The Supreme Beings of Life and Death

by Ashkar

What if Ainz was joined in the NW by the 41st and final member of AOG? He is still the Ruler of Death but a different race/build. How will Ainz deal with being an Angel of Death in this new world that fears heteromorphs? Will Taylar, the Angel of Life, be able to balance everything out? And why is Taylar so attached to Albedo? kind of canon, with my own twists and additions

18. The Future Is Ahead Of Us

Disclaimer: I do not own anything (except my OC)

"Talking"

'Thinking'

{Message}

(Telepathy)

*SPELL/ABILITY/MARTIAL ART*

*[METAMAGIC]*

A/N: This chapter is a little late like the last one but I'm still working six days a week so I'm left with little time to write... there is an upside to that at least... my new schedule is finally on the horizon... got word that it starts Nov 2nd so just over a month and I'll be on my new schedule... I should be able to pick up the update speed when I'm only working four days a week... that probably won't occur for another two or three chapters but it will be coming... I appreciate everyone sticking around for so long... This is another long chapter to make up for being late but it doesn't contain everything I wanted it too... I seem to get carried away too much on dialogue when I get inspired lol... the beginning part of this chapter was supposed to be about 5k words but like always I got dialogue-heavy and it ended up being over 13k... I can't help it though... when you get inspired while your typing you just don't want to stop lol... I wanted to tie up all the loose ends so the next chapter would be the battles at Carne Village and the Katze Plains but I'm not sure if that will be possible... won't know till I start writing the next chapter... at the very least, you will get the battle of the Katze Plains by the chapter after next... so here is another long ass chapter, over 25K words, for your enjoyment!

jwright1320: I have a few ideas of what other titles I will be adding for Ainz but they will happen over the course of the story and I won't put them all in at once... he will end up with quite a few by the time I'm done with this... as for Taylar and Albedo, I like both of your suggestions... Goddess of Creation for Taylar makes more sense than you know... It hasn't happened yet in the story but that was actually one of the ones I was going to make for her... As for Albedo, Goddess of Order is one I never thought of but suits her very well... I'll take all your suggestions into consideration... thanks for reading and your great suggestions

Overlord-addict: I kind of understand what you mean about it being a little flat... there is only so much leeway for The Invaders arc... I thought changing up pretty much all the battles would liven it up a bit... I kept the plague bomber trap as it was for that part because I love that trap... it is damn evil and pretty awesome so I wanted to keep that pretty true to form... I did change all the other battles and added an OC worker team for Lupus Regina to play with... this chapter shouldn't seem as flat since it is pretty much nothing but original content I'm making up... glad you are still reading and enjoying my story

Newbie89: Glad you liked the chapter... I thought 28K words would be enough but I understand what you mean... when I read a new chapter of a fanfic I enjoy, I hate when it ends no matter how long the chapter is

T-B-R: Glad you are still enjoying my story... I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much since most of it is original and has absolutely nothing to do with the LNs

Yoharu: You are correct that some of the scenes are just like the LN scenes... especially the descriptions of where they are... Nazarick doesn't really change so the hallways, rooms, etc will be describe the same as they are in the LNs... I think that is why you thought so much of the chapter was just like the LNs... I changed quite a bit compared to the LN version... only the plague bomber/Kyouhukou part was very close to how it happened in the LN just about everything else was different... some were much different than others but they were different none the less... hope you enjoy this next chapter... you will find none of this chapter in the LNs

Akuma-Heika: Nfirea is alive lol... he was obviously at the dinner but I put in one of my chapters why he has been so absent... the chapter Taylar has the feast with those from Carne... Enri tells her that he never leaves the house since he got his new alchemy equipment... that is why you haven't heard much from him... As far as samurai and Ainz, you would be correct that he knows little of them... remember that Overlord takes place in the year 2138 so samurai has long been extinct and all he knows of them is the very little lore that is remaining about them... so he wouldn't know all the intricacies of a samurai and his "honor"

Thristan: you know I got a penchant for saving those that I like from the LNs lol... believe me, Arche won't be the last human to join Nazarick... you will see later in this chapter :-)

Eltyr: I was going to give the reaction of more individuals of Nazarick but being that the chapter was already 28K words, I didn't want to make it too ridiculous... Lupus Regina is one of my favorite characters so she will be in my story more than most others from Nazarick and don't you worry, I already know who Lupus Regina will end up with :-)

lucarioDN: Glad you liked me saving Arche... I have two kingdom names I'm contemplating using but if you have a suggestion or anyone else for that matter, I'll definitely listen to them... I don't plan on revealing the name for at least another couple chapters

DarkAeroSage: Glad you liked how I changed Arche's fate and once again I'd like to thank you for your suggestions... it might have only led to me adding a few sentences but feedback like that is what I love... I think we might have to have a naming contest for the new heirs of Nazarick for everyone :-)

Heika: Definitely going to disagree that Vengeful Gaze of God is too powerful... the reason is quite simple... while Ainz indeed has the ultra-rare item that gives you three wishes, that spell is not ultra-rare... it is a Super Tier Spell that not only Ainz knows, but so does Taylar and Rubedo... what makes the item ultra-rare and amazing is that when you use the spell from the ring, it doesn't cost any experience to do it... Ainz, Taylar, and Rubedo can cast that spell as much as they like but they must sacrifice experience points to do it... the ring makes it so you don't lose any experience... and since you could 'bank' extra experience in Yggdrasil so you could learn new spells or use spells like Wish Upon A Star the person could easily be revived if they knew someone who had access to that Super Tier Spell

Guests: you are correct that not all guest reviewers are assholes but the only people who leave asshole reviews do so as Guests lol... I welcome all feedback but if your feedback is just hate-filled nonsense than I got no time for it... as for the other guest well, I might add another chapter to the lemons eventually... just waiting for the right moment I suppose... it would get rather boring if all the lemons were Ainz/Taylar/Albedo

gerend: You are right... I felt as if I left out much of the Invaders parts that people would be disappointed so that is why I included pretty much all of it... I did change quite a few things even if it was just how the battles played out... I tried breaking up the same boring invasion by adding an OC worker team and letting Lupus Regina deal with them as well as completely changing the fight that Foresight had and killing Uzruth before they even left the Baharuth Empire... Lupus Regina getting to participate was exactly for the purpose she stated so there is no future mystery there to solve lol... I assure you that is Ninya lol... you are right that Neia is the pope and always will be but that is viewing Ainz as a god-like being while Ninya views Nazarick/Taylar as the home she had been longing for... saving her sister was the cherry on top so to speak for her... I don't think it would have been OOC for Taylar to fight Foresight because they were invaders of her home but because of the type of character I have been portraying her as she likely would have saved all four of them lol... there was a reason I left her back at the camp with the elves... I've never had a problem with the gore and might add some in the future but the problem is this... most of the beings who are dealing the death out are so much more powerful than those they fight, there is no reason for gore... it is one hit and dead pretty much... lastly, I did end up adding that break you asked for... thanks for the advice once again... you and DarkAeroSage has been tremendously helpful :-)

Salomega: I think I might be having a contest of sorts for the baby names so if you have any suggestions (anyone really) don't be afraid to send them my way... you never have to type much once someone knows they are headed to Neuronist lol... I debated on leaving out the famous "do you know what kidney stones are?" line but I ultimately decided to add it... It was just too famous to leave out at the end

GreenEggandHam: I'm always happy to answer any questions or concerns anyone has about my story... if you read the replies before you then you know I plan on adding more titles and some people had some good suggestions... I had already planned on Ainz second title but can't just add it and say people are saying that is what he is... he needs to earn it and he will, eventually

Rendus: I thank you for thinking this is the best Overlord fanfic... normally I would be biased and agree but there is two Overlord fanfic I know for sure are better than mine... well, in my opinion at least lol... I like changing events from canon and it is the reason I save people even when others don't like that I do... the one thing I do take pride in writing that you seem to enjoy thoroughly is battle scenes... they are hard to write when it is someone like Ainz, Taylar, Albedo, etc because of their overwhelming power compared to what they are fighting but scenes with the Pleiades, Swords of Darkness, etc I absolutely love writing because while they are more powerful than those they are fighting, it isn't incredibly one-sided... it is true it is one-sided but not the extent it is with the ones I listed before... your suggestions/criticism/ideas will definitely be welcome if you have any... I enjoy people sending me their thoughts... gerend and DarkAeroSage have been giving me good advice for a while now so another new perspective is always welcome... it was Increment that Ainz thought was into Peter but as I said last chapter, that wasn't actually the case... I do plan on changing some peoples races from human to other beings and you will actually see how that will happen in this chapter... I'm not going to change anyone in this chapter just explain how that is exactly going to be possible without having to reincarnate them... I appreciate the lengthy review by the way... it lets me know what you are thinking and I don't have to answer your questions one chapter at a time lol

Kinio: Just about everyone in the fic is OOC... should be apparent by now if you are leaving this comment in chapter 15 or if you read my profile at all... she isn't very far from OOC though... you made it seem like she would never dare attack a vampire... Lakyus didn't react well at the start and the reason for her turn around was Taylar talking about the Elder Lich earlier giving her a different perspective... It might have been a little faster than it probably should have but it wasn't by much... I try to keep the grammar mistakes to a minimum which is why I use Grammarly for editing but I use the free version so it doesn't correct all my mistakes

Crow0902: I was thinking of also saving Imina but I couldn't find a way where she would remotely agree to join Nazarick with Hekkeran dying so I just saved Arche like I thought they should have in canon... saving the whole party seemed a little too much since I saved all the Swords of Darkness... another human will be added to Taylar's ever-growing collection of New Worlder's in this chapter :-)

Mimhere: Ainz watched Taylar as she was in her guild then removed while being chased by her guildmates... they had no idea he was there if you couldn't tell from the chapter which is why he would think she wasn't a spy... about the others letting her join... that is why the decision was split 5 to 5... half of them believed Momonga that she would be a valuable member to Ainz Ooal Gown since none of them played very much anymore and half thought just like you that she was a spy... but since Momonga is the guild leader, he breaks all ties... I think I explained that in chapter 1 if I'm not mistaken

offshorephillip: glad to see another review from you... I enjoy writing Lupus Regina probably more than any other NPC not named Albedo... I might have to add Aureole to that list ahead of her because of how I made Aureole in my fanfic... I plan to use Lupus Regina a ton in this story... I finally got a date for my new four-day work schedule so I'll have more time to write... I honestly don't mind negative reviews... it's reviews that are not only negative but also ignorant, hateful, or completely ridiculous that gets to me... not saying they affect my writing because I know not everyone will like my version of Overlord... I just don't understand it I suppose... never been a fan of keyboard tough guys at all in my life... most of them are probably 300+ lbs sitting in their mom's basement, trolling people while they search for some Hentai lol

Shadowkragg: Glad you like my take on Overlord... I always felt sorry for Arche and her sisters which is why I saved them but like I said a little before, I couldn't really justify saving all of them especially after saving all the members of Swords of Darkness... Enri will be different from her canon version that is for sure... as you can tell from just the first time Carne came under attack with her as village chief she is already more sure of herself... that is only going to increase as she is taught in Nazarick by Titus for her role as mayor and when Aureole gets to give her the military knowledge she has... I have a plan for Enri and the Horn of the Goblin General... I'm actually very excited for that... Carne will be getting more inhabitants as you will see later in this chapter and you will only have to wait until next chapter to see what I have in store for Enri and the horn :-)

PraetorXyn: First I'd say that while Ainz did act more neutral evil at the start of the anime, he has always been extremely evil... his -500 karma value in the anime is as low as you can possibly make it in Yggdrasil... he is more neutral evil in my story though since I only made him -100 karma... I'm glad you liked what I did with Arche and her sisters... I didn't like her dying either, the good thing about writing a fanfic you can do what you want lol... Believe me, I get the harem comment... it's not like the only person in love with him in the anime or LNs is Albedo... all the women of Nazarick love him and none of their settings were ever changed... while I have said there will be more don't plan on it being all of Nazarick lol... just a few more to add and none will be quick like I did with Albedo... I based most of Taylar and Ainz religious beliefs off my own... I'm not an atheist like yourself but I am agnostic... you might dislike some of the things Taylar says and does in this chapter because of that lol... I also understand your loli argument... the thing with Shalltear is though, she looks that age to me... instead of being child-sized but having more mature face, etc that would show she isn't a child, she looks just like a child... maybe that is just me, who knows?

Now that those are finally over... Next Chapter Time!

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Nazarick, Sixth Floor...

Taylar currently found herself in the arena on the sixth floor of Nazarick. She was going over some of the golems in the stands, picking out which ones she was going to take with her to Carne for her trip that should be happening in just a little while.

It wasn't as if she really needed to inspect any of the golems but she was doing it none the less. She didn't want to take any that were damaged with her on her trip which is why she was looking over the ones she had selected.

In truth, she was just killing time until she needed to leave. Every golem in this arena was spotless, and so far, they had only seen four people in this world who would even be able to do any damage to them. She didn't suspect any would randomly show up in Carne but she still wanted to make sure all of the golems looked immaculate.

Taylar gave all fifty golems she selected another once over before giving them their orders. They walked through the Gate she opened the moment she was done giving her commands and she patiently waited for the message to arrive from The Forsaken.

The Forsaken were currently walking down the road toward Carne to drop off the three elf slaves they freed from that shithead just a few days ago. It wasn't actually The Forsaken leading them but their doppelgangers.

Ainz and Albedo had gone back to Nazarick not long after the Invaders made their way towards The Great Tomb of Nazarick so they could oversee the defenses of Nazarick. Albedo needed to teach Pandora's Actor how to manage its defenses to maximum effect. Taylar had stayed behind with Narberal to look after the elves and she was glad she made that decision.

Taylar's plan was simple at first, she would spend the day and night with the elves with her two aura's active to help them out of their trauma as she did with Tsuare. She had only needed to spend a total of a few hours with the girl before the effects of her previous life were vanishing from her memory.

