Author's note
I just want to take a moment to thank everyone that took an interest in my first ever fanfic.
I hope that it is interesting to everyone and that you will stick with me through this venture.
If there is anything I can improve on or if there's something you are concerned about, please let me know my messaging me or through reviews!
***Disclaimer***
I do not own Overlord/オーバーロード.
Nor do I own anything affiliated with the creation of Kugane Maruyama. If you enjoy his work, please consider supporting him.
~~~ Prologue~~~
Ainz sat up from his bed inside his room at the E-Rantel castle. He was reading another extremely complicate book that he found from Ashurbanipal that gave him headaches. This was all for show though as he did not want to ruin his image as a wise and all-knowing king in front of the homunculus maid he was assigned today.
Her name was Ananta. Yesterday was the day she was assigned to attend to Ainz and now that she had seen her master sat up from his bed, she immediately stood from the chair she had been sitting on to answer him should he call to her. Ananta watched breathlessly while Ainz slowly laid down the book he was holding onto the nightstand to the right.
[Why do all the homunculus maids always have to watch so closely when all I'm doing is lying in a bed reading? Hah…]
Ainz stifled his sigh from physically taking form and gestured with his hand to greet her.
"Good morning, Ainz-sama. I hope that you have rested well. My shift has come to an end but the new attendant should be ready for you. Shall I summon her for you?"
"Umu."
Ainz nodded in approval and the maid swiftly and elegantly said her farewells and left. Just as Ananta had opened the door, a new homunculus maid was already waiting outside. The maid simply nodded to one another and went their own ways. The new maid stepped into the bedroom confidently and then bowed.
"Good morning, Ainz-sama! I, Third, will be your attendant for today. Shall I prepare your clothes for you?"
The new maid enthusiastically greeted her master. The entire night before, she had not slept because of the excitement she felt from being so close to the being she worshiped as a god. All the other homunculus maids that she worked with that day could understand her as they were jealous of such a privilege.
"Umu."
Ainz regally nodded his head and took his place in front of the wardrobe. Third opened the doors and took a quick look inside. In the wardrobe was an assortment of clothes and jewellery that Ainz had placed in there as per the requests of the homunculus maids. Many among them had complained to him about the fact that they could not dress him like other rulers.
Because of their adamant requests, Ainz could not refuse them and had thrown all of his miscellaneous gear, armour skins and also his spare accessories into the wardrobe. Fairly recently, they had pleaded Ainz to extend the variations of clothing and gear. He had refused at first but then had to give as somehow, dressing Ainz had become a competition to the homunculus maids.
When the maids attended to Ainz, they would follow him everywhere with the exception of outside the city walls as Ainz had deemed it too dangerous for them. As they followed behind Ainz as he walked through the halls of Nazarick, sometimes they would pass other homunculus maids going about their duties and the personal attendant feel a sense of accomplishment and glory knowing that another maid had seen how they had dressed their god. It had become a fashion statement for them as they all shared different interests and styles.
Third began gracefully pulling out one piece of clothing at a time and meticulously placing them on Ainz. She chose for him a deep blue robe that had intricate silver embroidering around the edges. The robe hung loosely over Ainz' shoulders and covered his entire body leaving only his face visible. She matched the robe with a large, silver necklace that was studded with various jewels. The necklace extended to Ainz' chest as it hung loose around his neck. Third to the side of Ainz, who was gazing into the wardrobe mirror, and simply stood there.
[Eh? It's already over?]
Ainz was surprised at the fact that the outfit was so simplistic compared to the other outfits the previous attendants forced him to wear. He gazed into the mirror for a little while longer trying to remember what kind of taste in clothes this made had. Just as all the homunculus maids had been competing with each other in dressing Ainz, he was also trying to memorise the choices each maid made to try and discern their individual personalities.
"Ainz-sama, is there anything that displeases you?" Third asks nervously.
"No, everything is fine. Summon Demiurge and Albedo to the conference room for our weekly meeting."
"As you wish, Ainz-sama. Right this way." Third guided Ainz to the bedroom door and opened it for him as he walked out of the room. They separated there as Third had went to call the floor guardians and Ainz was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
[This has been happening for so long now and I'm still not used to it, huh?] Ainz thought to himself, dejectedly.
There was nothing he could do about it either because when he had been secretly spying on Jircniv, he found that other rulers also had attendants that dressed them. If Ainz wanted to become the perfect ruler that everyone expected him to be, he had to deal with it. No matter how shameful and humiliating it is to have a young beautiful women dress a fully grown man.
When Ainz arrived at the conference room, he took the head seat at the table. It was not long after that that the floor guardians arrived to report to him. This time, Albedo, Demiurge, Mare and Cocytus were in attendance to report upon their progress and to discuss future plans.
Third took her place standing behind of Ainz as the floor guardians kneeled down before him and gave their greetings. Ainz gestured for them to stand up with a well-practiced motion with his right hand. He had copied this move from Jircniv.
"Let us skip the pleasantries and get right down to business. Albedo, please present your report."
"Yes, Ainz-sama!" Albedo answered in delight. "I am delighted to report that Yuri, Nigredo and Pestonya have already completed their final draft of the education curriculum they wish use to teach the orphans and children. Though the children were frightened of them at first, it would seem that the three had used their charm to win over the kids. Ainz-sama needs only to sign off on the draft and they will begin the experiment on the children!"
[Uwah… I'm not sure if I like the way Albedo said "experiment". Why does she think that everything I do has some kind of evil undertone behind it?] Ainz thought as he received the thick pile of paper from Albedo. [It would take a week to read all of this! Argh, I'll just skim it.]
