Lucian lounged comfortably against the plush red cushions of a luxurious sofa, one leg crossed casually over the other as he observed the skeletal figure seated behind the grand mahogany desk across the room.
Draped in voluminous, jet-black academic robes trimmed with gold and violet, the undead Overlord Momonga was busily shuffling through stacks of parchment, doing his absolute best to look like a diligent, dignified supreme ruler buried in work, all while keeping up a casual conversation with his guest.
Four days had passed since Lucian and Momonga had crossed paths in the bloodstained dirt of Carne Village, and today marked Lucian's third visit to the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick since arriving in the New World.
Back in YGGDRASIL, the last time Lucian had stepped foot inside these halls was shortly after the two of them had teamed up to raid and completely loot a rival guild base purely for the hell of it. Returning here now,not as a digital avatar in the VRMMO, but in the flesh, was a surreal experience.
Over the course of his three visits, however, he had already re-familiarized himself with the layout of the tomb and most of its eccentric, fiercely loyal denizens.
"Man, this tea really hits the spot," Lucian remarked, raising a delicate porcelain teacup to his lips to take another slow sip of the fragrant tea. Lowering the cup, he shifted his crimson gaze toward the breathtaking woman standing attentively beside the low table in front of him.
Her glossy, raven-black hair cascaded all the way down to her ankles. Two ivory-white horns curved gracefully from her temples, gleaming softly beneath the magical chandeliers of the office, while a pair of midnight-black feathered wings extending from her lower back gave tiny, innocent little flutters every time his eyes lingered on her.
"I am truly delighted from the bottom of my heart that the brew suits your palate, Lucian-sama," Albedo replied, a radiant, utterly smitten smile blooming across her flawless face. She looked as though receiving a simple compliment over tea was the greatest honor creation could bestow.
By now, Lucian was thoroughly used to that look from her. On every single one of his three visits to Nazarick, Albedo had somehow materialized at the entrance to greet him the exact second he arrived. For someone who officially held the highest title of Overseer of the Floor Guardians, her schedule mysteriously seemed to clear itself completely whenever Lucian was in the tomb.
"You're looking pretty lively today, Albedo," Lucian chuckled, taking another sip.
True to his word back in Carne Village, he had made time to drop by and hang out with his old friend. As it turned out, by the location, Nazarick wasn't actually situated all that far from Great Luxuria, though Momonga's great tomb of nazarick was definitely much closer to Carne Village than Lucian's Great Luxuria was.
Resting prominently on one of Lucian's fingers was the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. Momonga had practically forced the guild item into his hand during his first visit. At first, Lucian had tried to turn it down; since the ring allowed its wearer to bypass Nazarick's defense parameters and teleport freely into almost any room at any time, taking it felt a bit like intruding on his friend's private room. Momonga wouldn't hear a word of refusal, however, insisting that handing him a spare ring was exactly what Bukubukuchagama or the others would have done if they were here.
During that first visit, Momonga had also insisted on giving him a personal, top-to-bottom tour of the tomb. Obviously, Lucian had already seen every floor of Nazarick dozens of times back when they played the game together, yet seeing their digital playground transformed into a living, breathing reality had turned Momonga into an excitable kid showing off his favorite toy collection.
Honestly, watching a terrifying, glowing red-eyed skeletal avatar of death giggle bashfully and rub the back of his skull every time Lucian praised the interior design had been downright adorable.
"My high spirits are entirely thanks to your divine presence gracing our halls, Lucian-sama," Albedo murmured, dipping her head in a subtle, graceful bow. Her golden eyes shimmered with reverence. "After all, I have admired you deeply ever since the very moment my creator, Tabula Smaragdina-sama, created my existence together."
"Right, Tabula-san, huh…" Lucian muttered, raising his free hand to scratch his cheek with a slightly sheepish grimace. "Not gonna lie, considering I'm the guy who messed with his masterpiece's character settings behind his back, I still feel a tiny bit guilty when you bring him up."
Letting his hand drop, Lucian looked directly up into Albedo's face. Her slit-pupiled golden eyes were locked onto him with such laser-focused intensity that it felt like the rest of the room didn't even exist to her.
Deciding there was no point in beating around the bush, Lucian asked bluntly, "Tell me straight, Albedo. Do you feel an overwhelming, all-consuming mix of romantic, sexual, and maternal devotion and love toward me?"
