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Chapter Text

Eclair Seaetto, the exonerated and reclaimed heiress to House Seaetto, descendant of the Old Boletaria Kingdom, stood nervously before Count Valentine Winchester. The noble title she inherited from her Father places her higher on the rank than the knight lord across her. But her realm is in complete ruin, while Count Winchester's land was well preserved from all three Waves that have happened so far, and the rebellion caused by the Three Heroes' Church. The count has a good, almost student to mentor relationship to her Father back during the Great War considering he was still mostly a boy at the time, but she isn't sure she can call on that connection. The different attitude towards demi-humans between House Winchester and House Seaetto is well known, that's why one is set right in the heart of Crownland, and the other is on the farest reach of the northern border. The only survivor of House Seaetto decided to take a much more cautious approach. "You have summoned me, Count Winchester?"

"Do not act like a stranger, Eclair. I understand our families have grown apart since The Great War. But there was a time when your Father, Sir Uther, was more like a Father to me than my own deadbeat of a dad who got himself killed the first chance he had. That makes me practically your older brother! And that gives me the right to pamper you, just a little. Sit down, have a drink, if you would like." The count is much more eager by contrast as he warmly Waves his hand to Eclair, and points his finger at the chair around his table. Eclair took the seat, but not the drink that was offered. "Not much of a drinker, huh? Your Father was the same. I still remember him forsworn any luxury, citing them not fit for the life of a paladin."

"I do not quite live up to my Father's standard." Eclair gives a slight incline of her head, not quite sure what to make of Count Winchcester's unexpected acts of eagerness. She might have observed a lot of the courtly dealings while fostered under the royal family, but she never took to them. Preferred to dedicate herself to knightly pursuit and martial excellence instead.

"To live as a saint, or a hermit is a life choice one makes on their own. It should not be forced upon them by someone else. Even when that someone else is one's Father." Count Winchester Waves his hand at Eclair, showing a slight distaste towards certain attitudes of Eclair's Father. She doesn't really agree with him, since the life of a paladin does require one to be away from the temptation of an easy life. But she doesn't voice her disagreement openly. She knew that much about courtly life, at the least. "But I haven't called you here today because I want to discuss the philosophical difference I have with your Father. You do know I earned a bit of reputation from my impulsive action back in The Great War, no?"

Chapter 1: The Game Begins Anew

"Yes. You are known as one of the Four Riders of Melromarc together with my Father, Lord Ludwig, and Lord Elric. People call you the fearless, or The Knight with No Fear with how you always charge ahead into the enemy's formation at the front of the force you command." Eclair wasn't too sure where Count Winchester is going with bringing up his exploit from the time of The Great War, so she simply follows his trail of thought and recites what she knows.

"I picked up my father's warhammer and smashed the head of the animal who slew him, and I never stopped to look back. He was a deadbeat for sure, but he's still my father. And even those Siltvelt animals know nine generations of grudge and hatred can still be settled. But your father was the reason I was fearless. Because I know the Lightbringer would always watch my back, so I need not to fear attack from behind, and knew someone will be there to take over command of my men should I fall. And now ... I hope you could do the same for my own son." Eclair blinks her eyes, and finally realizes the intention behind Count Winchester's words. "I'm not a good father. I taught Cardin more through the bad habits I developed through The Great War than anything else. That's why I want someone like you, the very example of how a Melromarc knight should conduct themselves to mentor my own son. Making sure he stays on the right path, and gives him a hand if he falls into a pit of his own making."

Privately, Eclair wants to politely reject Lord Winchester's offer. She had heard the reputation of Cardin Winchester here and there, and knew he was more than a little arrogant for someone of mediocre skill, and can be a bit of a bully to those he considers beneath him. It almost reminded her of a certain backstabbing thug from the Bow Hero's group. But then, she thinks more about the situation. Would it not also be part of her duty to make sure other knights of Melromarc stay on the path of righteousness? And even in the worst case, she can make sure Count Winchester's son behaves if he's under her command, and punish accordingly if he acts out of term. With her mind made, she bows down to the Lord of House Winchester. "I accept your proposal, Lord Valentine. I shall make sure your son becomes the very example of how a Melromarc knight should strive to be."

"Excellent. Cardin! Come out here, you little shit!" With a few loud claps of his hands, Eclair hears the door open as someone's metal boots make a few heavy clanks on the wooden floor before he steps onto the carpet. The loud sound and creaking of the wooden board suggest the person is wearing heavy armor even at home, so that's at least one less thing for her to worry about. Even if the son of Count Winchester is hopeless otherwise, at least he is not a slothful scion who would resort to luxurious comfort at home.

Not too long after, a young man with the same orange colored hair as his Father in full, heavy plate walks up to her right side and gives her a polite bow. "Cardin Winchester, Lady Seaetto. I am yours to command from now onward."

"At ease, knight." Cardin straightened his back at Eclair's command. The newly ascended lady of House Seaetto is vaguely aware that common courtesy dictates that she shouldn't assert her power over Lord Valentine's son right in front of him. It would look like an act of showing dominance against the whole House Winchester. But she's not someone who is savvy enough in politics to care about these unwritten rules. And as Cardin's commanding officer, she wants to make her rules perfectly clear to the arrogant young noble knight. It would also give Count Winchester a clear indication on how she is going to 'take care' of his son so there's no misconception. "I will make it very clear now that you are under my command, Sir Cardin. Bullying, and using your rank to oppress others will not be tolerated. As a knight, or as a noble. We are to protect and serve our people, not using our power to oppress them."

"As you command." The young man slightly inclined his head. If he disagrees, or is annoyed by Eclair's rule, he doesn't show it on his face.

"I see you are indeed the right man for the job, Eclair. I can truly rest easy, knowing that my son will be learning from you." Lord Valentine nods his head, looking pleased at Eclair's declaration. "I do still have some parting words to my son before he, and his fellow knights join your company. If you would not mind, I have prepared a demigryph for you, as your personal steed from now onward."

"You do not need to pay me for this task, Count Winchester. It's my duty as a knight of Melromarc to make sure my fellow knights live up to the standard of knighthood." Eclair turns her heel around to face Lord Valentine once again. "I would be glad to make sure no other knights of this nation become like that thug from Bow Hero's party: A backstabbing bully, and scum who will betray anyone for his own gain."

"It is not payment for the service you render me, Lady Eclair. Although I certainly would be diverting some resources to help you revive your land and settle your people. Think of it as me doing my part to help you live up to your full potential, and keeping you safe. I'm sure there are situations where you have to fight on foot, but a knight is still expected to fight on the back of their steed in an open field. And a good, powerful beast you share a loyal bond with can make you fight with the strength of ten men. Think of it as me paying my debt back to you for all the times your father saved my life in The Great War." Once again, Lord Valentine Waves his large hand and dismisses Eclair's attempt to turn down his offer. "That is, unless you already have a trusted steed for yourself."

"No I don't, Count Winchester." Eclair shakes her head, she has to admit, the prospect of getting a steed as powerful as a demigryph is a powerful temptation for a knight as herself. And it would certainly be very helpful to support the heroes, no matter which one of them will remain in Melromarc. In the end, she relent with another incline of her head. "I thank you for being such a gracious host, Count Winchester. When you put it this way... it would be hypocritical, and pretentious for me to turn down your kindness. Very well. I shall take the steed you offered me, so I may serve this nation, and the heroes better and defend our people against the Wave. I shall go to the stable to get familiar with my new steed, while you have some final words with your son."

o(-_-)o[T]

"Tsk, I thought she'd never leave." Cardin's eyes wandered away from the door of his Father's study after Eclair's exit. He turns to look at his Father from the corner of his eyes, an almost mocking smirk on his face. "Aren't you laying down a little too thick, pops? Not only are you having me take command from an animal lover, you are even giving one of our precious demigryphs to her for bribery?"

"Don't let me hear you disrespecting her when I'm not around, you little shit. If that 'animal lover' is even half the man his father was, she'll be ten times the man you'll ever be." Count Winchester glares at his son through his narrowed eyes. He begins to click his fingers on his own desk. "Our queen might want her younger daughter to succeed, but Princess Melty is still too young. Princess Malty has advantage in her being an adult, and the number of martial achievements she already completed while working with the Shield Hero. Who is clearly only keeping her as a slave to keep her away from King Egbert's grasp. Anyone with eyes can tell the Shield Hero is completely enamored with her, so the succession war between our queen's two daughters hasn't been decided yet. And every family in Melromarc worth a damn, be they nobility, or new money will want a hand in supporting their future queen before her ascension to cultivate favor with the next ruler. And no, I am no exception to the rule."

"And that'll be my job while I take command from that animal lover. Build a relationship with her, and through her, cultivate some favor from our currently enslaved, yet rising first princess. For the good of House Winchester." Cardin gives a sly smile to his Father. "Don't worry, pops. I know what to say in front of other people. I won't make you look bad. But are you sure the Shield Hero, and our illustrious first princess would even stay in Melromarc? We are supposed to give away three, if not all four heroes when our righteous queen brings them to Cal Mira Island for the world conference, remember?"

"That's the spirit, you little shit. I know you won't. You are a Winchester, someone meant to fight war. Just watch for what you say to people, and you'll do fine." Lord Valentine stands up from his chair, walks around his desk and reaches his hand over to his son. His finger ruffles Cardin's short hair. "As for the heroes... surely even you know the Shield Hero's attitude towards all the political filorial dung the nobility have been throwing around? What will be his thought once he sees how the nobles and rulers from the Hero Conference would behave?"

o(-_-)o[T]

Across Melromarc, a similar scene plays out within every family of some significance. At the same time in the Schnee family manor. Weiss stands before her father across his desk. Jacques didn't even bother to look at his daughter, choosing to focus on the documents laid before him on his desk. Combing over all the business contracts, and balancing sheet. The sound of his expansive monarch filorial quill makes as it glides over the parchments are quiet, yet to Weiss they feel like sharp knives cutting through her mind. Finally, the head of the Schnee family stops his work. "You have disappointed me, and brought shame to our family. Weiss. Out of all the people... why did you choose to antagonize the only surviving member of House Seaetto, and by extension, the first princess of our glorious nation?"

I didn't know who she was at the time. I was only trying to defend our family's honor, like you told me to. Weiss did not voice her own thoughts on the incident. She knows Father would not look kindly upon it. "I make no excuses for my actions, Father. If only you would give me a chance, I will fix my mistake and cultivate favors for our family. All four heroes are now sanctified by both the Three Heroes' Church, and the Four Heroes Church. This makes them open to officially recruit their own retinue. The Spear Hero is well known for being a skirt chaser. I can easily ingratiate myself into his party, and through him, forge a connection with Crown Princess Melty."

"Good suggestion... not what I was thinking, but you are right about one thing. You will fix your own mistakes." Weiss still doesn't dare to raise her head, but she can hear her Father leaving his ancient holywood chair. "You will offer yourself to the Shield Hero's group, and seek to repair the Schnee family's damaged relationship to both Lady Seaetto, and the first princess. Meanwhile, I will pull some strings with our business deals with House Amelia, concede some... profit to them to have Whitley join the retinue of Princess Melty. Everyone can tell the 'betrothal' she has with that damn bird raised by the Spear Hero is a farce. And with them closer in age... we might be able to forge a family tie with the crown princess through Whitley."

Weiss hated the idea. On how her younger brother, who had done nothing to deserve the chance, is now going to be with the much popular younger princess, and the one who has her mother's favor. While not only is she going to have to work on the maligned elder princess who had been made a slave, but also have to work to salvage whatever relationship Schnee family might have with both the Shield Hero, and the last Seaetto. But she knows voicing her displeasure would do nothing but earn her Father's ire, so she bows her head even lower and tries to not let her voice sound like it comes through gritted teeth. "As you wish, Father."

o(-_-)o[T]

At House Consevatie's family manor. Lord Grima is trying his best not to trash everything in his study. He always knew his son could be brash and over-confident. Yet, even in his wildest imagination, he had never thought that his son could have turned into that... that insane creature that lacked any semblance of intelligence. At the time, he was only making an excuse about how his son must have been possessed by some unspeakable creature outside of their world to save his own skin. But thinking back, that might as well be the truth.

The cultural minister of glorious Melromarc takes a deep breath as he forcefully calms himself. He hears the sound of the door creaking as two figures step into his study. But only a single, melody-like voice addressed him. "You have summoned us, Father?"

"The action and words of your foolish brother have truly put our house into a precarious position, my daughter. Our family's reputation is in tatters. While her majesty, Queen Mirellia would still need my service to help her rule the land, I'm afraid it will be up to the two of you to reclaim our family's honor." Once again, he hears a single half surprised, half horrified gasp. But unfortunately for Lord Grima, it was not from the one he had hoped. Biting back a sign, he turns his body around to look at his daughters.

The first thing the cultural minister, and the Lord Paramount of Jagged Reach, north eastern province of glorious Melromarc notice is how disorderly both the dress, and the hairstyle of his younger daughter looks. He fights back the urge to groan at Flare's unfashionable sight. He didn't care much about what his youngest does in her spare time, just like how he never bothered to stop his younger brother's side activity involving young slaves. But he had expected that she has either the smarts, or common decency to not mess around with some enslaved pretty boy so shortly after her brother's condemnation? There is no excuse for her not knowing the situation her own family is in now that it's days after the queen's return, and her brother's incarceration. Clearly, he overestimated his younger daughter.

By contrast, his older daughter Lacus is the complete opposite to Flare. Immaculately graceful and neat, and exclude the purity of a fabled saint from inside out. Yet, the coldness in her crystal clear eyes always scared Lord Grima. He always feels like he is staring at some kind of eldritch abomination in the form of a young girl, rather than his own daughter despite her act of obedience. Most people believe himself to be a male supremacist for wanting to have his son inherit his title rather than his daughter as per Melromarc tradition. But that's only partially correct. The other side... is simply how much his elder daughter unnerves him. As for her younger daughter... Well, it's not like Flare will amount to anything other than maybe being a trophy wife for some mid ranked noble to forge more ties for her family. A true elite, if she's lucky to catch one with her beauty before they notice her vapid inside.

At this moment, Lacus opens her mouth, and lets out her song-like voice. "Fear not, Father. I shall endear myself to both her grace Crown Princess Melty, and Lord Spear Hero. Soon, the people of glorious Melromarc will forget the missteps my older brother caused to the Consevatie name."

"Wa- wait a minute here, Lacus! Shouldn't you, as the elder work towards winning over Princess Malty. Who is also older? Surely you aren't leaving this much more difficult task to your beloved younger sister?!" Flare whips her head around to look at her elder sister. Her wide open eyes and mouth betrays her desperation. While she strives to emulate her older sister's graceful and kind mannerism, the younger daughter of Marquis Grima still has a long way to go to achieve the perfect mask maintained by Lacus. Lord Consevatie has little doubt that his elder daughter could stare at death itself without breaking her facade. Yet Flare lets her own image crumble as soon as she feels threatened, or in a position of advantage. It might be more than a little oxymoron for the good of his family, but Lord Grima actually prefers his younger daughter this way (same reason why he used to favor his son, before his idiocy had grown so gloriously incandescent that he utterly crushed and burned not only himself, but almost took the whole House Consevatie with him). It makes Flare feel more like a human than Lacus.

"From what I know of the former First Princess of Melromarc, you are just like her. You will be at home with Princess Malty, and you don't have to worry about anyone else from Lord Shield Hero's party. They accepted Malty after all." Lacus fully turns around to face her younger sister and stares Flare in the eyes. The action makes her younger sister flinch. "Princess Melty on the other hand, will be more complicated. She might be young and naive, and the Spear Hero might be a bit simple minded. But the impromptu trial held by Queen Mirellia had shown that he has the ability to see through complex problems on occasions. Not to mention, he will have Lady Iris of House Amelia as his prime advisor. The situation of Princess Melty's faction will be much more difficult for you to navigate through. I AM taking the more difficult task from you."

"Just... just do as Lacus says, Flare." Marquis Grima Consevatie slowly and heavily waves his hand, as if through molasses. His elder daughter might unnerve him, but he's not a fool to ignore her counseling when she makes the correct points. "We must all do our part for the greater good of our family."

o(-_-)o[T]

The night before the formation of the four cardinal heroes' retinue is destined to be a sleepless one for a good number of Melromarc nobles. Those who seek to curtail favor from the heroes, and those who genuinely want to help them defend the world would both try to send young scions of their family into the heroes' retinue. But there is only so much time for them to call in favors or rig the odds. Soon, the moon falls over the horizon and the sun slowly raises up, and the new day begins again. Signaling the day that the queen of Melromarc would take the four cardinal heroes, and bring them to Cal Mira island where their fates will be discussed by the other leaders of the world.

As the first companion of the Shield Hero, Malty Sophia Melromarc didn't sleep well. She knows that the Shield Hero would be highly sought after by both Siltvelt, and Shiltfreeden. That was one of the main reasons why she betrayed her Father's original plan to frame him for crime, and instead became his (arguably) faithful companion instead. But now, this advantage has become a possible reason for her downfall. Being his slave and without any protection from her family, she would be expected to travel to the nations that's mostly populated by the beastman, or demi-human respectively. While her identity as the Shield Hero's personal property should in theory offer her some protection, it also means she will be seen as less than a man. All it takes for her to lose her life is for one impulsive, or overly arrogant beastman or demi-human who thinks they are allowed to do whatever they want with a former princess of Melromarc. Yes, Naofumi will be very angry afterwards, but it's not like she'd be aware of what it is on account of her being dead.

Needless to say, when Malty wakes up on the day of their departure, she feels even more lethargic than the Shield Hero who had his level reset back to one during the queen's impromptu trial. Who ends up spending every day afterwards training himself back up. She slowly gets up from her bed, and realizes both Naofumi and Raphtalia have already gotten up before her. Right now, the Shield Hero is helping their surrogate daughter wash her face. Naofumi seems to realize that she has woken up as he turns his face to look at her. "Malty! Did you have a bad dream? You were rolling around and making some noise last night."

"I'm a little worried about what'll happen in the Hero Conference, Master Naofumi. You don't have to worry about me." The princess turned slave rolls to her side, ready to get up from the bed. She nearly falls face first into the floor instead. Apparently, she was even more tired than she realized. Both the Shield Hero, and their surrogate daughter dashes the few steps over from the wash bucket to her.

"Don't worry, Malty. No matter what happens, I'm not letting anyone hurt you." Malty's eyes wander down to Naofumi's hands, and realizes he has balled up his fist. She feels like he hasn't even realized how much tension he's carrying within his body. "We have come too far since the Third Wave. I'm not going let any two cents politician, or self-serving nobles hurt you after we survived all those fuckers from the Three Heroes' Church."

"We might not have much choice in the saying." The princess turned slave appreciates Naofumi's concern for her, especially considering she had a hand in his misfortune during the church's failed coup. If only she has tried to be more honest with everyone from the start... perhaps Kyubey and Farkas would still be alive. Alas, it's too late to regret the actions she's already taken. "The nobility and rulers would keep their decorum, and pretend to respect you heroes. But they won't actually listen, and agree to all of your demands till you start to build up your reputation and power base. Right now, we are decidedly at a disadvantage."

"Yeah. It wasn't that long of that trial your mother held. I still remember how she brushed all of our concern and just brute forced all her decisions through." The Shield Hero nods his head, his empty hand unconsciously moves towards the legendary shield and brushes against its edge. The experience of losing his shield for an extended period of time, and then having all of his progress reset back to the starting point clearly left some trauma even if Naofumi tries his best to hide them to not worry any of his friends. "But no worry! It's not all bad. Zellus did say not to trust the stats sheet too much, so all of us had been intentionally keeping our levels low before Third Wave. Now that I know where my strength lies, I can start from the beginning and train myself right."

What Naofumi had said certainly wasn't a lie. He had already prioritized training his endurance and stamina the first time around by wearing increasingly ridiculous weight behind him. Now that he knows his strongest future arsenal (other than his defense capability, and his affinity for miracles) is a powerful fatal attack when Malty cast [Unstoppable Force] on him, and his [Crown Shield], both are massive drain to his stamina, he is doubling down on said training. He's intentionally wearing the heaviest set of armor available that doesn't drop him like a weight all the time, save for when he sleeps. And that's only because he doesn't want to crush the bed of the inn he's staying in to pieces as he sleeps, and have to pay the keeper for damage.

"Do you think ... Lord Isshin will be there?" Raphtalia's voice wavers, almost like she's merely speaking her thoughts without realizing it. The lost princess of Q'ten Lo quickly shakes her head, trying to act like it was only a slip up. "It's fine if he's there at Cal Mira island! I'm sure he wouldn't do anything even if he's standing next to me. I really shouldn't concern myself too much about myself when big sister Malty is already worried. I was just... wondering. He's... he's my only family left, isn't he? I wish he could be nice... but I mean, it's okay even if he's not! Because I already have Master Naofumi, and Big Sister Malty with me. I don't need another family."

"You matter as much as Malty. Don't bottle up all your worries, Raphtalia. It's not healthy." Naofumi and Malty both reach out with their arms and pull Raphtalia into a tight embrace. "Isshin better be ready to play nice even if he doesn't feel like it. Otherwise, I will be having a very unpleasant talk with Kael'thas."

"What Naofumi said, Raphtalia. But I'm sure you don't have to worry about Isshin in Cal Mira island." Both Naofumi and Raphtalia's eyes fall onto Malty with confusion, so she explains. "After Isshin brought the refugees of Q'ten Lo to Siltvelt and they became its fifty-seventh great clan, he developed a bit of a reputation of being a reclusive hermit, only making appearances when he really had to in his own city. And only appear in Siltvelt court when his service is called upon. I doubt he would willingly go to the Hero Conference and be looked at like some exotic exhibition by all the people gathered there."

Malty does take pride in not falling asleep in all of her lessons. She simply likes to focus only on the important part and ignore the boring, trivia matters. As Siltvelt's one of, if not the greatest living general, Isshin certainly deserves her recognition and attention. He was the one who saved Siltvelt at the end of The Great War when the tide of war began to turn against them after Faubley joined in after all.

With Raphtalia calmed down for now, it's time for Malty to wash and refresh herself. The three of them sit down to break their fast with Yuzus afterwards. It's a simple, and quiet affair considering this is the day when all four heroes are rallied together with the queen and take their trip to Cal Mira Island. The eternal neutral ground declared by the past legendary heroes, and where all the conferences between the most powerful leaders of the world take place. The particular one they will be attending will ultimately decide which nation gets to take, and support which one of the four cardinal heroes.

By the time they exited the inn they were staying at, the rest of Naofumi's retinue had already assembled themselves. Kael'thas and his Siltvelt warriors stand on one side, while Eclair and Melromarc fighters on the other side. Malty didn't miss how the lady of House Seaetto immediately takes a step towards her, subtly declaring her intention: Eclair might be part of Naofumi's retinue officially, but the one she is truly loyal to, and wishes to protect above everyone else is Melromarc's fallen first princess. Likewise, Baldy and Blue Eyes also let themselves fall behind Malty's steps, making their loyalty clear. Malty Sophia Melromarc might have lost her royal status officially, but there are still plenty who are loyal to her.

With two crispy chirps, two adult filorials are led to them from the inn's stable by Yatsuhashi, Naofumi's sworn shield. Neither has gained the ability to change into their humanoid forms yet, and considering how Firo turned out, Malty feels like it's a blessing. The Shield Hero smiles as he walks forward, and starts ruffling their feathers on their long necks. "Lori, Lial. How are you two doing today? Ready to go for a good run?"

"You chopped up 'Filorial' and used them as their names to intentionally mess with me, didn't you, Master Naofumi?" Malty snorts at the Shield Hero, who gives her a sly smirk without either confirming, or denying anything. In the end, she wasn't able to name the red bird after her dead friend because she belongs to Naofumi. She's honestly not as annoyed at it as she looks. And privately, she's glad to see these two birds are helping the Shield Hero recover from the way he lost Firo.

"My prince! We have been ambushed during our task!" A shrill, desperate sounding voice suddenly pierced the morning before Naofumi, or anyone else had a time to respond to Malty's rhetorical question. Everyone turns their eyes and attention towards the street, and sees three rangers from the phoenix clan running towards them. All of them have blood seeping through the cut of their armor. The one at the front has platinum blonde hair, and a makeshift piece of bandage is made out of ripped cloth wrapped around his head over his left eye. Malty tries to comb through her own memory to remember who these people are. They must have been under some important task the phoenix prince gave them, yet she can't remember any of them.

While Naofumi immediately jumps to cast healing miracles on them, Kael'Thas solemnly stares at the men running towards him for a few moments before opening his mouth. His question surprises Malty. "...who are you?"

"Who am I!?" The one-eyed ranger at the front takes a step back, looking completely stumped by Kael'Thas' question as Malty currently feels. "I'm Lor'themar Theron! The captain of your rangers!"

"...you are?" Kael'thas takes another long pause, before voicing his question once again. Malty hasn't been around the cocksured, almost arrogant phoenix prince for that long, but this is definitely the most unsure she has ever heard of him.

"Wait, we have a captain?!" Before the indignant looking self-proclaimed leader of the phoenix rangers voices his dismay, one of the rangers behind him blurts out his own confusion. "I thought all of us rangers just do whatever we want to complete our tasks without a commander over us."

The self-proclaimed captain let out a beastly, frustrated scream and ran away. Meanwhile, the other ranger steps forward and begins to account for what happened to get them in the current state. "We barely made our way past Stormwind when we met a group of adventurers consisting of two young men, barely older than boys, and an even younger girl. They also have an older, mature woman with long, dark blue hair wielding a polearm and an elderly woman with them. The leader of their group saw Lady Firo we were carrying, asked us about what happened to her and attacked us without warning. Their two elder members cut us down before we realized what's happening, and took away Lady Firo."

"What?! You mean Firo got TAKEN?!" Naofumi immediately went from utterly bamboozled by the (admittedly bizarre) exchange between Kael'thas and that self-proclaimed ranger captain to crazy with worry. He instinctively runs forward at the wounded survivor, and looks like he's going to throttle the poor guy. Raphtalia immediately changes into her adult form, and does her best to hold back the Shield Hero, so does Malty. "Who could have done it?! And what would they want with FIRO!?"

"It wouldn't have been some random adventurer who can take down a full team of my rangers. Their mission was to escort Lady Firo to Zeltoble and continue protecting her until you have a chance to go yourself. They would know disengaging any hostility is the first priority." Kael'thas narrows his eyes as he turns his sight on his wounded rangers once again. "Do not spare any details on what your assailants look like. We must figure out who took the daughter of our king, and what might be their purpose."

"We have a good reason to suspect their leader, a young man with features of Kyutenrou people as our king, is a hero." The first ranger, who wondered out loud about the identity of the platinum haired ranger replies. "While most of our brethren were slew by their older members, I did notice how his weapon changed from a knife to a hatchet mid battle in a brief flash of light."

"A knife changed into a hatchet... that's two very different weapon types. I think what the rangers saw was a throwing knife transformed into a throwing axe. Because out of the vassal heroes, the Throwing Weapon hero would have the most versatile and wide selection when it comes to weapon forms." Malty narrows her eyes at this revelation as she turns to look at both Naofumi, and Prince Kael'thas. "There's also a chance that the assailant might have casted an illusion, or some kind of flash trick coupled with a sleight of hand to trick. Possibly to frame the Throwing Weapon Hero, or whoever has the legendary weapon for a crime they didn't commit."

"The legendary throwing Weapon is currently in the possession of the Zeltoble Alliance. After The Great War, we 'conceded' it to the free city of Zeltoble as part of the treaty for peace. Last I heard, a hero was summoned due to the current Wave of destruction we are facing. But information gathering is not my duty, so I only heard it from gossip and official reports released by the four Raven Lords." Prince Kael'thas rubs his fingers across his chin, both thinking out loud, and letting Naofumi know about the situation. Malty of course, has to fight back the urge to roll her eyes. What the phoenix prince meant by Siltvelt conceding one of their hero weapons to Zeltoble due to the peace treaty, is simply them unable to forcefully reclaim it at the end of The Great War after giving up all their conquered land outside of Siltvelt border. "As for the possibility of someone framing Zeltoble for the kidnapping of Lady Firo, that is also possible. But I wonder what purpose it would be for."

"For anyone who is trying to take a cardinal hero, framing another nation to make them look bad in front of Master Naofumi would be an accomplishment on their own." Malty narrows her eyes at Kael'thas. The phoenix prince didn't try to rebuke her, and his own eyes suddenly narrowed as if remembered something. Malty may have been reduced to a slave, but the instinct she gained from observing her parents' court certainly wasn't lost. "Is there something you would like to share with us, Prince Kael'Thas?"

"It's shameful for me to admit... but if someone tried to frame Zeltoble for kidnapping Lady Firo, it could even be people from my own nation." The phoenix prince didn't look at Malty. Rather, he is currently staring at Naofumi with a regretful look. "There are certain elements from Siltvelt that aren't as loyal as our rightful king as they should be. We Vermilis get the bad reputation due to the blatantly treacherous actions of the Kingtaker, but other great clans all have their own traitors who only seek to use our rightful king to grow their own power. If they find an opportunity to frame a possible competitor to increase the chance for my king to choose Siltvelt, they will do it. Holding Lady Firo as a bargaining chip to force my king to come to Siltvelt would be another advantage. Although that would most likely be their last resort, if they don't want to draw comparison of the Kingtaker on themselves."

"So it turns out I really wasn't being too paranoid, or being prejudiced against you guys when I refused to go to Siltvelt. There really are bad people who want to harm me. No different from Melromarc." The head of the proud phoenix prince hangs low as Naofumi stares at him. The Shield Hero shakes his head, and looks at the survived rangers again. "Let's stop overthinking ourselves to retard this one character who might be another hero. What does the rest of his party look like?"

"He has a pair of young followers, possibly siblings, from the white tiger clan. I know they weren't some lowly cat, or even a regular tiger demi-human who dyed their hair, or wore a wig to hide their identity." The ranger bows his head low just like his prince, as he continues to recount the members of their ambushers. "While the boy was more focused on hanging back and protecting the Throwing Weapon Hero, the girl charged forward immediately. I can feel the aura of a divine beast from her that makes me want to kneel and give up resisting, even if she didn't fight for long. I... admittedly couldn't tell if they are full blood white tigers, or if one of their parents was a human. The power from the girl suggests that not only is she pure of birth, her parents were also from the main branch. And I don't recognize any of them from any huge social event from Siltvelt. But with a hero's ability to unlock anyone's full potential, I could not be so sure.``

Naofumi casts his eyes to Prince Kael'Thas. The phoenix prince didn't need a verbal prompt to explain things. "What my man described is one of the innate abilities of the white tiger clan. The aura of the king. Those of the tiger descent are solitary by nature, but the main family of their clan had adopted a large family unit similar to the nobility of the human nations. And among them, only those in control can grow their kingly aura to bring out their full power."

The Shield Hero looks to Malty next. He didn't immediately say anything, and his eyes look slightly glazed over like he's in a thinking trance. So the princess turned slave didn't say anything to interrupt him. After a few beats, his sight becomes more focused on her and Naofumi speaks first. "Malty. Didn't you say there's a rumor about the white tiger leader having a mistress somewhere else. And that's what caused people to think Sophia's mom was committing adultery? Do you think maybe the rumor was true? Just not with Sophia?"

"You think this pair of siblings are the real bastard given birth by the late clan head of the white tigers. And they are found by the possible Throwing Weapon Hero?" Malty's brain also begins to spin around now she's reminded by Naofumi. She has to admit, she herself had completely forgotten about this 'minor' detail she brought up when explaining what happened to the Ascart family to cause Count Dan losing his position as the queen's aid. "That's certainly possible. Even if they are bastards, their Father would still be one of the most inner core members of their clan. And with a hero's ability to bring out anyone's potential, they could become powerful in a very short period of time despite any possible lack of skill, or real combat experience."

"Their power would be needed if we are fighting a war with this Burning Legion... if they are willing to cooperate. But if they, or their master is only fighting for themselves and that's why they took Firo, perhaps we could use this lack of skill and experience like Zellus said..." Naofumi's eyes wander off to the side as he brushes his finger across his nose. He shuts his eyes and shakes his head after a while. "What a mess, and what a headache. The world might be ending, and I don't even know who to trust other than my friends. Continue. You said their two oldest members killed most of your fellow rangers?"

"Well... technically only one of their older members killed my fellow rangers. The elderly lady took us all down before we knew what happened. But she simply beat us down without harming us. it's the other woman who killed my fellow. She had long blue hair that's dark enough to be mistaken for black reaching all the way down her back. And she wields a long polearm, while lightning arcs dance all around her weapon, and even her body." The ranger takes a short pause, his eyes wanders away to Raphtalia's direction for a brief moment.

"That woman you are talking about. She wouldn't be about this tall... with a chest about this big, is she?" The lost princess of Q'ten Lo suddenly takes three steps forward, and she begins to move her hand to describe a fairly tall woman with a chest well endowed enough to make Malty feel inferior. Thankfully, with the way Raphtalia cups her hands in front of her own chest, it seems like this hypothetical woman still can't compare to a certain female blacksmith they met back in the city of Trumpet.

"Yes. That's about what she looks like, milady." The survivor ranger confirms Raphtalia's question. It makes her wobble back a few steps. The raccoon girl looks ready to faint, so Malty and Naofumi both reach their hand out to steady her.

"That's... that must be big sister Sadeena. Why did she help kidnap Firo?! She should know not to go against the Shield Hero! She knew how much I looked up to the Shield Hero even before I met Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia's voice begins to break. It's hard to tell if she's that shocked about her protector going against the hero she is helping, or if she's influenced by her adult form once again.

"She could have no idea that Firo was with me. Or maybe she had no choice, and she was enslaved by that supposed 'hero'." Naofumi's brown twists together as he drums his finger on Raphtalia's shoulder. "If that guy really was a hero, we'll see him at Cal Mira Island. If not... we'll have to find out who is trying to frame Zeltoble. Regardless, we won't achieve anything by making wild guesses. Let's not keep the rest of the diplomatic party waiting. We'll find some answers once we get to Cal Mira Island."

Chapter Text

The Melromarc queen, and the heroes' procession stretched long, longer than the eye could see as they moved their way along the King's Highway towards the northwest. They will go north from Crownland into the territory of the old kingdom of Boletaria, and then swing west towards the Defiant Bay peninsula and board House Arc's Albion fleet to Cal Mira Archipelago to attend the Hero Conference held with all the major world leaders.

Privately, Malty feels like they are going to cut their time more than a little close. With the next Wave only a week away, there's a good chance that the gathered heroes (and their core party, and retinue) would end up being summoned to fight the Wave before they even make landfall on the old neutral ground. Granted, if the Heroes have already been to Cal Mira Island and have its location saved in their WEAPON, they can simply port back after the Wave is dealt with. But since the porting ability only affects six members, it'll be a long time if they want to bring their entire retinue back to Cal Mira Island.

"Aren't we getting a little careless about cutting through the territory of the old Rabier County?" Currently, Malty is looking down at the map spread on the table of the queen's tent. Specifically, the route highlighted that they would travel through. She slowly raises her head up to look at the people gathered around the table. "I went to Rabier County with the Shield Hero before the Third Wave. Their roads were not maintained, and left in horrible condition by the Bitch Lord. It'll be hard for our large group to travel through. And what if we are ambushed by some bandit group who gets way over their head? You can never underestimate their stupidity even when it's against the royal possession with all the Cardinal Heroes present. They don't even have to be bold enough to charge our group. All they need is throwing some logs down, or causing a landslide near a mountain pass. We'll waste up to a week of time clearing the road even if we kill the bandits without suffering any casualties. This doesn't feel like a risk worth taking for the one, possibly two days we'll shave off our travel time."

"Oh. There's no more bandits here in Rabier County. We made sure of it." The Spear Hero's response makes Malty take a step back, and have to think over what he said. When did anyone find the time to clear out an entire county of their bandit infestation?

"'We' didn't do anything of that sort. The undead godzilla wannabe did the job for us. All we did was kill that zombie T-Rex." The Bow Hero crosses his arms in front of his chest and tosses a withering glare at Motoyasu. His comment makes Malty feel even more confused. The Shield Hero's slave turns her gaze over to her master, and finds he looks as clueless as her.

Chapter 2: Blast from the Past

"Start from the beginning, guys. You are making Naofumi and Malty look bamboozled." The Sword Hero gives a quick scolding to his fellow heroes before turning to face Naofumi. "After the Third Wave, we got an urgent message asking for reinforcements when we recovered our injuries from fighting the goddess. Turns out there's a giant, mountain-sized thunder lizard running amok around this area. And the army the local lord raised to fight the bandits couldn't contain it. By the time we arrived, all the bandits in this area had been killed, and raised as zombie thralls by it."

"So the corpse of that thunder lizard I left behind did become a major problem for everyone." Malty has to fight back the physical cringe she feels when she sees the pained look on Naofumi's face. "That undead zombie T-Rex was left behind by me. After I was kidnapped by the Bitch Lord to Rabier County, and then some guy released it to kill us when I was rescued. I knew leaving it behind was a bad idea, but we really didn't have the time, or the option to stay behind and clean it up with all the bandits still running around."

"Hey. It's all cool, man. You helped us first when we screwed things up, it's only fair we return the favor." Motoyasu takes a few steps closer and slings his arm around Naofumi's Shoulders. "We still have to help each other out, even if we are heroes. That's what we have to do if we want to help more people."

"If you have no more questions about the route we are going to take, revered heroes." Mother interrupts the conversation between the heroes. The faint frown she's unable to completely hide on her face shows that she is very much annoyed at having to babysit a bunch of amateur heroes playing at leading armies rather than have them handled by her more professional army commander.

"Let's retire from this meeting, Master Naofumi. The queen is clearly not amused that we are getting in the way of her more experienced and proven generals and army commanders planning out our routes." Malty subtly pulls at Naofumi's sleeve. Thankfully, none of the heroes look any indignant at the implication of them being burdens for the high queen of Melromarc and her advisors as all of them quickly withdraw themselves from the procession's command tent.

"I'll go with my party to raise our levels some more before we have to fight in the next Wave." Naofumi gives a nod to his fellow heroes. They have worked out a system where his fellow heroes would stay with the main group and train their skills with the veteran warriors that serve as a part of the queen's personal retinue whenever they stop and rest. While Naofumi would lead his core party (including himself, Malty, Raphtalia, Yatsuhashi and the two newly raised Filorial birds Rial and Lori.) and whatever extra escorts (Kael'thas always tag along even if he is not wanted) he needed to hunt monsters around the area to regain his lost levels. It's been working out so far, and his level is back in the twenties.

"Hey, if you need more help just ask. My children are pretty strong thanks to that mental bird queen. And they can take you and run if things get bad." As always, the Spear Hero is more than generous with his offer to have his bird 'children' assist Naofumi in his monster hunting sessions. "You could just turn off their experience sharing if you don't want them to steal your experience points."

"I think I'll be okay. Kael'Thas will be with me, and he has his signal arrow ready. If I'm surrounded by some nest of monsters, bandits, or whatever else he can immediately call reinforcements with the horde raiders. No need to have your children waste their time when they need all the time training themselves to make sure their power doesn't outpace their skill." Naofumi gently taps Motoyasu on the shoulder, showing that he does appreciate the offer even if he's not taking it. With everything settled, Malty quickly follows the Shield Hero as they get ready for another session of monster hunting.

o(-_-)o[T]

Lady Eclair Seaetto fights the urge to slap her palm on her forehead. Or better yet, bang her forehead at something hard and firm like the trunk of a tree. Granted, she'll probably just knock the tree down with her own head thanks to all the levels she gained after her traveling and fighting alongside the heroes. She was the only one among those who worked with Lord Shield Hero Naofumi Iwatani, who had some real experience in learning military doctrines and leading warriors on missions (even if only in a small squad). No, Prince Kael'Thas doesn't count because no sane Melromarc man would allow a Siltvelt warrior prince to lead them. The duty of commanding, and training his newly acquired retinue naturally falls on her shoulders. Sadly, they didn't have time to do a proper screening of his retinue due to their need to immediately depart for the still in session Hero Conference held in Cal Mira Island.

Out of his so-called retinue which were supposed to be hardened warriors who follow after their chosen heroes into the Wave of Catastrophe, and whatever else a conflict their hero gets into. Half of them were composed of noble scions or children of the wealthy merchants who want to cultivate favor with the Shield Hero for their family, the other overeager common folks who are inspired by the heroes' tale of glory. Both groups have their problems.

For the elite ... their skill was thankfully not lacking. The lessons glorious Melromarc's people learnt from The Great War through blood and tears still haven't been forgotten after twenty years. Any noble (except those from the Golden Coast province, that was never occupied) who didn't treat their martial lessons and training seriously was handily wiped out by the Siltvelt occupation. The problem is they don't have the mindset of hardened warriors who are used to the horrible condition marching out to war. Speaking of which...

"This bread is too hard and coarse." Flare Consevatie held a piece of wicker bread in her smooth, delicate fingers that indicated nary a single day of hard work. Be it actual work that would bring her family income, or rigorous training to prepare herself in combat. She would have been promptly turned away from joining Lord Shield Hero's retinue, if not for her immense talent in magic spells that Eclair had only seen a few talented magic users display such as her good friend Princess Malty. If only the spoiled little 'princess' of House Consevatie also had her friend's grits and personality... baby steps. Eclair reminds herself that a paladin has to be humble and patient to those who don't follow their path. "Can we have some brioche? How can we expect to march everyday, and fight an incoming Wave of Catastrophe if we aren't able to sustain ourselves?"

"They are bread, Lady Consevatie. What most of us, not only those of humble birth, eat every single day." Eclair feels a vein slowly work its way up her forehead from Flare's constant bitching and moaning on every single, and completely pointless thing. "We would be lucky if we had a constant supply of these if we actually marched out to war. And speaking about marching ... you don't walk on your legs like some of our footmen in the procession. You get to ride on that fancy looking, well-groomed unicorn your father bought you. We still haven't even left the border of the CrownLand yet. If you can not handle what we are going through now, I suggest you go home. Our living conditions will only get worse as we fight more Waves."

This seems to genuinely bring fear to Lady Consevatie as her face turns blue. She immediately turns around, and practically runs out of Eclair's command tent. Eclair's face finally hit the surface of her table, and she can hear the voice of newly appointed lieutenant Cardin Winchester. She doesn't have to look at the young man's direction to see his slightly smug smirk in her own mind. "I can take over if you need a break, Captain Seaetto."

"No. I'm not about to let you crack a few skulls, Sir Winchester. It's not how a knight like us should conduct ourselves. Not to mention that Master Shield Hero allowed us to turn candidates unsuitable back, not to bully and beat the stuffing out of them." Eclair slowly brings her head up from her table when she hears someone pulling open the flap of her tent. The snow white hair styled into a single, long tail immediately tells Lady Seaetto the identity of the newcomer.

"Lady Eclair. I found this young boy skulking around Lord Shield Hero's tent." Weiss Schnee drags a boy with short blonde hair into the tent by the lob of his ear. Eclair's throbbing headache instantly intensified when she realized the boy is none other than Raki from Lute village.

The reunion Eclair had with Weiss had been terse, but thankfully incident free. The Schnee heiress tried to pretend this was their first meeting even if the twitch in her usual graceful movement suggests that she knew exactly who Eclair had been from before. Eclair really should have been the one to offer apologies considering she technically insulted the Schnee family first, but she doesn't know how to breach the subject, and she feared that she would only make more unintentional insult to the wealthy merchant family. Plus, Cute was there to distract her, so the two of them end up mutually letting their previous grudge slide under the bridge and pretend it never happened. She supposed it could have gone much worse.

"Thank you for your assistance, Miss Schnee. You can leave Mr. Raki with me." The body of Weiss tenses up for a brief moment. Eclair wonders if she took offense that she's addressed as a 'miss' denoting her common status, rather than 'lady' meant for the highborn. But as much as Weiss believes their family's wealth set them apart from the rest of the citizens of humble birth, they are still not part of the nobility. The daughter of the Schnee family didn't make a fuss like she did back in the castle of Trumpet, and she simply left the tent once she left the blonde boy in front of Eclair. "...Why hasn't Gaston, or better yet, your elder brother Sir Aki taken you back to Lute yet? Mr. Raki?"

"I'm worried about Raphtalia! She's even younger than me, you know? How is it that you are fine with Raphtalia tagging along the Shield Hero, but you don't allow me to come and watch her back? I'm the leader of Lute village's child scouts, you know?" The answer from the Lute village boy brings a fresh Wave of headache. In a way, Raki's sentiment embodies the worst problem Eclair is facing when it comes to the Shield Hero's potential retinue members who were of humble birth. They are mostly people who have heard, or even directly affected by some kind of heroic exploit by the heroes and wish to serve said hero with overwhelming, almost self-destructive eagerness. Eclair had already turned down those who didn't pass a certain threshold for their strength or skill in fear of seeing them die for no good reason.

But it wouldn't matter to those like Raki how much strength, skill, or even actual experience fighting monsters in the wild or as their village's militia. As a child who hasn't even reached his teen years yet, Raki is an extreme example. But his willingness to be a part of the Shield Hero's retinue still reflect on how those of humble birth would put themselves into more dangerous situations than they could reasonably handle. That's why hastily mobilized levies make for poor soldiers even if they are accomplished fighters. While a proper, standing army needs to spend every year they are not in active combat training its members. To beat the impulsiveness out of the individual and instill the proper sense of discipline to have them work together as a whole unit. That's the kind of time Eclair doesn't have.

"I'm not 'okay' with Raphtalia traveling into danger with Master Shield Hero, Raki. But the reason they can't leave her somewhere else was initially due to her trauma not letting her leave the Shield Hero, and Princess Malty's sight. It's not ideal, but she at least knows to stay out of sight and danger during a fierce combat. As for you... I think your willingness to risk yourself to protect someone you care about is admirable, Mr. Raki. But it still doesn't change the fact that you would be throwing yourself into danger for no good reason. Raphtalia is younger than you, yes. But she has the ability to either change herself into a small animal to hide, or an adult form that is strong enough to not need your... or even Master Shield Hero's constant protection. You would only get in the way if you insist on coming along, and she might end up hurt because she's looking after you."

"You'll be okay with me tagging along and watching Raphtalia's back, if I become strong enough not to be a burden? Okay. I'll go back to Lute, and help hunt monsters around my village and get myself stronger!" Eclair fights back the urge to slam her head into the table again, when Raki clearly misunderstood the main points she's trying to make. Now, she's starting to understand why the Shield Hero didn't simply deposit Raphtalia somewhere 'safe' and continue on his adventure. She gets a strong feeling that he'll get himself in trouble, if not in mortal danger if she doesn't keep a constant pair of eyes on him.

"No... no. That's not the point I'm trying to make. You know what? I think it's better if you stay with us, for now. At least your older brother will keep an eye on you. And all the heroes with their own retinue will be at Cal Mira Island. Just... don't throw yourself head first into danger. Hang back, and observe how experienced warriors deal with a Wave." Eclair's tired handwave is met with an energetic fist pump by the young boy. He's clearly happy that now he gets the permission to stay with Raphtalia and no longer has to hide and skulk around their camp.

"Can I have some honeyed water to wash this rough clump of dirt down?" Flare suddenly peaks her head through the flap of the tent. The offending piece of wicker bread still held in her delicate fingers. A single tiny, dainty bite mark on it.

"Out. Now."

o(-_-)o[T]

In the meantime, Itsuki Kawasumi is dealing with his own share of frustration as he looks through the parchment with the list of candidates that applied for his own retinue. Unlike his fellow summoned heroes, he didn't have an experienced follower who he can delegate all these tasks to, so he has to get familiar with how screening, and commanding a small compared to the queen's procession, but still a very large group compared to his own adventure party of people works.

What's worse is that more people means more potential conflict within the body of the group itself. Especially between those who came from the aristocrats and those who were born as regular citizens. Thankfully, he had Rishia help with the inventory and logistics side, which was admittedly a huge relief. And Sir Crepe helps him out with the recruiting and training of his retinue, but she is very inexperienced in this matter herself.

Of Prince Joseph's daughters, she was the one most enamored with the life of a knight and army commander. But it didn't mean she did much other than playing pretend. She did hide her real identity and was trained as one of the queen's own knights. But she was only recently knighted before the current Wave of Catastrophe started, and was never put into the rank of even a minor commander unlike Eclair. And speaking of the princess who renounced her own heritage to follow him... Sir Crepe is currently stealing a glance at him from the corner of her eyes. Itsuki places a hand over his left eye and gently massages his forehead with the tip of his fingers. "Just say out loud whatever's on your mind, Princess Josephine. I think we went through enough for us to be honest with each other."

"It's just Sir Crepe now, Master Itsuki. I renounced all my family ties to House De Gallia. Put that aside, do you regret what happened to that traitor ... Mald? I mean... he's a traitor that tried to sell everyone out, you included, to the Three Heroes Church for his own gain. But if he's still here, he could probably help you manage your retinue better than I can." Sir Crepe's shoulder drops as her head hangs low. Combined with the bags under her eyes, she looks as exhausted as she is dejected. "He's a senior knight, after all."

"It'll make it easier for me in the short run. But I don't think that's a good idea. I haven't forgotten how he treated Rishia yet. And we have plenty of potential recruits that's even lower on the social status than she was." Itsuki's eyes roll towards the roof of their tent. He begins to think about how Mald bullied Rishia. At the time when he didn't know better, Itsuki had thought it was simply part of the social structure of this world. But looking back now, especially knowing Mald was a dirty rat bastard, it's easy to see it for what it is. Malicious bullying that doesn't serve any purpose other than making that thug pretending to be a knight feel good about himself. And Itsuki, a former bullying victim was complacent in that act... it took his vision going dark for Itsuki to realize that he's not drawing in enough air, why isn't he breathing?

"Breathe, Master Itsuki! Stay with me, one and two. One and two..." Sir Crepe is right in front of his face all of sudden. She's blowing with her own lips in an exaggerated manner that makes her look like a fish. She looks ready to lie Itsuki down on the ground, and start doing CPR on him if this fails.

Thankfully, after a while Itsuki's vision begins to clear between his hacking and coughing. "I think we- you should take a break for now, Master Itsuki. I'll look over some of the candidate names myself. See if I can spot anyone from Gallia that I know we can trust to lead your retinue. If that doesn't work... I'll have Maron write to her father. Sir Ashley Raithos is retired now, but as a veteran knight he could at least give us advice on how to lead. Even if he won't actively lead himself."

"Yes... that's a good idea. Both of them. I'll... I'll just make myself comfortable back here..." Itsuki slowly walks over to his sleeping bag with Sir Crepe's help. The disowned princess watches him laying down on his sleeping bag for a few more seconds before walking back to the table to look over scrolls of parchment once again. With nothing else to do, Itsuki pulls his knife out from his boot, and a piece of wooden stick. He needs to do something to calm his mind before he starts choking to death on nothing again. Carving wooden figures isn't model building, but it'll have to do in this RPG fantasy world. For a while, he lost track of both time, and his thoughts as he only focuses on his knife, and the wooden figure in his hands till he's drawn out of his trance by a surprised sounding hum from Sir Crepe. "Is there something wrong?"

"No... nothing is wrong, per se. I just saw Sir Graham's name on the list. For him to reach us before the queen's procession departed the capital... he must have left Galia and rode through the night as soon as he heard the call." Sir Crepe turned her head around to look at Itsuki. His confusion was probably written on his face, so she continues her explanation. "He was a knight from House Armure. He was... going to be my sworn shield. Until my father decided I shouldn't get a sworn shield at all to encourage the more... fanciful ideas I had about knighthood. Joke's on him in the end, I guess. I snuck out of our castle and trained as a knight under the queen's royal guards. He should have appointed Mald as my sworn shield if he wanted me to be a proper princess. Someone like him would beat the idea of being a knight right out of my head."

"Armure. That's the same family Mald came from. Right?" Itsuki immediately narrows his eyes at the mention. If the guy is related to that rat bastard of a knight, maybe it's for the best that he gets scrubbed out of his potential retinue before he has any chance to do damage like Mald.

"Nonononono!" Sir Crepe immediately jumps up from her stool shaking her hands. The series of explosive denial rushed out of her mouth so fast, they almost strung into a single line. "I assure you, Master Itsuki. Sir Graham is nothing like that inbred bastard Mald. He is a shining example of how a knight should hold himself. I'm not telling you to blindly trust him, but at least give him a chance to prove himself before you reject his offer."

Itsuki can't make up his mind on the matter. On the one hand, rejecting a person simply due to the behavior of another is unfair. But on the other hand... This Sir Graham could do a lot of damage if he was only pretending to be a good knight on the surface, but deep down is as rotten as Mald. Before he has a chance to reply to Sir Crepe, or even decide what to do within his mind, a strange noise catches the attention of himself, and Sir Crepe. It sounds like a mix between the noise one would make by scratching a nail on glass, and an ear piercing whistle. The Bow Hero immediately jumps up from his sleeping bag, and runs out of his tent to see what seems to be a flaming arrow rising into the cloud before exploding into a puff of fireworks.

"Lok'tar ogar!" "For the glory of the warchief!" In the distance, the orc- no, the Siltvelt raiders that willingly bound themselves to Naofumi have fully assembled. Which means they are riding out in a completely disorganized clump while screaming louder than the fans cheering their favorite baseball team in the championship finale.

"That's a cloud piercer. The arrow Siltvelt used to indicate military emergency, asking for any nearby reinforcements. It must be Prince Kael'thas. Lord Shield Hero is in danger!" Sir Crepe immediately runs towards the makeshift stable they use to keep their own steed. Itsuki didn't need another word from Sir Crepe to follow her example. Naofumi might be the Shield Hero, therefore is much harder to get hurt than any of them, but he's still only around level 20 now thanks to the queen's meddling. Itsuki doesn't know about the rest of his fellow dimensional interlopers, but he would never forgive himself if Naofumi gets hurt or dies, when he was complacent in the queen's verdict.

o(-_-)o[T]

A little earlier, north of the queen's encampment, they apparently still haven't fully left the area known as the Crown Land, but the open plain is giving way to rolling hills and ancient forest with trees that seem to stretch into the sky. Naofumi's group consisted of his party, the pair of knights following Malty, and Kael'thas, who insisted on coming alone with a pair of his rangers.

Both the Melromarc knights and Kael'thas' group denied Naofumi's offer to open experience sharing with them, stating the Shield Hero, and his two new filorials need to level much more than themselves. Naofumi is grateful for them all, although for different reasons. With his level now far behind, he doesn't feel like he can properly protect Malty, and the Melromarc knights solved that problem as they are clearly loyal to her if they were willing to go against their own queen.

And the Siltvelt rangers are great at scouting out the monsters hiding behind the foliage. Mountain dogs as large as a fully grown lion, with bone plates covering their head and back. And those ugly, featherless gutter beaks with the body of an elephant, but an ostrich's long neck and sharp beak that's apparently powerful enough to snap someone's limb right off. One would think they are easy to spot with how big they are, and how much they stink. But no, apparently they can blend into the treelines and he would know they are upon them until the ground starts to shake with their charge.

Naofumi shifts the weight on his shoulder as he gets ready to receive the beak snap from one of the ugly monsters. His training is definitely bearing fruit as he gets used to the heavy set armor to move as if they aren't there. But before he, or the giant monster has a chance to touch each other, snake-like strings of fire suddenly recoil around its body, making it reels back with a guttery screech of pain. For a brief second, Naofumi wonders if Malty used her magic because she's worried about him. But then, he noticed Kael'Thas' hands light up in red as a small, palm sized burning sparrow-like creature flies around him. The rangers around him jump up, and begin to cut up the legs of the gutter beak to bring it crashing down. They left the final to Naofumi's group when finally a kick from Rial to its neck ended the misery of the crippled monster.

Naofumi looks back, and sees Lori, the red filorial Malty initially wanted to name 'Mein', is hanging back with Malty. She's actually grooming Malty's hair with her beak right at this moment. It seems like despite Lori sharing the color of her feathers with Malty's hair, their personality is very different. As for his first companion who he forced to endure slavery just to keep her away from the hand of that sadistic pig of a king... she's currently chatting with Prince Kael'thas. Naofumi could almost see the metaphorical gears turning in Malty's mind. "You have unbelievable control with your fire magic, Prince Kael'thas. It is the advantage of Siltvelt sorcery, is it not?"

"The correct term for this school of magic in your tongue would be 'Animancy'. The manipulation of soul, and spirits. The souls of the world around us. But yes, it is what the Mon- the Medea people mostly refer to as 'sorcery'." The elf (He is aware Kael'thas isn't a real elf like his namesake from Warcraft, but it's hard not to think of him as one due to the force of habit) prince hastily cast his sight over at Naofumi like a frightened animal during his slip up. Considering how prejudiced Malty started out even as she was hiding her true identity, Naofumi can't really fault Kael'thas for his own prejudice. Especially not after what happened after the Third Wave. But at least he is clearly trying to act cordially with the human in front of Naofumi. "The reason the magic of these Brimirian heathens are hard to control is because the spell work itself is dead. They can only do what a Brimirian heathen calculated themselves in their own spell works, which are often imprecise and lack the ability to self correct regarding the intent of what they want to achieve with their casting. Animancy on the other hand is living, and the spell work itself can self-correct its effect thanks to our communion with the natural spirit we bond with."

"Is it possible for a monkeigh as myself to learn this 'Animancy'?" Malty narrows her eyes, and lets loose the suggestion of what she must have been planning from the start. "I hurt my heart as I was traveling, and fighting alongside Master Naofumi. My casting is extremely limited now by my fragile heart, and overcasting again will have me drop dead. But if I learn the school of magic you are using, it should help me better control my own magic even if I'll never be able to use real Animancy."

