36 - Empire United.

AN: A bit of self-advertisement first. I have started a new series, an Overlord x Tensura crossover as a side project, so I would appreciate it if you all at least take a look at it. It can be accessed either through my profile or by searching 'Harbingers of Change'.

Jircniv's daily routine had become a lot more lax ever since Nazarick slowly took over his empire. Liches did most of the administration, with him only overseeing the entire process and adjusting some policies according to regional norms. The intelligent undead were far more efficient than humans and, on top of that, they could neither be threatened nor bribed.

The political infighting was all but gone, with any nobles that even attempted to go against the new system removed from power. Most had unfortunate accidents; others had been arrested for heinous crimes, real or fabricated. Not that there were that many nobles left in the first place, with Jircniv purging all opposition during his ascent to the throne years ago. The slavery problem was solved with hordes of untiring, undead workers and they sent progressively more elves from holding camps to settlements in plains around Nazarick's capital as full citizens of the new empire.

Today, however, was an exception, and the young emperor needed to be ready as soon as he woke up. The invitation to join other regional leaders was sent to him just a few days before. The reason for this meeting was rather obvious to him; that would be the day all the countries controlled by Nazarick would officially join the empire. At this point, it was just a formality, really. Pretty much everyone already knew they were under the boot of Nazarick.

With his head maid doing the final touches on his clothing and his bodyguard for today, Baziwood, already sitting on the sofa and waiting, it was time to request a gate to the administration wing of Nazarick's recently built imperial castle. Jircniv hadn't visited the castle before, but from the tales he had heard that Nazarick's imperial castle put every other royal dwelling to shame with its unrivaled magnificence.

The ever-useful servitor was always one command away and performed his duties without complaint, unless they would go against emperor Ainz's directives. There was yet to be an occurrence when that would happen.

At first, this mode of travel was frightening, but as people say, you can get used to everything if you do it enough times.

"I am ready to go," Jircniv said to Baziwood, who silently got up from the sofa. Both shared the sentiment of having mostly decorative positions, but Jircniv enjoyed his company. The massive man had little filter and often spoke his mind no matter who asked his opinion. Of course, he was smart enough to watch what he was saying in the presence of Nazarick's leaders.

Jircniv stepped through the gate, putting on his mask of composure, followed by the ever dutiful Baziwood, who had grown indifferent to all the craziness around his liege.

The administrative conference room was as impressive as Jircniv predicted for it to be. Light-colored, stone walls and wide windows overlooking the courtyard gave the room a casual atmosphere. In the middle of the room stood a large stone table, with two thrones at the farthest end of it and at least a dozen chairs on each side. The walls were decorated with statues of five, no, seven gods?

The young emperor needed to take a second look, but there were indeed seven distinct statues instead of five. One of a wolfmen female and another that almost looked half-made, if not for an extremely intricate recreation of vegetation on the rather crude frame.

Taking his attention away from statues, Jircniv saw two men already present. A short, fat man accompanied by a taller, thin and pale man that almost resembled a snake. The pair were recognizable by their descriptions alone. With a confident stride, he approached both and said,

"Zanac, Raeven, a pleasure to meet you both in person."

"Likewise Jircniv." Both responded. Just a few months ago, such a casual greeting between rulers would have been unthinkable, not only because of the political situation, but also because of the rigid protocol set up by diplomatic expectations.

Before Jircniv could ask follow-up questions about the situation in Re-Estize, another gate opened and a young, petite woman with horns came through.

Despite the different look, the ruler of the Draconic Kingdom was immediately recognizable. It was no secret she was one of Lord Peros' concubines and clearly enjoyed preferential treatment compared to other regional rulers.

"Good morning, gentlemen. I see most are not yet present," Draudillon spoke in a casual tone. On her face was a smile, which put her sharp teeth on full display.

With Zanac and Raeven returning the greeting, Jircniv followed suit and said,

"Good morning Draudillon, I can see why even a God could not resist your charms."

"Flatterer." she responded, her good-natured smile now replaced with a mischievous one.

The next one to appear was a large beastman. Jircniv remembered King Kato and what had happened to him last time. The beast looked different this time. Unlike previously, when he wore only pants, this time he was fully dressed in a suit that one would expect to see worn by a human noble, not a beast like Kato. He approached the group and greeted them in a polite and somewhat rigid manner.

"Good morning."

Clearly, the King of the beastmen country was drilled to act like a proper ruler. Jircniv, of course, noticed how the smile faded from Draudillon's face. It wasn't surprising considering the past events, but even a concubine of a God couldn't order the execution of Kato if the Emperor himself had deemed him fit to remain in the ruling position.

