I only just got back from a couple months time with my family for a trip out of the country. I didn't have much time to even think about writing during the time leading up to the trip, which is why I made the previous chapter so long. I can happily say that I'm back again and this small one is the start of me getting back into it.

Please Enjoy

There was no such thing as too paranoid, at least not when you were Ainz Ooal Gown. After sending his "associates" away the lich himself was left with the task of making absolutely sure that his meddling in the Theocracy wouldn't have any debilitating consequences in the near future, a task that wound up being far more complicated than he would have liked.

Aside from the destructive conflict between his allies along with his subsequent tampering of Theocracy secrets, the meeting between nations went relatively well. For the time being the Theocracy would avoid initiating a full on conflict with the Kingdom and lend their support towards a truce, the exact outcome that would put the Baharuth Empire at risk of fighting two nations at once. Barring any surprises things would proceed exactly as planned with the Empire making an aggressive move to stamp out the Kingdom before things got to that point, forcing the tension between both nations to lead into a proxy war whilst the larger one was on hold. Ainz would then make a convenient entrance and dominate the battle singlehandedly, the result being Nazarick finally being revealed to the rest of the world along with the establishment of a new Kingdom. His Kingdom. If he weren't so focused on everything that could go wrong he might have actually felt a bit giddy. Unfortunately, that was not a reality he could embrace.

While he'd happily accept their cooperation, the Theocracy had officially become one of the biggest headaches the necromancer ever had the displeasure of associating himself with. The nation was a strong one, filled with promising warriors and scholars alike and an army that made the Kingdom's need for conscriptions look like an embarrassment, as far as infrastructure went you wouldn't find a single crack...That is if you only looked from the outside. The gilded surface of the Theocracy hid the nightmare that was it's political scene.

As a theocracy the nation's leadership was centered completely around religion, obviously, though that very fact was exactly what prevented a faithless undead from seeing them in a good light. If you could control what people believed in then you could control their entire lives with minimal effort, that was the mindset he now had and as a result Ainz found himself to be blindly pessimistic when it came to dealing with the people in control, particularly those he'd spent the past few hours negotiating with.

The "Cardinals" that he'd met were clearly no more than pawns, it was already hard to believe that he'd just strut in and meet the leaders of the Theocracy with minimal effort just because he'd tagged along with the princess but his suspicions were all but confirmed once he revealed himself to them. Cowering, comparing him to their long dead god, had they shown any less dignity he would have equated them to little more than a cult. Even if he were to believe that he'd just gotten lucky...No, they'd given into his demands far too easily, believing that the leaders of a powerful nation would submit to him with no strings attached was an obvious bait, after all who would believe that the same group who'd headhunted nearly every non-human race would simply bow their heads to a single undead sorcerer? The truth was not too difficult to imagine: The submission was a front, either to avoid upsetting him or to at the very least decrease the likelihood of him taking direct action against the nation whilst they figured out what to do.

The country was filled with more than just priests and knights roaming about praising the sun, odds were the entire meeting was just a setup to gather information, he could at least assume they were smart enough to plan that far ahead. Outside from the very obvious walk-in invitation trap there was also the very likely possibility that the "cardinals" he met were nothing more than body doubles. The truce he'd forced into existence was nothing more than a liability, they'd be watching, waiting to get an idea of just how scary he truly was. They knew from the very start what they were dealing with, they'd probably figured that much out the moment he'd personally annihilated the Sunlight Scripture, not to mention the little airhead he now had back home. They may not have known just how he'd go about revealing himself but they'd already planned for the worst, they gave him what he wanted and it was simply in his best interest to play along with their plot for the time being, though it irked him immensely to be a part of anyone's games.

With conditions like these anyone would be skeptical of the Theocracy already, but that much didn't even cover the direct threat they posed. The more worrying issue was none other than the untimely battle that Tanabe and Shalltear were forced to take part in, which in this case the "who" was more important than the why.

From his understanding a "Godkin" was supposed to be the descendent of a Player, making them powerful individuals who were comparable to their elders. That fact alone was already a lot to think about without one of them taking the liberty of challenging the two warriors he'd brought along with him, a near suicidal move that should have led to her being slaughtered without question, yet she was somehow strong enough to actually put up a fight...Against a man who held enough power to be a supreme one and the strongest guardian in Nazarick. No matter how one sided the fight may have been, the attacker had not only survived but also wound up being the indirect cause of said guardian losing consciousness. That was a terrifying thing to consider.

Up until now the whole of Nazarick seemed convinced that no single person should have been anything more than an insect, yet a very real physical threat landed right in front of them, attacked mercilessly, and the Theocracy just let her do it! They didn't seem even slightly worried for the now apparent absence of their godkin, how badly might things have gone if it were just the lich and Narberal? There would be no possible way to keep his persona as Momon for long, he'd be put into a conflict that he couldn't hope to solve without making some sacrifices. For once he felt a bit grateful to have had that admin around, even if he hadn't resolved the issue as quietly as he could have.

So where exactly had the Theocracy been hiding such a person, and what role would she have played outside of trying to kill them? Considering how well the Pleiades could stack up to the rest of the world a godkin as powerful as Zesshi could easily dominate the country or even more with relative ease, the fact that she was seemingly just wandering around and took fights as she saw fit didn't very well explain her place among the population. The information he was able to extort from his new "allies" answered a wide range of questions for him but this topic had been left rather vacant, the only reasonable conclusion Ainz could make was that the godkin were pawns controlled through either loyalty or belief but he had no real basis to make that claim outside of it being a religious country, he could just as easily assume that they simply did as they wanted and no one else was able bodied enough to stop them...Which would make them nearly unstoppable monsters that were waiting to be unleashed upon him, or at least that was the only way he could view them in regards to his plans.

The Theocracy had been hiding an ace up their sleeve, how many more wild cards did they have at their disposal? Did they expect her to cause so much damage to their own palace? Did all of them have that level of power? Or maybe it was more accurate to say that the resistance she was met with far exceeded their expectations. The questions only continued to flow in and no answer seemed satisfying. There were people in the natural world who held either the power or knowledge to impede his progress while threatening the safety of his home and people, he didn't even want to imagine what could happen if a coordinated army of such men and women invaded Nazarick, let alone the nation he planned to establish in the near future. There was no such thing as PvP-safe zone here, they wouldn't even be affected by the rules of a party system or have a limit on what strategies they could employ. The only possible preparations he could make would have to come from a field test...Perhaps even going so far as to invite intruders into his home and see how they stacked up to Nazarick's defenses, maybe even formulate a plan on how to go about dealing with them in real time.

The Necromancer stopped to look up at the sky.

"That idea is actually a really good one isn't it?"

He would need to have a long discussion with Demiurge and Albedo once he returned, that idea might have been more effective than it sounded.

"What?"

Another voice ringing through the night air would remind him that he wasn't alone with his thoughts quite yet. His cold gaze turned to meet that of his companion's

The questions swimming through Ainz's skull at that very moment far outnumbered the answers he had, giving him a sense of uneasiness that prevented him from feeling at all comfortable with the decisions he'd made, but it was too late to be indecisive. After several hours of careful negotiation, asserting his dominance and keeping an eye out for literally anything else that could go wrong he'd found himself exactly where he started: Alone with Evileye, or Keeno as he now learned her name to be.

Of all the people the Overlord had met in this world thus far very few had the capability to earn either his respect or his admiration, the only person who'd done so was Gazef Stronoff with a few others trailing behind but this tiny vampire had easily surpassed even the Warrior Captain. Compared to the inspiring bravery that Gazef had shown the mage was nearly the exact opposite, her qualities were better appreciated outside of combat prowess and more in the information department. Not only had she been around long enough to gain the valuable experience that the necromancer and his subordinates were sorely lacking but she also delved into a subject that was more than interesting for a mage like him: The ability to copy or even create new spells, a tidbit that nearly blew his mind. Full on magical development wasn't something he'd had the most success in and up until now he'd been expanding his abilities in other fields to compensate for potential weaknesses, though the now prevalent possibility of going to the next level with his magic only made him more excited to delve back into the realm he'd initially invested all of his time in.

"This is your final night within the Theocracy isn't it?"

He played off accidentally blurting out his mind by opening a new topic and her response was quick to follow.

"Yes, we will depart by carriage tomorrow morning."

The events that followed the meeting weren't anything special, the guests had an opportunity to stay and recuperate before the journey home, a necessary respite if they were to take on yet another small army on the way back. This time they wouldn't be able to rely on Darkness to decimate the enemies with ease, though that mattered little to Ainz, he was more worried about whether or not letting Evileye return at all was a good idea given what she'd learned.

"Returning to the Kingdom is likely in your best interest for now, I cannot have what happened today reach the general public so I took precautions against it. I'm not sure you fully understand it but I assure you no one was harmed, though you will find that most will be incapable of recalling today's events exactly as they transpired."

The sorcerer picked his words carefully, knowing very well how easy it would be to simply sweep the vampire off her feet and run away to Nazarick without the slightest care, but he wasn't that audacious, if he were he'd have burned down half the cities he'd encountered thus far and built his kingdom himself. Evileye had been his partner throughout this entire fiasco, as such he'd been very respectful and trusting of her opinion, she was an undead like him and given the day's events he'd now formulated an unhealthy attachment for her. That being said there was only one idea in mind regarding her situation: He needed to bring her to his side, not just as an ally but as a permanent addition to Nazarick, even without his attachment her wealth of knowledge still made her a very valuable individual. The only foreseeable issue he saw was possible conflict with some of his guardians but he'd already planned for that outcome, after all the whole point of sending the dynamic duo home earlier was to get his subjects used to the idea of newcomers, even in the most extreme cases.

"...As I have brought some trouble upon you I'd like to sincerely apologize, though what we discussed earlier is still on my mind. I'd like you to join me if possible, though I won't force you to do anything, it is little more than a selfish request on my part."

He may not have been able to feel much but this was the closest he'd get to being any sort of romantic, given how she'd been putting up with him all this time he had to at least try to seem interested, right? Well he was interested in her but it would be hard to call it anything close to romantic, nonetheless he took his chances. The response he received was a slow nod then an equally slow reply afterwards.

"Yes...I understand."

"Excellent...I will inform colleagues of mine to contact you in the near future, in the meantime..."

The necromancer stopped there and stared quietly for a second to think of the plans he'd made, patience was important but given how busy he'd wind up being in just a few weeks time he would have preferred to get her true response to his proposal sooner rather than later. He focused once again on the girl in front of him before reaching into his inventory and taking out a small item: A message scroll.

"It may be a bit premature of me to do so but...This will allow you to contact me directly should the need arise. I don't expect there to be a convenient time for both of us to sit down and speak but this should give you some leeway to make a personal move should you want to do so before we have any arrangements set in stone."

The vampire took the scroll and he went through the motions of explaining how to use the spell effectively, hoping to avoid dwelling on the subject. To him this should have been no different from handing off those goblin horns to Enri in the past, though this held a bit more significance behind it. His word would always be trusted by his subjects but there were only so many good reasons he could give for his actions before they went from justified to paranoid in nature.

"You don't plan on returning to the Kingdom with the rest of us?"

An awkward yet inevitable question came from the vampire, his answer would be one to match it.

"With the arrangements I've made no one aside from you and a few others should know the truth behind why we suddenly vanished."

