Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

He shook his head helplessly in his heart, and even felt a little pity.

'Even I, a man, am jealous... Can Albedo really manage Ainz-sama's harem?'

He sighed silently to himself.

Albedo was aware of Ainz's possessiveness, but if this jealousy went so far as to control even the way he greeted people, it would be far too narrow-minded.

However, these thoughts only lingered in Demiurge's mind for a moment.

He then looked away, ignoring Albedo's murderous glare.

Yawu stood a few steps away, his heterochromatic eyes gleaming with eager anticipation.

She was clearly impressed by Demiurge's improved salute, and was now raising her left hand, mimicking Demiurge's gesture.

Demiurge corrected, "Au, use your right hand."

Yawu paused for a moment, then stuck out his tongue and quickly switched to his right hand.

But then she tilted her head in confusion: "Huh, should I kneel down on one knee?"

“No need.” Demiurge looked every bit the mentor. “Kneeling on one knee is a high-level courtesy when facing Lord Ainz. The simplified version is fine for everyday use.”

Yawu nodded and lowered her hand, but the excitement of learning the new etiquette still lingered in her eyes, and she would occasionally secretly gesture.

Mare, standing next to Yau, kept his head down. Although he didn't dare to try it yet, he had silently memorized the entire set of movements.

Cocytus's insect head turned slightly, clearly somewhat tempted, but a crucial question troubled him: he had four arms, which one should he raise?

Ainz watched this scene unfold, feeling the situation spiraling out of his control.

"Ahem." Ainz cleared his throat, his voice echoing in the empty hall. "We can discuss these details later. Let's get down to business first."

Upon hearing this, Demiurge smiled knowingly: "Lord Ainz is wise."

He pushed up his glasses, his eyes filled with admiration.

"I had just made a breakthrough in my experiment and was about to report to Lord Ainz when you summoned the Guardians. Only Lord Ainz could have timed this so perfectly."

Ainz was slightly taken aback.

An experiment? What experiment? He summoned the Guardians because of the information about the dragons that Sebastian sent back.

He wanted to ask the question that was on his mind, but he swallowed the words back down.

As the supreme ruler, it would be extremely incompetent of him not to know what experiments his subordinates were conducting.

Ainz decided to remain silent for the time being.

“Hmm.” Ainz nodded slightly, trying to make his tone sound like he had everything under control. “Now that you’ve made progress, report back to everyone.”

Upon hearing this, Demiurge's smile deepened.

He bowed to Ainz, then turned to the other Guardians present and began his explanation.

"Thanks to the high-quality materials personally brought by Lord Ainz," Demiurge's voice was filled with satisfied composure. "After several days of repeated trials and optimizations, Nazarick has now achieved low-cost mass production of low-level magic scrolls."

Yau's ears perked up, her eyes filled with curiosity: "Mass production of low-level magic scrolls? Wouldn't that mean they could be mass-produced and equipped for low-level servants?"

“Exactly.” Demiurge nodded to her. “Although they are currently only low-level magic scrolls, I believe that under Lord Ainz’s wise leadership, Nazarick will eventually achieve mass production of all magic scrolls.”

Cocytus nodded slowly, a glint of approval flashing in his compound eyes.

Mare peeked half his face out from behind his staff and muttered under his breath, "Amazing..."

Albedo stood beside Ainz, her expression subtly changing.

The disdain she had just given Demiurge had largely dissipated, and she began to reassess him.

The mass production of magic scrolls is indeed a significant achievement.

Even Albedo could not deny the strategic significance of this achievement for Nazarick.

She turned her head slightly and glanced at Demiurge out of the corner of her eye. Albedo, unusually, affirmed Demiurge's work: "...It's not entirely useless."

Demiurge nodded slightly to her, as if in response to her approval.

Sitting on the throne, Ainz finally figured out what the "experiment" Demiurge was referring to was—the three children he had previously given to Demiurge.

Did it really turn out like this, when it was just a casual try?

The mass production of low-order reels is indeed an important step forward for Nazarick's long-term strategy.

Demiurge did not disappoint with the material he brought.

"Well done, Demiurge."

Chapter 124 Abandoned Child

The magic lamps in the throne room emitted a constant, soft light, illuminating the stone pillars carved with intricate patterns.

The air still carried the air of Demiurge's composure as he reported on the scroll's mass production results, but now the atmosphere had subtly shifted.

Ainz sat on his throne, the dark red light in his eye sockets sweeping over the gathered guardians below, and steered the conversation toward the true purpose of the meeting.

"Sebas has returned to the capital, bringing back important intelligence about the 'dragon'."

