The 9th floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, also known as The Royal Suite, was a luxurious place full of different facilities designed by the members of Ainz Ooal Gown.
The personal rooms of the 41 members were on it, as was a casino, a spa, a bar, and even a canteen.
But even among these facilities, the Yamaiko Shrine stood out for its bold concept and peculiar name.
This was a Shinto shrine made as a joke by the members of the guild due to the strange luck that Yamaiko, one of its 3 female members, had when using the gacha pull in the game.
In Yggdrasil, most cash items could only be obtained through the gacha, a cruel game that had left Momonga in despair more than once.
His poorly disguised addiction left him powerless in front of this bottomless pit that ate his hard-earned money and spat out anything but the item he wanted. The amount of money he spent when trying to get Shooting Star used to make him grit his teeth in frustration, so when he heard that Yamaiko got it on her third try, he couldn't quite force himself to be happy for his friend.
But this wasn't an isolated incident, and as she consistently showed incredible luck with the gacha, some members decided to prank her by creating a shrine that worshiped her as a goddess of luck.
Not knowing the history behind this place, Increment, one of the 41 homunculi maids, and an NPC created by Yamaiko, came once again to this shrine.
She held a book in her hands, gracefully turning the pages as she continued to read. There was so much care in the way she handled the book that one would be excused to think that this was her most prized possession, but the truth was that this was simply how one should handle something belonging to the Supreme Beings.
So in the end, they both died, huh?
Today was her day off, a strange concept introduced by Ainz-sama in the days following the transportation of Nazarick into another world.
Increment was not overly curious about this new world. Her whole life had been limited to the 9th and 10th floors, something she didn't feel the need to change.
She was satisfied with her life. As long as she could serve the Supreme Beings, she would be happy, but she had to admit that after reading a few books from the library, she had been feeling a bit of curiosity towards the outside world.
This romance she had just finished, titled 'Romeo and Juliet', depicted an ill-fated relationship between two young humans from opposing factions who tried to keep their love a secret from their families, but in the end died from a tragic mistake.
She had to wonder why these two acted like that. If they thought their lover was dead, shouldn't they spend their time trying to resurrect them?
Were all humans this dumb?
But then again, there were no references to magic in the whole book, nor were there any races besides humans, so it was probably a fictional story that took place in another world.
If I were in Juliet's place, how would I act?
She caught herself having these strange thoughts, and it was oddly amusing.
She reached into her inventory, retrieved a notebook and a pencil, opened it to a blank page, and began writing down her thoughts about this book, including the changes she would like to see in it.
Maybe this is why Ainz-sama insisted that we pursue hobbies.
It was a sad day for all of them when Ainz called them to announce that, from then on, they would work at most 6-8 hours each day.
Many of her colleagues cried and whined to the point that Ainz compromised on 12-hour shifts, on the condition that they rested for another 12 hours afterward, which wasn't negotiable, as was the obligatory day off each week.
In the end, they could only obey, even if they didn't understand why their master was doing this to them.
In the days that followed, they all tried their best to adapt to this new reality of having free time.
Some went to play games or use the facilities on the 9th floor, while others tried their hand at needlework or other potential hobbies.
Increment didn't feel inclined to socialize outside of work, so she naturally felt drawn to the library, where she grabbed a book on a whim because the cover looked pretty.
She didn't put much thought into it, but after a few reading sessions, she got hooked on this hobby.
Reading had proven to be a very enjoyable experience. To experience the lives of these colorful characters made her feel as if she were going on adventures in different worlds.
Despite that, she had a problem with the books she read: they all ended.
Something about seeing these stories end out of her control irked her in a way she couldn't quite articulate.
A strange urge guided her towards rewriting these stories, tailoring them and their characters to her liking. In this way, this shrine, named after her creator, became a sanctuary where she could engage in this activity.
"Hey, In-chan!" She was interrupted by the sudden shout of a newcomer.
She stopped writing and placed the notebook at her side.
"Hello, Decrement, are you on your break?"
The newcomer was Decrement, an energetic girl with short blonde hair and tanned skin, whose vibrant blue eyes were always full of excitement.
Decrement could be called her sister, since they were both created by the same Supreme Being.
And, much like her, Decrement liked to come here to feel closer to their creator.
"Yes! I came to pay my respects to Yamaiko-sama before going to the spa with Galette and Foire. Do you want to come with us?"
"Maybe later. Right now I'm-" Increment looked to her right, then to her left.
She got up, looked at where she had been sitting, then turned to Decrement.
"What happened?" Her sister looked at her in confusion.
"My notebook is gone! I remember putting it right beside me when you came in, but now I can't find it." She could hear the panic in her own voice.
"Hum. Maybe it fell through a gap in the wood? Let me help you look for it."
