Underground-Tomb-IDOL 2ndP

Underground-Tomb-IDOL 2ndP (地下-大墳墓-IDOL 2ndP) is a idol event hosted in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It appeared in Mass for the Dead on April 1, 2022 to April 18, 2022.

Background
The Adventurer's Guild is crowded with "Dark Warrior" dolls. But it raises concerns about idolatry from the Slane Theocracy! ??

From "faith" to "friendliness". To correct the direction of the idol plan, the legendary idols are now reunited ――

Purpose of Event
The protagonist, the Territory Guardian for the city of E-Rantel and his aide Surako head towards the Adventurer's Guild for a meeting concerning the souvenirs being given out at the guild. The pair are greeted by Ian Als Heim and Nigun Grid Luin of the Sunlight Scripture while they are on patrol. Nigun has something that he wishes to say to the protagonist. He asks about the character's upcoming meeting with Pluton Ainzach and its level of urgency. Surako provides that the meeting was called forth by Ainzach and wanted to exchange opinions with them on the newest product being released by the guild. Ian acknowledges that he has seen the many dolls of the protagonist and how much joy they bring to the children playing with them throughout the city. Nigun also adds that the guild has also been distributing the dolls with sweets for sick orphans who after eating the sweets are finding themselves cured and healthy.

The priests calls the move clever as the protagonist found a way to heal the orphans for free without getting involved with the temple. On the other hand the protagonist finds the praise a bit too much as the dolls at least to him are a bit embarrassing. In truth the dolls were part of a just part of a plan to pay the operating expenses of the Adventurer's Guild after he had acquired the city rights from the Kingdom. Though privately the protagonist moved forward with the idea of candy disguised as medicine after doing a similar measure during a Christmas event. Even if the temple does complain about the issue, his actions are not scrupulous and can be explained. The priests are not looking for an apology but were impressed by the wit and tact of the move as the protagonist was able to move where they could not while under the Tripartite Alliance. Though priests from the Sunlight Scripture find the dolls to be uplifting for the populace, they do have some concerns. For starters Nigun says he had seen an old man praying to one of the Dark Warrior dolls, something he finds to be a dangerous sign. When asked to elaborate, Ian states they understand that protagonist's Dark Warrior persona is a hero and an object of admiration, and that Adventurer's Guild’s intends to disseminate merchandise to fund its operation. If only the guild were just selling the chocolates it would not be an issue, but in this case with the dolls, the priests are worried they might incite a rebellion. This brings only confusion to Surako and the protagonist, who was initially worried that the Scripture was becoming aware of the "Idol Plan" but it seems that the issue is totally different. Nigun apologizes if he was a bit unclear, as he knows himself how it is difficult to handle the hearts of humans, and goes to explain that faith can be used to strength volatile hearts and provides food for thought for tomorrow. But it is also dangerous if faith is discourages and suspicions once born can undermine such faith. For suspicious rebels, words may not be possible to reach them, something which Ian has seen in a foreign land before. Neither Nigun and Ian want to encounter a situation in E-Rantel. They are telling the protagonist this as he has both credit and hope, but with the current state of the world there is a lot of uncertainty that can lead to disappointment. The priests leave hoping that the protagonist will consider their words. Having received some useful advice the homunculus and slime then head to the Adventurer's Guild.

At the guild the pair find the receptionist desk to be busy giving out number tickets to potential clients seeking out requests and lining up to receive the Sorcerer Kingdom's specialty chocolates. Though surprised by the business at the guild, the pair are greeted by familiar faces, the members of the Swords of Darkness. Lukrut Volve is the first to greet the members of Darkness. When asked about why there are so many people at the guild, Peter Mauk explains that it due to the number of requests increasing giving the adventurers more opportunities. Dyne Woodwonder adds that recruitment has been up thanks to the guild's souvenirs given out by the guild. Ninya even has been collecting some of the "Dark Warrior" dolls herself. The news of the guild's boom goes beyond the protagonist's expectations, though the words from the Theocracy priest hold some concern for him.

The adventurers from Darkness finally meet with Pluton Ainzach in his office who is proud of the success that the new products have effected the guild. Souvenirs are distributed to both clients and contracted adventurer leading to new requests being made and accepted, creating a synergistic effect. The guildmaster notes that more people have been trying to get all the examples of souvenirs. There are different versions of the dolls that include a "standing statue", "stance with a sword", and "cloaking opening pose". But due to the dolls being randomly distributed, some customers have been exchanging with each other in order to complete their collection. The protagonist sees that souvenirs are inciting the fanbase of the Dark Warrior in E-Rantel just as it did in the experiment with LittleMass's fanbase. While Ainzach sees that the dolls have helped the guild's operations and drove employment, he still thinks that there is still room for employment.

