Chapter 30: Title

Ainz teleported back into his office and brushed off the remaining bits of snow and ice.

He was not having a good day.

Earlier this day, he had Neuronist and Pulcinella visit the prisoners on the Fifth Floor in an attempt to extract some information. To his surprise—or maybe he had anticipated it deep down—the prisoners would die and turn to dust when the two torturers would reach a certain threshold.

'Anti-Interrogation spells… This does make my job much more difficult,' Ainz sat back down at his desk and pulled out some notes relevant to the Theocracy situation. Neuronist and Pulcinella were able to get that much at least. Not that it was their fault in the slightest.

Ainz began jolting down notes in the quiet of the office. Albedo was taking a break—probably in the Treasury, Ainz suspected—and Ainz was enjoying the solitude of the room as he reviewed what he had written down.

Spies from Theocracy? (Confirmed)

They don't seem to know much, none have come close to Nazarick. The fake base has turned out to be quite useful.

Why would they be sending spies? Prisoners self-destructed when asked about this under duress. Perhaps test Control Amnesia… Probably won't work.

Number of spies still unknown. 20 or so have been caught. Of those 20, most are already dead. Can't take further steps until we circumvent the interrogation spell. Look into this.

All of these have happened sometime after the Shalltear incident. It seems reasonable for them to look into it considering Tia firebombed one of their cities.

Ainz put down his notes and sighed. Tia's rashness was proving to be quite troublesome.

'Well, it could be a lot worse… She could be dead,' Ainz stiffened with anger at the thought. He would not let something like the Mind-Control incident happen ever again.

"Haaaa…" Ainz tiredly stared at the oaken grandfather clock standing next to the wall of his office. The hands of the clock moved ever so slowly as the hour hand creeped towards '2.'

He waited until the hand finally reached '2' before getting up from his seat with a sigh and a mumble, "I probably shouldn't keep Pandora's Actor waiting. He did say that he managed to figure something out about keeping some of my Undead summons around with the spells I've given him…"

Despite this tremendous breakthrough, Ainz couldn't bring himself to feel very excited. 'Perhaps I should have told Tia about what I've been doing?'

No. Ainz shook his head. Friends covered for each other. And what kind of friend would he be if he let her shoulder her burdens alone?

He—no, all of Nazarick—needed to get stronger.

Steeling his determination, Ainz teleported from the room, the bits of melting ice on the carpet the only evidence he was ever there.

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Tiamat groaned as she rolled off the bed and groaned even harder as her face was given a rough welcome by the wooden floorboards.

"Owwwwww…" she rubbed her nose in sleepy irritation. It didn't hurt so much as it was annoying. She was just about to crawl back under her warm wonderful blankets until her head began pounding with a dull pain.

"Fuuuuuuck… "

Occasionally, she would be inflicted with headaches from the mental link she had with her summons. Tiamat wondered—with no small amount of annoyance—if this is what mothers felt like when their children scream in the middle of the night.

Well, it had been a while since she'd gotten to see her babies after all. It was pretty understandable that they would get so worked up.

Still…

Tiamat let out another exhausted groan as she clumsily fumbled around in her Inventory for a『Gate』scroll. She mumbled incoherently as she released the sealed spell, and the swirling rift was just barely open when she was suddenly tackled by three squirming, happy, and loud baby dragons.

"Let mommy get some more sleep…" Tiamat grumbled. Of course, her babies ignored her and progressed from just squealing to jumping up and down on her while covering her with saliva.

'Whyyyyyy…?!'

"I'll play with you kids later," she desperately bargained, "Cooking, visiting Aura, anything. Just please let me sleep for a bit," with a few more bribes of treats and her time, they relented and contented themselves with laying down next to and on top of her—occasionally rolling around and making cheerful growls.

Red became her pillow, Chilli was sleeping on top of her, and Pepper was fulfilling his sacred duty as her bolster.

It was a miracle how she and her three dragons could fit on the same bed. Chili's weight comfortably pressed against her like a thick blanket.

'This turned out to be a pretty good idea…' Tiamat thought in blissful warmth.

Their body heat enveloped her, and their rumbles became her lullaby.

Tiamat sighed in contentment. Last night, there had been a bunch of weird noises outside her room which had eventually led to her casting a silencing spell around her room. Sadly, she had waited until realllllly late to soundproof the room, leading to her current state of exhaustion.