"Good morning." she answered, her hatred thinly veiled and visible for any moderately experienced monarch. Kato was either too dense to see her reaction or simply choosing to not to notice it, assuming a position by his seat, and silently waiting.

Soon after came a pair he didn't recognize. A tall man clad in platinum gray, scale armor and sporting long flowing hair of the same color, followed by a young, brown-haired woman.

Jircniv had convinced himself that he was used to everything by now, but finding out that he was in the presence of Tsaindorcus Vaision, the Platinum Dragon Lord, was shocking. On top of that, the mighty dragon had already delivered the Argland Council State into the hands of Nazarick. His young and attractive companion introduced herself as Rigrit Bers Caurau.

Where had he heard that name? Oh! One of Fluder's history lessons! Rigrit was one of the thirteen heroes and an old friend of Fluder. But was this young woman the same person? It didn't hurt to ask.

"Pardon me, miss Rigrit, but are you one of the thirteen heroes?"

"I was, but those times are long gone. I think your old mentor can answer why I still look young."

"Ah yes, the gift of eternal life. The same reward has been offered to me as well for my servitude, not that I need it yet."

"Speaking of getting young again, how is Fluder doing?"

"He is working under the Apostle of Knowledge from what I have heard," Jircniv said, trying to not show any kind of expression betraying his feelings about Fluder's betrayal. The old man was like a grandfather to him, but ever since both swore loyalty to Nazarick, Fluder devoted all his time to studies under the God of Knowledge not caring for him or running the academy anymore.

Rigrit just chuckled and said,

"Tabula is very proud of his little apprentice. I hope poor, old Fluder is not sulking too hard about the fact that he didn't get the spot."

The casual way Rigrit mentioned one of the Lords made Jircniv raise an eyebrow. Seeing the young emperor's reaction, Rigrit just smiled and said.

"I am a player as well, so don't worry about me getting flak for not addressing the Lords properly. They don't expect me to."

There were some mentions of at least some of the thirteen heroes being players, but which ones and how many were never clarified. Befriending her and the Platinum Dragon Lord would be a smart and beneficial move, so Jircniv flashed his best smile and said,

"I would like to extend an invitation to visit Arwintar and be my guests, Miss Rigrit and Lord Tsaindorcus."

"You can call me Tsar. I am not one for titles."

"Of course, Tsar." Jircniv said just as another gate opened and a tall, slim woman with light blue hair dressed in a long flowing dress of the same color. She was followed by a dwarf and some kind of furred beast. The woman walked towards Tsar, ignoring everyone else, and knelt before the Dragon Lord, saying,

"King Tsaindorcus, please let me express my regret at finding out about Mianatalon's betrayal far too late to warn you."

"If you are still the leader of the frost dragons, I assume that the Emperor has deemed it fit for you to remain in that position?"

"Yes. I told Emperor Ainz everything I knew under a mind control spell and he deemed my answers satisfactory."

"Then that is good enough for me, Munuinia. If the master deems you fit to still rule over the frost dragons, then so do I."

She slowly stood up and said,

"Thank you, King Tsaindorcus."

With the woman ignoring pretty much everyone but Tsar, Jircniv could guess that she was a dragon, as many of her kind considered mortal races beneath her notice.

The meeting was about to start, so there was no reason to dwell on the attitudes of a dragon, especially if all the regional rulers would be more or less the same in the eyes of the five lords.

The last to arrive was a lizardman with a tattooed symbol on his chest. He greeted the dwarf and promptly went to his assigned position. Jircniv couldn't hear the details, but they sounded like two old friends catching up on current events.

He couldn't listen in on their chatter for long as Eleleth's arrival through the portal stopped all ongoing conversations dead in their tracks. Everyone besides Tsar and Rigrit kneeled, the latter two just slightly bowing once Emperor Ainz himself stepped through the gate after the angel.

"Let's skip the formalities and start, shall we?" Ainz said and sat down, with the regional rulers taking their seats one by one.

"As you all probably already know, the war in Re-Estize is over. With that, I will make a public announcement of unification under Nazarick next week throughout the entire empire and make it official."

"Excuse my curiosity, emperor, but how do you plan to address the entire empire at the same time?" Rigrit asked.

Her lax attitude was rather noticeable, but if she really was a player, then it was no surprise that beings from this superior race would keep each other in higher regard than others.

