Overlord (LN) - Volume 13.5 - The Vampire Princess of the Lost Country - Chapter Pr

Prologue  

As he sat on the throne, Momonga ignored the faint satisfaction and redoubled shame he felt for a moment and began looking around the interior of the room, whereupon he saw Sebas and the maids standing stock-still and motionless. Standing so rigidly in this room made him feel a little lonely. 

He recalled that there was a command for this. Momonga thought back to the commands he had seen before, and then extended a hand before gently waving it from top to bottom. 

“Kneel.” 

Albedo, Sebas, and the six maids (Pleiades); all of them knelt before him in a show of respect by subjects to their master. 

That was good. 

Momonga raised his left hand, and checked the time. 

23:55:48, 49, 50— 

He ought to be just in time. 

Right now, the GMs were probably nonstop broadcasting and others were setting off fireworks outside. However, Momonga — who had blocked all these things out — did not know of them. 

Momonga leaned against the throne, and slowly raised his head to the ceiling. 

He had built Nazarick, this most difficult dungeon, with his friends. For that reason, Momonga had thought that a group of Players might decide to invade on this final day. 

Momonga waited. 

He would welcome any challengers in his capacity as Guildmaster. 

While he had sent messages to all former members, the number of people who did actually arrive could be counted on one hand. 

Momonga waited. 

He would welcome any returning friends in his capacity as Guildmaster. 

“A relic of the past, huh—” Momonga mused. 

While this guild was nothing more than an empty shell now, he had had enjoyable times in the past. 

He shifted his gaze to count the gigantic flags dangling from the ceiling. There was a total of 41 of them in all, the same number as there were guild members. Each flag bore an emblem of a member. Momonga extended a bony white finger to point at one of them, and allowed the memories in his mind to reawaken… but his hand stopped halfway through the motion. 

—Now’s not the time for such things! 

Momonga thought about a certain plan he had prepared for today. 

A plan for a glorious finish at the end. 

In order to celebrate with his friends who had come back on the last day of operation, in order to do something big with them right at the very end, Momonga had gone to a shopping district that he almost never visited, purchasing vast quantities of items, intending to use them to conduct an event. 

However, while several of his friends had come all the way back to the guild, regretfully none of them stayed until the very end. 

Those particular friends who did come back… had of course put their real lives first. As Momonga had watched many of his friends leave the guild for the same reason, it was a conclusion he had anticipated. 

Even so, Momonga still felt terribly lonely, and terribly frustrated at the same time. 

It was because these two emotions filled his heart that he had completely forgotten that his original intention was to take part in the event with his friends. No, perhaps it was because he did not want to remember it. 

Perhaps there might have been another ending, which was to forget about the event and sit on the throne to await the end. 

However, he thought of it now. 

In that case— 

Momonga suddenly rose to his feet. 

I have to go! Even if it’s only me! I need to give this whole thing a glorious final conclusion, even if it’s only me! 

There was no more time. 

Momonga released the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown which had been in his firm grip, and at once activated the ring on his right ring finger — the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. 

As he operated the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, a list of teleport destinations appeared. 

However, the first to appear was his own room. Why the hell was it set to a place like that? Momonga griped over something that normally would never have bothered him, and scrolled through the selections. 

“Got it!” 

Momonga could not keep himself from exclaiming in delight. 

After finding the teleport destination closest to the surface, Momonga was about to tap it when he hesitated for a moment. 

Momonga’s eyes went toward the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. 

As a Guild Weapon, its destruction meant the destruction of the guild. From that point of view, leaving it there was the safest choice he could make. 

However, had Momonga not thought of something before he had earlier taken it up? 

That’s right, walk with me — for you are the proof that the Guild Ainz Ooal Gown once existed. 

Momonga gripped the staff tight, and activated the power of the ring. 

The teleportation went through in an instant, and he was transported to an expansive room. 

There were two rows of narrow stone biers used to lay corpses to rest on either side of him — though they were unoccupied now. The floor was made of polished limestone. To the rear was a flight of stairs heading down, and at their bottom was a set of double doors — the doors leading to the first floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. 

This was the closest place to the surface to which the ring’s teleportation power could take him. 

The displayed location name indicated that this was the Central Mausoleum of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. 

