"Ugh, what time is it?"
as Peroroncino groggily rose up from his slumber and slowly regained his conscious thoughts, he began to recollect what had just transpired. Man, what a weird dream. Well, whatever. I'm up now and ready to forget it! But is it just me, or are these sheets a little too comfortable?
While he still had a comfortable bed, it was almost never made, and could only be described as run-of-the-mill. However the softness he was feeling right now could be likened to velvet, it was almost heaven. While he was confused at the development, he was even more confused at why his hand was now a claw. Then the memories came rushing back, and with it, the realization that he wasn't dreaming.
And if that was the case, then–
"– Ah it seems your finally up Peroroncino!"
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a unknown voice. When he turned to look however, he suddenly saw a small group of heteromorphic beings. A Overlord, a Baphomet, a knight, and a slime. Most people would be panicked at such a sight, but to him, this was one of the greatest things he could have hoped to see right now.
"Momonga-san, Ulbert-san, and even Touch-san! What are you all doing here?"
Logically speaking, if he really had been transferred into YGGDRASIL, it was extremely unlikely they would find him. The worlds of YGGDRASIL were extremely vast, almost the size of earth, and adding on top the other 9, combined with the various different dimensions, finding him would be a arduous task even if they knew he was here? So how did they find him?
"Truth be told, none of us know the answer to that question, as it seems Chagama-san explained what transpired, and it seems we've all had similar stories on how we ended up here. Though the cause remains to be seen. We were actually planning on figuring that out when Shalltear informed us that she found you and Chagama-san."
Hearing that name just reaffirmed his fears that she now existed, but he couldn't just start to freak out about this now. "Well that's all well and good, but were are we now?"
"The great underground tomb of Nazarick."
He had stated this like it was the most normal thing in the world. Granted, he may have been here for much longer than him, but still, that was a huge bomb to drop. The fact that the veritable heaven they had all created was now a real place that existed, was a truly exciting prospect.
"That's amazing..." Though he couldn't tell what expression almost all of them wore, he could tell they were smiling in agreement. "Indeed it is Peroroncino-san. But before we go any further, I would like to ask you a question. We are currently looking for a way back to earth so that Touch-san may be able to return, but only he right now is planning on going. If the opportunity arises, would you like to go with him?"
The question surprised him, due to how drastically the topic had been thrown at him, but once he realized just what was asked, he though to himself, Do I really want to go back? He thought of the perks of his life now, and how it was in the past. What he might gain, and what he might lose. And after thinking of the implications of it, he had reached a definitive answer.
"Hell no."
"I'm going to second that opinion."
"Ah– I figured as much. After all, all of us didn't really have much to live for did we? We'll no matter, it is good to have you two back."
"Well Momonga-san, now that he has been caught up to speed, what should we do now? Should we laze around Nazarick for a while?"
"Hm, while that does sound appealing Ulbert-san, I feel like we've done enough of that as is for the past week. We should probably get on with finding out just what has caused this. Of course, Peroroncino, if you'd like, you can meet Shalltear while we try figuring this all out."
"I'm good."
The reply was immediate, without a shred of hesitation. The forcefulness shocked a lot of those surrounding him, so he quickly explained his actions. "Well, I kind of just made her backstory just for fun, like not being serious, and screwing around by having her be whatever fetishist I could think of. But now that I know she is real... it kind of makes me feel ashamed that I made her like that. Like it is unfair she has a personality like that because of me."
"As you should! Really you truly are useless! Why would you make something like that in the first place. Even if you didn't know this was going to happen, you should have just made her normal. But instead, you choose to act on your desires, and look what happened. You should just see her and except your fate!"
Though no one else said anything, he felt like they agreed with her, and if he was honest, he kind of did to, just a little.
"Come now, don't be so hard on him Chagama-san, we all just had fun with are creations, so we can't just blame each other for what we choose to do with them."
"Hah, your right, but still..."
"Anyhow, he will have to meet her eventually, and she's not as bad as he probably thinks. Well seeing as he has put her aside for the time being, why don't you go and meet the twins?"
immediately, the predator had become the prey as she was put in the spotlight. While her expressions were hard to read, due to being made out of slime. Some parts could still be defined, and due to that, it was clear she was pursing her lips.
"W-well, you see–"
"–HA! What is this? You try to shame me and then get all flustered when your decisions are brought into question?"
"Traps are completely different from making a girl full of fetishes! Besides, didn't you say we shouldn't judge others for their creations Momonga-san?"
"Wha– I mean yeah but..."
"Hey, don't thrown this on him. And besides you still made fun of me while defending yourself. If you want to–"
"Okay, we get it, your both weird. Can we stop this now?"
The rather cold comment was stated by Ulbert to quiet both parties down, as they were both essentially just being hypocrites to one another. Everyone else agreed with this, so nobody censored him for this remark outside of the siblings.