"Ah yes, I think it is time to explain what the high priority lookout was about. Two of our friends arrived at this world at random locations and fell off the grid. With that Tabula developed a spell that allows me to project myself in the sky pretty much anywhere. Some of you could use it with a limited single projection capacity, but the one I plan to use is considered a tier eleven spell."

So the additional statues were new gods that arrived recently. No wonder they put the entire empire on high alert. While Jircniv contemplated the arrival of two additional Gods, Ainz continued to talk.

"I will give you two weeks to prepare for the aftermath of the announcement. Additionally, during this announcement, I and the rest of the Lords will present ourselves as the new Gods."

"What of the old religions? Most of Baharuth's population still worships at least some of the six great Gods." Jircniv asked.

"Limited freedom of religion will be permitted. I have no desire to enforce the new faith on my subjects, but old religions will be allowed only if they follow the laws of the empire. I will not tolerate priests preaching for the return of slavery or open discrimination against different species."

"Should we, as regional rulers, pronounce our faith in the new Gods openly, and proclaim which God we follow?" Raeven asked.

Jircniv turned to look at him. No doubt the clever man was not a fanatical believer, but was looking for the most beneficial position.

The question itself was something Jircniv hasn't considered until now. He was directly serving new, living Gods. As a ruler, he always saw religion as a useful tool used to control the population, but now he had sworn loyalty to a living God. No matter how much he wanted to rely on his rational mind, his heart told him to choose his patron God.

The choice itself wouldn't be too hard. Emperor Ainz was the head of the new pantheon and was considered not only the God of Life and Death, but the patron of rulers.

"That is not required, but since you all will have to work with apostles at some point and help them spread the new religion, I see no harm in pronouncing your faiths openly."

Just two weeks to prepare. There surely would be some backlash, but with Nazarick's agents around every corner, a violent and organized opposition seemed very unlikely. The meeting was about to end and he already knew his next step. He had to become a genuine believer as well.

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Even coming from a relatively wealthy family, Neia could not feel comfortable with the luxury her quarters provided. For one, it was more spacious than the family mansion in which she spent her entire childhood. After that, the simple narrow bed of a squire became the norm.

Now she awoke in a bed where ten girls like her could easily sleep without disturbing each other. The sun had already risen and no one had disturbed her. There was no loud drill master's voice to wake her up, no mother's stern voice either. Just a peaceful, quiet bedroom.

Outside the bedroom, her handmaiden, an elven woman that looked about thirty by human standards, awaited her. The slim, brown-haired woman looked down and greeted her mistress in a quiet voice,

"Good morning, Lady Neia. Your bath and breakfast are prepared."

"Good morning, Sibeal." Neia responded in a similar tone. Her old household had servants, so she at least knew how to act around the elven woman who clearly feared her. This was only the second day of her new living arrangements, so Neia hoped she didn't leave too frightening of a first impression yesterday when they first met.

The former slave was fearful of humans and, from what Neia understood, was owned before by a career soldier who used her as a maid and stress relief. When Sibeal found out her new mistress was from Roble, she could barely stand still without her hands shaking and those eyes! Those slanted beady eyes that glared at her with that hint of the Emperor's flame deep within them.

As usual, she couldn't connect with others because of her eyes, as if being a human from a fanatical country wasn't a bad enough first impression on its own.

Neia quickly bathed and then dressed by herself in a quick and practiced manner.

"M-mistress, did I do something wrong?"

"No, why did you ask?"

"It's my duty as a handmaiden to help with your morning routine. Please, if I did something wrong, please let me correct it, mistress."

Neia sighed loudly and then said in a quiet voice,

"You did nothing wrong. I just have gotten used to dressing up myself and doing it fast. Look, Sibeal, this is a new circumstance for me too, so please don't take it personally if I don't act like a noble who is used to pampering."

"Of course, my lady. Please forgive me for assuming your dissatisfaction."

"It is fine."

Even though the lavishly made breakfast invited her to enjoy it slowly, savoring every bite, Neia ate automatically, distracted by her thoughts once again. She had accepted her position of being the lead apostle and that meant she had to meet the other most devoted ones. Not counting Renner, who gave her goosebumps with her mere presence, Neia knew little about the other apostles.

To just waltz into the meeting room and assume the role of leader felt so bizarre. Her own power had grown exponentially to a level that likely even the paladin grandmaster would be no match for her, but the rest of the apostles were just as powerful, if not more.

Pushing her doubts aside with a quick prayer, she found the resolve to not falter and instead accept her responsibilities. With her trusty bow and enchanted quiver on her back, she left her quarters and walked towards the apostle wing of the castle.