“I need to hurry!” Momonga shouted, to spur himself on. 

He glanced at the watch on his left hand, and the time was— 

23:58:03 

—He was almost out of time. 

It was as though he could hear the door-closing chime of the train doors cease, replaced by the hissing of air from within the door. 

Momonga cast [Fly], as though he were a salaryman sprinting up the stairs. 

Despite his panic, Momonga’s movements as he scrolled down the console and selected the flight spell were not misplaced in the slightest. 

Every spell had its place on the spellcasting console. 

If he did not know these things, if he made any mistakes when he needed to cast spells, it would affect activities such as combat. For that reason, Momonga had spent upwards of a year memorizing every single position of the console. While this effort left his other teammates dumbfounded, Momonga had still never managed to beat Touch Me even once despite his hard work. Even so, Momonga had always felt that his good PVP track record was due to his practical diligence, which was probably true. 

Momonga flew with all his might towards the great swamp surrounding the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. 

Posture control during flight was surprisingly difficult. He had once heard someone say it was like playing a dogfighting game. Still, if he was only flying in a straight line, then simple movements would suffice. Or rather, there was no need to control anything at all. All he had to do was not touch the control interface. 

Once he left the surface portion of Nazarick — in other words, the graveyard — behind him, he would be in the mist-filled swamp region. 

The forms of monsters appeared in the mists, but right now, all active mobs had been set to an inactive state, so he would not be attacked so long as he did not strike first. 

This shift to inactive mode had been implemented roughly a week ago. That, combined with the frequent sightseeing activities, had apparently led to a lot of new discoveries. 

Even Momonga could not contain a gasp of delight when he saw the videos of those discoveries. As for the ones which had not drawn such reaction from him, he instead cursed, How the hell would anyone know about this, were the devs stupid? in his mind. 

I thought that someone would try to invade us for sightseeing. After all, they’d be able to pass through the Grenbera Swamp without expending any resources. 

But nobody had come. 

It was worth celebrating, of course, but at the same time it also made him feel lonely, as though he had been completely forgotten by the world. Something like that. 

Momonga narrowed his eyes — although his expression did not change. He had reached his destination, an island floating on the swamp. 

It was a curious little island. 

It was not very large, but it was covered with a great deal of cylindrical objects, enough to fill its entire surface. 

Momonga produced a stick-like object with a button from his pocket dimension, and held it in the hand which was not holding the Guild Weapon. 

“Here I go!” 

As he exclaimed those words in a forceful tone that he would normally never use, Momonga pressed down hard on the button. 

In that moment, the cylinders, which were so tightly packed that there was hardly any space between them, all discharged balls of light into the skies above. They were too close together, so it looked just like a gigantic ball of light. 

They were fireworks sold by the Yggdrasil developers — or perhaps the operations team — at a low price. 

Momonga had purchased around ten thousand fireworks and arranged them on this island. However, he had not set them all out, because he had gotten bored halfway through. Right now, Momonga probably had at least a quarter of those fireworks still in his inventory. 

“…I need to wake up at 04:00 tomorrow, huh.” 

Momonga watched the receding afterglow in the sky, muttering morosely to himself as he watched the orbs of light climb slowly into the sky. He had originally intended to enjoy this scene with his friends who came back to celebrate the last day of the game with him. However, there was nobody by Momonga’s side now. 

And then, a massive explosion burst in the sky. Light overlapped with more light; it was no longer a fireworks display, but something that was almost like the Super-Tier spell [Fallen Down]. 

The flashing lights enveloped Momonga as he flew. 

Ah… 

Momonga did not know how it would feel when a DMMO’s servers shut down. 

This was because Momonga, no, because Suzuki Satoru had not played any games other than Yggdrasil. However, he was sure that it would not end in a hopeful way. He was sure it would be like a sudden snapping of a string and he would be forcefully kicked back to reality. 

Even so— 

Maybe it would feel better if it ended while I was surrounded with light— He would return to the real world several seconds later. Even so, this moment felt like it was made to vividly display the joy of Suzuki Satoru. 

And then— 

—Momonga began to panic. 

He had thought that once the light faded, he would be greeted by the familiar sight of his room beyond a pane of thin glass. After all, Yggdrasil was going to be shut down, he thought. However, what he actually saw turned out to be something else entirely. 

