Neia opened her eyes, and then closed them again.
It was too bright. Was it morning already?
She then yawned, and started to shift around to a more comfortable position. As she was doing so, her arm hit something hard and somewhat cold.
She forced her eyes open for a second time. What she saw was of course her husband.
The sight of him initiated a wave of excitement and joy, which helped jolt her mind awake. Not fully, but far more than it was just a moment ago.
"... hello, darling."
"Good morning, gorgeous."
Hearing that, another wave of pleasant feelings and thoughts came over her, which also made her blush.
She did the obvious thing, and moved to cuddle up against him.
... ...
After cuddling in bed for a time, eating breakfast, taking a bath with Ainz, drying off, and having a fake breakfast, everything was ready for them and the Emperor to go visit the Grand Arena.
Currently, they were being led through several stairways, over to the Emperor's private observing area.
And then, they stepped through what seemed to be the final door.
"Please, sit down anywhere you like."
Neia was a bit confused.
"... Shouldn't we show ourselves to the people first?"
"Ah, I apologise! I completely forgot! Of course, please do so."
Neia was just about to agree, but then realised something. Since Jircniv was subservient to Ainz, it was proper for the former to go first.
"Won't you show yourself too, Jircniv? In that case, you should go first."
\\\
Jircniv felt the panic setting in hard once again.
He was aware that his own popularity was greater among the people.
What was going to happen when the crowds cheer for him, but not for them?
He needed to avoid that no matter what, or he was going to be in serious trouble.
"P-please, there's no need. I am not at all important, compared to you! It would be like a common maid going first before her King. That is to say, it would be disrespectful for me to appear at all!"
"... Is that so? Surely that's not true, not in your own nation."
Why the hell was Baraja always so insistent on testing him?! Is Gown making her do this, or is it personal after all?
"... No, I wouldn't take the moment away from a couple on their vacation. Please, think of it as a gift."
"Is that so?... Very well. Thank you."
She just... let it go?
He felt an immense weight lift off his shoulders, but it wasn't over yet... they were still going to be enraged by the low amount of cheers, after all. Even if the comparison wasn't there for them to see.
\\\
As Neia stepped forward, holding hands with the man she loved, an announcer spoke from somewhere.
"Ah, and in the Emperor's private area, you can see His Majesty Ainz Ooal Gown, and his wife, Her Holiness Neia Baraja! Glory to them!"
With Neia's experience, it was of course obvious to her that the crowd's response was rather lukewarm.
Still, that was only to be expected, even if it was unfortunate.
...
After only a short bit of waiting, the announcer introduced the first event of the day. From what she was told, there was going to be a tournament, but in order to qualify, the 100 initial competitors had to first hold their ground in a free-for-all, from which only 16 would be selected. Currently, they were in position, but the fighting hadn't started yet, and so everyone was mostly just standing around, with there being a good distance in between each person.
Neia herself was sitting in Ainz's lap. Normally it would be more proper to have her sit next to him, and then cuddle like that, but the seats here were separated by very wide armrests, so that was unfortunately not possible. She hesitated a bit, but in the end, Ainz and Jircniv both said that it should be fine.
This helped her a lot, because she was feeling slightly anxious, even if she didn't know why.
And then, the announcer spoke again.
"Aaaand... start!"
This made her jump slightly, and Ainz was of course the only one to notice, and so he whispered to her.
"Neia? Love? Is everything okay?"
"Y-yes... sorry."
She couldn't quite explain why she was anxious about this, and so she just pushed those thoughts away, instead focusing on the starting battle.
But as she was trying to do that, her anxiety got worse. Watching the men and women below fight, some to their death, had made her very uncomfortable, and it was getting worse by the second.
The sight reminded her of something...
The last time she saw people fighting like that was during Jaldabaoth's invasion.
She turned her upper body around, burying her head in Ainz's chest, which was a bit uncomfortable to do with her visor still on.
"N-Neia? Love, is everything alright?"
His concerned tone made her feel guilty for ruining their activity like that, and so she responded quietly.
"S-sorry... I... Seeing people fight... It just reminds me of the demi-human invasion..."
She then felt him freeze up for a moment, before starting to stroke her head, and hug her with the other arm.
"Do you need time? Should we leave?"
His tone was now so kind and gentle... she felt even more guilty.
"... L-leave please..."
"Okay... you can get up at any time."
She slowly got up, keeping her gaze fixed on her husband, who then got up himself before speaking.
"Sorry Jircniv. Neia doesn't feel well, so we're leaving."
"O-of c-course!"
And with that, she and Ainz appeared back in their room in the imperial palace. They embraced each other right after.
"Neia? Do you feel okay here, or should I take you home?"
"N-no, right here is fine..."
"Do you want to lay down? How can I help?"
Her guilt once again deepened. She wasn't even that distressed, she just really didn't want to be there.
"I... I think I'm mostly fine now..."
"Are you sure? Can I do anything else for you?"
"No, I... I'm so sorry, darling..."
"... You're... I apologise love, but I don't think I understand."
"I'm sorry for ruining our activity."
He stood frozen for a moment.
"N-Neia, what are you saying? Don't worry about that at all! Please, your comfort and happiness is what's most important."
"... But-"
"No buts! Neia, I love and care about you. I won't allow you to feel uncomfortable just because you feel obligated to sit through some dumb tournament."
"I... I'm sorry… I suppose these feelings are also coming from somewhere else... darling, I've had... some doubts... uhm, fears about our relationship."
He instantly froze up, and stayed silent for a few moments.
"W-what doubts?"
"I just..."
She sighed.
"Everything feels so perfect, darling. I have everything I could ever want and need. I can hardly imagine my life being any better… But will it stay like this forever? I mean... What if one day, something goes wrong? What if..."
She struggled to hold in her tears.
"... What if you lose interest in me, and-"
Very quickly, he moved his hand over her mouth.
"... Neia, as much as it pains me to say this, I can't speak about what will happen a thousand or ten thousand years into the future, that is true... But what I know right now, at this very moment, is that I love you. That you are... that you are the most important thing to me in the whole world. I can't imagine it being any other way."
He then removed her visor.
"So please, never worry about this ever again. I truly do want us to remain together forever... I want you to always smile... I want to always see happiness when I look into these beautiful eyes."
As he finished, she felt like a dam broke inside of her, and her tears were now flowing freely, accompanied by a torrent of emotions.
Her shaky arms were now holding him with all the strength she could muster.
His embrace tightened too, and after tossing the visor away, he started stroking the back of her head with the newly freed hand.
"I love you, Neia."
He strengthened his grip as he said this.
She struggled to catch her breath before responding.
"... I love you too, Ainz!"
Upon hearing this, he slowly pulled away just a little bit, surprising her.
"... Neia?"
"Y-yes, darling?"
He looked into her eyes intently.
"... Call me Satoru."