The sky had darkened, and dusk was steadily settling over E-Rantel.
From time to time, Lucien glanced at the woman walking half a step behind him.
She wore a loose gray cloak over her clothes and a modest brimmed hat on her head.
Her outfit was plain and unremarkable, much like what many local women wore.
Even so, her conspicuous gold-rimmed glasses and refined, intellectual air still attracted quite a few glances from passersby.
“Lord Lucien.” Yuri noticed his gaze and lowered her head slightly.
“Do you have any instructions for me?” “Nothing in particular.
I was just thinking that the place I’m renting isn’t exactly impressive.
You might have to put up with it for a while.” “You needn’t concern yourself with that.
It is Yuri’s honor to serve one of Lord Ainz’s dearest friends.
The quality of my surroundings is of no importance.” Lucien nodded and looked away.
The two had just turned onto a side road leading toward the common district when heavy, uneven footsteps sounded from ahead.
They were accompanied by labored breathing.
Lucien stopped and looked up.
Three people were approaching.
The man in the middle was powerfully built and stood more than two meters tall.
He wore severely damaged metal armor, and the gaps between the plates were filled with dried, dark blood.
His eyes were half closed, his face deathly pale, and most of his weight rested on the two people supporting him.
On his left was a young villager dressed in rough homespun clothes.
On his right was a low-ranking adventurer wearing a Copper-ranked plate.
Neither man was taller than about five and a half feet, and both were somewhat thin.
Their legs trembled as though they were close to collapsing from exhaustion.
“Haa…
I can’t keep this up much longer.” The low-ranking adventurer gasped for air.
When he looked up and saw Lucien standing in the road, his eyes lit up.
“Hey, friend!
Could you give us a hand?” Lucien’s gaze swept over the badly injured man in the middle.
His wounds were severe, but judging from the style of his battered armor and the traces of battle covering him, he was clearly no ordinary soldier.
Might as well help.
Lucien stepped to the adventurer’s side, took the wounded man’s arm, and pulled it across his own shoulders.
The adventurer immediately let go with visible relief and leaned against a nearby wall, breathing heavily.
Yuri instinctively moved forward to help, but stopped herself.
Before they left, Ainz had specifically instructed her to behave like an ordinary human female attendant.
Displaying strength far beyond normal human limits would defeat the purpose.
The wounded man’s full weight settled onto Lucien.
Between the heavy metal armor and the enormous frame beneath it, an ordinary person would probably have been crushed to the ground immediately.
Lucien’s Strength stat, however, was more than sufficient.
The roughly three hundred pounds of weight barely affected him.
His shoulders did not even shift, and his steps remained steady.
The movement caused the injured man to let out a muffled groan.
His eyes opened slightly, and through his blurred vision, he looked at Lucien.
“Thank you…” His voice was weak and hoarse.
“It’s nothing.” Lucien glanced toward the adventurer, who was still catching his breath.
“Are we taking him to the Adventurer’s Guild, or somewhere else?” “The municipal infirmary!” The adventurer wiped the sweat from his face.
“It’s two streets ahead, just past the next intersection.” That answer made Lucien glance at him with mild surprise.
He had heard about the municipal infirmary before.
As far as he knew, ordinary citizens were not normally admitted there.
Lucien continued forward with the wounded man supported against him.
The villager gathered what strength he had left and resumed supporting the man’s other side.
Yuri remained half a step behind Lucien throughout.
Before long, the oil lamps of the municipal infirmary came into view.
There were very few patients inside, and those receiving treatment were all dressed well enough to confirm the rumors Lucien had heard.
The moment the staff heard the commotion, several of them looked over.
When they recognized the heavily armored man’s face, their expressions changed immediately.
One physician even told a wealthy merchant dressed in fine silk to remain where he was, then hurried off with several nurses to bring over a wooden wheeled stretcher.
That reaction made Lucien take another look at the man beside him.
Just how important was this guy?
The thought went no further.
Treatment came first.
Lucien bent slightly and carefully lowered the wounded man onto the stretcher.
The staff hurriedly wheeled him toward an inner treatment room.
The adventurer and villager repeatedly thanked Lucien before trying to follow, only for the nurses to stop them and tell them to remain outside.
“Then…
what about the treatment costs?” The middle-aged villager asked hesitantly.
