Chapter 5 - Roles and Duties

Momonga opened his eyes and for a moment tried to remember why he didn't hear the alarm clock.

'Right, I'm still in Nazarick.' The memories came back.

He sat up with a yawn and stretched. 'When did I last sleep for so long? It must be years. Maybe ten more minutes? No, I have to start the day.'

Still in his demon form, Momonga lazily got out of bed, approached the dresser, and picked one of the neatly folded casual pants. Glancing at his demonic form in the mirror, he put on the pants. 'I guess I'll keep my form like this unless… I doubt she is waiting for me in the next room.'

Assuring himself that Albedo was not in the next room waiting to jump him, Momonga walked out of the bedroom.

The maid standing by the entrance to his quarters stiffened up and bowed. "Good morning, Lord Momonga."

"Good morning, Solution." He responded casually. 'I should have put a shirt on. Why do they have to be here all the time?'

'Why is she looking like she wants to eat me? That can't be good. She is a slime that can dissolve pretty much anything.' He swiftly turned around and went back to the bedroom to put on a robe.

Knowing Solution, she might as well just be hungry, and ending up on her plate wasn't on the Overlord's to-do list even if she should be absolutely loyal.

'I should get something to eat as well.' Thinking about eating made his stomach growl loudly right in front of the maid.

"Should I get you breakfast, my Lord?" Solution asked, reacting to her master's apparent hunger.

"There is no need. I will go to the restaurant." Momonga said, walking out of his quarters with Solution and the eight-edge assassins following him. The invisible spider-like creatures were appointed by Albedo to guard the Supreme Beings against all threats within the tomb.

The ninth floor looked a lot busier compared to the previous day. Maids were cleaning the wide halls, and a lot more guards were posted everywhere. 'Looks like Albedo is hard at work.'

The first thing greeting him when he entered the restaurant was Pero's loud voice. "You are eating like a starving pig!"

"Oh fuck off, like your table manners aren't that of a drunken orangutan." Buku spat back while stuffing her face with a delicious-looking dessert with a small patch of whipped cream on the tip of her nose.

'They are at it again. How I missed it.' Momonga mused as he approached their table. 'I hope they wouldn't mind me joining them.'

"Good morning, mind if I join you?" Momonga asked.

"Hey Momo, not at all. I could use some pleasant company for once." Buku said with a cheerful giggle.

"Just get an umbrella if you don't want to get hit with drool and food by our resident piggy over there." Pero joined in.

Buku just snarled at him and returned to gorging on her dessert. Momonga ordered a random dish not particularly knowing what it was. "So what are your plans after the meeting?" he asked the siblings.

The main plan of the day was to have an official meeting and decide on some sort of general plan on how to proceed. Of course, no one wanted to just wake up at five in the morning and start working, so it was agreed to meet at eleven.

"I'm going to visit Aura and Mare. I hope they are not too mad at me." Buku replied with a hint of worry in her voice.

"Same, I need to go see Shalltear before she finds me first. If I don't come back, look for a corpse stashed somewhere on the first floor." Pero added with a nervous laugh.

"It won't be that bad. They seemed very eager to meet you both again." Momonga reassured them.

"I hope so. What are you planning to do, oh glorious leader~?" Buku teased.

"I've not fully decided yet. There are a lot of things I need to investigate. I will probably decide after the meeting."

"Same old, huh? You know you should really kick back for a while. Maybe have some fun with your assigned wife." Buku said.

"Yeah, you can't keep a succubus on a dry spell. That would be such a dick move." Pero chipped in.

"Ahm… I…" Momonga stammered. 'God dammit, emotional suppression does not work in demon form.' He came to a realization, as his cheeks changed color and both of his friends laughed at his expense.

With not that much time left after breakfast, they went to the conference room, and soon after, Ulbert and Tabula also arrived. Once everyone had sat down, Momonga reverted to his undead overlord form. The calm mental state of an undead mind was more convenient for thinking and planning, without the distraction of potent emotions.

Since he still was the guild leader he needed to open the meeting. "Let's start. The first thing we need to discuss is our roles and duties within Nazarick."

Ulbert spoke up. "I think I speak for everybody that we keep Momonga as our leader and extend it to the level that we obey his direct orders. We need a clearly established hierarchy since the stakes are much higher now and there is no one better to lead us."

"Wait, we can keep the old system with voting." Momonga protested.

"Ok. Let's vote, then." Ulbert smirked, "Who is for Momonga being the leader with clear authority over others?" Instantly four hands shoot up.

"Wait! Wait! I am no leader." Momonga tried to protest again, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"None of us were some bigshot before." Buku interrupted him. "Who kept the guild together and could manage us all even during the biggest disputes? Who took care of this place when no one else was around? Admit it Momo, you are the most level-headed out of us."

Seeing that he had outplayed once again, he just asked with a heavy sigh. "I have no choice, do I?"

"Nope. You'll have to lead us." Ulbert said. "And Let's be honest for a moment, you are the best candidate to keep us in check."

"That's for sure." Pero joined in with a laugh. "If no one is looking over my shoulder I will have a few hundred girls in my harem in no time."

"I still think the old system was better, but I see that I'm outvoted on the matter." Momonga grumbled.

"Momonga, my friend, when we first arrived in this new world, all of us froze in confusion, but you took charge almost effortlessly. Even if you don't see it yourself, you already were a great leader before, but now, as an Overlord, your ability to lead will be even greater. Besides, we all left. You have heard it yourself in what regard Nazarick's denizens hold you. They remember how we left, and you stayed. They remember you alone taking care of them. In its truest sense, Nazarick is yours. You are Ainz Ooal Gown, the one true ruler of Nazarick." Tabula stated with rising passion, which was rather uncharacteristic of him.

"Damn, the man sure knows how to make speeches. But I agree. If NPCs do remember what has happened in the game they would not accept anyone besides Momo as a leader." Pero agreed with Tabula.

"So Momo will have the title of the Supreme Overlord of Nazarick. Who is for?" Ulbert raised his hand with a smirk.

'You chuuni bastard, why!?' Momonga watched his friends one by one raise their hands.

"Fine, I see there is no winning with you all. I will accept this duty. But Supreme Overlord? Really?" Momonga groaned.

"Come on, you are a freaking Overlord, it's your race description. Embrace it." Ulbert cackled like a maniac.

Momonga rubbed the insides of his empty eye sockets with a sigh. "Let's get to the next topic."

There was no helping it. He just had to give up and accept the fate that he would have to be a leader in the truest sense of the word and not just an administrator. It was almost the same in the past. Momonga didn't want to be a leader, but when Nine's Own Goal, their original group, led by Touch Me, was remade in full as the guild, far too many people simply refused to join if Momonga wasn't the guild master and, just like now, he buckled that time too.

Buku then added, "Actually, it's a great idea, right? How about we call Momonga Ainz Ooal Gown from now on? Then even his name sounds impressive. If we are ruling the world, the leader's name should inspire awe. On the off chance someone knows Japanese, we can't have our leader named after a flying squirrel."

"If I'm about to change my name to Ainz Ooal Gown then you four should take part in it too. How about we all share the last name of Ooal Gown?" Momonga made a counteroffer in a small hope that idea would be dropped. As if being called the Supreme Overlord wasn't enough, now they wanted to name him after the guild as well.

Of course, he had no such luck. The moment Buku heard the offer her face lit up and she said with a beaming smile. "I'm for. From now on I'll call myself Buku Ooal Gown."

"Then I'm going with, Pero Ooal Gown." Her brother joined in, equally enthusiastic.

"Ulbert Ooal Gown." He announced, beaming with pride at his friend's suggestion.

"Tabula Ooal Gown." Announced Tabula at last, adding. "We have declared ourselves a family."

The enthusiasm of his friend was infectious. Ainz broke into happy laughter, but it was suppressed right away so he made a tactical cough with his nonexistent throat and started.

Seeing no option but to embrace the role pushed upon him, Ainz decided to push his friends the same way. "Now we should decide what roles you all take and declare a clear hierarchy so there is no infighting over petty things in my absence."

"I think I would like to oversee Nazarick's intelligence operations with Demiurge as my assistant. Somehow it feels like an occupation I would want to take. I would be the Grand Inquisitor of Nazarick." Ulbert declared with his trademark mad cackling.

With no one opposing, it was settled. Tabula was next, professing his desire to seek knowledge and aid everyone in getting new skills and abilities, taking the title of Grand Scholar of Nazarick.

'What should I do? Those two instantly knew what to do. Hmm, I was always the main tank of the guild so maybe I could take charge of the Tomb's Defense.' Seeing the eyes on her, Buku said with a rather unsure tone, "I could be in charge of Nazarick's defense, I'm used to that role."

"How about you take charge of all military operations then? Be Nazarick's military leader so to speak." Ainz suggested to her.

"I guess I could, but I have no knowledge of tactics, I didn't even play strategy games that much," Buku replied.

"There should be many books in the library about this topic. I remember placing Sun Tzu's Art of War in the guild's library myself and I think there were many other books on the topic as well, so learning a bit and taking the role of Grand Marshal shouldn't be impossible for you. There are a few of Nazarick's denizens excelling in military operations that you could take as your assistants." Tabula suggested.

'I guess their suggestion makes sense. I might as well be in charge of military forces. I hope someone can guide me through the first steps. Losing an army or two in swamps somewhere because I forgot basics would not look good on my resume.' "Ok, then I will take on the role of Grand Marshal of Nazarick." She said with determination.

The last one without a role was Pero. Without any idea what he could do, he started with a joke. "Then I'll take charge of the R&R department!"

"Be serious for once, birdbrain! You really plan to slack around when the rest of us take on serious duties?"

"Then what should I do? I'm an archer by trade now, though maybe I'll branch into close combat to compensate for my general weaknesses indoors." Pero asked, ignoring his sister's insult.

"Then train stealth as well and go full-on special-ops and assassination. You could make strike teams for Nazarick." Ulbert suggested to Pero, adding, "We will surely need it if we are to rule over this world."

"Oh, that actually sounds awesome! I will be the Grand Master of Assassins. I'm not sure how I still feel about killing, but somehow it clicked right away and feels right." Pero nodded.

With each role decided, they then determined a hierarchy among themselves. Not that anyone besides Ainz could give orders to others whenever they felt like it, but more about who would give them in his absence. Ainz, of course, was on top and then with some discussion, they assigned Ulbert to be second in command with Buku as third. Both Pero and Tabula didn't really care about their positions, but they finally decided that Pero would be fourth as he was less opposed than Tabula to take charge.

