The sound of mugs hitting tables and the smell of alcohol filled the inn with a festive atmosphere that was contagious.
This night, the Brilliant Unicorn was filled to the brim with adventurers from different parties, and new ones appeared at the entrance every minute.
"You're leaving already?" Damian's loud voice rang through his skull, but Ainz showed no sign of displeasure.
"Yeah. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, so I want to go to bed early."
Truth be told, he didn't feel comfortable with parties; something about so many people gathered in the same place irked him.
Even more so because he couldn't eat or drink anything. He had wanted to leave for quite a while now.
"But the night is only beginning, and you're the person of honor today…" Damian paused, his brain actively fighting his drunkenness in order to organize a sentence.
"It will be boring without you here." In the end, he could only conjure these words.
"No, I'm afraid I must retire for the night. Parties are not my strong point, I'm afraid."
He then removed his helmet for a moment, using a handkerchief to "wipe the sweat in it" before putting it back on.
He looked around, but didn't see anyone reacting in panic.
Thankfully, no one saw through the illusion.
Although it seems that this appearance Thalia created is quite flashy.
The people at the surrounding tables, who had been busy pretending not to pay attention to his table, now stared at him with open mouths and faces full of astonishment.
I fear that this might bring more trouble in the future, but considering that I'm trying to make Momon famous, having a memorable appearance might work in my favor.
"Damn, you're a real looker, ain't ya? I'm a bit jealous." Ryan, the ranger of Golden Axe, commented.
"I feel you, old man; it's very unfair even for me, a handsome man, what's more for you," Lukrut replied with sympathy.
"What did you say, Brat? Are you so drunk that you forgot your own face?"
The master and disciple began fighting, making everyone at the table laugh.
"Ha, ha, ha. Thank you for the praise, but please don't mind my appearance; I want to be evaluated solely by my own actions."
"That is something that only attractive people say, Momon." Ninya, who had barely touched her mug throughout the night, suddenly interjected.
"Is that so? Then please, everyone, take my appearance into consideration when judging me in the future."
He stayed for a few minutes, exchanging jabs and laughs with everyone at the table, before turning to leave.
[Continue to monitor the situation, and be careful to control your temper.]
After sending instructions to Lupusregina via [Message], he climbed the stairs and got to the second floor.
The Brilliant Unicorn was not an inn for the elite, so he didn't find outstanding decorations as he walked through the hall.
Well, compared to Nazarick, most places would look dull.
This realization brought him a sliver of pride.
He hadn't experienced the peaks of luxury for the humans in this world, but he had a hard time believing that it would come even close to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
On the way to his room, he crossed paths with many people, but every one of them greeted him respectfully without fail, moving out of his way, as if they were afraid of blocking his path.
And they probably were.
It had been less than 2 hours since his duel with Kalgra had ended, but word of it had already spread to everyone in the Brilliant Unicorn, and he was sure that in a few days most people in E-Rantal would be aware of the warrior who had easily defeated a Mythril party by himself.
Once in his room, he looked around before removing his armor.
"[Life Essence]"
His eyes were covered by a green glow that let him see other people's HP.
It was a useful spell to use during a fight, but he liked to also use it as a detecting mechanism for enemies.
Looking around, he only found a few spiders and flies, but there didn't seem to be any enemies who could have seen his appearance.
Good.
[Albedo, I'm returning to the Tomb.]
[Understood, Ainz-sama!]
Albedo's excited voice reached his ears immediately after he sent his [Message].
Was she waiting this whole time?
He didn't dwell on that and quickly cast [Greater Teleportation].
The simple wooden walls of his room gave place to an extensive meadow with no sign of civilization in sight.
He could see parts of the Forest of Tob surrounding the region, as well as quite a few hills.
Mare really did a good job.
If it were not for the spell taking me here, I would need to look around for quite a while before finding this place.
Ainz looked up at the night sky and, after a brief greeting, stretched his hand, bringing out his Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, before leisurely walking towards the mud walls that concealed Nazarick.
As he got closer, Ainz felt the presence of dozens of undead guarding the entrance.
He couldn't see any of them, but their presence couldn't be hidden from his passive skill, [Undead Blessing].
With this skill, no undead that came into his area of influence could escape his detection.
Hum… they are all over level 60, it seems, and all are capable of hiding their presence, so maybe Night Terrors? I'll ask later.
There were many types of vassals working in the tomb, and Ainz gave a lot of freedom to the Floor Guardians when it came to how they chose to defend their floors.
The entrance of the tomb fell under Shalltear's purview, as the guardian of the first 3 floors, but Demiurge had the authority to make the changes necessary, having the highest authority for Nazarick's defenses after him.
As he wondered about the defensive arrangements of the tomb, Ainz reached the first floor, quickly detecting hundreds of other undead.
"AINZ-SAMA!" And, at the same time, one of them detected him.
A white skeleton, wearing a beautiful red dress, jumped and hugged his neck.
She was fairly short, standing at only 1,6m, with a sweet voice and an even sweeter fragrance that stood in stark contrast to the smell of decay that filled the first floor of Nazarick.
"Hey, Eris, how have you been?" He reciprocated the hug before holding her in his right arm, as one would do to a child.
"I'm doing exceptionally well, Ainz-sama, even more so now that I'm seeing you." Eris rested her head on his while still hugging his neck with her left arm, looking extremely clingy, but this was the privilege of being the youngest sister.
"That is good to hear. I feared that you would feel lonely without Shalltear."
He knew how close those two were.
"Ah, you're so cute, Ainz-sama!" Eris shouted and began to rub her skull against his.
