Empty Chaldea (Patreon)

As he woke up from his slumber, as close as he could get in his undead state anyway, Ainz rubbed his eyes. After which he got up from his bed, and started straightening the blanket.

Unfortunately, even when he’s in the artificial body created by Da Vinci, sleep still remains an unattainable dream for him. Therefore, the most that Ainz could accomplish in the bed was to lie in place for several hours, covered with a blanket, closing his eyes, and slowly mentally moving away from the events of the day, restoring a little of his mental stamina as he ‘relaxed’.

After wiping his eyes mechanically, although Ainz himself did not need it as this body does not produce any waste, he looked around his room.

It is still the same room, and the same bed he left hours ago, nothing special. Nothing has changed in the time that Ainz was lying motionless in his bed. Nothing has happened.

Hopefully it would stay that way in the foreseeable future.

Ainz reached for his clothes, the new ones that he had requested, instead of the torn and destroyed one in the Singularity. Not that anyone else would notice that it was new anyway, it’s literally in the same style as the ones he previously wore.

Finishing making himself look presentable, he rose from his seat, examining himself on the mirror inside his room. On a whim, Ainz smiled at the mirror, waiting for a smile in return. He exhaled, what was he expecting to happen really?

One more day. Another Singularity. A few more new Servants. And a little bit closer to the end.

Ainz sighed. Although the nourishing effect of sleeping was beyond his reach, a few hours of motionless reflection on what had happened in the Singularity had helped him tamper down his anger towards Tesla, towards Saladin - or whatever his name was and to stop worrying about Jack and the other things.

The hours spent introspecting had helped him evaluate with a sober mind the ability of Sebastian - or something like that - to determine his future strategy in the event that he would fight against him again in the future…

Perhaps the only thing his rest did not help Ainz with, was determining what Ainz should do in the future.

No, of course, it is clear that his priority and goal should be solving the Singularities, they were the whole point he’s helping Chaldea after all, and they were. But, what's next?

Ainz did not receive an answer to this question no matter how much he spent his time pondering the question. In fact, his worries about the future only became worse as time passed him by...

Ainz shook his head. Unfortunately, suppressing his emotions could not suppress Ainz's melancholic apathy.

And so, with the future heavy on his mind, Ainz took a step towards the exit to his room.

Next the summoning of new Servants…  Perhaps, after that then maybe Ainz will be able to deal with what he was worried about.

Ainz turned the doorknob, opening the door after a moment of hesitation, subconsciously dreading that a moment later he would face an aroused - not in a sexual sense - although who knows? - Da Vinci, or maybe Olga-Marie…

With the Servants - with Cainabel, with Baal, and lately with Nobunaga, during his time spent with them, Ainz somehow got used to the fact that the door from his room only opened exclusively in the face of some random concerned Servant...

Or Da Vinci.

Da Vinci's regular ambush in front of his door was one of the main culprits of why such an idea blossomed in his head in the first place.

Therefore, Ainz was even somewhat surprised when, after opening his door, he did not hear any exclamations, no surprises, and no one flew into him at full throttle...

The hallway in front of his room was empty. A very unusual occurrence. Did something happen?

Ainz blinked, momentarily not believing his eyes as he takes a step forward into the hallway. He began looking around the corridor, trying to determine if anyone who wanted to talk to him was hiding around the corner, or was hiding somehow. But after a thorough investigation, he had to hold himself back from casting some spells, he did not find anyone nearby.

No Servants, no people… What a refreshing occurrence!

Ainz closed the door to his room behind him somewhat cheerily, and then slowly walked along the empty Chaldea corridor.

It was quiet as he walked the sterile corridors of Chaldea, sparkling with white-metallic light. Unusually quiet.

None of the Servants were chasing each other noisily through the corridors right now, there were no explosions, no sounds of battle, no loud arguments anywhere that he could hear. In fact, the only sound echoing through the empty corridors of Chaldea was the echo of Ainz's own footsteps, and perhaps the measured, barely audible hum of the electric lights.

Ainz was not very well oriented with the various passages of Chaldea, in fact one could say that the probability of him getting lost was quite high. However, one of the few routes, the route to the room where the Servant summoning was conducted, Ainz remembered it very well. So, with no other pending business, he walked along it.