With the first topic out of the way, Tabula used the opportunity and stood up, giving Ainz a scroll, saying, "This is the ritual required to make Endless Strive bound to you. You can do it right away and then give us all a boost of potential so we can start working on acquiring new skills."

The ritual itself didn't seem too hard; it took some mana, but it was negligible compared to Ainz's immense mana pool. Seeing no reason not to use it, he opened the scroll and bound Endless Strive to his soul. With no noticeable changes or sensations, he took the next step and used it to increase his own level cap.

Besides feeling that it worked, Ainz couldn't exactly tell what had changed and resolved to do some tests later, for now, it was his friends' turn to get higher limits as well.

After doing so, Endless Strive was left with a few more charges with one charge being generated every three days. 'Looks like I will have to make a priority list on who gets the next charges, it will take a while to give everyone their boost. "Tabula, is there anything else I should know?" he asked before moving on to other topics.

"Since we have settled on names and roles, I have another thing to suggest. I would like to inform you that many of the old game mechanics don't exist anymore, such as limitations of any weapon used, and the number of spells one can use. With that, I would like to suggest we each take an additional title, so to speak. As we are leaders of Nazarick and in the occult, which you know I study, there is a deep connection between titles and beliefs to actual power. So, with that, we each should take the title of a God for a specific thing and study it till we reach godhood in it."

"Call ourselves gods? Don't you think that's a bit arrogant and pretentious?" Buku interjected.

"Not at all. All of us already feel much smarter, stronger, and more powerful than our former human selves. I doubt we will be low on the power pool in this world. So, let's embrace it. I can even go into a trance and get direct suggestions on what each of us should be the God of."

"If it gets us more power and a bigger chance of setting things how we see fit, we can use it, but I'm not too sure about calling myself a God either." Ainz replied. The idea still seemed logical to him. He was apprehensive to call himself a God, but they were already hailed as the Supreme Beings by Nazarick's denizens. They might as well just own up to it and declare themselves Gods.

"So just by calling myself a God of something specific, I get more powerful in that field?" Ulbert asked. It sounded a bit too much, even for him.

"Not by itself, you still will have to work on honing your abilities but if I perform a ritual and ask directly to grant us titles, we will surely know what to concentrate on."

"Sure why not. What is the point in stopping halfway there? Let's get through it. Tabula, do your thing then." Ulbert said

Tabula took it as a cue to proceed and simply stated. "I will start, give me a moment to get into a proper state." and slumped back in his chair. His breathing grew slow and deep and soon he spoke "Show me what I ask. O, primordial void from which all has come, respond to my call and grant us our divine titles!"

His guttural voice was replaced with a clearer one as someone else spoke through him.

"Ulbert, the demon goat, the walking catastrophe, the evil one with countless schemes, be the Demon God of Trickery." the voice spoke through Tabula as he raised his finger towards Ulbert, awaiting his acceptance.

'Demon God of Trickery. Sounds just like me bet…' A pang of fear arose in him. 'What if I lose the last remnants of humanity? I know this path is for me but is the price worth it… I can only hope Momo, no, Ainz can keep me in check.' "I agree." Ulbert declared with a confident smirk. "Make me the God of Trickery."

Tabula's finger then pointed at Buku, "Buku, the protector, the one who will stop at nothing to keep those in her care safe. The one to unleash bloodshed upon her enemies, be the Goddess of War."

'How… is my fate written or something? That voice is right, I would stop at nothing to protect my friends and family… This is my path.' "I accept." She responded with her lips twisting in a faint smile.

"Pero, the one who seeks power to kill, the one who wants to be a weapon put in capable hands, be the God of Murder." The voice declared as Tabula pointed at the avian.

'I hope Tabula knows what he is doing.' Pero looked down at his hand now having sharp talons that would turn a weaker opponent into a mincemeat. 'Should I embrace the idea of being a killer? If Momo would be the ruler he surely would need someone who does the dirty work.'

Even while playing Yggdrasil, he concentrated on burst damage and high DPS. Also, he never wanted to lead as his best friend Ainz had accepted the role. 'I would be the weapon for my friend to unleash.' "Sure, I agree. Make me the God of Murder."

Finally, Tabula pointed at Ainz as the voice continued. "The one who rules over them… The one who will rule over all of them, be the God of Life and Death."

'God of Life as an undead? I understand the Death part, but life as well? This is strange. But I can't be the only one backing out. Tabula likely knows what he is doing.' The idea of being the God of both life and death itself was interesting for sure. After all, life and death were the two sides of the same coin. If he would agree then he would be the one in charge of the coin, holding the fates of others between his skeletal fingers.

'If I am to accept I will have to learn to heal, use holy magic, and who knows, maybe even summon angels. Heh, me as an undead, commanding angels. That sure will be a sight.' "I accept this role." He declared with his dark flames burning brighter in the empty eye sockets.

Lastly, Tabula's hand touched his own chest and his voice nominated him as the God of Knowledge. Moments later, Tabula awoke with a jerk.

"It is done. Now we will have to embrace our choice." He said in a ceremonial tone.

The spiritual mood was instantly interrupted by Pero starting with a laugh. "We are fully-fledged chuunibyou now."

Ulbert chuckled as well. Pero's statement was on point. Most of them now had titles of some evil gods but unlike old times when he was the one coming up with evil ideas, it was Tabula, or whoever spoke through him, who gave them overly edgy titles.

