Chapter 46: 45
Ainz slowly moved along the streets of the city, trying to keep his pace the same with Nero, while looking around.
"Everything around here looks so..." - Ainz thought for a second, picking his word - "Peaceful..."
The situation around him looked completely different than in the previous Singularity.
There, in the camp of the French Army, Ainz could see tired soldiers waiting for their inevitable destiny, trying to laugh at inappropriate jokes, sharpening blades and looking cautiously at the sky, waiting for the arrival of a new monster, while here, in this city, people were simply doing their own thing.
Someone was carrying a heavy load on their shoulders, some merchant was hawking his wares at potential customers, some guy was looking around, looking for the person or thing he needed to find - it just looked so peaceful for Ainz.
"And there is so much vegetation..." - Ainz looked at a row of trees planted along the sides of the road. In his world, Ainz very rarely saw vegetation - maybe a couple of times when he managed to get to an internal farm for wealthy citizens, when he was a salesman...
Some woman shouted at a boy, only five years old, who had been running along the road, after which the boy frowned and walked up to his mother, who took his hand and moved off to the side, minding her own business.
Ainz felt a small smile appear on his face against his will.
"Disgusting," and of course, Cainabel's voice made Ainz instantly frown.
'Why did you need to ruin everything?' - Ainz sighed, asking the girl a question to himself.
"Is that Emperor Nero?" He suddenly heard a voice from one of the passers-by.
After a second, someone answered back, "Yes, yes, that's her for sure!"
Ainz did not even had time to take ten steps before the usual clamors of the townspeople turned into numerous whispers, spreading at the speed of a forest fire. Ainz managed to think for a second of what may have caused such a reaction before his thoughts were interrupted.
"Long live the Emperor!" Came a cry from the crowd, immediately repeated by the rest, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
Nero, until then quietly moving through the streets unnoticed, only smiled at it, after which she took a step forward and looked around the townspeople with a wide gesture - "Long live the people of Rome!"
A second after this, the crowd of people of Rome exploded into cries - however, these were cries of support and, Ainz could even say, adoration.
"She is pretty popular among the people," Cu Chulainn's voice conveyed to Ainz the same thought that also had come to himself.
"Strange," came the voice of Mashu in reply, trying to speak quietly, "I heard that he... She was popular - but her days ended in solitude..."
"Glory is not eternal," came the quiet voice of Medusa, passing next to Mashu in a second, making Ainz sigh. Well, glory is not eternal - Ainz himself knew this.
"You are loved among the people," however he nevertheless took a step forward toward Nero. Rather than pursuing a specific meaning with the conversation, he is simply trying to waste some time before arriving to the palace.
"Of course ~ umu!" Nero smiled at these words, as if talking about something obvious, "After all, this is my empire!"
"Then, if you care so much about your people — I'm glad that it was such a person who became Emperor," Ainz said without further hint.
"Yes," however Nero's smile, still as wide as it was before faded for a moment, "Of course... Exactly."
"Oh, we have already arrived at the palace!" The girl instantly changed the subject, pointing at the nearing palace. Ainz looked at the building, after which he nodded, 'Beautiful.'
The palace looked magnificent - numerous relief columns and white staircases, statues of generals and heroes, green gardens and fountains is dotted around - it seemed as if the palace was almost endless in length and breadth, due to which several armed soldiers that immediately pulled themselves at the sight of Nero, is completely lost in the background of its beauty.
"Everything will be alright..." a voice came from somewhere from the interior of the palace at the moment when Ainz approached it, "You can trust your niece just a little bit!"
"Nero..." In response, however, Ainz heard only the name of the Empere... Emperor. It seemed as if it was hard for the person to even utter a word - his voice sounded distorted, as if the speaker was trying to push himself to speak through force, - "Where is... She?!"
"It's all right," the voice sounded again, this time it was a fairly young and energetic, albeit rather deep, voice, "Nero will be here soon... Wait, idiot!"
In the middle of the conversation, Ainz suddenly heard footsteps - and a second later a man appeared at the entrance to the palace.
'Servant,' Ainz realized instantly. The man was tall and muscular - his short blue hair and black-and-yellow armor, it is as if the Servant was specially made to attract attention. However, even they could not distract Ainz from his eyes. Nevertheless, a completely black sclera and two red dots in place of the pupils were as if it was created for the simple purpose of attracting attention to it.
'Pupils like Cainabel,' Ainz said to himself. Although the vampire also had red pupils merging with her red iris, she still had a white sclera - 'Such eyes are as if they were created to signal danger.'
"Uncle!" Nero instantly blurred into a smile and waved her hand.
"Nero..." said the man, after which he immediately rushed forward. After a second, he hugged Nero, who also greeted him with a hug and a wide smile, "Are you... Alright?"
"Of course, uncle!" Nero smiled at the man, pulling herself away from his hug, then took a proud pose, raising her chin, "What can happen to the great Emperor Nero himself ~ umu?!"
"Good..." the man, although his voice sounded as if it was hard for him to speak, pulled away, after which his stern expression changed slightly. Ainz thought for a second before he realized.
'Is he trying to smile with a face like that?!' Ainz carefully looked at the speaker's face. It seemed that his stern face was carved from stone and completely unsuitable for the manifestation of any human emotions, trying to raise the corners of his lips in an imitation of a smile.
'Wait…' - Suddenly Ainz froze - 'Uncle?!'
'That is,' Ainz looked at the man carefully again, 'That is, this stern mountain of muscles with the expression of an executioner is Caligula?!'
According to Punnito's stories, Caligula was very fat, so Ainz logically assumed that the "fatty" Nero was talking about was Caligula. But if Caligula looked like a mountain of muscles, then "fatty" was...
"Hey!" Came another voice and Ainz looked up toward the palace.
'He looks like a pig' - that was Ainz's first thought at the moment when he saw the third Servant.
'No, no!' Ainz immediately tried to correct himself. The man in front of him was definitely overweight... Damn it, fat even - such that it seemed as if his knees would fall apart if he tried to climb even one step, but still he looked decent - for his weight. He did not seem to be a shapeless, spreading mass of fat - and in his eyes one may even read rationality, even more - wisdom and cunningness, because of which he seemed completely undeserving of the insulting title - 'Maybe … Piglet? No, it still doesn't fit…'
Ainz continued to look at the man, trying to come up with a non-derogatory title, because of which his gaze met his eyes when he looked at Ainz for a second, 'Hamster? Yes, the hamster doesn't sound so insulting…'
"He looks like a fat disgusting hog," unlike Ainz Cainabel expressed her though directly.
"Cainabel!" And instantly received an admonishment from Jeanne, "You cannot insult people!"
"Even you can't be so stupid as to not notice how fat he is," this time, it seems, the Witch decided to take Cainabel's side.
"He's just... A little... Overweight," it seemed as if it was hard even for Jeanne to find a nice thing to say for the guy's description without telling a lie.
"Slightly overweight?" Cainabel frowned. "He looks like a swollen three-week drowned man... I'm sure that if you press on him, he'll just burst.
Jeanne, vividly imagining the picture, suddenly turned away, trying to hide her slightly green face. Cainabel, noticing this, grinned, - "Weak stomach, huh? And you know that when a drowned man is inflated, his skin and meat becomes watery, like jelly. If you put your hand and press a little, you can feel how it would spread…"
"Shut up," this time the Witch was the one who interrupted Cainabel, because Jeanne was clearly felt like gagging and could not answer Cainabel's descriptions, "You are just disgusting!"
"I'm trying my best," Cainabel grinned with a smug grin.
"Do you have to quarrel with everyone at all?" Cu Chulainn sighed, taking a step toward the girls.
"Not necessarily," Cainabel suddenly admitted, "But I take great pleasure from it."
"Nero," the fat man finally attracted their attention, after which he looked at Ainz, "I understand prioritizing our family reunion, but can you introduce your fellow travelers to us?"
