relic of his humanity

On the first day when the guards followed him around, he felt pressurized; on the second he was used to it, and then he felt like showing them off. And on the third day—

Momonga suppressed the urge to sigh.

It was all too stiff and formal for him. The guards followed him everywhere he went, and whenever he met someone, they bowed to him.

Maybe, if he could have walked around nonchalantly with his guards in tow, it would have been tolerable. But he could not do that, because he had to maintain the gravitas of the ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick at all times. He could not allow a moment of laxity to ruin his image, so his nerves were constantly on edge. This caused a lot of stress to the formerly human Momonga.

Even though his strong emotions were promptly suppressed, his mind felt like it was sizzling in a low flame all the time.

And then there were the unbelievably beautiful women who plastered themselves to his side at all times, taking care of him in all ways. As a man, he was delighted by the attention, but the invasion of his personal space and his life was wearing him out as well.

That stress was another relic of his humanity.

In any case, it was not a good sign that he, the master of Nazarick, was being subjected to this emotional distress amidst these strange circumstances. It might lead to him making a poor decision in times of emergency.

He needed to refresh himself.

Momonga's eyes went wide as he came to that decision. His expression did not change, of course, but the lights in his eyes burned brighter.

"No... there is no need for the guards to accompany me. I simply wish to walk by myself."

"Pl-Please wait and reconsider, if something happens to Momonga-sama, we must become your shields. We cannot allow any harm to come to your person."

The maids and the other vassals wanted nothing more than to protect their master even at the cost of their own lives. In that sense, Momonga's request to go walking by himself — which completely disregarded their feelings — was a cruel one.

However, it had been over three days since this abnormality occurred, roughly seventy three hours. In this time, Momonga had been desperately trying to maintain the stern facade of the ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, but now he needed a rest.

Therefore, even though he felt bad for them, Momonga thought of an excuse and said:

"...I have to do something in secret, and I will not allow anyone to follow me."

A brief silence followed.

Just as Momonga was starting to feel that it was dragging on, the maid finally replied:

"Understood. Then, please be safe, Momonga-sama."

Momonga's heart ached briefly as the maid ate it up hook, line, and sinker, but he brushed it aside.

There should not be anything wrong with taking a short break and going outside to check out the surrounding scenery. Indeed, it was very important that he saw for himself whether they had indeed been transported to another world.

The excuses were welling up because Momonga was starting to feel that he had been too selfish.

Momonga waved away the guilt in his heart, and activated the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.