He turns the conversation on what Surako had mentioned some time ago on fan psychology and how he wants to use it to increase more variations of their souvenirs as soon as possible. The adventurers though feel that doing such a push forward now would be unwise. They bring the guildmaster up to speed on their conversation with Nigun and Ian. Ainzach upon hearing their concerns cannot help but agree that they should be careful when they launch any new products as they do not know how the human heart will react. Though interestingly Ainzach is not too sure if they should release any new products as he does not want anything to overshadow the Dark Warrior franchise as it has become synonymous with hope to the people of the city. Essentially he wants to release something that meets the demands of their customers without compromising the current status quo. However now they are faced with a problem of how to avoid gross over idolization of their products and also to maintain its popularity. All these concerns are promised to be looked into by the protagonist.

The protagonist and Slimeko then rush back to the Great Tomb of Nazarick to give a detailed explanation of the problems that are occurring in E-Rantel to Momonga, Albedo, and Demiurge. Not only that the protagonist includes of their conversations with the agents of the Theocracy and the Adventurer's guildmaster on the ongoing Idol Plan which him underlines as pressing an immediate response. Momonga listening to the report, admits that the Theocracy's concerns are indeed significant about the dangers of idolization, as is the guild's plans in releasing new products early. To the undead it echoes his days as a salaryman when a rival company launched a new tactic to gain customers. Though the two issues are unexpected, it does not necessarily seem like a bad situation. Demiurge points out from the Slane Theocracy's observations, who are worried about the future path of this hero worship, it indeed proves that the protagonist has been accepted as a pillar to human society. The results are praised to be in part due to Momonga's foresight, which the Overlord embarrassingly finds undeserving. Since everything is within expectations, Momonga wants to hold a discussion on everyone's perceptions to the situation, citing it would maintain their policy of Ho-Ren-So.

Demiurge noticing Slimeko ghostly expression, asks the slime to speak. Slimeko apologies as while she understands the state of the Idol Plan, she still is a little uncertain about its process. Momonga then directs Albedo to offer the summon an short supplement of the plan which the Overseer Guardian explains that the plan was started out as a way to heal the trauma of the inhabitants of E-Rantel from their experience from the invasion by Jaldabaoth, as well as to distract the old and new sections of the city from going into conflict. The protagonist also states that now that he is part of the management of the city, his duties have thus expanded not to just providing relief supplies but also easing the humans' mental stress. Furthermore Albedo tells Slimeko that the identity of the "Dark Warrior" associated with the protagonist is an effective tool, providing the humans a hero to worship. The ascension of the "Dark Warrior" was a hero was only possible due to Pandora's Actor actions. Though Albedo admitted that it having Momonga be the idol was preferable, having the protagonist take the role has been flexible and bold. The entire Idol Plan that was applied in E-Rantel was born through an experiment in Nazarick, using the general maids as the control group. At this Slimeko realizes that the experiment they are referring to is LittleMass which Aura Bella Fiora and Shalltear Bloodfallen cooperated in acting as idols. Additionally numerous merchandise were produced by Albedo based on the idol group to test their popularity. Once the plan was a success in the dungeon, the method was applied to E-Rantel using the "Dark Warrior" as the theme which led to many achievements such as the mental stability of the people, productive labor force, rising reputation of the Sorcerer Kingdom and enhanced security of the city. For the Sorcerer Kingdom it has gained a lot of foreign currency from the Tripartite Alliance via the goodwill it has done for them as well as its specialty chocolate confections.

Once Slimeko understands this, the discussion turns to deciding how to address the sandwiched concerns of the Theocracy and the Adventurer's Guild. The protagonist though has some ideas, to resolve both issues and also enhance the Three Kingdom Enhancement Plan. This would involve creating nee products for the "Dark Warrior" franchise while being careful not creating too strong of a loyalty that could lead to a incitement to riot. Thus he calls for the "Dark Warrior" franchise be "standardized" to not only maintain its popularity but also introduce new characters and increase the number of variations of merchandise. For instance they would market Soi's image in the franchise more since she is a member of their hero's team Darkness or even hire Blue Roses to the franchise. Momonga finds it to be a novelty, though there is some concern of how existing fans and enthusiasts will react and worries that such changes could dimmish people from collecting merchandise of the franchise. His words cause some consideration. Demiurge believes that they should experiment with this to see how fans will react. This of course would require the participation of members of LittleMass as they did last time with Aura Bella Fiora and Shalltear Bloodfallen. Albedo finds it to be a wonderful idea and goes to collect Shalltear who last she checked is on the 10th Floor clearing out Chaos Beasts. Elsewhere at the Lemegeton Shalltear sneezes and wonders if someone is talking about her behind her back.

At the Round Table Room, Aura and Shalltear arrive and are informed of LittleMass's upcoming reunion as well as the introduction of a new character. Both female Floor Guardians are happy to hear the news and reprise their roles as Alkaline and Acidity. For the inclusion of the new member of their idol group, Momonga wants to run it by them. On this topic Shalltear suggests that Mare Bello Fiore could be a fitting candidate, though the idea to Aura is a bit out of place as she doesn't want her own brother to be an idol alongside them and also it would create an imbalance in the group. Demiurge as producer to the idol group, predicted that people would be the first choice, but feels that they could use a face that can be more challenging. Albedo brings up that the new character would have to have the stage name like "neutral" to keep with the pH value theme of the group as according to the books in Ashurbanipal. After a while the girls think that adding a male to the group would be inadvisable. Kyuko is suggested by Aura as she is an associate of Nazarick and is know by the general maids though Momonga is unsure if she will be popular enough. The protagonist after thinking has a thought and begins to share his idea.

First Live Show
At the Amphitheater on the 6th Floor, the general maids have gathered as an audience with Pestonya Shortcake Wanko and Sebas Tian where a live stage has been set up. The sight of the stage bring joy to the maids it means only one thing to them, the return of LittelMass. Maids such as Cixous and Foire are excited at seeing their favorite idols and especially collecting new commemorative badges from the event. Demiurge resuming his role as Demi P welcomes the maids to the show, drawing a round of cheers. Aura and Shalltear taking reprising their roles as Alkaline and Acidity greet their fans of the Sorcerer Kingdom.

Meanwhile Momonga, the protagonist and Slimeko watch from backstage at the the opening of the show. A new face is added to the idol duo, Albedo now wearing a flashy dress greets everyone in the Amphitheater and is introduced at the newest member of their group: Neutrally. The senior idols hail Albedo to be the new member of LittleMass who controls harmony of sacraments. Her introduction is greeted by the fans with much enthusiasm and fanfare. Demi P announces that with a new star rising in LittleMass, he rebrands the group as LittleMasStar. At the same time he brings guest stars onstage which turn out to be the Pleiades who then begin conducting a dramatic mock battle with the singing idols. After the battle is done, Demi P calls for the finale of the show, which signals all the participants to bow and members of LittleMasStar thank their fans with a phrase of "SANCTUS LittleMasStar".

After the first live show was a successfully completed in a loud cheer, the idols and their support team meet up in the Guest Room which is serving as their dressing room. Slimeko is the first to praise the idols for their performance followed by the protagonist and Demi P. Alkaline and Acidity find it good to be back playing in their idols roles. Neutrally albeit new to the role finds it to be a bit intimidating and confusing but is glad the maids accepted her participation. The other two idols comment on Neutrally's idea of using the music and the phrase at the end to be a great touch. Though Neutrally admits that the praise should be directed to Mare due to his research. It was then recommended that using musical promotion could be adapted in E-Rantel after seeing the maids humming the tune of the show. Acidity reminds them of their policy as a idol, not intimate flirting with Momonga, which the new idol swears to honor. Momonga and Mare are just outside in the hallway. Before going in the Guest Room, Momonga has a word with Mare to commend him for his contribution especially the "SANCTUS LittleMasStar" phrase. Mare blushes as he merely took the ideas from the books in the library. Nevertheless Momonga insists that the dark elf has enhanced the Idol Plan. The two then head into Guest Room ending the first day of the new idol unit.

A few days after the first live show of LittleMasStar, the protagonist and Slimeko return to the Adventurer's Guild to speak with Ainzach on a new prototype of a doll for the guild's marketing. The doll at first glance seems no different from the usual dolls, but it possesses a cloth tag with a quote from the "Dark Warrior". Not only that different quotes could be written for the dolls as well as space where an adventurer can add some personal words. The guildmaster immediately sees the gain from such a revolutionary product as it will allow the guild to produce new variations and also bring a personal touch. Last of all the two adventurers give Ainzach the idea of promoting the products through a simple musical verse. This too is seen as a wonderful idea. As for the issue of the faith issue brought up by the Theocracy, Ainzach agrees that shifting the focus on other adventurers would be the best focus for the next line of products. Once the pair come to an agreement with the guildmaster, the two leave the city to return to Nazarick to resume the Idol Plan.