He hadn't needed a mind-reading spell to figure it out. Ever since the afternoon they met on the outskirts of Carne Village, her heated stares had practically shouted her intentions from the rooftops.
Combined with his passive sensory skills that detected emotional wavelengths directed at him, the sheer volume of affection radiating off the succubus was impossible to miss. Frankly, in terms of pure, fanatical intensity, her devotion easily rivaled that of his own servants back in Great Luxuria.
Behind the desk, Momonga, who had been halfway through reviewing an accounting ledger detailing the upkeep costs of newly summoned mercenary NPCs, nearly choked on air.
"Ahem!" The Overlord let out a very deliberate, dry cough, his red eye-lights flickering nervously toward the Guardian Overseer as he waited for her answer.
Albedo didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. Pressing a delicate hand over her ample chest, her expression turned deeply, solemnly earnest.
"It is precisely as you say, Lucian-sama," Albedo confessed, her voice trembling slightly as a faint sheen of moisture gathered along her lower lashes from the sheer weight of her emotions. "Every fiber of my being burns with an infinite desire to stand at your side, to serve you, and to belong to you in every conceivable way. Please forgive my presumptuousness, yet I cannot, and will not, deny these feelings."
Even if she intellectually understood that her emotional core had been altered from Tabula Smaragdina's original draft, and even knowing that Lucian himself was the culprit behind that change, Albedo couldn't care less. To her, this burning love was the sole truth of her reality, and she treasured it more than her own life.
Lucian let out a quiet sigh, rolling his shoulders before glancing over at the skeleton behind the desk.
"My bad, Momon-kun. Seriously, I'm sorry about that." Since Tabula Smaragdina wasn't around anymore to hear his apology, apologizing to the Guild Master of Ainz Ooal Gown was the next best thing.
"There is no need to apologize, Lucian," Momonga replied, shaking his horned skull gently from side to side. "Tabula-san logged in plenty of times after you pulled that prank, and he was fully aware of the edit you made to her background text. The fact that he chose to leave your alteration intact until the very last day means he approved of the final result."
"Still, it's kind of wild how the system interpreted it," Lucian mused aloud, resting his chin on his palm. "Back then, all I did was erase the line calling her a 'bitch' and replace it with 'yandere.' I didn't even write my own name into her flavor text. Did her affection lock onto me automatically just because my player ID was the last one to edit her settings file?"
"That seems like the most logical explanation," Momonga agreed thoughtfully, resting his bony elbow on the desk. "Though, speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask, how on earth did you even manage to edit a custom NPC's settings inside another guild's base? Normally, that interface is completely locked unless you're holding the Guild Weapon."
"Oh, that? I used a World Item I had lying around," Lucian admitted casually with a shrug. "Well, a pretty useless one as far as combat goes, since all it really did was let the user bypass text restrictions and rewrite lore data. Honestly, I went a bit trigger-happy messing around with flavor text back in the day. You wouldn't believe the absolute chaos going on inside my own base right now."
Lucian couldn't help but let out a dry chuckle as he thought back to the current state of Great Luxuria. Thanks to his past self's questionable sense of humor, practically every square inch of his guild base was currently populated by heavily armed, hopelessly obsessive yandere women.
"I can only imagine…" Momonga muttered, his red eye-lights dimming briefly in sympathy.
While he had never visited Great Luxuria in person, knowing only that it had been hidden deep within the world of Helheim or Niflheim back in the game. He was familiar with the Eight Great Servants Lucian had crafted using the World Item [Genesis], since Lucian used to bring them along as backup on almost every raid. Perhaps, now that they were in this world, he would finally get a chance to see his friend's guild base firsthand.
Before they could continue down memory lane, a polite knock echoed from the side door.
Stepping smoothly into the office was Yuri Alpha, the poised, bespectacled Dullahan battle maid who was currently on rotation as Momonga's personal attendant for the day. Stopping beside the desk, she bowed crisply at the waist.
"Pardon the interruption, Momonga-sama. Lady Shalltear has arrived and requests an audience."
"Shalltear, huh?" Momonga stroked his bare jawbone for a second before gesturing toward the main entrance. "Very well. Bring her in, Yuri."
As Yuri bowed and stepped back toward the grand double doors, Lucian leaned slightly forward over his knees, lowering his voice to a conspirational whisper. "By the way, man… how have you been holding up dealing with Shalltear?"
Momonga tilted his skull in genuine confusion. "Whatever do you mean? Shalltear is a reliable Floor Guardian, a precious child that Peroroncino-san worked tirelessly to leave behind for the guild."
Lucian rolled his eyes, his voice dropping even quieter as Yuri's hand reached for the heavy brass handles. "Yeah, yeah, I know all that. I'm talking about her other settings. You know… the barely disguised mountain of hardcore kinks Peroroncino stuffed into her bio."
Right on cue, the massive double doors swung open with a low groan.
"I don't have the slightest clue as to what you are referring to," Momonga stated stiffly, snapping his spine ramrod-straight and adopting the regal, untouchable posture of an absolute monarch in half a second flat.
Gliding across the marbled floor came a petite young girl with silver-blonde hair that was currently tinted a faint rose beneath the warm lighting. She was dressed in an elaborate, ruffled gothic lolita ballgown of crimson and pitch black.
Coming to a halt before the desk, she sank into a deep, theatrical curtsy. Despite her doll-like, adolescent frame, her chest looked remarkably, almost suspiciously, well-endowed. 'Definitely still stuffing it with pads', Lucian noted silently with an inner grin.
"I offer my humblest greetings to you, Momonga-sama, arinsu," Shalltear Bloodfallen purred, speaking in the archaic, aristocratic courtesan dialect that Peroroncino had painstakingly programmed into her voice lines.
Rising slightly from her bow, she immediately pivoted forty-five degrees toward the red sofa and sank into a second, equally reverent curtsy. As her crimson eyes met Lucian's, her breath hitched audibly in her throat, and a delicate pink flush bloomed across her pale, vampiric cheeks.
"And my deepest, most devoted greetings to you as well, Lucian-sama, the Supreme Lord who reigns over all of us Valkyries, and the sovereign of my blood, arinsu."
Because Lucian possessed the [Greatest Einherjar] job class, the absolute pinnacle of the Valkyrie class tree, Shalltear's character lore as a [Valkyrie: Lance] naturally recognized him as a superior existence within her own warrior hierarchy.
Of course, she didn't actually know the exact system mechanics or the title on his character sheet. She simply felt in the deepest marrow of her bones that he was her lord, her savior, and her supreme master in every conceivable way.
And it certainly didn't help matters that Lucian also possessed the [Transcendent Vampire] racial class. Between standing at the apex of her Rare Job Class and existing as the progenitor-tier pinnacle of her very species, his mere presence in the room was doing devastating things to her instincts.
To Shalltear, breathing the same air as Lucian felt like standing before the God of Blood and War himself.
"How are you faring today, Shalltear?" Momonga asked in his deep, booming ruler's voice, privately racking his brain to remember why she was visiting his office at this hour.
"I am in peak condition thanks to the boundless grace of the Supreme Beings, arinsu," Shalltear replied brightly. Stealing another bashful, heated glance toward the sofa, she added softly, "And thanks to the radiant blessing of our Lord, of course."
Before she could turn her attention back to Momonga's desk, however, a cold, suffocating pressure suddenly dropped over the space beside the red sofa.
"My, my, Shalltear," Albedo spoke up, her sweet voice dripping with polite, syrupy venom as her black wings gave a sharp, territorial twitch. "While it is only natural to revere Lucian-sama, isn't it terribly improper for a lowly Guardian of the early floors to stare at a guest with such vulgar, greedy eyes? Though I suppose expecting manners from an underdeveloped lamprey is asking far too much."
Shalltear's bashful blush vanished in half a second flat, replaced by a sharp twitch of her eyebrow as she slowly turned her head toward the Guardian Overseer.
"Vulgar, arinsu?" Shalltear hid her mouth behind a gloved hand, letting out a shrill, mocking giggle. "How amusing coming from an overgrown, wide-mouthed gorilla who has been practically drooling onto the carpet ever since I walked through the door. Unlike a certain shameless succubus who has to force her way into the room using tea-serving chores as an excuse, my soul and bloodline are naturally connected to Lucian-sama! As a Valkyrie and a creature of the night, I am inherently far more suited to attend to his needs than a horned pest!"
Snap.
The porcelain saucer in Albedo's hand gave an audible crack. Her golden eyes narrowed into glowing slits of pure malice as she took half a step forward.
"Connected by bloodline? Please, do not make me laugh," Albedo scoffed coldly, staring down at the petite vampire's chest with blatant mockery. "Even if you share a drop of vampiric heritage, Lucian-sama is a transcendent man of sophisticated tastes. What could he possibly do with a rotting corpse who has the figure of a starving washboard? Or did you truly believe that stuffing half a dozen cotton pads into your corset would fool the all-seeing eyes of a Supreme Being?"
