Not wanting to risk an incident, Treyni teleported to a clearing just outside of Tempest's territories on the agreed day and awaited the arrival of the border guards. If the nation, indeed, was under the Storm Dragon's protection, an unnecessary conflict would be an unforgivable insult towards the Lord of the forest.
A few moments later, a hooded deadman appeared, followed by two plate-clad deadmen, and approached her, lightly floating above the forest floor.
"Lady Treyni, welcome to the Tempest Hegemony. Lord Momonga sends a tool that will help you travel through our lands unrestricted." the deadman said, handing her a small, open box with a simple necklace inside.
She carefully touched the artifact but didn't sense any hostility, curse, or malice from it. With a polite bow, she accepted the gift and put it around her semi-translucent neck. The sensation of reconnecting with the nature inside Tempest hit her like a shockwave as it welcomed the dryad and urged her to appear within the capital.
'All of that nature was just hidden from my vision, not subjugated. That is a relief.'
Following the instructions, she quickly teleported to the capital and appeared before the castle. An older man approached her and bowed. "Lady Treyni, Lord Momonga is ready to receive you."
"Thank you. Please lead the way." She responded with a slight tilt of her head. There was something particular about this man. He looked fully human and his aura was clearly hidden, but she could sense vast power hidden beneath the veils of secrecy, a power that was draconic in nature.
'I wonder for what reason they are hiding their power? I will have to ask this Lord Momonga.' Treyni mused as she followed the man towards the throne room. She noticed hobgoblin servants working diligently around the castle, but even a passive observation clearly showed that they were happy and eager to do their best.
'He doesn't rule through fear. Maybe my initial suspicions were misplaced. Maybe they are more well-intentioned than I first thought, though that demon's presence still unnerves me…'
What was more curious was the excessive amount of artwork portraying three figures: a skeletal deadman, a birdman, and what looked like a human woman, although Treyni safely assumed she was a majin as well. It was hard to tell if such a display of vanity was due to overly eager servants or the narcissism of the rulers.
The walk through the castle wasn't particularly long, and soon enough the elderly butler opened the door to the throne room and motioned for her to proceed inside. She walked inside and approached the throne with a confident stride.
On the throne sat the skeletal deadman who without a doubt was Lord Momonga, especially considering the number of statues depicting him Treyni saw on the way here. Beside the throne stood two demons. Just like the butler, all three hid their power which was still undeniably there.
Treyni stopped a proper distance away from the throne and bowed, "Thank you for the invitation, Supreme Overlord Momonga Tempest. I am Treyni, and I speak for the treants and dryads."
"Was our interaction with the lands we hold satisfactory for the standards of forest guardians?" Momonga asked. This dryad was much more powerful than any other forest dweller he had interacted with. As for now, the dryad was the only creature that had bypassed the patrolling shadow demons unnoticed.
It was clear that she alone would not pose a threat to either the guardians or the other two players, but there was also no need to antagonize her and her kind at the moment.
"Yes. Nature welcomed me once I was able to sense it. Thank you for letting this reunion happen. I would like to talk with the lord of nature if that's possible."
"Lord of nature?"
"The elven boy who holds dominion over nature. He is part of this nation, isn't he?"
'Should I let her talk with Mare? There should not be too much harm in it, especially with Albedo and Demiurge present.'
With Buku away, the decision was solely his to make. If the dryads were heavily interested in the guardian's skill then maybe they could be swayed to join Tempest without subjugation. Surely that would be a better outcome than sending armies.
{ Mare, could you please come to the throne room? The one in Tempest's castle.}
{ Yes, my lord. I'll be there in a moment. }
After a minute, Mare teleported in and kneeled in front of the throne. "Lord Momonga, you called?"
The overlord looked at the boy, noticing that he was wearing a different outfit. Instead of the usual clothing, he was dressed in sand-colored shorts and a shirt with knee-high leather boots.
'Hmm, I guess Buku really was ashamed about him wearing girl's clothing. I better not say anything.'
"Rise, Mare, there is someone who wishes to talk with you." Ainz said and motioned at Treyni.
Mare stood up and turned around to face the dryad with a wary expression. "Yes, lady?"
"The trees and grass speak highly of you, young lord. On behalf of my kind, I wish to offer an alliance in protecting the forest. Would you permit me to sense your unrestricted aura?"
Mare turned to look at Momonga questioningly.
'She wants to know our power, or maybe just wants to see if Mare is stronger than her. I'd better ask for some advice.'
At this point, he had given up the hope that both Albedo and Demiurge would even consider the possibility that he genuinely needed their advice and was not just testing them, but the result was the same nonetheless: he could rely on their intellect.
{ Demiurge, Albedo, your input on her request? }
{ We have already observed how lesser beings react to a clear display of power. If Mare would let her sense his unrestricted aura, there is no doubt in my mind that we could get dryads to ally or even serve Tempest. } Demiurge was first to respond.
{ She could be an agent of an unknown third party, probing our power level. That said, a clear display of power would serve as a deterrent for weaker forces to attempt to invade your nation, Lord Momonga. }
Both pretty much advised the same course of action for different reasons. Momonga met Mare's questioning gaze and nodded in agreement with the request. Mare turned his head back to face the dryad and quickly took off his ring of false data.
'Such Power! This is the true might of one who rules over nature? He… he bends the knee to Lord Momonga. Could it be that nature is supposed to serve the one who stands even above it? Lord Veldora could not be wrong in entrusting to rule over the forest to these beings… these Gods.'
She quickly kneeled and said with a trembling voice " Forgive me for doubting you, my lord. On behalf of dryads and treants, let us help you guard the forest."
"Um…Y-you s-should ask that to Lord Momonga." Mare quietly said.
Remembering how bad things had gone in his previous world, Momonga was well aware of what could happen if nature was ignored in the name of careless progress. Allies who understood that as well would be invaluable in the long term. Seeing the trembling dryad determined to serve Mare, he could not pass up the opportunity to add another species to Nazarick.
"Are you truly prepared to serve under Mare?" Momonga asked the dryad.
"Not blind servitude, no. Our first duty is to protect the forest." Treyni said with her voice shaking. Despite everything, her prime duty was to protect the forest even against impossible threats.
"I have seen the consequences of what happens when the needs of nature are ignored. I wish to extend an offer for treants and dryads to join Tempest under the command of Mare. We all would benefit from your expertise."
'He uses sweet words, not brute force. This Lord Momonga is a cunning one. And the Lord of Nature is listening to his every word without even questioning it. I will have to go with my instincts and trust his offer is genuine.'
"We will join Tempest and work under Lord Mare. We dryads may travel the forest freely and can assist Tempest wherever the need arises, but treants are stationary by nature and will not leave our groove." Treyni said as she stood up.
"That is acceptable. You have my word that we will come to your aid if there ever is a need for our protection." Momonga said.
'How to approach this? She already has a name, so naming is out of the question. A title? Maybe, but then what do I do with others? Oh, I forgot that the situation with the kobolds is the same.'
A quick idea came to mind. What if he used Nazarick directly and connected Treyni to it as a servant? There was only one way to find out: he quickly mentally activated Nazarick's servant list and added Treyni to it.
The dryad looked up and asked. "Lord Momonga, what is this skill I just received?"
"Everyone in Tempest is connected to me via Nazarick. You are no exception. Consider yourself officially part of Tempest. I will add the others once you can provide me with the list of their names, or if some are without a name, I will name them."
"Understood. Would you mind if I inspected the lands of Tempest to see where my help is needed? The other dryads would do the same."
"I have no objections, but coordinate your actions with Mare, and ask for his approval if something needs to be changed."
"As you command." Treyni said.
With no restrictions, she could quickly return home and report her decision. Her instincts told her it was the right choice, even though rationally she concluded that such a choice could be a curse as much as a blessing.
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With another territory successfully added to Tempest, Peroroncino decided to personally visit the new species and inspect the lands for resources. With Shalltear by his side, he arrived in the insect-filled parts of the forest. Considering their invaluable skills, Aura and Mare came with them as well.
Pero wasn't exactly the biggest fan of bugs, but if they were intelligent enough, he could look past it and work with them just the same.
"Aura, Mare, do any of you sense anything worth investigating."
"No, Lord Peroronchino. All the herbs can be found in other parts of Tempest as well. I will map out the locations for gatherers." Mare said.
"Ohh, there are some sort of giant pigs about two kilometers to the south, but they are too weak to be worth taming."
"You could catch some just in case they can be domesticated." Pero said. "But you can do it later I guess. Let's go talk with the bugs first."
Pero walked towards the main insectar settlement. He could have teleported but ever since they were in this world, he had gotten a habit of taking walks outside. It was something that was a chore on earth, but here it was calming and refreshing.
His three assistants dutifully followed him as he walked at a leisure pace just enjoying the weather.
