Under Ainz's strict orders, none of the Floor Guardians followed them.
He alone took Yuto on a personal tour of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
They skipped a few of the more... inconvenient locations—like Kyouhukou's roach-infested domain—but Ainz showed him almost everything else, all the way up to the surface.
Standing side-by-side on the outermost platform of Nazarick's highest level, they looked out over an endless expanse of lush verdant green.
Intertwining trees stretched out to meet the faintly visible mountain ranges in the distance.
The sheer awe hadn't faded from Yuto's chest.
From the opulent royal suites of the ninth floor, he had witnessed entire, impossible ecosystems buried underground.
A vast, desolate wasteland.
A terrifyingly scorching realm of bubbling magma.
A sprawling, massive jungle.
A boundless, freezing glacier.
A deep underground lake.
And the eerie, sprawling graveyards of the upper levels.
Every single floor was fiercely guarded by monstrous troops and impenetrable defenses.
Now, Yuto truly understood what Ainz had meant.
Without a doubt, this wasn't just a tomb—it was an infinitely complex, perfectly crafted war fortress.
"Ainz, do you know what the outside world is actually like?" Yuto asked, gazing at the otherworldly landscape, feeling a refreshing breeze brush past his face.
"I plan to go out and investigate disguised as a human adventurer, but I haven't set off just yet," Ainz replied calmly.
Yuto remembered Ainz expressing his deep anxieties about this new world back at the restaurant.
It was completely uncharted territory.
Since he had no idea what kind of dangers lurked out there, Ainz had remained on high alert since the moment he arrived.
"I should probably head back. It's getting late," Yuto said, taking a deep, satisfying breath.
Although visiting Ainz's world was incredibly exciting, his restaurant was still his top priority.
"Eh?! Going back already? Why not stay here for a few days? I'll have the maids take a very very good care of you, you know," Ainz teased him.
Only around Yuto could he completely drop his act.
He used that specific, knowing tone that all guys immediately understand!
"Sorry, I still have a restaurant to run," Yuto shook his head with a helpless laugh.
He remembered Ainz mentioning the demographics of Nazarick.
All of them are non-human races.
All dark creatures.
Even though Yuto had seen the pleaides maids and admitted they were exceptionally beautiful... thinking about their true monstrous forms required some careful consideration.
"Ah, what a pity, Kamisaka. Young people should enjoy themselves properly! If I were you, tsk tsk..." Ainz got a bit carried away, his inner middle-aged salaryman showing.
Instantly, a glowing green aura flared around his skeletal body.
Emotion Suppression.
Every single lingering, inappropriate thought that had just ignited in Ainz's mind was instantly snuffed out, forcibly resetting his brain to an absolute, hollow tranquility.
"..." Ainz fell dead silent.
Yuto couldn't help but smile.
He had heard Ainz complain about this specific undead passive buff before. It was honestly a bit pitiful, his body didn't even allow him to feel mildly excited before violently forcing him into a state of 'sage mode'!
Ainz escorted Yuto back down to the ninth floor.
The doorway leading back to the restaurant was located in Ainz's personal bedchamber.
Standing in front of the door, Yuto suddenly had a thought.
Did he actually need to walk through a physical door to return?
As soon as the question crossed his mind, a strange, instinctual feeling surfaced in his chest.
He could just return directly and his intuition was screaming it.
"What's wrong?" Ainz asked, tilting his skull as he looked at the dazed human.
"Nothing, I just feel like I might not need to use the door to get back to the restaurant," Yuto smiled.
"Hmm. When you materialized here, there was no door. Perhaps your guess is correct," Ainz mused, rubbing his bony chin.
The bones ground together with a dry rustling sound.
Yuto nodded.
He remembered how he had arrived here.
He had simply been sunbathing, casually thinking about wanting to travel to another world and then pop—he was here.
He silently focused his thoughts, 'I want to return.'
In a flash, he vanished.
Ainz stood completely still, staring at the empty space in shock.
He hadn't sensed even a fraction of magical fluctuation.
The man had just ceased to exist.
..
Meanwhile, Yuto opened his eyes.
He was standing right at the entrance of his familiar restaurant.
It worked exactly as he thought!
Curious, he took a step forward and focused again.
Pop. He vanished. Pop. He reappeared in Ainz's room. Pop. Back to the restaurant.
After blinking back and forth a few times, he fully understood the mechanics.
As long as he thought of visiting a customer's world, he could travel there instantly.
To go home, he just needed to think 'return.'
Now that he had this figured out, a new idea blossomed in Yuto's mind.
Since his customers were all connected through the restaurant, could they travel to each other's worlds?
That would require some experimenting tonight.
Based on his conversations, he knew that his otherworldly patrons could only push open the door and enter his restaurant during his official business hours.
During regular closing hours, only customers from his own world could enter.
There was no rush.
He would test it out when the restaurant opened tonight.
As he thought about the upcoming evening, Yuto realized he had a lot to ask his customers for.
Renovating the restaurant and running dimensional experiments weren't things he could handle alone.
He let out a soft, silent sigh.
'I won't charge them for their meals tonight if they help out,' he decided quietly.
...
Back in Nazarick, Ainz was confused as hell.
Yuto had just flickered in and out of existence in front of him several times like a glitching NPC.
He couldn't figure out what on earth was he doing.
"Ainz-sama~"
Just as he was staring blankly at the spot where Yuto had last vanished, Albedo's sweet melodious voice called out from the hallway.
Instantly, Ainz's posture straightened.
He transformed back into the terrifying, omnipotent Overlord of Death.
"Albedo. What is it?" Ainz commanded, his voice dripping with majesty.
"Please forgive my rudeness, Ainz-sama, but there is something I truly wish to ask you."
Ainz winced internally.
He had a very good idea of what she wanted to ask about.
'Ah... how am I going to explain this?' he sighed in his mind.
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