The day after Nigun finished using Shalltear, Ainz, who was disguised as the Adventurer 'Momon' and entering the city, received a communication from Albedo. Upon hearing Albedo say that Shalltear might have betrayed Nazarick, Ainz's emotions nearly ran wild. If it weren't for his racial Skill 'Emotional Suppression' activating in time, he might not even be able to maintain his composure right now.
Because this kind of thing was too terrifying. An NPC from Nazarick actually betraying? He had considered this possibility before, which is why he had been pretending to be a leader in front of his subordinates all along, but in reality, he had no idea how to be a proper leader.
You can't expect a Guild Master from a game to truly become a leader who commands the wind and rain after arriving in another world. After all, Guild Masters in games are usually more like caretaker-type roles, given the position simply because they had more time to play, loved researching game mechanics, and had a likable personality. Perhaps in the eyes of Nazarick's NPCs, he was the supreme ruler with the highest status among all the Supreme Beings, but that was just a system setting. Wasn't he clear about his original ranking within Nazarick? Whether in terms of intellect or martial prowess, he was not among the strongest in Nazarick.
So ever since crossing over to this world, he had been extremely cautious. At first, he worried about not having the ability to suppress these NPCs, but later, after confirming he possessed his in-game abilities, he began to worry about whether he could actually be a good Guild Master, leading these children—who were essentially his and his friends' creations—to survive in this other world. Just when he had interrogated some information from the Theocracy's soldiers and thought the level of this world wasn't that high...
It had only been a few days since he let Shalltear out.
How could she suddenly betray?
What reason did Shalltear have for betraying? Had some flaw in his acting been noticed? Did Shalltear know that he wasn't actually an absolutely terrifying overlord, which gave rise to thoughts of betrayal? Or perhaps, there was some mysterious powerhouse in this world who used a special method on Shalltear, a method so powerful it could even make Shalltear break free from the control of Nazarick's guild system?
Or perhaps, there was something so alluring that it was enough to make Shalltear want to betray Nazarick. In short, there were far too many possibilities, but the only certain fact was that Shalltear had indeed betrayed Nazarick. Even if Albedo and Shalltear didn't get along, Albedo wouldn't joke about something like this with him. So, the top priority now was to find Shalltear.
He had to know what state Shalltear was currently in. If Shalltear betrayed Nazarick of her own will, then Nazarick's situation would become extremely perilous.
Because Shalltear, as a Floor Guardian of Nazarick, knew a great deal of information about Nazarick. If this information fell into certain people's hands, it could potentially bring about Nazarick's utter destruction.
If Shalltear had truly joined another organization, then Ainz would have to consider having his subordinates evacuate Nazarick, establish a new base outside, and turn Nazarick into a trap to deal with the powerful enemies to come. Honestly, if that were the case, Ainz felt he would be furious, furious enough to want to smash Shalltear to pieces. After all, Nazarick's importance in his heart was no less than that of the Guardians. One must remember, that place was a dungeon he and his guild friends had painstakingly conquered.
And its development to its current scale was all thanks to the guild members collecting materials bit by bit and designing it. It could be said to be the crystallization of their guild 'Ainz Ooal Gown's' hard work! However, it wasn't yet certain if Shalltear had betrayed of her own will. Although controlling a True Ancestor like Shalltear, who possessed absolute mental resistance Skills, was difficult, it wasn't completely impossible in the game.
The immediate priority now was to return to Nazarick, have someone locate Shalltear's position, and obtain information on her current status. Thinking of this, Ainz momentarily lost the mood to stay in this city, slowly doing quests to raise his Adventurer rank.
But just as he was about to return to Nazarick, he suddenly heard from the subordinate who had accompanied him outside that the Adventurers Guild had posted a bounty quest to hunt a Vampire.
It was said that a powerful Vampire had appeared near the mountains. Currently, many Adventurers passing through the area had been attacked. Preliminary judgment suggested that Vampire had at least the strength of an Orichalcum-ranked Adventurer. Based on the guild's description of the Vampire's appearance, Ainz concluded that the Vampire was the traitorous Shalltear. But it was indeed strange. Why had Shalltear stayed in that one place without moving after betraying Nazarick? And that behavior of attacking anyone who passed by, wasn't it just like a wild monster guarding a fixed area in a game?
Ainz said to the female attendant:
"Nabe, I will be returning to Nazarick next. According to my thoughts, I hope you can stay here and continue observing the movements of the Adventurers Guild. You know, my mood is quite bad right now. So, if you feel you are not capable of handling this task, please say so in advance. I will let you return and have someone else perform this task."
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