Chapter 7

Momonga gently broke the seal on the envelope that was delivered to Tempest's borders an hour ago by a harpy, who knew better than to cross the border and waited for the border guards to come and pick up the letter.

He carefully pulled out the letter and unfolded it. 'So Demon Lord Frey not only wants to form a diplomatic relationship but also wants to visit Tempest in person. What's this? The other two demon Lords, whose domains border Jura will send similar requests of their own.'

The letter itself was written in a rather simplistic and straightforward way compared to what he received from Blumund and Dwargon. Yet the writing style had a certain casual elegance to it, as if the sender didn't bother to hide their intentions behind empty words.

Momonga put the letter aside and took out a map from the drawer. Although Frey's domain, the Harpy Kingdom Fulbrosia bordered Jura,it didn't actually share a border with Tempest.. There was not only a large mountain range but a sizable part of the forest between the two nations.

'Where did I put it…' Momonga wondered, as he rummaged through the drawers to locate the file on the residents that dwelled in that area. 'Oh, there it is. Let's see… So, relatively high-ranked beings called Tengu control the mountain. Annexation is planned during the next summer. That sounds about right. And to the south live… the gray foxmen. It seems like they could be in some sense related to the Tengu race as they both were somewhat similar in appearance, although Tengu were related to wolves not foxes. Occupation of their land is planned to be taken care of, once the Tengu territories are fully incorporated.'

'So there is a territory barrier and conflict with them seems unlikely for now, but at the same time… We are planning to take over these territories, which would make us border not only Fulbrosia but Sarion as well.'

In any case, he still needed to wait for the letters of the two remaining Demon Lords to arrive and then decide what to do. Letting them come to Tempest was a huge risk for sure, but since Milim constantly bragged that she was the strongest demon lord, there was a chance they would not be anywhere near as strong as her.

The next letter was delivered two days later. Demon Lord Carrion's letter was even simpler than Frey's and pretty much shared the same sentiment. Carrion was not interested in conflict with Jura and, the same as Frey, wanted to visit.

Now the only thing that remained was to wait for the final letter. Yet what he received next wasn't as planned. The King of Dwargon, Gazel, also wanted to pay a visit.

'Should I let them see each other? Hmm, I will have to get Elma's input on this matter.' The situation is getting more and more complicated by the day.

Not even a day later, the Empress of Sorcerer's Dynasty Sarion, Elmesia El-Ru Sarion, also expressed her wish to visit Tempest and discuss a potential partnership between the two nations.

'They had to have planned this somehow! Maybe they all are working together in some capacity to make my life harder? Elves and Dwarves are not that far from monsters. Either way, this is getting way too complicated.'

Fortunately The final letter gave no surprises. Demon Lord Clayman sent his congratulations about the latest victory over Gelmud's forces who, Momonga already knew, was a former agent of Clayman.

Of course, the chances that Clayman was still behind it all existed but there was no concrete proof for it. And going after one demon lord over an assumed presumption could lead to all of them going after Tempest which would likely end with an unfavorable outcome for Tempest and Nazarick.

In the end, three demon lords and two other rulers wanted to visit Tempest. Before deciding on how to respond, he decided to consult not only with his two advisors, but also with his two friends as well.

Later that same day, all five were gathered in Momonga's quarters in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Albedo and Demiurge quickly took their places on the sofa beside Momonga and the player siblings sat opposite to them.

"So are we gonna plan some sort of conference to invite them all at the same time, or do you want to tackle them one at a time?" Buku asked as she casually stretched on the sofa, putting her feet in her brother's lap, who just gave her a silent glare.

"I wanted to hear your opinions first before making a decision. If they all visit at the same time we have four demon lords to worry about, plus Gazel, who is a known warrior hero, and I am fairly sure Empress Elmesia is also not a pushover since she has ruled her nation for over two thousand years." Momonga said as he accepted a cup of tea from the maid.

"I doubt anyone will as much as look wrongly in your direction if you bring out Rubedo. Even Milim is avoiding her." Pero remarked, accepting his own cup from the maid.

"About that, are you sure it was a good idea to let that thing take over her?" Buku asked.

"I put some safeguards in place, and she is not causing any trouble since Albedo explained to her how to behave."