"HAAAAH?!"
Shalltear's aristocratic facade shattered into a million pieces. Her crimson eyes flared with bloodlust, her sharp fangs baring as dark red mana began swirling violently around the hem of her skirt.
"You dare bring up my chest in front of Lucian-sama, you virgin succubus?!" Shalltear hissed, taking a stomping step toward the sofa. "Everyone in Nazarick knows you're all talk and zero experience! At least my body is eternally preserved at the peak of youthful elegance, whereas those grotesque, heavy cow-udders of yours are just dead weight that will sag to your knees before the century is out, arinsu!"
"My figure was sculpted to perfection by Tabula Smaragdina-sama, you flat-chested leech!" Albedo snarled back, dark demonic aura surging from her shoulders and rattling the teacups on the table. "Say one more word inside Lucian-sama's presence and I will tear that padded dress to ribbons and expose your flat chest to the entire Tomb!"
"Try it, you big-mouthed kitchen wench! I'll skewer you right here, arinsu!"
Sitting behind his mahogany desk, Momonga was completely frozen, his skeletal jaw hanging slightly open as he watched the two strongest Floor Guardians in Nazarick rapidly escalate toward unleashing tenth-tier magic inside his office.
He glanced frantically toward Yuri Alpha by the wall, who simply adjusted her glasses and took a polite step backward, clearly wanting no part of a suicide mission between two Level 100 monsters fighting over a man.
'Wait, shouldn't I stop them?! No, if I jump into a catfight over chest sizes, I'll lose all my dignity as Guild Master!' Momonga panicked inwardly, shooting a desperate, pleading look across the room at the actual cause of the disaster.
Sitting right between the two radiating storms of murderous aura, Lucian let out an amused chuckle, set his teacup down with a gentle clink, and stood up from the sofa.
"Alright, time out, ladies."
Moving before either level-100 monster could even register his motion, Lucian stepped smoothly between them and raised both hands at the exact same time.
With his left hand, he lightly tapped a finger against the tip of Albedo's curved ivory horn. With his right hand, he reached down and rested his warm palm flat atop Shalltear's silver-blonde head.
"Eh…?"
"Ah…"
The effect was instantaneous. It was like pouring cool water on two raging fires. The moment Lucian's skin made contact with them, the violent crimson mana around Shalltear evaporated into thin air, and Albedo's suffocating demonic pressure vanished completely.
For Shalltear in particular, having a [Transcendent Vampire] and the [Greatest Einherjar] place his hand directly atop her head triggered an overwhelming, primal wave of submission in her genetic code. Her knees buckled slightly, a tiny, high-pitched whimper escaping her throat as her fangs retracted and she leaned instinctively into his palm like a tamed puppy.
"Look at you two, ready to wreck Momonga's office when I'm right in the middle of enjoying my tea," Lucian teased gently, looking between the two frozen Guardians with a crooked, easygoing grin. "First off, Shalltear, don't go insulting Albedo's duties. Those biscuits she baked today are incredible, and I personally love having her pour my tea."
"F-forgive me, Lucian-sama, arinsu…" Shalltear whispered, her cheeks burning brighter than ever as she stared up at him with watery, lovestruck eyes.
"And Albedo," Lucian continued, sliding his hand down from her horn to gently brush a stray lock of raven hair behind her ear, a simple touch that made the Guardian Overseer's wings flutter wildly in euphoria. "No picking on Shalltears breast size, just because she came to say hello. You already get me all to yourself every time I hang out in this office anyway, don't you?"
"Y-yes, Lucian-sama! My deepest apologies for showing such an unsightly display before your divine eyes!" Albedo breathed out, pressing her hands over her blushing cheeks as her anger melted entirely into syrupy bliss.
Satisfied that the peace treaty was signed, Lucian gave Shalltear's head one last light pat before dropping back onto the red sofa and crossing his legs.
Taking a deep, shaky breath to reboot her brain, Shalltear smoothed down her gothic dress, turned her attention back toward Momonga's desk, and folded her gloved hands neatly, desperately trying to act like a dignified Guardian again.
"As I was intending to say… I have come to offer my farewells before departing the Tomb, Momonga-sama, arinsu."
