Hello. It's me, Lucy.
I've recently gotten a few negative reviews regarding how I've been handling Nazarick. It seems there is now a perception that in this fanfic, Ainz is starting to see Nazarick as "bothersome" and that he's "willing to throw it away", or even that "he would gladly just erase them from existence without a second thought just so they stop bothering him".
I have to say outright that I did not expect anyone at all to get any such ideas when I was planning the story out. I did not originally include any scenes of Ainz spending time in Nazarick and being wholesome with all the NPCs because I just did not think it needed to be said that he cares about them. Canon makes that clear, so I didn't feel the need to. But I didn't consider that some people might get the very wrong idea that he's somehow starting to hate Nazarick.
I will remedy this by going back and adding some new scenes to older chapters in the near future, which might affect new chapter releases, but hopefully not.
I also want to say that I have a plan with all of this. Nazarick will play a very important role, very soon. We are nearing the end, so everything will make sense in just a bit.
This all was also the reason that this specific chapter was delayed for a day. Those reviews affected my mental state negatively, so I took some time off to relax.
Thank you for understanding. Please enjoy the chapter.
… … …
"... Are you comfortable, Lord Ainz?"
"I am. Thank you, Aura. You should sit down too."
"Yes!"
Satoru was currently visiting Aura in her and Mare's home on the 6th Floor.
And as he saw the tea and sushi in front of him, he tried to remember the taste of both. Though the food available to him in his own world was of horrible quality, so they weren't particularly fond memories…
Still, if all went well, he'd be able to taste again soon…
...
"... And then I almost fell, but he was holding my hand, so he pulled me up!"
Neia took another sip of mango juice before continuing.
"I then practised moving around on the ice some more, and after I was done, we spent the evening in the cabin. He took me home after I fell asleep there."
Her mother and father both nodded, and the latter then spoke.
"So you really enjoyed yourself again, huh?"
She smiled as she looked into his eyes, which glowed a faint blue due to his recent transformation.
"Of course I did! How could I not enjoy time spent with my beloved husband?"
After she said that, there was a brief period of silence.
It was her mother who eventually thought of something to say.
"... So, how come you haven't found jobs for us yet?"
Neia had to resist the urge to sigh. 'Not this again...'
"Wait, what do you mean I haven't? I offer you plenty of work."
Pabel responded in a sort of strange tone that was almost pleading, but very firm.
"Neia, the occasional public appearance along with you isn't a job."
Sofia nodded.
"Your father is right, sweetheart. We want to help you with all that work you do. You have so many responsibilities.."
Neia sighed, out loud this time.
"I understand that, of course, but... When it comes to all the paperwork or the speeches, there's just nothing you can really do..."
They knew this, but were still not pleased at all when it was said outright like that.
"Look, I've been working on making it so that my workload is relegated to more and more other people. I can handle it, really. You don't need to worry so much."
"... Still, Neia... you working while your parents do nothing all day? It's been like this for far too long."
"Well... let's talk about it again later. I have that date with darling soon."
They were then both obviously disappointed, and somewhat irritated, but in the end, they nodded.
...
After the breakfast talk was over, Neia let her parents go on ahead, and stopped to talk to Emma, who was waiting outside the small dining room's door.
"... Your Holiness."
"Hey again. So, how have the maids been reacting to the bafolk paladin?"
"Hm. Well, it's only been about a day, so most of us haven't even seen him personally. Amelia has, and said he makes her tense up. I hope she'll be able to get used to it soon."
"Ahhh... that's unfortunate... yes, let's hope she'll be able to get over it soon."
...
Desmond Custodio was sitting alone in the clearing where he would normally train, staring at the ground with little life in his eyes.
"... Now I know why you wanted to train alone."
He winced as he heard the sound of his teacher's voice. After recovering from the shock, he snapped to turn in its direction, still sitting down.
"M-master?"
"Yeah. I came to check on you despite your wishes, and I guess my hunch was right... You're not training at all, and knowing you, there must be a damn good reason for that."
"W-well... I..."
"Something must really be troubling you, huh?"
"N-no, I was just... I uhmm..."
His teacher looked up at the morning sky.
"... You know, you don't have to tell me..."
And then, he looked back into his eyes intently.
"But know that I want the best for you."
The young man felt the weight of a difficult decision on his heart. Should he tell him about the horrible shame of the family he was so proud of before? Of his family? Of his name?
"I... I... well..."
He felt he had to choose, but couldn't.
A pause followed as he tried to decide. It felt like an eternity.
"I understand if you don't want to tell me. I suppose I'll leave you to it, then..."
"N-no, damn it!... C-can you keep a secret?"
"... Of course I can. If you don't wish for me to divulge it to anyone, I will not tell a soul."
Even with that reassurance, Desmond took more time to think about if even that was enough. Would his teacher ever look at him the same way, knowing the shame of the Custodio name?
He shook his head. On impulse, he decided.
"M-master I... I've recently come to know that my family's name... it's... it's not as noble as I once believed it... I... I-"
His teacher raised his hand to stop him from continuing, and sighed deeply, with his eyes closed. Only after standing still like that for several moments did he put his hand down and open his eyes back up.
"Look, I'll be frank with you. I'm an orphan. I never understood this whole being proud of your family. I don't know who my relatives are, and I don't need to. I made a life for myself. Whether I'm the son of a king or a murderer, it doesn't matter. I'm still just me."
Desmond felt something inside him change.
"That's..."
Hearing it from someone who held him in such high regard at such a moment seemed to touch his heart more than he expected.
"... yes, I... even if my bloodline might've been stained, it doesn't matter... I can still do good! I can still be an honourable servant of Her Holiness! It is on me to push forward, even if I have to bear this shame!"
...
"Come on sis, it's just about to start!"
"Alright, alright... I'm going."
Enri Emmot was hastily walking with her younger sister to the local church of the Sorcerer King which was recently built in the town of Carne. The town wasn't a large priority, and so it only had a few officials of the faith.
"Let's hurry sis!"
She sighed.
"Nemu, you know we always arrive early. There's no need to walk so fast!"
"B-but..."
"Don't worry, we've never missed any start of any speech, and we won't anytime soon, alright?"
"... alright..."
Enri felt that she should really write to Neia again soon. It's been a little while since their last letter, and her friend will most certainly enjoy hearing about little Nemu's enthusiasm for the faith increasing ever since the local church was finished.
Well, maybe Nemu was not that little anymore...
... ...
Neia had just finished putting her set of winter clothes on the sofa, ready to be taken with her to spend the second consecutive day in that frozen cave. It was now time to wait for Satoru for a bit, so she went over to her bed, and calmly laid on it.
She ate today's breakfast a bit ago, and so she felt somewhat sluggish... just a little bit, but enough that laying down and resting felt good.
And as she was laying there, she had time to think. And so, she thought about her favourite thing to think about, and her favourite thing in general.
Satoru.
She was very glad that their dates had a trend of increasing in both frequency and length for a long time now, and that her dear husband still found fun new things for them to try so often. He just introduced her to a hobby she'd never heard of yesterday, after all. And it was a very fun one indeed.
While wondering what other things he might have in store for her in the future, he appeared.
"Hello, Neia."
She quickly sat up, and then got off her bed.
"Satoru! I'm glad to see you again so soon, darling."
They then both started walking over to each other. When they met halfway, they hugged without hesitation.
"I feel the same, Neia… my beloved."
...
After getting dressed in winter clothes and stepping out of the cabin, Neia breathed in deeply. Even through the scarf, the air was chilly, but in a good way, as it was refreshing. She then turned to Satoru, whose hand she was holding. He wore winter gloves this time, just like she was, so that his cold hands wouldn't feel unpleasant for her to hold.
"Darling, do you think we could build a snowman today?"
"A snowman? Well, I've never done that before, so you'll have to guide me through the process."
She instantly felt excitement at being the one to guide him through an activity, because of how often it was the other way around.
"Oh, of course! We'll need to just start with some small snowballs that we'll then roll on the ground to make them bigger! Come on, I'll show you!"
\\\
Neia then excitedly led him off the porch and onto the freshly fallen snow. As always, excitement was something he found incredibly adorable on her, more so than almost any other emotion.
She then released his hand, and bent down to collect some snow.
"I'll just grab a pile like about... this size, I think!"
Before she raised her upper body again, he looked at her butt, and found that he could see it surprisingly well despite her wearing such thick clothes.
