With his overall workload, Benimaru had developed the tendency of not wasting any time. He held up the latest military reports with his right hand while he ate a breadstick he held with his left as he walked through one of the castle halls with slow, deliberate steps.
"Brother, there you are!" A familiar voice called out for him. Benimaru looked up from the documents, to see his sister hurriedly moving in his direction, a panicked expression upon her face.
"Shuna?" He stared at her questioningly as she ran up to and past him to hide behind his back.
"Shh, Lord Peroroncino is coming." She hissed.
"Oh, there you are!" The avian shouted from a distance as he leisurely approached the kijin siblings.
'What is going on? What did Shuna do that she now has to hide from Lord Peroroncino?' His sister had always been very dutiful and honest. If she made a mistake, she would try to correct it, not run away from it. Benimaru looked up at the approaching avian lord and bowed. "Lord Peroroncino."
"Hey Benimaru, how's it going?" Pero responded in a casual tone and glanced at Shuna behind him.
"L-Lord Peroroncino, did you need anything from me?" Shuna nervously stuttered, still hiding behind her brother.
'Is Lord Peroroncino harassing my sister? …If he is interested in claiming her, can I even stand up against him?' Benimaru mused as he unconsciously grabbed the handle of his sword. She had received more than a few confessions of love and courtship proposals ever since they came into service of Lord Momonga, and considering her beauty, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that the rather notorious concubine collector could have set his eyes on her.
"Just checking up on my subordinates. How are things going?" Pero asked, leaning over Benimaru's shoulder.
"Everything is great. T-thank you for the opportunity to work under you." Shuna said in a weak voice and reluctantly stepped out of her brother's shadow.
"Would you be interested in having dinner with me? We could get the chance to know each other better."
It all but confirmed his suspicions. 'He definitely has his eyes on her, but Lord Peroroncino already has eight concubines. He just wants my sister as a collection piece. She deserves better. I'd rather die for her honor than let her be a trophy, and not with a man who would fully cherish her.' Benimaru gripped the handle of his sword tighter.
"If-if my Lord wants to dine with me, I…I would be honored." Shuna said, gently grasping her brother's sleeve and subtly shaking her head.
{ Brother stop! }
{ If he… }
{ You would bring shame to Lord Momonga! }
Reluctantly, he removed his hand from his sword's handle, letting the arm fall to his side helplessly.
"So, are you free this evening?" Pero asked, either uncaring or oblivious to how uncomfortable Shuna looked.
"I'm sorry my Lord, I promised to help my brother with his next set of clothing." She blurted an excuse on top of her head.
Pero looked at both silently for a moment "Well, you two have fun then. We can arrange something some other day." He said nonchalantly, walking past them and wandering off with a carefree whistle.
Once Lord Peroroncino was far enough, Benimaru turned to his sister, "Is he bothering you?" He softly asked her.
Shuna looked uncertain for a moment. "He is very insistent, but… I don't know what to do." She finally said with a long, tired sigh.
"If he is bothering you, sister, I will defend you no ma…" He stopped suddenly, as he heard familiar footsteps in the distance that made him freeze up.
"Brother?" Shuna tilted her head in confusion.
"She is coming, I have to go!" Benimaru whispered nervously and then gulped as he heard, "There you are. I was just looking for a strong, handsome man to help me out!"
Just like Shuna had hidden behind her brother mere moments before, now he, in turn, tried to hide behind her. Although the height difference made his attempt at hiding behind his sister's back rather comical.
"Lady Buku…" He managed to get out with his voice breaking halfway.
"Oh, don't be shy. I'm sure you are getting the ladies' attention all the time." She said with a big, charming smile as she approached the kijin siblings.
"So, do you have time to help me out with a few things, hot stuff?" Buku asked as she gracefully got around Shuna, grabbing Beniumaru's biceps.
{ Help me! } He frantically messaged his sister. "I…" he managed to get out a high-pitched sound. "I need to help my sister."
