With the detailed map from Lord Ainz as well as my favorite necklace ever, It didn't take longer than a few days for me to reach the capital. Despite me being back in the wilderness and now basically serving the only other player who got sent to this new world with me, I was in rather good spirits. I finally had a plan that I could stick to and a base of operations filled with people who weren't actively trying to kill me. For the most part, anyway. Time to start getting famous.

But as I soared through the morning clouds, eager to start getting my name out there, I realized that I really had no plan on how to do that. Ainz had created Momon as an adventurer and in a relatively short time had risen through the guild's ranks through fighting an undead army as well as Shally. So I could take the same path as he did. But that would probably seem too coincidental, another warrior blowing in from nowhere and quickly rising through the ranks would seem suspicious to anyone who took notice. No, I needed to take a different approach and I knew just the one to take. The Royalty.

The Capital of Re-Estize was going to be a hub of dozens and dozens of wealthy nobles as well the home of the royal family. If I could buddy up with one of them, I'd say that would definitely get the notice of people. Of course, nobles and royalty weren't going to wast their time on some stranger who hasn't proved themselves.

Enter Gazef Stronoff, the man Ainz had saved at Carne village and the one regarded as the best warrior in the kingdom and the Chief warrior for the king himself. If I could fight him, and more importantly be seen fighting him, that would certainly do the trick. I could introduce myself as an up and coming warrior and simply nag him until he gives me a match. Maybe in front of the king, or nobles as a form of entertainment. From there...Well, I had to get there first. The only hiccups in my plan were that I had no clue who Gazef was personally or how he would act, though Ainz seemed to respect him. I knew even less about the king, the royal family, or the dozens and dozens of noble families that held power in the country, so I needed a bit of knowledge on them as well before I could move forward with my plan. My hope was that Sebas would be able to help in this regard. He had been in the Capital for some time now so hopefully he could give me some political pointers atop of combat ones.

That other little tidbit was also exciting. Sebas was created by TouchMe, Nazarick's lead warrior Supreme One and a seemingly decent guy from what I gathered from when we met back in YGGDRASIL. Naturally, he hardly spoke when he fought in tournaments. But when ever he wasn't fighting, he would go on and on about justice and helping people. More than likely he was role playing but that enthusiasm always brought a smile to my face. I wondered if this Sebas would remind me of him or not. I wiped that thought from my mind as I finally caught sight of the capital. It was gorgeous sight to behold. A dazzling white city that practically glowed under the blueing sky. And with no major caravans of people trying to get in through main gate, I flew back down to the earth and released the magic enchantment that kept me in the air.

After storing the flight necklace back into my inventory, I started walking towards the city's entrance. As it was close to four five pm there was plenty o fpeople wandering therough the streets. all of which paid little to no attention to me. Which worked out just fine, as I still needed to think about the Sebas situation. Supposedly I was going to be meeting a woman at some fancy building in the wealthy part of the city. Solution was her name, another member of the Pleiades. Which was just fine with me. I mean, Nabe looked like she was coming around she was supposed to be the one who hates humans the most. It shouldn't be too hard to convince the others, right?

As you can tell, I hadn't really had the pleasure of getting to know Solution yet. She was the blonde woman, whom some of you may remember her as Blondie back from when I met Shally. She was the one who found me and gave that eerie smile before taking off with Sebas in a carriage. There she stood, garbed in a subdued orange dress peering directly at me even as other people came and went through the gate. More than Al, Shally, Nabe, or anyone else from Nazarick, there was a cold hatred radiating off her. Not enough for most to notice, but plenty enough for me to.

"Looking at something, Ms.?" I asked folding my hands into the pockets of my coat and giving a stare of my own.

"It took you long enough to get here, servant."

Servant? I opened my mouth to let out one of my charming comebacks but quickly closed it. This was no time to get into a shouting match with what looked like a wealthy lady. I'd save that for later. "I apologize my lady, the road was not too kind to me..."

I had little time to react as firm yet unbelievably smooth hand smashed into my right cheek creating a thunderous 'SMACK'. "I don't pay you for your excuses, servant. Now come along." She ordered, turning around and walking away from me. I started rubbing my face, nursing what would doubtless be a crimson hand print in a few moments and muttered enough curses to make the devil himself proud. I was gonna get her for that.

