"I expect to have nieces and nephews very soon now that I am out of the way!" Itsuki declared, cheerfully laughing.
Today he had finished moving out of the apartment he had shared with his sister for over a decade to move in with his girlfriend, giving his sibling a lot more room to work with for their income.
"Or maybe you could just not be a lazy shit for once and make a few kids on your own!" Akari sneered at him for the crude suggestion as she held Satoru's arm to keep herself standing upward.
The operation to fix her back had been successful, but it would take a while to regain full mobility, and the back support that was supposed to help her move turned out to be an overhyped piece of garbage from her doctor's sponsors.
"Oh, I'll definitely try. Geez, Sato, I pity you for being stuck with her." Itsuki made one last glance around the living room to be sure he hadn't forgotten anything.
"The one truly shit out of luck is Hitomi. That poor woman will have to deal with you." Akari shot back without skipping a beat, snarking.
Satoru wisely stayed out of the sibling bickering that didn't cease even today when Itsuki wouldn't be a daily part of their lives anymore. Of course, he wasn't disappearing altogether, and his new living place was just one metro ride away.
He had to let go of Akari as she hugged her brother one last time before walking out of the door, clad in his sealed outdoor outfit with a sturdy backpack on his shoulders.
With the loudmouth departing, a silence settled in the rather spacious apartment.
"I can't believe he moved out." Akari let out a quiet sniff, reaching for a napkin.
"He isn't that far away. We can visit him next weekend. The new back support should arrive before then," Satoru commented.
"If that one even works. I'm not that much of a diva to make you carry me there." Akari turned and nuzzled her face in Satoru's neck, planting small kisses.
"I might decide to do it anyway." Satoru ran his hand through her hair, chuckling.
With how hectic the week had been, they barely had any time to themselves. Ever since Buku became a face and the voice for a heroine in an indie adventure game that unexpectedly exploded in popularity, she had been making internet appearances non-stop to keep the popularity tide going, and this meant cutting time elsewhere.
In a sense, this was the breakthrough into the more mainstream voice acting she was hoping for. The royalties alone would ensure money wouldn't be a concern for a long while.
There was a moment he could swear some guardian angel had finally noticed them and decided to help out, with how miraculously she was pulling voice line after voice line for game after game.
"Not a chance." She mumbled. "But I'll allow you to carry me to the bed."
"Didn't you have an interview in an hour?"
"We are going right to the main event. I am not wasting time." She grew more insistent.
"Sure, sure, whatever my lady wishes." Satoru did as he was told and picked up his wife.
One could say they married way too fast, but he knew from the day they started dating that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He never regretted it, and neither did she.
Predictably, Akari almost missed the interview, and he had to play the dutiful assistant and keep her on track for the rest of the day, hustling her from place to place.
One incredibly hectic interview, a three-hour streaming session for her fans, and late dinner later both were in their bed lazily watching one of the new isekai anime everyone was talking about.
"You know, it'd be cool to get isekai'd together in some fantasy world. I would be a brave knight and you a powerful wizard," She sleepily muttered.
"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" Momonga questioned with a long yawn.
"You always play casters, so now you're getting to be a wizard and me your brave knight." She turned off the TV and pulled herself closer to Satoru.
"Deal." He rolled to the side, letting Buku be the small spoon. She enjoyed it, may as well indulge her.
Everything felt strangely similar. He was in his old game avatar Momonga from Yggdrasil Dive MMO, while Akari was in her avatar, the reddish pink slime Bukubukuchagama. In a sense, she was the knight, and he was the caster, just as she had suggested.
'Am I dreaming?' He glanced down at his skeletal hands. The weird feeling certainly would make this a dream, he had lucidly dreamed a few times before.
"Hey, what's going on?" Buku bubbled.
"Not sure," Momonga replied, feeling more lucid by the moment.
They found themselves in a lightly forested area, a bright sun shining through the canopy. A short distance away a young, red-haired girl sat on a stump and read what appeared to be manga.
