Hello again, everyone. Happy Lunar New Year!
I got bedridden because of flu last week, but thankfully it was just a regular flu and I'm all better now. Though I barely made it in time for my own update schedule this time around.
Anyway, on with the show. See you again in the afterword.
[X][X][X]
Ainz felt like he was going crazy.
It was still in the middle of the day, and multiple things had gone haywire already.
He had assigned Ryu's team to investigate Abelion Hills, but then they had gotten wiped out by a space dragon.
He had evacuated the team and put the area under remote surveillance, and then the angel he had been wary of appeared right there and for some reason transformed into Mel Rose.
Having been informed that there was a Dark Falz capable of impersonation, he had assembled a team to capture the Dark Falz and seal them. However, the Dark Falz surrendered without a fight.
Ainz had Ryu scan and identify the Dark Falz, but it turned out she was a genuine ARKS who looked like Mel Rose, with the name Melrose.
And just now, he had been told that Mel Rose was a clone of Melrose.
I just... can't! This is too much! Ugh...
Suddenly, Ainz's emotion suppressor kicked in, erasing his anxiety and calming him down. For once, he was glad that he had this trait. He had been betrayed from enjoying positive emotions so many times by it, being actually helped by the trait was a breath of fresh air.
"I believe what you have just revealed to us warrants a detailed explanation. However, I also believe that we should introduce ourselves first. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, and I am the proud owner of my home; The Great Tomb of Nazarick"
Melrose put her hand on her chin while taking a good look at Ainz after his introduction.
"I do have seen undead creatures, but this is the first time I see one who is not a mindless monster"
"I will take that as a compliment"
Ainz glanced at Ryu as a sign for him to follow suit in the introduction. Ryu seemed to understand, and so he began speaking.
"I am Ryu Seika, an ARKS operative from Ship 002: Ur. The one holding Rose back then was Hikaru Seika, my sister"
Melrose looked at Ryu with her hand on her chin, clearly displaying that she was taking a good look at him.
"So you two are the ones from the other ARKS... Are there any other?"
"As far as I know, no"
Ainz couldn't quite understand what the exchange between Melrose and Ryu just now was about. She had said her words as if there were multiple ARKS organization out there.
"Pardon me, but I couldn't grasp the context of what you talked about just now"
"I guess I will explain everything I know so far. But... are you familiar with the concept of planets and outer space? And multiple dimensions to boot?"
"I understand the concept, so you should have no worries regarding that"
"Alright then..."
Melrose then began telling her story about how this world's planetary system was located in a limbo between multiple parallel dimensions, and how two of those dimensions had their own ARKS within, along with their own Dark Falz. It was a tough story to digest, but the fact that Ainz himself had come from another world through means still unknown to him helped him to accept the new information more readily.
"That is... fascinating"
Ainz said the remark, being genuinely fascinated by how ARKS seemed to be able to travel between dimensions with relative ease. Meanwhile, Melrose looked at Ryu and began asking a question.
"So, Ryu. What year is your calendar at?"
"Huh? Oh... A.P. 239"
"Mine is A.P. 242. So your universe is three years behind, huh? Anyway, back to the question about Rose being a clone of me..."
Melrose took a deep breath and cleared her throat, and then she began speaking.
"In a different dimension, there is this planet which links to our dimension through their version of photon particles, namely ether. Ether resonates strongly with emotions, capable of creating feral life forms we call phantoms. But sometimes ether can create sentient life forms according to the mind wave it strongly resonates with. Because the sentient life form produced by ether always resembles an existing person, they are sometimes addressed as ether clones, though they are still essentially phantoms"
Melrose briefly stopped to draw breath. Ryu asked a question while this was happening.
"So, Rose is one of those... ether clones?"
"It's a... little more complicated than that. You know the other person, right?"
"You mean Meru?"
Melrose nodded hearing Ryu's reply, and then she drew breath again before speaking.
"I have no idea what the cause was, but Rose was born with... what should I call it... defects. Imagine an ether clone consisting of an outer shell which makes the physical appearance, and ether energy within to sustain the outer shell. Rose had barely enough ether energy to sustain herself, and she would have perished within less than a day from coming into existence"
Melrose stopped again briefly, and she let out a small sigh.
"This kind of case has never happened before, so nobody in ARKS knew what to do for certain. The best idea we could come up with was to forcefully inject photon energy as substitute to the lacking ether. But we were running out of time, and slow, careful injection would never make it in time. On the other han-"
Melrose's speech was cut short because she suddenly coughed. Her voice already sound strained by then, so it was probably because she had been speaking a little too much. Out of his own initiative, Ainz pulled the Pitcher of Endless Water from his inventory along with a glass.
