"Yes, Princess!"
His energetic voice drew everyone's attention to the boy in the white armor.
"Although it is a very dangerous task, I must still entrust you with it. When we enter the enemy stronghold, there might be survivors. Please rescue them."
Murmured whispers rose up from the adventurers. "Impossible", "it's too much", that sort of thing. Entering the heart of the enemy formation and looking for survivors wasn't so much dangerous as outright suicidal. And escorting powerless civilians back out through a war zone was practically impossible.
Still, Climb answered immediately.
"Yes, your majesty! I will stake my life to accomplish any task you ask of me!"
Everyone looked at Climb as though he were mad.
"...Princess, Climb is just one man, and there might be some risk. Will you permit me to accompany him?"
"Will that be all right, Brain Unglaus-sama?"
That name raised another commotion from the adventurers. The name of Brain Unglaus was one which nobody who valued strength would ever forget.
"Ah, it's no problem for me."
"Then I will be counting on you. May I now ask the various party leaders to step forward?"
As he watched the adventurers at the head of the room, Ainz was doing some work of his own.
That is to say, he was making introductions.
People who looked like they were second-in-command for their adventuring parties were coming up to Ainz in twos and threes to speak to him.
Their lines followed similar patterns from announcing their party names, admiring his equipment, hoping to meet him again and sharing stories of their adventures. It was similar to how one might exchange business cards at work, but while business cards had physical forms, verbal introductions would only linger as memories.
A good memory was an important skill for a leader. Ainz let his mind wander as he committed every person he met to memory.
The important thing was to remember the party name and what rank they were. And of course, he would only pay attention to the higher-ranking adventurers. Iron and copper-ranked adventurers came to greet him too, but they lived in different worlds, and so forgetting them was not an issue. It was like how a department head would not bother remembering the salarymen of a small company he visited.
Even so, Momon didn't make it obvious that he was taking them lightly. He shook hands with all comers, gave them reassuring pats on the shoulder, laughed at their stupid jokes, and returned the praise he received.
Someone had even taken their gloves off to shake hands with him, with him in gauntlets and all. It must be a matter of rank, Momon thought as he looked at the back of the person who had just said hello.
What a crazy color...
His hair was a shocking pink.
It wasn't uncommon for adventurers to paint their gear in garish colors, but this was the first time he had seen someone dye their hair in such a lurid shade.
Adventurers in the capital really were a different thing altogether. Just because there were so many people in the capital, that didn't mean you had to go so far just to stand out.
Well, it doesn't seem like there's any taboos or stigma associated with dying your hair...
During Ainz’ life as a salaryman, pink hair would have been considered strange, but in this world, even kids could dye their hair.
He forced himself to depart the topic of hair, and instead looked at the line of adventurers in front of him. It reminded him of the queuing instinct of the Japanese. Then, he turned his focus to Narberal who stood behind him.
Ainz had never once registered a party name, but the party called Darkness had one more member, the slim beauty who now stood behind him.
The massed adventurers did not dare speak to her because the sheer hostility which she radiated was prickling their skin. That, and they had come to meet and greet Ainz, which would be more beneficial to them.
In the end, adventuring society is just like working life...
After all, they were all social constructs of humanity. It only made sense that there would be similarities between them.
Around the time where Ainz’ hand would have started getting sore from shaking if he had been a human, the stream of adventurers approaching began dwindling down. Sensing an opportunity, Evileye approached, cutting in front of the person who was going to shake Ainz’ hand. They couldn't complain, though. The adventurers had made their introductions in order of rank, from highest to lowest. Being at the tail end of the line, the ones remaining were the novices, and they certainly couldn't say anything against the adamantite-ranked Evileye.
"The introductions should be pretty much over, could you come over here for a bit?"
Ainz glanced at her through the slit of his closed helm, and then he spied Gazef from the corner of his vision. If he was still there, that could only mean one thing.
"Nabe, take my place and meet them. I'll come over after I finish up here."
The nearby listeners' eyes went wide.
"I'm very sorry, but the ones who queued up came first."
Ainz turned from Evileye and continued speaking to the adventurers who had come to see him.
If Ainz were speaking to the boss of a small company and was called over by the boss of an international corporation, he would naturally go over to the latter. It wasn't favoritism or discrimination, but rather, common sense. If he stuck to his guns and ignored the call, he would be seen as a selfish leader who couldn't see the big picture. As a salaryman, sometimes you had to put aside your own thinking and act for the greater benefit of the company.
That was what it meant to be a cog in a machine.
However, this time was different.
I shouldn't speak to Gazef. Even if it's just for a moment, and even if it's been two months ago so he shouldn't remember... if he does, I'll be trapped. But there's no getting around it. Although I feel uneasy, I should probably let Nabe take it on first, and then lower my voice a little before speaking to him.
...I've been speaking for quite a while, so if he hasn't heard it by now he probably never will. Still, I'd better be careful.
"Quick, Nabe. Go over to them."