“…Please forgive me for being unable to answer Momonga-sama’s question about the GM. Forgive me for being unable to meet your expectations, if there is a situation where I am able to make up for my mistake, I will be happy to oblige. Please give me your next order.” …These two were talking with each other, there was no mistake about it. Noticing this Momonga was too surprised to speak. Impossible. This was definitely impossible. This NPC was able to speak. No, it is possible to use self-automated speech to allow NPCs to speak, because there were many shouts and cheers for players to download. However… Properly conversing with a NPC was something impossible.
Even just now, Sebas was only able to understand simple commands. Then, what could have happened to make this possible? Was it only Albedo who changed? With a wave of his hand, Momonga gave Albedo the order to stand down, which she did with a face full of regret. Momonga then turned his eyes to the heads of the butler and the six maids. “Sebas! Maids!”
“Yes!” Saying with perfect synchronization, they all raised their heads. “Come to the front of the throne.”
“Yes, milord.” Again, with perfect synchronization, they stood up and walked towards the throne. Once there they knelt down. At that moment, two things became apparent. First, even without saying specific commands, NPCs are able to understand simple orders. Second, Albedo was not the only one able to speak.
At the very least all the NPCs in the throne room were abnormal. As Momonga thought about this, he couldn't shake the feeling there was something strange about Albedo, who was still standing next to him. Wanting to clarify this, Momonga looked at Albedo with a sharp gaze. “Did something happen? Have I done something wrong…?”
“…!” Finally realizing what was wrong, he was unable to make any sound and could only gasp in surprise… A strange feeling comes from changing expressions. Mouths moving, even letting out sound—
“…Could… It be!” Momonga hurriedly put his hand on his mouth and tried making a sound. His mouth was moving. It was common sense in DMMORPG that it was impossible for the mouth to move and speak at the same time. The appearance of facial expressions was basically rooted, and if this was true, then there should still be no facial expressions on this design. Also, Momonga’s face was just a skull, with neither a tongue nor a throat. Looking down at his hands, all he saw was a skeletal hand with no skin whatsoever. He didn’t even have internal organs or lungs, so how was he able to speak?
“Impossible…” Momonga suddenly felt all his accumulated common sense disintegrating, at the same time he felt uneasy. Repressing the urge to yell out, his heart suddenly went back to being calm. Momonga forcefully hit one of the armrests on the throne, but as he had expected, there was no indication of damage. “…What should I do…? Are there any good ideas…?” With completely no understanding of the current situation, he also started to get angry that there was no one around that could help him.
Then the most important thing to do now is, to look for clues. “…Sebas.” Raising his head, Sebas had a sincere expression, feeling like a real life person. Giving him orders should be no problem right? Although I don’t know what will happen, are all the NPCs in this grave loyal to me? These are definitely no longer the NPCs that everyone created together. Feeling uneasy with his mind swimming in questions, Momonga suppressed these emotions. In any case, the most suitable candidate for searching was Sebas.
Despite having Albedo next to him, Momonga made up his mind and choose Sebas. While thinking about looking like a high ranking boss ordering his employee, Momonga showed off a superior attitude and commanded: “Leave the Great Tomb and search the surrounding area. If there are any intelligent or friendly beings, invite them back here. Negotiations should go so far as to please the other. The search radius is one kilometer and try to avoid fighting.”
“Yes, Momonga-sama. I will do as you command.”
In Yggdrasil, it was impossible for NPCs who were created to protect a specific area to leave it. However, right now that has been subverted. No, this matter could only be determined once Sebas actually left the Great Tomb of Nazarick. “…Take a member of Pleiades with you. If there comes a situation where you have to retreat, bring the information gathered back here.”
With that, the first step has been taken. Momonga let go of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. The staff did not fall to the ground but started to float, as if there was someone holding it up in the air. Although totally inconsistent with the laws of physics, this is what usually happens in the game.
Situations where items floated in the air when let go were not rare in Yggdrasil. The spirits appearing from the staff showed a pained expression and entangled his hand, which Momonga paid no mind to. This kind of occurrence wasn’t very uncommon… However, this kind of effect was not surprising, so Momonga twirled his finger and dissipated the spirits. Momonga folded his arms in contemplation. The next step would be…
“…Contacting the game’s company.” Considering Momonga’s abnormal situation, the one would know the most about it should be the game company. The problem was contacting them. Normally one would use the ‘Shout’ or ‘Call GM’ functions to establish immediate contact, but that method seemed to have failed at the moment…
“Message?” That was the game’s in-game messaging magic. Normally, it was only usable in certain places or situations, but right now it could be put to good use. While this magic could be used to communicate with other players, it was unknown if it could be used to call a GM. And in this abnormal situation, there was no guaranty that magic still worked. “…But…” It was still worth investigating. Momonga was a pure magician. If he was unable to use magic, not to mention fighting, even his mobility and information gathering capabilities would be significantly reduced. In a situation like this, where everything was unknown, it was important to confirm if magic useable. And it must be found out quickly. So was there any place where he could use magic, Momonga looked around the throne room and shook his head. Although this was an emergency situation, he didn’t want to subject the Throne Chamber to his magical experiments. While thinking about a suitable location, a certain place floated into his mind.
Beside his own abilities, there was another thing he wanted to confirm. And that was his authority. He needed to find out if his authority as leader of Ainz Ooal Gown still existed. Although the NPCs in front of him all appeared to be loyal, there were many NPCs in the Great Tomb of Nazarick who were equally matched with Momonga. He needed to confirm if they were still loyal to him. However—
Momonga looked at the kneeling maids and Sebas, then looked at Albedo at his side. Albedo had a faint smile on her face. While it could be described as very beautiful, it also seemed to be a troubled smile that appeared to be hiding something, which gave Momonga a bad feeling. Was the loyalty of the NPC still unchanged? If this was reality, after… After meeting an inept superior, the employees would lose faith in him, so the NPC’s reactions should be the same, right? Or will they never betray someone as long as they were programmed to be loyal?
If their loyalty could be shaken, then what could be done in order to keep it? Giving them rewards? There were huge amounts of valuables in the guild’s treasury. Even if using these treasures would make his past companions sad, since this was an emergency situation regarding the continued survival of Ainz Ooal Gown, they would understand. It was just uncertain how many incentives should be given.