Second Live Show
Night falls on Nazarick by the time the two return to the dungeon where the idols are having autograph sessions at the canteen. Once the autographs are done, Demi P starts the handshake event and asks the maids to line up to approach the idols in the hallway. Alkaline, Acidity and Neutrally graciously greet and shake their maids hands one by one. To a variation to the ongoing Idol Plan experiment they give the maids each a different kind of commemorative badges. The protagonist who is present their remarks everything seems to be going according to plan and is excited to seeing the reactions of the maids for the upcoming events. All awhile reporting his progress in E-Rantel on the implementation measures that were being tested in Nazarick.

The maids' reactions to the new events and merchandise are praised. The badges that are limited time are eagerly collected, as well as the new dolls with quote tags are seen as novelties. The feedback from the fans is funneled back to the idols, Demi P, Slimeko and the protagonist at the Guest Room. Also with them are Lupusregina Beta and CZ2128 Delta who provide the idol team some insight on how bringing satisfaction to their target audience. Due to their undercover worker identities in the Baharuth Empire the idols group asks the maids if they should apply the experiment in human society, what humans find satisfying? To the two Pleiades, humans are more driven by physical factors such as "wages" and "currency", though there is also a mental component. Demiurge concludes it has to do with a sense of accomplishment and vows to do further research on human behavior. The souvenirs in E-Rantel are currently given free of charge, though plans are made to adjust this so that they will be sold to gain foreign currency from the Kingdom. The second live show is soon to commence so the group head to the 6th Floor to prepare.

At the 6th Floor during rehearsal, the LittleMasStar discuss about the new live show they will be doing. The idols as a group confirm to do a musical format for the show, rather than a Chaos Beast Subjugation Live as it would be too much of a risk for the maids in the audience. Talk is drawn towards the progress in E-Rantel, which the protagonist and Slimeko answer that they guild is planning on planning to adopt measures to increase the variations of their goods. But as the number of products increases, there is concern that it will become more difficult to adjust inventory and production volume. Naturally, new goods will become popular and will sell out soon. However, if it continues to be sold out, the meaning of increasing the types will be diminished, so it will be necessary to increase the amount of reproduction. From an idea by Albedo a "lottery" is suggested to compensate and keep the products still attractive to consumers. The idea for such a concept actually comes from Momonga's mention of "gacha" and while having no idea of what it actually means the group came to associate the slang with the lottery system. Having a plan, the group then delve into the action part of the idol show.

Just before the show, at the backstage of the Amphitheater, Demiurge tries to convince Momonga to change his viewing position to the seats in the Amphitheater though the Overlord prefers to see the show from the back to avoid distracting the maids. He is soon joined by the protagonist as the show begins to the delight of the cheering maids. The second live show of LittleMasStar begins. Sebas Tian escorting the general maids with the Pleiades wonder aloud who the opponents for this show will be. They have their answer when Cocytus and Mare appear on stage. The two male Floor Guardians and the idols commence battling while doin a musical score. The sight of the battle awes and impresses the people in the audience as both group parry and exchange attacks. Once the battle dies down to its conclusion, the idols and their opponents bid farewell to their followers before going backstage where they meet with Momonga and the others. Momonga is especially amazed at their coordination of attacks as well as the progress in the musical format. Not only that, the idea of distributing souvenirs for the event by "lottery" were well received. Above all, the group have done a great job in encouraging the synergistic effect of introducing a new member to the idol group. The NPCs take the praise proudly before they hurry to plan out the final idol event.

The protagonist and Slimeko return to E-Rantel to check on the Adventurer's Guild's progress with their idea that they introduced. There they see a long ling of annoyed people which confuses them as the scenery is quite different from when they were previously present. The two undercover adventurers quickly find their friends from the Swords of Darkness who explain that the line is composed of requesters. Normally that would not be unusual but all of the requesters are posting jobs at the guild in order to acquire the guild's specialty souvenirs of the "Dark Warrior". Said souvenirs are dolls with quote tags on them and since being introduced, everyone seems to want to collect the various dolls. But as they can see the receptionist are having trouble with the requesters as they are already out of stock with the dolls leaving many disgruntled and causing the people on line to cancel their requests to the guild.

The two quickly see Ainzach to discuss the current problems of the new products. The guildmaster is oblivious to the problems, as he thinks that the new line of goods are a hit with the public. However the two point out that the popularity is the problem and that the guild is losing business due to customers only coming to acquire the dolls. To avoid displeasing customers, the two suggest that the dolls be given after requests by the adventurers are completed. Additionally since there is still a limit amount of new dolls to be given out, the protagonist proposes that they use a lottery system to distribute the different dolls at random and also to give their customers and adventurers an uplifting surprise. Though some may complain of not acquiring the desire doll they want, the arbitrary role of chance will still be an appealing aspect. Plus with the lottery they could introduce new doll characters into the mix which will attract new attention from customers and turn focus from the "Dark Warrior" dolls briefly. This way it will ease the Theocracy concerns as well as give the guild a chance to put forth new doll characters such as Blue Roses out to the public. For the latter part, the protagonist promises to secure a product maker for the new Blue Roses dolls. Leaving the rest of the details to the staff at the guild, the protagonist and Slimeko then hurry to see a certain collaborator to negotiate with begore they return to Nazarick.

Final Live Show
Meanwhile on the 6th Floor of Nazarick before the Gigantic Tree, in the midst of their busy schedule in getting ready for the final live show, the idols of LittleMasStar hold a quiet tea party. The three women are relieved to finally have some time to themselves. Albedo finds the approaching time for the final live show exciting and a bit sad as it will be end. The conversation for the women turn to comforting each other that their idols roles will soon be coming to an end. Though on the upside Shalltear and Albedo point out that they will no longer be under the restriction applying to idols from having relationships. Also another interesting thing they noticed that since becoming idols they all had seemingly been at peace in with working with each other, that even the Queen War competition had been largely forgotten, but alas that soon will be coming to an end after the final show and liken their roles as idols akin to a dream which they will have to wake up from and resume their regular duties. Despite the sadness the trio agree to put on a fantastic show with no regrets. Unknown to the women, Demiurge is watching from the forest, happy to see that exchange proceeded agreeable and that the idols were resolved to see their performances to the end.

At the canteen on the 9th Floor, the general maids finish up their meal and ready their equipment for the final show, which includes uchiwas and glow sticks to cheer on the idols. At Pestonya's word they all follow the Pleiades who escort them to the 6th Floor where the Amphitheater is set as the last stage of the idol campaign. Momonga and Demiurge are at the backstage talking with Sebas Tian, thanking him for his role in the event. Demiurge then excuses himself to resume his Demi P role to give an encore to the spectators and present their favorite idols. The idols Alkaline, Acidity and Neutrally welcome the maids to their last show, hoping they enjoyed the lottery and events with them and give thanks to the protagonist who is currently absent. They trio lead the maids to cheer them on which Demi P then presents special guests in stage: Momonga and Sebas Tian. Momonga and Sebas Tian's presence on stage is greeted with waves of glowsticks. Momonga informs that the idols will be combatting him and the butler which the idols are honored. To make things more interesting, Momonga uses the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown to summon a Primal Fire Elemental so that there is a three on three match. Once the match finishes, Momonga applauds the evolution of the idols from LittleMass to LittleMasStar. The three idols accept the applause from the audience concluding the show.

Aftermath
At the Round Table, the Floor Guardians meet with Momonga to give feedback on the idol campaign and the results. The protagonist having finally returned to Nazarick informs everyone he had taken the information gained from the Idol Plan and adapted it to the operation in E-Rantel. Currently, souvenirs are being distributed free of charge, but with the introduction of "lottery" and "new characters". Said new characters are from Blue Roses. Through Albdeo's assistance they were able to produce prototypes for the souvenirs in E-Rantel and create a platform for a new line.

Elsewhere at the Adventurer's Guild in E-Rantel, Ian and Nigun stand in line to receive complementary chocolates having acquired a taste for the confections so much they went to process a request at the guild. Ian notices that the front desk no longer gives "Dark Warrior" dolls for free, though the receptionist informs the priests of the new changes in the distribution of their products. To provide them an example, she shows them the newt doll with a cloth tag containing a quote. Ainzach comes over to explain that its the appeal to customers to collect as the quotes are based on not just words of the protagonist but other adventurers giving a personal touch of the guild. The priests intrigued are nonetheless pleased as this way the hero worship of the protagonist will diminish and the "Dark Warrior" doll will be instead seen as a "symbol of the Adventurer's Guild".

Ninya interrupts their conversation to show them the newest doll that she got from the lottery. One of the new handcrafted dolls featuring a member of Blue Roses. Ian upon seeing it is shocked to see that it is a replica of Gagaran. The craftsmanship is marveled as it accurately capture the female warrior's image, which Ainzach claims that the artistic talent came from a mountain dwarf who lives in E-Rantel by the name of Tsuibayaya. The guildmaster further adds that a "Blue Roses" series will be in development in the future. Along with the doll, chocolate sweets will be also included.

Thus the concerns about the hero worship from the Theocracy was resolved and the popularity of the adventurers and the high quality of their goods quickly became a reputation in E-Rantel. This was achieved all thanks to the aid of LittleMasStar unknown to the humans.