Hi again!
The intermission chapter turned out to be quite longer than it should and didn't feel like an intermission, so I decided to post it as Chapter 20, acting as the epilogue of Volume 4.
See you again in the afterword
[X][X][X]
Ryu and Lily were standing around waiting in an empty room inside Fake Nazarick. The room had four chairs surrounding a small table, and it didn't have any window. But the room was sufficiently bright because of a magical lighting installed there.
"She's coming"
Ryu knew that the ARKS girl would come soon because his communication device picked up her position as a reaction to the same function the girl had recently used to pick up his position. The device also picked up the conversation happening starting from that point, but there was not much info gained other than the girl strangely talking easily and ended up seemingly becoming an uneasy ally for now.
"The coming conversation might be hard to follow for you, Lily. Sorry about that"
"No worries, Ryu-san. I will just be silent"
Soon, the door clicked and opened. Ryu was a little confused seeing the girl wearing a different outfit than before. Without saying anything she closed the door and dropped down crouching on the floor with a big sigh.
"Whew, that was tiring"
"Are you alright, uh..."
"Mel Rose, but just call me Rose. And you are...?"
"Ryu Seika, Ryu for short"
"Which ship?"
"002: Ur"
"005: Laguz"
After mentioning the name of the ship she was from, Rose stood up and noticed Lily. She approached Lily, who just stood still looking a bit uneasy.
"Is this your Support Partner?"
"In a way, yes. But not the one you know of. Her name is Lily"
"Figures. Her size looks normal. So Lily is from this place?"
"Yes"
Support Partner was the term for an artificial life form issued to each ARKS operative to work as their assistant. They were very humanlike, but their general size was only about 60% of normal human. Being artificial, they had little to no free will. Ryu knew very well that his Support Partner had definitely perished along with many other people on Ur.
"I'm gonna assume it's fine to talk about everything in front of her since the ones back there know a lot already. So what's the deal with that skeleton dude? Is he an evil overlord or something?"
"I don't know much, but at least I know he is not truly evil"
"I will take that with a grain of salt"
Ryu wanted to ask a question, but he noticed the weapon strapped behind Rose's back.
"Katana? You're a Braver?"
"Yes, with Fighter sub class"
"What? But you were Force when I saw you back then"
"It's a complicated story which I don't want to tell anyone. In short, I have someone else inside me and we sometimes switch place. She is a Force with Techer sub"
"Alright... I will go with that..."
Ryu felt confused about her condition since normally nobody would be able to change photon alignment without the assistance of a dedicated ARKS staff, but since Rose was determined to not talk there would be no use trying to inquire further.
"By the way, Rose. I have never seen your weapon before"
"What? Seriously? They have been giving this like candy, you know"
Rose said that with cynical face and tone, but Ryu was more surprised by the fact he just heard.
"It's a twelve star weapon, right? And you say they're giving it like candy?"
"Two years ago they found a way to easily mass produce high quality weapons. Twelve star weapons are not special anymore. Well, even thirteen star is getting more and more commonplace"
"But before Ur got destroyed and I got stranded on this planet twelve star weapons were still very rare, and that was still less than a month ago"
"I say you're really confused. Ur has never been destroyed"
"What?"
"You said Ur is Ship 002, didn't you? Ships from 001 to 010 are well known for always managing to survive times of crisis for years, and I have never heard any news of that streak getting broken"
"But I was there. I remember the chaos, the alarms loudly blaring, the hull of the ship failing. There's no way that it was not true"
"Either you're confused like I said, or there's some crazier explanation such as we coming from a different, parallel universe"
"Let's stop at that. There's no more to gain for continuing this topic"
Ryu sat down on a nearby chair. Rose followed by sitting down on another chair. Lily just silently sat down on another chair.
"So how exactly did you got here?"
"Assuming that I remember correctly, I evacuated myself from Ur with a Gate Ship, which is now missing. I don't remember anything else, though. How about you?"
"Warp accident. My Gate Ship also went missing after dropping me on the ground"
"So... both of us are stuck here on this planet for a while I guess"
"Yep, better get used to the absence of technology and an evil overlord on the loose"
"If I may ask, you seem to be holding a grudge against Ainz"
"Why wouldn't I? The lizardman were the ones providing me treatment, food and shelter when that warp accident left me badly wounded on the ground! Now many of them are dead and he is going to make them suffer more!"
Rose's hands were clenched and trembling. It was pretty clear that she was very upset.
"Are you sure about that last part?"
"What else would happen to anyone living under the grasp of an obviously evil skeleton creature like that?"
"Sorry, Rose, but I'm gonna stop you there. A prejudice based on first impression almost never ends up correct. Let me tell you that he once saved a village from being massacred"
"One good deed doesn't make it okay for the thing he has done in front of my eyes"
"Yeah, I know my argument is weak. My point is that you should try to get to know him better"
"I seriously think that you might have been mind-controlled by him. That filthy creature"
Ryu felt upset by Rose's attitude. However, he also was fully aware that his position was at a huge disadvantage to make any kind of argument.
But suddenly...
SLAP!
Lily suddenly stood up and gave Rose a slap in the face. Rose probably didn't even feel any pain because of her photon armor, but the slap seemed to surprise her anyway. Ryu himself was also surprised by Lily's sudden action.
"What's the big idea!?"
"Don't... you dare... to talk bad about my father!"
Lily said that with angry and teary eyes. Rose seemed surprised hearing that.
"W-What? Your father?"
"Lily, please sit down and calm down"
Without saying anything, Lily returned to her chair and sat down. She still glared at Rose while doing that. Ryu put that aside for now and began speaking.
"Ainz created Lily, and he considers her as one of his children. This is actually new for me, but it seems..."
Ryu looked at Lily.
"...you also consider him your father and love him, don't you Lily?"
"Yes! I love him very much as my father, Ryu-san! I'm very sorry about my action, but I just couldn't..."
Lily replied still with an upset face pointed to Rose. Ryu felt quite strange because he himself had been considering Lily as a daughter, but somehow it was Ainz who ended up being considered as father by Lily.
Why do I feel like I have lost...? Ah, this is going to be bad in any case.
Ryu was never prepared if Lily and Rose got into a bad relationship. Judging from Rose's attitude so far, she would insult Lily even more after knowing this.
However...
She instantly changed her outfit back into the one Ryu had seen, then she kneeled on one knee in front of Lily and held Lily's hand with both hands, her face no longer showing any vexation, and instead she looked really worried. Lily herself got surprised by this.
"I'm really sorry that Rose hurt you. Please forgive her, she's just very upset right now"
"W-What? What is going on here?"
Lily couldn't hide her surprise.
"I-I am Meru. It's difficult to explain, but Rose and I... are two in one body"
Ryu needed a few seconds to let things sink in.
"So that was what she meant. I have never seen anything like this"
Lily seemed to be still flustered.
"M-Meru-san, you don't have to do this. Please go back to your chair"
"No, I have to. I need to apologize for what Rose has said"
Lily seemed to be blushing looking at Meru.
"Alright, alright. Apology accepted. Now go back to your chair"
"Really? Thank you so much, Lily!"
Meru was delighted hearing it from Lily, but she was still not moving from her position yet. Lily's face seemed to become more red than before.
"Meru, just go back to your seat"
Lily then leaned over to Meru and whispered a sentence which Ryu couldn't hear.
"Your panties are in my full view"
Meru was silent for one second, then she looked below and her face also became red in an instant.
"Aah!"
She jumped back and held her skirt down at the front. With her face still red and looking flustered, she looked at Ryu.
"D-Did you see...?"
"See what?"
"N-Never mind then..."
Meru anxiously sat down on her chair. Ryu genuinely had not seen anything because the table between them obscured his view in a way that he only could see both Lily and Meru from chest up. Though he could make a guess what the fuss was all about, he decided to not bring it up any further.
"So what are you going to do after this?"
"I... We still don't know for sure... We want to stay with the lizardman for a while... but we don't know if it would bring more trouble"
"Staying with the lizardman? Why?"
"W-We want to see... how they will fare under his command..."
Ryu could understand her reason. She still couldn't trust Ainz's words, so she wanted to see for herself. The thing is, would Ainz allow that?
"I'm worried about Crusch... will she be okay?"
"Is she the white lizardman I saw?"
"Yes... she insisted to come along for me. I can't thank her enough"
"I believe she will be all right. Let's just wait"
[X][X][X]
"So, what is your answer, Crusch Lulu?"
Crusch, who had just been given a chance to make a choice, went silent for a few seconds. Ainz felt a little anxious, worrying that she would still refuse and therefore he would lose the chance to experiment with resurrection.
"Alright, I will take the offer. I will become your eyes and ears, so please bring Zaryusu back"
All right!
In his mind, Ainz made a victory pose for successfully convincing her.
Now, to contain the information from spreading...
"Before we proceed, I will give you a chance to say your last goodbye to your human friend"
"What? What are you going to do to her?"
Crusch was naturally surprised, since the way Ainz said it sounded like Mel Rose would be killed off.
"Relax. I will merely forbid her from visiting your tribe ever again. I would like to prevent the news from spreading to human civilization, that I am capable of resurrection. Therefore, she must not see Zaryusu again, no? Therefore you also should never mention anything about it, or the deal is off"
"I see..."
Crusch looked a bit sad, but she seemed to understand.
"If you are ready, I will call her back"
Crusch nodded.
"Aura, bring Rose back here, or Meru, whoever she is right now"
"Alright, Ainz-sama!"
Within a minute, Aura brought Meru to the throne room. Both of them looked delighted seeing each other again, and they hugged.
"Meru, thank goodness you're safe"
"You too, Crusch-san"
After the brief exchange, they released their hug.
"Ainz Ooal Gown–sama said our tribe will be made prosper with Cocytus ruling over us, so don't worry about us"
"But... can that statement be trusted...?"
Meru glanced at Ainz with worried face.
Maybe I should do this to seal the deal...
"Do not worry. I swear in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown that the lizardman tribes will prosper, and they will be ruled without oppression or fear"
Albedo, out from her own initiative, added an explanation.
"Lord Ainz's supreme name is not to be taken lightly, ever. None has ever seen Lord Ainz breaking any oath he swore in the name, and such thing will never happen"
Meru was silent, and then she looked at Crusch, who nodded.
"Meru, I'm happy to have you as my friend. But you should go. Human civilization is where you belong"
"But..."
"Don't worry about us and just go with your head held high, alright?"
She doesn't mention about the prohibition. Maybe it's actually a good move. Hmm...
"Meru, since I believe you haven't learned much about this world, I highly recommend you to go together with Ryu. He should be able to teach you a thing or two"
Crusch was naturally confused since she has never seen Ryu.
"Who is Ryu?"
"He is a person who came from the same place as me"
Crusch looked happy hearing Meru's reply.
"That's great! You should go with him! I was worried about you being alone, but with a fellow person with you I'm sure you will be fine!"
"If you say so... Alright. Please be well, Crusch-san"
Great. Now to send them away...
"I assume you are ready then. Aura, bring Ryu here"
"Yes, Ainz-sama!"
Once again, Aura went away and returned within one minute with Ryu and Lily.
"Ryu, Meru will be in your care from now on. I will send you back the same way as before"
"Alright then"
[Gate]
Without delay, Ainz casted Gate to transport the three of them to E-Rantel.
"Be well, Meru"
Crusch said that as she waved hands. Meru replied with a nod, and the three of them went into the portal. Once they disappeared from sight, Ainz dispelled the portal.
"Now, let's proceed to the resurrection matter"
[X][X][X]
Ryu, Lily, and Meru ended up in the woods near E-Rantel. Meru immediately switched to Rose upon arrival.
"Where is this?"
"A forest near a city"
"Couldn't he just teleport us into it?"
"Ainz's power is on a whole different level than this world's standards. Direct teleportation would cause a huge fuss"
"If you don't mind, I would like you to tell me further about this world"
The three of them then sat down on a nearby cluster of rocks. Ryu and Lily sat next to each other, while Rose sat facing Ryu.
"Human civilization is very low level compared to us, but they have real magic"
"Uh-huh, pretty much like those giants on Planet Harukotan"
I've never heard of Harukotan, but I will just assume ARKS found a new planet targeted by Darkers while I was gone.
"This world's standards for combat power is very low. Everything not related to Ainz just die in one hit from my techs. Ah, speaking of which, somehow photon techs seem to be strengthened in this world"
"Yeah, I know. My photon arts are also affected. Have you ever seen a 20 meters long Kazan Nadeshiko?"
"Of course not. It's normally only about five meters, right?"
"Do you have any guesses on why this happens?"
"My only guess is that the photon particles in this world are peculiar, in a way that most of our photon arts and techs become much stronger than they should be"
"I see"
"Oh, your Photon Blast is Ketos Proi, right? Mine is Julius Nifta, and it made a huge crater when I used it once. I don't want to use it anymore. Ketos Proi should still be safe, though"
"Uh-huh"
"I want to ask something. What was that huge laser Meru casted?"
"You mean Fomelgion? It's a compound tech combining Fire and Dark element. It's been common knowledge for any Force class for years"
Ryu got confused again. He has never heard about compound tech. At this point he began to consider the plausibility of Rose coming from a parallel universe.
"Now, let's continue"
Ryu then continued giving Rose expositions about this world, he relayed the knowledge he either had gained from Gazef or from his own experience. The talk overall lasted for almost one hour.
"And I think that's all I know so far"
"Alright, I will be going then"
Rose said that as she stood up. Ryu was surprised hearing that.
"Going where?"
"Anywhere the road takes me. You have your way of finding the missing Gate Ship, and I will do it my own way"
"But Ainz told me to..."
"You have allied yourself with him and trusted him, while I'm still skeptical and probably will always be. We are not compatible"
"Hmm... I guess you're right. But what should I say to Ainz later if I meet him again?"
"Figure it out yourself, or just be honest and say I ran off by myself"
Ryu was conflicted in his mind. He wanted Rose to stay with him, but she also had a point. Moreover, he couldn't force someone else who had already made up her mind to go alone.
"Guess I can't stop you. But I can't let you leave empty handed"
Ryu took his money pouch from his photon inventory and gave Rose a bunch of silver and gold coins.
"That should last you for a while"
"I appreciate the help. Thanks"
Rose put all the coins into her photon inventory.
"Alright. Goodbye then, until we meet again someday"
"Be well, and be careful. Our photon armor is still effective at protecting us from direct damage but seems to be useless against weirder magic effect like curse, illusion, and mind disruption"
"I will keep that in mind"
"Goodbye, Rose-san, Meru-san. Be careful out there"
Lily spoke after being silent all this time. Rose was a little surprised, and then she turned away.
"Thanks, Lily. Oh, and... sorry... for talking bad about..."
"It's fine! Don't worry about it anymore!"
"H-Hey! It's not like I'm really sorry for that! Meru made me do this! Anyway, I'm leaving!"
Without looking back, Rose dashed away from the place. She went towards the east and soon disappeared from sight.
"Well, there she goes"
"Will she be alright, Ryu-san?"
"I believe she will. Let's go home and rest for now"
Ryu and Lily stood up and started walking towards E-Rantel. Ryu knew that his communication device was still linked, so if needed he could contact Rose anytime. Rose herself probably knew that as well.
And so, life goes on for Ryu, and a new adventure begins for Mel Rose.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
So with this, Volume 4 finally ends. The next chapter will take a while because I have to re-read volume 8 first to refresh my memory about events happening there. I might make Ryu involved, or I might make the canon happen offscreen while Ryu has his own problems to tackle. Time will tell.
Ryu will see Mel Rose again, but not very soon. I might slip in two or three chapters of her own adventures before that.
Q and A time
Q: Would there be some kind of a fuck up in the near future?
A: Depends on your definition of that. Though I can say that something major will happen in Volume 6 equivalent, and it will be a serious SHTF event
Q: How strong or weak are the soldiers and higher ups in ARKS? And what are the most powerful being in ARKS are capable of?
A: Photon armor and weapons can be said as the equivalent of Overlord-verse's magic armor and weapons, so even greenhorns wearing low rank photon armor and weapon are about equal to at least Platinum Rank adventurer. The strongest ones can put up a good fight against a Floor Guardian one on one. However, there is a trend going among operatives to go full offensive in their setups, so most of them are glass cannons who can't take much damage before going down. For the record, Ryu didn't go with this trend. His setup is rather defensive.
A: There is a Six Pillar Council in ARKS, consisting of six characters well known for their heroic deeds and strength. One of them, a character named Regius, is able to one-hit-kill a Dark Falz, although with a great cost to his body and his weapon shattered after that. Also, there is the 'Supreme Leader' of ARKS named Xiao who is capable of opening an interdimensional gate large enough to transport a planet-sized mothership, and also capable of facilitating time travel. Oh, he is not the mad chairman I mentioned before. That's a different person.