“…What’s this?” Momonga muttered to himself. 

That had not come from loneliness, but because he had encountered something he could not understand. 

The first thing which came into view was the night sky. Constellations sparkled all around him, and the slow-moving clouds seemed to be trying to cover up their light. He could see the towering peaks of mountains in the distance, and the dark forests at their foothills rippled like waves in the breath of the night wind. 

It was a sight he could not see in the real world — aside from the Arcologies — and it was as though he had never left the game at all. 

He looked down — and saw that he was floating in the air. Well, that was fine. 

After all, he had just cast a [Fly] spell. 

However, what lay beneath his feet was not a swamp. 

—Instead, it was ruins. 

It was not just a mere one or two buildings, but on the scale of a town — no, it was greater than that. He could see a building that looked like a castle in the distance, and a wall surrounding a city. These ruins had once been a fairly large city. There were various signs that showed that it had not been conquered so much as abandoned for some reason. 

While he was several hundred meters above the city, he had no way of knowing exactly what was going on inside it. However, Momonga could not help but recall the abandoned underground city with an automated puppet production plant, Vilisyrteria. 

No, this isn’t like Vilisyrteria. It looks different… what on earth is this place? 

With a surprising degree of calmness, Momonga checked the watch on his left hand. 

00:03:45, 46, 47… 

“…Hah?” 

Momonga glanced around at his surroundings again. The landscape was unfamiliar. Granted, there was no way Momonga could know what every single square inch of Yggdrasil’s map looked like. Perhaps there was scenery like this tucked away in some corner of the game. 

However, this was the last day of the game. The game had been scheduled to end at 00:00:00 midnight, and now that time had passed. There was no way the display would be in error. 

What, what is this? 

Yggdrasil’s end of operations had been delayed. Or perhaps it would show him something like this if he did not log out on his own. Various possibilities flashed through his mind. 

Did they delay the server shutdown? 

The most likely possibility was that a certain — an undeniable — reason had led to a delay in the closure of the servers. 

If that were the case, the GMs would have announced something. Momonga hurriedly made to open the communications function that he had shut off until today — and then he froze in place. 

The control console did not show up. 

What… happened? What is this? 

As a mix of anxiety and doubt filled him, Momonga tried activating other functions. 

None of them responded. 

It was as though he had been completely cut off from the system. 

…What’s going on? 

Rather he should be thinking about what to do next. Where’s the control interface for the [Fly] spell — as he thought that, Momonga suddenly realized that there was no need for it. 

Momonga slowly lowered his altitude. 

What’s going on? What is all this? Why can I use [Fly]? No, wait, that’s not all, is it? 

Momonga had suddenly “understood” how to control the [Fly] spell by feeling alone. He was not even conscious of it; it was as though it were perfectly natural. 

This was a very abnormal situation. 

After that, Momonga looked at his hands. 

His left hand held the symbol of the guild, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. His right hand held the launcher for the fireworks. 

It was true that nothing had changed. There was no doubt that those bony white hands belonged to Momonga, just like in Yggdrasil. 

However, the sensation was different. Precisely detailing the difference was a little difficult, but there was a strong sense that those were his own hands. While they were the same hands from Yggdrasil, there was a perfectly natural feeling to them, like he was looking at his own hands from the real world. 

However, it was his ability to remain calm despite being in a situation like this which scared him more than anything. 

Unconsciously, Momonga recalled the words his friend had once said. 

Anxiety is the seed of defeat, you must think logically and keep your cool at all times. Stay calm, broaden your vision, don’t get caught up on small details, and let your thoughts flow— Ahh, yes. 

His first consideration ought to be “Where is this place?” 

If only there was someone I could ask… no, it would be better if there wasn’t, right? 

Momonga fell into contemplation as he descended toward the ground. Perhaps he should investigate his surroundings from the air with [Fly]… or not. Though it was a set of tumbled ruins, there were still many houses which retained their form within. There might be infiltrators there. It seemed like there might be someone hiding in the little alleys between the ruined houses peeking out at him. 

Open spaces might offer a good field of view, but it was essentially exposing oneself to the enemy. 

While he did not think that anyone would still be thinking of PKing him in the face of this incomprehensible state of events, and it was possible that Momonga was the only one who had ended up this way, he ought to move stealthily until he had unraveled this mystery. 

