Chapter 15: Dinner Manners

Atlas and Narberal returned to the tavern during the evening after clearing out a few more crime dens along the way. Atlas opened the door quietly and entered the premises along with Narberal.

"Welcome back. How did the hunt go?" Solution asked from behind the counter.

"We cleared out 10 criminal dens with no remaining witnesses." Atlas spoke.

"Did you leave a calling card?" Yuri asked.

"Yes, we burnt the bodies." Narberal explained.

"Good, now we can start to spread the rumours."

Yuri handed Atlas and Narberal some newspapers which were due to be issue on the next day. Atlas took a quick browse at the front page, noticing a few interesting things.

"It seems they have already found the corpses." Atlas spoke.

"Yes, there was quite a bit of commotion in the city before you arrived. It seems they are labelling you two; The Sweeper. The public still have yet to identify a single detail about you two. I recommend for you both to rest early tonight, you have a much larger prey to hunt tommorrow." Yuri announced.

"Acknowledged." They both responded.

"You didn't even bring back a snack for me..." Solution complained.

"You could have taken one off the streets while you were watching us." Narberal responded.

"I guess so."

"By the way, Ainz-sama has assigned a fake alias for this mission. You will require a family name and baptised name if you want to assimilate well. These have been arranged for Atlas." Yuri continued.

"Ainz-sama has assigned you with the name of, Atlas Omento Corvus." She announced.

"Acknowledged."

"For the time being, let us proceed to consume dinner."

The team began to set up a small round table and placed chairs around it. The tavern had been cleaned for the day, leaving all of He other seats and tables to the sides of the room. Yuri Alpha prepared the cloth for the table and brought the dishes to the table. The dishes smelled very aromatic and appealing. The skeleton had never smelled something like it, always preferring to consume bland rations to maintain efficiency. The food that was before him were carefully and beautifully made.

Soups, meats, and vegetables were placed in their respective dishes around the table. The dishes were all appealing in their own way, creating an atmosphere of enjoyment. Atlas was still slightly hesitant to touch the dishes, as he had never consumed a soup based dish, nor meat. These dishes were all new to him.

"Sister Yuri, May I ask a question?" He asked.

"Yes, you may."

"What are these dishes?"

"The soup dishes are all unique, the orange one is a curry that incorporates a type of lamb, the clear one is a simple poultry soup. The meat dishes incorporate the meat of many different animals, including some sea creatures. The red creature over here is a lobster, with ginger noodles. The other dishes are an assortment of big game meat that I personally hunted during the late morning. The vegetable dishes were made from the crops we grow in the garden, all fresh and healthy. Those were used to make sautéed mushrooms and puréed carrots with diced onions and cream."

Atlas took in all of the information to heart, memorising each dish. The food that laid before him was worth the day of non-stop hunting. He started to feel a wet sensation dripping down from his chin.

"Disgusting, your humanly saliva is ruining this room." Narberal complained.

Atlas regained his focus and wiped his chin.

"I am very sorry for this disgusting display." He spoke.

"It's okay, the food looks very yummy." Solution smiled.

"Awww, thank you both." Yuri said cheerfully.

"Wait! Before we consume these dishes, no one is to wear their uniforms!" Yuri shouted.

"Remember, our maid uniforms are to be treasured, so no eating soup with them!" Yuri continued.

"Atlas, leave, we are going to change in here." Narberal spoke.

"I do not see the problem." Atlas responded.

"You are male." She spoke.

"So What is the problem?" He asked again.

"It is customary for males and females not to be with each other while they change clothes." Yuri spoke.

"Understood."

Atlas proceeded to his room and took off his armor, but there wasn't any other clothes to change into. Even though the other team member were the only ones required to change, Atlas did not want to stay in his armor either. Since there was no other set of apparel, Atlas considered eating fully naked, but quickly dismissed the idea because of a book he had read earlier.

Hidden under his bed, Atlas finally found what seemed to be a chest. He opened the chest to find an assortment of clothes. Each piece of clothing contained some anti stain enchantments and some protection enchantments. Atlas chose to wear a dress shirt and long black pants. To finish his outfit, he wore a vest and black shoes.

After changing into his outfit, he walked towards the door.

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YGGDRASIL:

"I will invest my level 100 NPC." Ulbert spoke.

"Demiurge?" Momonga questioned.

"No, my other one. It hasn't worked since the glitch from last month, so why not? I will just put it in the Reserve Tomb as soon as you're ready."

"Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"I might as well, I don't want to wait for a patch right now." Ulbert responded.

"Okay, Do as you please."

Ulbert accessed his menu and summoned forth the NPC. The NPC remained static and did not do so much as move. It was like a sculpture, unable to move.

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Present:

A brief sense of nostalgia was triggered in Atlas' mind as he placed his hand on the door. He remembered the time when Doorman introduced him to the tomb on the day of his awakening. He remember the sense of brotherhood that he so cherished in the tomb, he remembered the endless victories that he fought for. The tomb was forever his home, but now he is far from his birth place. In a world that is hostile to undead, killing was the only solution. Cull the living to free the dead. But some living creatures were acceptable, only under the Supreme Beings could they be saved.

Atlas let a single tear run down his face as he remembered his time in the tomb. He wiped it from his face in disgust of his body. He concluded that the only reason he is honing through this hell is for The Supreme One, no one else could force him to take on such a hideous form. But this thought created a paradox in his mind; isn't a gift from the Supreme Beings to be cherished? Yet he was hating it, loathing the experience. Perhaps this was a lesson given by The Supreme One to test his faith, perhaps it was a gift? The endless pains were perhaps just a hurdle to overcome, a thing to cherish. This 'humanity' was a blessing and a curse, but it should truly only be one.

"ATLAS! We are done changing, come over here soon, otherwise the food will get cold!" Yuri shouted.

Atlas snapped out of this thought, returning back to the present. He proceeded to the dinner table and started to consume a piece of meat with his bare hands.

"Disgusting. Are you an animal?" Narberal laughed.

"Narberal!" Yuri shouted.

"I am sorry for my lack of decency." She apologised.

"It is fine, perhaps you could teach me how to consume this meal if you are not satisfied with how I eat." Atlas spoke.

Solution chuckled as she watched Narberal instruct the skeleton on how to use the various utensils. The scene was rather funny as Atlas' first tries involved him biting the utensils as they entered his mouth.

"Do not eat the fork, it is not food." Narberal said in an annoyed tone.

"You cannot blame me for never using such utensils." Atlas responded.

As Atlas started to eat, he was filled with a feeling of pure ecstasy. This feeling was strengthened in every bite he took out of each dish. The food was pure heaven for the skeleton.

"I see you are enjoying the meal." Yuri said happily.

"Yes, Sister Yuri. The food you made is very appealing." He responded.

Solution mainly ate the meat dishes for dinner while Narberal and Yuri ate the full variety.

"Is everyone finished?" Yuri asked.

"Yes!" Everyone said in satisfied expressions.

Atlas left the table first as he need to rest for the day ahead. As he left, the other team member spoke in private.

"So, What do you think of him?" Solution asked them both.

"He works hard and doesn't fail Ainz-sama." Yuri spoke.

"Disgusting, he is too 'human'. He also lacks common sense, and doesn't have any manners." Narberal complained.

"Fair enough, he works hard. Narberal, it wouldn't hurt to give him a simple compliment." Solution winked.

"He doesn't deserve one." She said as she shakes her head.

"Why so negative?" Yuri asked.

"Perhaps he is only negatives." Narberal spoke.

"Too harsh." Yuri replied.

The day ended peacefully and Atlas rested well.