"you've only been here for a few minutes. do you two have to leave so soon?"

"Sorry Momonga-san, but I have other attending stuff to get to. I have a new voice gig. plus I need to give my little brother a talking-to for not even bothering to show up! you can leave it to me!"

"I just wanted to catch up since I had time. as well as apologizing for never completing the second edition of my player killer guide."

four members came on the closing day, but just as quickly as BukuBukuChagama and Punitto Moe had come just as quickly as they left. Herohero does not remember why he did not leave at that moment as well as when he easily could have.

Momonga did not seem to take great offense though he did seem like he wanted to say something to try and get them to stay. he wonders what would have happened if he did.

"it is quite alright. thank you for a little conversation." Momonga had tried to hold back his shaky voice.

Herohero waved "Have a good life you two."

"no problem Momonga. wish I had time to see the rest of the tomb, at least the Library one last time. have a good night you two." Punitto Moe left after that.

"Oh, Momonga you'll buy my new game when it comes out right~?" the pinkish slime got oddly close to both of them but more so Momonga.

Momonga did a smiling emoji in the chat "Of course, I always make sure to get one when you're in it."

"OH~!" BukubukuChagama backed away and covered her slime and gooey face as if she were an embarrassed school girl. "t-thank you f-for that. see you- I-I mean hear from you later Momonga." She signed out in a rush.

those were the only members Herohero had seen before the shutdown besides Momonga and now...he is not sure he can take seeing the latter so frozen.

after all the others had left it was just Herohero, Albedo, Prestonya, and two maids in the throne room. the two maids were Cixous and Fith. they were still bowed as they could not believe they had been called to the throne room. 'called by one of the three supreme beings who created us. what an honor!' Fifth thought in excitement. 'I will make sure to tell our fellows about every bit of Herohero's glorious new rise to our leader, even if it is temporary until Lord Momonga is cured.' Cixous held a notebook that was handed to her by Prestonya as well.

"you two may rise. Fith, your job here is to assist Prestonya in observing Momonga. if she requests anything or anyone you are to get it as quickly as you can. as well as report to me if Prestonya has found a way to cure him. additionally, there are other maids on standby so feel free to switch with one when a couple of hours have passed." Herohero felt it was an easy work schedule for the maids.

Fith bowed her head energetically "Of course Lord Herohero!"

"Cixious you are to take notes for me while I survey the floor guardians. this will not take long though."

'YES!' Cixious kept her love of this order to herself and calmly would say to Herohero "Of course Lord Momonga I will be sure to be through."

'phew, I just did not want to risk getting Ooze all over the paper' Herohero was glad he picked the calm maid for this task.

"Albedo you should come as well. As the Overseer of the guardians, it is a good idea to see where everyone stand-"

"No, I will not." it was rather surprising to the maids to see Albedo of all people act so coldly to a supreme being. they had not seen her earlier interaction with Herohero.

"I must stay by Lord Momonga for as long as it takes." Albedo's shoulders shift uncomfortably. so Herohero just decides to drop it.

first stop was right at the entrance of the tenth floor. he briefly considered entering the Ashurbanipal for Punitto Moe's sake but he felt it would be better to do that later. when he got to the Pleiades room, all of them bowed slightly. Sebas with her hand to his chest and his upper body forwards and the others with their hands together held by the waist and doing the same as Sebas.

'heh, really I already saw this when Momonga and I came here earlier. but they would have been devasted if I skipped them.'

"I am glad to see you all in order. Sebas has done well leading you all." as he spoke Cixious was taking notes. although she had been taking notes since they left the throne room she even noted his momentary look at the library.

"your praise means the world to me." Sebas did not lift his head after bowing again.

"I am glad with all of your work you gathered the guardians and Prestonya so quickly. I was worried I had made trouble when you all were likely already in as much shock as I was."

"it was no bother Lord Herohero, we are happy to the orders of a supreme being." Entoma's mask moved with her head when lifted it to speak.

"If I am permitted to say I am just surprised you were shocked Lord Herohero." CZ2128 Delta looked emotionlessly at Herohero expectedly.

"of course I was. but I was more concerned about you all. please if I ever ask too much of any of you feel free to say." Herohero attempted to smile despite not having a mouth. 'I won't make the same mistakes as my piece of shit bosses.'

CZ tried all in her power not to rudely place a one yen sticker on Herohero at that moment for his cute attempt to smile 'Activate calming protocol immediately!' her eyes lightly flickered as it happened.

Herohero praised Yuri Alpha, Lupusregina, and Narberal all the same. it left Solution feeling disappointed and jealous. but then he stopped right in front of her.

"And you, my creation. if not for you I may have not spoken to anyone but myself as I drowned in a sea of fear at the situation. So thank you for staying behind." He kept from bringing up the arguing with Albedo. He felt tensions were just high and after some time Albedo would calm down. hopefully.

"My Lord Herohero. if I had a heart like a human I would have fainted by now. perhaps you can take a rest on my lap now for a quick break?"

"maybe another time."

"REALLY?!"

Herohero's face darkened 'crap I just said that without thinking! I may not feel tired but my mind still might be.' he cleared his throat. "I must go to see the others. Demiurge has agreed to have his meeting on the eighth floor. for Cixious sake so we must hurry."

Cixious was at first having her face puffed out while she finished out the Pleiades meeting with 'for understandable reasons he is biased towards Solution Epsilon but makes sure to give them their deserved praise.' but she blushed when she heard Herohero had considered the harsh conditions of the floors when bringing her. she quickly added to her notes. 'no matter who may serve him he is always willing to take their limits into mind...' she added a lot of stuff after that.

on the eighth floor, the three of them were guided along by Victim the guardian of the floor. he mentioned Aureola had already prepared a gate for them so he was leading them there and it would take them directly to the sixth floor.

Herohero did not want to stay on this floor long since Cixious aside many on this floor were a risk to Demiurge as well, "I will be sure to personally visit her and you all when I am by myself to give my thanks."

Victim spun in the air "Truly! oh, she will be so happy to hear that and will probably prepare an extra special tea party for you!"

Herohero wondered if he could even taste now. an experiment for another time. "Demiurge how do you feel your floor fairs with your duties?"

Demiurge grunted with a grin "I wish I could have shown you a spectacle of my own but all I can say is I work as diligently as Lord Ulbert made me to be. the seventh floor will never fall so long as I guard it."

the Arch-devil bowed while walking behind Herohero "If you ever feel otherwise, feel free to punish me in any way you see fit. I know it will fit me."

'dedication and thinking I know how to punish him. along with cheerfulness he just seems like one of those new hires we would sometimes get. those poor men and women most barely kept that positivity for more than a week.'

"I will promise to see to it visit your floor as well on my own time Demiurge. but your loyalty is without question as you were willing to meet on another floor. so you have nothing to worry about."

Demiurge nearly fell to his knees from the mercy and wisdom of their new leader. "it was a test! I will make sure to keep on the lookout for more of those from you!"

'please don't' Herohero should have said that out loud but did not.

'He gives tests to prove someone is loyal or perhaps just to see where they are in certain areas. but perhaps he is already aware they will pass and only does it so they do not doubt themselves!' Cixious continues her diligent note-taking.

Demiurge splits off from them after they arrive at the sixth floor. he heads down to his own floor and awaits further instruction.

while walking through the sixth floor Herohero is able to take in the impressive creation of Blueplanet. this floor his personal gift and his personal shrine to the beauty of nature that no longer existed in their world. 'what Sebas said before. does this mean clear skies exist here as well?' he saw it was the night cycle so that would mean the outside was the same, he wondered if it looked the same as well. or perhaps better than even Blue Planet could imagine.

they passed by the Amphitheater and made it to the Gigantic tree that the twin dark elf guardians called their home.

"Looooooooord Herohero!" Aura had jumped and shouted out while she fell, she landed perfectly and without a scratch. Mare was already waiting at the bottom a little nervous looking and more than usual.

"Chagama-chan would be happy to see you both still dressed like that. I am glad that never changed." Truthfully Herohero never got what made his fellow slime player enjoy seeing girls in boy's clothes and boys' and girls' clothes. BUT, he did enjoy some of the members who were not told about it and then their reaction when they found out they made comments about Mare and Aura. it was certainly a fun time. and now, he cannot imagine Aura and Mare in clothes matching their gender, it would feel wrong to ever consider it.

"yeah! it is like our creator said, all boys should wear girls' clothes and vice versa for girls. if other children come to Nazarick, it should be a rule." Aura proclaimed excitedly thinking Herohero was of the exact same mindset in that moment.

"y-yes." Mare daintly held his arms up while nodding to agree with his sister.

Herohero was not sure what to do. Yamaiko would have his head if he ever made a child upset. Chagama would be upset. plus it was not in his prerogative to make the two little dark elves sad. but he cannot exactly agree. so, a little shamefully, he used a tactic some managers used when they did not like someone's suggestion but were not in the mood to yell at that moment.

"I will look into it." that satisfied them enough to keep them happy.

as he was leaving he noticed Aura and Mare looked a little nervous now. "is everything alright? I said this to others but if there is ever a problem you may speak it to me. you will not be punished for doing so."

"i-it is just. when we heard another supreme being was with Lord Momonga..." Mare pressed his fingers together.

"we were a little hopefully it was our...no sorry that will make it seem like we are sad it is you Lord Herohero but we are not! just got our own hopes up." the two bowed their heads a little.

Herohero was not in little bit surprised or insulted by this. He had not asked because he was a little worried about what it might do but he wondered how the others felt when they heard that. they were all likely worried for Momonga. yet he had no doubts they were hoping to see their "supreme being" so he was probably not their expected member.

but Herohero also remembered who was there with him and Momonga briefly. he patted them both on the head leaving some Ooze, "BukuBukuChagama came back for a little bit."

Aura and Mare poked their heads up they were curious or perhaps freighted by that because they had never seen her.

"and one of the first things she brought up was you two. she even has something to remember you by. If she could have stayed longer I have no doubts she would have never been happier to come right here and see you." It was not even a total lie. She did ask about her NPCs and said she still had the art of them on her desk. something she had taken along even after she and her brother moved to a new place.

"y-you are saying Lady BukuBukuChagama n-never..." Tears welled up in Mare's eyes. and Aura could not keep them away while she finished what her brother could not "...n-never forgot about us?"

the two began to cry and now Herohero had to comfort them which he was in no way prepared for. he tried his best and also tried to get Cixious to help but her calm visage was broken by the beautiful and heartwarming scene before her of what Herohero had done. she was in tears as well and just tried to remember it all so she could write it down when she finally calmed down.

it took a while but finally, they moved on. Herohero even gave the two busy work by asking them to bring him a spell scroll. overall it was the floor he would spend the most time on that night.

on the fifth floor, Cixious was given a coat and warm hat. the harsher elements of the frigid fifth floor were off so its cold temperature was all the maid had to deal with. Herohero already had items for this as well.

when they found Cocytus he was practicing his four-armed sword swings and other skills on an ice dummy his Frost Virgins put up for him. when he was done Herohero and Cixious clapped though Herohero's clapping sounded floppy due to his black Ooze also being his hands.

Cocytus bowed to Herohero "Lord. Herohero. thank. You. for. the. Applause."

he would shamefully confess something to Herohero "I. did. this. to. Impress. you. and. show. you. I. am. Not. falling. Behind. no. one. will. ever. get. so. much. as. to. the. middle. of. this. floor."

Herohero was delighted to hear this but also a little sore knowing Cocytus felt the need to. "it was more than enough. please show me more."

Cocytus bowed his head "at. Once. My. Lord. Herohero."

Cixious noted how Herohero was impressed by Cocytus's skills but also wanted to make him happy by saying he wanted to see more when he was already entertained. likely for the sake of Cocytus.

there was nothing much for them on the fourth floor but Herohero did say some things about Gargantua that he wanted Cixious to note down which she did readily.

Finally the floor one, two, and three. all protected by Shalltear Bloodfallen and the area guardians therein. when they walked up and into the third floor Shalltear was already there to greet them. the True Vampire did a curtsied bow. "Lord Herohero thank you for making the journey here. I welcome you with open arms." she may or may not have practiced while waiting.

"and thank you for having us. please show us to the entrance of the tomb."

while walking Herohero and Shalltear discussed each part of the floor and specific areas. even talked to a few of the area guardians. Cixious noted every detail and then some.

finally, when making their way through the first floor Shalltear spoke off topic. "How is Lord Momonga doing? I know it has not been long but I worry about my dear Lord Momonga."

Herohero was concerned because he was certain it was only Albedo who was changed to have feelings for Momonga.

"Sorry, I should not have said anything. but I feel as though he is the only man I can ever truly love. because besides him I think I only ever think of women." Shalltear's cheeks went red and much like her creator Peroronchino she started talking about graphic things out loud. "feeling it all deep in my-" stuff that Cixious noted down in just as much detail.

'Pero...all I can say is now I don't feel bad for whatever ear chew-out Chagama is going to give you.' Herohero thought to himself and just remained silent under Shalltear stopped.

Shalltear finally realized she had said a little too much and bowed to Herohero. "I apologize seems I went off on a ramble. please let me-"

"I am sure Momonga will like to know that you feel so strongly about him Shalltear." Herohero's mind was just not there again but he felt it was not far off he kinda tuned out most of what Shalltear had said.

it was meant as something harmless and to keep her calm but to Shalltear though it felt like a glowing endorsement by a supreme being that she was to be the one for Momonga! "I have no doubts you are worthy of being our leader. w-with your permission may I go to visit Momonga in his state, just to see him?"

Herohero nodded and Shalltear took off so fast Cixious had to use her hand to keep her skirt down from the wind.

after they were alone Herohero looked at Cixious "I think I am done for now. before you return to your station though may I see your notes?" Cixious eagerly complied "Please let me know if I did it correctly."

after reading for a bit Herohero's face darkened over. all of it was cohesive and well written. but it included very intimate details. constantly praised him in many ways he was just not prepared for and perhaps described him in a slightly promiscuous way. he did not even get to the Shalltear section. "I shall finish it later. thank you Cixious."

Cixious smiled brightly "Thank you for the praise. I shall leave it on your desk."

finally, he was alone. he looked at where every player would enter should they make it into the tomb. "just one thing left to do. just have to wait for that spell scroll so I can fly."

from the desk of Herohero to Momonga

I cannot help but feel a little jealous. but also sad. I wonder how you would handle each NPC. did I do well? not just you Momonga. Ulbert, Touch me, Tabula, Pero, Chagama, all of you did I do well?

did I do what you would do with your creations? your children in a way...that reminds me I really need to be careful going forward.

-Herohero