Reuploaded: 04/01/2021


Non-canon Omake Event: Pancake Incident

Written by UndeadLord22


"No, no! Don't put the syrup there yet!"

"W-Well what should I do!?"

Tiamat huffed in annoyance before turning off the stove; extinguishing the out of control flame that was burning the pan.

"H-How did you manage to burn something so simple?!"

Ainz sighed, repeating his mantra of the day for the thousandth time, "I told you the reason, Tia."

To understand what is going on, let us review the earlier moments.

. . .

Earlier…

Ainz was lying down in his bedroom.

He couldn't really rest since he was not physically alive, but he was still able to rest his mind from all the hell he had been going through for quite a while.

So far, he had been resting on his bed for twenty minutes; an amount of time which seemed to feel like a week for him.

'What to do…'

"MOMO-CHAN!" The voice of Tiamat suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"GAH!" Our favorite skeleton overlord literally jumped from his bed. How wild is that?

"Momo-chan!"

"T-Tia!" a green aura briefly enveloped his body before disappearing. "What are you doing here? Is there something you need?"

"Nope!" she cheerfully said. "But I need you to come with me, I got a surprise for you!"

Her wide smile told Ainz that he was not going to like this very much.

"...If it's going to be—"

"No, I swear, it's not gonna be that!" the dragoness waved her hands in dismay, recalling that one scene that was so horrible that not even the devil would like it. She had never meant for Demiurge to wear such an outfit.

"It's something else that you might like!" A 『Gate』popped up behind her. "Come on!"

Ainz sighed as he let Tiamat drag him into the swirling oval portal. He could just simply use his ring to teleport away and go some-floor else, but he was too mentally exhausted to think properly.

He began to mentally prepare for whatever was going to be on the other side.

But exactly what he was expecting…?

"Ta-da~!"

"...What is this?"

"Huh? We're in the kitchen, silly!"

Indeed they were in the kitchen, located in the cafeteria on the 9th floor of the Tomb. But the question was…

"Why did you drag me here?"

"It's to teach you how to cook!"

Ainz's red eyes flickered, slowly and surely.

"...Why? I'm undead, I can't eat," he deadpanned. "And also, I don't know how to cook."

"Actually, it's to prepare you for when you might need to be cooking for someone else, and I will be teaching you!" Tiamat proudly pounded her chest.

Ainz then noticed that she was wearing an apron embroidered with the words: "Cooking is the best!"

Our favorite overlord didn't know what to do. But honestly, learning how to cook might ease his mind a little. Doing nothing in his room would just grant him boredom; sure, it would relax his mind more, but he felt that such a tactic would become unsustainable.

Cooking for him was not useful since he literally didn't know how to cook. But since Tia here was willing to teach him, he might as well give it a try. It had been a while since they've done something just with the two of them.

It would be tragic if he accidently got the『Cook』class like Tia did.

"...Any simple dishes you can teach me how to cook?"

Tia beamed brightly after his statement. He would later regret that he accepted his friend's offer, but later on in the future he would thank her for it.

And now, back to the present.

. . .

Present. . .

'I may well have unleashed something dangerous…' Ainz sweatdropped as he barely managed to follow his friend's instructions on doing his first dish: a pancake.

As simple as it sounded, it was incredibly hard for our favorite overlord to work it out.

Tiamat was almost like a drill sergeant shouting at new recruits in their first week of boot camp.

And it was scary.

He was thankful that at least there was no one present with them, and the whole kitchen was left empty just for them.

Although it was kinda funny to see a dragoness shouting over a lich trying to make pancakes.

"Ah, great. Now you've burnt the whole thing!"

"A-Ah crap!"

"Gimme that!" Tiamat snatched the pan from Ainz's hands, furiously scrubbing away the blackened charcoal from the pan. "How are you not able to even cook a decent pancake!?"

Ainz had already cooked at least twenty pancakes, and all of them looked like burnt charcoal.

"Maybe because I don't have the Cook job?"

"Then explain how I was able to cook without having Cook as a class job!?"

"I-"

"It's either you just suck at cooking, or you really have no passion at all," Tiamat had unknowingly jabbed a spear into Ainz's heart.

"But I do know how to cook!" Ainz tried to argue. "I just need some practice."

"Heating up a cup of noodles doesn't mean you know how to COOK!" she shouted. She placed down the cleaned pan. The device was now shiny and shivering, splendid-

"Now, again!"

This went on for several hours before Tiamat just simply gave up.

. . .

"*Sigh* You really don't know how to cook, do you?" the dragoness said tiredly, looking over the small mountain of burnt charcoal in front of them.

"It was a useless attempt…" Ainz was sitting down on a chair with his head down low.

He had never felt so disappointed in his lack of cooking abilities!

Well to be fair, it literally was his first time cooking a homemade dish, since he normally just went out to stores and bought ready-to-eat foodstuffs to heat up back home. Occasionally, he would eat at some cheap food stall as his reward. A meal at a cheap food stall was almost as expensive as high-class restaurants back when food wasn't just bland synthetic jelly.

The fact that he failed to cook something so simple caused something inside him to snap.

He felt challenged!

"Maybe next time you'll be able to cook properly," Tiamat looked at him pitifully.

"Hmmm…"

"Hm? Thinking about something?"

"I'll… try to cook again?"

Tia looked at him with a raised brow, her almost amused eyes filled with pity. Ainz trying to cook was something she now found impossible due to the… results he made. But knowing him, she could only tell him:

"Alright, call me if you need help ok?"

Ainz mutely nodded as he looked over the cooking-wares in front of him.

Tiamat could only look at him before letting out a sigh and teleported out of the room, leaving Ainz to silently contemplate what went wrong.

"...Maybe if I…" Ainz said, coming upon an idea that he and Tiamat may have overlooked.

. . .

"I wonder how Ainz is doing…?"

"Is something wrong, Lady Tiamat?" Yuri asked while gently grooming her master's hair.

"Ah, it's about Ainz, Yuri."

"Is there something wrong with Ainz-sama?" 'Have we disappointed him?' Yuri couldn't help but think that, but her fears were wiped off from her mind immediately as Tiamat reassured her it wasn't that.

She wanted to ask that too...

"No," Tia shook her head. "It's not that, its something else entirely. I've been trying to help Ainz cook."

Yuri widened her eyes and made a small gasp at such a revelation. 'Ainz-sama, cooking!?'

"Lady Tiamat, I'm sure that Ainz-sama doesn't need to worry himself with a small task like cooking."

Tiamat laughed softly. "Don't stress yourself out, Yuri-san. Besides, it's for his own good."

. . .

After Yuri had finished brushing her hair, Tiamat headed towards Ainz's office to continue helping out with the paperwork.

For punishment reasons.

"Here I am- wait what?" what was in her sights confused her.

Ainz was nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe he's in the bedroom…?" Tiamat muttered to herself.

Since he was Undead and couldn't rest, maybe he was just calming his head?

'Nah, he can do that while checking the papers out,' she thought, knowing that it was a common activity for Ainz even when Albedo wasn't around.

Which were rare moments.

"Ainz! Wha…?"

He wasn't in his bedroom.

'Where the hell could he be…?'

And speak of the devil…

[Tiamat!]

"Gah!" she jumped in fright, her mind slowly realizing that it was Ainz using 『Message』 in her head.

[A-Ainz!?]

[Ah, did I surprise you? Sorry.]

[Where the hell are you bonehead!] she pouted.