"Yes, I'm sorry to hold up my brother like this but I need his help with setting up my workroom, my Lady." Shuna said hastily to cover for her brother.
"Oh? Shuna, do you mind if I steal him from you after he is done helping you?" Buku asked with a smile as she stroked Benimaru's arm.
Shuna stared at Buku like a deer caught in headlights and shook her head.
Buku winked at him and let go of his arm, "Good, I'll be waiting." she said as she walked off.
"Brother?" Shuna asked Benimaru who was still frozen in place.
"I…we better go, before they come back." He said in a whisper.
"Is Lady Buku not to your liking?" She asked, tilting her head in confusion. Her brother was at a marriageable age, and as far as she knew Lady Buku didn't have any consorts. Unlike Lord Pero.
"She… I don't know… She is far more aggressive with her advances than some of your former suitors were." Benimaru finally said, adding in a whisper, "What are we going to do?" 'Whenever she is near I feel like I am some sort of prey for her to catch and consume. Why does that woman scare me so much?'
"I'm sure we can't just hide forever." Shuna said.
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Both tried their best to avoid the two Lords, but the Lords had an almost supernatural ability to find them, as if they could sniff out their prey wherever they were.
When Benimaru and Shuna noticed both coming in their direction again the next day, they looked at each other and just ran off in the opposite direction, in their hurry almost crashing into Lord Momonga who was taking a stroll through the castle halls lost in thought.
"Oh, I didn't notice you two. Did something happen?" the Overlord asked as the kijin siblings stopped and bowed.
"No, my Lord, everything is perfectly fine." Benimaru managed to say with a strained voice as a drop of sweat was glistening on his forehead.
Momonga stood confused as both subordinates disappeared behind his back the moment Pero and Buku came into view.
"Hey Momo, have you seen Shuna anywhere?" Pero was first to ask.
"She…" He turned his head back to look at them and noticed their obvious desire to disappear into the ground with their faces twisted into fearful expressions.
"What is going on?" Momonga asked Pero as he turned to face his friends again.
"Nothing? I'm just looking for Shuna, and sis is looking for Benimaru." Pero responded as he looked around for the kijin siblings.
"And… why are you looking for them?" Momonga asked, even though he already started to put together what was happening.
"I just wanted to spend time with my subordinate. Between you and me, she is far too cute to not give it a try, you know." Pero said with a wink.
"Same, that pretty boy is always so busy. I just need to catch him before some other girl ensnares him." Buku chipped in.
"And why do Benimaru and Shuna feel the need to hide behind me from you both?" Momonga asked with a tinge of suspicion bleeding into his voice.
"Huh, they are hiding from us?" Buku asked as she dropped her cheerful voice and leaned to the side, trying to see them.
"What did the both of you do?" Momonga asked in a tone that made the temperature drop around him.
"Nothing!" Both hastily responded in unison and took a step back.
"Did neither of you read the workplace ethics book as I suggested, especially the part about not sexually harassing your subordinates?!" Momonga said irritably, his voice rising in volume as he went on. They may be his friends, but the fact that they would sexually harass subordinates just made his nonexistent blood boil. Yet the everpresent emotional suppression calmed him down once again a moment later.
"Hey, I did not…" Buku started to say and then looked at her brother who stared back at her.
"Oh shit, did we both go too far?" Pero asked in a whimper as he turned to look at his sister.
"Don't look at me. Benimaru is at least grown up, right?" Buku weakly said.
Momonga facepalmed at their cluelessness of how they came off, "Seriously, can you both just stop?" he reprimanded.
"Got it, no more harassing Shuna." Pero said while raising his hand, as if he was testifying in court, with Buku chipping in after him, "And I will leave Benimaru alone."
"That's good. And I don't want to have this conversation again! That includes other people too, it's not just about Shuna and Benimaru." Momonga said sternly as both siblings looked down like scolded children.
"Got it, Momo. I will read the situation a lot more carefully from now on. But if a girl is interested then it's a fair game, right?" Pero asked.
