She suddenly produced a bottle of brown liquid. It was just like how the Sorcerer King took out objects.
As Neia watched in surprise, she opened the cap and inserted a straw. It was made of a bizarre material that looked both soft and hard at the same time.
She hoped that muddy liquid was not poison. It would be very distressing if she accidentally forgot that it was harmful to humans.
However, if she was really a subordinate of the Sorcerer King, then she would not be able to refuse. Neia emboldened herself and moved her tongue.
She took a mouthful of it, and swirled her tongue.
It was not as bitter as she expected, and it did not prickle like needles either―
It’s sweet!? What is this!
Neia took one mouthful after another. While it was sticky and needed some effort to suck up, it was cool, refreshing, and delicious.
“…Chocolate-flavored. Calories are a little high… around 2000. But don’t worry. Eating good food and getting fat is a long-cherished ambition for women, according to a certain great person.”
The change in tone made Neia peek at her face again, but she was still expressionless.
The words “great person” made her think of the Sorcerer King, but Neia had the feeling she was referring to someone else.
“…Want another?”
“May I?”
The maid demon probably knew that it would be a shame to finish it up in one go, and she took out another bottle.
Neia was also a girl ― although the Orcs had wondered if she was a female ― and it was hard for her to reach out for something that would make her fat. However, this drink was in a small container, which meant there was not much of it. Eating too much of anything would make one fat, so all she had to do was eat less at dinner to cancel it out.
I have no idea what these calories are or how much two thousand of them make, but she said it was a little, so it should be fine.
It was a sweetness that was completely different from that of fruits or honey. This time, she would savor the taste as she drank it.
She took a mouthful―
“Ah! No, that’s not why I came. I came to talk.”
“…Mm.”
The maid demon sucked on the straw and drank in the same way as Neia had, while her eyes signalled Neia to continue.
“Er, well, first, if you have a name, could you tell it to me? I’m Neia Baraja, but you can call me whatever you want.”
According to Evileye of Blue Rose, each individual maid demon was completely different from the others in terms of appearance and equipment. In fact, the maid demons she had seen behind Jaldabaoth at Caspond’s room were completely different from this one. Maybe there were different names for different types of maid demons, much like Goblins and Hobgoblins.
While there might not be a need to know its individual and race name, if the maid demon really was a subordinate of the Sorcerer King, then as a squire, it would only be polite to treat her with all due courtesy.
“…Puhaa. Shizu is fine. I’ll call you Neia.”
“Shizu, is it?”
Neia had expected to be addressed as “human,” so she was mildly surprised.
Is the maid demon’s personal name Shizu? Or is Shizu her race name? Well, both of them work for me…
“Is that your personal name?”
“…Personal name? An excellent question. Yes. Personal name.”
“Ah, forgive me. I don’t understand demons that well…”
“…Mm. Demons… huh. This… mm.”
Shizu seemed to be mumbling. Neia could hear all of it, but since she was talking to herself she decided not to take a jab at her.
“Alright then, Shizu. What can you do? Also, there were several maid demons, so why did the Sorcerer King choose you?”
“…I’m good at ranged attacks. Also because I was MVP (the best).”
“Best? Ahh, is that it? So at that time you were the most troublesome opponent, is that it?”
Shizu chuckled. That said, her face did not seem to change. However, Neia had sharp eyes, and she understood after observing her carefully.
There was a very slight change in her expression ― she seemed proud.
At the same time, Neia relaxed. It would seem she had not been easily controlled because she was the weakest.
“I can use ranged weapons too, but in turn I’m not good at close combat… We don’t have a frontliner.”
Shizu sipped her drink in silence.
“Got any ideas?”
“…What are we doing?”
“Infiltrating a city and rescuing a VIP.”
She could not mention the word Zern yet.
“…Then we need the ability to move stealthily. Better not to have a clanky frontliner making lots of noise.”
“Yes, that’s right.
“…Can you move quietly, Neia?”
“I had some training, so I’m probably better than before. However, I’m not fully confident in myself.”
“…Can you cast spells like 「Invisibility」 or do you have magic items that can do so?”
Neia shook her head.
“…I see. Work hard then.”
“Yes, I will. Then…”
Could she really trust Shizu? Could she believe that she was under the Sorcerer King’s control?
If Shizu was still a minion of Jaldabaoth and was pretending to be a subordinate of the Sorcerer King in order to spy on them, then telling her about him would be very bad. However, it was very likely that the Sorcerer King had wrested control of her from Jaldabaoth. In that case, not trusting her enough would be throwing away her best trump card.
And so, nervously and haltingly, she spoke.
“In this place, er, I have the duty of being the Sorcerer King’s squire.”
Shizu’s artificial, beautiful face did not move.
“…I heard. He said she had vicious eyes. And then he lent her a bow, which was runecrafted. Show me.”
Alarms blared in the corner of her mind ― Jaldabaoth had seemed quite interested in it as well. Still, if Shizu really was in the Sorcerer King’s employ, she would not be able to refuse.
Neia handed over her bow, and Shizu took it. However, she only glanced briefly at it before returning it to Neia.
“This is very good. You should let many people see it.”
She delivered the line calmly, so it felt like she was reading off something. However, she was probably imagining things because Shizu was not looking at the bow with interest. After all, she had spoken this way ever since she had first seen her.
“Thank you. Ah, yes. About what happens after the mission―”
Shizu held out a hand to interrupt Neia.
“You should let many people see it.”
Why is she so hung up on this? Shizu probably noted the bafflement on Neia’s face, and continued:
“He lent you an excellent runecraft weapon. You should spread the word of Ainz-sama’s greatness.”
The word Ainz made Neia twitch. Making this clear to her was her top priority.
“His Majesty.”
Neia sensed from Shizu’s blank face that she had not been clear enough, and added:
“That’s ‘His Majesty.’ Calling him Ainz-sama is too familiar, don’t you think?”
This time, it was Shizu whose face twitched a little. No, at a glance her face was still blank, but Neia was sure that her expression had changed.
“It’s not too familiar.”
“No, it is. Normally, you wouldn't address him by his name, but by his title. You just came into his service and haven’t been of use to him yet… What’s with that face of yours?”
“Nothing. However, I want to call him Ainz-sama and not His Majesty.”
Was the expression that could be vaguely glimpsed past that blank mask a look of pity, or was she crowing her victory? Even Neia did not understand, but it made her mad. This thick-skinned newcomer had come out of nowhere, and the fact that she was trying to cozy up to the person she so revered made her very unhappy.