章 50: Present
After we arrived back in Kalinsha I went straight to my mansion since it wasn't a mission handed out by the adventurer guild, I didn't need to go over there. I went straight to the spot where the blueberry bush was planted and surveyed the harvest. As someone who didn't know anything about gardening, it looked to be in good health.
At least, there was a bunch of berries hanging from it, which ought to be good. I should probably find out how I could preserve them. Perhaps they were eternal, though considering that the bush was to appear like a normal blueberry bush that was unlikely.
I should also test whether dried blueberries would lose their effect of advancing one's magic or if the state of the fruit mattered at all. Maybe it didn't matter how ripe it was... I shrugged slightly and just decided to tell Sueko to prepare several blueberries that were preserved in different ways before giving them to me.
I could already guess that the inventory was probably the most reliable storage of these berries, but I wasn't going to fill it up with just blueberries. Although I liked them, I wasn't going to be eating just berries in the future. After a moment of searching, I found Sueko tending to a plant. She poured some of the Flora Embrace's Vial onto the ground beneath the fruit, which was as dark as a black hole.
The space around it seemed to bend and light was being drawn into the petal. After it received the potent energy of the vial's liquid, the plant moved slightly as if to convey its happiness. I could feel space waves washing over me gently. Sueko seemed to have sensed that the plant was reacting to my presence.
She turned around as she placed a blueberry inside her mouth before her eyes widened. Her gaze turned intense as I felt her stare at my wings and my true form. Even though the blinding light in the form of my divine energy must have been uncomfortable, she didn't look away and just stared at me infatuated. It made me feel quite shy if I was being honest.
However, my attention was quickly drawn toward my domain as I felt her soul connect with my divine domain. It quickly submitted itself to me and accepted my divine energy into her soul like the human girls did. With that another person joined my domain and would eternally be mine. Even in death, their souls would return to my domain.
Now I had a total of 4 connections to my domain- Wait, 4? I sensed who was connected to my domain, Enri, Neia, Sueko, and... Clementine? How the fuck did she connect to my domain? I remembered back at how I poured my semen out of Enri's pussy and onto her face.
She wasn't connected then, but now... I tried to get more information about her through our connection and found out that she was able to push her karma into the positives through some heroic stuff and supporting the community.
"You did well. I will reward you soon." I told her, knowing she would hear me.
"My Lord, I thank thee for your mercy." She conveyed through our connection as she dropped to her knees in a prayer. The sadistic killer turned saint. Quite ironic. I had already wondered what she was up to with her new clothing style. I could sense that I could cut the connection if I wanted to and even drain her life and imprison her soul.
It also made me realize that anyone that wanted to genuinely submit to me, would be able to. Of course, that certainly didn't sound bad, but I wouldn't be able to support too many. What if I held a speech and tens of thousands started to worship me and offer me their soul?
After I closed the direct connection and focused back on Sueko, I saw her blueberry-induced epiphany stop, she rose to her feet and bowed to me. "Hello, Azazel-sama. Do you need me?" I didn't answer her question and just looked at the basket with a few blueberries. There were fewer than I had thought, only about a handful... did she eat the rest?
"How many blueberries did you have?" I asked, fearing that she truly snacked them whenever they were ripe.
"In total, I ate 5."
5 blueberries of arcane knowledge that let her peek into reality. I shouldn't fault her, I did say she could take as many as she wanted... I stared at her and drifted my senses to her. It wasn't a particular spell, but I was already growing beyond the magic-tier system, and using it like this might give me insights that I wouldn't get with the constraints of the existing magic system.
"How do you feel?" I asked as I didn't feel like she had improved drastically. One berry had raised her levels by 10 and four more meant 40 levels if the effect was linear. It clearly wasn't as she had only grown to level 72 just now, which was a total of 20 levels. Then again the lore wasn't something that translated directly into levels.
"I feel great now that you are here!" She answered with a happy smile.
