The next morning, Ellie was woken up by Chao Lu. Ellie didn't even know when she had fallen asleep.
Although she didn't need sleep, once she relaxed, she would quickly fall asleep like a normal human, without even realizing it.
Even though she entered a state of sleep like a human, if there was any malice directed towards her, she would immediately wake up as if by reflex.
It was said that this was inherited from Insect Lord Cocytus. Ellie had seen it once when she was in Nazarick, during the period when Insect Lord was guiding her. Insect Lord had fallen asleep standing right beside her.
Ellie was a bit surprised to find Insect Lord asleep. Then, filled with a playful spirit, she found brushes and wanted to paint Insect Lord's face, but her action was probably judged as malicious!
Then she was attacked by Insect Lord's reflex, and it was a powerful skill. That time, she really took a serious blow from Insect Lord and almost died on the spot.
One must know that at that time, she didn't even have Shalltear's 1UP accessory. That was directly life-threatening!
However, that one blow also made Ellie understand her body's endurance limit. She didn't die from one of the Guardians' ultimate skills, hehe!
By the way, at that time, Ellie was knocked down, spitting out her soul. Insect Lord was so scared he almost committed seppuku on the spot. Ellie's soul re-entered her body, and it took her a long time to persuade him after she woke up, but that's another story.
After getting up, Ellie quickly recovered her spirits. Seeing Chao Lu's appearance after waking her up, this fellow must have been standing by her bed, not sleeping all night.
However, she was already used to this kind of treatment in Nazarick, so she didn't feel anything. Plus, knowing that Chao Lu was an automaton and didn't need sleep, she didn't feel sorry for her. Adding to what happened last night, Ellie's vigilance towards Chao Lu grew even stronger.
After leaving the room, she saw Ligurit and the Wolf Head already waiting in the hotel lobby.
Although she was very curious about what the Wolf Head wanted with Ligurit last night, she figured she would use a little trick to find out later when the Wolf Head wasn't around.
After all, from their current positions, she and Ligurit were on the same side. Ligurit should also understand what kind of impact concealing such a small matter would have on their already fragile 'friendship'.
Naturally, the Wolf Head arranged breakfast, but as usual, it was simply not good enough.
Out of politeness, Ellie still forced some down. After all, she was here as a princess. If the other party wasn't deliberately making things difficult for her, it would be picky to complain.
Then it would turn into her deliberately making things difficult for them. So, diplomacy with a country that started with hostility was truly troublesome.
After breakfast, Ligurit stated that she would continue her journey, and the Wolf Head didn't say anything more.
It seemed Ligurit had already told him the purpose of her trip last night. Although she didn't know if Ligurit told the truth or just bluffed, she would ask her after they set off.
Just as Ellie stepped out of the hotel, she was planning how to extract information from Ligurit when she sensed a very familiar aura. She looked up and immediately froze.
"..."
"..."
Ellie's beautiful heterochromatic eyes met the red glow from the helmet of the tall and mighty Momon the Dark Hero, who was clad in black armor. Their eyes locked.
They stared at each other.
Ellie didn't know how to react for a moment. This aura was undoubtedly Ainz's himself, but why was he here?
Hadn't he just returned from the Dwarf Kingdom? Logically, according to the plot, he should be preparing for the Holy Kingdom's affairs, right? How did he have the leisure to come here?
"Ah... Ellie... Young Lady, you... you are actually here." It was Nabe behind Ainz who reacted first, immediately bowing to Ellie with a surprised expression.
Nabe clearly intended to kneel on one knee, but just as her knees bent, she hesitated and didn't kneel, probably remembering Ainz's words that outside, unless there were special circumstances, there was no need to bow to avoid revealing their identities.
"Isn't this the Momon the Dark Hero? I'm fortunate to meet the real person here." Seeing Ellie's lack of reaction, Ligurit on Ellie's side spoke up to greet him. It wasn't surprising that Ligurit knew Ainz.
Why would Ainz personally come to this place?
Uh... thinking about it carefully, the Holy Kingdom incident was led by Demiurge, and the original work didn't specify the time, so it would probably be a while longer!