Naofumi has to admit, Malty's reasoning is sound, at least from his limited understanding. Kael'Thas also narrows his eyes, but he focuses his sight on Malty as if trying to size her up rather than rejecting her request straight away. After a while, he finally opens his mouth again. "It should be possible, especially since you are a sorcerer and not a wizard. Your way of casting within the magic flow in your own veins rather than through rigorous calculating a spell work and then sealing them into a magical tome is already similar to our way. But it'll be hard when you are so used to the spell work of those Brimirian heathens. Normally, I wouldn't bother. But since you are a trusted companion of my king, who has proven your loyalty... I will spend a little time at the end of each day to teach you the basics. How much you will actually learn depends on yourself."

"That is all I can ask. Thank you for being such a gracious mentor, Prince Kael'thas." Malty bows her head to the phoenix prince, as she steps back. She turns her head around to smile at Lori, and scratches the bird's chin. The big red birds let out a happy cooing. "Thank you for keeping me neat, little Mein."

Naofumi can't help but smile at seeing Malty looking genuinely happy with her bird companion. If only this had happened with Firo... hopefully, he had learnt something from the failure to raise his first 'daughter'. But then, he hears the hushed voice of Kael'Thas, sounding much more alert than when they first encountered the gutter beaks. "Be on your guard, someone is surrounding us."

"Bandits?" Naofumi walks up to Kael'thas and stands shoulder to shoulder with the Siltvelt noble. But instead of answering his question, Kael'thas almost rudely pushes him back and stands in front of Naofumi. He didn't take offense at the action, recognizing Kael'thas' intention to protect him from harm. Soon, figures begin to emerge from the trees. The Shield Hero hasn't encountered that many groups of bandits. But compared to Porter's group (who are more refugees resorted to banditry) and the band under Abby the Bitch Lord, their difference is night and day. None of them wore hide, or leather armor haphazardly sewn together. For a brief second, he can't even decide who among them is the leader.

"Faubley inquisitors." Malty's quiet whisper immediately put Naofumi at edge. His last encounter with this group didn't exactly start, or end well. At least this time there's no civilians around them. So he at least does not have to worry about them killing innocent hostages.

"Junior Inquisitor Kyrie Markieren, at your service." One member of the inquisitor steps forward. She has a confident smile underneath her short, ear length black hair. Her face is more mature than Malty, but younger than her mother. Instead of delicate features, she looks determined and hardened through a much tougher life. Like a well decorated military officer. She wears a set of protective black plates over dark brown leathers, and does wear a set of white fur collar around her neck. But unlike the wild and unkempt fur he had seen on bandits, hers is short and well trimmed, giving a sense of refinement. "Naofumi Iwatani, Shield Hero, illegally summoned by the Kingdom of Melromarc. I believe that you have met my mentor, Lord Inquisitor Emon."

"If you want to take revenge for your mentor, I'm going to tell you he started the conflict when he started executing innocent people without hearing me out." Naofumi narrows his eyes and glares at the self-proclaimed student of that murder hobo inquisitor. This Kyrie person might not be openly hostile towards him right now like her mentor, but he certainly doesn't want to get taken off guard.

The Shield Hero briefly considered cast away his current [Chimera Viper Shield] (which his level is thankfully high enough to use again) and start summoning his [Crown Shield]. With the way his Saiga works in this world, it will add all the passive stats bonus from all his current unlocked forms that he can use as its own primary stats. Which means he will be hardy enough to act as his party's main tank despite his much lower levels. But he decided against it. With the few examples he had so far with those from Faubley, he doesn't want to look like an aggressor and give them an excuse to label him a criminal. He has to think about what'll happen to Malty.

"We are not in Faubley, Miss Inquisitor. You have no jurisdiction to operate as you wished on this land. Especially not with its high queen so close to us." By contrast, Prince Kael'thas' tone is harsh as he takes another step forward. The elf prince doesn't stomp. He is obviously too graceful and high-class for such a rude and crude gesture. But the way the grass he walked through burst into embers clearly expresses his distaste. "I could have done nothing about your predecessor seeing how I was not present at the time. But rest assured, I will file a harshly worded complaint to your faith about this action after this is over."

"Melromarc has no right to bring to the arbiter's council of the Four Heroes’ Church, or the judges of Faubley seeing how they broke the covenant and illegally summoned all four cardinal heroes. As for your complaint, I will take it into consideration. Now if you are done complaining, I have words to exchange with your master." Inquisitor Kyrie nonchalantly brushes away Kael'thas' bluster. Naofumi can feel the scourging seething radiating off the elf prince but he didn't have much time to dwell on it. As the inquisitor turns towards him next. "Will you speak for yourself, or will you let your servant talk for you, Shield Hero?"

Naofumi likes to think he is a fairly reasonable guy, but something about this Faubley inquisitor really gets on his nerves. Perhaps it's her holier-than-thou arrogance that's both displayed on her face, and in her voice. Or perhaps it's the fact that she is the student of a self-righteous, innocent killing crazy old fart. Regardless, he doesn't have patience to deal with whatever the female inquisitor is trying to play at. "What's there to talk about? You clearly already have your mind made just like your self-righteous murderer of a mentor! Piss off, if you don't want to get hurt."

"I was hoping you would say that." Something about the brilliantly happy smile that made the female inquisitor's eyes close underneath her eyelid made Naofumi realize he probably shouldn't have said that. In an instance, the cheerful expression of the Faubley inquisitor is gone, replaced by something that reminded Naofumi of her mentor. "Shield Hero. As you have openly threatened the life of a Four Heroes’ Church inquisitor, I invoke the inquisition's right for self-defense. Tell your lackeys to lay down their arms if you don't want to get hurt as we bring you to Faubley to judge you for your crime. If not... we'll do it the fun way."

"Wrong words, you filthy mon-keighs!" Kael'thas reaches into his own cloak and throws an arrow straight into the sky. It begins to emit a noise that sounds both like a low whistle, and the sound of nails against glass. Irritating to the ear, but would definitely catch people's attention. No doubt, it's a signal that calls in reinforcements. Rallying help isn't the only thing Kael'thas did, as the elf prince immediately pulls his elegant sword out, and rushes towards the Faubley inquisitors as his rangers fall back and tighten their line around Naofumi. "Stand back, my king! You do not need to dirty your hands with filthy rabbles like these!"

"Going to throw your lackey's life away while you stay where it's safe? How typical of a conniving villain." The Faubley inquisitor fights with a clearly mocking smile on her face. Naofumi wishes he can be at the front like before his level reset (or before he lost his shield, for that matter). But he also knows he can't afford to simply stand before everyone in his current weakened state. So he does what he needs rather than what he wants. Cast away his physical shield, and begin concentrating to bring out his [Crown Shield]. He'll feel like he went through all of his Tokyo University entrance exams all at once afterwards... but that's the best way he can help his friends now. In the meantime... Kael'thas can take care of himself.

o(-_-)o[T]

Malty has been doing a quick headcount as soon as their assailant emerged from the treelines. Her near month-long escape from the Three Heroes Church's persecution had taught her to be very aware of her enemy's strength compared to her own group. They outnumber her own group about two, maybe three to one. They’re pretty bad odds based on the number of bodies alone... for the Faubley inquisitors. They don't stand a chance even if only Naofumi's Siltvelt guards show up.

Of course, that leaves the actual strength and skill for the combatant. If they overwhelm everyone defending Naofumi and manage to take him away (or gods forbid... kill him), all would be moot. Oh, there will be hell to pay once the dust is settled. But it wouldn't matter to Naofumi, or herself for that matter. If the Shield Hero is indisposed of in any way, Mother would surely seize the opportunity to ship her to her uncle in exchange for some political capitals from Faubley. Malty extends two fingers out from her left hand, as small droplets of water begin to form, enlarge, and spin in front of them. Two [Hydro Sphere] spells, that's the limit to how many she can cast and still maintain a fine control over. Her fire spell is too volatile to be used in a densely vegetated forest, and she wouldn't resort to it until the situation proves to be truly dire. As her teacher Uncle Aldrecht always says: A mage's power is only as good as his control.

In the meantime, still has enough mind to observe the battle. That loud mouthed leader of the Faubley inquisitors immediately brought an axe in her hand, and charged towards Kael'thas like an enraged boar. Her furious, and brutish strikes clashing with the phoenix princes' elegant, almost bored parries. It's clear that Kael'thas is the much more skilled, and possibly even the stronger combatant in addition to being a powerful fire sorcerer.

The only thing that stops the Faubley inquisitor from being immediately taken down by him is her evident rush of strength going into combat, as well as five more of her companions all charging Kael'thas at once to support her. The companions of the female inquisitor are certainly well practiced in how to fight together against a single opponent, as they shift in and out strike to not get each other's way, and covering each other's defense when Kael'thas find an opening to strike at them with his sword, or his fire sorcery. Ironically, the cavalier inquisitor herself seems to be the weakest link, as she seems to pay no mind to anyone on her side and continuously assaulting the phoenix prince.

As for Kael'thas himself, the phoenix prince doesn't look bothered as he fights six opponents together. The little fire sparrow dances around his body, weaving a net of fire that seems to physically bounce back his opponent's weapons as if they are corporeal.

Yet despite Kael'thas' effort, he is a single man. And six bodies is all he can draw to himself with his solo charge, as the rest of the inquisitors charge towards the group surrounding Naofumi. Malty feels a push from her shoulder as she's tipped over to the Shield Hero. Baldy and Blue Eyes charge over her, doing their best to block more of their opponents from surrounding them. Deciding to do her own part, she releases the spells she's been holding and lets them swallow two Faubley inquisitors. The princess didn't stop there, with two of the inquisitors firmly in her metaphorical grasp, she began to guide her [Hydro Sphere] Spell around, and had them bumping and slamming into other Faubley inquisitors.

"Do not let up, my fellow inquisitors! Get the Shield Demon!" The lead inquisitor seems to finally realize that she's wasting time, and effort attacking Kael'thas. She jumps back from the rest of her compatriots' attack on the phoenix prince... which actually had them move much better due to her no longer getting in their way. She turns around to look at Naofumi, and charges at him.

"This farce had gone long enough." Malty hears a single, reserved sounding sigh from her former personal maid as Miss Mala leaps forward. The white tiger martial master lands her feet perfectly on the head of the dark haired head inquisitor. With one kick off from her own feet, she jumps at the head of another Faubley inquisitor, while pushing the head of the one she was standing on planted firmly into the ground. She repeats the process as many times as there are still upright enemy fighters, and pretty soon all of their opponent's heads are in the ground.

"Shit. I brought out my Saiga for no reason?" Malty turns her head around to look at Naofumi. The giant, red carapace-like shell is only starting to form around his right arm. He looks just a little indignant at not being able to help, so Malty places a comforting hand on his shoulders.

"Think of this as a training experience, Master Naofumi. Even with Ms. Mala's arms broken, she's much stronger than some random warriors who only reached prestige level range... or still staying in common level range." But even as Malty is comforting the despondent-looking Naofumi, she notices Prince Kael'thas narrowing his eyes at Ms. Mala. She feels like her heart skipped a beat, and realized that perhaps her former maid shouldn't have jumped into the fight when they weren't in any real danger.

"Lok'tar ogar!" "For the glory of the warchief!" That's the moment when the raiders who pledged themselves as Naofumi's slaves charged into the clearing.

Chapter Text

She doesn't like reading over the historical record written by the chroniclers. The language they used is dry and concise, not as interesting as those novels that her big sister enjoyed so much. But Mother likes it when she reads and memorizes them, and Father looks happy too when she can recite some of the past events that's either similar to what's happening to them now, or related to what's happening. So she read them anyway to make her parents happy. She doesn't like stabbing the animals Mother's knights brought back to death either. Sure... they look mean, and scary, not at all like the cute, fluffy looking birds they kept in their stables. But they are also clearly in a lot of pain with their wounds still dripping blood. It felt cruel, and Big Sister doesn't do it either. But again, that's what mother tells her to do, so she does them without any question.

Because that's what being a good daughter does in the end... isn't it? Obey her parents, especially her mother who is in charge of the entire nation? But Big Sister doesn't do any of the things, does it make big sister a bad daughter? Father praises Big Sister as much as herself, and Big Sister is the one who reads her bedtime stories most of the time. So she doesn't like to think Big Sister Malty is being a bad daughter.

The door to my mother's library is pushed open with a loud crack. Melty immediately looks up. From the sound alone, she knows it's Big Sister Malty. She's the only one who would throw away any sense of decorum and barge into a public space without any care of who, or what she might have interrupted. And she always admired Big Sister for her unflappable confidence. Actually... Sir Zellus also does it, but the vice captain of the royal guards has very little reason to visit the palace unless he's summoned specifically by Mother, or Father.

The younger princess wasn't wrong in her assumption, as she immediately noticed the passionate red of Big Sister Malty's hair. As brilliant as the fire she conjures up. Her elder sister is followed by the usual two of her knights. Big Sister Malty turns her head towards her, and her eyes are narrowed for a briefest moment. "You are cramped up in the library, reading historical records? Come with me. The weather is good, we'll do something fun today."

Big Sister Malty didn't give her time to refuse, not that Melty wants to refuse either. She strides her way over to Melty, and pulls the younger princess away from her books. Honestly, she would have followed if Big Sister Malty simply asked her to. But that too is something Melty admired her Big Sister. She was forceful, never doubted her own decisions, and would always jump right into action rather than wait. As they exit their castle palace from the side door, Melty wonders if Big Sister Malty is going to have some tea with her in their garden. But they simply stride their way out of the garden, and walk towards the back of the castle. This is of course, where Mother and Father keep their filorial herds. "Did Mother's steed give birth to a new cluster of eggs?"

"No. You are six already, Melty. You are old enough to go meet, or even ride some of the adult birds." Big Sister immediately gives a negative answer to her question. Deep down, Melty feels more than a little excited. Mother doesn't let her anywhere near the adult birds, and only let her play with the baby chicks if she does her study well. She likes the cute, silly little birds... but they all grow up eventually and she has to say goodbye to the friends she makes. So the chance to see them, maybe even to pet the adult birdies feels like an adventure. She might have even played with some of them when they were young!

But to ride them? Would she even be able to stay on them? What if she falls, and hurts herself? Before she had a chance to decline for the admittedly enticing suggestion, big sister Malty had already kicked her way into the stable. Not too long after, she brings out a filorial covered with feathers as pure and puffy looking like the cloud in the sky. Now that she is standing right next to an adult filorial, they look even taller than when she peered at them from a distance. She can't do anything other than look up dumbfoundedly at such a majestic animal. The bird bends its long neck down, and begins to gently nibble and groom Melty's hair.

"Why are you staring at them? They are meant to be rode on, not looked at." Once again, big sister Malty wraps her arms under Melty's arms, takes her out of the beak of the bird and hoists her up the saddle of the white filorial. The ground looks so far from where she is sitting, Melty immediately clenches onto the reins of the bird, and closes her legs like her life depends on it.

"You need to relax just a little with your shoulders and your hands. Grabbing too tightly, you'll end up letting go of the rein the first time we bump into something because your fingers would have nowhere to go other than the opposite direction." Melty felt her big sister jumping onto the saddle behind her. She looks around, and sees the two knights following them also got on their own steed. Before she fully realizes what's going on, she feels her body darting forward. "Now we ride, giddy up!"

Melty's scared scream mixes with Big Sister Malty's wild laughter as their steed charges its way through the palace garden, out of the inner gate and onto the main street. The people, who were minding their business from before, start to run and even jump to the side of the road. She can't bear to see her people, or even herself gets hurt if big sister loses her control and collides into someone, so all Melty can do is close her eyes and hold onto the rein for dear life. But even as she tries to shut herself from the outside world, she can still hear big sister Malty yelling at the people to make room. "Make way for the princesses, you lowly commoner! I'm taking my little sister for her first ride on the plains!"

"Slow down, Big Sister Malty! You are going way too fast..." Melty can't tell where they are anymore. She lost all sense of time, or how far they were riding. All she feels is the screaming around them slowly die down, almost like they are left behind. The younger princess hoped they didn't actually hurt anyone.

"You can open your eyes now. There's no point in taking a joy ride if you don't see where you are going." Big sister Malty's seems to be talking to her once again. For a few seconds, Melty still has her eyes tightly closed, refusing to open them up and see what might have happened in front of her. But slowly, she begins to get curious as she hesitantly opens her eyelids. One side first, until she opens both of her eyes wide and sees the azure sky seems to merge with the verdant plain, forest, and mountain in the distance as they disappear behind her just as quickly. From her high perch on their big bird steed, nothing is blocking her view in front of them. "You'll be a queen one day. That means you'll be riding in front of your people. And this. This is what you will be seeing."

It was the most beautiful sight Melty ever witnessed.

Chapter 3: Past Regrets

"Are you okay, my princess?" Melty feels like someone gently poking at her on the shoulder, she turns her head, and sees Mutsu looking at her with worry in his eyes. He worries too much, but maybe it's not undeserved with what happened right after the Third Wave.

"I'm fine, Mutsu. I was... thinking about a happier time when my life isn't so... difficult." Melty holds her hand up and brushes away Mutsu's concern. She turns to look at the 'main' table where Spear Hero Motoyasu is sitting with Katarina Claes. Usually, Iris would be right beside him. But this time, the ones Master Motoyasu is meeting are more closely related to Katarina. Besides them, Barn and Keith also sit on the side of their table. No doubt giving their advice. Before them, Lord Seliph and Lord Leif stand a little distance away from their table, each holding the scroll of parchment that contains the names of those directly applied to join the retinue of the Spear Hero.

Melty finds the situation kind of funny. Lord Seliph and Lord Leif are much like Keith and Barn, whose family estates and fiefdoms are located in northern and southern Melromarc respectively. It seems like Master Motoyasu's group is starting to divide up into the north and the south.

"I'm sure the list will only grow once, or rather, if we return from Cal Mira Island." Barn leans his head in towards the parchment already in front of his face. He looks up, and gives the two Crusader Block lords a respectful nod. "But looking at the list we already have, we probably have the most qualified people so far. Aside from the sworn swords of our families, all of our applicants are warriors and knights who are currently serving the crusader families."

"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?" Keith turns his head towards his adopted elder sister Katarina. Melty noticed how even when he was talking with the Spear Hero, he would always look at Katarina first. It's nice to see that family, even adopted ones stick so close together. "How do we even know the Spear Hero will stay with us after the Hero Conference is over? All of you still remembered how our king didn't exactly have legal right, and had to break the covenant to summon all of the cardinal heroes together, right? I wouldn't be surprised if the other nations take all four of them away. What'll happen to those who pledge to serve the heroes then? Will we be willing to have them follow the heroes to the other nations, and even further weaken our own defenses right after that disaster of a Third wave, and our civil war with the Three Heroes' Church."

The atmosphere inside their tent wasn't boisterous to begin with. If it was, Melty was pretty sure she wouldn't have drifted away in her daydream. But it becomes much more quiet, and heavy after Keith pointed out the gutter beak in the tent. All four cardinal heroes leaving Melromarc was an outcome that nobody had wanted to think about. But it is still possible, even the most likely outcome. What'll happen to her, and Mutsu if Motoyasu is gone? The Spear Hero slams his hands on the table and pushes himself up, his brown twisted together into a knot. "I promised Iris I would take care of her when I gave her the ring. I promised the king I'll take care of Princess Melty, and I promised Bertia's father I'll take care of her. I might have not made any personal promise to Katarina with her family, or herself but I would take care of her no different from the other ladies. What will those fuckers do if I refuse to leave you all? Knock me out from behind, bond me up and throw me in a carriage?! I'll teleport, or run myself back to all of you if they dared!"

The four young lords all stare at Motoyasu while staying completely silent. Then they begin to quickly, and furiously exchange looks with each other next followed by some faint movement of their heads. Before the four of them came to a conclusion, Melty suddenly heard an irritating sound of low whistling and scratching that seemed to shoot up into the sky. She stays completely still for one brief moment, before she pulls at Mutsu's hand and drags him behind her out of the tent. The crown princess of Melromarc looks up at the sky, and sees the cloud piercer arrow rising high into the sky. "Change into a bird, Mutsu! Big Sister Malty needs help!"

"Yes, my princess." Mutsu's body changed from a tall, young man into a giant bird with a puff of smoke and a sound of thunder crack. Melty immediately throws herself onto Mutsu's back, and gives his body a gentle kick to beckon him forward. She can barely hear the alert sound of Motoyasu calling for her and Mutsu behind her, and the princess' mind had already flown to where her sister might be. What could have already happened to her big sister if one of the Shield Demon's lackeys had called for reinforcements? Would they put even the barest effort in defending her sister, who to them is nothing more than an accessory to their king? She doesn't know, and is too afraid to find out.

o(-_-)o[T]

The Siltvelt raiders charged into the clearing while loudly yelling and screaming their battle cries. And then they collectively froze on the spot while looking at the scene. No doubt, they expected some fierce danger for their king to even make Kael'thas call for reinforcements in the first place. But instead, they walk into the aftermath of what looks like a very quick, and VERY one sided battle where the foes to their king lie vanquished on the ground with most of their head literally buried in the dirt. And there's barely a scratch on their king.

Yet, Malty's mind can't be at ease despite how easily Ms. Mala put down the Faubley inquisitors. She still remembers the identity of her former personal maid. As the strongest white tiger fighter of her generation, her defect to Melromarc's side would have caused Siltvelt great shame. What would Kael'thas, a prince from a Siltvelt's great clan do now that he had witnessed Mala in action? With the way the phoenix prince locked his stare at Mala, he definitely suspected her identity. That would be much worse than the boneheaded upstart inquisitor who got in over her head. Malty leans her mouth closer to Naofumi's ear and whispers. "Be ready for anything, Master Naofumi. Kael'thas might start something."

Naofumi shifts his face slightly to give her a glance from the side of her eye, and then back to look at the staredown between Kael'thas and Mala without saying anything. But with his own head giving a faint bobbing nod, the Shield Hero clearly took her warning. The fact that he hasn't dispelled his [Crown Shield] despite its constant drain on his stamina is also a promising sign.

"What appears to be the threat, Prince Sunstrider?" Nazgrel gets off his massive warg and steps forward. The raiders line up behind him are as quiet as possible for the rowdy, prideland beastmen and their giant wolf steeds, which means they might still attract every gutter beak that's nested in the forest to their locations. If that's the case... Well, at least Naofumi would be getting some extra experience points and go up a level or two for the trouble. Nazgrel casts a glance down at the still twitching, and struggling Faubley inquisitors on the ground. "You appear to have already vanquished your foe in the time we spend to rally and come to your aid."

"Should we tie them up, or something? Like we did to Porter's group?" Raphtalia leans closer to Malty and Naofumi to make a soft suggestion.

"Good idea, Raphtalia! Anyone bought ropes?" Malty looks around at the blank faces of her fellow Shield Hero party members.

"Guess we'll cut ropes from the [Rope Shield] again. But I'm not sure I want to switch out [Crown Shield] just yet..." Naofumi looks down at the red, carapace-like shield on his arm. Malty has to agree with him. With the commotion they caused, they should be expecting a stampede of beak-things soon.

"Keep the [Crown Shield], Master Naofumi. We might have attracted the attention of all the strong predator monsters from the forest. These inquisitors are insignificant, not worth the effort to get bond and gagged. Mala beat them by herself, and you have your Siltvelt bodyguards now." Of course, said bodyguard might turn against him depending on what Prince Kael'thas say about Ms. Mala. Even more reason to keep his strongest shield out for now with how much Naofumi needs to concentrate to bring it out in the first place. Sure, he can kill them all with a snap of his fingers with their slave seals, but who knows what might happen if he does that. Would mother be emboldened to take her away to send her to King Egbert seeing Naofumi's new weakness? Who knows at this point. Better safe than sorry.

"I overestimated the abilities of our foes. But it's always better to be extra cautious and request aid to protect our king from the start, than being unable to find an opening to call reinforcements because we underestimate our foes. When it comes to our king's safety, nothing should be spared." Kael'thas tears his eyes away from Mala, but Malty can tell he is still keeping her inside his peripheral vision. He is most definitely onto her real identity even if he surprisingly didn't call it out now he has all of his forces with him. But perhaps that's also because he only has five hundred to call upon, while the queen's personal procession alone is over a thousand.

"Aye, that is true." The big boarman nods his head as he turns to glare at the beaten Faubley inquisitors. Some of them begin to pull their heads out of the mud now, and they help their black armored leader like they are pulling out a turnip. The psychotic cunt doesn't look so smug now that clumps and spots of mud are sticking in her hair and on her face. "What should we do to these man-animals who dared to offend and try to harm our king?"

"DEATH to his enemies!" The raiders all pull out their large cleavers, as they scream towards the sky with the howls of their direwolf steeds. If the gutter beaks in the forest haven't noticed them, they certainly do now. As for the declaration of their death from the Pridelander raiders. Some of the Faubley inquisitors clearly look unnerved with their eyes furiously darting through the faces of the cheering beastmen, but not their female leader. In fact, the student of Emon simply scowled even harder than before.

"HAVE AT THEE! I will not let anyone hurt my big sister~!" Among all the tension, a single puffy, gray feathered monarch filorial charged in. On top of Mutsu, Melty is waving her gemstone encrusted (which serve much more than embellish purpose. It's well known that high-grade gems are a great conductor and catalyst for casting spells) sword wand in a way that shows everyone that she clearly has no idea how to actually use it as a weapon, rather than a spell casting catalyst. She nearly fell off her steed/fiance when she saw the scene in the clearing, and pulled up a handful of feathers from poor Mutsu's neck. She jumps off Mutsu's back and throws herself into Malty. "OH! Big sister Malty, you are okay!"

Malty is very aware that most people's attention is on her now. She feels a little embarrassed by Melty's very unroyal behavior of publicly showing affection and worry towards her. She wonders if that's how the spirit of Balmus felt at his last moment when he saw the devoted loyalty his children showed him. The princess turned slave moves her hand over, and gently ruffles Melty's hair. "Don't worry about me, Melty. Your big sister is strong. I survived the hunt from the Three Heroes' Church. It takes more than some two-coppers worth, nobody of a Faubley inquisitor to end me."

The Spear Hero also charged into the clearing, followed by Katarina Claes, Keith, Barn, Seliph and Leif. All of them on monarch filorials raised by Motoyasu. Their tense shoulders visibly relaxed when they saw that Princess Melty is only tightly hugging Malty and clearly unharmed.

"What is the meaning of this? Why had my chosen heir openly charged into danger and nobody tried to stop her?!" Malty could almost feel her own ears bleed as her mother barges into the scene as both her knights, and followers of the other heroes all show up behind the queen. All of sudden, the clearing they had been fighting monsters in is growing very crowded with the influx of warriors. She turns to look at Motoyasu, and the Spear Hero is looking down at the ground in a look of shame. So he does feel sorry about somehow letting Melty charge in front of himself.

"It's not Master Motoyasu's fault, Mother!" Melty jumps away from Malty with a startle. She has finally realized the trouble her impulsive action caused the hero who was supposed to look after her. "I got worried for Big Sister Malty, and I rode out with Mutsu before Master Motoyasu, or anyone else could have done anything to stop me."

"He should have taught his son better than to enable you into dangerous situations. I will make sure to have a good, stern talk with both your fiance, and his father on what's acceptable behavior afterwards. As for the meantime..." Once again, Malty fights back the urge to roll her eyes at her mother's action. It's not like she would actually punish the Spear Hero after all this bluster considering his support is important to ensure the legitimacy of Melty's current political position. The queen of Melromarc turns to look at the Faubley inquisitor next. For a brief second, Malty wonders if her mother will throw Naofumi under the carriage once again to wash her own hands clean from the international incident. "You are the former apprentice of Inquisitor Emon. Were you not, young lady? What is the meaning of your action? Why did you pick a fight with one of the four Cardinal Heroes on my land? Last time I checked, the inquisition still had no power over the heroes unless they did something catastrophically damaging to the world."

"If you don't consider perpetuating slavery as catastrophic damage, your priority is clearly not right, Your Majesty." The foolhardy inquisitor spits out her words in the most brazen way possible. She turns her head and glares at Naofumi, who is currently looking at the tip of his foot once again. "But I am not the one who started this fight. The Shield Demon is the one who threatened my life just like my late mentor. I was merely exercising my right as an inquisitor for self defense against an out of control, renegade hero."

"Oh, FUCK YOU! You don't get to pin this on me when you were clearly trying to pick a bone with me from the start. Just like your self-righteous hypocrite of a mentor!" Naofumi jumps on his feet while throwing his arm forward at the shameless inquisitor. If not for Raphtalia holding him back, he might have ran up to the woman and attacked her. Honestly, Malty has to agree with Naofumi's sentiment. The audacity of this woman trying to put the blame on them when she was clearly only looking for excuses to harm them. "I didn't put a hand on you! You are the one who told the fuckers following you to attack me when I told you to piss off!"

"I can speak for my king that he very much told the truth. This group of Faubley inquisitors came out of the forest, and started throwing accusations and taunts at my king for no reason. That's why he lost his temper, and told these thugs from Faubley to get lost before they get hurt. If that deserves retribution, there will be a lot more wars between our nations." Kael'thas turns his head towards the Melromarc queen as he voices his displeasure. "I suggest we make an example of these brutes before they have a chance to do something worse. They started this fight, and they were handily beaten. They should have no complaints about being killed as a consequence."

"No. We do not unlawfully execute members from our ally in Melromarc like a bunch of savages." Mother metaphorically turns her nose at Kael'thas' suggestion. She makes a thinly veiled dig at Siltvelt's well known barbarism. "We shall take them prisoners, and give them to Faubley at the Hero Conference with evidence of their crimes. King Egbert, and Faubley dignitaries will be the one that decides their rightful punishment."

"Really. I wonder if you would be singing the same tune if they tried to openly murder you." The phoenix prince, despite technically being a slave to the Shield Hero, simply scoffs at Queen Mirellia's response. "I seemed to remember one of your knights was ready to murder your fellow lords when they rightfully criticized your mistakes. But I supposed that's what the civilized people do in this world. Grovel to a superior foe, while bullying and threatening to murder their subordinate in an effort to keep your crown."

The leader of (not so) glorious Melromarc and the highest ranking noble of (not so) venerated Siltvelt get into a glaring contest. Their respective subordinates also have their hands on the hilt of their weapons. And Malty is the only one to realize that the Faubley inquisitor is reaching for the axe she dropped on the ground. The princess turned slave readies her weapon to defend herself, or more likely Naofumi. Thankfully, Mala was also on alert and the crippled former maid kicked the weapon out of the Faubley inquisitor's reach. As everyone turns their head towards the downed Faubley inquisitors once again, a wave of loud shrieks can be heard coming from the deeper part of the forest. The warriors gathered the clearing, who were only readying their weapons from before pulling them out and getting into a fighting stance. Just like Malty predicted, the gutter beaks have definitely been attracted. Earth begins to shake, trees in the distance begin to wave and fall as a stampede of monsters charge towards them.

"Guess I didn't bring out my Saiga for nothing after all! [Meteor Shield]!" Naofumi quickly utilizes his strongest shield art to lend protection for their ground. He sounds halfway between excited and exasperated between the fine mess that everyone had a part to play.

Very soon, everyone in the forest is spread out, in either small groups of five to a dozen fighting against dozens upon dozens, possibly over a hundred gutter beaks. Malty once again ends up hiding behind her own group, although not for the lack of want to help out. She knows that her fire magic is too volatile in a forest and would just as likely damage her own allies as their enemies. While her water magic still isn't strong enough to affect a large monster like a gutter beak. The best she can do in this situation is to stay calm, observe the fight around her and cast appropriate spells on someone who needs assistance to not lose a limb, or their lives to the lovingly named 'adventurer killer'. From the corner of her eyes, she sees the female Faubley inquisitor being dragged away by her own men from the fighting. She screams and kicks all the way, like a spoiled brat not getting their prized present. Well, good riddance. It's a shame they can't make good on Kael'thas' suggestion. But it's probably better they don't kill a Faubley inquisitor and risk starting another incident with the strongest nation.

The fight against the beak continues around Malty. The stink of blood, mud, and rotting meat begin to assault her nose but they are quickly replaced by the smell of smoke... wait. Smoke?! Was someone stupid enough to start a fire in a forest?! And sure enough, the princess turned slave can feel heat on her body, she whips around on her heel, and to her horror discovers that half of the forest is lit up to the point that even the sky appears to be dyed in orange. Shout that sounds way more panicked than when the herds of beak things came out of the forest. "FIRE! Someone started a FIRE!"

"I can fix it!" "I'll help!" Two voices cried out among the group of fighting men. Malty doesn't recognize the first one aside from it clearly sounds female, and dainty in the way that suggests a well sheltered and young noble girl. But she is very intimate with the second one, for it belongs to Melty. Before Malty had a chance to warn the two clearly powerful (but inexperienced) mages on the danger of their action, a wave of water was already crashing towards the wild forest fire.

"Naofumi! Barrier now!" Malty didn't have time to consider adding honorifics as she screams at the Shield Hero for dear life. Naofumi immediately jumps into action pushing both hands forward. An emerald [Meteor Shield], and a golden miracle [Barrier] came into existence at the same time in front of the group they were fighting with. His defense goes up just in time, as they are immediately assaulted by a gust of white steam that Malty could almost feel the heat of even behind the protective weapon arts and spells used by Naofumi. Not everyone is as lucky as them, as screams that sound like people are being cooked alive can be heard all around. While knowing the effect that Melty, and that unknown mage from some noble family (by Malty's estimation anyways) unknowingly caused by the forest fire, it might not be far from the truth.

As the wave of steam blows past them, Malty gets a chance to survey the land around them. The previously verdant forest is now in a sorry shape, where the trees have been turned into burnt up husks or charcoals, and the other side looks like it's been assaulted by a very hot and dry hurricane. lying on the ravaged land are countless numbers of fighters from their group who aren't lucky enough to get behind some kind of magical protection. Some of them twitching, others... don't. Casualties from a self-inflicted magical accident born out of sheer idiocy than anything else. Malty swings her head around, desperately trying to locate Melty as her younger sister ran off when the beak things came out of the forest.

Thankfully, Malty managed to spot Melty standing right behind the Spear Hero. It seems like Motoyasu managed to keep her from harm. The physical kind, at the very least. Her little sister's body is shaking like a dried, withered leaf against the winter gust. Her eyes unfocused as she peers around for all the people on the ground. Needless to say, the newly ascended crown princess of House Melromarc is unnerved at how many of her own people she managed to hurt... if not outright killed.

"YOU! You traitorous WITCH! Do you resent your queen mother so much for rightfully taking away your royal status, you attempted to murder her in cold blood?!" Malty's mind is too distracted for her to immediately realize that Sir Palmer is the one throwing the accusation, or the accusation was leveled at her until the tip of an arming sword was shoved right in front of her nose. She's quickly pushed behind as Naofumi stands protectively over her. "Tell me why I shouldn't strike you down as you stand, Witch!"

"Are you kidding me? I specifically did not use my fire magic, or my water magic because I knew something like this would happen! Both of these!" Malty knew she should not get into a verbal spat with mother's honor guard. She is an idiot who would pick a fight with the spirit of a dead saint. But she is also a knight who directly serves the queen, and has the queen's favor thanks to her undying devotion while Malty is now a slave. A property of someone who is already maligned by her queen. A fight between Palmer and herself would end up badly for her, and even for Naofumi. But she had never been good at burying the hatchet with someone, especially when she is unfairly accused of things she didn't even commit.

"Malty is telling the truth! I was standing right beside her this whole time, and she didn't start using her fire magic. Heck, she only used water magic when she saw someone in trouble!" Naofumi is also fiercely defending her almost non-existent honor. From the way his shoulder shakes, it's clear he is getting very emotional. Perhaps Palmer's accusation of Malty trying to openly commit regicide and kinslaying reminded Naofumi of how he himself was almost falsely accused of a serious crime.

"Why would I take the word of a lowly slave? As for you, Shield Hero." Palmer leans slightly back. The nasal sneer she lets out clues in on Malty that she is most definitely not ready to accept their explanation, or backing down. Malty steals a glance at her own mother, and sees that she is hiding her face behind her fan, letting the scene unfold and watching. "I still haven't forgotten how you started more than one insurrection during the Three Heroes' Church's coup. Or how your colleagues kidnapped Princess Melty right under my nose. All of you are perfectly willing to break our law for your own goals. You have no honest reputation that should make people take your words at their face value! Your words are more worthless than dirt!"

"STOP! I know who caused the fire!" Suddenly, Eclair runs over while dragging a young woman behind her over. Said young woman has curly pink hair, wearing a set of dainty looking white dress that's heavily soiled by dirt and soot and... was that a silver tiara on her head? Everything about her screams a sheltered aristocrat that by no means, was ready for the life of a marching army (because that's exactly what the queen's procession is). Eclair pushes the woman forward, a deep frown on her face. "Want to explain yourself, Lady Flare Consevatie?"

Malty wonders if she imagined something, but she saw Naofumi's face twitch a little as his eyes settled on the pink haired woman. She'll remember asking about it in private.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY!" The dainty young lady began to fire words out of her mouth faster than the repeater musket used by those Shiltfreeden Shives firing out bullets. Her eyes darted from one person to another without any focus. She is clearly still panicking. "I heard all those stories about how a beak thing would cut your arms and legs off with a single beak snap, so I panicked and started throwing my spell at them. Before I knew it... the fire had started. So I tried to put it out with a wave of water."

"I'm... I'm responsible for it too... I helped Flare with that big water splash." Melty's voice can also be heard a little bit further away. Malty turns her face around to look at her younger sister, and sees both Mutsu and Motoyasu pulling her into a group hug to comfort her.

"Some mistakes have to be accounted for, and allowed for those with less experience fighting. But do try to make yourself ready, before going into another fight like this, or worse, fighting in the Wave, Lady Consevatie." Mother speaks up before Sir Palmer has another chance to spout out her unfiltered vitriol. Because of course, she would forgive the daughter of her own lackey. Mother turns around, and starts ordering all the healers around to help those who are harmed by this dumb accident. Palmer follows right behind, like a good lackey does.

"Wait! Are you going to apologize to Malty for wrongly accusing her?!" Naofumi takes a step forward as he glares dagger at Palmer's back. The Shield Hero is decidedly much more angry at this situation than Malty is feeling right now.

"I don't apologize to a lowly slave. Shield Hero." Palmer only turns her face halfway as she sneers back at Naofumi. "Better watch your pet witch closely, before she actually does commit a crime that'll drag you down with her. I'll be sure to deliver the punishment myself."

"WHY YOU LITTLE-!" With a clip, [Crown Shield] detaches from Naofumi's arm as it curls up into a wrecking flail once again. Malty quickly reaches her arm out to grab Naofumi's shoulder before the Shield Hero does something that both her... and himself would regret later.

"She's not worth it! Master Naofumi." Malty immediately leans into the Shield Hero's ear in an effort to smooth out his temper. "Don't try to attack her. She technically didn't say anything wrong. Not by our law anyway. If you attack her, it'll only give the queen more reason to prosecute you. Don't worry about me. I expected this when I pledged myself as your slave."

"Screw this fucked up world! Screw the systems!" Naofumi takes a few deep breaths. He waves his hand, and finally dispels his Saiga and lets his shield return to its default state. He takes a step back, and spits on the ground. "Someone needs to teach that knight some manners. If she keeps this up, I'm going to be pushed to actually commit regicide one of these days."

Malty doesn't feel like scolding the Shield Hero for his complaint. She completely understands Naofumi's feeling, even if she will never take such drastic action knowing the severe consequences both to herself, and to her nation. The Shield Hero probably knows it too, and he is merely spitting some nasty comment out to release his anger. Giving his shoulder one last comforting shake, Malty walks over to the shaking noble girl. She can see the girl twitching as the princess turned slave speaks. "This idiot - She's part of our retinue, Eclair?"

"AH! Yes. Lady Flare Consevatie. She applied directly for a position under Lord Naofumi. I accepted her because her magical potential is almost as good as Malty." Eclair also nearly jumps on her feet as she turns to look at Naofumi. Completely forgetting his instruction of dropping honorifics when speaking to him. Or maybe she is only keeping up the appearance because they are in public and have countless people around them. "I mentioned to you the night before we departed that we have some applicants that came from families that have wronged you before."

"...Consevatie?" Raphtalia's nose twitches at the mention of this single word, her eyebrows begin to twist together. Normally, Malty would raise her own eyes a little at the clear animosity emanating from someone like Raphtalia. But in this case, she would be more worried if she isn't openly showing a grudge at that particular family. The younger brother of their head of family kept... and likely tortured her friend and her, resulting in her friend's death. And the son of Lord Grima forced her into slavery once again, likely having some unwanted advances on her (Malty shudders if anything worse came from that fuckboy) and held Firo's life over her head. Considering Raphtalia's action towards Fuckboy when he was condemned, she would worry that her surrogate daughter is bottling her negative emotions back in. Malty opens her arms to pull Raphtalia into a sideway hug to make sure she feels okay.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to let somebody from her family into the retinue, Lady Eclair?" Malty gave Lady Seaetto a hard look, despite technically being on a higher station than her now, Eclair looks nervous from the serious look she was given.

"I felt that it was only fair that she'd be given a fair chance and...her magical potential was simply too good to pass up. There weren't many mages that applied, not someone as powerful as Malty anyway." Eclair weakly defended but it was clear that it wasn't convincing either Malty or Raphtalia. Still, her words did get Malty's attention if nothing else. As powerful as herself? Well, Lady Flare certainly peaked her interest now. "And we were a bit desperate for every potentially good candidates "

"We need to give everyone a chance, Raphtalia. There is a... probably slim chance that she isn't like her family." Naofumi replied in added defense of Eclair's decision even as he runs his hand over Raphtalia's back to comfort her. But once again, Malty noticed a strange tone from Naofumi's voice. Especially the way he took a brief pause when commenting about the possibility of Flare being different from her family. It almost sounds like he's trying to convince himself more than anyone else. Which begs the question... Why would he do that? As the Shield Hero, he has the final say on who gets into his retinue or not without fearing any official backlash. Personal grudges and slights notwithstanding. Chief God alone knows how many wars, small and big, were caused by these. Was Naofumi aware of this, or did he simply try to convince himself out of principle like his staunch rejection of slavery till Malty's own life was involved?

"It's not just the fact that she could be like her family that's the problem, the issue is that this'll bring us into contact with Consevatie family...and Raphtalia's former owner like it or not." Malty was fully aware that House Consevatie's likely going try to salvage what little reputation they have left thanks to Fuckboy, by sucking up to the heroes. While the Vulture himself is rather reclusive in the noble circles due to his reputation, it is still cause for some worry.

"I hadn't even thought about that." Naofumi was taken aback by that, it was clear that he hadn't thought about the deeper implication of having this Consevatie idiot in the party.

"We can...try to limit our contact with House Consevatie as much as possible if that is an issue " Eclair suggested.

"That's probably for the best...look, it's better for us to have her with us than risk her going off to do her own thing like Fuckboy." Naofumi explained in greater detail. Hmm... that does make sense. The Shield Hero also turns towards Raphtalia again as he gently moves his own hand through her hair, careful not to brush against her ears. His stare, and his words makes the clearly pampered little noble 'princess' gulp. "This screw up doesn't count. She clearly had no idea what she was doing and wasn't prepared by her family. But if she did something like this again, or worse... done something directly to cause you a problem. She's out."

"I'll make sure to metaphorically beat the stupid out of her head, if you let me. I am the mage of our group after all, and Eclair did mention her potential is similar to mine. I will make sure to get very intimate with this little lady so she knows what she's doing with her magic. Like Uncle Aldrecht did with me after I had my own magical accident." Malty grins at the wench from House Consevatie, and something in her face must have looked predatory to the clearly unnerved little dainty lady. If she was merely gulping at Naofumi's thinly veiled threat from before, her eyes are now dilating while her body is shaking like a leaf. Good. She clearly understood her own severe... not so much as a mistake as utter idiocy. Malty will make sure she is either open to learning from the experience, or die trying. As what would Lord Grima say if his daughter had some unfortunate 'accident'. Well, there's a reason why there are much less mages than there are fighters, thieves or even clerics. He can't prove anything.

"Yes. It makes sense." Naofumi bobs his head as he rubs his chin, clearly thinking over Malty's suggestion much harder than herself. He turns his head to look at her next. "If you are teaching this Lady Consevatie, wouldn't it make sense we gather all the magic users from my friend's group as well? Making it a big magic learning session? I might even attend myself. I've been focusing on my miracle magic, not this wizardry magic. Because you know... all I need is to think very hard on using Miracles."

Malty is pretty sure that for most clerics and priests, using Miracles requires much more than simply 'think very hard'. Then again, Naofumi is a hero, connected to their very world by the testimony of their current Avatar of Alaya. It makes sense that Miracle magics come easy to him. As for his suggestion, she has to admit there's value for this kind of magic session. While there is an actual uniform system in place to teach how to do magic unlike the anarchic old time, it is still well known that older, or even masters of magic, still tend to hoard their specific understanding of magic theories like a dragon treats its treasures, rather than sharing it with the public. It should benefit her own understanding of magic if they can get all the mages, even some of the sorcerers in their collective group to sit down, and share their own theories.

The princess turns to look at Kael'thas who walks towards them. He is also one of the unharmed individuals, aside from there being a small layer of warm wetness covering his face and cloth. "Do you mind sharing the insight of your Siltvelt Animism with a bigger group?"

"Normally it is not a branch of knowledge to be openly shared with people who are eager to become our enemies." Prince Kael'thas' reply is noticeably clipped, but he gives a look at the Shield Hero, and gives a replacement that sounds, and looks like he's giving his firstborn away. "But seeing how we are dealing with the greater crisis of the Wave of Catastrophe. I am willing to share some of my people's collective knowledge if my king demands it."

"Please do. I think we need all the help we are going to get." The Shield Hero gives one final nod to Kael'thas, before he walks away to join the rest of the healers. His sworn Shield Yatsuhashi trailing behind him. Kael'thas also walks away, back to his own people. And the phoenix prince begins to place down... what looks like a small bundle of fires on the ground not unlike what you would find in a camp. Just without the wood piles underneath. Malty isn't sure how this is supposed to help anyone. But then she noticed how the beastman raiders, and dire wolves twitching and whimpering on the ground have visibly stopped their painful groans almost like something soothed them. Is this the difference between what Kael'thas said to be 'dead fire' from her wizardry magic, and what she assumed to be 'living fire' used by his own branch.

"You. You will follow me from now on. Don't do anything I don't tell you to." Malty narrows her eyes to glare at Lady Flare once again, making the little Consevatie 'princess' shiver in her dainty little dress. Good to know she can still put the fear in someone even without her royal status. She walks over to Melty next, and sees her younger sister still looks as shaken as when she first saw how her own action hurt so many people despite Motoyasu and Mutsu's best efforts to comfort her. Malty slightly bends her head down, looking closer at her younger sister while calling out. "Are you okay, Melty?"

"I... I hurt people, Big Sister. A lot of people... I only wanted to help..." Melty's eye slowly moves up to meet Malty's, she quickly averts her gaze once again. Her voice sounds as scared as a small animal spotting a large predator. She seems to suddenly realize something, as she begins to furiously struggle within Motoyasu and Mutsu's embrace. "Get, get away from me! I might hurt all of you!"

"Melty Quelaan Melromarc! Calm yourself down!" Malty takes a step till she is right in Melty's face. Her hands close in on her younger sister's cheeks, to force the despondent girl looking at her, rather than focus on her own sense of guilt. "When your magic is strong from multiple bloodlines, having magical accidents that hurt other people is nothing new. You want to know why our mother doesn't like me? It's because before you were born, I lost control of my own magic. And I killed my nanny because of it. Katarina's personal maid, Ann, lived to tell the tale if you don't believe me. Her back still carries the scar my fire caused. Do you want me to stay away from you? Because my magic, much more dangerous than yours, could hurt you?"

"What? No!" Melty's flailing stops as she stares at Malty in the eyes. "You had an accident before. But you never hurt me, Big Sister Malty. I'm not afraid of you."

"Yes. That is what happens with our magic. Your water magic isn't as volatile as my fire magic, but all of them are by wild and dangerous by definition. That's why Uncle Aldrecht, my magic teacher always emphasizes that our power is always only as powerful as our control of it. He helped me learn how to control my own magic." Malty pointedly left out that her teacher was now dead before once again, she tossed away her own self-control for a false sense of power during her travels. "Now that he's gone... I'll make sure to teach you what Uncle Aldrecht once taught me. Both the theories, and the discipline. So you won't end up hurting someone by accident when all you wanted was to help. There's nothing to fear about our magic, and fear itself only makes it worse. Be cautious, be constantly aware of what damage you could do. And then learn to control it so you don't let it loose."

"Yes, Big Sister. I would like that." Seeing Melty finally calm down, Malty releases her hands and takes a step back. She noticed how the two protectors of Melty also released their hold on Melty.

"What you did is good, Princess Malty. Families should stick together." Malty has to blink a couple of times when she sees the almost distant look on Motoyasu's face. Since when was the hopelessly idiotic Spear Hero the one with secrets? He shakes it away quickly and changes his expression back to the usual goofy smile again. "I'll trust Melty to you. You'll do a good job."

The Spear Hero's trust in her would have been thoroughly misplaced at the start of her journey with Naofumi, so was the Shield Hero's for that matter. But as much as her mother might think otherwise, she really does only want the best for Melty right now, her eventual ascension to the throne notwithstanding. But none of them likely have much, if any choice with the upcoming Hero Conference paused at Cal Mira Island. There are bigger monsters than Mother, and her dubious protection as the supreme leader of Melromarc would mean much to them.

Chapter Text

"It's the sea! It's the SEA!" Wyndia hops up and down on her feet as she throws herself onto the wooden fence. Ren doesn't share the not so little shiba inu girl's excitement as their huge group arrives at New Albion, but something about her boundless youthful energy starts to rub off on him. He can definitely feel the spring back in his feet again similar to how when he was first summoned to this world, and started using his combat skills gained from playing VR games for real. "Look at the big sailed ships, the clear sky, and the water. SO MUCH WATER! Have you seen something like this, Skyguy?!"

"Yes, I have, Snips." Ren adds his new nickname for Wyndia almost like an afterthought. He's not usually so flippant that he would be this close to someone. Not even when he was talking with his friend Mikoto. Actually... talking with Mikoto might have been an exaggeration now he thinks over it. It's more fitting to say all of their interaction was when Mikoto starts a conversation, and then he answers her excitement with some subdued response. With his mind drifting back to his left behind friend (who now knows that they definitely aren't separated between life and death), he feels a sudden jerk on his wrist as he's pulled right beside Wyndia. "Calm down, Snips. I have seen the sea before. The city I came from is built alongside the coastline."

"But have you seen the sea like THIS!?" Wyndia grabs the back of Ren's head and pushes his head forward, making his body lean forward and really focus on the bustling port of New Albion. He might have complained if it's one of his fellow heroes, and he would definitely backhanded Motoyasu if he's the one doing it. But it's hard to get truly angry, or even annoyed at who he knows is a little girl around ten years dealing with the suddenly increased hormones of her adult body. "Look at how clear and BLUE this is!"

This isn't the first, or even the first tenth times Ren had been to the seaside, or visited a beach. He would have been perfectly fine to shut himself in his room playing VR games if his only friend wasn't Mikoto. She drags him out of his room more often than he cared to admit, and the beach is a popular spot for a young girl full of life to like to visit. But now that he is forced to look at the port and the vast expanse of ocean further away, he does recognize how it looks so much more vibrant than the seaside he knew from his last life. Ren briefly considers if that's caused by the pollution of his modern (and judging from his fellow heroes, much more technically advanced than other alternative earth) world, or if it's the magic in this world giving everything a more subtle but distinct look.

"It does look nice. Can you let go now?" Ren feels a sense of relief as the pressure from the back of his head disappears. He backs away and straightens himself. The peripheral of his vision noticed Gaelion landing on one of the pillars of the wooden fence. The dragon lord's head is fixed at an angle, looking out into the ocean in spite of there being nothing. "Something's the matter, Ga- Gondra?"

Gaelion snorts out a small cloud of ember out of his nose. He still doesn't appreciate the fake name Ren gave him. Well, the reincarnated dragon lord was the one that let Ren call him whatever Ren wanted. "I can feel the presence of Salamander's new incarnation across the sea. She is definitely at Cal Mira Island with the hero who raised her."

Chapter 4: Stormfront

"That's the one who took away your own dragon flight before you found and raised me, wasn't it? Father?" Ren can see another puff of ember filled smoke coming out of Gaelion's nose. Privately, the Sword Hero sympathizes with the dragon lord. He would have felt very indignant too if his biggest defeat had been casually brought up.

"Bah! She had cheated when she was brought up by one of the heroes. How can I beat that young upstart when she had a hero who unlocked her full potential from the start." Gaelion flies up from the wooden pole and lands on top of Wyndia's head. He leans down, resting on top of his daughter's hair like a chicken settling inside its nest. "The newest incarnation of Salamander makes me sick. Wagging her tails at one of those 'heroes' like she's a domesticated bonedog. Where is her draconic pride?"

"Isn't this the same thing as what you are doing now, father? You are also providing assistance to the heroes." Wyndia's question nearly made her miniature sized 'father' fall off her head. He manages to grab hold of Wyndia's hair to stay upright, unwittingly causing some minor pain to his daughter. "OUCH! Watch it, Father!"

"It's NOT the same thing! I render service to the heroes as a debt I owed them for saving you. And in exchange for them to protect the world the two of us live in. What I am NOT is a glorified pet owned by one of the heroes." Gaelion flies off Wyndia's hair and turns around to stare at his daughter. "Something the new reincarnation of Salamander clearly has no problem being."

"Something doesn't line up." Ren's mind is focused on something else, as his memory is drawn back to the time when he briefly met Naofumi in the tavern of Burden Rest inn before he took on that misguided mission to get rid of Gaelion. His browns twist together, trying to figure out the history, and the math. "I remember hearing the people of Trumpet city talking about some fight from ten years ago. Did the Whip Hero raise that other dragon that long ago?"

Gaelion's body completely freezes in midair. As his body completely froze like time itself stood still. Even though his small leather wings no longer flaps, he still remains levitated in the air. It seems like the dragon lord does not generate his lift with his wings, and it's more for show than anything else. Wyndia also seems intrigued by Ren's question as she stares at her father's face and blinks. "Skyguy is right, father. Didn't Prince Tact get chosen by the whip, and then adopted by King Egbert after I became your daughter? How did he raise a reincarnation of Salamander before?"

The miniature dragon lord flaps his jaw rather than wings, but doesn't say anything out loud. After a few more moments of staring at his daughter, he simply turns around and flies away. It seems like the reason he gave to Wyndia was more of an excuse to save his own face, he really lost his flight to the other dragon lord in a fair battle. It didn't stop Wyndia from elbowing Ren's guts in annoyance. "Why were you mean to my father, Skyguy?"

"I'm very sorry, Snips." Ren doesn't really feel sorry for trying to work out an error he noticed in the timeframe of the event. But he also doesn't need Motoyasu's experience with women to know that in this situation, he needs to grovel and beg for forgiveness no matter how unfair it is.

o(-_-)o[T]

"You are putting too much power into your flame." Malty slaps out the wisp of ember dancing on top of Flare's finger. It's slowly turning into an orb of fire that would threaten to spread onto the ship they are currently boarded on. "The point of this exercise is to maintain only a small cloud of ember putting as little of your magic into it as possible. To train your ability to control your spells. You are entirely missing the point if you pump too much mana into your spell, not to mention you'd burn us all alive if you don't sink our ship first."

"I'm trying! But it's too hard! It's hard to do enough when I'm riding my unicorn. Here on this ship with all the rocking, and wind? It's impossible!" The Consevatie girl whines at Malty's chastise. The princess turned slave wonders if this is how Uncle Aldrecht felt when he first started to train her. Did she whine as much as this pampered little 'princess' when she first started out? Even if that's the case... she's less than ten at the time, while Flare would be considered an adult by the world's standard even if she behaves like a spoiled little girl. It seems like that's a bit of a pattern for the children of the Consevatie family. And perhaps the great irony is how that son of Raleigh The Vulture, the most well known child lover of Melromarc, appeared to be more professional and competent in the short time she managed to observe him before he was killed by that rockslide engineered by Naofumi. On second thought... The short period of time she had with him might have been the reason why he appeared to be Fuckboy, and Flare's better. She simply didn't have enough time to notice the other male Consevatie's flaws yet.

"Try harder, but not in the way where you pump more of your magic into the spell. It defeats the purpose of this exercise, and you might kill us all." Flare lets out a frustrated groan, but starts her magic training all over again. Malty is perfectly aware that she is being too hard on the Consevatie girl. Considering her very clear lack of discipline in her casting, throwing her into the deep end of the pond and telling her to sink or swim is not the most effective training. But her action does have an alternative, and devious goal. She is trying to observe how Flare acts when she is being forced to do something completely unfair. She is the daughter of Lord Grima, one of the (admittedly not very loyal) lackeys of Malty's Mother. And more importantly, she is the little sister of Fuckboy. Malty has to carefully test Flare's motivation for joining them to decide if she is trustworthy or not. So apart from imparting some wisdom on what spells to not be mixed together for catastrophic effects, Malty isn't too motivated to teach the pampered little 'princess' actual casting spells. She has to prepare for the possibility that Flare would eventually stab them all in the back.

