บท 62: Chapter 10
If he would trust her per covenant with Lilith, he needed to question Flornohe, not only about her motivations, but what else she had chosen not to reveal in the past.
His consort was clearly nervous when she saw no one else present in her master's quarters upon entry, not even the typical maid ready to attend to their every wish and desire.
"Lord?" She questioned, a shiver jolting down her spine.
"Sit down, I want to get all the answers from you. I have put this aside for long enough." Ulbert motioned for her to settle on the other side of the sofa as he lounged with a cigar in his mouth, puffing.
"Of course." She did as she was told, but before she could do anything else, the demon God assumed a rigid posture and held her hands in her lap.
"Relax, this is not an execution; although I'm not too happy about you hiding things from me, I don't see a particular reason to replace you either. We both know a replacement would come with the next set of secrets, each harder to understand than the last." He assured her.
"When I was summoned, I had no intention to ever go against your will, but I had to remain silent on certain topics. Telling you about travelers would not benefit you, my Lord," She spoke in a very reserved tone.
"Yes, we already discussed that and you also failed to mention Lilith." Ulbert shifted around, exhaling a large cloud of smoke through the corner of his mouth. "I'll just let you talk for now."
"I knew that something in this world made it forbidden, but the Great Mother didn't give me any details. If I have to guess, it is at least a God-level entity that might pose a danger to Nazarick. I don't believe it is a materialized world-level enemy, but something far more ancient. Since Great Mother called it a sleeper, I think it is something that would be very hard to kill or even push out of material reality. I have heard of such creatures and all I know is to avoid them, for she would handle them in our stead." She did as told.
"Not ideal, but this is our world, we'll find a way to clear it up. Anything else?"
"I would like to know if I will ever be considered more than a passing entertainment for you and nothing else." She stared him straight in the eyes.
"As your mommy so elegantly put it: trust goes both ways. You can't expect me to treat you as my one and only and then play backstabbing politics on the side."
"I'm well aware of that. You can look in my heart and see that I hold loyalty towards you above everyone else now, but… I need to know if I should act as your consort and know my position is secure so long as I never betray your trust again, or be wary of being replaced. I have no doubts numerous other women wanting a position by your side will emerge. If this is nothing more than a temporary partnership, I will treat it as such and refrain from developing romantic feelings in the future."
She wasn't lying, the moment Lilith had released Flornohe from her service, the elder succubus had become loyal beyond question, comparable to Nazarick's non-summoned NPCs. He couldn't feel any other agendas within her heart, nor was she powerful enough to hide them.
"I'll put it this way. If I know I can trust you, I'll prefer to have only you even if we don't have some lovey-dovey bullshit relationship. Don't fuck me over and you'll be the only one. What else should I know?"
"You should follow Great Mother's advice and work on your immaterial form. I will help however I can in that regard. There will be no need to worry about the loyalties of the demons you summon. They may not reveal new things, but the ones entering the covenant of being summoned wouldn't be able to go against your will." Flornohe visibly relaxed, leaning against the backrest and crossing her legs, her dress parting enough to show most of her right leg.
"We'll work on that when I have time." Ulbert nodded in agreement as his gaze fell on her exposed thigh. She was a temptress, that's for sure. And now that the suspicions had been cleared up, there wasn't much stopping him as the master of their relationship.
"There isn't much else at the moment, but rest assured, I will advise you to the best of my ability whenever the need arises. I would also suggest you question Melborius just in case, though I doubt he has any agendas that go against your will. Even his creator wouldn't want to antagonize you for no reason." She leaned a bit forward and flashed him a smile, exposing some cleavage.
"Are you trying to distract me?" Ulbert asked with a grin.
"I believe that is one of my main duties and I have not yet properly fulfilled my duties since Great Mother conversed with you." She grinned back.
"I guess I can permit myself a moment of weakness. Just be sure not to hide anything from now on." He leaned forward and placed a hand on her exposed thigh, stroking it.
Neglecting his physical desires for longer served no advantage, and there was no reason to believe she was hiding anything as even an experienced demoness like her wouldn't be able to circumvent the ability to read true feelings. He quickly used some magic to close the door as Flornohe grinned.
<X>
Following Ulbert's advice, Ainz decided it was time to question Eleleth about her past and agendas. Although angels were far less independent than demons and by all means would become fallen ones should they choose to exercise free will, there was still the possibility of foreign interference within anything from beyond Nazarick.
He had quickly called the angel into his office for that purpose. Both Albedo and Rubedo were also present, but then again they rarely left his side. Luckily, Rubedo hadn't pushed to remain in his living space during the night as he was unsure if Albedo would protest it. After all, she had said in no unclear terms that she wouldn't mind if he had a harem as long as she was the head wife, which wasn't an idea he even wanted to entertain. She alone was more than enough.
"What do you want to know, Lord?" She inquired as she knelt in front of his office table.
"I am curious how you, as a Metatron, left the God you served?" Ainz went for a heavy-hitting question right from the get-go, knowing there was no reason to dance around with pleasantries.
"I wasn't a Metatron when I last served a God. I was made into one by an entity who wished me to help you cleanse this world." She answered without hesitation.
"What can you tell me about this entity?" Ainz asked, suspecting the culprit. The question remained whether Eleleth knew what she was getting into.
"I cannot tell much, but this entity could remake me without effort. It had no form and no features I can describe with mortal words."
