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Collection of Ashurbanipal
Volume XLI: Tiamat: The Goddess of Dragons, A Myth
Chapter III: Wanderer
She limped across the deathfields of Helheim.
To her this much pain was nothing. It was nothing compared to the pain of being abandoned by her dearest brothers and sisters once their cursed father banished her.
None of them lifted a claw to help her as she begged for them to stand by her.
She had to learn to do everything on her own, until one day she met someone she would eventually come to call friend.
A silent sob wracked the dragon's body as she thought back to how she got into such a situation.
Her friend had asked for help in retrieving an ancient artifact in the forsaken lands. They had transversed across countless unforgiving realms in search of the item.
Their search had led them across the myriad lands of the World Tree; even the strongholds of the humans.
Finally, they found the artifact in the undead infested territory of Helheim.
They fought with tooth and nail through the untiring horde, struggling to reach the grail they had so desperately looked for.
At long last, the horde was vanquished. The impossible was done.
Her friend reached out for the goal they had so tirelessly fought for.
An arrow infused with celestial power pierced her hand. The friend cried out in pain, looking around in panic for the source of the arrow.
Tiamat, for that was the dragon's name, looked up.
Above them, sneering, was a host of angels bearing the banner of "Seraphim".
The two tried to defend themselves from the onslaught of holy magic that only immortals could wield.
Their efforts were in vain. Even the might of the dragon and her fight was like chaff in the angelic maelstrom.
In her last moments, the dragon's friend pushed her out of the way.
"Live," her friend whispered, smiling as even her atoms were incinerated.
Tiamat wept as she ran away. Far, far away from the friend who sacrificed herself for her.
They had spent their time together, for both had been casted away and deemed worthless. The ruthless world they dwelled in became much more bearable with the other by their side.
But now that friend was dead.
The dragon sobbed in grief, having lost something that could never be recovered.
Chapter 21: Trust Exercise
Zaryusu tightly held onto Crusch as their eyes trailed after the Goddess who flew away.
They watched as she slowly landed on the surface of the lake and they watched as the Undead King's entourage eyed her. Weirdly enough, the bizarre group's eyes held no animosity as they looked at her.
Instead, Zaryusu was the first one to be vaguely aware that their animosity was directed at them.
Just then, Shasuryu spoke up.
"I'm sorry…"
Zaryusu was shocked to hear those words.
"What are you sorry for, Ani-ja?"
"I'm sorry for being an incapable leader. I know just how much you resent me by saying that we need to run away."
"Ani-ja, I understand. What use is pride when there is not a single man left?"
Even if they ran away, the tribe could still survive and fight. The shame would be the loss of the opportunity that had been presented before them. As long as they took that, from his point of view, he would have no regrets even if he died.
Zaryusu was a traveller. He had been prepared for death and there would be no regret in his death either. His death wouldn't harm the unity of the Lizardmen.
"Even so, I'm sorry."
The two of them saw when the Goddess finally arrived at the center of the lake, just in front of the boulder.
When she finally reached the stairway of the undead which led to the throne, they had expected the Undead to initiate the conversation.
Among many species, there was a practice of superior beings overlooking inferior ones. The Undead God undeniably sat atop the boulder because of his disdain for them.
It was clear that it had no intention to speak to her on even terms.
From the moment the array of enemies had piled up in front of them, Zaryusu concluded that their prior victory held no meaning whatsoever and was nothing more than child's play to the enemy.
Even so, she still walked towards her impending death with her head high. There was no hesitation in her stride; it was as if she was showing him every last inch of the dignity she possessed.
There was no response. The Undead merely swiveled his head to regard her from atop his throne, eyeing her with no reservation whatsoever. There was no sign that he was going to do anything at all.
The person who finally spoke was the Demoness with jet black hair.
"Our master feels you have not adopted a sufficiently respectful listening posture," she said, her voice heard throughout the entire clearing.
Zaryusu who was listening intently opened his jaw wide with disbelief
"W-What?"
"—Demiurge," she called out to the tailed being who looked like a human male.
"Kneel."
Zaryusu and Shasuryu suddenly fell to their knees, along with the rest of the warriors who were standing up. Their heads sunk into the ground as they lost control over their bodies.
The cold mud caked their bodies as they tried to resist the inevitable.
They could not stand. No matter how hard they tried, their bodies would not budge an inch. It was as though a pair of huge invisible hands were pressing the freedom out of their bodies.
"Do not resist."
In the instant that all-powerful voice filtered into their ears again, Zaryusu and Shasuryu felt as though their bodies had suddenly grown an additional brain—an organ that received commands from the voice and forced their bodies to obey.
He saw the powerless forms of his tribesmen kneeling pathetically in the mud, but from the corners of his eyes, he could see the Goddess standing tall, completely unaffected.
It seemed that the tailed man was irked by that fact, and he ordered once again.
"Kneel!"
The Lizardmen's heads were buried even deeper into the ground, and all of them felt as if they were being crushed. Children cried under the intense pressure as their mothers could only watch in torment.
Seeing that his mysterious power could not bind the Goddess, he clicked his tongue in annoyance and looked at the Goddess intently.
"I said Kne—"
"That is enough," the Undead finally said.
The tailed man bowed and returned to his previous position.
"What are you doing here, Tiamat?" he asked, his orbs flared red as if he was disturbed by her very presence.
'So she wasn't lying about her name…' Zaryusu thought as his entire body was pressed against the cold ground.
"You know why I'm here…" she softly said to him, her tone carrying a hint of sadness.
Zaryusu knew that speaking up would be unwise, so he kept his mouth shut as he listened to their conversation.
"Leave, or you'll end up like them," the Death God threatened, a dreadful aura emitting from his being.
The Lizardmen struggled harder upon hearing those words.
Zaryusu could see in front of them that even the Dragon the Goddess had brought with her had a hard time standing. Although it didn't drop to the ground like they did, he could see that it was definitely struggling to keep itself upright in the face of the Death God's presence.
"I won't leave," she said firmly. "I promised them that I would give them my protection."
"Why?"
"They are mine now. They have sworn to devote themselves to me."
At those words, the silver haired girl behind the Death God frowned, while the demoness's smile grew wider as her eyes burned in otherworldly fury. One of the twins almost jumped over the boulder only to be stopped by the feminine looking one. The insect let out a cold breath and the tailed man only raised his glasses.
Perhaps they were displeased that the Goddess spoke to their master without any honorifics?
But Zaryusu remembered when the Goddess said they were old friends.
The Undead continued speaking.
"Even though you know about the catastrophe that is about to befall them?"
As Zaryusu heard the Death God's question, a deep seated sense of despair filled him like it was the end of the world.
Even though he didn't know what kind of catastrophe would fall upon them, he could only conclude that the disaster must be big enough that the Ruler of Death himself would bother to show them mercy and decide to end them early rather than let them suffer.
A calamity so great that a god decided to dispatch his army.
Straining his muscles against the mysterious power that was holding him down on the ground, Zaryusu struggled to lift his neck to behold the army that was arrayed in a grand display.
Perhaps they should die instead…
"Z-Zaryusu…" Crusch who was on the floor next to him moaned his name in pain.
Slowly, he looked at his mate.
Her eyes were slowly tearing up from fear and thoughts of what the Undead would do to them.
But he could see it in Crusch's eyes.
The glowing fighting spirit within those red eyes, as if to say, even if they had to run away to survive, she would gladly do so.
A sense of shame washed over Zaryusu.
How could he decide on his own that they deserved to die? What gave him the right to do that?
When the Goddess was negotiating with the Ruler of Death, he himself had decided that it would be best if they all died.
It was pathetic.
He was pathetic.
"I will not surrender," the Goddess's voice rang out with clarity.
The weight of her words were so strong that they washed away all the negative thoughts in his mind
'That's right...I still have a future with Crusch, a future where we can be together.'
"There are other ways to avoid the coming catastrophe besides a massacre. Since they're now part of my brood, I will take care of them as if they were my own," as the Goddess said that, some of the Death God's entourage hissed with displeasure. Despite the clear hostility, she continued, "If you want to lay your hands on them...well, you'll have to go through me first."
Silence rang in the air.
Suddenly, someone laughed. A laugh so sadistic and cruel that Zaryusu shivered in fear. He twisted his head to look up at the source of the voice only to see the Undead laughing uproariously as if he had heard something hilarious, only to stop suddenly.
"You think you stand against my army?" he replied callously. "You, who are standing here by yourself, you think you can accomplish such a feat?" he pointed his bony fingers at her.
Zaryusu and Shasuryu were so shocked that they could not speak.
It was clear that the only reason why the Undead was not attacking them was because of the presence of the Goddess. He hadn't even seen them as something threatening in the first place.
They were going up against someone with power to bend the world to his whims. No wonder why the Goddess had told them to run away…
This was the kind of mighty being who was their opponent.
Zaryusu gritted his teeth.
They were weak, so weak. How arrogant he was to think that no one could defeat the Lizardmen tribe when they were all united.
But despite all that, the Goddess flapped her wings in a burst of speed and flew upwards, almost eye to eye with the Undead who was sitting on his throne.
And then he felt the air heating up.
"『Invocation of Esh-Baal』," he heard the Goddess whisper as a wave of flames washed over the lake.
The fire, however, didn't reach them.
The golden light bathed the entire lake, and the ice gently cracked as it combined with the water beneath it. The rising water reached some of the Lizardmen, but had not risen enough to submerge them. The fire had been reflected in the water, and its surface reflected the radiance even more.
The scene in front of them was beautiful despite the terror they felt.
"I don't know if I'll succeed, but I will die trying. Wouldn't I be the greatest gift of all to you if I die? You'll finally have someone to stay by your side forever."
Zaryusu looked at the Goddess in shock, wondering what her words meant.
The Undead God froze in his throne for a moment, seemingly as shocked as Zaryusu.
The two deities stared at each other, the overwhelming might of their existences pressing down on Zaryusu in a way he had never felt, until the Undead God finally spoke to the Goddess.
"I will give you a year. If you can improve their quality of life within that time, I will spare them all," he said, waving a hand over their prone forms, and the Lizardmen could feel the tension being released from their bodies. "I will assign my trusted aide to overlook your progress. Cocytus, step up."
"Yes. Master." the blue monster said.
"I only need six months," their Goddess said confidently.
"Hmph, don't be too arrogant. I'd love to see you put up some resistance. It would be boring if you fail afterall. Victory comes far too easily for me," the Undead said with a scoff.
Zaryusu cursed in his heart.
It was as if the Death God knew that the Goddess would fail.
However, she didn't say a word.
"If that is all you wish to say then I look forward to the events in six months time," the Undead said casually. "I'll see you when the first flower bloom in the fields. Watching them is your favorite past time after all—『Gate』."
Having said his piece, the Undead waved his hand and and a hemisphere of darkness appeared in front of the throne while the Dragoness scoffed.
'What a dramatic line.' She thought to herself.
"Farewell, Lizardmen," the Skeletal Overlord stepped through the gate to the abyss.
His entourage followed him into the hemisphere.
"Releasing Control. It seems that we will meet again, Goddess-sama," The tailed man bowed as if he was familiar with her.
Finally, the tailed man stepped into the darkness. There was a gentle sound, and the force binding them vanished.
Zaryusu and Shasuryu remained kneeling in the mud where they had been abandoned, without the strength to even stand up.
The trauma they had just experienced exceeded by far any physical pain they may have felt.
But they survived.
"W-We did it…" Crusch was the first one to speak, tears glistening in her eyes. "We survived…?"
The Goddess turned around to look at them.
"Yes, we did," she said with a smile. "Well done, children."
Exclamations of joy spread across the Lizardmen as relief and happiness mixed into one. Mothers hugged their children with a sense of gratefulness, happy that they could spend another day with their loved ones, and the husbands enveloped their entire families in a hug.
But there was one person in particular that they had to thank.
"Thank you, Goddess-sama!"
"Goddess-sama!"
"We are very grateful to you!"