The elves, on the other hand, they were much more complicated. She had needed every bit of the four days she spent with them to have any effect on them at all. She did not think it would take nearly that long considering how much trauma Tsuare had gone through. It just showed her how much more abuse, both physical and mental, these elves had been subjected to.

While Tsuare had been raped repeatedly and beaten within an inch of her life a few time as well as having gotten multiple diseases, it took only a few hours for those scars to start to disappear from her mind around Taylar. If it took these elves all four days of Taylar's constant company and attention, she couldn't even imagine what they had been put through in their lives.

She had learned from the elves that the Slaine Theocracy had places where they "broke in" their slaves. This is what has caused these young elven women so much trauma on top of having been sold to a piece of shit like Uzruth. Taylar didn't ask for specifics about the places the elves were broken in at.

There were two reasons for that. First was that she didn't want any of those three to have to relive there time in that place. Nothing good would come of them telling her what happened to them there. The other reason was she was pretty sure if they told her what went on there, she would immediately teleport to the Slaine Theocracy and start laying waste to it.

All three were still relatively young, especially by elven standards. Once she had gotten them cleaned up and into some new clothes, she could tell just how young they were. She wanted to heal their cut ears as soon as she saw them but held herself back. Even if she used the lowest tier spell she could to restore their ears, it would be much too powerful for what she was passing herself off as now.

She doubted tier 6 Heal would work to restore their ears but she was positive tier 7 Regenerate would. It would look awfully strange if she could magically cast tier 7 spells all of a sudden. One of the elves was a priestess and Taylar wasn't sure if she would be able to tell the tier of the spell she was casting.

After she thought about it, she realized this would be a perfect opportunity for her to endear herself to these elves as Taylar and not Bella. Once she met up with them outside of Carne, she would use her tier 9 spell Mass Regenerate on all three of them at once and hopefully, earn some goodwill right off the bat as herself and not her adventurer persona.

She was now contemplating what she was going to do with the couple hours she still had before she got the message to meet outside of Carne. It seemed someone else might decide what she was going to be doing when she heard the unmistakable sound of a Gate opening a little ways behind her.

Taylar was pretty curious as to who would be coming through the Gate. Aura or Mare would be the logical choice since she was on their floor and they were nowhere to be found. The first person through the portal though was neither and she was a little surprised.

Ainz stepped through the Gate onto the sixth floor. He was followed closely by Albedo and Yuri Alpha who had essentially become Albedo's shadow since being given her new assignment.

Taylar was happy they were all there but confused as to why. They were both supposed to be visiting the citizens of Nazarick until she was back from Carne. The giant grin on Ainz's face definitely did not go unnoticed by Taylar.

At the moment though, she just wanted to feel those lips against hers again and jumps into his arms and seals their lips together for a kiss. She needs to remind herself where she is and slowly climbs down from him before she gets too lost in what she is doing.

"Well... that was a very nice hello." Ainz says to her in a joking manner.

"Sorry, I just couldn't help myself." she giggles a bit "What was with that grin you came here with? I know it wasn't just because you came to see me." she says playfully

"The grin was for you. Seeing you always brings a smile to my face but that smile was for what you inspire others to do." he says and she looks at with a look of utter confusion on her beautiful face.

'What in the world is he talking about?' Taylar thinks to herself.

"Yes, Taylar has inspired many in Nazarick to become more than they ever thought they could be." Albedo says to them

"Very true Albedo, but it seems that some are more inspired than others." Ainz says and plasters that cheesy grin back on his face. Now Taylar is completely lost on what the hell is going on.

"What the hell are you two going on about? Of course, I try to inspire those in Nazarick. Are you sure you two haven't just lost your mind all of a sudden? It would make your current conversation make a little bit of sense." Taylar says to them and she can see them holding their laughter back behind their hands trying hard not to laugh at her little outburst.

"There's no need to get testy, my love. We were merely talking about your biggest fan and her ever-present need to try and impress you." Ainz says to her

"My biggest fan? Are you talking about Enri?" she asks

"He is talking about Lupus Regina of course." Albedo says to her

"Wait, what?! Since when was Lupus Regina my biggest fan?" Taylar asks

"I'm guessing when she was created?" Ainz says a little unsure of that fact. "Didn't you find it odd she was hesitant to attack you in Re-Estize? Or that she tries to be around you every moment possible? She sits as close as she can to you when we share meals with the Pleiades?" Ainz says to her.

She honestly didn't really realize any of that but when she looks at Yuri and sees her nodding her head at everything Ainz is saying, there isn't really any denying it. She doesn't see the problem with it. At least she isn't looking up to Demiurge or Neuronist. That could end badly for the inhabitants of this world.

"Is there a problem with that? Are you feeling a little jealous Ainz that someone is looking up to me instead of you?" she says in a joking tone.

"Absolutely not, you inspire me as well." Ainz says to her with that grin back on his face. She feels stupid for blushing like a silly little girl when he says that but she calms herself quickly enough.

"So you interrupted my prep time to tease me about Lupus Regina?" Taylar asks

"No, just wanted to show you how inspiring you are to everyone. Lupus Regina came up with a plan to strengthen Carne. I'm sure it was just to impress you but it is actually a pretty good one. When I told her I would send Yuri to tell Enri the details she said she had a better idea." Ainz can't help but stop and laugh at this. Lupus Regina was certainly paying attention to everything Taylar did, Ainz realized when she told him this.

"Oh? Lupus Regina said she had a better idea then you? I wish I would have heard that conversation." she says with a smirk.

"Yes, it was quite refreshing actually. So far only you and Albedo have done anything like that. It seems our Wolf Queen has been paying attention to everything you are doing. She thought it would be a better idea to send Peter to tell Enri about what she was doing instead of Yuri hoping it would hurry your plans along for them." he says to her and this time she can't help but laugh at that.

"I guess she has been paying attention to what I've been doing. So, what is this plan to strengthen Carne she came up with?" Taylar asks genuine curiosity in her tone.

"She is about to put it in motion. Let's go watch." Ainz says and opens a Gate for them to walk through. They come out in the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary right near Aureole who already has her scrying windows open for them.

"It's all ready to go just like you asked father!" Aureole says to Ainz.

"Thank you baby girl." Ainz says and hugs Aureole before sitting down before the monitors. Taylar also hugs her and settles down on the right side of Ainz staring up at the screens wondering what Lupus Regina was about to do.

Carne Village...

Enri had been back from her last meeting for about an hour now. It was nice to just sit down and relax after having to talk to so many people over the last few days. Enri thought it would be much more work to get the village organized for her departure than it actually had been.

The meetings were tedious and boring but they were necessary to make sure everything would go smoothly while she was away in Nazarick. She only had two more days left before she was to leave but almost everything had been taken care of already.

The one thing she has been putting off was who was going to command the Death Knight in her absence. She certainly didn't need the protection in Nazarick and since Nemu was coming with her, she wasn't really sure who to give command of him to.

Her first thought was the old village chief but it seemed the man could barely keep himself from pissing his pants just standing in the presence of the Death Knight so that ruled him out. She was thinking maybe Nfirea or his grandmother but they never step foot outside their house unless it has to do with some breakthrough with their potions so they were ruled out as well.

The more she thought about it, the more the answer became clear. She could just give Jugem command of the Death Knight. He was basically the leader of their small little force and he would know when and how to use the Death Knight the most effectively. He also wasn't completely terrified of the Death Knight like just about everyone in the village. It made him the obvious choice. Just as she was about to get up and go find him, there was a knock at the door.

Enri stood up from her seat and smoothed her dress out to get rid of any wrinkles that may have formed from her sitting down. It was completely unnecessary but she did it out of habit. The clothes that Lady Taylar had given her never wrinkled and never seemed to get dirty at all. To think that Lady Taylar told her these were the ones she could wear for now because she knew Enri would still work in the fields regardless of being chief was surprising.

Enri didn't think she should be wearing anything this nice to work a field but she was assured by Lady Taylar that she couldn't ruin them if she tried and they were just clothes for now. When she returned as a mayor instead of a chief, there would be a whole new wardrobe for her to try on which would be too nice to wear into a field to work.

Enri was pretty sure this was Lady Taylar's way to subtly tell her she wasn't a farmer anymore and needed to act the part after she returned. People would probably think her crazy but that might be the hardest thing to do she has ever faced. She figured she would be a simple farmer her entire life and resigned herself to that fate at a very early age.

Even if she did get married one day, she would more than likely be managing a farm just like her parents did. Thinking of herself as someone who didn't need to get out in the fields every day and put in a good day of hard, physical work was definitely taking some getting used to.

She finally made it to the door, wondering who could be on the other side and opened it. The person she saw standing there was not someone she was expecting to ever see at her door. Standing there in front of her was Peter, the leader of the Swords of Darkness.

He was wearing something completely different than she had seen him in before. She had only seen him twice and only talked to him once but it was the first time she had seen him without his armor on. He looked like a son of a great noble right now and not an adventurer.

Peter was wearing very nice tailored black trousers along with some very nice, what looked to be new, boots. He had on a black, white, and red silk tunic that would be fitting for any great noble to wear. It caught her off guard at how handsome he looked and she couldn't stop the reddening of her cheeks no matter how much she willed it to stop.

"Hello, Lady Enri." Peter says as he bows and grabs her hand to kiss it on her knuckles just like he did the first time they parted.

"H-Hello Peter. It is nice to see you again. What brings you here today?" Enri says.

She still wasn't used to being treated like this especially from someone like Peter but she couldn't deny the feeling she got every time he kissed her hand or even just said something to her.

"What? I can't just want to come and visit you?" he says in a joking tone but Enri was still a little too flustered to pick up on it.

"O-O-Of course you can! It's just I didn't expect to see you in my little village." she stammers out. Peter can't help but chuckle at her reaction.

"Well, I did want to come to see how you were doing but I have actually been sent here by Lord Ainz to deliver two messages for you." Peter tells her.

"Really? I'm supposed to be coming to Nazarick in two days. I wonder what is so important it couldn't wait until then?" Enri says

"The first message is that Lady Taylar will be coming in a few hours with some new villagers for you. They are apparently former slaves they found in the Baharuth Empire. There is three of them, all of them are elves and were treated very poorly from what Lady Taylar has told me. She believes they will be useful to Carne. One of them is a ranger, who is farther along than either of the rangers you have and can teach both of them quite a bit. Another is a druid who Lady Taylar believes will be of great help whenever anyone ventures into the Great Forest of Tob for ingredients, helping out the farmers, and things of such a nature. The last one is a priestess. She should be able to heal any wounds or injuries anyone acquires here in Carne. Apparently, she can cast tier 3 magic so she should be very helpful for you and everyone else in Carne." Peter says to her

"That sounds amazing! It will certainly be very helpful to have three people like that around. I have heard elf slaves are treated very poorly though. Is Lady Taylar sure they will be comfortable being around so many humans? I'm sure they don't have the best experience with them. Even I've become a little wary of humans not from my village. I feel more comfortable around the goblins and Death Knight then I do strangers from outside the village." Enri says to him

"Lady Taylar has been working on that for a few days. Lord Ainz told me they should have no problem fitting in here. He said it might take a little time for them to settle but he doesn't see any problems arising if they are treated fairly." Peter tells her.

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'll make sure to give them a warm welcome when I get the chance to meet them." Enri smiles at Peter to thank him for the message then remembers. "Didn't you say you had two messages for me?"

"I sure did. The next one is more instructions then a message. It has to do with Lupus Regina actually. She is on her way to Carne with some potential allies for Carne and wanted me to relay her instructions for you to follow so they would join your village without much of a hassle." Peter says to her

"Oh? What instructions did Lupus Regina have? This should be good, she is very, umm, interesting let's say." Enri can't help but giggle at that. Lupus Regina was certainly a character. She almost looks up to her like an older sister now that she has been able to spend a good amount of time with her.

"Well, she is actually on her way right now. I can brief you on what she wants to do while we walk to the front gate if that is alright with you Enri." Peter says

"That sounds fine Peter." Enri says to him. He holds out his elbow to escort her to the front gate and she quickly takes the offered arm.

"Now Lady Enri. First, I need you to put this on." he pulls out a necklace that looks like it has a feather charm attached to it. "How good are you at acting?..." Peter says as they make their way towards the front gate to meet with Lupus Regina.

The Great Forest Of Tob...

Lupus Regina was unsure if this was the right course of action until she asked Lord Ainz if this was a good idea. When he told her it was brilliant, she wanted to jump up and down like a little girl who just got her favorite treat in the world at that moment.

She was afraid she had overstepped a little when she told Lord Ainz she thought it was a better idea to send Peter to inform Enri instead of Yuri Alpha. He was not only in agreement but seemed incredibly happy she suggested such an action.

It seemed that her plan so far to get farther into the good graces of Lady Taylar had somehow also benefited in her getting a higher opinion in also Lord Ainz eyes. So far, this has been a wonderful success and has completely surpassed her expectations already. She hasn't even gotten to the village for the plan yet, and already she can't stop smiling at her quick thinking.

When she came across this group, she was sure the best course of action was killing them all and hopefully get closer to her goal of becoming a War Priestess. While she was up in the high branches of the tree about to pounce on her prey, a question popped into her head.

'What would be better? Getting closer to War Priestess or gaining more favor with Lady Taylar?'

She had noticed that Lord Ainz had given Enri a Death Knight for the security of herself and the village. Lupus Regina didn't take this as a sleight to her abilities. She is often away from Carne on business given to her by Lady Taylar and Lord Ainz.

She and all of the Pleiades have been clearing out the Great Forest of Tob and Azerlisia Mountains for a little while now. For some reason, Lord Ainz wanted a clear traveling path from the mountains to E-Rantel. Lupus Regina didn't really care for the reasoning, she was just glad to kill things in service to the supreme ones.

Lupus Regina figured that since she was regularly given opportunities to gain experience but rarely to gain favor in the eyes of her hero that this would be a good chance to do just that.

