Leaving those words behind, Ren Kuroda turned without hesitation, clearly intending to depart.
But Zaryusu stepped forward, trying to stop him.
As a "traveler," Zaryusu was considered something of an outlier among the lizardmen. Yet precisely because of that, his perspective was far broader than that of his kin.
And because of that wider perspective, he understood all too well what kind of enemy they were about to face.
A mere messenger from that force had already demonstrated the ability to manipulate the weather itself, and the aura radiating from it was enough to inspire despair. Zaryusu couldn't even begin to imagine how terrifying their military strength would be if such a faction decided to invade the Green Claw Tribe.
Ren Kuroda had already decided to leave, but Zaryusu still attempted to intercept him. However, before he could make a move, Yuri Alpha—standing beside Ren—had long since run out of patience.
With a single palm strike, Zaryusu raised his weapon "Frostfang Pain" to block, but his body was still sent flying like a kite with its string cut, hurtling dozens of meters away.
When he finally struggled back to his feet, a mouthful of blood spilled from his lips. If not for that desperate block, the blow would have killed him outright.
"You ignored Lord Ren Kuroda's warning," Yuri said coldly. "And now you dare ask for his mercy? You truly have no sense of limits."
With a justice value of 150, Yuri could be considered a "good person" by Nazarick's standards. But to her, these lizardmen were entirely undeserving of sympathy.
Ren Kuroda had come personally to warn them, yet they dismissed him and even mocked his words. Now, faced with an overwhelming enemy, they sought help again—shameless didn't even begin to describe it.
Ren Kuroda paused, glancing back one last time.
"I'll give you one final piece of advice," he said. "If the one leading the invasion is someone named Cocytus… then show courage. Show your strength in battle. If you do, there's a chance your race might be spared."
With that, he and Yuri departed, leaving the lizardmen behind.
To Ren Kuroda, their situation was nothing more than a minor detour.
After defeating the rogue vampire Shaltear, he and Yuri had risen in rank, becoming the third adamantite-class adventurer team.
As for the skeletal overlord and Narberal, they had reached the orichalcum rank.
Of Ren Kuroda's three main system objectives, achieving adamantite rank marked the completion of one. The remaining two would now have to be set in motion.
In the royal capital of Re-Estize, Sebas and Soryuka had been operating undercover for quite some time—serving as both bait and intelligence gatherers.
On the surface, Soryuka posed as a noble young lady, while Sebas resumed his familiar role as a dignified butler.
The two lived in a luxurious residence—lavish even by the capital's standards. Compared to the skeletal overlord, who had to scrape by in cheap inns to conserve funds, their lifestyle was almost absurdly comfortable.
After discovering that the ones who had attacked Shaltear were from the Slane Theocracy—and possibly fellow players from YGGDRASIL—it became too dangerous to use YGGDRASIL gold openly.
As Ren Kuroda had pointed out, their enemies had encountered Shaltear by chance and did not yet know she originated from YGGDRASIL. If Sebas or Soryuka were to use that currency, it would immediately expose their origins.
Thus, to maintain secrecy, all operational funds had to be provided by Ren Kuroda and the overlord through alternative means.
That day, Sebas collected the week's funds as usual. But while passing through a narrow alley, he came across a girl stuffed inside a sack—beaten and abused to the brink of death.
With a justice value of 300, Sebas was the only truly "good" individual within the Great Tomb. He faithfully upheld the principles instilled by his creator.
He could not ignore those who cried for help.
Without drawing attention, Sebas handed over all the money he had just received—still warm in his hand—to the slave trader, and took the barely conscious girl with him.
"Sebas… you really never change," came a familiar voice. "I can always see traces of your creator in you. Still, using the funds we worked so hard to gather to buy a dying human girl… I doubt our overlord would be pleased."
Carrying the girl, who was barely clinging to life, Sebas had intended to rush back to the mansion and have Soryuka use a healing scroll on her. He himself lacked healing magic.
But the moment he stepped out of the alley, he ran into Ren Kuroda and Yuri Alpha.
At the sight of Ren, Sebas stiffened.
What he had done clearly deviated from the orders given by the Supreme Beings.
If it had been anyone else—even another Guardian—Sebas would have brushed them aside and prioritized saving the girl. As Nazarick's head butler, his authority and strength were comparable to the Guardians themselves.
But standing before him now was one of the Supreme Beings.
To Nazarick's denizens, the Supreme Beings were gods. Their commands were absolute—even if those commands conflicted with personal will.
"Lord Ren Kuroda, I—"
"I know," Ren Kuroda interrupted gently. "You can't ignore someone pleading for help. You can't turn a blind eye to wrongdoing right in front of you, can you?"
He glanced at the girl in Sebas's arms.
"There's no time for explanations. She's not going to last much longer. Unfortunately, I don't have healing magic either—so get her back to the mansion. Now."
Sebas froze for a moment—then nodded deeply, gratitude filling his expression.
In the next instant, he vanished, moving faster than the eye could follow.
Sebas couldn't help but feel relieved.
If it had been the overlord instead, with his extreme hostility toward humans, the outcome might have been very different.
But Ren Kuroda, with a positive sense of justice, wasn't particularly kind toward humans—but neither was he cruel.
What Sebas had done was, without question, a violation of orders. But with Ren Kuroda's words, it had effectively been sanctioned. That alone eased the weight on his heart.
"Lord Ren Kuroda… do you know that human girl?" Yuri asked.
As a member of the Pleiades Battle Maids and directly subordinate to Sebas, Yuri was well aware of his personality.
What puzzled her, however, was this—
Even after learning that Sebas had acted on his own, Ren Kuroda had chosen to support him.