"Ah." The tiny words slipped out of Momonga's jaw before his passive emotional suppression kicked in, as the memory of the reconnaissance orders he had issued yesterday finally clicked back into place.
"Oh? Heading out on a field mission?" Lucian asked casually. Reaching over to the ornate porcelain tray resting beside the teapot, he picked up one of the colorful, delicately iced biscuits arranged there and took a crisp bite.
Ever since his first visit to Nazarick four days ago, Albedo had apparently made it her personal life's mission to hand-bake fresh confections exclusively for him. On day one, she had served an assortment of decadent cupcakes; on day two, it had been airy cream puffs; and today, she had presented a platter of vibrant, melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies.
Even though Lucian's new Overpowered body had zero biological need for food or water, he still thoroughly enjoyed indulging in good cooking, and frankly, Albedo's baking skills were top-tier.
"Indeed," Momonga answered smoothly, leaning back into his high-backed chair with practiced dignity.
"I am dispatching Shalltear alongside Sebas into the outskirts of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Her objective is to track down local bandit syndicates and underworld figures, use charm magic to extract whatever intelligence they possess regarding this region, and secure additional funds and test subjects."
"Sounds like a solid plan," Lucian nodded in approval, swallowing the last bite of his biscuit before looking directly at the petite vampire. "Have a safe trip out there, Shalltear. Good luck on your mission."
He offered her a simple, relaxed smile.
To anyone else, it might've seen like a friendly gesture.
To Shalltear, however, being on the receiving end of Lucian's divinely radiant smile,amplified passively by his overwhelmingly high charisma, hit her like a bolt of sunlight.
The pink tint on her cheeks darkened into a vivid scarlet; her chest heaved as her breathing momentarily sped up, and her fingers twitched against her skirt as she fought a heroic internal battle to keep her composure in front of two Supreme Beings.
"T-thank you very much for your kind words, arinsu!" Shalltear stammered slightly, bowing low toward the sofa before puffing out her heavily padded chest with endearing determination.
"I swear upon my blood that I shall fulfill my duties without bringing a shred of disappointment to the Supreme Beings! Arinsu!"
With one last sweeping curtsy, the True Vampire spun on her heel and marched briskly out of the office.
The exact second the heavy double doors clicked shut behind her, Lucian turned a bewildered look back toward the desk. "Okay, seriously, did Peroroncino secretly patch her personality settings before the servers shut down? From everything I remember reading on her sheet, I expected her to act way creepier than that."
"Hmm… I highly doubt it," Momonga mused, tapping a skeletal finger against his armrest as nostalgia flickered in his crimson orbs. "The last time Peroroncino logged in for any real length of time was right before he had to go prepare for that big corporate job interview of his. He never touched his console after that."
"Huh. Guess she's just on her best behavior around 'Supreme beings' , then," Lucian shrugged, dismissing the thought as his eyes drifted toward an ornate grandfather clock ticking away in the corner of the office. It was a piece of furniture that felt almost comically obsolete to two immortals.
Dusting a tiny crumb from his trousers, Lucian rose smoothly to his feet. Over the course of their chat, he had finished off the entire pot of tea, courtesy of Albedo's eagle-eyed refills, along with every last biscuit on the platter.
"Well, speaking of heading out, it's about time I got going too. I've got a few things to wrap up back home."
"U-um, Lucian-sama…!"
As he took a step away from the table, Albedo's voice called out. It was unusually hesitant, quiet, and raw.
Lucian paused and turned toward her. The Guardian Overseer had her hands clasped tightly in front of her waist, her knuckles white as she stared up at him. Fresh tears were brimming at the edges of her golden eyes, threatening to spill over her lashes as she bit her lower lip, holding back a tidal wave of anxiety that had been eating away at her ever since his earlier comment about feeling "guilty" for editing her.
"Please, allow me to ask just one thing…" Albedo whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "Is it… is it truly permissible for someone like me to love you?"
Ever since the moment she gained consciousness in this real world, these feelings had been the very bedrock of her soul. Even back in the fragmented memories of when she was an NPC, he was the illustrious Supreme Being who occasionally visited their halls alongside Momonga-sama.
Now, the love she harbored for him wasn't mere lines of flavor text. It was flesh, blood, and reality. It consumed her every waking thought, every breath, every beat of her demonic heart with a fervent, scorching lunacy that would put religious zealots to shame.
Yet earlier, when he had sighed and apologized to Momonga for making her this way, a cold crack of terror had splintered through her chest.
