Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

The last rays of twilight were fading outside the window, and stars were beginning to appear on the greyish-purple horizon.

In the distance, the faint sounds of soldiers chatting and laughing as they marched back to their posts could be heard, creating a stark contrast to the quietness inside the room.

Sebastian walked to the table and sat down, slowly closing his eyes.

Tomorrow is Ainz-sama's regular contact time.

He must come up with a plausible explanation tonight.

A story that would get Lord Ainz to resurrect Reno without revealing Lord Touchme's identity.

Sebastian's fingers tightened slightly as the night deepened outside the window.

After a long time, the oil lamp was finally lit, and its dim yellow light spread across the table, casting the old butler's shadow on the wall behind him.

Sebastian opened his eyes, and a decision was already made in his light gray pupils.

The next morning, before dawn.

Sebastian stood alone in front of the wooden bed in the warehouse, his gaze fixed on that quiet little face.

Morning light streamed in through the ventilation window high up in the warehouse, a narrow beam of light illuminating the dim space, and dust particles floated slowly in the light.

Before long, the connection to the [message] lit up in his mind.

"Sebastian".

Ainz Ooal Gown's voice came from the other end of the magical connection, carrying his deliberately feigned majesty.

Ainz believed that even when separated by a great distance, one should maintain the demeanor befitting a supreme being.

Sebastian's breath hitched for a beat.

"Lord Ainz."

He answered promptly, without revealing any extraneous emotions.

"How's it going on your end? Any new information about the dragon?"

Ainz's voice continued to echo in my mind.

This is a routine communication, once a week. Ainz will check on Sebas's progress in gathering intelligence in the Dragon Kingdom through [Messages], and occasionally ask some detailed questions.

Sebastian quickly organized his thoughts on what to say.

"Lord Ainz, I have something to report."

He paused, his gaze falling on Leno, a moment of hesitation barely perceptible.

"The Dragon Kingdom does have information about dragons, but they have made a condition."

"Conditions? What conditions?"

"They demanded the resurrection of a dead little girl."

Sebastian stated the matter in a calm tone, demonstrating a businesslike attitude.

There was a moment of silence on Ainz's end.

"That little girl," Ainz's voice rang out again, "is she related to intelligence?"

“It’s not directly related,” Sebastian answered frankly. “But the Dragon Kingdom has said that after resurrecting her, they will provide information about dragons, which they consider to be the first step in showing their sincerity.”

Ainz fell into deep thought.

The prolonged silence sent a chill down Sebastian's spine; he could even imagine Lord Ainz scrutinizing him with his sharp eyes.

“…I understand.” Ainz’s voice rang out again, without the slightest doubt. “You wait over there, I’ll send someone to revive that girl right away.”

Sebastian's Adam's apple bobbed slightly before he finally relaxed.

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

"Ah."

The connection to the message was severed, and the magic faded from the edge of consciousness.

Sebastian slowly exhaled and looked up at the sky outside, which was beginning to brighten.

'In any case, Lord Tapchimi's wish is about to be fulfilled.'

This thought continuously healed Sebastian's guilty conscience for deceiving Ainz.

the other side.

The Great Tomb of Nazarick, the Throne Room.

Ainz closed the semi-transparent NPC management interface, confirming that Sebastian was not likely to have betrayed them.

"Resurrect that little girl..."

He silently repeated the request in his mind.

Although the girl's level was certainly not high, Nazarick's abilities made it not difficult for him to resurrect her.

Ainz was thinking about which method to use to achieve this.

The safest option is to revive directly using in-game purchase items.

Ainz mentally reviewed the inventory of Nazarick's vaults and realized that he could achieve his goal by using a paid resurrection item.

But this comes at a price.

In this world, the in-game items that require real money are a non-renewable resource.

Ainz had already confirmed this after arriving in the other world: the items that could be purchased with real money in YGGDRASIL were becoming increasingly rare here.

As for whether the "intelligence about the dragon" that Sebastian obtained in exchange was worth the price, Ainz is currently unable to assess it.

If the intelligence is not valuable, then it's like making a losing deal with a precious tool.

Once this decision gets out, his wise image in the eyes of the guardians will inevitably be shaken.

Even if losses are incurred, the blame can be shifted to Sebastian.

He could easily argue that Sebastian misjudged the situation and exaggerated the importance of unnecessary intelligence.

In this way, the loss becomes Sebastian's problem, not Ainz's.

Ainz's jaw twitched slightly, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

Before he transmigrated, when he worked at that unscrupulous company, the boss did exactly the same thing. He would push any mistakes onto his subordinates, while taking all the credit for himself.

Ainz cursed in his mind countless times. He didn't consider himself a good boss, and he would never do such a thing.

Moreover, Sebastian only reported the situation to him; the real decision was made by Sebastian himself.

Ainz couldn't bring himself to shift the blame onto a subordinate who was merely following orders.

So, what about using resurrection magic?

Ainz thought of another way.

Resurrection magic does not require rare premium items; it can be cast as long as you have enough magic power.

From a cost perspective, this is a more cost-effective option.

The problem is that Ainz is not sure if the resurrection magic can successfully resurrect an ordinary little girl of a very low level.

In YGGDRASIL, resurrected individuals return to a specific spawn point. If the same rule applies to the alternate world...

A dark red light flickered in Ainz's eye sockets.

If the girl's "birth point" happens to be near the dragon that controls Shalltear, she will appear in front of the dragon the moment she is resurrected.

What will the Dragons do with her? Will they use her to track down Nazarick?

Even with only a one in ten thousand chance, Ainz wouldn't dare to act rashly.

Ainz suddenly realized something else.

He still hasn't fully figured out the specific rules of resurrection magic in this world.

He should have confirmed this matter much earlier, but he kept putting it off because he was preoccupied with other matters.

If he were to send Pandora to the capital to gather information on resurrection magic now, it would make him, as the supreme ruler, appear short-sighted.

Such an important matter, and you only start cramming for it at the last minute when you need it.

Ainz sighed silently to himself.

'There's no other way. I'll just have to secretly conduct the experiment myself first.'

Ainz rose from his throne and activated the teleportation function of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. Blue light shone around him, engulfing his figure.

A moment later, he appeared in the corridor of the ninth floor of the Great Tomb.

The ninth floor is the living area, where the environment is much more pleasant than on the other floors.

The walls on both sides of the corridor are inlaid with magic crystal lamps that emit a warm yellow light, and the floor is covered with dark velvet carpet.

Ainz walked deeper into the corridor, and after turning a few corners, he stopped in front of a door.

Ainz reached out and pushed the door open.

Inside the room, a tall woman was tidying up a bookshelf with her back to the door.

She was wearing a black and white maid dress, with a black headscarf on her head, and most notably, huge dog ears on her head.

Pestonia S. Wanco, the head maid of the kobolds.

Hearing the door open, she turned around.

A look of surprise appeared on his face, but he quickly changed it to a respectful expression and bowed slightly.

"Lord Ainz, what brings you here?"

“Pestonia,” Ainz’s voice was steady, “I have a task for you to carry out.”

Pestonia immediately stood up straight, her gray eyes looking intently at Ainz.

"Please give your instructions."

“I need you to come with me on a mission.” Ainz’s voice was low. “This matter must not be mentioned to anyone. Not even Albedo or the other Guardians.”