He looked uncomfortable, as though he had very little money with him.
“You don’t need to worry about that.
All related expenses will be covered by the Kingdom.” The nurse answering them seemed far warmer than Lucien had expected.
“Thank you for bringing the injured man here in time.
Please register your names and addresses over there.
You may later receive a letter of thanks and some compensation.” Perhaps the wounded man’s status was high enough that even the three ordinary people who had brought him in were being treated respectfully in an area normally reserved for the privileged.
That only made Lucien more curious about the man’s identity.
Still, now was hardly the time to investigate.
Following the nurse’s instructions, he went to the reception desk and asked the young adventurer to write down his name and address for him.
After leaving the municipal infirmary, Lucien and Yuri continued along the darkening streets.
The roads in the common district were terrible.
The ground was uneven, and dirty water had collected in places where residents had simply thrown wash water directly into the street.
Lucien’s rented home stood deep within the district.
It was a relatively new two-story stone house.
He pushed open the wooden door and lit the oil lamp on the table.
Dim yellow light filled the cramped sitting room.
The furnishings were extremely basic.
There was a wooden table with one corner missing and two chairs.
Several rough maps of the surrounding area were scattered across the table.
Lucien had drawn them shortly after arriving in this world, recording locations he had initially considered important.
Once he realized how weak the surrounding area was, he had largely stopped bothering.
There were also two discarded food wrappers that he had forgotten to throw away that morning.
After sitting there all day, they had already attracted ants.
The temporary home looked somewhat miserable.
It was barely furnished.
At first, Lucien had been extremely cautious about obtaining money and had deliberately kept a low profile.
Only after securing his first real amount of local currency had he established a permanent place to stay, and only in the past few days had he gradually become bolder.
There was another problem.
Lucien was lazy.
He had rented the house for nearly half a month and had not properly cleaned it even once.
For a bachelor, that barely mattered.
As long as the bed was clean enough to sleep in, everything else could be ignored.
Yuri, however, frowned slightly when she saw the room.
“Lord Lucien.” She removed her cloak, revealing the immaculate black-and-white maid uniform beneath it.
Her tone was completely serious.
“Please allow me to clean your residence.” “You don’t have to go through all that trouble.
I’m only renting the place, and I may move somewhere else in a few days anyway.” Lucien waved a hand dismissively and pulled out a chair beside the table.
“But this residence is far too unclean.” Yuri remained respectful, but her expression was stubborn.
“As a maid, allowing the person I serve to live in such disorder would be a failure of my duties.” “Lord Ainz assigned me to you so that I could attend to your daily needs.
Please rest for a while and leave this to me.” “…All right.
If you insist.” “You need not thank me.
This is simply my duty.” Yuri immediately began working.
Her movements were fast, precise, and methodical.
Loose items were sorted and neatly arranged in moments.
Then, from somewhere Lucien had not even noticed, she produced a cleaning cloth and began wiping dust from the floor and corners of the table.
Lucien leaned back in his chair and watched her work.
He could not help being impressed.
Her speed and professionalism were several times beyond that of even high-end domestic staff back on Earth.
Sitting around doing nothing while someone else worked made Lucien feel somewhat awkward.
So he headed upstairs first.
With nothing else to do, he opened the system interface and brought up his friend list.
Only one ID was illuminated.
Momonga.
“Busy?
Can you talk?” “Yes.” After confirming that Ainz was available, Lucien sent a voice-call request.
The connection opened.
Ainz’s deep voice sounded beside Lucien’s ear.
“Lucien?
Have you gotten settled in?” “Just got home.
Yuri’s downstairs giving the place a complete cleaning.” “I’m glad she’s already proving useful…” Ainz’s voice sounded unusually stiff, as though he were struggling to say something.
Silence hung over the connection for two seconds.
Then came a long sigh.
“Lucien, actually…
there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” Ainz lowered his voice.
He sounded exhausted.
“What Demiurge said at the tavern earlier…
wasn’t entirely what I intended.” “Hm?” Lucien raised an eyebrow.
“You mean he came up with all of that himself?” “Not exactly…” Ainz lowered his voice further, clearly embarrassed.
He had not been able to explain himself in front of the others earlier.
Now he finally had the opportunity.