If not for Lord Tabula's tracking sigils everywhere, the castle would be too immense to be navigated without getting lost. Her quarters were rather close to it, just like the living spaces of the other apostles.

The spacious apostle meeting hall was empty, save the two undead guards at the entrance, giving Neia a moment to look around. However, she sensed someone was watching her. She quickly activated her all-seeing eyes' ability and looked around as dark flames burned inside her pupils. An invisible figure stood in one corner, watching her.

"So the rumors were true. No one can hide from the gaze of the prime apostle." A young woman said as she revealed herself, proudly displaying her tall and slim figure, clad in rather revealing chainmail armor. Neia couldn't help but stare at the woman's large cat ears that peaked out of her blonde hair.

"Name's Clementine, Apostle of Murder, nice to meet ya." the woman said as she extended her hand.

"Neia Baraja, the Apostle of Life and Death." She returned the greeting and accepted the handshake.

Clementine tried to meet the new apostle's gaze, but the burning eyes reminded her too much of the Emperor, whose presence always was overwhelming. After a moment, she looked away and, to save face, slid into her chair with a graceful movement.

"By the way, what are you doing here so early?" Clementine asked.

"I could ask you the same."

"I had nothing better to do. Hoped to spook at least one of you, but with you here, that is not an option anymore."

Neia did not know how to respond and looked around once again. With Clementine also being creepy, she saw a pattern in apostles' personalities. People often considered her intimidating or scary as well, even though Neia did her best to be friendly and not frighten people out with her eyes.

"Do others arrive on time at these meetings?" Neia asked.

"This is the first official meeting, but I would not expect Nfirea on time. Renner and Zesshi probably will not be late."

"Speaking about me already." A new voice said.

"You're not gonna scare me, Renner. We do teleportation for morning training." Clementine said to Renner, who stood just behind her.

"I would expect as much from a trained killer." Renner said as she bowed towards Neia and added, "Good morning, Neia. I hope Clementine didn't give a bad first impression of our little club."

"Don't be a bitch, Renner. I was on my best behavior. Besides, you were right, our new leader can see through invisibility."

"So I won our little bet. You owe me a favor."

"Just tell me who needs to get shanked."

"No one for now. But to have Lord Peros' chosen to quickly call upon has its benefits."

Neia just sat silently, listening to them talking casually and feeling left out as usual. While she wondered if she should say something, a new apostle arrived by slamming the doors open. An elven girl with black and white hair walked in and sat down in a chair, saying nothing. Neia's attention fell on a strange colored cube in the elf's hands that she tinkered with.

"Still on your best manners, I see," Renner said with a sneer.

"You have a problem with me?" the elf asked, not even looking up.

"You could at least greet our newest companion and soon-to-be leader."

Zesshi looked up at Neia as if sizing her up and then said, "Morning," and returned her attention to the strange cube.

"Good Morning, I am Neia, the Apostle of Life and Death."

"Hey Neia, do the eyes. Zesshi will love it." Clementine said with a giggle.

"What eyes?" Zesshi asked, looking up again.

"Show her." Renner chipped in.

Not seeing the harm in doing so, Neia activated her skill once again. Clementine already looked away, but Renner returned her gaze with a smile. Zesshi, on the other hand, paled and looked down again as her hands lightly trembled.

"See, I told you she will be our leader," Renner said with a smirk.

"Fine, it makes no difference to me," Zesshi responded, trying to sound calm. After a moment of awkward silence, she spoke up again.

"Where the fuck is that, boy? I don't want to sit here all day."

"Maybe the wife's keeping him busy." Clementine said as Zesshi turned her attention to the cube again with her cheeks reddening.

"Clementine, stop poking the hornet's nest. Nfirea will be here any moment. He and Lord Tabula are working on some new project."

"Fine…" Clementine said through her teeth and sunk into her chair with a bored expression.

Nfirea arrived through the gate few minutes later and said,

"I apologize for my delay," then turned to Neia and added with a light bow, "My name is Nfirea Bareare, the Apostle of Knowledge. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Neia responded in kind, standing up. The polite boy was in stark contrast to the other three apostles and seemed to be a pleasant person to be around.

Neia noticed one rather obvious trait about the apostles. All of them, including her, were very young. All of them were clearly in their mid to late teens, with the exception of Clementine, who was likely in her early twenties.

