A young blonde woman was walking to and fro in the middle of a corridor on the 9th floor of the tomb of Nazarick.
She was wearing a high-class maid uniform and carrying a tray of silverware.
Trying to walk properly while balancing the tray of silverware was a tough chore. In proof of this, several beads of sweat could be seen on her forehead.
At the side of the corridor stands a man. He was of late age, yet his gaze was like an eagle. His broad shoulders were eyecatching. He continued to stare at the woman walking to and fro. The man then took out a pocket watch from his pocket and looked at the time.
He put up his hand to signal the woman to stop with her current task.
"I believe that is enough for today."
The woman immediately stopped on her tracks. She approached a small table on the side of the corridor and properly put away the tray of silverware. She pulled out a white handkerchief from her pocket. She gazed at it first with a tender expression on her face. She smiled and used it to wipe the beads of sweat on her face.
"You are learning fast, that is fine news. The time when you will become the official head maid in the mansion of E-rantel is nearing."
Hearing this, the woman's expression turned quite serious.
Even though her face showed a stern expression, there was still a tint of cuteness within it.
"Go now and rest, Tsuare. You must be tired."
The woman smiled.
"Thank you very much, Sebas-sama."
After giving a quick nod Sebas and Tsuare parted ways.
Sebas went to the chambers of the master of the Great tomb of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown. While Tsuare headed into the library.
There was a library in the 9th floor of Nazarick, unlike the one in the tenth level, the one on the 9th level was quite smaller.
Tsuare would like to read books there because the said library was almost always empty and the books there were plenty.
The books there were the ones Ainz -in the persona of Momon- aqcuired from E-Rantel's merchants.
After reading them, Ainz would store them in there for others who are interested to read. However, since they were written in characters that are unknown to the beings in Nazarick, they were unreadable. Without the help of a magic item, NPCs in Nazarick couldn't read them, so the books were mostly left untouched.
Tsuare can read them. She might have problems with reading and understanding hard words, but for the most part, she could read them.
It was the perfect place for Tsuare.
Quiet and she would be alone.
Tsuare was accepted in the Great tomb of Nazarick due to Ainz's order. However, there were still distinction between her and the other NPCs. Tsuare felt this specially from the homunculus maids.
Thus, the library became some sort of a santuary for her.
As Tsuare entered the library, her heart stopped.
She saw someone in the library.
She was sitting alone in the middle of the library, sitting and reading a book.
Tsuare was surprised to see someone inside the library, but she was also awestruck to see someone so beautiful.
She have met Albedo and was intimidated by her otherworldy beauty.
Solution Epsilon also intimidated her.
But the beauty of the person in the room was not as intimidating as Albedo, but it was more enchanting for her.
The person in the room had long flowing white hair that seemed to glow under the light. Behind the expensive looking white-framed glasses were sharp eyes in the color of emeralds.
Her eyes reminded Tsuare of mints.
Cold, yet calming.
The folded white wings on her back confirmed one thing for Tsuare.
She was an angel.
She had heard from Sebas about the latest addition to Nazarick's ranks.
The angel Luntian Spearmint.
She was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room reading a leatherbound book.
Tsuare tried to make no noise as she approached one of the shelves. She grabbed a book and sat across the room.
However, she could not focus.
From time to time, she would find herself gazing at the angel.
The sight of an angel wearing glasses, reading a book, enchanted her.
Unlike the other NPCs whom frightened Tsuare, something about angel calmed her.
She thought hard and hard about what to do.
She wanted to do something, but wasn't exactly sure what.
After thinking for a long time, Tsuare clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and walked towards the angel.
She thought that maybe, that maybe the angel would be welcomed to talk to.
Of all the NPCs in the tomb of Nazarick, there were only three of whom Tsuare could talk to.
They were Sebas, Yuri Alpha, and Pestonya Shortcake Wanko.
However Yuri and Pestonya were busy in building an orphanage along with Albedo's older sister, Nigredo.
Tsuare heard from Yuri that building an orphanage for orphans was one of the things she dreamt of doing. Learning that it was approved, she couldn't be happier for Yuri, but it also made her sad.
She was sad that Yuri was so busy now with Pestonya, that she couldn't talk to them anymore.
While thinking of this, Tsuare didn't notice that she was already at the side of the Luntian.
