All the commotion in the ballroom ceased immediately, leaving the quiet music as the only sound filling the air. Veldora opened a beer can with a pop and looked around to see whom to approach first.
His gaze fell on Buku, who was approaching with a smile on her face. "Veldora, so good you could make it." She said with a deep voice.
He instinctively gulped and looked around for help. Milim turned away instantly and proceeded to shuffle away with Mare following her. Momonga stared at him, unreadable as always, and Pero, his best friend, just shook his head.
"Y-yeah. Let's have fun." Veldora squeaked and tactically took a step backward to hide behind Ayin.
The four dragons froze in place, unsure of what to do in this situation. There clearly was some sort of miscommunication between the ringleader of this operation and the rest of the Supreme beings.
Buku leaned around Ayin and spoke to Veldora in an angrily hushed tone. "We made it very clear that this was supposed to be a high-class event! Why are you dressed and acting like a frat boy?"
"F-frat boy? Can't say I haven't heard that one before…" Veldora tried to take another step back, but Buku grabbed him by the tie and pulled his face close to hers.
"I'll ask this nicely only once. Please behave today." She said with a cold smile.
"S-sure," Veldora replied with a gulp.
Buku let go of his tie, making him stumble back. She then whispered in Ayin's ear. "I expect you to keep him in line. Make sure no one in your group fucks up this party or else there will be hell to pay. Am I clear?"
Seeing the terrified dragon quickly nodding, she then turned around and addressed the shocked crowd. "Please welcome Lord Veldora, the guardian of Tempest and the divine protector of the Great Forest of Jura. As you can see, he is quite excited to meet the visitors in this room, so I humbly ask all of you to reciprocate his feeling in your greetings towards him."
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Gazel observed the ongoing scene, barely keeping any semblance of composure. Not only had the Storm Dragon himself just barged in like this event was drinking with friends, but he and Milim were related.
He glanced at his old subordinate Kaijin with whom he had a conversation but a moment ago. The dwarf started to shake the moment Veldora appeared and mumbled something under his breath.
"Something wrong?" Gazel whispered to him.
"They let them out." Kaijin mumbled.
"Let out who?" Gazel asked, his eyes turning into slits.
Although Kaijin was reluctant about sharing many details about what was going on in Tempest, some snippets slipped past from time to time. Some of them were so absurd and devoid of most logic that the dwarven king did not believe it at first. But even he knew that Tempest in and of itself was an enigma for the ones living outside of the monster nation.
"Nazarick's four dragons," Kaijin said as he turned around and grabbed a whiskey bottle from the table, and forgetting all manners, took a gulp out of it directly.
'They have more dragons than Veldora?' Gazel turned his head and whispered. "Kaijin, what's with you?"
"They… they are…" Kaijin took another gulp. "They challenged Veldora and were forbidden to fight."
"Why? How strong are they?" Gazel continued to question the dwarf, forgetting all precautions.
"I don't know. Your majesty, never provoke Tempest. I beg of you, for the sake of our people, never provoke Tempest." Kaijin took another gulp of whiskey without even wincing and added with a barely audible whisper. "The Lords call them the world-enders, monsters of legend hidden deep in their sanctuary, guarding the secrets of the Supreme Beings."
"World-enders?" Gazel slowly said. He could not suppress the trembling within his hands after realizing the weight of the dwarf's implications.
Kaijin just nodded and took another gulp.
"Kaijin, look at me," Gazel whispered. "If there is any semblance of loyalty left in you toward Dwargon, please tell me the truth."
"I have seen their true forms… I felt their power through a shield Lord Peroroncino provided so we wouldn't faint. My king, for the sake of our people, do not ever cause conflict with Tempest." Kaijin repeated his plea.
'That means that Veldora is not in charge of Tempest. He never was. He is just a front so no one would suspect the terrible might that are the rulers of Tempest and the horrors they hide. Wait, he called them the Supreme Beings, and they are otherworlders. Could it be that they are some godlike entities that are unlike anything the world has seen before?'
