Satoru was currently fairly deep underground in the Azerlisia Mountains, not that far from the Dwarf Kingdom. It was the dwarves which tipped him off about this place's existence, which saved him a lot of time sending scouts to search the lands in order to find another place like this on his own.
After seeing that the skeletons and liches were doing a good job building the cabin, he turned around to see that Cocytus was approaching him, walking over the newly frozen lake.
Satoru walked to meet him halfway, near the lake's edge. The insect warrior immediately knelt when he was close enough.
"Lord. Ainz. The. Freezing. Of. The. Lake. Is. Almost. Complete."
Satoru looked at the somewhat distant Frost Virgins, and saw that they indeed seemed to be finishing up. He nodded with a noise of satisfaction.
With their freezing abilities, there should now be a very thick layer of ice, definitely far more than enough for his purposes. The main issue now was going to be keeping the temperature in the cave low, but he had a few ideas for that already. Most of them were given to him by Pandora's Actor, who took a brief break from his other task to help him with finding several items related to this specific project.
He then realised his thoughts were wandering for a bit.
"... Ah. Thank you, Cocytus."
"No. Need. Lord. Ainz."
"Hm... It is nice working together like this, I must say..."
... ... ...
The bafolk paladin named Adren was doing his best to maintain his slow, deep breaths as he neared his new lady's mansion.
It was very surprising that he was allowed to join her personal guard so soon, almost right after officially joining the paladin order. It was so soon that his helmet wasn't even finished yet. The blacksmith was still coming up with something that could be worn effectively despite his horns.
Shouldn't his loyalty be verified over a long period of time first?
Either way, he felt that the lack of a helmet was really quite embarrassing, but he wouldn't be so rude as to dare refuse to join Her Holiness' elite when given the amazing opportunity.
He slowed down as he got near the large iron gate to Her Holiness' property. Part of his paladin training was remaining at ease near undead, which he was very grateful for in situations like these. It was extremely rude to feel anxious near the personal summons of His Majesty, after all. Another paladin stepped forward, away from the Death Knights, to meet him.
"Sir Adren, was it? You're expected."
He bowed exactly as he was taught to when interacting with fellow paladins.
"Thank you."
...
Being taken inside, he was made to wait for a bit while the head bodyguard was being fetched.
He once again admired the beauty of the mansion, while also being happy that he finally walked its halls in a state where he did not feel dirty. The warm baths of city dwellers were far more pleasant than river water.
As he was thinking that, he heard two sets of heavy footsteps approaching from around the corner.
He made sure his posture was perfect as he waited. And soon enough, he was met with a new face.
"Ah, you're Sir Adren, then? I am Learyn Amran, head bodyguard of Her Holiness Neia Baraja."
The bafolk bowed once again, this time deeper, as he was met with a superior. He couldn't really read human expressions too well, even with all that practice, and so he had no real idea what the man thought of him.
"Yes, that is me, Sir."
He then heard Sir Amran make a noise that seemed to indicate he was being appraised.
"Hm. Well, raise your head. Her Holiness is not here, as she's currently visiting an orphanage."
He obeyed, and then dared to ask a question.
"Would it be rude of me to ask about the nature of her trip?"
"Oh, not at all. She just likes playing with the children."
Adren felt his admiration for Her Holiness grow in his heart before Sir Amran continued.
"... But even if it's not her, there is still someone you will have to meet before I give you the tour."
"Is that so? Who is it?"
"You'll see. Come."
...
He was led through a few familiar hallways before reaching something else he remembered vividly. The entrance to the main meeting room of the mansion, where he directly spoke to Her Holiness for the first time.
When Sir Amran reached the door, he surprisingly didn't knock, and instead moved past it to stand on the side.
"Go on."
He hesitated for only a moment before once again obeying.
Now standing right in front of the door, he slowly moved his arm forward to knock. After he did so, a deep voice male responded.
"Enter."
... No one to open the door and check who it was? Feeling that this situation was getting stranger by the second, he reached for the door handle.
