Two days had passed, and Buku was finally ready to explain what had happened to her. What Momonga found strange was that Buku had requested for the floor guardians to be present as well. Whatever she had to say clearly was important enough for them to hear.
Momonga had gathered the guardians in his quarters, which was recently cleared of all the clutter by Pandora's Actor. His son had been adamant to make a special section in the treasury for all the items Momonga had stashed in his quarters despite them having no practical use. However, he managed to hide the most interesting ones in his inventory before the dutiful treasury guardian got his hands on them.
With the extra space came an expanded guest corner. Somehow he had managed the near-impossible task of getting the guardians to sit down. He was sitting in the middle of a large sofa, with Albedo sitting on his right and Demiurge on his left. Lately they had ramped up their competition for his attention and thus needed to be watched over a bit more than usual.
From what he had gathered from psychology books found in the library, their behavior was a natural consequence of Buku's and Pero's return. Since some of the floor guardians had their creators back, both of the demons clung to the player they revered the most, besides their absent creators.
Both Pandora's Actor and Cocytus sat on large chairs next to one another. Though they weren't as combative for his attention, both the Greater Doppelganger and the Vermin Lord also demanded at least some of his time.
The only one standing was Sebas, but he rationalized it with the fact that a butler should never be casual around his master, even if ordered to do so.
The final two currently present were Rubedo and Victim. Rubedo sat opposite Pandora's Actor, and Victim sat on a small chair beside her, swinging his legs in boredom. The transformation process had made him from a once fetus-looking angel into a small boy who looked about six years old. The only feature of his old self remaining were the small, twig-like wings on his back.
The only explanation he got for the change came from |Dark Sage|. Apparently powerful monsters had a tendency to become more human-like. He had no answer as to how this happened, same as with why there was no change in the majority of the more monstrous Nazarick denizens. Some now had more human-like features but most remained the same as they were in Yggdrasil.
The only one absent was Gargantua. He wasn't exactly intelligent enough to participate in any sort of meaningful conversation, and more importantly his immense size prevented him from even entering the ninth floor of Nazarick in the first place.
Pero was the first of the two siblings to arrive. Known for his punctuality he, as usual, didn't disappoint.
The moment he came in all the guardians stood up and bowed in a choreographed motion.
"Hello everyone. I see sis is late as usual." Pero said and plopped down on the corner of a sofa opposite Momonga. With the rest of the guardians sitting down once again, Shalltear stood by her creator, unsure how to react.
"Sweety, you can sit down as well." Pero said, patting a spot next to him. Still a bit uncertain, she accepted his invite and sat down.
Buku arrived soon after, dressed in casual pants and a shirt, with her two children in tow. Like clockwork, the guardians repeated the standing up and bowing, with Shalltear joining them this time.
"Everyone is here. Good." Buku said, sitting down and pulling down the elven twins as well.
"How are you feeling?" Momonga asked, concerned. Although now it was rather easy to read her mood as Buku, save for the golden eyes that looked fully human, she was a good actress and could easily assume facial expressions she deemed fit for the occasion.
"Better. I finally get back some sense of normalcy. Solution helped me to understand what I did wrong."
"Oh?"
"I was supposed to absorb only Shizue's body and skills, but instead I absorbed her completely, fusing her soul into mine. While her personality is gone, all her memories and experiences are part of me now." Buku started and then quickly added, "Oh you don't have to worry, I now know how to do it properly."
"If you have her memories, do you know why she attacked and killed our border guards?" Momonga asked.
"It's a bit hazy. She didn't even know Tempest existed and just wanted to get past our territory. When the border guards first tried to turn her away and then detain her, she unleashed the spirit within as the last resort. Shizue, despite looking like this, was over 70 years old, and her body was starting to break down. She wanted to help her students, five summoned children whose magical energies are rapidly growing out of control. If nothing is done, they will live for less than a year. Now they are my responsibility."
"Sis, you can't just run off on a quest to help some random kids who knows where!"
"I know where they are. Do any of you have any idea as to how to decrease magical energy in one's body?"
"The |Drain Mana spell| could provide a temporary solution, Lady Bukubukuchagama, but we have no information if a long-term solution exists or even is possible." Demiurge chipped in.
"Shizue was summoned as a child here and the demon lord who summoned her did something to make her body stable. It may be the spirit that was pushed inside her or maybe something else. Her own memories of that time are somewhat repressed and hard to recall." Buku said and leaned back on the sofa with a sigh.
"Look, everyone, I inherited all her knowledge and memories. I know a lot more about this world now than any of you, and I want to try to tell you the basics at least."
It finally made sense why Buku wanted everyone to be present. What otherwise would have taken a lot of time and careful planning was now readily available because of her.
"First off, humans, in general, are not too fond of monsters and the main religion is very antagonistic towards the monsters, even if in a technical sense all otherworlders are closer to monsters than humans."
"So humans in this world are just as full of shit as in our former one?" Pero asked.
"More or less, yes. I'm not saying we need to kill them all, but it's better to be prepared if someone gets a stupid idea. That said, another thing I know now is that the hero who imprisoned Veldora was Shizue's teacher in the past, but she disappeared a few decades ago."
"It means she can still be alive." Momonga said. So heroes could live for a very long time and one that was a clear danger may still be out there.
"I think it is possible, but she may have been an outlier, not the norm. Shizue was considered one of humanity's champions, but the power she and the fire spirit added to my own was minuscule at best."
