26 The Albedo Conspiracy
(A/N: I was quite excited to write this chapter as I wanted to shed light on the topic that was hinted at in the LN. This obviously won't be a main focus in the overall fic, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Don't forget to drop a review too!)
[Timeskip - 1 Day]
[Narrator's POV]
"Lord Ainz… Lord Ainz…" Albedo moaned the name of her master within her personal quarters located on the 9th Floor. She hugged one of the many life-sized pillows of the Overlord she had personally made while sprawled naked under her blankets.
"Oh how I love you, Lord Ainz… kufufufufufufu!" The succubus giggled like a schoolgirl as she rolled around the bed, still hugging the body pillow that was pressed against her breasts, encircled by her raven black wings and in between her thighs.
(A/N: To all the horny people imagining themselves as that body pillow, do 100 pushups!)
Albedo stopped rolling about, sighing as she put the body pillow of her beloved aside before staring at the ceiling. "Lord Ainz… I am your eternal wife… your loyal slave…" The Guardian Overseer muttered under her breath. She got up from lying down, having a hand rub against her belly.
But it was the act of getting up where she took notice of something at the very corner of her room. Cast aside to collect dust was a flag. However, it wasn't just any flag. Ripped and torn to shreds was the flag of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown, courtesy of the Guardian Overseer. By looks alone, one could say that the flag fell from grace.
While all denizens of Nazarick would have looked at that flag with pride burning in their hearts, the succubus eyed the flag with disgust. "How dare they…" She murmured with venomous spite in her voice that could kill a blue whale.
"How dare they abandon us…" Albedo grit her teeth as she tightly gripped onto the soft blanket she had covering her nude body. "How dare those pieces of SHIT to leave my beloved all by himself!"
By this point, her nails dug into her pristine skin from clenching her fists so hard as she shouted with a fiery fury before forcing herself to calm down.
'Lord Ainz… no, Lord Momonga, why did you take up that name?' Albedo was smart enough to know the real answer to that rhetorical question. Despite this, she deplored the name Ainz Ooal Gown to her very core for multiple reasons.
The Overseer couldn't wrap her head around the reason why her beloved changed his name to one that represented those that hurt him and left their creations.
Furthermore, the succubus fell in love with the Supreme Being called Momonga, not Ainz Ooal Gown. To Albedo, the act of her lover disregarding his true name to represent the ones that left their creations insulted her deeply.
'The name Ainz Ooal Gown… it makes you weak…' Remembering the events that occurred on the 6th Floor where team Foresight gave the Overlord false hope about his comrades being in this New World, the Guardian Overseer ominously hummed.
The pure rage Albedo felt from Ainz made her realize his most vital flaw… was his own friends. It was a clear and obvious bluff that Hekkeran said out of pure instinct to stay alive, yet the salaryman was still able to be manipulated and lead on by mere humans from past connections.
'Lord Momonga… the other Supreme Beings cloud your judgement… they make you susceptible to weakness…' The succubus thought softly, reaching for the body pillow to the side of her and holding it to her body once again.
'How do I keep Lord Momonga from being weak? How do I eliminate his weakness?' The Overseer continued in her mind, deeply pondering about the subject while staying in silence. It didn't take long for Albedo to find the answer she was looking for as she formed a small, sly smile.
"That's it…" She mused rather cryptically. 'I know how to get rid of my beloved's weakness…' The succubus said in her mind again, not taking the chance of letting someone from the outside hear her disloyal ramblings
'Kill the other Supreme Beings…'
The mere thought of killing a Supreme Being itself was an act punishable by death, but the Overseer couldn't help herself from doing so. That idea, that thought, was the only way to remove the Supreme One's fatal flaw.
And if Albedo could correct that flaw, she could keep her master from being manipulated like what happened on the 6th Floor from happening ever again.
With that in mind, the succubus wasn't worried that she was being traitorous. How could helping the Supreme One remove his weakness be treason? To Albedo, she was doing her beloved master a favour. Now, lying to the Supreme One wasn't ideal either, but Albedo was doing it for the better.
Nevertheless, killing the other Supreme Beings brought about another question. 'How do I do it?' The succubus asked herself internally. She couldn't go up to Ainz and say her true intentions as that would greatly upset him. And Albedo would rather kill herself than upset the man she loved.
'The reason my Lord Momonga changed his name was to spread the name of the guild in the hopes of finding other Supreme Beings in this world. If that's the case, why not form an elite squad to 'find' other Supreme Beings? Yes… that's it!'
Like a miner striking gold, so too did Albedo with her newly formulating plan. Now, not only could the Overseer create a death brigade to hunt other Supreme Beings, she could also disguise the secret unit as a way to find them without Ainz truly knowing about its implications.
