Tale of Discovery

I watch with interest as one of the battle maids, Yuri Alpha, appears in the throne hall, pays respect to me, and then proceeds to guide Aletia out.

The whole process was neat and efficient, showing just how devoted the maid is to her role and service.

"Excuse me, Lord Victor, but why have you brought that vampire to Nazarick?" Albedo arbitrarily asks after a moment of silence.

"Well, while I was in the middle of my investigation, I happened to come across her in a labyrinth and one thing led to another, resulting in her getting contracted to me."

A confused look appears on Albedo's face as she slightly tilts her head and utters, "What do you mean by contracted?"

Ah, this is going to be a pain to explain.

For obvious reasons, I can't say that she is in a Blood Contract with me and is dependent on my blood, because, duh, I don't have blood.

As such, a simple excuse that would fit my role of a ruler would suffice:

"She has entered a contract of servitude with me after I took notice of her specialty and promised her a home."

"I see," Albedo mutters with an understanding look on her face, "What is this specialty, if I may ask?"

"You'll see for yourself soon," I bullshit with a nonchalant expression.

What specialty? All I know about her is that she is a vampire that is now in a contract with me. Perhaps, in due time, she would develop some interesting abilities as a result of the contract, but until then, I will save myself trouble by passing everything off to the questioners' imaginations.

"Understood," Albedo replies calmly, understanding that I am not planning to elaborate on the matter any further.

At this moment, the giant doors connecting the throne hall and the corridors open as three figures walk inside.

Two of them are identical in both height and appearance, while the other one has a graceful gait. The twin Floor Guardians and Demiurge.

One of the twins has a bright and cheerful expression on her face, in contrast to the one beside her, who is somewhat nervous. As for Demiurge, he has a composed look on his face as he follows after the twins.

---

It takes an unexpectedly short time for all the Floor Guardians except those that Albedo said wouldn't be coming to gather in the throne hall.

Like before, their expressions hold abject respect and veneration, which would put quite the pressure on one if they aren't used to it.

[It's an impressive sight no matter how many times I see it.]

'Is this not merely the second time they have gathered in such a manner in front of me?'

[Nevertheless, look at them. They're all the result of the hard work of my friends.]

'Since you said that, I feel a little tempted to toy with them.'

[Don't!]

Ignoring the anxious Satoru, I run my gaze over the Floor Guardians before straightening my back and order, "Report in order from the guardian of the lowest floors to the highest."

As per my orders, the pale yet beauteous vampire, Shalltear, remains kneeling on one knee as she states, "Yes, Lord Victor. Nothing out of the norm has occurred in the floors I am assigned to."

Nodding at her, though I doubt anyone would be to tell since my head is just a skull, I turn my attention to the next one – Cocytus.

Earlier, I didn't pay heed to his appearance much, but this fella sure looks something straight out of a nightmare. Four thick arms attached to his large body… I doubt there is any ordinary soldier out there that could take on a punch from this fellow.

I was having thoughts of wiping out armies single-handedly not too long ago, but perhaps commanding a subordinate to do it for me is not a bad idea either.

Just imagine - as a true ruler, I sit upon my throne, being tended to by servants while watching the more powerful subordinates deal with problems outside.

That's right, how could I have not considered this before? Back in the Rift, I've got my angels and a whole lot of other allies. Why not just delegate some work to them while I go deal with the important matters?

I can't just continue to deal with everything myself…

"Lord. Victor," a deep voice results in me snapping back to reality and gaze upon the one that spoke.

"Go on, Cocytus," I state.

"Similar. To. Lady. Shalltear. There. Have. Been. No. Issues."

"Good. Now then, Aura and Mare. Were you two able to procure any 'specimens' for Demiurge?"

The one that responds to the inquiry is the energetic one as she smiles brightly and says, "Yes! We found a variety of creatures from different races and brought them back here for testing!"

Different races? Like elves and dwarves?

"And has anything been discovered from researching said creatures?" I ask as I shift my gaze over to Demiurge.

"I'm afraid not yet, Lord Victor," Demiurge responds coolly.

"There isn't any need to make haste," I state, "The results are what matters, not the means and time to achieve them. However, that doesn't mean it should be done in a leisurely manner."

"Understood, Lord Victor," he says while still kneeling.

"Very well, now that you've all reported in, I suppose it's time that I share with you the information I've procured, even if it isn't much."

---

Being mentally taxed, I immediately drop on my bed as soon as I enter my room after closing the doors behind me.

Now that I think about it, I am supposed to be an undead being, so why would there be the need for a bed if I can't sleep in the first place?

[You worked hard.]

'No kidding,' I respond to Satoru's somewhat abrupt remark.

Earlier, while sharing information with the Floor Guardians, I had to make sure that nothing regarding the persona I had created comes up, for instance, the currently non-existing German Empire and its crown prince.

That turned out to be harder than I expected, mostly because the Floor Guardians were a little too curious about what I had been up to outside the tomb.

Nevertheless, I left most of it to their imagination by giving minimal answers.

I suppose there aren't going to be any issues if I were to go by the looks Demiurge had on his face each time I answered such questions. A look of understanding, that's what it was. The lad acted like he figured everything out from the most simple of answers, which I doubt is the case.

[So, what are you planning to do?]

'Conquer the surrounding kingdoms.'

[What?! Why even?]

'What else am I supposed to do?'

[Not conquering kingdoms? Actually, why did you even decide to do that?]

'No reason,' I respond nonchalantly.

Or so I claim, but there is a simple reason behind the decision.

Since I'm going to be having objectives from here on out and I could even force some, it would be better to have a means of completing them before even knowing about them.

For instance, if my control over this world is extensive, I would be able to achieve whatever I want quite easily. Need to locate something? Have my subordinates do that for me. Need to kill someone? Same thing, unless the target is strong enough that I need to do so myself. Either case, there is a need to locate the target first, which would be easier if I have a broad information network and access to a great number of forces at my disposal.

However, it's not like I am planning to conquer every kingdom in existence. If any kingdoms decide to be my allies and… "prove" their worth, then there wouldn't be a need to take over.

At this moment, a knocking sound reaches my non-existent ears which is followed by a sweet voice, "Lord Victor, Lady Aletia wishes to speak to you."

"Let her in," I respond in a rough voice. As irritating as it may be to act like a cold-hearted ruler, it is necessary.

Following my response, the doors leading to my room open as a small figure makes her way inside, after which the doors immediately shut close.

"I wasn't expecting a night visit this early on," I joke as I raise my body from the bed.

Currently, she is still dressed in the middle-school uniform I had given to her, which more or less makes this scenario kind of odd. Such thoughts last only for a moment, as I recall the fact that compared to my age, all my partners are underage anyway, and despite her appearance, this lass is a vampire that has lived for a long while.

Why am I suddenly caring about age anyway?

[This feels illegal.]

'Oh, please shut up,' I respond as I cut the connection between us off.

"You… Will you stay like that?" Aletia's voice breaks me out of my thoughts, after which I realize that she has already reached the bed and climbed on.

Ah, she must be speaking about my current form.

Focusing my thoughts, I switch from my Overlord profile to Origo.

At a moment's notice, a bright light shines before my appearance changes completely.

"Better?" I ask with a smile as I peer at her round face.

"Umn," she hums in response as she crawls over onto my lap and starts to unbutton my shirt.

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" I ask with a chuckle.

As a response to my words, Aletia furrows her brows as she mutters, "I'm hungry."

"Right, and my blood is your snack," I say before releasing a sigh and willing for my shirt to enter the inventory.

Suddenly finding me half-naked while she was in the middle of taking my shirt off, Aletia is surprised for a moment, but quickly regains her composure as her gaze shifts over to my neck.

"Wow, not even the slightest interest in these," I say casually as I gesture to my abdomen with my left hand.

For reasons unknown to even myself, my body is quite fit. So, coupled with my looks, it should be more than enough to attract the attention of females. Yet, this girl…

"Too hungry right now," she merely says as she moves her mouth over to my neck and sinks her canines into my flesh, while I make sure she doesn't break her canines by willing for my physical resistance to lower.

Time slowly goes by with Aletia showing no signs of planning to stop feeding on my blood.

Getting a little bored, I decide to play around with the lass a little.

"Don't mind me," I say casually as I place my hands on her sides, realizing just how small she is in the process.

I'd say her figure is rather close to that of Ayumi's, but that's about the only similarity there is between the two, be it appearance-wise or personality-wise.

Aletia is a somewhat quiet girl, but that doesn't mean she is shy. Heck, she is currently sitting on a half-naked man's lap without any worries.

It's more like she only says what's needed to be said. The bare minimum of for understanding one another, I suppose.

"Not done yet?" I ask as I sense her body getting slightly hot.

Shortly, she moves her head away and proceeds to look me in the eyes while a small streak of blood flows out of the corner of her mouth.

With my gaze focused on her lips, I notice just how small and rosy they are.

Without a care for the blood, I close the distance between our faces as our lips meet.

Despite being a little startled by my actions, Aletia doesn't resist in any way as she even opens her mouth, giving my tongue a way inside her small mouth.

The kiss lasts for a minute or so before I finally separate my lips from hers.

"You're much more enticing than one would expect," I remark as I stare at her face.

"Are you saying that I'm beautiful?" she asks with a small smile.

"You can take it that way," I respond as I let my body drop back on the bed.

"So, are you planning to sleep here with me?" I question while moving my hand toward her butt.

"Yes. It's boring outside," she answers while getting off my body and proceeding to lay beside me.

Suddenly, I hear some noise outside my room before someone knocks on my door, "Lord Victor, my I enter?"

Hah~

"Yes," I respond as I raise my body and switch back to my Overlord profile.

"Lord Victor, I came as soon as I finished my work, please let me warm-" an excited Albedo's words get cut off as her gaze fixes on Aletia, who is lying on the bed without the slightest care.

"Lord Victor," Albedo utters as her complexion seems to be on the verge of breaking, "Why is she here?"

"Aletia? Well, it felt lonely to sleep alone so I had her join me," I respond in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But you could've called for me!" she immediately exclaims. "I am-"

"I was about to," I interrupt her, "Since you were going to be done with your work around this time, I decided to give you some time before calling you over."

Am I spouting nonsense? Yes, I am. Will she ever know? I doubt it. So long as it stops her outburst, it doesn't matter.

"Lord Victor!" she exclaims, this time in a completely different manner than earlier, with blatant affection in her eyes.

This chick must have some weird fetishes if she's attracted to my current from…

"What are you waiting for?" I say in a commanding manner as I raise my hand to beckon her over.

"Yes!" she responds before practically blinking over to the bed and pressing herself against me.

"We have a long day ahead of us, so let's rest well," I state as I let our bodies settle on the bed properly.

Aletia seems to have already fallen asleep, which is enviable considering that I shouldn't be able to do so right now…

"Understood," Albedo responds as she snuggles up against me.

Ugh. This might've been much more enjoyable if I wasn't in my skeletal form. But, I have a feeling it's going to be dangerous if I revealed my humanoid form to Albedo. Not a danger to my life, but something else entirely…

Fortunately, Albedo seems to be a quick sleeper as she shortly falls into a deep sleep, leaving me the only one awake.

Since I can't sleep, I suppose I will look rummage through the spells in my head and study them properly.