Ainz Ooal Gown was sitting in his office on the 9th Floor of Nazarick, reading the materials secretly provided to him by the librarians of Ashurbanipal, and using them to take notes.
He had actually just visited the great library, and was told that they were slowly but surely running out of texts to comb over. This meant that if he wanted to continue his research into romance and how to be a good husband, he might have to find a way to secretly scour the New World, as well.
Still, he now had a few good ideas for dates that he was very excited about.
But as he was happily reading about an old hobby called ice skating, and how the people of his own world used to do it on frozen rivers and lakes, he heard knocking.
"My beloved?... Husband, are you there?"
He sighed deeply, and then put everything in his inventory before answering.
"Come in, Albedo."
As she did, and started walking towards his table, he noticed her unease.
"My love, is it true that you are leaving Nazarick for a time?"
"I am. I will be investigating several things in the Baharuth Empire, to ensure all is proceeding according to plan."
He hoped Albedo didn't know about the part where he is taking Neia along with her, as that is something he really didn't want to deal with.
"But... I will miss you so much! Maybe you could take my virginity before you leave, so that I have a pleasant experience to hold me over until you come back?"
Just then, he heard more knocking.
"Lord Ainz?"
"Ah, come in, Demiurge!... Sorry Albedo, I have other matters to attend to now. I need to discuss several things with him in private."
"But my beloved, what about my suggestion!"
"Uhhh... we can do that later. But you need to leave now, sorry."
"But my love!"
He lightly slammed his fist on the table.
"Enough!"
This made Albedo wince. The same went for Demiurge, who had just entered.
"I have matters to attend to now. Like I said, this is something for later... Now, I assume that's all?"
She then hesitated to speak several times in a row, only to finally bow her head.
"Yes, husband."
He then waited for her to fully leave and close the door behind her, before turning to the bowing Demiurge.
"Raise your head... Now, I assume you wouldn't know why I called you here?"
"I am not sure, Lord Ainz."
It was obvious from his tone that his mood was still quite poor.
"That's fine. I have a new mission for you. Something to investigate in between other projects, if you have time left over."
He leaned in close.
"But it is a strict secret. You will be working alongside Pandora's Actor. The only ones allowed to know anything about this are those who are invaluable to the investigation's furthering. You will select additional personnel only from those I've personally summoned, to help ensure this doesn't leak..."
... ... ...
Neia Baraja was looking at herself in the mirror, making minor adjustments to her hair.
She never really liked her body at all for most of her life, and she outright hated her eyes, but the man she loved calling her beautiful again and again made her see things in a very different light. And so, much of her self-doubt had melted away in the time since then.
Still, there were some fears she had regarding her and Ainz's love.
He said that they would be together forever, but... was that really the case?
Forever was a very long time. Who is to say that nothing will go wrong, ever? Who is to say he won't lose interest in her? Who is to say he won't fall in love with another woman at some point?
While there were no real signs of anything like that happening anytime soon, an end to their love was something she feared more than anything else.
But this was not the time to be worrying about the distant future. She pushed those unpleasant thoughts away, and got up.
...
Neia stepped out, and once again saw all her servants gathered outside. She only looked around for a bit, because she now had a decent amount of confidence that they had enough practice welcoming Ainz at this point.
In only a few more minutes, a carriage would arrive to take the two of them to their destination.
She went over to the front, where Bertrand and some paladins holding her luggage were waiting.
They bowed as she got close.
"Your Holiness, I believe everything is ready."
There were actually some very last-minute things done to finish up the preparations for her absence, so he was also referring to that.
"Thank you. Oh, and raise your heads."
Looking further away, towards the property's gates, she saw that a large crowd was gathered outside the walls. Crowds like this probably stretched from here all the way to the city entrance, where he would teleport his carriage.
Just then, her parents also came up from behind, and her father spoke first.
"Hey, Neia."
"Hello sweetheart."
She smiled upon seeing them.
"Ah, hello!"
"Are you excited?"
"I am! I think it's going to be great! And it hasn't even been that long since our honeymoon!"
Pabel nodded with a smile, while Sofia looked away with a complicated expression, which made Neia pause for a moment. Even with her skills as a speaker, as someone who always needed to be able to read the mood of others, she did not know what her own mother was feeling at that time.
...
After a bit of waiting, the crowd's cheers indicated that her husband's carriage was moving through, and getting closer.
She inhaled one more time to calm herself. Hopefully nothing would go wrong in her absence.
Some more time later, it was time for all of them to go to the gates of her mansion.
