Author's Note:
As always, I wish you good health. Let the world-building continue. Adieu!
-Zirmeister
Disclaimer:
This fanfiction is a crossover that directly takes characters and other source material from the two preexisting light novel series Overlord and Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken. Please go support the authors, artists and the other people who have worked on each of the respective works.
"Fuu…well, how do I look?"
An angry sounding voice leaked out from the figure as though it was coming from the heart of malevolence, though his newly born heart refused to bear any sort of ill will that would damage his reputation. This reputation, so to speak, would only be worthy to be held by someone who embraced the very role of a warrior.
Actually, it would be best to describe this gargantuan figure as someone who could cleave apart mountains with ease.
The several sets of shoulder pauldrons shook with trepidation as the warrior with uneven horns and monstrous looking teeth scrunched his face up in confusion. He spun around a little, causing the trees to shake with trepidation. The very air was greatly disturbed by the warrior's sheer presence.
Not even a samurai from the Sengoku Period would be able to hold up to the beauty of the monstrous warrior's crimson red armor. Even the extravagant amount of gold linings did not underwhelm the overall aesthetics as it further accentuated the terrifying might of the warrior.
If one were to take a closer look, the armor plates were subtly being layered on top of even more armor, making it seem impossible for one to completely destroy the warrior's equipment if they were not able to give it their all. But there was no way this warrior would take the attacks lightly.
This behemoth of a Nephilim, as one would refer the person to in Yggdrasil, had made himself known in the history books of Helheim for giving the World Champion Touch-Me a run for his money. It would be even more impressive for one to lay a scratch on his armor before being cut down unto heaven and earth by this warrior's divine techniques.
The silence that followed Ainz's transformation was perturbing, to say the least.
The others assumed Ainz was still in the middle of transforming, but in reality, it was because Ainz was still in the middle of coming up with a proper introduction.
He did not want to disrespect his friend whose form the undead opted to take. On the other hand,
"—Warrior Takemikazuchi?!"
Staff sounded more like she was squealing out her answer. It seemed he was not the only one in this vicinity who was also aware about the guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Warrior Takemikazuchi began to rumble with deep laughter. The Nephilim's laugh had somehow managed to shake the very air itself, making birds fly out of nearby forest groves in a fit of panic.
"—The very same, Staff. It's not a bad look on me, right? I always admired Takemi-san's resolve at trying to get the best equipment for his classes, both in terms of function and aesthetics. I can now truly see that it paid out in the end."
"I can't believe it," Rimuru whispered, admittedly just as excited as the woman as the pitch in his voice heightened. "It's like you came straight out of medieval Japan, other than the fact that you're, you know, not human."
"That's one way to put it. I admit, it feels a little weird being in a form made out of actual flesh and all. But my senses have been greatly heightened, much so that nature's smell is almost overwhelming my nose."
"Pfft! W-what nose?"
Warrior Takemikazuchi let out an "Ah?" as he lifted his gauntlet-covered left hand, trying to find the presence of a nose but unfortunately to no avail. Rimuru guffawed as Staff shook her head, though the woman was trying to conceal a smile that snuck up on her face.
"…Very funny, Rimuru."
"S-sorry, I couldn't help it. I can't believe you actually tried to do that."
While all of this was going on—
"—WHAAAT?! This is…I—is this really you, Ainz?! I can't feel a single shred of your original aura! And what is this fancy looking garment you have going on there? You're so cool looking!"
Milim was hopping with a huge look of adoration on her face, seeing the donned armor reflecting the sunlight. It was becoming more impressive by the second as she caught wind of the smaller details engraved on the armor's surfaces.
"Is that so? Well if the person who originally bore this form was here and had heard what you said, I'm sure he would appreciate it."
"Of course! It's far more impressive than what the nations of this world could make in a hundred years, no doubt!"
"Hoo?"
Milim saw a wickedly wide grin on Warrior Takemikazuchi's face, but she found it to be a genuine expression instead of one with malicious intent. She did not know that she accidentally revealed a critical gap in this world's technology.
