Harbingers of Change

Chapter 20

Rigurd woke up with the early summer sun, as usual. His new mate, Lirana, stirred in her sleep but didn't wake up with him. Not that he could blame her. Rigurd, as a titled goblin, had a lot more energy and, at this point, barely even required sleep.

The dark-haired beauty was one of the recent arrivals and, with her also being in her twilight years before the naming, both found common ground immediately. Rigur knew her decision was at least partly affected by him being a Goblin Lord, but she was just his type and both were in the the human equivalent of their early forties, so naivety wasn't an attribute either of them possessed anymore.

Lirana didn't have any family of her own left, as all her children and mate had died before the naming and she too, same as Rigurd, had been pulled away from death's doorstep and looked for a partner to share her life with.

Rigurd quickly got up from his cotton sheet-covered bed and dressed up. As the one who was directly commanding all the hobgoblins, he had his own quarters in the half-constructed castle.

"Already going?" Lirana sleepily asked, awakened by Rigurd moving around.

"Ezanima is likely already waiting for me," Rigur said while putting on his shirt. A lot more planning was needed, since new hobgoblins arrived almost daily and he didn't want to waste any time.

"Then I'll see you in the evening."

"I'll try to not be late this time." Rigurd said, taking his notebook and walking out of the door. He heard Lariana say, "I hope so," as she, too, got out of the bed.

The clear sky promised another bright and sunny day, putting Rigurd in an even better mood. His consultant, Ezanima, was already giving out orders to undead he hadn't seen before. He could see ten new liches and at least two hundred skeletons.

"Nazarick sends a new workforce?" Rigurd asked as he approached the undead crowd.

"Yes. Lady Albedo has also prepared a development plan and Lord Demiurge sent defense instructions." the lich said while laying out the plans on the worktable.

Most of the planning still happened outside, as the castle wasn't fully finished yet and it was easier to manage things from the castle's entrance.

Ezanima had laid out the development plan together with a freshly made map of the forest, once again proving that Lord Momonga was humoring hobgoblin labor and planning out of kindness, not any sort of necessity. His direct servants were so much better at everything that even evolved goblins paled in comparison.

The map was littered with notes of where to build farming settlements, defense towers, and how to make the most optimal patrol routes. Also mapped out were the smaller towns ruled by other Goblin Lords, who were also paired up with other liches.

There was no need to even plan the workforce, as instructions about how many goblins or skeleton work hours were needed for each project were already listed. His job now was to pick appropriate work teams to match the requirements of each task.

With a sudden shadow darkening the map, Rigurd knew that Ranga had walked up behind them and also looked at the plans. The increased intelligence had given the mighty beast the ability to learn to read, and he too was getting more involved in planning.

{ Am I supposed to subjugate three or four additional packs just to keep up with the required numbers? } Ranga asked.

"Lord Demiurge suggested you send out other alphas to do the job," Ezanima said.

{ But I am not commanding other alphas. }

"I just relay what I know. Maybe you will be put in charge of them."

Both Rigurd and Ranga already looked at each other with a silent understanding. Everyone who arrived from Nazarick itself automatically assumed they were in charge of their corresponding species and issued orders according to this assumption.

Even other goblin lords followed this assumed hierarchy and asked for orders from Rigurd more than once.

"We will clarify that later." Rigurd said as he pointed at a marked cave entrance on the map. "Are we supposed to build a fortress here?"

"No, that will be overseen by Lady Albedo directly and it will only use the undead as a workforce. The location is put in the plan to account for the logistics of stone cutting and metal works."

"I see. I guess it makes sense since the entrance to the Storm Dragon's cave is an important location." Rigurd remarked.

The rest of the early morning went on in relative peace, giving out the usual work orders to various team leaders, having a quick breakfast, and then going through reported problems. Rigurd already missed the few hours of hard physical labor he did until recently, as now he had to spend all day with managerial tasks.

His daily routine was interrupted before noon when Albedo arrived by using the gate spell and approached him.

"Come, Lord Momonga wishes to speak with you," Albedo said and motioned for him to follow, just as Ranga ran up to them.

Both he and Ranga walked through the dark void and arrived before enormous doors. Albedo hid a smirk and then opened the door, leading both into the throne room.