And after they did, the carriage itself arrived just a moment later. It was decorated with an astonishing amount of gold, weaved into beautiful patterns and shapes.
The carriage stopped, and the door opened. Her husband was of course the one who stepped out.
The massive crowd and her servants all bowed, while her parents stood by, and let her go greet him.
"Hello, Neia, my beloved wife."
Her wings were flapping about wildly at this point, and a strong blush was to be found on her face, both of which was only to be expected when he used such affectionate language.
"Hello darling! I am so glad to see you again!"
He stepped closer, and slowly leaned in for a kiss. She immediately accepted it, and they then held it for several moments.
When he pulled away, he ran his fingers through her hair while looking away.
"Greetings, Mr. and Mrs. Baraja. I hope all is well?"
"I'd say so, Ainz."
"..."
Neia pouted a bit when her mother failed to respond.
"Well, goodbye for now. I'll be sure to give your daughter an excellent vacation."
"Goodbye Ainz, Neia."
"Goodbye sweetheart."
As she was about to just say her goodbyes as well, she instead decided to run up to them, and hug them both at once.
"Goodbye, mom and dad."
...
After waving to the cheering crowds and getting inside the carriage, they sat down, with Neia being in his lap.
He then noticed that she seemed a bit different. She was looking into seemingly nothing for a decent amount of time.
Should he ask? Maybe she was thinking about something?
Not really sure, he decided to simply pat her head. In response, she looked up at him and showed him a radiant smile.
"... this really brings back memories, darling."
"Oh? What memories, exactly?"
"From when I first fell in love with you. Well, rather when those emotions were forming for the first time. The days we spent together in a carriage, travelling to the Holy Kingdom... Ah, what a beautiful time... even if it was surrounded by other awful things happening."
She then paused for a moment.
"... Say, this is... we never did anything together in a carriage, did we?"
"Oh, you mean... Well, are you sure this is a good time?"
"W-well... if we have time, it could be quite exciting..."
He smiled internally.
"Alright then, you naughty girl. I'll suppose a small delay won't be so bad, hm? Let's be fast."
... ...
Jircniv was standing outside the imperial palace alongside his most trusted servants, and the remaining two of the Four Imperial Knights. From the large gate which served as the entrance to the palace grounds, two rows of knights bearing the flags of the Sorcerer Kingdom and Baharuth Empire also extended all the way to where he stood. He previously also stressed himself out over whether or not he should also have banners bearing Baraja's seal, and if he did, how exactly he should have them displayed. He ultimately decided against it, which he hoped with all his heart was the correct choice.
His anxiety would already be hard to bear just from that, but now it also seemed the guests were late.
Them being late was probably not something to worry about, but in his mind, he kept going through all the ways in which this might mean something bad for him.
Did they run into any trouble along the way in his capital, like some fool blocking the road or something? If that was the case, then...
He gulped, and felt sweat appear on his forehead.
...
Neia, who was taking quick and shallow breaths, was now hastily buttoning up her dress.
"... that was great, darling..."
Her husband chuckled happily, clearly satisfied with himself.
"That's good to hear. Now, we've probably been at it for too long. I'll teleport us over, alright?"
"Of course."
"... [Gate]."
As the spell was used, she went to one of the windows, and pulled away the blinds.
What she saw quickly got her quite excited.
They had appeared right outside the city, and were just entering it. The architecture here was already quite different and rather beautiful, and the streets seemed quite clean.
She continued looking out the window, wondering how much fancier the rich parts were going to be.
...
Jircniv's anxiety only rose as he finally saw the Sorcerer King's carriage, and the terrifying undead soldiers that accompanied it.
He did his best to calm his breathing as he waited for it to get close.
When it eventually stopped, he anxiously watched Gown get out, and then offer his hand to Baraja as she did the same.
They then continued holding hands as they proceeded towards him, walking between the rows of soldiers.
As they were getting closer, Jircniv bowed, while all the others knelt.
And then, when they were close enough, he spoke in a loud voice, trying his best not to let it tremble. He was eternally thankful that Baraja was wearing something to cover her eyes, at least.
"Your Majesty Ainz Ooal Gown, Your Holiness Neia Baraja, I, Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix, am happy to welcome you both to the capital of the Baharuth Empire, Arwintar!"
"Hm. Thank you, Jircniv. Rise, everyone."
He breathed in deeply, a drop of sweat falling from his face as he raised his head.
"Perhaps we should start with a tour of the palace, while your luggage is taken to your chambers?"
