NOVEL WEB Volume 4 – Chapter 01
Chapter 1
The strong feeling of her newfound sense of superiority and empowerment was dwarfed only by the suffocating inadequacy brought in by the horrible truth her superior and lover had revealed, and by magnitudes she had never even thought possible besides being abandoned by the Supreme Ones. The Players announced her as the sixth God a day ago, making her equal to what NPCs perceived as the Supreme Beings, an inconceivable honor for mere player creations, but that came with its consequences.
Albedo stood in her office, her face neutral without displaying her usual pleasant smile, her gaze cast downwards. Her two horns blocked enough light from lamps to cast her upper face into shadows, giving the woman a more menacing appearance than usual.
A homunculus maid stood by the door, awaiting orders as her new status dictated that servants and guards should always be present wherever she went to cater to her every need and desire. No sound, no audible breathing escaped their lips, drowning the spacious room in eerie silence.
The price for this promotion was the burden of truth too heavy for her shoulders, so burdensome it was for her that she had temporarily placed her other duties on hold. It was one thing to know that the man she loved, and the rest of the Supreme Ones, were regular humans before they arrived in this world, but knowing that she and the rest of the NPCs were nothing more than digital creations in a game designed for the entertainment of said humans was something else entirely, and it shook her to her core.
Ainz, to his credit, saw her as an equal and firmly believed that both of them were born the moment Nazarick was formed in this world, at the same time and under the same circumstances. A couple of newborn Gods were in charge of armies of equally young and naive beings, their created servants oblivious to the truth.
Albedo stopped pacing around and slowly exhaled, forcefully calming herself. First of all, her subordinates were about to arrive and the facade needed to be maintained. The meeting's purpose, she had planned, was to ensure there were no misunderstandings about her status. She turned her gaze towards the opening door with Shalltear's pale visage emerging from the brightly lit hall.
'The failure comes first. Not surprising.' Albedo stopped the train of thought, forcing herself to reevaluate based on the perspective of those she was now equal to. As much as she wanted to see the guardian of the first three floors as unsuited for her duties banished or slaughtered for her crimes, she couldn't. The poor creation of Peroroncino was in a constant borderline breakdown state, doing everything to atone for a mistake anyone could have made in her place, and even she had to admit that her own anger was unreasonable. 'I shouldn't be so harsh on Shalltear. She didn't have a world-level item like I do.'
"Oh, I'm first. Congratulations on once again proving that you are better than me. At least Lord Ainz has a suitable wife now." The young vampire greeted her in a tone that signaled her utter defeat, her body collapsing further in Albedo's presence.
"There is no need to be bitter. I wasn't uplifted just to spite you," Albedo snapped back.
"I know… sorry," Shalltear mumbled as she settled on the sofa, hanging her head low.
"Shalltear, your mistake has been forgiven. Should Ainz decide to take a second wife, I won't object to your candidacy," Albedo's tone softened upon witnessing her former rival for Ainz's attention so down on spirits. 'I wonder how she would deal with knowing… there is no point speculating on such things if Ainz has no plans to have any woman besides me.'
"I know! I wasn't even punished. The Supreme Ones just brushed it under the rug like they expected me to fail so spectacularly," Shalltear growled, twisting her hands into tight fists. "And now you act just like they do. Are you now fully one of the Supreme Beings, Albedo?"
"Given the new circumstance, Lady Albedo should be the proper way to address the Guardian Overseer," Demiurge corrected her as he entered Albedo's office moments after Shalltear. "Although I am curious about what this promotion entails as well. Details would help us understand the decision of the Supreme Ones better."
The guardian of the seventh floor quickly bowed towards Albedo and sat beside Shalltear, eager as always for more information as he had been told to expect.
"Sorry. Lady Albedo," Shalltear corrected herself hastily. She was adamant about listening if Demiurge advised since he was one of her smartest peers; she had learned much from his tutelage in her efforts to repent for her sins.
"I will answer all your questions once everyone is present. It is paramount that there are no misunderstandings that could get in the way of everyone's duties." Albedo gave the demon a nod of acknowledgment.