The layout of tables was clearly intentional. Neia sat in the largest chair at the end of the table, with Renner on her right and Zesshi on her left. Nfirea and Clementine sat further away and there were few empty chairs as if prepared for additional members of the most devoted ones.

Renner, as if reading Neia's thoughts, spoke,

"As most of you have heard, a few days ago two new Gods arrived. I have no more details, but from what Lord Ulbert said, they will be revealed soon. Also, the birth of the Emperor's daughter brings another God to our world. Our task will be to spread the worship of all true Gods under the guidance of our new leader."

Before, talking to even a few people was not something Neia could do easily, but it was her duty now. Shyness was a weakness she yet needed to overcome. She spoke with a soft, quiet voice.

"From my personal experience, we need to show people that the Gods help those who strive to help themselves. To blindly await the help of the Gods when you yourself can solve the problem is heresy. We must show them that the Gods look over us, but all of us must help to build a better empire, a better world. We will build places of worship, we will gather followers and we will show the world that in light of our Gods, we can achieve anything." Neia's voice had gotten louder as she herself got more passionate about the words she spoke.

"Each of us holds their own God in the highest regard, but we share the same goal. To let others know the light of our Gods. To let them step into it through their own merit!"

"Nicely said." Renner said with a little clap. "We will be their example, but for now I propose we issue a call to join each cult and oversee that only the worthy ones can join. Lord Peros' cult for now is most widespread and numerous, growing by gathering new members from shadows and doesn't rely on open places of worship."

"We could use already existing institutions to advertise recruitment. The mage's guild would recruit in the name of Lord Tabula and the adventurer's guild could cover the rest of the gods." Nfirea suggested.

"That could work. Neia, I presume you will meet with the Emperor soon. Could you speak with him on this matter?" Renner asked.

"Yes, Emperor Ainz will talk with me tomorrow. I will suggest the proposal."

"Excellent. Then our course is set." Renner said.

Neia was looking forward to talking with her God once again, but it brought forth both fear and excitement. To a believer, there was no higher honor than to speak with a God directly, but at the same time, the sense of inadequacy crept in once again.

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Although lately most of the talks happened in Pero's club, Ainz was adamant to have a proper meeting at least once with his newly arrived friends before it all got derailed once again.

Peros, Ulbert, and uncharacteristically for him, Tabula, were already present, with Blue Planet arriving moments later.

"Guys, I think whoever designed this place went overboard with the scale. I got lost even with those sigils everywhere."

"You could have just requested the servitor to open the gate," Ulbert said.

"I am still getting used to things, OK?"

"How are your new friends doing?" Ainz asked to not let conversation derail into bickering.

"They are doing better. I don't think the scars of what they suffered will heal anytime soon, but at least they are safe and their needs are taken care of. But there are a lot more just like them…"

"We know," Ulbert interjected once again. "I will explain the situation with the Slane Theocracy and what options we have once Buku and Ankoro arrive."

"Are we doing the ritual today?" Tabula asked.

"What ritual?" Blue Planet asked curios.

"The ritual that…"

The conference room doors flung open with Buku dragging Ankoro by the hand and followed by a maid carrying a large platter.

"We are already late! You can eat afterward!" Buku ranted as she dragged the poor werewolf forward.

"But all of it was so tasty..." Ankoro whined.

Buku pushed Ankoro into one of the seats, sat down next to her, and let out a tired sigh as the maid put the huge platter filled with pastries in front of Ankoro, who waved shyly and said,

"Hey, guys."

"As I was saying, the ritual is meant to assign what you will be the God of. It is rather simple and will not be noticeable at first, but it engrains our claim in reality and makes you actual Gods over time."

"W-what? G-gods?"

"Deep breaths Ankoro. One after another. We five did it soon after our arrival and it will make sense once you hear the voice proclaim what you are a Goddess of, it will all just click."

"C-can I not?" Ankoro mumbled, looking down.

"It is your choice, Ankoro. If you don't want to claim a title, then I, for one, will not force you." Ainz said and then turned to Blue Planet, "What about you, Planet?"

"Is there a reason to do so? Aren't we already almost godlike here?"

"The more people believe you are a God, the more power you gain. It goes beyond the physical realm as well. You are given a shortcut to becoming a God. Many spend countless reincarnations on getting to this level. Besides, Planet, you wanted to help people and keep the world unharmed?" Tabula said.

"I guess. How does it work?"

"I will go into trance and request the universe to assign you a role. All you have to do is not resist the role you are offered."

"I can refuse if I don't like it?"

"It will feel like you were born for the role assigned to you, but yes, you can refuse it."

"Let's get this over with. There are more important things to worry about." Planet said.

Ankoro was just listening and eating cupcake after cupcake. Having the mouth of the wolf surely improved the eating speed. All this God stuff just felt weird and anxiety-inducing, but at least her friends didn't force her into it.

Tabula leaned back in his chair as his breathing slowed down and after a moment a voice spoke as Tabula raised his finger towards Blue Planet.

"Blue Planet, one who desires to protect and speak for the forests and grass, be the God of Nature."

The role this voice offered was rather obvious when you think about it. Nature was his passion, it always had been. The fear that he would be pushed to be the God of something dark like his friends were, faded.

Tabula moves his finger to point at Ankoro, and the voice continues.

"Ankoro,"

She looked up, like a deer caught in headlights. But before Ankoro could even refuse, and voice could continue, a small cheerful shout interrupted the whole ritual.

"Papa, look what I learned to do!"

Everyone's attention, besides Tabula's, went to the tiny figure floating about a meter above the floor with its wings moving gently. Splendora's wings were larger than before and surrounded with a dark mist, giving them a feathered look.

The voice ignoring all the commotion just went on both aloud and directly into Ankoro's mind,

"One who knows how it is to be looked down upon. One who wishes to help and defend those who need it the most, be the Goddess of Compassion and Protection."

The world just quieted down and seemingly stopped, awaiting her answer. That voice knew her better than she knew herself. The instinct to accept it overpowered her fears and uncertainties, but she still hesitated. Ankoro looked up at her best friend, one that always looked after her, and there was a reassuring smile on Buku's face. If her friend could accept a much darker role of the Goddess of War, then she too could accept hers.

With Ankoro accepting her role, both she and whoever controlled Tabula turned their attention to the commotion that was going on. Albedo and Rubedo had already shown up with Albedo scolding the princess for interrupting her father's meeting.

Tabula pointed at Rubedo as the voice spoke, "No path up but through servitude towards your master." and then turned its attention to Albedo, who had grabbed Splendora and was holding her unruly daughter in her arms.

"Albedo, one who knows love like no other, one who cherishes those closest to her, be the Goddess of Love and Family."

The succubus turned to stare at her father. The voice was unfamiliar. Her creator's aura felt different as well. The being that spoke through her father wanted her to become a Goddess. Her own sister, beside her, was ordered to just serve, but she was offered to become a true Goddess, a Goddess worthy to stand by her husband's side.

The voice, accepting her answer, then pointed at Splendora and said,

"Splendora…" there was an uncharacteristic silence for a moment, as the tone of the voice changed as if revering her, "Aspect of… Change…"

As the being that spoke through Tabula departed, the brain eater blinked twice and mumbled, "Aspect…"

"Tabula, what does that mean?" Ainz asked.

"I am not sure. To my limited knowledge, an Aspect would be something higher than a God, at least in most cases. Maybe her path was already set and she made a choice before her birth. Only time will tell what was meant by it."

Albedo, snapping out of her bliss at becoming a Goddess, quickly bowed and said,

"I apologize for the interruption," and then looked down at her daughter and spoke in a stern voice,

"And you young lady are not getting your dessert today and will sit in the corner to reflect on your actions!"

"But mama…"

"No buts, we already interrupted your father's meeting long enough!"

Ainz just sat silent, trying to make any sense of what had just happened. Of course, Albedo being named a Goddess was a positive turn of events, but the voice that named him and other Gods and gave the roles just called his daughter an Aspect of Change. Maybe that was the reason they couldn't block her powers. Neither he nor Tabula even understood what she truly was.

Tabula, meanwhile, turned to Ankoro and said.

"I didn't intend all this to happen. I hope the choice was not forced upon you."

"No. I… it just felt right to accept, you know."

"I understand. We all felt the same."

Buku booped her friend's nose knowing how much it irritated Ankoro and said,

"Now we need to find your first followers."

"F-f-followers!?"

"Yeah, you are a Goddess now. You need to have your own apostle, just like we already have."

Ankoro looked down at the empty plate hoping to find at least one hidden cupcake somewhere to distract herself but with her now ravenous appetite the whole platter was devoured even before the ritual started.

With no solace found, she quietly whined,

"Why did I accept…"

"It will be fine. We will help you. And you, as Goddess of Compassion, can be the good one and help people in need."

Ankoro sighed, looked up and put on a brave smile even though internally she wanted to scream.

"Can we move to the next topic then?" Ainz asked and, with everyone nodding, motioned for Ulbert to start.

