Author's Note: I must say, the time since that last update has been rather eventful.
Working on many projects with Spyash2 and AdVictoriamCustodes, not the least of which being many more harem fanfics and several cracks at making Naruto boink Himawari, because I'm a terrible person. XD
...I can't believe I never had Naruto make her as a homicidal damger loli NPC in hindsight. O.o
In any case, AdV and I have been hard at work on this project and others while Spy and I have been making a lotta good progress on The Mirran.
I hope y'all enjoy what we create, eh? :)
On with the fic!
Chapter Ten: Enter the Lizardman Heroes
Uzumaki Kushina, the real one, blinked owlishly, terribly confused that the game didn't force her to log out. Did something happen…? (1)
She looked around and found herself still stuck in her guild room. With a confused look on her face, she made to open up the GUI… and found it wouldn't appear.
"Wh-hat the hell?"
"What's wrong, Mama?"
With a start, Kushina turned around to stare at her creation, Mito. The youthful, whisker-marked girl was looking at her strangely, her expression very much concerned and very much life-like.
All the redhead could do was stare.
Then, before she could muster up a response, the two of them nearly jumped out of their skin as a bloodcurdling scream rang through the walls of the castle.
Her shock and confusion all but forgotten, Kushina got up and bolted out of the room, immediately assuming the worst and ran towards the source. The scream sounded like Mebuki's and it came from the west wing—the location of her bedroom. So, that's the first place she ran to.
When the red-haired woman in the body of a teen had arrived she saw Artemis attending to a hysterical, crying Mebuki. The mage was sputtering incoherently.
But, before, Kushina could say anything, something… or someone ran past her.
"Excuse me!"
That… was Mito's voice.
Kushina then saw her baby, her creation, an NPC that should have just stayed in her room like an unresponsive doll... like the cluster of ones and zeroes she was... doing her best to console Mebuki, trying to get her to calm down.
Acting… human… like a real person...
Once again, Kushina could do no more than stare in complete and utter shock… and then...
THUD!
"M-Mama!"
East of the Azellerisia Mountain Range, in the north-central reaches of the Great Forest of Tob, existed a massive lake, well-hidden from the Re-Estize Kingdom and Baharuth Empire.
Surrounded by particularly thick foliage and wooded foothills which served as natural barriers, the only people who knew of this mighty body of water were its denizens… or so they thought.
Speaking of said people, in the southern reaches of this lake, where the water and the wetlands blended, sat many a quaint, little cottage. And out of one in particular, its resident emerged to take in a deep breath of fresh air.
The man was no human, though―far from it, in fact. In short, he was a bipedal lizard, green in color with coal-colored eyes and very much crocodilian in appearance. As was commonplace among his people, he wore little more than a loincloth.
This was a lizardman, a semi-aquatic species of demihuman; their average height was just above seven feet, with an average weight of 220 pounds, making them quite large indeed, at least to a human. As one would expect, they also had webbed feet and claws, but also sported four fingers and an opposable thumb on either hand.
Finally, upon his hip was one of the four treasures of his people―a magical sword, seemingly made of ice. It was clearly a one-hander, given its size, but the grip was long enough to accommodate being used with two if needed and the weapon's long, broad blade split at the tip into three prongs, resembling the claws of a beast.
This sword was named Frost Pain.
The lizardman, Zaryusu Shasha, took note that the sky was clear. It was midday, too. "Better go check on the farm, then," he said, scratching the imprint of a black scale upon his chest.
His society was a tribal one with a leader elected once a year and a council of elders. Below this ruling class was the warrior class, and below them was pretty much everyone else.
Of course, there were outliers. The druids, for example, led by an elder druid, were one such case―aiding the tribe as more of a separate entity.
There were also the hunters, another separate class of its own which gathered food for the tribe. They were omnivorous, but their primary food source was the fish of their lake. They didn't eat much in the realm of vegetation or other animals, so most excursions into the forest were done for collecting timber.
Finally, the last of these separate classes were those like Zaryusu: the travelers―those who wanted to see the world.
These were far from common, however, as few lizardmen would leave their hometown unless it was because of something drastic―like a food shortage. But, on occasion, one or two would pop up because of simple wanderlust. Zaryusu was one such case, as signified by the insignia engraved upon his chest.
Most who left never returned… but, those who did were held in high regard; whatever knowledge they managed to gather was also seen as nothing short of priceless.
That being said, Zaryusu was quite famous, but that wasn't the only reason he became a traveler.
Hefting a sack over one shoulder with a grunt, he made his way to his first destination. The reek of those four large fish within made his stomach growl, but he ignored it. He proceeded through the village of his tribe, the Green Claw tribe, passing by a small group of children goofing around under the watchful eye of their respective parents. The little ones stopped and eyeballed his sack of fish, looking hungry but keeping their distance.
The sight brought a smile to his face. It was adorable.
With a hearty chuckle, he headed down towards a rather sturdy cottage at the edge of the village. It was quite large, nearly five times as big as Zaryusu's, with a large window in the side―bigger than most doors he's ever seen.
The sound of something big stirring within could be heard when something else caught a whiff of the fish.
Soon, a giant, snake-like head, about the size of Zaruysu's chest peeked out, followed by another… and another… and another.
All four of them were the same brown hue with amber eyes. Once they saw that it was Zaryusu, they all started bobbing about and cooing in unison, as if they were all of the same creature… which they were.
This creature was Rororo.
Zaryusu had raised it since it was quite young, too, so it could understand the lizardman language.
"Hey, Rororo," its owner cooed. "I brought food!"
The four heads all perked up at that last word, eyeballing Zaryusu's satchel as he opened it up.
"I'd love to stay and play," the lizardman said, "but I need to tend to the fish farm."
Then, one by one, he chucked the four fish at the creature, each head snatching one up and ducking back into the hut.
"You be good, okay?"
The creature cooed in response, bringing a smile to Zaryusu's face.
And with that, the Lizardman moved on to his next destination...
It didn't take long for him to get there, either.
His destination was the lake itself, or more specifically a little fish-breeding farm he'd built for the village near its shoreline. Of course, because all he had to go on were descriptions in his travels, many of his first attempts at making this were complete failures, but he learned from his mistakes and got better with each and every try until the one he gazed upon right now was built.
He couldn't keep the proud smile off of his face when he looked at it if he wanted to, either. It truly was his greatest achievement.
When he arrived, Zaryusu immediately noticed another lizardman was there, fondly looking over the breeding farm. This one was a male with black scales; he was also quite a bit larger than him and bore a white scar. Zaryusu immediately recognized the man; how could he not?
"Shasuryu," he called out, causing the man to perk up.
"Oh, there you are," the black-scaled lizardman commented, a welcoming smile on his face.
This man was Shasuryu Shasha, the current chief of the Green Claw tribe and Zaryusu's elder brother. Twice in a row, he'd won the competition to become chief of this village and retained his position with no need to fight this year. There was no doubt that he'd keep it even if he did, though.
He was nothing short of huge; Zaruysu looked tiny in comparison, despite being an adult of average size himself. It was all muscle, too, and he fucking towered over his little brother! Truly, it was no wonder he became their chief.
Despite his station, he was dressed similarly to Zaryusu―the key difference being that he wore a massive greatsword on his back, nearly seven feet in length, instead of a satchel. Given that they were unable to mine ores, the steel blade was the only one of its kind, a magic sword with enchantments to prevent rust and retain its keen edge. (2)
"So, what brings you here?" Shasuryu asked.
"I should be asking that, not you," Zaryusu replied with a chuckle. "No one expects a chief to be this far outside of his village, after all."
"Muu…" At a loss for words, that familiar grunt was said chief's only response.
Smiling at his elder brother, the smaller lizardman couldn't help but tease him. "Could it be that you're here to steal a meal, perhaps...?"
"Of course not," Shasuryu denied, rolling his eyes. "I'm just here to check on how they're doing is all."
As he spoke, the black-scaled lizardman's tail lashed and flopped about in a spectacular display.
"Your tail is too honest, elder brother," Zaryusu commented with a knowing grin.
"Muu…"
A comfortable silence was shared between the brothers as Zaryusu tended to the fish farm.
"Honestly, though," Shasuryu said, "I must admit that this is amazing; your… uh…"
"You mean my breeding farm?" Zaryusu suggested, hearing his brother trail off.
"Yes, that." The black-scaled lizardman nodded. "As I was saying, your breeding farm is a marvelous success. I have no doubt that the others will grow envious and copy your ways. Who knows? Maybe even the other tribes will catch wind of this and try to emulate it!"
Which would be a damn good thing, too. They wouldn't have to fight over food in the years it became scarce if it never did, after all.
Of course, there were those who criticized Zaryusu at first as he tried multiple times to figure out what to feed them and such, pegging him as a fool for "treating the fish they captured for food as toys". But, soon enough, his efforts bore fruit and they immediately grew silent.
"Truly amazing, younger brother," Shasuryu praised.
"It's all thanks to you, elder brother," Zaryusu said with a knowing grin.
"Oh? How so, I wonder?"
Officially, he did nothing… but in truth, that was far from the case.
Many a priest would come by to heal the fish when their health started to deteriorate. Also, when they found a fish or two that was still alive in their catch, they'd occasionally… disappear, no one quite knowing how they ended up in the fish farm, while those who gathered some fruit would occasionally "drop" some of their extra bounty into their portion lake. Coincidentally, the fish loved them.
Of course, "no one" knew who was pulling the strings when Zaryusu noticed, much to the younger lizardman's amusement.
"If you say so," Zaryusu chuckled. "That aside, we should wait for them to grow a little more. Give it a few days and I'll let you have the first pick."
"I look forward to it."
After another comfortable silence filled the air, it didn't take long for Zaryusu to confirm that the fish were quite healthy. When that was done, the two brothers then returned to the village.
While the lizardfolk of the Great Forest milled about and continued on with their daily lives, oblivious to the looming threat beyond their woodlands, a certain redhead leaned against the wall of a nearby hut as she observed Enri helping out with the locals, ignoring the suspicious glances sent her way every so often by the little goblins.
It had been ten days since Boss sent her here to act as a sentinel after discovering that he'd… totally been planning on taking over the "New World" since they'd arrived.
Needless to say, she could smell the bullshit from a mile away, but Tayuya didn't question it; what Boss wanted to do in his free time was no business of hers as far as she was concerned… so long as he didn't get himself hurt, of course. She'd be pissed the absolute fuck off if that happened…
That aside, though, Tayuya's own goals aligned quite smoothly with said plans; that is to say, she was getting some payback from those Theocracy fuckers for mindfucking her big baby sister, come hell or high water!
As for what came of everyone else in this world, she frankly didn't give a shit; they were inferior beings, anyways. Shedding a tear for them was like mourning the loss of a gnat as far as she was concerned. Their lives were meaningless to her… with one exception.
Said exception was currently smiling and chattering earnestly while helping one of her summoned minions carry around a bunch of logs. Tayuya had to admit the blonde was impressively strong… far more so than she'd expected a human to be―let alone such a young and scrawny one.
Tayuya couldn't help but wonder... what would Enri look like, had she been born as an oni?
Then again, humans can become oni, too… at least those of Yggdrasil. It required some exceptional circumstances and a magical item, but it did make Tayuya wonder if the humans of this world could do the same...
Questions for another time, perhaps, Tayuya figured. Then she noticed Enri approaching her, now carrying plates of meat and pastries probably meant for the goblins keeping guard by the gates.
How long had she been lost in her thoughts?
The redhead stared at the plate of food Enri offered her for a moment before accepting it politely. Of course, the villagers and goblins assumed that she only ate meat, given that the ogres of this world were carnivorous.
It wasn't too far from the truth. Oni were indeed carnivorous, but preferred the meat of… another sort, as it were, while ogres just ate people because it was more convenient. Fortunately for the villagers, though, she could get by on eating other animals.
''—ayuya?"
Tayuya blinked. Then the horned red-head scowled, realizing her attention had wandered off in her own thoughts―again.
Was she becoming a fucking airhead?!
She leered at Enri and gave her gruff response. "What?"
The blonde in question, instead of drawing back, only looked at her worriedly.
"I asked if there was something bothering you."
Tayuya stared at her for a few moments, surprised to hear that. Constantly, this little girl kept on getting the better of her expectations of humans.
She averted her gaze. "I'm fine… just lost in thought is all." She sighed, looking away. "Thanks for the food."
Enri beamed. "It's the least I―we―can do, after what your father and sister have done for us," She said, quickly correcting her slip of the tongue.
Tayuya smirked, turning back to leer at the blonde.
''Don't worry, I'll make sure to tell Boss all about how much you… appreciate his hard work," She said, with a suggestive grin.
It got her the desired reaction.
"Th-that's not what I meant!" Enri stammered.
"Bullshit," Tayuya grunted with an unladylike snort, grabbing her elbows as she crossed her arms and leaned forward into Enri's personal space. "I'm good at readin' people; you can't hide yer feelings from me."
Enri sputtered helplessly at that, her cheeks ablaze.
Looking down, she muttered, ''...mrrd..."
"What?" Tayuya asked, snapping at Enri and sending a scowl her way. "Speak up woman! Real men don't like spineless bitches."
Her face now as red as Tayuya's hair, Enri mumbled pitifully. "B-but he's married," she repeated herself, shuffling her toes like a child. "Th-that'd be... improper."
Tayuya could only laugh at that; her unladylike cackling was so loud it drew almost everyone's attention, before she glared at them and they wisely decided their day-to-day lives were more interesting than the women's conversation. "Please," she said, returning her attention to Enri. "You think someone o' his stature wouldn't have concubines? That pale-ass girl's been tryin'a become one for ages, now!"
The sound of something sizzling could be heard as steam literally rose from the poor blonde's head.
"C-c-concubine?!" Enri finally managed to squeak out, her cheeks now burning hotter. Of course, she's considered offering herself as one, but to actually hear someone suggest that—in front of everyone else, no less—got the poor thing all hot and bothered. (3)
"I mean you do like 'im," Tayuya pointed out. "And I personally approve o' you a hell of a lot more 'an his creepy-ass wife." They weren't actually married, but both she and Fumiko knew it was only a matter of time, much to their chagrin.
Albedo, frankly, made their collective skin crawl… and Shalltear wasn't much better.
"I-I… I have to go!" Enri excused herself, hurrying on towards the gates.
Watching her scamper away, Tayuya smiled in mildly-sadistic amusement… just mildly. "No wonder Boss likes her," the redhead commented. "She's kinda cute."
And fun to fuck with...
Maybe she should find out if the humans of this world can turn into oni… that one especially. She was quite strong and healthy, after all... had some nice child-making hips, too…
"Fascinating…'' Peter mumbled for the nth time, moments later, as he watched the villagers living alongside goblins and an… ogre? She wasn't anything like the ones he'd ever seen, but that's what they called her.
"You say something, bitch?" Tayuya asked, sarcastically. "I couldn't hear ya over the sound of how fuckin' lame y'all are!"
Peter flinched. Looking up with a start, he noticed just how close the red-head was standing.
Truth be told, she made him quite a bit uncomfortable… but he didn't know why. For all the verbal barbs and literal horns she had, she could pass herself off as a human.
A very rude and downright crude human, but a human nonetheless.
"He's just appreciating how good a job you're doing," Ninya chimed in, hoping to avoid a confrontation of some kind. They didn't know her very well, so she figured that staying on her good side would be the best.
Tayuya huffed. "Bullshit," she grunted. "But I'll take the compliment."
Ninya looked a bit sheepish at that. "You definitely weren't lying when you said you're good at reading people," she said.
"I don't like ass-kissers." Tayuya said, before glancing at the ranger of the party, "Or weirdo boot-lickers."
Lukrut couldn't help but look a bit sheepish at that. Unlike with his fictional love interest, he got the message when this girl shot down his attempts to extract some information from her… quite harshly, in fact, so he backed off.
He was still reeling from the nasty illusion she put him under for persisting a teensy bit too much. It felt so real… he hadn't been able to sleep well since from the nightmares it caused!
"In my defense, it was for a good cause," Lukrut tried to explain himself.
Too bad Tayuya wasn't having any of it.
"Oh yeah, and what's that? Tryin ta stick your dick in a girl who could kill yer ass in her sleep?"
"It's love! Love I tell ya!" Lukrut cried out.
Tayuya snorted. "Whatever helps ya jack off at night. Fuckin' creep."
"That aside," Ninya butted in before her friend could say something stupid and find himself in another illusion or worse. "How long do you think Kushina will take to return? I've been wanting to take her up on an offer she made a while back."
Tayuya shrugged. "How the fuck should I know? Do I look like her nanny to you?" Despite how hilarious that sounded, the redhead managed to keep herself from laughing. "That mission's a tough one, even for her and Regina, so I couldn't tell ya if I wanted to."
Peter pursed his lips.
"You're a rather rude person, did anyone ever tell you that?"
"No shit, captain obvious. You want a medal for that stellar observation?" Why should she be polite anyways? It's not like these worms have earned her respect. She pulled her flute out of her left sleeve and pointed it at them, a sneer on her face. "Lemme clear things up for ya here. Your place in the peckin' order is you, the dirt, the worms inside o' the dirt, the villagers, the goblins, Enri and her sister, my crude ass, and finally, Lord Ainz on top. Bear that in mind and we'll get along just peachy." (4)
The goblins passing by didn't much fancy her saying she was above Lady Enri, but they knew better than to speak up after what happened to that ranger. His screams had been rather… haunting.
Peter narrowed his eyes, noting one detail which was missing. "And what about Kushina and Regina?"
Tayuya shrugged. "I'll reserve that judgment for when I get to know 'em," she said evasively.
"But you don't know us," Peter pointed out, reasonably. "So, how can you claim you know our 'place'?"
"I know you tolerate this dumbass," she grunted, hiking a thumb at Lukrut. "That's all the info I need."
"Heeey…"
"Fuck you too." Tayuya huffed, before spotting the last member of their merry band coming up behind them. "And now, there's four of 'em… Need somethin', lardass?"
"Just checking on my teammates," he said politely, taking her attitude in stride, "Don't mind me."
Tayuya nodded in approval before addressing said teammates. "See? Why can't you jackasses be more like him?" She gestured towards Dyne, before addressing him. "You're now promoted to the rank of worm. Don'tcha feel special?"
"Thank you, Princess Tayuya," he replied with a chuckle, taking it all in stride.
Said "princess" flipped him off crudely. She felt weird being called that, truth be told, but it wasn't untrue. She just didn't like to think about it.
Nor to be reminded of it.
"What part of her constitutes a princess?" Peter asked dubiously, giving the red head a stink-eye.
"Fuck you too, toothpick," she huffed before turning away and seeing what a small band of goblins were up to. She found them annoying, too, truth be told, but less so than these fuckers. Mostly because they were helping her encourage Enri to become more than just another farm girl.
They were also fucking hilarious. (5)
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Great Forest of Tob, a small army of undead were shuffling about, carrying supplies and working on a large structure in the middle of a clearing.
And in the center of it all, Naruto left Aura Bella Fiora in charge of coordinating this operation, a lich floating by her side and relaying the elf's commands to his horde of minions. After Mare helped clear out the trees and made a hill for them to perch the structure upon, Aura was tasked with overseeing the construction of a small fort which could serve as their headquarters for an upcoming operation.
Of course, the first thing they got done was a defensive rampart—two timber walls made entirely of logs with a shit ton of rocks and dirt sandwiched in between. The barrier as a whole stood well over thirty feet tall and six feet thick.
Well, technically, the first thing she did was pitch her tent, but that was neither here nor there.
The thick, heavy gates were a weak point, as was usually the case, but a second gate flanked by a pair of ramparts helped alleviate that issue. The second gate was a good twenty feet in front and connected to the main wall by a pair of ten-foot-thick ramparts, manned by skeleton archers, thus making the space in between a killzone for anyone who dared to invade the Supreme One's glorious home away from home.
Once that was done and they had some stairs leading up to the battlements from three points, Aura got to work on the actual headquarters and a pair of storehourses.
Looking around, Naruto felt the girl may have taken his orders to construct a FOB just a teensy bit too seriously. He was expecting a fortified building, not a damn castle!
"This looks… serviceable," Naruto commented idly, for a lack of a better word, burying his apprehension at the overzealous job she did. He nodded, "Yeah, I think this'll work very nicely in fact! Good job!"
"Thank you, M'lord!" Aura chirped.
"I admit, I expected it to take longer." Even in his modern day and age, construction took its time. Though she had undead and magic on her side there was only so much work that can be done in one day.
"It's not finished yet," Aura admitted. "The great hall has yet to begin construction, for example."
Naruto blinked hollowly.
''...the what now?"
Aura frowned.
''The great hall? For your throne?"
'My throne?' Naruto thought, incredulously. "Why? What's wrong with tents?"
Aura looked like she'd swallowed a lemon. "Someone as great as you deserves better than that, Milord…"
"Bah, nonsense." Naruto told her with a hearty chuckle. "This was just supposed to be a forward camp. No need to go that far… besides, how often have you actually seen me use the throne back in Nazarick?"
"Even still…"
Naruto's smile widened and he ruffled her hair. "So cute," he muttered, making the poor girl's cheeks burn. "If you insist on making one, I won't stop you, but priorities first. The storehouses are more important."
"Fiiine…''
"And that was just adorable!"
Aura's cheeks burned even hotter at that.
Fortunately for the dark elf, though, Demiurge and Albedo pulled his attention away from her.
"My Lord." Albedo greeted, looking conflicted. On one hand, it was nice seeing her love being so good with children… on the other, though, she could see that Aura was crushing on him. She pulled her attention away from that, however, before glancing around her with a veneer of distaste. ''I must agree that this simply will not do. Such a paltry hovel is hardly a place for one such as yourself."
"Albedo!" Aura squawked indignantly. "It's a work in progress! What part of that don't you understand?"
"Only that you're doing a poor job of it. Lord Kurama should not be forced to squallor away like this."
"Albedo, that's not nice." Naruto reprimanded, hoisting his hands on his hips, "I find it to be just fine as is."
As if a switch had been flipped, the woman's attitude changed immediately. "My apologies, Milord, I was just…"
"Now, now. I'm not the one you have to apologize to. This isn't my hard work." He interrupted her, patting Aura's shoulder and looking at Albedo meaningfully. "Go on…"
"I… I apologize, Aura."
Aura huffed, plastering on a mildly-amused grin and shaking her head in exasperation. "It's fine." she said. "I know you can't help yourself."
Albedo frowned but ignored the passive-aggressive comment. She didn't want to make a scene in front of her love, after all.
"That aside," Demiurge chimed in, eager to move past this squabbling and get on with their assignments, "this is a wonderful location for our staging point. I agree that it will do nicely."
"See, girls? Demiurge understands."
"I aim to please, my lord." Demiurge smirked, fixing his glasses.
Naruto smiled and nodded at him, before returning his attention to Aura. "So," he began, looking around, "how long do you think it should take for us to begin?"
The elven girl perked up. "At this rate," she said, "I'd say only a few more days… five tops."
Naruto whistled. "You guys work quickly. Good to hear!"
"Those undead you lent me are mostly why," she admitted. "Helps a lot when your workers don't need to eat or sleep."
"Those undead still require direction and guidance, though. Planning is just as important as doing." Naruto ruffled her hair again. "Don't sell yourself short."
"Th-thanks..." Aura said with another heavy blush.
"Now then," Naruto said, turning to face Albedo and Demiurge again, completely missing the effect he was having on the poor little elf. "What do you two have for me? What's the plan?" (6)
Sitting in a circle within a makeshift tent, the group of four were gathered around a small, document covered round table.
"Aw man... My head's spinning from all this," Naruto muttered to himself a while later, massaging a headache, leaning back into his chair in exhaustion. "Suddenly, I feel way more respect for Momonga-senpai if this is the kind of stuff he had to deal with on a daily basis back in those days…"
"Are you unwell, my love?" Albedo asked, leaning over the papers with a panicked look in her eyes.
"Nah, I'll be fine," he assured, waving away her concerns. "Just not used to doing so much at the same time, y'know? Though I was the leader of Ainz Ooal Gown for a few years, the others helped out a lot when it came to coordination… and none of the things we did were on quite as big a scale as this."
He could see the disbelief in their collective expressions. Considering the size and complexity of Nazarick, he could understand, but that was different. Their guild base wasn't built from the ground up, after all; they claimed it with a World Item and then built upon what was already there using the base dungeon as foundation. The actual construction was mostly just writing code; many a sleepless nights were spent, but it wasn't a back-breaking ordeal.
"Don't worry about it," he assured, "again, I'll be fine."
"If you are sure, then I shall leave it be," Demiurge said, standing up and putting the chair back in its place. "Will that be all, Lord Kurama?"
"Yeah, you guys go on ahead. I'll catch up after taking a small break and checking on Tayuya-chan." After what happened with Fumiko, he didn't like letting them out of his sight for too long… he might've been becoming a bit overprotective of the two, but at the same time, he simply couldn't help himself.
Not that he could be blamed, of course… (7)
Albedo and Demiurge left the tent, the former throwing one last concerned glance at him over her shoulders before shuffling away to wait for him outside.
Naruto sighed.
"No rest for the wicked, huh?" He chuckled tiredly, standing up.
"Before you go, may I have a word?" Aura questioned.
"Of course!" Naruto turned to face her, offering the small elf a smile. "Is there something you need?"
"I…'' Aura looked indecisive for several moments before just blurting it out. "I'm worried about Shalltear."
"Oh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, lips quirking up in another comforting smile as he ruffled her hair once more; he couldn't help it, she looked so adorable like that. "Do tell." Considering they acted like cats and dogs, this promised to be interesting.
The elf nodded, averting her gaze. "Well, you see…"
Meanwhile, on the 9th Floor of Nazarick...
The deputy head chef of Nazarick, a mushroom man in a black suit named Piki, couldn't help but think that there were better places in the Tomb for someone who drank like this chick. (8)
And indeed there were, all on this floor, no less!
Aside from the palace and the living quarters, the 9th Floor of the Great Tomb had dozens of facilities, including communal baths, fitness salons, nail salons, beauty salons, a gym, a cafeteria, grocery stores, and multiple taverns, among others.
None of these facilities had any real importance for gameplay, though; they were just added because one player or another simply wanted to for their own personal reasons. Said reasons typically stemmed from a shitty worklife, but others did it for roleplay purposes. Regardless, the 9th Floor was practically a small town in and of itself, the very heart of the tomb where nearly all of the NPCs lived.
But for some reason, Shalltear Bloodfallen chose to drown her sorrows here.
Piki figured it was the solitude. This bar was the quietest one in the Tomb, after all—located well off of the beaten path as it were, deliberately built here by the more introverted members of Ainz Ooal Gown as a place to get some peace and quiet on occasion. But it had a nice atmosphere nonetheless.
"I'm shooo drunked~!" Shalltear giggled, her face upon the bar with a silly grin.
That was impossible… Truth be told, Piki had only been giving her water with food coloring this whole time. No need to waste good booze on someone who literally couldn't get hammered after all.
As an undead, Shalltear was immune to all poisons… and, well, alcohol qualified as one. So, most of his patrons would shed any gear that made them immune to such things before arriving. But that was not an option for the vampire.
"Another, please~!"
So troublesome… It was a good thing she was so dumb, though. It made her easy to convince.
Piki nodded and made another "special brew" for her. 'I'm glad my species doesn't have females,' he thought. 'They can be quite troublesome, indeed.'
He simply couldn't understand why women had this… strange tendency not to say what was on their mind, no matter how badly they wanted to.
Of course, the princesses were exceptions; they, perhaps, spoke their minds a little too much, but he preferred them nonetheless.
Speaking of, the doors to his bar then slammed open, and one of the aforementioned princesses of Nazarick strutted inside like she owned the place.
Which she technically did, if you tilted your head a bit and then squinted. Her "Papa" was one of the Supreme Beings, after all. The last one left, in fact. The de-facto ruler.
"Ah! Chibi! There you are!" Fumiko proclaimed, quite loudly at that, and ignored the myriad of glares thrown her way by the bar's patrons as she marched up to the bar and threw her arms over the vampire's shoulders. "I've been looking all over this dusty place for you! Is this where you've been hiding?"
"Quite so, your highness." Piki said, eager to get the vampire out of his establishment. He hid it well, of course, but damn was he fed up with the girl.
"Fumiko?" Shalltear asked, looking up at the pinkette loopily. ''Wha' are you doin' here, dear?"
"Looking for you, silly," Fumiko answered, looking around the bar, grinning when everyone ducked away from her gaze. "Never would've guessed you'd hide away in a place like this though."
It was pretty comfy, she had to admit, but for an undead to be in a bar of all things was quite… odd.
"What'cha drinking there?" Fumiko asked.
"Lady's Tears," Piki said. "It's a therapeutic drink."
Leering at the mushroom man suspiciously, she took the glass and brought it up to her nose. With a sniff, her suspicions were all but confirmed.
She couldn't help but laugh. So this cheeky bastard convinced Shalltear that she was drunk after giving her colored water of all things? That was kinda funny, actually. (9)
Looking at him knowingly she nodded. "I'm sure it helps; she clearly needs it…''
Piki shrugged helplessly. "Will you be having the usual, Princess Fumiko?"
Fumiko took a seat beside Shalltear and flopped herself on the counter. "Nah," she said with a grin. "I need some actual booze this time." She slammed her hand on the counter. "Gimme the best thing you've got!"
Piki hesitated. "It is... particularly strong," he warned.
"All the better then!"
"Well, you can't say I didn't warn you," he chuckled, before producing a red bottle. Upon the label was a horned skull and crossbones. Grabbing one of the sturdier shot-glasses, he filled it with the black liquid and slid it towards her.
Fumiko grabbed the glass and chugged it down without a second thought… and immediately, her face hit the counter as she let out a giggle. "You weren't kidding~!" She gave him a girlish look, her cheeks already red. "Hit me again." (10)
Piki looked a bit worried by that, though no one could tell, given that his head was a literal mushroom with a dozen red, spider-like eyes. He obliged her, nonetheless.
"So, she's getting worse, then," Naruto muttered.
"Yeah," Aura muttered. "She's still really depressed about the whole mind control thing. I get the impression that she thinks you're just being nice."
Naruto felt another headache forming.
"That silly girl…'' he muttered. "Does she think so little of me?"
"To be fair," the elf said, "she's really infatuated with you… and I think she got the impression that you hate her now because of what happened to Princess Fumiko." (11)
"L-Lord Kurama," Albedo chimed in, poking her head into the tent with a concerned frown upon her face. "If I may…"
Naruto sighed again, gesturing for her to reenter. "Well, I am open to suggestions. I'm kinda struggling to think of a solution, here, I'll admit."
The succubus nodded and obliged. "We haven't informed her yet that she'll be participating in this operation," she said. "Perhaps you could… punish her and then pass her assignment off as a chance to redeem herself?"
Naruto frowned slightly. That… that actually sounded like something that might work, as odd as it was, but at the same time... "I mean... it's a good idea, but if anyone's at fault for that magic dress fiasco, it's me."
At that, it was Albedo's turn to frown. "My apologies, my love, but you are simply too hard on yourself... besides, she did admit to being a masochist if I remember correctly. If it makes you feel better, she'd likely enjoy whatever punishment you give her."
'Yeah, of course she's a masochist… Why wouldn't she be?!'' Naruto thought exasperatedly, knowing full well that Albedo was referring to that time he gave Shalltear her creator's encyclopedia. After a moment of thought, he turned to the succubus once more. "I'll be returning to Nazarick after heading back to Carne Village for a bit," he said. "When I do, I'll want you to have her profile at the ready so I can study it."
"As you wish, my lord."
He did not look forward to reading that, knowing how shameless Peroroncino was, but one does what one must...
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Naruto said, suddenly turning to the elf. "Aura, can you come here for a moment?"
Sharing a confused look with Albedo, the small she-elf did as she was bade.
"My lord?"
Naruto kneeled before the elf, reaching out to her. "Give me your hand."
Looking confused, she nonetheless started to do so.
"Your left hand," he clarified innocently, knowing she was a rightie.
"M-My lord?!" Aura squeaked, immediately jumping to the conclusion that he was proposing to her. In an instant, the poor thing's mind started going a mile a minute, a thousand mental images flashing through it of the wedding… and the honeymoon… and what their children might look like… Aura wobbled, her vision going blurry as the flustered elf did her damnedest not to faint on the spot.
Naruto looked at her oddly, completely oblivious to why the elven maiden was squirming... or, to be more accurate, assuming that he was getting the wrong impression from his Sense Motive and Gather Information skills.
She was, after all, too young to be thinking what he thought she was... right? That damn voice in his head, telling him to take her right then and there, begged to differ, but he pointedly ignored it. (12)
"Hmm…? Are you sick?" He laid his hand on her forehead to see if she had a fever.
Albedo started gnashing her teeth. How… how fucking dare this little shit snatch Lord Kurama out from underneath her?!
"Well, your face is getting kinda hot… maybe you should take a few days to rest. You've been hard at work since we got here." Then, he reached into his inventory and pulled out a small strip of silver, before placing it on her wrist.
It wrapped around on contact.
"That said, I wanna reward you for that hard work." he explained, tapping the cover before resting his hands on his knees.
Aura forced down the blood rising to her head and brought the little item up to her face for inspection.
"What is it?"
Naruto simply smiled at her, and waited for it.
The wristband then beeped and spoke with a cute, childish voice. "It's 12-o'Clock, Onii-chan~!"
Aura was visibly shocked to hear Lady Bukubukuchagama's voice emerge from it.
"Gonna have to adjust the setting so it says your name," he said, looking a bit sheepish. "I knew I was forgetting something. But still… I hope you like it."
Aura was speechless. This… This was….
Before Naruto knew what happened, the little elf threw herself at him, burying her head into his chest and bawling her eyes out.
She was just so happy!
An exasperated Naruto held back a chuckle as he hugged her, ignorant of the intent glint that appeared in Albedo's eyes.
'This better not become a thing…' he thought, ruefully, patting Aura's head and rubbing her back in little, soothing circles, 'I only have so many shirts and I don't want them all to be stained with girls' tears.'
That sounded like a funny title, he had to admit. Beware the Mighty Kurama, he whose clothes bear the tears of a hundred maidens…
Yeah, he could just picture Peroroncino rolling on the floor, laughing his ass off at that.
Meanwhile, Albedo's anger had long since been forgotten as she watched her love calming the young elf. It was just so precious! Her heart yearned and her loins burned to see more such images… especially one with a little black or red-haired child with black, feathery wings… or vulpine features… possibly both.
"L-Lord Kurama," the succubus said hesitantly. "Wh-when you get the chance, I'd… like to speak with you… in private."
Naruto perked up at that and nodded without a second thought. "Uh… sure. I'll let you know when I'm free, then."
"Thank you, Milord..."
While Naruto continued to get Aura to calm down, poor Lupusregina was as red as her hair as she was dogpiled by many, many of the other maids in the cafeteria.
"You simply must tell us what he's like in bed," a particularly aggressive one purred, her cheeks equally flushed. She was a blue-eyed blonde, her hair in a short, but feminine do.
"Oh, believe me, I would if I could," the lupine maid assured. "But he didn't touch me… not that he didn't want to," she giggled lewdly. "He tried so hard to contain himself~!"
"Awww, that's so adorable. Lord Kurama really is the cutest, isn't he~?" This time, it was another maid who spoke—the girl in question being Kokoro. The pink-eyed blonde swooned at the thought of their lord. "So considerate, too…"
"Very much so," Lupusregina chirped. "He was worried about giving me an 'unwanted' baby, of all things… as if I wouldn't happily make one with him. He just worried about me way too much for his own good, the poor thing! It was adorable~!"
"I sure bet it was…''
A collective sigh of lovestruck adoration left the gathered maids; it wasn't a great secret that, out of the 41 Supreme Beings who once ruled over Nazarick, Lord Kurama was among the maids' collective favorites.
And every last one of them longed to be… taken advantage of by their last remaining lord…
Later on, Naruto stood in the center of a small thicket half way between the outpost and Carne Village, leafing through the papers Albedo had given him. Feeling the need to take the initiative, she provided him with Shalltear's profile in advance.
And boy did she have a hell of a profile… Naruto was beet red at some of the shit he saw, an awkward boner forming, much to Albedo's thinly-veiled delight.
'Hoooly shit, Peroroncino…' Naruto thought, in amused exasperation. 'I knew you were using her as an outlet… I just knew it, you infuriating, lovable pervert!'
"Is everything alright, Lord Kurama?"
"It's fine," Naruto squeaked with a halfhearted chuckle. "Just didn't expect it to be so… expansive... and detailed." He sighed. "But, if nothing else, I won't feel as guilty about punishing her for doing nothing wrong if she likes it…"
'Just really fucking awkward…'
"Kinky as fuck though…" his inner demon commented.
Naruto coughed, pushing those thoughts aside and putting the papers into his inventory for further reading later. "Ahem… Right. Well, that was enlightening. Thanks for bringing this to me so quickly." He then turned to the succubus and plastered on his best business-like expression. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Albedo fidgeted, before approaching him gingerly. "I… I wanted to speak to you… about us."
"Us?" Naruto echoed, feeling his cheeks warm up.
"You and me," she added for clarity.
"You… and me?" Naruto mumbled, having flashbacks to some of the old highschool eroges he'd played back in the day. Was she confessing?!
"Y-yes, my love," she said. "I… was wondering… do you find me unattractive?"
"N-no," he sputtered. "Not at all… in fact, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met… and one of the most beautiful I've ever seen."
She fidgeted again, but gained a measure of confidence from his words. "Then… why haven't we consummated yet…"
Naruto could only gape.
Albedo looked him in the eyes, pointedly. "Why haven't you taken me to your chambers?" She averted her gaze. "Not that I'd mind you taking my chastity literally anywhere..."
"I… I… uh…" Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself as best he could before giving his answer. He nearly made the poor thing jump out of her skin by cupping her cheek and looking into her eyes. "I've been trying to resist since we got here, actually," he admitted. "You have no idea how hard it's been… how much effort it's taking not to pin you down right here and now."
The succubus blushed. "Then why...?"
"Well… I… I have a confession to make," he said, averting his gaze. "Before we came here, I... changed your profile and…"
"I noticed," Albedo said, smiling slyly and clearly not giving a damn. The revelation itself visibly shocked Naruto. She shrugged. "I actually found it rather endearing that you'd go so far to make me yours and yours alone."
"W-well, that's the thing," the youko muttered, still not able to look her in the eye. "I… felt guilty about it."
That took Albedo by complete surprise; she flinched, not knowing what to say, but for some reason, her eyes and cheeks both now started to burn at his words.
"I didn't want you to be with me just because of that," he continued. "You should be free to choose who you want to be with, not forced into a relationship because of my meddling."
Naruto then felt a dainty hand on his cheek and reluctantly looked her in the eyes when she beckoned him to do so… and when he did, all he could see was her loving gaze, tears of joy streaming down her bright red cheeks.
"My… silly Lord," she said with a giggle. "I frankly don't give a damn why I love you; I don't give a damn what you changed; this is me now and that's what matters. I love you with all my heart… and all you've done is make me love you even more."
"Ah…'' Naruto rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "I… I kinda feel silly, now."
"You should…" Albedo whispered, leaning closer, "but I forgive you, my love~!" And with that she pulled him into a deep, ravenous kiss, her eyes fluttering shut as Naruto put up no resistance. She mewled into his lips, her tongue slipping into his mouth, and with that… Naruto simply couldn't hold back any longer.
He came down onto her like a force of nature; Albedo's necklace was the first thing he removed, tearing it off with nary a care in the world; then, he pulled down her dress and freed those immaculate breasts, pawing and fondling them as he forced Albedo's tongue back into her mouth with his own.
Then, he pulled her dress down the rest of the way, letting it pool around her ankles, and caressed Albedo's lower lips; the succubus put up no resistance whatsoever as she spread those gorgeous legs enticingly. Of course she wasn't wearing anything underneath. She was a succubus; what use did she have for undergarments other than to tease men within the bedroom?
Albedo couldn't take it anymore! Almost immediately after he cupped her groin, she hopped up, wrapped her legs around him and brought him down with a mighty flap of her wings. (13)
Naruto yelped and shuddered pleasantly at her aggressiveness. Then, before even realizing that he'd whipped his dick out, the youko was already rubbing the tip against her dripping maidenhood. And then, he sank into her.
Albedo's eyes rolled back and she let loose a whorish moan into his lips. And then, he pushed deeper… and deeper… and deeper. Not once had their passionate kiss been broken up to this point, but when he started stretching her so painfully good, she couldn't help but throw her head back and voice her lewd delight.
He was just… so big~!
By the time he bottomed out inside of her, she was already broken; they hadn't even started, and yet she was ruined for any other man the instant she felt those swollen balls press against her.
Albedo pulled him closer with her arms and legs; there was no escape, now; he was going to fuck her good and proper if she had anything to say about it… and Naruto was more than happy to oblige.
So, he started to move almost immediately, his pace slow and steady at first. But, soon enough, the sound of their groins slapping and Albedo's cries of pleasure could be heard all the way from Carne Village and the construction site further up north.
Naruto snarled, wrapping his arms and tails tightly around her, as he literally pounded Albedo's fine ass into the ground. Literal weeks of holding back, of sexual frustration, were channeled into each and every thrust; her moans and wailing were like music to his ears and the tight embrace of her inner walls made his balls churn with delight.
And when the time came, he didn't even bother asking for permission; the thought hadn't even crossed his mind, in fact, and he didn't need to anyway. In that moment, neither of them cared one bit about anything but giving into their carnal desire to mate and so, he slammed hard into her with a grunt and bust a nut within Albedo's ravenous folds. His lips mashed against hers once more as he swallowed her wail, his orgasm triggering Albedo's own.
Her juices gushed forth, coating his loins and her inner walls milked him for all he was worth; Naruto, meanwhile thrust into her with each and every spurt, filling her honeypot with his essence, making damn sure his seed would be spilled as deep within her as possible; again and again, shot after shot flooded the woman's loins as she greedily accepted every last drop. But when the flow finally abated, Naruto was at it again; they weren't done yet! He and Albedo still had some catching up to do and the succubus gleefully took it in stride.
Needless to say, it would be well into the evening by the time he and his limping fiancee finally left that thicket… (14)
DMS Notes and Trivia:
1: Yeaaah, I wasn't at all subtle about "Boudicca's" identity, hence my self-deprecating humor at her introduction. XD
AdV: Can't wait for people to start getting confused about which Kushina is which. It'll happen, I know it will :P. Though I can't remember if adding her was your idea or mine.
DMS: You're the one who… inspired me to add her at the very least. I don't remember if you actively convinced me to do so or not, but you are most certainly the reason she's here.
AdV: Probably actively… mainly because I thought up Mito and couldn't resist, hur-dur-dur...
2: I'm a big fan of the attention to detail, here.
The reason swords need sheethes or scabbards is to protect them from the elements, so having an enchantment that does that for you means it doesn't need such an item or to be oiled on occasion, which the lizardmen presumably wouldn't know to do.
Keeping the blade nice and sharp is another issue that they'd otherwise face, so props to Maruyama-san for those enchantments existing. I was very pleasantly surprised.
3: It's just so cute! I absolutely adore writing her!
4: I simply couldn't help but use that DBZA Mr Popo line; seems like something she'd say, lol.
5: Speaking of Tayuya, she was just such an absolute treat to write in general. XD I need to have her play a major role in more fanfics.
AdV: You're fucking welcome =3.
6: Given that this is still Naruto, it's not hard to picture him being oblivious to certain romantic cues and such, at least at first. He does get better, though, as I'm sure y'all would've guessed, lol.
AdV: And so it begins... 'Gotta fuck em all!'
7: Naruto's probably not going to be a helicopter dad in this one, but I could definitely see him being paranoid about his baby girls' collective safety.
AdV: At least he doesn't have to scare the boys away… yet.
8: Was Piki just a nickname? I dunno. O.o Again, kinda relying on bad translations, here, lol.
9: Like father, like daughter, eh? I could see her having Naruto's love for mischief. Tayuya, too, though hers would be a bit more… mean spirited, I'm sure, lol.
AdV: She's awesome like that.
10: ...This cannot end well. XD
AdV: He-He-he...
11: I mean, she'd probably be more affected by this "failure" than her canon one.
12: Is it weird that I'm picturing Sakura yelling "damn it, Naruto"?
13: I just love implementing the extra appendages a lady has into the lemons I write and I'm an absolute sucker for seeing it in other people's works. Be it horns, tails, wings (like what we see here), or what have you, I just can't help but wanna… utilize such advantages, y'know?
AdV: Hmmm… Now I'm curious what a Starcraft lemon would be like xD. Queen of Blades, ohohoho.
14: While editing this chapter, I was listening to some Cradle of Filth… specifically Cruelty and the Beast, one of my favorite albums of all time. And, as if on cue, Venus in Fear started playing when I got to this lemon. That was… quite amusing, I must say. XD
Parting Note: Well, that was eventful, lol. Hope y'all like it!
The next updates for this fanfic and The Mirran are scheduled for the 19th. After that, the next updates should take place on the 2nd of next month. Until then! :)