Overlord - A More Experienced Player

Two cauldrons had their fireplaces lit, a pleasant sound of liquids bubbling could be heard quite easily. This caught the attention of the young man who was there, stopping what he was doing to see how the things he was preparing were going.

A slight smile could be seen forming on his face. "Woah... I think I got it right this time..." He said as he observed the various colors that were in the cauldron to his left, and using a large dark wood spoon, he started to mix everything until it was homogeneous.

Seeing a color that was a mix of blood red and royal blue, he seemed satisfied, turning off the fire in that cauldron and going to take care of the other one nearby. It seemed like he didn't need to do anything with that one, so he took three herbs that were already on a counter, squeezing their leaves and letting the little oil inside them enter the container. "Perfect... I hope that Professor likes this..."

Without waiting too long for it to cool down, he went to a nearby drawer and took out some potion bottles. With a kind of long tweezers, he picked up the bottles by the tip, one by one, he sank them into the cauldron on the left and took them out when they were full of that content. He carefully placed the bottles in the center of the wooden table nearby, on top of a red velvet cloth.

He sweated a lot during the process, having to be very careful, repeating the task until the entire cauldron was emptied. And when he finished, he let out a sigh of relief, as if it were something great for him. However, he soon remembered the other cauldron, and instead of bottles, he seemed to grab a large glass jar and some mugs to be filled.

A door slamming made him lose focus a little, almost knocking over one of the mugs. Looking at the nearest door, it gained a slight glow on the sides and when it was opened, it was possible to see a tall woman, wearing very dark clothes, with equally black hair covering her face. In front of her, there was a small table on wheels with some laboratory ingredients on top, in addition to other more mundane items.

"Good morning, Miss Nigredo. How has your morning been?" The alchemist asked with a slight smile. It seems that the period of almost two months there had made him completely accustomed to the NPC's appearance.

"Hm... good morning, alchemist, I'm fine... nothing unusual happened." She answered, leaving the ingredients near the table, but soon she noticed what was on top of the table itself. "I see you finished the stamina potions that Father asked you to train..." She picked up one of the vials. "The shade of purple is very close... not completely, but enough for amateurs to absolutely believe."

"Of course! I was also preparing some other energy drinks that cannot be considered potions, as they have a lesser effect than a potion itself." Nfirea showed the mug full of the contents of the cauldron on the right, placing it on the table.

Curiosity arose in the NPC, who slowly picked up the mug and brought it closer to her face, smelling a scent that was quite pleasant for Nazarick's standards. As she took a sip, she reacted by turning her face to the alchemist, the potions on the table and the mug in her hands. "You made a chocolate drink with 20% of the expected stamina potion's effect..."

"Yes, in this case I'm making this so that it's something I drink as first thing in the morning so I can train more and more throughout the day without getting tired."

"Impressive logic... I'd like to take this to Nazarick to test something, if you don't mind..."

"No problem, Miss Nigredo! I can, after today's training, make another cauldron full of this."

Nigredo was thoughtful as she placed the mug on the table. She didn't want to say this in front of the human, but it was a bit rare to create a mix of common meals and potions. In her mind, the only other person who could do something like that without using skills was Clavu, the myconid created by the supreme being BluePlanet.

She shook her head slightly as she picked up a watering can she had brought among the mundane items, as she had been ordered by Tabula to water the plants. However, she was stopped before leaving the kitchen by Nfirea asking. "Did Professor Tabula say anything about my permission to visit Carne Village?"

Nigredo took a few seconds to answer, as if that kind of thing was useless information to her, so she had to try hard to remember. "Yes... Father said you can visit the village... tomorrow, I imagine... And that will be considered a day off..."

"Thank you for telling me about that!!" He exclaimed happily, and soon Nigredo continued his task.

After finishing tidying up the kitchen, Nfirea began to train other potions that had been taught during that month, such as healing potions, physical resistance, fortification and antidotes for poisons in general. He did this with everything he had access to inside the cabin, taking a few hours to do it, only going through the special door to Tabula's Laboratory, at a time when he needed to use some of the equipment there that was not possible to move from one place to another.

The laboratory was large, full of shelves with various potions, two central tables with space between them for mobility, with some devices on top of them or even attached. At the moment, there were some homunculus maids cleaning things, they seemed to ignore the human, or at least that was what Nfirea thought.

Unbeknownst to him, when they noticed his existence in the room, they had an expression of disgust and horror that such an inferior being was there. Apparently, even if a supreme being says that there is an acceptable or incredible human, the vast majority of NPCs will still have a vision that this is an insect that should be killed.

The young man soon took the basket that contained the vials with liquids that he prepared, and started using some machines that were there. One of them served to spin a vial that was full of herbal tea at high speed, separating the liquids inside it by density. Another he used to heat the contents of one of the vials at a heat above what he could achieve with the cauldrons in the cabin, allowing most of the contents to become gas and what he wanted to remain there as liquid.

Tabula had barely spoken the names of those machines, and had told the boy that he didn't need to know their names, just how they worked and what they accomplished as a final product. Nfirea had accepted this without any problems, after all, he only used those things when he reached the point of production where he was hindered by his previous knowledge. It was practically the final step to ensure that the item was truly at the level of a "supreme being"...

While he waited for the equipment to finish, he was crushing some of the herbs that had been given to him in the morning, adding an acidic liquid during the process, making what was there become a thin and slightly sticky residue of a yellowish color, which was actually one of the things that impressed him, since the herbs were naturally purple and red. However, something made him startle while he was wondering if it was good to put it inside one of the potions, it was a touch on his shoulder that seemed to be quite heavy.

"Oh..... Hello... I see that you are not having any problems.... good, very good..." It was Rubedo, she was staring at the boy, without showing much emotion and then she looked at the equipment. "I see that you are decanting and evaporating the impurities of the plants in your region..."

"H-Hello, Miss Rubedo... sorry, but when did you come in here?"

"I came in a few minutes ago, you were already doing your work when I arrived..." Rubedo only answered the facts.