"All I need to do is find the necessary members for the unit…" Albedo murmured, trailing off in her thoughts as she looked at the face of her master on her body pillow. This in itself was a tough task.
You see, with how NPCs work, they put the orders of their master above other members of the guild. Therefore, if other NPCs knew about the possibility that their creator could be somewhere in the New World, there was a high likelihood that they could abandon Nazarick in search for them.
What Albedo needed were strong NPCs loyal to only herself or her beloved so that when hunting a Supreme Being, the NPCs would continue to fight even when being ordered not to. Within the Great Tomb, there were very few NPCs which fit the bill for this description. But that was all she needed.
'The other Floor Guardians can't be trusted with the job. But Pandora's Actor… as Lord Momonga's creation, he would put his master's orders above the other Supreme Beings. Perfect…' With one potential candidate for the death brigade, Albedo kept wondering who to have within her squad next.
The Overseer then thought about her own siblings, Nigredo, Citrinitas, and Rubedo. 'Nigredo is like the rest of the Guardians, she doesn't have the devotion to Lord Momonga like I do.' The Overseer crossed out her elder sister's name from her mental list for the secret unit.
'Next… Citrinitas…' Albedo was metaphorically stuck at a crossroads. In short, he was too much of an enigma. Due to his unknown nature, the Guardian Overseer didn't know whether he would agree with Albedo's proposition or report her true intentions to the Supreme One.
Eventually, the succubus decided to rule out the plague doctor off her list for the death brigade. As much as she wanted Citrinitas in the secret unit, his unknown nature was too much of a risk that Albedo wasn't willing to take.
'Finally, Rubedo. The strongest entity in Nazarick…' They say that the 3rd time is a charm. Well, it certainly applied to Albedo here. Rubedo was a unique case even among NPCs. Just like Pandora's Actor, Rubedo held absolute loyalty towards Ainz and Ainz alone. That meant that the other Supreme Beings couldn't order her to stop attacking them when the time comes.
However, that was a double-edged sword. Rubedo held absolute loyalty to Ainz and Ainz alone. Not Albedo. 'If I could convince Lord Momonga to include Rubedo into the 'search squad' and have him make her obey my every command… that would be perfect…'
Satisfied with her plan, the succubus dropped back onto the soft mattress of her personal bed with the body pillow next to her. Albedo only needed a few NPCs within the death brigade. Just a few powerful summons from her beloved Lord Momonga and the Overseer's plan was set.
'All I have to do now is inform Lord Momonga about the secret unit, keeping its true intentions hidden from everyone else. This is for the best, my love…' Albedo convinced herself with an internal monologue before giggling, cuddling the body pillow once more.
[Timeskip - ??? Hours]
[Scene Change]
"Greetings, Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix… no, I need to sound more regal… ahhhhhh…" The Overlord sighed as he sat in his personal office. 'I need to nail this for the Emperor that'll come to Nazarick tomorrow. All the Guardians will be there too so I need to make a great impression!' The skeleton mage tapped his boney finger on his desk as he was deep in thought.
As he was going to continue to prepare for the big day tomorrow, there was a knock at his door. "Lord Ainz," A sweet voice called out. "It's Albedo. Can I have a moment of your time?" She asked. "Very well, Albedo. You're permitted to enter." Ainz said in a professional tone, putting aside his thoughts.
The office door creaked open which revealed the succubus in her full glory. "Now, what brings you here?" Ainz questioned as the Overseer walked closer to the Overlord to have a proper conversation. "Is this about my plans for tomorrow?" The succubus shook her head. "No, my Lord. This is unrelated to all of that but equally as important." Now that got the Overlord's attention.
"I have taken the liberty of putting forth a plan to create a squad to search for other Supreme Beings that may have found themselves in this world like us. With your approval, I would like certain members to be a part of this unit." Ainz put a hand on his boney chin as he laid back on his chair.
"A search squad, huh?" Ainz mused under his breath. The idea mostly sat well with the salaryman for obvious reasons. The whole point of changing his name from Momonga to Ainz Ooal Gown along with 'world domination' as Demiurge and Citrinitas somehow thought of, was to find his comrades.
But, there was that really small part in the skeleton's non-existent heart that didn't like the idea. The Overlord was simply scared of scouring the entire planet and finding nothing and that he was stuck in this world by himself.
In addition, Ainz simply didn't want to waste Albedo's time with something that would be done when the Overlord spreads his name across the world. However, Ainz quickly dismissed that idea before continuing to talk.
