179

What was better for Ainz?

On one side was Medb, the same Medb from YGGDRASIL. The girl is hated by almost all YGGDRASIL players. Human, demi-human, heteromorphic, players with negative, positive, and even neutral karma hated her. The same Medb who, during YGGDRASIL's heyday, was the source of three or even five new threads popping up daily on the forum boards. All with variations of the title 'I know Medb cannot be trusted, but the reward has been so great, so… ', quickly followed inevitably by the same poster raging that he lost some rare equipment or another.

It's almost as if the GMs kept a watch on the forum boards to maximize the salt mining.

The same Medb that caused Ainz to lose three full sets of enchanted items, at least three dozen levels, and at least twice denied himself access to other quests and profitable vendors just to complete her quest line…

To this Medb, Ainz would have preferred not to approach, keeping a distance of… Well, planets, he guessed.

On the other hand, the alternative to dealing with Medb, was dealing with an embittered, to the point of murder, woman who wanted to stick him to the pointed end of a spear. And that's immediately upon meeting him! A woman, who, for some reason, thought that he was Balor!

Ainz had met with Balor before, a result of a quest line of confrontation with Angrboda had even netted him to have two of Balor's rings, a very rare drop! Needless to say, he was almost intimately aware of how Balor actually looks like. He could absolutely tell that he, in no way, looks like one!

Exactly what part of Ainz's appearance looked like the one-eyed giant?!

Or rather than those two sources of headaches, there is another option… he could have gone to Da Vinci! The realization caused Ainz to calm down after a moment, before he raged again once more.

What great options he has!

If he didn't get cut into little pieces, he would need to face a dozen thousand questions about his current state, his actions in the Singularity – perhaps even what he knew about Medb… How is he supposed to answer those kinds of questions!?

Okay, if only about Medb – Ainz could at least roughly recall her lore, her related quests, and one or two fun facts about her – and that's it. There's no way that those were the questions that Da Vinci would ask… Okay, she would definitely ask about those things, but what about uncovering the secrets of YGGDRASIL's working that would follow next? Secrets that he himself just didn't know?

"Huh, it's funny how quickly priorities change, doesn't it?" Ainz could only sigh, seeing that the event that had seemed so embarrassing to him just a couple of dozen minutes ago, the transformation of Mashu from dying to becoming immortal, had suddenly become one of Ainz's least concern.

Not to say that it's not something he would like to avoid, though. Actually, having some distance to it now, Ainz knew he should have at least answered a couple of Mashu's questions before bolting out of his own room with an excuse. In fact, he might even have an answer to some!

For example, if Mashu were to ask him 'Ainz, why did you make me immortal?!' he already found an answer to that one! In fact, Ainz could even vividly imagine Mashu asking that, he could almost even hear her voice, then, just as vividly, he could imagine his own answer.

'You see, just turning a human into an immortal entity is so easy and insignificant to me that I decided to have mercy on you and grant you eternal life!' Something like that!

Didn't that sound cool? Oh, it certainly did!

Would it not cause several dozen further problems, misunderstandings, and questions following from that answer? Alas, also absolutely!

"Maybe I could say that it happened by accident?" Ainz noted to himself before trying to imagine how the dialogue would turn in that case before exhaling through his nose.

If he answered Mashu's question like that, not only would he look like a mighty entity, but one that couldn't even properly control his abilities! His Servants would wonder constantly when he tried to use a spell the next time, what effect might 'accidentally' happen? Or if Ainz wouldn't also 'accidentally' cast a spell that would destroy a small town?

He wouldn't be able to bear their disappointed gazes!

Gradually, Ainz's steps became slower and slower, before finally halting, Ainz sighed loudly. Should he be thankful that he wasn't mortified enough for Emotional Suppression to activate, or be sad that there wasn't an escape from his impending doom?

No, Ainz is not going to go to Mashu right now! He would do a much simpler and wiser thing.

Before taking the plunge and initiating a dialogue with Mashu, he would go back to his room, lie in his bed for a while, rest from his thoughts and from the current situation. Maybe even use the time to make a decent dialogue plan, and rehearse a couple of answers, only after that would he then go to Mashu!

Wait, what if Mashu is still in his room? No, that's impossible, there's no way that a young girl like Mashu would like to stay in some random guy's room, right?

She should already be back to her room, right? There's no way that Mashu would still be in his room, right?

Right, there's no way that Mashu would still be in his room.