Also, Momonga was holding the proof of the guild, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. That ought to cut down on the probability of being PKed. 

That being the case, this was the first measure he ought to take. 

“[Perfect Unknowable].” 

Momonga cast a spell. This was a high-tier spell that far surpassed [Invisibility]. Now, he ought to be invisible, barring the use of some special spell or ability. While that was a trivial obstacle to a select group of Players, it ought to reduce the chances of him being PKed too. 

Momonga looked at his bony white hands and looked down. He could still see himself, and there was no indicator which told him that he was invisible. All in all, he had no confidence that he really was invisible. 

As he descended, the details of the city gradually came into view. The residents had probably abandoned it quite a while ago, since he could see signs where houses had collapsed from rot. 

What happened to this city? More to the point, what on earth is going on now? Did Yggdrasil II start? Or is this a hidden event by the devs? Like say, being forcibly teleported here if you didn’t log out at the end? But in that case, how do you explain this realism? 

He could not find the answer, no matter how he agonized over it. 

As he descended, Momonga thought about using a skill. 

There were many kinds of skills, but using undead creation skills while invisible did him no good. All it would do was expose his position. While he could use them to set a trap, given the present circumstances it might make someone who could have been friendly become suspicious instead. 

Should I cover my face up? No, it feels like people who cover their faces are suspicious… good grief… 

Momonga activated one of his skills. It was the ability to detect undead. 

In Yggdrasil, places like this often had undead in them. As such, Momonga had used the skill almost subconsciously. As he did, the skill told Momonga a piece of bad news. 

“!!” 

Momonga had originally been descending slowly, but now he suddenly plunged down at great speed and hid himself in a two-story building whose roof had collapsed. 

The speed of his descent threw up a cloud of dust. Momonga hurriedly waved his arm to try and settle it, but to no avail. 

It was a fairly spacious room. The furniture inside had been crushed under the fallen roof, and after exposure to the elements they had completely rotted away. 

He maintained his [Fly] spell so his feet did not touch the ground. This was because he had considered the possibility that the floorboards might collapse. If he continued observing the situation in this way, he ought to be able to learn more about it. 

However, Momonga had something more important to think about— 

—What the hell’s going on? Why is the surrounding area full of undead reactions? Where on earth was I teleported to? 

The fact was, Momonga had glanced toward an area bearing an undead response before he had ducked into this house, and he had definitely seen a human-like figure there. Its uncoordinated movements were most certainly not those of a living creature. 

Momonga remained still as he pressed himself to the wall and focused all his energies on spying on the outside. Even if he could detect the undead, he could not determine their strength. The most powerful undead creatures included beings that could see through [Perfect Unknowable]. 

Right now, there were two things that Momonga ought to do. 

One of them was to leave — to be precise, go far away from — this place until the undead reactions vanished. 

The other was to investigate the level and so on of the undead creatures, and if they were of a level he could handle, find out where exactly he was. 

He ought to pick one of those options. 

However, there was no guarantee that he would be safe if he left. In that case, it would be better to stay here and investigate the undead reactions. In addition, Momonga was one of the undead as well, so it was very likely that he would not be attacked as long as he took no hostile actions. 

Well, assuming it’s really just undead out there. 

Momonga recalled the feeling of using the [Fly] spell, and confidence welled up in him. 

It’ll be fine. I don’t know why, but I’m confident that I won’t have any problems casting attack spells too…No, this actually feels kind of bad. I don’t feel like myself any more… —No. I’ll think about that problem later. More importantly, I’ll have any number of ways to escape as long as I can cast [Teleportation]. If anything happens, all I need to do is teleport into the air, to a distance that lets me escape. 

Momonga looked around, then at the floor — which was covered in the remains of the collapsed ceiling — and then at the ruins of the roof. 

“…It won’t collapse, I hope.” 

Talking to himself was a sign of uneasiness. 

The character called Momonga would be fine even if the roof fell on him. 

But that was ultimately a Yggdrasil thing, and even if he could use his spells and skills normally, there was no guarantee that his body would function the same way it did in the game. 

Then again, I have these eyes. I can use my [Dark Vision] normally too. Should I assume my passive skills are functioning normally as well? Speaking of which, isn’t the tech level here a bit low? 

