Ainz pulled at his head and suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“That’s it! I can substitute it with something else! Currency that can only be used in Nazarick— make something like notes for children and have one equal a hundred thousand yen!”

Having shouted as much, Ainz frowned once more.

But what could they spend that currency on?

All of the facilities in Nazarick were free. Even if he thought of minting coin, he could not think of what to spend it on.

“Maybe use it to buy items from this world?”

Ainz compared the common goods of this world with those of Nazarick and doubted whether any of the Guardians would actually want them.

“But if I start charging for the stuff that was free up until now, that would be counterproductive… what should I do…”

After thinking it over for a while, Ainz came up with a great idea.

“Right! I’ll just ask the Guardians to think about it. I can ask them if they have anything that they want badly enough to pay money for!”

As Ainz muttered happily to himself about his nice idea, his smile suddenly turned bitter.

“With that said…”

He realized that he was talking to himself more and more often.

He knew that it started back when the game was nearing its end, the loneliness from his guild mates no longer showing up. But why was it that his muttering did not die down even after the NPCs gained sentience and moved about on their own?

Perhaps it became a habit, or—

“Because I’m still alone…”

Ainz gave a lonely smile.

Of course, saying that he was alone even with the self-aware NPCs by his side was rude to them. But he also had this thought; in order to act as Ainz Ooal Gown, the leader of the 41 Supreme Beings that the Guardians wanted, it was possible that he was killing Suzuki Satoru.

Ainz heaved a sigh and turned his gaze back on to the coins on the table. That was when he heard a knock on his door.

After a brief respite, the door opened. Confirming that the person who entered was the one he was expecting— Narberal Gamma, Ainz deliberately fixed his expression so that one corner of his lips curled upwards, into a face that looked as if he were looking down on someone.

The low rank illusion that Ainz was able to cast plainly showed his emotions on the surface. As such, there was a chance that he would show a face ill-fitting of Nazarick’s ruler. That was why he practiced a countless different expressions in front of the mirror so that whenever he was in the presence of others, especially Narberal, he could seem more dignified. He had a great deal of trouble choosing an expression out of the many he practiced.

“What is it, Nabel.”

He questioned her with an equally decorated voice.

“Yes, Momon-sa… san.”

“… It seems the ‘sama’ appears occasionally. No choice but to leave it as an old habit. Regardless, at least you fix it when I give a warning, albeit temporarily. I guess I must give up on that endeavor. Ah, there is no need for you to bow your head, I am not angry. And the respectable way you address me… well, it should be fine since it seems other people including the guild leader have come to some misunderstanding about us. So, what is it?”

“Yes, the iron ore that you demanded of the merchant has arrived.”

It wasn’t a demand I just bought it normally….

Thinking so in his head, his dignified expression remained unmoving.

“I see… where was the iron ore from? Was it gathered from all eight locations?”

“I apologize. I was not told.”

“…It’s fine. I have plenty of money. Although I do not know how many places it was gathered from, there should be more than enough money to purchase all of it.”

Ainz confidently filled the sack with the coins that were stacked on top of the table and tossed it at Narberal’s feet. He watched as she courteously picked up the bag.

“Understood, but may I ask you a question?”

“Is it regarding the reason why I am buying iron ore from different locations?”

Ainz explained it to Narberal who nodded her head.

“It is so that I may toss them into the Exchange Box. In other words, I wish to test whether or not the amount of gold differs based on where the ore was mined.”

The Exchange Box was not influenced by the appearance of the original object. For example, regarding a detailed stone statue, it would ignore any workmanship and calculate its worth to be equal to a stone of the same weight. Then the test was to see how it handles the difference in components— in the actual material. That was the reason why he was buying iron ore from various locations.

“As you already know, Nabel, it works even if you were to put in something like barley.”

Although I inserted in bulk and only got one gold coin from it— Ainz added on in his head.

That was what spawned the plan to build barley fields outside of Nazarick, to grow them in bulk.

Using Golems and Undead would allow them to create a vast field. Of course, there were countless obstacles before reaching that point.

“I understand. Then I will proceed to buy them as soon as possible.”

“Right, but maintain your vigilance. There is no guarantee that you will not be attacked. If something happens… you understand what to do, correct?”

“Use Shadow Demon as a shield, abandon the notion of gathering information, prioritize my safety above all else and focus entirely on retreating. I will then move to the fake Nazarick built by Aura-sama, delivering false information to the enemy.”

“Correct. Prioritize your safety. Never take the roads that are easily assaulted or where there are no crowds. And even if humans talk to you or provoke you, do not cause them severe harm. I was quite shocked when that man begged me for help while crying, saying how he was only trying to hit on you. You must also control your bloodlust. I will not go so far as to tell you not to beat a pickpocket should you happen to run into one, but don’t take it too far. Also, refrain from calling humans insects. In other words, try not to injure or kill humans. We are the greatest adventurers, Momon and Nabel of Black, after all.”

While watching Narberal who seemed to show that she understood, Ainz thought over any other precautions that he may have missed then nodded his head.

“…Hmm. This should be enough. Then go, Nabel.”