Ainz spent the next few days going back and forth between the capital of Re-Estize and the Arena of Nazarick, checking on the progress of his newest servant.  Arriving well before he needed to, meant he only had to send a notification to the palace and was ready to present himself at need, and since no word came right away, there was drinking with Blue Rose and the other adventurers, until Lupu pretended to be quite drunk… always after Gagaran passed out, and then helping her to her room before gating himself out.

“I swear, I know I promised to pay for beer for her for a full year, but isn’t this a little bit excessive?”  Evileye asked and slapped a few silvers down on the table again.  

Gagaran gave her a silly grin, her head was laying on the table, face turned to one side and looking up glassy eyed at her sister.  “Awww shuksh, you should be gratefulsh, I buy Lupu drinks, meanin you buy her drinks, meanin Mishter Momon keepsh comin back!”  The giant woman grinned stupidly and raised a shaky finger, “I’m akshually making a great shakrifish for my shishtersh happinessh.  Hic!  Hic!  Though how shat woman drinksh sho mush with that little body… it musht go to her boobsh… hic!”

“Gonna shleep now… bye bye…”  Gagaran promptly closed her eyes and began to snore at the table.  

“Draw lots to carry her to her room?”  Evileye proposed.

“Evil boss can do it.”  Tia suggested.

“Yes, evil boss.”  Tina agreed, and the twins immediately vanished from sight.

“Ah, maybe it should be me…?”  Evileye proposed under the steady eye of the cross armed Lakyus.

“Yes, maybe it should.”  Lakyus tried to stifle her laugh when sliding out of the booth, and mostly failed.

“Well, I got to spend hours with Sir Momon, so it was worth it.”  Evileye acknowledged and began to heave the meathead onto her back, though the giant of a woman was dragged from the knees back, for the vampire caster, the woman’s weight was still nothing, and so she hauled her off to bed.

 

---

 

“How is she performing, Sebas?”  Ainz asked his butler during a spare moment between sessions.  The sand kicked up at his feet as the Lord of Nazarick trod over it, and Sebas knelt when his master came near.  Arche did the same, her head deeply bowed and forearm resting on one knee while the other was bent in the sands.

Sebas answered with great humility, or so it seemed to Arche’s ears.  “Adequately, My Lord.  Arche has risen three levels by Cocytus’s estimation, I have been pitting her against summoned elementals and allowing her to deal the final blow to each after I weakened them.”  

‘Actual elementals, powerful creatures on a worse than national disaster level, dispatched like mere goblins by Master Sebas, and left helpless for me to finish off… and somehow…?’  Arche suppressed the urge to look down at her hands, she’d looked at them often enough and noted nothing different.  Yet the sense of it was there.  If what Sebas said was accurate, ‘And he is not going to lie for me.’  She understood that, clearly.  ‘I have somehow gained years worth of progress, and had my limits pressed beyond all reason from only a year ago, and in barely a week.  If I doubted it before, I don’t now.  My new master, master Sebas’ own lord, is a god, the god master Paradyne seeks.’  Arche shivered with excitement under the gaze of the Master of Nazarick.

She felt his penetrating dark eyes fall to her, “Are you well, Arche, have your needs been met?”  

Her heart pounded beneath the towering figure, “Master, you have given me everything I asked for… and I am grateful.  Lords Aura and Mare established a little cabin for me by the lake on their floor, and Lord Mare allows my sisters to borrow books to read.”

“Hmmm, yes, we’ll have to do something about that too, won’t we?”  Ainz muttered and stroked his chin, Arche felt her blood run cold.

“Master, if it was wrong for them to borrow books, I promise they didn’t do anything bad on purpose, they’re good girls.”  Her breathing became labored as panic began to set in, but her master was looking off to the rows of golems in the stands.

“No, not that, I was thinking that their education needs to be seen to soon.  We can treat the present as a small vacation, but soon they will need proper teachers if they’re to become good servants.”  Ainz said in a conversational voice.  “Sebas, Arche.”  Ainz said, and they responded at the same moment.

“Yes, master?”  