"What about your strength, control over magic, and insights about reality? Anything of note?" 'One berry to half all expenses and double all damage types of every tier of magic permanently.' That was the only effect that I was truly concerned about. The berry wasn't a Rare Candy, the berries' purpose was to reduce my magical output and increase my damage.
She pressed a finger on her cheek as she thought about it. "Not really. After the first one, there weren't many changes except that gardening and nature-based magic are easier now."
"By how much are they easier?"
She shook her head. "I can cast them at half the cost after the first and second berry. Afterward, there were no changes at all. Oh, and my damage was doubled at those times as well." That wasn't what I wrote it should do.
Was it something about the context? The lore was comparatively short and other than saying that it was indistinguishable from normal berries the only other lore I added was, 'A seemingly ordinary berry that gives the user miraculous control over their mana and enlightenment of reality.'
Maybe she needed enough enlightenment to trigger the ability? Until now all the items had been extremely accurate, but why did it fail now? I glanced at the space fruit that swayed lightly in the nonexistent wind. The vial seemed to be working just fine and the tome also delivered what it promised. The other items as well...
Was it the low level? The blueberry bush was the only item that was the lowest level item. The others were of higher rank or event items that were arguably rare.
"It's probably because I can't understand what I was seeing in the deeper levels. It started changing rapidly and my head started to hurt, so I didn't dare to eat too many after the second one." Sueko mused, making something click in my head as I deduced several things at the moment.
The item's powers were trumped by something, just like any other world item would be ineffective against another of its level. This item that could make you perceive and gain enlightenment from reality was hindered by something. The deeper layer changed rapidly, which meant that reality was obscuring its secret on purpose or as an automatic response?
I shook my head, this needed some more investigating. "Then maybe you should stop eating them for now... Wait, after the second one you didn't dare eat another one, but didn't you say you had 5 in total?" She looked ashamed when I asked this, not daring to meet my eyes.
"I didn't dare to but I still did it. They are really delicious~" She almost looked like she was going to salivate as she said that.
I smiled wryly, "Alright, don't eat them in the future, try to preserve them with all the methods you can think of." She nodded her head happily that I gave her another mission regarding tending to the plants and garden.
"Did anything affect their growth?" I asked as I wondered why there were only a few handfuls of berries. Since it should have grown at a normal rate and with magic accelerating it, it should have had an entire bush full of it, right?
"The divine energy that accelerates the growth, stops the energy to spread among them. Though I still have some left from the first harvest." She explained as she went to a little hut and took a bag out of it. I decided to store them in my inventory for now and she went back to tending that weird fruit.
"By the way, what's up with that fruit?" I pointed at the strange fruit that seemed to be able to influence the space around it.
"Oh, I think it's a space dao fruit."
"A space dao fruit...?" I looked at her flabbergasted. The vial only grew something that the user wanted to grow. How would she know of a dao fruit and which kind was it? Even I didn't know what it exactly was with my limited knowledge about wuxia or xianxia or whatever.
"Yes, I wanted to have a bigger garden, so I thought about creating a fruit that would allow me to fit one in our backyard without extending it for anyone to see."
"... Right... I- don't do anything with it once it matures and write a report of its effects and how to use it." I said a bit worried if this thing would attract some immortal's attention, so I covered the entire area with part of my domain and restricted any aura that might leak out of it. I really wanted to avoid dealing with some wuxia protagonists or villains knocking on my door.
After giving Sueko a few more security measures of keeping the garden secret and secure and clear instructions to inform me of any new plant she wanted to grow, I let her focus on her gardening and went inside the mansion before opening a portal to the surface of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. A maid stood on standby and quickly went up to me as soon as I appeared. There had been a new rule to hand over your guild ring when you were outside.
It was to prevent anyone from teleporting without restrictions when an enemy got their hands on a ring. I didn't have to hand over mine as it was bound to me and could only be used by me personally. We decided upon me reporting in when I visit, so they could at least tell all the others of the great news of my visit.
