Ainz was reviewing some reports on the various things which were currently happening all throughout the continent.

In just a few moments, he and Albedo would meet with the Dragon Queen for the second time, and finalise the terms of the vassalisation. That's mostly what he was reading up about, trying to ensure he doesn't say anything stupid while Albedo guides him through it.

He was also looking at Neia's progress at converting the southern Holy Kingdom to her faith. Though there wasn't much to say, since it was a matter of slow progress and would have no particular bombastic events, making the reports a little dull.

Still, a lot of those reports were written by Neia herself, and he found that this had made them far less boring than they normally would be. There was something about knowing that they were written by her that made him enjoy them more, though he wasn't sure why this was.

Either way, he thought it was best not to interfere with her progress too much. There were several things he might do to accelerate the rather slow process, but he felt it was good practice for the church, since they will likely continue developing new tactics better suited to converting those who were less receptive to the faith.

He snuck a glance at Albedo, and saw that she had an unhappy expression as he was looking at the report written by Neia.

Right… He should probably go back to reading about the Dragon Kingdom, since that's what he needed to focus on at the moment. It was bad to get distracted like that right before the meeting with the Queen.

...

As Draudillon sat in her carriage, she was once again reading a copy of the terms of the vassalisation.

She didn't understand why they were like that at all. They were far too favourable considering the state of her country.

If the Sorcerer King wanted, he could probably take over by force in just a few mere weeks. Or maybe less. What the hell was he thinking?

And the way he acted creepy towards her before... What was up with that? Why was he creepy if he didn't even end up marrying her?

This whole situation had her completely baffled.

...

Ainz now stood side by side with Albedo, watching the young Queen exit her carriage.

He then noticed the succubus was slowly but surely getting uncomfortably close.

"... Albedo? We're in public. We have to look presentable now."

"But my beloved, why can't we make our love known? Surely we could have a public wedding, like the one you had with that disg-... that preacher."

He sighed.

"I had married you in private because that was... because those are my true feelings and there was no need to show off. My wedding to Neia Baraja was just for the sake of appearances, to further my plans. Do you understand?"

Albedo pouted.

"Look, the Queen is getting closer... I'll give you a kiss later, is that fine?"

"Of course, my love!"

Only a few moments later, the little girl was within earshot, and once again bowed. Didn't he tell her last time that this was unnecessary?

"Your Majesty."

"Hello. This is my Prime Minister. She will help finalise the details. Let's go inside."

... ... ...

Neia woke up quite late today.

Last night was mostly spent talking with Pandora's Actor, her step-son. She was completely overjoyed that she finally met him and he accepted her as his mother.

Still, the ordeal had apparently left her somewhat exhausted, making her sleep in.

After getting ready for the day with a nice warm bath and some other hygiene, she went through the letters which arrived overnight, and found there was one addressed to Amelia among them, and Neia was the one to receive it because it was bundled together with one meant for her.

And so, she was currently looking for the young maid.

After turning a corner, she saw who she was looking for. It seems Emma was teaching her to clean windows.

When they saw her, Amelia froze up, for which her teacher punished her with a light smack over the head.

Only when Neia got close was she allowed to stop and greet her mistress.

"Your Holiness."

"Y-Your Holiness..."

"Hello Emma, Amelia."

She tried to give her most gentle smile, but the young girl still found her eyes scary, it seems.

"Is everything going well?"

"Yes, Your Holiness. She is learning most things quickly."

"Ah, that's good. Nice job, Amelia."

"Th-thank you, Your Holiness!"

"By the way, what did you have for breakfast? Do you like the cooking here?"

"Y-yes! I had some p-pancakes. They were a-amazing!"

"Hmm. I love pancakes myself... Either way, I have something for you. It's from your mother and father, it seems."

Neia handed the young girl the letter.

She wouldn't see her family very often now, so letters like these were important. For this reason, the cost of delivering them was something Neia covered for all her servants.