It had sounded a lot like people had been trying to climb into her room via the window. She was also pretty sure that she had heard someone tinkering with her door too. Either way, Shroud had quickly resolved both incidents. And so, she was now making up for all that lost sleep.

Right as the bizarre group were slowly drifting into the land of dreams, someone began knocking loudly on the door. The four dragons woke up with a hiss as they were wrenched out of blissful silence.

"Lady Hannah, someone's looking for you outside," a man's—the innkeeper—voice accompanied the knocks that came from the door.

"Ughhh…" Tiamat moaned in pain, sleep still weighing heavily on her eyelids, and groggily responded, "Who…?"

"Lady Hannah," the man repeated as he knocked again.

"What is it?" Tiamat whined.

"Lady Hannah, please open up. It's urgent," the man knocked once again.

"I know, what the fuck do you want?!" Tiamat yelled, fueled by sleep-deprived rage.

"My Lady," Shroud interjected, "I don't think the human can hear you. You put a silencing ward around the room last night."

Another three knocks at the door, "Oi Little Lady, open up!"

"Ah, that's right…" memories of the insufferable noises slowly resurfaced. She gently pushed Chilli off her and sat up, stretching upwards with a yawn before dispelling the silencing ward, "What is it?" she asked once again, this time, without the soundproofing.

She could practically feel the relief that was oozing from the man. "You finally responded, Little Lady! Someone is looking for you," he responded.

"I know, I heard you the first time," she stretched her arms across her chest, chasing the sleepiness away, "Who was it?"

"It was the Guildmaster," the innkeeper replied promptly.

'The Guildmaster?' she thought to herself, 'Why is he looking for me?'

Her mind immediately began calculating the odds of the Guildmaster pulling another scheme like the charm potion one. Was it another trick of his? Or perhaps an important quest?

'If it's a quest, then there's no way the Guildmaster would personally come here to approach me,' Tiamat mulled, hunched over with her chin resting on her fist.

'Eh,' she shrugged, 'Doesn't matter anyways.'

Besides, she knew she wasn't going by herself this time. Tiamat looked at Shroud who was staring a hole through the wooden door with his immense killing intent.

Tiamat smiled awkwardly. Maybe he was angry about losing sleep too? He really did look pretty angry though.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll be right out," Tiamat stifled another yawn as she responded to the innkeeper outside her room.

Once the heavy footsteps began walking away from the room, Shroud finally turned to Tiamat, "My Lady, can I cut out that man's tongu—"

Even before Shroud could finish his sentence, Tiamat already replied with a bright smile, "Nope."

The spider flinched in dejection.

"Don't be too disappointed now," Tiamat nonchalantly patted his back, "There'll always be more chances in the future."

The spider immediately cheered up, his whole body trembling with happiness. Tiamat giggled at the sight before asking, "For now, could you turn around for a bit? Gotta change."

"Of course," Shroud dipped his head as he turned his back to his Lady, his back straight as he vigilantly listened for anything that may pose a threat to the Supreme Being. Sadly, all he heard were his Lady's yawns and the sound of fabric falling to the floor. Needless to say, Shroud was very disappointed by the lack of insects to kill.

"Okay Shroud. You can turn around again," Tiamat was once again wearing the dress that usually came with her 'Hannah' persona.

She put her hands on her hips and looked down at Red, Chili, and Pepper who were still sleeping on her bed. "I should probably send them back now… "

And so, after using up yet another『Gate』scroll, Tiamat opened a purple portal and gently deposited her three dragonlings through it. "There. That should do it."

Shroud nodded in agreement. To escort the Supreme Being through this hive of degeneracy was no simple task. His heart pounded with pride at being granted yet another opportunity to prove himself before his almighty goddess.

Blissfully unaware of Shroud's thoughts, Tiamat brushed the wrinkles out of her dress and went down to meet with the Guildmaster.

As she walked down the stairs, she turned her head to a window and noted how the sun was just beginning to rise; the sky a beautiful patchwork of rosy pink and sandy yellow.

'Makes sense that the inn isn't crowded right now,' Tiamat thought to herself as she looked around the near-empty lobby. In fact, the Guildmaster was the only one who was sitting at the table, enjoying a warm cup of coffee that was served by the innkeeper.

