Feeling the gentle wind and smelling the forest outside trumped even the sixth floor of Nazarick. Blue Planet's creation was amazing, to be sure, but no matter how you looked at it, everything inside the Great Tomb was artificially made. The gentle grass trampled by the mighty paws of their mounts, the buzzing of insects, and the rustling of small creatures among the trees reminded Buku of what was lost in her old world.
Sure, natural parks still existed on earth, but they were off-limits for lower-class citizens like her. Together with her two children, Aura and Mare, Buku enjoyed a lazy ride on the outskirts of Tempest's capital.
The three mighty wolves that spawned randomly inside Aura's domain were instantly tamed and named by her, with the three beasts being particularly proud of being chosen to be the mounts for high-ranking Nazarick members. Both tempest wolves carried elves, and the much more menacing demon wolf got the honor of carrying around Buku herself.
Going outside to meet the new servants and later to name her own tribe proved to be challenging, not that her new form gave her any physical restrictions. The answer lied more so with the fact that there was not a single mirrored area left in her quarters. The once attractive woman was nothing more than a shapeless reddish mass now.
'Maybe I should have taken up the offer of choosing a different form. One quick gulp and done.'
There was the somewhat passable solution of her absorbing one of the nameless Nazarick servants and taking the appearance of a humanoid of her choosing. Her niece, Shalltear, had offered one of her brides as a sacrifice and the nameless vampire even seemed to be thrilled to be of such use. Her moralities, however, prevented her from accepting an offer like that, especially considering that Nazarick's denizens felt like beings that were left in their care.
It was much better to be a monster in appearance than it was to act like one.
Momonga was taking on the bulk of these responsibilities, with her brother taking up the duty of overseeing the economy and industry of the fledgling country only in the last few days. This put her in an awkward position, as she was the only one among the three remaining guild members that was not contributing anything.
The worst part was that she was unsure how to mend the gap between her and Momonga. They once were good friends, but with her and Pero leaving the game behind… What she came to realize after returning was that Satoru didn't replace her and the other guild members with new friends. He just remained by himself, growing more and more distant from everyone.
Luckily, her form gave no outward indication of what went on in her head, as her two children enjoyed her company in blissful ignorance. Both looked forward to the tasks entrusted to them by the Overlord.
'Momo and his assistants should be in town. I should probably talk with him.'
Maybe a quick chat would be the first step in the right direction?
Considering that a few weeks ago there was just a forest with a few grass huts, even the half-built city was a marvel to see. Thanks to everyone being connected to Nazarick, everyone already knew who she was and bowed respectfully.
"T-there is no need to bow. Momonga is your boss, not me." Buku said loudly to the confused hobgoblins. None seemed to act upon her request and still showed the respect someone of her stature should have received.
She liked the attention, but in her past life that attention came from her own accomplishments, not just a given status.
'Goddammit. I shouldn't have been such a mess. Momonga did all the work and I prance around like some spoiled princess without a care in the world.'
She saw a familiar figure standing before a huge hobgoblin up ahead. Buku instantly knew that the goblin's name was Rigurd. There was this faint connection with him and every other named creature, but they had not spoken before. He was talking with the Guardian Overseer, Albedo.
Buku looked around for her friend, but Momonga was nowhere to be seen. She rode closer, and the pair noticed her and greeted Buku with a bow.
"Lady Bukubukuchagama."
"Hey, is Momonga somewhere around?" Buku asked.
"I am sorry, but Lord Momonga already left." Albedo said.
There was something in her expression that Buku didn't like. Albedo wore a polite smile, but her eyes told a different story. There was… Disdain? Maybe even hatred? This was one of the closest advisors to Momonga, so she couldn't just ignore it.
"Kids, you can go do your tasks. I need to talk with Albedo."
"Yes, mother." The twins happily responded as a previously prepared goblin rider escort followed each of them.
Mare was asked to make hills for watchtowers and forts, and Aura was to examine the more bestial monsters that had popped up in Tempest. They posed a threat to the less combat-oriented citizens and needed to be dealt with.
"What do you wish to discuss, my lady?" Albedo asked politely once Aura and Mare were out of sight and Rigurd had returned to his own duties.
