I spend the rest of the evening and even well into the next morning in some sort and dream-like trance.
I scope out every nook and cranny of Nazarick, meeting other NPC's I forgot even existed, but who's existence excites me nonetheless, and otherwise trying to experience the Tomb to the fullest.
I crash hard when I finally rest on the second day -probably slept about fifteen hours- but as soon as I open my eyes and come face-to-face with Damien's inches away from mine, adrenaline spikes, and spikes hard as I bolt up in bed.
"Wha -Damien-"
"I apologize for disturbing your rest, Lady Ryoko," his smooth, deep voice doesn't help clear my muddled thoughts as he remains on one knee, a clenching fist on his heart. Although the cloth still obscures his eyes, his heavy gaze feels as if it's seeing into my very soul.
I swallow the lump in my throat. "It's fine, but, ah, how long where you there, exactly?" I squeak, and hating myself for it.
"Not nearly long enough," he purrs. "It's my deepest regret that I was unable to complete my task quicker."
'Naila, you dummy!' I think despertely to myself. 'Why'd you have to go and make him a yandere? Why?!"
A nervous laughs escape me, and I pull the blankets tighter around me. Despite the nightclothes that one of the homunculi maids provided for me, Damien has an uncanny way to make me feel naked. Speaking of...
I spare a quick glance to the homunculi maid -Fifth?- who insisted to stay in my room as I slept, for whatever godforsaken reason I would need her as I slept. Sitting on a chair in the corner, she tilts her head at me, blinking and smiling as if silently asking what I need.
I'm going to have to talk to them about letting Damien in without permission...
"Just wait outside next time, okay?" I tell Damien awkwardly.
He frowns, lips pursing in displeasure. "Is this an order?" he asks me.
"Yes."
The frown deepens, but he reluctantly inclines his head. "As you command, my Lady."
"Great, now that we understand each other -what did you find?"
Straightening, Damien reaches into his inner cloak pocket and hands me a hand-drawn map. I'm careful to avoid his fingers as I take it. Damien goes on to explain what he and his underlings where able discover in the hours that they were gone, tapping the territories on the parchment as he does so.
Apparently we've popped up somewhere close to what's called to the Great Tob and the Azerlisa Mountains by the locals, the locals being the bordering RE-Estizes Kingdom on the west, the Slane Theocrecy on the South-West, Baharuth Empire on the East, Katze Plains on the South-East.
The nearest settlements are a few days travel on horse, all of them tiny, "meagre" villages. However, they all belong to the RE-Estizes Kingdom, and the nearest city is called E-Rantal.
"Is that all of the territories?"
"Forgive me, but we are still gathering intel further away."
"I see..." I frown, mulling the report over in my head. "Well, as you do that, I want you to also find out what the human's relationship with non-humans is in the different territories -wait, are there even non-humans in this world?" My eyes widen at this train of thought, multiple possibilities running and trampling over each other inside my head. "Okay, okay, so first find out if there even are non-humans, then if there is, what kinds, how powerful they all are -including humans- and what their relationship with each other is like."
'Also, we should probably hide Nazarick in the meanwhile...' I chew my bottom lip, a heavy feeling settling in my gut. I should've hid Nazarick in the beginning. Is it too late to do so now? 'Are we going to be accused of illegal immigration or trespassing if found?'
"Damien, get Demiurge and Albedo here," I order.
"At once."
Fifth (-'gotta give the normal maids better names than simple numbers some point soon'-) swiftly opens the door for Damien, but not before Damien steals the chance to grab my hand and kiss it. Stunned by the act, I don't get the chance to defuse him as he disappears.
I shiver as I rub the phantom kiss away, steeling myself to not let it repeat. Ever. "Fifth, where are my clothes?" I ask her.
She perks right up. "My apologies, Lady Ryoko, but the damage done from your training yesterday is still being mended. However, a few of the other maids have sewn a few outfits befitting of your station while you rested."
'So they were able to make new clothes from scratch, but not completely fix the first one...?' Nonetheless, I decide not to argue, seeing as I would need more clothes other than my armer sooner or later. "Alright, can I see them then?"
"I would be our honour! Oh, but would Milady like to have a bath first?" She asks eagerly.
"Sure."
To be honest, I almost forgot how much everyone seems to worship me and the other 'Supreme Beings,' and all the expectations and implications attached to this fact. I thought it would be a simple matter to just bathe myself while Fifth went and got the new clothes.
However, my naivety is swiftly corrected as six other level one maids comes flooding into my room with towels, different kinds of soap and manicure supplies, and a choice of either fluffiest or the silkiest robe in the universe.
After choosing the fluffy one, I'm escorted to the ninth floor's huge bathroom -and I do mean huge, the thing could easily be called a pool!- where it seems like a seventh person has already drawn the 'bath.' From there, they strip me and help me into the steaming water.
One person washes my hair while giving me a scalp message, while another sharpens my already deadly claws and a third works on my toes, this all being done flawlessly as I lounging in the water. My horns also get polished. Polished!
I admit, I could have probably stopped them if I really wanted, but the truth is that I don't. While all the bowing and self-deprecating attitudes makes me highly uncomfortable and awkward -guilty, even- neither can I deny that I've always wanted to go to a spa at least once in my past life. And if not now, when will I ever be able to experience such attention and spoiling as I am right this very moment?
While the maid that had washed my hair and polished my horns has now moved onto kneading my stiff shoulders, and the second maid doing something positively magical to my wings, and the third works on my right calf, Fifth who is standing by announces;
"My Lady, Lady Albedo, Lord Demiurge, and Lord Damien have arrived and are waiting outside. What should I say to them?"
"Mmmm?" I hum sleepily. It takes a second for the maid's words to click inside my muddled brain, but when they do I regretfully open my eyes and shift, forcing the third maid to let go of my leg. "Ah, sorry, tell them that I'll be out in a minute." Damien kissing my hand and watching me sleep unwittingly flashes through my mind. I sink a little deeper into the waters. "And please tell Damien thank you, but to carry on with my other orders."
'I'm going to have to find more reasons to keep him busy, and away from me...'
"Oh, please do not apologize to one such as my lowly self! It is my mistake for disturbing you!" Fifth hastily begs, actually looking distraught, as if she just committed some kind of grave sin.
'She probably thinks she did.' 'Sorr-" I cut off my automatic saying, feeling a tad sheepish now. "It's okay, you were only doing your job," I try to sooth her instead. "I appreciate you letting me know. Ah, I'm sor -that is, which ones are you again?" I ask the three maids attending to me personally.
"Thirteenth, Eighth, and Fourth, my Lady," the one above answers immediately.
"Right. Thanks for the care, but I guess I'll have to cut it a bit short today. I don't want to force the others to wait too long," I explain.
"I'm certain that no one here in Nazarick would consider waiting on you to be a burden!" Eighth assures me. "Please do not trouble yourself on any one of ours account!"
That doesn't exactly make me feel any better..."It's fine. I should get out anyways." I rise from within the bath, and Thirteenth and Fourth steps aside to allow me out while offering a hand. The three maids that had been standing by -including Fifth- works together to quickly but thoroughly dry me off, and afterwards I'm led to the dressing room attached to the bathroom.
It's there that six different outfits are presented to me. Four of them are dresses, which Fifth holds one up in particular against the full-body mirror for me to compare.
"What do you think of this one, Milady? I believe the gold would truly bring out your bewitching eyes," she compliments, grinning wide. Around me, the other maids seem similarly buzzed, itching at the chance to dress me with an unnerving fire in their eyes.
"Er, I'm no fashionista, but I'm pretty sure that's too much gold."
The entire thing looks as if it's been crafted out of melted gold, however thin the fabric appears as it wrinkles in Fifth's hold. The crimson lining on the hems doesn't help it, either...And while I do like the cut of the dress, having long trumpet sleeves, a wide v-neck collar, and with thigh-high slits, I can't imagine it ever fitting well with my current muscle. Garish colouring aside, it looks like it's meant more for some slender, dainty beauty in high society than my packed, wide-shouldered built.
More than one player has mistaken me for a man in YGGDRASIL from the back, only to correct themselves when I turn around and notice my face and breasts.
All in all, I don't think I'll ever be able to wear a fancy dress again unless I'm aiming to appear ridiculous. At least not in my dragoniod form, human is debatable.
Fifth and the other maids looks utterly crushed. "Does this displease you, Lady Ryoko?"
"The design is lovely, but it's not something I can pull off," I try to soften the blow.
"Lady Ryoko looks magnificent in anything! There is nothing your Ladyship could look less lovely in!"
