บท 13: Chapter 2 - Recruits
Before she could go for a fun adventure, some sort of hierarchy in Nazarick's upcoming army needed to be established. The problem was that Buku didn't know anything about the military, tactics, or warfare in general.
Back in her dungeon diving days with Ainz Ooal Gown, Buku fretted about having groups be placed under her own leadership. She felt her own fighting ideals were much more closely aligned with that of her best friend Yamaiko, in which the both of them preferred "punching the enemies before thinking."
Meanwhile, things that closely resembled complex strategizing were usually left to the two guildmates, Punitto Moe and Ancient One. Buku felt no shame in leaving others to handle these kinds of things.
Since she could not contribute that much to the guild when it came to strategizing, she had gone for the second best thing; praising them for their hard work in the form of heartwarming and flirtatious comments. It was a small hobby of hers she loved doing as it usually made the two serious strategists extremely embarrassed by the compliments.
When she asked Momonga about military strategies via an offhand remark of hers in one of their conversations, the undead agreed with Buku's sentiments. At the very least, she found it somewhat relieving that the guildmaster was anxious about getting into the meat of the matter. Both did reluctantly agree however that the idea of creating a sophisticated military was steadily becoming more important as each day had passed.
Nervously chewing gum, she sat on the small throne in the military headquarters that was recently added to the Great Tomb by Albedo.
There were twelve chairs around the table, that would be filled over time when her inner circle would be established. The rest of the room was decorated with a massive flag of Nazarick on the opposite wall and her personal flag on the wall behind her.
The layout was planned by Demiurge and subsequently approved by Momonga. Buku did not do more than raise a few questions, but otherwise gave approval to the cunning demon's plans along with the rest of her friends.
A few changes were implemented by Pero and Ulbert, both of whom knew a thing or two about the very thing she now claimed to be the Goddess of. While Buku was a bit thankful that her demon friend offered her some pointers, her brother kept circling around his own self-proclaimed advice to the point where she wanted to strangle him for his needless words.
In front of her was a large round table with the replication of the map Ainz got from the village chief.
For now, it was all the intel they had on the world. It was lacking, but understandable as Ulbert's intelligence department was still in its infancy. It would take some time before the department was filled to the brim with suitable workers, allowing for more reliable information to be gathered.
'A few more minutes and they will be here. What should I do?' She pulled the gum out of her mouth and glued it under the table.
Her maid of the day tilted her head to observe Buku's actions with a faint smile.
'I can't bullshit around. They will catch on far too fast.'
Buku continued to nervously shift around on the throne while fighting with the wrapping of the gum.
The ones she had gotten from the candy shop came with all kinds of sweet fruity flavors, unlike the cheap chewing gum back on earth that was either mint or some synthetic sickly sweet imitations of fruits.
'I should have boozed up for this… ah, fuck it, I'll just be honest with them. It's not like they are going to murder me… probably.'
Buku finally defeated the wrapping and popped another piece of gum into her mouth. She leaned sideways and rested her right arm on the throne's armrest while chewing on the delicious treat.
It didn't take long for Demiurge to show up with a thick folder in his hands, followed by Cocytus.
"Ah, you two are finally here," Buku said, perking up at the new arrivals. "There's no need to be at the ceremony, if that's the right word for it. Just sit down so we can start right away."
"Straight to the point. I understand, Lady Buku."
Acquiescing to Buku's gentle demand, Demiurge opted to greet her with a light bow with minimal wording. He quickly sat down to her left, letting his spiked tail curl around one of his chair legs.
Cocytus bowed deeply without saying a word and went to a seat located to her right.
The maid left the room, closing the door behind her. The two floor guardians stared at Buku, giving her stares of glowering expectation.
'Um… Alright. I feel really pressured right now. Just, just handle it like Momo would. Mhm.'
Awkwardly clearing her throat, Buku began her presentation, but not before silently thanking the undead who accepted her early request for a practiced rehearsal.
"So, here is the deal: I accepted the role of Grand Marshal and was granted the title of the Goddess of War through the ritual Tabula performed, but to be honest, I know little about the art of war. I know this might seem baffling to you, but that does not mean I will be complacent and lack in the duties that I accepted for myself. That being the case, I will rely on you both at first to bring me up to speed." Buku chose to use her normal speaking tone, unlike the playful high pitched tone she used in casual conversations. The former had much more weight to it.
"Of course. And there is no need for you to lower yourself, Lady Buku. Lord Momonga has granted my feeble mind the sacred knowledge that, which I had come to reluctantly accept, even the Supreme Being needs a sliver of assistance."
'Actually, I need a lot of assistance, but I don't want to say that to Demiurge straight in the face!' Buku screamed to herself. She kept on a tight-lipped smile and merely nodded in acknowledgment.
"Nonetheless, Father informed me that I should prepare introductory material. What I can be most sure of is that you and the rest of the Supreme Beings treat these so-called flaws as little speed bumps. I will be frank with you, Lady Buku; I have no doubt you will surpass our expertise in no time," Demiurge said with a revered voice. He placed the massive folder on the table, and he misinterpreted Buku's twitching eyes as a form of giddy excitement at wanting to see what lay inside those hundreds of pages worth of material.
"IT'S A GREAT HONOR TO TUTOR A SUPREME BEING LIKE YOU, LADY BUKU." Cocytus nodded in agreement.
"Great. Where do we start then?" Buku asked with a sigh of relief. She snuck a couple of glares at the hefty binder now placed in front of her.
'While that looks absolutely horrifying, I'm glad they aren't belittling me for my lack of knowledge about military stuff. At least I don't have to bullshit my way through this, it seems…'
Back then, her mind would have been wrought with anxiety and doubt at having to learn all of this in so little time.
