Harbingers of Change

Chapter 6

Suphia took a deep breath before walking through the gates of Tempest's capital. The confidence in her stride wavered after an unsavory thought crossed her mind, but she squashed her turmoil and resumed at a leisurely pace.

Returning to the place where she had learned the hardest lesson of her life was not an easy task. Sometimes her sleep would be interrupted by the phantom pain of her memories, specifically the fight against the sadistic maid. While she had already healed all of her wounds, that had only repaired her physical body. Her mental state had not been in the best condition since that fateful day.

Suphia admitted that the fight with Lupus made her doubt her own abilities. She was still plenty strong in her own right, with her role as one of the three beastketeers proving that well.

She just did not expect to be completely and utterly overwhelmed, let alone be taunted by her sadistic opponent for the entire duration of the fight.

It was not only embarrassing to both her and her master Carrion, but it taught Suphia how truly pitiful she was upon losing to a mere maid in Tempest. Saying that the fight was a disaster would be an understatement, and it took quite some time for her to recover, both physically and mentally.

From that point forward, Suphia came to the dreadful conclusion; she was simply too weak and had finally met someone who was more than a match. The logical counter to meeting a rival would be to give it their all into training and honing her body, and eventually declare a rematch to settle the score.

That flicker of hope, knowing that they could improve themselves to become an even stronger fighter, was blown away like dust in the wind.

It already took arduous amounts for Suphia to put aside her pride as a lycanthrope and look at the bigger picture. The memories of the fight would still come back to haunt her, pushing her mind to lingering thoughts of quitting and leaving everything behind.

As much as she desperately wanted to do so, something forbid her. Perhaps her pride, as close as it was to crumbling into ash, was stopping her from accepting total defeat.

To give up and throw her life away would be admitting that she was unsuited to be one of the three beastketeers. She would rather give up her own life than forfeit her well-earned status as one of Lord Carrion's chosen champions.

Along with recalling a few of her master's words, Suphia eventually calmed herself when she was left to her own devices. That same calm would sometimes burst into vicious outrage, as the fight against the maid had virtually imprinted itself on her mind. But knowing how unwise it would be to repeat that same act of carelessness and utter humiliation, Suphia forced herself to act more reserved.

When a permanent envoy to Tempest needed to be assigned, Suphia was first to volunteer, wanting to wash away the shame of her previous actions. Seeing this fiery determination surprised even Carrion himself.

"I know what I am doing. I understand the danger Tempest poses to my people. That's why it has to be me who goes back. I want to show them that they cannot break us!" Suphia had said. Passion had filled her voice, combined with an unrelenting stare in her eyes that Carrion was somewhat impressed by.

Still, Carrion was initially reluctant to let Suphia go, possibly worried for the beastketeer's wellbeing. After all, he had personally witnessed Suphia be given what was possibly the most heartbreaking and brutal match. He would have called it a one-sided slaughter were it not for his considerations towards the prideful Suphia.

But seeing that she was not backing down in the slightest, he decided to let her take the role. It was not just Carrion, but Suphia as well who knew that defeat was the best teacher. The crushing defeat at the hands of Lupus had taught her both caution and humility.

"But like hell am I just going to drop dead after what happened back then. I will show that damn maid, along with the rest, the resolve of my kind." She promised herself as she walked forward.

Unlike Demon Lord Frey, who had gone out of her way to send an entire group of representatives, she was the only one standing in for her master. Other nations would have made fun of the lack in numbers if it were any other nation besides Eurazania. Carrion himself was not worried about sending a sole individual to represent their nation as each of them alone were still seriously powerful in their own right.

Without trying to look like she was in a hurry, Suphia walked towards her destination. The walk to the castle would take a few hours since she didn't possess any transportation abilities.

Suphia resisted the urge to suck in her own breath upon seeing what was inside Tempest's capital. Even if it was just the weeks since the time she stepped foot in here, the city was already changing, filled with even more bustling activity than before.

For one, there were a lot more dwarves and elves present. The increase in presence of these two races most likely colluded with the King of Dwargon forging an alliance with the growing monster nation.

Suphia let her mind wander off to various things as she continued to browse the local goods around her. She might as well spend some of her walk into seeing what Tempest has in store for her.

Not long after she made up her decision, her attention was caught by a loud argument between a dwarf and a kobold merchant. Judging by some words she was able to pick up from their heated conversation, the two were shouting at each other regarding the prices of blade tiger hides. Their respective bodyguards just stood aside, wearing a vague expression of tiredness on their faces.

By now it was not an odd sight for Suphia to see mixed races in Tempest. She was mildly surprised at the way the opposing sides were finding a resolution so fast. An ounce of blood had not been shed from start to finish.

'Usually, when people get into arguments like that, the outcome would result in one person. beating the crap out of the other. My lord would approve of such behavior since it was quick and decisive. Now that I'm here though, I need to get used to the fact that Tempest doesn't put all the weight on personal power.'

Suphia reminded herself of this crucial fact as her eyes left the dwarf and kobold merchant, their faces filled with satisfaction. It appeared that they had finally agreed after several compromises according to their last few exchanges.

Such a scene would be unimaginable in Eurazania where only rules might make right, and unless an individual reached a certain threshold of power, they would forever remain in near enslaved servitude.

Only about one percent of all who lived in the beast nation were true citizens and were allowed to enter the capital. Suphia started to learn that Tempest was only partly enforced with that, with evidence pointing to the ruling class being benign and unimaginably powerful. The critical difference between this nation and her own was that regular citizens would not be executed for simply wandering too close to the royal palace.

As she started to drift into contemplations about which ultimately was the best approach, a polite woman's voice made her turn her head.

"Lady Suphia, I was sent to pick you up."

The sound of a familiar woman stopped Suphia in her tracks. She turned around swiftly, only to see one of the battle maids she had seen before. The person was approaching her with unknown intent.

Of course, she had felt her presence long before the maid intruded her boundary, but Suphia ascertained the new arrival as someone non-threatening.

'She looks familiar. Which one was this? Think, think! It would be stupid to forget right now… Ah, that's right! I believe her name was Yuri Alpha. She must have been dealing with Lord Clayman at the time.'

"Yuri, right? Just call me Suphia." She flashed the maid a toothy smile.

"As you wish. This way, please. Lady Buku is waiting for you." Yuri bowed and motioned at the gate that appeared beside her.

A moment later Suphia arrived at a lavishly decorated office. Buku was standing at her office table and scribbling notes on what looked to appear like a map.

"Lady Bukubukuchagama, Lord Carrion has sent me to stand in for him." She announced with a light bow whilst eyeing the woman carefully.

Although she didn't participate in the battle to stop Charybdis, Lord Carrion explained how it went down and how unreasonably powerful Lord Peroroncino was. By what little they managed to find out during their last stay, Lady Buku was considered her brother's equal in terms of raw power.

In moments like these, usually, her sharp animalistic senses were a great help in ascertaining an individual. The problem this time was that the only thing that she could read was Buku's face, which gave off a partially concealed frustration. It was unclear what species Buku was, but there was no body odor she could identify, leading Suphia to think that her species was similar to that of the battle maid Solution.

"Carrion informed me that you will represent him. Let's get the border question out of the way first, shall we?" Buku looked up and waved for her to come closer, having already replaced her frustration with that of a light smile.

'At least she is not overly formal.' Suphia approached the table and looked over the map with disinterest.

Since lycanthropes didn't use maps, there wasn't much to discuss. This would have most likely led to Buku taking charge of discussions, but that would not happen here. Tempest's forces had not crossed the assumed border of the Beast Kingdom as of now, not to mention that there were no claims for land from her master.

Save for informing Buku that Tempest's merchants could now freely enter Eurazania regardless of race, there wasn't much to discuss at the moment.

She had a mansion assigned to her and could request either Tempest servants or some from her home nation, with Suphia choosing the latter to have familiar faces around her in this monster den.

Lastly, she could request both personnel and goods transportation from Aureole, a majin in charge of Tempest's transportation network. This particular person was someone that Suphia had probably never met, but that detail was not important to her at the moment.

After settling the last few affairs that needed to be addressed, Suphia had already found herself on her way to her new dwelling.

Her lightened mood at wondering what was inside her place had quickly soured as she ran into a familiar face.

"Huh, you're back? How have you been? I thought I would not see you again. We had so much fun together." Lupus asked cheerfully the moment she saw her. "Couldn't get enough of Tempest, I suppose."

"Bark all you want. The moment you try something funny on me, you'd be causing a great deal of trouble to both of our nations. Surely you can't be that stupid." Suphia called her bluff and smirked back to not show any sign of fear.

"Shame isn't it?" Lupus' smile didn't fade. She approached Suphia with slow, deliberate steps. She stopped less than a meter away and observed the cat-like lycanthrope's reaction to her presence.

"I would welcome a fight from a stronger opponent to learn from, but there is nothing I can learn from you save for not making the same mistake."

Suphia did her best to keep her outward confidence. Standing so close to the monster that had tormented her while not breaking into nervous sweating was not an easy task. The staredown continued for a good ten seconds until the maid took a step back.

"Oh well, you can hide behind your diplomatic status if you want." Lupus shrugged.

"Nice try. Old me would have fallen for it. I have more important things to take care of than be bothered by you," Suphia remarked as she walked past the sadistic maid she still saw in her nightmares.

"Hey, when you are not busy, want to go for a drink?" Lupus suddenly called after her.

"Why would I drink with you out of all people?" Suphia replied with a monotone voice. "It's going to be a bloody mess no matter how you sugarcoat it."

"You said it yourself, there would be a lot of trouble if I wanted to play with you. That doesn't mean I can't humiliate you even further by showing you what real drinking is." Lupus let out a taunting laugh which only irked Suphia even further. "Unless the poor kitty is afraid to share a big girl's drinks with me?"

'That bitch… She may be strong, but there is no way she can drink more than me. Unless she has poison immunity, this is probably another one of her bluffs.'

"Like I would fall for that. You probably have poison immunity to cover your sorry hide."

"I don't. I don't even have any poison resistance items equipped right now, so we'd be doing this fair and square."

The maid's reply could not be discerned properly by Suphia. To her it sounded like Lupus was either faking or being genuinely offended by being accused of possible cheating. With how fake her genuinity can be at times, however, Suphia can only think she was being mocked at.

'She may be bluffing, but since she can't harm me directly, the worst that can happen is that I'll have a hangover tomorrow.'

"Fine! I will show you what real drinking is after I settle in."

"Sure thing. Call me up when you are ready. I know just a place to get wasted."

As Lupus walked away with a taunting laugh, Suphia relaxed her hands that had been clenched with seething rage.

'She is up to something. But maybe she just thinks that I am lightweight compared to her. Out of everyone in my nation, I'm known for being able to keep up with someone like Albis! That wolf bitch stands no chance.'

It seemed that time for revenge had come. While the rules for this battle were far different, the occasion at least gave Suphia a chance to have a good drink, an activity she did not mind whatsoever.

Whatever the case may be, she had confidence that this time, she would be victorious.

X

Pero let out a sigh of relief. The day's work was finally over, and he could finally look forward to having some free time on his hands.

With Tempest's economy having an explosive growth, his workload had gotten near to his breaking point. His schedule being filled to the brim was to be expected, especially if the situation regarding the addition of four new trade partners would mostly be tackled by him. Still, he wanted to curse out for not thinking this completely through.

'I know it was a dumb move on my part not to have my subordinates give more of a helping hand, but I wanted to get some of the work cut out for me and not be seen as a lazy and incompetent guy by others. Momo probably understands that more than I do. I hope it will only take a month or two until things calm down once again…'

Indeed, the idea of kicking back and taking a small vacation afterwards was quite thrilling to Pero. He let out a long yawn and leaned back in his office chair, enjoying the feeling of the sunlight that was shining through a nearby window.

Yoseijoo, who was laying on the sofa and sharpening her nails with a small file, perked up at Pero's visible relief.

"Finally done for today?"

"I think so unless something new comes up, we can lay back and…"

{ Mind explaining why you didn't drill Lupus to not mess with Suphia? } His sister's voice invaded his mind, sounding plain murderous.

'Typical…'

While Pero had been sincerely hoping for any form of interruption, his work had virtually ended for today, so now he had to redirect his attention to what sounded like an outraged Buku.

{ What are you saying, 'sis? That's literally one of the first things I told her not to do. And I'm well aware of how much of a fuck-up that could be on a national scale. What the hell did Lupus do? }

Pero made sure to respond cautiously, but he ended up straining his voice since he was speeding up his words.

He himself had no idea what was happening, but whatever mess Lupus had made, it was now his problem. Buku's own confusion was also heard in her usual voice of frustration that Pero had become long accustomed to, so that most likely meant both him and his sister had been in the dark up until this incident.

{ Ugh… Alright, how about you come with me and find out? I received a report from one of Rigur's guys that both had made quite a mess in one of the high-end taverns. }

{ Which one? }

{ They said they were drinking in Golden Axe, one of the more recent tavern establishments. I'm pretty sure Kaijin must have told you about that many times. }

{ Yeah, I remember. He and Rigurd went down there a couple times until it became a favorite of his. Doesn't seem note-worthy enough for me to keep regular tabs on it though. Whatever, I'll be there in a moment. }

From what Pero could remember, Golden Axe had been Kaijin's favorite drinking place for quite some time. Both had shared a drink there more than once.

"Sorry, I have to go and find out what Lupus has done."

Pero apologized to his concubine whose smile quickly turned into a scowl.

Before Yoseijoo could break into a rant, Pero teleported to a location he knew rather well.

He appeared outside the establishment right next to his sister who was getting a report from goblin raiders responding to the incident.

"It doesn't look like they fought." Pero said, glancing around. Save for a broken window, there was no structural damage.

"They apparently drank together, probably on the pretense of a drinking challenge knowing the two girls." Buku motioned for him to follow and went inside.

'It's either nothing or we are going to war. Boy, Momo will be pissed if Lupus caused a war. And I know who's sorry ass will have to fight it if that's the case.' Pero lamented the possibility of getting even more work on his shoulders.

"Are you coming or not?" Buku stopped and asked Pero. Judging by the impatient tapping on the ground, Buku's patience was starting to dwindle.

"My bad, I got lost in thought for a bit. Let's get this over with."

He walked in after his sister, not sure if he should be relieved or even more worried.

The scene inside surely wasn't a pretty one. What he saw raised a lot of questions.

The usually full-to-the-brim bar shelf had been emptied of all booze, but his attention was currently focused on the persisting smell of beer that wafted under Pero's nose.

He shifted his attention to what appeared to be the remnants of a dartboard which had been split in half. Not even the pool table was spared as a cue stick was forcefully shoved smackdab in the center, standing proudly like a flag pole with a dirty napkin on the top.

"Alright so it's not looking too great, but no one seems to be hurt… Is that who I think it is?" Pero asked no one in particular.

He was right on the money as Lupus was passed out half sitting, half lying down under a table. She was holding a small barrel like a baby refusing to let go of their favorite toy.

Suphia was not far away either, and she was currently facing down on the floor with her arms and legs spread out like a starfish, giving the ridiculous impression that she tried to hug the floor before passing out.

The two guards who should have kept the order were nervously shuffling around, keeping a maximum distance from the two culprits of all the carnage. Pero felt a tinge of pity for the guards who, to him, were most likely not at fault for whatever had happened here.

The tavern keeper, an older dwarf with a full gray beard, was sweeping up broken bottles with a devastated expression. He noticed the pair and approached the siblings in a timid manner.

"Lord Peroroncino, Lady Bukubukuchagama." He bowed and waited for them to speak.

"Just give me the quick version and how much I owe you. That includes all the damage they have done to this place."

Pero addressed the poor man who most likely had to endure an grueling evening with two very high-standing and unruly customers. The dwarf became visibly relieved by the straightforwardness of the birdman, and he started to retell what had happened.

The minute the two stepped in, he knew there would be trouble. Lupus immediately put out a tab on Pero's name and both girls started a drinking competition of mythological proportions.

It didn't take long for them to start competing in the available games as well. The broken window was the result of a dart thrown in the wrong direction, and given the strengths of the two participants, any mis-accurate throws would no doubt be devastating to the surrounding infrastructure. The pool table was not spared in their alcoholic fueled rage as it was later broken by Lupus when she announced the supposed victory over her rival.

Other equally unfortuitous events were also explained to Pero and Buku, with the former loudly sighing and the latter having twitching movements within her eyes.

