This Albedo's Devotion

Part 1: Fetch Quest

The sudden click of heels against a stone floor echoed throughout the previously empty bathroom. There had been no movement of the door to signal the entrance of this woman's presence. She was just simply there. Thanks to the shining red ring on her finger that she fondled so lovingly, Albedo was one of the few within Nazarick who could do such a thing.

There were several bathing facilities within the Great Underground Tomb. However, with the exception of the 6th floor's recently developed village, known as the Green Hole, most of Nazarick's various levels wouldn't be described as livable, at least in the traditional sense. As such, all the baths were located here on the 9th floor, where the Supreme Beings' own rooms resided.

This bathroom in particular was fairly modest, boasting nothing in comparison to the floor's Spa Resort, which hosted a total of seventeen baths of nine types for both genders. That said, modest within Nazarick would still be eyepopping to anyone in the world outside. The bathtub was large enough to fit seventeen people as least fairly comfortably and the golden faucet, so devoid of rust or build-up, glittered heavenly in the dim light.

Sitting at the bottom of the stone tub and tucked away at a single end was a shallow pool of wetness, so blue one would think it to be unnatural. Which it would be, were it actually water.

"So, this is the infamous Miyoshi then?" Albedo commented, mostly to herself as it was her understanding that this particular breed of slime, unlike the likes of Solution, was not intelligent enough to comprehend speech beyond a few basic commands. "It's certainly smaller than I imagined."

Approaching the tub, Albedo reached out to the slime with her right hand. Her Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, which she wore on her left, was an incredibly high-quality item and would not be damaged easily, but it was still nothing she'd leave to chance. Its magical abilities were completely secondary to the more personal reasons she valued the ring so much and she'd never forgive herself if she allowed so much as a scratch to be made across its surface.

Miyoshi, like all slimes, did not "see" the world around it through any sense of sight. It was more akin to its body being able to detect motion and informing the creature where everything was from that. As such, though Albedo had already been well within Miyoshi's area of detection, it only now oozed itself up above the bathtub's walls, stretching up to the hand reaching for it, as it'd been trained to do.

As a Sapphire Slime, Miyoshi was said to be acidic enough to melt through flesh. But even as it inched its way across her forearm, Albedo showed neither fear nor pain. She had the highest defensive power among all the Guardians and even if she had the lowest there was still simply too vast a difference in levels for the creature to do any damage to her. Even her long silk gloves boasted deceptively high stats. The most Miyoshi could do was eat away at the dirt covering the garment, and it was an added touch of pride to the succubus's smile that there was no difference in the whiteness between the areas the slime passed over and those it'd yet to. There was no way the creature could make her clothes cleaner than she always kept them.

Albedo gripped her fingers around the area of slime that was in her hand. With its fluid body Miyoshi could easily slide right out of her hold but instead it immediately ceased its journey, halting at Albedo's elbow. It WAS exceptionally well trained. But then again, what else could she expect, given who it belonged to.

"Lord Ainz… Is everything alright?"

After a moment of seeming like he'd been daydreaming, Ainz popped back to reality and looked up from where he sat.

"Hm? I'm sorry, what did you say, Albedo?" He asked absentmindedly, his hands ruffling through the many papers that littered his desk, each one being a different suggestion or opinion written by the residents of Nazarick, all, by Ainz own request, submitted anonymously.

In truth, Albedo saw little point in her master taking any ideas from anyone else but she had still been looking forward to this. This regular meeting schedule had become greatly muddled now that she had duties outside the Sorcerer Kingdom, with that noble-born moron Philip being the biggest reason she could not return to the city as often. It'd been far too long since she'd gotten to be alone with her beloved like this. But currently he seemed very distracted by something.

"Forgive me if I interrupted your deep thoughts, my lord, but you seem very restless. You keep shifting in your chair." She told him, showing concern. "Is something making you uncomfortable?"

Ainz was quiet for a long moment, as though he was trying to decide whether or not to tell her. "It's nothing so serious. It's merely…hmm…how should I say it…? Well… Ever since my visit to the Dwarf Kingdom, I haven't been able to shake the feeling of dirt and dust clinging to my bones and between my joints. Obviously I've bathed and scrubbed myself since then but the plumbing in this city is not quite to the same quality as that within Nazarick, so I feel I haven't done as through a job."

