"Older brother, is there anything else?"
After carefully storing the magic book containing the Curse of Immortality in his backpack, Villard looked at Catherine, waiting to see what she was hinting at.
"Nope, that's all."
She clasped her hands behind her back, leaning forward slightly, eyes sparkling.
"Since your lovely little sister worked so hard to complete her task, shouldn't she get a reward?"
Villard's mouth twitched. How could he not understand what she was after?
He took out a golden key from his backpack and tossed it to her.
"Don't stay in there too long. I'm afraid you'll go completely insane."
Catherine caught the key with lightning-fast reflexes, grinning.
"How could I? My brain is very smart!"
"People with normal brains wouldn't read those kinds of books," Villard muttered, covering his face.
Back when he was still a Yggdrasil player, Villard had hoarded countless books from both the game world and reality—magic grimoires, historical records, cookbooks, travel guides, even popular novels.
He never imagined that among them were those books.
Romance novels were fine.
But somehow, Catherine had stumbled into the secret room where everything except magic books was stored—and from that day on, she had become a devoted reader of BL novels.
Even Villard didn't know such spiritual toxins existed in his collection.
By the time he realized what had happened, it was already too late.
…Forget it. A fujoshi was still his sister. Of course, he forgave her.
Still, Villard strictly limited the time Catherine could stay in that secret room. Once time was up, he would personally drag her out to "cool her head."
That secret room, incidentally, lay beneath the original Albert Family stronghold—an underground dungeon requiring teleportation magic to access. Villard had built over a dozen such storage sites over the past twelve years, guarded by golems and filled with accumulated resources.
His true treasures, however, remained hidden beneath his current territory.
"Alright, Older brother, I'm leaving!" Catherine bounced in place impatiently, clearly ready to vanish the instant he gave permission.
"Go on, go on."
"Thank you, Older brother!"
As expected, the moment Villard waved his hand, Catherine activated teleportation magic and disappeared without a trace.
Villard shook his head, then turned to the golden dragon beside him.
"Annea, return to the forest outpost first. Give Shina my regards. I'll come see you all once I'm done with things here."
The golden dragon nodded, spread its wings, and flew deeper into the forest.
"Now then…" Villard's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Next stop—E-Rantel."
He felt a rare sense of anticipation.
For a while, life there might actually be… enjoyable.
"Hmm. Should I try being an Adventurer?"
E-Rantel — Residential District
The sky was cloudless, a perfect omen for a lively day.
Among the many plazas in the district, the largest was Central Plaza. Vendors lined the square, selling fresh produce, cookware, and daily necessities. Shouts of hawking goods and heated bargaining overlapped into a noisy but vibrant symphony.
Then—silence.
The moment a figure stepped out of a nearby five-story building, the crowd froze.
A person clad head-to-toe in black armor walked forward, gender indistinguishable. Purple-gold patterns ran across the armor's surface, clearly marking it as an extremely high-quality piece of equipment.
On his back were strapped two enormous greatswords—weapons so large that ordinary people would struggle to lift even one.
Yet the Dark Warrior moved as if unburdened.
At his side walked a stunning woman with jet-black hair tied in a high ponytail. Her skin gleamed likea polished pearl, and her obsidian eyes were cold and sharp.
The surrounding crowd was left speechless.
Ignoring all gazes, the two crossed the street calmly.
They were Ainz Ooal Gown, disguised as the Adventurer Fifee, and Narberal Gamma.
From the villagers of Carne Village, Ainz had learned the location of E-Rantel. Compared to isolated villages, this city promised far more information about the world.
Thus, he came here.
To avoid internal disputes about "Supreme Beings must never be unguarded," Ainz brought Narberal, whose appearance was closest to human among the battle maids.
To gather information, one needed a legitimate identity.
Fortunately, this country had Adventurers: a profession that cared little about background and asked few questions.
An ideal disguise.
Thus, Adventurer Fifee and his companion Nabe arrived in E-Rantel.
"Fi—Fifee-dono… ah, Mister… where are we going next?" Nabe asked stiffly, forcing herself to change her honorific.
Ainz felt helpless.
He had already explained that they were companions in public. Constant honorifics would draw suspicion.
But for Nazarick's NPCs, not using honorifics for a Supreme Being was unthinkable.
Even after ordering her to call him "Mr. Fifee," she still slipped up constantly.
…He would have to adapt.
Suppressing a sigh, Ainz replied, "First, we need a base. The Adventurers' Guild mentioned an inn nearby that caters to Adventurers. Since our funds are limited, we'll pick something affordable."
In truth, Nazarick's treasury still contained plenty of Yggdrasil gold coins. He had already confirmed that they circulated normally in this world.
But Nazarick required monthly maintenance costs.
Until he verified whether local currency could replace game gold, Ainz preferred not to touch the treasury.
More importantly—
Everything inside it represented the hard work of his former guildmates.
Using it freely felt… wrong.
As if he were stealing their efforts to indulge himself.
And so, the undead Sorcerer King took his first cautious steps into city life—
as an Adventurer.
---
A/N: A New Fanfic Is Out "Bleach: Reborn As Ishida Uryuu"
A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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