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Chapter Text

Motoyasu landed on his feet after Fitoria's transport skill ended.

He excitedly looked around, ready to be completely blown away by Fitoria's home. An area where the world's Filolials lived in peace and tranquility. A place that could only be described as 'heaven on earth' in the tales of all Filolials around the world…

…

The Spear Hero's face slowly fell. "Why does it look so… so… run down?" He managed to say.

"Because Fitoria made her Sanctuary in the ruins of a nation the Heroes had founded in the past." Fitoria appeared beside the blonde. Her face was back to looking impassive again, but her voice held a tinge of sadness and resignation to it. "Besides the Heroes, it has been centuries since humans last stepped foot here."

"Huh… is that why this place isn't on any maps?" Motoyasu asked.

"Yes," Fitoria answered curtly and began to walk forward.

…

…

"..." Motoyasu said nothing more as he continued to follow the Carriage Hero. With the conversation taking a lull, the blonde decided to focus on his surroundings for the time being instead.

"Gwah!" "Gwah!" "Gwah!" The Filolials who'd arrived with the pair quickly dispersed throughout the area.

Fitoria's Sanctuary was, as previously mentioned, the ruins of an ancient city. All around, Motoyasu saw buildings made of stone that'd been eroded over time, giving them an ancient, weathered look. Vines grew down the sides of these structures, and trees and grass grew up from the ruined cobblestones of old floors and roads.

Down to the side, Motoyasu spotted a canal that cut through what had probably been the center of this ancient land. The water flowing through it was clean, and he could easily spot fish from this height swimming along its current.

"Gwah!" He watched as a Filolial dipped its head into the water, catching one very large fish in its beak. Instead of eating it though, the Filolial ran to the front of a stone house, where her mate was guarding their nest of chicks.

The small family then began to feast on the giant fish together. And Motoyasu smiled as he continued looking around.

There were quite a few Filolials here that Motoyasu was able to spot. They ranged in size and color. Some were as young as a baby chick, and some looked old enough that their noble feathers and statures sagged with age. Yet they enjoyed seeing their grandchicks or great-grandchicks playing with their parents in front of their homes.

Orion and Pinkie both ran up to such a pair. Gwahing with happiness as their chicks raced away from grandma and grandpa to hug their parents.

Crap! Motoyasu almost wanted to cry at the sight of the family being reunited with each other!

IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL, I SAY!

…

Ehhem, anyway, Motoyasu also saw some of the other Filolials who'd gone with them training those who weren't chicks anymore, but who weren't adults yet either. This training was done in the form of spars using their magic or claws.

Fitoria briefly paused to assist one of the younger Filolials who was trying to use wind magic. As they continued, Motoyasu saw that Filolial gwah in delight as she finally managed to cast the basic wind spell "Gust" and send her trainer flying into a tree.

That Filolial was definitely going to go far after she became old enough to battle alongside Fitoria and the other members of her flock.

"Does Blondie like the home Fitoria made for Fitoria's flock?" Amber asked curiously. She was following slightly behind and alongside the Spear Hero.

"Yeah, it's nothing like what Fitoria has been making near Lurolona, that's for sure," Motoyasu responded, his voice filled with awe. "It's like an entire civilization of Filolials!"

"That second nest of mine is meant solely to help Fitoria and her flock guard the Hero's Village. Here is where the members of Fitoria's flock who are too old or too young or otherwise unable to fight right now can live out their lives in peace." Fitoria explained in front of them.

…

It really was like a civilization in that regard then. Did that mean some of the Filolials here had jobs like blacksmithing, or sewing, or-?

Motoyasu quickly realized the stupidity of that thought. There was no way a normal Filolial would be capable of wielding a hammer or holding a sewing needle.

…

…

'Adding that to the list of things to teach Filolials how to do.' Motoyasu compartmentalized the thought in his mind for later, before finally addressing what Fitoria had said earlier.

"Was knowledge of this place lost because of the Waves?" He asked curiously.

"No. Fitoria and her flock have searched for and destroyed all the old maps that had Fitoria's domain listed on them. There isn't a human alive that knows how to get here without my help." Fitoria answered without looking back.

Motoyasu pictured the little girl appearing in the palace of some country. Obliterating all the guards in her way just so she could destroy a single piece of parchment.

He would have laughed if he hadn't realized that she probably had done just that. Multiple times most likely.

It certainly would fit her modus operandi of problem-solving.

'Fitoria' and 'Restraint' were not words that one would use in the same sentence.

"Does anyone ever accidentally wander into the area?" The Spear Hero asked worriedly.

"No. Fitoria's domain is high up in the mountains, far away from any human civilization." The girl answered. "And even if a human did somehow wander this deep into the mountains, Fitoria has made sure that they won't be able to reach her Sanctuary."

"... I hope that our country will become safe enough for your flock to live in too one day." Motoyasu sighed. "I can't imagine it being easy to live in such an isolated spot for your entire life."

"It is not as hard as Motoyasu thinks." Fitoria shrugged. "You get used to it… Eventually." She added mutely at the end.

"Well, that's just me speaking from my own experiences." Motoyasu chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck. "My parents moved around quite a lot when I was a kid, and it was always in a city. This is my first time having a home in the countryside.

"I never really lived anywhere for long either. On average, my family moved two to three times a year. Sometimes four."

"Hmmm… Fitoria can't imagine herself or her flock living in such a nomadic way, even if some flocks that she met before do.

"Fitoria travels around the world from time to time. But Fitoria's Sanctuary has been her home for a very, very long time." Fitoria said.

"Were you born here then?" Motoyasu asked.

"..." Fitoria couldn't answer for a moment. "I... Fitoria doesn't know. But probably not.

"All Fitoria knows is that this nation wasn't the one that Fitoria's Father, Mamoru, founded. So it's likely that this wasn't Fitoria's first home. It is the only home that Fitoria can remember now though."

As they'd talked, Motoyasu found that they were walking up a set of stone steps towards a building that towered over all the others there. Rising taller than even the large towering trees around them.

From this height, he was able to see above the forest to find that, indeed, the entire ancient forest city was surrounded by tall, towering mountains. The forest of trees in Fitoria's Sanctuary ended at these mountains.

The mountain peaks were covered in snow. And even though they were many miles away, they still looked very big and imposing.

Taking a moment to pause and look around, Motoyasu spotted no gap or valley that would have made it possible to get here without going through a very treacherous climb first. And while he had the thought that one could fly here on the back of a dragon or a griffin, he also had the realization that doing so would be a very bad idea.

That thought came because he felt short of breath just from climbing the stairs. He was far more fit than this. Which meant that they must have already been pretty high above sea level.

Even if one flew through the gaps of those mountains, they'd probably pass out from lack of oxygen before they made it through.

No wonder Fitoria found it unlikely for people to just wander in here.

It was so strange. Why would a group of past Heroes build their city in such a remote and hard-to-reach place? Unless... was it meant to be a fortress? To be used to shelter the people and defend them from something?

But what?...

...

"Motoyasu, are you coming?" Fitoria asked. She and Amber had paused up ahead.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry, just catching my breath." Motoyasu called to them.

It wasn't a lie. It felt like when Granny and him had gone to the mountains to train. Only ten times worse.

The blonde soon followed up the steps after the two Filolial Queens, focusing his attention on the city's largest building again.

Out of all the structures around here, this one looked the most worn out and damaged. This was odd since its location, size, and design implied that it was an administrative building of some kind or possibly even the ancient country's seat of power.

A pair of massive reinforced metal doors lay by the entrance in shambles, covered in rust and moss. One was shattered into pieces and partially melted into a pile of slag while the other had gotten bent in half from some kind of powerful impact.

The entrance did have something covering it though. A shimmering barrier of wind magic that helped to keep the elements out.

And, as Motoyasu discovered as soon as he passed through it, kept the smell inside the building contained.

"Ugh, what is that horrible smell?!" Motoyasu pinched his nose while deeply frowning. "It's like somebody died here a hundred times over or something!"

"..." "..."

"What?" Motoyasu asked when Fitoria and Amber both looked at him.

"This is Fitoria's nest. Where Fitoria has gathered many things over the last few centuries." Amber answered.

…

…

"...Fitoria knows that it's a bit messy. However, that was still very rude of Motoyasu to say." Fitoria pouted slightly and her cheeks turned rosy.

…

…

Motoyasu prostrated himself to the ground immediately. "I'M SO SORRY! I'LL TAKE MY TONGUE OUT IMMEDIATELY TO ATONE FOR MY FOUL WORDS!"

Both angel girls sweatdropped and quickly restrained Motoyasu before he could follow through on his promise. And yes, he had been about to use the tip of his spear to cut his tongue out. "No, Motoyasu, you don't have to go that far! Just an apology is good enough!" Fitoria shouted worriedly.

"Eh? You sure? If this is truly where Fitoria lives, then I must do something to pay for talking down on Fitoria's home." Motoyasu responded solemnly.