He took a quick glance at the contents page of the draft and then went to some of the sections he found to be interesting. It would seem that for now, the majority of the education the kids would receive would be in mathematics and literacy as well as the humanities (social studies) and of course, propaganda about Ainz and The Great Tomb of Nazarick.
"Umu, it is well made. Give my compliments to the three for their efforts." Ainz said as he signed the draft and handed it back to Albedo.
"Yes, Ainz-sama, as you wish!" Albedo said happily while taking back the huge stacks of paper. Though it was not her that Ainz was complimenting, she still felt joy at the fact that Ainz was pleased.
"Now then, Mare, how is the progress of the dungeon you're making?"
"Y-yes, Ainz-sama!" Mare answered back, nervously. "I've completed the sixth floor today which is the final floor of the intermediate level floor in the dungeon! J-just a little more time and I'll finish the last three floors, Ainz-sama, I p-promise!"
"Do not worry, Mare. Take your time in completing the dungeon. There is a saying, "haste makes waste". Make sure that the dungeon that you complete is one that you will be proud of instead of just a shabby and rushed dungeon which would reflect poorly on your reputation."
"""Oh!""" The floor guardians all exhaled in awe at both the amount of consideration he gave to Mare as well as the small fragment of wisdom he had shared with them. Demiurge went so far as to quickly pull out a small note book he kept in his suit's breast pocket and write down the phrase Ainz had said, hurriedly.
"Yes, Ainz-sama!" Mare replied energetically. His two heterochromatic eyes sparkled and he gave Ainz a deep look of appreciation.
"Good, then next is Demiurge. How goes it in Roble, the Holy Kingdom?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama. My plans are developing as suspected though at a much slower pace. It would seem that the Queen on Roble had only recently realized the attack pattern I was using to push the humans back from their villages.
The next step of the plan is to let the Queen command her troops to evacuate the villages and have them all gather at a single defensive stronghold city that is slightly to the east of their capital city. The spies that I had hidden in her castle has reported to me that they are already discussing seeking help from our kingdom as their requests for assistance to the Slane Theocracy were refused."
"Excellent, Demiurge, keep up the good work." To Ainz' compliment, Demiurge simply bowed his head.
"I do not deserve your commemoration, Ainz-sama. Had I better calculated the incompetency of the humans, then you would not have to wait any longer. Please accept my humblest apologies."
"Nonsense. It is not that you had made the mistake, is it not that the kingdom of Roble had made the mistake? Well, as long as you learn from this experience, there is nothing more I could hope for. When do you think we will hear from them?"
"I thank you more your mercy Ainz-sama." Demiurge said while bowing his head once again. "I expect them to make contact with us within the coming month."
"Very well, remember to not slip up and let them know we had anticipated their visit when they do finally come though. If we wish for them to see us as allies, we must play ignorance to their plight." Ainz said in a regal manner while addressing the guardians. [Uwah… that line was so cheesy, I hope they get the point though.]
"""Yes, Ainz-sama!"'" All four of the floor guardians replied.
"Umu. Now then, the final order of business for this morning. Cocytus, present your report."
"YES AINZ-SAMA." Cocytus replies then exhaled an icy cold breath before continuing. "THE DWARVES ARE VERY THANKFUL FOR THE ASSISTANCE YOU HAVE GIVEN THEM. THEY WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS THEIR GRATITUDE TO THE SUPREME ONE." Cocytus exhales again and then continues to report. "THEY HAVE ALSO REPORTED THAT THEY HAVE MADE A STRANGE DISCOVERY."
"Oh, a strange discovery, is it? Continue." Ainz said while taking a thoughtful pose.
"YES. THEY HAVE DISCOVERED A STRANGE TEMPLE DEEP WITHIN THE MINES." He exhales then continues. "IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO INVESTIGATE AND HAVE ASKED ME TO SEE IF YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN INVESTIGATING. THEY FEAR THAT THE DARK AURA THAT THE TEMPLE EMITS WILL HARM THEM."
[Strange temple emitting a dark aura? What the heck is that?] Ainz quarried in his mind before replying to Cocytus. "I see. After all the trouble we went through to establish friendly relations with them, it would be displeasing if they were just suddenly destroyed. Very well, I will personally investigate what is happening. Return to the dwarven kingdom and tell them that I will be coming, Cocytus."
[Though I say that, it's been insanely boring because all I've been doing recently is paperwork. I hope this will be interesting. Oh, I did want to investigate the weird abyss that the dwarves talked about the last time I visited! Maybe this will be my chance!] Ainz thought to himself.
"I THANK YOU FOR YOUR MERCY AINZ-SAMA." Cocytus took a deep bow.
"And with that, this meeting is hereby adjourned. You may return to your duties."
"""Yes, Ainz-sama!""" The floor guardians replied while giving a bow one last time then taking their leave. Ainz sat in his chair a little longer to contemplate his next actions then called out to his personal attendant of the day.
"Third, contact Shalltear and let her know that she shall be my security for this outing. Tell her to fully armour up and to meet me here as soon as possible."
"At once, Ainz-sama." Third replied and then swiftly took her leave.
Ainz then leaned deeply against the back of his chair. He exhaled as if to get rid of his piled up stress though he had no lungs to exhale with. He brought his right hand and cupped his chin in a thinking pose.
[I wonder what I'll find down there. Really, this world is full of mysteries.]
There was no statement truer than that. What Ainz did not know was that fate can be a cruel and unyielding mistress. What he will find in those mines may very well usher in another age of chaos to ravage the world anew.