Momonga needed to look twice to confirm he was not dreaming; the dress Albedo had chosen for an official meeting was so provocative, that even the dead would turn their heads. The cut at the side of the black dress went up to her thighs, and the neckline was so low her breasts threatened to spill out the moment she leaned forward.
"Albedo…" he tried to figure out how to ask why she decided to dress like this during the meeting with Frey.
"Frey and her two brats need to be put in their place. Using seduction to gain favor; laughable." Albedo said as she leaned forward to give Momonga a better view. "My beloved, it is my duty as your head consort to see that undeserving women don't join the ranks of your concubines."
"Reports said that they planned to seduce Pero, not me," Momonga remarked. "Besides, shouldn't you put at least some trust in me?"
"I trust you, but I won't let those women even try." Albedo said as she sat down beside Momonga and wrapped her wing around him.
There was no point arguing with her. At least it wasn't Shalltear or Shion who would join the talks with the Demon Lord. Compared to them, Albedo was a shining example of restraint.
'Frey should arrive any minute.' Just in case, Momonga went through all the reports on what she had talked about with her daughters in private.
As he was making a plan with the main points to be discussed, Momonga was rudely interrupted by a ping in his head. Ainz Ooal Gown, now part of Nazarick, which served as the remnants of the guild, notified him about a request to join the guild.
'Veldora!? How the hell did he figure out how to do it?' Momonga practically jumped in surprise.
"Lord Momonga, that reptile-! I mean, Lord Veldora, wants to join the guild!" Albedo said, agitated. As usual, she either chose or forgot Momonga's request to address him casually in private. A small amber holographic panel appeared before her, which she turned so Momonga could look at.
"I know. We will deal with it after the meeting with Frey. Buku and Pero as the only remaining members should be present for the vote." Momonga said right after the emotion suppression had wiped away his surprise.
"But… I understand you and other Supreme Beings share a bond with Veldora, but is it enough to let him join the guild?" Albedo asked.
"Has Veldora done something to make you so wary of him?" Momonga replied with a question of his own.
"No. But some of his actions make me worry that he could make decisions harmful to Nazarick. With him having the ability to carry them out without your permission, his mistakes are harder to counter. I do not believe Veldora has malicious intent towards Nazarick but that doesn't mean he can be fully trusted either."
"Even as a guild member, he…" A maid opening the door made Momonga stop mid-sentence.
Frey and her two daughters entered the room. "Good morning Supreme Overlord Momonga, Lady Albedo." She said as she gave both a head tilt and gracefully sat down on the sofa. Her daughters assumed positions behind her.
"Good morning, Demon Lord Frey." Momonga and Albedo replied.
The Harpy Queen and her two daughters were dressed far less provocatively than Albedo assumed she would. All three women were attractive, but with her present, Albedo could easily shut down any attempts at flirting or offers of arranged marriages.
Frey, meanwhile, observed Momonga and Albedo with a casual expression. Her servants had done an excellent job of gathering information while mingling with the castle staff. 'I should have guessed that the head consort of Momonga would send such a clear message.' she thought.
From what little snippets could be seen during Tempest's battle with Gelmud's forces, Albedo was an opponent even a demon lord would be reluctant to fight head-on. Making an enemy of her would be an ill-advised move in the current situation.
"I would like to start with getting the most obvious points out of the way. I have no qualms with trading with Tempest, and I will let your merchants enter my country as long as they abide by my laws. I'm more interested in discussing the mountain area between our nations and the awakening of Charybdis." Frey said, gauging her opponent's response. The fact that Momonga was a skeleton worked against her, as there were no expressions to read.
"Tempest will annex the mountain area within a year, but rest assured, we are not seeking conflict with demon lords. Not one of our soldiers will cross the border you have set." Momonga replied. He took out a map from his inventory and laid it out on the table between him and Frey.
Frey glanced at the map. 'This is… such an intricately made map and it has all the borders drawn to perfection. Their spy network is as extensive as I thought.'
"Once you have subjugated the troublesome creatures occupying the area, I would like to propose an exchange of land. I would like to have this mountain for my kind." Frey pointed at the highest peak near her borders. "And in exchange, I would offer these plains." She moved her finger to lands that were mostly occupied by the lesser, non-flying, denizens of her kingdom.
"This mountain would provide a strategic advantage in the region and a fortress at the peak would be highly defendable. I don't see how the plains are an equal trade for it." Albedo remarked.
"I do not plan to use the mountain for military purposes. My lands lack high mountains, which are greatly preferred as living spaces for harpies. I offer a written guarantee that the mountains would not house any military forces beyond what is needed to ensure the safety of my people." Frey said while meeting the demoness' gaze. "Besides, no fortress could survive the wrath of Storm Dragon Veldora, should I decide to start a conflict with Tempest."
"That is a fair point, but I think it's best to leave the land trade aside until we control the area," Momonga said.
"Fair enough. With diplomatic channels open we can organize another meeting in the future." Frey said, her expression darkening as she added. "The next topic is a more pressing concern. I assume you are aware that Charybdis will soon awaken and considering it was created by Storm Dragon Veldora, I would like to know your official stance on how to handle the situation."
The monster's name was mentioned in reports as something that concerned all three visiting demon lords but Frey seemed the most interested in dealing with the threat as fast as possible.
{ What do you think of Charybdis? } Momonga messaged Veldora.
{ Hey Chief! I thought you would contact me to tell me that I am an official guild member. } Veldora responded with his usual enthusiasm.