"We will have to inform the NPCs about our new titles. I will ask Albedo to gather everyone in the throne room." Ainz said. "We probably should prepare some sort of speech."

"Leave it to me. I have just the idea for how to go about it." Ulbert said adding before Ainz could put a word in. "Don't stress it, I won't overdo it… much."

"I… fine. You can be the one announcing our decisions." Ainz gave in. It was better to leave the speaking to a natural showman like Ulbert than try to awkwardly do it himself.

With the meeting over, Ainz teleported to the throne room to talk with Albedo.

The succubus was in her usual position by the throne working through UI panels with lightning speed.

"Lord Momonga." She bowed and then smiled. "How can I serve you?" She bit her lower lip with her catlike pupils growing larger.

"We have some major announcements. Can you gather every named NPC in the throne room at four in the afternoon?" Momonga asked as he sat down on his throne.

"As you command, my Lord." Albedo switched back to a professional demeanor.

"I have an additional plan. With my friends returning I think we should add four more thrones beside mine." Ainz presented his idea and waited for Albedo's reaction.

"But Lord Momonga, you are the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. You should be the only one sitting on a throne." Albedo said with her smile fading.

"I am not above my friends. As you know each guild member had a say."

"I know Lord Momonga, your generosity towards other Supreme Beings knows no bounds but…" She stopped mid-sentence. 'You should be above them all, my beloved.'

"But what?" Ainz asked. 'She thinks it is a bad idea. But why?'

"But… nothing. I should not argue with you on how Supreme Beings should be treated, my Lord. I will carry out your will." Albedo said, putting on a professional smile. "What specifications should I follow when requesting the construction of additional thrones?"

"I will leave that to you. Just don't go overboard."

"Can yours still be the most magnificent?"

"Yes. My position within the guild has not changed."

'Good. At least they know their place.' Albedo quickly sent an order to the crafting department with specifications to make four identical thrones that would be fit for Supreme Beings but subpar compared to the Throne of Kings. "Anything else I can do for you, Lord Momonga?" She leaned closer to Momonga.

"When your daily duties are done. We could discuss how to proceed with Nazarick's administration." Momonga said. 'She is leaning forward. Her figure…' The emotional suppression calmed him down the moment he got too excited about her presence. "I will be in my office."

"I won't make you wait for long, my Lord." Albedo leaned forward even more. 'My beloved Lord Momonga is inviting me to join him. I must freshen up in case he has other plans besides work for me.'

Just as another emotional suppression went off Momonga used the opportunity to teleport away.

X

Buku slowly walked towards a large tree on Nazrick's sixth floor. The home of her two creations.

'What am I going to tell them when they ask why I was away for so long? Momo said they were eager to meet me. He wouldn't lie to me, right? This isn't some sort of setup?' Her stride became slower and slower with each step.

Since she used the ring to teleport, the elven twins should not be aware of her presence just yet. The large tree came into view making her stop. How many hours she had spent there in the past. Decorating the home, dressing both of her children in cute clothes…

Then one-day real life took precedence and she couldn't spare time to play silly games when she needed to save up as much money as she could while she still could work.

'They would not understand. They are just kids. What am I going to tell them?'

The last steps felt particularly heavy as she finally reached the entrance to Aura's and Mare's home.

After a moment of hesitation, she knocked. One of them was loudly running down the stairs. Buku gulped and took a deep breath. The door flung open, Aura looked up at her in silence. She remained unmoving, staring at her creator with big eyes as her low lip started quivering.

Seeing that Aura was overwhelmed with emotions and needed to be consoled, Buku kneeled and embraced her creation. Aura hugged her back and started sobbing. Like that, all the fear melted away. 'She missed me.' "It's alright. I'm back for good." She whispered in the girl's ear.

With all the commotion, Mare had walked down the stairs and froze midway, seeing his creator hugging his sister. Uncertain of what to do he just stood there, waiting for some sort of command or order.

Buku held Aura with one hand and stretched out the other inviting Mare to join them. The boy approached them with small, careful steps clutching his skirt. Once he was close enough, Buku grabbed him and pulled him into her embrace as well. Same as his sister he broke down sobbing and clutched his creator as hard as he could.

"My children! I'm so happy to see you both." Bukuma said through her own tears.

'Yes, you are my children, my wonderful children.' She confirmed to herself that it wasn't just a slip-up. The feeling was undeniable, she couldn't see them any other way than her children.

Then Aura asked a question that Bukuma was not fully prepared for "Lady Bukubukuchagama, can I…we, can we call you mother?"

It stunned her for a bit. 'They want to call me their mother, they want to call me their MOTHER! I mean I am their creator, their mother… That sounds so wonderful. No, actually I want to be called mom, mother sounds too formal.'

She looked at the four big eyes looking at her with awe, awaiting an answer and she could only say one thing. "Sure, you both can call me mom."

The twins, after all, were the children she always wanted and now truly had. She took both by their hands as they happily showed their home to her, chatting about their duties and activities. Even if she last visited the place years ago they didn't say anything she didn't already know.

Aura, as a younger copy of herself, was loud, energetic, and full of bravado. Her brother, Mare, on the other hand, was meek and submissive to his sister.

'Aura is just like me.' The tomboyish, assertive girl was the one dominating the scene dragging her mother around the treehouse by her hand while Mare timidly followed both.

