Overlord (LN)

“That is unclear. We’ve studied all sorts of literature, but we haven’t been able to find that name in any of them. We’ve also tried looking for clues based on his appearance, but similarly, we haven’t been able to make any headway either.”

“Could it be an alias? Maybe he caused trouble under a different name in the past?”

“I doubt that. To demons — this applies to angels as well — their names are a very important part of their very being. If a demon wants to show up, it has to engrave its name into the world. Therefore, they can’t use false names. Experiments show that using a false name might even cause them to disappear on the spot.”

Neia knew next to nothing about demons and angels, but if an adamantite ranked magic caster said so, then that ought to be the case.

“As for his origins, if he came from the other side of the continent, then it’s only natural that there’d be no information about him... but after thinking so much, every possibility seems equally likely, and so there’s no telling where to begin.”

Evileye shrugged.

“...Say. What if you got Jaldabaoth’s appearance wrong? Was the Jaldabaoth you looked into the Jaldabaoth in the picture? What if that appearance of his was a deception?”

“Ho,” Evileye leaned over the table towards Remedios. “Can you go into more detail?”

“We managed to press Jaldabaoth in that form quite badly, and then he revealed his true form...”

Remedios closed her eyes.

“It was an utter defeat for us.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“Telling them that much should be fine, right, Gustavo?”

“Yes, no objections here. If we can learn more about him from his appearance, hiding that information would be harmful instead.”

“While I feel a full disclosure would be better....”

Remedios began muttering and grumbling, and then she told Evileye about Jaldabaoth’s appearance.

Halfway through, Remedios’s face twisted in anger. She had probably recalled the battle that nobody here knew anything about.

“I see, then we’ll continue our investigations based on what we have just learned. We’ll keep you informed with our findings, so could you tell us if you wish to stay in the city?”

“We haven’t decided that yet. In any case, does that mean you do not know anything about that form of his?”

“—Lakyus, do you remember?”

Lakyus shook her head.

“That’s how it is. Sorry.”

“I understand. Then, after we make our decision, we will contact you immediately.”

“But in that case, we’ll have to consider the worst-case scenario — the possibility that his appearance in the Kingdom was intended to create a false impression, so he deliberately refrained from showing his true power.”

“In other words, our country was Jaldabaoth’s true objective, and that he had some other plan for the Kingdom?”

“Perhaps. If the Kingdom was his main priority, he would have shown his true form like he did in the Holy Kingdom, no? Or was it because he was startled by Momon-sama’s strength, and chose to protect his true identity rather than let his plan be ruined? I really don’t want to think that’s the case.”

Evileye’s words left the room in a gloomy silence, so profound that even the faint sounds of breathing seemed very loud. Who would speak first? In this tense atmosphere, Lakyus proved her bravery.

“Now then, let me say again — we’re in the same boat as you. We want to know more about Jaldabaoth. Frankly speaking, everything we’ve learned is basically analysis from our encounter with him. We have no inkling of Jaldabaoth’s aims, true identity, or abilities.”

“Maybe we could summon demons to learn about Jaldabaoth... But that will stain the soul... And even if we summon low ranking demons, it’s quite likely that they won’t know anything about high ranking demons. In that case, we’ll need to contact a summoning adept...”

“Unfortunately, we don’t know anyone who’s good at summoning demons.”

Evileye had been the first one to supplement Lakyus’s words, followed by one of the twins.

Surely nobody would, at least not under usual circumstances, Neia mused.

Diabolists were typically evil beings, and fortunately very few of them were powerful in their own right. That was because most of the time, they either destroyed themselves or they were slain by death squads.

Of course, there might be some experts in the field who had submersed themselves into the darkness, but they typically hid themselves and did not make friends.