Overlord: When Human Meets Inhuman

Chapter 49: The ring of Ainz Ooal Gown

"Hey, by the way, Lord Ainz called you to his office!" 

I'm…ah, fuck. Why did he call me?! King Ainz terrifies me!

"He did?" I ask, hoping Shalltear will say she was joking.
"Yes, he did!" 

Okay, well, I am terrified. Genuinely terrified. What could he possibly want from me? Is he gonna tell me I'm doing something wrong? Is he gonna scold me? Punish me? Torture me?

I sigh and cross my arms, looking at Shalltear with a tired expression.
"Alright…you mind teleporting me?" 

I honestly can't be bothered to walk up to the 10th floor. Or the 9th floor, I don't remember. I still can't orient myself properly in this place after so much time.

Shalltear grabs my arm and I find myself in front of King Ainz's office's door, and in front of Albedo. 
"Have fun with Lord Ainz, I'll see you later." Shalltear says, leaving me there without thinking twice about it.
"Come in. I don't know why Lord Ainz called you here, but go ahead." Albedo says with a tone that is neither happy nor sad and opens the door for me. I try to be polite and smile at her.
"Thanks." I mutter and walk through the door. As I enter the room, I notice to my surprise that Ainz is alone in the room. None of the Pleiades, no maids, nobody. 

This smells fishy to me…he's usually never alone. Now I'm even more scared...

I kneel down in front of Ainz's desk and I bow my head, taking a deep breath.
"You called for me, your majesty?" 
"You're a member of Nazarick now, you can call me Lord Ainz." 

Oh, can I? Alright then…it's way easier this way.

"As you wish…Lord Ainz." 
"And yes, I called you here. You can get up by the way, I like talking to my subordinates face to face." 

That wouldn't be a problem if I weren't so scared to look him in the…eye sockets.

I get up, and it takes me a lot of effort to look Ainz in the eye, but I manage to do it.
"I called you here because I wished to speak with you. I hope a talk isn't a problem for you, Mark." 

He wants to talk? Really? Just that?

"O-of course not, Lord Ainz." 
"Good then. Let me start with a question: why are you still being loyal to Shalltear? After all she did to you I would think you'd question your loyalty to her. And to me." 

Is he testing my loyalty or something? This is usually the question a leader asks to check if one of his subordinates is thinking of mutiny. But I don't really know why he would do that, since I'm pretty sure he'd be able to wipe me off the face of this planet with just a snap of fingers.

"Well, Lord Ainz…if you will forgive my language…I am a resilient son of a bitch. I never gave up on her, because I thought there was some good inside her, or at least I thought I'd be able to get to her. In the end, it paid off." 

Fuck I shouldn't have said that. I don't think he knows Shalltear and I…yeah. Oh but maybe he does. Shalltear told me she was able to go back because Ainz cared about her happiness, and because he didn't want her to be apart from me. So yeah, he knows already.

"Yes, I know. Your answer was pretty interesting, to be honest. I also called you here to congratulate you." 

Congratulate me? I don't think there's much to congratulate about me, but I'll listen to what he has to say. Compliments are always welcome. Especially from the most powerful being in this world.

"About what, your…Lord Ainz?" 
"I will be honest with you: when Shalltear brought you here to Nazarick, I thought this was just one of her usual tantrums, and that she'd get rid of you in a short while. I also thought you were nothing more than a kid who wanted to play sad because he wanted to get attention. But, in light of your work, in light of what you've accomplished, you proved me wrong. You've been making yourself useful for Nazarick, you've been working hard for somebody who you're even scared of…"