I started behind her, taking care to stay just a few feet back just in case she decided to smack me again and began pondering somethings over. Either this was payback for me being rude to her in the forest, or that was a part of an act she was putting on as some sort of wealthy townswoman. Or maybe both. I hadn't exactly been let in on the plan or I would've tried to soften the blow on my cheek. But if option two was in play? Why the need to disguise herself? She was more powerful than anyone in this city so it's not like it was safety precaution. I decided not to inquire until we got in doors, lest it turns out I somehow stumble onto something I didn't need to know and royally fuck it up in the process. Which if you've been paying attention, is kind of my quirk.

We eventually stopped in front of a good sized house, probably three or four stories tall and well spaced out from the other surrounding buildings. She snapped her fingers as an order for me to come closer and then we both walked into the house. Once inside, She spun around and glared at me. "I don't know how you weaseled your way into Lord Ainz's favor but let me make something perfectly clear. You..."

"...Are an incessant little maggot who isn't worthy of licking the dirt and grime off Lord Ainz's boot. I am a stain on all those who pledge their services to Nazarick and if I so much as breath suspiciously, I'll be promptly chopped up, put through a grinder, and liquefied into some tasty beverage for you and any other monster in Nazarick to snack on. Sound about right?" I asked back, scratching the top of my head like what I just said didn't sound completely insane.

Her mouth lingered open like she wanted to say something back but I'm pretty sure I had thrown her for a loop with my interruption. "Look, Solution. Let me make something very clear. I like living and I wish to continue living for as long as I can. To my knowledge, Lord Ainz is the strongest entity walking on this planet. So the last thing I'm going to do is find a way to piss him off or make him think that I'm a traitor. So, can we please skip the threatening bullshit and actually introduce each other?" I asked, extending a hand. "Hi, I'm Haon."

I wasn't exactly surprised when she ignored the gesture and turned away from me. "You will refer to me as Solution of the Pleiades. Lord Sebas is expecting you in the courtyard. You will follow."

It was about as cold a greeting as Nabe's but it was a greeting nonetheless. Baby steps. Baby steps.

"Lead on then." I replied.

We walked through the house at a brisk pace until we came to a door that led to an empty outdoor yard where a familiar elderly gentleman was standing. "Lord Sebas, the human is here."

"Thank you, Solution. That will be all." He replied, keeping his gaze to the sky above. Solution gave the swiftest nod I;d ever seen and turned away from both of us, disappearing back inside. "Mr. Haon, I take it?"

"I am." I replied. I recognized the voice from the night I met Shally. He had been that elderly gentleman who casually sentenced me to die. Probably not the best time to bring that up in front of him. "Look if you're going to threaten me like everyone else, I can save you the trouble and start listing off all the various ways I'll be killed, maimed or tortured."

To my surprise and delight, I finally managed to elicit a chuckle from one of Ainz's guardians. He peeled his eyes away from the sky and looked me over. I was right on the money about him being older. He had pure white pushed back hair and a full matching beard that was neatly trimmed and was dressed from head to tow in a rather expensive looking suit. He didn't look so much like a guardian as he did a proud butler. Again, I decided to keep that little thought to myself. Lest I somehow insult him into killing me. "Lord Ainz did say you were rather spirited." He replied, with a blink. "I am Sebas." he greeted with the slightest of nods.

Feeling rude, I returned the nod. "A pleasure to meet you."

"You may regret those words." He replied, looking down to his wrists and pulling back his gloves. "Tell me, Are you aware of your role in in Lord Ainz's plans?"

I nodded once again. "Sure. I'm gonna start building myself up. Get a proper reputation going."

"Correct." He replied looking back up to me. "And that will largely be your business. All you have to do for me is report in whenever called upon for status updates. And of course, training."

I raised my eyebrows. "Training?"

Sebas nodded. " Lord Ainz granted me knowledge of your previous bouts with ladies Shalltear and Albedo. He believes that you have potential to do better."

Getting a bad feeling, I readied myself for a fight. "And what do you think?"

Sebas stood still as stone before replying. "I will inform you after our bout." I barely had time to widen my eyes before a sizable pain in my chest exploded with enough force to launch me back and onto the ground. I let out a few coughs and saw him now standing over me with his arm raised out. "I can at least see you are more durable than these other humans."