As they approached the girl she looked up and noticed them.
"Heya, you both are finally here." She greeted them with a pearly smile.
"Where are we?" Buku was the first one to ask.
"This is a pocket reality I created. But you both are technically dreaming. At least for the next fifteen minutes. The gas leak two stories below your apartment will soon cause an explosion and kill you both." She nonchalantly explained.
"This is a strange dream that's for sure," Momonga commented.
"Wait. Wait! Do you mean we both are in the same dream? How is this possible?" Buku's gelatinous form vibrated, bubbling.
"This isn't exactly a dream, but more like a temporary afterlife and you are here as your souls. Remember, you're both about to die."
"Right. Let's assume everything you say is true. It still doesn't explain what is going on and who you are," Momonga spoke with a deeper, more regal voice than he was used to, much to his surprise.
"I brought you both here. OK, here's the deal, I have grown tired of watching you both on Earth and wanted to mix things up. So, you'll both become Ainz Ooal Gown and Buku Ooal Gown respectively, and I'm dropping you both in a fantasy world with boosted stats." The girl gleefully told them she was about to turn their lives upside down as she flung around her manga.
"I'm sorry. What?" Buku was having none of it, leaning closer.
"What, you don't like the names? I think they sound cool, and you're both married so your last name should match." The girl tilted her head.
"Why the hell would we agree to this? You can't force us to become a slime and a skeleton. This is stupid!" Buku screeched at the girl.
"Hey hey, I'm not that evil. I filled up your inventories with all kinds of fun stuff from Yggdrasil. Ainz has a few dozen doppelganger rings so you can choose whatever forms you like and enjoy yourselves. I wouldn't force a married couple not to be able to have sex you know." She put her hands defensively before her face. "Especially with how kinky your private life is."
"Sato, did you hear it? This underage perv has been watching us." Buku pointed one of her slimy extensions at the girl.
"I'm older than both of your total reincarnations combined. Besides, you both watch porn so don't you dare moralize. I'm in charge of you both and happened to accidentally see a few things." The girl raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, her small button nose wrinkling in discontent.
"Let's get back to the point. Miss, you said we should use doppelganger rings?" Ainz asked.
"Yes. And pick human forms. The people from the place I am sending you both might freak out. Oh, and my name is Artemel."
"Might as well go along, right? If we're dead anyway, there's no point in fusing over our old lives." Buku extended her appendage towards Ainz to get a ring.
The now undead man pulled out a pair of identical rings from his inventory, which came as naturally as breathing and handed one of them over to his wife.
Buku was first to equip and activate the ring, becoming her human self without a single article of clothing on her. She glanced down and inspected her arms curiously.
"You don't have to make it identical to your Earth self. You can change any detail you like. Go wild!" Artemel motioned for Ainz to give it a try as well.
Buku smirked and instantly shaped her form more physically endowed and her facial features more symmetrical and traditionally attractive. While Ainz was going through his transformation, she pulled out a set of underwear and full plate armor from her inventory, putting on both through the ever-familiar yet somehow-different Yggdrasil mechanics.
Following her example, Ainz made a more handsome version of himself and kept the impressive two-meter height of his avatar possessed on top of it. Now a being of flesh and blood, he buttoned up his luxurious robe to be more presentable for his wife.
"You both are such a cute couple. Good luck out there and keep me entertained!" Artemel gushed.
"Ready?" Ainz asked, grabbing Buku's hand with a smile.
"Definitely. Let's go have the adventure we always wanted." She returned a smile.
The scene turned void black, but he could still feel his wife's hand squeezing his. Some things didn't change, no matter where they went.
Their vision returned soon enough, and they found themselves staring at a massive mural. This magnificent artwork was at least ten meters long, if not longer, and depicted a faintly smiling figure with long blonde hair with a faint halo surrounding the ethereal figure.
