Although she looked unsatisfied, Narberal still nodded her understanding.
"And since they are our seniors, juniors like us needs to let her save face.",
Ainz said while he toyed with the chain on his neck, trying to avoid touching the [Nemean Lion].
…If only it was possible to create a forgery of this medal… but it might cause trouble with the adventurer's guild.
Attached to the chain was a bronze medal which served as his identification plate. This plate could be used to judge an adventurer’s ability.
Copper, Iron, Silver, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum and Adamantium.
These metals are used to rank adventurers, with copper being the lowest and adamantium the highest ranking metal. Higher ranking adventurers can choose harder jobs which offer greater rewards. This system was established to prevent adventurers from losing their life in vain.
Since he recently registered as an adventurer, Ainz only has a bronze medal that are assigned to beginners, while that woman had an iron medal. Showing respect for seniors was a trick for smooth sailing in society.
"But Ainz-sama, I don't believe a soft metal like Adamantium suits you. Maybe Soul Emeralds, Gold Rubies or one of the other Rainbow-Metals would be more suitable. These plebeians can't appreciate greatness."
Narberal casually mentioned the highest class of metals in YGGDRASIL. Ainz looked at her sharply and reminded her:
"Narberal, to be safe, address me as Momon in this city."
"By your command! Momon-sama!"
"Do you want me to repeat my warning? Call me Momon."
"I, I am very sorry! Momon-sa — san."
"…Momon-sasan sounds a bit silly, doesn’t it? Never mind, if addressing me as Momon is too hard, at least call me Momon-san. Understand?"
"Understood, Momon-san."
Narberal bowed deeply once again as Ainz facepalms himself.
She still doesn't get why I want her to address me as Momon-san. A useless fellow… Forget it, there was no other choice. Just let it go.
"I will explain the plan henceforth."
"Yes!"
Narberal went down on one knee and lowered her head, it was the posture of a servant awaiting her master's command.
Ainz was troubled. It should be fine since they closed the door after entering the room, but people would surely gossip if they saw such a scene.
Just… why can't she understand the reason I insist on her addressing me as Momon? I explained it to her before we arrived at the tavern…
Ainz explained half-resignated:
"We are going to disguise ourselves as adventurers in this city. One reason is to collect intelligence on the adventurers of this world, among which should be powerful people, with emphasis on YGGDRASIL players like me. If we can obtain high-ranking identification medals, we can take on official jobs and the intelligence we can get will be more helpful and reliable. So our first step is to become successful adventurers."
After Narberal expressed her understanding, Ainz briefed her on the task at hand.
"But there’s a problem."
Ainz took out the leather purse and opened it, pouring its contents onto his hand. Only a few coins appeared and they were definitely not shiny.
"We have no money."
During the dispute earlier, Ainz had several reasons for compensating her with a potion, and one of them was his lack of confidence in resolving the issue with money. It would’ve been awkward if he claimed to have no money back then.
Ainz explained to the baffled Narberaclass="underline"
"No, we do have money, but the only currency I own are the gold coins of YGGDRASIL and I want to use these gold coins only as a last resort."
"Why is that? Didn't we confirm YGGDRASIL coins have monetary value here?"
"Indeed, at Carne village we learned that one YGGDRASIL gold coin… er, the gold used for trading is known as common gold, and one YGGDRASIL coin is worth two common gold coins. But if we use YGGDRASIL gold coins in this city, we won't know where it might end up. We could alert any number of people and if there are any YGGDRASIL players out there, it would be like announcing our presence. This has to be avoided until we fully understand this world."
"Players… people on the same level as Ainz-sama, the villains that attacked Nazarick in the past."
Ainz frowned at the way she addressed him, but he didn't say anything because of the same reason as before.
"That's right, they are people we can't take lightly."
He — Ainz Ooal Gown — reached level 100, the level cap in YGGDRASIL. It wasn’t uncommon for players to reach the level cap. Or rather, most of the players were level 100.
Among these players, Ainz thought himself to be in the middle of the upper tier. This was because in game, Ainz focused on grinding jobs that fit the undead and Magic Casters, neglecting to improve his fighting prowess. Taking his divine level equipment and pay-to-win items into account, he should be in the mid-upper tier, but he shouldn't forget there were always stronger people out there.
He had to avoid detection by other players. There were many opponents Ainz couldn't beat in a fight.
Players were originally human, so most of them will help the humans in this world. If these kinds of players faced off against Albedo and the others who considered humans as lowly scum, the Great Tomb of Nazarick and everyone in Ainz Ooal Gown would become the enemy of humanity. That was the reason he thought bringing Albedo along was dangerous.
But I had no idea Narberal thought the same way.
Even though Ainz wasn't hostile towards humans, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them if it allowed him to reach his goal, but he would rather avoid clashing with other players
"Looking at it this way, it was a pity."
"What is a pity?"
"Losing that man called Nigan so easily. He could’ve been a treasure trove of information, but I ended him casually after asking a few simple questions."
A few dozen members of the Sunlight Scripture were captured at Carne village. Some of them died during the process of questioning them and were used as material for Ainz's special ability to summon Undead.
Recalling the intelligence they got from the interrogation, Ainz couldn't help mocking himself:
"Normal players… will likely support the Slane Theocracy."
The Slane Theocracy was a religious nation, worshipping the six great gods that descended six centuries ago.
According to the Sunlight Scripture, the Slane Theocracy existed in order to enable the weak human race to defeat the other, stronger races, which would allow humanity to grow strong and prosper. Any players who retained their humanity would definitely agree with the teachings of Slane Theocracy, a nation that worked hard towards this goal.
In contrast to the real world where humanity reigned supreme, they were considered as one of the weakest races in this one.
Humans built grand cities on the plains, but just living there highlighted how fragile humanity was.
The open plains were a dangerous terrain. Their enemies were able to easily spot them due to the lack of places to hide in. The reason they had to settle for such a place was their lack of night vision, leg strength and stamina. Since humans were a weak race, they would’ve never been able to build their own society/civilization had they chosen to live in another place