Leah's group maintained an unyielding tradition: after any major crisis, raid, or apocalyptic boss fight, they drank tea.
Thus, Lyla produced a folding table from her dimensional bag with practiced efficiency. Blanc retrieved a stack of fine, mismatched ceramic cups. Leah pulled a surprisingly high-grade tin of rare tea leaves from her inventory. Under the gentle, bioluminescent canopy of the World Tree, upon a patch of scorched grass Leah had originally cleared for spell testing, which Ainz had officially designated as a neutral diplomatic summit ground, a remarkably absurd feast began.
"I took the liberty of bringing Nazarick's finest tea service," a calm voice noted from the edge of the grove. It was Sebas Tian, the silver-haired butler of Nazarick, stepping through the dimming rift carrying an ornate silver tray stacked with teapots, his posture immaculately straight. "It would be improper for Lord Ainz's retinue to arrive at a diplomatic table empty-handed."
"Nazarick maintains vast reserves of every luxury," Albedo added, her chin lifted in quiet pride. "We simply... lacked the occasion to utilize them."
Ainz sat at the head of the table in a high-backed velvet armchair Sebas had fetched from Nazarick's stores. Leah took the seat at his right hand. Lyla sat at his left, wearing the exhausted expression of a woman who had been awake for thirty straight hours, survived two world-ending threats, and was still processing how she was alive.
Further down the long table, the Floor Guardians and the players had blended into a surprisingly harmonious, noisy circle. Blanc was giving Aura a detailed demonstration on how to properly scratch Burgundy's belly, a complex task given the hound's entirely skeletal structure. Mare was nodding earnestly, taking notes while Sugaru explained the sophisticated agricultural efficiency of her ant colony's fungal gardens. Shalltear had formally apologized to Blanc for nearly impaling her hound with her blood spear three separate times; Blanc had forgiven her each time, immediately asking if she could borrow the spear to try it out.
"A-Absolutely not," Shalltear huffed.
"I promise I'd give it back!" Blanc pouted.
"You would poke random objects with it!"
"...Maybe," Blanc admitted, looking away.
At the far end of the seating area, Shalltear had cornered Sugaru over the dessert platter.
"So your arms can morph into reinforced organic scythes?" Shalltear asked, leaning in with intense curiosity.
"Among other defensive adaptations," Sugaru replied politely.
"Show me," Shalltear demanded.
"Here? At the dining table?"
"A minor blade demonstration. Just the forearm."
Sugaru hesitated for a brief moment, then raised her arm. With a soft, organic click, her forearm shifted and re-formed into a gleaming, silver-black mantis scythe, slender and sharp as a crescent moon.
Shalltear gasped, her eyes gleaming. "That is... exquisite."
"Thank you," Sugaru said modestly. "Would you care to inspect the edge?"
"May I hold it?"
"It is physically integrated into my carapace, so I would prefer you did not attempt to detach it."
"Fair enough."
Across the table, Demiurge leaned toward Lyla. "Your sister possesses an extraordinary mind for tactical synergy."
"She does," Lyla said, sipping her tea. "Though don't tell her that. She gets embarrassingly modest."
"I intend to inform her at every available opportunity," Demiurge replied smoothly.
"Then she will eventually stab you. Very politely, of course."
"I would consider it an honor," Demiurge smiled, adjusting his glasses.
Midway through the feast, Aura tapped her spoon lightly against her porcelain cup.
"A toast!" Aura announced, clambering onto her chair, to Sebas's immediate, silent posture-stiffening alarm. "To Lord Ainz, who fought with unbelievable courage!"
"Hear, hear," Mare murmured shyly, clapping his small hands.
"And to the Queen of Destruction, who is also remarkably brave!" Aura added.
"Hear, hear!" Blanc shouted, pounding the table.
"And to the Queen Ant, who maintains exemplary manners!"
Sugaru and Cocytus immediately paused mid-bite and exchanged a low, perfectly synchronous bow across the table.
"And finally to Burgundy," Aura declared, "who has three skeletal heads and fought bravely with every single one of them!"
The grove erupted into cheers. Blanc leapt onto her chair, performing an absurdly dramatic theatrical curtsy that nearly knocked over an oil lantern.
Ainz lifted his tea cup. He could not actually drink from it, lacking both a digestive tract and a throat, but he held it high. When the laughter settled, he spoke in a low, resonant tone that reached every ear in the glade.
"I wish to offer my sincere gratitude to all of you," Ainz said. "For today. For setting aside differences and standing together. I am well aware that my actions are not always clear to you. I know I am not always the flawless leader you envision."
Albedo opened her mouth to passionately object, but Ainz gently raised a bony hand to quiet her.
"Yet I am profoundly grateful to be your Lord. And," he added, glancing sideways toward Leah with his glowing red eye-glints, "I am deeply glad that you permitted me the opportunity to make new friends."
The table fell silent. Shalltear sniffled loudly, wiping her eyes with a silk handkerchief. Demiurge removed his glasses to clean them, his hands unusually still. Cocytus stared stoically into the lantern flame with profound dignity.
"To Lord Ainz," Sebas said, his deep voice breaking the quiet.
"To Lord Ainz!" the entire gathering roared in unison.
"And to Leah," Lyla added dryly, raising her own cup, "who only wanted to test a simple mob fusion."
"To Leah!"
Leah immediately buried her face in both hands. "Stop it, please," she groaned, her voice muffled. "You're going to make me cry."
"Good," Lyla smirked softly. "Crying builds character."
Leah looked over at her sister, her composure dropping entirely. Beneath the grand title of Queen of Destruction, she looked small, infinitely grateful, and a little bit fragile.
"Thanks, Lyla," Leah whispered.
"Anytime, Lealea," Lyla replied gently.
The spatial rift, however, could not remain open indefinitely.
Ainz had recognized the reality from the beginning, and the chaotic collapse of the Philosopher's Egg had proven it beyond doubt: the longer the two distinct reality engines remained tethered, the more volatile the fabric of space would become. As the first faint light of dawn filtered down through the glowing leaves of the World Tree, the ragged white seam hanging between its roots began to thin.
The tea table fell quiet. Nobody wanted to be the first to say it.
"It is time," Ainz said at last.
The visitors from Nazarick gathered at the foot of the great roots, where the rift shimmered. Leah, Lyla, and Blanc stood on the grass of their own grove to see them off.
"Thank you for having us," Mare whispered in a tiny voice, looking up at Blanc. "Please... please come visit Nazarick too."
"I promise I will!" Blanc beamed. She squatted down and held out her pinky finger. "Pinky swear! Next time I'll bring Burgundy, and he can play with all your forest beasts!"
"Will... will they get along?" Mare asked timidly.
"Oh, Burgundy gets along with everyone!" Blanc assured him. "Even his middle nap head!"
Aura gave Blanc a tight hug, and Mare offered a shyer, quicker one. Blanc accepted both with absolute joy.
Nearby, Sugaru and Cocytus stood facing one another, executing a formal, deeply respectful insectoid bow.
"Until our paths cross again," Cocytus rumbled solemnly.
"May your carapace always reflect glory," Sugaru replied.
"And may yours remain unyielding."
Lyla and Demiurge offered no dramatic farewells. They simply shook hands, exchanging a sharp, knowing look, and both walked away holding a slim leather-bound notebook that had belonged to the other just moments prior.
"That... is going to cause immense geopolitical problems," Leah muttered under her breath.
"Undoubtedly," Ainz agreed.
Albedo and Shalltear were the last of the Guardians to step forward. They stood side by side in front of Leah, silent for a long moment.
"Queen of Destruction," Albedo spoke at last, her golden eyes steady. "I judged your character incorrectly."
"You judged me cautiously," Leah corrected gently. "That was your job."
"No, I viewed you as a threat to be purged," Albedo said, bowing her head deeply. "I see now that you are a genuine friend to Lord Ainz. I offer my sincere apology for my prior hostility."
"And... I apologize for my spear strike," Shalltear muttered, glaring intensely at the grass.
"It was a very impressive spear strike," Leah smiled. "It nearly took Burgundy's leg clean off."
Shalltear flushed red, then unexpectedly broke into a genuine grin.
"I hope," Albedo added softly, "that you will honor us by visiting Nazarick one day."
"I certainly intend to."
"And... that when he comes to your world, you will watch over him in our stead."
Leah looked at the succubus, seeing the vulnerable, fierce devotion hidden beneath her perfection. She stepped forward and took both of Albedo's hands in her own.
"He is incredibly lucky to have you," Leah said. "Both of you. He knows it, too. He's just not always great at putting it into words."