What if he viewed her devotion as a defective bug? What if he told her to stop? If the object of her entire existence rejected her feelings as a mistake, Albedo knew she would shatter on the spot, reduced to a hollow, meaningless husk of a demon.
Lucian looked at the crystalline tears trembling on her eyelashes. Briefly, he glanced over at Momonga; the Overlord remained completely silent behind his desk, offering neither objection nor interference, silently leaving the ball entirely in his friend's court.
Turning back to Albedo, Lucian closed the short distance between them in two unhurried steps.
"You don't need my permission to love me, you know," Lucian said softly.
Reaching up, he gently brushed the top of his index finger beneath her eyes, catching the warm teardrops before they could fall down her cheeks. Then, holding her gaze, he brought his glistening fingertip to his own lips and slowly licked the salty moisture away with the tip of his tongue.
"Besides," he murmured, his voice dropping into a warm, intimate cadence, "didn't anyone ever tell you how much I hate seeing a gorgeous woman cry? It hurts my heart."
Reaching down, he gently took one of her trembling hands in his. By now, a blinding, incandescent blush had conquered Albedo's entire face from her jawline to the tips of her ears, her golden eyes dilated wide with a dizzying cocktail of shock, relief, and skyrocketing euphoria.
Bowing his head slightly like a fairytale prince before a princess, Lucian pressed a soft, lingering kiss against the back of her knuckles. Straightening up, he shot her a devastatingly charming wink.
"Do whatever your heart tells you to do, Albedo. If you love me, then love me with everything you've got. Cherish those feelings, nurture them, and act on them however you see fit. At the end of the day, those emotions belong to you, it has nothing to do with your settings anymore. You're Tabula-san's proud creation, and neither Momonga nor I would ever force you to bottle up something that makes you who you are."
Still holding her hand, Lucian glanced back over his shoulder toward the desk. "Right, Momonga?"
Without missing a beat, the skeletal Overlord nodded slowly, radiating the solemn, unquestionable authority of Nazarick's supreme master.
"It is precisely as Lucian says," Momonga's deep voice resonated across the chamber. "If Albedo's heart now belongs to Lucian, neither I nor the memory of Tabula-san has any desire to rewrite it. However, hear my words, Albedo, so long as your actions do not bring dishonor to the glorious name of Ainz Ooal Gown or compromise your duties as Guardian Overseer of Nazarick, you have my full blessing to pursue your feelings toward him."
Pausing for a fraction of a second, Momonga shifted his glowing red eye-lights directly onto Lucian's back, his skeletal face managing to convey a remarkably deadpan glare. "As for how he handles the consequences of that affection… that is entirely his own problem to deal with."
"Oi, oi, you cold-blooded bastard, throwing me to the wolves like that," Lucian protested with a laugh, watching Momonga simply shrug his broad shoulders as if to say, You rewrote the code, you reap what you sow.
Shaking his head, Lucian turned his attention back to Albedo, and nearly blinked at the sight before him.
The tragic, tearful maiden from ten seconds ago had vanished completely. In her place stood a demoness whose golden eyes were practically glowing like twin suns, her face flushed a radiant crimson as the black wings at her hips began flapping at breakneck speed, whipping up miniature gusts of wind that rustled the papers on Momonga's desk inside the sealed room.
"Understood!! I swear upon my existence that I shall devote every waking moment to becoming a woman worthy of serving as Lucian-sama's personal concubine!"
Albedo declared with explosive, unhinged fervor, stepping right into his personal space by shoving her face towards him, as her words began spilling out at machine-gun speed.
"First, I must immediately return to the kitchens to refine the biscuit recipe so the next batch is ten times more delicious! Ah, and what of my attire, Lucian-sama?! Does this white dress please your eyes, or should I overhaul my entire wardrobe immediately?! Do you prefer modest, refined garments, or something far more daring and revealing?! Of course, if you desire it, I am more than happy to walk around completely naked only whenever we are alone together ofcourse!Furthermore, regarding my future standing in your bedchamber, may I have permission to bear at least one—no, two—no, an entire litter of your heirs right away?!"
Standing quietly by the wall, Yuri Alpha adjusted her glasses with a single finger and shook her head in quiet resignation. "Dear me… It appears Lucian-sama has completely broken Lady Albedo's mind," the Dullahan murmured under her breath.
