Romcom?

- Haaaah~ Even with all this time to think alone, I still can't believe this happened. Besides, is this some sort of romcom? A beautiful girl appearing out of thin air for no reason. If my life was a damn story written by a shitty author... If he wrote something along the lines, 'Did you really expect this to be another cliche dull guy meets super hot babe? You're wrong! It was all just a dream!', I wouldn't be surprised.

Lazily dragging his feet through the walkway, Suzuki Satoru was almost back to his apartment room. He had spent longer than what it should have taken for this simple errand. Wanting to decompress and assess the whole situation, he had taken a detour.

His arms were starting to ache from having to carry the ingredients. It wasn't the ingredients that were heavy, it was the container. The container used thick materials to make sure the content did not become contaminated during transport in any usual weather.

The minor ache constantly whispered in his conscience to give up and go home. His mind did not want to use any more energy to comprehend what was going on and his willpower to piece it all together was not in the right places. The whole day was taxing on his soul. In the end he gave in to the ache's tempting request.

- I'll just ask Albedo, spending too much thinking about it won't do any good if I don't have much concrete information to work around.

He had reached his end destination, his apartment. Bracing himself and mentally preparing to handle whatever situation was to come, he placed the container on the ground to quickly stretch.

Feeling ready as he could possibly be, he opened the front door after entering the codes to three electronic locks. Through his foggy goggles he could see the outline of a world class beauty that was already genuflecting. Her head already bowed down. The image of a dog waiting for its master's return, popped up into his mind which he immediately squashed out to keep his emotional state stable.

Realizing he had stopped briefly, he proceeded to enter with his goods. With the door shutting, the ancient air purifying systems setting off could slightly be heard. Waiting for a few seconds, he concluded the entrance was safe. He lightly placed his facewear on the floor and set his footwear across to it. He concluded he could worry about the mess later.

"Please raise your head."

Her head did not move.

- How many times do I have to repeat myself?

"Raise your head"

Her head rose and shortly after that, she stood up.

"Welcome back Satoru."

"Can I ask why you're doing that?"

While conversing with Albedo, he proceeded into his home. Placing the container on a small counter next to the sink. The sight of Albedo was pleasing to the eyes but he did not let his eyes feast upon those pleasures. It was already late in the day. If he wanted to finish dinner and send her off before it got too late he needed to work fast.

"It is common sense to greet the ruler of all supreme beings in such a manner, those who fail to properly greet and acknowledge the most exalted being should all perish."

"Hoooh is that so? Just to make sure, going by what you're saying... I am the ruler of all supreme beings right?

"You are correct, Satoru"

- Ruler… that sounds like a tyrant. I don't think I have ever been above any of my friends either. The decision was always made with majority votes.

"Albedo… What if I told you to stop that? The whole bowing down thing, The Ruler this and Ruler that. If I am what you say then.. It'll be troublesome for both of us as proper etiquettes would dictate our actions and what our conversations are. Ah- what I mean to say in a simpler way is, it wastes time. Treat me as an equal and speak to me normally. This is my home. I would like to hmmm.. relax. I hope you could as well. Even without a magnificent home to brag about it, I would like to hope at least the hospitality I've shown could be just as impressive."

- Especially to my first guest… I might not have another in the future.

Her troubled spirit did not convey through her smiling face.

"That isn't true. This place is magnificent because you're here! But to your request, It... It would be a bit troublesome for me. It is only proper to do so."

"I see. That.. That saddens me but I understand. If it is asking too much then it can't be helped. I am sorry for my selfish request."

Satoru turned his head towards her and bowed to apologize. Albedo panicked at the sight of her master lowering his head for a mere servant. Wiggling in angst, she hurriedly ran her Albedo . exe in overdrive within her supercomputer brain to come up with a way to rectify the problem.

"No, it is not your fault at all! How could you ever be wrong? It is my fault for poorly stating a comment carelessly without a proper explanation. Forgive my rudeness. I did not mean that it can not be done. It is that I do not have the complete confidence that I can carry that out without making a mistake. But! If you wish it to be so, then it will be so. If you say white is black then it is black. Simple as that. That is also to say, if my previous display of loyalty were not satisfying and befitting of a servant, then please tell me at once."

