35 A feeling?

Thoth quickly created a bed which he then fell on, his brilliant wings folded back into his body, though he didn't care to notice them anymore.

So much blood has been spilled for them, so many lives cut short, he had become a mass murderer without even realizing it, not until it was too late.

He could revive them all, but how is he supposed to remember each person whom he caused the death of? How is he supposed to revive so many? At that point, it's impossible, it's better to simply accept things and move on.

Thoth did not need to sleep, his mind no longer needed such things to function at full capacity, yet as he collapsed into the bed, his mind drifted as he fell unconscious.

He needed a break, badly.

As Thoth slept in the Alexandrian Library, Shalltear continued her walk to the third floor through the luxurious ninth floor, though her mind couldn't help but drift.

She felt guilt, worry, stress, anxiety, and so many other things, all of which clouded her mind as her eyes glazed over, and her movements became methodical and robotic as she focused her attention inward.

She continued to walk like this, thinking, trying to figure out something she could do to finally remove this guilt, this feeling she had held onto ever since she nearly caused the death of Lord Ainz, this feeling which swelled in strength whenever she remembered how Thoth saved her at the cost of himself.

She bit her lower hip as that uncomfortable feeling strengthened again, her hand squeezed with strength so overwhelming that the human skull would be crushed like a ripe grape if it was even poked by it.

A few maids passed by, but Shalltear didn't even acknowledge their presence as they greeted her.

Eventually, without even realizing it, Shalltear arrived within the Colosseum, she had instinctively walked here since talking to Aura and getting advice from her had turned into a bit of a habit for Shalltear recently.

Though Aura felt very frustrated by how simple Shalltear was at times, she was more than willing to aid her in improving and learning, she felt rather fulfilled doing so.

Shalltear only realized where she was as Aura ran up to her, snapping the vampire out of her trance.

"Hey Shalltear, what are you up to?" Aura spoke to the vampire, who blinked in confusion.

"I-I don't even remember walking here...*sigh*..." Aura wasn't surprised by this, Shalltear is an airhead, albeit an airhead who is determined to improve, so she simply nodded as if she wasn't itching to facepalm on the inside.

"Want some help with whatever it is troubling you?" Aura offered, yet Shalltear hesitated for a second.

Sure, she is stupid, but even she couldn't help but question if it was okay for her to speak about what happened to Thoth to Aura. It's his business, she shouldn't just spread it around, right? That's what the books Thoth gave her said.

Aura stared at Shalltear's complicated expression, "...I don't know, it's kinda personal for that person..." Shalltear spoke to the dark elf, who felt a bit surprised by the answer.

To think she would be so thoughtful about someone else's feelings... That is serious progress and something to be celebrated... But it also made Aura even more concerned, whatever was happening must be quite serious for even Shalltear to recognize it as such.

Aura shrugged as if she didn't particularly care. "Welp, if you think that's for the best, but make sure you are careful okay? Whatever happened seems to be really serious."

Shalltear nodded, she already knew that, so she would have to be careful with Thoth and his feelings. She didn't even realize when she had decided to help Thoth, but that didn't matter to her right now.

Shalltear nodded. "I know, don't worry." With that, she turned to leave.

Aura muttered to herself as Shalltear grew distant. "Someone has to worry about you dumbass..." She then shook her head, she had pets to feed and play with, though a little voice in her head spoke as she turned away from Shalltear.

What if Thoth was the one who was hurt?

She immediately dispelled such a thought, he was still outside in the Theocracy, and Lord Ainz no doubt wouldn't allow a creation to suffer needlessly right?

With these thoughts, she continued to attend to her various duties, though she would soon be shocked to hear of Thoth's sudden return.

As Aura took care of her duties, Shalltear patroled her floors, though her mind was far from focused on the patrol and more focused on a way to help Thoth, of which there were very few.

The books she was given by him aided her greatly in this endeavor, though she only found one frustrating conclusion.

She would have to give him space, yet how was she supposed to do nothing and wait while he suffered alone? This is wisdom that the Supreme Ones considered valuable, but she couldn't do anything useful with it!

How vexing.

Shalltear sighed as she messaged her forehead, the only other thing she could do was make sure Thoth knew she was willing to listen and help him, which she already did to her credit, or to just be around him until he opened up to her.

'I could do that! Yes, let's just be around him and make sure he is okay that way! Ah, but he needs space too, should I watch him from afar?'

And so, Thoth unknowingly got a stalker, a terrible, very not stealthy, silly stalker.

...One doesn't know if he should be jealous or feel sorry for the man.

Nonetheless, as Shalltear came to this conclusion, Ainz continued to work within his office.

