How NOT to Summon an OVERLORD

CH.3

Momonga stood awkwardly beside Rem and Shera, looking at the blue-haired woman that entered their shared room. He glanced at both girls, and noticed that Rem did not act negatively to the magician's presence.  'So she knows this woman? Strange...'  he thought to himself.

He looked at the unnamed woman and readjusted his own posture to make himself look confident, compared to his internal anxiety that continued eating at him.  "May I ask who you are?"  Momonga said before tilting his skull.

"Of course."  the woman replied with a calm smile, but her eyes gleamed with curiosity. She glanced between Shera, Rem, and then back toward Momonga.  "However, maybe we should continue this conversation downstairs? I have a feeling there's an interesting story behind this..."

Momonga noticed the woman looking at Rem and Shera's necks, where their enslavement collars latched onto their throats. He instantly began to freak out, wondering if the woman had come here to remove him from Faltra. With a nervous gleam in his sockets, Momonga nodded at her.

'Let's get this over with'  he thought bitterly to himself.

♦ ♦ ♦

The four of them sat inside the bar of the Peace of Mind Inn, where a small gathering of people were relaxing with food and drinks. Momonga sat at one of the large tables with Rem and Shera using the chairs to his right. Sitting directly in front of the undead was the unknown woman.

Momonga's attention was drawn to the two humans in dark robes standing behind the female magician. They both stood against the wall with their wooden staffs sat firmly against the wooden floor. He noticed one of them glaring in his direction, but he decided to ignore it.

"Thank you very much for your time."  the woman said with a beautiful smile on her face. Although he felt nervous, he remained static and composed in front of an audience. The woman placed a hand on her chest.  "My name is Celestine Baudelaire. I cam her today because I have business with Rem, but I would love to hear about you two as well."

Shera's eyes widened after hearing the woman's name. She opened her mouth in shock, raised her hand toward her mouth, and exclaimed in excitement,  "You're the master Celestine from the Mages Association?!"

The woman — Celestine — smiled with a blush.  "Yes... I'm currently the head of the Mages Association in Faltra."  This earned a curious look from Momonga as he pressed a claw against the side of his fleshless jaw, which in turn earned him an equally curious glance from Celestine.

Rem turned to Momonga, sensing his intentions.  "Celes is the one who maintains the barrier that protects the town from the Fallen."  she paused.  "Although, monsters such as yourself are allowed through the gates, it seems."  The girl looked at the undead with an expecting look on her face.

"Hm."  Momonga grunted his thanks.

'So, Celestine is the one responsible for protecting Faltra.'  he rationalised before scratching his chin with gleaming, red points.  'But why is she here to speak with Rem?'  He glanced at the mentioned Pantherian, and struggled to think of a reason for them to know each other.

"In any case, I'm glad that you've finally made friends, Rem."  Celestine commented with another smile. She seemed to have a positive relationship with the girl, which further  inspired Momonga to uncover more about the Pantherian's secrets. He was becoming more curious.

Rem stared at the magician blankly.  "These two are not my friends. One is a powerful skeleton from another world, and the other one..."  She paused and narrowed her eyes at Shera, who stared back.  "Is just an extra. Try to ignore her. She's like mould on the wall with all that green."