[Note: There will be two chapters per day until it reaches chapter 50.
Then it go back down to one chapter per day.]
Nearly driven mad by Luke, Momonga took out a bird-wing-shaped necklace and, chanting “Fly,” shot straight into the sky.
Freed from the shackles of gravity, Momonga floated upward lightly, then accelerated faster and faster, shooting straight into the air.
“Momonga, wait for me!
I haven’t used these wings before and I’m not very skilled yet!”
But Momonga completely ignored him and just kept climbing higher.
After flying for quite a while, Momonga finally slowed down, removed his helmet, and was left speechless at the sight before him.
The bluish-white glow of the moon and stars swept away the darkness of the earth.
Under the gentle breeze, the swaying grasslands seemed to make the entire world shine.
The countless stars and what looked like planetary moons overhead radiated their brilliance, perfectly complementing the scenery on the ground.
“It’s so beautiful…”
In Momonga’s original world, the air had long been so polluted that the sky was almost never visible, let alone a view as stunning as this.
Back in that era, everyone lived under smog-filled skies.
Even Nazarick’s Sixth Floor — with its virtual starry sky — had been designed by a guildmate who loved such scenery.
If that guildmate could see the real version now, they would surely be delighted.
“Yes, it’s truly beautiful.
This world is like a treasure worth our coming here… This trip was not a loss, right, Momonga?” Luke nodded in agreement.
After all, the scene before them — this natural, unspoiled landscape — was something that no one could see in a 21st-century city, let alone in the 24th century.
In the past, when their guild ventured into difficult raids that required huge effort but yielded little reward, Luke would say, “This run was a huge loss.” And when they had a great haul, he would grin and say, “This run wasn’t a loss…”
“It really is beautiful.
Perhaps being here… perhaps this is the treasure we came here for.” Momonga couldn’t help but slip into a chunibyo moment as he admired the scenery.
“You’re right.
Someday, why don’t we conquer this world together with the children?” Luke said casually.
“Hahaha, Luke-san, we don’t even know what kinds of creatures exist in this world yet.
Saying this now is too presumptuous.
For all we know, we might actually be very weak.
But… conquering the world, huh?
Of course, Momonga was only joking.
As an adult, he understood that conquering a world was no easy task.
If he were truly an Undead King who simply had to slaughter every living being to “conquer” the world, the difficulty might not be that high.
But since he still retained some remnants of his human mind, he couldn’t ignore the issues that would follow conquest — governing after conquest, preventing uprisings, maintaining order, solving the countless problems of unifying nations.
Just thinking about it made the lazy part of him dislike the idea of ruling the world.
He had thought about these things, of course, but talking about conquering the world now was more of a childish wish born from seeing such a beautiful world.
“Maybe it’s hard, but isn’t it exactly because it’s hard that it’s interesting?
Momonga, we’re both undead now — we don’t age, we don’t die.
If we don’t find some real challenge to occupy ourselves with, what are we even going to do?”
“Besides, don’t you remember?
Ulbert, Peroroncino, Bellriver… do you remember how we once talked about conquering one of YGGDRASIL’s worlds together?”
If anything could motivate Momonga, it was the wishes of his former comrades.
“You’re right.
Back then, we really did say that…” Momonga fell into deep thought.
Conquering the world had once been just a chunibyo joke among them but if they were really going to do it… well, it might take a very long time.
And time… might no longer be a problem.
Seeing Momonga fall silent, Luke knew he was thinking seriously.
Sometimes, destiny just plays tricks — the originally mild and unambitious Momonga was now being pushed into “world conquest.”
This was never really his desire; it was just that his subordinates’ wild imaginations had backed him into a corner.
Who could have guessed that just putting on a bit of a show would trap him like this and worse, he couldn’t even take it back afterward.
He had to keep up appearances and act the part for his subordinates.
If he lacked power, that would be one thing but the terrifying part was that his followers were all monsters, with unmatched strength, cunning intelligence, and overwhelming charisma.
This was destiny!
After all, Momonga was, at his core, just a normal person and yet he had been thrown into the company of a group of terrifyingly evil beings: True Ancestors, demons, dragonkin, dark elves, and more.
Poor newbie Momonga was basically trembling inside.
Surrounded by people talking about wiping out humanity, or about food shortages, or about how great and glorious he was — it was inevitable that he’d be influenced after hearing it every day.
Then I bought some stocks and crypto, joined a chat group, and got brainwashed every day — this one made 500x profit, that one made 1000x profit, now I walk around wondering whether to buy a Ferrari or a Bentley next year.
My net worth is still three digits, but the group has given me the confidence of eight digits.”
Thinking of this, Luke suddenly burst out laughing.
“Luke-san, what are you laughing at?” Momonga, who had just turned to look at him, asked curiously.
“I was just thinking, what if other players have come to this world too?
That would be really fun, wouldn’t it?”
“Especially if it’s our old AFK friends, just thinking about that meeting makes me laugh.
Their faces when they see us — one a skeleton, one a stitched corpse — that would be priceless!”
The light in Momonga’s eye sockets flared, “You’re right.
Even though we couldn’t make second characters in the game, some of the friends who quit might have logged in on the last day to check things out and maybe even made new characters.”
“And judging from the forced logout time… maybe even Herohero-san is here.”
“It’s possible, but we can’t contact them, so the chances are small.
But I feel like you just raised a huge flag with that line.
If it really happens, that’ll be hilarious.”
“Huh?” Momonga didn’t quite understand Luke’s reference.
“In any case, Momonga, doesn’t this give us one more reason to ‘conquer the world’?
If we make a name for ourselves big enough, our friends will definitely hear of us, no matter where they are.”
“Yes, as long as we use the name ‘Ainz Ooal Gown’… then I’ll change my name to—”
“Forget it.
I think ‘Momonga’ sounds great.
Besides, when the time comes, we just have to unify the land and establish a nation under the name ‘Ainz Ooal Gown,’ that will be enough.” Luke interrupted.
He really didn’t want Momonga to give up his own name.
When Momonga changed his name to “Ainz Ooal Gown,” it meant he was carrying the entire guild on his shoulders, doing everything for the sake of his comrades — completely giving up his own self-interest.
As a guild member, Luke didn’t want that.
To live in a new world entirely for others, sacrificing yourself completely — that was a sad kind of existence.
And this is what makes Bone Daddy so heartbreaking — a stubborn man clinging to the faintest hope of finding his comrades, willing to conquer the world for it.
Laughable, and yet so tragic…
“Ah, I see… but how do you sound like you already have a detailed plan, when we don’t even know the power levels of the world around us?”
‘Well, now that we’ve said this much, I have the feeling that some ‘measurement units’ are going to show up soon… If I remember right, the Battle of Carne Village should be coming up soon.’ Luke smiled.