"Pandora, what do you think about the Supreme Beings other than the three of us?"
Seeing that Pandora still hadn't answered, Naohara repeated the question.
"My thoughts..."
Coming back to himself, Pandora withdrew his previous gesture, snapped into a military salute, and spoke in an extremely solemn tone.
"The Supreme Beings are perfect. We Guardians, and Nazarick itself, were born because of the Supreme Beings. They are magnificent existences whom we are destined to serve for all eternity."
"Is that so?"
"But is that really the case?"
Naohara stood up and walked straight toward Pandora's Actor. His dark golden eyes gleamed faintly.
"There's no denying it. My former companions abandoned Nazarick. They abandoned all of you, their creations."
"In the end, only I, Momonga, and Herohero remained."
"If, and I mean if, one day those companions of mine returned to Nazarick, would you truly accept them?"
"Would you feel resentment? Or even hatred?"
As Naohara finished speaking, Pandora's Actor's hollow eye sockets widened instantly, a storm of emotions surging through his mind.
Although Pandora usually behaved and spoke in an exaggerated, theatrical, almost chuunibyou manner, his intellect rivaled Demiurge's. He was one of the most intelligent NPCs in all of Nazarick.
It was only because of his character settings that his brilliance often ended up being used in rather unusual directions.
"Resent the Supreme Beings..."
Pandora swallowed nervously and tried to say something, stumbling over his words. But Naohara ignored him and continued speaking on his own.
"Albedo."
The moment that name was spoken softly, Pandora, who had been about to explain, fell completely silent.
"So my guess was right. Albedo really does have some ulterior motives."
Naohara sighed inwardly. Even with him and Herohero present, Albedo had still followed the same path as in the original story.
"Tell me about it. Albedo's tea party, and the roles you and Sephis played in it."
Naohara turned slightly and looked at the silent Pandora.
"...Understood!"
Pandora paused for a moment before slowly beginning to speak.
"Sephis was actually unaware of the true purpose. Albedo merely invited us for casual conversation, subtly probing our attitudes toward the other Supreme Beings through her words."
"This subordinate simply sensed that Albedo strongly hopes the other Supreme Beings will never return to Nazarick."
"And it even seemed that she wanted to..."
Pandora recounted everything he knew in full detail, holding nothing back.
He had no idea how the Supreme Being had discovered this matter, but Pandora did not dare conceal anything.
"So in other words..."
"You clearly sensed that something was off about Albedo, yet you chose to let it happen and simply watch from the sidelines."
"Just as I said, Pandora. Deep down, you also don't want the other Supreme Beings to return to Nazarick, do you?"
Their eyes met.
The atmosphere grew increasingly heavy.
Pandora's Actor's nerves were stretched to their limit. Just as the pressure became unbearable and he was about to kneel down to beg forgiveness, Naohara suddenly reached out and patted his shoulder.
"Relax. I'm not blaming you."
"To be honest, if I were in your position, I might have had the same thoughts."
"But Pandora, thinking something and acting on it are two very different things. With your intellect, you should understand what I mean."
After being transported from the game world to this new world, NPCs were no longer just data.
They now existed as living individuals.
Naohara did not mind NPCs having thoughts of their own.
But the moment those thoughts turned into actions, the meaning of it all changed.
"You are too generous, Naohara-sama."
Pandora said quickly.
After thinking for a moment, he immediately understood the implication behind Naohara's words, and the tension in his heart finally eased.
"What about Albedo?"
Pandora raised his head and asked respectfully.
It was as if the moment Naohara gave the order, he would immediately move to apprehend her.
His situation was different.
Albedo had already taken action. She had even tried to recruit him, Sephis, and several other Guardians to "prevent" the other Supreme Beings from returning to Nazarick.
"Leave it. I have my own plans for this matter."
"I'll inform Sephis myself. As for the rest of you, just act as if nothing happened."
Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to make a big issue out of it.
Herohero might be fine, but if Momonga learned about this, Naohara had no doubt he would execute Albedo without hesitation.
Even if Albedo loved Momonga. Even if Momonga had some affection for her as well. The outcome would not change.
If she dared to scheme against other Supreme Beings today, then tomorrow she might scheme against Naohara and Herohero.
With Momonga's cautious personality, that was exactly how he would think.
So what Naohara needed to do was hide this matter and deal with it quietly.
"Prevent" every Supreme Being from returning to Nazarick?
At that thought, Naohara could not help but smile faintly.
"You are as merciful as ever."
Pandora's Actor placed his right hand over his heart in a gesture of respect.
As expected of Momonga-sama's close friend.
In certain areas, Naohara-sama undoubtedly possessed wisdom that even surpassed Momonga-sama.
...
Just as Naohara was heading toward the Slane Theocracy.
At the same time, in the Great Forest of Tob, at the place where the Evil Tree had once taken root.
"Crack! Crack!"
Space began to distort, and a massive figure stepped out from the warped void.
The figure was huge and thickly built, about twice the height of a human. Its body resembled a human's, but its head was that of a bull.
A Minotaur.
A classic demihuman race from the game [Yggdrasil].
"Hm... a familiar aura."
The Minotaur scratched his head, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.
He then grabbed the giant axe from his back and slammed it down hard onto the ground, instantly splitting the earth apart.
Scooping up a handful of dark soil, the Minotaur put it into his mouth and chewed for a moment. Soon after, a delighted expression appeared on his face.
"The taste of Catastrophe magic. Looks like while I was asleep, another fellow countryman has arrived."
"Hopefully not another idiot like the Eight Greed Kings. Because of them, this sage had to fake his own death just to get away."
The Minotaur spat the dirt from his mouth and grumbled irritably.
His gaze then turned toward the direction of the Empire.
Raising the giant axe in his hand, he sliced open the air before him. With a flash of light, his figure vanished instantly.
Next, he planned to gather information and see what kind of personality this newly arrived fellow countryman had.
If possible, the Minotaur wanted to have a proper conversation with him. After hiding and running for six hundred years, he had already had enough.
(PS: In the original work, the Minotaur Sage was a player who appeared 200 years ago, not a player who descended 200 years ago.)
(So I'm taking some creative liberty here. The Minotaur Sage actually descended long ago, but two hundred years ago was simply the first time he appeared in the public eye.)