Albedo could be seen by his side, world item in hand, she turned to Ainz as she seemed to receive a message.

"Lord Ainz, Thoth has returned."

Ainz stopped his totally not faked reading of documents he completely understood with ease and he glanced at Albedo.

"Excellent, is everything going according to plan?"

"Yes, The Theocracy has been destroyed and a regime has been established which worships the 41 Supreme Beings as the Gods you... and they, are."

Ainz nodded in approval as he screamed in his mind.

'Holy shit, he burned down a nation in a matter of months! Not even Demiurge did that, what the hell!?' Ainz felt his emotions be suppressed by his passive racial effect, 'Okay, its fine, I just need to keep doing what I was doing before, its fine.'

Ainz nodded, his eyes growing brighter as he did so, "Excellent work, make sure to call for Thoth in a few hours, he should be allowed to rest."

Albedo immediately spoke in protest, "Lord Ainz, it is an honor for one of us to be summoned by you, if you wish to see him, you should call for him immediately. He would be honored I'm sure of it."

Ainz considered it for a second, but he decided to reject Albedo. "Albedo, I understand, but Thoth has no doubt missed his books, I shall allow him to rest in his library for a while before summoning him."

"Ah! Lord Ainz, you truly are too kind to us unworthy servants!" Albedo kneeled and the eight edge assassins which covered the ceiling trembled in awe.

'I was only a decent person! Why are you all acting like I'm a God?!' Ainz cried in his mind.

"U-Umu, em... Please rise Albedo, how about we go back to work with these documents?"

"Anything you wish Lord Ainz!" Albedo then stood up, as her beloved commanded her to do.

"By the way, how is Shalltear doing? I haven't seen her in a while." Ainz mentioned as he legitimately read through the papers in front of him, totally not pretending to do so.

Albedo felt her heartache as Ainz mentioned the vampire, and her mind immediately panicked.

'Does he miss her? Does he want her more than me? No, there is no way right?!'

Despite her severe overreaction, she still answered with a perfect smile on her face, "She is alright, though she is still notably guilty about her past actions."

'As she should be' Albedo added in her mind.

Ainz nodded, "I see, it's good she regrets her mistakes, however, she shouldn't be overly hard on herself. I should go make sure she knows this." Ainz said as he stood up.

Albedo panicked, "Lord Ainz! I'm sure you could just send a messenger instead?"

"No, this is something I will do myself." Ainz then realized something and continued, "Do not worry, I shall return and finish the work in a few minutes."

'That wasn't my concern...!' Albedo cried to herself in her mind, but she couldn't force Ainz to stay if he didn't wish to do so.

She, with a slightly rigid body, nodded, and so her beloved disappeared.

"I should have gone with him!" Albedo facepalmed, how could she miss such an obvious resolution to this crisis!?

As Albedo berated herself, Ainz appeared on the third floor.

'Hah~ I managed to escape.'

The truth is, Ainz was simply too suffocated in that damned room, so when he saw an excuse to leave, he took it. He could also still pass on his message to Shalltear, so he technically wasn't lying, hence, he didn't need to feel bad for skipping work. Or that's what he told himself anyway.

Ainz spent a bit of time looking for Shalltear, which wasn't that difficult as he was told by a few low-level creatures where she was.

When he found her, she could be seen walking through the fog-covered expansive graveyard on the first floor, graves littered the area, though Ainz paid little attention to them.

'I hope she won't act weird...' Ainz thought to himself as he steeled his mind, then, he approached Shalltear.

Shalltear took notice of Ainz quickly, but still surprisingly slowly by Nazarick's standards, which led Ainz to look at the book she was reading.

He couldn't see the title, and the text was too small for him to properly see, but it seemed to be an educational book of some kind. Ainz felt like a proud dad as he realized Shalltear was studying to improve her intellect and behavior.

As Shalltear noticed Ainz, she hurriedly kneeled before him.

"L-Lord Ainz! How may I serve you?" She stuttered nervously, her mind overthinking things as she tried to prove her loyalty.

"Stand Shalltear, I merely came to check up on you, are you feeling okay? Is there anything troubling you?"

Shalltear stood, but when she heard the questions, she froze.

Should she lie?

"...I am alright Lord Ainz, I am merely feeling a bit depressed due to my foolishness, but you don't need to worry, Thoth gave me a lot of books which I'm studying right now to improve!"

"I see, that is good. You shouldn't feel too bad about yourself, you made a mistake and learned your lesson, now you must simply learn as much as you can and ensure you never make such a mistake again."

"I understand." Shalltear nodded, though she didn't restore eye contact.

