The Supreme Council Chamber housed the control core that linked to every system in the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The Supreme Beings once managed the entire Tomb from there.
But since their departure, that room had remained sealed.
Perhaps it was their only hope.
Albedo: "I know a place that might be related to system permissions."
Albedo: "But I've never entered it. It's the Supreme Beings' exclusive domain."
Misaka Mikoto: "At a time like this, who cares about 'exclusive'!"
Saeko Busujima: "Agreed. This isn't the time to hesitate."
Frieren: "Respecting tradition matters, but in an existential crisis you sometimes have to break the rules."
Megumi Kato: "Strictly speaking, Albedo-san having self-awareness as a game NPC already breaks the rules."
Aqua: "Tch, what are you all babbling about? When there's trouble, just rely on this goddess. One little divine blessing from me and any problem is solved."
Bibi Dong: "Is that so? Then could you come to my world and do me a favor?"
Aqua: "What favor?"
Bibi Dong: "I want your divine power to fill the divine core of my realm."
Bibi Dong: "In simple terms—let me siphon your divinity."
Mio Akiyama: "!!!"
Ayame Yomogawa: "Uh…"
Aqua: "Huh? What are you even saying? This goddess is not letting anyone drain her power!"
"…"
Albedo hesitated for a heartbeat, then realized they were right.
Albedo: "You're right. I'll try."
She turned and sprinted toward the mysterious door behind the Throne Room—
the door that had never opened since the Supremes left.
Lifelike reliefs on it depicted each Supreme Being in heroic poise.
To her surprise,
the moment her hand touched the door,
a faint light welled up from its surface.
Albedo: "The door is reacting—it's glowing!"
Rei Ao: "Keep going. If you truly hit a dead end, you can try making a deal with me."
Drawing a deep breath, Albedo pressed both palms to the door and focused her will.
"In the name of the Overseer of the Guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, I request entry to the Supreme Council Chamber!"
The light grew stronger, but the door itself stayed shut.
Clearly, Overseer-level clearance wasn't enough.
She needed higher authorization—the Supreme Beings' authorization.
But the Supremes were gone. Where could she obtain it?
Suddenly she remembered something.
From within her garments she took out the small black box Lord Tabula Smaragdina had given her.
She opened it with care.
Inside wasn't some artifact or magic item as she'd imagined, but a single, simple badge—engraved with the crest of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown.
When she picked it up,
a beam of light lanced from the badge straight into the door.
Every carved Supreme on the door lit up at once.
Ka-thunk!
The heavy door slowly swung inward.
Albedo: "I opened it! Tabula Smaragdina-sama left a badge—it granted entry!"
Mio Akiyama: "Great! Go see what's inside!"
Miko Yotsuya: "Uh… what if there are traps? Better be careful."
Albedo stepped into the mysterious chamber—and the sight took her breath away.
A massive crystal floated in the center of the room.
All around it were countless flickering light-screens, displaying the real-time status of every sector of Nazarick.
The most shocking part: every screen was frozen at the same timestamp, just like the Tomb outside.
Only the central crystal turned slowly,
its surface surfacing characters like those she'd seen in the spatial cracks:
[System Error]: World data stream interrupted
[Runtime State]: Paused
[Proposed Solution]: Reboot / Delete error data (Albedo)
[Administrator Authentication]: Pending…
"Me?"
Albedo's eyes widened when she saw her own name.
She was the error data?
Just as the group had said—her self-awareness as a game NPC was the biggest bug of all.
She approached the crystal and reached out to touch it.
The instant her fingers met its surface, a searing light flashed.
She felt her consciousness yanked into a completely different space.
[Administrator authentication in progress…]
[Target of authentication: Albedo]
[Target identified as error code!]
[Error! Error! Critical error!]
[Initiating emergency repair: reboot and delete code associated with erroneous target!]
"!!!"
As a barrage of red warnings flared, Albedo stared in horror as her arm began to break apart into ones and zeros.
She didn't understand how,
but instinct screamed that once the disintegration finished, she would be gone for good.
Driven by the will to live, she cried for help.
[Ding! Chat group member Albedo has initiated a trade request!]
[Trade Content]: Help her so that she will not vanish.
[Please choose trade terms!]
"Oh?"
On his end, Rei Ao blinked in surprise at the incoming request.
"What is it, Rei Ao-sama?"
Alicia, leaning on his shoulder, had noticed the shift in his expression.
"Is it the two new members?"
She couldn't speak in the main chat, but Alicia had read the messages—and she could tell the newcomers were unusual:
a water goddess, and a character from a game.
"It is about a newcomer. Albedo has just initiated a trade with me."
Rei Ao rose, unhurried and composed.
Alicia's eyes sharpened. "Has her situation worsened?"
"Something like that."
Rei Ao suddenly bent down and kissed her, bringing a rosy flush to her cheeks.
"I need to step out. Rest well."
He ruffled her hair with a grin. "Time to see what kind of predicament this pure-hearted succubus has gotten into."
[Trade Established!]
[Trade Partner]: Albedo
[Trade Content]: Help her so that she will not vanish.
[Trade Terms]: "Right to use your body once."
~~~
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