Ainz was finally able to escape from the distracting view of the outstanding belly of a man and look at him as a whole. The impressive red camisole hiding the man's belly was his main outstanding detail - however, it was impossible not to notice that on his head, next to his short, laced dark brown hair, was a laurel wreath emphasizing his face and light brown eyes, with clear, defined eyebrows and... Very puffy prominent cheeks.
'Damn it, he's fat,' Ainz sighed. All his stories about the great commander from the words of Punnito were trampled.
"Ainz," Ainz took a step forward and bowed. He should admit that before this he had never had any occasion to deal with emperors... In the real world, at least - so he was not quite sure how he should behave now - so he decided to show a little modesty, - "I am glad to meet you face to face."
"Oh," the man smiled, and because of his chubby cheeks, a smile that could well be tense suddenly seemed completely good-natured and sincere, "Recently, I have never received such politeness."
"I'm still the emperor ~ umu!" Nero instantly objected to this, feeling in whose direction the jab was.
"I didn't hope for it anyway," the man sighed, after which he jerked his head abruptly, "Gaius Julius Caesar. And although I sincerely believe that my abilities are wasted in this case, Saber - by the dictates of chance."
"And this is my uncle," Nero immediately pulled away from the austere looking man and pointed at him, introducing him.
"Berserker, Caligula," although the man's words sounded all the same, heavy and strained, it seemed as if it had become easier for him to speak when Nero appeared right next to him, "I am glad to welcome you... Into the Roman Empire."
"I have built a good state," Caesar smiled at this remark, after which he looked at Servants of Ainz.
"These are my Servants," Ainz said calmly, after which he wondered if they should have introduced themselves now. Although this would have been a welcome gesture of courtesy, at the moment Ainz was not sure that he should disclose any information about his Servants until he knew the balance of power. Nevertheless, too much information was still hidden, the names of the Servants for instance - so Ainz settled on that simple descriptor.
"You can't even introduce me?" - however, the Witch took it in her own way.
"What are you saying, you don't even have a name." Cainabel said gloatingly, and then added right there, "It's amazing how Master still loves you despite this..."
'Please stop!' - Ainz despair, when suddenly his mind was forcibly calmed down by his skill. Of course, he told Cainabel that she should go easier on the Servants, but now she sounded like a low-ranking seller, as if trying to sell a company brand called "Ainz" using the company slogan "Master loves you anyway". It sounded just awful!
Looking at this scene, Nero smiled - perhaps she took it as a friendly jabs- but Ainz knew perfectly well that there was a real war between the girls and not even a bit of friendship.
"Okay, it seems," Caesar finally said, glancing at Ainz and his Servants, "We should go inside. Apparently, a big discussion awaits us all."
What Ainz saw in the palace was a huge, beautiful, light-flooded hall. Although the classical-style columns rose on the sides of the room, supporting a high ceiling a dozen meters above his head, the hall did not look majestic, terrifying and reverent. Rather, it was just a spacious room, in the center of which, on a white marble floor, there was a long table, behind which were several small chairs, covered with pillows or something like that.
However, it was not all that was important, but the fact that the table that Ainz saw was not at all empty and did not at all resemble the working environment that he was attuned to.
'Can this be considered as a sin of gluttony?' Ainz thought for a moment, looking at the table, which was covered with various dishes.
In his life, Ainz mainly ate protein concentrates, food substitutes, or a mixture of both - at least they were somewhat decent tasting - and sometimes, on holidays, he managed to buy some real vegetables or meat using his bonus vacation pay, so he could not even comprehend the scenery in front of his eyes. Numerous bowls filled with unknown products, fruits, assorted dishes - and several amphora probably filled with wine located next to the table.
"And now I am beginning to like this Singularity," Cainabel grunted softly, "I hope their wine will be better than the rubbish that can be found in Chaldea."
"That is Falernian wine," Cu Chulainn answered her. "The best one in the Rome."