"I'm not surprised." Albedo commented in a low voice. All those not created by the Supreme Beings were by fact inferior to those who were, and in her opinion there was no species whom embodied that truth more than humans. To compare the dwellings they built to those of the Supreme Beings' was not even laughable at best.

"I have been tempted to take a [Gate] over to Nazarick, but Demiurge informed me that the Holy Kingdom's resistance force should be arriving any day now." Ainz explained himself. "For his plan to go off without a hitch, I need to make certain I'm here when they do."

"I am certain Demiurge would be more than willing to make any and all adjustments to his plan to have it suit you better, my lord."

"Of that, I have no doubt. However, with how long Demiurge has been tinkering away with his manipulations and after all the hard work he's put into them, if I were to deliberately throw any problems into it, I'd like to have a far better reason than that I felt my bones weren't clean enough."

He seemed very insistent in his decision and so Albedo did not argue against it. But again, it was a mentality she simply couldn't understand. Whatever reason he'd give for any inconvenience, no matter how small, would be more than enough of an explanation for any of them. Their master could delay the takeover of the Holy Kingdom by an entire decade simply by saying he didn't feel the weather was right for such a thing and they'd accept it. Though, given he himself possessed magic that could alter the weather on a whim, perhaps that wasn't the best example.

"Besides," Ainz continued. "It is not as though I'm without ways to solve such a minor problem. If nothing else, I can simply send one of the maids to pick up my Miyoshi for me. He'd be able to give a very quick cleaning of my more troublesome areas and I wouldn't have to leave the city."

Ainz didn't notice but there was a small twitch in the corner of Albedo's lips when he'd said a certain word, though the feeling that sparked it was one she quickly suppressed and returned to her normal state.

"I-! I could go get it for you!" She quickly and excitedly offered.

Ainz seemed a little startled by her sudden outburst, having momentarily slid himself over to one side of his chair when it'd happened. "You would-…? No. No, I couldn't do that to you." Ainz shook his head as he relaxed back into his seat. "You are the Overseer of the Guardians and already preforming numerous invaluable tasks in the name of improving the Sorcerer Kingdom. Even if you did not already have so much on your plate, such a fetch-quest is beneath your station. I fear I'd be insulting you by asking you to do such a thing."

"Forgive me for possibly speaking out of turn, my lord, but when it comes to any task that directly aids you, we humble servants see it as more important than anything else in the world." Albedo said with such impassioned speech, not able to think of a single creature created by the Supreme Beings whom would disagree with her. "Besides, I have an errand I'll be running later in Nazarick, so I would be in the area anyway. And with my ring I'd be able to get around far easier than any maid. Sending me would be much more efficient."

Ainz was quiet for a moment, hand on his chin as he thought through her point.

"Hm… Very well." He said, deciding her argument was valid. "Thank you for doing me this favor, Albedo. You have my gratitude."

Albedo clapped her hands together happy. "You honor me with such praise. Though I assure you it is unneeded. After all, such a thing as bringing my beloved an item he forgot on his way to work," Her cheeks pinkened with a blissful blush. "It is my wifely duty."

Ainz was struck completely silent, his jaw hanging open just slightly. Albedo could only assume it was in delight of her words.

"My Miyoshi. That's what he called you."

Albedo's grip tightened on the slime body.

Her primary means of dealing damage was with her bardiche, a cutting weapon which would do very little against the gelatinous form of a slime. However, slimes were not immune to blunt attacks, and while Sebas was by far her superior when it came to unarmed combat, Albedo had more than enough confidence in her physical strength that she was certain she would be able to kill such a weak creature in just a couple of hits of her fists.

"Our incredible master…so considerate of others. So worried about ever wasting their time." She went back and forth as to whether she was talking to Miyoshi or herself. "He uses you because he knows how long it takes to clean each of his bones by hand. He's too kind to burden anyone else with what he sees as an inconvenience.

"But-! But if he had only asked, I would have done it in a heartbeat, no matter how long it would have taken! No! The longer it would have taken, the more of a gift it would have felt like!"

