Neia stood in the meeting room of her mansion, calmly looking out the window.
She spent the last week resting as her darling had recommended, to make sure that everything would go well following the transformation.
Fortunately, nothing bad at all happened, and so her days of rest were still spent catching up with parents, and having dates with Ainz.
She then heard the door open behind her, only for the person who did so to not take any steps, instead standing in the doorway.
This was how it usually went. Her informants now saw her new form for the first time, and so every single one was always too shocked to move at first.
She found their reactions quite amusing, making her return to work a bit more pleasant.
Though her little holiday did make that work pile up quickly, especially with its unplanned extension due to her transformation…
"... Your Holiness?"
She turned around.
"Yes? Is everyone here?"
"They are."
"Thank you, Bertrand."
After that, she moved to sit down. Everyone else was still just standing this whole time, waiting for her to do so.
When they sat down as well, she sighed.
"... Hello, everyone... I'll let Bertrand explain my current appearance."
As her head butler started his explanation, she let her thoughts wander back to last night, which she spent with Ainz.
They tried something new in bed, with blindfolds and her being tied up. But she found that she wasn't really into that kind of thing, as she wanted to hold him and always look at him when they were together like that.
"... I believe that's all. Your Holiness?"
"Oh? Uhm, right... Now then, I would like to start with a detailed report of how everyone has taken the news of my parents' resurrection."
A young woman stood up, and Neia nodded to her.
"It seems the people simply think of it as a well-deserved gift. There has been a lot of talk about it, but that seems to be the only discernible opinion."
Neia felt some relief, but not that much. Even if the people did not outright reject her out of envy, that envy would still be there, however small. Those who've lost their own loved ones would now irrevocably be less receptive to her, and so she hoped this would only be a very minor concern.
"I see... very well, and what about the general situation?"
"Many people were quite touched by that time you kissed His Majesty on the podium where you usually make your speeches. Even those who weren't there to witness it themselves."
She blushed a bit as she remembered her little stunt.
"Was there anything else?"
"I don't believe so."
"Thank you. Next, perhaps we should discuss my first speech after the break?"
As the woman sat down, a young man stood up instead.
He was one of her best when it came to writing speeches, and frequently gave her ideas. She nodded to him.
"I believe both the resurrection of your parents and you becoming an angel will make for excellent examples of His Majesty's kindness... Though I'm unsure if they should be framed as gifts to his beloved wife, or rewards to a loyal servant. The former will of course be an opportunity to speak of his love towards you and increase your renown, while the latter will be another example of rewarding his followers. Would you suggest a combination?"
"But there isn't much utility to the former, is there?"
"... Why is that, Your Holiness?"
She sighed.
"The goal is always Ainz's fame, not mine. We all live to serve him, no?"
She looked around, expecting agreement from everyone else in the room, but this was not the case at all.
"W-what's wrong, everyone?"
In response, Bertrand leaned in closer to her, and spoke quietly.
"Your Holiness... Well, we have many speakers who may use their humble status or lack of personal renown to appeal to the people... but for you, is shying away from fame really what you wish to do? There is no one in the church who comes anywhere near you in terms of status, as you are our God's wife… Surely you realise that gives you a unique position from which to preach your gospel, and that increasing your fame further will increase your effectiveness as a preacher?"
Neia understood what he meant.
But... was that really the right thing? The whole church was supposed to raise her darling's popularity, not hers...
"I... I will talk to Ainz about this... I… will only agree to raise my fame if he approves."
... ... ...
Ainz Ooal Gown was currently in the Grand Library of Ashurbanipal, walking over to the front desk.
When he reached it, the head librarian, who stood behind it, bowed to him.
"Lord Ainz."
"Raise your head, Titus. Do you have what I asked for?"
"We're still continuing our search, but this is what we have found so far."
The undead pulled up a small tied stack as he spoke. It was made up of text-filled paper, along with just a few books.
"Hm. This looks good. Like I said, keep this between us. No one else should know."
"Of course, Lord Ainz."
Ainz reached for the stack, and put it in his inventory.
"That will be all. Thank you."
... ... ...
The young Bafolk named Adren was wandering the streets of Hoburns, his stomach growling.
He was completely unsuccessful in finding a job in the Holy Kingdom so far, mostly just hunting to sustain himself. It seemed most people knew he was a demi-human despite him trying to hide his whole body under clothing, and trying to make his horns look like part of the mask.
He did heal that one injured hunter in exchange for a few rabbits, but that probably didn't really count as a job…
Either way, now that he was in the capital, he was sure to find something, right? The size of the other cities had already overwhelmed him, and this one was the largest around. There was surely someone around who would accept a demi-human holy caster, but he had to find that someone. The problem was, he didn't really have much of an idea about how anything worked in the cities, let alone how to properly ask around for a job. It's not like he didn't try, but most people just unfortunately weren't that helpful. It also didn't help that he couldn't really read human facial expressions.
And so, for his first day here, he was mostly trying to figure out where anything was, and against which wall he should sleep when nightfall comes.
Turning a corner, he saw a small crowd gathered in the centre of a more open area. They seemed to be admiring some stone statue.
He decided he might as well go see what it was about.
Getting closer, he recognised the statue as portraying the Sorcerer King. Of course. He heard this was the new religion everyone was now converting to in this part of the continent.
He then started looking around some more, trying to figure where to go next.
Maybe a random direction would be best? Not like he could pick a better one if he tried.
…
After walking for a few more minutes, he reached another open place where crowds were gathering.
This one had some sort of raised wooden platform as its point of interest.
It didn't look special from here, which piqued his curiosity.
Pushing through to get closer to that wooden platform, he eventually reached a point where the people reacted to his attempts with irritation.
"Hey, stop pushing, will you? I'm not giving up my spot this close to Her Holiness!"
Not really knowing what's going on, he did not want to escalate, and simply stepped back in silence.
Looking around again, he saw that more and more people continued to slowly gather around. Considering the number of people present here was increasing, there was probably something going to be happening soon.
Maybe... he wasn't quite sure. Either way, he decided that perhaps he should wait here to see what this was about.
The male from just now mentioned "Her Holiness"... was that someone important? Maybe she would appear on that platform.
...
"... Neia? You look nervous."
She sighed uneasily.
"I mean... are you sure? It's going to be my first speech in a while, after my parents were resurrected, and after I became an angel... and now you're saying it's fine if I make it about myself?"
"I saw your script, and that's not what you're doing at all. But yes, it is fine to raise your personal fame. Like you said, it's good to do that, since it gives you a unique position in your church, letting you appeal to the people like no one else can."
"W-wait, I didn't say that! I would never suggest that, it was them who-"
He stepped closer and started stroking her cheek, which made her melt under his touch instantly.
"Yeah yeah, you'd be too humble to suggest that yourself... Either way, didn't you say that it was bad to perform under stress? Maybe you should take your own advice."
"Well... why don't you help me calm down, then?"
He chuckled, and put his face closer.
She didn't hesitate to start kissing.
...
When she stepped out, a great wave of cheers was heard.
But as she continued walking, the cheers slowly stopped.
Her wings were the reason for that, of course. By the time she reached her spot, there were only whispers.
And then, she spread her large wings to their fullest.
"Hello, everyone."
Instead of being grand like usual, she went for a more gentle tone today. It was somewhat of an experiment.
"I am so happy to see so many of you have come to see me. Truly, it brings me such joy..."
The crowd was still silent.
"I see you aren't cheering like usual, hm? Well, that is only to be expected. I suppose you're all surprised to see me looking... different today. I'm sure many of you heard the news regarding my parents, right? They were both soldiers who were killed during the demi-human invasion, but my dear husband, the Sorcerer King, brought them back from the dead. It's the reason for the break I just took, as we had a lot of catching up to do. But that wasn't the only gift I received... I am now an angel. And so, I will never age, meaning I will remain by His Majesty's side for all eternity."
Just like when she gave the explanation to her servants, she could feel all the crowd's other emotions being converted into awe.
She chuckled gently.
"I am just so happy to have received such a gift. To be with him forever is the greatest gift of all."
After she finished delivering that line, she slowly reached her hands out to the audience at an angle as if to hug them, a gesture which finally made them all release their cheers.
It took some time for those cheers to finally die down, at which point it was time for the rest of the speech.