Tsuare was unnaware that when she was in the middle of thinking, her legs contiued to walk towards Luntian.
She was only a few feet away from the angel and Tsuare saw that Luntian was looking at her curiously.
Her heart stopped for a bit.
She wanted to go back and stay quiet at the other side of the library.
Before Tsuare could think of what to do, Luntian spoke.
"Hello, may I help you?"
The voice of Luntian held no hostility and instead seemed to spread calmness.
Hearing her voice, Tsuare calmed down.
"You are Tsuare-san, am I correct?"
Tsuare felt a bit intimidated.
From afar, it was already obvious to her that Luntian was beautiful. But from a close distance, Tsuare could only hold her breath as she saw how heavenly Luntian's beauty was.
Luntian's soft and elegant facial features made Tsuare's cheeks flush. Her sharp emerald eyes seemed to draw Tsuare to them. Even with her being of the same gender, Tsuare felt captivated. She took a deep breath and smelled a sweet and calming fragrance radiating from the angel.
"Are you okay?"
Luntian's words made Tsuare come out of her train of thoughts.
She managed to nod in reply.
Luntian smiled gently towards her.
Seeing her smile, Tsuare felt a warm sensation on her chest.
Luntian then gestured her hand to the seat beside her.
"Would you like to sit beside me, Tsuare-san?"
Tsuare felt awestruck.
She couldn't have even imagined that someone like Luntian would want her to sit beside her.
Tsuare couldn't utter out any reply.
She was confused.
Luntian's surprising kindness towards her, left Tsuare speechless
"It's fine with me if you don't want to."
Hearing the angel's words, Tsuare finally decided on what to do.
Slowly and with shaking movements, she sat on the seat beside Luntian.
Tsuare had her head down, but she glance at the side to see what Luntian's reaction would be.
Her cheeks reddenned when she saw Luntian looking at her with such kind eyes.
"T-Thank you..."
Luntian gently shook her head at Tsuare's words.
"There is no need for thanks."
Luntian assured her with a gentle smile.
Tsuare looked away from Luntian as she felt her cheeks flush. She saw the book Luntian was holding. She stared at it curiously.
Luntian noticing this, raised the book she was holding for Tsuare to see properly.
"It as a novel by an author that is said to be popular in the kingdom during his life."
Luntian explained.
"It is about the tale of a rabbit-like creature that travelled around the world to look for the most beautiful flowers, during her journey she met several companions, in which she was able to bond with dearly."
Tsuare looked at Luntian tenderly and listened properly as she explained the plot of the book.
"Even with her being able to make friends, she wasn't satisfied. She still wanted to travel and look for the flowers. Her new friends tried to persuade her to stay, but in the end she still left."
Luntian looked at the book's cover and smiled a bit as she continued.
Tsuare could feel a bit of sadness within her smile.
"Before long, due to severe exhaustion, the rabbit-like creature collapsed in the middle of a field of flowers. As her conciousness was beginning to fade, she could see blurry images of flowers slowly approaching her, even with the flowers being blurry in her vision, she could tell that they were the most beautiful. She let out a deep sigh. She felt joy that at the very end, she was able to find the most beautiful flowers in the world... Before she could realize that the blurry images of flowers approaching her were actually her friends who followed her due to them being very concerned about her, she died."
Luntian closed her eyes.
After a brief moment she opened her eyes and looked at Tsuare.
"It is a beautiful story, but quite a tragic one as well."
Tsuare felt a bit sad about the story.
But she was also very interested about it too.
"Would you like to read it with me?"
Luntian asked Tsuare with a gentle tone.
"Y-Yes please..."
Hearing Tsuare's reply, Luntian smiled gently.
She opened the book to its first page and read it together with Tsuare.
Tsuare felt warm with Luntian beside her. She could feel time slow down as she read the words written within the book with Luntian. From time to time she would glance at Luntian and would see her with a gentle expression while reading. Luntian would stop reading when she notices Tsuare with a difficult expression, she asked Tsuare about it, and learned that there were some words which Tsuare couldn't understand. Luntian then would pause reading and pull out a piece of paper from the bag from beneath the table and write the word. She would then explain to Tsuare what the word meant and how it could be used.
Luntian was wearing a magic item that translated the characters from the new world. But, even without the use of this item, Luntian could still read the characters to an extent due to her studying the writing system in the new world.
