Overlord: Welcoming the Birth of the King
Chapter 68: An Interesting Discovery, Disguise

Inside the borrowed house.

Tang Zheng sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, his eyes slightly closed as he contemplated his next moves.

Creak~

The little hellhound lay beneath the bed, gnawing on a goblin's leg bone between its teeth, producing faint grinding sounds as if sharpening its fangs.

The corpse of that goblin from earlier had clearly been devoured by the hellhound, leaving only this single leg bone behind.

Suddenly.

The hellhound paused its gnawing, lifting its head to look toward the door. Then it turned to glance at the bed, noticing Tang Zheng had opened his eyes.

The footsteps outside weren't heavy.

Tang Zheng's eyes flashed as he expressionlessly looked down at the bone in the hellhound's mouth.

The small hellhound's jaws immediately exerted force, easily shattering what appeared to be a sturdy goblin leg bone before swallowing it in one or two bites.

"Odorless."

Tang Zheng raised his arm and made a casual gesture.

The faint blood scent lingering in the room instantly dissipated completely.

Knock, knock!

Gentle rapping sounded at the door.

Tang Zheng rose from the bed, and with a soft "click," the door opened.

Enri stood there holding a wooden tray, lowering her head slightly upon seeing Tang Zheng. "Mother asked me to bring these meals. Thank you for your help today, sir."

"Actually, I've already eaten," Tang Zheng replied after a brief glance at the food on the tray.

At these words.

Enri momentarily didn't know how to respond.

Seeing Enri grow even more nervous, Tang Zheng opened the door wider. "Come in first."

Enri finally relaxed slightly and entered, placing the wooden tray on the room's aged wooden table.

After setting things down.

Enri glanced at the small hellhound observing her from beneath the bed and froze.

Despite knowing it posed no danger, she still felt afraid—after all, this was a highly dangerous magical creature.

Rather than closing the door, Tang Zheng pushed it further open before reentering the room.

"Um, sir, I'll just leave the food here..."

Enri clasped her hands before her abdomen, her voice slightly flustered.

"If you're not in a hurry, there are a few matters I'd like to ask about," Tang Zheng said mildly as he pulled out a chair and sat at the table.

He hadn't expected Enri to bring him food, but since she was here, it was a good opportunity to verify information about those adventurers from earlier.

Small villages like this couldn't keep secrets well.

And the village chief's words needed further verification.

"O-okay."

Enri blinked before nodding and sitting down as well.

Tang Zheng examined the food on the table.

A milky white soup containing meat cubes—quite an unusual combination.

"I'll accept this kind gesture."

Tang Zheng picked up a pine nut-like seed, cracked it effortlessly between his fingers, and popped it into his mouth. "The nuts are good."

Hearing this.

Enri unconsciously straightened her back slightly, her eyes visibly brightening.

Truth be told.

Both the thick meaty bean soup and the nuts gathered from the dangerous forest were delicacies her family normally couldn't afford to eat.

But Enri knew full well that to someone like this young man before her, such food might seem downright shabby.

Before coming, she'd considered that he might not even touch the offerings, but even anticipating this outcome, proper etiquette had to be observed!

Just as villagers often helped each other—whether the assistance was big or small—some response was always expected.

To Enri, this was simple common sense.

Tang Zheng didn't overthink it. After casually tasting a nut, he began inquiring about the adventurers.

Enri clearly hadn't investigated specifically, mostly recounting what she'd heard from other villagers—information quite similar to what the chief had shared earlier.

Tang Zheng nodded slightly in understanding.

"Um, sir... you're not an adventurer, are you?" Enri suddenly asked in a small voice.

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Tang Zheng responded.

Seeing her question wasn't rejected, the naturally curious girl couldn't help sharing what she'd overheard between the chief and another villager while delivering the food.

"I see."

"Indeed, I'm no adventurer," Tang Zheng chuckled softly.

Soon after.

Enri left the room with a happy expression, carrying back the untouched bean soup and barely touched nuts.

Click!

Tang Zheng closed the door again, an intrigued expression flashing across his face.

He'd just noticed something previously overlooked.

Enri's hair color distinctly differed from others in the village.

Most Carne Village residents had brown or dark brown hair—Enri's parents and younger sister Nemu included.

Only Enri possessed this chestnut-blonde, lustrous hair.

Of course, this was trivial.

Tang Zheng returned to the bed and patted the little hellhound's head. "You've served your purpose."

"Awoo."

The hellhound looked up blankly, not comprehending Tang Zheng's meaning.

Tang Zheng naturally didn't explain.

His sudden adoption of the hellhound served multiple purposes—disposing of numerous goblin and ogre corpses from his item box, plus creating a deliberate disguise.

Or perhaps more accurately, controlled information disclosure!

When one's strength is lacking, minimizing presence is the wisest choice.

But since he'd be operating mostly within this world's human society going forward, excessive concealment became unnecessary.

Any activity inevitably leaves traces.

Just as he'd inexplicably attracted attention from "Eight Fingers" before—some troubles can't be avoided simply by laying low.

In this superficially peaceful yet internally and externally chaotic otherworld, there would always be fools looking for trouble.

Maintaining extreme low-profile only to suddenly make big moves would draw even more attention.

The hellhound's mere presence provided adequate yet not overwhelming deterrence.

The Bone King's methods were worth referencing.

But their desired effects differed.

The Bone King formed the Black Scripture to rapidly gain fame and infiltrate human society for intelligence gathering.

But Tang Zheng faced more than just this world's humans—there was also the impending arrival of the "Great Tomb of Nazarick."

As he'd said before, this intelligence war had already begun!

Currently, Tang Zheng's greatest strength lay in close combat—likely to remain his strongest asset until acquiring the special Valkyrie class.

Therefore.

Tang Zheng planned to disguise his primary combat style as that of a magic caster.

Only, he remained undecided.

Whether to pose as an arcane caster or divine caster.

All spells he currently mastered—except Light Heal—belonged to the arcane system. Yet he'd previously revealed his healing magic.

Hence the dilemma.

Of course, he could pretend to be a dual-system caster—this world had many such spellcasters.

"What a pity."

Tang Zheng sighed slightly, thinking of Enri.

Upon recognizing Enri's considerable talent for commander-type classes, he'd actually considered recruiting her.

But for Enri to master command skills and level up such classes, she'd need at least a small troop to direct and train.

Currently, Tang Zheng lacked such resources.

"Indeed, there's so much to consider," Tang Zheng massaged his temples wearily.

"Awoo." The little hellhound nuzzled against his leg.