Nfirea had an expression of fear hidden behind his long bangs, after all he hadn't heard that an incredibly heavy and tall automaton had arrived. He interacted with Nigredo the most out of all of Tabula's daughters, and there were a few times he interacted with Rubedo as well, but this was the first time he realized how imperceptible that walking furnace could be.

"Anyway... may I know why you're here...?" He was really curious.

"Father told me he needs a potion from you, to be more specific, an antidote for poison and paralysis..."

The eyes behind those bangs widened. A potion? Tabula, a super alchemist, was asking for a potion for his disciple? That didn't make the slightest sense in the young man's head.

Luckily, Rubedo noticed the human's confusion with that, she herself found something like that absurd, she understood that it was truly something impossible to believe, but it was a fact that she began to explain. "Father said this is a surprise test for you... You will be taken in about 1 hour to a place where we will have a patient who needs this potion... He wants to test to see how efficient you are at the moment... You don't need to worry about the pressure of having a life at risk, after all, Father obviously already has some potions for this, your only pressure is the time to make the product."

The boy seemed to completely understand the situation, now being more objective in what he asked. "Miss Rubedo, you only said 'poison' and 'paralysis'... is there any specific information about that?" In response to this, she gave a slight smile, but shook her head negatively.

"Then I have to assume that it's a mid-level poison and paralysis for Nazarick..." Nfirea muttered to himself, asking another question. "What is the maximum level of these effects known to Nazarick, and what is considered 'normal' for you guys?"

"The maximum level we have access to is considered something at tier 8. What we consider normal and simple is something at tier 4." she replied, nonchalantly.

He had a slight understanding of what those "tiers" were from one of the books he had studied in the cabin, one called "Buffs and Debuffs of the Yggdrasil Tree for Newbies". Tier 4 corresponded to things that could leave permanent damage if some medicine was not given, something that is literally impossible for the body's system to recover naturally by itself.

Coming out of his thoughts for a moment, the alchemist returned to the wood cabin, going to get some ingredients, and then return to start producing the potion. It was clear from his expression during the process how confident he was in the individual part, but to combine the potions into one and maintain the same effectiveness? Then his confidence almost completely dropped, after all, there had never been a need for him to do something like that before, since it was always more profitable to sell both things separately.

With only a few minutes left until the deadline, Nfirea had to think about putting some theoretical knowledge into practice. Imagining the finished potions as basic ingredients for another potion, he tried to use some methods to make the same one he would make to effectively extract the healing properties of two different herbs. At the end of it, he had, inside a spherical container with flames heating below, a purple liquid that was gradually becoming homogeneous with the yellow of one of the potions.

The boy smiled, seeing that it at least seemed to have worked. Testing its full efficiency was something that there wouldn't be time for. However, he managed to do his best and hoped that Tabula would be able to notice this in Rubedo's reports.

"Yoholoooo~" A very recognizable voice filled the laboratory, making everyone there, even the homunculus maids, look in that direction.

The supreme being scientist had just arrived, he was already dressed in the disguise of his human alter ego, Harry Pandemonium Lovecraft. He walked around the laboratory, looking at Nfirea for a moment and then at the finished potion. "Looks like I arrived at the best time! Perfect!!! I hope the test wasn't that complicated, since it was something last minute. What's your honest reaction to this?"

"Professor, the test was more of a tough thing to do rather than a complicated one..."

"Tough?" The brain eater showed some curiosity with his choice of words.

"I ended up having to do some things I've never done in my life and that there was no information about in the books... I don't know if you don't know this, but it's really super unusual to make a potion that has more than one effect."

"A potion with two effects is super unusual? And there was no information about it in the books?! But I had given you at least 4 books that were generic, but had chapters about merging buf-" Tabula soon stopped talking when he remembered a slight detail... "I forgot to create a translation for you... Argh... Okay, I'm sorry, my precious disciple, I ended up leaving you blind..."

Rubedo and the maids there were wide-eyed when they heard those words. A supreme being, a god to them, just apologized to a simple human? "N-No problem, Professor... I hope my grade takes that detail into account..." Nfirea seemed a bit confused by all the reaction around him.

"Yes... that will be taken into account, my young disciple! Anyway, let's go, I want you to take the equipment I gave you last week... According to what I was informed, this person will have to receive a potion directly inside their body."

Nfirea understood what was requested, returning to the cabin and then being presented with a kind of large bag, which he carried by putting the strap on his shoulder. There was already a temporary portal waiting for him so that he and Professor Lovecraft could disappear from Nazarick. The other side of the portal was a medium-sized entrance hall, with decorations that were more normal to see.

In front of the two, a butler stood, bowing slightly. He had short white hair and a well-groomed beard, and was dressed impeccably, almost as if he were the ideal image of what one would expect from an experienced butler. Even with that uniform, Nfirea could tell that the butler also had a great physique, given the size of his torso and arms.

"Tabula-Sama, it's a pleasure to have you here... I hope I didn't get in the way by having you come here."

"No problem, Sebas... Nfirea, this is Sebas Tian, ​​he's one of our NPCs, an impeccable man with incredible attributes to say the least."

"Oh... don't say that, Tabula-Sama... I know my qualities are nothing compared to the Supreme Beings..." Sebas said, straightening his posture.

"And Sebas, this is Nfirea Bareare, my disciple. The reason I said I would come here was so we could take advantage of the situation and do a little test for him. Don't worry, if there's anything wrong, I'll intervene myself." Sebas nodded as he heard Tabula's situation.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Tian..." Nfirea said quickly, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. "Could you show me where the patient is?"

Without delay, the butler led the two alchemists to a room, where they saw a blonde woman dressed in noble clothes that left her cleavage very exposed. She was sitting on a chair, and next to said chair, there was a sofa. This sofa was being used by a maid with more vivid blonde hair, who, by the expression on her face, didn't seem to be doing well at all.

The one sitting on the chair stood up when she saw the presence of the alchemists, walking and bowing to the Master among the two. "Tabula-Sama... it is an immense honor to be in your presence..." She quickly looked to the side, at Nfirea, with an expression of disgust, but she did not dare to speak.

