Chapter 3: The Floor Guardians
Hackslashbash: Reuploaded 30/08/2019.
"I have come to fetch you, My Lady," called Demiurge as she was lost in her thoughts. She had promised Demiurge that she would be back in five minutes. But it seemed that she had lost track of time. The sky was simply too beautiful, and the landscape equally so.
It was wonderful to be able to see all of this with her own eyes.
Tiamat sheepishly smiled at him, "Sorry Demiurge, I lost track of time. The sky was simply too pretty to not be admired."
"I believe that no sky is as beautiful as you are, My Lady."
"Gosh, when did you become such a flirt Demiurge," she joked.
"It is only natural to appreciate the beauty in front of me, My Lady."
Tiamat looked at him, prepared to give another clap-back, but one look into his gemstone eyes and she could tell he was being serious.
Back IRL, she was so fucking ugly, and never had any pleasant experience with men in her entire life.
Tiamat was basically her escape. Everything she ever wanted to be, but would never get the chance to. Someone beautiful, but strong enough to withstand all attacks.
Because of her appearance, she never had any experiences with relationships that were not platonic and had basically zero immunity to flirting. It caused her to blush far too easily around such flirtatious remarks. She could feel him shaking with happiness over his own comment.
'That smug demon…'
That was why when Demiurge said she was beautiful, she felt a little bit dejected. Who he mentioned as beautiful was Tiamat. Basically just a skin of who she really was and she wondered, 'If I showed him my real appearance would he still tell me that I'm beautiful?'
The answer showed itself almost immediately as soon as she finished asking herself.
He wouldn't.
Forcing the unpleasant thoughts to the back of her head, they descended to the entrance of Nazarick.
There was another thing she wanted to try, but she had never went to the room before, so she had no idea what to visualize.
"Demiurge, have you finished making your rounds on this floor?" she asked.
"No, My Lady. Wrath and Jealousy are patrolling as we speak."
Tiamat hummed in acknowledgment. Wrath and Jealousy were high level demons, moreover if anything were to happen, she would immediately teleport to the first floor.
"Would you mind helping me, Demiurge?"
"Anything, My Lady!" He wagged his tail in excitement. Throughout his existence he had never received an order from Lady Tiamat. This would be the first, truly an occasion worth celebrating.
"It's embarrassing, but I've never visited the kitchens before. Can you take me there? Then you can go on your way."
"It would be an honor, My Lady." He bowed and immediately went to her left, offering his hand for me to take.
_(:D」)
Demiurge took her to the Ninth Floor, leading her to the cafeteria where the homunculi maids usually had their meals. There, Tiamat was greeted by Sous-Chef.
"Lady Tiamat, Demiurge-sama, welcome to the kitchen."
"Hello Sous-Chef," she greeted back. She turned to Demiurge, "Thank you for escorting me here Demiurge, you may return now."
"My Lady, I have a selfish request," he hesitated as he laid his hand on top of his heart.
Demiurge looked at her like a dejected puppy. What sort of request would be considered so selfish that he would make such an expression…
"Well that depends on the request, Demiurge," she answered him fairly. While it was true she would accept most of the Floor Guardians' requests if they asked her, she obviously could not carry out requests outside of her abilities.
"May I escort you back to the Sixth Floor as well?"
The heck? That wasn't selfish at all! Demiurge and her were needed in the meeting on the Sixth Floor after all; wouldn't it make sense if they went there together?
"But what about the rounds?" Tiamat asked him. He had been given a job by Momonga afterall. If his request would cause a disturbance to Momonga's order, then it would make sense for me to reject it.
"I have received a message that both Wrath and Jealousy have finished patrolling the first floor. All that is left is to convene on the Sixth Floor as per instructions," he explained.
Oh, well then him accompanying her should be fine. "Okay, sure. I don't mind," she shrugged.
He beamed at her happily, tail wagging left and right in excitement. She cupped her hand over mouth to let out a small giggle. It was true that he had an impassive face most of the time, but his tail would always betray what he was feeling.
After calming down a bit, she turned back to Sous-Chef. "I want to borrow the kitchen for a few minutes, would that be possible?"
"Of course, Lady Tia-"
"My Lady," Demiurge interrupted, standing up straighter than a bamboo stick. "The kitchen is not a place for the Supreme Beings, if you want, you can ask the kitchen staff to have your meals delivered to your chambers."
"It's fine Demiurge, I just want to try something."
Sous-Chef looked at Demiurge for confirmation. Demiurge gave a slight nod, and finally Sous-Chef showed the way to the kitchen. He asked the kitchen staff to stand back for a few moments as they entered.
"I'm sorry, I promise that it's just going to be for a few minutes." She felt really sorry for imposing. It felt a bit uncomfortable for them to have to stop their activities just for her.
Now, what to do…
After giving it a brief thought, she looked at Sous-Chef, "Can you please grab me flour, eggs, sugar, milk, baking powder, and salt?"
"Are you going to cook, My Lady?" Demiurge asked incredulously.
"Yes, I want to conduct some experiments for myself."
"My Lady, your word is law. You can just ask anyone in this kitchen to do it for you. You don't have to soil your hands..." he pleaded.
"I don't think so," Tiamat firmly replied.
Right at that moment, Sous-Chef returned with basket abundantly filled with the ingredients that she had asked for. Seeing that Demiurge was trying to convince her otherwise, she beat him to it. "How about we compromise, Demiurge?"
"A compromise?" He asked, curious.
"Yes. You will allow me to cook, and then you can escort me to the Sixth Floor. Plus, I'll give you a portion of what I cook if it turns out to be delicious. If I don't cook today, then you can't escort me to the Sixth Floor. Will you accept my selfish request?" she lightheartedly repeated the statement he had used earlier.
Demiurge thought for a while, smirking while he did so. His Supreme Being was such a devious Goddess. He wouldn't be able to refuse, especially since she turned his own word against him.
He would gladly eat any poison his Goddess concocted and even carve out his own flesh if she requested it as an ingredient. Moreover, to receive a dish made by a Supreme Being! How could he resist? If she was this generous, how would she reward him if he did a job well done? Thinking about it made him shudder in religious ecstasy.
His grin stretched from ear to ear as he bowed deeply. The price of one dish was insignificant compared to letting him stand by her side, even for a short while. "It would be an honor, My Lady," he accepted.
Tiamt nodded, happy that he compromised with her. "That settles it then. If you're worried about me hurting myself, you can relax Demiurge. I will ask Sous-Chef to handle the knives." As a former Chef/Baker, she could understand the sentimental importance of knives in the kitchen. Especially if it was a personal knife. She assumed the cooks in Nazarick held the same sentiment.
Demiurge didn't have to know, but she wanted to check whether it was possible to gain new job classes pass the level cap. Was the level cap in this world the same as in YGGDRASIL, or was there no limit to one's growth at all?
The skill that she was aiming for was the Cook job class from YGGDRASIL. She knew the recipe of the dish she wanted to bake since she owned a bakery before, but could she cook without having the job classes for it? That was the question that she desired to answer. Moreover, would it be possible for her to exceed the level one-hundred limit?
She grabbed the nearest bowl, filling it with flour, eggs, and milk before whisking them together until the mixture became smooth. Then she added baking powder, sugar, and a pinch of salt to improve the flavor.
After that was done, she asked Sous-Chef to cut some strawberries and to get her a small bowl of honey.
The strawberries here looked very different than IRL; they were much more red and plumper, compared to the IRL strawberries that were usually freeze dried and definitely not fresh.
Tiamat had never tasted fresh strawberries before, and out of curiosity, after Sous-Chef finished cutting them, she popped one slice into her mouth, just to find out what fresh strawberries tasted like and whether the new world had a sense of taste.
The flavor of fresh strawberry burst in her mouth.
It was tangy, sweet, and juicy. Delicious.
So, all of the five senses worked in the new world.
Then she went to the stove. This was the moment of truth. She could make the batter, but could she cook it? Or would a mangled mess be the result?
She grabbed a pan, doused it in a little bit of oil, and covered the whole pan with it. Then she poured the batter in the pan.
Christ, she really hoped this experiment of hers worked out; cooking and baking were her guilty pleasures. It was the only way for her to destress after a long day.
Tiamat flipped over the pancake, transferred it to a plate and repeated the whole process. She made doubly sure that she got the shapes, colors, and sizes as uniform as possible. After a few minutes, she got a whole bunch of pancakes. Surprisingly, even though she had no levels in Cook, the pancakes all looked pretty decent.
Now for the real test. The flavor.
She scrapped the leftover batter from the bowl with a spoon and cooked them on the pan. The size was smaller and its shape was mangled, but that didn't bother her since she was eating this one.
Once the scraps were done, Tiamat blew on it to cool it down, and prepared her heart. If this didn't work, she would have to find another hobby. Investing more time in learning how to sew children's clothes for Aura and Mare may be a good pass time.
'Speaking of which, I shouldn't have made so many pancakes before making sure I can actually cook...' Tiamat internally grimaced at the thought of wasting so much food.
She took a bite out of the pancake.
It was a little bit crunchy because of its smaller size, but it was good! It was sweet but not overbearingly sweet. The salt definitely enhanced the flavor and the baking powder made the pancakes fluffier.
It worked! She could cook!
She opened her stats in excitement, and was a little bit disappointed when she noticed that she didn't go up a level or gain a new job class.
Maybe it worked after she performed an action repeatedly? This was her first time cooking after all.
Level grinding was necessary in other skills. Perhaps that applied for the Cook job class as well.
Tiamat grabbed two separate plates, and transfer two pieces of pancake to each plate, poured honey over them and garnished them with strawberries.
"Here Sous-Chef, thank you for letting me borrow the kitchen."
"M-My Lady! For you to cook a meal for me, how generous of you!"
She ignored him. Their attitudes were getting overbearing at this rate, since they seemed to praise even the very ground she walked on.
'It's just pancakes. It's nothing special…'
"Here's your portion, Demiurge," she gave Demiurge the other plate. "The rest of the kitchen staff, as well, please help yourselves," she invited them to eat the rest of the pancakes she had made.
They looked at her in awe, or-a small part of her hoped- it was just that the pancakes were that awesome. After years of baking she could definitely guarantee the flavor. But none of them reached out to take a bite of the pancakes.
"Perhaps sweet pancakes aren't to your liking? Would you like a savory one instead?"
"Lady Tiamat! No, this is enough. To have a Supreme Being cook for us... it's like a dream come true," Sous-Chef hurriedly replied.
So it wasn't that they disliked it. They just didn't want to eat them because they thought it would be a waste. They wanted the pancakes to be on display forever. When would they get another chance to receive a dish that the Supreme Being cooked for them?
"Hm, this is troubling. You want to eat it, but you also don't want to," Tiamat thought for a while.
"Should I give it to the others instead?"
If they didn't want to eat the pancakes, she was planning on packing them and giving them to Momonga instead to check whether the undead had sense of taste, or she would just eat them all. After all, it seemed like a waste of ingredients if she were to throw them away.
Jealousy ran through their veins. They wanted to be the first ones to taste the cooking of a Supreme Being!
"N-no! W-we'll eat them Lady Tiamat!" shouted one of the kitchen staff. One of them immediately took a bite out of the dish she had made and looked like she rose up to the heavens at the wonders of its taste.
'They're definitely exaggerating...right? There's no way my pancakes are that good,' Tiamat sweatdropped.
Soon, everyone started to scramble for the pancakes and Tiamat watched on with a smile, glad that everyone enjoyed her cooking.
"Well then, everyone, please enjoy your meal. You too Demiurge, take some time to eat them. I'm just gonna sit in the cafeteria and message Momonga about what I've found."
After that day, the tale of Tiamat's cooking spread like wildfire throughout Nazarick. Those who had eaten her pancakes sang praises about how generous Lady Tiamat was and what a delight her cooking was, all just from the simplest ingredients. Those who listened were filled with envy and desperately hoped that they would get to taste the Supreme Being's cooking in the future.
_(:D」)
She messaged Momonga.
[Momo-chan~]
[Hn, what is it Tiamat-san?]
[I can cook in this place!]
[W-what? But you're already level one hundred! Did you receive a job class for it?] Ainz's surprise leaked into his voice.
[No, I just cooked a pancake, there were no notifications about a new job class. Maybe I should grind the skill for a bit to see if I can get it.]
[Umu...this is interesting news.]
[I know right! Just imagine the possibilities! I could be this chef-tank support character!]
[Please don't recklessly spend levels like that Tiamat-san... Anyways, most of the Floor Guardians have arrived at the Sixth Floor. We only need to wait for Demiurge and Albedo.]
[Ok Momo-chan. Demiurge is with me in the Ninth Floor kitchen. We'll go there ASAP.]
[I'll send Albedo to fetch the two of you.]
(:D」)
Not long after, Demiurge finished eating the pancakes. "My Lady, thank you for the meal."
"It was no problem, Demiurge. Besides, I love cooking! If you want to eat anything, just ask me."
"I do not wish to be imposing," he mentioned.
"It's no problem, as long as Nazarick has the ingredients for it. But I don't cook humans," she joked at him.
He smiled and nodded, "Then next time, would you forgive my selfishness?" he asked.
"Of course, Demiurge," she replied to him confidently. Tiamat knew that he was equipped with a 『Ring of Sustenance』 that would eliminate hunger and fatigue.
But that was no good.
To do a job well, a person had to eat three meals a day and get enough rest. At least she would see to it that Demiurge ate nutritious meals and got adequate sleep.
Soon Albedo arrived to fetch the two.
"Lady Tiamat," she bowed. "Demiurge. Your presence is requested at the Sixth Floor Arena."
"Thank you, Albedo," Demiurge answered for her. "Shall we, My Lady."
He offered his hand to the Dragoness who took it as they walked through the portal which led to the Sixth Floor.
Teleportation was truly great. They got to travel anywhere in an instant. Imagine walking up the stairs from the Ninth Floor to the Sixth Floor. She would probably be out of breath.
With Albedo leading the way, they walked to where everyone else had gathered. Even from a distance, Tiamat could sense the powerful presence of Momonga and the Floor Guardians.
It was hard to miss Cocytus with his large build and bright icy blue color. The next Floor Guardian she saw was Shalltear with her purple parasoul bickering with Aura while Mare was watching and fumbling by his sister's side.
As she thought…
Tiamat clenched her hand, unable to reign in her emotions. Noticing her gritted teeth, Demiurge paused and asked her if everything was okay.
Unable to respond, Tiamat gave a strained smile and tersely nodded her head.
Because obviously everything wasn't okay.
Before they walked out into the center of the Arena, she excused herself from Demiurge for a moment, telling him and Albedo that she would catch up with them as soon as possible.
Tiamat knew they were concerned but she really needed a minute for herself. The two made sure that she was really alright before leaving to join Momonga at the center of the Arena.
As soon as they were halfway there, Tiamat moved back a little bit into one of the corridors and punched the wall in front of her with a surprising amount of force.
Of course, even with this newfound strength, her punch didn't affect anything since her physical attack was basically non-existent.
She threw punch after punch, pounding the wall over and over again. She just couldn't calm down.
'As I thought, as I thought…'
"As I thought Aura and Mare are the cutest in the entire world!"
Tiamat looked again around the corridor into the center of the Arena and her eyes landed once again on the dark elves. Their heterochromic eyes were mesmerizing and absolutely lovely. Their soft plump cheeks were basically begging to be pinched.
Once again she was unable to control her adoration for them. Tiamat was there with Bukubukuchagama when the pink slime was deciding on their appearance and personality. From that moment, they immediately captivated her heart.
Tiamat punched the wall a few more times to let out some steam and took a deep breath. After some time had passed, she finally calmed down and dusted her hands before slowly walking up to the group.
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting," she apologized.
"It's. No. Problem. My. Lady." replied Cocytus.
"My Supreme Being, Lady Tiamat~ How I missed you so! I was wondering where you went~" Shalltear brushed against Tiamat's waist and threw herself at her with a huge hug and started nuzzling her stomach.
Tiamat laughed brushed Shalltear's hair with her hand. "I've made you wait, huh?" she laid her hand upon her cold cheeks. Shalltear hugged her even tighter.
Tiamat continued petting Shalltear on the head. They were seriously so cuuuuuute!
"Welcome to the floor that we guard Lady Tiamat!" Aura jumped towards her, eyes twinkling in excitement. "Say something Mare!" she hissed towards her twin, who was hiding behind Cocytus.
"It's. Not. Polite. To. Not. Give. Your. Greetings. To. Our. Lady. Mare." Cocytus chided him. Mare looked even more flustered.
Mare tried looking Tiamat in the eye, but to no avail; he was just too shy to be able to do so. Tiamat patiently waited for him with a smile, but her heart was beating a thousand times per minute.
Truly…
'CUTE IS JUSTICE!'
Demiurge nudged Mare towards her direction, and Shalltear finally let go of her, letting the shy dark elf give her his greeting. Even though Shalltear always bickered with Aura, she was kind enough to give the twins an opportunity to speak with the Supreme Being.
Truly, they were adorable children.
As a reward for her consideration, Tiamat patted Shalltear's head one last time before the Vampire went over to Cocytus's side.
"A-ano... W-welcome, L-lady Tiamat to the Sixth Floor that we g-guard," Mare said softly, still afraid to meet her eyes.
Tiamat's heart skipped a beat.
'S-so cute!'
"I'm happy to see you two," she said when she finally got over their overwhelming charm. "Thank you Aura. Thank you Mare."
She wanted to pet their heads like she just did to Shalltear. But Mare was too scared of her right now.
If she just pet Aura on her head, Mare might get jealous.
Tiamat kept smiling at them. Ah, how she wanted to create clothes for them! Maybe a red dress for Aura, and a green vest for Mare. They were gonna look absolutely lovely.
But she decided to take things slowly.
In very-very small steps, at least until Mare was comfortable with her.
After Tiamat finished saying her greetings to the twins, she wanted to walk back to Momonga. However, Mare looked at her as if he wanted to say something, because he kept glancing at her and the floor.
"Is there something you need, Mare?" she asked him gently.
Mare was a little surprised when he heard the Supreme Being called his name. His expression twisted as he struggled to overcome his shyness.
But in the end he gathered his courage, "A-ano, are you a-alright, Lady Tiamat? T-the last time w-we saw you, you h-had been c-crying. U-um I j-just wanted to know if you're o-okay..." he finished as his eyes looked like he was on the verge of tears.
Ah, she couldn't contain it anymore.
Tiamat quickly kneeled in front of Aura and Mare and pulled them into a tight embrace. Aura's head lay on her left shoulder, and Mare on her right while her head which was between the two of them snuggled their cheeks. From the corner of her eyes she saw Momo-chan with what she swore was a wry smile.
'A-ADORABLE! SO ADORABLE!'
'FUCK GOING SLOW. CHARGE ALL THE WAY! TWIN MAXIMIZE CHARGER AT ITS BEST!'
Bless you Bukubuku-chan!
Their eyes widened at the intimate act of Lady Tiamat. Their big blue and green eyes opened wide as they looked at the rest of the Floor Guardians, seemingly asking everyone through their gaze to ask what was wrong with their Lady.
Never in their lives had they had a Supreme Being hug them so warmly. Not even their creator, Bukubukuchagama had given them a hug.
Their hearts swelled in happiness. Was it really alright to impose upon their Supreme Being like this?
Lord Momonga had allowed them to prove themselves before him by defeating his Primal Fire Elemental. Moreover, he had given them water to drink when they were thirsty.
Now they received a tender loving hug from their Lady.
Were they allowed to receive so much love from their Supreme Beings? Were they allowed to feel this happy?
"My Lady," Aura, the braver of the twins asked first. "Did we do something wrong?"
Ahh... Too cute. Tiamat couldn't stop herself from grinning. She let go of them and beamed with happiness. Their eyes grew even wider when they looked at her.
Their eyes were gonna fall out.
"I'm just really happy to see that you both care about my well being. Thank you very much," then she proceeded to pat their heads. She must've scared them with her sudden actions because their innocent eyes were already tearing up. Even Mare occasionally directed a scared glance towards her.
Come to think of it, her character Tiamat had never smiled before. To show emotions to each other, players would usually send emojis. Maybe she had a really scary smile?
Finally, Momonga called for her, "Tiamat-san, please stop cuddling the twins and come here."
Tiamat cleared her throat and quickly stood up, sending an apologetic gaze towards the twins for scaring them. She promised in her head that she would control her desire to not immediately succumb to cute and adorable creatures!
"Hai, hai..."
Tiamat put on her poker face and pretended that nothing ever happened. It was then she noticed that Momonga's despair aura was leaking all over the place.
'What the hell Momo-chan? You're going to scare all of them."
From her left, she noticed that someone was walking towards the center of the Arena. When she looked back, it turned out to be Sebas who had just finished his scouting. He then flawlessly got himself in line with the other Floor Guardians.
The Guardians instantly ceased their chatter and formed a horizontal line before her and Momonga. To them, the current her who erased all emotions from her expression had completely killed the happy and joyful mood from before.
Her perfectly tranquil face was the face of a Supreme Being.
The current her had to perfectly support Momonga, especially now that the 'game' had become 'reality'. He was the guild leader and she was his member. She could share her opinions, but the last decision fell to Momonga.
Of course, Momo-chan was a big softie so there was nothing to worry about there.
"You all did well to gather here. Thank you," Momonga said to the Floor Guardians.
Albedo raised her head, her voice like honey in the air. "Your thanks are wasted upon us. We here have all pledged ourselves to you."
"Lord Momonga, you may find us lacking. However, we vow to work hard and live up to the expectations of the Supreme Beings who created us."
"We vow this to you."
"Now, everyone. To our Supreme Leaders, the ritual of fidelity."
All the Guardians had solemn, respectful expressions. They showed no sign of playing around.
Shalltear, who stood on one end of the line, stepped forward. "Shalltear Bloodfallen, Guardian of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Floors, presents herself to the Masters," She fell to one knee, one hand pressed against her chest, and bowed deeply.
After that, Cocytus stepped forward and said, "Cocytus. Guardian. Of. The. 5th. Floor. Presents. Himself. To. The. Masters." Much like Shalltear had, he knelt before Momonga and Tiamat like a vassal before his lords.
Then, it was the twin dark elves' turn, "Guardian of the 6th Floor, Aura Bella Fiora, presents herself to the Masters."
"Al-also a Guardian of the 6th Floor, Mare Bello Fiore, presents himself to the Masters." They knelt respectfully and lowered their heads to Momonga and her. The way they knelt was identical.
After that, Demiurge advanced in a dignified manner. "The Guardian of the 7th Floor, Demiurge, presents himself to the Masters." Following his crisp words, Demiurge went to one knee in a graceful descent, as though expressing his heart through his actions.
Finally, Albedo stepped forward as well.
"The Guardian Overseer Albedo presents herself to the Masters," She smiled and knelt like the other Guardians. However, Albedo continued speaking in a high and clear voice as she delivered her vow to Momonga.
"With the exception of the 4th Floor Guardian Gargantua and the 8th Floor Guardian Victim, all the Floor Guardians are gathered before you. Thus, do we offer up our utmost loyalty to the Masters."
Even though the only cold aura here belonged to Cocytus, Tiamat felt a chill run down her spine as she heard them give their pledge of loyalty to Momonga and her.
Moreover, she had already saw Demiurge's loyalty from before. But instead of feeling the obvious cringe over the whole situation, she somehow felt happy and proud.
So happy that a small smile escaped her lips, which didn't go unnoticed by the Floor Guardians. Even without her realizing, she had granted them the greatest honor.
"Wonderful, Floor Guardians!" Momonga spread his arms out wide, "I am confident that all of you will be able to fulfill your duties without fail!"
"Now then, right now the Great Tomb of Nazarick is caught up in an unknown situation, and I already had Sebas survey our surroundings…"
With Momonga's nod, the head butler lifted his head to speak. "Completely different from the swamps that surrounded the Great Tomb of Nazarick, I could not confirm a single building, human, or monster in an eleven-kilometer radius. The Tomb is instead surrounded by grasslands."
"Good work, Sebas."
The meeting continued with the defense plan of the Tomb as well as the plan to hide Nazarick from plain sight. Tiamat took it upon herself to think about the Floor Guardians.
Even without Momonga commanding them, they had decided on the best course of action to run Nazarick, as well as the defense plan which was the product of Albedo and Demiurge, the two brightest minds in Nazarick. They accomplished a ridiculous amount even with the limited information they had.
NPC's taking actions or offering advice was something that was not available in YGGDRASIL.
Spectating the conversation amongst the Floor Guardians and Momonga had confirmed her hypothesis.
This new world was their current reality and the NPCs had become sentient. Even down to the lowest leveled staff of the Tomb of Nazarick.
This could be dangerous.
Even though they offered us their loyalty, the fact doesn't change that they were now living beings.
Does this mean that they were also equipped with free will? What was the probability that they would continue to be loyal to Nazarick?
'What… what if they betray us…?'
If they found their guild members and they decided to leave Ainz Ooal Gown, would the NPCs follow their creators or remain loyal to Nazarick?
Tiamat didn't have an NPC since she didn't want Ulbert and Tabula to nag her on the min-maxing of her NPC and its role. And Momonga was the leader of Ainz Ooal Gown, the possibility of his betrayal was much lower than hers…
Then she glanced at the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown on her left ring finger. Even though she hadn't tried them at all, the ring itself had proven that items from YGGDRASIL worked in this world.
Her eyes widened in realization. World Item... there was a possibility that World Items worked in this reality as well.
She glanced at Momonga in concern. It was good that Momonga was a collector, and therefore pushed the guild to have the highest amount of World Items throughout YGGDRASIL. Even so, she didn't know what World Items he didn't have. There were a lot of unsolved mysteries in YGGDRASIL afterall.
Tiamat frowned at the thought. She would need to have a serious talk with Momonga about this later.
Another sigh escaped her lips. So much to do, so little time.
Suddenly, her ears perked up at what Momonga said, "Finally, I have a question for the Guardians. First of all, Shalltear! what kind of people are Tiamat and I to you?"
What? She stared shockingly at Momonga, where did that come from?!
She looked up and gazed longingly at him. "Lord Momonga, you are the incarnation of beauty, the most beautiful creature of all Nazarick! While Lady Tiamat is the most radiant of all Dragons. Her beauty shines like gems in my eyes."
Tiamat could feel her blood rushing to her face and ears as she blushed in response to the heartfelt compliment.
The fact that Shalltear didn't even pause to think about her answers added to Tiamat's embarrassment.
'Why are you doing this Momo-chan!' she wailed internally.
Ignorant of his friend's plight, Momonga continued. "Cocytus."
"Lord. Momonga. Who. Is. Mightier. Than. All. The. Guardians. And. Deserving. Of. The. Title. Of. The. Supreme. Overlord. Of. The. Great. Tomb. Of. Nazarick. Lady. Tiamat. The. Most. Gracious. And. The. Protector. Of. Nazarick."
"Aura."
"Merciful leaders with great foresight."
Tiamat's hand slowly tightened in discomfort.
"Mare."
"A-ah, very kind S-supreme Beings."
"Demiurge."
"A wise leader who acts decisively. Truly, Lord Momonga is a man worthy of the title inscrutable. Lady Tiamat is a Supreme Being who is kind, loving, and attentive towards the citizens of Nazarick and Supreme Beings."
Her hand slowly formed into a tight fist.
She didn't deserve those titles.
"Sebas."
"The one responsible for assembling all the Supreme Beings. In addition, the merciful leaders who did not abandon us, but stayed by our side until the very end."
"And finally, Albedo."
