The next morning, Maylena and Momonga gathered in a spacious room adorned with banners and paintings depicting the triumphs of the Ainz Ooal Gown guild. Momonga, seated in a plush armchair, fiddled with a mirror of remote viewing, his fingers dancing across an invisible interface. Lines appeared on his forehead as he frowned, a comical sight on the majestic man with long black hair cascading over his shoulders and deep violet eyes radiating grandeur. His black and purple robe, embroidered with silver runes, clung slightly to his muscular figure, making him irresistible to feminine hearts.
Maylena, in contrast, lazily crossed one leg over the other, polishing her nails with the air of a regal beauty. Nodding with satisfaction at her handiwork, she leaned back in her chair, exuding a delectable confidence. Momonga, having finally mastered the mirror, let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, clapping sounds erupted, and he turned around, his lip twitching nervously.
Sebas, with an impassive face, applauded, while Maylena, with a stony expression, mimicked him, clapping her hands.
Jokers!
Momonga mentally fumed, shooting a murderous glance at Maylena. She merely waved it off, took out a lollipop, and began to lick it, savoring the sweetness with a languid, "Mmm." Momonga narrowed his eyes but decided to ignore her.
The mirror displayed a village where knights in silvery armor were butchering peaceful residents. Blood soaked the grass, painting it crimson. Momonga frowned, his heart clenching with disgust. Maylena, noticing the scene, exclaimed:
"Ooh, a massacre! How fun!" Her eyes sparkled, and she clapped her hands comically, showing no empathy for others' suffering.
"Maylena, stop it!" Momonga snapped, glaring at her reprovingly. He felt uneasy about what was happening to the villagers. Feeling concern and fear for them, even though they were strangers, he felt that enjoying others' suffering was clearly too much.
She stuck out her tongue, "He's being a grump!"
Sebas, interrupting their bickering, respectfully asked:
"My Lord, will there be orders?"
Momonga noticed a hidden glimmer in Sebas's eyes—a desire to act, to protect the weak. Lost in thought, he heard yet another comment from Maylena:
"What order? We're watching a massacre and sipping a cocktail!" She took out a strawberry cocktail, savoring it with a satisfied, "Ahh, so refreshing!"
Momonga glanced at the carefree Maylena and the expectant Sebas. A memory suddenly flashed in his mind:
The duty of the strong is to protect the weak!
He mentally shuddered and gasped; involuntarily, a figure clad in silver armor appeared in his mind, with a determined demeanor and also in a majestic pose.
Touch Me, is that you?
Jumping up, he startled Maylena, who spilled her cocktail and exclaimed indignantly:
"That's a new dress!"
Maylena was annoyed, and began to wipe the wet spot on her dress with napkins. Momonga, waving her off, ordered Sebas:
"Nazarick to high alert. I'm going out."
Sebas nodded:
"It shall be done. I will prepare an escort."
Momonga retrieved a mage's outfit from his inventory, resembling the garments from Xianxia: a long black robe with gold and crimson patterns, flowing like silk, with wide sleeves adorned with embroidered dragons. A dark leather belt, inlaid with jade, accentuated his waist, and an amulet with a magical crystal shone on his chest. Tying his hair into a high bun, secured with a jade hairpin, he looked like a young lord practicing the Dao. Opening a gate, he stepped inside.
Maylena, shouting, "Wait up!" rushed after him. In the village, Momonga, unperturbed, cast lightning, charring a knight, his body smoking. Uttering, "Create Undead Mid-Tier," he summoned a warrior with a sword and shield from the corpse. Pointing at the enemies, he commanded:
"Annihilate them!"
The undead, with a deafening roar, "Grrraaa!" charged into battle. Maylena, catching up to him, froze, impressed. Momonga noticed two girls huddled together. The elder, a teenager with fair skin, light hair in a braid, and hazel eyes, was dressed in wool clothing. The younger, with reddish-brown braids and hazel eyes, trembled beside her. Their frightened gazes met his.
