Enri spread freshly picked herbs across the kitchen table, sorting them with practiced hands. Ainz loomed behind her, skeletal fingers hovering uncertainly over the plants.
"This one is poisonous unless boiled twice," she explained, tapping a leafy green stalk.
"...Fascinating," Ainz murmured, committing it to memory. When Enri turned away, he quietly cast [Preservation] on the most fragile specimens. The next morning, she marveled at how perfectly they'd dried overnight.
******
Ainz didn't sleep. Enri often found him by the hearth at odd hours, a forgotten cup of tea gone cold beside him as he studied. One night, she wordlessly replaced it with a fresh brew.
"You don't need to—"
"I know," she interrupted. "But it's weird drinking alone."
Now two cups always steam on the table, even if one goes untouched.
******
"Hold still," Enri grumbled, standing on a stool to dust the top of Ainz's skull as he sat stiffly in a chair. "How are you this tall?"
"Biological superiority," he deadpanned. When she snorted and lost her balance, bony hands caught her elbows with surprising gentleness.
******
Little Nemu and her friends invented "Skeleton Tag" - daring each other to touch Ainz's robe hem before he noticed. He always pretended not to see them coming... until the very last second, sending them shrieking with delighted terror.
Enri scolded him for encouraging them. The next day, she caught him levitating candy just out of reach above giggling children.
******
When harvest season brought suitors bearing gifts for the orphaned village girl, none could explain why their baskets kept mysteriously sprouting mushrooms or their best shirts developed holes overnight.
Ainz innocently looked at sky, hands behind his back. Enri hid her smile behind her hands.
******
Ainz presented Enri with a dagger forged from an otherworldly metal. "For protection," he muttered.
She gave him a clumsily knitted scarf in his robe'a colors. "For... cold nights?" she tried.
They both knew neither needed these things. They kept them anyway.
******
Nfirea Bareare arrived at Carne Village with a small escort of adventurers, his usual timid expression replaced with genuine worry. The moment he spotted Enri, his face lit up with relief.
"Enri! I heard what happened—are you alright?"
Before she could answer, Nfirea pulled her into a tight hug. Enri laughed, patting his back. "I'm fine, Nfirea! We're all okay now, thanks to—"
She glanced around for Ainz, only to see his robed figure already walking away, his skeletal hands clasped behind his back as he headed toward where Nemu was playing.
'Huh.'
Nfirea, oblivious, kept talking. "I was so worried… I came as soon as I could. I even brought extra healing potions, just in case—"
Enri smiled warmly. "That's really sweet of you. But we're managing."
Nfirea hesitated, then took a deep breath. "Enri… there's something I've been meaning to tell you."
Her stomach dropped. She already knew where this was going.
"I… I really like you. More than just a friend," he admitted, his face turning red. "I know it's sudden, but after everything that happened, I didn't want to wait anymore—"
Enri placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Nfirea… I'm flattered, really. But I don't feel that way about you."
His face fell, but he nodded quickly. "O-Oh. I understand. I just… had to try."
She gave him a sympathetic smile. "You're a great friend. And I'm glad you're here."
Later, after Nfirea and the adventurers had left, Enri found Ainz sitting under their usual tree, flipping through a book with far more force than necessary.
"You're ignoring me," she announced, plopping down beside him.
Ainz didn't look up. "I don't ignore people. I selectively withdraw attention based on relevance."
Enri smirked. "Uh-huh. So you weren't sulking when Nfirea hugged me?"
Ainz's fingers twitched. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh really?" She leaned in, grinning. "Because it kind of seemed like someone was jealous."
Ainz finally turned his skull toward her, eye flames flickering. "That's absurd. My emotional suppression prevents such trivial reactions."
"Mmm. Then why did you walk away so fast?"
"I was checking on Nemu."
"You never check on Nemu that quickly."
Ainz opened his mouth—then closed it. He had no rebuttal.
Enri burst out laughing. "Oh my god, you were jealous!"
Ainz crossed his arms. "...Shut up."
She nudged his bony shoulder with hers. "Don't worry. I turned him down."
Ainz was silent for a moment. Then, very quietly: "...Good."
Enri grinned. "Wait—did you just admit it?"
"No."
"You totally did."
"I'm leaving."
"Aww, come on!"
But as Ainz stood and dramatically turned away, Enri could have sworn she saw the faintest hint of smug satisfaction in the set of his shoulders.
And if she giggled to herself all the way back to the village, well—that was her business.
******
While reviewing village plans, Enri absentmindedly grabbed Ainz's skeletal hand to point at a map. Both froze.
"Your fingers are... colder than I expected," she murmured.
Ainz's emotional suppression flickered. "Y-You're warm," he blurted.
They didn't let go for a full minute.
******
Nemu and the village children wove Ainz a daisy crown. When he refused to wear it ("It undermines my dignity"), Enri perched it on his skull anyway. "There. Now you look like a proper forest spirit."
The crown stayed on for three days until it crumbled. No one dared mention it.
******
"Undead don't eat," Ainz insisted as Enri forced a spoonful of stew into his mouth cavity.
"But can you taste it?" she pressed.
The broth dripped uselessly through his vertebrae. Yet when she turned away, he secretly cast [Analyze Composition] to memorize her recipe.
******
Ainz presented Enri with a silver bell that summoned a spectral wolf. "For protection when I'm patrolling."
She gave him a locket containing a lock of her hair. "So you remember warmth."
They both pretended not to notice his bony fingers clutching it during tense moments.
******
A cold night. A shared blanket. Enri, half-asleep, leaned against his ribcage.
"Your heartbeat is loud," she mumbled.
"I don't have a—"
Her lips brushed his clavicle bone.
The Death Knight outside reported seeing its master teleport repeatedly into the same tree for twenty minutes.
******
"If I were human," Ainz whispered as Enri dozed by the fire, "I would have courted you properly. Flowers. Poetry. All of it."
"Idiot," she murmured sleepily. "I like you because you're a weird skeleton."
Neither acknowledged this conversation come morning. But the village baker swore he saw the dread Overlord skipping stones at the pond like a lovestruck teen.