Besides I couldn't take off the ring even if I wanted to, I wasn't powerful enough. I frowned slightly as I thought about the reason, making me glance at the ring for a moment before turning to the maid who had approached me. "Thank you Lumière, for your hard work." Her eyes went wide and she bowed 90 degrees.
"It's my honor, my Prince!" She almost shouted.
"Rest at ease, I am just here to visit my wife." She looked at me with a sparkle in her eyes.
"I am sure she will be overjoyed." She said with a certainty that surprised me, but I could get where she was coming from. I too was sure she would be happy about a surprise visit. I wanted to hand over the little recording of my session in Carne Village, so my words to Ainz wouldn't be a lie. I did record it with [Remembrance Stone], though I hadn't had the time to give it to her.
After saying goodbye, I teleported into her 'office'. A former Supreme Being's room, now repurposed for Albedo to work in. The chair was empty, though there were some papers neatly arranged on the table.
I looked over the content and it seemed to be standard administration stuff and plans - not something I was really interested in. [Locate Albedo] I cast a spell that wasn't truly a tier spell but rather a derivation of a 6th-tier location spell now incorporating the essence of wild magic.
I noticed that she was on the 9th floor where the maids should be working. Seemed like she was informing the others about something. I decided to wait for her here as I knew she would come here sooner than later. It was where she spent most of her time working after all.
I sat down in her office chair before putting my legs on her desk and my hands behind my head as I closed my eyes.
...
Albedo looked at the rectangle device that she had created with a lot of effort and the help of Nazarick's greatest minds. Perhaps she could have just asked her husband to create it, but then it wasn't a great present if he did all the work, right? She smiled excitedly as she imagined his reaction when getting this.
There was still some work to do, but it was soon perfect enough to gift it to him. Just as she entered her office after getting the last recording, she froze in the doorframe. Her mind just went blank as she watched her handsome husband peacefully sleeping in her chair. For a moment, she thought she was hallucinating or dreaming before she realized that he was truly visiting her in his free time.
She then turned extremely happy but then panicked slightly for making him wait for her. She opened her mouth to apologize but stopped herself right before she said anything. If she had, she might have rudely awakened him. Instead, she softly closed the door before sneaking to his side as best as she could.
After standing next to his sleeping form an arm's length away, she couldn't help but reach up and brush his hair out of his eyes. Her hand slowly and gently started to massage his head, delicately brushing through his hair, trying her best to make him feel good without waking him. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him relax with her touch.
With another step toward him, she started to caress his head, letting it lean against her as he slept. "What's that?" His voice suddenly called out, bringing her out of her blissful daze. She looked at him and the direction of his gaze before realizing that he was looking at her hand and the present she was holding.
"It's..." A white lie almost slipped out of her mouth before she caught herself. She knew he wouldn't appreciate it. "It's your present. I wanted to come over to you and hand it over in the future." She presented the little rectangle in front of him, making him sit up. Her hand continued to rest on his shoulder.
"This is..." He inspected it with a frown, turning it around as he scrutinized it. Did she replicate it wrongly? After a moment he turned it to the correct side, looking at it intensely as he pressed on the button on the side.
"I couldn't make it so it could just call anyone, but I was able to create another one with its twin space stone." She pulled out another 'phone' and presented it to her husband. "Unfortunately, there is no way to add any other of these, so we might have to search for other materials to build it in the future." There were several things she wasn't satisfied with, but there was no way to improve it with the current design.
She then started to call Az's phone and its surface started to light up with a picture of her face while the sounds of a piano came from his phone. He stared at it with a neutral expression, though there was an intensity in his eyes. Was he dissatisfied with it? She pressed the button on the surface, similar to the holograms they had for operating the tomb, and the 'call' connected.