"Hello Solution, I hope my disciple here is not causing you any problems... after all, I was the one who chose him for his incredible abilities..." The brain eater noticed how the situation was, he understood that the NPCs of Nazarick had, for the most part, problems with humans, but to demonstrate something like this in this context? Unacceptable.

"No problem, Professor..." Nfirea intervened. "Miss Nigredo explained to me a bit of the story about how... humans always attacked your guild... I can sense when I'm not so welcome."

"That's the problem, you ARE extremely welcome, so I can consider the fact that some of them acted like this towards you as an affront to my choices." Tabula's words made Solution look surprised, her eyes wide as if she had committed a grave sin and only now realized it. "Anyway, go and help the girl already."

"Ah, yes!" Nfirea walked over to the sofa. "Hm... excuse me... I'll have to see your arm here..."

Carefully, Nfirea lifted the sleeve of that maid's uniform, until her forearm was completely exposed. Taking a cloth and some alcohol, he began the process of cleaning a little above her wrist, thus preparing her body. Inside his bag, he took out a small, cubic device with a thin tube and a needle at the end.

"Okay... different from the usual... in your case, I'll need to put the antidote directly into your blood, okay?" The alchemist was being kind and always waiting for the patient's permission.

When the maid weakly nodded, he slowly put the needle into her arm. That done, Nfirea took the potion he had produced and poured the contents into the machine through a hole in it. That potion was then processed and then injected into the maid's body. It was a slow and continuous process that made her sleep, now all that was left was to wait for the machine to finish injecting everything.

"Excuse me for asking, but I wasn't told what actually happened, just what she had suffered... Sebas Tian, ​​can you tell me about it?" The boy asked while sitting on the floor, next to the machine.

The butler waited for Tabula's permission to speak, and when he received such permission, he explained. "We were doing a common routine that we have here in the capital, when we received a noble... This visitor was looking for this maid, Tuare, because she was being sold as a sex slave before I took her in... Let's just say that this noble didn't like the fact that she wasn't in his market very much, and apparently he poisoned her somehow before he left, when I wasn't looking..."

"A noble?... What a situation. Knowing that you are part of Ainz Ooal Gown makes me slightly relieved, but if you weren't, you would be in serious trouble... not just you, but her as well."

"I understand your concern, young disciple Nfirea, but I am afraid I can say with confidence that there are only 41 beings that I would not be able to defeat under any circumstances." Tabula gave a light laugh at Sebas' comment.

The two alchemists decided to stay there while they waited for Tuare to recover, with Sebas bringing some cookies and Solution present, just silently observing how carefree that human interacted with a supreme being. This scene could only be represented by the words "insanity" and "insolence", in her view.

"The taste of these cookies is incredible. Are you sure you didn't use ingredients from Nazarick?" Tabula exclaimed in wonder.

The food that Fuyuki, Tabula's old name, had access to on Earth was horrible, passing for dry cookies, food tubes, vitamin pills, and only on celebration days, would he eat something simpler and more expensive like hamburgers, soda and beer. The food of Nazarick, from the time when Yggdrasil mimicked flavors through the Neural Link, even at the time when they entered the new world, where everything became real, was delicious and magnificent, something that would be expected for a supreme king. As for the food native to that new world, it was a middle ground between the two other experiences.

Even so, Nazarick's food was so good that the middle ground was often considered trash. It's no wonder that one of the first official things they did was to form an alliance with the Holy Kingdom to set up farms using resources from Yggdrasil. Given all this, it was to be expected that the Brain Eater would be immensely surprised and happy to eat those cookies that were of excellent quality, even if they were still below the level of the guild's food.

"At most, I used some of the basic utensils I brought with me for aesthetics. Maybe that's enough to raise the level of the food." Sebas replied as he glanced lightly at the maid lying there. She seemed to be a little better already, so he helped her to at least sit on the sofa, also handing her a plate of cookies and a glass of juice.

"And it looks like our patient can move now? Perfect." Tabula smiled beneath her disguise, adjusting her top hat.

"T-thank you... uh... for taking care of me... I don't know what to say, I don't feel like I deserve something like that..." She looked super embarrassed, with her cheeks slightly red and her face turned to one side. From the angle, it was obvious that she didn't have the courage to look in Sebas' direction.

"It's okay, Sebas Tian told me a little about you...I am happy to know that he found someone of your caliber." Tabula only said that to provoke more reaction from the poor maid, but he soon looked at Pleiade who was there. "Solution, analyze her body and give me a comparison of the state before and after."

Without even thinking twice, the servant who had disguised herself as a noble did as she was asked. Approaching that maid, she touched her shoulder, giving the girl a very cold feeling. After that, Solution spoke in a monotonous manner. "The effects of Paralysis and Poison have been drained. There is still some poison in her body, but it is so minimal, that I would say that in 3 hours her body will have no traces."

"Perfect... So... Nfirea, if we are to take into account the surprise test... you got... 95 points out of 100." Tabula said happily and slightly ruffled the young alchemist's hair. "Good job."

"Thank you..." He smiled and then looked at the maid. "And it's good to know that everything is fine now... Anyway, my name is Nfirea Bareare. I am an alchemist in advanced training."

"Hm... an alchemist rather than a healer? I didn't expect that... but... I've never seen you around the capital."

"Oh, it's just that I live in E-Rantel and I only walk around the surrounding area- Wait, capital?" The boy quickly looks at his master. "Harry... you teleported me to the capital?"

"Yes, we're in the capital now... why do you ask? Have you never been here before?" The mentor saw his disciple shake his head, making him laugh. "If that's the case, I can ask Sebas to give you a quick tour around here, but only to places that are wide open and safe."

"That would be great... I never thought I'd be here."

"Wait, teleport?" The maid seemed quite surprised.

Sebas sat down next to her, placing his heavy hand very carefully on her head, as if arranging her hair a little. "My real masters are people with this level of skill, but it's a little complex to explain."

She nodded, and soon returned to the previous conversation. "Hm... you introduced yourself... so nothing could be simpler than doing the same. My name is Tuareninya Veyron... until now I worked as... eh... let's say that now I work as a simple maid in this house."