That dreadful sensation was no longer here, and it was now replaced with a strangely newfound confidence. From deep within herself, Buku felt that she was born for this role as soon as she received it. That odd feeling had surfaced once again, so she was feeling a bit eager to hear what Demiurge has to say in this field.
"First would be to establish proper hierarchy," Demiurge explained, fixing his glasses. "I would gladly take a role within your ranks, but my duty to assist Father would prevent me from devoting my full attention to serving you. I hope you don't mind, Lady Buku, but unless Father says otherwise, I will only offer myself as an adviser."
"That's alright. If I am not mistaken, it would be Cocytus who would be better suited to be my second in command. Are you ready to take the role of vice marshal of Nazarick?" Buku turned to the addressed floor guardian.
The stoic insectoid pushed back the chair and kneeled before Buku.
"I WILL ACCEPT THIS DUTY WITH UTMOST RESPECT, LADY BUKU."
"Look, guys, you don't have to kneel and bow at every opportunity. I prefer if we kept things casual. Leave that formal stuff for grunts and maybe for official events, ok?" Buku said, casually gluing another gum under the table.
Reluctantly, Cocytus returned to his seat.
"I WILL TRY MY BEST, LADY BUKU, BUT SHOWING PROPER RESPECT TO YOU AS A SUPREME BEING FEELS NATURAL, ESPECIALLY NOW THAT YOUR DIVINITY SHINES THROUGH."
"I will have to agree with Cocytus. It seems that the ritual you and the other Supreme Beings have performed has added an intangible divine glow. I have a hard time restraining myself around Father and keeping up with his wishes to be casual," Demiurge said, adding to his colleague's words.
"You are like our children. That alone should give you special privileges. Maybe you can think of me as your aunt like Shalltear does. We are in this together, divinity or not," Buku replied, raising her pitch. "We can use the rank outside the tomb when other people are around, but here at our home, try to be at ease."
Seeing that her words had little effect on the two floor guardians, Buku let out an exasperated sigh. She had to wave her hand when Demiurge and Cocytus were about to launch into an apologetic tirade, seemingly interpreting her sigh as a form of disappointment.
'So much for trying to loosen them up.'
"Let's move on then. Can I ask you two to assign the rest of the military leadership? Ainz is planning to take a look at the Great Forest of Tob, and while he's off doing that, I thought it would be nice to at least get some exercises on locals to have some semblance of being battle ready."
"Assuming that other floor and area guardians will be assigned to serve under the rest of the Supreme Beings more directly, I could assign some of my Evil Lords under your command and prioritize their military duties. Wrath in particular would be an excellent field commander."
"ALL MY SUBORDINATES ARE YOURS TO COMMAND, LADY BUKU. WITH YOUR PERMISSION, I WILL REQUEST SHALLTEAR TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE UNDEAD SPAWNING ON THE FIRST THREE FLOORS. THE POP MONSTERS SHOULD PROVIDE NUMBERS NECESSARY TO CREATE THE FIRST LEGIONS."
"That's a great idea. You have my permission, and if she causes problems, tell me immediately. I know my niece can be a handful, especially now that she has lost to Albedo." Buku replied, flashing the icy insectoid with a smile.
The first steps were taken with noticeable success on Buku's end. It did irk her that she now had to read through a massive instructional manual prepared by Demiurge, but she eventually surrendered her rebellious thoughts. She told herself that this would be worth it in the long run, which was able to drive her motivation up for some time
X
Despite having immense power to himself and the newly given potential to grow even more, Ulbert still had to concede to the fact that summoning was a rather tricky and fickle business.
Without suitable bodies as a tribute, each summon took about twenty times as much mana to have a permanent body created. And even then the few human corpses they got from the killed scripture members disintegrated when Ulbert tried to summon a high-tier demon.
With that in mind, performing mass demon summoning was even trickier.
Calculations needed to be correct; otherwise, he would run out of mana, pass out, and get no results. Luckily, the margin of error for summoning succubi and incubi was rather forgiving since at best they could reach level fifty and on average were only about level thirty.
Since his new line of work was to gather intelligence, these types of demons were more suited for the field work. First, they knew human desires and could use them against their targets. Secondly, their, although limited, shapeshifting abilities made them perfect for infiltration.
Ulbert did not forget to remember that both Pero and Buku had been pestering him for when they would get their new toys. Not wanting to be slighted, he had ended up making a deal with them, and making the pervert siblings indebted to him surely didn't hurt in the long run.
Overall, Ulbert hoped to summon about forty of them and not fall below the twenty percent mark of his mana reserves. And if the first summoning worked as intended, he could add more types of demons to his agent list.
For this purpose, he had chosen a paved patch near the ruined church on the seventh level of Nazarick.
Drawing in the scorching air in his lungs, he did the mental calculations one last time. Demiurge and the seven Evil Lords stood behind him, ready to act if something went horribly wrong.
"Be ready. Let's see how it goes," Ulbert announced. Upon hearing loud affirmations behind him, he started to cast a spell that he had tweaked for this sole purpose.
Tabula was not the only one who could do experimentation, and Ulbert felt he himself should indulge in this field given his own new powers. As the one who got the title of the Demon God, summoning demons came as easy as breathing and he instinctively knew what would be called to serve him.
The eight figures behind him tensed up at the rapidly growing mana in front of their master. While Demiurge stood with the same calm demeanor, some of the more anxious Evil Lords began preparing weapons just in case. Ulbert kneeled down and touched the ground as a massive summoning circle spread out.
His mana started to drain at a rapid pace as black bile started to form humanoid figures. One by one, they took shapes growing skin and clothing, some elegant, some so daring it couldn't be called clothing.
Not even a minute later, forty figures stood in orderly rows.
Ulbert stood up and glanced over his handiwork.
All of the demons were extraordinarily good-looking with a common trait of having horns, spiked tails, and leathery wings. But that was where the commonalities stopped.
