The Tōtsuki delivery truck soon arrived.
Yuto and Tohru organized all the newly delivered ingredients together.
This time, the cold room finally became full.
Every type of meat, seafood, and vegetable had been neatly sorted and placed in the right area.
There was nothing else unusual for Yuto to handle that day.
All he needed to do was wait for the banquet that night.
Since he would attend as a guest instead of working as a chef, it was almost like having a rare day off.
After closing the restaurant, Yuto went upstairs to his bedroom to take a short nap.
He had not slept properly in quite a while.
Tohru went to sleep in another room.
She had already looked ready to collapse from sleepiness downstairs. The moment she lay down on the bed, she fell asleep.
Yuto lay down as well, though he did not close his eyes immediately.
He thought about everything that had happened recently.
The people he had met and the strange events he had seen had left him with many thoughts.
His life had become very unusual.
As his mind wandered, he eventually remembered Ainz and Rimuru.
More specifically, he thought about the weapons they had taken back with them.
Out of all the restaurant's customers, those two had probably brought the most items from other worlds into their own.
Their worlds were rather similar.
Both were like medieval Western worlds filled with swords and magic.
And now, they had been given large amounts of modern weapons.
Yuto genuinely wanted to see what would happen when the two systems met.
Swords against guns.
Magic against artillery.
In a wider sense, it was a clash between two completely different civilizations.
'I'll ask them about it when they come back.'
With that thought, Yuto closed his eyes.
It did not take long for him to fall asleep.
The sunlight outside was still strong, but the restaurant stood inside a narrow alley, so very little direct sunlight reached it.
A cool breeze sometimes passed through the street, making the summer heat feel a little easier to bear.
...
The Great Tomb of Nazarick
Ainz sat sadly on the edge of his bed.
The lights were off, leaving the room completely dark, though that did not affect him at all.
He was now a creature of darkness.
"Sigh..."
Ainz let out a long breath and rested his skull against one hand.
Even the red light inside his eye sockets had become dim.
He looked completely exhausted.
Thump—
Ainz fell backward onto his huge and luxurious bed, which was nearly five meters wide.
He stared blankly at the ceiling, unable to understand what had happened.
All he had done was tell the Guardians that he wanted to create his own territory.
How had that somehow turned into a plan to conquer the entire world?
And the biggest problem was... when had the Guardians taken control of the nearby human towns?
Why had no one told him anything?!
If Ainz had not announced that he wanted to establish a nation today, the Guardians might never have reported it to him.
"Sigh..."
Ainz released another long breath.
The situation was giving him a serious headache.
It seemed he could no longer keep hiding and avoiding everything.
They had already gone this far, and stopping now might be impossible.
Ainz rubbed the ring on his finger.
It was a storage item containing all the modern weapons he had brought back.
He still had not told the Guardians about them.
Originally, he had planned to explain the weapons after announcing his plan to establish a territory.
However, the Guardians had surprised him with their own announcement, shocking him so badly that he completely forgot.
"Sigh..."
Ainz sighed once again.
'Forget it.'
He would deal with one thing at a time.
He could think about the problem again after attending the banquet.
For now, Ainz decided to stop thinking altogether.
Meanwhile, on Nazarick's ninth floor, the Guardians had gathered inside the council chamber.
Standing at the front was Nazarick's chief strategist—Demiurge.
Albedo, Sebas, Cocytus, Aura, Mare, and Shalltear were also present.
Together, they formed the main force among Nazarick's Guardians.
Those who could not attend because of their special duties joined through communication magic.
Demiurge adjusted his glasses with one finger before slamming his palm against the table.
Every Guardian immediately looked toward him with a serious expression.
"Everyone, this Guardian meeting is being held without Lord Ainz's knowledge. However, we are only doing this to prepare a surprise for our Supreme Being. Please do not doubt my loyalty! I will always remain Lord Ainz's most devoted servant."
"That's enough, Demiurge. Get to the point!"
Albedo interrupted him.
Although she sat beside him, she was the Overseer of the Floor Guardians and held the highest position among them.
"Understood. I'll be brief."
Demiurge lifted his head and looked around at the gathered Guardians.
"The subject of today's meeting is how we can help Lord Ainz conquer the world."
"As everyone knows, Lord Ainz has always dreamed of ruling the entire world. Today, he finally spoke of that dream himself!"
"Therefore, it is time for us to prove our loyalty."
"We must use everything we have to make Lord Ainz's dream come true. Anything less would be a disgrace to the title of Guardian that was given to us!"
The Guardians nodded.
They had all reached the same conclusion.
And so, a huge plan to conquer the world began to take shape.
The supposed mastermind behind it—Ainz..... knew absolutely nothing of it!
...
A Certain Goblin Village
A slime rested on top of a raised platform.
Though "sat" was probably not the right word.
It was more like he was lying there.
