Overlord (LN)

“Momon-san broke through a horde of thousands of undead with just his partner — no, he had the Wise King of the Forest as well, for a total of three people — and defeated the people conducting an unholy ritual.”

“—Anyone with some stealth training could do that!”

Rakesheer sighed, in a somewhat exaggerated way.

“Indeed, you are correct. Initially, I felt that this was not enough to qualify Momon-san for orichalcum rank. However, the discovery of a set of bones bore testament to Momon-san’s might.”

At that point, Rakesheer turned to Ainz in his suit of black full plate armor, a stern look in his eyes.

“...That is to say, the bones of a Skeletal Dragon. Momon-san slew a frightening undead creature that possessed absolute resistance to magic.”

“Well, uh, yes! Skel-Skeletal Dragons are strong! But mithril ranked adventurers can still def—”

“—Can still defeat two of them at the same time?”

“Say what!?”

Igvarge’s gasp of surprise was joined by the other two adventurers. Then, there was a subtle shift in their attitude as they looked toward him. They were like observers trying to plumb the depths of a lake.

“We found the remains of two Skeletal Dragons at the scene. Could your teams break through a horde of thousands of undead, slay two Skeletal Dragons, and kill the hitherto unknown masterminds of this conspiracy in such a short time? Other adventurers were present at the graveyard, and they reported the presence of twisted spirits like Wraiths. Could you have traversed such deadly ground?”

Igvarge bit his lip, unable to respond.

“Then, let me ask you another question. I hear that the only other member of Momon-san’s party is a woman. She is a magic caster, which means that she would have been completely useless against Skeletal Dragons and their complete magic immunity. Under these circumstances, with only one other... no, even with the Wise King of the Forest by your side as well, could you have made such a great accomplishment?”

Rakesheer bowed to Ainz and said:

“Please allow me to thank you on behalf of the city, Momon-san. If not for your swift response, many more lives might have been lost. And while I can only speak for myself in this matter, you have but to come to me with any request you have and I will do my best to fulfill it.”

“You praise me too highly, Guildmaster. I was simply fulfilling Bareare-san’s request, and I solved a problem along the way.”

“Fufufufu...”

Rakesheer laughed, and there was an undercurrent of respect amidst his laughter.

“It seems you are truly worthy of an orichalcum... no, an adamantite rank. To think someone could take such a mighty accomplishment and pass it off which such humility, as though it were nothing of note. I heard that your companion can use magic of the third tier as well... is that correct?”

“Your praise honors me... but I do not wish to casually show my hand.”

“Is that so? What a shame.”

Igvarge’s face and ears turned red as he watched the way Ainz and Rakesheer spoke lightly to each other. Then, he bellowed:

“We could do the same thing if we got everyone together! Besides, it’s his fault that he’s got so few teammates, right? He can’t get anyone because he’s no good!”

The air in the room grew tense even as it grew frigid, and then the sound of a buhiii~ rang forth.

“Let’s leave the matter at that. We didn’t gather everyone here to fight now, did we?”

After that last buhiii~, Igvarge sat down, seemingly deflated. However, he still glared hatefully at Ainz. The two guild leaders watched this sight and shook their heads helplessly.

“I understand that you all value strength, but that is not the topic we are here to address, so why don’t we settle the matter quickly?”

“Thank you, Mayor.”

“Muu? I have no idea why you would thank me, but you should probably continue speaking. The fact is, I’m not quite sure what is going on.”

“Understood. If only I could have reported it right away...”

“Don’t worry, I was handling a matter in connection with Stronoff-kun myself.”

There was another buhiii~

“Now then, let’s get to the point—”

“Before that, shouldn’t we show some basic courtesy and remove our helmets?”

Igvarge cut in once more with a mocking words. He was not incorrect in saying so, but he was also being quite annoying. The other adventurers frowned as well.

“It’s fine. This time, he has a point. I have been somewhat rude.”

However, the false face Ainz revealed when he removed his helmet was a plain one, which was not particularly attractive.