My Name Was…

Having narrowly escaped disaster in more ways than one, I had taken a small detour before following Lynferia’s guidance to the Treasure Hall.

But this castle… it was way too big, wasn’t it?

There was no way I could return to that throne room alone… Also, even after walking this much, I hadn’t met a single person… There was no way the only one in the castle was Lynferia, right?

I couldn’t even find any guards who were supposed to be protecting the Treasure Hall, either.

“Fels-sama, this is the Treasure Hall. I shall wait here, so please take your time.”

“Huh?”

Seeing Lynferia bow in the room just before the Treasure Hall, I accidentally let my real self slip out, but she explained with a serious expression.

“No one but Fels-sama is able to enter the Treasure Hall.”

“…Ah, right. That’s true. Then I’ll be going.”

That was the setting? But wasn’t it weird there weren’t even guards? If it was safe, fine, but… also, did that mean only I could carry items out of the Treasure Hall? What if there was some massive axe in there—did I have to haul it out alone?

Thinking that, I opened the door to the Treasure Hall, and what leapt into my eyes was… light.

A brilliance that looked like it might burn my eyes overflowed from within, and I narrowed my eyes for a moment… Then, once I adjusted, I stepped into the Treasure Hall and looked around.

This was incredible… Weapons, armor, and items of every kind were packed in everywhere. I’d assumed the room would be small, but it was huge… and looking closely, it seemed everything was neatly sorted by category. Fels was probably the type-A personality.

All of this was mine… I really could live without doing anything… With that thought, I picked up an absurdly high-sense sword nearby. One side of the blade looked like roaring flame—an aggressively “cool” design that scratched every itch in my adolescent soul.

“If I remembered right… this was the Flame Sword? A weapon that added extra fire damage when you attacked… but, well, it was basically a collection item with no use once you got past midgame.”

I put the Flame Sword back where it belonged. Beside it were attribute variants like the Ice Sword and Thunder Sword, but performance-wise they were all about the same.

I continued wandering through the wide Treasure Hall like I was strolling through a museum, my heart bouncing as I saw tools and gear I’d only ever been able to view through a screen.

“This was amazing… If I wasn’t careful, I might believe every single piece of equipment and every item in the game was stored here. From low-level stuff to high-level stuff, take your pick… It was a little painful that even the exclusive gear for characters who should already be gone was still here, but… oh, from here on, it was protagonist-exclusive equipment.”

Come to think of it, I was wearing armor, but I hadn’t been holding a weapon. Lynferia had a sword—so I should probably carry something powerful too.

“Well, a sword was fine… The Overlord-exclusive equipment was a sword, after all.”

I picked up a jet-black sword placed in a particularly prominent spot. It had no flashy ornamentation at all—like a blade devoted purely to function. And yet, it was beautiful, carrying a quiet air of elegance.

“This was the Overlord Sword, Verdia, right? A cursed sword that massively reduced your stats if anyone other than the Overlord equipped it, and then steadily chewed through your HP… Mmm… a name and setting so painfully edgy it couldn’t be more on-the-nose… and that was exactly why it was great.”

It was the first time I’d held it, but… it fit my hand strangely well… or so I wanted to say. I wasn’t saying it out loud, though.

Still, it really did feel right. Maybe the grip was made to suit Fels’s hand? But, like, I didn’t even know how to use a sword… Would this actually help?

“Well, whatever. If the game’s rules applied, when the Overlord held this sword, HP recovered like crazy, stats skyrocketed, and even status ailments were almost completely nullified.”

Without this sword, winning against the Evil God on the Overlord route would be nearly impossible. Because you had so few companions…

Looking at the exclusive equipment of so many characters stored in the Treasure Hall, a sigh slipped out. But there was nothing I could do about it now… All that was left was to choose accessories and then head outside.

“Welcome back, Fels-sama.”

“Yeah. Sorry to keep you waiting, Lynferia.”

“No, it was no trouble at all. By the way, Fels-sama, what were your plans after this…?”

“…I intended to look around the castle a bit. The locations of the various facilities were hazy.”

“Understood. I shall guide you. Also… my apologies, but may we head to the Audience Chamber at the end?”

Where was the Audience Chamber…? Ah—was it that room that showed up when diplomats from other factions came? Was that different from the throne room?

“Hm. That was fine, but… was there something?”

“Yes! In fact, earlier I relayed that Fels-sama had returned, and I issued orders for everyone to assemble in the Audience Chamber!”

“Everyone… as in everyone in the castle?”

