Still, Neia was an important long-term project.
Knowing this, he once again left a note for Aura and Mare in case they woke up, and made sure his summons kept careful watch.
It said that they shouldn't be concerned, and that he had to deal with an emergency. Surely that would be enough.
But they never woke up unexpectedly so far, so everything seemed fine.
Well, if they did, they haven't mentioned it to him.
Feeling that everything seemed fine, he teleported away.
Within the Holy Kingdom's capital, things were still uneasy.
Although the people's anger was mostly extinguished, the embers seemed to remain no matter what she did.
There were now only a few people openly calling for civil war, but there were still many who would welcome it.
Neia swallowed the last piece of her chicken nuggets, and prepared to welcome His Majesty.
Last time he said something about a spa, if she recalled correctly.
While Neia thought that she wasn't worthy of all these gifts and favours, she ultimately decided that she would stop refusing them.
If they were signs of His Majesty's affection, refusing them would be like refusing His Majesty's affection itself.
And so from now on, she would simply go along with whatever he suggested.
She might still voice that such things are unnecessary, but she would not refuse him.
Looking herself over in the mirror one last time, it seemed she was ready.
And so, she moved over to where she expected him and waited there.
She wondered where the spa would be.
"The palace in E-Rantel? Some place owned by a third party? Or maybe it's going to be that secret base again?"
That secret base was a place of astounding beauty, and she could not tell how big it could possibly be from her brief visit.
Even from what she saw, the decorations and everything must have been impossibly expensive.
But most interesting were, of course, those Guardians.
Who were they, exactly? What was their role?
She also wondered if she would ever be able to meet any of them properly, and perhaps even befriend them.
The twins were just children, and so she was very interested in meeting them. What kind of work did they do for the Sorcerer King? What kind of person was he? Was it true that he was like a father to them?
If so, was he a good father?
She felt that she already knew the answer to the last question.
"Of course His Majesty would be an excellent father!"
This made her hopeful that they may raise their own children one day.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the Sorcerer King teleporting in front of her.
"Your Majesty!"
She knelt.
"Hello Neia. Please rise."
"Your Majesty, did you say something about a spa last time?"
"I did. Unless you are not interested? I wanted to suggest that you go there first, but perhaps you may wish to do so after our date, since it would be quite late in the day if you were to relax in the spa first."
"While I do not feel such a gift is at all necessary, I will accept them all. It feels rude to refuse your kindness. As for when I wish to go there..."
She didn't feel that tired. She's had her current workload for a while now, and so she got used to it.
"... I shall clean myself before our time together starts properly."
"I see. In that case, shall we depart?"
She was taken to the secret base again.
In front of them stood a new beautiful maid.
"Increment. Can you take us to the spa?"
As they walked, Neia thought to herself. "How many of these maids are there?"
She also once again wondered about the possibility that they were powerful demon maids.
While admiring how completely immaculate the place was, she reacted a bit too late to the maid and His Majesty stopping at their destination.
She took one step too much, bumping into the Sorcerer King.
"Ah! I'm sorry, Your Majesty!"
Why was she so dense? She shouldn't have been walking that closely behind!
"Oh? I was just about to ask if you were okay, actually. Did you trip?"
"No. My apologies, I was distracted."
"Ah. I see. May I know what caught your attention?"
"Just the beauty of the place."
It felt like something had changed in the Sorcerer King's stance, and a silence followed.
"It's really nice, isn't it? My friends and I built this place together."
He spoke in a tone which was nostalgic and happy, but there was some hint of something else.
"You must be really proud of it then, right?"
"... Yes. Very much so."
"I can see why. I'm just visiting, but it's unlike anything I've ever seen. It's absolutely wonderful."
He looked to be in deep thought.
"Do you want our date to be here today? I could show you around."
"Yes, I would be grateful to know more about this place."
"Mmm."
It was a noise of approval, and something else.
Was it happiness?
"But I do not wish to waste your time, Miss Baraja. Now, will you need anything else? Shaving supplies, anything like that?"
"No, Your Majesty."
Now that she could, she always made sure to shave before their dates in her own spare time.
"I see. If that's the case, perhaps an hour will do, like last time? And once again, if you finish a little earlier, I'll probably be ready by that time."
"Yes!"