Albedo's proud composure cracked. She bit her lip, blinking rapidly to hold back tears, and bowed her head.
"Thank you," Albedo whispered.
A short distance away, a sudden, awkward clatter of bone echoed as Ainz, who had been listening in, abruptly spun around and began intensely examining the bark of a nearby treant.
One by one, the Guardians and Sebas filed toward the rift and waited at its threshold, until only the two leaders remained beneath the branches.
They stood side by side in the pale dawn light, the glowing canopy of the World Tree arching above them.
"So," Ainz said, breaking the silence. "This is where we part."
"This is it," Leah agreed.
"Are you not going to deliver a grand, dramatic farewell speech?"
"I assumed you were going to do that," Leah smirked.
"I am a skeleton in high-tier robes standing before an interdimensional gateway," Ainz noted. "My mere presence is inherently dramatic."
"Fair point."
"I could deliver an ominous prophecy," Ainz offered.
"Please don't."
"[We shall cross blades again, Queen of Destruction!]" Ainz boomed in his deepest, most theatrical voice.
"Okay, that was actually pretty good," Leah laughed.
"I rehearsed it internally," Ainz admitted.
"You don't even have facial muscles."
"I rehearsed it in my mind!"
Leah broke into clear, warm laughter that echoed softly across the grove.
"Thank you," Ainz said, his tone softening into genuine sincerity. "For being honest with me. For... ah... refraining from killing me."
"Thank you for not wiping me off the map," Leah smiled.
"It was a mutual courtesy."
"It really was."
They stood in silence for a moment.
"Will you be alright?" Leah asked quietly. "When you're back home? Dealing with the throne, the empire, and everyone expecting you to be an all-knowing god?"
Ainz looked down at his bony hands, silent for a long beat.
"I believe so," he said at last. "I think I shall attempt something new. I will try letting them see a small part of who I truly am. The part that hesitates."
"That's the best part of you, Satoru," Leah said gently.
"You only claim that because you were present to witness it," Ainz chuckled faintly.
"No," Leah smiled. "I say it because it's the truth."
Ainz looked at her. Then, slowly, he extended one gauntleted hand.
Leah took it, shaking it firmly.
"Thursday?" Ainz asked.
"What happens on Thursday?"
"I am told it is the universally accepted day for diplomatic tea," Ainz said.
Leah grinned brightly. "Then come back here, under the World Tree. I'll supply the snacks."
"Bring a substantial quantity," Ainz advised. "There will be eight of us from Nazarick."
"Twelve," Leah corrected. "Counting my party."
"Twelve," Ainz agreed. And for the first time since arriving in this foreign realm, the Overlord felt a genuine sense of warmth.
He released her hand and turned toward the rift. The Guardians were waiting for him in a silent semicircle at its threshold, every one of them staring at him with glowing, awestruck devotion.
"Lord Ainz," Albedo whispered, her hands clasped to her chest. "That was... the most breathtaking display of inter-realm diplomacy I have ever laid eyes upon."
It was just a handshake, Satoru thought.
"An absolute strategic masterstroke," Demiurge declared, bowing deeply.
It was literally just making a friend, Satoru thought.
"A monumental turning point in the history of the world!" Shalltear sighed in adoration.
It was just setting up a Thursday tea schedule, Satoru thought.
He opened his mouth to correct their wild assumptions, as he had so many times before.
Then he remembered Leah's words from earlier, spoken beneath this very tree: They love the guy underneath.
He closed his mouth. He took a breath, and tried something entirely new.
"I am not certain it was a masterstroke," Ainz said, his voice quiet and gentle. "I believe... I simply made a friend."
The clearing fell completely silent.
Then Albedo smiled, a smile softer and more genuine than any she had ever shown before, and bowed her head with profound reverence.
"Then that," Albedo whispered, "is the most magnificent outcome of all."
One by one, Ainz's court stepped through the rift, Sebas first, then the Guardians, with Mare glancing back to wave until the very last moment. Ainz went last. At the threshold he paused and looked back at Leah, who stood with her sister and Blanc beneath the glowing branches, one hand raised in farewell.
He raised his own.
Then the seam in space collapsed into a shower of harmless sparks and vanished, leaving only the scent of tea, a table full of mismatched cups, and the soft light of the World Tree.
"Thursday," Blanc said happily.
"Thursday," Leah agreed, smiling at the empty air. "Somebody help me find more snacks."