So instead of her instinct to kill everything she was watching right now, she decided on a better idea. She would still get to kill one of them anyway. These weaklings did only follow the strong so a demonstration of her power would be necessary.

She surveyed the group of 11 ogres and 51 goblins to find her best course of action. It was certainly one of the ogres that would have to be the target of her demonstration. It was a shame to lose that much strength from this group but you can't really show off your strength on a goblin. Even a normal human can kill one of those if they get a lucky hit in.

She watched the group walking through the forest and decided it was time. She jumped out of the tree and landed about ten feet away from the group of ogres leading this little party through the forest. She had her holy weapon resting on her shoulder behind her head and looked straight at the group.

"Heya~ I'm going to need you to stop right there for me~" Lupus Regina says to the group.

The ogres at the front of the group all look at each other wondering what to do. After just a moment, they look back at her and the one in the middle closest to her begins to raise his weapon to strike her.

The ogre never even gets the chance to start lowering his weapon when all of a sudden, his head, neck, and shoulders explode in a red mist. The ogres entire body is lifted off the ground from the force of the impact and sent flying backward over the entire group of ogres and goblins that were following the first group.

None in the group can really process what happened as they stare at a headless, almost shoulder-less corpse land just behind them. They all turn their attention back towards the woman who fell out of the trees just a moment ago.

She is still standing right in front of the group of ogres. She has her feet spread a little, her weapon is still resting on her shoulder but there is blood dripping from the end of it onto the ground behind her. Her right arm is straight out in front of her with her pointer and middle fingers spread out making a 'V'.

No one from the group of goblin and ogres still seem to process what just happened to their tribesman. The ogre that was standing next to the one that just got killed starts to raise his weapon, but a voice yells out from behind him.

"STOP!"

The ogre stops raising his arm and looks back towards who called out to him. A goblin steps forward and makes his way towards the front of the group. He is walking a little straighter and more confident than anyone else in the party. There also seems to be an intelligence in his eyes that the other goblins do not possess. He finally makes his way to Lupus Regina and looks up at her.

"Oh~ Aren't you a brave little guy hehe~ Are you the leader of this little band of misfits?~" Lupus Regina asks the hobgoblin.

"I am Agu. The tribe leader of this group. Who are you?" he says to her

"You're a feisty little one aren't you?~ I'm Lupus Regina Beta, servant of the rulers of Nazarick and Protector of Carne Village~ Where exactly are you off to little Agu?~" Lupus Regina asks him.

"As far away from the Monument of Destruction as we can get, and it's just Agu. I am not little!" he tells her

"I admire your bravery little Agu~ But watch your tone or you will end up like that ogre hehe~" the airy giggle she gives is in stark contrast to the glare of murderous killing intent he sees in her eyes. "So you are headed to safety then?~" she finally asks

"Y-Y-Yes we a-a-are." he stumbles out now terrified of saying the wrong thing.

"Oh~ Well, if it is safety you seek, I think I have just the place for you~ Tell me, can you take orders from a human, little Agu?~" she asks

"We only follow the strong! Humans are weak!" Agu says to her

"Oh well~ This human is not only strong but also holds the favor of the strongest beings this world has ever seen~ If you can get along with the others in the village and listen to Mayor Enri, you will be accepted and safe in Carne~ So what do you say?~" she asks them.

All the goblins and ogres are looking at Agu waiting for an answer. He knows that being a hobgoblin and son of the former tribe leader makes this his responsibility. He makes his decision based on both fear and logic.

There doesn't seem to be any reason to say no. It is quite obvious that Lupus Regina Beta could kill them all if she so wished to. They might as well take the chance of finding a safe place to live instead of waiting for the creatures from the Monument of Destruction to come and kill them.

"We shall follow you to this village, Lupus Regina Beta." Agu says to her

"Alright~ Follow me~!" Lupus Regina gives a little jump and fist up in the air before she turns and starts walking towards Carne.

'This is going even better than I thought! Maybe I'll be able to ask Lady Taylar to train me before I make it to War Priestess! That would be the best!' Lupus Regina thinks to herself as she turns around and starts walking towards Carne.

It didn't take very long for Lupus Regina to lead the little tribe to the front gate of Carne. What she saw was even more impressive than she suggested.

She had told them to have some of Enri's summoned goblins outside the gate to show that goblins were, in fact, safe here. She did not expect to see eighteen of the twenty that live here standing out front, in two perfect lines, directing the group straight towards the gate.

Lupus Regina stopped about twenty feet short of the gate, right at the end of the lines of goblins. She looked up at the closed gate and continued her eyes up towards the top of the wall. Standing atop the wall was the person she was looking for getting ready to do exactly what she had planned.

The man atop the wall jumped straight off the side right towards them. He landed just in front of Lupus Regina in a cloud of dust that appeared from the dirt road he landed on. The goblins and ogres couldn't comprehend how a human could do such a thing. Before they could try to figure it out, the man spoke to Lupus Regina.

"Good day Lupus Regina. How may the village of Carne assist you today?" Peter says to Lupus Regina.

"Nice entrance Peter~" she winks at him. "I'm here to see Mayor Enri~ There are some folks who would like to join the village~" she says to him as she points over her shoulder with her thumb. Peter just nods in acknowledgment and turns towards the gate.

"BOSS!" Peter yells at the gate.

The front gate started to slowly open. Everyone outside of the village all turned their attention towards the gate to see who emerged. Every one of them heard the first newcomer before they saw it.

A thunderous shock wave could be felt reverberating through the ground. The sound of the heaviest footsteps any of them had ever heard before came from behind that gate. Each step seemed to shake the very ground they were standing on and soon a figure emerged from the gate that had every goblin and ogre shaking in fear except the goblins who lived in Carne.

A ten-foot-tall incarnation of death walked through the gate straight to the front of the group. Two horns were protruding from its helmet which covered its rotting face beneath it. It had the blackest armor, shield, and cloak any of them had ever seen. The wavy, serrated sword held in its right hand seemed to emit a black and crimson mist that only added to the overall terrifying appearance of the creature before them.

What truly had them at a loss for words was on the Death Knight's right shoulder. Sitting atop his right shoulder was a blonde-haired human. It looked as if this terrifying creature of pure death was nothing more than a carriage to this human. She rode atop his shoulder like he was her mount and it made them all wonder just how ridiculously powerful this human must be to command a creature as terrifying as this.

As the Death Knight stopped in front of them, the human on its shoulder looked down on them from her perch atop his shoulder. It seemed as if she was studying them, trying to figure out if they were worthy enough to be allowed in her presence. It made Agu damn near piss himself thinking of what would happen to them if this human decided they weren't worth it.

On top of the Death Knight's shoulder though, the look the goblins were interrupting as calculating from Enri was in stark contrast to what she was feeling inside. As she looked down on them with the sternest expression she could muster trying to follow Lupu's instructions.

Enri did not doubt that this was a good idea. Having more goblins and ogres to protect the village would solve a number of issues for them. She had built a small militia force to protect Carne when Lupu wasn't around but they were still just villagers learning to fight. Trying to replace the fighting power of Lupu when she wasn't here was almost impossible for Enri to do.

Even after receiving the Death Knight from Lord Ainz, it would be hard to replace Lupu. There was no doubt the Death Knight could probably kill the whole village even if they banded together, but Lupu would still defeat the Death Knight with no problem if they ever fought. Enri imagined it would take one of Lupu's sisters to be able to replace her, but ten ogres was a damn good start from a strength perspective.

One ogre was about twenty times stronger than a human so that would make up for a lot. Also, as ridiculous as it was to say, she trusted goblins and ogres more than most humans at the moment. That's not even mentioning that she currently placed all of her trust in a very large group of heteromorphic beings.

Enri steeled herself so she wouldn't show the worry that lay underneath the mask she had to put on. She was nervous about talking to these goblins since they weren't anything like the ones she summoned with the horn. But as childish as it might sound, she was worried she would look foolish dismounting from this Death Knight like Lupu wanted her to.

She only got to practice with the necklace for five minutes before she needed to go out and talk to them. She wasn't exactly confident she would stick the landing like Peter promised she would. Falling on her face before she could even say a word to this group would probably make any talk pointless. Who would follow a leader who just face plants in the ground after dismounting her supposed ride?

Enri readied herself to dismount and sent a silent prayer hoping she didn't make an ass of herself. She knew even if things went horribly wrong, Lupu, Peter, and the Death Knight wouldn't let anything happen to her. Right before she pushes off, she activates the item around her neck by saying...

*FLY*

A faint blue light encompasses Enri for a moment before she pushes herself off the Death Knight's shoulder. She floats down to the ground as smooth and slow as a feather. She makes a perfectly soft landing and looks up at Lupus Regina.

"You say there are some who wish to join the village, Lupu?" Enri asks her

"Of course boss~ But I'm not really sure if they are worth it though~" Lupus Regina says as she holds out her right hand towards Enri and her left towards the tribe of goblins and ogres.

Enri grabs Lupus Regina by the hand and twists her wrist. Lupus Regina falls down on one knee and looks up at Enri.

"Owieeeeeee! Why you gotta be so mean boss lady!~" Lupu pouts at her.

Enri would never dream in a million years of doing this to Lupus Regina but she was just following her instructions. She knew Lupus Regina could stand up and throw her back over the wall at any moment she so desired.

Enri still had no idea why Lupus Regina insisted on doing this but she figured she had a good reason for it. She certainly couldn't picture any of Nazarick's subordinates acting weak, to a lowly human as most of them liked to put it unless there was a good reason behind it.

"I think it is up to me to decide if they are worth it or not Lupu!" Enri says to Lupus Regina then turns towards the tribe as she lets Lupus Regina's hand go. "So, who is the leader of this little group?" Enri asks in her most intimidating voice.

"T-T-Th-That would b-b-be m-m-me." a little goblin approached her with those words.

The poor thing looks downright terrified of her but that was the point of all this she supposed. He looked to be much more intelligent than the other goblins with him. He looked almost like the goblins she summoned. Well, he looked just as intelligent but he certainly wasn't nearly as strong looking.

"You wish to join our village?" Enri asks Agu.

"Y-Y-Yes, ma'am." Agu nervously replies.

"Do you swear to follow all of my commands? To protect this village with your lives if it comes to that? And to help this village so that we all prosper?" Enri asks him

"We swear." Agu says with some confidence that wasn't there just a moment ago.

Agu takes a knee and bows his head to Enri to show his loyalty. As soon as he does this, the rest of his tribe all drop to one knee and bow their heads just as he is doing. Enri seemed to think they would keep their word and that was the end of this farce she had been putting on as some powerful being.

Enri jumps up off the ground and floats back up onto the Death Knight's shoulder. She would have preferred to walk through the gate but she needed to keep up the mummery for just a little while longer.

"Alright, follow me and we will get you all situated in the village." Enri says then the Death Knight turns back towards the gate and heads inside.

Peter, Lupu, and the rest of everyone standing outside follow her back into the village. Enri couldn't help but think this would be a long day. She had to get all these goblins and ogres into houses and she still had yet to meet the three new elves that Lady Taylar was bringing by later today.

Luckily for her, there would be no intimidation needed for the elves. In fact, Peter told her Lady Taylar wanted the exact opposite when she met them. She was supposed to be friendly, inviting, and trusting towards them. This was something that Enri felt much more comfortable doing. She didn't think it would be nearly the mental drain that acting in front of these goblins and ogres had been.

As Enri was walking around showing the village to the goblins and ogres, Peter was still near her the entire time. She had no idea if he was ordered to do this, here because he wanted to be, or what the reason was. Lupus Regina had disappeared like she usually did into thin air so she couldn't ask her. She had no doubt she would show back up if something happened.

They were over by the newly built storage sheds at the moment. They were being built to store the harvest but Enri was going to give up two of them for the ogres. It was really the only place they could house them. They had more than enough already anyway and were only constructing two more before they were finished.

She was pointing out the second to last shed under construction when Peter did something that made her jaw drop. Two goblins were carrying one of the long logs to be an exterior wall when one of them lost their balance.

He was about to topple over and have the large log fall right onto him when Peter took one step and covered about twenty feet. He grabbed the middle of the log and picked it up all by himself, carried it over to the shed, and set it down in place like it weighed nothing.

She couldn't help but have her mouth fall open and just stare at him in amazement. That would be something she would expect from one of these ogres. Not a man who couldn't be more than a couple years older than her. She didn't get a chance to change her expression before Peter turned around. It seemed neither did the goblins by his question.

"What?" he asked. He was seriously confused as to why the goblins and Enri were looking at him like that.

"Exactly how strong are you?" Enri couldn't help but ask.

Peter seemed to finally understand what the looks were for as he looked back at the log he had just set down. He was guessing it probably weighed hundreds of pounds but it didn't feel like it to him.

"Ohhhh, ahhh, well..." he rubs the back of his neck and reddens a little. "I don't really know, to be honest. I've only been able to hit something with all my strength one time. Lord Ainz does not wish for us to go all out until we gain Adamantite rank at the guild." Peter tells Enri.

"What did you get to hit with all your strength?" she asks him again now curious as to what he would have to hit that hard.

"It was at our final test to see if our initial training was done." he says to her as his eye drift back and forth between her and the Death Knight.

"Wait! You had to fight a Death Knight?!" she almost yells.

"Well, yeah, but it wasn't like I was alone. It was my whole team versus a Death Knight. I don't think I would last long against one myself." Peter says.

"I think you might be wrong about that..." Enri mumbles to herself.

"What?" Peter asks

"Nothing, it's nothing. How about we continue on?" she says to him

"Sounds go-" Peter stops mid-sentence and seems to be concentrating on something.

"Yes, your majesty. I will inform her right away..." he pauses a moment and she sees him turn a little red. "Yes, I am still here your majesty. I hope that I was not-" he stops mid-sentence again and she sees him sigh in relief after a moment. "I will let her know, your majesty. Thank you."

Peter seems to be done with his self conversation and makes his way over towards Enri.