The gruff man was sitting at one of the chairs that faced the stairs, so as soon as he saw the tip of her shoes, he immediately stood up.

"Hannah-sama," Pluton greeted her with a bow.

"Ainzach-san," Tiamat smiled as she walked towards his table, "What is it that requires my attention so early in the morning?"

"Regarding the request that you've put in yesterday…" Pluton's eyebrows furrowed in distress, "I have to formally apologize to you, Hannah-sama," he dipped into a low bow.

He had experienced the Priestess's wrath first hand, so he knew that the piece of information he had just given wouldn't satisfy her in the slightest. However, there was nothing he could do about it.

"Apologize? Was it too difficult of a request since I didn't have any details of the person I'm looking for?" she tapped her fingers against the rough wooden table.

Pluton gulped, "There is no… easy way to say this, Hannah-sama. So instead of saying it, I believe that it would be better for me to show you."

...

Her shoes skirted around a pile of dead leaves. The place where Pluton was going was apparently in the outer district of the city. Despite that, it still only took less than an hour for the two to arrive.

Tiamat couldn't hide her shock when she finally realized where Pluton was taking her.

A wall of moss-laden bricks stood tall above her as the guards gaped at her from the top of the wall. Behind what seemed to be ancient wrought-iron gates, rows upon rows of crumbling stones stood in various interpretations of upright. Even the trees themselves were hunched over, blocking out the sun itself as if to declare that this place belonged solely to the darkness.

Mold grew over the engravings dedicated to the hallowed dead, and trees were leaning towards the stones, their branches reaching out to each other. The wall that was surrounding the graveyard made it almost seem like it a prison. The gravel paths that weaved through the maze of graves were dirtied by debris and mud.

"Ainzach-san, this is…" Tiamat muttered.

The guildmaster remained deathly silent as he continued onwards.

Tiamat was confused.

This was her first time seeing what a graveyard actually looked like.

On Earth, real estate had become so valuable that even the dead could not be buried without finding the ridiculous amount of money required to rent a spot in the crowded cemeteries. It was something that only the super-rich could afford.

How could a place be so full and empty at the same time? Despite being so full, all of the gravestones seemed untended. Moreover, the stench reminded her of Ainz's Death Knight, the smell of both dirt and death.

She focused back on Ainzach who was walking towards what seemed to be four newly erected tombstones.

"We're here, Hannah-sama," Pluton announced.

"Here?" Tiamat asked, "But you said you were going to show me my quest—"

The warmth from her body abandoned her. It was only yesterday that Tsuare had been talking about her sister and how happy they were.

Her brain spluttered for a moment as she took in the details of the unmanaged tombstone in front of her.

Lucia Ninya.

Was clearly the name written on the tombstone.

"I apologize, Hannah-sama…" Pluton murmured as he stood next to her.

But Tiamat didn't say anything.

The knowledge had knocked every wisp of air from her lungs, and she stood there struggling to process the truth before her.

Pluton awkwardly shifted his feet in the silence, "Hannah-sama?"

Finally, she took in a deep breath.

"How?" she blankly asked.

As if he was a soldier drilled for answers, Pluton swiftly replied, "She was escorting a client home, and they were ambushed by the dark cult Zurrannon since they wanted to kidnap the client for their devilish means. She, as well as her entire team, was murdered that night."

'Murdered…' Tiamat took a sharp intake of breath.

How was she going to tell this to Tsuare?

Her mind instantly thought back to what Tsuare mentioned.

'Lucia and I… we only had each other to rely on. And life definitely wasn't easy for us either.'

What was she supposed to tell her…?

Somehow, she could hear Tsuare whispering, 'I miss her.'

She thought that if she could give Tsuare her happiness, she could gain her own as well. If Tsuare could be happy, that meant she could be as well.

But alas, fate was crueler than that.

"Her body was mangled, and by the time we got there the whole place smelled like a slaughterhouse. Thanks to Dark Warrior Momon-sama, the culprit was apprehended. The culprit also—"

"Enough," Tiamat cut Pluton off, not wanting to hear any more of the gruesome details.

Tiamat, Hannah, had grieved so many times. At first it was her family, her world, her everything. It had sneaked up on her quietly and took them away from her in an instant. And then it was her circumstances. The loss of her innocence and any potential future child of hers.

