“…Ainz-sama!”
Solution’s eyes turned from Yuri to her Master.
“Why! Tell me why! I am a Slime too! I can clean you better than Miyoshi-kun-sama! Why! Why won’t you let me bathe with you and lick your glorious body clean?!”
Her Master turned around.
Sensing rejection from his attitude, Solution’s face was filled with despair. Yuri could understand this misery very well, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Decrement making the same face.
Why did it end up like this… if that was not what the Supreme Beings wished for… then my dear little sister will have committed a terrible sin…
It was a grave offense, worthy of capital punishment. No, there was no other possible response than the death penalty.
Just how long had passed since her Master had turned around? While the actual amount of time had probably not been very long, it felt like several times that amount to Yuri. When would he give the order to punish her sister?
Finally, a question rang through the air.
“…That’s it?”
“What else could there be?!”
Solution wept in response to her Master’s question — although her tears were only a part of her body, and they were reabsorbed back into her when they reached her chin.
She could understand her sister’s feelings, but—
“Solution Epsilon! How dare you!”
At the very least, she wanted it to be done with her own hands, those of her elder sister. With that in mind, Yuri clenched her fists—
“—It’s fine. Yuri, there…”
She looked over because of her Master’s voice, and so her eyes met the red points of light staring at her. No, that was not right. His gaze might have appeared to be resting on Yuri, but that was not the case. It was as though he were looking at something far away, far, far away.
Did something happen, Yuri thought as she stopped moving, and then she heard a faint voice saying something along the lines of “Muscle— Brain—?”
The voice was very soft, so she did not hear it clearly. As Yuri’s Master looked upon her confused form, he coughed to clear his throat.
“No, Yuri. Ah… there is no need to strike her. In any event, I am not angry, no?”
“Understood! My deepest thanks!”
Yuri’s eyes could not help but moisten up at her Master’s broad and merciful heart, which could forgive even Solution’s disrespectful attitude. No, if she were not undead, she would surely be weeping copiously by now.
“Uh, umu… then. Solution. I understand how you feel. It would seem my considerations were not quite appropriate. As for why I did not order you to do so, Solution, one reason was because you were not made by me. If I did so. I would be ashamed to face Herohero-san.”
“Herohero-sama, you say?!”
Perhaps it was because he had mentioned the Supreme Being who had made her, but Solution made a sound which one would hardly imagine she could have produced under normal circumstances.
“Umu. Indeed, that is so. Allowing someone like yourself — who would be Herohero-san’s daughter — to do such ah, what, well, that sort of thing, would surely result in a scolding for me.”
Solution lowered her head, and soon after she raised it again.
“…Ainz-sama, please accept my sincerest apologies. Your servant will gladly accept any punishment you wish to mete out.”
“Umu, it is as I just said. On this occasion, my considerations were not complete. If I had explained this from the start, then this would not have happened… Solution, I will not ask after that adorable little rampage of yours… the events of what happened today shall remain a secret between the four of us. Do you have any objections?”
There was no way there could be any such objections.
Yuri breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
It was good that her sister had not been killed.
“Then… where is my Miyoshi?”
“Here,” Solution’s mouth swelled up greatly, and a blue slime flowed out of it. “It is.”
“Uh…”
Solution held the Slime in her hands and respectfully offered it to Ainz. However, her Master did not reach out to take it.
“Solution, put him back where you found him. And don’t forget to let him soak in water.”
Her Master's intention was to have her follow through on her responsibility until the end.
When one thought about it, that was only to be expected.
Just as Yuri began feeling ashamed of not having noticed how obvious that was, Solution rose and left the room.
“—Ainz-sama, I cannot thank you enough for the mercy you have shown Solution.”
“Hm?” Her Master, who was watching Solution leave, seemed to speak in order to revive his spirits. “No, it was simply that I failed to consider the full picture. I should have tried considering Solution’s side of things… although, I had no intention of entrusting her with bathing duties under any circumstances.”
“Even so, I am still extremely grateful.”
“Hmm… speaking of which, are you Battle Maids dissatisfied with the current situation in any way?”
“May I know what you mean by that?”
“I did not notice Solution’s discontentment. I have failed as a Master.”
“But that is—”
Yuri stopped halfway because her Master had raised his hand.
“Well, please hear me out. I would like you to help me find out if the other Battle Maids are dissatisfied in any way. In the past, I had a Death Knight ask the Guardians about the same thing. Granted, at that time I was only asking about what resources they needed. Then, Yuri Alpha.”
“Yes!”
“I now bestow upon you a task. Go and meet with the other Battle Maids and see if they are unhappy with their current environment and treatment.”
“Understood. Your servant shall immediately carry this out.”
“—Also, I will leave you with a warning. When you encounter an unknown enemy, you are not to say anything along the lines of ‘We’ll punch them first and think about whether we can beat them later’, do you understand?”
“Y-yes. I understand.”
A momentary confusion left Yuri unable to immediately respond. That was because she had no idea why her Master would be saying something like that to her. However, it was an order from the Supreme One, so naturally all she could do was obey.
She was forbidden to punch them and then consider whether or not they could be beaten.
Yuri made a mental note of that.
Part 4
After emerging from her Master’s chambers, Yuri thought: Now then, how should I proceed?
Yuri had to meet Shizu and Entoma. The Supreme One would check on Lupusregina and Narberal by himself.
Of course, Yuri balked at the thought of troubling her Master with such things, but since her master had already said so, there was no need to say anything else.
Ahh… Please don’t do anything weird.
After what Solution had done just now, if Lupusregina did something weird again, the overall reputation of the Pleiades would assuredly drop. No, it would be good enough if the problem could be settled by a mere lack of approval. Her gut ached despite the fact that she was undead.
“Let’s finish this as soon as possible.”
If she finished this quickly and returned to the two of them, perhaps she might be able to prevent any fatal situations from developing.
However, she did not know where Shizu was, though she knew Entoma’s location.
Therefore, Yuri activated an item which only she possessed as the assistant leader.
“Can you hear me?”
『—Ara? Yuri-nee, what’s the matter?』
A quiet, gentle voice spoke in her head.
“Au-chan, I’m sorry to bother you, but I need a favor. Could you help me find where Shizu is?”
She was one of the Pleiades Seven Sisters, Aureole Omega.