Philian Apolesai

Acknowledgment

Their conversation had come to a lull. Ainz rested his skeletal fingers lightly atop a teacup. It was empty. Had been from the start. He, of course, had no need for such an item but when Vesi asked for tea, Etoile brought out the full set. Due to his current condition, he'd never been served food or drink in Nazarick and as such never took the time to appreciate their dinnerware. He turned the cup in his hand, examining the delicate porcelain. Pure white and laced with a golden filigree—it was beautiful.

"Remember how loud it used to be?"

Vesi looked up, her fingers curled around her own identical cup. She smiled faintly, glancing down at the Cimmerian liquid swirling inside it.

"I was actually thinking about that just a little bit ago—when Demiurge took me through the main path of all the floors. It had all felt so still. So much more quiet than what I remembered."

Ainz looked at her for a moment, then set the teacup down with care. "We should go see some of the old areas together. There are a few spots that haven't changed."

"That does sound nice," she said.

"And then," Ainz continued, sitting up to speak with a little more energy, "you have to come see my kingdom. I think you'll be impressed."

"Kingdom?" Vesi's eyes lit up, "When did you get a full country to your name?"

Ainz let out a dry laugh. "Ah- Well, it's mostly thanks to the guardians. They called it the Sorcerer Kingdom."

"That's amazing!" she sat up a bit straighter. "You've been here way less time than I have, and you've already built a whole nation?"

Ainz gave an almost sheepish gesture with his hand. "Again, really the guardians did most of it. I've just been... doing my best to keep up with their expectations."

Vesi's smile softened. "Still—That's a lot of work on your part, isn't it? What other stuff have you gotten into?"

He hummed, as if trying to brush off the compliment, "Well I have picked up some nice keepsakes along the way."

He reached into the air, fingers moving into a black void, and one by one, he began to produce a small collection of trinkets and items onto the low table between them. The theme among them quickly became clear. They were all weapons. Vesi found it adorable they'd picked up the same hobby. The first he held up was a set of three thin stiletto blades. They glowed with enchantment and one seemed to let off sparks when he turned it over in his hands.

"I think these were one of the first things I took from this world. They used to belong to a really troublesome girl, but she did teach me a lot about how to be a fighter."

"You want to be a fighter?" He was never interested in hand-to-hand combat before. People can change, sure—but Momonga as a warrior didn't really fit in her mind.

"Well when I started, it just made sense to fill in my weaknesses. Not everything can be dealt with from a distance, y'know?"