I ignore the other maid's words, instead turning to the two outfits that aren't dresses or skirts. One resembles something a Prince would wear in a royalty fantasy novel, with the gold shoulder paddings and all, while the other I find myself more inclined towards.
For one thing, most of the gold is a separate decorative/armer and more pleasing to look at, circling the shoulders and inching its way to inclose the throat without barely touching in the middle, forming tiny little spikes on top and possessing holes shaped like leafs in the front.
The actual clothing is black and a cream-hued, the cream part forming a V on the chest area and gradually narrowing at it creates a fork-tongued flap past the crotch. Black covers the sides of the torso, arms, and the pants, with more gold lining where cream meets black, along with the same coloured metals on the elbow-creases with small patches of cream tucked inside, and lastly forming a complicated, curved and sharp belt at the hips.
The back of it is completely black aside from the gold belt and what you can see from the elbow-creases gear, with an open window on the shoulder blades for my wings, as well as a hole on my lower back for my thick tail.
The maids have even included shiny dress boots that fits my dragoniod feet, offering a cute kitten-heel as a bonus.
"That one," I point at it, and the maids give their -now customary- praise for my choice while helping me into it.
Once dressed and the maids have had their moment to gush and squeal at the final product, I order Fifth to allow the others in.
Albedo leads Demiurge inside, and I can't help but notice the tinge of red lining her eyes. Discreetly sniffing the air, it's clear that she had recently been crying.
"How may we serve you, Lady Ryoko?" Albedo humbly asks, with a fist on her heart as she bends at the waist briefly.
"And may I just add how stunning you are this splendid morning?" Demiurge tacks on, eyes gleaming as he copies Albedo.
I'm glad that my hard scales are able to hide the heat on my cheeks, resisting to give myself a second glance-over. "Thank you, Demiurge. I wanted to talk to the both of you to discuss our options of hiding Nazarick from outsiders. Do either of you have any ideas?"
"Fear not, my Lady, I have already thought ahead and taken care of it," Demiurge responds proudly.
I'm surprised, but pleased to hear it. "Oh? What did you do?"
"Taking our new surroundings into account, I had Nazarick hidden in plain sight with Mare's help to create other, smaller hills. This, along with a few illusionary spells and the mounds Mare casted on Nazarick's walls, I believe will be enough to confuse and turn around outsiders." He pauses, gauging my reaction as he slowly adds, "I hope I have not overstepped by doing so, Lady Ryoko?"
"Not at all!" I reassure him, clapping him on the shoulder as I smile. "You did great, Demi."
I feel the tension drain out of him, his grin becoming more genuine (-'Oh boy, it's a sight cute enough to melt a girl's heart!'-) as his tail wags behind him. He inclines his head. "I am unworthy of such praise, I'm only relieved that I was able to see and exceed the test."
I blink. "What test?" I wonder, baffled.
Now he becomes confused, hesitating. "Was it not a test? Did you not wish to see my capabilities, for me to think ahead and hide Nazarick without having to be explicitly told so?"
"Demi, no, I -it wasn't a test. There wasn't any kind of test. Why did you think it was one?"
There's a moment of awkward silence, the two of us staring at each other. And then he suddenly drops to one knee, head bowed in shame. "Forgive my assumptious behaviour! To think that I would be able to gain even a silver of hindsight into a mind of a Supreme Being-" he doesn't finish his sentence, but the air around him is heavy enough, shackling us both to where we stand. Or kneel rather, in the case of Demiurge.
"Shall I have him punished, my Lady?" Albedo asks me, unflinching to the situation before her.
"For what?" I gape. Like, the hell? What are even the two of them on? 'This is somehow worse than when they tried to kill themselves for accidentally hurting me a couple days ago!'
Albedo opens her mouth, but I stop her with a raised hand. "You know what? Don't answer that. Just, Demi-" despite waking up not that long ago, I already feel mentally exhausted "-Please get up. You don't need to apologize for this." I grab at his arm, hauling him back on his feet. He frowns, still looking lost on what to do. Well, that makes both of us. "You still did good to think ahead," I remind him. "I'm proud."
At that, the tips of his long ears promptly redden, and he glances away with newfound shyness. "Your thanks humbles me," he coughs into his other hand.
"Okay," I sigh. "Now that's taken care of -Demi, would you mind stepping out for a moment? I'd like to speak with Albedo alone. That goes for all of you," I add towards the silent maids behind me.