Both girls sweatdropped again and made sure it was firmly clear to the Spear Hero that his apology was more than enough. And then, afterward, he stood back up and looked around again.

"Alright, well, I mean no offense when I say this, but this place could really use some cleaning. Is there a reason why you haven't?" Motoyasu asked Fitoria.

"..." Fitoria's head eventually moved to the side. "Fitoria… is usually too busy to clean her nest that often."

"Liar!" Amber protested and flared the wings on her back. "Fitoria is just lazy! Amber knows Fitoria spends most of her days sleeping or daydreaming at Fitoria's pond when Fitoria's not training the flock or out fighting the waves!"

"Huh?" Motoyasu asked, and then his eyes narrowed as the gears in his head started to turn.

"..." Fitoria remained silent again. Her face holding an indiscernible expression.

"See! Fitoria isn't even denying it!" Amber pointed her finger at the older Filolial Queen accusingly. "Besides that time when Filo was here, Amber has hardly seen Fitoria ever-"

"Err, whatever, this is fine." Motayasu quickly reined the redhead in while making another mental note about explaining to Amber what depression was later. "Maybe me and the other Heroes could help clean this place up when we have time in the future?" Motoyasu suggested. "We can think of it as a Spring Cleaning Project or something."

"A Spring Cleaning Project?" Amber cocked her head to the side in confusion. "But it's summer."

"Yeah, it's just a phrase to describe how a lot of people in my world would spend time after winter to clean everything in their homes," Motoyasu explained quickly. "We could do something similar for Fitoria after Naofumi and the others return."

"... … I wouldn't mind that." Fitoria eventually said.

Motoyasu rubbed the top of her head, and a small smile formed on the little girl's face.

The girl then summoned a barrier of wind around Motoyasu and Amber, blocking out the smell around them as they wandered through the room. With the wind spell, Motoyasu also found it a LOT easier to breathe.

Amazing, now that he thought about it, Fitoria's Sanctuary was at the perfect altitude for the Heroes to train! They could become a lot fitter here than in the mountains where Granny normally started training them!

…

He vowed that this knowledge should never be given to Granny, ever.

At least, not until after Ren got better.

Anyway, without his nose being assaulted by a wide variety of scents, Motoyasu was able to focus on what was around them.

It was… messy was definitely an understatement. To say that Fitoria's nest was a hoarder's wet dream was probably accurate in this scenario.

It looked like centuries upon centuries of stuff was here. From ancient, rusted weapons and rotting crates full of foodstuffs that'd long since expired, to shedded feathers and… stuff.

Yeah, he'd just call that stuff.

It was very likely the source of the rancid stench Motoyasu had first smelled when walking into the room is all he'd say. And the whole room was covered in a thick layer of dust to boot.

Fitoria said she didn't clean very often… it looked like it'd been centuries since she'd last cleaned this place. And if she did lie amongst all this garbage, staring up at the ceiling.

…

Motoyasu continued following the young girl through the mess. Wondering what he could do to help her out.

As they walked past a pile of weapons, Motoyasu saw a spear that looked somewhat intact sticking out from them. He decided to reach forward and touch it to see if his Weapon Copy would activate or not.

Weapon Copy Activated!

Ancient Bronze Spear Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: Blacksmithing Skill II

"Oh?" Motoyasu paused in his walk and changed to the new weapon form, which looked far cleaner and newer than the spear that he'd just copied. He took a moment to study its equip bonus.

"What is it, Moto?" Amber asked.

"Apparently, I just found a spear that gives me intermediate skills in blacksmithing," Motoyasu said as he read over the details on his HUD. It was even stranger since he hadn't found a spear that gave Blacksmithing I yet.

He had no interest in blacksmithing himself. He preferred sewing and tailoring clothes to working with metal.

Which made it even more astounding that he was so afraid of the tailor girl from before and-

Nope. Burying that trauma again.

More importantly, Motoyasu knew somebody who had an interest in blacksmithing…

Looking through the pile, he found a sword that looked similar to the spear. So he dug it out and put it in his weapon's inventory to give to Ren later before continuing after Amber and Fitoria.

He didn't know if it'd give the Sword Hero the same equip bonus or not, but it didn't hurt to try.

The Spear Hero touched several other spears and various other polearms as the group walked through the mountains of junk. Most of the weapons had become so degraded that Motoyasu was unable to copy anything from them. But he did manage to copy a few different weapons as he followed Fitoria.

Ancient Mythril Spear Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: +5 Attack, Vision Up (small)

Cobalt Spear Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: +6 Luck, Mining Efficiency III

Piensa Guard Naginata Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: +10 Defense, +6 Agility

Siltran Soldier Trident Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: +12 Dexterity, +4 Attack

Obsidian Halberd Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: Slash Damage Up (Small)

The stat increases weren't anything special, but every little bit would help. More importantly, Motoyasu thought the Cobalt Spear's skill bonus would be very beneficial for mining ores for his [Smelting] method and Itsuki's [Ore Equip] method.

Though those were some strange names for the other weapons he'd copied. He hadn't even known that Naginatas existed in this world. Must have been a really old weapon or something.

…

The Spear Hero was starting to wonder why Fitoria had brought him here for a private talk when they entered an area of the building that was surprisingly empty.

However, that was only because there was nothing left here but a few piles of burned wood and a thick layer of ash. A fire must have broken out here at some point and it was fortunate that it didn't spread out to the rest of the crumbling palace.

"What happened here?" Motoyasu asked.

"A bad thing. A very, very bad thing." Fitoria responded tensely, her mouth turning into a thin line as her glazed-over eyes scanned the room.

"Fitoria has a... problem. Here." The girl stiffly tapped her head with her middle and index fingers. "Fitoria is a very forgetful girl. It wasn't always like that, I think. But at some point, Fitoria started to gradually forget things.

"Small things at first. Like names of people and places that she had met and visited. Or words to describe certain things. Or some magic spells that she didn't use often.

"But then it got worse. Fitoria started to forget bigger things, important things. Things that Fitoria didn't want to forget. Like the faces of Fitoria's parents. Or their last words.

"Things about the waves. Things about the world.

"One by one, Fitoria's memories began to gradually slip away. At one point, Fitoria almost forgot her name. And I couldn't tell what was missing until it was already gone and it was too late.

"So Fitoria started to write all her remaining memories down, so that even when she would forget them, she would be able to get them back again, at least in part."

"... you mean like a journal?" Motoyasu asked for clarification.

"Yes. I still had many, many memories left and I made sure to write all of them down in many many books here when Fitoria realized how spotty her memories were becoming." The girl replied. "And the most important of these books held the words of wisdom given by Fitoria's mother and father."

Motoyasu eyed the burned-out room again and felt a pit open up in his stomach. "Are these... your memories?"

Fitoria nodded stiffly. "The last group of humans Fitoria trusted to enter her domain… came here and burned them.

"It hurt so much. And it still hurts today. Fitoria tried to sift through the ashes before, but I couldn't find anything. It is only because those evil men have started attacking again that Fitoria thinks that she should try again, to see if she can find anything before talking with Motoyasu in private."

…

The Spear Hero did not open his mouth for some time after that, as he and the two angel girls went through the ash and husks of burned-out shelves to find if any records had escaped the scourge of several hundred years ago.

The Spear Hero genuinely put forth a lot of effort. He absorbed a lot of crumbling bookshelves and ash into his weapon's gemstone to help clean the areas he searched.

He did come across two worn stone tablets that had writing on them at one point. However, the writing had been scraped out, as if somebody had intentionally done it. And Motoyasu wasn't able to discern any words from them.

He came across other stone tablets as well. Or the shattered remains of them. He guessed that Fitoria must have used those first before switching to books. Or, perhaps she'd used both but had used stone tablets to record more important memories. Memories that she didn't want to risk degrading over time like paper.

Motoyasu felt more and more anger flare up in him as time went on. Not because this knowledge could have benefited the Heroes, which it very well could have. But rather because someone had intentionally come here with the sole purpose of destroying Fitoria's precious memories. They wanted to steal everything that time had been trying to take away from the small angel girl for millennia.

He clamped down on such feelings though and continued with his task. He could dwell on such thoughts another time.

Their search/clean-up of the area went on for another hour. But even though Motoyasu managed to clean up a good portion of it while Fitoria and Amber searched the rest, they didn't come across anything.

Nada. Absolutely nothing.

Near the end, Fitoria excused herself to take a walk outside. And though Motoyasu wanted to finish going through the last portion of the burned library, Amber grabbed him by the hand and stopped him.

"Blondie, now would be a good time for you to have that private chat with Fitoria." She suggested. "Amber can focus on searching through the rest in the meantime."

"You sure? I'm worried that forcing things might make it worse for her." Motoyasu responded hesitantly.

…

Amber looked off to the side. A look of guilt crept into her eyes. "Amber might have been a little insensitive to Fitoria's plight earlier since Amber still hasn't entirely forgiven Fitoria for not wanting to assist Blondie and the other Heroes before.