The timid boy, on the other hand, was made in a way Buku wanted her own brother Pero to behave towards her. Now seeing Mare as a living, breathing person, her child, regret welled up in her. 'I made him like this. I made him like this for my own childish desires! How could I have ever known he would become alive? I will have to work on his confidence.'

Although the house looked pretty much the same, there were some things that reflected their personalities. Aura's side was turned into a mess within a day with her toys and clothing laying all over the place while Mare's side was neat and orderly, the same way Pero kept his surroundings.

Once both were fully calmed down and every nook and cranny of the treehouse was shown to her, Buku sat down in the massive chair that was put down precisely in the middle of the main playroom and patted her lap.

Aura sat down on her right leg while Mare took the left.

"Remember this?" Buku asked, taking out a simple comb from her inventory.

"Me first, me first!" Aura responded excitedly.

"Aura, don't hog all my attention, your brother deserves some too." Buku scolded her daughter.

"But mom, he combed his hair like four times today!" Aura protested.

"Be nice! I don't want you to be mean to your brother!" Buku dropped her tone a bit.

"Y-Yes, L-mom." Aura nervously gulped. "I will be nicer to Mare from now on."

"That's better." Buku responded with her usual high-pitched, childish-sounding voice.

She turned attention to Mare who nervously shifted in anticipation. Buku ran the comb through the boy's hair, remarking. "So smooth, you really are taking good care of your hair."

"I-I'm trying my best, mom." Mare's ears perked up.

After a few more strokes with the comb, Buku turned her attention to Aura. Even at first glance, it was clear that the girl's hair was a mess. Buku ran the comb through her golden locks but they just didn't give in and the comb got stuck.

"When did you last comb your hair?"

"Umm…"

"Aura?"

"I… I don't remember."

'Sheesh, did I forget to give her the routine? This can't be from me… no definitely it's not from me. Come to think she has been alive for only a day… God dammit, I did make her this way.' Buku sighed and continued fighting with the girl's hair that didn't want to relinquish its messy state.

In the end, the comb lost the fight and broke. "Sh…" Buku managed to stop herself from swearing. 'That was a close one.' "Looks like I will have to get a new one. Maybe one made of caloric stone will be strong enough."

"Mom, my hair isn't that bad." Aura protested.

"Tell that to the poor comb." Buku ruffled her hair. "We will continue this some other day." Buku gently took her children out of her lap one by one.

"You are leaving?" Aura quivered her lip.

"I am not going anywhere. I told you I'm back for good. When you don't have any duties you can come visit me on the ninth floor and I will come to visit you almost every day, ok?"

"S-sure," Aura replied.

"Don't worry, I am not disappearing on you both again." Buku kneeled and hugged both one more time before leaving their home.

X

Pero's hands were shaking as he approached the doors of Shalltear's sanctuary.

Shalltear Bloodfallen, his creation, lived there. It would be easier to take a bullet in the gut than knock on the door and speak with her.

"Dammit man, stop being a coward and go meet her." he told himself, took a deep breath, knocked, and waited. Moments later, the door was opened by a vampire bride. Her eyes widened, and she kneeled right away, even stuttering a bit.

"L-Lord Peroroncino, it's an honor..."

"Is Shalltear in?" he asked, trying to sound calm even though his shaking hands betrayed him. The vampire bride either didn't notice or at least pretended not to.

Shalltear heard someone entering and came out of her private area with a shout, "Who is interrupting my priva..." and then stopped in her tracks, stunned. She stared at Pero for a good three seconds and then kneeled as well, "Lord Peroroncino."

Shalltear started at the floor with her head hanging low, waiting to be yelled at or reprimanded. Lord Pero wasn't with Lord Momonga and Lord Ulbert yesterday at the arena. Her creator must have been so disappointed in her that he didn't even want to meet her. There was no other explanation for his absence, she had failed to protect Nazarick more than once, being killed by invading players.

"Please rise. You don't have to do that formal bullshit with me," Pero said with his voice cracking.

Shalltear slowly rose, but her head was hanging low, unable to look into the eyes of her creator. 'He must be disappointed in my failures. I didn't live up to my creator's expectations.' The same thoughts whirled in her mind.

"I-is something wrong?" He asked and glanced back to see if he could make it out of the room before she jumps him. 'She must be beyond pissed, I left for so long.'

Shalltear whimpered a quiet reply. "Lord Peroroncino, I know I don't deserve it, but please forgive me for being a failure. I failed my sacred duty to protect Nazarick so many times. I will try to be better. I won't fail you again my lord. Please give me another chance."

'Wait a minute, she thinks it's her fault I left? Shit, she thinks I abandoned her because she was not good enough.' Pero gulped and approached her.

"You have done nothing wrong. I'm sorry I left. I hope you can forgive me for my long absence." Pero looked at his creation who was hanging her head low in shame. Not only was she not mad at him for leaving, but his creation, his daughter, was ashamed that she was killed as a floor guardian.

Shalltear looked up at him with tears in her eyes "Lord Peroroncino, you are not disappointed in me?"

"Why would I?"

"I failed… I was too weak to protect Nazarick many times, and despite that Lord Momonga always resurrected me."

"Shalltear, you are Nazarick's first line of defense. I'm so proud of how many times you defended our home, and I'm sorry you had to die. It was not your fault. You alone can't kill all the invaders; sometimes there are too many of them," Pero spoke, as he gently wiped her tears away.

