After a period of fooling around, Momonga lowered his fists.
A green glow washed over him, and he instantly entered a calm, “Sage Mode” state.
Herohero moved to the side.
[Greater Item Creation]
As a magic circle manifested, three chairs appeared in the center of the arena.
The chairs in the middle and on the left were pitch black, constructed to look like piles of human skulls.
They appeared dark and terrifying.
The chair on the right was primarily purple, covered in jagged spikes, looking quite menacing.
Herohero nodded in satisfaction at his creations and sat in the chair on the right.
“The Guardians should be arriving soon.
You guys hurry up and sit down too.”
Herohero, half-reclining in his chair, sent a [Message] to Naiyuan and Momonga.
“Quite thoughtful of you, Little Hero.
Not a bad design, though it would be better if the skulls were replaced with dragon heads.”
Naiyuan stood up and patted the dust off his clothes.
He looked at the two remaining chairs, smacked his lips, and praised his friend’s thoughtfulness before indicating he wanted to change the style.
As a Dragonkin, he naturally preferred things related to dragons.
While skulls were fine, they were missing that certain something.
“You’re so picky.
Make your own then, otherwise you’ll just complain that mine aren’t good enough.”
Herohero complained to Naiyuan via [Message] and waved a hand, causing the chair on the left to crumble into nothingness.
“You guy, being lazy even about this.
You’ve truly fallen, Little Hero.”
Naiyuan strongly condemned his friend’s obvious laziness and then began his own creation with great enthusiasm.
[Greater Item Creation]
A chair, entirely black with menacing dragon head carvings on the armrests and back, slowly emerged from a magic circle and appeared before Naiyuan.
“Mmh, not bad.
Now this suits me.”
Naiyuan nodded with satisfaction and took his seat.
On the other side, Momonga was praising Aura and Mare.
“Aura, you did very well.
I only won that fight through a trick.
The fact that you thought to abandon long-range combat for melee exceeded my expectations.
You are more excellent than I imagined.”
Momonga spoke while mimicking the mannerisms of a leader.
For him, once he had done it once, it became increasingly natural.
His undead traits allowed him to play the role without any stress.
Momonga spoke to them with dignity.
Aura kept nodding in agreement, saying things like “Yes, yes, you praise me too much, I still need to work harder,” while her eyes secretly drifted toward Naiyuan sitting nearby.
Seeing his sister behave this way, Mare acted as a human echo, constantly repeating her words.
“How detestable.
To crumble a created seat like that…
is he trying to intimidate Father?
How dare he humiliate Father so!”
Aura watched Naiyuan’s direction while trembling, her dissatisfaction with the Supreme Being Herohero growing by the second.
“Hmm?
Aura, are you listening?”
The sudden question snapped Aura back to reality.
It was Momonga; he was looking at her with confusion.
He had called her name several times without a response, which he found strange.
“Do the Guardians not even care?
It seems I can’t let my guard down yet!” Momonga thought secretly as he voiced his inquiry.
“Ah!!
My apologies, Momonga-sama!
I was just reflecting on my shortcomings during the battle.
Please forgive my rudeness.”
After a brief moment of alarm, Aura instantly regained her composure and answered calmly.
“I see.
It is good to reflect on the reasons for a failure, Aura.
Therefore, I forgive your lapse.”
Momonga thought for a moment and decided to overlook her behavior, wondering if he was being too paranoid.
He felt he should place more trust in the NPCs.
“Hey, Momonga, come sit!”
a voice interrupted Momonga’s thoughts.
It was Herohero.
He was currently half-reclined in his chair, waving for him to join them.
Naiyuan was doing the same.
“Well then, keep working hard for the prosperity of Nazarick.”
Momonga gave a few final words of encouragement and then turned to walk toward Herohero.
This was exhausting.
Why did those two get to lounge around while he had to work so hard?
“Maybe I should just slack off too.
That actually sounds pretty good.”
Sitting in the chair Herohero had created, Momonga couldn’t help but think.
Even though he had become an undead, why was he still so tired?
Forget it, time to slack off.
“By the way, Naiyuan, Herohero…
let’s discuss something.”
“Hmm?
What is it?
You’re not going to tell me you’ve changed your mind and don’t want to do this, are you?”
“Don’t talk nonsense, Naiyuan.
Momonga is the Guild Master; how could he go back on something he promised?
We shouldn’t even entertain such thoughts; it’s an insult to Momonga’s character.
Right, Momonga?”
Herohero strongly condemned Naiyuan’s words, then looked at the dazed Momonga with a smile.
“Ah!!
Right, of course.
How could I possibly back out?
I was just thinking about how things are outside.
After all, we’ve traveled to a different world.”
Momonga was startled into speaking, his tone a bit stiff.
Inside, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotion.
*Good grief, do you guys really think that highly of me?
How am I supposed to say it now?*
*Forget it, don’t think about it.
I’ll just do it.
I refuse to believe a few Guardians can stump me.*
*Screw it, let’s just go for it.*
Seeing Momonga suddenly filled with fighting spirit after whatever mental gymnastics he’d just performed, Naiyuan and Herohero exchanged a look.
“Plan successful!”
The two looked at each other with a silent understanding; they were professionals when it came to this.
The moment they saw Momonga’s expression, Naiyuan and Herohero had realized the gravity of the situation.
This guy wanted to slack off!
They had instantly read his mind and coordinated with a single glance.
Through this little self-directed drama, they had successfully blocked his attempt to quit and even managed to fire up his motivation.
Naiyuan was happy, Herohero was happy, and Momonga was fired up.
A true triple-win scenario.
“Speaking of which, I wonder how Sebas is doing.
What exactly is the world outside like right now?”
Naiyuan picked up Momonga’s topic to pass the time.
Although he knew exactly what the outside world was like, he couldn’t say it; he had to act as if he knew nothing.
“When it comes to being transported to another world, anything is possible.
Maybe it’s a place where gods walk the earth and demons run wild,” Herohero replied after some thought.
In any case, he had no intention of going out until they had thoroughly scouted the situation.
Only staying in Nazarick could give him peace of mind.
“We can’t guess much.
I just hope our strength is at least enough to survive in this world,” Momonga sighed.
His requirements weren’t high; as long as they could stay alive, it was fine.
At worst, they could just stay in the Great Tomb for the rest of their lives.
Nazarick was self-sufficient anyway; staying for a few hundred years wouldn’t be an issue at all.
“Father, Herohero-sama, Momonga-sama.
The Guardians have arrived.”
Aura’s sudden announcement caused the three to turn their gaze toward the arena entrance.
A figure was slowly walking toward them.