They both began carefully searching through the shrine, doing their best not to damage this sacred place, but even after half an hour, they still couldn't find it.
"In-chan, continue searching here. I will find Yuri-nee and ask for her help; she should know what to do." Seeing no results even after so long, Decrement got up, leaving these words as she ran outside.
There's no need for that, was what she wanted to say, but her sister was already too far to listen to her words.
She was sad about the notebook, but she didn't want to impose on her sister, especially if it would trouble their elder sister, who should be busy with her duties as a Pleiades.
She turned back to searching for the notebook, wondering what could have happened to it.
As far as she knew, there were no traps or magic circles in the shrine, and she would know it, since she usually insisted on cleaning this place herself, so for something to go missing here made her think that someone might have interfered, but why would someone do that?
It was only her personal notebook after all, why would someone be interested in that?
As she continued to search while dealing with these doubts, she was once again interrupted by a visitor.
Only this time, the visitor's identity was too shocking.
At the door, she saw Decrement with a nervous expression following behind the Supreme Being, Ainz Ooal Gown.
***
"Do you have anything on you that has come in contact with your notebook?"
Ainz asked the nervous maid in front of him.
"I-I have this pencil here, Ainz-sama."
"Thank you, Increment." He smiled, which made the girl blush.
Increment may look outwardly cold, but he found this shy appearance of hers quite cute.
He had run into Decrement while moving to the Throne Room with Emilia and, after learning about the situation, decided to come help her out.
There was some protest from the girls, mainly that this activity was beneath him and that they were not worthy of his help, but he paid it no mind.
Ainz held the pencil in his palm and cast [Locate Object].
He felt that the notebook was on the roof, so he flew up and grabbed it.
Flipping through the pages, he saw many notes written by Increment about a few books he was not familiar with.
He stopped at the last page and turned to her.
"You want to rewrite Romeo and Juliet?" On the last page was a schematic of the play's plot.
Everything was organized, with bullet points for the acts and characters, as well as what should be changed to improve the story.
It was surprisingly detailed.
"No, no, I-I wouldn't dare to change a book belonging to you, Ainz-sama. I was just having a bit of fun with a thought experiment."
"Hum. You seem to be making a mistake here, Increment. This book may belong to Nazarick, but we only collected it; it doesn't have a special relevance to any of us, so you don't need to be so reserved with this."
In the game Yggdrasil, there was data on many things, including most, if not all, public domain books available by the year 2138.
They were easy to acquire, so they got thousands of them to fill their library, purely for its aesthetic value.
But for Increment to be interested in fanfiction. I guess it's to be expected.
"Feel free to create stories based on these books. Your creator, Yamaiko, used to do this all the time, so I think you inherited it from her."
"Yamaiko-sama did?" The two sisters looked at him in surprise, while Emilia only looked confused.
"Yes. Writing about the stories she liked was one of her hobbies, and she was quite famous in her area."
He remembered when she accidentally sent the link for one of her fanfics in the group chat and was ousted as a fanfic writer.
He had clicked on it out of curiosity, only to find that she was really into BL and had even written a fanfic in which he, Peroronchino, and Touch-me were in a love triangle.
It was quite an eventful night for all of Ainz Ooal Gown.
And the worst part was that thousands of people read it and were shipping them in the comments.
There was some awkwardness between them for quite a while after that, but there was no need to explain that to the NPCs.
The two maids had a shine in their eyes that he could not bring himself to destroy.
"You all seem to have inherited different things from her."
"Increment, you seem to have inherited her passion for studying and for storytelling."
"Decrement, your personality closely resembles hers. She was always a cheerful and direct person."
"Yuri Alpha, on the other hand, seems to have inherited her professional side. For you see, she was a teacher who cherished her students but also commanded their respect. In Ainz Ooal Gown, she was something of an older sister for most of us."
"In any case, I encourage you to continue doing this if it brings you joy." He returned the notebook and bid them farewell.
The Yamaiko Shrine wasn't a big area, so it didn't take long for them to leave it behind, but at the entrance, he found a kneeling Lupusregina with Yuri Alpha standing right behind her.
It seems the news reached them.
"Forgive me, Ainz-sama!" The kneeling girl yelled as soon as he approached her.
Her head was kept lowered, so he couldn't see her expression, but by the trembling of her shoulders and the sniffing sounds he was hearing, it was clear that she had been crying.
He felt a bit of pity upon seeing her like this, but he hardened his heart, letting his anger flare up.
"Oh? And what should I forgive you for exactly?" In response to his mood, the air around him seemed to solidify, casting an invisible pressure on everyone present.
Emilia gasped for breath behind him, while Yuri Alpha and Luspusregina Beta began to shake, with cold sweat flowing down their faces.