So far, the pampered little lady is putting up with all her almost unfair demand. Which tells Malty that Flare didn't join Naofumi's retinue out of a flightful fancy. But a better question remained. Why did she join them, despite the grudge they have with her elder brother? Could it be that she genuinely wants to use her talent to protect the world? Or was it on her father's order to curtail political favor from them?

"How is the training?" Malty turns her head to the side to see Naofumi coming along. Even though the Shield Hero is on top of a rocking ship (a massive warship, granted), he looks completely at ease no different than when he is walking on solid ground. Malty is reminded of how he was the only one who isn't affected by sickness at all when Firo breaks out into a full speed sprint. She briefly wonders if that's another ability one of his shields granted him. But Naofumi's mind is clearly on the Consevatie girl as he simply stares at her struggling to not let the ember on top of her finger get snuffed out by gusts of sea breeze. She's not having much success, as she simply repeats the step of conjuring up what looks like a tiny candle light, have it blown out, and try to relight it over and over again with a scowl. "She seems to be struggling. Are you sure this was the beginner exercise you did when you were a child?"

It technically is. But under Uncle Aldrecht's tutelage, Malty didn't have to do this kind of exercise on a rocking boat, against a strong wind. The first companion of the Shield Hero makes a mental note to explain to Naofumi her reasoning in privacy away from Flare's ears. So she gives another truth that would satisfy Naofumi's confusion, and somewhat appeases Flare. "It's always much easier to get your spell under control when you are a child, Master Naofumi. As an adult, she's completely used to pumping as much mana into all her spells, and let her strong natural reserve do all the hard parts. It'll take her extra time, and dedication to un-learn all her bad habits. And grew the discipline I'm used to as a child."

"Sounds about right... but you two have to wrap it up for now." Naofumi points his thumb over his shoulder behind his back. Malty looks at the direction he is pointing at, and sees Artoria Arc standing over the helm of the ship. Whatever fault one could find in Archduke Wales, he does not pamper his children, especially not his heir. The first in line to inherit his title seems to be an experienced captain to be left in charge like this. "She said something about a storm coming. All of us better get inside. We don't want to get in the way of the sailors."

Malty looks up at the sky. Seeing how clear and blue it looks, her faith in Archduke Wales' trust in his daughter is beginning to waver. Does Artoria truly know what she is talking about, or is she simply pretending to be competent like Malty's mother while riding the coattail of someone who is truly in charge. She doesn't think Archduke Wales is someone who is irresponsible enough to knowingly endanger his liege, the four cardinal heroes, and all the important people from Melromarc who will attend the Hero Conference. But he wouldn't be the first noble to be deceived by their own children. She suppose it'll be for the best that they clear out of the deck. As Naofumi said, she doesn't want to get in the way of the sailors if they'll be battling through a storm. If Artoria was talking filorial dung... no harm for them to stay in the relative comfort of their cabins either.

o(-_-)o[T]

The storm came like Artoria predicted. It really feels like for one moment, everything is fine and nice. And then as if the Chief God the people of Medea worshiped randomly snapped his finger, and everyone is puking their guts out as their ship begins to rock left and right. Naofumi still feels fine, and that's honestly the most surprising thing to him.

The only one from his party who doesn't have their head buried in a bucket (aside from himself, of course) is Yatsuhashi, who is sitting in a corner with his legs coiled in a meditative posture. And even his deeply tanned face looks pale by comparison. Raphtalia is in her adult form for the extra hardiness, even if it doesn't seem to help her much. There is also Raphtalia's friend Keel, who insisted she stay with Raphtalia all the time after what happened during the Three Heroes'’ Church's rebellion.

In contrast, Naofumi doesn't even feel a slight bit of dizziness, or nausea. He's pretty sure he had more trouble riding trains before his summoning once or twice than the current roller coaster ride. Was it one of his shield's abilities? He looks through his status screen again, reading over the description of all his shields carefully to make sure he's not missing some subtext. It's not like he has anything better to do right now. Or he could actually help his companions. As wonderful and convenient as his miracle spells are, curing sea sickness while their boat is shaking like an earthquake isn't something it can do.

"I'm dying... I'm actually dying. I'm going to puke my guts out if this storm doesn't tear our ship apart first." Malty falls over on the floor. Her face is turning a sickly shade of green by this point. She grabs Naofumi's ankle, eyes glittering with intense madness. "Master Naofumi... if you survive and I don't... make sure you engrave on my gravestone that I blame my mother for everything!"

Naofumi feels like someone would have come along, slapped Malty's face and tells her to stop her snivelling for comedic effect. If his life really is someone's fanfiction of some badly written isekai novel, that is. And then he feels very guilty for thinking like this, considering Raphtalia was puking her guts out even worse than Malty. Well... he can't tell which of them is suffering worse, to be honest. He only made assumptions since Raphtalia can't seem to even talk.

"Calm down, Malty... I know you are suffering, but I'm sure it won't come to that." Naofumi waves away his status screen and holds his hands up in front of him, trying to appease Malty. The insanity in her glare doesn't recede at all. Right... he's thinking like a rational person because he isn't in enough pain to feel like the world is ending. That's clearly not the case for Malty, or Raphtalia... He needs to do something right now. "Just... hold on for now. I'm going to go see Gaelion. I know some dragon shout can call a storm, so maybe that's what happened. I'll see if Gaelion has a way to clear the storm too."

"Right... you do that. In the meantime... I'm sure this is ALL MY MOTHER’S FAULT SOMEHOW!" Malty let go of Naofumi's leg, and began to scream into the wooden ceiling like a dying animal. Naofumi doesn't waste anymore time, and he half runs, half crawls his way out of their cabin to get Gaelion. Hopefully he has a way to get them out of this, because Naofumi is starting to worry as much as Malty that their ships won't survive if this raging storm continues.

The cabin Ren was assigned to isn't any less of a pandamonium than Naofumi's. In this case, the chaos mostly comes from Wyndia. When Naofumi pushes open the door to poke his head in, he sees Wyndia throttling Gaelion by his neck. "Make this damn storm stop, father! You are the dragon lord of the storm. Aren't you?"

"Well... yes, baby girl. But my domain is calling storms forth, not dispelling them- GAHK!" The miniature form of Gaelion lets out a squeak that reminds Naofumi of a chicken as Wyndia bodily slams her father onto the floor.

"That's what I'm here for. My companions are also suffering." Naofumi quickly charges into the cabin and snatches Gaelion's body out of Wyndia's hands. Ren gives him a slight bob of his head, and a rise of his eyebrows. But seeing how his face is also pale, his fellow hero clearly isn't capable, or has any desire to stop him. With the miniaturized body of the dragon lord in his hand, the Shield Hero quickly escapes out of the cabin. He tries to ignore the frustrated grunting from Wyndia like he did to his own companion.

Naofumi can feel Gaelion twitch in his hand, so he relaxes his fingers and lets the dragon lord fly away. Despite his draconic face being very different from a human, Gaelion clearly looks annoyed with the way he narrows his eyes almost into an arrow shape. The embers blowing out of his nose is also a good indication. "Do NOT ever do that again. Especially in public. I have an image to maintain as one of the twelve dragon lords of the world. I can't be seen manhandled by a mere mortal, even a hero as yourself by most people, especially my own patrons."

"Aren't we wasting time on pointless discussion here? Wyndia was smashing you into the floor!" Naofumi genuinely takes a pause at Gaelion's priorities. Their ships are being threatened to go under, or torn apart by the raging storm. And he's more worried about how he's being snatched left and right by people like some angry kitten? It's not like he wants to go around grabbing a dragon who will probably disintegrate him. "Can you stop this storm or not?"

"Exactly! Only Wyndia is allowed to do it because she's my daughter. So don't ever do that again." Gaelion makes a brief pause, possibly for dramatic effect, before continuing. "Okay... this storm is definitely not normal. The ocean can be a deceptive and tricky beast. But it usually doesn't go from clear sky with no sign of cloud to one of the worst raging storms you'd ever see. Someone, or something is doing this because they either want all you heroes dead, or is trying to make some point-"

"What do you mean 'trying to make some point'? Are you telling me someone conjured up a raging storm that could sink a fleet for no reason other than shits and giggles?!" Naofumi nearly reaches his hands over and throttles Gaelion like Wyndia did earlier. He manages to fight back his instinct at the last moment to avoid possible disintegration by Gaelion.

"You are clearly still too inexperienced, Lord Shield Hero. Worse things have been done for far less in this world. Now if you didn't interrupt me, I was going to explain." This time, the floating mini-dragon lord looks positively smug with the way his maw curves. "The Hero Conference usually doesn't wait for all four Cardinal Heroes to arrive together. Since the four of you were supposed to have been summoned separately by different nations. And almost all of them would always have conflicts of interest. So it's not unheard of for some of them to get the idea to assert their dominance over a hero controlled by their rival nations and give them a scare before they arrive at Cal Mira Island. The island itself is declared eternal peaceful neutral ground by generations of past heroes. But the sea surrounding it? That's fair game."

Once again, Naofumi is reminded of the absolute pettiness of this world's ruling elite. They are facing a world ending crisis, yet their priority seems to be playing the equivalent of international office politics that they would risk the death of the heroes. Someone whose lives are as Malty has explained, tied directly to the strength of the monster waves they would face.

"Which brings us to the current cycle. All four of you were summoned by Melromarc alone. Illegally when its regent king broke the sacred covenant established since the first ever Hero Summoning. That means every nation that isn't a direct ally of Melromarc now has their full attention on this upcoming Hero Conference now." The mini-dragon lord flies left and right, like a human who is walking in circles while giving away their explanation. "Those who might have otherwise stayed behind have come to Cal Mira Island on a short notice. And more than some of them would be bold enough to try showing off, everyone is no doubt enraged at what Melromarc did. So for them, giving a good scare to those aboard the incoming Melromarc fleet would make their point loud and clear. And let all of you heroes see the strength of this world's elite on what they can do. They probably figured it would help cower you and make you easier to control."

"They have another thing going if they try. I can't kick their asses because I'm the Shield Hero. But I'll kick up a fuss to fuck with them." Naofumi crosses over his arms. He can feel an anger induced headache climbing up to the top of his head once again. Forget about how he himself was mistreated when he's supposed to be one of the summoned heroes. With how everyone in his party was badly treated, he isn't going to lie flat and let everyone who has some gold in their pocket walk all over his companions. It would have been especially unfair to Kyubey and Farkas after they gave their lives to ensure his own survival.

"Don't forget that's only one of my assumptions. There are plenty of mortals who genuinely want you hero types, especially the summoned ones to die. Either because they don't like the changes a summoned hero often brings to this world, or because they genuinely want this world to end. Some of them are quite powerful and influential for mortal's standards. So for all we know, someone really is trying to kill all four of you, and your mortal escorts." Naofumi isn't too sure which one of Gaelion's assumption makes him feel worse. Because a shitty world filled with self-serving politicians, and greedy rich people who want to exploit isekai'ed people like himself in the middle of a world ending crisis isn't enough. Of course, there are genuine doomsday cultists too. Because why not? According to that (possibly insane) modern incarnate Fuckboy, this world was originally some web novel. And Judging by Malty's original, gruesome and totally undeserved fate, whoever wrote the thing obviously lacks any good sense of taste, or class. And if he really is in a fanfiction, whoever wrote this is clearly also an asshole, considering what happened so far.

"Okay. Let's forget the fuckers who caused this storm. Can you stop it? People are suffering, and I hate people suffering because of me." Naofumi shoves the distaste he has for the people responsible for his current predicament into the darkest corner of his mind and focuses on the important thing. "I don't know how much you are different from the Skyrim dragons. But there's a [Clear Sky] dragon shout in that game. You should know it, right?"

"Yes. There is. But a dragon lord doesn't get to use every draconic spell they want to. When a dragon ascends, we are each given a domain of the previous dragon lord. My domain is the storm, as in: calling in a raging storm. Clearing it away is the antithesis of my own domain." Gaelion's answer is obviously not the one Naofumi wants to hear. But the dragon continues to slowly spin around, as if thinking of something. "My daughter is suffering too. Normally, I'd simply throw her onto my back and fly away. But if I do this and all of you die in the storm, Wyndia really will strangle me to death. I'll do my best and see how much I can affect the storm. But don't expect a miracle from Audin! At most, I might be able to calm the storm down a little."

"Okay, let's roll." Naofumi spins on his heels, only to stop right in his tracks with a startle. On the other side of the hall, his housecarl/sworn shield Yatsuhashi is edging his steps towards him while holding the wooden wall for support. "Yatsuhashi, why aren't you in our cabin?"

"As your housecarl, it is my duty to protect you, my thane." The giant's answer didn't surprise Naofumi, but it did frustrate him a little. This must be how his own companion feels when he lets his own aspiration to protect others over his own wellbeing gets the better of himself. The ship gives a sudden, violent shake again. Naofumi manages to stay upright, but his own oath bond protector didn't fare so well. The tanned man in heavy armor falls onto the wooden floor with a dull, but loud thud. The Shield Hero can clearly see some indent on the wooden board as Yatsuhashi slowly gets back up on his feet.

"You are not well. Go rest in our cabin. I'm sure nobody will try to harm me." The intense twinkle in Yatsuhashi's eyes made Naofumi realize he must have said something wrong.

"Lady Mordred tried to lash you to death. She's also on this ship." Yatsuhashi's words actually make Naofumi blink this time. That was a very unpleasant experience to say the least, and probably the closest he had gotten to death since his summoning. To know that the woman who most definitely tried to kill him during his official punishment is on the same ship does make him suddenly more self-aware of danger. But he looks at Yatsuhashi's condition again, and decides that there is a more practical reason to convince him not to tag alone.

"Okay... Mordred will be a problem. But I can put her in a [Shield Prison] and run. You can barely walk right. What would happen if you trip and throw me overboard? What if you fall on top of me? I think I'm in more danger of being thrown into the ocean and drowning, or being crushed to death by you than being killed by Mordred." Yatsuhashi's eyes twist in obvious pain, but he relent in the end with a respectful bow.

"I understand... I shall return to my cabin... and better acquaint myself. I will make sure I adapt to all situations, so I won't be far away from you when you are in danger again." The tan skinned giant turns around and staggers his way back to Naofumi's cabin room. The Shield Hero realized that he had ignored his bodyguard's feelings. Yatsuhashi must have felt like shit when he wasn't around during the Third Wave. He needs to talk with his bodyguard and have it sorted out. But for now, he has bigger problems to worry about.

"Okay. Let's go, Gaelion." Naofumi gives one last acknowledgement to the mini-dragon lord, as the two of them bolt for the upper deck. As the Shield Hero climbs up the stairs, he can already feel a strong, cold gust blowing at his face like knives threaten to force his eyes shut, his armor felt heavier than ever. At times like this, he wished he was more of a digimon fanboy and wore goggles everywhere to proudly announce his fandom. As is, he puts down the faceguard of his helmet, as he climbs the final set of stairs. It doesn't actually protect his eyes, but it'll have to do.

"What are you doing out here, Shield Hero?! Don't get in our way, or I'll knock you overboard myself!" Naofumi whips his face around towards the direction of the chastise. And he sees the enraged face of Mordred through the tiny eyeholes of his faceguard. Behind her, Lancelotte's eyes dart between her younger sister, and Naofumi. Mouth downward in a clear show of distress over the conflict brewing between them.

"I'm trying to help calm the storm. Gaelion could help." Naofumi quickly puts his hands up in both an act of appeasement and surrender. His attempt to defuse the situation doesn't seem to work as Mordred's eyes simply grow even larger from her glare.

"We are fighting to stay upright in this storm. We have no time for the shits of you summoned heroes. Leave, or I'll toss you overboard my-" Mordred's threat suddenly cuts off half way as a high pitched shriek can be heard overhead. Both Mordred, and Lancelote turn around from facing Naofumi to look upwards at the direction of the sound.

Against his better judgment, Naofumi pulls up his faceguard and begins to look for the origin of the shriek just like the Arc sisters. Strong gust of wind begins to cut his face, as droplets of water hit his face like bullets. But then, he can feel something strange against his bare skin. Almost like a minor shock one would get from suddenly touching a surface. The path seems to open within the storm, as something covered in golden snakes of lightning begin to spin upwards into the oppressive dark clouds. It reminded the Shield Hero of the attack used by the griffin king against Fitoria when he was crossing over the mountain range to escape Melromarc.

Behind the twister of lightning is a dark presence, like a giant flying statue made of darkest stone. Its bat-shaped wing, elongated neck and tail reminds Naofumi of Gaelion's own full sized form. Another dragon, as large, maybe even larger than the dragon lord of raging storm. It flies up the rolling thunder cloud through the path opened up by its (assumedly) companion, and an earth shattering shout begins to echo down from heaven into the ocean that sends Naofumi tumbling onto his back. When his head is no longer spinning, he notices Gaelion glaring up at the sky in silent sulking. After a while, as both the storm and the cloud over everyone begin to part ways for clear, azure sky, Gaelion finally opens his maw and lets out a sneer. "Show off."

"You know that guy?" Naofumi places his hands on the wooden floor to support himself, and then slowly pushes himself to sit up. He was starting to get used to the extra weight from his armor. But moments like this where he gets knocked down the stairs and dizzy in the head... possibly even suffering from minor concussion. He is reminded how his current armor is definitely designed more as a training tool rather than a proper defense equipment. He misses the blue knight armor he first bought from Uncle Elhard. Hopefully Sir Oersted can find it, and bring it back to him. "With the way you grunt. I don't think that dragon was family, or friend?"

"Oh, Salamander is family alright. The kind I wouldn't mind if they stayed in some hole when it comes down to a meeting between us dragon lords." Instead of his usual ember, Gaelion is spitting out lightning bolts. "Salamander is the Dragon Lord of inferno fire, and the patron of House Velthomar. Her current incarnation is the little pet of the Whip Hero. Disgusting, for one of my fellow Dragon Lords to lower themselves like some family kitten."

"Can you not make a scene with her? Or start some other shit? I don't know what this Whip Hero is like, but we'll need everyone if we are fighting against some demonic legion at the end." Gaelion stays silent and unmoving at Naofumi's question. After a long pause, he slowly nods his head. "Thank you."

"I doubt I can beat her now. She has been a companion of the Whip Hero since he was chosen by the world shard. She has enough time to grow back to her full potential." Naofumi feels, rather than hear the unspoken line from Gaelion. While his apparent rival is growing stronger as a dragon, he had been spending time as a father to Wyndia. Privately, Naofumi doesn't think Gaelion made a bad choice. His own impromptu parenthood with Raphtalia... and Firo wasn't without difficulties. And he failed Firo in the worst way. But he wouldn't trade them away for anything. And if he has a chance to start over from the start... he would look for them again just to do a better job this time. "Well. The storm has calmed without my input. I shall go see my daughter. You do whatever you want to, Shield Hero."

The Shield Hero follows Gaelion's example as he quickly runs his way back towards his cabin. The stench of half digested food and stomach acid fills the air of the stuffy room. Malty and Raphtalia don't immediately recover from their sickness simply because the ship is running in calm weather now. But they both look to be adjusting now that the ship ride no longer resembles a very dangerous roller coaster. Raphtalia in particular is no longer in her hardier adult body. When Naofumi's eyes fall on Malty, a red shade actually appears on her face. "I'm very sorry for my unruly behavior from earlier, Master Naofumi."

"No need. You were in a lot of pain. Are you feeling better now?" Malty gives a faint, curt nod. Knowing that she still hasn't fully recovered yet, Naofumi walks over and kneels down in front of Malty and Raphtalia. He gives each of them a hug hoping the support would help them. He feels the death glare coming from Raphtalia's friend from the side. "How about you, Raphtalia? You couldn't even speak earlier."

"I'm alright now, Master Naofumi." Ratphalia also nods back to Naofumi. She gently pushes Keel back a little. Perhaps seeing none of them trying to puke out their guts anymore, Yatsuhashi stands up, takes the bucket and exits their cabin to go out and dump the wastes. "We'll really be at Cal Mira Island soon?"

"Yeah. I think you will like it, Raphtalia. It's a famous 'vacation' spot in addition to being the eternal peaceful neutral ground. It's built on top of many generations of heroes. There's even a museum displaying artifacts and relics from previous summoned heroes." Their adopted daughter looks thoughtful at Malty's explanation. But Naofumi still sees the twinkle in her eyes when previous heroes were mentioned by Malty. Raphtalia is much calmer than when she was first adopted by them, but it seems like she had kept her fascination with heroes.

"They openly display artifacts from past heroes, and nobody tried to steal, or rob the place?" Naofumi sits down on the floor and voices his suspicion. What Malty said doesn't sound very realistic. "I know you said it's eternal neutral ground. But with how shitty people act in this world, you'd think some idiots would try something."

"Well... I say artifacts and relics. But I mean the not empowered kind. Like a favorite cup, or mirror used by a past hero. That kind of thing. More memorabilia than artifacts, I suppose. The most high profile exhibition was a diamond wedding ring donated by a descendant of a past spear hero. Not enchanted in any way, of course. And nobody would risk the wrath of the entire world for a piece of gem." Naofumi nods along with Malty's explanation. Yes, that sounds more reasonable. The princess who was forced into his (much to his own disgust and regret) slave tilts her head slightly to the side for a brief moment before asking. "You were able to clear the storm, Master Naofumi. Was it Gaelion?"

"No, it was some other dragon lord. Gaelion called her Salamander, and said she's raised by the Whip Hero." Naofumi immediately notices the way Malty's eyes narrow with recognition of the name. Or more specifically, the title of the hero. "You know them?"

"I know as much about Salamander as the next one born into nobility. The dragon lord of inferno fire, and the patron of House Velthomar. As for the Whip Hero. I met him in person when my mother... brought me to Faubley to meet my uncle when I was younger." Malty's feet twitch on the floor at the mention. Naofumi's heart goes out to her. Considering that secret betrothal between her and her distant uncle, it must have been very unpleasant. He pulls Malty into an embrace again, much tighter and longer this time. The two of them ignore the gagging sound made by Keel, and Raphtalia attempts to actually gag her friend. "He was adopted by King Egbert after he was chosen by the Star Whip. And he can be a pompous ass, and a lecher just like his adopted father. But don't pick a fight with him if he does something stupid. He had way more time to ramp up his levels and his abilities than all four of you combined."

"I'll try to work with him. I'm not some aggro-thinking dipshit like Fuckboy who flies into rage when people don't listen to me." Naofumi immediately begins to get the same image as someone like Fuckboy. He wonders if he can truly keep his words if the Whip Hero is as insufferable as that reincarnate who believed himself to be the protagonist in some shitty fanfiction. What would he do if this Whip Hero tries to take advantage of Malty, or Raphtalia? The answer is obvious. "So long as he keeps his hands away from you, or Raphtalia. If he is like Fuckboy. I'm not going to leave him to do whatever he wants to."

"That is fair, Master Naofumi. Not to worry. Prince Tact isn't entirely devoid of class like that insane reincarnate..." The way Malty's eyes avoid Naofumi's gaze near the end, and her voice trails off tells the Shield Hero that she's not very confident with her own answer.

o(-_-)o[T]

Malty follows immediately after her mother's own entourage with the closest companions of Naofumi as they prepare to make landfall at Cal Mira Island's port. She would have liked to stay far away from her mother, to avoid drawing attention to her, and because she genuinely dislikes being in her mother's presence now. The brief moment of face to face, and heart to heart confrontation she had with her Mother at the end of the Three Heroes' Church's rebellion didn't endear her Queen Mother to her, and she doubted she endeared herself to her Queen Mother either. From her Queen Mother's confession, it's clear that Queen Mirellia had never truly seen Princess Malty as an independent person. Now, all the regal red queen of (not so) glorious Melromarc saw was her own long shadow that had casted over Princess Malty.

Unfortunately for Malty, this isn't an occasion where she can afford to indulge her own desires. The point of their trip to Cal Mira Island was for Melromarc to hand the four Cardinal Heroes to other powerful nations of the world and let them get a piece of the metaphorical hero resource pie. So the core entourage of the four heroes would follow right after the queen. She could choose to stay on the ship. But she can't be sure of her own safety considering how many people resent Melromarc for Father's actions, and how many of them might be further emboldened to take it on a slave. And fortunately for her, the other Three Heroes' let Naofumi walk before them all to show their respect and trust in him. How nice of them.

She feels someone's finger curl around her hand and then give it a strong squeeze. The Princess turned slave turns her head to look to her left, and sees Naofumi giving her an encouraging nod. The simple gesture brings peace back to her mind. No matter how low she has sunk in terms of her official social status, she has something much better: The trust... and love of her hero, Naofumi Iwatani. But his show of adoration didn't stop right there. When it's his turn to walk down the plank, his hand guided Malty forward, letting her walk right beside him, rather than behind him as expected for a companion of the hero. She doesn't know if Naofumi was simply doing it out of courtesy, or if he understood the political intention behind such a move. Regardless, the Shield Hero's intention to everyone watching is clear: He has enough affection and attachment to his slave that would put her equal to himself despite their difference in social status.

Malty steals a look behind her out of curiosity. It seems like Naofumi's gesture had been copied by his fellow heroes. As Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki let Lady Iris, Wyndia, and Rishia walk right beside them on their descent as well. The princess turned slave turns her head around to look straight at their welcome committee. They are led by a tall, large man with black hair in an open vest proudly displaying his chest and his muscular physique. No animalistic ears on his head, but the thick patch of black fur on his chest (yes, actual fur, not very thick chest hair) proudly displays his lineage. Malty doesn't know this person, but judging from how he is leading the procession with dignitaries from foreign nations much more powerful than Cal Mira Archipelago, this must be the leader of Cal Mira.

And speaking of foreign representatives... Faubley, SIltvelt and Shitfreeden all sent out their members. But not the ones actually (at least in the official capacity) in charge of their nation. King Egbert of Faubley, Regent Jardis of Siltvelt and President Katharine of Shiltfreeden are not here. A pressure tactic, and a not too subtle snub to the High Queen of Melromarc telling her that she isn't worthy of being welcomed by their own nations' official leaders.

In her uncle's place, Lord Dumbledore (who had too many names to list them all), the mage lord regent of (probably not so) noble Faubley leads the 'welcome' party of the other nations. His eyes twinkle as he sets his eyes on the heroes, yet there's no mirth to it.

Malty also immediately noticed Tact among the welcome party. He's having his hands on the head of two short girls, both look Firo's age in her humanoid form. But they are clearly not human judging from the little stubby horn on one, and the pair of golden wings on the other. He snorts when he sees the arrived Cardinal Heroes. While he didn't shout it on top of his lungs, his voice was still loud and clear enough to let Malty (and a lot of other people around her) hear what he said. "So these are the Cardinal Heroes? They don't look very impressive."

The woman who leads the Siltvelt group (easily noticeable with how many of them have animal heads) has long, straight, midnight black hair that runs down her back like a cape. Her face is heart shaped, as opposed to Malty's more diamond shaped face. And her features are much more softer than the more curved out features Malty inherited from her father's Faubley lineage. It should have made the woman come off as more welcoming, yet there's something unmistakably haughty about her. The way she carries herself, the way her eyes twitch as she sees the heroes, the way her lips curl almost into a sneer... or more boldly, the way she licks her lips as her eyes fall on Naofumi and Malty. No doubt, the woman is a much more dangerous predator than Tact, possibly even more so than his adopted father King Egbert.

A notable absence are any representatives from the Zeltoble Alliance. While they are nothing more than a mutual defense pact among the free cities scattered between Melromarc, Siltvelt, Shiltfreeden and Faubley, Malty still expected them to show themselves. Perhaps the squabbling city state leadership simply can't make up their decisions on who should be present. The alternative would be more curious however. Perhaps someone in Zeltoble had already formed the alliance into one true nation, and is biding their time while making all of their opponents guess. Malty herself, and all the players much more experienced in The Game wouldn't know till Zeltoble's leadership made themselves known.

"Welcome to Cal Mira Archipelago again, Your Grace. And honored heroes." The demihuman inclines his head. "We have already prepared lodging for all of you at Menagerie Hotel. And other rooms around Cal Mira for your retinues. Please enjoy your rest for today, so you may attend the official Hero Conference tomorrow when you are refreshed."

"...I thought the Hero Conference would start as soon as we arrived?" In her mind, Malty echoes the same sentiment as her Mother. With how urgent she brought the heroes to Cal Mira considering the heroes were summoned almost two months ago, she expected the other world leaders to be impatient. Especially after that clearly unnatural storm they encountered on the ocean. But it seems like the other major players are also more patient than Malty and her Mother give them credit for.

"Considering the hardship you, your crew, and the heroes have suffered through that unexpected storm. We decided to postpone the Hero Conference to the morrow so our revered heroes may rest." Lord Dumbledore steps over the leader of Cal Mira Island to answer the queen's question. In spite of his cordial words and welcoming gesture, Malty narrows her eyes at the lord regent of Faubley. His kind, grandfatherly facade does not hide how he is asserting his dominance among everyone, or the subtle words of snub aimed at Mother once again. The conference is postponed for the heroes' benefit on the grace of the representing leaders on Cal Mira Island, and the high queen of Melromarc has to wait on their collective decisions.

And even that is ignoring the metaphorical gutter beak in the metaphorical room. As a Mjöðvitnir, a mage who has strong affinity to all known elements, Dumbledore would be one of the few mages who is capable of conjuring up that unnatural storm all by himself. Not to mention his legions of former, and current mage students from the Hero Academy of Faubley who are perfectly capable of pulling the feat off without directly incriminating the revered headmaster. He could be the very person that's behind that show of force, in which case bringing the matter up is another pressure tactic on both the queen of Melromarc, and the heroes. And on that thought... he doesn't even have to be the one who is guilty of the act. The fact that he is capable of pulling the feat off in numerous ways that wouldn't have him punished is an incredible burden that now gets dumped on the shoulders of everyone present.

Malty feels the fingers around her palm curl into her hand, and gives her a tight squeeze. She faintly turns her head around to see Naofumi also looking at her. He might lack the knowledge of all the political plays, but he clearly picked up Dumbledore's thinly veiled threat. And the Shield Hero is not cowed by it.

No matter what hardship comes, Malty will face it together with Naofumi. Because as he said to her, they are partners in this together.

Chapter Text

How dare they do this... how dare those miserable, pathetic, useless NPCs do this to HIM! The main character of this story! Degraded him like some common criminal, taken away everything he owned and turned him into a slave, AND changing his name like he was Bitch?! He never cared much about the name, or the family he got from this life. But it's still HIS! And these miserable NPCs dare to take them away. And that traitorous trash panda... he gave her everything and then some, and she still went back to simp after not only the Shield Loser, but Bitch herself. It seems you really can't change a tool. Once he raises again, he'll make sure to punish these NPCs for such transgression. Oh, yes~. Once he's done with these pathetic NPCs, they'll think what Bitch got from canon is a MERCY!

"Walk faster, mutt." A strong tug from Fuckboy's neck physically pulls him out of his own internal sulking. He glares straight at the gray haired woman in her tattered cloth. The unveiled contempt from her sharp eyes makes him fly into a rage again.

"How dare you treat me like this, you bitch! Do you have any idea who I am?! I am the protagonist of this story- GAH!" The sharp, burning pain in his chest where the slave crest was burned on by that smug little shit Leon Bartfort reminded him that what he suffered on that day was more than his pride.

"Of course I know who you are, mutt. You are the lowly dog who tried to murder my dear little brother over your own bruised ego. That devil bird might have gotten light with an exile thanks to the Shield Demon pleading for her. But you did not." Mordred Arc's feet fall on his head, hurting him much more than the slave seal did. Making him want to grind his own teeth to dust. "As far as I'm concerned, you are as guilty as that damn bird for my brother's death. And as an officially condemned slave to House Arc, you have no rights. Don't test my patience, I can kill you with a snap of my finger if I want, but I won't give you such a quick end. No. If I'm annoyed with you enough, I will make sure you suffer before you die."

He raises his head, narrows his eyes and glares at this NPC who dares to stand over him. She might think she has the upper hands, but he isn't worried. He is the hero, the protagonist, the main character of the fanfiction he found himself in. No matter how much he gets degraded and abused, it's only temporary. The author is trying to make him look sympathetic to the readers to justify his later power trip. It worked wonders like the original [Rising of the Shield Hero] after all. He hisses at the women. "Your clueless, pathetic worm of brother got what's coming to him. And if you have any good sense, you'd prostrate before me, before I-GGGAAAAAHHHHHHHH~"

"Wrong words, mutt. So you have chosen DEATH." The burning on his chest becomes much more unbearable this time, it feels like his entire body is being run through electricity. Black spots begin to appear in his own vision, as his mind begins to blank. This... this can't be his end. It just can't be. Because he is the protagonist...

Chapter 5: Hidden Foes

"Stop that, Mordy! You are killing him!" Lancelotte throws her hands over and pulls at Mordred's arm. Before Mordred, Fuckboy's collapsed body spasms on the ground. After Jaune's unfortunate passing, she worries for her only remaining younger siblings more than ever. And right now, Mordred's act of blatant sadism truly scares her. "This isn't like you, Mordred!"

"Do you not remember how this filth tried to murder our brother? That devil bird was the one who snapped Jaune's neck. But this worm pushed Jaune to the chopping block by his antagonization! And now he is nothing more than our property, but he still acts with nothing but spite toward Jaune instead of feeling grateful for our mercy, his mercy!" Mordred's haughty words slowly break apart as her voice continuously rises higher. By the end, her voice sounds more like a high pitched sob than a sneer it started out as. "So tell me, Lancelotte. Why should I show any mercy to this pathetic, rabid dog? Why should I not kill him, like how he wanted to kill Jaune over and over again?"

"I will not stop you if you want to pass further judgment, and kill Fuckboy for his past crime." Mordred's eyes blink, clearly not expecting her answer. "I'm not a saint, Mordy. I'm angry at our baby brother's death too. And Fuckboy is definitely responsible. At least he holds more responsibility for Jaune's death than Lord Shield Hero. But if you think he deserves death, make it quick. Pull out Clarent and cut his head off his shoulders. Do not torture him to death. You'll only hurt your own soul for doing it."

"Very well... sister." Mordred whips her face back. Not looking at Lancelotee again. The middle sister of the Arc Siblings recoils back at Mordred's reaction. This, combined with how Mordred had called her by her full name earlier meant that her younger sister still hadn't forgiven her yet. Lancelotte would have been fine with her younger sister hating her. But she feels anxious that her sweet, younger sister is going down a dark path after Jaune's death. And there's nothing Lancelotte could do to help Mordred.

As Fuckboy seemed to slowly twitch his way back up the ground, Mordred looked down at him again. "I should have struck you down now where you lie, mutt. But never be said that the children of Albion aren't fair. I shall give you one last chance to live. But if you dare to show any sign of defiance again, my blade Clarent will lob your head right off your shoulders like my sister suggested. Did I make myself clear, you pathetic little worm?"

"O-of course, my lady. I... I shall only strive to serve you from now on." Fuckboy doesn't seem to even dare raise his head to look at them now. With his head low, and his body still almost lying on the ground, the formerly arrogant son of Marquis Consevatie finally seemed to admit his defeat, and his submission. "I am but your humble servant."

"Doesn't something look weird, Mordy- Mordred? Why does he go from taunting and mocking you like he had some power over you, to groveling without any sense of pride, or shame?" Lancelotee narrows her eyes as she looks at the seemingly submissive form of Fuckboy with suspicion. His change feels too quick, and too sudden to look natural.

"Arrogant little daddy's boys like him are cowards by nature, Lancelotte. They talk big when they think negative consequences of their actions can not touch them. But when faced with the opposite, they are always those who fold first." Mordred nudges her chin slightly towards Fuckboy's direction as she sneers down at their prostrating slave. "Nearly shocked to death by the slave collar clearly broke his fantasy, and convinced this worm that he is in fact, not above touch. Come, Lancelotee. Let us rejoin Big Sister Artoria."

Mordred spins on her heels and leaves for the Menagerie Grand Hotel where all the highborns following Queen Mirellia now lodge. Lancelotee doesn't feel nearly as confident at Fuckboy's compliance as Mordred. But she knows that her younger sister would not hear anything else she said, so she quickly follows after her younger sister. Unfortunately for either of the Arc sisters, they failed to see the smirk around the corner of Fuckboy's mouth, or how his eyes shine brightly red for the briefest moment. The same color as the red wave that opens up over the horizons.

I am merely a humble servant... who serves my goddess.

o(-_-)o[T]

"You don't have to follow me all the time, Keel. Don't you have something to do on your own?" Raphtalia shifts uncomfortably on her feet. Her childhood friend has been sticking close to her as a shadow, and it's starting to unnerve Raphtalia. She understands Keel would worry about her after what happened at the end of the Third Wave (or First... come to think of it). But does she literally have to stand right behind her, glaring and hissing whoever passes her by. Oftentimes this behavior even includes Naofumi and Malty?

"You are too trusting, Raphtalia. You never know who is ready to take advantage of you. I learnt this after running with Adam's crew." Keel glares at Big Sister Malty, even if she's training her newest student (She still can't fully get over the fact that she was HIS little sister) and isn't paying any attention to the two of them. "See that woman over there? She acts like she cares about you, but she didn't turn that awful Consevatie family away. They hurt you badly, but she wants to get in bed with them because they are nobles. She's using you, just like she's using that Consevatie woman."

"Big sister Malty isn't like that. She took care of me with Master Naofumi when I was only a sick, slave child. Big sister Malty was still a royal princess then. If she needs some help, she can easily get them with her knights, soldiers, or sellswords. What will she gain with me?" Raphtalia doesn't want to admit it, but she doesn't feel nearly as confident towards her adopted parents as she's telling Keel. She still remembers how at first, both of them were so fond of playing with her ears. Yes, she knows that's the kind of thing Malty is raised to do unconsciously as a noble, and something Naofumi clearly didn't understand the implication of because he came from the hero's world. That's why they stopped not too long after they were traveling (Naofumi nearly fell off a set of stairs after he realized what he's been doing). But deep down... the act itself reminds her of what her previous... owners would do. And thinking about them makes her want to jump into the nearby sea and start to furiously scrub her body.

"Raphtalia. We are demi-humans. Man-animals always want something from us." Keel walks around to Raphtalia's front, puts both of her hands on Raphtalia's face to force her into a staring contest. The ease with how Keel uses such racially charged derogatory terms makes Raphtalia feel sick. That's the kind of word Kael'thas, a high ranking Siltvelt noble often got into trouble with Naofumi for. Keel had always been head strong, and she hated how the arrogant some of the humans (especially from nobility) act around them at Port Harp. But she didn't spout out these kinds of words back then. The time she spent with those slum thugs really wasn't good for her. "That princess doesn't know you came from a royal family, but she was thinking about how to use you. Everyone knows our maturation bonus. She doesn't have to wait a few years for you to grow into an adult. Hell, she could even use you like a meat shield while you are still a child."

Once again, Raphtalia feels a stab of hurt when she remembered how Malty admitted to have left her for that horrible wavehound. And then she feels even worse at the sense of guilt that came after. Malty could have easily left her to die alone in the underground cavern, and nobody will know any better. She chose to bring Raphtalia along, and took care of her till they bumped into that horrible monster. Raphtalia herself might have turned and run if her body wasn't already paralyzed by fear. But a small part of mind starts to stab her like a persistent needle, that reminds her that Malty did abandon her to the wave hound in spite of everything else she's done for Raphtalia. And it makes Raphtalia hate herself even more.

"Did they try to save you when you were enslaved by Fuckboy? No, they were too busy trying to save themselves and flee the country. When push comes to shove, man-animals will always look after themselves first." Outside of her own mind, Keel continues to push more hatred and vitriol towards her newly found family. "That awful princess probably 'took care' of you because she made you into liking her. Like some pet. It's always easier starting us young-"

"-NO!" Raphtalia belatedly realized that she suddenly screamed on top of her lungs as she pushed Keel away. Her childhood friend, who had always been the most physically fit of them now lies on the ground, staring up at Raphtalia with stunned shock. Raphtalia is also aware how she has gained the attention from Malty and her new student now. The sister of Fuckboy even yelped and jumped on her toes herself, when she lost control of her small ember of fire dancing over her finger, and got slightly burnt. "You accused Master Naofumi and Big Sister Malty didn't saving me when I was enslaved again. What did you do?! You have no right to accuse anyone when you didn't do anything yourself!"

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me, Raphtalia. I shouldn't have listened to you and stayed behind in Balafon. But please, believe me. I did try to save you after you were taken! I went back to Adam, and tried to get him and his crew to help me. But they were too busy pillaging and looting in the riot and I- Raphtalia? Raphtalia!" Raphtalia knows that she is being too hard on Keel because of her anger. There's realistically no way for Keel to save her, just like Naofumi and Malty couldn't do anything after Naofumi lost his shield to that awful goddess, and they were forced on the run by the church. But she hates the way Keel suggested that her new surrogate parents were as bad, if not even worse than her previous owners. And more... She hated herself for daring to agree with Keel on some level. So she lets her anger go towards Keel for pulling those things from the depth of her mind to distract her own traitorous thoughts, as she tries to run away.

Raphtalia bumps into something hard, and falls back down. She wipes her eyes clear, and sees Naofumi fallen on the ground and shaking his head. It made her realize that in her attempt to get away from Keel and the traitorous thoughts her friend's paranoia conjured up, she had hurt one of her surrogate parents. She feels someone's hand on her shoulder next, and then hears the voice from Malty. "Raphtalia? Tell me what's wrong."

Raphtalia opens her mouth, but hesitates at what she'll say to her surrogate mother. She is angry at what Keel suggested, but she understands why Keel came to her conclusion. Unlike herself, who came from the wealthy Hirata (Kyutenrou, really) family, Keel's family reside in the bad part of Port Harp. Where the dock workers live. It's not quite the slum of Melromarc Castle, but it's still the place where prejudice, and tension between humans and demi-human are a more common occurrence. Keel might not have run with actual, human-hating demi-human gangs like she did after Port Harp lies in ruin, but she had always been more suspicious towards humans. And as bad as Keel's words are, she was trying to look out for Raphtalia. So Raphtalia doesn't want to get her friend into trouble even if she's still angry at Keel. She's more angry for herself in believing Keel's agitating words on some level.

"I...Keel brought up my enslavement by Fuckboy. And I remembered how I helped him capture you and Master Naofumi. I got upset, and ran off." The doubt in Malty's eyes shows that she very much doesn't believe this is all that happened between Raphtalia and Keel. But Malty didn't comment on it. Instead, she kneels down in front of Raphtalia... and then edges herself a bit to the side to let Naofumi scrabble closer to her too.

"Remember what I told you before, Raphtalia? Sometimes in life, unfair things happen to us out of our control. At those times, you can't keep blaming yourself for 'not being good enough'. Sure... you might have avoided the bad thing that happened to you if you did something differently. But you aren't responsible for those bad things. At those times, it's much better for you to be angry at who is actually responsible. And you have to take what makes you happy by force, because you can't wait for someone to hand it to you." Malty gives Raphtalia an embrace, and then she shifts a bit to the side once again to let Naofumi join in. "I'm proud of you Raphtalia. You didn't simply forgive Fuckboy, because 'it was the right thing'. You took that fucker to task, and help got him condemned to answer for his crimes. Now he's a slave, and he can't hurt anyone else like you anymore... Well, maybe he still can. But he'll hurt much less people now that he's a slave, and not an insane noble brat throwing his weight around."

"Yeah. I'm glad you didn't choose to forgive that isekai protagonist wannabe. And it's not because he burned a mark on my chest." The corner of Naofumi's eyes twitches as he turns his nose at the mention of the men who nearly ruined all of their lives... and did ruin the life of Firo. Reminded of her exiled 'little sister' once again makes Raphtalia feel guilty for how good she had her life... yet deep down she still felt insecure if her new surrogate parents truly loved her. "Malty is right this time, Raphtalia. Sometimes it's better to blame others than blame yourself. At least when they truly deserve it."

"Only 'This time', Master Naofumi? You are acting as if I'm not the very example of a wise, heroic princess that always helped and supported you on your journey." Malty pulls herself back from their group family hug. She thrusts out her upper chest as she closes her eyes and smiles in a fake, smug way. The gesture brings out a short chuckle from Naofumi, and some giggle from Raphtalia. "Jokes aside, Fuckboy was nothing more than an incompetent and insane small fry. A very small, barely noticeable little fish in this vast ocean where people play a game for supremacy. We need to be even more careful from now on. There are a lot of people who are more dangerous than him on this very island because they want to gain something from you revered heroes. I'm not saying you have to stay with your retinue all the time. But if you want to go sightseeing by yourself, take your sworn shield, Yatsuhashi, and one of those signal arrows from Kael'thas to be able to call for help."

"I actually did want to do that before we go to that conference tomorrow. This island reminds me of home. Thanks for the advice, Malty." Naofumi nods his head. He looks at both Raphtalia and Malty. "What about the two of you? Want to come sightseeing with me. Forget all of this bad stuff from the church, and Fuckboy?"

"I'm going to be training my new student a little more... and I prefer to get to recreation after we know what'll happen after the Hero Conference. Don't forget, officially I'm your slave. Nobles from the other nations might get the wrong idea about me if you don't make a strong presence with them." Malty points her finger back towards the Menagerie Grand Hotel. Raphtalia gets the feeling that she's pointing at the people staying in it, and not the building itself. "How about you, Raphtalia? Want to keep Master Naofumi company?"

Raphtalia thinks it over. Both of her surrogate parents would need her, and she can't be at two places at once. Her gyoubu danuki magic allows her to cast illusions, and change her own shape. But so far, she doesn't have a way to literally split herself into two... yet. After pounding a little, she made the decision. Malty is at more risk with her forced into slavery. Raphtalia has personally experienced how slaves were being treated after all. "I'll stay and watch Big Sister Malty teaching her students. I might learn something too. And... I want to have us all go enjoy the resort after the conference, like a big family."

"Good girl." Naofumi gives a genuine, happy smile as he reaches over and ruffles Raphtalia's hair a little. "I'll take Malty's advice and bring Yatsuhashi with me. Kael'thas too if I can find him. It's strange, usually he sticks right behind me like a shadow, but I can't find him after we arrived here. Hope he's not up to no good with other Siltvelt people."

"You can't find Kael'thas? He's usually sticking so close to you, one'd think he's your sworn shield, not Sir Yatsuhashi." Malty suddenly frowns at Naofumi's nod, she looks around as if trying to find something. After a few moments, she turns to look at the two knights who left the queen's service to protect her. "I haven't seen Mala since we arrived either. Do you know where she is, Baldy, Blue Eyes?"

"Miss Mala excused herself and went inland almost immediately after she disembarked. She asked us to look after you... almost like she knows something is going to happen." The bald former knight's answer makes Malty's frown grow even deeper. The pupils in her eyes also dilate at the mention. Malty pulls her hand up to her face, as she starts gnawing at her finger nail. Raphtalia remembers how Malty used to do this a lot back when they first started traveling together. As they face more and more threats, her surrogate mother becomes more and more sure of herself. And even in her distress, she tends to pour out her emotion to scream at someone, rather than nervously biting her own fingernail in silence.

"Something bad is happening to you, Big Sister Malty? Are those people from Siltvelt bad?" Raphtalia moves closer and wraps her hands on Malty's arm, trying to gently bring out her surrogate mother's concern. Raphtalia isn't sure if she can help, but maybe someone else could. Malty turns around to look at her for a brief moment, before shaking her head.

"No. Not to me. Mala was talking about herself." Malty spins on her heels to look at Naofumi. The face of Raphtalia's surrogate father also grows concerned. "You remember how I mentioned that Mala used to be a great Siltvelt warrior?"

"Yeah, you said something about it while we were on the run. Let me guess... she didn't get her people's approval with her career change... and now she's in danger because Kael'thas realized who she was. DAMN IT! I should have seen this one coming!" Naofumi's face also grows colder and colder as Malty nods her confirmation. He turns around even faster than Malty as he begins to stride towards his sworn shield sitting a little distance away, brushing the feathers of their two filorials. "I'll grab Yatsuhashi, and we'll try to find Ms. Mala... and Kael'thas for you. He'll get another earful from me if he doesn't back off."

It didn't take Naofumi long to get Yatsuhashi's attention. The armored giant stops tending their two new birds (they are going to become her new sisters like Firo... aren't they? Raphtalia privately makes a promise to be a better sister to them, so they don't end up with Firo's fate). They walk over to Naofumi together.

"Didn't you want to go see the sights, Master Naofumi? I can end my session with Lady Flare and go look for Mala myself." Malty gives a quick wave to Consevatie's sister, and runs after them. But Naofumi and Yatsuhashi had already mounted Lial and Lori before she got close. They aren't the only ones. A few dozen paces away from them, twelve of Nazgrel's raiders who had been watching over the Shield Hero from afar immediately jumps onto their own wargs, and rides over to follow Naofumi.

"I can go sightseeing anytime. But Mala is important to you... I don't want you to lose someone else you cared about... like what happened to Mr. Aldrecht. And I'm the only one who'll get Kael'thas to stand down." Naofumi pulls the reign of Lial as he rides away, Yatsuhashi follows right after him.

Malty stands still on the sand as she watches Naofumi disappear in the distance. After a while, she shakes her head, and walks back as she begins the magic lesson anew. Raphtalia sits down on the sandy beach a little distance from Malty and... Consevatie's younger sister. She begins to mimic their training exercise by conjuring up a small bundle of light on her own index finger, and has it dance, and jump onto her other fingers. She feels Keel sit right besides her, so she leans over and whispers to her friend. "Keel. I appreciate you looking out after me. But don't talk bad about my new parents again. You'll no longer be my friend, if you keep talking trash about Master Naofumi, and Big Sister Malty."

"Alright, alright! I won't openly say anything bad about them unless I catch them in action. I'll just look after you, like one of those queen's shadows." Keel throws her hands up, and Raphtalia knows that her friend isn't done thinking the worst of her new family yet. She supposes there's nothing much she can do about her friend, and she'll have to accept things as it is, for now.

o(-_-)o[T]

The forest of Cal Mira Island gives a very different atmosphere than the ones from Melromarc, and Mala didn't mean that they are tropical, palm trees compared to the evergreens and oak trees that's more often seen in northern Melromarc. The land of Melromarc isn't what one would call untamed, especially compared to some of the land that's been intentionally left alone in Siltvelt so young clan members can challenge themselves. But it still feels natural enough that there's a sense of constant wild danger lurking behind every shadow. Maybe not to a well trained, and accomplished (at least before she broke her arms, but she's still more dangerous with only her legs than most people) martial artist like herself. However, that's definitely the case for budding adventurers and warriors. Especially when one goes further away than the more intentionally cultivated King's Forest that's been intentionally cleared off high level and high threat animals so it acts as both a proving ground for new warriors, and a hunting ground for the royal family.

That's not the same case as the forest in the heart of the main island of Cal Mira Archipelago. The land is even more tightly cultivated and managed than the plain outside of Melromarc Castle, and the King's Forest slightly further away. One would not find predator animals, only gentle, grass eaters leisurely munching on the foliage till they eventually die of natural, old age. Above them, the sound of happy bird chirps make for a harmonious song for this verdant paradise that's no doubt well maintained by a small army of druids or nature mages. It's a place where one goes to relax their mind and body, thinking nothing of fighting.

Mala, the former personal maid of first princess Malty, doesn't feel relaxed. Especially when Kael'thas Sunstrider, prince of the phoenix clan steps into the clearing she's standing from the opposite side. The phoenix prince stares at her silently for a long pause before finally speaking. "Ms. Mala. Former personal maid to the former first princess of Melromarc. Or should I call you Matilda, the former 'Strongest Tiger' of the white tiger great clan before Lord Dionysia?"

"You already knew the answer before you came to Cal Mira Archipelago. Why the rhetorical question? The name Matilda, or the title of 'The Strongest Tiger' means nothing to me anymore. I'm just an old woman who is doing her best to help raise a rambunctious child." Mala didn't even blink as she kept her body posture entirely still. Her body isn't relaxed, not in the sense that she is finished with her duty for the day and has some free time for herself as a maid. But she keeps herself in a state before tense for battle, and relaxed for recreation where no weakness would show anywhere around her whole body for an opposing warrior to exploit. It is known as the state of void for martial artists. "Tell me, Young Phoenix. Why did you not reveal my true identity to Nazgrel and his raiders? I doubt I could defeat over five hundred of you in my current state. Do you seek greater glory by bringing home the head of a race traitor alone?"

"Ms. Mala, then. I'm afraid you quite underestimated me. I take pride in my clan, and my nation. Our culture and our history. But I'm not some insecure little hatchling foaming at the mouth screaming 'DEATH TO THE RACE TRAITORS!' to anyone of our own who rejects our way of life." Kael'thas briefly narrows his eyes in a show of annoyance before he calms down, and resumes his usual, composed and graceful self. "It's different if you have done something that actively hurt Siltvelt like Farkas, the former 5th captain of the Five Hundred Guards. Bless his soul. At least he died the very example of a noble Siltvelt warrior: giving his life to defend his only rightful king. But you clearly didn't do anything to harm Siltvelt like Farkas did with his rebellion. For if you did, I doubt everyone would believe you, the former greatest warrior of the white tiger great clan to be dead rather than alive. I don't know why you would choose to live as a maid raising the daughter of that child butcher. But I see no need to punish you for it."

"I did not expect such words to come from a prince of Vermilis. Then again, I suppose your kind did become more self-introspective after what happened with the Kingtaker." Mala's words make Prince Kael'thas look down in a clear sign of shame. "Do not take this as an insult, Prince Kael'thas. What happened with the Kingtaker was a shame for our last king, and all the children of Malis. But at least your clan learnt from his mistake, and became humbler, better. If only my own clan, or better yet, those blue pond loaches had the same self-introspect as you."

"An azure dragon being humble and self-introspective? Surely you jest, Ms. Mala. That would be the sign of the end time." Kael'thas chuckles with Mala for a brief moment, before any mirth disappears from his face. "Jokes and jeers aside. I do come bearing a warning to you, Ms. Mala. I realize you do not care much about the insecure brats pretending to be patriots. But don't so freely show off who you really are. A lot of my countrymen do take issue with any perceived betrayal of our countrymen, and they are not afraid to use violence to hide their insecurities from everyone else. You might not fear their power, or the consequences they would bring you. But I assume you care about the safety of your young ward. Princess Malty might be the slave of our only rightful king, but it would not deter some arrogant brats from one of the greater clans to do her harm. And at this moment on Cal Mira Island, there are plenty of their kind."

"I thank you for your heartfelt warning, Prince Kael'thas." For the first time, Mala gives the much younger warrior a bow of true respect. She didn't think much about the Young Phoenix, one of the two most recently prominent Siltvelt warriors. But in spite of his pride and prejudiced beliefs, she can see something truly noble behind his bluster. And yes, she does have to think more about the safety of Malty.

o(-_-)o[T]

Malty tries to not let her worry for her former personal maid to get to her, but it's hard. Mala had been the one that took care of her after she accidentally killed her old nan. While father would likely act indignant if she said it out loud, the fact remains that Mala had been more of her mother than her queen mother ever was. Yet like before, she didn't even realize Mala's life might be in peril till Naofumi mentioned that he can't find Kael'thas. She was the one that warned him of expecting trouble from the phoenix prince after he started to suspect Mala's true identity. Yet she completely ignores the possible threat from him when he didn't immediately show his aggression. It's like she learnt nothing after her journey with Naofumi since his summoning, and she is still the same self-serving, self-centered, spoiled princess as before.

But Malty is also painfully aware that she can't do much to help Mala if Prince Kael'thas truly wished her harm. Naofumi is the only one who can bring him to heel with a simple order. So for now, she tries to put her mind into Flare... and Raphtalia's magic training. They are both depending on her guidance right now, which is quite the dilemma regarding the younger sister of Fuckboy. The spoiled little 'princess' of House Consevatie lets out another curse as her finger is burnt by the ember again. "DAMN!"

The pinkette stares at the tip of her finger forlornly. Burnt marks are starting to form into more permanent scars over her previously immaculately soft and smooth skin in spite of her effort to heal them with her magic. But after a brief stare, she resumes the exercise Malty gave her. Without a doubt, Flare has both the power, and the talent to become one of the world's greatest magic users. If she gets proper guidance, and applies herself. In less than a week, she had managed to reel in the control of her own fire magic (the most volatile of the four prime elements) enough to have them reliably form into a small petal of ember over her fingers, and have them dance and jump around her fingertips. By contrast, Malty had to try over and over for a month to not have a stationary ember in her hand to fizzle out, and two more months to have them reliably spin around when she first started to practice under Uncle Aldrecht. And Malty did it in a quiet room, while Flare did it on the march, or on a rocking ship with a gust of ocean wind breezing at her face.

Which begs the most important question for Malty - should she continue Flare’s training? So far, what she taught her new apprentice is the basics of controlling one's own magic developed by her teacher Aldrecht. Not that it's unimportant, but it's more on the side of granting a wizardry magic user better control of their spell work so they aren't hazardous to everyone, including themselves. Not making them more dangerous to their enemies. But if she continues... The training will eventually encompass how to gain better control to use more dangerous spells (such as the dreaded Fiendfyre), or how to safely amplify one's spell work without having them blow up on their own faces. It would make Flare, the little sister of Fuckboy (not to mention the daughter of Lord Grima, one of her mother's lackeys) more dangerous when Malty still isn't too sure about her allegiances. After what happened in the capital, she no longer fears the possibility of another woman taking Naofumi away from her. But she might still create one of their own worst enemies if she continues to train the young lady from House Consevatie.

Uncle Aldrecht's words echo in her head once again. There is no do, or do not. There is only try, or not have tried at all. No matter how hard one attempts to calculate their every move, there is never certainty in life. Even a seemingly simple action might bring entirely unpredictable, and unintentional consequences. That's why one can never do anything after already knowing the final result. If Naofumi... and everyone in her group haven't shown her what unconditional kindness is, would she become the woman she is now? The answer is a very resounding no. Especially if Mother had her way and made her into the queen of her (distant) uncle King Egbert. She would have lost herself in The Game, become colder and colder until endlessly calculating political gain and loss became her entire life, if not her entire self identity. Which means... now it's she who has to do what Naofumi did to her, isn't it? She needs to show Lady Flare what unconditional kindness looks like, to a pampered noble lady who most likely lacked it in her own life. A part of her still feels repulsed by the very idea. Especially since she hasn't even built her first real friendship with Eclair with any genuine kindness at first.

But it's what she'll have to do. Malty stands up, walks over to Flare and disspells her embers with a wave of her own hand. The younger daughter of House Consevatie frantically looks up, clearly thinking she messed something up again. That's when Malty shows her a smile, she actually looks even more frightened at the gesture. "Well done, Lady Flare. You have grasped the basics of this exercise within the week. It seems like Eclair was not exaggerating when she talked about your potential."

"Ah... are you sure, Master? Th-THANK YOU!" For a brief moment, the younger sister of Fuckboy looks completely surprised, like she never expected to be praised for anything. And then, a wave of immense gratitude seems to be released from her as she furiously nods her head and thanks Malty for what's nothing more than a few encouraging words. Such an unusual reaction almost makes Malty narrow her eyes on instinct.

"I didn't say anything out of what you already deserved. Take the rest of this day off and enjoy yourself here at Cal Mira Island. You earned it. We shall move onto more difficult lessons tomorrow." Malty gives her apprentice a wave, ready to dismiss the woman for the day. Yes, she knows it's her responsibility as the teacher to cultivate the talent, and the discipline of her new student. And she wants more opportunity to observe the daughter of Lord Grima to better gauge her trustworthiness. But there is only so much she can stomach her... quirky personality for a single day. Flare didn't speak much else, she immediately sat back down, and began to conjure more embers over her fingers once again. "What are you doing, Lady Flare? Your training for today is over, you may enjoy the rest of the day off."

"Ye-yes, Master. But you did say we'll move onto harder practices tomorrow. I want to get a better grasp of what I learned so far, to better prepare for harder lessons." Flare's response completely surprised Malty. With how pampered she is, and how tiresome the life of a marching army is (granted, it's still much better condition than when Malty was hiding, and running away from the Three Heroes’ Church after Naofumi's shield was sealed away by Lautrec's goddess. But that's a very extreme and rare occasion), Malty expected her to immediately run off and enjoy the luxuries offered by Cal Mira Island. Yet the sheltered, and spoiled little 'princess' of House Consevatie choose to square her shoulders and apply herself beyond what Malty forced her to.

Thinking over Flare's response when Malty first voiced her praise... Malty gets the impression that the youngest child of Lord Grima has a chronic lack of positive reinforcements... and therefore craves them to an almost unhealthy degree. But would it truly be this easy? Is giving some well-deserved compliment, and reward all it takes to win over a member of House Consevatie to her? Malty doesn't think so, but it's certainly a good start.

Alternatively... Flare could simply be that good of an actor to fake the sense of her gratitude. But that would mean she is a master at faking her own actions, and emotions. Not very likely. As it means her previous acts of pampered behavior... Even her starting two magical accidents when fighting the gutter beak are all part of some intentional act for some grander purpose. And if Flare truly is that good at playing this game, she doubts Lord Grima would have left sheltered at home instead of using her to gain more influence in The Game.

Malty sits down on the sand once again, and conjures up two spheres of ember, and two beads of water above her left hand. She has them spin around her fingers, faster and faster without the two opposite elements ever touching each other. The more traditional belief of Wizardry magic state that advanced elements are created when a mage with multiple affinities mix two of the prime elements together, and the opposite elements tend to be the strongest and most difficult to control (a belief not shared by her late teacher, but that's neither here nor there). And she already had some experience at using steam magic when mixing her fire, and water spell together. It makes her think... could she begin to have a solid grasp of air magic through this practice? By Uncle Aldrecht's own belief, the four prime elements were meant to symbolize the four states of matter in the world, rather than being entirely separate things like gold and silver. And what is steam, but highly heated and agitated air?

With a flicker of her fingers and a single push from her mind, the bundles of fire and water join together and turn into steam. She tries to use her magic to shape the new form of her spell, to keep them contained in the same spherical shape of their predecessors. But it's much harder to maintain the physical shape when she neither has the strong affinity she was born with, nor the deep understanding she gained by studying the Founder's grimoire. Slowly but surely, the bundles of steam above her finger tips fade into nothing.

For a brief moment, Malty considers leaving further experimentation and practice to later. She had already taken the first step, and she has no idea if this line of training would yield any fruit, or be a waste of time. Wouldn't it be better to try again after having further sessions with the other magic user's group sessions, maybe find an actual air mage and learn more of their methods? But then she looks at Lady Flare, putting more effort into gaining better control of her own magic out of her own determination. Well, she wouldn't be beaten by her own student. With that thought, she began her practice anew.

At least till a familiar, shrieking sound overhead catches her attention further inland. Malty's face whips up, and she sees a Siltvelt signal arrow flying into the sky. But unlike Kael'thas, who throws it directly up so that it disappears into the cloud itself (for practical purpose, to better let people pinpoint its original destination), it flies into the sky in a shaky diagonal angle. The user was clearly not trained, or used to wield the tool and tossed it up in a case of emergency. "It's Master Naofumi! Go get Motoyasu's birds, Raphtalia! He needs help!"

Chapter Text

Naofumi can't help but spend more time looking around the island resort of Cal Mira Island. Logically, he knows the importance of finding Malty's former maid, and Kael'thas as soon as he can. But his attention is almost instantly grabbed by the island's style. Near the dock, there are countless vendor stalls, and restaurants made of wood with hay roofs. Every pillar and fence are decorated with exaggerated human and sea creatures that make them look like some kind of exotic totem. Away from the sandy beach are the big, tall resorts that have an almost modern style, like some buildings one would find in Las Vegas - minus the neon signs. And between the gigantic hotels are the Japanese style onsen. The mix of styles shouldn't work together, yet they somehow form into a chaotic harmony that gives the island an unique look of its own.

The Shield Hero shakes his head. He needs to concentrate. Malty is depending on him to ensure Mala's safety. He doesn't know very well the woman who broke both of her arms to ensure his safe escape from the capital. It isn't that long ago since Malty finally told him her real identity, and she hasn't spoken a lot of her past as a princess afterwards. But it's clear that Mala meant more to her than a simple maid, and more like an important family member. He doesn't need to know anything else to help the older woman. Especially after she saved their lives when they were captured by the Three Heroes’ Church.

His group has been asking anyone and everyone they pass around for someone resembling Mala, or Kael'thas. Thankfully, both of them stand out even in a crowd with Mala's white hair, and Kael'thas' aura of pridefulness. So it didn't take too long till they heard rumors about someone resembling them making their way further inland, into the tropical forest in the middle of the island. So that's the direction his group took. It would have been easier if they split up to look for Mala and Kael'thas, but both his bodyguard, and his Siltvelt escorts immediately shoot down that idea.

"I have never been to Cal Mira Island myself, my thane. But I have heard of its stories. The eternal neutral ground is famous as the host of past Hero Conferences, and the Hero Summoning ceremonies. The groundskeepers and druids of the Cal Mira people carefully maintain the tropical forest of the main island to make sure there's no aggressive monsters. If you go to the other satellite island it's a different story. Native wild, and aggressive monsters are still kept as they were. But for this main island, It's supposed to be a peaceful place for the rich, and important tourists to relax with their families." Naofumi nods his head along as Yatsuhashi rides on his side and explains what he knows about this supposed eternal neutral ground mandated by past heroes. "But with all sorts of people coming for the Hero Conference, someone might seek to do you harm. Don't stray too far from us."

"Right. Keep myself safe first before helping others. Message received... and lessons learnt from before." The Shield Hero is immediately reminded of how he puts himself... and everyone else in his group in danger at the end of the Third Wave. And sadly, not everyone made it in the end. Hopefully, this time things will be different as he has more support than before. True to Yatsuhashi's words, they don't hear any growl or roar from the angry beast as they comb through the peaceful tropical forest. The ruffle of leaves against the ocean breeze, and the chirping of birds are the only sounds accompanying them.

Chapter 6: Fickle Allies

The sound of running and splashing water can be heard in the distance. Naofumi briefly wonders if they had gone coast to coast to through the island to the other side. But as their group breaks through another bundle of thick foliage, he realizes they have only come across a river. With all the hot spring bath houses scattered between the huge hotels, he shouldn't be surprised to find some more running water further inland. But he was surprised to see someone half submerged in there. It was a woman that looked to be in her mid, or late twenties, with long dark blue hair running straight down her back with a... shall he say mature, or 'developed' body? He swore he wasn't peeping! But it's hard to see nothing when she's simply bathing underneath the clear sky with her cloth thrown on a large rock beside the river. Naofumi pulls the reign of Lial with one hand, and covers his eyes with the other as his daughter comes to a stop, and everyone else skits down around him into a protective barrier. "Excuse us for interrupting your bath, ma'am. But have you seen a woman that looks in her forties with white hair, or a blonde elf, err... I mean, a phoenix prince in an imposing crimson robe around here."

"I might. It's hard to enjoy a peaceful, and quiet drink and soak nowadays at Cal Mira Island." The blue haired woman reaches her long, slender arm over towards a plate floating in front of her. On top of the plate sits a porcelain cup, and a traditional looking sake bottle. She pours herself a cupful of rice wine (at least Naofumi assumes it's rice wine, with its Japanese style bottle), and brings it up to her full, red lips. The woman turns her head around, and winks at Naofumi. Her voice sounds like chimes ringing against a gentle, summer breeze. "But they are not important. They refused to drink sake with me after all. What about you, young man? Will a young, handsome hero like you deny the courtesy of sharing a drink with a beautiful maiden?"

She's still a virgin? Once again, Naofumi rationally knows there are more important matters. But his mind is once again entirely hung up on frivolous detail, particularly on how the woman calls herself a maiden. Maybe she's only saying it to lure himself into a trap, she gives the vibe of a maneater than a pure maiden after all. Thankfully, Yatsuhashi's mind is more clear than him at the moment as he whispers to Naofumi. "Be careful, my thane. We don't know her, but she knows you are a hero, if not the Shield Hero."

Right... because they are in some retarded (over-scheming to retardation is still retardation) version of a fantasy isekai world, where a bunch of crazy guys want to kill the summoned hero whose lives are tied to the world ending crisis they are facing. Being pulled into some kind of blackmail scheme, or eaten by a woman (figuratively... or literally) isn't the worst thing that might happen to him. The Shield Hero tries his best to control his voice, to not let his annoyance and worry seep through. He probably shouldn't repeat the situation he had with that young Faubley inquisitor because he lost his cool. "We are short on time, ma'am. If you aren't telling us where Ms. Mala and Prince Kael'thas are, we'll have to go look for them."

He's about to turn around and continue combing through the island when a concussive force blows up a huge chunk of earth flying in front of him, and knocks out half a dozen trees. He's quite familiar with this technique by this point, as he has seen Motoyasu using [Meteor Spear] a number of times by now. The Shield Hero slowly turns his head around like a robot as he looks at the woman bathing in the river. She's fully stood up, still not wearing any of her clothes, but there's nothing erotic about her display anymore. In her left hand is a long harpoon she grabbed from... somewhere (likely under the water of the river she's soaking in), and with her right hand, she's drinking straight from the sake bottle instead of a dainty porcelain cup.

"So he (Who?) was right. Again. You really must be an irredeemable childlover (WHAT?!!! That's slander! He'll sue!) if you ignore a mature woman ready to put out in front of you." The water dripping down from her body seems to become charged as she throws away her empty sake bottle to the ground. The harpoon in her hand pointed at him. The smirk on her lips becomes much more malicious. "I was going to make this fun for you... since you are one of the cardinal heroes important for this world's survival. But since you refused my offer... I'll make it fun for myself - I’ll kill you, and take my chance with the world's survival."

"Oh, fuck." Once again, Naofumi is faced with the fact that maybe... just maybe Fuckboy did have a point between his insane rambling. He apparently isn't as smart as he sometimes thinks about himself if he keeps bumbling into situations when someone tries to kill him. The Siltvelt raiders acted much faster than him even as Yatsuhashi pulled the reins on Lial to turn both of them around. They all brandish their weapons, and surges forward on top of their wargs at the crazy woman trying to kill him. And all of them fall just as quickly.

Naofumi barely had the time to see, and process what had happened. For one moment, the musclebound not orc (but just as huge and buffed up looking) raiders were charging on the much more dainty and slender looking naked woman. Like a pack of wolves charging at their prey. And then, all he sees is after images of the speartip of the crazy nudist's harpoon dancing in the air. It looks like a tidal wave of flowers coming into blossom... and then it becomes more literal as spilled blood turns into petals scattered in the wind. All twelve of the raiders, and their steed falls on the ground dead, in pools of their own blood.

"Get my thane to safety. GO!" Yatsuhashi gives a harsh slap on Lial and Lori's body as he jumps off his steed, and runs after the charging woman. Naofumi clumsily gets the Siltvelt signal arrow out of his shield's storage (what a relief to have it again after going without his shield for weeks!), and tosses it into the sky. He looks back, half afraid to see his bodyguard lying dead on the ground like the raiders before him, but relieved to see he is holding steady at the woman's crazy assault like a boulder sitting in the middle of a river.

To be precise, the crazy lady’s assault was outright relentless - lightning fast strikes with her bident harpoon were aimed towards center mass, and towards his head multiple times, barely blocked by the Housecarl’s tree-like defensive stance. If not for Yatsuhashi’s equally imposing frame and durability, he would have outright died long ago.

Naofumi had to wonder, with half-covered eyes, whether or not Yatsuhashi was easily distracted by Sadina’s curvy body, out in full display for everyone present to see. No armor, no protection for her bare flesh - dominating every fight with sheer skill and daring-do alone. That woman either had a death wish, or she was more arrogant than any man or woman in the cosmos, period, confident that she would outright win. And then they runs through some foliage and he lost sight of the battle behind him.

o(-_-)o[T]

A left, a right, then multiple striking thrusts, with Yatsuhashi remaining ever so stoic, steeling his gaze at the attacks headed his way.

Even as Yatsuhashi proceeded with wide slashes aimed for her bare midriff, that lady effortlessly cartwheeled backward with nary a single cut on her bare flesh! No amount of Yatsu’s rhythmic, graceful, rotational side steps could keep up with the nimble acrobatic trickery this deceptively bare woman could hurl at him!

As Yatsuhashi attempted angling his blade towards her neck, she proceeded to arch back, before kicking the blade aside and proceeding to land another tornado kick to disorient the larger man. Push kicks, drop kicks, and rear horse kicks … they would knock him around over and over.

Then Yatsuhashi saw it, and for a brief second, the woman was caught midair trying to do a push kick.

There!

Yatsuhashi finally grabbed her by the throat, spun her around and hurled her into one of the adjacent pools. While it was the closest thing to a hit, Yatsu knew better - and squinted his eyes, checking for when and which of the onsen pools she would strike from.

“Aqua Blast”.

Suddenly, water erupted from the pools as Yatsuhashi braced for impact. Watery vortexes erupted into the sky and directed themselves to slam into Yatsuhashi, who did his damnedest to stay on the ground. Tidal waves arose from the onsen and crashed at him afterwards.

“I can’t promise you won’t leave without a scratch,” Yatsuhashi slowly muttered.

The lady smirked as she slowly walked back up the surface. . “Oh, I won’t be the one bleeding.”

Then Yatsuhashi leapt up, and decided to slam his sword down on the ground, aimed towards her. However, to his surprise, the lady had outright blocked the heavy, sharp blade with not a single cut on her bare feet!

While it was impressive, the problem was that her legs were high up blocking the blade, flashing her crotch from that angle.

Naofumi had to jam his eyes shut for that last part - having her crotch out on full display was too embarrassingly cringeworthy to see even if it was a once in a lifetime chance to satisfy his lustful fantasies. It would not do well for his reputation even further to bear witness to that - she likely accused him of the korephilia rumors regarding Firo, and Malty would be rightfully angry were he caught dead looking at arguably another sexy, curvy woman in their midst.

Breaking off that deadlock, the woman kicked Fulcrum aside, and proceeded to advance.

Yatsuhashi then leapt over the low sweep, before trying to aim his sword at his opponent, who simply crouched and weaved past the high slashes, and deflected a third. Even the next one handed swings were simply deflected aside by her bare feet, before she slammed her heel across the paved stone, and kicked debris in Yatsuhashi’s face that momentarily blinded him to the next onslaughts of roundhouse, side and rear horse kicks headed his ways, as he tried to feebly deflect against

Yatsuhashi was then kicked in his side, and then a bicycle-kicked in a high lunar motion aimed at his jaw sent his mass towards one of the rocky areas of the onsen. But as he came to, he noticed too late that …

“Huh!? Gyahh!”

… His head, face and all, had landed onto a geyser, which dazed him with a bad burn, as he struggled to come to.

Unfortunately, the woman then proceeded to charge at high speed, flashing her parts while performing a mighty axe kick towards the dazed Housecarl.

If not for his instincts screaming at him to block the blow, he would’ve been knocked out right then and there. At least he could snap out of the daze the hot steam … or staring awestruck (out of shock or lustfulness) at the nudist’s bare lady parts as she closed into point-blank range.

With Yatsuhashi catching his breath, the crazy nudist took her sweet time jiggling her large, soft breasts, her curvy hips and meaty thighs swaying side to side in her sexy model-like walk, menacingly creating sparks as she dragged her bident on the rocks.

“You know, you’d be more of my type over your degenerate lord,” the nudist cooed. “I always loved a mighty strong man like you. It would be a dream come true if you held as much liquor as I did.”

Raising her harpoon, she relentlessly continued to attack - a couple overheads here, a horizontal swipe there, and another couple more jabs to put the Housecarl on a resumed defensive.

Then, Yatsu broke ground by swiping at her to back off, and then kicking her back a few feet with a foot to her gut. With all his strength, Yatsuhashi grabbed a few bundles of pebbles and started to stone her from a distance.

Rocks were hurled in her direction, but she easily twirled and deflected them aside while walking backwards, before swatting aside a third, and somersaulting away from a couple more, finally diving backwards into one of the adjacent pools.

Yatsuhashi narrowed his gaze and moved closer, trying to anticipate from which pool she would emerge from next.

At last, it was from the one behind him, as she leapt with full force, slamming her bident against Fulcrum’s blade with a mighty overhead.

As Yatsu tried to push her off, she immediately slid under his legs, climbed up, putting his head between her thighs, and started twirling him around, dizzying him around before leaping off, leaving him briefly disoriented before she dropkicked at him from the back.

Then, the lady leapt downwards, somersaulting countless times, prompting Yatsuhashi to block the high kick, with his entire blade, appropriately named Fulcrum, as shockwaves erupted from the blow, his heels dragging into the paved stones of the onsen.

When Yatsuhashi had finally leapt down, a huge spray of water erupted across the court, as the woman already backflipped inside the water, leaping out, ready to strike with a harpoon stab.

Yatsuhashi, with gritted teeth, held Fulcrum in front of him, continuing to defend what little was aimed towards him.

It appeared that the woman had become quite overzealous - her arm strength clearly so superior as to fence with her bident as if it were a rapier. If her confidence in her abilities left an opening, that would be now - where Yatsuhashi took a side step and twisted his body to the side from that one-handed thrust.

Now!

However, the problem was when Yatsuhashi tried to parry her bident harpoon thrust with an elbow jab to her navel - even accounting for the leverage and momentum generated by the clashing blades, her reflexes were just too fast, as she crunched her navel and bent forward, missing her opponent’s elbow by mere inches.

His much bigger bodyguard clearly knows he can't compete against the insane woman with speed, so he didn't try. He uses his weapon to protect his vitals, and lets his armor and his natural resilience take the hits the nude woman throws at him that wouldn't immediately kill him, clearly intending to last as long as he can to buy time for Naofumi's escape. "You won't harm my thane while I still stand!"

"That can be arranged." The woman clearly recognized what he's doing, so she... threw away her weapon, and ran up to Yatsuhashi to pull him into a tight embrace. Before Naofumi's mind could ever wander away to thoughts like she's trying to seduce him, his bodyguard starts to scream like he's being put under unimaginable pain.

o(-_-)o[T]

Lial and Lori runs through the tropical forest like Naofumi's life depends on it (which it IS!). His worry for Yatsuhashi's life, and his brief relief from getting away from the twisted nude woman is short lived as he suddenly hears a loud buzzing sound getting closer and closer.

Before the Shield Hero realizes what happened, a flying killer whale, of all things (granted... not as weird as it could be considering he fought sea creatures swimming through air in the the Third Wave) shoots itself through the forest, pulling shrubbery out of the ground by its roots, and knocking trees down by the dozen. Sparks of lightning crawled through its skin without seemingly hurting the creature. The electricity aura, no doubt gives it a massive speed boost similar to Killua's Kanmuru ability.

That's when Naofumi's thoughts came to a screeching halt - like a full speed bullet train hitting a twelve lane pile up. The killer whale knocks into both Lial and Lori, and he instantly gets an intimate feel on how often Team Rocket experienced being electrocuted and hurled into the sky.

Yatsuhashi, for his part, tried to get in the way, attempting to shove and wrestle her away, even trading blow after blow with this … orca lady, yet she easily dodged and caught his fists, before she slapped him around with her tail, kicked him in the diaphragm, punched the Housecarl around with her fists, and finally knocked him out with a good piledriver and suplex combo.

He blacks out for a brief moment, and the next moment finds himself writhing uncontrollably on the ground. His two new daughters are also twitching on the ground, unable to get up. The lightning-covered, flying killer whale slowly morphs its shape not far from them, and changes into the naked woman who is trying to kill him. She turns around, stepping over to stand above Naofumi in surprisingly dainty steps and holds the pointy end of her harpoon over Naofumi's face. She wears a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she's about to execute him. "I'd say this will hurt me a lot more than it hurts you, but I would be lying. Goodbye, child-raping Shield Hero."

With a wave of loud hissing, the yuzus that's been hiding among his clothes detach themselves into their original balloon shapes and swarms at the crazy nudist. Naofumi doesn't know if it's the nature of their rubber body, or their strong resilience (the Yuzus are much higher level than himself, and his two filorial daughters, he realized) that allowed them to resist the woman's electrocution. Regardless, they jumped on her completely unshielded body... and started biting.

"YE-OW! ARGH, YOU PESTS!" For the first time since their conflict started, the crazy naked woman begins to show genuine sense of hurt (or pain) as she stumbles and waves her body around. She throws her harpoon away once again, its long range being more of a hindrance when the things attacking her are literally dangling off her body.

When swatting and punching Yuzus failed to get them off her, she began to charge her aura of lightning around her once again. And when that doesn't work, she once again transforms into a killer whale as she begins to roll and slam her own body at the foliage, and the ground. The forest around them looks more like the aftermath of a modern battlefield after her rampage, but she finally managed to get the Yuzus off her body.

As she turns back into her human shape again, she is panting heavily as her twitching, narrowed eyes glaring at Naofumi. "You are more resourceful than I give you credit for, Shield Hero. It seems like he (once again, who is this fucker that slandered him?!!!) was right once again. But this time, I will not give you another chance to-"

The crazy nudist didn't get her words through as she's kicked on the side of her head, knocking her flying into a trench of her own making. Naofumi, who is slowly recovering from his electrocution, quickly musters up a healing spell on himself. He still feels hurt all over, with phantom pain of the lightning current running through his entire body.

But at least he gained some control of himself now. He slowly crawls himself into a crouch, hoping that Yatsuhashi, and his daughters were only temporarily paralyzed by the lightning attack rather than completely disabled... or worse, dead. The Shield Hero gets a better look at the newcomer that saved his life.

To his surprise, it's another woman with long blue (curly this time) hair. She has better modesty compared to the last crazy woman he saw, on the virtue of her actually having some clothing over her. But with the leather clothes she’s wearing resembling the shape of a bikini top over her chest, and a dress with split that allows her legs the freedom of movement ... modest isn't how he would describe her.

Unlike the crazy nudist who Naofumi still doesn't know the name of, this second woman is of a more muscular build. Her exposed skin on her arms, legs, and even midsection all showed powerful-looking, bulging muscles, giving her the appearance of a fantasy amazonian warrior woman.

The weapon she is holding is very particular-looking, and the Shield Hero can't imagine it being practical. Yet it looks strangely familiar. It has a long shaft in the middle which the amazonian is holding (with one arm!), which extends out into long, thin, double sided blades towards both sides. The shaft is too short to be considered some kind of polearm, but the blade is also too long to be considered some kind of sword.

The Shield Hero isn't an expert on actual cold weapon design considering he was just a normal otaku (and not the military equipment kind), but he can already think of some problem with this weapon. For example... how does she not impale herself on one of the blades when she takes a swing at someone?

"Stop right there, criminal scum! Your rampage to destroy the peace of Cal Mira Island, and harming one of its guests is at its end. I, Therese Alexanderite, will ensure it. You can come quietly with me to receive your punishment, or have me beat you into the ground first." The muscular amazonian woman speaks loudly and with authority as she crouches down while holding her blade horizontally in front of her. Her stance reminds Naofumi of Darth Maul, and now he understands why the weapon she is using looks like something he should recognize.

The design in function is very similar to Maul's two-sided staff saber... but it has one major problem Naofumi can think of. The blades are actually solid, as opposed to being heated particles. Wouldn't the added weight completely throw off her balance? At least he now knows one of these two crazy ladies' names.

The insane nude woman didn't say anything as she climbed out of the trench in the ground in her human form. With a harpoon on hand, and electricity dancing on her skin, Therese narrows her eyes, and inserts a piece of ruby into a slot in the handle of her shaft. Instantly, the blades get covered in glowing red energy ... and now her weapon looks even more like the one wielded by Darth Maul. The two warriors didn't say anything more as they charged, and swung at each other.

Therese didn't only wield weapons like the famous movie villain, she fights like him as well using a series of spins on her body and her weapon to enhance its deadliness with the momentum. It might be even more dangerous with her solid blade as opposed to Star Wars' energy sword since there's actual mass in the blade itself... but shouldn't it also put extra strain on her body, especially her wrists…?

Naofumi feels like slapping himself. He had warned Motoyasu not to forget common sense about how the 'real' world works, and treat this world with video game logic. It seems now that the reverse had happened to him. While this world is 'real' enough, it still has a lot of video games like 'rules' to it, which subtly subvert certain aspects from what he expected from earth.

One in particular is how human (is he being racist when he refers to human, demi-human and beastman all under 'human'? Sentient humanoids, maybe? DAMNIT! That pedophile accusation from the crazy nudist is having him thinking over pointless, stupid stuff now!) can grow much stronger than those from earth due to the level up mechanic in place. Therese would probably find a real staff lightsaber too light in her hands, and that would have thrown off her balance. Similar to how the Monkey King from Journey to the West finds all the weapons too light in his hand and unable to let himself go all out until he gets his staff.

"My king! I'm so sorry for not being here for you!" While Naofumi is still lying half-paralyzed on the ground, Kael'thas flies out of the treeline beyond the battlefield with Mala beside him. It seems that they really were talking in private, and judging by their neat-looking clothes, weren't fighting each other beyond some nasty words. Kael'thas crouches down beside Naofumi and props Naofumi's back up against him. The (not!) elven prince also throws down a bundle of flame on the ground that slowly warms his body both figuratively and literally, with Mala standing protectively in front of them both.

"Go find my bodyguard... and the others. They tried to hold back my attacker before she got to me. I think Nazgrel's raiders and their wolves are dead... but Yatsuhashi might still be alive. Help him." Naofumi, feeling more strength and control return to his body, shakily points his finger at the direction of the river the crazy nude woman was bathing in. He can feel Kael'thas tense up for a brief moment behind him.

"Go, Kael. I'll watch over the Shield Hero for you." Mala's words seemed to have helped Kael'thas reach his decision. As he lies Naofumi on the ground. Naofumi can't see him behind his back, but from the shuffling noise behind him, he assumes Kael'thas followed his instruction to check on Yatsuhashi and the (not!) orc raiders. The Shield Hero noticed the nickname Mala is referring to Kael'thas by, and how he didn't mind it in spite of him acting the typical arrogant elven prince from popular literature. So their talk was actually more cordial, even more friendly than both he and Malty expected?

The two warriors, on the other hand, were sizing each other up. Both were intense warriors, with experience and martial skill to take down most enemies. But the nudist was confident that her home field advantage would grant her victory as the onsen’s waters began to bubble.

“Aqua Blast.”

Stream after stream of water began to mercilessly pound on the interloper, but Therese simply held up her bracelet, as it glowed a bright red.

“Ruby Flame!”

A giant ball of flame erupted elsewhere, as one, after the other were hurled towards the crazy woman, as a giant smokescreen full of mist surrounded the area.

Then, as she came to, she scanned around, only to find another group of orbs quickly headed her way. With little time to dodge, it was clear that she would have to tank the damage.

“Way Of The Dragon - Aqua Seal!” She screamed, as the orbs of fire proceeded to hit her, instinctively covering her torso and head from the heat as light burns appeared on her midriff and thighs. It reduced the damage, so she wasn’t significantly maimed, let alone dead. Thankfully for her, the scars healed easily and quickly.

“Fine then,” the nudist snarled, “- Take this! Advent Of The Thunder God!”

Brimming with electricity once more, she proceeded to wield the power of lightning in her hands, with an ultra-thick bolt of lightning now hurled at this new enemy.

“Drifa Thunder Burst!”

The Shield Hero then refocuses on the fight happening before him. It appears that whatever mechanic Therese's gem enhanced staff saber grants her protection against magic, as the insane nude woman's bolts of lightning simply get batted away from her burning blade. And she is definitely going on the offense with her twin sided weapon and her aggressive fighting style.

The still unnamed nude woman is forced into using her harpoon to defend against the burning blades. But she is both skilled and strong enough to keep her defense up against Therese's relentless assault. If anything, the crazy nudist seemed to have calmed down from being bitten by the Yuzus, as her face had changed into a serene, almost meditative trance.

Twirling her weapon, the nude woman kept poking and jabbing at Therese, trying to defend against the aggressive interloper, who also split her polearms into smaller blades, as she spun around and elbowed Therese in the face.

Therese, undeterred as ever, simply steeled herself and concentrated.

“Flame Wall!”

A wall of raging flame erupted, as if to shield herself from the raging torrent of water, dissipating the mass and creating another smokescreen for Therese to reposition herself.

And as the woman squinted, she was caught off guard, as an orb of fire slammed against her back and sent her sprawling, forcing her to backflip away from the rest of the orbs, before making a stirring motion with her bident.

“The Great Deep!”

And soon, as if from nowhere, the onsen was filled with a neverending stream of water, as it trickled at knee-length towards the woman, as she summoned this massive body of water clearly unaffected, clearly intending to charge up an attack, or drown them outright.

”Sea God!” .

The glowing tidal wave began to crash towards her. Was this it for Therese and her glowing magic bracelets?

”Karma Fire.”

The rocks in the onsen began to glow a burning orange, forcing Naofumi to relocate to another vantage point to avoid getting burned. It did, however, melt the rocks into a protective lava wall, stopping the massive tidal wave and cooling the wall into solid granite, once the steam cloud cleared up.

However, the nudist was relentless, leaping over the newly-formed rock wall, aiming for an overhead slice, just blocked by Therese’s blades, before she was pushed aside.

“Lesser Sea God.”

And soon, the onsen’s waters became like small hurricanes, swirling about from every direction, ready to pulverize and tear Therese asunder with their sheer rotational force, as she calmly put a blue gemstone in her bracelet.

“Silent Ocean.”

And instantly, were the approaching ocean vortices nullified before her, down to the last drop. The water then splashed down on the surface, refilling the onsen’s pools.

Naofumi’s eyes widened at Therese’s incredible power, and the ability to cancel the assailant’s magic prowess. However, he didn’t have time to marvel as he noticed the lady’s harpoon already glowing a bright white, pointing at Therese herself.

“Drifa Chain Lightning!” Several blindingly bright bolts of lightning shot out from her bident as Therese raised her arm, and thunderclouds began to boom, additional bolts of lightning heading her way. “Drifa Thunderbolt! Thunder God!"

“Explosive Showering Thunderstorm Burst!”

The attacker’s lightning magic was deflected when Therese summoned a lightning strike from the sky through another gemstone embedded in her bracelet. Were it not for that attack, the lady’s lightning magic would’ve jumped from target to target and struck everyone involved, Naofumi, Lori and Lial included.

More thunderbolts were hurled over and over, only to be countered in the last second by Therese’s thunder burst.

“It seems that our lightning attacks were evenly matched,” the assailant smirked, as Therese gritted her teeth.

“Paralysis Wing!”

And from Therese’s hands, came a swarm of glowing butterflies that fluttered around her.

“Ha,” the woman sneered. “You think a bunch of silly butterflies can damage me?”

Therese said nothing, as the butterflies then slammed against her body and dissipated into nothing.

“By the time this is over, I’m gonna -”

And suddenly, she was rendered completely immobile. The flock had done its work as the nude woman tried to squirm, but was helplessly frozen in place.

“What’s going on!?” The lady grunted. “I … can’t move!”

Naofumi could sense her humiliation as she tried breaking free, unable to move a muscle in her arms and legs, and only jiggling her large, voluptuous breasts, and shaking her curvy thighs helplessly about.

Ironic how she didn’t mind being naked - but being caught and standing around like an idiot was one of the few things that drove her off the edge.

And Therese wasted no time, charging about and punching and kicking the belligerent nudist, hoping to soften her up before arresting her to the authorities. She did show some restraint, trying to subdue the woman with nonlethal attacks to her torso and jaw, instead of slicing her bare flesh open with her weapons.

With the final kick sending the woman sprawling a good few feet away, bruises and scratches appeared on her body as she got back up on her feet, the paralysis spell now worn off.

“You dare … you dare make a fool out of me!? How dare you tarnish my beauty! Two can play in that game! Drifa Paralyzing Thunder!”

And suddenly, a stream of lightning erupted from her hands before Therese could react, sending Cal Mira’s self-appointed enforcer in great agony, muscles twitching as the electric current bound her down, unable to move. This woman was in big trouble - for if she couldn’t stop this psycho, who could?

“EEEYAAARRRGHHH!”

She quickly fell to her knees, clutching her forehead in immense agony. There must have been something secret behind that headwrap, if she focused on it too much.

But that wasn’t it - the woman had transformed into her killer whale form, and charged towards her position, proceeding to punch Therese in her jaw with her giant fist. And then her torso. And again. And again.

“ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!”

Naofumi had gaped in silence, knowing full well that she had not even bothered to slay Therese with her harpoon. This was raw, unfiltered, fury as she intended to pummel Therese into oblivion - and there was no magic or Stand to assist, just pure strength and speed coming from her muscles hitting their target at full force while drawing back at lightning fast speed.

And it wasn’t a straightforward barrage either - no, she alternated between the occasional left-right punch with a full forced kick of her sturdy orca feet, trapping Therese in a neverending loop. If anything, she had the unhinged beatdown skills of Yuji Itadori, mercilessly pounding on Therese like a common street thug.

“Orca Strike!”

Spinning around, she slapped Therese’s body occasionally with a mighty swipe of her orca tail, water currents surrounding its surface - as for brief moments, small cracks and blue dust appeared on her skin, before sealing up completely. Therese, as far as he could tell, was quite the unusual character - sturdy enough to endure this much strength, even though she might as well bleed like a normal human from this flurry of blows.

“Gak-!”

As the coughing Therese tried to ball up a fist, the orca woman proceeded to lift Therese up by the neck, which slowly began to crack at the immense strength of the woman’s palm, underscored by the sickening crunching noises that appeared.

“Any last words?” She asked, ready to snap her neck in half and toss her aside like refuse.

”Protection Shatter”, Therese croaked hoarsely.

“That’s it? A mere spell couldn’t-”

Thwack.

Therese had decked the orca in the cheek, bruising her jaw, before kicking her jaw up and sending her skidding across the paved ground with a heel kick to the torso.

”YOU BITCH! What did you do!?” The Orca woman screeched.

“Now we can fight on even ground, you shameless pervert,” Therese panted, her injuries seemingly healing. “You are now not much tougher than I am, after I lowered your defenses.”

“Me!? A pervert!?” The orca screamed, miffed. “That man over there has his way with little girls!”

“Says the woman who parades around naked in this indecency, even now. I won’t stand for your debauchery, belligerent!”

“Tch,” the orca sneered. “I will be vindicated when deviants like him are no more - where sane, normal men are attracted to mature beauties like myself, in a hot spring, of all places!”

Walking over to her weapon, she reverted back into her human form, wanting to present a smaller target but keeping her strength and speed. This contest would be decided through skill alone.

Therese kept spinning aggressively, trying to swipe at the woman, who blocked the blows, before sidestepping into a feint, leaving Therese open to miss, and an elbow to the head.

Therese kicked the woman square in the jaw, sending her back, as she responded with Drifa Thunderburst, only for it to be redirected through Therese’s blades, and sent back to the ground with an overhead strike once she closed in onto the woman’s position, knocking her back.

Orbs of fire erupted as Therese saw her chance. This time, her openings would be instrumental as she had no time to dodge or defend ub time.

“Drifa Thunder Guard!”

And soon, her body was surrounded by a field of lightning, rendering the spells useless on impact. “This won’t work a second time!”

And she was right - every blow and slice from her swords dealt no damage to her skin either!

“Drifa Lightning Speed!”

A bolt of lightning electrified her body, as Therese’s melee blows electrocuted her on contact. The nude woman’s harpoon strikes grew harder to defend against, her speed amplified by the lightning’s rejuvenating energy, trying to shock Therese with every blow. Eventually, she had enough as she kicked Therese away and tried to finish her off with a water blast.

“Way of the Dragon Vein - Aqua Blast!”

“Ruby Flame!””

It was another smokescreen, but nothing would stop her as she kept hurling lightning spell after lightning spell. From Thunder God and Chain Thunder God inundating the onsen with lightning strikes, to Drifa Thunderburst and Drifa Thunderbolt being thrown second after second towards the evasive Therese, who somersaulted and slid away from the attacks, before they arrived en masse.

“Explosive Showering Thunderstorm Burst!”

And all of them were countered by Therese’s own lightning acting as a lightning shield, much to the woman’s growing frustration.

“Enough! Lightning Strike Harpoon!”

Throwing her harpoon, now imbued with lightning, Therese was put on the defensive as the damned bident flew around from every angle, with the woman catching her breath thanks to remotely controlling the harpoon’s electromagnetism with her lightning magic, safely away from Therese’s trickery.

The bident quickly zipped and zapped, thrusting and swishing about as Therese ducked another swipe, and blocked a couple more thrusts. Leaping over the bident’s low sweep, Therese parried the harpoon away, closing in with a dropkick that sent the woman tumbling back, the blow lessened by the harpoon returning just in time.

“Dragonfury Dual Blades!”

A water tornado, in the shape of a dragon, erupted and surrounded the nude woman as she charged towards Therese, hellbent on slamming her aside, and if not, then slicing her apart with her harpoon. But she wasn’t satisfied with that either, as that aura turned into a roaring tornado of water, spitting out water stream attacks, ready to slice Therese up like little blades.

“Blossomlight Maelstrom of the Water Dragon!”

However, Therese simply sidestepped and simply kicked her from the side, dispelling the immense aura of water surrounding the nudist.

“Annihilating Wave of the Water Dragon!”

A dense ball of water soon formed from below, along with a massive raging torrent of water erupting from the other side, locking the two women inside the eye of the storm. Swimming rapidly in circles, the vortex continued to fly as Therese split her weapons, meeting the woman’s spear thrusts with her own swords.If the deadlock was to be broken, it had to be now.

“Silent Ocean!”

With the torrent disspelled, the two were left in midair, and Therese knew how to seize the opportunity - charging towards the annoyed woman with a thrust of her recombined polearm.

Sadly, her thrust was deftly parried away, knocking out the double-sided halberd and disarming Therese entirely.

“It’s over!”

With Therese’s polearm deflected away, the woman immediately proceeded to bring her bident down … had Therese not clutched the blade at the last moment and kicked her in the gut, before quickly running for the ambidextrous halberd, ready to defend what was coming next.

“I’ve had enough of you! You’ve made a fool out of me … for the last time!”

Mala suddenly shifts her body, as if she’s expecting something. And at the same moment, the crazy twinkle in the mad woman's eyes are back as her previously calm face morphed into a look of pure, lunatic rage. The shaft of her harpoon swings forward, into the handle of Therese's weapon as she is caught in the middle of her reverse swings. "无极震禅! (BOUNDLESS ZEN QUAKE!)"

The effect of the insane woman's attack was immediate and explosive. With a loud boom, Therese's whole body gets knocked flying back like a rocket. The crazy nudist didn't escape the effect of her own attack either, as she ended up falling on her knees. The very earth itself bent downwards into a crater with the invisible force of the insane woman's attack. It seems like Mala expected something, but perhaps not this exact outcome.

Regardless, she didn't relax even if both combatants seemed to be temporarily indisposed of. The crazy woman slowly raises her head up, looking, and glaring at Naofumi as she tries to push herself back to her feet. But then a voice comes through the trees. "Stop, Sadina! Don't hurt the Shield Hero!"

A young man around Naofumi's age, maybe a little younger, with unmistakable eastern features rides out of the forest riding atop of a white filorial with some mixed pink feathers on her wings... wait, is that- FIRO?! The man jumps off his steed and runs over to the now named crazy woman... wait. That's the name of the person Raphtalia was talking about? Her caretaker was some crazy nudist? No wonder she's so bad at her job at keeping Raphtalia safe! And then Naofumi's thought is interrupted as the bird charges right over Mala, and starts furiously rubbing her long neck and face against him. It really is Firo!

"Calm down, Firo. I'm happy to see you too! You aren't mistreated, are you?" Firo's happy chirp answered Naofumi's question. Even if he can't understand her bird speak (apparently there is a limit to what works for his translation matrix), he can still feel the happiness radiating off his daughter. Some it could be from their reunion, but he's pretty sure Firo wouldn't be this carefree if she had been abused by her captor. Which begs the question... Why did the other man kill Kael'thas' subordinates and kidnap Firo?

"Master Naofumi! What happened to - Big Sister Sadina?!" Through a mouthful of Firo's feathers, Naofumi can hear the concerned, and then confused outcry from Raphtalia. He pushes Firo slightly to the side to get a better look, and sees his first daughter charging into the battle scarred field atop of Akitsu. Motoyasu follows right after on top of Kuro. It seems like Raphtalia had gotten the idea of running to Motoyasu to borrow his bird children. Right now, his first daughter is staring at the crazy nudist woman, and her completely bamboozled expression slowly changes to one of realization, and then horror. "Why are you naked... Did you attack Master Naofumi?!"

"I did what I have to keep you safe, Raphtalia." Sadina's reply only makes the terror on Raphtalia's face grow. The crazy woman didn't get to finish whatever explanation, or perhaps she didn't want to elaborate further. She's dragged behind by the young man who rode Firo into the scene towards Naofumi. Someone who nearly killed him suddenly gets much closer to him makes the Shield Hero's body twitch uncomfortably. He may have tried to act brave because he is a summoned hero (the Shield Hero, who is supposed to tank damage, no less). But deep down, he still fears death. Especially one as painful as an electrocution, as he just found out.

"Who's the new guy, Naofumi?" Motoyasu jumps off Kuro and jogs over to Naofumi's side with small, light steps. The Spear Hero kneels down, and offers an arm to help him stand. Naofumi wants to know the answer to that question too. Firo hisses at Motoyasu. Maybe she's still angry at him for calling her fat after all this time. Which... wasn't that long ago, come to think of it. But it feels like years have passed with how much happened with the Three Heroes’ Church. Naofumi shakes his head, gives a 'stop' gesture to Firo and takes Motoyasu's hand.

"I'm so, so sorry, Naofumi-sama. I don't know what came over Sadina to have her go off on you like this. But at least you aren't hurt... too badly." The man walks over to him, pulling the still naked Sadina over behind him. Naofumi could have imagined it, but the man seemed to have thrown a quick glare at Motoyasu's direction. It was so fast, the Shield Hero isn't sure if he imagined the whole thing. But the unnamed man's gaze was filled with too much contempt and jealousy to have been from his own imagination. And speaking of Sadina's... master? Leader of the adventure party? He is acting... surprisingly and illogically friendly towards Naofumi considering they don't know each other... and he kidnapped Firo... and one of his party members tried to murder Naofumi. Aside from his clearly eastern face... who looks utterly unremarkable. Slightly messy hair, but too short to leave a lasting impression unlike the famous spiked 'super saiyan' hairstyle some of the anime and game characters have. And a completely forgettable face where no feature stands out in a good, or bad way. He is the kind of guy that'll completely disappear into a crowd. And right now, he is repeatedly bowing to Naofumi with endless enthusiasm. "Sato, Tairou. I'm your biggest fan."

The young man's name is as unremarkable as his features, but his words certainly aren't. Naofumi can feel his entire face twitch at these exact words. Either than man was intentionally fucking with him, or he is being completely innocent and serious... and is begging some kind of cosmic mishap to happen. The Shield Hero could even see from his peripheral vision that Motoyasu of all people is giving him an 'oh, really?' look. "Please don't say anything that would involve the wrath of Murphy. Gods are real in this world."

"Oh, I know exactly what I was doing, Master Tairou. I was trying to kill the child lover who was grooming my ward. A shame people keep getting in the way of my kill." Naofumi's eyes and mouth would twitch, if his entire face wasn't already twitching. Again with the whole pedophile accusation! Why do people always assume the worst out of him?! As if being accused of being a rapist, and then a slaver (There's also the church's rhetoric of him being the literal Devil himself, but that's the kind of religious stupidity Naofumi can safely ignore on his conscientious) wasn't bad enough, now someone slanders him for being a pederast, and scum of the earth?!

"See, Raphtalia? Do you see it now? I told you he was- nothing..." Keel wipes her head around and starts to scream at Raphtalia too. But the boyish-looking girl is quickly silenced by Raphtalia's angry glare.

"WHAT!? Ewww... Who told you that lie?!" Raphtalia's face is getting a workout, as it now morphed into one of horrified disgust. She shakes her head left and right, almost like she's trying to shake away the very thought, maybe some compromising mental image between her and Naofumi out of her mind as she stomps her way over to Sadina and begins to furiously scream at her former protector. "I was a slave to Raleigh the vulture! I know what a child lover is like! Master Naofumi is nothing like that disgusting, bolding pig! He only ever treated me with love and care, like my father!"

"Exactly. He is grooming you to love him unconditionally. And once you do... that's when he'll reveal his real plan with you. You'll be too much in his game to understand by that point. There are many different kinds of child lovers." Sadina, still not bothered to cover her own body, points at Tairou almost like an afterthought. "I learnt this from him. He's a prophet."

"Naofumi-sama isn't a pedophile! His love with Raphtalia is entirely justified, and pure!" The unassuming young man who casually calls down cosmic mishaps actually looks, and sounds angry at Sadina's implication. It seems like begging things to go wrong is a bit of his habit. But once again, Naofumi has no idea why the other man is acting so close to him. Had they met back in his world, and he simply forgot this guy because how unremarkable he looks? But why would someone be 'the biggest fan' to some otaku loser like himself? "He saved Raphtalia when she was in slavery, nurtured her back to health. And their love only developed after she matured into an adult! Actually, she is the one who developed romantic affection towards him first. There's nothing disgusting, or malicious like grooming, or pedophilia involved!"

o(-_-)o[T]

"WHA- That's NOT how our maturation bonus works! Don't talk about things you don't understand like you do. That's just rude!" Raphtalia has no idea how she's supposed to feel about this completely absurd situation. Yes, she loves Naofumi, and Malty. But it's the same kind of love she has towards her late father and mother. To even imply her entering a... girl and boy relationship with Naofumi is like implying the same to her and her father. Which is... EWWW! Disgusting! Also... why is this guy talking like he's giving some lecture on a topic he has no understanding of? He's completely ignoring all the intense emotional problems (Naofumi calls them hormone imbalance, whatever that means) she's been experiencing since first growing into her adult body. Doubly rude! "And don't accuse Master Naofumi, or me for having a relationship! He's like my father! Do you know how messed up that is?! How do you feel if someone says something like... like you want to... get together with your mom!"

Raphtalia realizes she's being both rude and a hypocrite for doing exactly the thing she accused the other guy for doing. But she can't help it. She's really starting to feel angry at this guy. Not as much as when she thinks about Fuckboy, or his uncle. But possibly right after them. And somehow, this man didn't look angry at her rudeness. If anything, the look he is giving her is that of sympathy. But it's the kind of fake, patronizing sympathy she would occasionally get from those who passed her by on the street when she was being led away in chains and rags as a slave. The kind that feels sorry for her, but would not leave a finger to help her. And that expression makes his words even more rude, which only made her more annoyed. "That's how you thought at first. Thinking Master Naofumi is your surrogate father because that's all the relationship you had with a man. But then you will realize the love for him isn't the same you had for your father. And it'll take even longer for Master Naofumi to accept that you aren't his daughter, so you don't get daughter-zoned. But don't worry. I will be rooting for you two!"

"Shut up. SHUT UP! How do you know anything! I never met you before, and does Master Naofumi know you? Don't talk like you've known us all your life!" Raphtalia can physically feel the holes in her head. Keel's eyes are burning into her.

"None of you know me, but I know both of you already. I have read [Rising of the Shield Hero]. It's one of my favorite novels! I'm Naofumi-sama's biggest fan! And now that I'm living in my favorite story, it's a dream come true! I can use my knowledge to help all of you rise even higher than the original story!" The mad man (because that has to be what he is. Utterly mad, just like Fuckboy!)'s eyes twinkled with excitement. He clearly believes everything he is saying. Didn't Fuckboy say something similar, about how their lives are supposedly someone else's story? But both of them are clearly wrong! Naofumi, or Malty, or herself aren't some people whose fate was already decided before they were even born!

"Calm down, Raphtalia. You have to calm down. I know you are upset about what he... what Sato said. I'm a little upset too. But if there really is some isekai novel written about us... I want to-" Naofumi slowly stands up and walks towards her. His hand touched her shoulders. Her body gives a violent twitch by Naofumi's touch, leaving her surrogate father backing away so fast from her that he nearly tripped over and fell down.

"How can I be calm at what this guy just said! I... I treat you like a father, Master Naofumi! How won't I lose my mind when someone tells me that you and I are supposed to- AAUGH!" Raphtalia lets out a frustrated growl as she glares at her surrogate father. Her eyes suddenly grew larger. Why was Naofumi trying to listen to this lunatic? "You- you don't actually agree with him. About the two of us- are you?!"

"What?! NO! Of course not! How can you think that? Raphtalia?!" Naofumi's eyes grow as large as her, looking just as shocked and disgusted at her suggestion. Raphtalia instantly felt a wave of regret, and guilt hit her for implying Naofumi had less than pure motivation towards her. Of course, he wouldn't. And he only saved her because he is a compassionate and good person. What would otherwise be the reason for him to pick her, an useless, and sick child out of slavery and nursed her back to health? Because he wanted to torture woman to make himself feel superior, like that those disgusting Consevaties? "Are you losing control of your emotions again? I think you better change to your young body again. You aren't thinking straight anymore. I wanted to listen to what he had to say, because remember what Fuckboy said before? That we are living in some badly written novel? I want to learn more about what happened in that story."

"What do you mean 'change to your younger body', Naofumi-sama-" The insane man's rambling is suddenly cut off, and turned into stunned silence as he looks at Raphtalia shrinking back down into a child after a puff of smoke. Her experience living under the thumb of Fuckboy made her realize that she needs to learn how to defend herself... which means she needs to get used to her adult body. She's been getting better at holding back her emotions since she's trying to get used to her adult body more and more. But she can still lose herself to intense emotions, especially when she is distracted, or distressed like she was before. Of course, Naofumi isn't actually agreeing with whatever this insane man was talking about. "Raphtalia can change between being an adult and a child?"

"AWWW~ I thought I lost the chance to hug you like a cute, adorable little girl forever, Raphtalia." Big Sister Sadina runs over to Raphtalia's side, picks her up and pulls her into a tight hug. Raphtalia considered doing her best to push away her former protector for listening to the insane man. He might claim to be some prophet, but he clearly doesn't know everything. He just admitted he doesn't know about her shapeshifting ability after all. And she most likely would have pushed Sadina again if she stayed in her adult body. But after calming herself down through a few long, deep breaths, Raphtalia decided against being rude to Big Sister Sadina. Her former protection likely worried sick for her, and pushing her away right now would increase the anger she feels towards Naofumi. Unfortunately, Big Sister Sadina clearly isn't content to simply give her an affectionate hug. She begins to turn around, and walks away now she still has Raphtalia in her arms. "Now I found you again, I'm not leaving you alone with these awful people anymore. I'll take you with me to Master Tairou, and make sure you are well protected."

"NO! Stop that, Big Sister Sadina! You have to listen to what I want!" Raphtalia acts more firmly this time, as she begins furiously struggling in Big Sister Sadina's arms and pushes against her. When that clearly doesn't work (because she's still in her much weaker child's body... and because Big Sister Sadina was already a prestige range warrior before the waves hit), she changes into her tanuki form to slip, and jump away. Raphtalia lands on the ground to change herself back into her child body, and glares up at Big Sister Sadina. "I know you worry for me, Big Sister Sadina! But stop treating me like a child! I know better! I know who is being mean to me and who isn't! Right now, you are being mean to me, and my surrogate father!"

"What's going on here?" A much larger flock of filorials comes through the trees, with Malty riding in front of them all. Before Raphtalia or anyone else has any chance to respond, the mad man's eyes suddenly grow large as an egg with hatred. He pulls a knife out of his cloth, which instantly changes into a tomahawk... wait, was he the Throwing Weapon Hero who supposedly kidnapped Firo? He tosses his weapon right at Malty with clear intention to nail her body into one of the tree's trunk.

"DIE, BITCH!"

o(-_-)o[T]

Malty can see her life flash before her eyes once again. Everything seems to slow down around her, unfortunately her body can't react even in this state. Perhaps she is simply paralyzed by the fear of her impending death. Mala is running towards her, either trying to kick the deadly weapon off air, or maybe even throw her own body into it to save Malty's life. But she wouldn't be fast enough to make a difference, she's too far away from Malty, and too unprepared for whoever decided to attack the princess turned slave on the first sight. This confirms that the Chief God wasn't simply indifferent towards her like he feels towards the late Pope Balmus. No, that bastard must truly hate her. To escape her wedlock with her sadistic uncle, only to be struck down by some guy she just met is surely the act of a divine comedy.

And then she feels something shoving at her hard from the side, and she falls off Yomi and lands on the ground hard with a heavy thud. Something landing on top of her. She can hear the sound of filorials screeching, and people screaming all around her as the flow of time seems to return to normal. She looks down, and the first thing she notices was the bundle of curly pink hair... which is not only badly ruffled, but also has been split from the side with a clear trench cut through them. Flare saved her life, and nearly got scalped herself. She didn't realize her newest student (if she counts Raphtalia who she's also been teaching some basic spell casting) is a hero!

"WAHHH~! My head was opened like a melon! I won't live anymore~!" Malty feels her ear bleed as Flare begins to screech in a way that's the complete opposite of being heroic. It seems like now that her mind had caught up with her body, the slightly spoiled daughter of Lord Grima Consevatie had realized how dangerous her previous action was. And somehow she thinks she is dying in spite of her clearly being alive... and hasn't suffered any mortal wounds with how loud she is being. Something tells Malty that Flare had never been hurt before in her life.

"No. You are fine, Lady Flare. Your head isn't hurt. That tomahawk flew over your head, and cut off a strand of your hair." Flare's screaming stops for a brief moment. The pampered girl from House Consevatie looks up to meet Malty's eyes with her own. For a brief moment, Malty thought that her new apprentice is finally starting to calm down, and then her hope is dashed when Flare starts to howling louder than before.

"WAAAHHHHH~! My hair! My hair is ruined forever~! I wasted all hours of my life every morning trying to get them just right~! It's all for naught now~!" This time, the dainty little 'princess' of House Consevatie didn't only release her tears, but snots as well. And worse... she's wiping them on Malty's clothes! The princess turned slave wants to slap, or kick the overreacting little lady away. But as she raises her hand, she is reminded how this crying girl is the one who saved her life. So she ends up resting her hand on Flare's hair, and lets the Consevatie girl use her cloth as her personal tissue papers.

Malty turns her head towards the crazy guy who tried to kill her next. The first thing she notices is Baldy, and Blue Eyes standing in front of her like a pair of steel mountains. In front of them stands Mala, with her body slightly crouched towards the ground in a stance that is ready to spring into action. Her former servants that followed her into this thinly veiled life of exile are truly loyal, and ready to throw their lives away to protect her. She would have a hard time seeing through them, if she wasn't lying on the ground, and can see things through the spaces between their legs.

Much further away, Motoyasu is engaged in battle with Malty's would-be murderer. The Spear Hero's skill at using his WEAPON as an actual weapon, then a glorified catalyst to cast spear weapon arts, has some a long way from his farce of a duel against Naofumi. His opponent keeps throwing knives, and tomahawks at him. But Motoyasu blocks all the throwing weapons away without any difficulties with the shaft of his spear. Malty can't see the Spear Hero's face, but he sounds downright angry. "What the hell is your problem!? First you accused Naofumi of being some sick pedo, and now you tried to murder Malty!?"