Almost feeling overwhelmed by the sheer difference in height, the dragonoid simply hopped off the ground, leaving behind a huge dust trail that the slime and Guild Weapon dodged in the nick of time. Seeing where she was going, Warrior Takemikazuchi hurriedly sheathed his enormous katana into an equally enormous scabbard.
"Hm…? Oop—there you go!"
After having jumped about fifty meters in the air, Warrior Takemikazuchi moved to a better spot before holding one of his hands up in the air. He felt a thud land on his hand's palm and heard Milim yell out "Perfect landing!"
This girl is going to give me a heart attack one day—Ainz lamented in his mind. Slowly, the Nephilim let her down onto the spot where the dragonoid wanted to sit as he assumed that was the reason behind that odd stunt of hers.
After a few seconds, Milim was now sitting comfortably on top of the Nephilim's right shoulder. She made sure to carefully position her bottom between the two sharply jutted edges of two armor plates. This allowed her to firmly hold onto the lower armor plates as a means of support.
The warrior only sighed before speaking in a lecture-like tone that caught the dragonoid off guard.
"You should warn me when you pull off a dangerous stunt like that, Milim."
"Wa-ha-ha-ha-ha! I don't know why you're so worried about me, Ainz! You should know that things like these are trivial to me."
"I see. That was just me being cautious, I suppose. But it's not as though I'm intending for you to get hurt—I only wish to see you safe since you will be traveling with us for the meantime."
"O-of course! You don't need to tell me that…"
Milim nervously prodded her fingers together after receiving a stern look from the warrior. The frown on Warrior Takemikazuchi's face was soon dropped, and was shortly replaced with that of a small smile.
The dragonoid saw the Nephilim's hand raise up in front of her, its fingers being closed to a fist, apart from a pinkie finger that was just as large as the width of her arm.
"What's this supposed to be, Ainz?"
"It's a sacred tradition between people who have great deals of strength. This strength can also come in the form of trust between two parties. This is what people refer to as a 'pinkie promise' in my homeland. Will you swear to me on behalf of my group that you do not flaunt your destructive tendencies so often around us?"
The words "pinkie promise" struck Milim like lightning.
The Harpy Queen of this world, the Demon Lord Frey, had said more or less the same thing to her whenever a promise needed to be kept between her and the dragonoid. If Ainz said this, then it was no doubt that both the undead and the harpy were on the same wavelength in some matters.
"—Okay! I swear that I won't lay a hand on you or your friends! It's a pinkie promise, after all! Wa-ha-ha-ha!"
Milim's hand was unable to fully wrap around Warrior Takemikazuchi's pinkie, but the message was still sent between the two, ensuring that the Demon Lord would rein in her destructive terror whenever she would travel with them.
Staff and Rimuru had to blink several times to realize what was happening in front of them.
Rimuru especially knew that Ainz was actually performing the sacred tradition of professional bullshitting, but he would not point it out lest he risk Milim's wrath.
Plus that means we get to go home scot free from Milim's shenanigans. Well done, Ainz!
Milim resumed back to a cheerful expression once she felt the ground flee from beneath her. She thought she was on top of the world that started to move at her own discretion which gave her an unreal sense of excitement throbbing within her heart.
At the corner of her eye, she saw the woman that Ainz had talked to with a more casual tone. Milim had thought of Staff as someone who was even more mysterious than the Demon Lord Leon Cromwell, though the dragonoid had to admit that the woman bore a ferocious look on her face which she respected. She did not know that Staff's expression was directed at her for an entirely different reason.
"—Well then, if you'll allow me!"
The sound of a high-pitched voice caught everyone's attention as Rimuru, seeing his chance, hopped on the other shoulder of Warrior Takemikazuchi, who was now carrying both the dragonoid and the slime. Rimuru whistled as he tried his best to dodge the leaves of the trees that threatened to obscure his vision.
