12

The group set out at daybreak, along a hidden path on the plains.

"We'll be at Carne Village soon."

The other travellers nodded in response to Nfirea, the only person who had been to Carne Village before (barring Ainz). Apart from that, they walked on in silence. Nfirea seemed somewhat put off by that.

An air of awkwardness hung between them. Ainz, who was the cause of this situation, hid his guilt underneath his helmet.

Ninya kept peeking at him, and it was annoying. However, this was all his fault, so he could not say anything about it.

This was the result of what he had said last night.

Ninya apologized at breakfast, and Ainz should have accepted the apology on the spot, but for some reason, he could not say a simple thing like "I forgive you."

Though he felt he was being petty, Ainz could not simply let bygones be bygones.

Because of this undead body, my mind has changed as well, huh...

After becoming undead, his strong emotions were suppressed, but the less intense ones did not vanish. The best proof for this was how long his mild anger lasted. Ainz's friends had a very important place in his heart. Though he cared deeply for them, he began to feel that it might not be good to let things go on like this.

However, he could not bring himself to take the first step in changing the mood.

It was because he could calmly deduce that the slight changes in his feelings — like those of a petulant child — that he felt anger at his own immaturity.

The only one who stood out among the awkwardness was Narberal. She was so happy to not be bothered by Lukrut that she was practically humming in delight.

The group advanced in silence, and they soon made it to the outskirts of Carne Village.

"Ah, yes! It seems pretty wide here, so maybe we don't have to stay in a line as we move," Lukrut announced, seemingly with some other motive in mind.

A glance to the sides revealed stretches of emerald forest around them, so the deliberate mention of being wide and open seemed somewhat suspicious. In addition, the point of being guards was that they could not lower their guard in an open area, so moving in a column like they were doing now was the wisest choice.

It was just that they all knew their silent advance in a line was not due to their adventurer's sense of caution.

"...It's important to stay alert. So let's... mm. Let's get to the village first."

"Indeed! We need to stay on guard at all times lest we get attacked!"

Lukrut put on an as if expression in response to Peter and Dyne's statements.

"Maybe a dragon might attack us from far away," Ninya mumbled.

Lukrut immediately shot back:

"What kind of shitty plot development would that be? Logically speaking, how could such a thing happen, Ninya!?"

"You're right, it's impossible. The stories of dragons near E-Rantel are nothing more than that, stories. Although they say that in the ancient past, there was a dragon which could shake the heavens and the earth... nobody's seen any dragons recently. Or no, I think there's a colony of Frost Dragons living along the Azellisia mountain range, towards the north..."

They existed in the past? According to the Sunlight Scripture, dragons are the mightiest beings in this world...

In YGGDRASIL, dragons were the strongest enemies one could encounter. They boasted great physical attack and defense power, boundless stamina and wielded numerous skills and spells.

They were in a class of their own.

There were countless monsters in YGGDRASIL. Among their number were all sorts of named monsters, and area monsters, as well as those super monsters called World Class Enemies. Even a legion, composed of six parties of six men each, would not have much of a chance against these unimaginably powerful creatures.

Apart from the "Devourer of the Nine Worlds," there were the "Eight Dragons," the "Demon Lords of the Seven Sins," the "Ten Archangels of the Sephira," as well as the six bosses known as the "Celestial Lord of the Sixth Heaven," and the "Five-Colored Buddhas," from the expansion pack "Valkyrie's Downfall." There were thirty two of these extraordinary monsters in total, and one could infer the dev team's love of dragons from the number of draconic entities among them.

I need to be careful if dragons exist. Dragons could live forever in YGGDRASIL's backstory, so it wouldn't be a surprise to encounter dragons with mind-boggling powers.

"Ah — could someone tell me the name of that dragon which could shatter the sky and shake the earth?"

Ainz was not nearly thick skinned enough to nonchalantly ask a question of someone feuding with him, so he merely spoke in a low voice. However, that was loud enough for everyone to hear, and Ninya jerked his head back to look.

This was like a pair of quarrelling lovers looking for a chance to make up.

Ainz recalled a time when he had heard a pair of sweethearts talking in a coffeeshop, and could not help but compare their words to his present situation.

That said, Ninya's expression seemed a little brighter since it was Ainz who made the first move. The Swords of Darkness and Nfirea were all smiles as well. Only Narberal remained unmoved. Come to think of it, the awkwardness in the air since this morning had hardly affected her.

