The door closed behind Vesi with a soft thud, the sound echoing faintly in the quiet room. She lingered for a moment, brushing her fingers against her knuckles. Mind replayed the brief kiss. The gesture had caught her off guard, and even now her heart fluttered uncomfortably at the memory. She let out a small huff, shaking her head. Perhaps that's just how "supreme ones" were treated. The room ahead was both familiar and imposing, the grand decor of Nazarick making it feel like stepping into a memory that had grown far larger than she remembered. At the far end sat Ainz Ooal Gown, the great Sorcerer King. His skeletal form seemed almost regal, but the subtle tilt of his head gave the impression of someone deep in thought.

Ainz glanced up, glowing red flames fixing on her. He gestured toward the maid standing in the corner.

"Thank you, Fiore. You're dismissed."

Fiore hesitated for a fraction of a second, glancing at Vesi before bowing deeply and exiting the room, the door closing behind her with a finality that left the two in silence. Ainz exhaled—a reflexive habit rather than a necessity—as he leaned back in his seat. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence that followed felt oddly intimate, but also awkward. Ainz gave a small, unnecessary sigh, leaning back in his chair.

"Thanks for coming," Ainz began after a moment, his tone lighter than she expected. "I know I pulled you away from your tour."

Vesi waved a hand dismissively as she crossed the room to the sofa. "Oh, don't worry about that! I was ready for a break anyway," she said with a grin, settling into the plush seat. "So, what's up?"

Ainz chuckled—a dry, rattling sound that managed to carry warmth. "They can be a bit much, can't they?"

Vesi let out a short laugh, shaking her head. "Adorable. Absolutely terrifying. Both things at once. And Demiurge… well, let's just say he's very thorough."

"'Thorough' is certainly a polite way to put it," Ainz said with a touch of wry amusement. "The guardians mean well, but their enthusiasm can be overwhelming at times. I sometimes forget just how… intense they can be."

"They've definitely made an impression," Vesi said, leaning back and propping one leg over the other.

Ainz tilted his head, a hint of amusement in his voice. "They've been reporting back to me about your return. Each one is bursting with excitement—and praise for you. While it's heartening to see, I imagine it could be a lot to take in."

Vesi's brow furrowed slightly as she leaned forward. "They're wonderful, really. But, yeah… I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little overwhelming. I feel like I'm walking into expectations I'm not sure I can live up to."

Ainz studied her for a moment before speaking, his tone softening. "They revere you, Vesi. Revere us would be a better way to say it, I guess. In their eyes, we're gods who are meant to lead them. It's only natural they'd hold you in such high regard." He paused, his glowing eyes meeting hers. "But I know first hand how stressful it can feel. Have you felt any pressure so far?"

Vesi hesitated, then sighed. "A little. They're looking up to me in a way I don't think I deserve. It's like…" She trailed off for a moment. "I don't know what it's like. I've never felt something like this before." Ainz nodded, his skeletal hands folding neatly in his lap. "I know the feeling. Even now, I sometimes struggle with the role they've placed on me. But you don't have to face this alone. I'll help you." His voice gained a touch of reassurance. "It took me a while to figure out how to navigate them," his bony hands clacked together quietly as he fidgeted. All the nervousness and small twitches that he usually worked so hard to suppress coming right back to the surface the moment he was comfortable. "I won't say I know everything, but I'll tell you what I know."

"You mean they're too much even for you?" Vesi japed, leaning forward slightly. "I thought you'd be used to them by now."

Ainz gave another chuckle, though this time it sounded a touch weary. "I'd never say that. I love them all dearly, but managing their passion—and their varying ideas of how to serve Nazarick—it can be taxing."

Vesi tilted her head, studying him. His tone was casual, but there was a weight to his words she couldn't ignore. "You're holding up, though, right?"

Ainz nodded, his skeletal hands folding neatly in front of him. "Of course. But enough about that. How about you? How are you finding Nazarick after all this time?"

"It's… unbelievable," Vesi said, her voice softening as she looked around. "This place is like heaven. Every detail is perfect, like someone took all the best parts of my memories and made them real."

Ainz's posture straightened slightly, the pride in his voice evident. "It was a labor of love for all of us. Seeing it like this—alive—it's beyond anything I could have imagined."

"It really is," Vesi agreed. "Honestly, it feels like a dream I didn't realize I'd been waiting for. After everything, to be here again… it's overwhelming, but in the best way."

Ainz studied her for a moment, then said, "You've been through a lot to get here. How are you holding up?"