After wrapping herself up in a towel, Neia left the changing room. She was told that her clothes would be washed in the meantime, despite them being clean already.
The maid was waiting for her outside.
"Then, Miss Baraja, are you ready to select a bath?"
"Are there differences?"
"Oh, indeed. Lord Ainz told me to recommend the Roman Bath, but I can also explain the rest."
"His Majesty recommended one? That's the one I'll go with, then."
She wasn't sure if it was for any specific reason, but she felt like it was the proper thing, since it was a recommendation from him.
After entering, the architecture had changed completely.
Everything was flawlessly cut white marble, and there were many decorative pillars.
There were also many statues of naked humans.
Were they anyone in particular? Great people? Some of the forty friends?
The water in the large central pool was coated in a layer of foam and bubbles.
She took off her towel and put it on a hanger.
After submerging, she thought it was all very familiar.
"Ahhh..."
She let out a noise of pleasure. This was the same water from that one time in His Majesty's palace in E-Rantel.
And just like before, it instantly cleaned her skin and hair far better than she thought was possible.
Before every date, she did use expensive bathing solutions of her own, but as with everything, the Sorcerer Kingdom seemed to be on another level.
Allowing herself to relax was always nice.
The warm water made all her worries melt away.
Her keen ears picked up distant footsteps and then, a conversation.
"Increment, may I ask why you're here, washing someone's clothes? Isn't it strange to do it here?"
She recognized that the voice was Prime Minister Albedo.
"I'm currently performing duties assigned to me by Lord Ainz!"
"Is that so? I don't mean to keep you, then."
"Understood, Lady Albedo."
Those same footsteps then got closer and closer.
They were coming towards her.
She wasn't sure if she should get up to bow, since that would expose her naked body, and so it could be considered rude.
So she decided to only lower her head, and prepared a respectful greeting.
Once she saw Albedo, she spoke.
"Greetings, Prime Minister!"
She could only see her for a moment before her eyes went down to the water, but she seemed quite surprised.
"You... you're that Neia Baraja, correct?"
Her tone was rather confused.
"Yes!"
"... what are you doing here?"
"I was invited here as a gift by His Majesty the Sorcerer King."
"Huh?"
Neia's gaze was still lowered, but the surprise was obvious.
"He... invited you here? Now why would he... hm... please raise your head."
She obeyed, and Albedo seemed to look her over carefully.
"He did? As a gift to you? Why is that, if I may ask?"
"It was due to a small... thing that happened earlier. Nothing noteworthy, really. I'd said that no such thing was needed, but it seems there is no refusing his kindness."
Albedo then seemed to have some sort of complicated expression. Was she in thought? Was she confused?
"I see... In that case, perhaps I should select a different bath..."
"Ah, there's no need to trouble yourself because of me! It is no problem to share a bath!"
She did not want to cause any offence. She would prefer being alone, but that was quite rude. She shouldn't be here in the first place, which is probably why the Prime Minister was here.
"Is that so? Very well."
Neia averted her gaze as Albedo moved to remove her towel.
When she was submerged, Neia laid her head back and tried to relax.
There were several things which she wanted to ask the Prime Minister, but she wanted to wait and let her clean herself first.
After a few minutes of Albedo washing her beautiful long hair, Neia mustered the courage to speak.
"Prime Minister? Is it okay if we talk for a bit?"
Albedo's expression looked like she was always thinking very hard about everything Neia said.
"I suppose it is fine. Did you have anything in mind?"
When she did speak, her voice was quite nice to listen to, and showed no hostility.
"I honestly have many things I would love to ask about, Prime Minister. You are one of His Majesty's most trusted and important servants, after all. I have great respect for you because of that, and so I hope you do not mind if I ask about some things."
This time, Albedo also looked like she was appraising Neia.
"I do not mind. You too, are one of his trusted servants, are you not?"
She smiled.
"Ah, I hope I am. It brings me great joy to serve His Majesty, so it is nice to think that this is the case."
Albedo seemed to continue her appraisal, and seemed curious.
"You seem quite reasonable for a human."
Neia laughed. It was an honest laugh. She thought about her experience in that horrible city, and how they threatened her and threw rocks just because she was trying to make them see an obvious truth.
