Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight.

Seeing that all the guardians had accepted Lord Ainz's deduction.

Demiurge continued:

"Lord Ainz sent out his lower-ranking servants to conduct a thorough search in order to test whether the other side would interfere with Nazarick's operations."

He turned around, faced Ainz, and bowed deeply.

"And the result is already quite obvious."

Demiurge straightened up.

"The enemy did not attack the family members, nor did they launch an attack on Nazarick."

His voice carried a confident composure.

Albedo tilted her head slightly, a flash of realization crossing her golden vertical pupils.

"I see."

Her voice was very soft, as if she were talking to herself, but Albedo's gaze was fixed on Ainz's skull face.

"So Lord Ainz was testing the opponent's upper limit of strength from the very beginning."

Ainz, who was standing nearby, heard it clearly and opened his jaw again.

No, not at all.

But with the help of the undead's forced calm, Ainz quickly regained his composure.

Ainz nodded slightly, as if confirming Demiurge's judgment.

"Continue." Ainz's voice came from the throne, so calm that it revealed no emotion.

Demiurge lowered his head.

"Yes, ma'am."

He straightened up and his gaze swept over the guardians present.

Based on the above analysis, we can draw a preliminary conclusion.

Demiurge's voice was slow and solemn.

"Shalltear's loss of control was indeed related to that dragon. But its strength was not enough to defeat Nazarick head-on."

Demiurge pushed up his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses becoming even sharper.

"Um... is it possible... that piece of armor was placed there intentionally by the other side to distract us?"

Mare kept his head down, his fingers twisting his staff, his voice so soft it almost disappeared into the emptiness of the throne room.

Demiurge turned to look at him, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"That's not possible."

His answer was crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

"This encounter was the result of a combination of coincidences. No one could have prepared in advance, much less predicted Shalltear's actions and deliberately left a misleading message."

Dimitrov paused, as if to confirm the rigor of his logic.

"Shalltear's search route, the time she encountered the adventurers, and the direction she pursued after entering the Blood Frenzy—these variables combined to form an extremely complex chaotic system. It's impossible to place a dragon armor plate in that area in advance."

His voice was steady, each word sounding as if it had been carefully calculated before being uttered.

All the guardians nodded in agreement.

Even with Demiurge's formidable strategies and wisdom, he could not predict Rune's divine intervention.

Ultimately, they were misled by Rune's framing.

The atmosphere in the throne room was more relaxed than before.

The nerves that had been taut because of Shalltear's betrayal gradually relaxed under Demiurge's analysis, like fabric that had been ironed; though still wrinkled, it no longer made one feel uneasy.

Ainz sat on the throne, his gaze sweeping over every guardian present.

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"Next."

Ainz's voice was steady and clear.

"It's a message about Sebastian."

His voice was slow, as if he was organizing his thoughts, or as if he was giving the guardians time to process them.

"Sebastian proposes to incorporate Rune Elbein Drew Eindora, a nobleman from the Kingdom of Ri Yestize, into the ranks of Nazarick."

The throne room fell silent instantly.

This quiet was different from the previous solemnity; it was sudden, carrying a kind of inexplicable silence.

Albedo was the first to break the silence.

"Humans?"

Albedo's voice wasn't loud, but when she uttered that word, there was a natural, undisguised contempt.

His golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly, as if confirming something absurd.

"Sebastian proposes to recruit a human?"

"Exactly."

Ainz's voice was calm, without revealing any subjective opinion.

"Sebastian explained his reasons in detail in the message."

His gaze fell on a certain spot in the void, as if recalling what Sebastian had said.

"First, Rune Aindora has extensive connections and intelligence networks in the capital. Sebas believes that through him, intelligence can be gathered more efficiently from the kingdom and even neighboring countries."

Albedo frowned slightly, but did not interrupt.

"Secondly, this person's personal strength is remarkable," Ainz continued. "According to Sebastian's assessment, he ranks among the top warriors in the kingdom, on par with the kingdom's warrior captain, Gazef Stronov."

Cocytus turned his head slightly and exhaled a breath of cold air.

"An outstanding human being?" His voice was deep, carrying a hint of scrutiny. "Worth a fight."

"third."

A subtle meaning crept into Ainz's voice.

"Sebastian judged that this person was someone who would help the weak and was trustworthy."

Albedo's brow furrowed even more.

"Helping the weak?"

She repeated the word, her tone even more contemptuous than before.

"Has Sebastian been influenced by humans?"

Her voice carried a hint of displeasure, as if she were trying to suppress her anger.

Ainz raised his hand, stopping her from continuing.

"Sebastian also mentioned this in his message."

Ainz's voice was calm. "He believes that it is precisely because such humans exist that Nazarick should consider incorporating them. Simply subjugating them by force will only result in slaves, while making a valuable human willingly serve Nazarick is far more beneficial."

Albedo seemed to want to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

"Lord Ainz."

Demiurge's voice broke the silence.

"In my opinion, Sebastian's proposal is worth considering."

Ainz looked at him.

Demiurge took a step forward, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed slightly.

"If this human really does have extensive connections and intelligence networks in the capital, as Sebastian claims, then his value is indeed not to be underestimated."

He straightened up and adjusted his glasses.

"Moreover, from another perspective, recruiting a kingdom's nobles as peripheral members is itself a means of intelligence infiltration. We can obtain information about the movements of the kingdom's upper echelons through them."

Demiurge's tone was calm and rational, as if he were analyzing a move in a game of chess.

"Of course, this is on the premise that the human being is indeed trustworthy."

He paused, his gaze behind his glasses becoming even sharper.

"My suggestion is to continue observing for a while. Let Sebastian conduct a more in-depth examination of him to confirm his loyalty and reliability before deciding whether to formally recruit him."

Ainz nodded slightly.

"Then let's do it this way."

His gaze swept over every guardian present.

"Does anyone else have any objections?"

No one speaks.