Chapter 32: Dynamic Duo
Succulent remembered.
As soon as the pitch-black curtain draped itself over the sky, he and the idiot he was supposed to be guarding came up to the doorsteps of the mansion where the Silver Priestess and her hosts were staying.
They were going to the house in order to extort the Adamantite adventurer and her hosts.
They were going to extort an Adamantite adventurer. Succulent sighed at the notion of such an idea.
Frankly, Succulent believed this to be a very very very bad idea. Of course, his opinion never mattered, and so he had to keep his mouth shut and guard his idiot of a client.
Just to be safe, he brought some mercenaries with him, as recommended by Coco Doll.
Afterall, this was an Adamantine Adventurer they were dealing with. He didn't know why this particular one is staying at this noble's house anyways. But, he must be on guard.
"Don't worry Succulent!" his portly, sleazy looking client patted him on the back, "There's nothing they can do since we're operating under the law! Since they even stole our property, they'll be the ones in the wrong."
Succulent nodded his head and didn't point out how human trafficking was definitely illegal. Well, not that he cared as long as he was getting paid.
"Was these goons really necessary though?" the pig asked.
"Don't mind them," he quickly responded.
"What are you so worried about Succulent? Was it because she's hailed as a hero or something? Ha! What can a woman do anyways?"
Succulent resisted the urge to scoff. He fully knew the strength of how strong a woman could be, especially when they were desperate. Even though he had never encountered her before, even he knew of the strength of the Adamantine Adventurer, Gagaran.
She was a woman, but a strong one nonetheless.
"More than you," he whispered.
"What did you say?"
"I was just talking to myself."
"Worry not! I heard that she is a kind and gentle woman. If we succeed here, this would be very profitable to Eight Arms too, don't you think?"
Before he could respond, he felt a shudder run through his body, disappearing as he blinked. He looked around him, but could find no presence nearby. Even so, it felt like someone had directed an immense amount of killing intent towards him.
The night felt too ominous. It was as if the light had drained away and left barely enough space for the shadows. Even the stars and moon were covered behind a dense layer of clouds, giving the air the sense of the storm that was to follow this calm.
Without him even knowing, his ears became sharper, and even the snapping of a twig caused him to twitch in paranoia.
"Please stay behind me," Succulent stepped in front of his client as the man reached up to knock on the door. The man nodded and let Succulent step in front of him.
The mansion was more intimidating at night. It was large, certainly, he knew that since he did a stakeout on the house just a few days prior.
Succulent took a deep breath to calm his nerves, and as they arrived before the big wooden doors, he rapped his knuckles against the oaken door. "Anyone here?!"
The two waited and waited, with silence as their only companion before the door was suddenly opened by a tall, gray haired butler with a stern countenance. Succulent stiffened.
How had he not heard any footsteps approach the door? That level of skill would have been odd to see in a seasoned adventurer, much less of butler.
'Nonsense,' Succulent pinched his thigh, 'I need to loosen up.'
"Where's your master?" his client spoke up condescendingly, "There are important matters we must discuss."
The butler's eyes grew deadly sharp for an instance so short, Succulent believed himself to have imagined it, before he bowed his head. "Certainly. Please come right this way."
The door left ajar by the butler casted a dull yellow beam into the sultry night. He and the rest of the mercenaries entered through the door. As Succulent was about to close the door, it eerily shut on its own.
As the butler led them past the doorway, Succulent took note of the inside of the mansion.
The paintwork on the trim was brilliant white, flawless. The floors were polished and the furniture classy. The floor was so clean that it was hard to believe anyone had ever stepped foot on it.
They were led past a sparsely decorated antechamber—a good indication that the current residents had moved only recently—and to a sitting room where a blonde and silver haired woman was sitting.
The two made their way over to the opposing couch and sat down; Succulent tense while the client ignored—or maybe was ignorant of—the cold look he was receiving from the blonde haired woman.
He then turned his gaze towards the Silver Priestess and was surprised to see her in a relaxed posture, without a hint of tension. It was almost as if she was not troubled by their appearance at all.
Succulent stopped his urge to whistle out loud. He had heard about how beautiful the Silver Priestess was, but the noble lady next to her wasn't bad either.
His eyes travelled downwards to the outfits the two women had been wearing.
Their goods were not bad either.
Succulent smirked.
There was nothing more bewitching than a naked's woman form, and some dresses could be so disarming. This was a vulnerability that no man could resist. His eyes traveled from their faces to their collar bones, ever delicate in the semi-darkness, then to their breasts. Although the Priestess's clothing was much more modest compared to the Lady next to her, it didn't stop him from looking.
Afterall, a man's imagination was a powerful thing.
The noblewoman's milky breasts were barely held up by a thin veneer of silk. Succulent swallowed his saliva as he thought of her ample cleavage spilling out as soon as he ripped her dress off. He could imagine the soft velvety skin of the noble under his fingers. Without the dress, her breasts would sit lower, more natural and less close together, each so perfect and moulded to her form.
As sudden as his desire appeared, he felt an immense aura of bloodlust flaring up from the ceiling above him. But when he looked up, he saw nothing.
"Where are your manners? Did I tell you to sit?" the blond haired woman said disdainfully.
His client, the piggy, flinched as soon as he heard that, but Succulent remained calm and poised.
"We are your guests aren't we? You're eventually going to tell us to sit anyways, so let's just skip all formalities shall we?"
"Now, now, Lady Sol. You have to remember that these people are guests," the Priestess patted the blond haired woman on the shoulder, "You people must be tired from walking about so late at night. Please wait a few moments until the tea is served."
Before Succulent could answer, the piggy responded quickly, "As expected, even your hospitality is questionable."
"My," the Priestess smiled, "Isn't it funny that the guests who invited themselves with a letter that was sent only a few hours before their arrival are questioning the hospitality they are receiving? If you want hospitality, you can just go to the Shining Golden Pavilion. I have experienced their services first hand, and it is exquisite."
"What is an Adamantine Adventurer doing here?" Succulent decided to change the topic. "I didn't know nobles could just hire an Adamantine as a bodyguard these days. The standard must have dropped while I wasn't looking," some of his men snickered at his joke.
But she was not offended, in fact she answered his previous question, "What a good question! You see, I was called by the King a few days ago, and Lady Sol kindly offered me a room in one of her mansions in the Capital," the Priestess explained without a hint of hesitation.
"Ah… I see," Succulent leaned back on the comfortable sofa, "The King must have asked you to be his bitch."
The lady with blonde hair who had been silently listening thus far gritted her teeth in fury, "Watch your mouth, you insolent insect! The next time you speak I shall—"
But before she could speak out any further, the Silver Priestess put her hand over the noblewoman's mouth, before she bowed her head in apology, "Please excuse her behavior. It's been a difficult day for her. Let's start off from the beginning shall we? As you might now, I am Hannah Annafellowz and this is Lady Sol, and you gentlemen are?"
"I am Succulent."
"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Succulent. What about the other gentleman?" Hannah responded curtly.
"He is a representative of the establishment involved in this incident, Inspector Havish."
"Pleasure to meet you, Inspector."
The woman offered him a kind and generous smile, which he was pleased with. Afterall, it was a woman's job to doll up and make the atmosphere much more comfortable for the guests. In fact, he knew a lot of dirty noblemen who would bring girls from the brothel to befriend the guests, make them loosen up a bit.
Havish grinned. Getting pleased by two women? And to top it off, they were gorgeous beauties at that. Who wouldn't want to be in such a position?
As his mind was up in the clouds, propelled by its own small imagination, the butler came with a tray of fine china and an aromatic smell of tea. The old butler put them on the table gently and poured the tea as if he had served for decades, there is no denying that the person in front of them was just an old, dedicated butler.
"The tea today is assam, served with ginger bread and chocolate mousse, courtesy of Lady Hannah."
"Thank you, Sebas. Please have some tea and refreshments. I made them myself," the Priestess told them with a laughably proud expression.
It was indeed true that the desserts in front of them looked delicious. The buttery aroma of the cookies, tantalisingly under their nose, and a sweet dark dessert that they haven't seen before looks decadent and rich.
But there was one flaw in what she had mentioned.
"Ha!" Havish snorted, "A woman of as high a standing as yourself in the kitchen? Are you taking on the jobs of the lowly maids as well?"
Succulent couldn't help but to join in, "I think that the Priestess may become overconfident since she had risen up in ranks so quickly. You see, Priestess-sama," he added in a sharp tone, "The Imperial Palace is different. You wouldn't get quite the same reception that you get with a guild hall full of males."
It was a harsh blow hidden between sweet words.
A noble woman neither did the cooking for her household nor did she wait on tables. Such tasks were jobs given to lowly kitchen staff. But that was not their point.
'The only reason why you were able to rise up in rank so quickly was probably because you had been sleeping around.'
Solution, who was positively trembling in fury, grinded her teeth against each other. 'How dare they!' she promised herself to beg Lady Tiamat later to give them to her so that she may eat them slowly and then spit them out just to eat them again.
But she couldn't throw a tantrum here, not now.
"Inspector Stefan Havish, you are discrediting an Adamantine Adventurer," Sebas, who was as angry as Solution, managed to reign in his emotions and spoke with a much more poised and stern tone, "Allow me to correct you. An Adamantine Rank is achieved through nothing other than one's own skill."
Yet saying this only fueled his wrath all the more. The fact that he had to defend his Master so fiercely only brought him more anguish, and without him realizing, his hands had curled up into fists.
"There was no special treatment due to her gender," Sebas finished.
There was nothing Havish could have said, so instead he gritted his teeth in annoyance.
"Gentleman please," the Priestess mediated, "Tonight we are not here to defend my honor."
"T-That's right," Havish who was struck by a mere butler's words before immediately tried to restore his honor, "We are here to deal with the law that the Priestess had broken. Even though she might be worthy of her rank, it doesn't mean she can just break the carefully placed rules that the Royal Family had decreed. Isn't that right Succulent!"
Succulent nodded in affirmation, his body languid and relaxed upon the sofa. He even dared to sit comfortably as if he was in his own home with his other leg on his knees, his dirty boots visible for all in the room.
"What you said is correct, afterall, these are the rules that the Princess had carefully crafted for the safety and security of the Kingdom."
"So you agree then?" Havish leaned in eagerly. This was almost too easy. "In that case, how do you plan to compensate us?"
"My, this is too embarrassing," the Priestess offered a shy smile, "I didn't know I committed such a grave mistake."
Next, as if they have been training for this moment, the noble woman next to her responded almost immediately, "Oya~? What did you do this time Priestess-sama? After I had generously sponsored your stay in the Kingdom, you'll tarnish my name?"
Havish smiled knowing that he had just obtained another weakness. He didn't know pulling the Priestess's strings was going to be this easy.
Succulent, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes with suspicion. Just a moment ago, the noble woman had gotten furious because they had insulted the Priestess. But now she was concerned about her good name?
Suspicious.
"I apologize Lady Sol, it wasn't my intention to ruin your good name in public. This is very presumptuous of me, but may I finish this issue privately with these two gentlemen?"
"You should, Priestess-sama. In the meanwhile, should I entertain the rest of your men here?" Solution gestured to the brutish looking thugs standing at the door.
"I am certain they would be overjoyed to be taken care of by Lady Sol herself," Havish let out a nasty looking grin that belonged more in a dumpster than on a human's face.
"Well then," Solution turned towards the thugs, "Follow me, if you would."
The filth ridden mercenaries grinned amongst themselves as they followed Solution to another room.
Succulent watched their departing backs with a vague sense of unease, "Where are you taking them?" he asked in a measured tone.
"Uhhh, I'm not quite familiar with the layout of this mansion yet," the Priestess put her hands together with an apologetic expression, "But I'm sure she's taking them somewhere better suited for guests."
"I see…" Succulent slowly nodded. He had a feeling that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Please be at ease Succulent-sama," the butler interfered, "Lady Sol is probably taking them to another guest room in the mansion to… entertain them. In the meantime, Hannah-sama, I will excuse myself and prepare some refreshment for the gentlemen while you are talking with your guests."
When he heard that, Succulent's tense shoulders began to loosen. What can a noble woman do against veteran thugs anyways? They were as barbaric as men could be. And anyways, they might as well take a little extra while they were at it.
"Thank you, Sebas. Always so reliable," the woman said with a slight smile dancing across her lips as she brought the rim of the teacup to her mouth.
As soon as the butler left the room, in just one single breath, the atmosphere of the room changed. The Priestess put her teacup down with a sharp clink that could pierced their ears and nerves, bringing the attention of Havish and Succulent to her in an instant.
"Well gentlemen, shall we negotiate?"
(〃^▽^〃)
"Kyaaaaaaa~!" Albedo screamed at the top of her lungs, scaring even Sous-Chef who was peacefully wiping the martini glasses while listening to the tale Shalltear was telling the Succubus.
"Can you get any more annoying?!" the Vampire moaned as she slammed her glass on the countertop, "Must you scream like that next to my ears?"
"But-but," Albedo clutched her glass with both hands, her eyes dreamy, "Lady Tiamat sounds so cool! 'Well gentlemen, shall we negotiate?'" Albedo tried to impersonate the Dragoness but failed at the highest level.
Instead of sounding like Tiamat, she sounded like a huskier, nose-clogged version of herself.
"Ugh, you're ruining the flow. Where was I again?" Shalltear clutched her forehead, "Right, and after Lady Tiamat said that, they were like…"
(〃^▽^〃)
Havish's face moved slowly, as he took in the surroundings. Then he grinned. Even in the dim light of the cloudy night everyone could see his bared teeth. It was a cheshire grin, the kind that was so wide that it seemed as if he wanted to eat everyone rather than say hello.
In that moment, his motives were laid bare; he was a mocker, one who enjoyed whatever torment he could inflict on others.
"Well, Lady Hannah. With all due respect, you have broken the law of the Kingdom and therefore should be punished for your mistakes," he grinned triumphantly, "Surely, an Adamantite Adventurer wouldn't dare to blatantly disregard the laws of the land?"
His lips bore the semblance of a smile, just enough to show that he was enjoying what he thought to be his victory.
The Priestess calmly sipped her tea before placing it back down on the saucer with a slight unnerving smile. Havish's grin dropped just the tiniest bit.
"May I know what law I have broken?" the Priestess leaned against the couch, her eyes looking almost bored as they pierced through his being.
Havish slammed his fat hands against the wooden table, rattling the cups that were placed on top, "You know what you did! You thief!"
"Lord Havish, calm down," that blasted Succulent stated, his voice monotone and insincere. Despite that, the man's words reached Havish's cholesterol-ridden heart. They had already planned this conversation beforehand, so what was there to worry about? Havish's shoulders relaxed as he continued listening to Succulent.
"The Lady just came into the city, and it is nearly impossible to learn all of the laws in only a few months' time, rather than being angry, we could simply educate her on it."
Havish calmed down even further, and tried to cover his smile with a cough. It was all too easy, simply too easy. The muscles on his cheeks exercised themselves, and he coughed again before chugging the now-cold tea that was before him.
"You are right, Succulent."
But the grin plastered on the face of the Priestess didn't change one bit. In fact, she even looked amused. "Are you gentlemen done talking amongst yourselves?"
"You insolent little—"
Succulent raised his hand to stop Havish from acting rashly. Attacking an Adamantite adventurer head on was never a good idea.
"Lady Hannah, do you know about the Golden Princess?" Succulent asked.
The woman nodded, "I have heard of her, yes."
"The Golden Princess has recently pushed forward some legislation related to our exalted Kingdom that outlaws the possession of slaves."
"I see no problem here then," the Priestess casually responded.
"Then who is that blonde girl that you have been keeping locked in this mansion? And for nobles to be colluding with you too," Succulent sneered, "How low our mighty Kingdom has fallen."
Disappointingly, the Priestess did not rise to his bait and merely tilted her head, "The girl is a relative of a friend. Surely there is no problem with taking care of a friend's close family?"
"Liar!" Havish shot up from the couch and jabbed his finger at the Priestess, "That girl is my employee! She has worked under my hiring for quite some time, and you have stolen her from me! With the intention to enslave her, no less!"
"With the intention to enslave?" the Priestess questioned.
"When the girl was under my employment, she was treated well, but when I saw her again outside the premises of your mansion, she was littered with bruises and whip marks! To think that the Priestess herself has the heart to harm someone this way!" Havish banged on the table again in false rage.
"What Lord Havish had said was indeed correct," Succulent followed Havish's lead, he started reaching towards the inside of his cape and brought out a document and putting it on the table for everyone to see, "As you can see here, the girl had been employed for some time. In fact, she even has her signature at the very bottom of the page."
At this information, the Priestess face changed from amused to actually being worried.
"May I?"
"Of course, go right ahead."
Havish and Succulent smiled knowingly, nodding at one another. The trap had been set.
That document was of course forged, and the information on that piece of parchment only stated her name, her age, and her obligations as the employee of the noble man, Stefan Havish. The document was also notarized just in case the Priestess decided to question its authenticity.
There was also another parchment that documented the extent of her injuries.
Under the eye of the law, Havish only took back what was rightfully his. Even if his opponent was an Adamantite adventurer, there was nothing they could do if they wanted to continue working in the Kingdom. No one would hire an Adventurer who would break the law so blatantly.
"One of her ribs broke, and even her ankle got dislocated. It's almost as if she made an attempt to run away but failed. Furthermore, there were also bruises on her private areas as well," Succulent explained further.
"Are you sure she's wounded? Because I've been treating her well. Before she was under my custody, she was malnourished, and I don't think you've been keeping her as an employee but as a sex slave instead."
"How dare you question the documents notarized by the law enforcement of this Kingdom itself!" Havish screamed at her, his saliva flew everywhere at her sudden accusation.
"Indeed, her health examination was also done by the temple. Maybe it's because you only recently came here so you didn't know, but questioning the temple itself would be the same as making an enemy out of some very dangerous groups."
It had been easy to forge the document and have someone notarize it. They even bribed a cleric at the temple. It didn't matter if it was illegal, no one could ignore the allure of gold.
There was no way out. The only thing this woman could do was to comply with their demands.
If not, then she could get kicked out of the Kingdom or even worse. No country would accept her as an Adventurer anymore and her life would be forfeit if she made an enemy of the Slane Theocracy.
"May I know what led you gentlemen to my door? Do you have any proof?" the woman asked them.
Succulent smiled. She had taken the bait.
"A beggar on the side of the street saw you two in the rain, the praised Priestess and the old butler standing in front of Lord Havish's establishment while carrying a blond haired girl," he calmly explained, "To think that the butler had murdered one of Lord Havish's workers too. I don't know how you guys hid the body, but if I have to answer your question, it was a matter of simply asking around."
The Priestess in front of them sighed, as if she had no more secret to hide anymore, "I did take her with me, however, the reality is different from what the parchment had mentioned. Her life was in danger, and I had to save her."
'Maybe I can push this further?' Succulent asked himself.
"In all honesty, I am greatly disappointed," Succulent said and nudged at Havish to continue the conversation.
"What might you be disappointed in?" Havish asked after being a bit flabbergasted.
"I had some experience in Adventuring before, and I know that being a Priest or a Priestess requires a lot of devotion towards their god. There was also one more important thing that most temples require, and that is to keep their body pure."
"Succulent, are you insinuating—"
"Indeed, Lord Havish, what would be the reason that the Priestess herself would kidnap your employee if not to use her for specific nightly duties. Think about this Lord Havish, their purity will not be tarnished because their bodies were not touched by men."
"My gods, Succulent!" Havish's face was the very depiction of a gluttonous devil, "If the people were to find out about this, they would be outraged!"
"How presumptuous of you!" the butler coldly said in outrage, "Do you value your lives?!"
"Look, look Succulent, the butler is getting angry on her behalf. I'm sure your assumption is correct!"
Succulent sneaked a look at the woman in front of him. She was sitting at the corner of the couch, one arm resting against the arm of the sofa and propping her head up while the other hand was holding the document that had been prepared beforehand.
As soon as they started to spout these allegations, the Priestess did nothing but look up from the document to look at them.
This irked Succulent even more.
"If that is the case Lord Havish, then the morals of the Kingdom would be tarnished. To think that they've been saved by a Priestess who plays with girls in her spare time, and a kidnapped one at that!"
"We need to tell the authorities immediately!" Havish responded with enthusiasm, as expected of one of the fighters of Six Arms to confidently state that they could destroy one's reputation like this. Truly, they were a force to be reckoned with, "The people have a right to know the true nature of their so called 'Heroes'!"
"No Lord Havish, we cannot do that! The purpose of our visit here is to just inform the Priestess of her faults. That she had kidnapped a precious worker without knowing that she was employed under you. We have the girl in our hands now and I don't think we should push this matter further."
"However we have to take the Silver Priestess into custody!" Havish demanded.
"While it pains me to see that the Silver Priestess is guilty of such heinous crimes, Lord Havish is a generous man. Naturally compensation should be made to Lord Havish for the shortfall of revenue incurred due to the absence of both employees, but I am certain that a man with as big a heart as him will be willing to help you keep this secret. Don't you agree Lord Havish?"
Havish smiled a disgusting smile, "Indeed."
"Alright," the Priestess quickly agreed, "How much would that be?"
"For the disappearance of two stellar employees we would like you to pay two hundred gold coins, a hundred for each employee, as well as compensation for both Lord Havish and me."
"Compensation? For what?" she asked curiously.
"For keeping our mouth shut about the matter of course," Succulent grinned, "If everyone were to know that the Priestess had been kidnapping a girl for some nightly entertainment, I'm sure your good reputation will fall. I've also heard that you've been offered a noble's rank by the King himself. If he were to hear of this, your noble rank will certainly be revoked."
Havish nodded, satisfied by the numbers Succulent put out on the table, and Succulent continued, "The compensation to keep our mouth shut is four hundred gold coins each. That makes a total of a thousand gold coins."
"But that's not all, isn't there Succulent?" Havish grinned.
"Ah, you're right, My Lord, I almost forgot. We already filed a complaint so revoking that is going to cost extra, no?"
"That's right, it would be bad if you forgot about that, Succulent."
"Well, forgive me if I'm wrong, Lord Havish, but you are after all, the Inspector who is in charge of the Royal Capital's security. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe half of the compensation fees is the proper price for destroying the records, so that would make a total of a thousand and four hundred gold coins, I believe."
"My," the Priestess slumped on the couch, "That seems like quite a high price."
"Ha!" a laughter escaped Havish, "As if! Listen here, we are settling out of court as we are negotiating right now. You were the one who kidnapped my employee and murdered the other one. If I were to bring you to the authorities, your rank as Adamantine wouldn't mean anything. Just think of it as money you dropped somewhere."
"Pft—"
At the sudden noise, Havish and Succulent stopped in their tracks.
The laugh came from the woman in front of them. It was timid at first, but then her body started shaking, and before they knew it, she was covering her mouth with the palm of her hand to stop her laugh from gushing out like a broken dam that made her slap her own thigh.
"D-Dropped money some-somewhere," she wheezed as she tried to talk though her guffaws.
The only thing they could do was to awkwardly sit on their sofa waiting for her to finish.
"What's so funny?!" Havish asked impatiently, "Do you not understand the severity of your actions!"
The butler who was standing next to her with a straight face turned his body sideways and a scoff was heard, as if he was scorning them as well. But he returned with a straight face and told the woman off, "My Lady, please don't act so rudely to your guests."
"B-But, h-he was," The Priestess continued giggling, "I-It was like he thought money was made out of salt or something. As if anyone could just lose a whole thousand and four hundred gold coins just like that," another round of giggling began.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Havish's face grew red with anger as he stood up, "All this is for the sake of upholding the law proposed by the noble will of Princess Renner! The nerve of you!"
"Calm down, Lord Havish," Succulent called out and Havish sat back again.
The way the Priestess was acting was not within their predictions. The first anyone in this situation would do would be to beg or to ask if they could pay in installments. To think that they were taking this matter lightly... No, there was no way that the Priestess could know what they were planning…
"In any case, that's all we have to say," Succulent tried to end the negotiation, "We'll give you until the day after tomorrow to think it over."
"The day after tomorrow?" the woman asked, "Can I just give you two my answer today?"
Something was wrong, Succulent could feel it in his bones as his instincts shivered in fright. Indeed, something was very very wrong.
"...Very well," he answered.
Suddenly, the parchments she was holding in her left hand were ignited in a burst of scorching flames that almost gave Havish a heart attack. In an instant, there was nothing left but ashes as if the forged documents had never existed. And with only her middle finger displayed to the two of them, the well mannered woman in front of them disappeared to be replaced by a horrifying demon of vengeance.
"You two motherfuckers can go fuck yourselves."
Omake - A Still Moment
Tiamat came into the kitchen and was shocked to see Ainz there. He was downright terrifying when he was in his serious mode, his huge frame tense like he was poised to attack.
"You know how to cook?" she asked with no small amount of bemusement as she padded through the kitchen where her apron was hung on the walls.
She was more than a little entertained by the image of this dangerous super-skeleton scrambling eggs in the kitchen while hunching over a stove that was obviously not made for his height.
"Only from watching you and my mother," he admitted as he stirred the eggs in the pan. He then glanced up at her and added, "I don't think I did much cooking back…back then."
Tiamat hummed slightly, moving past him to prepare the next batch of ingredients for the denizens daily meals.
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." she replied. The Suzuki she knew was this skinny looking young man who could barely take care of himself, so she understood that he didn't tinker a lot in the kitchen.
"How did you learn?" Ainz mused as he experimented, adding a full uncut mushrooms to the pan, knowing that she liked them. Tiamat lifted an eyebrow in surprise. He wasn't usually curious about her personal life.
She shrugged slightly, thinking back. "Taught myself, I suppose," she said, briefly standing on her tiptoes to peek over his massive cloak just to examine if anything was burnt; noting that even though there was an uncut mushroom inside of the omelette, everything was fine, just how she liked it. "You can easily find tutorials from the internet on how to cook."
He turned and frowned down at her, looking away from the pan and giving the conversation his full attention. "You learned all these recipes on your own? All of them?" he asked, apparently picking up on the faint note of resentment in her voice.
She hummed in acknowledgement as she mixed the flour with the yeast mixture and oil little by little before beating them until smooth.
"Then how did you manage to own the bakery? By the way, can you pass me the salt?" he asked. Tiamat complied, looking at the bottle of salt on her right and tossing it to Ainz who received it gratefully. The Overlord opened the container and took a pinch out with his bony fingers before sprinkling some of the crystals into the pan. "Was it a family business?"
Tiamat parted her lips and then hesitated before speaking. "There used to be an old man who took care of the bakery before me. He didn't teach me anything and only pointed out the things I did wrong. He was disinterested at best, downright neglectful at worst. I used to think that it was tough love, but as things turned out," Tiamat slammed a particularly large piece of dough against the wooden board, "I was wrong."
She pulled back the sleeves of her dress and started kneading the soft dough she had made with all her strength.
Ainz looked at her who had put on the usual distant look she had on her face, the one that she had when she thought no one was watching.
No one except for him.
"Anyway," she continued, "Stuff happened and the investors of the bakery pulled some strings to kick the old man out of the bakery and gave it to me instead," she told him, rattling off her story and keeping the emotion in her voice in check as she continued kneading, only pausing to pour more flour on the counter top. "The last thing that I heard from him was that he recently remarried, and that he and his wife are expecting a son in a few months..." she took a deep breath and looked up at him, dusting her hand free from all the excess flour, "I'm kinda peeved that he got a happy ending though," she gave him a plastic smile and washed her hands. "Are you going to help me cook today?"
He had held her eyes throughout her entire explanation and nodded slowly as he gave her a towel to dry the water from her hands, their fingers brushing for just the slightest moment.
"Guess so," he agreed quietly.
HackSlashBash: Been working on a Minecraft server fellas sorry. ||-_-
A/N: Merry belated Christmas and Happy New Year to you all Tiamat simps 3 I wish you are all healthy and well throughout this pandemic and even though the year may be rough for us, I hope this chapter would alleviate your worries for a bit. Looking forward to be hearing from you all~