More fighting. It's funny because you'd think that by joining a group you didn't want to fight, you wouldn't actually have to fight them. Then again, this wasn't going to be a full on brawl or fight to the death like with the ladies. This was him testing me. I shot him a smirk that I hoped would shine under the sun as I leaped back to my feet. "Ok, Sebi. Let me show you what I can do." His face remained blank as I charged toward him, and never changed throughout the entire fight.

I will spare you this pointless bit of fisticuffs as you probably understand by now where I stand in comparison to the denizens of Nazarick. But in case you haven't figured it out by my previous tussles with the Guardains, I'll tell you what Sebas told me after he called an end to our fight and I sat on the ground, bruised and muttering words of self encouragement that frequently sounded like "fucking idiot".

"If you are done cursing yourself..." He interrupted. I ceased my talking and looked up to him. "...I believe I understand what Lord Ainz sees in you." He outstretched his arm and I take it immediately. Once I was back on my feet, he continued. " Haon, you are a capable fighter. You're reflexes and strength would be counted as mythical among the most powerful humans of this land, and you fight with your brain as well as your instincts. A welcomed combination for a warrior of Nazarick." I felt an swelling of pride in my stomach as I listened to him and a large smile grew upon my face. "Unfortunately, those natural skills are currently wasted on one such as you."

And just like that, the smile was gone.

"There is no fire in your eyes when you fight." He said, crossing his arms. "Or if there is, it's far too dim for me to see. It's as if you don't see yourself as a warrior."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I half laughed, confused. "Of course, I'm a warrior."

"No." He stated, rather definitively. "Your body is that of a warrior's as is part of your mind. But your soul tells me you do not truly see yourself as one."

My temper started to flare. "So you can talk to souls now, huh? You do that to Ainz often?"

I saw the slightest stiffening of his body as he took a in a long breath. "You are new and unproven, so I shall forgive your tone." He replied. "But to answer your question, when I look at lord Ainz, I don't simply see a powerful figure with the skill and will to conquer anyone or anything he sets his gaze upon, I see a strong, dedicated, ruler of Nazarick who truly believes he is such. In short, an assurance of himself." He narrowed his gaze on me. "You lack that assurance. You don't know what you are."

My temper retreated and I felt so ashamed that I had to look away from him. "I apologize for that." I replied and focused on his last few words. "So, your saying that I don't really believe I am what I am."

Sebas blinked for the first time since I met him. "I'm saying that something inside you is halting you from becoming what you claim to be. And until you figure out what you truly are, I cannot help you grow stronger." He finished. "You have a room made for you on the third floor. I'd advise you rest and contemplate there."

I didn't really have enough confidence or energy to storm off after his words to me so I gave a simple nod. "Right, thanks I guess." I told him in what probably was the lowest tone I could muster before turning around and slinking off to where I could rest and rethink my life.

Not really a warrior. What kind of bullshit was that?! Sure, I wasn't quite as passionate about YGGDRASIL as some other people, but you don't get to level 90 without being a little bit skilled, right? My foul mood wasn't helped when I saw Solution standing in front of my door with the most hateful, shit-eating smile I had ever seen on a woman. On the plus side, she had forgone her pretty dress form earlier and now wore a more seductive version of the maid outfit Nabe had worn but I doubted that was for my pleasure. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" I asked, blinking a few times to try and disguise my memorizing her look.

"I needed to make sure you were capable of finding your room." She spat back.

"You mean the one with my name carved on it?" I asked pointing to the word HAON engraved on the wood of the door above her head. "Unless you have another Haon that you can threaten, mock, or smack around."

Her smile began to fade. "One human is more than enough."

"One Haon, you mean." I corrected with a growing grin. "And I don't know. It might be cool to have another one of me around. At the very least I'd have some good company." I chuckled. "Plus you'd get to go through your threats again. Win win." I gave her another look over. "Hell, I'd have listened to your threats if you wore this." I gestured to her clothes and winked. Her smile now fully vanished and a scowl sat in its place.

I had to let out another quick chuckle to try and calm the mood. "It's a joke, Solution. Learn to laugh at them."

"What do you hope to accomplish here, human?" She asked through gritted teeth. "To simply laugh at my expense?"