Nfirea didn't seem like he was going to question the work part that much, as he already understood the difficulty of the situation from what Sebas had said earlier. However, upon hearing the name of that maid, it was as if a burst of thought had arisen, making his eyes widen beneath his bangs, a hand on his chin, deepening the idea even further.

"Excuse me for asking..." It took him a while to actually speak, since he would be a little embarrassed if his idea was wrong. "But, wouldn't you happen to have someone in your family named Ninya? Eh... She's a very young spellcaster, a little shorter than me, brown hair, blue eyes like yours..."

Tuare had a very astonished expression, to the point of covering his mouth. "Hm... I don't know about being a spellcaster... but other than that... it seems like you're describing my little sister."

Tabula was interested in this conversation, so he listened. He remembered that there was a Ninya among the adventurers who were with Nfirea and Momon, but he didn't know any other details. It was interesting for the brain eater to hear the story from his apprentice's perspective.

Then the disciple began to tell a little about the context in which he met Tuare's sister. The sister herself listened to all of this with astonishment, a few tears running down her face, but they quickly disappeared, since Sebas was there to wipe the girl's face with a handkerchief.

They continued to talk, with the supreme being there deciding to leave the two alone, calling the NPCs to go with him to talk about a separate matter. Now they were in the corridor outside that room.

"Sebas, I managed to understand how much that woman seems to be, in some way, a method of affectionate relationship in which you are learning not only the idea of ​​living with humans and understanding their customs, but it is also a way for you to express everything that our fellow paladin did when he raised you..." He said as some tentacles came out from under his overcoat, as if he were stretching a little, after all, he was always wrapping the tentacles around each other to maintain that disguise.

He soon spoke again after putting the tentacles inside his overcoat again. "Because of this fact, because she is apparently being targeted by attacks and because she is a relative of someone Momonga trusts... I think it is better to take her to Nazarick to live and work there."

"But, Tabula-Sama... wouldn't that be absurd?! A human living among us?" Solution seemed quite affected upon seeing that kind of situation.

"I have my own disciple who is a human, the reason I have him is to see the possible limits for humans in this world, in addition to the fact that he has a special ability, which allows him to use any item without the prerequisites..." He reminded them of that fact and continued. "And as I said, this girl has her roles that seem to be essential to improve and see the situation of coexistence between us and humans. AND... Even if you weren't there that day, we recently held a meeting with the neighboring kingdom, to acquire the status of allies, with the ultimate goal of generating a healthy coexistence between all sentient species."

The brain eater gently touched the shoulder of the predator slime, who had her eyes wide open and vibrated slightly because she was afraid that the greatness next to her was angry. "Can you understand... how much your racist views are going against not only our current goals... but the goals our guild had in our early days?..." His voice was also very serious.

"Sebas... tell her the primary goal of Ainz Ooal Gown. She seems to have forgotten..."

"Yes, Tabula-sama. From what I've been told, the goal of the great Supreme Beings guild, long before our creation as their servants, was to be a grand and powerful group that not only attacked those who wanted to cause chaos, but also helped friendly players, regardless of their race."

"Yes.. that's right... You are the creation of our group's initial leader, I expected no less from you." He seemed pleased with Sebas' answer and then looked at Solution again. "If I or anyone else makes a plan, I appreciate that at least you and the others have your own opinions... but at the moment when it's obvious how much you're hindering our preparations... I'd like you to keep quiet, stare at the fucking wall and think very carefully about whether or not there's an advantage to our goals... Tell me now... Can you understand the advantages of having that girl?"

"Y-Y-Yes, Tabula-Sama...." Solution continued to tremble a little, as if she was a jelly in the middle of a weak earthquake

"Then tell me to my face what the advantage is, so we can see if you really understand..."

"T-The advantage is that... Ainz Ooal Gown is looking for methods to create p-peaceful alliances, having her with us will gradually get us use-used to the existence of Humans n-near us..."

"Perfect, you understand. Great." He sighed in relief and adjusted his top hat. "I'll ask Pestonya or Yuri to be her mentors so she can understand how things work in Nazarick... but before all that... Sebas, ask her if she really wants to be with us, in exchange for more security and even a calmer life... Don't mention at any time that we're heteromorphs, at most tell her that the people in our group are of different races who live together like one big... family. She will only be allowed to know about our true nature if she accepts, and the person to tell her about our true nature has to be one among us supreme beings... is that agreed?"

"Yes, Tabula-Sama!" The two replied, with Sebas entering the room to have the conversation.

A few minutes passed and the butler approached the supreme being again, showing himself present before reporting the situation. "She accepted the idea for her safety and for my sake... Apparently the young disciple Nfirea helped her understand a little about the context in which we live."

"What exactly did he say?" the brain eater asked curiously.

"Things like 'The place is full of various races', 'Humans who were invited receive protection', 'The owners of the place are understanding with people like us'... That last part, I interpreted as being 'chosen people'." Sebas said that, but soon after bowed again. "I thank you again, for allowing this idea of ​​her being brought to Nazarick."

"Hehehe, no problem, I think Touch_Me will love to know about thi-" The brain eater's tentacles wiggled inside his clothes for a moment. "Hm... Did you feel that? Upstairs..."

"It must be the people from the group that attacked Tuare before... We were surrounded by anti-sound magic at the time, in preparation for your presence. The silence may have made them think there was no one home."

"I see... Sebas, tell those two to enter the portal and for Tuare to stay in my disciple's cabin just for now..." Tabula seemed to be activating some skill, as a blue aura surrounded his disguise. "Solution, help me knock them out..."

"With all my pleasure." She smiled broadly and followed the brain eater.

As ordered, the two had to go through the portal, with Sebas still remaining in the mansion. Nfirea helped her to at least sit on one of the chairs in the kitchen, asking her if she would like a drink, which she refused.

Time passed, without much conversation happening in the cabin until it was obvious, looking out the window, that it had gotten dark. The young alchemist continued to be careful with his guest, offering her a cup of coffee and some cake, which she finally accepted.