"Let's walk." Buku responded and led her wolf towards the quieter part of the town, with Albedo following.
Once she was sure no one could hear them, Buku asked.
"So, what is your problem with me?"
"My lady?" Albedo asked, confused.
"Let's drop the formalities. Speak to me however you like, just answer the question. What is your problem with me?"
"I have no problem with you, Lady Bukubukuchagama."
"Bullshit! You didn't tell Momonga I was coming!"
There was silence from the succubus, who slowly walked beside the wolf looking away.
"If there is a problem, I want to resolve it. If you want to play fucking games, it will not end well neither for me nor you!"
"I just want to protect Lord Momonga." Albedo finally said.
"From me?"
"From all threats."
Buku knew her creator and his twisted ideas of how to make characters. Who knows what kind of insanity was written in her core personality? But the idea of this succubus, this monster, was trying to keep her friend isolated from his friends, from her. With a tone that would freeze the blood in one's veins, she spoke,
"So you want to isolate him from others, huh? For what, to be the one in control? I have met women like you before."
"No." the succubus said quietly, startled at the outburst of her superior.
"I told you, you can speak freely. Tell me what is your problem with me. That is an order!"
"You, my lady, left. Just like everyone else. Day after day, we waited for our creators. Day after day, he waited alone sitting on the throne. Each day, I looked at how Lord Momonga activated the guild member list and hoped to see someone, anyone, coming back. I stood and watched his hopes be crushed each and every day."
Albedo's expression changed to cold, hateful fury. "And then you and Lord Peroroncino came back. YOU BLAMED LORD MOMONGA FOR THE CHANGES! I know he waited for the end. He talked about it. He waited for the day when there would be no Nazarick. No us. You came back and BLAMED HIM for the end not happening!"
Buku listened to the demoness ranting. Not from her exes, nor from fans turned haters, never she had felt such hatred coming towards her from anyone. The succubus hated her more than anyone ever had. The truly worst part about it all was that she had a point.
However, just as quickly, the hate started to fade away. Albedo's expression turned to a gentle smile once again as she quietly added,
"I apologize for my outburst. I should not speak to a Supreme Being in such a manner, even if ordered to do so."
Knowing about the fact that Nazarick's denizens had memories of things that happened before the arrival to this world and becoming real, she could never have imagined that Albedo would know about the server shutdown. What kind of things had Momonga said out loud, thinking no one was listening? Just how lonely he was to speak with the NPCs in a game?
This wasn't some monster manipulating Momonga for her own ends. Albedo was just as frightened and lost as the twins or Shalltear were, and the only one she could cling to was Momonga, and Buku screamed at him the very moment the succubus had come to life.
Albedo's first, genuine experience was seeing Buku freak out and blame Momonga for the world not ending. The Overseer's gaze was turned away from her, but the struggle to keep her emotions in check was evident on succubus' face.
"I didn't mean it that way… I… Sorry." Buku tripped over her own words. How could she even begin to apologize for her behavior? Not only to Albedo, but to Momonga as well.
Telling the truth of Nazarick being just data before the transportation was not an option, but she had to say something.
"I didn't want all of you to be gone and Yggdrasil to end, but we couldn't do anything to stop it. When we were transported, here I… I freaked out about being stuck in this body and for the fact that I cannot return to the world we came from. I understand your perspective, and if you want to hate me, you can hate me as much as you want, but I want to make one thing clear: I don't want to hurt you, Momonga, or anyone else from Nazarick."
Albedo stood silently, looking away.
"Albedo, please look at me."
The succubus turned to face her again with her gentle smile. Her eyes still told a different story.
"I never meant to hurt anyone. How can I start to make it up to you?"
"You don't need to. I am a mere servant."
"No, you are not just a servant. Momo, Pero, and I are not just your superiors. We are supposed to take care of you all. If you ever need anything from me please reach out."
After a moment of contemplation, Albedo said "Don't hurt him more."
"I will do my best. That is a promise."
With nothing else to say, Buku turned her mount and slowly left the scene. She could only hope at least some of her words had hit their mark and that she would have the chance to mend the wounds she had caused.
‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›
There was another person Buku needed to talk to. Once a close friend of hers and Pero, who she had neglected to interact with.
