2 Gathering

"I...I...I cannot!" Mare shouted back to Aura.

"I SAID RIGHT NOW!!!" Aura screamed back.

"Uwawa...F-fine..."

Mare hastily ran towards Ainz and stopped just a few feet away from him. He lowered his head while standing in front of him, trying to gather the courage to speak up. Ainz, who was standing motionless in front of him, noticed the sudden commotion and decided to wait for Mare to speak.

Ainz couldn't help but notice the fear and nervousness in Mare's eyes.

"I-I'm sorry for making you wait, Momonga-Sama!"

'This...did he apologize like this in the original story? No...I don't think so. This probably happened because I don't speak the exact words he said...I think. It doesn't matter anyways, I just need to accept his apology.'

"You're forgiven, Mare."

"Fheew..." He released a sigh of relief.

"Now, I need both of your help with a little experiment. I want to try out some spells of mine."

He used minor spells against the monsters as a test for a few minutes while Mare heals them. He would have practiced for a longer time, but he spent a lot of time wandering around the tomb.

"You're amazing, Momonga-sama!"

"Y-yes...M-Momonga-sama is amazing...!"

'It's still the same. Aura is the outgoing type while Mare is the quiet and shy. It seems the personality of the characters didn't change...Thank you, goddess!'

"Mare."

"Y-y-yes?!"

"You must be thirsty...here."

Ainz, similar to how he grew accustomed to using magic, accesses his inventory without any problem as well.

A small portal the size of his hand forms as he drags a glass of water out from it, then hands it to Mare.

"Oh...I can drink this?"

"Yeah."

He stares at the water as if he just received the most amazing treasure in the world and then proceeds to gulp it down.

"Haaa...So refreshing. T-thank you, Momonga-sama." Mare says, then continues, "You're such a nice person, Momonga-sama."

"Did you think I would be scary?"

"N-no! Never!"

'What a liar, hahaha! He's so cute...No homo. Haha...I can't believe I'm laughing at myself.' Ainz thought to himself.

A gate appears in the middle of the arena, and in a timely manner, the first guardian appears.

"Oh my...Am I the first one here? Ha! I can't believe the rudeness of the others. To make the great master wait for us, unforgivable."

'Hahaha, she seems the same as well! I still can't believe I can see and speak to the characters from my favorite anime!' Ainz laughed in his mind.

"No, you just arrived earlier than planned, you're being rude by disobeying if anything," Aura said to Shalltear.

"Eeh?! How dare you? How long have you been here with Momonga-sama for?!"

"Of course, I would be here, duh. I guard this floor." Aura said as she looked at Shalltear as if she was stupid.

"You little-"

Ainz watches as Shalltear and Aura argue, without saying anything.

'I thought it would be fun watching them argue, as it was in the anime, but...this only reminds me of my little sister. I won't be able to meet her anymore. I need to forget my old family. Thankfully it won't be hard, since I'm fucking immortal now. I'm an undead!'

While lost in thought, all the other guardians had arrived.

"Everyone."

All the guardians silently look at Albedo, waiting for her to speak.

"Let's salute and give a sign of respect to our supreme leader, Momonga-sama."

After they told their names and which floor they are guarding, they fell to their knees, their heads bowed in submission. This wasn't just a sign of respect-it was a physical manifestation of their awe and reverence for him. They knew that they were in the presence of something greater than themself, and they bent their heads to show that they were lower in status.

It was a humbling experience for the guardians, but it was also a source of pride. They took pride in being able to serve such a great and wise ruler, and they saw their subservience as a way to show their dedication to him. They would do anything for Ainz, no matter how difficult or dangerous the task was.

For Ainz, seeing his subordinates bow before him was...He couldn't lie to himself, he felt great arrogance grow in him. Who wouldn't though? Seeing these powerful beings kneeling and bowing before you, you wouldn't feel arrogant? Though he also felt a great weight of responsibility weighing on his shoulders. He can't let them die, he needs to keep them happy, make sure they will happily serve him, and make sure he executes the plans he needs to...

Ainz uses the message spell, trying to reach Sebas.

"Yes, Momonga-sama?"

"I would like for you to come to the sixth floor and tell everyone what you've discovered."

"Understood. I'm almost there, Momonga-sama."

"Alright."

Ainz ends the message spell and waits for him to arrive with everyone else still bowing.

"Raise your heads."

'Oh yeah, I should give some of them the ring later on, so that they can teleport freely between the floors. If I remember correctly there are sixty rings.'

As Ainz was about to speak about the situation they are in, he notices that Sebas has reached them.

"Is it just you, Sebas?"

"I have sent Entoma to the 9th floor to join the other Pleiades."

"Umu. Well done." Ainz motioned with his hand toward the guardians and said, "Tell everyone what you've found."

Sebas nods at Ainz and proceeds to tell what he has found with Entoma.

After he told them about the happenings, Ainz acted as if he paused for a second then said, "Hm...only using illusions would take a bit of resource, I think we could use the natural environment to our advantage and cover our walls in the dirt."

"Momonga-sama?" Albedo spoke up in surprise.

"Yes?"

"No, nothing. Excuse me."

Ainz paused for a second and said, "No, I was wrong. This idea wouldn't work individually but if I mix that with illusion magic it may work just fine. However, we may need to make some dummy hills."