The two of them had tried to juggle empty wine bottles that naturally broke due to their poor handling of said bottles. Throughout their antics were angry, slurred shrieking directed towards regular customers, forcing the barkeeper to close down the tavern for anyone else. The guards meanwhile were asked to enforce this temporary closure since the barkeeper was preoccupied with keeping any remaining semblance of order in his tavern.

Oddly enough, it all culminated with a singing contest which resulted in noise complaints and the subsequent arrival of the goblin raiders who were here on the pretense of investigating the noise disturbance. Again, the barkeeper had to assuage everyones' anger and frustration which only stressed him out even further.

Considering Lupus' and Suphia's status, none of them knew what to do and whom to report to. In the end, all the proper chain of command were informed about the situation, which eventually made its way up to Buku.

As Suphia was a foreign diplomat, this was within her department, which thereby stated that further involvement from anyone else who was not of equal status as Buku was not allowed. This basically meant that only a Lord could interfere, but seeing that Lupus was involved, it was only right that she had to call her brother for a joint investigation into this matter.

The dwarf ended the speech with an approximation of the damage caused, nearing a hundred gold coins. It was chump change to Pero, so he decided to add a bit more to the pile out of consideration for the poor barkeeper.

"Don't worry. I'll pay you some extra for the… trauma that they caused. I'll also send someone in the morning to help repair everything those two broke."

"T-thank you, my lord." The barkeeper bowed, hiding his consternation for the culprits.

"Speaking of those two, it's time to wake them up."

Buku glared at the soundly sleeping troublemakers. As though knowing what she was about to say, one of her Hanzo guards appeared beside her side. The Hanzo did not even make a single creaking noise on the wooden floor.

"What is your order, my mistress?"

"Bring two buckets of ice-cold water."

The dutiful servant nodded and disappeared with a puff of smoke while two others pulled out Lupus from under the table and flipped Suphia around, making audible noises within the building.

Without sparing a look at the Hanzo who had just appeared, Buku nonchalantly grabbed the two water buckets. They were then unceremoniously dumped over both of the girls' heads.

Both jolted up with shocked yelps, followed by the frantic turning of their heads.

"Aaah! Who…" Lupus angrily shouted with a ferocious look in her face, and she felt her breathing stuck in her throat as soon as she recognized the person looming over her.

She turned paler than her brown skin would reasonably permit. The horrified maid stared at the towering birdman with dread as clear as day on her face.

"Get back home. I'll deal with you tomorrow." Pero pointed towards the door.

Considering her expression, the waiting time would be the harshest punishment he could inflict upon her at the moment. No matter what he would decide in the end she would tie herself in a knot with mental anguish.

"Yes, Lord Peroroncino." Lupus replied with an expression of a whipped puppy. She began taking a walk of shame home, and once she was completely gone from the vicinity, Pero turned back to look at his sister.

"Sorry, 'sis. I'll make sure she is not allowed to cause any trouble for a while." Pero said apologetically. He made his way out of the tavern after his concubine.

"This could have played out way worse." Buku silently nodded to herself and turned her attention to the second culprit.

If one were to look at this with an unbiased perspective, but with complete knowledge of Lupus and Suphias' personalities, it would not be unreasonable to say that Lupus was the main initiator of the whole ordeal. Of course, Buku had already done her studies on both of the girls, but suspicion started to seep in her eyes upon seeing Suphia's terrified expression.

'It's safe to assume if I send her back and request a new envoy, she likely won't be in Carrion's upper circles given her defeat against Lupus. No doubt she'll be devastated since this incident is on a larger scale. I can let this go for now, but let's see if I can push her around a bit so that she knows the gravity of her situation.'

Without letting her know beforehand, Buku teleported Suphia to her office and motioned for the frightened lycanthrope to sit down.

'How could I fall for it? This was a setup. Lord Carrion will skin me alive.' Suphia did her best to keep some semblance of composure.

The seconds felt like eternity as she had to return the gaze of one of the Tempest's lords who looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"You do know how this looks?"

Buku cleaved the silent air between them without any ounce of venom attached to her words. They were completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever, and that terrified Suphia to the core.

"Y-yes, Lady Buku. I will take full responsibility for my actions." Suphia looked down, unable to withstand the intimidating woman's gaze anymore. "Please do not blame Lord Carrion for my failure."