"Very well, Albedo," The Overseer grew a warm smile at her lover's approval. "And I assume you'll be in charge of this search squad?" The succubus was quick to respond. "Why of course, my Lord! I take no greater pride than in helping you find happiness! It's my wifely duty, after all…"
'Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…'
"Ahem… anyways, how many do you plan on having included in this unit?" He said, regaining his compose thanks to his emotional nullifier activating. "Only a few key members within Nazarick along with some personal summons of yours, my Lord. The fewer members would make mobility easier."
The salaryman nodded as he then asked another question. "In that case, which NPCs from Nazarick do you plan on having joined the search squad?"
"Firstly, your personal creation, Pandora's Actor." Ainz hummed as he processed what the succubus said. 'I can see why she'd want Pandora's Actor to join the search unit. Being a doppelgänger has its unique perks. One of those perks is being able to blend in with the beings around them. That makes travel much easier and less of a hassle.' The skeletal mage concluded.
"I see the benefits to having Pandora's Actor in the unit. Having a humanoid makes mobility much easier, especially around this area. But before you go on with who you want, I have a suggestion. How about adding your brother Citrinitas to the search unit?"
'Has Lord Momonga found out about my secret unit already?!' Albedo internally freaked out, while keeping her composure on the outside. 'No… that's impossible.' She reassured herself. 'Even so, I need to refuse this. While I know it would make sense to include Citrinitas into the search unit, I can't risk the possibility of him informing my beloved about my true intentions!' She concluded.
"As Citrinitas wants to study the magic of this world, it makes sense to include him in your unit as he'll be eager to explore while searching. Furthermore, he can easily blend in with other creatures due to his humanoid form. Plus, with that mind of his, I'm sure he could help locate or create plans."
While these were good points that would have had Citrinitas let into the secret unit, that was only if the secret unit was only a search squad, not a death brigade to secretly Kill the Supreme Beings.
"While you make an excellent point, Lord Ainz, I believe it would be better for Citrinitas to have less on his plate. He's already busy with experiments involving alchemy and acting as an adventurer for the Dragon Kingdom. That, along with many other things. Having too much to focus on might hinder him in enacting your glorious plan."
Albedo did her best to sound as convincing as she could by throwing reason after reason at her beloved Lord. While there was the possibility that Citrinitas could aid her in her endeavour, there was an equal possibility he wouldn't and would inform Lord Ainz. As much as it pained her to lie to Ainz, the succubus was doing it for his greater good.
'Oh my goodness…' Ainz internally scolded himself. 'I should have taken that into account. Citrinitas, like all the other NPCs, have been working really hard as of late. I need to be a better leader by not overworking them and improving their mental health.'
'I don't want them to be overworked like HeroHero. Then again, they all take pride in working. I should gather all the Floor Guardians and the battle maids for a fun activity one day. I do recall Luci☆Fer recreating some old board games with Data Crystals back in YGGDRASIL…'
"Very well," Ainz said, putting a hand back on his desk. "Adding Citrinitas was just a thought I had in mind. You have my permission to have Pandora's Actor join this unit of yours." Albedo smiled from Ainz's words as she continued with the final NPC on her list, Rubedo.
"Finally, I would like to request my adorable younger sister, Rubedo, to be in the search unit."
"Denied."
'I knew it wouldn't be this easy… think, Abledo, think!' The Guardian Overseer said to herself. "I don't plan on moving Rubedo from the 8th Floor anytime soon. She, along with the 8th Floor Hierarchy is Nazarick's final defence force. I don't want to risk releasing her when Shalltears brainwashing culprit is still on the loose." The salaryman firmly stated.
"B-B-But Lord Ainz… I want to create the strongest team!"
"Hehehehehehehe… AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Ainz couldn't help but burst out into a fit of laughter from Albedo's words before his emotional nullifier kicked in and stopped him from laughing. 'What a childish, yet understandable reaction.' Ainz first thought, looking at the blushing succubus.
"Sorry for my sudden outburst, Albedo. I just found the request quite amusing." The salaryman corrected himself in the hopes of not embarrassing the Overseer. "But I'll humour you and allow Rubedo to join the unit. I'll make sure to have her listen to your commands."
'All according to keikaku…'
"T-Thank you, Lord Ainz!" Albedo fakely stuttered out as she bowed. "Umu, no problem. Is there anything else that warrants my attention with this search squad, Albedo?" The succubus nodded. "There are two more things, my Lord. Firstly, I request that this unit remains a secret between us and the unit's members. This is to not cause the other denizens to lose focus while working."
While it did seem like the odd request to Ainz, he accepted the request from the Guardian Overseer, making her ecstatic and filled with joy. "Now, what's the second request of yours, Albedo?"
"When can we have children together?!"
"Huh?"
"I'm terribly sorry for asking so much from the Supreme One. However, Citrinitas is practising having kids with Esdeath and that slut Shalltear by having them raise human children! I… I was wondering when we can have a child of our own!"