“Yes! Everyone in the castle!”

How many people was that…? And besides, were there people like gatekeepers and cooks—ones I hadn’t edited as vassals? I was very curious.

“If we went now, were they already gathered?”

“Yes! They were already gathered.”

They were already gathered, and you were going to show me around first and go there at the end? What kind of strolling-in-late executive nonsense was that? Overlord authority was terrifying…

But… I really wanted to know how many vassals there were and what they were like… Standing in front of people was kind of scary, and… even as an Overlord, my legs might shake…

Still, I wanted to know.

“I want to see everyone’s faces first. We’re going to the Audience Chamber.”

“F-Fels-sama…”

Was there something in that sentence that warranted tears?

For some reason, Lynferia’s eyes brimmed instantly, and I faltered, but I started walking without saying anything. I didn’t know what you were supposed to say to a woman who was crying.

“M-My apologies! I shall guide you!”

Catching up quickly, Lynferia took the lead and guided me to the Audience Chamber.

Yes. That helped… because I had no confidence after the second step!

Led by Lynferia like that for a while, I returned to the Audience Chamber faster than it had taken to reach the Treasure Hall. Well, earlier I’d made a detour… If you went directly, it took about this long… I could probably make it alone next time…

…Nope. I didn’t feel like I could. Yeah.

Castles were, you know, designed to be confusing to stop intruders and all that… so it was fine that I hadn’t memorized it yet, right? That was what I thought.

Anyway, I was back in front of the Audience Chamber door… and everyone in the castle was on the other side… That made me nervous…

But leaving my feelings behind, Lynferia swung the door wide open.

And inside the Audience Chamber was… a crowd too large to count at a glance. The instant I recognized that, everyone there dropped to one knee and bowed their heads in perfect unison, accompanied by a single sound.

Wait—there was only one sound? Everyone’s timing was flawless? Practice? Did they practice this? The perfection was so eerie it honestly scared me.

Huh? I was going to walk forward here? Stand in front of these people? I’d been imagining a much lighter vibe… This was absurdly serious.

But… after coming this far, I couldn’t hesitate… I was the Overlord. I was the Overlord.

Resolving myself, I stepped into the Audience Chamber and slowly advanced toward the throne.

I thought I would hear nothing but my footsteps and Lynferia’s behind me… but I felt like I was hearing suppressed sobs from all around. This was that thing, right…? The same thing as Lynferia’s earlier mess of tears was happening everywhere, wasn’t it?

Fels’s charisma was so strong it was actually unsettling… Could I pull off being Fels? I looked like the Overlord, but inside I was just a gamer.

I wanted to scream that this was impossible, but if I did, everything would end. Seriously, thank you very much. Please look forward to the next Fels-sensei!

While thinking that, I had already reached the throne… Fine. I’d do it. I’d do it, damn it. I’d do it. I’d show them my Overlord move. I’d show them for real!

I spun around sharply and swept my right hand sideways, making my cape billow.

Personally, I thought it looked pretty cool. If I had to rate it, five stars. The only regret was that everyone—including Lynferia—still had their heads bowed, so nobody saw it.

All right. Think of the next move… In times like this, was I allowed to speak? I checked left and right with just my eyes, but no one looked like they were acting as an attendant. And if I recalled the game, other countries’ rulers talked on their own all the time, so it should be fine!

The only worry was… that the protagonist was the silent type in the game…

But it was fine! I’d already spoken with Lynferia!

“Raise your faces.”

That was my first line—delivered with the high difficulty challenge of keeping it low while also giving it presence.

But not a single person twitched. Ah. Yeah, yeah, I got it. That thing where you had to say it twice, right? Formal etiquette? Annoying.

“Enough. Raise your faces.”

On my second baritone command, everyone in the Audience Chamber raised their heads at once. The synchronized motion was still way too perfect and terrifying…

All right. What now?

Of course, I hadn’t thought of anything. Because apparently, having an empty head let you pack it full of dreams. But in my case, not just my head—my entire inside was empty… What did I do? What was I supposed to do? No, this was all about vibes. Ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent of being an Overlord was vibes!

“Everyone… Do you know who I am?”

My sudden question didn’t even stir a whisper. I could tell they were all focusing, trying not to miss a single motion or a single word from me.

About seventy percent of them were looking at me with cheeks wet from tears. The remaining thirty percent were looking at me drenched in tears and snot.

“I am Fels… Overlord Fels!”

This was the first time I had ever introduced myself as Fels.