[Ah, in the kitchen.]

She blinked. [Wait, are you still cooking!?] she asked in disbelief.

[Yeah… And can you check this out? I'm not sure if this tastes good since I'm Undead. And I don't want to ask anyone else since they might get the wrong idea]

[...Be right there]

...

In Za Kitchen. . .

"Alright, I hope you didn't burn down the kitchen otherwise the cooks would get mad."

"Ah, Tiamat-san," Ainz greeted.

"Now, where's the food you want me to taste?" Tiamat looked around and saw no food in sight. Was he joking?

"Here," Ainz moved to the side, revealing behind him a covered tray.

"...Why do you need to cover it?"

"Just open it and see it for yourself," the skeleton sighed, but his words were somewhat filled with pride—and that somehow rhymed.

"Alright…?" she said awkwardly before making her way to the covered tray. She was about to open it but an overwhelming smell suddenly grabbed onto her nose.

'W-What the hell is this!?' she thought. 'What is this aura am I feeling? And it's coming from food of all things!'

"Before I open it Ainz, what did you cook?" she turned to the undead.

Ainz simply shrugged. "A pancake like you said. I didn't gain a Cook class or anything like that."

"Oh really…~?"

'I am not buying that crap, not even once you bonehead!'

She mentally prepared her eyes for whatever abomination Ainz had made out of a frigging pancake of all things and opened the tray.

Her world suddenly turned a bright golden yellow.

"W-WHAT THE HELL-!?"

Her sight, her hearing, her orientation, her everything crashed all around like a washing machine.

"GAHHHHH MY EYES!"

The wave of light instantly brightened up the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and its inhabitants were panicking and confused as to what was going on.

The light continued to escape from the underground, and eventually made its way outside from the entrance of the Mausoleum.

The golden light engulfed the lands of the NW, all of its inhabitants basking in the glorious light. Some bowed down in prayer, others panicked thinking it was the return of the Demon Gods, or another event like the Greed Kings.

For the religion, specifically the fuckin' fanatics. The whole of the Slane Theocracy stood, bowed, kneeled, cried out in prayer. Thinking that this was the day that their Gods, the Six Gods were returning to bring glory and prosperity to Humanity and eliminate the threats towards it.

Slowly but surely, the light engulfed the whole world.

The Dragon Lords were panicking.

The Elves stood and gasped.

The Humans were afraid.

Throughout the entire world, everyone(except the SL since most of the population are fanatic zealots) had one thing on their minds:

It was Judgement Day.

Almost after the world was covered in the bright gold wave, the light spread outwards. It spread through the cosmic space like water flowing outwards.

Its light covered worlds, planets; almost the whole galaxy was filled with a bright light that erased from existence the most evil of creatures in the deepest parts of the galaxy. Not even a speck of ash or dust of them remained.

Soon after and yet unexpectedly, this came to the attention of all the powerful beings throughout different dimensions.

"...? What is this feeling?" (Marvel - The One Above all)

"Is that a fragment of mine…?" (WH40K - The God Emperor of Mankind himself)

"Did time crashed…?" (Doctor Who - Doctor Who, the 11th Doctor)

"..." (Marvel Comics - Death)

"This… This is the power of the God Emperor! THE EMPEROR, PROTECTS!" (WH40K - Majority of the Imperium)

"So I guess it's time, the world is being cleansed from evil." (DC Comics - Lucifer Morningstar)

"Is this the Anti-Spiral's work!?" (Gurren Lagann - Simon)

All beings through different worlds, different galaxies, different planes, and different dimensions. All were engulfed in a golden light and the most evil and dangerous beings that were a threat to the cosmic reality had been undone.

Back in the kitchen. . .

"WHAT KIND OF PANCAKE DID YOU MAKE!? Tiamat screamed. Even with her high-quality resist and immunity stats, it still could not help her to avoid being blinded by the light.

"Oh, just a pancake I made from this book we've made," Ainz held up a cooking book saying: "Cooking Recipes For Dummies."

Ainz could still see because he was wearing a high-class, magically enchanted anti-glare sunglasses.

Tiamat, while covering her eyes from the bright light, covered the pancake with the food tray.

"...You don't like it?"

"What do you- IT WAS BRIGHT!" she exclaimed frustratingly. "How the hell did you manage to cook such a thing when it could have blinded you?"

"Oh, I just simply used『Create Greater Magic Item』to create this enchanted pair of sunglasses to avoid the glare."

"But that still doesn't answer the question on how you managed to COOK SUCH A THING!" Tiamat shouted this time.

"I just followed the instruction on that book…" Ainz lazily pointed at the book literally right beside Tiamat.

The dragoness immediately grabbed the book and turned to the page on "How to cook Pancakes."

"B-But, this is just what I instructed you to!"

"Well, apparently there can be two reasons: One, is that your teaching on cooking is bad. Second, is that when I followed the cooking book, I was able to cook in a… glowing state."

"THAT PANCAKE IS LITERALLY THE MOST PERFECT OF ALL PANCAKES I'VE EVER SEEN!"

Ainz blinked. He had experienced loudness from his old comrades, including her, but he had never heard Tiamat shout like that before.

"W-What?"

"Your. Pancake… IS TOO DAMN' PERFECT!"


A/N: Welcome to the team, Lightblade23! And thank you Razel Treasure for beta-ing this chapter!

Hackslashbash: The above omake was an event we hosted for our discord. Come join in to chat about a variety of silly topics!

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


Collection of Ashurbanipal

Volume XLI: Tiamat: The Goddess of Dragons, A Myth

Volume XLI, Chapter IV: Hunters

In the distance stood a mighty fortress. A city whose name has long been lost to the passing of countless eons.

The dragon warily approached the gates of the fortress; she had been forcibly kicked out of every human settlement she had visited, but perhaps this one would be different. A source had told her that the community before her accepted races of all kinds, even heteromorphs.

The moment she reached the gates, she noticed the hostile stares of humans bearing down upon her.

Wasn't this place supposed to be a refuge for all?

Why then, was there so much animosity?

As the dragon pondered this question, a rock flew towards her head accompanied by an angry shout.

It dealt her no harm, for a mere rock could not hope to scratch her inviolable scales. However, the dragon was shocked at the resentment shown towards her kind. Did her source lie to her?

Her question was quickly answered when an empowered bolt of arcane energies slammed into her. She had been ambushed; her source had led her into a trap.

The dragon quickly stood up and dashed away from the village into the open fields, before glancing at her assailants.

They were a group of humans and elves dressed in classic hunter's attire. It was an appearance she and many other heteromorphs were well acquainted with.

The Hunters, a dastardly guild that had a reputation for "hunting beasts".

In other words, non-humans like her. They cackled as they stared at the foolish beast through their cross-sights. There would be no escape from them.

She fought back with desperate strength, her impenetrable scales defending her from those who would see her slain.

Countless days of mind-numbing slaughter passed, as the plains were dyed in the blood of mortals.

Finally, the Dragon stood alone in the field of carnage. She had accomplished the impossible; she had driven away the Hunters.

Sadly, her peace was not to last.


Chapter 22: Beyond Limits


Cocytus stood in front of the regal majestic doors and knocked twice with his hand.

The door opened with a silent creak as he was greeted by a familiar beautiful succubus, the Overseer of the Guardians of Nazarick, Albedo.

"Ainz-sama has been waiting for you," she said, with an angelic smile, nothing in her expression had given him any hints on why he had been called to the office.