Yes, that's right, after everything that had happened today, from him almost entirely missing the battle in Singularity, to his extremely awkward escape from Medb. Who, apparently in mockery of his awkwardness, decided to tease him!

Yes, to say the least, he deserved a good night's sleep before doing anything else!

Well, more a lie down than actually sleeping. Even in his human body, Ainz couldn't actually 'sleep' per se, but he could lie still with his eyes, slowly relaxing, which was close enough for Ainz. In fact, even when he was 'engaged' in a very exhausting activity, he still couldn't actually fall asleep.

Anyway, diverting himself from thinking of how his human body interacted strangely with his skeletal one, Ainz turned around from the direction of Mashu's room and back to his own.

Still, what, in fact, could he say to Mashu now?

"Mashu, you won't believe me, but this super unbelievable accident is actually part of some amazing plan of mine. A plan that you can only see clearly decades from now and would retrospectively be made up of dozens of the most incredible accidents, all seemingly completely irrelevant to your situation… Ha! What kind of person would buy that?"

Ainz sighed one more time, then patted his cheeks a couple of times before cheering up a bit. All the foreign thoughts kicked out of his head, he'll do all the thinking when he's on his bed!

Almost with a skip to his step at the thought of kicking his troubles into the future, Ainz absent-mindedly returned to his room. Ainz turned the doorknob, taking a step inside his room, then closing the door and only then glancing around his familiar room.

The desk that Ainz had never used, the TV screen whose remote he never found, the speaker, the shower door, the chair, Mashu sitting in the chair, the bed, the bedside table…

Ainz slowly realized that something about the current environment was out of the ordinary, before he froze and slowly began to scan the room with his gaze again.

Before he stumbled at Mashu's unexpected figure, who continued to sit on the chair in his room.

At Mashu who was looking at him with a very, very focused gaze…

Ainz didn't have time to blink before the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

Though, realizing it only now, Ainz should have known that Mashu simply wouldn't leave his room without getting answers to her questions, especially if something as incredible as becoming immortal had happened to her…

At least, Ainz assumed that becoming immortal was something unbelievable… Not like he would know about that! He's 100% a member of the mortal kind!

Well, maybe, if one counts his transformation into the body of his game avatar – then, in a sense, it also happened to him? However, if so, then he did not consider it something incredible… Which is strange now that he thought about it in hindsight.

Shouldn't he perhaps be more worried about that? He wasn't exactly overly attached to his human body, simply because of the disparity of the amount of time he spent in it when compared to the time he spent with his avatar, but still… Was there something affecting his mind? Something other than his Emotional Suppression, he meant.

If Ainz's mind wasn't actually affected by something, perhaps Ainz really just didn't have time to understand and appreciate what had happened as something unbelievable, being dragged into Chaldea's hectic life…

Well, now wasn't exactly the best time to ponder about that, so perhaps he should stop trying the reality in front of him?

However, the tense silence continued to linger, before Mashu broke it. "So… about, my immortality?"

Panic gripped Ainz, receding a moment later, but already taking its toll, forcing Ainz to speak the first thing that popped into his head. "Regarding this…"

Mashu saw Ainz enter his room, in which she had spent the last forty minutes trying to recover her calm, seemingly not at all surprised by her being here, nor by her question.

Though perhaps it wasn't at all surprising to find that Ainz already had an answer to her questions.

After all, not that her transformation from slowly dying to becoming immortal could have been a rash move on Ainz's part!

I mean, no, of course she was pleased to become an immortal Servant, but it would be too out of the norm for her to be prepared for!

Mashu, of course, had expected, hoped even in a way, that Ainz, after she told him about her trouble, would simply wave his hand. Maybe even saying something like 'Finally you admit it yourself, good thing it's such a small thing to me', and somehow get rid of her problem. After all, he had resurrected Director Olga-Marie, something that was considered impossible for magi of the world!

Surely in this case, he could have done something to help Mashu as well… But Mashu didn't quite imagine to what extent he would 'solve' her problem!

A snap of his fingers, one that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and a thousand goosebumps to run through her body. She could feel some kind of grinding sensation somewhere inside her, down her spine, and then after that, Mashu had a clear understanding of what had happened.

She was immortal now.

Just like that, at the snap of his fingers, with no additional requirements or intricate conditions, he had changed and defined her entire life from now on. Such a thing did not fit Mashu's picture of the world, even one that is already badly shattered by Ainz's actions around her, so how could she wrap her head around being immortal?

How would a terminally ill man, knowing that at best he had a couple of years to live, react to the news that he was now virtually immortal, eternally young, and could recover from the most desperate wounds or illnesses?

