CHAPTER 7:

A GIFT FOR ALBEDO

"Those aren't bad plans, actually, Momonga," Harry said, meeting with the man in question a couple of days later in Harry's mansion. Antilene and Leinas were off socialising with Foresight, and the adoption process was going well for now. "Sending Sebas and Solution to be your eyes in the kingdom's capital is a good idea. Solution's meant to be a good actor, even if she's one of the nastier of the Pleiades. Also, posing as an Adventurer would work well, though I'd suggest Shizu rather than Narberal. Narberal may be a good mage, to say nothing of her Doppelganger powers, but she's also one of those who really don't like humans, and I'm not sure she can stop herself from saying as such. Shizu's weapons may attract comment, but she's less likely to fly off the handle if some idiot says the wrong thing. Lupusregina, despite her sadism, could have been a contender too, along with Yuri, but you need them for other stuff, right?"

Momonga nodded. He'd come through using coordinates Harry provided for a Gate spell. "When it's just the two of us, call me Satoru, please. I think I need the extra reminder of my humanity."

"…Okay, Satoru. But…one thing concerns me. You sent out Shalltear with Sebas and Solution to try and find Martial Arts users amongst bandits and other ne'er-do-wells who wouldn't be missed. I understand that line of reasoning, and I'm sure Jircniv would be willing to part with prisoners for Demiurge to get his jollies from. But…Shalltear has a problem. I remember discussing her with you, and Peroroncino made her into…what do they call her build? A min-max build? One where you use a lot of flaws, major and minor, to allow for greater advantages elsewhere?"

Satoru nodded once more. "I get what you're talking about, the Blood Frenzy flaw. But I'll be discussing it with her before she goes. Honestly, I get the feeling she wants to jump my bones, pun intended. I mean, Peroroncino dumped a whole list of fetishes into her, and she's a bloody necrophiliac, for God's sake! And I don't want a loli vampire trying to bang me."

"Says the guy who made a crazy Succubus fall for me," Harry said pointedly. "Besides, given time, I could rustle something up that could give you a proper body, even if only temporarily. Even if you don't want to bang Shalltear, you could always go for Yuri or Lupusregina or Narberal or Solution."

"I'm still trying to get used to the whole idea of being in a fantasy world out of some isekai story, turning into an undead, the NPCs coming to life, and you being a wizard all along," Satoru said flatly. "Even with the emotional suppression, I'm still teetering on the edge of panic. I am effectively the leader of a bunch of evil NPCs fresh out of a computer game who may already be making plans to conquer the world in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown. I'm hoping your little talk with Albedo is one she shared with them, and may get them to consider things carefully, but still…are you still going to share your memories with her?"

"…Yeah. I'll take measures if need be, use the Memory Charm to erase parts of her memory pertaining to us being human if she reacts badly. But I'll show you first, anyway…"

Momonga had been shaken, even by the edited highlights of Harry's life. For all that Satoru Suzuki's childhood had been a hard one, his mother at least had cared for him. But he knew about cases similar to the Dursleys, Harry was sure. The world had become a truly harsh one by the time Yggdrasil began in the 22nd century, and more than a few members of Ainz Ooal Gown came from broken homes.

Before departing back for the Tomb of Nazarick, Momonga had asked how Harry had stayed sane. Harry had shrugged. He honestly didn't know, save for determination, strength of will, and sheer bloody-mindedness.

Eventually, Momonga sent back a Message. Albedo was on her way. And he hoped Harry knew what he was doing.

Harry, honestly, did not. This was a hell of a gamble. But he was worried that, if he kept such things secret from Albedo, it might cause problems down the track.

The demure Succubus emerged from the Gate, and bowed. "Lord Harry, I am here. What did you desire of me?"

"…Remember how I told you I intended to show you my memories?" Harry indicated the Pensieve. "That's the means of my doing so. However, I do need to set some conditions on you viewing them."

"Name them," Albedo said instantly.

"…Firstly, whatever you discover in those memories, you cannot attack me or Momonga, or anyone we care about. That is an order, Albedo, I don't want to give you orders usually. Another order is that you cannot discuss what you see with the other Floor Guardians or inhabitants of Nazarick, aside from Momonga himself. You may only discuss what you see in my memories with my explicit permission."

"…Very well," Albedo said, this time with some hesitation.

Harry then took her hand, and gently guided it into the Pensieve. With that, she was brought into his memories…

Albedo, to say the least, was shocked and perturbed. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, her love's oldest memories were being of a lowly servant, whose bedroom was little more than a cupboard underneath the stairs.

Secondly, her love had been human.

Albedo was trying to deny it, and yet, here he was, no Fallen Angel or any kind of monstrous race. Just a mere human boy, weak, downtrodden by those vile relatives. It felt like a bad joke, a very bad joke, and yet, here she was, witnessing it. Only her desire to see more, and to see those vile fools be punished for their insolence, had her continue.

She saw the strange incidents that heralded his magical ability. And then, the letters from Hogwarts. The giant man called Hagrid. The revelations of what happened to his parents. And then, Hogwarts.

By this point, Albedo's upset at loving a human had mostly receded, and her curiosity and interest had grown. She watched as he went on all sorts of adventures and misadventures, some of his own making, some not. Triumphs and tragedies as he confronted this Voldemort and his minions time and again. If nothing else, her love's courage was to be admired.

And then, Voldemort was vanquished…only for one last remnant of that fool to attack her love, to put him into a coma, as a form of revenge. Albedo's anger over this damnable slut tricking her beloved was palpable. And it wasn't until his friend, an aged and weary Hermione, visited him that he regained some kind of freedom.

Hermione put him into Yggdrasil.

It would be understandable if Albedo underwent some sort of existential crisis upon learning she was a creation in a video game. Oddly enough, though, she was more bemused than despairing. She already knew she was a creation of a Supreme Being, namely Tabula Smaragdina, along with her sisters Rubedo and Nigredo.

But to think the Supreme Beings were actually human. They had just chosen to play monstrous beings in Yggdrasil. She even saw more than a few of them as they looked in reality, courtesy of photos Lord Momonga showed Lord Harry. She was amazed at how much Lord Touch Me looked like Sebas, and Lady Yamaiko looked like Yuri Alpha.

And she also witnessed so many things. Lord Harry's delight at flying through the skies of Yggdrasil. His trying to mediate between Lord Touch Me and Lord Ulbert during their many arguments. The camaraderie they all shared.

And then, the sadness as the members of Ainz Ooal Gown succumbed to infighting, or just had their reality impinge on them. She saw Lord Harry console Lord Momonga about the others not coming back. And then, she witnessed that time when he took her to see the fireworks, from his perspective rather than her own.

Then, his time with the Thirteen Heroes, fighting against the rogue servants of lesser Supreme Beings. Of the friendships he made with those in it, especially to a vampire by the name of Keno. His betrayal by the Platinum Dragon Lord and that slattern Rigrit. His release, his escape with Antilene, his settling here and making new friends.

Now, Albedo had once been an AI, transformed into a living being. That transformation gave her the ability to change herself, for better or for worse. In truth, if she really wanted to, not that she knew it, she could rid herself of her love for Harry, her loyalty to the Supreme Beings, and become something truly feared on this world, or any other.

And yet, that transformation also granted her the ability to potentially change for the better. While the backstory created by Tabula Smaragdina (and slightly altered by Momonga) would remain at the bedrock of her character, she could develop new traits. And this was precisely what Harry had gambled on.

Showing her his life, and the truth about the Supreme Beings, could have backfired. But it actually gave her perspective. And for all that Momonga's editing of her background caused problems, writing that she was in love with Harry guaranteed that she actually felt the capacity for love. True, it was a twisted, distorted love, but in true love, there is always some sort of empathy.

What Harry granted Albedo wasn't quite empathy, but rather, perspective. He showed her the origin of her much-vaunted Supreme Beings. It could have broken her, or provoked her to rebel, her earlier loyalty be damned. Instead, it caused her to have an epiphany. She saw him at his most vulnerable, saw him fighting Voldemort, saw his triumphs and tragedies. She saw the rich tapestry of his life…and in the end, she found little wanting.

This wasn't to say her evil nature was truly changed. Tabula Smaragdina envisioned her as a Fallen Angel-turned-Succubus. He had also ensured that she had a dark mindset. But it was more of her innate nature as a Demon, and she hadn't done much that was truly evil in reality, once she had come to life. She simply had great capacity for evil.

And yet, being given the memories of her love had given her understanding of him, of what he wanted, and what he didn't. In fact, Albedo now began to truly understand. What Harry Potter desired was not power over others. What he wanted was considerably more simple and mundane than that.

He wanted to be loved, just as she did.

He wanted friends. He wanted family. Even though he had left many behind when they came to this new world, he had made new ones. And despite knowing how she may view lesser beings, he still made the effort to reach out to her.

Dumbledore had often espoused love as the most powerful magic of them all. And while the old fool had been naïve, it was true that sometimes, love could work miracles. And here, it worked a veritable miracle.

Again, what hadn't changed was her nature, not completely. It was less about what she was, and how she expressed it. And in any case, Harry and Momonga…no, Satoru Suzuki, being formerly human meant little. They were, after all, formerly human, and of course, there was the human member of the Pleiades, Aureole Omega, to consider.

So, after she remained in the memoryscape, thinking, she withdrew…

…And she turned to see Lord Harry standing there, watching her, looking anxious…and yet hopeful. Except, her sight was getting blurry, and…oh. These were tears. She raised a hand to her cheeks, and wiped them from her face.

"Albedo? Are you all right?" he asked.

Albedo, after a moment, smiled sadly. "That you ask me such a thing with such a tone means that my choice was the right one." She walked slowly over to him, before kneeling. "…Thank you, for showing me your memories. I have to admit, I was conflicted upon seeing them, seeing you as a human, fighting that fool of a warlock…and yet, in the end, I feel privileged." She then met his gaze solemnly. "My lord…my love…it doesn't matter that you were once human, any more than it matters that Lord Momonga was. Both of you…you stayed until the end, when the other Supreme Beings left us. True, I understand the draw of family, or that other things kept them from us. But what matters is that both of you remained until the very end. And even then, when you didn't come with us during the transition…you still came back to us. You came back to me, to Lord Momonga, to all of us."

Her voice was quavering, and she couldn't help herself, despite all her training in decorum. "My lord…my love…you have but to say the word, and we would grant you and Lord Momonga this world. And even if you do not desire that, but a happy life with us instead, then we would grant you that also with the utmost joy. We will help you take the heads of that treacherous slattern and that decrepit Dragon Lord, and anyone else who has slighted you. Your enemies are my enemies. Your friends are my friends. Your happiness is my happiness."

Her lord hadn't replied at first. Albedo had worried that she had messed it up, until she noticed his eyes moistening with tears of his own. Those gorgeous emerald eyes…but then, he held out a hand. "Albedo…please, stop kneeling."

Albedo, after a moment, took his hand, and allowed herself to be raised to her feet. And then, he hugged her. And as much as Albedo wanted him to do more than that, she nonetheless enjoyed the embrace. But when Harry broke off, Albedo, after a moment, pressed her lips to his own. He froze briefly in surprise…and yet, he eventually reciprocated. Lips locking together, tongues warring against each other…in fact, Albedo had to break it off, lest she lose herself, push him onto the lounge and take him right then and there.

But no words were needed. Well, they weren't needed. But then, Harry spoke some that had her excited. "…So, how about a date?"

"A DATE?!" Albedo yelped, unable to contain herself.

"Sure. Arwintar's got plenty of good places to eat and drink. I actually usually go to a pub if I'm meeting Foresight, but there's snazzier restaurants. It's a bit short notice, so I don't think there's any plays on at the moment, but…"

"YES, YES! OH LORD, YES!" she shrieked in delight.

Harry chuckled. "Okay, Albedo, take it easy. My neighbours probably thought I'm having sex with you, if I didn't have Privacy Charms engraved throughout the house."

"Let them hear, especially when we do consummate our love, my lord!" Albedo said, smirking. "I'm sure I'll scream so loud, I will shatter their windows. But for now, let us go on this date. I look forward to it…"

CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it. Harry's taken a gamble…and has won the jackpot.

Now, keep in mind, this could have gone either way, given that Albedo is a classic yandere. But I think the fact that Albedo had her settings altered to love Harry from the beginning proved a factor. If things went awry, Harry could have tried Obliviating Albedo. But I think Albedo has this obsessive love for Harry enough that she basically twisted around certain elements of her mindset to ensure she could keep loving Harry.

Also, keep in mind, as stated above, Albedo is still evil, she's still a nasty piece of work. But she also knows better than to do it to someone Harry would object to. She can get behind being evil towards a noble goal, to say nothing of not targeting the innocent. And Harry does accept her in spite of her nature, which helps. True, Harry is wary of her, but he has taken a huge risk here. He wants to give her a chance to show she can be more than an evil NPC.

As for the kiss at the end, well, Albedo was so overcome with emotion, she could have nearly jumped him like she did to Momonga at the beginning of the third season, or in the eighth light novel volume. But that was much later in the timeline anyway, and Albedo at least knows intellectually that Harry wouldn't view that well. I mean, that scene was attempted rape right there, even if it was a Succubus trying to rape a Lich.

But a kiss was relatively safe. She needed something, after all.

No numbered annotations this time.