"Of course. Let me congratulate you on your new status. It gives a glimmer of hope for the rest of us to one day reach such impossible heights and be blessed in the same manner."
'It's not much of a blessing if you know the truth.' Albedo forced a small smile in return to mask her true feelings, half sure that the demon could still sense it and was merely biding his time.
Soon enough, Cocytus, Aura, Mare, and Sebas arrived one after another, offering similar congratulations to her. Once everyone had settled, Albedo spoke up, declaring, "I want to make it clear, despite my standing as a Goddess, alongside the Supreme Beings, my duties have not changed. I am the Guardian Overseer first and foremost, and Ainz's future wife second. I am permitted to address the other Gods as equals, even though I am a creation of one."
"Mom already explained this to me and Mare. Is this the only reason you called us in?" Aura asked, her demeanor as casual as ever. The co-guardian of the sixth floor was, by all means, the most easy-going of all guardians and not as stuck on formalities as her peers, making her both easy to handle and irritating depending on the situation.
She was half reclining on the sofa, her legs straight as manufactured poles. Her brother was the polar opposite, sitting at the edge of his seat with his back straight, tightly clutching his staff.
"Sis, don't be rude. Mom said we should treat Lady Albedo the same as other Supreme Beings." Mare scolded his sister.
"Sure, I'll call her Lady Albedo from now on, but it's not like she's that different now. She was our superior before and is now." Aura dismissed her brother with a wave of her hand, sighing like they had held this conversation multiple times in the past.
"ALL OF US ARE TO TREAT LADY ALBEDO WITH PROPER RESPECT. THOSE WERE THE ORDERS!" Cocytus joined in, expelling a large cloud of cold air across the room that was very quickly diffused by the rest.
"I am different. I…" Albedo paused and thought deeply about ways to express what she knew without giving any specifics that could lead some of her peers to figure out the terrible truth. "I wasn't just uplifted. With my new status came the revelations that the Supreme Ones are shielding you all from. I wasn't prepared to know what they know, and even now I am barely holding myself together."
"Ohh, I didn't even account for such a possibility! Now it's clear!" Demiurge exclaimed.
"What is clear? I don't get it?" Shalltear questioned as she produced a notebook and a pen from the bow of her headdress, hastily opening an empty page.
"Indulge us, what have you figured out, Demiurge?" Albedo waved for him to speak as she finally sat down. She had seen Ainz do the same thing on numerous occasions and now realized why he tended to do so. Demiurge was quite proud of his intellectual capabilities and thrived on trying to understand the Players and their machinations. Not that she believed the demon would ever figure out the truth on his own, not without the Players' assistance. It seemed there was a mental block in all their minds to reject the truth about the players and their humble origins, one that had been lifted from her and her alone.
"At first, I attributed your change in demeanor with a sense of inadequacy, as surely no creation of Supreme Beings could ever be truly equal to them even if they declare so in legalities. But now in light of this information, it is clear that what truly separates us from our creators is the knowledge that we are utterly unprepared to face, and only Lady Albedo was deemed to possess a strong enough will to deal with the truths we would not." The Demon explained with an ever-growing self-satisfied smug grin, exclaiming in excitement.
"I see," Shalltear mumbled as she frantically wrote down what Demiurge spoke, her delicate hand blitzing with lightning speed, scribbling down notes in near calligraphic handwriting.
"So, this truth, shouldn't we know it anyway to help our creators, as best as we can? If there is some sort of danger out there, it would be better if we knew how to prepare," Aura inquired. "They may be stronger and smarter than us, but we must shield and help our creators."
"That is a good point, Aura," Demiurge agreed with her, nodding along.
"There is nothing anyone can do about it. You are better off not knowing. I would have been better off not knowing. It is a burden I and the Supreme Ones need to carry on our own. You should not seek answers, believe me, I would prefer ignorance as well, but it is too late for me. Know that you are protected for your own sake, and if you choose to pursue the same elevation such as I, you may never see reality the same way again," Albedo chose the words carefully, the floor guardians listening with taunt breaths.
As Albedo finished speaking, silence settled again, with only Shalltear's intensive scribbling subtly invading the air.
"What are you doing?" Aura whispered to Shalltear, who was writing down every single word Albedo had spoken.
"Lord Ainz gave me the order to better myself, so I write down what my betters have said so hopefully I can learn something from all this. Here are the conversations with my father, aunt, and Lord Ainz." She flipped through the pages, quietly presenting her writings.
"I don't think writing down everything will help. You should concentrate on important stuff you know," Aura shook her head.
Shalltear had documented everything she had come across, from orders to advice to even the most trivial conversations with the other guardians. The young vampire had started to write down everything she heard from people she perceived as smarter than her, which she had to admit, would include everyone from Nazarick capable of speech. Her failure was that monumental and no amount of assurances would ever erase the inability to assess the situation she had found herself in.
"Everyone has their process to learn. Though Aura is right, not all information is equal, and even the likes of Lord Ainz occasionally engage in conversations without deep meaning behind them, even if his motives to do so are carefully calculated," Demiurge commented.
"How should I know what is important and what isn't?" Shalltear questioned, her voice laced with intense frustration and anxiety.
"You can ask your peers to help you. You becoming more capable will benefit Nazarick as a whole, and if your peers' assistance accelerates your growth, then it is only right for them to do so," Albedo stated. "If you see her struggling with something, don't hesitate to help." She ordered the rest.
"Indeed, I will help Shalltear when the time permits. Returning to your previous statement of us being better off not knowing, were the revelations of this hazardous truth part of the uplifting process?" Demiurge continued. His father had given vague details on what had gone down with Albedo, but he couldn't have imagined that the Supreme Ones shielded them so much that even the one fellow creation he considered an equal warned him with all her might.
"In part. My father only turned me into a Goddess, to equal them in physiology. Ainz was the one who revealed all the truths to me, so I could stand by his side as an equal and be a wife he could rely on." A week ago, what she said would have been considered blasphemous by all, including herself. To put herself as an equal to the absolute ruler of Nazarick. No NPC, save for Eclair whose aspirations were a known joke to all, would have ever entertained such absurdity. But the delusional penguin only thought so because his creator planted this idea in his backstory, and thus was all part of their game.
One relief was that the floor guardians readily accepted her new status, and there was little chance any insubordination would occur. That much, at least, would remain stable despite her inner turmoil.
"Are there any changes in your duties we should be aware of, Lady Albedo?" Sebas inquired, switching the conversation to more practical matters.
"Not at the moment. There are no additional official duties bestowed on me as of now. But in the absence of most lords, I am in charge of Nazarick. My father is the only exception as he has relinquished his duty to be put in the ruling position should no other lords be available, preferring to put all his attention into research." Albedo answered, carefully observing the reactions of the floor guardians.
By the looks of it, they accepted her statements at face value. 'It seems my actual ranking could be revealed soon enough.' In truth, she was ranked fourth, since both Tabula and Pero didn't want to be in charge and preferred to push this responsibility onto her so they could focus on their respective areas of expertise. She would be second in command regarding administrative duties, with both Ulbert and Buku preferring to do their primary line of work, only accepting the leader's position formally to ensure the NPCs remained stable, giving the actual duty to run things to her.
With no additional questions, the meeting ended, and she sent all floor guardians back to their posts with their daily orders.
Finally left alone, she let out a sigh of relief. There were no open protests and demands for more detailed explanations, partly thanks to the players already talking with their creations about the new status quo of the leadership. For that reason, Pandora wasn't even present. The greater doppelganger accepted that she was made a Goddess to be more suited to marry his father and left it at that.
'I may not be able to shield them forever. Demiurge might overcome the mental block sooner or later. I dread to imagine how hard it will be for him to accept the truth, for he will crumble harder than I have.'
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by aidan_lo, nate051499j6, clagan, x4x, Milk, Squid, fvvck, IAMTHEPLOKOKIOPO, and NuggetLover.
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