“I’ll just be straightforward with you.” “I didn’t completely understand what Demiurge was talking about either.” “I never planned to conquer the world.” “My original intention was simply to secure Nazarick’s position in this unknown world and, if possible, search for any of my former guildmates who might have arrived here too.” Lucien froze for a moment.
Then he could not help laughing.
“What are you laughing at…?” “Nothing.
I just think that’s exactly the sort of mindset a normal player would have.” Lucien restrained his laughter.
“Still, Demiurge’s reasoning wasn’t completely ridiculous.” “Things change.
Neither of us can possibly make every important decision about our future in a single day.” Hearing Lucien take the matter so casually finally relieved some of the pressure weighing on Ainz.
“I’m glad you see it that way.” “To tell you the truth, having the NPCs constantly looking at me with those eager expressions makes every day feel like walking a tightrope.” “I’m always afraid I’ll say something wrong and ruin the image of the Supreme Being they have in their minds.” “So whenever they praise me or assume something about me, I have to do my best to act like the ruler they expect me to be.” “That’s more or less how this whole world-conquest business ended up being attached to me.” “I understand.
Being in charge isn’t easy.” Lucien paused before changing the subject.
“By the way, when you decided to send Yuri with me this afternoon, you seemed pretty hesitant.” “Was there something you didn’t want to say in front of the others?” “Ah…
that…” The other end of the call fell silent again.
This time, the silence lasted much longer.
Long enough that Lucien briefly wondered whether the connection had dropped.
“Ainz?” “…I’m here.” Ainz’s voice became serious.
There was even a faint note of pleading in it.
“Lucien, Yuri…
she was personally created by my guildmate, Yamaiko.” “Mm.” Lucien acknowledged him but did not interrupt, making it clear that he was listening.
“In this world, they aren’t just data anymore.” “They’re living beings.” “To me, they’re like the children my old friends left behind.” Ainz paused, carefully choosing his words.
“I assigned Yuri to you because I wanted to show you my sincerity, and because I thought she could be a reliable assistant.” “But…” “But what?” “I don’t want you to trample on her dignity.” Ainz’s voice grew heavy.
“Her racial settings may identify her as an artificial being, and her role may be that of a maid.” “In her own mind, serving you, or even sacrificing herself for you, would probably seem completely natural.” “But I still hope you’ll treat her with some kindness.” “Please don’t see her as a disposable tool.” Lucien understood immediately.
Ainz was worried that he might treat Yuri as nothing more than equipment or an expendable subordinate.
For someone who regarded his guild as the most important thing in his life, handing the work of one of his old companions over to a player he had only just met would naturally leave him anxious.
That was understandable.
“I understand.” Lucien’s voice became serious.
“Don’t worry.
I won’t send her on suicide missions, and I won’t abuse her position.” “As long as she’s with me, I’ll protect her within my ability.” “I’ll treat her like an actual companion.” Hearing such an immediate promise only made Ainz more uncomfortable.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” He hurried to explain, sounding deeply apologetic.
“I’m not ordering you around or trying to restrict you.” “I sent her there to serve you.” “If I tell you that you can’t do this or that, and then expect you to take care of her instead, she’d end up becoming a burden.” “You don’t have to worry too much about my feelings.” “Give her whatever instructions you need to.” “Just…
don’t go too far.” “All right.
I understand what you mean.
I know where the line is.” Lucien glanced downstairs.
Yuri had already transformed the room.
She now stood quietly to one side, awaiting further instructions.
“You don’t need to worry.” “I may not have accomplished much back on Earth, but I’m not the kind of person who’d mistreat a diligent maid who’s only doing her job.” “It’s getting late.
You should get some rest too.” “All right…” “Then I’ll leave her in your care.” “Good night.” The call ended.
On the Ninth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, inside the Supreme Being’s private chambers, Ainz lay sprawled across an enormous luxurious bed.
Red light flickered intermittently within his empty eye sockets.
He rolled over and released a heavy sigh.
He could not sleep.
Of course he could not sleep.
As an undead, he had no need for sleep in the first place.
In theory, he should not have been capable of maintaining overly intense or complicated emotions for long either.
Yet his mind was unusually restless.
“Give her whatever instructions you need to…” Ainz repeated his own words internally.
He wanted to slap himself.
What had he been thinking?
Whatever instructions he needed?
What exactly was that supposed to mean?
Ainz suddenly sat upright and clutched his bare skull with both hands.
Before arriving in this world, he had never had a girlfriend.
He barely had a social life.
Most days, his only real pleasure had been coming home from work, logging into YGGDRASIL, and talking or fighting alongside his guildmates.
Calling him unsuccessful would have been charitable.
Put more plainly, he had been a complete loser.
Someone like him had spent his entire real life repressing himself.
And not merely emotionally.
Physically as well.
He still remembered the first day he had arrived in this world.
While testing how the NPCs would react, he had reached out and touched Albedo’s breast.
At that moment, even though he had already become a skeleton without flesh or organs, his mind had still experienced the unmistakable surge of desire belonging to a human man.
If his emotion suppression had not immediately activated, Ainz did not know how far he might have gone.
Even he, a skeleton with no physical means of acting on such desires, could still feel worldly attraction when faced with a beautiful NPC who obeyed him absolutely.
Then what about Lucien?
Lucien was a perfectly normal human man with a complete flesh-and-blood body.
And judging by the kind of life he had lived before coming here, his real-world circumstances probably had not been much better than Ainz’s.
A single man who had been alone for a long time.
A beautiful woman with an exceptional figure.
A gentle personality.
A maid who would obey any order he gave without hesitation.
What would a man like that do?
Various possibilities immediately appeared in Ainz’s mind.
“No, no, no!” A dense green glow erupted around him.
His emotion suppression activated and forcibly erased the inappropriate images from his thoughts.
But the anxiety remained.
During their conversation, Ainz had told Lucien not to trample on Yuri’s dignity.
Lucien had promised not to send her to her death or abuse her position.
But that was not what Ainz was actually worried about!
Yuri was a battle maid above level fifty.
In a world where even a low-tier angel could injure the man regarded as the Kingdom’s strongest warrior, Ainz was hardly worried about Yuri encountering mortal danger as long as she did not make recklessly aggressive decisions.
What terrified him was the possibility that Lucien would politely agree with everything he had said, end the call, and then immediately take Yuri to bed.
And because of Yuri’s underlying NPC mentality, combined with the instructions Ainz himself had given her that afternoon, she might not resist at all.
She might even cooperate willingly.
The moment Ainz imagined what Yamaiko would think if she learned that the daughter she had personally created had been handed over by him to another man as that kind of maid…
Ainz clutched his skull again and writhed miserably across the enormous bed.
“What kind of idiotic thing have I done…?” At the time, he had simply thought Lucien was an exceptionally powerful player worth building a relationship with.
They were both people transported from the same world, which created a natural sense of familiarity between them.
Lucien had also given him money for nothing.
Sending a maid to assist him had seemed like a good way to demonstrate sincerity while helping with his daily life.
Ainz had approached the entire situation with the mindset of one player giving another player useful equipment.
But now that he had time to think about it…
Yuri was a living person.
If Lucien actually did something with her, could Ainz become angry with him?
Could he really object?
No.
Ainz himself had sent her there.
And Ainz himself had just told Lucien to give her whatever orders he needed.
If Lucien truly failed to respect Yuri, then as Guildmaster, Ainz would have personally delivered something precious created by one of his friends straight into danger.
“Lucien…” “You’re an elite mercenary player that major guilds would have competed to recruit.” “You’re a professional with standards.” “And in this world, you have countless other options.” “You shouldn’t be…
that desperate, right?” Ainz lay on the bed staring at the magnificent chandelier above him, muttering to himself.
Green light flashed across his body.
Then vanished.
Then appeared again.
One moment, he convinced himself that Lucien was a decent man who would honor his promise.
The next, he remembered that Lucien was still a man, and that in a world with no social restraints, temptation might prove difficult to resist.
That unbearable mixture of anxiety and regret kept Ainz turning over and over on the bed throughout the night.
The Supreme Ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The Sorcerer King of Death.
A terrifying being whose power could make the entire world tremble.
And yet he spent the entire night tormented by an embarrassingly ordinary concern he could barely bring himself to say aloud.
By the time morning arrived and artificial sunlight shone through the magical windows of Nazarick, Ainz was still lying flat on the bed with red light burning in his eye sockets.
Completely motionless.
Like a skeleton that was actually dead.
(To be continued.)