'Just how many concubines does he need? As long as he is not harassing anyone I guess it's fine.' "Sure, just don't go after…" Momonga stopped for a moment to think about how to word the sentence.
Luckily, Pero understood what he was about to say. "Don't worry pal. I'm going only after girls that are considered to be at their marriageable age."
"Good." 'I hope he will keep his promise.' Momonga said and thought with a heavy sigh.
"And I will be a lot more careful too. I thought Benimaru was just shy and didn't know how to respond to advances." Buku chipped in and then leaned to her side to look Benimaru in the eyes. "I'm sorry I was so pushy."
"I-I was flattered by your attention, Lady Buku." Benimaru managed to get out in a voice at least a pitch higher than his usual one.
"But you should be careful. A lot of girls are after you." She said with a sly wink and turned to walk away as Pero caught up to her.
Only when Pero and Buku turned around and started to walk away, chatting among themselves, did the kijin siblings carefully poke their heads out from behind Momonga's robe.
"Why do you always have to be a pedo creep? That girl is in her mid-teens."
"You're one to talk, miss 'I don't know what personal space is'. I bet you tried to grab his dick in public."
"Fuck off, I was just flirting with him! I would never grab a…"
The three of them listened as the voices slowly trailed off in the distance.
"If they bother you again, please come to me immediately. I will deal with them." Momonga said to both kijin, who deeply bowed."Thank you, Lord Momonga. You are too kind to us." Shuna said.
"Don't mention it. It is my duty to look out for you, even if my friends are the ones involved."
'When will those two learn what boundaries are? And how old are Benimaru and Shuna? I think some sort of law protecting minors is needed.' He mused, left only in the company of his invisible bodyguards on the ceiling.
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With the news of Gelmud finally about to make his next move, Momonga wanted to be sure the majin and his armies would offer no real threat to Tempest.
To discuss the preparations, he had ordered a meeting in the Tempest royal castle's war room. Even though Momonga arrived on time, the rest were already waiting for him, sitting in an orderly fashion around the table in the middle of the room.
He quickly took the central seat as everyone stood up and bowed. "Sit down so we can start this meeting." Momonga said and glanced at the map of the forest of Jura covering most of the table.
To his right sat Demiurge, with Cocytus taking the seat to his left. Benimaru and Souei sat further away and the remaining seats were empty as both Buku and Pero were not participating in the planning of the battle, but offered to appear on the battlefield, if there was such a need.
"Are our defenses prepared?" Momonga asked. 'I have no doubt that Demiurge has already made a plan for any possible scenario, but I better be sure.'
"All divisions are fully armed and prepared, Lord Momonga. Apito and Yoseijoo have their flyers ready to flank and harass the incoming army. Zegion's and Benimaru's divisions are stationed in these four keeps." Demiurge explained while pointing at the various points on the map.
"Nazarick's own forces are prepared to be teleported to the battlefield at a moment's notice, with Cocytus acting as the field commander. I took the liberty to not include the everburning ones, due to Mare's request based on the dryads assessment on how much damage they would do to the surrounding forest."
"How many are we facing?"
"Ninety-five thousand four hundred and twenty-six, including the majin Gelmud himself. He and his lieutenants have considerably grown in power." Demiurge said with a smooth voice and then added, as if putting the cherry on the top of a cake, "There is not a small possibility that he has access to some sort of skill that lets him exploit the act of naming monsters to become stronger himself."
"Were the specters able to assess his power level?" Momonga inquired.
"Even with his recent growth, he still seems to be far too weak for such a reckless attack on our lands. There is a chance that he is hiding his true power, or that a more powerful force is standing behind his back and orchestrating these events from the shadows."
"What about the foreign spies?"
"As of now, we have identified that most of them belong to the Demon Lords who hold the lands to the south of the Forest of Jura. But there are some unknown agents who have yet to report to anyone and have been just observing thus far. Unless they are aware of our counterintelligence, the overall sentiment is that the Demon Lords want to see how powerful our forces are before they decide their next move."
