“…Of course not. The reason I am not reporting this to Ainz-sama is not because of my own selfishness.”

“Then can you show the basis for your actions?”

“I hold her cooking skill in high regard.”

“Cooking... you say?”

It looked as if question marks were hovering over Solution’s head.

“Indeed. And would it not appear strange to others if there were only two people living in this large mansion?”

“…That is possible.”

Solution had no choice but to concede on that point. Not having servants while living a life of luxury in a large residence would definitely appear odd.

“I feel that at the very least, we should have one at least one servant with us. If we were to invite guests to the house, would it not be suspicious if we cannot even serve them a meal?

“… In other words, you are using that human as a part of our disguise?”

“That’s right.”

“But there is no need for it to be that human specifically.”

“Tsuare feels indebted to me. That means she would never leak information even if she feels endangered. Am I wrong?”

Very briefly, Solution thought it over, nodding soon after.

“You are right.”

“That’s how it is. There should be no need to ask for Ainz-sama’s permission if the matter is only regarding our cover. Not only that, he may even become angry and tell us to handle such matters on our own.”

Sebas quietly asked Solution, who was remaining silent.

“Do you understand now?”

“…Yes.”

“Then this should be enough for no—.”

Sebas cut his words short. He had heard a sound, like two hard objects colliding with one another.

It was so subtle that anyone but Sebas might have missed it.

The erratic repetition of the noise confirmed that someone was doing it on purpose.

Sebas opened the door to the room and focused his senses toward the end of the hallway.

They both froze, realizing that the sound came from the knocker at the front door. Since they first arrived in the Kingdom, no one had ever knocked on that door. Any dealings they had were always done outside and invited no one to their residence. It was a desperate measure to prevent others from finding out that only two people were living in this large mansion.

But today, they had visitors. It would be more than enough to cause a troublesome incident.

Sebas left Solution in the room and walked up to the entrance. He opened the cover of the prop-up window attached to the front door.

What he saw through the hole was a man with wide shoulders surrounded on both sides by the Kingdom’s soldiers.

The man with the wide shoulders was dressed decently well. On his chest, he wore a heavy crest that shone with the glint of copper metal. The healthy complexion of his face was padded with blubber and he was remarkably fat, perhaps due to his eating habits.

And lastly— there was a man who seemed different from the rest.

His skin was pale, like it had never been exposed to sunlight. With sharp eyes and gaunt cheeks, he looked like a bird of prey— like the scavengers that ravaged rotten carcasses. His black clothes hung loosely on him, making it obvious that he was hiding weapons.

What irritated Sebas’ sixth sense was the air of blood and grudges that hovered around him.

They were truly a mismatched group lacking cohesion. Sebas could not determine their identity or their objective.

“…Who is it?”

“I am patrol officer Stafan Hevish.”

The plump man at the very front spoke in a high pitched voice and revealed his name.

He was a patrol officer, a civil servant tasked with keeping public order. A position similar to the boss of the normal patrols that made their rounds around the city, their duties included a wide range of categories. Because of this, Sebas could not predict why this man named Stafan had decided to pay a visit and became troubled.

Ignoring Sebas, Stafan continued to speak.

“The Kingdom has a law that bans the buying and selling of slaves. It was spearheaded by Princess Renner who drew up the plans which allowed it to pass. We received a report that the people of this residence may be holding this law in contempt and came to investigate.”

He then finished by asking if he could step inside.

Although Sebas thought of various words of rejection, denying them entry could escalate into a bigger problem. There was also no guarantee that Stafan was a real civil servant. Despite the fact that the Kingdom’s civil servants did indeed wear the same crest as the one on Stafan’s chest. However, that still was not an absolute guarantee. There was still a chance —although it was a great crime— that it was a forgery.

With that said, allowing a few humans into the residence would not pose too big of a problem. If it came to blows then Sebas could easily take care of it. In fact, it would better if they were imposters.

Gleaning something from the silence that formed while Sebas was thinking, Stafan opened his mouth a second time.

“May I speak to the master of this residence? Of course, if the master is not present then it can’t be helped. But I don’t think investigators going back empty-handed will be a favorable outcome.”

Stafan smiled with a face that did not carry even a hint of apology. Hidden behind that expression was a threat backed by the power of the law.

“Before that, I have something I’d like to ask you. Who is the man standing behind you?”

“Hmm? His name is Succulent. He’s a representative of the store that filed the report.”

“My name is Succulent. Pleasure making your acquaintance.”

Seeing the faint smile on Succulent’s face, Sebas understood that he had lost.

His smile was that of a cruel hunter mocking his prey for falling into his trap. It was safe to assume that he had come after perfect preparations. In that sense, there was a good chance that Stafan was indeed a real civil servant. He most likely also had a plan prepared should Sebas refuse them. Then at the very least, Sebas had to try and figure out the opponent’s intentions.

“…I understand. I will deliver the news to the lady. Please wait there for a while.”

“Of course, we’ll wait.”