Luntian would ask Tsuare if she understood, whenever Tsuare would reply that she did, Luntian would smile gently at her and then they would continue reading. From time to time Luntian would stop reading to teach Tsuare about the words she didn't understande. Whenever this happens, Tsuare would feel a warm sensation within her chest. She loved seeing Luntian smile whenever she said that she understood what Luntain just taught her.
Tsuare understood that the emotions she was feeling for Luntian was not romantic, even though it was not a mystery if someone of the same gender would fall in love with Luntian.
She understood that she was seeing Luntian in the same way a younger sister would look up to her older sister. Tsuare was an older sister, she had a younger sister whose whereabouts she had no idea of. During her early life, she tried to protect her younger sister whenever she was in trouble. However, she could not help longing for an older sister who will protect her during her tough times. This was most apparent when she was being abused by rich nobles. She imagined scenarios where she would have a strong older sister that would save her and protect her.
Now, she doesn't have any idea where her younger sister is. She doesn't even know if she was still alive. Tsuare would try to think of her younger sister, but it would soon be followed by her traumatic memories. So she tries to not to think about her too much.
They continued to read.
Luntian suddenly stopped reading as she noticed that tears were falling from Tsuare's eyes.
"Is everything okay, Tsuare-san!?"
Tsuare felt surprised. She wasn't even aware that she was crying.
"Was the story too sad for you?"
Luntian asked as she grabbed a handkerchief and slowly and gently wiped Tsuare's tears.
Seeing this Tsuare couldn't help but shed more tears.
She was sure that she wasn't crying because of the story they were reading. It might be a part of the reason, but she was certain it was not only due to that.
After wiping her tears, Luntian gently caressed Tsuare's cheeks.
"Are you alright?"
Tsuare gently nodded.
"I-I'm fine now...T-thanks big sis."
It was only after she said the words that Tsuare realized.
She held her hands over her mouth.
She was regretting why she had just said that out loud. She looked up at Luntian and saw her with an equally surrpised expression.
Tsuare was thinking that she offended her, but her worries were crushed when she saw Luntian looking at her with kind eyes.
Seeing this, Tsuare thought deeply.
After a short moment of thinking, Tsuare asked something to Luntian that she thought she would have never asked before.
"...C-Can I call you as my big sister, Luntian-sama?"
The angel showed an expression of shock, but soon after smiled gently.
"Then perhaps you better stop calling me with '-sama'."
Luntian stated with a soft voice.
Tsuare couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Tears gently fell from eyes and Luntian wiped them again.
Luntian looked to the clock attached up a wall in the library.
"It seems quite late already, we should get going Tsuare-san."
"Just T-Tsuare..."
Tsuare stated with redness on her cheeks.
Luntian smiled in response.
Then as if on cue, someone opened the door to the library.
Both Luntian and Tsuare looked and saw that it was Sebas.
"Ah Tsuare, here you are."
Sebas greeted.
His gaze travelled to Luntian. He then showed an expression of slight shock.
"I didn't expect to see you here with her, Luntian-san."
"Yes, she was keeping me company, Sebas-san."
"Is that so? I'm glad then."
Sebas nodded.
Luntian saw Tsuare looking at Sebas tenderly.
She smiled as she realized how Tsuare felt for the butler.
'How beautiful' She thought.
"Tsuare, are you not hungry? It is time for dinner after all." Sebas asked.
Tsuare nodded and then slowly got up. She walked towards Sebas then looked back to Luntian.
"I-I'll be going now. Can we read together a-again, Big sis?"
Sebas looked surprised to hear Tsuare call Luntian that. He quickly looked at Luntian.
Sebas saw Luntian's expression was that of kindness. He felt relieved.
He knew that Tsuare had no one to talk to in Nazarick besides him, Yuri, and Pestonya. With the other two being busy, Sebas was the only one left. But even he can't be there for Tsuare all the time. He had other duties within Nazarick.
Luntian looked at Tsuare with gentle eyes and smiled.
"Yes. I would love to, Tsuare."
Hearing that reply, Tsuare smiled.
Sebas guided Tsuare out of the room, but before he closed the door he turned back to Luntian.
"I'm grateful for what you have done to Tsuare, Luntian-san."
Gently shaking her head, Luntian replied.
"It was nothing big, Sebas-san."
Before Sebas could leave, Luntian said something.
"I'll be cheering for you both."
Sebas could only look at her with a puzzled expression, Luntian only smiled in response.
There's a bar in the 9th floor Of Nazarick.
It is quite small but enough to fit several NPCs. Most of the time the ones who comes by are the male NPCs in Nazarick. They come to the bar in order to share a few drinks with one another, chat about random things, and enjoy the atmosphere.
The one who manages it, Sous-chef, actually prefers them more than female NPCs. Not because he has a hate for the opposite gender, but the reason originated from Shalltear.
After Shalltear got defeated by Ainz and was resurrected in Nazarick, she started to come to the bar very frequently. This was due to her feeling severely guilty for causing pain for her absolute master. Even though Ainz has already stated that it all happened due to his mistakes, Shalltear couldn't still forgive herself.
She came to the bar to drink herself to a stupor, even though it was actually impossible for her to become drunk, as being "Drunk" was treated as being "Poisoned" and Shalltear was immune to such statuses.
Compared to his regular customers like Shalltear's fellow guardians Demiurge and Cocytus who came often, the way Shalltear drinks was unelegant and it bothered Sous-chef to a great degree.
Though Shalltear rarely comes by to the bar anymore ever since her trip to the Dwarven kingdom in the mountains with Ainz and Aura, Sous-chef was still scarred from past experience.
It was about night time and Sous-chef was alone in the bar.
This was something normal to him, after all, the bar wasn't always filled with people.
All of a sudden the door to the bar opened.
Sous-chef looked over to see who it was and once realizing who it was, knelt down immediately.
It was the absolute ruler of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Good evening, Ainz-sama!"
Ainz nodded with an "Umu-"
After being told by Ainz that it was okay to relax, Sous-chef stood up.
He was really surprised at the sudden presence of his master.
Ainz rarely visited the bar, hence his nervousness.
"Is there a reason why Ainz-sama has graced the bar with his presence?"
"Yes. I realized that I haven't visited this place ever since Nazarick was transported to this world."
Ainz continued as he surveyed the place.
"I plan on bringing the guardians here -as well as the Pleiades- to relax and bond a little. Sorry if I might be bothering you with that."
"There is no such thing as Ainz-sama being a bother."
Sous-chef bowed.
Although when he heard that their master was bringing along the guardians, he thought of the face of a certain True Vampire, Shalltear. But he thought that since their master will be present, Perhaps Shalltear will drink in an appropriate manner this time, so he was relieved.
Ainz originally didn't plan on inviting the floor guardians to the bar.
He actually requested them to take a vacation. Which was almost immediately rejected by the guardians. They argued that their greatest joy was to serve the supreme beings and that they needed no break from it. Hearing this made Ainz a bit happy, but it troubled him more. He was happy about their loyalty, but he wanted to do something for the guardians. He wanted them to at the very least take a break.
He didn't want them to overexert themselves.
After proposing a few ideas, he thought of how he rarely visited the bar. Even in Yggdrasil Ainz didn't visit the bar that much. So as he will be able to visit the bar, he will also be able to spend time with the guardians as they take a small break, it was like hitting two birds with one stone.
Hearing how their master wanted to bond with them was like honey-covered ice cream to them.
So the guardians immediately agreed.
"Since the pleiades will also be coming, we can't fit into the bar alone. Can I put up a table there?"
Ainz pointed to one corner of the room.
Compared to the restaurant that he manages regularly, the room of the bar was actually a bit small. The room only includes a bar inside and a piano with a mic besides it. While there was an empty space in the corner, no table stood there until now.
"Yes, of course Ainz-sama."
Ainz reached out for his magic storage. He looked like he was searching a small black portal in the air with his hand. After a brief moment he pull out a round table.
He put it up in the open space inside the room. A highclass-looking velvet cloth covered it.
Without even waiting for an order, Sous-chef approached the table and laid out several table napkins upon it. His elegent movements made Ainz very impressed.
I should add him to my list of whom to watch in order to become elegant. Ainz thought as he observed.
Ainz was actually observing a few people in order to study how to act properly and elegantly like how a proper king should act like. The ruler of the empire, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix was one of the ones in the list.
Thinking of the emperor made Ainz remember about the vassalage of the empire to the Sorcerous kingdom.
Frankly it bothered him a bit.
He didn't expect that Jircniv would offer up his empire's vassalage during Ainz's trip to the colosseum. He went there in order to recruit adventurers mainly and to show a bit of his ability.
What the emperor did at the end Surprised him.
He should decided on what to do with the matter.
Ainz already talked about it with Demiurge and Albedo. However Demiurge was busy with the plans regarding the Holy Kingdom, hence he didn't want to add on his shoulders.
While Ainz was thinking about this, the door opened.
"Sorry for being late, Ainz-sama."
Ainz looked back and saw Demiurge and Cocytus.
Seeing two of his regular customers made Sous-chef happy. Of course the presence of their master in the bar made him happy too, but it also made him quite nervous.
"Yes. We. Apologize. Ainz-sama."
"No. It is fine. I just arrived myself."
Ainz gestured both of them to the bar.
They sat on the seats in front of the bar and Sous-chef immediately tended to thim.
How professional! Ainz thought.
Ainz of course couldn't eat or drink, but it didn't bother him. For he was here in order to spend some time with the NPCs and to enjoy their company.
After being assured by Ainz that it was okay to start drinking, Demiurge and Cocytus each ordered a drink. Without any wasted time, Sous-chef prepared it in such a swift way.
The door then opened again.
All present in the bar looked.
"We sincerely apologize for being late."
It was the remaining floor guardians; Albedo, Shalltear, Aura, Mare and lastly, Sebas.
Ainz issued that there was no harm done. After hearing this, all of them took a seat in front of the bar.
This is when Ainz suddenly became a bit troubled.
He looked towards the twin dark elves, Aura and Mare.
He thought if it was okay to let them drink liquor. He was troubled by the fact that they were already above 70 years old, but to Ainz they were still kids.
What is the legitimate drinking age for elves? Ainz thought
Thinking of how Bukubuku Chagama would react if he ever finds out that he let them drink worried him quite a bit.
But all his worries vanish into nothing after he heard what Aura ordered.
"I'll have apple juice please! What will you have Mare?"
"O-Orange juice would be nice."
Ainz became relieved.
Hm?
Ainz then looked around and realized a group was missing.
Just as he was about to ask about them, the door opened.
"We apologize for arriving after Ainz-sama and the floor guardians!"
The members of the Pleiades finally arrived.
Ainz was really happy to see everyone present. Due to their tasks, the time were all guardians and Pleiades were present was rare, thus he was really happy to see the room with them completely present.
Besides the Floor Guardians and the Pleiades, Ainz also summoned Luntian.
He looked behind the members of the Pleiades and saw Luntian.
As he saw her the only word which Ainz could think of was "Beautiful".
He saw Luntian wearing a customized kimono. The kimono's base color was dark violet with white rose petals decorating the sleeves, the color made Luntian's fair skin look even more fairer that usual and made her wings stand out more, it also complimented her hair quite beautifully. The kimono she was wearing was a magic item, so she didn't had any trouble trying to wear it with her wings.
Luntian was wearing this because she thought her armor was inappropriate. It was one of the handful of clothes that her creator had left her.
The Pleiades, led by Yuri, went to the table prepared by Ainz and took a seat.
However Luntian still stood by the door nervously.
She looked around and locked gazes with Ainz.
Ainz gestured for her to come to him.
She stopped in front of Ainz after approaching him with shaky steps.
"I'm happy you've come, Luntian." Ainz stated.
The redness that was present in the cheeks of Luntian ever since arriving became much deeper.
"O-Of course. I will always come whenever you summon me, Ainz-sama."
Sous-chef then greeted Luntian which surprised Ainz.
"It's nice to see you again, Luntian-san."
"Oh? You already knew each other?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama."
Luntian met Sous-chef during her visits to the 6th floor. In truth, Sous-chef disliked outsiders, he only cared for them if they brought benefit to the Great tomb of Nazarick. But after meeting the angel when he visited the village area in the 6th floor and seeing her work hard for their absolute master, he grew quite fond of her. Truthfully, he liked her better than Shalltear, although that bar was quite low regarding Sous-chef's perspective.
Shalltear then spoke to Sous-chef.
"Really? That's quite rare coming from you."
"Not really. If you have a clear vision of people you dislike, it is actually easy to accept someone who's not them."
Sous-chef replied to Shalltear with a bit of sarcasm in his tone. Luckily, Shalltear didn't notice it.
Sous-chef still respected Shalltear, but after witnessing her graceless behavior before, it left an impact on him. He was really glad that Shalltear was actually in proper manners tonight. He didn't exactly know if this was because she changed, or because their master was present.
Luntian turned her gazed towards the mic standing lonely at the back of the room.
Ainz took noticed of this and thought of something.
"Would you like to sing us a song?"
Luntian's eyes went wide as she heard Ainz's question.
Honestly, Ainz could feel the nervousness Luntian was feeling. It was the first time Luntian was summoned with everyone present in such a familliar setting. Her relationship with the floor guardians may have improved, but with the Pleiades not so much. Ainz figured that singing may help her with her nervousness. Ainz recalls that Luntian has the racial class "Seraph", and seraphs have many skills that were in the form of songs. A few of them can cause enemies confusion or inflict them with various statuses, but most of the songs give buffs to allies.
Luntian didn't know what to do. She was nervous enough just by being in the room, but she didn't want to decline an order from Ainz.
Truthfully, Ainz didn't care if she were to decline. In fact, he will be troubled if he forced Luntian in doing something she dislikes.
Luntian thought of it deeply. This was something her master has asked of her. And it was something which she can do with ease.
There was no other answer.
"Yes, if it pleases you Ainz-sama."
It doesn't matter if it pleases me. If you want to decline, it is safe to do so. Ainz wanted to say, but couldn't do so.
After bowing to Ainz, Luntian walked towards the mic. There was no one to play the piano. But the piano can actually play by itself, it can automatically play any songs registered to its storage, all you had to do was to open the song book on top of the piano and touch the "Play" symbol before the song name and it will begin playing. But Luntian didn't know this.
All eyes were on her as she stood before the microphone.
Luntian had a strong color of red in her cheeks as she stood there. She turned her gaze towards Ainz. Ainz gave a slight nod at her.
I can do this. She thought to herself.
With a deep intake of breath, she parted her lips and began to sing.
Immediately afterwards the entire atmosphere inside the room became completely warm. The warmth that seemed to spread from the angel's voice carried the feeling of calmness and seemed to soothe the very soul.
Luntian was not using any song skill from her racial class "Seraph", she was just, in fact, singing normally.
Everyone present; Ainz, the floor guardians, the Pleiades, and Sous-chef, were completely entranced. They felt warmth and at the same time, a bit of sadness from the lyrics of the angel.
The lyrics of the angel's song carried the emotion of happiness, strength and the feeling of wanting to belong somewhere. There was a saying that an angel's song carried the angel's very emotions and feelings, perhaps this is why they felt the way they are feeling right now.
As Ainz was listening, he thought of his past comrades. All of them held a very dear place within Ainz heart. As he recalled all the fond memories of his comrades, which includes them travelling together, raiding dungeons, PK-ing, even the time they were failing, he could feel a warm sensation welling up inside him. Soon after he could feel his emotions being cut off due to his undead passive which regulated strong emotions within him.
He cursed, but didn't think of it too much, as he can still think of his past memories fondly and the warmth slowly crept up within him. If he was not undead, he undoubtly would've shed a tear right now.
He looked around and saw that the entire NPCs present were listening to the song with gentle smiles present on their faces.
After ending her song, the entire room became quite. Which made Luntian very nervous.
She thought that she might've disliked her song and her voice.
"I'm very sor-"
As she was about to apologize, a series of clap erupted.
She looked up wide-eyed and saw everyone present clapping their hands.
Sebas stood up from his seat and continued clapping.
"An extraordinarily beautiful song, Luntian-san."
Luntian's gaze travelled from Sebas and to Ainz with the other guardians. She saw them looking at her with smiles on their lips while clapping and gently nodding.
One could see tiny beads of tears welling up from the corner of Luntian's eyes.
"That was amazing su~!"
Luntian was very surprised to hear Lupusregina's loud voice. She looked at her direction and saw Lupusregina jumped up from her seat and ran up to her within seconds. Lupusregina grabbed Luntian's hands and shook them wildly.
"You are incredible! Was that a skill of yours? Or was that just your singing voice~?!"
Luntian was being bombared with excited questions while she weas being pulled by Lupusregina to their table.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing. All of the members of the Pleiades were all looking at her with a pleasant expression on each of their faces.
Entoma stood up from her seat as Luntian arrived to their table and hugged her.