"I still think you are playing with fire or void or whatever that thing is." Buku said as she straightened out and accepted a glass of wine from the maid.

"For now there is no reason to suspect her loyalty. Let's get back to the main point." Momonga said. Rubedo and what she has become was still a debatable topic and true, even Milim did her best to avoid the void being but that didn't mean that she would ever think of betraying them.

"As I said. You keep Rubedo close and they will likely be too scared to make a move on us. And if that doesn't help, we can always bring out the four dragons for some additional support." Pero said. "So I think we can make a big party and get to know the other rulers of the continent, not to mention it would be better to observe how they interact with one another to get a feel of the political climate."

{ Since when did you become so versed in politics? } Momonga couldn't help but ask.

{ You think I'm just screwing my ladies and reading ecchi manga all the time? I am constantly expanding my horizons on both politics and economics. }

{ That is good to hear. Then I hope I can rely on your advice from time to time. }

{ Sure man, I have no problems giving input where I can. You can rely on your buddy. } Pero said with a boisterous laugh following his statement.

'Sometimes I can't tell him and Veldora apart.' Momonga mused as Demiurge spoke up. "I would have to agree with Lord Peroroncino. Just nation leaders, no matter how powerful, alone with small escorts wouldn't be enough to overwhelm Nazaricks defenses, even in the unlikely event of them all uniting and striking in a coordinated manner."

"There is one problem however." Albedo said and stood up. "Tempest's royal castle is not suited to accommodate five additional royal guests. If the Lords and Lady decide to invite all of them at the same time, an additional wing of the palace needs to be constructed post haste."

"How long would that take?" Momonga asked her.

"If you would give the command to start immediately, then about two months, Lord Momonga."

"Hmm, that means we should invite them somewhere around three months from now. Albedo, please give the order to start construction as fast as possible." Momonga said, putting his index finger in front of his teeth and rubbing his chin with his thumb.

"As you command, my Lord. Demiurge and I will create the blueprint today and construction will start tomorrow morning." Albedo enthusiastically replied.

"Buku, can you handle the correspondence?" Momonga turned his attention to her next.

"Sure. With three months of planning, we have plenty of room to get everything in order." She responded in a casual tone.

"Then everything is settled. Just in case, I will look into additional measures of security." Momonga said.

Hosting a meeting of such magnitude surely was a first for him but with the competent help he had at his disposal it shouldn't prove too much of a challenge.

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Following her request to meet her sister, Momonga teleported Nigredo to the ninth floor of Nazarick. Luckily, the old game mechanic where she would go berserk on anyone if the doll was not in the cradle or in her hands was not active anymore or rather, has been replaced by two unique skills.

The first one was |Berserk|, which was rather self explanatory, and the second one was |Seamstress|, which, contrary to its name, had little to do with actual sewing. The skill instead gave her a wide arsenal of needles, scissors, and threads to use as weapons.

She bowed while holding large scissors with both hands and said with a soft voice. "Thank you, Lord Momonga, for indulging me. I longed to meet my sister but my dwelling may not be on par with her standards."

"It's no problem. Albedo and Rubedo are already waiting for you." Mononga said. The horror themed abandoned room located on the frozen fifth floor was not exactly the most welcoming place to visit. "I was thinking of maybe redecorating your room to make it more livable. I think the old theme is not necessary anymore."

Nigredo looked up with both of her blue eyes peeking out of her hair. "My other sister… She is dangerous. She… I should leave the judgment of such things to you, my Lord"

"She is different now. I didn't mention it before, but she has merged with another being under my control." Momonga carefully said, waiting for her reaction.

"Different? Can she be trusted? My sister had a heart of stone, unable to connect with others."

"You'll see. Just please give her a chance."

"As you wish." Nigredo bowed her head.

"We shouldn't make them wait for long." Momonga remarked and started walking as Nigredo quickly caught up with him.

Nigredo was walking beside Momonga with her pale bare feet leaving no sound whatsoever. She was dressed in a torn-up black dress with a body type similar to her younger sister Albedo, and her long black hair covered most of her face. Besides the piercing blue eyes, there also were patches of skinless flesh peeking out through a few spots that were not covered up with her hair. Compared to her sisters, she surely was the most monstrous looking, but ironically has the softest heart.

The two younger sisters were sitting in Albedo's quarters and casually chatting as Momonga and Nigredo came in. Both immediately stood up and bowed.

"I'll leave you three to catch up." Momonga said and was about to leave when Albedo asked with a pleading voice. "You won't be joining us, Lord Momonga?"

"I would hate to get in the way of you girls' first ever reunion." Momonga waved her off.

"We would be honored if you joined us." Nigredo came to her sister's aid.

Reluctantly, he accepted the offer and sat down with them. Albedo immediately used the opportunity to sit very close to him.

He was about to zone out. But the cold tone Nigredo used to address her youngest sister snapped him out of it right away. "How have you been, sister?"

Seemingly oblivious to Nigredo's hostility, Rubedo smiled and said. "Experiencing a new reality has been exhilarating, my dear sister."

Nigredo leaned back and stared at her for a while and then slowly said. "I'm glad you are enjoying yourself."

For the most part, the conversation between all three sisters went as predicted about them telling each other how their lives have been. Rubedo was explaining the most obvious things as if they were great discoveries. Albedo was complaining about her competitors and how hard it was to get them in line, whatever that meant, and Nigredo mostly spent her days by herself in the abandoned room waiting for invaders.

'I'll give her the ring afterward and organize the remodeling of her room for sure. She shouldn't be just standing in a run down room all by herself. Come to think of it, I better look over the lives of all NPCs to make sure no-one is in such a bad situation.' As Momonga started to plan the tour and put following the ongoing conversation on |Dark Sage's| shoulders, he zoned out of it more and more, mostly nodding in agreement.

His interest only peaked when Rubedo started to talk about her home realm, if it could even be called that. Momonga quickly returned to the present moment and listened intently as she spoke.

"There is no form you would understand, no time, no space. Cause and causality can flow in any direction. What scraps of existence end up there are torn apart and consumed by the beings that hunt for any and all experience. The less advanced ones hide from the predatory beings that hunt in the aether of non-existence."

"What a dreadful way to live." Nigredo remarked.

"Now you understand why being here is so… interesting." Rubedo replied with a smile.

'No time and space, and weird causality.' No matter how much he tried, Momonga couldn't wrap his head around such an alien existence. There yet might be some hope as |Dark Sage| gave a hint about where to search for information that would help to understand. Just as with |Nazarick| and higher-dimensional spaces, mathematics could come to aid here as well.

While he was contemplating going on another math learning spree, another more dreadful idea came into his mind. 'If she found the way to our world, couldn't other beings from that place do it as well?'

"Could others like you also find a way to reach our realm?" He asked Rubedo, whose face instantly twisted in worry and then furrowed her eyebrows and looked down.

"That possibility exists, but would require something similar to the skill that brought me here. But beings like me are rare there. Most are mindless, and predatory. Formless tenebrous monsters without any other goal than to just consume. They would not be able to fuse with an awareness, just to be used as a weapon." Rebedo slowly spoke. She then looked up facing Momonga and added. "Master, I must urge you to not attempt to find more like me. In the center of the infinity, from where even the void comes, there are things no beings of the form should know about."

"I am more interested in ways of guarding against others doing that." Momonga said. 'Even she is afraid of something. That is a worrisome thought.'

"I'm unsure if such precautions can be made, master. But if the primordial void like my sister wields is without awareness and sentience, it's just a power to be expressed. But if it has awareness, sooner or later it can start to seep into her mind." Rubedo said as she glanced at Albedo.

"I have not sensed any presence in my mind." She responded defensively.

'Albedo wields a void as well? How did that happen? Oh, it's the |Ginnungagap|! I will need to investigate it posthaste!' "I will look into it just in case. I would not want something to slowly take over you." Momonga said.

"Please do not worry my Lord, I will monitor it myself." Albedo said, but by the radiant smile she gave him, even a blind man could see that she was very happy at the prospect of Momonga worrying about her.

Not wanting to waste any time, he excused himself and left the three sisters to chat among themselves.

Proofreading by Sad_Smiles, I AM THE STRING CUTTER, Abyssalidiot,Kazuma and Redvik.

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.