I'm in Trouble..... not.

[ ~ Chapter • Start ~ ]

It was a nice morning for me, and naturally everyone is still asleep deep inside the workshop while I began to consume my breakfast.....

..... Technically it wasn't anymore when a nun literally chokeslammed me on the nearby wall without warning.

Well, shit! That was definitely my reaction right now. First of all, I'm kinda stuck against the wall as my back and legs are literally planted on it. It's not hard to breathe due to some techniques I can use during times like these, but this is a real emergency that needs to be averted right now.

"... We need to talk, Oscar Orcus."

..... One wrong move and I could die; I realized this the moment the nun said it. She's not ordinary, but she may be an apostle from Oscar's memories, right?

Well, that explains it. There's absolutely no way I would choose to fight or even try to run away; otherwise, a lot of unwanted attention would be placed upon me. And that's way more troublesome guiding my students in the future.

I sighed, looking straight towards the nun's face.

"First of all, Miss...."

"Ainz Arsalk."

"....Arsalk, I'm actually not Oscar Orcus, I'm Satoru Mikami. I don't know who he is, and you're probably looking at someone who looked very similar to him." I told her, as she took a while to process my words, before pulling me out of the wall I should have been trapped in.

She only let go of me once my feet touched the floor, but due to my breathing techniques, I wasn't even coughing out and rubbing my neck.

But.... damn, my morning breakfast was definitely ruined because of her sudden entry. I can still fix that, but my coffee.... (⁠─⁠.⁠─⁠|⁠|⁠）

"We still have time, Miss Arsalk. Let us enjoy this conversation of ours." I spoke, naturally not minding what just recently happened to me, even the person shaped hole behind me. "How about some coffee? You've possibly just only woken up early, right? Maybe your tasks you autonomously do are actually beginning to tire you out to the point where you seek rest?"

She was silent, but I did notice a small nod from her. I knelt down on the floor and immediately fixed the broken cup of coffee and plate by transmuting it, even the wall behind me was fixed in no time, too.

"This morning is a good time to rest, not permanently, because you still have things to do, right?" I asked, before fixing a seat in front of my desk then sitting on my own.

She sat down, face still cold and stoic while she kept staring at me.

After serving her a cup of coffee, and refilling my own, because I was only a few sips away to finishing the previous one.

She accepted the offer of coffee, and we eventually began having a conversation that made us sound like we were friends, even though we're actually not. She's probably just hiding her intentions, so I was still cautious when talking to her without showing off my emotions too much.

That is, until she tilted her head sideways, towards the Holy Mountain.

"Duty calls. You're in good luck, Os... Satoru. Someday, we might meet again. Maybe as allies, or actual enemies. Be more prepared since then." She spoke, standing up from her seat. "And thank you for this moment."

She left, maybe with a small smile on her face that was immediately replaced with a stoic, cold mask after I noticed it for a mere second.

"Hey, you should also doubt the false one, Hearst!" I yelled, and even though she heard it, she seemed to not care, focusing on whatever her duty was.

After this encounter, I sighed between my lips. It seems trouble from somebody far stronger than me (for now) has been averted, and that's good enough for me. Ainz Arsalk, or Hearst, was an old enemy of Oscar, and surprising as it was, she was still alive.

Scrambling through my past lives' memories still prove to be pretty troublesome, you know.....

When I finished my cup of coffee, the door from behind opened, then Eri entered with a worried expression. She might have known what had happened earlier.

"Who was that, and what's her deal with you?" She asked, looking like she just woke up.

"A possible ally." I replied, fixing the upper parts of my suit and rubbing my neck, still feeling a slightly throbbing pain and discomfort from that tight chokehold that apostle made.

Her expression immediately became that of confusion and disbelief, I mean, why would an enemy be a possible ally?

Not that simple really. I would have to begin coercing them into becoming an ally, though it probably would be hard for me.

It could also be possible to persuade most of the people here, better if they were faithful to Ehit, into being my allies.

But, right now isn't the time.

So, first of all.....

"Ah, that's right. Meld said that this day, we will go to Holward, so we wouldn't be able to take care of the orphans here for a long while."

About them, I actually taught them how to take care of themselves in this district, and overnight, I have not slept in order to create useful traps around this district that will protect mostly everyone here.

"Is Endou awake?"

"Not yet, so.... what's next?"

I rested my head on the desk, sighing lightly.

"I don't know, other than rest and eat breakfast."

[ ~ Line • Break ~ ]

Hours passed, and Meld, along with my other students had arrived. Behind us were the orphans staring at us with sadness, though they were smiling because I promised we'd return someday.

"Mr. Satoru, you're actually one of Ehit's apostles and a close companion of the hero?! That's so cool!" One of the children spoke with utter joy, yet I just smirked at them in response.

"Hey, I'm more than just that, you know. And this is your souvenir for being good brats." I replied, shifting my glasses before tossing him an identical type of glasses.

Turning towards the caravan, my smirk never faded once.

"And Meld, thanks for handling my students, so I'll gladly take the wheel from here on now." I said to Meld, who nodded in response.

"They're more worried about you than several things in this world, but I suppose it's my pleasure to be a substitute teacher for a while." The Knight Captain replied.

We shook our hands, before I was led to the main carriage where Kouki, Jugo, Kaori and Shizuku sat inside.

It's simple to say that they're finally getting some experience fighting in a labyrinth I.... Oscar, has made.

Hopefully, some idiot wouldn't activate the hidden mechanism in the 20th floor and send us straight to the 65th floor, where the entrance to the secret, hardmode difficulty subarea where the seriously harder path is.

[ ~ Chapter • End ~ ]

Yes, I'm going to make Apostles betray their maker later in the story. Questions?