Enri arrived at their usual meeting spot a few days later, her boots dusty from the fields and her hair tied back in a messy braid. She plopped down onto the blanket with a tired sigh.
"Sorry I'm late," she said, rubbing her sore shoulders. "Harvest season's starting, and the whole village is working double-time."
Ainz waved a hand dismissively. "Time means little to the undead. Though I was beginning to think you'd chickened out of hearing my story."
"As if!" Enri grinned, pulling an apple from her pocket and taking a loud bite. "Alright, oh mighty skeleton—entertain me."
Ainz leaned back, his crimson gaze growing distant. "Very well. Long ago, I was part of a… brotherhood. Forty-one of us, bound not by blood but by purpose."
Enri's chewing slowed, her curiosity piqued.
"Together, we built a fortress," he continued. "A labyrinth of ten layers, each more treacherous than the last. We filled it with guardians—beings crafted by our own hands, each loyal beyond death. And between them, we set traps and beasts that would make even the bravest warriors hesitate."
Enri's eyes widened. "That sounds… impossible."
"And yet," Ainz said, his voice dropping lower, "others thought the same. They saw our home as a prize to be taken. One day, eight rival clans joined forces against us. They came with an army—over a thousand strong, warriors and summoned spirits alike."
Enri's apple lay forgotten in her lap. "What happened?"
Ainz's fingers curled around the fabric of his robe. "They broke through the first gate. Then the second. By the seventh layer, their numbers had dwindled, but their leaders pressed on, certain victory was within reach."
He paused, the forest around them utterly silent.
"They never made it past the eighth floor."
A shiver ran down Enri's spine. "How?"
"Because," Ainz said quietly, "we built our home not just to withstand an attack… but to break those who dared invade it."
For a long moment, neither spoke. Then—
"...That's incredible," Enri breathed. "Your brotherhood—are they…?"
"Gone," Ainz said simply. The finality in his tone stopped further questions.
Enri studied his skeletal face, the hollow eyes that suddenly seemed less like embers and more like fading coals. Without thinking, she reached out—then hesitated, her hand hovering in the air.
Ainz noticed. "What?"
"Nothing," she said softly, pulling back. "Just… thank you. For telling me."
Ainz exhaled—a soundless habit. "Don't expect a happy ending next time."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Enri lied cheerfully, picking up her apple again.
The leaves rustled overhead, sunlight weaving between them like golden thread. Somewhere in the distance, a bird began to sing.
******
The next afternoon, Enri strolled toward the familiar clearing, humming to herself as she carried a small basket of freshly baked honey cakes—a peace offering for skipping yesterday.
"Sorry I—" she began, but Ainz raised a bony hand, cutting her off.
"Enri," he said, his voice low and measured. "Who did you bring with you?"
Enri blinked. "What? I didn't bring any—"
A rustle in the bushes behind her.
She whirled around just in time to see a small figure stumble out from the undergrowth—wide-eyed, dirt-smudged, and utterly frozen in terror.
"N-Nemu?!" Enri gasped.
Her little sister stood trembling, her face pale as she stared up at the towering skeletal figure before her. For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then—
"...You're taller than I thought," Nemu whispered.
A beat of silence.
Ainz's skull tilted slightly. "And you're bolder than I expected."
Enri's jaw dropped. "Nemu, what are you doing here?! You were supposed to be helping at the mill!"
Nemu fidgeted, her initial fear already fading into sheepish guilt. "I… I followed you. I wanted to see where you kept going every day." She glanced back at Ainz, curiosity overtaking her nerves. "...Is he really a skeleton?"
Ainz leaned forward, resting his chin on one hand. "Astute observation."
Nemu's eyes sparkled. "Can you take your head off?"
"Nemu!" Enri shrieked.
But Ainz only chuckled—a deep, rattling sound. "I could," he mused, "but I rather like it where it is."
To Enri's astonishment, Nemu giggled. "That's fair." She plopped down onto the blanket without invitation, peering up at Ainz with unabashed fascination. "So, do you eat people?"
"Nemu!!"
"Not recently," Ainz said solemnly.
Nemu nodded, as if this were a perfectly reasonable answer. "Cool. Can you do magic?"
Ainz snapped his fingers. A tiny flame—pale blue and harmless—danced above his palm.
Nemu gasped. "Whoaaaa! Do it again!"
Enri stood there, torn between horror and disbelief, as her little sister proceeded to interrogate an ancient undead overlord like he was a traveling street performer.
"Can you turn invisible?"
("Yes, but it's rude to spy.")
"Do skeletons get tired?"
("Only of silly questions.")
"What happens if you sneeze?"
("...I have no idea.")
By the time Nemu had moved on to demanding he summon a "cool monster," Enri finally found her voice. "Okay, that's enough—"
"Actually," Ainz said, eye flames glinting, "I do know one spell she might like." He raised a hand, and the shadows beneath the trees twisted—not into anything frightening, but into the shape of a small, fluffy creature with too many paws and comically large eyes.
Nemu squealed with delight as the shadow-puppet bounded around her. "Can I keep it?!"
"Absolutely not," Enri and Ainz said in unison.
The puppet dissolved into smoke, and Nemu pouted—but only for a second before she turned her relentless curiosity back on Ainz. "So, if you don't eat people, what do you do all day?"
Ainz glanced at Enri, then back at her sister. "Mostly," he said dryly, "I wait for nosy little girls to ambush me."
Nemu beamed. "Good! I'll come back tomorrow!"
Enri groaned. "No, you won't—"
"Bring your friends!" Ainz added, just to watch Enri's face turn ashen.
As Nemu prattled on, Enri sank onto the blanket, resigned to her fate.
Somehow, against all logic, her terrifying skeletal friend had just become her little sister's new favorite person.
And—judging by the way his shoulders shook with silent laughter—he was enjoying this far too much.