The next morning.
Riezel walked down the less-than-ideal streets of E-Rantel, his ears catching snippets of lively conversations as he headed toward the Adventurer's Guild.
Faintly, he overheard conversations about the Shining Golden Pavilion being burned down, a mysterious magic caster controlling undead appearing at the cemetery, or strange occurrences in the northern forest.
Outwardly, he appeared indifferent, but inwardly, he couldn't help but muse.
'I was involved in all of that, huh...'
Riezel single-handedly sparked such a buzz across E-Rantel, stirring up multiple incidents in a single night.
In some way, he might actually be the root of all evil.
A while later, Riezel finally arrived at the Adventurer's Guild, yet even here, the adventurers were engrossed in discussions about those very incidents.
Meanwhile, the bulletin board, where quests were usually posted, was eerily empty, as if no one had the slightest intention of taking on any quest.
It was partly because he was recognized as a Mithril Adventurer, the highest-ranking adventurer in E-Rantel, and partly due to rumors linking him to the burning of the Shining Golden Pavilion.
Ignoring the murmurs as though he hadn't noticed a thing, Riezel headed straight for the counter.
He wasn't here to take on any quests but had come to gather information.
From what he knew, it seemed like the Adventurer's Guild had yet to provide any official statement of how they planned to handle the aftermath of the Shining Golden Pavilion's destruction.
He was also curious about how the city had handled the incident at the cemetery after he had left last night.
As for the northern forest, he had heard that the city had noticed something unusual there and had already commissioned the Adventurer's Guild to send adventurers to investigate.
Needless to say, there was no way Riezel could figure out the aftermath of all these incidents on his own, so the Adventurer's Guild was his best bet for answers.
However, as Riezel made his way to the counter, someone suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
Riezel stopped in his tracks and looked at the person before him.
"Well, isn't this Sir Dark Warrior?"
Riezel's voice was calm and composed as he called out the name of the one blocking his path.
Indeed, the one who blocked Riezel was none other than Ainz, who had just returned to E-Rantel, accompanied by Narberal.
"Oy, oy, is that guy out of his mind?"
"Dunno..."
"Are they gonna fight?"
At the same time, the surrounding adventurers noticed the two's confrontation and immediately started whispering among themselves.
When they saw Ainz, dressed in luxurious black full-body armor yet only wearing a copper identification tag around his neck, they assumed he was just a newbie adventurer who wanted to act cool by relying on wealth.
Daring to block the path of a Mithril Adventurer, many couldn't help but smirk at Ainz's audacity.
Under normal circumstances, Ainz might have been mindful of his surroundings or the reactions of those nearby, but today, he exuded a subtle pressure only Riezel could sense, along with a faint trace of unease.
"...I have something to ask you."
Ainz's voice was strained, as though he were suppressing his emotions, yet he spoke with an attempt at calmness.
"Sure."
Riezel, his lips curling into a faint smile, looked at Ainz with a gaze resembling a fisherman spotting a fish caught on the hook.
"Let's talk in one of the rooms the guild has prepared."
Since the Adventurer's Guild had several rooms upstairs designated as spaces for adventurers and clients to negotiate and discuss commissions, Riezel informed the guild receptionist that he needed one, and she immediately set about preparing it for him.
"Let's go."
"Um."
Riezel walked upstairs with Ainz, signaling Narberal to hurry and follow.
Before long, the two of them arrived in a room that resembled a meeting room, with a wooden table at the center, surrounded by matching wooden chairs—an extremely simple setup, yet sufficient for a temporary meeting.
"..."
As soon as Riezel stepped into the room, he seemed to sense something and paused slightly mid-step, but a moment later, he continued walking as if nothing had happened, eventually sitting down in a chair.
Ainz, on the other hand, took a chair directly opposite Riezel, while Narberal stood silently behind him.
Narberal's gaze, however, showed a faint yet unmistakable murderous intent toward Riezel.
"Speak."
Riezel, ignoring Narberal's gaze completely and even abandoning the surface-level politeness he had maintained so far, spoke to Ainz in a tone that was blunt and unapologetic.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Riezel's sudden change in demeanor, or rather, the revelation of his true nature, not only made the murderous intent in Narberal's eyes more pronounced but also caused Ainz to furrow his nonexistent brow.
In truth, Ainz hadn't wanted to confront Riezel so directly like this and had hoped to maintain a facade of friendliness to avoid revealing too much in Riezel's presence or, worse, having Riezel see through him.
Unfortunately, Ainz couldn't hold back this time, since he truly had no choice.
"It's about the strange occurrences in the northern forest last night..." Ainz began speaking, keeping his tone as neutral as possible. "I wanted to ask you about it."