Cute, huh? I think you're the only one in Nazarick who would say something like this to my face.
Well, Hela and Nethys can be just as blunt, but I don't think they would call me cute.
"Enough of that. How is Lupusregina faring since I left her?"
"Oh? Of course, Ainz-sama!" Eris jumped from his arm and brought the Mirror of Remote Viewing he had landed her.
In the mirror, he could see Lupusregina surrounded by many humans with beseeching looks on their faces.
"Since you left, Ainz-sama, many who felt intimidated by your mighty presence found the courage to speak with Lupusregina. They have mainly been asking questions about your origins and affiliations, while some bolder ones have already extended invitations to their parties or in the name of their patrons. Do you want to hear it?" Eris then reached into her skull and removed an earpiece, offering it to him.
This was an item that allowed for two people to talk over great distances.
Eris had been using it to hear what was happening with Lupusregina, since the mirror only showed images, while giving instructions to Lupusregina on what to say or do.
"There's no need for that. Continue the good work."
"Fufufu, thank you, Ainz-sama." She was about to say something, but then turned to the mirror.
"Keep him talking. Pretend to be interested in his offer, and show how tipsy you are." Eris instructed in a playful tone.
"Sorry, Ainz-sama. It's just that someone was looking down on you while trying to invite you two to work under some noble, and Lupusregina was showing signs of lashing out at the guy."
"That's fine, Eris. Even idiots have their uses. Help Lupusregina play with these humans until she is satisfied, then have her retire for the night. Also, have you finished some profiles?"
One of the main reasons he had chosen Lupusregina to come with him on this mission was so she could have E-Rantal as her playground.
Someone like Lupusregina thrived in social environments where she could treat others like her toys, and judging by the genuine smile on her face, she was having a blast.
But he couldn't let her do this unsupervised, so he had Eris help out with that.
Looking at Lupusregina in the mirror, he could see that despite her anger, she was having a lot of fun.
She really does have a nasty personality, huh?
But I don't hate that.
If anything, she can be considered kind compared to some of the others.
"Here, Ainz-sama." Eris handed him a stack of papers.
"They were hastily made, and I still didn't have the time to revise them, so please don't be mad if there are mistakes." Eris turned her head, looking at the ground in embarrassment.
"Don't worry about it."
He flipped through the pages, finding the psychological profiles of most of the people he and Lupusregina had met on their journey.
He saw one for Enri, some for the people of Sword of Darkness, for the members of Kalgra, and even for the Bareare.
Eris, much like her sisters, was endowed with a great intellect, but she used it mostly for analyzing people, their relationships, and how to better manipulate them.
Therefore, her assessment of these people's psychological profiles was thorough, including not only analyses of their personalities but also explanations of how she reached her conclusions and suggestions for how to get them to do something.
"Oh, there's one for me too?" After flipping through the files, he found one named Momon.
"Oh, no, no, no! This was not supposed to be there!" Eris panicked and tried to grab the paper, but he was faster.
"The great warrior, Momon, felt his heart burn in fury upon hearing people mock his beloved Ninya.
Ever since that night when they talked under the starry sky, Momon had been feeling something he had never felt before.
Strangely, it wasn't the beautiful Lupita, but the unremarkable Ninya who had found her way into his heart.
The shared gazes, the awkward silence whenever they were left alone, and this increasingly painful need to see her again had been tormenting him ever since, so before he even had a chance to think, he got up, drawing his sword and pointing it at the other man.
'Let's take this outside'"
Is this a fanfic of Ninya and me?
He turned to see that Eris was looking at the other side.
"Care to explain what this is?"
"Uhmm…" Eris turned to him, but quickly averted her gaze, the red fires in her eyes flickering wildly as she stuttered.
"Ah, damn it! It's also your fault, Ainz-sama!"
"My fault?"
"Yes. When you were fighting those humans to defend Ninya, you looked so cool that I couldn't help but fall in love with you all over again, so I needed to channel these feelings into something. It's the only healthy thing to do in these situations, after all."
With this ridiculous remark, Eris stomped her foot on the ground and began to pout.
What an… interesting way of thinking.
But maybe she is right.
Ainz had complete trust in Eris when it came to mental health issues.
Much like he had complete trust in Thalia for issues involving the arts or construction.
Or in Nyx for governance, and so forth.
Not to mention that he wasn't mad at her for this.
"I see, then I will try to be lamer from now on so you don't have to go through something like this again."
"Huh? No. Ainz-sama, there's no need to go that far." Eris was panicking a bit.
"Oh, but I must. I don't want to inflict any more emotional distress on you, so I need to change my ways."
Hum… maybe I have more in common with Pandora's Actor than I thought at first.
But he wasn't as good an actor, especially in front of someone like Eris, so she quickly caught on the fact he was teasing her.
"Humph! Ainz-sama, you bully!"
Seeing Eris pouting, Ainz quickly folded and apologized to her.
"Sorry, Eris, I just found your reactions cute and wanted to tease you for a bit."
"You think I'm cute?"
"Of course you are. You are the cutest skeleton there is."
"He he, I know."
"Actually, if you're interested in writing things like these, I think you should look for Decrement on the 9th floor; she has the same hobby."
"Oh, I didn't know that. Thank you, Ainz-sama."
"No problem. Ah! How is the conversion of the prisoners? Do you think they can be used?"
He had entrusted Eris with the task of converting the prisoners into loyal subjects of Nazarick.
"Oh, I've found some success with them; do you want to see it?"
Eris hopped into his arms, and they teleported to the 2nd floor.