"I don't have to answer any question from you, you stupid simp! I'll beat you into submission for Naofumi-sama right here, right now!" The unremarkable looking man sneers at Motoyasu, completely ignoring the dirty look Naofumi is shooting at his back as the Shield Hero charging up his [Crown Shield]. As Motoyasu parries another one of his throwing axes, the crazy guy's eyes suddenly twinkles with mad glee as his throwing weapon reappears in his hand. The Throwing Weapon Hero didn't try to keep his distance with Motoyasu with a backstep this time, he charged forward instead and got right in front of the Spear Hero while the bladed tip of the legendary spear was pointed away during the block. The crazy man holds up his throwing axe in a way that reminded Malty of how Motoyasu wielded his spear when he was dueling Naofumi. "Bet you didn't see this coming- GAH!"

Instead of trying to back away from his opponent to bring the spear head back into range, or using its shaft as a makeshift quarterstaff to hold off his assailant, Motoyasu also charges forward.and pushes his opponent onto his ass with a shoulder check. He spins on his heel, swinging the tip of his spear down at his opponent. The downed Throwing Weapon Hero manages to bring his weapon up, and turns it into some oversized star to use as a makeshift shield. But Motoyasu isn't the only legendary hero angry at him. As Naofumi summons out his [Crown Shield], he immediately snaps it off his arm, curls it up as a giant flail and throws it at the mad man's head with the same intention to kill when he smashes the head of Tirion Fordring. "Die, you FUCKO!"

Chapter Text

It's barely been a month, but it feels like a lifetime ago when Sir Oersted left the walls of Gallia. He was nothing more than a young knight freshly graduated from his training, eager to go on a quest for his knightly duties. He had no idea how cruel the world around him was under the glory of Gallia City, or how cruel people can be under the glamor of the expansive suits, make-up, and perfumes the nobles he served constantly wore. Now, he feels like he almost wasted his life after losing his best friend, and then his mentor (well... mentor in miracle casting, and he did teach Oersted a lot of valuable life lessons) Master Uranus. Now that he's back to his home, the strong walls of Gallia city look more like a tombstone to him from a distance.

"Sir Oersted! I was worried about you!" A somewhat familiar voice rocks the young knight out of his reveries. He looks forward, and sees the sole survivor of Graile's Four Heroes’ Church, Brother Demetrius runs towards him. He wonders how a young acolyte learnt of his arrival, considering he returned to Gallia alone with no fanfare, technically failed his quest of escorting Princess Malty and Lord Shield Hero to safety. But then, he sees Princess Alethea riding towards him from the gate of Gallia city and has his answers. He wrote a letter, and sent it ahead of him before departing from Lord Shield Hero's retinue to return, thinking his betrothal must have worried sick for him. It seems like Brother Demetrius was either with Princess Alethea at the time, or has been taken into her retinue to accompany her. The young acolyte's face is desperate, with only a sliver of hope in his eyes. "Is it true? Did Master Uranus also..."

"I'm sorry, Brother Demetrius. Master Uranus fell in his line of duty protecting Lord Shield Hero when we were captured at the capital. His soul is with the Chief God now." Brother Demetrius hangs his head low, and begins to make the sign of the four holy heroes in front of his chest. He looks sad, but accepts the outcome. Clearly expected this before he received his answer. "I'm sorry. I am a knight, I should be the first one to go in our line of duty. I... shouldn't be the only survivor on this ill prepared quest."

"You are not, Sir Oersted." Another voice, one Oersted is much more familiar with, brings his attention away from his regret. Looking ahead, he recognized the knight leading Princess Alethea's possession as the man raised his face guard. He's much more used to his superior's feathered hat, so he never associated Sir Chevalier as someone wearing full armor. But there is no mistaking his voice and his face, even if his voice sounds more hollow than usual, and his face is much paler than before. His superior did survive the ailment he caught when they were investigating the cult Oersted's mentor was killed by. "I also survived. But it's truly a shame to know both Straighbow, and Master Uranus fall in their line of duty. They will be dearly missed."

Princess Alethea gives a faint twitch on her steed, not exactly befit the graceful appearance she needs to maintain as a princess. But she is no doubt assaulted by waves of conflicted emotion when finally sees him with her own eyes after so much has happened. She jumps down from her steed, nearly tripping over herself without anyone by her side helping her. But she brushes away her maid's attempt to hold her, pulls up the edge of her frilly dress and runs over to Sir Oersted. "You have finally returned, my knight! Now we can have our wedding, and you will not have to risk yourself on such foolish, and dangerous errands!"

Chapter 7: Shield Hero's Biggest Fan

Sir Oersted feels his voice caught in his throat. He is but a mere knight who fights wars and protects his liege, not a major player in The Game like her father, and her many potential betrothals. But even he understands the expectation for Princess Alethea. As the daughter of Prince Joseph, she would be expected to wed the scion of an important great house to forge alliance for her father. Yet, Prince Joseph allowed her to pursue a marriage for love in spite of his own political aspiration. And out of all the young nobles, or heroes in the world, Alethea chose him, a young, idealistic knight who has no idea how the world worked. It's not so much as an honor to have Prince Joseph's blessing to marry Princess Alethea, as it's a miracle that the two of them were allowed to be together. He should follow Alethea's every whim for the rest of his life to make her happy.

Yet... Sir Oersted found he could not. Not after all he witnessed, and experienced in the short time when he was unknowingly escorting both the first princess of House Melromarc, and the Shield Hero. Too many people, who were not blessed to have an easy life, or even the talent or training like he did to raise their social class still suffer. From the horrors of their world, from overly ambitious men who cared not the lives of those beneath them... and an endless legion of demons ready to invade their world. He could not avert his eyes, and pretend it's not his duty to protect these people. "I would love nothing more than to hang up my sword, and make you the happiest woman in the world, my princess. But... I am sorry. I can not do so now."

"Is that so? Do you not love me, as I loved you? Sir Oersted?" Princess Alethea's body freezes on the spot for a brief moment, her face looks like someone physically slapped her. She turns her eyes away from the young knight, making him feel ashamed of himself. "I understand your aspiration to protect our people, my brave knight. That's why I fell for you. But could you not... put yourself in unspeakable danger like you did with Lord Shield Hero? You could still protect our people here with me, in Gallia. Our walls are strong, and our men are even stronger. Not even the savage Siltvelt army brought down our city in The Great War. Surely, you could stay with me, where you can do your duty, and still keep yourself safe to not break my heart?"

"I love you more than anyone in this world, Princess Alethea. But I have seen so much in the few weeks I accompanied Lord Shield Hero. What's more, we have met the current avatar of Alaya. She revealed that there is a legion of demons ready to invade our world: The Burning Legion." Sir Oersted's revelation makes the princess look at him once again. She isn't the only one. Every person present in her entourage is either staring at him with a dumbfounded expression, or openly gaping. "We are not dealing with a normal Wave of Catastrophe this time, my princess. As 'normal' as a world ending crisis could be. An unfathomable force is actively plotting the downfall of our very world, and we can not turn a blind eye to it hoping our walls and our warriors are strong enough to withstand the onslaught. We need to actively seek ways to stop them, before we are destroyed. That's why I can not stay with you in Gallia, my princess. Every able bodied man and woman who are trained for war must be at their very best for a chance for all of us to survive. I want you to be safe. And more importantly, if we are victorious, I want you, and everyone else to have a world, and a life to live for after this is over. So please, Princess Alethea. Wait for another year for me, till we stop our current Wave of Catastrophe, and this Burning Legion. If Chief God does not smile upon me for my safe return... I beseech you to find someone else better than me. Someone who will treat you kinder than I have. Someone who will treat you as the queen of our nation."

Princess Alethea stays silent for a brief moment, before finally nodding her head. Her eyes downcast, clearly not thrilled with the response Oersted gave her, and her own reply. But she does the right thing in the end, as she always does. "Very well, my brave Sir Oersted. I shall convince my father to postpone our wedding for a year longer. And I shall pray for you, and all of our warriors' safe return home."

o(-_-)o[T]

Naofumi's attack took Malty by surprise. In hindsight, she should have expected the Shield Hero to completely lose it when she almost got murdered in front of his eyes. When they were fighting the Three Heroes' Church, he savagely killed Tirion Fordring, and then brutally turned his body into paste after the paladin was dead. But that happened after weeks of being pursued by the zealots, and witnessing the atrocities they committed to innocent people. So Naofumi definitely has his furious... savage side. She isn't sure if she should feel very grateful for how much her well being meant to Naofumi, or for fear of being the reason for a hero's death. Because with the young madman down on the ground, and Motoyasu pressing his own lethal attack, there is no way for the Throwing Weapon Hero to survive Naofumi's attack unless someone else jumps in at their own peril.

That's exactly what happened next, as two figures leap out of the other side of the tree line. One of them slams into Motoyasu's side, knocking the Spear Hero away. The other jumps right in front of Naofumi's giant flail and tries to hold it back with their extended arms. The person standing in front of Naofumi's attack is pushed skidding back on the ground, but manages to throw the hammer onto the ground with a twist of their body at the last moment before colliding with the Throwing Weapon Hero lying on the ground. The first thing that catches Malty's attention is their hair. White as snow for the most parts... but have some strands of black mixed in. And a pair of small, but still noticeable feline ears atop of their heads. No doubt, that's the pair of white tiger siblings Kael'thas' surviving rangers talked about. The white tiger girl might look like a doll with her slightly petite figure, delicate features and a pair of hair braids hanging over the side of her face. But the anger that's twisting her face right now makes her look more like a miniature sized demon. "How dare you try to kill Master Tairou! DIE!"

"NO! Wait, ATLA!" Both the Throwing Weapon Hero, and her (assumedly) brother screams and reaches their hands out for her. But it's too late, she had already shot herself towards the Shield Hero like a giant siege bolt leaving a ballista. Naofumi quickly pulls the chain of his [Crown Shield] back, and snaps it open into the shield configuration again. Just as the girl's fist is about to connect with his defense, he swings his arm to the side like he's slapping someone away. With a loud clunk, the girl is knocked spinning in the air without any control. Motoyasu didn't hold anything back in spite of his opponent being a delicate, young looking girl. His spear shoots forward with a spin, the same technique that killed both Roger of Ajax and Pope Balmus. If this attack connects, Malty can't see how the impulsive girl would survive. The white tiger boy runs forward with a desperate look on his face, but it's clear that everything happened too fast, and he was as late to stop this fatal attack as Ms. Mala was to stop the tomahawk from taking off Malty's head.

Once again, a figure jumped out of the trees. This one is much faster than the white tiger siblings, even faster than Mala. Malty's eyes and mind barely registered what happened as this new figure approached Motoyasu and Naofumi, and they were both lying on the ground the next moment. Raphtalia cries out in alarm, tries to run to the Shield Hero, but she's held back by a... nude woman Malty only noticed at this moment because of everything else happening. Katarina on the other hand wasn't held back, so she charged forward with the birds the Spear Hero brought with him. They didn't fare any better than the two heroes as the new fighter, a skinny looking old woman in a light brown colored Isaasian style cloth, puts them all on the ground. That must be the old woman Kael'thas' rangers were talking about.

"Now you die!" The white tiger girl manages to land on her feet after a few stumbles. She looks ready to kill as she lunges for Naofumi once again, but she is held back by the person Malty didn't expect. The crazy young man who is likely the current Throwing Weapon Hero of Zeltoble. It's so wonderful to know that this insane man didn't want to harm the Shield Hero, and only wanted Malty's head. The white tiger girl struggles for a brief moment against the (probable) Throwing Weapon Hero, before looking back and notices who is restraining her. Her body instantly goes still. "Ma-Master Tairou? What's going on? Why won't you let me deal with him? He tried to kill you!"

"This is all a big misunderstanding, Atla! We aren't trying to kill Naofumi-Sama. We are trying to help him. Remember?" Seeing the girl calm down, the now named Throwing Weapon Hero releases his hold and raises his opened hands up in an appealing manner in front of Atla's face. "He's the only chance to save this world. That's why all of us need to help him achieve his full potential faster, and avoid the few pitfalls."

The white tiger girl doesn't look happy by Tairou's explanation. In fact, she begins to argue with him. But Malty didn't pay much, if any attention to what they were saying. It's probably more insane rambling, just like Fuckboy. She didn't even pay much attention to Naofumi and Motoyasu slowly crawling up from the ground. No, the princess turned slave has her full attention to Mala, as she takes small and measured steps towards the old (possible) Issasian woman. The old woman also seemed to notice Mala's presence as she slowly turned around to regard this new approaching figure. Mala is the first to speak. "Master Elrasla Grilaroc of Techniques? I believe this is the first time we met."

"It's been a long time since someone called me by my name at first glance. Even my own family calls me 'Granny' these days." The now named old woman slightly tilts her head to the side. Looking half bewildered, half thoughtful as if trying to remember any possible connection she might have shared with Mala. After a few moments, a look of comprehension appears on her face as her slightly twisted eyebrows relax. "Ah. You must be that kitten raised by Rav, aren't you? Is that fucker still alive? Back then, she wouldn't stop boasting about how this one apprentice she had was better than all of mine combined together. I swear! The nerves!"

"I have not seen Master Ravana of Strength for over thirty years now. She isn't exactly someone sentimental. So she left for her own travels after she completed my training, and hasn't even written to me since." Mala's voice is respectful, much more so when she talked with Malty's mother. In fact, Malty only saw Mala talk to her father this way. The (possible) Issassian woman narrows her eyes for a brief moment as she looks at Mala's dangling arms. She suddenly moves right in front of Mala, closes her eyes and places her palm on Mala's chest. Malty's body twitches on instinct to see someone who easily beaten Naofumi, Motoyasu and all of their companions get this close to her former maid. But the old woman doesn't seem to do any harm to Mala.

"Your arms... The bones are broken, so are your Ki veins in your arms. What did you do to ruin your body like this? Trying to hold back a gate by yourself?" The old woman frowns at Mala, the former maid's silence was apparently enough of a response for her. "Damn. Why did you do that? Surely Rav would have told you why that's dumb. Even I... or Rav herself would not have tried something like this."

"We all have something we have to do, even if they are unwise. Master Elrasla. I'm sure you would have done the same thing for your own children." The old woman turns her gaze towards Malty, who Mala is still blocking with her own body. The old woman simply nods her head in silence without saying anything.

"I'm so sorry something like this happened, Naofumi-sama!" The Throwing Weapon Hero runs over to Naofumi and helps the Shield Hero stand. After that, he takes a step back and begins bowing down to the thoroughly annoyed looking Naofumi. "I don't know what came over Sadina... or Atla, for that matter. I only wished to help you reach your rightful achievement earlier and easier. And they should have been your most faithful allies!"

o(-_-)o[T]

Naofumi Iwatani feels thoroughly annoyed at the situation he found himself in. Because of course, the person who falsely accused him for being a pedophile, whose companions have tried to kill himself and worse, his companions and friends only 'has the best intentions', and supposedly 'wanted to help him'. He's pretty sure he doesn't need enemies, if this is how his allies act all the time. The Shield Hero knows that he is being both very rude, and very petty at ignoring this Sato guy's apologies, and letting him keep bowing down to display his remorse and embarrassment. And his psychotic... girlfriend? That white tiger girl is glaring at him for completely ignoring Sato's apologies. But the fucker tried to kill Malty! Naofumi feels justified for being a bit petty here, just like Raphtalia when she renamed a certain reincarnate 'Fuckboy'.

"I can't believe what you did, Big Sister Sadina! How can you try to kill innocent people just like that? Because you believed the words of a madman! If the world works like this, Master Naofumi would have been condemned when he was accused of raping Big Sister Malty!" Speaking of Raphtalia, she's not having a good time either as she glares at and goes off on her former guardian. Naofumi tries to imagine what it feels like to reunite with someone he used to be close to, only for his former friend, or family member to kill his new friends. And then he realized that he can't even imagine how Raphtalia would feel. He wasn't that close to his parents with how much they favored Takeru. And he wasn't that close with his younger brother either till the last few months before he ended up in this world. The only one who he really had a connection with in his own world was his only friend Yuugo, and he can't imagine someone as good natured, and passionate at helping people as Yuugo try to kill someone. This world and its people are messed up.

Naofumi hears the sound of heavy footsteps coming from behind. He turns around, and sees Kael'thas walking towards him, carrying the still form of Yatsuhashi behind his back. His bodyguard is taller, and much wider than the (not) elf prince, so the scene looks a little hilarious. But with how solemn Kael'thas look, and the knowledge that Yatsuhashi was electrocuted to buy time for him to escape, he really doesn't feel like laughing. The (not) elf prince carefully bent his knees to let down Yatsuhashi on the ground. Naofumi feels like his heart is dropping into his stomach, but he still asks to make sure. "What of Nazgral's raiders, Kael'thas?"

"They have given their all to ensure your safety, my king. Do not feel sad, my king. It is considered the greatest honor for us to die for our king, and their spirit will pass on to join their ancestors in the heavenly horde." The (not) elf prince shakes his head, and gives a negative answer. He looks at the scene in front of him before speaking to Sato. "Throwing Weapon Hero of Zeltoble I presume? I will be handing in an official complaint to Zeltoble's rulership for your attempt on my king's life."

"Yeah, whatever." Sato's reply to Kael'thas was surprisingly disconcerned compared to the genuine dismay he was showing Naofumi a moment earlier. "Naofumi-sama wasn't hurt, Raphtalia wasn't either. I don't know what Bitch did to get Firo's level reset and kidnapped her away from Naofumi-sama. But I brought her back. So everything is fine."

"Everything is not fine, damn it!" Any sense of shame, or guilt Naofumi might feel towards Sato disappears at his nonchalant attitude towards how his actions caused innocent people to get hurt, or get killed. And from his practical side, they lost multiple experienced fighters who could have stood with them against The Burning Legion. The Shield Hero throws his arms over his head in frustration, as he goes off on Sato. "You clearly respect me. So why are you killing people helping me?! Is this some kind of game to you? People got hurt, people got killed!"

"Like I said, Naofumi-sama. It's a huge misunderstanding. Sadina got overprotective on Raphtalia, that's all. She'll come around when she sees how made for each other you and Raphtalia are." Naofumi grinds his teeth at the sudden change in Sato's attitude again. The young man might be genuine in admiring him and want to help, but clearly he isn't listening to why Naofumi is so angry at him. "I'm very sorry your supporters got hurt and killed, but they are extras and mooks anyway. You can always get more slaves to replace them."

Did he... did he just imply what Naofumi thought he did? That he's okay with innocent people get killed because 'they aren't important' for some reason? Or that Naofumi was some kind of scum of earth that would gleefully enslave people, and throw their lives at a problem disregarding the death toll it would cause? Granted, Kael'thas and his men truly have slave seals branded on them, but that's only because Melromarc people would otherwise panic if he brings a small army of their enemies into their border. And Malty was also technically a slave, but that's only because she would be forced into marrying a known serial rapist, murderer!

"I'd be careful with him, Naofumi. He's clearly crazy... and kind of stupid." Motoyasu leans closer to Naofumi, his usually straightforward face actually looks a bit conspiring this time. He holds a hand over his mouth, and whispers quietly to Naofumi, even if his exaggerated gesture completely gives his intention away. Naofumi would tell his friend and rival (actually... are they still rivals after what happened with the Three Heroes' Church, or are they just friends now?) that Motoyasu really didn't have any reason to call out someone else for being stupid... except he completely agrees with Motoyasu this time.

"I have already gathered the most important people who will help you, Naofumi-sama." Once again, Sato completely ignores the fury... and the mounting dread Naofumi is feeling. The Throwing Weapon Hero's face turns into a flattering smile. He turns around, pointing towards his own companions, or at least party members like he's showing off an exhibition. "You already met Sadina. She's the bodyguard of Raphtalia's family. She's a much better spear user than the spear simp, especially once she gets her hero weapon. Oh, and she'll eventually join your harem as well. So you don't have to feel jealous of the spear simp at all. He can have Bitch."

Naofumi is starting to feel a little sick of how Sato is describing his own party members, and everyone else for that matter, but especially for his own companions. Does the fucker see other people like some kind of toy collections? It's reminding him of Fuckboy... actually. This is exactly how Fuckboy treats everyone around him, even if Sato isn't straight up calling everyone NPCs. By comparison, Sato's implication of him getting a harem is a much more subdued reveal, but easily as sickening. Sure, he played a bunch of harem gal games and even recommended them to his little brother Takeru. But enjoying them as a pastime escapism and wanting to live in them are very different things!

And the way this annoying little shit keeps insulting Malty! Who gave him the right to after everything she's done? "Don't keep on disrespecting Malty! I might be the Shield Hero, but I can still smash your head in!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Naofumi-sama? I'm just calling her for who she is, and the name she's given: Bitch." The act of innocence this guy is playing is making Naofumi crack the bones in his balled up fist. He would have thrown his [Crown Shield] at this annoying guy again if Raphtalia's protector didn't butt in with her own words.

"Oh, I'll be more than happy to reward the Shield Hero a little, if he stays away from Raphtalia. He's cute enough." The crazy nudist who tried to kill Naofumi smirks at him. She moves her right leg forward, and bends it slightly to the left. A gesture that seemed to better hide her private. But considering she didn't bother at all till this point, it's clearly a gesture of seduction instead. Of course, that's ignoring all the scraps and dirt she has all over her body after her battle with Theresa. So she's doing it instinctively, and she's some kind of man eater? Naofumi can't imagine why this... crazy woman is supposed to be so important to him. He'd be very happy that she stays in another country from him... preferably in chains (but NOT having a slave seal because that's fucked up) or maybe a straitjacket so she can't go around killing people, thank you very much!

"And here are one of your most loyal, and powerful companions besides Raphtalia and Firo. Fohl and Atla. Atla will be one of your most loyal companions, who would even jump in front of an attack to die for you. Fohl on the other hand... he might be a bit paranoid towards you at first, but that's only because he worries for his little sister! He'll come around once when he realizes you have no ulterior motives towards his younger sister." The white tiger girl actually shoots Naofumi a death glare at that introduction, while her elder brother actually gives a cordial... and somewhat apologetic looking nod to Naofumi. Motoyasu really was right! This guy really is a colossal idiot for not noticing the companions he's introducing is acting exactly opposite from his words. Well... maybe the brother Fohl isn't ready to jump in front of a bullet for Naofumi like Yatsuhashi just did with the crazy nude woman. But he definitely looks much friendlier than his younger sister.

"And last but certainly not the least... Granny, the only master of the Hengen Musou style martial arts." Sato holds his arms up at the old woman, like he is showing off the most important exhibition in some auction. Naofumi feels his eyebrow raising at the Japanese name used. Granted... the very idea of 'martial arts' usually tends to get associated with Asian origins, but he didn't expect an actual Japanese name. Since apparently, the only 'Japanese' country of this world belongs to a demi-human nation, and the skinny, old woman is clearly a pure human. He tries to ignore such trivia for the more important part. "She will be the biggest reason you, and your companions, are stronger than the three stooges and their bands of idiots."

Naofumi feels like someone should probably clap their hands with this supposedly dramatic reveal. But all he hears are squawks of imaginary crows flying over their heads. He crosses his arms, and asks the most important question. "Okay... that's interesting... But why would I fight Larry, Curly and Moe? Are those three comedians some kind of big name nobles in this world?"

"Wha- Who? OH NO!" The Throwing Weapon Hero somehow looks completely dumbfounded by Naofumi's question, after a brief pause, he shakes his head and points his finger at Motoyasu. "Not those Three Stooges! I meant him! These three idiots who were summoned together with you, but are too useless to do anything productive. At least till’ you beat them into submission, whip them into shape and have them follow your lead!"

"Who gave you that idea? I wouldn't fight my friends! I'd be killed by the Three Heroes' Church if they didn't come help me." Naofumi tears his eyes from the crazy guy looking at Motoyasu. "We are friends now, right? Or are we still rivals like you said?"

"Yeah. Of course we are friends." Motoyasu apparently decided to prove it physically, as he opens his arms up... and gives Naofumi a back crushing hug. The Shield Hero can feel his breath caught in his chest even with his high defense rating. Even with [Crow Shield] still active, he apparently still can't make up for over thirty levels of difference. "And yeah. We still compete to be the better hero. But that's because we are trying to help as many people as possible! None of us can afford to slack off! And the best way is of course, competing to be the best!"

"You really shouldn't be this humble, Naofumi-sama. To even place the three stooges near the same level... no, the same country as you is an insult to your achievement!" As always, Naofumi's idiotic self proclaimed 'biggest fan' completely ignored his own words. Now he understands why Mr. Incredible had no patience for his own 'biggest fan'. After waving his hands dismissively at Motoyasu, Sato holds his arms up for the Granny martial artist once again. "The Hengen Musou style will be one of the greatest bedrock of your success, alongside your slave maturation bonus. They'll ensure everyone from your core party is stronger than these useless, so-called 'heroes'."

"What 'slavery maturation' bonus? I have no such thing." Naofumi's question seems to instantly take away all the wind in Sato's sail. He isn't even trying to intentionally start a fight with the other guy. He is merely confused at what his supposed 'biggest fan' is talking about. "I have no such thing. And even if I do, I don't put people in slavery in exchange for some power boost."

Okay... maybe the last point was more than a bit hypocritical from him. Considering all of his Siltvelt retinue are under the bound of slavery. But that's only because Melromarc would not let them enter their territory otherwise. Is he happy about it? No. And he imagines that'll cause him a major headache and worse later when he tries to abolish slavery. But for now, that's what he is forced to do.

"Oh... you haven't found that out now? I'm sure it's Bitch's fault somehow!" The annoying fanboy whips his head to shoot death glare at Malty once again. What the hell is this fucker's problem with Malty? With the amount of vitriol, you'd think she kicked him in the balls or something (and he'd totally deserve it too with what he has done so far). He clearly has no idea how uncomfortable he is making Naofumi (and probably everyone else) feel, as he actually walks closer to Naofumi, a flattering smile on his face, hands waving away gestures to explain. "You can unlock a slavery form of your weapon if you absorb magical ink and Raphtalia's hair together. It'll give a stats bonus for every level she gains. And eventually it'll build up high enough that she'll eat the three stooges for breakfast..."

Despite what this annoying fanboy had said and done so far, Naofumi is tempted by his proposal. Considering how easily Granny put Motoyasu and himself down, she's clearly the real deal. Not to mention Mala's endorsement. He really doesn't care much about some dick measuring competition Sato is suggesting he has with his fellow heroes and friends. And he'd jump off the tokyo first before he puts Raphtalia through more mental trauma for some stat boost. But if learning this whatever kungfu is going to give them such a strong power boost, surely it'll give them a better chance to save more lives? That's what he thought, until Mala opens her mouth to object. "It's really not a good idea for heroes to learn the Hengen Musou style-"

"SHUT UP!" Sato immediately jumps on his feet as he turns around to glare daggers and scream at Malty's former maid. "You think I'm blind, or stupid to not see you protecting Bitch? I don't recognize a nobody like you. But you are clearly her lackey, trying to weaken Naofumi-sama and then lead him to his doom!"

"Let Rav's little kitten finish. I want to hear what she has to say." The Throwing Weapon Hero gives the old martial art master a puzzled look. But he clearly respects the old woman, so he calms down and goes quiet. Relatively. His face settles into that of a smug smirk that increasingly reminds Naofumi of Fuckboy.

"You seem to have this false notion that Hengen Musou is a martial arts fighting style, Lord Throwing Weapon Hero." Mala's tone and words are respectful, but her sight is clearly fixed on Granny rather than Sato. "But it's more accurate to say Hengen Musou is an enhancement method, meant to provide the power behind one's already developed fighting style. Which is where the name came from: Hengen Musou, Peerless Change."

Naofumi feels like he is closer to figuring out the meaning behind Mala's words, but not entirely when the white tiger warrior continues. "The same kind of power is already provided to the heroes. And to a lesser extent, their followers for how fast they gain level compared to other people. What they need right now the most, is making sure their skills don't get left behind so much that they can't even control their own bodies. A highly empowered hero unable to control their power is the same as a three year old strong enough to wield a warhammer, or destructive spells with no mind to use it safely. They'll be a walking hazard to everyone around them. And in that regard, Hengen Musou is distinctively lacking."

"Interesting stance you are taking here, girl. I did not expect the kitten taught by that brudish bird brain Rav would be this insightful." Granny smirks at Mala's explanation, clearly satisfied with Mala's words. So she does agree with Mala's reasoning, and it makes Naofumi feel a little ashamed. Wasn't this a lesson that Zellus had physically beaten into all of their heads during the training they had before the Third Wave? Power without proper control is useless other than mowing down mooks like you are playing a Musou game from Koei Tecmo.

And now he went back to the starting point, craving power again after the mess Three Heroes' Church started. This... this is exactly what happened in the past with Yuugo, wasn't it? His only friend did his best to help motivate Naofumi to achieve something in life rather than settle for an easy one. And he threw it right back in his friend's face at the first sign of trouble. It made the Shield Hero realize that he still has a long way to go, a lot of changes he needs to make to himself to truly live up to his title he's given.

"Master Ravana prefers using overwhelming strength to beat down her opponent, but she is no mere brute like people assume. She is always in perfect control of her own body, and her strength in battle. And knows how much power she needs to apply to her opponent to not waste any of them. 'Perfect strength can submit any skill', just like 'Perfect skill can subvert any strength'." Once again, Mala gives Granny a bow to show her respect. "But I have not finished explaining why Hengen Musou is not a good pursuit for the heroes and their followers yet, Master Elrasla. The path of a martial artist, especially one that focuses on inner enhancement like Hengen Musou, requires a whole life's dedication. You need to slowly build up your ki reserve over most, if not your entire life to do it right. And that's not the luxury we have with the Wave of Catastrophe already started. The only other way to have your ki build up fast enough is for a master of Hengen Musou style, like Master Elrasla, or Master Ravana help enlarge your ki veins, or pass their own ki to you. Both have disadvantages, and would leave your own ki reserve too impure to properly utilize Hengen Musou."

"Bullshit! As I thought! You are spouting bullshit for your mistress Bitch, aren't you?! You are trying to stop Naofumi-sama from gaining the power he is owed!" Once again, Naofumi's crazy and annoying fanboy jumps on his feet to throw accusations before Granny even has a chance to say anything. "You keep saying this Ravana person, like she's someone who supposedly taught you the style. Like this makes you some kind of expert. But I know for a fact that Granny is the only user of Hengen Musou style and you are lying to stop Naofumi-sama from getting the training he needed!"

His patience is really starting to wear thin with this fool. But to the Shield Hero's surprise, someone else shut his psychotic fanboy before he said anything. And that someone happens to be the Granny herself. "No, the kitten is completely correct in Hengen Musou style's shortcomings. It seems like that bird brain Rav taught her well. The heroes, and their companions would fare better if they picked a different style that focused on the technique that already fit their developing fighting habits."

"Wha- that... that can't be right?!" Sato clearly didn't expect Granny to agree with Mala. His eyes and mouth are both opened wide. Someone could easily shove an egg or two between his teeth. After a few moments, he shakes his head and stubbornly tries to find a reason to insist on the validity of his own argument. "NO! I know the main reason why Naofumi-sama was stronger than the rest of the losers is because of his slave maturation bonus, and because he trained with you in Hengen Musou. Maybe there's something special about him that allows him to ignore, or bypass whatever penalties... YES! That's it! He must have found a way to avoid the penalties, probably some advantage of his hero weapon. Because that's why he's so awesome! He does things other people don't do, and uses them to achieve greatness!"

"I'll have you know that I do NOT endorse heinous actions like slavery, thank you very much! I would not put my friends, and supporters through that kind of cruelty even if there is power to gain." Naofumi crosses his arms in front of his chest, and bears his teeth at his annoying fanboy. Sato turns around looking at him, and the crazy idiot dared to look dismayed. "Who the heck are you anyway? Why are you so sure of the bullshit you are talking about?"

"Oh, I'm nobody. Nobody important anyways. But as I said, I'm your biggest fan! I learnt all of your achievements, and greatness from the novel [Rising of the Shield Hero]! That's why I'm here to help you achieve the height of your power, and help you navigate some of the pitfalls you made... no! You were led into by the villains!" The eyes of Naofumi's annoying fanboy begin to twinkle. He jumps over in front of Naofumi, and grabs the Shield Hero's hand.

Naofumi can't hear the crazy idiot's flattery anymore. In fact, he can't hear, or see anything any more. With how cocksured his annoying fanboy acts, he had some suspicion on where his confidence came from. And now, he has his worst fear confirmed by Sato's own words. He has a completely opposite attitude from Fuckboy, but some of the words are the same. Both of them gained their knowledge from a novel of the same name. They clearly didn't know each other before this meeting (Naofumi can't imagine Fuckboy tolerating someone like this annoying fanboy), yet they spoke about the same thing. A novel that supposedly recorded how Naofumi's life, or how his journey on Medea was supposed to go. Which means that he isn't real. He's just some made up character made in some clearly badly written isekai power fantasy...

"Okay. Calm down, and remember to breathe, Naofumi. Everything is alright." The next thing he knows, Motoyasu's face is hovering right in front of him. Malty and Raphtalia are standing slightly to the side from him, all of them giving him a look like he's about to fade away any time. "I'm pretty upset with this fucker for dissing Malty too. But you want to tell us what got you so upset, you nearly fell over?"

"Do you remember what Fuckboy said during the trial? We are some characters from some isekai novel? This guy is saying the same thing too! That we are not real. All of us are some made up characters from some shitty, trashy, power fantasy story!" Naofumi hasn't realized that he's grabbing Motoyasu's collar so hard, he's effectively trying to strangle his friend. For once, he's thankful for his abysmal natural ATK rating to not cause him to hurt a friend out of an accident.

"Okay. That is a little upsetting (understatement of the century!)., but think of it this way. Were they true? I mean what they said. Do you want Raphtalia more than a daughter? Or do you think Malty would betray you?" Motoyasu points at Raphtalia and then Malty. Naofumi shakes his head at both of his questions in silence. "There you go! Why worry about something obviously untrue? So what if there's some other version of earth where they have someone write a story with characters that had our same names by coincidence? Haven't we figured there's countless different earths by now? And there's plenty of people we know from animes, games and novels in this world already? One of the past Spear Heroes was Son Goku, of all people! Are they all the same as the stories they came from?"

Naofumi slowly begins to calm down. Yes... Motoyasu's logic is pretty simple, but it makes sense. So what if someone from one (or several) other versions of Earth made up a story about himself, and his friends!? And it went completely different from how things actually went? It doesn't make what he went through any less real. Actually... Can he sue the author for slander (No, he can't. Because it's libel when in print), especially for Malty, if he goes to their world somehow? Well... not important compared to the threat of a demon legion over everyone's head. He'll think about it later. He must be really shaken if he's thinking these kinds of pointless thoughts now.

"Sorry for worrying everyone. I'm good now." Naofumi slowly stands up with Raphtalia and Malty's help. He turns his face towards his self-proclaimed 'biggest fan'. The idiot is also trying to get to him. Thankfully, he's separated from Naofumi by a literal wall of people that's Motoyasu's 'children'. Granny, who easily put all of them down before, doesn't look motivated to help him this time. "I think you should leave now. Because I'm not happy with what you said. And look... I appreciate you are trying to help. But stop treating this world like that novel you read so literally. Lot of things are different in real life than what written words can record."

o(-_-)o[T]

Malty feels cold and numb. At first, she didn't truly understand what the Throwing Weapon Hero was talking about. But after witnessing Naofumi's breakdown, she's quickly reminded of what Fuckboy said right before his own condamnation. On how there is supposedly a story already written for all of them, and Malty herself being the designated villain that would be against the Shield Hero time and time again. She wants to scoff at how ridiculous the idea was. That some knight, or romance novel could foretell everyone's fate in the world. Especially with how she is supposed to be such a stubborn person who would never change, and would go against the heroes, Naofumi especially, due to some petty aspirations such as revenge. She clearly no longer even the same person when she first decided to join The Game and became another player.

Yet... Malty hesitates in her mind. Has she truly changed so much that she has become another person? Yes, she had learnt some valuable lessons after two months living like a vagabond adventurer. But she is still someone who is motivated by political gains and losses. She can't trust someone like Lady Flare simply because her family, the Consevaties. Yet, she keeps Flare close to her for observation, rather than turn her away. She still can't treat other people with the same sincerity as Naofumi. Fuckboy wasn't wrong with his accusation leveled against her.

"NO! I understand I made you upset, Naofumi-sama! But you have to listen to me this time! You are in immediate danger!" The Throwing Weapon Hero is physically struggling against Motoyasu's children even as Yomi puts the blade of her scythe around his neck, ready to lob his head off if he tries something funny. Her blade is immediately slapped away by Atla, and the two of them go into a glaring contest. Sato didn't pay any attention to it, as he continued to struggle against Motoyasu's children while screaming at Naofumi. "You need to get away from Bitch! Naofumi-sama! She's going to try to kill you, over and over! A slave seal isn't going to stop her! Because she is a sadistic, petty-"

"Shut up you idiot! Her name is MALTY! And she never tried to kill me before. She isn't going to try to kill me now, or ever." Naofumi hisses at the young man while rolling his eyes. his patience is clearly wearing thin like with Emon's little apprentice. The Shield Hero didn't show any hesitation, as he reaches out with his arm, grabs Malty by her shoulder and holds her close to his chest. "She's the reason I'm even alive now! SHE SAVED MY LIFE MULTIPLE TIMES! If it wasn't for her, and her supporters' help I'd have been killed by those zealots from Three Heroes' Church a dozen times by now. Heck, When I was ready to give up and lie down dead, Malty was the one to encourage me to keep going! And what have you done so far? Other than killing people helping me for no good reason? And slandering my name, made me look like some sick, slave owning pedophile?! I don't care that I'm the Shield Hero, and you are the Throwing Weapon Hero! I'll break your nose if you keep disrespecting Malty!"

"Wah- that's... that's absurd! Why would that Bitch..." The Throwing Weapon Hero turns his face towards Malty. He actually looks confused for a brief moment, but disgust and hatred quickly fills his eyes. "WAIT! I know what's going on! Bitch must have figured out that she's just a pawn used by the Three Heroes' Church, so she pretended to help you to save her own skin! Don't trust her for a second, Naofumi-sama! She's the kind of manipulative woman that'll instantly throw you under the bus to save her own skin."

"I'm pleasantly surprised that you haven't lost your nerve with this one yet, Malty." Mala turns to look at Malty, her face is still perfectly calm looking. "I half expect you to be hopping on your feet, insulting him back at the first opportunity."

"Oh, please. After the Three Heroes' Church and that insane incarnate, this guy is nothing more than a rapid, barking mutt." Malty rolls her eyes back at her former maid. "Like Iris said. You don't bite a dog back if you get bitten by a rabid dog. And since I can't actually kill him on account of him being a vassal hero, not playing into his hand seems like the best option."

Naofumi on the other hand lets out a low growl. The Shield Hero takes a step. He looks ready to cause some physical harm to the Throwing Weapon Hero once again. But someone was ahead of them. The eyes of the vassal hero suddenly rolls into the back of his head as he falls down on the ground. Behind him, the male white tiger sibling has his fist fully extended out.

Chapter Text

Malty expected someone to run up to the Throwing Weapon Hero, and punch him in the face if not worse. His arrogance, and his stubbornness had clearly angered the followers of both the Shield Hero and the Spear Hero. Not to mention that Naofumi himself is furious at the idiot. But she didn't expect one of the Throwing Weapon Hero's own companions would do the job for Naofumi. But then, she narrows her eyes and looks at the young white tiger's expressionless face. She might be a slave now, but she didn't forget anything she learnt by observing her parents' court as a royal princess.

"Why, Brother? Why did you hurt Master Tairou?!" By comparison, the white tiger girl clearly doesn't understand her brother's action. Her eyes quickly jump between her brother, and the young man lying face down on the ground. "After everything he done for us-"

"Lord Shield Hero is angry at Master Tairou. He might mean well, but he's clearly not doing the right thing, and he isn't calming down. I stopped him from making himself look even worse in the eyes of his hero." The white tiger boy bends down, and heaves the unconscious man over his shoulder. As he stands up, he gives another nod towards Naofumi. The Shield Hero returns his nod, clearly not allowing his annoyance at the Throwing Weapon Hero affect his opinion of the idiot's companions.

The white tiger girl accepts her brother's explanation. She turns her face towards Naofumi, gives him a death glare and hisses. "I wonder why. If he throws Master Tairou's help back to his face, he clearly doesn't deserve Master Tairou's respect."

The Shield Hero didn't let the white tiger girl's attitude bother him. Naofumi clearly has more important things to worry about. He turns his face to look at both the old woman, and Mala. "Do you know what would be the best style for us to learn? Ma'am? My fellow heroes did some training together before the Third Wave. We know we need proper guidance with our technique. Ren and Motoyasu found their teachers thanks to their weapons, but Itsuki only knows how to hide behind us and shoot, and I only know about standing in front of an enemy and tank damage."

Mala didn't say anything, but her eyes clearly looked towards the old woman who was a rival to her own teacher. Well... if she is called 'of Technique' by Mala, that gives her some credence to guide the heroes. The old woman faintly nods her head along, her facial expression looks between being thoughtful... to fallen asleep standing. After a few moments, she opens her mouth. "Yes... I can see the spear boy having some training with how to use his weapon. And Rav's kitten wasn't wrong when she said the four of you aren't fit to walk the true path of martial arts. But some basic martial arts training will do all four of you good. There might come a time when you can't rely on your hero weapon, and knowing how to use your body as a weapon itself can save your life in a pinch."

Chapter 8: Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger

Motoyasu immediately turns his head to look at Naofumi. No doubt, even the somewhat dimwitted Spear Hero is thinking about the time Naofumi lost his shield. Naofumi also nods his head. Being the victim of Lautrec's fucking goddess, he must have a more clear understanding of the old woman's suggestion after experiencing hell for almost a month. "Do you have any specific suggestions? What style would fit the four of us? Where can I find a good teacher?"

"I can help you with that, my king." To Malty's surprise, the old woman isn't the one to answer Naofumi's question. Everyone turns their attention towards Kael'thas as the phoenix prince opens his mouth. "I do not like giving recommendations that point you to the territory held by the Azure Dragon clan. But Siltvelt's Midland province is the home to the 'Vigilante Hermit Tower', the greatest martial arts academy of the world. Every style is freely practiced, and taught by the instructors. If you wish to pick any martial arts lesson to train your own bodies, you, and your fellow heroes will find help there."

"Oh, hohoho~! What is that? Did my ears deceive me? I could have sworn one of the birdies said something nice about us." A rather arrogant sounding laugh can be heard from the tree lines, taking everyone's attention away from Kael'thas once again. Malty notices the corner of the phoenix prince dips down the moment before she averts her eyes from Kael'thas. The newcomer was the young looking woman with long black hair that was looking at Naofumi and his fellow heroes while licking her lips upon her arrival. A small retinue of young, beautiful looking women with weapons follows her. But they aren't the only group to 'grace' Naofumi's presence. No, Malty is much more well acquainted with the second group, as they are led by Prince Tact of Faubley. When mother brought Malty to meet her uncle, she had a brief meeting with the adopted son of King Egbert. The time she spent with Prince Tact wasn't long, but she remembers his impulsive, and smug nature well. Not that many young scions, adopted ones especially, would have the guts to openly flirt with the unwed wife of their fathers.

"What do you know? I guess the 'baby phoenix' of Silver Moon can give credit when it's due." Kael'thas squeezes his fist tightly together at Tact's taunt. Thankfully, the phoenix prince didn't rise up to their bait and lose his temper. While he is technically still a Siltvelt noble, having already pledged his service to Naofumi would make the Shield Hero look bad. Seemingly bored with Kael'thas' lack of response, he turns his smirking face to the old woman following the Throwing Weapon Hero. "Ah, Master Elrasla. Fancy meeting you here! I thought you decided to retire after training a perfect successor such as myself."

"Oh, please. I'd jump out of my own grave just to train another disciple if you are my sole legacy." The old martial artist rolls her eyes. Their words could be taken for some good natured ribbing between a pair of very close teacher and student. But the way the old woman's face tightens, and the sudden loss of any mirth in her voice tells Malty that's very much not the case. If anything, from the tone (ignoring the content, of course) of their conversation one would assume Mala was the proud student taught by the old woman. The princess turned slave briefly felt a moment of enlightenment. If the old woman is this annoyed at Prince Tact, who happens to be a (Vassal) Hero... perhaps this was the reason that she was so ready to accept Mala's explanation on why legendary heroes make for poor martial artists. She already trained an example that proved Mala's point. The old martial artist isn't done, as she points her finger towards the direction of Naofumi and Motoyasu. "The only one with any hope to be the next master of Hengen Musou style is her."

Malty turns her face towards the old woman's finger tip, and then does a double take. The princess turned slave knows the old martial artist's candidate would never be herself, since she already walks the path of a mage. It's another way of life that would require the dedication of a single lifetime, and still would be nearly enough to achieve true master of the craft. But she still feels bad seeing the old master pick Katarina Claes, of all people. Not that Malty doesn't accept the choice... considering the feat Katarina demonstrated before, and during the Third Wave (she killed one of the leviathan monsters with her Kamehameha attack, after all). But it still feels like a slap to the face to be surpassed in one area by someone she has known since childhood, who she always had a sense of self-assured superiority towards. Not to mention, she had chances to win Katarina over to her side with them being childhood playmates. Yet, she let the prodigy slip through her own fingers and fall into the grasp of Iris Amelia.

"M-me? Are you sure?" Katarina blinks a couple of times and points her finger at herself. For anyone else, it would look false. Either an act of mockery, or a bad attempt at fishing for more praise. But from someone as simple-minded (but not dimwitted! By the Chief God who is trying to get her killed, Malty would never consider Katarina dumb ever again!) as Katarina, it looks genuine. "I'm not very good at anything. I can only make a little dirt bump with my earth magic. I kill any vegetables I try to grow. And I do great-great-great missing a few great grandpa's Kamehameha attacks completely wrong. I can't actually be good at something."

"Don't sell yourself short, Katarina. If you aren't good at a lot of things, that means you must be very good at a few things." Motoyasu leaves Naofumis side and puts his hand on Katarina's shoulder as a sign of support. "I know you work hard every day to help us fight against this Wave of Catastrophe. And even if you aren't naturally good at something, you could be our 'hard working genius'. Someone who is good at something through dedication!"

"The spear boy isn't wrong." The old martial master lets out a mirthful chuckle even as Katarina stares at Motoyasu with twinkling little stars in her eyes. Yet Malty can't help but notice a dirty look Atla is shooting Katarina while everyone's attention is away from her. "For a style like Hengen Musou that requires years of dedication to build up a steady foundation of one's life energy, dedication and hardwork is more important than any raw talent. You are the direct descendant of the legendary Son Goku, no? That means you have likely followed the basic creed of Hengen Musou style since childhood even if you have no understanding of the principles behind them. That means out of everyone present, you have the best chance to go forward with the Hengen Musou style."

"Oh, sure. The monkey girl who has the foundation for it. But she has the talent to truly be a master? There is only one Son Goku in the world. Not even his sons achieved what he did." Tact let out a derisive snort, showing as much insight as Malty did earlier in her life. And speaking of herself... The Whip Hero turns his attention to Malty instead. She could swear that the eyes of the arrogant fool twinkled as he saw her. "Ah! Princess Malty! Sorry I have not paid you proper respect earlier. I expected to see you in this Hero Conference. Why, your beauty is still as brilliant as the last time I saw you."

And your idiocy and smugness is as incandescent as our last meeting too. That's the thought that echoes in Malty's head. Of course, she doesn't throw it into the face of the adopted prince. She bows her head low, averting her gaze from the whip hero. She feels a shadow casting over her head and body, after giving a small sideway glimpse, Malty realized that Naofumi had taken a protective step over her. "I'm afraid you are quite wrong in assuming my current identity, Your Highness. I have pledged myself as an indentured servant to Lord Shield Hero. And after the accident that ruined my face and took one of my ears, I'm sure you would only find me grotesque if you saw my full face."

"Nonsense! Scars are easy to take care of when you, or I, are one of the heroes. I'm sure I can easily spare a vial of Yggdrasil Potion for you, if you are willing to leave a hero that can't protect you, of course." Malty can hear the scoff coming from Prince Tact. "Tell me, Lord Shield Hero. What good even is a Shield Hero, if you can't protect someone from harm?"

Naofumi immediately dips his head low. Malty knows that he is biting his lips from the inside with the way his lower face twitches. Naofumi still needs to work on his patience, especially that temper of his if he wants to truly play The Game. But there's very little derision and taunt that could truly make him feel regret. Unfortunately, his failure to protect his friends and followers is a very reliable way to do so. Malty quickly takes a step forward, standing in front of the Shield Hero. "My scar has nothing to do with the Lord Shield Hero. I burned myself as a disguise so I wouldn't be recognized by the rebelling members of Three Heroes' Church and their lackeys."

Prince Tact looks like he is about to start something else, but the long haired woman quickly cuts him off by speaking first. Surprisingly, all Tact did was smirk and take a step back, letting the woman have the metaphorical stage than making a scene at her stealing his thunder. It's not easy to act even more arrogant than someone like Tact. He is the adopted prince of the strongest nation in the world, and he is one of the Vassal Heroes. Yet, with the way she paraded along the ground like a monarch filorial who won Zeltoble's annual race, this woman manages to one up the smug lecher. Her red lips part ways slightly, morphing into a smirk. "There is no need to make any scene, scars are not forever. Not to someone like me anyway."

"Be very cautious with this one, my king." Malty could hear the cautious voice of Kael'thas. "This is Lady Lung. The current lady of Azure Dragon Great Clan. She is both the Claw Hero, and the current title holder of 'Invincible Dragon', Azure Dragon Great Clan's strongest warrior. And don't let her youthful face mislead you, she has been alive since the last hero summoning."

"Ah, the baby phoenix of the Vermilis. Fancy meeting you here." Lung acted as if she only noticed Kael'thas at this moment. The eyes of the phoenix prince twitches, clearly not happy at her intentional snubbing. Or perhaps the dragon lady truly didn't notice him due to her arrogance. In which case... It's no doubt even more insulting to the prideful phoenix prince. But he didn't explode like he does with most other people. Seeing Kael'thas' silence, Lung continues. "The feather borns always work fast just like what your kind did with the last Shield Hero Mikage Mikami. Yet the question remains... When the mantis preyed on the cicada, it did not realize a sparrow was behind it. And the sparrow did not notice a hunter's arrow pointing at it. I, the Princess of All Dragons wonder... are you the mantis, or the sparrow?"

Malty narrows her eyes. Regardless if Lung truly noticed Kael'thas or not, the taunt in her words is clear enough. Unlike a lot of other topics during her studies, Malty did pay (some) attention to the unique, and chaotic political landscape of Siltvelt. The crumbling mess of great clan alliance pretending to be some empire is... interesting, to say the least. She knows all fifty-six (fifty-seven, if she counts the remnant of Q'ten Lo) great clans have their own pride, and among them, the four 'holy' are the most incandescent. While all four families tend to display their arrogance in different ways, the azure dragon family tends to act in the most straightforward way: They consider themselves the uncrowned royalty of Siltvelt. Masters of land, air, and water. And judging from the way this current 'Invincible Dragon' acts and speaks, Melromarc's record of the azure dragon great clan wasn't biased at all. The princess of all dragons isn't leaving any dignity to Kael'thas in their conversation, in spite of them technically being on the same level of social rank.

"Don't get too cocky, Lady Lung. Your mother might have been 'loyal' to King Mikage, but her constantly enabling his bad habits, rather than properly advising him, was also the reason why the Great Conqueror met his end." The Phoenix Prince narrows his eyes. "As for you... you should show our king proper respect regardless of what your mother did. I could not help but notice that you haven't even properly addressed Master Naofumi."

"Better the Great Conqueror's enabler, than his kidnapper and would be usurper. Would you not agree, baby phoenix? You might believe being the early bird and winning over the favor of our new king would wash away your great clan's past sins. But once a traitor, always a traitor." Kael'thas didn't respond back to Lung's taunt. There really isn't much he could do or say with his great clan's past mistakes. As for the princess of all dragons, she turns herself around to face Naofumi, and Malty herself. The smirk on her red lips grows wider. "As for our current king. I see you work fast, and already won over yourself the hand of a princess. Honestly, I approve. But it's a shame that you would settle for something less than the very best."

Malty bows her head low. It infuriates her that she has to show submission to such an arrogant, uncivilized beast. Yet, she's no idiot. She neither has the social status, or the strength to act prideful in front of a hero who is over sixty years old. Not if she values her life anyways, which she does. But she feels Naofumi's hand under her arm, as the Shield Hero pushes herself up. "I like to think Malty is perfect the way she is, thank you very much."

"For a lesser being, perhaps. Oh, don't give me such a dirty look, Master Shield Hero. I only speak the truth. For you see, there is a very simple reason why we, the azure dragon great clan, is the rightful royalty of venerated Siltvelt in the absence of any Shield Hero: longevity. White tigers might be strong due to their greater limit, but they don't live any longer than a regular human. Scarlet sparrows can renew themselves through fire, but the ritual isn't always reliable. And the ebon turtles live as long as we do, but only we the azure dragon remain in our prime forever and they grow old quickly." Lady Lung twirls her body around on her long legs and dainty feet, showing off the confidence in her own figure. Personally, Malty thinks the princess of all dragons is on the slim side. But then again, she knows that by azure dragon's standard, they consider being slim to be the sign of true beauty. "Not to mention, as the princess of all dragons I have one major advantage compared to any other player in this game: I have dragons."

"I have birds." Motoyasu's response makes Malty turn her head towards the Spear Hero, and do a double take. Just when she makes the distinction that he is (probably) not actually dumb, he says something that's both completely surprising... and not very smart. The princess turned slave briefly wonders if he truly was acting silly again, or if he intentionally said something that sounds dumb on parchment to break Lady Lung's momentum with her monologue.

"Motoyasu... Do you know what we are talking about here?" Naofumi's face doesn't look any less bamboozled than how Malty is feeling. The Shield Hero closes his eyes, lets out a tired sign and reaches his hand up to rub his own temple.

"We are showing off our pride in our 'children', like when people show pictures of their children, or their pets on the phone. Aren't we? Oh, children!" Motoyasu's face looks as sincere as he looks innocent, he turns to address the filorial monarchs he raised. As one, all of them change into their big bird form. All of sudden, the rather empty looking field cleared up by Sadina and Theresa's battle looks very crowded. The Spear Hero still has no awareness of his actions, as he happily announces to everyone. "My children are like angels, and they block out the sun!"

"Motoyasu... adults are talking. Go play with your birds." Naofumi opens his eyes and waves the Spear Hero away. Motoyasu doesn't look angry or even annoyed at Naofumi's dismissive gesture. He lets out a brief 'okay', and leads the small army of his birds to the side and starts to pet them. The flock of filorial monarchs look ecstatic at his attention. They begin competing with each other to shove their heads in front of Motoyasu to receive his petting. Malty completely forgot how despite some of these bird's human form looking adult, all of them are only barely two, or even one month old. They are all technically children.

"Really? This is your most powerful ally? Honestly, I'm not surprised. The Spear Hero had never been the brightest among the heroes." Lung doesn't look too annoyed at her monologue being interrupted either. Her smirk towards Naofumi only grows larger, just like the Whip Hero standing a few steps behind her. "And this is the reason why I said you rely on lesser beings. Even the best among them: the princess of one of the strongest human nations, and a cardinal hero such as yourself are nothing more than clowns and jesters in this game. While I, the Princess of All Dragons, could give you much more than you could even imagine of. Fame, fortune, power to rule the world... and most importantly. The longevity for you to enjoy them all."

Naofumi narrows his eyes, not saying or doing anything at Lady Lung's temptation. So the azure dragon continues. She walks right in front of the Shield Hero, and leans her body right into his, resting one of her arms on Naofumi's shoulder. Her red lips blowing her breath down at the Shield Hero's face, making her intention clear. "You see, Master Shield Hero. Out of all four saintly great clans, we azure dragons possess an unique ability. By spending time with our designated lovers, we can pass some of our longevity, and our ability to stay in our youth down to them. Unlike these damaged goods you keep beside you, who would only become older and uglier and give you nothing in return, I can easily make you last two hundred, or possibly even three hundred years. If that dirty bow traitor didn't assassinate King Mikage, he could have easily lived, and stayed in his prime till now. And with the Great Conqueror around, there would not have been a need for anyone of you to be summoned. But what happened in the past stays in the past. And now... you have the same chance to enjoy what King Mikage couldn't... with me. All you need to do is to embrace what I have to give you. I wouldn't even ask you to kick away your broken little toy. I can accept her together with you. What would you say?"

"What would I say?" Naofumi narrows his eyes at Lady Lung, Malty can see a smirk forming on the corner of his mouth. "Living long and not worrying about old age is nice. But I'd rather not catch whatever you have, even with the benefit of longevity."

Did... did the Shield Hero just insinuate what Malty thought he did? Kael'thas actually let a snort escape from his nose, even if he tries to hide it with a fit of violent coughing. Tact on the other hand burst out laughter, his hands covering his stomach. The Princess of All Dragons, on the other hand... the way her facial expression changes looks like something on a stage play. Her look went from smug, to confused, a sudden realization and then equally indignant and enraged within a few seconds. "YOU- You dare to compare me, The Princess of All Dragons, to some disease riddled, two copper piece worth of harlot?!"