In front of Rimuru, two muscular goblin warriors were firing advanced automatic rifles at a row of targets.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
After emptying two magazines, the goblins excitedly ran toward him.
"Lord Rimuru! These weapons you brought back are incredible! If we gave them to the whole village, our defensive strength would increase dozens of times!"
"Mm. Then give them to everyone."
Rimuru's casual answer left the goblins stunned.
"Lord Rimuru, you have more of these weapons?!"
"They're almost like legendary artifacts! There are no special requirements for using them, every shot has the power of a strong attack spell, and they can fire dozens of times faster than magic!"
"Th-this... Lord Rimuru, you aren't joking, are you? Can weapons like these really be made in large numbers?"
The goblin became more shocked with every sentence.
Rimuru looked perfectly calm on the outside, but inside, he felt extremely pleased!
He cleared his throat, then released a huge pile of modern weapons from his storage.
"Take these and distribute them. Give one to every member of the security force first. Ordinary families only need one weapon each." Rimuru spoke with calm dignity.
The goblins standing before him could only stare at the mountain of weapons with their mouths wide open.
...
Evening
Yuto was preparing to leave with Tohru to pick up Kanna and Shouko.
That morning, he had already told Yaeko that he would bring Shouko home in the evening.
Normally, Shouko's grandmother would have picked her up.
But since Yuto was already collecting Kanna, bringing Shouko along was convenient enough.
"Tohru, let's go."
Yuto left the restaurant with Tohru.
When the two of them emerged from the alley and reached the main road, the street was already beginning to grow lively.
They made their way to the same place where the school bus had collected Kanna and Shouko that morning.
The bus did not only take the children to school.
It also brought them home afterward.
By the time Yuto and Tohru arrived, quite a few people were already waiting.
They were all women who had come to collect their children.
Much like an ordinary city bus, the school bus followed a fixed route with designated stops.
Whenever married women with children gathered together, their conversations naturally revolved around their husbands and kids.
Among that crowd, Yuto stood out badly.
Several pairs of eyes looked him over with almost predatory interest.
Married women were often surprisingly bold.
Yuto remained perfectly calm.
He really did not care.
Tohru, meanwhile, wrapped both arms around one of his and surveyed the surrounding women.
Her expression resembled a loyal guard dog protecting its owner.
Eventually, the school bus arrived.
The yellow vehicle slowly came to a stop, and the children poured out, each one running toward their mother like young swallows returning to their nests.
Yuto waited outside for Kanna and Shouko.
But instead of the two girls, the first person to approach him was the teacher from that morning.
Her expression was not good.
One look was enough for Yuto to know that Kanna had caused trouble at school.
There was no need to think too hard about it.
Back when he got into trouble as a student, his teachers had worn that exact same expression when speaking to his parents.
Yuto swallowed faintly.
He suddenly understood how his father must have felt back then.
Had his father also become inexplicably nervous whenever a teacher approached him?
Most likely.
"You're Kanna's guardian, correct?"
The teacher phrased it as a question, but her tone made it clear she already knew the answer.
Yuto nodded with a smile.
It was always better to greet someone warmly than with a stiff face.
As expected, the teacher's attitude softened slightly.
She let out a helpless sigh.
"I wanted to ask... Is Kanna usually... mischievous at home?"
The teacher paused halfway through, clearly trying to choose the right word.
Yuto shook his head.
"Kanna is always very well-behaved at home. Did something happen at school?"
"Kanna... got into a conflict with four other children today, and then... she made all four of them cry."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
The moment the teacher finished speaking, Tohru responded without hesitation.
The teacher stared at her in stunned disbelief.
Her eyes were filled with shock.
"She beat four other children until they cried!"
The teacher repeated herself with growing agitation.
Tohru rested one hand against her chin and thought seriously.
"Then Kanna really has grown! She's already learned how to control her strength."
Teacher: ????????
Yuto coughed twice.
Without changing his expression, he pulled Tohru behind him.
He could not allow her to keep talking!
At this rate, the teacher might genuinely die from anger.
One was a dragon, and the other was human.
Their ways of thinking simply could not be compared.
"I'd like to know exactly what happened first, so I hope you can explain the full situation. Of course, regardless of the reason, hitting someone is wrong. As Kanna's guardian, I apologize." Yuto spoke with a polite smile.
His response was reasonable and measured, allowing the teacher to calm down.
She felt that Yuto was at least a sensible person.
However...
The look she gave Tohru remained extremely strange.
"If we start from the cause, then Kanna wasn't entirely at fault. It actually began because of Shouko..."
The teacher explained everything from beginning to end.
After hearing the story, Yuto nodded.
Essentially, several older students had bullied Shouko at school.
Kanna had immediately stepped in and hammered every one of them.
Yuto's honest opinion? She had done a wonderful job!
He would reward her later.