"So... Where exactly are we?" She seemed to be trying to feed her own curiosity as she drank her coffee.

"We are in the Great Forest of Tob, to be more specific, near E-Rantel... We can say that we are on the other side of the kingdom."

"Impressive..." Tuare now looked at the ceiling and then at some of the shelves there that had books. "Why are there books in the kitchen?"

"Some are recipe books that the inhabitants of Nazarick have, others are instructions for potions that I keep here, since I also make some of them in the kitchen..."

"... I know you talked to Mr. Sebas before, about what Nazarick is... but could you be more specific?... I mean... what kind of place is it..."

"Oh. Of course! It's basically an underground dungeon that serves as the base for the Ainz Ooal Gown guild. My mentor is one of the founders, those two, Sebas and... I think the other one's name was Solution... they are workers of those founders." Nfirea tried to find ways to explain that she would understand. "They mentioned you working there as a maid... From the way my mentor and his daughters explained to me about Nazarick... you will probably be staying on the 9th Floor."

"9th Floor...?"

"It's basically where the DUNGEON itself ends, which serves as protection, and where their true guild's base begins. And I'm sorry if I can't answer everything... I don't know that much about the place as a whole, the most I know is about the floors where my mentor's daughters work..." A sort of strong wind sound appeared near them, Nfirea didn't need to turn his head to know what it was. "And apparently one of them has arrived... Good evening, Miss Nigredo."

"Good evening, young master Nfirea..." The NPC walked through that door carrying a tray that had some jars of sweets. "Father informed me that we had a visitor here, and that she would be working with us, so I asked to bring some sweets to welcome her."

"Huh...? You never call me 'master'... did something happen?" He asked, taking a candy from the jar.

"Father told me that he did a surprise test and that he was extremely pleased and impressed with you... To impress someone like him, I imagine that you deserve this title, being his disciple."

The young alchemist laughed, a little embarrassed about the way she said that. Meanwhile, Tuare watched that woman with a look of shock, having noticed, in the middle of that long hair, a face made of muscles and no skin. The apprentice had to explain to the new member that this was something normal within Nazarick, and to add heat to the situation, Nigredo ended up slipping out the fact that Solution is a slime and Sebas is a dragonoid.

The two humans there seemed to be in extreme shock. Solution being a Slime was understandable, since they both saw her smiling absurdly, as if her face was stretching, but Sebas being a dragonoid was something important. After all, dragons are believed to be almost divine beings in that world, due to several tales, myths and legends surrounding their existence.

"A dragon was taking care of me...?" Tuare looked like he was going to faint at any moment from the surprise.

"Not a dragon, a dragonoid... It's a hybrid species... and from what I was able to understand during Father's conversations with other supreme beings... The dragons from the place where we come from are not the same as the dragons here." Nigredo was explaining, she herself decided to take one of the sweets she had brought and taste it.

"You say it as if you were from another place..." The maid spoke confusedly.

"That's complicated actually... I also couldn't really understand the situation... But it seems like it's something related to a place so far away, that the things that affect the kingdoms around us don't even seem to affect where they were." Nfirea tried to ease the situation.

"Yes, we came from a very distant place and our home was teleported here completely... The supreme beings themselves say they don't really understand what did this, and we are now trying to understand our new environment... That's why Solution and Lord Sebas were in the capital, it was a mission to mix with the common people and understand the state of this kingdom..." The NPC was arranging her hair with her fingers.

"So it was a meeting by pure luck..."

Tuare was thinking about her situation, after all she had been taken from her home and used as an object of pleasure for a long time, until a stranger saved her, treated her like a living being, and what's more, would she have a chance to meet her little sister? It was as if the stars were aligning for her, even though these said stars didn't know of her existence.

It was decided that Tuare would spend at least some time there in the cabin until a place was ready for her. And so the night went on, with her using Nfirea's room, while he stayed awake doing things in the kitchen, preparing various treats and different foods. When dawn broke, the alchemist would be lying on the sofa in the living room, with his face buried in a pillow. On the small table next to the sofa, there were some bags full of things he would take to Carne Village.

"Is everything alright, young master Nfirea?" Tuare asked, already dressed in her maid uniform.

"I'm fine... resting a bit... And why do you call me 'Young master'?"

"Lady Nigredo called you that before, and since I'm going to work as a maid in Nazarick, I imagine you're far above me..."

It took the alchemist a while to understand those words, rubbing his hands against his eyes. "Oh... I see... no need to call me that, Tuare... you're basically the older sister of someone who was protecting me... it makes me feel weird... Anyway... have you had breakfast?"

Tuare shook her head, making Nfirea get up and go make something simple, a cup of chocolate milk and a toast with red fruit jam for each of them. The maid tried at all times to stop Nfirea from doing that so that she would do it instead of him, but he refused, even though she was a maid, she was still the guest there.

The breakfast, which was incredibly tasty, didn't last long, because someone knocked on the front door, drawing the attention of the two. The girl decided to get up and open the door, revealing a woman in a nun's uniform and a war mace on her back. Her eyes were a vibrant yellow that seemed to look deep into the maid's soul.

"Huh...? Where's Tabula-Sama's disciple?" the nun asked.

"Ah! I'm here!" He was returning to the main room, his mouth slightly sticky with jam.

The nun smiled broadly as she watched the scene. "Hm... My name is Lupusregina, but my adventurer name is Lucia Bonaparte. I'm one of the Battle Maids of Nazarick, Pleiades. I came here to pick you up for your visit to Carne Village." She soon looked back at the maid there. "And you...? I wasn't informed about you..."

"She's a person who's going to be trained to be a new maid, her name is Tuare... Uh... Professor Tabula said that, and that he would send a maid named Pastyona to train her." The alchemist explained himself, creating a friendlier smile on Lupusregina's face.

"Her name is Pestonya Shortcake Wanko, she's the Head Maid of the 9th Floor." The werewolf corrected some facts, giving a light laugh and looking at Tuare. "So, you'll be working with the homunculi, huh? Your appearance seems to be perfect enough to blend in with them..."