"I'm very sorry! I'll look it up for you when we get back to the city!"

Ah, no need to get so excited about it... it's fine if you don't know... I was just looking for something to say...

However, he could not bring himself to utter those words.

"Mm, Ninya-san. Could you help me find out, if time permits?"

"Understood, Momon-san!"

The way everyone nodded with exaggerated satisfaction made Ainz feel a little ashamed of himself. It might have been different if the situation was the other way around, but he was filled with regret as the oldest one here.

"All right, we're almost at Carne Village now..."

This was the first cheerful thing which anyone had said since this morning, but Nfirea clammed up almost immediately.

Everyone looked at the village before their eyes. It was a rustic hamlet at the edge of the forest. There was nothing strange or unusual about it, so Nfirea's silence was a mystery.

"What's wrong, Nfirea-san? Is something the matter?"

"Ah, no, it's fine. Just... I don't recall seeing a sturdy fence like the one in front of us..."

"Really? But it looks like an ordinary fence. Actually, it's kind of shabby for a frontier village fence, right? It wouldn't be a surprise that a village at the edge of the forest would have a sturdy fence to protect against monsters, right?"

"Hm — you might be right... but Carne has the Wise King of the Forest, so they've never put up a fence before..."

Everyone looked to the village. The village was surrounded by a fence as far as they could see, and the fence was made of logs which were resilient to cutting.

"How strange... did something happen...?"

Ainz remained silent, even after hearing the lad's uneasy question. In the past, he had come here as the magic caster Ainz Ooal Gown, but now he was the adventurer Momon.

Ninya cut in, a serious expression on his face:

"Maybe I'm worrying too much... but I grew up in a village, and I still remember life there, so there's two things I find suspicious. The first is that the fields haven't been tilled yet even at this time, and the other is that they've already harvested some of the wheat."

They looked in the direction Ninya was pointing and indeed, part of the wheat had already been taken in.

"I see. Looks like... perhaps something happened?"

Ainz turned to the group, all of whom had uneasy faces, and said:

"...Gentlemen, let us handle this. Nabe, go invisible and scout the village with flying magic."

After acknowledging Ainz's instructions, Narberal turned herself invisible with magic and vanished. Shortly after, they heard the sound of flight magic being incanted, and Narberal no longer left any tracks behind her. The travellers waited on the road, and after a while, Narberal reappeared where she had left.

"...The villagers seem to be moving normally around the village, and I did not sense that they were being controlled or ordered. The villagers are working on the fields on the other side of the village."

"...Huh, looks like I was just being paranoid."

"It should be fine. Then, let's move on... shall we?"

Peter looked expectantly to Ainz and Nfirea, and they both replied in the affirmative.

The road narrowed as they went on, so they had to form up into a column as they approached the village's entrance.

The wheat fields on either side of the road were a brilliant emerald, waving gently in the wind. The travellers looked as though they were submerged in a pool of green water.

"Hm?"

The wagon advanced with a clattering noise. Behind it, Lukrut made a noise of suspicion and studied the wheat fields closely. It was not yet time for the harvest, but the stalks were over seventy centimeters high, and they were as impenetrable as the ocean's depths.

"What's wrong?" Nfirea asked from his place at the back.

"Hm? Oh, nothing, maybe I was thinking too much..."

Lukrut tilted his head in bafflement, then quickened his pace, drawing closer to Peter.

Ninya looked in the same direction, and then opened up his steps once he made sure there were no other movements.

The wheat fields spilled over onto the road that led to the village, like the sea swallowing up the land. They wanted to cut down the stalks to ensure stable footing, but if they did that, problems would result in the future.

"I hope the villagers can tend their fields properly. This seems terribly wasteful."

Peter walked at the head of the group and because his armor touched the wheat stalks, it was soon covered in wheat grains. Peter muttered as he saw this, feeling that something was wrong.

This was a warning born from his instincts, which had been honed through countless brushes with death. Would the green grains fall off so easily?

Driven by instinct, he looked back into the wheat fields, and saw a pair of eyes staring at them. It was a small creature, its body even smaller as it hunkered down in the wheat. Although its face was obscured by the wheat stalks, it was clearly not human in nature.

