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

21. Carne, E-Rantel, & A Day With Ainz

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

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Flashback"

{Message}

(Telepathy)

*SPELL/ABILITY/MARTIAL ART*

*[METAMAGIC]*

A/N: A number of my readers had comments/messages about my torture scene so I'm just going to address it in my A/N so I'm not writing the same reply twenty times... For all of you who asked me to write it, I hope you enjoyed it... I don't usually get that detailed into something like that but when so many readers ask for something I can easily deliver on, I will tend to do that most of the time... To everyone who said I shouldn't have put it in or put a warning up... I did put a warning up... right before the chapter begins (after the replies) I put a warning that there would be a torture scene when Lupus Regina circled back around to deal with Prince Barbro... If you simply would have read that, you wouldn't have had to read it and could have skipped it... That is what the warning was for if you skipped over the warning, that would be your fault, not mine... this story is rated M so shit like that will happen occasionally, but I will still put a warning when I do... I personally have no problem writing scenes like that... I have seen some terrible shit in my life and it has dulled my brain and emotions to such things... not only did I visit concentration camps when I was a teenager that still smelled so bad I threw up in my mouth the moment I walked in, I am also a combat veteran of the Iraq war... I have little to no empathy and shit like that doesn't bother me in the slightest... a lot of my readers asked for me to do it, so I did... Once again, I'll probably add scenes like that in the future but I will put up a warning like I did the last chapter when that happens... It will always be in the same location so look for it right above the start of the chapter when the actual story begins and the review replies are done... Ok rant over... review reply time!

rmarcano321: Lupus Regina wasn't really alone in the LN in that part... it is true she was the only member of the Pleiades that was present, but she brought thirty summoned level 43 redcaps with her so she wasn't alone... I just left out the redcaps and added the Pleiades... it should be pretty obvious now that I am having the Pleiades kill just about everything since in my fanfic, anyone not level 100 can gain experience... so the Pleiades have handled just about every monster in my fanfic you can think of and just about all the humans as well

reyagusty: Aureole accepted your pat... reluctantly lol... she doesn't accept praise well so I had to bribe her with Dragon Steak and Chocolate Ice Cream :-)

: Ainz scythe feeds on souls and the more it consumes, the closer it comes to transforming to a new weapon... in my fanfic, it is the same weapon Zesshi has, but Ainz has upgraded it to the point of an almost god-level item because of everything he killed with it in Yggdrasil... Zesshi's is the same scythe but slightly different if you remember from earlier chapters... Ainz got his scythe from a Halloween event and started using it when he gained the class Grim Reaper...Zesshi's scythe is what Ainz's started as... eventually Ainz scythe will transform again and look different, and maybe do different things... you'll have to wait and see for that... the Shadow of Death is not a permanent, he goes back to the Plane of Shadows after Ainz is done killing enough people on the Katze Plains... I didn't forget about the sword/ring Gazef had, but they didn't specify what someone would gain from winning the duel, so Ainz didn't take anything for his victory... as far as release dates go... just add one month to whenever the last update was and that should be about when the next chapter comes out... as I said before, I work and have little time to write fanfic so it takes about that long for me to write a chapter... also I am writing three fanfics right now so trying to do content for all of them spreads me a little thin

lucarioDN: Ainz's scythe does have more powers than just consuming souls but I haven't used any of them yet... no point yet, there has been nothing worthy to use them on... it consumes souls so it can transform (upgrade itself) eventually it will transform again... you'll just have to wait for that to happen to see what it will look like next

raven63827: Glad you like my story and my characters... hopefully I keep you entertained until I am done with this fanfic

Splawheel: see my A/N at the beginning for your response

Eltyr: I'm a man too, and it made me winch a few times while I was writing that scene lol... it wasn't that bad though... I'm glad I didn't keep the whole scene I wrote... some of you might have thrown up if I left the original torture scene I wrote lmao

Buujack: Yep... my new favorite line now! Sasuga Aureole-sama!

Vocah: Me fading to black on the torture scene with the Captain of the Black Scripture is what made so many of my readers request I write a torture scene with Lupus Regina and Prince Barbro so it's ironic you used that as how I should have done the scene with Lupus Regina instead of including the whole torture scene... normally, that is exactly what I would have done, but as I said, a lot of my readers asked for it so I delivered

Chaoseater2010: I know I have only mentioned it here and there, but Albedo and Shalltear's relationship is way better now than it is in the anime/LNs already... it will start to get even better as the story progresses so I hope you enjoy that... I'll probably write a lemon with Ainz and Shalltear since so many want one... well want her in the relationship but I won't add her to it... it should at least placate some people from asking for her to be in it even if the lemon won't actually happen in my main story... glad I could make your day with my new chapter... I hope you enjoy this one just as much even if it isn't as horror/awe-inducing as the last one was :-)

Guest: The Shadow of Death is from no franchise... I made up that spell and creature for this fanfic... it may be a creature from something, but if it is, I have no idea what it is from... As far as I know, I created it... I suppose I did kind of steal the name of the spell from D&D, but the effects are completely different, I just liked the name and the name fit with what I wanted the spell to look like

OechsnerC: Glad you enjoyed the last update for both this fanfic and The Discarded Hero... as I said for my other fanfic, I'm having trouble with content since I've only seen the anime... some people have sent me suggestions so I'll try to update that one as often as I can... My Overlord fanfic takes priority over all my other fanfics for now though so expect this one to be updated more frequently than Familiar of Zero or DanMachi

crot: Neia is by far my favorite NW character, however, there is no chance in hell anyone from the NW will be added to the relationship with Ainz... when the homunculi maids are leaps and bounds more beautiful than the citizens of the NW, there is no way Ainz, or Taylar for that matter, would ever let a NW character into their relationship... I won't lie, I was contemplating on how to put either Lakyus or Calca into it, but in the end, it was just a terrible idea lol... if anything, I'll add the Pleaides members before anyone else... well, after Rubedo is added... you'll see that progress further along in this chapter since I've only hinted at it, I'm making it blatant in this chapter that it is and has been happening as the story is currently going on

DarkAeroSage: It's all good you haven't had time to review. I understand that life happens, if it didn't, I would have much more time to write fanfiction lol. As I told everyone, I left a warning and I will do so in the future if something like that ends up in a chapter. The Emperor was warned similarly in the LN by Mare, but he had the benefit of coming to Nazarick and seeing he couldn't win. That did not happen this time. As in the LN, he would think he could outsmart/plan Ainz and Nazarick until he realized it was useless. The Katze Plains just took the place of Jircniv's trip to Nazarick. What Ainz, Taylar, Albedo, etc do in the Kingdom will be in a future chapter. Pretty sure it will be chapter 22 but I do get carried away when I get into some things so it might be 23 or even 24 depending on what I end up putting in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it and I look forward to your review when you get a chance

Maheshvara10: I'm glad my fanfic is your favorite Overlord one... I hope you enjoy where I take this fanfic in the future

Edgeking666: Not sure if you have read volume 12 or 13 of the LN but Ainz tells the captives in the Holy Kingdom after he kills that child with a fireball that if he were weak, then he would be subject to the whims of those that were stronger to him just like those prisoners were and that is why he always gathers strength, so he never has to be left to the whims of the strong... Ainz is always trying to get stronger and make Nazarick stronger... that alone is enough for him to figure out how to break level cap even if he won't need it in the future

Isekai Cheater23: Great name first of all lol... you will not see what happens in the Re-Estize Kingdom this chapter... that will be next chapter so you'll have to wait until then to find out what goes on with Gazef, King Ramposa, and everyone else from the Re-Estize Kingdom

Claymore47: Climb did get a little more brave after meeting Sebas, but he was still a pushover/pussy even after that so he really didn't change much, he just got a little braver for his mistress... Climb is a complete insignifigant character in Overlord in my opinion so I have wasted no time on him... I know people like Climb (I have no idea why) but you will see almost none of him in my fanfic... I can't stand the puppy and the only reason I even mention him is because I love Princess Renner's character... happy holidays to you as well... they have been kicking my ass (I work for Amazon) that is why I haven't been able to write much and this chapter is posted way later than I wanted it to be... I hope you enjoy it, I rushed the ending of the chapter a bit since I was so far behind my usual release schedule

EchoCraft: Yes I am continuing this story... Holiday season is very busy for me (I work for Amazon) and I've had little time to write between work and family... As I have said before, I already have the epilogue done for this story so I plan on continuing it until the end... As for your other questions, well, lol, can't really answer them or I'd be spoiling the rest of the story

Now that those are done... Next Chapter Time!

---

The clean up on the Katze Plains was well underway and almost completed. All of those from Nazarick had returned safe and sound and were all resting as they earned. Ainz was doing the exact same thing in the most relaxing place he could think of.

The Spa of Nazarick.

It wasn't as if Ainz was sore. He did use almost no teleportation or dimensional moves during the battle, and that had his muscles feeling it a bit. It took nothing to cut through those "soldiers" but it left him feeling it none the less.

Ainz knew from this experience that he needed to stop using teleportation so much and push his body physically more often. Mindlessly wading through humans to massacre shouldn't have him in a soaking tub even if it was barely necessary.

The peace and quiet was nice though. It wasn't often that Ainz found himself alone with absolutely no one around. Not only was he constantly giving orders to those of Nazarick and always being followed by at least one homunculi maid, but he was never far from Taylar or Albedo.

This is how Ainz found himself lounging in a soaker tub on the ninth floor, leaning back, reading a book. He was nearly done reading everything in the Library of Ashurbanipal. There were plenty of books to skip over though so it wasn't like he read every book in the library.

Books on arcane magic, experience tomes, and things of that nature meant nothing to Ainz. He knew all the spells he needed to, and he only had the capacity to learn Super-Tier Spells at this point. Even those would cost a decent amount of experience, and he had already learned one Super-Tier Spell, no need for another yet.

He didn't really see the need to learn any other if he was being honest. He only learned that specific one because of what it did in this world. His mind was full of possibilities when it came to races he could create in this world. Ainz had a lot of plans if people were willing to accept a race change.

There were many races he wished would serve Nazarick. Ideally, some couples would like to be changed to the same heteromorphic or demi-human race and he could let them propagate the population so he would not need to keep casting the spell to create the same race for years on end.

Naztharune was first on that list for Ainz. They were always his favorite race to play, and they were exactly what Ainz needed for a certain aspect of Nazarick. Hanzos were excellent assassins, but they were not good at anything thief/rogue related that didn't involve assassination.

Shadow Demons were the ultimate in intel gathering, but they were complete shit when it came to assassinations. Not only were they way lower level than the Hanzos, but their attacks also were not meant for something like that.

Naztharune, on the other hand, were naturals at assassination, stealth, lock picking, trap disabling, and anything else you could think that would be related to the rogue/thief classes. The best part would be since they weren't summoned, they could level and become even more powerful.

A Naztharune would be somewhere between the power of a Shadow Demon and a Hanzo naturally so he could only imagine what a leveled up Naztharune would be able to do. He always tried to get Nishikienrai to play one in a tabletop game, but he was more interested in VR like everyone else he played Yggdrasil with back then. Based on the Half-Golem assassin he made in Yggdrasil, Ainz knew he would have loved the race if he tried it.

Ainz pushed aside the thought of his friend. He had accepted Taylar's words and realized they did make their choice and they were no longer here. That didn't mean he wouldn't miss Nishi and Blue Planet probably forever.

He tried to focus back on his book but found it difficult. Ainz had been able to retain everything he read in his mind so he made it a point to learn as much as he could. However, reading about government structures, laws, and taxes were yawn-inducing no matter how much someone needed to learn it.

Luckily for Ainz, his ridiculously increased intelligence allowed him to speed read relatively quickly. He sped through the boring material as quickly as he could and he was done with the entire book in just a few minutes.

Ainz was about to put the book back in his inventory when he heard footsteps coming from behind him. It wasn't alarming, a lot of the citizens of Nazarick used the spa after he and Taylar had told them it was open for any of them to use whenever they wished.

Ainz did wonder who was coming. There were not a lot of male members of Nazarick if he thought about it. The women greatly outnumbered the men and it wasn't even close so the list would be pretty short. When he turned, he saw someone he was not expecting.

"Taylar? What are you doing in here?"

"Am I not allowed to spend some time relaxing with my husband?"

"Of course you are, but you know the golem... wait... why hasn't the golem tried to remove you from the men's bath?"

"Oh, I disabled him." Taylar can't help but giggle. "I can't have some metal tin can interrupting my time with my King."

Taylar just winked at him and slid into the water, right onto his lap. She let out a little moan as she finally settled, and it wasn't just from the wonderful feeling of the hot water soaking her muscles. Ainz can't help but shut his eyes and just BE there with Taylar.

"You are going to be the death of me woman."

Ainz mumbled that up toward the ceiling but it was no secret that Taylar would hear him. She just gave him a playful smack, When he finally looked at her, she fluttered her eyelashes and planted an innocent look on her face.

"Whatever do you mean by that, my King?"

Ainz knew that look could get him to do anything. She looked so innocent and beautiful, no one would think she was anything but pure. Ainz knew she certainly wasn't pure, but he still couldn't resist that look. At least she didn't use the Sad Puppy Eyes, it was bad enough she taught Albedo that.

"You, my beautiful Goddess, are impossible to resist. You didn't really come in here just to tease me did you?"

"Of course not, I just can't help myself." the smile she shot him was radiant. "I rarely get you alone and wanted to relax with you. I also wanted to tell you that Lupus Regina went to Carne and they will be ready for us tomorrow."

"Are you sure you still want to do this? Was Pandora's Actor positive it wouldn't be harmful to her?"

"Yes on both accounts." a somewhat displeased look crossed Taylar's face before she continued. "I despise religion as much as you do, but this will make it easier for us in the long run. It honestly makes it a little more acceptable since I can literally hear Ashryn's prayers. That is still a little freaky if I am being honest with myself."

Taylar wasn't lying, she honestly did not really want to start and spread a religion based on her and Ainz. It would be a wonderful tool for the takeover of the New World though, no matter how much the idea displeased her.

Plus, if the religion was based on what she and Ainz believed, it would be much better than the ones she knew and despised. If she started hearing the prayers of every divine caster who saw her as a Goddess though, she might reconsider.

"And what did Pandora's Actor say about your gift for Ashryn? Is it safe for her to use?"

"Yes. Pandora's Actor and the Blacksmith also modified it so we could add the divine data crystal to it. She should have no problems using it and nothing should happen when she takes it off. Pandora's Actor was certain the divine crystal would work on Ashryn as well. I'm kind of excited to see the result."

"I'm very intrigued myself now that Pandora's Actor is certain that crystal will work on her. If it works as intended, we should see about making something similar for Ninya, Dyne, and Tsarra. Did we learn anything from the Empire or the Re-Estize Kingdom after the battle? I imagine they made it pretty far considering how fast they were fleeing."

Ainz can't help the wistful smile on his face. The memory of the thousands upon thousands he let escape with pure terror in their eyes had that effect on him.

He wasn't sure that feeling would ever go away. It was certainly not a reaction he thought he would be alright with after slaughtering one hundred and seventy-five thousand men, but that is how it was.

"Well..." Taylar can't help but laugh a moment. "Emperor Jircniv, or soon to be Governor Jircniv, didn't make a decision yet, but he did piss and shit himself when Aureole sent Fluder back to his side."

She can't help but laugh at the imagine Aureole showed her again. She doubts the Emperor had ever had a reaction like that before.

