"Ah, crap..!" Haka blurted out. She had glanced at the sky and noticed the Sun reaching its Zenith. She had completely forgotten to head back to the Tomb.

"Is everything alright, milord?" came Valet's voice from her right side.

Haka had been sitting down on the grass, at a hill that overlooked Carne Village. She had been thinking about if it was possible to get back home. Was there someone in this world that could send her back?

"Sorry to worry you," Haka forced a smile at her NPC, who was dutifully standing guard a couple paces from her. She had suggested he could sit down too, but had politely refused, insisting that he watch out for any danger, so she didn't press it. "I've just been thinking about home is all."

"Is it the dimension called 'Eye-Are-Ell' that you've mentioned before?"

Haka blinked. "Huh?" she blurted, before realizing that he must have been referring to the chat lingo, 'IRL'.

Wait a minute, I've never even mentioned home to him since Ive summoned him...

Haka's breath caught in her throat as she came to a realization.

He remembers everything I said in YGGDRASIL? I hope I hadn't said anything embarrasing in the game...What else does he remember? Haka had a tendency to ramble about random topics throughout the years she played YGGDRASIL. She had Valet that she talked to as if he were a therapist, and then there was another NPC of hers she always talked to as well , she thought.

But that probably wasn't important.

"Yeah," Haka answered Valet, realizing she'd been quiet for an extended period of time. She massaged her forehead, realizing that she seemed to get caught up in her thoughts, moreso than back on Earth. Was this a side effect of being [Half Dead ] ? That would explain how she seemed to lose track of time and forget to message Momonga.

She pressed a finger to her temple, uttering " [Message ] "

After a moment of silence she had the subconscious feeling similar to when one knew a person answered a phone.

" [Haka, you there? ] " came Momonga's voice through the message spell. He sounded much more lively through the [Message ] spell than his now currently refined voice when he spoke aloud. She figured it must be because he didn't need to put on airs when speaking to a player he was acquainted with. " [Where are you? Those guys that surrendered are still here- I put them in a temporary room, but you know, the NPC's here aren't very friendly to outsider humans... ] "

How could Haka have forgotten about that Nigun guy?! She smacked her forehead. " [Momonga, I'm really sorry! ] Haka quickly apologized. " [It completely slipped my mind! ] "

Haka could hear a somewhat annoyed sigh on the other end. " [It's fine, I guess... ] "

Haka stood up from the grass, and brushed herself off. " [How can I make it up to you? ] "

There was silence on the other end, which left Haka a bit nervous at what his answer would be.

" [You got another item you're willing to part with? ] " Haka could sense the impression of amusement, making her suppress a snort. " [If you do, I'll consider us even. ] "

Haka laughed nervously and she trailed off. It was as she feared. Momonga was an unapologetic hoarder of items. But if she wanted to stay on good terms with him, she'd have to make some compromises. She sighed. She was sure he wouldn't be terribly upset if she said she didn't have anything to give away, but the back of her mind kept reminding her of all those NPC's. She'd rather be safe than sorry.

" [Alright, I'll think of something. I'm on the way back. ] " Haka replied. Besides, she thought, having to deal with living beings like Nigun was a serious situation, and she didn't want to take a scenario like this for granted. It was the least she could do for inconveniencing Momonga like that.

Momonga acknowledged her reply and then the connection was cut. She took another introspective breath, and she heard the clinking of Valet's armored boots as he approached. He didn't speak, but the concern was clear I'm his expression as he watched her.

"I'm fine, really!" Haka insisted, forcing a smile and waving away his concern. "I'm just getting used to this world is all."

As Haka was still seated, Valet kneeled down on one knee so as to be level with his Lord. "Forgive me for my presumptuousness," he ventured. "But if you simply need a listening ear, I am here."

Haka studied his face as he said this, and it in a weird sort of way, it was like receiving a pep talk from one's reflection in a mirror. She idly wondered if he remembered everything she complained about back in YGGDRASIL. Her smile turned a little melancholy. "I really appreciate that," she answered after a minor pause.

Once Haka and Valet had returned to Nazarick through the use of Gate, they found themselves in the Throne Room. Seeing the massive room with its flags of the 41 members of the guild hanging overhead remained an impressive sight to her, and she still couldn't shake the feeling of being a squatter of sorts in a home she didn't deserve to be hanging around in. The feeling was only amplified by the fact that the place was real now.

It was no longer lines of code, it was a place that occupied real space, along with the living, breathing NPC's that worshipped Ainz as a God.

"Haka," greeted the liting voice of Albedo. Haka nearly jumped, whirling around to see that the Guardian Overseer was standing at the foot of the steps leading towards the throne. She was still holding that scepter in her hands as if it were a lifeline, and she began to approach her and Valet.

"My Lord instructed me to inform you that the humans who surrendered to you have been placed in the guest rooms across from yours.," she said, coming to a stop an arms length from either of them.

"Oh! Well that's great." Haka let out a relieved breath. Perhaps she wouldn't have to talk to any of them today and she could hold off 'till tomorrow.

"Also, I would like to have a word with you," Albedo glanced dismissively at Valet. "Alone."

The choice of words set off alarm bells in Haka's mind, even though she didn't have any real evidence as to why. She caught Valet's eye, and his hand hidden. by his shoulder cape stealthily reached toward the pommel of his blade.

If Valet attacked Albedo in the Throne Room of Nazarick, Haka wouldn't need to guess how terrible of an idea that was. She subtly shook her head at Valet. "I'll be fine- just meet me back in my room."

Valet locked eyes with Albedo, and the latter narrowed her eyes just a fraction, but the hostility was plain to see. Valet was the first to break eye contact, nodding his acknowledgement to Haka before taking his leave. As he retreated, he glanced back to see Albedo and Haka facing each other, but he couldn't hear what they might have been saying.

Making up his mind, he turned the corner that lead to the residential hall, but stopped short of actually heading to Haka's room. Staying by the corner, he kept to the shadows, keeping his eyes on the two. Folding his arms, he took on a posture as if he were just loitering, occasionally glancing back towards the throne room.

Back in the Throne Room, Albedo hadn't spoken since Valet vacated the room, and Haka swallowed nervously at the obvious tension in the air.

"So..." She ventured. "What did you want to talk abo-"

"I know what you're doing," Albedo suddenly interrupted, her voice in a harsh whisper. There was unmistakable menace laced into it. Haka didn't appreciate the look of contempt she was receiving from the Overseer.

Was this still from the misunderstanding when she first arrived and she was sitting on the throne's armrest? She didn't forget that her first interaction with Albedo was her insulting her.

"I don't know what you think's going on, but I don't have any designs on Momonga." She wasn't into guys, let alone skeletons! No offense to Momonga, of course.

Albedo's shoulders seemed to tense at the mention of his name. "You don't get to call him that," Albedo retorted dangerously, he is to be addressed as Lord Ainz..."

"If he wants me to call him Ainz, fine," Haka conceded, cutting her off, to her chagrin. "Just, all due respect, don't just assume things about me, okay? Momong- Ainz and I are just friends-"

Albedo suddenly placed a hand on an exposed part of her shoulder armor. To anyone looking, it simply looked as if two friends were chatting, but Haka knew that not to be the case. Albedo's left eye twitched as if she were struggling to keep her composure.

"Just friends, you say..?" Albedo's grip on her shoulder suddenly increased, causing Haka to wince.

"H-hey-" Haka blurted, caught off guard by the strength of it.

"Just friends can just so casually approach my Lord on his Throne, like some harlot..?"

"What!?-"

Haka couldn't believe what Albedo was accusing her of, and it was only further insulting for her to say it so calmly, as if everything she was saying was fact.

Albedo's grip on her shoulder further tightened. "You stay away from him-"

Haka grabbed the wrist of Albedo's offending hand, applying nearly equal force. "Let go of my shoulder...now," she demanded, not breaking eye contact with the hostile NPC.

There was a pregnant silence that persisted, and it almost seemed like Albedo wouldn't give in.

It was about three seconds that passed. To Haka, it felt like an eternity, and every second nearly felt like a minute.

Albedo finally scoffed, snatching her arm away almost effortlessly and massaged her wrist.

Haka resisted the urge to cradle her own shoulder. She didn't want to give Albedo the satisfaction that her grip on her shoulder had actually hurt.

Quite a lot.

It was already beginning to feel sore, as if Albedo had punched it, rather than simply grab it.

"Anything else you want to accuse me of while we're here?" Haka insisted, folding her arms and ignoring the aching from her shoulder.

Albedo didn't respond, simply cradling the scepter in her hands. Her hands were gloved, but unnoticed by Haka was that her knuckles were about as white as the cloth covering them with how tightly she was gripping the weapon. Suddenly she took a deep breath through her nose, and in the blink of an eye her mask of professionalism was back in place as if it never left.

With an impassive smile, she slowly turned away. "Perhaps I was mistaken...Please excuse me. I will be taking my leave."

For just an instant, Albedo's eyes intensified as she turned her face out of view and walked away. The expression was unmistakable.

It wasn't until Albedo was out of sight, that Haka took a shaky breath, and looked down at her hands.

They were shaking a little bit. Knowing that she was no longer being watched, she cradled her shoulder, struggling to get her breaths under control.

It was now glaringly obvious, especially that 'blink and you miss it's expression that Albedo had given her before she walked away.

She saw her as nothing better than garbage- the Guardian Overseer had made that quite clear.

Haka wouldn't say she was afraid of Albedo, but she was one of thousands of NPC's. Even though Momknga announced she was not a threat, the very idea of all of them changing their minds didn't sit well with her. What if Albedo turned others in Nazarick against her?

Momonga was her friend, but yet, here Albedo was, threatening her right behind his back. And who's to say Momonga would even be in her camp if it were to come to blows with Albedo?

Haka sighed, massaging her forehead. Sure, her former life was in Security Details, but as she stared down the hall where Albedo dissapeared to-

This was perhaps the first time she truly felt unsafe in Nazarick.

And with that paranoia beginning to settle in, she briskly walked the hallway to her room, and locked the door as she stepped inside.

The room was grand, with a large queen sized bed nestled against the center wall. To the left of it was a large dresser with a massive mirror attached to it. Heading there, she sat down on the chair, which was facing the mirror.

She examined her shoulder through a gap in the armor, which the flesh was slightly tender from Albedo manhandling it. Haka sighed. Albedo had to have been Level 100 for her to have been able to do this, which didn't serve to make her feel any better in the slightest.

Had Albedo been of a significantly lower level, any damage would have simply been nullified.

Haka did not have any healing spells, and she contemplated using something from her inventory or letting it regenerate on its own.

"My Lad-" A cough. "Haka?"

She jumped, whirling around, only to realize it was Valet. Her shoulders sagged visibly. "Heh, you surprised me." In fact, she had forgotten that she'd sent him here.

"Are you...alright?" he asked haltingly, looking pointedly at her shoulder. Haka looked away, a bit ashamed that Valet had even noticed.

"You saw that?" she slowly asked, hoping he didn't.

"Simply say the word, and I will handle h-"

Haka stood up, frantically taking a hold of Valet's shoulders. "No!" She breathed before calming down. "It was just a misunderstanding," she said, forcing a smile. "Don't worry about it, okay?" The last thing she needed was Valet picking a fight with a NPC in their guild base.

Valet looked at her in concern for a moment, before bowing his head. "As you command."

Satisfied by his response, Haka plopped back down onto the chair, turning it around to face the bed. She idly observed Valet, who was still standing. "You can take a seat, if you want," she invited.

For probably only the second time she'd seen, he looked almost flustered as he bowed his head in acknowledgement. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before seating himself on the edge of the bed.

"I was thinking of visiting that E-Rantel place that that girl's dad from Carne Village mentioned," Haka said, to break the silence.

"The frontier city?"