After all parties had finally agreed to the consensus of "Let bygones be bygones", the decision of what to do still needed to be made. Ulbert seemed to be the first to give his opinion.
"Well I don't know abut you guys, but I'm going to stay in the tomb for the time being. I've only been here for about a day now, and haven't even gotten the chance to enjoy the place like you guys, so for this one, count me out."
"That's fine Ulbert-san, its your choice after all. What about the rest of you?"
"I'm going to go with you Momonga. For one, I really want to forestall my meeting with Shalltear as long as possible, and I would also like to get a better view of the outside world. Plus I may get to see some monster girls out there as well, hehe.
"I'll second that opinion, Pero, while I don't have the selfish opinion of not wanting to see my creations," – Not – "I would still like to help Touch-san, as well as figure out just how we ended up in this situation.
"Alright then. What about you Touch-san?"
"I think I'll sit this one out. I would like to talk with Sebas and the others a bit more. Plus, I don't really think you need me from what I've been told."
Even though he didn't need to have a good reason to stay behind, it was hard to refute his words. With Ainz, Peroroncino, and BukuBukuChagama, there party would consist of a wildcard, an attacker, and a tank. While a perfect party in YGGDRASIL would also consist of a healer, seeker, and another attacker, that was going off of their terms. With this world level balance being so out of proportion, even one of them could be considered 'Perfect'. But while this worlds abilities were still unknown, they needed to be cautious. But They should be fine with this much at least.
"Then It's settled. Me, Chagama and Peroroncino will head out after hearing Demiurge's explanation, and once that's settled, we can move out from there. And Peroroncino, we took the liberty of grabbing your items while you were passed out. Here." with a grand Whoosh, and a swing of the arm, golden armaments suddenly filled the space in-between the two in a instant. The glitter of them seemed to make the already glamorous room seem that much more impressive.
"Wha... didn't I tell you it was okay to sell them all? How are they still here?"
"I simply couldn't bring myself to do it Peroroncino. While I could have sold them, I had always hoped that you would one day return to YGGDRASIL once again, so I had kept them in safe keeping until now."
"Well, not that I'm complaining. Right now this is exactly what I wanted." Though he felt sadness at His friends words, he wanted to try on his gear of old instead of losing himself in his emotions. That could wait for another day. As he equipped his panoply of magic items and weaponry, he began to glow due to the many cosmetic effects he had equipped into his data slots. If he had appeared before a person in this state, 9/10, he could probably convince them that he was a god who had descended.
"That's much better. Well than, what are we waiting for? Lets head out and explore like the good old days!"
"Indeed. I'm looking forward to this quite a bit! Say Ulbert-san, where did Demiurge run off to after your conversation?"
"Well, he said he had some business to attend to back in the 7th floor. He's probably still there if you want to catch him."
"Alright then, with that lets conclude this guild meeting here!"
Though everyone laughed at that joke, it still made the mood in the air feel warm. As if something they had all missed had finally returned.
.
.
.
Ah, I've missed this feeling! Ainz was thinking over the course of events that had just transpired, and could not help but feel enlivened. With each new member, each new comrade that entered the new world, the more it was beginning to feel like he had actually returned to the old days of YGGDRASIL, where there were no worries and he could enjoy himself.
Although...
While he had enjoyed talking with everyone again, the fact that both of the siblings did not want to see there creations again caused him to feel somewhat saddened. He had spent a great deal of time with them, and had come to care for them very much, and knew the amount of love the NPC's had for there creators. Aura and Mare especially. If one removed the cross-dressing, they would just be normal children. He could not help but feel a bit irked with the way she was choosing to avoid them for a bit. Though he said nothing because he didn't want to start anything for no reason, and because they would eventually meet, he couldn't help but hold a slight feeling of annoyance due to that.
Well, that's a problem for future Ainz. It can't be helped if they have these opinions right now since there going off of there own visions of them. It will be fine when we eventually cross that bridge. But enough of that. Lets get moving!
Truth be told, Ainz was incredibly excited to go on this journey. Even if it was just to a distant city, it still reminded him of the old days in YGGDRASIL, exploring the unknown. When Peroroncino had mentioned that, he earnestly agreed with him in a second. Not to mention, that the fact that the guild members were showing up this rapidly had great implications for the future.
"This is truly bliss"
"Hm? You say something Momonga-san?"
"Oh, no just talking to myself."
"Ah, i see. well anyway Momonga-san, before we head out, why are we going to the 7th floor?"
"We're going to see demiurge, as his knowledge is truly the greatest in all of Nazarick. if anyone knows where we need to go, its him."
"Alright then. Well since we've just been walking and talking, we haven't gotten very far huh? Lets just teleport already."
"Your right! I had almost forgotten that was a option. Well then." as he said this, he lifted a bony finger to the air, displaying the proof of ones allegiance to the guild, the ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, out in the open."
"To the blazing Inferno!"
And with that unnecessary shout, the trio vanished into thin air, there destination being the greatest mind in all of Nazarick.