The Deal
Ainz stepped into Vermood's office.
"Ainz? How is the job progressing?"
"Well, it went according to my plan."
Ainz opened his inventory and pulled out a head.
"You really pulled it off. Good. Right now I still have duties I must fulfill as Lord of the Ivory Tower, so once those are finished, I'll hand the position over to you at once."
Ainz offered a suitably grateful reply and slipped out of the office.
A short while later, as Vermood examined the head of Nephthys that Ainz had delivered, someone appeared at his side…
"Lord of the Ivory Tower, Vermood Aindark…"
Vermood flinched and spun toward the voice. Standing there was the living Nephthys herself.
"What?!"
Panicking, Vermood scrutinized the head Ainz had brought.
It was a fake—wax and leather shaped into a model, then layered with illusion magic to give it a lifelike presence.
Which meant the Nephthys now standing in his office was almost certainly the real one.
"I hear you joined hands with the Association and even tried to kill me?"
"W-What?! There's no… no evidence, is there?!"
"Ah, don't worry. A very kind someone provided it."
Only then did Vermood grasp how the situation had turned.
He finally understood that Ainz had never intended to obey his orders from the start.
"That evidence alone is justification enough for me to kill you."
Moments later Vermood's death scream rang through the office, but the soundproofing magic Ainz had left behind kept every sound from leaking outside.
"I think we need to settle the succession of the Ivory Tower."
The bombshell Ainz dropped in front of the assembled Ivory Tower personnel threw the entire room into chaos.
In the midst of that uproar Serne approached him carefully.
"Um… Ainz? Father… that man is still alive, isn't he? Why suddenly talk about succession…"
"Ah, there will be a bloodbath soon. Lady Nephthys has come to handle it personally. Of course she has justification. I found and handed over physical proof that he colluded with the Association."
As Ainz continued, every high-ranking member present went pale with shock.
The Lord of the Ivory Tower colluding with the Association was nothing less than a stain on the tower's name itself.
"Don't worry. I made a deal. I also secured a promise that this stays secret."
"A deal? Ainz, what do you mean by that?"
At Daniela's question, Ainz opened his mouth.
"Yes, Father. That is…"
"My conditions are… first, come to Kizen."
"To Kizen? Me?"
"Yes. There's Serne Aindark, also of the Ivory Tower, right? She's scheduled to enroll next year as Special Admission #2. I'll process it as companion enrollment for you!"
Ah, so it's already that time.
While Ainz thought that, Nephthys continued.
"And I'll place you in first-year Class A. All you have to do there is protect a boy named Simon Polentia, who will enroll as Special Admission #1. There are circumstances."
When the protagonist's name was mentioned, Ainz wore a meaningful expression, accepted Nephthys's terms, and made a request of his own.
"Well, fine. Then—though it's not part of the deal—can I ask one favor? I have a little sister. She's the same age as Serne and has been studying hard because she wants to enter Kizen too. She should pass if she takes the exam. Can you arrange that right away?"
"Then I'll send someone to administer the exam! That should work, right?"
"No problem. Ah, and keep this whole matter secret. I have a use for Vermood's corpse, so leave it as intact as possible."
Nephthys nodded, and Ainz immediately set to work.
He pulled wax from his inventory and shaped a mold of Nephthys's face. Next he wrapped the wax form in leather and layered illusion magic over it.
"I'll take this to the Lord of the Ivory Tower. Come later."
With a cynical remark, Ainz teleported back to the Ivory Tower.
"That's how it went."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
After a long while the high-ranking members of the Ivory Tower finally recovered their wits and began to discuss.
In their eyes Ainz was the ideal candidate for Lord of the Ivory Tower—possessing terrifying combat power and the sheer audacity to propose a deal to Nephthys herself. Unfortunately, Ainz himself had zero interest in power.
Until the succession was formally settled, it was decided that Daniela, head of the Bilene family that stood as equal to the Aindark family within the Ivory Tower, would serve as acting Lord.
Once Meyrin finished listening to Ainz's explanation and grasped the full picture, she burst out in surprise.
"Wait! Then I… have to take the exam?!"
"Yeah. The examiner is coming soon, so you can take it right away."
Quite some time later, roughly a week before enrollment at Kizen…
Meyrin stepped outside with Ainz, already planning their tour of Langerstein—the capital of the Kingdom of Dresden, gathering point for incoming Kizen students, and home to Campbell Road, the shopping street that specialized in goods for Necromancers. She was beaming.
And best of all, without her rival Serne. Just the two of them.
"Sorry to Seri, but I have to widen the gap with this chance."
"What are you sorry about, Meyrin?"
"Well of course monopolizing Oppa all by myself… Se…Seri? Why are you here?"
"I'm coming along too. Since I have to go to Langerstein anyway, going early doesn't matter, right? Isn't that why you came early as well, Meyrin? Or did you have something to do behind Seri's back?"
Serne's knowing, deliberately annoying smile made Meyrin's face flush scarlet.
She turned to Ainz, only to find him staring off at distant mountains and whistling innocently.
"Haa… Why can I never be happy?"
"Hehehe. Meyrin, there's a saying in this world."
After a deliberate pause, Serne continued with a bright smile.
"Things never go according to plan. Ainz has been emphasizing that all along, hasn't he?"
Meyrin barely swallowed the stream of curses that rose at the complete collapse of her date plans. All she could do was cling to Ainz's arm and glare daggers at Serne.