"Of course not, my Lady," Demiurge steps back so that he can bow like he did when he first entered, and then dismissing himself. The six maids follow closely behind, also showing due respect before leaving.
"Have I perhaps done something to offend you, Lady Ryoko?" Albedo wonders once the door has shut, shifting nervously with her hands clasped in front of her.
"You didn't do anything wrong," I reassure her, taking one of her hands in my own, squeezing it. "I was just wondering if something is upsetting you."
She frowns, brows knitting together. "I -my Lady? I'm afraid I don't quite understand your meaning..."
"I can tell that you've been crying," I tell her bluntly. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She flushes, fiercely. "Please do not trouble yourself with such trivalisty. My deepest apologizes if I have burdened you in any way due to my pathetic display -I promise you that it will never happen again, and that it will not hinder me as I carry out your will!"
I sigh again. "Albedo, please don't talk about yourself like that. If anything, it troubles me to not be able to help you, especially after everything you've done for me. But, of course, if you aren't comfortable with telling me...I don't want to force you, either."
She fidgets on her spot, tugging at her dress with her free hand and clasping my own in her other. After a long minute of weighting her choices, she finally whispers; "If I should be so selfish, would you mind indulging me for one question?"
"Of course! Ask me anything," I smile softly.
"Why did Lord Momonga abandoned me? Why would he have me love him if he was doing to leave? Why did all of the other Supreme Beings abandoned us? What did we do to deserve such a punishment?"
A small part of me wants to point out that's more than "one" question, but swelling tears in her large, imploring eyes stops any urge to tease her dead in its tracks. Instead, I feel a part of my heart breaking for the clear anguish shown in Albedo.
"Oh, honey," I murmur sadly as I pull her into a tight embrace. For a second I worry that I've overstepped since she's so stiff, but then in the next second she melts and clutches me back, sobbing into my chest. Although she's only a head shorter than me, I'm easily able to pick her up so that she sits on my lap when I lower myself. I rub her back, making soft shhhing noises, gently rocking her back and forth, and curling my tail around her hips for further comfort.
Once she's finally cried her heart out and is left with only miserable sniffles, I start explaining;
"First of all, Albedo, it is not your fault that the others left. It's not anyone's fault, do you understand?" I press my thumb on her cheek in order to wipe away a stray tear.
"B-But-"
I shake my head, cutting her protests short. "No. It's not your fault. Albedo, what I'm going to say next might be confusing, but try to stay open-minded, okay? And try to hold back your questions until the end."
She wordlessly nods, burying her face into my collar, the tip of her white horn digging into the soft parts of my scales behind my left ear. I take the moment to gather my own thoughts, trying to see how best to approach this delicate matter.
A delicate matter that I myself don't completely understand.
I clear my throat, resuming the soothing on her back. "Albedo, the truth is that the other 'Supreme Beings' and I aren't as...Magical as you and everyone seems to assume."
She stiffens all over again, head snapping up with her mouth open to argue. But she stops herself, lips pursing with the obvious effort it takes to remain silent.
I ignore this and continue; "We lived in a different world, which we called the 'real world,' or just IRL for 'in real life.' But in that world people were able to create entirely new, fake worlds and universes for amusement and monetary profit, and so sold the chance to visit these other realms for a price. YGGDRASIL, the world Nazarick was originally in, was one of these. The other Supreme Beings and I were 'players,' and created avatars to experience the world since we could not take our real bodies with us.
These avatars had a lot of limitations, like we couldn't smell, touch, or taste anything. But neither could we feel pain, grow sick, and any 'damage' our avatars took didn't transfer to our real bodies. Death didn't actually affect us, either, since we could simply re-spawn. Though we lost some levels when we did, and would have to work to get them back.
But the point is, Albedo, no one was 'alive' in YGGDRASIL aside from other players. NPCs..." I hesitate here, wondering if it's really for the best if I tell her this. But I can't think of another way, and she deserves some answers. So does everyone else. "We never thought our creations could ever be like us. You guys only acted on your settings, and only understood and followed a few select orders. We never considered the fact that you would be able to think for yourselves, or feel any emotions.