"So on the topic of Slane Theocracy. The main issue of that country is the overall fanaticism of the populace. With a roughly twelve million human population and about seven million elven slaves, no matter what we do, will result in mass casualties and Tabula's soul holders can store about four million for now."

"Soul holders? Ulbert, what is all this?" Blue Planet asked.

"If I may explain." Tabula started, "You see, in this world sleeps a terrible and dark being known as the Great Old One. Every soul released from violent death goes towards his awakening, which we should avoid at all costs. As it turns out, four million is the upper limit of souls I can currently store safely and that number cannot go much higher. Twelve million or more souls gathered in a short period of time is far too great of a risk."

"This is madness!" Blue Planet exclaimed.

"Back to the topic," Ulbert said, ignoring his friend's outburst. "Just plain old killing everyone is not an option. At the same time, just conquest will not work either. A large part of the population is trained in guerilla warfare and will rather kill their own children than serve us."

"Then what you suggest, do we just sit back and watch how millions suffer? Don't you have any shred of humanity left in you?"

"Watch your damn tone, Planet. You want to be an idealist? Go on, rush into that hellhole, start rescuing slaves. What do you think is going to happen when they figure out they can't stop you?"

"I don't…"

"They will execute every single elven slave out of spite. They have protocols for that already developed. At the very best, we can extract about half a million before shit goes down."

"So we just sit and ignore it?! For God's sake, Ulbert! You, out of all people, should know how it is to be at the very bottom! Did sitting in all this luxury make you forget how it used to be?!"

"If you think I will not beat you half to death for running your fucking mouth…"

"ULBERT! PLANET! Stop this." Ainz shouted.

"Bickering will get us nowhere!"

Just like the old times. He had to step in and break fights. Only this time, the stakes were so much higher than when it was just a game. His emotional suppression put him back in a calm state, letting him take control of the situation more easily.

"Ulbert, you have to understand Planet's point of view as well. Show him our current plan and we can adjust it to save more elves when we can."

"Thank you Ainz and I'm sorry, Ulbert, for losing my temper. I guess the helplessness from the old world is still fresh in my memory."

"Ah, it's fine. At worst I would have wiped the floor with you in the arena and then went on to do something productive. But in short, for now, we are leaving the Slane Theocracy alone until they attack the Roble Holy Kingdom, and before you ask, they too are fanatical morons. It's rather ironic that two countries that by all means should ally against us will fight each other. Ok back to the plan. Once the war starts, we offer help to Roble and slowly conquer the Theocracy while extracting what we can. We will have to exterminate most of the populace either way, as making a countrywide reeducation camp is just not worth it. So what I propose to do for now is we make extensive opposition networks from the local populace and smuggle elves out in a more controlled manner."

Blue Planet looked around and besides Ankoro, who was tearing up and being held by Buku, everyone was okay with such a plan.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"We could cut off the source of slaves. The Elven Kingdom is selling off their own kin to their mortal enemies just to sponsor the war with the same enemies. How did you describe the Elven King, Buku?"

"Psychotic serial rapist."

"There you go. You can work on bringing the Elven Kingdom in our control and that will cut Slane Theocracy from gaining more slaves."

"If that stops more people from getting enslaved then tell me what to do."

"First, we gather information. I have very few agents in that region for now, but with a rather substantial former slave population, we are bound to find at least a few who have become slaves recently enough to give us inside information. Once a connection is made, you will arrive there with small forces to establish a foothold and prepare for our takeover. Ainz, I assume you will give a world level item to Planet as well?"

"Yes, of course. We cannot send him into unknown territory without proper preparations."

"Then it is settled. Buku and I will draw the invasion plan and inform you when you can start, ok?" Ulbert said.

"Yes, that sounds acceptable. Thank you for indulging me."

One by one, the Lords left the room. Only Ainz and Ulbert remained sitting. Once everyone had left, Ainz asked.

"Did you really need to be so confrontative with Blue Planet?"

"Are you taking his side?"

"No, I'm not taking any side."

"Ah, impartial as always. I guess you are right. I should have been more level-headed, but he pushed my buttons too. It was like arguing with Touch all over again."

"Just try to be patient with him. That's all I'm asking."

"I'll try," Ulbert said, and got up as well.

For a moment, Ainz just sat on his throne, enjoying the momentary silence. So much had happened in the last few days that even if it was but a moment of solace, he was not about to waste it.

Bonus Story - Failure.

Ankoro's new life surely was a lot more eventful than the old one. She was now surrounded by friends and servants, pampered and spoiled to no end. The food was so good that she couldn't help but consume unreasonable amounts of it.