"Here, have a drink"
Ainz said that as he poured cold water from the pitcher into the glass and gave it to Melrose, who reluctantly accepted it and glanced at Ryu while still holding the glass. Ryu silently nodded, although Ainz still could notice it. After briefly hesitating, Melrose then drank the water from the glass entirely.
"Ahh... Thank you"
"You can help yourself if you need more. And you too"
Ainz put the pitcher in the middle of the table as he said that, and he also pulled another glass and put it near Ryu.
"Alright, where was I before... Oh, right. On the other hand, a quick surge of photon energy risks overloading the outer shell and she would perish anyway. So, I came up with an idea; Support Partner. ...Uhh, do I have to explain to you about Support Partner, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown?"
"I could use a brief explanation, and you can address me with just Ainz"
"Alright. In short, Support Partner is a mass produced small size, fully customizable artificial life form made of photon. All ARKS are given permission to request one free of charge. It just happened that I made my Support Partner to my exact likeness, so instead of injecting photon energy to Rose without definite measure, I had the entirety of my Support Partner converted into photon energy and injected into her as is. It was still a gamble, but somehow it succeeded to preserve Rose's life"
Both Ryu and Ainz couldn't help being fascinated by the explanation, and Ryu was the one to react first.
"So, you're telling me that Meru is your Support Partner?"
"Used to be"
"What?"
"The moment Meru was converted back into photon energy, she was effectively gone. But out of everyone's expectation, the photon energy somehow gained her own sentience some time later. I know, it sounds like some bull, but actually such case of photon gaining sentience has already happened in the past. Never made public, though"
"I'd like to know, but if it is classified information it can't be helped"
Melrose helped herself with another glass of water before speaking again in response to Ryu's words.
"Not made public doesn't mean classified, you know. The first generation of Claris Claes was essentially the same as Rose; original person and sentient photon, two minds sharing the same body and able to switch around at will. But let's stop there because it is irrelevant to the ongoing matter"
"Oh, right. Hmm..."
Ryu looked at Ainz briefly before speaking.
"Sorry that we have been dominating the conversation. Do you have questions you would like to be answered by her, Ainz-dono?"
"Hmm, I would like to know why Rose fainted upon seeing you, but I have a bigger question than that. From where did you gain the ability to transform into an angel?"
"Oh..."
Melrose glanced at Ryu before answering Ainz's question.
"I have Dark Falz powers, or to be exact, borrowed them"
Once again, both Ainz and Ryu were surprised by the answer. From what Ainz had learned from Ryu, Dark Falz were the mortal enemies of ARKS, yet Melrose who was an ARKS, borrowed power from them.
"If anyone thought that I was a Dark Falz, they wouldn't be completely wrong. All Dark Falz are within me"
Within her? Is she basically saying that she is sealing evils in a can, with herself being the can?
Ainz couldn't help getting paranoid upon hearing what he had just heard. In any stories, whenever there was a great evil power sealed through some means, the seal would eventually break, either by deterioration or outside intervention. Right now there was a person in front of him sealing multiple Dark Falz, each presumably had enough power to destroy planets on a whim.
"Are you not afraid they will eventually break free from you?"
"Eh, not really. We're on good terms so far"
...Is she saying that she somehow has made the Dark Falz ally with her?
Ainz had a hard time taking in all the answers he had received. Elder had been indeed capable of reason to some extent, but ending up as an ally? That was unimaginable.
"Alright... I will just leave it at that... Now, do you know anything about the huge explosion at the area my subordinates met you?"
"Oh... that was my own fault. I encountered the Elder from his dimension, and the Elder within me urged me to use his power. Let's just say... we went overboard"
Once again, Melrose put one hand behind her head while slightly hanging her head in shame. Ainz wondered about how strong Melrose could be, and he felt that he needed to be even more cautious than before.
"Let's just leave it at that too. Now, does Rose know about the circumstances around her? Why did she faint upon seeing you? And why is she on this planet to begin with?"
Melrose folded her arms, seemingly thinking about how to answer the questions. It took her slightly more than ten seconds until she finally began speaking.
