'Looks like it's done for today.' Momonga mentally remarked as he put the last pack of documents away. During the last few weeks, his workload had noticeably gone down. Mostly due to finally getting some semblance of administration in the newly gained territories, but Shion's accomplishments could not be ignored as well. Under Albedo's watchful eye, the kijin secretary had become a diligent and effective assistant to the Guardian Overseer.
And speaking of the devil, Shion, who came in with a tray with a somewhat unsteady walk, approached Momonga's table.
'Is she perhaps hurt?' Momonga tried to figure out the reason for her strange walk. As always, she was dressed in her purple business suit with the top few buttons left open, giving an ample view of her cleavage. Finally, he noticed the source of her problem. In place of her usual sandals, she was wearing high-heeled boots, and by the looks of it, was doing her best not to fall over due to them.
'Oh, she is trying to mimic Albedo.' It wasn't that hard to notice that Shion had been copying Albedo quite a lot as of late.
It was rather obvious, but the more she tried to look graceful the more unsteady her walk was. By the mercy of some unknown God or guardian angel, she managed to reach the table and put the tray down without incident.
"Grilled pork ribs with potatoes, just as you ordered, Lord Momonga." She said as she straightened out.
"Thank you." Momonga responded and prepared a napkin. No matter how careful you tried to be, eating ribs was always a messy business. As if called by the ribs themselves, Ranga jumped out of Momonga's shadow and put his muzzle on the corner of the table, patiently waiting for his favorite snack in the form of the leftover bones.
Momonga turned to Shion, who was still standing by his side, "Is there anything else?" he asked her.
The kijin instantly fell into deep thought and after a few seconds she replied with a disappointed tone. "No, my Lord." and reluctantly walked towards the doors.
Unfortunately, the miracle that let her walk with the high heels ran out and after a few steps, she put down her left leg at a slight angle. Shion wobbled and fell down on the floor with a yelp.
Momonga immediately jumped to his feet and ran up to her, offering his hand. "Are you alright?" He asked with concern as Shion accepted his hand with a blush and unsteadily stood up.
"Yes, Lord Momonga." She responded with a smile and kept holding his skeletal hand and leaned in adding. "Thank you."
"Ahm." Momonga coughed and carefully got out of her grip. For a moment he could swear he heard his two friends screaming in the background. 'She is into you, you fool!'
'I am starting to hear things. That can't be good.' Momonga mused as he watched Shion walk out of his office, taking unsteady steps. There was no denying that Shion was a very attractive woman with a body of divine proportions.
Pushing the rather unsavory thoughts aside, he returned to his table and finally dug into his dinner and fed Ranga the bones, which the wolf pulverized between his jaws with happy grunting sounds.
When the last bits of the dinner were finished, he let Ranga lick the plate and said as he petted the wolf. "You know, I could just get a whole portion for you."
{ Thank you master, but I am honored to help you with the leftovers of your meal. It would be a shame to let such wonderful bones go to waste. } There was no arguing with the wolf in that regard. Momonga petted Ranga one more time and let him return into his shadow.
He was about to take out a book to read for the evening when the next set of guests arrived. Shuna and Benimaru came into his office with deep bows.
"Oh, I didn't expect to see you two today. I hope nothing bad has happened?" Momonga greeted them. Ever since he rescued both from the clutches of his friends, who were far too forward with the kijin siblings, both visited him regularly.
"No, not at all, Lord Momonga. I made you this." Shuna stepped forward and extended her hands holding a folded piece of clothing.
Momonga accepted the gift and unfolded it. It was a black kimono with silver linings and Nazarick's crest on the back. 'This must have taken her a long time to craft.' He looked at the kijin girl who nervously shuffled awaiting his judgment. "Shuna, this looks wonderful. Thank You."
"I have a gift as well." Benimaru said as he pulled a sheathed sword out of his inventory and kneeled before Momonga presented it. "The blade was made by Kurobe, but the handle is of my own making."
'It looks quite refined. He must put a lot of time into making that handle.' Momonga accepted the second gift as well. "Thank you. This is a wonderful gift as well." Momonga said, "But you didn't have to work so hard for me."
"This is the least we could do, my Lord." Benimaru said as he stood up. "We are indebted to you for helping us with our… 'situation.'"
"It was only natural to come to your rescue. My friends… they are not bad people, but they sometimes do not notice that they are overstepping boundaries." True to their promise, both Pero and Buku had stopped harassing Benimaru and Shuna, but they rather quickly found other targets for their not-so-subtle pursuits. 'I just hope they will stick to their promise and leave people alone after the first rejection.'
Since it would be impolite to not at least try out the gifts, Momonga retreated to his dressing room. With the help of overly eager maids, he quickly put on the kimono and strapped the sword sheath to his hip.
'Not bad, I look like an ancient undead samurai.' He admired his own reflection in the mirror. The fabric was smooth and pleasant giving no friction when it touched his bones.
"It's so bland. This outfit is saved only by Lord Momonga's magnificence." One of the maids said while she enthusiastically straightened out the ripples on the clothing.
"I don't know, it gives Lord Momonga that down to earth appeal. Like he is willing to accept the gifts from the mortals that had come to worship him." Another one chipped in as she fixed the sword's position.
'They are so touchy. Good thing I didn't activate my energy body.' Ainz remarked, trying to get out of the maid swarm. In their strive for perfection, they were relentless and hard to get rid of.
"This is good enough!" Momonga said and shook the last one off.
"But Lord Momonga…" One of them pleaded with a heartbroken expression.
"You all are doing a wonderful job, but please know when to stop." He finally managed to get them off his back.
Momonga returned to the guest area and asked. "How do I look?"
The stars in Shuna's eyes was an answer by itself. "It fits you perfectly, Lord Momonga!" She clapped her hands with a wide smile.
"Indeed, the clothes Shuna has made suits you well." Benimaru chipped in.
"I can clearly see why the clothes you make are so sought after by my subjects." Momonga complimented Shuna and sat down on the sofa, motioning for the kijin siblings to do the same.
After a moment of a somewhat awkward silence while the maids filled three tea cups, Momonga asked. "So, how are you both doing?"
In a sense, it felt like listening to his grown children as they each took turns telling about their daily lives and what they have been up to. Shuna, the shy and reserved girl who was happy to be useful, and Benimaru, the young and ambitious man on his way to a great military career.
Maybe it was favoritism in a sense, but their company was pleasant and not overbearing. Of course, he had plans to spend time with the floor guardians whose creators had not returned in a similar fashion, but to even make them sit down, not to mention open up a bit, was a herculean task that would take time.
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They may not always be civil towards one another, but they still were a family. With this being one of the quieter days, Buku was visiting her brother for a family gathering. One could argue that Momonga and Veldora now too were in this category, but Buku's and Pero's bond as siblings were a bit deeper.
Pero was sitting on the sofa dressed in his casual outfit that consisted of pants and nothing else. His newest catch, Lupus, sat next to him, dressed in loose pants and a shirt instead of her regular maid's outfit.
She wore a mischievous smile as she laid her head on Pero's shoulder. Next to them sat Shalltear in a short summer dress and a large cocktail in her hands which she was drinking from the start with a slight tint on her cheeks.
Buku sat opposite to her brother, dressed in a short and somewhat revealing dress which she wore for her own catch, Souei. The kijin himself was dressed in his usual ninja outfit and no convincing made him wear anything more casual. He stood behind Buku with an unreadable expression and was slowly sipping beer from a can.
On both sides of Buku sat her two children, Aura and Mare, with Mare quietly reading a book and not particularly paying attention to anything going on, while Aura just looked around, playing with her fingers as she somehow managed to forget to bring her own reading material with her.
"Sit down and relax, darling. No one can attack us here." Buku said as she leaned back and looked up.
"I…" Souei tried to protest as Buku pulled his hand.