Gazel observed the four newcomers who acted rather casually with the Storm Dragon. Never before had he seen Veldora in a state where only a few whispers were enough to make the dragon shake in his boots.
'It all makes sense now. She was merely toying with me in our duel. If she so desired it, I would have been wiped off effortlessly. At this point I am willing to bet that even the Storm Dragon is nothing before their might!'
Gazel turned around and grabbed a whiskey bottle of his own. Without even bothering to open the bottle, he broke the top off with a flick of his finger and took a few large gulps, ignoring all manners.
{ Your majesty…! What are you doing? } Jaine was first to message him.
{ They are beyond us. They are beyond even the Storm Dragon. The leaders of Tempest are monsters like no other. May the spirits have mercy upon us. } Gazel continued gulping down the whiskey like it was water.
Kaijin beside him was pretty much doing the same, while the King's attendants hastily gathered around them to hide the shameful display.
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Clayman squeezed the poor fox like a stress toy until the animal let out a yelp of pain, which was enough to snap him out of the shock of what he was seeing. { I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. } he messaged the fox.
He motioned for Mjurran to come over and gave the fox to her to not accidentally hurt the animal more. Before the majin woman left, she glanced at the demon lord with a frantic look on her face.
{ Master, this is not looking good. If they're to direct Veldora's anger towards Jistav… } Mjurran couldn't conceal her absolute terror at what she just witnessed. She held the equally frightened magical beast even closer to her chest.
{ Calm yourself, Mjurran. They are not that brash to send off their trump card in a hurry. That is why we were invited to this meeting, in order to establish relations with Tempest and prevent catastrophes like that from happening in the future, } Clayman calmly explained, motioning for her to step away to not raise suspicion about their exchange.
{ But Tempest not only has the backing of the Storm Dragon, but the Destroyer as well. One slightest move and- }
{ Do you take me for a fool? You, along with our nation's people, are going to move on forward despite these recent events. This demon lord still has a few tricks up his sleeve } Clayman said, continuing to hold a smug grin on his face. "Now go, Mjurran. There is still time for you to build up connections. This act on the stage has yet to be concluded."
Seeing the stout confidence in Clayman that she would always see whenever he was conjuring up something in his head, Mjurran could only softly smile.
As she bowed before moving towards another part of the room, Clayman's grin slowly vanished. He quickly assumed that, by the reactions of the others, the whole scene clearly wasn't just an act. 'Milim called Veldora her uncle. That means she would likely take their side in any sort of conflict with an outside force. At least it explains her own unreasonable power.'
{ Master, I was a witness to an event that might make us reconsider our future plans. } Clayman sent an encrypted message to Kagali.
Since neither she nor Yuuki were invited to the event, he had to be their eyes and ears.
{ Can't it wait? You know using even encrypted messaging can pose a risk to all of us. } Kagali replied. She spoke again with a slightly concerned tone. { What happened over there? }
{ It has come to light that Milim is related to Veldora since she referred to him as an uncle. Another matter which I also deem to be a concern for us is something that helps us reveal the true mastermind behind Tempest's leadership. }
{ …Continue. }
{ Yes, it turns out that Veldora is not in control of Tempest, and interestingly enough, even showed signs of being afraid of Bukubukuchagama. I would have never believed it if someone were to tell me this, but I have seen it with my own eyes. The Lords of Tempest are most likely the real perpetrators behind the scenes. }
{ These are…disturbing revelations. But, for all that we know, it may be an act in order to weave confusion into yours and everybody elses' minds, and Veldora is merely playing his part. For now, continue observing the situation. We will speak again when our business is concluded. }
After hearing an affirmation from Clayman, Kagali proceeded to cut the communication.
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Frey watched the unfolding scene in stunned silence. It was easy to see that the dwarven king Gazel pretty much broke down and even the usually very composed Clayman almost strangled his pet.
'Showing any sort of fear at this moment would be the height of weakness.' She forged a light smile on her face and approached Milim to get some answers from her.
"My, Milim, why don't you introduce me to your friend." Frey said to the girl who for some reason got startled.