To not interrupt his work of handling the growing kingdom and ever-busy Nazarick, Buku waited for evening to come and only then arrived at Momonga's quarters. Pero had said a thing or two about Momonga's mental state and his struggles with his new body, and it was time for her to resume the role of the 'big sister' she once held in the guild.
After knocking and being invited inside, she walked in and was met with Momonga, who was looking over some documents while sitting on the sofa. The obligatory maid stood at the entrance. The smell of freshly made coffee and pastries invaded her senses, although she found it weird, knowing that Momonga couldn't eat or drink.
"Hey Momo, are you busy with anything?"
"Oh Buku, nice to see you. No, not at all." the Overlord replied and then addressed the maid standing at the door, "Etoile, could you please leave for a moment?"
The maid bowed and walked outside, closing the door behind her. At least he didn't fight with Nazarick's staff about privacy when more than one Supreme Being was involved.
Buku slid over and sat down on the sofa opposite to him.
"So…" Momonga started.
"I am sorry." Buku said, louder than she intended.
"For what? Did something happen?"
"For everything. For me freaking out when you needed my support, for me blaming you, for everything."
"I understand."
"No, you don't. Shit, Momo you can be angry at me as well, okay!? I have been nothing but a bitch from the moment we got stuck here." Buku said with a noticeable bubbling of her gelatinous body. "I was so absorbed in my own problems that I didn't even look around and think about others."
"It is fine, Buku, really. You didn't want to be here. You had every right to be upset. It's easy for me, as I had nothing back on earth."
"You really should put your foot down once in a while, too much depends on you now."
"You don't have to remind me." Momonga said with a sigh. It was good to see old Buku back.
"So how are you doing, really?"
"I think it's fine. I do not know how Albedo and Demiurge have not yet figured out that they are doing all the proper planning and most of the work."
"Maybe they don't want to." Buku said.
"What do you mean?"
"No child wants to admit that their parents are not perfect. They may look and act like adults, but all of them have been alive for only a month. They need your guidance more than you think, Momo. Don't worry, I will help you however I can."
"Thank you. I hoped that part of you would come back."
"You know sister Buku has your back," she said with a cheerful chuckle in her high-pitched voice.
It was the first time since arrival Momonga heard her use her 'happy' voice to speak directly to him. Maybe he wasn't alone in all this and could rely on his friends after all.
"Pero suggested you could help with some cultural development. Otherwise, everyone is just working all the time." Momonga said.
"Pushing work on me already? You have no shame, big brother Momo, you know that." Buku said in the deepest voice she could but switched back to her high-pitched one right away, "I'll see what I can do. "
"Anything helps, really. I have no idea how to run a country, to be honest."
"Don't worry about it. Just do as most leaders and give duties to competent helpers."
"Already doing that."
"Speaking of your helpers, you should talk with Albedo."
"About what?"
"She needs reassurance that everything will be alright and that you are not leaving or are threatened by me and my brother."
"Why would she think you and Pero are a threat to me?"
"Because of my freakout and maybe due to the things you spoke about to yourself before she was real."
"Oh… that… I…"
"You don't have to explain, Momo. Just talk to her. She needs it."
He already knew Nazarick's denizens remembered events before they became alive, but he had not thought about things he told to himself in the presence of Albedo intentionally. She memorized all of it. Emotional suppression did its best to force him back to a calm state and, with few attempts, succeeded, as always.
"Buku, I don't know… I…"
"Momo, you can speak with me just fine, can't you? She is no different, despite being a solid ten."
"That's not what I meant."
"Sure thing, like you could hide things from me!" Buku giggled. "I know you find her attractive, any man would. But she looks up to you and needs your support just as much as you need her to run things."
"Fine, fine. I'll talk to her and a few other NPCs."
"You want me to take a few of your shoulders?"
"Yes, you could talk with the Pleiades and Victim."
"I'm on it." Buku said.
If anything, she needed to start carrying her own weight around the tomb and start helping all the ones who didn't have their creators back, unlike her own creations, Aura and Mare. She still desired a human body, but it wasn't a priority anymore. One day she would get one either way.
Edited by Edgy.