Haka nodded at his question. "I might be able to find some leads on how we got sent here," she yawned, leaning back in her chair. She didn't say the real reason, which was to just have some distance between herself and Nazarick. Momonga was cool as always, but the interaction with Albedo made the guild base feel suffocating to stay in.

She honestly wasn't sure if she wanted to find a way back, as much of a hellhole as her and Momonga's original world was. Even to be able to sleep in such a comfortable bed as what she was looking at was a unattainable luxury.

But she did think back to that girl she'd had a few dinner dates with before being transported to another world.

Was it worth giving up the powers she'd gained here. If she found a way back, would she get her original body back?

The last thought made her look at Valet again, whose appearance was an idealized version of how Haka originally looked. She sighed again, this time with a dose of melancholy. She tried not to think about it, but it was still depressing to know that she was missing a certain piece of "equipment" since being here, and it frustrated her.

Perhaps visiting E-Rantel tomorrow would help get her mind off of things. Even if she wasn't entirely committed to finding a way home, it was still a goal to work towards, and thus she would stay busy.

"And I still need to figure out what to do with Nigun and his goons," she muttered, suppressing a yawn. She was getting tired and her eyes were getting heavy.

"Uh, Valet, why don't you stay in here tonight?"

"My Lord?"

Haka blinked, realizing how that sounded, although Valet didn't seem disturbed by the request.

But, she was a woman now, after all... Her asking a guy to stay in her room was a faux pas of some sort, right?

She reached her hand out to the empty air, and it dissapeared into a black space that was her inventory. After a bit of rummaging, she pulled out a data crystal, and the portal faded out of existence. Tossing it to the opposite wall, it exploded into smoke, and the space was replaced with a spare bed.

"If you don't mind?" Haka asked, coughing to mask her embarrassment. Valet simply nodded his acknowledgment of the order.

Ainz found himself wandering the hallways of the Great Tomb. He had no real destination in mind, he just couldn't sleep.

His undead nature actually made it impossible. Sure, he could imitate the act of sleeping, but his mind wouldn't go into a dream state. It would be just as active as someone at full energy.

He sighed as he walked the hall, idly admiring the craftsmanship of the architecture. He focused on little details like how certain parts of the blue paint of the wall jutted outwards, reminding him of windowsills. The red carpets softness could be felt even as he walked over it with his shoes.

"It's so late right now, mostly everyone except who ever is on a guard shift must be sleep."

Briefly, his thought turned to Haka, wondering if she was already asleep. Her class allowed for her to sleep, he was sure he recalled. A pang of jealousy at being able to leave consciousness eight hours a day surged through his mind before it was immediately quelled, as if he was wondering why the thought even upset him so much.

He shook his head, scoffing aloud. "Of course I know why it makes me mad!" he whispered aloud, not wanting to be caught shouting by anynof the NPC's. "This status effect keeps forcing me to calm down even when I don't want to."

It's not that he couldn't feel emotions, but it always was corrected to a lower setting. If he was angry, it would be reduced to mild irritation.

Sadness, it would be reduced to a mild depression rather than any stress he would feel.

He could feel happiness, sure, but the moment he might revel in the feeling of laughter or joy, the feeling equivalent of cold water being dumped on him immediately resets his mood.

It was all rather annoying, to be honest. "Don't I have a race change item?" he mumbled aloud. He was sure he had a race change item for every YGGDRASIL race imaginable.

He stopped his subdued stride to an unknown destination. Perhaps, if he used one of those items, he wouldn't have to be going through what felt like to him, an Undead's version of a midlife crisis. He reached a bony hand to his face, as if to massage his forehead, although the sensation of touch felt the slightest bit dulled to his undead senses.

He could use a race change item, but then what? What if his level got reduced, or, worst case scenario, reset to 1?

He wasn't sure if the paranoia was largely due to his own mind or if being undead had something to do with it.

But most importantly, what would happen to the NPC's? Would they still recognize him as guild leader? Was it even safe to race-change in this new world?

He began walking again. Another problem for future Ainz to figure out.

