Harbingers of Change

Chapter 14

The whole procession appeared just outside the capital of Dwargon just days after discussions took place. Five golden-clad carriages pulled by two bicorns each made their way past the long rows of people trying to gain entrance into the city.

It was clear on many people's faces that the presence of the bicorns was enough to stifle them into an awed silence. Any humans who were within the packed rows couldn't say a word while the few lycanthropes in the crowd struggled to keep themselves upright after being lashed at by the bicorns' malevolent energy.

Summoned by Albedo through Nazarick's mercenary system, each beast was level seventy-eight by the archaic system of measurement, also known as Yggdrasil levels. In the present day, each bicorn was determined to be well within S rank by local world standards. Though they lacked special abilities, their raw power and endurance made them incredibly dangerous.

Bringing these monsters out did little to comfort Dwargon's citizens, but it wasn't as though they were seeing the bicorns' true powers. From the beginning, the equine creatures of terror had a special collar around their neck, enchanted with the same ability Rings of False Data had to contain their monstrous magicules. This restriction was added to prevent them from fully lashing out and causing potential harm to their surroundings.

If the collars weren't attached, hell would ensue. A single of these creatures' aura could quickly become lethal through magicule poisoning within minutes. Considering there were ten such steeds present, it had been deemed necessary by Tempest officials to contain their rampant magicules.

The carriages were surrounded by a specialized detachment of Direwolf Riders, with each wolfish creature being commandeered by an honor guard. It was prudent to bring out forces that would pay respect to the magnitude of the occasion. Both hobgoblins and wolves, numbered in the dozens, were clad in shining plate armor, presented like royal cavalry. They carried their Tempestian flags with a powerful, regal gait, and the Dwargon citizens immediately compared them to their own country's army whenever it performed its military parades during festivals.

To accentuate the atmosphere of royalty even further, above the carriages flew fifty sprites dressed in dark purple leather outfits, decorated with platinum accents that glittered beautifully in the sunlight. Publicly ranked Special A and A, they inspired both fear and awe in the spectators, particularly those of adventurers and merchants who rarely, if not have, seen such creatures. They circled and surrounded the procession with cautious optimism, giving cheerful waves to the crowd while keeping a watchful eye for suspicious activity.

As the presence of these mighty creatures became better established in Dwargon's eyes, disputable rumors were steadily replaced with reputable facts. To the common folk, it was apparent to many that the new nation's royals treated their visit to the Dwarven Kingdom with utmost respect and diligence to their King. However, the ones who were keener knew deep down that Tempest was displaying their absolute authority over many great monsters.

Pero glanced through the window, bored with the slow movement of the ludicrously extravagant procession. It would take some time to get through the city, and he had the occasional intrusive thought of just flying straight towards Gazel.

His sister and Momonga insisted he arrived like a noble instead of abandoning this world's traditions by popping up in the Dwargon royal castle without warning. He knew it was inappropriate, but the boredom was simply almost too insufferable for him at this point.

Mare was sitting opposite him, reading a book, which Pero permitted him to do. He felt his sister would have been harsher on the druid for resorting to his hobby out of disinterest in his given duty. Right now, though, Pero could only feel sympathetic.

He would not enforce it if his nephew were not interested in sightseeing. There would be many more opportunities in the future if the dark elf boy wished to travel the world and experience its infinite ordeals.

The other carriages were filled with Kaijin and the dwarven brother trio, as well as a sizable maid staff to cater to their current and future needs for their stay in Dwargon. Gazel had been hesitant, proposing to supply his own maids, but conceded after being cited safety reasons for the dwarves.

As Pero was about to let out another exasperated sigh, his hearing caught wind of a ghastly creaking. When he looked for the source of the noise, he saw small squadrons of Dwargon's guards heading towards the slowly opening gate.

"Man, it's about time. Hey, looks like they're opening the gate for us."

Pero laced his comment with just enough interest to snap Mare out of his intense concentration on the book he was reading. He briefly looked up with a hint of annoyance, staring through the tinted window beside him.

"I guess it's impressive for their standards," Mare replied dismissively.

He didn't spend another second before returning to his book, his bored face being revitalized with newfound interest. Since he was already familiar with Kajin's craft, any other dwarven-related matters held little interest to him.

"It must be really hard to impress you, huh?" Pero mused out loud. He chuckled when he saw Mare attempting to hide his face in his book. "To be honest, I felt the same thing when Kaijin first introduced me to his works."

"And… you feel different now, Uncle Pero?" Mare slowly questioned, lowering his book. Pero eagerly nodded, seeing the druid was showing a slight interest in the topic.

"Yeah. I guess you could say I had a change of heart down the road. That's why you should at least give the dwarves at least some credit. These gates were crafted centuries ago and are part of their national pride. Belittling the work with such history behind them would deeply offend citizens and architects alike."

"I understand that, but nothing they make will ever come close to Nazarick, Uncle Pero. Why should I show so much interest in something that wasn't originally crafted by the hands of the Supreme Beings?"

"If you look at it that way, you'll set an impossible precedent for our ally. Considering the huge gap in technology between us, comparing everything to Nazarick would be a tad bit unfair, don't you think?"

Mare opened his mouth but then closed it. He seemed to have a look of understanding on his face. Pero was relieved that the dark elf boy was second-guessing his perspective, which was most likely twisted by Nazarick's influence.

For the next minute, there was a comfortable silence inside the carriage. Eventually, the dark elf boy nodded to himself and placed the book back in his inventory. He turned to see Pero staring outside and decided to switch seats to join the birdman in observing outside the front window.

The capital city of Dwargon was built between two mountains, expanding into both through deep caverns and winding tunnels.

Their architecture was quite basic, but the rather liberal application of rudimentary magitech gave it a unique look. Rows of electrical lamps occasionally lit the streets, allowing for some darkness to trickle in, but not to the point where it felt disturbing to be in. Oddly enough, some establishments had glowing signs that gave Pero sad reminiscences of the countless neon lights in modern-day cities.

As they moved towards the castle, people paused whatever they were doing. They watched the procession slowly moving along, with parents huddling their kids closer in slight fear.

Those undeterred by the mysterious horse-like creatures attempted to sneak closer to get a better view, much to the annoyance of the guards. It wasn't every day a foreign dignitary visited the Dwarven nation, but never before had they seen monstrous horses pulling carriages of supposedly decadent wealth, which, above all, were surrounded by a veritable squad of guards rivaling their royal guards.

Once they reached the palace, the procession was greeted by Dorf, the captain of the Pegasus Knights. Pero immediately hopped out of his carriage, and his attendant stifled a sigh at his Lord, who ignored proper protocol. He went on to assist Mare instead, who acted gracefully in how he exited the carriage.

"Hey, man. Gazel ready to greet us?"

Dorf let out a small smile at Pero's casual greeting. He was reminded of how brash his King acted around foreign dignitaries, even more so towards people he had more respect for than others. Pero was similar in that sense despite their massive difference in species.

Still, he was one of Dwargon's elite. For an occasion such as this, Dorf didn't want to cause potential international trouble for his King.

"Welcome to the Armed Nation of Dwargon, Lord Peroronciono. Your arrival is quite on time. His Majesty, King Gazel, is waiting for you."

"Great. Let's go then. I don't want to keep Gazel waiting."

Pero left most of his guard behind, with only the captains of the wolf raiders and the sprite forces following. Despite his choice to have them here mainly for showboating, he believed each individual in his guard was strong enough to protect Tempest's interests while within Dwargon. And to improve their reputation, Pero wanted to ensure this perspective was seen as such in the public eye.

His real guards were the six invisible Hanzos who formed a loose perimeter around him. Even so, they were ordered to deal with annoyances, as Tempest would have been alerted of dangerous threats from the beginning.

For the possible scenario where Pero and Mare were sufficiently threatened, Demiurge developed contingencies ranging from subtle espionage in the hands of Doppelgangers to outright sending a force capable of obliterating a country. Above that, Pero was supremely confident in his Ultimate Skill to back him up, should Dwargon react with hostility.

The palace partly used the same artificial light seen outside, but its long, windowless corridors were dark and not particularly inviting to those unaccustomed to dim lighting. However, that couldn't be said about the reception room, which was spacious and decorated with extravagant furniture, a large crystal chandelier above their heads, and multiple maids posted around.

Gazel watched them enter and tensed up, glancing at a spot where one of the Hanzos now stood, incidentally the one closest to his position.

"It's good to see you again, your Majesty." Pero slightly bowed, greeting the Dwarven king. Mare mimicked the gesture, to which Gazel felt an air of nobility from the dark elf.

"Likewise, Lord Peroroncino." Gazel returned the greeting, staring at the empty spot on the wall more openly to signify his intentions. The hanzo froze in place, knowing it had been detected.

"They're our guards, if you prefer, I can order them to remain visible while within the castle." Pero picked up on the reason for the dwarven king's unease.

"That would be for the best." He replied motioning for Pero and Mare to sit down.

Their rank meant little if either of them could destroy his entire nation in one fell swoop. During his stay in Tempest, he had gotten more than enough of a feel where everyone of importance stood in their danger levels, as he had dozens of times in the past. Of course, his spies had also observed the destructive power of Peroroncino, and there was no doubt in his mind that the avian could reduce the capital to ash within a blink of an eye, even with himself fighting with all his might.

Mare was a little bit harder to place, but if the dryads, very powerful spirits on their own for centuries, worshiped the boy as a God, he no doubt was equally as capable as his uncle. On top of it, he had arrived to help carve out the underground research facility, suggesting powers beyond mere plants and wind.

Pero gave a hand signal ordering the humanoid ninja-type monsters to show their presence, and sat down, Mare placing himself beside his uncle shortly after. All six of them canceled their stealth, startling Gazel's guards as they appeared around the room, one even right behind Gazel.

"Be at ease." Gazel addressed them and then turned his attention back to both of his guests.

"A team of Dwargon's best engineers and scientists are ready to start the joint research. We will share our current progress in all military science fields, but I would expect an equal contribution from Tempest." Gazel spoke in his usual calm and authoritative tone, seemingly returning to his element as a born king.

"Take a look. These were prepared by Pandora himself, and are ready to be studied and prototyped whenever your people are prepared." Pero handed over a folder with some first-level research data to Gazel, thick as the dwarf's thumb.

He quickly flipped through it, scanning through it with Thought Acceleration. Even though he only had a superficial understanding of engineering at best thanks to having handled engineering paperwork before, he could still assess if Tempest was willing to share real, valuable information. After going through a few dozen pages, he placed down the folder and sat silent for a few seconds, his mind racing thousands of times faster than a normal human could as he contemplated what he had read. Finally, he spoke.

"Such weapons would change war as we know it. A nation who develops them first would have a massive advantage over the rest of the world." He said, testing the waters.

"Then we'd better hurry. According to our intel, the Eastern Empire already has at least a similar level of technology and has started fielding them en masse. But if we look at guys like us, even a tank isn't that big of a deal."

"For a few of my best subordinates and I, maybe, but for regular infantry, being on the receiving end of such weapons is an assured death sentence. If your intel is correct and the Eastern Empire is that far ahead of us, we can be sure an angel attack isn't that far off to level the field once again." Gazel looked up to see the avian's reaction.

"Then we'd better not waste any time. Mare will create a stable enough cavern, and we will deliver enough magisteel, beliat, and other materials, along with a few of our research personnel behind, to jumpstart the operation. I have no doubt your people will be able to help us build working prototypes and adjust them for practical use if the Empire is to attack us all soon."

"Who will keep the first working models?" Gazel asked the obvious question. 'If they're willing to share such advanced technological data on a whim, I wonder what their real facilities will work on. I have no doubt they have something even more advanced as insurance against the possibility of our betrayal. Stronger long-ranged weaponry, more durable bunkers…'

"I think we can leave them in Dwargon. We will create our own mass production facilities once we have enough to work with. If you don't mind, we could start with the cavern so Mare doesn't have to sit through all the political talks." Pero stated.

With Gazel agreeing, all of them descended deep under the castle where the dwarves had worked tiredly to create a suitable cavern. Thus far, they had made a ten by six by six meters wide zone working with good old miner's picks, carts, and rudimentary drills.

"How long should it take for Mare to finish?" Gazel asked as the dwarves cleared the area for the boy to start his work, given how flashy his uncle was, the nephew could do similar. He held no illusions that the task probably wasn't too taxing for the boy given his analysis of the child, and that he would likely finish within a few days.

"W-what do you mean, y-your Majesty?" Mare asked with a confused expression. "I can finish the job right now."

"In that case, carry on." Gazel did his best to remain calm. 'Of course, he can replace the untold tons of earth like it's nothing.'

Mare did as told and, with his Lord of Earth ability, made a kilometer by four hundred meters wide by ten-meter height cavern by compressing the earth to such a dense matter that there was no need to even build any sort of support. He did leave two hundred columns of the same compressed earth just in case, anyway, and also for the sake of appearances to reassure the dwarves who would be working here in the future.

"Done." He flashed his uncle and the dwarven king a satisfied smile.

