Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

Ainz sighed inwardly; he hadn't considered that aspect. "You're right."

Albedo's eyes lit up slightly, but she showed no sign of urgency.

As if to prove that she had no selfish motives, Albedo continued:

"Of course, handing it over to Demiurge is also an option. After all, with his intelligence, he should be able to see through this kind of trap."

Her tone sounded like she was objectively evaluating an alternative. But her next sentence sent a wave of indescribable hurt through Ainz's soul.

"Although his low-level aesthetic sense is indeed unappealing... his intelligence alone is acceptable."

Ainz sat upright on the throne, his jawline silently parting slightly. He knew perfectly well that Demiurge's so-called low aesthetic sense was nothing more than a continuation of his own.

But seeing Albedo's undisguised disdain, Ainz silently swallowed the words he wanted to say in defense of Demiurge.

“But Demiurge has too many things to do right now,” Albedo continued. “Demiurge has to prepare both the sacrifice plan and the plan to destroy the country, while also taking care of the subsequent optimization of the mass production of low-level scrolls…”

She turned her head slightly and calmly gave Ainz her analysis.

“Under these circumstances, if he were to be distracted by the Supreme Search Team, I'm afraid the efficiency wouldn't be very high. I think…”

She paused for a moment, as if giving Ainz time to process it.

"Having a subordinate take on the role of leader of this squad is the most suitable choice."

Ainz thought about it carefully and realized that Albedo's words made sense.

Pandora is playing the role of the adventurer Flyff, Demiurge is busy with his sacrificial pawn plan, Aou and Mare are impulsive, and Cocytus is not good at this.

Sebastian, on the other hand, needed to stay in the capital to gather various intelligence.

After careful consideration, the only suitable candidate is indeed Albedo.

"In that case, Albedo, I agree to your decision to establish the Supreme Search Team."

Chapter 128 Rune and Feifei

The capital of the Kingdom of Rijesteje.

The carriage moved slowly along the stone-paved streets of the capital, the wheels making a rhythmic rumbling sound as the street scenes on both sides receded frame by frame in the window.

Rune leaned against the carriage wall, his gaze fixed on the street scene outside the window illuminated by the morning light, but his thoughts drifted to the upcoming imperial council meeting.

Logically speaking, he shouldn't be attending a meeting of this scale.

The meeting seat in the Aindora family has always been the seat of the father, Earl Alves. As the heir who has not yet inherited the title, he is not qualified to attend such a high-level meeting.

But this time is different.

Rune crossed his arms over his chest, head bowed, looking thoughtful.

Although news of his successful defeat of the orc kingdom did not spread widely among the common people of the kingdom, it had already been widely circulated among the nobles.

In the current situation, the value of a capable young nobleman is completely different from before.

Moreover… Rune’s gaze darkened slightly.

The topic of this imperial council meeting will most likely be related to military matters.

After all, the news that a death knight had arrived as an emissary of the demon king Sagara had caused quite a stir in the royal capital.

Even though the common people didn't know much about the inside story, some capable nobles were well aware of the significance of this move.

The Demon Lord Zagala is able to command powerful death knights, something even Flutaparade, hailed as "humanity's strongest magic caster," could not do.

Rune silently analyzed the current state of the kingdom's high-end combat power.

Grigory Storno, the Kingdom's Warrior Captain, is of commoner origin. Brian Anglaus, the Nail Clipper, is also a commoner.

Feifei, a Steel-level adventurer, whose identity is unknown.

None of these three people were of noble birth.

Although his younger sister Si was a noblewoman, she was a woman and had chosen the path of an adventurer, which was clearly unsuitable in the eyes of the noble lords in the capital.

Therefore, if the aristocratic faction wanted to find someone to back them up and balance the delicate relationship between the fighting power of the nobles and the commoners, he was indeed the most suitable candidate.

Rune sighed softly.

He didn't want to get involved in these meaningless matters, but since the meeting's topic was related to Nazarick, he couldn't stay out of it.

The carriage slowly drove through the gates of the royal city of Lorenz, passed through the magnificent archway, and came to a smooth stop inside the city.

Rune bent down and crawled out of the carriage, his boots making a slight thud on the flat stone floor.

He straightened up, adjusted his clothes, and subconsciously looked around at the gray and white stone buildings.

Then Rune suddenly saw a very peculiar figure.

The figure stood below the steps at the entrance to the royal city, his black full-body armor gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight.

The armor's surface bears several obvious signs of age, with battle-damaged cracks and repaired seams interspersed, giving it an air of battle-hardened power.

These traces serve as a constant reminder of the contributions made in defeating the Demon King.

But to Rune, who knew the inside story, these traces seemed quite deliberate.

The armor's owner stood there, upright and composed, the edge of his scarlet cloak fluttering slightly in the morning breeze.

Half a step behind him stood a black-haired woman.

Her high ponytail was neatly tied, her face was delicate, and her facial features were particularly distinct. A pair of dark eyes were calmly scanning her surroundings. She wore a brown cloak over her adventurer's casual clothes.

It was the jet-black Feifei and the "beautiful girl" Nabe.

