Ainz had finished his dealings in the Harem Room, telling Fith to inform the other maids that they were now allowed and expected to clean the unoccupied room, much to their delight.
'Man, I still can't imagine being happier to have MORE work to do. I guess that's just the way things go for the maids…'
Trepidation ringing in his bones, the Overlord continued down the list of floors he had to visit.
'Let's see. Next is the eight floor, which is obviously off-limits. Demiurge should be working hard right now on the seventh, so it's best that I not disturb him right away.'
Somewhere on the seventh floor, an arch-devil frowned, sensing his lord might be doubting his capabilities. He will work twice has hard to put these thoughts off!
'The sixth floor…Even after our talk, the twins still left on such a sad note, maybe I should let them rest a bit? Wait…'
Ainz mind wandered back to YGGDRASIL, thinking of one particular night Touch Me logged-in later than expected.
"Apologies everyone, I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long."
"Look who it is! Did you oversleep on your fancy new massage bed or something?"
Ulbert was quick to berate the [World Champion] for his lateness, something everyone around had gotten used to already.
"For your information, Ulbert, that was a gift from the workplace. And no, it's because of my daughter."
Momonga suddenly turned his attention to the conversation, reacting with a worry emote.
"Oh no, Touch-San! Did something bad happen?"
"Thankfully, not to her. It was her pet parrot that died, she was playing on the balcony with it when it suddenly dropped dead. The neighbor veterinarian said a wave of toxic air had passed by, and it must have been too much for him."
"That sucks, and such a rare animal too."
"Yeah. The worst part is that she doesn't stop crying about it, I hope the rest of the floor doesn't file a noise complaint."
Most members of the guild nearby used their laughing emotes, but someone stuck out.
"Touch-San, that's terrible! I hope you aren't leaving your little girl alone through this."
"Well, I did log-in today, didn't I? I thought she might need the time alone."
"No child should ever have to grieve alone! You should be there for her, she doesn't need to feel even lonelier."
'That was the ever-teacher, Yamaiko-San. She couldn't get Touch-San to log-off in the end, and he ended up just buying his daughter another pet next week.'
Ainz berated himself for almost repeating the same mistake from his comrade. 'I don't want the ghost of Yamaiko-San to chastise me too! It's decided then, I'm off to the sixth floor!'
"You know Mare, I don't know why you let those other elves pamper you around so much! Aren't you a little grown up for that?"
"W-Well, Ainz-sama said they're under protection of Ainz Ooal Gown and to make them feel at home, i-if they like doing this, I think that's what he would want from me…"
The elven servants simply smiled to themselves as they continued dressing up and brushing their little lord. They can't wait to see him all grown up one day, secretly wishing that he remembers and rewards their service when he's of age...
"There you go, Lord Mare, you're all ready to go out!"
"T-Thank you, I guess…"
Aura just sighed and shrugged as she walked her little brother out the gigantic tree, eager to do ANYTHING else.
The twins found themselves running by the forests surrounding the great Amphitheater, where Aura spotted some of her pets playing freely.
"Hey Fenn! Aren't you going to greet me?"
The holy beast sharply turned it's head to meet his master. His crimson eyes burning with excitement as it almost galloped just to lower it's head to Aura's footsteps.
In moments like this, one could find it hard to believe it was a divine creature capable of reaching the heights of a level 90 warrior.
"There we go, h-hey, you don't have to snuggle so close!"
The fenrir licked Aura's face before wrapping himself around her, almost as if wanting to comfort her or guard her from some unknown threat.
"Mare! I've never seen Fenn be so overprotective before, what do you think is going on with him?"
"I-I think it feels you are sad, sis."
"W-What?!"
"Well, ever since we talked to lord Ainz in the throne room, he told us it was okay to be sad, so…"
Aura looked down and breathed out a sigh, not one of relief, but one of tiredness.
"Mare…"
She didn't even mind as the little druid made his way into Fenn's fluff and sat besides her.
"Do you think what Lord Ainz said, right before we left...Do you really think it's possible?"
Mare looked straight ahead, silently contemplating the words of her sister and of the Overlord that parented over them.
"I don't know, Aura. B-But if Lord Ainz said it, it must be true!"
"Hehe" Aura let out a chuckle. "Of course you would say that." The beast tamer gave a little nudge to Mare's shoulder with her elbow to tease him, before silently resting her head in his shoulders. The twins held hands, laying comfortably in the beast's fur.
"I hope you're right too, little bro."
The Amphitheater, one of the few places in lower Nazarick where dust flew freely midst the sandy grounds. It has once been the stage of both grand and pitiful battles, once an invasion raged through only to meet their ends two floors down.
Right now, it rang empty, only for the wailing spirits of a ghostly audience waiting for another show.
'After the first invasion, we never bothered to summon those decorative POP monsters again, huh.'
The dust began swirling in a vortex fashion as a [Gate] emerged from the floor, setting the stage for the supreme one, Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Ah, this is almost nostalgic."
It was just like the time he first stepped into the sixth floor since they were transported to this new world, staff of Ainz Ooal Gown in hand.
The Overlord looked around after taking the few first steps. It truly is a shame the Amphitheater didn't get much use. 'I remember how much the people of the Empire cheered for the coliseum matches. Maybe the Sorcerer Kingdom should have something like that one day.'
Still, it bothered him he had yet to see Aura and Mare. It was rare he was not immediately greeted by a floor guardian when he travels to their floor, maybe he really should have cast a [Message] beforehand.
'I guess I'll get to it right now, hopefully Cocytus doesn't arrive before them- Huh?'
He was suddenly thrown off his line of thought, seeing the little elf being thrown off like a projectile, falling right beneath his feet.
"Uwah! A-Ah! Lord Ainz! Please forgive me!"
The small elf he now recognized as Aura awkwardly got up to kneel, asking forgiveness for...barreling to him?
"Umu. It's okay Aura, but I'm not sure I understand what's going on."
"Well, me and Mare we're playing with my beasts, but Iris got a bit too…well-"
"Eeeeeh!"
Another elf child suddenly flew off to the ground besides them. This time, Mare landed and dusted off his skirt.
"I-I'm not sure turning off our resistances was really smart, sis! A-A-Ah! Lord Ainz!" The little druid followed suite by kneeling and pleading for forgiveness just like Aura.
Ainz couldn't help but chuckle at the display.
"I forgive it! I am happy to see you two playing together, but please be more mindful of your resistances, okay?" Ainz spoke like a worried but proud nonetheless parent, to the eternal gratitude of the twins.
"Of course, lord!" The twins responded in unison. Ainz also swore he could see Aura looking back with a scowl at her pet dinosaur, which whimpered down outside the coliseum in response.
"Very well, now that things are settled…"
"What is it, Ainz-sama?" Aura was ever eager to ask. Besides Pandora's Actor, she was probably the most direct with the overlord, a thing he learned to appreciate.
"I wanted to see how the two of you were doing after our reunion. I couldn't bear the weight if the two of you were still depressed by my actions."
"I-It's not your fault Lord Ainz!" Aura quickly stammered back. "It's all her fault…"
Mare didn't say anything, but he seemed to agree with Aura's sentiment.
"Umu. I understand. Let's try not to talk about it any longer though, I hope at least the two of you could bond more over these sentiments. Even the most closely-knit families sometimes fight…" Ainz could almost get lost in thought, remembering back to all the scuffles over dropped loot and raid wipes in the guild…
"T-That's true, Lord Ainz! Me and Aura were having a lot of fun together!" Mare even took initiative to go by Aura's side and tightly held her hand. "Mare!" Aura seemed bothered by the sentiment, but her blushing couldn't help but agree, only pretending a struggle.
"Hehe, it's rare to see you like this Mare, I quite like it."
The Overlord reached further to pat the hand-holding twins in their heads, fully appreciative of their newfound cheeriness. He was sure everyone was struggling inside their hearts right now, but at least those two could develop something bigger from it.
"Now, there was another reason I came in here, and it seems it's just about time…"
Ainz looked forward to the curiosity of the twins, where they all saw together another vortex forming in the air, this time carrying with it the frosty air of the fifth floor, and the insectoid warrior that ruled over that domain.
"Cocytus. It's good to see you in good shape."
"I. Am. Always. In. Perfect. Condition. To. Serve. My. Lord."
"Umu. This is the other reason for me to be here, Aura, Mare. You two will spectate our fight!"
Cocytus exhaled an excited air of frost after hearing the commands of his lord. He had barely time to greet the dark elf twins, but they seemed just as excited for the "fight".
"I. Am. Glad. You. Continue. To. Train. The. Way. Of. The. Warrior. Lord. Ainz."
"Yes, it's a good way to put my mind off of things. Before the real thing begins, why not practice a bit? Aura, Mare, could you get some summons for us to warm up with?"
"Of course, Ainz-sama!"/"Yes, Lord Ainz!" The twins brightly responded before summoning together LV. 80 golems under Mare's command, buffed to be even stronger by Aura's beast mastery skills.
"Thank you. Now we can properly begin, Cocytus. First though… [Perfect Warrior]!"
Ainz was suddenly enveloped by the reflective shining armor of a true [World Champion] and the divine scimitar, 'Takemikazuchi MK 8'!
The twins could barely contain their excitement, they have never seen their lord using those items from so up close! Even Cocytus breathed out in eagerness.
'I. Know. My. Lord. Asked. For. Us. To. Put. Up. A. Match. To. Entertain. The. Twins. But! This. Will. Not. Stop. Me. From. Showing. Him. My. Skill. As. Well!'
The two "warriors" held their blades forward side by side, seconds away from slashing together at the summoned foes. It will surely be a battle for the ages.
Somewhere else, below an icy prison, Antilene still hanged by her cuffs, awaiting whatever fate the Sorcerer King had laid for her.
'It's been some time since that Succubus left. Did they forget about me? Hah, as if.'
She couldn't help but chuckle, even in the grim situation they had left her.
'I wonder when I'll see him again. Or is this my punishment? Being alone in an empty room for all eternity? Certainly better than whatever the Theocracy could come up with.'
Antilene thought back to her actions. She finally fulfilled the goal of her life, killing the Elf King that tortured her throughout her childhood, discarding her even though she was his daughter. What else was there for her? If she survived this she could go back to the Theocracy, but even she knew they only kept her around for her power, and she didn't like living there much, her happiest hours were aimlessly shopping and, well, killing the Elf King.
'Whatever. If I had the chance, I probably would have done it all the same, all over again. But... I wouldn't mind a more welcoming family this time...'