"What!?"

The shocked Peter wanted to shout a warning to his colleagues, but the creature — a demihuman — spoke first, "Could you put down your weapons, please?"

The diminutive demihuman already had its blade drawn, and no matter how fast Peter moved, his opponent could still stab him first.

"Yo, please put down your weapons. Could you tell the people behind you to do so too? We don't want to have to shoot them with arrows."

There were faint sounds from another direction. When he looked to the source of those sounds, he found that there was a marvellously camouflaged hole in the wheatfields, with half a demihuman sticking out of it. The demihuman was covered in wheat stalks as further camouflage.

Peter was filled with doubt. It would seem there was room to negotiate with these creatures.

"...Could you spare our lives?"

"Sure we could. If you surrender, that is."

Peter was at a loss for what to do next.

He had to stay in front and make sure the arrows did not hit Nfirea on the wagon. He also needed to figure out the enemy's number and organization.

Verifying the opposition's objectives was also important. At the moment, he could not surrender, but neither could he entirely deny the enemy's proposition.

As though sensing Peter's confusion, the two demihumans rose from the plains with a rustle.

"—Goblins," Ninya breathed.

The demihumans who stood before them now were of the same species as the Goblins from yesterday. They had their bows raised, and their eyes were keen as they took aim.

Should they fight?

Ninya, Lukrut, and Dyne looked at each other, pondering that question.

Goblins were inferior to human beings in height, weight, muscle power, and other physical parameters. They were hard to deal with in the dark because they possessed darkvision, but under the light of day, they were hardly fearsome opponents for the veteran Swords of Darkness.

In addition, they had Ainz, who could take care of them easily like he had yesterday.

Peter was confident that they could make it through even a pincer attack, as long as their opponents were Goblins.

However, there was a reason why Peter could not immediately make that decision.

His adventurer's instincts told him that these Goblins were different from the ones he had fought yesterday.

Simply put, the Goblins in front of him seemed trained and experienced. In addition, they were in good physical shape. In contrast to the scrawny, weak Goblins from yesterday, these Goblins had bodies of rippling muscle.

In addition, the Goblin archers had an excellent shooting stance. If the Goblins yesterday were children playing with sticks, these Goblins were warriors adept at using their bows.

Finally, their weapons were well-made and well-maintained, easily rivalling the weapons of the Swords of Darkness.

Just as humans could become strong through training, monsters could as well. Demihumans like Goblins could certainly do so too.

Therefore, it was quite possible that the Goblins before the Swords of Darkness were stronger than any demihuman foe they had ever fought.

Just then, a voice cut through the wind blowing over the wheatfields, and Lukrut hurriedly looked behind.

"...Hehe, you caught me, huh?"

A Goblin popped his head out from the fields and stuck his tongue out at them. He must have been trying to sneak up on them behind, but his stealth skills were not good enough to evade the senses of Lukrut the ranger. However, their situation was hardly improved even after discovering the Goblin infiltrator.

A calm look at their surroundings revealed movements throughout the wheat fields, as though something was hiding inside them. These movements were centered on the wagon, and slowly drew closer.

They were in a very bad situation.

The Swords of Darkness could not think of any way to overcome their current situation.

-x-X-x-

Ainz raised his hand to stop Narberal from killing them all. After examining the Goblins, he was certain that his guess was correct.

"They should be the Goblins summoned from the Horn of the Goblin General."

If the girl who had received that horn was controlling these Goblins, then he had to avoid antagonizing them, as much as possible. If that was not the case they would have to think of something else. However, they were not enemies of Ainz and Narberal, so it should be fine.

The Goblin from before looked over to Ainz, who stood tall and steady, and said:

"We hope you don't make any sudden moves, chap in the full plate. We don't want to start a fight."

The voice was stiff and full of caution as Ainz stopped Narberal from lashing out.

"Relax. If you don't attack, neither will we."

"Thanks for that. These nii-sans are strong, but they aren't scary. You, however, are a different matter, and so is that nee-san beside you. When I think about the two of you as enemies, my hairs stand on end."

Ainz did not reply, but shrugged.

"Then, please wait here for a bit before Ane-san arrives."

"Who's that Ane-san you're talking about!? Did she take over Carne Village!?"

Nfirea's agitation was reflected in the obvious surprise on the Goblins' faces.