"That's my business, maid." I replied, putting my hands at my side. "But I'll tell you what, I can add making your life a little more entertaining to it, just like that." I snapped my fingers for dramatic effect.

We stared at each other for a moment and I was about forty percent sure she was going to attack me when she huffed and started marching away. Either she decided I wasn't worth the effort or she'd been given orders not to. Probably the latter.

But with that bit out of the way, I opened and slammed the door to my room behind me and flung myself onto the bed for a quick round of sleep.

I must've been more tired than I thought because I slept through the rest of the day and into the next morning. Just a little after seven, actually. I rubbed my eyes and thought about breakfast. I wouldn't mind talking with Sebas again, but at the risk of seeing Solution at the table, I decided it was best to go out into the city for a bit. Maybe find some other place I could eat. It made a whole lot of logical sense anyway. Odds were that I was gonna spend a lot of my free time in this city so I might as well learn the layout of it.

That particular decision led me down the street to a small blacksmith building. One in which a young man not too far apart from my age stood. I wouldn't have paid him any mind but since he was clothed in some rather expensive looking steel armor,he kind of stood out from anyone else in the road who wore the usual tattered and dirty clothes. My thought was, maybe he had some sort of connection to the more wealthy occupants in this city. He kept his head facing to a window just a few feet away. I walked over to the same window and saw what drew his gaze. A beautiful necklace made of a solid silver that dazzled in the morning sunlight, behind the window. I stared at it for a bit before looking back to the young man. His eyes still lingered on it, as if I wasn't even there. I chuckled as I finally recognized the look.

"Either you've got expensive tastes, or you're looking to impress a girl." I said over to the man. He snapped out of his trance and looked over at me. I waited for the kind of condescending reply you would expect from a typical wealthy man in a fantasy genre game but I didn't get it. He smiled and shook his head, ashamed he had been caught staring. "That, or you really like jewelry. I have a bad habit of assuming things."

"It's nothing like that." He defended. "I was just wondering if the princess would like it."

A Princess. I returned his smile and wondered just how much luckier I could get. "Ah, so it is about a girl." I stepped over to his side. "Well tell me this, what exactly do you want a gift from you to mean?"

He looked puzzled by my question. "Sir?"

"Well do you want it to mean, 'You're awesome' or 'There's no one else like you in the world'?" I lightly tapped his plated shoulder. "Or do you want it to mean something a bit more...romantic?"

"N-Neither." He repeated with a little more red in his face. "Just something that shows I'm grateful to her. That I'm luckiest man on the planet to be her bodyguard."

I was a bit surprised by that revelation but I guess it matched the personality. Probably not pompous enough to be a prince or royal blood. "Right, okay then." I nodded and pulled my pack off my back. "If it's 'Thank you' you're after, I think I've got something that will get the job done." I reached into it, feeling around for such an item as the man looked on with a raised eyebrow. "Aha!" I smiled and pulled my closed hand back out. "Here, give her this."

He caught the necklace with ease and looked it over. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates when he saw what sparkled under the sun. "Rubies?"

"Rubies." I repeated. "Always thought they had a bit more personality than silver or gold."

"Y-You're just giving this to me?"

"Who said that?" I asked back. "I actually need your help with something. But I think we should at least be on a first name basis before anything else." I extended a hand. "Name's Haon."

He couldn't shake my hand fast enough. "Climb." He replied, jerking my hand up and down with a youthful vigor that matched his age.

Climb? That was a rather odd name for a boy wasn't it? Then again, I did meet a bastard named Brain some days ago so I decided not to waste anymore time than necessary. "Pleasure to meet you, Climb."

"Likewise, Haon." He replied with a rather gleeful smile. He looked down to the necklace I had given him then back to me. "But I'm wondering what exactly I could do to make up for this."

There it was. "I was actually hoping I could meet Gazeff Stronoff." I replied. "I hear he works for the king and since you act as bodyguard for the princess, you could put in a good word for me."

I was worried his enthusiasm would dampen when he realized that I was essentially using him to meet with someone further up the chain but to my surprise, he accepted it rather easily. "I see. Lord Stronoff is asleep at the palace right now but I can take you to him when he's agreeable."

I smiled and clapped my hands together. "That sounds just fine to me. Is there an inn or somewhere you frequent where I can meet wait for an answer?"

