His new circumstance was something the Mighty Dragon had not experienced before. Sure, Veldora didn't have access to all his power, but even being a remote avatar was better than just sitting in a bubble with no stimuli.
The stories depicted with black and white pictures and text were too interesting to not follow them through to their conclusion. There were ones about mighty heroes fighting epic battles, people going on fun adventures, or even some slower paced ones, depicting the day-to-day struggles of mortal beings.
The servant he named Rima sat beside him as he lazed around on a futon and fed him pastries from a plate she held in one hand.
His older brother, Veldanava, was the one who taught him the aesthetic beauty of the human form and Rima surely was beautifully formed.
Veldora had to admit that most of Nazarick's denizens looked like they were designed, not born naturally, and from what little bits of information he tricked out of his best friend, that likely was the case.
The whole of Nazarick simply felt out of place, like something that should not exist. But he felt his brother's touch in it, with Momonga being particularly connected to this place and his brother's influence. Why it was so, he could not tell, but the connection was there.
He would love to know all the details, but his new friends didn't fully trust him. Such mistrust could be found only in those who have been betrayed before.
'Like I wouldn't know how it feels when those who are supposed to be closest to you turn their backs on you when you need their help.'
Rima put another bite-sized pastry in his mouth, leaning in closer. She wasn't particularly talkative, but she surely enjoyed following his orders and being in his presence. Of course, he was a kind master and didn't overwork anyone in his care.
He just had her get food from time to time and go to the library for more reading material. The Majin overseeing the library didn't like him too much and was rather annoyed whenever Veldora visited, so it was far easier to relegate the task of dealing with the library to Rima.
He still had about four volumes to go before switching to the next story, so there was no need to rush for the next set of reading material. The list of recommendations Pero had provided was a rather extensive, if a bit particular one. Far too many featured either heroines, or damsels in distress who needed saving, in rather revealing clothing, if it sometimes could even be called that.
A knock on the door interrupted his very important reading, making him look up.
'Pero is here already? Time sure flies.'
"Rima, can you go answer that?"
"Of course, Master Veldora." she said with an eager voice and ran towards the door.
The quarters that were given to him surely were up to his standards, fit for a divine being like him. There was plenty of room to gather his collection, various interesting pieces of art that his best friend had provided, and a place for Rima to sleep as well, although she didn't require sleep.
"Hey Rima, is the fat lizard making you do all the work again?" Pero asked with a loud laugh.
"Master is kind to me." Rima answered while quickly returning to her master's side.
"Who are you calling fat, you overgrown chicken?"
"Still jealous of my magnificent feathers? I see how it is." Pero said and sat down on a futon beside his friend. "So, any luck on extending where you can project?"
"No, I still can't appear anywhere outside Nazarick."
"That sucks."
"Still beats sitting alone in the prison." Veldora said absentmindedly as Rima resumed feeding him the pastries.
"If you make her do all the work, you could lie on your back to give the girl easier access."
One of his friend's crude jokes. Veldora, as usual, laughed it off.
"Hah, I am a spiritual being and do not need to engage in the activities of mortals."
"You are still stuffing your face with all the delicious things."
Of course, the whole procreation process intrigued him, but for someone like him, the consequences would be dire. His brother lost most of his power after his human wife gave birth to their daughter. It may even be the reason he hadn't reappeared again after his death over two millennia ago.
Veldanava did often brag about his wife and told Veldora that he would be a bad influence on his daughter, Milim, but unlike his two sisters, he at least treated him nicely.
"I don't need to, but Rima is insistent on feeding me!"
"Whatever you say buddy." Pero said, laying out cards on the table.
"Are we playing blackjack or poker this time?"
"I still need to teach you how to play poker, or are you ready to lose all your food again?"
"I will not lose again. What are you betting?"
Pero chuckled and pulled a large plate out of his inventory, filled with various sweets and snacks, putting it on the table between them. Veldora sat up.
'Oh, he brought his personal stash. I have to be victorious this time!'
