{Basilica of the Six, Kami Miyako, two months after the Prime Minister's visit to the Empire…}

Seven, the Cardinals and the Pontifex Maximus, sat around a round table, bathed in the bright blue light shining through the great stained-glass windows, honoring the exploits of the Six Great Gods. The Pontifex spoke.

"Cardinal Partouche, you mean to tell me that all but six of your Scripture's informants in the Empire were arrested?!"

"It seems so, Your Holiness. And those six barely escaped with their lives, and now they refuse to associate with us."

"This bodes ill. I believe that we may soon find ourselves on the receiving end of war."

"War? From the Sorcerer Kingdom?"

"Indeed, Cardinal Lagier. Thank the Six, we have completed the Lucifer Project on time. If we deploy both God-kin, the Black Scripture, the Third Legacy, and activate the Lucifer Project, there is no way we can lose on the field of battle. It may be possible to convince the Council State to send covert aid against the Sorcerer Kingdom. We may not be able to hold the countryside or even Kami Miyako itself against the armies of the Sorcerer King if he attacks, but we should be able to goad him into battle and defeat him personally with our strength."

"I concur with Cardinal Lauransan. The Black Scripture has fully recovered from their attack on the Elemental monster. Their might, combined with the Lucifer Project and the Legacies must be able to defeat Ainz Ooal Gown. It's clear that the Downfall of Castle and Country works as intended, so we may even be able to take control of the undead king, assuming we are fortunate enough to have a chance to."

"Indeed. I, Cardinal of Fire, Berenice Nagua Santini, move to mobilize all the Six Scriptures, and activate the first Four of the Legacies."

"What of the Fifth?"

"We will save the Ouroboros for if the battle turns against us, Cardinal Dracrowa. We can only use it once, remember."

"These are desperate times. I, Cardinal of Earth, Raymond Zarg Lauransan, second the motion."

"I, Cardinal of Death, Maximilian Oreio Lagier, support the motion."

"I, Cardinal of Water, Ginedine Delan Guelfi, support the motion."

"I, Cardinal of Wind, Dominic Ihre Partouche, support the motion.

"I, Cardinal of Life, Yvon Jasna Dracrowa, support the motion." The Cardinals looked to the Pontifex expectantly.

"It shall be so. Send for the Grand Marshall."

The Throne Room of Nazarick, several weeks later…

All of Nazarick's people outside had been called back to the Tomb, and gathered in the Throne Room itself. The Guardians, the Pleiades maids, Fluder Paradyne, the regular maids. Ainz sat upon the Throne of Kings, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown in his hand, thinking of what he would say to them. He decided to speak as thoughts came from him.

"Denizens of Nazarick. As you know, we have declared war on the Slane Theocracy. Our vengeance has come at last. I must admit something to you, something a few of you might have suspected from some time. I have no animosity towards humans, naturally. I have no compunctions towards killing them, but if they do me or mine no harm, I see no reason to expend effort to make them suffer.

The humans of the Theocracy have done that. They forced me to put down Shalltear, and I will repay this wrong against me, against us, with interest. Therefore, we and our allies have declared open war against the enemy. We will proceed with the maximum amount of caution. Our foes possess a World Class Item, and they may have access to other powerful YGGDRASIL items, and even other World Class Items. It has been some time since we have flexed our muscles. Therefore, we will give Kami Miyako the last show they will ever see, and the greatest: the true power of Nazarick, and Ainz Ooal Gown. I will have Pandora's Actor distribute World Items to you."

"As you command, Ainz-sama," said Albedo, bowing to Ainz.

"Furthermore, these World Items are for defensive purposes only. You have them only to resist the effects of the Theocracy's World Items. Unless it will save you or an ally from certain death, try to avoid using your Item. I would prefer to not show our full strength, just yet, but again, if it will save you or an ally, use it by all means.

We must also involve our allies and vassals; the Holy Kingdom, the Empire, the Lizardmen tribe, the Marquis of E-Raebel, the Dwarven Council, the Quagoa Chieftain, and others. We will bring their leaders along with us, but not put them in any danger."