In such an unusually quiet Chaldea, without the buzzing of Da Vinci excitedly talking about something that passes from his ear to another and without the Servants constantly flickering here and there, hurrying about their business, Ainz for the first time could afford to pay attention to the interior decoration of the building that he’s ostensibly an employee in.

Something which until then only served as a background for his conversations at best.

A huge number of corridors ending in rooms, some empty and some not, all painted a sterile light gray… No wonder one could get easily lost in here, this whole place looked almost exactly uniform!

Ainz blinked when his gaze first stumbled upon a previously completely unnoticed interior detail - a large... Seal? Symbol? Coat of arms?

The symbol of the Chaldean organization is a crescent and... Leaves? Perhaps it was a symbolic image of a leaf? It was quite the unique symbol.

A large print of it was printed on the whole wall on the side of one of the myriad corridors of the building. He wondered what it meant?

Ainz remembered for a second the flags that were hanging in the throne room of Nazarick. He then grunted as he stifled a chuckle under his breath, remembering how he and his comrades had chosen their own emblems.

‘Momonga, this one looks like a skull! Take it for yourself!’

‘What, why?!’

‘Well, you’re an undead, and this is a skull see?… Oh, just take it!’

‘Okay…’

The symbols on the flags in Nazarick that represented the guild members looked beautiful. But, in essence, they did not mean anything, or, at best, served as some kind of superficial references to some reference or some other meaningless things…

Except for Tabitha's flag! That guy had to have everything as something symbolic and meaningful. His guild symbol being some kind of reference to the Sephiroth tree...

Ainz blinked and frowned.

Tabitha? Tabitha… No, that sounded wrong somehow?

Tabula! Tabula Smaragdina! That’s right!

Ainz blinked, then glanced at the sign on the wall, staring at it intently.

Why did he call Tabula the wrong name? Why Tabitha…? He didn't even know anyone with such a name… Is he starting to forget?

No, that’s impossible! Maybe he heard the name a couple of times in the past, and he simply confused it for Tabula’s name because it sounded similar… Yes, that must be it.

Ainz blinked once more at the sign on the wall before trying to remember Tabula's flag.

Wasn’t there... There was some kind of head... And four tentacles? No, there’s only two of them... And something more... Arrows? Or spears? Inside... Outside? No, both on the inside and the outside of the head! And inside the head there was also... Something... Like two eyes... Three? No, two eyes... And... Something... More...

Ainz blinked in surprise before his emotion suppression activated at full strength. An unpleasant emotion gripped him tightly. He could only handle the surging emotions by closing his eyes.

Is it sadness that he’s feeling right now?

He is starting to forget...

***

Ainz did not know how long he stood still in that empty corridor, just looking blankly at a wall. It felt like a couple of hours, but in his overwhelmed state it could all be only a few minutes, if not seconds. He’s not really in the state of mind to know the difference.

At some point, he blinked awake from his stupor. He then averted his gaze away from the sign of Chaldea and continued on his way again.

To an outside observer, it might seem that nothing has changed in Ainz's gait, not in his gaze, or even expression on his face.

Ainz walked just as slowly and calmly as before. His footsteps still echoed quietly through the empty corridors of Chaldea, His footsteps being the only thing interrupting the slow, barely audible hum of the lights.

If one were to be able to pierce the multitudes of defense Ainz have in his mental-scape, they would be able to hear the raging emotions bubbling beneath the calm exterior.

"What am I doing?"

Ainz moved slowly.

"What started it all?"

Ainz suddenly realized an unexpected thing that he had failed to notice before.

"It's so quiet in here..."

Ainz had been so unaccustomed to being so completely alone in his time in Chaldea. It is very rare for him to be without at least one Servant circling nearby, or without Da Vinci pursuing him for some reason, to be without an impending mission right in front of his face. He was so rarely alone lately, that he could not even realize a very simple thing.

"There is no one here at all."

It was surprisingly quiet in Chaldea. As soon as Ainz was left alone, he quite suddenly realized that Chaldea was huge... and pretty much deserted.