"Do they have anything non-alcoholic?" Jeanne tried to ask a question that concerned her, "The Bible is not entirely supportive... Of such things…"
"Then pretend that you are engaged in cannibalism," Cainabel replied to Jeanne, after which, enjoying her indignant look, she explained her words, "Well, or, as you call it, all this "blood of Christ" and "eat my body"... Although I don't think that at this time prosphora was so easy to get... By the way, Christians were also not easy to get at this time. Only if you removed them from the crosses…"
"Your mouth works instead of your ass, right?" The Witch looked at the girl in disgust, "You spit out only shit instead of words."
"Enough," Ainz interrupted the girls' conversation, after which he thought. Punnito really did say that during the time of Rome many Christians were persecuted for their religion... Especially by Nero...
Ainz looked first at Jeanne, then at the Witch, and finally at Nero and Caligula who came after them. Given these circumstances, communication between them can be... Difficult.
However, Ainz sighed and took a step inside anyway. Although he did not plan to really feast at the moment, he did not mind trying something. At least it was something other than protein concentrates.
'Although the cuisine in Chaldea is good,' Ainz said to himself. For an outside observer, however, Chaldea with her limited food supplies could at best seem like a third-rate cafe, for Ainz, who in his life had never tasted anything better than a chicken bought at a discount, such things might seem really good - 'Although I heard that Archer sometimes cooks in the kitchen... What a pity that I was not able to try his cooking.'
"Caesar," Nero's voice distracted Ainz. This time it sounded tired, as if Nero was already tired of fighting Caesar, but nevertheless continued to do so out of strength of habit, "Are you back to your old habits?"
"Nothing bad has ever happened from a small feast," Caesar shrugged.
"Didn't you get stabbed after one?" Nero frowned.
"After, but not during," Caesar answered instructively, raising his finger, and then smiled, "Besides, as far as I know, wine helps any conversation."
'Does he want to get me drunk?' Ainz looked thoughtfully at Caesar, but he, having caught Ainz's gaze, smiled, and his plump cheeks turned his smile into a good-natured and sincere one.
It was seriously difficult to perceive Caesar's emotions clearly because of his fullness and ostentatious good-naturedness, but for some reason, was it either from Punnito's words or speculation by Ainz himself, looking at Caesar Ainz did not want to grin sarcastically because of his weight or chubby cheeks. He looked like one of those ridiculous CEOs of mega-companies that he saw on the news. Clumsy and completely harmless - as well as not having any opponents and pretenders in their place. Because no one of such pretenders or opponents was left.
Ainz took a step, after which he settled in his rightful place, allowing the Servants to sit next to him, and the three emperors - Nero, Caesar and Caligula - to take place opposite to Ainz.
For a couple of minutes, the hall fell silent before, after a relaxed atmosphere, the voice of Cu Chulainn interrupted them.
"Hey, what kind of joke is this?!" he said indignantly, setting aside a goblet filled with wine, "The wine is diluted with water!"
"Of course," Caesar answered calmly, raising one eyebrow, "Is it not barbarism to drink only wine?"
"The joy of the Singularity was short-lived," Cainabel sighed, looking interestedly at Caesar, "Maybe a little blood will correct the situation?"
Ainz looked around thoughtfully, after which he sipped his wine. Certainly, the strength in the drink was lower than usual, but the excellent taste was not at all spoiled, so taking a sip of it Ainz simply shrugged, not quite understanding why Cu Chulainn was so indignant. After a second, the magician's gaze found Mashu sitting on the farthest corner of the table. After a closer look, Ainz could notice that she pulled the second goblet to herself and emptied it at a good speed, trying not to attract attention.
'She's trying to make up for that banquet when they didn't give her alcohol?' - Ainz recalled a small celebration held when Ainz returned from the France Singularity, after which he shook his head - 'Children are growing so fast these days... I hope she knows her measure.'
"So," finally having emptied his goblet, Caesar acquired a good-natured expression and looked at Ainz, "First of all, thank you for interfering and saving our lightheaded Nero."
"Hey!" The girl was immediately indignant, glancing at Caesar, "I am still your emperor! I demand respect - it was an important tactical maneuver ~ umu!"
"Thank you..." Caligula's voice sounded still harsh, but he even tried to bow a little, having heard from Caesar's lips about help, "For the saving of Nero..."
