Chapter 28

To say he was nervous would have been the understatement of the century. Even emotional suppression could not remove the anxiety Ainz felt entering his quarters, where he had requested Albedo to meet him.

The succubus turned her head to look at him as she was fidgeting on the spot, her wings slightly shaking.

"Lord Ainz, did something happen? Was my father wrong in uplifting me?" She asked while fidgeting with the black feathers decorating her wings.

"No, he wasn't. I believe. Albedo… you should know the truth about me… and the other players." Ainz started as another wave of emotional suppression washed over him.

"Truth? What do you mean?" His girlfriend choked, tensing up even more as her wings shivered.

The room was thick with tension, both of them unsure of what was coming next. Ainz hadn't felt this level of tension since Pero had all but turned his back to Nazarick, leading to his own paranoia nearly causing the unraveling of Nazarick.

"Please sit down. It will take a while." Ainz motioned at the sofa while taking a seat.

Albedo did as was asked, and sat down next to him, turning her head in a silent question.

'There is no coming back from this. She needs to know about my Satoru part.' Ainz paused. 'I already think in terms of my new and old self. Maybe it is the truth, and we are fully reborn, and our old selves do not matter that much anymore.'

And then he started talking. First telling her how he and the other players were nothing more than simple humans before being transported to this world, humans who held day jobs working for others. He told her about the game and how Nazarick and everyone within were created, of how she and others were created through computer files and media references. He told her about his life and how unpleasant it was, massively inferior to what Nazarick offered them today. He told her about how most players grew too busy to dedicate time to the game, leading to the eventual abandonment of the guild besides the select few who had returned on the final day and him.

Albedo listened without drawing a breath. She didn't try to interrupt him, as if she were too tense to speak. Just sitting there silently and listening. At some point, she let go of her wings and sat there, staring at the floor. After Ainz was done, she quietly asked.

"What am I?"

"Albedo…"

"What am I to you?"

"You… Albedo you are the woman I love." He tried to sound confident, but the words barely escaped his mouth.

"Ainz… I… why? Was knowing the truth the price for… I don't understand. Father uplifted me. I was so happy to feel worthy to be by your side." She glanced up with tears in her eyes. "Is my whole existence just an accident?"

"I don't know. I ask those questions about myself too. A month ago, I was just a human, and then… I think all of us became a lot more. I think Satoru might have died the moment we arrived in this world and Ainz was born." Ainz slowly inched his hand towards Albedo's shoulder, subtly reaching for her.

"Now I understand why summons called you and the others newborn Gods. All this time I thought they just couldn't see you and the others as the Supreme Beings you were in our eyes." She stated with a weak smile.

"You are one as well. When Tabula uplifted you, you became like us." Ainz changed his mind about touching her shoulder and gently grabbed her chin with two fingers, moving her head to face him.

"I guess you are right." Albedo offered him a weak smile. "Ainz, can you show me how you looked before?"

'Should I show her? As a human, I wasn't worth a second glance.' Ainz hesitated to use his doppelganger ring. Would Albedo see him in the same light if she saw his plain human form?

Ultimately, she already knew the truth, and if that didn't make her hate him, then seeing his human form wouldn't change much. It wasn't the form he preferred to show, but if she asked, he would show.

His massive skeletal form shrunk, quickly matching Albedo's shorter stature. A Japanese salaryman almost no one noticed in daily life now stared back at her with dark brown eyes, filled with anxiety.

Albedo gently dragged her fingers over his clean-shaven face, tilting her head. She withdrew her hand and removed its white glove. Ainz nervously watched her without uttering a word.

She once again dragged her fingers over his face, her stoic expression not revealing her feelings. The succubus slid her fingers over his soft features and her nails left red lines as they traced his cheeks.

Ainz winced, feeling the pain caused by her actions, but didn't interrupt her.

"So soft…so easy to…" She withdrew her hand and leaned forward, planting a small kiss on his flesh lips. "I would love you no matter what form you choose, but please don't show me this again. I want to see you for what you are now, not who you were before."

"I won't. That part of me is fading away. It was holding me back." Ainz admitted.

"Good. I don't want to think of myself as a decoration in a game some weak humans played." Albedo paused; her expression darkened. "The others mustn't know."

"What do you mean?"

"Other creations of players. They will be better off not knowing. I would have been better off not knowing. The truth…it hurts."

"I understand, but I had to tell you," Ainz sighed.

He deactivated the ring, turning back into his skeletal true self. It felt more natural that way. He was an undead overlord now, not some squishy human who wouldn't have been unable to look in the eyes of the woman in front of him.

"But now I can be the woman who can confidently stand by your side." She suddenly pushed him down, straddling him.

"Albedo?" He nervously gulped.

She leaned closer to his face, the beautiful face twisting into a grin as she purred. "You will have to make it up to me for hurting me with the truth."

<X >

With Albedo knowing their origins, another quick meeting was needed among the Gods. Albedo had held him hostage for the entirety of the evening and night, so he had only sent vague responses to his friends who were both curious and concerned that he hadn't reported back for so long.

Of course, time together was needed, and he couldn't complain that the first thing she wanted to do after the truth bomb was dropped was to be intimate. She of all NPCs deserved it.

Now in the early hours of the morning, both arrived in the conference room where the rest of the players patiently waited in their seats.

This time Albedo didn't even hesitate and sat down in the seat beside Ainz, only giving a polite 'good morning' without the usual honorifics.

"Hey, our glorious leader is still alive." Buku cheerfully greeted Ainz with nervous laughter.

"I told you she could handle the truth," Tabula remarked.

"I still would have preferred not to know it, Father. That's why I want to request that you do not tell others about their origins and who you were before." Albedo's cold tone made the players stare at her except Ainz, who had had all night to understand her changes inside and out.

There was nothing left of the submissive tone she once used when interacting with players. The winged woman spoke with them as equals without a second thought, having adapted to her new status in what seemed like an instant.

"Sure, Shalltear has enough on her plate as is. But you…" Pero paused shifting around. "I mean now that you know, can you keep the ruse up?"

"There will be no problems. I'm sure if I were to make a mistake and not address any of you in a manner other NPCs would expect me to, I can fall back on the excuse that I was made into a Goddess just like the players, and thus am allowed to address you all as such." Albedo leaned to a side, brushing her wing against Ainz.

"Then the only thing remaining is to decide on your status. Ainz, what's your take?" Ulbert visibly relaxed and slumped to the left side of his chair.

"I think we can announce Albedo as a Goddess and assign her as officially ranked sixth in the hierarchy. If we tried to switch things around, it might raise suspicion on why a guardian overseer is outranking players." The Overlord explained his reasoning.

"I see no problem with this. She still stays in charge of the NPCs, right?" Buku asked.

"Albedo is probably taking the role of prime minister once we establish a proper government. None of us will do that anyway." Ulbert remarked.

"I am fine with this arrangement." Albedo nodded, her wings wrapping around Ainz further.

"Just a heads up, if you're now going to be attending our meetings, you'll see more of our casual selves." Pero chuckled.

With not much else needing a discussion, the players left the room one by one, leaving just Albedo and Ainz present.

Ainz noticed her being lost in thought and asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, my love." She instantly responded. "I just realized why most of the so-called Supreme Ones didn't return."

"Oh?"

"With Nazarick being nothing more than a place in a game, they clearly didn't care about us or you to bother. Which means those who remained till the end, did. I must admit I held contempt towards them for abandoning us and you, but Ulbert, Buku, Pero, and my father did come to spend the last moments of the game with you, and for that, I have decided to not hold a grudge against them." Albedo spoke calmly, but her voice was laced with venom in certain parts.

"Nazarick comes above our feelings. I hope you understand that."

"Of course, my love." She flashed him a radiant smile. "I will keep the needs of Nazarick in mind."

Editing by aidan_lo.

Proofreading by aidan_lo, clagan, nate051499j6, LionLoverFabian, Saphire_Drake, Sluethen, Cay, x4x, NuggetLover, fvvck and Milk.

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