Note: This story is a work of fiction. It has many content of adult nature. If you do not want to read such content, please close your browser window or press the convenient back button.

This story uses the same setting as my other story "Momon, Big Black Changeling". Essentially, Ainz Ooal Gown is the same type of creature as in that story, although this and that story happen in different worlds.

A tiny miniature eye watched as Shalltear Bloodfallen made her way down the hall. It was careful to keep itself hidden, as the vampire goddess was nothing if not sharp. To any observer, there was one change to the vampire's body that was instantly noticeable—a small baby bump was present beneath her gothic dress. As such she was also walking demurely, as if she was carrying a heavy load. There was also just a hint of pride in her shoulders, as if she felt she was something or someone important.

Shalltear presently arrived in front of a pair of stately wooden doors, each flanked by a Nazarick bodyguard with officious airs to their manners. The vampire paid them no heed as the doors swung open, admitting her entrance into the Overseer's office.

"Albedo," Shalltear said, by way of announcing herself.

"Shalltear," the Overseer responded, her eyes fixed on the papers on her desk. She did not welcome the vampire explicitly, and in fact seemed quite annoyed by their sudden presence. "Why have you come?"

"Oh, you know damn well why," Shalltear said, a hint of impatience seeping into her face. She scowled, as if she was staring the problem right in the face and could do nothing about it. "It's been getting more and more annoying each passing day. And I wrote it off, because we were still having those wonderful orgies, and even that wretched Clementine can manage to make me cum."

"Shameless," Albedo said with a dull snort. She rolled her eyes. "Not a minute into the conversation and you're already talking about tasteless sex with an inferior."

"Oh, and of course let us not forget your crazy sixty-nine action with the half-breed."

Albedo looked up squarely into Shalltear's eyes. The glare could have killed, were she some sort of medusa-like creature. The vampire met her gaze head on, and coyly continued, "If I'd known you like eating pussy so much I would have offered mine anytime you wanted…"

"Enough." Albedo's cut through the room like a blade. "What is it you need, vampire?"

"Yes. Enough. That's right. Enough! I've had enough!" Shalltear raised her arms, then flicked them down as if she was chopping something in half. "We already have our hands full managing our bodies for the sake of the children Ainz-sama has blessed us, yet now we must suffer this agonizing wait."

"Bearing his child is the greatest honor," Albedo stated with gritted teeth. Her own body clearly showed the bump indicating her own glowing pregnancy. In her spare time she rubbed at it, cooing and whispering, longing for the day she could proudly present it to Lord Ainz, and he would reward her with something grandiose.

"Yes, agreed, but you will also agree it takes a toll on us. And that would be manageable, if our lord was also here to give us… comfort and love as should be rightfully the case. But he is busy."

"He has grand ambitions," Albedo said. The campaign for the Holy Kingdom had just begun, and not even the Supreme Being's stated desire to create a new family with his lovers would change the schedule. In this case, it was Ainz who inked the grand design, and it was Demiurge and herself who interpreted it to create the various plans now being executed all across the Roble Holy Kingdom.

Frankly, Albedo no more cared for the Kingdom than the lowliest speck of dust on her desk, now that she had been blessed by her lord. Yet it was still vital for Nazarick to extend its reach throughout the land, if they were to accomplish the goal for which Ainz-sama had stated. At the very least, it would be something that they could show to their children proudly, to remind them of their Great Father's might. The taking of E-Rantel had been just the first step.

"His absence, therefore, makes us weary all the more."

"I don't know about you, Shalltear, but I relish the wait," Albedo said. "Absence does make the heart grow fond."

"But not the body," Shalltear rejoined.

Albedo, now awakened to the sex, could not help but agree with the vampire now, for once. Such forbidden pleasures, once confined in the lush imaginative spaces of her mind, had now been unleashed upon the real world. She had used such knowledge for Ainz-sama during their many orgies, and she had been greatly pleased, both by the result, and the pleasures the act itself brought. She was accomplishing what she had been created to do, and that was to give her full love over to the great Overlord of Nazarick.

Still, she would not admit that to Shalltear, whom she viewed as nothing more than a sex-addled skank. Hers was a sex to be enjoyed intimately with the one she loved; the vampire delighted in the orgies and the various pleasures that could be ferreted out from hands and mouths and orifices quite separate from their one chosen love. She found such debauchery distasteful on a certain level, though she had no choice when Ainz-sama freely indulged in it—as was his right, of course, but it was galling all the same.

"Why don't you have your minions pleasure you, as usual you stinking bitch?" she spat.

"They are, but they're not helping," Shallter said airily.

Albedo sighed. "Then why not head to the Mother's Hall and rope in that Clementine's tongue to help?"

Shalltear made a sound of disgust. "Fornicate? With that lowlife? Not without Ainz-sama, thank you." Personally, Albedo thought the vampire was less concerned with fornication itself than with the fact that Clementine really was a lowborn inferior—who had once a prisoner of Nazarick before she had been granted the dubious honor of being an "equal" as a mother to them, and only because she had opened her legs and gotten pregnant by Ainz-sama's seed.

Shalltear sighed. "And that is, of course, what I was getting at with my third point." She bared her teeth in a snarl, and Albedo could see all the razor-sharp teeth there, all filed to fine points ready to pierce through skin. "Or, rather, my whole point. How much more must we bear their inclusion, Albedo? The Master was ours by right. And yet we have another vampire, that human, and the half-breed joining us? Where is the justice? We were here first—we should be first!"

Albedo took a deep breath. It was rather unsettling to hear her own deep thoughts being echoed by someone she had despised for a long time. And that was why she refused to agree—loudly. "We are still better than them, you fool. We are part of Nazarick, and they will always remain filthy lower beings. Even Cocytus agrees, even Aura and Mare agree. Should Ainz-sama will it, they will suffer the same fate as those invaders."

"Oh, that would be a fine thing," she said. "I would love to suck out all that snooty half-breed's blood. She dares to presume the honor of claiming Ainz-sama's first?"

Albedo's nostrils flared, as an angry red color flushed through her face. It was as if a beast had emerged from a pool deep within Albedo—a great pool where swirled within all the masked, buried, subdued anger and frustration were left to spin forever in idle eddies, until it gave birth to a creature whose only desire was hate and suffering. She felt it seize her then, capture her heart and mind and bring such delicious, murderous thoughts inside that she was, quite literally, seeing red. It was only through a monumental force of will that she was able to abate it—albeit only temporarily. "Well, despite that unworthy one's presence, her words cannot change the facts."

"And are we to resign ourselves to that fact? Forever and ever?"

"They are small and pitiful," Albedo said, still trying to steady her breathing. "And regardless of their… prowess in the sexual act, that's all they will ever amount to in Nazarick. Whores and pleasure-slaves."

"But there will be more of them."

"More?" Albedo repeated, cocking her head.

"A most unworthy rumor passed my ears," said Shalltear, lowering her voice as if she were a fishmonger gossiping at the market. "I had been commissioned to use Gate to transport two corpses here, and quite beautiful ones too. They were whisked away immediately to be resurrected."

"… On Ainz-sama's orders?" Shalltear nodded, and Albedo leaned back, her mind now spinning wildly. She knew of her love's intense fascination in anything interesting and new. This could just be another instance of it, whereby he deliberately spared a lowlife creature just so he could observe it and test it to his pleasure. But Shalltear's qualification that these corpses had been "beautiful" piqued her interest—suddenly these were no longer just mere curiosities to be studied, but actual threats. What if Ainz-sama had preserved them for the intention of adding them to his collection, making them peers to Albedo? The beast within her could not stand it.

"Those two were quite the catches, in my opinion. We can only hope that interest in them is for other purposes," Shallear muttered thoughtfully, echoing Albedo's inner thoughts. "And that's not all. There're rumors of a lowly human squire who's been getting very attached to our Master. Ainz-sama has even gifted her with a weapon from his own collection. A gift!"

Albedo took a deep breath, her hands making a fist and near crumpling the papers on the desk. Shalltear watched her carefully, and nodded to herself.

"Yes, yes, that's it. I came to the very same conclusion. It is… inevitable that the Master adds more to be his broodmares. It is his right as Ruler of All. However, something has to be done with this situation. At the least, we should start taking steps so we are not swept aside." She made a curtsy. "Never would I have expected a time when you would not be the only claimant to that illustrious place beside Ainz-sama's throne. But in this we have become quite the strange pair of bedfellows. I do hope you agree."

Albedo bit her lip, then clasped her fingers together. There were many things in her mind, now, some even involving finding and assassinating that annoying chit that had now interested her Master, before disposing of her body so it could no longer be resurrected. Yet she knew that she could not hide it that well before Ainz-sama would investigate, even grow suspicious, so she could not do that.

She leaned forward, her eyes glittering with predatory zeal. "Yes… something had to be done."

When the doors to the Overseer's office swung shut, the scouting eye observing from afar no longer had any reason to be. It imploded into itself, before winking out like a distant star in the night sky. Some distance away, Zesshi Zetsumei, her brows furrowed, felt the mental link to the familiar terminate, and thereupon she opened her eyes with a sigh.

She leaned back against the cushion and sighed. Her hands fell to their customary positions, right on top of her bulging belly. She felt the tremor of life within, and sought some comfort from it, even as her thoughts swirled with many concerns. It had been four months since she had confirmed her pregnancy to her lover. It had come within a mere few days when Ainz had proclaimed, to all of Nazarick, that he was cultivating a new "family" formed from all the women he had and would conquer, and that Nazarick's new directive was in the care of their forthcoming charges—all for the glorious future of the tomb. Ainz had then demanded oaths of loyalty to the mothers, which included the human "outsiders" like Zesshi, Clementine, and Keeno. They were accorded special status—they were not expected to be obeyed, but they were to be given all the highest honor and respect, just the same as they would for Ainz.

Time had passed, and then just a week ago she had confirmed the presence of her three children, all growing fast and safe inside her womb. There had been much joyous celebration since then, though Ainz had only been able to spend less than a day with her, owing to the events in the Holy Kingdom.

The prospect of triplets had been a bit perplexing for Zesshi, as she had hoped for the single first-born to be truly named as the "primary" heir to her and Ainz's legacy. That there would be three to vie for that honor was… interesting from the perspective of a possible dynastic struggle between the three in their futures, but she would love them all the same.

Life in Nazarick had generally been comfy and lovey-dovey, especially with Ainz doing his part to make sure the bearers of his children were given especial care and attention. This room, in particular, had been converted from a mere den of sexual debauchery, to a communal quasi-nursery and maternity chamber, vast and tended to by a whole host of Nazarick's servants. Zesshi spent much of her burgeoning pregnancy here, pampered by those minions who'd pledged themselves to her lover.

(As an aside, their actual sexual dens were their personal quarters, gifted to them on Nazarick's highest floors, each accessible to Ainz only. Consequently, it had put a stop to orgies, which she had kind of liked.)

They lived like royalty, attended to by creatures that would have easily destroyed a city or two. But to Zesshi, that was not the important part. No, it was the thought that she would soon be raising her children together with her lord, building a family that was expected to grow as the time passed.

"Penny for your thoughts?" came a voice. Zesshi stirred from her inward reflecting, and cast a careful eye at the other human, Clementine. She was pregnant as well, at a little over three months, with her bare, pregnant midriff blatantly showing off her womb sigil, which glowed as it continued protecting the twins inside the blonde's womb using Ainz's powerful magics. A similar sigil was also on Zesshi's belly, hidden beneath her robes, ensuring the safety of her triplets.