"W-Why?"
All the pleiades could do when they heard Luntian's words was look at her.
"Why could you do this to someone like me?"
Luntian asked between her small sobs.
At first all of them were confused, but soon understood what the angel meant.
Yuri answered the angel.
"That is a thing of the past now."
Luntian's sobs became more apparent.
"B-But I hurt-"
Before Luntian could even finish her sentence, Narberal spoke.
"Ainz-sama has already declared that you be one of us. Honestly, at first we were uneasy. But hearing about you from Ainz-sama and seeing you do your best at every order you follow... There were no more rooms for second thoughts."
Luntian saw Narberal declare with a faint smile on her face that carried sincerity on it.
"That is right~"
Entoma added.
Luntian looked down and saw Entoma looking at her while she still hugged her.
The angel's tears were now slowly rolling down her cheeks.
"-I'm sorry."
"Ara, ara. Why the sudden apology? There's no need for that anymore~"
Entoma replied.
All of a sudden Luntian felt a soft and warm sensation from both her wings. She looked back and saw CZ hugging her wings.
"...So soft and comfortable."
CZ looked at Luntian as she described what her wings felt like to her.
Luntian then heard a small giggle from the side then turned to look and saw Solution Epsilon looking fondly at her, CZ and Entoma.
"It seems our little sisters has become quite fond of you. I'm giving a small warning, they can get quite selfish at times. Best of luck!"
Luntian's tears continued to roll down her cheeks. She looked around and gazed upon Ainz and the floor guardians. She saw that all the guardians with no exception were smiling. She then locked gazes with Ainz.
Ainz smiled. Even with his skeletal features unwilling to let it show, one could still feel the warmth from him.
With that Luntian's sobs became louder.
Ainz turned his back and addressed the floor guardians.
"Thank you for agreeing to spend this night with me."
Hearing this the guardians became surprised. They all knelt down in front of Ainz.
"There is no need for thanks Ainz-sama! In truth, we should be the ones to give gratitude towards Ainz-sama."
Albedo declared while the rest of the guardians nodded in agreement.
"For Ainz-sama wanting to spend time with us in order to bond, is such a great blessing for us!"
Hearing this Ainz became very happy.
But there was no need to kneel though. Ainz thought.
The guardians stood up after Ainz told them to.
"But honestly, she has such a great voice."
Ainz and the guardian looked at Sous-chef as he stated, then they looked to Luntian whom was surrounded by the lively Pleiades.
"Indeed. But if Ainz-sama were to give me the order to sing, I will sing him a song which will contain my love for him."
Hearing Shalltear say this, Albedo twitched.
"As if, you b*tch! The one who will win Ainz-sama with her song of love will be me!"
Shalltear glared at Albedo, and Albedo glared back. Demiurge could only shrug his shoulders at them, while Cocytus and Sebas shook their head. Aura scratched her head, while Mare looked with a worried expression. Ainz put up his hand on his face and gently shook his head.
All of a sudden their attention were stolen by the sudden sound of glass breaking. They looked over to the source of the sound and saw Luntian sitting on the ground with a purple drink spilled on her.
The drink dripped down from her face and onto her kimono.
What happened was when Entoma was hugging Luntian by her waist and Shizu by her wings, Lupusregina hugged Luntian and tried to raise her up due to excitement. She got unbalanced and slipped, knocking a glass with liquor within it.
Ainz got up worried and approached Luntian.
"Are you okay Luntian?"
They all looked worriedly to Luntian who was silently sitting on the ground.
After a brief moment of silence, they heard a sound.
"..Ufu~"
Ufu? They all wondered.
Then an abrupt laughter came out of Luntian's mouth.
"-Ufuhahahahahahaha~"
She began laughing loudly.
This was a scene they've never seen before.
Her laughter carried great joy within it. Those around her smiled in response as the atmosphere within the room got warmer and warmer by the second.
It was already very late.
The corridor in the 9th floor made it look like it was still daytime due to the extravagant lighting which may confuse some, but it was incredibly late.
Ainz decided to take one last stroll before he went back to his room. He still fondly remember the time he shared with the floor guardians, Pleiades, and Luntian, earlier this night.
He then noticed Luntian walking ahead of him.
Ainz called out to her. Luntian immediately looked behind her and approached Ainz. As she was about to kneel, Ainz stopped her, stating that it was fine.