He briefly summarized Sebastian's report: dragons are unpredictable and act on a whim; the True Dragon King uses an ancient power system called "Primal Magic," which is completely different from Ranked Magic; and Primal Magic consumes the soul.

After he finished speaking, the throne room fell into a brief silence.

Demiurge was the first to react. He pushed up his glasses, and a knowing smile appeared on his cunning face, as if he had confirmed something he had anticipated.

“Just as I thought.” Demiurge looked at Ainz with admiration.

"Lord Ainz's previous prediction that the dragon had left has now been perfectly confirmed. Given the dragon's unpredictable nature, it is only natural that it left the kingdom after that encounter."

Ainz sat upright on the throne, his jaw slightly parted before closing again.

'No, that was clearly your deduction.'

He thought to himself, but remained outwardly calm, as if this "speculation" had been part of his plan from the very beginning.

Demiurge continued, his voice more serious than before: "However, the matter of Origin Magic... is something Nazarick should pay special attention to."

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the guardians present.

"Since this magic can bypass conventional rules and directly affect Shalltear, it means that our existing defenses may not be able to fully cope with it. Before taking further action, it would be best to test it out and confirm the specific strength of the primordial magic."

Demiurge's lips curled up even higher: "Of course, this is also part of Lord Ainz's plan. Lord Ainz intended to test their strength through subsequent arrangements."

Ainz's torso instantly froze.

Plan? What plan?

He tried his best to maintain that "everything is under control" expression, but his mind was already racing.

Demiurge had clearly planned the next move, and he seemed to assume that he, as the "Supreme Ruler," was aware of and consented to it.

Ainz's gaze swept over the guardians below the throne without making a sound, trying to find someone he could use to learn about the plan.

He would usually point to a guardian and say, "Explain it to him (or her)," then piece together the whole picture from Demiurge's analysis.

Ainz was already very familiar with this.

But this time, Ainz saw something that sent chills down his spine.

Yau nodded, his heterochromatic eyes gleaming with approval. Mare, though still keeping his head slightly bowed, showed no sign of confusion.

Cocytus' compound eyes gazed calmly ahead, clearly having already processed the information. Albedo stood dignified to the right of the throne, showing no sign of asking any questions.

Ainz's jawline opened slightly.

No way.

He felt his soul was undergoing a silent collapse.

The usual situation where "nobody knows, so I can take this opportunity to find out" is no longer there.

'Have I become stupid? Or is this plan really that simple?'

Ainz was going through a silent battle, and finally he chose to speak tentatively: "Um... Yau."

"Yes, Lord Ainz!" Aou immediately straightened his back, his eyes gazing energetically toward the throne.

"You have no questions about the plan...?" Ainz tried to make his tone sound like a superior confirming his subordinate's level of understanding.

Yau scratched the back of his head and gave a slightly embarrassed smile: "Lord Ainz, we did have some questions, but Demiurge explained them to us beforehand."

Her voice carried a unique lightness: "Demiurge said that it would be a waste of Lord Ainz's energy to explain all these details to him personally. So he explained them to us in advance, so that Lord Ainz can spend his time on more important things."

Ainz's mouth gaped open, and his skull jaw, unrestrained by skin, was on the verge of dislocation.

He mechanically turned his head and looked at Demiurge.

Demiurge then gave Ainz an elegant and humble smile.

He bowed slightly the moment Ainz's gaze fell upon him, his tone respectful.

“Lord Ainz is extremely busy, and I am merely sharing some trivial matters with you.” He pushed up his glasses. “These explanatory tasks should have been done by me, so as not to let these small things waste Lord Ainz’s energy.”

'You're despicable!'

Ainz was internally screaming his refusal, but outwardly he could only offer words of praise against his will.

“…Well done, Demiurge.”

He forced a confident tone, making it sound like a superior approving of a subordinate's initiative.

Demiurge's smile deepened: "Lord Ainz, you flatter me."

Ainz withdrew his gaze, quickly calculating in his mind.

If it becomes the norm for Demiurge to explain things in advance, then Nazarick will probably have to wait until afterwards to find out about everything he does.

It might not matter once or twice, but if it goes on for a long time, he might become disconnected from Nazarick.

However, Ainz couldn't directly dismiss Demiurge's actions, as that would not only dampen the Guardians' enthusiasm but also expose the fact that he had no idea what the next step was.

Ainz tapped the armrest twice with his knuckles, having made up his mind.

“Ya-wu,” he said again.

"exist!"

“Since Demiurge has already explained it,” Ainz said, adopting a test-testing attitude towards Aou, “then you repeat it. I’ll test you and see how well you understand it.”