She knew her but briefly during the latter's service in the Scriptures, but she had never paid her much attention, being as she was inferior. But the past few months had seen the two humans know each other in a more intimate fashion, usually engineered by a cock between their faces or their genitals. There had even been some intense sapphic actions as well, facilitated by the sensual atmosphere; though it was merely a sexual exercise for Zesshi, not an expression of her opinion on Clementine or any sort of attraction.

Over time, the two had developed a sort of grudging camaraderie, as the two lone humans currently in Ainz's collection. They were the outsiders, but they stood apart from Keeno for being actual humans, as well as former members of the Theocracy. And while she had one of Nazarick's expert doppelgangers wearing her equipment and taking on missions back at the Theocracy, Clementine was a wanted person, who had found her refuge in Nazarick.

A while back they had related their respective tales with regards to their master and lover, Ainz. Clementine had spoken of her previous association as a hired elite for various shady organizations, which had culminated in her fateful theft of the Crown of Wisdom, an event which Zesshi knew. Then, that had led to her collaboration with the Cult of Zuranon, which had desired to trigger a great undead uprising in the city of E-Rantel.

They had been thwarted by Ainz, who had then handily defeated Clementine, much to her chagrin.

"Ain't ever seen nothing like him," Clementine had said ruefully. "Had my ass beat, quick as that. Then he sort of used me as an information source, pumping me for information on the Theocracy. At first I thought he'd be pumping me with something else, if you catch my drift, which was strange when he didn't."

And Ainz never much did anything with Clementine in the period of time she spent as Nazarick's prisoner. Eventually, she had learned to live with it, thinking him an odd sort of man. Then, of course, that all changed later, when Ainz finally deigned to "pump" him full of his baby-making juices, impregnating the assassin and assigning her a position as mother to his children.

Zesshi had then related her side of the story, of how she had caught him lurking around the temple vaults, before managing to draw him into a fight. How she had then successfully seduced him, and the unforgettable first time she had spent with him, locked inside that temple.

"Never figured someone would be a match for him," Clementine had groused.

"Oh, I'm no match for him at all," Zesshi had said. "He is far more powerful than what he seems." Besides, she would not have fallen in love with someone weak, someone whom she could easily best—or even come to a grudging draw. A male would have to completely dominate her for her to prepare her eggs and spread her legs wide. "My Darling was only holding back in his spar with me—and I find it fortunate he didn't destroy me outright. He can be rather ruthless with his full power."

Left unspoken was the fact that it seemed clear—from talking with the others at Nazarick—that Ainz's current fascination for family building had only come about when Zesshi had come into the picture. There had never been any intention to do what he was doing now, not even with all the beautiful women scattered all over Nazarick.

It was that sort of knowledge that she continued to ponder even now, as she tried to gauge her lover's thoughts. She was also careful not to be overtly proud of that fact and spread it around for gossip, as it was a powerful tool to leverage—but only if she used it correctly.

"Nothing," she presently said, lying to Clementine. The latter had taken up a position right next to her, seated properly on a cushioned chair, at a position that allowed her to safely cradle her growing baby bump. "I was using my magic to commune with my counterpart in the Theocracy. Trying to keep up with news."

Clementine shrugged. "Are they still having their row with the elves?"

At the mention of the elven kingdom, and of the person who was in control there, Zesshi's mood soured. "…Yes, though I wasn't looking for news on that quarter. Merely trying to see if I can find out their espionage capabilities."

"Ah, spying for Darling now, eh?" Clementine drawled. "Oh, how the mighty have truly fallen."

"Love changes many things," Zesshi responded drily. And she hadn't even been that loyal to the Theocracy. It had served her well, but now that time was over. She had spread her wings, and left for distant climes. She deftly shifted the course of the conversation. "And what about you? Still trying to do your little exercises here and there? You shouldn't overdo it, you know."

Clementine pouted. "I've still got to keep my body in tip-top shape, even in spite of these," she squeezed her breasts, which had swollen from their previous pert size. Then she patted the twins over her belly. "Besides, if mommy keeps her body fit, it'll only be good for them in the long run. At least, that's how I heard it go among the old matrons out there. I dunno, I never really paid much attention until now."

Zesshi cocked her head thoughtfully. Yes, there were some truths that could possibly be hidden in the quack wisdom of matrons all over the world, though she was loathe to consult them herself. Though anyone from the Theocracy would say that such knowledge was fitting for one of the Temples, and indeed that particular Temple was supposed to be the go-to for humans all over the world whenever it concerned childbirth—but not many ascribed to that belief. Zesshi definitely didn't, as her present consultations were with Nazarick's resident healers and matrons, who obviously did not worship at any Temple.

Though she wasn't sure if such superstitions quite applied to her. In her veins flowed the blood of the god-like Players, which meant that she would almost always be considered "fit" except in the most unspeakable circumstances. Then again, she wasn't sure if such power now applied to her precious triplets.

After a moment's silence, Zesshi quirked a brow at Clementine. It was clear that the other woman was eager to say something. She was somewhat of a shameless gossip, especially whenever it concerned their master. Most of it was mundane fluff: something passed around by the maids and ultimately worthless to Zesshi. But a scant few nuggets were interesting, and that was why she entertained Clementine.

She didn't know how she got her information. It was most likely one of the maids, or even one of the Pleiades. But it was almost always true—for example—it had been she who had uncovered the gossip from the maids that Albedo and Shalltear were possibly plotting something, which had caused Zesshi's most recent use of her familiar to observe them both. That they were now presently meeting at the office meant that the rumors were definitely true.

"There's been some rumblings from the front."

"From the Holy Kingdom," Zesshi affirmed.

Clementine nodded. "Aye."

The Roble Holy Kingdom was Nazarick's current focus. To her knowledge there had been a plan to integrate it to the Sorcerous Kingdom much the same as the Empire had been. Zesshi didn't think much of the plans for conquest, as those were affairs that really didn't concern her. There were only a few things that concerned her, and most revolved around Ainz himself. For example, it was known that Calca Bessarez, ruler of that nation, was a noted beauty. It was very likely that Ainz would add her to the collection.

"Apparently," Clementine said, continuing, "The master has found someone 'promising' in that place. It's clear because the soldiers assigned there have been given tasks specific to her. An order to prevent any harm to be done to her. An order to the ones managing the beastmen tribes to ignore her. And the doppelgangers inserted among the native humans have been tasked to praise her when they can."

"… Is it the Queen?"

Clementine scratched her chin. "Apparently not. It's just some common soldier, some squire named Nia. Naia? I don't fucking know. No one can be sure. I'm going to ask the maids assigned to E-Rantel—some of them are coming back and I'm pretty sure they were there when the Holy Kingdom contingent arrived."

"This woman was there?" Zesshi asked.

"According to the rumors," Clementine said, shrugging. "So what do you think? High chance she'll show up here soon?"

"It is difficult to say," she said. "One cannot presume to know how our master's mind works. And we don't even know the exact circumstances." If it was some low-ranking woman, then she must surely be extraordinary in other aspects for Ainz to have taken notice. The world was filled with beautiful women, smart women, and all of the above, yet Ainz wasn't going around adding them to Nazarick. He had certain tastes, which she couldn't quite fathom herself. After all, he loved the sweet, demure vampire Keeno, but also the sadistic, depraved vampire Shalltear.

"But if she is indeed involved in that war then the master may intend to keep her safe by sending her here. But," she raised a finger. "It is equally likely that if the master has already made his move and they have become lovers, then she might be kept close to him, where she is actually safer."

Clementine clucked her tongue. "Yeah, you've got a point."

Zesshi sensed something in her fellow mother's tone. She grinned. "Oh? Something in your voice seems to indicate you care nothing for this new woman."

"Yeah I don't," Clementine said, brow raised.

"More than that, you're more concerned about the Master returning here, specifically, and from there receive his love."

"What? No!" Clementine protested, though her blushed cheeks clearly told volumes. "I don't care whether or not he fucks me. Hey, stop it! Don't look at me with that face."

Zesshi snorted. "Far better for you to admit you long for, and miss his loving arms, my dear. What's so embarrassing about it? We're all the same here."

"Ugh." Clementine shook her head. "I never really expected the most powerful ace of the Theocracy to be someone like you. Boggles the mind, after everything I've heard."

"I am still all that you've heard about, and more," Zesshi said. "But I am also a mother now, and Ainz-sama's lover."

Clementine sighed. "Whatever. I'll just enjoy living like a pig."

"You better be sure to oink appreciatively when he's pounding you, m'dear," Zesshi said airily.

"Oh, shut up."

She stood up gingerly, making sure to balance herself as she found her feet. The sigil on her belly protected her from such mundane things as falls and the like, but she would never dare to act with the slightest disrespect towards her babies. They were her precious treasures. Even Clementine, whose opinion towards their master remained suspect, always tried to safeguard her twins when possible.

As Zesshi waddled slowly away, Clementine asked, "Where are you going?"

"I've a previous appointment," she replied.

"What? With the doctor?" She referred to the healer minions who had been given the task to monitor their pregnancies. Notably, one of their number was an actual lich, whose demeanor towards them was as an affable old man who nonetheless possessed a vast swathe of knowledge.

"No, with the twins."

"Ah." And Clementine left it at that.

Zesshi walked over to the chamber's exit, leaving her blonde conversation partner behind. At the exit, she spoke to one of the attendants waiting there. In the past, their monstrous forms made her apprehensive, but now she saw them as valued guardians, who would die to protect her and her children from harm, even at the cost of their own lives.

"I'll be heading to the sixth floor now," she announced.

"Understood, Zesshi-sama." The guardians gestured. "A maid shall be arriving shortly."

Since the announcement of Ainz's new plans, there had been a minor shift in the Tomb's inner workings. Of note was the assignment of maid companions to the pregnant mothers whenever they wished to return to their quarters, or travel anywhere else in the Tomb. As they feared teleportation magic and the like would have negative effects on pregnancy, the mothers had been expressly forbidden from using such strong magics themselves.

For the purpose of transportation then, even the strongest like Shalltear had to rely on the homunculi maids, who had been blessed by Ainz with the ability to transport people throughout the many floors of Nazarick, as a sort of mobile teleportation device. Zesshi didn't know how it worked, and honestly didn't really care, but the maids were able to swiftly transport a mother to wherever she wanted to be—as long as it was within Nazarick.

After a moment's wait, a blonde-haired maid emerged from one of the side chambers. Zesshi's face lightened upon seeing who it was.

"Ah, hello Foire."

"Zesshi-sama! Hello again!" the maid said cheerfully, waving. Among all the homunculi maids, Zesshi had taken to this one well. She'd wondered why, and attributed it to some form of compatibility with her personality. Ainz had described it as being on the same "wavelength", whatever that word meant. Perhaps it was because of the exact same way they had gushed over the master, gossiping together like maids at the market with their subject often being Ainz himself.

If there was anyone among the maids whom she wanted to share her bed with Ainz, it would be Foire.

"Off to the sixth floor then, Zesshi-sama? Very good!" As the transportation commenced, Foire turned to her. "Have you heard?" she asked in an excited undertone, as if she were revealing some great, scandalous secret. "Ainz-sama's 'died'."

For a brief moment, her heart stopped, as if she was about to suffer some great seizure. A great power was ready to rip itself from her chest, to devour anyone and anything that had dared interfere with her and her lover's happiness. It would have even engulfed Foire, who would not be spared even for Zesshi's apparent fondness. Then, the irrational moment passed, as her mind quickly arrived at the conclusion that it was always supposed to know.

"Ah. Then everything is proceeding as planned." The maid was definitely referring to the Holy Kingdom campaign, and of the various steps that required Ainz's personal hand.