"But Amber can tell that Fitoria wants help right now."

…

…

"Alright… I'll see what I can do... Anywhere you want to meet up after we're done talking?" Motoyasu asked.

"By the canal. Amber feels like eating some of the fish from Amber's old home again after Amber is done here." The girl smiled in response.

Motoyasu rubbed the top of her head, making her giggle happily. There, now that was more of a Filo reaction.

However, that happened only when Naofumi or Raphtalia rubbed their daughter on the head.

Whenever Motoyasu tried… let's just say that his balls normally paid the price.

"Good luck." Amber waved as the Spear Hero walked out of the burned library, navigating through the piles of junk on the way to the exit.

He spotted several more ancient weapons on his way out, though he didn't try to copy any of them this time.

The Spear Hero had a suspicion that the hoarding of the vast amounts of seemingly useless and random junk must have served some kind of purpose in the past. A way to power up the heroes by saving up and preserving unique and useful items and weapons for them to copy or use to unlock certain things, as well as gathering supplies so the Heroes could use her Sanctuary as an outpost against the Waves or some other world-ending threat.

But if that was the case, then Fitoria had either forgotten about it too or just stopped caring about maintaining everything long ago.

Besides the mountains of rotten and rusted junk, the two other things of note that Motoyasu found were a strange-looking spear that kind of reminded him of Balamus's weapon, as well as a spiral staircase in the center of the room that led up to a wooden door.

Motoyasu had almost been tempted to go up there and open it to see what was inside but decided against it. It would be rude to rummage through the bird queen's stuff without her permission after all. So he decided that it could wait for another time after he asked Fitoria about it.

Finally, several minutes later, Motoyasu walked past the wind barrier back out onto the terrace of what he was now guessing to have been the palace of the former Hero nation's capital city.

There were the steps leading back down to the main street in front of him, but that hadn't been the Spear Hero's destination. He wandered around the area of the palace for a bit, finding several ruined stone sculptures and enclosed overgrown gardens with towering trees blossoming above the crumbling walls.

It was in one of these gardens where Motoyasu finally spotted the silver-haired girl.

She'd said that she was going for a walk. But he found her sitting on a stone bench, all by herself, staring down at a crystal clear pond while holding her arms to herself.

She remained quiet as Motoyasu walked up and sat down next to her.

...

"Your favorite thinking spot?" Motoyasu asked in an attempt to break the ice.

"Mmhmm." Fitoria quietly hummed in affirmation. "Fitoria likes to view the reflection of the clouds in the water whenever Fitoria is bothered by troubling thoughts."

"Their reflection? Why not look at the sky instead?" Motoyasu then asked.

"..." Fitoria pondered on the question for a moment and eventually shook her head. "Fitoria can't remember why. It has always been what Fitoria has done.

"Perhaps if one of my journals had somehow survived, I could have remembered why past Fitoria liked to do this... But…"

The bird girl sadly sighed.

…

Motoyasu slowly extended a hand to the small bird queen, and she hesitantly took it.

The two stared down at the water in silence, watching the reflection of the passing clouds as they moved across the sky.

…

It was surprising how clear the pond was since it didn't look like there were any sources of freshwater feeding into it. Though, perhaps Fitoria had used her magic to clean it up or something?

It seemed like she at least liked to keep this place well-maintained, compared to the rest of her nest.

…

…

…

After some more silent pondering, Fitoria sighed again. "I'm sorry. Fitoria said she wanted to talk to Motoyasu in private.

"But no words are coming out."

"It's fine," Motoyasu replied encouragingly. "I saw for myself how scared you were earlier. I know better than to try and force things if you're not ready for it."

"Scared…" Fitoria said the word as if trying it for herself.

"Yes, Fitoria is very scared." She admitted.

"Are those evil men really that dangerous?" Motoyasu asked.

"... dangerous to Fitoria…? No, the evil men Fitoria can recall have been incapable of physically hurting her for a very long time." The angel girl shook her head. "But Fitoria's flock, Fitoria's friends and family… those are who Fitoria fears for, more than I do for myself. Since these men are capable of popping up almost anywhere in the world at any time."

…

Fitoria looked up from the pond at Motoyasu. "When you fought them, what did it feel like?"

"Well, I was caught off guard at first," Motoyasu answered. "They appeared from out of nowhere and attacked us without warning. And when I fought back against one of them, I was surprised by his strength and combat experience.

"I've trained with Granny enough now that I can get a feel for my opponents in battle. And that rogue fought as if he'd faced off against a thousand other spearmen in his life and lived to tell the tale.

"And then there was that other guy who summoned the meteor. The chant he used to do it was unlike any magic I've ever witnessed in this world before. Was it something long lost from our world or something?" The Spear Hero asked Fitoria.

"Hmmm…" Fitoria began to ponder to herself for a moment, or so Motoyasu had thought at first.

One of the standing strands of hair on Fitoria's head began to glow and sway from side to side. The spear hero immediately guessed that she must have asked Amber about something right now. Or maybe she was looking through Amber's memories...?

Was that another thing the ahoges could do? Motoyasu should have asked about that earlier.

Either way, whatever it was they communicated, Fitoria eventually shook her head. "No, according to what Amber showed me, the magic those evil men were using is not native to this world."

"Then... does that mean that they came from another world? Like Glass, L'Arc and Therese?" Motoyasu asked.

"Yes, that is what Fitoria theorizes, at least." Fitoria frowned. "Fitoria has killed many of these evil men herself in the past. Yet Fitoria can remember some of them appearing again after Fitoria thought that she killed them.

"Fitoria isn't sure if that is Fitoria's memory problems to blame, or if that is the case. That was why I wanted to start by searching through the remains of Fitoria's old library again. Just in case one of Fitoria's journals survived and the past Fitoria had recorded any of those experiences down."

Motoyasu began to frown as a sad look appeared on Fitoria's features again. "Is the reason why you haven't kept any new journals because you fear those evil men would somehow appear here to destroy them again?"

"I guess… that could be one of the reasons. Thinking back on it, Fitoria felt so much pain when she saw her beloved library destroyed… and those men were laughing as Fitoria killed them."

A shudder went down Motoyasu's spine, recalling how one of the men he'd killed earlier also died laughing. Hell, he'd been laughing even though his Meteor spell would have killed him along with everyone else in the area.

So creepy...

…

…

"Perhaps, Fitoria decided that she wanted to forget about her past. Even if it meant forgetting the good things, like her daddy praising her for being such a good girl. Or mommy… … …"

Tears gathered in the girl's eyes again. "Fitoria is still unable to remember her mommy's name and face, even though she has remembered her Daddy and what he was like."

"There is so much good that Fitoria has forgotten. So why is it that Fitoria can still recall all the evil people who have tried again and again to harm Fitoria and her flock?!"

"Why is it so hard for me to forget about those who've caused Fitoria so much pain when I can hardly remember how much Fitoria loved her Dad?!" The girl looked up to Motoyasu, still holding his hand as tears slowly traveled down the sides of her face.

"..." Motoyasu stayed silent, pondering to himself for a moment as Fitoria stared pleadingly up at the Spear Hero.

…

"Honestly," Motoyasu finally shrugged. "I think that's just a very human thing we sometimes do."

Fitoria sniffed. "But Fitoria isn't a human…"

"You're right, Fitoria is far better than any human." Motoyasu grinned cheekily before his face turned serious again. "What I meant is that it's normal for bad memories to outweigh the good ones for a lot of people. Even when they spend most of their time doing stuff that's good."

Motoyasu paused again, and then a troubled look passed over his features.

"Fitoria, I know you want me to tell you what to do. To say something, anything, about what you showed and told me. But I'm not sure if I'm the right person to ask.

"Until recently, I was useless at best and actively detrimental at worst because of my weaknesses and insecurities. It's only because of the love and forgiveness of others that I'm able to be here today. In my mind, I'm the last person that you should be asking for advice.

"And even if that wasn't the case, I've never liked telling other people how to live their lives. I don't mind stating my own opinions, but enforcing them? No, I saw how well that panned out in the beginning after my summoning.

"Everyone has the right to make their own decisions and take responsibility for them. As cruel as it might be, it's one's failures and mistakes that make the lessons life throws at you stick more than anything else another person could say.

"Honestly, I want to tell you to wait for Naofumi to come back so you can tell him your plea instead. He seems like the only person around here who knows what the hell he's doing… But I doubt that you'd want that kind of cop-out answer from me."

Fitoria stayed looking at him, and at his pause, her eyes fell, but she nodded her head.

Motoyasu sighed. "Yeah… alright, do you still want me to tell you what I think about all this?"

Fitoria, again, wordlessly nodded in response, which just made Motoyasu grimace even more. And yet, because she'd asked for it, he turned his body on the bench to fully face the girl and firmly placed his hands on her shoulders while looking into the Filolial Queen's eyes.