Then, Ainz, unable to endure loneliness (actually to escape work), came out to travel under the pretext of collecting information from the Evaluation Country, didn't he?
It must be like this... He definitely didn't follow her. After all, Ainz wasn't Demiurge or Albedo; he probably wouldn't consider too many issues.
So his appearance here was purely a coincidence? Mhm! Then there's no problem. Regarding Bai Xia's issue, it's better to keep it from him for now until she fully understands it.
Of course, Ainz didn't like withholding information, and as his daughter, she naturally knew that. So she didn't plan to completely hide it, just reveal a little bit.
And he was here as Momon, so she could use this relationship to be a little ambiguous when talking about Bai Xia's matter with him!
"Momon..." Ellie was a bit unsure how to face Ainz in this state. She knew that almost every time she saw "Momon," it was Pandora's Actor in disguise.
Now this was the real deal. If she called him 'Big Brother' directly, would Ainz misunderstand her as being too frivolous? Although she knew Ainz was essentially a goofball.
"Momon... Brother-sama..."
After a long struggle, Ellie finally decided to call him that.
After all, she had already publicly revealed her identity as a princess, and there were so many guards from the Evaluation Country watching. She had to at least show some princess-like dignity.
"Hmm..." Ainz was clearly stunned for a moment. Ellie clearly sensed that Ainz had activated some skill.
The only skill Ellie knew that could be activated unconsciously like that was the forced calm. Although she couldn't see the green light, Ellie could still feel the fluctuation when the skill was activated.
Could it be that calling Ainz 'Brother-sama' stimulated him?
Indeed, she usually called him 'Papa' very intimately. Calling him 'Brother-sama' now might indeed create a sense of disconnect!
But even so, was it necessary to use forced calm? Could it be that calling him this way was actually a huge blow to Ainz?
However, in reality, it was... indeed, Ainz had activated forced calm again. There was no helping it! Although he had mentally prepared himself, it was indeed rare for him to meet his daughter Ellie in this form.
Initially, he had planned to follow what Pandora taught him last night, to raise his hand cheerfully and say,
"Yo! My lovely little sister, to think we'd meet in a place like this."
Like that. But as soon as he saw Ellie, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, he completely messed up.
The words were on the tip of his tongue but wouldn't come out. He had no idea how to face Ellie. For his appearance this morning, he had even secretly returned to Nazarick to consult Pandora on how to interact with Ellie as Momon!
Pandora had even said that he always greeted Ellie like that every time they met, and Ellie was always very happy, but he couldn't use it at all!
Ellie should also be able to tell that he was her father, otherwise she wouldn't have been stunned for a moment just now. It was clear she recognized him at a glance. Seeing her so shocked, it seemed his appearance indeed had a big impact on her!
It seemed his glorious image as a father in Ellie's heart was going to be discounted.
However, just as he was deliberating whether to greet his daughter like that, he didn't expect his daughter to be slightly shy, calling him 'Momon Brother-sama' in a soft, sweet, and pleasant voice... At this moment, Ainz finally understood why Albedo, Shalltear, and the other Guardians of Nazarick, the ordinary NPCs, and the people of E-Rantel all loved and supported Ellie so much. Who could resist such a cute creature?
If it weren't for his skull face and forced calm, he would have long been blushing and his heart racing.
As expected of Ellie... "Cough... Hmm, my lo... my sister, why are you here?" Damn it... He was too nervous facing his adorable daughter; he couldn't even speak properly.
Ainz regretted his words immediately after saying them, but it was too late to salvage. Honestly, for him, as a father, to be nervous meeting his daughter in this disguise was truly a failure!
"I... I'm traveling with my companions. We're just passing through and encountered some issues... But Brother-sama, why are you here?"
Ellie temporarily borrowed Ligurit's explanation and very deliberately turned her head to glance at the Wolf Head and the guards standing nearby. The message she clearly conveyed was that there were too many people here, making it inconvenient to talk.
"I'm the same as you, my sister... *cough*... Yo." How lame! Ainz himself felt that his attempt to deliberately imitate Pandora's tone of voice was a complete failure.
Seeing his daughter looking at him with a puzzled expression, Ainz was incredibly guilty at this moment. How was he going to bluff his way out of this?
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