Without the Servants, and without the surviving staff around, there was nothing more than quiet deserted corridors. A grand empty place whose silence was only broken by the echo of his footsteps.

It brought up a very distressing memory for Ainz.

"It’s just like in Nazarick."

When Ainz was left alone in Nazarick, in his last years when he was alone, such a deafening silence had been a constant companion.

Walking through luxurious, gigantic rooms... In which only his quiet steps were heard.

No one else was there, only the ever-silent NPCs. There was only silence when Ainz walked to the various rooms to keep their upkeep. It was a constant in those last lonely years, constantly hearing his echoing footsteps, forever echoing from the walls and high ceiling of an empty Nazarick.

It was quiet in Nazarick. It was deserted.

It was quiet in Chaldea. Almost like it was deserted.

Is this what he wants?

Chaldea, empty like Nazarick.

Nazarick, his home, his guild, his past...

Chaldea, his... What is it to him?

Ainz took another step, hearing the sound of footsteps echoing further and further.

A deserted Chaldea. A deserted house with no one in it.

Ainz was not sure...

“Ainz!” Olga's shout suddenly reached him. “I have so many questions for you!”

Ainz blinked, how long had he spent standing silently in the middle of the corridors? The silence of Chaldea was now broken… He must be so distracted that he couldn’t hear the booming footsteps now coming towards him.

“I have even more questions!” Da Vinci's shouts followed shortly after Olga's. “And I also have a huge number of topics for discussion! And you Roman! Stop trying to run from me and show me your hands! You've never worn gloves before!”

“Chief, help! Take Da Vinci away from me, please!” Roman's voice echoed across the hall in front of him and slowly getting closer. “Ainz, please help me!”

Ainz blinked and... Smiled.

Ainz really didn't know what he should do next, what would happen… But as long as he’s not alone, he’ll probably be fine. And for now, it’s time to meet the new member of his Servants.

***

“Daddy!” The familiar figure of the childish Jack flew out of the white light of summoning. She flew into Ainz with the determination of a Jack-to-Ainz missile. “We were so worried! Daddy, we tried to stop the bad uncle, but we failed, and you were hurt, it's our fault! Daddy, please don't be angry!”

“I’m not angry, Jack. Not angry at all.” Ainz smiled as kindly as he could after a moment, it seems that his practice is going to come into use! Still looking at Jack’s frightened and equally happy look, Ainz felt quite happy. “I’m glad you were summoned.”

“Daddy, we rushed to you as soon as we could!” Jack started skipping as she settled down from hugging Ainz, looking at him with barely concealed happiness. “We did our best to get here as soon as you called, daddy!”

“Thank you, Jack.” Ainz nodded. It seems that he still has a chance to discover some things about wraiths in this new world.

“Surprisingly, a Servant can independently rush to a summoning?” Da Vinci's voice unexpectedly rang out nearby, forcing Jack to turn around. “Is this a unique case for this summoning? Or is it related to Ainz? Or is it an undocumented feature of the system itself? What an exciting mystery!”

“Ah!” Jack, seemingly finally remembering Da Vinci, pointed her finger excitedly towards her. “You are that smart auntie!”

“Thanks for the compliment.” Da Vinci, having heard Jack’s childish exclamation, gave Jack a smile.

“So, talking is good, but it seems like we still have crystals that we can use?” Olga's voice cut into the conversation, causing Jack to turn towards her and frown.

“I don't remember you!” Jack pointed her finger at Olga, who was standing nearby. “Who are you!?”

“Of course you don’t, I was not in the Singularity.” Olga answered with a sigh before frowning. “And don’t point your finger at other people, that's impolite!”

“Daddy, is that true?” Jack immediately turned towards Ainz, waiting for his answer.

“Well, it’s really not very polite, and it’s better not to point your finger at other people.” Ainz replied calmly, causing Jack to nod seriously, making the most serious face a child was capable of.

“Then I won't!” Jack nodded seriously, and then, in demonstration of her seriousness, crossed her arms over her chest, done as if to demonstrate to everyone around her the seriousness of her intentions.

After a few more childish interactions that would warm the heart of anyone with a semblance of a heart, Jack stepped to the side so that Ainz could start summoning another Servant.

An instant later, a flash spreading through the air announced the arrival of the next Servant, as did an exclamation of surprise after a moment as someone familiar was summoned. Well more like someone whose armor was familiar, the face was very familiar though, only on someone that no one expected.

“I am Saber, name’s Mordred.” After her/ his? introduction the somewhat familiar Servant’s identity was finally divulged, that helmet of hers really obfuscated her identity. Her next words were perhaps to be expected of the Knight of Treachery. “Is my father here?”

After another moment, Mordred took a step forward, carefully examining everyone present. Roman... Olga… Then her gaze came across Ainz, Jack and Da Vinci at the same time.

“You!” Stretching out her finger forward, Mordred pointed at everyone present. “Why the hell am I here?!”

“Pointing your finger at people is impolite!” Jack objected indignantly, being the first of those present to respond to Mordred’s word, putting into practice the knowledge that was just told to her. After which, literally pouting with pride, she looked at Ainz, expecting recognition for her incredible merits.

“I didn’t ask you brat!” Mordred immediately replied with a shout, before returning her attention towards Ainz, “You… Father's wife! Where’s Father!?”

“What?” Ainz blinked at Mordred.

“So… am I missing something?!” Olga intervened in the conversation before Mordred could get going, causing the Knight to huff in irritation. “Da Vinci? Ainz?! Care to share with the group!? Why is the new Servant calling Ainz someone’s wife!?”

“So you’re a girl?” Da Vinci thought this was the perfect thing to comment on while looking at Ainz, ignoring the irate Olga and the fuming Mordred who’s now walking towards him. “Or… Hmm, though if you are an undead, a being without primary sexual characteristics, does this mean that you are actually considered sexless?”

“What? No, no!” Ainz immediately tried to dismiss all the charges against him as Olga and Mordred was staring at him intently while Da Vinci was looming uncomfortably close. “I’m not anyone’s wife! I am a man!”

“But don’t you actually have no...” - Da Vinci did not continue the thought, allowing everyone present to think out the end of the phrase on their own. “Why am I, ahem... Maybe you want to try a woman's body? Who knows maybe you’ll prefer it?”

Desperate for a distraction, Ainz commenced another summoning. The flash of light saved Ainz from answering questions that would not bode well for Ainz. The Servant that was summoned though elicited another kind of emotion from Ainz.

Rage.

“I am Nikola Tesla,” The summoned Servant briefly announced. “Genius.” Well let no one say that Nikola tesla was particularly humble.

“You!” Ainz attention was immediately grabbed by the unexpected familiar face, “You owe me a WCI!”

“First, let's figure out whether you are my father’s wife or not!” Mordred, no longer able to abide being ignored, interrupted Ainz’s holy war before it could properly start, “Then you can demand whatever you want from your other suitors!”

“Daddy, is that mommy?” - Jack looked at Tesla with an interested look. Though knowing her history, that interest might not exactly be something that anyone wants. “Her hair is so long…”

“Long hair is not a mark of womanhood, as it is traditionally suitable for both men and women of all ages.” Tesla dismissed Jack's comment with a wave of his hand. His denial for being one of Ainz suitors though was conspicuously absent though.

“What a surprise, the main advocate for the progress of mankind used the word ‘traditionally’ as his excuse!” Da Vinci glanced at Tesla who had stepped off the summoning platform.

“Hmm!” Tesla looked indignantly at his brilliant colleague, who was also not very happy with his arrogant declaration of being a genius.

“Hey! Let's not leave the topic, who's a wife to whom?!” Olga tried to return the dialogue to the thing that first started the commotion... A dialogue, whose subject was extremely pertinent to her, but something that Ainz would do her best not to discuss.

“Nobody’s anybody’s wife!” Ainz shook his head furiously. “I am a free man!”

“Then when I grow up, I'll marry you, daddy!” Jack immediately inserted her five cents as the summoning room soon was consumed by the cacophony of arguing Servants.