Of course Mashu was glad, but even more than that, she was surprised. As if her life had suddenly moved from a 'real' one, to the like she could only read in books, in which such things happened simply because they had to happen.

Mashu had a lot of questions; from exactly how Ainz did it, to whether he could keep doing it, and how the world would react if Ainz just kept making everyone immortal, but not one question could fully form in her head. The words just jumbling around, causing Mashu to spew an inarticulate mush of words instead of a full-fledged sentence.

But after mulling it around for some time, she finally could ask one.

Ainz, however, did not just seem to be expecting this question, but looked at Mashu and almost smiled, answering her question lightly, without even paying attention to the panic growing inside Mashu. "Well, the thing is, for me, such an act was so easy that I didn't even notice that I wished immortality for you…"

Ainz paused for a moment before continuing.- "I mean, you could say that it was almost an accidental effect…"

Ainz paused again before starting to speak a little faster. "Though, of course, there's nothing unexpected about it, it fully fits my plans and meets my expectations. I'd even say that it's a rather important part of my plan…"

His Suppression of Emotion worked over time, first making Ainz calm down, then once more, preventing him from crying.

It was even worse than he thought it would be! He was worried that he wouldn't be able to come up with a decent answer for Mashu, and he was worried about it for a good reason! As soon as Mashu asked him a question, he didn't just spit out one of the three losing options that he had jokingly discussed with himself in his head, he gave her all three!

He had simultaneously done it on his own accidental whim, failing to control the ability, and yet it was all part of the plan!

After spitting out the worst tripe he could, Ainz froze, not knowing exactly what would happen if he opened his mouth right now!

Right now, to say that he had just lied was an understatement? What could be worse at this moment!?

His Suppression of Emotion saved him again, allowing him to feign calm, no, more like even serene.

'You can't undo what you've said, so all you have to do in this case is accept what you've said and hope that it doesn't continue to develop further. And that Mashu forgets what you said as quickly as possible…'

Ainz was aware of how unrealistic such a thought was,

At this point, to assume that anyone would forget the moment when one became immortal, and even more so, forget the explanation of why exactly that happened was a fool's errand…

So, after saying the words and being silent for a second, Ainz simply looked at Mashu. Was he waiting for further questions from her or was he inwardly preparing to be left alone with the consequences of his own decision, and his inept attempt to explain it? Ainz doesn't really know, he had stopped thinking about it at this point.

Mashu, however, remained in her seat silently, clearly trying to absorb the information she had just received and to incorporate it into her picture of the world.

Ainz certainly didn't want to make Mashu think so hard. But, if the alternative to that was Ainz trying to justify himself again, burying himself deeper and deeper, then Ainz could only be quietly pleased that his words made Mashu hesitate to ask another question.

"Okay." However, to Ainz's own fear, one that he was badly hiding if one knew where to look. Mashu was finally able to come to some kind of compromise inside her mind. Too quickly for Ainz's comfort, and began asking another question. "In that case… How, I mean, what restrictions are imposed on me?"

"Restrictions?" Ainz looked at Mashu seriously. In his mind quickly came the information that the immortality bestowed to Mashu came without any additional requirements, was he wrong? Accidentally mistaken? Was there some kind of problem, an error in the workings of the spell?

Oh, no!

"No, I mean…" Mashu was clearly a little uncomfortable talking about it, although, how was Ainz supposed to know? Maybe it was a common condition for those who suddenly became immortal? Ainz doesn't actually meet a lot of immortals in the past, the number just recently turning into one.

"I mean, that… well, usually after such extreme changes. I mean, doesn't immortality come at an expense? In the stories at least, I mean, people typically needed to go in the service of some dark gods for such boons. I mean, not that I'm saying that you're a dark god… I mean, maybe a dark god, but…"

"I understand… " Ainz couldn't help but feel a large amount of relief once he understood that there wasn't actually a complication, Mashu was just worried about the compensation that she needed to give after his help!

Really, if he wasn't an undead, he figures that he would be having a heart attack right now!

After his encounter with Medb, Ainz was reluctant to have even another mocking statement disguised as an awkward conversation. Considering that it wasn't Medb, but Mashu instead, a person that Ainz knew well, it was really an awkward conversation. Now, before the situation could become more awkward, he should be giving Mashu his answer.

"There's no need to worry, I have no demands regarding what happened. I mean, you are already my Servant, so I don't think I can – or would it even make sense for me to demand anything more from you. I guess, you can consider it a kind of reward for the days and Singularities gone by. After all, what kind of bo… I mean, Master, I'll be if I couldn't provide for my Servants and properly reward them for their service?"