"For the first question, she doesn't. In order not to overwhelm her mind, she was arranged to believe that her memory was hazy as a side effect of cold sleep. She was then registered as an ARKS member and lived her life normally. But then, she was noticed to be able to change her class on the field, a feat without any previous records. Okay, maybe the Claris Claes I mentioned could do the same, but in their case both minds had the same class so the possibility was never considered"
Ryu folded his arms as well and leaned to the chair while hearing Melrose's story.
"So, that was the time Meru came to be, wasn't it?"
"Sorta. There's no record on when and how Rose and Meru have interacted first time, and how they got along like that. Anyway, of course everybody in the R&D wanted to research on her unique trait when they found out about-"
Bam!
Ryu suddenly slammed his fist onto the table, startling both Melrose and Ainz. Rage was clearly written all over his face as he gritted his teeth.
"Of course they did..."
For some reason, Ainz's mind connected the dots within an instant and made a conclusion on Ryu's sudden rage. This was thanks to the brief spying he had done during the night Ryu reunited with Hikaru.
"It was your sister, no?"
"Ahh, yes, Ainz-dono. Sorry about that"
Melrose raised her head a little with her eyes slightly wider than before, which was a sign that she had figured something out. She then spoke, confirming her thoughts.
"I knew something was off when you're a human but your sister is a deuman. I'm guessing the Luther of your dimension did that to her"
"Yes, indeed..."
"I don't know how things are going on over there, but every departments in my ARKS have been undergoing reformations ever since the downfall of Luther, R&D included. They are not as bad as they used to be"
Ryu remained silent, averting his eyes from them, and looking straight down at the empty table surface in front of him. After a few seconds, Melrose began speaking again, resuming the current topic.
"Um, anyways, they wouldn't have done any examination without her consent, but it seems that they approached it the wrong way, scaring her enough that she stole a Gate Ship out of fear. I wasn't there when that happened because I was away on a crucial long-term mission. All I know was from what I've been told when I got back. A lot of things happened which have delayed her retrieval, but now I came to this planet to look for her and return her safely"
Melrose looked at Ainz before continuing.
"I suppose that answered your third question to some extent. Unfortunately I don't know any answer myself for the second question. I have never met her face to face, after all"
"You have never met Rose? Why is that?"
"The same reason why she doesn't know her origin. In fact, I used to look exactly like her, but I changed my look a lot just in case we pass each other by chance"
"Then why are you the one picking her up? They could have dispatched someone else instead, couldn't they?"
"Actually, no. You see, the photon on this planet is abnormal compared to everywhere else. Thanks to that, any Gate Ship will blow up the moment it enters the atmosphere. I got here by borrowing Luther's power, the angel form you probably have seen. In addition..."
Melrose was briefly silent before continuing.
"Nothing can be kept secret forever. Rose will eventually learn about her origins, one way or another. Rather than finding out that everyone has been conspiring to hide the truth from her, I want to tell her everything myself before going back to the ship. That was my other reason for taking this mission."
Ainz rubbed his chin hearing Melrose's words. Her reasoning was a little naive, but still pretty logical. Indeed, hiding the truth would only go so far, and being honest would ideally be the best. However, honesty wouldn't always produce the best outcome. Ainz himself back then had been prepared for the worst outcome when he had come clean to every residents of Nazarick about how he was not as smart as everybody thought of him, but he had been fortunate that everything had gone in the best way possible. It was uncertain whether the same would apply in Melrose's case.
"Speaking of which, how will you get back to your ship if Gate Ships will just explode upon entering the atmosphere?"
"It will take some time, but the crews will calibrate the necessary stuffs for everything to work normally. My objective is to stay with Rose until then"
"I see. I still have some more questions, but look at the time. Just one last question, then... Why did you go so far?"
"Huh?"
"From what you said, Rose is a being made up of foreign energy. She's not... a real human. From how you've explained it, she's more like a construct. An artificial being. Why go through such lengths for her if you had the option of letting her die that first day, and move on with your life?"
Melrose went silent upon hearing Ainz's question. Her eyes went slightly wider and her hands curled up into fists. A couple seconds later, she took a deep, calming breath before speaking, now with a hardened edge that clearly showed that she was now angry, but controlling herself.
"You know, I have all the reasons I need to be angry at you right now, but I had to remind myself that you are an undead, and you definitely have different moral points than us. I will begin with a question then. What measure is 'non-human' to you? At what point you draw the line until giving human rights to someone else looks illogical? Does Rose have to be born from a human mother as a baby, then grow up to what she is now, so that giving her human rights doesn't look strange to you? When I said 'outer shell', it includes all the inner body parts normal humans have. Rose has all the basic needs of a normal person. She has a distinct personality, two in fact, and she can feel all sorts of emotions. What part of her is not human enough to give her all the rights of not only a human, but of a sentient being? There are many ARKS members that aren't human. Should they be denied rights just because they are different? If I or anyone else used your logic, then an undead like you would be branded an abomination and every people will be out to kill you. Think a little bit before asking such questions"
Ainz couldn't help being quite impressed by Melrose's attitude. As far as he could observe up to this point, Melrose had the same personality as Rose, but a lot more mature. Ainz imagined that if Melrose had the exact same personality as Rose, she would have raged at him with highly raised tone and she wouldn't have raised good points like how she had just done. Ainz knew that his question had been, to put it bluntly, stupid. But he had asked that question anyway with the purpose of gauging Melrose's personality, and thankfully it had been a success.
"Yes, you are right. I apologize for my lack of understanding regarding human values. Now, do you have any questions regarding us?"
Melrose's expression mellowed back into her previous normal self before she began speaking.
"Well, I've been wondering... how did you all meet and became allies?"
Ainz glanced at Ryu briefly and made a hand gesture to indicate that he would answer the question himself.
"I met Ryu by chance some months ago. I gave him food and shelter for a while, and we talked about a lot of things. As for the other two, there is a long story involved so I suggest we save it for later"
"Hmm, alright. For now I don't have any more questions"
Ainz looked at Ryu, silently telling him to ask if he still had any questions regarding Melrose. Ryu noticed and caught the meaning, and so he began speaking to Melrose.
"Well, I'm just wondering about something I noticed when I scanned you. Your class, what is it actually? And why aren't you using a subclass?"
"Right, of course you don't know yet. My class, Phantom, is a class focused on being nimble on the battlefield. Evading attacks and swiftly countering is its forte. Phantom is a Successor Class which utilizes a combination of weapons from several standard classes. Successor Class isn't compatible to have a subclass. Also, the name being the same as the ether creatures is merely a coincidence"
"Hmm, so what weapons can your class use?"
"Katana, rifle, and rod"
"All three types? Interesting. Well, I have no more questions for now"
Both Melrose and Ryu looked at Ainz, who effectively was the leader of the conference. Ainz then put his hand in front of his mouth and cleared his throat before he began speaking.
"Alright, then this quick conference is concluded. Let us go to where Rose is resting and see if she has woken up"
Ainz then put everything back into his inventory, and the three of them proceeded to leave the room. Ainz didn't know where Albedo had gone, but Fake Nazarick was tiny compared to Nazarick, so he was not worried at all about it.
While the group was walking through the corridor, Ainz could clearly hear Melrose and Ryu talking behind him.
"By the way, how many more planets your ARKS has logged compared to mine? For mine, the latest was Wopal and I remember Rose mentioning a planet named Harkotan"
"Only two. Harkotan and the parallel dimension planet I mentioned. This one we're standing on is not logged yet"
"What's the name of that planet, by the way?"
"Oh yeah, silly me"
Melrose let out a small laugh briefly before she spoke again.
"It's Earth"
Half a second after Melrose spoke, Ainz stopped walking. His head was suddenly overwhelmed by a lot of questioning thoughts running inside his mind.
Did she just say Earth? Did I hear it wrong? Is it really the Earth I know? Maybe it is just an unrelated planet with the same name by chance? But what if it is really THE Earth? It can't be, right? I never heard of stuff like ether back on Earth. But those rich bastards might have been keeping such info hidden from commoners like me. Could it possibly have been the case?
"Ainz-dono, is there something wrong?"
Ainz's train of thought was stopped in its tracks when Ryu asked him the question. He wanted to ask about the Earth planet, but without careful thinking he would risk telling them hints that he had used to be a human from Earth, something he had already told Ryu about once but then erased from his memories on his own volition. Erasing the memory back then had costed a whole bunch of mana, and Ainz didn't really want to invalidate the spent resource. But now that they noticed his behaviour, he had to make something up.
"Ah, it was nothing. I just remembered that... calling your name when Rose or Meru is near will be difficult, no?"
Ainz turned around to the other two. At this point, now that his mind was more calm and collected than back then, he could take a good look on Melrose's appearance. Her red hair and green eyes were the same as Mel Rose's, but Melrose's hair was cut to shoulder length in a tomboyish style. She wore a captain hat which was black with gold accents, sporting a symbol which looked like a fat star on an anchor, with four letters above it. For some reason, Ainz could recognize the letters to be read as "ARKS" even though their shape was not exactly similar with the alphabet he knew.
Melrose's top half of her outfit consisted of a black military jacket with pale red accents. The jacket had a fur hood hanging around her neck, and a pair of metallic shoulder pads which covered her shoulders and a portion of her upper arms. She also covered her hands with brown leather gloves. The bottom half of her outfit consisted of plain black shorts, very dark blue socks which might as well be black, and black leather boots with minor gold accents. Compared to Rose's skintight shorts, Melrose's were noticeably longer and more loose-fitting. The socks covered most of her calves, and the boots covered half of those. All in all, below the neckline she only showed the skin of her knees and half her thighs.
"Well, like I said before, everybody calls me Guardian. There should be no reason not to do the same, is there?"
"Is that a title you have earned in ARKS?"
"Well, sorta"
"There is a minor complication for me alone, but alright, Guardian it is. Let us resume our walk"
Ainz turned around again and began walking forward. He still didn't know where Albedo had put Rose, but luck was still in his favor because suddenly the door of one room ahead opened with a click, and the one coming out was Albedo. She immediately noticed him coming and bowed in respect.
"Ainz-sama"
"Albedo, is that the room where you put Rose?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama. Hikaru is with her, and she has just recently woken up. I was about to report to you, Ainz-sama"
"I see. You may go and rest somewhere. Thank you for your hard work, Albedo"
"Ah, the pleasure is all mine, Ainz-sama"
Albedo bowed once more before turning away and left. Ainz just stood there while this was happening, and then he turned back to Ryu and Melrose before speaking.
"Guardian, I think you should wait here for a bit. If Rose faints again upon seeing you we will be going nowhere"
Melrose gave a light shrug before speaking.
"Well, that's understandable"
Ainz then knocked on the door and opened it. The room behind the door was just a plain room with a single bed, nothing more than that. Both Rose and Hikaru were sitting on the bed talking to each other when Ainz came in with Ryu following behind.
"I am glad that you are awake, Rose. Do you still feel strange anywhere?"
"Uhh, no. I'm fine, I think"
"Do you have any idea about your sudden loss of consciousness back then?"
"Well, umm... I heard Ryu saying that the Persona was actually another ARKS, so I thought to look inside. But then, I don't remember anything. Meru didn't get to see anything either before everything went dark"
"Have you had any history of something like that?"
Rose seemed to be thinking briefly, and then she spoke again.
"Yeah, I do have a suspicion. It seems hearing a certain word can make me lightheaded"
"Can you tell us the word if possible?"
Hearing Ainz's question, Rose looked at Hikaru before speaking again.
"Please hold me, just in case"
Hikaru nodded and sat closer to Rose while holding her arm. Rose then looked at Ainz, took a deep breath, and began speaking.
"The word is... Guardian"
Rose closed her eyes hard right after saying the word, preparing for the worst that could happen to her. Meanwhile, Ainz noticed the word being the same as the title owned by Melrose and wondered about the exact link between them.
A few seconds passed, and Rose seemed to be still fully conscious. She opened her eyes and looked around in slight bewilderment.
"So, Rose, did you feel anything strange after speaking the word?"
"Strangely no, and I have no idea why"
"I see. Nevertheless, the newly arrived ARKS member wants to speak with you. However, she has a... peculiar connection with you, and that might be the cause of you fainting"
"Huh? Oh..."
"I can let her in, but do you want to see her?"
Rose was silent for a few seconds, but then she took a deep breath and looked at Hikaru who was still holding her arm. Hikaru nodded seeing Rose's determined expression.
"I'll keep you safe, Rose"
Rose smiled and nodded too, then she looked back at Ainz.
"Please let her in"
Ainz nodded and turned his head slightly towards where the door was.
"Guardian, you may come in"
Soon, Melrose slowly came into the room. Ryu kept looking at Rose with worried face, while both Hikaru and Rose were naturally surprised with how Melrose looked. Both of them had their eyes going wide and their mouth agape. But soon...
"Ugh!"
Rose staggered while still sitting on the bed. She held her head with one hand, while Hikaru tightly held the other trying to keep her from falling. Ryu also rushed to her to help keeping her steady from the other side.
"Rose! Please keep it together!"
Hikaru tried encouraging Rose with words. Rose herself was breathing in short pulses. She was still conscious, but barely keeping herself together.
"M-Meru...! Are you alright down there...!?"
Ping!