"That was a message from Queen Taylar. She is on her way to the front gate with the new villagers." Peter tells her.

"Well, let's not keep her majesty waiting then." Enri says to Peter.

They began walking towards the gate and Enri was putting that one-sided conversation together in her head while they were walking. It sounded like he was apologizing for still being in Carne which would mean he wasn't ordered to be here. Perhaps Lupus Regina just had him stay and didn't tell Lady Taylar? After thinking for so long about it so couldn't help but ask...

"Sooooo... did you get in trouble for staying with me all this time?" she asks with a little smirk planted on her lips.

"Wellll, she ummm, didn't think I'd still be here. That was all. I was going to ask if that was OK with her but she cut off my question and said it was fine before I could even ask." Peter tells her as his cheeks heated back up.

"I'm glad you didn't get in trouble then." Enri says with a smile.

"I doubt she would get mad at anyone in Nazarick for spending time with you. You seem to be hers and Princess Aureole's favorite." Peter says to her.

"Lady Taylar has been incredibly kind to me and Carne Village, but I doubt I am her favorite. I've only met Aureole one time really. I'm not sure how I'd be her favorite too." she responds but that isn't what she is thinking.

'By the gods! I wish people would stop saying I'm Lady Taylar's favorite! Do they have any idea what kind of pressure that is?!' she screams in her mind.

"Princess Aureole hasn't stopped talking about being able to teach you tactics or that you don't call her by any of the titles she dislikes. She is even wearing her hair just like you now." Peter chuckles at the last bit from the look on Enri's face.

"Great, Lady Taylar's favorite and Princess Aureole's best friend. I'm glad I'm not under some immense amount of pressure or anything." Enri laughs but it isn't a joyous one as Peter can tell.

"I can certainly think of much worse things than being the favorite of a Goddess and best friends with her daughter." Peter chuckles a moment before continuing. "I know Princess Aureole is grateful that you treat her as a friend. I'm sure Lord Ainz, Lady Taylar, and Lady Albedo feel the same."

"I'm sure she has tons of people around her who are nice to her. She is the Princess of Nazarick after all." she tells him

"You are right. Everyone is very nice to her but..." he trails off until she looks at him. "No one treats her as a friend. They all treat her as the Princess of Nazarick. You may be the only person she truly considers a friend. I think that is why they would be grateful to you in particular." he finishes to Enri.

"Oh... I guess I never thought of it like that. If you have noticed this, why haven't you tried to befriend Aureole?" Enri asks Peter.

"Oh, well, I ummm, didn't want Lord Ainz to get the wrong idea." he smiles a bit sheepishly. "As much as his majesty loves his Queens, I imagine the wrath he would invoke on anyone who dared harm his daughter in any way would be terrifying on a whole nother level. I didn't want to risk him misunderstanding my intentions. Lukrut has kind of made him extra vigilant around those not from Nazarick when it comes to those from Nazarick." he tells her

"Do you really think Lord Ainz would react that harshly if you actually did try with Aureole. I know he is very protective of her but you are a good person from what I've been able to see Peter." Enri says to him

"Well, Lord Ainz did tell me he would support me if I fell for someone from Nazarick and wished to pursue a relationship with them. His daughter though... I doubt anyone would ever get that stamp of approval." Peter tells her

"I'm sure you'd find someone in Nazarick to make you happy. I don't think I've ever met anyone from Nazarick who wasn't beautiful. You just have to find someone who also makes you happy." Enri says with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"You may be right, and I am grateful Lord Ainz has so much trust in me that he would welcome me into Nazarick like that but I already have my heart set on someone and she isn't from Nazarick." Peter tells her

"Oh, really?" Enri asks curious now as to who he is talking about.

"Yes. She is just as beautiful as anyone from Nazarick. She is very kind and compassionate, and I'm sure she will grow into a great woman in the future." Peter says

"Have you told her any of this yet?" Enri asks

'I just did!' Peter thinks to himself but that isn't what came out of his mouth.

"I don't know if she feels the same or even thinks of me that way. We have just started being friends and I don't want to mess that up if she doesn't feel as I do." Peter says to Enri.

Enri was about to open her mouth and tell him that he should tell her and take the chance if that is how he felt but she saw him quickly drop to one knee. She looked up and realized they were at the gate already and her conversation with Peter was over for the time being. She dropped to one knee like he did as she saw Lady Taylar approaching through the open gate.

"Thank you for the warm reception. Everyone rise and go about your day." Taylar tells everyone near the gate.

Enri stands with everyone else and waits for Lady Taylar to make her way over towards her. She can see the three elves that were following Lady Taylar. They seemed a little wary of their new surroundings but that would be understandable if they were former slaves of the Slaine Theocracy.

If anyone could relate to the savagery and brutality of the Slaine Theocracy, it was those of Carne Village. They probably didn't have to deal with the suffering that those three elves had to deal with but they would find that everyone in this village hates the Slaine Theocracy almost as much as they did.

Enri hoped the elves would find themselves comfortable here after a time. She knew they would be welcomed with open arms especially after she told the rest of the village that they were former slaves of the Slaine Theocracy. If nothing else, the mutual hatred of the Theocracy between the elves and villagers should give them a good common ground to start on.

"Lady Taylar, it is always a pleasure when you grace us with your presence." Enri gives a bow to her before turning to the elves. "And we welcome your guests too. We hope you three find our little village to your liking and hope that one day you can consider it your home if you decide to stay with us. I am Enri Emmot, Chief of Carne Village." Enri finishes to the three elves.

"You are already becoming quite the leader Enri." Taylar says as she looks around at the various races going about their day in Carne. "And you already know how to greet guests like a true leader of a city. Just remember, that is going to be Mayor Enri soon." Taylar looks at Enri and gives her a smile after those words.

"Thank you, my Queen. I still have a long way to go but I try my hardest not to disappoint you." Enri replies to her.

"I doubt you could disappoint me at this point Enri, but where are my manners. Let me introduce you to the newest residents of Carne." Taylar motions for the three elves to step up before she continues.

"Our first beautiful elf here is Taenya Vathana. She is a ranger by trade and I believe she would be very helpful teaching your two rangers a thing or two about their trade. She is powerful enough to know ranger spells so I believe her help would be invaluable to you." Taylar says as she points to the pink-haired, green-eyed elf.

"Our next beauty here is Tsarra Beiren. She is a druid and I'm sure I don't need to outline the benefits this village could receive to have a druid amongst its population. I'm sure being an elf would make her even more valuable than any normal druid as I have heard of her proficiency in the forest from the adventurers who brought them to us." Taylar says as she gestures towards the blonde-haired, green-eyed elf standing in the middle of the three elves.

"And last, but not least, our last beautiful elf is Ashryn Kelsys. She is a priestess. Once the priestess of Alah Alaf as forced on her by the Slaine Theocracy, but she is now the very first ever priestess of the Goddess of Life. Apparently, she thought I would be a much more fitting deity to follow." Taylar adds with a little giggle as she points towards the blue-haired, green-eyed elf at the end of the group.

Enri could see the robes she was wearing and had seen the symbol on her chest before. It was the same symbol on the banner that hung behind the thrones in the Throne Room in Nazarick. The only difference was there were two white wings on either side of the symbol. Her robes were a mostly red with white and black used to outline or highlight different areas of the robe.

Enri honestly thought the robes were more suited for the fashion of the royal capital than on a priestess. The shoulders, neck, and upper chest were exposed, there were long slits that ran up either side of the robe along her thighs, and it seemed to hug the elf's body. They were vastly different than the loose-fitting, not at all flattering, robes that every other priest of all other faiths wore.

"Let me officially welcome you to Carne Village Taenya, Tsarra, and Ashryn. I hope you all can be comfortable here and think of this as home one day. We are glad you could all join us and I'm sure that a lot of the villagers will be very happy to hear we have the first-ever priestess of our savior and goddess living amongst us." Enri says with a smile towards all of them but especially towards Ashryn.

"I'm sorry, how could I forget? Ladies, this handsome young man standing next to Enri is Peter Mauk." not a single one of them missed Peter's face turn tomato red when Lady Taylar called him handsome. "He is the leader of the Swords of Darkness. They are the adventure team that serves us in Nazarick. We rescued them from some unfortunate circumstances and they have proven their loyalty to Nazarick so you can trust him and his team in the future if you need assistance." Taylar tells the elves.

"Her majesty is too modest. She brought my entire team back from the dead and for that, we can never truly repay her, but she is right. If you ever need anything in the future and you see me or any of my teammates, don't hesitate to ask. I will bring the other around so you can meet them whenever I get the chance." Peter says to the three elves.

"Well, Peter will be back in two days anyway. That should give you enough time to settle in and I'll make sure he brings the rest of his team with him so you can meet them all." Taylar says and gets a smile from Peter's reaction. He had no idea he was coming back here to pick Enri up for her transport to Nazarick but she will tell him that when they leave and head back to Nazarick.

"I will make sure to let the Swords of Darkness know they will be traveling here, your majesty once I return to Nazarick." Peter tells Lady Taylar

"Why don't we go get these three settled in Enri? I'm sure you have had a long day and would like to have at least a little rest." Taylar says to her knowing Enri has been running around all day situating the new goblins and ogres in Carne Village, but then she remembers her waiting golems.

"Oh wait." she opens a Gate a little bit near the front gate. "These guys are going to replace your wall for you. They already have their orders so you don't need to have anyone oversee their work. Once it is replaced, they will lay the wood back on top so no one can see what the wall is really made of."

Enri looks behind her to the portal and sees a golem come out pushing a metal cart, but this cart doesn't have any wheels. It looks to be floating off the ground. Enri shouldn't be amazed at any of this anymore but she can't help it. And now she is curious as to what the wall is being replaced with.

"What's in the carts?" she finally asks

"Those are the 'bricks' that are going to make up your wall." Taylar tells her. Enri didn't see the air quotations around bricks and she took it literally.

"Wow, a stone wall that long will be much better than our wood one." Enri states. Now she feels a little better about Carne's safety.

"Oh no. We just shaped them to look like bricks. The wall will be made of Adamantite." Taylar states and not only does Enri's jaw drop but so does Peter's.

"H-H-How can you have that much Adamantite?!" It was Peter who asked and not Enri.

"Where we are from, Adamantite isn't a rare thing. In fact, it's about an average metal to work with and utterly useless to someone of my power. We have a small mountain of it in Nazarick. What we use on Carne will only be a small fraction of how much we actually have." Taylar tells them and this does nothing to close their mouths. After seeing they had no more questions Taylar wanted to continue on so she said...

"How about we get these three settled now?" Enri could only nod her head and thank the gods she had already looked for a place for these three. She didn't think her brain would be working for a little bit after that last revelation.

Since Enri had known of their arrival since Peter arrived earlier in the day, she had already picked out three houses right next to each other the elves could occupy. She wasn't sure if they each wanted their own place or were going to stay together. There was still plenty of unoccupied houses since the attack so space wasn't becoming an issue yet.

The elves made that even less of a problem when they decided that they all wanted to stay in the same house. Enri couldn't really fault them for that. She is sure they went through some terrible times and being together probably made them feel safer.

It didn't take long to get the elves situated in their new home and tell them where she could be found if they needed anything. She told them about her leaving for Nazarick in two days and who they could talk to in her absence.

After she was through with the elves, Peter and Lady Taylar accompanied her back to her house so she could get dinner started for Nemu. The walk back was nice and filled with conversation. Lady Taylar seemed to do most of the talking, well, really she was asking a bunch of questions but Enri certainly wasn't going to not answer them.

When your Goddess asks you a question, you don't exactly say no to her. After they arrived at the house and were about to say goodbye to each other, Peter cut off the goodbyes before they could start.

"Ummm, your majesty? Do you mind if I talk to you for a moment before we depart?" Peter says to Lady Taylar. She is definitely intrigued and doesn't see any reason to say no.

"Sure Peter. We will be right back Enri, just give us a moment." she says.

Enri sees Peter and Lady Taylar walk off a little bit and start talking. She can't hear what they are saying but Peter looks almost embarrassed to be asking Lady Taylar whatever he wished to speak with her about.

Lady Taylar doesn't seem to have nearly the same reaction as he did. She sees her say something to Peter then laughs and puts a hand on his shoulder as if she was saying it was alright.

She notices them walking back over towards her and readies herself to say goodbye to the two of them. Every time Lady Taylar comes to Carne, Enri wishes she would stay forever. She knows she can't but she can dream damn it! Honestly, she has been to Nazarick and doesn't understand why Lady Taylar leaves at all. That place is like heaven. She doubts she would leave if she lived there.

"Enri it is always nice to see you. I'll see you in Nazarick soon." Taylar says to her.

Enri goes to drop to a knee to say goodbye but to her surprise, Lady Taylar is hugging her before she can get down. She isn't really sure what to do so she awkwardly returns the hug trying not to turn red. Hugging Lady Taylar meant her body was pressing against Enri's and Lady Taylar had the kind of body women of any age would kill for.

Enri was sure she was not attracted to women, but being around two women as beautiful as Lady Taylar and Lady Albedo always made her want to question her sexuality. She wasn't sure why that was but it was hard to have a clear thought when being this close to Lady Taylar. Lady Taylar finally broke the hug after a few moments and gave Enri her last parting words before she walked off.

"You don't have to kneel or any of that when it is just us Enri. If you feel you need to do something a slight nod of the head will suffice. I'll see you soon!" she waves as she walks away.

Enri just waves back at her not really sure what to say. After a few moments, she realizes there is still one person there to say goodbye to and drops her arm down to the side slightly embarrassed that she hadn't paid attention to Peter at all with the awkward goodbye she had with Lady Taylar. Before she can say goodbye first, Peter starts talking.

"There is something I wanted to ask you, but something I think I should say first before I ask. Is that alright?" Peter asks Enri

"Sure Peter." Enri says to him wondering what this was about.