“Fluder Paradyne taught the current emperor did he not?  And this emperor is regarded as the greatest in their history?”  Ainz asked.

“Yes, my lord.”  Arche replied without a doubt.

“Then he should be acquired, we will use him as a tutor to your sisters.”  Ainz said, and leveled his finger down to Arche, the finger was only inches away from her forehead, but her eyes locked on the tip like it had descended from a divine realm.

Her pulse thrummed and heart raged in a torrent of rising loyalty as her sisters were handed the brightest of all possible futures.  “Master… I gave you my oath already, I am yours many, many times over, but if I could offer it again, I would be grateful.”  Arche said through tears that blurred her vision of her god.

“Many oaths mean nothing, mean the one you give, that will be enough.”  Ainz uttered the command and she engraved it on her heart, everything about him sang of power and nobility, divinity given flesh, and struck dumb, she could only bow her head to him again.

“Is there any position I should prepare them for, my lord?  They are young, but if you have plotted out their lives already…?”  Sebas asked, then stopped when Ainz denied it.

“No, let’s see where their talents take them, perhaps they share Arche’s talent for magic, or perhaps they’re better suited to the sword, or trade, prepare them for anything, until they know what they need exactly.”  Ainz ordered crisply.

“As you command, my lord.”  Sebas responded.

“Resume your practice then.  I will return in a few days… and when I do, tell…”  Ainz took a deep, slow breath, ‘Please don’t let me have to fight them.’  He briefly thought, and added, “Mare and Aura to meet me here alone.”

“As you wish, my lord.”  Sebas answered, and the pair of servants waited until their master stepped through a gate and was gone again.  Only after that did they slowly rise from the warm sands of the arena to stand erect again.  “Such is the lord we serve.  Now redouble your efforts, Arche, you must be worthy soon.”

“Master!”  Arche said and gritted her teeth.  “Anything for Lord Ainz, please, when Cocytus returns, have him call forth the most dangerous monster he can, I’ll take the risk if it will help me grow faster.”

“Such a beast creates terrible fear.”  Sebas cautioned Arche.

“It will be worth it.”  She said through a determined grinding jaw.

“As you wish.”  Sebas said as Cocytus made his way over to them again.  

 

---

 

Hours later, Ainz and Lupu were cantering up to the palace on their horses, the constant clip clop noise of hooves was now a comfortably familiar sound to Ainz himself, and Lupusregina as per usual, seemed to be just plain chipper.  She was humming a delighted tune with a smile on her face and long red braids dancing behind her as if it were keeping to the music of her hum.  

They arrived at the palace of the King, and leapt down from their horses with practiced unity.  Ainz, in his guise as Momon, kept his twin greatswords on his back, red cloak fluttering in the breeze, a contrast to the practical traveling equipment of Lupusregina.  She had chosen a variation on her battlemaid outfit, wearing a black and white dress slit at the thighs that was tight at the belly and up, emphasizing her figure but granting her full freedom of movement, and atop her head she wore a simple cap similar in design to that of her maid uniform.  At her side she had her enchanted mace, and on her face was the deadliest weapon a beautiful girl could wield against the unwary.

A smile.  She disarmed the guards with a glance, their stiff postures relaxed as all stiffness was redirected from their backs to another part of their bodies.  “Momon and Lupu of Axel, here to present ourselves to His Majesty, King Ramposa III.”  Ainz said, and the guards almost fell over themselves to rush to the door.

It swung wide enough with the urgency of their action to admit four people with ease, and Axel strode through the door and down the long stone hall leading to the throne room.  ‘I can’t believe I’m really doing this!’  He almost laughed at himself, in many ways it was a gamer’s dream, in almost every way, it was the dream of those trapped in the hellish world of his birth.  ‘If only my friends… if only they were here… finding them will have to be a top priority when everything is said and done.’  Ainz promised himself, and quietly recited their names like they were sacred oaths or incantations to steady his pounding heart before he reached the door to the throne room.