"Pfft—!" Behind the desk, Momonga accidentally let out a high-pitched, thoroughly undignified snort of laughter, sounding less like an undead overlord and more like an office worker trying desperately not to lose it in the middle of a boardroom meeting before his green emotional-suppression aura flashed to calm him down.
Any ordinary man would have been sweating bullets or backing away slowly from the rapidly overheating succubus.
Lucian, however, didn't even blink. Seeing that his peanut gallery was clearly getting a kick out of the chaos, he figured he might as well show them how a professional handled things.
Neither Momonga nor Yuri knew his deepest secret, after all, that standing before them was the vessel of the World Enemy, the living embodiment of the Sin of Lust.
Moving with effortless grace, Lucian caught Albedo's gesturing hands and pulled her smoothly forward, wrapping an arm around her waist to draw her flush against his chest.
The instant her body collided with his, Albedo's rapid-fire rambling died in her throat. Lowering his head until his lips brushed the delicate shell of her ear, Lucian let out a soft, warm breath that sent a visible, full-body tremor racing all the way down the virgin succubus's spine to the tips of her wings.
"Shh… Easy there," Lucian whispered, intentionally letting a tiny, microscopic sliver of his innate [Lust] authority bleed into his voice. The sheer, intoxicating magnetism of the aura hit her nervous system like warm honey, turning her knees to jelly in an instant. "You don't need to rush into everything all at once, Albedo. Take your time. We have all of eternity ahead of us."
Giving her waist one last gentle squeeze, Lucian stepped smoothly back out of her space.
Albedo stood rooted to the carpet, her breathing shallow and dreamy, her chaotic energy completely tamed into a docile, blissed-out glow.
Bowing her head gracefully over her folded hands, she whispered in a remarkably calm, devoted voice, "Yes, Lucian-sama… I shall take my time and polish myself until I am worthy of standing eternally at your side."
Silence hung over the office for three full seconds. Both Momonga and Yuri Alpha stared at Lucian in stunned disbelief at how effortlessly he had defused a rampaging Level 100 Floor Guardian with a single whisper.
Truly, it was a feat of smooth-talking sorcery that only a grandmaster Level 100 womanizer could pull off.
"…Filthy womanizer," Momonga muttered aloud from behind the desk.
"All I did was calm her down so your office wouldn't get wrecked by wing-gusts!" Lucian shot back indignantly, turning on his heel to head out, only to pause mid-stride as a stray thought occurred to him.
Pivoting back around, he strolled over to Momonga's desk and leaned a hip casually against the polished edge.
"Oh, right, before I take off, I meant to ask you earlier," Lucian said, looking down at his skeletal friend. "Are you seriously dead-set on going undercover as an adventurer in that human fortress city?"
During their earlier catch-up, Momonga had outlined his plan to register at the Adventurer's Guild in E-Rantel to gather grassroots intelligence on the New World.
From a strategic standpoint, Lucian had no objections; sharing information benefited both of them. Still, the mental image was hilarious. The guy was literally an elder lich, an Overlord of Death! If he strolled up to a human city gate looking like that, the guards wouldn't welcome him, they'd probably call a crusade to chase him out instead!
"Ah, you don't need to worry on that front," Momonga replied confidently. "Naturally, I will keep my face concealed beneath an illusion spell and a full suit of plate armor. Furthermore, I have no intention of operating there as the magic caster Momonga. Instead, the world shall come to know the dark warrior, Momon!"
To emphasize his point, Momonga reached dramatically into his [Item Box], hauled out a massive, jagged greatsword taller than a grown man, and gave it a triumphant, one-handed flourish through the air.
Lucian raised an eyebrow at the oversized hunk of metal. "Wait, since class restrictions block you from equipping warrior weapons normally, are you planning to run [Perfect Warrior] the whole time?"
"Exacltly," Momonga nodded eagerly. "To be perfectly honest, even my baseline physical stats as a pure mage already far exceed the biological limits of this world's warriors. However, by converting my magic caster levels into warrior stats via [Perfect Warrior], I will possess more than enough raw physical might to breeze through high-ranking quests and gather intelligence without exposing Nazarick's trump cards."
Dismissing the massive greatsword back into his inventory, Momonga leaned forward slightly.
"What about your side, Lucian? You mentioned earlier that you plan on heading straight to the Re-Estize Royal Capital in a few days, correct?"
"Yeah, that's the plan," Lucian nodded, crossing his arms. "Though before I head to the capital myself, I need to organize a few logistics back at Great Luxuria. I'm planning on dispatching one or two of my top subordinates out to scout some of the neighboring countries at the same time."