"Haha, yes. We can be quite a nuisance, huh? Ignorance and arrogance make for the worst combination…"
Albedo seemed to show a genuine smile.
"Hm. You should consider yourself lucky, you know?"
"What do you mean exactly, Prime Minister?"
"Lord Ainz chose you from among your pitiful species, after all. Few are granted that privilege. You should be grateful, and willing to do anything he asks of you."
She was a bit intimidated by the "pitiful species" part, but that could probably be attributed to mutual distrust between humans and whatever the Prime Minister is.
Just thinking about the two elven children, elves were often slaves in human countries. It was possible that her species was also somehow wronged by humanity.
"Yes! I agree completely!"
Albedo smiled slightly more now.
"Prime Minister, could I ask you about His Majesty?"
"Oh? ... hmm... it depends, what do you wish to know? Is knowledge of his greatness not enough?"
"I believe it is only natural to want to know more about those important to you, is it not?"
She looked down for a moment and nodded.
"I see. Well, he did choose you... What did you want to know?"
"I was wondering about how he is to others working under him. I served as his squire during his stay in the Holy Kingdom, and that meant I got to see him in specific situations. Just as you might be unfamiliar with how it is to be his squire, I am unfamiliar with how it is to be Prime Minister of his nation."
Albedo made a very light nod.
"That is a very complicated question. To even attempt to summarise the great Lord Ainz... You will have to be more specific if you want any answers."
"Of course. I would ask... how is he to his servants, generally? I know he must be very kind to all of you, but how does he see you?"
"Those of Nazarick, he sees as his children."
Neia's eyes widened.
"Uhm... that's... I hope you forgive my ignorance, but what is Nazarick?"
"It is where you are right now. The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick was built by the Forty-One Supreme Beings, and so were we, its inhabitants."
Neia was deeply shocked. Children? Created by them? So His Majesty already has children? Did the 41 marry amongst each other? Was it like a great family?
"You were created? Are you referring to childbirth, or was it something else?"
"Not childbirth."
"May I ask... how is that possible?"
"Nothing is impossible for the Supreme Beings."
It seemed the Sorcerer King was even more powerful and awesome than she thought.
"Prime Minister, who and what did His Majesty create? Did he create you?"
"Unfortunately not."
"Unfortunately?"
"Ah, ignore that comment. He only created one single being, a man named Pandora's Actor. He is... smart and dependable, even if he's a bit annoying. But being the creation of Lord Ainz, the leader of the Supreme Beings, is the truly enviable thing about him."
Neia thought about it a little more. So the people here had their own religion, which worshipped their creators, including the Sorcerer King?
"Prime Minister, I have created a faith which worships His Majesty the Sorcerer King, but none of the other Supreme Beings. Is that okay?"
Suddenly, Albedo's expression soured for a moment, and then returned to normal.
"There is no need to praise the other Supreme Beings now. Only their leader remains."
"I see... I am so sorry to hear that. I know how much His Majesty valued his friends..."
Albedo looked away, and her wet hair concealed her expression.
When she looked back, her expression was neutral.
"But perhaps we've spoken too long. I am somewhat busy."
"Of course, I would not dare keep you!"
"Hm. Goodbye, Neia Baraja. Keep working hard."
Albedo got up instantly, seemingly not concerned with the possibility of Neia seeing her private areas.
Before she could avert her gaze, Neia did see Albedo's rather large breasts, which made her wonder if His Majesty had a specific size preference.
"O-of course! Goodbye, Prime Minister!"
Albedo took the towel and very soon, Neia could no longer hear her footsteps.
She was alone again.
One of the things she did not dare openly ask was whether or not the Sorcerer King was married.
If she had more time, she would probably sneak that in there.
But right now, she just went back to relaxing.
After Neia finished dressing up, the maid called Ainz over using some sort of telepathy, and he quickly teleported here.
"Hello, Miss Baraja."
"Your Majesty!"
"So, how was your bath?"
"Prime Minister Albedo was here, and so I spoke to her for a bit."
He seemed to have a rather odd reaction to this, as he opened his mouth and stared into nothing for several moments.
"But you're fine, huh? Ah, I'm glad..."
Neia was utterly puzzled.
"What do you mean, Your Majesty? Why would I not be fine?"
Was there something wrong with meeting the Prime Minister?
"Ah, it's just that... perhaps you should avoid speaking to the Prime Minister outside my presence. She can get... volatile. Especially regarding a few select topics, which are not even that rare as topics for conversation."
"I see... but she seemed quite friendly..."
"Well, I'm glad she was, but know that she also often isn't. But let's ignore that now. It's time I gave you a tour, hm?"
"Of course! Ah, but before that, I was wondering if Your Majesty had a preferred breast size."
This made him just stare at her for a moment.
"W-what did you say?"
"I didn't mean to stare at all, but I did notice that the Prime Minister had much larger breasts. It just made me think..."
But Albedo wasn't created by him, so she felt like she couldn't guess unless she asked.
Honestly, she was a bit worried. Hers might still grow, but she already knew women her age with far larger ones.
"I uh... I'm undead, but even if I wasn't, I don't think I would care about something like that! Uhm... every size is good, yes... But nevermind all of that! Let's get on with the tour!"
"Yes!"
He took her to what looked like the outside.
"This is the 6th Floor."
But it was all just the floor in an underground base.
She looked around more, and could not tell if the nature down here was at all different from what one might see on the surface.
"Any first impressions?"
"It's beautiful, Your Majesty… such a place existing underground…"
"Hm. I do have something specific to show you. Come, it's close."
As she followed him, she started to feel that he seemed rather excited about this.
And finally, they arrived.
In front of her, stretching out into the horizon, was a beautiful field of flowers.
There were several very large ones off in the distance, but in the surrounding area, it was just beautiful, beautiful flowers.
"Do you like this place, Neia?"
He looked at her, and his tone was... different, somehow?
"Yes. It looks like the perfect place for a picnic. Or just somewhere to lay down in peace."
"Hm."
He looked out, deeper into the field.
"Originally, this place was meant to be full of traps, but the three female members of our group protested, and so now it is like this. Just a nice place..."
From what he said just now... no, from many of the things she'd seen, it was obvious that this was a place loved by its creators.
"That makes sense. I myself am no exception to women's love of flowers..."
He turned back to her.
"Perhaps I ought to give you some, no? That's exactly the type of gift you might expect given the situation..."
Neia's smile was bittersweet as she responded.
"More gifts, huh?"
"Indeed."
"Aren't you spoiling me?"
"I don't mind, even if that were the case. You deserve to be spoiled, seeing all the work you have on your hands, hm?"
"I'll leave that up to you to decide, Your Majesty."
There was silence.
Only distant wildlife could be heard.
It felt peaceful.
"Do you want to sit down and enjoy the view for a bit?"
"Yes, that would be nice, Your Majesty."
They both sat down close to each other, both facing the field.
She wasn't sure what the Sorcerer King was thinking, but Neia wasn't really thinking about anything.
She was just letting herself get lost in the moment.
The sensation of the flowers as she ran her fingers through them, their colours, the distant sounds...
She let the moment sit for quite a time before speaking.
"I think I owe those three female members. This place really is special."
"Haha... it really is..."
"Prime Minister Albedo told me a little bit about the Supreme Beings."
She wasn't looking at him, but she could hear him turning around to face her.
"What did she say?"
"Not much. That you created this place and everyone within it. And that you are their leader."
It took him a while to respond. Neia did not mind. She was enjoying being here.
"She said that I still am, huh?"
Neia turned to him.
"I'm sorry for touching on such a painful topic, Your Majesty."
"Ah, don't worry... It's... well, I suppose things have been this way for a while now."
Neia thought about her parents. She wondered if the pain of loss was similar for them both, though she did not understand what happened to the Supreme Beings.
They looked at each other, saying nothing.
"We can leave whenever you feel like it, Neia."
"Just for a minute more, if that's okay..."
As they were travelling to their next destination, the Sorcerer King spoke suddenly.
"Ah, I completely forgot to ask. Besides meeting Albedo, how was the bath?"
"It was great. I thank you for the recommendation."
"How did you like the layout and decorations?"
"It only vaguely resembled things I'd seen in the Holy Kingdom's churches, but there is nothing else I can compare it to. Like everything in Nazarick, it was beautiful. Also, can I ask about the statues of those men and women?"
"Oh, those? They're Emperors or Gods from a bygone age. The room was inspired by what one might see if they lived in the place those Emperors ruled, you see. As the name 'Roman Bath' suggests, it was called Rome."
"So that place no longer exists?"
"No, it certainly does not."
"Did you like it there, then? If you made a bath inspired by it..."
He seemed to chuckle at the question.
"Ah, it's not like that. Rome was long gone by the time I was around. It was based off what remained."
This just made her more curious about his past.
"May I ask about the Supreme Beings more?"
She did not want to go over that sore spot too much, but she had many questions.
"Of course."
"Are the Supreme Beings a species?"
"No, that's just what our creations call us."
"You also said that Rome was long gone by the time you were around, which got me wondering, how were you born, Your Majesty?"
"That's... not something I want to discuss now. The answer is not very interesting, just complicated. I doubt it'd impress you anyway."
She felt like that could not be the case. It was His Majesty, after all. How could anything regarding him be uninteresting?
"And how old are you?"
"Uhm… well… Neia, we're nearing our destination. Look."
As they pushed through some trees, there was now a gap in the branches and leaves, which allowed them to see a giant tree.
"That's where the twins live. We won't go inside their home, but it is a nice landmark."
As they arrived in front of it, Neia was once again impressed. She had never seen, or even heard of such a tree.
It was not necessarily more impressive than a palace, or something like that, but it was cool because it was a really big tree.
She could find joy in the simplicity of such things. Big tree. Beautiful.
"Any thoughts, Neia?"
"It's as beautiful and impressive as anything one might expect to find here. I feel the creativity and taste of you and your friends is endless."
"Is that so..."
"That reminds me... Your Majesty, may I meet Pandora's Actor?"
For some reason, the Sorcerer King seemed to panic.
"W-what? You know about him?"
"Yes. The Prime Minister told me he was someone who was smart, and that it was enviable to be created by you."
"Eh?"
He seemed genuinely surprised as she said this.
"Well, uhm... I see. Perhaps that can be arranged..."
As they were talking, Neia noticed three elves suddenly rush out of the large tree, headed towards them.
She pointed in their direction.
"Your Majesty, who are they?"
"Who? Oh, those are... huh? What are they doing?"
When the three elves finished running over to them, they bowed in unison, and one of them spoke in a frightened tone after being elbowed by a different one of the three.
"Lord Ainz! What do you need of us today?"
"Huh? Why do you think I need anything? I'm just here to see the tree."
Confused looks appeared on their faces.
"Are you really confused? I did not call on you. You might have seen me, but there was no need for you to come. I apologize for disturbing your activities."
This time, a different elf elbowed another.
"Uhm- Ah! There is no need to apologize!"
"Either way, I have no need of you right now. You may go back."
"Yes!"
Neia watched them scramble to leave, and when they were no longer within earshot, she asked a question.
"Your Majesty? Who were they, if I may ask?"
"Oh, them? Hm. They are former slaves. There was once an attack on this place, and one of the invaders had them. I decided it'd be best to keep them around. They did not come of their own free will, and so they could not be considered guilty. I also thought it'd be nice for the twins to have some elves around them..."
She felt that such kindness was only to be expected at this point. That fatherly side of him was still a bit new to her, however.
"That's very kind of you, Your Majesty. Both to those elves and to the twins. If I were in a place with no other humans, I might get anxious too..."
"Well, the twins are in a more unique situation so that might not apply exactly, but I do agree."
He paused to look at the elves, who were now a distance away.
"Neia, you may once again choose when we will head for our next destination."
"Yes, Your Majesty. In that case, I would like to touch that tree."
"Really? I don't recall it having special qualities other than its size, but do feel free."
It was as the Sorcerer King said. The tree seemed quite normal.
She wondered how it would be to live in such a place, so close to nature like her father once wanted, but it was probably time to move on.
"Your Majesty, I think it's time we left."
"Is that so..."
He seemed uneasy now.
"Is there something wrong, Your Majesty?"
"Neia... there's another place I wanted to show you. It might be the last we'll have time for today. But the method of getting there is..."
His words trailed off.
He stepped closer, and handed her a ring.
It was an exquisite piece, with a large gemstone socketed into it. Imprinted into the gem was the crest of the Sorcerer Kingdom and its king.
"We will be heading to Nazarick's treasury."
