Demiurge considered his plan to be extremely simple, straightforward, and efficient. Of course, compared to the boundless wisdom of his master—Ainz, who in truth hadn't been thinking about anything at all—it was nothing remarkable. Still, he believed it was a rather solid strategy.

First of all, the method for drawing in the head of Dragon's Dream, a man named Monkyspanner El Dragondream, was already prepared.

They had tested the waters once by making use of the connection through Princess Renner.

The man had grumbled, but in the end, he had moved into action.

However, Demiurge had concluded that, perhaps because they had pushed too hard that time, even using the same connection again wouldn't get him to act so easily next time. But he had also learned the man's nature.

Though he complained and acted as if things were a bother, his underlying disposition leaned toward the good.

In fact, both his fighting style and temperament bore similarities to Sebas, the head butler of Nazarick.

In Demiurge's eyes, that meant the man was soft—soft enough that he could be made to act at any time, regardless of what he said.

Which meant, in turn, that they could place him on a stage of their own making whenever they wished.

From this premise, Demiurge formed the rest of his plan: even if they prepared the "stage" or trap to place him upon, they would still need proper arrangements in order to accurately gauge his strength.

That required suitable forces—enough power to truly test him. And for that, he needed Lord Ainz's permission.

In this fragile world, where even pitifully weak beings could shamelessly declare themselves strong—an illusion perhaps natural among the swarm of insect-like humans—Monkyspanner was a different matter entirely.

He was of a category connected to Players, beings far above the common run of this world. Testing him properly required a power equal to his own—Nazarick's power.

"To move such forces without Lord Ainz's leave would be sacrilege. In the worst case, it could even be seen as treason."

Even Floor Guardians could not wield their strength recklessly. Lord Ainz had ordered them to keep themselves hidden whenever possible.

Sebas was an exception because he had been sent out as bait under direct orders from the start. The others, however, had been told to remain concealed.

This was no doubt due to the mysterious group that possessed the World Item capable of brainwashing Shalltear.

That incident had been the first truly massive threat they encountered in this world—a force able to turn a Floor Guardian, sworn to absolute loyalty to Lord Ainz Ooal Gown, against them. Even Demiurge had been unable to determine their origins.

"I still can't fathom how that was possible… It's absurd."

It had happened so soon after Nazarick's arrival in this world. Shalltear, moving on her own to hunt a martial arts user without any concrete plan, had been attacked and brainwashed in a pinpoint strike.

The timing and location had been too precise to be coincidence. It was as if they had targeted her specifically—but how?

Could it be that this world had some ability to detect beings like themselves who had fallen from Yggdrasil?

Perhaps even to track them beforehand? If so, why had Sebas never been targeted?

Was it because he had been placed openly as bait? If so, then at the very least Lord Ainz, who had taken an adventurer's identity in E-Rantel, should have drawn suspicion.

But according to Narberal, at that time she had been stripped of most of her equipment, wearing only a full plate armor and greatsword created with Create Greater Item. If there had been a tracking ability, it should have acted on her as well.

And yet—nothing. No interference toward Sebas, no moves against Lord Ainz. Only recently had some surveillance been placed on Ainz as "Momon the Black," and that seemed to be due to Momon's investigation into Dragon's Dream, not the Shalltear incident.

Perhaps Dragon's Dream was only now beginning to suspect that Momon might have ties to a Player.

Demiurge considered that possibility too, but the situation remained unclear.

"Mm… I should shelve this matter for now. The more I think about it, the more it becomes a maze. Until we gather more information, any hypothesis would be meaningless."

No matter how much he pondered Shalltear's case, the result was always the same: nothing could be determined without more data.

What Sebas was gathering was insufficient. They needed more information—more varied, more plentiful, and of higher quality.

And the answer, Demiurge thought, was close at hand.

"That adventurer group called Dragon's Dream… suspicious in many ways, but if we can absorb them, our possibilities will grow immensely."

From what he had learned, their strange organizational structure was actually highly compatible with the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

They were an elite, tightly-knit core, yet their name was renowned worldwide.

They had branch houses across the globe, influencing many regions, yet had little connection to political powers.

Every branch swore absolute loyalty to their main family head.

For Nazarick, this was an ideal structure to absorb. If they could recruit or brainwash the head of the main house, they could naturally bring an already loyal, globally-spread organization under Nazarick's banner.