When Lupus raised that point, Nfirea kept looking at Tuare. "Huh...? She's right, you look a lot like some of them."

"Anyway, I just need to take you, not her." The Pleiade said, moving away from the door.

"Okay... I'll keep things clean here, we'll see each other... tomorrow?"

"Yes, the idea is that I'll stay a whole day in Carne." He was picking up the bags with the food.

After Nfirea left the house, Lupusregina suddenly grabbed him, carrying him on her back. This made his face extremely red as he was taken out of the cabin's territory. Tuare was just standing there watching the situation, but then she finally noticed the very colorful and beautiful flowers there in the garden, her first job would be to water them.

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[Returning to the Capital. . .]

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Some guards were walking down the main street of Re-Estize, they seemed to be talking to each other about the training they had recently. But why would they be talking about it so much? Gazef Stronoff himself, the Warrior Captain, was with them the whole time, the conversation was about him giving tips and ideas for future training.

"Mr. Stronoff, do you really think doing this will be a good idea?" one of the guards, blond and a little short, asked, quickly shaking his head. "Not that I'm doubting your wonderful ideas, but we would have to get permission from other high-ranking guards."

"No problem, Climb. I'll check with them about that... you're not incredibly talented right now, but you show enough aptitude for me to see potential in you..." Gazef seemed to yawn a little, even though he was completely awake. "The style used in official training is really something that doesn't let you show where you really shine. The idea of ​​soldiers fighting each other during training, instead of training resistance and solo sword cuts, will make a large part of them understand where each one has talent..."

"I see... was that how your master taught you?"

"Yes, he was very strict, the training was done only with him present in the room, half of it involved preparing to hold the sword well and concentrate, the other part involved battling against him, with the objective being to cause some cut in tissues that we used in the vital parts of our bodies."

"Woah... That sounds interesting to do... Hm..." Climb looked around the streets for a bit, remembering an event that happened a few days ago. After waiting for the others to leave, he asked curiously. "Mister Gazef... What would be your opinion on the groups that work in the shadows around here?"

The Warrior Captain raised an eyebrow, confused. "Why do you ask that?"

"I recently saw a really strong guy, he was fainting and scaring some guys who seemed to want to kidnap a young lady... He did it with his own hands as if it were nothing."

"Hm... kidnappings you mean...? Well, I don't usually get notified of these kinds of things because I'm so busy in the castle being the king's guard... It amazes me that you manage to find time to know about these things, after all you are Princess Renner's guard." Gazef seemed to be thinking. "But for you to ask that... how often does this kind of thing happen?"

"I don't see it happening directly, that was my first time, but I heard some reports saying that it was quite common, especially for that group, the Eight Fin-" Climb's answer was suddenly interrupted when they saw a man being thrown a great distance and hitting his back against the ground.

Looking at the person in front, it was possible to see another man with white hair and beard, a butler's uniform, and a gaze that would make anyone fearful. Gazef felt that bizarre aura emanating around that man, it seemed like a completely oppressive will.

"Oh... it's him..." Climb commented, while waving his arms. "Mister Sebas! Did something happen?"

"Do you know that man?"

"Yes, he's the guy I said saved a lady from being kidnapped." Climb replied.

Looking in the direction of the person who had been thrown, he had a very clear mark of a punch, delivered directly to the nose, blood running down his nostrils as he tried to say something, completely frightened. One of his arms seemed to be broken, and next to it, a blood stain was appearing under his clothes.

"Oh... Good afternoon, Young Climb..." Sebas said with a slight bow.

"Can you tell us what's going on here?"

"Well... it's easy to understand... The house I'm taking care of was invaded by this man and a few others... They tried to use poison darts and things like that... I just decided to throw the 'trash' away, as you can see..." Sebas adjusted his gloves, showing no sign of fatigue from this so-called battle.

"Hm... I can't ignore this, where exactly is your house?" Gazef was asking, but Climb soon began to speak a little over the top, showing concern.

"They invaded where you live and tried to kill you?! Why? Is that girl okay?"

Sebas could tell the difference between the two men. One seemed more practical, while the other was worried about the weakest link he knew about himself. The butler kept his eyes closed, thinking about what he should say, and after a few seconds, he answered them.

"My house is at the end of the street, the only one with a fountain in the front yard. And young Climb, that girl is fine. We had taken her out of the city some time ago, but apparently the invaders thought she was still in the mansion and waited to attack us and try to get her back."

"People are really trying to capture that girl... What is she, that they are causing so much trouble?" Gazef asked as he walked towards the house, Climb following.

"A brothel slave." Sebas answered dryly.

The idea of ​​people trying to invade such a fancy house, just to capture a brothel slave, was absurd. Normally the risk would be much greater than the reward, even if the slave was the sexiest woman in the entire kingdom, it wouldn't be worth it.

Unless... the ones who want her are the Eight Fingers. Yes, they do things in the shadows and are seen as great in the criminal world. Being the biggest parasites in the kingdom, they would not be afraid of anything, and that also makes them like spoiled children. When they want something, it is not about being able or not being able, but rather WHEN they will get it.

"She being a brothel girl... I would never have expected it... she seems so innocent..." Climb said to himself, until he realized something. "Wait! So you and the noble lady you take care of, are not in extreme danger!?"

Sebas seemed to give a slight laugh, as if the situation was not even serious. "I am very strong, as you may recall... My Lady is also very skilled in self-defense techniques, focusing on blades... and, at the moment, we were being visited by another, very powerful person..."

Arriving at the house, a group of 5 people could be seen, all thrown against the ground in the front garden, with another who seemed to have fallen from one of the windows on the second floor and been impaled by the mansion's iron fence. Upon entering the garden itself, it was as if their ears were being blasted, as the sounds that could not be heard were now available, and among those sounds, those of bandits groaning in pain and something heavy being thrown to the ground inside the mansion.

"That... really seems intense..."

"It seems like you really didn't need our help in terms of combat... but if you want us to witness the event for you, I think it will be fine." Gazef continued speaking, a little incredulous when he noticed one of the people on the ground.

