“Ainz-sama, what would you like to wear today?” Feis asked in a voice that was bursting with energy.
「安兹大人，请问今日的衣装该怎么选呢！？」

菲斯活力十足地这么问了过来。

...Oh, it seems Feis’ eyes are sparkling too. Or rather, it feels like anyone in her place has sparkling eyes. I did hear that ladies like clothing… is that how they express it? Or do they just like coordinating their clothes and accessories?
（……哦，菲斯的眼神也是闪闪发光的啊。或者不如说至今为止，无论是谁在这种场面都感觉是两眼放光的哦？确实有听说过女性很喜欢漂亮的衣物……这就是其表现吗？还是说只是喜欢服饰搭配呢？）

A steady sensation of fatigue crept over him, but he could not show it. Instead, he went “Umu” -- a which he felt was quite cool, because he had been practicing it beforehand.
渐渐的感觉有些疲惫不堪但不表现出来，反而发出一声、连自己都觉得很拽的「嗯」——因为事先由练习过所以很有自信。

Frankly speaking, Ainz had no need to change his clothes.
说句实话，安兹几乎完全没有换衣服的必要。

His magic robes would not get wrinkled even if he spent all night rolling around on the bed. His body did not excrete any waste products. The dust floating in the air could settle on him, but all he had to do was pat it off. In addition, any place where Ainz went would have already been thoroughly cleaned by the maids. In addition, he did not need to eat or drink, and would not get dirty from those activities.
魔法长袍就算在床上翻滚一夜也不会起皱。而且身体也不会排出代谢物。只是沾上空气漂浮的尘埃而已的话，拍掉就好了。而且安兹会去的任何地方，也都被女仆们彻底打扫的干干净净。再加上无需饮食因此根本就不会弄脏。

Wearing the same set of clothes would not have posed him any problems.
一直是身上的这一套也不会有任何问题。

However, none of his subordinates could permit that. Yet it was only to be expected; having their absolute ruler wear the same thing everyday would ruin his image.
但是，部下之中任何人都不会允许这件事的。这也是当然的，绝对者每天都穿同一件衣服实在是有伤体面。

That said, Ainz was not confident in his ability to coordinate his outfit.
可安兹对于服饰搭配并没有自信。

Now, if he were preparing his equipment for battle, he was quite confident that after considering his opponents’ abilities and skills and planning out his tactics, he could select the appropriate equipment that best matched the foe he was facing. However --
如果是作为战斗准备的一环，考虑对手的能力和特殊技能、预判战术、为了构筑对抗手段而选择适当装备的话是没问题，不过——。

Well, to some extent, the experience gained by Suzuki Satoru allowed him to comment on whether this tie would work with that suit. However, he could say nothing about whether this purple robe with silver filigree matched a silver necklace socketed with four diamonds and so on. In addition, he had to select clothes to match a skeletal body.
不，作为铃木悟所培养出的经验中，对于这条领带和这套西装搭不搭，多少还是能说出些看法的。但要是说到在紫色面料上有银色花纹的长袍和嵌上四个大钻石的银制项链这样的组合好不好就说不出什么来了。况且还是这样骸骨的身体。

However, if he wore a mismatched outfit, people might doubt his sense of style as a leader. That would be like betraying his loyal subordinates. Therefore, Ainz had to give his utmost even in the matter of dressing himself.
但要是穿了不合适的衣着的话，可能会被人质疑身为支配者的格调。这就像是背叛了尽忠职守的部下们一样。为此即便是在服装上，安兹也有着为之倾尽全力的必要。

Therein lay a fatal problem.
不过这里却存在这一个致命的问题。

Would any of his subordinates comment if Ainz wore something unsuitable? It was a similar situation to a toupee slipping off the head of the CEO of some large company; nobody would dare say anything. That being the case, there was only one course of action left to him.
就算穿了不合适的衣着，部下中有谁会对安兹提出意见呢？这跟大公司的会长头上假发有些脱落时，谁也不敢说些什么是一样的综合以上各种要素，该采取的行动只有一个。

“--Feis, I’ll leave it to you. Prepare a set of clothing that best suits me.”
「——菲丝，交给你了，准备出与我所相称的服饰吧」

“Understood! Leave it to me, Ainz-sama! Your servant will take the greatest care in her choices!”
「遵命！请交给我吧，安兹大人！属下会尽心尽力地来甄选的！」

You don’t have to be so lively -- well, Ainz thought that, but he had never actually said so to the maids before.
不用那么有干劲也没关系啦——虽然安兹总是这么想，却从来没有对女仆这样说过。

“I! I think red suits you well, Ainz-sama! Therefore, I was thinking of using red as a base color for coordinating your attire. What do you think?”
「我！认为安兹大人非常适合红色！因此今日我想搭配以红色为主基调，来搭配服装应该是个不错的选择。您认为如何呢？」

“...I just said that I would leave that to you. That being the case, there’s no need to make sure with me.”
「……我刚刚已经说过交给你了，既然那样的话已无需确认再了」

“Yes! Understood!”
「是！遵命！」

If he had no confidence in himself, then all he needed to do was hand the task to someone else -- like how he had allowed the maid to pick for him.
要是自己没有自信的话，就交给他人——像这样交给女仆选择的话就可以了。

Ainz was somewhat disturbed by the bright red robe she had selected, however. The almost blinding red color was further adorned by many huge gemstones, almost like buttons. It might have still been acceptable if they were all the same color, but the many gemstones reflected half a dozen different colors of light. In addition, the garment was edged with strange characters embroidered with gold thread.
安兹对她所拿来的鲜红色长袍感到非常困惑。复数的巨大宝石如同钮扣一般，装饰在近乎刺眼的鲜红长袍上。全都是一种颜色的话那还好，但各式各样的宝石散发的光芒总共有六种颜色。而且周围还有金丝所绣制的奇妙文字的刺绣。

--Is this really normal clothing? Can it be considered clothing in the normal sense of the word?
（——这是正常的衣服吗？真的能算在常识范围内的衣服吗？）

He felt like a sandwich-board man illuminated by neon lights. He would never have picked this clothing of his own accord. Or rather, Ainz began to wonder why he had ever bought this in the first place. Since he had no recollection of his guild members forcing it upon him, there was no other explanation but that he had used magic to delete the memories of its acquisition from his mind.
就像全身被霓虹灯装饰起来的三明治人一样。换做自己的话绝对不会怎么选。倒不如说，过去的自己为什么会买下这个感到疑问反而更令安兹在意。因为并没有公会成员强硬塞给自己的记忆，用消去法的话除了他自己弄来的就没有别的可能了。

Was it a gift? What sort of activity could force a gift onto you? … Still, well, it can’t be helped, huh.
（附赠的吗？是什么活动中作为附赠品而强制入手的吗？……但是、嘛、也没办法了、吗）

Even recalling how he had obtained it would not make the crimson robe before him vanish.
就算想起了拥有的原因，也没办法让眼前的深红长袍消失。

While it would be easy to simply refuse it, that would make a lie of the “I’ll leave it to you” that he had told Feis. More to the point, it might only be Ainz who found it embarrassing, while everyone else liked it. Or rather, that was quite likely to be the case.
虽然要拒绝十分简单，但那样的话刚才和菲斯说过的「交给你了」就会变成谎言。再说，有可能只有安兹觉得很丢脸，其它的大多数人都觉得很棒。不，应该说相当有可能。

And, to put it more bluntly, since Feis had selected this robe, he could blame her if anyone commented on it.
而且说句不好听的话，这件长袍是菲丝选的，要是被谁说了什么的话，也可以怪到她的身上。

I really am a terrible boss.
（真是最烂的上司啊）

Ainz knew that this was not something of which he could be proud, and he felt guilty for it.
安兹感到了罪恶感，意识到这就是不光彩的事。

Pushing the blame to someone else was not laudable conduct for a boss -- for a superior. Ainz knew this, but even so, he needed some form of protection.
推卸责任对于上司——上位者来说并不是件值得称赞的行为，这点安兹也是心知肚明的。但是即使如此也任然有需要保护的事存在。

He had to protect himself by sacrificing his subordinates. It could not be helped.
为了保护自身的立场而牺牲部下。所谓的事出无奈指的就是这样的事吧。

“--Sorry about that.”
「——不好意思啊」

“Ah, my sincerest apologies!”
「啊，万分抱歉！」

“It’s fine… I was just talking to myself. Pay it no heed. Come to think of it…”

Ainz decided to choose his words carefully as he asked his question.
「没事……自言自语而已。无须在意。话说回来……」安兹姑且为了小心起见开口问道。

There’s something I’d like to ask; do you think this robe is a bit too gaudy for me?”
「有件事想问，这件长袍对我来说不会有些太花俏吗？」

“Certainly not! After all, just about anything looks good on you, Ainz-sama! Although I feel that black as a base with dark brown as a secondary color would look good too, but wearing that all the time would not show off your other virtues, Ainz-sama! All this is to imprint your powerful image into the eyes of everyone who--”
「才没有这样的事情！的确安兹大人的话，穿什么都很合适！虽然我觉得以黑色为基调的暗褐色也相当好看，但总是穿这样的话无法表现出安兹大人其它的优点！这是为了让安兹大人的强烈力量这样的印象能够广为人知——」

Ainz interrupted the gushing flow of her words.
安兹打断了如同浊流般滔滔不绝的话语。

“--It’s fine. As long as it’s suitable, it’s fine. Then, could you dress me?”
「——没事，合适的话就没问题。那么可以替我换装了吗？」

“Understood!”
「遵命！」

Feis and the other maids got to work.
菲丝向其它的女仆使了下眼色。

As Ainz remained standing, the maids silently removed Ainz’s clothing. The act of having his clothes changed by women, even if his body was nothing more than a skeleton, filled him with a burning shame.
安兹就这样保持着直立，女仆们则静静的开始将安兹的衣服脱下。让女性来替自己更衣，就算是骸骨的身体，也仍会感到烧得火辣辣般的羞耻感。

But of course, such a gesture was a natural act for an absolute ruler.
然而对于绝对支配者来说，这举止似乎是极其理所当然的事。

Ainz remained still and allowed the maids to work, while he silently looked into the dressing mirror.
安兹保持让女仆们动手的状态，默默的看着穿衣镜。

Soon, a red-robed Ainz appeared in the mirror. As expected, it was gaudy. It was nothing but gaudy.
很快的穿衣镜里出现了穿着深红长袍的安兹。果然很花俏，除了花俏之外什么都不是。

...No. This world has a pretty divergent sense of aesthetics. For all I know… these clothes might be quite suitable for a ruler to wear.
（……不对，这个世界的审美观相当不同。这个打扮对于支配者来说相当合适的可能性……也是有的吧）

He recalled Hamsuke as an example, and quashed his unease.
以仓助为例子，安兹压抑住了自己的不安。

“Then, let’s go.”
「那么走吧」

Those thoughts went through his head as he strode forth in the company of Feis. How he wished he had the time to sigh.
让菲丝陪同一起迈步出去的安兹打从心底这样想。真想要有能喘口气的时间啊。

***

The swaying, gaudy red robe advanced toward his office. In the instant that Ainz neared the door, Feis swiftly darted forward and courteously opened it for him.
摆动着花俏的红袍所前往的地方是办公室。安兹站到门前的瞬间，菲丝迅速的上前恭敬的将门打开。

Sometimes, he thought of saying, It’s just a door, let me open it. However, as he watched the look on the maids’ faces which said, “Whoa, look at me, I’m working!”, Ainz could do nothing but accept this as a form of automatically-opening door.
有时也会想说，不过是门而已就让我自己打开吧。不过看到女仆们都很自豪地、露出「唔，我在工作着啊！」这种神情的样子，所以安兹也只能默默将和这个当作是，自动式的手动门系统来接受。

Ainz led Feis and the Eight Edge Assassin into the office.
安兹率领着菲丝和八肢刀暗杀虫们[EightEdge·Assassin]进入办公室。

The desk in the center of the room was like the one Ainz had in his own room, and it radiated an air of dignity.
房间中央摆着的桌子和纳萨力克内安兹自室中的一样，充满了稳重感。

It had been brought here from Nazarick, along with his bed. A flag hung in the depths of the room -- the flag of Ainz Ooal Gown -- of the Sorcerous Kingfom.
这个和床同样也是从纳萨力克运来的备用办公桌。房间深处则挂着安兹?乌尔?恭的旗帜——魔导国的国旗。

Ainz passed through the room, and approached the balcony.
安兹穿过房间，走近凸窗。