"King Ramposa hasn't spoken a word yet. He looks like a kid who just found out Santa Clause isn't real." another giggle escapes her lips. "The Thousand Mile Astrologer, that is a whole different story. Whatever Aureole did to her, I'm not sure she will ever recover from. The poor girl has just been mumbling nonsense since the battle was over. What did you have Aureole do to her?"

Taylar knew they were going to strike at the Thousand Mile Astrologer. The girl had been trying to spy on them for the Slaine Theocracy since they arrived and stepped foot outside Nazarick. Whatever Ainz had Aureole do had seemed to have completely broken the girl though.

"Nothing much. I just had her whisper some threatening words to her and let her know we knew her real name. Aureole didn't say it was us, it was just whispers on the wind for the Thousand Mile Astrologer."

"There is no way that broke this girl that much. You should see her. She's been mumbling and pulling at her hair. Occasionally, she screams for a bit. I'm surprised no one has put her on suicide watch yet."

Ainz chuckles. Perhaps they may have gone a bit overboard, but Aureole could always reverse the spell. It wasn't as if the girl was stuck like that forever. Of course, only a few in Nazarick knew the tier 9 spell that would be needed to dispel Aureole's magic, but it could be cured.

"I also may have had Aureole force the memories of all one hundred thousand souls who perished when I cast my spell into her mind. She is reliving every one of them dying over and over again."

"Wow, now that is just..."

"Genius? Appropriate punishment? A great lesson?"

Ainz sends a few suggestions Taylar's way, and she just laughs at Ainz. She wasn't thinking any of those words. Not even anywhere close.

"I was going to say evil, but you can just go with one of your answers since you look so proud."

Taylar smirks at him and it is Ainz turn to laugh. Yeah, that was probably pretty evil, but that bitch was trying to spy on Nazarick. Anyone against Nazarick was fair game to be dealt with however he saw fit.

"Genius. I'll go with genius." Ainz now smirks at Taylar. "Is that everything we need to discuss before our trip tomorrow?"

"We still need to talk about Gazef, Renner, Fluder, Shalltear, and a few others, but that will do for now. We still have a week before going to E-Rantel so we can talk about the other things later."

Taylar's incredibly sultry smile returns to her face before she continues.

"Now, I didn't disable that golem for nothing." Taylar wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him into a passionate, desperate kiss. She pulls away after a moment and looks at Ainz. "Your Queen is going to show you how much she wants you."

Taylar's words were just as seductive and sexy as they always were when she wanted them to be. It was hard to resist for Ainz, and his body certainly wasn't protesting. It had made up its mind when she sat in his lap.

"We can't, not in the spa. What if we get something in the water?"

Ainz's weak argument to stop Taylar only seemed to fuel her. The smile she sent his way sent a wave of desire over his entire body, and her reply did so even more.

"Don't worry. I won't let a single drop escape."

Taylar slid down his body and soon disappeared under the water. Ainz thanked whoever was responsible for Angels not needing to breathe as Taylar's mouth worked magic underwater.

The Spa really was the best place to relax in all of Nazarick.

---

Enri was in an absolutely wonderful mood at the moment. Based on what happened two days ago, it would probably seem strange to most. Although, most of Carne was in just about as good a mood as Enri.

Not only had Carne defended its walls, sent the Prince of a foreign nation running away, and gained a powerful army, but today their majesties were holding a surprise ceremony at the temple.

The fact there was a ceremony wasn't a surprise because Lupus Regina had told Enri and Ashryn yesterday to spread the word that it would happen today. People only needed to come if they wanted to. Well, except for Ashryn and Enri.

Apparently, they needed to attend for some reason. Neither would have missed it anyway but it was curious as to why they were ordered to come. Usually, their majesties were very particular about free choice.

And as if Enri couldn't be happier, Peter was also walking with her down the street toward the temple to meet Ashryn, Taenya, and Tsarra. Well, all the Swords of Darkness were here, Peter just happened to be the one holding her hand while they walked.

Enri had certainly noticed the Swords of Darkness new appearance. They were hard to miss in their new armor. Well, armor would be a stretch to say it about Ninya. She was still in a dress but it looked much different than the ones she usually wore that looked almost identical to Exalted Queen Taylar's.

Ninya's dress was unlike anything Enri had seen before. It came down lower on her leg than her previous ones, but only on one side. Ninya's right leg was covered to just above her knee, but the dress did not go straight across her legs, it started to curve upward very quickly.

Ninya's left leg was exposed to above mid-thigh, and the curve didn't stop until it was at the top of her hip. Most of the dress was still red and Enri could see it was made up of tiny scales. The red scales went all the way up to the bottom of her chest.

There was a pink pattern that started just above the end of the dress on her right thigh and started to circle around her body. It was hard to notice at first, but the higher it went, the lighter the pink color until it was white and very noticeable. It went up just above her other hip then wrapped back around her right side to connected to the chest area of the dress.

Enri recognized the small pink and white designs as petals from the sakura tree she saw in Nazarick. When they connected at the top, the entire chest area was made of white scales instead of red ones. It only covered a little more than necessary, but it didn't seem to bother Ninya in the slightest.

Enri would probably feel the same if she looked like that.

The only thing covering Ninya's radiant skin from the chest area up was a silver amulet with a blue gem in it that hung from her neck. Enri also noticed a silver headband with rubies in it around her head. It was split into three separate bands. One band parted her hair directly down the middle while the other two disappeared into the sides of her golden blonde hair.

Even Ninya's heels were unique looking. The sole and large heel of her footwear was the purest of white, but the rest of it was a red-scaled pattern. Ninya's toes could be seen peeking out the front of the heels, and there were gaps in the fabric exposing some of the sides of her feet.

Enri still had no idea how Ninya could adventure in footwear such as that. She had trouble getting used to walking in heels. She couldn't imagine running or fighting in them.

But what made this dress unique was not the scales, color, or accessories. It was the small train that seemed to fall from her hips in the back of her dress that didn't quite touch the ground.

It split near the bottom to form three, small, separate trains. The end of each train was curved and came to a point so it also resembled a sakura petal. The surprising aspect was that it was completely black.

Peter's armor made him look like some fearsome knight out of a story. With how much armor he had on, you would normally consider it full plate, but it didn't look nearly as restrictive as that type of armor would.

At first, Enri thought Peter's armor was black, but when the light hit it at different angles, it looked a dark crimson color. The scaled armor covered his neck and entire chest. His shoulder pauldrons were two roaring dragon heads that were so expertly done, they looked alive.

The scale armor trailed down his arm and at his elbow, turned into black metal bracers. Enri could see the overlapping plates that went all the way down to the back of Peter's hands. The plates stopped and gave way to black metal gloves whose fingertips were sharpened to look like claws.

His greaves looked very similar to his gauntlets. They covered every inch of his calves and thighs, and two small spikes could be seen sticking out from his knees. The end of his boots was shaped to resemble a single talon and sharpened into a deadly spike.

Enri could see his sword and shield on his back but didn't see a helmet. She also couldn't really see his sword and shield. She noticed the shield was black with a white border. His sword hilt looked to be wrapped in a soft, red material, but she could see no more of it.

Lukrut's armor had actually stayed somewhat similar to what Enri remembered. The difference being his chest and shoulder armor was now made of dark green scales, and it covered a little more of him. The same scales made up his gauntlets and boots as well.

The gauntlets had fingerless gloves, and his boots were made of the same material except for a straight line of black scales that seemed to divide the boots in the center. His armor did not cover a lot of him, and Enri can see the black and red tunic underneath the armor and black trousers tucked into his boots.

His bow looked a lot different as Enri noticed it slung on his shoulder. It wasn't a brown wood bow like she remembered seeing him with. This bow was carved of a white wood and Enri saw engravings in the wood.

It only took her a moment to notice the fine detailed work of whoever crafted such a thing. There were leaves carved into the bow so the wood resembled a vine with leaves growing off of it. Even being white, Enri was waiting for them to blow in the wind with how finely it was crafted.

Dyne was like everyone else except Lukrut and looked completely different than he used to. His entire set of armor from his gauntlets to his greaves and chest plate looked like leaves held together by intertwined vines.

The leaves varied in color between all shades of green and brown. His armor was actually blowing in the wind. It made it look as if he was wearing a piece of the forest instead of armor. The only thing that could be seen on him that wasn't made of leaves and vines was his black trousers that were tucked into his greaves.

He also held a redwood staff with a clear stone adorning it. The gem wasn't very large, but it was set into the wood instead of on top of it. It looked as if the wood grew around the gem at the tip, and Enri had never seen a gem look so natural on a caster's staff.

"I love your new dress Ninya. It's very unique. Did you get it from Nazarick?"

Ninya turned to look at Enri as they walked to answer her question.

"Kind of... I mean yes..." She just shakes her head at the memory, it was a unique experience all around. "It was made in Nazarick, I kind of... got to design it... a bit."

"A bit?"

Enri's curiosity was peaked by that. It was Peter, not Ninya, who answered Enri.

"Aye, a bit. Ninya had a design partner for making her new armor. I still can't believe something like that can be called armor."

Even after all Peter had seen, it was still hard to wrap his head around Ninya being able to take a blow almost as powerful as he can and be fine wearing that. Enri was curious about who that person was but had a good idea.

"Did Queen Taylar help you? Her Majesty seems to have a lot of clothing so it wouldn't surprise me."

But judging from their reactions, Enri either guessed wrong or said something funny. Lukrut, Peter, and even Dyne were trying not to laugh, and Ninya was starting to turn red.

"It was..."

Ninya stopped and turned even redder. Enri was about to ask if she was alright, but Dyne finished for Ninya.

"His majesty..."

Enri couldn't hide the surprise on her face, and it was the final straw for the three of them. They couldn't contain their laughter. Ninya didn't look as amused.

"Stop it guys! It's not funny!"

"I know I wasn't expecting that, but what makes that so funny?"

Enri was surprised but King Ainz did know a lot about just about everything. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if he could design clothing. She didn't see what was funny.

"Ninya here..." Peter collects himself to continue. "has just been focused on magic since we came back. It doesn't matter who talks to her, she isn't interested in anything but magic. I can't tell you how many men have thrown themselves at her, and I'm not sure she even notices most of them, but..."

Ninya smacks Peter on the arm to get him to stop. She has heard this enough already, Enri didn't need to know too. Listening to her other party member's joke about it was bad enough. If Enri knew, Ninya might be in for even worse jokes. She certainly didn't go easy on Nifrea earlier. Peter continued anyway.

"Any time she came back from being with His Majesty, she was beet red." Peter chuckles. "He seems to be the only one to be able to turn Ninya into a blushing maiden." Ninya smacks him again. "What? There's very little to tease you about nowadays so we have to take advantage when we can."

The grin Peter shot Ninya just made her shake her head. There was no winning this today, but she'd have her revenge eventually. Much like she was soon to get on that noble who took her sister. Her revenge on Peter wouldn't be nearly as violent though.

As they were finally getting closer to the temple, Enri could see her three friends in front of the temple, but their backs were turned and it looked as if they were talking to someone. It wouldn't be strange for Ashryn to be talking to someone, but it was different to see all three of them talking to the same person when that person wasn't Enri.

As Enri got closer, she still couldn't see who they were talking to. There were quite a lot of people coming into the temple for this. Apparently, everyone wanted to attend even if they didn't have to. It made it so Enri had trouble seeing exactly who they were talking to so she called out when she got close.

"Hey everyone!"

Enri's cheerful voice made them all turn. Every one of them knew her voice well by now and also went to greet her. A gap opened when they turned and Enri finally saw who all three of them were talking to.

"Hey, Enri!"

All of them greet Enri. She greets them as well with a wave, but Enri focuses on the one who she could finally see.

"Nfirea? What brings you here?"

"Taenya and Tsarra told me about the ceremony so I thought I'd come to see what it was about. I see the Swords of Darkness came to check it out as well. It is good to see you all again."

"Actually, Enri is the one who told us about the ceremony." Peter sees the confused looked on Nfirea's face and continues. "Their majesties told us about the attack and gave us the week off until they take over E-Rantel. I came to check on Enri and the others wanted to check out Carne. Their majesties are letting us choose a house here if we want."

Peter mentioning housing in Carne brought a looked to Nfirea's eyes that was easy for everyone to determine. They were sparkling like they had just hit the jackpot in housing. It didn't take long for everyone to understand the look.

"You HAVE to choose one here! Their majesties created our new house and alchemy shop! There are so many instruments in there that I still don't even know what they do! I can't wait for them to drop off more books and ingredients! The potions we will be able to..."

"Nifrea..." surprisingly it was Taenya who interrupted Nfirea.

"Right... sorry everyone I get a little carried away."

Nfirea just rubs his neck and rocks on his heels. Once he got on a roll talking about alchemy, there was little that could stop him.

"It's alright Nfirea. Everyone needs to be passionate about something."

Ninya didn't seem to mind his focus. She had nearly the same focus on arcane magic so she understood him completely. It was hard work to be great at something.

"You should really get out more Nfirea. Some fresh air might do you some good."

Enri seemed to wish he wouldn't spend so much time inside. She thought she would see more of Nfirea when he moved here, but he spent almost all his time in his shop. Enri supposed she did spend a lot of time the last few weeks very busy herself.

"I do go out some times now."

"Oh? Running to find Lupus Regina doesn't really count does it?"

Enri couldn't help but giggle. It seemed someone thought differently, and it wasn't Nfirea who answered her question.

"Actually, Nfirea has been coming with Tsarra and me into the woods for ingredients." everyone turns to listen to Taenya. "It has been a couple of weeks now I believe."

"Oh, Nfirea. Hanging out with two girls at once in the woods huh? What happened to innocent Nfirea?"

All three of them turned beet red when Enri said that. Enri couldn't believe she just said that. She certainly knew the reason she would say something like that.

"S-Sorry... I've... been spending too much time with Lupus Regina. I shouldn't have said that."

Even Enri was turning red now. It was quite a sight. Everyone else couldn't help but laugh at the four of them, and Enri's joke was pretty good.

"I-It's alright."

Nfirea manages to stumble that out still red. He is honestly surprised Taenya and Tsarra weren't reacting more strongly to Enri's words. Nfirea knew some of what Taenya and Tsarra had been through before coming to Carne. It probably brought back bad memories, but they didn't seem to be anything but embarrassed.

"Now that I have thoroughly embarrassed myself, it looks like everyone is inside. Shall we go?"

Everyone was about to agree with Enri, but a voice startled all of them before they could.

"Good one Enri~" They turn to see Lupus Regina standing right behind Enri. "I see I have been teaching you well~ I even seem to be rubbing off on Nfirea!~ Or maybe those two are rubbing him off?~ Who kno-"

Lupus Regina's usual sense of humor is once again interrupted by a chop to the head by Yuri. Yuri is surprised Lupus Regina hasn't had a dent form in her skull from the number of times she has to do that.

"I am sorry about her. One day my little sister will listen to me, I swear it!"

"It is just who Lupus Regina is Yuri. Who doesn't love a fun-loving, sadistic werewolf priestess?"

Everyone but Lupus Regina and Yuri drop down on a knee and bow their heads when they look toward the voice that just spoke. It was very obviously Queen Taylar's voice, but walking with her was Ainz, Albedo, and Aureole. All paid their respects to their monarchs, but Lupus Regina was thinking something else.

'Loves me? Loves me? Loves me?'

"Rise everyone."

Ainz never really leaves King mode nowadays. It has become natural for him to be in such a state when he isn't in his room. Yuri continued when everyone was standing.

"Their majesties wished to speak with Enri before the ceremony." Yuri looks at her Lord and he nods his head. "You are all welcome to stay if you like." All of them just nod their heads in acknowledgment.

"The ceremony is more for religious purposes, but we wanted to acknowledge your accomplishments in defending Carne from that invading army without any support from us."

Ainz tells Enri then motions to Aureole. Aureole steps forward and pulls a pouch from her side. She holds it out for Enri to take but the mayor hesitates to accept it.

"Y-Your majesties! I just defended my home! There is no reason to reward me for it!"

"I told you I should have come alone." Aureole seemed upset she had to come with all her parents instead of just Rubedo. "She would have taken it if I gave it to her myself." she seemed done with her rant and turned back to Enri. "Take it Enri." she keeps holding it out.

"But I..."

"I know, I know. You were defending your home. We get that. These will help you do that. You have a talent for knowing when to use a magic item. It is like Nfirea's but instead of you being able to use any magic item, you know when a magic item should be used and by who."

Aureole stops a moment so Enri can process that before she continues.

"Inside this pouch is various magic items for you. None of them are particularly powerful..." 'to us.' she doesn't say that out loud. "but they could be useful for you and Carne one day. I'm sure you noticed the Swords of Darkness look different from when you last saw them. They got new gear for getting promoted to Mithril rank. Think of this as something like that but for your specific talent."

Enri was a little surprised she had a talent at first, but it didn't take much of Aureole's words to convince her she did. The reason she was going to decline the second time was the items in that pouch would be better served with others, not her.

"Wouldn't the bracelet, necklace, and quill in that pouch be more useful to Taenya, Tsarra, and Ashryn?"

"Wait, you know that those are in there without even having it on you?"

To say Aureole was surprised was an understatement. She had not just put summoning items and things of that nature in the pouch. She even put in some necklaces, rings, bracelets, and other low-level items to see if Enri could sense the best use for them.

The bracelet and necklace that Enri was sensing were put in there by Aureole for the exact two people Enri thought they should go to, but Aureole never thought she would be able to tell that before she even took the pouch in hand.

The big surprise was the quill. Aureole knew it would be useful to any caster because of what it did, but she wondered why Enri had specifically said that Ashryn needed it. Enri seemed to think there were only three items in there though so maybe that is why she thought the pouch should go to them.

She had no idea there were over a hundred items in this small pouch, but there was still something that she needed to know before all that. Aureole handed the pouch to Enri so she could give out the items. She wasted no time in trying to figure out this quill mystery and activated a spell to aid in her investigation.

*[SILENT] DETECT THOUGHTS*

Enri reached into the pouch and pulled out a bracelet. It looked rather simple for a magic item. It seemed to be a piece of brown leather with small white fangs making up the rest of the bracelet, but when she looked closer, the band wasn't leather but made of a brown plant material instead.

The necklace Enri pulled out was very similar to the bracelet. It was a brown plant material chain but only had two fangs at the bottom. The fangs seemed to frame a small carved medallion that hung at the very center of the necklace. The medallion was intricately carved into the shape of three animal heads.

There was a snarling wolf, roaring bear, and a screaming eagle head all carved immaculately. All their necks met at the bottom of the medallion and formed one as if they were a chimera or strange hydra of some sort.

Enri handed the bracelet to Taenya and the necklace to Tsarra. Both had confused looks on their faces but took the items as Enri pulled out a quill from the bag and handed it to Ashryn.

The quill looked exactly like any other quill they had seen. It had a black tip with a white feather attached to the end of it. The only thing that was different was the six symbols on the feather only those from Nazarick and Enri could read.

To everyone else, they just seemed to be magic runes since they looked so strange, but to those that could read the language of the Supreme Beings, they knew it said; Quill of Substitution.

All three were still puzzled as they held them, Ashryn more than either of the other two. Taenya and Tsarra could probably just put on their items and at least have an idea of what they did. What was Ashryn suppose to do with a quill? It wasn't Enri who explained, but Aureole as she saw the puzzled look on the elves' faces.

"Taenya, that is the Bracelet of Friendship. You subconsciously chose to forgo an animal companion as a ranger and focused on spellcasting. It is why you can cast tier 2 magic even though you shouldn't be able to at your current level. That bracelet will allow you to draw an animal companion that fits you without having your spellcasting suffer the consequences."

Aureole turns toward Tsarra and explains to her what her necklace does.

"Tsarra, that is the Amulet of the Beastmaster. You did the very same thing Taenya did, but druids have a much larger pool of animals they can draw to them, and more abilities with their companions they can learn. You will also draw an animal companion, but you will be able to use the skill, Animal Empathy. It will allow you to turn any animal friendly by drawing the power of nature into yourself. Eventually, when you get good enough, you will be able to speak with animals and give them commands as well."

Both the elves just stare at the items with looks of shock on their faces. They both knew why they had chosen to not have an animal companion. Neither would have wanted an animal around that sick pervert they used to call master. Time with Bella and Taylar had faded those memories into almost nothing so neither had any real reaction to thinking about there time before they came to Carne.

Aureole finally turned to Ashryn. She had been listening to her thoughts the whole time but she was just curious as to what Enri gave it to her for. Aureole knew telling her what it did would bring those answers forth, even if she didn't voice them.

"Ashryn, that is the Quill of Substitution. It allows you to substitute one part of a magic spell. Usually, people turned a spell like Fireball into an Iceball or something similar. I'm honestly surprised Enri gave it to you. Is there a spell you wish to change?"

Aureole listened intently at Ashryn even though she didn't say a word. The look on her face matched the thoughts in her head, but it meant little to those who couldn't read her thoughts.

The poor girl looked horrified at what Aureole had told her. Aureole understood her feelings, but it just made everyone else confused. None of them were sure why wanting to change a spell would make her look like that, but Aureole did so she encouraged Ashryn to speak up.

"Go ahead Ashryn, tell her."

"I-I can't do that! That... That... That is..."

"Everything will be fine if you do, I promise. You will see that you know her thoughts better than you think."

Ashryn should be appalled to think of doing this, but Aureole's words of reassurance give her the courage she needs to go forward. She couldn't say nothing after what Aureole told her.

"I..." Ashryn takes a breath and when she exhales, she looks determined. She takes a knee in front of Taylar. "I wish to name the temple, Goddess. I also wish for new robes to show my new understanding of Life and Death."

Taylar looks at Aureole knowingly, she knew they brought new robes for her for just this very reason, but none of what she said explained the Quill of Substitution. She did not need the quill to name the temple or get new robes so there had to be something else.

"I have no issue with you naming the temple as long as you tell me what you want to name it and why. Also, since you are about to be named my official high priest in said temple, I brought you new robes befitting your station. They also reflect your new understanding so we will see how much we think alike. However..."

Taylar trails off until Ashryn looks back up at her.

"None of that explains the quill. You do not need that item for either of those things. So Ashryn, what else is there you wish to tell me?"

Ashryn looked her Goddess in the eye for a moment before her eyes went to Taylar's side and looked at Ainz. She only looked at him for a moment, but it was long enough to peak Ainz curiosity. He sure hoped the women of this world weren't like those from Nazarick, and that is why she was looking at him.

"I wish... I want..." Ashryn is trying to find the words and it looks like she finally did. "I understand now, Goddess. What you have been telling me about life and death. I would like to change the temple." she looks down again afraid of what her Goddess' reaction might be. "I know you created it with your own magic, and I should never want to..."

"It's alright Ashryn. Aureole's words ring true. I believe you will understand once I show you your new robes. Perhaps that will ease your mind on what you are worried about."

Taylar's words came out calm and motherly. She was anything but on the inside. Realizing what Ashryn had needed the quill for was eye-opening, to say the least. That quill should not work on a spell that powerful. Aureole saw her mothers' inner thoughts though and activated her telepathy on herself, Taylar, Ainz, and Albedo.

*[SILENT] MASS TELEPATHIC BOND*

(I know mother. That quill should not work on a Super-Tier Spell, but it seems it will allow Ashryn to use it in such a way.)

(How is that even possible? That quill shouldn't work on anything higher than tier 6, and she can only cast tier 4. How can she even use it on an already cast spell? What in the...)

(Mother! We all wish to know as well. Let's observe her using it after the ceremony. That should give us a better idea.)

Ainz chimes in with his thoughts as well.

(Perhaps she will use all five charges at once to do it to a Super-Tier Spell. Maybe it will use two or three or perhaps just one. I'm intrigued myself, but we should wait until after as Aureole suggested.)

Albedo seemed to agree with his sentiment, but her mind was always working toward benefitting Nazarick also.

(We should have everyone gather outside the temple after and call it some show of the new power Ashryn will wield as your high priestess. I believe that will not only awe everyone here but spread your religion faster as the tale of Ashryn's power spreads.)

They all agreed with a nod and Taylar reached into her inventory to take out Ashryn's new robes. She motioned for Ashryn to stand as she did and held them out in front of her so she could take them in.

Unlike her current red robes, she wore to mimic the color of Taylar's dress, this robe was pure white. It was shoulderless as her current one was, and there were two arm straps to hold it up just as the one she currently wore had.

There was a black stripe that went across the straps and continued across to the bust of the dress. Two long black stripes went down either side of the dress. The stripes almost cut the robe into three perfect sections, but it more framed the sigil in the middle than anything.

The symbol of Nazarick was there as it was on her robes, but it was colored completely differently. The entire symbol was pitch black, and even the wings were different. Instead of one white and one black wing, both wings were grey and they came down lower past the symbol making them look a bit bigger than the previous ones.

Once Taylar had let her look at it for a bit and take it in, she turned it around so she could see the back. Ashryn saw the two black stripes on the back that mirrored the ones one the front.

What made her jaw open were two pieces of short, flowing material near the top of the dress. She guessed when it was on her that it would line up perfectly with her shoulder blades.

Ashryn wasn't sure what the material was made of, but it was flowing in the breeze. It was only a couple inches long, but it was designed to look like grey, feathered wings. It was the most beautiful robe Ashryn had ever seen.

Ashryn would like to say the robes were exactly as she would have liked to design, but she doesn't think she could have come up with something so perfect. It was as if Taylar had read her mind and improved on the idea.

"Put this on for the ceremony and inform everyone inside of what they are here for. We will come in when you are ready." Taylar hands the robe to Ashryn, but as soon as she turns to leave, Taylar stops her for a moment. "Oh and Ashryn. Once you have them on, think about having wings. The effect will last for four hours a day. You can turn it on and off as you like."

Ashryn gave a bow and headed toward her room in the temple. The Swords of Darkness, Taenya, Tsarra, and Nfirea all do the same but Enri stays behind. She gives Peter a look saying she'll be along in a moment, and they leave her to talk with their majesties.

"I was hoping we could talk about the citizens of Carne, your majesties."

"It is just us here now Enri. You may call me Taylar as always. I assume you mean about no one wanting to leave and go back to their old villages?"

Enri wasn't sure why she was shocked Taylar knew that, but she couldn't help it either way. Enri had to wonder if Taylar could read her mind. Aureole's giggle after she thought that did not dispel that notion.

"Yes, your- Lady Taylar. They all saw humans, elves, goblins, ogres, and an undead fight to protect them. That plus the walls that give them safety most have never known has made it so none want to leave. We could certainly use the population here, but I'm not sure of the impact it will have on the rest of your kingdom if so many villages are abandoned."

"It won't be a problem Enri, let them stay. We thought they would plan to stay from the start. It will give us an opportunity to rebuild some villages and knock some down. We will be able to give it to those who want to come to our kingdom as an incentive. It should work itself out in the long run. Why don't you go join your friends? We will be in, in a moment."

Enri gives a bow as everyone else did and walks off toward the entrance. Taylar turns to everyone when she is gone and already looks exhausted. Ainz, Albedo, and Aureole can't help but laugh a bit. Lupu and Yuri certainly do no such thing.

"You're the one who wanted to handle Carne. Perhaps E-Rantel would have been a better choice."

Ainz chuckle did nothing to soften Taylar's expression. On the contrary, she glared at him. She didn't like that joke one bit.

"I should have never let you talk me into making this the capital. If we would have just used E-Rantel, this would be Albedo's problem, not mine."

Albedo can't help it either and giggles at Taylar. Truth be told, she could run Carne, E-Rantel, Nazarick, and still be an envoy to the Re-Estize Kingdom if she wished to. There were two little beings though that took precedence over all that, and they would soon be here.

She didn't want to stretch herself too thin and not be able to be a proper mother. That is what she truly wanted more than anything this world could offer. It didn't mean she had no idea what Taylar could do with that land.

"We can always offer it to the citizens of E-Rantel who do not wish to stay once we take over. They will still be a part of our kingdom, but perhaps being away from the city will ease the transition of power and they will feel comfortable quicker."

Taylar and Ainz seemed to agree and just nodded. With nothing left to talk about, they started making their way inside knowing Ashryn was inside, ready, and speaking with everyone.

They ascended the stairs and the moment Ashryn stopped speaking, Yuri and Lupus Regina opened the doors. Every head in the room turned when the doors opened. When they all saw who was entering, everyone got on their knees.

Almost everyone in this room had already met one, two, or all three of their monarchs/gods. Whether it was being rescued after being sold or as simple as being brought here for safety until the war was over. That didn't mean they were used to seeing them.

Other than the clicking of heels on the marble floor, it was silent enough to almost hear everyone's hair growing. Albedo and Aureole take a seat in the first row with Yuri standing at the end in the aisle next to Albedo.

Taylar, Ainz, and Lupus Regina continue on and stand by Ashryn. Taylar gets behind her, Lupus Regina is on her left, and Ainz is on her right. Lupus Regina is holding a box that is half white, half black, out in front of her. One arm holding the bottom and her other hand on the edge as if she is about to open it.

"Everyone rise." Taylar waits a moment until they are all seated again. "Thanks for coming, and I'd like to say before we begin. Congratulations on defending your home when you needed to. I know that a lot of you didn't partake in the battle, but you did choose Enri to lead you. So in a way, you all helped win the last battle by choosing the right person for the job."

Taylar took a moment to let them all think about that. It was also a moment she took to herself. She did not like giving speeches so she planned on keeping this short.

"Now, as to why we are here. As you know, Ashryn has been my unofficial high priestess for a few months now. It was never made official because she did not yet possess the understanding I needed her to for such a title, but that day has come at last. I am sure she will pass on her new knowledge to you in the days, weeks, and months ahead."

'Ok, scan the room, make eye contact with a few people to keep their attention, then I can continue as that ridiculous book said.'

"As a symbol of her new position, Ashryn shall wear the Robes of the High Priestess and the Crown of the High Priestess. The robes shall serve to grant her a piece of my power, and the crown shall serve to grant her a piece of my knowledge."

Taylar motions to Lupus Regina and she opens the box she is holding. Taylar reaches inside and pulls out a crown that looks to be made of small silver threads. Various colored jewels are adorning it ranging in color from red to green to purple.

In the center of the crown is a very unique looking gem. It appears to be one solid gem, but half of it is white and the other half is black. Most of them wonder how something made of thread could not collapse when fashioned like that, but none of them knew it was made of mithril and not silver.

Ashryn kneeled down and Taylar brought the crown over her head. Ashryn was on the verge of tears thinking about how much her life changed in the last few months but kept herself composed enough not to spill any tears.

When Taylar finally put the crown on her head, she had a reaction she couldn't control.

Ashryn's eyes shot open and looked up at the sky. A single tear did escape each eye and roll down her cheek as knowledge poured into her mind. Her arms shot outward with her palms up, she accidentally activated her robes, and two long, grey wings sprout from behind her and stretch out to her sides.

It looked as if she was receiving some word from god to everyone, and they wouldn't really be that far off. The knowledge pouring into Ashryn's mind is what was making her body and mind react like this.

After about a minute, Ashryn slumped over and the wings slowly retracted back into her robes. Everyone in the temple was silent, it was only a moment after that she started to stand again. Once Ashryn was on her feet, Taylar said...

"Do you know the tier 4 spell Restoration, Ashryn?"

Ashryn didn't hesitate for a moment.

"Of course I do, Goddess. Every priestess knows of that spell."

"Cast it on me then, Ashryn."

*RESTORATION*

Ashryn does what she is told without question. It takes her a moment to realize what her Goddess was trying to show her then her eyes almost bulge out of her head.

"I-I know so many spells now. How did?... Why?... What?..."

Ashryn didn't finish any of the questions when she realized what happened. She not only felt like she possessed more magic power than ever before, but she was also well aware of the number of spells she now knew compared to a minute ago.

She had no knowledge of seventy-five percent of these spells just moments ago. Now, she knew exactly what they did, how to best utilize them, and when they would be most effective.

What truly made her feel like a new priestess was the negative energy she could feel just at the end of her fingertips, ready to be utilized whenever she saw fit. It was as if her eyes had truly been opened to divine knowledge of spellcasting. There was only one thing she could do as the tears started to form in her eyes once more.

"Thank you, Goddess!"

Ashryn couldn't hide the emotion in her voice and quickly dropped down to her knees after thanking her Goddess. She even looked at Ainz and gave him a bow as she did for Taylar.

'Yep, still not comfortable with the whole god thing yet.'

Both Taylar and Ainz have the same thought at seeing Ashryn like this. Hopefully one day, this will not be as strange to them. Now, it was time to wrap this up though.

"You have earned it, Ashryn."

Taylar and Ainz both put a hand on her shoulders, and Lupus Regina sets the box down on the raised dais. Ashryn stands and turns to all assembled in the temple as Taylar tells them.

"I present to you, Ashryn Kelsys, High Priestess of Life and Death."

Everyone present claps, cheers, and whistles as Ashryn is presented to them once more. All still had looks of awe on their faces at what they witnessed happen to Ashryn. It made the cheers all the more enthusiastic and loud.

Once the cheers had started to die down, Ainz wanted to move on to the last part. This was the part he was most intrigued about. He wanted to see if the quill would have any charges left after Ashryn used it on a Super-Tier Spell.

"Now, Ashryn will show all of you her new power and understanding of Life and Death. If you could make your way out onto the road in front of the temple, you will understand what we mean in a few moments."

Everyone began to file out at the end of Ainz words. They all gave a bow to not only Ainz, Albedo, Taylar, and Aureole, but also to Ashryn as the left. When the temple was mostly empty, Taylar remembered there was something they hadn't talked about yet.

"Ashryn, you said you wanted to name the temple. What did you want to name it?"

"Yes, Goddess. I have learned from Lupus Regina that the phrase Life and Death is only one word in the language of the Supreme Beings. It showed me once more that life and death are one in the same. A continuous cycle that needs both aspects to function properly. In honor of that, I wish to name it the Temple of Seishi, Goddess."

"A very fitting name, Ashryn. I certainly approve of it." Taylar looks at Ainz who just nods. "and so does Lord Ainz. Now, we all wish to see you change the temple so we will step outside with everyone else."

Taylar can see Ashryn about to say something but holds up her hand to stop her.

"We do not wish to influence how you change the temple. We wish for you to change it how you see fit. We have faith you will change it to our liking. All you need to do it place the tip of the quill on the floor and think about the changes you wish to make. The quill will take the image in your mind and make it a reality."

Taylar gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and all of them made their way outside except for Ashryn. As they descended the steps, they could see that not a single person had left yet.

They all reached the bottom and turned when they stood next to Enri and the Swords of Darkness. Aureole cast her scrying spell on Ashryn, but instead of four screens, she made one large one so everyone could witness what was about to happen.

Ashryn knelt on the ground and pulled the quill out from her robes. She raised it in the air and spoke before she touched the tip to the ground, and the item changed the temple to her liking.

"I hereby name this sacred ground, Temple of Seishi."

As the tip of the quill hit the ground, everyone outside could instantly see the temple change. The left half of the temple stayed a pure white color, but the right half of the temple was now pitch black. The door on the black half of the temple was white still, but the door on the white half of the temple was now black.

That was not the only change though. Above the entrance to the temple was now script that read Temple of Seishi. The word temple and the "o" from "of" were on the white half of the temple, written in black script. The "f" from "of" and word Seishi were on the black half of the temple, written in white script.

Taylar certainly approved of the changes. She might have made the doors grey but white and black were a good fit also. She couldn't hide the little surprise on her face though, none from Nazarick really could.

Not only was Ashryn able to use the Quill of Substitution on a Super-Tier Spell, but she also added to the spell when the script appeared above the door. On top of that, the quill did not dissolve into nothingness so there was still at least one charge left in it. They were all excited to hold it and see how many of the five it had were left.

The doors to the temple swung open, and Ashryn stepped out on the top step. She looked down at the crowd, crouched a bit, and jumped as far as she could. The wings in the back of her robe opened, and she glided down to the ground in front of everyone.

Once on the ground, her wings disappeared once more. Taylar was thinking Ainz must have told her about showmanship at some point because that looked like something he would have done. Ainz, for his part, was holding back from clapping. That was exactly what he would have done in that situation to play up his new power a bit.

Perhaps there would be things he could discuss with Ashryn since she planned on preaching about death and life equally now. Constantly talking to the girl about death would get rather dull.

Everyone began congratulating Ashryn one by one. Taylar, Albedo, and Yuri seemed to be discussing something amongst themselves. Aureole and Lupus Regina seemed to strike up a conversation with Enri, and Nfirea, Taenya, and Tsarra were talking about something too. Ainz wanted to talk to one particular person, he had a couple questions for her.

"Ninya..." Ainz waits for her to look at him, she is turning red for some reason. "how is your new outfit? Are all the enchantments working properly?"

"Y-Yes, your majesty. T-They are perfect!"

"Did your new footwear give you any trouble getting used to? I know the heel is a little bigger than the boots you used to wear."

"N-No trouble, your majesty. I-I was used to wearing something with a heel by then."

Ainz can see she is turning redder by the second and seemed a little excited, maybe nervous was a better word. He had no idea why she would be nervous. He was just making sure her new gear was working correctly, it wouldn't be her fault if it didn't.

"Well, I'm glad everything is working properly. Remember, I told you that you could call me Ainz when it wasn't in a formal setting."

Ainz attempt to make her less nervous did not seem to work as he had intended. As soon as he finished, she turned even redder. It looked like the girl was going to be sick.

"Are you alright, Ninya?" Ainz puts his hand on her forehead. "You do feel a bit warm. I didn't think angelic races could get sick."

"I-I'm fine, your- Lord Ainz. Th-Thank you for your concern."

Ainz just shrugs his shoulders. If she said she was ok, then she must be. He heads over toward Taylar, Albedo, and Yuri after bidding the rest of them a farewell.

Ninya looked at the rest of her party members when Lord Ainz turned away and saw the look on their faces. She certainly wasn't going to hear the end of this for quite a while.

---

The first day of spring was always a welcome day for everyone. Farmers loved it for they could feel the earth coming alive underneath their feet, nobles loved it for they did not need to feel the bite of winter any longer, and even city folk loved it for it meant they no longer needed to buy firewood.

The first day of spring in E-Rantel, however, was not met with welcome, cheers, or any noise for that matter. The streets were devoid of people and silence waited around every corner. The shutters and doors of every building were drawn, but you could see one or more of them cracked open a bit.

Today was the day that E-Rantel would officially become a part of the Saiko Kingdom.

The silence was so great that when the first gate began to open, it could be heard echoing throughout the entirety of the city. The only thing to cut through the noise was when the Bells of Welcoming rang through the air.

After a brief time, the second gate began to open and the bells continued to echo throughout the city. The area between the second and third gate was the residential zone of E-Rantel. Even if the streets were empty, the houses here would not be.

The people who lived in this area of the city couldn't afford to leave right now. All their years of hard work would be for naught if they went to another city. Masters or experts of their trade would more than likely have to start over as apprentices in new cities.

That didn't mean they wouldn't flee if it came to that. They might not have much of a choice to stay, but they wouldn't stay if it meant their death. The rumors of their new rulers did not paint them in a favorable light.

It was said their new king is terrifying even to look upon. That he wields the power of death itself, and anyone that defied him was turned into an undead to serve him for eternity. They also said his Queens and their servants were monsters that were just as brutal as the king.

If it turned out their new king did indeed bathe in the blood of children, turn those he felt like into undead or was as brutal as they heard. They would all flee in a heartbeat.

As the procession finally made it to this part of the city, the first sight was not a fearsome one. Walking at the head of the procession were two beings. One was an older gentleman in a pristine suit. He had an air of nobility around him and carried himself with perfect posture.

Next to the older gentleman was a woman more beautiful than any had seen up to that point. She had golden blonde hair that flowed down past her waist. She was wearing a gold, hooded dress that seemed to look armored with dark green fabric accents here and there.

Her entire appearance screamed Goddess to all who could see her. The only thing that gave them pause was the sword she was holding in her right hand. Everyone could see the air was almost wavering in its presence, and it radiated an aura of power that was unsettling.

That is when things took a turn to the terrifying as they looked deeper into the procession. Behind the two in front was a row of cavalry so terrifying everyone shuddered when they beheld them.

The mounts were skeletal horses with an aura that seemed to emanate from its chest. In the place of its flesh and blood were tendrils of fog. The fog seemed to sparkle all around the undead horse and pulse yellow and green.

Seated atop these skeletal mounts were what one could only describe as a warrior of death. Their black leather armor was made of some unknown beast. Their armor, arms, and parts of their faces were covered in strips of cloth covered in arcane runes.

They all carried longswords in their right hands, and every weapon you could imagine hung from their waists. Axes, hammers, crossbows, whips, rapiers, and other weapons were dangling there which is why they had no idea exactly what to call such a monster.

Behind the row of cavalry was what can only be described as a Death Knight. Their left hands held massive tower shields, and their right hands carried a wavy blade that looked to be surrounded by a crimson and black aura.

They were covered in black metal armor, a helmet that demonic horns sprouted from, and they looked like the physical manifestation of brutality and fear. Only their rotting faces and crimson eye sockets could they see any flesh at all, even if it was rotting and falling off.

The Death Knights behind the first two rows were carrying a platform that angels were circling in the sky. The angels in the sky had both white and black wings. The colors alternated in an every other one pattern and each of the angels held a longbow in their hands. Each bow looked to be made of the same color feathers as their wings.

The sight of angels amongst the undead was quite the sight to behold. It gave some relief to the terrifying reality that an undead army was marching its way through the city. The three beings they saw sitting upon three thrones on the mobile platform gave them both hope and despair.

It was quite an unusual feeling for everyone whom the platform passed. To feel both ends of the emotional spectrum at once was something none of them would ever forget. Feeling both hope and despair, fear and joy, love and hate, death and life all at the same time was confusing.

They were told their new King was terrifying to even behold, but that was only partially true. No one could deny the incredibly terrifying aura of power that emanated from him, but to describe him, you would use a word you normally wouldn't for a man. Beautiful.

Almost everything he wore was black. From his pants to his shirt to his robe, even his wings were black, but they could see white and red details here and there on his clothing. What made them all think beautiful was when they took in his face.

It was perfection. His eyes were even an unnatural red color that you would normally think a vampire would possess and look away immediately. His eyes had a shine to them though that you wouldn't see in a vampire's. It was as if he could see straight into your soul with those eyes.

The woman seated to his left was also a picture of perfection. She had long, straight black hair, golden eyes, alabaster skin, and a face so stunning, no one thought you could possibly be that beautiful. She had a glow about her, and it wasn't hard to tell why. Her baby bump was hard to miss.

She wore a white gown with matching white gloves. A gold, spider web necklace covered her neck, chest, and shoulders. Beauty like that did not exist in human beings, the jet black wings and horns protruding from her hips and temples were an indication as to how this woman could be so supernaturally beautiful.

Even with the knowledge that she was not a human, it was nearly impossible to look away from her. When they finally did and beheld the woman seated on the King's right, all realized that they may have been hasty in naming the black-haired queen the most beautiful woman they had ever seen.

The woman on the right had wavy, blonde hair that went down to past her chest. Her eyes were a bright emerald green, and her face was pure perfection. Where the first Queen's beauty made you think of desire and passion, the second Queen's beauty made you think of elegance and grace.

Her pure white wings and pale skin stood out against her dark red dress and its intricate pattern of black and white roses. Some had seen an angel before, but they were nothing but mute, flying armor that took commands from their summoner. This angel could only be described as a Goddess.

Actually laying eyes on their new King and Queens was much different than any of the residents of E-Rantel could have imagined. From the stories they heard, they expected some brutal, undead monster to come into this city and start sacrificing their children for his dark rituals.

It was different to actually see them though. They still felt some of the fear knowing what they were capable of, and the aura of power that could be felt emanating from each of them. The incredibly powerful undead that made up a vast majority of their troops also aided in that fear.

However, most of them couldn't help but feel at least a little at ease. Mayhaps staying wouldn't be such a bad thing, and they could go on with their lives. They could all hope for the best and flee if it came to that, but it didn't look as bleak as it did just a few minutes ago.

Right as the residents were starting to let their curiosity get the best of them and look out of their houses and windows a bit more boldly, the procession reached the city center and everyone heard a clinking sound as a rock hit one of the Death Knights right in the helmet. They all heard a little boy yell.

"GIVE ME BACK MY DADDY YOU MONSTER!"

The Death Knights form a defensive semi-circle around the boy, shields in front, swords at the ready. The angels take up a position in the sky above them, arrows knocked, bowstrings are drawn, ready to fire. A woman, presumably the boy's mother, covers the boy and wraps her arms around him.

"Please! He's just a boy!"

Her plea for mercy can be heard by all. They doubt she will receive any after the boy threw something at one of the undead. The reactions from the undead and angels don't look to be swayed in the slightest. They are all still waiting with weapons at the ready.

"Stand down."

A voice filled with power and authority cut through the silence. Descending from the sky between the soldiers, woman and child was their new King, Ainz Ooal Gown. The soldiers listened to his commands immediately and all their weapons lowered.

"Give me back my daddy!"

It was hard for most to hear but Ainz heard it none the less. The little boy did not seem deterred from getting his father back. His mother looked absolutely horrified at her child's outburst once more.

"P-Please! Please, your majesty! He is just a boy. Please, forgive him!"

To Ainz, the woman seemed genuinely concerned he was going to have her child killed. He knew they spread some terrible rumors about him, but seeing this woman think he would kill a defenseless child was eye-opening.

Ainz took a quick look and saw a lot of people were watching this exchange. This was exactly what this moment was for. Demiurge sure did work quickly. He supposed it wouldn't take much to get this little boy riled up though. Hopefully, this little farce would ease most of the people's minds, and he would have one less thing to worry about.

"Fear not, I have no intention of harming a child for missing his father. Is this your son?"

The woman seemed so surprised by Ainz answer and tone that she couldn't even form words, she just nodded at him to confirm his question. Ainz crouches down to look at the young boy hiding in his mother's arms.

"I'm sorry your daddy died, child. I certainly didn't want to kill him, but your king chose war instead of taking my offer. Sometimes, people we love die in war, that is why I tried to avoid it."

Ainz stands back up and looks at the boy's mother. She still didn't look at ease but she wasn't terrified anymore so that was looking up. She wasn't actually supposed to be here, but he could take advantage of the situation and use it to sway even more people.

"Do you have a job?"

The question caught the woman off guard, and it took a moment for her to answer. This time, she did more than just nod or shake her head.

"N-No, your majesty. My husband did the work and I took care of the children."

"Where do you normally go to voice your concerns in E-Rantel?"

The look in the woman's eyes told Ainz she was very confused. He didn't understand the confusion at all. Unless they didn't have a city hall or something similar. Maybe it was off-limits to commoners? That definitely couldn't stand if it was the case.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't understand, your majesty."

Ainz was about to answer but someone landed to his right. He looked and saw Taylar standing there now. He was wondering why she was here. Since it was impossible for anyone to look at her and think evil, he was supposed to handle this so people wouldn't be afraid of him.

Before he could ask Taylar why she was here, Albedo landed on his other side. He really didn't like that she was here now, but he noticed Rubedo standing behind her ready to defend her if need be so he wasn't as upset. He couldn't ask her why she was here either because a new voice cut through the air.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, your majesty, but there is nowhere in this city for commoners to voice their concerns."

Ainz looked to where the voice came from and now he understood why Taylar and Albedo had come to his side. They were supposed to do this a little farther into their procession, but it seemed he had taken too long. Either that or the next farce to make him look good, well them, would be better served here since there were a ton of people watching now.

"Ah, The Forsaken. I planned on having you come and speak to us later since we have new information on your foe. Just give me a moment and we can speak."

Ainz turns back to the woman and child. He needed to wrap this up so they could move on to the next show. He hoped all of this was worth it, it had been more taxing than he imagined it would be. He reaches into his inventory and pulls out a small card. It was stylized to look like the flag of the Saiko Kingdom. He hands it to the woman.

"We will need a few days to get settled in the city so we will not be able to help you at this moment. Wait three days and bring that card to any of my troops. They will bring you to us and we can figure out how to help you now that you have lost your husband."

"Thank you, your majesty!"

All the fear and worry the woman had been displaying up until that point had vanished and she looked nothing but grateful to Ainz. At least he thought that worked well. Now, to push her over the top to borderline fanatical, he had a great idea.

He reaches into his inventory and pulls out three gold coins and offers it to the woman. She looks hesitant to take the coins but also looks as if she might snatch them and run they look so enticing. Ainz can imagine why, this is years worth of work for her family just inches from her grasp.

"You said you had other children. Take these and get some food for you and your children to hold you over until we can find someplace for you to work. I know it won't bring their father back, but you should get each of your kids something with some of this money. It should at least bring smiles to their faces even if it is for a brief time."

"Yes, your majesty! Thank you, thank you so much, your majesty."

For the first time, the woman let go of her son. She carefully took the coins, got on her knees, and pressed her forehead to the ground to show her appreciation. Ainz thought it was a little over the top but he supposed that was the idea behind this whole thing.

She stood up and grabbed her son when Ainz waved her off, letting her know it was ok to leave. Now it was time to see if Demiurge and Taylar's plans would merge well together.

Ainz still thought the show with the child would be sufficient to sway the population, but Taylar and Demiurge assured him that getting The Forsaken involved would only help them even more. There wasn't really a downside he supposed, they didn't plan on being The Forsaken at all anymore.

The doppelgangers they summoned to replace them were able to replicate their power close enough so they would be able to handle anything that came their way. It helped they would be sending them away on a mission soon so no one would be able to reach them anyway.

Everyone in E-Rantel knew exactly who the legendary adamantite group The Forsaken were. They saved this city from a death cult trying to destroy it, drove an impossibly strong vampire out of the capital, and reached adamantite rank faster than anyone in history.

After the exchange between their new king and that woman, everyone wondered why The Forsaken were standing near their new monarchs. They already saw that their rulers were much different than they were led to believe, but nothing prepared any of them for what The Forsaken did.

Everyone let out a gasp as they watched the adamantite adventurers take a knee and bow their heads to their new rulers. So many people had the same reaction that Taylar and Albedo smiled a bit when they heard the collective gasps. It was already going better than either of them expected.

"Rise." Ainz waits a moment for them to stand then continues. "It is good to see you four again. I know Taylar has been anxious to see you again, Bella. We have news that pertains to your foe. Why don't you join our procession and we can speak at more length in the villa."

"Of course, your majesty."

All four of the doppelgangers bow their heads. They make their way to the head of the procession with Sebas and Rubedo and fall in line beside them. The rest of the procession through the city saw people openly looking out their windows instead of peaking.

Some even had enough courage to stand in the street as the procession passed. It was not long until they made it to the villa that would serve as their headquarters in E-Rantel.

It was finally time to start changing the world!

---

It had been nearly two weeks since they took over E-Rantel, and Ainz could tell the city was accepting their rule even better than they imagined. Most of the people who fled the city were the nobles so the only true empty part of E-Rantel was the manses, villas, and manors of said nobles.

It would just give them even more things to give away to those who wished to join their kingdom. Also, now they could offer a place in E-Rantel or Carne to those such as the Swords of Darkness, Leinas, and anyone else who might want to live outside of Nazarick.

Ainz doubted anyone from Nazarick would leave, but perhaps he could pick a manor in each city as a sort of vacation house for those of Nazarick. It would be good to let them all get out and go shopping or do things of a similar nature.

The markets were still open, people were still buying and selling goods, and everyone went about their jobs as normal. Well, not really that normal. Most were still trying to get used to seeing Death Knights patrolling the city along with angels, but nothing bad had happened since they started walking the streets.

The number of traveling traders had reduced dramatically though. It was a hard blow to see that aspect plummet by a little over fifty percent, but it was honestly better than Ainz, Taylar, or Albedo had hoped for.

All three of them figured it would cease completely until they could show they were safe in E-Rantel. The fact that almost half were still coming and going just showed their little shows with the child, mother, and The Forsaken had worked better than they hoped.

The mother had come by in three days just as Ainz asked her to. The woman didn't have many skills, but she did have one skill they were in dire need of. She had five other children for a total of six.

She knew how to raise a bunch of kids, and they were in need of people to run orphanages. Who better suited for the task than a mother of six? They gave her charge of a smaller orphanage so she wasn't overwhelmed, and she was picking things up from Pestonya pretty quickly.

All it took for The Forsaken to become a huge topic of conversation in the city was them dropping hints into conversations as to how they knew one another when they walked by people. It didn't take long for the rumors to start, and that part of the plan was over relatively quickly.

The city wasn't booming, but it wasn't declining either. Once the city completely calmed, and they returned from the Re-Estize Kingdom, things should start to look up even more. They were headed there tomorrow, but today was Ainz favorite day.

He called it Ainz Day.

In hindsight, the name doesn't match what actually occurs during his day, but it was a spur of the moment naming and he was never good at naming things. One would think from the name that Ainz would have the day all to himself, but that wasn't really the case.

While he did get to do whatever he wanted with no responsibilities toward running a city or Nazarick, it was the day he used to check on everyone from Nazarick and a few from Carne. It also made less sense to be named that when he took into account the fact that someone accompanied him everywhere on these days now.

Not only did he bring two homunculi maids with him, but he also brought another along with him every time now. That other person was the reason he was standing outside the room across the hall from his. He was getting ready to knock so they could have breakfast with the homunculi maids as they always did this morning.

No matter how many of these days he had with her, he still was a little surprised at how this was all turning out. Once they found out she had absolutely no interest in women, Ainz figured that would be the end of it since Taylar would not be involved in this relationship as she wished to be.

Boy was he wrong.

Taylar and Albedo were the ones who suggested he bring her along. They said it was the perfect day for a date, and reminded him that it wasn't as if they were alone. They did still have each other while he was away for the day.

After they had taken over E-Rantel, he thought he should skip his day for a while, but neither of them wanted him to do that. Not only could they easily run the city themselves, but they also reminded him there was someone else now to keep them company while he was gone for the day.

Not only their playful winks but the memories of the last couple weeks she is referring to made him realize he wasn't really leaving Taylar and Albedo alone. It wasn't as if he was spending the night with this other woman anyway.

Well, he hadn't yet at least. Not that he wouldn't, she just hadn't asked yet. It was still strange to think this was all alright, but those moments came few and far between now. Ainz knew he was once Suzuki Satoru, but he only felt like Ainz Ooal Gown/Momonga now.

Satoru would never take two wives let alone have two mistresses. He certainly wouldn't have one of those mistresses all to himself if he ever did do something like that, but still having the memories of Earth made little difference to how he felt now.

He finally knocked on the door, and she answered quickly. He couldn't help himself and looked her over as he always did when he came here. He was sure she got more beautiful every time he saw her. She really did look like the perfect combination of Taylar and Albedo.

Her golden hair and angelic aura reminded him of Taylar, and her face was almost a perfect twin of Albedo's. Since she started wearing the new... clothing, he loved her look even more. Ainz wasn't really sure if he should call it armor, a dress, or a robe. It was kind of all of those things in one.

No matter what she was wearing though, Rubedo always looked incredible. It would make no difference if she was wearing a straw sack, beauty like that cannot be hidden.

She blushed like she always did when she opened the door, and it made her look even more adorable. He greeted her as he always did with a kiss on the back of her hand, offered his arm, and they went to the canteena to have breakfast with the homunculi maids.

Breakfast with the homunculi maids went as it usually did nowadays. At first, they all just sat there in silence when he first started doing this, but over time, they began to open up and realize they could ask Ainz whatever they wished and he would most likely answer them.

When they finally figured that out, breakfast became a lively affair. It started to seem as though they thought up questions throughout the week and waited for this day to ask Ainz all of them. He didn't mind at all, just about everything they asked was easily answered.

Ainz was even able to start predicting what most of the questions would be just like it was this week. He knew he would get a lot of questions about what E-Rantel was like, the Battle of the Katze Plains, and Albedo.

The homunculi maids seemed very interested in Albedo. Ainz noticed they always asked about her. He knew it had to be because of how much time she spent with them, but they really focused on one thing specifically. Her pregnancy.

Perhaps it was just women being curious, but that didn't seem to be the case to Ainz. They weren't asking a lot of questions about anything other than how she was feeling. It seemed they all wanted her to be well and give birth safely more than anything.

Tsuare was quiet as she usually was. Ainz always tried to include her in the talks. She always answered whatever he asked respectfully and with a smile on her face. She was truly becoming a fantastic maid, especially for a human, but he could tell she didn't feel like she belonged at the table.

Ainz knew he didn't have the effect on people Taylar did. Those of this world just need to spend time talking or simply being around her to open up and forget their troubles. He was observant though and noticed she opened up around one more person than just Ninya and Sebas. That is what brought Ainz to his latest decision to help her be more open and feel like she belonged here.

"Tsuare..."

Ainz calls out to her and waits for her to address him. She does so like a perfect maid as she has been for quite some time now.

"Yes, your majesty. How may I be of service to you?"

"It has come to my attention that there is someone else who requires a maid to attend to her. Since the schedule we have for the other maids is working so well and I don't want to disrupt it. I was hoping you would like to accept the assignment since your training is complete."

"Of course, your majesty. I would be honored to. Who shall I be attending?"

Tsuare was a little worried she would be headed to E-Rantel. She may have mostly gotten over what happened to her with Ninya and her majesties help, but she had no desire to leave Nazarick.

She couldn't think of a safer place to exist. Absolutely nothing would happen to her here even surrounded by monsters. It was actually because of those that most people considered monsters that she was safe here.

"You would be attending to Princess Aureole..." Ainz waits for the smile he knows will come and continues when he sees it. "She has two servants, but they are there to take her commands and defend her. Aureole said she enjoyed your company, and with your training coming to an end, it seemed like the perfect idea."

"I am honored, your majesty. I will not let you down, I promise!"

"I know you will not Tsuare. You will accompany us after breakfast and I will take you to the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary. All the days after, Aureole will open a Gate for you after you have eaten your breakfast."

"Yes, your majesty!"

Now that Ainz had taken care of that, it was time to finish up breakfast and chose the two maids who would accompany himself and Rubedo today. Ainz chose Fifth and Foss for the assignment today.

Both of them were ecstatic and quickly fell in behind Ainz and Rubedo with Tsuare and followed Ainz through the Gate to the Eighth Floor. They appeared right outside the door to the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary and both of Aureole's guards were there. This was a perfect opportunity for Ainz.

"Uka-no-Mitamas, Ootoshis..."

"Lord Ainz."

Neither guard bowed, knelt, or even nodded their head. The only acknowledgment they gave to Ainz was a greeting. The maids with them, Tsuare included, couldn't stop the gasp at the breach of protocol. Ainz understands, none of them had come here with him before so he turned to face the three of them and explained.

"Uka and Ootoshis have the most sacred duty in all of Nazarick. They protect my daughter. As such, when they are at their post, they are to never take their eyes off their surroundings. Please get used to this if you are to accompany me."

"Yes, your majesty!"

All three answered quickly and with a deep bow. He supposed his little greeting at least handled two problems instead of just one now.

"Uka, Ootoshis, this is Tsuare..." He motions to the girl so they know who he is talking about. "She will be attending to Aureole from now on so she has access to the Sanctuary. If you are on duty, please make sure she does not venture into the forest outside."

"As you command, your majesty."

Ainz is happy with the responses and opens the door to the Sanctuary. He already knew Aureole would be waiting with her favorite forceful hug. When he finally got it open, he got exactly what he was expecting.

"Morning, father! Morning, Rubedo!"

"Good morning, my beautiful daughter."

"Good morning, Aureole."

"Father! You don't have to flatter me, I already love you."

"I love you too baby girl, but it's not flattery if it's true." Ainz shrugs and moves to the side a bit. He keeps his left arm around Aureole but motions to Tsuare with his right. "I brought Tsuare along for her first day. Give her at least the day to get used to the Sanctuary before you go off on one of your adventures please, Aureole."

"Don't worry father! I don't have anything to do until dinner time tonight!" Aureole surprises the homunculi maids, and even Tsuare a bit when she steps away from Ainz and hugs Tsuare. "I'm glad your training is finally over! I'm sure you'll love working here!"

Tsuare is surprised like everyone else, but doesn't want to be rude and reciprocates the hug quickly before letting her arms drop. As soon as Aureole steps back, she drops into a perfect curtsey, lowers her head, and give a well-practiced response.

"I am glad for the opportunity to serve you, your majesty."

"Ok father, you may go."

Aureole just frowned at Tsuare's response and realized what the problem was. She probably shouldn't have been so blunt to her father, but she knew he didn't like to beat around the bush so neither did she.

"Are you kicking me out already daughter? I didn't even get to step inside the Sanctuary yet."

"Yes, father. Sorry, Tsuare will act stiff as a board if you are here even if we already know she has turned into quite the maid. I just want to introduce her to Arche, and we have nothing to discuss soooo..."

"Well, I should talk to Arche and find out how she has been doing while I'm here..." Ainz sees Aureole doesn't like that idea because he wouldn't be leaving so he comes up with a compromise. "but... If you tell me what you have planned for dinner tonight, and give me a quick update on Arche and her sisters, I'll leave the moment we are finished."

"Arche is fine, she is proving to be quite the student already. Ureirika and Kuuderika love living on the sixth floor, and finally, tonight is ladies' night!"

"Ladies' night?"

"Yep, ladies' night. My mothers started it not long after you started having Ainz Day. We get together for dinner, hang out after in the restaurant talking, then eventually I come back to the Sanctuary."

"You don't need sleep, Aureole. Why do you leave?"

"Mother gets very handsy with Mother Albedo after she has drunk too much. I wouldn't mind that much but one, I don't want to see that and two, Mother Albedo has trouble controlling her pheromone ability when mother gets like that. I don't want to be around for that even if Mother Albedo's ability doesn't work on me."

"Wait she... who else is around for these ladies nights?"

"It was just me and my mothers at first, but the Pleiades started joining us a few weeks ago. I was going to ask Arche, Ninya, and Tsuare to join us. I'll make sure to get them away from Mother Albedo before it gets too late. I could only imagine the effect she would have on them if she can affect the Pleiades."

'So wait... does that mean... is that why...'

Ainz just shakes his head of those thoughts. No use dwelling on what has already happened. If he could rewind time, he wouldn't change it anyway so why think about it? Ainz personally loved when Albedo couldn't control that ability.

To him, it was just an amazing smelling perfume and didn't have the effect on him it did on others. Plus, if she couldn't control her ability with him, it meant he was doing something right! He certainly didn't need her to use some ability to make him want her. Albedo, and Taylar for that matter, were completely irresistible.

"Well..." Ainz grabs Rubedo's hand and opens a Gate. "have fun tonight, and watch out for your mothers. Hopefully, Taylar will be able to pace herself enough she doesn't get too crazy tonight. Albedo still isn't drinking right?"

"Of course she isn't! Now, shoo, off with you, father."

Ainz just chuckles and steps through the Gate with Rubedo. Fifth and Foss are right behind him and the Gate closes as the two-step through. They can see they are on the first floor, just outside the entrance to the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Standing only about ten feet in front of them is Shalltear Bloodfallen.

"Shalltear..." Ainz waits for her to turn around. He was about to continue but noticed her smile drop a bit before she plastered another on her face. He just filed it away for later and continued. "I was hoping we could speak for a moment. Do you have some free time?"

"Of course, Lord Ainz. I always have time for whatever you need of me."

"I know that you were disappointed we canceled your mission to the Southern Holy Kingdom. I know that you wish to show off some of what you learned with Aureole. In light of that, we have a new mission for you."

"I will not fail you, Lord Ainz. I am at your disposal for anything you require."

"I know you will not, Shalltear. I can't say for certain you will get to show off new tactics, or what you have learned from Aureole, but you will be accompanying me to the Dwarven Kingdom. Your combat skills may be required, but it will also allow for me to teach you myself a skill that no one has tried to teach you yet."

"What skill is that, Lord Ainz?"

"Diplomacy."

Ainz tried to hold in his chuckle at Shalltear's expression but he couldn't. She tilted her head and gave him a look of utter confusion. It almost seemed as if he had spoken some made-up word that had no meaning to Shalltear. This was exactly why she needed to come with him for this.

"I... don't understand, Lord Ainz."

"That is why you are coming with me, Shalltear. I am going to show you how to gain allies without using combat power. Words can be just as persuasive as a sword if you know what to say and when. I simply wish for you to come along so you can observe a diplomatic exchange. I want you to learn everything you can just as I do for everyone else in Nazarick."

"I will learn everything I can, Lord Ainz!"

"We will be leaving in a week. Prepare anything you need for the journey, we will not be coming back to Nazarick unless it is an emergency. Taylar and Albedo can handle all of this while we are gone."

"Yes, Lord Ainz! I look forward to our journey together!"

"Oh and Shalltear, Albedo told me you have taken up some of her training duties so she would not need to push herself as much. I wanted to thank you for that so she isn't so overworked."

Ainz bowed to her and she immediately tried to remedy that reaction.

"L-Lord Ainz, please do not bow to me! I am just trying to help Nazarick in any way I can!"

"I just wanted to show you my thanks was sincere." Ainz just waves off her reaction. "I look forward to our journey together as well. I will see you soon, Shalltear."

Ainz was at least happy he made Shalltear's day. She looked a little upset at first but she seemed positively ecstatic now. There was no need to dampen her mood to inform her others were joining them as well so he just opened a Gate, and stepped through with Rubedo, Fifth, and Foss.

They had all stepped through the Gate before they could see Shalltear's expression go from ecstatic to confused to worried. When it finally registered what Lord Ainz had said before he departed, she couldn't help the emotions of her face changing.

'Am I going to have to thank Albedo now? Please, by all that is unholy, don't make that the case!'

When Ainz group stepped through the portal and looked around, they all realized they were now on the sixth floor of Nazarick standing next to Aura and Mare's treehouse. It didn't take a genius to figure out who they were checking on next. The shout of childish excitement let them know their arrival was noticed.

"Lord Ainz!"

They all looked up to see Aura somersaulting out of the top of the treehouse straight down to where they were standing. She landed with ease and even added a bow to Lord Ainz at the end to make it look even more graceful.

"S-Sister, you s-shouldn't l-land s-so close t-to Lord Ainz!"

Mare could be heard scolding his sister as he hurried down the steps to greet their guests as well. He certainly wouldn't be able to land with the grace Aura did, but it always brought a question to Ainz mind.

'Why doesn't he just cast fly? I know he knows the spell.'

Ainz could never figure that one out. He obviously didn't need the fly spell even if he knew both versions, but he imagined he would use it quite often if he didn't possess wings himself. Mare finally made it to the bottom and gave Ainz his normal greeting.

"G-Greetings, L-Lord Ainz!"

"Aura, Mare, it is good to see both of you." Ainz pats both them on the head. They both thoroughly enjoyed this for some reason Ainz still couldn't figure out. "How is the dungeon building going Mare?"

"I-It is g-going good, L-Lord Ainz. I-I should be c-completed in a-about a w-week."

"Terrific Mare! You are always excellent at completing your tasks. You should think about a reward for when you are done, Mare. You deserve it for all your hard work." the shy blush and proud smile did not go missed by Ainz. "Aura, you have finished mapping the area I asked of you in detail, have you not?"

"I have Lord Ainz! We did not go into the mountains as you commanded, but everything on the surface has been mapped out as you requested. We now have a detailed map of the Azerlisia Mountains, Great Forest of Tob, Great Lake, and the Katze Plains."

"Wonderful, Aura! Both the Queens have agreed to your request for a reward already so no need to think of something different. I have another mission for you if you wish to accept it Aura."

"Of course, Lord Ainz! I am yours to command!"

"I want you to experience some diplomatic talks for when you are older. I just want you to watch what occurs, take in everything you hear, and we will discuss it afterward. So if you are willing, I would like for you to accompany me to the Dwarven Kingdom in a week's time."

"I'd love to join you, Lord Ainz! I can finally see what is in that mountain! Do you think there will be rare monsters down there?! I wonder what else could be in there?! We could..."

"Aura..." Ainz cuts off the excited child. "I'm not sure what we will find other than dwarves but I am happy to see you're excited to accompany me. Also, we will be bringing four maids with us, Zenberu, and Shalltear."

"Ahhhhhh, Shalltear..." Aura groans for everyone to hear. "Why is she coming, Lord Ainz?"

"For the same reason you are Aura. To learn that sometimes diplomacy is needed instead of just cowering everyone with force. I was going to teach you and Mare when we went to the Elf Kingdom about this, but..."

'I'd never let either of you near that sick rapist even if you could destroy him in a moment.' Ainz doesn't say that part though, instead, he says...

"Our plans have changed for the Elf Kingdom. This will also give you and Shalltear a chance to put your grudge behind you. We are no longer in Yggdrasil and everyone needs to stick together in this new world. I'm not saying you need to be best friends, but I would like it if you two would get along a little better."

It seemed as though Aura wanted to protest, especially the last part, but she didn't. Instead, she looked Ainz in the eyes and said.

"I'll try, for you, Lord Ainz."

"Thank you, Aura. That is all I ask. Now, how is everyone doing at the village down at the lake?"

"The Lizardmen love it, Lord Ainz. I'm sure most of them would live there permanently if you offered it to them. Ureirika and Kuuderika very much enjoy living there as well. They have made friends with quite a few Lizardmen, Dryads, and Tree Ents since moving there."

"Yes, Aureole told me they enjoyed living on the sixth floor. I'm sure being able to play whenever they like and not having to worry about their parents selling them off would make their childhood a bit nicer. Does Arche enjoy living there? Aureole only told me she was a good apprentice, she didn't mention anything about how she felt living here."

"She seems to like it Lord Ainz. She keeps to herself and doesn't make friends as her two little sisters do, but it seems she is glad for the safety of Nazarick. I'm not sure if it is because she is safe or her little sisters, but she doesn't seem to mind living here."

"That is good to hear. How are you two doing? Have you been eating properly and getting enough rest?"

"We have been, Lord Ainz."

"Y-Yes, w-w have, L-Lord Ainz."

Both of them assured him they were doing as he asked. He noticed them touching the gifts he gave them from Bukubuku while they answered. As long as they were eating properly and resting so they could grow to be strong adults, that is all that really mattered to Ainz.

"I'm glad to hear it you two. I'll let you get back to your day. Aura, we will be leaving in a week so be ready to depart then."

"Yes, Lord Ainz!"

Ainz ruffled both their hair then opened a Gate to his next destination. Ainz group appeared in what looked to be a ruined temple. There were crumbling and destroyed columns littering the place. Statues of various gods were smashed and profaned everywhere they looked, and it didn't take long for everyone to realize where they were.

The Blazing Temple on the seventh floor of Nazarick, home of Demiurge.

When they all looked up, they could see said guardian sitting in his white throne in the center of the ruined temple. Demiurge immediately stood and knelt before Ainz when he noticed his entrance to his domain.

"I am grateful you have blessed this sacred ground with your presence, Lord Ainz. How may I be of service to you?"

"While I am always thankful for the greeting, Demiurge. I think I would prefer you to say defile, desecrate, or profane this unholy ground." Ainz can't help the half-smile that forms. "I don't exactly exude an aura of rainbows and sunshine. I'll leave the blessing of holy places to Taylar."

"As you command, Lord Ainz. I shall never forget your words."

That wasn't exactly the reaction Ainz was going for, but he'd take it. Ainz was never particularly funny, and Demiurge probably wasn't the best audience for any joke that didn't involve bodily harm of some sort. Time to move on to why he was here.

"I know you are to depart soon for the Abelion Hills, but I have something I would like you to look into before you leave. If you don't find what I need before you must go, simply have your agents continue to look into it for you while you are gone."

"I shall do anything you require of me. What do you need me to look into, Lord Ainz?

"As you know, the only items of any real value we gained from the Slaine Theocracy's treasure vault was Surshana's journals..."

"Is that why you returned all the items, Lord Ainz?"

"Yes. They did not possess any other World Items. The rest of the gear from the vault was useless. I wouldn't even think of giving it to the Pleiades. I suppose we could have given it to some of the maids as they leveled, but I'd rather just give them items from our treasury. It made it easier not having to put fakes back in their places..."

Ainz stopped and took a breath. He was getting off-topic again. He should already have his answer, but he still hasn't even asked the question.

"Anyway, one of those journals has experiments to..."

'How should I put this?'

"break past the limits of this world. One of the journals we possess has the beginnings of these experiments, but the journal ends before the research does. I need you to have your agents in the Slaine Theocracy try and find the second volume of that journal."

"I will have them get right on it, Lord Ainz!"

"Good. I'm going to leave the first volume with you so your agents know what to look for. I have already read it and do not need it any longer. Let me know when your agents find the next volume the moment they inform you they have it, Demiurge."

"As you command, Lord Ainz. My agents and I will not fail you!"

"I know you will not, Demiurge. I can always count on you to come through when I need it. Do not worry about finding it quickly. It could be anywhere in the Slaine Theocracy. I just want it found without anyone knowing we are looking for it."

"I am undeserving of such praise, but I shall try with every fiber of my being to live up to your generous words, Lord Ainz."

"Good luck in the Abelion Hills, Demiurge. I look forward to your progress reports as your plan unfolds." Ainz turns to the two maids accompanying himself and Rubedo. "Fifth, Foss, come here, please. We cannot Gate to our next location so Rubedo and I will need to touch you to teleport us to the next location."

Fifth and Foss do as their told. Ainz places a hand on Fifth's shoulder, and Rubedo does the same to Foss. The next location is much brighter than the seventh floor, and it doesn't take long to figure out why or where they were.

They all see enormous piles upon piles of gold coins throughout the room. There are weapons, armor, gauntlets, greaves, and any other item you could think of poking out from every pile of gold.

They are in the Treasury of Nazarick, home of Pandora's Actor.

"Vater!"

Ainz shakes his head at Pandora's greeting. Pandora's back was to Ainz, and he seemed to be working on something with a wood frame. Ainz had no idea how Pandora knew he was here after he only took one step. The quick twirl, bow, and flourish that accompanied the german greeting was a little much, but it was a little too late to stop that behavior at this point.

"Pandora... what did I tell you about German?!"

"Paenitemus mei: pater!" Pandora gives another bow but continues before Ainz can say anything. "And hello to the lovely ladies accompanying you, Father! What brings you all to my humble abode?"

"First, was that Latin?"

"Verum, Pater!"

"Alright, just stick with languages everyone can understand, Pandora. Not many people know Latin. Your apologies and confirmations of the language you are speaking only make sense if people can understand them."

"I'll try my maxime, Father!"

Ainz shakes his head again. He at least got Pandora to stop speaking in German, but now it seems as though he can't help but speak Latin. Too bad he couldn't remove all those languages he programmed into Pandora. That would make this so much easier.

"Yes, please do try your hardest, Pandora. Now, I'm just checking up on everyone. What have you been up to when you are not in charge of Nazarick for us?"

"I have been doing my passion! My love! My soul! The reason for my entire creation! What I am meant to do and love for all eternity!"

Ainz was getting a little impatient with the flourishes and hand movements after almost every word. He finally let his patience wear a little thin and asked...

"And that is?..."

"Sorting the Treasury! There were already so many items to sort through! Not to mention the amount of treasure mother and you dropped off when we came to this New World! I haven't even had a chance to look at any of that yet! And the World Items you gave to me! Oh my, WORLD ITEMS! I cannot wait to see what type of power they hold for us to unlock!"

"Ok, ok, ok..." Ainz had to put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "so that is all you have been doing? Nothing but sorting the Treasury? Didn't I see you working on something when we entered?"

"Yes, Vat- Father! It is a gift for my brothers or sisters or brother and sister. Would you like to see what it is?"

"Of course, now you have my curiosity, Pandora."

Ainz and everyone makes their way over to where Pandora was sitting. Pandora jumps in front of the wood frame before anyone can see it. Ainz knows what is about to happen. Pandora is going to do some ridiculous reveal. Maybe one of these days one will be good.

"Everyone behold!" he slides out of the way, holding his palm up and fingers open as if he is framing the gift.

When he moves out of the way, everyone can see the wood frame is actually two cribs. They look to be very well made. The cribs look to be made of wood, but they are almost pitch black. No one had ever seen wood that color before except on Lord Ainz scythe.

The top arch of both cribs was made to resemble wings. Each layer of feathers going down the wings were made of a different metal. The ones at the top were bright white, and they slowly got darker until they were black at the bottom.

The bottom of the legs appeared to resemble dragon claws. The actual legs looked identical to the snath (handle) of Ainz scythe as did the wood bars of each crib. Ainz couldn't believe the quality of the work. They were truly masterpieces.

"Those are truly fantastic, Pandora. Did you make these yourself?"

"Only the best for my younger siblings, Father! I cannot take all the credit though. Demiurge and the Blacksmith both help create these wonderful gifts as well! I could not have finished them without their help and knowledge!"

"I will thank both of them later for this. They looked completed though. Why are you still working on them?"

"I get the final task of enchanting such wonderful gifts! I was just finishing up when you entered, Father!"

"You are enchanting the cribs?"

"Of course, Father! Temperature control so my siblings are always comfortable. Levitation so nothing can disturb their peaceful nap times, and they can be gently rocked. Dimensional Anchor so they cannot be kidnapped by magic. Voice recording so you and mothers may record songs or messages to play while they sleep. Sanctuary so no one with ill intent may approach the cribs. Protection from Arrows so ranged projectiles are not a dange-"

"Alright, Pandora. I get the idea. I'm sure Albedo and Taylar will be thrilled with such a gift. When do you plan on giving it to Albedo?"

"I still need to make a few minor tweaks father, but I plan on giving them to mother when you all return from the Re-Estize Kingdom!"

"We shall leave you to finish your work then, Pandora. Albedo will be thrilled when we return and she receives them. I will not tell her so you may surprise her. I'm sure she will love them, and make sure Demiurge and the Blacksmith are present when you do. They should both be acknowledged for their contributions to the creation of these wonderful cribs."

"I shall father! Thank you!"

Ainz doesn't even acknowledge the ridiculous flourish that accompanies Pandora's farewell. He nods at Rubedo and places his hand on Fifth's shoulder again. All four of them disappear from the Treasury and reappear in the kitchens.

The homunculi maids were surprised to see the Head Chef already waiting for them with two baskets prepared. Ainz and Rubedo were not surprised. They had been doing this for weeks now.

"Lord Ainz, Lady Rubedo, your lunch is ready for you as always."

"Thank you, Head Chef. What kind of spread did you prepare for us today?"

This was one of few times Rubedo didn't wait for Lord Ainz to address anyone. She usually led these conversations since she started eating with Lord Ainz. She found she really enjoyed the food of Nazarick, even if she didn't need to eat anything.

"We heard you would like to try seafood so that is what we have for you, Lady Rubedo. As always, there is a small amount of many different varieties. This time there are crab cakes, lobster bites, sushi rolls, shrimp, and many other fish dishes along with various sauces for you to try. We do hope you and Lord Ainz enjoy your meal, Lady Rubedo."

"I'm sure we will, Head Chef. The food everyone makes is always amazing."

To the homunculi maids horror, Lord Ainz, and Lady Rubedo each picked up one of the baskets after Lord Ainz told the Head Chef they would enjoy their meals as they always did.

Before either can do anything about it, a Gate opens and Lord Ainz and Lady Rubedo step through. The maids don't wait a moment longer and follow closely behind.

When the maids step through, they can see they are back on the sixth floor of Nazarick. They were not near the treehouse though, they were standing at the top of a small hill, looking down on a lake.

This was not the lake they built a village near. This lake was very quiet with only the sounds of nature to fill the air. The maids noticed Lady Rubedo opening her basket and pull out a chair. They realized what she was doing and quickly tried to stop her.

"Lady Rubedo! Please, allow us to set up for you!"

Neither Ainz, nor Rubedo knew if they planned to say that in perfect sync, but they should be used to it by now. The reaction they got from the maids when they were here for the first time was always a little humorous. This time was no exception.

"Don't worry about it. See, already done."

Rubedo didn't stop when they protested, it was only two chairs and a small table so it didn't take long to pull them out of the basket. Rubedo then set the basket on the table, she couldn't wait for this reaction.

"Alright, your lunch is ready for you. We will be down by the lake and won't need you so please enjoy your lunch."

Rubedo was never one to giggle, but she couldn't help herself this time. Instead of the fumbling protests or rapidly asked questions that were never finished before another escaped their lips, Fifth and Foss looked completely dumbfounded.

Both were just staring at Rubedo with looks of utter disbelief. Ainz couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips either before taking Rubedo's hand and leading her down towards the lake.

By the time the maids snapped out of it, Ainz and Rubedo were already out of their sight. They both hurried towards the crest of the hill and saw Lord Ainz sitting on a blanket. They didn't see Lady Rubedo for a second then realized, she was leaning back into Lord Ainz.

Neither Fifth nor Foss had ever seen Lady Rubedo act like this. They had both met her more than once, and no one in Nazarick forgot when they met the Godslayer. She was the one who stopped the assault on The Great Tomb of Nazarick in Yggdrasil. None of the Invaders left the eighth floor where she resides or used to.

When finally meeting her, her first impression did not disappoint. She was beautiful even by Nazarick standards, but she was also terrifying beyond belief. Her aura of power seemed to be above all the Guardians and be on the same level as Lord Ainz and Lady Taylar.

That being their impression of her made this day so far seem like a dream. They never would have ever thought to see Lady Rubedo giggling, blushing, or having an intimate lunch with anyone even if that other person was Lord Ainz.

Both maids finally took a seat and opened the basket. They figured they would be getting the seafood dishes the Head Chef listed but were pleasantly surprised at the contents. Instead of what Lord Ainz and Lady Rubedo were eating, both saw their favorite meals inside the basket.

Fifth was touched and salivating at the steak, fried potatoes, and pasta on what was surely her lunch plate. Foss had the same reaction to her plate, even if it wasn't a plate. The pizza box in the basket was surely for her. When she opened it, she knew it was meant for her when she saw the sausage, ham, pepperoni, bacon, and jalapenos.

Both dug into their lunches immediately after seeing their favorite beverages waiting inside next to their lunch, sweet tea for Fifth and root beer for Foss. Neither had any idea how Lord Ainz or Lady Rubedo knew their favorite meals, but both were touched none the less.

Lunch seemed to last much longer than either of the maids were used to. Not only did Lord Ainz and Lady Rubedo eat their lunch, but they also laid down and stared at the sky, and strolled along the lake hand and hand.

Finally, Lord Ainz and Lady Rubedo started making their way toward the maids once more. The maids did not wait and rushed to meet them when they noticed them coming their way.

"We are leaving Nazarick for the next part of the day. If you do not wish to leave Nazarick, I can gate you back to your quarters."

"We shall accompany you anywhere you require to go today, Lord Ainz!"

Neither maid seemed to care they were leaving so Ainz opened a Gate and all four of them stepped through. This was not an area either maid was familiar with, as such, they had no idea where they were. The only thing that stood out was the large statue of Lord Ainz they were standing in front of.

"This is the village of the Lizardmen. We are here to check in with Cocytus."

It only took a moment before a white Lizardman came out to greet them. After a quick hello and the Lizardman introducing herself as Crusch Lulu, she led them to where Cocytus was at.

They found him observing the training of Lizardmen in the village. Ainz could tell they had improved from before already. Cocytus spotted them almost immediately, and made his way to them, took a knee, and bowed his head.

"WELCOME, LORD. AINZ. HOW. MAY. I. BE. OF. SERVICE. TO. YOU?"

"I'm simply checking on everyone today, Cocytus. How is everything going in the Lizardmen village? I see they are improving their combat styles greatly."

"YES, MY. LORD. THEY. ARE. BETTER. THAN. THEY. WERE. BEFORE, BUT. THEY. STILL. HAVE. A. LONG. WAY. TO. GO."

"Do you believe we should delay your departure? Are they ready to take on the Toadmen?"

"THE. TOADMEN. SHOULD. BE. NO. PROBLEM, LORD. AINZ. WITH. THE. LIZARDMENS. NEW. TRAINING. AND. TACTICS, THERE. SHOULDN'T. BE. MUCH. OF. A. BATTLE. WITH. THE. TOADMEN."

"I have confidence in your assessment, Cocytus. How is the rest of the village coming along? Are you having any difficulty learning to run this village?"

"IT. IS. DIFFERENT. THAN. WHAT. I. AM. USED. TO, LORD. AINZ, BUT. I. AM. LEARNING. AS. I. GO. I. WILL. NOT. FAIL. IN. MY. TASK, LORD. AINZ."

"I see that you have a number of the hatcheries up and running already. I also saw they finally began building their houses on the stilts that were recommended they do. It seems as though you are doing quite well here, Cocytus."

"THANK. YOU, LORD. AINZ. THE. BUILDING. IS. COMING. ALONG. A. LITTLE. SLOWER. THAN. WE. HOPED. BUT. THEY. ARE. PICKING. IT. UP. IT. WILL. STILL. TAKE. A. LITTLE. MORE. TIME, BUT. I. BELIEVE. THEY. WILL. MASTER. IT. EVENTUALLY."

"I am hoping to have some help for you in regards to construction in a few weeks. I will be heading to the Dwarven Kingdom after we have seen to the appointment of the new reagent of the Re-Estize Kingdom and had Emperor, excuse me, Governor Jircniv swear fealty to us. If my trip goes as well as I hope it will, you will have some good help with construction in the near future."

"THANK. YOU, LORD. AINZ. I. SHALL. NOT. DISAPPOINT. YOU!"

"I know you will not, Cocytus. Remember to send daily reports when you and the Lizardmen begin the war against the Toadmen. Use everything Demiurge and Aureole taught you to win, and remember that I don't want you to participate in battle unless it is to defend yourself. I have faith you learned from your last attempt at this and will conquer the toadmen quickly."

"I. AM. OVERJOYED. BY. YOUR. CONFIDENCE. IN. ME, LORD. AINZ."

"You have earned my confidence with how hard you have been working Cocytus. Unlike the Pleiades or homunculi maids who can still grow by simply becoming more powerful, yourself and the other Guardians can only grow by using your minds to learn new things. I couldn't be prouder of the job you all have done to better yourselves for the future of Nazarick. Neither myself nor the Queens will ever forget everything all of you are doing."

"IT. IS. OUR. HONOR, LORD. AINZ!"

"Keep up the good work, Cocytus. If you require anything, send a message to Nazarick."

Ainz gives Cocytus a reassuring pat on the shoulder then opens a Gate to his next destination. He was almost done checking in on everyone. He just needed to stop in Carne and talk to a few people then it was time for his favorite part of this day.

Ainz and company appeared behind a building in a city neither Fifth nor Foss knew. Ainz and Rubedo both knew, they did create this building after all. Ainz opened the back door and started inside, no one thought twice about following, and both maids saw they were walking through a store/lab. Ainz explained to them.

"This is the Bareare's Alchemy Shop in Carne. Aura told me Nfirea was headed this way after gathering ingredients in the forest. He should be here any minute."

As Ainz finished, they made it to the front of the shop. Ainz saw Nfirea, Taenya, and Tsarra all walking toward Nifrea and his grandmother's shop. At least Taenya and Tsarra weren't being reckless, they were using their new gear when they went into the forest.

All three stopped about fifteen feet from the door. Ainz couldn't help but listen in. It wasn't like the door was thick enough that he couldn't hear.

"Thanks again for accompanying me into the Great Forest of Tob. Both of you are always such a help."

"It's our pleasure, Nfirea. Thank you too." Tsarra tells Nfirea.

"What are you thanking me for? Both of you are the ones helping me."

"For being you." Taneya tells him with a smile.

"What do you mean by that?"

Nfirea looked completely confused and embarrassed by the look on his face and light blush he can't help. Taenya and Tsarra decide to show him what they mean instead of telling him.

Both give him a kiss on the cheek, lightly run their fingers up his arm, and then walk away smiling at a dumbfounded looking Nfirea. Ainz and Rubedo both chuckle when they look at Nfirea.

'Even I wasn't that dense, Nfirea!'

Ainz thinks when he realizes Nfirea has no idea why either of them did that. Ainz couldn't wait for Nfirea to come inside. This was going to be fun. Well, for him it surely would be.

Nfirea recovered and went inside the shop to drop off his newest batch of ingredients thinking to himself what Tsarra and Taenya meant with that answer. Nfirea was so lost in thought, he didn't notice anyone as he entered the shop, and it was only almost running into Lord Ainz that he realized someone was there.

"L-Lord Ainz! I-I'm sorry I almost knocked into you! What c-can I do for you today?!"

Ainz wanted to laugh at Nfirea's reaction to realizing he was there. It took a lot of willpower not to do such a thing, but he wanted to catch Nfirea off guard with his joke so he would get a better reaction out of him.

"I came to check on your progress, but I see I must give you some very helpful advice. And remember, this is coming from someone who has experienced the advice he is about to give you."

Ainz puts both hands on Nfirea's shoulders and even crouches a bit so he is looking Nfirea right in the eyes. Nfirea realizes whatever Lord Ainz is about to tell him is serious. He can't remember Lord Ainz ever looking this serious.

"Having two wives is wonderful. Just remember you must make each of them equally happy so you need to be able to keep up with both of them outside and... inside your home."

Ainz intensely serious expression didn't falter until the very end when he added a wink after he finished his advice. Nfirea was listening to him so intently, the realization of what he said didn't sink in until a few moments had passed.

"L-L-Lord... I-I-I... Wha... I-I-I... W-W-Why..."

As Ainz watched Nfirea stutter, turn brick red, and nervously fidget from foot to foot, he couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. It rang through the shop loud enough to be heard outside. Ainz had to stop himself before he started crying he was laughing so hard. It at least gave Nfirea time to collect himself even if it was only a little bit.

"I'm certainly not Taylar or Albedo, but even I know after all those two have been through that wasn't just a simple kiss on the cheek. They may as well undressed in front of you with an answer like that."

Ainz can see all that did was make Nfirea get even redder and look anywhere but at Ainz. Either he didn't believe Ainz, or he wasn't sure how to react to such a statement. There was only one more thing he could say before they got to business.

"It might seem odd to you, Nfirea, but it seems as though those two have made up their mind already. If the idea makes you uncomfortable, you need to let them know. They both deserve to be loved after what they went through."

"I don't think... How can..." It seems Nfirea is still struggling with the idea. "I-I'll t-think on it, Lord Ainz."

"Good. Now, how about we talk about how your alchemy is coming along?"

"O-Of course, Lord Ainz."

Ainz and Rubedo take a seat at the table, Fifth and Foss take up their spots behind them, and Nfirea sits down across from Ainz. The boy still looks embarrassed, but he composes himself enough to have a conversation.

"Tell me about your experiments, Nfirea. Do you have anything new to tell me?"

That seemed to be the moment Nfirea forgot about what just happened. The boy practically danced out of his chair in excitement.

"Yes, Lord Ainz! I have been able to replicate the purple potion using ingredients from the Great Forest of Tob, but... I've only been able to produce it in the new, enchanted equipment you have provided us with. When I try to make it in the equipment we used to use, it always turns out blue."

"That is great news Nfirea. You haven't had the chance to try ingredients from Nazarick in the new equipment yet have you?"

"I have not, Lord Ainz. We used all the ingredients you graciously allowed us to have in our experiments to create the first purple potion."

"I will have Lupus Regina or Solution bring you ingredients tomorrow. I'll send along enough to make two potions so you have a little wiggle room, but I can't send more than that. Until we find somewhere to harvest the ingredients we have, I can't afford to use too many of them."

