How had it come to this?
Mare Bello Fiore, a modest and introverted dark elf boy, exemplified humbleness. One of the dutiful Guardians of the 6th floor, made by Bukubukuchugama, he found solace in the vast library of Nazarick, immersing himself in the stories contained within its pages. Embracing tranquility, he often indulged in restful slumbers whenever the opportunity arose. In contrast to his vivacious twin sister, Mare possessed a gentle demeanor, silently fulfilling his duties to the Great Tomb and his unwavering loyalty to Lord Ainz
He wasn't one to be very vocal, or even sociable for that matter, as his introverted nature made him prefer to be on his own. Yet, despite his unobtrusive behavior, it seemed the world always brought unforeseen developments to poke at his timid shell.
At first it came from that trio of elves they had incorporated into the 6th floor. The elves turned-maids took a while to fully grow accustomed to their new home, but once they did, they became quite the doting personal servants. According to them, Mare and his sisters were some sort of royal figures, deserving of worship and servitude, which was alright with the twins to a certain extent, but the lengths they would go were quite extreme.
From serving meals, waking them up in the morning to even changing their clothes, those three were quite eager to go above and beyond. Aura managed to voice her desire to be less doted by them, but Mare couldn't find the courage to turn them down, so he became the main subject of their veneration.
It felt slightly awkward, but he supposed he was indeed a lord of sorts, so perhaps he should grow accustomed to this treatment. If it was his master's wishes, then he would comply.
But now it seemed that was only a taste of what he would be experiencing from now on.
Lord Ainz had instructed Mare and Aura to the elven nation for a "vacation", but, keeping their diligence and showing their understanding of their master's 1000-year plan, the siblings swiftly took over the country in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown. It was difficult, especially for someone like Mare, but with his strength and his sister's natural charisma, they overthrew the Elf King and became the new monarchs.
The prospect of running an entire new territory was dauting for Mare, given how he had no experience with commanding, but he knew with his master's wisdom, and with his sister by his side, he would pull through. Cocytus, Albedo, Demiurge and even Shalltear were all in positions of administration at the Sorcerer's Kingdom, so now it was his and his sister's turn.
What he had not expected was the "reward" he received after his operations at the Elf Kingdom.
Indeed, it appeared Aura and, specially, Mare gained a new subject. The half-elf extra seat in the Black Scripture of the Slane Theocracy, Antilene Heran Fouche, also known as Zesshi Zetsumei – Certain Death.
The youthful half-elf maiden possessed a captivating allure, courtesy of her heterochromatic eyes. One eye, as dark as the night, contrasted beautifully with its counterpart, a pristine white orb. Her hair, elegantly styled in pigtails, mirrored this duality, divided at the center into a silver and a deeper ivory shade. Such a striking appearance extended to her attire, with varying shades of light and dark embellished different elements, creating a mesmerizing monochromatic grayscale ensemble.
After their taking of the elven capital, the black-and-white girl appeared on behalf of the Slane Theocracy to kill the Elf King, mistaking Mare and Aura for two of his many children. The following was a lengthy battle between Mare and the member of the black scripture while Aura delt with the soldiers surrounding the capital.
Despite Mare being a magic caster focusing on area of effect magic, arguably better suited to deal with larger armies of weaker opponents, Antilene proved to be quite powerful for Aura to deal with alone, given she was not made for one-on-one combat, so it was decided Mare would take agent of the Slane Theocracy on while Aura and her beasts, alongside the elven army, would hold back the Theocracy battalions.
Mare managed to defeat Antilene, but by Lord Ainz' request, her body was retrieved and she was revived in order to gather information on the Slane Theocracy. Sadly, her resurrection caused a loss in memories, so mind reading magic did not fully revealed all she could have known about the Theocracy, but it gave precious intel regardless.
Due to her usefulness, and the possibility of regaining her memories, Antilene life was spared and she was assimilated into Nazarick as a subject of Mare and Aura, with plans of having her help manage the Elf Kingdom.
But now there was a problem.
"Lord Mare, is something the matter?" A honey layered voice broke his train of thought.
"E-eh, um, no. I was just, uh, thinking."
"Tee hee~! You are so cute when your lost in your own little head."
Mare gave an awkward laugh as he moved through the spacious hallways of the 9th floor. Mare had been at the library of Ashurbanipal on the floor below before being summoned by Albedo to the Guardians usual conference room. He was to bring Antilene with him, but as she insisted on being at his side at all times, she had already accompanied him there.
Finally, he arrived at the door leading to the room, he took a deep breath and gained courage to knock on it.
Albedo's muffled voice sounded through the door "You may enter."
"E-Excuse me!" He made to open the door, but Antilene beat him to it and opened the entryway for him instead.
"Mare, right on time." Said the Guardian Overseer. "And I see you brought the half-elf as instructed."
"Well, uh, y-yes."
At his side, Antilene got to one knee and bowed in reverence of the high-ranking denizens of Nazarick present.
To Mare's surprise, most of his fellow Guardians were here, each seated at the oval table in the center of the room. To his right, the large frost vermin lord Cocytus and the arch-devil commander Demiurge were put, while seated at his left were the vampire Valkyrie Shalltear Bloodfallen, and Aura Bella Fiora, his sister. Albedo remained at the head of the table, with the iron butler, Sebas Tian, standing at her side.
They each looked at the dark elf boy and his half-elf servant with intent, making Mare feel very tense. Why were all of his peers here? Was this an important meeting? But if so, why have Antilene join them specifically? Did he do something wrong? Something regarding his new subject?
His head was bombarded with intrusive thoughts, until he heard a cough echoed from the table.
"Ahem. Forgive my bluntness, Lord Mare, but what is it that you are holding in your hand." Asked Sebas.
"Ah." He had forgotten about that detail when he began worrying over his summoning. "Well, you see, it's a… Leash?"
His response gave way to various reactions. Demiurge fixed his glasses in place as Cocytus let out a huff of freezing air from his mandibles. Sebas furrowed his brow but remained quiet while Shalltear seemed to gain interest. Albedo's expression was in its usual unreadable smile, but Aura's disappointed look was what really drew his worried attention.
"Oh my, a leash? How bold." Said Shalltear with a smirk.
"Just stay quiet for now." His sister jabbed at the vampire comment.
"Why are you holding a leash tied to this young lady's neck exactly?" Sebas inquired once more.
"B-Because she suggested it?" Was all Mare could respond.
It was the truth. Antilene said, to better stay by his side at all times as his personal aid, she should be bound to him physically in some way, before offering to wear a collar.
"I see."
"I suppose we can already start he topic of today's discussion." The Guardian Overseer announced. "We shall see to the exact nature of Mare's new 'personal servant'."
"Seems pretty obvious to me." Shalltear commented, earning an elbowing from Aura.
Mare took a seat at the opposite end, with Antilene merely standing at his right.
"Shouldn't. Lord. Ainz. Be. Present. For. Such. Discussion?" Cocytus intervened.
"Lord Ainz is currently at diplomatic travel to the Baharuth Empire to meet with Emperor Jircniv, so he is unavailable." Albedo clarified. "He has granted permission to develop the topic between us, however."
"Um… I don't understand what's going on…"
"Allow me to explain, Mare." Demiurge spoke up. "After your efforts in the Elf Kingdom, and your acquisition of Antilene Heran Fouche of the Slane Theocracy, Lord Ainz put her under your and Aura's command, correct?"
Mare nodded.
"Well, our magnanimous master did not fully specify her exact position under the hierarchy of the Sorcerer's Kingdom, so I believe this is to see if we can best determine one for her to meet up to his expectations."
"I-I see…" Mare reacted. "But, um, isn't she just like the three slaves we acquired from that invasion?"
"Considering her position before, and her proven strength in combat, I believe lumping her in with mere common maids would be a disservice."