“It’s a madhouse in here.” Roman sighed quietly to himself, but, as is usually the case, as if fate dictated it, it was at this moment that a second of silence was established. And therefore Roman's words echoed clearly among all those present, causing all the people present to look at the unfortunate doctor. “Oh…”

A moment later, the prolonged pause was interrupted by another flash of light, as Ainz took the lull in the chaos as a chance to summon another Servant. After the light dimmed, a quiet and high-pitched girl's voice resounded. “Greetings to the beautiful you. Let's create a wonderful dream.”

As if on command, all the Servants present simultaneously looked at Alice, or maybe she should be called Nursery Rhyme? who took a step forward. With the uncomfortable silent, she looked around at all those present and froze.

“Oh… Did I arrive at the wrong time?” Alice shook her head, then, seeing Ainz, she smiled, “But at least to the right address.”

“Daddy, is she another mommy or is she like me, your daughter?” Jack innocently asked Ainz the very explosive question.

“I am, technically, a child of my Master.” Alice answered just as easily. “My form is created by the Master... Or, so it should be at least.”

“Have you decided to create a Loli Servant now Ainz?” Da Vinci looked at Ainz with a smirk. “Should I get my other body in that case?”

“Pedophile!” Mordred instantly pointed her finger at Ainz indignantly, full of fire and anger. “You are not worthy to be Father’s wife! Surrender peacefully you criminal scum!”

“Don't point your finger, you meanie! You were told it was impolite!” Jack instantly rushed forward, facing Mordred her daggers now unsheathed. “Stop disrespecting daddy!”

As the summoning room once again descended into a raucous chaos, Ainz sucked in air slowly… Before barking loudly in a commanding voice,” EVERYONE, STAND IN PLACE!”

All the Servants present at the moment were shocked and frozen as they heard Ainz voice, feeling that Ainz was not joking at all at the moment.

“ALL NEWLY SUMMONED SERVANTS, TO THE RIGHT WALL! ALL THE REST TO THE LEFT!”  After these words, even Olga and Roman decided to prudently obey Ainz's words, moving aside. Da Vinci looked like she was enjoying the spectacle though.

First Ainz’s attention was directed to the Knight in heavy armor.

“Mordred, I have no relationship with Arthuria! None! I’m not her wife or husband!”

Finished with his explanation, Ainz then shifted his gaze towards the other diminutive Servant that was not Jack. “Alice, I’m not your father or creator, as I didn’t take part in the creation of your body.”

Next to the eccentric scientist who was looking all too pleased about all this chaos. “Da Vinci - stop adding fuel to the fire.”

Then towards his diminutive maybe daughter. “Jack, pointing out the impoliteness of others like that is also impolite, and you should also not be so zealous to defend me.”

Then to his two colleagues that really should have known better.” Roman, keep all comments to yourself. And Olga - I have no relationship with anyone... Except those you know about.

And then lastly to the worst enemy that he had ever faced, who, if he was not his Servant would be facing the full brunt of his displeasure. “And Tesla! You still owe me a WCI!”

Tesla, more than anyone else, wanted to ask, what is a ‘WCI’, and why does Ainz think he has one or even why he should give it to Ainz. But at the moment he considered the best option to show not his ego, but his genius by remaining silent and not unnecessarily poke the angry dragon.

“And now I will summon the last Servant.” Da Vinci wanted to ask Ainz a question, but looking at how he glanced at everyone present, she also showed solidarity with Tesla, preferring not to provoke Ainz once again.

Ainz, exhaling, took a couple of steps and after placing the Grail in the center of the circle, looked at Roman who was standing by the control panel. “Do it.”

Roman, considering it best not to argue with Ainz, just pressed the button to start the summoning process. After which, for a long minute, the hall again plunged into silence, interrupted only by the hum of various mechanical parts.

Of those present, Olga, Roman and Da Vinci were familiar with the summoning procedure when using a far from ordinary catalyst, while the rest of the Servants looked at each other in confusion over the somewhat longer process when compared to their own summoning.

Tesla sincerely did not understand what was happening right now in front of his eyes, Mordred also responded in kind. Alice looked at what was happening with a very interested look on her face. While Jack just looked at the people around her and acted accordingly, copying their serious faces and staying silent. She doesn’t really understand what’s going on, but not wanting to anger her daddy, she just copied daddy’s behavior.