Tsuare was exactly the same.

It was as if the gods, or whatever being that had sent them here in this world had shoved a mirror up in her face to remind her of the past.

Tears began to spill from her helpless eyes onto the newly growing grass atop the fresh grave.

Pluton, who saw how crushed the Saint of E-Rantell was, respectfully turned his eyes away, "I'll leave you be, Hannah-sama. My sincerest condolences…" With that, he left her alone to grieve.

She didn't hear him. Her legs buckled and her knees sunk into the sodden earth.

Shroud glanced around the surroundings. Once he had made sure that there were no insects within earshot, Shroud finally revealed himself, trying to hold back his own tears at his master's sorrow, "My Lady…"

But it was all for nought. There was nothing he could do as he quietly stood next to his weeping Goddess.

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Tiamat didn't know when she had returned to the inn.

Everything was one big blur ever since she had returned from the graveyard.

All she knew was that she had followed Shroud back to the inn they were residing in. The moment they had entered her room, her head was already on the hard pillow of the dinky room.

The innkeeper had asked if she needed anything, but she was simply too tired to respond.

She was too conceited. When she had first provided Tsuare with her ultimatum, she thought it would be a piece of cake to find Tsuare's sister, and as a result, she had completely forgotten how cruel this world could be.

It was very shallow and stupid of her to strike a deal she wasn't guaranteed to fulfill in the first place. Why did she even do that?

'The baby…' her brain reminded her.

Tiamat closed her eyes as she smothered her face with the pillow. That's right, the baby. Tsuare was too naive for her own good, and the girl had a lot more to lose than to gain from birthing it.

Even from before the baby was born, the mother had experienced extreme trauma. The womb which was supposed to be the safest place had been assaulted with shouting, beatings, and dangerous chemicals that the mother ate. The sheer trauma alone could have robbed the baby of their life.

That was not all.

No matter how strong you thought yourself to be or how many times you say that other people's opinion didn't matter, in the end, such words were not absolute. One's status could never be ignored. Moreover with the burden they would have to carry, it was obvious that a society filled with patriarchs would never leave them alone.

Society was a horrible place afterall. The child would be judged by everyone at a glance, and worst of all, the child would be a constant reminder of the trauma.

If only she had considered the full consequences, she would have forced Tsuare to abort the child no matter how much the girl would plead with her. If only she had calculated that…

Then she wouldn't be stuck with such a dilemma on her hands. Tiamat rubbed her temples with her fingers.

"My Lady," Shroud called from the ceiling, causing Tiamat to slowly open her eyes to look at him, "Is there anything you desire? Should I fetch Yuri Alpha?"

"No…" she answered, unenthused.

Tiamat closed her eyes again.

The Dragoness didn't notice, but Shroud was very visibly worried. One of his legs rapped against the wood as he worried over the Supreme Being. It was his first time seeing the ever bright and cheerful Supreme Being upset to the point of tears.

"My Lady," he tried again, "Should I tell Lord Ainz?"

Tiamat opened her mouth as she prepared to tell the Spider to go away. The moment she prepared to unleash her bitter words, however, she paused.

'Am I really going to take out my frustration on someone who's just looking out for me?' Tiamat let out a sigh as her heart filled with disgust for herself.

"My Lady?" Shroud asked, worried about her lack of response.

"It's okay Shroud," Tiamat forced a shaky smile, "It would be kinda mean to give more work to Ainz when he has so much work already."

"Understood," Shroud lowered his head, "I apologize, My Lady."

He berated himself for his foolishness. How could he not have considered that Lord Ainz, the leader of Nazarick, would be busy with his own exalted machinations?

He didn't know what happened very well, nor did he know why his Mistress was so upset.

But he did know Anger. He was angry that he was unable to resolve this problem for the Supreme Being. The situation would have turned out completely different if he was as capable as the Floor Guardians perhaps…

"No, Shroud. Why do you have to apologize?" Tiamat smiled weakly.

From the beginning the whole thing was entirely her fault. If she hadn't involved herself with a stranger's life, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

"I'm sure everything will turn out okay, Shroud," she absentmindedly patted his head like one would pet a puppy.

Somehow, she felt like those words were meant for her more than for her bodyguard.

Shroud held his breath and did his best to stay still. He thought that if he moved even just a bit, the Supreme Being would move her hand away.