'She remembers it all. Fuck that must have messed her up. Being killed again and again! If I knew I would never have let her be the guardian of the first three floors.'

"Lord Peroroncino, you are proud of me?" Shalltear looked up with a tear-stained face smiling at her creator.

"Of course I am." He pulled the vampire into a hug.

Once the initial surprise passed, she hugged him back tightly pushing her face in his feather-covered chest.

After Pero finally let her go, they both sat for tea as one of the vampire brides brought it over and served them, looking nervous.

'That girl looks on the verge of pissing herself. None of Shalltear's subordinates are thrilled about her short temper and sadism kink, that's for sure.' Pero mused. He had written Shalltear as a bit of a brat that wanted to be in control most of the time and would explode over small things.

'I wonder what she thinks of me. Better ask now than one day wake up chained up in some sex dungeon.' After moments of silence, Pero finally asked, "Shalltear, how do you view me?"

"Lord Peroroncino, you are my creator and I understand for what purpose you made me… and of course, I will fulfill all your wishes but…" She hesitated to continue.

"You see me as your father and do not want that sort of relationship with me?" Pero hoped.

"Yes… I am sorry… I will play any role you want and…"

"Don't. You are my daughter and that is all I want from you. Be my wonderful little girl." Pero reassured her.

"I'm not that little…! I'm sorry Lord Pero, I didn't mean," She instantly switched to a fearful expression.

"Hey, hey, it's alright a bit of sass makes it more fun." Pero chuckled. "You don't have to filter what you say that much around me. And for a father, no matter the age, his daughter is always his little girl."

"Ohh," Her face lit in surprise, "You meant it like that Lord Peroroncino. I just assumed you thought of me as a little child. I am more than old enough to be married to my beloved."

"Who would that be?" Pero asked, already suspecting who Shalltear was talking about. "Ohh, and just call me Pero or father or dad."

"Father… I shall call you, father." Shalltear smiled warmly at him and he smiled back although his birdlike face with a beak didn't show it. "My heart belongs to Lord Momonga."

Pero reached his hand over the table and gently patted her on the head, saying, "Oh Shalltear, my little daughter. If Momonga ever decides to marry you, I will give my full blessing. I can't imagine a better man to give you to than my best friend. But don't get your hopes up that easily, Momonga is not the type to pick up girls left and right."

It soon became a casual chat and Pero found out he had no problem talking casually with Shalltear. She was now proudly talking about her duties and reminiscing how often Momonga had patted her head and commended her on her good work. As she spoke, Pero was eyeing the vampire brides from time to time. They all looked very nervous but were stunningly beautiful. Shelter noticed her father looking at them and asked.

"Um, Lo... I mean, father, do you desire to take some of my vampire brides for yourself?" Shaltear noticed her father looking at them.

"I… yeah kinda… I mean if any of them are interested." Pero replied. 'She talks of them like they are some sort of toys or property.'

"Of course they are. To those sluts, even a passive glance from you is the best thing that has ever happened to them." Shalltear said casually. "Do any of the present ones catch your fancy or should I call all of them all for you to pick some, father?"

"They all are very nice. Maybe we can let them decide?"

"You are too kind to them, father." Shalltear giggled and then addressed the vampire brides. "You heard Lord Peroroncino. Decide among yourselves who will have the privilege to be my father's toy."

"As you wish, mistress." One of them replied and motioned for the rest to follow as they started to look at each other with murderous glares.

"Once they decide I'll send the one over to you," Shalltear said with glee. "You don't have to be gentle with them. I can spawn more of them with ease."

'That sounds a bit fucked up. Oh well, I made her that way so I will have to deal with my little girl's eccentricities.' Pero just gave up on correcting her.

Pero left Shalltear's sanctuary soon after, and he was casually striding back to his quarters.

'Knowing how eager they are to take care of Shalltear, I think I have a fun night ahead of me.' He couldn't hide his excitement.

X

Ainz sat in his office with Albedo sitting on a smaller chair beside him, half listening to her explaining all the administrative processes of Nazarick.

'How did I let them push me into this?' Momonga was cursing his friends a bit for pushing him into the leader's position. As Satoru, he was just a salaryman, someone who took orders and followed them not commanding others. His now Overlord nature gave some vague sense of assurance that he is up to the task but one can not become a leader on a hunch alone.

Albedo was trying to lean against him as she was explaining the expenditures and making suggestions on how to avoid unnecessary ones.

Ainz felt the succubus pressing against his side and asked.

"Albedo, do you need to take a rest? You seem tired."

"No, Lord Momonga, I'm fine," as Ainz felt her wing brushing against his back. He wasn't sure if it was intentional or not. She was a succubus, after all, and maybe did that on instinct.

"Would you like to rest Lord Momonga, maybe a relaxing bath together would interest you?"

'Bathe with her? I mean…' the emotional suppression calmed him down. 'Tabula did write… Wait, was she forced…' another wave of calmness engulfed him.

"Um… that won't be necessary, Albedo," Momonga said and while he was still calm enough, decided to just address it.

"I was present when Tabula changed your settings. I wanted to ask how you feel about that change?"

"My creator gave the blessing to love the most wonderful man any woman would want. I feel grateful towards Lord Tabula Smaragdina." Albedo pressed closer against him.