"The Azure Knight's just a little while down the street." He pointed away from me. "I can show you, if you want."

And that was that. I got my own appointment to meet the warrior captain of Re-Estize before breakfast on my first day in the capital. I don't know who or what decided that I should be this lucky but I wasn't gonna start questioning it now. I followed Climb down the street, not really talking so much as listening to him go on about how the princess was something out of a fairy tale. Beautiful, kind, polite, considerate, strong, brave. It just never ended with this guy. I was tempted to say more than a few things that, despite seeming funny to me, probably would have ruined the mood so I bit my tongue and smiled, nodded, and occasionally looked surprised.

"Why are you eager to meet lord Stronoff?" He asked, finally moving away from the princess.

"I hear he's the best warrior in the kingdom.' I answered. "And if he's feeling up to it, I'd like to see it myself."

"Ah." He nodded. "You wish to test yourself against him."

"More or less." I replied, regretting it instantly. That sounded a bit too ominous coming from some no name drifter like me. I needed to come up with a better reason. One that seemed too weird to not be true. I smiled when the answer hit me. "I'm actually making a list of the strongest fighters in this land. He's the only I've heard about so I figured I'd start with him."

That seemed to work. The glint in his eye dimmed and his smile returned. "Oh, well in that case. There are a few others below lord Stronoff that you should look at before him."

Great. Now I had to work through a list of people before getting to Gazeff. Me and my big mouth. "Such as?" I sighed.

"Well there's master Unglauss."

My widened eyes told him that I was surprised when I heard that name,"Brain Unglauss?" I repeated.

Climb nodded. "You know him?"

"We met on the road, sometime ago." I replied, not technically lying. "I had heard that he became a bandit out in the wilderness."

"That's what I understood, as well." Climb agreed, slowing his pace as the thought seemed to sadden him. "But something happened and he ended up back in the capital. Lord Stronoff found him in an alleyway and brought him back with him to nurse him back to his old self."

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "He sounds like a pretty nice guy, to do that for a stranger."

Climb wasted no time in correcting me. "Actually, they met a while back in a tournament. Where they met in the finals."

I had myself a chuckle at how similar that sounded to me and Ainz. He looked puzzled by my laugh but I quickly changed the subject. "All right. So Brain's the second strongest. Any others?" I asked.

His pace quickened and his smile grew when he spoke again. "That would be lady Gagaran of Blue Rose."

A lady? I tilted my head back, surprised at yet another strange sounding name. "Lady Gagaran." I repeated. "What's she like?"

"You can ask her, if you want." Climb replied, stopping right in front of particular building with the words "Azure Knight" carved into it. "She comes by here after missions she takes with her group Blue Rose."

"Neat." I said, moving away from him and towards the entrance. "Then this is where you'll find me."

"Sir Haon?"

I shook my head. "I'm not knighted buddy. Haon will work just fine."

He accepted the correction with a nod and bowed his head. "Haon, thank you again."

"No problem. Hope your princess likes that necklace." I said with a quick wave of goodbye as I walked inside.

I wasn't expecting a place called the Azure Knight to be so bland looking. The area inside lacked anything resembling personality. No wanted posters or drawings upon it's pure white walls, no musical instruments lying around for anyone to offer some entertainment, no brawling drunkards or laughing patrons. All together it was a rather dull affair. Especially when compared to the liveliness of the taverns/inns back in YGGDRASIL. But to be fair, constant noise or fighting might not be the best idea long term if you want a successful business. And it was still early morning. It was far more likely that this place's more lively inhabitants were sleeping off a loud event filled night.

The lack of anything musical really did irritate me though. I was by no means a gifted musician back home but I always did like having some form of music on to relax. And ever since I ended up here, I've had to make do without it. I thought back to my inventory and smiled to myself. No more.

"Hey." I called out to the only other person in the room. A young brunette woman sitting behind a desk and in front of a wall of different wine bottles. She looked up from shining an empty cup over to me. "You mind if I play a little to pass the time?" I asked.

"Sure." She nodded. "As long as no one else complains, it's fine with me."

I gave an affirmative nod and once again pulled up my inventory. By now, I think I had come to terms with the fact that I could now simply swipe my fingers and pullout anything I had on me. It sure beat the hell out of going through my cloak, anyway. But nevertheless I did have me a little chuckle when I arrived at the object I wanted. I soon held a simple light mahogany guitar in my hands and sat myself down close to a window that looked out into the street.