Albedo's mind couldn't help but get lost in itself, imagining this very bathtub filled up to the brim with soap and water; her and her master seated in its center.

"Ahhhh…" Ainz let out a long, pleasurable groan as she lathered and scrubbed his back. "After a day of hard work, nothing beats this."

"It is my absolute pleasure to do this for you." Albedo said, her bashfully bright face such a lovely pink color. She went back and forth between the scrubber and towel as needed, making her beloved's bones pearly white as her through cleaning left not a speck of dirt behind. She couldn't help but giggle like a schoolgirl as she felt she felt every little bump of his spine, taking care not to get any of the bristles caught between the vertebrae.

"Though I can't help but notice you're brushing me with more than just the scrubber." Ainz said, commenting on the press of two generous mounds of flesh he kept feeling against his back. "It makes me want to return the favor."

Reaching behind him, Ainz grabbed Albedo's wrist and before she even knew what was happening he had pulled her down in front of him, on his knee just above the water.

"I believe I'll start with the front." He said, the red lights that served as his eyes looking down at her like a predator would a prey, his large bone hands going directly for her chest.

"AHHHHH! LORD AINZ!" Albedo squeed, her arms flailing and her wings flapping like mad as she'd become momentarily lost in her fantasy. It was a wonder that Miyoshi did not get flung off and spattered across the wall.

Then, almost on a dime, her mood quickly changed as she glared back down at the creature.

"And I could perhaps have had all that, had it not been for you." She said coldly to the slime.

Miyoshi quivered and started moving restless on her arm, like it'd been able to sense her killing intent. If that was the case, then the creature perhaps was more intelligent than she'd given it credit for.

A hole in space itself appearing in front of her, Albedo slid the arm that held Miyoshi into it, disappearing elbow deep into it. When she pulled her arm back out, Miyoshi was gone, having been deposited in her own personal Item Box.

With a disappointed sigh, Albedo closed the hole back up. "You had nothing to fear. Regardless of my personal feelings, you are Lord Ainz's personal property. Bringing harm to you would be no different than burning his clothes or breaking one of his items."

She looked around again, making certain to double-check for any bits of the slime creature that might have been left behind in the tub.

"It should be secure enough for teleportation. So now I can…hm?"

Albedo paused herself, hearing a faint noise coming from outside the bathroom door. It was nothing violent but it certainly seemed to have some force behind it.

Curiosity taking hold of her, Albedo walked over and opened up the door.

"-not a single speck of mildew behind, understand?! The bathrooms of Nazarick should be so sparkling that you could walk through them barefoot and your feet themselves would become cleaner!"

"YEEEE!" The three manservants stretched their arms out in salute to the creature that just barely came up to their knees. They had mouths underneath their masks but they weren't much in the way of speech. Still, it seemed they understood their orders, given how proudly they held the mop buckets at their sides.

Albedo was tempted to chuckle to herself under her breath. Nazarick was the home of many unique individuals but there was no mistaking this little bird for anyone else.

Finally noticing that his subordinates were looking over at something besides just him, the assistant butler, Éclair Ecleir Eicler, turned his head to the door that now opened more widely.

"Ah! Overseer Albedo. My apologies. I didn't realize you were bathing at this time." He bowed his feathered head to her.

"No need to worry yourself, Eclair. I actually was only here to fetch something for Lord Ainz. I was just leaving."

"Oh?" He said, finding interest in his remark. "That's right. This is the bathroom the Supreme One often has as his choice to frequent, but he hasn't been around much lately."

"Lord Ainz is very busy. I'm certain you must have heard about the Baharuth Empire becoming a vassal nation to his Sorcerer Kingdom."

"But of course. It's all anyone in the Great Tomb has been talking about. And to accomplish such a feat in only a few days, it's something even I would be challenged to match."

If Albedo recalled correctly, Lord Ainz had one said Éclair resembled something called a Rockhopper Penguin. It was a species she was unfamiliar with and thus couldn't say how much of an example of his kind Éclair was. Given he also said Hamsuke resembled a Djungarian Hamster (albeit a giant one), she could only assume there were many strange creatures she'd never heard of that existed in the world the Supreme Being originally came from.

