Tale of Discovery

Hah~ What am I supposed to say in response to this girl's inquiry? Neither do I know her name, nor do I know what she is to me.

Frankly, the only thing I can infer from her words is that I am her superior. And, considering the look of this chamber and how luxurious everything looks, I am definitely not just any ordinary superior.

"Stand back," I say in a firm tone, to which she quickly affirms by bowing and then stepping back.

Alright, I suppose I should look into my current situation.

First, I am sitting on a throne in the body of a skeleton. This indicates that the previous owner seems to have been most likely quite rich and held a very high position. After all, not just anyone can sit on a throne.

Second, a beautiful non-human woman is standing a short distance away from me. Between us, there is that odd golden staff I saw in the arena, floating a few centimeters above the ground.

Shifting my focus away, I notice that the throne is positioned on higher ground compared to the rest of the chamber. Upon looking down, I take notice of several other humanoid beings.

Six females and a male. The females are all ridiculously beautiful, each in their own way. Although their beauty can't much that of the horned female close to me, it's still overwhelming.

All six of the females are dressed in maid uniforms, but not just any maid uniform. Some of them have armor on as a part of their attire, as if they're prepared to partake in battle at any time.

As for the male, he looks to be of old age and is dressed elegantly. If I were to guess, he is in all likelihood a butler.

All seven of the servants are currently kneeling respectfully, without expressing any emotion other than what I sense to be reverence.

[Seriously, what's going on today? Has the game bugged?]

Hearing the man's voice in my head once again, I remember that if there is anyone that could clear my confusion, it would be him.

The problem is whether I can converse with him mentally or not...

'Hey, can you hear me?' I mentally say.

[Huh? Who is this? Where are you?]

Great, so he can hear me.

I take a glance at everyone present in the throne room, and once I have confirmed that there are no suspicious reactions, I question mentally, 'Were you the previous sovereign of this throne that I am sitting on?'

[What?!]

A confused and distraught voice responds to my words.

[What throne are you speaking of?!]

Remaining unfazed, I begin to mentally describe the place I am in as well as the individuals present.

[This... The throne room of Nazarick! What's the meaning of this? How are you there?]

For some reason, the voice is starting to sound a little desperate, as if speaking to the killer of one's parents.

'I have no idea,' I respond, feigning ignorance, 'When I came to, I found myself in the body of a skeleton in this place. Who are you, and do you have any idea why could this have happened?'

The voice remains unresponsive for a minute before it finally asks something

[Is there anything out of place? Are the Pleiades and Albedo safe?]

The Pleiades? Is he referring to the bunch kneeling below? Since that's the only group present. In that case, this absurdly beautiful woman is Albedo?

'Nothing seems to be wrong,' I reply, 'The maids and butlers, which I assume are the ones you call the Pleiades, are kneeling respectfully. As for the horned woman, Albedo, she is bowing while standing a few meters away from me.'

{Note that it is possible to share sight with a selected guide.}

Hearing AI's voice, I am a little startled, but quickly recover and will for the guy speaking to me to see through my eyes.

[Oh! I can see! But... I can't move?]

'Just now,' I mentally say in a casual tone, 'I incidentally found out that I can share my vision with you. Like this, you can help me figure out what's going much more efficiently, no?'

[Y-yeah. Now, can you tell me what exactly happened?]

'As I said, I just suddenly found myself here. However, prior to this, I did decapitate a skeleton who was wearing attire similar to the one I am currently wearing.'

My plan is simple. I will feign ignorance in an annoying manner that would cause the fellow to lose his cool and tell me what's going on.

[So, it was you!]

Hearing the hostility contained within his voice, I fight back the urge to chuckle as I respond, 'Wait, could that have been you?'

[You sure are annoying.]

The gloominess in his voice is apparent. It seems that I've left quite the impression on him.

'Forget that. How about you tell me where this place is and who these fellows are.'

[Ah, right. As a YGGDRASIL player, you should've heard about the Ainz Ooal Gown guild, right?]

'Uh... Sorry to break it to you, but I have never played this YGGDRASIL that you speak of.'

[What?! How is that possible? Didn't you duel me a few minutes ago?]

I wonder if it would be alright for me to tell him that I simply entered this world through a system? Hmm... that would be pointless. Just telling him that I am from another world is enough.

'You see, I hail from another world, and have entered this one through some mystical means.'

The voice doesn't respond to me for quite some time before it suddenly reverberates within my head in a sharp tone.

[Stop fooling around!]

'Silence! My words hold no falsities. It is the truth that I am not from this world. Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. What matters is that I don't know anything about this world, and you will be my guide. From your words, I can tell that you care about this place. Don't you think that it would be for the better to introduce me to this place and its inhabitants so nothing goes wrong?'

After a long while of silence, the owner of the voice seems to have deliberated on something as he asks,

[Have you truly not played YGGDRASIL?]

'That's what I am telling you...'

[Very well. I will take your words as the truth for now. So, let me give you a rundown of what YGGDRASIL is, and my guild, Ainz Ooal Gown.]

[I am only doing this for my guild, so don't misunderstand.]

