The noble momentarily lost his cool, stuttering, "N-no, of course not, Lord Ainz. What is it you plan to do now that you know my plans?" Roswaal asked.
"As long as they do not conflict with my own, I won't interfere." he said, standing up, "Now then, I believe you know what to tell Rem. I will be on my way. Goodnight, Roswaal."
The undead mage walked out of the office and seemed to disappear.
Rem began moving and, before she could apologise or do anything of the sort, Roswaal told her one thing, "Leave us." The girl obeyed, walking out of the office and moving towards her quarters.
Ram returned to her position on Roswaal's lap as he muttered, "So he knows about my plan to kill the divine dragon… But what does a creature like that want?" he sat silent, eventually sighing and mumbling one crucial detail, "No wonder my book couldn't predict him, even Teacher didn't know of a being like that. But… if something like that exists, then that means she can also return."
Meanwhile, Ainz, who was standing next to Roswaal after teleporting into the room while under the cover of [Perfect Unknowable], was having the undead equivalent of a heart attack.
'What goddamn plans?! To kill a divine dragon?! This clown of all people?! I just meant that I know he has demons here!' Ainz facepalmed, which would have alerted the entire mansion due to the force behind it, but thankfully [Perfect Unknowable] cancelled out that effect.
'Great, now I'm wrapped up in all this. Guess I'll run with it, but did he mention some book that predicts the future?'
His instincts, that of a collector, were lit with a fire that even a heavenly flood wouldn't be able to extinguish, 'I've gotta get my hands on that.'
After waiting around for an hour as Roswaal sat silently with Ram, the two finally decided to go to sleep. The moment Roswaal left his office, Ainz began rummaging in a way so quick and efficient that it would have put every kobold to shame.
Eventually he found a magically locked chest behind a fake wall hidden behind clothes in a closet. It was a rather elaborate setup, but still not enough to stop a hoarder like Ainz.
After quickly dispelling the magical lock, he grabbed the book and studied it. It appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary, a simple, black leather-bound book. Just to be safe, Ainz cast an [All Appraisal Magic Item].
'Created by the Witch of Greed? Is that who his teacher was? But that was centuries ago? Is he using some magic to keep his youth?'
He opened it and took out his translation glasses, immediately sighing, defeated, 'So the description didn't lie, it only works for Roswaal… Well, that guy doesn't seem to like me very much, so I'll keep it.'
After putting the book into his inventory, he teleported to the corridor where his room was, still wanting to gaze at the garden on his way there.
Yet an unforeseen sight greeted him. In the corridor, just a few metres away from him, stood a figure, one illuminated by the moon and almost shining a divine, white light.
"Ainz!" she said, "I heard a commotion outside and I-" She stopped for some reason, cutting herself off.
"Hmm? Oh, that was nothing, simply some late night sparring with Rem." he answered. However, Emilia didn't speak, her face showing utter bewilderment with her purple eyes as wide as can be. "Is something on my face?" jested Ainz, touching his face and suddenly realising that his mask was off.
He had been so caught up in his looting that he completely forgot to put it back on! Hundreds of possibilities and plans raced through his mind, [Time Stop], [Control Amnesia] and so on, but before he could implement any of them into reality, the girl spoke.
"Is this your… condition?" she asked, slowly closing the distance between them.
Ainz took a step back, fearful of the inevitable reaction that was to come, "Y-yes." was all he managed to say.
Emilia kept walking towards him and he kept backing up, until his back hit the wall and there was no more place to retreat to.
She walked up to him, but instead of fear, terror and disgust in her eyes, Ainz saw in them curiosity, perhaps even… acceptance?
"Ainz?" she inquired, her voice as calm as the waters of a lake on a windless night.
"Yes?" Ainz's voice, though majestic as it was, seemed to betray his worry, as tumultuous as the tides.
"What are you?" she simply asked. There was no malice in her voice, no ill will or harmful intent. It was just an innocent question.
"I am an Overlord, the highest order of undead." he answered, his voice levelled thanks to his emotional suppression.
"I see. May I?" Ainz nodded and she put her hands up to his skull as she did when trying to take off his mask before, gently running her fingers across it, "How smooth." she simply said.
"Are you not afraid of me? Do I not resemble the monsters you have read about?" he asked, confused.
"Who cares about resemblance? You are your own person, are you not?" she asked, prompting both to chuckle.
"Wise words." he said, "But I don't think everyone is as open minded as you."
She moved back, giving the undead mage some much needed space, "Y-yes, you may have to wear your mask for a while longer."
"You remind me somewhat of an old friend of mine." The girl tilted her head and signalled for him to continue, "Back when there were 41 of us, we were all like me. Inhuman. Heteromorphs. Slimes, undead, insectoids, eldritch monstrosities. We tried to protect our own and fought with the races who hunted our kind."
He remembered the great purges organised by the devs, when they started events that gave double xp for killing heteromorphic players, "But the strongest one of us, a paladin in shining, silver armour, always hoped we could come to at least a semblance of an agreement. Wherever he found himself, he always tried to make a change for the better."
"Who was he?" she asked, captivated by the tale.
"He was many things, a paladin, a champion, a husband and a father. But to me he was one thing first and foremost, a friend. It feels like an eternity ago since I last saw him, but I'm sure he'd be glad to see you run in the selection. He's cheering you on, wherever he is, so do well for him, alright?" he said, making sure his [Negative Touch] passive was off and ruffling her hair.
"Alas, it's late. You need to be well-rested if you want to become the king. I can tell you all about him another time." he said, getting rid of the melancholy that had crept into his voice.
"Yes, I'd like that. Goodnight, Ainz." Emilia said, moving away from him and towards the other wing of the house.
"Goodnight, Emilia." Ainz said, before thinking to himself, 'Perhaps she really should be king. Isn't that right, Touch Me?'
He glanced at the back of Emilia, and he could have sworn an outline of the World Champion was there, giving him a thumbs up…