Hi, all!
I have a little announcement that the Introduction chapter has been updated a little. There's no significant new information there, I just wanted to make it look better. I also added Lily's character sheet in the Intermission chapter which tells about her origin.
Without further ado, here's the next chapter.
[X][X][X]
The trip through the dark portal was instant like usual.
Ryu and Lily ended up in the throne room of Nazarick, and right in front of them Ainz was sitting on his throne with Albedo standing by his side. Both Ryu and Lily kneeled immediately to show respect.
"Thank you for coming, Ryu and Lily. Now stand up"
Ryu and Lily stood up as instructed.
"Now, about the task I'm going to assign you. Albedo"
Albedo stepped forward a bit and began speaking.
"Lord Ainz wishes to eliminate a number of lizardman tribes to the northwest. A guardian has been deployed there to prepare for the invasion due in seven days. Your task is to accompany him as his advisor during this time"
"Eliminate? As in, a genocide?"
Albedo's face frowned a little, and Ainz seemed to give her a hand gesture which made her return to her calm and collected face.
"Yes. Lord Ainz wishes to use their corpses to add more troops to his vast undead army"
Ryu was quite surprised. What would be the purpose of raising an undead army for Ainz? Would he, like the mastermind behind the graveyard incident, attempt to bring chaos into civilizations? Has he been fooled by Ainz's benevolence all along? Unlikely, but still...
"Ryu, you probably are now questioning the purpose of my action. I will let you know that I seek to protect"
Ryu kept himself silent, listening to what Ainz would say next.
"This world is never safe. Out there exists powerful beings, far more powerful than what you have seen so far in this world, that can threaten the well-beings of my home, The Tomb of Nazarick, and all who live here. I have recently learned it the hard way"
"What happene- Never mind..."
Ryu was about to ask, but he cancelled it because he thought it was not a good idea to make someone recall a bad memory.
"In order to create a troop that does not disappear after a certain amount of time has passed, my magic requires a corpse. So far I have been using the corpse of the people who have attempted to attack us unprovoked, but it is not enough. However, taking more human corpse would be the same as unnecessarily making more enemies, and I also seek to look for creatures, the corpse of which would make better troops. Now, do you see where I am going, Ryu?"
"I think so, yes"
Ryu could conclude that Ainz wanted to use the corpse of the lizardman race in order to avoid killing more humans as much as he could while also finding out if they would result in stronger undead troops. Still, it was difficult for Ryu to agree on this.
"I know you are still against this kind of action, which is why you are given an indirect role. The invasion will go on, and it will succeed, even without you"
"With all due respect, then what is the purpose of my presence?"
Albedo was the one answering Ryu's question.
"Lord Ainz has his own reasons. If he believes you will contribute, you definitely will"
Ryu was conflicted, but in the end he made the decision.
"Alright, I will do it"
"Ryu, let me clarify that your role will be just that; an advisor. You will not participate in the battle, and while Cocytus and his vassals will likely listen to you, whether they agree with your words or not is a different matter"
"Understood"
"Also, you will leave Lily here"
"Pardon me?"
"I want you to do this mission alone, so Lily will stay here. Fear not, I promise you in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown that no harm will come to her as long as she remains within Nazarick"
Ryu was conflicted in his mind. While he knew he could still trust Ainz, leaving Lily within a fortress inhabited by obviously non-human creatures might become unpleasant for her. He couldn't ask Lily if she was fine with it, because she definitely would answer that she was fine, no matter what. Also, while he wished to deny it, he pretty much had become Lily's doting daddy. He probably would long for her within a day.
[X][X][X]
Why is he hesitating? Is he not trusting me yet?
Ainz pondered about Ryu's hesitation, and then he remembered about Ryu having high affection to Lily.
That must be it.
Ainz had an objective in mind for having Lily remained in Nazarick, therefore he had to convince Ryu to leave her here. But how would he do that? What kind of wordplay would convince him without making him feel forced to do so?
I will dig deeper for now.
"Ryu, I see that you are hesitating. Tell me the reason behind your hesitation. I will do everything within my powers to erase that hesitation off from your mind"
"It's just that..."
Ryu seemed even more anxious, switching glances between Lily and Ainz. Lily herself seemed to be a little confused.
"I will miss her quickly and I'm afraid that will disturb my focus"
Ryu said that while looking embarrassed, while Lily seemed to be a little surprised hearing that.
"In that case, I will give you something to ease your mind"
Ainz produced something that looked like a pocket mirror from his inventory. He tossed them towards Ryu, and the mirror glided in a straight line to him. Ryu received the mirror looking confused.
"Hold it facing her and put your finger on the green circle at the corner"
Ryu did exactly that, and the mirror glowed a bit. Soon enough, he was surprised to see the mirror displaying a live footage of Lily.
"With that, you can check her condition on the fly. That will be enough, no?"
"Yes, this is more than enough. Thank you!"
"Keep in mind that there's no sound and its range is limited. The footage might not be as clear as now once you are at the site"
I'm pretty sure it will be blurry and delayed as fuck, but whatever. Now he is convinced.
The Spy Mirror was a low tier consumable item which, after being used like a camera towards a target, would display a live footage of the target until the target dies, after which the mirror would turn to dust. He had tested it on Narberal's Nabe persona before, but the distance from Nazarick to E-Rantel was already too far for it to display anything. The site where Cocytus was stationed now was about half that distance, so it might still works. He had never tested on how far the maximum and optimal range was, though.
"Now, Ryu. Are you ready to go?"
Ryu put his hands on Lily's shoulders.
"I will be gone for a while. Be well, Lily"
"You too, Ryu-san!"
Ryu faced Ainz, now with his face looking confident.
"I'm ready, Ainz-dono"
[Gate]
"Good luck, Ryu. May you contribute a lot for Ainz Ooal Gown!"
Ryu then walked into the portal, and once he disappeared from sight Ainz dispelled the portal. After the portal disappeared, Lily was still nearby, looking a bit anxious.
"Albedo, leave the two of us alone for the time being"
"As you wish, Ainz-sama"
Albedo promptly walked away from the throne room. Now there were only Ainz and Lily inside the massive throne room. Ainz stood up from the throne and walked to Lily, who still looked anxious.
"Lily"
"Y-Yes, Ainz-dono?"
Ainz hugged Lily. Naturally, Lily was surprised by the sudden embrace.
In his embrace she seemed very small compared to himself. Ainz himself felt a little strange doing this. The last time he had embraced a girl other than Lily had been the time when he had just revived Shalltear after the mind control incident. He had hugged Shalltear out of great relief, as if he had gotten back his lost child whom he loved. This time, he merely wanted to ease her mind, taking advantage of how Lily looked up to him dearly despite not being her master.
"A-Ainz-dono?"
"Welcome home to Nazarick, Lily"
"B-But this grand place isn't my home. I mean... It's yours"
Ainz gently caressed Lily with his hand. Like before, Lily probably did not feel it because of her armor, but he didn't care about that. Making Lily comfortable with him would be beneficial.
But why right now he felt something he couldn't explain deep within? It was very faint, but it was there. Did he just grow to love Lily despite his original intention of merely using her to keep Ryu under surveillance? If that was true, what could be the reason? Unlike Pandora's Actor, whom he had meticulously crafted with his own hands, Lily had been completely randomized so there should have been little to no attachment. Moreover, this strange feeling was faint so his emotion override trait did not activate.
Ainz put the strange feelings aside and spoke.
"Lily, like I said before. You are one of my children. Tomb of Nazarick is my home, so it is also your home. What kind of parent would say otherwise?"
Hearing that, Lily smiled and her arms also hugged Ainz.
"I love you... father"
What...?
Ainz was a little shocked by what Lily just said. He released his hug and then once they were apart he cleared his non-existent throat.
"Lily, while it is technically true, I'd prefer that you don't call me that"
Lily gave a little laugh.
"Okay then, Ainz-papa!"
"Not that either... "
Lily just grinned.
"Anyway, you can go anywhere you like within this tomb but don't go too far away. My guardians know you already but their vassals might not, and most of them are not exactly friendly with humans"
"Alright then! See you later, Ainz-daddy!"
Ainz just sighed as Lily ran off from the throne room.
She is much harder to control than expected. Then again, the control belongs to Ryu all along, so now that Ryu is away and she feels comfortable with me, she has become a loose cannon. Did I just make a mistake?
Ainz sat down on his throne, and then he remembered something horrible.
Oh crap! If Ryu looked at that spy mirror right away he would have seen everything! Please let it be too far for the mirror!
[X][X][X]
Ryu arrived at the other side of the portal. The first thing he saw was a wooden log cabin situated in the middle of a small grass plain, which was surrounded by trees. He immediately took the mirror from Ainz and looked at it. Like Ainz had warned, the footage was not as clear. In fact, there was nothing to see other than a disturbed screen similar to a broken old tube TV.
I hope it will get better later.
Ryu put the mirror back into his coat, and right after that someone came out from the log cabin. It was a tall humanoid insect monster with light blue color for its body. Ryu knew him quite well already.
"Welcome. To. My. Outpost. Ryu."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cocytus-dono"
"Come. In." "I. Will. Brief. You."
Ryu followed Cocytus as he went into the cabin. Inside, while sitting on a chair facing each other with a table between them, Cocytus briefed Ryu about his objective and the binding conditions. From there Ryu learned that Cocytus was only allowed to use the troops provided by Ainz. He and his vassals were not allowed to participate in the coming battle at all.
"I wonder about the reason behind the conditions"
"I. Don't. Question. A. Supreme. Being." "I. Obey. Lord. Ainz."
"Alright. Continue"
Ryu then learned about the number of lizardman tribes and the order of attacks to be carried out during the day, which would come in seven days. He also learned that all the tribes had been sent a warning message in advance the day before today.
"Fill me in on the strength of your army"
Cocytus gave Ryu the information. The amount was quite massive, but depending on the number of capable warriors within the enemy side it might not be enough. Ryu believed Ainz's words that the invasion would succeed anyway, therefore he was determined to help as best as he could, so he would no longer owe anything and he would never have to do this kind of thing again.
"What about the lizardman tribes?"
"There. Is. No. Need." "The. Troops. Will. Crush. Them."
Is he seriously underestimating the opponents?
"Have you considered that the lizardmen tribes might band together during these seven days?"
"Scenario. Already. Considered."
Ryu had nothing further to say. He was originally a soldier who fought on the battlefield to begin with, so working as a strategist likely wouldn't work out well despite his best efforts. Moreover, like Ainz had said, Cocytus took Ryu's word seriously but agreeing was a different story.
Can I somehow convince him to at least do a recon on enemy activities?
"Cocytus-dono. I highly recommend you to monitor the activities of the opponents. We never know what they are, or will be capable of doing in times of crisis"
There was a silence for a few seconds.
"I. Will. See. If. I. Can. Spare. Some. Troops. To. Scout."
"Thank you for taking my words into consideration"
"If. You. Have. No. More. Questions. Or. Suggestions. You. May. Leave."
"Uhh, where do I sleep during these days?"
"There. Is. A. Bedroom. Back. There." "Feel. Free. To. Use. It."
"Alright then"
"Also. Drink. This."
Cocytus presented a vial of thick orange liquid. It was a "Potion of Lesser Sustenance (1 Week)" which would eliminate all basic necessities except sleep for one week. Ryu of course knew nothing about that.
"What is this? A potion?"
"There. Is. No. Food. Or. Drink. Here." "This. Will. Eliminate. Your. Need. For. Those. For. One. Week"
"I see"
Ryu took the potion and drank it. He felt pretty much nothing after drinking it. Whether it was effective or not, he would have to wait and see.
[X][X][X]
Tomb of Nazarick, Night, Five Days before Invasion
"Hahahaha! He really did that?"
"Yes! Ryu-sama acted like a doting daddy, didn't he?"
Lily, who had put her armor away and let her hair down, was sitting on the bed inside Ainz's private bedroom with Ainz himself at her side. He had invited Lily there just for an idle chat. He had laughed after hearing her story that Ryu had stalked her despite having given her a free time for herself. Ainz's emotion override didn't kick in this time, which was a little weird but he put that aside since there was no harm done.
"And you know what happens afterwards?"
"What is it?"
"He never leaves my side again, always giving a scary gaze to any guy he finds suspicious when we walk around town!"
"Doting daddy confirmed! Hahahaha! Ugh..."
It finally kicked in, and he felt a bit empty.
"What's wrong, papa?"
A feeling of embarrassment creeped up inside Ainz's mind. He didn't really want Lily calling him such, but yesterday he had lost a rock-paper-scissors bet and therefore he had to let Lily call him with that until Ryu came back.
I could have won easily with Time Stop, but using such expensive magic for such trivial thing would have been petty.
"It's nothing. Anyway, it's bed time. Now go to sleep"
"Aww, I still want to talk with you, papa"
"I still have works to do. We can do this again tomorrow, alright?"
"Alright..."
Lily repositioned herself and lied down on the bed. Indeed, just for tonight Ainz had let her sleep in his bedroom instead of the guest room. Once Lily was properly positioned, he spread the bed's blanket over Lily's body.
"Good night, my child"
"Good night, papa. I love you"
Ainz leaned over as if he was about to kiss her on the forehead. Lily closed her eyes, happily expecting it to come.
However...
[Maximize Magic: Dull All Senses]
"Kashin Koji, you can come out"
With the cast of a spell followed by a whisper, a wisp of light came out from Lily's body. As a side effect of the wisp emerging, Lily immediately fell unconscious, but all the setup kept her unharmed so it was the same as if she just fell into a peaceful sleep.
Soon, the wisp transformed into the humanoid ninja monster Ainz had assigned as the spy. The ninja immediately bowed down as a sign of respect.
"My Lord"
"Kashin Koji. Your task now is to write a report about everything that has happened so far during your work as a spy. Deliver it to my office within six hours"
"Right away, My Lord"
The ninja then walked away from the bedroom. After the bedroom door closed, Ainz let out a sigh and sat down on the bed.
That was tiring.
Ainz would have preferred to extract the spy from Lily in any other less exhausting ways, but this was the best way he could think of which would do the job while still keeping her comfortable and unaware.
Ainz looked at Lily for a moment, and then he stood up and walked away from the bed.
However, when he was about to reach the door, he stopped.
He then looked back at the peacefully sleeping Lily again for a moment, and then he turned around and walked back to the bed. Once he was close, he leaned over, his hand caressing Lily's head, and he gently kissed her forehead with his nonexistent lips.
Feeling a little strange, Ainz stood up, turned around, and walked away from the bedroom towards his office room.
He had no idea that someone had been standing at a nearby dark corner. It was Albedo. She had heard everything from the moment Ainz and Lily had entered the bedroom, and she had been peeking inside when Ainz had given Lily a forehead kiss.
"Ahh, Ainz-sama... The method to have the spy return was truly the result of a supreme mind worthy of a supreme being..."
Albedo whispered it to herself so only she alone could hear it.
"But why... why do I feel so... upset... with that human girl sleeping on his bed!?"
Albedo panted heavily, and then she furiously bit and pulled a handkerchief. Her rage-filled face right now was so hideous anyone in Nazarick would feel uneasy at best, or run away at worst.
"They got... so close together! Urrrgh!"
"And she got... A kiss! On the forehead, but it is still something I desire from Ainz-sama!"
Soon, she panted heavily again, her handkerchief torn into pieces.
Beep! Beep!
The notification of Message startled her a bit, but she picked it up, immediately reverting back into her calm self.
"Albedo"
"Ainz-sama. How can I be of service?"
"Come to my office and help me with all these reports"
"I will be there right away, Ainz-sama"
Albedo walked away from Ainz's bedroom. She stopped from a moment and looked back towards the bedroom door.
"Hmph!"
With a little frown on her face, Albedo resumed her walk towards Ainz's office.
[X][X][X]
Tomb of Nazarick, Two Hours Past Midnight, Five Days before Invasion
Both Ainz and Albedo were in his office room, going through the daily reports of all Nazarick activities. They were not expecting anyone to come at this time when someone knocked on the door.
"You may come in"
After Ainz said it, the door opened, revealing a humanoid monster in ninja outfit. It was the Kashin Koji spy.
"My Lord, I have brought you the report"
One hour earlier than expected, huh?
"Alright, let me see it"
The ninja gave the report, which consisted of a thick stack of papers with handwriting, to Ainz.
"Sit down anywhere you like while I read this"
"Thank you, My Lord"
The ninja immediately went down into seiza position right there on the floor. Ainz ignored it and read the report. It was pretty nicely detailed, too detailed in fact.
I don't need this much detail, but I can't just sweep away his effort like that.
Ainz skimmed through the report using a quick reading technique he had learned during his office days as the ordinary human Suzuki Satoru. It was a handy technique to obtain all the crucial points presented in the report while also saving time. He didn't really like using this because there was still a chance of missing some details that might or might not be important, but in this case he had to return the spy back into Lily's body before she woke up so he had to save time.
Half an hour later, Ainz was almost done with the stack.
How did he write this much within five hours? And so far nothing interesting came up. At this rate- wait!
Ainz finally reached the part where Ryu had wiped out the undead horde at Katze Plains. The report described the methods Ryu had used to do the job.
A large feather creating a field which forcefully draw enemies into the center, and then detonated into a large lightning ball.
Two fireballs creating a large firefield.
It was interesting for Ainz to know more of Ryu's combat capabilities which he had never seen yet, but then he came across something even more interesting.
The report mentioned about a silhouette of a floating fish at a distance. There was even a sketch of the silhouette on the page. Ainz had never seen any monster shaped like that. Back then, after Ryu and Lily had left Katze Plains, Ainz, as Momon, only had faced several groups of zombies and skeletons.
Is this the thing Ryu saw back then? Might be merely a local monster, but he seemed concerned somewhat.
"Kashin Koji"
"Yes, My Lord"
"You did a great job"
"I don't deserve such praise, My Lord"
Ainz then took a bunch of scrolls from his inventory and presented it to the ninja.
"This one is a Reverse Assimilate scroll, and the rest are more Message scrolls for you to use. Now return to her body and continue your work like before. Thank you for your hard work"
"Right away, My Lord"
The ninja then stood up and left the office room. Ainz let out a sigh, feeling a little tired after reading the ninja's report.
"Ainz-sama, may I request permission to ask a question?"
"Permission granted. What is it?"
"What do you see that human girl as? What is her worth, that you swore under your supreme name for her?"
What...?
Ainz couldn't help wondering why Albedo suddenly asked that out of the blue. He looked at Albedo's face, and he could notice that her face was a little off. She still looked as calm and collected as ever, but she looked a little worried.
"Ah, please never mind the question, and forgive me for wasting your precious time"
"No, Albedo. You have asked and I will answer. I see Lily as a useful tool to keep Ryu under our watch, and she will continue to be that way until the end"
"I see"
"However, since she is created by my own hands with an item that I only had one of, you can say that she is one of a kind, and has the same standing as you and all other guardians within Nazarick. To tell you the truth, whenever I was close to her I feel something strange, as if she was someone dear to me"
Albedo got agitated with envy hearing that because what Ainz had said pretty much confirmed that Lily was someone special to Ainz.
Ainz was not looking at Albedo, so he didn't notice it and just continued speaking.
"She's a bit small, and also childish. So maybe I'd rather say she's my daughter in a sense?"
Ainz laughed a bit after saying that.
"Speaking of which, the same also applies to the twins, doesn't it? Now I feel like I'm fathering three kids. Ahh... I wonder if they could live happily without a mother figure... If only I could have someone to take that role for them... But that means I have to marry someone... But does that mean she would be their stepmother? And also, marriage for someone like me is..."
Ainz let out a sigh, and then he suddenly realized that he had been rambling like a grumpy old man in front of Albedo.
"I apologize for suddenly rambling and derailed the topic. Pay it no heed. Did you get the answer you were looking for?"
"You don't need to apologize, Ainz-sama. I would be happy to listen to anything you wish to talk about. And yes, your answer was what I was looking for. I am deeply grateful for that"
"Then let us continue with these reports"
"Right away, Ainz-sama"
Now she seemed happier. I wonder if it was because of something in my rambling.
Ainz of course didn't know that Albedo felt totally relieved after hearing his answer, because it actually meant that Lily was and would be nothing more than a daughter figure for Ainz at best, which also meant that Albedo herself still had the best chance of becoming his bride someday. Her envy had been all for naught, but she was happy for that.
[X][X][X]
Cocytus' Outpost, One Hour Past Sunrise, Three Days before Invasion
Ryu walked out from the outpost still feeling a little drowsy. The past days had been stagnant and pretty boring, having been spent on strategy meetings that had brought little to no change. The scouts had reported that as Ryu had expected, the Lizardman tribes had banded together and now they gathered at the village scheduled to be invaded first. But despite knowing that Cocytus and his vassals had not changed any part of the plan.
Will the invasion actually succeed at this rate? Then again, if this one fails Ainz might just have Cocytus try again with bigger army.
Ryu took a look at the mirror from Ainz. The display was quite disturbed, but Ryu could see that Lily seemed to be exploring a forest, which Ryu guessed to be the indoor forest located outside the arena Ryu had used to train himself back then. She was accompanied by Mare, so Ryu didn't worry at all.
Ryu put the mirror back into his coat and walked a bit to a nearby open area.
Like in the previous days, in the middle of the open area there was Cocytus, swinging his weapon at thin air. It seemed to be a daily training. Ryu watched Cocytus' training from a distance for a short while, and just as what had happened in the days before, Cocytus noticed his presence.
"Good. Morning. Ryu."
"Good morning, Cocytus-dono"
After the quick exchange, Cocytus resumed his training. Ryu sat down on the ground watching from a distance. Boredom was starting to get over his mind.
A few minutes later, Cocytus suddenly stopped his training and approached Ryu.
"Do. You. Mind. A. Spar?"
Ryu was a little surprised.
"What?"
"You. And. I. Fight. A. Mock. Battle." "Do. Not. Worry. I. Will. Not. Hit. You. For. Real."
"To tell you the truth, I have been quite bored. So yeah, let's do this"
Ryu drew out his Weddle Park and walked to the open field. The two of them distanced themselves from each other and assumed their battle stance.
"Give. Me. Everything. You. Got"
White mist came out from Cocytus' body, and with that signal the battle began.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
I try my best to make every canon characters act and speak in-character, but sometimes it's just too difficult to make sure if I get them right. I do hope it came out good enough.