"Do you plan an invasion at all, Ainz-sama?" asked Demiurge.

"No. I will not pit any of my weaker subjects against the Theocracy, not when they possess World Items. Once we have delivered our message, we will send the leaders to safety in Nazarick, and commence the attack on Kami Miyako. We will accept no surrender, take no quarter. The greatest kindness you can give the innocent will be a swift death. Of course, our first priority will be intelligence gathering, testing their capabilities in combat. The Primal Fire Elemental we sent proved a decent challenge for them, so I don't believe we will be in danger as long as we possess World Items.

Sebas and the Pleiades will remain behind." At this, those mentioned sighed in disappointment. "That is not to say your task is unimportant. You will protect Nazarick in our absence and ensure its smooth operation. Sebas, send [Message] to me if Nazarick comes under attack at all."

"It shall be so, Ainz-sama."

"Very well. We will leave for the Theocracy the day after tomorrow. Starting immediately, Sebas and the Pleiades will manage the Tomb. Floor Guardians. I am relieving you of your duties for the rest of the day and all of tomorrow, so you can focus on preparing yourself for battle. For the rest of today, ensure your equipment is in peak condition, and get some rest tonight. And-"

"A-ainz-sama… w-what are we going to d-do tomorrow?" questioned Mare, meekly.

"Mare! How dare you interrupt-"

"Albedo! Relax. It's fine. Tomorrow, Mare, we're all going to take it easy. Maybe take a bath together, or something." Shit, that came out wrong.

"A bath together with Ainz-sama, before His greatest victory yet!" squealed Albedo. Shalltear seemed to have that same blissfully lewd expression on her face.

"Ainz-sama. I. Recall. That. When. We. Conquered. The. Lizardmen. That. We. Viewed. Their. Leaders. In. The. Act. Of. Procreation. As. They. Faced. Certain. Death. Do. You. Intend. To. The. Same. With. Albedo-sama. And. Or. Shalltear-sama? It. Would. Be. Delightful. Knowing. Ainz-sama. Will. Have. An. Heir."

Dammit, Cocytus, you're not helping!

"Ah, I misspoke, Cocytus. I meant like the usual bath, in the appropriate facilities for each gender." Ainz saw Albedo's and Shalltear's smiles drop at this statement. Aura and Mare looked absolutely confused the whole time.

Ugh… I still have to give them the Talk. They don't seem to be experiencing puberty yet, though. Maybe after all this is finished.

"That is all I have regarding this matter. The rest of you are dismissed to return to your duties or your rest. Floor Guardians, come with me to the Round Table Room. There are some things I have to speak to you about." The court of Nazarick dispersed, taking orders from Sebas regarding their immediate tasks.

In about five minutes, Ainz had teleported to the Round Table Room on the Ninth Floor, using the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. The Floor Guardians joined him just after that, all of them taking a knee and awaiting his instructions.

"Rise, Floor Guardians. Sit."

"A-Ainz-sama… these chairs were used by the Supreme Beings themselves! We are unworthy to even look upon the-"

"Consider it… an order. I do not want to talk down to you here." The Guardians glanced uneasily at each other, waiting to see which brave soul would dare touch one of these sacred thrones. The room fell silent with anticipation.

Oh come on… please? Can someone just sit down! This is so awkward!

"A-A-Ainz-s-sama… c-c-can we sit on y-y-your lap… p-please… Ainz-sama?" squeaked Mare. Must be really nervous… I've never heard him stutter that bad before. I gotta word this carefully. I do not need all the Guardians sitting on my lap, though that might be comical. I need to talk through some hard topics with them, so it may be comforting to have me holding them like this.

"Aura. Mare, Albedo, Shalltear, since you are the smaller of the Floor Guardians, you may. No pushing or shoving. I apologize, Cocytus and Demiurge. I will make this up for you later."

"Do. Not. Concern. Yourself. On. My. Account. Ainz-sama. I. Am. Content. To. Be. Your. Weapon."

"Thank you, Ainz-sama. I will consider the matter thoroughly.