Ainz gulped as he saw Luntian.
Luntian was now wearing a night negligee. It was white in color, decorated with fancy laces. Due to the light material it was made of, Ainz could clearly see the gorgeous figure of Luntian.
If he were still a regular human, he would be in danger of blood loss due to nosebleed.
"Are you on your way to your room, Luntian?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama! I just brought my kimono to the washroom."
I see. Ainz nodded.
Ainz then gestured Luntian to continue on to her room.
With a bow, Luntian headed to her room. But before she could go much farther, Ainz asked her something that made her stop in her tracks.
"...Are you enjoying yourself in Nazarick, Luntian?"
After a moment of silence from Luntian, she looked back to Ainz with a smile so wide it could've been considered a grin. With redness in her cheeks and with tiny beads of tears at the corner of her eyes, the angel replied.
"Yes, Ainz-sama! Very much so!"
Intermission.
"Then as we thought, the Sorcerer king, Ainz Ooal Gown, is our biggest threat."
With a deep sigh a man in dark clothing stated with a stern voice.
"How should we deal with it? As we all understand, attacking the Sorcerous Kingdom head-on is something a suicidal fool would do."
Another man issued gathering nods of approval with the four others sitting with him around a round table.
"The ones at the top are undecided and have remained silent all this time."
"Those fools! Don't they care about the future of the theocracy at this point!?"
Another man stated in an angry tone as he slammed the table with his fist.
"Theocracy? We're no longer a part of it, are we not? We already left. What we must be concerned about is our own survival."
A woman declared in a cold voice.
The four men looked at the sole woman present.
"We're not sure how far the influence of the Sorcerer king, Ainz Ooal Gown, has reached."
"Surely the kingdom must be an enemy of his? He did take E-rantel."
"No. We've already heard that a female administrator has already visited the kingdom in order to open formal relations with them."
"Female administrator? From the Sorcerous Kingdom?"
"Indeed. I heard she was of otherwordly beauty, but she had curved horns at the side of her head and black wings at her waist. So shouldn't we expect that the Re-Estize Kingdom has now some sort of friendly relation with the Sorcerous kingdom?"
With that statement the entire room became quiet.
"How about the empire?"
One man shook his head.
"We've recieved reports that the Sorcerer king himself showed up within the empire at the colosseum there and fought."
"And so?"
"After defeating an undefeated gladiator, he announced the establishment of his own brand of adventurers. Afterwards he floated up to the emperor and had a talk with him."
"Was there any reports of their conversation?"
"Unfortunately, our spy wasn't close enough, even if he were close enough, I doubt he will have the courage to continue on spying on the Sorcerer king after he showed his might."
Another silence occurred within the room.
"Our best bet is to attack where we think is a potential ally to a sorcerer king in order to negate him increasing his forces."
"The Re-Estize kingdom lost more than a hundred thousand troops, so the kingdom is quite weak right now."
"You could say the same for the empire. After witnessing the might of the Sorcerer King first hand, most of their troops during the battle left and retired."
Then the only woman present stood up and pointed somewhere at the map laid out on the table.
"Whichever we choose, we must act. Even if we have left the Theocracy, we still follow its values. Humans must be the one to stand up at the very top. I doubt that an undead king would have any compassion for the living."
"That is right. If we show that we can actually fight the Sorcerous Kingdom, then there is a high chance that the others will follow up suit."
The woman tapped her fingers on the table.
"We still have the one sacred treasure we managed to steal from the Theocracy. If things go sour for us, we can use it and escape."
"Are you sure you want to use a sacred treasure like that!?"
"This sacred treasure won't matter to us if we were to die right?"
To Be Continued.
Afterword
Hello again! I apologize for the very late follow up. In truth, this is not the original chapter I intended to be the 4th chapter. My external hard drive which contained the next following chapters, as well as several drafts, broke down and I was unable to recover any files. Thus I was unable to publish. However I didn't want to leave my story unfinished, since if I did that I will have a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. So I wrote as much as I could remember from the following chapters. This chapter has the same elements of my original 4th chapter, with a bit missing. I also added quite a bit, since I couldn't exactly remember the chapters in exact details. Anyway, I really hope you will enjoy this chapter! Your support is always appreciated and it is one of the main reason why I wanted to continue the story. See you in the next chapter! Laters~