"My Lady must be correct," Shroud agreed.

With the Supreme Being's words of affirmation, Shroud's heart was instantly put to ease. If a Supreme Being stated that everything would be alright, would it not be so? In fact, would not the world itself bend over to make it so?

He was an assassin whose sole purpose was to protect the Supreme Beings and point his blade at their enemies. He would willingly lay down his life for his Masters.

Yet despite being just a tool, he had received a name and was forgiven. Someone as insignificant as him.

It was just a little, but the quiet assassin's eyes were wet.

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

He was not surprised at all.

Ainz had speculated that the reason the Slane Theocracy was suddenly active near the fake Nazarick after Shalltear's mindwipe was likely because of Tiamat's rash decision to bomb their city. Of course, if one were to think logically, such a strong and influential country would surely find out who had ravaged their city.

It was a wasted effort to keep himself in the dark, so Ainz had decided to send some spies to find out about what the Theocracy was planning.

'Would one shadow demon be enough?' he worried.

Ainz knew it would be a risky move since he knew little about them, but he had to find out since the life of his friend and his precious home was at stake.

Tiamat had been severely wounded and low on mana so the only spell she could conjure after her fight with Shalltear was a low level AOE spell that he wouldn't even bother considering.

Yet such a strong country like the Theocracy hadn't been able to defend themselves against it.

He had heard it in passing while he was wandering as the Dark Warrior Momon, but the Theocracy was hell bent on finding the red haired demon that had terrorized their city.

He leaned back in his chair, 'Maybe they're not as strong as people say they are?'

Regardless, it would be dangerous for him to be careless. Perhaps the Theocracy allowed themselves to be attacked in order to lure him out.

"Albedo," he called out.

Albedo stood up from her desk, tidying up the last bits of scattered reports, "Yes, Lord Ainz?"

"Dispatch two Shadow Demons to the Slane Theocracy. Investigate their capabilities and any trump cards that they may have. Also, I want to know everything they're doing regarding the attack of the red demon. The Shadow Demons are to gather as much information as they can," Ainz tapped a skeletal finger against his desk, "They are not to return if they suspect they are being followed or manipulated in any way."

"Understood."

Albedo was positively brimming with excitement. Her expression had changed from serious to elated, to the point where it looked like her loved one had proposed to her.

They were finally going to punish the fools that dared to raise their hands against Nazarick.

Ainz's next command broke her out of her reverie, "For now, deal with this first. Tell them to bring enough recording devices and divination scrolls. It would be bad if they ran out of supplies behind enemy lines."

"Yes, Lord Ainz!" Albedo threw up a sharp salute.

He looked at her blankly before shaking his head. 'She kind of looked like someone familiar for a moment there…'

Ainz shook his head of the distracting thought and took a guess at what time the information would arrive. If all went well, then a few weeks would be enough.

He had to admit though, it felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Of course he had other things to worry about like the safety of the Shadow Demons, but he had capable subordinates by his side. Which led to his next worry...

"How is Tia?" he asked.

"Lady Tiamat is currently in E-Rantel," Albedo put her hand to her chin as she seemed to be trying to recall something, "I believe she is trying to look for someone, Lord Ainz."

"Looking for someone?" Ainz looked at Albedo in confusion, "Who could there be to look for?"

A shiver ran down his spine as Albedo looked in his eyes with a glint in her own, "Perhaps you should ask her, Lord Ainz."

Ainz looked down at his desk. His and Tia's last interaction was not the best by any stretch of the word. For him to poke his nose in her business so soon… she surely wouldn't appreciate such a thing.

"Ah, Albedo. I think…" he trailed off as he noticed that his trustworthy aide had already used a 『Gate』scroll, "What are you doing?"

"What must be done," Albedo firmly declared as she began pushing her God through the portal, "Please forgive me, Lord Ainz."

"Eh? Eh. EHHHHHHHHH?!"

Canon Omake: The Scroll Thief

Ainz sighed.

It had been yet another long day of endless paperwork. He had been trying to take more breaks to work on his newly acquired『Spellcrafter』class, but there was just far too much to be done.

"Is something wrong, da—Lord Ainz?" Albedo worriedly asked, cursing herself as she nearly tripped over her words.