"You know about the plan, Zesshi-sama?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly." Such affairs didn't concern her, as her pregnancy would never allow her to be involved. And even if she was, she wasn't even invested in anything that happened to the Holy Kingdom, as she'd told Clementine. But it was easy enough to deduce that Ainz "dying" was just a setup for a grand deception that would serve the greater scheme at play. There was absolutely no way that her lover, the one person she'd chosen to seed her womb, would fall.

"I must say, many of us were a bit perturbed that Demiurge's plan called for Ainz-sama to 'die'," Foire continued. "Isn't it better that his Invincible Majesty remains as a matter of fact to everyone else? Dying would put such a damper on Ainz-sama's legend."

"True," Zesshi conceded. "Then again, there is some weight to knowing that nothing, not even death rules over Ainz-sama. He will always be there: undying, implacable, inevitable."

"Ah, indeed! That is a very good point, Zesshi-sama!" Foire exclaimed. "You're so wise…"

"Not as wise as our master, of course," Zesshi said.

"Of course, of course," Foire said hastily. "But anyway, have you heard the latest gossip coming from the Holy Kingdom?"

"Oh?" Just as Clementine had her sources, Zesshi also had hers. Thus, she pretended to sound ignorant of what Foire was about to say.

"It appears Ainz-sama's found a new candidate to join you guys as mothers," Foire said. "Some human, just like you, Zesshi-sama."

"Truly?" she murmured. "I will welcome whoever decides to join us, of course. Would you happen to know who it is, exactly?"

"Ah, no one's said yet. But I'll be talking to Decrement soon—she's coming back to rest from her duties. We'll all be having a lot to talk about. I'll make sure to tell you about it when I have the news, Zesshi-sama!"

"I appreciate it," she said with a smile. It appeared Foire had no idea that the rumored woman was some squire from the Holy Kingdom, which meant that none of them in the Tomb had any clear picture of the rumor's apparent truth yet.

They were able to leave their current floor, and arrive presently at the Sixth, which was a wide-open area containing a large forest and a huge amount of creatures. Here was the domain of the dark elf twins Aura and Mare, who lived in a large tree within this forest.

It always amazed Zesshi to behold the blue sky above, and the crisp breeze that flowed all over. This forest felt quite different from any other forest she'd been to, and exhibited a sort of quality she couldn't really describe. It was definitely strange, as if this forest had been transported into another strange realm.

"I shall be waiting here for your return, Zesshi-sama," Foire said.

"Thank you," she replied. Ordinarily, she would have asked for Foire to come with her, but an appointment with the twin dark elfs was a different matter. This was something private, and only shared between them and her.

She began to make her way down the forest towards the twins' home. Along the way, Zesshi felt the presence of many creatures, all of which were poised to hunt and destroy intruders. Great, slavering beasts and other creatures born from the heart of the forest routinely stalked the trees, ever watchful. The dark elf Aura had gleefully described to her all the many ways that her "pets" could dismember and dismantle an intruder, and of their fierce and ferocious appetites. This forest would have been a place that the Theocracy would have deemed too dangerous for common soldiery—it would require the hand of the Scriptures, and even then Zesshi judged that victory wouldn't be quite as clear.

Now, as it had ever been since her formal introduction, the guardians of the forest did little to impede her progress. They even seemed to be welcoming, as a warm, genial air surrounded her as she walked, though they didn't make themselves known. She proudly showed off her pregnant bulge, proof of her bond to their mutual master.

She spotted a dryad emerging from within the trees off in the distance. The creature did not heed her, and instead went along, presumably towards the small settlement that had been built here. Zesshi knew that a small colony of lizardmen had been established here. There were also some other creatures who lived there with them, such as the dryad she had just seen, and some sort of large, furred monster.

Zesshi had no business in their village, and turned away towards her true destination.

From afar, the twins' home was tall and obvious to see. There was a sense of authority it exuded, and had Zesshi not known the truth she would have assumed that the tree belonged to some ancient elven sage—so incredibly long-lived and wizened that they had been there at the forging of the world. The reality that it only belonged to two young dark elves was quite jarring for one's perception, and added even more mystique to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

As she came close to the base of the tree, two fully grown elves emerged from the back, each having sensed her arrival. Their suspicious gazes brightened when they saw Zesshi, and they immediately went forward to greet her.

"We bid you welcome, Zesshi-sama," the elves said in unison, bowing. Zesshi could see the elves' clipped ears, a clear sign of their origin in the Theocracy, who sold elves such as these as slaves. Unlike the dark elf twins, Zesshi could hardly stomach their obnoxious fawning, as they were a reminder of many unpleasant things.

"Greetings," she said in a reserved tone. "Are the twins in?"

"Yes, my lady," they said. "Shall we escort you there?"

"No need, I have two legs, as you can see," Zesshi said. "Return to your duties, whatever they are."

"Yes, my lady."

Zesshi swept past them, her once congenial mood spoiled by the elves' appearance. She had been told that these elves had once been accompanying an invader of Nazarick, and had then been spared when they had attached themselves fervently to the dark elves. The Master had allowed them to live with them in the sixth floor, which was a bad idea in Zesshi's opinion, though she was not one to question Ainz.

Still, the fact they were protected by Ainz's mercy didn't mean she absolutely had to tolerate them. She put them out of her mind as she knocked on the door.

"Ah, welcome Zesshi!" Aura said brightly, upon opening the door. "Come in, come in, you're just in time. Mare even woke up in time, can you believe it? Some good manners at last, from that one!"

Zesshi accepted the seat Aura offered her, then waited as the dark elf bustled around like some housewife. Despite having a tomboyish personality, the young elf did exhibit some matronly attributes, especially when it came to her younger brother.

"Good morning," Mare greeted next, after emerging from his room. After meeting her gaze, the dark elf immediately averted his eyes. He descended the spiral staircase and took his seat opposite Zesshi, all while studiously never meeting her gaze.

"And that's done! What'll you have, Zesshi? The usual?" Aura asked, sounding a little breathless.

"If it's no trouble," Zesshi said politely. The "usual" consisted of some wholesome tea and scrumptious biscuits. Though it seemed that the twins didn't prepare it themselves, but rather sent here from the local cooks. After giving Zesshi her cup, Aura stomped on over to her seat, and squatted on it. Now both twins' gazes were pointed towards her expectantly.

She always found the twins' heterochromia to be disconcerting, even if she had her own pair of special eyes. It had struck her from the moment she had met them—and had made conversing with them a difficult ordeal to endure.

Those were the marks of greatness in elven society, according to what she knew. She was no great expert in how elves worked, but by necessity she knew some of it. A great and terrible fact had bound her fate, from the moment she was born, to the blasted race. Whether she liked it or not, she bore their blood, along with the one thing they revered above all: these heterochromatic eyes.

The dark elf twins seemed largely unaware of the fact, and had been greatly confused about the elven trio outside worshipping them like royalty. Zesshi had explained to Ainz and the twins the little of what she knew—that bearing such eyes were said to be some sort of good omen among the elves. Aura and Mare didn't seem that pleased about that fact.

"Our beautiful eyes were gifted to us by our creator, the wonderful Bukubukuchagama," Aura had said proudly.

She didn't elaborate on the fact that as dark elves, they were even more of an anomaly compared to normal elves. If they hadn't pledged their allegiance to Ainz she would have surely assumed they were the royal descendants of the former nation of dark elves.

Presently, after the initial round of greetings and well-wishes, the twins got right into the one thing they always wanted to do whenever she came round visiting.

"Can we touch it now? Can we?" Aura asked, with the enthusiasm of a child facing a toy. Beside her, Mare nodded in tune with his sister without saying a word, but it was clear from his body's trembling that he was just as excited.

"Of course," Zesshi said magnanimously. She displayed her belly for the twins. "You can touch as much as you wish."

"Yaaay!"

The twins immediately scrambled forward, to touch her pregnant swell. Both of them looked as if they were handling something wonderful and precious, judging by the expressions on their faces. She smiled to see them act in this way—there was always something to a pair of beings who could destroy armies by themselves stopping to coo and fuss over a pregnant woman. Though in this case this was more than understandable—she was carrying the fruit of her union with Ainz, their Master. As such, the babies were an extension of Ainz himself, which was the general source of the twins' reverence.

"They're really bursting with life!" Aura exclaimed. "I can tell." She rubbed her hands vigorously over Zesshi's belly, though with a marked gentleness that ensured that neither Zesshi nor the babies were disturbed at all.

On the other hand, Mare moved his hands cautiously and carefully over her abdomen, his mouth mumbling silently, his expression furrowed with concentration. He was like some village sage faced with the prospect of healing somebody.

"It'd be great if they came out soon," Aura said. "I'd love to teach them all sort of wise things."

"Sister," Mare scolded, his voice hoarse. "You know we can't do that. We're still too young to be doing any teaching. Maybe when we get older."

"But by then, they'll be bigger than us!" Aura rejoined. "We're elves, remember?"

"I'm sure you'll get the opportunity," Zesshi said, acting as affable peacemaker between the two siblings. "Ainz-sama plans to make lots of children."

"Ah, well that makes sense," Aura said. Then she smirked. "Though I don't really want to teach anything coming out of that Shalltear's belly."

"Sister!"

"Well, that's what I think," Aura continued with a dismissive shrug. "I'd much rather be the good older sister for your children Zesshi." She cocked her head, giving her a pointed, inquisitive look. "You… are going to have more babies, right?"

"I'd like that. Then again, it's really all up to Ainz-sama. He's the boss. He decides everything in this world," she said, reminding them.

"True, true," Aura said, nodding sagely. "Then in the meantime, we'll just have to make do with the ones coming out soon! Like these three right here." She giggled, and went back to running her hands vigorously over Zesshi's belly.

They talked about other things then, including some new beasts that Aura had acquired, courtesy of the Holy Kingdom campaign. She'd wanted to show them off for Zesshi, but she kindly reminded the young elf that she was a pregnant mother, and that barely trained beasts may not be what the babies needed, even if she could defend herself adequately enough.

"Awww, but it's fine! They've been broken down real nice. I think."

"I'm sure the children will love them when they have been born," Zesshi said indulgently. "Perhaps they can even become… pets?"

"Oh, they'll be good pets, I can promise you that," Aura said, beating her chest with her fist.

Next, Mare related, in halting words, his own recent experiences with building the dungeons that Ainz had requested, which had now spread over a wide area. Zesshi didn't know much about his project, but she did nod along. It was a personal goal of hers to make the shy boy open up more to her, which seemed to be progressing well.

"Mare's also been called out to that Holy Kingdom place," Aura said. Mare nodded. "Ainz-sama has need of him."

"I'm sure you'll do well," Zesshi said, causing the boy to smile weakly.

They continued to talk as they ate and ate as they talked. Aura gobbled up mounds of biscuits while Mare sipped delicately from his teacup. Zesshi kept on the conversation for as long as she could.

"Well, I guess that's it for me for today, you two," Zesshi said, shooing them off gently.

"You're leaving already?" With the way Aura was sounding it was as if she had done something to personally hurt the girl.

"Yep. Got some other stuff to do," Zesshi said, sounding apologetic. "And don't you have work to do as well?"

"I guess," Aura mumbled, a little dejected.

"Don't worry," she said, beaming. "I'll be coming back tomorrow, so we can talk more. Sound good?" She placed her hands on both their heads. Aura looked disgruntled. Mare looked hesitant, but at least he wasn't ducking away from her hand like he'd done before.

"Alright," Aura mumbled.

"T-take care then," Mare stuttered. "I-I may not be here tomorrow, but please promise to see me again."

"Sure thing, Mare."

The twins bid her goodbye, and ushered her towards the door.

Zesshi strode with purpose back towards Fiore's location. She hadn't lied to the twin elves—she did have somewhere important to be.

It was something she definitely couldn't put off much longer.