"You say she's strong, but how much exactly?" Asked Shalltear, carefully examining the half-elf. "It's difficult to rank power in this world, you know."
The Valkirye made a good point. Most people in this New World are fairly weak, so defining their relative strength, especially compared to the might of Nazarick, was quite difficult.
"W-Well, if I were to estimate, I'd say she's, um, she's quite strong for this world. Probably, maybe, around the level of the Pleiades?"
At his side, Mare picked up the sound of giggling from Antilene.
"I see, so about level 50ish? That is quite decent, I suppose…"
"So, Mare, what relation do you want to have with the outsider?"
"E-Eh? You're asking me?"
Mare felt the harsh spotlight turn on him as his fellow guardians awaited his answer. He fidgeted in place before finding a way to divert the question.
"Shouldn't my sister also have a say in this as well? I-I mean, Lord Ainz did p-put her under both of our command."
They turned to Aura. "Well, I'm not the one she follows everywhere." She shrugged. "Plus, I don't care what she ends up becoming, but it's clear there's something going on between you two."
He winced at his sister annoyed tone. Was she really going to leave him hanging?
"Ah, well, you see… Uh…"
"How about we approach this by the tasks she has already been fulfilling? Perhaps we may find a suitable niche for her by seeing what she's been intuitively doing." Demiurge elucidated.
"Good idea. Tell us, Mare, what has she been doing for you this whole time?"
"Let's see… Umm, today she accompanied me to the tenth floor and stayed by my side as I read books in the library, but before that we went to the canteen and she spoon-fed me my meal as well…"
"Is she your babysitter?!" Aura yelled incredulously, earning a small yelp from Mare.
"Lady Aura, I was merely aiding Lord Mare with his daily needs." Intervened Antilene, speaking for the first time since she arrived, with an odd smile on her face.
"He's old enough to feed himself!"
"He seems of age for much more now." Shalltear teased, earning a slap at the back of her head from Aura, causing the two to fight amongst each other.
Mare couldn't fully understand the problem. His three elf maids acted similarly, so he figured that was how all domestic workers acted.
"So… She behaves like a personal servant?" Sebas spoke, stroking his bearded chin, as the two female guardians seized their arguing.
"Uh, yeah, I guess…"
"Seems rather redundant. Don't you two already have those elven slaves to fulfil such role? Considering the applications she may have as a figure to manage the Elf Country; I do not think giving her the same role is the correct approach." Noted Demiurge.
"Indeed." Cocytus added. "Not. Very. Fitting. For. Someone. Of. Her. Higher. Status."
"Albedo, how about we ask Ms. Antilene on what position she believes herself to be? Even if it's not one we agree, it can still serve as a jumping off point, or set a boundary for what we shall accept." The iron butler suggested.
"Very well." The overseer directed to the half-elf. "Antilene Heran Fouche, what position do you wish to serve under the Great Tomb of Nazarick and the Sorcerer's Kingdom as a whole?"
Antilene bowed and carefully prepared her next words.
"Lady Albedo, as well as all others present here, my desire is singular and brief." She turned to Mare and gave off a strange yearning look before continuing her request. "All I want is to become Lord Mare's concubine."
"Eh?"
Aura Bella Fiore was a level 100 NPC of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and while her abilities may not be combat oriented, what she lacked in those regards she made up for various other skills. Some of her talents included her ranger and beast tamer abilities, making her an effective support for her fellow denizens in group combat, but it was her scouting skills that really shined in the New World. As a matter of fact, the dark elf girl possessed some of the finest tuned senses out of all the Floor Guardians, with special regards going to her keen vision and hearing.
But now she could not believe her ears.
She looked for confirmation from her fellow Floor Guardians, and each seemed similarly surprised by the proclamation made by the half-elf girl before them.
Some, like Cocytus and Albedo, had unreadable masks, but given Aura's honed vision, she could see hints of puzzlement, which was especially pressing coming from Albedo. Sebas seemed quite shocked for once, breaking his usual stoic chivalrous face, while Demiurge seemed deep in thought with the new unexpected development.
But what peeved Aura off was Shalltear's smug grin.
"Oh my, just as I suspected." She was the first to speak up.
"Antilene, you wish to become Mare's wife? Is that your intent?" Albedo intervened with an authoritative tone.
To have an outsider want something like being engage to a denizen of Nazarick, specially one as high ranking as a Floor Guardian, was quite heretical, as it was essentially like a peasant asking to marry nobility -or royalty, for that matter.
"Pardon, Lady Albedo, but I do not hope in actually reaching such a title." Antilele cleared. "I understand my position and am contempt on striving to become a mere mistress of sorts for Lord Mare."
That only raised more questions for Aura. A mistress? As in a literal concubine? Where did that come from?
"Is there any reason or motive behind your goal?" Asked the Guardian Overseer.
"Allow me to explain. As you know, before being graciously accepted into Nazarick, I served as the strongest member of the Black Scripture military force, as well as a "God-kin" of the Slane Theocracy, a direct descendant of the Six Great Gods. As such, it was imperative that I eventually mother children for the good of the Theocracy, yet no men ever proved worthy of being chosen."
"Wouldn't your old country just force you to have children regardless? Sounds like it would be highly beneficial to have an army of demigods serving them." Demiurge pointed out, still clearly in thought.
"When it came to the Captain of the Black Scripture, that was certainly the strategy used, as he was allowed to marry multiple wives to better procreate, but there were still some issues. Even with their efforts, God-Kins powers rarely showed themselves in an individual, with many descendants never awakening their aptitude for the divine abilities."
"To mitigate that, it is said strong parents provide strong children, so more powerful individuals are sought out, but even then, the pool to choose from is limited." Antilene continued. "So, the Six Cardinals decided on two strategies to improve the odds at God-kins being born…"
"…Given his gender and race as a human, the Captain of the Black Scripture was given a polyamorous approach to spreading his genes, as he has a shorter life span and can impregnate multiple women. And as for me, given my sex and long-lived half-elf race disposition, I was allowed to be more selective in my process to better guarantee powerful offspring."
"All of this to say you wish to have a child with Mare, is that so?"
"Yes, Lady Albedo."
Aura was at a lost for words. The previous extra seat of the Black Scripture just admitted to want to be impregnated by her brother? What in Lord Ainz's name was happening?
Aura was about to voice her protest, when Demiurge slammed his hands on the table and rose up.
"Marvelous! Beyond amazing!"
"Eh?"
"As expected of Lord Ainz, everything is falling exactly into place like pieces from a puzzle, with the bigger picture being more and more clear for us."
"D-Demiurge, what are you on about?" Aura hesitantly asked the Arch-devil.
"Don't you see? This my very well be the next step into our master's glorious 1000-year plan."
"How?!"
"Ever since arriving at this new world, the topic of offspring for the Great Tomb of Nazarick has been orbiting my mind, and by Lord Ainz permission, I've begun several breeding experiments in my base of operation at the Abelion Hills, and this could be Lord Ainz's contribution to my efforts."
Mare seemed to perk up. "Y-You mean those plans Pulcinella mentioned?"
"Precisely, Mare."
"The hell, Mare knew of this?!"
"My experiments were mostly between attempting to create hybrids between humans and demi-humans, but I believe this a sign Lord Ainz wants me to consider more straightforward approaches."
"Are you sure, Demiurge? Weren't your experiments mainly focusing on creating species for better scroll parchments?" Inquired Albedo.
"That was the primary objective, yes. But I also wanted to see if stronger races could be developed to strengthen our forces, with particular interest in denizens of Nazarick reproducing."
"Such. As. A. True. Heir. For. Lord. Ainz." Cocytus added.
That grabbed the interest of Albedo and Shalltear, but all Aura could think was why the male guardians seemed to be in touch with this odd "breeding experiments" of Demiurge!
"Unfortunately, no leads were made on biological reproduction with undead, but this new development could be a way for Lord Ainz to tell me to first focus on simpler control cases, such as between a dark-elf and a half-elf, for example."
"I see where you are going." Albedo went on. "As our territory expands, management becomes much more difficult if our numbers stay the same, so by expanding them in that fashion, we could fill the demand we face."
"And lucky for us, Lord Ainz granted us the perfect specimen to test higher level breeding."
Aura was baffle. "Demiurge, what are you talking about?"
"I believe we can agree most outsider of the Great Tomb meets the standards to be the sexual partners of any of us, given how weak they appear." Demiurge turned to Antilene. "And if what she claims has any basis, merely utilizing quantity over quality strategy may not yield strong results…"
"…But by finding throughout this world those with potential, we may increase our chances of amassing powerful individuals to aid our quest for world domination."
"Forgive my interrupting, Lord Demiurge, but isn't it a bit too early to be euphoric over such matters? Lord Mare is still fairly young…"
Aura mentally tanked Sebas for pointing that out.
"Is he? Shouldn't be much worse than what you have with your little pet, Sebas." Demiurge faced the butler.
"I'd appreciate if you called Tuare by her name…"
Tuareninya Veyron was a well-known human assimilated into Nazarick earlier on in their operations at the former kingdom of Re-Estize. After Sebas rescued her, she was put under the protection of Ainz Ooal Gown and made head maid of E-Rantel, capital of the Sorcerer's Kingdom. She was the first outsider to be brought into the Great Tomb and managed to be accepted, or at least tolerated, by her peers. It was also clear she and the Iron Butler had a relationship of sorts.
Could this too be part of the plan to expand Nazarick forces by… procreation?
The air began showing faint hostility, so Albedo picked their attention with a faint cough.
"Demiurge, are you sure this is the will of Lord Ainz?" Aura once more tried to bargain with the devil;
"It wouldn't surprise me. First, he practices tolerance with outsiders, then he allows them to walk with us. Believe he knew it was only a matter of time before we obtained more powerful habitants of this world to join our ranks!"
"S-so, giving me Antilene was foreseen in his plans?" Asked Mare.
"Perhaps not her specifically, but maybe other God-kins or similarly powerful champions of nations. If they have player blood running through their veins, it is obvious they would want to reproduce and spread their genes as efficiently as possible, and Nazarick is a beacon for those looking for such opportunities."
"Conquest through interbreeding? How deceptively clever of our Lord Ainz!" Albedo joined Demiurge. "Only he could have come up with such ingenious strategy."
It couldn't be. Was Mare getting laid really be part of the Supreme Being's plan? Were those three elves also included on this somehow?
"But. How. Does. This. Determine. Antilene's. Position. In. The. Hierarchy?"
In all of this, they seemed to have gotten offtrack on what they originally were meant to discuss.
Before anyone could say anything, Shalltear rose a hand and began speaking.
"I have a suggestion then." She proposed. "If she will be Mare's new plaything, that would make her in similar position to my various Vampire Brides then. They serve my every will, be it administrative, combat, or very personal~. So, I say we call her 'Mare's bride'!"
Aura was distraught. Shalltear vampire brides were known for being exactly what their name suggested, vampiric concubines of the Guardian of the first few floors, but she was correct in saying they served a plethora of different functions to her, from aids in battle to personal assistants, the Vampire Brides were versatile and diligent.
And that was precisely what Antilene was shaping up to become.
"I hate to admit it, but Shalltear makes sounding points." Albedo solemnly said. "Any objections to referring to Antilene Heran Fouche as Mare's bride?"
If anyone had protests, none voiced them. Aura tried to say something, but she had no basis to stand on when arguing with Albedo and Demiurge, the two smartest minds of Nazarick. Sebas also seemed to want to object, but was also at a loss for words.
"Very well, from here on you shall be known as Mare's bride, Antilene. Do not disappoint the Supreme One."
Antilene just giggle in response and moved closer to Mare, gently tugging at her leash. It seemed things would only grow weirder for the dark elf twins.