Roaring Heroes Battle the Overlord (Ainz) - Part 1 (Chapters 1 to 200)

Chapter 56 Entering the Nazarick

In the morning, the sunlight shone with unusual brightness, and the clock tower at the north end had already tolled ten times, its long, resonant chimes echoing through the palace. The appointed time for the invitation wasn't far off.

The burly Barrett hung his head low, his face twisted in misery, looking for the first time like a wilted eggplant hit by frost. He asked with a grimace, "Captain, knowing full well this invitation might be a trap, are we still going?"

"Of course we are!" EeDechi declared loudly. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained—how else do you catch the tiger's cub without stepping into its den? To rescue the twin sisters' big sister Arche, I've got to make a run into the Great Tomb of Nazarick. And now Ainz is handing me this chance on a silver platter? No way I'm turning it down."

"He's handing it to you? You sure it's not the other way around—us handing ourselves to him?" Barrett pursed his lips as he eyed EeDechi, starting to wonder if this black-haired girl's brain wasn't firing on all cylinders.

Sean and Stella stood off to the side as well. But they weren't about to play the loyal fools and tag along with Barrett to storm the demon king's lair—they were just there to see them off.

EeDechi's expression was grave as Stella edged closer to the captain, her eyes brimming with uneasy worry.

She whispered, "Captain, if Arche's already... I mean, if—if she's gone for good, could I take the twins under my wing from here on out? It's been so long since she vanished, and Arche... she's probably more dead than alive by now."

It was plain to see that the kind-hearted cleric girl had genuinely taken a shine to the twin sisters. All along their grueling journey—roughing it through wind and rain from Baharuth to Re-Estize's capital—it had been Stella who fussed over Ureirika and Kuuderika with tender care, treating them like her own flesh and blood, her little sisters in every way that mattered.

And the twins adored their cleric big sister right back. Ever since their mental scars had been mended, the bond between the three had only grown tighter.

"Rest easy—even if Arche's tumbled straight into the Hells, I'll haul her back out kicking and screaming, so Ureirika and Kuuderika can reunite with their real big sister!" EeDechi met Stella's gaze, her eyes burning with unshakeable resolve.

"Mm-hmm..." Stella nodded meekly. "That'd be the best outcome of all."

EeDechi tightened the straps on the giant sword slung across her back and set off, leading the downcast Barrett toward the spot specified in the invitation.

"Captain, watch your back out there!" Sean called after her—that was the only thing he could do for her now.

Seeing her team's morale in the dumps, EeDechi tried to rally them with some upbeat words: "Don't sweat it for me and Barrett. Once we're back from the Great Tomb of Nazarick, we'll all hit up that Connot tavern south of the capital for some roasted hippogriff. Princess Renner swears their wild mushroom tenderloin slathered in foie gras is out of this world!"

"Captain! You can't talk like that!" Barrett, trailing behind EeDechi, looked downright panicked. "Stuff like 'After this battle, I'm heading home to get married,' or 'Once this job's done, I'm quitting the adventurer life'... things like that are the biggest jinx for us adventurers!"

"Pfft!" EeDechi scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Superstitious hogwash."

Barrett shook his head, muttering sighs under his breath as the two of them trudged onward, one behind the other, toward the rendezvous point with Ainz.

The spot laid out in the invitation was right at the gates of the palace castle—and strangely, they hadn't run into a soul along the way. This was the royal palace in the heart of the Re-Estize's capital, after all; normally it crawled with nobles and officials, and royal guards in full kit stood watch at every corner.