“Announcing Momon and Lupu, adamantite adventurer team Axel!”  The herald at the door called out, and eyes went to the pair.  Adamantite ranked adventurers were rare, and true to her word, Evileye spread the story of their actions all over the capital.  

Ainz felt his gamer instincts sharp as a knife and clear as clean glass, ‘I’m on the cusp of an event flag, I can feel it.’  He told himself and, driven by his desire to see it through, he approached the throne and knelt to the king.  Lupu at his side did the same, though he noted, ‘A little more stiff than I would have hoped, but still not bad acting.’

Lupu wore her radiant smile, her bright yellow eyes lightly closed by dark lids, and behind them she had the silent hope, ‘I hope I get the chance to kill everyone here who sees or expects my master to kneel.’  The daydream of their screams was a pleasant comfort, a stark contrast to the pheromones of desire her sharp nose caught from the male eyes that raked over her body.

“Your Majesty.”  Ainz said with a bow of his head beneath the helmet.  Up close, the king looked like what he expected an old warrior monarch to look like.  Loose white hair that hung neck length, piercing, steady eyes, and a strong looking body that had yet to go to fat.

“Momon, Lupu, welcome to the capital, we are pleased with your coming, and with your steadfast efforts at the protection of our people.”  The king bore a noble voice of his own, and it rebounded from the far stone walls, “We permit you to rise.  In thanks to your efforts, per our invitation, we will be holding a feast for you and your companion beginning this evening.  Quarters will be provided for you and your… lovely companion, so indulge yourself to your heart’s content.”  The King finished speaking, then clapped his hands, and a young boy clad in red and golden clothing stepped forward from where he waited at the wall.

“See them to their rooms, give them a tour of the palace if they so desire, the feast will begin at sunset.”  The King said, and the young golden haired boy bowed and went to where the heroes stood, then led them away.

Out of sight of the court, the boy asked them, “Would you care for a tour, masters, or would you like to go straight to your room?”

“Quarters will be fine.”  Ainz said with indifference, biding his time until the servant deposited them at a door.  “Pull the rope if you require service, Sir, Ma’am.”  He said and bowed deeply at the waist, holding the position until Momon and Lupu had gone in and closed the door.

Alone, Lupusregina quickly asked, “That was… abrupt, wasn’t it?”  She scratched her head with a sharp, sweeping gesture of her hand running through the hair at her scalp.  “I was expecting some big speech or something.  And what was with the plural speech?  He got another voice in his head other than his own?”

“He is a King, a King is more than one person, he speaks for the entire Kingdom.  And this was just a greeting,” Ainz explained, “no doubt he’ll say more at the banquet itself.  We can expect to be privately approached for work later.”  Though his voice was calm, his skin was a tingle with excitement that still lingered beyond the recent events.

Lupusregina absorbed his words and privately committed them to memory when she went to sit on the bed.  She wore a troubled look, darting glances at her lord while he perused the bookshelves.  Ainz could feel her stares.  “Ask whatever it is, Lupusregina.”  He finally said.

“Master, when will you tell the others?”  She asked, and he stiffened.

“You haven’t told anyone in awhile, not even Entoma, or CZ, or even Yuri.  Forgive my asking, it’s not my place to say, but…”  Lupusregina looked down at the stone and kicked her feet back and forth against the wooden frame of the bed in a nervous gesture, “I worry about you.”

‘Loyalty.  A treasured thing.’  Ainz thought, and almost dismissed the question before he chose to answer it.  “I’ll be telling Mare and Aura next.  Sebas has already been informed of my intent.”

Lupusregina gave a tiny series of rapid nods, “Lord Mare will absolutely side with you, master.  Lady Aura?  Maybe, I believe so.”

“You sound confident.”  Ainz answered and stood up, dismissing the contents of the shelf as no longer interesting.  

“I am.  Neither guardian hates humans, and they’re only children.  But children can do the unexpected, if either did dare reject you, it would be Lady Aura.”  Lupusregina offered her appraisal, and Ainz took it seriously.