The elder, falling to her knees, pleaded:
"Spare us, young lord! Save our lives!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. The frightened girls were clearly not prepared for the events of today, that their home would be attacked by a group of knights and a massacre would begin without any questions or demands.
The younger one followed her, trembling. Momonga, embarrassed, cleared his throat:
"Calm down, I won't hurt you."
Noticing their wounds, he took out a red potion. The girls cringed, but the elder, trembling, drank it, fearing to disobey. She gasped, "O-oh!" Her eyes widened as the wound on her back healed. In amazement, she exclaimed:
"Thank you!"
Momonga, scratching the back of his head, muttered:
"It's… nothing special."
The younger one, with a sparkle in her eyes, asked:
"Who are you?"
Momonga pondered slightly, straightened up, and majestically pronounced:
"I am Ainz Ooal Gown."
Their gazes filled with admiration; they were ready to worship him. Eat out of his hands. Clapping sounds erupted, and Maylena, in a figure-hugging black dress that emphasized her curves and voluptuous breasts, sang mockingly:
"Bravo, Ainz! You did it!" She comically wiped away "tears" with a handkerchief, enjoying her friend's greatest moment, that he was clearly preparing to embrace the dark side of the Force.
Ainz, twitching his lip twice, stared at her in annoyance. Maylena approached the girls, who cringed under her assessing gaze. Examining them, touching the chin of the elder, she scoffed:
"Not the most beautiful flowers," she sneered and walked on.
The girls and Ainz froze, unsure how to react to her words. Flower? What did she mean?
Maylena, moving forward, grumbled displeased, adjusting her hair:
"What was I even expecting? There aren't enough flowers in this world, except for Nazarick and a couple of individuals. Everything else is thin and pale," her voice was slightly frustrated, but her eyes still sparkled with mischief.
Ainz, slightly surprised by her words, quickly cast a protective barrier around the girls, eliciting their admiring sighs. He said softly:
"Stay here, you are safe."
His kindness touched them, their eyes glistened with gratitude. Ainz hurried to catch up with Maylena, who, ostentatiously thrusting out her chest, walked with an air as if she were owed a million gold coins. Her dress swayed in time with her steps, accentuating her curves.
"Wait!" Ainz shouted.
Maylena turned around, raising an eyebrow in surprise:
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?!" he roared, glaring at her angrily. "I don't care what you said about the girls, but this…" He paused dramatically, then exploded: "Stop dropping items, damn it!"
He feverishly collected the world-class artifacts that Maylena was carelessly leaving behind. Clutching his heart, he metaphorically spat blood, like a Dao master whose practice had been interrupted. His eyes blazed:
"I could forgive your absent-mindedness, but now is not the time! What if there are enemies here? You can't be so careless!"
Momonga was angry, damn it, what if there were more enemies? How many hidden enemies were lurking in the world? Caution had clearly not left him, but his friend had clearly ignored it!
Maylena, realizing, scoffed:
"It's just trash. I can churn out a bunch more like that."
Ainz stumbled on flat ground, ran up to her, his eyes becoming insane. She involuntarily swallowed. Slowly, syllable by syllable, he growled:
"Don't. Do. That. Got it?" Emphasizing the last word twice, he grabbed her shoulders, tilting his head with a creepy smile. Crows in the trees soared into the sky, and Maylena's lips twitched. She exhaled:
"Okay, okay, fine! I'll behave normally, are you satisfied?" Pouting resentfully, she turned away. Momonga clearly didn't know how to enjoy the moments of life. Why couldn't that stupid pig understand her?
Ainz, for the first time in a long time, smiled, his face lit up with warmth. The atmosphere warmed up, and he walked on with light joy. Maylena, slightly upset, trailed behind. Deciding to test his powers, Ainz cast a flight spell. His black robe with gold and crimson patterns, embroidered with dragons, billowed in the wind, the wide belt with jade inserts shone, and the amulet with a crystal shimmered on his chest. Long hair, gathered in a bun with a jade hairpin, streamed down, making him look like a young Dao lord. He soared towards the village.
