We know part of what the next Volume will cover but not the entire scope of it.

Namely, you must understand Volume 13 has a very loose use of time, with MANY time skips, making it not only take more pages but also consume great deals of time between story beats.

So it's not surprising you feel somewhat confused about what will happen next.

1.) Recall what Ainz set in motion in Volume 13

Ainz met with Albedo and Demiurge to setup a safety drill, one that basically is a test of all the NPCs besides Demiurge, Albedo, and Lupusregina concerning the event he dies.

>"Calm down, both of you. This is the reason why I must fake my death. There is an activity called a disaster drill. We must mentally prepare ourselves and plan ahead of time in case of an emergency. In that case, what would you do if I died?"[V13]

Ainz, as always, deflected the fine details to the smarter characters, but he set the guidelines that the drill is "Ainz and Demiurge are dead".

Now, this isn't a throw the child in the deep end to swim.

Demiurge reveals he in fact made a disaster protocol in case this happened to him at least.

>"However, it would seem that even the two people that I consider the most intelligent of all have differing opinions. That distresses me. That is why we must undertake this training, so that there will be no problems if this imagined scenario comes to pass."

>"Yes! I have made thorough preparations in that respect. I recall submitting a

report on that to you in the past, Ainz-sama."

>Eh, did I receive something like that? Ainz decided that it would be better to

trust Demiurge’s memory than his own.

>"Umu. Still, that is only in documentation, is it not? The reason I am asking is because I would like to know if you have checked to see if normal operations can be continued."

[V13]

Ainz is worried because when he brought the topic up, even Demiurge and Albedo couldn't agree and could have devolved into violence due to a difference in opinion. Well this is a consequence of Ainz's perceived autocracy. His organization is extremely reliant on him as the figure head and glue.

>"...I am grateful that you have accepted my apology. Now then, when I reach the Abelion Hills, we will use my death as the basis for an exercise. Yes. Since this is a rare opportunity, why don’t we conduct other exercises as well? For instance, if Demiurge and I were killed off by someone, that sort of thing …"

>"That said, even I have not fully planned out the details when it comes to this

training. Therefore, if you have come up with an even better plan, then go

ahead and carry it out. Ahh, no need to ask my permission. After all, this is an

exercise founded on the premise that I am dead." [ V13]

So that whole time Ainz was in the Abelion Hills, that is when Neia was with Shizu, preaching, and so on in the parts of the story we see, Ainz was not only conquering the Abelion Hills. He was staying in a location where news of him wouldn't spread out of as part of the disaster drill.

We do not know what Nazarick is doing, but the intent is that protocols are established by the NPCs to function without Ainz. As Ainz suggested Demiurge is not around either as another exercise, but he probably worked with Albedo to make the arrangements before he too stepped away.

So effectively, in Volume 14 we will likely see what Nazarick has done with two of their top leaders, Guild Master, King, and Supreme Being Ainz and Defense Commander Demiurge gone. Only Albedo and Lupusegina know the truth, hence the reaction we see from Lupusregina in Volume 11.

Will the NPCs think it's all fake? Will they over react but due to plans left behind they focus on their jobs like they are supposed to? Some mixture of inbetween? Only time will tell.

The fallout of this event will not be strung out and addressed completely in the next volume though.

>To put it bluntly, the story this time, assuming [you are] starting from Maruyama’s

summary, Nazarick’s greatest weakness has disappeared, great importance

being packed into it. Being [revered as] an Absolute, the NPCs brought up

how his death is impossible and is unimaginable. Because of that Ainz came

upon a plan, him being immobilized and confined is a flaw [of his plan]. But

without hesitation Ainz took action, something [like that] was strangely clever,

the timing of being shut up is a different matter. Maruyama hasn’t read every The Strongest [type] story [but] it does not mean he is not self-confident, he

assumes the organization will be in chaos upon his death, so he performed

a practice drill [for that] insufficiency, was his rationale. He is regarded as

strong [yet] he is a protagonist that does not want to rest on his laurels, and

think he could never be killed off. Besides as a Strongest Person, it’s unusual

he has not considered he may die I think.

As a matter of fact this type of work [OR performance] may actually be quite

numerous...... Nonetheless, the complete flaw of being enclosed will be for a

bit more time. But that story may not be written I believe, please believe it

will finish by the time the next volume comes around. It’s a big flaw, yet [Ainz

being immobilized] is not a weakness outsiders [can benefit from?] so it’s not

a problem. [V13AT]

>Please think the BAD END is something completely different. [That is] Ainz dies and Nazarick does not calm down. [Blog-2012]

So there are hints to what is going to be covered, and it's contingencies in the event the Bad End happens, as unlikely as that is. What will happen is up to debate. But if Maru wants to offscreen conquer a region, this would be a good opportunity to do so.

