After the coronation ceremony ended, the three of them went their separate ways.
Momonga headed to his office to receive the Bloody Emperor, the Dragon Princess, and the long awaited lackey Renner.
The red lights flickering continuously within his eye sockets made it obvious that he was extremely excited.
Herohero, meanwhile, began wandering around.
According to him, the celebration had gathered quite a crowd, and some of them possessed rather interesting Talents.
So he planned to grab some buffet to lift his mood and also meet an old acquaintance while he was at it.
As for Naohara, he arrived at a secluded inn.
At that moment, the innkeeper was lazily drinking when he noticed someone entering and prepared to greet the guest.
But after recognizing who it was, he froze briefly before immediately bowing deeply and kneeling on one knee.
"Naohara-sama."
The innkeeper's body flickered, transforming into a figure that resembled Pandora's Actor.
His eyes and mouth were sunken like black holes, and his hands had only three fingers. It was one of Nazarick's unique monsters, a Doppelganger.
"Dias, have you been adjusting well lately?"
Naohara spoke calmly as he looked at the figure in front of him.
Nazarick had a large number of idle NPCs, and considering they might grow bored, Naohara and the other two had discussed the matter and decided to assign them various jobs to pass the time.
The Doppelganger in front of him was one such example.
When they conquered the Council State, many demihumans died, leaving behind a large number of vacant properties.
After asking for his opinion, he had been arranged to stay here and became an unremarkable innkeeper.
Other NPCs had taken different roles. Some became chefs, some became adventurers, and others blended into various corners of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
"This subordinate feels very well. Thank you for your concern, my lord."
The Doppelganger replied respectfully, unable to hide his excitement.
For a monster like him, being able to speak with a Supreme Being was the highest honor.
"That's good. If you ever get bored of being an innkeeper, go find Albedo and request a different job to experience something new."
Naohara said it casually.
He did not worry much about them causing trouble. At worst, he could simply wipe memories and resurrect people afterward, then offer some small compensation.
The residents of the Sorcerer Kingdom probably would not have much to complain about.
(PS: The influence of dragon nature. If it were the past, the protagonist would not have thought this way.)
Toward the members of Nazarick, Naohara remained quite tolerant and allowed them to make minor mistakes.
"Thank you for your mercy."
The Doppelganger said respectfully.
Naohara nodded and casually took out a gold coin.
Although the dragon nature was subtly influencing his personality and judgment, there were still certain principles he would never change.
The Doppelganger quickly accepted the coin without asking why.
Demiurge had once said that every action of a Supreme Being contained supreme wisdom.
As a subordinate, the Doppelganger only needed to do one thing.
Obey.
Obey without reservation.
"Naohara-sama, here is the key."
The Doppelganger transformed back into the innkeeper's appearance and respectfully handed over a special key.
He clearly understood the purpose of the Supreme Being's visit.
Naohara nodded, took the key, and walked toward an inconspicuous corner on the second floor.
He inserted the magical key into empty space and opened the door.
"Long time no see, Naohara-sama."
A voice sounded.
A blonde girl came into view.
It was Clementine, who had been infiltrating the Theocracy and had not been seen for a long time.
Looking at the figure in front of him, Naohara smiled.
"Hm. I didn't expect the Theocracy to send you."
"First, congratulations, Clem, on becoming the new vice captain of the Black Scripture."
Naohara was not particularly surprised that Clementine had become the vice captain of the Black Scripture.
A disguised human race, powerful strength, the merit of rescuing a God-kin who had regressed to ancestral blood, and the assistance of the Captain of the Black Scripture. Everything had aligned perfectly.
Of course, the Theocracy was not foolish. For someone like Clementine who had joined halfway, they had taken certain precautions.
Naohara's dark golden dragon eyes swept over her before he raised his hand.
Under Clementine's puzzled gaze, he lightly tapped her forehead. A faint black light flashed.
"Clem, there was a restriction placed on your brain. I have already sealed it."
Naohara withdrew his finger and explained.
"Damn it. When did that happen?"
Clementine froze for a moment, her expression shifting as she searched through her memories, yet found nothing unusual.
"It seems the Theocracy still does not truly trust you. Sending you here this time was probably meant as a test."
"If you had unknowingly revealed information about the Theocracy to someone else, the restriction would have caused you to self destruct on the spot."
It had to be said that the Theocracy's priests were clever. Even the Captain of the Black Scripture, despite being a God-kin who had returned to ancestral blood, had not mentioned this in the intelligence he provided.
They had hidden it from everyone. Even Clementine, whose strength surpassed the realm of heroes, had noticed nothing.
"I'm sorry, Naohara-sama."
Clementine looked somewhat ashamed, and the excitement she had felt earlier quickly faded.
"It's fine. After all, it is a nation founded by the Six Great Gods. I have never underestimated them."
Naohara shook his head, indicating he did not mind.
Sending Clementine to the Theocracy had always been meant as support. The real key figure was the Captain of the Black Scripture, the God-kin.
"How did the priests of the Theocracy react to my visit?"
"And what about the Captain of the Black Scripture? He hasn't contacted me for quite some time."
Information about the Slane Theocracy was usually delivered by the Captain of the Black Scripture, but there had been no new messages recently. That puzzled Naohara.
Logically speaking, under the subconscious influence of the World Class Item [Millennium Scepter], the Theocracy should not have noticed anything unusual.
"The priests seem interested in negotiating with you. Sending me to the Sorcerer Kingdom was meant to show goodwill."
"But looking at it now, it was probably also meant to test me."
Clementine pursed her lips. The older generation truly were cunning. Anyone capable of becoming a priest of the Theocracy was not simple.
"As for the Captain of the Black Scripture, honestly I don't know either. The last time the Theocracy held a Dragon Blood Baptism ceremony, he disappeared afterward. No matter how I tried to contact him, there has been no response."
Clementine thought for a moment, sounding somewhat helpless.
Tsk. Why did she suddenly feel so useless?
"Interesting. Even I cannot contact him. Something must be blocking my Messages. It seems the Theocracy is hiding quite a significant secret."
Naohara rubbed his chin. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes before a faint smile appeared on his face.
This trip to the Theocracy would probably be quite interesting.
Just to be safe, he should bring a few more World Class Items.
"Tell the priests that I have received their goodwill. I will depart for the Theocracy soon."
He casually played with the gemstone the Theocracy had gifted him before tossing it into his mouth. After chewing a few times, he swallowed it.
His gaze then shifted slightly toward the direction of the Great Forest of Tob.
"Is it finally about to appear?"
Naohara murmured softly.
Before heading to the Theocracy, there was still one matter he needed to deal with.
***
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