Previously :
"Hoou... what a tough girl. Then let me introduce myself since you've earned that right. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, the Master of Nazarick," I introduced myself.
"My name is Albedo, the Guardian Overseer of Nazarick. Make sure you remember it," Albedo added.
"And I am Sebas Tian, the leader of the Six Pleiades," Sebas introduced himself as well.
============
"E- Eeto… My name is Kyouko Hori, and this guy is Izuki Miyamura. Pleased to meet you," the young girl stuttered, unsure how to react.
Come to think of it, in her eyes, we were basically just cosplayers, right?
'Ugh, it's somehow embarrassing.' I had a hard time overcoming this emotion. The Emotion Suppressor didn't work in this place. Now that the introduction was over, it was time to gather information. No, I wasn't trying to divert the conversation.
"So, how did you find this place?" I asked, trying to maintain a casual tone.
"It wasn't actually us who discovered this café. It was Miyamura's mother. She saw us hanging around with nothing to do, so she asked us to deliver a congratulatory cake for the grand opening," she explained.
"I see..." 'So they stumbled upon this place, not entirely by chance, huh?'
"Could you tell me what year it is right now?" I inquired.
"Eh?... Ah! It's 2008," she replied.
Based on her reaction, I knew she thought I was insane or something. However, upon looking at our attire once again, she decided to play along with our act.
'But more than 100 years ago...'
This proved what the owner said about scattering his 'door' throughout countless times and spaces that Sebas said.
'Then there might be a chance to be able to meet them again.'
I reminisced about the time when Nazarick was at its peak, causing havoc everywhere. Chaos spread across Yggdrasil. That time was the best time I ever had.
'Finally, I found a way to be able to get all of us back together again.' Well, I'm sure it's still pretty far in the future. It's better to focus on what's in front of me for now.
As a person who came from the future, I was actually quite interested in how people lived their lives before technology advanced so much.
Was the sky actually light blue? Did water actually come out as rain instead of acid? Did Japan used to have four seasons in one year?
We had a few light conversations, with me asking a few questions that didn't hint at me being from another world and the future.
"Include me in your conversations too, please~" the owner chimed in, holding a tray with plates of curry. His children clung to his legs, glaring at Albedo.
"I'm not sure what undead creatures eat, but nothing can go wrong with curry, right?" he remarked.
He tidied up the table and sat down on the chair he dragged over, before placing the children on his lap.
"C'mon, eat it. I'm sure it's very good. I have improved ever since Sebas came here," he said with a big smile, looking very proud.
'You know I'm a skeleton undead, how am I going to eat?!' I thought.
"And don't worry, even if you're undead, I made sure you could taste and digest the food."
'He read my mind?!'
"No, I didn't read your mind. Your face is just so easy to read. Hahahaha."
'I DON'T HAVE A FACE THOUGH?!' I never had the urge to punch someone like this other than Luci★Fer-san.
He still sat there with a smug smile, enjoying my reaction as if he knew what I was thinking.
"Hehe, just eat already. The food is going to get cold, you know?" he said.
'Because of whom?!' At times like this, I would be grateful for having the Emotion Suppressor. Letting out a sigh, I picked up the spoon and scooped up some rice with curry on it.
'It doesn't smell bad,' I noted. Sebas had confirmed that there was no poison in it.
'Well, what could go wrong?' I thought, half-jokingly.
'The food might be spiked with something other than poison, and then he could manipulate and essentially have free reign over all of Ainz Ooal Gown.' That was probably the least he could do.
I slowly put the spoon in my mouth.
"It's good..." I blurted out unconsciously.
"Right?!" the owner exclaimed.
This was very surprising. I knew for a fact that I shouldn't be able to taste anything, so I never ate anything since I became Ainz.
'I also never tasted anything like this.' Back then, all the food was instant. There were no spices, seasonings, or condiments. It was all nothing but a mere imitation of the original taste.
'It's delicious...' while I silently savored the rest of the curry, relishing each and every bite. A commotion happened across the table
"WOW!! Albedo-san, you're gorgeously beautiful!" Albedo's unmasked face revealed itself to Kyouko, who was amazed by her astounding appearance
"Hmph, this level of beauty is necessary to court Ainz-sama, human," Albedo responded.
"Hee... Ainz-san must be very attractive for you to try so hard," Kyouko remarked.
"Obviously!! Can't you see his immaculate jaws?! His impeccable bones?! Those flawless red eyes?! And..."
"Okay, we get it. You love him very much," Kyouko interrupted, ending the conversation.
The girls continued their discussion, and I shifted my attention to the owner, who was curiously observing them.
'He doesn't seem enamored by Albedo's beauty. So why is he gazing at them so intently?'
The owner then turned to me, perhaps sensing my gaze. He smiled and said,
"Oh~ You eat very well! Do you want seconds? I'm pretty curious if a skeleton can be fat or not."
'This guy...' My skelebrow twitched slightly.
"Ainz-sama, don't worry! I will still love you even if you're round!" Albedo exclaimed.
'Albedo... you're not helping!'
"FUHAHAHAHAHAH! You got your wife's permission there, let's have a party~" Out of nowhere, he pulled out a box full of what looked like alcohol and placed it on the table.
'Who are you to decide that on your own!' I internally protested.
"My apologies, Ainz-sama. Please drink in moderation, as it could be bad for your health," Sebas interjected.
'...'
Whatever. This had gone horribly wrong. I had so much anxiety and had considered countless ways to fight and escape.
'Just for this?!'
Here I thought I needed to throw everything at my disposal just to avoid any bad situations.
"Do as you like," I finally gave up. This had spiraled beyond my control.
'Well, it's not bad to kick back and relax once in a while.'
Ever since the Shalltear incident, I had been on edge. If it weren't for the Emotion Suppressor keeping me in check, who knew what I would do.
"Eyyyyy, did you hear our skelly boss? Let's get wasted tonight! For the underage, juice is the only thing you can drink." At least it's good to know he also doesn't support underage drinking.
"Um, I'm sorry for ruining the atmosphere, but we've been here for a long time. I think it's time for us to go back home," Kyouko said, raising her hand weakly. She felt bad thinking she might be ruining the party by leaving.
However, after spending quite some time with this guy, I somehow knew that his next words would shock Kyouko to her core.
"Don't worry~ I've stopped the time in your world already," the owner casually revealed.
"Ha?" Kyouko responded, clearly caught off guard. "You heard it," the owner confirmed. "I don't understand it though?" Kyouko tilted her head, wondering what he meant.
"You still haven't put the pieces together, even after coming face to face with a huge skeleton with glowing red eyes? Or are they normal in your world?"
"Sorry, what?" Kyouko and the owner silently stared at each other until the owner conjured a chair out of thin air.
"E? Eh? EEEEEEHHHH?!?!" Kyouko's reaction was beyond dumbfounded. She is trying to process what she had just witnessed using logic and reason.
"Oh! That reaction is straight out of an anime!" the owner exclaimed.
"Wa-Was that... magic?" Kyouko managed to utter, utterly surprised.
"Hmm? No, I can't use magic. Ainz can, though," The Owner interjected.
"Not where I'm currently at." I snidely responded, jabbing at the Owner to which he replied.
"Sorry, bud. I have to keep the café safe and sound. I'll gradually loosen the restrictions if you become regular customers, though."
Trust earned through the passage of time, I see. Fair deal.
I did understand what the owner was thinking. Personally, I also never wanted to see someone causing a ruckus in Nazarick. But being stripped of the power that made me feel secure was not so comfortable after all.
"Wait, wait, wait..." Kyouko took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "Sorry, I still don't quite understand. What... just... happened?"
====Some Brief Explanation====
"He... hehe... Different universes? Alternate realities?" Ah, this wasn't good. Kyouko seemed disconnected, staring into space and muttering words like "They must be joking... right?"
"Snap out of it, Hori-chan. It's not like you've never imagined or thought about the possibility of other dimensions existing, right?" the owner shrugged and placed his hand on Kyouko's shoulder.
"I took a look at your world out of curiosity, and it turns out your world isn't that normal either."
"What do you mean?" Now I was confused. There shouldn't have been anything so abnormal throughout the history of Earth.
"Hori-chan's world has actually been in danger multiple times, you know? Like a crazy goddess who answered humanity's desire to die, but was eventually stopped by a blue-haired high schooler who sacrificed himself."
The owner removed his hand and pulled out a remote control, turning on the TV. He continued, "Not only that, there are so many different creatures in your world. Curses, Youkai, Ghosts, Devils, Angels, Dragons, Heroes, Servants, Perverted Heroes! Your world is packed, Hori-chan!"
As he spoke, images of different creatures appeared on the TV, matching his descriptions.
'Is this really the Earth I know?' The scenery, surroundings, and buildings were all very different from the Earth I was familiar with.
While I might have been focused on something else, those creatures didn't surprise me. I was an eldritch horror surrounded by other eldritch horrors. I saw those things on a daily basis. But for our human friend, it might be a bit too much.
"Ha... haha... hahaha..." Kyouko's eyes rolled back as she tried to deny what she had seen.
"Oh. She died," the owner commented, his tone filled with amusement.
"It's more like she has been disconnected from reality," I observed, concern evident in my voice.
I could see smoke coming out of Kyouko's head, indicating her inability to function normally. I doubted that she could process the overwhelming information she had just encountered.
'As the two humans blacked out, it's time to discuss with the owner of this room.' I needed to tread carefully, considering that he had presented himself as the cool kid at school who seemed to have no enemies.
However, I couldn't ignore the possibility that it was all a facade, designed to deceive us and create a false sense of security. Additionally, I couldn't directly confront him due to the significant power gap between us.