"Say, Aura, are you wearing heels or something?" Shalltear suddenly asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" the surprised elf asked back.
"I distinctly remember that you and Mare were the same height, but now you are about a centimeter taller."
"That can't be right." Aura protested.
"One way to find out." Pero chipped in. "Just stand with your backs together, and we will be the judges."
Reluctantly, the elven siblings followed the suggestion. It was undeniable; Aura was a little bit taller than Mare. It would have been easy to write it off as different boots, but both were wearing their default ones.
'Are they growing up at a human rate? Sis was taller during her early teens compared to me.' While Pero tried to find a reason for the change, he noticed another thing he hadn't paid attention to before: Shalltear had a heartbeat.
'Wait a minute did she always have a heartbeat? She was supposed to be undead. Something weird is going on. I'll think about this later. It's probably not a big deal anyway.'
"Yep, Aura is taller." Pero said.
"As it should be. I am the big sister." Aura announced triumphantly, with Mare looking defeated.
"Don't be upset, buddy. Girls grow up faster at this age. You will catch up and outgrow her in no time." Pero consoled Mare.
Was it possible that when they were adapted to the world, with skills came some other subtle changes no one was aware of? If he remembered correctly, according to Yggdrasil lore, elves reached their adulthood at about two hundred fifty and should not be growing up so fast.
Shalltear's situation was even more unclear. If vampires were considered living in this world, would she grow up? That was not a thought Pero wanted to entertain at this moment, so he just pushed it aside and concentrated on the current task.
The outskirts of the village were already visible. The group led by the avian quickly reached the region's central hub. With insectars mostly living under the ground, the architecture was vastly different from Tempest's capital. Save for a few administrative buildings, the entire area was covered with large mounds of dirt as rows of insects marched in and out of the numerous doors leading underground.
It was fascinating to see how the relatively small beetles carried stone blocks and bags filled with excess sand ten times their weight on their backs. The wasp-like ones buzzed around, coordinating the work together with a few sprites that were assigned here to help.
Finally, one of the humanoid bugs noticed them and landed in front of Pero, kneeling, "Lord Pero, we were waiting for you."
"Rise, I'm not big on formalities. You are Apito, right?"
"Yes, my lord." Apito said and rose to her feet. "We have prepared the goods for your inspection."
"Great. Aura and Mare, after some sightseeing, you can go do your tasks, but be careful."
"Yes, Lord Peroroncino." the elven siblings said and hurried off. The wasp turned to lead him and Shalltear towards the largest mound. As much as Pero paid attention to buildings, his attention was devoted to the guide as well. Although she had a humanoid form, even he needed to think twice if he was adventurous enough for that kind of experience.
The underground passages were made high and spacious enough for free movement. Apito led them to the central storage where another wasp-like insectar was waiting for them with goods put on the table.
"Is that honey?" Pero asked as his gaze fell to a small glass jar.
"Yes, made by my brood." Apiro proudly said. His only experience with honey was the artificial honey-flavored sweets back on earth, so his curiosity got the better of him and, against all manners, he stuck a talon in the jar and licked it.
'Holy shit that is delicious.' To not sound overly enthusiastic, he said "Not bad. Can you prepare more samples and send them to the capital? No doubt the chefs will find a lot of uses for it."
'I will have to bribe chefs to get a large part of it for myself. This can't get out to the public before the supply is large enough.'
"I will prepare a few liters for testing."
Next on the table were a few rolls of white, very thin fabric.
"Spider silk and hell moth silk. Light, durable, and because of heavy magicule infusion, has magical properties." Apito explained. "And this is burrower worm meat. Very nutritious and delicious. We prepared both raw and cooked samples."
'Worm meat? Does she really expect me to taste it? I guess it can't be worse than the shit they fed us back on Earth.' Pero mused and picked up a piece of cooked meat. Same as with the honey, Pero didn't expect it to taste so good. Unsure if it was his now more predatory nature, or just the quality of the meat, after sampling the cooked piece, he picked up the raw one and tasted it as well.
"This is so good." he said as he was savoring the taste. "Send a proper amount of examples of all goods to the capital. We have to start mass production."
"As you command, my lord." Apito said with a bow and a smile.
'I have to do some proper research into insectars. Who knows? Maybe it's totally worth it.' Pero mused with one last glance at the wasps, as he returned back to Nazarick.
Edited by Edgy
Proofreading - placid_void and I AM STRING CUTTER