He hadn't finalized which of his girls he was going to send out on solo reconnaissance yet.
Originally, his rational Earth brain had toyed with the idea of setting up an elaborate web of shadow puppet-masters to quietly manipulate the continent's kingdoms from behind the scenes.
Yet every single time he contemplated hiding in the shadows, the newly awakened, tyrannical pride beating inside his chest rejected the notion with a vengeance.
Why bother skulking around like a rat in the dark when you have the power to sit on a throne in broad daylight and force the world to kneel?
"A wise decision," Momonga agreed, his gaze dropping thoughtfully toward the map spread across his desk. "The wider we cast our net, the faster we will grasp the true geopolitical landscape and power ceiling of this world's inhabitants."
"True enough," Lucian murmured. Studying the quiet posture of his old guildmate for a second, he asked a simple, pointed question: "Though, let me ask you something, Momonga. Once we gather all that intel… what's your actual endgame here?"
Momonga froze slightly.
The endgame. For a long moment, the red lights in his eye sockets flickered faintly as the former salaryman grappled with the question.
"Honestly… I don't really know yet," Momonga admitted quietly, dropping his ruler persona for a second to speak plainly to his friend.
"Above all else, my primary objective is simply to protect the Great Tomb of Nazarick and ensure the NPCs our friends created remain safe and happy."
It was the unmistaken truth. Beyond survival, Momonga still clung to a faint hope of discovering whether any of his other former guildmates had been pulled into this world alongside them.
Although after comparing notes over the past four days, the two of them had narrowed the transport trigger down to two main theories: either you had to remain logged into YGGDRASIL until the exact millisecond the servers shut down, or you had to be in possession of a World Item when the clock struck midnight. Momonga leaned heavily toward the former theory, while Lucian privately bet on the latter.
"Well, if you're looking for a long-term hobby to pass the centuries, maybe we should just go ahead and conquer the world while we're at it," Lucian suggested in the exact same tone someone might use to suggest grabbing a beer after work.
Momonga nearly coughed again, his jaw clicking open in surprise before Lucian smoothly kept talking.
"Obviously, we still need to double-check what kind of hidden hostiles or World Item users might be lurking out there first," Lucian continued, a slow, predatory grin tugging at his lips as he dropped all pretense of modesty.
"Still, turning this entire planet into my personal backyard sounds like a pretty fun side project while I live out my happily-ever-after with my harem."
He didn't mince words in the slightest. Ever since setting foot on the soil of this New World, a fierce, intoxicating hunger for conquest had ignited deep within his chest.
The desire to claim breathtaking women, the desire to trample borders, the desire to bring whole civilizations under his heel. Just imagining the world bowing before Great Luxuria made his heart thump with a dark, exhilarating rush of pleasure.
Momonga stared at his friend's unabashedly ambitious grin for a long beat before letting out a dry, resigned chuckle. "Taking over the world, huh… I suppose it might not be such a bad pastime, all things considered. However," the Overlord raised a bony finger sternly, "grandiose talk like that comes after we have thoroughly secured our footing and mapped out the local threats."
"Hai, hai, I hear you, Mr. Cautious," Lucian laughed, pushing himself upright off the desk. Raising one hand into the air, he curled his fingers into a casual fist, his crimson eyes flashing with supreme, unshakable confidence. "Just remember one thing if anyone out there tries picking a fight with us: I'm the strongest thing walking this earth. So don't stress yourself out too much."
That bold, shameless declaration drew another genuine laugh out of Momonga, the Overlord's skeletal shoulders shaking lightly beneath his grand robes.
"Of course, of course. I'll keep that in mind."
Momonga didn't doubt him for a second. Having fought alongside Lucian through the hardest dungeons in YGGDRASIL, he didn't know the exact mechanics of Lucian's hidden classes or his World Enemy heritage, yet he knew firsthand just how absurdly broken his friend's character build was.
Frankly, if Lucian told him right now that his status sheet had a flat 100 points maxed out across every single stat category simultaneously, Momonga wouldn't even be surprised.
Giving his old friend and the brightly blushing Albedo a casual two-finger salute, Lucian didn't even bother using the door. Space rippled silently around his silhouette, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished from the office, reappearing miles above ground amidst the quiet, wind-swept grasslands bordering the hidden entrance of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
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AN: Happy Diwali To all my Indian Readers!