"However!" Éclair's eye glinted with determination, putting the spotlight back on himself. "Such an acquisition plays into my hands just as much as his own. I dare say that Lord Ainz himself as put me one step closer towards my destiny! My destiny of sitting upon the throne of Nazarick itself!"

There it was. That familiar itch in Albedo's fingers. One little motion and her bardiche would be summoned right into her hand, without even the need to open up her Item Box. She believed she once heard her creator refer to such an ability as a "hot key".

Her eyes glided across Éclair's fat little neck.

"It would be so easy."

Fortunately for Éclair, Albedo's smile was a mask that was not easily broken and thus he was allowed to remain oblivious to how close to the edge he was.

"I take it you'll be applying your usual method." She asked him, her kind voice so sweet it was like honey.

Éclair smirked. As much as his beak would allow him to anyway. "But of course."

Throwing his flipper up into the air, his nearest manservant followed his lead, quickly yanking a flip comb out of his breast pocket with a practiced hand and giving it over to the penguin. Twirling the comb around dramatically, Éclair ran its teeth through both tufts of hair atop his head onceover, flattening them out before they instantly returned to their normal curls.

"Cleaning has worked so masterfully for me so far! Why would I ever dare stop?!" He asked her with such conviction. "Is cleanliness not the very backbone of the world? I dare say that there is no one who can clean better than I can! These very bathrooms are proof enough of that. The empire is under our flag, and with the Dwarf Kingdom as our ally it is only a matter of time until it joins too. An entire mountain filled with dirt, coal, metals, and soot! My feathers are completely fluffed just imagining it all! Nazarick is one thing! Obviously the most important thing! But if I can keep such vassal nations clean along with it, then there will be no doubt the greatness of my abilities! Lord Ainz himself would have to name me ruler after that, and be able to freely retire in the sparkling paradise I created in his name."

Albedo gave a pleasing chuckle. "I commend your brilliance. I'm certain Ankoro Mocchi Mochi would be very proud."

"You honor me by saying such a thing." Éclair thanked her with a bow of his head. "I look forward to the day I have you as my subordinate. We will be an unstoppable duo!"

Behind her smiling closed lips, Albedo felt the harsh grid of her teeth again each other. "It would be quite the thing to see, wouldn't it?" She said, not even a crack appearing in her façade. "Well, I don't want to keep you from your duties. I'd best be on my way."

"Safe travels, Overseer Albedo." He saluted her off.

"Safe cleaning, assistant butler." Albedo gave a courteous bow to him, as was proper for one of her position, before finally taking her leave. She could have used her ring to instantly teleport, but at the moment, walking away was what was best. One foot in front of the other, deliberate focus on taking her away from the temptation.

Éclair's attention returned back to his manservants. Albedo could hear the splash of mops into buckets behind her and Éclair assigning roles.

She knew for a fact she was not the only one who disliked him. From the Floor Guardians to the Area Guardians to the Pleiades and all the way down to the Homunculus maids, there was no one who served Lord Ainz and didn't have some small urge to strangle Éclair for how he talked about someday taking the throne from him.

However, they all put up with it for the exact same reason. Because that's how his creator had made him to be. Lady Ankoro Mocchi Mochi herself had given Éclair the desire to conquer Nazarick and the genuine belief he could do so by cleaning. If it was something a Supreme Being had declared, what right did any of them have to question it?

Albedo resisted the impulse to put her fist through the wall.

"It was not enough for them to abandon you. They had to leave something behind to mock your very position."

Once she had turned the corner, the team of cleaners were out of sight and she could no longer hear them.

An idea coming to mind, Albedo held a hand up to her ear. "[Message]."

There was only a short delay between when the spell was cast and when she heard it to connect to the intended party.

["Hm? Yes?"]

"CZ Delta, this is Albedo." Albedo stated herself clearly. [Message] was a very useful spell but it still had its limitations. The combat maid could hear her voice but couldn't see her, and with the differences in pitch or tone the spell could cause depending on the distance, it was best to immediately identify yourself to avoid any confusion.

Albedo heard what sounded to be a straw sliding across the rim of a glass, CZ likely having been in the middle of enjoying one of those odd chocolate drinks of hers.

["How may I be of service to you, Lady Albedo?"] She asked. Though she always talked so simply and calm, to the point where it was hard to get a read on exactly what she was thinking at any given time, the lack of hesitation in CZ's voice as she spoke assured Albedo she would obey the words of her superior.

Albedo's smile grew just a touch more twisted. "Éclair and his manservants are cleaning the bathrooms on the east end of the 9th floor. For their safety, please patrol the area, in case of any intruders."

There was a small moment of silence on the other end of the call, but Albedo wasn't worried about it. CZ was an Automaton so it was doubtful her expression had changed much. Still, Albedo liked to imagine how big her eyes had gotten at that request.

["Understood. I will be there shortly."]

"Very good." Albedo said, ending the spell. Her smile felt much more genuine now.

She was wrong before. There was one person in Nazarick who liked Éclair, and that person was someone the assistant butler did everything in his power to stay away from.

Her mood feeling much more lifted now, Albedo activated her ring and teleported.

Where she reappeared she was surrounded on all sides by mounds upon mounds upon mounds of treasure. Staggering volumes of gold coins and jewels stretching up to a ceiling so high its limit could not be seen. If one were to look closely they might just be able to spot various items poking out through the stacks, some with effects that would make them far more valuable than the coins that consumed them. While at a first glance this giant room just seemed to be a chaotic mess, there in truth was an organizational structure in place and it was meticulously followed to the letter. There was simply no need to make it obvious to a thief where any of the REAL items of importance were hidden.

This was the Great Treasury of Nazarick and it could only be accessed by those whom wore a Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. That she had one was physical proof of how much her master trusted her above so many others.

It was of no surprise to Albedo that she was not alone. However, it was to her amusement how quickly the other person turned his head at the click of the heels that announced her arrival. Clearly she had not been expected.

There was some irony that the person before her, so deep inside the Great Tomb, was someone most of Nazarick had never seen before yet so many common humans of E-Rantel and the Re-Estize Kingdom would recognize instantly. His jet-black armor and flowing red cape would make him stand out in any given crowd, but the fact that he was the one keeping them "safe" from monsters like her? Oh yes. The human made quite certain to remember the image of Momon of Darkness. Their hero, as Lord Ainz had so perfectly crafted him to be.

But it was not her beloved whom was under that helmet this time.

"It appears I've caught you just as you've returned," Albedo said to him.

At her words, Momon's armor discolored and softened, quickly resembling clay. It had never been true metal but rather just the flesh of a very unique member of his species. The flesh moved on its own and folded in on itself, rapidly molding its features into a new form. The man's true form.

A blank face with no distinct facial features, save the three protruding holes that acted as his eyes and mouth. The default appearance of all Doppelgängers, though his vibrant military uniform most certainly made an effort to make up for any of the face's blandness.

This man was the sole creation of Lord Ainz himself.

"Pandora's Actor." Albedo greeted him.

Author's notes: Another short Overlord story, only about four chapters long. Enjoy!

As an off-topic side note, if you like Overlord I highly recommend checking out the anime Isekai Quartet, in which the main cast of Overlord crosses over with the main casts of three other Isekai shows, namely KonoSuba, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, and The Saga of Tanya the Evil. Overlord was the only show I'd seen before watching Isekai Quartet and I liked the other characters so much I decided to give the other shows a chance and ended up really enjoying them.

Admittedly, part of the reason I watched Isekai Quartet was because I attempted to watch Goblin Slayer, a show I was recommend to watch since I liked Overlord. After one VERY horrific rape scene in the first episode, I dropped the show and was in desperate need of something else to get my mind off it. Goblin Slayer doesn't seem like a bad show, it's just that particular level of darkness, maturity, and realism is not something I can enjoy watching. In all the animes I listed, the characters can be killed or tortured and go through some pretty traumatic stuff, but I'm never afraid of them getting raped. Even with Tuare, who was clearly raped multiple times at that brothel before Sebas saved her, we the audience were not made to watch or listen to it happen to her and her introduction is after all that stuff, so it's not like we were attached to the character and then had her go through that.

Anyway, back to Isekai Quartet, if you like Ainz, you'll really like the ending to episode 5. I'm saying nothing more than that.