Following Keno's departure, Vahn invited Lupica and Fauxregina into his tent, where he couldn't help but exhale a weary sigh.
"Auwauwaa...I caused Lord Vahn to sigh. Lady Lupusregina is going to string me up and gut me..." Lupica whined softly, her eyes tearing up as she floundered her hands uncertainly.
"Speaking of Lupusregina, how has she been?" Vahn questioned, making his way over to the tea station.
Transforming into a petite girl with short, somewhat feathery white hair, pastel blue eyes, and a long, braided ponytail, the Greater Doppelganger took a knee, bowed its head, and answered, "Lady Lupusregina tasked us to give you her regards and to apologize on her behalf. She would have liked to be here herself, but her mission in the Beastman Country is taking longer than anticipated..."
"Beastman Country..." Vahn muttered to himself, his eyes flashing gold and narrowing thoughtfully. What he had been told was that the Pleiades were recruiting personnel to expand Nazarick's service and administration corps. Forty-one Homunculus Maids weren't nearly enough to staff Ainz's new castle and Nazarick, so they were aiming to increase their number to at least two hundred.
'That explains why she hasn't contacted me directly...' Vahn noted with a mix of relief and concern. The Message Spell and Scrolls had an effective range of 1,000km and couldn't pierce dense metals or completely sealed chambers. The Beastman Country was more than 1,500km away from the Royal Capital of Re-Estize, separated by the lands of the Baharuth Empire, the Wyvern Rider Federation, and the Draconic Kingdom. At that distance, any messages between him and Lupusregina would naturally have to pass through at least one additional person.
"Given your presence here, I presume that preparations for my and the Blue Roses' visit to E-Rantel have been completed...?" Vahn questioned, carrying a tray of hot tea, sugar cubes, and snacks over to a kotatsu-style table.
"Lord Vahn presumes correctly..." confirmed the Greater Doppelganger, bowing her head even lower.
"Enough of that. Come, sit," Vahn instructed, prompting Lupica and the Greater Doppelganger to join him under the kotatsu, the former looking more than a little nervous and the latter modeling a calm, almost robotic expression.
Preempting further discussion, Vahn met the impassive, seemingly lifeless gaze of the Greater Doppelganger and asked, "How should I address you in this form?"
"Like other summoned units, my kind do not possess individual names. If Lord Vahn would vest me with one, I would readily go by it. Otherwise, my species shall suffice..." stated the Greater Doppelganger, utterly devoid of inflection or feeling.
"How about Blanche...?" Vahn posed, causing the Greater Doppelganger's brows to rise as he explained, "In French, it traditionally means white, fair, blank, and pure. For a being that is basically a blank slate, it suits you and your current appearance well."
"Though I am unworthy, I accept the name vested to me by the Supreme Being with gratitude and humility..." Blanche stated, placing her right hand over her heart, closing her eyes, and bowing her head.
"Uuuuoooh! Congratulations, Blanche...!" Lupica exclaimed, clapping the tips of her fingers together.
Raising her head, Blanche allowed a faint smile to grace her lips, making it clear she appreciated receiving a name. Incidentally, she was the eighth Greater Doppelganger that Vahn had named, causing him to wonder if the reason new Doppelgangers appeared before him was to receive names of their own.
"I pray it serves you well..." Vahn hummed, nodding. Then, while calmly pouring himself and the two petite women cups of tea, he asked, "Now, tell me. Why has Demiurge sent the two of you here? What is he plotting this time?"
Crossing her forearms to make an X, Lupica hastily exclaimed, "Lord Vahn is mistaken! I...I don't know about Blanche, but I'm here at the request of Lady Lupusregina! She felt suuuuper guilty about leaving you unattended, so she sent me to serve you in her place! Lord Vahn just needs to give me an order, and I'll do anything he asks! Anything at all!"
"Alright, let's dial it back just a bit. I don't mind high-energy women, but I feel like you're going to pass out from high blood pressure..." Vahn stated, exhaling a soft chuckle.
"Hmmnnnngh...how embarrassing..." Lupica whined cutely, squeezing her hands between her thighs and blushing to the tips of her faux ears as she hung her head in embarrassment.
Observing Lupica from the side, Blanche gave the impression that she was analyzing the ruddy-haired Lycanthrope's behavior before meeting Vahn's gaze and confirming, "Lord Demiurge did entrust me with several requests for Lord Vahn. But he also wanted me to emphasize that it is up to Lord Vahn whether he wants to accept or abide by them."
"Oh? What requests...?" Vahn asked, his curiosity piqued. He wasn't the biggest fan of Demiurge, but he couldn't deny that the devilish man was clever and capable. If it weren't for his twisted personality and theatrics, he would be an ideal strategist and advisor to Ainz...
Spurred by Vahn's query, Blanche went on to lay out Demiurge's plan for his arrival and reception. The devilish strategist wanted the event to be as high-profile as possible, both to reinforce Ainz's status as a god-like being and to effectively announce his existence to the world. In other words, he was being asked to put on a show, elevating his status as high as possible before recognizing Ainz as his equal...
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[January 5th DxD/August 28th DBT]
"Alright, I need to go and prepare breakfast. Come and join us once you've cleaned yourselves up. And remember, the Blue Roses are our allies. Do not treat them harshly or talk down to them for being human..." Vahn reminded, giving Lupica a few more deep and reformative thrusts before pulling out of her, allowing her to fall onto her side with a glazed-eyed, thoroughly contented expression.
"Lord Vahn is the best...a dragon among men..." Lupica sighed sensually, retracting into a fetal position and coiling her fluffy tail between her thighs and around her left hip.
"Please, allow me to be of assistance..." Blanche expressed, rising from where she had been lying limply, her slender body moist with sweat and her short white hair a complete mess.