This person had an androgynous appearance and masculine clothing, but the fact that a bit of the shirt was torn, it was possible to see a bit of the shape of the female breasts. The Warrior Captain had to rub his own eyes to believe what he was seeing, that person, along with a broken rapier nearby, revealed who it was.

"Who was it that managed to destroy Lubelina?" he asked, while deciding not to look too much at the corpse, after all, its neck seemed to have bent abnormally.

"That was me." Sebas answered still as if nothing was serious. "And to think that someone would advance for a direct attack like that... it seemed like an amateur..."

Approaching the door, the butler knocked and then opened it, still acting as if an invasion was not happening. "Professor Lovecraft, we have a visitor, they said they will testify what happened on our behalf."

"Excellent!!!!" It was possible to hear that loud voice from afar, and it didn't take long for the owner of the voice to appear, adjusting his top hat and looking at the two visitors, his clothes slightly stained with blood. "Hello~ I hope the situation isn't scaring you... My name is Harry Pandemonium Lovecraft, or you can call me Professor Lovecraft... I'm a scholar. ohoho~"

"Eh... is everything okay now?..." Gazef asked, unsure of how to react to that situation.

"Ohhhh, yes, everything is fine actually, we just finished off the last guy who was here... I feel like someone who looks like that should be a problem, but he ended up falling quickly with one of my potions."

After a period of silence, they asked if they could go in and check out the situation and without delay, the mysterious Professor agreed. The house inside seemed to be quite destroyed, but they were led to the only room that was untouched, the guest room. There they stood, watching the residents of the place sitting on the sofas and drinking tea...

'Is getting into trouble like this normal for Mr. Sebas?' Climb thought, feeling that heavy aura, as if he were going to be killed at any moment, and this made him hold tightly on his sword's hilt.

Gazef remained serious in that situation, now seeing that it seemed that the problem had really ended. "Eh... again, I apologize for the intrusion. I heard from Climb that you're new around here. My name is Gazef Stronoff, and I'm the captain of the capital's royal guard."

The aura of the place changed almost immediately, with the Professor clapping his hands happily. "Gazef?! Ooh, so it's you!!" He quickly stood up. "Some of my companions worked with you before, and they told me a lot about your great personality!"

"Your companions worked with me...?" He tried to think of who these people could be, but slowly the answer came to his mind, as he remembered the last completely intense case that had happened. "The spellcaster Momuny and the paladin Toucháki? Are you one of their companions?!"

Climb was confused, those were the wrong names. But it was probably said like that, to confirm that this guy really knows them.

"Yes! It's them!" The Professor gave a big, joyful laugh, almost exaggerated. "I've worked with them a few times. But you got the names wrong, it's Momonga and TouchMe."

Now, confirming that he really knew them, he smiled. "If you're on the same level of extraordinary as them, now I can understand how all this happened. Anyway, if it's not a problem, I'd like you to help me bring all the bodies to one place, so I can make a report on how many people broke in and who they might be."

They agreed to this and so it was done. Inside one of the destroyed rooms, all the invaders were there, some unconscious, others obviously dead. Lady Solution, the strange and rude noble lady, ended up informing that one of them had disappeared, and when she described the person to Gazef, he seemed to not recognize the missing person, as if he were a complete John Doe.

During the reconnaissance, it was noticed that one of the corpses belonged to another very important person from the Eight Fingers. This made the Warrior Captain impressed and scared by the whole situation.

"I can't believe it... You were attacked by a super dangerous trio. Zero, Succulent and Lubelina... I never get into these situations, because the king says that I must focus completely on the safety of the castle and especially his own. But I know that they are dangerous people for any amateur. Only professionals or talented people could have a chance against them."

"Did they have a bounty on their heads?" Lovecraft quickly got to the best subject.

"Yes, but it's an open value, because no one would believe that people like that could be captured or killed by someone outside the groups allied with royalty..." He was being honest, putting the cloth back over one of the corpses, disgusted to see that face almost crushed.

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd like you two to just report this to the royal family and not let the matter out in the open... We don't want to be the focus of these criminal groups... at the very least, start a rumor that these people were attacked by several guards in moments of surprise... I think this will serve to cover our tracks a little for now..." Lovecraft adjusted his top hat again and took a gold coin out of his pocket for each of them there. "This will be my token of gratitude for doing this for us."

"It seems to be a very expensive token..."

"Yes, it's made of gold, but it can't be used as currency in these regions, unfortunately. If you don't want to get involved with us, you could even melt it down and sell it for the price of the gold material. I don't mind what you do, since we have plenty of those." The Professor said as he left the room.

The two warriors looked closely at that token. It was a kind of gold coin, with a symbol of a tree on one side and a kind of rune on the other. On the thin part of the coin, it was possible to see the number "1000" repeating itself a few times.

Looking at the mess in the hallway, that mysterious being just let out a long sigh. "We'll have to clean up a lot here..."

For the rest of the night, Climb remained inside that place while the captain went out to call for help. Such help appeared in the form of some castle guards, coming to that place with some covered carriages. Carefully, the corpses were placed in one of the carriages, while the survivors who were still unconscious were handcuffed and placed in the other carriage, with their heads covered with clothes.

"If you find something that we didn't notice before, during the cleaning, I recommend that you go to the adventurers' guild and ask the receptionist to call me." Gazef handed over a kind of badge. "If she doesn't take you seriously, show her this, it's one of the symbols I use to let people know that you know me. I live in a house close to the guild, so she can leave and call me quickly."

"Do you live close to the guild? There aren't many impressive houses like that around there, unless you live in your old master's SwordSchool." Climb seemed very curious.

"There's no reason for me to answer something like that, Climb." He gave a weak karate chop in Climb's head, who just fake cried as they went outside of the manor.

Gazef walked away from the young knight when he arrived at his house, turning a few streets to throw off anyone who was following him, until he reached a place where he put a rag of very simple clothes around his body so as not to look like someone important. Normally he would go home in his ordinary clothes, but because of the situation he ended up in, he was wearing his basic armor, which would make many recognize him.