Good to see Demiurge isn't as opposed to receiving rewards from me nowadays. Now to the matter of managing three girls and a boy all sitting on my lap at the same time.

That matter proceeded quite well. Ainz managed to get Aura and Mare side by side on one thigh rather well, with Mare being closer to him, although Shalltear and Albedo seemed to be determined to fight to the death for the sake of sitting nearer to Ainz. In the end, Ainz took the matter into his own hands, literally, placing a gleeful Albedo nearer to him, and a pouting Shalltear further away. Albedo and Mare will need my support the most, knowing what I'm about to say.

"I will make this up to you, Shalltear. I promise." That assurance was enough to satisfy the vampire fighter.

"I brought you here, because I want to draw your attention to a possibility that lies ahead of us, however unlikely. When we bring the fight to the Slane Theocracy, there exists the chance small though it may be, that they will have a weapon or even a summon that can kill me, or you. " The Guardians gasped at this.

"Ainz-sama…" whined Albedo, this statement enough to bring her to tears as she snuggled against him. "Please… Ainz-sama… don't say such things… Nothing… Nothing can defeat You! No World Item can touch You. We will let no threat touch You… Ainz-sama…" Albedo wept desperately into his shoulder, as if he had already died. Mare did the same, without a word, although he wept more into Ainz's lower arm than his shoulder, given the dark elf's short stature.

"The. Guardian. Overseer. Is. Right. Ainz-sama. Although. There. Are. Monsters. And. Weapons. From. YGGDRASIL. Here. That. In. Theory. Should. Be. Able. To. Hurt. You. Or. Defeat. You. We. Know. You. Will. Prevail. In. The. End. When. You. Dueled. Shalltear-sama. The. Odds. Were. Three. To. Seven. Against. You. And. Yet. You. Defied. The. Odds. As. Only. The. Supreme. Beings. Could. And. Brought. Shalltear-sama. Back. To. Us." Shalltear buried her head in her hands at the mention of her past disgrace.

"Cocytus speaks truly. We are all willing to lay down our unworthy lives for You, Ainz-sama, if it means You will prevail or live," added Demiurge, resolutely.

"Thank you, Cocytus. But I must point out that part of why I could defeat Shalltear was because I had a deep knowledge of her capabilities."

"Ainz-sama. Your. Knowledge. Of. YGGDRASIL. Has. No. Equal. No. Enemy. From. The. Theocracy. Can. Catch. You. Off. Guard. As. You. Said. Yourself. That. Their. Six. Gods. Were. Players. From. YGGDRASIL."

"We'll see how good their gods are when we're through with them, right, Shalltear?" said Aura. The vampire looked up with a smile at this.

Some of them seem to be analyzing my words critically now, rather than just blindly accepting them, which is great! I'm really amazed at how Cocytus has grown in the last five years. I think I might offer to spar with him again after we deal with the Theocracy, to show my appreciation and pride in him!

"Again, I am grateful for your confidence in me, but it would be wise to be ready for all possibilities, rather than just the likely ones. Defeat does not concern me, as long as the consequences of it can be dealt with. Demiurge, what is the status of the Contingencies?"

"We can account for multiple scenarios, although Contingency 1, 2, and 3 hold the highest priority in our exercises, as those involve situations where… You would be absent, Ainz-sama."

"I see Demiurge. Good work."

"Thank you, Ainz-sama."

Wow, he didn't deflect the praise like before. He's catching on!

"Now then, Guardians. I believe that we have finished with this matter. Are there any questions, suggestions, or concerns?" Albedo raised her hand innocently, like a gradeschool student. "Yes, Albedo?"

"Can I stay here forev-…" She stopped to reconsider. "For a while?"

"Me too? I want to try something," said Shalltear, looking absolutely turned on.

"Is this something gross you've got in mind, fake-tits?"

"Stay out of this, Shorty!"

Ainz sighed internally as the chaos began. Albedo trying to seduce him, Mare being guilty on multiple counts of severe cuteness and innocence, Aura energetically picking on Shalltear for being dirty minded. This was going to be a long while.