Drama of the three ladies
In the past, when they were creating the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the forty-one guild members known as the Supreme Beings implemented all sorts of unique designs into each level. For example, the forest in one level, the glacier in another. It was akin to sealing ten unique worlds inside the Great Tomb.
So what was the unique theme of the ninth level?
If it had to be compared to something, the best example would be a sacred castle.
Within that level was the personal room of the one who supervised all of the Guardians within the Great Tomb — the highest-ranked of all the NPCs, the ‘Succubus of Pure White’ Albedo. Her room was one of the few presidential suite-like rooms reserved for the Supreme Beings. However, only one Supreme Being was left. Instead of a room, it would be more adequate to call it a home.
A professional-grade grand piano lay in one corner of the living room, and all sorts of plants decorated the interior.
There were multiple kitchens and bedrooms, and two bathrooms.
From the grand art features to the wallpaper, the room’s design was elegant, but not overwhelming.
Anyone who took in the sights might be so moved that they would sigh in awe.
Still, it would make impressing everyone just as difficult.
This was especially true now, given that beside the table covered in a white tablecloth was a girl with her arms crossed and her chin on the table. Her mood was anything but cheerful.
A cold brilliance resided within her half open eyes, but her depressed mood showed clearly through her beauty.
After entering this room, the vampire Guardian of the first to third levels, Shalltear, asked a question of her colleague, who had stayed in the same position all this while.
The one who answered wasn’t the dark elf Guardian of the sixth level, who was being queried, but the owner of the room, Albedo.
A gentle light shone through her golden pupils as she watched Aura with gentle eyes.
Although Albedo’s gaze was like being in the presence of a goddess, Aura did not look happy about being subjected to it.
“She must be tired. Unlike a devil like me, Aura is a dark elf, so sleep is necessary right?”
“I see!” Shalltear, who didn’t understand what Aura was really thinking about, nodded in agreement.
“……”
“I get it, Aura is still a kid, so it’s only normal that she looks bad after staying up all night … By the way, Albedo, devils don’t need to eat or sleep, but you can do so if you wish. Why is that?”
“Gluttony and sloth… We have always been able to indulge in the seven deadly sins of old. It is not very useful though.”
“The buff effects from food don’t work on devils. Even expensive items will just go into the trash.”
“Sigh.”
Aura sighed loudly enough for them both to hear.
The two of them, who were going off-topic, looked at Aura at the same time. Aura looked at them unhappily through her half closed eyes.
“It’s midnight right now, but I got enough sleep. I’m thinking about something else. Earlier when I met Demiurge, I was told ‘Aura, keep a tight rein on those two so they won’t go berserk’. How weird.”
Aura mimicked the serious tone of Demiurge, and the image of that serious Guardian of the seventh floor — a devil who often worked outside of Nazarick on Ainz-sama’s orders — came to their minds.
“Yup, that is weird.”
Albedo nodded in agreement.
“The only one who can hold my reins is Ainz-sama~♥”
“… Huh?”
“Ahh, you are right ~arinsu.”
Ignoring the confused Aura, Shalltear voiced support for the opinion.
“Holding a whip in one hand while riding on top, that’s the best ~arinsu. And as the whip lashes out— Ah! There has to be a ball in the mouth ~arinsu.”
Their conversation is heading in a weird direction, a pervert meeting another pervert might trigger something bad. Can someone please deal this?
That will probably be me, Aura concluded grimly, speaking out before the blushing Albedo with her wavering eyes could comment.
“… You got it wrong! Or rather, what he meant was for me to babysit you two. But why me?”
“That’s right, isn’t it weird to give the responsibility to you, who is the youngest here? I know, how about letting me take on this job!”
Albedo stuck her chest out as she was saying that. Shalltear did the same as if to oppose her.
Seeing the ample bosom that didn’t match Shalltear’s apparent age, Aura understood its true nature and felt sorry for her.
“Erm… Doesn’t that feel uncomfortable?”
“Uncomfortable?”
Aura who asked the question drooped her shoulders weakly, sighing like a middle aged man.
“Nah, never mind. Anyway, why did you ask us to gather here?”
“That’s true ~arinsu, I don’t know why too. What happened ~arinsu?”
“Actually… I have something I need to discuss with everyone.”
Normally, the highest ranking NPC, the Guardian Overseer, would only summon the Floor Guardians for matters of highly important matters.
That, however, was what an uninformed person would think.
Aura, who understood Albedo’s nature, averted her eyes and reached for a triple layered cake, sparkling with silver light at a corner of the table.
She stuffed the large piece of cake made by the head chef into her mouth as a means of escaping reality. Aura knew this trip to Albedo’s room was a waste of time and consoled herself in this way.
“Wait, Aura, are you listening?”
“Yes yes, I’m listening, just spit it out.”
Aura didn’t stop her hands, slowly filling her plate with cakes, taking care to not let them fall over. If they did, she wouldn’t be able to squeeze the whipping cream onto her plate.
“You are not taking this seriously at all…”
Albedo’s tone was displeased, and Aura stopped as she became aware of her companions. She certainly hadn’t stopped because her plate was full.
“You can discuss with Shalltear too, right… What a pain, really. Well, what’s the matter?”
“Actually, it is about my armour.”
“Armour? What is wrong with it ~arinsu?”
“Before I begin, I would like to understand how much you know about my armour.”
Aura and Shalltear exchanged looks briefly and said:
“The armour created by a Supreme Being?”
“I heard that is the only Divine-class magic item you possess, ~arinsu.”
Magic items were categorized according to the amount of data they held — in other words, the magic power of this world. Starting from lesser-class, medium-class, greater-class to the highest class of items, Divine-class.
“Yes, both of you are right. My armour ‘Hermes Trismegistus’ is a Divine-class magic item. However…”
Albedo took out a sturdy and tough-looking suit of black armour out of thin air.
The armour stood beside her with a soft metallic clang.
“Shalltear, you can use item appraisal spells, right? Could you cast them on this armour?”
Shalltear stood up from her seat and walked towards the armour. She activated her magic, but frowned right after that.
“What the…” she coughed. “It is a Divine-class item, but the performance is… Could it be, ~arinsu, it was enchanted with magic disruption spells ~arinsu?”
“No… My armour specializes in physical defence, but has no other abilities.”
Aura felt that this was really troubling.
Since Albedo had the role of a tank in combat, she had to fend off the opponent's’ attacks and thus she was focused on defense. However, having no other abilities would be a problem too. For example, resistance against fire or ice, or general resistance against magic. There could also be other useful abilities, such as strength enhancement or reduction in mana consumption. Compared to pure stats enhancement, such abilities would be stronger, but…