"Then I suppose we will have to put up a show for them." Momonga declared, "I will appear on the battlefield myself, and bring out Gargantua together with two greater earth elementals."
"My Lord, I implore you, do not risk your safety. There is a small probability that this whole invasion is a trap by an unknown force that could strike at you the moment you appear on the battlefield." Demiurge said.
"Albedo's defensive abilities should be enough to protect me. But in case of an ambush, we can bring Buku and Rubedo out as well. Besides, if Gelmud is making an appearance, I should do the same as well, to not give the impression that I am just sitting in the safety of my home while my opponent bravely participates in the battle."
"Of course. I apologize for this oversight." Demiurge relented.
"It's fine. I understand that you worry about my safety." Momonga said while raising his right hand. "What is the estimated time of the enemy army's arrival?"
"Twenty-seven hours, my Lord." Souei said.
"Then I suggest that everyone should get some rest, and be ready for the battle tomorrow." Momonga said as he stood up from his seat.
"That includes you two as well." He addressed Demiurge and Cocytus specifically, knowing that the archdemon would likely spend all night overthinking every single detail.
Cocytus just nodded in agreement but Demiurge immediately protested. "My Lord, I…"
"That is an order. I need you to be in your best shape tomorrow." Momonga said in a more authoritative tone. The overworking mentality among the denizens of Nazarick was still a huge problem with no clear solution in sight. What's worse, some of the Tempest citizens were adopting the habits of the overzealous Nazarick denizens and were working more than was necessary.
As he returned to his quarters in the great tomb, he saw Shalltear standing by the doors, waiting for him.
"My Lord, have I failed you somehow?" She asked, her face looking down and her eyes looking lost at the floor.
"No, you haven't, Shalltear. What brings about such a question?" Momonga replied as he looked at her. The vampiric Guardian was dressed in her usual victorian-style dress, but lacking her ribbon, her long silver hair loosely falling over her shoulders. Even from his angle, it was clear to see that her face was twisted into a nervous expression as her lower lip quivered.
"Albedo and even Shion are participating in the battle, but I have to sit it off here in the Great Tomb." Shalltear said, snarling when she uttered the names of her two competitors.
"Albedo is acting as my guard, and Shion is part of the kijin force that volunteered. I need you to guard Nazarick, as you have always done, in case someone dares to infiltrate it while we are occupied with the battle. You have been entrusted to be its first line of defense for a reason." Momonga reassured her. 'Maybe I could put on a human face to emote better? I think I should practice it before attempting anything. She could get freaked out.'
"So I haven't done anything wrong?" She asked, finally looking up and facing Momonga.
"Of course not. You've been a great help to Pero, and I'm glad you can spend time with your father and make up for all the time he was away."
Shalltear's expression bloomed into a wide smile with her fangs showing, "Father's company is wonderful, but I wish to spend some time with you as well." She said as she took a few steps forward, standing uncomfortably close to him and looked up with glistening eyes and an even wider smile. "Maybe you could find some time for me, Lord Momonga?" She said with a deep, throaty breath.
'Why does she look like she is hungry?' "I guess you can come to visit me from time to time, when you have no other important business to attend to."
"Thank you, Lord Momonga. I promise I won't be a burden." She said, and leaned evermore forward, directly pushing her body against his. She then looked up at him longingly, before taking a step back and once more lowering her head.
'She wants a head pat again! What should I do? I can't just deny it for no reason.' With a slightly shaking hand, he gently stroked her silver hair as her breath became lighter and more frantic.
However, the sensation of two pairs of eyes watching them intently from behind a column made Momonga quickly retract his hand.
"Thank you, Lord Momonga. I'll be on my way." Shalltear said with an unsteady curtsy and teleported away.
Out of curiosity, he reached out through the |Nazarick| skill to sense who was watching him.
'Albedo and Shion! What are they doing?' He asked himself as they had already teleported away.
Proofreading by kamijazz, Sad_Smiles, Somnium Hypnos, and Creamy.
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.