After several days had passed, Shalltear once again appeared before Reiger and, compared to before, she seemed unchanged—still clad in her solemn black and red gown, her appearance as breathtakingly beautiful as ever.
Regrettably, the peerless beauty now lay on an unusually large bed with two naked vampire brides beside her.
Her clothes were somewhat disheveled, as if she had been in the same state as the two vampire brides before Reiger barged in. When she realized someone had entered, she quickly dressed herself.
Shalltear had a special skill of instant equipment, which allowed her to change clothes and gear in less than a second, hence she did not present herself in an indecent manner in front of Reiger.
Of course, in Reiger’s view, her current appearance was still quite inappropriate.
It seemed she was aware of it, for she appeared angry about being disturbed and seen in such a state, her crimson eyes flashing with murderous red glints as she stared at Reiger, who stood at the door.
Suddenly, Shalltear froze.
After scrutinizing Reiger carefully for a while, Shalltear’s pupils constricted sharply, and she abruptly stood up from the bed.
The two vampire brides suddenly voiced out their panic.
Due to Shalltear’s excessively vigorous movement, the bedding was completely flipped open, exposing the vampire brides in an even more indecent state to Reiger.
However, Shalltear paid no heed to this, staring intensely at Reiger, calling out his name.
"Are you Reiger Brillhaut?"
Shalltear’s tone was filled with interrogation.
This made Reiger slightly raise his eyebrows.
He was the man who had once cut off one of Shalltear’s arms and had engaged in a fierce battle with her in the Ye·Lantier Northern Forest.
Back then, Shalltear had hated him to the bone, yet now, upon seeing him, she showed no sign of hatred. Instead, it seemed as if she was seeing him for the first time, questioning him, which was indeed rather strange.
"Could it be that, like in the original work, she lost the memories from before and after being mentally dominated due to resurrection?"
In the original work, after being killed by Ainz and resurrected from the Nasalik Underground Tomb, Shalltear lost about a few days’ memories, completely forgetting the things related to her being mentally dominated.
Now, Shalltear’s behavior reminded Reiger of this.
"She forgot about me?"
Yet she still recognized him, which made one wonder what was going on.
Remember, last time in the Ye·Lantier Northern Forest, Shalltear had not recognized who Reiger was.
This time, she had forgotten Reiger’s story but knew his name, which was quite abnormal.
So, Reiger, facing Shalltear’s gaze, spoke to her.
"It seems you recognize me, then that makes things easier."
Saying this, Reiger took a step forward, stepping into the room.
Shalltear just coldly watched such a Reiger and suddenly did something that took Reiger by surprise.
Instantly, Shalltear’s attire dramatically changed, shedding the solemn black and red gown.
In its place was a full suit of armor.
A helmet with a face that opened up, shaped like a swan’s head, with feathers stretching out like a bird on either side, and the chest to shoulder area also adorned with bird’s wings, with a bright red armor skirt wrapped around her waist.
It was Shalltear’s official battle gear, a set of legendary full-body equipment.
At the same time, one of Shalltear’s hands clutched a strangely-shaped, tubular long spear that suddenly appeared.
Indeed, it was Shalltear’s only Divine Artifact—the Drip Spear.
Reiger couldn’t help but stop in his tracks, looking at Shalltear who suddenly equipped her official battle gear, a look of great surprise on his face.
Shalltear, however, ignored Reiger’s astonishment. With bat-like wings unfurled behind her, she took flight.
"Reiger Brillhaut, the only human whom Lord Ainz fears, also the one whom Albedo and Demiurge advised to be especially cautious of."
Shalltear, looking down at Reiger from above, uttered these words.
"So it turns out to be you who intruded, no wonder the traps Lord Ainz placed in the kingdom’s army incursion here couldn’t stop the invader. It’s no surprise if it’s you."
Shalltear, quite different from their first meeting, not only did not display any contempt or scorn towards Reiger, but also lacked her usual haughtiness and self-satisfaction. All there was, was calmness and solemnity.
This attitude was so vastly different from that time in the Ye·Lantier Northern Forest that even Reiger was momentarily stunned.
"I didn’t expect you’d take me so seriously this time."
After regaining his composure, Reiger cast a scrutinizing look at Shalltear.
What Reiger did not know was that, in her heart, Shalltear was filled with regret.
Just as Reiger had thought, after her resurrection, Shalltear had lost her memories of being under mental domination and had forgotten about Reiger and her being dominated.
However, afterwards, Shalltear learned the entire sequence of events from her colleagues in the Nasalik Underground Tomb. Knowing that she almost betrayed the Nasalik Underground Tomb and faced off against Ainz, the highest ruler of the Nasalik Underground Tomb, made Shalltear—who was always loyal to Ainz and the Nasalik Underground Tomb—shocked and incredulous, while also filled with intense regret.