"Ah don't take it to heart. It looks kind of cool I guess. Though it would be better as what I had suggested. Surely those who deeply respect and treasure Ainz Ooal Gown as much or more than me can't be bad people. I hope we can have a more open conversation from here on Albedo."

- It makes me feel extremely uncomfortable to be revered so highly, not like I can really say that with a straight face though.

"As you wish. Then I will benefit from your kindness and do as you ordered- no, comply to your request Satoru."

Satoru had already finished cleaning the ingredients. What would be on the menu for dinner tonight was the only dish he slightly knew how to make. In addition to that, it was also his favorite meal when he was a kid. He had mixed feelings about this.

The memories were foggy but he remembered his mom collapsing trying to make this for him. He didn't exactly know what death was at that time and begged for his mom to wake up for quite some time. Maybe if he would have called for help immediately she might have been saved. It happened so far in the past that he couldn't remember the exact details, he could only throw 'What Ifs' at it.

- How foolish… because of me.. If only you didn't work so hard and took a break, you would still be here Mom.

With a knife, he began chopping away, projecting his dark emotions onto the innocent ingredients. The ingredients cried out as they were slowly being murdered, albeit the cutting was clumsy.

"Ah I can do that! Please allow me to do that. It would be improper to have you cook!"

"Hm? No it's alright. I appreciate your feelings. I don't mean to be rude but just out of curiosity, can you cook?"

She was not in his view. He could not see that she was shaking her head 'No', from side to side. With his back turned towards her, she displayed a discontent face that did not wish to admit her shortcomings to his innocent question. Without seeing that face, he could not possibly see that expression hinted at the fear of being deemed useless and thrown away.

"Although it would be treasonous to put into question what my creator had in mind while creating me. Since I am complying to being open, I will speak freely. Unfortunately I do not have skills allocated into cooking. I am fully optimized in combat and administration. I can not make food."

"Ah I understand."

I actually don't understand. Skills? Can't you just cook and become better at it? Maybe this is just a trait of demons. I shouldn't look too deeply into this.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. Everyone is not perfect. In truth, I don't cook either. I hope you're not expecting me to cook up a three star cuisine hahaha."

"How could I ever hope to compare to you? There are forty one beings that are absolutely perfect in the world, no in the universe. I appreciate that you would be so humble to-"

Satoru let a sigh exhale from his mouth. He could feel if he let this continue, she would revert back to her previous tendencies. His efforts to change things would be for naught. He didn't care much about the world but he would not allow his efforts to be wasted so easily. The chopping did not stop.

"Stop."

She obediently adhered to his command. With the brief moment of silence from both parties, he stopped chopping. There wasn't anything to look at on the wall but his eyes fixed on it. What appeared in front of him was a mirror with his reflection staring back at him. Of course this was just his imagination. His sorrowful tone broke the silence.

"I am no fool to believe that I am special and an exception to the rules of reality. With that said, I could not possibly hope to be a flawless Supreme Being that you wish for me to be. Do not project this false image on me. Regardless of who you are, you will make mistakes. Of course there are things that happen which you can not stop. It will shake up your world leaving you almost crippled. You only have what you currently do, there is no shame to admit it. Ultimately the only thing you can do is work your best to overcome it. As long as you live, there is another chance to redeem yourself."

- Sorry Albedo, I selfishly twisted this a bit for me. Perhaps I should thank you a little bit for helping me vocalize what I need to hear..

"I understand Satoru. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me. I will hold that advice dearly to me."

Feeling that this atmosphere had turned darker than it should be, he turned to look at Albedo with a smile on his face. He hoped his attempt to liven up the atmosphere worked. In her expression, he could somewhat feel Albedo's concern about his well being. With the short amount of time together with her, he had grasped the idea that she was a caring person. Maybe a little too much but her point was hammered to him that he couldn't pretend to feign ignorance.

"With that said, if there is a next time then I will welcome your assistance with the cooking. Right now, I want to do it myself, so just sit back and relax. Ah please go ahead and sit on the seat while you wait for me to finish up"

Her eyes beamed in joy. Her face had regained it's smile, a genuine smile.

"Yes! Then I will take up on both your offer."

Albedo followed his request. Upon sitting, she gazed at his back like a love stricken girl. Intently enjoying the scene of him cooking. He could not feel her gaze as he was too focused on keeping the food free of charcoal. As he said, it was the truth. He was not experienced in cooking at all.

Like an exhilarating experience that shortens the perception of time to what seems to be mere seconds. The enjoyable sight of Suzuki Satoru cooking came to an end. With two plates in his hand he carefully walked over to Albedo, keeping the plates parallel to the floor. He then extended one of them to her. Her smiling face tilted along with her head.

"Is this for me?"

"Yeah, although it might not taste the greatest. This is the least I could do. Ah but if it's not to your taste then you don't have to eat it."

"No! Please let me. Although Demons do not need to eat, that doesn't mean we can't. I will graciously accept your kindness."

Her smile widened as she received the plate carefully. Her smile and the cute tone she casually hummed in joy, captured his heart. His heart felt a ping in reaction to her adorable blissful body languages as well. Her wings involuntarily flapped to her current emotions. Seeing her happiness made Satoru feel that all this effort was a bit worth it.

- Is this what Mom felt when she made dinner?

Noticing that Satoru had taken a seat on the floor and rested his back against the wall, she immediately got off the seat and followed suit. Sitting a reasonable distance in front of him. Sitting on the floor did not detract her beauty. It might've been acceptable to think that just with her presence here, she had turned this room into a work of art.

Satoru noticed that she did not start eating until he did. Sneaking a peek at her from time to time, he was amazed at how graceful she ate. Guilt welled up within himself. It's not that he had done anything wrong. She just made him remember what exactly he was, a plebeian who could not hope to provide a meal that complimented her appearance. Gourmet food was very expensive and he could not dare to splurge for even a week like that.

- I'm so glad we dropped the formalities. With her etiquette, I couldn't possibly imagine what it would feel like having to be her superior! Having to surpass that and be a role model. I would be so stressed out if that were to happen.

The silverware clinked together and both of their plates had been emptied with the passage of time. The satisfied look she had, peaked his curiosity. It was natural for human beings to want to peer into the thoughts of others. Praises were also welcomed as well, but not necessary. He was no exception to the curiosity of others thoughts.

"How was it? Ah you don't have to lie to make me feel better. You can be truthful."

"It was absolutely delicious. I am satisfied."

"Eh? Really? I felt like it wasn't actually that good."

"Anything you make for me, I would be extremely glad to eat it. Oh my, you have some stuck to your face."

The action of her leaning in to wipe the food off the corner of his mouth with her fingers was so slick. Suzuki Satoru was dumbstruck. His stupefied face turned beet red. All he could do was watch the scene that unfolded before his eyes.

With her hand, she seductively licked the food off the side of her finger. The look of a predator playing with it's food. The true food she was playing with, was him.

- What the heck! What was that? How could she look so cool and do it without feeling embarrassed about it!

In the past, shortly upon logging into the Yggdrasil, Suzuki Satoru stumbled upon a conversation he wished he hadn't overheard. The three female members of Ainz Ooal Gown were heated in a discussion. The topic was the breaker and creator of female friendships, boys love manga. Ankoro Mochi Mochi, Bukubukuchagama, and Yamaiko were describing explicit details of a boys love manga. The game did not allow mature content but it couldn't possibly censor adult conversation. The conversation was not a short one either. It ended once they compromised on the top three Seme and Uke pairs.

This memory flashed in his head as he looked at Albedo. It was not because of gender that brought this to his mind. His feelings screamed at him, 'That's exactly what a Seme would do!'. His instincts told him he was not safe. From his memories of the three females talking, he came to a conclusion. No Uke was safe from a Seme.

Now was the only time to escape from this feeling of danger. If this mood did not change, the thought of preserving his dignity as a man would plummet. What he needed was a reasonable diversion.

"Ah- in that case I'm glad you enjoyed it! Well um ah- It seems like you're deeply connected to Ainz Ooal Gown and know a bit about my friends. Including myself as well. It hasn't even been a full day since you appeared. And.. I'm sorry but truthfully I barely know much about you. If I do, I can't seem to recall. Can I hear about how you managed to appear out of nowhere? To put it in simpler words, I would like to hear your story."

Her smug smile straightened out and the playful expression left. Her voice was heavy and so was the deep breath she took before speaking.

"No. It's alright, it is to be expected. If it is what you want to hear then I will start from the beginning then."