"Frey! Oh, this is Mare, we are friends." Milim replied hastily.
"Mind if I steal Milim away from you, young man?" Frey asked, and started to lean a bit forward to lessen the height difference between her and the boy, but the moment she saw Milim's expression twist into anger she straightened out. 'Gods! Milim likes this boy. I must be very careful in what I should say next towards her.'
"N-no, not at all. Then, if you excuse me," Mare said and walked away to give them some space.
"What was that?" Milim asked with a snarl. "Why are you butting in all of a sudden, Frey?"
"What do you mean?" Frey responded with a question of her own. She resisted the urge to step back when Milim made one step closer to the harpy.
"Mare is mine!" Milim said louder than she anticipated. She instantly looked around fearfully, which made Frey bewildered as to what could put such an expression on the girl.
"…Looks like you have been busy of late. Don't worry. No one is going to take the boy away from you. He is all yours." Frey said and then instantly changed the topic. "Say, Milim, why didn't you tell me that Veldora is your uncle? I thought we didn't hide things from each other."
"I didn't know before!" Milim said and waved Veldora over.
Frey tensed up as the dragon approached them with a casual stride. "Hey, kiddo. You wanted something?" Veldora ruffled her hair as he gave a passing glance to Frey. "You were one of the newer generations of Demon Lords, I think?"
"I am Demon Lord Frey. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Veldora." Frey bowed her head. 'Is this the same Veldora from legends? He is so… tame. Still, it's better to be cautious than dead.'
"So, what did you ladies want from me?" He asked and took a sip from the beer can he was holding.
"Nothing. I just wanted to show you to Frey, uncle. She didn't know we were related."
"That's it? Sure, she is my niece. The only daughter of my eldest bro, Veldanava." Veldora said absentmindedly as his attention was somewhere else already.
"Have fun, ladies, I'll go bug the bird." Veldora pointed at Pero and walked off.
"I'm happy that you have found your family." Frey said warmly. "And if you ever need advice on how to keep your man, you can always turn to me."
"Sure…" Milim suddenly flipped her head and, before running to Mare, added in a tone that made Frey shiver. "If you ever try to make one more move on Mare, we won't be friends anymore."
Frey turned to see what caught Milim's attention, and sure enough, Milim was pushing Ramiris away from the dark elven boy. The two started to argue, and the words that came out from them made Frey assume they were both vying for Mare's attention.
'They have Milim and Veldora. The Lords themselves are likely at least Demon Lord level by the casual ease they handle these two. Which means that even the rest of the demon lords combined may not be enough to stand against Tempest. I better be very careful and give no reason for Milim to even think that I would attempt anything on the boy. The moment she turns against me, everything I had built so far might vanish in the blink of an eye.'
Frey watched Milim push Ramiris aside and glare at the fairy with murderous intent. She started to rack her head with possible scenarios.
'No doubt the boy's mother would manipulate this affection and use her against everyone who stands in Tempest's way. It is a complete absurdity to weaponize Milim and make it out alive by the end of it, but I fear that is where things are currently heading.'
With a nervous gulp she picked up a glass of wine from a platter held by a maid and downed it in one go. The situation was clearly far too complicated for any safe solutions. If she was not careful she could potentially lose her lifeline.
Specifically, her friendship with Milim, which Frey had been fostering with her for who knows how long. But since they did not have the time to catch up properly, due to Milim essentially deciding to live in Tempest, their friendship was starting to look more fragile by the day.
To make things even worse for Frey, Claire and Luchia had no luck even getting remotely close to Peroroncino. They were held off by the birdman's numerous concubines, much to the harpy queen's growing frustration. They for now were her only option to at least getting some semblance of cards to play in this now much more complicated political game.
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Elmesia observed Gazel's breakdown with an understanding look on her face.
She knew the dwarven king built up a lot of experience under his belt compared to others, but he was still a much younger ruler compared to her. With all that was happening in this room, Gazel had seemingly hit his breaking point. For someone like her, who had seen entire empires burn, it was much easier to keep composure.