For a moment, as usual, the hall fell into silence before the summoning, before exploding in a flash of light again only this time much more excitingly than usual.

For the third time, a monstrous flash of light flooded the hall. And although Tesla or Mordred were surprised at the surprising luminescence of the light, Olga, Roman, Da Vinci and, of course, Ainz himself, were already used to such effects that accompanied the summoning of some special Servants.

Da Vinci sincerely wanted to find out from Ainz who exactly he summoned this time, for what reasons and based on what considerations, but… Looking into Ainz's face, she prudently chose to remain silent, postponing the questions she wanted to ask, to a pile of other thousands and thousands of questions for the future.

A second later, when the light began to slowly fade, the Servants were able to see a figure slowly emerging from a flash of light.

Da Vinci blinked at the figure of the Servant.

Although the existence of Asterios, a huge Minotaur and a huge Servant in his own right, was supposed to desensitize the surrounding people to the existence of giants. Even so, the size of the Servant that was just summoned was quite impressive.

No, probably, even when compared to the towering size of the Minotaur, she was even more impressive. At least Da Vinci herself could conclude even with only a bare glance that the Servant, even when being a girl, was at least a cut taller than Asterios, and also possessed equally impressive horns at that.

The servant, a girl that was much taller than three meters, cut quite the dangerous figure with her muscles. Muscles that are not so pronounced as that of Asterios’, but it made the already extremely distinct Servant seem only larger. Her short blonde hair, barely reaching to her shoulders, greatly contrasted her black dress, which reached down to her knees, ending with her high black lace-up boots.

On her face, as on all bare skin on the body that could be seen, numerous seal-like symbols were intertwined, rising along her arms and chest reaching her face. Though the tattoo that was applied to the girl's forehead, between her two large horns, was the most eye-catching.

The girl, having taken a step out of the summoning circle, instead of loudly announcing her arrival as did Baal or Cainabel, instead looked at her surroundings intently.

Da Vinci noted the indifference, if not disdain, in the Servant's gaze as her eyes passed over her or Tesla before stopping at Jack’s childish figure. As soon as her eyes passed over Jack, they instantly became warm, the eyes of a mother looking at a child. After which, this gaze only intensified as it passed over Mordred, before finally ending as she saw Ainz’s figure.

In an instant the Servant’s face grew even kinder.

“Momonga!” The Servant, impressive in all its appearance, after seeing Ainz with a glance, waved to him. “It has been a very long time since I last saw you!”

“Angrboda.” Ainz nodded, forcing Da Vinci to get close, as her curiosity got the best of her. Just from this one interaction she had gotten some juicy information. “And it’s ‘Ainz’. Call me ‘Ainz’”

Angrboda, ha… Mother of Jormungand, Fenrir and Hel, the wife of Loki... who for some reason knew Ainz from what it seems a long time ago. And she also called him by another name… Interesting.

“Then you can call me Mommy!” Angrboda instantly replied, cheerily announcing what Ainz should call her.

“Mommy?” Jack leaned forward, looking at the giantess.

“Of course, little Jackie!” Angrboda broke into a radiant smile, easily ignoring such a pitiful thing as formality or the fact that she should not have actually known Jack’s name. “I'm your mom!”

“No, no, stop!” Ainz understood what would happen should Jack start calling the new Servant Mommy and his Daddy correctly and took a step forward, putting a stop to the conversation before it could go in an even more worrying direction, “Jack, she’s not your mommy! And not mine for that matter… ”

“I am the mother of all monsters!” In response Angrboda simply brushed aside Ainz’s complaints as something insignificant, - “Undead, dragons, beasts... Actual relationship in this case does not matter, I’m everyone’s mother!.”

“In this case, it really does… ” Ainz shook his head, exasperatedly looking at the Servant that had made his social life all the more complicated. - “Still, Angrboda, I'm glad that…”

“No-no-no! Ainz!” Ainz’s newly summoned Servant immediately interrupted, exaggeratedly swinging her body side to side. “You must call me Mommy!”

