Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight.

Sebastian took a book from his pocket.

Rune's gaze fell on the cover of the book, and his pupils contracted slightly.

The Travels of Aindora.

That familiar binding, that familiar font, that familiar silhouette of distant mountains—Rune knew this book all too well. Because it was written by him.

This book is the product of his careful wrapping of his enlightenment thoughts from his previous life into his travelogue and observations. The outline of the distant mountains on the cover is also a sketch he drew himself.

The edges of the book were slightly curled up, and traces of repeated reading could be faintly seen between the pages, clearly indicating that it was not a prop temporarily brought in to fill the space.

"After my young lady arrived in the kingdom, she read Mr. Rune's works." Sebastian's voice was calm and respectful as he held the book with both hands, his posture upright, as if he were displaying a precious collectible.

Rune felt his thoughts freeze for a moment.

Suoliuxiang?

Read his books?

That Nazarick battle maid, an evil creature with a justice value of -400, is reading his "Journey to Aindora".

Rune tried to visualize the scene in his mind.

Suo Liuxiang sat by the window, sunlight shining on her delicate face. Her slender fingers turned the pages of a book, her eyes intently scanning the lines of text.

She nodded slightly when she came to a particularly interesting passage. Then she closed the book, a thoughtful expression on her face…

The imagined scene suddenly shattered like a bubble; Rune's ghostly mind simply couldn't support such an incongruous image.

No.

Rune shook his head violently in his mind.

No matter how you look at it, that slime couldn't possibly read it. Solusang's interest in humans is probably limited to the screams of his prey before death and the tactile sensation of flesh slowly dissolving inside his body.

She would probably only see human books as impurities on food.

Sure enough, this was probably just an excuse for Sebastian to get into the conversation.

Rune quickly went through a mental whirlwind, but his expression remained unchanged. He slightly widened his eyes, revealing just the right amount of surprise and humility.

"Miss Suo Liuxiang has read my book? This is truly... truly an honor."

Sebastian nodded slightly and continued, "After reading Mr. Rune's works, my young lady became very interested in the 'dragon' mentioned in Mr. Rune's travelogue."

Rune's heart skipped a beat.

"But unfortunately, I know very little about this."

Sebastian's tone carried a hint of shame, his light gray eyes lowered slightly, as if he were apologizing for his ignorance.

"Mr. Rune, could you please explain this to me so that I can satisfy my young lady's curiosity?"

There was a moment of silence in the reception room.

The rain kept falling outside the window, the rainwater meandering down the glass, distorting the street scene outside into blurry patches of color.

The sound of rain filled the silence, fine and continuous, as if something was gently tapping on the edge of time.

Rune maintained that humble expression, but his mind was racing.

Great.

The plan does not need to be changed.

He had originally planned to abandon his original plan.

Although it's unclear why Ainz's attention was initially focused on martial arts, it's now that Nazarick has started paying attention to dragons again.

That means that the fragment of the true dragon king's armor ultimately served its intended purpose.

The frame-up was successful.

Although he was overjoyed, a hint of embarrassment appeared on Rune's face.

The easier it is to obtain information, the more suspicious Nazarick will become. Rune understood this principle all too well.

He wants to fish for Sebastian properly.

However, Rune must also be careful not to overdo it. If Nazarick thinks that Sebastian won't be able to be persuaded by gentleness and resorts to force, then all is lost.

"If Mr. Sebastian needs it, I will compile a list of information about dragons circulating in the kingdom," Rune said readily.

It was like helping a friend with something that was just an ordinary little thing.

Sebastian's brow twitched slightly.

"Circulating..." he repeated the word, a glint in his light gray eyes, "So, Mr. Rune knows some more secretive information about 'dragons'?"

Sebastian's voice carried a hint of urgency.

It was very subtle. An ordinary person probably wouldn't even notice it. But Rune had been waiting for this.

Rune paused for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly, and his lips pursed, as if he were making a difficult decision.

"That's true..." Rune's voice hesitated, "but..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

The rain outside the window grew louder, the raindrops pounding against the glass with a rapid, dense sound, as if something was urging the conversation to continue.

Sebastian, however, was very patient. He sat there quietly, waiting for Rune's next words.

Rune finally spoke.

"Mr. Sebastian is unaware of this."

His voice softened, becoming more sincere, "If it's just information about ordinary dragons, I can certainly provide it to Mr. Sebastian immediately."

Rune paused, as if considering his words.

"For example, the Frost Dragon King of the Angelicia Mountains. I can provide Mr. Sebastian with information about him right now. That should be enough to satisfy Miss Soliuxiang's curiosity."

Sebastian's eyes lit up slightly.

Rune noticed Sebastian's expectation and continued speaking.

"But..." There was a hint of hesitation in his voice, "Although the Frost Dragon King is also very strong, he is probably not as powerful as Mr. Sebastian in terms of strength as he exudes a sense of oppression."

Rune shamelessly pushed the greedy and arrogant White Dragon King into the spotlight.

The Frost Dragon King, Aurelius Heliliar, who resides in the old capital of the dwarves in the Angelicia Mountains, is also known as the "White Dragon King" because he has grown to the level of an Ancient Dragon Lv1.

It has amassed countless riches and proclaims itself the absolute ruler of the Angelicia Mountains.

But in Rune's eyes, it was nothing more than bait to lure Nazarick into reacting.

Rune casually revealed information about the Frost Dragon King.

While demonstrating the significance of the intelligence he possesses, the authenticity of the Frost Dragon King's information can also add weight to the subsequent "hidden" information.

With a little investigation, Nazarick would confirm that the Frost Dragon King's location, habits, and strength assessment were all accurate. And this would be the most compelling evidence against the false information that followed.

Sufficient bait is needed to attract large enough fish, even if the bait itself may not be real.

Of course, if Ainz were to suddenly decide to go and destroy that Frost Dragon King...

Rune could only silently apologize in his heart.

Ultimately, that arrogant and greedy dragon will never realize that it is nothing more than a chess piece on the board, ready to be discarded at any time.