The horn styles widely differed from demon to demon, the same as hairstyle and eye color. Some had predatory eyes with vertical slits while others looked back at him with human eyes.
One figure had managed to catch Ulbert's attention. A woman who looked tailor-made to his preferences as he began to appraise her up close.
Tall and elegant with a curvy figure that was clad in a long silk dress showing just enough cleavage to get attention but not to look vulgar. Her green eyes looked back at him with a knowing glee, her long blonde hair covered her bare shoulders giving her an appearance of a born noble.
'Hmm, she is the most powerful of the group. Level forty-seven, I think. Huh, she is the only one with four horns. My my, looks like someone came up with a plan to seduce me. Such an interesting game awaits us.' Ulbert flashed her a smile.
The demoness curved her lips upward, and after a small tilt of her head, was first to kneel. One by one, the rest of her peers followed suit, with only one remaining standing. This unusual behavior amused Ulbert, but it seemed that this sentiment was not shared by the growling demons behind him.
The standing demoness, oblivious to the hateful stares towards her, looked around with a sigh of relief and whispered to herself.
"I must have reached the right place. This looks familiar. The summoner, Ulbert… Yes, he was from the guild. If I recall correctly. He must be somewhere near."
The four-horned demoness quietly hissed. "Kneel, you fool!"
Before the other demoness could follow her command, Demiurge was already in front of her with a wrathful expression. There were even veins that began to angrily pulse on his forehead.
"A lowly demon like you dares to not show respect to Lord Ulbert!?"
Before Ulbert could stop his son, Demiurge had smacked the demoness making her fall to the ground. The Evil Lords changed their expressions, shifting to sadistic delight upon seeing the rebellious demoness lose her footing in no time flat.
When it came to manners, Demiurge usually was on top of his game. That all flew right out of the window the moment he saw something he deemed to be disrespectful towards the creator. Four of the captured humans died by his hand for that exact reason, a grim fact that Ulbert had eventually learned when such report reached him after the interrogation with the former Sunlight Scripture was completed.
The demoness seemed to instantly realize her mistake. She prostrated on the scorching hot stone, feeling more preoccupied with the pain of the slap rather than the agonizing temperature of the floor her face was now in direct contact with.
"I-I'm sorry for not kneeling sooner! Please forgive me!"
"There is no such thing as forgiveness when it comes to-"
"Demiurge, calm down. Let's get to the bottom of this. Doesn't she remind you of someone?" Ulbert intervened.
Even at first glance, the offending demoness had a striking resemblance to Albedo.
Same facial features, the same yellow cat-like eyes, and long black hair. Only this one looked a tad more mature than her counterpart. While the Guardian Overseer roughly looked to be in her early twenties this summoned succubus looked to be in her early to mid-thirties by human standards.
She even dressed similarly to her counterpart. The tight, long low-cut dress was as elegant as it was provocative.
Demiurge realized with unnatural speed as to what his father was implying to. He straightened his posture with a conflicted look on his face, bordering between vile hatred for what the demoness had done earlier and understanding after giving second thoughts.
"I apologize for my earlier actions, Father. Still, I couldn't tolerate such disrespect towards you from a low-tier demon."
Demiurge turned around and bowed to which Ulbert had to physically straighten him up after an awkward minute of continuous bowing.
"I know, but we can deal with it in a calm manner. If you weren't so hasty, you would have noticed that she looks exactly like Albedo. There must be some reason for her actions and appearance."
Ulbert decided to speak in a calmer tone so as to not startle his son, who would no doubt treat each scolding like a death sentence.
"O-of course. I will do better, Father!" Demiurge replied with all the anger in his tone replaced by a mix of fear and anxiety.
"Lord, I humbly request permission to speak."
Both Ulbert and Demiurge turned their heads towards the four-horned demoness who was still kneeling with her head lowered.
"Permission granted, you all can rise," Ulbert said and motioned for the demoness to approach him.
She got up with a fluid, graceful motion and walked towards Ulbert swinging her hips in a sultry manner.
'Calm thoughts, man. That one will be a handful.' Ulbert watched her approach with a raised eyebrow.
The fact that his now demonic body only enchanted his emotions and desires did not help the state of things, nor did it do anything else but increase his libido. But for someone like him who had known nothing but struggle all his life, it only invited the challenge to remain on the top of his game. Ulbert also made it a personal goal of his to not become a sex-crazed maniac that he guessed Pero would go down the path of soon enough.
The demoness stopped right before him, giving a light bow before speaking with barely hidden seduction.
"Forgive me, my lord, but the young one meant no disrespect. She is seeking her husband, whom you might be acquainted with."
"Is that so? I doubt anyone from Nazarick is married to a succubus, but let's hear the name of her husband from her own mouth, shall we?"
Ulbert turned his attention to the shivering demoness with a cheek that started to swell up and turn bluish. As for Demiurge who at least had enough self-control to not kill the demoness on the spot, he could only watch with bated breath at seeing his father personally take control of the situation.
'I wonder, though. Does she really want to make an impression that she is married to one of us? None of us even knew…'
And then it clicked. The fact she looked just like Albedo was not to deceive him, but likely served as an inspiration. Ulbert would have not understood his own thoughts back then, but Tabula's previous rants started to shed light on the plausible connections between this demoness and his friend's creation.
The demoness nervously shifted around and closed her eyes, as if expecting to get killed for what she was about to say. With a nervous gulp, she uttered the words Ulbert expected her to say.
"I am married to Tabula Smaragdina."
"Father, is she really implyin-"
Demiurge's voice betrayed his anger at the outrageous claim. Before he could even finish the sentence, Ulbert cut him off.
"Yes, and I do not think she is lying. Let's hear from the man himself if it is the truth or not."
