Chereads / Overlord: The Fragment of Paradox / Chapter 16 - "You are a NEET, Not Employed, Educated, or in Training,"

Chapter 16 - "You are a NEET, Not Employed, Educated, or in Training,"

From the kitchen of Nazarick smack dabbed in the middle of Lord Ainz's intricate plan. Sally has never felt this nervous in her whole life before. She thought about the amount of layers and backgrounds Ainz has probably put into her identity and couldn't help but marvel at his genius.

'Don't screw up, me. Don't you dare screw this up.' Sally thought to herself. This is the gift of second chance given to her by the Supreme Being.

"Lily sama, who is acting as Momon?" Sally asked.

"Hmm? Oh, Momon is just Ainz-sama in human form," Lily said simply.

'I wanna go home…' Sally silently cried from the inside.

Sally was so caught up in her fear of messing up her lord's plan that she didn't notice that they're currently standing in front of the Adventurer's Inn.

"By the way, Sally, I'm going to turn you back into a Vampire."

"Huh?"

"Ainz sama turned back into his skeleton form for about two hours. It's only fair if you get to do that too."

"B-but what about the mission and my punishment?"

"All within his expectations,"

The transformation happened in an instant. It was quick and painless for Sally. In a matter of seconds she could feel her power and her light thirst for blood. In a matter of seconds, Sally could no longer feel all the human emotion that's been wreaking havoc within her non-beating heart.

Shalltear felt calm and silently praised her lord for thinking this up. She knew that Sally and Shalltear alone cannot possibly keep the act. But Sally within Shalltear? She's very much capable of acting calmly in calculated judgement.

Lily pushed the flap door open and waved her hand. "Momo nii chan! I'm back!" she exclaimed.

Sally followed closely. "Momon nii sama." she said with a hint of excitement.

Three men sat on a large table. One of them is the Warrior Captain, the most powerful man in the kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. Beside him, drowning in beer is his equal, Brain Unglaus. At opposite side of them is the third Adamantite Adventurer from E-Rantel, Momon the Dark Hero.

Lily and Sally walked towards the table. Momon waved at them and motioned at the seat beside them. "Sit down you two."

Lily pushed Sally to sit down on the chair right next to Momon before sitting down next to the vampire. The vampire looked at her lord and master nervously, but Momon just smiled warmly at her and gently pet her head.

A smile appeared on Sally's face. She never felt head pat like this before, but she enjoy it. She rubbed her head along Momon's hand before he finally stopped. She was a bit disappointed that it stopped but she's not showing it.

Then, Sally looked at the two men sitting in front of her. Gazef is staring at her with a calm and slightly judging look on his face. Brain just stared at her in awe, disbelief, and terror.

"Lily, would you please cast [silence] around our table?" Momon asked.

Lily raised her staff. "[Boost Magic - Silence]," she said and just like that, no one can hear a word of what they're saying.

"Sally," Momon said and Sally felt something flutters in her chest. "Would you please introduce yourself?"

The girl nodded a little before taking a deep breath. "Good afternoon Unglaus san, Stronoff san," she bowed politely. "My name is Sally also known as a Vampire by the name of Shalltear Bloodfallen."

"I made that name!" Lily piped in.

Sally resisted the urge to smack her and continues. "I'm Momon sama's sister," she shifted closer towards Momon. "I'm a true vampire and yes, my power has surpassed the realm of humanity thanks to our great mentor, Ainz Ooal Gown."

"Momo nii, I'm thirsty!" Lily exclaimed.

Momon sighed a little and handed her silver coin. "Here, no alcoholic drink for you, young lady," he said.

Lily took the coin and started running away from the table.

"Finally…" Momon muttered. "I swear, that girl has zero clue at reading the atmosphere," he then looked at Gazef and Brain. "Well, here she is, Shalltear Bloodfallen," he pet Sally's head some more. "Cute little thing isn't she?"

Brain took a deep breath and shook his head. "Forgive me, Momon sama but…" he looked at Sally's blood red eyes and shuddered a little. "Your sister has been haunting my nightmares for the past week, I cannot call her anything but terrifying…"

"Good, I'm glad to hear that," Momon said coldly. "I won't ask her to apologize."

Brain cringed a little. "I suppose I deserve that…" he took another chug at his beer. "But still, how did you find us in the first place? Were you hunting us down?"

Momon shook his head. "No, the Death Spreading Brigade thought that it's a good idea to attack a noble on their way to the Kingdom," he glared at Brain. "That noble is my cousin Solution and her butler Sebas. Suffice to say that I'm more than a little bit annoyed."

'I'm cheating death,' Brain thought to himself. 'I'm not supposed to be alive, I should've been six feet under.'

"That's enough Momon dono," Gazef said. "It's all in the past, Unglaus san has regretted his action and swore not to dwell in any criminal business anymore. You've probably heard from Lily and Sebas haven't you? Brain helped took down one of Eight Finger's brothel. It's his way of repenting for his mistake."

Momon's gaze soften. "Right, I do apologize for coming off as threatening and…" He chuckled a little and put an arm around Sally's body. "I guess Sally here is punishment enough," he rubbed her head a little.

"Momon nii sama…" Sally muttered.

"Momo nii chan!" a shrill childish voice appeared beside Sally. Lily sat down on her chair and slammed a big jug of strawberry milk on the table. She then raised it up again. "Cheers!" she exclaimed.

Both Gazef and Brain raised their glass in amusement. "Cheers," they both said.

Then everyone looked at Momon who just rolled his eyes and raised his glass. "Cheers,"

After that, everyone on the table started drinking. Except for Sally who just sat there looking at them. Both Gazef and Brain kinda pities her a little, but there's not much that they can do. It's not like they can do anything to help her.

Momon on the other hand put down his drink. He gently pet Sally's head and smiled. "Are you hungry, Sally chan?" he asked.

Sally shook her head. "N-no! It's alright Momon nii sama, Ainz sama gave me the ring of sustenance, I don't feel hungry," she said while showing him the ring.

Momon narrowed his eyes at the sight of the ring. He gently held the girl's hand and took off the ring. "Are you hungry Sally chan?" he asked once again.

The vampire looked down a little bit. She looked at Lily and found her lying her head on the table with a dreamy look on her face. Then she looked at Momon who just smiled at her warmly. "Just a little bit… It's…"

Both Gazef and Brain froze when Momon held out his wrist in front of Sally. The vampire looked at Momon with a hesitant look on her face. "What's wrong? Is my blood turning stale for your taste?" Momon joked.

"N-no, it's fine," everyone but Lily watched silently when the little girl put her mouth on his wrist. She didn't look at all gruesome or terrifying, she looked more like a baby breastfeeding than a monster sucking up blood.

After a while, Sally put a hand over Momon's wrist and her hand glows a little. Then she let go of Momon's clean unblemished wrist. "Thank you, Momon nii sama…" she hugged Momon's arm with her small body.

"You looked like you have something to say, Stronoff dono," Momon said.

Gazef shook his head and smiled a little. "No, nothing, just that…" he looked away for a moment. "You just made me question a lot of stuff."

"That Vampires are nothing but bloodthirsty creature hell bent on destruction?" Momon asked.

Gazef nodded a little. "Well, something like that…" he said. "Also, I've heard reports about you fighting a very powerful vampire in the forest nearby, it happens not long after Shalltear's attack on the Death Spreading Brigade."

Sally looked visibly distressed after hearing that. She curled her fingers into fist and gritted her teeth. She was about to say something when Momon pat her head reassuringly. "That is Honyopenyoko, the vampire who turned Sally into what you see right now, it was for that reason too that Brain Unglaus survived Shalltear's attack."

Gazef nodded a little in realization. "I've seen the aftermath, it must be one hell of a battle wasn't it?" he asked.

"It was the AWESOMEST BATTLE EVER!!!" Lily exclaimed. "We all watched from the mirror of viewing and Momo nii chan was so COOL! Ainz sama gave him a bunch of crystals with super powerful spells to weaken the vampire. Then he fight it head on with his great swords before finishing it off with a super tier spell!"

"Super tier spell?" Gazef said in amusement. "Knowing Ainz dono it's probably seventh tier spell," he said.

Sally choked on her saliva and looked at Gazef like he's mad. "Seventh tier? Are you sure you know Ainz sama? He dishes out ninth tier spell like it's going out of style! A tenth tier spell is something he's very much capable of and the super tier spells…" her words faltered. "Well, he can use them, just not that frequently and... Well, the point is, you are severely underestimating him."

"Sally chan," Momon said softly. "Stronoff dono is not underestimating Ainz sama," he said.