"That's what you meant when you said 'spending time with your designated lover', isn't it? Sleeping with you? Or let me be more blunt, bumping uglies with you?" Malty looks over towards Raphtalia, hoping her big sister Sadina did the right thing. The crazy nudist totally didn't, as she simply whistled at Naofumi's choice of crass words rather than covering Raphtalia's ears. The ten years old raccoon girl's face is bright red with how hard she is blushing. "Sounds to me like the change is brought by some kind of sexually transmitted disease, so I'd rather stay away from it. Living for two hundred, maybe three hundred years sounds nice, but I'd rather not risk myself."

"Not cool, man! Not cool! That's not a way to talk to a woman, especially one old enough to be our grandma, Naofumi. Even if you spoke the truth... you should at least make it sound nicer." Motoyasu stops playing with his bird children, walks up to Naofumi and gives the Shield Hero a heavy slap on his shoulder. If this is anyone else, Malty would take it as a sarcastic taunt meant to further enrage the victim. But since this is Motoyasu... She has the feeling that the Spear Hero was being 100% genuine. And in a way... that makes it even worse since he just called Lung a grandma with nothing but sincerity. While the Princess of All Dragons is certainly to be one to both heroes, she is still a young woman by azure dragon's standard.

Lady Lung lets out a rumbling growl. It sounds angry, rather than lustful like her previous action. Her long, slender fingers ball up into a fist, extend out again, and then balls up again for multiple times before she turns on her heel and strides away. Looking ready to break something, or someone. Deep down, Malty is glad that the Princess of All Dragons managed to hold herself back and not pick a fight with Naofumi in spite of his harsh words that's clearly designed to humiliate her as much as possible. If she really is over sixty years old and a vassal hero besides, Malty would rather not have a fight with her at this moment to find out the limit of a hero's power when they themselves hadn't had enough time to escalate to Lung's level. Prince Tact takes a few steps forward, stops at where Lady Lung stood before her abrupt departure. He smirks at both Cardinal Heroes before speaking. "It's good to see you two upstarts have some balls. I was afraid this Hero Conference would be boring. Now, I have no worries."

"Aren't you friends with her? You don't look upset with how I dissed her." Naofumi gives Prince Tact a puzzled look. Malty can admit that she is rather curious about it herself. She doesn't know the Whip Hero as much as Naofumi... or any of his fellow Cardinal Heroes. She might have met the Faubley Prince earlier in her life, but she didn't spend a lot of time with him thanks to her mother. With how Prince Tact flirted with her, mother was afraid the two of them would have started some scandal that would cause problems with her marriage to King Egbert. She was completely surprised at how he seems to be huggy, and kissy enough with a veteran hero like Lady Lung, even if he doesn't look concerned at Naofumi disrespecting her.

"Saying we are friends is a bit too exaggerated. More like friends... with benefits. Take it for what you will. And don't get me wrong, I want to see someone taking her a peg or two down. Her personality is only amusing in short bursts otherwise." Prince Tact gives a shrug to Naofumi as he turns away. "Well then... guess I'll see all of you tomorrow at the official Hero Conference. Don't disappoint me, heroes."

Malty lets a breath she's been holding out now that the Whip Hero also left. With how abrupt and close she had a brush with death again, she half expected either the Princess of All Dragons, or even Tact would have started something with them right after the Throwing Weapon Hero. And they are most definitely not ready to fight them head on at this point. But thankfully, both of them have more self-control than Naofumi's psychotic fan.

"I suppose this is also our cue to leave as well. Chief God knows the little ones caused all of you enough headache... and damage." The old woman cast a look at Naofumi's downed sworn shield. "The kid meant well... I think. But he really needs to control himself better. I don't know what an old timer like myself can help you with. Especially since my fighting style isn't the best match for all of you. But if you need something, give a call. It's the least I can do after the mess these kids caused."

"I'll probably take up your offer at some point." Naofumi nods his head, he seems to notice something as he casts a look to the white tiger boy carrying the unconscious Throwing Weapon Hero. Now that Malty notices it thanks to Naofumi, she realizes he is staring at Mala. "Can I help you with something?"

"I know I have no right to ask for this after Lady Sadina and my younger sister attacked you. But can I make a request?" The tiger boy received a curt nod from Naofumi. He gently puts the still unconscious Throwing Weapon Hero on the ground, takes a few steps towards Mala. Behind him, his sister immediately picks Sato's body up with her own hands, even if he is a little big for her smaller frame. The tiger boy either didn't notice his sister's action, or didn't care. He kneels down in front of her on one knee. "Will you teach us? Myself and my sister, how to fight as our own people? Father only taught us the basics before his death, and the rest of the white tiger great clan doesn't recognize our status. Master Elrasla has been training us in her ways, but her style doesn't go well with our nature."

Mala didn't immediately answer the white tiger boy, but looked towards Malty. Even now with her royal status taken away, Mala still considers herself a servant to Malty. The princess turned slave fully recognized that she didn't do anything to win over Mala's loyalty, and she had only her father's past action to thank. But she feels grateful for Mala's devotion all the same. She briefly considers the boy's proposal itself. To be honest, she wants Mala to reject it on account of the Throwing Weapon Hero tried to murder her, not to mention his companion tried to murder Naofumi. But can she afford to be petty when she already knows that the Wave of Catastrophe they are currently facing isn't simply a natural disaster. Some kind of demonic legion from another world is ready to kill them all? No, she can't.

The princess turned slave gives Mala a faint, affirmative nod. Her former maid seamlessly takes the cue and replies to the white tiger boy. "Of course. I will be glad to teach the young of my fellow clan and pass down what I know. I will not be able to train you properly with my broken arms, but it should still be good supplement training to both of you in addition to whatever Master Elrasla planned."

The white tiger boy looks grateful, but his face quickly turns to exasperated dismay when his younger sister speaks up. "Who said I want to get trained by you? I'll focus on learning from granny, like Master Tairou wanted me to. He hasn't guided us wrong yet, and he won't start now!"

"Atla! This is no time to be childish and petty!" The white tiger boy spins around on his heels to stare at his younger sister. His face twisted, looking between frustrated and exhausted. But he quickly calms himself down by taking a few very deep breaths. "Master Elrasla agreed with Master Mala on the shortcoming of only learning the Hengen Musou style. We should trust in the advice of experts who trained their whole life. Or do you think our teacher is lying to us?"

"Master Tairou is a prophet. He clearly knows things Master Elrasla doesn't even with her experience. As for her..." The bratty girl shoots a vitriol filled glare at both Malty, and Mala. The princess turned slave would have taken a real issue with her self-righteous attitude before the rebellion of the Three Heroes' Church. Now, she simply finds the little girl kind of sad with the way she acts out without knowing how harsh the world works. "Didn't Master Tairou warn us about how the Bitch will try to manipulate us? That's clearly what she, and her lackey's trying to do right now. They talked about some supposed harm of learning the Hengen Musou style, but they didn't explain anything. They are trying to scare us into giving up an important advantage Master Tairou won over for us!"

"Rav's little kitten isn't lying when she said that having me boost the rate of your advance with Hengen Musou will have devastating consequences later on. The reason she didn't explain the details is because she doesn't want to scare you, or risk bore you all to tears." The old woman actually puts a hand on her own head, looking less in control of the situation for the first time since her appearance. "But to explain... it usually takes a decade, or two to build up and cultivate your ki into significant amounts to do anything. That obviously won't be happening with the Wave of Catastrophe already on going. For the two ways to boost your ki growth, the first method is for me to pass some of my own ki to you to leave you with a foundation. This act would kill me with my advanced age even if I don't pass all my ki to you. Because when we pass a portion of our ki to someone else, we are passing a part of our life force as well. Aside from me not being around to properly teach you the next steps, you will also never have full control of your ki, because your foundation isn't something you built yourself."

"Oh... I don't want you to die, Granny." The white tiger girl actually took a pause at what the old woman said. It seems like in spite of her brash and petty nature, she isn't someone entirely bad. At least she cares about the life of those around her, not only her precious Throwing Weapon Hero. "What about the other method? Maybe that's the one Master Tairou was thinking about?"

"I could use my own ki to help enlarge your ki veins, and open up the two hidden veins in your body. Building what we call 'the bridges of heaven and earth'. It would only leave me weakened for a period, not kill me, and you will be able to cultivate your ki much faster." This time, the old woman nods her head at first, but she quickly begins to shake her head as well. "But that's a process you should be doing yourself after a few decades of inner force cultivation. If I do it for you, it would leave your ki vein in a fragile state, severely increase the chance of you hurting yourself when you use your own ki in battle, and even in training."

"Everything in the world is about equivalent exchange. If there is a method that lets you build up power in a few months for what costs others years and decades, it will always have major drawbacks in another way." Naofumi nods his head along with the old woman. "Not trying to disrespect you, ma'am. But I don't think we'll take either method from you. If anyone from my group wants to learn this Hengen Musou style the right way, I'm not going to stop them. But I'm not going to force them, and I'm definitely not having them take the easy way. The drawbacks are too unreliable to plan around when the world is at stake."

"You are a smart man, Shield Hero. Most young men, especially those with hero weapons, would not refuse such temptation." The old woman stares at Naofumi for a few moments, before nodding her head with an approving smile. Malty feels her own face heating up. She fell for the exact kind of temptation back when they were trying to recover Eclair's family heirloom. And once again, she was tempted again with the prospect of power without thinking about the potential harm. The princess turned slave is once again reminded of the difference between herself, and the Shield Hero. At least, she's glad that Naofumi is there to stop her making boneheaded mistakes. And now there is no secret between the two of them, she needs to do the same for him.

The Shield Hero clearly doesn't know what Malty is thinking about at the moment. His eyes are still focused on the elderly martial art master. After a few moments, he finally asks. "You are talking about that other young hero. The one that came with that STD carrying old woman, aren't you? What happened between the two of you? If you don't mind me asking?"

"Tact. Ah, that little brat was my student before he was accepted by the star whip. And before he was adopted by King Egbert of Faubley for his power." Malty narrows her eyes at the words chosen by the old woman. Tact was 'accepted' by the hero weapon, not 'chosen'. They sound similar, but have completely different meanings. It seems like Tact chose to wield the hero weapon himself, and either gained or forced the compliance of the weapon through power, or some other less than savory method rather than the weapon choosing him as its wielder... not unlike Malty herself, come to think of it. It makes her think... if the star wand wasn't already damaged due to father's hero summoning ritual, would she even be accepted by it, even if he forced said hero weapon onto her? She certainly doesn't feel like she is worthy.

"He used to be an adorable lad when he was young. Dedicated and have good talent... but he got cocky once he realized how ahead of his fellow students he was. And he was the reason for me hanging up the mantle and no longer taking any more students." The old woman doesn't know what Malty is thinking about, as she continues with her narration while shaking her head. Malty can tell that there's much more between Prince Tact and the old martial art master that she is not saying out loud. It's likely a bloody history too. It doesn't feel right to press for information if the old master isn't feeling comfortable to share with them. "But the Throwing Weapon Hero is right. Perhaps I should stop lying down and waiting for death to take me now that we are facing another Wave of Catastrophe. I taught some basics to these siblings since no one else helped cultivating their natural talent. But now there is a better candidate to train them, perhaps it's time for me to seek other, worthy students..."

"I will still train with you, granny. Like how Master Tairou wanted. Even if there will be drawbacks, I believe the consequences will be worth it. Master Tairou changed my life, it's time for me to repay him with my life! I'm Master Tairou's shield, just like big brother Fohl is his sword." The white tiger girl suddenly bows her head down, closes her two hands together in front of her chest. "Please enlarge my ki veins for me - Master Tairou doesn't only need skilled duelists to fight against other fighters. He'll also need powerful warriors to beat down strong monsters from the wave. If Big Brother Fohl decides to focus on his skill, I will focus on growing my power for Master Tairou!"

For the first time since their brief meeting, Malty feels impressed by the little white tiger girl. It seems like she is more than a thoughtless follower of the Throwing Weapon Hero. She isn't wrong in the sense that people with different strengths and weaknesses are needed to defend against this current ongoing Wave of Catastrophe. Even Malty's old swordsmanship coach Zellus admitted that people who have overwhelming focus on their power compared to their skill is a good blunt weapon on the battlefield. And this Atla seems to be willing to suffer the possible consequences to grow her power in a relatively short period of time. It also made the princess turned slave realize that they need to find a way to grow the strength of their army against the wave monsters. Melromarc had some of their best noble commanders and most elite army units fighting the Third Wave, and they still suffered heavy casualties even without the rebellion from the Three Heroes' Church, or Lautrec summoning his goddess. What they have now isn't enough to stop the later waves, especially once The Burning Legion begin their march.

"Hengen Musou... that's a name using the language of my own people. Is it a style developed by the Kyutenrou people?" Raphtalia's timid question makes Malty look towards her. It seems like even after two months of healing, Raphtalia hasn't fully conquered her fear of strangers yet. Her time living with Fuckboy likely didn't help with the matter. "I- I was wondering if I can also learn it from you?"

"And who are you, little one? Don't worry, I will not harm you." The old woman asks Raphtalia back with a question of her own. Her face isn't entirely unwelcoming, although she's too skinny to pull off the kind grandmother look. "Yes. The Hengen Musou style originated from the land of Kyutenrou. But I have already explained the downside of learning the Hengen Musou style as a companion of a hero. If you would live with the consequences like Atla, I have no reason to turn you down."

"She is the great granddaughter of Kajirou Kyutenrou, the last heavenly emperor of Kyutenrou." The nudist woman Sadina steps up behind Raphtalia, and places her hands protectively on the girl's shoulder. "I think it's a great idea for you to learn Hengen Musou style under Gran, little Raph. You'll stay away from the scummy pedophile, and I'll make sure to protect you from him."

"I'm not a sick pedo, damn it! Why do I even bother..." Naofumi throws his hands up in the air, but he lets them drop down to his side half way and lets out a tired sigh. He decided to do the smart thing, and stop arguing with a crazy (or alternatively, VERY stupid) woman who walks around without clothes over her body. "Where did you get this idea, Raphtalia? Do you still feel you aren't helping us enough?"

"I'm not powerful like the rest of your companions, Master Naofumi." Raphtalia's eyes cast down as she admits one of her biggest insecurities once again. Yes... being a racoon dog, her body isn't naturally made for heavy, frontline fighting even if she is a descendant of her people's royalty (The Sword Saint Isshin was an exception, not the rule). That certainly would explain why Raphtalia would be the one to seek external power from their own little group. Malty is about to take a few steps forward to comfort Raphtalia again when her surrogate daughter's next words surprise her. "I'm not a very good fighter. But I can sneak around for Master Naofumi. If you are a master of technique, are there ways you can help me hone my sneaking abilities?"

"Interesting request. Most people who want to learn from me wish to grow their power and become a great warrior. You are the first to ask for stealth training." Malty can see the old woman's eyes twinkle at Raphtalia's request, the corner of her mouth also rises up. Clearly, she enjoys this new direction she's been asked of. "There are ways to make your body lighter. Help you keep your balance when you jump, and run around obstacles even without a large ki reserve. Yes... what you requested should be doable in a relatively short period of time, and would actually compliment your natural talent as a tanuki. Very well, you can follow me around while we are here at Cal Mira island, little lass. I'll teach you the basics, and then you can train on your own once you return to the Shield Hero's side."

"Master Naofumi..." Raphtalia looks back at both Naofumi and Malty, clearly, she is feeling a bit nervous leaving the two of them.

"Don't worry about us, Raphtalia. We'll be fine. And... we can't spend our whole life together. One day, you'll grow up and marry someone. You need to learn to live on your own. Now is a good time to get used to living on your own." Naofumi takes a few steps forward, and puts his hand on Raphtalia's shoulder, making her face blush red. The Shield Hero on the other hand gives a strange look to Sadina. "You won't be entirely on your own. Your 'Big Sister Sadina' is with the Throwing Weapon Hero."

"She's not the only one. I'll follow Raphtalia everywhere and anywhere. I won't let any dirty child lover get to her." Keel runs over, grabs Raphtalia's hand and glares dagger at Naofumi. It seems like after the Throwing Weapon Hero's malicious slander, Naofumi is going to be known as a dirty child lover... Father would have been very proud of the idiot.

"I will explain to the Throwing Weapon Hero... Master Tairou on what happened before I came to report to you, Master Mala." The tiger boy gives another respectful bow to Mala. Malty narrows her eyes at the change in his title addressing the Throwing Weapon Hero. It seems like the tiger boy isn't as loyal to the insane idiot as his younger sister.

"Alright. Hurry up and follow us if you two want to learn. We should probably get going before more security shows up, and ask us for reparation." The old woman shrugs her shoulders as she turns around, and waves at the rest of the companions of the Throwing Weapon Hero. Seeing Firo has no intention to leave Naofumi's side, Fohl, the white tiger boy, pulls her away as they disappear into the tree with both Raphtalia and Keel following them. Naofumi's eyes follow after them, as both of his daughters leave his side once again.

"Don't worry about Raphtalia... or Firo, Master Naofumi. I don't know what that boy's problem is, but it's clear he admires you. He'll take care of Raphtalia and Firo." Malty walks over to Naofumi and puts her hand on his shoulder, trying to offer him some comfort. "He only wants to kill me."

"He's like Fuckboy. He's also from Earth... one version of earth, at least. And apparently, Fuckboy isn't lying when he said someone wrote a book about us. Well... not exactly us, but characters close enough to us and shared our names, of course. But I don't know why the author hates you so much, they make you into a villain." The Shield Hero reaches his hands up to wrap his own hand around Malty's. He slowly pries Malty's hand off his shoulder, but doesn't let go. "Actually... I think the author hates me too. Why would they write me into some slave owning, child loving scumbag otherwise?"

"You know what I think, Naofumi, Malty? I think the two of you need a break!" Motoyasu walks up to the two of them. He slams his hands on both Malty, and Naofumi's shoulders. "And we got onsen houses right now! Perfect place for relaxation! Come on, let's go enjoy ourselves! I'll pay for all of you!"

"Aren't Iris going to pick up your tap like always? Master Motoyasu?" Katarina's innocent question immediately makes Motoyasu blush.

"I'll pay with my own money this time! I promise on my man's honor!" With Motoyasu and Katarina managing to bring some mirth back to their whole group, they turn around and begin to make their ways back to the Menagerie Resort.

Chapter Text

Itsuki grits his teeth to stop a deep exclamation from escaping his mouth as his body dips into hot water. Two months of living, and adventuring in a fantasy world has made him crave the amenities of modern life. Running water, a functioning bath and shower is pretty close to the top of the list. He didn't expect to be able to enjoy something like an onsen again, but now he's submerged himself, he realized how much he wanted this. This warm dip feels especially good after he had his nap to recover from his seasickness.

"...And then she's like 'woosh'! Naofumi and I were on our backs on the ground before we knew what happened!" On the other side from him, Motoyasu is jumping and wildly gesturing in the hotspring as he (badly) recounts what went on.

Itsuki really doesn't understand what's going on with the out of control excitement coming from Motoyasu, or why he's acting so animated and happy after getting himself beaten again. So he leans closer to Ren and whispers to him. "Did you get what he's saying?"

"About half..." Ren sits slightly straighter in the onsen, to pull his mouth above water. He pretends to look composed and aloof, but he's clearly enjoying this onsen session as much as Itsuki himself. His eyes pull back from Motoyasu to look at Itsuki. "Some crazy nudist attacked Naofumi. And then a hero came alone and tried to kill Malty. Some crazily good martial art master was with him and stopped Naofumi and Motoyasu from killing that hero. That's all I got."

"Okay, sit down, Motoyasu. All this heat is getting into your head." Naofumi pulls Motoyasu into the hotspring. Unlike Itsuki, the Spear Hero didn't hold back the ecstatic sigh as his body leaned back against the rock barrier behind him. The Shield Hero looks much more composed, even after someone tried to kill Malty. But he still looks rightfully concerned. He stares at Ren for a few moments, his lips twitch looking like he wants to say something but stops himself at the last moment. In the end, Naofumi simply nods his head. "We aren't the only heroes around. And some of the other heroes are old. Kael'thas told me that one of them has been alive since the last Wave of Catastrophe from 60 years ago. If we got to our current power level after two months, how much stronger would they be after decades?"

"That is concerning. Especially when they show hostility." Ren fully sits up in the onsen, his eyes narrowed into a slit. "Do you have spare for that signal arrows Kael'thas give you? All of us should carry some in case of an emergency. We can talk to each other with our smartphone weapon form, but we can't fumble around them in a pinch."

"Good idea! I'll ask Kael'thas if it's possible to make them glow in the dark with different colors, maybe even make different sounds so we'll know who is in danger from the color and sound." Naofumi stands up from the hotspring and starts passing the signal arrows to everyone. After the round, he's about to sit back into his spot when his body suddenly freezes. A shade of red appears on his face briefly. For a moment, Itsuki wonders if the heat has also got to him like it did to Motoyasu, until he pulls out four pieces of what look like emerald chunks from his shield. "I completely forgot about this after everything that's happening! When I was crossing the northern mountains in Melromarc, I met this crazy bird girl..."

Chapter 9: The Obligatory Hot Spring Scene...?

"The bird girl going mentals? Having a tall ahoge on her head?" Motoyasu pulls up a strand of his own long hair, likely imitating the girl he is talking about. Naofumi gives him a sideway glance, and a nod. "Oh, yeah. She's totally mental, I tell you. Shows up whenever my new batch of children get their human forms... beat the stuff out of them, and then give them an ahoga. I mean... I don't mind them changing their hairstyle, and my children seem to like them. But could she not... you know? Beat them up?"

"Fitoria isn't thinking straight because her soul is breaking apart under the power of Alaya. The point isn't her beating your children up. She's testing them because she wants to find a successor... hey! You got me monologuing and completely led me away from what I wanted to say!" Naofumi points the index finger on his right hand up, looking like he's about to get into a long exposition. But he suddenly catches himself, gives Motoyasu an annoyed glare and slaps his head. Their spear-wielding friend looked at Naofumi like a kicked puppy, but didn't say anything more as Naofumi held the emerald chunks in his hands out towards the three of them. "These are the fruit from Yggdrasil, some kind of tree god. Metatron, a sentient doll who speaks for the tree god, calls them 'the cosmic seed'. Said something about they are the main ingredient of Yggdrasil medicine that'll heal any and all wounds and bring you back from the brink of death. They can also be made into powerful artifacts. She gave me four, so I figured each of us should get one."

"Is that so..." Ren moves closer to Naofumi and takes one from his hand. He turns the thing over in his hand. It looks more like a piece of gem with a very vibrant color, than something that would grow out of a tree. Maybe something that could be born from a dress, like amber from dried up tree resin. The only thing that indicates they are plant in origin is the thin, brown veins covering them. But after a few moments, he puts the piece of emerald chunk back in Naofumi's hand. "I'm not sure I'd make the best decisions on what to do with this. If this tree god gives them to you, maybe you should keep them all."

Ren's suggestion makes Itsuki retract his own hand. He thinks back to what he did to Stormwind... and has to begrudgingly admit that his sword-wielding friend had a point. "Yeah. Ren isn't wrong. We already made pretty big mistakes before. Who's to say we won't end up wasting this really precious magical artifact?"

"Hey, I don't really need them. I'd probably get it made into a ring for Katarina, or Bertia. Since I already made a ring for Iris. But with how much money Iris has, I doubt she'll care much about this." Motoyasu kicks back and leans into the hot spring again. "You keep them, Naofumi."

"That's not the point. You guys think I haven't made big mistakes after our summoning? Two of my companions got killed by the Three Heroes' Church. Raphtalia and Firo got enslaved by Fuckboy because I underestimated them, and didn't build up enough power." Itsuki flinches at Naofumi's recount of his own mess up. His two fellow heroes do so as well. "I'm as likely to waste these cosmic seeds for stupid reasons as any of you. That's why I think it's only fair if we divide them among us. So each of us gets one chance to do something right with them. Maybe we could even try to gather information on them, before we decided what to do. I mean... we'll have more chances to know more, if all of us look for information on our own. Right?"

"Alright, if you think that's the best." Seeing the hesitation on Ren's face, Itsuki quickly snatches one of the Cosmic Seeds away, and slaps Ren on the back of his head. His sword wielding friend gives him an annoyed glance, but takes one away afterwards. Motoyasu still doesn't move, so Naofumi grabs his hand with his left, and drops a cosmic seed onto the Spear Hero's hand. The Bow Hero turns the piece of emerald around over and over, inspecting it. Its color is very vibrant... and he can't tell anything else away from it. Naofumi said something about how this thing can be used to craft powerful artifacts... he wonders if he can make something to help the recovery of Stormwind. The ability to save someone's life from the brink and completely heal them is nice... but he ruined countless lives in the little kingdom. Maybe he should think about doing something to help the people of Stormwind as a whole.

"Well, now that we got through the boring things..." Motoyasu drops his cosmic seed into his spear. He leans towards Naofumi with a conspiring look on his face. "We need to talk about the private, and fun part. You and Princess Malty."

"Wha- what's there to talk about between Malty and I? There- there's nothing to talk about!" Naofumi suddenly starts to fidget in hot water, his face grows much redder than before. Itsuki doesn't have a lot of experience with females, but even he can tell that there is something going on between him and Malty. Besides him, Ren rolls his eyes and lets out a scoff. Why wouldn't Naofumi develop feelings towards Malty? She saved him from his false accusation, she's been with him for the longest time and no doubt been giving him advice. And she's even with him when they were stabbed in the back by the Three Heroes' Church.

"See, here's your problem. You aren't being honest enough with your feelings towards Malty." Motoyasu edges closer to Naofumi, and wraps one arm around his shoulders while swinging his free left arm towards the sky. Like he's drawing some line on an invisible canvas. "Trust me. Girls like it when the guy they like openly shows their affection towards them. You need to let her, and the world know that you like her, maybe even crazy about her. Or else they get nervous and might do something that both of you will regret."

"...didn't you get stabbed to death by two girls?" Itsuki's body slowly slides back into hot water.

"YES! That's why I know it's important to make girls happy more than any of you!" Motoyasu stands up from the hotspring, pointing his fingers around all of them. "I have actual experience!"

Ren also stands up from where he was sitting. Unlike Motoyasu, he actually turns around, throws a towel around his waist and moves out of the onsen. "I'm too old for this shit."

"Hey, before you leave, Ren. I need to talk with you about something..." Naofumi waves at Ren, he gives both Motoyasu, and Itsuki a look. Clearly, he meant to talk with Ren about something in private. Motoyasu simply shrugs at the attempt. Itsuki doesn't know what Naofumi is thinking, but he supposes he doesn't have any reason to stop his shield-using friend from having some secret. Not like he has a good reason to be nosy after Naofumi already shared a pretty powerful magical item with him. So he shrugs after Motoyasu. Besides, he has something more important to say to Ren.

The Bow Hero stares at his sword wielding friend for a few moments. "Ren. You are the youngest..."

"Exactly. I'll talk with you after the Hero Conference, Naofumi." Ren gives Itsuki a long look before he turns around. He leaves without any further comment.

As Itsuki slides further into hot water, watching Motoyasu giving Naofumi suggestions on how to publicly declare his affection towards Malty, he wonders what the woman they are talking about is doing. Surely, it'll be less silly of what's happening here. And then... he noticed something in the air. "Hey, you guys smell something?"

o(-_-)o[T]

As the former first princess of Melromarc, Malty isn't a stranger to having hot water baths. Although the culture of Cal Mira island is... interesting. Apparently, you have to wash your body first, before you are allowed to dip in the onsen. Oh, well... when in Q'ten Lo, do as the raccoon dogs do. Besides, right now she has slightly bigger problems to worry about. She tightens the towel wrapped around her body. Feeling someone's eyes on the back of her head where her scars are. She turns around, and notices Flare quickly averting her eyes. Right... This is probably the first time the pampered little 'princess' of House Consevatie saw such a grotesque looking scar from someone of her own social status. And then, the princess turned slave feels a hand around her other side of her body tightens..

"You don't have to literally attach me to the hip, Lady Eclair. I'm sure there's no one trying to take my life in a hot spring of all places." Malty is feeling equally as annoyed as she is grateful. Eclair had been acting a bit crazy after she learned that Malty lived through another attempt at her life. And the young knight lady is obviously feeling guilty that she was not there to protect Malty again just like she didn't do much during the Three Heroes' Church's rebellion. The result ended up being her tossing all her captain duty to her lieutenant, and had been following Malty around closer than a shadow (an actual shadow, not mother's agents who are apparently good for nothing if the whole Three Heroes Church rebellion was a good indication) for the rest of the day.

"Master Malty is right, you know. Captain Eclair. Don't you have the duty of disciplining, and training Lord Shield Hero's newly recruited retinue?" On the other side, Flare squeezes her arms tighter around Malty's arm. Her eyes narrowed into a slide, but it can't filter out the glitter from her death glare. "You can leave Master Malty's safety to me. I did a perfect job keeping my teacher safe!"

"As if I can put the safety of Princess Malty in the hand of the little sister who tried to kill her." Eclair glares right back at Flare, making the usually timid Lady Consevatie release a faint growling sound. It seems like Malty influenced more than little Raphtalia. She can never expect a muscle headed lady knight like Eclair snapping at another noble lady for the fault of their family. Eclair almost sounds like... well, a normal noble lady who is used to playing The Game in this instance. As amusing as it is, Malty needs to stop this situation from deteriorating further. "What would a daughter of Lord Grima do when you are faced against an assassin? Cry him a river and drown him to death?"

"Okay... knock it off, you two. This is getting a little ridiculous. Both of you are important to me." Malty gently pushes both of them a little back from each other... and herself. Of all the happenings in her life, the princess turned slave never expected herself to be the conflict of affection between two noble ladies. Not that she didn't like the attention, or that she doesn't want more loyal allies to keep herself safe from her mother... and everyone else's machination. But it's not the good, right kind of attention when they begin to impede everyday life.

She turns to Eclair first, left hand grabbing Eclair's hand. "Lady Eclair, you did not do anything wrong when you stayed at the border before the Three Heroes' Church's rebellion. There would be only so much... or rather, so little you could have done if you were at the Third Wave. I do not wish to see you hurt, or killed by the zealots from the Three Heroes' Church like what happened to Kyubey and Farkas. It's better for you to have stayed safe, and support me now with your great house somewhat restored."

Malty turns to Flare next and reaches out with her right hand. The Consevatie lady had groomed her hair again in a valiant effort to hide her recent impromptu barbing session. "You are not your spoiled, self-serving, cowardly brother, Lady Flare. You diligently study my lessons. And when my life is threatened, your first reaction was throwing yourself on top of me to save my life."

The princess turned slave brings Eclair, Flare, and her own hands together. "I'm not asking the two of you to love each other like you are sisters. But I need help from both of you. I forced myself into slavery to avoid my betrothal with King Egbert of Faubley. My master Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero, was recently sanctified by both the Three Heroes' Church, and the Four Heroes’ Church. But he still has many enemies both from within glorious Melromarc and without. We could still face ruin later down the road, just like Confessor Cromwell and his lackeys betrayed everyone. Hell, Confessor Cromwell himself is still in power, thanks to my mother's ruling. Both Lord Shield Hero, and my own doom would be reassured if our own allies and friends fight each other. Will the two of you at least learn to cooperate, and act cordial with each other?"

Eclair and Flare stare at each other for a brief moment before nodding their heads. Of course, this doesn't mean the two noble ladies from north west and north east are now huggy and kissy. Eclair is someone who was born into a martial great house, who won all of their prestige from countless battles against Siltvelt raiders. While Flare's family were lackeys of the high queen who was directly appointed to lord over the martial great houses fighting on the border. They are naturally rivals towards each other. But for now... they would likely keep a somewhat healthy rivalry against each other. Hopefully.

The three of them washes away the soap water on their body with a bucket of warm water, wraps a towel around themselves and moves back into the actual hot spring. Through the thin layer of fog, Malty notices how there is already someone in the hotspring before her. One of them started to jump up and down and furiously waved at her. After a few brief pauses of rubbing her own eyes, she realizes the person in question is Raphtalia. She's not the only one either, both the dark haired dog girl that seems to be attached to her hip, and the white tiger girl following the insane Throwing Weapon Hero are in the water, glaring daggers at her. She briefly wonders what she had done to deserve such ire, and then realizes she doesn't care about what these two common rabble think.

"Raphtalia. How are you holding up?" Malty slowly dips her feet into the hot water, as she sits down at the edge. Only letting the lower half of her legs into the water for now. Raphtalia leaps up from the water, runs over to her and sits herself right down beside Malty. She looks very happy, even if they were only apart for a few hours. The princess turned slave looks around, not seeing the old woman, or the nudist woman. "I don't see the adults from the Throwing Weapon Hero's party."

"Master Elrasla left early after preparing our lessons and enlarging Atla's ki veins. She needs some rest for tomorrow's training. As for Big Sister Sadina... she said something about taking care of important business." Malty's heart begins to drop into her stomach at the crazy nudist's words. The princess turned slave leant from Naofumi what happened to him before her arrival. And how the insane woman is now fully convinced that he is some disgusting child lover preying on Raphtalia. Worse, she's apparently now dedicated her life to keep Raphtalia safe, in the sense of trying to kill the Shield Hero.

"You didn't think about her 'important business' being the assassination of Master Naofumi, did you?" Raphtalia's excited face begins to slowly turn pale at Malty's suggestion. Well... now she feels bad about worrying her surrogate daughter. "Well, it's not your fault. And I'm sure Master Naofumi is fine. I mean... Yatsuhashi is still sleeping from his electrocution. But the other three heroes are all with him-"

The sound of running lightning, coupled with pained screams from Naofumi, Motoyasu and the crazy Bow Hero can all be heard from the other side of the bamboo fence. It made Malty realize two facts: Number One, Sadina really was that crazy. And Number Two, she's too late to stop anything. Thankfully (?), their painful yelp only remained a brief second before being covered by the sound of clashing weapons and body parts. And an unfamiliar woman's angry howling. "YOU AGAIN! I, Therese Alexandrite, will stop you from further harming the Revered Heroes!"

"NO! Master Naofumi, Big Sister Sadina!" Raphtalia ran out of the onsen house before Malty could grab her. The princess turned slave quickly follows after her. When they run over to the male side, they immediately see two blue haired women punching, kicking, and swinging their respective weapons at each other. Further away, Naofumi and Motoyasu are lying against the stone divider on the edge of the hotspring. Their hairs all standing up from their head like needled quills from an enraged porcupine monster. As for the crazy bow boy... he's currently floating in the hot spring with his face down. Malty wants to run over to Naofumi, but she dodges away from the two women fighting each other, jumps into the hot spring to fish out Itsuki first. She really doesn't want him to suffocate to death.

Malty struggles to drag the drowning Bow Hero onto solid ground. Thankfully, Eclair runs over and throws him over the rocky divider. They do the same with both Naofumi and Motoyasu while Raphtalia hammers on Itsuki's chest and stomach to push water out of his mouth. Over by the entrance, the battle between Therese and Sadina also seems to be near its conclusion. Raphtalia's former bodyguard had been tripped over by the woman wielding the two-bladed sword, and then got knocked on the head. Therese throws her over the shoulder, and exits out of the onsen house. The princess turned slave suspect that the crazy nudist woman will be spending the rest of her stay in Cal Mira Island in some kind of dungeon after her second attempt on the Shield Hero's life.

"Go get Yuki, Raphtalia. Lord Bow Hero needs some healing attention." Malty begins to check the condition of the three heroes attacked by Sadina. Thankfully, it looks like both Naofumi and Motoyasu are only temporarily paralyzed by the crazy nudist's lightning attack. As for the crazy bow boy... he got hurt the worst thanks to his low DEF rating. So he'll have to stay in bed for a day... or two. At least they still have some time till’ the next Wave of Catastrophe.

o(-_-)o[T]

People tend to get confused with the name 'Cal Mira'. It can mean both the single island that was declared the eternal neutral ground by past generations of heroes. Or the entire archipelago of the surrounding area. While the smaller island surrounding the main island doesn't enjoy the same status, most nations tend to 'respect' the will of past heroes well enough to not reach for these islands to turn them into either battlefields, or colonies. At least, they respect the unwritten rule of The Game enough to not want to give other nations a reason to declare war on them. Throughout the ages, nations that come into greater power tend to leave smaller military outposts on them as a show of force, but that's the extent for any nations' interest in them.

Right now, a single figure is walking through such an abandoned military outpost sitting atop of a mountain. Countless glowing eyes in the dark peer at him, but no ferocious monster dares to come close. Perhaps it's the perfectly relaxed posture of the young man, graceful, yet not wasting a single strand of power like an apex predator. Or perhaps it's his eyes, glowing brighter than any monsters in the dark with the color of the Wave of Catastrophe itself. He enters into a side room, looking around the dust and cobweb filled building till his sight narrows onto the altar with a small statue of the holy icon of four heroes.

The young man walks over to the small shrine. He pulls a dagger out of his boots, slashes his wrist and allows his blood to drip down onto the holy icon of four heroes. If Naofumi, Malty, or even Sir Oersted is here, they would notice how the young man's blood slowly forms into the same symbol as they discovered in the cultist hideout. Scarlet embers, arranged into the same shape of the flower petals of House Melromarc's family emblem.

As the blood emblem finishes marking the ground, watchers and sand keepers at the church who look after Dragon Hourglass suddenly find that the holy device which predicts the arrival of the wave had the last specs of sand all fallen into the bottom chamber of the hourglass. As pandemonium reigns over the churches, crimson waves split the sky all over the world, most of all... over Cal Mira Island. The young man exits the desecrated shrine, looks up into the red sky and smiles at his handiwork. "All in the service of my goddess."

o(-_-)o[T]

"What is happening?! I thought we still have a day or two till the Fourth Wave hits?!" Malty is panicking as she runs out of the onsen house. She hasn't checked in with a Dragon Hourglass till the last time she was in the Three Heroes Cathedral, before she left the capital of Melromarc. But she's pretty sure it's not the time yet. But in the distance, the already darkened night sky is lit up in crimson red, as countless monsters pour through. There is no doubt that they are facing one of the Waves right now.

"Whatever shall we do, Princess Malty? The Fourth Wave is upon us, and three of the four Cardinal Heroes are incapacitated." Eclair's shaky voice doesn't sound any more composed than Malty is feeling right now. She might have been trained as a knight since youth, but she is still young and inexperienced. Needless to say, she isn't prepared for the current situation.

Neither is Malty herself for that matter. But the ex-princess knows that she needs to do something. At this moment, doing practically anything aside from panicking and running around like a headless filorial is better than doing nothing. "Eclair, go rally all the retinues of the heroes. If there's no one in charge right now, you take charge of everyone! I want the heroes' full retinue fully assembled and ready to battle within ten minutes! We'll go into battle following Lord Sword Hero. Raphtalia, stay with Naofumi, Motoyasu and Itsuki. Raphtalia's friend, you go fetch Lady Yuki and have her heal our wounded Cardinal Heroes. Everyone else, with me!"

"Why should I listen to- yes, right away!" The boyish looking dog girl grumbles under her breath, but Raphtalia's glare makes her shut up, and runs towards the hotel where Motoyasu's retinue reside. Eclair had already run away before Keel. In the other direction, Baldy, Blue Eyes and Mala, who had stood guard just outside of the onsen house, ran up to her. Giving them a quick nod, Malty leads them towards Menagerie Hotel where the heroes would currently be residing.

The Sword Hero is standing in front of it, fidgeting around a device with a light up screen, and a sword handle. Remembering Naofumi's 'smartphone shield', Malty quickly realizes it must be the Sword Hero's equivalent. She runs straight at the youngest hero and calls out towards him from a distance. Giving him the short version of what happened after he apparently left the hotspring. "Someone tried to assassinate the heroes. Bow Hero is hurt, Naofumi and Motoyasu are paralyzed. I'm trying to rally all the retinues around you, Lord Sword Hero."

"Damn it!" The young hero drops his hand on the device, it changes back into a normal sword in his hand. Malty apparently guessed right, he really was trying to contact his fellow heroes, obviously to no avail. He takes a few deep breaths to calm himself down, and grabs the handle of his sword again. "Very well. Lead the way!"

"I assigned Lady Eclair to rally the retinues. They'll be waiting for us. What about your companions, Lord Sword Hero?" Malty skids to a stop in front of the Sword Hero. She looks around, not seeing the adventurers, and the veteran knight assigned to the young man. Only Wyndia, and the miniaturized Gaelion is near Ren.

"They are with my retinue. I'm more used to moving on my own." The Sword Hero didn't bother to explain much, and they didn't need to waste time either. With the basic information exchanged, they begin to double back and make their way towards the hotels where the heroes' retinue are assigned to. By the time they reached the foot of the building, the large crowd of fighters had already assembled themselves in their full arms and armor. The Sword Hero gives a quick glance towards everyone and raises his hand. "I won't waste time with the details with you all. My fellow heroes just lived through an assassination attempt, and there's a good chance they need to recover before this Wave is over. I will do my best to lead you all into battle. Anyone of you who has no faith in me, you are welcome to leave. Everyone else, let's stop this Wave!"

Not the most inspiring speech Malty ever heard, but it didn't discourage the retinues of the heroes as they all raise their weapons above and give a loud cheer. One by one, they follow behind the young Sword Hero as they march towards the direction of the red sky. The princess feels someone pulling at her sleeves, so she looks back and sees Flare making funny faces at her. "If you have something to say, say it out loud, Lady Flare."

"Shou-should we stay at the rear? Since you know... we are magic users?" Malty frowns at the Consevatie girl's suggestion. From a pure strategic point, she isn't exactly wrong. But she had fought in a couple of wave battle before (granted, she wasn't on the actual frontline during the Second Wave at Lute village), so she knows that in such a chaotic battle, even a mage need to stand at the frontline, or pick a high point so they can be aware of the overall situation to cast the most appropriate spells. Not to mention, there is a clear sense of fear in Flare's eyes that she isn't bothering to hide. "Yo-you know? Even Master Shield Hero isn't here..."

Of course, she is afraid of getting hurt during a wave battle. Honestly, Malty understands the sentiment since she went through the same phase during previous wave battles. She's on the brink of panicking right now since she realizes that she's going on a wave battle without Naofumi by her side. And that's the reason why she has to appear calm, collected, even confident... and most importantly, stand in front of everyone. By now, everyone knows that the former first princess of Melromarc is the Shield Hero's first, and most loyal companion. So with the Shield Hero indisposed of, she needs to be the one standing at the front in his place to keep the morale up. They are on an island, there's really nowhere they can run if their army gets routed. So it's a do or die situation. Not that she can explain everything to Flare without the rest of the heroes' retinue over hearing her, and a paranoid rumor starts to drag down their overall morale. "We'll be fine, Lady Flare. The assassins didn't hurt Master Shield Hero too badly, and he'll join us in battle as soon as he receives some treatment. More importantly, we are at The Hero Conference. Heroes from other nations will join us soon. This will be a battle for glory, not a battle for survival. If you are worried, you can stay at the rear to help maintain the morale of our reserve."

"I'll stay with you, Master Malty!" The Consevatie girl immediately announce intention to stay on the front. Malty isn't sure if Flare made the decision to stay with her, or if she is enticed by the promise of battlefield glory, but it's the same in the end. Hopefully, when their conversation inevitably leaks out from word of mouth gossip, it'll further boost their group's confidence. Now... they only have to survive long enough for the other, veteran heroes to step in.

By the time they reached the northern beach of Cal Mira Island, countless other warriors had already gathered. Adventurers rich enough to go on a vacation of the famous eternal neutral ground to experience the life of heroes, armies and escort important figures from various nations to attend the Hero Conference. Malty looks around, and sees even her mother is riding in front of her own retinue, no doubt trying to gain some of her lost prestige back from this wave battle. She quickly retracts her gaze, before mother notices something. Looking far towards the north where the sky split up, she tries to analyze the situation based on her military classes. The Wave opened up on water this time, which means they can't take the fight directly to the boss monster itself and have to wait for it to come over. Of course, that's the ideal situation. There is a chance that what they are facing is some kind of breeder, or doll maker that stays behind countless Wavespawn while adding their own minions into the fray. That... would be the absolute worst situation.

Malty begins to look around again. She quickly focuses on the person she is looking for. "Eclair, get ready to dispatch a runner to the Siltvelt formation. The Claw Hero will have to take charge of the boss monster if it's a breeder or doll maker."

The lady knight gives Malty a quick sideways glance, and then starts to dispatch a runner like Malty commands. The princess turned slave doesn't know what was Eclair's trepidation, but she herself does not want to beg the Claw Hero for help. From their brief confrontation, it's clear The Princess of All Dragons has the same arrogance as Fuckboy, an insane reincarnate who sees everyone in the world as nothing more than side characters in a novel. And with the recent... argument between Naofumi and herself, there's a good chance that she would flat out refuse anything Malty requests of her. Hopefully, Lung wouldn't be as petty as Fuckboy and would do the right thing when the world's survival hangs in the balance.

"They are coming!" Someone screams out at the sea in front of Malty. Before anyone in the hero's retinue does anything, a round of loud, thunder-like noise rings out from the Faubley front. King Egbert commanded his army to take the first shot at approaching wave monsters, likely to affirm his position as the leader of the world's strongest nation. But so far, only the sound of musket fire echoes around the northern beach of Cal Mira Island. It seems like the pig king of Faubley is much smarter than his reputation precedes himself. He's letting the musket wielding common soldiers take the lead, while holding back his elite troops in reserve. The steady damage capabilities of the musket is useful to gauge his enemy's toughness, while its long range keeps his soldiers safe.

"Take defense formation! Let Faubley soften our enemy first." Malty holds her arm in front of Flare's face, stopping her apprentice from tossing out the fireball gathered in her hand. The Consevatie girl gives an unsure look at Malty, but holds back her spell as she was commanded. Malty used the chance to observe the first monster wave coming out of the Fourth Wave of Catastrophe - it’s very similar to the third one, with aquatic looking monsters with carapace in the front, but no strange looking fishes swimming through the sky. And more importantly, she can't see any of those floating islands in the distance that spawn exploding fish monsters that give them so much trouble near the city of Gallia. Of course, she isn't expecting the Fourth Wave to be even easier than the third one. The lead bullet of standard Faubley muskets pierced the carapace of the Wavespawn with no difficulties, killing them as they climbed up the beach. Which tells Malty that this first monster wave is only common level range (LV1-LV40) monsters, as the damage of Faubley muskets are well known to dramatically fall off for warriors above common level range with appropriate armor.

"The Faubley musket conscripts are massacring the Wavespawn, Master Malty!" As countless wave monsters turn into corpses on the beach, Flare begins to shout as she bounces on her feet. Malty isn't sure what got her more excited. The apparent valiance of the Faubley army, or the aspiration to win glory on the battlefield. "Shouldn't we do something?"

"Something doesn't feel right." Malty narrows her eyes. Everything feels too easy. Not that she wanted the first monster Wave to be impossibly hard, but the current battle feels even easier than the Third Wave. And there is also the fact that this wave came down on everyone earlier than she estimated. Granted, Malty can't be sure that she simply misremembered the date from Dragon Hourglass, but she's pretty sure it should happen after the actual Hero Conference scheduled for tomorrow. Had she simply misremembered the details and was being paranoid? As more and more monsters begin to rise up from the water, they begin to overwhelm the bullet the Faubley conscript is able to dish out. Shaking her head, Malty gives her apprentice a nod as archers and mages everywhere begin to add their own attack to hold back the advancing monster tide. "Fire at will."

As Flare begins to add her own magic spell into the barrage, Malty looks back towards the direction where Naofumi, and two of his fellow heroes are left to recover. Unfortunately, she can see nothing other than the crowd that makes up the heroes' retinue. Over a thousand men completely block her vision with her standing in the front in the attempt to lead them and maintain their morale. She has a bad feeling about this situation... but surely she is only being paranoid? The Wavespawn are nothing more than empowered animals who have no understanding of strategy.

o(-_-)o[T]

A warm current fills Naofumi's body, and he slowly gains back the control of his body again. He gives his fingers a few test twitches, and then moves around his arms and legs before slowly standing up. About five steps away from him, Motoyasu is already stretching his body. In the other direction, Yuki is still kneeling in front of Itsuki's motionless body. He can't help but get worried for his youngest fellow hero, since like his ATK rating, the Bow Hero's DEF rating is next to non-existent. "Is Itsuki..."

"Lord Bow Hero will be okay after some rest. But he can't participate in this current wave battle. Lord Shield Hero." Yuki interrupts Naofumi's question, but the Shield Hero isn't angry or annoyed at her. He is actually glad that she knows what he wants to ask, and gives him a straight answer. Although in hindsight, it's not hard to guess what he was worried about.

"I can't believe Big Sister Sadina did this! What's she even thinking!" Raphtalia's muffled grumble can be heard a little to his back. Privately, Naofumi isn't too surprised at this. Not the 'I got electrocuted while trying to enjoy a hot spring bath' part, but the 'Raphtalia's bodyguard did something very stupid' part. Considering how she failed her one task of keeping Raphtalia safe all the way back since the First Wave. But he is smart enough not to say it to Raphtalia's face.

"Come on, do some warm up stretches like me, Naofumi. We need to get ready to go fight the wave! We have to pick up Itsuki's slack now he's down." Motoyasu's words grab Naofumi's attention. He is currently squatting.

"You are right, we- what's going on NOW?!" Naofumi barely had the chance to finish his reply to Motoyasu and start his own warm up stretching when he hears the sound of screaming people over the wall of the onsen house. Raphtalia immediately runs out of the exit, probably going out to check the situation.

Motoyasu stops his stretching, runs over to the wall and jumps up with the assist of his own spear. He grabs the ledge and pulls himself up the wall. Naofumi is about to follow his example using his rope shield when the Spear Hero begins to scream on top of his lung. "People are running towards the Menagerie Hotel. I think I saw a bunch of monsters coming up from the beach!"

"What? How?! Why isn't the army and the adventurers stopping them?!"

Raphtalia runs back into the onsen, her face is twitching with panic. "Everyone gathered in the north to fight off the Wavespawn. Because that's the direction where the wave opened up. But another group of monsters came from the east side! People are running everywhere!"

Naofumi feels his body growing cold. The wave monsters had used a simple, yet elegant military strategy: when your enemy has rallied most of their army at one choke point or formed a defensive line, find a way to go around their ironclad defense, and hit their unprotected underbelly. The principle really isn't that hard to grasp, and those who went to fight the current wave really didn't station themselves in an effective choke point as they simply assumed the monsters would bumrush them from point A to point B... but the fact that the wave monsters didn't suggest they weren't working on simple, animalistic instinct. Something of actual, sentient intelligence was guiding them behind their back, or behind their mind. The Shield Hero's mind goes back to the warning he received from Fitoria, and Metatron again. "It must have been the doing of The Burning Legion."

Motoyasu jumps down from the wall. The bladed tip of his spear changes into a giant smartphone tablet as he starts to fiddle with it. Soon after, the sound of ringing can be heard. Naofumi's mind suddenly went into overdrive. "What are you doing?"

"I'm calling Ren! We can't beat all these Wave monsters on our own and- HEY!" Motoyasu makes a sound of protest as Naofumi slaps his smartphone spear away. "What gives?!"

"Send him a private message, not an audio call! What if the fighters around them hear you, and their morale crumbles? We'll die even faster if the frontline goes kaboom and we get sandwiched from two directions!" Naofumi gives another slap on Motoyasu's head. The Spear Hero opens his mouth indignantly, looking like he wants to argue. But then his eyes blink, and leans down to do what Naofumi asks, clearly convinced by Naofumi's reasoning.

Naofumi briefly tries to think up a reason for the wave monster's split attack. Did they somehow know that Itsuki, Motoyasu, and himself were hurt by Sadina and they are trying to kill the three of them while they are vulnerable? That would suggest there is an insider around them with very up to date information, or they have some other ways to spy on them. Some kind of farsight, or future prediction? Probably not out of the question for an army of demons, although an actual spy among them is equally likely. Alternatively, this attack could have nothing to do with the three of them, and the monsters are simply trying to catch the defenders off guard, and attack them from the back with a pincer movement. Regardless, they can't stay in this small onsen house. "Have someone take Itsuki to the Menagerie Hotel, we'll have to buy everyone time for reinforcements, Motoyasu."

Chapter Text

The battle against the Fourth Wave is going well so far. With the monsters coming at them continuously, it's hard to tell if they have already destroyed the first 'Wave' of monsters coming at them. But so far, the monsters couldn't even get into close range against the defenders gathered at Cal Mira island with the constant bombardment of bullets, arrows, bolts, magic spells, and whatever weapon arts the few veteran fighters (including Sword Hero himself) threw ahead. In fact, Malty considers the fight going too well considering what happened in the Third Wave. She didn't add her own magic attack into the mix. With her weakened heart, every spell she can cast is valuable, and she wants to save them when the situation really needs it.

The Sword Hero's body suddenly freezes during the middle of a swing. That's the first sign that told Malty not everything is going as it seemed. Ren throws forth another [Meteor Sword], and then changes his weapon form into [Smartphone Sword] once again. His face remains passive, but his eye still twitches as he reads through whatever is on the screen. Malty snaps her finger at Eclair, getting the knight lady's attention to follow behind her. Flare wants to come too, but she stops the Consevatie girl with a gesture. With how overdramatic Flare acts around everything and anything, she'll blurt out whatever the Sword Hero was reading through. And Malty has a feeling that won't be appreciated by Ren, and it would not help with their situation. "Stay and provide everyone spell assist, Lady Flare. We'll come back shortly."

Flares gives Malty the look of a kicked baby filorial chick, but she stays rooted and continues to cast her fireballs at the advancing Wave-spawns all the same. With Eclair behind her, the princess turned slave quickly jogs over to Ren's side and looks down. Needless to say... she doesn't understand the symbols of the summoned heroes. "What does it say, Lord Sword Hero?"

Ren quickly looks up and throws a glance at Malty and Eclair, he leans closer and whispers to them. "Another group of Wave monsters went around us. They made landfall from the east side. And they are attacking the tourist resort."

WHAT?! Malty is glad that she left Flare behind. Even she nearly blurted out her horrified shock. The Wave-spawns... executing a flanking maneuver and trying to catch them in a pincer attack? Even worse, Naofumi was left by the onsen house, and he is caught in the middle of this attack with barely any defenders around him. Kael'thas, and the Siltvelt raiders are still with him. But they are mostly melee fighters and would be worn down by the Wave monsters very soon.

"We can't allow the Wave monsters to hurt Master Naofumi, Motoyasu, and Itsuki. And even if they manage to hide, we'll be destroyed if we are caught in a pincer. Most of the heroes' retinues are newly recruited nobles, or common folks. They aren't hardened warriors. They'll panic and crumble if we are suddenly attacked from behind. We must send reinforcements." Eclair manages to keep somewhat of a level head, and her military, and strategy training instantly kicks in. "We'll send our cavalry units. Their advantage is their speed, momentum, and intimidation factor. The last one wouldn't affect frenzied Wave-spawn, but we don't have enough space here at the beach to let them gain distance and charge again after they let loose. They'll be wasted defending this beach here. CUTE! JEAN!"

Chapter 10: Defense of Menagerie

The daughter of Van Reichnott and her attendant/sworn shield quickly runs over to Eclair. The lady knight didn't waste any time to give them command. "Get Lord Seliph Chalphy, and Lord Leif Claes. We need them to execute a battle maneuver."

"Yes, Big Sis Eclair- CAPTAIN!" The short young pinkette quickly changes her words after receiving a stern glare from Eclair, and the two of them separate, and run off to get the two knight lords that've been holding position on their side like two pairs of wings.

"Let Sir Beckter and your lieutenant Cardin take over command. You go inform Queen Mirellia on what happened, Eclair. I don't trust anyone else not to blurt out the truth and have the morale of the troops plunge to the bottom. And you being the last Seatto has a better chance to convince mother we aren't trying to pull a trick over her." Malty turns to look at Eclair next. The lady knight looks conflicted only for a brief moment before doing exactly as Malty commands. This is a crisis that needs much more than what the heroes' retinue to deal with. Mother can have the headache of informing the leaders of other nations and splitting their battle formation without causing a major panic. Not too long after Eclair left, the two crusaders came to the front after one another with Cute and Jean by their side respectively. The Reichnott girl looked confused at the absence of Eclair, but she didn't do much other than muttering something under her breath.

Malty motions them to get closer. Once they are close enough within whispering range, she doesn't mince words. "There's a second group of Wave-spawn making landfall on the tourist resort from the eastern side. We don't know if they are trying to kill the heroes staying behind to recover from the recent assassination, or if they are trying to catch us with a pincer attack. Lord Seliph, Lord Leif. Your fathers were known as the most valiant Melromarc knight lords of their generations, and those who fought in The Great War. They always charge into the most dangerous battlefields, and save the life of countless people, Highborn and common folk alike. Now it's your turn to take up their legacies. Take our riders, and reinforce those staying behind in the resort!"

Cute and Jean's eyes immediately grow wider than a saucer, their mouth enlarges too at the revelation, and Malty shoots her hand over her lower face to stop them from causing a scene. Cute's attendant Jean looks so scared, his legs give out and he falls on his butt. Lord Seliph and Leif by comparison are more composed, even if they still have the shocked concern on their faces. They recover quicker than Cute and Jean, with a salute, they turn around and run back to their small group of riders. Not too long after, they split from their battle formation and charged back towards the southeast.