They started kneeling to the ground in respect to her. If she wasn't here, who would have known what could've happened to them.
"Please, do not thank me. From this point onward we have a lot of work to do," she pulled one of the Lizardmen up to stand but they fell to the ground again in reverence.
Zaryusu shakily rose to his feet and prostrated himself before her. Crusch hurriedly rushed to follow suit.
Even though she had single-handedly negotiated with such a scary opponent, she didn't falter, she didn't give up, but most importantly, she wasn't arrogant.
She, who was so small compared to the Lizardmen, carried the pride of the Lizardmen on her back.
Something that even he could not do in the face of fear.
Zaryusu fully understood now.
The being in front of him was nothing less than a god.
"Goddess-sama..."
Zaryusu felt her look away uncomfortably from their postures, as if she was unused to the worship.
Seriously, what a humble Goddess.
"Please grant the Lizardmen prosperity."
"Please accept our eternal loyalty," they all said together. Their resolute voices echoed through the silent marsh.
(o´・ω・`)ノ
Tiamat spent the rest of her day with Titus, the chief librarian. The smell of books comforted her as Titus led the way to the section of the library containing books about raising fish among the wide collection of Ashurbanipal.
"Thank you, Titus."
"T'was my honor," and with that he took her to a table before leaving her alone to read.
Tiamat looked at the title of the book: Manual Fish Farm Construction, a 2012 edition and proceeded to skim through the entire thing.
From what she read, they only required simple equipment such as picks, hoes, and shovels; all things she could create with 『Create Lesser Item』or with assistance from blacksmith to create those items if necessary.
The size of the farm shouldn't exceed four-hundred square meters, small enough that the Lizardmen and her could finish digging it out in a day.
But from what she had read, it seemed that this only related to individual fish farms instead of feeding an entire village. She needed to make bigger plans it seemed.
Once she finished reading the book, she went to find Ainz in his office. Teleporting by using the 『Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown』, she finally landed in the familiar room.
"Hm, Tia?" Ainz looked up from his paperwork. "Do you need something?"
Ainz was sitting at his usual desk accompanied by Albedo by his side. Tiamat's eyes trailed to the side, looking at the stacks of paper he had on his desk, and saw that he was busy.
"Err, sorry," Tiamat said, feeling apologetic. "I didn't realize you were preoccupied. I'm going to come back lat—"
"No, it's fine," he said firmly, putting his quill down, giving her his undivided attention. "What do you need?"
Tiamat eyed Albedo, and once Albedo gave her a gentle nod, telling her that it was alright, she approached his desk, standing to his left.
"I was looking for ways to fix the food shortage problem for the Lizardmen village. I think we could make a fish farm to solve this issue."
Ainz eyed the book, taking it in his hand, and skimmed through the entire tome in a blitz.
"It seems that it would take some time to construct this. How do you plan to solve the current food shortage issue until this is made?"
Tiamat thought long and hard.
"Maybe I could ask the blacksmith to build some sort of net so that Pentakrisis could fish, and drop the fish at the village?"
"I think that would be hard to do. It would waste a lot of time for the blacksmith to build a net, especially if they need food for now," he enunciated.
"Ah, you're right…" Tiamat realized. "There's always 『Create Greater Item』, but I think it would be a waste to use it on a net that will only be used once in a while."
"As long as the item could be of use to Nazarick, then its fine. But there is no activity within Nazarick that requires the use of net," Ainz looked at Albedo.
"That's right, Ainz-sama. Seeing that a net has a very specific use, I would assume that it would be more useful at the Lizardmen village instead of Nazarick," she confirmed.
Tiamat put a hand on her chin, "Hmm, how can we feed them until we finished building the fish farms…" she pondered.
Ainz crosses his arm, thinking of the same thing.
"An item that is useful to Nazarick, that can feed the Lizardmen for a certain period of time, without wasting Nazarick's resources…" Tiamat continued.
Albedo just watched, smiling from the sidelines.
Tiamat looked at Ainz who was also thinking hard on how they could solve the issue. He raised his fingers to his skeletal chin, deep in thought. His eyes flickered every once in a while as he thought of the countless things he had collected in YGGDRASIL.
"Since you're a collector, don't you have any items that could generate food or something?" she asked.
Her mind wandered to the first instance she entered Ainz's room. It was a mess. Gold coins, items, and swords were strewn everywhere inside the room. It was impossible for her to see the bed cover because of how much stuff he had.
It seemed that he left his collection displayed in his room, but never had the time to actually organize them.
Tiamat couldn't stand clutter, that was why she decided to do a spring cleaning specifically for Ainz's room. Inspired by her eagerness, all forty-one homunculi maids decided to join in, cleaning the entirety of Nazarick except for the Treasury, and with that, Nazarick looked like it was brand new.
Gone was the mud from the swamps; each marble tile was polished until it glowed. It was as if the Great Tomb of Nazarick had gone through a rebirth.
The event will later led to a tradition where the maids did Spring Cleaning at least once a year.
"After you cleaned my room, I've been having difficulty finding my stuff. But I do think I have an item that is perfect for the Lizardmen. The only problem now is to find where you put it."
"What is it?"
"『Dagda's Cauldron』."
Tiamat was dumbstruck. "There's an item like that in YGGDRASIL?"
"It was a cash item I got from the gacha," Ainz explained. "It would be useful if we ever need to replenish Nazarick's food supplies, but we have to sacrifice a gold coin to use this item."
"A YGGDRASIL gold coin or any kind of gold coin?"
Ainz pondered for a while, "I don't know, we'll have to try it out."
"Okay then, what does it look like?
"It's a cauldron."
Tiamat deadpanned.
"Are you serious? You don't even remember the basic shape of the cauldron? The color? The size?"
"I honestly can't remember."
She could feel the amusement dripping from his voice.
"Are you angry I touched your stuff?" Tiamat asked, confused by his attitude. She knew Ainz could be sassy if he wanted to, but she was curious as to the cause of his...behaviour.
He shook his head, "Angry? No. Irked perhaps. After all, because of you I find it hard to find the items I need."
"My God, you're so spoiled," Tiamat huffed with a smile. She knows Ainz was just messing with her. "Can't you just ask the maid to help look for your stuff?"
"Why should I when you were the one who moved them in the first place?" he challenged.
Tiamat sighed, "Fine, I won't touch them next time."
"You touching them isn't the problem, but if you do, please tell me beforehand."
"I did, but I guess you were dozing off doing paperwork when I told you," Tiamat smirked.
"Oi…" Ainz eyed Albedo warily. He didn't want the Floor Guardians to think that being a guild master was a boring job.
Tiamat giggled at the thought, while Ainz just cleared his non-existent throat.
"With that being said, Albedo, let's leave Ainz to do his job alone. By himself. Without your help," Tiamat smiled sinisterly, "And look for the cauldron in Ainz's room together!"
Albedo jolted at the sudden request as a smile grew on her face. "It'll be a pleasure, My Lady."
Ainz sighed, dejected that he couldn't get a rise out of his Draconic friend. "Yeah, yeah. Just find it quick. I need Albedo to help with Nazarick's Administrative matters."
In the end, it only took Albedo and Tiamat a few minutes to find the cauldron in one of Ainz's cupboards.
Albedo insisted on carrying the cauldron, and placed it on top of the table, the heavy container landing with a dull thump.
The cauldron was smaller than they expected. Tiamat thought it would be as big as a witch's cauldron, heavy and imposing. But this one was shaped like a bowl with carvings on the outside and appeared to be bottomless on the inside.
"A single coin you say?" Tiamat asked while looking to her right where Ainz was sitting in his chair, remembering what he had said previously.
Ainz looked at the Cauldron with interest, "That's right."
The Dragoness huffed, "You should have told me that we had this item in the first place. If you did, I wouldn't have bothered cooking the monster meat from that Pandemonium."
"As I said, it was a gacha item, and seeing that Nazarick had no use for food previously, the thought simply didn't register for me."
Tiamat looked at the cauldron again, inserting her right hand into her sleeve, accessing her inventory. She grabbed two gold coins. One was the first gold coin from the head of the Carne Village, and the second one was a YGGDRASIL gold coin.
"By the way," Ainz asked, "Where did all your adventuring money go?"
"I give it all to Albedo," she simply said.
"How much?"
"Er...I didn't count. I just take jobs and leave. How much did I give you, Albedo?"
"Four platinum coins, forty-one gold coins, three silver coins, and eight copper coins. The money has already been circulated throughout Nazarick, ranging from the salaries of the staff within Nazarick, food expenses, and research materials. The rest of the funds are kept for emergencies and to be saved for another day," Albedo swiftly explained.
Ainz's jaw dropped open as his entire body was briefly tinged in green. "That much? Just how many jobs did you do?"
"Hmm…" Tiamat pondered for a bit, her hand beneath her chin, "Recently I only did two Adamantite quests. The subjugation of monsters after the Pandemonium, and returning the Quagoas. Even though I returned the Quagoas mission back to the guild, they still decided to pay me for it. Before that was the Pandemonium mission, which I got Adamantite and a ton of money from. And before that I just did some low ranking jobs here and there."
"How many did you do?"
"I think I cleaned out the entire board. I kind of remember the Guild Master saying something about fifty three quests in total? I honestly didn't count. Pandemonium was considered an Adamantite quest because of its severity, and the monster and quagoas makes my quest count fifty six in total."
Ainz looked as if he was dumbfounded.
"What?" Tiamat innocently asked.
"Fifty three quests…in a week?"
"Yeah, I joined in with a few low ranking teams here and there. I didn't even sleep after that just so that I could be worthy of Mythril," Tiamat remembered.
Her rise as an Adventurer was actually controversial to some Adventurers before the Pandemonium incident. She heard from Antonios that her rising to Mythril actually sparked unsavory rumors where they mentioned that she was seducing Ainzach or something.
She shuddered at the thought.
It was Ainzach who gave her the Charm Potion, and saying disturbing stuff.
And she was the one marked as the seductress?
Hell no.
That was why she pushed back the Pandemonium for a week. All so that she could get her reputation back up.
Now that she was Adamantite, things were getting better. She was viewed more positively compared to before, and she got to stay in the Shining Golden Pavilion which was way better than the first inn she had visited.
She shook away the pain and suffering of those days. It was all in the past now, so she shouldn't dwell on it any longer.
"Anyways, why do you ask?"
"Four platinum coins from just three Adamantite quests?" he muttered. "What the fuck?" He was once again covered in a green sheen.
"Eh?"
Ainz sighed, completely dejected. No wonder she was more well-known than he was. Who wouldn't be after clearing that many quests in a single week? "And here I am, running wildly for a quest or two while getting half the amount of money you get for your quests."
Tiamat patted his shoulder, "Don't worry about it Momo-chan. If you were running around trying to earn money, then who would take care of Nazarick? Just leave all the income stuff to me!" she proudly pounded her chest.
Ainz coughed as his body glowed an emerald hue. "A-Anyways, I think you should try inputting the local currency."
At her friend's suggestion, Tiamat decided to put the misshapen gold coin from the New World into the Cauldron.
When she did, the bottomless pit of the Cauldron seemed to swallow the whole coin. There was no sound of scraping metal signifying that the coin had landed on the bottom of the bowl; it was deadly silent, as if the coin was swallowed whole.
The whole room watched the Cauldron with interest.
After a few moments, nothing happened.
"I think it's broken," Tiamat broke the silence.
"Nonsense. Gacha items have no durability."
"Either it's broken, or I broke it by putting the New World gold coin in there. Perhaps it only works with YGGDRASIL coins?"
"Then try putting that inside," Ainz suggested.
As she was about to put the intricately carved coinage inside the cauldron, her hand was hit by a flying fish that flew out of the abyss within the cauldron.
"Jävla Fitta!" she shouted reflexively, jumping away from the Cauldron to hide behind Ainz.
"It works," Ainz said matter-of-factly.
"Fffffff, that scared me."
Ainz tilted his head to look down on Tiamat who was hiding behind his right side while tightly clutching his purple robe. Somehow, he felt a sense of loss when she slowly released it from her grasp.
The cold draft within his body returned.
"I never realized you had such a potty mouth," he quipped.
"S-Shush," Tiamat tried to silence him, "It's great that it worked, but…" she looked at the mess on her desk.
Fish was flying everywhere, covering the entire table, and some even flopped away onto the carpet.
When she had travelled to the market near the sea of the Kingdom, she had passed through multiple fish sellers and her nose had furrowed in disgust at the smell.
She never imagined that fish could smell that way. That was why she had been avoiding eating or cooking fish.
Preparing to block her nostrils with the palm of her hand, she stopped when she realized that the fish before her didn't smell so bad.
The distinct smell of ammonia was absent from these fishies.
Ainz immediately went to work.
"Albedo, tell Sous-Chef to store half of these fishes for Nazarick, and tell Cocytus to transport the rest of the Lizardmen."
"Yes, Ainz-sama," Albedo bowed before pulling out a scroll to use 『Message』.
"Well, that worked out pretty well," Tiamat commented.
"We're fortunate that I hoard everything," Ainz joked as she gave him a raised eyebrow.
"Next time, clean your room yourself."
(o´・ω・`)ノ
A mist of chilly air froze the green grass.
Cocytus was walking towards the Sixth Floor hoping that one of the Supreme Beings was on the Sixth Floor, spending her time with the twins as usual.
He walked through the dark corridor of the arena, and was greeted with the screech of Lady Tiamat's baby dragons who noticed the arrival of a newcomer within their territory.
It was his first time seeing Lady Tiamat's baby dragons. He was well aware of their existence, especially when they were trained personally by Aura herself.
If he was not mistaken, Lady Tiamat had also brought back three other dragons for Aura to play with after they had been resurrected by Pestonya. The female Sixth Floor Guardian did mention that they were easier to handle compared to Lady Tiamat's dragons, and now those three were now residing in the icy tundra that was his floor.
Aura had told the Floor Guardians, bragging to be exact, about how Lady Tiamat trusted her with her summons, and about the pure blood of their species, often mentioning how Jötunheimr dragons were among the best Dragons in existence.
He had saw Pentakrisis, the biggest one of them all, yesterday when facing the Lizardmen, and he have to agree with Aura on the majesty of the Dragon Lady Tiamat commanded.
Their scales were as shiny as a polished sword, impenetrable, and dangerous. In a way, the Dragons acted as weapons for Lady Tiamat, something Cocytus could respect.
"Ah, Cocytus!" Lady Tiamat waved at him from the VIP viewing box of the Arena, and Cocytus broke out of his pondering. He saw Aura and Mare peeking from the box to look at him. He found their childish qualities quite adorable.
Not that he would ever say it in front of them, of course.
Cocytus nodded at the invitation and made his way up to the VIP section.
Even before he arrived, he saw from a distance that they had just finished having lunch. A cloth was laid out on the stone floor, covered by already empty plates and cups. He could even smell the remnants of the baked goods wafting in the air as the delicious aroma of sugar lingered.
His mandibles clicked in jealousy.
If he had more time on his hands, perhaps Lady Tiamat would invite him to one of her outings as well?
"Welcome to the Sixth Floor, Cocytus!" Aura greeted him, her head turned towards his direction as she was still sitting on the floor
"W-Welcome…" Mare said, following his sister's lead.
He exhaled a cold breath in response.
"Have you had lunch, Cocytus?" Lady Tiamat who was sitting in the middle of the twins asked.
"There. Is. No. Need. For. Me. To. Sustain. Myself. My. Lady." he answered politely with a bow, hiding his true intentions.
"Don't say that," Tiamat chastised him gently. "No army can fight on an empty stomach, and no warrior can fight unless he is fit."
Cocytus stopped in his tracks.
What Lady Tiamat said was indeed accurate.
An army was rather delicate. Its equipment was expensive and so were its soldiers. For an army, that meant their first and foremost importance laid in feeding their troops so that they would be able to fight.
Once again, Lady Tiamat surprised him with her infinite wisdom.
"I'll. Keep. That. In. Mind. My. Lady."
Lady Tiamat just smiled at him, causing a twinge of regret to fester in his heart. He should've just told her he wanted to eat too.
"Well then Aura, Mare, it's time for me to go," the Dragoness said to the twins, patting their heads gently.
"Aww, do you really have to go?" Aura asked with a spoiled tone. Not fit for a Floor Guardian of Nazarick, Cocytus thought to himself.
"Of course, me and Cocytus have to go to the Lizardmen village to settle their food problem after all," Lady Tiamat answered, and Cocytus noted that the dragoness didn't get angry at Aura's spoiled request.
"I-I don't like them…" Mare suddenly said, which shocked Cocytus even more.
Was he the only one who saw how great the Lizardmen were?
'Perhaps…'
"That's right! I don't like them either. They are low-levelled monsters anyway!"
Lady Tiamat just softly chuckled.
"Are you jealous?"
The simple question made Aura splutter incoherently and Mare looked away with a burning face.
"O-O-Of course not!" Aura shouted out. "Who'd get jealous of low levelled demi-humans anyways?!"
At Aura's response, Lady Tiamat laughed harder. "W-Why are you so cute?" she said between breaths.
"S-Stop teasing us, M-My Lady."
"Aww," Lady Tiamat bear-hugged the twins, Aura on her right and Mare on her left. "I didn't mean to tease you too. I do think that you're my cute children."
At those words, the twins burned up even more but Cocytus noticed that they seemed to relax in her hold, nuzzling even closer to her warmth.
"I still don't like them," Aura pouted.
"Then," the Dragoness raised her fingers up. "Did you know that the Lizardmen are long distant cousins of Dragons?"
"What?!" Aura exclaimed enthusiastically, even Mare's mismatched eyes looked at the Dragoness in disbelief. "No way, the family tree between Dragons and Lizardmen are waaaaay too different."
"It's possible," she replied. "Besides, if Cocytus praises their worth as a fellow warrior, then I trust him."
Cocytus huffed his breath again at his Lady's generous reply. He didn't deserve the compliment.
"I-I s-see. C-Cocytus is a W-Warrior of Nazarick afterall."
"That's right, Mare!" Tiamat patted his head once again, "Good job."
Mare sheepishly smiled at the simple praise.
"Now, with that said," the Dragoness stood up, "I need to go now, Cocytus has waited long enough, don't you agree?"
Aura and Mare nodded, and stood up as well.
"The preparations are complete, Cocytus?"
"Yes. Ainz-sama. Has. Dispatched. A. Small. Army. At. My. Command. To. Help. With. The. Construction. They. Are. Currently. Waiting. To. Be. Dispatched. Moreover. We. Also. Have. The. Blueprint. Of. The. Fish. Farm. In. Hand."
"Ah, the superior fish farms that Demiurge built was it?" she asked.
"Indeed."
"Alright," Tiamat waved Aura and Mare goodbye. "See you later~!"
"Bye-bye Lady Tiamat!" Aura gave her a big wave.
"And g-good l-luck, Cocytus!" Mare said, waving as well.
The Dragoness walked towards Cocytus, "Shall we?"
The Ruler of Icy Glacier bowed, following behind her.
They walked down from the VIP Arena, and towards the dark corridor. Since Cocytus was not equipped with the 『Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown』, Tiamat had to ask Aureole Omega to open up a portal outside the Arena.
Tiamat waved one last time to the twins with a smile and kissed the baby dragons goodbye as they entered the corridor.
"Lady. Tiamat." Cocytus said once the twins and her dragons couldn't see them anymore.
Tiamat looked back at Cocytus who was walking behind her. With his tall figure, he blocked out the sun, making the corridor a lot darker than it usually was.
"What is it, Cocytus?"
"Do. You. Spend. Your. Lunch. With. Aura. And. Mare. All. The. Time?"
"Hm, not all the time. Sometimes Aura is busy with the Construction inside the Forest of Tob...Oh! Isn't that within your jurisdiction as well?"
Cocytus nodded.
"I also have lunch with whoever is available, like Albedo, and Pandora's Actor."
Cocytus huffed again, "Pandora's. Actor?" he asked.
"Yes! I know you guys don't see each other very often, but he's truly a great child. I can see why Ainz would be proud of him."
Cocytus opened and closed his mandibles, the words stuck in his throat.
"Do you want to ask something?" Tiamat observed.
Cocytus had been...skittish the entire time. His mandibles clacked irregularly, and his eyes didn't blink at the same time. It was as if he was preventing himself from doing something or saying something to her.
"I. I…"
"Are you somehow afraid that I'll get mad?" Tiamat asked.
Seeing as there was no response from Cocytus, Tiamat could only assume that what she said was the truth,
"It's alright, you can ask me anything Cocytus," she reassured him, patting one of his arms like a mother would their child. "What do you want to tell me?"
Tiamat waited, and after a while, Cocytus's mandibles opened.
"Do. You. Think. Ainz-Sama. Is. Disappointed. With. Me. My. Lady?"
"What do you mean?" she tilted her head.
"I. Was. The. One. Who. Wished. To. Save. The. Lizardmen. Yet. I. Relied. On. Demiurge. To. Persuade. You." Cocytus admitted shamefully.
If Demiurge had not helped persuade Lady Tiamat and Ainz-sama, then he would have no opportunity of redeeming himself as a Floor Guardian of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Considering how angry Ainz-sama was at Albedo's blunder, he had hoped that it wouldn't happen to him as well.
"That's it?"
"Excuse. Me?" Cocytus was surprised to hear that Dragoness reply so casually, so surprised that the disrespectful words had escaped his mouth before he could notice.
He had expected her to scold him or something similar. But she answered him nonchalantly, in the same way she treated the twins.
Like a mother to a child.
"Is that it?" Tiamat asked once again, her amethyst eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"...Yes?" Cocytus answered unsurely.
"You're scared that I'll get angry at that?"
"Yes." this time he answered truthfully.
Contrary to what he expected, Lady Tiamat cracked up loud enough that the baby dragons looked at the entrance of the corridor, wondering what was so funny.
Tiamat laughed, "You-you actually think," heave, "I'd get mad at something like that. Gosh."
"M. My. Lady?"
"I never expected that you'd be so adorable."
"I. Am. Afraid. I. Don't. Understand."
"Cocytus," Tiamat slowly explained. "You see, we wanted to merge the Lizardmen into Nazarick as well. The fact that you brought that fact up makes us happy, and even if you didn't make that suggestion, we would still have brought them to Nazarick. So you don't have to worry about anything."
Cocytus was awestruck.
He didn't realize that the Supreme Beings had thought so far ahead.
His head spun as he wondered about how wise their two gods must be to come up with such an intricate plan.
'Sasuga.'
"Is that all?" Tiamat asked with a warm smile.
Cocytus lamely nodded, still astonished.
Tiamat extended her hand for Cocytus to take, "Shall we go then?"
Cocytus took her warm hand in his icy claws, and she led them through the portal.
(o´・ω・`)ノ
"These are all the skeletons Ainz gave us?" she asked
Before her was a mass of around a few hundred skeletons.
Tiamat whistled.
'He's been really busy…'
"Yes." Cocytus dutifully replied.
"Dang, he's going all out, huh?" Tiamat muttered. "In that case, we have to do our best too, Cocytus."
"Yes! My. Lady."
"Alright," Tiamat clapped her hands together. "Skeletons! Walk to the Lizardmen village!"
The skeleton horde suddenly jolted as they began to stiffly walk in the direction of the village.
Tiamat turned back around to gently gaze at Cocytus.
"Cocytus, I know you're worried about Ainz and I abandoning all of you. But I want you to remember this; there is nothing, nothing you can do to make us stop loving all of you," she took a step forward, "So don't worry about that, okay?"
Cocytus quietly nodded. If he could cry, he would have.
He had never felt luckier to serve the two Supreme Beings, the greatest among all existences, and he would do anything to be by their side.
"Well, let's get going then. We have a loooot of work to do."
(o´・ω・`)ノ
Tiamat, Cocytus and their skeletons finally passed through the swamp.
Through her keen eyes, she could see the Lizardmen cleaning the mud away from their area of the lake. One of them caught a hint of her scent, and immediately looked up to see her, and happily waved.
But their smiles quickly turned sour when they saw the army she brought with her, along with the blue monster that seemed to command the army.
They immediately know who he was.
Tiamat could see the warriors rushing to get into formation; even Zaryusu came out with his trusty Frost Pain in hand.
Signalling for Cocytus to stop, she flew ahead to the Lizardmen village.
"Goddess-sama!" Crusch yelled out. "What are they doing here?" she asked, fear etched on every word she said.
The mothers ushered their children inside as they started to cry, reminded of what had happened just a week ago. The rest of the warriors formed a line, preparing to defend themselves from what was about to come.
"Please calm dow—"
"They shouldn't be here!" another one screamed out.
"Children, plea—"
"Do they want to kill us again? After they promised to leave us alone?!"
"Goddess-sama!"
"Goddess-sama, help us!"
"Dragon Goddess-sa—"
"QUIET!"
Tiamat roared loudly. Her voice reverberated throughout the new Lizardmen village, silencing the whole swamp in an instant.
"Listen," she said softly. "They are here to help."
"B-But they're the Ruler of Death's army!"
"Look closer," Tiamat pointed to the army behind her. "They have brought no weapons, nor armors."
The skeletons walked forward bearing various tools: from shovels to picks to more obscure items like a gray cauldron.
The Lizardmen just intently stared at them.
Cocytus, who noticed their stares, bowed politely.
"If you can't differentiate between the evil and those that bear no harm, then you are no warrior."
The Lizardmen were stunned into silence at their Goddess's wisdom.
"Now, please behave," she asked with a strained smile. "They are here to help," she called out to the Blue Warrior.
Cocytus commanded the army to remain where they were and walked towards their Goddess.
"This is Cocytus, the one the Ruler of Death has assigned to watch over our progress," Tiamat introduced him to them.
The Lizardmen were still skeptical.
"In fact, Cocytus comes with a gift, isn't that right Cocytus?" Tiamat winked at him.
Getting what the Dragoness was trying to imply, the Lord of Glaciers quickly answered. "Indeed. My. Master. Had. Asked. Me. To. Give. This. To. You."
He ordered one of the many skeletons with a wheelbarrow to move forward, and once the skeletal soldier pulled away the tarp, they saw mountains of fish laying there, ready to be eaten.
The Lizardmen rejoiced. Finally, starvation would slay them no more.
Even Crusch smiled happily at the prospect of food source, even if it's just for today.
"How do we know that these aren't poisoned?" Zaryusu asked, wary of the gifts from someone who tried to kill them just a few days ago.
"These. Are. The. Gifts. Given. By. My. Master." Cocytus said emotionally. "For. You. To. Say. That. He. Wanted. To. Kill. You. In. Such. An. Underhanded. Way. Is. Insulting." his mandibles clacked aggressively.
The tension between the two was so high that the slightest touch would have been enough for them to go to war.
"Your Master tried to kill us just last week," Zenberu chimed in. "It makes sense if we question what the Undead himself has given us."
"How. Disrespectful."
"We don't need you here, we only need our Goddess!" one of them chimed in, followed with a 'That's right!' in reply.
In the end, the place was filled with angry and panicked shouts once again.
Tiamat sighed, she was never good at dealing with conflict.
'What to do…' she covered her face with her hands.
If she let this be, the Lizardmen would reject any future help that they desperately needed to improve the village. The river's fish supply would not be enough, especially since the Lizardmen tribes had all united.
But if she supported Cocytus, then the Lizardmen will grow distrustful of her, making her and Ainz's previous plans all for naught.
There was only one possible solution.
"Then," she began. She deliberately raised the tone of her voice so it could be heard by both parties involved.
Their attention instantly turned to her. Their gazes burned into her skin, as usual. Afterall, Tiamat was never used to being the center of attention. But this was something she absolutely had to do to ensure the success of their plan.
"Cocytus and I will eat with you too."
A simple enough solution.
If Cocytus refused, then there was a reason for the Lizardmen to distrust the Undead's gifts. But if he agreed, the Lizardmen might give him a chance.
"Alright," Shasuryu who was quiet through all the debate finally spoke up.
"Ani-ja!" Zaryusu protested.
"I see no reason why we shouldn't accept Goddess-sama's proposal. In the end, she did promise to take us under her wings."
Tiamat smiled. Thankfully, there was at least one person who could think logically.
"You'll eat with us, right Cocytus?" Tiamat asked.
Cocytus nodded. "Yes."
"Then it's settled. You can choose which piece for us to eat. Considering how good your sense of smell is, I believe you can spot which one could potentially be poisonous, right?"
Shasuryu nodded, and immediately ordered the representatives of each tribe to choose which fish should be given to both Tiamat and Cocytus.
"I've never eaten fish like this before, so this will be my first time to eat it in Lizardmen style of cooking. I wonder how you're going to present it!"
"You see Goddess-sama, we—"
The platter in front of her was the most horrible thing she had ever seen since coming to Nazarick. Even the inn at E-Rantel didn't serve any kind of quality.
The plate was made out of a pile of some sort of leaf that acts as a plate, where the blood and juices from the fish mixed together as the fluids leaked out of the loosely strewn leaves.
The fish had been boiled whole, without removing their scales. Tiamat could even catch the strong scent of viscera coming from the fish's gaping mouth; a putrid smell that caused her to cover pinch her nose close with her fingers, covered by her long red sleeves.
The fish's eyes stared at her in disdain, and its mouth opened up as if to curse her.
She could even hear it say to her in resignation.
'Why are we still here, just to suffer…'
The other one was cooked over a fire. It was black enough that she almost thought it was charcoal.
The two dishes didn't look appetising.
"I-Is this the way you usually eat your fish?" she asked as she sat together with the Lizardmen on the floor as Cocytus sat next to her.
"Yes. The second one is usually cooked for special occasions, but the first one is a staple across all the Lizardmen Tribes. We usually eat it raw, but considering this is your first time eating fish, we gave you a child's palate instead."
"A-Ah…" Tiamat forced a strained smile. "T-Thank you for being so generous Shasuryu."
Shasuryu nodded and left, sitting down beside his brother.
"Shall. We. Lady. Tiamat?" Cocytus asked, knowing that she was hesitant to eat the dish in front of her.
"O-O-Of course, Cocytus," she said with false cheer, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.
"You. Can. Skip. Out. If. You. Want. My. Lady."
Tiamat looked at him as if he was crazy.
She eyed the Lizardmen warily, especially Crusch and Zaryusu who looked excitedly as their Goddess was about to try their cuisine. Their tails thumped against the ground, and their eyes looked at her expectantly.
'Theyaskyouhowyouareandyouhavetosaythatyou'refinebutyour'renotfineandyoucan'tgetintoitbecausetheywouldneverunderstand.'
"Is there something wrong, Goddess-sama?" Shasuryu asked.
"Hm? N-Nothing," she raised her fingers, ready to pluck the fish in front of her with her hands. "I-Itadakimasu!"
She stabbed the fish's flesh with her fingers, and plucked a small portion. It smelled like the sea port from her first Mythril quest.
Tiamat slowly put the whole piece in her mouth. Slowly, she bit into one of the scales and tried to spit it out, but the Lizardmen and Cocytus were eagerly watching her. Especially the children.
Tiamat shook her head, regaining her bearings. If she were to spit out some of the scales then the children would follow her example, which could develop into a bad habit. She needed to finish what has been given to her.
Mustering all her willpower, she finally swallowed the entire piece of fish, her throat straining as she did so.
"I-It's delicious," she said with a forced smile.
Cocytus watched from the sidelines as Lady Tiamat was actually struggling to eat what had been presented in front of her.
Her poised form trembled in fear, and although her smile eased the Lizardmen, he knew better.
He saw her trembling hands reaching out for the boiled fish laid on some sort of a leaf-like plate on the ground caked with mud.
Truly, this place was not worthy of the Supreme Beings.
But Lady Tiamat still complied with what they asked. If they asked her to sit down, no matter how dirty it was, she sat down. When the baby Lizardmen touched the strands of her hair out of curiosity, she let them do so with a warm smile.
So why was it so hard for her to actually eat the fish that had been served?
Cocytus had heard the rumors that Lady Tiamat was a glutton. Aside from cooking for the denizens of Nazarick, she also ate with them almost everyday despite not needing sustenance.
The Floor Guardians was fine with eating just once a day, but Lady Tiamat made it her mission to make them eat at least three times a day.
Seeing her strained expression as she choked down the fish, Cocytus decided to help.
Afterall, it was him who needed to prove himself in front of the Lizardmen, not Lady Tiamat.
He put his serving into his mouth, as well as Lady Tiamat's portion.
It was not bad, although the taste of the fish was quite strong. He agreed that what Lady Tiamat had cooked was a thousand times better than the fish he had just eaten.
"C-Cocytus, you don't have to finish my portion," she said in hushed whispers.
"It's. Alright. My. Lady. I. Was. Feeling. A. Little. Bit. Hungry." Cocytus said as he tried to comfort his Supreme Being.
Tiamat smiled, as if she knew of his intention, and whispered. "Thank you," to which Cocytus received with a nod.
"It. Is. Indeed. Delicious." Cocytus said with ease.
The Lizardmen watched as the blue monster ate his portion and their Goddess's portion. Either the monster had poison immunity up his sleeves, or he was actually telling the truth.
They had decided that the person called Cocytus was telling them the truth.
Afterall, there's no way the Goddess would do something to harm them.
After some deliberation from the Elders, they decided that the fish given by the Undead was safe to eat, and the Lizardmen rejoiced.
They immediately flocked over to one of the wheelbarrows once they knew that the fish was safe for consumption. It was so hectic that Shasuryu had to force them into multiple lines.
After warily asking Cocytus about the amount of fish that was available, he began evenly distributing them to each family, each receiving the gift gratefully.
Once they made sure that each family had received their share, Zaryusu looked at Cocytus cautiously.
"Did he come here just to bring fish?" Zaryusu curiously asked his Goddess.
Tiamat smiled at him, "You see, he came here because he has a proposition for you, all of you," she stressed the last part.
Zaryusu and Shasuryu listened intently.
Cocytus looked back at Lady Tiamat as if he was unsure, but her tender smile and warm eyes reassured him that everything was going to be alright.
"I. Think. We. Need. A. More. Private. Location." Cocytus said, feeling the Lizardmen's eyes behind him staring at his back while they ate.
Zaryusu looked at his brother for confirmation, and once his brother nodded, he immediately relayed this message back to the both of them.
"I understand. Then, please follow me," he gestured for the tribe leaders to follow.
Zaryusu lead them to the outskirts of the village, near the old cave where he had first discovered his trusty hydra companion Rororo.
"Before we begin," the elderly looking Lizardmen said to Tiamat, "I would like to convey our sincerest gratitude for providing us with food, Goddess-sama."
"Think nothing of it," she swiftly replied. "To be fair, the Ruler of Death was the one who prepared your meal for today. Not me. So it's him you should thank," Tiamat referred to Cocytus.
The elderly one looked shocked, as if in disbelief that the enemy that had desired to kill them only yesterday was now eagerly providing for them. But he wouldn't stain the name of the Lizardmen just because of past grudges.
"Please tell your Master that he has our sincerest gratitude." he bowed.
"I. Will."
Tiamat happily clapped, "Now that's out of the way, as you might know, this person is Cocytus. In fact, he is the one who appealed to the Ruler of Death to save the Lizardmen."
"You. Flatter. Me. Too. Much."
"He's also here to watch our progress for the next six months. As you might remember, he was assigned to watch over this village. Cocytus is an honorable warrior, to use underhanded tactics is beneath him, so you can rest assured," Tiamat tried to ease the Lizardmen leaders.
Judging from their expressions, it seemed that they decided to trust Cocytus for now.
Their postures relaxed and their eyes lit up a bit at her mention that the Blue Insect was a warrior like them. Zenberu especially shifted around in excitement, eager for the chance to prove his strength against a fellow warrior.
Tiamat smiled, as long as there was room for their relationship to grow, even if it was petty rivalry, then everything was fine.
"So, aside from watching us, what is he doing here with that army?" Zaryusu asked.
"They. Are. Not. An. Army. In. Fact. I. Am. Here. To. Help. You. Solve. Your. Food. Crisis." Cocytus handed them a parchment filled with the plans he had made with Demiurge, "Please. Give. This. A. Look. So. That. You'll. Understand."
Zaryusu accepted the parchment warily from Cocytus's arms, and proceeded to read it together with Shasuryu.
Within a few seconds of looking over it, he gasped in surprise.
"T-This is…"
Tiamat smiled. Inscribed on the parchment was a blueprint for one of the fish farms. Although it would obviously not be enough to sustain the entire combined tribe, Ainz had told her to give them a peek of what they were planning.
'The carrot and the stick, huh?' she recalled what Ainz had told her. If the Lizardmen were smart, they would definitely accept the plan, especially since it held no disadvantages for them.
Tiamat and Ainz considered the possibility that the Lizardmen would just steal the Blueprint and make the farm by themselves, but that was impossible. For the plan to work, they needed『Dagda's Cauldron』which was in Cocytus's possession at the moment.
The leaders had no choice but to accept.
"For now, we will leave you alone to decide whether you'll accept Cocytus's help, but remember that we only have six months. Please come to a decision quickly," she stressed. "I'll return tomorrow to hear what you have decided."
And with that she turned around and left, Cocytus following behind her.
"T-Tomorrow? Goddess-sama, that's too soon!" the elder panicked, trying to appeal for more time. They still needed to discuss whether this Cocytus person was safe to be around. Moreover the Goddess had also requested that all the tribes must be present in one location, which would make things harder.
"As I said," she turned back to face them, "We don't have much time. I need your decision by tomorrow. If not, it'll be harder for me to protect you."
They quieted down at the implication behind her words.
"Now, please think things through," she said in a softer tone. "Oh! And by the way, for this plan to work, I need the Lizardmen to combine their tribes into one."
Their eyes boggled.
Years of civil wars and disputes made the Goddess's demand sound ridiculous in their ears.
"That's impossible, Goddess-sama!" Zaryusu protested, "After all, they have their own territory and family to feed."
"It is possible," she simply said, pointing at Zaryusu. "Wasn't it you who managed to unify them in the face of peril? What makes this problem different than the previous one?"
The Goddess stretched her arms out, "When faced with the God of Death himself, you all stood as one. Now, another crisis is at your feet, one that will kill you slowly but surely," she put her arms down as she closed her eyes.
"Will you join arms once more?"
They could not bring themselves to refute their Goddess.
Tiamat saw it: the worry in their faces. The elders especially looked like she had asked her to do the impossible.
Perhaps it was because they had seen so many civil wars between the Lizardmen that they had become unacclimatized with the idea of peace.
"Here's a piece of advice, think not only for yourselves, but for the people around you as well. You're all Lizardmen aren't you? Just because you have different strengths and scales, it doesn't change the fact that you're all inherently the same," Tiamat said.
With that she flew back to where the army of death silently stood as Cocytus gave the elders one last look before turning back to follow her trail.
That night, the Lizardmen held the biggest meeting they had ever had since the Great War. A meeting where all Lizardmen spoke freely and without restraint. Opinions were thrown as much as wine was drunk.
Every Lizardmen Tribe leader said their piece.
Every one of them.
At first they began telling their part of the story, why they had fought each other, and why they were had no choice but to fight, and the reason for that could be boiled down to one cause.
Desperation.
After their war with the Toadmen, the scarcity of food forced them to turn on each other, desperate to feed their tribe, their family.
In the end, they agreed that their Goddess was right. With food now being provided for them as well as the plan that they had just seen, there was no need for them to fight anymore. Afterall, the solution the Goddess had offered them was the solution they should have thought about together instead of against each other.
It was a solution to settle their food insecurity.
A simple enough problem that they should have thought about long before they were divided, but they were blinded by fury, grief, and greed.
When morning came around, they finally came to a decision.
To make a new future under their Goddess, to mark a new chapter in their lives.
A new tribe was formed.
Golden Flame Tribe.
The chosen warriors of the Goddess of Dragons, until the very end.
(o´・ω・`)ノ
Cocytus was worried.
Extremely worried.
As they walked back to Nazarick, Lady Tiamat's complexion grew paler and paler. Eventually, she asked the army to go on ahead, lingering behind as Cocytus worriedly stood beside her.
"Is. There. Something. Wrong. Lady. Tiamat?"
"Hm? N-Nothing, so p-please go on ahead without," burp, her face immediately burned in embarassment "...me."
"Are. You. Sick. My. Lady?"
"Nonononono, I'm not sick, I'm fine! Let's just go back to Nazarick, ha ha ha!" her smile not quite reaching her eyes.
Still skeptical, Cocytus complied, and once they arrived at Nazarick, Tiamat excused herself, saying that he did a good job and that they'll revisit the Lizardmen village tomorrow.
Even before Cocytus could respond, she teleported away.
As he went through the rest of his day, Cocytus's worry for his Lady mounted, and he decided to look for her before the day was over.
He went to the Sixth Floor, but she wasn't there. When he asked the twins, they said she didn't visit that day.
He knocked on Ainz-sama's office, only for Albedo to open the door. When he inquired about the Supreme Being's whereabouts, she shook her head saying that she wasn't here either.
Cocytus walked towards the kitchen, surprising the Homunculi maids who were having their lunch, and asked Sous-Chef about Lady Tiamat, who also shook his head, saying that Lady Tiamat didn't come to the kitchen as well, which was out of the norm.
Where could she be?
There was only one option left.
Her room on the Ninth Floor.
He knocked on the grandiose double doors, and Yuri came out.
"Cocytus-sama, is there anything I can do for you?"
He huffed his breath. "I. Am. Looking. For. Lady. Tiamat."
Yuri raised her glasses, composed as ever. "I believe Lady Tiamat is indisposed for today."
"Did. Something. Happen?"
Yuri looked back inside the room, and Cocytus could hear the faint sound of Lady Tiamat saying something to Yuri. It seemed that she was there.
"Please wait a moment, Cocytus-sama."
Cocytus waited outside the room, and after a few minutes Yuri finally exited the room.
"Lady Tiamat is ill."
"Ill!" Cocytus huffed in surprise.
"Yes. I contacted Albedo-sama just now to look over Lady Tiamat's stats, it seems that she has a debuff called『Nausea』, but thankfully it will be gone in three days time," Yuri explained.
"How. Is. That. Possible?"
Among all of the Supreme Beings of Nazarick, Lady Tiamat had one of the highest defense and resist stats. There was only one possible way that she could have received the debuff.
"Was. She. Attacked?"
"I don't think so. I accompanied Lady Tiamat all day yesterday after Lady Tiamat and Cocytus-sama had returned to Nazarick. It may be presumptuous for me to say this, but did something happen during Cocytus-sama's outings with Lady Tiamat?"
Yuri bowed, knowing that her question might be disrespectful towards a Floor Guardian of Nazarick. But she had to know. She was Yuri Alpha, the oldest of the Pleiades maids, and Lady Tiamat had been assigned under her watch.
"No. One. Attacked. Us. Yesterday."
"I see," Yuri's glasses glinted, as if she knew the truth. "Perhaps it might be just a Dragon thing, Cocytus-sama."
"Perhaps."
"Is there anything else I can help you with, Cocytus-sama?"
"There. Is. No. Need." his mandibles clicked as he was thinking.
Cocytus began formulating a plan since tomorrow was the appointed day where the Lizardmen were supposed to reject or accept his proposal. Perhaps Ainz-sama would allow Pandora's Actor to act once again in Lady Tiamat's stead.
"Thank. You."
"It is my greatest honor, Cocytus-sama," Yuri bowed.
Once Yuri returned, she immediately saw that Ainz-sama was already sitting on the chair next to Lady Tiamat's bed.
Yuri hastily bowed, since she didn't expect Ainz-sama to be there.
From where she stood, she could hear Ainz-sama and Lady Tiamat talking with one another.
"I heard from Albedo," Ainz sighed. From his tone, it was clear that he was worried, "What happened?"
His friend was not her usual self. She should be boisterous and loud, but instead she looked as pale as the sheets beneath her. Her breathing was ragged and heavy. She covered her eyes with the palm of her hand, and even Ainz could see the cold sweat on her arms.
"Ughhhhh. Stahp. No talk. Puke…" Lady Tiamat groaned.
"Should we get Pestonya to heal you?"
Tiamat lamely nodded.
"What happened?"
"No more…"
"No more what?"
"No more fish…"
Ainz shut his jaw, having absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
Thankfully, the debuff could easily be erased using Tiamat's 『Full Cure』, but she was in a state where she couldn't even cast a simple spell.
In the end, Pestonya was called to clear that debuff of hers.
Afterwards, every time Tiamat went to the Lizardmen village, she blocked her nose and brought her hand fan with her.
Whenever she smelled fish, she had an uncontrollable reflex of wanting to puke, something that she had never felt with food before. Ever.
Through the countless years to come, she would always unconsciously hiss whenever she saw fish.
A few days later, she found out that she had gained a permanent debuff called, 『Ichthyophobia』. She was so dumbstruck that she stared at her status screen for more than an hour.
Omake: Cage
"It just doesn't make sense."
Ainz looked at the Dragoness who was sitting next to him in his office and tilted his head.
"I mean, you refused my suggestion to go to the Lizardmen village alone, but you're fine with leaving me after Pandora's Actor had finished persuading the Lizardmen. If you're really worried that I'll get brainwashed like Shalltear, then shouldn't I just stay in Nazarick?"
Ainz continued staring at her.
True. The plan he made didn't make sense.
After Pandora's Actor had returned from persuading the Lizardman, she would be left alone and vulnerable, waiting for him and his army to march to the middle of the lake.
His initial thought was to protect her, most of all, because one: she was his dearest friend who stayed with him, and two, if she were to get brainwashed, she would be extremely bothersome to defeat.
It was also true that to prevent either situation from happening, he could just make her stay inside Nazarick.
If he could have, he would lock her up, making sure that she was safe first and foremost. Just like a bird in a cage.
More like a Dragon in a cage.
He could provide for her; with Lupusregina Beta's relationship with Carne Village, as well as placing Solution and Sebas in the Kingdom, their food supply would effectively never run out.
If she wanted to bake, then he could easily provide the necessary ingredients. She wasn't one to be fussy after all. She never really demanded anything from him.
The only problem he would really have would be his limited finances, seeing that most of the things in Nazarick were run using her Adventuring money.
But he could manage. He could always do more Adamantite quests.
Yet he wouldn't do that.
He couldn't.
He feared that she would hate him.
And he would hate that.
"You need to learn how to interact with other people better," he said, hiding his true intentions.
But he knew that was also a lie.
"Wait, are you saying that my first impressions suck?"
He scoffed, and smiled internally as a sense of nostalgia washed over him.
"Don't you remember your first impression on us?"
"Sshh-shush! Don't say it!"
"You invited us to your cafe, only to embarrass yourself by—"
In a swift but precise movement, Tiamat had covered his jaw with the palm of her hand.
"Suzuki-san," she said in a low voice. A dangerous and hostile aura surrounded her, "Didn't I tell you that a proper gentleman wouldn't take advantage of a woman's vulnerability?"
A sense of fear washed over him at those words; he remembered it, that coffee.
After that, he remembered Hannah had given him a lecture on how to act as a proper gentleman.
But soon his fears were washed away by the ever-present green aura.
He slowly nodded.
"Good," Tiamat replaced her frown with a smile, the hostility gone in an instant. "Let's not embarrass ourselves again, okay?"
He nodded once again, and Tiamat finally let go of his jaw.
Both sighed in relief.
Ainz needed to remind himself that sometimes the person in front of him was not to be underestimated.
Omake: Meanwhile
The maids watched as the Guardian of the First, Second, and Third Floors stood in front of the door that led to the Throne Room.
Their soft whispers were similar to a buzzing bee, loud and annoying.
Shalltear gritted her teeth.
In her hand, she had brought a box that she was unfamiliar with.
A tool box.
The Vampire looked once again at the massive door and gulped, her throat feeling parched even though she had just drank freshly obtained human blood a few hours ago.
She did it out of curiosity, despite not needing any sustenance. The man was dying anyway, and she had never tasted human blood before.
It wouldn't be something she would try for a second time, that was for sure. She had already shamed Nazarick once because of it.
Shalltear turned her attention back towards the task at hand.
The door was intricate, yet simplistic in its design, giving it a much more elegant feel. The light-consuming obsidian door stood in stark contrast with the brilliant gold filigree decorating it.
Even if the door appeared to be simple, if someone looked close enough, they would notice that the gold markings were actually streams of melted gold that ran through all the doors, making the monoliths much more intricate than at first glance.
As expected of the Supreme Beings who designed the holiest of holies.
Such great taste.
Much wow.
However, there was just one imperfection upon the beautiful, elegant, painstakingly-crafted door.
And that was the slight tilt on the right side of the door, making it look asymmetrical.
The door itself didn't sustain any damage, but the hinges however, needed to be repaired.
Shalltear sighed. A vampire of her status being reduced to a repairman was a blow to her massive pride.
Even though she knew it was entirely her fault.
The maids began to whisper once more.
Irritation quickly built up as tick marks started to appear on Shalltear's forehead.
"SCRAM!"
The maids, shocked by the sudden shout, immediately dispersed.
Shalltear sighed once again.
Now that the maids were out of the way, how was she supposed to fix this anyways?
Should she take out the whole door?
Create a new door?
Shalltear shook her head.
No, there was no way she was capable of designing something even greater than what the Supreme Beings had designed previously, let alone replicate the intricate design of the throne door.
"What are you doing, Shalltear?"
A familiar voice came from behind Shalltear. A voice that belonged to one particularly annoying horned woman who thought too much of herself.
Shalltear turned around with a mocking grin, "Why? Are you curious, you wide-mouthed gorilla?"
"Ha? What did you say, you lamprey?!" Albedo roared back, her golden eyes glinting with fury.
"Ara~ I was created to look this way by the Supreme Beings."
"That's the same for me, you know?!"
Shalltear paused. What Albedo had said was irrefutable, and to reject it would be to profane the name of the Supreme Beings.
"True, but they obviously created you to serve as the ugliest of us all," the smol vampire jeered.
Albedo snarled and opened her mouth to spit out a withering retort before an odd look flashed over her face.
"What? So I'm right?" Shalltear pushed forward, a little confused as to why the Succubus didn't rise to her insult.
"Forget it, I didn't come here to argue with you. More importantly, what are you doing to the door?"
Shalltear scrunched her face into a scowl, "Ainz-sama told me my punishment is to fix this door I broke. But how am I supposed to fix something that the Supreme Beings designed themselves?"
Silence filled the air for a moment before Albedo suddenly burst out into laughter.
"a...a-AHAHAHA!"
"W-What's so funny, you virgin?!" Shalltear screeched, flustered.
Albedo finally stopped laughing to look Shalltear in the eye, a snicker still evident on her face.
"You—" wheeze "Y-You actually thought Ainz-sama ordered you to repair the d-door?" her body began convulsing in laughter once more.
"O-Of course! What else could he have ordered?!"
"Whew, I haven't laughed this hard since…" Albedo seemingly ignored her, placing a finger on her chin as she contemplated, "Since yesterday actually, when Lady Tiamat got slapped by a fish…"
Shalltear grinded her teeth as her eye twitched. This idiotic gorilla had the nerve to ignore her and blabber about Lady Tiamat getting slapped by a fish?
"Hurry up and tell me what you mean!" the Vampire jumped onto Albedo's face and began pulling the Succubus's silky black hair.
"A-AH! Get off and I'll tell you!" Albedo yelled as she struggled to pull the screeching lolita off her face.
Shalltear jumped off with a smug grin on her face as she waited for Albedo's answer.
The Overseer took a deep breath in. Usually, she would pummel the lamprey into oblivion for acting like such a savage.
However, a certain someone important to her would be disappointed if she did that.
"Ainz-sama never ordered you to repair the door."
"What?!"
Albedo resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "A portion of your salary was taken to cover the repairs for the door. Ainz-sama never asked you to repair it yourself, idio—" the Overseer cleared her throat, "Shalltear."
"N-No way…" Shalltear let go of her hold of the toolbox as it fell dramatically onto the marble floor with a loud clatter.
'In that case, you will pay for the reparation of the damages on the Throne Room's door.' She suddenly recalled what Ainz-sama had said.
"T-Then why did Lady Tiamat ask to help me?"
"Of course, to help you pay off your debt. Lady Tiamat had asked me to save a certain amount of money for emergencies. I'm guessing that she would help you by giving part of that to help repair the door."
Shalltear's face burst out into a furious crimson.
Not only did she misinterpret Ainz-sama's instructions, Lady Tiamat, the person she hurt the most in the whole situation, was helping her bear her punishment.
Faced with complete and utter humiliation, Shalltear Bloodfallen could only do one thing.
"O-Of course, I knew that all along! I was just here to look at the damage, hmph!" Shalltear quickly turned around and loudly stomped away.
Staring at the rapidly fading back of the Vampire, Albedo shook her head with an amused smile.
"Idiot."
SPECIAL EDITION
Halloween Omake
No one is above the rule of Trick or Treat!
The twins and Tiamat were sitting on the ground of the VIP Arena, but this time, a big burly blue insect had joined them in one of their favorite pastimes.
Tiamat, as usual, was sitting in between the twins: Aura wrapped around her right arm and Mare around her left. One of the baby dragons was laying his head on her lap as he slept to the soft lull of her words and the comforting feel of her hands running across his scales.
However, today was a little bit different from their normal lunch breaks. Today, she decided to tell them of the tales she had heard back on Earth.
"Every night at ten o'clock, on an apartment veranda, a woman wearing a white ballet costume dances gracefully."
"W-What's an a-apartment?" Mare asked, tilting his head in curiosity. He had never heard the word before.
"Veranda, what's that?" Aura continued her brother's question.
"Ballet. Costume," Cocytus huffed, "What. Is. That. Item? Armor?"
Tiamat looked at their expectant faces, waiting for her to answer their question in detail.
"A-Anyways!" she sweatdropped as she decided to move on, "That's why one man kept watching her, night after night."
"O-Oh, I know what B-Ballet is!" Mare excitedly interjected.
"Amazing Mare! What is it, please tell me."
"I-It's a form of dance, Onee-san. They s-stand on their tiptoes and dance with certain gestures."
"Correct, Mare!" Tiamat praised him as she patted his blond tuft.
Mare just smiled sheepishly at the compliment.
"How. Shameful!" Cocytus clacked his mandibles. "Staring. At. A. Lady. Like. A. Knave. Is. Unbecoming. Of. A. Warrior!"
Tiamat giggled, "It's just a story Cocytus! Now, where was I…" Tiamat looked up with a thoughtful expression.
"Ah! Even if it rained, she kept dancing. After months of watching her dance, he wanted to see her up close. So he bought a good camera and zoomed in on her one night."
"Shameful!" the insectoid huffed.
"Camera? What's that?"
"I-I think it's some sort of automatic r-recording device, but I'm not sure."
"Mare, you're so smart! All that reading is paying off, great job!" Tiamat praised him once again.
Mare was beaming so brightly that Tiamat had to squint for a bit.
"Moving on. He realized that she wasn't actually dancing, she was just hung up there by her neck, swinging around for months."
"Woah, that guy is as disgusting as Shalltear," Aura stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"O-Onee-san!"
Tiamat blinked at them and pouted, "Aww, are you guys not scared?"
Cocytus huffed, banging on the floor with his fists, "There. Is. No. Glory. In. Suicide. I. Never. Thought. You. Would. Be. Scared. Of. Such. A. Degrading. Story. My Lady."
"Scared? Why is this scary?" Aura asked, tilting her head.
"Well, when I first heard this story, I was really scared," Tiamat admitted.
Cocytus' mandibles clacked gently, "Why. Did. You. Suddenly. Decide. To. Tell. Us. This. Tale. My. Lady?"
"It's almost Halloween, that's why! But I didn't know that you guys were so brave. As expected of the Floor Guardians," she complimented them with a smile.
"H-Ha-ro-wee-nu?" Mare asked; there was another word he hadn't heard of before. "W-What is that, My Lady?"
"It sounds delicious!" Aura commented.
"Silly Aura," Tiamat pinched Aura's nose, the dark elf wrinkling her eyebrows at the unfamiliar sensation, "Halloween isn't food, it's a celebration. It's where people dress up and ask for sweets. If they don't have sweets, then they get tricks instead!" she excitedly explained.
The Dragoness could see the glint of excitement in Aura's eyes. Her ears raised up, and she began drooling, "Sweets?!"
"Yes, sweets!" Tiamat replied with the same level of eagerness.
"W-Who do we need to ask for t-these sweets from?"
"Anyone!"
Aura gasped, "Anyone?"
Tiamat chuckled, "Yep! And if they don't, you can trick them."
"If. Ainz. Sama. Joined. This. Ha-ro-wee-nu. And. If. He. Doesn't. Give. Us. Sweets. Then. Do. We. Have. To. Trick. Him. As. Well?"
Tiamat smiled at Cocytus, "Of course! Nobody is above the rules of tricks and treats!"
Little did she know that her little statement would cause so much trouble.
Demiurge was a busy demon.
After finishing what paperwork he had in the morning, he went to manage the farm and didn't get a chance to return to Nazarick until later that evening.
As he crossed the threshold to the Great Tomb under the starry sky, he let out a sigh at the thought of all the paperwork he had left, before he furiously shook his head.
'This is all for the sake of Nazarick.'
However, he was pleasantly surprised when he saw Cocytus greeting him at the entrance of Nazarick.
"Demiurge," Cocytus huffed.
"Ah, Cocytus! What a pleasant surprise!" Demiurge exclaimed, "How was your day?"
"I. Went. To. The. Lizardmen. Village. In. The. Morning. And. Went. For. Lunch. With. Lady. Tiamat. As. Well. As. Aura. And. Mare." Cocytus's tail flicked happily at the memory. "I. Want. To. Ask. How. Your. Day. Has. Been. But. Assuming. From. What. You. Said. Last. Night. At. The. Bar. You. Must. Have. Been. Busy."
"You have assumed correctly Cocytus, as expected," Demiurge praised his fellow Floor Guardian.
Cocytus huffed out a long chilly breath. "I. Would. Want. You. To. Rest. However. There. Is. Something. That. I. Need. To. Discuss. With. You."
Demiurge's gemstone eyes glinted; it was rare for him to see Cocytus so distraught.
"Let's discuss this in my office," Demiurge walked forward, contacting Aureole as he did.
[Aureole-san, could you open a portal to the Seventh-Floor?]
[Very well, Demiurge-san. Please stand back a bit.]
The moment Demiurge took a step back, a purple rift opened where he once was.
The Demon walked through the portal, Cocytus trailing after him as they entered the hellish Seventh-Floor.
"Ah, we should probably hurry, Cocytus. The heat might be a bit uncomfortable for you," Demiurge lowered his head apologetically.
"Don't. Worry. About. Me. It. Would. Take. Much. More. To. Bother. Me." Cocytus huffed proudly.
"Is that so? Well, let's move on then."
The two walked in silence across the Seventh-Floor and its hellish scenery, until they finally reached the Burning Temple.
"Please, go on," Demiurge held the titanic doors to the temple open, beckoning for Cocytus to enter.
"Thank. You." Cocytus nodded as he walked in, Demiurge following as he let the door close behind him.
As the two entered the office, Demiurge fell onto the sofa with no small amount of relief, and Cocytus sat across from him—the weight of the insectoid causing the Ruler of Glaciers to sink a bit in the soft material.
"So," Demiurge pushed up his glasses, "What is it that you need to tell me, Cocytus?"
Cocytus's tail flicked, "After. I. Went. To. Lunch. With. Lady. Tiamat. She. Had. Mentioned. An. Interesting. Event. Called. Ha-ro-wee-nu."
"Ha-ro-wee-nu?"
Cocytus huffed a cold breath, "You. Do. Not. Know. What. That. Means. Demiurge?"
Demiurge shook his head, "I'm afraid not, that term is unfamiliar to me. What did Lady Tiamat say?"
And so, Cocytus told him of what had happened during lunch.
"No one is above the law of trick or treat?" Demiurge's eyes trailed away to the ceiling. "I'm afraid I've never heard of that rule before. Perhaps it's something related to the Supreme Beings? A rule that we do not know about."
"Is. That. So."
"This might be worth researching, Cocytus. Come, let us go to Ashurbanipal."
A few hours later...
He finally found it, the source of the mystery behind the event Lady Tiamat had mentioned to Cocytus.
After Cocytus had told him the full story in his office, he had rushed to the library in search of a specific book.
"I found it," Demiurge slammed the thick tome on the table, "I actually found it!"
"Found. What. Demiurge?" Cocytus asked curiously.
"I think this is something that Lord Peroroncino had left to fill the library of Ashurbanipal. This could be a great clue to the Supreme Beings' culture and way of life. Thank you for informing me of this, Cocytus," Demiurge smiled at the insectoid, and Cocytus huffed out a cold mist.
"It. Is. My. Pleasure."
Demiurge continued to flip through the book. Apparently there were rules and guidelines as to how Halloween could be conducted:
Neat Tidbits About Halloween And Sexy Costume Ideas
By: Julianne Geri
Chapter 1: Costumes
It is universally accepted that a person celebrating Halloween would be in search of a decent costume. The tradition began as a religious one, but has since been converted into a fun celebration for grown-ups and kids alike.
Costumes play an integral part in this festival, and I would even go so far as to say that this is one of the most important aspects of this event. If you are not dressing up, that means you are not ready for Halloween.
Seeing as it's the 22nd century, I personally think that it's great that women can get out of their comfort zone a bit and express themselves in less traditional ways; for example, if they want to wear something sexy then that's their choice. However, this is not restricted to just women either. A guy could wear risque and revealing costumes as well. In fact, I even recall a guy who was wearing a thong a few years back...
With that being said, here are a few ideas for costumes that you could wear for Halloween!
As Demiurge flipped through the book, he was surprised at how enlightening Lord Perorocino's possession was.
The first page was filled with a full size picture of a man wearing nothing but a green vest and fabric in the shape of a teapot covering his bottom, his hand clutching the spout that said 'Rub Me!'.
Rasta Imposta Genie in The Lamp.
That was the title of the costume Demiurge was currently looking at.
Demiurge moved his eyes to the next page. It looked like the book was detailing not only male costumes but also female costumes.
Next was the Sexy Sriracha.
A woman was modeling as what he would assume was a Sriracha, but he found nothing sexy about the picture.
Demiurge questioned himself. Perhaps this book was not about the Supreme Beings? Afterall, Ainz-sama had put a lot of fake books in the Library to hide the more important books hidden deep within. Was this perhaps one of them?
The Demon put his fingers on his chin, deep in thought while Cocytus watched his fellow Floor Guardian from the sidelines.
"Did. You. Find. Anything. Demiurge?"
"So far nothing, Cocytus. The first chapter of the book didn't give me any useful information. Perhaps I ought to read more."
And so he did.
Chapter 4: Trick or Treat.
Trick or treating is a Halloween custom for children and adults in many countries. Children in costume travel from door to door, asking for treats. The treat is usually some form of candy while the trick refers to a threat, usually meant in jest, or if intentional, a promise to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.
Demiurge smiled as he gently shut the book, "I see now."
Cocytus clicked his mandibles, waiting for Demiurge to continue.
"It seems that Lady Tiamat is asking us to partake in this event. For now I don't know how this would benefit Nazarick, but we should try our best. I suppose we could call the rest of the Floor Guardians together to explain everything to them."
"Then. I. Shall. Help. You. Gather. Them. All. In. The. Throne. Room.
The door to the Throne Room silently opened, and the Floor Guardians who were present looked back at the door behind them.
"I'm sorry I'm late," the Succubus went inside the Throne Room and gently closed the door.
"They say gorillas move really slowly, so don't feel too bad," Shalltear stuck her tongue out.
Albedo's eye twitched.
"That. Is. Alright." Cocytus huffed.
"You're here now, and that is all that matters," Demiurge added.
"So, what is so important that you have to gather all the Floor Guardians here, Demiurge?" Albedo softly asked.
Demiurge grinned, "It seems that Lady Tiamat had ordered us to partake in a very specific event called Ha-ro-wee-nu."
"Wait, I think I've heard of that before," Aura trailed off.
"I-It's that word that Lady Tiamat m-mentioned this afternoon, onee-san."
"Ah! That thing! We can ask for sweets, right?"
Mare nodded in confirmation.
"Sweets? What are you blabbering about, chibi?" Shalltear looked at them confusedly.
"You see, this afternoon, Lady Tiamat told Aura, Mare, and Cocytus about an event called Halloween," Demiurge emphasized the correct pronunciation, subtly flexing on the other Floor Guardians and correcting the pronunciation for them.
Albedo forced herself to not roll her eyes.
The rest of them had their eyes locked on him.
"Halloween is an event where you can dress up as whatever you want, without judgement, and once you do, you must ask for treats. The treats could be the sweets Lady Tiamat mentioned to you, Aura."
"Ooh!" Aura exclaimed.
"Moreover, if the Supreme Beings don't give you treats, then you are allowed to trick them."
"W-W-W-W-W-Wait! We're even allowed to trick the Supreme Beings?!" Shalltear excitedly asked.
"Yes!" Demiurge agreed, "It was Lady Tiamat who mentioned, No one is above the law of treat or tricks."
"Are you sure, Demiurge?" Albedo, who had been quietly listening to what Demiurge had to say, finally spoke up. "I'm sure Lady Tiamat just wanted us to rest more."
"You must understand, Albedo. This must be a test. A test for us the Floor Guardians to see whether we could understand their intentions!"
"If. That. Is. True. Then. We. Have. To. Do. Our. Best!" Cocytus huffed.
"M-Me t-too!" Mare quickly followed.
"I'd do it for sweets!" Aura raised her right hand up.
"T-T-T-T-T-T-Tricking Ainz-sama, ahn~ my underwear…"
Albedo huffed, "It seems that you all have come to an agreement. Very well."
Demiurge pushed his glasses up. "Then tomorrow is when we have to begin our plan!"
Aura & Mare
"Ainz-sama, Ainz-sama!" Aura yelled from the corridor as Mare followed behind her.
Ainz looked back at the twins, and his jaw opened wide in shock.
There they were, both dressed in dragon onesies pajamas. Aura was wearing a red dragon onesie while Mare was wearing a green one.
He couldn't deny that they looked absolutely...adorable.
A green aura washed over him.
"What is it Aura, Mare?" he asked, slightly tilting his head downwards to look at them.
"Sweets please!"
"M-Me too!"
"Sweets? I don't have any," his red orbs stared at their confused faces.
They looked at one another before nodding.
"I-I'm sorry, A-Ainz-sama!"
"Apologies Ainz-sama!" Aura blurted out, overlapping with Mare's apology.
Then they did the unthinkable.
The twins hugged Ainz's bony legs, one dark elf for each tibia.
Aura jumped off first, "Sorry for tricking you, Ainz-sama! Let's go, Mare!"
Mare nodded, and bowed to Ainz before they left.
Ainz's jaw dropped to the floor, "What the hell was that?"
Albedo
Albedo still thought it was odd.
Knowing how Lady Tiamat and Ainz-sama were, they would have most definitely told the Floor Guardians if they were testing them: just like that time Ainz-sama and Lady Tiamat were testing their teamwork capabilities by telling them to defeat that Giant Tree.
However, a plan was a plan, and she had no choice but to follow the majority's decision.
Albedo made her way down to the Treasury. The rest of the Guardians had taken it upon themselves to wear a costume for the day in accordance with the plan. Therefore, before the Supreme Beings started the day, she had to go prepare her costume.
She walked down to the Treasury, carefully maneuvering around the traps in the stairway.
After a long and tortuous journey, Albedo finally found herself before the doors of the Treasury.
"Pandora's Actor," she called out as she pushed the massive doors open.
The egghead peeked his head out from a mountain of gold. Today wasn't the day where he got to have lunch with Lady Tiamat, moreover the voice calling out his name sounded distinctively different. Who else would bother to take the time to visit the deep sanctum of the Treasury?
Imagine his surprise when he saw that the Overseer of the Guardians of Nazarick had come to visit him in the Treasury all by herself.
"Ja?"
"I have come here to request something of you."
Pandora's Actor dug himself out of the mountain of gold and ran towards where Albedo was standing.
"Thank you for coming all this way, Guardian Overseer!" he saluted and bowed, "What is it that you need from me, Fraulein?"
"Let me borrow your clothes," Albedo bluntly stated.
"Eh?"
"You heard me, Pandora's Actor. I need to borrow your clothes."
"Are you perhaps referring to the armor hidden within Nazarick? The armor of the Supreme Beings, Guardian Overseer?"
"No. I need the clothes that you are wearing right now," she smiled sweetly at him.
"Wozu zum Teufel brauchst du meine Klamotten?! Pervers!" he screamed out.
Albedo just stared at him, wide eyed, "Did you just insult me?"
"Nein Nein!" he shook his head. How did she know what he was saying?!
"Anyways," Albedo continued, taking his outrage in stride, "Are you willing to give me your clothes?"
"B-But, I won't have any clothes to wear for the rest of the day, Fraulein!"
Albedo sweetly smiled, "You're a doppelganger, right? You can just morph into that sofa for the rest of the day, and I'll do your work for today. How does that sound?"
"B-But my work was given to me by Ainz-sama!" Pandora's Actor tried to reason with the Overseer.
"Well you can also work naked," Albedo swiftly replied, "If you want Kyouhukou's children to see you naked that is."
Pandora's Actor seethed, "I won't give you my work and my clothes. Those are the two things that were given to me by Mein Vader, even if I were to lose and to be defeated by you, I won't—"
Albedo pulled out the cheese-cake she had been storing in her inventory.
"Turn around and in ten seconds you can grab my clothes off the floor."
Albedo followed his instructions with a satisfied smile.
After ten seconds, Albedo turned back around and there it was, an extra sofa, and a set of clothing laid neatly on the floor.
She bent down and picked up the clothes, putting down the cheesecake at where the clothes used to be.
"Please enjoy it."
And with that, Albedo had obtained her costume for Halloween.
"Ainz-sama," Albedo bowed as she entered the grand office where only a select few were allowed to enter.
Ainz nodded, his normal way of greeting. But his jaw dropped open again when he saw Albedo in his office, wearing a Neo-Nazi outfit that clearly belonged to Pandora's Actor.
The clothes fit Albedo like a glove, except that the limbs were too long, but she simply rolled them up to a three-quarter length of both her arms and her legs.
"A-Albedo, what are you wearing," Ainz coughed heavily in his fist, his body a shimmering emerald.
"Do you have sweets, Ainz-sama?" the Succubus asked the Overlord.
Ainz just emptily stared at Albedo, "No, I don't have sweets with me."
"Very well," Albedo nodded in understanding and proceeded to do her job as usual.