"Do you know that I'm not human?" he says to her

That question did catch her off guard. She did remember talking to the Swords of Darkness and learning of their resurrection, but she didn't remember anything about them not being human anymore. Peter certainly looked human to her.

"You look like a human, Peter. I'm not sure why you felt the need to tell me, but as you saw today. It doesn't matter to me what race people are as long as they can get along with others." Enri tells him

"Yes, I did see that today. I just wanted to... well... what I mean is..."

'Why does this girl make me so nervous! Thank god the other aren't here, I'd never hear the end of it!' Peter thinks before Enri interrupts his rambling.

"Do you mind if I ask what race you are if you aren't a human?" Enri says

"I'm an Aasimar. It's a race of angel's. We were reincarnated into that race when we were brought back." Peter tells her.

"Well, you still look human and I'm sure there was a reason Lady Taylar did such a thing. Is that what you wanted to know?" Enri asks

"No, I just wanted to make sure you were OK with that..."

'Just ask her already you dipshit!'

"The reason I wanted to let you know is that the royal wedding will be taking place while you are in Nazarick. I was wondering if maybe... if you wanted to... if you would like to go... with me? Maybe. If you are OK with that... that is..."

'God, do I sound as stupid as I think I do?' he thinks to himself after he rambled out that sorry excuse for asking her out on a date.

"Oh, I would love to but I'm not sure I can just show up at their wedding like that." Enri says

"Lady Taylar said she was going to invite you and Nemu anyway. I just thought maybe you'd like to accompany me?" he says

"Well, like I said. I'd love to but I can't just leave Nemu. Maybe we cou-" before Enri could finish she was startled as Lupus Regina interrupted her. She appeared right behind her speaking over her shoulder.

"I'll watch Nemu for you so you can go on your date!~" Lupus Regina says to Enri who still has no idea where in the world she came from. Even Peter looks startled and he was staring right at Enri. They both turn pretty red in embarrassment at the statement though.

"I don't want to just dump Nemu on you, Lupu." Enri says. Nowhere in that statement did she deny it was a date. She had been secretly hoping she was that girl Peter was talking about earlier.

"Don't worry about that~ Your little sister is fun!~ Plus, we can continue our throwing lessons once the reception gets more adult themed~" Lupus Regina says to Enri who somehow turns an even brighter shade of red at the end of Lupu's statement.

"Throwing lessons?" Enri asks. She knows Lupu by now and she isn't going anywhere near that last statement so she can keep teasing her.

"Just darts and knives right now~ I was thinking of trying some shurikens next~ When she gets a little bigger we can move up to axes, spears, and things like that~" Lupu says with a wink towards Enri.

"You have been teaching her to throw what?!" Enri almost yells

"Well, she is pretty good and don't you want her to be able to defend herself?~" Lupu says

That pretty much got Enri to just close her mouth. She really didn't have anything to say about that. She would certainly feel much better if Nemu could at least defend herself somewhat. From the sound of it, she could probably defend herself better than Enri right now.

"Yes, you are right. Are you sure it's alright with you?" Enri asks her one more time

"It will be my pleasure~ And maybe... you'll get some of your own~" Lupu says to her with a suggestive smile on her face.

"Well then, I will gladly accompany you to the wedding, Peter." Enri says as she turns to Peter. There was no way she was going to address that last statement from Lupu. Her face had returned to its natural color but the dusting of pink as she accepted was slightly noticeable. The smile on Peter's face was very noticeable.

"I look forward to the day even more now then, Enri. Until next time." Peter says and grabs her hand again to kiss the back of it. He gives a slight bow and walks towards where Lady Taylar was waiting.

"Have fun on you date Enri~ Don't do anything I wouldn't do~" Lupu says with a wink as she takes off into the air before Enri can respond.

She looked towards where Peter had walked and saw Lady Taylar open a Gate in front of Peter. The moment Peter stepped through his gate Lady Taylar then opened another in front of herself and both disappeared from Carne Village.

Nazarick, 9th Floor conference room...

Taylar stepped through her gate right into the conference room. The smile on her face was obvious to everyone in the room and there were a lot of people here. Ainz, Albedo, Aureole, Rubedo, the other Guardians, and the Pleiades were all present.

Everyone stood to greet her on arrival with the normal, your majesty or Lady Taylar or whatever other honorifics they thought of that day, but Taylar really only had eyes for one person in the room at the moment.

Normally, that would be either Ainz or Albedo, but at the moment her eyes were glued to Lupus Regina Beta. The werewolf had truly gone beyond her duties towards Carne and Taylar was beyond impressed at her clever thinking.

Taylar was now fully aware of the reasoning behind such a move thanks to Ainz, but it didn't make it any less impressive. For someone of Nazarick to think of the security of anyone not from here was a leap forward, to say the least. Even if the reasoning behind it was for someone in Nazarick.

Taylar wanted to reward Lupus Regina somehow but wasn't quite sure the appropriate reward to give her at the moment, but she definitely needed to let her know that her efforts were appreciated and noticed.

She made her way right towards Lupus Regina and never took her eyes off of her. She was seated in between Yuri Alpha and Solution. It seemed she noticed Taylar's eyes glued to her and couldn't help but stare back.

Lupus Regina wasn't sure what was about to happen when she saw Lady Taylar striding towards her seemingly not paying attention to anyone but her. She thought maybe she overstepped by bringing more beings to Carne. She was just a protector of the village and really her protection was only supposed to be directed at Enri, Nemu, Nfirea, and Lizzie.

The thought that she overstepped and angered Lady Taylar made her want to shrink away into the shadows. Then she thought of telling, not asking, Lord Ainz to send Peter instead of Yuri made her even more worried. Perhaps she misread what Lady Taylar was doing with Enri and Peter and she just screwed up her plans.

It was enough for Lupus Regina to wish to be anywhere else than where she was now, but that would be impossible right now. Lady Taylar was now standing before her and there was nowhere for her to run to.

Taylar put her hands on Lupus Regina's shoulders and turned her so they were facing each other. She'd figure out the reward tomorrow when she planned on talking to Lupus Regina but for now, she wanted to show her how much she appreciated it.

Lupus Regina got a reaction from Lady Taylar she was not expecting. With that smile still plastered on Taylar's face, she leaned down just a bit and kissed Lupus Regina on the forehead. She then brought Lupus Regina into an almost bone-crushing hug.

Lupus Regina was so surprised at first she didn't even respond. Once it sunk in that Lady Taylar was proud of her, the sadistic werewolf was on the verge of tears when she wrapped her arm around Lady Taylar. She relished in the feeling of the embrace. It was like a parent who could only show you how proud they were with their feelings instead of their words.

When Lady Taylar broke the embrace it was a little disappointing. Lupus Regina could still see and feel the pride coming from Taylar so the disappointment was minimal. It lessened even more when she heard the pride coming through as she spoke to her.

"That was a very wise decision, Lupus Regina. For you to be thinking of not just what is good for Nazarick but for everything we are trying to do shows you growing and learning just as we wish for all of you to do. Even the way you went about it shows that you have been paying attention to everything we are doing and not just what includes you."

Taylar looks at all the NPCs hoping they are paying attention to what she is saying. This is exactly what they need those from Nazarick to do. They need to come up with some of their own ideas instead of just blindly listening to everything her and Ainz say.

"You used the lesson that Ainz taught all of you with the Lizardmen to your advantage. Using your strength to get them to listen then showing them compassion and kindness by offering a place of safety. You even used that same lesson so that they would follow Enri without question. We have a lot more to do today still but I want you to come to talk to me tomorrow morning after you have awakened. I have some things I would like to discuss with you." Taylar finally finishes

"Of course Lady Taylar, it would be my honor." Lupus Regina replies to her

Taylar gives Lupus Regina a final pat on the shoulders then makes her way towards her seat. She had to stop for a moment when she passed by Rubedo and saw the three roses that were woven into the braid in her hair.

There was a white one, a gold one, and a green one. She was kind of surprised she would be wearing them like that. She obviously knew where she got them from but Rubedo didn't seem like the type to want to wear flowers in her hair. She couldn't help but ask.

"I like the roses in your hair Rubedo. I'm just a little surprised to see them there."

"Thank you Lady Taylar. They are very beautiful. I'm glad to have received them." Rubedo says to her but never actually looks at her. Taylar did notice the reddening of her cheeks. She almost looked embarrassed, to be honest.

"Please mother, I had to almost threaten Rubedo for her to allow me to put them in her hair. I could only take so many 'I can't show off my gift from Lord Ainz in front of everyone' or 'I'm the godslayer, how are people suppose to fear me when I have pretty roses in my hair?'. The guardians are just too stubborn sometimes." Aureole says to Taylar.

The looks on everyone's faces changed dramatically during Aureole's short speech. Everyone else in the conference room sat wide-eyed with this new information. Only Rubedo, Taylar, Albedo, and Ainz knew that those roses came from Ainz. It only made Rubedo even more embarrassed and red. No one had ever seen the godslayer show much emotion let alone blush, it was almost overwhelming.

"Well, I like wearing mine in my hair also. Aureole put mine in as well."

Taylar pulls her braid from behind her back and wings and shows it to Rubedo. There are three roses in her braid like she said but they are all so light blue they almost look white. There seems to be a light mist or something radiating from them as they all look at them.

"Ice roses from the fifth floor. They are my favorite in Nazarick. They emit a nice cool aura that feels lovely on my wings. Cocytus is kind enough to keep them alive for me when I must leave them behind. I'm surprised I don't see Albedo's crimson and black roses in her hair. She usually never parts with them." Taylar says looks towards Albedo at the end and gives a little giggle.

Even before they started putting them in their hair, Albedo would carry the bouquet around with her. It seemed she didn't want to let them out of her sight for a moment. It was strange to see her without at least one of the roses.

"Oh, I am turning mine into a crown as you suggested Taylar and I don't want to wear it until it is perfect." Albedo responds to her this cause Taylar to giggle again as she makes her way to her seat.

"It seems roses from Lord Ainz are a sacred treasure in this place." Taylar says as she giggles and sits down next to Ainz.

Ainz would like nothing more than to deny such a thing but the look on everyone's face says otherwise. He certainly wasn't going to tell Taylar he made Albedo put the two she brought with her in her inventory until the meeting was over. So instead of rolling his eyes at Taylar's statement, he just tries to push the reason for them being here forward.

"Everyone knows why we are here today so let's get started. Aureole, how is our schedule looking?" Ainz asks her but before she can respond. Demiurge interrupts her.

"My lord, surely the last two supreme beings cannot go alo-"

Demiurge never got to finish his statement when he saw Lord Ainz turn his head and fix him with a glare. He had never felt fear in his entire existence. It made sense, arch-devils are immune to fear, but Demiurge was certain this is what being terrified felt like.

It looked as if his lord was about to pull out his ridiculously terrifying scythe and cut him down with it so he didn't have to waste the time to resurrect Demiurge. The thought made him shiver in his seat and look down at the table to avert his eyes from his great lord.

"For the last time, we will be fine. No one will speak of this again, do you understand me?" Ainz says and looks at everyone present in the conference room.

Having to give them the same instructions five, six, seven, or more times was getting quite frustrating. He understood they were concerned with their safety, but they were all in here for the information briefing. They should be well at ease that nothing in either kingdom can hurt them and there will be eight-edged assassins and shadow demons just in case.

"Yes my lord!" everyone in the room echoes to him.

"Very good, now, Aureole, please continue..." Ainz says to her

Aureole brings up four scrying windows for everyone in the room to view. The top left shows Emperor Jircniv and his advisers, the bottom left shows the courtyard outside his terrace and the two hundred soldiers occupying it. The top right shows King Ramposa III and his court getting ready to start their session, and finally at the bottom right was Gazef Stronoff. He was getting ready to leave his house and head towards the palace.

"As you can see father, we are right on schedule. Mother should finish before the Warrior Captain makes it to the conference room so we can time your arrival perfectly." Aureole tells Ainz.

"That just leaves Taylar. Are you ready?" Ainz says as he turns towards Taylar.

"You bet!" she gets up from her seat, says her goodbyes, and turns to Yuri. "Is the room I requested ready Yuri?"

"It is, Lady Taylar." Yuri replies

Ainz had already opened a Gate with the staff and cast his suffering clouds spell while Taylar was talking to Yuri. By the time she was done, it was time for her to step through her Gate to her destination.

Baharuth Empire, Imperial Palace...

Emperor Jircniv was starting to get frustrated, and for the first time they can ever remember, his advisers could tell. The usually calm and collected Emperor could not figure out his next move against this Ainz Ooal Gown. It made matters even worse not knowing what this being knew or anything about him other than his appearance. Even that wasn't so clear to him.

The adventurers they had dispatched as security had returned after the agreed-upon three days, but not a single worker had returned with them. All they knew was that everyone who entered the tomb never returned.

The Emperor had dispatched scouts to watch the surrounding area just in case a worker happened to stumble out, but even the scouts had disappeared. Fluder was absolutely no use in tracking down anything he asked for with magic.

For the first time, he can ever remember, Emperor Jircniv was at a complete loss. He had no clever plan in his mind he was working through. Nothing was coming to mind at all, and it made a sense of dread start to overwhelm him.

How could he already be outsmarted by this Ainz Ooal Gown? Was that truly what was going on? He had never met anyone he could not read or bend to his will. At the very least, he could always outsmart his opponents, but this seemed an insurmountable task at the moment.

"Well, does anyone else have any ideas?" the Emperor asks his advisers.

After the last debacle with the scouts, the Emperor had decided to bring in a few trusted advisers to see if they had other ideas. He knew the likelihood of such a thing was minuscule, but at this stage, it was necessary.

"Your majesty, perhaps the scouts are simply still waiting and that is why we haven't heard anything back from them?" one of them say to him.