"But…"

"Sally, you really don't go out often do you?" Momon chuckled softly. "The most powerful magic user known to man kind can only go at fifth tier spell," he explained. "You, Lily, Sebas, Ainz sama, and I are all the rare exceptions. That's why he's been… collecting us, for the lack of better words."

Momon then looked at Gazef and Brain who are still trying to comprehend the reality of the situation. Then, a look of understanding appeared on Gazef's face. "Momon dono, the people that Ainz dono has been collecting, could it be… Could it be that you are all Godkin?"

"Yes, are you all godkin?" Brain asked. "Because that will explain everything… The reason why godkin seemingly went extinct. Ainz sama has been hiding you all, haven't he?"

"Yes, everyone under Ainz Ooal Gown is a godkin," Momon said. "That's what my job is, to find these godkin and ask them to join us. If we were to be left alone then…" he sighed a little. "I'm sure you've heard of the Eight Greed Kings, don't you?"

"Yes, I've heard," Gazef replied. "I suppose Ainz dono doesn't want you all to repeat that tragedy?"

"Of course not, that's why he literally forced us kicking and screaming into becoming one big happy family," Momon explained.

"I'm feeling like I'm dwelling into something much, much bigger than the fate of my entire country…" Gazef muttered. "Any reason why you're telling me this?"

"Ainz sama seemed to trust you and he figured that it'll better if he has someone who knows about him inside the kingdom," Momon raised his hand before Gazef could say a word. "No, he's not asking you to spy for him. He's asking you to protect the kingdom from doing something as stupid as crossing him."

"I see… I understand what you mean…" Gazef chuckled a little. "Yes, I'll do my best to keep the kingdom from crossing him. If I've learned anything from my friend Brain here," he pat Brain's back. "Messing with him will bring nothing short of catastrophe into our country."

"Thank you for that, Gazef Stronoff," Momon said. "Then there's another thing that Ainz sama wanted to learn. You can even call it his weakness."

"What is it?" Gazef asked, curious of what weakness someone powerful like might have.

"He calls it Warrior Magic, you call it Martial Arts," Momon said with a slightly sheepish look. "Yes, not a single one of the Godkins are capable of Martial Arts."

"Even you Momon dono?" Gazef asked.

"As embarrassing as it sounds, my real power is just brute strength and reflexes," Momon said. "That's why I'm hoping to invite Brain Unglaus as an unofficial member of Ainz Ooal Gown?"

Brain spat out his drink and started coughing heavily. "M-me? Seriously?"

"Gazef is a much better choice but he has a job to do. You on the other hand are," Momon looked at Lily. "What is his job again, Lily?"

"A neet," Lily said with a grin.

"Ah, yes, you are a NEET, Not Employed, Educated, or in Training," Momon said. "And I heard that you're living in Gazef's home like a failure of a child living in their mother's basement."

Gazef burst out laughing while Brain just silently wept in embarrassment. "You hear that Brain? Your quest for true strength has led you to the most powerful band of people in the whole world," he said. "Go ahead, better this than sleeping in my house no?"

Brain sighed in defeat. "You're so unfair Momon sama, you know I can't say no to this offer," he took another gulp at his drink. "Just give me the time and location and I'll be there," he said.

"Not now, we're still renovating the base and…" Momon stretched his arms a little. "For now, Lily and I are going to stay here. Sally has business to do in the empire, but that can wait," he downed his drink in one go. "Ahh… Why don't you two play for a bit?"

"Nii sama, you know I'm much older than Lily," Sally said.

"Only by a few years," Momon looked at Lily. "Show her around Lily."

Lily held out her hand with an expectant look on her face.

Momon rolled his eyes and took out a single golden coin. "That should be more than enough," he put the coin in Lily's hand. "Play nice you two, return back to Solution's place when you're done," he said.

Lily gave him a two fingered. "Sir yes sir!" she grabbed Sally's hand and pulled her out of the table. "Come on Sally chan! Lemme show you my Blue Rose action figure or even better, maybe you can meet them yourself! They're all an awesome bunch!"

They were about to start running when Gazef called out for them. "Hold on!"

Lily turned around. "What is it Stronoff san?"

"I'm sorry about this but, I think it's for the best if Sally use something to cover her eyes," Gazef said. "Not everyone in the kingdom is as tolerant as I am."

With a simple illusion, Sally's eyes turned onyx black and her platinum hair turned light blonde. "Is this fine Stronoff san?"

Gazef nodded. "It is fine,"

"Okay then, bye Gazef san! Bye Brain!"