One thing stood out to Remedios Custodio- that nearly everything in this place looked identical.

The place was filled with rooms, and not to say that they weren't luxurious- but the matter remained that it was still odd that every single room was the same. Symmetry was of course something that was sought after regarding architecture, but there was a limit to that! This place was big enough to qualify as a fortress in its own right, so it was really odd for the rooms to be the exact same. After all, guest rooms, the master bedrooms, and the servant's quarters would never be the same. Especially in the Holy Kingdom.

And yet, from what she could tell, they were.

Something else was odd about this place, but she couldn't place what it was as she came face-to-face with the masked magic caster who had rescued her.

He was still wearing that strange red mask which made him look like a festival entertainer from a country far to the east.

To make things stranger, it looked like like he hadn't moved at all from his place since last night... but that couldn't possibly be correct, could it? No one could possibly sit in the exact same position for so long. She must've just been misremembering things- he was probably not in the exact same position he was earlier.

"Good morning," his voice rang out.

"Good morning," she said as she placed the strange clothes he had gifted her on a couch opposite to him.

"Ah, is there something wrong? Are those clothes not to your liking?" the man asked.

"No, I have no need for them," Remedios said curtly. She bowed her head. "Thank you for your graciousness and kindness." Her eyes drifted over to the Death Knight but she tried to hide her distaste. "However, I must be leaving right away."

"Right away? What is all so important?" the man asked her.

"I have to find her," she said flatly. "A good friend of mine."

"Is that what brought you in conflict with those Demihumans?"

"Not entirely," Remedios said. "I had left to go find her, and those filthy beasts ambushed me on my way. I would've cut through them like nothing, but they had numbers on their side and I was exhausted so..." she trailed off.

"At least stop for a meal and a bath," the magic caster said. Ah, what had been his name again? She had forgotten. He waved his hand and several plates of food appeared before him along with a glass of water.

She wanted to refuse but her stomach grumbled. There were spells that Priests could use to create food, but she knew none of them. This was most likely one of them. She should probably also take some food with her, now that she thought about it.

She began tasting the food- it was unlike anything she had seen before but she was so hungry she didn't mind. How strange. Food made by priests was usually so bland it would make even the most hardened woodsman gag. Several things did begin to strike her as odd as her head gradually cleared the fog of slumber.

"Why... is there no one else here?" she asked.

"Hmm?" the man asked.

"This place is huge," she said. It was not much compared to the Royal Palace but clearly a large investment had been put into it. There was no way a single person could maintain it- not to mention this man was clearly wealthy enough given his equipment to be able to afford a small army of helpers. "But where are the maids and cleaners?"

"Ah, yes, that..." the man said. "I did have a group of maids at one time... so to speak... but, ah, they are no longer here. As it is this place doesn't require that much maintenance."

She took a sip of soup. "I do not mean to offend, but is it not odd that you still cover your face? People would think that you're hiding something."

The man's hands twitched. She was afraid that she had gravely offended him for an instant before he took off his mask.

She saw the face of a middle-aged man, not a good looker by anyone's standards (not that she would care even if he was), and someone clearly not from the Holy Kingdom. He then placed his mask back on. "My order of magic casters forbids showing one's face in public, but I suppose anyone would have their suspicions in your place."

"Right, of course," Remedios said. "Again, I am deeply sorry and had no intention of offending you."

"Pay it no mind," the man said. "I am curious though, what makes you wish to save your friend so badly? And what is that happened to you exactly? Forgive me, because I have lived in the wilderness for many years to hone my skills as a magic caster. I am rather unfamiliar with the ways of civilization."

Remedios had heard of monks who would go up into the mountains for several years, so it was not too far-fetched for a magic caster to do the same she supposed. "Ah, I was the Grandmaster of the Holy Queen's Paladin Order, Remedios Custodio." That name and title would've elicited an automatic reaction from anyone who had heard of her, but the man didn't even flinch. He had clearly never heard of her.

"I see... what kind of country is the Holy Kingdom exactly?"

Remedios nearly spit out what was in her mouth. "Plergh- ah, sorry..." She almost blurted out 'You do not know even that!?' but found the good sense not to do so. She took a deep breath and gave a short summary.

The magic caster took out a piece of paper from thin air in the middle of her speech. "If you could make a rough map, it would be helpful..."

Normally, she would be wary of giving out too many territorial details to a stranger, but this person had saved her. As it was, the map she drew was incredibly vague and probably would not have helped any invading force.

"Our country is shaped like this," she said.

"Ah, like a sideways 'U' I see," the man said.

