Overlord: The Demon Valkyrie Raid Boss

Chapter 9 - The Sheep of Nazarick (pt1)

Ainz hummed silently to himself as he listened to Asta speak. It had been so long since he'd had a guild meeting with his old guild mates that he had forgotten how much he enjoyed them. And now he was finally feeling that elation again.

"As expected, the Kingdom will be asking you to marry into the royal family," said Ainz, gazing at Asta, sitting across from him.

Asta nodded. "The ceremony will take place in a few weeks. I think the royal faction are eager to get the drop on the noble faction. And this way, once Nazarick comes into the light you won't need to worry about ruling with fear."

"I hear the princess is quite the beauty."

Asta smiled but didn't readily agree.

"Something wrong?"

"No." Asta shook his head. "Princess Renner is indeed beautiful. It's just..."

Not his type. Ainz had heard about the Princess's personality from Demiurge. In a way he felt a little bad for Asta, but Nobles tended to have many women and he was the Hero of Re-Estize. Even if he hurt the Princess in some way the Kingdom would not so readily get rid of him after seeing his power.

No, to be precise, they'd be too afraid too. What mattered was that Asta's reputation with the people didn't degrade and if it did then Demiurge could always go and put on another performance.

"Anyway," said Asta. "About you know what..."

Ainz glanced to his side. Albedo was standing behind him silently.

He cleared his throat. "Albedo, please go and attend to your duties. There is no need to be here whilst me and Asta talk of other matters." He couldn't have her see him talk about anime with Asta. It would completely ruin his image.

"Lord Ainz, please think of me as not here."

"Albedo. That is an order."

Ainz wasn't directly looking at her, but he could feel a sudden chill as though she had just, for a brief moment, made an ice-cold glare at Asta.

"Of course, Lord Ainz."

When Ainz glanced back at her she wore her beautiful, serene expression as always. She bowed and then headed for the door, pausing just before it.

"If I may, Lord Ainz. Lord Asta has not been shown around Nazarick yet. After your matters with Lord Asta have been settled, perhaps I can offer a tour?"

Ainz thought it a little odd that Albedo had changed her tune so quickly, but he guessed she was simply following his orders.

"A wonderful idea, Albedo." Ainz turned to Asta. "What do you say, Asta?"

"Of course," said Asta nodding.

"Then it is settled. Lord Ainz, please call for me after your meeting."

With that Albedo left, closing the doors behind her.

"I apologise for my guardian's rudeness," said Ainz. He had already explained the situation with the guardians to Asta before he had come to Nazarick.

"Don't worry," said Asta. "I've always wanted to see what one of the top guilds looked like as well."

"Indeed, but, back to important matters, how did Luffy defeat Kaido?" The regal sound to Ainz's voice changed to his normal tone. He had started One Piece before finding himself in the new world but had never caught up with it.

"You're not going to believe this," said Asta, grinning.

"Tell me what happened."

Ainz found himself chuckling. Since he had arrived at this world, he had been alone in a sense and every time his guardians were around, he had always roleplayed his Overlord character. It was still him but also not him.

It felt nice to be able to relax once in a while.

In the pit of Ainz's being however, he could not help but harbour a gnawing feeling. Once upon a time he had been able to relax like this with his guild mates. Good things did not last forever, and he could not help but wonder how long this moment would last for.