Overlord: Advent of the New Gods

Ainz sighed, placing a warm blanket over Albedo's shoulders as his wife slept in her office chair, resting her head on the table. The demoness had been near-constantly exhausted for the past few weeks, ever since the conception of their child; she could barely perform her duties as guardian overseer.

As of now, only he and his wife knew about the pregnancy, not even the other Gods. While Albedo was eager to tell everyone from the get-go, Ainz was more reserved about it, wanting to first get in terms of their shifting dynamic in private before it was made a public spectacle for all to see, which was inevitable given how close-knit they were.

Not only were they the imperial couple, but their child would be the first to be born through natural conception among the Supreme Ones in the material realm. He had heard that Tabula and Mariposa had two additional daughters who resided purely in the astral realm, but they were conceived there and not in their physical reality, and when Tabula was still a human at that.

It was becoming increasingly obvious they needed help, and thus, the involvement of pretty much the entirety of Nazarick was unavoidable, given their status and duties. Ainz sat down beside his wife and gently pulled the folder she was holding out of her hands, putting it aside.

"I…need…to…" Albedo mumbled sleepily, slowly grasping at the folder leaving her hands.

'Her exhaustion is only getting worse.' Ainz sighed. At first, it wasn't that noticeable, and only then did he notice that Albedo took an hour or two more to sleep during the night, slightly shortening their lovemaking sessions. Then she started to pass out at the end of her workday, taking naps, which was quickly publicly attributed to just being the newest God, and perhaps her abilities were growing. Now, it was just three hours into work, and she was already too exhausted to do more. The child was taking enormous amounts of energy from her, and even what Albedo drained from him regularly wasn't nearly enough to sate its appetite.

"You need to rest." Ainz gently brushed her hair, his skeletal fingers effortlessly moving through her black locks as he lifted the rest of the work from her desk.

"No…there is so much that needs to be done." Albedo protested as she sat upright and yawned.

"You need an assistant. I can't let you continue like this," Ainz declared as his pouty wife gratefully leaned against him.

"But I can't neglect my duties, and who would even assist me? Demi…urge? He is as busy as I am. I doubt anyone else can even remotely take my palace. I can do my duties just fine…" Albedo commented. It was true she and Demiurge were the two smartest NPCs found in the Great Tomb, with the archdemon being designated as her emergency replacement.

However, there was a third one, and as much as Ainz was wary about this option due to personal reasons, Pandora's Actor rivaled both demons in intellect and administrative capabilities, and his obsession with order only boosted his abilities further, which could allow him to take over Albedo's role temporarily.

"Albedo, you need to take it easy. This isn't up for a debate." As much as Ainz disliked leaning on his authority, in this situation he felt it necessary for the sake of his wife and child.

Unfortunately for him, Albedo wasn't having it. "I am the guardian overseer and I can and will perform my duties. Pregnant or not, I will succeed!" Her tone was loud and demanding attention, as she had grown accustomed to her status, and her NPC programming to not question players was all but gone with time.

"P-pregnant!" A stutter came from the maid standing by the door. As Ainz and Albedo turned their heads, the maid bounced up and down, clapping her hands, unable to contain her excitement despite her immense training and instincts as a servant NPC.

"It seems we'll have to announce the news to everyone," Ainz remarked before returning his attention to his wife.

"That wasn't on purpose…It just slipped." Albedo hastily mumbled, seeing that the maid was over the moon with the news.

"I know, but our child takes priority. You need assistance. Please don't be stubborn about this. No one will think of you less. Let's announce the news, and I'll get Pandora to help you with administration during the pregnancy," Ainz reassured her.

He could see Albedo struggle to make the decision, as her job was her pride and joy, just below her love for him, and sharing her duties didn't come easy for her even though she knew the truth about the players and the fallacy of NPCs thinking they needed to work twenty-four-seven. It was part of who she was.

Albedo glared at him for a moment and then let out a defeated sigh, "You're right. But if he calls me his stepmother one more time-"

"I'll make sure he won't." Ainz knew better than to argue about Pandora's antics or, much worse, try to defend them. For whatever reason, the doppelganger had decided to address his wife in such a manner despite their pretty much identical mental ages.

Now came the moment of truth as Ainz contacted the person who was the first to hear the news. { Tabula, I'm sorry, but I will have to assign Pandora to assist Albedo for a few months. You'll be a grandfather, and Albedo requires help so she can properly rest. }

{ Sure, now that I have Nfirea I can manage. } Came a response that betrayed no emotion whatsoever, more monotone than the finely-crafted robot voices used in automated responses back on Earth.

For a moment, Ainz tried to repeat what he said, but before he could, Tabula messaged back frantically, { Wait, what? You managed to get Albedo pregnant? How?! }

{ What do you mean, how? You have a succubus for a wife, you should- }

{ Ainz…} Tabula interrupted him with a sigh that seemingly came from the depths of the soul, { I am asking how you and Albedo conceived. A doppelganger ring alone couldn't make you fertile. }

{ Oh, right. No, I don't think it even happened in physical form… It was on our wedding night and we… I think we both somehow merged our divine forms. } Ainz did his best to explain without divulging any unnecessary details. The topic of intimacy wasn't something he was comfortable talking about, much less with someone who was not only a friend but, in technical terms, his father-in-law.

{ Merged… hmm… that sounds plausible. }

There was another pause.

{ I need to look into the matter. Your and Albedo's child likely would be a natural-born god. This is fascinating! } Ainz could sense the brain eater's enthusiasm grow for all the wrong reasons, as his father-in-law either hadn't processed it yet or didn't care about becoming a grandfather. And then there was Mariposa and the question of her status as well.

The wife of his friend was a split image of Albedo, and publicly denying that they were related would no doubt be a reason for unnecessary speculation among the local populace, so they had left it up in the air for now. This meant that the issue needed to be addressed before Tabula and Mariposa departed to visit Baharuth.

{ Calm down. You can do non-invasive tests if Albedo permits it. But first, I need to talk with you about the status of your wife and how we announce her outside Nazarick. } Ainz replied firmly, not trusting Tabula to not turn his own daughter into a lab rat.

{ What is there to discuss? She is my wife and Albedo's mother. } Tabula once again had chosen to ignore the reality of the situation, attempting to breeze past.

'It's like he wants his wife to get murdered. Come to think of it, we haven't addressed the issue since Albedo first knew the truth.' He remembered that his wife hadn't ever interacted with Mariposa, save for receiving Tabula's reports, and her opinion on the succubus might have changed.

He decided to push that particular issue for later and deal with the administration first.

{ Just send Pandora over. } He ended the conversation.

The eager doppelganger arrived less than a minute later, barging in without knocking and scaring the maid.

{ Pandora, if you call her your stepmother one more time, I will take away all your duties and lock you out of the treasury! } Ainz warned even before his son had a chance to open his mouth, flaring his intent. The last thing he needed was to aggravate his wife even more, as she was already stressed out by the mere fact that she needed to delegate some of her duties.

{ Verstanden (understood). I will do my best to address st- Albedo by her name. } Pandora saluted, clapping together his boots.

{ Good. }

Albedo, although not included in the conversation, picked up on the exchange and flashed Ainz a thankful smile before she spoke, "Pandora, as I'm sure my father already informed you, I am pregnant, and thus I will require assistance for the next few months."

"Verstanden (understood). I will help you to the best of my ability, Frau Albedo," Pandora eagerly replied and approached the table, taking in every detail and analyzing Albedo's work patterns in the currently finished work to effectively emulate them.

If there was one thing he knew about the wife of his father, it was that she had a way of organizing things, and if her order was ever disturbed, she would become easily enraged. Add her pregnancy to the mix and intentional disregard of her rules would be a ticking time bomb. Even he knew better than to piss off an expecting mother.

"Then let's start right away. The work is divided into two parts. Nazarick's inner administration and the Empire as a whole. These are plans for Nazarick; these are reports…" Ainz just let them do the work, as at least for now, Albedo and Pandora seemingly were getting along.

"Already made the heir to your empire! And here I thought you would meander around for a long time." Pero raised a beer bottle in a mock toast as they had gathered in Pero's quarters.

After announcing the news, Ainz was having a small celebration with the two siblings who were the most enthusiastic, save for Tabula, who was going crazy with theories and needed to be calmed down by Mariposa, who forbade him from leaving his quarters and interacting with his daughter until he, so to speak, 'gets his shit together.'

Ulbert, meanwhile, pretty much gave short congratulations and returned to his work, promising to celebrate when the kid is born, wisely removing himself from the storm that was the announcement of Ainz and Albedo expecting an heir to the Empire and secluding himself in his office.

"Don't be a shit about this? If anything, Ainz once again is setting a good example." Buku shook her head.

"Yeah, yeah, it's not like you plan to get knocked up. And I sure as hell don't want an army of kids to look after." Pero gulped down the booze from the bottle, a crate of them sitting on the ground beside him and a maid ready to fetch him the next drink.

"It's only a matter of time until you slip up and then the rest of us will have to figure out what to do with thirty or so bastards you've spawned all over the empire. But enough about this. How are you faring, Momo? I doubt moody Albedo is easy to deal with," Buku asked with genuine sympathy.

Although she never had children of her own, she had plenty of friends who had done so, and was well aware of all the difficulties that came with the wonderful process of creating new life in the good old-fashioned way, even if current circumstances could remove the majority of issues Earth couples faced. Pain was null with magic, and every medication possible could be mass-produced on the fly if needed.

"I barely convinced her to let Pandora help. Tabula is…"

"Being complete Tabula as always." Buku finished the sentence for him.

"Something along those lines. He is getting way too obsessed with what our child will be than the fact that he would be a grandfather." Ainz laid out his current issues.

"Well, I'm sure Mari will beat some sense into the tentacle face; speaking of which, are you sure we shouldn't set back our visits? Leaving you alone with a pregnant wife and the goat face sounds cruel even for Nazarick's standards." Pero asked.

"I'll manage. And I think it will be better to distract Tabula for a while. I can't let our whole plan stop for my personal choices," Ainz stated.

"For sure buddy. But I'm keeping an open line in case you end up needing backup." Pero chuckled.

"Same. If Albedo gets too hard to manage, I can get her on the track if needed." Buku nodded in agreement as siblings clanked their beer bottles and drank them empty in a synchronized manner, once again showing how similar they actually were despite their proclamations and disagreements.

"I appreciate it."

The path forward surely wouldn't be easy or simple, and the whole idea of being a father terrified Ainz a lot more than being a god or the ruler of Nazarick, but at the same time, he was looking forward to having a family, and being the parent he lacked his entire life.

Editing by aidan_lo.

Proofreading by Sluethen, IAMTHEPLOKOKIOPO, fvvck, mfkz_rocker, and aidan_lo.

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