"I-I I stole Increment's notebook and hid it on the roof, bringing you trouble, Ainz-sama!"
Upon hearing this, he became even angrier. She simply didn't understand her mistake.
But educating her was also one of his jobs, so he reigned in his emotions.
"Lupusregina Beta."
"Yes!"
"Do you think of yourself as more important than Increment?"
"No, Ainz-sama!"
"No? Then, do you find your amusement to be more important than Increment's peace of mind?"
"N-No…"
"Then tell me, why did you do this?"
"I just thought it would be funny. I didn't think it would hurt her or anything."
"Funny?"
He suddenly felt that he couldn't even remain angry at this.
"Sigh."
He did know of Lupusregina's nature. She was a playful sadist at heart, someone who would take great joy in making others suffer.
While not as bad as someone like Demiurge or Shalltear, it was still something that could bring harm to others if not managed properly.
I need to find an outlet for her to spend these emotions.
The title of ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick didn't only bring him benefits, but it also made him responsible for all its citizens.
And part of this involved making sure that the evil tendencies of some of them did not bring harm to anyone in Nazarick.
"Look, Lupusregina. I won't tell you to stop doing this if it brings you joy, but be more mindful of the target of your games and where you do them. Increment is an introverted girl who was resting peacefully in a place full of significance to her, so this little joke of yours made her feel very distressed."
"As one of the Pleiades, your position is technically above hers, but to me, you're all children of Nazarick, so I don't want to see you hurting each other. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama, thank you for your mercy!"
"Hum. Now go to her and apologize for what you've done."
"Yes!"
And so the two Pleiades went to the Yamaiko Shrine while Ainz continued to move towards the Throne Room with Emilia behind him.
On the way, they saw many other maids, who respectfully bowed to him as he passed.
Whenever that happened, he tried to exchange a few words with them, which seemed to make them happy, but for some reason, Emilia began to look at him in a weird way.
After a while, he decided to ask her.
"Is there a problem, Emilia?"
"Oh! No, it's nothing. It's just that… I didn't expect to see so many human women here, and such beautiful ones at that." She seemed a bit embarrassed by her own words.
"They are very beautiful, aren't they?"
"Yes! I have never seen anyone so pretty before. Except for Lady Shalltear."
Lady, huh? It's good that she is already adjusting to her situation.
But I guess it's to be expected that she would find the maids surprisingly attractive.
All of the maids in Nazarick had immaculate appearances.
Their beauty was so exaggerated that the closest real-world equivalent would be supermodels enhanced by filters, all while featuring figures that even gravure idols couldn't compete with.
If memory didn't fail him, the designs of many of them were based on heroines of gacha games that had been popular at the time.
As such, their appearances were very diverse when it came to style and ethnicity, but without exception, they were beautiful women, which probably had more to do with the fact that Ainz Ooal Gown was a guild where the vast majority of the members were male.
Regardless, there was something he had to correct in Emilia's assessment.
"Despite their appearances, they're not human."
"Huh?"
"In fact, before capturing you guys, there was only one human in this tomb, but you didn't meet her."
"These regular maids are all from a race called homunculus. You could think of them as artificial humans created by some of my friends. Functionally, they are about the same as humans, but they need more food to function and are immortal, so you shouldn't go calling them humans; most of them would get offended if they heard you."
Most of the NPCs in Nazarick despised beings from the outside and held humans in contempt, so he figured that being called human would be seen as an insult by them.
"You created them? How?"
Oh, so this is the surprising part?
"Well, yes. I don't think you would understand even if I explained it to you, but everything you see here, from the people all the way to the furniture, was created by my friends and me."
He could remember those golden days following the conquest of this tomb.
Those were the best days of his life. Everyone was so focused on making this a special place that they all collectively lost themselves in the process.
For a few months, he didn't need to be himself; he could be Momonga, the guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, he could be part of something bigger than himself.
In the end, that was what this place represented to him. No matter how hurt he got by his friends' leaving, he still missed those days full of adventure.
It would be nice to go adventuring again…
Hum. That may not be a bad idea.
An idea began to take form in his head.
"Ah. But Lupusregina, whom you saw back there, is not part of the regular maids. She is a werewolf."
"A werewolf as a maid?"
"Is that surprising?"
"A bit, yes. Although I'm getting a bit numb from the surprises after these last few hours."
"Ha, ha, ha. I think I can understand that, but Lupusregina is a member of a group of battle maids called the Pleiades. And every one of them is from a different heteromorphic race, so you shouldn't be surprised by that. Here in Nazarick, she is considered a bit weak, but she could still kill all of your scripture without breaking a sweat, since she is a divine caster of the 8th tier, so be careful when dealing with her in the future."
The conversation continued until they reached the Throne Room.