"Fitoria, what you did was extremely stupid!"

Fitoria instinctively shrunk and averted her gaze by looking down, but Motoyasu didn't stop.

"No! Not just stupid! It was actively detrimental to this world's continued survival!"

The girl's shoulders began to shake but Motoyasu continued to firmly hold them.

"I'm not going to say that I understand what you've gone through. I can't even fathom what it must have felt like to put all that long continuous effort into preserving your memories, only to have it all become undone in an instant because of the actions of some evil men.

"But that's still no excuse! You had more than enough time to grieve! You can't just close yourself off from the world because you were hurt by it! Becoming numb by continuously putting distance between yourself and everything else is a shortsighted and foolish solution!

"If you stop caring about anything, then you'll eventually turn into a mindless psychopath that's no different from those very same bad men who wronged you!

"If you're forgetting good things that happened to you, then make some new good memories! Be it with me and the other Heroes, or with the members of your flock!

"I know it's hard, I know you fear the risk of just making more bad memories instead, but doesn't the good outweigh the bad!?...

"Isn't that why you still yearn to remember your mother and father and feel such remorse over forgetting them? Because of how happy those two made you feel?"

…

The Spear Hero breathed in and out a few times before continuing.

"What you should have, no, what I would have done if I were in your shoes is pick up the pieces and start over. And even if what happened before happens again, then so what? Some things will get lost, yes, but not all of them.

"You still remember some good and important things, don't you? So do it again. Write them all down all over. And whenever you somehow recall something, write that down too.

"Living isn't about trying to avoid pain! It's about finding joy with others!"

…

"...That's what I believe, at least."

…

…

There was silence for a moment as Fitoria sat still, thinking about what Motoyasu had said.

The blonde carefully let go of Fitoria's shoulders, put his hands in his lap, and turned to face the pond again, looking over it at the ruined city and the flock of Filolials that it contained.

He wasn't sure if he'd said the right thing to Fitoria or not. He'd ranted for quite a while there.

And… Motoyasu hated giving people direct advice or criticizing others for their failures when he was a paragon of personal shortcomings. But at the moment, the voice of the Spear Hero's heart was suppressing his code of honor.

He could only hope that listening to his heart was the right call today.

…

…

…

"Is Fitoria a bad girl?" Fitoria said it so quietly, that Motoyasu almost hadn't thought that she'd spoken.

He turned his head, and his eyes met hers. She looked incredibly vulnerable in that moment. Even more so than earlier.

"... You've made some mistakes, Fitoria. It's true. But do those mistakes make you a bad person?" Motoyasu asked rhetorically.

"If I were to say yes, I'd only be condemning myself. Because I've made some big mistakes myself in the past.

"So all I can say is that your mistakes don't make you a bad girl.

"You'd only be a bad girl if you never tried to fix them."

…

…

…

…

…

"I'm afraid there are still many things that Fitoria is unable to remember," Fitoria spoke out again after a long moment. She was looking down at the pond again as she said it.

And her eyes moved off to the side before she started speaking again. "And what little Fitoria can remember of her long life… are things Fitoria would rather forget."

"..." Motoyasu remained silent. He turned his head to look at the pond again.

…

…

The little angel girl rested a hand on Motoyasu's shoulder, making him face her once more.

Fitoria had an impassive look on her face this time. And yet, her eyes looked less sad than before. "But… I think that I don't want to forget about Mamoru being my Father. Or that Naofumi forgave Fitoria and accepted her as part of his family.

"And I especially don't want to forget what Motoyasu said to me today. Since he has taken the time to help Fitoria feel better."

Motoyasu flashed the girl a big smile. "Just remember to note me as being the best friend of the great Fitoria and I'll be happy, I say!"

His words made Fitoria's lips curve upward just a little. And Motoyasu couldn't have looked happier as he ran a hand through her hair and continued. "And besides me, you have Amber and Blue and all the members of your flock too.

"It's alright to want to protect everyone. Just, you know, don't be afraid to lean on us from time to time too. Whether you need to talk about something, or you just need a hug.

"I don't want to hear about you spending any more time in your nest just staring up at the ceiling all by yourself. Ok?

"I know what that does to a person… I don't want you to feel as if you're that alone ever again."

"Ok…"

…

"M… Motoyasu?" Fitoria spoke after a moment. "Can…

"Can Fitoria please have a hug?"

The Spear Hero didn't respond. He just simply stood up and faced her before opening his arms and smiling at her.

Fitoria, though she was hesitant at first, stood up and hugged the Spear Hero tightly. Resting her head against his stomach as she buried her face beneath his chest plate. Tears were falling down the sides of her face.

Motoyasu's hand silently began to run through her hair soothingly. And the girl felt a sense of love and comfort fill her being.

The scene sparked a memory in her mind. Of her hugging a girl much shorter than Motoyasu. She had red hair as well as red wings, similar to Fitoria's.

She couldn't remember the context. She felt like she'd just gotten hurt or something. She also recalled Mamoru standing behind the woman, having a hand rested on her shoulder, and a smile reflecting off his face.

She could not picture the woman's face though. She couldn't even remember her name.

…

But the warm mischievous smile she had, and the feeling of warmth and love she felt coming from her…

"M… Mama…"

That was something that could never be truly forgotten…

…

…

…

The girl released the hug and looked up at Motoyasu. He was worried when he saw that she was frowning again.

Fortunately, those worries didn't last long.

"Fitoria has decided. Fitoria will try to write down and draw the things she can remember from her past again.

"Perhaps doing so will help Fitoria to remember more details about the evil men who've targeted Fitoria's flock before… and make up for the times she hasn't been able to help the Heroes out."

Motoyasu frowned and opened his mouth to speak, but Fitoria cut him off.

"It hurts Fitoria to remember such things, but Fitoria can't remember the good things like her mother if Fitoria doesn't remember the bad as well.

"And in remembering the bad, perhaps Fitoria will remember things, important things that could help Motoyasu and the Heroes out."

The bird girl looked down at her hands. "If I do remember anything important, I'll make sure to relay the information to you through Amber, or Filo should she get back before that happens," Fitoria promised. "I just… I just ask that should this get Fitoria's flock targeted again…

"I'd like to please ask the Heroes to assist Fitoria in protecting them."

"... Of course," Motoyasu promised. "Actually, now that you mention it, those guys might have been targeting me too. So if that's the case, then working together would help us all out."

Motoyasu then had another thought as he looked at his Spear, and then at Fitoria's Carriage necklace. "Not sure if this will help or not… but how about instead of a library, you store your future journals in your weapon instead?

"That way, no one will be able to destroy or touch them like before."

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"... … …" At her long silence, Motoyasu wondered if he'd said something odd.

However, after some time, it seemed that what Motoyasu had said finally clicked in the Filolial's brain, and she facepalmed in front of the Spear Hero. "I forgot that the Carriage also has an inventory function like the other weapons. Only Fitoria would be capable of accessing it!

"Stupid Fitoria! She would have never lost her past journals if she'd stored them in her Carriage instead of in her nest! What was she thinking?!"

Motoyasu couldn't help it as he started laughing. An action which had the little Bird Queen pouting up at him.

It was too adorable though, and only made him laugh harder than he should have. "This isn't funny!" She yelled in an uncharacteristic tone at the blonde man.

"S-Sorry, it is pretty funny! I hope my memory isn't that bad when I'm getting on in years!"

Motoyasu had to wipe a few tears of mirth from his eyes. But he smiled genuinely at the queen of the Filolials, making her pout melt off her face.

"But hey, now that you know, that should help you to protect your precious memories in the future!" Motoyasu continued to chuckle. "And, when I have time, I promise that I'll record my adventures and memories with you too. And I'll have the other Heroes do so as well.

"That way, you'll have even more to remember."

"... got it." Fitoria nodded determinedly. "Fitoria will do her best then."

Motoyasu rubbed the top of her head again. He was surprised she'd let him do it so much in the last few minutes, especially after he'd just laughed at her, but the happy smile that formed on the girl's face as she nuzzled against the Spear Hero's hand was worth more than all the wealth in the world.

"Motoyasu, thank you. For scolding Fitoria."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean-" The blonde began to apologize but Fitoria sharply cut him off.

"No. Do not apologize. Motoyasu did Fitoria a big favor.

"Sometimes... sometimes it becomes difficult to tell what's right and wrong. Back when Fitoria's daddy was alive, he would always tell Fitoria if she was doing good or bad.

"After he was gone, Fitoria tried to listen to others too. But as Fitoria grew older and more powerful, people stopped telling her whenever she made a mistake. They would either be too afraid to tell it to her because they feared Fitoria's power. Or they would try to sugarcoat it to earn Fitoria's favor.

"That's part of the reason why Fitoria stopped associating with humans, I think. And it's why Fitoria likes Amber and Blue the most out of the current members of her flock.

"They respect Fitoria, but they do not fear her or try to manipulate Fitoria for their own gain.

