Ainz looked up into the sky, trapped in the maze of his thoughts.
Right now, he was eager to try out what he had learned and act immediately.
But then, another issue presented itself.
Which part of which book should he reference, and what should he do with what he had learned?
Ainz flipped through the book he was reading, letting the pages turn rapidly.
The moment he reached a certain page, inspiration struck like a bolt of lightning, electrifying Ainz’s nonexistent brain.
He turned back to that page in a hurry and started reading in earnest.
The page was about conversation with one’s subordinates, the pros and cons of asking them about their troubles and worries. Some subordinates kept things to themselves because they were reluctant to discuss about it with their superiors. That was why the superiors should be proactive and ask them about their problem.
Ainz nodded as if he had found a way in.
This was definitely it.
“— A heart to heart talk. I need to ask if anything is troubling them.”
It would be bad if anyone fell into depression because they had to hold it all in. This reminded Ainz of the drained figure of Herohero he saw before coming to this world.
The NPCs might be feeling uneasy right now, since they had just been transferred to this world.
A debuff known as “fear” existed in Yggdrasil. Hence, it could be treated with spells. However, there was no debuff called “troubled”. In that case, it might not be curable by magic. There was no telling if such a debuff existed, but he should plan for the worst case scenario and act on it.
— He didn’t want the NPCs to be like Herohero.
When Ainz made up his mind, he started thinking about his next move.
Nazarick was vast and had a large population. Even if he excluded the lower tiered servants and the automatically-spawned monsters, there were still a large number of NPCs. It would take too much time to talk to them individually.
No, even so, he should do so anyway for the sake of the NPCs.
As the last one to stay behind, Ainz had to take up the duty of his guild members as well.
He would try it with a few people first, observe how it went, and then talk to the other people later.
Next would be whom he should choose, and Ainz came up with an answer immediately.
Besides the Floor Guardians who were responsible for all sorts of important jobs, who else would be an excellent choice for this task?
As for his first choice, Ainz already had someone in mind.
Ainz stood up from his seat and issued the order to the two guards outside to summon a certain man.
Part 2
An old man entered Ainz’s room. However, his body was ramrod-straight, as though it had been made from steel. Even through his clothes, one could tell that his body was sturdy and toned.
This was the butler, Sebas. Ainz welcomed him with open arms.
“Thank you for coming down, Sebas. You’re earlier than I expected. Were you in the vicinity?”
“No, but when Ainz-sama summoned me, I came with all possible haste.”
His posture and voice was filled with strength. The reason why Ainz had called Sebas first was because he was the most familiar with the 9th floor, which was arguably the floor with conditions most similar to that of the real world. In comparison to the ones who resided in the lava-filled terrain of the 7th floor, or the frozen wasteland of the 5th floor, Sebas’ knowledge and experience would be the most relevant to what Satoru Suzuki had already learned.
Thus, he was the most ideal test subject for this experiment.
“Is that so? Then, you’ve worked hard… I feel bad about making you rush. Forgive my interruption of your duties.”
“What are you saying, Ainz-sama? As a servant of Nazarick, there is no more important task than serving Ainz-sama.”
“My—”
“Please, there is no need to thank us. All is as it should be.”
“Is that so,” Ainz replied. He swallowed despite not having a throat to do so with.
He had not used the ‘Message’ spell, but sent a runner to summon Sebas.
That was because he wanted to give himself some time to rehearse the lines he wanted to say. Of course, he had thought of waiting until after he finished his practice to call Sebas over, but the problem was determining when exactly his practice was finished. It might take a year or more for him to perfectly present himself as Ainz the ruler.
In truth, he was merely buying time to stiffen his resolve.
Ainz turned to Sebas and spoke to him in the most relaxed, yet dignified tone he could manage. It was a voice that he felt best suited his status as a ruler.
“Are you experiencing any difficulties that you wish to inform me of? Feel free to speak your mind.”
“There is nothing of that sort, Ainz-sama.”
Sebas’ swift response left several seconds of silence between them.
Ainz realised his mistake. He could not ask these questions from the position of a ruler. The other party would naturally be awed into submission and refuse to speak up.
Ainz resisted the urge to dip his head as the shame of his mishandling of the situation washed over him. He spoke to Sebas again. This time, he would be more tender and compassionate.
“There’s no need to stand on formality. It’s my job to make your lives happier. Just like— that’s right. You can speak to me about anything, even the most minor of issues.”
“No, there’s nothing like that, Ainz-sama. This Great Tomb of Nazarick that Ainz-sama rules over is nothing less than a blessed sanctuary for us. We are not inconvenienced in the slightest by living here.”
Ainz lowered his line of sight, and then smiled as he answered.
“Is that so… perhaps that’s the case. Sebas, I’m relieved to hear that.”
“Your relief fills me with joy, Ainz-sama. May I ask what you wish of me?”
— I brought you down here to answer those questions. That was all.
Of course, he could not actually say that. This must be what it must be like for a comedian to deliver his best routine and not receive a single reaction. That was how Ainz felt now.
Sebas was waiting for an answer. However, he had no idea what to say. Just as he was about to reply “that was all”, a ray of light broke through the darkness clouding his heart.
Inspiration flashed through Ainz, and once he composed his thoughts, he spoke.
“—Sebas, I heard you visited this room when I was not in. It must have been an emergency, so I summoned you before me.”
“Ohh, to think Ainz-sama would go to so much trouble for such a small matter. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”
Ainz raised his hand to cut off Sebas, who would have continued apologizing otherwise.
“Well, that’ll do. So, what exactly is the matter?”
“Understood. I came to ask for permission to assign tasks to the maids and the manservants.”
“The Pleiades? As battle maids, they should be much higher-levelled than the manservants. Would it be all right to distribute tasks that way?”
“Ah, no, forgive me for not explaining clearly. The maids I referred to were the regular maids under the charge of Head Maid Pestonya. The tasks of which I spoke were the everyday cleaning on the 9th and 10th floors.”
“Ahh, so that’s what it’s all about…”
Although Ainz was seriously considering the problems, he had no particular plan in mind that he wanted to be carried out.
The guild members who created the maids had thought that “It would be a shame if there were no maids in such a big place like this”. There had been no special significance attached to their creation. The thing was, given the meticulous attention paid to the the maids’ design by Whitebrim-san — a man who had broken into the industry with insert pictures of maids, and who was now a serialized mangaka — it was clear that the maids were very special to him, despite being essentially background extras.