"You don't think he took away your choice, to choose for yourself?"

"Lord Momonga, I would make the same choice anyway," Albedo replied but got worried and asked, "Does my love bother you, my Lord?"

"No, of course not, but you must know that Tabula did the same changes to your sisters."

"My sisters... I understand Nigredo. but Rubedo, she is a golem… It doesn't matter. I guess if Lord Tabula Smaragdina gave us all to you, Lord Momonga, I would accept his decision." Albedo said as her tone grew darker, then she perked up again facing the Overlord. "Will you accept my love, Lord Momonga?" she asked with a hopeful stare.

"I…" He was at a loss about how to respond. Women didn't pay him much attention while he was still on Earth and now one was professing her love. He gazed back at her and knew he let Tabula make her love him.

'I let him make that change. She is my responsibility. I must make her happy. Not only her but Rubedo and Nigredo as well. Tabula entrusted them to me, I can't let him down.' It may have been the decision to write in his character's backstory that he would hold all three sisters in a special place in his heart at play, but it ultimately didn't matter. Being undead allowed him to think clearly, and seeing her hopeful gaze, he already knew how to answer.

"We still need to talk to your sisters, but yes, Albedo, I will accept your love."

"Wonderful! Then will you take me right here on the table, or in the bedroom? Or will you take up my bath offer? I'm ready to serve you, Lord Momonga."

Once again the emotional suppression came to his rescue before he went into a full-blown panic attack. "You don't have to think only about me. A relationship doesn't work that way."

"But I want to make you happy, my Lord. I want it so much." She purred.

"L-Let's take it slow." Momonga leaned away from the overly eager succubus.

"Of course, Lord Momonga," Albedo said in a calm voice, but her disappointment was noticeable. Then she perked up and asked hopefully. "Maybe a kiss?"

'Kiss? A kiss should be a nice start.' He decided to accept her suggestion and activated the doppelganger ring, turning into a demon once again. Not protected by the dampened emotions of an undead he instantly got overwhelmed by her presence.

"We can start with a simple kiss." He managed to get out and turned his head to give her a peck on her perfect lips. Albedo eagerly leaned in, meeting him halfway.

Before he knew it, Albedo was in his lap aggressively grinding against him as her tongue invaded his mouth and her hands wandered through his hair. The desire to have her right here and now grew stronger by the moment.

'I…' He tried to have a coherent thought and failed miserably. Only when the maid at the door clamped her legs together and slid down with a half moan and half groan did Momonga manage to pull away from the demoness who was exploring every part of his mouth with her tongue. "Albedo!"

"Lord Momonga." She moaned in response, going for another assault to his mouth.

"W-wait!" Momonga deactivated the demon from getting hit with an emotional suppression like a sledgehammer.

She kissed his bare teeth and licked them a few times.

"Albedo!" Momogn raised his voice as it broke in something resembling a squawk.

She finally snapped back to the present moment and slowly stood up from his lap. "I'm sorry, I got carried away, Lord Momonga."

"It is fine. But let's take it slow."

"Of course." She bit her lip. "This was wonderful. I hope we can kiss again soon."

"It was." Momonga agreed. "But let's carry on with work for now."

He knew he couldn't avoid her for long, not that he wanted to. Then again, he was not about to lose his virginity in front of an audience either.

After finishing with daily administration duties, both Ainz and Albedo arrived on the fifth floor. Their destination was Nigredo's room.

Recalling Albedo's aggressive advances, Momonga prepared for the worst: to be overwhelmed by the sisters the moment they got a chance to jump him.

'Maybe Nigredo is more restrained.' He gave himself a vague hope.

They reached Nigredo's room after a few minutes. The room was still as decrepit as before. Nigredo, seeing who had visited her, immediately knelt. "Lord Momonga, dear sister, welcome to my dwelling."

'Tabula forgot about her room. That God-damn forgetful moron. Good thing I decided to visit her today.' Momonga cursed his forgetful friend for leaving his eldest daughter in such an environment.

Seeing the dramatic change in her sister, Albedo could not help but ask, "Nigredo, what happened to you?"

"Lord Tabula, our father, changed me a day ago, giving me skin on my face and instilling a love for Lord Momonga."

"So, sister, will you be my rival for Lord Momonga's love?" Albedo asked, her tone sounding dangerous.

"Do not worry, my dear sister. I care deeply for you and Lord Momonga, but it wasn't a romantic love that Lord Tabula instilled in me toward Lord Momonga. You should be the one to stand by his side."

"I see. In that case, thank you for your blessing." Albedo returned to smiling, warmly adding. "That leaves only Rubedo."

"Our youngest sister has a heart of stone. She is dangerous." Nigredo expression darkened.

"She, as everyone else, deserves a chance to live. I have no reason to suspect that she would not be loyal." Momonga said.

"Of course. I will trust your judgment, my lord." Nigredo bowed.

"You are coming with us just in case. And since this room is not in living conditions," Momonga glanced around. "You will live on the ninth floor for now."

"You are too kind my lord."

With Nigredo's situation resolved, their next destination was the eighth floor, where Rubedo resided. Her unmoving angelic form came into view standing on the small hill overlooking the eighth floor.

Ainz, of course, already knew how to activate her.