They'll have to be enough to protect Naofumi and his friends, if not enough to hold back the advancing tide of Wave-spawn till the larger group of reinforcements could be gathered by the other world leaders. Their group might be small, and most of them haven't been tested in the actual war other than the brief battle of Third Wave. But they are the most elite members from their respective families to be accepted into the Spear Hero's retinue. They'll do their jobs. At least that's what Malty tells herself.

o(-_-)o[T]

The battle around the Cal Mira tourist resort is total chaos. Some native guards remained to keep the peace, but they were more for keeping the order so the tourists, especially children wouldn't run off to watch the ensuing Wave battle. Not to fight a war. They haven't been overrun per say, and some of the Cal Mira guards are both skilled and powerful enough to hold back a small group of Wave monsters by themselves. But they can't create a solid line that stops the monsters from pouring through every direction.

"[Air Strike Shield]! [Barrier]!" Naofumi points his hand at the incoming monsters trying to harm the panicking civilians, stopping them dead in their tracks. He has his fully limit break [Geo Shield] {Five Stars} on his arm. Out of all the shields his level is high enough to use, this is the one that gives him the highest defense rating aside from his Saiga, the [Crown Shield]. A Wave battle isn't the best time to activate his saiga due to its constant stamina drain. He would bring it out if the Wave Boss is right in front of him and there is a need for the highest stats in a brief period of time. But for now, it's a battle of attrition. He would help no one, and would need others' help if he exhausted himself.

As for [Geo Shield]'s weight... he doesn't have to worry. He is being protected by his Siltvelt escort. Kael'thas is staying right by his side, sending out his red bird familiar to perform what's a fantasy equivalent of bombing runs: raining fire on top of the Wave monsters. Besides him, the rest of the Siltvelt raiders form a thick wall of steel and muscles led by their warchief Nazgrel. The Shield Hero doubts a fly could get close to him, unless all the (totally not orc) raiders and their direwolf steeds are bleeding on the ground.

Three riders run through his wall of Siltvelt protectors and dump half a dozen people by his feet. He didn't do any search and rescue training with Motoyasu, but they are working just fine. With his Siltvelt protectors, Naofumi acts as the rock staying in the middle of the tide of monsters. Motoyasu and his companions run out into streets overrun by the creatures coming out of the Wave with his filorial children to search for any survivors and bring them over. Without a word, Motoyasu rides out with Katarina and Bertia again in an attempt to find more people being cut off by the Wave monsters.

Naofumi is about to throw a healing spell on the wounded survivors, but someone beats him to it. He turns around, wondering if Kael'thas is feeling generous towards the 'mon'keighs'. The healing spell has a golden shine, which suggests it's a miracle healing, not his fire spells. But who says the (totally not) elf prince can't cast miracles? He certainly acts like a zealot all the time. And then the Shield Hero noticed a golden aura around Lori (aka Mein Jr. by Malty), his red filorial bird. She actually winks at Naofumi after noticing his gaze. She already unlocked her ability to cast miracles before she gained her humanoid form... before she even grew into a monarch? Oh, well. He's not complaining. Naofumi quickly cast another [Bountiful Sunlight]. The new golden orb slowly rises into the night sky, just as the previous mini-sun burns out. The spell's regenerative effect is a major reason why the raiders from the Frostwolf tribe are able to keep fighting the Wave monsters till now. Normally, they are supposed to be used as quick skirmishers, not shock troopers or frontline fighters. That's probably another reason why Sadeena was able to quickly kill a group of them.

"We can't hold this line much longer, my king." Kael'thas whispers to Naofumi, and the (not) elf prince is speaking the truth. The great cleaver used by the raiders are very powerful weapons, able to cut down multiple targets with a single swing. But the weapon burns out its user's stamina like crazy. Especially when used against heavily armored targets. And unfortunately, this monster Wave is mostly made of creatures covered in thick carapace. [Bountiful Sunlight] recovers wounds accumulated on the raider's body, not their stamina.

"We'll pull out after Motoyasu makes another round- '' Naofumi suddenly loses his voice. The ground is shaking, and it's not caused by the tidal Wave of monsters. Two months and countless battles after his summoning, Naofumi Iwatani still doesn't consider himself a professional soldier of this world. But he did slowly begin to build up some experience. What he is hearing, and feeling right now isn't caused by a stampede of monsters coming from the sea, but a charge of mounted warriors from the land. Unless the monster Wave has already fought through the gathered warriors to the north, and has some kind of cavalry, it would belong to their reinforcements.

o(-_-)o[T]

Seliph Baldos Chalphy has no memory of his father. He grew up on the valiant tales of Lord Singurd that flew right out of a knight novel. From his step father Duke Arvis, from his uncle Duke Oifey, and even from King Shannan while he was fostered in the Kingdom of Isaac. His father was good friends with his step father. He took care of uncle Oifey and King Shannan when they were young like an elder brother, and a father to them both. But he himself has no recollection of Lord Singuard. He was still a babe when his father passed away from the wound he suffered in The Battle of Silverpass. It doesn't stop him from looking up to his father's example, and striving to live up to his family legacy. House Chalphy are the descendants of Baldr the Paladin, they are the most valiant, noble, and fair defenders of the weak.

Marquis Leif charged in front of his own formation, but not due to lack of courage on Seliph's part. Just like himself, Leif also strives to live up to the legacy of his own father Lord Quan, and the Lance Ritter of Leonster are the world's best spear wielding knights. They are the natural arrowheads of any attack formation. Unlike Seliph himself, Leif wasn't lucky enough to inherit the crusader's holy weapon from his father Quan. Gae Bolg had been lost to Siltvelt during The Great War. But that would do little to stop the master knight from being the sharpest lance of their battle formation as Chief God's holy black fire manifested around him.

Marquis Leif's wrath from his family's tragedy, and his sense of guilt from not being able to do anything to stop it due to his young age at the time burns much brighter than the earth lance Gae Bolg itself. He pulls a standardized steel lance from his back, and slowly lines it up in front of his own steed. The Chief God's holy fire wraps around his weapon, giving it a slight increase in length and turning it into one of the most deadly weapons during a cavalry charge. The carapace of the Wave-spawn in front of them didn't provide any resistance as they got split apart like wet paper. Right after him, Princess Nanna and Sir Finn are his twin wings as always. The female paladin wields Lands Sword passed down from her mother, smashing monsters like a hammer in close range, and draining their vitality from the distance. The golden, diamond shaped spear tip of the Brave Spear burst into a thousand star showers in the hand of Sir Finn, not letting the Wave monsters have a single chance to get closer to his lord, his lady, or himself. After the three champions of House Claus, well trained Leonster Lance Ritters also hold their own lance forward as they arrange themselves into an arrow, splitting the tide of Wave monsters behind their lord to tear a road made of broken carapaces, flesh, and blood.

Seliph pulls out his family's most sacred artifact, Tyrfing the sacred sword. He can feel Baldr's blood burn red in his veins as the blade of his sword glows with a faint golden shimmer. Just like the Third Wave... or his fight against the ancient, zombified thunder lizard... this is what calls him. His duty to defend the innocent. "Grünritter! CHARGE!"

All around him, his family's green armored knights begin to rearrange themselves even mid-charge. Opening up like a pair of wings slightly behind Leif's Lance Riter. Unlike the descendants and vassals of Njörun the Lance Knight, the knights of House Chalphy favor swords to honor House Chalphy's ancestor Baldr the Paladin. But a standardized, two bladed sword is more useful when fighting on foot, or serving as a ceremonial purpose. After countless generations, House Chalphy had adapted their own war strategy after close 'communication' with both the steppe culture of Issaach, and the raiders from Siltvelt's Pride Land. A thick spined, single bladed saber is much better to be used on horseback. And it's still close enough to their family's holy artifact than a lance.

As their combined force runs through the Wave of monsters, Seliph manages to catch a glimpse of Siltvelt raiders lined up in the middle of a street. He pushes down the immediate instinct to charge right at their ancient enemies. The majority of Siltvelt army brought along by Siltvelt delegation is stationed on the island's northern end in an effort to stop the monster Wave from reaching the resort section... which means they are the same group that escorted Lord Shield Hero back to the capital during the last days of the Three Heroes' Church's rebellion! This was Princess Malty's command, to protect the three cardinal heroes left behind to recover after the recent assassination, and delay the second group of monsters from hitting their main battle formation from the back. He gives a light tap to the head of his raptor, making Falchion run ahead to catch up to Leif. "Leif! I found Lord Shield Hero!"

The dark aura around Leif slowly disappears. While the Chief God's holy fire would grant its user immense damage potential, it unfortunately takes away most of their ability to reason. Luckily, those who are faithful enough to enter such a state can be called back by people they are close to. Seliph doesn't spend as much time with Leif as his half-brother Julius, or even his friends from the Kingdom of Issaach due to the distance of their respective fiefs. But their fathers were best friends, and Leif's mother Lady Ethlyn was Seliph's aunt. So both Leif and himself maintained an effort to communicate with each other through letters when they weren't spending time face to face. His voice is thankfully enough to bring Leif back to full consciousness. With a quick stare and a nod, Leif turns his steed around, and guides their group back towards the street where the Siltvelt raiders have laid down their defense.

The Pride Landers didn't relax when they saw their 'reinforcements'. Their hands actually tightens around the hilt of their weapons. Seliph wasn't surprised at the alartness and paranoia shown on the Siltvelt raiders. They have been enemies over thousands of years. The young count would be more surprised if the Pride Lander immediately opens their arms and welcomes the Melromarc knight. But in an attempt to reduce the chance of triggering an in-fight, Seliph rides to the front of their group and opens his mouth. "Is Lord Shield, Spear, or Bow Hero present? We, Grünritter of House Chalphy, and Lance Riter of Leonaster are your reinforcements!"

"I'm here! I'm the Shield Hero." A hand raises up and starts furiously waving behind the wall of fur covered bulging muscles. Not too long after, the raiders open up a narrow path between them to let Seliph, Leif, and their fellow knights through. They quickly run through the raiders to give them time to rearrange their defensive line before the monsters reach them again. Behind them, a young human man with dark hair, and Q'ten Lo features with a shield made of a giant slab of multi-layered rocks is waiting for them. He is obviously not the Spear Hero Seliph and Leif more familiar with, but they recognize his face from the few instances they saw him. This is the Shield Hero without a doubt. "I had someone send Itsuki back to the Menagerie hotel. He's the Bow Hero, in case you still get confused by our names. He got hurt the most when we were electrocuted. Motoyasu is still running around the other streets, looking for survivors."

"Lord Sword Hero received your message, Lord Shield Hero. Princess Malty dispatched the two of us as your first group of reinforcements." Seliph and Leif go down on one knee together with their knights. "Our duty is to ensure you and your fellow heroes' safety, and hold this second Wave of monsters at bay, so they can not join the first group and attack our army's back. I'm sure more reinforcements must also be on the way."

"GOOD! I don't know if it's The Burning Legion controlling these monsters, but they are acting like they are an actual army, not mindless animals. They were chasing after and killing everyone on the street when we came out here!" The Shield Hero is clearly shaken, as his words aren't the most organized. But what he said still makes Seliph share a quick look with Leif. They haven't discussed it officially with the heroes on account of The Hero Conference being so close, but they have overheard these talks from them. And as the descendants of the Twelve Crusaders, they knew much more about Medea's old gods than even most theocrats. Most of their knowledge comes from their family's oral tradition passed down through the ages that survived many theological religious purges throughout the eras.

Technically, with all of their powers coming from the Twelve Great Dragon Lords respective, they are followers of Gaia no different from the Loptr Empire their ancestors fought against. But as humans who are loyal to the nation of Melromarc, they are the faithful of The Chief God, and pay respect to Alaya, the guardian of humans. So when the Shield Hero revealed that he heard from the current Avatar of Alaya talking about this Burning Legion behind the current Wave of catastrophe, they took the threat seriously instead of treating it with hesitation, disbelief, or consider it some kind of conspiracy cooked up by the Cardinal Heroes to win more prestige and authority. But right now, these hypotheses aren't important. They need to find a way to get through the current crisis first.

"We don't know how much reinforcements those fighting on the frontline could spare, milord." Seliph tries to remind the Shield Hero in the most diplomatic way. Of course, the question is less about how much troops the frontline could spare, and more on how much they want to spare. Right now, the army on Cal Mira Island could be considered the most elite, and numerous troops in the world. They are the personal guards for all the rulers, and their most powerful allies and political opponents. They didn't spare any men or resources for their own safety. But on the other hand, they are also the most disorganized 'coalition' one could imagine on Medea.

Everyone has their own goals, and is trying to preserve their own forces while wasting their opponents' (maybe even some of their allies'). Who knows how many troops these blood sucking balloons would be willing to send out? As for the death of one, or maybe even all three of the Cardinal Heroes... they'll be fine. They are the chosen of the four legendary weapons and they could at least save their own lives. Even if they all die, there's of course the Four Saints’ Barrier. It's not like the lives sacrificed to fuel it would come from actual social elites like them. As a knight, and as the son of Lord Singuard he hates to think about these disgusting political moves. That's one of the reasons why he had no trepidation to pass the title of Duke to his uncle Oifey, and choose to serve only the military affair of House Chalphy. But with his previous education as the successor to House Chalphy (he technically still is, until Uncle Oifey has his own children), he understood it.

"We'll fight with the assumption that what we have right now is what we'll have by the end." Seliph lets out a breath of air he's been holding back. It seems like even in his mild distress, the Shield Hero is still keeping some wisdom and a cold head. It doesn't matter if he understood Seliph's implication or not. "We need to build some defensive fortification if we are hunkering down... I can do it with my shield, and I'm thinking about starting to construct our perimeter around Menagerie Hotel. That's where the civilians are hiding. But I need someone to tell me how to build a proper one."

"I can do that, Lord Shield Hero. I wasn't old enough to remember the Great War, but my elder brother David taught me all he knew and experienced during the siege on Leonster, and the defense of Thracia." This time, Lord Leif steps forward. Normally, his retainer Sir Finn would have been the better option. He was actually old enough to fight during the Great War. And while he spent most of the time during the Siltvelt occupation protecting Leif and Nanna instead of fighting on the frontline, he would still have better understanding due to his experience than Leif who learnt all of this knowledge on parchment. But at the moment, Sir Finn would be more valuable to hold up their frontline. Leif's talent to the Chief God's holy fire makes him a better relentless attacker, than an unmovable defender like Sir Finn.

"Good! We have no time to spare. Tell Motoyasu to stay here and help with the defense when he comes back with his children. Show this to him. So he knows you aren't lying." The Shield Hero seems to think of something, as he takes down an accessory he's been hanging on the chest of his armor. It's a little string tied to some wooden carving, with a piece of filorial crest feather on the bottom. At first, Seliph thought it's some kind of good luck charm. But as his hand touches the piece of accessory, he can feel a mild shock and his blood boiling hot inside of his vein. This magical charm has the power of Alaya inside, and right now it's causing a reaction to the power of Gaia in his body. Before this point, he was only taking a leap of faith in Naofumi's words, but now he has undeniable proof that he has indeed met with the avatar of Alaya. He gives a quick tap on Leif's shoulder, his friend and cousin will know what to do.

o(-_-)o[T]

Naofumi's stride back to Menagerie hotel feels like an instance thanks to his filorials Lial and Lori. By the time he arrived with Leif, people wearing Cal Mira Island clothes were gathered on the ground outside of the hotel. They are throwing crates, barrels, and furniture onto the street, trying to block some of the pathways off to create checkpoints, and constructing barricades. Above on the balcony of the hotel, people wielding arrows and guns lined up, ready to provide cover fire. Some of them holding modern looking firearms are dressed with the same camo cloth, goggles and hood like those Shiltfreeden agents who helped free him from the Bitch Lord- Wait a minute, he actually sees the same agents who helped him there. Right, that Tanya with the pig head did say something about her working for the Whip Hero.

"Lord Shield Hero, if you can start creating barriers on the paths these Cal Mira Island defenders are trying to block off? I'm sure they'll be happy for your help. And it'll give me a chance to see how your abilities work and plan our defense." Leif's words shake Naofumi out of his own thoughts. Right, because the Siltvelt raiders, Melromarc knights, Motoyasu and his companions are still fighting on the front to buy him time. Not wasting any time, The Shield Hero immediately starts to cast his [Air Strike Shield] on the streets pointed out by Leif, and then using a [Shield Change] to turn them into giant slabs of rocks.

The people around Menagerie Hotel are clearly startled by the sudden appearance of what's essentially a city wall. Some of them fall over and try to crawl away, others jump up and down while screaming, some even knelt down and started praying for this Chief God's miracle. Naofumi didn't bother to stop and explain to them the giant rock walls are his doing. He focuses on blocking the streets. Erecting multiple levels of stone barriers in case one is breached. Besides him, Leif only stared at the Shield Hero's handiwork for a brief few seconds before he recovered his mind. The young lord quickly begins to point his fingers at the ground in front of them, instructing Naofumi to start laying down more stone barricades to help the defense of Menagerie hotel.

"We lack depth to our current defense. If the Wave-spawn breach any fortification point, they could crumble our formation and kill everyone hiding in Menagerie. But we don't have enough manpower to create a defense fortification with depth." Leif lets out a brief sign as Naofumi finishes up the construction of his stone barriers. "But Lord Motoyasu's filorial children could jump over our barrier. They can perform fast raids on our enemy to relieve our warriors when they need to recover their strength."

"It'll have to do. Hope we actually get more reinforcements elsewhere." Naofumi nods his head and lets his hand drop down to his side. He sits down on the ground and takes a few deep breaths. This is the first time he continuously used cast shield abilities without any break since his level reset. He doesn't know if they are the same as normal people without a legendary weapon using weapon arts. Probably not... since there would be no need for stonemasons if people could construct a city wall in a few minutes using a shield like him. Regardless, he feels exhausted after his work. Leif quickly takes a few wide steps, leaning Naofumi's arm over his shoulder and begins to lead Naofumi towards the inside of the barricade he constructed for the Cal Mira people.

The Shield Hero feels a mild sense of powerlessness, and uselessness. As the Shield Hero, he should be the one to stand on the front and take the Wave monster's worst assault. That's even what Malty told him. Yet in all the battles so far, he's the one who gets constantly saved by someone else. The first time, he would have been overrun together with Lute village's militia if those knights didn't show up in the end. The second battle... he was the first to lose any ability to resist when Lautrec's goddess sealed away his shield. And right now, he had his level reset after Three Heroes' Church's rebellion and is being constantly sheltered in the backline. Only using his shield abilities, and miracles to support the troops fighting on the front. But he also remembers Malty's warning of his (and his fellow heroes') life tied with the difficulties of the Wave itself. So he can't even risk his own life without putting everyone else and their world in danger. For now, all he can do is contribute what he can while keeping himself safe.

"Lord Shield Hero?" While Naofumi is resting, he hears an unfamiliar voice calling out to him. The Shield Hero looks up, and sees a young girl with black hair, and a pair of black feline ears atop of her head. Her face reminded him a little of Cal Mira Island's manager. "You were the one that constructed this stone barricade for us, not some miracle from the Chief God. Am I right? I saw they were emerald colored shields, before they turned into stone barriers."

"Yes. We don't know how much reinforcements we'll get from the frontline. We need to hold down this fort till the Wave stops." Naofumi gives the catgirl a quick nod before closing his mouth and continues his rest. He has enough stock of healing, and recovery potion for both magic and stamina. He had fed all the herbs his own retinue and his fellow heroes had collected into his shield as soon as his level was high enough to reopen his alchemy shield branch, to let them slowly cook into high quality potions. But they should be saved in a pinch when the situation truly deteriorates into 'do or die'. He's already informed of the side effects of chucking down potions, and right now he has enough time to sit down and rest to naturally recover his stamina. But there is something he could do. The Shield Hero takes out his stack after stack of potions in front of him, the catgirl's eyes slowly turn into a saucer at seeing this much potion coming from a single person. "Distribute these to every defender. I think we'll need them."

"Of course!" The dark haired catgirl begins to wave and call out the people scattered around their newly constructed fortification. A group of two dozen adults, and teens run over. None of them carry any weapon. Probably the braver of the tourists who volunteered to help defend Menagerie hotel. Leif gives Naofumi a half bow salute, and runs back on his mount to inform their troops fighting on the front and bring them back. Not too long after, the Siltvelt raiders are the first group to return. All of their muscles are covered in sweat, their breath is as heavy as the giant wolves under them. Some of them are sharing their mount with warriors wearing Cal Mira Island clothing. These brave defenders have been fighting on the beach and the street of the resort even before Naofumi and Motoyasu's group joined the fray. They look even more exhausted than the Siltvelt raiders, with a good number of them completely leaning their bodies on direwolves' backs. If the (not) orcs aren't holding onto them from the back, they would probably fall off their mount during the sprint. The raiders immediately dismount their steed as soon as they clear over the barricade. They sit down on the ground with their great wolves, using every moment to rest and recover their stamina for the rest of the Wave battle.

"Father!" The catgirl runs over to Nazgrel, who is coming at the back of his raiders. Of course, she's not calling out to the leader of Siltvelt raiders, but the black haired man with cat ears in front of Nazgrel. Naofumi wasn't wrong with his assumption - she really is the daughter of Cal Mira Island's leader.

The Melromarc knights came back next. They also dismount their steed, but they run up the barriers and line up alongside the Cal Mira Island defenders. It seems like unlike the raiders from Frost Wolf tribe, the Melromarc knights haven't spent all of their stamina yet fighting the Wave monsters. Motoyasu and his children bring up the rear. With his children being powerful filorial monarchs, they have much greater stamina and speed than human, or demi-human. They are perfectly capable of kicking some monsters away, and then immediately turn around to run for their lives. As they come close to Naofumi's stone barricade, the filorial flock suddenly scatters, leaving nothing but empty space between Bertia and the Wave monsters chasing them. The dark mage turns around on her steed and holds up her palms in front of her chest, the fur on her black fox familiar's back stands up as a wyvern shaped dark aura forms around her. "[DARKNESS TERROR Wave]!"

A powerful tide of dark energy erupts out of Bertia's hand and sweeps the monsters away. The spell is still as powerful as Naofumi witnessed on the plain near the village of Balafon. The Shield Hero still remembers the first time the shy, nervous noble girl showed him what she could do with her dark magic. She didn't even dare to show it to Motoyasu, due to the fear of him showing disdain towards her power. But now, she is apparently confident enough to use her most powerful dark magic whenever she is needed.

Motoyasu, his companions, and his children clears over the stone barricade faster than the Melromarc knights. Naofumi feels like his heart drops to his stomach when he sees Motoyasu's face. The eyes of his fellow hero twitch in a way that looks like he is holding back tears. He is clearly also biting the inside of his mouth. Normally, Motoyasu tends to be the happiest, and the most optimistic one of them due to his childish nature. To have him look genuinely sad... he had probably seen a good number of tragedies with his own eyes. Naofumi quickly takes a few steps forward. "Are you okay here, Motoyasu?"

"I... I couldn't save them all..." Motoyasu's voice sounds as exhausted as he is lost. This further confirmed Naofumi's worry, his friend having witnessed deaths the Wave monsters caused to innocent people who were only here to spend a vacation. Katarina and Bertia quickly lean into both of his sides, lending their strength to support the Spear Hero. Naofumi hesitated for one brief moment, before he joined in and pulled them all into a group hug.

"Remember what I told you? Even Superman... er... I guess Ultraman from your earth, can't stop every tragedy. I'm sure you did your best. And our job isn't done here yet. We need to continue to do our best to protect everyone hiding in the Menagerie Hotel." Naofumi carefully observes Motoyasu's face. He sees his fellow hero's eyes slowly go from unfocused, to filled with resolution once again.

"Yeah! You are right. Our work isn't finished. Let's do this!" Motoyasu pulls away from their group hug, and gives Naofumi a light tap on the shoulder with his fist. The Shield Hero's eye focuses on the weapon form he is using. A silver shaft, with a long, golden, elongated diamond shaped spear tip, with two twin spikes extending horizontally to its sides like small pikes. It's the same weapon the knight Finn uses, and it makes Naofumi feel slightly confused. It can't be even stronger than the dragon scale weapon they fully enhanced through Gaelion's scales, can it? Motoyasu seemed to notice Naofumi's puzzlement this time, he gently flicked the shaft of his weapon with a finger on his left hand. "[Brave Spear]. It's not my strongest weapon form, but it cuts all my stamina consumption by half."

"Half stamina consumption, hmm... It's a pretty useful ability." Naofumi nods his head, and he instantly understands the reason why Motoyasu chose this form. Right now, they are facing near countless numbers of low level monsters. Canonfodders from the Wave to exhaust them, basically. Any ability or boost to extend their stamina is much more important than raising their damage output, and this weapon form could basically help Motoyasu fight twice as long as he normally could. "Is there a [Brave Shield] too?"

"Unfortunately not, Lord Shield Hero." The much older Sir Finn explains. He is over forty years old, yet the blue haired man still looks like he is in his mid thirties with his well shaved face and handsome face. A charming, boyish face mixed with the maturity that comes with age and experience. Naofumi imagines he must have an army of admirers. "The brave series weapons were originally constructed by the Three Heroes' Church, as a countermeasure against heroes who have gone rogue. So there is only Brave Sword, Brave Spear and Brave Bow. The exact method to create them has been lost to time, but there are still some of them left behind. So we can not use its creation method to make a shield variance."

"That's a shame." Naofumi immediately waves away the sense of disappointment in his head. Yes, it's a shame he out of the four summoned heroes can't have access to one of the more useful abilities. But he already has other things his fellow heroes lack. The ability of his fully limit break alchemy shield to automatically produce high quality potions without doing anything already feels like some kind of cheat code if he is actually in a video game. Plus, he already knew he could absorb an artifact of other weapon time and unlock a shield variance with their properties. But these weapons would be more helpful if they are wielded by other skilled fighters who know how to use them, like Sir Finn. So he doesn't dwell on this point. "Are there any more ways we can bolster our defense before the next Wave of monsters reach us?"

"There should be, my king. The past heroes declared Cal Mira Archipelago as eternal neutral ground. Where no other nations could try to conquer them, or to have their wars on Cal Mira soil and its surrounding seas. But its past lords should still have built it as a fortress in case any overly ambitious idiots want to challenge the heroes' edict." Kael'thas' eyes slowly move from Naofumi to the large, black haired (and furred) cat man. "I knew past Phoenix Princes have helped construct a defensive arcane network. And I'm sure Siltvelt wasn't the only nation who has helped contribute to Cal Mira Island's overall defense. Now is the time to use them. Why were none of these countermeasures activated?"

"Ah... I'm afraid you caught us at a bad time. Prince Kael'thas. You see... we have warriors, but don't have too many powerful, or knowledgeable spellwrights. Those of us who have magical potential, who we send to study spell works in foreign nations often choose to stay and continue their study and research rather than return to their homeland..." The large cat man begins to wipe sweat off his forehead.

"You don't know how to, or lack enough spellcasters to activate these countermeasures. I'll take care of it." Kael'thas waves away Menagerie Hotel's manager, no longer content to let the man waste more time with his long explanation. He takes another arrow out of his elaborate battle robe. Naofumi notices the arrow head has a more elaborate build than his usual 'cloud piercer' which has a hole through it to create its noise, this one is curved into the shape of a fiery red bird, making it look more like some kind of artistic product that should sit in a museum. Kael'thas tosses it into the sky in the brief moment when Naofumi was lost in his thoughts, and it makes a different noise than the normal cloud piercer. It sounds like the loud shrieking of a bird, and as it reaches the height in the sky, it explodes into a cloud of light that looks like a red bird too.

Not too long after, a bright white bird flies towards them... no, there is actually a second bird right behind the first one. But with its dark feathers and aura of black flame, Naofumi didn't notice it behind the one that looks more like a flying beacon. They land on the ground and quickly change into two people. The first one is a young, pale man who has the same elven-like features as Kael'thas, but has long silver hair instead of gold and he wears a set of white robes and the other has dark skin and unexpectedly thick muscles... that's Muhammad Avdol. Both of them go down on one knee in front of Naofumi. "We are yours to command, my king."

"They are Cleose Fallension, Prince of the White Phoenix, and Muhammad Avdol, Prince of Bennu. Both of them are spellwrights on the same level as I. Between the three of us, we should be able to activate and maintain any defensive countermeasure Cal Mira Island has." Kael'thas points to the two newly arrived Siltvelt princes and gives a brief introduction to them both.

"Do what you have to. Don't waste time." Naofumi gives a quick Wave to them all, beckoning them to do as Kael'thas say. All three Siltvelt princes give him a nod. The two newcomers stand up and enter the Menagerie Hotel with Kael'thas. Naofumi climbs up the stone barrier he constructed himself, and stands alongside the defenders. In the distance, he can see countless monsters still rushing at them. And right now... he can do nothing else but to hold them back for as long as possible. Hopefully till any reinforcements reach them, or this Wave is stopped for good.

Chapter Text

The dungeon is dark, damp, and filled with the stench of death and human waste. But that's the kind of treatment he expected when he tried to fight against the church's rebellion. To reclaim House Leopold's lost glory was his biggest goal, but he will not allow himself to betray his nation, and the basic standard of goodness to reach it. He would not be able to face his dead father, and elder brother if he worked together with traitors who tried to steal away the nation.

The sound of armored footsteps, and the faint glow of light begin to approach his cell. Bright Leopold slowly moves his head. The first thing the only survivor of House Leopold noticed was the chest armor. Unlike the current age platemail which has a slightly curved, but smooth surface, it's constructed to have the shape similar to a well muscled man's chest. The old Romalian style. And the long, blue plume on the helmet signifies the man being a Romalian centurion. And then he noticed the man's face. "Set. Did you help the heroes?"

"Bright. Always so observant." The face of his common born friend twists, as he lets out a depreciating snort. The heavy armor doesn't really fit Set's usually easy going, and somewhat brutish attitude, or his fighting style. As a brawler, he is always at his most effective when going into a battle light, and uses his body's well honed reflexes as both his sword, and armor. Clearly, he wore the armor only to display his new position. "That's why I hate you, you know? If it's anyone else seeing their old friend and rival after being thrown in prison, they might say something like. 'Yo, Set. You got promoted!', or play it off light like 'It's been a long time, huh?'. But not you! Always right to the point. Yes, me, a commoner got promoted from a soldier straight to Centurion because I helped the Shield Hero."

"If you are visiting me, that must mean the church's rebellion has been stopped." Bright nods his head along as Set opens the gate to his cell. His movement is much more clumsy than usual, it took him two tries to get the key inserted properly. "It was a badly thought up plan from the start, doomed to fail one way or another. Was it the heroes, or the queen that stopped them?"

"The heroes worked together to kill Pope Balmus, and our glorious queen came and took back the capital while that's happening." Set's words make Bright pause for a brief moment. Balmus' authority, strength, and miracle power was admittedly, one thing the only Leopold survivor couldn't account for (if he wakes up from his injuries caused by the goddess, of course). At most, he imagined someone might get General Anderson and his army, use them to pressure the supreme leader of the Three Heroes' Church while taking the church's power base from somewhere else. That could force a stalemate with the rebels, and maybe eventually force them to submit if Melromarc is facing another threat such as a Wave battle, or a crusade from other nations. Pope Balmus was no idiot, and he would not have traded the nation he fought so hard to protect in The Great War for an unrealistic ambition. But to hear his death, in the hands of a group of young heroes? They must have trained, and fought like hell, and likely only won due to whatever injury the goddess caused Pope Balmus. Set's question breaks his trail of thought. "Hey, the heroes are recruiting their retinue. Wanna come with me? Clearly, working for the heroes is the quickest way to promotion!"

"I barely got out of the dungeon, and you are already thinking about more promotion?" Bright lets out a light chuckle at his rival friend. Even after being promoted from a common soldier straight to a centurion, Set still thinks about only one thing: More promotions. At least certain things will never change.

"Of course. You'll probably get your centurion position back, I still haven't got to a position above you." Bright's common born friend seemed to have remembered something. After foundling his free hand in his pocket for a brief moment, he flips a golden coin into Bright's open hand. The last survivor of House Leopold brushes against its cold surface, and sure enough. He can feel the dagger engraved letter 'B' on its back. "Here's your coin back. Don't say I never returned it to you."

Chapter 11: Attack on the Wave

Bright Leopold narrows his eyes. He might no longer be a centurion commanding a hundred sworn swords of House Amelia, but his experience being an officer doesn't simply rot away in the dungeon. With him not directly fighting against the Wave monsters, he's been gazing at the different armies under various factions since Princess Malty (her new, and official status as the Shield Hero's slave doesn't mean much when she clearly has the heroes' trust to command their retinues). After she dispatched her runner to the queen's own formation, only a single group left south to reinforce the heroes in Menagerie resort: the former slave legion of the Three Heroes' Church made of demi-humans, now known as the Sons of Biscas. The army from other nations, especially Siltvelt and Shiltfreeden might send more troops to reinforce Menagerie resort, but it won't be enough to hold back the monsters if they are as numerous as the Wave they are currently facing. Even when the situation is literally life or death, the power play and the faction politics seems to still be the focus of these elites.

He begins to push through the people in their formation towards Princess Malty. Set notices his action and joins him on the side, even as they earn dirty looks and scoffs from those around them. Not too long after, the two of them managed to get someone's attention, unfortunately, it's not the princess. "What's going on here!? Why are you two breaking formations!?"

As the son of a count, Cardin Winchester normally wouldn't even be one of those Bright Leopold associate himself with, let alone having the authority to chastise the only surviving Leopold. Unfortunately for the red haired fallen scion, House Leopold had come to ruin during The Great War. And right now, the young Winchester is Lady Eclair's second-in-command. As a result, Bright has no choice but to answer his question. "I must speak with Princess Malty, Lieutenant Winchester. The heroes left by Menagerie resort, and all of us are in severe danger!"

"You don't think I know that? Of course we are under threat. We are fighting a Chief God damned Wave battle! Return to your position! Your last name means nothing now you are in the retinue of the heroes!" The House Winchester scion glares at Bright. Clearly, the much younger noble decided to use this opportunity to assert his authority over everyone present. From a pure objective perspective, Bright agrees with Cardin's action. As Eclair's second-in-command, he needs to take charge of the situation when Lady Eclair has been dispatched away by Princess Malty. Unfortunately, Bright really does have something important to speak with the princess, and the Sword Hero.

"Let's hear him out first." The House Winchester scion looks ready to say something else, but he is stopped by the Sword Hero. Cardin shoots Bright another glare (Bright tries to ignore how besides him, Set is glaring right back at the young noble), but lets both Bright and Set through. Much like the young Winchester, the Sword Hero clearly tried to make himself look stern and intimidating. But both of them are too young and inexperienced to look natural in the role they each assumed. Compared to someone like Duke Amelia who has lived in the role for so long, and settles into it naturally, both of them are merely acting out their position. Not that Bright would tell this fact to their faces, he needs the Sword Hero to listen to him after all.

"Lord Sword Hero, we must be on the offensive and push back against the Wave till we kill the Wave boss. The monsters have already shown to have more intelligence, possibly actual sentience than everyone gives them credit for with their two front assault." Bright points his finger at the direction of the Menagerie resort. "Our number would dwindle, while countless monsters would continue to pour into our world. A fight of attrition is overwhelmingly against our favor."

"We know that, Sir Leopold." The Sword Hero remains pensive and silent, but Princess Malty opens her mouth. He was slightly surprised at her knowing his name considering he has no recollection of talking with her face to face. He supposed as the closest companion of the Shield Hero, she would have a list of the heroes' retinues for both the recruited members, and those who have the potential to join them. "But the Wave opened up on the other side of the sea, on another island. Most of our men have no means to reach the boss monster. That's why everyone is waiting for the Wave boss to reach us."

"The Wave boss would not come for us." Bright isn't optimistic at convincing the former first princess of Melromarc. He had never met her face to face, but gossip and rumors he heard about her doesn't paint her in a very good light. But right now, all he has to go on is his own instinct and his theory of the situation. If he can't even convince the heroes and those they work with, he would have no chance to convince the leader of the gathered coalition. "The first goal of the Wave monsters was to sink our ships, to make sure we won't have our first means to reach their boss monster. If they wanted to catch us with a two front attack, they could have made landfall from the west side. They would be able to hit us on the back without anyone noticing them. But they choose to come from the east side where the resort, the port is. To me, it seems like they were targeting our means of transportation to hold us down here on the main island."

The look on everyone's face slowly morphs from dismissive, or indifference to concern and surprise. A few of them even started to show genuine fear at what Bright described. Both the Sword Hero, and Princess Malty have a more neutral look on their faces, but the slight twitch to the corner of their eyes or mouth tells Bright that he had their attention, and they realized how severe their current situation is. They are only holding their expression to not cause a panic to break out among the troops. The princess turns around to look at the few senior looking knights in their group. "Hold down our position at all costs, and prepare our backline to receive enemy attack. I'm going to see our queen with Lord Sword Hero. Sir Leopold, you are with me."

o(-_-)o[T]

Stupid, stupid, STUPID! How could I miss such an obvious answer right in my face? Of course, the Wave monsters wouldn't know three of the four Cardinal Heroes were left at Menagerie. Not when it's caused by an attempted assassination right before the Wave started! Even if some monster from the Wave of Catastrophe, or rather, someone from this Burning Legion infiltrated our ranks, there's not enough to get the information and return to the Wave to organize that round maneuver! They were targeting our ships all alone!

Malty can't stop figuratively beating herself over the head. Granted, she isn't an actual commander, or even an official officer of the gathered forces that fights the current Wave. And she really hasn't had that much actual experience fighting in a war, let alone commanding her own army. But she should still have been more cautious of her opponent's every movement, considering she is one of the few present who actually knew about there being a demonic army behind the current Wave of Catastrophe they are facing. She's thankful that someone managed to inform her of the crisis they are facing before it's too late. And she will definitely be looking for more military advisors and strategists to help Naofumi (and herself) after this. Assuming they get through the foremost dangerous situation, she's going to be keeping this Bright Leopold very close from now on.

Of course, living through the current crisis would be a task easier said than done. Considering she needs to actually convince those who have control over their army, and their strongest fighters. Unfortunately, with them at Cal Mira Island for the Hero Conference, they happen to be more political players than army generals. So the upcoming discussion (spells 'argument') would be more focused on political gain of the different factions, than actual military strategy.

By the time Malty's small group reached her mother, she noticed there were other important figures from other nations gathered around her. King Egbert, as well as his regent Lord Dumbledore, is present. So is the Whip Hero, the adopted son of the Faubley King. The Claw Hero Lung is besides them, who Malty assumes to be the representative of Siltvelt, as well as a tall, broad shouldered white tiger warrior wearing a set of heavy armor that's crafted out of monster parts and furs that makes him look like some kind of bandit, or barbarian king. The look is further enhanced by an intangible aura around him that makes every hair on Malty stand on their ends. No doubt, he is as dangerous as Lung, if not more so, no matter who he is. The princess turned slave doesn't recognize anyone from Shiltfreeden, but they are nothing more than the lackeys of Faubley anyway so she suppose those rats stayed in their own formation. There is a woman around the same age, maybe slightly older than Malty's mother wearing a red tunic with black stripes, with a suit of light mail armor over her. Her face stern, hair tied up in a simple fashion which suggests her being more of a military officer than a noble lady. Malty doesn't recognize this stern looking woman, but she sees emblems on her clothing that look like a stylized gladiator helmet. A member from Zeltoble Free City Alliance. Their members weren't present during the heroes' 'welcome committee' when they made landfall, but the Zeltoble Alliance sure didn't miss the call to fight the Wave of catastrophe. As expected from those blood thirsty sellswords.

The high queen of Melromarc clearly wasn't idling after Eclair was dispatched to inform her of the Wave monsters' second front assault. Or after the Sons of Biscas had left to reinforce Menagerie resort. That's the only reason to explain why important members from Faubley, Siltvelt and Zeltoble have left their own formation and gathered in front of Melromarc army. Of course, why, and for how long they've been talking but not doing anything is anybody's guess. Melty is standing beside mother, likely observing the sordid political play as a part of her training as the heir to the throne.

Eclair is standing besides them, looking very much out of her depth in spite of her assuming her title of Duchess (not like she has much left over to command after the thorough sacking of her family's land, and her family's general unpopularity amongst other Melromarc nobles). She notices Malty first, and her mouth opens slightly, looking ready to say something. But she drops her head low before any sound escapes her lips. Melty is the first to notice Eclair's unusual behavior. She turns around, and her half bored, half upset look instantly part ways for a bright smile as she sees Malty approaching. Mother clearly notices both Eclair and Melty's change as she turns around and looks towards the direction Malty came from. The expression on her face instantly darkens. With a wave of her hand, one of her knights takes Melty away before the crown princess has a chance to speak and cause a disruption. The high queen of Melromarc looks ready to chastise Malty, but someone beats her first.

"Is your daughter the second messenger you decided to bring to us, Mirellia, my girl? I wonder what the urgent message is this time, hmm?" Lord Dumbledore's eyes twinkle behind his spectacles. The headmaster of Faubley's Hero Academy is about the same as Malty heard of him: exuding a seemingly benevolent, and grandfatherly aura. Yet dismissive and patronizing at all times. Treating everyone around him as children that he tolerates and has to constantly chaperone. "Perhaps there is a third group of Wave monsters coming at us from the west side of the island too? So we need to further divide our forces."

"What are you doing here, Malty? Can't you see we are discussing important war strategies, and this is no time to play more of your games? Return from whence you came, unless you finally decide to fulfill your obligation to King Egbert for the good of our nation." Mother's face turns blue after the mild burn she received from the lord regent of Not So Noble Faubley. Clearly, she is at her wits end to not have much of her usual grace left.

"Oh, don't be so fast to dismiss your daughter, Cousin Milly. This would be a great time for her to learn something from her elders. That's why you had your younger daughter observe our discussion, no?" The pig king of Faubley simply smiles at both Malty, and her mother. She wouldn't call it a malicious gesture by default, but his less than handsome face certainly makes it look much more creepy. "Even if she is owned by Lord Shield Hero, I would always welcome the opportunity to know more about my dear niece."

Malty fights back the urge about snarking on how their blood relation (which is actually further than what the pig king implied, considering her father was his adopted brother, who knows how many times removed cousin) certainly didn't stop him from trying to marry her. But now is of course, not the time to act tactless towards people who have the army, and the powerful warriors that could end this Wave early. Unfortunately, she isn't by herself, and someone decided to be more blunt than she ever would. The moment the Sword Hero decides to open her mouth, she knew something bad would happen. "Naofumi and Motoyasu are fighting for their lives, and all of you just sit on your asses doing Nothing?! Are you mad? Or are all of you dumb? And want them to die?"

"I'm sure the situation is not as hopeless as you make it out to be, Ren, my boy. I was old enough to have been a companion of your predecessor, and knew his fellow heroes personally. If I remembered anything, it was how hard to kill the Shield Hero was. I am sure your fellow hero is fine, and this would be a great opportunity for you to learn how to work without their presence." Lord Dumbledore thankfully didn't take offense to Ren's bluntness, but he certainly didn't take the situation seriously enough. Malty throws a quick glimpse towards the other members around her mother, and they don't look phased by Ren's accusation either. Although she did notice how the old mage lord knew Ren's name despite the Sword Hero never properly introducing himself. Yes, Dumbledore is applying more pressure on both the Sword Hero, and Melromarc by revealing information he wasn't privy to.

"You are right the Shield Hero is usually hard to kill, but thanks to a certain someone resetting his level back 1, he is very much killable right now and will die without help." Ren narrows his eyes and sends a murderous glare towards the queen of Melromarc.

Malty's queen mother didn't say anything. At a moment like this, anything she says can be used by the other world leaders against her. But it doesn't mean her subordinate would allow someone, even a hero, to disrespect her. Sir Palmer, mother's most eager door kicker, takes a step forward, points her finger at Ren's nose, and begins to let out a string of insults more like an uncivilized peasant woman than a noble knight. "Be quiet, you pompous little entitled shit! You think your hero status would shield you from consequences of your actions? The Shield Demon had it easy for his multiple charges of starting insurrection, and killing the son of a noble family!"

"I very much doubt the Shield Hero stayed at level 1 after his level reset. He certainly didn't act like a level one the last time we met." Lung turns around on her heels and rests both of her hands on her waist. Malty notices her tongue running on the corner of her red lips. "A shame, nonetheless. If I knew he was under-leveled, I should have taken him in and given him some comforting attention to warm him up."

"Please, show some grace for Lord Sword Hero and forgive his bluntness. There is a good reason why he is worried about his fellow heroes." Malty immediately cuts Ren off before he can make himself look even worse in front of everyone. She pushes Bright Leopold in front of her. "Sir Bright Leopold suspected there was a reason why the Wave monsters held our main forces at the north front and then attacked Cal Mira Island from the east side. It's where the port is, where all of our ships are. They are eliminating ways for us to reach the island where the Wave of Catastrophe opened up, where the Wave boss likely is! We need to find a way to take the fight to them, before it's too late."

"Malty, my girl. You are treating this Wave battle like we are fighting against an opponent of equal intelligence. The truth was, the second group of Wave monsters probably got attracted by the life force of all the tourists at the resort. While it's an unfortunate tragedy that definitely requires our immediate action, it's no reason to act overly paranoid and assume our opponents are more cunning than beasts." Once again, the lord regent is entirely dismissive of Malty's concern as he Waves her off. And to the old mage lord's credit, he did immediately turn towards King Egbert. "Egbert, my boy. Perhaps now would be a good time to dispatch more of your forces to make sure the people staying at Menagerie are safe?"

"Yes, of course. I shall dispatch Sir Katy, her black guards and cursed swords to reinforce the defense of Menagerie." The pig king gives his regent a faint bow, although his sight was clearly focused on Malty herself. She can't help but think King Egbert only did what's asked of him because he was trying to make himself look more dear and presentable.

"A bit too late to let out your old 'charm', Pops." Prince Tact puts his arms behind his head and leans backwards. "She already found her honeyman on the Shield Hero. A young hero who fights monsters at the front, who is already entitled to the rank of a duke and might become a king of his own right versus a crusty old man sitting on his throne. Not much of a competition if you ask me, and I'm not even a girl."

"You be quiet, you uncivilized little shit! You are making me look bad! You should still treat Lady Malty with respect, even if she's not going to be your mother anymore." The pig king's face quickly changed from trying (and failing) to act warm and welcoming, to twisted with fury. The Whip Hero simply snorts at his adopted father, showing just how much respect, or lack thereof he has towards his king.

From their reaction it's clear that nobody took Malty's warning seriously. She herself might have dismissed it, if she hadn't gotten her warning from the current mortal avatar of Alaya. Worse, she has no way to prove to these rulers and elites that she had truly met with Fitoria. Short of the half mad avatar making an appearance among them right at this moment, it would be based on the faith of her words. And she already knew mother would immediately jump out and question the truth of her words no matter what she says. The chance that she manages to convince anyone of the Burning Legion's existence is next to zero, and it would only sour the topic if it's brought up by Naofumi.

Not that the Shield Hero himself would have a much easier time to convince these players. Even ignoring all the political power play and assuming all rulers of the most powerful nations act in good faith (she would eat the Star Wand if that ever happens), the Shield Hero's reputation isn't exactly great after Mikage Mikami.

"If you doubt our words, dispatch some runners and see if the ships at the ports are all sunk. That should be a good indication that the Wave monsters were commanded by some higher beings with enough sentience to strategize, and we would have to act accordingly." Malty opens her mouth again and tries to convince the gathered rulers and elites with tangible facts, rather than an abstract threat hanging over their heads that she has no way to prove. It's a gamble, as there's a chance that Bright was wrong with his assumption of the Wave monster's target, and it would immediately discredit all of their concern. But at least it'll be better than having her suggestion immediately shoot down and ruin any chance for Naofumi to convince them of the Burning Legion's existence. At the very least, having some news about Menagerie resort, and port's news brought back to them via a runner would make Malty's mind rest easier.

"Malty, my girl. I'm sure the Wave monsters have destroyed most, if not all the ships in the port as you said. They are crazy monsters who destroy anything in their path after all. But regardless, we can send a runner to see what's happening behind our back. Just to make you feel better." Malty feels like grinding her teeth together at Dumbledore's response. He didn't shoot her suggestion down, rather he did something far worse: completely discredit everything she suggested right at the front... and then take her suggestion. If things went differently from how she predicted, he could continue to act as a condescending elder pulling a 'I told you so' act. But if the runner does notice something out of place... he would be the one to take all the credit for stopping a crisis in a timely manner.

"We should not dismiss Lord Shield Hero and Lady Malty's concern, and prepare for the worst. Wave battles are unpredictable, after all. But it doesn't change the fact that we are at a major disadvantage if we go towards the Wave boss, compared to letting it come to us. There's a sea between us. And if Sir Leopold is right, we have already lost most, if not all of our warships." The Zeltoble warrior lady breaks her silence. She isn't supporting Malty per say, but at least her concern comes from a military strategic perspective, not political power play. "I'm sure Cal Mira people would have some ship hidden somewhere for such an occasion. But it remains to be seen if we can safely make landfall on the northern islands with them. We would be sending out a lot of our elite troops to die if they are sunk on the way."

"We won't travel by water." The new voice is much deeper than the rest of the speakers, and Malty feels a physical burden on her shoulder as she hears the words. She looks around, and sees both Ren and Bright twitching on their feet as if they are trying to stop themselves from falling over. She turns around, and sees the white tiger man unwinding his arms from his chest. His purple eyes are cold, shining with the same icy fire as the crystal on his pair of gauntlets. Another hero who holds a star weapon, and the princess turned slave doesn't need a second chance to guess his identity when the white tiger man turns to address both Lung, and Tact. "We'll transport our most powerful warriors and spellcasters with your airship. And use all of our air cavalry to escort them. Lung, you will hold the monster down by the beach."

Dionysia of White Tiger has a number of titles to his name. The current 'Strongest Tiger' of White Tiger Clan. The Tomb Tiger. The Gauntlet Hero who wields the star gauntlet, and one of the most senior vassal heroes who have fought, and survived The Great War. It's debatable if he is the strongest hero, but he is the most experienced one. And yes, Malty heard of the story that Tact had some conflict with the current Hammer Hero during their study at Faubley's Hero Academy that nearly resulted in the death of the current Hammer Hero. It was Lord Dio who stepped in, stomped Tact and his retinue into the dirt and allowed the Hammer Hero to escape with his life. She wonders how the arrogant Faubley prince would act with the way the Gauntlet Hero, who utterly humiliated him in the Hero Academy, orders him around like a subordinate.

Tact glances at Dio from the corner of his narrowed eyes. His mouth thins into a slightly curved line. But the normally arrogant, and aloof hero of Star Whip didn't say anything back to the veteran hero. It seems like the rumor was true. The Whip Hero is most definitely cautious towards Lord Dio. He turns around, and leaves together with the Claw Hero. Hopefully to gather the troops and transportation as Dio commanded them. Because Malty has a bad feeling about this Wave, it really feels like something bad is going to happen, or someone is watching over them.

o(-_-)o[T]

He stands silently at the highest vantage point, watching at the main Cal Mira Island under the crimson sky. A smirk on the corner of his lip. They are acting faster than I originally expected of this world after I opened the second front. Someone from this world is treating this Wave battle seriously like they are fighting a war against an equal opponent. Was it out of pure cautiousness... or perhaps a guardian of this timeline told them of The Legion? Regardless, it's impressive... very impressive.

Cold air suddenly condensed together behind him, and began to prickle the back of his exposed neck. A woman's voice, much colder than the air itself, begins to echo behind him. "Why are you here? This world should have been my mission."

"Think of me as an insurance." He doesn't have to turn around, the calm, uninterested smirk never leaving his face. "Our goddess isn't happy after Kiddo's failure last time. Not only did he fail to capture his target, he was spending so much time pleasuring himself, he didn't even conquer the world properly. That's why our goddess decided to have me as a backup. If a newly recruited member does everything right, I would merely act as an observer, maybe an advisor if they appreciate some help. Otherwise, I will only step in if our target is about to get away like last time Kiddo was in charge."

"How dare you compare me to the likes of that lecherous fool. The fact that the Legion recruited someone like him makes me wonder if I made a wrong choice in joining." The woman's treacherous words don't phase him. He knew the exact circumstance she joined them. When their world was destroyed, she had almost everything stripped away from her. She chose to join them rather than be killed alongside the denizens of her world. Her loyalty had never aligned with the Legion, or his goddess. But she wouldn't dare to defy them when they could crush her like an ant any moment. As expected, the woman quickly changes topic, and stops complaining about his presence. "Don't tell me that second front attack is all you planned. Even if you have no plan to capture your target immediately, a surprise attack by a wave of cannon fodder wouldn't mean much."

"Of course not. The point is to test the abilities of this world's champions. Their intelligence to adapt to the situation... and their strength to resist an attack. As much as Kiddo was an idiot, he was right in one thing: this game wouldn't be too fun, if we go straight for the prize." A glowing sphere of scarlet right begins to slowly focus on his finger tip. He shoots the wisp into the dimensional tear itself. Slowly but surely, a distant rumble can be heard in the horizon across the world. Until a deep crimson shaded leg, long and thin like a stilted breaks through the dimensional tear, slowly revealing its arachnid looking body. "Let's see if these heroes can overcome Little Miss Spider, shall we? Let's see this world's champions fight for their lives."

"Bringing out a nation ending, if not a world ending demon lord on the Fourth Wave? You are such a deviant bastard." The woman behind him lets out a muffled snort, as if she tried to hold it back in due to the very action being too far beneath her, yet wasn't successful in the end. "What would you do if she actually killed all the heroes and ended this world?"

"I am but a humble servant to my goddess." He closes his eyes, pushes his palm together in front of his face and bows down his head. As if showing courtesy to some imaginary icon. His response doesn't answer anything, yet explains his intention to his co-conspirator perfectly. "It's all the more reason for you to return where you came from, isn't it? Your absence might be noticed. As someone being initiated into the Legion, it is your task to ensure the target's capture."

The air was cold like a blizzard for one moment, but it turned hot, almost scalding the very next instance. Smart girl, she had already left. He knew his co-conspirator had left for her own role. She wasn't an idiot like Kiddo, who joined the Legion only to save his own skin, and to live in pleasure and luxury plundered from other worlds. She will do what's good for herself in the end, and right now, her fate is entirely connected to the Legion.

He gives one last look to both the dimensional tear, and the giant, crimson spider that had fully emerged from the Wave itself. He should follow the advice he gives to his co-conspirator. His 'mistresses' might notice his absence too if he dally for too long. Time to see if the champions, and the 'heroes' of this world are worthy enough to entertain him. With that final thought, he throws himself into the darkness once again.

o(-_-)o[T]

Janne feels a cold hand had suddenly closed around her heart, she turns around to look at her battle brother. Sure enough, Abel is looking right back at her. Clearly her battle brother felt the same evil presence breaching their world just like her. Besides her, Mittelt begins to shake uncontrollably. Janne pulls her into an embrace to calm the young crow down. For now, they have more important things to worry about than to fight back this dangerous threat to their world. The Shield Hero, their father's appointed successor, was almost assassinated right before the Wave battle suddenly descended upon everyone. And right now, he had been trapped in Menagerie resort by a second group of Wave monsters. To ensure the safety of their father's successor, her battle brothers and herself would cut a path of blood through the Wave monsters if they have to.

Her fingers tighten around the Replica, the weapon first forged by Master Aldrecth during the Great War with all three pieces of hero shards. Right now, the form she chose was a replica of the Brave Spear. Her ability to wield polearm isn't as good as her swordsmanship, but a spear would be more useful in their charge. They are getting closer to the edge of the tropical forest they are marching through, she could already see the tall Menagerie Hotel through the last layer of foliage. Abel jumps through the treeline ahead of Janne, and she has to grab her battle brother on the shoulder. "Hold, Abel. Something doesn't look right."

Her battle brother didn't say anything, didn't even turn around to look at Janne. Out of every single member of the Sons of Biscas, Abel took the death of their father the hardest. And her battle brother wanted to kill the Shield Hero more than anyone else from their order. But Abel is also loyal towards their father, and would obey the duty of following the Shield Hero's command like their father wanted. But right now, with Janne giving the order to hold, there is no reason for Abel to disobey and charge right into Menagerie resort. Not when the tourist town is covered in some kind of blue glyph that glows with the light of magic.

"It's a protection Glyph built into the island's mana grid, using the streets and buildings as conduit." Abel's eyes narrow, purple peacock tail feathers sprout out behind the wrathful son and carry Janne's battle brother into the sky. With them being raised in the church, study of magic that's not directly gifted to them by the Chief God and his pantheon is heavily frowned upon. But of all her battle brothers, Abel is one of those who has a strong natural sense towards the arcane due to both being a peacock, and having proper tutors to study the actual arcane theories. "There are three types of defensive magic field: a protection barrier to keep enemies out, causing damage to the attackers, or weakening them. I see no defensive barriers the Wave spawn piled them on, and they are clearly not being damaged. So it must be a weakening type. It would most likely weaken anyone caught in its range, us included."

A weakening type defensive field... it should be expected that Cal Mira Island would have something like it as the neutral ground that would hold the Hero Conference. Much like the already fallen 'Judge of Heroes', a reputation to a nation can be a double edged sword. It would cause others who are too weak to stay away from them, but for those who are ambitious and believe themselves to be strong... Taking down a nation with a well-known reputation would be the easiest way to gain prestige. Obviously, someone has expected the possibility of Cal Mira Island being invaded in the future, and they are using the contingency plan to fight against Wave monsters.

The better question is what to do for themselves. Would the defensive field extend into the sky? Abel, or Janne herself could fly through the sky, informing the defenders of Menagerie that help has arrived. Having them shut down the defensive magical field to let her battle brothers in. Or else they could charge in while the defensive field was active, taking risk that it would do to them as it did to the Wave monsters to ensure the safety of the defenders taking shelter. The decision was made in an instance, this is what they were raised to do. "Prepare to charge. We shall endure."