Ainz—too tired and preoccupied to notice Albedo's lapse—despondently responded, "Umu, there is much work to be done, is there not, Albedo?"

"Indeed, Lord Ainz," Albedo finished compiling yet another report and added it to Ainz's already towering stack. He barely suppressed a groan of despair, and resigned himself to work on yet another document.

Albedo looked at Ainz with a thoughtful look on her face. "Lord Ainz," the Overlord raised his head from the document, his red eyes barely alive, "Perhaps you should take a break. I mean no offense to your abilities, but I am sure that I can handle the rest of the work for today."

Unseen to Albedo—who could only see his typical stoic facade—Ainz was undergoing a tremendous internal struggle.

'I can't just force all of my work onto Albedo. That would make me like my shitty boss back on Earth.'

'But a break from this endless paperwork…' Ainz glanced at the still gigantic stack, 'Yeah, no way. I'm sorry Albedo, but please bear with your guildmaster's incompetency!'

"Perhaps you are right, Albedo," Ainz stroked his chin in a way he hoped was regal, "Are you certain that you can handle all of this paperwork?"

"Please do not worry, Lord Ainz," Albedo smiled as she jokingly flexed a bicep, "I am quite capable when it comes to this sort of thing after all."

"Umu, in that case I shall leave it to you, Albedo," Ainz stood up from his desk and walked out of his office. 'Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!'

He was about to break out into a dance until he saw the maid who had been cleaning the hallway staring at him with awe. Ainz coughed into his fist.

"Ahem," he gravely spoke, "Keep up the good work."

"Y-Y-Y-Yes, Lord Ainz!" the maid snapped to attention as her eyes sparkled in worshipful admiration. Ainz fought the urge to hide his face.

'Ahhhhh, I really need a break from this…' Ainz thought to himself helplessly as he used the 『Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown』to teleport to the Library of Ashurbanipal. Once his surroundings focused back in again, he sat down at his usual table—his stack of reference books in the same places he left them—and sighed in contentment.

"Now, where was I?" he happily mumbled to himself as he opened the bookmarked page of the last book he had been referring to.

Ainz sank into deep thought as he considered the notes before him.

firepunch:

spell-class: ".MultiSpell"

name: Fire Punch

description: Ignites your fist for a powerful punch.

cooldown: 50

cost:

- mana 45

str-cost: "45 mana"

spells:

- firepunchBuff

- DELAY 5

- firepunchPassive

firepunchBuff:

helper-spell: true

spell-class: ". "

duration: 10

firepunchPassive:

helper-spell: true

spell-class: ".PassiveSpell"

triggers:

- givedamage

modifiers:

- buffactive firepunchBuff required

cancel-default-action: true

spells:

- firepunchHit

firepunchHit:

helper-spell: true

spell-class: ".MultiSpell"

spells:

- firepunchRemove

- firepunchToss

- firepunchPain

- firepunchCombust

firepunchRemove:

helper-spell: true

spell-class: ". "

target-self: true

remove:

- "buff:firepunchBuff"

firepunchToss:

helper-spell: true

spell-class: ". "

target-players: true

horizontal-force: 10

vertical-force: 5

firepunchPain:

helper-spell: true

spell-class: ". "

damage: 5

firepunchCombust:

helper-spell: true

spell-class: ". "

fire-ticks: 80

fire-tick-damage: 1

He pulled up his notes for the necessary supporting functions and muttered under his breath. "Isn't this way too weak?"

Ainz sighed as he rubbed his forehead. He really should've conducted some simple tests regarding the limits of his spellcrafting before investing so much into this project.

'I suppose failure really is something to learn from… Hopefully, I can still acquire EXP from this.' Regardless, it still felt awful to have spent so much time on something that would likely not bear fruit. Putting the notes back into the book, Ainz got up and decided to cheer himself up looking through his successful projects.

"Yes, that's right!" he pumped himself up, "Why am I getting so discouraged over one failed project when there's already been countless I have completed?!" Ainz continued pumping himself up as he walked over to the 'Scrolls' section of the Library, "I should see this setback as an opportunity to look deeper into the magic of this world!" he dramatically raised his fist in the air.

"Uhhh, everything good there, Ainz?" a familiar feminine and silvery voice broke him out of his reverie.

Ainz froze in shock as his emotional suppression worked overtime to subdue the cocktail of excitement, shock, and sheer embarrassment. He began coughing in his fist, attempting to cover up his lapse in composure.