"That is highly doubtful, they were given strict instructions to return here after a few days. They should have arrived two days ago. It is more than likely they have also been captured or killed. If that is the case, this Ainz Ooal Gown more than likely knows it was I who sent the scouts at the very least. It wouldn't surprise me if he has already figured out that we sent the workers as well." the Emperor says to him

If Ainz Ooal Gown had figured out he was the one who sent the workers and not the Earl he had set up for the fall, that could be a serious problem. Instead of an unruly noble who simply overstepped without the Emperor's knowledge, Ainz Ooal Gown could consider this an invasion by his empire. That could lead to a war with a being whom he has no idea the strength of. While he had the best-trained military in the world, he had no idea what kind of army Ainz Ooal Gown could muster. The unknown factor made him ill at ease with the future.

"Perhaps we should send an emissary instead of scouts and workers. I will voluntee-" Fluder is cut off by the Emperor before he can finish.

"For the last time, you are not going gramps. You are the last person I can afford to lose if this Ainz Ooal Gown turns hostile. You may be the only person in this world who can defeat him. I can't risk him getting you, stop suggesting it. YOU. ARE. NOT. GOING!"

Fluder simply nods his head to that. In truth, he knew the Emperor wouldn't let him go. He thought suggesting it in front of new advisers might sway some of them to side with him but none spoke up. He simply wanted to see his master again. It had been too long in his opinion, and Fluder had many questions about the book he was translating.

They spent some more time trying to come up with the next step. The Emperor started to think that maybe bringing more people in was the wrong idea. Each suggestion was more idiotic than the next and it was starting to give him a headache. It was during the most ridiculous one of them all that they were interrupted.

"Why don't we just mobilize the army and invade before he ca-"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE?!" everyone at the meeting hears one of the guards on the terrace yell. Before the Emperor can get up to see what he is talking about, he hears them.

"WE CARRY A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPREME ONE. YOUR EMPEROR HAS SENT INVADERS INTO OUR HOME, AND HE SHALL ANSWER FOR HIS CRIMES. PREPARE TO RECEIVE OUR EMISSARY OR FACE HIS DIVINE WRATH!"

Emperor Jircniv had made it out the door to the terrace when the first sentence had finished. He looked up towards where he heard the message being relayed and terror seized him. He saw black clouds made of tortured looking faces scream down a message all across Arwinter. There was no doubt everyone in the whole city could hear what these messengers were saying.

Everyone was so focused on the messengers in the sky that no one saw the Gate open in the courtyard. Nor did they notice an angel stepping out of the Gate right into the middle of the courtyard. Everyone was still staring up at the sky dumbfounded when the messengers simply vanished into thin air, and then they heard her. The softest, most beautiful voice any of them had ever heard but you could hear the superiority and power in the voice none the less.

"I am the Exalted Queen of Nazarick, Taylar Ooal Gown. I am here to discuss terms with your Emperor. Lead the way to him." she says to the soldiers in the courtyard.

'Demon Queen of Nazarick fits Albedo perfectly but I'm not too fond of Angel Queen or Angelic Queen of Nazarick for me. I'll stick with Exalted Queen.' Taylar thinks while she is watching the soldiers after her introduction.

The soldiers in the courtyard did not lead her to the Emperor. Instead, they encircled her and pointed their spears towards her. They were still a good thirty or so feet away so it wasn't like they could attack her. Their weapons wouldn't do anything to her anyway but it was the gesture that mattered here.

One of the soldiers seemed to be standing in front of the rest and unlike the others, he had two shields with him. She guessed he was the leader of this little band and decided to address him directly.

"So this is how you welcome an emissary and Queen here in the Empire?" she asks the very serious-looking man.

He doesn't say a word to her. He just bangs his two shields together and then slams them into the ground. It kind of looks like he is taking a defensive stance before a fight breaks out. Taylar wants to roll her eyes at these idiots. I mean, can't they see I'm an angel? Do they really think they can hurt or even detain me?

'Oh well, I gave them their chance, now I'm pissed.' she thinks to herself

"Very well, I do not take threats lightly. You shall pay for yours."

Taylar reaches her hand out and a black void materializes that she reaches into. The moment her hand starts to disappear, white and blue magic runes start circling around her, spinning at a rapid pace.

She draws her hand back out and it is holding a clear hourglass-shaped vial with a green liquid in it. She looks at the man with two shields and sets the range to only include those in the courtyard. Taylar then crushes the hourglass, the magic runes shatter, and she casts her spell.

*SUPER TIER MAGIC - DAMNATION*

Crimson and black flames erupt on the ground around every soldier in the courtyard. The once stone ground beneath their feet was now nothing but pitch-black darkness. Many of them tried to move from their spots but found their feet rooted to the ground. Just as the panic was about to set in, sheer terror gripped all their hearts.

Coming up from out of the darkness were red, scaly arms. The size of the muscles on the arms looked like they could tear someone in half. At the end of the long, slender fingers were black nails that looked more like talons than nails.

Everyone in the courtyard and those watching from above all began to tremble. Then, the arms grasped everyone encircled by fire and dragged them down into the darkness. Their screams echoed across the courtyard until they disappeared along with the rings that were in the courtyard.

'That looked a lot cooler than it did in the game!' Taylar thought to herself before looking up at the terrace.

She could see the fear in everyone's eyes. She knew they all wanted to run away but were so scared they couldn't even move. Only Fluder wasn't terrified, it looked as if he had just seen a miracle. Tears were coming down his face and he looked much like he did the moment he saw their magic power.

She finally locked eyes with the Emperor and opened her wings. Taylar jumped off the ground and batted her wings until she was floating just above everyone on the terrace. She wanted them to know she was looking down on them before she continued.

"Out of courtesy and protocol I came to speak with you first." she says as she points to the Emperor. "But since I was greeted with threats, you will wait your turn. There is someone here I would rather speak with first."

Taylar flaps her wings and lands on the terrace where everyone is standing. No one moves a muscle other than to follow where she is walking to. It is so quiet, it doesn't even seem as if anyone is breathing. The only thing to remind them that time is passing is the sound of heels clinking off the ground as Taylar moves.

Leinas Rockbruise didn't know what today would bring but what was happening now would have never thought to cross her mind. She had heard plenty of men tell women they looked as beautiful as an angel. It always made her click her tongue in annoyance since they were always directed at others and never her. She used to receive such words when she was considered beautiful, but this damn curse took all that away from her.

She doubts any man present would say that line ever again after seeing how beautiful an angel truly was. Even she couldn't bring herself to be envious of how beautiful this woman, no angel, was. Right now, it was even more difficult for her to do such a thing even if she wanted to.

First, she was still incredibly terrified of what she just witnessed this angel do. She had taken care of two hundred of the best soldiers in the Empire in seconds without really doing much of anything but casting one spell.

Secondly, said angel was walking directly towards her and didn't seem to be looking anywhere but right at her. It was incredibly unnerving, and if what she just said was true, she came here to speak to her really and not the Emperor.

She would have normally muttered some prayer to any god to hope it was something good, but she had the thought that maybe God was about to tell her instead. This angel definitely gave off a divine aura so it wasn't out of the question.

"Leinas, I hear you wish for something?" Taylar says to her when she stops just an arms reach away from her.

"Y-Y-You heard... my prayers?" Leinas can't believe someone not only heard her but came to help.

'Can't tell her I heard her doing it through Aureole's scrying window. I have been able to hear Ashryn's prayers since I named her my High Priestess. Seems like I can use that excuse so I'm not truly lying that I can hear prayers.' Taylar thinks before giving her answer.

"I hear those that are not only worthy but offer something worthy in return. You will serve me if I restore your beauty and lift your curse, correct?"

"I shall serve you until this body is used up or you have no more use of me. If you can lift my curse, goddess." For the first time, someone on the terrace moved and it was Leinas falling down on both knees in front of Taylar.

Taylar extends her left hand out and puts her fingers against the hair hiding Leinas' curse. She sees her flinch but Taylar's smile never falters. She brushes the hair out of her face and tucks it behind her ear. Leinas looks like she wants to hide but Taylar just keeps her smile plastered on her face. She knows a smile might not be enough so she adds some words of encouragement as well.

"You are still beautiful you know."

Once she can see it fully, she understands why Leinas would choose to keep it hidden. It truly is a hideous curse. The untouched side of Leinas' face is beautiful. Taylar knows without this curse she will be quite the catch for anyone.

The cursed side, on the other hand, it distorted the symmetry of her face along with adding scabs that seemed to leak a yellow puss. Taylar wanted to do this so that everyone believed it was nothing but her power removing the curse and not a spell she cast. She moved her hand back in front of Leinas' bad eye and cast her spell before she started.

*[SILENT] - REMOVE CURSE*

As soon as she finished, Taylar slowly put her hand against Leinas' eye and began to slide her hand across her face. To everyone present, it looked as if she was wiping away her curse with her hand.

When Taylar had finished by moving her hand over her ear, Leinas looked the same on both sides of her face. Taylar was certainly right, Leinas was a beauty. Without the curse on her and her hair pulled back from her face, she looked amazing.

Leinas lifted her hand up to her face to feel where the curse was. She felt relief the moment this goddess put her hand in front of her eye but feeling it with her own hand was completely different. Her goddess took her chin and turned it towards the glass doors of the terrace.

"Have a look, Leinas." Taylar says as she shows Leinas her reflection in the glass.

Leinas couldn't help but begin to cry as she saw her reflection. Her curse was indeed gone and she looked like a normal woman again. The thought of having it gone forever made her want to hug this goddess, or kiss her feet, or something. She wasn't quite sure what the proper response would be. She would serve her loyally for as long as she could. That would be a good start to thank her.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" is all she can really get out at the moment.

"You deserve it, Leinas." Taylar grabs her shoulders and gets her to stand. "Now, I have one more thing to handle before we can depart." Taylar says as she turns towards the Emperor and pulls out a scroll. He wasn't very far away from Leinas, to begin with, and she is kind of surprised none of his guards stopped her from getting this close.

"I probably shouldn't have expected much from the man who sent people to steal from my home, but even you disappointed me. Apparently, you don't teach your soldiers how to act around a foreign Queen." she tosses the scroll at him then continues.

"Those were the terms I talked my husband into giving you. He wanted to come to lay waste to your entire capital but I talked him into some pretty favorable terms considering what you did. Now that you have threatened my safety, these terms are void. We shall deliver our final terms on the Katze Plains. If you do not agree, we will have war." Taylar finishes and starts to turn away from the Emperor.

"I am sor-" Jircniv is cut off before he can really even start.

"I'm not interested in your apologies. Save it for our next talk. Let's go Leinas." Taylar says as she turns towards Leinas, opens a Gate, to everyone's amazement, and motions Leinas to walk through in front of her.

As they disappear into the void of purple and black, the Gate does not close for some reason. After just a few moments, something comes back out of the Gate and makes a thunk, thunk noise as it hits the ground. Everyone looks down to see the armor Leinas was wearing sitting on the ground right as the Gate closes.

Even now with that angel gone, no one can figure out what to say and they all stand there in complete silence at the events that just unfolded. The only noise to be heard is the Emperor unrolling a scroll.

Front gate, Re-Estize capital...

As far as exciting jobs in the Re-Estize military, gate duty was actually one of the more exciting ones. You rarely had to draw your weapon or fight at all but there was always something to do during this shift.

The number of people who filed through here on a daily basis was pretty staggering. Today would turn out to be the most exciting one Gerry had ever had. He had the easy job today, making sure everyone stayed in line and made their way forward for inspection when called.

He was currently looking down the line to make sure there were no problems when he spotted something drawing closer in the sky down the road. At first, it looked like a bird and he didn't pay much attention to it but the longer he looked down the line, the larger it got.

By the time he was truly focusing on it, it was only a few hundred feet away and he could tell it was no bird. The wingspan had to be around ten feet, but the feathers were jet black. The only bird he had ever seen with feathers that black where ravens and ravens did not get that big.

It wasn't until the being turned his wings over to float towards the ground that he noticed it looked like a man with black wings. He had no idea how to react towards this. His first assumption would be an angel but angels didn't have black wings, they had white wings.

As Ainz touched down at the back of the line, he looked ahead to see how far back he was. There really were a lot of people trying to get in the capital right now. He looked back to where he was standing and noticed the person in front of him hand stepped to the side and just stared at him.

The man looked to be in his thirties maybe and he just stared at Ainz like he was an alien from some other planet. I guess technically that could be considered true, but it was still awkward. He turned back to see if the line had moved and noticed just about everyone was staring at him now.

Ainz figured he would get some looks being a heteromorph but this was a little over the top even by his estimation. He had a feeling Taylar was trying very hard not to laugh her ass off as she watched this.

As he started walking forward, everyone seemed to just move out of his way and let him pass. He took advantage of this so he didn't have to wait in line and slowly made his way towards the front gate. There was not a single person who didn't move out of his way and he was in front of the line staring at a bunch of guards pretty quickly.

"S-S-State your b-b-business in the c-c-capital please!" a very nervous guard finally squeaked out of his mouth.

"I am the Exalted King of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown and I have come for an audience with King Ramposa III." he tells the ridiculously nervous guys he is talking to.

"I c-c-can't just l-l-let you in to s-s-see the k-k-king!" he squeaks out.

"Hmm, well, that might be troublesome. I did make the journey all the way here. What if I could have someone vouch for me who knows both myself and the king? He is a citizen of this country." Ainz asks the man.

The guard can't even really comprehend what Ainz is saying. All he knows is someone will vouch for him that knows the king he will let him in, but not until then for sure.

"W-W-We can send a r-r-runner to get this p-p-person." he says to Ainz

"Oh no need, I'll bring him." Ainz says.

(Aureole, bring him to me.)

(Yes, father.)

Gazef Stronoff was about to make the last bend into the hallway towards the conference room when all of a sudden, he was staring at the front gate and a lot of very nervous looking guards. Before he could ask what the hell just happened, someone spoke from beside him.

"It has been a while Warrior Captain."

Gazef turns his eyes to the right and sees someone he definitely was not expecting to see today or ever again really. He was staring into the ruby-red eyes of Ainz Ooal Gown. The Master of Death he encountered in Carne Village. The blood-red tunic, black pants, and white robe he was wearing were in complete contrast to what he was wearing last time he encountered this man.

