Nazarick.
"What a hassle."
In the corridor, Naohara shook his head.
Samirth, along with his pet known as the "Walking Jackpot," had now been sealed on the Eighth Floor. He had just gone to check on the condition of both of them.
One had a contaminated soul. Its consciousness had completely shut itself off, cutting off all contact with the outside world.
The other had burned both body and soul, leaving only a faint breath of life and falling into a deep sleep. Waking up anytime soon was unlikely.
"They really are partners," Naohara muttered with a sigh. "Even in this situation, they ended up the same way."
If even one of those two had still been conscious, things would not have been this troublesome.
[PS: Because information about the World-Class Item in the hands of the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord could have been obtained.]
"It seems the matter of the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord needs to be moved up in the schedule."
"After all, finally seeing her father again only to find him in this state… Hamsuke will be heartbroken."
The image of a lonely hamster's back appeared in his mind.
According to Albedo, Hamsuke's appetite had been very poor lately.
In the past she would eat five hundred pounds of pet feed every meal, but now she could barely manage around one hundred pounds.
This had made the head chef of the cafeteria extremely worried.
After all, Hamsuke was the shared pet of the Three Supreme Beings. If something happened to her because she went hungry, it would be a failure of duty on his part.
"Entoma, Nabe, you two go to the Sixth Floor later and bring some Water of Life for Hamsuke."
After thinking for a moment, Naohara spoke.
Water of Life.
A substance nurtured by the World-Class Item [Hygieia's Chalice].
It was produced by decomposing various materials.
It could rapidly restore health, remove all negative buffs, and its healing effect was extremely powerful.
And since this batch had been produced using the Platinum Dragon Lord as material, the quality of the Water of Life was undoubtedly even higher.
It should probably have some effect on the soul as well.
Even if it did not work, it did not really matter. There was no real loss.
At worst, it would just mean making the Platinum Dragon Lord suffer a little longer.
"Your servant obeys."
Behind him, Entoma and Nabe, dressed in maid uniforms, respectfully nodded.
Entoma was chewing on dried dragon meat and could not help letting out a cheerful laugh, thinking she could take the chance to restock later.
Ever since the Platinum perpetual engine appeared, she rarely went to the Black Capsule for snacks anymore.
Compared to cockroaches, dragon meat had much better texture.
Nabe remained expressionless.
Inside, however, she was calculating the exact amount. Half? One third? Or one quarter?
Naohara had not specified, and she did not feel it appropriate to ask.
That left her feeling slightly troubled.
She wondered if she should send a Message later and ask Demiurge for his opinion.
"Hmm."
Seeing the two maids with completely different reactions, Naohara smiled slightly and reached into his storage space.
"Give this a try. Spicy flavor."
He took out several pieces of jerky and placed them in front of them.
This was part of his personal stash, generously provided by the Vampiric Dragon Lord.
"It smells amazing!"
Entoma's eyes were immediately drawn to the jerky.
She stared at the tempting food for a moment before quickly bringing a piece to her chin and chewing slowly.
Soft chewing sounds filled the air, occasionally mixed with happy little murmurs.
Dragon meat was a high-protein food, so it would not interfere with her new diet plan. Besides, as a maid, she could hardly refuse something given by a Supreme Being.
With that reasoning, Entoma successfully convinced herself.
On the other side, Nabe looked somewhat stiff.
However, her training as a maid quickly allowed her to regain her composure. She respectfully accepted the jerky from Naohara.
"Thank you for your generosity, Naohara-sama."
Nabe did not eat it and instead carefully put it away.
She was not like Entoma. She could not behave so casually in front of a Supreme Being.
Naohara did not say anything about it.
He understood Nabe's personality, so there was no need to force her.
"Oh~~ To the Supreme Being, my beloved Naohara~ sa~ma~ I present my highest salute!"
From around the corner came the sound of hurried footsteps.
Before the person even appeared, the dramatic greeting had already echoed throughout the corridor.
There was no doubt about who it was.
Pandora's Actor.
His right heel slammed sharply against his left, producing a crisp sound from his boots.
Striking an exaggerated pose, he adjusted the brim of his hat, snapped his heels together with a loud clap, and gave Naohara a military salute.
"...Pandora, what is it?"
Naohara fell silent for a brief moment.
Then he glanced subtly at Nabe beside him.
Both were Doppelgangers, yet their personalities were complete opposites.
"To be honest, my beloved Naohara-sama~, I have just finished reorganizing the items and was on my way to submit the report."
Pandora tilted his head up at a forty-five degree angle toward the ceiling, striking a pose he clearly believed looked very cool.
"Is that so? Good work, Pandora."
Ever since Nazarick had been transferred to the New World, the effects of some in-game items had quietly changed.
Magic itself was no exception.
For example, the Super-Tier spell [Wish Upon a Star]. Back in the game, its effect had not been what it was now.