"Humu, humu. It really does feel like I'm on top of the world. I'm starting to see the benefits of being a tall person now. Is this one of many forms that you can take?"
"You could say that," Takemikazuchi rumbled out loud. He kept having to lower his head since he was nearly breaching the top of some trees. There's no way Takemi-san was this tall, was he—Ainz cursed to himself as he tried swiping some of the foliage in vain.
"That's what I thought too, Rimuru! Someone as powerful as Ainz might have other forms that I'm not seeing…Ah—where's the burger?!"
"Sorry, I had applied a spell to make it float since I was occupied with something."
Relief flooded Milim's mind when she saw the food referred to as a "burger" being placed on a silver platter that had appeared out of nowhere. Being carried via means of some telekinetic spell, it had been floating in the dragonoid's vicinity. Seemingly having found its final destination, the plate safely landed on Milim's hands that had eagerly put themselves out in front of her in order to receive the divine dish.
While ravenous chewing noises followed afterwards, Warrior Takemikazuchi stopped walking in order to let the Guild Weapon catch up. The Nephilim looked left and right, and seeing that there was enough space on the gravelly road below him and the group, he brought out a certain magic item from his inventory.
While he was in this form, Ainz feared that he would not be able to access the Overlord's inventory.
To his relief, he found an extremely versatile skill called [ Spatial Link ], an Extra Skill that allowed him to access his old inventory regardless of what transformation he had taken. Ainz may have been able to use Loki's [ Shapeshifting ] ability, but since he was unable to access Warrior Takemikazuchi's own inventory, he knew it was imperative for him to be able to access his old inventory whenever possible.
On a side note, Ainz found it surprisingly fun when using [ Spatial Link ] as it did not lead him straight to a solution, but instead had to involve his own creativity and wits to build the necessary frameworks. It did not require any more skills to link his inventory with the forms of his friends, but if he were to use something such as [ Dark Wisdom ], a skill that was now able to operate with more freedom, it would lead to an unprecedented path of "skill-crafting."
After finding the magic item that he wanted to use for this occasion, he began verbally listing out a series of spells. If it was one thing that he was confident in despite being transported to a mysterious world with different magic, it was that he was undeniably a profound sage from Yggdrasil.
With [ Dark Wisdom ] no longer being restricted as solely ritual-based magic, becoming an even greater magic caster is looking more and more possible as time goes by. I'll have to not go so far though, or else I'll have to remember a couple more hundred spells in my list. Then again, it's no big deal, really—Ainz internally chuckled.
"—Let's see…alright, I will use this item. [ Statue of Animal - War Horse ]. Then for the transportation, [ Create Greater Item ]…Umu. Everything looks fine. Just to make sure, I will also add this. [ Reinforce Armor ]. Ah, right. I leave the rest to you for what summons we should use to escort Milim, Staff. I believe you will be able to fill in the missing gaps that I may have."
The succinct flow of the Nephilim's words had snapped the Guild Weapon out of her thoughts. She saw magic circles of different colors and proportions steadily taking form around the huge warrior.
"That is quite the task being handed to me. While I honestly do not see my master lacking anything in regards to magic repertoire, I understand nonetheless. However, I would like some time to think about which summons I could bring up if that is possible, Ainz."
"Of course, please take your time."
"Thank you."
Seeing that Staff was able to read his intentions of wanting to gather more information, the Nephilim simply nodded before moving on to his next task.
By the time Warrior Takemikazuchi finished his words, everyone else was shocked to see in front of them an elegantly carved wagon with a majestic giant warhorse in front of it. The horse was donning heavy metallic armor, and it looked like even Milim could not break it, though the Nephilim immediately rescinded that foolish underestimation.
The wagon looked to be rather small on the outside, but Ainz remembered to add magical properties with a variety of abilities that hailed from his Ultimate Skill [ Loki, Lord of Trickery ]. This way, its fundamental nature acted similarly to that of the pre-existing magic building item, [ Green Secret House ], as the wagon also came with a door that automatically adjusted its size according to the user that would either enter or leave it.
"—Hm? Hold on," Takemikazuchi said, seeing Milim's fingers and mouth being stained from the food. She had already eaten the burger, but now there was a somber look on the dragonoid's face.
"Eh? What is it—"
Without a second thought, Milim's front body was blasted with a current of air. She was about to yell out as to what was the big deal, but she suddenly felt refreshed.
Looking down on herself, she found both her dirtied clothes and stain spots on parts of her exposed body to be utterly reversed. Not a speck of dust was found on her equipment nor could the dragonoid see any dirty stains on her skin.
"Oh! You cleaned it up so fast…thanks, Ainz!"
The dragonoid beamed a smile before hopping off of Warrior Takemikazuchi's shoulder. She walked towards the warhorse and made noises of exclamations and wonder, with the warhorse repeating the same gestures in the form of neighs and whinnies.
"That's one hell of a vehicle you made—out of thin air, no less," Rimuru said, also having hopped off of the Nephilim's gigantic pauldrons. He began moving his stubby slime limbs across the ornately designed wheels. "Hmm…did you bring this out because there's no modern cars—ah, I mean—none of those vehicles here?"
"Ah, well, I thought about our current situation, and if it is what I'm correctly guessing, then there most likely isn't any of those vehicles if we are really in a fantasy of world and magic," Takemikazuchi succinctly replied.
"Who knows? Like how it was with you back in the cave up until now, we'll probably find our expectations being shattered almost every moment that's new to us."
"Point taken."
Milim's ears perked up as she was delicately petting the warhorse's mane. "What do you guys mean when you say modern cars…? I don't really understand what you're saying."
Both Ainz and Rimuru wanted to curse out immediately, but thought the better of it. "I-it's something from an old world that we both came from. You still remember them, right, Ainz?" the slime hurriedly said.
"O-of course. Once I get a better understanding of this world's nations and cultures, I would like to see what technology exists here," Takemikazuchi quickly responded.
"Hehh…sometimes you guys say weird things, but this wagon is pretty to look at nonetheless!"
"—I agree. But I'm sure we'll be needing a proper entourage due to special circumstances. In this case, I believe we should start bringing out our summons, Ainz," Staff chirped. She let out a sigh of relief as she clapped her hands together, her eyes set on the vehicle in question. "I understand this carriage was designed with the implementation of certain magic properties, but I would like to personally inspect it myself, Ainz."
"Alright, have at it. I had to make small adjustments in my spells. It's safe to say that we'll have to look into more on summoning, so I do agree with your earlier assessment," Takemikazuchi said.
Both Warrior Takemikazuchi and Rimuru then saw Staff approaching their position. They moved out of the way of the carriage door which looked like the woman was going to open, which she eventually did.
The three peaked into a completely different world, its interior space being much larger than they initially expected.
"Seriously?! Of course it had to be one of those magically attuned wagons, but this is just ridiculous!" Rimuru shouted, seeing the extravagant detail and unbelievably large space that betrayed the transportation vehicle's exterior. Ainz and Staff could not help but smile at the slime's genuinely befuddled reaction.
As the trio began to inspect the wagon's interior, Milim, who took a small peak, was surprised at seeing this. She had never seen a wagon that properly managed to utilize spatial skills to create this dynamic between the outside world and what was actually inside the vehicle.
They…they know a lot of things that I don't…
Milim felt the urge to ask them if they would like to come to her own nation, but she kept it to herself at the last second.
In her eyes, having the three of these people become her servants would be the most ideal situation, considering what the undead was able to do in the blink of an eye.
Particularly, those sweet delicacies that Ainz referred to as "dark chocolate" had enamored the dragonoid so much that she could not wait for seconds, but it also made her fear of returning back to eating the same, raw vegetables that her servants in her nation were happy to give to the dragonoid.