"Nfirea, calm down a little. It should be pretty obvious who has the advantage here. In addition, there's a few more oddities about the village based on Nabe-san's words. I'm hoping we can avoid pointless fighting before the truth comes out."

Nfirea was hard-pressed to hide his anxiety despite Ninya's words.

The look of immediate confrontation on his face became one of barely-restrained frustration. He clenched his fists tightly, and then slowly released them.

Ainz was surprised and confused by Nfirea's intense reaction as well.

Granted, they had not travelled together for long, and he did not know the lad all that well. However, he did not think that Nfirea would be so excited about something like this. It was possible that this village was not just a simple place to gather herbs, but it had some other significance to him.

Ainz turned a doubting eye on Nfirea. On the other side, the Goblins seemed to have sensed Nfirea's anger, and they looked at each other in confusion.

"Hm — this seems different from before..."

"Ane-san's village was recently attacked by people dressed up as Imperial knights, we're just staying on guard."

"The village was attacked...! Is she all right!?"

As though in response to Nfirea's shouts, a girl appeared at the entrance to the village, escorted by more goblins. As he saw the girl, Nfirea's eyes went wide, and he shouted her name with all his strength:

"Enri!"

The girl heard the shout, and responded in turn. Her voice was gentle and filled with kindness, as though addressing a close friend.

"Nfirea!"

At this moment, Ainz recalled what he had heard earlier.

"Ah... it would seem that her herbalist friend was not a woman, but a man."

-x-X-x-

-x-X-x-

Intermission

Demiurge walked through the Ninth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The hard soles of his leather shoes clacked loudly against the ground, and the echoes faded away into silence. Many vassals had been set out to maintain security, but they did not impair the mythic atmosphere in this place.

Suddenly, Demiurge looked around, and smiled.

"...Truly magnificent."

The object of his admiration was the entirety of the Ninth Floor. It was a place which complemented the Forty One Supreme Beings, the entities for whom Demiurge would abandon everything and pledge his utmost loyalty. Therefore, Demiurge loved and cherished everything here.

Joy filled Demiurge's heart every time he walked through this place, further reinforcing his devotion to his creators. It was not just Demiurge who felt this way; even the clowns, musicians, and other noisy fellows were awed into silence by this floor, and strove to preserve its quiescence.

Anyone who was not delighted by the sights here, who was not sufficiently loyal to the Forty One Supreme Beings, must surely have "disloyal tendencies."

As these thoughts passed through Demiurge's mind, he turned a corner. His destination was before his eyes, the room of his unquestionable superior, the Supreme Ruler of Nazarick, the last and only one who remained with them, Ainz Ooal Gown.

As he approached the room's door, he saw several people open it and leave.

These people noticed Demiurge, and waited courteously for him to approach.

One of them was dressed like a butler, but he was dressed entirely in black aside from his white gloves. It looked less like a set of butler's clothes than a combat uniform.

He was one of the ten manservants of Nazarick, but not even Demiurge could tell which of the ten he was. This was because they all wore full-face battle masks, like faceless mooks, and only communicated in strange noises.

In addition, there was the being standing before the butler.

The ridiculous mental image of a naked man in a tie appeared in Demiurge's mind.

It was a penguin.

It was the very picture of a penguin, and it wore a black tie.

"It has been a while, Assistant Head Butler-kun."

Upon hearing Demiurge's warm and genial greeting, the penguin responded with a beaming smile (probably):

"Indeed, it has been a while, Demiurge-sama."

He then bowed deeply.

This was not a simple penguin, but the assistant head butler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. He was a heteromorphic being known as a birdman, and its name was Eclair Aicler Egglayer.

As a birdman, like Peroroncino of the Forty One Supreme Beings, he should have had a bestial head and wings, and his limbs should have had avian characteristics. Yet for some reason, he looked like a penguin. Still, Demiurge had no doubts about his appearance.

The reason for that was because he was a creation and relic of the Supreme Beings.

"Is Albedo inside?"

"Yes, Albedo-sama is within."

Albedo was in charge of Nazarick while Ainz was out. It was also common knowledge that she did not conduct her business in her own room, but in this room.

All her actions were taken with Ainz's approval, so the only one to voice any objections to this arrangement was Shalltear Bloodfallen, who was herself abroad on business.

Demiurge had once whispered to Albedo, "Shouldn't a good wife wait for her husband at home and mind the house in his absence?" Therefore, he was completely unable to refute her when she replied, "What's wrong with a wife standing watch over her husband's room?"

He nodded to Eclair, and then asked:

"It's rare for you to come here, Eclair-kun. Are you not assigned to the guest rooms?"

"I must work hard in Sebas-sama's place when he is not around. In fact, I was discussing the finer points of my duties with Albedo-sama."

"Indeed. Since he is not around, the Ninth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick is now your responsibility."

"Exactly. I must work hard now, so I may one day rule the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

The smile on Demiurge's face did not change, despite Eclair's strange statement.

It was widely-known that Eclair hungered after the throne of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. He was a creation of the Supreme Beings, so he was beyond question.

Of course, if the order was given, Demiurge would eliminate him without mercy, but until then, he had no objections.

"Indeed. Work hard, then. Speaking of which, what do you intend to take care of first?"

"Cleaning, of course. What other work is there to do? Nobody cleans better than me! One could eat off the toilets I clean."

Demiurge nodded in satisfaction as he heard Eclair's confident reply.

"Excellent. Your work is very important. A stain on this floor is an insult to the Supreme Beings."

The nodding Demiurge then asked another question:

"I know your job is very important, but who will be in charge of this floor while Sebas is out?"

"That would be the head maid Pestonya. Managing this floor is nothing compared to cleaning it."

"I see... so the vassals made by the Supreme Beings have already been assigned their duties... come to think of it, is it not difficult to carry out your duties with these penguin hands of yours?"

"My talent lies in overcoming the clumsiness of these hands and cleaning house," Eclair confidently replied, his chest puffed out. Then, in a somewhat unhappy tone, he continued:

"Come to think of it, this is not something that a being like you — whose wisdom is second only to my own — would say, Demiurge-sama."

Eclair took a comb from the butler behind him, and began preening the golden feathers on the sides of his head.

"I am no mere penguin, but a rockhopper penguin made by Ankoro Mochimochi-sama of the Supreme Beings. Please do not confuse me with such animals. Also, these are not my hands — but wings."

"It seems I have been rude."

After seeing Demiurge lower his head in apology, Eclair signalled that he had not taken it to heart. Then, he ordered the butler behind him:

"Carry me."

"Ngiiiiiih—!"

The manservant tucked Eclair under his arm.

Eclair's usual walking gait was a series of short hops, which was quite slow, in some ways.

Therefore, he was typically carried around by a manservant in this manner.

"Then, I shall take my leave, Demiurge-sama."

"Mm, farewell. Eclair-kun."

After looking briefly at the Assistant Head Butler being held under a manservant's arm like a doll, Demiurge knocked gently on the room's door:

"This is Demiurge. Pardon the intrusion."

He was exceedingly polite, despite the absence of the room's owner. This was because to Demiurge, the room itself was a place to be respected.

Demiurge entered the room, which should have been empty.

He looked around, and did not see Albedo anywhere. Demiurge sighed softly, then opened another set of doors and proceeded deeper within.

The rooms of the Forty One Supreme Beings were modelled after royal suites, and featured a vast bathroom, a bar counter, a living room with a grand piano, a main bedroom, guest rooms, a dedicated kitchen, a dressing room, and so on.

Demiurge advanced to the bedroom without a second's hesitation.

He knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an answer.

There was only a single bed within, but the king-sized bed was adorned with a stylish canopy. There was a large lump, slightly larger than the size of a human, and it was squirming.

"Albedo."

Unable to bear Demiurge calling out to her, a world class beauty revealed her face from under the sheets. Her skin was an uninterrupted stretch of silky smoothness down to her shoulders, so she was probably naked under those sheets. Perhaps it was because she had burrowed into those sheets, but there was a faint blush of arousal on her cheeks.

"...What fell sorcery are you working there?"

"I want Ainz-sama to be enveloped in my fragrance when he returns."

It would seem her wiggling and squirming was to mark her territory.

Demiurge was dumbstruck. All he could do was silently watch the highest ranked NPC created by the Forty One Supreme Beings, the Guardian Overseer of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Then, he tiredly shook his head.

He did not say, "Ainz-sama is undead, he probably will not sleep on a bed," or, "Even if he did sleep on a bed, the sheets would probably be changed right away," or something like that. If she was satisfied with that, then so be it.

