Chapter 90: Ainz Falls in Love at First Sight
Albedo stood behind Ainz, her face twisted to a degree that came close to structural failure.
The golden vertical pupils burned with a fury that looked capable of reducing the kneeling white lizardman to ash.
The air around her had grown heavier with it.
A few of the nearby death knights instinctively shifted half a step to the side.
Both hands, in white silk gloves, were clenched into fists, knuckles trembling with the force applied.
She still didn't move.
Her reverence for Ainz-sama held her fury locked inside her.
Even as she had, in her mind, torn the low creature who had dared speak the word "mating" into pieces approximately ten thousand times.
The calmest person present by some margin was Demiurge.
He stood roughly three steps behind and to Ainz's side, that sharp face carrying no unnecessary expression.
But his mind was running at speeds it had rarely reached before.
What was Ainz-sama thinking?
Demiurge's gaze moved across Crusch. The white lizardman was kneeling on the ground, her body trembling slightly.
Strength: not worth noting. Intelligence, based on her performance so far: not particularly impressive either.
Why would an existence like this attract Ainz-sama's interest?
Demiurge adjusted his glasses.
Every step Ainz-sama took operated at depths he found difficult to fathom.
His own wisdom was simply insufficient to deduce Ainz-sama's true intent from the current situation.
What a failing.
When Ainz-sama wished to act, a subordinate who couldn't prepare in advance was a subordinate falling short of his duty.
If he had seen through Ainz-sama's intentions even slightly earlier, Ainz-sama wouldn't have needed to come forward himself, wouldn't have had to reveal his intent before a creature of this quality.
Demiurge's heart was full of something close to shame.
Ainz had noticed that something was off about the atmosphere.
The invisible fire behind Albedo's back. The intensity of Demiurge's focus through those lenses. The instinctive backward drift of the death knights nearby.
But he genuinely wanted to keep this rare specimen.
An albino lizardman.
Killing her outright seemed a waste.
Ainz's thoughts began moving quickly.
He needed a reason that would appear to serve Nazarick's interests.
He looked at Demiurge.
"Demiurge."
"Yes, Ainz-sama." Demiurge inclined immediately, his posture respectful.
"If every lizardman were converted to undead," Ainz worked to present this as the conclusion of careful deliberation, "we would lack flexible thinkers to coordinate the resource collection effort."
"I intend to keep this lizardman alive. What do you think?"
Flawless leadership language.
Ainz silently awarded himself a passing grade.
Demiurge's mind very nearly overloaded in that instant.
Coordinate resources? Flexible thinking?
He worked through the true meaning of Ainz-sama's words at full speed.
Ainz-sama had never once raised this concern when taking the previous tribes.
Green Claw, Sharp Tail, Small Fang: all converted to undead, all incorporated into the army.
If coordination of resources were genuinely the concern, why had no survivors been left from the very first tribe?
There was only one answer.
This reason had been thought up on the spot.
Ainz-sama needed a step to stand on.
A fierce sense of obligation rose in Demiurge's chest.
He could not let Ainz-sama down.
"Ainz-sama is correct." Demiurge expressed his agreement with every sign of genuine conviction. "Keeping one lizardman to coordinate the broader effort would better serve the Great Tomb's interests."
Ainz, hearing this, gave a slight nod.
Yoshi. He let out a quiet internal breath. Even Demiurge endorsed it. Surely this is fine now.
He turned back to Crusch, still kneeling before him.
"Crusch, I have decided to spare your life."
Crusch's body gave a small start.
A complicated light moved through those red eyes, and then was gone.
Demiurge prompted from the side: "You should thank Ainz-sama for his generosity."
Crusch's voice came out quietly. She was afraid of provoking the undead being in front of her.
"And the rest of the Red Eye Tribe's lizardmen..."
Ainz barely hesitated.
"Kill them all, naturally."
After all, this lizardman alone was the rare specimen.
The rest of the Red Eye Tribe were standard green or brown scales, with no collector's value whatsoever.
Crusch's body shook, sharply.
A few seconds of silence.
Then she raised her head.
"In that case, please kill me as well, Ainz-sama."
Her voice carried complete resolution.
Ainz found this somewhat troublesome, but was still reluctant to give up.
He thought for a moment and reached a decision.
"I can spare you and your children."
Her children should carry the same rare albino genes, after all.
Crusch went still.
Demiurge beside him was equally startled.
Ainz-sama would go this far for the sake of this lizardman...
He worked through it rapidly. Sparing the albino lizardman herself had already exceeded any conventional strategic justification. Now he had added her children. This was beyond what "coordinating resources" could account for by any stretch.
By any measure, Ainz-sama had no reason to keep this lizardman alive.
And yet he was keeping her. And, to ensure she would continue living, was extending that to her children as well.
Why?
Demiurge's gaze moved back and forth between Ainz and Crusch.
Ainz-sama had reached out a moment ago and parted the camouflage on the lizardman's body. At the time, Demiurge had assumed this was some form of advanced examination. But thinking back on it now...
That had been appreciation.
All the scattered pieces, in this moment, assembled.
The corner of Demiurge's mouth rose. A confident smile.
He had seen through to the truth of it.
Ainz-sama... has fallen in love at first sight with this white lizardman.
With that conclusion arrived, every inconsistency dissolved.
As Nazarick's supreme ruler, Ainz-sama was naturally entitled to a companion of his own choosing.
The other party was a lowly lizardman, true. But if it was Ainz-sama's choice...
Demiurge's gaze came to rest on Crusch, reassessing the albino lizardman from an entirely new angle.
Low standing. Negligible strength. Humble race.
But since Ainz-sama's heart had moved toward her, a position as a secondary companion was entirely acceptable.
Demiurge adjusted his glasses. The light behind the lenses shifted. His mind had already begun drawing up arrangements for what would need to follow.
Ainz-sama hadn't stated it openly because this sort of matter wasn't suited to public disclosure. But as a subordinate, he had an obligation to ensure that his master's private affairs were handled with complete preparation.
This was what genuine loyalty looked like.
The smile on Demiurge's face deepened.
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