After the meeting ended,
Heiji, Saguru, Shuichi, and the others returned to their human base.
The door to the room closed, but no one spoke first.
Two years. They had been here for two years.
Saguru leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.
Two years ago, when they first arrived at Nazarick, they had thought about using someone else's knife to kill their enemy. But as time passed, they found that this knife seemed beyond their control.
Especially for people like Heiji and Saguru, who were sons of influential families.
Only then did they realize that they weren't as impressive as they had imagined.
"I kind of envy that Kuroba guy."
Saguru stared at the ceiling. It was unclear whether he was talking to himself or deliberately letting Shuichi and the others hear.
After a brief silence, Shuichi said, "This is the only path we can take."
Shuichi had thought it over repeatedly himself. They couldn't resign.
Ainz might let them go, but Ainz's subordinates would not.
Especially management like Albedo and Demiurge, who had never liked them.
Their situation was different from Tuareninya's in the original story.
Tuareninya had Sebas protecting her. There was a level 100 NPC behind her. No one dared to touch her.
Who did they have behind them?
Some might think it was Ainz.
But Heiji and the others knew themselves that their relationship with Ainz wasn't that close.
At the end of the day, their only amulet was a lie, and that lie's expiration date could come at any time.
"We can use this opportunity to go see them." Heiji looked up.
He wanted to see the figure he dreamed about every night, to relieve the accumulated pressure over the years.
Two years.
Using Nazarick's intelligence network, they had also learned a lot about Makoto, especially the women around him.
Darkness, the Miyano sisters, the three Uzaki women… they had known these names two years ago.
But they later learned two other names: Hattori Shizuka and Toyama Kazuha.
Heiji was not okay at the time.
Leaving aside his mother, he felt she should be fine.
After all, her age was a factor.
And in a son's eyes, both his mother and his sister were the kind of beings that no matter how beautiful they might be in the eyes of outsiders, to him, they were just ogres.
So Heiji didn't think his mother would get involved with Makoto.
But Kazuha was different.
Although Heiji often bickered with Kazuha, he still acknowledged his childhood sweetheart's charm.
Not to mention anything else, her breasts were quite big.
And now that Kazuha was by that sex-crazed beast Makoto's side, did he even need to say what would happen?
Everyone stared at him wide-eyed.
'Seriously, at a time like this, you're still thinking about women?'
"The Sorcerer Kingdom is going to make a move on the Holy Kingdom."
Heiji forced himself to save his reputation. "Demiurge said he would block the news, but there's no such thing as a wall that doesn't leak. The Nishikawa Grand Alliance will definitely notice."
"Then, we can go to Axel on the pretext of monitoring Nishikawa Makoto. He probably won't refuse. Then we can see how Kazuha and the others are doing."
Saguru was silent for a long time, then spoke quietly, "Nishikawa Makoto and his subordinates like Ishigami Yu and Four Devils, eighty or ninety percent of them will recognize you and me."
Heiji's expression changed. He instantly realized the problem.
As high school detectives who had been somewhat famous in the real world, they had often been in the newspapers.
If recognized, they would definitely be caught.
Heiji opened his mouth to retort but couldn't find a reason.
The problem was, he missed Kazuha too much.
"Let Shuichi go." Jodie's voice came from the side.
James nodded. "Shuichi has never met Nishikawa Makoto. Although Miyano Akemi is by his side, that woman wouldn't reveal anything about Shuichi to anyone."
Shuichi was silent for a long time. Finally, he nodded. "I'll go prepare."
With that, he got up and left.
"Hey, remember to find out about Kazuha for me." Heiji shouted at his back.
After the door closed, the room was quiet for a few seconds.
Saguru turned his head to look at Jodie, his eyes full of confusion.
"Aren't you afraid he'll go see his ex-girlfriend?"
Having been together for so many years, they had heard about the relationship between Shuichi, Jodie, and Akemi.
To be honest, when they first heard about it, Heiji and the others were quite surprised.
They never expected that the aloof Shuichi would be capable of two-timing.
Jodie didn't answer.
She also knew that Shuichi hadn't been able to forget Akemi all these years, and she felt that this matter needed to be resolved.
Soon, Shuichi's proposal was approved by Ainz. He was dispatched to Axel to monitor Makoto's movements.
Then, after returning to his own room, Shuichi's entire appearance changed dramatically in the mirror.
The man in the mirror had brown hair, rimless glasses, and a gentle face.
Okiya Subaru.
This was Shuichi's new identity, transformed using magic.
…
Axel.
Makoto's bedchamber.
The creaking of the bed and Yunyun's cries intertwined, wave after wave.
The bedsheet was wrinkled from her grip.
Although Yunyun tried desperately to stifle her cries,
The numbing, tingling sensation surging from deep within her bones made her unable to control her throat.
"Makoto! No, please don't... I... I'll die... ahhh..."
Makoto held her back, letting her lean against his chest.
Her hair lay scattered on his chest. Her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were unfocused. A trace of unswallowed saliva hung at the corner of her mouth.
His lips pressed against her ear, his voice carrying a mischievous smile. "You're not allowed to die. At least let me bully you for a lifetime first."
"You're... so mean..." The now sixteen-year-old Yunyun used her remaining strength to weakly punch Makoto's chest.
With a long, drawn-out moan, she went limp in his arms like cream melted by the sun.
A knock came at the door.
"Pops, Uncle Ishigami has something for you."
Iris's voice came from outside the door, carrying an inexplicable disdain.
Makoto tucked Yunyun in, briefly wiped himself down, changed his clothes, and pushed the door open.
The fourteen-year-old Iris was half a head taller than two years ago. Her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders. Her light blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight like polished gems.
Makoto ruffled her hair twice, messing up the neatly combed blonde locks. "Alright, got it."
Although Makoto closed the door quickly when he left, the ambiguous, faintly fishy smell still seeped through the crack.
It made Iris's face suddenly turn red. She gave Makoto a somewhat disgusted glare and pursed her lips.
"Doing that kind of thing in broad daylight..."
Makoto pretended not to hear. It was better to be careful around minors.