“Don’t worry about it, Zero. And while we’re at it, I want you to lend me the best of the best, someone from the Six Arms.”
“Oh?”
Zero reopened his eyes, his interest piqued for the first time.
He wasn’t the only one who was surprised. Almost everyone present shared his sentiment.
The name ‘Six Arms’ originated from the sibling god of the God of Theft, one who was said to possess six arms. They were the six strongest members of the security division.
Needless to say, the most powerful among them was Zero, but the remaining five did not fall very far behind. One with the ability to cut space, one who controls illusions, and among them was even an Elder Lich, a powerful undead.
If Gazef Stronoff or adamantium rank adventurers were the strongest on the surface, then the Six Arms were the strongest of the underground. Employing someone of such caliber could only mean one thing.
“You must be in quite a bind. Alright, just sit tight and wait. My strongest subordinates will ensure the safety of your goods.”
“Sorry~. I ran into a bit of trouble with a girl that was supposed to be disposed of. This much preparation is probably a bit excessive but if that store goes under then it puts me in a sticky spot. Let’s save the talk about the payment for later, okay?”
“Fine.”
“Since the discussion is over, can you start immediately? There’s actually something that I need handled as soon as possible.”
“Alright. I’ll lend you the guy who I brought with me.”
“… Then we can move on to the next topic. Those who know about the new adamantium rank adventurer ‘Momon of Team Black’, any thoughts?”
Intermission
Clang clang. One could hear the sound of precious metals banging against one another.
Having confirmed that there was no longer anything in the upside-down sack, Ainz spread the glinting coins on top of the table.
He counted the gold and silver coins in stacks of ten pieces each.
Despite having already counted it numerous times, Ainz picked up the sack and peered inside.
Needless to say, it was empty— after checking it a second time, Ainz tossed aside the sack and grabbed his head.
“Not enough… This is nowhere near enough…”
His human face that was created with an illusion became undone. Of course, the mountain of coins in front of him was a small fortune. It was an amount that an average person from this world would not be able to earn even after several decades. But from the perspective of the Supreme Ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the only one who could earn foreign currency, it was severely lacking and a great cause for concern.
Ainz’ mind was forcibly calmed whenever an emotion he experienced exceeded a certain threshold. For example, if he was hit by the panic of only having a single silver coin left remaining, his mind would immediately regain its composure. Currently however, that response failed to activate because at the back of his mind, he knew that there were still some gold coins in the coffers. This left him with a feeling of anxiety that burned through his body.
Ainz shook his head and proceeded to divide the gold coins in front of him based on how they would be spent.
“First, this is the additional funding for Sebas.”
Ainz’ face stiffened as he saw how the pile was reduced in an instant.
“Next is… costs for the restoration of the Lizardmen village that Cocytus requested as well as the necessary tools…”
Although it wasn’t as large as the one before, another significant chunk of the pile also became separated and only a few gold coins remained.
“… About the supplies for the Lizardmen village, I can use my connections with the guild as an adamantium adventurer. It’ll cover a bit of the costs so… about this much?”
He took back a few gold coins from Cocytus’ pile.
“…Maybe I should find a merchant and get a sponsorship. It would be a way to earn a regular income aside from adventuring.”
Including Ainz, there were only three parties of adamantium rank adventurers in the Kingdom. For this reason, there were instances where they would receive commissions from merchants. Ainz dearly wanted to accept those kinds of jobs because for him, they were easy and paid extremely well. However, he had hesitated to do so up until now.
He feared that it would paint his Momon persona as greedy, that the people and other adventurers would see him as someone who would accept any job for money.
Ainz was planning to elevate ‘Momon’ to an adventurer who was praised by all and when the time came, credit all of his fame to Ainz Ooal Gown. In order for this plan to succeed, it was necessary that he pay close attention to how the masses saw him.
“But still… I have no money. Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed in an inn like this.”
Ainz looked around the magnificent room.
This was the most splendid room of the best inn in E-Rantel. The money to rent such a place was exorbitant. Since it was useless to Ainz who had no need for sleep, he wanted to use the funds for the rent elsewhere.
It was the same for meals. Even if he were served luxurious food, all of it was useless to him since he could not eat. It would be smarter to refuse them and save on food expenses.
However, Ainz knew very well that he could do no such thing.
Ainz was, no, Momon was the sole adamantium rank adventurer of this city. Such a person could not make a cheap inn his residence.
The necessities of life were one of the easier ways of comparing oneself to others. An adamantium rank adventurer must dress and live befitting of his status.
He had to show such vanity for the sake of maintaining appearances.
That was why Ainz could not lower the quality of his inn even if he knew that it was a needless expense.
“If the adventurer guild thinks I’m so valuable then they could at least pay for my room… Haa… I guess they would do it if I were to ask.”
But he did not want to owe any favors. Until now, he took on urgent job requests and worked so that people would be indebted to him. He wanted to save it for later to use as a bit of intimidation. Spending it on such a trivial matter would interfere with his plans.
“Ah~ I’m broke. What should I do? Should I accept some requests, after all…? But there aren’t any that pay well these days. And if I take on too much then the other adventurers will resent me…”