A/N: To the person who said Albedo was "a Death Knight with boobs" please do not put such imagery into my mind.
Suzuki honestly had things to do, but as he took a look at the shopkeeper he figured it wasn't too much of a waste of time to at least listen to him.
Nfirea led the two of them to a nearby cafe where they sat down and they exchanged introductions.
"So, are you two are adventurers?" Nfirea asked, in an attempt to break the ice.
"Well, no," Suzuki said sheepishly. "Unfortunately, as the two of us are not from this country, we were unable to pass the literacy test to register with the guild."
A lightbulb suddenly lit up in Nfirea's head. "Is that so? I believe that I could help you."
"Hmm? In what way?" Suzuki asked.
"I've given a lot of those kinds of tests when my grandmother wanted to test my intelligence," Nfirea said. "I can introduce you to the language- and there are some ways to game those kinds of tests. I think if I helped you for just two weeks you could pass the test."
"Oh," Suzuki said. 'And what you want in return is...?"
"The secret to how you made that red potion," Nfirea said.
"I think that this deal is quite unequal," Suzuki said. "In your favor that is."
Nfirea opened his mouth and then closed it. Suzuki was right, the secret to that potion was worth far more than what he was offering.
"But why do you want it anyway?" Suzuki asked.
"To manufacture more potions of the sort," Nfirea said. He was unsure if he should tell Suzuki just how valuable the potion was- as it would make it harder for him to negotiate a deal. "A potion that is that good, and that doesn't expire is worth quite a lot..."
"Well, I must apologize to you," Suzuki said. "I don't know how to make those kinds of potions. They were-" he thought of an explanation. "-made by an ancient civilization which is now in ruins. Since it didn't expire, we were able to take a few, but our supply is limited."
"Oh," Nfirea said and his face sunk.
"However," Suzuki said, "if you are able to somehow reverse engineer the formula if you have a potion, I would be willing to give one to you." Nfirea's face lit up- "-but I would also expect certain things."
Suzuki had weighed the pros and cons of doing this- the loss of a single consumable for the chance of gaining a larger supply of them, that was. "I want a priority in buying the stock of the new potion you make, as well of course, a lifetime discount on them. Secondly, I would like a share of the profits in case this project is successful. This is all in addition to learning the language, of course."
"Ah, I see," Nfirea said. "How much of a cut would you want?"
Suzuki panicked as he had no idea how to answer that- as it was he was unsure of what a "fair" value would be. Even in his old life, he hadn't gone over contracts like this, so he really had no idea what a fair royalty percentage would be. Perhaps Albedo would know, but she was mainly letting him have the lead in this conversation, so there was no way that he could ask her at the moment. Given that, he thought it would be best to stall for some time. "I'm afraid I can't give you an answer immediately, and I would want a few days to ascertain what a fair cut would be."
"Oh," Nfirea said. "Well, that's fine- as a matter of fact I was planning on leaving to gather some medicinal herbs and would be away for several days. How about... the evening three days from now? I would be back by then and we can iron out the details."
"Ah, yes, that sounds acceptable," Suzuki said.
The two of them shook hands, finished their coffee, and then parted ways.
"In case you need anything, my grandmother is still at the shop, so you can contact her!" Nfirea said as he waved to them.
"Of course. Thank you, Nfirea-san," Suzuki said.
As they walked away and were out of earshot, Albedo asked, "Should you really address that worthless human with such respect, Suzuki-sama?"
"Uh, Al-Albedo, I'm also human, remember?" Suzuki said and while he couldn't tell her expression under her helmet, it appeared that she realized she had said something wrong.
"Ah, I'm so sorry, Suzuki-sama, I did not mean to say that you were worthless or weak in any way..." she began bowing her head, which no doubt would look very weird if anyone would've seen her.
"Albedo, it's fine, lift your head," Suzuki said. "Also, he is a business partner, so it makes sense to address him with some degree of respect."
Their next stop was where Suzuki would've headed anyway- a place where they sold magic items.
It was clearly an expensive establishment, with a set of guards at the entrance who glared at Albedo but let the two of them in without any hassle.
A short man with an irritated expression descended a wooden ladder to greet them. He didn't seem to think much of either of them but still asked, "What can I do for you?"
"We're here to buy and to also sell some magic items," Suzuki said. The last part seemed to pique the man's interest.
"And what would you be interested in?" he asked.
"We'd like to see your collection first," Suzuki said.
The man began pulling out magic items, and the prices that he quoted nearly made Suzuki faint. The cheapest things that he offered were eighty gold coins, with many of them going into the several hundreds.
This was far above his budget- and not only that, there was also the fact that none of them were really good. By Yggdrasil standards, maybe only a newbie would find them useful, though in a few days of gameplay even they would outgrow them.
So, Suzuki went with another tactic, that of selling things. Thankfully it seemed that magic items also sold for quite a large amount, the ring he had managed to get was appraised for ninety gold pieces. Suzuki decided against selling it for now- perhaps bringing out his inner hoarder- when he noticed something on the wall.
"Is that a poster of... Gazef Stronoff?" he asked. The man was wearing a red suit or armor and holding a sword with a greenish-blue blade.
Immediately the man's eyes lit up. "Ah, yes it is! It's of the kingdom's Chief Warrior! I saw him during his debut in the tournament held some years back- oh boy was his victory against Brain Unglaus something to behold!"
Ha, it looks like Gazef has a fanboy, Suzuki thought to himself. "Uh, what is the armor and sword that he's wielding? He wasn't that time I met him..."
The man nearly jumped out of his seat. "You met him? In person?"
"Ah, yeah, but he was wearing some other equipment," Suzuki said.
"Yes, you're right, those are the four treasures of this kingdom he's equipped with," the man answered. "The set of Adamantite armor, the Ring of Immortality, Razor's Edge, and the Gauntlets of Vitality. With those, he is practically unbeatable!"
"Oh? What kind of magic items are those?" Suzuki asked.
The man seemed to be far more animated now- this was clearly something he was really interested in. "The Adamantite armor is nearly one of a kind and is enchanted even harder. Razor's Edge can also cut through armor as if it is paper, but what really takes the cake are the two other items combined together. Normally, no matter how strong a warrior is, they would still eventually tire out and could be beaten when fatigued. But the Gauntlets of Vitality completely negate fatigue, so someone like Gazef could fight at full strength for literally forever! He could mow down tens of thousands of men! Not only that, but the Ring of Immortality helps cure his wounds at an amazing rate- so that he could keep healing himself and it isn't possible to whittle him down slowly over time! Can you imagine just how cool that is?"
Hey man, Gazef's already married, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't swing that way, was what Suzuki thought at the moment.
Suddenly, Albedo piped up. She had mostly remained quiet throughout the conversation- either because she felt that Suzuki should take the lead, or because she felt that conversing with humans other than Suzuki was a waste of her time. "Does that mean, that if a man were to wear those last two items, that he would be able to take on any... strenuous physical activity indefinitely?"
"Well, sort of," the shopkeeper replied. "You would still need food and water..."
"But aside from that, a man could go on and on for several hours, no?" Albedo asked.
"Well, yes," the shopkeeper said. Albedo fidgeted, and Suzuki had a feeling that Albedo was not talking about fighting and had an entirely different purpose in mind.
"And how could one purchase such items?" Albedo asked.
The man laughed. "Impossible- unless one destroyed the Royal Family and took it by force after killing Stronoff-dono himself. Items like that are considered national treasures and you'll only find them either in the private collections of various individuals, or as the national treasures of certain countries. Essentially none of such things would be things that you could buy in the open market. With that said..."
He then paused. "...this is only a rumor, but there is a place in the center of the continent, or near it- where there was a large disaster a few centuries ago due to the Evil Deities. Several countries were destroyed and now lie in ruins- so if one were to manage to infiltrate the treasuries of those countries, one could, in theory gain access to many legendary items. The only issue is that such places are swarming with monsters, but if you're willing to take the risk, who knows?"
"Ah," Suzuki said.
"By the way, how was Stronoff-dono when you met him?"
Suzuki gave him a vague description with very little details on what their meeting had been like.
"Ah," the shopkeeper said.
In the end, Suzuki didn't end up buying or selling anything, which he thought would piss the shopkeeper off, but on the contrary he seemed to be in a brighter mood now than he had been when they walked in. "If you have any other stories of Stronoff-dono, feel free to share them!" he said while telling them his name, Ralph.
With that done, Suzuki and Albedo spent the rest of the day wandering around to various other locations.
They went somewhere where they could sell armor and weapons- leading to Suzuki netting two thousand gold pieces even though he hadn't sold all of his inventory. Clearly anything that was magical in this world commanded an extremely high price relative to anything else.
He didn't end up buying anything, though he did drop by the Magician's Guild as well. He perused the scrolls they had- though they only went up to the third tier and he didn't want to spend money on them currently.
There were indeed a few magic items he had seen that he could buy and were of some use, but for now he wanted to conserve his resources.
In the evening, both of them went back to their hotel and Suzuki promptly fell asleep. Albedo didn't feel fatigue and insisted on standing guard over Suzuki the whole night- though she did say that if he felt cold and needed something to warm him up she would crawl under the sheets with him. Suzuki wanted to refuse both of those things, but Albedo stood guard over him nonetheless.
The next day as Suzuki woke up he pondered what it was that he should do. He thought he would've been an adventurer by now and so could set out doing a quest, but that had not worked out.
He woke to see the smiling face of Albedo- while this was a sight any man would've welcomed, it racked him with guilt. On the one hand, he had sullied the NPC that Tabula had created, and on the other hand, she had stayed awake all night watching over him. He felt that she deserved some sort of reward for her service... and on that note he had to remember that if he hadn't changed her settings, she would instead be a slut, and given that she hated most humans... it would have almost led to the same situation as they were in now.
In a way, his change was kind of for the better- at least this was love and not simple lust, but maybe he was just trying to justify his actions?
As it was though, he had seen a good portion of the city and was not really keen on seeing any other things other than the market the adventurer's would set up. He might as well just wander the city for the time being given that Nfirea would not be returning for some time.
In that case... "Albedo, why not go on a date together?"
Albedo's eyes lit up. "A... date?"
"I mean," Suzuki hastily added, "that we should go out to lunch together... I know we've done that, but in a more casual setting. Like, you should leave your armor set aside and maybe wear your normal dress..."
"Of course!" she shouted. "I should also go ahead and bathe and wear some perfume and..."
She talked so fast that Suzuki had trouble figuring out what she was saying.
Whatever. He got ready, and so did she.
They ended up going for lunch at a medium cost establishment which Suzuki felt was fine enough, though Albedo clearly scoffed at it.
Suzuki was well aware of the jealous glares shot at him by various men in the place when they saw he was sitting opposite to a beauty like Albedo- who was also looking at him with her eyes dripping with tender love for him. No doubt many of the men would kill for a woman such as Albedo to look at them that way for even a week.
As their food arrived, Albedo seemed to have an epiphany. "Suzuki-sama, you are still vulnerable to poisons. As such, I think it would be prudent to give you my own item which negates poison."
"Albedo, that is your item given to you by Tabula," Suzuki said. "And on top of that, it makes more sense for you to have it if you're going to be the one fighting."
"But Suzuki-sama," Albedo said. "Between the two of us, it is clearly you who is more important! And for that matter, there are items in this world that I could also use, for example, that Ring of Unicorn that we saw yesterday."
Ralph had one of them on a display case, and the way it was arranged along with the fact that he only had one clearly showed that it was an exquisite item. When asked for the price, he quoted it at being twelve hundred gold pieces. It was something clearly reserved for royalty or large noble houses. The thing was that it would only protect the owner from poison that was being ingested, and Suzuki would have to take it out every time he wanted to eat something. If they encountered something like poison gas, for example, it would only nullify very low-tier poisons. It also had a property of shielding from mild disease and could heal the user once a day- as such, it was actually possibly a worthwhile target.
As such, it was highly inferior to Albedo's item which was an absolute block against poison. Had Suzuki still been undead, he would've naturally resisted poisons... and also wouldn't need to eat anyway.
"I know that it was expensive," Albedo said. "But I believe for your safety a purchase such as that would be warranted. Actually, you should take my item, and I will take the ring."
"I'll think about it," Suzuki said and that seemed to settle the matter for now. Suzuki had to admit that the chances of him being poisoned right now were very low- but he couldn't rule out the possibility. Given that Albedo didn't have access to any sort of healing magic aside from her items, this would be a problem. A Ring of Unicorn might be a wise purchase. The issue was that he didn't want to spend over half of his gold and so wanted to wait until he could earn a bit more.
"Until then, allow me to taste your food," Albedo said.
"Albedo- thanks to your item, wouldn't you be unable to tell that it was poisoned even if it was?" Suzuki asked, but this protest seemed to fall on deaf ears as Albedo took some of his food and tasted it.
"Seems fine," Albedo said.
With that out of the way, it was now on to other matters.
The thing was that once discussion on important matters was over, Suzuki had no clue what to say. He had seen marriage interviews some time on television, and they usually started with them asking each other questions like hobbies and the such.
That was right- Suzuki didn't know much about the "real" Albedo, so this was a chance to ask. How could a character sheet, no matter how detailed, contain everything regarding something as complex as someone's personality?
"So Albedo, I know a little about you," Suzuki said. "I mean, you're clearly really smart, way more than me, so what is it that you like doing in your free time?"
"Oh, Suzuki-sama, please don't be modest!" Albedo said. "Although you might lack the brilliance of Momonga-sama, I'm sure that your wisdom greatly exceeds mine!"
"Momonga?" Suzuki asked.
"Indeed," Albedo said. "Momonga-sama was the leader and the wisest of the Supreme Beings- the one who stayed with us till the end, that was, of course, aside from you Suzuki-sama, though you joined us a bit late. I'm sure with time though, your achievements will rival those of him."
Suzuki wondered if he should've told Albedo that he was also Momonga, but he decided against it. If she had such a high opinion of Momonga, then it might make life difficult for him later on. It sort of made sense that she didn't know he was Momonga given they were separate accounts. She might not even believe him if he told her that they were one in the same.
"As for my hobbies," Albedo said, "my hobbies are serving you, Suzuki-sama! And training myself to be the perfect wife for you!"
Most of the other questions that Suzuki asked got basically the same response.
A/N: Well, that's that!
To the person who said Albedo could fly with her wings- I reread volume 14 and you're right. Disregard my earlier argument- I'm clearly dumb.
There will be Suzuki x Albedo, though it will be slow and take some time. Also, I won't have any detailed scenes of them together.
I anticipate writing a new chapter sometime within a week- I'm quite earnest to write the next chapter!
I didn't really see any point to writing a section about Clementine and Khajiit planning things in the background given that I'm sure that you've all read about them, and if you're reading Overlord fanfiction I assume you've seen at least the first season. Let's just say Ainz won't be level one for too long!