Vesi blinked, caught off guard by the force of the ask. Pushing the topic about her and the guardians "Me? I mean, I guess I'm doing okay. It's a little surreal, but I've had a lot of time to get used to… everything."

"Do you even need to rest anymore?" he teased. "Or is it just a remnant of humanity?" As silly as it was, Ainz got a little jealous when Vesi said she needed to sleep. She couldn't have known they'd both end up stuck in their avatars, but she was still able fall into repose and spend a few hours in a quiet mind.

"Well I certainly don't need as much as a human would. I've gone months without it, but I always need to sleep eventually."

Ainz chuckled, leaning back slightly. "Sleep is a distant memory for me, but it has its advantages. It's inefficient but sometimes I miss it. Anything else new with your form?"

Vesi hesitated, her grin fading slightly. "I've had a lot of time to adapt. Honestly, I barely even remember what it felt like to be human. It's been so long."

He moved closer, the quiet rustle of his robes accompanying every motion as he sat next to her.

"You said you remembered how you came here. I still don't know what happened to me. We got interrupted then but, would you mind telling me now?"

Vesi's expression turned distant, her fingers tracing idle patterns on the armrest. "Yeah, I remember a bit." She closed her eyes, as if she had to go through her library of memories. Fingers tapping against the cushions as she shifted through these imaginary files before a small smile came across her face. "You were the last person I talked to actually."

[Philian Apolesai]

"Damn, that took ages!"

Her character froze as Natsumi stood up from her dive seat to stretch, careful not to pull on the cord at the back of her neck. The sound of her joints popping came through the mic.

"Yeah, but it went a lot faster thanks to you."

Momonga watched as Vesi came back to life when Nat sat down. She immediately opened her inventory to take stock of their spoils, carefully checking over every item as she counted.

"Alright... If we got around the same amount of drops, then we should have everything he'll need. Let's go put all this away."

"Yeah, then we can finally go to bed." Momonga opened his inventory as well. For a moment, he felt proud of all they'd managed to gather in one run. Then his eyes landed on the clock. "ELEVEN O'NINE?!"

Natsumi had never heard her friend raise his voice before, let alone let out a shriek like that. It scared the life out of her initially, but now she was just concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"I have a presentation tomorrow, and I haven't even started on the slides!" Desperation and fear were heavy in his voice. The skeletal avatar wildly flapped its arms, mirroring Suzuki's frantic movements.

"Shit, man! You gotta get outta here! Maybe you can finish it if you start now."

A loud sigh crackled through his mic. The lich's bony fingers clawed at its skull as Suzuki ran his fingers through his hair. He quickly cycled through every stressed twitch he had in a vain attempt to calm himself down.

"You're right. Here," he sent all the items he'd gathered to Vesi's account. "Do you think you could sort this stuff away for me?"

She immediately accepted the gift when it appeared on her HUD. "Yeah man, don't worry about it. Just get it done, alright? I'm rooting for you!"

Another sigh came from Momonga while he nodded. After a small word of thanks he disappeared into a beautiful cloud of black and gold sparkles. The message '[Guild Leader] MOMONGA has logged out.' appeared at the bottom left corner of her screen. Natsumi slumped in her chair as she stared at the message. She'd actually never had to sort stuff away before; either Momonga or Tachi always took care of it, so she had no idea where to even go. It couldn't be too hard, though, she reasoned with herself. She glanced at the clock.

"11:11 PM"

'What a lucky time' she thought to herself before teleporting to the 9th floor. She was just going to leave it all in Ulbert's room, he's the one that wanted most this stuff after all, but he never used his room. Should she leave it on the 7th floor then? Not everything they'd gotten was for him though... Decisions, decisions. Vesi wandered the hallways as she thought about it.

Eventually, she decided it would be best to just put it all in the Treasury. Everyone could access it, and Momonga had bragged about how smart his NPC there was. Maybe it could just sort all the stuff for her, and she could log out too. Natsumi had a meeting tomorrow as well. She wasn't presenting or anything, but she was still expected to be there at 6 AM. Stifling a sigh, she moved to the Treasury's grand entry hall. There to greet her was Momonga's pride and joy, Pandora's Actor. He'd been created ages ago, but Momonga still came down to tweak his settings from time to time.

"Well, don't you look nifty."

This was her first time actually seeing Momonga's creation. He stood ramrod straight and saluted as she approached. His features were quite unique. He was still humanoid, like the majority of NPCs created, but he almost looked like he was carved from wood. Completely smooth flesh and three simple holes made up his face. As she moved closer to inspect him, Pandora suddenly stepped back before doing a small twirl. It was odd for him to emote like that without prompting; it was almost like he was showing off for her. Vesi let out a small laugh at the thought. It was a cute idea, but she would have to look through all the little things Momonga had given his creation later. For now...

"Could you put this stuff away for me? Ulbert wants to make some kinda totem, and Tachi is upgrading his armor."

Pandora bowed as she shifted all the items over to him but as she looked over their collection again it seemed they were a little short on one item.

"Hmm... I think he said he needs 1,000 tails, but we only got 942." She sighed and rubbed her temples. She really wanted to be done and just log off, but she said she'd get the materials in exchange for a statue of her own. "Fine.." She turned her attention back to Pandora who was already busy fiddling with all the storage containers. She couldn't deny that he was cool. The emotes he went through as he wandered around were so detailed, and the fact that he could actually use the boxes set up was impressive. Nat felt like she could watch him buzz around all day, but that was probably just her tired body not wanting to move anymore. It would be best to just get get those last few [Lesser Demon Tails] now. Once she teleported to the main stairs Vesi checked the clock once more.

"11:27 PM"

Hopefully if she was fast she could get to bed before midnight. A nap would be better than nothing. Thankfully, the Tomb was already in Helheim so getting some demon tails wouldn't be too difficult.

[Philian Apolesai]

RNG hadn't been on her side. [Lesser Demon Tails] weren't rare and she didn't even need that many, but it still took almost half an hour to get everything she needed. Complaining wouldn't help though, Nat had collected all Ulbert asked for and that's all that was important. For a moment she lamented that she hadn't bothered to invest in teleportation magic. She relied too much on the casters in the guild to move her around, but now that she was alone she'd have to walk all the way back. It wasn't the worst but it would take some time.

"11:52 PM"

Looks like that dream of getting to bed before midnight was dashed.

"The things I do... I bet he won't even say thanks."

Her mental complaints were all that kept her company until a strange feeling overtook her. It was like she was weightless, but at the same time, she was being dragged down. This wasn't the usual tiredness from staying up late. Before she could process what was going on, her vision went white.

Instinctively, Vesi closed her eyes, her heart pounding in her chest. Panic overtook her mind. Had she disconnected? Was she so tired she'd passed out? Vesi grasped at the back of her neck to check her cord's connection, but it wasn't there. It was completely smooth, even the port was gone. Cautiously, she opened her eyes, expecting to find herself back in Nazarick or, at worst, in some strange error screen. Instead, she was met with the sight of a peaceful forest, its trees swaying gently in a breeze that carried the scent of earth and greenery. None of Helheim's caustic swamps remained. Vesi stood in a stunned silence. It was beautiful, a miracle, but questions raced through her mind. Where was she? Had she died, and this was heaven? What happened?

The only thing that was clear is this was not the world she once knew, and she had no idea what to do next.

[Philian Apolesai]

Vesi opened her eyes again, her hands now resting on her lap. She glanced up at Ainz, there was no emotion from his skeletal face but she could feel his empathy. He rested a bony hand on her shoulder. Her first instinct was to tense or brush it away. To downplay her feelings and bury them as she had for years, but it was comforting. She let herself lean into his icy touch. She sighed, trying to find the right words to fill the space, but Ainz spoke first.

"It must have been... difficult, being away for so long. But you're back now, and that's what matters," he said, his voice soft but steady, as if reassuring himself as much as her. He glanced down at her hand on her lap. It was bare minus a simple pinky ring.

"You know," Ainz continued, his tone lightening, "Here, I don't know if you still have yours, but you'll need this to get around here easier."

Ainz sent his free hand out, letting it get swallowed up by the void of his inventory. The object of his current desire falling into his open palm.

Withdrawing his hand, he held a [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown]. Vesi stared at it for a moment before breaking into a bright smile, recognizing what he was holding. However, rather than pick it up she scooted back and threw her right arm out between them. Proudly showing the familiar blood-red gem set in a gold band on her pointer finger.

"I never took mine off!"

Ainz stared at the ring on her finger, his empty sockets taking it in for a long moment before a soft, almost inaudible chuckle escaped him.

"This whole time?"

The smile was obvious in his voice as he carefully traced around the ring on her finger.

"Of course.." Vesi's hand lowered slightly, her fingers brushing the fabric of her sleeve as she looked up at him. "I thought... even if you forgot me, maybe I could find my way back."

"Forget you?"

Ainz dropped his still outstretched arm in confusion. Vesi nodded, idly spinning her ring as she stared off into space.

"Yeah... I know it hasn't been that long for you but, I was worried about it."

Vesi was still smiling but he wanted to comfort her once more. As he had in the office. But feeling he would just end up repeating what he'd said earlier, Ainz stopped himself. Another route clearly needed to be taken.

"If you know how to use that ring, I'd like to show you something."

As he stood he moved to place the spare back in his inventory.

"Wait!"

She was next to him in an instant, hands tentatively holding on to his.

"Would it be okay if I kept it?"

Without a word, Ainz reopened his fist. He was confused, but he had no reason to deny it. Slowly, Vesi reached for it, pausing to look up at him once she held it. When he still didn't react, she slipped her first ring off and replaced it with her new one. The old one immediately vanishing to her inventory as she stared at her "new" band. Finally, far too baffled to just keep watching her, Ainz let out a weak laugh.

"You know they're exactly the same, right?"

Vesi looked up at him, a lighthearted smile tugging at her lips, though her voice carried a deep sincerity. "No they're not... this one is special. It's a welcome-home gift."

The statement left him usure of how to continue. Ainz couldn't remember when he last took the time to do something so sentimental, but warmth spread through him nonetheless. For once, the emotional significance behind something as simple as a ring made sense to him.

"Come on, there's something I want to show you."

[Philian Apolesai]

Aura stifled a yawn, her hand resting on her cheek as she slouched in her chair. The room was quieter than before, but only because Demiurge and Shalltear's bickering had turned into a low, steady exchange of snide remarks. Something about custom fountains and whether it was "too indulgent" versus "not indulgent enough." Aura didn't care. It wasn't like anyone would agree on anything anyway. Her gaze drifted to Mare, who was idly tugging at his cloak. She nudged him with her elbow, earning a startled glance. He gave her a small, sheepish smile, clearly as ready to leave as she was.

The conversation, if it could even be called that, suddenly snapped into focus with the loud slam of hands against the table. Aura winced, sitting up as Shalltear leaned forward, her crimson eyes blazing.

"Why do you insist on minimizing Lady Vesi's celebration?" Shalltear snapped, glaring daggers at Demiurge. "Every suggestion I make, you dismiss as frivolous or unnecessary! She deserves nothing less than the grandest displays of our devotion!"

Demiurge, ever calm, adjusted his glasses and smiled faintly. "And I have never argued against celebrating her return. I merely suggest we approach this with more consideration. The 'grandest displays', as you call them, may not align with her current desires."

"You can't possibly know what she wants," Shalltear shot back, her voice dripping with venom. "Just because you had a few moments alone with her doesn't make you an expert."

Aura rubbed at her temple, already tired of the back-and-forth. What was the point of arguing when they'd already done this before? Albedo, for once, didn't try to intervene. She sat quietly, her gaze shifting between the two as if evaluating their points without judgment. That was weird. Not taking the chance to call Shalltear foolish Usually, she'd have taken the chance to jab at Shalltear by now.

Finally, Aura had enough. "Why don't we just swear fealty to her like we did for Lord Ainz?" she said, cutting through the noise. "That's what really matters, right?"

The room went quiet for a moment. Shalltear huffed, crossing her arms, but didn't argue. Demiurge glanced at Aura, his smile softening into something almost approving.

"That is a sound suggestion, Aura," Albedo finally spoke, her voice smooth and deliberate. Demiurge's expression shifted, fiddling with his glasses for what was probably the twentieth time this evening. "If I may add," he began, his tone measured, "we never had the opportunity to properly celebrate Lord Ainz when we arrived in this world. The circumstances were... less than ideal. Perhaps this could be an opportunity to honor them both."

Aura noticed the faint flicker of excitement that crossed Albedo's face. The barely restrained tension that had been radiating from her earlier seemed to ease as she straightened in her seat.

"That is an excellent idea," Albedo said, her tone lighter now. "We can plan a celebration worthy of both of the Supreme Ones. A true testament to Nazarick's devotion."

Shalltear didn't look entirely convinced, but her silence was enough. Demiurge inclined his head slightly, clearly satisfied with himself. Aura leaned back again, relieved that the conversation was finally moving toward an actual plan. The sooner this was over, the sooner she could greet their lady herself.

[Philian Apolesai]