Once Neia appeared, she immediately started rubbing her eyes.
They were tricking her.
"Neia, is there something wrong?"
She stopped rubbing them to look at him.
"Your Majesty, is there some sort of illusion, or has the teleportation done something to my vision?"
He started laughing.
It was a genuine laugh one would make if someone were to tell them a good joke.
But Neia was serious, and she was a little concerned that she was seeing something utterly ridiculous.
"Your Majesty, is this room a prank?"
When he stopped laughing, he spoke in a sort of happy tone.
"I apologise for laughing, but this is no illusion. What you see is real, Neia."
She looked around again.
Looking at the wall behind her, she found that it was impossible to follow it in any direction. It seemed to stretch on so far that it simply faded out into darkness at some point.
Looking up at the ceiling, she could not see any. Just darkness.
But looking right in front of her, towards what she assumed was the direction of the centre of the room, was piles of gold coins.
She looked around some more, but she just saw more gold.
She looked even more, but she only saw gold.
Just gold.
She was standing at the foot of a mountain of these golden coins.
She took a few steps, and behind the peak of this mountain she saw more mountain peaks.
She then turned to the Sorcerer King.
"What?"
That was all she said.
"Well, I'm glad you're impressed..."
It was a bit different from being impressed. It was like walking forward only to realise doing so moved you backward. It did not make sense.
The most gold she's seen in one place was a large bag in her mansion.
If she were asked how much gold there was in the entire world, it would not be this much.
"... me and my comrades collected all the treasure here. Well, since they've been gone for a while now, it was only me who kept adding onto the pile for quite some time."
So he continued to love this place even when he was alone...
Neia looked at the gold.
And it was still there.
She turned to look at the Sorcerer King, and moved quite close to him.
The sight was so confusing to her mind that she found it a little uneasy to look at, despite its beauty. It just confused her commoner girl mind, the same way large crowds used to.
"Your Majesty, how did you obtain so much gold?"
She knew that the wealthiest people in the world were those who owned large organizations, which could either be entire countries or some sort of monopoly of a certain commodity. Essentially, it was all organizations where someone stood at the top while everyone else worked for them. They were either employees or tax payers.
Knowing this, what kind of organization did the Supreme Beings have?
Did they collect taxes somewhere or did they use other people's labour somehow?
"Ah, those methods do not really seem possible anymore. They required access to things that don't seem to exist these days. I used to farm all sorts of- uhm, I mean I used to kill many great monsters and steal their treasure."
Those words were very confusing to Neia, but she accepted them nonetheless.
She looked towards the pile, and back at the Sorcerer King again.
"Your Majesty, could you walk closer to the pile with me?"
"Hm? I suppose there's no problem with that...?"
It seemed obvious that he did not really know what she was feeling, but they were now slowly walking nonetheless.
Neia just felt somewhat uncomfortable in the room, seeing that it seemed infinite somehow, and that it contained an impossible amount of riches.
But being close to His Majesty instantly eased all her worries.
If she was with him, everything was going to be alright.
Now that she was close enough to reach out and touch the gold, she did.
She grabbed a single coin and looked it over.
It seemed quite real, though she did not know what currency it was.
She dropped the coin and turned to him.
This whole thing made her a bit sentimental.
"Your Majesty, this place looks like a testament to the power and tenacity of the Supreme Beings... All this wealth, it is the things you have achieved together. And you spoke about how you kept increasing that wealth even after you were the last... the leader, the last one to remain, keeping the whole thing alive... I find it rather poetic..."
She spoke in the same way in which she would deliver a speech to a crowd, even if she didn't really intend that.
He looked up into the endless darkness.
This girl...
There was something different about her today.
No, was it him who was different?
Either way, the way she spoke about Nazarick was...
It made him feel something.
He wasn't sure what.
And so he looked down at the girl, who just looked at him with those eyes.
They were still scary, but something changed.
They were the eyes which looked at Nazarick and found it to be a beautiful thing.
Could he hate those eyes?
"... Neia... after today, what do you think about Nazarick?"
"It seems like a beautiful place, from what I understand, built and maintained because of friendship. From what I've seen and heard from the Prime Minister, it was loved by its creators dearly..."
"Is that so..."
He felt that there was something endearing about her now.