"They are brave, honest, and good Filolials. But they are also curious and inexperienced.

"Make sure to take good care of them, okay?" She asked him.

"Of course, I solemnly swear that no harm shall come to Amber or Blue while I and the other Heroes are around! I say!" Motoyasu bowed with an exaggerated flair, making Fitoria giggle a little.

The Spear Hero continued to smile genuinely in response.

It seemed like he'd managed to say the right things in the end. Fitoria's smile was precious, just like Filo's. Meaning he had to protect it with all the strength he had!

He could only hope that his bond with the bird queen would continue to deepen in the future.

The two ended up talking about other things for a little while after that. Fitoria had liked the head patting and had even laid her head in Motoyasu's lap at one point so he could continue to do so.

Motoyasu learned that Naofumi had done something similar for Fitoria shortly after they first met. And while a brief twinge of jealousy arose in Motoyasu at Naofumi having been able to enjoy such an experience first, it didn't take away from his enjoyment of it. And it certainly did a lot to help improve Fitoria's mood even more.

Their talking quieted down to a peaceful silence sometime after that with Fitoria pulling some paper out of her necklace to sketch something down.

Motoyasu didn't peek at it. Giving the young girl privacy as he continued rubbing his hand through her hair.

It was honestly true bliss. He could have done this for days, months, even years if he had the time. How could her hair feel so good and smooth?!

…

…

But, eventually, Amber returned, having finished cleaning out the rest of that ash-filled section. Instead of meeting at the canal, she decided to reunite with the two instead. And thus, the two's private time came to an end.

The teenage Filolial Queen had come across two more stone tablets hidden amongst the ashes, but most of their writing had also been gauged out like the others.

Only one of the tablets had something readable on it. Mamoru Shirono. Written in a language Fitoria knew.

It looked like there'd been another name etched beside it, though, according to Fitoria, it was too faded to make out what it said besides the first and last letters, F and a. It had Shirono written after it as well.

Fitoria Shirono had been written beneath the two, with lines connecting the two names. While Fitoria didn't have enough to remember the name of her mother, she did recognize it as being something she'd made to be reminded of her parents.

Holding it, she put it to the gemstone of her necklace, absorbing it right after absorbing the sketch of her mother and father from the memory she'd recalled thanks to Motoyasu.

Such precious things were not going to leave her person ever again.

Hopefully, they'd help spark more memories of her parents later on.

After that, seeing how much time had passed, Motoyasu reluctantly said goodbye to the Filolial Queen and used his portal skill to teleport Amber and himself out of the Filolial Sanctuary back onto the doorstep of his house in a flash of light.

However, he made sure to save the location of the Sanctuary in his Spear's Portal list, so he could teleport there again in the future.

You know, with Fitoria's permission, of course.

…

When the Spear Hero returned, the sky overhead was dark, but the stars had as yet to appear thanks to the light of the sun still shining at the edge of the distant horizon.

It only helped the Spear Hero to realize just how much time had passed since the Wave earlier that day. He had spent more than a few hours comforting Fitoria and seeing her home.

"Huahhhh, what a long day." Motoyasu yawned.

"Does Blondie want Amber to grab dinner for Blondie and Amber?" Amber asked curiously.

"Nah, I can do that myself, thanks. Besides, I still need to check in with Melty and make sure the village is doing well." Motoyasu smiled as he petted Amber's head.

The Filolial Queen nuzzled into his touch. "Ok, Amber will wait for Blondie here then!" She then transformed in a poof of feathers and ran into the house. Likely to see if Elena was there so she could pester her about their trip today.

Elena wasn't particularly sociable. But it didn't seem to stop Amber from trying to get closer to her.

Motoyasu walked from his house down from the cliffs towards the village proper.

Thanks to torchlight, he saw some of the villagers and kids still in the training arena, doing katas together or training alongside Granny in feeling their inner ki. He also spotted Rachel assisting their resident witch Mahoya with teaching some of their kids magic while Crystal dueled against some of Mirellia's knights with her spear. Sharpening their skills with the weapon.

The Spear Hero then spotted Ren in a mock duel with Eclair and paused for a few seconds to watch.

Ren's movements were a bit sluggish, compared to what they were before, and his eyes didn't look like they were entirely focused on the here and now, but despite that, his face was covered in a layer of sweat. The Sword Hero looked like he was trying to fight as best as he could right now, and judging by the perspiration on Eclair's face, he was managing to push the knight girl hard too.

Good. Motoyasu was briefly confused when he didn't spot a certain someone nearby to observe the Sword Hero, but he eventually shrugged and continued, stopping briefly at a building set up by the training arena to absorb the parts of monsters left there from today's hunting parties for him and Ren.

This building had been made in part to give the Heroes more materials for their power-up methods, though the other more important reason was that only the Heroes were able to acquire the drop items each monster had thanks to their Hero Weapons. Be it ores, herbs, weapons/armor, and whatever else the monsters had as drop items.

And because Motoyasu and the other Heroes had already gotten all the weapon forms they could get from the monsters around here, they only needed a small part of the monster to get the drop items instead of acquiring more to unlock a new weapon form. Meaning the rest of the monster's carcass could be used as the villagers saw fit.

Some of the drop items could help strengthen the village and villagers. Some of the more valuable, less practical items could be sold to villages and towns in Melromarc for money. And the rest was used as fodder for the Hero's item-based power-up methods.

All in all, it was a good system Melty had implemented since returning to the town. After absorbing the portion set in his zone of the building, Motoyasu went over to Ren's zone and dropped off some of the monster materials he'd gained from the Wave before leaving the building and walking out into the village proper.

Oh yeah, now that he thought about it, he had gotten a cool spear from the Wave Boss today. Motoyasu pulled it up on his weapon menu.

Demon Elephant Spear

Equip Bonus: +20 Attack

Special Effect: Critical Hit Rate Up (medium), Critical Damage Up (medium)

It had good stats attached to it too. Though, unfortunately, it wasn't near as good as the Filolial Crown Spear and especially nowhere close to the Spirit Tortoise Heart Spear he used in battle nowadays.

A shame its special effects weren't equip bonuses. Unlocking those could have been useful in a fight with his stronger spears. Though, if the Wave Boss today had been any indication, his critical hits were already 'critical' enough as it was.

…

As Motoyasu continued walking, he observed how construction on the last few buildings in the town square was finishing up. Some of the villagers were expanding their focus on building defensive fortifications around the perimeter of the village while others worked on more housing closer to the sea.

He paused to talk to a few of the villagers on his way to the communal kitchen, as well as one of the knights patrolling the town. Getting a general vibe about how things were going.

By the time he finally reached the counter, a familiar cat man was setting a pair of trays piled high with soups, pieces of bread, and other various foodstuffs he and the other cooks had prepared. And Motoyasu simultaneously discovered why he hadn't seen Ren's dog girl watching his duel earlier.

"There you go. I made sure to put some of the Sword Hero's favorites in there this time." Rachel's husband said with a toothy smile.

Wyndia picked the two trays up. "Th… thank you. Ren will definitely appreciate it." She bowed her head to Gar, giving him a small smile of her own before turning around and stopping in surprise. "Oh, Sir Motoyasu! Did things go well at the Wave today?"

"Yeah, me and Fitoria handled it, easy peasy." He gave two thumbs up to the surprised girl. "Let me guess. I didn't see you observing Ren's training earlier because you were grabbing dinner for yourselves?"

"Huh- oh. I ate earlier." Wyndia blushed as she looked down at the food. She felt embarrassed that the Spear Hero assumed she'd be sticking to her boyfriend's side like glue.

She did do a lot nowadays, admittedly, but that wasn't the point!

She forced herself to breathe in deeply before she continued speaking. "Eclair has been training Ren all evening while I've been teaching some of the kids how to look after the village's new Caterpillands and Dunes. I thought I'd grab something for her to eat too as thanks for looking after him before I took Ren back home for the night."

"Ah, so it's kind of like bribery then." Motoyasu smiled mischievously.

Wyndia laughed a little in response. "Maybe a little... But I don't mind.

"I was able to get some important things done since Eclair was watching my Hero for me. So this is a way for me to tell her thank you without needing to say it out loud." She admitted while bashfully looking down at the ground.

Motoyasu smiled and moved aside so Wyndia could walk past. The girl had changed a lot in the last few weeks. But it was in a good way.

It was nice for Ren's girlfriend to be more open with her thoughts and feelings to others around her. That was exactly what that boy needed in his life.

Before she could disappear though, Motoyasu suddenly remembered something he forgot to drop off in the building earlier. "Wait, before you go, I got something for Ren that I need you to give him!"

The dog girl came to a stop, somehow managing to balance both trays on her arms as she did so. "What did you get for Ren?" She asked, almost sounding impatient, but also intrigued.

Motoyasu brought up his weapon's inventory. Gods, he hadn't noted it earlier, but the inside of this thing was such a mess! When was the last time he'd cleaned it out and sorted everything?!

Sure, he'd been throwing a lot of trash items and corpses into Itsuki's [Item Enchantment] and [Job Levels] methods to make himself stronger. He'd also given Elena some valuables to sell whenever she was out procuring goods for the village, but he'd absorbed so many monsters and items since coming to this world that his inventory was just cluttered with all sorts of useless garbage.

Well, hoarding everything he ever got like a pack rat had worked out to his benefit in the end. But he was going to have to take some time later on to sort through his weapon's inventory. Who knew what else he had in here that could possibly be of help to the Heroes or the village in general?

Anyway, that side tangent aside…

Motoyasu finally found and pulled the sword he'd absorbed earlier out of his weapon. He also pulled out a sword sheath, which had been a drop from some random monster part he absorbed just a few minutes ago, and sheathed the old blade in it before handing it to Wyndia. "I found a spear of the same make that gave me an intermediate boost in blacksmithing. I figure Ren might get something similar if he copies that."

At first, Wyndia had been unsure about the old-looking blade. It hadn't struck her as something strong or even wieldable in battle.

But after Motoyasu finished, her eyes widened, and then she started to smile brightly again. "That's perfect!" She closed her eyes, her face beaming with light. "Ren was struggling to make a Steel Sword yesterday. So this should help him out!"

"Heh, glad to hear. If it does give his blacksmithing skills a boost, I'll be happy to have grabbed that." Motoyasu said.

Wyndia bowed again, balancing the trays of food after attaching the new sheath to her hip. And then she rushed off to where her boyfriend was training. Her face looked even happier than it had earlier.

"Keep up the good work with that boy! I swear, I never see him looking happier than whenever you're with him!" Motoyasu called after her.

Wyndia blushed again, but she quickly nodded and disappeared.

It was the truth, and it honestly made her happy to hear it.

It was still embarrassing to be told that though! Even more so than what the Spear Hero had said earlier!

Gah, she needed to get back to Ren again so she could cuddle with him in the privacy of their home as soon as possible!

"Come now, do you really have to embarrass a young girl in love like that?" Garfield, who'd been observing the interaction from behind the counter, finally commented. "You're giving me flashbacks to how Rae acted when we were young."

"Young?! What are you talking about, I'm older than you!" Motoyasu refuted.

"Maybe in your world, but I've lived here my whole life." Garfield grinned toothily.

"Well… fair enough, but what can I say, Gar." Moto rested an elbow on the counter. "Watching those two together is like salve on the soul."

"Hmmm… not sure what you're talking about. But eh, I'm happily married to Rae now, so I guess I'm not too invested in other's relationships at the moment." The cat demihuman shrugged with a laugh.

Motoyasu talked with Rachel's husband for a little longer. Even though it'd been a short time since the Spear Hero had begun traveling to Zeltoble, the cat man had already stepped up, taking over as one of the head cooks for the village for Motoyasu.

Granted, the male demihuman specialized in making vegetarian options as well as baking, since he wasn't much of a fan of meat. But he still knew how to handle monster meat, and he was a surprisingly big help for the other kids and villagers training to become cooks as well.

"Hey, Mr. Gar, the soup is turning really thick for some reason! Is it supposed to do that?!" One of the kids suddenly yelled from the back.

"Wha- just a second!" The cat man suddenly cut off his conversation with Motoyasu, rushing back to help the young villager making stew with usapil monster meat from the forest.

A short while later, the cat man returned, looking just a little more ragged than before, but smiling just as brightly regardless. "Sorry about that. Anyway, anything else you needed to ask me about before I dish up your dinner, Spear Hero?"

"Nah, I can see you're handling things well. Keep up the good work. Oh, and I'm grabbing food for Amber and maybe Elena as well if she hasn't eaten yet!" Motoyasu tacked on at the end.

"I think she came an hour ago. I'll give you extra portions, just in case." Garfield hummed as he got three different trays ready. "I know Amber would appreciate the extra food either way."

Moments later, Motoyasu had dinner for himself and Amber and possibly Elena. If she'd already eaten, then Amber definitely wouldn't say no to the extra food.

He stored the three meals in his Spear, thanking Garfield again before walking off.

Now he had just one more person to find, and…

Yep, she was exiting one of the newly constructed buildings in the square right as Motoyasu was walking away from the communal kitchen.

Melty spotted the Spear Hero seconds later as he approached her, and the girl's stress vanished almost immediately as she sagged with relief. "Sir Motoyasu, its good to see you."

"Hey Melty, everything go well today?" The blonde asked.

The girl sighed. "Not really... I had to put down several different disputes. And one of the kids got themselves hurt while training in the forest so I had to visit the Infirmary to use some healing magic on her. I've had to deal with several different problems today."

"Ah, um, sorry." Motoyasu offered hesitantly.

"Don't be." Melty sighed again. "At least I don't have to worry about you since you're back for tonight."

Melty smiled up at him. "Now, with the pleasantries out of the way, did the Wave go well?"

…

"It did… mostly," Motoyasu answered.

"Mostly? Didn't you have Fitoria there?" Melty asked worriedly.

"Yeah…" Motoyasu grimaced. He looked around, making sure that no one else was around. Then, he looked down at Melty. "You mind if I wait till we're almost home before I talk about what happened?"

…

Melty's face became stressed again. The poor girl just couldn't catch a break, could she?

…

Moments later, when they were close to their homes, Motoyasu began telling the Second Princess about what'd happened at the Wave.

Motoyasu described how the monsters had been fairly easy. How he'd even one-shotted the Wave Boss before Fitoria went off to the other world to talk to Naofumi and the others.

Melty briefly frowned at the mention of the Shield Hero, but she didn't interrupt. And she did smile a little, after learning how Motoyasu had become strong enough to one-shot the world's current Wave Bosses.

But it wasn't until Motoyasu told her about the individuals that'd attacked him and Fitoria's flock that she finally spoke.

"They were targeting Fitoria's flock?" The princess asked seriously.

"Yeah, I was also a secondary target, apparently, since I was a Hero. But they focused on attacking the Filolials before I joined the fight." Motoyasu answered.

"..." Melty stayed silent.

Her frown only seemed to deepen, and she put a hand to her head as if she was experiencing a headache. "Am I going to have to worry about these idiots targeting Ren too?"

"Eh? Did something else happen while I was gone today?" Motoyasu asked in surprise.

"No, no attacks or anything like that." Melty sighed. "Though, Blue said that some of Fitoria's Filolials have spotted suspicious individuals spying on our village from the mountains."

Motoyasu should have been frowning at the news… however, he was smiling widely instead. "Really?! Blue is speaking too!? That's great! That means he should be transforming into his human form soon, I say!"

"Focus!" Melty snapped at him.

"Eh- Right, sorry." Motoyasu tried his best to look ashamed of himself for his outburst.

But it was so hard! He had as of yet to see a Filolial King! And Blue was likely to make a fantastic Filolial King, I say!

Melty sighed again. "Not that I don't share in your enthusiasm, Spear Hero. I want to see what a Filolial King looks like too… but I am worried that an attack on our village will be happening any day now.

"I don't think they're connected with the group scouting our defenses. By the sound of it, the people who attacked you are the type to fight first and think later. Still, hearing that you were targeted by another group of individuals doesn't make me feel any better…

"Especially since the Sword Hero is still in no shape to defend himself, much less, our nation."

"... Yeah, I agree," Motoyasu rested a hand on her shoulder. "But you don't have to worry so much. Even if Ren is still out of the action, you still have Granny, Eclair, Keel, and many others besides them willing to defend this place. And besides them, Ren is constantly surrounded by his friends. They wouldn't allow anyone to nab him like last time.

"Most of all, the people here have you. An awesome, powerful mage who is more than capable of holding her own in a fight, just like her Father in his prime." Motoyasu said sincerely.

"Hmmm… go on." Melty relaxed, and a look of haughtiness appeared on her face as she fished for more compliments.

"Well, let's see. You're also one of the best leaders ever, doing just as good a job being in charge as your Mother. You're talented in writing and speech and have other great qualities for a ruler. You LOVE Filolials as much as I do, and are thus one of the best people in the world for that alone." Motoyasu listed off.

Melty began laughing at that one though, and Motoyasu paused to smile. And Melty, when she stopped laughing, smiled back as well.

"Filolials are definitely the superior species." Melty agreed.

"They are. And you know, after the Wave, Fitoria also took me to her Sanctuary, and…"

Motoyasu proceeded to tell her about the better part of his day. Seeing the ancient ruined city that housed the civilization of Filolials. Getting to see the inside of Fitoria's home. Spending some time sitting with the Filolial Queen and talking about different things.

Melty's attention was enraptured by Motoyasu's tale. The Spear Hero ended up frowning a little as he didn't bring up the worst aspects of that visit. Like the fact that Fitoria's past journals had been destroyed, or that Fitoria had almost killed him because of the fear inspired by her repressed memories. He also didn't touch on Fitoria's depression but put it that she'd been lonely for a very long time.