I know that the others put in a lot of care when they were creating you, and some may have loved you more than others-" here, I decide to fudge the truth, just a little, by skipping over how some of the guild members fell out of love for the game -"-But then the makers of YGGDRASIL announced that they were going to shut it down for good. Apparently they weren't making enough money for it, and the funding had been cancelled. Albedo, please believe me when I tell you that none of us wanted to leave Nazarick, least of all Momonga and I.
That day when Momonga and I sat on the thrones...We thought it would be our last in Nazarick. We felt absolutely terrible about it, but there was nothing we could do." I can't help but chuckle a little, full of irony. "To be honest, I don't even know how this all happened. One day, you and the NPCs are just cleverly crafted tools, and the next you're living, breathing, real people!"
I think about Shalltear, and all of the other undead residing in the Tomb. "Well, some of you are living and breathing at least, " I amend.
Albedo remains silent and tense in my arms, not that I expect this revelation to be easy to swallow in any way. But the silence grows on, to the point I wonder if I broke her. Then I realize that she's waiting for permission to speak.
"Ah, you can ask your questions now. I'm finished."
"I-Is that why Lord Momonga commanded I love him?" Albedo asks me, voice cracking. "H-He didn't believe I would actually feel it?"
"No, I'm sorry." I squeeze her tighter, for however little it may help in reality. "Trust me, he would have never done it if he thought it would actually hurt you, or even choose to remain in the real world if he knew there was the smallest possibility what he could stay here in Nazarick!"
She goes quiet again at this, a fresh wave of grief overcoming her. I comfort her to the best of my abilities through it all, until she's run out, sapped of all energy as she lays limp in my arms. "My Lady, would you rather we go back to how we were? When we could not move without explicit orders? Or speak at all? Would you prefer it if we were non-thinking, emotionless tools?"
"Oh, no, no, no, no-" I cup her face, tipping it up so that I can kiss her forehead. "Honey, no, I would never. I think the way you and the others are right now is much, much better!"
"Please don't ever leave us, Lady Ryoko," Albedo rasps, turning in my hold and clinging onto my neck piece desperately, body trembling. "W-We may pale compared to your home world, but we'll do anything -anything, you must only ask of it of us! Every fibre of our being belongs you! Our very lives -as many times as it takes! I-If we displease you in anyway -Please, I beg of you, don't leave us like the other Supreme Beings," she sobs. "Anything but that. Don't go to the Real World-! O-Or, perhaps, at least take us with you-!"
"Sshh, shhh," I pet her silky hair, resuming my rocking. "I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving you. I promise you. I'm here to stay."
I don't think I even could. But if given the opportunity, I'm not sure I would.
It may sound callous of me, heartless even, but my past life...It was not the best. As a corporate slave, and with a messy, sometimes toxic family...I had used video games and fantasy novels to often escape that reality, if only for a few hours. If someone were to present a portal to the old world right now...
To be perfectly honest, I think I would rather ask the person to close it.
It takes several more minutes of reassurance and promises before Albedo's desperate pleas and begging dies down, and even longer for the tremors to calm. Eventually, she wipes the tears from her swollen eyes and leans back far enough to look at me properly, gasping when she spots the wet stains she's left behind on my clothing.
A sudden gust of wind later, she's flown out of my arms, prostrating herself across from me, the jumbled butch of apologizes starting anew. "-I am unworthy! For this lowly servant to take advantages of your generosity, and to ruin your clothes-"
"Albedo, that's enough," I interrupt her sternly as I stand, hands on my hips and patience waning. "Enough. I'm not leaving, and I don't care if you got my clothes wet. So stop saying sorry, got it? Now, please stand up," I finish with a sigh.
She does so, sniffing and looking even more miserable than when she first arrived.
I sigh again, hands dropping. This is not how I wanted this to go. "I think you should lay down," I tell her in a more gentler tone. "Take a day off, rest, and let everything sink in."
"M-May I at least be allowed to first inform the other Guardians of what you have told me, my Lady?" She whispers, gaze downcast.
"Of course," I respond. "You can tell anyone you want in Nazarick. In fact, please try to spread the word."
'It'll help me so that I don't need to repeat myself,' I think to myself.
She nods her head, bowing at the waist. "Then, please excuse me, Lady Ryoko." She goes and opens a door, but hesitates at the last second. "Shall I call forth the maids?"
"Just Fifth, please," I answer as I try to rub away my budding headache.
'I haven't even been awake for a full four hours, and I already want to climb back in bed...'
I can already see that's going to be a long one ahead.