Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

Feifei heard it.

Regarding your request.

Naberal turned her head to the side.

“I will pass this on to Demiurge for you,” Fei Fei said calmly. “This is a small matter and shouldn’t affect the overall plan.”

He paused.

"Lord Ainz will agree."

Naberal's expression finally changed slightly.

Thank you.

Her tone held a hint of genuine gratitude.

Inside the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

Ainz sat at his desk, a stack of papers piled up in front of him.

Albedo stood beside Ainz, her gaze following Ainz's movements as she looked at the papers.

This was a brilliant idea from Ainz.

They probed Albedo's opinion on her aesthetic sense by having all members anonymously write suggestions.

After all, Demiurge and the citizens of Yelantier thought the move was cool, and if even Albedo thought it was cool, then he could be completely at ease.

Of course, this is all contingent on Albedo not discovering that he was involved in the proposal.

Otherwise, Albedo might very well have agreed to his proposal because he was the Supreme Being.

What Ainz needs is an objective evaluation.

To this end, Ainz copied all the proposals again in advance to ensure that the handwriting was consistent, and even deliberately disrupted his word choice and sentence structure habits.

He mixed his own proposal in the middle so it wouldn't seem deliberate.

"Then let's see what suggestions the members of the Great Tomb have."

Ainz reached out and picked up the top sheet of paper.

His gaze swept across the paper. Although he had read it beforehand and made a note of it, reading it again still gave him a headache.

Ainz cleared his throat and read the message aloud.

"It is recommended that Nazarick release more merchandise related to Lord Ainz, such as water bottles with Lord Ainz's image or life-size body pillows of Lord Ainz. Reason: This can strengthen the loyalty of the members of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and constantly motivate them to work harder."

After reading the last word, Ainz rested his hand on his skull in distress.

This proposal... well, it doesn't seem entirely without merit.

But with mugs printed with his skull face and life-size body pillows... can the members of Nazarick really drink water and sleep with a skull on their faces?

"Albedo, what do you think of this?"

Before Ainz could finish his question, Albedo interrupted, "I think this proposal is excellent!"

Her voice was extremely excited, and her golden vertical pupils gleamed with undisguised anticipation.

Ainz gaped in shock.

He turned his head and looked at Albedo.

That stunningly beautiful face was adorned with an almost dreamlike smile, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, her eyes curved into crescents, and her whole being exuded an aura of "hurry up and agree."

A thought flashed through Ainz's mind.

...Could this proposal have been written by Albedo?

But the principle of anonymous submissions prevented him from asking.

He looked away and returned his gaze to the paper in his hand, caught in a dilemma.

Agree? That's too embarrassing. Refuse? Albedo's expectant eyes made him feel a little guilty.

Ultimately, Ainz decided to agree halfway.

“A water cup is fine,” Ainz reluctantly made a huge concession, “but a life-size body pillow… is not an option.”

Albedo's eyes lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.

She lowered her head slightly, as if she were reluctantly accepting this compromise.

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

Ainz breathed a sigh of relief, put the first sheet of paper aside, and picked up the second one.

His finger bones tightened slightly the moment they touched the paper.

This is a proposal he wrote himself.

"It is recommended to design uniforms and salutes for Nazarick members to strengthen Nazarick's unity."

In addition to the text, the paper also thoughtfully included drawings of the uniform style and the salute posture.

However, Ainz's drawing skills were really not good. The lines were crooked and the proportions of the uniform were seriously out of balance. The saluting arm looked like a branch that had been forcibly grown from the shoulder.

Ainz swallowed involuntarily.

He tried to keep his voice steady as he read the proposal aloud.

Albedo listened quietly.

The silence lasted for a few seconds.

"...This idea is so incredibly simplistic, who on earth came up with it?"

Albedo's voice turned cold, her face revealing undisguised disgust. She frowned, staring at the appalling drawing on the paper as if it were something filthy.

Ainz felt as if something had stabbed him hard in the heart.

Chapter 52 Xiao Di Bears Everything

Ainz maintained the composure befitting an Supreme Being, but the sense of hurt welling up from the depths of his soul almost overwhelmed his forced calmness.

“Actually,” Ainz tried to salvage the situation, “the original uniform and pose were actually quite good. It’s just that I didn’t have enough time to take notes, so I just sketched it out casually…”

“Even so,” Albedo replied with absolute certainty, “with Lord Ainz’s unparalleled painting skills making up for it, it’s still so ugly, which only proves that the original is even more unbearable to look at. Lord Ainz is too kind; there’s no need for him to keep speaking up for this guy.”

A sharp glint flashed in Albedo's eyes.

"I suggest we thoroughly investigate who proposed this, as it is such a waste of Lord Ainz's time."

Ainz felt himself silently shatter.

'I really shouldn't have trusted the aesthetics of this other world.'

When Albedo saw that Ainz did not respond, her voice came from beside her again.

"Lord Ainz, I still believe that we should find out who wrote that proposal."

"A person capable of creating such ugly paintings probably has a rather distorted sense of aesthetics. Keeping such a person in Nazarick might influence the other members..."

Ainz felt his skull was burning slightly.

'No, no. Albedo absolutely cannot find out that I wrote that proposal.'

Albedo.

Ainz raised his hand, interrupting her.

His tone carried an unquestionable air.

"The principle of anonymous proposals is to allow every member to speak freely. If we hold those who make suggestions accountable just because they don't agree with the content of a proposal, then no one will be willing to offer opinions in the future. As the ruler of Nazarick, I must ensure this."

Ainz paused, looked up at the void, pretending to be deep while buying himself some time to think.

"Besides, I've already thrown away the original version of that proposal, so let's leave it at that."

Albedo's resolute aura had largely dissipated, and she finally nodded respectfully.

"Yes, Lord Ainz. It was my oversight."

Ainz breathed a sigh of relief.

'That was close.'

He secretly rejoiced that he had reacted quickly enough, invoking the ruler's "righteousness" to suppress Albedo's dissatisfaction.

Otherwise, if they really investigate further, they might find that he wrote the proposal...

Then he'll probably lose all face as the supreme ruler.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

Ainz turned his head and looked towards the doorway.

The android maid, Faith, entered and reported to Ainz.

"Lord Ainz, Lord Demiurge requests an audience."

A dark red light flashed briefly in Ainz's eye sockets.

'Perfect timing!'

He cheered inwardly.

Now he could legitimately divert Albedo's attention; if he continued with that previous topic, Ainz was afraid he would give himself away.

“Let him in.” Ainz’s voice sounded quite calm; he concealed his inner joy very well.

"As ordered."

Faith gave a slight bow, turned and walked out of the office, the door closing gently behind her.

A moment later, the door was pushed open again.

Demiurge walked in.

His steps were unhurried, his well-tailored suit was impeccably tailored, his tie was neatly tied, and his round glasses reflected a gleam of intelligence under the light.

An elegant smile graced that cunning face.