"As expected, this pirate crew is just a traveling circus."
Ainz watched as a thoroughly drunk Luffy danced alongside Usopp and Chopper, performing the chopstick dance.
The more he observed, the more convinced he became that sparing the Straw Hat kid was the right decision. Killing such a fool would have been a disgrace to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
"Black Swordsman, do you have an interest in sharing a drink with me?" The woman whom Ainz had been paying the most attention to approached him.
As for Nami, after extorting a few thousand berries from him, he had already seen through her greedy nature. Now, his focus was entirely on the dark-haired woman before him.
"I didn't expect the Black Swordsman to look so... ordinary." Robin commented as she observed Ainz after he removed his helmet.
"Apologies if I disappointed you."
Ainz could easily alter his appearance to be more handsome, but that would attract unnecessary attention. So, he chose a random face.
"Not at all. In fact, it gives off a sense of security."
[Sense of security? That doesn't make me happy at all.]
Ainz couldn't help but find Robin's words less than flattering.
"Is that so? To receive such praise from a beauty like you is truly my honor."
"Heh, Black Swordsman, you certainly have a way with words. No wonder you have a stunning companion like Narberal." Robin chuckled.
"But compared to Miss Nico Robin, she still falls a bit short, wouldn't you agree... Devil Child?"
Robin's calm demeanor faltered. Her wanted poster still used the photo from when she was first declared a criminal, and very few people knew her current identity.
Yet Ainz had just exposed her in an instant.
"How do you know who I am?" She instinctively moved her hands, preparing to activate her Devil Fruit ability.
"Armored man, so this is what you look like." Luffy suddenly ran over before Ainz could respond, his helmet still off.
"Huh? Just a regular old dude? I thought you'd be some scary-looking demon!" Usopp also abandoned his dancing to join in.
"You insolent insect!" Narberal's hands sparked with electricity, ready to blast Usopp into oblivion.
"Narberal!" Ainz swiftly put his helmet back on, stopping her.
"Lord Francis, understood." Narberal withdrew her magic at his command.
"Since it's Lord Francis's order, I will let this worm go... for now." She shot Usopp a cold glare.
"Terrifying! I nearly died!" Usopp, sensitive to killing intent, trembled despite the attack being called off.
"Even when she's angry, Miss Narberal is still so beautiful…." Sanji swooned, hearts practically replacing his eyes.
Usopp snapped, yelling at him, "What the hell, you idiot?! I almost died!"
"If you died by Miss Narberal's hand, that would be an honor. Right, Miss Narberal?"
Sanji continued fawning over her, completely ignoring Usopp's near-death experience.
"This perverted cook is beyond saving..." Usopp gave up arguing, seeing Sanji completely enthralled.
"Lord Francis, may I crush this human?" Narberal asked respectfully, pointing at Sanji.
[Damn, she didn't call him a 'worm'—she said 'human' this time. She really wants to kill this curly-browed pervert.]
"Narberal!"
"Lord Francis, I understand. Third-Tier Magic—Lighting!"
A dragon formed of lightning shot towards Sanji, electrocuting him on the spot.
"Miss Narberal... is... so... beautiful..." Sanji mumbled before losing consciousness.
"Chopper, check on Sanji!" Usopp panicked, then, after a pause, clasped his hands together.
[Perverted cook, thank you for your sacrifice. May the gods bless your soul.]
"Someone get a doctor! Oh wait, that's me!" Chopper scrambled in a panic, only to remember his own profession.
After a quick examination, he sighed in relief. "He's fine, just knocked out. He'll be okay after some rest."
"If all pirates are like this, just how incompetent is this world's Navy?" Ainz watched the bizarre antics of Usopp and the others and found himself, strangely, worrying about the Marines.
...
"Straw Hat, what are you guys doing on this island?"
"We're heading to Skypiea, of course!"
"Skypiea?" Ainz's 'Gate of Fate' relic suddenly reacted, indicating that this must be related to the story quest.
"Yeah! The legendary floating island, a dreamland up in the sky!" Luffy's signature dumb grin appeared again.
"Armor guy, wanna come with us?"
"A floating island, huh... that brings back memories." Ainz recalled his guild's battle against Seraphim's floating sky fortress. He had been just as shocked when he first saw it.
"Whoa, armor guy, you've been to Skypiea?" Luffy's curiosity was piqued.
"Something like that. But the floating island I saw was different from what you're talking about."
"Whoa! That's awesome! Do you know about the City of Gold?!"
"City of Gold?"
"It's—" Luffy began, but Nami immediately clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Idiot! You can't just blurt that out to strangers!" she hissed, punching Luffy on the head.
"Aw, come on!" Luffy whined, rubbing his head.
"The legendary city of Shandora," Robin interjected. "It's said to be a city of gold, though no one has ever truly seen it."
"A legendary golden city? Now that's interesting." Ainz found himself intrigued.
Through experimentation, he had confirmed that this world's gold could be used as Nazarick's currency.
Gold was essential for the upkeep of Nazarick's facilities, soldier production, and item crafting. Most importantly, it was required to revive NPCs.
"A city full of gold... perhaps Skypiea might be worth the trip after all."
With that Ainz took his leave from Straw Hat crew and also informed other guardians about this newly acquired information.
The plan was simple—to acquire all the gold of this city.