"Mmn...if you insist..." Vahn conceded, producing a change of clothes and a bucket of warm, soapy water so that Blanche could wipe him down and help him get dressed. He could clean himself and equip his clothes within a few seconds, but since he could sense that Blanche really wanted to be of assistance to him, he allowed the naked Greater Doppelganger to do as she felt compelled.
"Lord Vahn's form is truly god-like..." Blanche sighed, kneeling behind Vahn, her warm breath tickling his left shoulder before her lips pressed against it, lingering for several seconds. She then ran an inordinately long and crimson tongue along his shoulder and up the side of his neck, but as he knew women with even longer tongues, Vahn didn't so much as bat an eye as he calmly inquired, "What about yours? Where did you acquire that appearance?"
"It is the appearance of a well-known Quest-giver that existed back in YGGDRASIL. It was made to fool invaders into thinking they had stumbled across a hidden event or Quest, causing them to lower their guards before my kin ambushed them..." Blanche explained coolly, switching from licking Vahn's body to carefully cleansing it.
"That suggests you were an important component of Nazarick's defenses. Good job protecting it until now..." Vahn hummed, causing Blache's hands to pause.
"Is something wrong? Your hands have stopped..." Vahn noted, his tone naturally deep but soothing as he glanced back at Blanche over his left shoulder.
Adopting the faintest of smiles, Blanche resumed her scrubbing as she confessed, "Forgive me...it's just that I have never received such casual, straightforward praise. I'm not sure how to respond, as I was ultimately just fulfilling the responsibility granted to me by the Supreme Being who created me..."
"And who would that be?" Vahn asked, knowing how excited the former NPCs of Nazarick got when discussing their creators.
"It was Lord Tabula Smaragdina..." Blanche revealed, her tone gaining a hint of wistful longing. Meanwhile, Vahn couldn't help thinking, 'Another? Just how many NPCs did Tabula create?'
By Vahn's count, Blanche was the forty-seventh NPC that Tabula had created, not counting generic, mass-produced summons. Most former members of Ainz Ooal Gown had one or two NPCs credited to them, so, even though they had never met, Vahn could tell that Tabula had been a vitally important member of the group.
'But if Tabula was the one to create her, there must be something wrong with her...' Vahn surmised. Based on what he had heard from Ainz and his own observations, Tabula had a pattern of creating complex backgrounds and personalities for NPCs, only to tack on a meta comment at the end to completely change how they were seen. Albedo, for example, was crafted to be a nearly flawless beauty who left little to be desired. But at the very end of her profile, before Ainz replaced it with Albedo being madly in love with him, Tabula had tacked on, 'Incidentally, she is a massive slut,' as the final line of text.
As he didn't want to be crass or rude, Vahn resisted the impulse to ask Blanche directly if she had any abnormal traits or compulsions. Instead, after a moment of deliberation, he stated, "When you arrive at the dining tent, you should appear in this form, not Lupusregina's. I will explain that she needed to leave again and that you and Lupica were left behind to fill in for her as secret members of my Party..."
"Is that okay? My mission was to fill in for Lady Lupusregina..." Blanche muttered, her heart beating a little faster in her chest. She didn't usually get excited, but the prospect of traveling alongside and serving Vahn as herself made her chest tighten and her recently plowed pussy quiver with anticipation.
"It will be fine," Vahn asserted, revealing, "Ainz previously put forth the idea of assigning a Greater Doppelganger to serve as my stand-in in case I need to act or move freely. It wasn't necessary at the time, but after this little charade is over and done with, there may be times when I have need of a Greater Doppelganger's services..."
"The only thing that could make me happier is serving Lord Ainz himself..." Blanche expressed, wrapping her arms around Vahn's neck and pressing her modest but springy breasts to his back. Then, as she didn't know how else to articulate how she was feeling, she began licking his cheek, slowly and methodically, with her eyes closed.
'Is her quirk that she likes licking things...?' Vahn wondered. Fortunately for Blanche, he was accustomed to being licked and groomed. The only peculiarity was that her tongue was wet and slimy, contrasting the rough and dry-feeling tongues of Koneko, Kuroka, Yoruichi, Ghislaine, and quite a few others...
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With Blanche's assistance delaying his departure by nearly a full hour, Vahn arrived at the dining tent with her and Lupica in tow, drawing the gazes of everyone within. This naturally included the five members of Blue Roses, but as it was around the time he typically served breakfast, Princess Renner and Climb were also present.
"Hey, Vahn! It's about time you showed up! We were starting to worry," Gagaran greeted, raising her right hand and grinning. Lupica and Blanche frowned at her overfamiliarity, but as Vahn had made them promise to be civil and not antagonize people as members of his Party, they didn't lash out.
Seeing Gagaran in her silver-grey Valkyrja armor, Vahn couldn't help but raise his brows and comment, "I see you've had the opportunity to try on your new armor. It really suits you."
"You think so...?" Gagaran asked, bashfully caressing the back of her head with her left hand as she remarked, "To be perfectly honest, it feels a little too high quality. I haven't been able to dent or put a scratch on it, and it's so light, it feels like I'm wearing nothing at all..."
"You'll get used to it," Vahn stated frankly. Then, meeting the observant, ever-smiling gaze of Princess Renner, he gave her a curt nod and added, "And good morning, Princess. I apologize for the delay in my arrival, but I had some last-minute matters to attend. That aside, allow me to introduce everyone to the remaining members of my Party..."
Though Princess Renner had opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, she closed it and remained silent as Vahn carried out quick introductions for both sides. Keno was notably standing off to the side at the start of the interaction, posing with cross-armed pout. But when Vahn waved her over to join him at the head of the table, she blinked in surprise and joined him with reddened cheeks, spurring Gagaran to laugh loudly at her expense...
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