Memory of Chaos: Solution Epsilon

Memory of Chaos: Solution Epsilon was a character scenario released in Mass for the Dead, featuring the character Solution Epsilon.

Episode 1: Why Not Me?
The Pleiades worked hard day and night to revive the devastated Great Tomb of Nazarick, and at times engaged in monitoring the Cracks and the subjugation of Chaos Beasts which had become their highest priority. Still, the maids are given more mundane tasks such as cleaning the living spaces and taking care of Momonga. At one such location, Solution Epsilon and her sister Yuri Alpha are cleaning the large communal bath, but they had no idea that the business of cleaning the bath would lead to cause an unexpected situation. At the bath, Yuri reminds Solution to polish a mirror and to ensure no droplets are visible. After completing her task, she allows her work to be reviewed by Yuri who declares it to be perfect, stating that Momonga would be proud and able to now bathe comfortably.

Solution is soon lost in a thought until Yuri asks her what is on her mind. After some coaxing, Solution asks about the slime that is in the room with them. Yuri states that to be Miyoshi-sama, however Solution does not recall the individual in her memory of Nazarick's staffs. Solution asks why Miyoshi is in the baths and what is the reason of why he is referred as "-sama." However, even Yuri herself is not sure about the details exactly and suggests that she asks Albedo, the Overseer Guardians instead. Meanwhile, Solution continues to stare at the strange Sapphire Slime in the corner, having the impression that it was imposing itself as if he was the "guardian of the realm."

Later at the Round Table Room, Yuri reports to Albedo that the baths have been cleaned. Albedo thanks Yuri and Solution for their efforts, and Solution takes the opportunity to ask her question concerning Miyoshi and the use of honorifics when addressing him. Albedo replies that it was a name that Momonga came up with as he is his favorite bathing attendant that he conjured up from the archives of Ashurbanipal. The slime helps to wash his body, which stuns Solution. Seeing her silence, Albedo asks if she is alright? The maid states that she is fine but asks Albedo to go into further detail as to why a slime is helping Momonga wash his body. Albedo explains that the Overlord had tried various methods to clean his skeleton body to no avail until he found that using Miyoshi was the best possible way to do it. Albedo would have preferred washing her lord's body herself, but Momonga was content at allowing that Sapphire Slime to do the task. Albedo is unsure of how Momonga came to the decision so she asks Solution's opinion, given that she is a slime herself, to see if there are any slime-specific skills that are suitable for washing their master's body. But Solution has never heard of any such techniques before.

Albedo does not go any further as her workload does not permit her, unaware of the fact that Solution is lost in thought. She ends the conversation and thanks the maids for their help in cleaning the public bath and relays Momonga to have him praised their work. In the hallway, Yuri pulls Solution aside and asks if she is alright, noticing the maid's strange behavior during her conversation with Albedo. Solution is embarrassed that her older sister noticed and apologizes. Yuri states that it's fine but to remember to keep her mind focused at all times. The two then begin their next task, which involves them cleaning the corridor. However even though Solution is working with her sister to clean the area, her head was still filled with thoughts about Miyoshi. Once they finished clearing away the dust, Solution manages to act normally in front of Yuri like nothing is wrong, as she feels her sister would scold her for harboring feelings like jealousy. As she walks way to her next assignment, Solution is upset that Momonga summoned another slime and not her to clean his body, believing she could do a better job than them at the task.

Episode 2: Just A Good Heart
Solution, who knew that Momonga had summoned a slime to wash his body in the "large communal bath" on the 9th floor of the Nazarick, still ruminates on why she was not called upon by her master instead of it. She realizes that these thoughts could hinder defense missions and reconstruction work, but cannot help but continue thinking about the issue.

As she talks it over, Solution gets even more jealous of Miyoshi's role as the bathing attendant to Momonga and wants to do it herself. But such thoughts are what she see as being selfish on her part and not for the good of Nazarick. Then again, she reasons to herself that Momonga's cleanliness is also for the good of Nazarick. To prove that Solution is better at washing his body, she would have to find a way to have Momonga call upon her for the task. If Miyoshi were to disappear, then the next slime to help clean his body would naturally be her after it. While she is conflicted by her own emotions and personal duties, her inner turmoil gives into her emotion and she resolves to follow through with the plan. Having no sense of regrets, she then heads over to the public baths.

Episode 3: Spilled Milk Will Not Return
At the baths, Momonga is exhausted from his work and looks forward to soaking in the baths. Getting ready to take a dip, he calls Miyoshi, however the slime is nowhere to be found. Instead, only Solution appears asking if he needs anything from her. Momonga surprised at the maid's appearance in the baths, while Solution states that she was simply here to clean. Solution offers to assist Momonga in any fashion, though the latter expresses more concerned about his slime's disappearance and where it had gone to. The Pleiades though offers that if he needs a slime to do the cleaning, she can assist none too subtly offering to wash him. But Momonga declines, asking her to look for Miyoshi, but the Sapphire Slime from Ashurbanipal still is not in the baths. He fears that the slime may have run away, when Solution reports she found no sign of him.