"A sideways what?"

"A 'U'- ah, nevermind."

"Our main activities include fishing and trading," she said. "To our immediate East lie the Abelion Hills. Demihumans live there, and we had built a large wall hundreds of miles across to protect ourselves from them."

"Ah, like the Great Wall of China?"

"Of what?!"

"I'm sorry for interrupting so many times, please go on ahead."

"Right, so the Demihumans usually attack one another," Remedios said. "But, a few months back rumors started circulating about a powerful entity that had united them. We didn't believe it was true until the Great Wall was brought down by a single spell." She shuddered. "Demihumans attacked us in waves- we could've repelled them if only..."

She bit her lip. "If only the rumors about a powerful leader were just rumors." She turned her head to the Death Knight in the corner of the room. "You can command one of those? This monster could command legions of them."

"During a battle, my sister was killed," Remedios said. Her words were short and blunt- she did her best to suppress all memories of that incident. "And my best friend was taken away from me. Our forces were scattered, but I had to find her. I had to..."

"Your best friend, was she the Holy Queen?"

Remedios was surprised that he had pieced together that much so easily. "Indeed. She wasn't just a friend to me, but to all the citizens of our nation. No ruler such as her has ever existed- or will ever exist. She was kind and powerful and-" she stopped as she nearly choked on her words. She didn't want to speak any more, else she felt that the floodgates would burst open.

"Can you tell me more about this monster you mentioned? The one who commanded Death Knights?" the magic caster asked.

"We know so little regarding him- or it, or whatever it prefers to call itself," Remedios said. "It is a creature called a Night Lich. A step above even an Elder Lich. I've never seen magic that powerful, or heard of it aside from the songs. Based on our limited information, we're sure that it can cast magic of the Eighth Tier!"

"...it's highest level of magic is the Eighth Tier?" the masked magic caster asked in surprise.

"I can see that you're worried," Remedios said. "I didn't even know that kind of magic existed. My sister- a genius in her own right, could only use magic of the Fifth Tier. But given what he did... he had to know magic of at least the Eighth Tier. That's what my sister said before she..." Remedios croaked. "...anyway, I believe her. She was very adept at magic."

"Is it not likely however, that your Queen is dead?" the magic caster asked.

A dark curtain fell over her heart. She had considered that possibility however... "...if he took her alive, I'd like to think it was for a reason. And if there's even a sliver of a chance that I could find her... I'd take it." She then raised her head. "Not to mention that death is not the end. Resurrection magic exists... my sister could use it, but she's gone but... there are others I could turn to. There is a priestess in the Re-Estize Kingdom who could do the same, and I'm sure if the proper amount of gold was paid she would agreed but... I need a body for that..."

A fire began to burn within her. "No matter how hopeless the situation is, I can't abandon her like that. I would scour the ends of the earth for a thousand years if I could just looking for her..."

A strange emotion was there in the magic caster's voice. "So you would continue to search for your friend, no matter how bleak the odds may seem?"

"Indeed," Remedios said. "And if I had to die in the process, so be it."

"'Greater love hath no man, that he would die for his friend,'" the masked magic caster said. It appeared he had read it in a book somewhere. "Alright then, you may have my help."

Remedios shook her head. "Thank you... but I fear you would just be sacrificing yourself in vain."

"I know the risks," the man said. "And don't take it the wrong way, I will gladly flee and save my life if it so serves my purpose. But, until then, you have my help."

Remedios sighed. This man was indeed powerful, especially if he could command a single Death Knight. But, she didn't think there was anyone who could stand up to that monster...

"Alright then, I will take your help," Remedios said. If it would increase her odds by even a little bit, she would accept help even from a cat. She got up. "Let's go then!"

"Wouldn't you like to take a bath first?"

Remedios honestly didn't care how she looked like, but based on what this man was saying, it seemed that she looked rather terrible. It might not be a bad idea to get some rest given how long and far she had travelled. "Alright then... however..."

"Hmm?"

"I find it odd that you didn't partake of any of the food," Remedios said.

One would normally assume in such a situation that the food was poisoned, but this man could've poisoned her far more easily before. He had also had multiple opportunities to strike at her if that was what he wanted.

"I uh, have already had breakfast," he said.

"Alright then," Remedios said, accepting that as an answer as she walked to where the man pointed.

Remedios was not one to overly care about her appearance. She found her duty as a fighter required one to dirty themselves, though of course, in cases of royal processions she could not shame her Queen by appearing like a vagabond.

As such, she had not seen a need for a bath.

Until she saw her own reflection.