"You, Lord Momonga who rules over the Supreme Beings, and our highest, most exalted master. Lady Tiamat, you are the most important pillar of support to us, and to Lord Momonga, for standing by him when no one else would."
Hearing their words of praises made her want to cry. She was definitely not someone who deserved to bask in such unwavering love and loyalty.
Tiamat wanted to return their love, their loyalty. Instead of them saying that they wanted to be by our side, it was her who didn't deserve to have such wonderful people as comrades.
Honesty was necessary to establish loyalty. They had pledged themselves to be loyal, so in turn she had to be honest. "I am not someone deserving of such compliments," Tiamat said out-loud, feeling an anxiety attack as she said so.
"My Lady!" they yelled, clearly disappointed with her reply.
"I don't know about Momonga, but I'm still lacking in a lot of areas. I may be a Supreme Being, but that doesn't mean I'm perfect. I'm not as smart as Momo-chan or Demiurge in strategy, and I can't handle Administrative work as well as Albedo," she could feel their burning gazes towards her, and she turned her head away in shame.
"I cannot wield swords as well as Cocytus, nor can I tame beasts and throw spells like Aura and Mare. Moreover, I also can't destroy someone with my fists like Sebas."
"Lady Tiamat/My Lady!" the Floor Guardians shouted in horror.
Even Momonga put his hand on her shoulder.
"Please My Lady," Demiurge begged as he bowed deeper, followed by the other Floor Guardians.
"Do not put yourself down like that. It's true that Lord Momonga has unrivaled intellect, but that doesn't mean that you are any lesser than him." Tiamat thought she heard a light snort from Momonga.
"In fact, it is what sets you apart from the other Supreme Beings. You may believe that you are not well versed in a lot of things. But you have made it up through a lot of things such as your compassion and love towards unworthy beings like us." Aura and Mare nodded their heads in agreement.
"May my creator forgive me, but I would choose the Masters who stayed with us until the end than those who left us behind." Demiurge's hand was clutching his heart. He clenched and unclenched his hand as he wrinkled his suit.
A rush of blood ran up to her face, secretly happy at the Demon's declaration and her tail that was hidden by her dress wagged up and down.
The rest of the Floor Guardians seemed to agree with his statement as they refrained from commenting. In fact their eyes were lit up like puppies waiting for treats and she could see Demiurge and Cocytus wagging their tails expectantly.
There was nothing more that she could ask of the Floor Guardians as they had already given her their unconditional loyalty. Now she felt really bad for doubting them in the first place.
But sadness still lingered in her heart. Not because of her inadequacy as a Supreme Being, but for the Floor Guardians.
They felt like they've been abandoned.
Tiamat knew that the members of Ainz Ooal Gown didn't abandoned them or the guild. Real life simply caught up to them, but she knew it was hard for Momonga to accept that fact. It must be even harder for the Floor Guardians who didn't know anything.
She furiously blinked the tears back from her eyes.
This was no time for crying. They needed her.
They needed Tiamat, the Goddess of Dragons.
She steeled her resolve, "T-thank you Demiurge, and the other Guardians as well" she smiled sincerely at all of them, and then to Momonga.
Then she looked at each and every one of them in their eyes. "That is why, today I promise you and all those in Nazarick! I will not abandon you. Not now, not ever. I will not forget your sadness and guilt. And even if I die..." she closed her eyes, praying deep in her heart that such an outcome would not happen to anyone she cared about.
"I will fight Hel, the Goddess of Death herself and open up the gates of hell to drag all of you back here. No matter how many times it would take me!"
Tiamat smiled at all of them, and they smiled back to her in return. Their Lady was too honest with her feelings; they could feel the sincerity in her words that caused devotion to bloom warmly in their hearts.
It would be impertinent for them to assume that she loved them, all of them. But how could they not thought of it that way, when she made such an ardent declaration?
"After all," Tiamat continued, as she put her hand on top of Momonga's skeletal palm that was resting on her shoulder and gave them her biggest grin, "You're all stuck with me now!"
"My Lady/Lady Tiamat!" was the heartfelt cry of their adorable Floor Guardians.
Momonga nodded to her and patted her hand. "Well said."