When they first arrived in the New World, Momonga had specifically conducted tests and came to that conclusion.
[PS: This refers to Chapter 36, when Sebas brought the item to Momonga.]
Because of that, the task of cataloguing Nazarick's items had been assigned to Pandora.
The workload was enormous.
Naohara knew very well how vast Nazarick's inventory was. A portion of those items had even come from the daily dragon hunts he carried out himself.
Finishing such a task was bound to take a long time.
Probably only Pandora, who genuinely enjoyed polishing magic items, would not find the work tedious.
"Ah, Pandora's Actor~ that is I~ I indeed am..."
"Speak normally!"
"Ja, mein Gott." (Yes, my god.)
"Sigh."
Pandora nodded and spoke the German phrase with a serious face, while secretly sending a Message.
Naohara's eyes flickered slightly when he noticed, then he turned to the side.
"Entoma, Nabe, head to the Sixth Floor first. Pandora and I have something to discuss."
"As you command."
Entoma and Nabe did not think much about it. As maids, their duty was simply to obey.
After giving a respectful bow, the two quickly headed toward the floor where the Platinum Dragon Lord was being held.
Once only the two of them remained, Naohara looked at Pandora and spoke.
"Go on. What is Albedo planning this time?"
The Message Pandora had just sent concerned Albedo. It seemed she had started another small scheme.
Just thinking about the so-called Supreme Being Search Squad already gave him a headache.
"Naohara-sama, Albedo intends to awaken Rubedo. She wanted me and Sephis to quietly inform you and Momonga-sama."
"However, since Sephis is currently undergoing a transformation, the plan has not yet been carried out."
"According to my observations, Albedo also seems to be trying to recruit Solution, hoping to obtain Herohero-sama's tacit approval through her."
Pandora's playful tone disappeared, replaced by a serious expression.
The situation was becoming increasingly troublesome.
Even Pandora felt that this matter was difficult to handle.
Albedo's determination to "prevent" the other Supreme Beings from returning to Nazarick was even stronger than he had originally imagined.
"Rubedo…"
As Albedo's younger sister, she was known as the strongest single NPC in Nazarick.
In a one on one fight, even Touch Me would struggle to defeat her.
"Naohara-sama… there is something this subordinate is unsure whether I should say."
Seeing Naohara lost in thought, Pandora spoke with slight hesitation.
"Go ahead."
"This subordinate believes that rather than allowing things to reach an irreversible point in the future, it would be better to resolve the problem completely now."
"With the power of Wild Magic, preventing resurrection is not difficult."
Pandora's words carried an obvious implication.
His suggestion was simple. Change the investigation target from the Supreme Beings to Albedo.
Even though Albedo deeply loved her creator Momonga-sama, and even though he could sense that Momonga-sama also held some feelings toward her, Pandora still made the suggestion without hesitation.
Rather than letting Momonga-sama be placed in a difficult position once the truth was discovered later, it would be better to act now and eliminate the problem entirely.
Afterwards, everything could simply be blamed on the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord.
Momonga-sama might still feel sad, but preserving things at their current state would still be far better than the alternative outcome.
"Tsk…"
Naohara's mouth twitched slightly after hearing this.
What was this supposed to be, the third generation of the Supreme Being Search Squad?
He had not expected Pandora to be this ruthless when necessary.
"My answer is still the same. You do not need to interfere. Just proceed as usual. I will handle the matter of Rubedo."
Naohara rubbed his forehead.
To be honest, he was indeed feeling irritated. For a brief moment, he had even considered agreeing to Pandora's suggestion.
The only reason he had not acted was because Albedo had never tried to target him or Herohero.
Otherwise, he would have already dealt with the problem.
"…Understood."
Pandora nodded calmly, seemingly not surprised by the response. The three dark holes on his face made it impossible to read his expression.
"Give me the report. I am heading to see Herohero anyway, so I will deliver it for you."
Naohara extended his hand, and Pandora respectfully handed over the newly compiled information about the items.
"Safe travels, my lord."
Pandora watched as Naohara's figure gradually disappeared from sight. After a moment of silence, he turned and walked toward the direction of the mausoleum.
"Naohara-sama is getting a little impatient as well."
Pandora thought quietly to himself.
Once Sephis finished his transformation, he would have to discuss Albedo's issue with him properly.
Albedo's actions might be able to deceive Momonga-sama, but they might not necessarily deceive Herohero-sama.
If Herohero-sama were to notice something...
Although the possibility was small, it could create a rift between the Supreme Beings.
That was something he would never allow.
He had once tacitly allowed Albedo to obstruct the return of the other Supreme Beings to Nazarick, but the premise was that it would not affect the current Nazarick.
"A hidden danger to peace."
"I hope Naohara-sama has a solution. Otherwise…"