The game wasn't too hard, and Pero had explained all the rules, so victory shouldn't be that far away. Oh, how wrong he was. How masterfully the bird deceived him and robbed him not only of his own snacks but cruelly tempted him with his own.
"You are cheating!" Veldora exclaimed, standing up.
"Nah, you are bad at this. Here I can give you a small participation prize." Pero said with a mocking laugh while handing him a single piece of wrapped candy.
Veldora growled and snatched the small piece of offering out of Pero's hand and gulped it down.
'These are so good. I have to find out where he is getting them.'
{ Rima, do you know where Pero is getting these? }
{ No, master, I do not. But maybe the other Supreme Beings can tell you. }
{ Excellent idea. }
"We will have to continue our game some other time. I have urgent business to attend to." Veldora hastily said and bolted out of his quarters. With just two candidates to question, one fell off right away. Buku was very mood dependent, and to interrogate her was risky business. Momonga, on the other hand, was always calm and helpful.
There were two places where he could most likely find the Overlord, either in the throne room or in Momonga's office. With the office being much closer, Veldora arrived there a few minutes later and barged in without knocking before the guards could intervene.
"Hey, chief!" Veldora said loudly, startling Momonga and getting a loud hiss out of Albedo.
'Right, the scary one is always with him. They are doing the whole 'running the kingdom' business again. How boring.'
"Veldora, did you need anything?" Momonga asked before Albedo had a chance to berate the dragon about his poor manners.
"Where can I find these?" he asked, dropping the candy wrapper on the table.
"Candy?"
"Yes, that bird is not telling me."
'Not this again.'
{ Pero, can you stop messing around with Veldora? }
{ That fucker ran to you again? You can tell him where the candy shop is; he will not get his ass here fast enough anyway. }
'Oh, for the love of...'
Momonga could only resist the desire to facepalm with the help of his emotional suppression and turned to the maid standing at the door.
"Increment, could you please guide Veldora to the candy shop? The one that is near the fast-food restaurant."
"I owe you one, chief." Veldora waved his hand and then disappeared with the maid through the door.
"It's fine, Albedo. Let's return to the layout of the troops." Momonga said before Albedo exploded in an angry rant about Veldora's behavior once again.
"Of course Lord Momonga. But you shouldn't let that reptile…"
"It's fine. Veldora has his quirks, but they are not a major concern."
He could swear the succubus mumbled something under her breath before returning to explaining how the old guard troops would be distributed throughout the capital.
'At least I can send Buku against them both if this gets out of hand.' Such a harsh punishment was left only for a case where both Pero's and Veldora's shenanigans get too disruptive to be ignored.
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There was no delaying it anymore. He had to speak with Albedo and sort everything out. She was growing more paranoid. If the worst were to come, he could make her think everything goes according to plan, as she and Demiurge tended to believe that was always the case.
Once the day's work was done, he called Albedo to his quarters, as a homunculus maid prepared two cups of tea and light snacks. Even if he couldn't eat or drink, Albedo surely would touch nothing if he didn't have his own cup.
The succubus arrived and bowed seconds after Momonga's invitation.
"My lord, you called?"
"Yes. Please sit down."
After a moment of hesitation, Albedo sat down, looking confused. Momonga slowly began to panic, with an uncomfortable silence filling the room. All the things he had ranted about, thinking no one was there to listen… Of course, there was no way of knowing Nazarick would become real, but the results were all the same. Reaching the critical level of inner turmoil activated the emotion suppression, returning him to a calm state once again. This was the perfect moment to start.
"We need to talk about what happened right after we arrived in this world."
Albedo instantly looked down, with her hands trembling in her lap.
"I am sorry. I couldn't stop myself. Lady Bukubukuchagama ordered me to tell the truth. I should not think like that. I am just a servant." she whispered.
"Albedo, no one is blaming you."
"But I said unforgivable things." she said, looking down.
"The arrival to this world was unexpected. Pero, Buku, and I were all fully prepared to face the last moments of Yggdrasil. It wasn't deadly for us." Momonga started.
'How can I even describe to her what was going on without telling her she was not real before?'