In reality, Gazef lived in a very simple house, with only two floors, each with only two rooms. The house was located almost directly in front of his former mentor's school, which allowed him to visit him on his few free days. Entering there, he took off that old rag and hid his armor under clothes, below the central table.

Seeing what he had in the kitchen, it was just a basket with bread and some jars of jams that some castle employees gave him from time to time. It made him realize that he had forgotten to buy something a while ago, rubbing his hand over his face. He had to remind himself to order something the next day, at least there was something to eat, but dinner at that time? Normally he should already be asleep to wake up very early.

Speaking of time, returning to that mansion, it took a while for a clock to ring on Tabula's wrist. He raised the sound shield around the place so that they wouldn't be spied on and with an order, Solution began to clean all the blood that was there from the floor and walls, after all, she was a slime.

Sebas took all the broken furniture to a specific room, so that the pieces of wood wouldn't get in the way of the slime Pleiade. Soon after, he approached the great alchemist, bowing.

"I'm sorry, your visit here ended up being more full than we imagined, Tabula-sama."

"Yes, it was problematic, but I feel like there were good moments... After all, we discovered that those weaklings were actually considered very dangerous bandits... This helps to understand even more the power level of the people of this world..." He answered, taking off a bit of his disguise, as if it hit his body hard, after all, his shape isn't so human-like.

He continued to speak, with the tentacles on his face swaying a lot. "Furthermore, I was able to meet this Gazef guy face to face. According to the information we have, he is the strongest warrior in this entire kingdom. His personality seems to be exactly as Momonga and TouchMe said before. Since he knows about your existence, Sebas... I can say it would be a good idea for you to be friendly with him. That way, over time, we can find out what this great warrior wants most, and we can use that to attract him to us..."

"This is part of the plan for peace between races, isn't it?" Sebas made that light comment.

Tabula was thinking like a Brain Eater at that moment, having imagined that warrior as a kind of prize that would be excellent to have inside a hypothetical jar. But curious about what Sebas meant, he asked him to explain what he had understood.

"The idea of ​​a union between species could cause some internal problems, related to the trust that each species will continue to exist. After all, there are very powerful beings on many sides, with Nazarick being able to represent the Heteromorphic beings..." Sebas was being honest, adjusting his tie before continuing. "With this in mind, humans need to have strong enough representatives to remain confident that humanity will not be killed during the alliance... And for that, you, Supreme Beings, are always keeping an eye on humans considered powerful, to ease the tensions that could be created in our peace agreements."

The Brain Eater was impressed by how his words were interpreted in such a way. This made him smile and agree with what Sebas said, but internally, he was thinking about it a lot. 'I hadn't imagined that something like this could happen if we don't have many powerful humans... Indeed, asking NPCs' opinions on such matters is extremely important... I should inform others to do this from time to time...'

Returning to the subject of broken furniture, Tabula created a portal and had homunculus maids transport some of it to replace the old ones, with the debris being taken into Nazarick to be used as raw material for fireplaces. He took advantage of the portal there, saying goodbye to the two NPCs and returning to the guild base.

"Yoooo! How was your day out there?" Bukubuku was the one to ask, jumping on top of Tabula to scare him, but he managed to dodge easily.

"It was, for sure, A moment, without a shadow of a doubt... We were attacked by a group of criminals, but we're fine and the situation has been concluded, so we left the capital guards to sort out some things... By the way, I'd like to tell you some interesting news" He was commenting, after seeing that Touch_Me and Momonga were also present there in the hallway.

"And what would the news be?" the three asked.

"Masato..." He paused dramatically before speaking. "It seems your NPC is in love with a human~"

The three of them stood there in silence, staring at the brain eater, hoping that this was some kind of joke, but when they saw that he was serious, the paladin slowly raised his hands, as if he was still thinking, only reacting when his hands were completely raised, completely happy.

"I WILL HAVE A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW!!!!!"

Tabula continued, laughing lightly. "Well, this 'daughter-in-law' was the reason why Sebas and Solution's house was attacked in the capital. Apparently your NPC saved her from some guys who were trying to capture her, and later they found out that she was a brothel slave, the brothel owners being associated with the most powerful criminal group in Re-Estize Kingdom."

"So Sebas was conquered by a sex slave?! I didn't expect that from him!" Bukubuku joined the conversation, trying to lighten the seriousness with her comments and perverted voice.

"She looked a lot like one of our homunculus maids. And since Sebas wants her protected and close to him... I sent her to stay with Nfirea for a while. My idea is to ask Pestonya to train her so that she can pay for her security, by becoming a maid here in Nazarick."

"Another human associated with Nazarick at this rate... Aren't you doing things too quickly without asking us first?" Momonga tried to show more as the leader. "Nfirea, I understand, he has a special ability and is an alchemist, which makes it possible for us to tie him to you... But this girl, she's just a nobody... Even if Sebas seems interested in her, I think this should be something he himself would have to be responsible for and not involve us in it."

"Well, she's involved with you in some way... or should I say she's slightly involved with Momon?"

"What do you mean by that?" If the overlord had eyebrows, one would obviously be raised.

"After a little chat between her and Nfirea, we found out that she's the older sister of the spellcaster from the Sword of Darkness group... That girl who was the only survivor you managed to save."

Momonga now understood where this conversation was going, and with a deep sigh, he changed his uniform right there, becoming Momon! "I'll go to E-Rantel tomorrow and ask them to call Ninya over there... Or do you think it's better if I take this girl with me directly to the city?"

"You'd better call the adventurer to Carne Village and we'll have this family reunion there... Do you remember who was after her? That group might have ears in E-Rantel and we don't even know it." Masato said, still trying to contain his joy at what he'd heard before. "Sebas found someone... I hope I can meet her later..."

"Let's wait a while for her to get used to here, we don't want to do those anime scenes where the father scares his son's girlfriend." BB made that comment and soon walked to the bar on the 9th floor. "By the way... what do you think about sending sweets to that cabin? Just a treat to help her relax a bit."

All the supreme beings there accepted the idea, so they would send Nigredo to do that job. Meanwhile, Momon would now have to see if Shalltear, Nabe and Lupus were free to do the adventurer roleplay.