After the shock of seeing that a primordial was acting as a mere servant, the scene that Veldora caused wasn't that big of an escalation, especially considering that Elyun had already mentioned Buku's authority over the dragon.
The fact that the Dragon princess was related to a true dragon wasn't that big of a surprise either.
Milim, after all, could single-handedly destroy nations. It was she who destroyed the Super-Magic Kingdom of the Elves after their ruler foolishly killed her pet dragon. It was because of that catastrophe that Elmesia was the one to pick up the pieces and form a new empire.
Elmesia saw that there was still an uneasy atmosphere in the room with none of the guests, apart from a majin woman from Clayman's entourage, willing to make a move. Recognizing this as an opportunity, she went for the easiest target. Lord Peroroncino had just finished talking with the Storm Dragon Veldora and his concubines were not swarming him at the moment.
"A moment of your time." Elmesia approached him with a charming smile.
"How can I be of service, your imperial majesty?" Pero replied, turning his full attention to the beautiful elven woman.
"I have been made aware you are the man to talk to about potential trade between our nations."
"Yes, that would be me. Which of our goods has caught your attention?" Pero asked as he took a careful sip from the wine glass, making absolutely sure to not spill anything. Making a fool of himself in front of the elven Empress surely wasn't on his to-do list.
"I've heard that Tempest possesses various wonderful materials extracted from a multitude of wild monsters throughout your nation. Would your merchants be interested in strengthening trade routes between Tempest and Sarion?" Elmesia said with a smooth tone, working her voice in a way to excite the avian.
"Unfortunately, I must disappoint you. At the moment, we do not control the area between our nations, so trade likely would have to be postponed for about a year until we annex the mountains separating Tempest and Sarion." Pero said, before adding, "We are aware that delivering goods with the help of flyers would skyrocket the prices, so it is not as if your mutually beneficial plan is entirely ignored."
"Are you sure no other options can be considered?" Elmesia leaned in closer, purring with a voice smooth as silk. "Our magic and scientific marvels are known worldwide, and if an agreement between our nations is made, I could make sure all your homunculus purchases are put on top of the waiting list. I'm sure the leaders of Tempest could use human or elf bodies to visit less agreeable nations."
She could practically see the avian's gears turning and imagining giving it to his concubines in all sorts of extra bodies. 'So easy. Let's see if he can give a solution right away or if I need to press more.' Elmesia looked up at Pero with a smile that would melt any man's heart and waited for a response.
"There is another option. If you permit it, we could build an outpost at your border and use transportation magic. Of course, that would be preferential treatment as we are not doing it for any other nation." Pero tried to sell the solution as more difficult than it really was.
"How wonderful! I surely appreciate being given preferential treatment and in return Tempest will be given similar privileges. I'll consult my advisors to choose a perfect spot. I trust military presence will be kept to the minimum?"
"We will keep just enough to ensure the safety of our merchants against unsavory types of people they might encounter. We can discuss finer details whenever you are available, your imperial majesty." Pero said with a certain eagerness behind his tone.
'Men. So easy to work with them.' Elmesia turned her attention back to the other guests. 'I suppose I should talk with Gazel next. He seems to be in need of a seasoned leader's advice.'
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For the most part, the event was going smoothly. Veldora's dramatic entrance and the subsequent fallout had died down after a while and all Momonga had to do was be approachable and make sure no conflicts arose.
Over the few short hours, the overall pattern of relationships between the leaders of various nations became clear.
Elmesia and Frey kept their distance from each other, which for rulers of neighboring countries, separated only by a bay, could be because of some past conflict.
Other than that there were no clear hostilities. Clayman, in particular, used the opportunity to establish ties with Gazel and Elmesia. They were not deterred by the surprising turn of events regarding Veldora and Milim. It looked as though they were even more motivated in their diplomatic maneuvers.
In the end, the event was a great success, and by the looks of it, no major conflict with Tempest's nonhuman neighbors was on the horizon.
Edited by Zirmeister.
Proofreading by Sad_Smiles, Alassandro, Ethal, SwissChocolatess, Tophrel, and RottenPizza.
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.