As Ainz sat comfortably where he was, he took the necessary ingredients from his inventory and handed them to her. "This is how you make a 'Katsu Sandwich' with fried pork cutlet, toasted bred, and some cabbage. In one of the worlds I visited, this sandwich was often eaten for luck, and its name sounds similar to the phrase 'to win' in their tongue."

She started salivating as he explained how 'frying' worked, and drew more materials from his inventory, demonstrating how frying worked, and allowing her to try a piece before making the sandwich itself.

She looked at it curiously, like she'd found something odd, and popped it into her mouth like a peanut. Her face lit up with happiness, and then after she swallowed, she looked incredibly sad.

"You don't like it?" He asked curiously. "Bad after taste maybe?"

She immediately fell to her knees. "Nae, is nae tha! Is nae that atall!" She said, shaking her head so hard Ainz feared it might fall off of her neck.

"Is...well...ain't got no way to fry stuff. So...when yer done wit all this'n yah go home, ah don't get no fried food no more. Ah caint make this in the shop, an ahm gonna miss it." She looked longingly at the sandwich as he put it together, and took it from on her knees as if she was receiving a great treasure.

Ainz laughed uproariously at the absurdity, and he watched as she...for once, took tiny bites as if afraid to finish it. She took a bite, nibbled, swallowed, and did it again, it took a full thirty minutes for her to finish it, and when she finally did he said, "You like it?"

She looked like she was going to cry. "Uh huh, sooooo goooood." She said.

"Well why don't I just give you the frier and the means to prepare this in the future after we're all done?" He asked.

Her eyes lit up like stars and she clasped her hands together as if in prayer. "Ah'l take it!" She grinned, promising to risk her life for the ability to fry foods.

"Now that we've finished that, lets get to your studies shall we? I want you to spend an hour on our letters, then I want you to read to me from this book." He drew one out and handed it to her. "Tom Sawyer." She read the title aloud. "Whas'it about?" She asked curiously.

"Its about a clever young boy and his many misadventures as he grows up, I think you'll approve, he's...quite mischievious." Ainz replied.

"Ah like mischief." She said with a gleam in her eye.

"I know." Ainz said dryly.

"But sire...ah caint go handlin yer stuff when I look like this..." she said, standing up, "I ain't been clean in ah don't know how long...ain't ther somewhere round here ah can take a bath?" She asked.

"Write first, read second, bathe later." Ainz said.

"As m'master say." She said, and she wrote until he said to stop...and she cracked open the book and began to read, she fumbled word after word, but each time she fumbled, she went back and tried again and again till she got it. Whenever she got one right, he praised her and she blushed, after she read first one chapter, then another, he called a halt.

"Now, bring me your writing of your letters." He said, and she scurried over, got them, and brought them back to the Sorcerer King. She stood by nervously as he went through them, "You are showing improvement, I'm glad to see you're taking this seriously and doing so well, you're a smart one I think." He said.

Then she started crying and went down to her knees.

'What did I say...what did I say?!' Ainz wondered to himself, and he knelt in front of her and tilted her face up to meet his. "Whats wrong?" He asked.

"Well...like...yer majesty yer nice ta me an all that but its...well nobody never called me smart b'fore, they done tole me I'm pretty plenny, but ain't nobody never cared ta here a peasant girl thinkins on nuthin, only thin they wanna know from me is'n if my daddy still alive, 'r if they gots ta take me some place else if'n he ain't."

"I'm...learning...things." She forced herself to get the sentence out flawlessly, "And I'm grateful." She added.

Ainz sighed, the status of a human was not high in this world, the status of human women was less high than that except for the elite adventurer teams and the like. The status of a peasant woman...even lower.

"Listen to me Vanysa...do you trust me?" He asked.

"Wit everythin!" She said confidently.

"You are not defined by your birth, you are defined by what you do with the circumstances you were born into. Being a peasant doesn't make you less, being pretty doesn't make you less, being a woman doesn't make you less. You can always have things, no matter how poor you are, that can never be taken from you, only surrendered by you" He said.

"Like treasure?" She asked with wide eyes.

"No...well yes, but not that kind." He answered, "You can never have your self respect or honor taken, you can never have your integrity stolen, and your dignity is yours no matter what anyone does to you, you can throw them away, you can forget about them, but nobody else can touch them as long as you are not willing to let that happen." Ainz said. "There are people who will want to do that to you, they'll tell you your worthless without them...or that your value comes from your body alone, and how it can please them, but never believe it, they're trying to get you to give all those things I talked about, away forever. They want you to define yourself by your connection to them, some will use threats, some will use lies, some will tell it to children to make them into pliant adults, but it isn't so. You can take my word on that. Now, I believe...you wanted a bath, right?" He asked.

She sniffled and started wiping her nose on her sleeves, and the intelligent look in her eyes returned.

"I will never forget that, sire." She said with iron confidence, drawing a silent nod of acknowledgement from the Sorcerer King.

"Now as far as the bath goes..." Ainz thought it over, tapping his finger on his cheek..."I'm sure there must be a body of water around here somewhere...but I wouldn't want to risk you bathing in there with who knows what lying beneath the surface or where I cannot watch over you." He said.

She giggled, "Yer a king, an yer my god, yah can watch me whenever yah want to, ah don mind..." Her eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened they were...different again, "I know you will never hurt me. I trust you with my everything. Whatever you want, is yours." She said, her words were slow coming out, she was forming them flawlessly without the dialect that resulted from a lack of a formal education, she was clearly putting effort into it, but it wasn't just what she said or how she said it, it was the cold and clear intelligence. When she was whimsical, bouncy, playful, she didn't speak like this, she didn't have the coldness in her eyes, but she still displayed the ability to act in clearly patterned ways that appeared rational and thought out.

Whatever was wrong with her...he wondered if it might have been there 'before' the beastmen.

Then what she'd just said hit him, and his emotional dampener had to kick into overdrive, and just as it did, she started giggling and the glimmer of mischief was back in her eyes.

"So...a bath master...there some place? Ah gots ta stink somethin awful by now, an ah don't know ifn' you can smell me..." she lifted her arms and mimed the act of smelling something something terrible, "but ah tells yah this is bad."

"Oh...right...ah...why don't I show you to my home, there are baths there, and we can return here." He said.

She grinned, "Ah'd like tha a lot! I'd...like...that...a lot." She said, saying it twice to make sure she got it right.

"Alright, then lets go." He said, and opened up a gate and passed through it. Vanysa stepped in behind him without any hesitation, a complete faith that he took notice of.

"This way." He said, and she followed him over the rise, he couldn't see her, but he could feel and hear the way she moved, she was goose stepping, probably arms behind her back, turning her head around and taking everything in, her blonde hair bouncing behind her, every inch of her a beautiful comedy of sweetness and mischief...at least until the sadist came out. He'd heard what she said to the bearman who was even now dying of pain by the side of the road. You can't say something like that so off the cuff, so close to a victim to be...not without meaning it.

"There, use that changing room, put on something in there, and then go through the door at the other end, that is the women's bath."

He heard her feet move rapidly as she scurried up behind him and she tugged on his cloak. "I dont wanna leave m'master." She said, she gave him puppy dog eyes, but he held firm. "I am going to be in the mens bath over there." He said and pointed to another doorway. "You will be safe here, you don't need my protection in this place."

She gave him a look, "Master... s'not about protection." She looked away for a moment and pursed her lips, then glanced back resolute and said, "Ah won't be happy, thas all."

He sighed. "Never the less, the womens' bath for you."

She pouted, but let go of the fabric of his clothing and nodded dejectedly. "If'n yah say so sire." She moped overdramatically towards the door, glancing behind her, reminding him vaguely of old black and white cartoons when characters were shown to be excessively sad over terribly minor things. But he did not waver, and waited until she had gone all the way in before he entered the mens' baths himself.

...men's bath...

Ainz was enjoying a wonderful soak, this was the most enjoyable adventure...vacation...adventurcation...that he'd ever had. Vanysa was just impossible to either get rid of or get quite enough of, he hadn't laughed that much or that hard since coming to the new world. She treated him so differently than the others, despite having an apparently similar devotion to him.

She reminded me of some of his friends from before, it alleviated some of the stress and some of the loneliness that marked his existense...though he did still feel that guilt over dodging paperwork.

He was thinking about how he might make it up to Albedo & Demiurge for that when the screaming started.

...women's bath...

Vanysa was in paradise, the water was so hot and steamy, there was a bar of something for scrubbing, and it just peeled the dirt right off, she sank into the water and wiggled her toes, everything was clean, everything was perfect, she closed her eyes and lay back in bliss.

She opened them again when she heard someone screaming at her.

A little girl about twelve was shrieking at her, "Who the hell arrrree youuuuuuu?!" Followed closely by a woman who at first Vanysa thought might be her mother, but then realized...nope...definitely not...wings...horns...not human, who screamed the same thing but added, "How the hell did you get in here?!"

Another young girl stepped into the bath seemingly indifferent to her presence, this one...obviously an elf.

Vanysa stood up with a splash and waved, "Hiya! I'm Vanysa, an am here cause god tole me to come here an take a bath, see, ah kinda stunk cause ah ain't had one in awhile, so...ah asked mah god if'n ah could bathe somewhere, an he said here, he opened up some hole, an then a done stepped through an found m'self here, he say to use the womens' bath..." he could see her pouty face and her arms cross over her chest as she spoke that last part, "but don't wanna, ah wanna be where m'master is." She plopped back down into the water.

There was silence for a moment, as if they could scarcely comprehend the absurdity of what they were seeing and hearing. Aura started laughing.

"I like her, she talks funny." Aura said, pointing at her.

"Well ah like you, yer cute lookin!" She said and waved at Aura.

"Who is this god you speak of?" Albedo asked, her voice carrying the icy chill of death's own grip.

"Oh, he's kinda a bone daddy type, calls imself the Sorc'rer King, he's over in tha mens' bath if'n yah wanna talk to 'im. D'ya know im?" Vanysa asked, seemingly oblivious to death staring at her in the form of Albedo and Shalltear.

She pointed towards the mens baths, and the two naked guardians rushed for the door as fast as they could.

Vanysa looked over at Aura..."They like tha alot?" She asked curiously.

Aura shrugged. "No, just when it comes to other women around Lord Ainz."

"Oh. They love'im?" Vanysa asked as she undid her hair and let it fall into the water.

"Well sure, what's not to love, isn't he handsome, and strong, and smart...he's everything." Aura grinned.

"Ah caint argue w'that, but ah mean...wait...yer a kid right, yah don't be knowin lots about this stuff?" Vanysa asked.

Aura pouted a bit, looking almost like a dark elf version of Vanysa in her expression. "I'm over eighty years old you know."

Vanysa cocked her head to one side, "That a lot fer elves?"

Aura sighed and let her arms fall back into the water. "No, guess not."

"Well then ah ain't sayin nuthin." Vanysa said.

On the other side of the baths however...silence was the very last thing there was.

Though they had rushed over, naked and dripping and utterly infuriated, the moment they were before their lord they were immediately kneeling. Ainz turned around so that he was not watching.

"What are you doing trying to invade the men's bath?!" He snapped.

"Ahhh...m'lord...who is that girl?" Albedo asked, "Is she a guest, or is she an invading insect to be disposed of?" The way she finished the sentence clearly expressed her preference.

"She is pretty though..." Shalltear said, licking her lips.

"Yes she is a guest, she is a servant I picked up in the Draconic Kingdom, she's tending to me while I tame the beastmen." Ainz replied. "Now go back to the women's bath again and behave yourselves."

They glumly obeyed, and Ainz brushed off their attempts to join him in the mens bath. The two eased themselves back into the water and stared at Vanysa.

"So...how'd yah know the Sorc'er King?" She asked.

"We are his servants, guardians of his home and we carry out his will." Albedo said formally.

"Neat! Me too! He's tha god ah wasa talkin about, ain't he jus the best!" She grinned with such shining enthusiasm and clasped her hands together, staring up at the ceiling she thought was a sky.

"OK...so she is at least that sensible." Shalltear said, holding up one hand, tilting it palm up beside her. "Lord Ainz is a god, and maybe she's just an ant, but she has to have some smarts."

Aura got a bright smiling look on her face, "I'll be right back, I have to go get someone." She jumped up and out of the bath, and Vanysa waved farewell to her.

"Bye lil elf girl, stay cute!" She grinned, while the others took no notice.

Albedo snorted, "Even an ant would recognize an obvious god like him as what he is."

"Yah," Vanysa said, "Tha only thing is...he jus won do nothin with me...ah done offered him mah body lotsa times, an even though he keeps lookin ever time ah make sure'ee can see...he don't take advantage." Vanysa pouted again.

Time stopped for a moment when Albedo and Shalltear heard what Vanysa just said. Their killing intent began to grow, and as if finally detecting the hostility, the bubbly bouncy starlike gleam in her eyes faded and they turned cold an intelligent, like it was another person.

"He is a god, gods can do what they wants, its the responsibility of the servants of a god to offer everything and hold back nothing, if he wished me, he could have me, for pleasure, for pain, for service, isn't that what I'm supposed to think? Surely you're not going to suggest that the Sorcerer King deserves anything less than total surrender, absolute obedience, and perfect service?" She waved one hand around in a circle as she rattled off her statement, and it had an immediate effect on the two guardians.

"OK she's got a point." Albedo said.

"I can't argue with that." Shalltear replied.

"Still, you shouldn't offer yourself to your betters like that." Albedo said snarkily.

"If I offered myself to a lesser, wouldn't I be offending the greater by implying the lesser is worth more of myself than the greater is?" Vanysa asked reasonably.

Albedo thought that over. "Maybe, but I don't have to like it."

There was splashing in the mens bath, and they could hear the sound of another male guardian, Demiurge.

Shalltear thought it over..."Well come to that, how long have you been in here, shouldn't you go check to see if there is anything he requires?"

Vanysa thought for a moment, the bubbly look came back into her eyes and she popped up rapidly to her feet, "Yah right, thankee lil girl, I think yer very cute too! Bye pretty guardian lady!" She waved as she rushed over for a robe and threw it on, darting out the door, leaving Albedo laughing out loud at a fuming Shalltear who...it seems did not like being referred to as a little girl.

Vanysa darted over to the mens bath in her robe and immediately flung herself into a prostrate position behind the Sorcerer King.

"Sire its done been a bit an ah ain't checked to see whatcha need, can ah serve yah somehow?" She asked.

"Who is this?" Demiurge said curiously. "Aura mentioned that you'd picked up someone new I should see."

"Raise your head and rise Vanysa." Ainz said with his back to her.

Vanysa stood up and saw Demiurge there, "Hiya, I'm Vanysa, I'm a servant of this here god, who're you?" She asked.

"I am Demiurge, guardian of Nazarick." He said.

"Whas Naz'rick?" She asked in an innocent voice.

"This. This is Nazarick." Demiurge said patiently.

"Well Naz'rick sure be pretty. Ah ain't never seen nothin like it. Yah do a good job ah think, swhat a god should get, good service!" She gave a tight but firm nod of absolute certainty.

Demiurge looked over his shoulder at Ainz. "Sire...is she...bound for any purpose I would like to give her a tour...if that is alright?"

"Only a brief one." Ainz said, "We resume our journey soon."

"Just a highlight or two then, as you say sire." Demiurge said.

"You may remain in your robe, only carry your clothes, we'll give them to a maid to clean for you." Demiurge said to Vanysa.

She grinned and snatched them up and followed as he started to walk.

"How do you know the Sorcerer King?" Demiurge asked.

"He done saved me, an he killed a whole lot..." A sadistic gleam came into her eyes and she locked her gaze with Demiurge, "He killed them...so beautifully...their screams...music...such beautiful music...I wanted to weep for joy...and make music of my own."

Demiurge laughed, "Would you like to see one of our...music rooms, then Vanysa?"

"Ahd love that, thankee!" She said, and she began to skip beside him.

'What an...interesting girl...' Demiurge thought to himself as he lead her to see the workroom of Neuronist Painkill.