Maylena, calling him a dandy, also took flight. They landed in the village, where chaos reigned after the massacre. Some knights, having dropped their weapons, were kneeling. The residents, seeing them, froze. Ainz, spreading his arms, majestically proclaimed:
"Death Knight, enough! Salvation has come to you!"
The residents' eyes widened, many fell prostrate, exclaiming, "Gods!" The sun illuminated Ainz, his violet eyes and black robe shining with an unearthly grandeur. To the peasants, he looked like a deity descended from the heavens. Maylena, beside him, looked no less divine in her form-fitting dress. Yes, the Dao practitioners had clearly decided to reveal their presence to the eyes of mortals, who swallowed hard and wiped tears from their eyes.
Ainz, descending, asked:
"Who is the leader here?"
An elderly man raised his hand:
"I am, my lord."
"We will speak privately," Ainz nodded, turning to the knights. One of them, trembling, but with arrogance, shouted:
"This will not go unpunished! My family, House Reinhardt, will restore justice!"
Ainz slowly approached, his aura overwhelming. The knight backed away. Ainz grabbed him by the throat, he gasped for breath. Releasing him, he watched as the knight greedily gulped air. He began:
"You…"
Slap!
A slap. The knight froze, a red mark on his cheek. He opened his mouth, but received another one:
Slap!
A series of ringing slaps turned his cheeks into blue, swollen pillows. The knight, barely moving his tongue, stammered incoherently:
"S-stop… p-please…"
Sobbing, he pitifully squeezed out:
"Stop… I beg you…"
Ainz nodded with satisfaction, adjusted his collar, and turned around. Maylena, clutching her mouth and stomach, was shaking with silent laughter. Alright, he's got them. The young master had clearly decided to get to the bottom of things and put that arrogant guy in his place.
Ainz's eye twitched imperceptibly, but he calmly returned to the villagers, proclaiming with dramatic flair:
"These knights will pay for what they've done. The guilty will be punished, I promise this in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown!"
The villagers, touched by his sincerity, wept with joy. Ainz, feeling a bit awkward, blushed. Meylena, unable to contain herself any longer, collapsed to her knees, laughing and pounding the ground.
Suddenly, the sound of galloping hooves filled the air. Warriors on horseback surrounded the village. Their leader, a sturdy man with short, dark hair and a scar across his cheek, clad in steel armor and a cloak, dismounted his horse. His gaze was firm, yet composed.
"I am Gazef Stronoff, Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom," he announced, his voice confident but respectful. "Identify yourself, traveler, and state your purpose here."
Ainz, straightening his posture, replied:
"I am Ainz Ooal Gown, supreme overlord of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. My companion and I are travelers from distant lands. Seeing this plight, we could not stand idly by."
Gazef, slightly taken aback, was impressed by his majestic bearing. His gaze flickered to Meylena, who was still lying on the grass, face buried in the dirt. Ainz, with a deathly pale expression, said:
"Please, pay her no mind. My friend suffers from… a terminal illness that affects the mind."
Gazef, looking at Meylena with pity, shook his head. "It is a pity that such a beautiful lady should suffer so." He frowned, adding: "Her beauty might draw unwanted attention in the kingdom. Be careful, and watch over her so that no harm befalls her."
Ainz nodded impassively.
"Perhaps we should discuss this in a more private setting? Share information?"
Gazef replied with deference, "I agree, Lord Ainz. Your assistance to this village is worthy of respect. Please, come with the village elder, and we will discuss everything in peace."
The village elder, who had been listening, invited them to his home. They moved off, leaving Gazef's knights in confusion. Some began to patrol, while others glanced nervously at the Death Knight looming over the captured knights, who were trembling with terror. Meylena, still lying in the grass, quietly giggled, her face pressed into the ground.