Unwavering 10 (Overlord, Zanac!SI)
Peroroncino was a very unhappy person.
First thing first, he should have known better than just accept her sister's idea of going back to YGGDRASIL ONLINE. The man had been so busy trying to make the last bout of cash available to try and survive the hardest, even taking into account his sister's own needs and necessities but...
For it to amount to an Isekai situation, it sure felt a ghost punch to the guts.
While Peroroncino knew that the mask he wore now was his face, that didn't erase the man he once was beyond the game. A pervert he may still be, and a degenerate at that, but he was still someone that could hardly be considered a lousy sleazebag.
To sustain the hobbies he had, the young man had to work his butt off right from the last year of high school. He wasn't born with his sister's talent and beauty, but that didn't mean he was outright devoid of qualities. He was quite experienced in legal affairs- something that landed in a small job in a law firm which then turned into his full profession.
With Japan going to hell and more due to climate change, being a lawyer became less of a time-draining chore and more of a source of cash to sustain his own 'delusions' as his big sister called them. Yet his distractions into the few things he still loved from his boyhood were now 'real'.
Deep in his lair, ignoring the quiet humming of a certain vampire that happily accepted her creator's request to give her a lap pillow to 'ponder', Peroroncino couldn't help but still recoil at the idea that Shalltear was real. So were the other NPCs.
This was no longer a game. This was no longer a mask for him to remove at his own leisure. Peroroncino was now his name and, despite that, he still was reluctant to go all in with the mask he wore.
When he first created Peroroncino the goal had been to channel his old personality of a laidback pervert with plenty of reasons to be rejected by many girls. It was a far cry of what came of him when he grew up and got his job.
Peroroncino was the 'name of the game' for him, an outlet to let out that childish voice of the past that kept on screaming at him to come back plus a few traits he still carried over through the years. YGGDRASIL gave him that world to be this entity, to be a depraved thing of nature that still was worthy of being called a member of the guild he saw the birth of.
It was awkward when his sister came along, but she also took a note over the concept and created her avatar to be that thing of noisy and annoying thing that still had her moments of 'responsibility'. In the real world, they had long worked to patch their misunderstandings, and he had to move to help her the few times some of the producers his sibling worked for tried to scam her.
This was supposed to be a game. But then they had to be around to see its 'end', and get pulled in this world. Nazarick came to life, literally. They were now akin to deities to those that swore allegiance to the Grand Tomb, and while Peroroncino was happy to roll with this just for now, his mind was struggling to fully 'descend' into the character.
Momonga could handle it somehow since he had crafted this character by being a nerdy D&D player, while Peroroncino's sister was someone that was experienced in behaving as someone else at times. Even in instances where it created awkward situations between the two.
Peroroncino didn't have either of those things. He was not the same boisterous anti-hero, the grand vigilante, the world-renown scumbag that everyone could love or hate depending their karma. No, he was that player that created Peroroncino and thus was more.
Luck was, however, on his side. Because the one entity that could kill him, the one that was almost purring at his touch, was someone that he had the opportunity to alter the description of before the 'Isekai Event'. It was during the last day on the game, while everyone was just giving a look around the Grand Tomb before going to wait for the inevitable shutdown, that Peroroncino felt in a mood for a prank or two.
Since most of the guild was out of sight and his sister was chatting with Momonga over nostalgic days, Peroroncino remembered that he, like the other Supreme Beings, had the admin permission to alter all NPC's descriptions on a whim.
With that day being the last so no one was going to check for any mischief, Peroroncino decided to prank Momonga for old times' sake by altering Albedo's description and making her a softcore yandere for him. It wasn't just a prank on Momonga, but also a jab at Tabula for not being there.
The smart prick always whined about planning to be there to the very end, but he was skipping that promise like the jerk he was. It was the kind of insult that was best deserved... but not the only change that was introduced by Peroroncino.
Feeling bold over this little change, the man had tried to find another NPC to set up the same prank, maybe Aura or Mare for his sister, but he found himself losing that giddiness when he stumbled on Shalltear.
His only creation, someone that he had shamelessly charged up with all sorts of kinkery and fetishes he was a fan of. She was tiny, she was also so cute and... he felt that today he couldn't truly address her like a little toy. In fact, Peroroncino felt a strange squeeze at his heart when he realized he never had a chance to be a father.
Maybe it was the age speaking, or maybe it was the responsible self that usually failed to stand up when he was playing - after all, he was 'rusty' in his acting since he had worked non-stop to get all unsolved affairs wrapped up before today - but Peroroncino felt no regret as he decided to 'prank himself'.
Despite her naughty personality and behaviors, Shalltear feels a sense of 'inner purity', especially towards her creator, Peroroncino. It comes to the point where the two could be seen as close as proper father and daughter.
After he was done editing that line in, Peroroncino could have sworn that the vampire's loyal smile had widened to something happier and more compelling. Not much else could have been done after that, so he retreated to check the others and...
Now they were in a new world.
The Grand Tomb of Nazarick had literally spawned in an entirely different world set in medieval fantasy with various unheard countries left and right. This was a disaster in the making- if not for the fact that Momonga was able to keep his mind under control and enforce three cardinal rules that could save them, as Supreme Beings, and the Grand Tomb as a result:
1) They would have to behave like their game characters;
2) They will have to work around the various dangerous NPCs that were all unwilling to consider peace as a permanent option;
3) They needed to work their best to handle the supplies' issue.
The last bit was assigned to Peroroncino with no opposition. He was good enough with savings that he was the best option to handle that sort of chore - a hint of normality within a sea of pure madness. They found a map, made a stable first contact, and then made it back to address the first thoughts after encountering one of the princes of this 'Re-Estize Kingdom'.
At first glance, Peroroncino had disregarded the guy as a cordial noble and nothing more. The same extended to his sister's whining that he didn't have too much 'youthful energy' to him, while Momonga was merely fine with this encounter ending up as well as it did.
But after that meeting, Peroroncino had time to further mull over the topic. Prince Zanac didn't feel just as a noble, he felt too much like a 'crafted personality' specifically tailored... for them.
The second wave of scouts had returned with papers and edicts detailing what is known of the royal family, and the 'Second Prince' was quite a particular individual despite his lacking background. It was nothing short of impressive how a normal guy, without any divine blessing or magic, was achieving some hefty deeds to his name.
While they couldn't see his level at first glance, Peroroncino was willing to say the guy was somewhere around 20 or 30. It had to be that high within YGGDRASIL standards, and yet that wasn't what really left him unsure on how to judge the guy.
There was something else that made him stand out from the rest. The way he seemed to be aware of the situation, able to gain control over it, and yet refused to do so by playing 'appeasement' around him, Bukubuku Chagama, and Momonga too.
It was a kind of tactic Peroroncino had to use in a few trials before to try and get his opponents to make a mistake by arrogance. It took him years to get this to work, but he could recognize someone using it on himself. And it worked because he was facing the prince as 'Peroroncino'.
They all were in a rather tight spot, and while it was known to them that the prince seemed to have a good idea that the Grand Tomb could easily stomp his kingdom, he still played around this to seek a more 'stable' position to then handle further negotiations.
That was a savvy negotiator for sure, but Peroroncino could see deeper than this. This individual knew more than he should be able to know. After all, the way Zanac stepped into the plank and carefully got to where he wanted to go with that conversation showed how he knew what buttons to press and he was confident about what to say or do.
This very detail was trouble. It concerned Peroroncino as it meant that there was a chance this could have been a fellow player. And yet... not. The timing of Zanac's presence felt like there could have not been a change but...
Maybe it was not the same process that brought the Great Tomb in this world, but rather something similar. Something that could be important in understanding how they ended up here and, somehow, could make it back home in due time.
But he couldn't exactly made this known to the others with how tense things were in picking a strategy to sustain the Grand Tomb's needs. Not with the chance of some NPCs hearing this and taking this in their hands to 'please the Supreme Beings'.
Momonga may have dismissed this, but some of the NPCs were meant to behave like dogs when not kept with a tight leash, especially individuals like Albedo and Demiurge. In that instance, however, that offered an opportunity as he paused the headpatting which he had subjected his NPC to.
Shalltear instantly perked up at the lack of head-scratches, red slitted eyes aimed upward.
"Hm?"
"Apologies, Shalltear, but I just had an interesting idea."
"What about, papa?"
He bit down the inner cringe at being suddenly turned into a father by his own 'mistake', pushing forth with the plan he had conceived on the spot.
"I wish for you to claim this as a challenge for your skills. As a frontline fighter, it would do you better to be more accustomed to the subtle nature of things happening in this new world," Peroroncino answered with carefully-phrased words. "So! I think it will do you good if you were to be sent as a disguised ambassador to the Re-Estize Kingdom."
"...Why?"
"Do you remember that prince we talked about?"
"You want him dead, papa?" Shalltear asked, grinning murderously but soon deflating as the birdman shook his head. "Why not?"
"As much as it pains me to admit it, there are humans that have value. Alas, these are not the same humans as YGGDRASIL. This prince has, by all means, gained the attention of us Supreme Beings for some unusual qualities. I wish for you to study those by trying to be 'restrained' in the matter."
"I don't like the task, papa. I would be of better use with-"
"Shouldn't a father give his daughter a chance to grow and mature?" Peroroncino argued rapidly, noticing reluctance that could easily create doubt and then rebellion within any mistakes in giving Shalltear too much room to object to orders. Especially as simple as this one felt in the mind of the birdman. "You are indeed a Blood Valkyria, my dear Shalltear. But that doesn't mean you are a tool to me and this challenge, as it is presented to you, could give you the chance to learn something that I have not taught you just yet."
"That is?" The red-eyed beauty inquired, appearing surprisingly moved by his careful acting and mistaking it for genuine 'awareness' of her limits.
"The capacity to go beyond the veil of the undead as there's worth in the living that are not part of Nazarick. We could try to destroy this world and forge a new one, but do you really wish to do so without seeing if there's something interesting to catch your eye?"
The moral lesson, in Peroroncino's mind, was 'patience'. But as Shalltear nodded, bowed and even rushed to give him a bone-breaking hug, the vampire had yet to realize it was that. In her mind it was all about 'seeing something that caught her attention'.
And this may or may not lead to some awkward developments in the long run for both the Kingdom and the Grand Tomb.
AN
While writing this story, I have been looking at Lore videos on YT and the one about Shalltear tries to analyze Peroroncino with what is known through LN and other sources. One thing that stands out with all Supreme Beings beyond Momonga is that we know their 'in-character' personalities, not their full selves.
One thing many forgets about games is that those sort of RP tends to see masks being formed with a hint of truth about their creators. I can see all traits of Peroroncino being true to the player, but not to the extent he is keen to show in the game, and not as the only traits he has.
So, while I expect some readers to still jump the boat and say 'you butchered Pero-Pero personality', I remind you all that one of the things that stands out about Ainz is how his 'in-character' personality is perceived and his true personality that is known to us through his voiced thoughts.