Cocytus took a deep breath and exhaled, causing a cold mist to spread in front of him, before he walked inside, the succubus closing the door behind him.

In the center of the office sat a skeletal being of pure white and clothed in night itself. The Supreme Being emitted an overwhelming aura of dread as the souls of the damned silently screamed from his divine robes.

The Overlord sat surrounded by a multitude of masterful paintings and books with titles Cocytus could not even begin to comprehend. Furthermore, since the Supreme Being was a skeleton, it was extremely difficult for Cocytus to pinpoint his master's emotions.

"Ainz. Sama." he greeted with the deepest bow to the leader of Nazarick himself.

Ainz raised his palm to stop him from doing so, "There's no need to be so formal, Cocytus,"

Cocytus raised his head, "Yes."

"Do you know the reason why you have been called here?" the Overlord asked his subject.

"I. Have. No. Clue. Ainz. Sama."

Ainz nodded his head, his eyes gleaming as they bore into the Guardian of the Fifth Floor.

"Do you remember when you watched Tia's battle with Shalltear?"

"Yes. It. Was. A. Battle. I. Can. Never. Forget." he put a hand over where his heart was to stop it from palpitating.

He still remembered that wonderful sight as if it was yesterday.

Their Lady who had entered a battle that was impossible to win, had instead returned triumphantly.

The Overlord's eyes gleamed once again, a small fire running amok in his pits, "And did you remember what you said about the battle's odds?"

Cocytus gulped.

Since the outcome was different from what he had guessed, Cocytus knew that the Overlord must be angry with him.

"It. Was. One. To. Nine. With. Lady. Tiamat. Being. One."

"One to nine, hm?"

"I. Apologize. Ainz. Sama!" he bowed, "It. Was. Not. My. Intention. To. Belittle. Lady. Tiamat!" he bowed again in shame.

Now he knew why he was being called here.

Surely, he was here to receive his punishment for insulting the strength of a Supreme Being.

However, what his ruler said next shocked him completely.

"I agree with you, Cocytus."

"Excuse. Me?" he blinked confusedly.

"I think that idio—" he coughed, "I mean, Tiamat, I think she needs to be trained."

Cocytus huffed yet again.

Training the Supreme Being herself?

'What an honor!'

His tail shook in excitement, as he tried to hide how happy he was, before remembering that he was in front of Ainz Ooal Gown, the Supreme Being and the ruler of them all.

"Training. Lady. Tiamat?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Yes. It turns out this world's system is different from our original one's. A while ago, Tia found out that we can raise our levels beyond the level cap, making our potential power limitless," Ainz explained.

Cocytus looked at him once again, 'What?'

"That is why I want you to fix that mess of a build—I mean, train her. Make her strong. I want you as a warrior to find out her weakness and to eliminate them entirely," Ainz commanded. "Do you understand, Cocytus?"

Cocytus stood up straighter, "It. Will. Be. As. You. Will!"

( ・ω)( ・)( )(・ )(ω・ )(・ω・)

The Dragoness should have detected his intent when he suddenly launched his tail in her direction at lightning speed.

It was only instinct that prevented the deadly point of his tail from hitting her straight in the face.

She threw her forearms up in panic, but he slipped through to her unprotected sides, his hand aimed straight at her solar plexus.

He attacked with the intention to kill.

She internally screamed; the punch had caught her completely off-guard.

The blow was so powerful that she skidded back a few meters. If it had been anyone else, they would've found their bones shattered to dust and their organs liquified. Thankfully, she only received a minor bruise.

Afraid of getting smacked again, she released her wings and flew away from him so that he couldn't reach her.

"W-Wh-What was that for, Cocytus?!"

"Such. Hard. Skin." Cocytus said in awe down at the other end of the arena.

She looked at the blue insectoid once again, and when she saw that there was nothing hostile about his posture, she flew back to the center of the arena where Cocytus was.

"That seriously scared me," she sighed, relieved.

"I. Apologize. My. Lady. But. I. Had. To. Gauge. Your. Ability. Spontaneously." Cocytus huffed out a cloud of cold mist, his eyes blinking with guilt.

It was not his intention to frighten the Supreme Being who loved them so.

Upon seeing Cocytus knock Lady Tiamat back, Aura and Mare leapt down from the VIP area ran to the Goddess in a blink of an eye.

"My Lady! Are you okay?!" Aura panickedly asked Tiamat.

"C-Cocytus, what w-was that for?!" Mare frowned in a rare moment of agitation, placing himself between the Vermin Lord and the Supreme Being.

Before Cocytus could open his mandibles to respond, Lady Tiamat intervened.

"Don't worry, Cocytus was just testing my abilities. I'm perfectly fine, see?" she lifted her forearm up for the twins to see.

"Nuh uh! I see a bruise right here!" Aura jabbed the tiny purple spot on Tiamat's forearm. "Mare! Come over here and heal Lady Tiamat!"

"Y-Yes! 『Cure Wounds』!" Mare put his hand on the miniscule bruise and covered it with a light green aura. The discoloration slowly faded as clear skin took its place on her forearm once more.

"There! Now you're all good, and Cocytus!" Aura pointed at the Blue Insect with a scowl, "You better be more careful with Lady Tiamat!"

"B-But Onee-san, Lady Tiamat said they were training. A-And he has to hit hard if they're trying to get stronger."

As the twins continued to argue with each other, Cocytus just watched their interaction from a distance.

He looked down at his trembling right arm that was still numb after punching Lady Tiamat.

Even though the Supreme Being before him bore the appearance of a halfling, her Divine Class meant that her skin was far stronger than that of even heteromorphs.

When Cocytus had struck her in the stomach, he had felt his bones shake.

The scales were hundreds of times harder than his own exoskeleton.

It was so thick and tough, that Cocytus's physical attack had been rendered nearly useless. Granted, he was not specialized for hand-to-hand combat, but the fact that Lady Tiamat could easily withstand an attack from a being with physical attack as high as his was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

'So. This. Is. A. Supreme. Being's. Strength…'

Tiamat called out to Cocytus who had suddenly gone quiet.

"Cocytus?" she raised her arm upwards due to their height difference and waved it in front of his eyes.

Cocytus's eyes dimly gleamed as if he had blinked and lowered his head in apology. "Apologies. My. Lady. Are. You. Alright? Shall. I. Call. Pestonya?" he asked,worry lacing his words.

"Na, it's no problem, Cocytus. As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. It's just that you seriously surprised me, that's all," she smiled at him, reassuring him that everything was alright. "You must be here because of the practice routine I asked you about, right?"

"Correct. My. Lady."

"So why the sudden punch?" she asked.

"You. Mentioned. That. You. Wanted. To. Train. With. Me. My. Lady. And. Therefore. I. Have. To. Gauge. Your. Strength. And. Weaknesses." he huffed, "In. That. Single. Move. I. Have. Found. The. Best. Training. Routine. For. You."

It took a few seconds for the information to sink in, but Cocytus saw that she eventually understood his meaning because right before his eyes, she broke out into a wide smile as her eyes seemed to sparkle in wonder.

"That's amazing, Cocytus! As expected of the best Warrior in Nazarick!" she exclaimed in awe, as if what he did was breathtaking. Cocytus looked at her sheepishly; to him, this was just something that he thought almost all the Floor Guardians could do. It certainly wasn't anything special. "So, what's the routine?"

Cocytus stood up a little straighter after hearing his Lady praise him. "I. Read. In. Ashurbanipal. About. A. Man. Who. Was. Able. To. Become. Strong. By. Using. This. Method."

Tiamat nodded enthusiastically.

"We. Will. Start. With. Ten. Kilometers. Of. Running. One. Hundred. Pushups. And. One. Hundred. Situps. Today."

Her face immediately fell into shock.

"Hold on a second."

"So. Let. Us. Begin. Quickly. My. Lady." he put one of his hands on her shoulder.

"No wait, that's impossible! I've never run a day in my life, and there's no way that's a real training routine!" she screamed out, but sadly it fell on deaf ears.

Cocytus dragged her with him anyways, his warrior blood boiling in excitement.

( ・ω)( ・)( )(・ )(ω・ )(・ω・)

Tiamat had run across the entire diameter of the Sixth Floor twice, ending up with a little over ten kilometers.

Once she was finished, she was looking at her body confusedly.

"Cocytus, did we just run ten kilometers in one go?"

"Yes. My. Lady."

Tiamat worryingly looked at her fist.

The changes her body had experienced were...astounding.

To be able to run across such a long distance without breaking a sweat would have been an impossible feat for her just a few months before.

Back when she was on Earth, she was always sprawled out on her bed at the end of the day, tired from the labor intensive work of managing the bakery as well as churning the daily bread all by herself.

But now, even if she did something that could be considered superhuman, she wouldn't even break a sweat.

This made her realize that the body she was in was not truly hers.

This body was not her body.

Her palm trembled in disbelief.

She had never felt so stupid.

Why did she only realize this just now…

The difference in strength, muscle mass, fat, and height were too significant compared to her previous body.

'How scary…'

This realization made her aware that this was her current reality.

"My. Lady?" Cocytus asked.

He saw that as the Dragoness finished her first run, she skidded to a stop and had been staring at her palm for quite some time now.

"Should. We. Take. A. Break?" he continued when his Lady didn't reply.

But she didn't hear a word he said, because Tiamat was thinking about someone else.

'Then what about Ainz?' she realized. 'He must've been shocked to see that his body had turned into a skeleton.'

A deep sadness suddenly ingrained itself in her heart. To think that she had been happily frolicking around, all while her dear friend must have been suffering by himself.

"My. Lady?" Cocytus put a hand on her shoulder.

"Y-Yes?"

"Is. Everything. Alright?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

Tiamat smiled, "Yes, Cocytus," she put her hand on top of his, "Shall we finish up now?"

Cocytus nodded, and they continued.

Tiamat made a mental note to talk to Ainz later.

( ・ω)( ・)( )(・ )(ω・ )(・ω・)

Since Cocytus thought that the workout had been too easy on the Supreme Being, he had increased the difficulty by adding weights on both of her legs, along her arms, and across her back: causing her to look like she had a bunch of potato sacks tied to her body.

Once he saw that the weights only slowed her down marginally, he increased the distance; ten kilometers turned into thirty, thirty turned to fifty, fifty turned to one hundred, and before she knew it, she had run until she couldn't feel her legs.

After her marathon around the Sixth Floor, the Dragoness shakily flew to the center of the arena before crashing to the ground with a loud thud, causing small clouds of sand to fly around her entire body.

"N-No more…" she gasped, clutching her chest in pain.

As someone who has never run in her life before, she had never experienced this kind of pain.

Her muscles were painfully sore from the endless running with weights. Every time she breathed in, she felt like her lungs was about to burst, and her heart pounded loudly enough for her to sincerely believe that it was about to explode out of her ear.

Cocytus huffed his breath, "Mare." he said simply.

"Y-Yes!" Mare ran towards where his Lady was sprawled out and cast a restoration spell.

As soon as Tiamat felt Mare casting 『Cure Wounds』, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. The magic felt like a cool breeze on her abused muscles: trading the pain away with a soft, relaxing feeling, dissolving all the tension in her muscles. Almost immediately, the pain eased to nothing.

Tiamat breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Mare," she said with a smile, gently petting his soft blonde tuft of hair as he leaned into her touch.

"Y-You're w-welcome," Mare put out his hand for the Supreme Being to take as he helped her stand back up on her feet.

Healing skills were ridiculous when translated to real life. If you bled for a bit, just cast a simple healing spell. Muscle pain? Healing spell. Torn muscle? Healing spell. Tired? Jam that healing spell over and over again.

If she was sore, she could cast a healing spell so that she could continue her exercise. She abused her spells and skills so much that she thought that there would be a small chance that her training would amount to nothing because her muscle density would always revert to how it was before the exercises.

But she could research that later. For now, she just wanted to be free from the pain and suffering of exercising.

"My Lady!" Aura shouted out as she ran towards the Dragoness, "That was amazing! You ran like a million times around the Sixth Floor without stopping!"

Tiamat giggled at the hyperbole, "I don't think I ran that many times, Aura."

"But still, as expected of a Supreme Being!" her mismatched eyes twinkled in excitement, and her brother nodded enthusiastically.

She smiled, moving to pull the twins in before she caught the scent of an unfamiliar being.

"By the way Aura?"

"Yes, My Lady?"

"What's that smell?" Tiamat moved her head around, sniffing the air.

"What smell?" Aura stared confusedly, before her eyes lit up in understanding, "Oh! Thaaaaaaat smell! That's the new pet that Ainz-sama brought back from outside!"

"Ainz brought in a pet from outside?" Tiamat squinted her eyes in bewilderment. Ainz, the man who had refused to buy any sort of real food for himself, got a pet?

"Yeah! It's like this big fluffy ball with a snake tail, and I really, reaaaally, want his pelt!" Aura excitedly blabbered.

"It sounds super cute, Aura!" Tiamat tightly hugged the twins and ruffled their tufts of golden blonde hair, "By the way, do you want to show me this pet?"

Aura tore her face away from Tiamat's chest, "Yeah! I'll bring her over right now!" the young dark elf dashed into the forest while yelling, "Hey you! Get over here!"

Tiamat and Mare watched as Aura disappeared into the forest.

"So Mare, are you doing okay? Do you need anything?"

"I-I'm fine, My Lady," Mare stuttered as his eyes was trailing away from the Dragoness, his face as red as a tomato from the sudden attention she gave him.

"Well, if you ever want something, just tell me, alright? And don't let your sister bully you all the time either," Tiamat pinched Mare's cheeks.

"Y-Yesh, Mah Ladhy," Mare said with stretched cheeks.

At that moment, Aura returned with a truly bizarre creature in tow.

"Lady Tiamat, I'm back!" Aura waved her hand as the beast skittishly approached them.

Tiamat stared at Ainz's supposed 'pet'.

'There's no way…'

"Is that… is that a hamster?"

"A hamster? What's a hamster?" Aura asked curiously.

Tiamat just gaped at the animal in front of her with eyes full of wonder.

The hamster, who was led by the small elf dressed in boy's clothing had tucked her scaly tail between her legs. The person in front of her smelled similar to the Frost Dragons she had met on this Floor. However, she could smell something different. Something inherently more...powerful.

It whimpered, head frantically looking around for the nearest exit, but once her eyes landed on the elf who had brought her there, she knew that there was nothing she could do.

The hamster's eyes landed once more on the baby dragons behind the red lady. In her time in the Forest, she had seen the big white dragon that followed the lady around. The aura of power that surrounded the dragon left a deep impression within her.

In fact, the giant hamster was scared to the point where she couldn't talk at all.

"Cute."

"Eh?"

"She's so cute!" Tiamat cooed and proceeded to jump into her fluffy body, "A real live Djungarian Hamster!"

"D-Do you know my species, gozaru?" the hamster hesitantly asked.

"Yes, we used to have a Djungarian Hamster as a mascot for the guild before."

"You do, gozaru?!" the hamster asked, her initial fears forgotten, "Does this mean I can marry, gozaru?"

Tiamat let go of her hold on the hamster, and just smiled sadly at the hamster. She didn't have the heart to tell her that Nazarick's mascot existed in another dimension and was already dead to boot.

The cause of death: suffocation.

Pentakrisis, who was slumbering in the nearby vicinity, cackled as from within the forest, his rumbling reaching even to the arena. He was comparing the giant furball to the small hamster from his master's memories and imagining it dying from the same cause.

That poor hamster didn't deserve it, but there was nothing the guild could do; it wasn't like they were in the presence of mind to change the filter in the house. Of course, for them it was as easy as putting on a gas mask to filter the air. But for that poor hamster, the only solution was death.

After that, they vowed to never have a real life mascot ever again.

To offset the dark thoughts, Tiamat proceeded to glomp the twins instead.

She smiled at them, nonchalantly pulling both of them into her arms. She had made a habit of wrapping both of them around her every chance she got, every time, thanking the universe that it was at least kind enough to allow her this.

"Both of you are so adorable~" she cooed, pulling them closer into her arms.

Despite the Supreme Being's weight bearing down on their small frames, mismatched green and blue looked at each other and saw their own thoughts reflected in the other.

Their hearts fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against theirs as they sunk into her warmth. Her touch made the place warmer somehow.

It was a gesture of affection that told them that they were safe, an embrace where they were cocooned better than any butterfly to-be. The arms that held them were soft yet strong, and it soothed them more than what they would expect from such slender limbs.

Aura snuggled closer to Tiamat's chest, "Lady Tiamat is the only person in Nazarick that gives infinite hugs!"

Tiamat snickered, "Well, where else would I rather be?" she replied so easily.

In that moment, their arms squeezed around her a fraction tighter and they breathed more slowly; their bodies melting into hers as their every muscle lost its tension to her touch, knowing that they would never be truly alone as long as their Lady was with them.

Cocytus watched their interaction from a distance.

Every time he saw them, a small feeling grew in his chest as it attempted to erase the pride he currently felt. It took awhile for him to pinpoint exactly what it was.

Envy.

They stood there with a smile that could light up the world.

He couldn't deny that the scene in front of him was lovely. How lucky for the twins that they were created in such a way that would increase his Lady's motherly nature. But sadly, he was stuck standing there within an appearance where his skin was meshed with his own armor.

So of course, nothing about him said anything adorable.

It's not that he was disappointed. He was proud that his creator decided to create him this way; a strong warrior that could protect Nazarick.

A brilliant carapace that gleamed with the might of unshakable glaciers.

Stocky arms that spoke of might capable of moving mountains.

Deadly sharp protrusions that proclaimed his deadliness as a worry.

But despite all of that, he couldn't help but wonder at how the Supreme Beings would treat him if he had a different appearance.

He just wanted one aspect of their cuteness. Just one. Their adorable cheeks, their tininess, Aura's outgoing personality, or even Mare's honesty. One was enough.

If he had one of those, then would he be more approachable? Would he still loom over the Supreme Beings in height? Would his arms still be strong enough to protect Nazarick?

'Would Lady Tiamat be at ease with me if I had a different appearance, just like Aura and Mare?' he huffed.

As he was thinking of these things, his eyes met with the Dragoness's, and she lifted her arms and waved them twice to call him over.

"Come here Cocytus, let's have a group hug!" she laughed out.

As soon as she said that, he rushed forward in a burst of life and joy, his limbs moving to circle around their frames.

He was so happy, he lifted all three of them in his embrace.

Their shrieks and smiles cleansed his soul, and reached the ears of him who had forgotten the warmth of such harmonies. And so he metaphorically closed his eyes and savored the moment, refusing to release his grip on them.

"That's not fair, I want hugs too, gozaru!"

( ・ω)( ・)( )(・ )(ω・ )(・ω・)

Ainz sat down in the library, accompanied by mountains of books surrounding him, as he read each and every page slowly.

Titus, the Chief Librarian, had even brought some more books to entertain him.

"'Twas the books thou hast sought, Milord."

"Excellent work, Titus. Put it right there please," his Lord pointed to the empty space on the floor, and Titus obeyed.

He slowly put down the books the Supreme Being had asked for, wondering why his god was bothering to read such basic books, and books written by the humans of this world no less!

『Introduction to Spell-Crafting』

『A Basic Primer of Elemental Magic and its Applications: Edition III』

『Dungeons and Dragons: Spellbook ©』

Titus had never seen the first two books before until the Head Butler Sebas brought back a collection of magical tomes from where he was stationed.

The last one however, was a book native to Nazarick he had read many times before in his desire to understand the magic of the Supreme Beings of Nazarick.

Despite his curiosity to better understand the power of his gods, he much preferred reading their sagas instead.

Titus knew of the Tale of Momonga, the Overlord of Death. It was written on the Ninth Volume of the Collection of Ashurbanipal, and it had become one of his favorite past-time to read all Forty One books about the Supreme Being.

He was also aware that Eclair Ecleir Eicler had been running back and forth in the library, taking only the Ninth Volume of the Collection of Ashurbanipal, and always ran away when Titus approached him.

Sometimes Titus wondered what was up with that penguin.

But he could not question the Supreme Beings' creation.

Titus looked back to the Overlord of Death who was sitting in the library focused on a book; it was as if he was trying to research something in particular.

Something about Magical Research and Spell Crafting.

Titus whole-heartedly believed that Ainz-sama was the most knowledgeable amongst all the Supreme Beings in terms of spells and wondered why the god of magic was bothering to learn about basic magic spells.

He shook his head; this was his bad habit. Questioning things, even the Supreme Beings' intentions, all out of sheer curiosity. It was definitely an issue that he had to look into later.

"Titus," his god called out, "Could you put this book back with the others Sebas had brought and bring me a new one?"

"Verily, My Lord," Titus hurried to fulfill his Lord's will.

Perhaps one day he would fix that bad habit of his. For now though, he had other things to do.

( ・ω)( ・)( )(・ )(ω・ )(・ω・)

Ainz put down the magical primer he was reading and took off the pair of translation glasses he was wearing.

Back in YGGDRASIL, he was known as the greatest magician in Ainz Ooal Gown as well as one of the best mages in the entire game.

This was not because he had any knowledge regarding the true nature of magic. After all, magic was a mere construct of imagination from the world where he had originally come from.

Rather, it was because he had memorized nearly every single spell YGGDRASIL had to offer. People would also be shocked when he revealed to them the extent of his obsession. For a man who had few connections to anything besides YGGDRASIL, the magic system had always been something that he had always found joy in learning about. Sometimes, he would even spend an entire day poring over the official compendium of spells in addition to user-submitted ones.

But now?

Now, magic was real. Very real.

Ainz had been ecstatic when he had casted a simple tier three spell,『Fireball』, for the first time while testing his spellcasting capabilities in the New World.

Back in the game, one had to manually select a spell from a list and then drag the cursor over to the area that the player wanted to target.

Here, however, it was like magic was an extension of himself that he could cast without even thinking.

The joy that flowed throughout his being when he felt the instinctive ability to cast his magic was indescribable.

His only regret was that he was limited to the around seven-hundred spells he had back in the game.

Then Tia leveled up.

Such an event should not have been possible. After all, level one-hundred had been the highest level a player could reach in YGGDRASIL.

Although such a revelation excited him, it was also a cause of great worry. If it was possible for one to endlessly level up in this world, then there could be people whose strength would far exceed his and Tia's.

In any case, leveling up was definitely their greatest priority now.

'It's a good thing I asked Cocytus to train her. Hopefully, I'll be able to rest easy for a while..." Ainz mused as he turned his attention back to the new book in his hands.

『Introduction to Spell-Crafting』

'An interesting title for sure," Ainz turned the book around in his hands as he thought about the possibilities.

If it were possible for him to "craft" his own spells as the book suggested, then who knew what the limit was.

The tantalizing prospect of exploring an unknown field, and magic at that, brought a surge of joy into Ainz's heart.

'To think we can now create magic ourselves…! Ah, and there it goes again,' Ainz pondered as his excitement was subdued by that damnable green aura.

His reverie was broken by Titus, "My Lord, I hath found a suitable tome for thy noble personage."

"Thank you Titus. Please put it over there," the skeletal Overlord pointed to an empty space at the table he was sitting, "I'll look over it later."

"My Lord needeth not shower thy servant with gratitude. Indeed, to serve a Supreme Being is the height of joy itself," Titus responded before bowing and leaving Ainz to his lone contemplation.

"Anyways," Ainz muttered to himself as he thumbed the pages to the Spell Crafting book open before putting on the magical spectacles once more, "I should probably read through this book first before forming any ridiculous expectations."

'Fluder Paradyne, hm? If I recall correctly, one of my clients gave it to me as payment since he didn't have anything else… I guess this writer must be quite famous if that person thought that he could pay off an Adamantite adventurer with it.'

Introduction to Spell Crafting, A Primer By Fluder Paradyne

Spellcasting is the greatest form of power, wielded in the form of mana.

Mana as a whole is an invisible energy that can alter the rules of nature as it gives the user the power to manipulate everything around him.

As one of the most powerful mages of this era, I, Fluder Paradyne am writing this in the hopes that one of you reading this may surpass me one day.

Keep in mind however, that spellcrafting is not a vocation that anyone can access. In order to apply the lessons in this book, the reader must be attuned to either the flow of mana around him or the flow within him.

With that being said, I shall now impart the basics of spellcraft upon you. May fortune smile upon you in your delving of arcana.

Chapter I: The Nature of Spells

It is impossible for one to begin creating their own spells without first having a grasp of what spellcraft means.

Spellcraft is the art through which mages reinterpret and mold the world around them into a form of their choice. Naturally, a power such as this comes at a price; a resource that we will, for the sake of simplicity, call mana.

Now, although mana is the primary resource through which arcane mysteries are brought into the realm, it pales in comparison toKnowledge; any novice with a large enough mana pool can cast a simpleMagic Arrow, but only a genius with the requisite Knowledgecan cast powerful spells likeFireball.

However, even an ample combination of the two is insufficient to peer even an inch into the abyss of the arcane. For that, one must understand the true nature and structure of a spell. Keep in mind that the structure varies from mage to mage, though the fundamental aspects will remain the same.

First, one ought to write out their spell formula onto a sheet of paper before they attempt to cast it. This step is to ensure that there are no errors with the spells; an important part that has killed many a mage who thought they were too good to make mistakes.

The most critical parts of a spell are these:

An aria or formula that will reference your stores of Knowledge.

The most important aspects of the spell quantified in some way. For example, if a mage sought to create a variant of the spellMagic Arrow, they would need to detail the speed, size, and piercing power of the projectile. Keep in mind however, that the greater these essential quantities, the more mana is required to cast these spells.

Formulas to inscribe more advanced properties onto the spell. These formulas, however, seem to be limited to only those with extensive experience in a particular field of magic. Many sages throughout history have tried and failed to share these formulas, only for their texts to come out as unintelligible nonsense to those outside their field of specialty.

Upon reviewing that a spell is missing none of the above components, the caster has several avenues of application available to him. He can choose to inscribe the spell and its related formulas onto a suitable scroll for later use. He could also choose to memorize the formulas and tie them to somatic components in order to make it a conventional spell, or if he had enough gold, he would have the option of purchasing an uncharged wand and binding the newly-created spell to it.

I will now impart upon the reader some of the core qualities of basic spells…

Ainz put the book down, his hands trembling before the green aura washed away his shock.

The way Paradyne described the formation of spells sounded awfully similar to the programming he had to back at his old job on Earth. Despite having only an elementary school level of education, he had still learned a bit of coding, since nearly every office job at that point required at least some knowledge in the field.

Ainz shook his head to clear the unpleasant recollections and focused his mind on the recent revelation.

If spellcrafting were truly analogous to the work he had to do in his old world, then perhaps that shitty job of his had paid off after all.

Ainz grinned inside his head. The magic-nerd inside him was shaking with anticipation.

"Well, I should test all of this out first," Ainz cleared his nonexistent throat as he pulled out a pen and a nearby piece of scrap parchment.

"Umu, let's see...『Modified Fireball』should be a good starting point," Ainz muttered as he hurriedly wrote down his interpretation of the code for the makeshift spell.

#include Fundamentals

#include Arcane

#include String

namespace Modified_Fireball {

void projectile(int projectileSpeed, int projectileSize, std::string element){

int explosionRadius = 10;

Arcane::Elemental(true, element);

Arcane::Explosive(true, explosionRadius);

Fundamentals::LaunchMagic(Arcane::CreateProjectile(true, projectileSpeed, projectileSize));

}

void main() {

int projectileSpeed = 10;

int projectileSize = 2;

std::string element = "fire";

projectile(projectileSpeed, projectileSize, element);

}

}

The Overlord stared at his completed work.

'Hah...No matter how I look at this, there's no way nonsense like this would work," Ainz sighed as he balled up the parchment before freezing.

'What if…? What if it works?' he slowly unballed the paper.

"According to this book, I just need to memorize this code and say its name," Ainz scanned the crinkled parchment once again.

"『Modified— Ah, I should probably go outside to cast this…" the Overlord said as he narrowly avoided blowing up the Library.

"『Gate』."

Ainz walked through the violet rift and out to the plains surrounding Nazarick.

"This should be a good place to test. Then in that case,『Modified Fireball』!"

A ball of flame two meters in radius flickered into existence and launched itself from Ainz's palm towards where he was aiming. As it impacted against the grassy fields, it erupted into a fiery explosion around twenty meters in diameter, igniting the surrounding area, before Ainz panickedly put out the flames.

"It… it actually worked…" Ainz muttered in wonder.

He could actually create his own spells.

He could create his own spells.

Suzuki Satoru broke out into bright laughter.

That was until the green aura bestowed its curse upon him once again.

"Curse you, status effect!" Ainz shook his fist at the air.

( ・ω)( ・)( )(・ )(ω・ )(・ω・)

Tiamat looked down at her table, scribbling away at the paperwork in front of her.

Her quill moved in circles, doodling on the budget form while her eyes stared distantly into her paper.

Albedo looked over Ainz's shoulder and then looked at the paperwork in front of the Dragoness.

'It seems that I have to redo that one…' Albedo mused.

The doodle looked like a piece of pie with a strawberry on top. The crude details and messy linework made it look like the pie had seen better days, or so that was what Albedo could see from where she stood. She moved her eyes to the page where she could see what looked like a skull similar to the Supreme Being's, only that most of the lines covered the numbers on the report and skull looked as if it was in pain and gritting its teeth.

Her inquisitive yellow eyes shifted to the unfocused Supreme Being. As the quill kept moving, Albedo decided to interrupt.

"Is there anything bothering you, My Lady?"

"Hn…"

Her unspirited response caused Ainz to look up from his own set of paperwork and stare at her curiously.

It was very rare that his friend would be in such a somber mood after spending lunch time with the Floor Guardians. She was usually so chipper, humming happily while blabbing on about the cuteness of the twins or how innocent Pandora's Actor turned out to be.

But now, her usually ramrod straight back was hunched, an image that he was still unused to. Ainz used to speculate that even back on Earth, she had inserted a rod under her skin.

Ainz crumpled the unused paper and threw it so that it landed in front of her.

"Uwaa!" came the high pitched voice he was familiar with. "What was that for, Ainz?" she scowled and turned to look up at him.

"You're doodling on Albedo's precious report," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Ah," Tiamat looked up to see Albedo who was standing behind her. "I'm sorry, Albedo…"

Albedo smiled at her Lady, "It's nothing, My Lady. That one was fairly simple, in fact, please let me redo it."

"But…" Tiamat looked down at the already destroyed report, but Albedo swiftly took it away from her table and proceeded to make a new copy out of a freshly made piece of paper.

"Whatever it was, think about it later" Ainz took another piece of paper from his pile to work on.

"Hn…" she looked even more dejected by what he said, and proceeded to doodle yet again on another empty sheet of paper.

Ainz sighed.

"Albedo," Ainz ordered while making a subtle gesture asking her to leave them alone for a bit. The succubus straightened her back and quietly slipped out of the office.

Once the door had been gently shut, Ainz looked up from his paperwork to properly look at the Dragoness. "Stop sulking."

"Am not, and I can sulk if I want to," she sat straighter, but her eyes didn't look away from the quill she was holding.

"Never said you couldn't. Although, I am curious with what has been bothering you."

Tiamat couldn't help it; she sighed and shook her head, stopping whatever it was she was doing as she looked up at Ainz. Once he knew she was finally looking straight at him properly, he returned his focus back to the paperwork at hand.

"I was thinking of something…" she said offhandedly as she watched for his reaction.

"Bad idea," he muttered.

Tiamat just stared at him in annoyance, shoving the paperwork away from her, but silently agreed at his reply. Her ideas were never the best.

"And?" he continued after a moment of silence.

"I've been a bad friend," she said in a small voice.

At the outrageous statement, Ainz put down his paper and quill before leaning back in his chair.

"Since we've arrived in the New World, I've been playing around all by myself, feeling happy about the entire situation, and just assumed that you felt the same way. But I realized something today," she added and watched as his head quickly shot up.

His eyes flared as if to tell her to continue.

"I've just realized that it wasn't just me that was affected by this change, but you too. It never crossed my mind that you might be feeling shocked with how you look. It must've been scary to see that your body had suddenly changed so drastically."

"About that…"

"I should've been more sensitive about the changes you're experiencing. It's not everyday that you get isekai-ed into a new world. You've been taking care of me from the beginning so I'm going to return the favor."

He would've blinked if he could.

"It must have been shocking when you saw your body in the mirror for the first time…" she trailed off.

"Actually, I didn't get shocked," he corrected her. "Ever since we've arrived in the New World, I have been unable to feel much emotion. I presumed it was from the emotional suppression that comes with being an Undead. So I didn't feel anything like what you've mentioned."

"What?"

"You heard me," Ainz returned to his paperwork, "All Undead in YGGDRASIL are immune to mental effects. I believe that my emotions would well up to the point that they could be considered status effects."

Tiamat casted her eyes downwards, "You should have told me…" she whined, and Ainz knew immediately what she was thinking.

"Why would I? It hasn't obstructed me in any way. Moreover with this skill, I don't get emotional as much, causing me to be able to think a lot clearer than usual. So it does have its perks."

It took a few seconds for Tiamat to register his words.

"Does this mean you don't feel joy?"

"To an extent."

"Sadness?"

"Hm, I haven't experienced any profound sadness since we've arrived."

"Anger?"

Ainz eyes trailed away from his paperwork, remembering when his emotional block had failed to contain the feeling of anger when Tiamat almost died because she didn't discuss her plans with him.

"To an extent…" he trailed off.

"Then," she stared at him, "Are you happy?"

Ainz lowered his head slightly in introspection and thought back to everything that had occurred in the past months: from their miraculous migration to the New World, to their ridiculous bet, and even the quiet hours they spent doing paperwork together.

What a silly question.

He raised his head again, "I see no reason why I shouldn't be."

Ainz felt mildly confused. He hadn't acted particularly strange or anything had he? In that case, why was she suddenly so concerned about him?

"Why are you so curious about my emotional state?"

"Obviously, it's because I care about you, you bonehead," Tia rolled her eyes.

"Me?"

Back when the guild was still active, it was always him that took care of his guild members, listened to their troubles, and cleared up conflicts between them. Of course, that wasn't to say that his friends didn't look out for him, but he was unused to people expressing their care in such a blatant manner.

Tiamat frowned at his reply.

"Don't worry about me," he said, putting down his paperwork, unable to focus on the documents any longer. "Just worry about yourself."

"Soooo, you didn't feel shocked at all when you saw that you've become a walking, living, skeleton?"

"No," he snorted, "As I said, you don't have to worry about me, Ann," he said with a soft undertone.

"If you say so…" she twitched her nose, feeling a bit sad that Ainz was so nonchalant about the whole situation, but she believed him either way. She knew that if something happened, he would always confide in her.

"Can I ask another question?"

"No," he replied sarcastically.

"You're not being very nice," she complained, but the humor shining through her words showed that she wasn't offended.

"Of course not, if you want nice, then don't ask an Overlord with a minus five hundred karma rating," he replied with the same dry humor.

Tiamat snorted. "Still roleplaying even though you've become the real deal?"

"That just means I'm in character," Ainz countered.

His friend just sighed and leaned back in her chair as she looked up at the ceiling.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before Tiamat spoke out again.

"Which one are you," she muttered, her soft voice filling the quiet room. "Suzuki Satoru or Momonga of Ainz Ooal Gown?"

He opened his mouth to respond and was surprised when he found himself hesitating.

The Dumb Dragon had unexpectedly asked him a very good question.

With his emotional suppression, could he even be considered human anymore? Was Suzuki Satoru someone that only existed back in that hellhole of a planet, and Momonga the one that existed in the world of YGGDRASIL? If that were the case, was he still really himself?

The only thing that mattered to Suzuki Satoru were his friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

And he knew for certain that fact had not changed.

Before he could voice his response, Tiamat continued.

"You see, sometimes I'm vaguely aware that this world is different from ours. Not just this," she waved her hands at the office around them, "But our physical bodies as well. I can hear and smell things better than normal, my eyes can see further, and the craziest out of them all is that I can sprout wings from my back and fly into the sky." she paused for a moment before continuing with a softer tone.

"Some days I wondered if I'd gone insane; was this world something out of my imagination? Was it perhaps just a dream? But as the days went by, I was convinced that this is now our reality."