"Uncle!" Not expecting betrayal from Caligula, Nero looked at Caligula with a helpless expression on her face.
Ainz for a second felt a light smile touch his lips - their little skirmishes looked so cozy... As if they were friends from the same guild...
"And yet," Caesar's voice pulled out Ainz before he could develop this idea, "Let me ask you a question... How much do you know about the current situation?"
Ainz froze.
The question was logical and even expected, but at the same time for some reason made Ainz strain. "How much do you know about the current situation" was a strange question. Why not assume that Ainz knew enough about the situation?
"Why are you asking this?" Ainz looked at Caesar directly. He did not want his answer to sound rude, but something in Saber's question did not please the magician.
"Nothing special," Caesar raised his hands in an unarmed gesture, trying to show his peace, "It's just that in the current situation there are so many rumors and conjectures that some of them just need correction."
'But this "correction" does not have to be true' - Ainz could not help himself. Although he was trying to defend himself against meaningless paranoia, for some reason when he was looking at Caesar he did not want to immediately reveal any of his cards, not even looking at his stupid and good-natured appearance ... Perhaps, precisely because of this.
"Perhaps you should start over - and we can say what we heard along the way," Ainz smiled back.
"Of course," Caesar nodded graciously, but afterwards, instead of starting to speak, he looked at Nero, "Nero, you are still the leader of our Alliance, so be so kind."
"Of course ~ umu!" - despite the fact that Caesar appeared to be the leader in the trinity — Nero was glad to answer his request and start speaking, "In general, it started about a month and a half ago..."
'A month and a half?' - Ainz thought for a second, 'This is the time when all the Singularities arose at a time... Does this mean that the time in the Singularities continues when they appeared and not at the moment of our arrival?'
Ainz thought for a second. It would be bad, in that case, if they were too late in the next Singularity and their delay at that time could something terrible would happen there - 'Does this mean that this is a quest with a time limit? And without a final countdown, too... How bad!'
"One and a half months ago," Nero meanwhile continued to speak, "I died."
Ainz froze for a second, a little concerned.
"I was supposed to be alive at this time of history, but for some reason I can remember that I fell asleep alive one day - after which the next morning I already appeared as a Servant summoned to this world," Nero sighed.
"You were summoned without a Master?" Ainz looked at the girl.
"Yes," she nodded firmly. Ainz nodded - before that he had already met with Servants without Masters, for example, Jeanne herself - and all of them somehow sided with Ainz, which sounded in favor of the fact that Nero could be their ally in this Singularity.
"Good," Ainz nodded. "Go on."
"The thing, however, is," Nero continued, "That at the same time as my summoning happened in the middle of Rome a strange column arose."
"A column?" Ainz looked at the girl and she nodded.
"Yes, something like a magical barrier," Nero sighed, "At least my court magi were able to find out that it was a barrier — but they couldn't figure out what was behind it ~ umu."
'Court magi, hmm,' Ainz sighed. He knew that in the Roman Empire there were enough priests and important persons associated with magic, but even so he was sure that there were no "court mag" among the court of the Roman emperors - 'Punnito would clearly say something about this... It's a pity, that he's not with me now.'
'However - is there a huge barrier in the middle of Rome?' - Ainz thought for a moment. Without a need to say it, it sounded so suspicious that it literally indicated - "Now, this place is important! This is where you need to go! Here lies a cool treasure and the last boss!"
"Go on," Ainz nodded and Nero sighed.
"We just started to explore this strange thing, but just a few days later a troubling news came," the girl sighed. "A huge horde of people led by Servants arose very close to Rome. They captured our homeland... Alba Longa - the city from which our family comes and from which the history of Rome itself began!"
"What dishonor and desecration!" The girl seemed to be flaming with anger — she could not control her strength and her goblet it cracked with her applied force, due to which the wine began to pour out through the cracks immediately, falling into Nero's hands. Feeling the moisture falling on her hand, the girl sighed, calming down, then pushed the cracked goblet away from her and extended her hand to a small towel nearby.