{ How did you even find a way to apply? }
{ Remember, I have |Faust the Investigator|. I can look around |Nazarick| with ease. }
{ I see. I am in a meeting with Frey so I will discuss your application with Pero and Buku later. Now, what is your stance on Charybdis? As I understand it is your creation. }
{ He was born from my latent energies, that's about it. I do not care what you do with him if he shows up again. You can use him and the sharks for target practice. What's actually important is if I'm accepted in the guild or not. I need to plan the evening accordingly. }
{ What are you planning? } Momonga asked the dragon, already dreading the answer.
{ Not much. I wanted to bring out my buddies for the party. }
{ Your buddies? }
{ Come on, you know who I'm talking about. }
{ If you mean the four dragons, then the answer is no. I would not allow it even if you were a guild member. }
There was a short silence.
{ Veldora, why are you bothering Momo during a meeting? } Buku joined the chat.
{ Calm down, sis. He wants to join the guild. } Pero messaged.
{ Now that everyone is present, you can all agree that there is no better candidate than me to join the guild and convince Chief that I can be trusted with taking the four dragons to the party. } Veldora messaged with renewed enthusiasm.
Momona sighed internally and accelerated his and his friend's awareness so Frey wouldn't have to wait long for an answer. { You are not bringing four world-enders out of the Tomb for no good reason. }
{ Come on! You are showing Rubedo to everyone and she is a lot scarier than dragons. Pero, be a pal and take my side. }
{ Veldora! What did I say about your shenanigans? } Buku lowered her tone.
{ If I may interject my own opinion, I'm also against his candidacy for this exact reason. } Albedo joined in as well.
{ Guys! Guys! I am not bringing them to fight, just to have a good time. I'm sure Chief has more of those rings. No one will know how strong they are. }
{ Milim can read past those rings! } Momonga harshly reminded Veldora.
{ Chief, she has been to most floors at this point. Remember, you allowed me to bring her in. }
{ I didn't allow you to bring her to the eighth floor! } Momonga raised his voice.
Group communication was rapidly becoming one of those bickering sessions of the guild's golden days.
{ Hey, I didn't bring her to the eighth floor! And she promised to not tell anyone about what she saw inside anyway. Milim is a good kid. } Veldora said defensively.
{ If she already knows about Rubedo does it make that big of a difference? With ultimate skills, we are on their level anyway. All Milim will know is that they are powerful and not what kind of abilities they have. } Pero said.
{ It's still additional information we are leaking for no good reason. Can we hurry this up, I'm in the middle of a meeting with Frey. } Momonga said impatiently.
{ Don't they deserve to see outside even for a moment? You can't hold them inside the tomb forever. Look, I promise we will be on our best behavior and just mingle with guests. Buku, you know it's not fair to them. } Veldora went on the attack once again.
{ God dammit... I hate to admit it but he is kinda right. They are fully sentient beings, not weapons. } Buku replied.
{ Let's just vote on Veldora joining the guild, and if something goes south, we can vote on kicking him out. } Momonga said.
{ I'm for. } Pero responded first.
{ I guess I'm for Veldora joining as well. He is not worse than most of the former guild members. } Buku was next to cast a vote.
{ Congratulations. Your application is accepted. } Momonga said and switched Veldora's |Friend of Nazarick| to |Lord of Nazarick| which served the same function as being as a guild member. In a sense, he now technically was below Momonga in rank, but that definitely didn't need to be public knowledge.
{ So I can tell my buddies that they can attend? } Veldora asked.
{ Get the rings for them from Pandora. And if anyone asks, they are just regular dragon lords. } Momonga said sternly.
Although only three true dragons existed now, there were a lot of regular dragons, the strongest of them being the dragon lords, which could be compared to a demon lord. From what he had gathered, they still would fall short compared to the four dragons from the eighth floor, but only Milim would be able to gauge their true power.
As much as Momonga wanted to suspect that Milim was just playing the role of a careless child, all her interactions went against that suspicion. From her careless indulgence in luxury to just playing around with her uncle or the kids. Or, what was another surprising turn of events, starting to show romantic interest in Mare.
Done with Velodra's request, Momonga returned to the present moment. Only about four seconds had passed since Frey had asked a question.
"Veldora is not interested in Charybdis' fate. If he enters Tempest's territory, we will take him down." Momonga said to the Harpy Queen.
"In that case, I propose a joint effort in taking him down the moment the beast awakens. If I'm not mistaken, he should appear somewhere in this area." Frey pointed at an area east of Tempest's borders. "Considering that the beast is just a mindless force of destruction, it would be in our best interests to deal with him as fast as possible."
"What would you get out of this? Charybdis would likely have to cross Tempest's lands to reach your domain." Momonga asked.
"I have dealt with Charybdis before. There is no telling what he will do once he awakens. I do not want to leave anything to chance. If you are not interested in handling the beast, I will do it myself and I am warning you now, that I will move my armies around your borders to do so."
"Tempest will join the effort in dealing with Charybdis. That said, I expect a warning from you when you plan to move your forces so we can coordinate the attack."
"You will get a warning the moment I start moving my forces. I assume yours will be ready as well."
"Our flight-capable armies are ready at a moment's notice. You already saw a small detachment when arriving." Momonga said.
Overall, a common ground was found with another ruler.
With Gazel practically begging for alliance and now Frey requesting a joint military operation, it seems that Tempest, at least for now, didn't need to worry about a large-scale conflict.
Proofreading by Visur Nyxan, Alassandro, RottenPizza, I AM THE STRING CUTTER, SwissChocolatess, and Sad_Smiles.
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 or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader.