A/N: Just want to remind you guys that aside from me and hackslashbash, most of the chapters in this story were beta-ed by Razel Treasure. Thank you for your hard work Razel!
Chapter 35: Favored Rejection
Tiamat led Tsuare down to the dining room of the mansion.
Tsuare looked all around her, in awe of the renovated mansion, all as she followed behind her host. The dragoness chuckled inwardly as she warmly gazed at wide-eyed Tsuare who was lost in the beauty of her surroundings. She looked left and right like a lost puppy which Tiamat found it very endearing.
"How could the mansion change this much? Wasn't it really bare before?" Tsuare asked herself, but she was surprised when Tiamat answered her.
"Sebas decorated it. Isn't he amazing?" Tiamat proudly put her hands on her hips as she looked back at Tsuare.
Honestly, Tiamat was also surprised to find that the mansion had changed this much. The mansion actually appeared as a livable space compared to the run-down barren state it was in before, and instead of going by the interior designing standards of this world, it seemed that Sebas had added his own modern flair to the mansion.
Instead of being flashy and gaudy like an old mansion from the eighteenth century, the design looked much more contemporary. It emphasized the beauty of the big spaces within the mansion rather than crowding that space with ostentatious decorations.
"Sebas-sama is amazing!" Tsuare nodded in agreement, mouth open.
Tiamat grinned, "Just wait 'til you see the dining room."
As they approached the threshold of the dining room, Tiamat stepped to the side so that Tsuare could get a good look. Moreover, the dragoness wanted to see the girl's reaction.
As soon as Tsuare's blue eyes landed on the dining room, she could only gape her mouth wide open in awe.
Tiamat laughed, "That was my exact reaction!"
The dining table was big enough for ten people: four on the left, four on the right and one on each end. Since they were located in the capital, a mansion typically wouldn't have as much space like the big mansions in the countryside that Tiamat had seen from working with Marquis Blumrush. In the middle of the large table was a simple white vase with a single blooming rose sprouting from its narrow neck. Truly, it was an arrangement beautiful in its simplicity.
But what made the room amazing wasn't the table or the chair. It was the view.
On one side of the wall, from the ceiling all the way down to the floor, were massive windows that gave a view of the magnificent flora thriving in the back garden. The sun shone through the pure glass, making candles all but a formality. Muffled birdsongs filtered through the glass as the wind whistled through the trees that flanked one side of the garden with a thicket of peaceful beeches standing guard on the other.
With the wide glass windows, anyone who sat by it could see the endless blue vault that was the sky which grew brighter and brighter with the sun's rising. The mere presence of the windows improved the acoustics and lighting of the room by itself—making the dining hall all the more magnificent.
"This is amazing Lady Tiamat... How…?" Tsuare was left speechless.
"I hired an amazing team to install these magnificent windows," Tiamat boasted, afterall, it was the people in Nazarick who had created these windows in less than a day. She did say to Tsuare that she had hired them even though it was free labor from Nazarick, but Tsuare didn't need to know that. Besides, Tiamat had promised the workers in question a dozen freshly baked apple pies with vanilla ice cream, so they weren't working for free.
"Big windows make the room bigger and brighter, don't they?" Tiamat faced the window and stretched out her arms before it, soaking in the sunlight.
"They do," Tsuare stared at the view with amazement. Perhaps amazement didn't quite cover it. The girl looked like someone just took her spark of wonder and poured a gas tanker on it.
Tiamat grabbed her hand and guided her to her chair, directly facing the view in front of her, "Sit here Tsuare!" Tsuare meekly complied, hesitantly sitting down after Tiamat pulled her chair out.
Since the guest was now seated, Tiamat made her way to the other end of the table and sat opposite to her. As soon as Tiamat sat down, Sebas appeared out of seemingly nowhere with two dishes that looked like exact duplicates of each other and gently laid them on the table. One for the dragoness and one for the girl.
"Go ahead and dig in," Tiamat rested her chin on her interlocked fingers as she offered Tsuare to take a bite first.
Tsuare looked down at her plate. The dish appeared to be meat, but it was a juicy red as if it was uncooked. Furthermore, the meat was wrapped in different layers, and was laid upon something white below it while a dark liquid that looked darker than wine was drizzled across the entire dish. She had never seen anything like it before.
Uncertain, the girl lifted her eyes to the woman in front of her and squirmed as she saw the anticipation sparkling in Tiamat's overly eager eyes. Tsuare had the strange idea that Lady Tiamat was more interested in watching her than eating.
Bravely, she cut a piece, put it in her mouth, and slowly chewed. Tiamat leaned in a bit.
Tsuare swallowed and looked down at the dish in wonder, "That... Lady Tiamat, it's so good!"
Tiamat smiled in response to her simple but sincere praise, "Thank you, Tsuare!"
"The bread outside of the meat is soaking up all of the juices inside. The meat tasted really soft too. I feel like I'm in heaven!" Tsuare cooed as she closed her eyes in bliss.
"Thanks for the high praise," Tiamat brightly replied before taking a bite.
"What is this?"
"This dish is called Beef Wellington," Tiamat said after quickly chewing before shoving another bite into her mouth.
"B-Bifuu...erinton..?"
With a grin, Tiamat raised her brows, "This dish was popularized a long time ago by some potty mouthed chef. In the center is beef tenderloin that's wrapped in layers of duxelles—a finely chopped mushroom mixture that was home grown by someone from my family—stir fried in butter. The outside is covered with parma ham made out of salt cured orc's meat, and homemade puff pastry."
Tsuare couldn't understand a single syllable that had come out from the Tiamat's mouth. It sounded more like she was talking about a magic spell than a recipe for food. So instead of trying to comment on what Lady Tiamat had said, Tsuare decided to change the topic.
"Was the chef who cooked this here, My Lady?"
"Ah," Tiamat pondered, "This is an old recipe."
Afterall, it had been about a century since the recipe was created. However, the dish was still popular among the upper echelon of society back in the old world since it was extremely decadent. In the meanwhile, the rest of the population just had synthetic rations for food.
Tiamat had looked up the chef responsible for popularizing Beef Wellington and watched a few of his shows. It was true that the man had a potty mouth, but goddamnit if his recipes didn't taste like the work of a god. The thought that people at the time just liberally used butter for everyday cooking was insane to her.
"What is this white stuff?" Tsuare poked at the fluffy white side dish.
"Those are mashed potatoes," Tiamat simply explained through another big bite of chewed up food.
"This is a potato?!" Tsuare asked in shock.
Her reaction was understandable. Tiamat had noticed that most poor people in both this world and her old one would sustain themselves with primarily bread and potatoes, and with the latter, they always boiled it for one reason or another. Few tried to think of combining other ingredients into it or searching up another method to cook it. It was hard enough to survive as is.
"Delicious, right?!" Tiamat recalled her first time tasting mashed potatoes. She also had a similar reaction, "It just disappears, like eating a cloud!"
"Exactly, My Lady! It feels so airy, and it disappears the moment it touches my tongue!" Tsuare enthused.
"Awww, so adorable!" Tiamat blabbered without thinking and immediately, Tsuare's excitement soon changed to embarrassment.
"To think I acted like a child towards you. I'm sorry, Lady Tiamat," the girl bent her waist and lowered her head in shame and guilt. She had forgotten that Lady Tiamat was far above her.
But instead of getting angry, Tiamat just smiled with her cheeks packed full with food, "Hey, don't worry about it! You're just a teenager after all. All girls your age are either emo or cute."
"E-Emo?" Tsuare tilted her head questioningly.
"Ah, that's another discussion for another time," Tiamat waved her hand and changed the topic. She wasn't about to delve into the deep and intricate topic of young adolescent females. She had her fair share of those back on Earth. It was understandable though with their volatile combination of raging hormones and an increasing need to be independent despite the lack of necessary skills or legal right for independence.
"Ah, that's right," Tsuare looked at Tiamat, "You mentioned something about a business proposal before, Lady Tiamat?"
Tiamat looked up at Tsuare excitedly, a speck of meat stuck on her bottom lip, "That's right!"
She pushed her plate aside and put both of her elbows on the table, slightly leaning forward closer towards Tsuare.
"I'll just be straightforward and say it, but would you consider dealing with business, Tsuare-chan?"
"B-Business?" Tsuare stuttered, "But the only thing I can do is read a bit... Before you saved me from that place I knew how to farm just a bit," She looked down at her lap, her cheeks flushed with shame, "I'm not really sure I can do any business work. I'm sorry…" she said apologetically.
"Are you willing to though?" Tiamat raised an eyebrow and asked again, "It's alright if you don't have any experience now as long as you're willing to work hard."
"I-I am willing! But it's just that...I-I don't know how I can be useful to you. I want to be helpful to you and stay by your side, but…" Tsuare trailed off.
Tiamat suddenly stood up, causing the plates to rattle, "Then it's settled! As long as you're willing to learn then everything will work out."
"But how?"
The dragoness gave a menacing grin. If she could level up just by cooking…
"Tsu-a-re-chan~" Tiamat sing-songed, "Have you ever heard of the term cram school?"
The girl could only gulp in nervousness as the woman's diabolical grin grew wider. Somehow, Tsuare felt like she had walked into a deep pit, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She didn't know if that speck of meat that was still stuck there made it better or worse.
Sebas suddenly cleared his throat, "My Lady, there's something on your lips," he lowered his head.
"Wha-?" Tiamat hurriedly wiped the speck of meat from her mouth, "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Tsuare giggled. She had a feeling that everything was going to be okay.
(ㅇㅅㅇ❀)
Tiamat abruptly popped into existence above the marbled floor and floated for a split second before her butt made an unceremonious reunion with the cold hard floor.
"OUCH!" she got up and gently rubbed her backside as she mumbled, "I liked using 『Gate』a lot more..." It didn't really hurt, but the shock of falling on her butt was unpleasant all the while.
She would bet her next break time that Ainz told her to use 『 Greater Teleportation』just so she could make a fool out of herself like she did a a few seconds ago.
"Welcome back, My Lady!" two high pitched cheerful voices greeted her simultaneously as two tiny bundles of energy slammed into her. She would have gotten tackled to the floor if not for her tail moving to stop the fall.
"Aura, Mare, please be respectful towards the Supreme Being," Albedo nagged at the twin elves who just pouted and slowly separated themselves from the Dragoness.
"Yeeeeees…" they groaned, unenthused.
Immediately after the twins had separated themselves from Tiamat, Albedo glomped her, "My Lady! I missed you so much, you were so busy, and I missed your lunches and desserts, and Shalltear keeps on drinking, and I joined her sometimes. And she filled me in on what happened that night, and when I heard about it I think you were super, cool My Lady!" Tiamat's head spun as Albedo continued her excited rant, "I also heard you cut off his tongue, that was a great move My Lady, he truly deserved it! I hated it when that pig talked over the Supreme Being, and to think that he was being utterly disrespectful, I really wanted to smash in his skull, I—"
Albedo continued rambling without stopping, and Tiamat patiently listened to each and every word with a blank smile on her face. Aura and Mare shot the Succubus withering glares.
"And she tells us to be respectful to the Supreme Being..." Aura muttered under her breath.
After the Succubus was finished, Tiamat petted her dark locks, "I missed you too, Albedo. Great job on defending Nazarick!" she poked her nose, "I'm sorry you couldn't come with us that night. Should I make it up to you?"
"Truly, My Lady?!" Albedo asked excitedly, her ahoge waving in the air, "No, it's alright, My Lady. You should take a break!"
"Don't worry about it Albedo," Tiamat started pinching the Succubus's cheeks, "Spending time with you is a break!"
"No," was the immediate response from the boring dusty skeleton who was sitting on his usual chair in his office, "Albedo is one of the last lines of defense for Nazarick. She needs to be here at all times."
Tiamat could see Albedo's wings droop in disappointment. Even her ahoge had lost its energy and was now sadly slumping.
"Boooo, you're such a wet blanket," Tiamat complained.
"It is necessary for Nazarick to function properly," Ainz stubbornly insisted.
"Hey, that's not fair you know? What about you Mr. Ainz Ooal Gown? Since you're the head of this whole operation, you're not supposed to wander around and become a knight you know?" Tiamat poked.
"If I didn't have a meddling friend then this Ainz Ooal Gown wouldn't have become a knight."
"I'm not meddling."
"Yes you are."
"No I'm not," Tiamat argued childishly.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes."
Tiamat grinned, "Sesselpupser."
The skeleton paused in confusion, while Albedo accidentally snorted upon hearing Tiamat's statement.
"Aura, Mare, try saying that with me—Sesselpupser," Tiamat repeated in a childish mocking tone while pointing her finger at the high and mighty skeleton in front of her.
Of course, the innocent children didn't know anything and just happily followed the Supreme Being's instruction. They pointed their fingers towards Ainz and enthusiastically repeated, "Secelpapsir!"
Albedo turned around and did her best to hide the huge grin on her face.
"Good job you two!" Tiamat went down on her knee and hugged the adorable twins, "You guys are so smart! You can call Ainz that from now on."
"Please no," he immediately responded.
"Would you rather be called Sesselpupser or wet blanket?"
"Neither. Call me Ainz."
"Booooooo, so lame," the dragoness pouted, "At least give Albedo and Pandora's Actor a chance to explore the outside world. Besides, if she was the last line of defense, I'm sure she would have enough time to teleport back to Nazarick right?"
"What if someone deliberately attacked us outside of Nazarick too?" Ainz challenged.
"Well, if that happens she can just use the portal scroll or the teleportation scroll to return right?" Tiamat retorted.
The twins and the Succubus, who were spectating this whole exchange, just smiled from the sidelines. When the dragoness was this stubborn there was nothing in this world that could stop her.
Ainz seemed to consider this a bit and asked the Succubus, "What do you think, Albedo? Do you want to try and explore?"
Immediately, Albedo's eyes sparkled in anticipation, "Can I really do so, Lord Ainz?"
The more he saw how much Albedo wanted it, the more his subconscious felt guilty about wanting to stop her. The guilt sat not only on his chest, but also inside his empty skull before the emotional suppression erased his emotions once more.
"I understand," Ainz finally relented with a sigh, "But you need to carry multiple teleportation scrolls with you, also" Ainz lifted a finger before Albedo could happily thank him, "You need to inform me beforehand as well as telling me who you're going with."
But it all fell on deaf ears as the dragoness celebrated, "Hooray, Albedo! I'll show you around if you'd like! We can try sweets there and shop together!" the two jumped in circles as they hugged each other, "It'll be awesome!"
"I'm looking forward to it too, My Lady!" Albedo excitedly cried.
"Before you guys have fun," Ainz stopped the happy pair, "What about the rest of the people from the brothel, Tia?"
"You have the rest of the girls?" Tiamat asked Albedo curiously.
"They are currently interned on the Fifth floor, My Lady," Albedo switched back to her serious face as she responded.
"Alive?"
"Do you need them alive?" Ainz asked incredulously, "What do you need them alive for?"
"Evidence, of course. So are they alive?"
Ainz sighed for what seemed to be the millionth time that day, slumping back in his seat, "Aura, Mare. Tell Tia what you just told me."
"Yes, Lord Ainz!" the twins shouted simultaneously, and Aura began her report, "The plan was that we make the people faint, extract their memories, and uhhh…. Replace them with doppelgangers as soon as we infiltrated the place!"
"T-T-That's right," Mare continued, "W-When we got there, we n-noticed that some of the girls were t-too weak and barely breathing. T-They've been badly beat up and bruised. S-So we decided to store them on Cocytus's floor f-for now."
"They're too weak! It's their fault they're in that position in the first place," Aura interjected as she gave Mare a noogie, "If they're that weak, then are they worth anything alive?" the dark elf shrugged nonchalantly.
Tiamat slightly gritted her teeth in anger, and accidentally released her killing intent.
"Aura…"
When the people in the room detected the hostile aura from the supposedly gentle dragoness, everyone except for Ainz immediately kneeled. It wasn't like Lord Ainz's pressure that was absolute and emotionless—just like death itself is full in its finality—but her anger simmered like a volcano: passionate, intense, and no less deadly.
"Forgive me, Lady Tiamat!" Aura hastily responded as beads of sweat ran down her head, "I have offended you!"
Tiamat took a deep breath, trying to contain her emotions, "Answer me this question, Aura."
"I will answer anything the Supreme Being asks, " Aura shuddered in fear. She had seen Lady Tiamat angry before but never at her.
"Tia," Ainz tried to warn the dragoness. Tiamat was one of the gentlest people in Nazarick, even during their active eras. There were very few moments where she would get angry, but when she did, no one was able to stop her. "I'm sure Aura didn't..." his voice trailed off when he saw the smoldering look in her eyes.
The dragoness stared at Ainz, her passive skill causing her eyes to burn in molten gold, and said in a measured, monotone voice, "Be quiet."
Ainz flinched. To see someone as friendly as Tiamat being so hostile towards him…
It was definitely not a pleasant feeling.
Tiamat turned back to look at Aura, "Aura."
"Yes!"
"You said you've offended me?"
"Yes, Lady Tiamat. I apologize! I will pay for my mistake with my life!" Aura trembled in fear. Was this how Albedo felt when Lord Ainz was threatening her before for insubordination? Aura didn't know it would be this scary, and she fully expected that the dragoness would punish her.
But instead, another question was thrown at the elf girl, "Do you know why?" Even though they could still feel her hostile aura, her voice remained gentle and patient. If someone were to look at the scene, it would remind them of a parent reprimanding a wayward child.
Aura, who was fully preparing for a harsh punishment, just looked at the dragoness with confusion, "H-Huh?"
Tiamat kneeled down so her eyes stared directly at Aura's, "Why did you say you had offended me, Aura? Do you know why?" she repeated.
"I-I…" Aura's brain was scrambling for an answer, "B-Because you got angry?" the girl asked back hesitantly.
"Do you know why I'm angry?"
Aura's brain never worked this hard before. This was one of the most difficult questions the Supreme Being had ever asked her. It would have been so much easier if the dragoness would have just punished her. Hearing her Lady's calm voice while knowing she was angry was beyond nerve-wracking.
"N-N-No…?" Aura was now stuttering like her brother so often did.
To her surprise, Tiamat smiled. It was an exasperated smile, but it was unexpected in such a tense situation. "Aura, if you were taken away from Nazarick by a bad man all of a sudden, how would you feel?"
Aura puffed up her chest in anger, "I'd kill them!"
"What if you were as weak as the girls we rescued, Aura?" Tiamat patiently asked, "No beasts, no magic, no strength. What if you had nothing and were completely alone just like them?"
"Umm…." Aura suddenly found the marble floor very interesting, "I don't know..."
"Then in that case," Tiamat lifted Aura's chin so the two were looking eye to eye again, "Would it be your fault that you got kidnapped?"
"No!" Aura vehemently shook her head, "They were the ones who kidnapped me, so they're the bad guys!"
"Is it not the same for those girls, Aura?" Tiamat sternly scolded, "They did not choose to be kidnapped. They did not choose to be weak. And even if they are weak," she stood back up and brought Aura to her feet too, "That is no excuse for others to treat them as they've been treated."
"O-okay..." Aura wiped her watery eyes, "I won't do that again..."
"What won't you do again, Aura?" Tiamat looked at her expectantly.
"I won't look down at people cuz they're weak..." the small elf girl shifted her feet, "And I'm sorry that I talked like that in the first place!" she whimpered as her big and tearful eyes looked up at Tiamat.
"A-Ah," Tiamat's heart thumped at the pitiful and extremely cute sight, "It's okay, Aura. Just don't do it again," she enveloped the young girl in a tight hug, "I'm sorry for being so scary too."
"N-Nooo!" Aura bawled, "L-Lady Tiamat d-doesn't have t-to apologize for a-anything! I'm s-s-sorry for messing up so b-bad!"
Ainz released a very relieved sigh as he watched the Floor Guardian bawl as his friend hugged her. He thought Tiamat was going to do something drastic with Aura. But on the contrary, what Tiamat had said and done was a good way of correcting a behavior that angered her. He felt slightly ashamed in thinking that his friend was going to do something worse to their dear children.
"Then we messed up together, okay?" Tiamat wiped Aura's tears away with her sleeves and continued patting her pack in a slow rhythm, "There, there, cry as much as you want."
Aura's heart felt warm at the Dragoness's gentleness and cried even more, "H-Huwaaaaaaa…"
Mare also had become tearful as he saw his sister crying so much, "D-D-Don't c-c-cry, n-n-nee-s-s-s-s-san…"
Now that the mood was lighter, Ainz decided to slowly approach the agenda they had convened to discuss, "So what are our plans with the girls?"
"Huh?" Tiamat refocused on him as she continued to comfort the wet eyed Aura and Mare, "Oh! So you know that business I've been starting up?"
"Umu..." Ainz wracked his skull, "The clothing one?"
"Yeah, that one!" Tiamat nodded, "So I was thinking of putting all the girls to work there."
Ainz considered this for a moment, "That's very good and all, but why would we need to? We have plenty of funds now that we've taken over that crime syndicate."
"Well," she tilted her head, "You'd like more money, right?"
Ainz fell into even deeper thought. "It's true that more money is a good thing..."
Tiamat strengthened her argument, "And you know that we'll need to establish our own place some day which will cost tons of money."
For once, Ainz finally understood a plan. A plan that he didn't have to pretend to know and stress over. Ainz stood up regally and proclaimed, "Very well! In that case, take care of them as well as you would any resident of Nazarick!"
"That goes without saying," Tiamat had a crooked smile, "But I was wondering if I could have Yuri help me teach all of em."
"Umu," Ainz cupped his chin, "Well, Yamaiko was a teacher after all… It sounds good to me. Go ahead and proceed with your plan."
"Speaking of plans," Tiamat spoke up, "My meeting with the King to talk about me receiving a title is coming up. I was thinking of refusing it, but was wondering if you or Demiurge had any other ideas," Tiamat glanced around the room, "Speaking of which, where is Demiurge?"
"He's still busy with replacing all the Eight Fingers' members with dopplegangers," Ainz replied, "What were your thoughts when you refused it? Wouldn't a title help consolidate our position in this place?"
"Well, that's true," she smirked, "But I have an even better idea..."
(ㅇㅅㅇ❀)
King Rampossa tiredly walked down the carpeted hallway, his trustworthy friend and guard Gazef Stronoff by his side.
Today was the day that the Silver Priestess would come to a decision whether or not she would accept his offer to bestow a title upon her.
No one—him included—really thought that she wouldn't accept it for such was the worth of a noble rank, so he was already having a headache thinking about how the other nobles were going to try to use the Priestess to solidify their own positions.
'If only everyone could work together for the sake of the country...' the King wistfully thought. Sadly, real life was never so easy.
Truthfully this matter had given him countless sleepless nights. To think he was sacrificing someone innocent for the chance that they may better the Kingdom. He knew just how much of a ruthless jungle the Kingdom's politics were. Everyone acted as they desired without thinking about the people. They only thought about how something could be advantageous to their families even if it meant trampling other people's lives in the process.
He knew that he was about to sacrifice the Priestess, and he was now marching on his way to let it happen.
The future of the Priestess will be bleak.
He knew how the nobles here would act.
As soon as she got her title and her land, she would be forced by Marquis Blumrush to marry him for the sake of the Kingdom. He had heard some rumors about the wife of the Marquis refusing the divorce.
Rampossa sighed. He knew that Blumrush was greedy and disloyal, but to think he was this transparent. Was there not a speck of honor and virtue in the man?
Rampossa's shoulders slumped even more. Who was he to talk big about honor and virtue when he was the one feeding the Priestess to the sharks?
"What's with the long sighs, Your Majesty?" Gazef Stronoff, his right hand man and closest friend asked him as the two walked towards the Throne Room, "Is it about the Priestess?"
Rampossa just tiredly smiled, "You know me very well."
Just before Gazef was about to tell the doorman to announce the King's presence, he suddenly turned around and gave the King an intense stare, "I know this isn't my place to say it, Your Majesty, but the Priestess is much stronger than you think. Physically and mentally. There is no need to fear because I believe she would be a great ally for the Kingdom."
"Your words fill me with hope," Rampossa simply responded. He knew that Gazef was simply trying to lift his spirits up. No matter how strong one was, dealing with the countless wolves in the Royal Court was an ordeal too great for one person alone.
Even he had been a ferocious tiger in his prime. But as time passed and more and more responsibility pressed down on him, even the tiger grew tired.
"Announce the King's presence!" Gazef ordered.
And so, the door was opened and as usual, all the nobles in the room bowed before the King of this Kingdom. "We greet Your Majesty!"
Rampossa silently made his way to the Throne and sat on it, raising his hand to stop the nobles from dallying.
"Let her in," he sternly proclaimed.
"Announcing Adamantine Adventurer Hannah Annafellowz, The Priestess!"
Immediately, the nobles became noisy again. Even though they had met her a few days ago, they couldn't forget how beautiful she was. And since today was the day she would be granted a title, they expected that she would be dressed up in the best dress and look even more beautiful.
But instead, the person who came through the door was the same woman who was wearing the same clothing, carrying a staff as if she was about to fight.
"How barbaric," someone loudly whispered amongst the crowd.
To think that the Priestess didn't even dress up when the King was about to bestow a title upon her.
The nobles hid their scowls behind a mask of smiles, and the Priestess walked straight towards the King and gave her greetings.
"I greet Your Majesty," she simply said, only lowering her head a tad instead of curtsying or bowing. The whispers of the nobles grew even louder.
"It is nice to meet you again, Priestess," Rampossa looked at her with grave eyes, "Now we shall begin with the proceedings," Rampossa lifted up his hand to cue the attendant to bring the necessary articles.
"Before that, Your Majesty," the Priestess stopped him, "I have something I need to tell you."
Clamor ensued within the Throne Room, and Marquis Blumrush gulped, 'Why is she delaying the inevitable?!'
"Something you need to tell me?" Rampossa asked in confusion. He hadn't expected the Priestess wanting to add something. 'Maybe Gazef was right... perhaps the Priestess does have the strength to survive here…' he thought to himself.
"Yes. Bring him in!" The Priestess loudly ordered, earning her mockery for such uncouth behaviour. A woman shouldn't yell like a knight, but it didn't seem like she cared.
Suddenly, the warriors came in with someone familiar.
"Wait."
"Isn't that…"
"Steffan Havish!" the nobles talked amongst themselves.
Rampossa squinted his eyes, the man in front of him looked like someone familiar, but he couldn't quite place his finger on his identity.
The man in question was in a very bad condition. He looked pale, as if he had seen ghosts, or even worse, demons. His clothes were blotched in blood and were so worn out that it looked like he had been through Hell and back.
"Some of you may know who this man is, some of you may not," Hannah started explaining, "But this man had come to me yesterday to threaten me with the Kingdom's laws."
"What?"
Rampossa looked at the Priestess in shock. Who in their right mind would threaten an Adamantine ranked adventurer?
"Not only did he threaten me," she stood tall and drew up the full strength of her voice, "He dared to kidnap a guest from under my roof!"
More muttering arose from the nobles and one of the more foolish ones spoke up, "Inspector Havish is a reliable man who has been protecting the Kingdom for years! This is a false accusation, Your Majesty! She is trying to defame a government official!"
"Is this true, Priestess?" Rampossa's eyes glimmered as he played along with the stupid noble's game. Was there possibly a chance for change here? "Do you dare deceive the Royal Family?!" the King roared.
The Priestess's grin grew wider, "Of course not, Your Majesty. I have brought forth the girl who had been kidnapped as well."
"Her story doesn't make sense, Your Majesty! She said that her guest had been kidnapped, yet she is here at the palace. This whole situation must have been a lie!" another noble angrily shouted.
"Bring forth the girl," Rampossa ordered, ignoring the outcries of the hyenas.
"As Your Majesty wishes," Hannah nodded and looked towards the warriors, "Bring her here!"
The doors to the Throne Room opened once more, and all could see a dazzling girl who must be a noble dressed in the finest fabrics. Her hair was flaxen gold comparable to that of the Golden Princess herself. The girl was beautiful, one of the most beautiful girls that any of the nobles in the room had ever seen.
"And this is?" the King frowned. He could not recall the girl from any gathering he had ever been to. Surely, a noble girl as beautiful as her would have been flaunted by her family?
"My name is Tsuareninya Veyron, Your Majesty," she curtsies.
"Veyron...I have never heard that family name before. Tell me, who are your parents?" Rampossa gently asked.
All the nobles became quiet at this, listening intently as they were all curious as to the identity of the mysterious noble.
"My parents were mere farmers, Your Majesty, we live on the outskirts of the Kingdom," she bowed her head as she replied.
All the nobles gasped in shock, and the same stupid one yelled out, "How dare a mere peasant walk in the Palace?! Arrest her!"
But none of the knights moved. Rampossa did not know this, but these warriors were the same knights who were escorting the Priestess the other day.
"Enough," Rampossa stopped him, "Gazef Stronoff is also of a humble beginning, and yet I still allow him by my side for his virtue. Besides, there are no laws in this Kingdom that disallow the people of my country to meet their King in the palace."
The noble could not say anything after that. Still spluttering in anger and humiliation, he sat down.
"I apologize, Tsuare was it? Please tell me what happened," Rampossa kindly looked at the brave girl before him.
And so she did.
Taken away from her sister forcefully to be used by a noble.
Being sold as a slave.
Being tortured by Havish and many others for years.
Everything.
And when the King had finished listening to her tale, he had been enraged as never before. He was angry at the noble who dared to do something as despicable as that. He was angry at the Court who didn't care that this happened. But mostly, he was angry at himself for allowing this to happen to his people.
"She must be lying, Your Majesty!" one of the nobles screamed out, "How can you believe the statement of just one witness and a commoner no less?! There were no other people aside from this girl, and none other could testify whether her story was true or not!"
"I'm not lying!" Tsuare screamed out, "They took me away from my sister! They took everything away from me! How could you say that I'm lying?!"
Hannah put a hand on her shoulder, "But you see," she pointed at Havish, "We do have a witness here."
The noble who had screamed out gulped as a number of his peers stared at him furiously. One of them was no other than the Marquis Blumrush himself. It was a well-known secret that the man's gem mines were mined by slaves.
"What do you say to these accusations, Steffan Havish?"
Havish, who should not have been able to speak due to his tongue being cut off earlier, had it regenerated for this sole purpose. He emptily spoke, "Everything she says is true, Your Majesty..."
The noble who had disagreed before gritted his teeth, but this time, in fear. He didn't know that Havish was a man who would quickly give up like this. But the man had long been broken from having his organs repeatedly eaten and regenerated in the Black Capsule of Nazarick. At this point, there was nothing Havish wished for more than death.
"Still, Your Majesty!" the noble was sweating buckets now, "The Priestess is known for her magic! What if she was able to persuade Havish with charm magic?!"
"I also agree, Your Majesty! I heard a lot of rumors about how the Priestess had gained her Adamantine rank, please do not be beguiled by this woman!"
"She is a liar!"
"She is deceiving you!"
"For a commoner to bring forth such accusations is outrageous!"
Tsuare, who didn't expect this to happen, could only clench her fist and tremble in anger at the unjust outrage of the people in the room who slandered the only person who saved her.
"No, she didn't!" Tsuare attempted to fight back.
"This peasant girl must be a liar too!" one of the noble pointed at Tsuare.
The room had grown uncontrollable.
"Silence!" the King roared once more, but the voice of one was swallowed by the voice of many.
'This was it,' Rampossa thought, 'This is how the Priestess shall fall from grace, and there was nothing I could do,' for he was no more than a mere Puppet King…
When all seemed futile and anger accumulated in the Throne Room, a deafening crack pulsed from the Priestess's staff hitting the floor. The sound was so loud, that everyone immediately stopped their chattering.
Everyone's eyes were on her.
The Priestess smiled happily, "My, look at all of you. You all sound like a swarm of buzzing locusts," her smile turned into a deep frown, "It's unpleasant."
"You—"
"How dare you mock the nobility of this Kingdom?!"
"Then act like one," the Priestess simply responded.
"W-What…?"
"I said, act like one," she repeated herself, and as silence fell upon the room, she continued, "Do the nobles of this country yell that the truth is a lie when they can't prove otherwise? Do the nobles of this country only listen to rumors without any evidence? You fools aren't acting like nobles, instead, the title of 'insects' fits you all much better. That is what you are."
"This is an outrage!" Blumrush finally yelled out, his face red with fury, "Why must we stay here and listen to these laughable words, Your Highness?!"
"Where did you say you saved this young lady from again?" Rampossa cut in, giving the Priestess a chance to explain her circumstances.
"From one of the brothels of the Eight Fingers."
"You dare say that some no-name thugs are breaking the laws of the Kingdom?! How insolent!" another jeered.
Rampossa felt a strong urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. The illegal operations of Eight Fingers were probably the worst kept secrets in the Kingdom. Most of the nobles in the room had taken part in their… services at one point or another, making it nigh impossible to truly get rid of the organization.
"If this girl was indeed saved from the clutches of such despicable criminals," Blumrush stood up with arms outstretched as he slowly looked at all his peers, "Then why didn't you capture any of them?" the Marquis challenged.
The Priestess simply raised an eyebrow and flatly responded, "That is because they ran away."
"Are you telling me that an Adamantine Adventurer could not even capture a group of common thugs?!" the Marquis laughed boisterously, "This makes me think that the Kingdom's Guild needs to revise their standards, do they not?"
"No actually," the Priestess was calm, too calm, "We got something a lot better."
"Just more empty bluster," Blumrush sneered, "Well, show us what you have, we don't have all day!"
The Priestess ignored their shrill outcries and turned around to give the King a sharp look, "If one witness is not enough, Your Majesty, then perhaps a hundred would suffice?"
The nobles grew even more restless. Where would the Priestess have gotten a hundred witnesses? Could it be…?
"If you don't think that my words and hers are believable, then that's fine by me," Hannah let out a wide smile, "However, can you deal with the voices of the people?"
"What?" Blumrush asked in confusion.
The next moment, the doors to the Throne Room opened to the sight of many girls and a small number of men. The odd procession came through the door, and the Throne Room suddenly became stuffed.
"These are all the people I had saved from the brothels managed by a crime syndicate that some of you gentlemen may know as Eight Fingers!" the Priestess declared, sweeping her arm wide to bring attention to the crowd she had brought in.
The mob flowed in like a river without end. There were so many of them that even the warriors of Gazef's band had trouble holding them back from flooding into the Throne Room. The nobles who were appalled by the commoners moved closer to the walls, thus creating more room for people to flow in.
The King saw the distinction, the frustrated crowd that filled the room with tension were all standing in the middle of the room while the nobles were separating themselves from the huge flock. The anger and rage of the people was visible for all of the nobles and the King to see.
Hannah nodded at them.
One worn-looking woman spoke up first, "Havish took me away from my family under pretenses that they had taxes to pay! My parents were forced to sell me as a slave!"
The dam had burst wide open.
"Me too, Your Majesty!"
"And I too!"
"That bastard!" another man pointed at a noble in the room who was desperately trying to hide, "He took my wife and forced me to slave away in a mine!"
"I've been beaten and raped by too many nobles to count!" a brown-haired woman cried, "Shouldn't they be punished?!"
One even tried to lunge at a petty baron in the nobles' group, "You!" the knights grabbed him and held his arms behind his back, "Give me back my daughter!"
"What do you have to say now, Marquis Blumrush?" Hannah mocked. "Surely you are not blind in addition to being deaf?"
"U-Ugh…!" Marquis Blumrush sat back down with a humiliated scowl on his face.
"Silence!" Rampossa yelled out, and the whole room quieted down. The King sighed. He still did not fully comprehend what the Priestess had in mind. So he asked, "What is the meaning of this, Priestess?"
The Priestess kneeled, "Your Majesty. The other day you asked if I wished for anything. Today, I have come here to tell you that wish!" her voice bellowed, loud and clear, sending a tingle to all the people in the room—noble and commoner alike—as they all anticipated what she was about to ask for.
"That is right," Rampossa acknowledged, "What is your wish?"
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, I do not need a title or land. Rather than that, I want you to conduct a thorough investigation on all the nobles present!"
Rampossa's eyes widened, 'Is this...a chance?'
The Priestess looked at him, her violet eyes clear and unyielding. She was determined. Rampossa gulped.
'This is it! This is the chance to finally clear out the corrupt nobles and increase the power of the royal family!'
The Priestess continued, "Even though my stay in this Kingdom was only for a short while, I noticed that the people's living conditions are very questionable. The law of this land may look noble, grand, and filled with justice. However, the enforcers of the law cannot even obey it themselves!" she waved her arm towards the nobles, "Imagine how surprised I was when I received a quest from Marquis Blumrush himself…" she turned her piercing violet eyes on the Marquis who involuntarily shuddered, "...and saw with my own two eyes that he was using slaves for his mines."
"This is absurd!" Blumrush immediately defended himself, "This is an outrage! All my employees are under a working contract!"
The Priestess took out a piece of parchment from under her cloak, "This is the working contract that Havish threatened Tsuare with. On paper, everything may seem fine; however, it's clear that the employer did not carry out his contract. In Tsuare's case, it was said that she was an employee in the brothel and thus received payment for her work. You can see it for yourself, Your Majesty."
The Priestess gave the documents to Gazef, and Gazef gravely passed on the documents to the King. She continued, "Even though the documents had been notarized, Havish stated that he had paid a certain sum to the notary..." the Priestess gave a look of disgust at the empty man kneeling on the ground, "Bribery as you can see."
"Is this true, Lord Havish?" Rampossa asked the man in question.
"That's right, Your Majesty…" he mumbled with lightless eyes.
"It could be assumed that Marquis Blumrush was also using the same methods for his contract, no?" Hannah proffered.
"Indeed..." the King pretended to be deep in thought, "Such injustice should not go unpunished, regardless of one's stature."
"Y-Your Majesty," Blumrush stuttered, "You cannot possibly be considering what this mad woman is saying?! I shall make an official complaint—!"
Gazef stopped the Marquis from speaking, "Am I the only one who is hearing the Priestess's request clearly?"
"Pardon?" the Marquis responded hastily.
"The Priestess asked the King to launch an investigation, not to just trust her and prosecute without any evidence."
"B-But!"
The King ignored Blumrush's spluttering, "You need not worry, Marquis Blumrush. We will merely be conducting a thorough investigation as the Priestess has suggested," he sternly gazed at the man, "If you are innocent, then you have nothing to fear."
"W-Wha-What?! But the accusation itself is preposterous! This is slander, Your Highness!" Blumrush furiously screeched.
The King clicked his tongue at the display the Marquis was showing, "Then let the investigation figure it out."
The Marquis shuddered. When was the King this scary? The King who no longer wanted to involve himself in any political matters now wanted to investigate him?!
The King raised his hand, "I have heard enough. I would like to honor the Priestess's request and order Gazef Stronoff to conduct the investigation."
Gazef gave the faintest of smiles as he kneeled, "It will be as you will!" Finally, they could begin cleaning the corruption from the Kingdom.
"Nonsense!" Blumrush stomped his feet like a child throwing a tantrum, "I have had enough of this farce!"
He tried to walk out the room only to be halted by Gazef's warriors and the King's knights.
"H-How dare you!" he pounded his fist against their chests as he tried to push his way out.
"Detain him," the King coldly declared. At this, the knights and warriors shoved the man's face to the ground and pinned his arms behind his back.
"This isn't over, you bitch!" Blumrush squirmed under the weight of the knight pushing him down, "This isn't over, you hear me?!" his eyes and veins bulged as he screamed specifically towards the Priestess.
But instead of being scared, the Priestess just smiled at the Marquis who was lying pitifully on the floor, "Oh, I'm so scared~" she teased.
"You disrespectful bitch! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"
"You?" the Priestess squatted in front of him, "Kill me?" she burst out laughing. "Ohhhh, you just might kill me with laughter!"
"Don't fuck with meeeeee!" Blumrush gnashed his teeth as his head lashed out at her.
"Oho!" she grinned, "We have a dog here, it seems!" she put a finger on his forehead, "Well doggy, I'll just tell you one thing."
Her finger glowed a molten orange and red, and Marquis Blumrush screamed in agony.
"Threaten me again and it'll be much more than just this little," Hannah leisurely branded the man with what seemed to be crudely drawn rendition of a male's genitals. "There!" she wiped her hands against each other and stood up, "Now everyone will recognize you like the trash you are."
She started rummaging around in her cloak before pulling out a mirror, "Aha!" she held it up in front of the Marquis, "Here, have a look."
The man was positively frothing at the mouth now.
All of the other nobles in the room gulped in fear, while the witnesses leered in vindication. One group feared for their own fate while the other revelled in the fact that judgement had finally been doled out.
"Take him away," Rampossa commanded his knights, "And Gazef," he looked at his trustworthy friend, "Prepare to set off for the Marquis's territory."
"As you command, Your Majesty!" Gazef bowed before the King before turning to members of his Warrior Band still in the room, "Let's go!"
"Yes Captain!" his men followed in an orderly line behind the Warrior Captain.
"Now," the King kindly looked upon the Priestess, the one who had made this turning point possible, "Is there anything else you desire, Priestess? Surely, what you have asked for is more a gift to the Kingdom than one for yourself?"
The Priestess nodded, "I merely wish to see the Kingdom flourish, Your Majesty."
The King held back his tears. The power struggles on the Royal Court that had been going on for so many decades, claimed so many lives, and sapped his soul had finally been brought to an end by the Priestess before him.
"Thank you," the King's hoarsely said as he lowered his head in gratitude. The rest of the nobles in the room gasped in shock and horror. For the King to lower his head so deeply towards a commoner…
Did that not mean they were even lower than that commoner?! However, all of them were too scared to speak up after seeing the Marquis, one of the Six Great Nobles, get detained.
"It's no problem," the Priestess waved her hand nonchalantly, "That being said, I hope you don't mess up so much," she spun around on her heels and made her way out of the room, "I'll see you around."
The King chuckled. For his savior to be so peculiar refreshed his soul from the constant politicking of the Court.
'She has done her part. Now it is time for me to do mine,' his eyes grew sharp and stern.
"We will be conducting an investigation on every noble in this Kingdom," he stood up and decreed, "Does anyone have any objections?!"
"N-No, Your Majesty!" all of the nobles fearfully shouted. After all, what else could they say to the King who clearly had the support of the frightening Priestess? What could they do where even someone as powerful as the Marquis Blumrush was humiliated?
The King suppressed his smile.
It would be a New Age for the Kingdom.
(ㅇㅅㅇ❀)
On that very day, by the order of the King, investigations began to be conducted on all the nobles of the Kingdom. All the statements of the witnesses that the Priestess had brought in would be used against the nobles in court. But no matter how good their lawyers might be, evidence as substantial as this would make them lose face.
To the nobles who valued grandeur and appearance, it was effectively a death sentence.
The investigation led to many surprising things. Wealthier nobles lent money to lower nobles and charged them absurd amounts of interest which caused the lower nobles to tax their peasants more. Some families even had to resort to selling their daughters or sons as collateral for their debts. Furthermore, countless other nobles bought and sold slaves through an underground criminal organization. There were countless other atrocities such as torture, rape, murder, distribution of drugs, among others that many nobles had been convicted of.
They were noble in name only. If one were to judge them by their behavior, they were worse than trash.
As soon as their vassals heard that their Masters were ruined, they provided whatever they knew as evidence. This was especially fatal to Marquis Blumrush who had been selling information to the Baharuth Empire.
Marquis Blumrush, who was one of the leading figures in the noble faction had begged desperately for mercy.
But no one listened to his pleas. Even his fellow faction members abandoned him as they had their own problems to worry about.
Most of Marquis Blumrush's followers in the noble faction were also under arrest for similar crimes. The whole affair truly showed that the Kingdom was a rotten tree filled with holes.
Despite the vast amount of sinners, only one would be executed. One guillotine for one traitor, while the rest of the former nobles became the very existence they dreaded—titleless commoners—and were exiled from the Kingdom.
New nobles were titled, and they learned two things from their predecessors.
One, was to not do what the previous nobles did and conduct their roles with dignity.
Two, was to not mess with the Silver Priestess for she would brand a caricature of your manhood on your forehead.
Omake: Golden Pavilion Round Two
Tiamat walked down the streets of E-Rantel. Some people waved at her to say hi, and she waved back with a smile.
"Today was a good day," to other people it may seem like she was just another stroller talking to herself, but in fact she was talking to Shroud who was invisible and walking behind her.
"How so, Lady Tiamat?" he asked. His mood had been uplifted seeing that the goddess he served was happy.
"Well, let's see…" Tiamat raised up one finger after another, "We managed to save Tsuare, got rid of the shitty organization, got rid of the shitty nobles, and Tsuare is showing amazing progress with her studies too!" she pumped her fist.
"Lady Yuri is indeed skilled at teaching," the spider nodded in agreement.
They had only started the tutoring sessions last week, but Tsuare was progressing quite nicely under the tutelage of Yuri Alpha. The young girl showed that she wasn't only pretty but smart and diligent too. Tiamat had heard from Sebas that after each study session, Tsuare had made a habit of reviewing her notes and recited them over and over while also doing the exercises Yuri had given her repeatedly.
Tiamat was happy that Tsuare was working hard.
"I didn't know the human's success would bring you so much happiness, My Lady," the spider stated in curiosity.
"Oh, it's not just Tsuare's success. There's also this!" Tiamat stopped in front of a familiar establishment and raised her arms high in excitement.
The Golden Pavilion.
"I finally have enough money to try out this rich-person place!" she bounced on her feet in excitement.
In the past, she always had to cook on her own to try out new recipes. This was because she simply did not have enough money to frequent those fancy restaurants back in the old world.
Cooking required a lot of experimenting and came with many failures as well. She understood very well that the high cost of classy restaurants wasn't just from using rare, fresh ingredients, but also from their superb services. There was also the matter of paying highly skilled chefs to create something miraculous from their valuable ingredients.
'I worked hard at filling out all that paperwork back in Nazarick just so that I could finally visit this place…' Tiamat thought to herself.
The dragoness finally had enough money from the recent take over of Eight Fingers too. Ainz had repeatedly admonished her that they shouldn't be spending money willy nilly, but she was pretty sure a few gold coins wouldn't affect the treasury that much.
'All for the sake of delicious foods!' her eyes were burning with a fierce passion.
But behind the scenes, without Tiamat knowing, The Golden Pavillion's manager had been waiting for this day. He saw the Priestess standing in front of the golden doors of the Pavilion and immediately told everyone to prepare the best of the best.
'Priestess… You dared scorn the reputation of our glorious establishment,' the manager narrowed his eyes, 'I shall make her regret refusing our top-class services in the first place!' the manager was filled with determination to make the Priestess have such a good time, she would want to come back every day.
When Tiamat rejected their services the last time she had come, it had caused a steep dip in the Pavilion's reputation. Afterall, most Adamantite adventurers usually stayed at the Golden Pavilion, and to have one refuse their services in favor of some dingy fourth-rate inn brought undying shame to the establishment.
Finally, Tiamat opened the door, and she was immediately greeted by the manager, "Welcome to the Golden Pavilion, Silver Priestess!"
"Thank you for having me!" Tiamat bowed. She was so looking forward to this experience.
"We have our best room prepared. Would you like me to guide you there?" the manager asked. He had prepared the best room with the best decorations accompanied by the best services.
"Yes, please!" Tiamat nodded in anticipation. 'I wonder how awesome their BEST room will look…''
"We shall lead you to one of the VIP hotel rooms, the Penthouse," as soon as he said that, some guests gasped with awe, and the manager inwardly grinned. Afterall, the Penthouse was only accessible to the VVVIP. It wasn't something money can buy. Only someone with considerable status and wealth would be provided with such luxury.
"Before we lead you to your lodging, we have a special complimentary shoeshine. Would you like to receive it now?"
"Sure!" Tiamat nodded once again. The manager mentally cheered.
'I guess you'd want clean shoes if you're staying at the best establishment in town. And to think I've never had my shoe shined before! What an experience!' Tiamat inwardly gushed.
She was guided to a chair and a maid bent down, wiping dust and debris off her shoes before giving them a clean polish. It wasn't like her shoes were caked in dirt or anything, but having her heels shined was very satisfying.
After she had her heels cleaned, she was guided towards the top floor.
"Welcome to the Penthouse," the manager bowed, before pushing open the oaken double doors.
Tiamat looked around in awe. She had never been in a 'Penthouse' before, so she expected that it would just be one room. But to think she would be given the entire floor...
"Wow, this whole place is for me?" the dragoness mumbled without realizing.
"Yes, Priestess-sama," the manager bowed once more with a big grin. It seemed like the first step of his plan was successful.
A huge smile was glued to Tiamat's face, "I don't even know where to begin…"
"This is the most exquisite room in the Golden Pavilion," the manager began bragging, "It boasts huge 26 foot high ceilings, and has over five bedrooms, eight bathrooms, four wood-burning fireplaces, and a trained musician who will come here on call to the suite, as well as a private butler."
"That seems very excessive for just a single person to stay here…" the dragoness muttered in awe. She was visiting on her own, so there was no need for this much space.
"It is only fitting to have our best customer stay in the best room we have available."
Tiamat looked around. The window was so large it reminded her of a store front. Looking out the window, she was greeted with a beautiful view of people walking up and down the streets of the Kingdom.
"The view is certainly beautiful," Tiamat ran over to the window and happily stared at the view, "I'll stay in this room just for the view alone."
The manager beamed, "Thank you very much for your patronage!"
"I'll leave tomorrow, after breakfast."
"Understood. While we are waiting for dinner time, would you like to experience our exclusive spa treatment?" the manager smirked. He would definitely make her regret missing out on all their services the first time she had visited.
Tiamat just stared at him, "You guys have a spa treatment too?"
"Indeed. Allow me to take you there."
~ after hours of spa treatments ~
Tiamat was on cloud nine.
She looked like an idiot. Her eyes were completely closed yet her smile was so large you could almost see her gums.
"I feel like I'm in heaven," Tiamat sighed out loud as she floated on her bed.
To think that massages would feel this good... She could get addicted.
She finally understood why so many women went to get beauty treatments. It was simply because the whole experience was a sinful exercise in excess and sloth. Being pampered by connoisseurs was very relaxing, and it has been a while since she had some alone time for herself.
Her skin also felt smoother and brighter, and even though she had no body aches or pain, she felt completely relaxed and zen.
As she rolled around her bed, someone knocked on her door, "Priestess, dinner will begin soon."
"Ah, I understand!"
'This is it, the moment I've been waiting for!'
And so she quickly tossed on her usual silver Priestess dress and tied her hair back in a ponytail so that she could enjoy the delicious dishes without getting any of her long hair in her mouth.
Tossing her staff in her inventory, she finally made her way down to the dining room.
"Table for one, please," she mentioned to the receptionist who kindly guided her to a table for two.
All eyes in the dining room were on her, but she didn't care. All she could think about was eating her fill of delicious food—that she didn't have to cook—before finally going to bed.
'Maybe I should go to that spa treatment again before going back…' she pondered as she kicked her legs back and forth like an impatient child.
Tiamat looked at the beautiful arrangement of silverware, plates, bowls, and wine glasses. It was beautiful and mesmerizing.
She picked up the menu that had been placed on top of her plate.
"Good evening," a server approached her, "We have red wine braised beef cheeks with slowly cooked carrots in cheese sauce, poached salmon with vegetable sauce and salad, roasted quail with citrus pears and fresh cream, and braised fish with blood orange relish for this night's course. Which one would you like for tonight's course?"
Tiamat's ears felt blessed. The server had spouted a bunch of delicious haute-cuisines that she couldn't wait to pop out from the Pavilion's kitchen.
"They all sound so good," Tiamat wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve before gently handing her menu to the server, "I would like to have everything on the menu," she smiled at her server.
"A-A-All?!" the man gaped in shock.
"Yes, all," Tiamat's leg bounced up and down in impatience, "Every last thing on it."
"Y-Yes!" the server stepped back and bowed before briskly walking to the kitchen.
'I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't waitIcan'twaitIcan'twait!' Tiamat began poking her silverware as she swallowed her saliva. She was soooooo looking forward to this.
A few more minutes passed before the server returned to her table, slightly sweaty. "I apologize Lady Hannah, but it might take a while until all of the dishes are prepared..." he lowered his waist in a ninety-degrees bow.
"That's alright, but could you prepare the appetizers first?" Tiamat asked. She understood that cooking everything on the menu wasn't going to be like waiting for fast food, but surely she could munch on some appetizers before then?
"A-Ah!" the server blushed, "Of course! I'll go tell the chef right away!" with that, he ran to the kitchen.
"Ah….." Tiamat grumbled, "I'm so hungry..."
A few more minutes passed before the server came back out with a cart full of appetizers.
"Here are all of the appetizers, Lady Hannah," the server quickly but carefully laid as many as he could on the Priestess's table and left the rest on the cart.
Tiamat gaped at the spread of different breads that had been prepared in advance. In all truthfulness, she wasn't about to munch on those since she had already ordered so many dishes. She wasn't about to fill her stomach with a bunch of bread.
'Since it seems that it's going to take a while, maybe it's okay if I eat one or two bites…' she tried to convince her hungry stomach.
As her stomach grumbled again, she finally grabbed a random bread from the basket, ripped it apart and took a big bite.
"Hm?" She looked at the bread after she had taken a bite.
'It's so dense!' Tiamat tried to chew it for longer but even that was agonizing.
"Here's your salad and soup," the server finally came in with the appetizers.
She looked at the slightly white-ish, yellow soup, 'Maybe if I dip it in the soup…'
Tiamat dipped the bread in the soup and took another bite. To her disappointment the bread remained hard as if it had already gone stale, and the taste of the soup was overwhelmingly salty.
'This tastes horrible.'
She had made this kind of bread before. It was a bread devoid of yeast, so it didn't rise and wasn't as fluffy.
Tiamat decided to put down the bread.
Bread that was bland and as hard as a rock, soup that tasted only of salt, and the salad…
Tiamat poked at the salad with her fork, and made a face at the gooey oil that enveloped the fork.
'Salad with oil dressing, or is it oil garnished with salad…? Either way, it looks unappetizing.'
Rather than letting the ingredients shine, they seasoned it way too much.
'Maybe it's just the appetizers. Anyone could ruin an appetizer right?' she tried to convince herself.
Finally, after another half hour or so of poking at the nasty appetizers, the main dishes had arrived. One of them was a hunk of meat splashed in oil. Tiamat felt sorry for the animal to be butchered only to be turned into something as awful as the sight before her.
Moreover, to that oily beef, they even added melted cheese. Cheese was already fatty, so why add fat to fat?! It would only serve to ruin the already nonexistent balance of the dish.
Tiamat poked at the next dish. The salmon seemed to have been poached in milk with the same oily salad as the side dish, and the vegetable sauce smelled more like a meaty gravy than vegetables.
The quail was also very greasy and was cooked to the point of nearly burnt. Tiamat cut open the small bird to reveal a dry looking meat.
And the fish? It looked almost similar to the fish dish she had with the Lizardman.
She wanted to cry.
'No, no! Don't lose hope! This is just their appearance right?! Don't judge a book by its cover! Try it first!'
And so she lifted up her fork to try one dish.
And the next.
And the next.
And she cried.
'This food is shit!'
She put down her fork, and the people around her gasped. It was one of the rare moments where the dragoness had lost her appetite.
Tiamat pondered on her chair. She understood that this world was different from where she used to live, and thus the cuisine was also different. It was natural, right? Maybe if she hadn't been spoiled by the food she had been making in Nazarick, she would think that the food here was pretty good.
'Right?'
But no matter how magical or beautiful or grand this world was, she couldn't put up with this anymore!
Inside the dragoness, a string had snapped.
"Bring me the chef!"
One old tiny chef scurried towards the table, "I-i-is there anything wrong?"
"Everything is wrong," Tiamat said apathetically.
"H-Huh?"
"Why is all the food here so disgustiiiiiiiing?!" Tiamat shot up to her feet and glared at the chef.
Now, the chef understood that the person before him was a very important client, but he had his pride to protect too. And with that in mind, the diminutive old man puffed out his chest, "If it is not to your liking, Lady Priestess, you should go cook for yourself!"
The manager who had been sneakily observing from another table nearly had a heart attack.
'Nooooooo! What are you doing?!' surely the Priestess would never visit them again and tell everyone that this establishment was awful.
Everyone else in the dining hall had a similar reaction. They came for dinner but got to see an Adamantite adventurer and an esteemed chef butt heads.
Tiamat gave the chef a long measured look.
The chef began to feel a bit unnerved, "Well!" he hmphed, "Don't complain about the food if you can't make anything better!"
Tiamat looked at him for a moment before suddenly putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You know what? I think I will make something better."
The manager fainted in shock, 'Everything is ruined now... Bye Bye Golden Pavilion…'
Tiamat made her way to the kitchen. The moment she entered, all the staff and chefs in the room suddenly went quiet; they never had guests say that their food was disgusting, so inwardly they looked at the priestess disdainfully.
"The kitchen is all yours!" The old chef declared. What would she be able to do anyways? He had been cooking for decades, so there was no way some young girl who wasn't even a chef could possibly make anything better.
Tiamat looked around the kitchen. It wasn't as grand as the kitchen back in Nazarick. In fact, it was rather rustic and small; however, it was spread apart just enough so that people could move in between.
She looked at the fire range. It seemed that firewood was still the main way to prepare food, thereby making it harder to control the fire. The pans were also big and seemed very conductive to heat. Well, now she knew why most of the food came out so… overcooked.
After confirming the available kitchen equipment, she looked around at the available ingredients and quickly decided to make something hearty and filling.
She started by grabbing some flour, eggs, and salt. Then she made a hill of flour with a dimple in the center like a volcano before breaking an egg into said dimple.
Tiamat then looked around for the salt in the crowded kitchen. "Salt please," she lifted out her hand and an awestruck apprentice silently handed her a shaker. Tiamat smiled in appreciation before adding some salt and warm water into her mixture. She slowly mixed it in, and when the dough looked homogeneous enough, she set it to the side.
The chefs in the room watched in silent shock as the adventurer cooked. They were initially doubtful that the woman in front of them knew how to cook at all, much less cook a dish fit for the Golden Pavilion's reputation. Now however, they were silenced by her obvious skill.
Meanwhile, the old chef watched everything she did like a hawk.
Tiamat smiled to herself and focused back on the task at hand. Now she needed to make a sauce. The sauce was relatively simple; all she needed was a bunch of tomatoes, herbs, salt, and meat, which the kitchen thankfully had in their pantry.
She cooked the meat over the fire, quickly deglazing the meat with a splash of wine as it browned. The staff all took a deep sniff of the savory meat. For the Priestess to cook so well… just when did she find time to get that good at cooking?!
Then she took the pan off the fire and mixed in the diced tomatoes, herbs, and salt. The result was a gorgeous meaty sauce that wasn't too overwhelming thanks to the acidity of the tomatoes cutting through the fattiness of the beef.
Everyone was astounded by the smell. It smelled meaty, yet not too meaty, and when they looked at the sauce, they couldn't help but drool. The sauce was thick enough to cover the spoon, yet thin enough that it could be poured.
Next, Tiamat flattened the smooth yellow dough she had prepared earlier, and rolled it with a wine bottle. After making sure that it was smoothed out enough, she took a sharp knife and cut the dough into squares before pinching the middle of each piece to make them look like butterflies.
Tiamat washed her hands at a sink operated with magic crystals. All she had to do now was boil the pasta in the water, simmer, and then mix the sauce with the cooked pasta. Easy peasy.
After she did all that, she plated the dish and garnished the pasta with a sprig of herb on top.
"It's ready!" Tiamat declared and passed the pasta dish to the old chef, "Here you go."
The old chef looked at the dish apprehensively, "What is this dish?" He had seen her cooking, yet he did not recognize the techniques she had used, like when she made that flour into a hill and put the egg into the hole she had made.
"It's called farfalle," she simply replied, and the old chef's eyes narrowed. She gave him just enough information to answer his question, but not enough to reveal anything.
He looked back at the dish. He had to admit, the dish was very pretty. The yellow dough thing looked like butterflies, or those ribbons that young ladies wore. It didn't just look amazing, it smelled amazing too.
"Hmph! We'll see if it tastes as good as it looks!" he grabbed his fork and took a bite, "This...this…"
The old chef trembled.
"It's so delicious…!"
His subordinates looked at the Priestess in awe, it was well known in the kitchen that he rarely gave people compliments, yet to this woman who had even insulted his abilities…
"The ribbons are springy, and the sauce is meaty, yet delicate and aromatic. I can hardly believe that this dish would only take a few ingredients!" the old man exclaimed.
He picked the fork back up and grabbed the nearest dish that one of his sous chefs had just finished cooking and compared the two.
From the beginning, the Priestess's dish was much more aromatic and moreover, the use of tomates for its acidity to cut away the fatiness of the meat was brilliant.
Even though his own dish was refined, the Priestess's dish was fresh and experienced. Moreover, with every bite of the Priestess's dish, he felt like he was being enveloped in a warm blanket, warming him to the very core and soothing his worries.
It reminded him of his mother…
The old chef weeped, "Mamma mia..."
Tiamat grinned and pulled the tie out of her hair, causing it to flutter, "It wasn't much!"
And thus was Tiamat's adventure at the Golden Pavilion.
Although she didn't get the delicious food she wanted, at least she now knew to never come back to this place again.
A/N: wow what a long omake :o kinda wanna see Tiamat in a shokugeki now lolol
Hackslashbash: Tiamat would lose in Shokugeki, doesn't have magic cooking powers. Also, thank you Razel-Treasure for helping us edit!
A/N: nuuuuu waiiii?! She a great chef doe? If you disagree please fight hack on our discord ;_; I'll be waiting! d (addy) i (s) s (tarving) c (hicken) o (ver) r (onald's) d (erby) .gg/Y4K4zqNa9H is the new discord link!