He may have been wearing a mask last time they met but there was no mistaking those eyes or that aura he could feel. He was still grateful to the man for saving that village and then his own life. Unfortunately, if he was here, it probably couldn't be anything good.

"Master Gown, it is an honor to see you again. You look quite different from the last time I saw you. To what do I owe the honor?" Gazef asks him

"You can thank my Queens for the getup." Ainz chuckles. "If I had it my way, I'd never take off my armor, but that is another discussion altogether. I wish to have an audience with your king to discuss a few things but your guards didn't seem to want to let me in. They seemed to be ok with the idea of someone who knew the king vouching for me before I entered so I had you brought to me to clear up this misunderstanding." Ainz tells Gazef.

"I was unaware you had an audience with the king or I would have met you when you arrived, Master Gown." Gazef replies. He doesn't remember the king saying anything about an audience with Ainz Ooal Gown any day let alone today.

"I don't have an appointment but kings are busy as I'm sure you are aware. I have the time now to discuss what is needed for the future so I came to speak with him." Ainz turns towards the gate guards. "I assume having the Warrior Captain vouch for me will allow me entry to your fine city?" They all look at Gazef and he just gives a little nod.

"Excellent! I appreciate your vigilance in protecting your capital. Good day gentlemen." Ainz says and starts walking forward. Gazef follows him on instinct alone wondering what Master Gown has to say to the king. They only take a few steps before Ainz asks.

"Would it be alright to walk through town? I noticed the ones at the gate didn't have the greatest reaction to me. Perhaps I should teleport us to the palace so I don't frighten your people?"

"I-I-If you can teleport us both that would probably be best." Gazef finally says after thinking for a few moments.

The next thing he knew, he was right back in the hallway he had just left a moment ago. Considering Master Gown had teleported him and every single one of his soldiers at the same time, he shouldn't be surprised.

"Master Gown, can you please wait out here while I inform his majesty you are here to speak with him?" Gazef asks Ainz when they get closer to the doors.

"That's fine as long as you don't have me waiting too long." he replies

"Thank you Master Gown, I shall see to it that it doesn't take long." Gazef says and reaches for the doorknob but stops in his tracks at the sound of Ainz voice.

"Oh and Gazef. If you are to introduce me, it is Exalted King of Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown. I'll spare you all the other titles for a future, more formal meeting." he says with a smile.

"O-Of course, your highness." Gazef stutters out after the glare that Ainz gave him. Ainz just tries to play it off with a wave and friendly smile but that murderous look in his eyes never really leaves Gazef's mind.

Ainz watched Gazef disappear behind the door and shut it behind him. The reaction to him being on the other side of the door was funny. He heard the silent shock that overtook them then they essentially had the same conversation they had when Gazef first briefed them on his encounter with Ainz.

The nobles were calling Gazef a traitor, Ainz ally, and in league to overthrow the king. Most of the others were ranting about Ainz owing them for living in their country. It was like listening to a rerun since he had watched this conversation with Aureole.

After only a few minutes, Gazef reappeared and let him know they were ready to speak with him. Ainz thought on the conversation as the herald announced him to the assembly of nobles. He found it funny that Gazef was the noblest person here yet he was the one born a commoner. He hoped the king was worth all of Gazef's loyalty, but his silence while he was being accused of all that led Ainz to believe it wasn't going to be so.

When he finally caught sight of the king, he understood now. The man was old and he looked it. He never looked so old in the scrying windows. It seems the man has just lost too many years to ruling and can't do it anymore. Ainz hopes that isn't him someday. Doesn't look like this king has a Taylar or Albedo to keep him on his toes though.

"King Ramposa III, it is nice to finally make your acquaintance." Ainz says as he makes it to the front of the throne. He does not bow, kneel, or even twitch. He just stares right at him.

"You as well, King Ainz Ooal Gown. I want to thank you personally for saving our Warrior Captain." Ramposa says to Ainz.

"It was no trouble. The Warrior Captain is the noblest person I've met from your kingdom. Kind of ironic he was born a commoner, don't you think?" Ainz says.

"The Warrior Captain indeed has a noble spirit." Ramposa says to Ainz.

"Enough of our mutual admiration for the Warrior Captain. I know how little time a king has in a day so I will make my reason for being here quick. I am here to help you." Ainz states.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Ramposa asks

"Your kingdom is obviously too weak to protect all of its citizens or I wouldn't have had to step in and save some of your villages while you let others burn. If I had not shown up in Carne and stopped your attackers, the Warrior Captain would have been late to every village. So with that being said..."

Ainz walks back to the wall behind him where there is a large map of the known world. He starts to show them the area he will be claiming as he explains it.

"Starting where your border is with the Dwarven Kingdom at the Azerlisia Mountains and follow that straight south until it reaches the end of your border with the Katze Plains. Then everything east of that, that you consider your territory will be mine. It isn't a very big piece of your land but I believe I'm making a generous concession here all things considered."

"YOU BELIEVE TAKING OUR LAND AND THE CITY OF E-RANTEL ALONG WITH COUNTLESS FARMLANDS IS YOU BEING CONSIDERATE?!"

"YOUR OUT OF YOUR MIND IF YOU THINK WE WOULD JUST GIVE THAT LAND TO YOU, MONSTER!"

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE BARGING IN HERE AND DEMANDING SUCH NONSENSE?!"

"YOU SHOULD BE THANKING US AND PAYING TO STAY ON OUR LAND, YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!"

Ainz listened to them yell, rant, and rave for a while waiting for the King to step in and stop them but he just sat there listening to them all. The man had no fucking spine in Ainz opinion. No wonder this Kingdom was falling apart, the King couldn't handle anything on his own or didn't want to.

This realization was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing would be, they would never agree to his terms because of all the infighting and after he demolished them on the Katze Plain he could install the ruler of his choosing. The curse part would be how big of a pain in the ass it would be to get this country into shape.

After they yelled for a bit and Ainz saw the King do nothing to stop it, he had enough and put an end to it quickly so he didn't have to listen to these sheep speak anymore. There was no sense in silencing this spell. Ainz wanted them all to know just how much control he had over magic.

*SILENCE*

Ainz didn't yell his spell but he said it loud enough that everyone could hear him. He could see the nobles still yelling like little children but no sound was coming out of their mouths. The king looked downright shocked that he couldn't hear anything coming from their mouths.

"Don't worry, they will be permitted to speak again when I feel like it. You truly have no control over your country do you King Ramposa? You are the king here so what do you say to my proposal?" Ainz asks him.

He can see most of the nobles realized they weren't making any noise and just listened. Some though were still screaming and making no noise. It was quite amusing.

"I cannot just give you part of my kingdom, it would make me look weak and vulnerable." Ramposa says to Ainz.

"First, it is not your country to give away." Ainz reaches into his inventory and pulls out a map that looks exactly like the one on the wall.

There are three distinct colors on the map. Most of the map is colored in red. The red encompasses the entirety of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Dwarven Kingdom, Slaine Theocracy, Katze Plains, Baharuth Empire, and the Draconic Kingdom. There is an area that is blue where the Roble Holy Kingdom currently resides and an area in green where the Argland Council Alliance is currently. He can't read any of the symbols on the map, the king assumes it is some language he cannot read.

"Judging from what I've learned of your history, this map should be a little over two thousand years old. Now, the area in red. That is my former Kingdom. I turned it over to others so I could spend time in my home but it appears that no matter how much preparation and guidance I give to rulers, they all have one fatal flaw. They have lifespans. My teachings were lost, forgotten, or just discarded in favor of greed, ambition, and self-gain. The only time they weren't trying to kill each other is when they had to band together to hold off an even bigger threat. When that threat was over, they went right back to killing each other. I see now that I can no longer trust peace to mortals and my Queens and I must oversee it ourselves." Ainz says as he looks at everyone in the room. He wanted the BS that he was well over two thousand years old to sink in before he continued.

"Second, and maybe most important, you are weak and vulnerable. The Slaine Theocracy's troops walked right into your country and slaughtered your commoners at their leisure until I stepped in. You, King Ramposa, can't even control your court of nobles from fighting like children. You say it will show you are weak to give me back what is mine? I say you are already weak and vulnerable and you should be grateful I am giving you such a generous offer. So what do you say?" Ainz finishes and asks the king.

"I would like to discuss it amongst ourselves if that is alright with you?" Ramposa asks Ainz.

"I don't see what there is to discuss but sure. I think one minute should be sufficient time to come to an agreement. I'll even drop the silence so you can decide." Ainz snaps his fingers when he finishes and the one noble who was still yelling could be heard. He stopped immediately when Ainz glared at him and he almost shit his pants.

"I don't think one minu-"

"fifty-five seconds, fifty-four, fifty-three, fifty-two..." Ainz starts counting down to interrupt the nonsense that the king was about to say.

There should be no debate, his offer is more than generous considering what he did for this Kingdom. The entire time he is counting, he just hears them bickering and some downright insulting him. Killing them would be too easy but he knew these nobles would be on the battlefield when it came to that so he could wait and revel in their downfall instead of ending it quickly during a 'friendly' talk.

"Alright, time is up. What is your decision?" Ainz asks.

"We cannot come to an agreement between ourselves if we had some more time mayb-"

"I told you, you had a minute. It boggles my mind why you are unwilling to accept such a deal but that is your decision. Very well then, this scroll is for you." Ainz says as he reaches into his robe and pulls out a scroll before throwing it to the king.

"What does it say?" Ramposa asks

"I simply wish for you to remember how generous I was when I came here. I will bring my final offer to you on the Katze Plains, it will not be nearly as generous as this one. If you refuse my new offer. I will declare war and take back everything that is mine." Ainz says.

Before anyone can even respond, he disappears from the room. Everyone in the room started to yell, different emotions coming from each of them panic, hate, rage, and in the case of Gazef Stronoff, dread.

Nazarick, Cherry Blossom Sanctuary, A week later...

Ainz stood on the raised dais set up between the rows of Sakura Trees on the 8th floor of Nazarick. He had no idea why but he was incredibly nervous. It didn't make sense to him but that was what he was feeling at this moment.

He had no reason to be nervous. He didn't believe for a moment Taylar or Albedo wouldn't show up, but the feeling was with him none the less. He wondered if every man who was about to get married felt like this.

He wasn't just nervous though, he was also excited. If he was being honest with himself, he was happy to be marrying both of them. He knew a ceremony wasn't necessary but it would be a good way for everyone in Nazarick to celebrate.

He'd be lying if he didn't admit he wanted to see both Taylar and Albedo in a wedding dress. He had no idea what their dresses looked like. Albedo had made them for herself and Taylar, and Ainz wasn't allowed to see them.

It was fine with him that he couldn't see them. He would be laying eyes on them soon anyway. It seemed rather fitting also since they were combining different wedding ceremonies and making one that was unique to them.

They would be in traditional Western wedding attire, and they would be exchanging rings. But they were also going to drink sake from three sacred vessels and not partake in gift exchanging like a traditional Japanese Wedding.

There would be no exchanging of vows though. Well, there would be but not in the traditional wedding sense. This part was going to be completely unique to them as really only Ainz was swearing a vow.

Ainz supposed it wasn't a vow per se. It was more like an oath, I guess would be a better word. While he would do the majority of the talking, all three of them would be taking it, and they had their parts as well so it wasn't like Ainz just rambling up there by himself.

Ainz was also already in the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary greeting those that were arriving for the ceremony. He couldn't remember if this was a tradition from some culture but if not, this would be unique for them also.

He watched as everyone continued to enter, give him a bow, then walk to where they were going to stand. They had to tell everyone three times not to kneel when they entered. It would have taken too damn long if everyone did it as they entered.

There weren't any surprises in the groups as they filed in. Everyone came as he pretty much expected, the groups of homunculi maids were grouped almost as they had them for their training. It made sense they would get closer sharing the same schedule and training.

It almost looked like a high school lunchroom with the groups gathering together. The one difference it seemed was everyone was getting along great. There was one group of maids who seemed more popular than the others but Ainz knew the reason for that. That was the group of maids who were the first to take levels in a class other than maid.

Ironically, or maybe it was fate or destiny, Cixous the maid who was another likeness of Taylar from a different game she voiced was not only in this group, but also had chosen to become a Miko priestess as her class. Ainz had the feeling her choice of class would finally get one of the guardians to guess right in their game with Taylar. Only Mare had tried so far and he did not guess Cixous.

The first pairing that made him want to laugh was Lupus Regina and Nemu. While he knew why they were together today, it was still fun watching a sadistic werewolf happily chat with a ten-year-old human. Solution even seemed to join the conversation and it made the scene all that more bizarre. A werewolf, a slime, and a human... that sounded like the start of a terrible joke to Ainz.

Seeing Enri and Peter together was a sight. It seemed Taylar's plan was working and rather quickly. Peter was wearing black boots and trousers with a black, red, and white tunic. The Swords of Darkness had proclaimed those as the colors of Nazarick due to Ainz black armor, Taylar's red dress, and Albedo's white dress. It was pretty sound logic so he rolled with it.

The dress Enri was wearing was quite nice and looked great on her. It was a darker blue color very similar to the one she wore to dinner. The difference was that it was not lace. Her arms and shoulders were bare, the top was secured around her neck, and it flowed down almost to the floor. There was a V cut down towards her cleavage but it was narrow enough to show off next to nothing. There seemed to be jewels in the chest portion of her dress but once the dress went down past her chest, it was smooth as velvet the rest of the way down.

It hugged her curves pretty tight until it reached the bottom of her hips then flowed down for easy movement. There was a slit that went up past mid-thigh but it was a little daring on Enri's part. It wasn't that it was super high, it was the position. Instead of the side like a normal one would be, this one was more center-left. It showed off quite the amount of leg when she stepped with her left leg.