Suddenly Rose's outfit changed into Meru's, which was a sign that they had just switched. Unlike Rose, Meru didn't seem to be swaying or such. However, something felt off about her. Her eyes were as if they had no light, staring into space full of emptiness.
"Meru...?"
Hikaru called to her, but there was no response. Instead, Meru stood up from the bed without changing her empty expression, slowly walked to Melrose, and stopped once she was just one meter apart from her. While this was happening, Melrose just stood straight with her arms folded and sporting a straight face.
"I have been waiting, Master"
Meru spoke with a flat, almost robotic tone, even though her voice was actually still the same. Nobody else said anything, having no idea what to say in response to the unfolding event. Melrose herself let out a sigh with rolled eyes.
"...I had suspicion of this, but didn't expect it to be really the case"
"W-What's happening to her? Who are you and why do you look like her?"
Hikaru asked in confusion, glancing back and forth between Melrose and Ryu, the latter of whom gave a quick answer in response.
"She's a friend, but her situation is complicated. I'll explain later"
Hikaru nodded, although it was clear she was still confused. Ainz stepped forward to approach Melrose from behind, and he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Guardian, I believe what just happened warrants explanation"
Melrose glanced at Ainz, then she began speaking.
"Well, it seems Meru, despite no longer being a Support Partner, still had her old program. If I go anywhere near, her programmed instinct to obey my command kicks in like that"
"I see. Is there a way to get her back to her free self?"
"I have no idea. But for now, perhaps..."
Melrose took a deep breath, and then she looked at Meru straight in the eyes.
"Meru, I command you to switch with Rose and standby"
"Yes, Master"
After speaking her answer, Meru closed her eyes, and within an instant her clothing changed back into Rose's. Immediately, she opened her eyes wide with looks of bewilderment.
"Okay, I... certainly need explanations here. Why do you look like us, and Meru... Support Partner? What?"
Melrose approached the confused Rose and put both her hands on Rose's shoulders.
"I will tell you everything. But first, can we sit down?"
Rose just nodded with still confused eyes. The two of them then sat side by side on the bed, while Ainz pulled several chairs for everyone else including himself to sit on.
Melrose then proceeded to tell Rose everything, from the fact that Rose was an ether clone of her, to the fact that Meru was her former Support Partner. During the talk, Rose naturally became bewildered as major reveals were told to her one by one.
"So basically... I'm not a real person, and neither is Meru?"
"You are as real as you believe, Rose. ARKS have already had a good number of ether clones appearing, and now they still live their life just like any other people. I don't see any reason why the same shouldn't apply to you as well"
"Those other ether clones... do they know that they are... phantoms?"
"Yes"
"Why was I never told about this from the start?"
"They knew from the beginning by themselves. You were a special case"
Rose seemed to be confused about her situation, her eyes glancing left and right to the others in the room. After a brief moment, she looked back at Melrose and spoke.
"Honestly... I need time to take in all these. But first..."
Rose was silent for a few seconds, and her eyes glanced upwards. Those who knew about her condition would immediately assume that she was attempting to communicate with Meru.
"Meru's not responding. Is this really because of you being near? Is there a solution for this matter?"
"I honestly have no idea, but... I want to try one thing"
"What is it?"
"I will laugh if this is really that simple. Here goes..."
Melrose took a deep breath, and then she spoke again.
"Meru, I command you to be free!"
"H-Huh? Oh..!"
Rose was startled and confused by Melrose's words, but suddenly she seemed to realize something and within a second later her outfit changed back to Meru's, which was a sign that they had just switched again.
"Are you sure, Master?"
Melrose was briefly stunned by the turn of events, but she quickly cleared her throat and began speaking in response to the question.
"Yes, Meru. With this last command from me, you will live as a person with your own free will, no longer bound to obey my command. Effective immediately"
"As you wish, Master..."
Meru closed her eyes with her head bowed down, and then she opened them again. Without warning, Meru jumped to Melrose and hugged her.
"Serving you have been a blessing. Thank you for everything, Master"
"Hey, I'm no longer your master. We're equals now, and..."
Meru released her hug with a slightly confused expression.
"...And what?"
"...Pffft! Hahahaha!"
Melrose laughed hard. She indeed had said that she would laugh if the solution to the problem was as simple as commanding Meru to be free, and it really was. Seeing all these happening, Ainz couldn't help feeling a little delighted inside. Many things had been going haywire today, and such a heartfelt scene was a very welcome change to relax his mind even if just briefly.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
Well, there's no need for every problem to have a complicated solution, right?
See you again in another two weeks.
