A/N: We heard you peeps, but we never censor anything. If you went on our discord server you can see that we have posted the gdocs there and as it is the original transcript, there was no censorship. The censorship was from the website itself, I don't know what happened but as for now, I will change the rating for this fanfic from T to M so that there will be no more censorship at least. If you have any problems with this, please ping either me or hackslashbash on our discord server.
Discord: 'Tiamat: The Goddess of Dragons' Discord Link: Hector Tries To Pivot Stuff (colon) (slash) (slash) daddy is so craving orange refreshing drink . gg (slash) JUejk8J
Chapter 31: Consolation Prize
"Lady Tiamat."
"Yes, Shroud?" Tiamat groaned, her face buried in the sole pillow of the room. She blearily blinked debris from her bloodshot eyes as she struggled to force open her stuck together lashes.
She looked like an idiot, she was sure of it.
Tiamat wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She would have to remember to send it to Yuri for some washing later.
"Lord Ainz is here," the Eight-Edge Assassin reported with a reverent tone.
'...'
"What?!" Tiamat shot up from the bed. "A-A-Ainz?" she stuttered.
"Yes," Ainz's face suddenly appeared right in front of her, "That's me."
"W-Why?" she asked out loud.
"I had no way of knowing what the Supreme Being requires, My Lady, but he desires an audience with you."
"Now?!" Tiamat asked with her tone raised, disbelief crossed her features. She was totally unpresentable right now. Her eyes were swollen and red while her voice was still scratchy.
"I'm right here, you know," Ainz deadpanned as he crossed his arms across his chest, "You do seem awfully scared of a little talk though, Tia."
He sat down next to her on the bed.
"What's wrong, Tia?" Ainz looked at her intently, "Afraid of a little chit-chat? Are you hiding something?"
Tiamat looked down at her feet, "Everything is alright. You don't have to worry about me… Eek!"
Ainz's eyes flared as he grabbed both of her shoulders, "There must be something going on if you're in this state," he relaxed his grip, "So please, just tell me what happened."
Tiamat let out an unsteady of breath, "I… I messed up with something."
"I see," Ainz nodded as he refrained from asking what it was exactly that she had messed up with, "Is it something that I can help with?"
"I don't know," she looked down at her hands, "I just don't know."
Ainz helplessly stared at her. 'What am I supposed to do...?'
The two quietly remained where they were for a few long moments before Tiamat finally spoke up again, "There… There's this girl."
Ainz raised a nonexistent eyebrow. He wouldn't have expected that the problem Tia was mulling over was a relationship one.
'In that case, aren't I the least qualified person to give advice on this?!'
Unaware of Ainz's inner turmoil, Tiamat continued, "So I made a deal with this girl that she would do something if I could find a person she was looking for. Aaaaand it turns out that I couldn't find the person," her red hair despondently draped itself over her face, "She's just so…! Ugh."
"Who's this person you're looking for?" Ainz asked, hoping to direct her emotions away from anger, "Perhaps I could help in locating them."
"Yeah," Tiamat snorted, "They're not hard to find at all. Just," her voice rose an octave, "Take a quick walk through the cemetery, ya know?" the Dragoness fell back onto the bed.
"Why can't anything ever be easy?" she muttered.
Ainz unconsciously nodded in agreement. Though their quality of life was certainly better than before, their workload was head, shoulders, and feet above what they had to deal with in their past life.
'Wait.'
"She's dead, you say?" Ainz sat down on the edge of the inn's old bed, "If this… deal is so important, resurrection is certainly a possibility," the Overlord impulsively put his hand over hers, "Speaking of which, what was this deal anyways?"
"I promised to find her sister if she chose to…" Tiamat trailed off. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Her sister's dead."
Ainz opened his mouth, wanting to inquire more about this choice Tia was mentioning, but noticed the downcast expression on her face.
"Perhaps you should return home for a short vacation, Tia," Ainz nudged her shoulder. "Everyone misses you."
'I miss you.'
"Yeah… home sounds nice," she mumbled as she pushed herself off the bed, "But I have to talk to that girl first."
"Should I come with you?"
Tiamat deadpanned.
Ainz coughed in his hand, "Invisible, of course."
Tiamat smirked, the first time she'd smiled since Ainz came in, "Na, this is something that she wouldn't want to let anyone else know. If she ever found out a big bad bony boi was eavesdropping on us, she probably wouldn't open up to me or anyone else ever again."
"Fair enough," Ainz nodded as he opened a 『Gate』. Just as he was about to step across the threshold he stopped and asked, "This girl. Is she valuable in some way?"
Tiamat looked down at her stomach, " I don't know."
Despite the noncommittal response, Ainz replied, "In that case, I'll trust you to do what you think is best, Tia. If you ever need help…" he stepped through the portal.
"I'll always be here."
୧((#Φ益Φ#))୨
Tsuare was not having a good day at all.
First, she'd woke up with a bad bout of nausea and spent what felt like forever vomiting—and then gagging when there was nothing left to vomit—in the restroom.
Then, she had to deal with the cold attitude of Solution while she was still dealing with what she was pretty sure was morning sickness.
'At least Sebas-san is nice,' Tsuare absentmindedly thought as she stared out the window. Lady Tiamat had been gone for the entire day and both Solution and Sebas were out of the house.
That brought her to what had been bothering her the entire day. Despite the mansion being empty, she felt like she was being watched.
'No,' Tsuare shook her head. Her paranoia was really getting worse these past few days. Honestly, who would bother watching an ex-sex slave like her?
The blonde hair girl walked away from the window and plopped back down on the bed. Perhaps she was just feeling antsy because she was pregnant? Some sort of maternal instinct or whatnot?
She rolled over onto her side and sighed. Despite being so large, the mansion was nearly completely empty. Of course, Tsuare didn't know if this applied to Lady Tiamat, Sebas, and Solution-san's rooms, but she wasn't nearly as bold enough to enter those uninvited.
It really seemed like they were new to the Kingdom. That would explain why the mansion didn't look as flashy as she would think a noble's house would look like.
'What could cause people as wealthy as them to move away from wherever they came from…?'
It just went to show that everyone, rich or poor, had their own problems in life. That being said, Tsuare felt like she would much rather deal with the problems of being rich than that of being poor.
Tsuare furiously shook her head. She should really stop thinking so much into the situations of her saviors. After all, they had been so kind and still haven't asked anything of her ever since they saved her out of nowhere. People like them had to be kind and good.
The creak of a door opening echoed throughout the empty house.
Tsuare shot straight up. Sebas and Solution-san said that they would be gone the entire day. She looked out the window. It wasn't even noon.
Then who was it?
Tsuare slowly got off the bed and inched towards her door. Ever so carefully, she leaned her head out of the doorway, just enough so that her eyes could see down the hall.
There was no one there. Tsuare pulled her head out of the hallway and leaned against the wall as she exhaled.
'Okay, I really need to get outside some more.'
Suddenly, a hand snaked itself around her mouth, and before she could even think of screaming, a blunt pain in the back of her head made everything go black.
୧((#Φ益Φ#))୨
Tiamat handed the innkeeper a few coins, "This should cover my stay. I'll be heading off now."
"Yes, Hannah-sama," the innkeeper lowered his head as he accepted the coins, "Please come again in the future."
Tiamat absentmindedly nodded her mind, ignoring all of the stares from the other patrons in the room as she walked out of the dinky inn.
"My Lady," Shroud whispered in her ear, "Perhaps Lord Ainz is right in saying that we ought to return to Nazarick. This city could be full of assassins."
Tiamat snorted and mumbled back, "I doubt there's anyone in this city that can even leave a scratch on me, Shroud. Besides," she fished around in her inventory as she walked into a dark alleyway, "There are still things that we need to finish up here."
"I see, My Lady. Please forgive this one for not considering those factors."
"No, it's okay," Tiamat finally pulled out the scroll she had been looking for, "Ah! There we go. 『Conceal Self』."
As the scroll burned into glowing ashes in her hand, Tiamat gradually vanished into thin air. For Shroud—with his high detection prowess—she had only grown a bit fainter but still very visible. But for the rest of the people walking down the streets, they shouldn't be able to see anything at all.
"Alright, let's head out," Tiamat stepped out of the alleyway, waving for Shroud to follow. The assassin quietly followed her from behind as the two made their way back to the mansion.
As they walked down the crowded streets of the Capital towards the noble's district, Tiamat kept thinking back to what Ainz had told her earlier.
'I'll always be here.'
Did he really mean it? Tiamat cupped her chin in thought. More important than that, why did she feel so hesitant about trusting him wholeheartedly? After all, they had stuck together ever since she joined the guild. Was it possibly because he had turned into a skeleton?
Tiamat shook her head, causing Shroud to look at her curiously. That couldn't be it. She had never truly felt uncomfortable around Ainz. In fact, she felt quite the opposite…
'It's because you don't want to admit it.'
Admit what though?
"My Lady," the deadly seriousness in Shroud's voice broke her out of her contemplation, "It appears that the mansion has been broken into. Please stay behind me."
Tiamat's blood suddenly ran cold. Who could have possibly broken in with people as powerful as Sebas and Solution guarding the building? Furthermore, who could have subdued them without even giving them a chance to send 『Message』?
"Shroud," Tiamat forced herself to speak calmly, "Is there anyone in the house?"
"Let me check, My Lady," Shroud vaulted past the walls and entered the mansion.
"Be careful," Tiamat mumbled to herself and grunted as she made herself comfortable in front of the gate, "Who would do something like this…?"
It wasn't as if she, Sebas, Tsuare, or Solution had done anything all that suspicious. She had been looking around boutiques which most noble ladies definitely did if their clothes were anything to go by, Solution and Sebas were busy making connections, and Tsuare…
'Shit.'
At that moment, Shroud suddenly appeared in front of her again as he dipped into a bow, "There is no one in the house, My Lady. But…" the arachnoid fidgeted as he struggled with his confusion, "There were also no signs of fighting."
"What?" Tiamat blinked in surprise. This meant that Sebas and Solution were either defeated in an instant, or that they weren't in the house at all.
After hearing that the house was unmarred by combat, she was inclined to believe the second option. Seeing as it was already late in the morning, it was very likely that Sebas and Solution had already gone out to perform their tasks. Furthermore, the house didn't have any wards installed, so it wouldn't have been very hard for a petty thief to break in either…
'Damn, I should've asked Ainz to set up some protections,' Tiamat cursed herself.
"My Lady," Shroud spoke up, "Forgive me for interrupting, but that human child you mercifully saved stays here all day, does she not?"
Tiamat's body froze up.
"Was she not there when you looked, Shroud?" she slowly asked as her fists clenched her knees.
"No, My Lady," Shroud dutifully responded, pulling out an envelope as he did so, "However, I did find this laying on a table." He passed the envelope to the Supreme Being.
Tiamat hurriedly tore the envelope open and opened the letter within.
Dear Ms. Mistress and her Butler,
It is our regret to inform you that you have illegally acquired property that belongs to us. We will be coming by sometime at night to discuss this issue with you.
We hope that this unfortunate issue can be resolved peacefully. If not…
That would truly be unfortunate.
Sincerely,
A Concerned and Invested Party
Tiamat's fists shook as the letter crumpled and tore in her grip.
So it seemed that some… group had essentially kidnapped Tsuare. And if the contents of the letter were anything to go by, they were probably people from that shithole brothel—or at least affiliated to them—that wanted to blackmail Sebas and Solution who they probably pegged as easy targets.
'So they want to play like that, huh?'
It was just as well.
She needed to let off a bit of steam anyways.
୧((#Φ益Φ#))୨
A golden straw-haired boy gasped for breath as he leaned against his sword, struggling to get back onto his feet as the warrior in front of him patiently waited.
"Haaa… Haaa…" the boy's panting grew louder as he finally struggled back to his feet.
Gazef looked the boy up and down, "I think we will have to stop for now, Climb. Any more and you won't be able to protect Renner properly."
Climb tightened his grip on his sword as he unsteadily brought the blade up before him.
'A chance to spar with the Warrior Captain… I can't let this go to waste.'
"Is what you're thinking, right?" Gazef muttered as he appeared in front of the exhausted boy in a flash, "Take a break for now."
In a single smooth motion, Gazef knocked Climb's blade right out of his hands. Climb fell to the ground in exhaustion.
"It's good to push yourself to your limits," Gazef passed the boy a vial filled with green fluid, "But keep in mind that you have responsibilities outside of yourself."
Climb tiredly nodded as he pocketed the vial. "I need to get stronger for Princess Renner."
Gazef tiredly smiled, "You're no good to the Princess if you're dead. Besides, there'll always be people and monsters that you'll never be able to defeat even if you spent your entire life training."
Climb curiously looked at the Warrior Captain, "Have you ever faced someone like that, Gazef-sama? Someone you couldn't imagine beating?"
Gazef nodded, his eyes distant as he recalled a memory that occurred not too long ago, "While I was in a village that was being attacked by the Theocracy… A red-haired woman and her butler saved us…"
The Strongest Man in the Kingdom looked down at his now trembling hands, "Strong isn't a good enough word to describe them."
Climb widened his eyes a little in shock. Needless to say, that was a very high assessment of strength coming from the Warrior Captain, who was hailed as someone with one foot in the realm of heroes. "But didn't they save Gazef-sama and the villagers? So that means they're good, right?"
Gazef sighed, "Who knows? The strong have a different perception of what's good and what's evil," he got up and grabbed Climb's outstretched hand, pulling the boy back onto his feet, "Maybe you're right. Perhaps this old man is worrying too much."
Climb shook his head, "If Gazef-sama is worried, then surely there is a reason for it."
The Warrior Captain chuckled, "Enough about that. We should leave before anyone sees us. And besides," he nudged the boy with his elbow, "You have to get back to your Princess, eh?"
Climb's face turned a bright red as he dipped into a bow, "Y-Yes! Thank you for sparring with me, Gazef-sama!"
"Don't mind it," Gazef waved his hand as he made his way out of the training hall, "Make sure not to overdo it."
Climb nodded again and watched the Warrior Captain's back as he vanished past the doors of the hall.
Once Gazef was out of the hall, Climb put his sparring sword back onto its rack and wiped his sweat off with his forearm.
"Someone stronger than the Warrior Captain, huh…" Climb mumbled to himself as he set off to the mess hall, "I shouldn't be worrying too much about that."
'I need to focus on what I can do right now,' Climb silently resolved as he crossed the threshold of the garrison's cafeteria.
The moment he did, he noticed the eyes of all the soldiers inside focus on him for a brief moment before turning away. Climb let out a small internal sigh, making doubly sure that his face conveyed no emotion.
'Damn politics.'
He really wasn't cut out for this sort of thing. Of course, he was wholeheartedly dedicated to his role as Princess Renner's bodyguard, but as a result of his special position—and his status as a commoner too, he had no illusions regarding that—everyone around him would constantly judge his behavior in order to find fault with Renner-sama.
Furthermore, since most of the soldiers were sponsored by some lord or another, they would probably not want to associate with him due to the growing tensions between the Royal Family and the nobility.
Even Gazef-sama himself was no exception to this climate. The spar Climb had with him earlier was already a huge risk on both of their parts because if anyone had seen, they would have reported that Climb was too weak to be the Princess's personal guard. On the other hand, if Gazef had lost, they would say that Gazef was not worthy of being the King's guard.
There really was no winning at all. Climb held back a frown as he ignored a shoulder bump from a passing-by soldier and found himself an empty seat.
Quickly scarfing down the bread, soup, and bits of vegetables that was the canteen's breakfast, he put his plate up and headed off to Renner-sama's quarters.
After a bit of walking, he arrived at the Princess's castle, a magnificent construction of stone, wood, and artistry. Climb honestly had a hard time believing that Renner-sama's siblings had even more impressive residences.
Quickly dispelling such distracting thoughts from his mind, Climb passed through the gates with a nod from the guards, and after a cursory inspection from the guards at the entrance to the castle itself, he finally found himself standing before the door to Renner-sama's room.
Right as his knuckle made to knock against the door, Climb heard the sound of two female voices conversing.
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"This is the perfect time to strike. They're still dealing with the aftermath of your raid on their farms, so we should deal with them now while they're weakened."
"True…" Climb recognized this voice to be Lakyus-sama's, a close friend to the Princess, "But we're still in the dark when it comes to their full capabilities. What if they go after you while we're raiding them? What if they just move everything to an unknown location? And more importantly, as adventurers, we shouldn't be getting into political matters like this."
'Lakyus-sama is really worked up…' Climb thought to himself. It was rare for the leader of the illustrious Blue Rose to display such an outburst of emotion.
"That's true…" Climb's heart ached as he heard the disappointment in Renner's voice, "I guess we should hold off on the attack after all."
"Good," Lakyus clapped, "By the way, shouldn't you let Climb-kun in? He's been standing outside the door for quite a while now."
"Ah! Lakyus, you dummy!" Climb took a step back from the door and straightened his back as he heard the Princess's light footsteps rush towards the door, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Climb-kun!" the door opened and Climb was greeted with the sight of Renner's slightly flushed face, "Please come inside!"
Climb could feel his face slowly heat up as he became acutely aware of how Renner was grabbing his hand. "U-um, Renner-sama, I don't think you should—"
"Just come inside already~" Renner completely disregarded Climb's concerns as she dragged the spluttering boy into the room.
"Climb," Lakyus raised her hand in greetings, "It's nice to see you again."
"I'm honored to see you too, Lakyus-sama," Climb dipped in a bow, "I apologize for accidentally listening to your meeting."
"Ah," Lakyus waved her hand dismissively, "It's alright. Besides, you can just call me Lakyus," the golden-haired adventurer smiled, "We're all friends anyway."
Climb felt his heart warm up at the statement. He could have never believed that he would make close friends that genuinely cared about him. Once again, he thanked Princess Renner in his heart. "Thank you, Lakyus-sa—Lakyus!"
"Okay, okay," Renner clapped her hands together, "Let's continue with the meeting everyone."
Climb nodded as he took his place standing behind the Princess.
"Eh?" Renner looked at him in surprise, "Come sit with us, Climb-kun."
"Renner-sama," Climb lowered his head in deference, "It would not be appropriate for me to do so. Also, I shouldn't be here any…" his words trailed off as he saw the Princess's pout.
"Well," she patted the seat next to her, "In that case, I order you to sit here!" the Golden Princess declared with a childishly large smile on her face.
Climb helplessly looked towards Lakyus who simply shrugged as if to say, 'What can you do about it?'
Left with no other choice, Climb pulled out the chair next to Renner and took a seat. Suddenly, he noticed that the two seats next to Lakyus were suddenly occupied by two girls in matching and bizarre attire.
"Who—?!" Out of reflex, Climb quickly pulled his sword out and positioned himself between the intruders and the Princess.
"Oh," Lakyus scowled at the two people who popped out of nowhere, "Tia, Tina. Next time, don't sneak up on us, okay?"
"Okay—"
"—Evil Boss," the two ninjas pouted as they reached for the cookies that were spread out on the table. Lakyus just gave a small smile and shook her head before turning back towards Renner and Climb.
"Anyways," the Leader of Blue Rose put on a serious expression, "We were discussing the issue of slave trading within the Capital."
Climb furrowed his eyebrows. Princess Renner had recently helped pass a law outlawing slavery throughout the Kingdom, but without enforcement, the law was ultimately useless.
People were willing to do anything for money after all.
"Since we don't know where the traders could be hiding or how strong they are, I think it would be wise to wait and watch for now," Lakyus elaborated before taking a sip from her teacup.
'But how many people would have to be sacrificed just because we're waiting?' Climb tightened his fists. He knew that there wasn't much they could do, but the fact that people were suffering…
Renner spoke up and voiced his thoughts, "But people are dying!"
Lakyus's shoulders dropped, "Yeah, that's true. There just isn't much that we can effectively accomplish with a raid though."
"If only the Silver Priestess joined Blue Rose, maybe things would've turned out differently…" Climb muttered to himself.
"I-I'm sure things will work out," Renner sniffed as she tried to hold back her tears, "Maybe the gods will help us, right Lakyus?"
Climb felt like his stomach had turned into a ball of lead. Renner didn't cry often, and every time she did, it made him feel miserable.
He wasn't strong enough to protect her.
Lakyus gave a sad smile, "Yeah. Maybe."
୧((#Φ益Φ#))୨
[Ainz.]
[Tia?] Ainz instantly put down his pen and straightened up, [What is it?]
[I need to tell you something.]
'Obviously,' Ainz thought sarcastically in his head but kept it to himself, [I see. I am listening.]
[So that girl that I made a deal with… I was also looking after her.]
[Okay?] Ainz didn't quite know where this was going. Did Tia need his help looking after the girl? He was pretty sure that she would definitely be better at that sort of thing than him. [Do you require any materials in taking care of her?]
[That's not it.] Ainz could hear a hint of anger spilling over into her voice. [So I rescued her from a brothel—]
[What were you doing near a brothel?] Ainz asked incredulously.
[We were just passing by. Anyways, we rescued her, nursed her back to health, and then one day, she wasn't there anymore.] Her voice lowered an octave. [There was a letter implying that she was kidnapped. I'm betting my money that the kidnappers are either from the brothel or some other shady organization.] There was a short pause, [I had Shroud follow me around the whole time, so there wasn't anybody looking after the mansion when Sebas and Solution were out.]
[Umu.] Ainz lowered his head in thought.
'There's no way these kidnappers went out of their way just to retrieve—from what Tia is saying—a defective product. A more likely probability is that they noticed this slave was residing where Sebas and Solution were staying and assumed that they could blackmail them for money. Seriously though, I should've assigned some more guards to the mansion, but I thought that would arouse too much suspicion…'
Ainz's blood boiled in rage. [I see. What are you planning on doing?]
[I'm going to kill all of them.] Her voice was surprisingly calm. [Want to help?]
[On one caveat.] He nodded his head to Albedo who had just re-entered the office. [If they are indeed some sort of 'shady organization,' then it could be beneficial for us if we were to assume control of them.]
[Sounds good to me.] Tiamat surprisingly agreed. Ainz didn't think that she would be so calm and level-headed in such a situation. [I just need to rescue Tsuare and blow off some steam.]
'Tsuare is the girl's name? Sounds oddly familiar…' Ainz nodded in agreement as he waved his hand, signaling Albedo—who had been waiting outside the office and peeking through a crack in the door—to come in. [Then would you like to come over to discuss the details of the plan?]
Albedo pointed to the horns on her head, mouthing 'Is it Lady Tiamat?' Ainz nodded and turned his attention back to the call.
[So, a plan?]
[Ah, I'm already in front of the brothel.]
[What?! Don't be reckless Tia!] Ainz almost jumped out of his chair as his body was washed over with a green shimmer.
[But if we take too much time, Tsuare might get into even more danger!] There it was, the panic in Tiamat's voice. Ainz sighed. He knew that she was going to act like this.
[Listen to me Tia, she was already in danger from the beginning. Whatever you're trying to do, you're going to endanger her life even more. I'm sure that the moment you show up at their doorsteps, they'll either move her, implement more security, or force you into a hostage situation.]
Tiamat quieted down, trying to recall her days in the mansion where Sebas and Solution stayed. There was never a day where she had bothered to hide her identity as the 'Hannah.' She had oftentimes gone in and out normally without covering herself, and if the kidnappers bothered to perform even a cursory investigation into where Tsuare had stayed all this time, then they would definitely already know that they were messing with an Adamantine all this time.
'Ainz is right... To kidnap someone from the residence of an Adamantite adventurer would either mean they're suicidally bold or...'
[Whoever kidnapped Tsuare is certainly prepared if you decide to show up at their doorsteps.]
The Dragoness took a deep breath. Being reckless now would solve nothing. Shouldn't she know this already? After all, she'd already experienced the consequences of rash foolishness.
She needed to change, especially with someone's life at stake.
[I understand.]
[Good. You're catching up. Now listen closely, Tia. It's impossible that an organization this shady would have just one base, so we shall assume that they have multiple bases. If we attack one, it wouldn't matter since they could just hide away and wait for a chance to enact revenge. After all, they are resorting to creating a hostage situation precisely because they know how powerful an 'Adamantite' adventurer can be. The first thing they will do is to use that girl as leverage against you to prevent retaliation.]
[Then what do we do?] she asked.
Ainz thought back, doing his best to recall the contents of the letter Tia had received.
Even though he was an Undead, a sudden chill passed through his spine as diabolical strategies started piecing themselves together in his nonexistent brain.
After a short pause, he finally decided on one.
[Here's what we're going to do...]
୧((#Φ益Φ#))୨
Ainz closed the『Message』and silently sat in his seat as he folded his hands on top of the desk.
"Lord Ainz?" Albedo asked worriedly, "Has something happened to Lady Tiamat?"
"Yes," Ainz replied excitedly, "Something has indeed happened to her." He had never felt so… alive. The last time he felt like this was when an especially large guild raid had gone successfully.
"Lord Ainz! If that's the case, then we need to go and assist her immediately!" Albedo rushed forward and slammed her palms against the desk, "I'll go select some mercenary mobs for a task force."
"Albedo, wait," Ainz lifted his hand to stop her, "Tiamat is fine, but there's something I need you to do."
"Anything you need, Lord Ainz." Albedo stepped back into the office and closed the door behind her.
"I am going to go and make sure that she doesn't make a mess of things. Albedo," Ainz stood up and gave his best impression of a serious and regal voice, "Gather the Floor Guardians and convey these orders to them before teleporting them to my location: We are currently at odds with a criminal organization and I am counting on you to take over all of their bases."
Ainz took a step towards Albedo, his eyes raised to the ceiling, "Use whatever means you deem necessary, but do not get innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire," He lowered his gaze towards the wide-eyed Succubus, "In our absence, we will be counting on you, Albedo to defend Nazarick, but be prepared to be put in a combat position at all times. Furthermore, I want you to gather up a hit squad of Eight Edged Assassins and Shadow Demons," Ainz paused for a moment, "Bring some doppelgangers too."
"Yes, Lord Ainz!" Albedo knelt, one hand over her chest and determination gleaming in her eyes, "I will not disappoint you!"
'None of you ever have,' Ainz warmly thought to himself, "I don't doubt it. Thank you for your hard work, Albedo," Ainz opened a『Gate』, "I'll be back soon,"
'Some spicy ramen after all of this would be just the thing to relieve my stress.'
୧((#Φ益Φ#))୨
"So I just need to sit there, look pretty, and nod to everything they say?" Tiamat asked as she tugged on the corner of her dress.
"Yes," Ainz coughed into his hand, "That's a little simplified, but essentially, yes."
"Alrighty!" Tiamat fist- pumped, "Let's do this!"
Ainz nodded and glanced at Sebas and Solution. Immediately, the two bowed in shame.
"This is all my fault, Lord Ainz, Lady Tiamat. If I had prepared more accordingly this wouldn't have happened."
Solution bowed as well, "We sincerely apologize for our mistakes Lord Ainz…"
"No, Solution, you don't have to apologize. This whole operation was my duty, therefore I am responsible for the both of us. Please punish just this lowly one."
Sebas's head dipped even lower, "I am prepared to die for my error."
"Sebas-sama!" Solution yelled. Due to the Supreme Beings' generosity, death was never a punishment granted to residents of Nazarick. Furthermore, to lose someone as capable as Sebas would be nothing short of a tragedy.
"My, don't be too hasty, Sebas-san," Demiurge who had been invited over by Ainz along with the other Floor Guardians smugly spoke out while pushing his glasses up, "It's true that you have made a blunder, but it's quite presumptuous of you to decide your own punishment. That should be in the hands of our Supreme Beings."
Silence suddenly filled the gap in the discussion. It was obvious that Demiurge didn't like Sebas and the shallow conversation was laid bare, utterly feeble.
Of course, no one thought for a moment that the butler would crumple, wail, or dissolve into tears, and certainly, he did none of those things. Instead, he stood tall and unafraid, even if the scythe was aimed at his neck.
"As I said, I am prepared to die for my mistakes. This blunder had caused a lot of trouble, and I even had to have the Supreme Beings clean up my mistakes for me. I am deeply ashamed."
Aura and Mare, who were seated in Tiamat's lap, peeked curiously towards their direction as they watched the two clash. They already knew from the beginning that Demiurge never liked Sebas, but it wasn't a big deal for them. That was just how they were created by the Supreme Beings, and they didn't mind in the slightest.
'As expected of Lord Ainz, he's still super calm and collected…' Aura thought. She then moved her head slowly to look at Lady Tiamat's expression, and she was surprised at what she saw.
'Lady Tiamat is...smiling?'
"Hey, hey, Ainz!" Tiamat poked his boney sides with her elbow, "It's like Touch Me and Ulbert are here, huh?" she whispered, but Aura and Mare heard her clearly.
And then, Ainz cackled out loud.
His laugh broke the tense atmosphere like a rock shattering glass: sharp, brief, and sudden, before crashing to a halt.
Tiamat giggled through her nose as she desperately tried to hold back her laughter. Laughter, no matter how short it was, was contagious after all.
"Adorable, aren't they?" Tiamat, still laughing, said.
As immediate as his laughter, a green hue dyed Ainz and he reverted to his usual skelly self, "Indeed."
"The punishment?" Sebas hesitantly voiced out loud.
"None," Ainz declared proudly.
All of the people in the room, Floor Guardians and Pleiades included, gaped at Ainz in shock.
"But… I…" the typically stern butler couldn't even form the words to ask why Lord Ainz didn't hand out the necessary punishment for his blunder.
"Sebas," Tiamat cut in, "If anyone needs to be punished, it should be me." Ainz began to nod in agreement until she jabbed him extra hard with her elbow.
"My Lady, you have done nothing wrong!"
Tiamat held her hand up, and Sebas stopped talking.
"I was the one who brought Tsuare in, I took care of her wounds, fed her, clothed her. Every action has repercussions, and this is mine. She is my guest, and I am responsible for her. In fact, I apologize to all of you for cleaning up my mess." Tiamat bowed her head low.
"My. Lady." Cocytus breathed out uncomfortably. "Please. Raise. Your. Head."
"You shouldn't feel like that, arinsu! Uhhhh...what would that Gorilla say in this kind of situation…?" Shalltear panicked.
"I agree with Shalltear, My Lady!" Aura chimed in, and Mare nodded in agreement.
"Whether you agree or not, the facts remain the same. I made a mess and I need your help, all of you," Tiamat looked at them eye to eye, "So, are you guys willing to help me?"
"That goes without saying, arinsu!"
"Indeed!" Cocytus put a fist to his chest.
"Whatever the Supreme Being needs, we will provide to the best of our abilities," Demiurge smiled in satisfaction.
Ainz looked at Tiamat, respect and admiration brimming in his eyes. It was like he was back in the old times, and he was feeling slightly nostalgic. She was always the one who knew how to keep them together, the glue for the wood or the screw on iron. Even now, with stakes being much higher than they were when things were just a game, she was able to unite everyone towards a goal.
"Well then, shall we prepare the most wonderful performance for our guests?" Ainz asked confidently. After all, every battle was won before they were even fought as Punitto Moe would say.
"Yes!"
Snippet: Ilona's Terrible Day
"That all you got, brat?" Zesshi boredly asked, bored, as she took a bite out of an apple and swallowed, "Weak."
Ilona was on the verge of crying. She had been told that she had to do one hundred push- ups by the end of the day or she'd get punished. She didn't want to be punished, but she didn't see how a kid like her was supposed to do something as difficult as a push-up a hundred times.
"A-Ah!" her arms trembled as she tried to push herself up before finally giving out on her.
"Pft," the Ace of the Theocracy blew a strand of hair out of her face, "Looks like twenty's your limit."
"Haa… Haaa…" Ilona gasped for air, too tired to feel hurt by the mean fairy lady's insult.
"Ugh, get up already," Zesshi grabbed her arm and pulled her up, "You're the one who begged me to train you."
"But that's because you're supposed to!" Ilona protested, "The old grandpa said so!"
"Exactly," Zesshi smoothly contradicted her previous statement, "Which is why you should be doing everything I tell you to without complaining."
"No!" Ilona whimpered, "I'm not doing this anymore! You're always mean to me and I'm tired and it hurts and I have to stay in this big dusty room all day!" the little girl cried as she pushed Zesshi away from her, "I hate you! You're the meanest, worsest fairy in the whole world!"
"Geez," Zesshi raised her hands in front of her, "Calm down brat."
"NO!" her voice quavered as she broke out into sobs, "I d-don't want to!" and with that, Ilona ran past Zesshi and towards the Inner Sanctum.
"Oh, I'm supposed to guard that place or something," Zesshi grumbled as she picked a bit of earwax out of her ear, "What a hassle…"
Of course, Ilona heard none of this as she ran ever deeper into the Sanctuary, ignoring all of the priceless artifacts that filled the vast hall with an unnatural light.
As she ran she thought about how her life had suddenly changed for the worse the past week. Her, who once had loving parents, who once had a name that her parents had given her, had lost all of that in just a day.
Now? Now she was stuck in a big cold room with a mean fairy who barely even talked to her except to call her mean names. She didn't even have her old name anymore.
Ilona slowed down and panted as she made her way to a pile of luminous round orbs. Right as she was about to slump against the pile of artifacts, a slender hand yanked her body upwards.
"What the fuck kid," Zesshi calmly looked at the trembling child—for a child she was—in the eyes, "You know, if I was a bit later, you would've got blown to pieces," she picked up an orb and tossed it in the air, "Although, I guess they never thought a kid would wander all the way down here," the orb fell back into her palm with a 'plop'.
After being momentarily stunned, Ilona's eyes widened, "W-what?"
"You heard me," Zesshi released her grip and unceremoniously dropped the girl to the ground, "There's some nasty shit in this vault. Next time," her gaze sharpened, "You're on your own."
Ilona rubbed her throbbing butt as she stared despondently at the ground, "Okay."
Zesshi looked at her with a hint of sympathy, "Come on. Let's get out of here."
"Okay…"
As the two walked slowly down the Sanctuary, Ilona spoke up, "Do you think… Do you think I could get as strong as you?"
"No," Zesshi responded instantly.
"Oh…" Ilona's shoulders drooped even lower.
"But you could probably still get pretty strong," Zesshi continued, "Why do you even want to get stronger anyways?"
"I don't know," Ilona responded honestly, "I just feel like… I should do more stuff. I don't want to stay in this big empty room all the time."
"Mhm," Zesshi nodded and stopped in her tracks, "In that case, I'll train you seriously from now on."
'So she wasn't training me seriously before?' Ilona pouted as she stopped behind Zesshi.
"Weeeell," Zesshi shook her arms around a bit, "Let's get started right about…."
The half- elf disappeared and a split second later, Ilona felt a heavy blow to her stomach. Her vision slowly faded to black and the last thing she heard before everything went blank was Zesshi's surprised voice.
"Seriously? This is going to be a pain in the ass…"
Hours later.
Ilona fell onto her back, every ounce of air having been knocked from her lungs. She gasped as Zesshi stood over her with a bored expression.
"Oi...na...up! Wak…up Ilona!"
Ilona desperately gasped for air, she was breathing so hard that she started coughing. Her throat burned as tears escaped from her eyes and down her cheeks.
She couldn't handle this anymore.
"I-It hurts…" she started sniffling. Her body was burning in pain and she couldn't move a muscle.
Zesshi looked at the girl in contempt. Ilona's complexion was ashen from pain and her pale skin was reminiscent of an undead. The elf sighed, "You asked for it. Weakling," she muttered just loud enough for Ilona to hear.
Ilona kept quiet but her tears didn't stop.
"I-I want Chonchon…"
"Ha?! What the fuck is that?"
"M-My teddy bear…"
The elf scoffed in indifference, "Who cares about some teddy bear? Get up and we'll go for another round!"
Ilona tried getting up but the pain throbbing in her guts knocked her back to the floor. It felt like someone had stuck their hand in there and was squeezing her organs as hard as they could. As it was, she could only hold still and breathe.
"I-I can't, it hurts…"
The halfling sighed again, "Lemme see."
Zesshi knelt down and lifted Ilona's shirt. The small child's abdomen was littered with purple and lumpy bruises where smooth skin should have existed. When Zesshi carelessly poked the large bruises, it felt like a fireball exploding in her innards. If Ilona had the ability to move, she would have curled up in a ball.
"Brat, this is nothing! It's not even bleeding. Come on, get up!"
"I can't! It hurts!"
"Pussy! Come on, get up! Stop being lazy!"
"IT HUUUUUUURRRRRTTTTTSSSS!" and Ilona proceeded to wail out loud.
"Ugh," Zesshi plugged her ears with her index fingers, "Crying again? Can't you cry in a different tone at least? I'm getting bored of hearing the same thing over and over again."
"It hurts and it's different! You're not mommy! If I say it hurts, mommy will give me sweets and daddy will call for the doctor! I miss my parents uweeeeeeeeeeeeeee—"
"Shut up! Mommy this, Daddy that! Your parents are GONE!" Zesshi roared harder than Ilona's wailing, and after hearing that Ilona's wailing quieted to a hiccup.
"At least you have parents that you'll miss," with that Zesshi left the room, "I'll call for the healers. Training's done for today."
There was a passing feeling, as fast as a comet passing through the night sky, a feeling that maybe sheher and the fairy were not too different after all.
A/N: Its been far too long… But we have returned!
Hackslashbash: Now time for Hiatus X Hiatus again
A/N: NUUUUUUUUUUUU