In that case, the "Eight Fingers" crime syndicate lurking in the Royal Capital's underworld would be irrelevant. They might have their uses, but compared to Dragon's Dream, they were nothing.

One hundred and fifty years of accumulated history and reputation, a name spread across the world, roots in many lands, established influence among regional powers—all of it was exactly what Nazarick needed now.

Above all, absorbing them would give Nazarick an intelligence network that, while limited to human affairs, would span the entire world.

"The key point is how to handle this Monkyspanner fellow…"

Killing him would be the poorest choice. Recruiting him as a subordinate would be the moderate choice. But brainwashing him into a puppet who obeyed only Nazarick's commands… that would be the best choice of all.

Fortunately, among the spells Lord Ainz could wield was the 10th-tier magic Mind Control.

If, after assessing the man's strength, they could subdue him and have Lord Ainz personally bend him to his will, then absorbing Dragon's Dream would be a natural outcome.

And since Lord Ainz has granted me full authority, I cannot act carelessly.

Lord Ainz had entrusted Demiurge with a mission of great importance, along with immense authority—authority so great it even permitted the mobilization of other Floor Guardians of equal standing.

No one in Nazarick had ever received such trust and expectations. Not even Albedo herself.

Realizing this, Demiurge felt his chest swell with pride. He carried on his shoulders a level of confidence and responsibility even the Guardian Overseer had not been granted.

Failure was not an option. He would see this plan perfected, with his full mind and strength dedicated to its completion.

A simple plan would not suffice. It had to be reinforced again and again until not the slightest miscalculation remained.

Every variable needed to be accounted for, every possible scenario envisioned, so that no matter what anomaly arose, a countermeasure would be ready.

The problem was that the man's true abilities remained unknown.

Lord Ainz, based on certain evidence, had estimated him to be a powerful figure—around level 70 to 80—but there was a high probability he had not yet revealed his full strength.

You don't use a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken, which meant he still had reserves to draw on. It was possible he could even rival a Floor Guardian.

That meant that even the most flawless plan might not be enough; it would be wise to leave room for flexibility and adjust according to the situation on the ground.

In addition, Demiurge intended to carry out another scheme that Lord Ainz himself had once spoken of—a plan he had long been waiting for the chance to employ. And now, the timing was perfect.

As Lord Ainz said, for a hero to shine, there must be a villain worthy of him… This Demiurge shall gladly take that role.

Operation: Demon King's Advent.

Its purpose was to transform Momon—currently known only within the Re-Estize Kingdom as an Adamantite-ranked adventurer—into a savior-hero of the nation and a world-renowned champion.

Demiurge's plan was grand in scope.

If run in parallel with the current operation, it might be possible to remove Monkyspanner while elevating Momon into the seat of that hero.

And along the way, it wouldn't hurt to create a convenient pretext. Demiurge considered that the recent impulsive incident with Sebas might turn out to be an unexpected opportunity.

His intuition was often accurate, and he believed this incident would indeed become that opportunity.

Moreover, it would come soon—and it had to.

There's a minor snag, but that too must be factored in.

Monkyspanner had stated that he would soon disappear from the public eye.

He had declared as much in person to that woman, so the claim was likely true.

Where would he go? And why?

He seemed not to have shared the details, and pressing the woman for more might not be possible, which was frustrating.

Still, preparations were nearly complete. The plan was flawless. If he was set to vanish, then all they had to do was seize him beforehand. The man was already like a fish in a barrel.

And while we're at it… perhaps I can pin some blame on the parasites as well.

The group known as the Eight Fingers had committed many vile acts. In Demiurge's eyes, they were weak and spineless, but they still had uses. For creatures like them to serve Nazarick's benefit was something they ought to be grateful for, even in death.

"Hmph. Yes… this will work. First, I should speak with that woman once more."

A sharp gleam flashed across Demiurge's glasses as he smiled.

For a human, she was surprisingly to his liking. And with Lord Ainz's orders in mind, once this matter was completed successfully, she would be rewarded with the honor of being placed under Nazarick's banner. Surely she would be overjoyed—after all, such grace was more than any human could deserve.

"Then… let us begin. Glory to Ainz Ooal Gown."

With that, Demiurge conjured a Gate and stepped through.

The mind of a demon with the vilest disposition toward humankind had finished its machinations—and now moved to set them in motion.

*******************

*******************

If you want to read 10 advance chapters ahead.

Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Vanity01