"I apologize," the girl sighed again, closing her eyes, after which she opened them and looked at Ainz, "This place is the birthplace of our family and the birthplace of the Divine Ancestor... I cannot forgive them for such a sin."
"Of course," Ainz nodded. If someone captured Nazarick...
The suppression of emotions was activated so quickly that Ainz did not even have time to finish the thought. No. Just no.
"The one that I fought with, Boudica," Nero sighed, "Was one of those who captured the city. I know that at least four more Servants are in the same camp with her. I also know one of them - the greatest gladiator of Thrace…"
"Spartacus," Caesar sighed, "I had so many problems with his rebellion..."
Ainz nodded - he had heard a lot about Spartacus too. In the end, even in Yggdrasil, there was a chain of quests about the uprising of one of the half-human slaves under the name "Thracian" against one of the largest empires of human. Ainz knew that human race players could join in the suppression of the uprising, and half-human players could support the rebellion - however, since Ainz was a representative of heteromorphs, a third set of races, he himself did not participate in this quest - although he repeatedly heard how the players complained that the "Thracian" was simply unbelievably hard to deal with and although it was just an ordinary mob of the hundredth level - in order to simply breach its defence, health and regeneration it was necessary to attack it with at least three damage dealer.
'He can be dangerous…' - Ainz nodded to himself, noting an important detail to himself.
"Therefore, I used the knowledge of my magi and called on allies," the girl sighed and first turned to Saber, then to Berserker, "Caesar and Caligula."
"However, when we were preparing the army for battle, he appeared on the threshold of Rome," Nero sighed, "the Divine Ancestor."
'Divine Ancestor?' Ainz unknowingly glanced at Cainabel. If there was someone like Cainabel among the Servants... Then the situation could become really dangerous. Perhaps in this case he will even have to discard this body and fight at full strength... Although he most likely will not have to resort to his Noble Phantasms.
"Romulus," however Nero answered differently, "The Divine Ancestor of all Rome and the whole Empire. Romulus."
"Romulus?" Ains wondered in surprise. Romulus was the legendary founder of Rome, deified later - according to Punnito. Even more, in Yggdrasil there was one of the gods under the name - Romulusremus, with a name created according to the principle of Cainabel. And unlike Cainabel, who was a very disappointing opponent, Romulusremus was not at all weak and quite worthy of his title of boss and god. Ainz remembered that it took them three attempts with a party of six to defeat him. Moreover, since Romulusremus was a giant golem made from the prismatic ores, they later reforged his body into the base for the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, Ainz's strongest weapon and symbol of their guild.
Ainz wondered what he could do in order not to fight him before he stopped himself. Last time, Fafnir did not become such a problem, so he will not avoid Romulus so much... But just in case, he will not rush at him just like that either.
"He appeared with a retinue of admirers, with legions loyal to him and people deifying him," Nero sighed and grimaced. Apparently, she did not like to admit that the Divine Ancestor was loved by the people, - "And by the retinue of his Servants. He entered Rome, after which he announced that he was back in order to protect the people of Rome from the threat of invasion... Therefore, we came here."
"Why?" Ainz asked the question, that immediately arose in his mind, "Why didn't you join him?"
"Why?" - it seemed as if Ainz's question made Nero sway in place from a misunderstanding - but this time it was not an exaggerated gesture, "How could I?! My name is Nero, the fifth emperor of the Roman Empire! No one has the right to take my throne!"
'That is, the whole thing…' - Ainz froze - 'About the title? About the position of strength? About ambitions?'
Ainz looked at Nero - however, there was no ordinary frivolity in her eyes. There was only anger in it.
If you think again, Ainz never really wanted to be the leader of Ainz Ooal Gown - and even when he was forced to become the guild leader he was usually just put all the questions or decisions to a general vote. Not because he knew that his guildmates would not support his decision - no, they all would have agreed with him if he had made an unambiguous decision - it is simply because he did not like to make decisions. He generally did not like being a unilateral leader — although he did pretty well with raids as a raid leader. Rather, Ainz simply did not like being a strategist - he was more of a tactician. Therefore, if someone really wanted to become his replacement at the post - someone better suited than him, someone with whom all the players of his guild would agree with - then he would gladly retire from his post.
'Although the replacement would also have to be a magician in order to use the Staff,' Ainz sighed, recalling the details of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. They spent almost a month of real time and tens of thousands of very real credits to collect the materials for the strongest weapon for their guild and its loss would have extremely negative consequences for the guild.
And yet, if someone else demanded Ainz's position, he would have easily conceded. Of course, everything would be different if some members of the guild did not agree with the candidacy of the new leader, but if they all supported the new leader, Ainz would even be happy about his dismissal.
Therefore, such vehement denial from Nero made him look at the situation of the girl with a confusion - however, he still did not interrupt her explanations.
"I refused to accept the leadership of the Ancestor," Nero sighed. "However, I could not fight him. And so we retired here to Antium, along with uncle, Caesar and the people faithful to me. And so, for a month now, we stayed in this position."
"Simply put, we are all stuck," Caesar sighed, summing up the girl's speech, "Romulus controls Rome, but his strength is not enough to definitely destroy the invading barbarians and he does not want to fight with us. Our forces are not enough to fight with the barbarians - and we also do not want to fight with Romulus. At the same time, the barbarians are afraid to fight with us or Romulus, because they understand that even if they managed to defeat one of us, the second camp will kill their remains."
"Hm," Medusa's voice said quietly to herself, "It sounded like something I already heard about before..."
"I see," Ainz sighed, then frowned. The situation they are in was complex, "Is that all or is there something else?"
Caesar sighed - after the story, Nero fell silent, reaching for a new goblet of wine, allowing the man to continue, - "There is some rumors that some of the people claimed that they saw a new island near the shores of Latium... Of course, such an island should not exist - neither during my life, not before, nor after, such a place did not exist. However, none of those who went there could return and talk about what is really happening on that island, if it exists at all."
"I see," Ainz sighed. "In that case... What do you suggest?"
"Join us ~ umu!" Nero immediately extended her hand forward, as if her previous anger and bitterness were simply simulated.
"Hm?" Ainz looked at Nero, waiting for an explanation.
"If you join us, then the six Servants will be a huge help!" The girl smiled. "Together with such power, we can convince the Ancestor and his Servants to retreat or even join us as generals! In this case, the victory over the barbarians will be easy."
"It is possible," Ainz nodded, confirming the girl's words, "However, so what?"
"Barrier," Nero smiled with a broad smile, "I don't know what exactly you need, but I give a 100% guarantee that this is due to the barrier that has appeared in the middle of Rome! After we force the Ancestor to retreat and defeat the barbarians, I am ready to provide you with the complete information that my magi managed to collect, and my full support - as well as the support of all my allies - in your endeavor ~ umu."
"Hey, do not drag me into this matter after the fact," Caesar objected, but rather sluggishly, after which he sighed and looked at Ainz, "But in general... She's right. If we can join forces, then we will not remain in debt. You will help us - and we will help you. Everything is simple."
It really sounded simple. Very simple. Amazingly simple.
Too simple.
In the previous singularity, Ainz avoided open fights in every possible way, and even if it occurred, he tried to reveal only a minimum of his abilities, to avoid even the possibility that his enemy would be able to collect some information about him. In the end, he found out that all this was in vain and he could easily destroy all his enemies with a couple of spells passing through the lands of France with an unstoppable avalanche. And then his barrier to suppressing surveillance was activated.
In this Singularity, it seemed as if everything was telling him how easy and simple it was to finish all the battles. He didn't even have to go himself - just saying "I agree" he could fight once with the Servants - and most likely they would not be too strong for him, after which he would get all the information he needed, deal with the barrier and return to Chaldea literally in a few days.
This could not happen.
Ainz's paranoia might be the one saying this, but it was impossible to put it out with a simple "you are just overthinking it". It was as if the whole Singularity was telling him how easy and simple it was to deal with it in just a couple of days, without encountering any obstacles.
This could not happen.
Ainz felt this with his whole being as a person, as a player and as an employee, that in all this some kind of trick was hidden. A big one.
Yes, it was his paranoia, but if he was ready to keep his paranoia at minimum in the event of a battle, looking at what the Servants were really like in battle, then in the current situation Ainz simply could not calm himself down with words like "not everything in life should be difficult. " He saw a big trap in this situation.
"What about the island?" Ainz asked, not completely sure of his answer.
"If you need it, then after defeating the barbarians, we can also visit this island ~ umu," Nero smiled.
Everything sounded too perfect to be true.
"Good," Ainz sighed, but before Nero could say anything back, he nodded. "I'll think about your proposition."
"Hm?" The girl was surprised, "You will not help your emperor?!"
"I'll think about your words," in the end, Ainz repeated again and drank from the mug of wine, blurred in a smile. Really, it was great, - "But I will not give a definite answer right now."
Nero seemed to be about to say something else, but she was immediately interrupted by Caesar's words. "Well, that's the best that we could hope for."
Nero turned to Caesar indignantly, but he only shook his head a little, causing Nero to pout in some completely childish gesture and sit back, puffing out her cheeks. Although even so, her cheeks were an order of magnitude smaller than Caesar's.
"And you are so-so-ooo-fat, hee-hee," Ainz panicked for a second that he accidentally expressed his thoughts before realizing that what had been said was said in a thin girlish voice.
Turning to the side to the source of the voice, Ainz found Mashu, who at the moment, with a bright blush on her cheeks, continued to look at Caesar. Judging by the fact that five empty goblets were already set aside next to the girl, she managed to get drunk even with the diluted wine.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Ainz smiled a polite, apologetic smile. "It seems that wine does not always sit well with young people."
"It's okay," Caesar only smiled at this, as if he himself apologized for his weight, "I'm used to such a reaction."
"And yet - I beg your pardon," Ainz rose from the table. "I think fresh air can help Mashu freshen up her head a little."
After this, Ainz took several steps toward Mashu and help her stand up, slightly raising her shoulder, and then slowly walked away.
"I will go with the Master," the previously silent Medusa rose from the table and also left them, following Ainz.
"By the way," - Cainabel did not fail to use the opportunity, - "Why are you so fat?"
"Hey!" Jeanne called out to the girl, but she was still interested to know.
"Nero is definitely to blame for this," Caesar said calmly.
"Hey!" The girl answered with a frown, "And why are you blaming me ~ umu?!"
"And who else should I blame?" Caesar sighed martyrly, after which he finally held out his hands before eating, "And now that the conversation is over, I want a big peace of liver."
Deicide: EX (Case)
About five hundred.
Is the number of gods killed by Ainz Ooal Gown. Not as a guild, but Ainz himself.
About five hundred creatures that were classified as gods, with unique names, abilities, personalities, stories and a place in the world.
If one takes into account not only the Gods, but also their Champions, priests, creatures possessing divine blood and even users of divine powers and artifacts, then this number will grow to several tens of thousands, maybe up to one hundred thousand.
But still - even so, a hundred thousand is too little. One hundred thousand are the number of unique enemies killed by Ainz. However, in the game, especially in MMO-RPG, there is such a thing as a grind. Endless killings of the same enemy, reborn over and over again, with the aim of getting yourself a rare drop with a negligible chance of dropping. Kills repeated over and over, five times, twenty, one hundred, or even five hundred times, until the player receives the desired drop.
But what was normal in the game does not remain the same in the legend of the creature named Ainz. There is no such thing as a "grind" in the legend. However, the fact of endless, repetitive destruction of the same gods remains unchanged.
In the end, everyone is the hero of his story. In Yggdrasil, this phrase acquired some special meaning. After all, there are thousands of timelines in which the World Eater was defeated by a thousand different heroes... Why can't there be thousands of worldlines in which there was only Ainz, destroying the same gods in different timelines with the goal of just moving to the next - and destroying them there?
It is important that this skill in any other conditions would become part of another, different skill, however, due to certain conditions, it was highlighted separately. The name for these special conditions is Supertier Magic.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone