Four Years After The Death Emperor Was Defeated...
Neia Baraja made the long trek to the manor- Archduke Ainz Ooal Gown's manor had been recently constructed and as such was not as grand as some of the other buildings within the Holy Roble Kingdom, but as far as she knew, its owner didn't mind, concerning himself with far more important matters such as defense and practicality rather than appearances.
After the defeat of the Death Emperor, he had been awarded the land around Kalinsha and the Great Wall. Ainz immediately set to work, repairing the Great Wall and manning it with undead. The official draft of the Roble Kingdom was now a thing of the past- though the Temples complained about this, the benefits far outweighed anything that people could protest against.
Over the next two years, Ainz had spent time expanding his territory to include the entirety of the Abelion Hills. Many demihumans submitted simply by seeing Ainz's powers, while others joined his banner for protection, and finally there were those who nominally retained their independence but still swore fealty to him. The borders of his lands now touched the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy- the Theocracy complained on paper that there were lands controlled by undead neighboring their own, but in truth, they were happy to have a potentially hostile territory under the thumb of someone who didn't want to wipe out humanity- someone who was human, as far as they knew.
As for Re-Estize, they had offered the Third Princess, Renner, to become Ainz's second wife- though this had not gotten anywhere as far as Neia knew. Ainz had gotten many similar offers, all of which Remedios tore apart the moment they arrived.
Not only was Suzuki's domain large, but the plentiful harvest from the fields, the mines, as well as lending out undead to the Draconic Kingdom as mercenaries had also made him the richest man on this side of the continent. As a matter of fact, he could've easily declared his territory his own kingdom at this point- though Neia knew that neither he nor his wife had any desire to take on more responsibility on the administrative front.
As it was, most of their affairs were handled by Kelart. Ainz had managed to resurrect her despite the lack of a body using a ritual he could apparently only use once a decade.
After going through a few checkpoints, Neia finally stumbled upon someone waiting for her in the grand halls of the manor- her old Captain, now retired from the Paladin Order, who now went by the name Archduchess Remedios Ooal Gown.
Remedios had grown out her hair so that it reached just below her shoulders (her reasoning being was that since she no longer needed to fight as much, she could afford to grow it out a little- though, Neia was sure that it was because Ainz had offhandedly mentioned once that he preferred longer-haired woman).
She was wearing sapphire earrings and was dressed in an odd military uniform Neia had not seen before- apparently it was worn by a military group from a faraway country that Ainz greatly admired. It had an iron cross on each shoulder with some other symbols Neia didn't know the significance of, and simultaneously allowed for a good range of movement while complimenting Remedios's voluptuous figure. No doubt Remedios wore this outfit because Ainz had a liking for it, and it had probably been custom-made for Remedios to wear.
Not that Remedios was averse to wearing dresses anymore, of course, Neia remembered how she had looked in her wedding gown two years ago.
Her former Captain had changed quite a bit since she fell in love- though Neia supposed this was to be expected. She honestly felt a bit sorry for Remedios- Remedios had trained her whole life, and as such the only thing she really brought to the table other than her beauty was her strength. Even if she had married someone as strong as the Warrior-Captain of Re-Estize for example, she would at least be her partner's equal in combat... but Ainz had an army of over a thousand soldiers of which every single one rivalled her in strength.
That was likely a big reason behind the reported changes in Remedios's behavior- she wished to show that she was 'useful' to Ainz, and had taken up all manner of other activities like sewing, cleaning and cooking- with varying success.
Not to say that she had grown into nothing but a meek little housewife- she often tagged along his adventures, such as the island they had explored north of the Roble Holy Kingdom that held the ruins of an ancient civilization. As a matter of fact, they had been planning an expedition to the Dwarven Kingdom, but that had been put on hold due to a family issue- that is to say, for the same reason as to why Neia was visiting them.
Perhaps some might think that Remedios had gone back on her oath by retiring as Paladin Grandmaster, but Remedios likely didn't see it that way. If anything, she was fulfilling the Holy Queen's vision of creating a land 'where no one had to cry' far better in her current position than she ever had or could have as Grandmaster of the Paladin Order. Freed from the burden of the draft and the everlasting threat of demihumans devouring them, the people of the Holy Kingdom could now better use their resources to better specialize in various economic activities. As a matter of fact, the Roble Kingdom was on the cusp of an economic revolution of sorts that would eventually place them far ahead of the Re-Estize Kingdom as an economic powerhouse in this corner of the world.
Remedios, upon seeing her, smiled and took her hands. "It's so nice to see you again, Captain Baraja!"
"Ah, same here!" Neia said. She felt like she would never get used to someone like Remedios treating her like an equal and with respect... but still, it was pretty nice. "Ah, where is the Archduke?"
Remedios smiled as she led Neia towards a room hidden by a curtain.
Beyond that was Ainz Ooal Gown- completely in the flesh. He had chosen to become human four months after they had rescued the Holy Queen- though the true nature of his origin was kept a secret from the public- only a handful of people knew what he really had been before his transformation.
One thing bugged Neia though- he seemed to somehow look younger than he had the last time she had seen him. Could he be aging in reverse? Was that even possible?
"Look who's here to visit you?" Ainz cooed, speaking to the reason that Neia had come so far from Hoburns to visit. Ainz was carrying a small bundle of joy in his arms- the fruit of his and Remedios's love.
The baby looked at Neia with what looked like curiosity in its (Neia couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl and didn't want to potentially offend its parents by guessing wrong) eyes. While it seemed like little more than a bundle of pink flesh like most babies did at its age, its mixed features, a result of its heritage, was apparent even now. And though it was quite cute now, if its strength was even half that of Ainz's... well then, it would be able to destroy an entire city before it was even twelve. "Neia- meet our daughter, Neia Ooal Gown!" Ainz said.
It took Neia a moment to realize what he was saying, and when she did, she couldn't help but find her eyes moistened by tears. All of the accolades and titles that had been bestowed upon her by the Holy Kingdom over the years... they all seemed to pale in comparison to this. "You named your daughter... after me?"
"It was my wife's idea," Ainz admitted.
Remedios flashed her a smile. "If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would've had the courage to open up to him once more at that time... and he and I would not be together now... and so I thought that would be the perfect name for a daughter of mine. What you did back then, I know it must've taken true courage, and like a true paladin, you didn't back down from expressing the truth, no matter how bitter it was to those who heard it or how others would react to it. I hope that our Neia can do the same."
Neia felt lightheaded at this thought. Again, she could think of no higher honor. When offered to hold the baby, she declined, afraid that she might faint and drop her. "Thank you... I'm honored beyond what words can convey..." A thought occurred to her. "If it had been a boy, would you have named him 'Dantallion?'"
Ainz snorted and Remedios looked displeased. Truth be told, none of the three of them had any idea what had even happened to Dantallion after the whole mess with the Death Emperor had been concluded. Although he had been completely useless, the fact that he had tagged along with them on their journey was enough for the Holy Queen to pardon him of his earlier crimes... and then he up and vanished one day.
Dantallion had tried to cozy up to Ainz at first- but the moment that Dantallion said, 'What are we, some kind of Overlordin' squad?" Ainz told him to get lost and so it appeared that Dantallion had followed through with Ainz's request by vanishing. No one had bothered to check up on Dantallion at all as none of them quite frankly gave a crap about him.
As a matter of fact, the moment Neia mentioned his name, baby Neia suddenly began crying and Remedios had to take her in her arms and try to soothe her. "No way," Ainz said. "I think... if it was a boy, we would've named him after her father, or a name from my country- Suzuki."
"Ah, well, I would've thought that you might've named her after your sister rather than me," Neia told Remedios.
"Hmm... maybe, but I don't want Kelart's head growing too big," Remedios said. "As it is, maybe we'll name one of our others Kelart."
Ainz chuckled and there was a hint of red in his cheeks.
Such talk made Neia think about the rumors- the rumors that said that, well, as Remedios was extremely strong and couldn't really hurt Ainz, the two of them went 'all out' during their 'nighttime recreational activities.' It was said that it often sounded like two wild dragons attempting to mate if the tales were to be believed and the furniture apparently had to regularly be replaced around the house after their 'bonding time' was over.
She tried to put off the thoughts of her former Captain and a man she admired having wild, animalistic lovemaking sessions together (the two of them were almost like elder siblings to Neia- thinking about those rumors was almost as weird as imagining her parents doing- no! she had to stop that train of thought right there!) and instead bowed. "Again, I wanted to warmly congratulate the two of you."
"Thank you!" both Ainz and Remedios said.
As a matter of fact, even little Neia Ooal Gown had a small smile on her face now as she gazed at her namesake's face (adult Neia found that babies normally didn't smile at her, probably because of her scary eyes, but baby Neia didn't seem to mind at all), almost as if she was already anticipating the fun memories awaiting her!
A/N:
And so we end this story. If there's one thing I kind of regret about it- it's the number of references and meme lines I placed in it. I mean, I thought they were funny at the time but I might have gone overboard looking back on things. Oh well.
Now, this isn't the last chapter of our story- it was going to be, but I thought of a small section I also wanted to write an an epilogue, and that will conclude this story. However, the 'main plot' involving Remedios and Ainz is over, the next chapter is just going to be the 'cherry on top' so to speak.
Dantallion is an interesting character- he's inspired by a character from the series 'Dungeon Defender' though he's heavily altered in this series with his worst attributes turned up and him greatly dumbed down. He exists as a joke- basically his very presence is a meme. He isn't supposed to be a lovable little goofball, he's meant to be annoying. And I think it's fitting that his end is also one giant joke.
Ainz thought of Tabula rather than Peroroncino when imagining that Remedios might like bondage because if you've seen what Tabula's avatar wears, it is basically a bondage suit.
All in all though, I hope you all enjoyed reading this story of mine! Thank you very much for sticking with it until the end, and believing in this strange love story!
Perhaps some of my fans are unhappy that I ended it a bit too soon or abruptly- but I didn't really see what elaborating on other things would add to the story. The main thing about this story was two very different people coming together, and once that happened, there wasn't that much to do left. However, if you'd like to read a more in-depth romance and a more 'traditional' one Overlord-wise, my fanfic of Albedo x Human Ainz 'Ainz At Level One' is still ongoing.
This is the second romance-focused piece I've written, and I hope you all had a blast reading it. In case you want my recommendation on something in this genre outside of Overlord, I recommend 'Golden Time'- it's one of my favorite stories of all time, even though I'm not usually one for rom-coms.
Additionally, I go by the username of 'Drechenaux' on RoyalRoad, Inkitt, and ScribbleHub, and am writing a romance novel (not Overlord related, an original project) called 'All Dolled Up!' that I invite you to check out- it is currently free to read on any of those sites.
And, as a small treat, for those of you who are curious, here's a short 'extra credits' scene detailing what ultimately happened to Dantallion (this isn't the epilogue I mentioned above, that's still coming in a separate chapter):
Dantallion's Magnum Opus
Dantallion's hands were nearly shaking and his brow was coated with sweat as he finished his manuscript. The only reward he had gotten from the Holy Queen was to be pardoned of his crimes, but he had managed to nick a few things that allowed him to tide by while he worked on what was really important- yes, Dantallion now had a purpose in life other than making a huge harem.
Ainz's and Remedios's love story had inspired him to write something- he decided to write a love story between a male undead and female human- though he made the undead a vampire so that 'those parts' worked. He had to take several 'creative liberties' with the script of course, to the point where the story was now unrecognizable and bore no resemblance to what actually happened in real life.
He also made sure that the male lead had as many badass lines as possible- for example, there was a scene where the male lead had to punish a wicked evildoer, and after castrating the man, then said, "You've never know true power- until you've tasted the testicles of a man who's wronged you!" He then did just that in front of the villain's henchmen.
Dantallion shuddered as he envisioned that scene and that line- truly, his work would be remembered as peak literature and that line would be quoted throughout the continent. It was almost as good as the second-best line he had written (in his opinion), when the male lead said "It's suckin' time!" and proceeded to suck all of his enemies dry (of blood).
The female lead was kind of bland, dumb, and useless; but she was based off of Remedios, so you couldn't really expect much more. Plus, that would just mean that woman could insert themselves into her place easier.
"Ah, finished," he said, rubbing the bags underneath his eyes. He had decided to call his supernatural romance 'Twilight'- and no doubt publishing it would gain him a large amount of fame and money. Not only that, this novel would surely be a hit with the ladies, particularly the young ones, meaning that he would be one step closer to accomplishing his other dream! Not to mention he had a feeling that many single mothers (there were a lot of them after the war) would also like it, and he wouldn't mind adding one or two of them to his would-be harem.
He took the manuscript to a publisher, who was a bit shocked when he saw that Dantallion had a manuscript for him- given the fact that it looked like Dantallion was incapable of reading, though Dantallion assured the man that he had written 'peak fiction' and asked him to take a look.
Once the publisher was done reading it- he immediately informed the Temples about the sacrilegious nature of the text and Dantallion was imprisoned for a year. Apparently one of the priests who tried to read it before Dantallion's hearing had had a stroke by chapter four.
About six months in, Dantallion was still stuck in prison when he was informed that he had a visitor. It was a bard he'd been locked up with a month ago- though the bard had only been in there overnight for public drunkenness. That didn't stop Dantallion from telling him the plot to 'Twilight' overnight as no one else would bother listening.
"Here, bro, I loved that story you told me," the bard said. "It was really inspirational my man- and I decided to write my own spin-off of it."
Dantallion took a look at the manuscript, titled, 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and just by reading twenty pages, knew that he was reading yet another guaranteed literary masterpiece.
"I know the Temples won't let me publish this here," the bard said. "But let's say you and I make a beeline for the Re-Estize Kingdom and start selling this. I didn't think it was good enough though, and I wanted you to look over it first in case you thought I should make some changes. Plus, I think that 'Twilight' will sell really well over there."
Dantallion smiled. This was going to be the start of a beautiful friendship.