Gown looked to Baraja, who then spoke.
"Yes, I would love that."
The more he observed them, the more their relationship seemed genuine, which was utterly terrifying. How exactly taking Baraja as a wife instead of just a concubine was beneficial, he still didn't know.
Or was it just part of a complex scheme, and were they that good at acting? That wouldn't be surprising at all, considering this undead's raw intellect and ability to scheme. It would only make sense that he would be able to scout out someone with enough talent to be a great actor and speaker at the same time, all while completely loyal to him.
Whatever the case was, he would probably never know.
...
As expected, the inside of the palace was quite beautiful.
While it was of course not anything like the beauty of Nazarick, she still really enjoyed how different the styles of architecture and decorations were from what she was used to.
They were currently being led through the gardens, at a pace which seemed a bit rushed to her, and so she spoke up.
"... sorry, can we slow down a bit?"
Jircniv immediately winced as she said that, and then quickly turned to them, as he was walking next to and slightly ahead of the pair.
"O-of course! My apologies for being so hasty."
"Thank you. I must say, I quite enjoy gardens."
"... Is that so? Well, I hope mine is to your liking, then."
"Hmm... I think it is."
She smiled as she said that, hoping to dispel some of the young Emperor's unease. She didn't know why he felt like that, but she felt it might not be a good idea to point it out in front of everyone, and so she kept it to herself.
...
After a bit more walking, they arrived at a small area with some bushes whose flowers were a beautiful, vibrant pink.
The Emperor cleared his throat before speaking.
"These are a somewhat rare specimen from the Elf Kingdom."
Neia heard only a little bit about that place. It was apparently a giant forest where the elves lived up on the trees, and used strange magic to live off the land. They apparently didn't really have traditional fields, instead cultivating what they needed above the ground, and then of course hunting for meat, as well.
This made Neia suddenly remember something.
"Ah, Jircniv? I suppose I would like to once again thank you for that bow. I hope it hasn't cost you too much?"
\\\
He hesitated for a moment.
What was the best way to answer this?
It would obviously be bad to complain to her about the price, so he had to do the opposite to show his loyalty.
"Not at all! No price is too high when it comes to a wedding gift for you, as you marry His Majesty! I just hope you liked it!"
Was that the best way to phrase that? He wanted to try praising both of them at the same time, but he thought that the way he said it was maybe a bit clumsy.
"I do like it, and I appreciate your kind words."
… He wondered if he was successful after all.
... ...
After being done with the garden and being shown around a new part of the palace's interior, it seemed the tour was stopped suddenly, judging from how the Emperor whispered something to one of the servants.
They were standing in the middle of a large hall, and Jircniv was now facing them.
"Ah, but perhaps this has been too much? I don't want to bore you by showing you every single room, after all... So, perhaps it'd be best to start the feast soon?"
Neia didn't particularly hate the idea. She wanted to see the Empire and what it had to offer, and so even if she couldn't eat any of the food, she felt it would be at least a bit interesting to see what the local royalty considered delicacies. Also, the meal will of course be a great opportunity to talk.
Jircniv then continued.
"... Or perhaps you would prefer to eat dinner alone, as a couple?"
She looked at Ainz, who in turn looked at her.
"Darling? What do you think?"
"I don't really have a preference."
Hearing this, she turned back to the young Emperor
"I would like to proceed with the feast normally."
"I see. In that case, would you like to wait in your chambers?"
"Oh, that would be nice. What do you think, darling?"
"Yes, let's go see our room."
\\\
This was one of the things he dreaded the most.
The way the palace was built did include some very fancy and large guest rooms, but those were not nearly enough. He considered moving out of the Emperor's chambers and giving them over, but that might be seen as rude for other reasons, as he might get accused of not being properly prepared to accommodate them, or maybe Baraja could say something about not wanting to spend time with her husband in a place where Jircniv himself regularly had fun with his concubines. And so, he ended up making some incredibly hasty renovations, and doing his best to furnish a specific section of the palace just for the two of them. It cost quite a large sum, but that was of course not important.
...
Jircniv's heart was beating faster as they were getting closer to their destination. He really hoped this would go well...
And then, they turned the final corner.
After only a few more moments of walking, they reached the double door in question, and the servants accompanying them knew to quickly open it.
"Your Majesty, Your Holiness, I can only hope that what I have been able to prepare will be enough."
When he finished, they both took a few steps inside, and looked around.
Afterward, Baraja turned to him with a smile.
"This looks quite nice. Thank you for the hospitality."