Finding themselves in a vast chamber, they were greeted by a group of men dressed in priest robes with an old man clad in brilliant white robes with a thirty-centimeter mitre cap with golden trimmings on his head. By the looks of his wrinkled face, long white hair, and equally white beard, he was about seventy years old. Medieval fantasy for sure, not just plain fantasy.
Ainz casually looked around, noticing a group of students with a short, young-looking woman in front of the group. All of them were unmistakably Japanese, dressed in old-style Japanese school uniforms.
With his massive stature, he was towering over everyone by a noticeable degree. Even Buku, whose chosen human form was rather tall, looked tiny next to him, and that wasn't even including his billowing robes and overall massive stature.
The priests eyed him and Buku with nothing but awe and fright as if not expecting someone like them to show up before beginning to monologue.
"Welcome to Tortus, brave heroes. It is our pleasure to welcome you
here. I am the pope of the Holy Church, Ishtar Langbard. It is an
honor to make your acquaintances." The old man broke out into a good-natured smile.
{ So we're playing along until we know what the fuck is going on, right? } Buku's high-pitched voice rang in his head.
Ainz glanced down at his wife with a small nod, and replied with the same method that once was private messaging in the game that now felt as natural as breathing. { I think so. Most of those kids are going along with whatever this ceremony is too, it seems. }
"What is going on? How did we get here?" The short woman who led the children's group asked, trying to exert as much authority as her petite frame allowed her. If not for the formal dress suit that differed from the school uniforms the other girls wore, she would easily blend in with the rest of the group with her youthful appearance.
"The one who summoned you all here was the blessed lord, Ehit. He is the guardian deity of us humans and the one true god of the Holy Church. The supreme ruler who created the world itself. I suspect Lord Ehit became aware of our plight. He realized that humanity was doomed to annihilation, so he summoned you here in order to prevent such a disaster. You heroes are humans from a world greater than ours, and therefore carry within you strength that surpasses the humans of this world!" Ishtar explained, still smiling like a kind grandfather would. A delusional one perhaps.
"Heroes?! These are just children. You can't force them to fight! As their teacher, I take full responsibility for them, and I forbid you to rope them in your affairs!" The woman didn't give in, courageously standing up to the pope.
{ If those kids didn't get some sort of upgrade, then they are royally screwed. } Buku commented.
{ Allying with their teacher could prove to be beneficial. You know how religions always use people for their ends, } Ainz replied as they walked behind the group being led out of the vast chamber, and into a bright dining room with tables practically bursting with fine drinks and food.
{ Tell me about it. I may have not the best grasp on my current strength, but I feel like I could easily bend metal rods with my bare hands or shatter skulls. }
{ If it comes to the worst, we just need to leave this building and rely on abilities we should have from Yggdrasil. I somehow know what sort of spells I can cast and how much mana it would take to cast said spells, proportional to the total mana I have. }
The pair sat down at the end with bonafide eye candy servants trying to cater to their every need to a level that Buku had to not so politely suggest the maid back off from her husband and push away the manservant who was trying to do the same with her. The servants quickly learned not to mess with the married couple, the petite wife throwing verbal barbs to rival her mostly silent but highly intimidating husband.
As the banquet went on, they gradually gained a clearer picture of what was going on. Apparently, they were summoned to fight demons and monsters to keep humanity safe, and they would become key figures in humanity's battles against the "evil" nonhumans.
'So that's why that girl suggested we take human forms. I wonder if we're just now given a glimpse of what we are likely to fight against. I cannot put it past the old man to be a powerful caster and hide his power.' Momonga thought, watching his wife vocally murder yet another eye candy trying to get close to her.
The first order of business would be to covertly test their abilities and find a way out from the castle they were in, in case anything went wrong. They had to be prepared for anything in this new world, given their lack of knowledge.
Perhaps he should've delayed longer and asked for information about this world from the girl who had sent them here.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by NuggetLover, clagan, aidan_lo, Cay, x4x, and Sluethen.
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