How could she look Lord Ainz in the eyes after she hid the truth from him? But the books made and valued by the Supreme Ones said this is the correct thing to do right? So is she in the wrong for listening to the Supreme Ones?

Shalltear was snapped awake by Ainz, who now spoke again.

"Good, you should do your best. That is all you need to do, you have served Nazarick countless times, and I trust you explicitly."

Shalltear felt her heart quake as those words registered in her mind, and she couldn't help but consider telling Lord Ainz the truth about Thoth, but before she could do anything, Lord Ainz spoke again.

"Oh dear, I spent far more time here than I intended. Sadly I have work to attend to, have a good day Shalltear." Ainz then teleported away.

Shalltear could only grab her dress, its fabric bending under the strength of her arms which shook with guilt and confusion, and she muttered a few words only she could hear.

"I'm sorry Lord Ainz..."

an hour passed by...

Thoth could be seen sleeping upon his large white bed which he created himself with magic, though he suddenly woke up as he felt a message in his mind.

"Thoth, arrive at once to Lord Ainz's office."

Thoth groaned slightly as he got up, the bed was heavenly, and the sleep was a very much-needed break from reality.

Still, duty called, and he was already tempted to ignore Albedo and simply head back to bed.

Well, sadly, he couldn't. He wanted to see the next sunrise, but he was still tempted.

After stretching and yawning, he destroyed his bed with a spell, not leaving a bit of it intact. After this, he left the library.

Oddly enough, he felt watched, like someone was constantly observing him around each corner, and well... Shalltear wasn't made for stealth, so Thoth didn't have to spend long figuring out who was watching him.

'What is she doing???' Thoth wondered as Shalltear slowly peeked around a corner, she swiftly retreated and let out a small yelp of surprise when she noticed Thoth was looking in her direction.

Shalltear meanwhile, was on a mission. She had to make sure Thoth was okay without intruding on his personal space, so logically, she decided to stalk him.

She hadn't gotten to the part about respecting your partner's privacy...or she forgot. Both were just as likely.

Shalltear slowly peeked out again, this time only with one eye going around the corner, though her hair and the rest of her head made her painfully obvious to literally everyone around.

'I...I do not have the time or mental capacity for this right now...' Thoth sighed as he massaged his temples, he then turned around and continued to walk, ignoring Shalltear who consistently remained behind him the whole time.

He eventually arrived at Ainz's office, and after receiving permission, he entered.

He immediately kneeled before Lord Ainz, who could be seen in his usual garments sitting at his desk, which was now almost devoid of papers.

Most of these were plans Albedo and Demiurge wanted to put into action but needed his permission for, since Thoth had conquered a whole nation so quickly, both Albedo and Demiurge were desperate to prove themselves worthy too, hence why there were so many.

"You may rise Thoth." Thoth stood straight immediately.

"How was your trip outside?" Ainz asked, causing Thoth some confusion until he remembered what he told Ainz before he left.

'Just a vacation huh.' He remarked to himself, his mind full of sarcasm.

"It was pleasant Lord Ainz, I managed to bring your grand plan closer to fruition just as planned," Thoth spoke with confidence, his bullshiting arts were maxed out.

"I see! Just as expected of you Thoth. How about you tell me everything you did to help my grand plan?" Ainz asked as if everything was going according to plan.

'Damn you Ainz! You've screwed me! I don't know the damn plan either!' Thoth shouted in his head, but outside, his smile only fell slightly before it grew even more.

"Of course! The Theocracy would prove to be a thorn in your side in the future, so I simply removed them from the equation altogether by making them a loyal puppet state. This puppet state will support the inevitable creation of your nation and eventual conquest of the world!" Thoth revealed the grand plan grandly, and Albedo nodded along, seemingly agreeing with Thoth and his perception of the grand plan.

'Thank God I remember Demiurge revealing Ainz's plans from the anime, without that, I would have no clue what to say.'

'World domination?! When the hell did I say that?!' Ainz screamed in his mind as he was calmed down with force once again.

"I-I see, Umu, as expected of you Thoth, you saw through me easily."

"Please Lord Ainz, there is no way I could see all you have planned," Thoth spoke like an obedient subject.

'Cause you don't have a plan.' Thoth added at the end, only to himself of course.

"I-Indeed, yes, I apologize for summoning you so soon after you returned, you may leave."

Thoth bowed, "Thank you Lord Ainz." And thus, Thoth departed the room, only to feel Shalltear's gaze on him once again.

'...I will have to deal with that eventually won't I?'

"*sigh*" Thoth sighed, already tired of this nonsense when it had only just begun.

-x-x-x-

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