“…We all created this place together. It’s the duty of the guildmaster to maintain and supervise it so that anyone can come back whenever!”
“It was thanks to your presence that we were able to enjoy this game to the fullest. … Next time we meet, it would sure be nice if it was in Yggdrasil II.”
“I’ve yet to hear a rumor about a sequel… but I really hope that happens.”
“Let’s meet again when that time comes! Well then, I’m feeling really really sleepy now, so I’ll log out … I’m glad I got to meet you before the end. Have a good game.”
“…”
For a moment, Momonga was left speechless; however, he gave his final words right away.
“I also had a good time thanks to you. Have a good game.”
A smiling emoticon appeared above Meromero’s head with a glint. Since there was no ability to change facial expression in Yggdrasil, players utilized emoticons to express their emotions. Momonga operated his console and selected the same emoticon.
Then, Meromero’s final words were heard.
“Let’s meet again in a different place.”
— The last one of the three guild members who showed up today vanished.
Erasing all trace of the visitor, the silence returned to the guildhall. A silence devoid of memories and emotions.
Looking at the chair that Meromero was sitting in just a few seconds ago, Momonga spat out the words he was going to say at the end.
“While I understand that you’re tired, since today’s the last day for the game and you’re already here, can’t you stay until the very end—?”
Of course, there was no reply. Meromero had already logged out to the real world.
“Haah…”
Momonga let out a sigh deep down from of his heart.
He could not bring himself to say those words.
The fact that Meromero was always tired was sufficiently evident by the mood from their brief conversation. But Meromero saw the mail that he sent and showed up today, for the final day in Yggdrasil. He should be thankful for that alone. Wanting more than this would go beyond being shameless to being a nuisance.
Momonga stared at the seat where Meromero was until a while ago, and then he looked around. What he saw were the 39 chairs where his old comrades used to sit. After the quick look around, his eyes returned to Meromero’s seat once again.
“Let’s meet again in a different place…”
Let’s meet again someday.
See you again.
He had heard such phrases time after time. But the instance of them actually keeping their words almost never happened.
Nobody had returned to Yggdrasil.
“Just where and when are we meeting again…”
Momonga’s shoulders shook greatly. Then his true feelings that he had bottled up for a long time burst forth.
“— Don’t joke with me!”
With a furious shout, he slammed his hands on the table. Having judged the action as an attack, the system calculated countless variables such as Momonga’s barehanded damage and the table’s structural defense, and displayed its result where Momonga hit with the number “0”.
“This place is the Grand Underground Grave of Nazarick that we all built together! How can everyone give it up that easily?!”
What followed after his fierce fury was desolation.
“… No, that’s not it. They didn’t give it up. They simply faced head-on the choice between “reality” and “fantasy”. Ah, it couldn’t be helped, and there were no betrayals. It must’ve been a difficult choice for them…”
Momonga muttered as though persuading himself and stood up from his seat. He walked towards the wall with a single staff hanging on it.
Having the Greek god Herme’s caduceus as its motif, the staff was entwined by seven serpents. Each of the squirming serpents’ mouths held a jewel of a different colour. Its grip had a transparent quality like crystal, and was emitting a bluish white light.
The staff of supreme quality was a ‘guild weapon’ that each guild can possess only one of, and it was an item that could be said to be the symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Originally, guildmasters were supposed to carry it with them, so why was it hanging on the wall in the room as a decoration?
That was because it was an existence that symbolized the guild.
The destruction of a guild weapon signified the dissolution of the guild. That was why guild weapons were stored in the most secure location in many cases, with their powerful abilities never seeing the light of day. Even a prominent guild like Ainz Ooal Gown was no exception. For such a reason, the staff was never handed to Momonga despite it being custom-made for him, and instead was adorned on the wall.
Momonga reached out his hand for the staff, but he stopped halfway. At this very moment — even though Yggdrasil’s service shutdown was near, he felt hesitation towards the act of debasing the glorious memories that they had made together.
The days they spent together adventuring repeatedly in order to create the guild weapon.
Those good old times of dividing up into teams and gathering materials as though it were a contest, arguing over what its appearance should be like, and combining everyone’s suggested idea and making it little by little.
They were the heydays of Ainz Ooal Gown — the times where they were most glorious.
There was a person who went as far as to strain his overworked body to show up. There was even a person who showed up after having a big fight with his wife due to him neglecting time with his family. There was also a person who laughed saying he took paid leave.
There were times where they spent the whole day chattering, getting worked up over idle stories. There were days where they planned their adventures and swept up the treasures. There were times where they went on raids and captured hostile guilds’ castles. There were days when they destroyed every hidden boss monster that they could find. They had found countless undiscovered resources. They had placed various monsters in their base and cleared out invading players.
But now there was no one.
37 out of 41 people have quit, and though the remaining three remained as guild members in name, Momonga could not recall the last time that they’d shown up with the exception of today.
Momonga opened the console and accessed the official data, where he searched for the guild’s ranking. At one point they had stood at Rank 9 out of a little over 800 guilds, but now they had dropped to 29th. Still, this wasn’t so bad in comparison to Rank 48 when they were at their lowest.
The reason why the guild was able to maintain its rank was not due to Momonga’s exploits, but thanks to the items left behind by his old comrades — the relics of the past.
Although it was very much a guild in ruins now, there was a time where it shined.
— The fruit of those times.