The kitsune, the dove, and two bears stood in a circle near one of the alcohol tables within the opulent gathering hall of a certain Prophetess' mansion. There was no longer any hint of natural light to be found upon peering outside the crystal-clear windows, though this made little difference to the party-goers thanks to the high quality of the magical lanterns available to the event's hosts.

"... ah, no. The difference between those two types of lich are actually rather miniscule, at least in combat..."

Satoru's explanation had no trouble reaching the Baraja family's ears, as the great hall was now rather quiet, populated rather sparsely by only a small collection of other similarly sized conversational groups. This was the stage of a party where it could only barely be considered as such anymore, its previous lively and exciting mood replaced by a sort of slow tranquillity, or perhaps even the feeling of surreal stillness if the transition to such a low number of attendees was especially drastic or sudden. Some might also associate this stage of a party with exhaustion if they are an especially active participant in such events, and some might even associate it with nausea if they are a habitual enjoyer of the free alcohol options.

"Well, fortunately I've never had the displeasure of engaging in combat with any sort of lich."

"Displeasure seems too light a word, no?"

"Ha, very much so. And is it true that silver actually doesn't do anything against a specific type of undead? I forgot their name, but they were sometimes an issue in the Empire, I think?"

Neia's keen hearing then picked up an especially hurried set of footsteps originating somewhere on the other side of the room, and getting closer towards the four of them. Soon enough, an unmasked Tuare stopped to bow close to the group, waiting for her master to finish answering Pabel's question. When Satoru finally did, he bid the maid to speak in a relaxed manner, as Tuare's report couldn't have been anything urgent if she chose to wait patiently like that.

"Hey, Tuare. Raise your head. What is it?"

"Miss Alria felt ill. A healing spell was already administered but an exhaustion remains. Should she be moved to a guest quarters for the night or provided an escort home?"

Neia was the one to answer, being the mistress of the residence.

"Ah, let's exercise caution and have her stay in our care."

Just as the High Priestess was about to dismiss her friend, she realised she forgot something.

"... Oh, and yes, I'm sure. Yes, absolutely sure. No, this is not me being far too gracious, and yes, I know she appreciates this very deeply. Please tell Miss Alria these things if she protests. Is that all?"

"Yes, Neia."

"Alright. Good luck with your duties."

"Thank you."

With another bow, the maid hurried off while the angel made a mental note to request a proper talk with Tuare for tomorrow, during the visit to Nazarick. She hoped the workload wasn't too bad, and hoped to speak to the woman about it, among some other things.

"Honey? I thought you'd want to talk to her for a bit."

"Hm? Well, I wouldn't want to interrupt the current conversation."

"Understandable. Where were we?"

"Those undead from further out east."

"Oh, right."

...

A yawn or two from the High Priestess later, she watched another group of guests take their leave. Her own circle's conversation had also slowed down to a crawl by now, far more so than earlier when it was just slow. Pabel was the one to comment on this.

"... Looks like we're some of the last people to remain. Maybe it's time for us to go our separate ways? I can see you yawning, sweetheart."

"Oh, yeah... Sorry, I suppose I'm the most exhausted here. I guess it's because I got a bit emotional earlier..."

"Wait, what? Are you okay, Neia?"

"Sweetheart?"

Both of the angel's parents immediately showed great concern in response to her hushed tone. Neia immediately felt like she shouldn't have admitted that. She didn't want to worry anyone, and especially didn't want to seem whiny.

"It's okay... Everything is okay as long as I have Ainz to hold me."

Neia took hold of her husband's arm as she spoke, hugging it tightly. Pabel responded with a gentle, affectionate tone.

"Ah, good... Well, I won't pry, but I hope you know you can still rely on your parents, sweetie. We're both so, so proud of you, alright? So proud you can't even imagine. Never hesitate to ask either of us if you need help or advice. I know how stressful your position can be. You'll always be my dear daughter, okay?"

"Absolutely, sweetheart. You can rely on both of us. You're working so hard, and achieved so much… I sometimes still can't believe that my little baby daughter became such an incredible, important person… That those once tiny hands did so much to forge the path the whole continent is set on. Those same hands that once did their best to hold onto mine, though the difference in size between them was tenfold."

The priestess smiled with a warmth that came from the bottom of her heart, but she didn't feel quite brave enough to correct her parents' continued assumption that it was stress from work that plagued their daughter's heart. The truth of it was far more shameful than that. Neia was simply an overly emotional woman, far too prone to crying over nothing.

"Thank you, dad. Thank you, mom."

"You better continue to take good care of her, Ainz!"

"I will, Pabel. I promise that from the bottom of my heart."

A pleasant silence followed. Pabel's slightly raised voice from just then had earned the group a look or two as it pierced the otherwise rather quiet hall, but the moment was far too beautiful for any of them to feel bothered by something like that.

...

"Good night! Rest well, you two!"

"You too, sweetie! And have a nice night, Ainz!"

Reaching the point where their paths diverged, the two couples parted ways with cheery goodbyes. Neia wondered if Satoru felt a bit left out whenever everyone was wishing each other a pleasant rest while excluding him, considering everyone else was still under the impression that the undead God was at all times a skeleton, and would leave to entertain himself with other activities once his wife fell asleep.

Soon enough, the divine pair reached the Prophetess' bedroom, where they would spend a bit of time to tend to something before retrieving Ayame and going to sleep as a family, though the youngest of them was probably already fast asleep by now. Opening the door and activating several magical lights, a large object on the table in the centre of the room immediately stood out.

"Ohh there it is!"

Neia felt excitement rising within her, ideas of what could be inside Albedo's gift basket flashing through her mind. Satoru spoke after the two entered, closing the door behind them.

"It's been a while since the previous one, huh? With that one, all I did was approve the relinquishing of Nazarick property from the treasury. This time, though, one could call the basket a collaboration between me and Albedo."

"Really? Thank you so much!"

Satoru chuckled.

"You don't even know what you're thanking me for yet."

The angel's wings flapped several times as she buried her maskless face within the fold of Satoru's robe.

"Do I need to know? It's gifts! I ought to be thankful for them either way!"

"Hmm, I suppose that's true. Unless they're really bad, or something."

"I'd be grateful for anything you'd gift me if it came from a place of genuine affection."

"That's also true. Something like that probably can't be bad... Well, unless the giver expressed their affection with violence, or something."

Neia sighed playfully at her husband's lame joke, though it was also a rather sensible statement. Hand in hand, the two approached the table, where Neia excitedly moved the cloth cover out of the way, exposing some, but not all the items.

The priestess reached for the first thing that came into view. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to simply be yet another miniature carved pumpkin decoration, seemingly made of wood with a top layer of fine cloth. The object fit nicely into one's palm, and its expression was unlike that of the others of its kind, being a friendly smile.

"Oh, these... Try to shake it, love."

"Shake?"

Neia gently shook the decoration, holding it carefully with both her hands. This had earned her a chuckle.

"A bit harder, honey."

After doing as instructed, Neia heard the pumpkin produce a rattling sound before lighting up brightly, the inside now seeming as if it contained a roaring fire, one that easily pierced the cloth's fibres.

"Ohh, I see! I assume it's not a fire hazard or anything?"

"Shouldn't be, we've done our best to make sure they aren't, pretty much no matter what you do with them. There's more with different expressions in there."

Taking another peek below the basket's cloth, Neia did see several other pumpkins of identical size and texture. Just like Satoru said, they had a wide range of expressions, with most being comically dramatic or otherwise silly.

"How nice!"

The Prophetess' wings flapped a few more times as she put the decorations off to the side, and shook the one that was lit up for a second time. It produced an identical rattling sound that clearly did not come from anything actually contained within the object, but was instead merely the sound that was magically conjured once the pumpkin was shaken with enough vigour. The light within then disappeared.

"I really wonder what's inside..."

"Nothing, really. It just creates the illusion of there being a fireplace or something inside, and is otherwise hollow."

"I see."

Reaching into the basket again, Neia tried lifting up a larger pumpkin she saw within, and found that she was able to rather easily. Despite looking and feeling indistinguishable from a real pumpkin, it was quite light. Spinning it around, Neia soon found the carved face, and set the pumpkin down facing herself and Satoru, who stepped closer and knocked on its forehead twice, producing a pleasing sound.

This activated the object, lighting up a fire within, though this one could be seen as there was no obstruction. The interior was hollow and bore the appearance of somewhat rough wooden planks, while the fire was a calm but large one, its source a crude candle that was honestly better described as a little mountain of wax with a bit of string poking out of the top. The most interesting property of the pumpkin, however, was that the carved face moved as if it belonged to a living person, blinking and observing the movement in its surroundings.

"Oohh... Uhm..."

"Don't worry, it's as much a lifeless puppet as any basic skeleton, so there's no concerns with privacy there."

"Ah, good."

The mother made eye contact with the decoration, who grinned mischievously.

"But it can do even more, look."

Satoru leaned forward, closer to the pumpkin.

"I don't like you. You smell."

The carved face slowly twisted into a completely different shape, its expression one of sadness as carved tears ran down its cheeks. Neia gasped, earning her another chuckle from the undead God, who then continued speaking to the object.

"You're a good pumpkin. Not nearly as cute as my wife here, but still decent enough."

And now, the carving seemed to blush, as did Neia. Satoru spoke as he stepped back.

"Would you like to experiment with it, or have me provide you with a list of reactions and how to elicit them?"

"Oh, maybe it'd be fun to figure out on my own? Though I don't think I'll enjoy being mean to it..."

Neia then knocked on the decoration, which seemed to deactivate it, as expected. The angel peeked into the basket again, and pulled out two candles, out of five total. They were quite thick, and held within a beautifully carved wooden container, one that was also adorned with a copper plaque.

"Pumpkin spice... fallen leaves and seasonal herbs... Ah, I love scented candles!"

"I'm well aware. These are decently strong, and burn for eternity unless extinguished... Uhm, just like our love?"

Neia's wings began flapping, accompanied by a blush and wide smile gracing her expression. The priestess loved when her husband got all poetic like that sometimes, and listened intently as he continued.

"Though the part about getting extinguished was a bit depressing... Should've thought that out more..."

The angel chuckled.

"Should we try the candles right now?"

"There's something we can do that with in there."

\\\

Satoru wished he could've provided such candles earlier, as they were a gift the king had been thinking about for some time. Back in Yggdrasil, candles were mostly decorative items, and the only thing that mattered was their aesthetics or sale price, the latter being determined by the quality of used ingredients. The actual fragrance was only ever described in flavour text, as DMMO-RPGs were barred by law from providing their users smells. Due to this, Nazarick's collection of such ingredients was not as extensive as Satoru would now like it to be, since they were usually quickly used up to make the guild extra gold on the side.

"Ah, is that a tinderbox?"

Neia quickly spotted what he intended for her to find next.

\\\

"It is."

After freeing up her hands, the angel reached for the shiny rectangular object that rested atop one of the other candles and inspected it intently. The closer Neia looked, the more she was impressed by the detail of the intricate carvings on its silver surface, carvings that depicted a scene of several bats flying off as a skeleton rose from a cave's stone floor, the undead's ribcage and eye sockets home to interwoven cobwebs and several large spiders.

"How beautiful! It definitely fits with the frightening theme of this holiday!"

Opening the long box, Neia found a firesteel, rough black stone, a painter's brush made of metal, and something that looked like a ball of fur on a rather long, thin chain. It had been some time since the High Priestess was met with the contents of a tinderbox, though these were very unconventional.

"See that haired ball on the chain, and the uhm… brush? The fur comes from a rather rare magical beast, and is quite unique due to catching fire rather easily, and then never actually burning up completely, meaning it can serve as reusable tinder."

Satoru's tone became progressively more excited as he continued.

"The material of the chain and the handle of the 'brush' is the same, a highly heat-resistant metal, so you won't need to worry about it burning you when you handle it, either."

Neia smiled happily at her husband's explanation. It was quite palpably infused with his passion for the unique and novel. The angel found it rather cute, as well as charming of course.

"Well, that's quite… hmm, elaborate?"

"Of course it is. Normally you'd just use a magical lighter if you could afford it, so there isn't much of a point at all to having an expensive tinderbox like this, with additional tools and such. I'm glad I managed to grab a unique piece like this. It was made by a craftsman from Karsanas, though the box itself it came in was not quite in perfect condition anymore. I hope you find it at least a bit as interesting as I do."

"Oh, definitely! I'll be glad to have something like this, darling. Shall we go near the fireplace to try it out?"

"Of course."

The couple moved closer to the fireplace, to an area of the room whose floor was made of tiled stone in order to minimise the chance of any accidents with fire. The mansion was also home to a number of magical tools meant to help extinguish fires if one were to break out, though they were yet to be used in the time since Neia became the residence's owner. The angel carried with her the tinderbox and the candle labelled pumpkin spice. Neia and Satoru sat down opposite each other, with the two objects now resting between them. Following another yawn, the priestess set the brush on the stone floor, and took up the firesteel and black stone, which was rather rough to the touch. With a single strike, a high amount of sparks burst out, setting the brush's tip on fire. It produced a bit of smoke, and so Neia moved quickly in lighting the candle, whose scent filled her nose almost instantly, and was indeed quite intense.

"Ah, so nice!"

The angel blew on the brush to extinguish it, something that took two attempts.

"Mmm, it really is..."

"Thank you, darling! And I'll need to make sure to thank Albedo again too!"

"I can deliver the message the next time I see her."

"Oh, that'd be great! Please tell her I'm very thankful and I really love the gifts."

"I will. I also hope we'll be able to create more such candles for you in the future."

"I hope they're not too troublesome to make?"

"Anything for you, honey. Anything… And there's one special... scent I wanted to mention..."

Satoru reached into nothingness, and pulled out yet another candle. He then offered it to his wife, who hastily took it.

"Huh?"

Reading the plaque, her cheeks began to redden.

"Uhm... aphrodisiac?"

"Just a rather weak one, if you're interested in trying how that goes?"

The High Priestess had sometimes wondered about the prospect of using drugs, whether that be just by herself or along with Satoru. They were already utilising some potions to bolster his erection and stamina, magic also allowed them to engage in dangerous activities when it came to Neia's more masochistic side, and alcohol was a substance that altered the mind, though it was rather tame compared to the supposed effects of banned substances.

Would the spouses utilise more and more such things as time went on? All sorts of people ruined their lives by losing themselves in the pleasure of drugs, and so Neia could not help but feel at the very least curious. Well, just something weaker could be nice. Maybe something to increase the body's sensitivity in preparation for intimate moments. Or something to stay up an hour or two more, allowing the woman to better fit all her duties as High Priestess, as mother, and as wife into the day. Or maybe something to lull the mind for when Neia might become hysterical again.

"Yes, I think we should probably try something like this."

Hey there, it's the Lucy again.

And yet again, another unexpectedly delayed chapter. Oops. Sorry, I caught covid just a few days after releasing the last chapter, so I kept sleeping for half the day, and barely being awake for the other half. Hopefully nothing else decides to mess with my schedule for the next few months...

Either way, I hope you enjoyed this little part 2! Don't forget to tell me what you thought about it, and thank you everyone for all the reviews up until now! :3