - drifted from his back.
"Shalltear. Let us hear your report as well. I believe I ordered you to select and capture humans to serve as prisoners... particularly those possessing special abilities."
Lord Ainz did not unilaterally deny Shalltear's belligerent opinion, but prompted her to report on her mission.
"Yes, Lord Ainz."
Shalltear smiled happily and flapped her bat wings slightly.
"I have released my familiars into the surroundings, and we are currently pinpointing humans suitable to serve as Nazarick's test subjects. Particularly those utilizing that bizarre technique shared by Demiurge called Martial Arts, as well as the mercenaries and bandits prowling around the forest. If it's them, no matter how many we abduct to sip their blood, or torture to use as experimental materials, this human society won't utter a single complaint, will it?"
She blurted out a cruel proposal with the innocence of discussing plans for tomorrow's tea party.
"Besides, no matter what unknown techniques they possess, before me, they are nothing more than blood bags. If it is Your command, Lord Ainz, I shall suppress their entire base tonight and drag them here alive for You to see."
Overconfidence. Arrogance. And an absolute trust in her own overwhelming power.
Her report was an aggressive policy of forceful breakthrough by power, standing in direct opposition to Sebas's cautious approach.
...Just as I thought, she's dangerous. Shalltear Bloodfallen.
Staring at her delicate back with my hundreds of pupils, I quietly analyzed her.
Just as she said, speaking purely of power, it might be possible for her alone to destroy an entire nation.
However, that absolute overconfidence in her power will eventually become the greatest factor plunging both herself and Nazarick into a crisis.
The fact that she was dismissing the unknown buff system known as Martial Arts as mere struggling was also a critical error that I could not overlook as an Information Administrator.
"...I see. I have understood both of your reports well."
Having finished listening to their opposing opinions, Lord Ainz fell deep into thought, tapping the armrest of his throne with his bone fingers.
His true feelings as Satoru Suzuki wanting to act cautiously, and his agony as a ruler who cannot casually dismiss the opinions of his martial-faction Guardians as an Absolute Being.
I could painfully feel him being caught between a rock and a hard place.
Here is where I come in.
The information is all on the table. The aggressive opinion of the Sales Department a.k.a Shalltear, and the cautious opinion of the Legal and Risk Management Department a.k.a Sebas.
Instead of denying either one, I will use overwhelming facts to beautifully guide this meeting in the direction Lord Ainz desires most.
"Lord Ainz. I beg Your pardon, but may I speak?"
Hovering my body of black fog slightly higher and deploying the cluster of pages I had kept on standby around me, I requested permission to speak in a quiet, yet well-carrying voice.
Lord Ainz's dark red points of light turned toward me.
Shalltear and Sebas also turned their gazes my way in unison, wondering what I was about to say.
"Tawil Balah. The analysis results you have brought... Let us hear your perspective as the Keeper of Knowledge regarding the reports of these two."
"Yes, My Lord."
Making my hundreds of pupils glow a brilliant bluish-purple, I unsealed the perfect 『Executive Summary』 constructed within my brain.
Not as a mere dictionary, but as the ultimate brain guiding the future of Nazarick, my first presentation in the Throne Room was about to begin.