"I understand, Lord Ainz! I shall send in a report the moment the experiment is completed!"

"I will be awaiting the results, Nfirea. Now..." Ainz reaches into his inventory and pulls out a tome. "Read this the first chance you get. The magic in the tome will disappear after you read it and you may use it for notes for your research."

"A magic tome! What does it do, Lord Ainz?!"

'How do I explain an experience tome to someone from this world?'

Ainz isn't quite sure how to give Nfirea an explanation on that tome. It is apparent that the people of this world have no idea what levels are. They understand the concept of getting stronger and learning new abilities, but they have no clue it is based off of levels.

"It will sharpen your mind and possibly give you answers to questions that are just outside of your current knowledge. It may advance your alchemy or it could possibly advance your arcane casting. You will understand after you have read the tome and had a good night's rest."

"I will read it the moment you no longer have need of me, Lord Ainz!"

"I believe that is all we have to cover so I will leave you to your reading, Nfirea."

Nfirea bids them all a goodbye and sits down to start reading the tome before Ainz even casts a Gate. Ainz chuckles and opens a Gate to the next location. Luckily, the only two people he needed to still speak with were together at the moment and expecting him.

Ainz and company appeared in what would be best described as a conference or meeting room. The quality of the work was second only to Nazarick, and there was a good reason for that. This was the City Hall of Carne. The fourth floor to be specific.

Ainz had created this building himself with his Super-Tier magic. The quality of everything in here was better than anything this world had to offer. Even the curtains in this room alone would be enough to purchase Carne Village as it used to be.

Enri still didn't seem to be used to living in a place like this. It had been a few months, but she still looked around sometimes in awe as if she was visiting this place instead of living in it.

Well, she was technically living on the fifth floor, but this was part of the residence she was living in. They still planned on making that floating castle but delayed it for a bit. Enri thought her current living arrangements were more than adequate, and they didn't really have the people yet to maintain a castle.

Speaking of Enri, she and Ashryn were currently kneeling not far from Ainz and company. He told them to stand quickly upon noticing them, and they all sat down around the table. Their discussion went as it normally did.

Enri told him about the ever-increasing population, prices for everything from real estate to grain, and they went over the backgrounds of some of the merchants and new residents wishing to purchase stores and houses.

Ashryn asked him mostly normal questions for her. Ainz was thankful all the time that he saw her put on a little show after she changed the temple. Talking to her once a week would be like pulling teeth if all she wanted to talk about was death. Ainz did have one thing to talk to her about though. Well, not just her so after they were done he asked.

"Ashryn, I have something I need to talk to yourself, Taenya, and Tsarra about. It might be a touchy topic so we can discuss it alone if you like."

"I do not mind, Lord Ainz. I trust Enri and those from Nazarick, but I cannot speak for Taenya or Tsarra."

The moment she finishes, there is a knock at the door. After a moment, the door opens and Solution walks in being trailed by Taenya and Tsarra. All three make their way toward the table and Solution bows to Lord Ainz followed by Taenya and Tsarra.

"I have gathered Taenya and Tsarra as instructed, Lord Ainz."

"Thank you, Solution. You may return to your duties now."

Solution bowed and headed back out the door while Taenya and Tsarra took a seat at the table. None of the elves minded Enri, Rubedo, or the homunculi maids being there so Ainz began.

"As I said, this might be a tough topic, but I need to talk to you about Erya Uzruth."

Ainz is pleasantly surprised when the only emotion he sees from any of the three elves is rage. It looks as if all that time Taylar spent with them did some good after all.

"What about him, Lord Ainz?"

"I felt as though one quick death wasn't enough for him so I had his body recovered. I plan on making him into an undead. An eternity of servitude sounds appropriate for someone like him. What I wanted to ask you about was; what kind of undead I should turn him into and what his purpose shall be?"

"Should that not be up to you, Lord Ainz?"

"I have a lot of ideas, but some I would want your approval for. I thought it appropriate for him to serve you three, but if you do not wish to even be near his undead form, I will not use that as a punishment."

"What do you mean serve us, Lord Ainz?"

"I could turn him into an Elder Lich for instance, and he could serve as your assistant. He could wash your clothes, clean your house, or whatever other tasks you set him to. He would, however, have his old memories and realize what he must do now. He won't be able to treat you with anything but respect so you don't have to worry about him trying to act like he used to."

Ainz wanted to make sure they realized that. The man having his old memories might not sit well with them. He continued after the realization sunk in.

"Or... I could do something as simple as turning him into a Death Knight and make him into your protector. You three can decide who he protects and on what day. In this case, he won't have his old memories and won't even be able to communicate. He would be nothing more than a servant ready to follow your commands. I know you remember when there was only one Death Knight in Carne, right?"

Ainz sees each of them nod and continues.

"That Death Knight was the man who attacked Enri and Nemu. I turned him into a Death Knight after I killed him, and he has been protecting this place ever since. If you prefer to not be around even his undead form, I can just turn him into an undead for my army. I'll leave the decision up to you three."

Ainz saw them exchanging looks as he went over some of the options. It looked as if they were trying to come to a consensus with looks alone. After he finished, they only said a few words and they came to a decision.

"If it is alright with you, Lord Ainz. We wish for him to be turned into an undead that can help with the administration of the temple. That way, he not only serves the three of us, but he also can serve our divine rulers from Nazarick."

Ainz thought that was a good idea. When he saw the look on the homunculi maids' faces, he knew they agreed. Rubedo looked happy with it. Enri did as well, she even looked a little proud of her three friends.

"I agree. I will think of something unique for him in this case. I will bring him by when I am finished with him. Now..."

Before Ainz can take his leave, a message interrupts him. It looks as though Enri is getting the same message, but she isn't expecting it like he is so she looks a little worried. Ainz eases her mind quickly.

"Don't worry, Enri. I have been expecting the person at the gate. We can go see her now. Anyone who wishes to come is welcome."

Ainz gets up and opens a Gate. Rubedo and the maids didn't hesitate to follow. Enri and all three elves went through as well. Enri certainly had to go, and the elves were curious now.

When they stepped through the Gate, they were standing right outside the front gate of Carne. There were four guards around an elf woman with black and white hair. Even her eyes were mismatched black and white. Ainz walked toward the half-elf and spoke.

"Zesshi Zetsumei. We expected you tomorrow. It seems you couldn't wait to get here and didn't camp out last night."

Zesshi looked very surprised that he was expecting her. No one else really knew who she was other than Rubedo and the maids, but they weren't surprised he knew she was coming.

"You said you would come back with your offer!"

"I did say that didn't I?"

"Why didn't you come back?!"

Zesshi's tone was a little forceful, and everyone was a little taken aback by how she was talking to Lord Ainz. It seemed none were as offended as Rubedo as she drew her sword that no one could even tell was there and pointed it straight at Zesshi. Everyone knew Rubedo was strong, you can just sense it from her, but her sword was almost as terrifying as she was.

"Watch your tongue rodent, or I'll cut you to pieces where you stand!"

"You seem strong, but nothing I can't handle."

Zesshi took a measure of the girl's power and figured she would put up a good fight, but Zesshi had a chance of winning. This seemed to anger Rubedo a great deal, and she was starting to lose control of her auras she was suppressing. Ainz had to teach her to turn most of them off as they were extremely dangerous to anyone below level 90.

Zesshi and everyone they came across fell into that category, unfortunately. There were only a little more than ten people in Nazarick who could take on Rubedo's aura, the people of this world stood no chance when it was activated. Zesshi was waiting for a response, but she did not get one with words.

The air around her started to feel incredibly heavy, and as she looked into the blonde woman's eyes, she could see the rage burning in them. It was then she realized that she just made a very bad decision. She felt pushed to her knees, and soon her head and hands followed until she was in the dogeza position.

Zesshi had never knelt to anyone, let alone so submissively. There was nothing she could do to move with this immense pressure holding her down though, but as soon as it came, it went away at the sound of a voice.

"Rubedo..."

Ainz puts a hand on her shoulder, and the pressure disappears. Ainz looks around and is glad she directed that at Zesshi only. If any one of the people here would have been subjected to that pressure, they would be red stains on the ground and nothing more. Ainz believes they realize that too because all of them now look absolutely terrified of Rubedo.

"I am sorry, Lord Ainz. I will try to control myself better."

"It's alright, Rubedo. You controlled yourself exceptionally well considering the circumstances. Even in your rage, you only directed your aura at Zesshi, and it seems as though she got the message now. To answer your question Zesshi. I wanted you to leave on your own. I can give all the incentives in the world, but if you do not wish for a new start yourself, they are all pointless."

Ainz looks at Zesshi as he finishes and so does Rubedo. It indeed looks as if she learned her lesson. The half-elf is still on her knees, but she is sitting upright. She is taking deep breath after deep breath trying to get air back in her body, and she is looking at Rubedo with fear in her eyes.

"Well, let's take this conversation to Nazarick. I'm not going to let you..." he points at Zesshi. "make me miss my favorite part of my day so you'll just have to wait a bit longer." he turns to Enri and the elves. "Would you like me to Gate you back or are you alright with walking?"

"We can walk, your majesty. Thank you for the offer."

Enri didn't take long to answer and it looked as if she was speaking for the elves as well. Ainz wished those from Nazarick could so easily go back and forth between calling him Lord Ainz and your majesty. Enri didn't seem to have any problem knowing exactly when to call him either.

Ainz gives them all a nod and opens a Gate. He motions Zesshi to head through first then Ainz, Rubedo, and the two maids follow after a brief hesitation from Zesshi. The glare Rubedo gave her made her step through rather quickly.

Zesshi steps through the Gate and is in a place that can only be described as spectacular. She had never seen a place of such high quality in all her life. To everyone else, they would know this place as the Amphitheatrum, the Arena, or the Colosseum on the sixth floor of Nazarick.

"Go ahead and take a seat up there..."

Ainz trails off as he looks to where he was pointing just below the VIP box. Instead of an empty box and golems in the stands below it, he was greeted to people in both locations.

Taylar, Albedo, Aureole, Sebas, Lupus Regina, Yuri, Cixous, Fiore, and Tsuare were all sitting in the VIP box with the rest of the Pleiades and homunculi maids occupying the stands just below the VIP box.

Ainz looked up in the box and saw Taylar and Albedo smirking at him. Taylar even had the audacity to start eating popcorn as she looked at him. Apparently, his favorite time of this day had become entertainment to the others of Nazarick.

It shouldn't surprise Ainz. He knew a lot of the citizens of Nazarick talked about when he and Rubedo did this. He just didn't think anyone would actually show up to watch let alone turn it into some form of entertainment for Nazarick. Ainz walks up to Rubedo as Zesshi heads toward the stands.

"We can always do this another time if you do not wish to do so in front of everyone else."

"No, I want to. I doubt I'll notice them anyway. This always focuses me."

Ainz gives her a nod and gets into position. Rubedo does the same and as soon as they are both set, they pull out their weapons. Ainz grabs his scythe from his inventory and Rubedo draws the sword from her hip.

There was no bell or signal to start the match, they both sprung forward at each other faster than most could perceive. They both swung their weapons at the others and the effects were tremendous.

When Death's Calling met the Sword of Annihilation, the force not only caused an incredible gust of wind, it also destroyed a good portion of the ground around them. In a twenty-foot circle around them, the ground had gotten about ten feet deeper than it was just a moment ago. The rest of the arena's ground was cracked and splintered and it looked as though some of that force damaged the walls of the arena as well.

The look on everyone's face in the stands was one of awe. Only Taylar and Albedo didn't share the same look as everyone else. Taylar was smiling at the sight of Ainz and Rubedo sparring. She knew this got rid of a lot of Ainz wishes for a close battle so this would always make her smile. Albedo was smiling as well, not only for Ainz but for Rubedo as well. Now everyone could see how powerful her sister really was and Albedo couldn't be anything but proud of her.

For their part, Ainz and Rubedo did not notice any of this. They were both solely focused on the other as they sped around the arena attacking each other. Their blows were so powerful, even the trees outside the arena had started to look as if they were leaning away from the battle. It was really the force of each blow slowly uprooting them, but they would go back to normal after the spar was over so no need to worry about collateral damage.

Ainz and Rubedo carried on sparring like that for a little over thirty minutes. Everyone in the crowd hardly looked away from the spectacle going on in front of them. Most couldn't even keep up with the speed of both of them, but they saw the destruction none the less.

Ainz and Rubedo finally stopped in the middle of the Arena facing each other. Both of them were bleeding slightly and panting from exertion. No one missed the enormous grins on either face even if they looked beat to hell and back. Ainz thought that was enough for this week and made his way toward Rubedo as he put his scythe away.

"That was fun as always..." Ainz grin grows even more as does Rubedo's. "I have an idea about the rest of our day. Want to hear about it?"

"Of course, Lord Ainz."

"Why don't we go have dinner after we get cleaned up? After we eat, you should join Taylar, Albedo, and everyone else in the restaurant for their ladies' night."

"Do you... do you not want to spend the rest of the day with me?"

Seeing Rubedo ask him that so insecure and timid was a little weird for Ainz. It didn't take him long to reassure her though.

"Of course I do. I just feel bad they have this night without you and thought you might want to go enjoy yourself for a bit."

Ainz can tell she is thinking about it. He could always gather up Mare, Cocytus, Demiurge, and Sebas and do something for a bit to kill the time. Rubedo didn't spend much time around those from Nazarick because she was usually tasked with something. It would be a good opportunity for everyone to see her in a different light. It looked as if she finally made up her mind.

"I'll go but..." she looks right at Ainz and gets a little closer to him. "I have two conditions."

Ainz was curious as to what those conditions were. Like most of Nazarick, Rubedo had been acting outside her settings more and more. He couldn't wait to hear what she wanted in exchange.

"First, when we have dinner in a little bit, it will be just you and me. No maids or anyone else with us."

"Deal."

Ainz was quick to answer that. He wished he could eat every meal without someone hovering over him waiting to get him more food or take away his finished dishes. Ainz got extra curious when Rubedo got incredibly close to him to state her second condition. Her lips were just millimeters from touching his ear as she whispered.

"Second, you have to spend the night with me..."

There was no mistaking what she meant by that. Just as he did the first time, Ainz answered quickly. This one might have had a little more excitement behind it than the last one though.

"Absolutely."

"Good..." Rubedo does something even more out of character for her and kisses Ainz in front of everyone in the arena then she says. "I'll go get ready for dinner. I'll see you in a little bit."

Ainz watches her go and so does everyone else. There are many reactions to what just transpired but Ainz doesn't care to analyze any of them. He simply looks in the stands and points at Zesshi.

"Zesshi Zetsumei, come with me. We will get you settled and we can speak of what you came for tomorrow morning."

Ainz opens a Gate after barely even waiting for Zesshi to come from the stands. He needed to get this half-elf situated so he could get ready for dinner. Waiting for Rubedo to finish in the restaurant with everyone would probably seem like an eternity, but he sure was looking forward to later tonight.

---

And there is chapter 21... took me a lot longer than usual because of the holiday season and my dad being in the hospital a few times, but I got it done... Hopefully, I'll get back on schedule for the next chapter, but I can't promise I will til my dad is not making so many frequent trips to the hospital... for everyone who was bent I didn't do Enri/Nfirea, does Nfirea getting two girls make up for it? lol... Wonder if he would have any motivation for making a stamina potion now? I guess we will find out... until next time!