{ Hey, Tabula, I have great news but you have to promise to not be mad about how we handled things. } Ulbert spoke like a salesman of used cars.
{ Why would I be mad about the good news? Did you get me a local alchemist? }
{ No, I think I just summoned your wife, or at least someone you would know. }
{ Wife…? I don't… Wait! MARI!? }
The brain eater appeared next to Ulbert and charged toward the succubus. "Mari!"
The next moment, he was holding her in his long slithery hands. The Succubus started to sob in his embrace.
"I thought I lost you! After all this time, I…!"
"Don't worry, I am here. I am so sorry… Can we talk in private? I have a lot to apologize for," Tabula spoke back, sounding much more melodramatic than Ulbert initially expected.
"Yes, please. I would very much like that," Mari whispered back, slowly regaining her composure.
Once they pulled out of each other's embrace, Tabula became aware of the state of her face. He gently touched her bruised cheek which was slowly losing the bluish tint and swollenness, and then asked in his deep guttural voice that was directed towards a confused Ulbert.
"What did you do to her?"
"No! The fault is all mine, Lord Tabula. Please do not blame Father for my rash actions."
Demiurge was on one knee behind his father, understandably fearful of his own life after hearing Tabula's outraged voice.
"You!"
Tabula flipped around, turning away from Mari and walked towards Demiurge, ignoring Ulbert who stood in front of the kneeling floor guardian.
But before he could inflict some sort of punishment on the floor guardian that had struck his wife, Mariposa touched her husband's shoulder and spoke in a soft voice.
"I'm fine, let's just go."
"But he-"
"I was at fault. Tabula, please, let's just go."
"…Alright."
"Have fun. And sorry about the not-so-nice reception. I owe you both."
Ulbert waved them off as Tabula teleported away with his wife. After confirming that they were both gone, he looked up and let out a tired sigh.
"Now, where were we?" Ulbert turned his attention back to the remaining thirty-nine. "Right, I will pick a few as my personal attendants and a few of my friends will want to do the same. If you oppose their decisions, speak up immediately and I will permit you to choose other roles."
"I assure you none will mind. To be chosen by the Gods is an honor." The four-horned succubus spoke up again.
"We all know who you are aiming for," Ulbert remarked. "What's your name?"
"Flornohe, my Lord. I would be honored to be picked by you." She bowed with a subtle smile on her face.
"I'll just let you explain yourself so there are no misunderstandings." Ulbert's smile faded as his tone grew more menacing.
"It's simple. Every demon you summoned today is my confidant. I am not as naive to think I could outsmart the God of Trickery in any way. The form I choose is merely for your enjoyment." Her tone showed no sign of fear. Florohe took a step closer with a charming smile and continued.
"My initial goal was to see where Mariposa, your peer's beloved wife, was planning to go, and I gathered all the relevant information beforehand as anyone in my position would. I will serve you with unwavering loyalty as long as you deem necessary and I'm sure you'll find a reliable and experienced assistant in me. The ones I brought with me will obviously be absolutely loyal to you and listen to my orders only if they do not contradict yours."
Ulbert gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.
"Interesting. I will take you for myself and let you serve as an assistant when it comes to all succubi and incubi in my service. But if I, so much as, suspect duplicity from you, getting dismissed will be the least of your concerns."
'She seems confident. I wonder how old she is. Tabula did say some of them are tens of thousands of years old. Flornohe seems to be at least a rank above the rest. I'll have to keep her on a short leash, otherwise, she'll be able to wrap me around her finger.' Ulbert mused.
Even with all the suspicions, it was far better to keep her close and watch all she does carefully.
"Of course. I wouldn't expect anything else. I hope my Lord will rely on my expertise on how to best utilize my kind."
She leaned in his hand, parting her lips and letting out a long exhale.
'I definitely have to learn a covert mind-reading spell.'
Ulbert put a mental note to hit the library later and sent a message to Pero and Buku to come and do their pickings.
"Since you know my preferences so well, I leave it to you to pick who else should attend to my needs," Ulbert said as the siblings showed up beside him.
Pero predictably picked three slim succubi that barely had any curves. Buku, meanwhile, picked five incubi with slim builds and soft, androgynous faces.
The remaining ones were assigned to help out Demiurge with the intelligence network until further orders were given.
x
The moment Tabula and Mariposa appeared in his quarters, he sent out all the servants to have a moment of privacy. She pushed away from him and with her back turned to her husband stood with her arms crossed.
"Mari, I…" Tabula stumbled upon his words. No matter what explanation he would try to give he now needed to somehow explain to his wife that he had forgotten about her.
"What happens with us now?" She asked, her voice barely audible.
"You are here, everything is all right now." Tabula touched her shoulder.
"Is it? Are you even the same person as you were the week before? This place is artificial, created and manipulated by powers neither me nor you understand. That demon was less than a month old but had power equal to the highest of demons."
Tabula squeezed her shoulder gently, stopping her shuddering movements.
"Mari… I am me. The form may be different, but I still feel the same for you."
"Great Mother told me you have forgotten." Mariposa shook his hand away with her wing.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I only remembered you when Ulbert told me he had summoned you."
"Don't think I will let you forget any time soon," Mari said wistfully. She let out a long exhale.
"I-I'll do everything to make up for what happened," Tabula squeaked, straining his guttural voice that made it sound like he was choking on something.
"It's always the same with you," Mari replied. She let out a humorless laugh which made Tabula nervously chuckle. " I suppose that this place is a replication of the game you played, right? I recognized Lord Ulbert instantly, what with that demonic avatar of his."
"Yes. But don't worry, everyone is loyal to us."
"To you and your friends, I'm nothing to them. Tabula, I have a physical body now, which means I can be easily killed and sent back to the immaterial planes."
"That… is worrisome. Let's go talk with Ainz. He should be able to assign you an official position. And I will have a stern talk with Ulbert about how he handled your summoning."
"Don't bother. The God of Trickery handled things well. He has mistress Flornohe as his subordinate now. A feud between you and him will do no one any good."
Mariposa turned around to finally face her husband.
His new form was vastly different and would take some time to get used to. Not to mention the monstrous power he now possessed. What she expected would take dozens if not hundreds of lifetimes of constant growth was achieved instantly.
"But Demiurge hurt you," Tabula said, raising his voice.
"I'm fine. Just a bruise, nothing more. It would be more beneficial to know the hierarchy of this place." She approached her husband and let him embrace her again. "I can't be too mad at my forgetful fool of a husband, it seems. What will I ever do with you?'
Tabula wrapped his long spindly arms around her, ignoring Mari's light jab. They both looked at each other before one eventually spoke up.
"Ainz and Albedo will help us to sort it out and assign you an official position. I already made a request."
"Albedo? I remember her. You used my appearance for her." She looked up to face Tabula."
"Yes, our daughter. Oh, Ainz is free, we can go right now."
Before Mariposa could take in what her husband just said, both were standing in front of a massive door with two plate-clad undead by its sides. The doors were opened by an attractive human-looking maid who stepped aside with a bow.
Inside awaited an undead with burning eyes, sitting behind a massive office table and a younger copy of her, in a white dress, standing beside him. The difference between them was that the other demoness was looking younger than her and instead of Mariposa's leathery batlike wings growing out of her shoulder blades, she had the black feathered wings of a fallen angel.
Mariposa, knowing better than to hesitate, started to kneel but was stopped by her husband.
He grabbed her by her upper arm, pulled her back to her feet, and whispered.
"What are you doing?"
"It's admirable that you want to show proper respect to Lord Ainz but the wife of my father is not required to do so."
Albedo addressed the, now standing, demoness with a faint smile on her face, clearly satisfied with the display of loyalty from someone who was clearly of lesser ranking.
"Welcome to Nazarick. Before we begin, let me apologize for the poor reception. I hope you can forgive Demiurge's actions. He can be quite overzealous sometimes." Ainz greeted her with a regal voice, though it was laced with a tinge of regret.
'It's the guild master from the game. A former human no doubt. Oh, wait, I remember him! Momonga was his name, I'm pretty sure. He was always nice to my husband. It's a relief that someone like him is in charge,' Mari thought to herself.
"Thank you. But the fault was mine. Lord Ulbert couldn't have known me and I acted improperly compared to my peers."
"So this is my wife Mariposa and your mother. We created you together. I think you can see the resemblance." Tabula addressed his daughter.
"Mother?" Albedo's smile faded as she looked at the succubus with a barely hidden contempt.
Mariposa paled at her husband's careless words.
In some sense, she could be considered the mother of this young godlike demoness, but she likely felt no connection and was insulted by her father's words. She gulped and bowed her head and desperately tried to fix the situation.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Lady Albedo. My dear husband, please make no such claims. Although I was an inspiration for your daughter's looks, I wasn't directly involved in her creation."
It seemed to have the desired effect. Albedo's expression returned to a pleasant smile.
Ainz watched the interaction without any good idea on how to approach it. He could feel Albedo's anger seep out the moment Tabula announced that his wife was Albedo's mother.
Still unsure how these things worked, Ainz could at least assume it was partly the case and the demoness likely guided him while he was still just a human.
'She looks afraid. I can't blame her. We were too when Nazarick became real.'
{ What sort of position can we give her? } He messaged Albedo.
{ I think I can just create a position of a spouse of a Supreme Being. Please forgive my unsightly behavior, my love, but this succubus is not my mother and the only connection to her is that she is married to my father. }
{ I understand that, but don't you think your father would want you to get along with her? }
Ainz once again had to play the diplomat and try to mend the situation Tabula was unwittingly creating.
{ I will try. As long as she doesn't manipulate father to her own ends I can be friendly with her. }
Albedo turned her head and flashed Ainz a smile as she opened to Nazarick's personnel and changed Mariposa's position from a summon to the spouse of Tabula.
"It's done. From now on everyone in the great tomb will recognize Mariposa as your wife, Father."
"Great. We will be on our way then. I will talk to you later, Ainz," Tabula said, not hesitating to teleport away with Mariposa.
Their sudden leave left behind a momentarily confused undead and succubus, with both of them wondering why Tabula was so eager to leave.
X
The idyllic forest scene by a lake was getting disturbed by a large group of newcomers. An undead construction team leveled out a designated area even before all the building materials that would not be harvested locally were delivered.
A small base of operations would be constructed to oversee the takeover of the forest area. Since no large nation had claimed it, the conquest of the monster-inhabited woods could be done covertly.
The last one to step through the portal was Ainz, followed by Aura and Mare. With them being a beast tamer and a druid respectively, both were tailor-made to oversee the operation.
Buku's maternal overdrive had supposedly kicked in with evidence pointing to her adamance at refusing the twins to act on their own. In the end, even she couldn't deny that both Aura and Mare took their duties seriously despite their young age. She had to then hesitantly accept Ainz's own words regarding how depressed the dark elves would be if they couldn't help with the building of the empire.
"You two can start, and remember to call for backup if needed," Ainz addressed the twins in a gentle tone. He began looking at his surroundings for a bit as Aura and Mare said their respective affirmations.
This was the third time he was outside and the forest assaulted his senses with all kinds of new sensations. The birds chirping somewhere in the distance, bugs buzzing around looking for the next meal, and the pleasant scent of the vegetation.
While Aura started to use her abilities to scan the forest for any dangerous beasts, Mare went for a more passive approach, sitting down to commune with nature to find out what sort of useful herbs grew in this part of the forest.
Seeing they were at work, Ainz felt it was prudent to not disturb them, and he decided to walk towards the lake shore.
Although he was curious if he could even feel a bug biting him, there was no need to worry about it happening since the tiny creatures kept a distance from him, seemingly too afraid to offend the mighty overlord. Or maybe they just didn't find his bare white bones appealing for a snack.
Ainz's non-existential ears were graced with the sounds of moving water. He saw to his left that there were large waves rocking back and forth in a slow and rhythmic lull. The pristine waters and its shining surface enticed him as though it was personally inviting him.
Ainz walked up to the very shore and extended his hand casting [Create Item]. In the game, the spell could create any saved asset that fit the requirements of the spell but now its only limits were the complexity of the item and the caster's own imagination.
A row of about ten identical wooden chairs with recliners appeared about two meters away from the shore.
"This should do it," Ainz remarked to himself out loud. Satisfied with his work, he sat down in one of them and stared into the distance.
The spot seemed perfect to build a small resort for outdoor activities. Cut down a few trees, even out the terrain, and not much else was needed. Sure, it wasn't one of those beach spots portrayed in the media, but for someone who couldn't dream to see the clear sky just a week ago, this was as close as it gets to having such an experience.
"I guess we could make the shore sandy and set up a lemonade stall. I'm sure everyone would like it." He quietly spoke to himself while imagining the scene.
However, his daydreaming was not meant to last. A familiar voice echoed in his head which Ainz quickly determined to be from the dark elvish girl.
{ Sorry for interrupting, Lord Ainz! It seems that a creature is charging in our direction as we speak. It's pretty weak compared to the beasts on me and my brothers' floor, but it's the strongest one I had located within this very forest. }
'A beast, huh? I was wondering if they would sense Aura or Mare's presence sooner or later. I better go look at it myself. If there is ever so much as a scratch on Aura, Buku will be furious.'
Ainz stood up and teleported the short distance, returning to the construction site.
Aura was looking into the treeline with a palm over her eyes. The elven girl seemed completely unphased by the rumbling sounds in the distance which were slowly becoming louder.
"How strong do you think it is?" Ainz asked, preparing to cast defensive buffs on both him and the dark elves.
"Level thirty maybe. If the beast wasn't charging toward us, I likely wouldn't have paid it any attention, Lord Ainz."
Compared to other floor guardians, Aura had the casual speaking manner of a child. That did not dispel her credibility as someone who was well knowledgeable in the arts of beast taming. Whatever things she had to say about the incoming beast, Ainz placed his full trust in the floor guardian.
"I see, I'll let you handle it then," Ainz said with finality. He took a step back as Aura turned back to the growing disturbance with a grin on her face.
If the beast was really that weak, offering help would be insulting to Aura. It would also be an interesting sight to see how the dark elvish girl would perform in an actual fight as things worked a little differently here compared to Yggdrasil.
The beast stopped in the shadows of the nearest trees, managing to hide their visage quite well. It then started to speak in an ominous, high-pitched voice, something that Ainz was not expecting in the slightest.
"My domain invaded, you have. Pay dearly, you will."
A long snakelike tail suddenly charged toward Aura's head. To the dark elvish girl, the speed of which the tail was moving was laughable.
Without as much as breaking a sweat, Aura grabbed the tail with only one hand and swung it around, sending the massive beast crashing through the trees.
Ainz winced at the wails of the pain that the beast let out, though it was impressive to say the least that the beast landed in the clearing instead of dying one hit. What was more intriguing to him right now though was that he was now finally given a chance to take a good look at the mysterious creature.
It was at least two meters tall and over four meters long, standing on all fours. Covered with very soft-looking silver fur the beast had six faintly glowing runes on its body.
"What… Is that a djungarian hamster?" Ainz mumbled to himself. The rather round creature slowly rolled to its feet and tried to get the tail out of Aura's grip with no success.
"Eh? You know of such a creature, Lord Ainz?" Aura said out loud with a shocked expression. She then eyed the beast with ravenous glee, frightening the creature who saw the dark elf's expression.
"My friend had a pet like this, only much smaller." The overlord replied.
'Honestly, I can't see it other than that. Maybe… If we could subdue the creature, then it could serve as Aura's pet. I think that would be a nice gift for her.'
"As expected of my lord, even the monsters of this world can't escape your infinite wisdom! Not going to lie, but the fur looks so, so soft! Can I kill it and make a rug out of her skin?" Aura pleaded, yanking the hamster's tail to get it closer.
"Bested am I. To be spared, I ask." The creature let out a whine and lowered its head, shaking in fear.
"N-now, hold on. This beast seems intelligent since it is able to speak. Don't you think we shouldn't be hasty to kill it and at least question the creature before doing something so rash?" Ainz asked Aura a question, curious about how she would respond.
"If that is your order, my lord." Aura shrugged. She turned to the creature and barked an order.
"Come closer and answer all of Lord Ainz's questions!"
The hamster obeyed and with careful steps approached the scary-looking skeleton.
"Do you have a name?" The overlord said with as much calm as possible. He took a step closer as the creature pressed its head against the forest floor.
"The Wise King of The Forest, I am called." The hamster squeaked out the name.
"I don't see anything majestic about you, and seeing the lack of… well, you know… Anyways, wouldn't it be Queen?"
"Indeed, my lord. Makes sense, it surely does. Many moons ago by the humans of this world, this name was bestowed upon me."
"I understand now. Now for my next question. You said we invaded your domain, how much of the forest do you rule over?"
'If this hamster is the strongest creature around, maybe we can use it to subdue everyone living in her domain.'
"Everything between the lands of the Giant and the lands of The Demon Snake mine to rule over are. Spare me, my domain is your's now."
"Are there more like you?" Ainz asked, but seeing how the hamster's expression changed from frightened to saddened, the answer soon became clear to him.
"I have not met another of my kind. Failed my duty as a living creature and made an offspring, I had." The hamster spoke morosely, shaking her head.
"You are a unique creature, it seems. It would be a shame to kill you off, no? Aura, how about you add this hamster to your pet collection?"
"Sure, Lord Ainz!"
Aura began walking up to the best. She touched the hamster's nose with her palm and announced.
"You are my pet now, but Wise King of The Forest is too long so I'll call you… Wisey."
"Honored to receive a new name, I am, Mistress Aura."
"Great."
Wisey leaned in Aura's palm, a gesture that Ainz found to be somewhat adorable. This reciprocated feeling of acknowledgment was only brief, however. The dark elf removed her hand from her new pet's nose and put her index finger on her own tip of the nose.
"But if Wisey controls this territory, it means nothing remotely strong can be found in the forest."
"In that case, why don't you train Wisey a bit and then take over her lands?"
"Will do, Lord Ainz."
Aura saluted enthusiastically and jumped on Wisey's back sitting down on the massive hamster cross-legged.
"You heard Lord Ainz, let's go!"
"Do as you command, I shall, Mistress!"
Wisey gave a response to her new master with equal enthusiasm.
As the newly tamed monster started to walk towards the woods, Ainz issued an order to a few of the eight edge assassins who were standing by the entire time.
{ Look after them. If something threatens Aura, call for the backup team. }
{ As you command Lord, Ainz. }
The invisible creatures heeded to the undead's command. They began skittering after the pair, staying true to their nature as born-bred lurkers of utter silence.
'Now that that is done, I can check on Mare.'
Ainz looked around and noticed that the boy had not moved, completely ignoring all the commotion around him.
"Did you find anything that we could use?" Ainz asked, approaching the boy.
Mare opened his eyes, jumped to face him, and dutifully reported with an eager look on his face. It took a great deal of willpower for Ainz to not start head patting the dark elvish boy.
"T-There are few useful types o-of herbs growing near. I-I will gather t-test samples for Lord Tabula."
"That's good news. Oh, I guess I should give you a few helpers."
Before Mare could protest, Ainz extended his hand and summoned a small army of skeletons and a few liches. With next to no independent thought, their only use was either as sacrificial lambs or hard, physical labor.
"T-thanks, L-lord Ainz, you are too kind!"
Mare bowed his head, clutching his staff closer to his body. Ainz elected to give the boy a pat on the shoulder instead of the other gesture.
"You are doing a wonderful job, Mare. It is only natural that I would give you some help. Please do not hesitate to ask me, your mother or the others for help."
Mare bowed again, this time with a blossoming smile on his face when he heard his master mention Buku, who was still formerly known as Lady Bukubukuchagama to him and his sister. With a light prance in his steps, he went off with the group of skeletons that were assigned to him.
'Now that they are busy I could take a bit of the rest.' The image of Albedo doing all his job for him flashed in his head. 'On the other hand, I should head back to Nazarick. We can take time off together afterward.'
X
The arena had become the place where Pero could be found most days.
Today he was sitting in the first row beside his sister, who was munching on some sweets while reading through the study material given to her by Demiurge.
In front of them were his two concubines, Etzli and Lupus, sparring in close combat. Obviously, Lupus was way above the vampire in terms of power and mostly gave little effort to train her.
While Lupus was wearing her standard maid outfit she took great pride in, Etzli was dressed in tight leather pants and a corset instead of the vampire bride's default white dress. The latter's outfit was provocative, but then again, it wasn't Pero's pick in the first place.
The two concubines had gotten permission to pick something for themselves in the treasury. Guided by her mischievous peer, Etzli has picked a costume that showed off her figure more than it protected her from damage, not that she needed much armor as a vampire in the first place. Thanks to her racial abilities she could only be killed by instant fatal damage, otherwise she would just regenerate over time.
Thanks to Ainz's obsessive collector habits, the treasury held enough armor to gear up every Nazarick denizen ten times over and that was including the pop monsters. This meant that lower-tier gear was more or less up for grabs if one of the players gave permission to enter the treasury.
Etzli, as the clear underdog of the fight, was trying her best to stay on the offensive but more often than not it just ended with her being on the receiving end of not-so-gentle blows.
Despite her nature, Lupus wasn't particularly sadistic towards her fellow concubine, but she didn't hold back that much either. And the results showed. Thanks to Etzli being one of the few who got the limit boost for testing purposes, she was steadily growing in power.
After a particularly hard blow, the vampire was sent flying and collided with the wall just below where Pero was sitting.
"Be more careful!" Pero shouted at Lupus and jumped over the wall to check on Etzli who was already standing up with a stagger.
"I'm fine, my Lord." She said as she put her dislocated shoulder back in place without even twisting her face in pain.
"Sorry." Lupus bowed, with her ears visibly drooping under her hat.
"Okay, you two take a short break. The rest of the Pleiades and one of the homunculus maids will be here soon," Pero said, gently patting Etzli's backside after she had gone to him.
It didn't take long for the rest of Pero's new subordinates to arrive. With most of them being more suited to assassination-type missions, logically he was the one to take them under his wing.
His long-term goal was to make each of them a team leader to be able to tackle lesser threats independently and, if need be, join up with the seven-star formation led by their youngest sister and deal with level one hundred threats.
Led by Aureole, the battle maids showed up through a gate one by one. The last to arrive was Fifth, one of the homunculus maids.
While most of the Pleiades still had to wait for their turns to get their limit increased, with Shizu being the only exception, the homunculus maid was one who Ainz picked for the test to see how a level one being would benefit from the boost.
Like a small kid joining the bigger kids for the games, she followed the battle maids with a fierce expression.
"Lord Pero, we are ready to start the training," Aureole said as the entire group bowed.
"Great."
Pero only nodded in response and then turned his head, seeing his sister preoccupied with a stack of papers she was holding.
"Hey, sis, you joining us? Or do I need to put them against each other?"
Buku looked up from the papers. Pero found it odd that his sister had a relieved look on her face.
"Sure, I can train with a few." Buku put away the reading material and jumped over the wall, landing next to her brother. "So, who is sparring with me?"
"I think Yuri, Shizu, and for a change, Lupus can go against you and I'll take rest while Aureole boosts them."
Pero began to size them up one by one. Even with the immense boost Aureole provided to her sisters, one against three wouldn't be any sort of challenge for the siblings because of the massive level difference. Even multiple level ninety challengers could do little against someone who had reached level one hundred, and Pleiades with the boosts were still under that mark.
"Sounds good," Buku said. She motioned for the maids to follow her a bit further away.
"Etzli, you can take Fifth and show her some basic moves. Just remember she is still rather fragile and cannot regenerate."
"I will be careful, my Lord," Etzli replied.
With everyone having their assignments, they spread out and started the training.
Although Solution, Entoma, and Narberal couldn't match his speed they worked together like a team, making him break into a sweat from time to time.
While Solution fought him in close combat with a pair of long knives, Entoma used her bug-type attacks to distract him and Narberal switched back and forth between close combat by attacking him with a sword and then switching things up with elemental magic.
Obviously, just three of them weren't enough to defeat an over-level hundred player like him and in about twenty minutes all three were brought to absolute exhaustion.
The rest of Pleiades fared no better, not being able to get through Buku's impregnable defenses.
One thing was clear: once all seven got their limits increased, they would start to catch up, giving the siblings a much harder time in defeating the battle maids.
Bonus Story - United Again.
Tabula was laying in his bed with his wife's head on his shoulder. Since his now natural form wasn't built for enjoying time with his wife in mind he had taken his old human form until he was sure he could reshape himself.
Mariposa was trying her best to dig her nails into his husband's chest with a frustrated pout. It may have not been his fault that he had forgotten but she still took it rather personally.
Her old tactic was to drain him during the sex till he was unable to move and then barrage the foolish man she had decided to spend eternity with. Now this tactic was futile since Tabula had such a massive energy pool that she was practically bursting with power and couldn't even make a dent.
Her attempts at causing mild pain were just as fruitless. Her long sharp nails were close to the breaking point while her husband's skin showed no signs of even registering her attack. At one point Mari had decided it was no longer worth it, and she finally gave up on finding a way to punish him.
"I am sorry for forgetting," Tabula apologized for the umpteenth time. He gently stroked Mari's head. "Please don't be mad for what I've done to you."
"For the last time, I am not mad," Mari replied with a frigid tone, though it started to warm up towards her husband's touches.
"Mari…"
Not knowing what else to do right now, Tabula kissed her on top of her forehead. It seemed to be the right move as Mari nuzzled even closer to his body, and she turned her head to look into his eyes.
"I just…you know I owe a favor to a traveler now. That bastard used my desperation. And I think Great Mother Lilith will be very angry with me because I went against her will and sought you out."
"Why would she be mad? She blessed our marriage. And what is this traveler? You have not mentioned that entity before." He asked, furrowing his brows.
"She told me to get over you. I think she fears that traveler. I am not supposed to talk about them. Their attention is not a good thing." Mariposa's voice betrayed her worries.
"How can it be? How can an infernal lord like Lilith be afraid of them? Mari, we swore to not have secrets between us." He turned his head to look away.
"I shouldn't…I'm sorry but there are things I have not told you for your own good. I…" She sighed leaning closer and kissed his neck.
"Then tell me the truth." He didn't give in to her attempts at distracting him. As one who was married to a succubus, he knew their tricks far too well.
"You understand this will make Great Mother even more displeased with me. I risked everything to get here. I…" She grabbed her husband's face with both hands.
"Mari, tell me the truth. We are in this together." Tabula said softly.
"…You are right, I have been unfair." She gave him a small kiss on the lips and put her head on his shoulder once again.
"I only know of travelers because Great Mother came into conflict with one and lost something very important to her. We were all warned to never enter into a deal with a traveler. And I did just that. I don't know if he will ask in return but I doubt it will be something trivial."
She let out a long sigh and continued. "What little I have been told about them is frightening. Apparently, they came from outside the ordered existence and are not bound by casualty."
"So they are some sort of creepy alien race that messes with things. Mari, I can't let you do this. When that traveler comes to collect his dues I will offer to take your debt."
"Maybe that was his goal in the first place. I am nobody compared to what you are now…"
Mari wrinkled her nose as soon as the words escaped her mouth. A brief look of horror crossed her face in realization of something horrible, though the brain eater could only be left with confusion. Addressing his husband's concerns, she exclaimed with visible frustration in her voice.
"Dammit. How was I unable to see that? His goal likely was to get you to do something. How foolish of me…"
"Then we will face him together. I don't care how powerful that entity is, I won't let anyone hurt you," Tabula said resolutely.
No matter the odds, he would have to stand against this being. Even knowing that this traveler wasn't above using such underhanded tactics as making him forget his own wife and was powerful enough to make the infernal lord fear him.
Immediately after Tabula made his bold declaration, there was a change in the air to what he could only describe as something wicked yet alluring.
"I love it when you are like this," Mari purred, reigniting the fiery mood in the air.
"You always manage to bring that part out of me," Tabula replied, not missing the change in his wife's lustful behavior.
She suddenly pushed Tabula into the bed, getting on top of him with a mischievous smile.
"I believe we have a lot of catching up to do, in more ways than one."
Edited by Zirmeister
Proofreading by Ethal07, Dtrackt, Sad_Smiles, Alassandro, and Visur Nyxan.
AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader.
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