It seemed she was honest, as if Regoz had expected her to be questioned. The trick Ulbert had shown revealed her feelings, or more precisely her lack thereof. She was as calm as an undisturbed mountain lake.
"How convenient not to know any details. Next, you will tell Ainz you don't remember who created you," Albedo sneered.
"You are correct, that information was erased from my mind by the same entity." Eleleth's tone shifted, betraying the smallest hint of nervousness.
"My love, this creature is clearly sent as an agent!" Albedo pointed at the angel in an accusatory manner.
"I know and I know who did it. He didn't even attempt to hide his tracks." Ainz authoritatively declared.
"Y-you know?" Albedo was genuinely surprised and even Elelth glanced up in fear and confusion.
"I wanted to keep you out of this but it seems it is unavoidable. We discovered that an entity, called Regoz, is using all of us for some unknown means, and he is too powerful to oppose in any meaningful way. It seems he gifted me Eleleth, which is why the summoning succeeded on the first try. The question is if you are telling the truth or hiding a deal made with him." Ainz turned towards the angel.
"I was sent to serve you. This is the deal I made. I wanted to serve under a God who would not cast me aside or restrict my growth. For that, I let myself be remade into a Metatron, and for that, I waited for you to summon me. I do not remember who or what I was before." Her expression became calm again.
'There could be some trigger in her mind left to be used as a weapon against Nazarick if we fall out of line, so she can't be fully trusted even if she doesn't realize it. There is no indication she is lying, and if Regoz wants her to be here, it is safer to play along. We shall use him as he uses us.'
"Very well. Is there anything else you wish to declare on the matter?" Ainz questioned.
"No, Lord. It's not my place to make declarations. I am here to serve and intend to do just that while you permit me to grow in your shadow." Eleleth lowered her head once again.
All he could do at the moment was to create as many safeguards as possible, should she be used against him. After dismissing Eleleth, he decided to talk with Tabula in private. With that in mind, Ainz teleported directly to the Brain Eater's laboratory, finding his friend doing something with the data crystals while Nigun switched them around on his master's commands.
"I need to ask you a few questions." Ainz got straight to the point. "In private."
Nigun, understanding what was required of him, left the room in a hurry, leaving the two Gods alone.
"What happened this time?" Tabula asked while he continued tinkering with crystals, without facing the undead.
"Eleleth was gifted to me by Regoz."
"Hmm… that is concerning."
"Is there a way to find out if she has some hidden triggers that can be remotely activated to be used against us?"
"As far as I understand, Regoz is a dealmaker and wouldn't do something like that. He abides by the terms he agrees to, even if the terms are… unfavorable. Besides, if he wanted to hurt us, he could just do it. He can manifest within Nazrick at his leisure without triggering any alarm, bypassing all of our defenses. I hope you understand why you shouldn't tell others, especially my daughter."
"And you knew this for how long?" Ainz used his emotional suppression to avoid exploding on the brain eater again.
"I'll tell you everything you want to know, but only you." He replied as he continued the work.
"I want to trust you but-"
"I know I hid things. Do you think I want to? It is easier to push everything onto you. Ainz, we are over our heads, and if the others know, it will only cause unease that cannot be remedied. If you want, I can leave everything to you and not leave a single detail out. Just don't make Mari pay for it."
"I have no intention of harming you or your wife, but I need to know what Lilith is and what agendas she could have." Ainz walked up to the brain eater and picked one of the unused crystals from the table, inspecting it.
"Let's get over Regoz first. I know he is the one who gave us the most knowledge during the transfer and possibly manipulated us even before we became Gods. The day I uplifted Albedo, he materialized in Nazarick and made it clear that I could not back out of the deal I made to free Mari from the contract.
Lilith is an Infernal Lord who my wife reveres. I don't know what agendas she has, but I don't believe she is hostile to us and likely wants to keep her demons safe."
"What is an Infernal Lord?" Ainz asked, tilting his skull.
"An amalgamation of Gods into a higher dimensional entity that is one and yet separate at the same time." Tabula stopped for a moment and then continued. "It didn't make any sense?"
"No."
"Consider this. An Infernal Lord is like a tree with countless leaves. We, with our four-dimensional understanding, can interact with individual leaves, but each leaf can interact with different people on its own while the greater tree is aware of every single one, being greater than the sum of all leaves. If you were an Infernal, then all Suzukis, all Momongas, and all Ainzs from all the timelines and realities would be just one entity, while each version could still live and interact with uncounted worlds but you, the central one, would perceive everything simultaneously, akin to how a tree knows what happens to each of its leaves. Lilith is immensely powerful but she, like most Infernal Lords, is locked out of the material world and cannot enter it without being summoned, and the upfront cost for summoning her alone would drain Nazarick."
"I think I get it. And with all this, she is still weaker than Regoz. It hurts my head to even think of such things." Ainz admitted, being thankful that, for once, Tabula tried to explain things in simple terms without incessantly dragging things out.
'I think he wants to regain my trust. Perhaps I, in his position, would have acted the same way he did and not reveal things that couldn't be changed.' Ainz was thankful that Tabula for once had decided to be straightforward and not devolve into long ramblings.
"That is the true horror of our situation. Ainz, try keeping it to yourself. I don't think others are ready to understand the true scale of reality and what is out there."
"I won't. Update me if anything new comes up."
"I will, my friend. Thank you for taking upon this burden." Tabula turned and bowed before him.
"I accepted the leader's position, it is what I should do."
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by Sluethen, fvvck, LionLover, and aidan_lo.
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