“I won't.” Ainz replied in an instant, closing his eyes for a second as he rubbed a hand across his forehead.

Angrboda, hearing Ainz instant rejection, frowned, pursing her lips in what looked like a caricatured serious expression on her face before sighing.  “Okay... I guess that’s alright. You are still older than me…”

Da Vinci grasped this tidbit of fact and carefully preserved it in her memory.

“Then you’re going to call me… Angri!” Angrboda immediately returned to her previous boisterous self and smiled at Ainz, “By the way, are you free now?”

“What?” Ainz blinked.

“In terms of personal relationship and in terms of time… ” The Servant just shook her head, as if explaining something obvious. “ You know… We've known each other for so long, and well after Loki, I didn't really have a normal husband and… Well, we know each other so well, so I thought… ”

Should it be expected that Ainz’s acquaintances to be so eccentric? She immediately went from childishly asking to be called by a nickname to suddenly propositioning someone.

“Full stop!” Olga immediately got into the conversation, overcoming even her possible fears about Ainz.  “Who you are and what the hell is happening here?!” Love, do make fools of us all huh?

“Shut your mouth, man-rat, or I'll bite off your head, throw off the remains to feed the children, and make a cup out of your skull.” Without changing her facial expression in any way, Angrboda easily spouted threats after deadly threats. After which, completely ignoring any reaction to her quite colorful retort towards Olga, she turned back to Ainz. “So, what about when we get married?”

“Who will marry whom?!” Mordred, finally no longer able to keep her silence after hearing her Father’s wife getting proposed to, entangled herself in the somewhat nonsensical dialogue.  “Who are you in the first place?! And what do you mean by marriage?!”

“Angrboda, I’m your mommy, you can call me that if you want.” Angrboda smiled easily at the young girl. “And about marriage... Ahem, when two loving hearts love each other very much…”

“Are you threatening me?!” Olga overcoming her stupor after being threatened so vividly, joined in on the dialogue again. “You don't understand where you’ll end up after threatening me?!”

“If you don't shut up, then you will find yourself on my table soon if you keep barking man-rat.” Angrboda, without changing the expression on her face and tone of voice once again, delivered yet another threat, before continuing to talk to Mordred. “So where was I? Ah yes, when two loving hearts like your mommy and Ainz…”

Ainz took a slow breath, watching the chaos as Olga and the other Servants began shouting over each other...

He couldn’t help but smile.

Ainz really didn't know what he should do next, or what would happen in the future...

But he knew that he didn’t want to walk the empty corridors alone again.

Never again.

***

Historiographical Essay "The Influence of the Natural World on the Formation of Ancient Mythology Throughout the World":

... In the ninth chapter of this book we will consider the influence of the landscape of the Apennine peninsula on the formation of the mythology of the peoples of the Roman kingdom, and later the Roman Republic and eventually the Roman Empire.

Although, of course, some common threads and similar features of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon are seen in all the mythologies in societies throughout Europe and India,  Roman culture was not an exception. Though as to be expected, the unique geographical and climatic conditions of the Apennines Peninsula had a significant impact on their mythology.

The most famous example of a geographical influence on mythology being the Etna volcano, which in mythology was supposed to serve as a place of imprisonment of giants and also was supposed to be the residence of the Smith god Hephaestus.

Another is the Italian cleft, the largest natural quarry in Europe near Rome. According to legend, the cleft was formed after the god of war, Mars, saw Romulus killing his brother Remus, and shocked at the cruelty displayed, dropped his blade, dividing the earth in two.

Future historian and geologist though credited the creation of the cleft to a major earthquake that happened in the distant past.

It is quite the notable thing though just how many early Roman superstitions used geographical features as an element for the formation of several myths.

In particular, some historians had even concluded that the myth of Attila’s invincibility in Roman mythos was also based on the Mars myth. That a conqueror who conquered most of Europe, a feat that included besieging Rome, was only so successful and feared because they had possessed the fallen blade of Mars, Furthermore that the cause for their enmity with Rome and his war with the Roman Empire as the fulfillment of an ‘unfinished mission from Mars’ claiming that ‘the god missed his first blow, but the second must destroy Rome’...