Later in the corridor, Solution laments that her plan did not go as expected and wonders what to do next. Albedo approaches her and ask if there is any progress in locating Miyoshi, having heard the situation from Momonga. She hurries away but wishes to listen to Solution's report, making the maid nervous on what course of action to take after.

At the Round Table Room, Albedo and Momonga meet with Solution to address Miyoshi's absence. From Albedo's report, the search range of the slime has been expanded to the 10th floor, but so far, no trace of Miyoshi has yet to turn up. She doubts Miyoshi could have made it to the Transfer Gate given his physical limitations so he believes it must still be present around on the 9th Floor. Momonga considers the possibility that Miyoshi had an accident or perhaps got stuck somewhere in a tile or crack. Albedo takes note of the possibility and plans to do a thorough search for the slime. The Guardian Overseer asks about Momonga's bathing status, as of now with Miyoshi gone, she offers to join her master in the baths to wash his back until they find the slime. Momonga is 'grateful' for the offer but is reluctant to accept as washing his body is difficult. A question arises if he can summon another Sapphire Slime to wash him, to which Momonga states that he could do that but wants to avoid wasting any more resources, making Albedo proud of Momonga's consideration for Nazarick.

Momonga resumes his search for Miyoshi and Solution watching his plans is nervous, feeling like a prisoner waiting for the death sentence. Albedo soon receives a report with disappointing news, that Miyoshi is still nowhere to be found. Momonga takes this to be a serious matter and wonders if a Nazarick Old Guarder may have mistook the slime as an enemy and killed him by accident since not many know his identity. But that would mean a battle would have taken place and better yet remains, leading Albedo to suggest that Miyoshi was taken by someone. The Overlord asks why would anyone kidnap Miyoshi, but Albedo thinks that this might just be the beginning and perhaps there is someone lurking in Nazarick, silently picking off members of Nazarick one by one without them noticing. Solution feels that this speculation is getting ridiculous but says nothing to expose her role in Miyoshi's disappearance. Since Miyoshi is a slime, both Momonga and Albedo believe that the suspect is presumably going around to collect slimes and warns Solution to remain vigilant and to remain with them at all times.

Albedo briefly brings another possibility to the table, that the kidnapping is an inside job, which causes Solution to go numb but Albedo dismisses it to be an impossibility. Momonga asks her to explain, which she gladly does, stating that the only things outside that can bring influence in Nazarick are just the Cracks. So far in Nazarick's study of the phenomena, those in the dungeon are immune to its poisonous effects, but Albedo thinks that their resistance to the miasma produced by the Cracks may have a threshold. She reason that the individual who may have kidnapped Miyoshi may have been badly affected by overexposure. Still, it doesn't answer as to why anyone would take the slime in the first place, but Albedo claims that being Momonga's property is enough of a cause to commit such action. Momonga begins to follow into her reasoning and that this whole thing is the work of Chaos Beasts. Just as Albedo suggest bringing Demiurge into the search, Momonga notices the sick face of Solution and asks her if she is alright. Solution weakly states that she is, but goes no further, refusing to reveal her secret out in the open. The Overlord and Overseer of Nazarick then turned their attention to solving the "Miyoshi-kun's Disappearance Case."

Episode 4: Confession Of Sin
Demiurge joins the group at the Round Table Room for a meeting. It was revealed that he too has expanded the search for Miyoshi to the upper floors just in case, but the result is not good. Albedo also adds that the undead stationed at the Crack on the 10th Floor have not reported any new incidents. As a matter of fact, no one in the dungeon seems to have seen the whereabouts of Miyoshi. Momonga thinks maybe that this is the start of an external attack on Nazarick, which Demiurge cannot completely deny the possibility of already happening, but he thinks that it would be quite difficult to silently sneak through the layers of security networks and defense systems currently set in place. With this in mind, Momonga asks Demiurge if there has been anything else that has vanished besides the slime, but so far Miyoshi is the only summon who is gone, and the assets and gold coins remain untouched.

Momonga then goes over what they know, as the possibility that an outside influence is unlikely but not zero. Miyoshi being a summoned monster, would never abandon his post. Furthermore, no one mistook him for an enemy and killed him. So far, there are no actual reports that the contamination from the Cracks are affecting anyone in Nazarick. And lastly, Miyoshi is the only one who appeared to have vanished all of a sudden. This all seems to point out the fact that Miyoshi was most likely the intended target of being taken. Demiurge offers his sincere apologies for allowing such an incident to happen beyond his control and is willing to accept any punishment, but Momonga has no intention of laying the blame on him.

Another thing which bothers Momonga since Miyoshi went missing is how no one from the dungeon has left so that only means the culprit should still be lurking around somewhere in Nazarick. This leads the group to determine perhaps [Perfect Unknowable] or [Invisibility] is at work, but such measure would still be noticed by them. There is fear that perhaps the enemy is able to freely move between different dimensions. Solution watching at the sidelines sees Demiurge is now involved and desperately thinks on what she should do next as it is likely she will be exposed as they will eventually get closer and closer to the truth until she is finally revealed to be the perpetrator. Solution doesn't want to reveal herself as being the one who took Miyoshi from her master, but she also doesn't wish to let Nazarick go to war at a fake enemy and waste resources in the process.

Under the threat of a seemingly unknown enemy, Demiurge recommends that they build a new defense facility based on Plan B, though Albedo feels that they are still not ready for such a move until they find the target. It was then Solution spoke up, attracting the attention of the others in the room. She profusely apologizes to everyone present in the room, revealing herself to be the suspect who is mainly responsible for Miyoshi's disappearance as she kneel and bends her head on the floor in regret. The Floor Guardians are in disbelief at her actions, that she hid Miyoshi and nearly caused a panic among them. As a result, they understood that this was a serious crime that cannot be overlooked so easily and a punishment needs to be prepared for her. But first Demiurge asks if Miyoshi is still alive, to which Solution confirms that he is, stating he was inside her body all along. The next question is her reason for kidnapping Miyoshi. Solution states that she never meant for things to spiral out of control, and was planning to return the Sapphire Slime at some point in time after the former got what she wanted with her master Momonga. However, she refuses to come clean for the reason as to why she did it in the first place. Her refusal convinces the Floor Guardians more severe steps need to be taken into consideration. Momonga intervenes and states that he would like to speak to Solution alone in private. Demiurge is at first unwilling for his master to be alone with a possible traitor, to which Momonga admits his concern is a valid point. Thinking about what Solution's creator Herohero would do, an idea comes to mind that they should instead bring in someone who Solution would feel comfortable in talking to.

Episode 5: Finding The Truth
That person is revealed to be Yuri Alpha who answers the summons from Momonga. Yuri asks what Solution has done, to which Momonga explains that Solution had stolen Miyoshi but refuses to disclose as to the reason why. He is hoping that Yuri can convince Solution to explain herself. Yuri understanding that Solution's actions are her responsibility agrees to speak with the other maid and compel her sister to talk. Momonga states that no violence will be undertaken, though Yuri is adamant that she will break Solution's mouth and beat the answer out of her, which causes Momonga to consider if this is a result of Yamaiko's personality that has an influence on who Yuri is. Momonga goes back to the other Floor Guardians and states that sending Yuri in will be a mistake, while Albedo thinks Yuri'a idea is an excellent strategy and punishment. In contrary to that, Momonga appears seemingly interested in this sudden development with Solution's little rebellion as it indicates something he has long been wondering about the Non-Playable Characters in the dungeon: are they capable of disobeying orders? If so, then would Solution's actions constitute as part of her own growth? Momonga decides to do an experiment to test this theory out. He begins with telling Solution to destroy a personal item of his but he feels that she cannot do something like that. Next, he suggests she breaks a lamp on a wall, which likewise Solution refuses to do. The refusal to destroy any equipment and items whatsoever in Nazarick, makes Momonga believe that there is some sort of parameter that does not permit her to go for it. Though interestingly, Solution was able to capture Miyoshi without any complications and feels that this needs to be investigated further. He gives her another target to destroy, Yuri's gauntlet but Solution gives the same answer as previously and she feels that she cannot destroy it but cannot say why that is the case. The same is said about her kidnapping of Miyoshi, which she was able to swallow him, but was unable to directly dissolve him with her acid.

Having himself absorbed in his experiments, Momonga goes back at the task at hand briefly apologizing for his distraction, but none of the NPCs believe it was a waste, seeing it as a way to glimpse their master's genius foresight. At last, Momonga manages to get Solution to say why she did it. Solution confesses her motivations for kidnapping Miyoshi were to get Momonga to call her to help wash his body. Yuri hearing this prepares to give Solution a physical pounding at the disrespect, but is stopped by Momonga. Momonga hearing her reason understands her emotions, but tells Solution the reason why he didn't call her to be his bathing attendant was that it wasn't what she was created to do. If he had done so, what would her creator Herohero think, as she is akin to his daughter. Such action would be indecent of him. Solution seeing his point, apologizes once again for her actions. Momonga states that no harm was done, but it could have been avoided had she spoken her desires to him first about it. For the events that happened concerning Miyoshi's disappearance, he makes the five people, himself included to swear to secrecy to keep this incident a secret to themselves. All parties agree to that decision, and Momonga requests to be given back Miyoshi which Solution complies, taking the Sapphire Slime out from inside her body. Unsure of Miyoshi's state being sanitary, Momonga asks Solution to wash the other slime. After she departs, Momonga attends to the last people in the room on the false alarm. The others are glad that the situation has been resolved as they took no pleasure in almost convicting one of their own, and are thankful it was just a simple misunderstanding all along. While Momonga and the others were having such a conversation, Solution gently returned Miyoshi to the corner of the large public bath and as instructed, soaked him with the water in the bath tub. The maid after her experience in the whole mess, vows to herself that she would never do it again.

Trivia

 * This character scenario was released after the end of the campaign for Nazarick Revitalization Plan -Start-.
 * This character scenario was released alongside the Memory of Chaos: Yuri Alpha, Memory of Chaos: Narberal Gamma, Memory of Chaos: Lupusregina Beta, Memory of Chaos: CZ2128 Delta and Memory of Chaos: Entoma Vasilissa Zeta.