"Sorry, future me," he sighed, his voice clipped as if he were relaying heavy news to some Third party. "Perhaps you will have a better answer when the time comes."

It all came down to testing. He would need to test it out somehow before he committed to something like that.

Not to mention he didn't want to potentially lose access to all the spells he had, nevermind the fact that he was sentimental about this Undead Overlord Avatar of his. Maybe it was irrational, but it served as a reminder of better days, when the guild still welcomed more friends online.

The sound of footsteps farther down the hall wrenched him from his thoughts.

Coughing to compose himself, he straightened his posture as he walked, hoping no one saw him slumped over as he was lost in thought. It was a nervous tic he recognized that he occasionally had.

It was Albedo.

That was another thing, Ainz thought. Say he race changed into something besides an Undead...

There was no way he'd be able to resist the Guardian Overseer's advances! If there was one thing that his undead, skeletal body helped him do, was bullshit his way through stressful situations.

If he finally gave in to her, he'd be the worst of scum possible, especially considering what he'd done to her settings.

As she neared, Ainz realized that she seemed distracted, and was muttering to herself. Her eyes were downcast, so she wasn't looking ahead.

Did something happen? Ainz would have preferred avoiding a conversation, unless he could talk shop with Haka, but he couldn't stomach the idea of not trying to find a way to help Albedo if something was distressing her.

"Ah, Albedo," Ainz greeted as if just noticing her. He didn't want to make it seem as if he'd been studying her from down the hall.

To Ainz's surprise, she nearly jumped at the sound of his voice.

For lack of a better description, she looked like a deer caught I'm headlights.

"L-Lord Ainz!" She quickly greeted, bowing deeply at the waist. "I deeply apologize-I was not paying attention to where I was walking-"

"It's fine," Ainz cut in, waving away her apology. "I noticed you seemed upset about something?"

Albedo's shoulders tensed as she stood up straight. "I..."

She looked at him as if she were nervous about something, which only served to confuse him. To calm her down, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

To his bewilderment, it seemed to do the exact opposite of what he intended. She seemed to be shaking.

I am sure I don't have my Despair Aura activated, he thought to himself. Perhaps the stress was getting to her. He immediately removed his hand. "Perhaps, you should take tomorrow off, and get some rest," he insisted.

He'd been meaning to implement a way for the NPC's to be able to take more breaks.

Albedo bowed again at the waist, even more deeply, if that was possible. "I deeply apologize, I will do so," she said, before hurrying off to where Ainz guessed was her quarters.

Ainz scratched his forehead in consternation. What was she apologizing for?

Albedo slowly the closed the door behind her and stood there a few moments, thoughts running wildly through her mind.

Firstly, Lord Ainz had reached to touch her. The feel of his divine hand was enough to almost make her faint. She longed for far more than a simple touch from him, but then another thought crossed her mind that threatened to make her faint for an entirely different reason.

Lord Ainz had took hold of her shoulder, just like she did to the outsider Player.

...Did he know that she had threatened Haka, and was subtly warning her?

She knew that her threats to Haka were bordering insubordination to her Lord, if not outright treason.

But she couldn't stand the way Haka and Lord Ainz- no Lord Momonga seemed to enjoy each other's company. It was enough to make her blood boil.

Lord Momonga and Haka were often talking about some topic she could not understand- it had something to do with the Aye-Ar-Ell that she often used to overhear the Supreme Beings, including her own creator, Lord Tabula, discuss.

Whenever Haka and Lord Momonga talked, Albedo often imagined herself in Haka's place. Why couldn't Albedo be that listening ear whenever her Lord needed someone to talk to?

"I wish she were dead..! That, that piece of shit!"

But if Lord Momonga knew of her murderous thoughts concerning that half-dead piece of garbage, she would be putting a stain on her Lord's honor. Not even her own death would be enough of an apology.

She slowly slunk to the floor, not caring about her dress getting dirtied by dust. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, which she stamped down on.

She needed to find a way to get rid of Haka.

She just needed to be patient.

It was in her Lord's best interest, after all, right?