"Great job, buddy. You can go rest and I'll pick you up later for sightseeing." Pero patted Mare's shoulder, turning to Gazel. "Kaijin wanted to show us some places, I hope you don't mind us wandering around the city."

"The guards are notified about your visit so there shouldn't be any problems," Gazel replied, looking around the cavern in awe. "I would like to borrow your nephew's extraordinary abilities in the future, if possible."

"I think that can be arranged. We can set up the agreed teleportation location here, and Mare can arrive when you and he agree to it, but you'll have to compensate him adequately for his time."

Gazel accepted his proposal instantly. With the angel attack being all but inevitable, exchanging money and raw material for instantly created caverns was but a small price to pay for life-saving shelters capable of holding hundreds or thousands at a time. The last attack happened during his father's rule, but from what he knew, even with all the preparations the loss of life was colossal during those cataclysmic times. He would have to draft up long-term contracts with the boy to create hundreds of these massive caves and extensive tunnel networks, and consult his advisors regarding the payments.

With the research space prepared now, it was time to gather the personnel and prepare the workstations. While droves of dwarves carried down crates full of iron ore and lamps to illuminate the place by hand or by cart, Tempest's team, consisting of a few freshly spawned brain eaters, doppelgangers, and of course the usual ibis head priests of Thoth, arrived through a gate and immediately began to mingle with the dwarven team, who were already discussing the content of the provided blueprints among themselves.

They were followed by an army of skeletons carrying raw materials, components for elemental forges, various tools, and a few prototype molds that were already developed in Tempest. The dwarves shuddered and inched away upon sight, but were quickly reassured by their lauded king and resumed their debates.

It likely would take months before the whole facility is set up and could be run with any amount of proficiency, but there wasn't much that could be done about it without revealing Nazarick's true capabilities. It would also make for good data gathering regarding Dwargon's true capabilities in logistics and communication as well, something Demiurge was more than happy to assign more, secret monsters for.

He had sent another undocumented group of creatures that came with the rest of the personnel: specters. Until now, there were only four in Dwargon getting spied upon: Gazel, Jaine, Henrieta, and Vaughn, the supreme commander of Dwargon's military, but now all entities who held positions of interest would be under observation as well.

{ Lord Peroroncino, we are ready to observe Dwargon's secret research. } One of them messaged him as the ghastly figures slipped past him to reach the surface level of the capital, flitting across the nation.

{ Great, just don't sabotage anything before reporting it back to Demiurge. These guys are our allies, at least for now. } Pero replied, glancing at Gazel. Like most, he couldn't even detect the stealthiest unit Nazarick had at its disposal. So far Elmesia was the only one to notice them, which was reassuring for Tempest.

{ Understood. }

'Now that everything is set up, I should be able to kick back for a few days. I just need to find that disgraced scientist, covertly send him to Tempest, and maybe pick up a few elf girls if my schedule would allow it.' His mind returned to expanding his already impressive collection once again, and how he would have to ensure the concubines accepted them.

X

"Don't you think it's a bit much?" Momonga asked Buku who was intently glaring at the scene shown by a remote viewing mirror. The mirror glimmered, occasionally changing perspective per Buku's commands.

Her targets of not-so-subtle surveillance were her brother and her son. Both were walking through the dwarven capital, through dimly lit alleyways and streets Buku disapproved of.

"I don't trust that pervy bird. He will drag Mare into a whorehouse the moment I look away." Buku replied, zooming in on Pero's face to analyze his expressions.

Momonga tapped his fingers against the sofa's armrest. The situation needed to be addressed, but considering Buku's temper he wasn't looking forward to it one bit. He'd have to tackle it here and now, given the ideal situation of the two separated through distance.

The siblings' bickering was getting out of hand. Buku's increased stress about her children growing up and Pero's often careless remarks went together like potassium and water, causing inefficiencies and oftentimes chaos within Nazarick when the two clashed. The Dwargon expedition, for example, had been delayed for hours because of a statement from Pero regarding not needing to pack luggage due to their wealth, resulting in Buku bustling Mare away to pack him enough luggage to last the child months in fear of Pero deciding that seductive women were worth more than child-rearing common sense.

Their vastly different daily schedules didn't help the situation either. Buku often worked well into the night and slept way past sunrise, while her brother was up with the sun and when possible ended his workday by mid-afternoon. This meant there were few opportune moments to reconcile the two, resulting in continuous estrangement.

"You know this cannot go on." Momonga finally stated.

"What can't go on?" Buku asked, glancing up from the mirror.

"You and Pero are at each other's throats on a daily basis. You're spying on your own brother and don't see any problem with it?"

"He is up to no good, and will be if left unsupervised. Even now, his mind is riddled with thoughts of collecting more women for his household."

"He is an envoy to a foreign country. Whatever paranoid suspicions you have in your mind need to be addressed now, so everyone can move on."

"Paranoia? Really now, Momo? You of all people are lecturing me on paranoia." Buku dropped her voice a few tones lower, dripping with sarcasm, eyes glowing.

'If I let this pass, it will grow only worse over time.' Momonga decided to plunge into the maw of the beast and brave the journey.

"I am not the one spying on one of our own. Both Pero and Mare know what they are doing. Do you want to become one of those parents who do not let their children live their lives?"

Buku's eyes widened as her face twisted in a snarl. She pushed the mirror aside and jumped to her feet. "Don't tell me how to raise my son! I know my brother far better than you! Or are you telling me to neglect him, because if you are-"

The extensive research of psychology Momonga had indulged in as of late, plus hours of internal debate through Omniscience, had made the motivations of Buku rather clear. 'No turning back now.'

"This is not about Pero. Are you afraid Mare will turn out like him?"

"Mare is a good boy!" Buku exclaimed.

"Then why are you watching his every move? Do you seriously think he can't be left in Pero's care for a few days? He needs a male figure to look up to. Tell me, has Pero broken your trust in that regard?" Momonga asked, refusing to waver in her increasingly furious presence.

"He… You don't know how he is. You-"

"You and he often act very similarly. Are you telling me I should mistrust both of you?"

"What? No! He and I are not the same. What the fuck are you implying?" Buku shouted.

"You tell me."

Buku stared at Momonga in disbelief. 'Does he see us both the same? Sure I went for Benimaru while Pero…oh fuck. He sees us in the same light. Dammit, his girls likely gave him all the details about how Pero and I instructed them when it came to seduction, and sees me as some sort of whore. Like recognizes like, after all.'

Buku sat back down and dragged her palms over her face, the mirror moving away to Momonga.

"Am I overreacting?" she groaned, eyes dimming as she leaned back on her sofa.

"Yes."

"I mean. I want to trust Pero won't do anything stupid, but Mare is young and naive, and Pero is collecting girls like he used to with card games."

"I trust Pero won't do anything you would not want to."

Buku returned to watching the mirror, sighing, "You're right, I should probably stop."

Just then they arrived at a particular building in a dark alley. At the entrance was a large glowing sign 'Butterflies of the Night.'

"Is that a brothel!? Momo I fucking told you he-"

"It is not a brothel. Intel says it is just a club with an elven hostess, and there is nothing indecent going on there." Momonga replied, knowing that it was far too late.

Buku pushed the mirror aside and shouted. "Like hell it is. I am going to murder that bird and use his feathers as fertilizer!"

Buku charged out of his office at lightning speed.

{ Do not cause a scene in a Dwargon! }

{ I'll kill that idiot! }

"It is not a brothel…" Momonga sighed. The intel on the establishment was easy to access, considering that Kaijin had reported about it more than once as his favorite club to spend his hard-earned money back when he still lived in Dwargon. Also, it was the location where the disgraced scientist Vesta could often be found beside the streets, among other important figures.

This time she was going too far and something had to be done. It was always hard to argue with Buku, but this time he had to put his foot down as her direct and final superior.

{ Buku, come back right now! } He all but screamed a message, leaning into his authoritative nature.

{ My son is with that perverted bastard! }

{ I'm warning you right now. I won't tolerate you causing a diplomatic incident. If you don't- }

Buku cut off all communication.

'This won't end well.' He shook his head. There was no point in warning Pero as Buku would be there to cause a scene before he could even finish a sentence. That also meant there was no point in warning Mare since the two were together.

For a moment he considered instantly relieving her from all her duties and issuing Rubedo for an enforced house arrest, but then someone else would have to take upon her duties in the meantime, someone he had no actual clue of. They had all been too busy to start raising successors for their positions as of late.

She needed to be punished for sure, but in a way that she still kept her employed.

'I'll scare her by telling her that I'm taking away her position and status, and once she's significantly scared of actually losing her position, I'll let her deal with the fallout of her own making.' Momonga leaned back on the sofa, letting out a tired sigh.

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).

Edited by aidan_lo and Zirmeister

Proofreading by SwissChocolatess, Tophrel, Alassandro, aidan_lo, FantasyTroll, and Visur Nyxan.