Nazarick Underground Tomb.
Ainz Ooal Gown, who had finally managed to pretend his way through the day, secretly sighed.
'Ah—pretending to be a ruler is truly exhausting... I really have it tough...'
"Ainz-sama!"
A soft yet somewhat heroic female voice suddenly rang out.
Ainz, who had just relaxed for a single second, instantly stiffened.
Fortunately, he had a skeletal face, so no change in expression was visible.
"Albedo, what is it?" he asked in a deep voice.
"Ainz-sama, it is time for you to rest." Kneeling respectfully on one knee was the Guardian Overseer of the Great Tomb of Nazarick: the Succubus, Albedo.
"Ah, has it already reached this time without me noticing?" Ainz's voice was low and solemn, exactly as if spoken by a person of great authority.
"Yes, Ainz-sama has been working too diligently. Although I understand Ainz-sama's concern for Nazarick, for the sake of Nazarick's longevity, please rest first." Albedo's words were filled with absolute worship and admiration.
On the surface, Ainz nodded silently, but inwardly, he was quite perplexed.
'What exactly did I do today...? It feels like I was just daydreaming...'
Even Ainz himself was confused about his day. But in the eyes of all the Guardians of Nazarick, today's Ainz Ooal Gown had been meticulously planning for Nazarick's future with great seriousness!
As for what these meticulous plans were, although the Guardians didn't know, they believed they must be grand and magnificent schemes!
(At least, Demiurge thought so.)
"That's right, I should rest first." Ainz stood up.
The wide and majestic magic robe he wore made him look like an imposing giant.
In reality, beneath the fabric was nothing but a skeleton.
Albedo also stood up and bowed slightly to him once more.
Ainz strode forward with steady and composed steps, exuding the aura of a great figure, while Albedo followed closely by his side.
Along the way, they passed through solemn halls and magnificent corridors. Any maids or other creatures who saw Ainz would freeze in place, bowing their heads to him.
This was a salute to the Supreme One—a reverence and devotion engraved deep in their very souls!
Finally, they reached the door to Ainz's own room.
"Albedo, you may leave." Ainz had just placed his skeletal hand on the door handle when he remembered she was still by his side.
After a day of tension and stress, he desperately needed some alone time to relax properly.
"Ainz-sama, the fatigue of the day cannot be easily relieved by mere rest. Why not let me give you a massage? I promise to relax every part of your body to the utmost." Albedo's expression grew somewhat... dangerous and twisted.
Hearing this, Ainz's nonexistent insides churned!
Just as his panic reached a critical point, a green light suddenly flashed around him.
Instantly, all his frantic thoughts vanished, forcibly calmed by his undead passive skill.
"No need, Albedo. As the Guardian Overseer, you must also be tired after today. I order you to go and rest properly now," Ainz spoke with the authoritative yet caring tone a ruler must adopt toward their subordinates.
"Yes, Ainz-sama!" Upon hearing the word 'order', Albedo's expression immediately turned serious and earnest.
Obeying the commands of the Supreme Being was a rule that must be followed by everyone in the Great Tomb of Nazarick!
...
Albedo finally withdrew and Ainz entered his room.
Even in the dim light, the room's opulence was unmistakable. He stood silently for a moment before finally letting out a laugh.
"Ufufufu—finally... finally, I managed to keep up the act..."
His steps no longer carried dignity and steadiness, instead taking on a certain lightness.
His old bones, still fully clothed, buried themselves directly into the bedcovers.
The atmosphere grew silent.
Ainz eventually sat up. With his skeletal face, nothing could be discerned, all that could be heard was a soft sigh.
"Can I never go back now? Suddenly arriving in another world... how did this happen? Sigh... so lonely. Ah~~~ I want to eat the boss's udon... But now that I'm in another world, I probably won't be able to visit the boss's shop again. Sigh..."
Ainz muttered to himself like a skeleton with a mental illness.
But just as he finished his last sentence, a door slowly appeared before his bed.
Ainz was stunned.
This door—he recognized it!
...
"Seeds and blueprints?" Yuto pondered for a moment.
Rimuru had asked for his help, hoping Yuto could buy some food crop seeds and modern industrial machinery blueprints in the modern world.
In Rimuru's world, the technology level was still akin to the Middle Ages.
Although Rimuru himself lacked nothing, he had to consider his subordinates. They were his followers, but they could also be considered his affiliated people. Modern seeds were the result of generations of optimization, they were far superior to the seeds of food crops in the other world.
This was the conclusion Rimuru had drawn from observation and comparison, which was why he hoped Yuto could buy some modern seeds for him.
As for the industrial blueprints, Rimuru had only thought of it on a whim.
If modern factories could be built in the other world, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous leap forward.
"Mhm, don't worry, I won't ask your help without a payment!" Rimuru turn around in his seat, then slowly began to roll like a wave.
"It's fine, it's just a small..." Yuto started to say.
The request was no problem for him—just some seeds and blueprints. But before he could finish, Rimuru spat out a box.
"Boss, open it and take a look!" Rimuru's expression was full of pride.
Yuto opened the box with some confusion, and immediately froze.
It was a full row of healing potions and a stack of gold!
"This is my payment to you. I hope you'll agree to my request." Rimuru looked at him expectantly.
"This is too valuable, it's unnecessary. Truly unnecessary."
Some seeds and blueprints would cost at most a few thousand yen.
Any single piece of gold in the box Rimuru had brought out would be enough for Yuto to buy a warehouse full of seeds.
"No, please you must accept it. These things are completely unnecessary for me now. Since the boss lives in the modern world, you must need gold, and the same goes for these healing potions."
Rimuru's attitude was firm.
After a moment of stalemate, Yuto finally accepted. If he didn't, Rimuru would never give up.
Once he accepted, the Slime immediately jumped excitedly.
"Wonderful, thank you, boss!" Rimuru said gratefully.
"Stop, stop, stop, no need to thank me." Yuto was extremely helpless, feeling a bit awkward.
Rimuru then packed a few pounds of braised food to go and left.
Left alone in the shop, Yuto looked at the box containing gold and potions and sighed softly.
'Tomorrow, I'll find a place to sell the gold...'
Swish—
No sooner had Rimuru left than another customer arrived.
Yuto had just put the box away.
"Welcome, what would you like to eat?" Yuto looked at the highly intimidating and awe-inspiring skeleton before him and felt some emotion.
The customers coming to the shop lately were getting stranger and stranger.
A Slime and now a skeleton had arrived.
"Boss, don't you recognize me?" The skeleton's voice carried a hint of hope and longing.
Although Ainz knew his current appearance was completely different from before, deep down, he still hoped someone could recognize his identity.
Hearing the skeleton speak, Yuto was stunned.
He remembered every customer of his small shop very clearly, it was impossible for him to forget anyone!
He was utterly confused.... he truly never met this skeleton before!
But... this voice... It sounded a bit familiar?
"Sigh, as expected, no one can recognize me in this form..." Ainz felt a bit dejected.
Though, technically, skeletons had no heart to feel dejected with.
"Suzuki...san?" Yuto only felt that the skeleton's voice resembled Suzuki Satoru's, but he wasn't sure, so his tone was somewhat speculative.
"Great! The boss still recognizes me!!!"
Hearing the skeleton's delighted voice, Yuto was completely stunned.
This skeleton... it really was Suzuki Satoru!
How the hell did he end up like this?!
"Suzuki-san, what... happened to you?" Yuto's movements were somewhat sluggish, he was utterly bewildered!
Ainz let out a long sigh. "Boss, I become my game character when i transmigrated. Can't you believe it?"
Ainz sat in his usual seat.
Now wearing a large magic robe, it felt a bit cramped.
He simply switched equipment, directly changing into a set of red pajamas.
"Uh... I believe it." Yuto recalled the stories about games and such that Suzuki Satoru had told him earlier.
Suzuki Satoru's character was a skeleton.
Given the current situation... Yuto had no choice but to believe it.