"Just give up man. She will nag you till she gets her way." Pero said with a laugh.
"I am well aware of Lady Buku's wishes." Souei replied. Unable to give another reason to why he would need to stand, he reluctantly gave in and with a puff of smoke appeared sitting down between Buku and Mare who had tactically moved aside.
"You can just call me Buku, you know. I think after a few nights together we can be on a first name basis." She said, grabbed Souei by the waist, and pulled him closer. Aura glanced at both, gave an exaggerated sigh, and moved a bit further away.
"Oh, don't be jealous! I still give you plenty of attention." Buku said as she ruffled Aura's hair.
"Well, you are fondling your boyfriend in front of your children." Pero remarked.
"I am not fondling him, you twat!" Buku hissed.
"Language!" Pero responded with his best impression of his sister.
"And then you both wonder why Shalltear and I don't get along." Aura remarked while staring in a random direction away from her mother and uncle.
"That we both can agree upon." Shalltear said with a sigh. "We reflect fathers and aunts relationship in our own."
{ Being called out by our own children sucks! } Pero messaged his sister.
{ Tell me about it. I guess we'll have to tone it down. Being an adult is not fun. } Buku messaged back.
"I apologize, dear brother, for my unsightly behavior." Buku said in a tone that bordered on mockery.
"Apology accepted, dear sister." Pero responded with a nasally voice, and then turned to address Aura and Shalltear, "But seriously, we will tone it down, so you two should at least try to get along." he said in his more normal tone.
"We rarely have a chance to interact, but I promise to be more considerate of my cousin." Shalltear said as she continued drinking the cocktail through the straw, her face getting redder by the minute.
"That's good to hear." Buku said and then tilted her head. "Hey, you are getting drunk!"
"Oh, I am just getting a bit tipsy, that's all, aunt Buku." Shalltear responded with a giggle.
"Vampire or not, someone of your age…" Buku stopped and looked Shalltear up and down. 'She is noticeably taller and her boobs look… smaller? Ohh… she is not padding her bra anymore! Just how fast is she growing up?' "You have grown quite a lot."
"I will try my best, aunt Buku. I can't lose to those two post prime gorillas with their saggy…"
"Shalltear!" Pero interrupted her tirade.
"Sorry, daddy." Shalltear mumbled. "I will not badmouth Albedo and Shion."
"Just don't go overboard. I know you all like Momonga, but he wouldn't be happy if you killed each other." Pero said.
"You know, you would get much better results if you all teamed up and did not fight among yourselves." Buku told the vampiric Guardian.
"I know, but Albedo insists that she will be the main wife." Shalltear let out a whine, abandoned the straw, and took a large gulp from her glass.
"Is that such a bad thing? I mean it's not like Momonga would like you any less if Albedo is the main wife." Buku asked.
"I guess…" Shalltear was interrupted mid-sentence as an onslaught of orders from Momonga invaded everyone's mind.
{ An unknown entity just crossed Tempest's airspace at supersonic speeds and is on a trajectory directly towards the capital. The border guards were not only unable to keep up with it, but couldn't determine the entity's strength! Everyone, gear up! Albedo, Rubedo, Buku and Demiurge will go with me. Pero will take Aura and Mare to the rear and provide backup. Shalltear, Cocytus, and Sebas will hold the first floor of Nazarick. Everyone else, be prepared for a full evacuation of the capital. Prioritize your own survival but remember to help others to retreat if we are overwhelmed. }
"Sounds serious. Let's not waste any time!" Buku immediately said in a serious tone.
"Agreed." Pero said and then tossed a potion at Shalltear. "Here, you need to be sober."
She caught the potion and gulped it down immediately, noticeably sobering up after a second.
"Ok everyone, you heard the boss. Let's move!" Pero shouted and ran towards his dressing area. Whatever the entity was, if it so easily overwhelmed the border guards it may even be on a level of a world enemy.
Proofreading by Kazuma, Saphy, Somnium Hypnos, and Sad_Smiles
AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available.