"You should probably not take it too far."

"...I don't know what you mean by too far, but I understand. Right, Ainz-sama?"

The person lying in bed beside Albedo suddenly revealed his face.

Demiurge was so shocked that he had no words to say.

For a moment, he thought it was Ainz Ooal Gown himself, but it was not nearly thick or imposing enough.

"That must be... a hug pillow... who made it?"

"I did."

Demiurge's nearly-closed eyes widened slightly as he heard Albedo's prompt reply. He had not expected her to be possessed of such skills.

"Be it cleaning, washing clothes, or sewing, I possess all these skills at a professional level."

Elated by Demiurge's surprise, Albedo continued showing off in a self-satisfied tone:

"I've already made socks and clothes for our future baby, up through the age of five."

Albedo's full-faced smile and her kufufufu laugh left Demiurge feeling a little powerless. He considered simply leaving her here and departing forthwith.

"It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl... ah! What if the child is a hermaphrodite, or sexless?"

Demiurge could not say anything. All he could do was watch Albedo, who was muttering to herself.

It was true that Albedo excelled in the management of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and in that respect she was far superior to Demiurge. However, she was not as talented in terms of defense and military administration, so she needed Demiurge's help in that field.

All would be well as long as there were no known enemies, like now.

With that in mind, Demiurge tamped down his uneasiness. His master had ordered him to leave the Tomb, and Demiurge could not resist that command.

"Then, in accordance with Ainz-sama's orders, I will be setting out now. That being the case, the only Guardians remaining in Nazarick will be yourself and Cocytus. There is nothing which needs to be said, but I do hope you will take care of yourself."

"So, after Aura, Mare, Sebas, and Shalltear, it's your turn? Mm, leave it to me. I'll have my sisters help me in an emergency. I will also mobilize the Pleiades. They should be enough to hold on until everyone returns."

"...I believe that your little sister cannot be deployed without Ainz-sama's permission, even in an emergency. The same applies to the Pleiades. I believe two of them are already out on missions, so you will not be able to assemble all of them. Perhaps you should move Victim to a higher floor, depending on the circumstances?"

"Still, going that far... preparations have been made in case of such a situation. If something goes awry, please return as soon as possible. Speaking of which, how will you deal with the surviving members of the Sunlight Scripture? Ainz-sama has granted you the right to dispose of them, am I wrong? You could hand that to me as well, but I have no idea what you plan to accomplish with them..."

"Ah, them, you mean? By order of Ainz-sama, they are helping us with experiments."

Demiurge seemed very happy, but Albedo wrinkled her elegantly-shaped eyebrows.

"First are the healing magic tests. When we cut off an arm and heal the wound with magic, the severed hand disappears. Now, if we had them eat the severed arm and then healed the wound, would the nutrients derived from the arm vanish? If we repeated this over and over again, would the people who ate the arms starve to death?"

"Ah — indeed."

"In addition, we allow them to vote on who should become the others' food, and who should be the one to cut off the food's limbs with a blunt axe. We do so by a registered vote."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"But of course. There will be a hierarchy among the prisoners, from those who will become food and have their limbs chopped off, to those who will chop the limbs off, and those who will eat those limbs. This creates hatred, and once they are gripped by that hatred, all we need to do is gently urge on the ones who were used as food. This encourages them to revolt, and the effects are very obvious. Beings that hate everything are truly fearsome."

"...That is quite disturbing. We of Nazarick are beings created by the Supreme Beings, and there is no way we could betray Ainz-sama. But to think these humans would betray their own masters... well, they have hardly any loyalty to speak of."

"That is what makes it interesting. You could enjoy the humans in that way too, could you not, Albedo? All you need to do is treat them as toys."

"I cannot understand your way of thinking."

"What a shame. All right, staying here and chatting will delay the execution of Ainz-sama's orders. If anything happens, let me know and I will return right away."

"Mm. I don't think it'll come to that, but I will inform you depending on the circumstances."

Albedo's alabaster-white hand emerged from under the sheets to wave Demiurge goodbye.

"Then, I will be off. Right... since you wanted to make boy's clothes, you might want to know this. Did you know that the Supreme Beings seem to prefer boys in girl's clothing?"

"...Hm?"