"You can take a break to read it, if you want."

"Thank y-you, Your Holiness!"

While Amelia would live and work at the mansion, all the pay for her work was going straight to her family back home. This first payment was already sent despite the fact that Amelia hadn't yet done anything to earn it. This is why there was a second letter meant for Neia packed along with it. It was one where the girl's entire family thanked her profusely.

"I'll be going now, if that's okay. I'll do some archery today."

"Ah, I wish I could go with you..."

"Sorry, Emma. I'll definitely make it up to you later."

"No need for that at all, Your Holiness... Just have fun."

... ... ...

Draudillon was now back at the inn, still feeling like she must be in some sort of dream.

This strange country where the undead, humans and non-humans lived together was led by an even stranger man.

The vassalisation terms were signed, and it seems all her wishes just came true. Her country was now safe for the foreseeable future.

When she will depart, it will be along with an army of 100 Death Knights and 100 Liches, as well as other undead labourers which will be used to create the massive wall which will separate the Dragon Kingdom from the Beastman Country, kind of like it used to be for the old Holy Kingdom. After the wall is finished, the Liches will provide excellent ranged protection from any future attacks, and the lesser undead will remain in the country to be used for any other work she wishes. More Death Knights would also be sent over to become city guards over time, as well as other undead during the process of integration. New trade routes would also be established between the Dragon Kingdom, Sorcerer Kingdom, and Baharuth Empire in the meantime.

Very little was asked of her country in return. In the future, she would be sending over all those sentenced to death over to the Sorcerer Kingdom, and new laws would also have to be put in place. The Sorcerer King also asked for all sorts of valuable information, and wanted to be put in contact with certain people of interest. There were also all the things expected of a vassal, such as general loyalty when it came to supporting the Sorcerer King's decisions.

But overall, she could scarcely believe how good this was for them. They went from living under constant threat of being turned into cattle, to having the means to slowly turn into a powerful, wealthy country over the coming decades.

Sure, the massive presence of undead meant that the Sorcerer King could make any demands he wanted in the future, but that was already the case anyway, if she was being honest.

So what the hell was going on? Why were his terms so generous to a country like hers?

She still couldn't find an answer. And so, part of her just wanted to give up and stop looking for one, instead embracing optimism and happiness at her Kingdom being saved.

Yes... that would be a nice change from the years of stress she's undergone up until now...

... ... …

Neia exhaled, and released another arrow.

Immediately reaching for another, she found her quiver empty.

With a sort of happy sigh, she let herself relax, and heard three people clapping.

She was currently practising her ability to shoot many arrows in quick succession.

She turned around to the people standing behind her. There were two maids and five paladins, four of which were carefully holding other bows.

The current weapons in her collection were several normal bows of varying draw weights, one enchanted bow which wasn't that impressive, the bow gifted to her by Jircniv, then the Ultimate Shooting Star Super, and also two which once belonged to Peroroncino.

She put the one she was just using in the hands of the fifth paladin and started walking over to the target, which was 50 metres away. Everyone else walked with her.

When they were close enough to their destination to see that her accuracy was almost perfect, the maids clapped once again, and everyone started praising her.

"As expected of Her Holiness!"

"Incredible!"

"Great shooting, Your Holiness!"

Neia smiled as she and the maids went to collect the arrows, many of which were split by those that came after.

As she was doing so, she thought about her father again, as she frequently did at times like these. She had done her best to find someone who knew him and could share something

about his achievements as an archer, but it seems no such person survived. Though she wasn't very competitive, reaching her father's level of skill was something that would make her very happy.

It would make her even happier if he was here to praise her himself.

She sighed, and continued sorting the arrows.

... ... ...

It was the middle of the night, but Desmond Custodio continued training.

Practising swings, thrusts, the mordhau... he was getting good with his sword. But not good enough.

He wanted to become like his aunt, Remedios.

And just like she fought alongside the great Neia Baraja, he would continue her legacy and serve Her Holiness.

His best chance to prove himself was probably during the demi-human invasion, but he didn't fight well enough to stand out among the militiamen. Another opportunity to become like his aunt would probably never come, but eventually becoming a servant of his God's chosen was enough for him.

As he was preparing to deliver another swing, he heard a voice.

"Desmond! Why aren't you resting!"

It was his little sister. Her 12th birthday was coming up soon, just after his 17th.

"R-Reina! You shouldn't be outside at night!"

"You shouldn't either! You promised you'd take better care of yourself!"

He sighed.

"... Alright, let's go home..."

"No! You have to promise you'll always make sure to get a full night's rest! You can't just work until the afternoon, and then train at both evenings and nights."

"But I... ugh, fine..."

He couldn't say "no" to her, no matter how much he tried.

... ... ...

It was quite late into the night. The Bafolk camp was mostly quiet, except for the occasional mother soothing a crying baby.

After the Sorcerer King killed Buser and slaughtered most of their species, things have been quite hard.

But with their land being slowly integrated into the Sorcerer Kingdom, it was slowly getting better, with cities and villages being built. This particular tribe was still mostly hunters, but maybe that won't be the case for much longer.

Either way, the Bafolk currently on lookout duty on top of a tree, Adren, did not care too much for the fate of his tribe or his species. His sister was the only one dear to him, and she had recently died due to a foul illness. With this, there was nothing more keeping him anchored to his people.

Being a talented holy caster, he wanted to travel east toward their old enemy, the former Holy Kingdom. He'd take everything he owned with him, which wasn't much. His axe, mask and cloak were the most important, the latter two helping him hide his identity, since he did not know how most humans would react to him after everything that happened. Still, many would probably know what he was due to his horns… His spear would probably be necessary for him to hunt during his travels, but he would likely have to sell it to survive while he was looking for a job in one of the cities. He knew healers were always wanted, so maybe he could pursue a career with the church. Was it the church who provided that sort of service?… Things probably changed a lot since he last heard about how everything worked in the Holy Kingdom. He'll be entering a brand new world soon. One more civilised than this.

It was both exciting and scary, if he was being honest.

"... Adren?"

He turned around towards the direction of the camp, and saw Drefi, a female childhood friend.

"Yeah?"

"So... I heard from Derge that you're going to leave soon?"

"I am. You're not changing my mind, if that's what you're here for. I need to get back to lookout duty, if you don't mind."

"Hey! Why are you so cold to me now? You didn't even come to tell me personally!"

He sighed.

"Sorry, but... this is it. When I leave, we'll probably never see each other again. I think it's better we don't make this any more painful than it needs to be."

"But... I..."

"I'm sorry. I really am. But I need to leave. I know I wouldn't be happy here."

"Just... remember us, okay?"

"... I will. I promise."

… … …

Ainz exhaled deeply. It wasn't a sigh due to annoyance or due to being presented with a new pile of work. It was the sort of sigh one does after being freed of the day's responsibilities.

After the honeymoon, he had to deal with not only that little girl who was Queen of a country, but with Pandora's Actor meeting with Neia.

But it seems both turned out quite alright.

And so, he could relax again for a time.

There were several things concerning Neia which had to be handled now, but that wasn't nearly as stressful as any other kind of work where he might make mistakes.

And so, he waited patiently for the date to start.

He still had about an hour, and he would use that hour to simply sit in silence and peace, but also to review his notes.

His notes about race change items.

...

Neia was waiting eagerly for her husband to arrive.

Her husband...

Just thinking about that always made her very happy.

Being his wife... she truly did feel blessed, every single day. Her life was amazing now, and she was eternally grateful to him for giving her a chance.

As she was thinking those nice thoughts, he finally appeared.

She greeted him with a very cheerful tone.

"Your Majesty! Hello!"

"Hello, Neia. You seem even more happy than usual, but you called me the wrong thing just now."

"Sorry darling… as for why I'm happy, It's because I was just thinking about you. Well, I usually am, but this time I was thinking about my own life as well, and how great it is now that you're in it."

"I am glad to hear you're happy, Neia… I really am..."

...

Today's date was another quiet one so far. They mostly just cuddled up together on the sofa, and remained like that in silence.

She wouldn't mind being like this forever.

But then, her beloved spoke, interrupting the pleasant silence.

"... Neia? There is something we need to talk about today."

"Yes, darling?"

"Neia... I don't want you to die of old age one day. Would you accept the gift of stopping your ageing?"

She had previously wondered if there were means of making one immortal, but she didn't feel like those questions were very pressing at all, considering her youth. If she would ever ask, it would be in the distant future.

But now, her beloved was the one who brought it up. In that case, it was surely possible.

She really would be able to be with him forever...

The thought made her smile, and she responded with an overjoyed tone.

"Yes, darling! I would love to be at your side for all eternity!"

"Ah, I'm glad... in that case, there are several options."

"... Options?"

"You see, we will achieve this by changing your race."

That spooked her.

Would her body be changed forever into something different? That was quite a scary thought. What did he have in mind?

"Hmm... I can see from your expression that you have some concerns, which is very understandable. But please don't worry. Like I just said, there are many options."

He pulled out a piece of paper.

"I've prepared a list of these options."

After handing it to her, he spoke immediately.

"As you can see, there's quite a few items on that list, and I did my best to catalogue all the changes which might happen to you with each option. Please feel free to ask any questions you have."

Neia nodded, and started going through the list.

There was becoming a half-golem, a demon, a vampire... before she would compare them, she simply tried her best to understand the full implications of each one.

Until... she reached a very surprising item.

'... an angel?'

Reading further, the option seemed better and better, especially since it said that it was one of those where she will be able to mostly retain her form, which was honestly a requirement for her. She wanted to keep her current body, since it's the one her darling called beautiful, and it's one her parents would recognise and love.

Indeed, after reading everything again, being an angel was still the most appealing. It seemed she would mostly become a human who got tired less, and had access to certain abilities.

"... Darling, I am most interested in becoming an angel."

Angels also represented divinity, especially in her culture. This probably made it even more appealing to her subconscious mind.

"Is that so? Are you sure? We will have to run certain experiments at Nazarick to confirm everything will go well. Please make sure that's your decision."

"I see… oh, w-wait, this won't upset Shizu, right? An angel being friends with a demon…"

"Oh, not at all."

"Ah that's a relief…"

She went through the list a few more times after that, but every single time she compared the options against each other, one of them came out on top…

\\\

As Neia was reading the list again, Ainz wondered how exactly the function of the item Wings of Ascension would change in this world.

It was something he understood in Yggdrasil, but as with everything, they needed to carefully watch out for any changes.

Especially when it came to Neia. He absolutely did not want any unforeseen side effects to occur in her case.

"... Darling? I think I really am sure. I want to become an angel."

"Very well. Then it will be done."

She smiled, which he found as adorable as always.

There was one more thing, however.

"... so, spring is coming soon, isn't it? And with it, your 18th birthday…"

"Did you have anything in mind for us to do on that day?"

"I already have something prepared, but it is a surprise."

….

Hello. The big Lucy here.

The last six chapters have basically been the wedding arc, and you might've noticed that I am starting to focus on side characters a lot more than ever before, and I also just keep introducing even more of them.

So, please do tell me what you think about this. Did you enjoy there being more characters? Do you like the OCs? Currently, I plan to focus on Neia and Ainz again for the next bit of the story. The notes I have are quite flexible, and I will gladly phase out the side characters completely if that's what you guys want.

As always, every review/comment makes me very happy, and I am definitely going to adjust things moving forward based on them.

Either way, thank you so much for all the support so far. I really am very grateful.