They returned to the highest floor. She bid goodbye to Fiore, who had her own duties, and went back alone towards the Mothers' Hall.

She disliked plotting and scheming as a general rule, but that was what she was doing currently. Her mind had been perusing a great many things in the guarded privacy of her mind, much of which involved her current role at Ainz's side.

Zesshi had no reason to doubt Ainz's words, so she was assured that whatever happened, she would always be important to her lover. That said, there were two things that made her anxious, and which for her necessitated the act of plotting.

First there was the issue of the so-called "top beauties" in Nazarick: the Overseer Albedo, and Shalltear Bloodfallen. She'd heard it from Foire that before her arrival, those two beings had been the foremost candidates for the position of Ainz's "wife". It did appear that Ainz never once acted upon this, and perhaps hadn't even been aware that there had been cliques and factions formed around each candidate. She would have laughed at them for being so pathetic, but that was hard to do with two beings that were just as powerful—and cunning—as her.

When she'd arrived, she'd felt their hostility first-hand, even long after Ainz had proclaimed his plans of forging a new family. Out of all the mothers in Ainz's new collection, those two remained aloof and hostile, always treating her like an enemy to defeated, or at worse, an insect to be exterminated. She didn't much mind their antipathy, but she did mind where it would lead. Inevitably, the nascent politics around those two had a very real possibility of turning ugly, leading to fractious conflict involving the rest of Nazarick. And leaving aside the rest of the mothers, Zesshi wasn't sure she could really endure in any kind of political arena. She hadn't the stomach for it back in the Theocracy, and so she neither had the patience or the experience to try that sort of nonsense now.

And this led to her second concern, which was the question of her hierarchy among the brood, as Ainz added more and more members. The recent rumors from the front about the mysterious squire who had drawn her master's attention had been the catalyst of her current thoughts. It made Zesshi reflect and agonize on how she, as another former outsider, could assert her place among the many that would inevitably surround Ainz. This new person, whoever she was, would definitely not be the last. Eventually, it might all become some big bloodbath.

She knew she had no real clout in the Great Tomb. Though she was tolerated, even respected, it was clear they still treated her as an outsider, or at least a very special guest. If she were to try to recruit to her cause against those two, or against anyone else who might come, she'd have a hard time of it. Even the dark elf twins, for all their attachment to her, might have their own agendas—being "leaders" of Nazarick in their own right. And in the impossible scenario of Ainz withdrawing his aegis over her, she was sure that even the bubbly, cheerful Foire would not hesitate to plot her demise as a newly born "invader" to her home.

Should a coalition be formed then, gathered from the outsiders? Zesshi thought. Her mind turned towards Clementine, who was the clear example of an outsider begrudgingly allowed to live at Nazarick—and this was before her elevation as mother. Still, she had a feeling she couldn't really count on the willful woman, who smelled more like a mercenary than anything else.

Just as her thoughts went to consider the other outsider, Zesshi rounded the corner and walked right into her.

"Oh!"

"Oh." Trained instincts caused Zesshi to react quickly, while also taking care to preemptively shield her belly from attack. After a beat, she was able to see that it was just a false alarm.

"Ah, hello there, Zesshi Zetsumei-sama," warbled the insectoid voice of Entoma Vasilisa Zeta. The maid with the strange, smooth face waved a hand daintily.

Beside her stood the woman currently in her thoughts. Keeno Fasrith Inberun leaned against the wall, patting her gravid belly that bulged somewhat obscenely from her petite body. It was veiled by the long robe she wore, which made her look like some sort of priest. The shorter blonde was panting, as if she'd been running up some steps.

"Are you alright, Keeno?" Zesshi asked, with genuine concern.

"Fine, 'M just fine," Keeno replied, with a wave. She took a deep breath. "Just a little winded."

"She's been walking a lot," Entoma explained cheerfully. "Luckily, I was here right on time to stop her from collapsing."

"Collapsing?" Zesshi repeated with a gasp. She turned towards Keeno with a serious expression. "You really must take care. Would you like me to escort you to the matrons?"

"And have them tell me all I need is some rest and a good dose of tea? Fat chance."

"I was in your place just over a month ago," Zesshi said, referring to the relative progression of Keeno's pregnancy compared to herself. "And I do understand that it feels really bad, especially when all you want is to move around. But I would strongly urge you to heed the advice. The state of your body is very delicate at the moment."

"Yeah, I know that," Keeno said. "It's also why Ainz-sama hasn't visited me yet."

Zesshi smiled wryly. It had been the matrons who had given Ainz the long list of do's and do not's with regard to his lovers. When Zesshi had been just as along as Keeno was now, her lover was expressly forbidden from going to her room to make love to her, for the children's sake. It had made for quite an uncomfortable few weeks, as despite—or maybe because of—pregnancy, Zesshi had still been wildly horny.

The ban was only lifted just a short while back, though due to the ongoing situation with the Holy Kingdom, she had only had pregnant lovey-dovey sex with Ainz the one time, and that was in celebration of having triplets.

"Come along then. It's good to have the matron drill the reminder into you another time. And I'll have myself checked too, how's that sound?"

"A pair of glowing mothers," Keeno remarked dully.

"Indeed," Zesshi said. She turned to the Pleiades. "Would you like to come along, Entoma?"

"Nah," the maid said, making crunching noises in her throat. "Kind of famished at the moment. I'm going to go grab a bite."

"I see. Well, thank you for your help," Zesshi said.

"Bye, you two. And especially you, Keeno. You better follow what the matron says, or Ainz-sama will be very disappointed!" With that, the maid trotted off.

As the maid left, the mask that Zesshi similarly wore over her features slid off. She'd felt tense throughout the conversation, as a result of speaking directly to one of the few instances where she was unnerved by a member of Nazarick.

Entoma Zeta was one of those she'd met here in Nazarick who genuinely inspired revulsion in Zesshi, as she belonged to some type of heteromorphic species that she knew she could never really get along with. Though they seemed to act human-like, and could converse just as well with her as any sentient being, there was a genuine "alien-ness" in their demeanors that one could just not get from normal demihumans. Even the undead were actually easier to deal with. Unfortunately, Entoma was a servant of Ainz, just as the rest, and so she had to resort to tolerating her, along with all the the other inhuman creatures that existed in the Tomb.

She glanced sidewise at Keeno, who had a troubled expression. She wasn't the only one who found the maid disconcerting, though it appeared Keeno had a different reason than her.

Though none in the Tomb knew of it, apart from perhaps their Master, Zesshi strongly suspected that the shorter, blonde woman was none other than the adventurer Evileye, who also went by the epithet "Landfall" in years past. The Theocracy had a dossier for her, in a document spanning decades of observations from generations of spies. She was a person of interest, known to have been a peer of the Thirteen Heroes from two centuries past. Zesshi herself had been trained for an occasion where she needed to be destroyed.

She hadn't expected the legendary Landfall to be such a spoiled little kitty behind closed doors. She wasn't as kinky as the rest of them, but Zesshi knew Ainz appreciated the pure and honest love the vampire held. Thus, she was generally excluded from debauched orgies, upon request. Usually, Keeno joining the whole writhing mass was her own decision.

Thus, because she was technically the adventurer Evileye, Zesshi knew why she remained apprehensive of Entoma. Fiore once again provided context, when she told of how the Pleiades had been sent to avenge Entoma's defeat at Keeno's hands during the upheaval at the Re-Estize capital, and that the insectoid maid had vowed to tear her throat apart. To make things worse, Ainz had promised to deliver Evileye to her as a reward.

Fortunately for Keeno, it seemed that no one in Nazarick was aware that she was actually Evileye. Only Ainz seemed to know, and as long as she remained as "Keeno" no one would ever realize the truth. Zesshi would also keep her speculations to herself.

"I trust that there really are no problems with your condition?" Zesshi asked, as she led the two of them towards the matrons.

Keeno sighed. "I'm fine, like I said. I'm not the type to break easily."

"Oh, I can certainly tell. You're very much the flexible type."

Keeno flushed at the implication. Zesshi thought to the many ways the smaller vampire's body had arced and contorted as she thrashed atop Ainz's lap, her beautiful pale face tinged with pleasure. It had been an alluring sight, to see the mighty Landfall gripped by female need, though she wasn't sure the other mothers felt quite the same.

And that was the core of the problem, wasn't it? The others were from Nazarick, and that would never change. They would always remain the outsiders.

"How are you getting along with life here?"

"What? Why are you asking all of a sudden?" Keeno asked, her face looking suspicious. "Are you trying to make small talk? Because I can definitely do without it. You don't need to fill the awkward silence between us."

She tried not to roll her eyes at that. "No, no, I'm being genuine here. I don't know if you haven't realized yet, but we're about the only 'normal' people in Nazarick." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, towards the direction Entoma had left. "Case in point. I know you were just itching to leave her presence, and fortunately I had the foresight to pull it off for you."

Keeno narrowed her eyes. "… How much do you know?"

"Know about what? About you?" Zesshi shrugged. "I don't. But I've got these two eyes of mine, and I see and observe many other things."

"… And I have eyes too. And I see you sticking yourself deliberately in the middle of all these slavering beasts, desperate to prove yourself mightiest among all these others for Ainz-sama's sake."

Zesshi blinked a few times. "Excellent. We have thus proved to each other that we possess good, working, observant eyes. Now, with that out of the way, we can finally proceed to a part of the conversation that is relevant to us both." She turned to face the other woman, pointedly. "How do you currently feel?"

"A bit tired. Irritable. Pregnant."

"Are you looking forward to the Master's visit?"

"Ainz-sama—" Keeno stopped herself. "Ainz-sama has important things to do, and as you've pointed out, I'm still at a very delicate part of my pregnancy. I miss him. I admit that. But I'm not going to play games." She glared at her. "What is this about?"

Zesshi sighed. "Surely my dear, you've already given thought to your future here in Master's home? I've heard it being said that a new one might be joining us soon from outside."

"You mean the squire?"

"Ah, so you already know," Zesshi said with a knowing, sage-like nod. "She won't be the last. There will be others, surely. More and more. They'll keep on coming until the Master is satisfied. And that fact alone will be sure to anger some of us here."

Keeno snorted. "I don't… I don't really care about anyone else who joins. What? Is that it? You're worried about your place?"

"More worried about where we stand in direct relation to certain… others."

A short silence. "I think I know who you mean," Keeno said.

Zesshi continued grimly. "This concern is not just for myself, but for the children I will bear. Imagine raising them in close proximity to… them. They are poisonous, and though I have faith that our Master will never forsake us just to satisfy their whims, I would rather the opportunity never come up."

Keeno sighed. "While I do not share your desire to become a prominent fixture among this 'harem', I do see the concern. Those two have been puzzling me ever since I arrived here. One would think their outright hostility would be worth complaining to the Master, but he likes them, or something about them—"

"—Even when it's been clear that he's displeased with them a lot of times," Zesshi said. The two women shared a look. It had been plain to see that despite being allowed to bear his children, the two prominent women they were currently referring to were not exactly the apples of Ainz's eyes. He had very publicly punished them for various misdeeds, even to the point of making a sexual game of it. Zesshi clearly recalled the time they were forced to spend a day locked into pillories, being forced to only watch Ainz fuck the rest of them raw.

Yet despite that, they were allowed to remain as his servants, to remain at his side. That spoke to either a complete faith in their abilities, or the fact that no matter what they could do, they would still remain in Ainz's good graces, more akin to an erring family member than a servant.

So Zesshi didn't want to risk being the first of the "outsiders" to displease Ainz. Such an event could, however, be engineered by those two—and she dared not underestimate what their cunning could possibly achieve.

She related such thoughts to Keeno, who seemed skeptical.

"I don't believe Ainz-sama would let things go that far," she said, after she was done. "And it's not like I particularly hate them. They've done nothing to draw my ire—yet. Though it seems to me you expect they will, eventually."

"I would certainly bet my wages on it," Zesshi said. She wondered what he doppelganger self was doing with her money—near all of it was worthless with the value that Ainz personified in Nazarick and his own power.

Keeno hummed thoughtfully. "… This is not what I honestly pictured when I thought about becoming Ainz-sama's."

"On that, I am glad we agree," Zesshi declared.

Keeno frowned. "Do you have some sort of plan then?"

"Nothing concrete. I freely admit this is because we don't have any resources to tap. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do to make the people of Nazarick think of us as anything more than 'guests'. Therefore, our plan of attack must surely be concentrated on our… 'value' to Ainz-sama, and their lack of it."

"I see. That does seem logical. Are we to be comrades then? Fighting together to the bitter end?"

Zesshi shrugged. "We are allies, Keeno. And in this case, it might actually be far more useful."

Keeno grunted. "Alright. I'm not going to commit anything serious yet, but you have my attention."

"Excellent." Her lips curled triumphantly.

"I think it would be good to assess the situation first," Keeno continued. "Perhaps try to find some compromise… to find out where we stand. And where they stand in relation to us."

"For now, though, our best option will be to watch for this 'new arrival'," Zesshi said. "As an outsider, they may just be an important ally. In time, perhaps we could form our own little group."

"What about that Clementine?" Keeno asked.

"Oh, don't you worry on that score," Zesshi assured her.

After the maternity checkup, Keeno had some other business, so Zesshi had to bid her farewell as she returned to the Mother's' Hall alone. She went back inside, and spotted Clementine, who was still sitting at her seat as she had left her. The only change was her conversation partner, who had taken over Zesshi's former seat.

Lupusregina Beta was another of the Pleiades, and one of the few who had ascended to become Mothers alongside them. Apparently, she was an acquaintance of Clementine's, if "warden" was a good way to describe their odd camaraderie. Like them she was sporting a baby bump, which bulged out clearly through her maid outfit.

"… Aw, but this is just so damned boring ~su!" she heard Lupus say, once she was within earshot. "Ainz-sama's forbidden me from moving about so much, and he's even forbidden lovey-dovey time! I gotta scratch that itch, Clem-cchi."

"Stop calling me that," the blonde replied. She sighed, then sensed Zesshi's arrival. "Oh, you're back."

"Oh, hello Zecchi," Lupus greeted, her expression unchanging.

"Good day," she said, inclining her head. Unlike Clementine she had no qualms about the nickname given her—at least this one wasn't as outright hostile or as unnerving as her sister Pleiades.

"I thought you'd spend all day over there," Clementine remarked.

"They have their duties," Zesshi said, with a shrug.

"Oooh, I'd love to be back on duty, you know," Lupus said, her voice radiating excitement. "It really sounds like the war in the Holy Kingdom's pretty fun! Lots of blood and mayhem, and fun to be had ~su."

"Well, Lupusregina, you might not have a choice," Zesshi said. "As long as you agree to bear Ainz-sama's children, you're to follow everything the matrons recommend. An once the baby's born, Ainz-sama might breed another one in you, repeating the cycle all over again. Or do you not want that?"

Lupus' face twisted in thought. "Huummmm… On one hand I do want to be out there tearing things apart… But on the other hand, I do want to be pampered by Ainz-sama, then spend a lot of time mating with him, and then bearing his children… Aggghhkkk! So many decisions! Decisions! I really can't decide ~su!"

Zesshi shook her head to herself. If she were given a choice, she definitely would prefer sloth to fighting, as long as it involved more personal time with Ainz-sama. If she had to fight anything in the future from now on, it would be in defense of Ainz-sama, herself, or her babes. The days of fighting for the sake of some nation or other were far behind her.

"So what's really been going on in the Holy Kingdom?" Clementine asked, coughing. She shared a look with Zesshi. "Anything interesting come out from there?"

"Aside from all the blood, guts and glory?" Lupus asked. "Well, apparently, Ainz-sama 'died'. Well, that's the most recent news, anyway." It was clear that Clementine hadn't heard, as she'd jerked her head towards her in reaction. When she merely raised a brow in response, the blonde relaxed and rolled her eyes. Zesshi really wanted to laugh—had she actually thought such a thing was possible? Even contemplating it required imagining some fever dream where divine powers, if they even really existed, descended from on high to do battle with Ainz, and even then she figured Ainz could be able to match them.

"Well, I heard that the Holy Kingdom's capital fell within just a day! Hah! So much for the humans' strength, su~! The beastmen tribes all overran the whole place in under a week, and all that's left are cities scattered all around. How I would have loved to be there in the thick of it, crushing skulls and painting the land red!"

"That must've been quite a rout," Zesshi remarked. "I've heard it said that the paladins of Roble were fierce warriors. But I guess they were far too specialized in hunting undead and the like. How big was the demihuman army?"

Lupusregina shrugged. "I don't know, su~. It was big, maybe. I'm guessing Demiurge-sama brought a whole bunch of them, if only to keep the humans occupied."

"To bring the full force of the Abelion Hills must be quite a feat," Zesshi said. "They have never once been united."

"Under Ainz-sama's rule, they will be, whether they like it or not," Lupus said, in a stern voice that brooked no disagreement. "But, well, for now they're useful toys to pit against the other toys. I just wish I could be there… some of my sisters get to have all the fun. And it's only because they're not pregnant. Ugh!

"Speaking of which, I've got to go bug that Enri! I haven't seen her in a good while~su!" Lupus bounded up, her swollen breasts juggling visibly. "I'll see you later ladies, maybe we can chat some more!"

"Are you allowed to go out to the village?" Clementine asked. From speaking with her, Zesshi knew that this "Enri" was someone who lived in the village, though she didn't know more other than that.

"I'm sure Ainz-sama won't mind," Lupus said, waving a hand dismissively. Privately, Zesshi thought Ainz definitely would mind, but if this girl wanted to garner Ainz's displeasure, she wasn't about to stop her. The two of them watched Lupus leave with a skip in her step, her tail wagging visibly behind her.

"She's going to get into so much trouble," Clementine said, smiling lazily. Zesshi glanced at her.

"And we won't, not ever," she said pointedly. "No matter how others might try, we'll do our best to… stay on top."

Clementine shot her a sharp look. It seemed she was just as quick as Keeno to pick up on what Zesshi was talking about. "Let me make one thing clear. I'll have you know I don't really love that Ainz fellow as you or the others do."

She pitied the woman her apparent indifference to Ainz. Then again, that was why she would ever be a side-bit character. "But you do enjoy the sex. And the pampering." Zesshi spread her arms to indicate the wider room.

Clementine flushed, though her expression remained unchanged. She shot her tongue out, and curled it over her lips. "Though I'm also interested in having my fill of bloodshed."

"That must be why Lupus likes you," Zesshi observed.

The blonde made a huffing sound. "This place is a den of monsters, Zesshi Zetsumei. They're no place for ordinary humans." She gave her one last, pointed look. "I'll look out for my own self, thanks."

Zesshi wasn't too put out by Clementine's refusal to join forces. As she'd told Keeno, it didn't really matter if Clementine joined them or not. At best she would make for a good scapegoat; otherwise she was too much of a loose cannon to be useful in a scheme. Still, it was good to learn the woman's stance on things. It allowed Zesshi to plan.

She looked around. No one else was inside the Mother's Hall. She initially thought of returning to her room and reading one of the excellent books she'd borrowed from the library. Though the librarians had been powerful undead, it seemed they had good taste in literature. Then she decided to do something else.

At the hall outside, she ran into none other than another member of the Pleiades. She was able to recognize the one who was standing there, so she was able to duck back behind a corner to hide before she was noticed.

It was Narberal Gamma. This maid was the only other mother, aside from the troublesome two, who treated Zesshi with nothing less than naked, unmitigated hostility. Frankly, she didn't know why this maid in particular had been quite cold to her. None of her sisters were very helpful with giving her any ideas—even Lupus had smiled innocently without speaking a word. She suspected that there was some sort of hidden joke she was not privy to.

She observed the maid's wide, genuine smile as she gazed down softly upon her baby bump. Her face was flushed, her eyes glimmering with tears as she patted and caressed her belly. Her lips were moving, indicating she was speaking to her twins somewhat, though she couldn't make out what she was saying. Zesshi felt her heart subconsciously reach out for the other mother, seeing in her angelic expression a stark mirror to her own. It was good to see some other people relish the sheer joy of bearing their Master's children.

Thus, Zesshi inadvertently came out of hiding, to walk forward and reveal herself. "Good day, Narberal Gamma," she greeted, giving herself just enough distance from the maid before stopping. The brunette froze, then turned around slowly to face her. Zesshi was then instantly reminded that the other woman disliked her for some reason. Her beautiful face was contorted into a cold, seething glare, making her earlier warm, beaming smile seem like a fever dream.

"…What do you want?" Narberal asked bluntly.

"I was just passing through," she said smoothly. "It's good to see you're healthy."

Narberal harrumphed and clucked her tongue. She instantly whirled on the spot to leave. "Don't get in my way, human. I have nothing to say to you."

"Wait, please answer me this. Is there something I have done, Narberal Gamma? What have I done to earn your displeasure?" she asked, before the maid could leave.

The maid stopped. She stood stock still, her back to Zesshi. She could see the maid's shoulders shaking. Then, the maid grunted, and laid a hand on her belly once more. Then, without answering Zesshi, she continued on her way, utterly ignoring her.

It was very strange to get this sort of reaction from the maid. She still remembered being involved in a threeway contest with this maid on many occasions during the orgies. Whenever Ainz-sama would deign to give them another batch of his delicious semen, she would always have to share it with Narberal in a zesty, lesbian kiss as each sought to clear out the other of their lover's cum. She had drawn Narberal's mouth enough times that she could clearly recall the taste of her mouth, her scent, and the texture of her tongue, as well as all the tiny little noises she made when she hit certain spots—spots she even still remembered to this day. In fact, Zesshi was fairly confident that if she could manage to kiss Narberal she could still manage to leave her a weak-kneed wreck, though under the circumstances that might just lead to an impromptu battle right here in Nazarick.

Zesshi sighed. That was certainly one person to remain watchful for. She continued towards the Overseer's office.

Outside the doors, there was a homunculi maid in attendance. It was the same one she had seen before through her eye familiar.

"My lady," they said with a deep bow.

"I would like to speak with Albedo," she told the maid. "Is she available?"

"She is currently speaking with Shalltear Bloodfallen. But I shall inform her."

So the vampire was still inside? What had they been doing inside there? Aside from the obvious answer of performing something vital to Nazarick, Zesshi thought back to the many times the two had been forced to please each other's bodies as punishment. It was entirely feasible that the two had gotten attached to such action, though she wasn't keeping her hopes up.

The door presently opened, revealing the slender figure of Shalltear Bloodfallen standing there. Upon catching sight of her, the shorter vampire raised her chin and sniffed loudly.

"I shall talk to you later, Albedo," she said in a soft, lilting voice. "I shall leave you to entertain this… thing." Shalltear's eyes ran over her body, with a look of haughty amusement. Zesshi kept herself studiously unruffled at the audacity, even as the vampire started waddling away with her pregnant belly on full display.

Zesshi watched her go from the corner of her eye, before the maid caught her attention. "The Overseer is free now, my lady," she said. "Will you speak with her?"

"Yes."

"Albedo-sama, Zesshi-sama is here to speak with you," the maid announced.

A grunt. "Whatever. Send her in."

Despite her pregnancy, the Overseer Albedo in the full regalia of her office retained the full demeanor her position afforded her. Though her eyes were cold and unwelcoming, the smile she offered her was practiced and easy. If Zesshi were any lesser woman she would have been fooled by her apparent good nature, never once realizing the venomous truth beneath the façade.

"Good day to you," Albedo said, crossing her fingers on the surface of the desk before her. It was plain to see that the Overseer was a master actor, as she gave no indication that she was angry at Zesshi—though the coldness in her gaze was not hard to miss. She indicated one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Please sit, if you like."

"I would very much appreciate it. Carrying these three all around Nazarick is very fulfilling, but it is hard on the feet," Zesshi replied, caressing her belly with deliberate motions that bordered on being obnoxious. Albedo's expression tightened, though she said nothing to that.

"How may I help you then?" Albedo said, with a smack of her lips. Her fingers tapped on the desk repeatedly.

"Well, we shouldn't dive too early into business," Zesshi said with a careless air. "Do tell me, are you still working then? Is it not a strain on your current condition?" As with all the mothers, Albedo was also pregnant, and like Shalltear hers was still earlier along, thanks to all of Ainz's punishments. Still, it was rather obvious to an observer that her formerly smooth, toned belly, now sported a noticeable bump, indicating the life that had been seeded in her.

Albedo gave her a smug, indulgent look. "Unlike the rest of you lot, my duties are far too important to be given to just anyone. Ainz-sama knows my value to Nazarick, and has therefore allowed me to continue my duties regardless of my condition. I am ready for this, and for anything else my lord demands of me." Zesshi tried not to scoff as the woman preened, her wings fluttering excitedly behind her back. "In addition, this body of mine is far more than capable of bearing anything that happens to it, even pregnancy. Mark my words, I will be more than capable of wading into battle with my lord even if his heir were already fully formed inside me."

"Then why aren't you over there, helping him with the Holy Kingdom campaign?"

"Because, human," she replied, in a patient, patronizing tone, "As I have already said, I still have my duties. And the Overseer has no need to dirty her hands if the wise and powerful Ainz-sama has foreseen it. And if he directs me there, you can be sure I will obey at the fleetest instant!" she snapped her fingers in Zesshi's direction, her lovestruck face suddenly turning cold and grim. "So do remember that. I do dislike having to repeat myself for the slow of mind."

"Pray forgive me for interrupting you," Zesshi said. "But this concerns something you've just said. It is a curious turn of phrase. His 'heir'?"

Albedo blinked. "Yes. This child I carry. He or she shall be the official heir of Nazarick, though only in a symbolic fashion. After all, Ainz-sama shall live to rule the world forever."

Zesshi smirked. "And what, then, makes your child the 'official' heir? Did Ainz-sama make some statement that I somehow missed? It is strange; perhaps I should ask him later."

Albedo's eyes flashed. "And who else deserves that title? Hm? Tell me. Was there anyone else you had in mind?"

"So you're just going over Ainz-sama's head. Again." She grinned and tapped a finger to her chin. "Oh, I can definitely think of a few suggestions for your next set of punishments…"

"You impudent…" Albedo snarled, before leaning back and taking one deep breath. She took a moment more to compose herself. "You seem to be laboring under a misunderstanding. You think that just because Ainz-sama bestowed his favor on you that you're entitled to something here in Nazarick? It doesn't work that way, you little whore!"

"Why do you seem upset?" Zesshi asked, layering on the faux innocent tone.

"I know full well what you're trying to do. However much you flail around in an attempt to rouse me, know that I can bend you easily like a twig."

"But you won't do that, because Ainz-sama will be incredibly disappointed. So much disappointed that he… may be forced to act."

She heard Albedo grinding her teeth. "Do not make an enemy of me, human."

"Oh? I was under the impression that I was already your 'enemy'," Zesshi replied. "Then again, I'm still not sure why I've received this dubious honor, when we hadn't even formally met. Is it because I'm an outsider, intruding into affairs you preferred to remain private?"

"No. It's because you dared—" The snap of something like wood could be heard in the room. "YOU DARED to take what was rightfully MINE! Ainz-sama was MINE!"

Albedo was a wraith unleashed, her eyes gleaming with hatred and malice, framed by hair that seemed to writhe like living snakes. Zesshi could all but feel the palpable sense of danger radiating from her like heat from a flame, and the sudden tension blanketing her surroundings was like choking black smoke from that very same fire. She could sense that Albedo was all but ready to dive in and strike, and she knew full well without activating her magics that it would not be an easy fight. The Overseer was a strong creature, strong enough to destroy nations by herself, almost like a dragon in bearing and ferocity.

Still, despite the apparent danger, Zesshi carried on. "Oh. I get it. You're mad because I was Ainz-sama's first. His first kiss. The first time he has ever embraced a woman. The first pussy his magnificent cock has ever tasted. And many other 'firsts' besides. Long before you or anyone else he had already tasted my backdoor. Mine was the mouth that gave his cock pleasure first. He indulged in my bosom, in all the smooth curves of my beautiful body. He learned the pleasure of the flesh in my arms, in the sheer ecstasy of inseminating a willing female. What you, and all the rest of you have since enjoyed—all of it was because of me. Mine was the hand that unchained this wonderful beast from its cage. And for this you resent me. For in his memories, mine will be the body Ainz-sama remembers most of all. He will have many after me, after us—such is his right as Ruler—and they may perhaps bring his mind more pleasure than we can manage. But I alone will retain that illustrious title forevermore: the first."

Her words were as spikes impaling their victim, and keeping them stuck and unable to act. She flung each jagged barb with vindictive pleasure, watching and waiting triumphantly as the vaunted Overseer could do nothing but seethe impotently, a bubbling cauldron overflowing with anger and hate, yet never able to act upon it, not if she intended to keep what she thought was rightfully hers.

However, Zesshi didn't push her luck. She was well-versed with hunting monsters and the like, and she knew when to pull back and when to strike. So she sat back and awaited Albedo's reply, whatever it was going to be.

"One day I will kill you. I care not if you have already died," Albedo declared, her voice uneven and harsh, as if she were a demon reciting some spell. "I will contrive a way to revive you, just so I can kill you again. I will kill you, and it will be the most exquisite pain you will have ever experienced."

Zesshi gave her another moment before speaking again. She had pieced together the clues in her mind, including information she had inferred when she had observed Nazarick throughout the months. She was going to present something close to a bluff, and she desperately thought she was right.

"You know, thinking on it, it was really only thanks to me that Ainz-sama had ever awakened to sex at all," Zesshi said, her eyes drawn to the ceiling.

Albedo snorted. "What? Ainz-sama has long been giving his love to all of us. Your assertions on being the first are frankly unfounded."

"It has been almost a year since Ainz-sama brought down the Cult of Zuranon at E-Rantel," Zesshi said, referring to the time when Clementine had been defeated and then captured by Ainz. "Ainz-sama was traveling the world with Narberal Gamma. And yet he never laid his hands on her."

Albedo sneered. "Narberal Gamma—"

"—was a virgin until just over three months ago, when we participated in that grand orgy. You remember, you were still being punished and Ainz-sama had you and Shalltear eating out of each other's pussies. Narberal Gamma all but admitted that was her first time. Ainz-sama all but admitted it as well. So that's one falsehood you've spouted.

"Second, Ainz-sama had Clementine captured, and imprisoned since that time. And he'd done nothing to her, not even once."

"That lowly worm isn't worth my lord's cock, on any day."

Zesshi shrugged, remembering Clementine's refusal. "Well, you have a point there. That still proves that Ainz-sama did not even attempt to lay his hands on her. If he later freely indulged in her body without regret, even claiming her for his own, why did he not do so initially?"

"My lord has always disliked that woman," Albedo said. "It took her throwing herself on him before he paid any attention to her. And with Lupusregina Beta's help, too."

"Well, that's reasonable. I still have Narberal, of course. And my last point, which damns the whole thing, is you, Albedo."

"What?"

"You showed no signs of being a virgin—but on that orgy, it was still the first time between you and Ainz-sama!" She remembered it well enough. She'd had her butthole filled with hot, sticky cum before Ainz had finally deigned to reward Albedo after keeping her out for so long. The woman had joyfully leaped at the chance, and had declared in so many words that she was happy that Ainz-sama had "finally" recognized her beauty, her love, and that he'd finally reciprocated it, after all that time. Lying just next to their sweaty, moving bodies, she had been able to hear all of Albedo's words, all her throaty moans, her dirty screams as Ainz took her with a cock still slick with Zesshi's own juices.

"Enough!" Albedo roared. "You're still wrong! It was only a matter of time. Just a little bit more and He would have been mine. Mine!"

"Whatever the issues you have against me, that fact cannot change," Zesshi said, as if lecturing some misbehaving brat. "It was only thanks to my timely arrival that he even considered fucking you. So you should be thanking me instead. You should be grateful that I opened this door for you, where we can all share in this glorious bounty."

Albedo sat back in her seat with a violent slam. A low, crunching sound could be heard from her face.

"You should admit it to yourself," Zesshi said, continuing with the lecturing tone. "That if not for me, you lot would have all schemed and planned as much as you liked, and nothing would have come from it. I know that with a love as strong as yours nothing would have stopped you from enacting all sorts of schemes to make it come true. Yet that never happened. I am the crack in Ainz-sama's armor, the chink that sent his walls crumbling down."

"'s not true," Albedo mumbled, her face balled into fists. "Jus' a matter of time."

Zesshi raised her brow. Was she… was Albedo actually crying? She didn't know if she should commiserate, or keep her distance. Both felt like traps she didn't want to indulge right now.

"You could never have been sure," Zesshi said quietly. "I have seen first-hand how passionate you can be when there's a clear goal in sight and you would not have waited long. You would have thrown yourself on Ainz-sama any time you could. The fact that it hadn't worked at all might mean that your methods had so far been inadequate—which speaks to your abilities," Albedo's eyes flashed angrily. "… Or that he was never going to be interested no matter what you tried."

"You can't know that," Albedo said. "And now that you're here, that possibility has been thrown right out of the window. You ask why I hate you? Because you are my enemy. Because you exist. And the simple fact that you are in my way, foolish human," Albedo said. "And mark my words, I can make life very difficult for you and anyone else who stands in my way."

"You are entitled to your grudges," Zesshi said. "And you can even keep hating me if you wish. But for the sake of pragmatism, I must declare—we need not be enemies."

Albedo laughed, long and hard. "What? You desire some common ground? There can never be a common ground between us."

"Oh yes, there can be." Zesshi narrowed her eyes. "I'm given to understand that before I was ever in the picture, you were in some sort of 'contest' to become Ainz-sama's official wife against that vampire Shalltear?"

"There was never any contest. It was inevitable that I was to be the wife. All of that you've heard is mere gossip from the maids, who can't help but titter and gossip about things beyond their knowledge."

"Still, I have a feeling you recognized that Shalltear was an obstacle that you would have to destroy one day?"

Albedo cocked her head. "In a way, she still is."

"I thank you for being forthright. It makes things just a bit easier," Zesshi replied, with a small grin. "Perhaps you also once hated Shalltear, for even daring perhaps, to presume herself 'worthy' of Ainz-sama. In your own words, you were to be the only official wife. Well, that is really up to Ainz-sama, in my opinion."

"Get to the point."

"You can still hate me, and plot my downfall as is your right," Zesshi said delicately. "While at the same time working with me, towards securing our role as the primary candidates in Ainz-sama's eyes."

"Work? With you?"

"I know you are an obstacle I shall have to overcome, one day." She drew herself up, her eyes glittering with the cold promise of one who was descended from the august Players. "But until that day comes, I am entirely willing to work together with you, to ensure that everything that happens in this small circle of ours—that we influence the final outcome, whenever or wherever that is."

"And the outcome is?"

Zesshi raised her brow. "Why, that only the two of us remain to pit our everything against each other, and no one else. You may think of me as a… worthy rival."

Albedo leaned forward in her chair, her eyes fixed on Zesshi's. "…What do you know?"

"Ainz-sama's gaze is vast, and it is inevitable that he finds more," Zesshi said.

"Yes…"

"And it is… perhaps, inevitable that one or two—or all of them will attempt to rise in prominence, to make themselves 'candidates' worthy of being the first wife."

"I won't let them."

"We won't let them," Zesshi amended, correcting her.

"You propose some sort of… pact?"

"An alliance. Though… " Zesshi tapped her head. "A pact does seem to fit more. An unholy pact between sworn, mortal enemies."

"… To keep these upstarts down, to ensure no one like you ever rises."

"Yes… so that I remain the only one to challenge you."

"And when the time is right…" Albedo hissed.

"…We shall then have our final reckoning. Me against you."

"You realize that this means your total annihilation, correct? Nothing you do will ever make me forget your wretched stain on my and Ainz-sama's lives. I am using the words you used."

"If it is annihilation you want, then let it be annihilation."

Albedo made a humming sound, her eyes never once breaking from Zesshi's. She honestly didn't know how the Overseer would react. She had laid it all on the table.

Albedo tapped her fingers on the wooden surface of the desk. Zesshi idly counted down the seconds in her head. The clock on the wall continued ticking on and on, the only sound left in the room.

"… There are two corpses bound to be resurrected by Ainz-sama," Albedo then said. "They came from the Holy Kingdom. They are reputed to be beautiful." She said nothing else, and merely locked her gaze with Zesshi.

"… I shall look into it when I have the chance," Zesshi said. "And… this mention of a squire…"

"I shall see if there is any truth to it," Albedo said, sighing.

"Mm. And that shall, no doubt, keep you busy." Zesshi rose to her feet, awkwardly cradling her triplets to steady her balance. "I'll just be out of your hair."

Albedo grunted. "One moment. This 'agreement' of course, will extend to the orgies."

"Yes of course," Zesshi said. "Most of our battles will probably be fought in there." She glanced back at Albedo. "You'd do well to work on your tongue. It's not as good as Shalltear's yet, and it's known that Ainz-sama likes hers the most."

"Your oral skill's not any better than mine," Albedo said.

"You must forgive me," Zesshi said. "Eating out your pussy—or any other pussy really—isn't really something I prepared for. But I'll do my best to please you the next time we're able."

"Don't count on it," Albedo muttered. "But really, that vampire? Are you sure you're not imagining things?"

She wanted to roll her eyes and make some snide remark. It was just so obvious! She was already at a point where she could discern her lover's emotions, even if he was some sort of powerful shapeshifter. It was always easy to tell how Ainz's expression changed the most whenever an exquisite pleasure came through him—and thus one example was during the act of fellatio, which Zesshi had witnessed others do many times. And of all of them, including herself, Ainz was most taken with Shalltear's tongue, though he'd never said it out loud.

But saying all that would just be giving Albedo an advantage, and she wanted her animosity to extend to Shalltear, if even a little.

Therefore, Zesshi just bowed silently, and left.

Zesshi swept away from the office, satisfied by the compact she had just made. Nothing was set in stone, of course, but this was a good beginning. Details could be refined as the situation changed.

"Corpses, huh?" Zesshi thought to herself. She didn't know how their operation worked, but she did have an idea where it was going to take place—the fifth floor where the element of ice was the ruler of the domain. Ainz had showed it to her, when he had given her and the rest of the outsiders a tour of Nazarick. The Guardian of that Floor, Cocytus, had been especially unctuous towards them, as if he was the captain of the royal guard paying service to the queen(s). She'd heard from Foire that Cocytus out of all the stronger monsters in Nazarick had been most anxious for Ainz-sama to produce an heir. The fact that now there were essentially many to take up that title meant he was very much ecstatic.

She thought about including Cocytus as an ally, but quickly discarded that idea. It seemed a far better idea to "disable" Cocytus' support by turning him neutral on the whole matter. This also applied to the twins. If they didn't support Albedo or anyone else anymore than her, then it was still a minor victory. Perhaps she could find the chance to talk to him.

"I don't have the time," she decided. She needed to rest. She turned her feet towards her sleeping quarters.

Some peculiar noises made her stop. She strained her ears, focusing on the noises' familiarity.

"Mmmnnhh… Haaaah… Puhaaah…"

*slurp* *slurp*

"Mmmmpphhh… Hmmmppphh…"

Those were the kind of noises she knew well. And they were coming from just up ahead. Zesshi looked around, then cast a small invisibility spell on herself. She then stalked forward, closer to the source of the noises.

A moment later, she was able to see it. There was a huge, tall figure pressed up against a wall. Between that and the wall was a shorter figure, which Zesshi was quick to recognize.

It was Yuri Alpha, another one of the Pleiades. That one had been polite to her, though she hadn't exactly warmed up like some of her sisters. The maid's glasses were askew, her bunned hair in a mess as her mouth was steadily being devoured. Her porcelain cheeks were stained with a red blush, as her body was being crushed against the wall.

His partner, of course, was none other than Ainz Ooal Gown, in the body of his Momon persona. The sight of her lover made Zesshi's heart skip a beat, as his mere presence could do and no one else's. It seemed he had arrived just a bit earlier than expected, though it seemed his attentions were mostly fixed on Yuri Alpha this time. It was a little disappointing, but it was Ainz-sama who decided things ultimately.

As she watched, the pair's bodies squirmed as they got further and further into each other's mouth. Zesshi caught herself drooling from watching their lewd display, much as it always did whenever it involved her beloved Ainz. Whatever her reasons for disliking Albedo or any one of them, she'd always still enjoy watching them do the dirty with Ainz repeatedly.

Then, Ainz stopped. He pulled his head up and away, as a bridge of spit stretched between their lips.

"Haaah… haaah…. Ainz-sama…" Yuri said, panting. Her once prim and proper face was now completely lewd-looking and disordered.

"Let's continue this later, Yuri Alpha," Ainz said, while cupping the maid's chin.

"… By your will, my lord." Ainz nodded, a clear sign of dismissal. The maid took a moment to fix herself—using a handkerchief to pad away the moisture on her face, then used a brush to fix her hair into its proper position. Then she bowed and walked in Zesshi's direction.

Zesshi stood aside and watched her go—thankfully, the maid didn't seem to notice her presence. Unlike some of her other sisters, this one still wasn't pregnant, because she wasn't yet designated to be a mother. Yet Zesshi always thought it was a matter of time—the woman was very beautiful, and was also quite devoted to Ainz. Her stern demeanor would not have looked out of place on a mother wishing to discipline one's children. Judging by the scene she'd just witnessed, that decision had already come to pass. She was a little excited, looking forward to the time that one joined the group debaucheries.

Zesshi turned around and instantly met a mountain of steel and muscle. Wide-eyed, she looked up—and right into Ainz-sama's eyes.

"Whoa!" she yelped, backing up a few steps. Unlike before, her heart now quite literally skipped a beat. "Ainz-sama!"

"Hm." Ainz just stood there, his eyes unmistakably tracking her movements.

"You can see me?" she asked, dispelling the magic on her.

"As soon as you came in, to observe us," Ainz replied. "Even before you tried out that invisibility trick. I sensed you there."

"Ahhh… Hahahaha…" Zesshi brushed her hair behind her ear awkwardly. "Well… Ahem! Anyway, why didn't you continue with her? Was I the reason? You could have bred her already, Ainz-sama."

Ainz shook his head. "No, Yuri begged me, and I promised her, that her first time would be memorable. And long. I don't have that time for her. Yet."

"Ahhh…" Zesshi's shoulders slumped just a little. "… You're not staying long then?"

"I still have my part to play in the Holy Kingdom. I may have already 'died' in my epic clash against the invaders, but the stage is still set for my eventual 'resurrection'. I've been travelling all around helping set the things up, and I am here to take a small break," Ainz said. "So I can only return for short stretches. Too short a time to be able to give justice to what Yuri Alpha wants."

"I see…"

"By the way, how are you doing, Zesshi?" Ainz asked, sounding rather awkward. "You look… well, bigger than before."

She smiled softly as Ainz-sama practically kneeled, his face almost on level with her pregnant belly. His face was alight with wonder as he laid his palm against her belly. Then his hand retracted, as his expression turned to one of shock.

"They moved!" he said, locking eyes with her. She beamed, and nodded. She had felt them move as well.

"That they have," she whispered excitedly. "The triplets can sense their father is here." That small kick had been like a greeting of sorts.

"Wow…" Ainz put his hand back on her body. Though none of the children moved again, the smile of wonder never faded from his face. Then he stirred, and stood. "We can't be standing here. Let's get you back to your bed first thing."

Zesshi allowed herself to be led away, her heart practically melting from Ainz's outright display of care and loving. In her mind, she was practically jumping for joy, and thumbing her nose at Albedo and all the rest of them. It was perhaps good fortune that she came back to this place right on time, to catch Ainz just as he'd arrived. It was good fortune, and she would take advantage of it in anyway she could.

Inside her room, he sat her down on her bed, then kneeled in front of her, her head practically leaning against her knees.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She coursed her fingers through his hair. "I am. Thank you for asking, my love."

"I cannot help but feel… apprehensive about all this. I know we've taken all possible precautions, but… hum, I suppose I am babbling a lot, huh?"

"It's perfectly normal, my love."

"It's a strange and wonderful thing," he said, his eyes now fixed towards her swollen belly. "That something of mine is growing here, ready to be born, to grow, to become…"

"Indeed, my lord." She took his hand in hers, and he took the initiative of interlacing his fingers. She wanted to embrace him then and there.

"'Tis all still strange to me…" he murmured, his eyes wistful and unfocused. "That this is happening at all… An actual babe, ell three of them, and the mothers who love them…"

"We are all honored to bear your children, my lord."

"Yes… yes, I guess you are," Ainz replied.

After that, he pressed his ear against her belly, and seemed to be listening to the sound of his children growing inside. His child-like reactions were precious, and Zesshi indulged him, for all that between them the world was liable to fall to its knees and tremble in fear. Yet this moment, shared between them in private, was for them alone. Nothing and no one could gainsay it; and the memory would ever remain within her, to never be forgotten.

"Humm… This feels very awkward," Ainz then said, breaking the intimate silence. "I only came back here to try and see if I could find someone to… well you know."

For all that she wasn't his wife "in truth", she felt that she was well on her way to making it reality. She read his mood as easily as if they had already been living together in blessed matrimony for many years.

"I see… If you wish it, my lord, then I am ready."

"What? No, I can't," Ainz said. "You're still so delicate, and maybe you're tired—"

"I'm already good to go, my lord," said Zesshi. "Unlike the rest, who are still delicate, as you said. But the matrons have already cleared me. If you wish to find comfort in my bosom, then it is free for you to take."

Ainz swallowed. "Well, that…"

"And besides—" She grabbed both sides of his face and kissed him full on the lips. "I also hunger for your touch, my lord. So please… give it to me." She guided his hands all over her body, letting him know there was nowhere he was not allowed to touch. Eventually, she felt his hands grow needier, gripping onto her more fiercely as their kiss deepened to the point that he was now thrusting his tongue inside.

"I'll be gentle," he promised, as he laid her in position. He slowly unbuttoned and unraveled her clothes, which luckily were of the loose and strippable kind, which meant that he had her naked in a few moments. She lay on her side, with him mounting her from above. He squeezed her taut, pert asscheeks, and ran his hands all over her naked skin, spreading his pleasant warmth all over her body.

She was already wet and ready for him, so there was not much to the foreplay but their intense make-out session. He ground his penis against her moist folds, pushing into her until he was hilted deep inside her with a loud, wet squelch.

"Ohhh… you still feel so good, so good… Zesshi…"

"My lord…" she moaned. "You're still so impressive… my lord…"

It was only the initial plunge, and already she was burning, yearning for more. Her insides wrapped and coiled around Ainz's meat, like a living flesh orifice that sought only pleasure.

Ainz began thrusting into her, gently at first, making the bed creak and rock beneath them. Then he sped up, as her enthusiasm fed into him, making him pound more steadily into her with a lot more energy. It was very telling that he still moved at a pace low enough to not overly jostle their triplets. It was as if he had cast a spell that concentrated only on her lower, lewd part.

Ainz began to screw wildly inside her, causing her to pant and whine in her throat as the sound of their lovemaking echoed all over her room. The bed started to whine and squeak as their sweet congress continued. Zesshi matched the rhythm of his thrusts, her pregnant belly swaying back and forth, swinging like some perverse fruit in the wind as he lavished his attention on her cunt. Her breasts, swollen with pregnancy, began to leak as the pleasure overtook her. Biting her lip intensely, she pushed back with urgent, needy grunts, coiling around his length, meeting his hips rabidly, giving as good as she was getting. Her entire body shuddered from head to foot, gasping and whining and pleading as her slippery folds contract around his meat.

"Ainz-sama… hnnnghhmmpphhh… Ainz-sama…!"

"You feel so tight… so good…!"

The lovers could only babble this way as they approached their respective peaks. She bit at her pillow, chewing on it wildly while she milked him endlessly, mercilessly. His hips moved back and forth, and she rocked against him, the both of them fighting to stay awake and conscious against the tides of pleasure that swirled around them.

She exploded, her swollen cunt spewing out strands of slippery cum all over his cock. Though her limbs thrash about, she was able to keep herself contained, though it was almost a superhuman effort to maintain the balance of her belly. Ainz continued to hammer his pulsing rod inside, riding her orgasm on the way to his own. Heat surged through his body as he released, giving Zesshi the familiar, mindblowing pleasure of being creampied yet again as she went on to a second orgasm—or perhaps it was an extension of the first—making her pant and squeal in delight as she squeezed and milked his rod for everything he could give. His seed coated her insides, painting the walls of her pussy with his powerful seed.

The two of them moaned as their bodies collapsed onto the bed, each still linked to the other through their crotches. Ainz growled possessively, pressing Zesshi's body close to himself as he continued to seed her with everything she wanted. For the two of them it was a constant stream of mind-blowing pleasure that soothed their desires for the moment. Before he could overwhelm her pussy, he withdrew, spraying the rest of his ropes all over her body. Her glowing womb tattoo dripped with ropes of his errant cum.

That was not yet the end of their congress. They continued to fuck, again and again, panting, whimpering, the room quickly smelling of sex and sweat, their voices echoing repeatedly over the walls. For the two of them, nothing existed in the world but each other, and they gave freely of themselves to the other.

They lay together in the aftermath, spooning lovingly, most of the fluids cleared through spell and artifice. They were deliciously tired, as if they had just run a grueling marathon. Indeed, it was only their mutual concern about the babes that kept them from keeping at it for too long, as they then decided to spend the rest of their allotted time cuddling in bed, bodies pressed together to share their loving warmth.

"This feels nice," Ainz admitted, his mind still awhirl. He hadn't been expecting to meet, nor even fuck Zesshi, when he'd returned.

Ever since his return from the exhausting battlefields of the Roble Holy Kingdom (and of course his climactic battle against Jaldabaoth), Ainz had thought of returning to Nazarick to study the resurrected forms of the specimens that Demiurge had offered him. Killing them had not been part of the plan—and blame was partly laid on the demon soldier along with that rude paladin Remedios for leading to this point. Luckily, Demiurge had saved the bodies from being abused too much, which would make for a decent attempt at later resurrection.

Ainz had then, upon his return, chanced upon Yuri Alpha first. Mindful of their promise, he had wanted to dismiss her to her duties, but one thing led to another, and he was pushing her against the wall.

He would have taken her then and there, and perhaps he would have been forced to tell Demiurge to delay the plan just so he could indulge in Yuri Alpha properly. Fortunately, Zesshi Zetsumei had turned up, allowing him to take control of himself and leave the rendezvous for another time.

He hadn't expected to fuck her senseless then and there, though he would admit that the atmosphere had been just right. He had been frozen in wonder at the babies that were surely growing in his lovers' bellies, and Zesshi had been the closest example. Among those in Nazarick, only she could boast of bearing triplets, which seemed to Ainz as if he had pulled out something ranked 5 stars in some gacha. A rarity born from a rarity.

He'd felt so blessed, and then he had allowed himself to be seduced by Zesshi, leading to this point. He idly thumbed her sore, swollen nipples, delighting in the faint splashes of milk that came streaming out. She seemed more than ready to be feeding their triplets with them—though with three that required switching one in and out. A conundrum, he thought idly.

"My lord?" said Zesshi.

"Hm?"

"I truly am blessed," she said, laying her palm on his body. His hands and fingers were still clasped around her belly, where he could feel the idle movements of his growing children beneath the skin. He wished they would not over-burden their mother so—despite being descended from Players, he felt as if her apparent invincibility had no power over the primal aspect of child-bearing. A high-level pregnancy would only lead to high-level problems, he decided, which was why he'd done everything he could to serve as precautions for her and for everyone else he'd managed to impregnate here in Nazarick. "I feel as if… As if there is nothing else in the world I want…"

"If there is something," Ainz said. "Then tell me. If it is within my power, I shall certainly grant it." He felt like some magnanimous wastrel—how could he know what a pregnant woman wanted? Surely not mere riches or trinkets or anything else he could do here in this new world.

"I have everything I could reasonably want," she said. She touched his face. "In here." Then she touched her belly. "In here." Then she clasped her fingers. "And in here. I would ask for nothing more."

"I see." Ainz felt fortunate that his current transformation did not allow him to blush or show emotion, or he would have been quite the blubbery, weeping mess in front of Zesshi.

She squirmed her body, nuzzling closer to him. "Though, I do have some smaller, insignificant whims of my own. For example, I would have liked to accompany you to the Holy Kingdom, perhaps under disguise or something of that sort."

"No, you shouldn't do that," Ainz said. She was safer, far safer here in Nazarick than outside. Outside there were many dangerous things that even he could not predict. He had planned for every eventuality he could think of, but even he couldn't foresee everything that might happen. And it was known that there were many dangerous things out there in the world. Zesshi herself was proof of that—a woman descended from "Players", which were assuredly related to Yggdrasil somehow. "It really isn't safe."

"Even with the whole of Nazarick there?" she asked, pouting.

"First of all, not all of Nazarick is there. That is why Demiurge had to recruit a whole bunch of demihuman tribes, uniting them under one banner. It was to disguise our involvement in the matter, but also as a way to minimize casualties." Even Ainz had balked at the minimum that Demiurge had requested so humbly—it appeared that he was recruiting more from the minions on his own floor, which would leave it understaffed, and that was not to mention the total absence of the Floor Guardian himself. If they were all wiped out by some freak force of nature, he could never forgive himself.

If Zesshi or any of them were wiped out because they were there, then he was sure he wouldn't be responsible for the things he was would want to do.

"Rest assured, this petty war will be over soon. After all, we're not looking to wipe out the whole kingdom. That would be counterproductive. Better that we secure a base by 'leveling off the top', so to speak, then replacing them with those we can trust." That was the explanation that Albedo had given him, which he still struggled to comprehend. All this high concept stuff was beyond what his brain could process.

"What of the beastmen?"

"They will be made to sign a treaty with the Kingdom, in which they will agree to share the land and such," Ainz explained. "With our control they will be made to coexist with each other in relative peace. By force, if need be."

Zesshi nodded to herself, her eyes lost in thought. "And so the war ends without much investment from your hands, and at a swift pace, too." She laughed. "And all this time, the Slaine Theocracy's been engaged in a war for so long and for all its power it hasn't even managed to end it yet."

"I see." He knew about the Theocracy's current war with the neighboring elf kingdom, though he didn't know (or much care) about the details. He had heard all about it from that Cardinal Raymond something, who had given him and Nabe a brief. Some more details were also on Albedo's briefing, which contained information from Zesshi's doppelganger, though he hadn't really taken a closer look at it yet.

Still, the news that it hadn't been able to force a decisive end to the war puzzled him. Did they not have the power of Players on their side? Why not leverage it into the war?

Or, Ainz thought. What if they actually had, but the elves were stronger? That was something to consider as well. Then again, if the elves had some power, could they not in turn easily swallow up the Theocracy? Yet they didn't or maybe couldn't. It all seemed strange. Suddenly, those two powers merited a closer look.

"What did happen with that war?" Ainz wondered aloud. "Why are you guys fighting it?" He looked down to see that Zesshi's expression had changed somewhat. Her once bright, devoted expression had darkened. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." Zesshi sighed. "My lord has asked something I am obligated to answer, though it is a rather awkward subject for me—me personally to answer."

"Er… if it's alright with you then you shouldn't feel the need to do it," Ainz said. "Please forget it." And he could inquire through other means.

"No, no, it would be preferable if you heard it from my lips," Zesshi said. She made a crooked smile. "And besides, this whole thing is quite honestly just a big, inconsequential farce. I care nothing for it."

Ainz waited, with a little trepidation, as Zesshi began to speak. "See these ears, my lord? These are the mark of one who is born from both elf and human blood. You know that I am a half-breed, but not of the circumstances. I can assure you they are not as happy as one assumes. I was conceived not out of love between two people, but of rape most vile. My birth mother, who was once one of the most powerful in the Theocracy, was taken by force by the elven king."

Ainz's eyes narrowed. "Yes, that same elven king who still rules, who still defies the Theocracy to this day. I was conceived by that unworthy union, after which my mother was saved. The Theocracy declared war then, though it is known that they have long sought to wage war on the elves. For as long as I have lived with these two heritages, war has been waged, and many elves have been captured to fuel the Theocracy's finances even as the anvil of war grinds on. And still my sire lurks hidden, perhaps amused by it all. No one can fathom his reasons for raping my mother, or of fathering me, or of doing nothing ever since.

"And I do not care, not one bit," Zesshi concluded with a spit. Ainz caressed her face. She gazed at him, her harsh expression melting into something approaching melancholy. "Oh my lord, you cannot know how your very presence soothes me, brings me purpose as well as love. All my life I have thought myself an unworthy thing, born of powerful Players and of ancient elven blood; forged perhaps as a strong weapon. And indeed, I have disdained everything but strength, for I despise everything in this wretched world. Nothing mattered in the world to me. Nothing, until…" she reached out, to flit her fingers through his hair. "It is a miracle, I think. That we should meet at that temple. That you should be possessed of that body, of such… love.

"I know not what the future holds. For me, for you, or the babes. But I know that I will now do my best for you and for them—because nothing else still matters to me."

"Zesshi…" He accepted her offer and kissed her on the forehead, then her tear-filled cheeks, then her lips. They stayed there, body pressed against body, connected through their lips and in other places besides. Between them they shared their body heat with the triplets, who slept surrounded by the peaceful warmth of both their parents, cherished in this one, precious moment.

As Ainz lay in the darkness, pleasure coursing through every bone in his body, his mind went to the Theocracy, to the elves, and to the elven king.

Chapter commissioned by UltraSpink of Da USA, thank you. A reminder that the story is commissioned.

If you'd like a story commissioned, feel free to contact me here, or on archiveofourown under "RHoldhous".