"There is no need to thank me at all! Please, I hope you enjoy yourselves here while the feast is finalised. It should be done in half an hour."
...
After Jircniv and everyone else left them alone, he felt himself relax quite a bit more.
The Hanzos and other stealthy minions had already confirmed that the palace was free of anything suspicious, which means that once he casts his anti-information spells, they should have guaranteed, perfect privacy.
In the meantime, Neia went off on her own to explore the place and look at all the decorations and furniture up close. He found this curiosity of hers quite cute.
\\\
She stepped close to look at the scarlet curtains, and found that they were of very high quality. Pleasant to the touch, pristinely clean...
Pulling them back a bit, she saw the sun, which was about to set in several hours. The glass of the windows was very clear, despite its thickness.
She then moved past a beautiful bedside table made of dark wood, to lay on the bed itself. The sheets were also scarlet in colour, and incredibly soft. After laying on it for a few moments, she concluded it was definitely on par with her own bed back at the mansion.
Only then did she realise that she sort of just left her husband standing back at the door. She quickly got back up, and started walking towards him.
"Ah, Ainz? Sorry for just going around on my own without even saying anything..."
"Hm? Oh, don't worry. I was just casting some spells. We should have complete privacy now."
She stepped closer, and leaned against his chest while starting to stroke it with one hand.
"Well, how do you think we should use that privacy?"
"Hmm... first, we should take care of one more thing... wait here. I'll be right back."
He stepped back, and then teleported away.
Not really knowing what to think, she went back to the bed, and sat on it.
After a bit of waiting, her beloved appeared again, along with a skeleton.
"Hello, Neia. This is just a normal skeleton, with no real thoughts. It'll be perfect."
He then turned around and opened the door to the room. After he did, Neia saw two maids standing there, who bowed right away.
"Hello. I need to request that no one is present anywhere near our door when we are here. Instead, tell this minion to summon me if anything comes up."
The maids then stared at him baffled for several moments, only for one of them to finally speak after that.
"Y-yes, Your Majesty!"
They then sped off, and the skeleton went to what Neia assumed was his new spot, probably at the other end of the hallway leading here.
Ainz then closed the door, and made a noise of satisfaction.
"Now, Neia... With no one around to hear, we can be as loud as we want when we're having fun..."
... ...
Jircniv stood facing the skeleton which the Sorcerer King had summoned. He could scarcely believe it when the servants had told him about it...
After all, being so openly distrustful that they won't try to eavesdrop was quite bold. It could also be taken to imply that the two of them will talk about things they can't have anyone else hear, possibly implying there's a secret purpose to this "vacation". It could even be that even more people could secretly be teleported back and forth.
Either way, there is absolutely nothing he can do here. Pointing it out would obviously be bad, despite how obvious they are being about it.
With a sigh, he prepared to speak to the skeleton.
"I need your master to know that the feast is ready."
Without another word, or even a gesture of acknowledgement, the undead started walking down the hall.
\\\
As the two of them were slowly and passionately kissing, she suddenly felt Ainz pull away.
"... darling?"
"Looks like time's up. The skeleton just let me know. It's currently coming over to knock."
She still found the idea of communicating remotely without words a little strange, but she pushed that thought away, and started getting up.
... ...
"To His Majesty Ainz Ooal Gown! To Her Holiness Neia Baraja! And to their marriage! May they live in good health and prosperity!"
Jircniv was trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible during his toast, but it was hard with those two looking at him...
He and everyone else then drank to finish the toast. After he sat down, he looked around for a bit. All his most trusted people were here, but he only paid attention to the terrifying couple. The others probably wouldn't be of any help anyway.
"Now, what would you like to try first? We have some fairly exotic meals ready for you today! Hopefully things you haven't yet tried. That right there is venison from a rare type of albino deer only found in the Elf Kingdom. This wine is made from grapes from the Minotaur Nation. That goat cheese is also from there."
He was trying to do his best to make it seem like every step was taken to ensure the greatest possible luxury, which was true, but he also didn't want to sound like he was bragging.
He then watched Baraja stare at the food without saying anything, with a seemingly neutral expression.
"... what about that? Is that special?"
"Ah, that's a boar native to the City-State Alliance. It is said to be quite juicy."
She once again didn't say anything, her head simply turned towards the food. What exactly was going on in her head?
"... I suppose I'll have some of that, then."
She said this with a distinct lack of enthusiasm, especially compared to when she was toured around the garden or interior.
He gulped, and sweat appeared on his forehead. What was the problem here, exactly? Was she really expecting even more? Damn it...
He then realised that he hadn't reacted to her request, and quickly scrambled to do so.
"O-of course! Servants, come on!"
\\\
Neia felt a bit uneasy about this.
While she was impressed with the exotic variety here, she didn't really want to touch any of the fancy stuff if she won't enjoy it anyway.
Wait, maybe she can request that her leftovers are given to a hard-working servant? Yes, then the food won't go to waste, right?
...
After selecting her side, she continued looking at her plate for a few more moments, before slowly picking up her fork and knife. She then cut off a tiny bit of the meat, and slowly put it in her mouth. He noticed that she only chewed for a tiny amount of time before swallowing. To his surprise, she then put the cutlery away.
"... but it feels a bit silent, doesn't it? Tell me Jircniv, how is the spread of the faith going in the Empire?"
His sweating got more intense. How should he phrase this? If he says it's not going as well as he wished it would, he might get asked something like "why is that?", and be directly blamed. This needed very careful wording... but he was running out of time. He couldn't just be silent here and think it over too much.
He cleared his throat in a fake way before speaking.
"W-well... I must admit the religion is still a minority one in this country. I have been trying to do what I can with official state support, and I really hope the faith becomes more popular soon."
By official support, he meant all the things that Baraja surely knew about, since she also sent him a letter of thanks many months ago. It was the Empire helping fund the building of new churches and their operation, along with other things like the tax-exempt status.
In response, Baraja nodded slowly.
"Yes, it's quite unfortunate... Do you plan to focus more on the faith in the future, or are there other priorities? My apologies, I don't know too much about the country's current situation."
The correct response was obvious. He needed to make a commitment right here, right now, or he would face her wrath.
"Of course. I'm always trying to figure out new ways to support your efforts that are uniquely applicable within the Empire, as well as increasing funding to currently undergoing projects!"
"Ah, is that so? Thank you."
As expected, she then very convincingly made it seem like this commitment was purely his choice, and that she had done nothing to force his hand.
... ...
After closing the door behind him, Ainz smiled internally.
The evening feast wasn't all bad, but he was now alone with Neia again. And he would be for the rest of the day.
And then tomorrow, they would once again spend the day together. And the day after that too... and so many more days after that...
He happily turned to her, as she was standing just a bit behind him.
"I suppose it's time for your real dinner, right?"
"Yes please. Sorry to bother you like this."
"Oh, don't worry at all. Going to pick the meals up personally is no problem at all. You stay here, I'll be right back."
"Can I have a kiss first?"
"Of course, my love."
... ...
Neia was currently sitting at one of the incredibly fancy tables in their chambers, eating some amazing goulash with bits of chicken, potatoes, sweet pepper, and mushrooms.
Her husband was sitting across from her, and was being very considerate, with the way he was making sure to let her eat in peace in between the small talk.
As she was finishing swallowing another mouthful, he spoke again.
"And what about the colour scheme?"
"Hmm... I don't think I prefer it to my own home, but it is certainly an interesting change."
"Is the bed comfortable?"
"It is. I'm sure we're both itching to properly make use of it later, right?"
He chuckled smugly after she said that.
"Hm, it looks like you're almost finished eating."
"Yeah. I'm pretty full, but I'll definitely finish this plate!"
And with that, she went for another mouthful.
"... Say, did anything else for us to do here come to mind since I last asked?"
She chewed for a few more seconds, and then swallowed.
"No, I think the list we have seems pretty complete."
And then, she took one final mouthful.
Seeing this, Ainz was already getting up to take the dishes away back to Nazarick.
"Alright. Once again, I'll be right back."
She waved to him, and he was off.
This gave her about a minute alone. Her eyes wandered around aimlessly as she stroked her full tummy. They eventually stopped at the curtains, which made her remember one more thing she forgot about until now. She slowly got up and headed towards them.
Just as she pulled them back and got a look at the city, Ainz appeared.
"Hello Neia. Anything interesting out there?"
"I think there is. Come on, look."
"Hm?"
He then made his way to her side.
"Ah, the centre of Arwintar at night. It truly is a sight."
"It really is!"
Neia had of course seen the use of [Continual Light] to illuminate large cities, especially in E-Rantel, but there was something very nice about the Imperial Capital's specific street layout and architecture being lit up at night.
Well, maybe it was just the novelty of being here for the first time, but she still found it quite a beautiful sight… And fairly romantic, too...
With that thought, she cuddled up to him.