Chapter 103: The Visitors

The eastern gate of Eldoris was lively and tensed. Tanaka could see the problem ahead of him. A group of goblin guards stood a couple feet near the entrance with their weapons out and merchants and travelers had been pushed a few feet off the road. A few adventurers had stopped nearby, clearly more interested in the unfamiliar delegation than their own business.

Tanaka slowed down. Sora walked a few feet beside him still in human form, looking around with clear interest "Those are the visitors?"

"Yes."

Malachiel appeared walking nonchalantly and quietly behind them, he had gone into the dungeon and came out after them. The group at the gate stood out. There were six of them. Five of them wore dark traveling clothes with light armor on underneath and their weapons were out, but none of them drawn. The sixth stood in front them wearing a long gray coat with silver designs around the sleeves. Their banner hung behind them.

Tanaka stared at it. A black circle surrounded by three silver points. "I’ve never seen that one before." Sora tilted his head. "Nor have I." The leader noticed them. Her eyes swept past Sora and Tanaka. Then she stopped. "You are Tanaka Eldoris?" Tanaka’s slime body bounced once. "Yes."

A few guards exchanged glances. The woman looked at him for a longer than appropriate time "You are a slime."Tanaka looked down at himself. "I have been for a while." Sora covered his mouth to keep in a laugh. The woman kept her expression serious. "We were told the ruler of Eldoris was a monster."

"He is." Sora said seriously. One of the people behind her shifted uneasily. The woman raised one hand. "We have not come to cause trouble." "Then why are my guards holding their weapons?" The woman turned towards the guards. The lead guard immediately responded. "They appeared without sending word ahead. They carry no alliance credentials. No trade permit, and their banner is unknown." Tanaka looked at the visitors. "That explains it." He looked back at the woman. "Who are you?" She paused. Then she took out a small metal insignia from her coat. It bore the same black circle and silver points as the banner.

"My name is Seris Varn. I am an envoy of the Velmoran Dominion." Tanaka’s eyes narrowed slightly. "The what?" "A new nation to the north." Sora looked at him. "Have you heard of it?" "No, Sora. She literally said it’s new." Seris nodded. "That was expected."

Tanaka turned towards the guards. "Lower your weapons." The guards hesitated. Tanaka looked at them again. "They came peacefully. Keep watching them, but let them inside." The guards slowly lowered their weapons. The gates opened up more and Seris looked around as they entered.

Her expression changed as she looked over the city. The road beyond the gate was busy with people. Goblins carrying materials between buildings, Moonhares walked the streets in human form and Dwarves worked next to Hobgoblins in the craft district while merchants from different nations walked between shops. Seris paused.

"This is Eldoris?" She asked in surprise. "Yes." Sora replied with a smile. "It is much larger than the reports described." Seris said, her eyes drinking the details of everything. "We’ve been busy." Tanaka said lazily. Sora grinned. "Very busy."

Tanaka transformed into his human form eliciting shocks and gasps from the envoys. Seris looked amused. "I figured you would find it easier talking to me in my human form. Let’s go." Seris and her group followed. They had taken a few steps when a commotion broke out near the dungeon. A group of adventurers came rushing out of the dungeon. One man leaned heavily against another and their armor was in disrepair. One woman had blood running down her arm.

A healer ran towards them. "Bring him here!"

The injured man struggled to stay upright.

"Monster Lord..." The nearby adventurers went silent. Tanaka stopped. The man swallowed. "Third floor." Another adventurer pointed back towards the dungeon. "There was a Monster Lord Class beast on the third floor." Murmurs spread and someone immediately asked, "Are you sure?" "We saw it." An adventurer said. "It didn’t even chase us." Another replied. The injured adventurer looked terrified. "That made it worse." Tanaka glanced at Sora. Sora understood immediately. The changes in the dungeon were already affecting the outside world.

Seris watched the adventurers carefully. "A Monster Lord Class, in a dungeon?" Tanaka nodded. "There are several." The entire delegation went silent. "You know about it?" Seris asked. Tanaka shrugged. She looked at him. She seemed to understand something, "You are much stronger than the reports suggested." Tanaka smiled. "They’re probably outdated."

Seris did not respond. They eventually reached the diplomatic building and the guards remained outside while Seris entered the building with two members of her delegation. Sora walked beside Tanaka.

Malachiel followed. Tanaka looked at him.

"You haven’t said anything." Malachiel smiled faintly. "They are interesting." "That is not helpful." "I did not say I was trying to be helpful." Sora laughed. Inside they entered the meeting room and Seris took her seat. Tanaka sat across from her and Sora beside him while Malachiel remained near the wall.

Seris placed a sealed document on the table. "We came because of what happened here six months ago."

"The alliance?"

"No."

She looked at Tanaka. "The dragon." The room grew silent. Sora glanced at Tanaka.

Tanaka remained still. Seris continued. "Reports of the war reached distant nations. Many described a True Dragon appearing over the battlefield." Tanaka said nothing.

"We also heard that Eldoris suddenly expanded after the war and that a great source of mana appeared in this region."

Her fingers rested on the sealed document.

"Our scholars believe the two events are connected." "They might be." Seris studied him. "You do not sound surprised." "I’ve heard the same questions from other people." "Then you understand why we came." Tanaka leaned back against the table. "You came to ask about the dragon."

"That is one reason." "One?" Seris nodded.

"The other is the dungeon." Tanaka’s eyes narrowed. "What about it?" "We have received reports that the creatures inside have changed."

Tanaka glanced towards Sora. "That happened after Malachiel’s blessing." Seris noticed the name. "Malachiel?" Tanaka said nothing. She waited. He smiled. "He is someone important to Eldoris." Seris’s eyes moved towards the silent man behind him.

Malachiel gave her a polite smile. She looked away. "Our scouts have also reported monsters leaving the deeper forests."

Tanaka’s expression changed. "How far from here?" "Very far." "Then why does Velmoran care?" "Because they are moving north." Tanaka leaned forward. Seris opened the sealed document. A map was pulled out and placed on the table. A few areas had been marked. "Three villages were attacked during the last month." Tanaka studied the map. "By monsters?" "Yes." "What kind?"

"We do not know." "That should be easy to find out." "It would have been." Seris pointed to one of the marked locations. "The survivors described a creature they had never seen before." Tanaka’s interest piqued. "How big?" " Larger than an ogre."

Sora leaned closer. "What did it look like?"

"They could not agree on that." Tanaka frowned. "How convenient." "They agreed on one thing." Seris turned the map around.

"Every attack happened after a strange black mist appeared." Tanaka stared at the marks. His new Corrupted Mana Sense immediately came to mind. He could still remember the strange energy deep inside the dungeon. "Corrupted mana." Seris looked at him. "What?" Tanaka looked up.

"Nothing." He tapped the table. "You said three villages." "Yes." "Any survivors from the latest attack?" "One." "Where?" "In Velmoran." Tanaka sat back. Sora looked at him. "You’re thinking about going." "I didn’t say that." "You always make that face when you are." Tanaka ignored him. Seris folded the map. "We did not come here to demand your assistance." "Good." "We came to ask for a meeting." Seris looked at him directly.

"The ruler of Velmoran wishes to meet the ruler of Eldoris." Tanaka blinked. "That sounds like a long trip." "It is." "And you’re asking me to travel north." "Yes." Tanaka looked at Sora. Sora was already smiling.

"You want to go." "I want to know what those monsters are doing."

"You want to go." Tanaka sighed. "Maybe."

Seris stood. "We will remain in Eldoris for three days." Tanaka looked at her. "Three days?" "We were told your nation had strict procedures for foreign visitors." "We do."

She nodded. "Then we will wait." She turned towards the door. Tanaka stopped her. "One question." Seris looked back. "Why come all the way here personally?" She was silent for a moment. Then her expression became serious. "Because the moment that dragon appeared, the balance of the northern regions began to change."BTanaka narrowed his eyes. "And you think Eldoris is responsible." "No." Seris looked towards the window. "I think Eldoris is where the change became visible." She left the room. Tanaka remained silent. Sora looked at him. "That was interesting." Tanaka nodded. "I wonder what is happening?"