Night faded as the sun slowly rose, dispelling the darkness.
In a luxurious mansion within the Kingdom, Naohara stirred from sleep. He rubbed his eyes and stretched lazily toward the sunlight.
After a full night's rest, he felt brimming with energy. Glancing down, he muttered to himself that it might be time to find a girlfriend.
Momonga had Albedo, the two of them constantly locked in their own brand of daily mind games. Herohero had Solution, and they were inseparable.
Naohara sighed. He needed to put in some effort too. Hmm… Evileye didn't seem like a bad option.
Thinking back on recent days, he realized he was starting to like Evileye more and more.
After all, who could resist a tsundere, adorable, golden-haired, flat-chested vampire loli who was always hovering around you?
At least, Naohara couldn't.
"What should I do today?"
Sitting in a chair, Naohara ate a dragon meat feast that had been teleported over from The Great Tomb of Nazarick while considering his plans.
Take on an adventurer commission?
No thanks. He had done so many lately he was almost sick of it.
Go find Herohero and play cards?
Bad idea. Even if he won, he would just end up watching them act lovey-dovey. No fun at all.
Go look for Evileye?
That sounded nice.
But then again, there was no need to look for her. If she had time, she would come over on her own. If she hadn't shown up, she was busy. Going to find her would be pointless.
Head back to The Great Tomb of Nazarick to chat with Momonga?
He might get dragged into work.
Go to the Dragon Kingdom to see the Brightness Dragon Lord?
…Better leave that for later. He had the scale for positioning anyway. It wouldn't matter if he went a little later.
For a moment, Naohara found himself at a loss.
Just then, a Doppelgänger approached.
"Naohara-sama, I have something to report."
"What is it?"
"Earlier, someone came. An envoy sent by the princess of this human nation. It appears to be an important commission."
"Oh? Renner?"
At that, Naohara's expression sharpened.
"Yes, Naohara-sama. The commission concerns eliminating a hidden threat to the Kingdom. It involves a criminal organization that could plunge the Kingdom into danger."
Hearing that, Naohara immediately had a good idea what this was about.
A hidden threat to the Kingdom?
Wasn't that the organization from the original story, the one Sebas wiped out?
If he remembered correctly, it was called Eight Fingers. Its members all had flashy titles like "Undead King" and "Spacial Slash."
A grin slowly spread across Naohara's face.
Well, that solved his problem. Now he had something to do.
[Message]
"Hey, Momonga, Herohero. Get over here. Time to run a dungeon."
...
In a dimly lit house somewhere in the Kingdom, nine figures flickered in the candlelight. They were the heads of the various divisions of Eight Fingers.
The atmosphere was cold.
Though the room was full, no one spoke first.
Some of the managers lowered their heads to read documents. Some closed their eyes to rest. One idly trimmed their nails. Everyone kept to themselves.
When their gazes occasionally met, they were filled with caution.
They might belong to the same organization and cooperate on the surface, but in truth, their relationships were far from harmonious. Encroaching on each other's interests, sabotaging one another behind the scenes, and dragging each other down were common occurrences.
As a result, every manager present was highly vigilant.
"Since everyone's here, let's begin."
"Hilma, your drug production base was attacked. How is your investigation into the mastermind progressing?"
A somewhat elderly figure stepped forward. He looked to be around fifty, with a faint smile like a kindly old neighbor. Nothing about him suggested he was part of a criminal syndicate.
"Ah~ Do we even need to ask? We all know who did it."
The one who replied was a fair-skinned woman. She feigned a yawn, her tone lazy and indifferent.
Holding a long pipe, she exhaled a cloud of smoke, like a rose with thorns.
As soon as she spoke, the room fell silent again.
Everyone already knew the answer.
Blue Roses, the adamantite-ranked adventurer team known throughout the Kingdom.
Only a group of that caliber would dare provoke Eight Fingers.
"Blue Roses aren't fools. They know what will happen if they truly anger us. Most likely, they received someone's approval."
A figure who had been lowering his head spoke slowly, his words heavy with implication.
There was only one force capable of granting such approval.
The royal family of this country.
"It seems we've been too gentle lately. Certain people have started entertaining thoughts they shouldn't."
Some sneered coldly at that. Others remained expressionless. In the silence, an unspoken understanding seemed to settle over the room.
"It appears everyone has their own ideas. But let me remind you, don't go too far. If this country is destroyed, the loss will outweigh the gain."
The elderly figure spoke calmly, but the arrogance in his tone was unmistakable. In his words, the entire Kingdom sounded like a toy that could be crushed at will.
"Now, next topic. The newly risen adamantite-ranked adventurer team [Ainz Ooal Gown]. Does anyone have information on them?"
The moment those words were spoken, the previously quiet meeting became noisy. People leaned toward one another, whispering.
The adventurer team [Ainz Ooal Gown] had already caught their attention. After all, they had advanced to adamantite rank at an astonishing speed and had become quite famous.
"I suggest we avoid provoking them if possible."
"I obtained this magic crystal from the Adventurer's Guild. Take a look."
One of them stepped forward and placed a magic crystal on the table. The recorded image began to play.
The footage showed Naohara fighting the entire Blue Roses team, ending with Evileye firing a magic crystal.
(The later portion had been cut.)
"Strong."
After a brief silence, a low voice broke the quiet.
All eyes turned to a man with half his bald head covered in tattoos.
Battle Demon Zero, the strongest fighter in the underworld.
"Oh? Even the famous Battle Demon lacks confidence?"
Someone asked in a teasing tone.
Zero did not refute it. Instead, he nodded.
"Even I would be defeated instantly if I faced the full Blue Roses team."
"Although the fight in the footage wasn't to the death, the fact that he lasted that long… I'm not his match."
With that, Zero closed his eyes and said nothing more.
"How troublesome. What should we do?" someone asked with concern.
"No need to worry. As far as I know, they're not natives of the Kingdom. They're outsiders."
Hilma smiled faintly, her expression full of confidence.
"They came to this country for profit. If they think it through, they won't wade into this mess."
"When faced with [Eight Fingers], I believe they'll make the wise choice."
Hilma was experienced and believed her reasoning was sound.
Unfortunately, she did not know that for some people, becoming adamantite-ranked adventurers was nothing more than a game.