Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

Ainz nodded slightly. As expected of Demiurge.

"So, is Lord Ainz satisfied with my arrangements?" Demiurge's voice rang out again.

Ainz wasn't sure what Demiurge was referring to, so he decided to delay and have more time to think.

He gently placed Kurushue back on the bed in the chieftain's quarters.

Demiurge stood at the doorway, watching Ainz's gentle movements, and that knowing smile reappeared on his lips.

"So you've been waiting here because you guessed what I'm thinking?" Unsure, Ainz decided to test the waters.

“That’s right, Lord Ainz.”

"Tell me your thoughts."

"Lord Ainz likes Lady Krush, but doesn't want the other Guardians to know. So I took it upon myself to arrange all this for Lord Ainz."

Was it really just a misunderstanding?!

Chapter 17 Rescue

"Um, Demiurge."

"exist."

Demiurge immediately looked up, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with anticipation.

He was ready to accept the praise.

After all, arranging a rendezvous for Lord Ainz and that white lizardman was a thoughtful gesture that deserved to be rewarded.

"Don't act on your own next time."

Demiurges keenly grasped the implied blame in those words.

His body stiffened slightly, then he bowed deeply.

"Yes, Lord Ainz."

Demiurge was experiencing a surge of emotions completely different from what he had felt before.

'It seems Lord Ainz prefers to be in control from beginning to end; my efforts to help prepare have only dampened his enthusiasm.'

He silently reflected on his actions.

Although the white lizardman had gained Lord Ainz's favor, he was ultimately just a lowly race.

Perhaps Lord Ainz prefers to train someone personally rather than accept a pre-arranged finished product.

'How utterly foolish!'

Demiurge inwardly despised his own presumptuousness.

Lord Ainz's wisdom is unfathomable.

And yet, he actually tried to pave the way for Lord Ainz, which instead ruined Lord Ainz's original plan.

"I understand," Demiurge said with a repentant expression. "I will never make the same mistake again."

Ainz nodded slightly, inwardly relieved.

Demiurge finally understood what he meant.

Inside the brothels of the capital.

Sebastian easily ripped open the iron gate at the end of the passageway, the rusty hinges emitting a piercing scream.

Behind the door was a stone staircase leading downwards, and damp air rose from the ground, carrying the smells of mold and blood.

After they met up, Rune walked ahead.

The stone steps were narrow, and the walls on both sides were covered with moss, which felt wet and slippery to the touch.

With each step, the smell grew stronger.

Sebastian followed behind him, his sharp eyes scanning the increasingly clear scene ahead.

Rune stopped at the end of the stone steps.

This is a dungeon.

Iron bars stretched from the ground to the ceiling, dividing the space into seven or eight small cages.

Each cage contained a person, their arms protruding from the gaps in the iron bars like withered branches hanging out.

Most of them were adult women, but there were also a few young children.

The arrival of Rune and Sebastian did not make them raise their heads.

They remained motionless in their original poses, like soulless shells.

Sebastian walked up to the nearest cage.

There were three women locked up inside. The oldest looked to be in his early twenties, and the youngest was still a child.

Their clothes were tattered, and their exposed skin was covered with a mix of old and new scars.

There were whip marks and burns interspersed, as well as some scars that even Sebastian couldn't identify what caused them.

"It's all over now."

Sebastian crouched down, bringing his line of sight to the youngest girl.

His voice was very soft, like soothing a frightened little animal.

"We've come to rescue you."

The girl raised her eyelids.

Her eyes were large, but empty; they were eyes that had lost all their light.

Sebastian reached out and grasped the iron lock on the fence. With a gentle twist, the lock shattered in his palm.

"Come out." Sebastian stepped back half a step, making way for them. "You are free."

No one moved.

These women remained huddled in their cages, their posture unchanged.

The girl even shrank back, burying her face in her knees.

Sebastian frowned slightly as he turned to another cell and did the same.

Each time, he was met with silence and indifference.

Sebastian stood in the center of the dungeon, surrounded by seven or eight open iron doors and dozens of motionless people.

Those who were rescued showed no joy or gratitude, not even the most basic reaction.

"They no longer consider themselves human beings."

Rune's voice came from behind, sounding quite abrupt in the deathly silent dungeon.

Sebastian turned to look at Rune.

“They have been imprisoned here for a long time, not only physically, but also mentally.”

Rune strode into one of the cages.

There sat a woman, about twenty years old, but her scars were no less than those of soldiers on the battlefield.

Rune drew his sword, the blade sliding out of its sheath.

Sebastian leaned forward slightly, instinctively wanting to step forward and stop him.

But out of trust in Rune, Sebastian did not do so.

Rune's sword fell.

The sword tip precisely cut into the rusty shackles on the woman's feet, the chains snapped, and fragments bounced to the ground.

The woman's ankle was exposed, with a deep, dark purple mark on her skin—a mark left by the friction of the iron chain over the years.

The woman raised her head.

Her eyes swept over Rune's face and the gleaming sword before lowering them again.

Perhaps in her eyes, this rescue drama was just another script commissioned by some nobleman.

She prayed countless times for the salvation of the four gods, but received no help whatsoever.

She had long since lost faith that anyone would come to rescue her.

Or rather, she was a little afraid of being suddenly rescued.

Because she had become accustomed to the rules here, she knew how to deal with nobles to avoid being beaten less, how to please the guards to get more food, and how to huddle in the corner of the cage to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

If someone were to take her away from here now, she would have to relearn how to survive in another darkness.

By then, will she be able to hold on until she becomes familiar with the new rules of survival?

The shackles on one's feet may be broken, but the shackles on one's heart are hard to erase.

Rune crouched down and took out a pair of chains from his waist.

He fastened the chains to the shackles on the woman's hands, then walked to the next woman and repeated the same action.

"Sebastian, let's go."

Rune has bound all the women to the same chain.

He tugged on the chain, which made a soft, metallic scraping sound.

The women seemed to be awakened by the voice, triggering some kind of instinctive reaction.

They stood up and walked stiffly along the chains.

This is the method of the Eight-Fingered Guardians.

Only in this way will they set off.

Sebastian watched this scene in silence for a moment.

"……Um."