This building did not use steel rebar or concrete. The debris scattered at his feet was hard to make out given that it had been thoroughly pulverized, but it looked to have been made of wood and bricks. 

Is this… still Yggdrasil after all? No, although it feels like the answer ought to be close to it… 

No matter how he thought about it, this simply was not the real world. But even if that were the case, it still left many questions unanswered. 

Momonga put that question aside for the time being and cast a spell. He started with [Message]. He ought to see if he could contact someone else, whether it was a GM or another Player. 

After a while, he began to grumble. 

“I can’t connect, huh…” 

He could not contact anyone and neither could he log out. It was as though he was trapped in this world. 

Then next… let’s try looking around the surroundings to gather information. In that case, I’ll use— 

“[Remote Viewing].” 

He created a magical sensor and let it float in the air. 

This was a bet. It would be a pain if there were undead that could see through invisibility, but it would be worse if the opposition had ways to interfere with detection spells or even to counterattack against divinations. However, what Momonga felt afterwards was confusion. 

“What the heck is this…” 

What he saw now was completely different than in Yggdrasil. In Yggdrasil, using [Remote Viewing] would create a viewing window in the corner of his vision. One could adjust the window’s size at will, but fundamentally it would be depicted as a different image. 

However, it was different now. 

It was as though he had opened a new set of eyes, and with it, another field of vision. 

He did not know whether to call it fascinating or bizarre. Still, it was not a problem. It felt natural to him, and he could operate the spell as normal. He even felt that he had completely changed. 

Momonga ignored his brief confusion and used [Remote Viewing] to catch sight of the undead creature. 

A man was stumbling along, in a mindless lurch. 

There were cloudy eyes beneath the opened lids, and he showed no signs of blinking. 

It would seem this was not a high-level undead being. Rather, it was a lowlevel one — a Zombie. Only, a Zombie’s appearance was typically very gruesome, but not in the case of this undead being. It did not look like it had suffered major damage or was badly rotted. It looked just like a clean corpse moving around. 

An undead being like this… if this were Yggdrasil… no, why am I thinking about this like it’s not Yggdrasil? This might be some big patch… but after the servers shut down? How could that be… ah! 

Momonga suddenly realized something, and he shouted in a voice that would not agitate the nearby Zombies. 

“This is illegal! It’s illegal confinement! Let me out of here!” 

If this really was in the game, and if someone was managing it, then it was very likely that those words would be recorded. The Computer Act-mandated helmet that Suzuki Satoru was wearing would also record it. If the company noticed, they would probably take some kind of action. However, he did not see any response along those lines. 

As I thought… this isn’t Yggdrasil after all? I don’t think the company would gain anything by deliberately targeting me for a crime either… But the game becoming reality or whatnot is impo… or is it not impossible? Plus, the fact that I’m using these skills and spells like they were a part of me is also extremely weird… Momonga shook his head. 

That was also very important, but his priority now was to take stock of the situation around him. He had to protect himself first. If he died, would the game end with him logging out, or would it just be the end because this was now reality? 

Momonga let the spell-created sensor float past the male Zombie’s eyes. 

There was no response. 

The man continued shambling forward. 

He couldn’t see it… so can I be sure it’s a Zombie? 

As he watched the man leave, Momonga let the [Remote Viewing] sensor continue down the road. 

He encountered over ten more undead beings on the road, and they were all the same — Zombies. 

Still, there sure are a lot of them. 

Some of them were walking around in circles inside their houses, and others roamed up and down the streets. It looked like the entire city was under the rule of the undead. 

That said, this was hardly strange in Yggdrasil. In truth, there were quite a few underground cities there which were ruled by the undead. Among them included locations which could be converted into bases after defeating the boss monsters within. While Momonga had not been to such places before, the videos of it which had been uploaded portrayed a beautiful paradise city. 

Before long, Momonga finished exploring his surroundings. 

All he had learned was that there were no other undead creatures here other than Zombies, and that the entire area was in ruins, with no survivors. 

Momonga exhaled with a “whew” — although he had no idea how his bony, lungless body could have done it — and dispelled his [Remote Viewing] and [Perfect Unknowable] spells. 