Somehow, he managed to get through to the end. Based on the stars shining in Melty's eyes, the little girl just looked more excited to have learned some details about the Filolial Queen and her home that she hadn't known about before.

"Ancient ruins not marked on any world map! That's so cool! I hope I'm able to see it someday!" She said excitedly.

"Yeah, maybe you should ask next time she's in town. Visiting her flock in her home could be a good way for you to relieve some stress." Motoyasu suggested.

…

Melty looked like she was seriously considering the idea. And probably would have marched straight into his house to ask Amber if she could visit that night. However, she was cut off by a yawn, and the excitement she'd been feeling vanished, only to be replaced by the fatigue brought by her long day of work.

"Maybe later, after you've finished your mission in Zeltoble… or after Naofumi and the others return, if that happens first," Melty said, looking disappointed about real life getting in the way of people like her.

"Hey, I'll take you up on that." Motoyasu quickly said, making the girl look up at him again. "I already knew I was asking a lot of you to take care of things here while I'm gone. So after I get back, I'll take over some of your duties so Fitoria can show you her home."

"W-Would… would she be alright with that though?!" Melty asked, suddenly looking embarrassed. "I'm not one of the Cardinal Heroes. Would she actually trust me enough to bring me there?"

"Fitoria says yes," Amber spoke from the doorstep.

The two jumped in surprise, but Amber leaned against the doorframe. Her ahoge dancing left and right on her head. "Fitoria says that Melty would have to behave and not spook the members of Fitoria's flock. But once things have calmed down a bit, Fitoria won't mind bringing Melty and other members of the Hero's parties to see Fitoria's home."

"R-R-R-... REALLY?!" Melty's high-pitched scream of excitement nearly cracked the nearby windows.

"Mhm." Amber nodded, smiling happily.

Melty nearly screamed again. Energy flared from her being. She looked entirely motivated now compared to earlier.

Yes! Motoyasu had truly found a worthy comrade in arms to share in his Filolial obsession with, I say! She and everyone else in the world deserved to learn about the magnificence of these beautiful creatures!

All of a sudden, Melty clamped down on her excitement. The energy around her vanished, and she forced her face into a thin line. Still, despite her upbringing, she couldn't hide the stars shining over her eyes as she bowed to Amber and spoke politely. "I shall look forward to seeing Fitoria's home then."

Amber smiled as she walked up. "Fitoria says that Fitoria will look forward to it too, Melty." She hugged the girl as she said so.

…

By the time Amber released the Second Princess, the bluette's mask had almost completely cracked. However, she was still restraining herself and gave Motoyasu a respectful bow. "If that is all, then I'll be on my way. Though, I will expect you to report to me again when you come back tomorrow." Melty stated seriously, but she still had some mirth in her voice as she spoke.

"Of course. I will make sure that these next few days will bring nothing but good news from me, I say!" Motoyasu bowed in return.

Melty laughed a little more as she headed towards Naofumi's house.

Funnily enough, at the same time, Eclair was walking up as well. The two girls talked to one another as they went through the front door.

It was only after it'd closed that Motoyasu could have sworn he heard a loud-pitched scream of excitement come from the Second Princess. Albeit, slightly muted by the walls of the home.

"Great timing there, Amber." Motoyasu rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. "That was exactly what she needed after today."

"Mhm. To be honest, Amber was wondering what was taking Blondie so long to grab dinner. And then Amber overheard you at the door and decided to grab Fitoria's attention." The Filolial explained.

"Also, Fitoria wanted to say thank you for keeping some of the matters you two talked about private. Fitoria really appreciates it." She added on.

"Amber... I'll need to make you a big breakfast before we leave tomorrow morning," Motoyasu said happily.

Amber's eyes shined happily, and her stomach began to growl. Reminding Motoyasu that he'd grabbed dinner for his family.

"Alright, enough of that, let's eat!" Motoyasu pulled Amber's tray out of his weapon for her.

"Yayyyyyy~!" Amber grabbed it and proceeded to rush into their home without a second thought.

Before he walked in, Motoyasu saw an exhausted Crystal walking through the front door of Itsuki's house. Refusing help from Karn, who followed behind her.

Strange, those two's interactions had seemed more strained as of late. But Motoyasu hadn't paid them much attention since he didn't know Itsuki's friends particularly well.

He'd probably have to change that after Naofumi and Itsuki got back from the Otherworld.

On the opposite side, Motoyasu spotted Wyndia and Ren through the window of their home. The couple was sitting together on a couch in their living room, having a conversation with Tersia and Farrie about events from the day while the Sword Hero ate.

Motoyasu's smile grew a little more when he saw the Sword Hero's weapon form had been changed to the sword he'd given Wyndia earlier. It was the little things that made the day that much better.

Yeah, thankfully, the village was still at peace… for now.

Today had shown Motoyasu that he had to get to Zeltoble's Capital as fast as possible. The sooner he finished up there, the sooner he could be back here to keep things running smoothly! No more time for sidetracking or anything, I say!

If something else did come up, then it'd just have to wait till later. Unless it was really that important!

Grrrrrr…

…

Okay, maybe after he had dinner and a good night's sleep first. And Amber as well.

Motoyasu went through the front door of his home, closing it behind him.

And thus, the Hero's Village settled in for the night.

Hero Clips!

How to Raise Your Filolial

"Whoa, is this actually…" Motoyasu looked at his arms in shock.

"Yayyyyyy~! You look so great, Blondie!" Amber spun into view, her arms spread out and the happiest smile on her face.

The Spear Hero found himself in a very familiar kimono. Standing in front of a chalkboard at the front of a classroom.

"Hmmm? What are we here for?" Ren asked confusedly.

"I don't see the other Heroes here." Wyndia looked confused as well sitting next to her boyfriend. Instead of a desk, they were sharing a couch.

The two really were attached to the other like glue. Ren took a second to take his scarf off so he could put it around Wyndia's neck, before resting his arm over her shoulders and focusing on Motoyasu again.

The poor dog girl buried her head in the Sword Hero's shoulder out of embarrassment at his kind gesture. And it was also partly because she wanted to cuddle up to him.

It was okay to do that in a classroom, right?

"Oh, now this should be interesting." Farrie grinned, eyeing up the hot new teacher they had.

"Come now, sister. If you were his love interest, the character tags would reflect that." Tersia rolled her eyes.

"Hmmm?" Fitoria looked around herself curiously. She was dressed in a schoolgirl outfit, and it looked so great on her I say, and-!

Motoyasu forced himself to look down at the teacher's desk in front of him. Still in a state of shock from what was going on, he found a note addressed to him.

Sorry, pretty busy in Otherworld at the moment. Figured I'd leave teaching this aspect of lore for you, champ.

Keep up the good work while I'm gone! And make sure not to get sidetracked! No need to write another 20+ chapter arc since I'm on a biweekly upload schedule right now!

Allen

…

…

"Blondie, you're crying," Amber said worriedly.

The Spear Hero was crying. Finally, his time had come! Author-san was truly amazing, I say!

"Alright! My time has truly arrived!" Motoyasu raised a hand to his face. Half-lidded glasses appeared on his nose, giving him the look of a professor. "Pay attention, my students! Today, I will be going over the lore of Heroes raising the most superior of all species amongst monsters, the great Royal Filolials!"

The others in the room perked up. With Wyndia pouting at the claim of Filolials being the superior species.

"Oh, is that why we're here?" Farrie asked curiously.

"It might be useful for figuring out Blue's human transformation," Tersia said, sounding intrigued.

Ren smiled, gesturing for the spearman to go ahead. Wyndia, meanwhile, went back to enjoying her boyfriend's love and kindness since she'd have no interest in this lesson.

Motoyasu thus began a detailed lesson outlining the rules of Heroes raising Filolials. With Amber and Fitoria assisting him here and there.

It essentially boiled down to a few key points, some of which had been mentioned in the past. Cardinal Heroes had a 99.99999% chance of raising a Royal Filolial while Vassal/Seven-Star Heroes had a 20% of doing so, with the Vassal Whip having a 60% chance. In basic terms, Cardinal Heroes were almost guaranteed to raise a Filolial Queen or King every single time, which was why it was important for Cardinals to do so instead of lesser Heroes.

Beyond that, the kind of Royal Filolial that'd be raised as well as their appearance depended on a lot of different factors. Hero weapons and Hero personalities accounted for that. It also depended on the Hero's age, the members they had in their party, what the Filolial was fed during their growth period, etc.

As an example, Filo would have had pink hair instead of blonde hair if she hadn't eaten the poisonous Chimera Viper Meat in canon. As another example, instead of Filo, Naofumi would get a different Filolial from the same egg named Sakura if he didn't have Raphtalia or someone like her in his party, and depending on the party members at the time, Sakura could also be either a child or an adult, depending on who it was that Naofumi needed in that timeline to fill a missing role in his party.

