REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!
Chapter 53: Ainz the Compassionate
Ainz Ooal Gown stood on the cold floor of the Ice Prison, the dark red light in his eye sockets flickering unevenly.
Nigredo had retreated to a corner of the room. That lipless face gave away nothing, but her slightly bowed head and drawn-in shoulders said what her face couldn't.
Albedo stood at Ainz's side in a deferential posture, her golden vertical pupils fixed on his face.
Ainz wasn't looking at either of them.
His awareness was submerged in a labyrinth of one calculation after another.
If Shalltear had betrayed because she was dissatisfied with the Great Tomb —
The thought lodged like a barb somewhere deep in his mind.
If that was true, she had almost certainly already left the Kingdom.
He ran through the known information quickly. Shalltear was not carrying any legendary-class or above anti-detection items. Her own abilities alone should not have been sufficient to evade Nigredo's intelligence-gathering magic.
He had run tests on Nigredo's divination spells. Within the Kingdom's range at minimum, she should be capable of locating any target as long as they existed.
But if the distance was too great —
He wasn't certain her ability would function at extreme range. Plenty of things from YGGDRASIL had changed since they arrived in this world.
Which meant: if Shalltear had fled to some distant country beyond the Kingdom, Nigredo failing to find her was a genuine possibility.
Just then, a voice rose in his mind.
"Ainz-sama. My apologies for the interruption."
Narberal.
The battle maid left behind in E-Rantel — her voice as respectful as ever, but carrying a careful, hesitant quality.
The contact at this particular moment kindled an irritation Ainz couldn't quite name.
"What is it, Narberal? Right now—"
He was nearly saying "I'm occupied." The words half-formed — and then stopped.
Because he remembered. Last night, he had cut off Antima's [Message] in exactly this way.
If he had been patient enough to hear it out then, he might not be this helpless now.
The NPCs treated his every word as absolute command. Because of that, even a wrong judgment on his part became something they would follow without hesitation, above all else. That was precisely why he needed to stay calm — to act with as much care as possible, and avoid mistakes.
'For someone as ordinary as I am, that is a genuinely unreasonable standard...'
The self-deprecating thought rose and was set aside.
His faulty judgment. His habit of regretting things only after the fact. When he had been an ordinary player in YGGDRASIL, those things were harmless. But now, he was the ruler of Nazarick.
'What am I thinking?'
He said it to himself.
'I am Ainz Ooal Gown. Ruler of Nazarick. The one who took his name from everyone's titles. I am not Suzuki Satoru. If I claim this name, I must make what is impossible possible.'
The dark red light in his eye sockets steadied.
"...No, it's fine." Ainz let his voice return to level. "What is it? You wouldn't use [Message] unless it was urgent."
"Yes. The thing is — the Adventurers Guild has been asking for Ainz-sama."
"If it's about last night's events, ask them to wait — no, that's not right. It must be something else?"
"Yes! As ever, Ainz-sama's perception is extraordinary."
Then, after delivering that line, Narberal went oddly vague. A silence stretched for several seconds inside the [Message] connection — as though she was choosing her words, or hesitating over something.
Ainz did not press her.
He waited.
After a moment, Narberal spoke again.
"Actually, on top of the previous matter, another problem has come up. It's about... a vampire incident."
"What? You said a vampire?" It was a new direction for someone who had none. Ainz felt the pace of his thinking pick up without him quite noticing.
"About this vampire — was any description given? Appearance, anything like that?"
"No, unfortunately. The person who came was only a messenger. They said the details would be explained at the guild and asked if Ainz-sama could come as soon as possible. Apparently several adventurer teams have already arrived..."
Narberal paused.
"The guild's messenger is nearby. How shall I respond to them?"
Ainz closed his eyes.
He had no eyes to close. The light in his eye sockets simply extinguished briefly — like some form of visual reset.
He was thinking.
What Narberal had just reported was connected to Shalltear. But no identifying description of the vampire had been given — which suggested this "vampire incident" might not involve Shalltear directly, or at least that the intelligence had not yet spread that far.
Either way, it was a point of entry.
Ainz opened his eyes again. The light in the sockets came back.
He turned his head toward Albedo.
"Your read on what Narberal just reported?"
Albedo met his gaze for a moment. Then she let her eyes lower, apparently absorbing the new information quickly.
A few seconds later, she looked up at him again.
"Given the current shortage of intelligence, I believe we may benefit from drawing on these humans' information channels."
Her voice was steady and certain.
"The Adventurers Guild is the closest approximation of a civilian intelligence network. They may be able to offer perspectives that are not currently available to us."
Ainz gave a nod.
He had reached the same conclusion.
Unlike in the original story — where Nazarick had been capable of observing Shalltear's location directly — at this stage, her situation was entirely unknown to them. Even Albedo, who looked down on humans as inferior creatures, was ready to draw on the power of those ants.
Ainz made his decision.
"Albedo."
"Here."
"Notify Sebas — have him investigate anything related to [Martial Arts] in the capital. Any rumors, records, or unusual cases connected to Martial Arts, I want all of it collected."
"Understood."
"I'll go to the guild in E-Rantel."
"Very well. I will notify Sebas per your instructions."
"I'm counting on you."
As he spoke, Ainz removed the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown from his finger and held it briefly in his palm.
"Also — I'll leave the ring with Yuri. Please see to collecting it afterward."
"Yes."
Albedo lowered her head again, deep and respectful.
Ainz put the ring back on, turned, and walked toward the Ice Prison's exit. As he did, he glanced back at the corner where Nigredo was still curled up.
"Nigredo."
"Yes, Ainz-sama..." The voice from that lipless mouth still carried the heavy weight of self-reproach.
"There is nothing to blame yourself for." Ainz's voice was steady, carrying no reproach at all. "Your abilities are not at fault. I underestimated this world."
"Ah... what compassion Ainz-sama shows..." Albedo pressed her clasped hands to her chest, a hazy warmth gathering in those golden vertical pupils.
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