The door opened without any sort of creaking, allowing Adren to-
Death.
He felt like he was looking at death itself.
His eyes were immediately drawn to the white skull, within the eye sockets of which resided burning points of a crimson red. The entity was also very large in size, and the rest of its body was mostly covered by a robe that seemed more expensive than even the dresses he saw Her Holiness wear.
Death itself then cleared its throat.
"... I am Ainz Ooal Gown, the Sorcerer King."
Barely managing to recover from his shock, he immediately knelt.
"Your Majesty!"
"Hm. Rise, and close the door behind you."
"O-of course!"
He obeyed once again, cursing himself for losing his composure and not kneeling immediately. He should have realised who this was right away.
When he did close the door, he turned back around and bowed.
"Your Majesty."
"Come closer."
He did not hesitate to obey. When he reached the table, the Sorcerer King got up from his chair.
"Now, time to confirm if you're really loyal. [Dominate]."
... ...
Neia was sitting in her carriage, looking out the window, feeling somewhat sour.
While she was happy about Satoru taking her on a trip today, there was something else that she had recently been realising about herself.
Her love of children.
She obviously loved Pandora's Actor as if he was her own son, but there was something she didn't get to experience about motherhood.
Raising the child from the moment of birth.
And she wanted that so much.
Would Satoru and Pandora's Actor be hurt if she were to bring it up?
She sighed. The carriage was slowing down, meaning she didn't have time to think about such things anymore.
...
As the doors of her mansion were opened for her, she was approached by Amelia, the youngest of the maids, who then bowed.
"Your Holiness. His Majesty is waiting inside."
"W-wait... My husband is already here?"
"Yes, he'd said that he can wait if you need time to rest."
"N-no, it wouldn't be proper for me to keep him waiting! Lead me to him."
...
Strangely, she was then led to the mansion's meeting room. Why was Satoru waiting for her there?
The door was even open. She found the whole thing a little strange, but did not hesitate to proceed towards the doorway.
When she did, she saw her husband sitting down at the table and reading a book, while the bafolk paladin she also expected today stood by in a corner of the room.
"Oh, hello Neia."
"Uhm... hello, darling."
"Hm. I've asked your new bodyguard some questions, and verified his loyalty like I said I would."
"Ah, thank you..."
She turned to the bafolk, who she found a lot more pleasant to look at now that he's clearly been groomed well, and was wearing a paladin's armour. Well, most of it. The helmet was missing for some reason.
"Your Holiness!"
"I am happy to welcome you as my bodyguard, Sir Adren."
"Please, you may refer to me however you wish!"
"Thank you."
And with that, she addressed her husband again.
"I did not expect your arrival to come so soon, darling. Will you want to show me that surprise right away?"
"No need for that. I understand if you're exhausted and want to rest first. I can just wait here."
Neia wondered if his early arrival and current insistence had something to do with his work. Did he have another particularly bad day?
"Well I do feel a bit drained, but what better way to rest than spend time with my husband? Why don't we both relax in the bedroom for a while?"
"Ah, excellent."
...
After closing the door behind him, he turned around and stepped close to her.
He seemingly hesitated for a moment, before finally moving to stroke her cheek. She chuckled happily in response.
"Hello Satoru... I love you."
"I love you too, Neia..."
"Is work being terrible again?"
He sighed, but did not stop his movements.
"... Yes, it's getting hard to tolerate..."
She could then tell that he was suddenly deep in thought.
"... You know, a good while ago, I did something that really seemed like a good solution at the time. But I overestimated my own patience, it seems... I'm still having to deal with the consequences every day... Yes, things have changed since I first made that decision… Things that have made it all so much messier."
"I'm so sorry to hear that, darling. I just wish I could help."
"Ah, don't worry about that... Today was supposed to be special, and now I'm complaining to you... Let's lay down for a bit, hm?"
"It's fine to talk about that! Please, you can complain to me all you need. I'm happy to listen to anything you have to say, darling."
"... Thank you. You truly are a wonderful girl, Neia… I'm so glad I met you."
She felt a bit surprised at his seemingly sudden expression of so much love, but she was very happy about it either way, and so her wings started flapping.
"I feel the same about you too, Satoru. To me, you are the most important thing in the world."
...
After cuddling for about half an hour, it was time for Neia to find out why today would be special.
To her surprise, she was asked by her husband to bring out a set of winter clothes to wear. This meant that it was obviously going to be some sort of trip to a cold place, but Satoru still refused to tell her exactly what was up.
She reached for the last thing she was missing, a woollen winter cap. After handing it to Satoru, he put it away into his inventory for safekeeping, while she closed the drawer back up.
"Is that everything, my love?"
"Yes, darling. Is it time to leave, then?"
"Assuming you are ready, we can go at any time."
"I think I am, but I can't be sure unless you actually tell me where you're taking me."
He chuckled.
"I won't say exactly, but it is a private place where we'll be alone."
"... Hm. Then I suppose I'm ready."
"Alright honey. I hope you'll like it."
Just like that, she found herself standing in a new place. It was some sort of medium sized room which looked vaguely similar to her own mansion's decor, but far more cosy and homey. It seemed to be some sort of a wooden cabin. Rugs fashioned out of animal skins lined the floor, and various cloths of brown or grey colours covered the walls. The only bed in the room was rather simple, yet comfortable-looking, and lay close to the large campfire which provided much of the light, along with the many candles spread throughout the room.
As she was looking around, Satoru spoke calmly.
"How do you like this sort of look, my beloved? I tried to go for something different, though I did need a lot of help..."
After she felt she finished looking, she turned to him with a smile.
"It looks great! So cosy and nice... Though, where are we, exactly?"
He chuckled once again.
"Come, follow me."
They walked over to one of the cloths covering the walls. He pulled it away, revealing a window. Through it, she could see a most amazing sight.
They were in some sort of underground cave that was frozen over. The cave walls and ceiling were made of a dark stone, and countless magical lanterns were suspended from them, making them look like the night sky. As for the floor, it was mostly made up of a large underground lake that was frozen over. The ice reflected the countless light beautifully, as did the snow which covered the rest of the ground.
She'd been staring in awe for some time before she finally snapped out of it, looking at Satoru.
"This place looks amazing, darling! Where are we?"
"We're deep in the Azerlisia Mountains, in a place the dwarves had tipped me off about... though the adjustments did take a bit of time. Either way, we should be perfectly safe and alone here."
"Should we go outside?"
"Of course. Once you get dressed up."
...
After removing her dress with the help of Satoru, there were a few things that had to go first. She put on a second pair of socks, and then some thick pants. Then came a long-sleeved shirt. And over that, a winter coat which did not have holes in the back, instead just having a lot of space there, enough to fit both her wings comfortably as long as she kept them folded up. She then put on a very loose-fitting cloak, then her gloves, then the scarf, and then the winter cap.
"... okay darling, I think I'm ready!"
"Hm... And by the way, you look very cute when the scarf covers your face all the way up to your eyes like that… ah, I do love those eyes."
She blushed, and felt her wings pushing against her clothes as they moved on their own.
...
Once she stepped outside and Satoru closed the door behind them, she noted the lack of wind, which made a major difference when it came to how cold one felt. She had to say that she did not feel very cold at all, at least for now.
"I hope it's not too cold?"
"Ah, it's fine."
"That's good. So, what do you want to do first? Just take a walk? There is an activity I have ready, but I don't want to rush you. We can visit here whenever."
"Yes, I think I do want to just look around first."
With a nod, he offered his hand. She took it, and they stepped off the porch, onto the snow.
She smiled as she felt it crunch under her weight, and they spoke as they walked.
"This truly is nice. To have snow at any time of the year..."
"I'm glad you already like it for that."
"Of course I do! This place looks stunning... Ah, but how did the snow get here?"
"Created using a magic item. Quite a strange process, actually."
"Hm, hm."
She nodded while making noises of understanding.
… …
Neia was sitting on the edge of the frozen lake along with Satoru, simply admiring the wonderful sight in front of her. The sparkling ice really was mesmerising.
But there were other things she was excited to do here, as well.
"... darling? Do you think we could walk on it? It might be very slippery though, right?"
"Well, I actually had something other than walking in mind. It's the activity I was talking about earlier."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
In response to her question, he reached into nothingness, and pulled out something rather odd. It seemed like a mostly normal pair of boots, except blades stuck out from the bottoms of each one, making them seem impossible to walk with.
"There's this hobby called ice skating. Wearing these 'ice skates', you'll be able to glide along the frozen ice easily, while having great control... Well, assuming you learn how to use them properly."
"Ah, is that so?"
He chuckled.
"You seem excited about the idea."
"Yes, I think I am. Gliding on the ice… It sounds really fun!"
"Hahh, I'm glad I picked something interesting then."
"Of course you did! And even if you didn't, it wouldn't matter, because everything is great with you!"
"... Yes, I feel the same, my love."
...
"... Okay, I think they're on really tightly now."
"Are you sure? It does need to be a fairly tight fit."
She shook both her legs as she sat, but the boots did indeed feel as well fitted as they could possibly be.
"... Yes, darling. I believe so."
"Alright love. Now, let's take this slow, okay?"
"Of course… So how do I start?"
"First, let's get you off the ground. [Fly]."
After using the spell on himself, he started floating just a tiny bit above the ground. He then went behind her, bent down, and grabbed her under the armpits. She was a little surprised at first, but didn't resist at all. He lifted her slightly off the ground as well, and set her down on the lake's ice without releasing her.
"Everything alright?"
"Yes, darling."
"Okay... keep your legs parallel just like that, and I'll push you forward."
He then did as he said, making her slide along by pushing from the back. A smile appeared on her face, though one could not see it because of her scarf.
This continued for a little bit longer, until he spoke in a somewhat worried tone.
"So... how does it feel?"
She chuckled.
"It's quite nice. I feel kind of light... nimble?"
"Hm. Next I'll release you and just hold your hand, is that alright?"
"Yes."
After she answered, he released his grip, instead moving to her side and starting to hold her hand.
"Now, can you try moving on your own?"
"Uhm, alright. How should I do that?"
"Don't do it as if you were walking. You want to sort of move your legs up, bending at the knee. It's the most basic way to move."
"Okay..."
She did as Satoru had instructed, basically just putting her lower legs up and down repeatedly. She wasn't really doing it properly at first, meaning it did nothing, but she quickly caught on. He continued floating beside her and holding her hand as she moved forward.
"Haha, this is great!"
"Hm, I'm glad. That really makes me happy."
She continued smiling happily, until she suddenly lost balance, and started falling with a quiet yelp.
Luckily, Satoru was still holding her hand, and reacted quickly to make sure she didn't hit the ground.
"Neia!"
He then moved to pull her back up gently.
"Ah, sorry darling."
"Are you alright? Does anything hurt?"
"No, I'm just fine... sorry about that."
"Are you sure, love? Does it hurt at all?"
She made a sort of happy sigh, seeing such deep concern from him.
"I'm fine, darling. I'm just fine."
"Well, that's good… If you feel any pain, don't hesitate to use your necklace's healing ability, or ask me for a potion or scroll."
"Of course, love. Heh, you're so cute when you're concerned about me."
"Oh? Uhm… th-thank you, love…"
She chuckled warmly.
"And you're even cuter when you're surprised by a compliment."
She pulled down her scarf with the hand that wasn't holding his.
"Maybe a kiss could help me recover from that awful fall, hm?"
"If you wish, my love…"
He put his face closer. She licked her lips before moving to kiss his teeth, and when she did, she pulled away immediately.
"Haaaah, cold!"
"Ah, sorry Neia…"
"N-no… I'm sorry…"