"Umu," he looked up at the crimson haired Dragoness, in all her confused and beauti—

'Not now,' Ainz scolded himself.

"I am currently taking a break and working on a few side-projects of mine," he skillfully focused his mind back on the conversation at hand, "How about you, Tia? Are you doing well?"

"Yeah!" Tia responded happily, seemingly having forgotten his earlier outburst, "Just looking for some more『Gate』scrolls since I've run out."

"I see, I won't keep you any long—" Ainz paused, "Wait.『Gate』scrolls?"

"Uh huh," Tiamat began looking through the racks of scrolls for the ones related to teleportation, "Ah! Found it!" she cheerfully pulled out her query.

Ainz lowered his gaze and saw that the rack containing 『Gate』scrolls was nearly half-empty.

His jaw dropped open.

"Tia…" he lowered his voice, "How many of these scrolls have you used?"

Tiamat slowly turned around and looked at him with a sheepish gaze, "Uh…. a lot?" she unhelpfully answered.

"Do you not know any teleportation spells?" Ainz fought back the urge to raise his voice, "Even if you don't, surely you don't have to use『Gate』specifically?"

"But I need『Gate』to take other people with me, right?" Tiamat tilted her head in confusion, "And I've had to take Yuri, Pentakrisis, and…" she counted off fingers as her forehead creased in thought, "Lots of other people too," she finally decided.

Ainz grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "If you're just bringing along a few people or one large entity, there is absolutely no need to use『Gate』, you… you…" he stumbled over his words, searching for a suitable term.

"Idiot?" Tiamat provided helpfully.

"Yes. Idiot," Ainz nodded with a sigh, "Did you not take『Greater Teleportation』as one of your spells?"

Tiamat nodded vigorously, "Yup! But doesn't that have a chance of messing up?"

Ainz blanched, "Tia, you are thinking of『Teleportation』. 『Greater Teleportation』does not fail."

For him—someone who had obsessively memorized nearly all of the spells in Yggdrasil—to see someone so ignorant of their own spells…

Frankly speaking, it drove him to the depths of despair.

Not noticing Ainz's distress, Tiamat argued back, "Nuh uh! I'm pretty sure my grandpa said that 『Teleportation』or 'Greater whatever' could fail! And he played tons of D&D too!"

"D&D is not Yggdrasil, Tia," Ainz despondently responded as he sluggishly flicked through the dwindling stockpile of『Gate』scrolls, "Also,『Greater Teleportation』was and is one of the most important seventh-tier spells. Seeing as you are capable of casting from the eighth-tier, I am certain that you know this spell."

'And she wasted all those scrolls too just because she didn't know what her own spells did…' Ainz's inner collector wailed in anguish.

"Oh," Tiamat's shoulders slumped a bit, "I… I didn't know that. I'm sorry, Ainz…"

"It's fine," he waved his hand dismissively, "No point over crying what is already lost. All this means is that it is even more important to find a way to craft high-quality scrolls in this world."

"I'll make sure to use this '『Greater Teleportation』' in the future too," Tiamat added on in a hopeful tone. She hoped her hoarder friend wouldn't be too angry at her.

"Umu. That would be preferable," Ainz stroked his chin, "However…"

Tiamat sweatdropped and began to slowly edge away from Ainz.

"There is still the matter of punishment," Ainz directed his laser-sharp eyes at her, "And I have just the idea."

"P-Paperwork?" Tiamat fearfully asked, "But I'm already busy with a lot of stuff like the business and shippingalsohavingtohandlesomedetailswiththeboutiqueandotherstuff—," she rambled on as she tried to come up with excuses.

"No," Ainz raised a hand, halting her in her tracks, "Using paperwork as punishment is getting a bit stale. I was thinking of having you… help me with some of my personal projects."

"Oh," Tiamat let out an inward sigh of relief as she instantly cheered up again, "I can do that, Ainz-chan!"

"Please don't call me that."

"Ainz-chan~"

Ainz slowly shook his head as his eyes flared in excitement.

He was going to have a lot of fun testing his newly created spells today.

Hackslashbash: Apologies for the late update everyone. I've been busy with Minecraft lately.

A/N: MINECRAFT IS TO BLAME ;A;