There was a bit of hesitation, but since she should be loyal as well there was no reason to leave her inactive. "Glory to Ainz Ooal Gown." Ainz said the activation code and a few moments after the action code was given, Rubedo opened her eyes and spread her metallic wings. She then proceeded to kneel, completely ignoring her sisters, and addressed Ainz. "Lord Momonga, thank you for awakening me. I'm ready to serve and protect you."

"Protect me? Rubedo, I'm honored you want to protect me but there is no danger for me inside of Nazarick and I wanted to assign you to guard the entirety of Nazarick, not just me."

"Only Lord Momonga is important, but I will protect Nazarick if it matters to you."

Ainz understood what she was saying. Rubedo would protect only him even from Nazarick itself, so he had to decide how to address it.

"Nazarick is more important than me, even in my own eyes, but I will comply with your wish and make you my personal bodyguard. That being said, I want you to consider anyone who is part of Nazarick as important to me and thus needing to be protected."

"Understood, Lord Momonga, I gladly accept the duty of personal bodyguard," Rubedo said in a rather natural voice, reminding Ainz of Shizu, who acted rather similarly.

"Rise Rubedo, you will need to relocate to the ninth floor, and I hope you will get along with the denizens there."

"Of course, Lord Momonga," Rubedo replied, rising up and folding her wings behind her back.

"Well then, I'll leave you three to catch up a bit, and Albedo, please assign rooms for Rubedo and Nigredo to stay in."

"Would giving them accommodations in the servant district be good enough, Lord Momonga?" Albedo asked.

"For now yes. We can discuss the long-term living arrangements later." Momonga replied.

With that, Ainz left the three sisters to chat among themselves. He noticed how Nigredo was looking at Rubedo with suspicion but decided not to address it. With Rubedo awakened, everything was set up for the evening event.

Bonus Story - The Son.

With every named NPC attending the ceremony, he needed to make sure his son would be able to reach the throne room. Being stuck in the treasury with no clear way out, he could not leave it on his own.

Ainz teleported to the treasury, steeling himself for the first meeting with Pandora's actor.

The moment he appeared in the entry room, the doppelganger jumped to his feet and flipped around with an enthusiastic salute. "Mein Schöpfer, ich bin überglücklich, dich kennenzulernen!"

Momonga froze on spot. 'The hell did he just say? Maybe leaving him with the ability to speak German wasn't such a great idea.'

With the emotional suppression once again coming to his rescue he could carry on as if nothing had happened. "Pandora! Good to see you. How have you been?"

"Mir geht es fantastisch und…"

"Pandora!" Ainz interrupted him. "You would follow any order I give you?"

"Of course, creator!" Pandora replied startled.

"Then tone down the German! Neither I nor anyone else in Nazarick is fluent in it." Ainz said in a low tone.

"As you command mein… aghm... Creator." Pandora saluted once again.

"That's much better… Anything to report?" Ainz awkwardly asked

"To my estimate, it will take me about four months to sort the currently unsorted items. Creator, I would recommend expanding the treasury to accommodate the placement of armor and weapons." Pandora theatrically motioned at massive piles of items dropped in the entrance room.

During the last few months of the game, Momonga had gathered so much new gear that the regular storage rooms were overfilled and he started to just empty his inventory on the ground.

"I see. Can you prepare an estimate and run it by Albedo to see if the changes are possible."

"Albedo? My Lord, I am terribly sorry but I am able to contact the guardian overseer only through a message spell and would not be able to send detailed plans to her." Pandora lowered his head in shame.

"For now I will take you to the ninth floor where you can take a look around until the ceremony and afterward I have a solution prepared so you'll be able to move in and out of the treasury at your leisure."

"Wunde… wonderful. I look forward to meeting my colleagues."

'He is doing his best.' Momonga let out another sigh and opened a gate to his quarters motioning for Pandora to follow.

"Oh, and you can address me more casually. My friend's children address their creators either by first name, which in my case is now Ainz, or if you like you can call me father." Ainz said stepping through the gate.

"Father, that is such an honor." Pandora said quickly following his creator. The moment he stepped through he looked around in panic. "Father! What is all this?"

Ainz shuddered and slowly turned to face his son. 'Fuck! I forgot about all the loot I dropped in my quarters!'

"That... um… I was in a rush after some treasure hunts and stored… Pandora, what are you doing?" Ainz followed Pandora who rushed towards vases filled with weapons and started to sort them by type.

"Father as the treasurer of Nazarick I cannot let anyone see that I have failed my duty so spectacularly. Please give me an hour, no three hours, and I will at least sort everything out and give you an approximation of what else is needed!" Pandora pushed one vase about five centimeters so it would be in one line with the rest.

"Sure… the ceremony starts in four hours at the throne room. I'll leave you to your work then."

"Of course vat… father." Pandora saluted and returned to his work.

'Now only to figure out where to go for a few hours.' Ainz mused walking out of his quarters.

Before he reached his door he stopped and glanced at the maid who was standing silently with a whole spectrum of emotions on her face as she stared at Pandora.

'Right, they hate it if they are not useful. Maybe I let her help Pandora.' "Decrement, I am leaving. Please help my son if he needs assistance with anything."

"Yes, Lord Momonga!" She smiled and approached the doppelganger.

{ Give her something to do. } Ainz messaged Pandora and left his apartments with the naive hope that the maid-son duo would not go overboard.

Proofreading by Visur Nyxan, Dtrackt, Sad_Smiles, Ethal07, and Tophrel.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader.