Harbingers of Change

After the usual long night spent in solitude, Momonga was preparing for the typical morning influx of servants. For about an hour, Ranga had switched from sleeping in his shadow to laying on his legs and filling the role of a foot warmer. Luckily, Ranga could easily change his size and at this moment was the size of a regular wolf.

The maid who brought in the morning coffee, putting it on the table in front of Momonga, shot the wolf an envious glare, but Ranga as usual pretended to not notice. Being his master's sole pet came with both benefits and detriments.

Momonga picked up the cup and enjoyed the aroma to make the maid happy. The cup of coffee smelt simply divine which was the norm for Nazarick goods.

'I need to figure out how to gain the ability to eat and drink. I could do it once I finish learning about politics and governing. Or maybe I could set that aside… No, I promised myself to learn everything I can to be a better leader first. I can't just rely on Albedo and Demiurge all the time.'

At least he could enjoy the smell for now. He mimicked the motion of closing his eyes for a moment and took a long breath. This was the last moment of peace. Albedo would come at any moment and then the daily planning would start.

The succubus arrived five minutes later, precisely at seven o'clock as she did every morning. Considering the insane punctuality of pretty much every denizen of Nazarick, he could just memorize their daily routines to know the exact time when to expect them.

"Good morning, my Lord." she said with a polite bow.

"Good morning," Momogna replied as Albedo glanced at Ranga with an angry expression and then sat down on the sofa next to the Overlord, way closer than would be considered polite. The scent of her floral fragrance easily overpowered the aroma of the coffee.

'She is definitely doing this on purpose! Why does everyone have to react like this when Ranga is out and about?'

Trying to ignore her pressing against his side, Momonga asked. "What is the first thing on the agenda today?"

Albedo quickly rolled out the map of Tempest and pointed at one of the areas close to the border. "The forest is less dense in this area. It could be used for farming purposes."

"Do we have enough free workforce to develop this area?"

"With the recent influx of citizens, there are seventeen hobgoblin tribes that could be permanently relocated."

"Then you have my permission to assign as many tribes as necessary to this area."

"Thank you, Lord Momonga." Albedo said, leaning in even more.

"Yes. Ahm… Albedo?"

She quickly sat up straight again and continued.

"Demiurge requested an audience to consult with you about diplomatic measures."

"He can arrive whenever he is free."

Momonga had barely finished the sentence as Demiurge entered with a knock.

'That was fast. Did he just wait for me to be ready to receive him? I could have started a bit early… No, they are working way too much as is.'

The archdemon bowed and said with a smirk, "Thank you for indulging me, Lord Momonga."

Not wanting another back and forth with useless pleasantries, Momonga motioned for him to continue.

"I have finished the basic information gathering on the forces currently neighboring Tempest. To the west of Tempest lay territories separating us from the human nations that are mostly populated with various bug species, many of which possess basic intelligence. It would be relatively easy to claim this region without any serious resistance."

"What about the human nations?" Momonga asked. The last thing he wanted was to repeat the Shizue incident and invite more unwanted attention from humans, at least not until he knew how to break Veldora's prison.

"If cautious control over the region is exercised, we should be able to avoid any suspicion. With the careful deployment of our troops, we can let the few adventurers that enter it roam freely and discreetly gather information about the neighboring Kingdom of Falmuth and the Kingdom of Blumund, letting us prepare countermeasures easier, especially if heroes are present. On top of that…"

Momonga raised his skeletal hand to silence the overly eager archdemon. If not interrupted, Demiurge would once again explain every little detail with glee, and Albedo as usual didn't come to his aid and just sat silently.

"I approve your proposal. You can work on a detailed plan on how this territory should be handled."

"Thank you, Lord Momonga." Demiurge said with a wide smile and then quickly resumed a more neutral expression "To the northeast of Tempest lies a vast territory inhabited only by mindless creatures and few hidden elven settlements. I would recommend not touching this territory for now as it can be easily colonized when the population grows to numbers requiring additional territories."

Demiurge pointed out an area on the map that was rolled out on the table and moved his finger to the next point.

"The area around this lake is inhabited by lizardmen, who are united under a single ruler. They rank above named goblins in terms of power but not by much and subjugation would not be hard."

'If I don't put my foot down, he will send out armies to conquer everyone who can speak.' The recent rapid expansion gave enough extra work as-is. Adding a few more species right away would just make things even more chaotic. The territories surrounding human lands held strategic value and needed to be controlled, but the lands belonging to other sentient species could be left alone for now.

"I don't think the expansion to the east is necessary at the moment."

"Of course. I apologize for my shortsightedness." Demiurge said with a bow.

'All invasion plans are a failure. I should have known that Lord Momonga would want a more careful and methodical approach.' The master was looking at him. Was it disappointment in his unmoving skeletal face? He needed to come up with an alternative fast.

'Then an option would be diplomacy and further infiltration with shadow demons. I will present it as an alternative.'

With renewed enthusiasm, he quickly changed his approach and recommended diplomacy toward the lizardmen, ogres, and orcs for now. With more detailed knowledge would come more opportunities to subjugate them in the most crushing way. The same approach would be used when dealing with the elusive dryads whose territory he recently found through the countless eyes of shadow demons exploring the further reaches of Jura.

Momonga could only listen in silent amazement to how quickly Demiurge could change his plan on the spot and present a less expansionist course of action.

"Albedo, Demiurge, I will entrust both of you to work out the details."

"Yes, Lord Momonga." Both of them responded in unison, with their eagerness plainly on display. They were like two children fighting for his praise.

'I hope they will not start sabotaging each other.'

