That day, there was a bit of a commotion in the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
It was true that the war between the Empire and the Kingdom, in which Ainz had intervened, had ended and the founding of the Sorcerer Kingdom had been hectic. However, there were no servants in Nazarick who would lose their composure over something like that. This was an entirely different factor.
To make matters worse, Albedo reported that she had begun keeping humans as pets.
The albedo is.
The minions of Nazarick, home to a wide variety of different creatures, despise humans as an inferior species, and it is no exaggeration to say that Albedo is the most outrageous of them all.
The news that Albedo had begun to keep humans as pets came as a great surprise to Ainz and the others present.
From what Ainz had heard, it wasn't a rescue like Sebas, nor was it kept as a toy like Shalltear, but as food. He had taken a bite of it on impulse and found it surprisingly tasty, so he decided to keep it, but thought it was a minor matter and reported it verbally rather than in writing.
Everyone agrees.
However, the moment Ainz remembered Albedo's species, an invisible flash of light erupted.
Albedo's species is a succubus, an erotic monster that surpasses tentacle monsters, orcs, and elves.
When I think of a succubus's meal, I once again try to suppress my emotions by wondering what she does and what she does.
Albedo is an NPC created by guild member Tabula Smaragdina, and to Ainz, she is like a daughter. I will never forgive the fact that his daughter has unknowingly created a man and is doing what he wants to her with, so bring him here!
As expected, the person brought to her was a man. Moreover, he was a dazzlingly handsome man who impressed the people of Nazarick, who pride themselves on their superhuman beauty.
You deceived my daughter with that face, you beast! I'll never forgive you!
"No, I've never thought of myself as beautiful."
The human man answered without hesitation.
Albedo added here.
When I first saw him, his face was hideously burned except for his right eye, and it was impossible to look at. I tried using a potion to see if it would heal his old wounds, and this is what he looked like.
"When I was a child, my face was burned with boiling oil. Because I was not able to receive proper treatment, I have lived with the pain off and on for over ten years since then. I originally had blonde hair, which is common amongst the royal people, but it seems that the shock of the pain from my face burning caused the color to fade. My left eye was closed for a long time. It has recovered with a potion and is now open, but it is stained red as if blood has risen to the surface. It used to be a blue eye, just like my right."
There weren't many people in Nazarick who sympathized with the misfortunes of others. However, there were Sebas and Yuri Alpha, whose karma was good. Tsuare, an outsider who had been protected by Sebas and was now a maid apprentice, turned pale as she recalled her own past.
Ainz, who still retained a small amount of human sensibility, felt some sympathy for him, but that was a different matter. Whether he could entrust his precious daughter to him was another matter entirely.
How would she eat? Would she bite like Entoma, or suck the blood like Shalltear? If it weren't for her bony face that didn't give away any emotion, it would have looked like her face was twitching violently.
"Now then, please excuse me," Albedo said, demonstrating.
He raised his delicate arms, which looked as though he had never held anything other than a knife and fork, and opened his ice-white fingers towards the man. Something different from magical power flowed from the man to Albedo, and the man's pale face turned pale, while Albedo smiled with satisfaction. Ainz used his magic to check the man's life force and found that it was rapidly decreasing.
According to Albedo's explanation, their racial trait allows them to directly absorb the essence of life.
Even though Ainz understood most of the magic and skills, he was unable to fully grasp how each of the characteristics, which were merely flavor text in the Yggdrasil game, had changed by coming to another world. However, seeing it in front of him made him understand that this was the case.
They say that the life force absorbed in this way is very delicious.
Shalltear has been here for some time and would like to have a taste.
Albedo says it's okay to drink just a little, but if he drinks it straight he'll be transformed into a vampire. She then hands the man a glass and a knife, both of which she doesn't know where they came from.
Without hesitation, he thrust it at Ainz's wrist, causing him to pull back slightly. Tsuare, the only human aside from the man, was on the verge of fainting.
He catches the blood dripping from his hand in a glass, kneels down and offers it to Shalltear.
"He's quite the know-it-all," Shalltear thought, gracefully accepting the glass and taking a sip. His eyes widened. The glass fell. The sound of it shattering. With a serious expression, she leaped at the man, only to be subdued by Sebas and Albedo.
"I-I want it! Just a little bit, even if it's just a little bit!"
Apparently, not only is it vital, but its blood is also delicious.
This is Albedo's fault, so Shalltear should give up, and food grudges are terrifying, says the supreme being, remembering the past and uttering these wise words.
Shalltear remembered how her creator, Peroroncino, had repeatedly spoken of his older sister stealing his pudding when they were young, as if it were yesterday, and she decided to give up dejectedly.
As long as she wasn't doing anything strange, there was no problem. Ainz generously allowed Albedo to keep a human as a pet.
Albedo bows and leaves the room, and the man following her suddenly calls out to her.
The man was fearless from start to finish, showed great respect to Ainz and his companions, and did not hesitate to injure himself. What on earth could have made him do that? Was he not afraid of them?
"Fear is a sign of death. People become afraid when death approaches. However, my life belongs to Albedo-sama. I will die when you wish. I cannot hinder your wishes."
Demiurge is known for his harsh criticism, saying things like, "You're doing a good job for a human." Incidentally, unlike Shalltear, he was there from the beginning.
Finally, Ainz summed up the situation.
"I may not be able to eat, but I think I know the joy of food. Eating delicious food will motivate me. I'll allow you to keep them. While we're here, I'll also give you some advice. To improve the taste of livestock, they need to be well-nourished and live a stress-free life. Stress makes meat taste bad, after all."
It's not like I'm munching on meat.
However, everyone was deeply moved. As expected of Lord Ainz. Ainz is kind and considerate of his subordinates. Ainz knows everything. Just as you would expect from Lord Ainz. Hurrah.
And so the man became Albedo's food.