---

After a lengthy mental conversation, I learned of the basics regarding this place. Apparently, this YGGDRASIL used to be a game that can be accessed by some VR device.

Today was supposed to be the last day the servers were going to be up, but a series of incidents happened. Surprisingly, what shocked Satoru, the owner of the voice in my head, the most, is not the duel and my possession of his body, but that Albedo and the Pleiades are 'alive' now.

According to him, normally, Albedo would never act out on her own without orders, yet while we were mentally conversing, she asked about my state a few times with concern apparent in her tone.

'So, what do you think is the best action to take right now?'

[I- I don't know. This is too weird.]

'Alright. Thank you for your assistance; you may rest now.'

Having mentally said that, I cut off his vision and the mental connection with him as I look over at Albedo.

During our mental conversation, Satoru mentioned something about this guild being heavily dependent on a few powerful NPC's present. Albedo is one such NPC.

She is the overseer of the eight Floor Guardians that are in charge of defending certain floors of this place. Anyway, this place, the Great Tomb of Nazarick, is essentially my base from now on.

Earlier, I received an objective, which was securing the territory around the base.

Since I have been given a short introduction of the fellows present in the room, as well as, those that I need to know of, such as the rest of the Floor Guardians, and the one Pleiades member that's not present.

Hah~ This is going to be troublesome if not handled well. First and foremost, I need to see how loyal these guys are toward me, and whether they would notice that something is off.

For starters, I suppose meeting the Floor Guardians would be for the best.

But then again, how should I round them up? Oh, right, the overseer. She should hold authority over them, so I can leave this to her.

"Albedo," I say in a firm tone, "Yes, Lord Momonga?"

Ugh. That name. I better change it as soon as possible.

"Order all the Floor Guardians apart from Gargantua to head over here."

"Understood, Lord Momonga," she responds with a bright smile as she bows even further before straightening her back, lifting her right hand to her temple, and muttering, "Attention. Lord Momonga demands the presence of all Floor Guardians apart from the Floor Guardian of the fourth floor in the throne room."

Having said, she adopts a gentle smile as she stands in her position wordlessly.

Good. Now, what should I do about the Pleiades?

Considering the current situation, the safety of this place might be compromised. After all, who knows if a bunch of 'players' will appear out of nowhere?

After taking a moment to recount their names and powers, I start giving out orders, "Attention!"

"Right now, you may have not noticed it, but the state of Nazarick is unwell. A few mishaps have occurred and may cause great harm to us.

"For that reason, while the Floor Guardians are to meet me here, the Pleiades, apart from Sebas and Aureole, are to investigate the floors for any abnormalities."

"Understood, Lord Momonga," the ladies below cry out respectfully.

"You may begin," I state in a firm tone, after which the six girls rise to their feet and gracefully exit the throne room.

Now then, I should have this guy do something as well. According to Satoru, Sebas possesses great capabilities, particularly when it comes to espionage and close-quarter combat.

"Sebas," I utter.

"Yes, Lord Momonga?"

My current objective is to secure the territory around my base. In other words, I first need to see what there is to secure. Since Sebas is powerful enough to handle himself and capable, this task is going to be perfect for him.

"Since the investigation of Nazarick's state has been tasked to the maids, your task will be to investigate outside of Nazarick. Once you're done, report back here immediately."

"Understood, Lord Momonga," he responds before also rising to his feet and leaving the throne room.

And so, I am left alone in the throne room with Albedo.

Taking a glance at her, I recount a certain statement uttered by Satoru: [Since it's a game, one shouldn't feel anything, but during the duel, I did feel pain, even if it was for a split-second.]

Not feeling anything sounds horrible. Even if there is the bright side of not feeling pain, there are way too many detriments.

Right now, with my hands on the throne, I can feel it properly. But, that's not enough...

"Albedo," I say, causing her to straighten her posture and peer into my eyes as she utters, "Yes, Lord Momonga?"

"Move closer," I state.

"Yes!" she joyously exclaims as she takes a few steps forth until she is an arm's length away from me.

Gazing at her from such a close distance, I realize that her charm seems to have multiplied.

Shaking such thoughts away, I raise my right arm and reach out to her smooth cheek. To this, Albedo's smile grows by a large margin as she brings her head closer.

Fortunately, once my skeletal hand contacts her face, I sense both the softness of her face and her warmth.

It's rather odd, considering that I don't have any nerves and whatnot, but then again, this whole situation is weird. For instance, I am a skeleton from the scalp of my skull to my toes, but can move around, speak, and think without any issues.

"Oh, Lord Momonga," Albedo says as a blush creeps up her face and she sets her palm atop my hand, "For me to receive Lord Momonga's affection, there can't be anything more blithe than this."

Hey, hey, what's going on now? Does this girl have feelings for 'me'? Even though I am a goddamn skeleton?

Still, I do not say anything as a response, but simply squeeze her cheek in between my bony fingers, causing the smile on Albedo's face to grow to a worrying level.

At this moment, I feel a turbulence in space close-by, as a small figure appears within my senses and slowly makes its way to the throne room.