Buku had already warned her that she will get fat eating so much. But her body felt molded out of steel and capable of burning more calories than she could consume eating non-stop.

For now, she refrained from eating as she was trying to draw. Unfortunately, there were no 3D sculpting applications in this new world and she had to go back to more physical old school artistic expression and try drawing with pencil on paper.

An adjustment period definitely was needed. Unlike with her human body, where she needed to account for small hand trembles when she drew tiny details, the current body could move with almost mathematical precision.

Happily working away, Ankoro slowly lost the sense of time until a reminder in the form of a growling stomach reminded her of dinner time.

With a quick message she ordered a few dishes she hadn't tried before, with a large side of various snacks. The dinner came surprisingly fast, with a slew of maids arriving in her quarters, led by someone she recognized.

"Pestonya!"

"Lady Ankoro Mocchi Mochi. I am honored to be your maid for today." The dog headed maid responded with a shaky voice.

This was her creation, her child, or more of a younger sister. Ankoro grabbed the maid and hugged her, overjoyed.

"Pestonya, it is so good to see you. How have you been?"

"Lady Ankoro…" Pestonya whimpered, melting into her creator's embrace.

Once Ankoro let go, the maid she asked again,

"How were my friends treating you?"

"I was treated better than I deserve, my lady. The Supreme Beings were kind to me despite the mistakes I made."

"That is nice to hear." Ankoro said and noticed Pestonya's long maid's dress moving slightly. It seemed that she was wagging her tail.

Pestonya, fully aware of her actions, looked down and said,

"My apologies, Lady Ankoro, for my unsightly behavior, but your presence has made me so happy."

Ankoro started to tear up, but her stomach had decided to interrupt the heartfelt moment with a loud growl.

"Sorry for delaying your dinner, my lady." Pestonya said and motioned to the rest of the maids to set the table.

Ankoro ate, humming happily with her creation standing beside her.

The reunion with her creation, Pestonya, was a joyous one. Before Pestonya left, Ankoro promised her the she'd ask Ainz to assign her as her personal maid. However, there was another reunion Ankoro was less prepared for.

With dinner not being enough, Ankoro walked towards her friend's quarters, eating cupcakes and leaving a trail of crumbs behind her.

"Who is messing up my perfectly cleaned halls?" An angry voice shouted in the distance.

Ankoro froze and slowly turned around to see an angry penguin waddle in her direction. The moment the penguin saw who he had just yelled at, he bowed as deep as his small fat frame let him.

"Lady Ankoro Mocchi Mochi, I deeply apologize for interrupting your meal."

"Eclair. Hi. Um, it's ok, I should have been more careful."

"Regretfully, I must report another failure of mine. Despite my best efforts, I still have not conquered Nazarick as you ordered me to."

Ankoro bit her lip till it bled to keep a neutral expression.

"It's… hmh… ok… do your best… hgl… I believe in you." Her lips trembled and her eyes watered.

"I will redouble my efforts. Soon I will rule over Nazarick. You have my word, Lady Ankoro Mocchi Mochi."

With Eclair waddling away, she sprinted to Buku's quarters and, once she was inside, let out a howling laugh.

"What's with you?" Buku asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I… I… met Eclair…" Ankoro tried to explain while laughing.

"Oh him! Right, you were his creator. You have no idea how many stupid things he had attempted. He had challenged me seven times already. Four were a game of checkers that he doesn't even know how to play and I couldn't even manage to teach him to play as he was challenging me for my position and then there was a dance-off. You can imagine how that went."

Ankoro's laughter just grew more hysterical as she hauled,

"Stop, I'm gonna die… he tried to dance… I can't… my insides…"

Once the laughter died down a bit, Buku added more seriously,

"At least he is not challenging Ulbert anymore. Last time didn't go well."

"What did Ulbert do to Eclair?" Ankoro asked, fearing that the demon had abused her creation in some way.

"Ulbert gave him to Shizu, who is obsessed with fluffy things, and told her she could keep him. We had to pry away a hysterically crying penguin from a very upset maid."

"That's horrible."

"Yeah, don't mess with Ulbert. His sense of humor is just as twisted as Demiurge's."

"Poor Eclair. Maybe I can talk him out of it."

"There is no need. The rest of us just humor his attempts and they are hilarious for the most part. Besides, he is a good sport about it, always trying again."

"Then I hope he will challenge me to something fun as well."

Edited by Edgy and Aterro