He had been worrying about what he would do if there were Players — especially PKers — around, but it would seem he had been wasting his efforts. Plus, depending on the situation, it might not be impossible that he could raise his arms in surrender when making contact with other parties to gain information about them. 

After a period of rumination, Momonga checked that he could still teleport normally, then left the house and took to the streets. 

While he did not dare to place too much faith in his strength, there should not be any problems if he could use the same spells as he normally could. No, even if things went bad, he should still be able to escape. 

If possible, he would have liked to gauge his strength by killing a Zombie, but that would be too dangerous. 

While this was based on his knowledge of Yggdrasil, low-intelligence undead like Zombies would view Momonga as one of them and thus not initiate attacks against him. However, things would be different if he launched an attack instead. It might even provoke a hostile response from all the surrounding Zombies in a chain reaction, until all the undead in the entire city considered him a valid target for attacks. 

Something like that which would only sap his strength and increase the number of his enemies would be a last resort. Currently, he ought to prioritize gathering information. 

Momonga left the ruined house. 

Taking his first step out required a great deal of courage and made his heart race — although he had no heart to speak of — but the first Zombie he met did not react to him with hostility, and walked away from Momonga as though nothing had happened. With that, the tremendous weight crushing down on Momonga lifted off him. 

He investigated the surrounding streets, and reached a conclusion. 

For starters, technology here was not particularly advanced. There were no signs at all of electrical appliances, and modern construction techniques would not feature cement and unevenly shaped bricks. It was possible that there were power lines buried in the ground, but in that case it would be entirely impossible to go on with daily life. This was also the first time he had seen stoves outside of Yggdrasil. Also— 

Is this Yggdrasil? No, it’s way too different. But could it really be? 

Gradually, Momonga came to realize that this could not possibly be inside a game. 

But then, what about himself? 

For starters, how did a body that was wholly composed of bones move around? He had no muscles or nerves. 

He was moving as though this was the kind of creature he had always been, and such a thing could only appear in games. No, when he thought about it, what about the power — the principle called “magic”? 

Momonga walked down a main street. The knowledge base he had been building for himself to this day had been broken, but he still had not been able to reconstruct it. 

“In any case, all I can do is to continue gathering information.” 

Perhaps it was because this was a main street, but the number of wandering Zombies suddenly increased. 

In order to avoid bumping into any Zombies, Momonga once again cast [Fly] and continued moving at a slightly higher altitude. 

It would seem this was a main road for this city, because when he looked straight ahead he could see the city gates, which were wide open. 

In the other direction lay a fancy-looking castle. Perhaps it was because it was constructed differently, it did not seem as badly damaged as the ruined house from before. 

I’d probably spot some damage from weathering if I took a closer look. If there’s weathering, then would it be better to assume this city’s been abandoned for a long time… don’t tell me the people of this otherworld (I guess I have to think of it as another world) can’t even defeat Zombies? Or is it like one of those commonly seen zombie movie tropes where all the living have died off? 

Could it be that they could not even defeat Zombies, the weakest of all undead in Yggdrasil? Or was this place different from Yggdrasil in that the Zombies here were extremely powerful? 

He had to answer these two questions as soon as possible. 

Just as Momonga was pondering the Zombie apocalypse which had taken in this city and how it might have come about, Momonga picked up a reaction. 

“What?” 

Among the massed undead reactions around him, one of them was gradually drawing away from him. 

…What’s this? 

Momonga narrowed his eyes. 

He could sense a certain degree of intelligence from that action, a quality that Zombies did not possess. 

“Is that a Player? I won’t let you get away, you source of information!” 

He floated lightly into the air. Given the other party’s complete lack of hesitation as they moved, they ought to be quite familiar with the layout of the city. However, terrain was meaningless to someone who could cast [Fly]. 

As Momonga flew in a straight line through the air, he caught sight of someone’s form. 

The small figure in a hooded cloak turned back several times — back at the place where Momonga had been — as it sprinted down the narrow alleys. 

I’ll use [Undead Domination] — no, that’s a last resort. And besides, I might not be able to dominate it. 

[Undead Domination] was considered an offensive act. If the figure before him was connected to those Zombies, it was very likely that he would wind up aggroing all the Zombies in the city. While he would not need to worry about that if the figure was a Player, he would probably wind up making a more dangerous enemy instead. 