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As daily planning was out of the way, Momonga used the wish of wanting to see how his nation is doing as an excuse for a walk. It was one of those sunny days with a light breeze that felt simply fantastic. With summer coming to an end Momogna wanted to enjoy at least a few more days like this.

With Albedo by his side, he casually strolled through the streets of Tempest's capital. The central part of the city was completed, giving Momonga the chance to admire the completed work of Tempest's eager citizens. The numerous hobgoblins and goblinas passing by and bowing slowed his pace even more.

Even more attention-grabbing were the sprites that buzzed around above the streets. A low-flying, young couple landed and bowed, showing proper respect to him, the absolute ruler of Tempest.

'I need to talk with Pero about their dressing habits.' He mused, trying not to stare at their almost naked bodies. Both looked to be about twenty and covered their bodies with short loincloths, with the girl having something resembling a bikini top to cover her breasts.

The next one to meet was the usually dim-witted Gobta, who, despite being punished by the Guardians more than once, still didn't have the slightest grasp of how to address his superiors.

"Hey, Lord Momonga." Gobta cheerfully said, saluted, and then did a light bow.

{ He will learn over time. There is no need to punish him again! } Momonga quickly sent a message to Albedo before she could smash the poor hobgoblin's face into the pavement.

{ As you wish, my Lord. } Albedo responded in a tone that betrayed her true feelings on the matter.

"Good morning, Gobta. How is life treating you?" Momonga asked.

"I'm doing good. If Lord Pero would take less of our women for himself, it would be even better."

'Oh, that's why there was a fight two days ago. Pero took a girl that Gobta liked as one of his concubines. He really needs to learn how to pick his opponents.'

If not for Pero stopping the fight, Shalltear would likely have killed the hobgoblin who dared to challenge her father.

"From what I heard, he has taken just a few."

"I guess." Gobta said, scratching his head. "At least your girlfriend is from Nazarick, Lord Momonga."

"Girlfriend?" Momonga asked, surprised before catching Albedo blushing from the corner of his eye.

'Wait. Does everyone think…' The emotional suppression came crashing down before he could even finish the thought.

"You should return to your duties, Gobta." Albedo said.

"Sure thing, Lady." Gobta saluted and ran off.

'How do these things always happen?' Momonga asked himself as he continued his walk. He quickly became aware that Albedo was walking much closer to him, with a happy smile on her face.

'Maybe if I regained a body… Maybe she is just protective and not actually interested? What if I'm misunderstanding the whole situation? It could make things awkward. I am her superior; I shouldn't think like this.'

The succubus' presence was a pleasant one, but Buku's explanation of how she and Demiurge were clinging to him because their creators had not returned didn't leave him. As much as he just wanted to see the succubus as someone left in his care, the desires of carnal and romantic nature still surfaced from time to time.

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She needed to learn her new role to absolute perfection. Even some small changes in her tone or mannerisms could betray her true nature while pretending to be Shizue.

Buku stood by a large mirror, looking at a face that wasn't fully hers. She repeated Shizue's mannerisms again and again, trying to replicate her precise yet soft movements. Despite her hard life, she had been a gentle soul, always caring about others.

There also were some minor height differences, since the form Buku used as her default one was taller and more muscular, with more defined feminine features. If she could look however she wanted, there was no real point in holding back and not going all out on the looks.

Buku took a step back from the mirror and took out Shizue's sword from her inventory, giving it a few swings. Even the fighting style should be replicated in case there is a need to fight beside someone who knew the Conqueror of Flames.

Pandora's Actor had given her an extra skill that helped with reaction and learning speed, so getting down the basics was not that hard. Another thing entirely was to master the |Lord of Fire|. Unlike Shizue, who had to put a lot of effort into manifesting flames and not getting overwhelmed by Ifrit, Buku could easily burn everything around her to ashes.

The only safe space where she could even practice it in the entire Great Tomb was the seventh floor, and even then the fire-oriented creatures kept a safe distance from her, as a small mistake could incinerate everything but pure fire elementals.

It took some time to learn to apply a fire enchant on a sword and not melt it. So many base-level swords were rendered unusable, but once she got the hang of it, the cutting power of the weapons coated with a layer of pure fire went through the roof.

It still wasn't the best idea to practice it in her quarters, so for now Buku practiced movements of the sword without any enchants. Everything needed to be perfect, even the facial movements when the mask was off.

Of course, the mask that Shizue wore gave her at least some room to ease off, but it would not always be the case.

The last thing to master was Shizue's speaking patterns. With Buku being primarily a voice actress, that was the easiest step of the whole learning process. Rather quickly, she could perfectly replicate the soft tone and rather calm manner of speaking.

Satisfied with the results, she teleported to the entrance of Momonga's office and entered with a knock. With a soft smile, she said "Greetings, Lord Momonga."

Albedo's immediate reaction of getting between her and Momo was all the proof she needed of how good it was. Before the overly eager Guardian could attack her, Buku giggled and said in her more usual high-pitched voice.

"Convincing, isn't it?"

"Lady Bukubukuchagama?" Albedo asked suspiciously. Without sensing the Supreme Being's aura, she was too thrown off to recognize her before Buku spoke in her usual tone

"The same. So, Momo, you think I'm ready to go?"

"It was convincing, but are you sure you can keep it up all the time?" Momonga asked.

"Of course I can. I am an actress, you know?"

"I'll take your word for it."

"Don't worry, I won't be reckless. I can't make the twins orphans once again. Anyway, if Solution is ready and everything else is prepared, I would like to depart as soon as possible."

"I will notify Solution to join you, Lady Bukubukuchagama." Albedo said with a bow.

Her biggest role yet. Buku couldn't be more nervous and excited at the same time. The safety of five children depended on her performance, and she was not about to let them down, even if her feelings on the matter were inherited.

Edited by Edgy