"I am happy that things turned out the way they are and, from what I know, so are Pero and Buku. They just needed to adjust and fully realize what the current situation entailed. You have every right to be angry at what happened. You and everyone else in Nazarick are our children, not just servants. I know it is hard to explain my perspective and that of my friends, but we cared for all of you."
"Why didn't they come if it wasn't dangerous?"
"Each had their own reasons." Momonga hastily answered.
'There is no helping it. I will have to lie to her.'
"Most couldn't bear to see their creations gone, as none of us could stop Yggdrasil's end. Some had moved on to other worlds. Some had to continue the work in our original world."
"Lord Momonga, what about the things you said when it was just you and me?" Albedo asked. It was easy to see that she was rather distraught.
'If only I had known. Why did I have to say out loud that they didn't care anymore?'
"I have to apologize for that. I was venting my own frustrations without thinking about your feelings on the matter. My friends had to leave, and I do not blame them. I just hoped some would come back and help me."
"Lord Tabula Smaragdina, did he tell you why he left?" Her eyes said it all. They were the eyes of a child who wanted to know why her father had abandoned her.
'He didn't even say goodbye. Demiurge's creator came to say goodbye to him. Cocytus got a parting gift. Shalltear, Aura and Mare got their creators back. Am I less than them? Lord Tabula Smaragdina didn't even bother to give me a list of daily tasks and a room. Lord Momonga had to do it himself once he realized I had been left like that.'
Momonga could see the anger, the pure hatred on Albedo's face, clear as day. Tabula was one of the first to leave the game.
'This is getting boring. I am switching to Eternia Four. You can have my in-game possessions.' That was the last message he had ever sent, alongside mail filled with all of his items.
'How can I say to her that he truly didn't care?'
"Sorry, I don't know. He never told me the reason why he left."
"I… I understand." she said with her expression turning to a gentle smile again. An obvious lie. He could have seen it even without the newfound skill and knowledge. With Tabula gone, Albedo was his responsibility.
Momonga stood up, walked around the table, and sat beside her, taking her hand into his own.
"Albedo, you can be angry at your creator."
"But…"
"You have my permission to vent out your frustrations. It will not leave this room."
Momonga could swear he felt his skeletal fingers crack as Albedo squeezed his hand in a painful grip.
"He didn't even say goodbye! Was I so worthless in his eyes?! Am I a failure?!"
"You are not a failure!"
"Why?! Why didn't he come back just once?! Just… Just… Why?" Albedo said through gritted teeth. "He never said he was proud of me! He just left me behind, incomplete, like useless trash!"
Her grip tightened. One of his fingers definitely had a crack. The pain was getting intense, but for her he could bear it for a while. It was nothing a negative energy spell couldn't fix afterwards. Albedo looked down at the floor again.
Tabula had left her like this, and his own actions had made her mental state even worse. She was his responsibility now. Surprising even himself with the sheer boldness of his actions, Momonga gently put two fingers on the succubus' chin and moved her face in order to look her in the eyes.
"It is ok. You have done nothing wrong. I am proud of you."
"Thank you." Albedo said, suddenly wrapping her hands around his shoulders and kissing him on the cheek. Not his skull, no. Momonga felt her lips touch his nonexistent flesh.
"Thank you, Lord Momonga." Albedo said again and then seemingly realized how forward she was. Quickly letting him go, she practically jumped to her feet and bowed.
"I am sorry for such a shameful display. Thank you for indulging me, it means so much to me."
"Don't worry about it. I was happy to help."
"I… I should return to my duties."
"Of course, but if something bothers you, don't hesitate to come to me."
"Thank you for your kindness, my lord." Albedo said and left his quarters.
Albedo stopped to calm down once no one was around. The whole experience was too surreal to be ignored. The fears and the frustrations had almost melted away. Someone cared about her, and that someone was the most important person in the entire tomb.
Momonga dragged his skeletal fingers over the clean skull at the place where she kissed him.
'What just happened?'
Edited by Edgy
Additional proofreading by placid_void