The few exchanged glances.
Jodie, the only woman in the team, stepped forward, gave a slight bow to Ainz, and said,
"Please forgive us for inadvertently entering your residence under these circumstances, Mr. Ainz."
Ainz raised his hand, making a rejecting gesture.
"No need."
Ainz said coldly, "Because you are about to die. You, who forcibly entered someone else's residence for the boring desire of money... your actions make me sick."
Jodie's eyes slightly moved. She spoke again.
"You probably misunderstand."
Although she was scared to death, her tone was even more resolute than before. "In fact, we have received permission."
The pupils in Ainz's eye sockets flickered. "You have received permission?"
His voice carried a hint of obvious confusion. "How is that possible?"
Jodie pressed her advantage. "Although it seems unbelievable to you, it has indeed happened."
Ainz gripped his chin with one hand and fell into deep thought. The red pupils in his eye sockets rapidly flickered, as if searching through memories or analyzing possibilities.
"If someone gave you permission, who is he?"
Ainz's voice lowered. "What is his name? What does he look like?"
Jodie pressed her pink lips together. A drop of cold sweat slid down her temple.
She knew very well that if she said one wrong word, she would die.
'A masked figure with no face? Or make up an image and gamble?'
Her brain was running at full speed, but not one answer felt safe to her.
"Two people told us."
Kaito walked out from the very back of the team.
His expression was surprisingly calm, even with a hint of a smile.
"One looked like a birdman... someone who uses a bow. The other was sticky all over, felt like a slime."
In an instant, even though Ainz was composed entirely of bones, one could clearly see his emotional fluctuation at this moment.
Aura even exclaimed, "Could he be talking about... Bukubukuchagama-sama and Peroroncino-sama?"
Kaito let out a long sigh of relief inwardly, 'The gamble had paid off.'
James leaned close to Kaito, his voice very low. "Hey, how do you know that?"
Kaito didn't look at him. His gaze was still on Ainz's skeleton face. "I saw statues of them along the way. Since statues can be erected here, they must be people of high status in this tomb, right?"
He was, of course, bluffing.
Nazarick didn't have statues of the Supreme Beings, at least not on the path they had taken.
But he only needed to fool everyone present... Ainz, Albedo, Aura, and his own useless teammates beside him.
"Hahahaha—!"
Ainz suddenly burst into loud laughter.
It was a release of long-suppressed emotions, now finally able to pour out.
Everyone was stunned.
They didn't know what this skeleton was laughing about, but... they were probably saved, right?
Kaito, however, understood Ainz's thoughts.
The reason Ainz was so happy was because his long-suppressed emotions had been released.
Those players who had created Nazarick with him, those friends who had fought alongside him in the game, could very possibly also be in this world.
This was the thing Ainz most deeply desired.
Ainz stopped his laughter. The red pupils in his eye sockets returned to calm.
"Alright. Since you have received permission from my companions, I will let you off this once." He raised his pale bone hand and waved toward the entrance. "Go."
Kaito's legs went weak.
He barely held it together and didn't show it, but his back was already soaked with cold sweat.
After leaving this place, he had to find a chance to run away.
Staying with Shuichi and these people, he felt he wouldn't live much longer.
"C-can we get some compensation?"
Heiji's voice came from behind.
Kaito nearly lost his balance.
He looked at Heiji with an incredulous expression, 'You just barely escaped with your life. What the hell are you thinking?'
"You insatiable humans! You dare!"
Albedo stepped forward, her voice carrying a hint of suppressed anger. Her mouth was wide enough to fit two fists.
Ainz raised his hand to stop Albedo.
"Take them to the armory."
Ainz's tone was casual. He was in a good mood. "Take your pick."
He wasn't short of weapons.
To him, this was just like throwing a few pieces of bread to feed dogs.
Heiji was sweating cold, his heartbeat fast like a drum, but his mind had already started turning.
'Maybe I could use this skeleton...'
"So those two lords are named Bukubukuchagama and Peroroncino."
Heiji's voice carried a perfectly appropriate tone of admiration. "They are really strong."
Heiji mimicked the expression those low-level Japanese police officers usually used to curry favor with his father. "Ainz-sama, compared to them, who is stronger?"
Ainz was indeed in a good mood.
Normally, he wouldn't bother with these humans.
But today was different. Today he had heard news of his best friends, and that they were also in this world.
"If it's a one-on-one fight, I would probably be slightly better."
Heiji's eyes lit up. He then put his hands together and begged, "Then could you let us see it? It's not that we don't believe you, it's that we'd like to broaden our horizons."
Kaito's entire body went numb.
He silently cursed eighteen generations of Heiji's ancestors.
'What a f*cking useless teammate!'
Ainz did not refuse.
He raised his right hand. His five knobby finger bones spread open in the air, palm facing up.
Pale blue flames surged from his palm. The next second, a single strand became a sea of fire.
"Tenth-tier magic... Hellfire!"
The flames exploded from Ainz's palm, surging in all directions.
The entire arena turned into a burning hell in less than a second.
The stone steps cracked under the high temperature. The starry sky twisted in the heat. The air howled in the flames.
The heat rushed toward him. Kaito felt like the hairs on his face were scorched.
The soles of his shoes made 'sizzling' sounds on the hot stone slabs.
Andre used his own body to shield Jodie and James. The armor he was equipped with was heated red.
The flames lasted for about ten seconds, then went out.
The ground of the arena was still smoking. A single layer of the stone steps had been burned into crystals.
Everyone stood in shock.
They had long grown tired of magic, but they had never seen magic of this level.
'The tenth tier!'
'It actually exists?'
Jodie's lips slightly moved. Her pupils scanned the faces around her. "Compared to Nishikawa Makoto, who do you think is stronger?"
James was silent for a moment, then shook his head.
Ainz withdrew the flames. That pale bone hand hung back at his side. "This is tenth-tier magic. But if I were to fight with Peroroncino and the others, I would have to use super-tier magic."
Ainz paused. "That requires a lot of time to prepare. If you want to see it, you'll need to wait."
Heiji and Saguru exchanged a glance.
The two detectives reached a consensus in that instant, 'In this undead's heart, those two named Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama must have a very high status.'
'Otherwise, upon learning of their existence, his mood wouldn't have suddenly become so good.'
"Ainz-sama—"
Shuichi spoke.
"Actually, besides giving us permission to enter the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Bukubukuchagama-sama and Peroroncino-sama also asked us to bring you a message."
Ainz's eyes lit up again. He straightened his back. "What did they say?"
Shuichi looked up. Underneath his black knit cap, those eyes no longer held fear, only a precise determination.
"They said... for the sake of Nazarick, you must definitely kill Nishikawa Makoto."
Kaito's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
'Wow. I understand now.'
'They wanted to use Ainz's knife to kill Makoto!'
Ainz was silent for a long time, then said thoughtfully, "Could it be... that Bukubukuchagama and the others think Nishikawa Makoto is too dangerous, so they don't dare to return to Nazarick to meet up with us? Or could it be that the other companions have been taken captive?"
"Very possible."
James stepped forward, his tone steady. Years of working for the FBI allowed him to lie without changing his expression.
Ainz pinched the space between his brow bones. "In the past, unless absolutely necessary, I didn't intend to be hostile with that man, Nishikawa Makoto. But if this is my companions' wish, then it is indeed necessary to eliminate this target."
The corner of Shuichi's mouth curled slightly.
"If Ainz-sama is willing," Akai Shuichi gave a slight bow, "We would like to join Nazarick and contribute."
Kaito's eyelids twitched.
'Damn it, these people were completely on board!'
"I won't be participating."
Kaito finally found an opportunity to interject. "Could you let me go back?"
Everyone's expressions changed instantly. Ainz, Albedo, and the others also looked at Kaito.
"Why do you want to leave?" Heiji's voice carried a hint of confusion.
"I don't have any grudge against Nishikawa Makoto."
Kaito's tone was calm. "It's too dangerous to fight that man."
Heiji looked at him with some disdain. "You're too cowardly."
Kaito thought to himself, 'You're brave, then you go die.'
He couldn't be bothered to deal with this guy anymore. He turned and gave a slight bow to Ainz.
"Sorry, Mr. Ainz, could you send me back to E-Rantel? I won't reveal anything that happened here. If you're worried, you can erase my memory of this."
Which of Makoto or Nazarick was stronger? Even Kaito, who had read the Overlord light novel, didn't know.
After all, Overlord had been dropped. He didn't know how many trump cards Nazarick still had up its sleeve.
But regardless, it wasn't something a small character like him could intervene in.
Ainz was silent for a moment, as if weighing something. In the end, he shook his head. "No need. After all, you are people recognized by Bukubukuchagama and Peroroncino. I will at least grant you that much respect."
With that, Ainz raised his hand, his palm aimed at Kaito.
An eerie blue light surged from his palm, enveloping Kaito.
The light grew brighter and brighter, bit by bit swallowing his figure.
At the last moment before being teleported away, Kaito looked at Hattori Heiji and the others.
He didn't say goodbye. He just said to himself, 'This should be the last time I saw them.'
'These people would either be killed by Nishikawa Makoto, or Ainz would discover they had lied and torture them to death.'