It was not that Milim despised her servants since they were only meaning to offer it as tribute. They were genuinely passionate in their efforts as well, which made the dragonoid slightly guilty whenever she thought about telling them that everything they were doing in their tributes were completely wrong.
Eugh…I seriously need to convince them to join me, but first I will pet this horse, then eat that burger, and finally, I have to wait until I can fight Ainz.
Milim ruffled her hair in agony as she couldn't think of an efficient way to approach these interesting events all at once without the possibilities of missing something. There were just so many new things that she was able to see within the span of a day, and she feared that something would slip past her eyes if she was not careful.
—Aghhh! There's so many things to do! But…that's okay, I guess. I mean, I like hanging out with them anyway, so it's no big deal!
Suddenly, Milim felt a strange presence nearby.
She looked in the general direction of where the anomaly roughly was. There her eyes laid upon what appeared to be a floating, spherical lump of meat. Its surface was covered with blinking eyes that frantically focused all its attention on the curious dragonoid.
"—Ooooh! What is that thing? It looks really funny! Is that one of yours, Ainz?"
A monstrous head poked out of the wagon's right side where its door remained open. Takemikazuchi caught on to what the dragonoid was saying, and he began eyeing the familiar summon.
"An Eyeball Corpse…? I see. This summon was an excellent pick, Staff."
Right. Staff must have now access to a plethora of summons. Considering the differences between her and the original Guild Weapon, she might have undergone a similar process to an acquisition of skills. I'll have to ask her later for more information regarding these changes.
Staff had also gone outside, followed by Rimuru. "Oh! Your thanks is unneeded, Ainz. I know how important it is for us in a place where we have virtually no information on. The same goes for Rimuru who has been here longer than any of us, so I'm sure he will benefit from our reconnaissance reports," the Guild Weapon explained.
Rimuru nodded as though he was in complete agreement, but he was still confused as to why the woman was trusting him so much. But such goodwill cannot be afforded to be wasted.
"Okay! I'll see if [ Great Sage ] can make use of your reconnaissance reports, Staff."
{ Affirmative. Pinging the Eyeball Corpse in order to request permission to link up [ Magic Sense ] with the summon. }
Cool, cool...wait, what?!
"…Hm? Rimuru, is this your doing? I have just received word that the Eyeball Corpse is being contacted by an unknown entity. Its magic signature appears to relate to yours."
Feeling as though he got caught in the act, Rimuru shakily turned to the woman who called him out for the accidental pinging of her summon. The only reason that the slime was not freaking out was because the tone of the voice he had just heard was borne out of a genuine curiosity rather than cold-blooded acknowledgment.
"Y-yes, sorry for not letting you know beforehand, Staff."
"It is of no issue…there. What does your sage skill tell you now?"
Great Sage?
{…Successful. Maximum usage of [ Magic Sense ] is required to engage in bird's eye view with the assistance of the Eyeball Corpse's magical energy. }
Whoa! So it's like a camera, then? Let me check this out.
When Rimuru did as the Great Sage told him, his sight began to gradually change. He tried not to get nauseous as this process was occurring.
Before he knew it, the slime was now able to see a much larger part of the Great Forest of Jura. He could make out if not fifty, if not pushing sixty meters worth of surroundings that was within his currently expanded peripheral vision.
"T-this is insane. I'm able to see so much now…"
While the slime was engaged in his own business, the Nephilim tried his best not to exude air out of his nostrils.
"—Ah…if Milim were to see it…no, what am I saying? As expected, you were able to see through its invisibility spell," Takemikazuchi said, realizing to his horror that the dragonoid can easily see through the high tier undead's concealment.
Meanwhile, Milim could only grin at Warrior Takemikazuchi's compliment.
She pointed to her right eye, catching the monstrous warrior's attention. The dragonoid's pupil glowed with a frenzied blue aura that looked as though all the secrets of the universe were swirling inside of it.
"My [ Milim Eye ] can see through just about anything! There's nothing you can really hide from me, Ainz! Wa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
"[ Milim Eye ]?"