Rigurd could only look around in amazement as he followed the demoness. No wonder his Lord rarely came to talk in person. If he was used to living in such a place, then the goblin village, even after his changes, was simply too subpar for him to bless its half built streets with his presence.

Lord Momonga sat on the throne awaiting them, as flames in his eyes followed the movement of the approaching figures.

Rigurd kneeled at the same time as Albedo did and Ranga lowered his head in respect towards the master.

"Rise. It came to my attention that because of the increasing number of goblin tribes and wolf packs under Tempest's flag, there isn't anyone directly overseeing either species but both of you have been dutifully performing this task without any reward for your efforts. With that, I would like to offer you Rigurd the position of Goblin High Lord and you Ranga, the position of Prime Alpha."

Momonga looked at two of his servants in anticipation. What if they refuse? From one side they showed similar fanatical loyalty as Nazarick's denizens, but from the other, they were more independent creatures with previous lives. First of, he didn't want to look incompetent in the eyes of Albedo with his choices, and second, Albedo would likely execute them on the spot if they dared to refuse the offer.

With Albedo standing beside him, he still needed to be fully immersed in the role of Overlord and appear as majestic as possible. It had become easier due to the fact that Overlords were natural rulers and when he stopped stressing over it, appearing majestic was as easy as breathing.

"Thank you for the opportunity, my Lord. I will do my best to not let you down." Rigurd answered first with a shaky voice.

{ I will lead all the wolves for you, master. } Ranga answered with a very enthusiastic tone. Even if the tone of his voice wouldn't betray his feelings, the wagging of the tail would show them clearly enough.

"Good. Then, Rigurd, you will be the Goblin Highlord and report to Albedo, as she is the Overseer of Nazarick, and handle all the administrative duties. Ranga, you will be the Prime Alpha and since wolves serve a more militaristic role, you will report to Demiurge, as he is my chief tactician."

Both grew in power once again, but visually there were no changes. Momonga's collector side couldn't be more thrilled with gaining new creatures for Nazarick and he looked forward to a time when his two advisors would tackle different kinds of monsters found in the forest.

Each new title gave him a new type of creature that potentially could show up inside Nazarick. Aura had already reported three wolves spawning on the sixth floor. First, two were tempest wolves, and one, to his surprise, was a demon wolf.

Meanwhile, Albedo returned both of the newly appointed officials to the main goblin town and asked,

"My Lord, wouldn't it be easier to use your creations to govern Tempest? I don't see a reason to empower these lesser beings."

What should he say to her? He didn't just want to say that most of his decisions were spontaneous and there wasn't any long-term plan. Luckily, Dark Sage also drew from his own memory and greatly improved his reasoning.

"They have a personal experience of how it is to be in the position they are in. Not to mention that their experience with the local area is invaluable. Even I don't know the goblins as well as Rigurd does. Besides, isn't it better to use the newly gained servants to their fullest potential, not just rely on Nazarick's created undead all the time?"

"Of course Lord Momonga, please forgive this foolish servant for her shortsightedness." Albedo said while kneeling again.

"It is fine, and please rise. You don't have to kneel before me."

"Of course, Lord Momonga," Albedo said, getting back to her feet. "Next is the report from Demiurge about his tests on naming."

It was no surprise that Demiurge went into extreme detail and the report written by him was overly long. Only half listening, he used Dark Sage to store the information in his mind. At moments, he wondered how overwhelming everything would be if not for this wonderful tool he had acquired.

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

Another day had come to an end, and Momonga was done with the daily duties. Tempest was growing steadily and with Demiurge's and Albedo's oversight, things were going as smooth as possible. However, neither of them could ease up around him.

Both adamantly refused his offer to just address him as Momonga when no one else was around and even making them sit down when he was present was a herculean task. All he wanted was a normal conversation, maybe a joke or two.

His two friends were always doing their own things. Pero was hanging out with Veldora and spending time with Shalltear, and doing who knows what else in the crafting department on the ninth floor, while Buku was spending a lot of her time on the sixth floor, making up for her absence.

From what he heard, Aura was especially angry about her creator's absence, but then again, she shared her temperament with her mother and both were rather impulsive and strong-willed.