As the rest made their way into the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary, Ainz was starting to get a little impatient. He should have realized inviting just about all of Nazarick would mean an incredibly long line of people. He was simply waiting for the last group to come in so he would know it was time to start.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Ainz, Aureole, Claire, Rubedo, and Yuri made their way to the eighth floor and Ainz knew it was finally time to start. He greeted all four of them, and Ainz and Aureole made their way to the dais to wait for Taylar and Albedo to come through.

It didn't take long for Ainz to sense the Gate open on the other side of the doors. Uka-no-Mitamas and Oothoshis, Aureole's guards, must have sensed it as well, and they opened the doors to the sanctuary.

When Ainz laid eyes on what was beyond the door, his eyes went wide and he froze. It seemed time ceased to exist at that moment for him. He wasn't even sure if his heart was beating or if he was breathing.

He was acutely aware of the otherworldly like beauty Taylar and Albedo possessed. He knew every inch of them by now. As most husbands would know every birthmark and imperfection of their wife, Taylar and Albedo had no such marks. Both of them were pure perfection, but they somehow seemed even more beautiful than he ever thought possible.

Ainz knew Albedo would make beautiful dresses, and judging from what they wore normally, they would be a lot sexier looking than most wedding dresses are. That still didn't prepare him for what he saw as Taylar and Albedo walked towards him.

Taylar had her right arm linked with Albedo's left as she made they made their way towards Ainz. They both had a bouquet of flowers they were holding in front of them. Taylar's was made of white and red roses while Albedo's was made of crimson and black. They didn't follow any tradition when it came to makeup, for Taylar and Albedo needed none.

Ainz didn't want them painted up like a Geisha as some Japanese traditions do. He didn't even want makeup as part of it period. Claire obviously would have loved to do it but his Queens needed nothing to enhance their appearance. Seeing them completely natural would be a much lovelier sight than some paint on their faces. He did notice Taylar and Albedo both had their nails painted, he certainly didn't mind that.

Ainz's eyes took in Taylar from her wavy, golden hair, all the way down to her white-painted toenails and silver, jewel-studded heels. The dress she was wearing made Ainz mind go blank.

Taylar's dress had an intricately woven lace pattern that barely covered Taylar's chest. The design looked like a mixture of roses and snowflakes to Ainz. Once the pattern reached barely below her breasts, There were a few snowflakes and a single rose that linked the top of the dress with the bottom but absolutely nothing else.

The same design wasn't present again until where Taylar's belly button would be. The pattern covered up a little more than it needed to then it completely stopped when it reached near the side of her hip. Her flesh was completely exposed for a few inches then the pattern ran up the side of her hip and legs. It reached about halfway up her upper body and halfway down her thighs. Most of her skin was still exposed other than the lace patterns woven into the dress.

Once the dress reached her mid-thigh, the white, see-through fabric that wasn't present above that, flowed out from her body with the design woven into the new fabric. If Ainz had a guess, he would say that only about twenty-five percent of Taylar's body truly had clothing. He wondered if the design of the dress would make it easier or hard to get off. He certainly didn't see any zippers, clasps, or things of such nature.

'I can't wait till later so I can find out!' Ainz thinks to himself as he turns to take in Albedo.

Ainz was dumbstruck by Albedo's dress as well and honestly, couldn't believe hers covered up a significantly larger portion of her body than Taylar's did. It was still heart-stopping as Ainz took it in.

The upper portion of her dress seemed to be made entirely of lace and absolutely nothing else. It seemed Albedo created a corset made of nothing but lace to him. It was tight against her perfect skin and seemed to have a number of geometrical designs in it. It had two straps that came up around her shoulders, also made of lace, that wrapped around the base of her neck to hold it in place while a lace pattern trailed down towards her cleavage almost making the top half look like a heart.

At the bottom of the corset-like top was a small lace trail that connected to the bottom portion. The area of Albedo's dress around her hips looked like lace boy short panties if Ainz was being honest. The upper portion of Albedo's dress almost looked like lingerie to Ainz. Around Albedo's mid-thigh, lace flowed out from her body to form a train just like Taylar's had. It seemed this is where Albedo had put her rose designs in her dress.

With how perfect the lace laid against both of their bodies and complete lack of any kind of fabric other than that on their upper bodies, Ainz had to wonder if everything above both of their mid-thighs wasn't simply painted on, and the only real fabric part of their dresses was from midthigh down.

They made their way to him and Ainz didn't see anyone else's reaction to Taylar and Albedo. It was like he had tunnel vision and nothing else existed at that moment. He could not take in anything around him that was not these two at the moment. When they finally had made their way to him, he continued to stare and just wanted to scoop them both up and run back to their room.

He heard Taylar and Albedo giggle at him and it broke him out of his own little bubble he had created for a little while.

"Perhaps we should get started." Taylar says just above a whisper to him.

The beautiful smile did nothing to hide the mischievous look she gave him. Ainz realized he had been just staring at them and had done nothing. He must have looked awfully ridiculous, like a teenage boy who had never seen a beautiful woman before.

They unlinked their arms and Ainz took each of them by the hand and led them to the top of the dais where Aureole waited for them. They each took a side of the small table and got down on their knees. Ainz was in the center with his back to the crowd. Taylar was kneeling to his left and Albedo on his right. Aureole was standing directly in front of Ainz with a golden pitcher in her hand that kind of resembled a genie lamp.

Aureole began to pour the liquid into the three sacred vessels that were resting on top of the table. Once the vessels were filled each of them took one in hand. At the same time, they each took three sips of the liquid and handed their vessel to the one on their left.

When they had all finally taken three sips of each vessel, all three stood and turned towards the crowd. Ainz was in the center and now Taylar was on his right and Albedo on his left since they had turned around. Taylar and Albedo both took a small step forward and turned to face each other with Ainz in the center still.

Ainz reached into his pocket and pulled out two platinum bands. They looked rather plain from what anyone could tell, just simple platinum bands. Ainz held both up in between his thumb and pointer finger before he spoke.

"Let these rings remind you both of my love and devotion, the place you each hold in my heart, and that we are always bound together."

Ainz does not slip the ring on each of their fingers to take its place with their engagement rings. Instead, he touches the top of each band to the bottom of the rings they are currently wearing. The platinum bands seem to break apart at the bottom and wrap itself around the rings Taylar and Albedo are already wearing.

When it is done, instead of a solid, plain, platinum band that everyone saw, the band around Taylar and Albedo's current rings transformed. The jewels, claws, and stones stayed the same but the band was now fashioned in the likeness of twisting vines adorned with roses.

Taylar and Albedo can't help but admire the new addition to their fingers and lose themselves staring at them for a few seconds. The next part of the ceremony was going to be a surprise for them. Ainz had told them nothing of what he was about to do, and it showed on their faces when he asked them to kneel.

Taylar and Albedo complied but looked at each other in confusion as to what was about to happen. Neither of them saw Rubedo or Lupus Regina coming from behind them holding on to two wooden boxes until they were standing in between both of them.

When Taylar and Albedo saw Rubedo and Lupus Regina standing beside them and open the boxes, they both took a look at what was inside. Neither of them could stop their eyes from widening or the gasp that left both of their mouths.

Sitting inside each box was a crown made of prismatic ore. The band around each crown looked just like the one that now adorned their rings. The band was made of twisted, interlocking vines with roses meticulously craved into them. Rising up from the band were seven snakes, each snake held a jewel in their mouths. The jewels and snakes looked exactly like the top of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, but there was an addition to each of their crowns.

In the center of them was an almost lifelike carving, each one specific to its recipient. Taylar's crown had an angel on it with its wings and arms spread out wide with a small jewel, identical to the one in her ring, where its heart was. Albedo's crown had a demoness in the center with her wings and arms spread wide with a small jewel, identical to her ring, where its heart would be.

Ainz grabbed the crown that Lupus Regina was holding out of the box and turned slightly towards Taylar. She took a moment to look at Ainz as he held the crown over her head and saw the loving smile that he was giving her right now. It made her heart flutter and she couldn't wait for this to be over so they could retire to their chambers for the night. It made her return the smile instantly before Ainz's voice could be heard by all.

"I, Ainz Ooal Gown, hereby crown you, Taylar Ooal Gown, Exalted Queen of Nazarick. Protector, Guide, and Mother of our people from now until the end of time."

Ainz lowered the crown onto Taylar's head and it fit to perfection. Even while she was kneeling, she looked to be the Queen of everything, not just Nazarick. It took every ounce of his willpower to turn away from her ethereal visage to crown Albedo.

Ainz took the crown from the box Rubedo was holding and turned to Albedo. She looked up just as Taylar did and Ainz could see the tears already building in her eyes. She also returned the smile that was on Ainz lips before he continued.

"I, Ainz Ooal Gown, hereby crown you, Albedo Ooal Gown, Demon Queen of Nazarick, Protector, Guide, and Mother of our people from now until the end of time."

Taylar and Albedo had both informed him that they would like to be known as Taylar and Albedo Suzuki and he had agreed but... they also agreed that in front of Nazarick and the world, they would take the name of the guild.

Only Taylar and Albedo knew him as Suzuki Satoru, and no one else in Nazarick, at least not yet. That would change very soon. They would be Taylar Suzuki and Albedo Suzuki in the privacy of their chambers but Taylar Ooal Gown and Albedo Ooal Gown to everyone else.

Ainz had honestly almost cried when they told him they wanted their last names to be his from Earth. He couldn't deny that he wanted the same and when they told him their wishes, he could barely hold it together. They made the compromise with the last name since they had taken liberties with the titles given to them as the Queens of Nazarick.

When the Guardians, Pleiades, and the rest of Nazarick had insisted they simply couldn't just call them King and Queen since they were above such rulers in this world they had all brainstormed ideas on what to call them. After a few funny ones and some that only fit one or two of them, they had agreed to Exalted King and Queen.

They took to calling Taylar, Angel Queen or Angelic Queen of Nazarick and Albedo as Demon Queen of Nazarick. Taylar wasn't very excited about the new name so she stuck with Exalted Queen of Nazarick while Albedo had taken to her new title rather well. Ainz supposed it did fit her perfectly and he had started calling her that before the denizens of Nazarick ever had so he had no complaints about it.

"Rise my Queens and take your oaths as equal rulers of Nazarick and this world."

Taylar and Albedo both stand and turn slightly to face Ainz better. Aureole made her way down the dais and stood beside her father as she passed him the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. Ainz took it in his right hand and held it out in front of him between Taylar and Albedo.

Each of them grabbed the staff with their left hand so their rings were in contact with the staff. As they each grasped the staff with Ainz, he started the final part of the ceremony to make them equal in all things.

"I, Ainz Ooal Gown, Momonga, and Suzuki Satoru, hereby swear that you both shall be my equal in all things. Our power, our hearts, our minds, our lives, and our souls shall be bound together for eternity. This I swear to both of you before our people."

"From this day, until the end of our days." Ainz, Taylar, and Albedo all finish at the same time.

When Ainz finished his oath, he released his power into the staff and everyone but Taylar and Albedo were forced to take a knee. It did not feel like an overwhelming force pushing them down on their knees. No, it felt as if that was the right thing for them to do when his power hit them and covered them like a comforting blanket on a cold winter night.

As soon as the feeling washed over everyone, Taylar and Albedo released their power into the staff to bind it to Ainz's. When their power reached those in attendance, it felt like new layers of protection to all of them. No one could discern one power from the next after just a few moments and it seemed as though their power was now truly mixed together for all time.

Those in the crowd had never seen anything like this before. It truly seemed as if they had somehow become one supreme entity to everyone there. Those created in Nazarick just took this as another sign of the true power of the rulers of Nazarick. Those not from Nazarick, like Enri, Tsuare, Leinas, and the Swords of Darkness, just stared with their jaws almost on the floor.

To think that one being, let alone three, could possess that much power and weave it together for the protection of their people was something most of them didn't think possible or ever thought any ruler would do. They all had this thought as everyone began to stand again.

Ainz released his hold on the staff but Taylar and Albedo did not. Ainz took his hand and put it against Taylar cheek to turn her towards him. He bent down and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. Ainz released Taylar and turned towards Albedo. He did the same exact thing to her then they both released the staff. It hovers in front of all three of them as Aureole steps forward to address all those in attendance.

"All hail the Exalted Rulers of Nazarick!" Aureole shouts to the crowd as everyone bends the knee once more and bows their heads to the monarchs. Even Aureole joined them as much as Ainz did not want her to do that. His daughter should kneel to no one, not even her parents.

Ainz takes Taylar and Albedo's hands and they start making their way down the dais towards the walkway between the crowd. The staff moves with them just a few feet in front of the three of them as they walk forward. As they pass each row, those in attendance rise as they are walked passed. Once Ainz, Taylar, and Albedo make it to the end and everyone is standing once more, a Gate opens in front of them and they proceed through it.

The Gate does not close and soon everyone is filing through the Gate behind Aureole who was the first one through the Gate after the King and Queens. The Rulers of Nazarick wait on the other side much like a congratulations line you would see in a Western wedding after the ceremony.

It took a while for everyone to give their congratulations but they were grateful for everyone coming and stuck it out until the end. Once everyone had made it through, the Gate closed behind them and the wedding reception began. Based on the atmosphere of the party, no one in Nazarick would get very much rest that night.

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And there is chapter 18... I honestly left out a ton of stuff I wanted to add but once again I got lost in dialogue early on and made it much longer than I wanted to... I wanted the next chapter to be the Battle of the Katze Plains and Carne Village but I'm not sure I got everything in this chapter I wanted to before that will happen... I'll try to make the next chapter the two battles but I can't promise it will be... it will be chapter 20 at the latest I promise you... It all depends if I want to add all the things I didn't get to do in this chapter... If it seems as though I'm ignoring certain characters like Nfirea, Brain, etc or rushing a bit it is because they are not very relevant to my story and I'm desperately trying to get to Neia lol... I'm sure some of you are upset about Enri/Nfirea not being a pairing but I like to do things differently... Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I can't wait to see you next chapter!