‘A battlemaid is meant to assess threats well to ensure they can delay even where they can’t triumph, I would be a fool to reject her opinion because it is undesirable.’  Ainz acknowledged privately, and said nothing.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door, “Sir Momon, Lady Lupu, time we’ve come to have you dressed for the evening.”

“Enter.”  Ainz acknowledged, and allowed a pair of young women to enter and lead Lupu away.  She glanced back at him, her lingering wide yellow eyes asking, searching.

He nodded.  ‘I can manage by myself through this at least.’

She allowed herself to be taken away.

The two men who entered to work on him immediately, and true to the nature of service people who had a long task to perform with a customer, they were chatterboxes.

“...And that was just for starters.”  A slender little man stood on a footstool and measured Ainz’s arms, the worker’s clothing was flamboyant, bright as a peacock’s feathers and a bright feather cap sat on his head.  “I tell you, Eight Fingers is getting worse, why rumor has it they even started using monsters to extort towns for gold, or to keep villages producing the plant used to make black dust.”

“Oh goodness, how terrible!”  The other tailor said from down on one knee where he measured Ainz’s feet.  He had a long, high pitched voice and clucked his tongue several times.  “Everything from abducting peasants for prostitution, to gambling.  What are the guards even doing about it?  Nothing, that’s what.”  

The conversation went on and on, and the longer he listened, the more he had his doubts about the authenticity of the conversation.  ‘This is strangely focused.’  Ainz considered it and recalled a movie from his own world.  A spy film, the character was prompted to action by information he learned in an unrelated manner.  He was more open to act when the option was presented, precisely because there wasn’t an attempt to convince him on the spot, only to present him with information in an unguarded moment that he would later recall when the moment of decision came.  ‘They’re plants.  The King here is no fool, he’s not taking the chance on my refusal.  I’ll have to remember his application of this strategy myself for later.  Not to worry ‘majesty’ I have no intention of refusing your request.’  Ainz suppressed his laughter, and used the opportunity to probe the ‘agent’ tailors further with questions of his own.

“Is the drug trade really that pervasive?”  Ainz asked.

“Unfortunately yes, poorer nobles grow the plant they use for it instead of wheat, it makes crops more expensive and the wealth gets hoarded by alley lords, Eight Fingers has some powerful fighters too, so ordinary guards can’t stop them.”  The tailor at his back responded readily, “Now my good man, this will only take a few minutes more, and we’ll have some clothing made ready for you in no time.”

“You can alter clothing so quickly?”  Ainz asked with sudden intrigue.

High pitched laughter came from both tailors, “Oh my no, but we can do cheap enchantments that create ‘temporary’ alterations, typically for a day or two.  Permanent or automatic ones are just not worth the cost for single use, but this will do nicely.  Trust us, dark hero.  We leave you to adventure, but this is the battlefield of the fashion world, where we are gods!”  The higher pitch voiced little man at Ainz’s back spoke with such passionate enthusiasm for his craft that it was difficult not to trust that he knew what he was doing.

“As you wish.”  Ainz answered, and they scribbled down numbers, measurements, and concepts, only to quickly retreat from the room.

 

---

 

“Hey there, neighbor.”  Solution said to the blonde young man in casual, but decent clothing.  She looked him over from behind, he wore a blue sash and a gold and brown vest.  He had a shock of fire red hair amidst the blonde that stood out like a robin’s red crest, and had a lean, strong figure.  He sat at the bar in front of her chatting in idleness with two of his friends.  Solution knew their names immediately.  ‘Half elf, Imina, a ranger, and Roberdyck, a priest, and of course, target one, Hekkeran, a fighter.  Around mithril class by adventurer standards.’

Which to Solution, made them essentially trash.  She put her hands on her hips and waited for him to turn around.  He spun halfway round on the stool and gave her a sideways look, then appraised her up and down, she kept the cocky smile on her face when his eyes widened at the unexpected beauty.

“Sorry, you mean me?”  He asked and pointed at his chest.

“Yeah, it’s about a little friend of yours, you know her I’m sure.  Short thing, short blonde hair, magic caster, cheap staff, two little girls for sisters, ring a bell?”  Solution asked in a sharp, unyielding, and decidedly unfriendly tone.

All three of them tensed up.  “Arche, yes… I knew her, what’s it to you?”  Hekkeran demanded, his own voice growing sharp in response.

“What would you say if I told you she racked up quite a debt?”  Solution asked.

“I’d point to the ruins of the house where you can probably find her bones if you sifted long enough, Arche and her sisters are dead.”  Hekkeran said with bitter revulsion.

Solution closed her eyes and folded hands in front of her so that all her fingertips were touching their opposite number, then asked tauntingly, “And if they’re not?” 

Hekkeran’s blood ran cold, his eyes went wide, “Then,” he said, “I’ll have to ask you to step outside so I can beat you to a pulp, bad enough she died… you have to mock her memory?”

“Oh, you want to beat me up?  How quaint.”  Solution tittered, her breasts heaved as the laughter intensified and her ruby lips parted, “Fine, I’ll tell you the rest from down on the filthy ground.”

She headed for the door, and all three began to rise, their own glares said they doubted her just as much.  “No, no, just me.”  Hekkeran hissed and waved a hand down, telling his team to seat themselves.  They did, but with reluctance.

He followed the curly haired blonde woman outside and looked her over more closely, dressed in a very expensive maid outfit, she moved with smooth and graceful steps that warned him that she’d had some kind of ‘motion’ based training.  ‘Dance?  Or perhaps she really can fight?’  He wondered as they went behind the building.  

She was right about one thing, the alley was anything but clean, caught in the shadow of the nearby building, the last rain left the ground dank and mold grew from discarded food, a slightly bad smell suggested animal waste had been dumped one way or another nearby, in his mind it was, ‘The perfect place to teach her a lesson.’  Hekkeran cracked his knuckles from his right hand into his left.  “Take it back or this will get painful.”

The blond put her hands on her hips and stood with her feet shoulder width apart, she appeared quite open and vulnerable.  She tilted her chin up and said, “Make me.”

Hekkeran came on, and the maid was gone.

‘So that is mithril rank.  What a waste.’  Solution thought, and from behind him, she brought her fist around to the back of his head.  

Hekkeran felt the pain of the blow and flew face first into the wall, his teeth, nose, and jaw were broken.

“You should have started with a martial art.” He heard the woman say from behind him, “I guess it’s not a bad show for you to have survived even that mild strike but still, sloppy.”  The footsteps were ominous, and he grunted when he felt his blonde hair grabbed and yanked at the root.  He had nothing left to resist with when she flung him away from the wall he was kissing.

His body was cracked and bruised when he sailed through a number of old rotted crates and hit the opposite wall with his back.  When the noisy crash of breaking wood ended, the maid had more to say.  “You should always go into every fight like it’s going to be lethal, doing otherwise is just asking to be killed.”  He looked up at her through bloody eyes and grunted in pain when he felt her hand beneath his jaw tilting his face up to make sure he saw her.

“Listen here, your little friend, her little twins, they are alive.  And I know where they are.  If you want to see them again, I have a job for you, are you listening?”  The beauty asked the ruined worker.

Hekkeran nodded, doing his best to focus, ‘How did she do that?!  How?!  What is she talking about?!’  Pain or not, he began to understand the purpose of the stranger’s coming.

“In a few days, you’ll get word about a job, a big job needing lots of teams, you’re going to be very, very enthusiastic about it, tell lots of stories about how much treasure there is, and lure the most covetous, thieving, worthless trash workers into accepting.  And you’re going to swear on the life of your comrade not to breathe a word of this.  Do you get it?”  Solution asked.

Hekkeran tried to nod, but with his head up, he couldn’t, so he blinked his bloody eyes.

“Good, now I don’t want to have to repeat myself, so I’ll go let your little friends know they can come out here to take care of you.  When it comes time for the job, do your best, and when you fail, before you die, ask for mercy.  I can promise you, we will spare at least ‘one’ if we’re properly entertained.”

The woman straightened up and sauntered away, just as Hekkeran felt his vision start to blur and he lost sight of her before she rounded the corner, and he passed out completely.