"Oh?" Riezel raised an eyebrow, a faint smile on his face. "So, you already know about that mind-controlled vampire?"
As soon as these words left Riezel's mouth, Ainz couldn't help but stand abruptly.
"It was you!"
Narberal, less restrained, yelled, immediately drawing her sword and preparing to attack Riezel.
"Stop!"
Ainz's shout halted Narberal in her tracks.
"But..."
Narberal hesitated, only to be silenced by Ainz's cold, piercing glare.
"I said stop... it's an order."
Biting her lip in frustration, Narberal reluctantly sheathed her sword.
Only then did Ainz take a deep breath—an action more symbolic than necessary, given his skeletal body neither needed nor could perform the act of breathing, merely a habit to steady his composure.
In fact, the innate emotional suppression from his undead race immediately quelled the intensity of Ainz's emotions whenever they became too overwhelming.
Thanks to this, Ainz managed to stay calm and sit back down across from Riezel.
"So, were you involved?"
Ainz's voice was unnervingly steady as he posed this question.
Instead of answering, Riezel asked with a simple question.
"Are you suspecting me?"
Riezel, as if nothing had happened or had nothing to do with him, kept smiling.
"It's just suspicion..." Ainz said calmly, his gaze sharpening. "At least among the people I know, you're the only one who gives me the impression that you could pull off something like that. Plus, I have reliable intel proving that, last night, you weren't in E-Rantel."
"I see... so that's why you're suspecting me..." Riezel nodded, his expression unchanged. "Okay then, since you're already saying this much, there's no need for me to hide anything. Last night, I was indeed not in E-Rantel but went to the northern forest and happened to fight that vampire."
Seeing that Ainz wanted to stand up again, Riezel made a stopping gesture with his hand.
"However, don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't the one who mind-controlled her."
Riezel's words didn't convince Narberal, let alone Ainz, but still, Riezel's attitude was so frank that it made Ainz hesitate.
Caught off guard, Ainz didn't press the matter further but instead asked the question that had been bothering him the most.
"Sir Riezel... are you a player?"
Ainz's unexpected question surprised Riezel for a moment before he chuckled.
"Seriously, you're the second person to ask me that, you know..." Riezel answered casually. "But sorry to disappoint you, I'm not a player from YGGDRASIL."
'You're lying!'
Ainz wanted to shout this at the top of his lungs as soon as he heard Riezel's answer.
Truly, how could Riezel not be a player if he knew YGGDRASIL?
However, before Ainz could voice his thoughts, Riezel abruptly dropped another bombshell.
"Don't tell me you actually think you're the only player from YGGDRASIL who came to this world?"
Riezel's words made Ainz freeze, his skeletal face under the black helmet seeming to stiffen imperceptibly.
It couldn't be helped, since the implications of Riezel's words were too enormous.
At the very least, Ainz had realized that Riezel had already completely seen through his own origins.
"Don't think you're special, and don't think you're doing a great job hiding yourself."
Riezel continued, casually leaning back in his chair.
"Over the past few centuries, quite a few players have come to this world from YGGDRASIL, and you're just one of them, so don't act all surprised just because I figured out where you're from."
"Anyone who knows about YGGDRASIL and the existence of players would pretty much recognize your origins the moment they see you."
"I mean, the natives of this world aren't exactly strong, so to anyone who knows the truth, your power is practically screaming, 'I'm a player!'."
Riezel's words stirred a storm in Ainz's heart.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered the possibility of other players being in this world, as he even had a few candidates in mind, but still, judging from what Riezel said, the connection between this world and YGGDRASIL seemed far deeper than he had imagined.
"What exactly is the connection between this world and YGGDRASIL?"
"Besides me, who else is a player from YGGDRASIL?"
"And why were we suddenly transported into this world?"
Ainz immediately threw these important questions at Riezel one after another.
Needless to say, these were probably the biggest questions any player from YGGDRASIL who had come to this world could have.
Unfortunately—
"Well... those are secrets tied to the very core of this world, so... you know..."
Riezel's cryptic response made Ainz grasp his meaning.
"What do I need to pay?" Ainz asked in a deep voice.
He understood that this might be his one and only chance to uncover this world's hidden truths.
If the connection between this world and YGGDRASIL was truly that deep, and if many of the natives knew about players, his future course of action would require a significant shift.
It couldn't be helped.
It wasn't just about him, but also concerned how the Great Tomb of Nazarick should establish itself in this world—its importance went without saying, so much so that he even set aside Shalltear's matter for the time being.
A moment later, Riezel finally responded.
"Didn't I already say? Being an information dealer is my side job."
"Detailed info on magic."
"Rare and unusual items."
"Priceless treasures."
"All of them are what I want, but the only question is... can you afford my price?"