"I could send you home and demand another envoy or cut any sort of relations with Eurazania altogether." Buku spoke, listening to how the young woman's heartbeat went up.

"But I am in a generous mood today and I'll write this off as a simple mistake that should not be treated as a diplomatic incident." Buku finally broke her neutral expression and offered the terrified lycanthrope a faint smile.

Suphia looked up, trying to muster up as much courage to lock stares with Buku. She tried to hide the growing trepidation on her face, along with the disbelief that she would be let go unpunished.

"I do need to clarify one thing, though. This is not an invitation to betray your Lord for us. I can sense how loyal you are to your master, and that battle with Lupus was already a clear indicator of such loyalty." Buku stood up, walked around the table, and sat at the corner of the table with her arms crossed.

"What… are you asking of me then?"

'I won't betray my master. I'd rather die by his hand than sully his name!'

Suphia's hands twisted into fists at the mere thought of betraying her master.

Buku's words had also not escaped her, and the reminder of that humiliating fight felt more hurtful than any of Lord Carrion's devastating punches.

"To do what you were assigned to do. Consider this a small favor on my part that you can repay by doing your best to build a relationship between our nations." Buku stepped forward and leaned in. "Try not to cause any more trouble or I just might have to demand you to be replaced by someone else more suited for the job. We wouldn't want that, wouldn't we?"

Suphia opened her mouth, but no words came out. She snapped her jaw shut and only gave a small nod.

"Good. Now, off you go."

With but a flick of Buku's wrist, Suphia was teleported back to her mansion. She looked around in confusion before realizing where she had been dropped off.

Suphia sat down on the floor pressing her back against a nearby wall. She began taking shallow breaths, fighting against the incoming hangover. Fear and anxiety perturbed her state of mind as incomprehensible whispers escaped her mouth.

"This can't be happening! Just when I was trying to set myself back in line, too… I must be a lot more careful from now on. I know she tried to twist my mind somehow, I just…"

Suphia had not been paying attention to her surroundings when she arrived as she was too focused on her own self.

Her own body was refusing to cooperate, evidently by her hands that continued to shake in fear. Bewildered by this action, she tried to clench her fists in order to stop the spastic movements.

'Why… Why am I so scared of mere words right now? What is happening with me?'

To her frustration, she could not answer this by herself.

If there was one way to put it, life was so simple until Tempest showed up. Everything had been going moderately well up until she encountered the sadistic maid, an event which had completely changed her arrogant perspective of Tempest.

She had taken a path of self-improvement for both herself and for the sake of Eurazania, yet it did not change the fact that she was in a monster den which made even her fearful of what was inside it.

The feeling to return home had never been so present in her chest, yet deep down she knew this would betray Lord Carrion's trust in her.

Admitting defeat in a battle was one thing, but when her very own nation was at stake, it was something else entirely. She could not afford to lose any further ground now.

'If she wants me to improve the relationship between our nations, then I'll be the best damn diplomat she has ever seen. I just need to avoid that devious monster, Lupus.'

Suphia inhaled and exhaled in an attempt to control her ragged breathing. Not long after that, she felt a jolt of pain rush through her head.

'Damn. We drank far too much for our own good… Now that I think about it, why did Lupus get punished too? And didn't she look even more scared than me? Heh, maybe I am overthinking the whole situation and Lady Buku did me a favor.'

While Suphia didn't mind the fact that Lupus is getting a way worse punishment than her, she was mildly disturbed at seeing how Buku reacted to all of this.

It even almost made her pity Lupus when she thought of several ways the maid could get punished. Almost.

She could not dwell on these thoughts any further as another wave of pain wracked her head. It was clear that she needed to have her mind rest for today.

'I guess I'll think about how to handle all of this after I at least get some rest in me…'

After sending a silent prayer to Lord Carrion in the hopes that he would not severely punish her, Suphia stood up and let out another shaky breath.

She walked towards one of the bedrooms to get some sleep and go over the day's events, hopefully with a much clearer mind this time.

Edited by Zirmeister.

Proofreading by Ethal07, SwissChocolatess, Kazuma, Miracle of Gods, and Alassandro.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).