Momonga landed in front of the figure. Said figure just so happened to be looking back at that moment and collided with Momonga. It was a light impact, and it meant nothing to Momonga. He could vaguely make out blonde hair underneath the hood. 

“…Good evening. It really is a starry night tonight…” 

“Eeee…” 

The figure did not answer Momonga’s greeting. All he could hear was a sudden intake of breath. 

Were they unable to speak, or did they not understand Japanese? Without enough information to draw a conclusion, Momonga continued speaking. 

“I apologize for this, but I am quite confused right now. I have several questions for you. Would you mind answering them?” 

The other party might be a Player like Momonga, which would mean that their apparent and actual age might not match up. With that point in mind, Momonga made his inquiry in a polite fashion. Of course, he did not forget to dip his head to indicate that he was making a greeting. 

Momonga locked eyes with the crimson pupils beneath the hood. 

Are they dressed as a child? Is this a resident of this world? Doesn’t look like an NPC either… hm? 

Momonga unconsciously recalled the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick and the NPCs who had knelt before him. What had happened to them? For all he knew, he might have lost a wonderful place, one which he had built with his friends. 

However — Momonga shook his head. 

Right now, he did not have the leisure of contemplating such things. 

Momonga studied the person before him, taking care not to look at them in a rude way. 

She was a pretty young girl, probably over 10. Her eyes, widened by shock, were the crimson of fresh blood. 

What he had thought was a hooded cloak was, on closer inspection, merely a piece of cloth secured with a rope. Surely only the undead would tie something so carelessly to their necks. 

The clothes below the cloak were tattered from wear and discolored from where dirt and sand had gotten on it. It looked like women’s clothing, but the loose sleeves were tied up by rope, and what had once been a skirt was tied up into what seemed like a pair of pants. It was an utterly utilitarian garment. 

While he had no idea how his bony body could smell anything, this girl did not have the odor of decay about her, like the other Zombies. Perhaps the lack of body odor despite the disheveled state of her clothing was because the undead lacked metabolic processes. 

“…I say again, I have several things I would like to know about. I trust that will be alright? Ahhh, I apologize,” Momonga said as he extended a bony hand to her. 

However, the girl seated on the ground showed no sign of taking it. Was she still wary of him? 

“In that case, you don’t mind if I ask, then?” The girl nodded. 

Momonga was mildly surprised when he saw that he could communicate normally with language. Since they could verbally interact, did that mean she was a Player? 

“To begin with, yes… I am… Suzuki Satoru. May I ask your name?” 

The crimson pupils seemed to be shaping themselves into perfect circles. 

“…Ah, uu… ah… ah…” 

She spoke in a very hoarse voice. He could not make out what she was saying at all. 

Is that not Japanese? Does that mean she’s a resident from another world? Or no, is she a Player who’s way too immersed in her roleplay? I have no idea. 

Momonga — no, Suzuki Satoru replied to her, taking care to affect a professional, businesslike tone. 

“I sincerely apologize. It seems your voice is a little soft. Could I trouble you to repeat yourself?” 

“…Ah, uu… ah… ah…” 

It was the same as before, after all. 

“Is your name Ahuuahah, then? What a strange name… hm?” 

The girl shook her head. He could be sure of it now — she was definitely capable of understanding Japanese. 

“Is it not? Then, could it be that you cannot speak?” She shook her head once more. 

The girl was trying her best to vocalize, but Suzuki Satoru could not parse any meaningful from her response. 

“Then, let me change topics. Are you a Player?” 

A baffled expression appeared on the girl’s face. 

“You are not a Player, then? I see. Then, your parents…” 

Halfway through, Suzuki Satoru suddenly remembered that she was undead. There was no way she could have had parents. Yet, the girl’s reaction was somewhat strange. 

She lowered her head, and shook it. 

It was a response that suggested that she had had them once, but not anymore. 

What should I do? 

In that case, should he just excuse himself and leave? However, she was a valuable source of information. It would be a terrible waste. 

Suzuki Satoru looked at the girl making strange noises and fell into contemplation. Just then, he heard a very soft voice. 

“—no —sris Inve—” 

The words she was repeating had finally become distinct enough for Suzuki Satoru to understand. 

“My name is Keno Fasris Invern.” That was the girl’s name.