Ainz smiled slightly, clearly feeling in his element right now. Truly equivalent exchange is the best kind of exchange! Well, Mashu should be quite rich, right? After all, she works for an international organization, so she should have a lot of money, right? Well, just asking for money outright would be quite improper… So, all he needs to do is just hint at it!

"I have no need for material compensation, wealth not really of any use right now. But, a reward like immortality would have to be quite weighty indeed, wouldn't it?"

There, perfect. He just hinted that he would take his payment after the Singularity ends.

What could go wrong?

Of course, Mashu understood that comparing eternal life with money was fundamentally incorrect – the very possibility of buying eternal life as a commodity was ludicrous. Just as ridiculous was the very idea of paying a summoned familiar, something almost no different as a tool, like a hammer.

What kind of person would give a gift to a hammer?

Servants, for all their incredible power, in then were nothing more than a particularly powerful and extremely glorified, familiars. Even more so, in the current situation they're in.

The salvation of mankind and the Earth is not something that should have involved any payment or reward at the end, other than perhaps the glory of saving mankind.

And although it was possible to assume that at the end, for saving humanity, the saviors, the Masters, would be granted eternal life, in the sense that it would fit into some legend. It did not fit at all to a scene like 'Well, I should have paid you three thousand dollars for a month of saving humanity, but your salary will come to you later. I apologize for the delay and misunderstanding, please accept this small gift of immortality as an apology'.

What kind of story is that! Even as a comedy, that would be too much.

So upon hearing Ainz' words, Mashu was lost in her own thoughts for a few seconds. What can she give in return for Ainz's gift?

'I think I understand,' Galahad's voice made Mashu blink, grasping at the only thing around who could actually explain to her what was happening. 'Maybe… Maybe, just maybe, it's all the same order of things for him? Just, think for yourself.' Galahad turned to Mashu, metaphorically, that is.

'He himself said it, how insignificant it was for him to turn someone into an immortal. It was practically a side effect! I mean, to him, it's a small thing. We know, for a fact, that creatures with powers like him don't care about little things like money or material things. Gold and jewels mean nothing to them…' If Ainz himself had heard these words, he surely would have seriously resented such a false remark from Galahad.

'I mean, making someone immortal is as petty to him as money, he just sees them as things of the same order. I mean, we've already figured out that he tries to always return favor with favor – even to the Servants. Then, in that case, doesn't it just mean that he sees little difference between material rewards with immortality? Both are too insignificant for him to distinguish between them, just as you might not see the difference between what words of gratitude to say if someone helped you move things or something like that…'

Such realization made Mashu blink before she looked at Ainz again.

Though, of course, she had realized before that she and Ainz were creatures of very different levels of existence. But, with each confirmation of that, Mashu only realized more and more how different they really were. What is, from Mashu's perspective, was some ancient, almost taboo power – the mystery of immortality – to Ainz was as petty as an extra quarter accidentally dropped from one's purse. A quarter that Ainz was just too lazy to pick up off the floor.

While such realization was enlightening, it still doesn't give her any idea of what she could offer to repay Ainz. At the end of the day, no matter how trifling it might be for Ainz, immortality was still immortality. There's one thing she could think of…

Well, she did accidentally call him a dark god before.

After saying her piece, Mashu was silent and Ainz felt that he could relax a little. Apparently, his words were taken without any problems and, in addition, she was not against immortality itself, if only surprised at having it, but not against it at all.

Ainz, in turn, was perfectly fine with this as well! Both Mashu's silence and the fact that she was okay with such a reward from Ainz, especially considering that he had to spend one of the six free spells concentrated within his rings.

Of course, this was not the only such source of the spell for him. As has already been said, Ainz had six free spells inside his rings and he knew a similar one that he could cast, but wasting unrecoverable resources was not Ainz's favorite pastime. Besides, if he had used the spell and found that Mashu was unhappy with the outcome of its use…

But all's well that ends well – like now. No need to look for offense where none was intended.

So after waiting a few more seconds, Ainz took a couple of steps to his bed, then sat down, glad that the conversation with Mashu had gone a lot easier than he had originally anticipated. Especially since it solved one of his biggest problems at the moment.

Now he only had to deal, essentially, with Medb – who may well have already proceeded to plan his destruction. And with Scáthach, who looked as if she would be happy to pay extra for the opportunity to take part in that planned destruction.

If he dealt with those, all his concerns were solved!

If wishes were horses… Before he could ponder more on his luck, Mashu suddenly broke the peaceful silence.

"Ah, what about… me?" Mashu's voice informed him that he hadn't sorted out all the issues yet, not even close.

"That… that I kind of fell in love with you? So… right, I'm still a virgin, and that's valuable, right?"

'What?' Ainz could feel the gears in his head grind to a halt.

After her proposal, Mashu looked away, not looking at Ainz, either out of amazement of her courage or shackled by fear.

Galahad must have wanted to say something at this moment to Mashu – but he couldn't think of exactly what he could say at this moment. So, Mashu felt a strange new feeling, where the voice in her head could no longer voice its thoughts, continuing to be silent, waiting for the situation to develop.

But when Ainz didn't answer her after a second or three, Mashu felt her heart gradually quicken its pace. No longer able to bear the silence, she slowly looked up, trying to look quickly and stealthily at Ainz's expression as if he could turn her to stone with one look. No offense to Medusa.

But when she looked up, she saw only Ainz looking at her with some thoughtfulness, which instantly caught her gaze with his own.

"It's funny, hilarious, actually…" Ainz spoke slowly, so silently that Mashu had to strain her ears to hear what he's saying. "Only in another world would I have, not such an outstanding list of victories on this front. Really, I had to be in another world to have a relationship…"

Mashu was not uninterested in information about this side of Ainz's personality, but for obvious reasons, at the moment she did not interrupt Ainz's words.

"Huh, to be honest, I'm not even quite sure what I should answer with, in this case." Ainz raised his hand and in a perfectly human gesture scratched his head, before grinning unexpectedly at some kind of private joke.

"Huh, maybe I should start developing a full-fledged questionnaire for the introduction already? Consider it something like a small private club, like a corporate golf club…"

Slowly finishing his words, Ainz sighed before looking at Mashu in the eyes, and Mashu's heart skipped a beat. "I… For a decision like this, I suppose you need to know about my relationships with the other girls? They, in turn, need to know about you… I guess. I must confess that I had never thought before that I would need to do something like that…"

Mashu in turn only swallowed, thanking Galahad inwardly for holding back from an inappropriate joke like 'To join Ainz's harem, you need to collect at least twenty tags from the Singularity cereal boxes. Singularity – any day can be fixed with a good breakfast!'

"It's… To be honest, it's a very complicated question to answer." Ainz finally managed to wrest his gaze from Mashu's, and in a gesture that Mashu found unexpectedly cute, looked almost shy.

"I mean, I guess I can't forbid you to do something like that, but… there are many obstacles in the way and…"

Ainz hesitated.

The next thing Ainz had to say was, 'But I'm not sure I love you back.'

Those were words that Ainz didn't like, but he guessed that he had to be honest.

Yes, his relationship with Medusa or Olga-Marie wasn't exactly a classic romantic story either – and Ainz still didn't feel any kind of burning love for the girls inside. I mean, sure, he was quite satisfied with the outcome and really appreciated the girls, but he didn't have any incredible feelings that would erupt in his soul at the mention of their name… Wasn't that how love is supposed to feel?

With Mashu… it was probably the same way? That is, Ainz really appreciated the girl who had gone through five to six, if you count the very first, Singularities with him, the only one of the Servants to be in the very real danger of death. Not just destruction, followed by a headache in Chaldea after being resurrected by Chaldea itself – but a very real death.

Well, she's no longer in threat of that, but it still doesn't mean that she wasn't in real danger in the past.

Ainz appreciated everything she did and really wanted to protect her, to reward her – but speaking of love…

Ainz looked into Mashu's eyes, his very first Servant.

Huh, if you think about it, Mashu was the only Servant that found herself with Ainz in all the Singularities that he was in, not only the ones where he was hunting for the Grail, trying to stop the destruction of humanity, but even the one where he found himself in by accident. When he didn't know anything yet, neither about Chaldea, about his new state, nor even about the destruction of humanity or Solomon… Mashu was there.

The right decision was definitely to say, 'Excuse me, Mashu, but I don't think I love you.'

That 'right' decision would probably have made Mashu cry, run to her room, and Ainz would have had to try for days to get back to his normal state. Afterwards, he would probably have felt lousy for several more months… This was definitely the 'right' decision to make.

Then again, no matter what many others might think, he was not infallible

"And I'm sure that if we sort out all these obstacles, then… " Ainz smiled, "Then I won't be having much of a problem with that…"