As yet another example, another Hero like Motoyasu could end up raising Filo's egg. But the Filolial that hatched would not be either Filo or Sakura, but someone entirely different because of the Spear Hero's differences from Naofumi. This also meant that a different Shield Hero entirely would not get Filo.

And Motoyasu would make sure to end such timelines with gore and bloodshed to ensure his favorite angel could come into existence and-

Ehhem, anyway, it was subtle shifts like these that made Reprise Motoyasu's job of recreating the Filo timeline so hard. And made evident just how much Allen had handwaved in Hope to include Filo in his fic. However, to his credit, this Filo did act very differently compared to canon Filo, due to Naofumi and Raphtalia being like a married couple when she first hatched.

Finally, after spending over an hour addressing all these topics from fifty pages worth of notes, Motoyasu continued on: "Now, typically, canon Ren and Itsuki got teenage Filolials whenever they raised them. And I normally got sons and daughters that I loved with all my heart. However, as you've probably guessed by now, in the case of Blue and Amber, the normal rules won't apply."

"Why is that?" The others in the class were either staring at Motoyasu with shell-shocked faces or were otherwise napping on their Hero boyfriends after falling asleep on them. It wasn't any of them that'd spoken.

Melty was sitting in the back of the class. She not only had her notebook out. But she'd written another hundred pages of notes based on what Motoyasu had said during the lesson.

Her appearance made some of the others in the room look at her in surprise. "When did she get here?" Ren asked.

"Does that mean nobody is running the village right now?" Tersia asked curiously.

The bluette pouted. "What!? The village can run itself for a few minutes while I'm gone!"

"Mmmm, dragons are the superior species…" Wyndia murmured in her sleep, smiling happily as she continued cuddling with an embarrassed-looking Sword Hero as the Filolial Queens in the room glared at him and his girlfriend.

Not that he wouldn't agree with her, but there was a time and a place for such things!

"Good question, Melty! Amber, would you like to answer for me?" Motoyasu quickly defused the girls' tempers by gesturing to the orange-feathered Filolial Queen.

"Of course Blondie!" Amber perked up before addressing the second princess. "The reason why Amber didn't transform into a child after becoming a royal is because Amber wasn't raised by Blondie from birth.

"Amber had a different owner when Amber first hatched. And then Amber spent a lot of time with Fitoria and Fitoria's flock when Amber was growing up.

"In other words, Amber's growth and personality weren't just the results of Blondie. But thanks to everyone who helped to raise Amber from Amber's birth." The Filolial finished explaining.

"Perfect explanation, I say!" Motoyasu saluted the younger girl. The girl gave a happy, cheerful salute back.

"In short, that means if a Hero raises a Filolial that was first raised by someone else, then all rules are thrown out the window." Motoyasu looked back at the rest of the class as he tossed his notes away. "Heroes might still have a little influence on a Royal Filolial's growth and personality, like the case of Amber possibly not being an adult like in Shield Kid because of her being raised by me. However, that could also be because of Amber's backstory being changed for this fic compared to Shield Kid.

"Still, beyond that, all bets are off when it comes to Heroes raising Filolials they didn't hatch themselves."

"Huh…" Farrie frowned in thought. "I guess that means we won't know what Blue will turn into after his transformation."

"Did it have to take us over an hour to reach that conclusion though?" Tersia was frowning as well. They were doing important things on the side too, even if everybody just considered them as side characters.

Melty raced to the front of the class though, bowing deeply to the Spear Hero with her notebook clutched to her chest. "Thank you so much! I'll be sure to treasure everything I've learned from you today Professor Kitamura!"

Motoyasu laughed in delight as he head patted the younger girl. Hell yeah! He'd killed it with his first lesson! It felt so awesome being the teacher here!

He hoped he'd get such a chance again in the future! Author and Proofreader-san were both amazing people, I say, and he couldn't wait to see what'd happen down the road, and-

"Oh, this is the perfect time for Amber to ask!" Amber suddenly appeared by Melty, getting down on one knee between her and the Spear Hero. "Melty, please make Amber the happiest Filolial by promising to take care of Amber's new onee-san for her!"

"... … eh?" The Spear Hero looked like his brain had just exploded.

"Take care of… Motoyasu?" Melty asked, looking confused.

"I believe Amber means to take care of the Spear Hero as in marriage." Fitoria tilted her head with a sigh. "Amber, you're not a member of Fitoria's flock anymore. There's no need for you to play matchmaker for others in your new flock."

"Ehhhhhh~!? But Amber always enjoyed getting Amber's friends to become mates for life!" The girl ruffled her wings in annoyance.

Melty's eyes widened even more, and she gripped the sides of her head in shock. "EHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" Wasn't she too young to be married though!?

Granted, her mother married pretty young herself, and to a descendant of a past Spear Hero no less. But that didn't mean that Melty herself was interested in romance with anyone at the moment! Especially to the current Spear Hero!

...

At the Spear Hero's continued silence, the others in the room began to stare at him judgmentally. Their glares finally made him snap out of the stupor Amber had put him in. "What- guys, I wasn't considering marrying a little girl!" He yelled at them.

"Uhuh." "Yeah." "Sure." "We totally believe you."

Their reactions pretty much said it all. They didn't believe Motoyasu in the slightest, thanks to his well-known Filo obsession.

"Hmmm, does that mean Amber should ask Fitoria to marry Blondie instead?" Amber asked after thinking to herself for a moment.

…

Motoyasu had to go against every single fiber in his being to say no to that.

Not that Fitoria was interested in him anyway, as he learned she saw the Spear Hero as more of a paternal figure than anything else.

The poor simp had been mom-zoned before he even knew it.

Hero Clips!

What is this bull crap?!

Piensa Guard Naginata Unlocked!

"A naginata?" Motoyasu said out loud in surprise.

"What is it, Blondie?" Amber asked curiously. She and Fitoria paused up ahead.

Motoyasu knew that they were there for something important. However…

The side-tracking was strong in this one.

"Sorry, it's just… I didn't know this world even had naginatas in it." Motoyasu switched to the weapon form he'd just copied.

Unlike the rusted thing he'd just touched (which hopefully wouldn't give him tetanus), the naginata he was holding looked brand new. It was like a spear, except the black-colored blade at the end of the shaft was curved and thicker than a regular spearhead. Though he was surprised the entire thing was made of some type of metal, it felt comfortable to grip, and as he gave it a test swing, he found that he liked the feel of it in his hands.

Nice! He didn't have many slashing options when it came to his spears, so its equip bonus wouldn't help much. But now he knew he could copy naginatas!

He already knew he could copy tridents and other kinds of polearms! He was glad to see though that naginatas also fell under his weapon! Maybe once Ren got better at blacksmithing, he could ask his younger bro to make a more powerful one for him that he could use in battle!

"What's a nag-a-nat-a though?" Amber tilted her head in confusion.

"Nah-gee-nate." Motoyasu corrected. "As for what it is, it's a weapon from Japan's feudal era.

"I can't remember if it was made from a modified farming tool, or if it was because the samurai needed a weapon with extra reach back then, but regardless, this is a really cool find!" He said excitedly.

It was also said to have been mainly used by female samurai in Japan. But hey, gender equality and all that!

Amber still looked confused. Though, that was probably because she'd always used her claws and magic for fighting. Most human weapons looked the same to her.

"Piensa…" Fitoria used an appraisal skill on the rusted weapon Motoyasu had copied to learn its name. "That name sounds familiar for some reason. Though Fitoria can't remember why."

Motoyasu shrugged. "Must be the name of some old country with how old that thing is. Probably another relic lost to time."

"Yeah, probably wasn't something that was just added to mess with a certain individual or anything like that," Fitoria said a very specific phrase nonchalantly, before shrugging, and gesturing for them to continue.

Man, Motoyasu couldn't wait for Naofumi and Itsuki to come back so he could tell them about this find! Who knew that this world once had naginatas in it!?

It was another part of Japanese culture they could reminisce over together once Ren learned how to make them again on his own. Hell, maybe they could even arm some of the villagers with them!

The possibilities for the Villagers and the Hero's party members were endless, I say!

"Achoo!" In the Otherworld, Dou-Lon sneezed while he was sparring with Glass.

"What is this bull crap?!" He said out loud, not knowing why he'd said such a thing. It wasn't often, but he had the sudden feeling that he was being left out of some kind of sick, twisted joke involving him.

"Focus!" The handle of one of Glass's fans slammed into the poor hakuko's head, knocking him onto his back.

Apparently, the spirit woman was still pissed about him tricking her so Kizuna could escape earlier.

And thus, their sparring deep in the mountains continued. With Dou-Lon eventually forgetting about the foreboding feeling he was getting while training with the katana.

Not knowing that the naginata he had rejected using before had actually been a weapon used in his world in the past.

If only he knew…

Till Next Time

Allen