She turned back towards him, holding the pile, and was now shaping it into a ball.
"See? Kind of like this. Then, I'll go roll it around in the snow, and it'll continue increasing in size quite quickly!"
"Hm. I'll get to making my own, then."
He knelt down, and collected about the same amount that she showed him earlier. She knelt down with him too, setting her own ball on the ground as he was just shaping his.
"Alright, do you want to make the bottom part? That one's going to be a lot bigger than the middle one."
"Sure, if you don't have a preference."
"Okay, let's start!"
They then each started rolling their snowballs in a different direction.
Satoru found that it did indeed start getting bigger quite quickly. The bigger the ball got, the faster it grew.
After a while, he turned to look at Neia, and found that she was a bit slower in her progress, which was only to be expected. He then started rolling the ball towards her, estimating that it will be big enough by the time he gets to her.
His estimation proved to be correct as they met up.
"Hello Satoru. You seem to have a good-sized ball there."
"Will it be enough?"
"I think so! Let's keep it where you are then... Should we pick up mine and place it on top together?"
"Very well."
He left his ball alone, and went over to Neia. They then lifted her ball, and slowly moved it on top of his. When it was in place, they pushed on it from the top a bit to make sure it wouldn't fall off easily.
Neia stepped back a bit to take a good look at it.
"Okay, that looks really nice! We'll need one more for the head, and then some pebbles for the buttons and face... are there any pebbles around here?"
"Ah, probably not. I'll go outside the cave to look for them. Can you go make the head?"
"Yes, darling. Uhm, be careful out there!"
He chuckled.
"Of course. I'll be right back."
He would normally walk off, but not wanting to make her wait, he teleported.
Appearing in the general area in the mountains above the lake, he immediately received a [Message].
"Lord Ainz, someone teleported near the frozen cave's entrance."
He smiled internally.
"Good job with the quick detection, but that's just me."
...
After putting the head of the snowman in its place, Neia looked around.
While the place was beautiful, it did feel a little... empty without Satoru. And maybe a little dangerous. It was just so silent...
But that was just her feelings. She knew that it was surely very secure considering he would even bring them both here in the first place.
And so, she just waited silently next to the man of snow, which was about three quarters her height now that it was almost finished.
Just a bit later, Satoru finally appeared.
"Ah, darling!"
"Hello, I'm back with the pebbles. Do you want to split how we'll decorate him?"
"Hmm... would you like to do the buttons or the face?"
"I think I'll do the face."
"Okay! Should I start first?"
"If you want to, yes."
Satoru then handed her a handful of pebbles, and so she got to work, starting at the bottom and making sure the line of buttons she was making was as straight as possible.
When she finished, she stepped back to get a better look, and found that it looked alright.
"What do you think, darling?"
"Looks good. Now's my turn, then."
They each stood at one side, so that Neia could see his decorating. He gave the snowman a single pebble for each eye and the nose, and then made a smiling mouth out of a few more.
"... So? Do you like it, my love? Did you enjoy yourself?"
"Yes and yes! It's a nice snowman, and it was fun making it with you."
"Ah, that's good. I enjoyed it too, my love."
They then looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and the cave was completely silent.
"Well, maybe it's time I practised ice skating again."
... ... ...
After teleporting from the cabin back to the mansion with a sleeping and naked Neia in his arms, he put her in bed carefully, and made sure she was fully covered with a blanket.
He stopped to look at her beautiful, peaceful face for just a bit longer before using the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.
He appeared straight back in his office on the 9th Floor, and then sat down with a sigh.
'More work, more work… I should probably visit Cocytus today. I haven't talked to him more casually in a while..'
But then, after looking around at the documents on his table, he saw something that immediately changed his mood.
A report from Demiurge and Pandora's Actor.
He reached for it immediately and quickly, without hesitation.
Opening it, he felt a surge of several emotions that then had to be suppressed.
They found a lead.
A lead about a very special race change item.
In the Great Minotaur Nation.
… … …
Hello again.
The next chapter will be very different for reasons you can probably guess, as we'll be taking a look at the Minotaur Nation. It'll be kind of a one-off thing (unless there's a lot of demand for more I suppose?).
Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was a bit of a change of pace, so hopefully that's fine.
Thank you for reading, and happy Valentine's day!