There was no right way for him to give that answer with complete assurance, after all he knew the true point of the question she asked. She knew already that he couldn't just go back normally as if nothing had happened, in actuality her question was more along the lines of "Are you going to make me go back alone?", something he had a very hard time deciding upon. To go back to her accomplices and hide what she'd learned wouldn't be easy and she wasn't entirely confident that she could pretend all was well.

"The magic I used is...Already something I'd rather not rely on, to alter someone's mind for my own purposes is best left as a last resort."

Again he stressed his morality, there was very little else he could use as leverage. He let her think on it for a moment before continuing.

"In this case I was able to remove most of our involvement, a surprise visit from the sorcerer known as Ainz Ooal Gown should have nothing to do with Darkness...And it should come as no surprise that when that sorcerer goes and does something catastrophic such as blow away an entire portion of your ally's home to make an example...That the dark warrior cannot just sit idly by and watch, he would of course have to track that sorcerer for the sake of the Kingdom's protection."

He paused for a moment to survey the emotions on the girl's face. Already she seemed to understand his point, the fabrication of events he'd created to cover their escape was already a bit too far fetched to consider tampering with now.

"It's a good excuse for him and his group not to return for some time, but the same cannot be said for you, I trust you with the information I've shared so far but without proper reason I cannot allow things to progress much further, not of my own volition."

His point was clear and his hand played, any further interaction between the two of them would have to start with her, he would not allow himself to dictate what their relationship would be and possibly put her at risk, no it would have to be her decision, her decision to further involve herself with what most would see as an embodiment of death itself, a being who went far beyond anything someone could expect to encounter in their lives. It would have to be her decision alone, the pressure that put on her matched just about everything else that was weighing on her mind for the entirety of the trip to this country, this much shouldn't have been something she was prepared to handle.

"If you understand then I will take my leave for today..."

Those words weren't the best to end on but he couldn't think of anything inspiring to say, this whole situation was already awkward enough without any extra input, in his mind there was no need to make the girl feel more conflicted than she already was.

"Seven days."

He stopped to stare. Her input was unexpected.

"I only need that long to think this over and clear up any misunderstandings, after that...I'll use this to talk to you again."

It was an unexpected turn of events but a welcome one, after all she'd been through one would expect her to need at least a week just to digest all the information she learned, not make a life changing decision. While it was impossible for him to feel any true surprise Ainz could at the very least admit to being shocked.

One week. She would give him her answer in just that short amount of time, would he himself even be prepared to hear it? Of course he would, she was already taking the first step forward, it would be a blunder not to meet it head on. He could only accept what she had to say, already mentally preparing himself for their next meeting.

With a nod he turned his back, their promise was one he was eager to keep, if only he didn't need to save face by being such a well mannered leader.

An incantation was uttered into the night sky and the Necromancer vanished from sight.

With a single spell he'd traveled across the land far faster than any other method of transportation could have taken him, landing before his tomb in complete silence.

When he entered those doors, no even as he approached them he would be flooded with praise and the attention of his people welcoming him back. He was ready to finally return home.

He was not ready for a large hand to suddenly land on his shoulder.

The panic was immediately dispersed by a familiar voice.

"Honestly, I think we can count this as successfully giving a girl your number."

What a way to welcome someone back home, the only reason the admin hadn't spontaneously caught fire was because of the lich taking his words as a sort of compliment rather than a taunt, though that didn't save him from the evil glare and fierce questioning.

"I've no interest in you watching my business, but you are waiting here because…?"

"About that...I sort of brought up the fact that Albedo wanted to somehow have a skeleton get her pregnant and she tossed me out."

The silence between the two persisted.

"What can I say, I was really interested to figure out her reasoning behind it."

"Interesting, then you may continue pondering the answer here."

"Come on, don't be like that!"

He'd already squandered his chances, the necromancer was leaving him behind with his shame. The admin was still not someone to be trusted but at the very least he knew how to keep things from getting boring.

With One Punch Season 2 around I feel like I can continue Tatsu the Monster...More on that next time.