After a few minutes, when Ainz had decided to take a break in his room, Albedo put her plan into motion.
She sneakily walked to Ainz's table and moved his quill from the right side to the left.
Ainz was right-handed.
Albedo couldn't wait until she told Shalltear about this.
Shalltear
"Haaaaa?" Shalltear screeched out in the bar, the shrill scream directed towards the Overseer of Nazarick who was clutching her left ear while grimacing in pain.
"Your voice is annoying, Shalltear."
"H-H-How despicable!" Shalltear stood up from her stool at the bar and pointed her finger at the Succubus. "How dare you move Ainz-sama's quill when you clearly knew he was right handed?!"
Albedo just smiled sweetly at her, her gold colored eyes gleaming in satisfaction as she rested her elbows on the table and her fingers interlocked under her chin.
"No one is above the rules of trick or treat. I would assume that Demiurge meant even the Supreme Beings themselves."
"That's true," Shalltear slowly sat back down on the stool, her energy spent. "I wonder what I should do to trick Ainz-sama…"
"I'm sure you'll come up with something," Albedo said, anticipation already building up in her stomach.
The furious knocking on the door ruined Ainz's concentration. He looked at Albedo and nodded, granting her permission to open the door.
He knew it wasn't Tiamat because she had a tendency to barge into the office unannounced or teleporting herself right in the middle of the office.
As soon as Albedo opened the door, Ainz saw something he shouldn't have ever seen.
There was only one person who would wear that kind of thing.
Shalltear sauntered to the Supreme Being's table, wearing her most treasured clothing given to her by her creator, Lord Peroroncino himself. Completed by a whip that she also brought with her.
She was wearing a full bodysuit of leather, with a hood that tucked in all her hair. The only thing that they could see was her face.
A Leather Mistress bodysuit.
There was no way Ainz was going to look at his children that way, and so, to preserve at least a shred of Shalltear's dignity, he looked down at his paperwork and swore to himself that he would not look up for as long as Shalltear was in his office.
"Shalltear, what can I do for you?" he asked even before Shalltear could reach his table, his red orbs directed towards the paper while his mind wandered aimlessly.
He was desperately trying to forget what he had seen.
"Ainz-sama, there is something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Go ahead."
"Do you have sweets to give me?"
'Why is everyone asking me for sweets today…' Ainz thought to himself, sighing.
"No, Shalltear. But if you want, I can ask Tia to bake you some sweets."
"It's alright Ainz-sama. With that being said, I'll be leaving," she bowed before she turned towards the door.
However, right before Shalltear walked out the door, she stopped and turned back to look at him.
"Is there anything else you need?" Ainz carefully asked as kept his head down. Everyone was acting weird today.
"I just wanted to say," Shalltear took a deep breath as she pulled her whip back, "It's time for a trick Ainz-sama~!"
Ainz's head was still down as the whip zipped towards him. Albedo quickly grabbed the whip out of the air with a tired look on her face.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Why are you stopping me gorilla?! No one is above the rule of trick or treats!"
"I don't think your kind of trick is what Demiurge had mind, Lampr—Shalltear. Did you honestly think that hitting a Supreme Being is acceptable?"
"Shut up you virgin! You just want to win! HEY! PUT ME DOWN YOU MUSCLE BRAIN!" Shalltear screamed as Albedo picked her up by the waist and tossed her out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Ainz just stared at the door, his undead mind still trying to comprehend what he had seen.
He slowly got up from his chair.
"Ainz-sama, I got rid of Shalltear. You can rest easy now," Albedo tried to reassure the Supreme Being who was definitely distraught at being forced to see something so terrible.
"I-I think I should take a break for a while, Albedo. Please excuse me," with that, Ainz walked through the door connecting his office and his room
He fell face-down onto the bed, body sprawled out in mental exhaustion.
'What the…'
Demiurge
The day was almost over, and Demiurge had planned all he could so that they could pass the test.
He would do whatever it took to make this profitable to Nazarick, even if he had to sacrifice himself.
Throughout the entire day, Demiurge had observed that Ainz-sama didn't have sweets to give Aura and Mare, Albedo, and Shalltear. That meant there was a seventy five percent chance that Ainz wouldn't have sweets when Demiurge asked as well.
Demiurge knocked twice on the Supreme Being's office, and once the door was opened by Albedo, he confidently walked into the room.
"Ainz-sama," Demiurge bowed.
"Demiurge," Ainz acknowledged, but as soon as his eyes landed on the Demon, his jaw dropped open for the millionth time that day as his body was dyed in a bright green hue,"What...are you wearing?"
Demiurge, the most posh looking Floor Guardian whose suit was based off a British design and was always dressed as a gentleman had discarded all of them, and in front of Ainz—in his office—he was stark naked wearing nothing but a speedo.
"Ah, do you like my costume Ainz-sama? This is what the book in Ashurbanipal had told me about the sacred event that the Supreme Beings are allowed to join."
'What is he talking about?!' Ainz screamed out inside his head.
Afraid of losing the respect of the smartest Floor Guardian in Nazarick, Ainz immediately agreed with what Demiurge mentioned. "Hm, is that so, Demiurge."
"So you approve of this, Ainz-sama! Oh, and I also need sweets, preferably if it's from you."
"Sweets?" Ainz asked.
"Yes Ainz-sama, do you have them?"
Seeing how long it took for Ainz-sama to reply to him, Demiurge deduced that the Overlord didn't have sweets with him.
Demiurge couldn't help but smile at this revelation.
He had an elaborate plan to trick Ainz-sama, a trick that his Lord would never forget.
"I see, sweets huh?" Ainz's orbs flared to life. "Albedo, bring in the cookies," he quietly said.
The Demon was shocked, he had not expected this outcome. He was so sure that the Overlord in front of him wouldn't have any sweets with him.
Albedo gave him a small glass jar, filled to the brim with cookies, smiling in reverence at the wisdom that the Supreme Being had showed them.
"I asked Tiamat to bake this for me, since you Floor Guardians had been asking me for sweets. Do what you have to do for the glory of Nazarick."
Demiurge bowed, "Of course, Ainz-sama!"
As expected of the leader of Ainz Ooal Gown himself…
Demiurge should've known that Ainz-sama could turn a twenty five percent probability to his advantage.
'Sasuga…'
Cocytus
"No, no, you have to wrap it here Mare!" Aura shouted at her brother.
"B-But, that part was c-covered already Onee-san."
"It's still thin at that part, and that part as well," Aura barked out her orders and Mare obeyed diligently.
Cocytus huffed, his mandibles clicking in discomfort.
He was standing in the Throne Room, being tied and bandaged with green colored wrappings. Aura and Mare ran around him, wrapping the bandages around his entire armor like body, from head to toe.
"D-Don't forget the star bandana t-too."
"I got it Mare, thank you!" Aura smiled at the reminder and continued wrapping Cocytus with the green bandage.
Mare had read some books in Ashurbanipal explaining that festive events would have a tree being decorated with trinkets. Since they were in a rush, making Cocytus into a tree seemed like a good idea.
Also, Mare had asked Pandora's Actor if he could borrow some of the most colorful magical artifacts and gems to decorate Cocytus with.
Although the dark elf boy found it odd that his friend decided to transform into Ainz-sama, Pandora's Actor still gave him what he needed to decorate Cocytus.
"How. Long. Do. I. Have. To. Stand. Here?"
"The day is almost over," Aura answered, "So it would be a few hours at most,"
Cocytus huffed his breath as a sign of confirmation, and the twins continued excitedly.
Later they learned that what they did to Cocytus should only be done at Christmas and not on Halloween.
So it was fine to let him stand there for another two months, right?
That night…
"Ainz, I'm back!" Tiamat said as soon as she teleported inside his office.
Ainz sighed. He didn't have the energy to reply to her, so instead, he pulled out Tia's favorite response.
"Hn…"
"I baked a lot of sweets for the maids as well as the Pleiades and Floor Guardians, so I think we're set for two weeks. How about you? Did you finish any work?" she asked him with a smile.
Ainz finally lifted up his skull to look at her, "Do you know what happened today?"
"No," she replied, tilting her head curiously. His voice sounded so tired. "Did something bad happen?"
Tiamat walked closer to where he was and stood near him, trying to comfort him as best as she could while rubbing his back.
Ainz sighed yet again, "The Floor Guardians asked me for sweets all day. At first it was Aura and Mare; at least those two are cute. But then Albedo came in with a Neo-Nazi outfit and... and I thought I no longer had a heart, but apparently I do, because it was the best cosplay I have ever witnessed in my entire life!" he vigorously straightened up, before slumping back down as the ever-present suppression ran its course.
"Woah, she did?" Tiamat replied to him excitedly. "Albedo in a Neo-Nazi outfit, huh? Isn't that right up your alley?"
But even before Ainz could answer her question, he was reminded of that.
"But then, I saw Shalltear in that blasted Leather Costume Peroroncino created."
Tiamat tilted her head at the last word.
"What's that?"
"A whole suit made out of leather."
"So it's some sort of costume?"
Ainz's eyes trailed off to the ceiling, "There are more connotations to it than that…"
Tiamat just looked at him, confused.
"I will just let you do your own research."
"Alright. Then, what happened next?"
"It gets worse. You see, my undead eyes," Ainz poked a finger through his empty socket, "Just saw Demiurge wearing nothing but a speedo."
"A what?!"
"A speedo, a form-fitting swimming pant that only covers your butt—"
"I know what a speedo is," Tiamat tried to stop Ainz as she didn't want to imagine Demiurge wearing nearly nothing. "The question is why…?"
Ainz sighed for the third time ever since she had arrived in his office, "I don't know. I'm just glad Cocytus didn't do anything weird today. Plus, they also said something about needing sweets, and I have no idea why."
"Oh, Cocytus? I just saw him in the Throne Room. The twins are dressing him up with green cloth and a star on his head. I think they're trying to make him look like a Christmas tree," Tiamat suppressed a grin before she continued, "For the sweets, I think it's because I just explained to them what Halloween was. To be honest, I kinda expected Nazarick to be half destroyed or something, because you look so...dead."
"Wait, what?"
"What?"
"What did you say?"
"About Cocytus?"
"No, after that."
"You look dead? That's a bad joke on my part since you already looked dead anyways."
"No," that was indeed a bad joke, he agreed inside his head, "Before that."
"Oh. I just explained what Halloween was to Cocytus and the twins this afternoon."
Ainz stood up and slammed his hands on the table, "SO IT WAS YOU!" His bones shone green before he calmed down and sat back in his chair
"Eh?"
"You were the cause of all of this... this madness," Ainz declared accusingly, "I have never felt so...betrayed. How could you, Tiamat?"
"W-W-What are you talking about?"
"An Undead's mind never forgets. You just doomed me and my brain to a sight that I wasn't supposed to see in my entire immortal lifetime!" Another shimmer of green made his way across his skull.
"H-Hey, that's not fair! I didn't order them to do anything," she furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to justify herself, "I just told them what trick or treat was. Besides, didn't you just say that Albedo had the best cosplay you had ever seen in your entire lifetime?"
"If that was the price I had to pay to see that Neo-Nazi cosplay, then I'd rather not. It was a sight that would burn your eyes instantly."
"Oh…"
The two of them sat there quietly in despair.
One was gloomy because he had seen something traumatizing, and one was wondering where had things gone wrong in this dysfunctional family.
The next unanswered question that came to the Dragoness's mind was how Ainz knew so much about leather mistresses and speedos.
A/N: Character development time! YATA! I think this Halloween Omake is a masterpiece XD So much crack holy moly...
Hackslashbash: I hope we managed to show some characterization in Albedo. The lack of that in the LN always disappointed me. Also, we hit a massive 70 pages in this chapter, making this the longest chapter yet!
Discord: 'Tiamat: The Goddess of Dragons' Discord Link: Hector Tries To Pivot Stuff (colon) (slash) (slash) daddy is so craving orangerefreshing drink . gg (slash) JUejk8J