She barely recognized the woman that looked back at her. Any excess fat had been stripped off of her, and even her muscles had begun to atrophy. She was so pale she looked like a ghost, save for the areas of her that were so coated with grime that it looked like she was a coal miner.

She stepped into the water and instantly felt its warmth soothe her. She hadn't even realized how sore she felt until she entered the water completely, and then began using healing magic to ease her fatigue.

She would regain that mana by the time she went out, as it was, the amount she used was rather inconsequential.

How unfortunate that she didn't have any items that reduced fatigue, like potions, anymore.

As soon as she got comfortable, she felt her eyes droop. She hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep the night before.

But she didn't want to sleep. Even when she had been in the wilderness, she had made a point to not sleep unless absolutely necessary. Part of that was fear of being ambushed, but it ran deeper than simply that.

Because going to sleep meant that she would dream.

"What is that thing?"

A dark shadow emerged from the debris and rubble of the wall of Kalinsha.

It was the embodiment of hatred and wrath itself. A creature that held a massive tower shield in one hand and a flamberge in the other. It was large it could hold the flamberge- which normally was a two-handed weapon like a small toy in a single hand.

It roared as it charged.

Remedios blocked the first sword strike, and then the second. Her fellow paladins immediately withdrew from around her- they knew that they would only get in the way in this kind of fight.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Holy Queen and her regiment of priests summoning hordes of angels to deal with the other undead which had appeared at their gates- a creature not too dissimilar to this Death Knight, though it carried a weapon in each hand. If that was all that they faced, they might've yet emerged victorious but...

While these two groups were occupied, lesser undead began to swarm the streets. They would soon be defeated unless-

"Safarlisia! Holy Strike!"

"Gah!" she screamed as she found her hands wrapped around the neck of an enemy who wasn't there. She had walked out of the pool in her sleep and was now grasping the air as her eyelids flew open.

"Don your armor and weapons! We will enter the woman's bath!"

What? Where did that voice come from? It seemed to be coming from outside the-

-the door was knocked down as that masked magic caster made his entry, flanked by several undead.

And there was Remedios, who had stepped out of the pool.

Completely undressed.

"KIYAAAH!" she screamed.

"Agh, I uh, thought you were in trouble and I-" the man began to say.

"GET OUT YOU PERVERT!"

She was honestly far more bothered by all the undead looking at her- the fact that they were undead Bafolk made her hate them more than she would hate normal undead. Granted, she was pretty sure that even male undead would have no interest in looking at her naked body, but still... despite everything, she was a woman after all.

"I'm sorry!" the man said as Remedios chucked Safarlisia, still in its sheath thankfully, at his retreating back.

Ainz ran out into the main room.

He was panting- which was odd, because no matter how much he ran his undead body would never become fatigued.

His breathlessness was just because of his anxiety.

While Remedios had been sleeping, Suzuki had spent his time pacing around the tower restlessly. He needed to get more information, but from where?

He sent out Greater Wraiths as scouts outside the fortress but it appeared they were surrounded by plains on all sides. The grass had no special effects like inflicting damage or causing paralysis- it was just normal grass. There were nearby forests, but he had ordered his summons to remain away from them given he didn't know what could be lurking there. He had been ambushed by powerful monsters in the forests of Yggdrasil before, and he didn't want a repeat of such events.

In the end, he learned almost nothing about the surrounding area. He truly regretted not leaving a few of the Bafolk alive so that they could be interrogated.

He could've always gone ahead and tried to pry out some information from the woman he had rescued, but given she was asleep at the time, he had thought it was better just to wait for her to wake up.

'Man that map's horrible' he thought as she drew a map of the area. It looked like a kindergartner's crayon drawing, but it did give him some idea of the world beyond here.

He was sure however that there was something that he was missing out on- did this woman say that Eighth Tier magic was beyond belief? It was possible she was just very weak or this was some kind of starter area, but he couldn't be sure about that. Rules could very well work differently in this world.

For example, he had been able to turn off his magical resistance and was able to damage himself with a spell (thankfully he tested this out with a weak one such as [Magic Arrow]). It also appeared that friendly fire was turned off as he was able to incinerate one of his summons with a [Fireball], though he wasn't sure whether or not this had granted him any experience or not. In that case, he should avoid using XP-wasting skills as much as possible.

He was tinkering around with how the mechanics worked when he had heard a scream come from the woman's bath- and had assumed there was an intruder of sorts.

However, he had walked into a very awkward scene.

He most definitely would have been sent to HR and fired for sexual harassment had this occurred on the job.