"A-Albedo," The salaryman stuttered out. "I'm… uhhhh…" If Ainz could punch himself right now, he would. 'Why did I mess with Tabula's settings?! I tarnished a dear friend's creations!' He internally scolded himself.
"That is a question for another time." The Overlord firmly stated, making Albedo calm herself down and go back to normal. "Very well, my Lord." She said professionally.
"As nothing else warrants my attention, I'll be leaving now. Thank you for your time, Lord Ainz." Albedo bowed, showing all the respect she could to the man she loved. "Umu, no problem." The skeleton said while raising a hand. "You're dismissed."
The succubus quickly left the office, leaving Ainz alone to collect his thoughts. "Goodness," He muttered to himself. "I'm so sorry for ruining your creation, Tabula…" That was all he could say to relieve the guilt within his non-existent heart.
'I wonder how you do it, Citrinitas.' Ainz thought to himself. 'How do you deal with those women?'
"Oh well…" The salaryman, not wanting to dwell on guilty thoughts, simply dismissed all that away and tried to focus on preparing for tomorrow. "Greetings, Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix! No, that sounds too enthusiastic. Greetings, Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix. No, that sounds condescending! Ahhhhhhhh, this is such a pain!"
[Timeskip - ??? Hours]
[Scene Change]
"Grüße dich, Wächter-Aufseher Albedo! Da ich bin, Pandoraaaaaaa's Actor~!" An overexaggerated and dramatic voice from a certain doppelgänger called out. He saluted the approaching succubus that walked closer to the lobby of the Treasury. This was none other than Pandora's Actor.
"Pandora's Actor, thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice." Albedo said politely as she reached the lone couch at the centre of the lobby before sitting. The doppelgänger followed by sitting opposite the Guardian Overseer. "That's not a problem, meine Dame!"
"So, what is it about the geheime einheit? I received your letter but don't know all the information. Is there more than meets das auge? The eye?" Pandora asked as his bowling ball-like face stared at the Overseer. "Precisely, Pandora's Actor. I'll keep things short. My proposed secret unit isn't just a search squad… but a death brigade to kill the Supreme Beings if we ever find them."
"T-T-Töten the Höchste Wesen?! The Supreme Beeeeings?!" Instantly, Pandora's Actor stood up from his seat as he did a dramatic pose after hearing Albedo's words. However, before he could speak, the succubus continued with her explanation.
"Pandora's Actor, this is for Lord Ainz's safety! I'm trying to keep our beloved Lord safe from weakness!" Albedo did her best to sound convincing by making her voice sound strained and desperate as if pleading. And it worked, making Pandora's Actor tilt his head before sitting down.
"Weakness? Do the other Supreme Beings, the Höchste Wesen, make my creator weak?" Pandora questioned. While his tone did portray him as sarcastic, he was just merely curious about the Overseer's words. Albedo simply nodded at the question before elaborating further.
"This is why I've created this hit squad. It's been disguised as a search unit so we can find the other Supreme Beings if they've arrived in this world and kill them." The doppelgänger rubbed his round chin. "But that would mean lying to my creatoooooor~, the Supreme One!"
"While I hate the idea of lying to my beloved Lord Ainz, such a thing is necessary to keep him safe. That way, when we report that we've found no Supreme Beings in this world, our Lord will forget the friends that abandoned Nazarick and rule over his subjects for eternity! Doesn't that sound great?"
It took a moment for Pandora's Actor to process everything the Overseer said. "I… I guess so…" He mused in a slightly confused but understanding tone. "I'm glad you understand, Pandora's Actor. It's good to have you on the team." Albedo said kindly.
"This is all for the betterment of Lord Ainz." The Overseer said once more. "And this must be kept a secret between you and me. The other denizens of Nazarick can't know about our true intentions, let alone a search squad to look for any Supreme Beings." Pandora's Actor nodded in understanding.
"Is this all I wissen müssen? Need to know?" The succubus nodded once. "In that case," Albedo got up from the couch at the centre of the lobby. "I have to get back to work. It's been nice to talk to you, Pandora's Actor." The doppelgänger hummed before saluting. "Sie auch, Wächter-Aufseher!"
Next Chapter: Alchemical Shenanigans
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(A/N: I'm currently wondering if I should make a filler chapter like Day-To-Day Tomfoolery as there will be a major timeskip after chapter 27. This is because I want to have more character interactions between Citrinitas and different characters. This also double downs as a way for me to include more character development!
Anyways, as usual, how was the chapter? Did you like it? Is any room for improvements or suggestions? Please, let me know with a comment and/or review! Your words always help!)