"Yep? It's a bona fide skill that's owned by no one else but me! Pretty cool, huh?"
What an unclever name for a skill—Ainz and Rimuru thought, having arrived at the same conclusion. They were unimpressed by the dragonoid and her poor naming sense. Despite this, both the undead and the slime increased their wariness of Milim and her powers.
While all of this was happening, no one paid attention to Staff at that moment, who was nodding with a serious look on her face as though she was not part of the opposition against Milim's naming sense.
"—That is quite the skill, Milim. Anyhow, if you must know, this Eyeball Corpse is just here to scour potential threats."
"Potential threats? But aren't you already powerful to begin with?"
"I find that hard to believe when people like me can be given skills on a silver platter."
Takemikazuchi turned to the floating summon, whose eyes were completely honed in on the Nephilim.
"Now, please go execute this order of mine, and make sure to restrict your search within a two-hundred meter radius. Report back to me your findings once you are completed with it. Oh—and before I go, [ Quick March ]."
After blinking its eyes in affirmation, the floating Eyeball Corpse began to ascend further into the sky, utilizing the movement speed buff that could now freely extend to just about anyone who was able to move.
While Rimuru had stopped maximizing his [ Magic Sense ] so that he does not get any more nauseous, he felt somewhat dejected that all three of them were looking at the same place while he could not see anything but the blue sky and raging sun. Only Ainz, Staff and Milim were able to see through its thin veil of invisibility as a testament of their individual strengths.
"...Oh, right. I don't know why I had forgotten to tell you this, but I had just connected my own eyesight to the, what was it called...Eyeball Corpse?"
Speaking of Ainz, he was already back into his undead avatar while everyone's attention was again preoccupied on the luxuriously designed wagon and its stout horse attendant. The undead also took some time to inspect the surroundings for a bit longer before replying to the slime, hiding the fact that his emotional suppressor had gone off.
"That's...an interesting ability."
Should I even be surprised at this point? Hm...wait. Isn't what Rimuru is doing similar to [ Undeath Slave Sight ]?
Ainz started to realize it now, but if Rimuru were to have an ability similar to the spell that allows for one to peer into the vision of one's own summons, then it would further reassure Ainz's concerns. And while Rimuru had not told Ainz directly, it did not take long for the undead to figure out that the slime's [ Magic Sense ] could become a huge play in reconnaissance duty.
According to the slime's stories from earlier, or apparently from what he heard from a dragon, the Great Forest of Jura was quite the large forest to begin with. Unfortunately, Ainz was still left in the dark when it came to people laying their own stakes on the forest's resources and territories. But if there was at least a decent chunk of untapped reserves, Ainz wanted to capitalize on it as soon as possible.
But as much as Ainz wanted to send out more summons for further investigation, he held back since he did not know how easily capable it was for the inhabitants of this world to see through his summons' concealment. That was why he left it up to Staff since he would not have to risk the discovery of a connection between him and his own summon.
Milim being able to see through the Guild Weapon's summons was worrisome, but she had said it herself several times that no one would be able to contend with her save for a few people. Ainz knew better than to take the dragonoid's words at face value, but it did not hurt for him to be cautious of other people posing a potential threat to his survivability.
"—I'll be holding back on creating any more summons since I left it up to Staff for that job, but if you would occasionally check up on the Eyeball Corpse, you would be doing me a great favor, Rimuru."
"Sure, man! Ah, wait. Did you say 'summons,' Ainz? As in, plural?"
"Yes, I also think it is necessary for Milim to have a proper entourage since she will be staying with us for the time being."
Because I cannot afford to look after her for any longer or else I will go insane.
"—Aww, you're too kind, Ainz!"
"…Right. Furthermore, if what I had heard was true, then I think this would be an opportune moment for me to test something that I have not seen in this world."
Fortunately for Ainz, Milim was slightly more of a blabbermouth than he would have originally expected from someone who held a powerful status in this world. As he did not want to interrupt her from making even more of a mistake in informative leaking, he soon learned how influential naming was in this world as it would supposedly "carve one's soul."
Ainz did not mind telling everyone that this was a new thing to him. He did not see it necessary to cover up this gap in knowledge now that Milim was being much more friendly and was willing to "help a friend in need," as the dragonoid had curtly put it.
There was also the fact that the fundamental nature of [ Milim Eye ] had been recklessly exposed to Ainz. As such, there was not much point in playing mind games with the dragonoid. Still, the undead wanted to test this out as soon as possible since it could become either a huge benefit or huge detriment to his still developing plans.
When Staff was asked about this, she confirmed Milim's words, going on about something referred to in this world as the 'Naming System.' Thus this added to Ainz's suspicions that this world held uniquely powerful systems that he could take advantage of—
—No, he could theoretically mix it in with his own knowledge and magic of Yggdrasil and come out with something that not a lot of people may hold in this world.
An untold magic that was born out of the knowledge of not one, but two worlds was an endeavor that made the undead's non-existent heart ignite with fiery passion. And what better way to pave the road towards this endeavor than with a certain set of monsters that the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown was able to bring out?
"—I have made the necessary preparations for the summons, Ainz. Then, if you will allow me, I will bring out only the most suitable summons for our honored guest."
"Umu. You may proceed whenever, Staff."
Milim smiled, seeing how much reception she was getting.
It was clear to her that Ainz Ooal Gown and his lackeys — correction — servants knew how to properly treat a Demon Lord, even if they supposedly came from a completely different world.
The thought about them coming from another world still confused her, but for now she was just excited to see what the undead had in store. The foreign magic that was being displayed so far was already impressing Milim, and she had long since given up hiding away this feeling of hers.
But she was not prepared for this unbelievable sight that would appear in front of her as soon as Staff uttered these words with ferocious passion:
"Never before would I have performed a miraculous feat such as this ever since the dawn of Asura. After that came Ainz Ooal Gown, and these ones have served us well. But now, in this world, everyone will once again tremble at the giants who have concentrated within themselves the most powerful, primordial forms that commanded the total fear and respect of elementals everywhere. Come forth, my summons! [ Summon Primal Elementals ]!'
"Hm? That's odd…"
Hades twitched his eyes after feeling a change in the atmosphere. No one else could notice but him due to his own "Ultimate Skill" feeling a twinge.
The gears quickly turned in his head, and when he arrived at an answer, he could not help but smirk.
I see, so she is making his move now. I wonder who she managed to convince to come with her. No matter, they will be arriving here anytime soon with Ainz.
Inside a considerably large room were two people sitting on separate couches. From time to time a few homunculus maids would come by to offer them dishes, but both of the people who were working on something continued to deny their requests.
However, one of them requested for a cup of coffee, and the maid who was chosen to serve him happily obliged since that worked as a form of fulfillment to her work.
That particular person was none other than the God of the Underworld. He was still wearing his platinum white suit. Maintaining his formality was a must in his book, but right now it proved to be the right decision for Hades to continue wearing his suit.
"—Hades-dono? Is there something troubling you?"
Across from Hades was a man sharply dressed in a red tuxedo suit. He was crossing one of his legs with a few sets of documents held in his black-gloved hands. Hades' eyes briefly fell on the spiked tail that laid comfortably on an empty seat cushion to the stranger's left side.
"Ah, no, nothing is wrong, Demiurge-dono."
Demiurge, the Floor Guardian of the Seventh Floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, simply heaved his shoulders upwards and loosened them with a sigh coming out of the Arch-Devil.
"I cannot help but be slightly baffled by some of your odd actions, Hades-dono. Does it have something to do with your connection with Ainz-sama via this 'Ultimate Skill,' as you have aptly referred to it as?"
Hades, who was holding his own fair share of documents, placed them on the dark brown coffee table in front of him. In exchange, he was now holding a ceramic white cup up to his mouth. The smell of coffee protruded his nostrils as he took a few gulps of the caffeine-filled liquid.
"…Yes, that is what I referred to it as."
"I understand…if it doesn't trouble you, and forgive me for asking this impertinent answer for yet another time—"
"No need to draw this out, Demiurge-dono. I suppose you are curious about when Ainz would return here. He will return most likely within this week, but as far as I know, he still needs to establish a base of operations."
Demiurge curtly nodded as he briefly scanned the documents given to him by Albedo.
He had temporarily taken over administrative duties of the Guardian Overseer. The succubus was busy reorganizing Nazarick's forces in the Fifth Floor with the help of own Floor Guardian, Cocytus.
Both Demiurge and Albedo were already waiting at the First Floor after feeling a foreign presence from outside. This was breaching their duties to guard their respective Floors, but they felt it was necessary since they initially feared Shalltear had somehow failed her duty to prevent anyone from even daring to step into the Great Tomb.
After clearing up misunderstandings and hearing both Hades and Lokis' decisions to become servants of Nazarick, they were given proper roles.
Knowing Hades' own history, Albedo allowed the God of the Underworld to assist in administrative duties, akin to someone like a secretary. And after much hesitation from the Guardian Overseer and further convincing from Demiurge, Hades would additionally become an advisor in kingscraft.
Demiurge too had his doubts at first when Hades made the proposal. To him, Ainz was the crystallization of wisdom. With him continuing to lead the unconquerable dungeon that is the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, there was simply no need for the Supreme One to require any petty assistance.
But after giving Hades several rounds of verbal quizzes, Demiurge could not let a great talent like him be wasted. Under Albedo's monitoring, the God of the Underworld would provide assistance if the Supreme One were to request even the slightest pint of advice.
"Still, I wonder what Loki is doing. You had him talk to Narberal-san, right?"
"Yes. I suggested for Loki-dono to work with the Doppelganger and improve her skills if possible. Alas, it is still frustrating that none of us Nazarick's denizens were able to obtain this newfound power that you, Loki-dono and Ainz-sama now have."
Hades shook his head, prompting Demiurge to lean in closer with curiosity.
"Do you have something that could assist us in this field, Hades-dono?"
"Not me, but I believe Ainz and someone else could help."
"Someone else…you are referring to Staff-dono? When you mentioned that to Shalltear, she had gone ballistic for some reason, along with Albedo. Their anger is justified, of course. This should have been properly addressed from the start on the former Guild Weapon's part that she had not completely disappeared, yet she is still traveling with Ainz-sama without letting us know."
Did they not go ballistic over the assumption that Staff-dono was intervening in their petty love affair? After Minthe and Aphrodite's anger over that fiasco, I can understand somewhat, but they should resolve it through proper manners instead of throwing slurs at each other.
Hades rolled his eyes when he remembered the scuttle between Shalltear and Albedo. Things like that would be slowing down his master's plans, and Demiurge had shared his sentiments as well.
"Still, even if we do not have the favors of the 'Voice,' then it would be up to Ainz-sama to help elevate us. I cannot just leave the entirety of this issue to him as it would make us look insufficient in our work duties."
"Demiurge-dono, this issue is simply beyond you. Forgive me for being blunt on this, but it is up to Ainz to deal with the brunt of the problem as he is the only one who is capable of uplifting. However, I can strongly feel he is unwilling to abandon you and the rest of Nazarick. In due time, he will seek the aid of Nazarick."
"I can only hope you are right, Hades-dono. Now, let us continue with the issues regarding 'Internal Affairs' within Nazarick. Let us continue to work hard for our master."
"Naturally, I won't fall behind, even for someone of your caliber."
Demiurge adjusted his glasses as Hades went for another sip of his coffee. The situation was being handled well by both Nazarick and Ainz. As long as everything proceeded normally, they would move on to their massive agenda that would involve everyone in something they had never planned before up until now.