Forget the job, what on earth would his friends have thought about what had just happened?

"Well done Momonga!" the image of Peroroncino popped into his head. The birdman gave him a thumbs up. "You should totally use [Perfect Unknowable] and go back inside to catch the rest of the show!"

"Peroroncino!" Ainz shouted out to no one.

Alright, what would his friends who weren't perverts say?

As it was though, he couldn't deny one thing- that woman did as a matter of fact look very nice. The sight of her curvy, exposed body dripping with water was embedded into his brain, but before he could get too excited something calmed him down and he felt his libido recede like the tide.

Now that he was more calm, he could compose himself as the woman stormed out of the bath five minutes later.

'Wow she looks really cute in that kimono,' he thought as she walked right up to him and thrusted a finger into his chest.

"What was the deal with that, magic caster? Is this how the men of your country behave?" she screamed in rage.

Ainz had been so distracted by how nicely that kimono hugged her lovely frame he had ignored her beet-red face.

"I'm sorry, I heard screaming and I thought that you were under attack," he protested.

"Under attack? This is a fortress! How would an enemy get in?" she asked.

"Well, teleportation magic is a thing!" Ainz retorted. However, he realized immediately afterwards that [Fortress] blocked teleportation inside of it, but then again, he didn't know the rules of this world, and perhaps there was a spell here that could bypass this immunity. Or maybe there was a World Item- but regardless, he didn't say this additional thing as he didn't want to make her any more mad.

"Whatever! Forget your help! I'm leaving!" she huffed and made a beeline for the door.

Before Ainz could say something, he heard her scream as her hand touched the door.

'Oh no! The door is supposed to damage enemies!' he realized.

It wouldn't do anything to a high-level Player, but it seemed that Remedios was rather weak. And she was not considered a member of his 'party' in this world- though, based on what he had seen up till now with Friendly Fire turned on it wouldn't have mattered at all.

"Argh!" she shouted as her hand was swollen and blistered. It was also as red as her face had been a minute ago- which, by the way, was slowly returning to that color, though this time more out of rage than embarassment.

"Ah, I'm sorry, i should have warned you but only I can open the door!" Ainz said.

She glared at him as he pulled out a health potion. He honestly shouldn't have been using consumables, but he felt very bad about the situation. "Drink this, it'll help."

"Like I said, I don't need your help," she said as she cast a spell that restored her hand back to its normal state. "Now open this door unless you want to be charged with treason and obstruction of justice!"

"Fine," Ainz said and opened the door.

Only for Remedios to take a look outside and turn right back around.

"W-What!?" Ainz exclaimed. When given the option to leave, she turned back inside?

What was she, a cat?

"I just forgot my armor, that's it!" Remedios said. "It's not like I wanted to stay here with you or anything- got it!?"

'What a cliche tsundere line,' Ainz thought. Hell, this whole situation was kind of cliché- right up to the part involving him wandering on her naked earlier. Hell, it all read like the beginning quest in a video game or an ecchi anime.

Remedios brought out her armor and began cleaning it. Odd, Ainz thought.

"What are you doing?"

"Keeping my armor in shape," Remedios said as she worked to remove the grime from it.

"Does... dirt really impact the usefulness of the armor?" Ainz asked.

"Well, not for magical armor anyway," Remedios said. She then sighed. "But, as a paladin of the Holy Kingdom, I cannot shame my Queen by appearing anything less than pristine."

Ainz didn't mention that she looked far from pristine just moments ago. Instead, he said, "Why not get some help? Some of my undead could help with cleani-"

"I would sooner die than let an undead touch my armor!" Remedios retorted.

Moments passed in silence between them.

"Do you... still need help?" Ainz asked.

"With what?"

"With your journey," Ainz said. "Together... with my magic I mean... I think I could help you accomplish what you've set out to. I, what happened until now I mean, was a misunderstanding, I assure you. If you give me the chance, I will truly try to aid you."

Remedios turned to look at him. "You'll probably only get yourself killed."

"What life is there without risks?"

"And why are you trying so hard to 'help' me?" Remedios asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Ainz had an answer- but it was stuck in his throat. When he saw Remedios he saw the image of someone else superimposed over her- a knight in shining armor. Granted, that other knight had never been as obnoxiously rude as her but still...

"Touch Me," Ainz said.

Remedios screamed. "Is that what you want in exchange for your help!? You want me to touch you? You really are a pervert aren't you?" She chucked Safarlisia at him.

Again.

"No! This is just a misunderstanding-"

"SAVE IT FOR SOMEONE ELSE!"