>I suppose Overlord will undoubtedly end in 5-7 Volumes. Because I do not want to make it any longer, I will end it there even if I have to cut episodes. [V13AT]

>Maruyama: Someone asked me this before Overlord (if Kadokawa allows it) is planned to be 18 volumes. Or rather it was. ...There might be (like this time) some setbacks! Maybe ... some country will fall in a prologue to make up for lost time![Twitter]

So if Ziggy had to postulate, the next volume will:

1.) Cover the fallout of the disaster drill

2.) Introduce a region that may have been conquered offscreen due to the disaster drill or NPCs going a bit off chain

3.) Set up the next Volume 15 as a reaction to the NPCs actions that were a reaction to the disaster drill.

That's not set in stone, but based off what is stated, it seems the most likely to me at least and Maru can cut stories he intended at this point using the disaster drill as a narrative device at the same time as addressing that Bad End he brought up so many years ago.

There are other hints to other arcs though as well.

#A.) The Kingdom's Downfall: This has been setup in Volume 10, Volume 12, and Volume 13.

To boil it down, there is going to be great famine, a political schism due to the Third Faction "led" by Phillip, and the collusion with Renner.

>"I am not referring to that. All you need to do is conduct trade at an appropriate price. After that, you will use the money earned to import food in preparation for the upcoming famine in the Kingdom. Buy the rations which the Royal Army could not move out in time — no, start by trading in grain futures. After all, Ainz-sama has already begun large-scale food production."

>The future which she spoke of would surely come to pass, given the massive drop in the kingdom’s workforce. [V10]

>She had betrayed her family, her bloodline and her people, but there was not

a shred of regret on her face. She was human, yet she was inhuman. Perhaps

she was a spiritual heteromorph. Her mind comprehended good and evil, but

that was all. She was the type who was not bound by the petty constraints of

morality, but who calmly worked to advance her own agenda. [V10]

This famine was of course orchestrated in Nazarick's eyes by Ainz SPLAT FEST performance, when in fact he was only keeping his word to Jircniv. To the world, part of the responsiblity of SPALT FEST falls on Jircniv, as Ainz has been cultivating an image of abiding by agreements. He's not faultless, but if you blame Ainz, you have to blame Jircniv as well since he was also slowly killing the Kingdom to begin with; giving E-RAntel to Ainz still fits with his ruthless image, just now he's sworn to Ainz as a vassal state now obviously due to the sheer military difference between the two. The Theocracy is a good example of how outsiders see this, putting blame on Jircniv for intentionally protecting his nation by letting others suffer, and to them at least betraying their trust to curry favor with Ainz.

>"Many young men died in the battle of the Katze Plains. This will lead to all

sorts of problems within the next few years. Therefore, the surrounding nobles

will need to work closely together in a cooperative relationship. This domain

will produce food, that domain will weave clothing. Nobody’s estate is

large enough to be self-sufficient, nor do we have much money left over. Under

these circumstances, who will help a family that actively courts the Sorcerous

Kingdom’s favor?"

>Cold sweat broke out on Philip’s back. His father had a point.

>"You know that too, right? Our demesne does not produce anything the others

do not — we have no unique exports. Therefore, they will have no problem

with kicking us out of their co-operative."

>"Once we build ties with the Sorcerous Kingdom, we’ll just have them support

us."

>"...Then let me ask you something. If you were someone from the Sorcerous

Kingdom — no, if you were the king of a certain country, and a village from

a country that you were at war with asked you for food, would you give it to

them?"

>"Of course. If it was me, I would definitely do so."

>"—Why is that?"

>"Isn’t that obvious? By doing so, I’ll show everyone that I’m a merciful ruler."

"Is that so …so that’s what you were thinking. Well, if it were me, I would

surely send aid as well, in order to create a casus belli to invade the other

country. After that, I would declare war on the Kingdom, under the pretext

of liberating that village which the Kingdom was oppressing."

"Impossible. It’s fanciful thinking. Besides, that sort of cause won’t work at

all."

[V10]

Based off Albedo's actions and the fact she came to the Kingdom to make a Casus belli suggests that what Phillip's father predicted will come to pass and due to Phillip's faction, there is nothing the other factions can do about it.

>Albedo had four objectives in coming to the Royal Capital.

The first was the transportation of resources. The second was to create a casus

belli. The third was to lay the foundation for her personal objectives. The

fourth was to make a trade with the owner of this room. [V10]

We know the Third Faction is meant to be a spanner in the works for the Kingdom, one that will prevent the Kingdom from being united and addressing their problems.

