That day, the Great Tomb of Nazarick buzzed with unusual commotion.
The war between the Empire and the Kingdom, in which Ainz intervened, had ended, and the founding of the Sorcerer Kingdom kept everyone busy. But no servant of Nazarick would lose composure over such matters. The cause was something else entirely.
Word spread that Albedo, of all beings, had taken to keeping a human.
Albedo.
Nazarick's servants, a diverse array of monstrous races, viewed humans as inferior. Albedo was among the most vehement in her disdain. So, when news broke that she was keeping a human, the shock among Ainz and those present was palpable.
According to reports, it wasn't like Sebas, who protected humans, or Shalltear, who toyed with them. No, this human was for consumption. Albedo, on a whim, had sampled him and found him surprisingly delicious. She decided to keep him, deeming it trivial enough for a verbal report rather than written.
The gathered nodded, convinced.
But as Ainz recalled Albedo's race, a spark of realization flared.
Albedo was a succubus a creature surpassing even tentacle monsters, orcs, or elves in raw allure. And what did a succubus feed on? The thought triggered another wave of emotional suppression.
Albedo, an NPC created by guild member Tabula Smaragdina, was like a daughter to Ainz. The idea that his daughter had secretly taken a man and was doing that with him? Unacceptable! "Bring him here!" he demanded.
As expected, a man was brought forth a strikingly handsome one, whose beauty even impressed Nazarick's otherworldly standards.
"You seduced my daughter with that face? I'll never forgive you, you beast!"
"I've never once thought myself beautiful," the man replied, unflinching.
Albedo elaborated. When she first saw him, his face save for his right eye was hideously scarred, burned beyond recognition. Skeptical that a potion could heal such old wounds, she tested it. The result was this breathtaking visage.
"As a child, boiling oil burned my face," the man explained. "Without proper treatment, I endured years of pain. My hair, once the common blonde of the Kingdom, turned white from the shock. My left eye, long sealed shut, opened after the potion's effect, but it's now stained red, like blood. It used to be blue, like my right."
Few in Nazarick felt sympathy for human suffering, but Sebas, with his good karma, and Yuri Alpha were present. Tsuare, a human rescued by Sebas and now a maid-in-training, paled, perhaps recalling her own past.
Ainz, retaining a sliver of human empathy, felt a pang of pity. But that was beside the point. Could he entrust his daughter to this man? Was this "feeding" like Entoma's biting or Shalltear's blood-drinking? If not for his skeletal face, Ainz's grimace would've been obvious.
Albedo demonstrated. Raising a delicate arm, her fingers spread toward the man. Something intangible flowed from him to her not magic, but something else. His pale face grew ashen; Albedo smiled, satisfied. Ainz's magic revealed the man's life force draining rapidly.
Albedo explained her racial trait allowed her to directly absorb life essence a delicacy, she claimed.
Even Ainz, who knew most of Yggdrasil's mechanics, couldn't fully grasp how the game's flavor text had evolved in this world. Witnessing it, he had no choice but to accept it.
Then Shalltear, who'd appeared unnoticed, piped up. "Let me have a taste!"
"Only a little," Albedo permitted, but direct feeding risked turning him into a vampire. She handed him a glass and knife.
Without hesitation, he cut his wrist. Ainz flinched. Tsuare nearly fainted.
Blood dripped into the glass, which he offered to Shalltear on bended knee. She took it gracefully, sipped, and her eyes widened. The glass fell, shattering. She lunged at him, only to be restrained by Sebas and Albedo.
"I want him! Just a little, please!" Shalltear pleaded.
His blood, it seemed, was as delicious as his life force.
"He's mine," Albedo declared. Ainz, recalling Peroroncino's childhood tale of a stolen pudding, sagely advised, "Resentment over food is a fearsome thing, Shalltear."
Shalltear sulked but relented.
If it wasn't that, Ainz saw no issue. With magnanimity, he permitted Albedo to keep the human.
As the man followed Albedo out, Ainz stopped him. From start to finish, the man showed no fear, treated Ainz with respect, and harmed himself without hesitation. Why? Was he unafraid?
"Fear is a harbinger of death," the man said. "When death nears, people fear. But my life belongs to Lady Albedo. I'll die when she wills it. I cannot defy her wishes."
"Impressive for a human," remarked Demiurge, known for his harsh judgments, who'd been present all along.
Ainz concluded, "I don't eat, but I understand the joy of a good meal. It fuels motivation. You may keep him. A tip: for better flavor, ensure good nutrition and a stress-free life. Stress ruins the taste."
They weren't eating actual flesh, of course.
The room erupted in awe. "As expected of Lord Ainz! So compassionate, so wise! Hail Ainz!"
Thus, the man became Albedo's sustenance.