Not that he wasn't used to being by himself, but it would have been nice to have at least some friendly interaction. He also didn't want to appear needy and just ask them what they were doing and insert himself into their activities.

He could use the free time during the night to continue to practice his mannerisms and study literature on how to be a leader, as pretty much everyone expected him to be their infallible ruler, but today he just didn't feel like doing it.

{ Albedo, I will leave the tomb for a bit, alone. Please do not worry, I will be safe. }

{ My lord, please take at least some guards with you. I can gear up and… }

{ Albedo. I will be fine. }

{ Please Lord Momonga, if you do not wish my presence, at least let me prepare an escort for you. }

The conversation was going nowhere, as usual. Her presence was welcomed but tiring. She always acted as either his assistant or guard and today he just wanted a moment of peace and to forget about being the ruler of the Great Tomb.

{ Albedo, I will be within Tempest, and if I suspect that there is danger then I will notify you and call other floor guardians to protect me… You think I don't know what I'm doing? }

{ No, of course I don't think that Lord Momonga. Please forgive me for assuming… }

{ It is fine. I will call you if there is any danger. I trust you will be ready to protect me if the need arises. }

{ Yes my Lord, you can count on me. }

He hated to manipulate her like that, but there was no other way to get at least a moment of privacy. Finally getting all his guardians off his back for even a moment, Momonga teleported outside to one of the hills, deep within Tempest-controlled territory.

The Overlord created a simple chair with Creation and sat down, watching the darkening sky. There were no clouds in the sky and the first stars were already visible. The feeling of serenity washed over him and even his emotional suppression didn't take it away.

Dot after dot; stars appeared in the night sky, and the large moon got brighter as the night grew darker. He sensed patrols in the distance as everyone was connected to Nazarick, but in this spot, no one would disturb him.

The feeling of being alone had not left him, even when being surrounded by servants constantly. Would more of the old guild members have come if he had been more insistent? Would they like to be here? He wasn't even sure about Pero and Buku. Once they were his closest friends, but they had their own lives and he didn't want to intrude into them.

Suddenly, he felt that someone was coming his way silently. Despite his massive size, Ranga moved without sound and only their connection betrayed his position.

'There it goes. I should have guessed my solitude would not last.'

Ranga got closer and closer but had yet to say anything. Momonga awaited for the usual exclamations of gratitude or loyalty, but the wolf, as if sensing his master's mood, just silently walked up and lay down beside the chair in silence.

The fearsome creature now resembled more of an obedient dog than an apex predator of the forest, and that brought back memories long forgotten. Was it because of Dark Sage organizing his memory and letting him remember everything perfectly, or did the situation itself bring back memories? Momonga did not know which case it was, nor did it particularly matter.

He always was a shy and reserved child and had difficulties making friends. One day, he had asked his mother for a pet, hoping to get a friend that way. His mother had told him that they couldn't afford a pet, crushing his hopes. In his childish anger, he had said things he never got a chance to apologize for, as it took a lot of growing up to realize how much she tried to make his life a little brighter.

When he was eight, he found her collapsed on the floor in the kitchen. His mother had worked herself to death trying to give him the best she could, and he had told her he hated her for not fulfilling his childish wish back then. The sadness and regret rose with him but as usual, was stopped by emotional suppression.

Reliving the memory, he wanted to feel regret; he wanted to feel sadness, to feel anything, but suppression just stopped it each time. He was returned to calm indifference, no matter how hard he tried.

Just as he fought a losing fight with his innate ability, his hand moved over to the giant creature's head as he absentmindedly stroked the soft fur between Ranga's ears. After a moment Ranga let out a low rumble, signaling his content, acting just like a giant dog laying beside his master.

Momonga could hear his current companion's tail wagging as well. Maybe there was a new friend to be made, one with whom he could spend time in relaxed silence.

Ranga let out another low rumble and leaned into his master's touch a bit. He didn't know why, but he sensed that his presence was needed and that the master appreciated his silence. He may be a loner by both heart and necessity of being a bit different from his pack, but today he felt accepted for just who he was, no matter the titles and responsibilities.

Edited by Edgy.