>"I think it won’t last much longer. We’ll move in earnest after another two or

three years. Get more idiots together before that. We’ll do our best to help if

you need to form a faction of idiots."

>"Two years is too long ahhhhhhhhh!"

>"Still, those are our orders. Control the information they receive, and make a faction that will do even more foolish things." [V13]

>Albedo said that it would take about two years of preparation before destroying the Kingdom. [V13]

B.) Ainz goes to recruit an Illusionist

>I ought to throw these questions at Albedo and Demiurge and get their opinions.

Hm – illusions seem to be surprisingly powerful, it might be very bad if we don’t

watch out for them. It feels like you could do a lot with them if you were smart.

If I meet a skilled illusionist, I should probably treat them well to recruit them. [V13]

This is included because just as Ainz made Runecrafting his priority, it's not hard to say he might not do the same to strengthen Nazarick with an illusionist.

C.) The Draconic Kingdom asks for Ainz's help.

Basically, Draconic Kingdom is being attacked by a large number of Demihumans. And they are in trouble.

Now, after Ainz beat Jaldaboath, he's effectively defeated a Demihuman alliance alone and saved a nation with far more dire circumstances. That is they had the Demon Maids and Demon Emperor.

Likewise, the Empire can't be turned to since they are now vassals, the Kingdom is no state to help others, Holy Kingdom just survived their own hellish circumstances, and the Theocracy is at war. The only real options for the Draconic Kingdom are Agrande, the City State Alliance, and... the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Now, the people will be less likely to accept Agrande one because they are quite far and second because they have demi humans as well leading to issues of trust. The same for the City State Alliance appears to have demihumans as well, complicating things further. The Sorcerous Kingdom has the worst perceived value, being a nation ruled by the hated undead, but the people will more likely accept him than demihumans due to relative pain suffered by demihumans. And of course, Ainz has saved a human nation that suffered the same or even worse already, and he did so alone.

That can't be understated because on paper he only really wanted the Demon Maids so it's seen as charitable, even if in actuality it was a sinister plan, he got magic items, and conquered a new territory.

>"In truth, we checked to see if any other king had done that much, but noooo!

No matter how hard we looked, we could not find any king like the Sorcerer

King!"

There had been kings who had led armies to rescue neighboring countries, but

it was a fact that there had been no kings who had gone alone.

"Think of it, a king going to aid the people of another country regardless of

the risk to himself! It’s never been done before! Only the Sorcerer King!" [V13]

By the end Ainz says that all the other nations should know the Demon Maids are working for Ainz now.

>"Still, it’s hardly unusual for the Pleiades to go outside for their work. The fact

that the maid demons are now the Sorcerer King’s minions has spread from the Holy Kingdom to the other nations by now." [V13]

So it's not hard to say the other nations won't here of Ainz's exploits tinted by Neia's evangelizing him onto a heroic pedastal.

D.) Ainz goes to the Elf Kingdom

Pretty much after Shizu made a friend, Ainz might prioritize making friends for Mare and Aura. It's not unheard of for him to prioritize the NPCs over world domination, as we see with engaging Shalltear alone in part to not have his children hurt each other despite the risk of everything falling apart.

We see Ainz contemplating how to raise Aura and Mare early on because he sees them especially as small children that can still mature due to having the bodies of children. Be it from the panic he has during the lizard sex, to seeing the elf maids as a way to look after them and let them grow, and so forth.

>In addition, if they were Wood Elves, they would probably have a beneficial

effect on Aura and Mare’s development.

>"Yes. For the moment, we’ve put them all on our Floor."

>"Where are they?"

>"Yes. How shall I say this …they have nothing to do, but keep trying to take

care of us. It’s kind of annoying how they keep hanging around us."

[V10]

The result of Neia and Shizu in particular has increased the likelihood Ainz makes good on that idea of getting Aura and Mare more elf exposure so they grow up balanced people in his capacity of a father figure hoping for the best of his children.

>I had my friends from Ainz Ooal Gown. In that case, it might be good to let the other members go outside and give them free time to interact with others …especially Mare and Aura. No, it’s also possible that giving them all some time on their birthday is …umu.

[V13]

This starts as early as Volume 8, but the Elf Slaves provided temporary postponement on that goal.

>Should I start considering the problem of sex education? If there are Dark Elf schools, should I send Aura and Mare there to study so they can grow into good adults?

>"Oh, yes. I was thinking that if there was a kingdom of Dark Elves, it might be

worth paying them a visit, and at that time, you ought to come along too."

>"Eh?...Ah, yes …of course! So that was what you meant by the future. I get it!

Please allow me to accompany you there. Also — we’re almost there, Ainzsama."