Harbingers of Change

As far as days went, this one started as usual. A young bear lycanthrope slowly rolled out of his bed and made his way toward the dining area, guided by the smell of frying meat. Trusting his nose to guide the way, he let out a sleepy yawn and stretched, joints cracking.

Bear lycanthropes were very high up in the food chain; Thus, he and his whole family lived in the capital near the royal palace. His massive frame barely fit in the narrow halls and he was still one of the smaller men of the family. The family house had been built a long while ago by smaller people and thus far hadn't yet been rebuilt for their comfort, as their primary work took too much time, and he, same as the rest of his immediate family, was used to it by now.

"Look who got out of hibernation. We thought you wouldn't show till next summer." One of his sisters took a jab at him the moment he slogged into the dining area.

"Don't speak like that to your brother; he had to work late last night on a rush order." His mother admonished, ending the bickering before it could even begin, before setting down a platter of lightly seasoned fried boar.

The young lycanthrope only grumbled in response and plopped down in a chair at the family table, joining his parents, three sisters, and four brothers for the feast that was breakfast.

His family, known for making polished wooden planks, were well known across the city and had even met the beast king himself once during the palace renovations. The orders never ended, and every family member had their jobs to do.

He lazily pulled a plate with fried fish toward his seat and started to eat while listening to others talk.

"Pop, we need to consider selling our goods for money. Tempest merchants won't sell us their goods for planks." His younger brother once again advocated for a more modern approach to family trade, barely touching his steak.

The boy was the most curious of the family and was the first to embrace interactions with the small furry creatures permitted to enter the capital, their carts filled with exotic and often useless goods, their mouths telling strange and frankly ludicrous tales of lands beyond Euranzia's borders.

"What for? We don't need the junk they are selling." The head of the family grumbled back as he shoved a fistful of berries in his mouth.

"Because soon all trade will be done with money. You heard the Beast King, we belong to Tempest now." The boy pleaded his case further with unending resolve.

"Bah, when the beast king tells us to use this money then we will. It's all nonsense anyway. Those little creatures just complicate things to overstate their importance." The father of the family shut down the tide of change with his usual unmoving indifference towards anything new, reaching for another bowl.

The young bear lycanthrope listened to them argue while lazily picking out the bones from fish he was eating, mostly out of habit, as they at worst provided mild annoyance and didn't cause injury, which was often the case for weaker creatures.

To the family's patriarch, this whole money thing was something alien. A practice that weak species indulged in to collectively increase their value. He knew his strength and he knew his trade, and that was enough to keep him content.

As the feast and the arguing died down, the family moved as one to the work area. Money or not, jobs still require to be completed. The boy's job was to smooth out the rough planks with a planer before his sisters would use sand to remove all bumps and splinters so the youngest brother could varnish the finished planks with pine resin to not only prevent them from rotting but also give the final product a smooth brown look.

There was a sizable pile of planks for him to work on so there wasn't any worry that he would have to sit around without work, which did occasionally happen. If there was enough work, there would be enough food on the table.

Engrossed in his work, he didn't feel the passage of time, enjoying the process of creating new works of art, even if said process was very simple. When the sun had reached high enough to shine in through the small overhead window in the workshop, the sound of the familiar notification bell rang through the city. This meant that either the Beast King wanted to address his people, or that a fight of importance was about to happen.

He, together with his siblings, perked up and, without exchanging a word, put down the tools and headed for the exit. Such events occurred rarely, so dropping everything to attend was a completely justified action for anyone involved, so long as the activity wasn't crucial to city function.

"I hope it's a fight. Maybe Sir Phobio is challenging the Beast King again," his sister was getting worked up.

Phobio, one of the three beastketeers, was her idol and she simply melted in her seat each time she saw the leopard lycanthrope fight, eyes practically decorated with heart every time he was brought up.

He himself was a huge fan of Suphia and hoped one day to have a wife similar to the youngest of beastketeers. Of course, he wasn't so delusional to think he could ever court the white tiger, but each time he had a chance to gaze upon the beautiful and dangerous woman, his pulse spiked. And in his defense, each of the beastketeers had armies of adoring fans hoping to see their idols battle powerful opponents, he was merely one of many.

As they moved with the crowd towards the arena, his anticipation grew by the moment. No matter what was about to happen, the event was bound to be interesting. The arena filled fast as it always did. The bear lycanthrope and his family got decent seats, close enough to the ground floor to catch every detail of the fight, should one be the show for today.

As the last people found their seats or places to stand, it was announced that the Supreme Overlord himself was present. He knew little of the absolute ruler of Tempest, but if the beast king bent his knee to this being, he had to be extremely strong.

Curiously, he observed the VIP lodge and only saw unfamiliar faces, which he attributed to the beast king likely fighting someone. Who would stand against Demon Lord Carrion? he couldn't tell, but the fight would obviously be the talk of the weeks, if not months, to come.

Then the announcement came, and it was one he couldn't believe in. Beast King Carrion would fight side by side with all three of his lauded beastketeers against a single opponent. His whole worldview faltered when he saw who the opponent of the Big Four was. A wolf lycanthrope in a maid's outfit arrived in the arena, her head held high, armed with only a single weapon.

While many wolves were among the elite, they weren't considered the strongest of lycanthrope types and most resided in the outskirts of the city. For one to fight not only against the beast king but the beastketeers as well sounded like a joke or an insult. And worse yet she was a maid, a position of servitude compared to their lauded royalty.

The announcer did clarify that Lupusregina Beta was also the head consort of Lord Peroroncino, who was one of Tempest's top leaders and rumored to have killed a legendary beast with a single blast, but it was a weak consolation. If it was one of the new high lords or high executors, who had only been mentioned to be the true elites of Tempest, then it would make sense, but a maid? No, that was some sort of sick joke played on the proud people of Eurazania, an insult to their name and pride.

His worsening mood didn't last long. This maid turned out to be a veritable monster, at least equal to the beast king, as she effortlessly tossed away Phobio, knocked out Albis, and brushed off an attack from Suphia in the span of mere breaths. He had seen how brutally powerful the punches of his idol were many times, considering his family was often called to replace wooden furniture in the royal palace. A single punch could turn bones to dust and insides to mush, turn wood to mulch and stone to rubble, and turn egos into cracked skulls and pride into submission.

Lupusregina had proved to be an opponent even Lord Carion couldn't underestimate within the first seconds of the fight. To his relief, his beloved king was holding his ground against the wolf quite well.

His heart nearly stopped when he saw the beast king's transformation into his true form. The battle would end in Lord Carion's favor for sure. He even used his ultimate attack, one only a rare few had ever witnessed, supposedly only used against other demon lords or legendary beasts. As the blinding light showered the entire arena, he knew the fight was over. What remained of Lupusregina would be carried off and Beast King would still reign as the champion.

When the light faded, that wasn't what he saw: Lupusregina still stood, now in bipedal wolf form. He gasped with the rest of the crowd as the beast pinned down Lord Carrion and started to maul the Beast King, ripping him from shoulder to waist.

None could have survived such a vicious attack, but his beloved king somehow did and even managed to escape his opponent's grasp. In the next moment, it was declared that Lupusregina was the winner of the fight.

The outcome of the fight had caused an uproar in the capital of Eurazania and the whole city had pretty much settled on drinking for various reasons, regardless of status. Some celebrated a new lycanthrope champion, with a fanbase forming for Lupusregina beta, particularly among the wolf lycanthropes.

Others mourned the Beast King's loss, as Carrion was a very popular and beloved leader known for his valor and battle spirit; for him to lose to a mere maid was a shame on them all. A maid who, according to the circulating rumors, had supposedly declared that she was nothing before the leaders of Nazarick who could easily fight hundreds like her simultaneously and win effortlessly, and that placed the whole fight in a grim perspective. If Lord Momonga, Lord Peroroncino, or even Lady Albedo had stepped into the arena, the battle would have ended instantly. That's how far above the rest they were.

The young bear lycanthrope was downing his sixth mug of ale alongside a platter of fried fish. He and his family were sitting in one of the taverns and drinking copious amounts of alcohol together with other patrons as the tavern maids rolled out barrel after barrel filled to the brim with booze saved for occasions just like this. His childhood idol, Suphia, hadn't even mattered in the fight. In the grand scheme of things, she was that inconsequential. Her only contribution was to be swatted aside like an annoying bug, her blood staining the ground they stood upon.

His sister also wasn't in the best spirits as she had hoped Phobio would show his ferocity, but all the beastketeer ended up doing was regenerating broken extremities and being tossed around like the others.

As he drowned his sorrows in his booze, a kobold merchant guarded by a pair of some sort of winged humanoid women entered the tavern and made rounds around the tables, stopping by each and handing out something.

His curiosity peaked once again as the kobold slowly moved in his direction with the two guards watching the crowd for any suspicious actions. There was something inherently dangerous about the winged pair, as he had a gut feeling they wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who would try to endanger the small furry creature, who moved around like he owned the place.

"Good day, may I interest you in some complimentary freshly minted cards to commemorate today's duel?" The kobold greeted him and his family, once he had reached their table, and put on the table shining pieces of paper with drawings of the beastketeers, the Beast King, and Lupusregina.

He wasn't high enough in the hierarchy of the Eurazania to ever request a painting or sculpture of his idol, so he had settled with just enjoying his memories of seeing Suphia in action, but now there was a depiction of her lying on the table and he could get it!

"What do you ask in return?" He inquired.

"Nothing, young sir. By orders of Lord Peroroncino, each citizen of the capital can get one card free of charge if they so wish. But if you wish to become a collector, cards go from five copper to fifty gold coins depending on rarity and who is depicted on them. For example, the signed golden card of a beastketeer is now valued at a full gold coin and will be auctioned once there is enough money in circulation," The kobold explained with a toothy smile while pushing Suphia's card in his direction. "I see you're interested in this one. A good choice!"

With his sister eagerly seizing Phobio's card, he decided it was safe enough to claim the picture of his idol, even under his father's disapproving gaze. An image was an image, especially one as well-made as this one.

"Also, I wanted to inform you that Lord Perorinco is jumpstarting the capital's economy personally and the UTC is ordered to help with the transition process. If you need a consultation about the value of money and the pricing of the goods, there will be a company store in each district, where we will provide free consultations," the kobold continued.

"See pop, I told you we should start trading for money!" His youngest brother spoke up, grabbing a card of Albis.

"Hmph, waste of time. Does Lord Carrion approve of this money?" His father asked with a loud burp after downing a whole mug in one go, staring at the guards.

"Yes. Lord Carrion will announce the start of money circulation tomorrow. But be assured, the conversation about the new system will be gradual and you can still follow your old methods while gradually adapting to the changes." The kobold, now seeing who was in charge, pushed a small pamphlet in his father's direction, which the older bear lycanthrope reluctantly accepted.

His mind however was on the prize that had fallen into his hands. The idea of getting a card personally signed by Suphia was intriguing, though he worried that the competition for it would be fierce and ultimately he wouldn't be able to get enough money to secure it. Perhaps he would collaborate with his younger brother later today to get a piece of the action, his sister could handle his father with some food bribes.

Editing by aidan_lo.

Proofreading by Sluethen, fvvck, Stac, IAMTHEPLOKOKIOPO, Malguis, clagan, Alassandro, CakeEight, Working_Stiff, and aidan_lo.

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