"Still, we may have to prepare countermeasures for a time where heroes decide to attack us without provocation. Did anyone know she was going to travel through Jura?" Momonga asked.
"Few people knew. I could pretend to be her, with some training that is."
"Mom, will you leave us again?" Aura asked with a raised voice.
"Not for long, and I can always teleport back. At worst you will not see me for a few days. I need to not only cover our bases with Shizue's disappearance, but I need to help those kids as well."
"I don't think you should go alone." Momonga said.
Buku looked around, seeing that pretty much everyone in the room agreed with Momonga. Not wanting to argue, she tried to come up with a compromise.
"I could take someone with me and train to use my new abilities before the journey, but I need someone who can pretend to be human easily. There are various safeguards made to prevent monsters from freely entering cities. I think the Ring of False Data will hide me well enough, but I am not sure about any kind of illusion magic."
"May I suggest something?" Albedo asked.
"Of course." Buku said with a smile. There was a chance that the succubus would try to set some kind of trap for her as revenge, but if she grows paranoid now then she will always be afraid of the guardians betraying her or her friends, and she didn't want to have that kind of mindset.
"Solution would outwardly pass as a human. Also, I propose to make a strike team in case Lady Bukubukuchagama is in need of assistance."
"That is an excellent suggestion, since she too is a slime. If I am not discovered then she will be safe as well."
"I know it is a lot to ask, but before you set off on your journey, can you write down all the important information you gained through Shizue?" Momonga asked.
"Sure thing. The more everyone knows the better we can protect Nazarick and Tempest. Oh, one more thing. For now, no one knows Tempest exists but once the information spreads we are likely to see an influx of adventurers exploring Jura."
"Hmm, we may have to increase the standing forces outside and better hide the entrance to Nazarick just in case." Momonga said. "Anything else we should know right away?"
"I don't think so. There are a lot of small things, like how the Free Guild rates monsters and how the world map looks, but all those things can wait."
Her insights into human nations could prove invaluable. Part of him also longed for an adventure, but if illusion magic could be detected, and monsters were not exactly welcomed, it would just end in disaster.
Considering just how weak Shizue and the fire spirit within her were, it was rather safe to assume that the number of individuals posing a threat was not that high, but they existed. Caution was warranted, as was an increase in standing armies outside of the Tomb. It was one thing protecting an underground fortress like Nazarick, securing the vast forest territories of Tempest was another case entirely. Some of his subordinates paid the price already.
The wand of resurrection proved to work the same as Pestonya's resurrection ability, but it may have been the case only because |Nazarick| held on to the souls of the wolves and hobgoblins. In any case, Momonga preferred to avoid further deaths if possible.
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Pero and Momonga observed a newly built border checkpoint, with Albedo and Shalltear trailing behind as the bodyguards. Still, no amount of convincing could get them off their backs. Tempest and Dwargon had officially entered a non-aggression pact and agreed to open trade between the two nations. With that came the necessity to make official entry points. The kobolds were chosen as the border clerks for the sole reason that they were much friendlier looking than the liches.
Of course, border security was rapidly increased, and Nazarick's pop monsters patrolled the border constantly, leaving the goblin riders as the internal security force. The nameless, easy to replace monsters were a much better choice than the named denizens of Tempest as first response units.
The current deal with Dwargon let only its citizens enter Tempest without any delay, and merchants from other nations, if they chose to trade through Dwargon, had to acquire a license from Tempest. The cat was out of the bag anyway, and sooner or later human nations would become aware of the monster nation.
The fact that dwarves did seek a peaceful coexistence helped as a deterrent. If one of the strongest militaries in the world sought out a non-aggression pact, it surely meant that Tempest had to be taken seriously.
"So you delegated the border administration and all the finance-related operations to kobolds?" Momonga asked.
"They have a natural talent for it. Besides, the little furballs are rather friendly and diplomatic. I still need to decide what to do with the sprites though."
"Aren't they basically on the level of hobgoblins?"
"That is not the problem. Sprites are rather… violent. I think I will not let them near any visitors for now. We don't want some random merchant getting mauled or eaten alive." Pero said with a humorless chuckle.
"That would be bad. Are you sure you can keep them in check?"
"I don't think they would dare to disobey me. I kinda told them that anyone who violates my orders will be given to Shalltear." Pero said quietly so his daughter would not overhear the conversation.
Momonga turned his head, looking at his friend weirdly. The only detailed recount of Pero's activities came from Shalltear's report, and he was well aware of how terrified the sprites were of the idea of being punished by the sadistic vampire.
{ Don't look at me like that! It is not that bad! }
{ How did you get here Ulbert, and what did you do to Pero? }
{ Unfair, man. I am not as bad as that chuuni psycho. }
{ Sure. }
{ Seriously, I'm not. }
{ If you say so. }
Wanting to divert Momonga's attention from being compared to the most infamous guild member, Pero pointed in the direction of the border, saying,
"Looks like the dwarves are just as paranoid as us. Did you see how much of their forces are close to the border?"
"Demiurge mentioned that. Their King is a careful man and doesn't want to endanger his people."
"Smart guy. We should probably meet with him at some point."
"Only when or if we know that he doesn't pose too much of a threat."
Pero could only nod in agreement. He was more than willing to defend his new home against all threats, but it didn't necessarily mean he wanted to carve the new nation's path with unnecessary bloodshed.
To be basically second in command to an entire nation still felt bizarre, but he was getting used to the new role and embraced it more and more each day.
Edited by Edgy.