It was a miniature Mirror of Remote Viewing, letting you see what was on the other side. After disconnecting the call, she swiped across the screen and activated the storage of the mid-level memory ore before it displayed a recording that she had asked their fellow guardians and maids to create. Only Ainz and Demiurge hadn't recorded anything as she hadn't asked them yet. She opened one 'video', and Cocytus appeared on the screen.
He knelt on the ground. "I. Was. Told. Your. Highness. Would. See. This. So. I. Prepared. Some. Knowledge. About. Swordplay. To. Keep. Your. Highness. Entertained." He then started to demonstrate his skill before she closed the 'video'. One had to press on the video for a moment and willed it to forward or to rewind.
She bit her lip as he didn't seem to react and remained silent as he looked at the device with a complicated look. It was something she spent the last weeks since they had arrived in this new world to replicate. She knew that it didn't look like he described it or had the same functionality, but she couldn't replicate everything even with the help of all of Nazarick. There were some things she just didn't understand.
"I-I heard you talk about it and how you missed it to relieve your boredom. I know it's not the same, but- but I hope you like it. The other Area and Floor Guardians have recorded some videos for you-" She stopped talking when her husband looked up at her with a tear rolling down his cheeks.
"It's perfect." He fondly swiped his thumb over the surface of the phone. "I-I don't know what to say- It's really... Thank you, Albedo. This means a lot to me." He stood up and hugged her tightly. She could feel the sincerity in his words. The tightness and warmth of his hug really made her realize how much he liked her gift.
She returned the hug, stroking his back. Her fingers brushed against his wings that had appeared and embraced them. Her eyes closed as she enjoyed his touch, his warmth, his smell, and generally his presence. "Anything for you." She finally replied. His hug tightened a bit before loosening again before looking at her.
"I love your present- I love you." His words seemed to have pierced her mind and heart as she wasn't able to digest the words properly. It was only when he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips did her emotions swept through her like an avalanche. At that moment, the only thing she could register was his lips on hers, his hands on her hips, and his body against hers. Everything else turned irrelevant.
The kiss turned salty before Azazel, the love of her life, separated to wipe the tears off her cheeks that she had unknowingly released. She must look pathetic- Not even a second after this thought crossed her mind, his voice denied her. "You look absolutely stunning. You're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and to see you like this only makes me love you more."
He then kissed her again, which made her painfully aware of how hard she pressed her lips together and squeezed her eyes shut to not turn into a bawling mess. His words however already broke her resistance. "Wuhaaa" She cried ugly as she gripped his shirt. "I looovee youuu." She wailed as his arms held her strongly and she tried her best to return the kisses while crying.
She didn't know how long they stayed like this, but only her sobbing breaths resounded in the room. After a few moments, her hubby sat down and put her in his lap. Her hand that had gripped his shirt was now relaxed and her breathing also slowly returned to normal. From time to time, her breaths were still stuttering, but she was able to keep her dignity now.
"I am sorry." She said quietly as she pressed her burning face into his shirt, not wanting him to see her teary face.
"I think you are beautiful even as a crying mess." He chuckled slightly as his hand rubbed her lower back. His words showed that he knew what she was thinking. "I could have told you sooner how I felt, but I guess I wasn't ready. I love you." Her heart skipped a beat when he said it again. After a second of thought, she raised her head and looked at him. He smiled sweetly and warmly at her.
She could see the love in his eyes. Her hand drifted into his hair before raising her head to kiss him again. The way his lips felt against hers, how his touch made her feel secure and loved, how reliable and strong his torso felt under her touch- everything about him filled her with love.
She admired, she respected, she worshiped, she loved him with all her heart and now she knew, he loved her. Her heart, her entire being lit up as she let herself immerse herself in this warm feeling that enveloped her. "I love you. Forever and always. You are my reason to live, to laugh, to cry, and everything in between. The sun could vanish and I wouldn't notice, because it's not the warmth that comforts me in cold nor the light that shines up this world, You are." She confessed.
Azazel looked astonished, his eyes glistened as he heard her heartfelt confession. "You certainly know how to convey your love. If you continue like this I will fall a second time for you."
She could feel the heat rush to her face as he seriously responded to her confession and took her hand into his. Her eyes were drawn to their intertwined hands, which caused her heart to start beating rapidly before hiding her face in his shirt again.
Although it wasn't the first time he took her hand, to intertwine them as he did now after confessing his love and doubling down on it, it was almost too much for her. Her mind was already overheated but that didn't stop her from making a mental note to continue to confess to him as sincerely as she could.
"Albedo, I-" She pressed her hand over his mouth, fearing he would confess again to her. She looked at him with teary eyes and a red face.
"Please, I can't handle it anymore. I will pass out from the impact your words have on me." Although she wanted to hear those three little words as often as she could, she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it. Her pants were already soaked and she was pretty sure his crotch was also drenched, though he didn't seem to react to it.
He just accepted how his words affected her and even seemed to like it. She was glad that he wasn't disgusted by her dirty mess of a succubus- "Ow." She yelped more in surprise than actual pain after Azazel pinched her side.
"Don't you dare talk bad about my lovely succubus wife." His reprimand stunned her for a moment. "Even if it's yourself, don't insult or lie about my wife." He looked stern and serious as he said it, giving her no choice but to nod to his demands.
With a giddy feeling, she didn't say anything and just leaned against him. Her head was on his chest listening to his powerful heartbeat. "You know why I have chosen to conquer another kingdom in person?" His smooth voice suddenly asked.
She wondered why he would suddenly ask this, but she took the question seriously since she knew he wouldn't just ask it without reason. For a moment she thought about it, but she could only come up with what he had mentioned to her and to Demiurge. He wanted to put some distance between himself and Ainz to show him that he still needed his guidance by 'dumbly' conquering the Holy Kingdom.
However, he knew that she knew his reason, so his question couldn't be aimed at that reason. Her mind churned with ideas and the other thing that he had repeatedly refuted her on was to build up an army and strength to take over Nazarick
She didn't have to respond as he was already answering his own question, "It's because I wanted to grow more powerful without Ainz knowing." Hearing this, she couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows. "So, in case Nazarick wanted my head, I would triumph." It wasn't just about Ainz, but the entire Nazarick?
She turned her head and looked at him. He had a guilty smile on his face, though his eyes were gleaming with a light that seemed to convey his trust in her. It warmed her heart, so she straightened up to show she was taking it as seriously as she could. Her eyes locked with his and grasped his hand, giving it a little encouraging squeeze as she waited for him to continue.
"We both know how Nazarick's citizens' attitude was to humans or generally other races. I am not the same. Although I know how to prioritize lives and am willing to kill, I don't think everything can or should be rationalized for the benefit of Nazarick. I don't think I could slaughter an entire civilization with countless innocents to send a message or because it would benefit us for one or another reason." His words would be seen as blasphemous and he would be branded as a traitor if most of the others would hear him.
She could understand why he hadn't told anyone this and also realized why he hadn't told her about this. Why it was the maids and Fubuki, who were by his side in another kingdom, after all, they were one of the few that saw humans neutrally or even positively. "Even you think that humans are weak and inferior life forms, I didn't want to test you. I didn't want to know how you would choose."
She reached out and cupped his beautiful face in her hands. "Even if I hated someone, if you told me you cared for them then I would care for them too. I will always be on your side no matter what." She gave him another chaste kiss on his lips, feeling fulfilled as a relieved and happy smile donned his face. "Besides I had already guessed how you saw humans and demi-humans. It's why I hadn't allowed some of the experiments that Demiurge proposed." His eyes widened slightly before love just gushed out of them and she could barely hold on.
Her face heated up but she wouldn't allow herself to look away in shyness as she needed to burn this moment into her mind. The weight that had been on her mind and heart had finally been lifted. Now that she knew what bothered her husband, she knew how to help him.
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