Ainz nodded, agreeing with her. "I think of the same things as well."

"You do?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice.

As if a light bulb had suddenly turned on inside his head, Ainz quickly realized why she had asked this question.

"Of course. As you said, I am a walking, living, skeleton. On certain days I wondered if this was real, if I am truly me. But that doesn't matter."

"Why?"

"At our core, we are still the same people with the same values. Although the way we express our feelings may have changed or even if our appearances have warped to this degree, we still love and treasure the same things," Ainz stared at Tiamat. "As long as your feelings don't change, it doesn't matter right?"

Tiamat looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

She never thought of it that way.

Ever since she had arrived in the New World, she realized that her body is not her own. It was as if she was taking over someone else's body, especially since she often heard praises regarding her new appearance, all while knowing that the real her would never fulfill those expectations.

But he had told her it didn't matter.

As long as the inside was still her, he couldn't care less.

Unknown to her, a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt a little more at ease and smiled in relief.

"You're right," she grinned. "I was overthinking things."

Ainz scoffed, "Of course you were. You're a woman. A mythical creature with complex feelings that could never be solved."

Tiamat gasped, pretending to be offended, "Excuse me, did you just assume my gender? It's the twenty-second century and you're still like this? Tsk tsk."

If Ainz could grin, he would have.

"But we're no longer on that planet anymore, so your argument is invalid."

"Ah, you have a point there," she snickered at their banter.

"Since we've solved your problem, come help me solve mine. I've been stuck here finishing these documents from a while ago."

Tiamat sank back into her chair and smiled.

'How could a skeleton be wiser than a dragon?' she asked herself.

Must be the WIS bonuses from his magic caster classes.

But for some odd reason, she didn't think that was the case. She knew that Suzuki had always been smart for his age. Sometimes, it annoyed the hell out of her because she wished she had at least a fraction of his brain.

"Give it to me," she said, offering her hand to him as he gave away the problematic paperwork for her to solve.


Omake: Thief in Nazarick


Titus had noticed something odd.

It seemed that Eclair Ecleir Eicler had been visiting the library back and forth, entering through the door in silence, which was very different from his usual self.

The human-animal skeleton had been watching the penguin from afar the past couple of days, and it seemed that he always stopped at a very specific collection of books. Every time the penguin visited, he would always drag a chair over to climb up on in order to take the book out.

Titus was familiar with that book: The Collection of Ashurbanipal, Volume IX, Momonga: the Overlord of Death.

One thought had been bothering him.

Every denizen of Nazarick knew of Eclair's ambition: taking over Nazarick one day through his power of cleaning. But now Titus feared that Eclair was trying to topple the leader of Ainz Ooal Gown himself.

What if Eclair had decided to act on his ambition and try to find the Supreme Being's weakness? Such an act was uncalled for.

Titus stopped himself.

There was no way that Eclair who was so obsessed with making Nazarick as clean as possible would have the time to think about such a grand plan.

Moreover, this was Eclair he was suspecting. Even though he was the creation of a Supreme Being, he was too much of a dolt to be able to create such a strategy.

'No one whatsoever possesses the required time for such trifles,' Titus thought to himself.

But perhaps he shall bring these worries to the Head Maid herself.


"Eclair, woof."

The penguin had been called over by Pentonya Shortcake Wanko to her office on the Ninth Floor. The cream colored walls and landscape paintings seem to close in on him as he stood before the Head Maid.

"What is it Pestonya, I need to clean the toilet bowl so that people may lick it after I clean it," he boasted.

"Eclair, I'm really disappointed, woof."

"What do you mean?"

"I never thought that the assistant butler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick would do something like this, woof."

"Ha? Please tell me of what I did wrong. Did I scrub the toilet bowl so hard that parts of it scraped off?"

"I know you were created this way by the Supreme Being, but please don't steal. How shameful, woof."

Eclair looked at Pestonya with wide eyes.

"Stealing, me?"

"Yes, woof."

"Impossible! This is slander of the highest degree! I am Eclair Ecleir Eicler, the assistant butler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the one who will sit upon its throne one hundred thousand years from now! How could you accuse me of such a degrading accusation?!"

Eclair could see the pity in Pestonya's eyes.

"Give up Eclair, Titus saw everything, woof."

"What insolence! I am innocent!"

"If you don't confess now, I am afraid I will have to bring this case to the Pleiades, woof."

For an organization as large as Nazarick, a proper chain of command was essential. Since the great leader of Nazarick could not look over every action from every personnel, a system had been set up to prevent the Supreme Being from being flooded with work

Pestonya was the one responsible for all the Homunculi maids and was in charge of every maids' schedule. After that came the next group in command, those who every maid looked up to.

The Pleiades, Nazarick's last line of defence who also worked as field agents, yet held many responsibilities in The Great Tomb. They were responsible for Pestonya's actions.

Above them was Sebas, who was responsible for Pleiades along with Yuri Alpha, the eldest sister, both of them making sure everything was done according to what was directed to them.

At the same level as Sebas were the Floor Guardians, the most exalted creations of the Supreme Beings who had the sacred duty of defending Nazarick from the outsiders who would see it despoiled.

And to command all the Guardians was Albedo, the Overseer of Nazarick the one responsible for all the Floor Guardians, including Sebas. At the top, existed the Supreme Beings, holy entities that resided at a pinnacle the rest of them could never hope to even glimpse.

Despite the existence of positions even higher than hers, to be directed to even Pestonya for reprimanding was a great dishonor.

"How could you, Pestonya?! How many times do I have to say to you that I am innocent!"

"Then what were you doing sneaking books out of the library without permission yesterday? Woof," Pestonya asked calmly.

"Books? I can't read for crying out loud! What use are books to me to sit on the Throne of Nazarick?!"


Meanwhile…

Pandora's Actor sat sprawled across the sofa with his stomach down while his elbows supported his body as he leisurely flipped the page of a certain book.

"Aha!" he said excitedly. "So that's how my great Vater became the glorious ruler of Nazarick!"

Between his hands was the book he took from the library this afternoon.

His black eyes absorbed all the information at a glance, burning them forever in his memory while he flipped another page.

He had to quickly return it before his Vater knew that he had left the treasury for a few minutes.

Perhaps he should use another disguise to borrow books from the Library later on.

He had never imagined that someone so inconspicuous would be so slow.


A/N: Short, but satisfying! Btw, "No man has time for such trifles" → "Ain't nobody got time for that!"

Hackslashbash: Big shoutout to LogicLetter for being a massive help on the magic code!

Spells follow a sort of code language syntax. We'll just say it's some sort of pseudo C++.

All spells start with the implication that the user will feed mana into the spell until they run out.

The spells they are able to craft are limited by the amount of knowledge they have

In other words, like programming libraries.

In order to increase their amount of knowledge/access to certain commands and branches of magic, they need to level up in the relevant classes

In any case, the only requisite for a spell to work properly would be if the crafter ascribed the correct "meaning" to it. "Meaning" is different for everyone, but it's important that the spell works in the mind of the creator.

Furthermore, it isn't possible to just make a spell with a 10000000 meter explosion radius because mana consumption rises as the basic attributes of the spell—Speed, duration, range—increase.

Chapter 23 is up on Discord!

Discord: 'Tiamat: The Goddess of Dragons' Discord Link: Hector Tries To Pivot Stuff (colon) (slash) (slash) daddy is so craving orangerefreshing drink . gg (slash) Y4K4zqNa9H