I thought about which little tunes in my head I could sing. I wasn't a big fan of the techno pop junk so that was out. Something a little more metal? It didn't really seem like the time of day to head bang so that was a no. Reggae would probably just put me to sleep...I kept going through possible genres until one particular song lodged itself into my head. It was an older song that my grandparents had enjoyed listening to but I had always had a fondness for it. And it actually perfectly summarized the whole dilemma I faced now with Sebas telling me that I'm not really who I think I am. Or was it that I don't think I am what I actually am?

I shook my head to wave off the confusion and strung a few strings trying to get a feel for the instrument. The strings sounded in tune and settled myself into my chair and relaxed as I began to strumming the song I held in my head. Once I got a healthy rhythm going, I started to sing.

"May I...stand unshaken. Amidst, amidst the crash of the world. May I...stand unshaken. Amidst, amidst the crash of the world."

A few of the faces started looking to me in a haze of surprise. My guess was that they either hadn't heard this particular tune before or that I was a shockingly bad singer. Either one was possible so I didn't dwell on them. I thought about how I should introduce myself to this Gazeff. At a level thirty I could probably crush him easily so I was gonna have to hold back. The question, was how much?

"Did I hear the thunder? Did I hear you break?"

Was I going to show that I slightly more powerful than him or play it off as a talented youngster who still needed training. I could either go with either one.

"You don't know what you are."

"...I can't quite remember just what guided me this way. May I...stand unshaken. Amidst, amidst the crash of the world."

My words echoed through the room yet I could hardly focus on them as the voice of Sebas ran through my head. I also had that but to work through as I apparently didn't really believe in who I was. What the hell did that mean?

"The pines, they often whisper. Whisper what no one can tell. He who drinks from the deep waters. May he know the depths of the well."

Was it because I wasn't actually Haon until I got sucked into the place? Was the identity I had created for fun in a game something Sebas could see right through? If he could why did he still revere Ainz? He was just like me, right?"

"May I...stand unshaken. Amidst, amidst the crash of the world. May I...stand unshaken. Amidst, amidst the crash of the world."

It's safe to say that I was hitting a wall mentally. But on the bright side, It didn't seem to be affecting my music. I noticed a few new heads facing me. A group of golden haired warriors who looked like they had come in from a hidden back door somewhere. They were quite a diverse bunch, size wise. with the tallest being almost a head taller and twice as muscular than me and in a full set of armor while the smallest looked to be slouching to about my chest and wore a cloak and mask. There was four of them in total with the other two being a pair of twin women with matching hair styles, clothes and blank demeanor.

"Mmm, oh, traveler. What have you seen? Were there crossroads? Where you been, where you been? I once was standing tall? Now I feel my back's against the wall."

The faces of the three smaller women remained the same, but I did notice the larger man of the group keep his gaze locked on me. Thankfully, it wasn't one of the more hate filled stares like I had been getting recently. No, this one was more like I was some sort of prized steak. I shot him a smile as I decided to wrap it up and he returned it with a mischievous wink.

"May I...stand unshaken. Amidst, amidst the crash of the world. May I...stand unshaken. Amidst, amidst the crash of the world."

As the music died and a light applause rang out from the audience, the man left his group and marched over to me like he was on a mission. When he stood over me like some sort of gargoyle, I felt I had to respond. "Hello, I'm Haon. Can I help you?"

"Haon..." The voice was deep. But not as deep as it should've been for a man that size. And now that he was closer, I did notice that on the breastplate of his armor, there were two rounded out areas of metal for...well breasts. "Name's Gagaran." She greeted, leaning down towards me with a smile that I could only describe as intriguingly straightforward. "You wanna have some fun?"

I looked for any sign that she was joking on her face. A slight twitch around the lips? A quick blink? There was nothing there. So then I thought this will probably be like one of those false leads things. Where you think "fun" means one thing but to her it's actually something else. So, going with that idea and thinking I might as well play along, I told her. "Sure."

A/N: Well, if you can recognize the song, you know where my time as been for the last few months. Besides with the holidays anyway. But now I'm back, and I hoped you enjoyed this latest installment.

Until we meet again, gods guide you.