Rune's gaze swept over them, his mind already racing.

He wasn't surprised to meet Feifei here.

Having repeatedly repelled the Demon King Sagara, the kingdom's higher-ups had no reason not to invite him to this meeting.

Moreover, the arrival of the Demon King's messenger has made the situation sensitive, and any high-end combat power that can enhance one's own confidence will be sought after.

What he needs to be careful about is whether the Flying in front of him is Ainz himself or Pandora Actor in disguise.

If it were Ainz himself, the opponent would theoretically be rather clumsy, so there would be no need to pay too much attention.

However, if it is Pandora's Actor, then Rune needs to be on guard at all times. Theoretically speaking, the opponent's intelligence is among the top three in Nazarick.

Although he had a lot on his mind, Rune didn't stop walking. He walked in that direction quite naturally, with a polite smile on his face.

It was neither overly enthusiastic nor too distant, like a nobleman who happened to be passing by and met several other invited guests, and naturally exchanged greetings.

He stopped about three steps away from Feifei, nodded slightly, and performed a greeting commonly used among nobles.

"You must be the hero who has saved the capital several times, the adventurer Mr. Fei Fei."

Feifei turned her head to the side, her gaze falling on Rune beneath her full-face helmet. After a moment, she nodded slightly in return, a small gesture, but one that expressed respect.

"That's me. And you are...?"

"My name is Rune Elbeindru Eindora," Rune announced his full name, but his tone lacked any of the arrogance of a nobleman.

He paused, his gaze naturally falling on the black-haired woman behind Feifei, and added another sentence.

"This must be Miss Nabe, the 'Beautiful Princess' who fought alongside Mr. Feifei. She truly lives up to her reputation. I have heard a great deal about the two of you fighting against the Demon King in the capital."

This is a necessary social gesture; failing to do so could easily arouse suspicion. It demonstrates a friendly attitude without being overly familiar and causing the other party to feel uncomfortable.

As a nobleman, Rune was already well-versed in the polite phrases appropriate for such occasions.

Rune was actually mentally prepared to be criticized, and then show his magnanimous side.

After all, based on his understanding of Narberal, this battle maid had never been kind to humans.

This entomologist would likely name anything other than Nazarick as an insect without hesitation.

Rune hoped that this nobleman, who was "seemingly friendly but looked like he was flirting," would be assigned a better insect name.

Feifei turned her head slightly, as if to confirm Nabe's reaction with her gaze.

Naberal stood half a step behind Fei Fei, and when her gaze fell on Rune, she did not show the contempt she usually showed when facing ordinary humans.

She simply replied calmly, "Your Excellency Aindora, you're too kind."

The tone wasn't exactly warm, but it wasn't perfunctory either.

Rune was slightly taken aback, but his expression remained unchanged, maintaining his polite smile.

'Something's not right,' he thought to himself. 'Given her personality, she should at least have said something like, "So you're a self-aware insect after all."'

In fact, it was because Nabe had already learned from Solusan that Rune could be considered half a Nazarick when she was cleaning up the "pests" with Solusan earlier.

That's why Narberal went easy on Rune.

Rune was a little disappointed that he didn't know which type of bug he would be classified as, and the script he had prepared to show his magnanimity would be useless, but he didn't dwell on the matter too much.

"Mr. Feifei and Miss Nabe's trip must also be for the Imperial Council," Rune steered the conversation back on track. "I have also been summoned by His Majesty and am about to enter the city. Since we are traveling the same way, would you mind if I accompanied you?"

Feifei nodded slightly: "Of course I don't mind, please, Lady Aindora."

Lu En nodded to Fei Fei and walked alongside him toward the entrance to the royal city.

Sunlight poured down from the sky, gilding the black armor and Rune's light-colored robes with a thin layer of gold.

“Mr. Feifei,” Rune’s attitude remained very gentle. He turned his head and spoke with a hint of sincere concern, “You have worked hard on the defense of the capital these past few days.”

Feifei turned her head slightly, her gaze beneath her full-face helmet falling on Rune, as if she were assessing something.

A moment later, his voice came from under his helmet, calm and composed: "Lady Aindora is too kind. It's not hard work at all. Protecting humanity is the duty of every adventurer."

Rune glanced at Feifei's gait out of the corner of his eye.

He noticed that Feifei's swinging motion was slightly larger than normal when she walked, but it was also exceptionally coordinated. The swinging trajectory of her hands was also quite smooth, and she looked quite imposing overall.

Rune silently memorized these details.

He had never seen Ainz in person, but based on his understanding from his previous life, Suzuki Satoru should not be able to walk with such a completely relaxed gait, as if he were participating in a personal show.

'This Feifei is most likely Pandora's Actor in disguise,' Rune concluded in his mind.

'However, it's also possible that Ainz's mindset changed after being transported to another world, or that he specifically practiced his walking posture in front of a mirror.'

Rune could not completely rule out this possibility, so he had to put the judgment aside for the time being and wait for further observation.

The two walked a few steps side by side when a figure emerged from the direction of the side gate of the royal city.