"I will take points. You lead from the center." Abel descended down from the sky without complaint. Janne prefers to lead at the front, but when she is partnered with Abel, she would be better suited to remain in the middle to command her fellow battle brothers. Or rather, Abel would not be able to do what she can do. As the prodigious son let herself back into the middle of their group, Abel had already charged forward ahead of everyone towards Menagerie resort. Jenna quickly begins to direct her fellow Sons of Biscas to form into an arrow, and follows right after the wrathful son. She doesn't know how strong the weakening field around Cal Mira Island is. It's possible that everyone stepping in would be weakened equally, but if its spellworks were designed to weaken only the strongest... she's not about to let Abel get killed by the tide of Wave spawn.

As she steps through the threshold of the magic field, she can feel herself immediately grow heavy. Not only in the sense of her body becoming more sluggish (although that's certainly true), but it feels like there is a cage placed inside her, burdening down her soul from inside, making it nearly impossible to commune with their gods. Still, it would not be the worst condition she has to fight in, and her head is still clear enough as her battle brothers on the front manage to catch up to Abel. The wrathful son still lived up to the name even in a weakened state, where wavespawn have their limbs torn asunder, their bodies kicked and stomped into unrecognizable shapes as they are thrown around like toys.

The rest of Janne's battle brothers arrange themselves behind Abel, even with their power reduced, they have no trouble with cutting through the horde of Wave monsters. Although they did encounter an expected obstacle as they reached the foot of Menagrie Hotel. In the form of a tall, stone barrier around the hotel itself. As Janne looks up in complete bewilderment, she wonders if her fellow battle brothers share her puzzlement. "Is this... a newly built castle wall?"

"I, I remember you! You were that angel who saved Malty and I when we were falling! Cover them, Motoyasu!" The Shield Hero looks down at them from the top of the barrier. He gives a light tap to the Spear Hero besides him, and his fellow hero obliged his request. With a Wave of his weapon, the Spear Hero throws down a Wave of explosive stars behind Janne's group, blowing hordes of monsters back, or turning them into broken bits of dead body parts. The slab of stone on the Shield Hero's arm turns into a coil of rope, and he quickly throws a few strands down for Janne and her battle brothers. "Get up quickly!"

Her fellow Sons of Biscas didn't hesitate. Janne, Abel and others who are capable of flight carry some of their fellow battle brothers up the wall, while others climb up using the Shield Hero's rope one after another. The Spear Hero, and others lay down cover fire for them with musket shots, arrows, bolts, or their weapon arts. Barely a few breaths of a moment, one hundred of Janne's battle brothers she brought along now stand on the makeshift wall around Menagerie Hotel. The sense of burden from the defensive magic field disappears as Janne touches down on the barrier.

With her better vintage points, she realizes what the Shield Hero constructed is less of an impromptu wall, and more of a circle of lined up giant stop tablets. Still a decent barrier around the resort they are taking shelter in, but hard to get up and down due to the lack of something like a ramp, or stair cases. She assumes it must be some kind of hero ability, rather than a high level earth spell. "My Lord! We came as soon as we heard about the monsters attacking Menagerie Resort. Are you unharmed?"

"I'm fine. The monsters didn't even get close to me. Motoyasu was in more danger because he ran out to help bring back civilian survivors while I stayed behind healing people, and building this barricade." The Shield Hero pointing his thumb at the Spear Hero standing a few steps away from him. His fellow hero is currently waving his spear around, hitting more monsters with his weapon arts. "How is the battle at the front? Is Malty safe? Is Raphtalia safe? Everyone else from my group?"

"Countless waves of monsters are trying to make their way south onto Cal Mira Island. But they couldn't even reach our formation by the time we turned our way south to reinforce you, my lord. They are fairly weak, and they can't even get through our ranged attack. We haven't heard anything about Lady Malty or Lady Raphtalia, but they shouldn't be in danger." Janne briefly wonders about informing the Shield Hero about the sudden feeling of dread she experienced together with Abel. They don't know anything, except some kind of demon had made through the dimensional tear to have both of their senses picking it up. And she doubted this would have the Shield Hero rest easy, but soon, her choice was made by her.

The feeling of coldness grips Janne's heart once again like a lifeless hand. And this time, it didn't stop at only wrapping its malevolent fingers around her, but squeezed down around her heart. It isn't only herself and Abel who felt this. While the two of them managed to stand upright without flinching, the same can't be said about her battle brothers. Most of them doubled over, a few actually went down on their knees. But the most severe reaction could be seen on Mittelt as the young crow fell on the ground, and puked her guts out. Janne quickly runs over to the young demi-human she initiated into their brotherhood. "Mittelt! Are you okay?!"

"It's that feeling again... it's like he is back again. No... something worse than him." The young crow's words sounded distant, her eyes unfocused. Janne doesn't need her younger sibling to spell the name out for her. Mittelt is talking about the demon that pretended to be a father to her, the one that nearly manipulated her down the path of damnation. That's why out of all her battle brothers, she is the most sensitive to demonic influence.

"Motoyasu? What's wrong?!" The Shield Hero's alarmed voice forces Janne's attention away from her adopted little sister. She notices that the Spear Hero is down on his knees just like some of her battle brothers, his face twisted in suffering, left hand covering over his chest and his right hand holding onto the shaft of his spear for support. The ruby on his spear glowing furiously, the same as the Shield Hero's emerald on his shield. "What the- what's happening to my shield, and your spear?"

"A very powerful demon has no doubt entered into our world, my lord. One that might be powerful enough to destroy us all. It seems like Lord Spear Hero could sense its oppressive presence." Janne can't stop her own voice from sounding grim. As one of her father's favorite sons, she had access to the church's library. She had read over some of the records of the old Waves of Catastrophe. Powerful demons, or even avatars of invading gods entering through the dimensional tear of a Wave to take advantage of their world isn't unheard of. But they usually happen near the end, maybe after the Tenth Wave. For one of this level to appear only in the Fourth Wave... it's unheard of. Seeing the Shield Hero's face quickly turning into hysteria, Janne tries to reassure him. "Do not panic, my lord. Strong veteran heroes are fighting in this Wave. I'm sure Lord Gauntlet Hero, Lady Claw Hero and Lord Whip Hero would fight this threat to the best of their abilities, and we could still win thanks to their strength."

"That's not what I'm worried about! Malty got her father's hero wand... but it's broken! What if she's forced to fight this demon, or god thing with a broken hero weapon?!" The Shield Hero takes a long step away from the Spear Hero, and begins to practically shake Janne. Abel has to push him away from her. "Take me to the battle, PLEASE! Even if I can't help in the fight, I have to make sure Malty is safe!"

"Your level is low. I'll go!" The Spear Hero gets back on his shaking feet.

"Don't look down on me! I'm still the Shield Hero with my focus on defense, and I have my Saiga. Even if I can't help out in the fight, I could keep Malty safe!" The Shield Hero turns around and gives the Spear Hero a slightly annoyed glance before his face turns to a more neutral expression. "We'll go, and fight together. But here..."

"Have no worry, my lords. We shall fight these evil creatures down to our last men to protect the innocent behind us." Lord Leif and Lord Seliph slam their balled up fists over their heart, as does every knight they brought with them. "Our duty is to fight and die for the land."

"Lok'tar Ogar, my king! The horde knows no defeat, only victory, or death!" The big boarman behind the Shield Hero roars together with his fellow raiders.

"I'm taking a little trip with Naofumi to bring back Malty, hold down the fort while I'm gone, okay? Katarina, Bertia? My Children? Miyu, you are in charge while I'm gone, Matsu will help you." The Spear Hero seems to regain his composure. He turns around and places a hand on a tall woman with long flowing purple hair, and a woman whose orange hair is tied into a braid.

"May fortune smile upon you, Master Motoyasu." The purple haired woman bowed her head down, so did her orange haired companion.

"You can count on us! Master Motoyasu! Be careful out there..." Lady Katarina's energetic response turns softer by the end. She steps forward and with a blushing face, places a quick kiss on the Spear Hero's left face. Lady Bertia follows her example, down to the last detail of the faint blush.

Janne feels someone's finger running along her palm. She looks back and sees Mittelt looking at her. She knows her adopted little sister worries for her, but the young crow knows that she isn't strong enough for the upcoming battle. Wordlessly, Janne gives her little sister a nod, and a light pet on her head. She stands back up, and sees the aura of a fully revealed, giant purple peacock behind Abel. Her battle brother speaks with a stern voice, and even a stern gaze aimed at the Shield Hero. "Come up. We shall fly to the Wave boss."

Chapter Text

A fierce wind cuts through Malty's hair like invisible blades, forcing the princess turned slave to pull down her hood. This is the first time she rides an airship. After the initial excitement, she found that it's even less comfortable than riding a regular ship. Of course, if they were allowed to have leisure flights it might be a different story. But right now, since they are going after the Wave boss, every second counts.

"You didn't have to come." Malty turns her head around, and sees Ren walking towards her. The Sword Hero's face is as stern as always. But she had gotten a little bit better at guessing his thoughts after all this time, but looking at the corner of his mouth. Ren is someone who naturally doesn't like to display too much emotion on his face, and unless he is truly shocked to the core (like that time when he found out the dragon he's trying to kill was someone's father), it's pointless to glean emotion from his expressions. But the corner of his mouth, which direction it's pointing is still a good indication to tell how he is feeling. And right now, his mouth is pointing slightly downwards. The Sword Hero isn't feeling very optimistic about the upcoming battle. "We barely beat that Pope guy when we were working together and gave it our all. Now they are saying some powerful demon breached this world."

"I'm a hero of this world too." Malty takes the star wand out of her sleeve. The hero weapon she inherited from her father is glowing purple in her hand. She isn't nearly as calm as she is displaying right now. She was lucky enough to not have her level reset like Naofumi after mother came back (she honestly wasn't sure if she would even survive a level reset with her weakened heart), but she is still much weaker and fragile than a hero of her level. Her specialty is magic, but she can only cast so much with her heart ailment, and the hero weapon (Fitoria and Metatron call it a 'world shard', she wonders if that has some special meanings) she got from her father was an already broken one. Would she even help the other heroes in this battle, or would she end up being a burden to them?

"My Darling Malty! Trying to wrap your fingers on another hero? I'm hurt, honestly hurt that you would dance around such upstarts than spending more time with me. Doesn't our time together mean anything to you?" A voice Malty doesn't want to hear forces her to turn around and let out a sign. Sure enough, the Whip Hero is looking at her with his head cocked to the side. The little dragon and griffin girl standing on each of his sides, and his hand is running through their hair.

Chapter 12: Power of My Veterans

Ren takes a half step forward, not fully standing in front of Malty, but positions himself between Tact and herself. He didn't have to risk himself, but he still chooses to protect his friend's companion with his absence, and Malty feels grateful for the gesture. But she also knows that there is nothing the Sword Hero could do to stop the Whip Hero if Tact wanted to do anything. So she acts as submissive as possible, to not further provoke the arrogant fool. "Prince Tact. I'm not sure if you have heard the news, but I have given up my position as a princess of Melromarc. I am nothing but property to the Shield Hero now. I did not want to indignify your presence with mine."

"Don't sell yourself short, My Darling Malty. You are as sharp as the day I met you. We both know what your mother wanted to do with you when she took you to Faubley for that 'diplomatic trip'. She was going to sell you to my adopted 'father' for her own political gain. And for you to willingly give up your royal status and follow the Shield Hero." Tact raises his hand up from the heads of the little girls he was petting. Both of them glared at Malty, but the adopted Faubley prince paid them no mind. He extends out the index finger from his left hand, and wiggles it in front of the princess turned slave. "Better the property of a legendary hero, than a toy, maybe a trophy for a crusty, old king. Especially when said upstart is clearly head over heel, eating out of your hand. That's the game you are playing, isn't it?"

Malty doesn't say anything. Yes, that was definitely the game she played... at least at the start when she tried to get closer to the summoned heroes. Perhaps deep down, a part of her still feels this way even after growing to care for Naofumi. But her own feelings aren't important compared to what came out of the Whip Hero. He might act as the same arrogant, smug fool like Fuckboy, yet he could instantly figure out what she was thinking unlike the insane reincarnate. Prince Tact is letting her know that he is not a common, foolish and prideful noble scion. "Please forgive me for my impudence, my prince. But why are you telling me all this? I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You have pointed out what I'm thinking, yet I have no idea what you want, what you think."

"Who knows? Maybe I want to either show off my superior intelligence, or show my generosity by revealing how much I understand you. Or maybe I want to let you know that the upstart Cardinal Heroes aren't the only ones who could offer you protection. Regardless, that's for me to know and you to make guesses, isn't it? Of all the women I met, you gave me the strongest impression after all." Tact walks over Ren, ignoring the way his fingers tighten around the hilt of his sword. He also walks over Malty, and stops by her right side. The Whip Hero places both of his hands on the edge of his airship as he leans outwards to look down at the ground below them. "Hmph. Looks like Lung is ready. You should take the time to observe what she can do. It'll help you know the limits of a fully grown hero."

Malty turns around to look down just like Tact. From the corner of her eyes, she notices Ren coming over to the edge of the airship as well. The Whip Hero didn't leave his own airship at the port like the regular ships, but at some private port inland. Supposedly a special construction for the nation of Faubley since they are the only nation wasteful enough to build these flying death traps. But after boarding the airship and flying for a few minutes, they have finally reached their way back to the battlefield at the northern edge of Cal Mira Island again. The struggle beneath them looks very different now they look down like a flying bird.

The gathered armies have stopped keeping back from the edge of the beach to leave out room to release their ranged attack. Every single formation, except those who were left behind as rear guards (in case the eastern Wave breaks through Menagerie Resort) have pressed north towards the edge of the beach, fighting Wave monsters at close range with their vanguard units. At the very front of them are both the Claw Hero, and Gauntlet Hero from Siltvelt. They didn't leave together with Tact. Out of the two Siltvelt Heroes, Lung is already stepping her toe into the edge of the water. Supposedly, the Princess of All Dragons has a way to bring more additional units onto the northern island without Tact's ship. Malty wonders if she is going to split the ocean apart with her hero weapon, or whatever power she has as an azure dragon.

Turns out Lung didn't split the ocean itself apart. Even for the Princess of All Dragons, such a feat is a borderline act of divinity that can't be achieved by mere mortals. What she did do was dip her claw into the sea, and created a path of solid ice all the way to the northern island. Malty can feel her own lower jaw dropping on the airship's wooden floor. She turns around to look at Ren. Even the normally aloof Sword Hero looks completely shocked by Lung's power. They are both shaked out of their stupor by a snort coming from Tact. "Don't act so surprised. Lung makes it look easy thanks to her azure dragon bloodline, but that's the kind of feat all heroes will eventually be able to achieve. And why does this world still need us even with its countless superhuman champions and mages."

Malty noticed Ren's fingers on the railing slowly coiling into his palm, turning his grab into a balled up fist. The Sword Hero doesn't say anything, but he is the most fiercely competitive out of the four of them when it comes to raw power. All this training to hold back his strength growth to make sure his body can adapt to and control his own power. On the other side, Prince Tact didn't waste anymore time with them, they turned around and Waved his hand goodbye, his two small monster turned girls quickly followed him. "Tell the helm: full speed ahead!"

o(-_-)o[T]

Naofumi can barely open his eyes as strong gusts of wind blow into his eyes as air seeps through his pulled down face guard. Even with his supposed high defense, he can't control tears from coming out. Once again, he wishes he had a pair of goggles as his part of standard dress before his summoning to this world. The next part of his armor upgrade definitely needs to include some kind of eye protection. But he has to endure it, because he fears what might happen to Malty once she joins the battle against the Wave boss.

All of sudden, the wind in his face stops blowing. He blinks his eyelids a couple more times before opening his eyes fully. The Shield Hero realizes that they have come to a full stop, but there is no sign of battle anywhere around them. There's not even any sign of solid ground below their feet. He looks around, and sees the crimson tear in the sky, and the island underneath it is still... he can't tell how far away from them. But it's still clearly far enough that he doubts he could be thrown onto it even with the enhanced strength this world's people have. So he wonders how the situation changed to warrant this sudden stop. Jeanne, who was flying ahead of them, seemed to notice something wrong. She turns around, and stares at the peacock flying above Naofumi, her face looks stern without any sign of a smile. "What's the meaning of this, Brother Abel?"

"All I have to do to avenge my Father is to lose my grip around you now." The ice cold voice of Abaddon Abel above Naofumi makes hair stand on his back. Considering how violent the peacock acts and the devotion displayed to the dead Pope Balmus, he doubts it's an empty threat.

"You manipulative little liar! I'm not going to let you hurt Naofumi!" Motoyasu turns his head up, spins around his spear, and begins to furiously stab upwards in a completely misguided effort to kill their would-be murderer before they are killed.

"Stop it! Motoyasu! You are going to get both of us killed!" Naofumi can't say he's not afraid. He knows that people wanted to harm him after his false rape trial, and he got a much more intimate brush against death during his first real battle in the slum, and the Three Heroes' Church's betrayal after the Third Wave when two of his companions were killed. But right now, he is still calm enough to know that acting rash will only get himself... and Motoyasu killed sooner. "Calm down and think! What would happen if you actually hit the little psycho? All three of us get dropped into the sea and die!"

Thankfully, Motoyasu calms down and stops trying to stab Abaddon to death. Of course, he is still glaring daggers at their carrier and would be murderer. Jeanne stops right in front of Abel, about ten meters away from the three of them. The crazy peacock gives a self-satisfied smile to the swan. "It was a bad idea to let me carry the Shield Demon, sister. Yes, from a pure strategic sense, I am the better flier of us two with my [Peacock's Flight] spell. And you can focus on acting as the escort. But have you thought about what I would actually do to our Father's killer? You can't stop me if I throw myself into the sea, taking the life of the Shield Demon with my own and avenge our Father."

"Don't do it, Abel. You know this isn't what Father wanted. His goal was to find a way to save humans. He doesn't want you to avenge him, and cause the world's destruction. The death of even one Cardinal Hero would greatly weaken our world's ability to resist the Wave of Catastrophe. What do you think if you kill two of them, while we already sensed a powerful demon breaching our world?" Jeanne didn't try to rush down Abel. Instead, she slowly puts her weapon away, while holding her hands up in a placating manner. Clearly trying to de-escalate the situation and calm down the crazy peacock first.

"What about what I wanted!?" Naofumi looks up at the crazy peacock. He sees Abel baring teeth at Jeanne. Not looking ready to stand down any time soon. "You weren't there, big sister! You didn't see what I saw in that battle! I watched these monsters kill our Father from start to finish, not even allowed to fight for him, or die alongside him! Father is the only reason we are all alive! Not these other humans who only use us like their meat shields, and run us around as slaves! And all of them were fine to desecrate his body, tear his soul apart till the ghost of that so-called saint made his appearance! So tell me, Big Sister. Why should I care about any of them when my father isn't even around anymore!?"

Naofumi can't fully understand what the crazy peacock is going through. He is not exactly... close with his father, or his mother. He's not even that close with Takeru till the last few weeks before his summoning. While he was the first son of the Iwatani family, his parents were always treating him more as a disappointment. And deep down, a part of himself wonders if that's why they had Takeru a few years after. Compared to their good son Takeru, he always feels like an afterthought. How would he feel if someone killed his father in front of his eyes? Would he want to rip the murderer apart with his own hands even if he has to die as well? Probably... not? But he would definitely want that fucker thrown in jail and rot for the rest of his life.

And what about someone who hurts his companions who would be willing to give everything for him? He doesn't even think hard about it. He was already seeing red earlier, and ready to strangle his annoying fan when he started talking trash about Malty. It would be entirely hypocritical if he forces someone to not do what he already did. But this world... and all the people who depend on him... he begins to speak before his mind even registered it. "I can't pretend I understand what the two of you went through..."

"Of course you can't! A summoned hero like you could never understand someone who was told that we shouldn't even be born! That our very existence is a sin to the gods!" Naofumi could feel Abel's piercing glare on him even without looking up. "You think all these so-called 'innocent people' would lift a finger to help someone like us if we are just some common slum rats? They would be throwing rocks at any demi-human not from some gang! Or get strong, and steal enough coins to get their adventurer's license! Father was the only one who treated us like people, no different from a human! And you murdered him! Tell me, Lord Shield Hero. Why should I care about you, or anyone else living in this shit hole of a world?!"

"That is quite enough, Abaddon Abel! Have you forgotten what your father told us before he left with Master Shirou's spirit?! He told us to live the life of the righteous!" Jeanne's voice becomes harsh, no longer trying to cater to Abel's feelings. "Acts of Good aren't always wise, acts of evil aren't always foolish. Regardless, we must always strive to be good. That's the tenant all of us live by, even if we are no longer part of the church! You will be my brother no longer, if you keep going against our father's last wish just to make yourself feel better!"

Naofumi didn't pay Jeanne any attention. He looks up, staring at Abel right in the eyes. There's no backing out the moment he decided to have the two of them fly himself and Motoyasu over to where the Wave opened up. "I can't understand you completely. But I can understand your anger. I can't hold my own anger back when people try to harm my friends, even if they are only 'trying to help'. I can't stop you from trying to avenge your father. I can't even blame you for doing it. But can you do it when the world isn't in danger? Wait till we stop the Wave of Catastrophe. At least wait till we finish this ongoing Wave battle. There's a chance I'll die in the Wave, and if not... you can always try to avenge your father after it's over and we aren't risking everyone else with our personal grudges."

"You... you are trying to postpone it. Because you know how fast your power will grow as a hero! Or you'll have your lackeys protect you!" Abel's eyes twitch. While that's not the real reason behind Naofumi's suggestion, he does agree with the crazy peacock's reasoning. A much later confrontation with Abel would overwhelmingly benefit himself and tip the outcome of their battle in his favor. But before he, Motoyasu, or Jeanne has a chance to say anything, Abel continues moving forward at the northern island where the Wave opened up. "Don't get it wrong, Shield Hero. I'm doing this for my father, not you. You better not die fighting the Wave. Only I'm allowed to kill you to avenge my father."

o(-_-)o[T]

The airship opens up its cannon, and releases a barrage of broadside blasts at the tide of monsters below them on the beach of the northern island. But a wave of explosions isn't the only thing the cannonballs caused. A wall of fire rises up after the initial detonations, continuing to harvest the lives of Wave-spawn going south. Malty swings her head over to look at Prince Tact. "Enchanted cannons? You found ways to seal magic spells into cannons, without it blowing up in your face?"

"What can I say? I'm a genius." The Whip Hero points his index finger at his own head. For the first time, his own self-satisfied smirk doesn't look completely arrogant. "Not the actual cannons, but it's ammunition. Create a defensive sealing glyph at the tip of the warhead to cut off the circulation of the volatile attack spell work behind it. And as the warhead hits its target, the defensive seal breaks from the explosion inside, and let the sealed off attack spell detonate as the firework starts, easy peasy. Of course, it's a bitch to get the enchantment just right to make sure it doesn't explode in storage, but it also works just right to make the spell go off right after the blast. So they have to be hand crafted by masters, and can't be left to the work of amateurs on an assembly line."

Malty has no words to say back to the self-proclaimed genius. In a way, Prince Tact's smugness is earned this time, for he has solved one of the biggest problems holding gunpowder weaponry back: its low damage ceiling. Unlike most standard weapons that have stats scaling linked with its user and have its highest damage potential literally be 'sky's the limit', firearms rely solely on the amount of explosives that can be stuffed into the pellet and cannonballs, and its resulting alchemical reaction. And in spite of research put into it by different alchemists, this amount is still vastly lower than a prestige level rank fighter, or mage could achieve. Which makes them an inferior weapon for skilled, high level fighters in spite of the countless innovations provided by generations of summoned heroes.

If the only limitation to firearms is its low damage ceiling, it could still have found a niche. Gadget based weapons, such as crossbows and ballista also have a similar problem after all. But they are still useful tools for low level conscripts, especially during siege warfare. Unfortunately for any gun powder and explosion lovers, the trouble doesn't stop there. The volatile nature of their firing mechanism, and ammunition makes them unviable for magical enchantment to grant them additional power, or mechanism-like gadget based weapons such as crossbow and ballista bolts and making them easy targets for enemy infiltrators. And the complex nature of their build makes them much harder to assemble compared to gadget weapons, making them not economically viable to equip large numbers of new conscripts and low leveled soldiers en masse for any but the most wealthy and well supplied nations.

That was how General Isshin defeated the Faubley army at the end of The Great War and saved Siltvelt. The cunning warlord lay down a well fortified defensive line at the edge of Siltvelt border, forcing the bulk of under trained and under leveled Faubley conscript army into a war of attrition to tire them out and lower their morale. And once they were exhausted, he sent in his infiltrators to torch the ammunition depot of the Faubley army, causing major panic among the freshly recruited soldiers before letting loose his elite cavalry unit. Triggering a full rout of the much more numerous Faubley army, and had them trample most of their own numbers to death. The resulting loss of lives ... and more importantly, the loss of resources to equip their firearm based army successfully brought the Faubley nobility onto the negotiation table, rather than embolden them to continue their war to fully invade, and maybe conquer Siltvelt.

Yet somehow, the Whip Hero found a way to break through what's considered the limitation holding back firearm weaponry. Not without making sacrifices on other fronts, of course. The need for individual enchantment and glyph carving onto each and every ammunition would drive its cost even higher. And the enchanted warhead would make it an even more enticing target for enemy infiltrators to detonate. But the former first princess of Melromarc could still see its usefulness soaring into the sky for siege warfare, and target bombardment. At the very least, they would be useful in Wave battles when their enemies are unthinking monsters.

"How would our own troops make it through this field of fire?" Ren's question brings Malty out of her own thoughts. She turns to look at Prince Tact just like the Sword Hero. For his part, Whip Hero's smirk grows wider as he points his finger downwards, as if telling both Ren and Malty to watch and learn. Malty looks down once again, and realizes the figure Tact is pointing at is none other than Lung.

The Claw Hero had created a bridge of ice extending from the main Cal Mira Island to the northern island where the Wave opened up. Hundredth, possibly a thousand Wave spawn were frozen solid underneath the pathway. But many times more were still rushing their way towards the Cal Mira Island defense line on both sides of this passage. So Gauntlet Hero and herself have each walked into the bottom of the ocean, making their way towards the Wave tear underwater, while protecting the side of Lung's ice bridge from the Wave monsters still alive. Right now, both of them are slowly emerging up from the ocean onto the beach of the northern island. It might simply be Malty's imagination, but she could swear that the water on both sides of the ice passage has been dyed a dark shade of scarlet.

Right now, The Princess of All Dragons holds the claw on her right hand upwards. Each blade is as long as a sword. A thin, but noticeable shin of gold glows all over her body, around every strand of her long, luscious dark hair as it begins to flow upwards just like her battle dress, defying gravity itself. All of sudden, the field of fire burning in front of her begins to move towards her claw, as if suddenly grown to be sentient. "Bugs should learn their place and crawl in the dark underwood. Heavenly Dragon First Sword - Flame Dragon Scorching City!"

Lung bends her clawed hand slightly to the back, before pushing her arm forward. The fire coiled around her weapon, condensed into white hot glow surges forward. Growing into the form of an elongated serpent dragon as the fire dragon opens its mouth at the incoming Wave of monsters. Malty quickly closes her eyes, and holds her own arms in front of her. It didn't stop her darkened vision suddenly turning into a field of white. As her eyes slowly recovers, the princess turned slave slowly puts her arms down and opens her eyes again. The horde of monsters in front of her are gone almost as far as eyes can see, and the landscape of the island has been turned into blackened wasteland. She begins to get a solid grasp on the Princess of All Dragon's power, and why Lung would be prideful enough to consider Malty herself a 'lesser being'. That is the kind of power she read in history records - the pinnacle of a hero's power. And why do they still demand respect even when champions of the nation, and the pantheon could achieve their near demi-god like status?

"Our turn now. Don't let Siltvelt look down on the elites from Noble Faubley and Fair Shiltfreeden! Disembark, create a beachhead defense line!" The command of Prince Tact elicited a Wave of cheer from the countless women aboard his airship. Warriors jump off the edge of the airship before it even fully settles down into the bay, mages Wave their hands and magical catalysts, creating fortifications of solid stone out of sand on the beach. Heavy firearms, cannons and crates of ammunition are tossed overboard. They were quickly re-arranged into a defensive line behind the earth barriers. The Whip Hero himself descends his airship once it settles down on water, and deploys the board. Malty and Ren follow right after him. The arrogant prince looks back at the two of them over his shoulder, and gives them one more smirk. "Stay behind my back if things get tough. This is only the fourth Wave. It wouldn't be too much fun if you upstarts get killed too quickly."

Ren's fist tightens around the hilt of his sword. Malty quickly places one hand on his shoulder. This is not a good time to lose his cool. As Tact's female subordinates are still busy themselves building the defensive line, and the majority of their troops making their way over Lung's ice passage, the Whip Hero joins the ranks of Dio the Gauntlet Hero, and Lung the Claw Hero. In front of them over the distance, another horde of monsters make their way over. Unlike the previous one that look like eldritch creatures from the deep, this group is much more familiar looking but not any less grotesque: crimson colored arachnids, shuffling on their eight stilt-like legs. Even the smallest is about the same size as a grown human, the largest easily stands above a castle. Their bodies are like a carpet, completely covering the scorched black earth. Lung opens her mouth, and Malty can hear the smirk in her voice. "Pretty bad odds."

"Yes. They don't stand a chance." Prince Tact lets out a sneer as he releases his hold on his weapon. The star whip twitches as if having a life of its own, and extends out towards the army of spiders. Its tip suddenly split apart into countless strands, each turning into a dark, venomous snake as they collided against the horde of spiders. "[Black Fang Nebula]."

With his ability alone, the Whip Hero managed to hold back a good portion of the smaller spiders. But the giant ones easily walk over the battlefield between the arachnids and snakes, and begin to advance on the beachhead of Prince Tact's subordinates. Some of them quickly man the heavy muskets, and cannons, pouring lines of explosive fire onto their target. They don't look to be very effective as both bullets and shells simply bounce off, or crack uselessly on the monster's thick carapaces. Lung acts first, dash forward and leap onto heads of one giant spider. She digs her thick claws right through her target's thick carapace, making the monster let out a loud screech of pain. Its external armor doesn't seem to offer any protection against Lung's Star Claw. Some of Tact's female subordinates seem inspired by Lung's example. They pull out their melee weapons, and charge forward after her. Their weapons aren't as strong, but they still work well enough together cutting through the joint of the giant spiders, immobilizing them first, before killing them. But in spite of their effort, there are simply too many giant spiders coming forward, and some of them begin to close in on their defensive line, or Lung's ice bridge.

"I'm going in. You stay back, Malty." Ren gives a quick warning to Malty, looking ready to run off and join the battle himself.

"Wait!" To Malty's surprise, the one that spoke up to stop Ren, was none other than Gaelion. The dragon lord, still taking the form of a pygmy dragon, flies in front of both Ren and Malty. His head focused in the direction where the crimson dimensional tear opened up in the distance. The princess turned adventurer doesn't consider herself a good reader of draconic facial expression. But something in Gaelion's eyes looks deeply concerned. "This malicious aura... it reminds me of our father Gaia. I don't think the Wave boss is what we expected."

"Are you saying someone summoned another god like Lautrec from the last Wave?" Ren's body freezes in the middle of him breaking into a sprint. He looks rather funny with the position of his body, but Malty doesn't feel like laughing. She still remembered how Lautrec's goddess tore through some of Melromarc's best fighters, and her desperate scramble to run away from the goddess who tried to kill her. Not to mention all the people who were hurt afterwards... and how Kyubey and Farkas died due to the goddess' actions. She really doesn't want to have a repeat of the same situation. "If we are facing a god, should we tell everyone to run for our lives?"

Malty can't tell if the Sword Hero is being serious, or sarcastic. They really don't have anywhere to run when the Wave of Catastrophe would eventually destroy the world if left unchecked. But considering the power demonstrated by Lautrec's goddess... She doesn't feel optimistic about their ability to triumph over a goddess either.

"No... not quite a god. Not in the truest sense of a being who had carved out their divine sphere and became one with the world. Something more like our father, or the avatar of Alaya the Shield boy and the little princess faced: an earthbound deity. But not one native to our world... strange. Why would an earthbound deity leave their own world... unless they were taken by someone?" Gaelion blinks his eyes a couple of times, his face looking resolute. "Don't give up just yet. If this really is an earthbound deity... they would be facing a severe penalty for breaching into a world they don't belong to. We still have a chance to win!"

Ren didn't say anything else. With one last nod, he runs forward to fight the giant spiders with Gaelion flying behind him. Malty looks around, and sees the vanguard of their army have made about two-thirds of the way through the ice bridge. They need to hold maybe another five to ten minutes before more of their forces would make it through. Of course, it won't be as easy as thinking about it in her own head. Dio the Gauntlet Hero hasn't joined the battle yet, choosing to stay right in front of the ice bridge to defend the pathway for their reinforcements.

Once again, Malty calls to her newly mastered water magic, forming one glob of water over each of her hands. She doesn't know how long this Wave battle will last, and she needs to plan for a battle of attrition. The much more subdued water spell will be the better option here. But before she has a chance to think about directing either of her [Hydro Sphere] forward, a loud rumble suddenly rocks her down, making her lose focus and have her spell crumble back onto the sand. She turns around, seeing Dio holding his hand towards the crater in front of her. Her paranoia of the Gauntlet aiming for her head just like the Throwing Weapon Hero only lasted a brief second when she noticed the crimson blood seeping through the sand, and a dozen spiders burrowing out of the ground. The Wave monsters have managed to go through the Whip Hero's snakes by going underground.

Malty didn't have any time to complain, or even think of a complex strategy. Her body moved before her mind, directing the sea water behind her forward, stringing it like a Wave of thin blades across the faces of the spiders in front of her. They recoil back from her attacks, and are knocked flying back like cannonballs when Dio barrels into them with his fist and foot. The Gauntlet Hero's method of attack reminds her of a certain dead and unmourned battle saint of Four Heroes’ Church. Brutal, yet effective. Yet despite quickly dispatching the squad of underground assassins, Dio doesn't look relaxed. In fact, his face seems to look even more grim than before as he bends his knees downwards, and then starts to release punches into the air. The princess turned slave lookup, and saw dark spots falling down towards them. They are only the sizes of a grown man's fist at first, but quickly begin to enlarge, like falling meteors.

That quickly thought out metaphor turns out to be very fitting in the most literal sense, as countless chunks of rocks, and clumps of earth explode midair from Dio's air punches. For a brief moment, Malty wonders if some of the monsters, maybe even demons working for the Burning Legion have used some kind of earth magic against them. But then she takes a good look in the distance, and sees the giant spiders using their webs to fling shot large chunks of earth and carved up stone at them. Dio's words are short and to the point. "They are trying to carve up the island. LUNG!"

Any sense of doubts Malty might have of these monsters lacking organization and strategy raised by Dumbledore is thrown out of her head. Not only are these giant spiders using their natural abilities to bombard their newly established defensive line, they are carving up the battlefield as well, trying to bog down the advancement of their reinforcements, maybe even sink them down into the ocean if they manage to shatter this island. The Claw Hero turns her head around, first to look back at Dio, and then at the direction he is pointing at. Even from a distance, Malty could see her face turning into a snarl as Lung kicked off from the giant spider she was killing to jump back onto the beach. Antlers grow out from the sides of Lung's head near her ears, and Malty notices her eyes turn golden as well.

Something that sounds explosive behind Malty makes the princess turned slave look back. She sees a large tide of water, taller than any tower, and wider than any wall she had ever seen in her life. It makes the former first princess of Melromarc feel small, much smaller than she ever felt even when she was a fugitive running away from Three Heroes' Church's prosecution with Naofumi. It honestly gives her the impression that the world is ending at this current Wave. Lung jumps onto the tip of the tide, and rides it forward like a giant behemoth from the ancient time of myth. The wave of water arcs over the battlefield where everyone is busy fighting the army of spiders, almost like they are all submerged under the ocean, and then crash onto the ground where the giant spiders were throwing carved chunks of the island at them, washing them away like they are no different from their common household relatives.

Lung's attack managed to stop the giant spiders from tearing apart the island and bombarding their line, but with her absence, the giant spiders managed to advance onto the beach and begin to wreak havoc around the newly constructed defensive line. All around Malty, the sound of pained screams are mixed with explosions, the volatile nature of firearms causing more problems than they were worth as the giant spiders ravages both the terrain, and the people. Malty quickly finds that her magic doesn't have as much effect on these giants as their much smaller variance. As her water spell simply splashes apart, and her fire dies out on their carapaces.

A sudden flash of light makes her recoil back, and she feels herself covered in fetid fluids. She wipes the rancid liquid off her face and blinks her face open again, seeing a large, well muscled man with long silver hair standing in front of her. His eyebrows sharp like a sword, eyes large and almost glow with eagerness. He wears a set of loose jackets and pants, showing off his well built and tanned chest. He holds a giant, single bladed saber, and right now he's resting the thick spine of his weapon on his shoulder. The white haired man smirks at her, reminding her of a certain Faubley prince she recently had the 'pleasure' of reconnecting. "Well, would you look at that? It's always a pleasure making acquaintance with a beautiful lady."

"I might have been more appreciative of the effort if you didn't splash me with a rancid bath." Malty narrows her eyes and returns the man with a dry reply. After her experience with Prince Tact (and Fuckboy, to a lesser extent), she had come to know men like this well. Full of themselves, thinking they are the chief god's gifts to beautiful women everywhere.

"Stop fucking around! Tenzen!" For the first time, Dio's voice sounds angry as opposed to merely sounding deep. "This is a life and death battle! If you want to fuck around and play woman, go home! Go grab Lung back, she's weakened after using a powerful sanjutsu like this."

"Tisk~ Uncle Dio can be such a killjoy. Well, duty calls. I'll see you later, my pretty." The now named Tenzen gives Malty another wink as he runs forward, cutting a path of visceral blood and gore with his cleaver. Malty looks at the Gauntlet Hero, but Lord Dio doesn't look like he's going to further explain the relationship he has with this newcomer. Are they truly related by blood, or are they simply a pair of mentors who are close enough like family yet completely unrelated like the one Malty shares with her (definitely not blood related) Uncle Aldrecht? She suppose it doesn't matter in the end, as they are still locked in a deadly battle against the Wave spawns.

Her spells are useless against the carapace of the giant spiders, who she assumes are the mature form of the much smaller spiders Tact is busy holding back. But they aren't unbeatable as shown by how easy Lung had dispatched them. Even Tact's female subordinates can take them down when they work together and focus on attacking the seams between their joints where their armor is weak. What she needs right now isn't unfocused power, but well-controlled precision like Uncle Aldrecht always emphasizes on.

Once again, Malty concentrates on her water magic. Her affinity with this element still isn't as instinctual as with fire, but they are much more malleable by nature. Instead of simply having them gather in a floating globe, she begins to actively shape them. Making the constructed [Hydro Sphere] flat, and then have it rapidly spin like a spinning blade. Hydro disk? Or Hydro saw? She suppose a name isn't the most important thing at this moment either. With the new spell work completed, she guides it forward, cutting into one of the giant spider's joints. It doesn't immediately get torn apart by her magic. The movement of its leg is slightly slowed, but her new water spell clearly wasn't strong enough to cause major lasting damage unlike a solid blade. She needs it to be even thinner, spin even faster... something her fine control of her water element still isn't precise enough to achieve.

What if she throws in her fire spell on top of it? Malty doesn't hesitate as she gathers a bundle of flame over her left hand, shaping it into a long needle and throws it forward like javelin towards her still spinning water blade. The two counter elements hit together, and the water disk and fire arrow quickly turns into uncontrolled steam and heat. This time, the body of the giant spider lets out a twitch and ear piercing screech. Her water blade wasn't powerful enough to cut through its joint, but it clearly did enough damage that it exposed the unprotected tissues inside, letting the uncontrolled steam and heat do its damage.

The giant spider turns around, clearly noticed Malty by this point. It moves towards her, no doubt with the intention to crush her like a bug. But before it reaches her, she hears the sound of something dropping from overhead. She briefly wonders if Lung missed some of the giant arachnids tossing broken chunks of the island at them when a dark silhouette crushes into the head of the spider, smashing its face in with his red flail. "Get away from MALTY!"

Chapter Text

"Naofumi!" Malty's eyes finally recognize the identity of her rescuer as he jumps back onto the ground. She wouldn't call the Shield Hero's landing graceful, as he clearly wobbled on his feet, and created a small crater on the beach. And deep down, she knows Naofumi is severely underpowered thanks to her mother's effort to politically snub the two of them. But seeing his familiar face, and knowing the man who had been with her during their fugitive days running from the rebelling Three Heroes’ Church still fills herself with a sense of reassurance. It didn't stop her from chiding him. "You should have stayed in the Menagerie Resort! It's dangerous out here!"

"I'm the Shield Hero. More than my shield, or my levels. There's no way I'd sit this battle out when you are out here." Naofumi slowly stands back up from his crouching position, he turns his face to give Malty a nonchalant smile. "Don't worry. I'm not here to throw my life away! We owe our lives to Kyubey, Farkas, and everyone who sacrificed for us. I'm only here to make sure you are safe. I could at least do this."

"I'm here too! Don't I mean anything?" Motoyasu lands right behind Naofumi, and he's not the only reinforcements to come from the sky. Janne D'Arc and Abaddon Abel crouches down on Naofumi's sides. Their landing is much more graceful compared to the two heroes thanks to the wings on their back.

Malty nods her head. It's good to know that Naofumi at least understands the severity of their situation, at least from a logical perspective. Of course, she also knows that the Shield Hero is someone highly sentimental, and could act on impulsive emotion at a moment's notice (not unlike her father, come to think of it). She quickly remembers Gaelion's warning, and decides this is information the two newly arrived heroes need to know about. "Gaelion sensed something similar to his father from the Wave. He said we might be facing an Earthbound deity. Like Fitoria."

The reaction from the four newly arrived combatants are very different. Janne and Abel exchange a quick, almost knowing look. Naofumi's previously aloof looking face becomes grim and serious. Motoyasu for the most part looks bland, like he is confused by something. "So we are fighting a mental bird in this Wave?"

"Motoyasu... I don't think Gaelion meant we are facing a bird like Fitoria. Probably more on someone of her power level." Naofumi's head slowly turns to look at the Spear Hero. He both looks and sounds tired. And moments like this is why people, especially those who don't know Motoyasu well tend to think the Spear Hero is stupid.

"Oh, right! That makes more sense! We have to be careful because she's strong, Naofumi! She beats all of my children without breaking a single sweat." Naofumi's words seem to finally get to Motoyasu as he nods his head, looking more serious than before. And then he stumbles on his feet, much like Naofumi and Malty herself. All three of them turn their head back towards the Wave, and see the giant, red spider is moving towards them. A single voice begins to ring inside Malty's head, almost like it's pierced right into her brain: Feed... FEED! More... MORE!

Chapter 13: Brave Man Fight Titanic Arachnid

Raphtalia runs on the edge of the stone wall, quickly passing bottles of healing potion to wounded fighters from a wooden crate on her shoulder. The defensive barricade Naofumi created with his shield abilities is much narrower than an actual city wall. With most of the defenders on it, there's barely any room left for anyone or anything else. Thankfully, her body is agile due to her tanuki physiology, so she doesn't have to worry about feeling down the wall.

That's what she believed till a huge Wave of malicious aura hit her. She nearly blacked out, and by the time she came back, she noticed two things. First, the crate of healing potions is no longer on her shoulder, and second, a golden haired woman is holding onto her arm. That's the only reason that her body isn't down on the ground with the crate of shattered healing potions. "Th-thank you. What was that?"

"You are welcome." The woman gives her a quick smile, she leans back, pulling Raphtalia back onto the stone wall. Raphtalia could easily feel the golden haired woman is much stronger than her in spite of her slim build. That sense is further affirmed when she looks at the sword on the woman's back. Or rather, the giant slab of solid stone that's carved into the shape of a sword with a hooked tip. Raphtalia doesn't consider herself a real fighter, but even she can tell this weapon has more in common with a mace, or maybe a hammer than an actual sword. The golden haired woman turns her head towards the North where the Wave opens up in the sky. "You felt that immense wave of malice, didn't you?"

"I almost blacked out. Is that what it was? Malice from some... thing?" Raphtalia also looks in the same direction as the golden haired woman. She feels worry for both Naofumi and Malty. They are going to fight something that nearly caused her to faint without even standing in front of her face. She wants to go to the side of her surrogate parents... but she knows that she would only be a burden to them rather than helping them.

"Yeah. I felt it too. So does Lord Seliph, and Leif. Sir Janne and Sir Abaddon said something about a demon breaching into our world. It has to be that demon." The golden haired woman nodded her head. Her face looks grim... and Raphtalia belatedly realizes that she doesn't even know the woman's name. But there are more important things to worry about right now. "I'm sorry, I have helped our warriors holding down this fort. I'll talk with you later, Lady Raphtalia."

"Ye-yes... thank you..." Raphtalia's eye follows the golden haired woman till she turns around and joins the rest of the defenders at the other edge of the stone wall. She pulls her giant stone sword out with one hand, and starts to conjure miracles of healing light with her other hand. The valiance of the golden-haired woman makes Raphtalia feel a sense of uselessness once again. She's been following Naofumi and Malty for two months now, but she still can't do much to help when it comes to a large-scale battle. She is... probably stronger than most new recruits, maybe even some of the adventurers thanks to the level she gained following Naofumi. But she isn't skilled enough to fight on the front line as a well trained soldier, and definitely isn't brave enough to fight on the front without panicking. Most of her night terror is gone now, but she still sees her parents get torn apart by Wave spawns once in a while in her dream. And her magic... Most of them are more like parley tricks. Illusions that might have been useful to deceive some people (she can't forget how the only victim of her illusion magic so far being Naofumi and Malty due to the unspoken threat she received from Fuckboy when she was his slave), useless against unthinking beasts. Hopefully, whatever training she's going to receive from the granny master will be worth it...

The sound of people arguing draws Raphtalia's attention down to the ground outside of the big resort. She has to blink a couple of times to make sure she isn't imagining the scene. The Throwing Weapon Hero seems to be having an argument with that young white tiger girl who is trying to hold him back from... help fighting the Wave monsters, perhaps? She doesn't know what's going on, since from their brief encounter in the tropical forest, that girl seems to be entirely devoted to the mad man. Out of curiosity, and knowing she isn't helping much on the fortification, Raphtalia slides down the rope to get closer to them.

"You can't just charge out there, Master Tairou!" As Raphtalia gets closer to the struggling hero and his companion, she begins to hear them more clearly over the sound of fighting and screeching from the ongoing battle. It seems like the young girl is worried about her sworn hero putting himself in danger. That's a sentiment Raphtalia completely understands. She's worried sick about Naofumi and Malty herself now that she isn't anywhere near the two of them. The girl's older brother notices her approaching behind Tairou and Atla, and gives her a nod.

"I have to! This is what I'm summoned here for!" The Throwing Weapon Hero is flailing and struggling against the white tiger girl's hold. He isn't exactly a giant, especially compared to someone like Farkas or Yatsuhashi, but he's still a good head or two taller than Atla. Yet he's not going anywhere with her arms wrapped around him. Moments like this makes Raphtalia feeling (only slightly) jealous about certain breeds of her kind's natural affinity for fighting. If she has a similar affinity for fighting, she could help Naofumi and Malty more in Wave battles... NO! Stop wasting time thinking about things like this.

"Maybe you should let Master Throwing Weapon Hero make his own decisions? Miss- Lady Atla? He is a hero, and it's duty is to fight in the Wave of Catastrophe. I still remember Master Naofumi almost getting punished for helping defend a small village, but not showing up during the main Wave battle during his first Wave battle." Raphtalia reaches out and gives a gentle press on Atla's arm. That's apparently the wrong thing to say, as the little white tiger girl's face spins around and begins to glare dagger at her.

"YOU! Don't compare Master Tairou with that Shield Hero who can't even tell who is good for him! And don't butt into things you don't understand- MASTER TAIROU!" In the short moment when Atla was distracted, the Throwing Weapon Hero managed to break through her hold and ran... towards the back of the resort? Raphtalia supposes the backside could use some help too, but isn't the eastern side of the wall under the most pressure because that's the direction all the monsters were coming from? While she is lost in her thoughts, Atla begins to run after the Throwing Weapon Hero, while chastising her own brother. "Why didn't you help me hold back Master Tairou, Big Brother?!"

"Miss Raphtalia has a point. Lord Throwing Weapon Hero would be punished if he doesn't show up in the Wave battle." Fohl nonchalantly shrugs at the whole situation, and the way he addresses the Throwing Weapon is much more distant than his younger brother. Raphtalia gets the suspicion that he's only using her argument to appease his younger sister, because he isn't very compelled to help.

"NO! That's not what Master Tairou is going to do-" Atla's desperate screams are cut short with the sound of a loud bird screeching. Raphtalia turns her head around... and she immediately notices a familiar mostly white figure with some pink feathers mixed in bird being led out of the Menagerie Resort stable by the Throwing Weapon Hero. She's much more slim compared to herself before the level reset, but Raphtalia still recognizes Firo. "He's going to go after the Shield Hero !"

"COME ON, FIRO! Let's go help Naofumi-sama fight back this Wave, and save him from the Bitch!" Tairou jumps onto Firo's back, his words clearly further emboldened Firo. With another loud screech, Firo jumps up the tall defensive wall, and disappears over the north of the barricade. Raphtalia is somewhat aware that it's her fault that he got out of Atla's hands, and might be taking Firo to her doom with him.

"This is all your fault! Who knows how many monsters will be out there! Master Tairou will get swarmed to death!" The surrogate daughter of the Shield Hero feels a strong punch on her shoulder. It took a few more seconds till the pain registered in her mind as she crumbled on the ground. She grabs her hurt shoulder with her good hand and looks up, seeing the white tiger girl glaring down at her looking ready to punch her head into a pulp.

"Fuck off! And FUCK YOU TOO! I'm not letting you hurt Raphtalia! You mad cat!" Atla didn't get a chance to act on her fury, as Keel barrels into her from the side. Sending both of them rolling on the ground. They begin to punch, kick, slap... and scratch at each other. Atla's inherent strength as a white tiger doesn't seem to help her with Keel constantly rolling her around and wrestling her onto the ground. Fohl quickly runs over to them, and after suffering a few stray punches and kicks from both Keel and his little sister, he finally manages to separate the two of them.

"Knock it off, you two! Atla, if you cared about Lord Throwing Weapon Hero, it's more important to chase him down and bring him to safety than blaming others and acting out." Fohl spread his arms out, holding Atla and Keel at arm's length from each other as they continued struggling against his grip. He turns his head to look at Raphtalia herself next. "Don't just stand here! Help me separate them, or go get someone to go after the Lord Throwing Weapon Hero!"

"Ri-right! Kuro, Yuki, Kou, Sakura! I need your help to chase down the Throwing Weapon Hero and Firo!" Raphtalia lets out a scream at the wall where Motoyasu's filorials are fighting. She turns over to Keel before seeing how they react, and she helps pull Keel away from the white tiger siblings. As her friend starts to calm down in her arms, Raphtalia turns around just in time to see Motoyasu's children jump down.

"What's going on here? Are we needed to help out fighting the Wave? How exciting!" Golden arcs of lighting dance around Kou's body as he shuffles his feet. He's smacked on the top side of his head by Yuki. "OUCH! What's that for, Yuki?"

"Stop acting childish, Kou! Master Motoyasu entrusted us to protect the people left behind in the resort. This isn't some game!" Yuki's delicate nose twitches at her younger sibling. She seems to notice her rude behavior, as she takes a deep breath and schools her face into something more courteous before addressing Raphtalia. "Miss Raphtalia. What seems to be the problem?"

"The Throwing Weapon Hero... he went after Master Naofumi on Firo's back! I don't know how powerful he is, but Firo still hasn't grown back to her monarch form yet!" Raphtalia recalls the brief fight Tairou had with Malty and Motoyasu... his tomahawk throwing looked strong and could have probably taken Malty's head off if it connected. But he didn't fair very well against the Spear Hero, got knocked on his ass only a dozen exchanges between them (by which she meant Motoyasu had been dancing circles around him, and took him down immediately after going on the offense... it was even more embarrassing than the 'duel' Naofumi had with Motoyasu after their first Wave battle), so he can't be that strong. "They'll get killed by the Wave monster horde!"

"Really? Does this mean we have to chase them all down? How bothersome..." Sakura lets out a yarn as she stretches her arms up. Her eyelids begin to sink lower and lower. "This Wave battle is already bothersome... Sakura only wants to take a nap with Motoyasu and Bertia."

"Not now, Sakura!" Yuki throws a stern glare at Sakura's way. The lazy looking pinky didn't immediately stand at attention, but she did open up her eyes instead of keep pretending to be asleep. Yuki turns her attention back to Raphtalia once again. "Master Motoyasu told us to stay behind and help defend the people hiding in the resort. It wouldn't be right for us to leave and go chase down a fool wanting to die for no good reason."

"Who are you calling a fool- MURPH~!" Atla looks ready to pick another fight with Yuki this time. Thankfully, with Keel already taken away by Raphtalia, Fohl could easily hold his own sister back by wrapping both of his arms around her struggling body. She continues to scream death and murder at everyone. "I don't care! I'll go help Master Tairou myself if no one else goes! And if he gets hurt or Chief God forbid, dies . I'll kill all of you for not lending him aid~!"

"I would like to see you try. The dumb bird tried to murder Master Motoyasu. It didn't end well for her. I personally made sure of that." Yuki narrows her eyes and returns Atla's blazing scorn with her freezing contempt. Raphtalia has to wonder if Yuki's cold reception at the idea of helping the Throwing Weapon Hero has something to do with her bad blood towards Firo.

"Kuro thinks we should help! Rina and Tia are worried about Moto." Kuro points his finger up at the wall. Everyone turns to look at the direction, and sees Katarina and Bertia still fighting on top. It's hard to tell what's going on from a distance and the people fighting alongside them, and it's even harder to make out their faces. But Raphtalia is willing to believe Kuro. She's worried sick for both Naofumi and Malty after all. "Kuro will take Kou and Sakura. Yuki can stay. Yuki's healing ability is a big help here."

Yuki stares at her sibling down for a few seconds. Her eyes didn't look as piercing when she was addressing Atla... or Kou and Sakura. But Raphtalia still gets the impression that she's trying to stare Kuro down. Not that it has any effect, as Kuro looks completely aloof, not even bothering to maintain a staring contest with Yuki. After a short while, Yuki simply gives Kuro a curt nod. "Very well. But you are the one telling Lady Katarina and Lady Bertia."

o(-_-)o[T]

The giant crimson spider moves faster than Malty expected. It doesn't immediately get into everyone's face since it's at the center of the island on top of a mountain. Yet it easily climbs down the cliff like it's running on flat ground. Its size also allows it to completely ignore the thick tropical forest surrounding the mountain like they are nothing more than a patch of grass. The very foundation of the island itself, already weakened from the spiders that were tearing it apart, begins to shake like it's about to break apart. As it moves closer, the spider Wave boss begins to look more and more massive. It hovers everyone's head, like a giant fortress atop of eight pillars that rise into the sky itself. No wonder Gaelion called it an Earthbound deity . The only thing that Malty had seen on the same size of it was the giant tree in Fitoria's realm. She can't figure out in her head how they are supposed to even fight something like it.

"Well. As they say. The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Prince Tact doesn't sound as impressed as Malty herself. In fact, he lets out a loud snort, and swings his hero weapon forward again. His star whip, which had split apart to spawn into countless black scaled vipers, wraps itself together once again, and turns into a giant snake as thick as a tree thousands of years old. Which is still to say, smaller than each one of the giant spider's legs, though not by much. The giant snake lunges forward at one of the crimson spider's legs, and tightly wraps its body around it. Seemingly trying to trip the Wave boss onto the ground while it barrels forward.

What happened next takes Malty (and probably a lot of other combatants) by surprise. The frontal of the gigantic spider Prince Tact's whip snake wrapped around is turned to dust, instead of his whip being torn apart, or even successfully trips the giant spider down. But the giant frontal leg isn't the only thing that crumbles into ash. So is the morphed snake which is connected to the Star Whip itself, and it continues to rot towards the handle which the Whip Hero is currently holding. For the first time since Malty saw him, Tact actually looked panicked as his feet shuffled uselessly backwards. Clearly unable to outrun the rotting effect of his hero weapon. "Wh- what the heck is this?!"

"Behold, [ THE WORLD ]! BEND SPACE TO MY WILL! " A spherical barrier suddenly shimmers around the distressed Faubley prince. It manages to cut off the rotting effect before it reaches the Whip Hero, likely saving his life. Malty turns around and casts her head back towards the direction the sound came from. She sees Dio the Gauntlet Hero holding both of his arms outwards. The star gauntlet around his hands turned into a pair of ornamented golden gloves, with glowing purple runes covering its surface. "I'll take over defense, but don't directly touch it."

Malty looks back at the giant spider. It has crossed over the tropical forest, and almost reached their formation on the beach by this point. So in short... they need to find a way to kill this Wave boss that's larger than most castles in the world, without directly making contact with its giant limbs... something that's clearly very doable.

"Tisk, I got this." Tact makes a hiss that reminds Malty of a cat having its tail stomped on. But he didn't say anything else to the Gauntlet Hero who saved his life. The Whip Hero quickly recovers from his blunder as the star whip reforms once again within Dio's protection bubble. This time, Tact swings his whip down once again, the body of his weapon grows straight like a spear before it hits the ground, as its head digs into the ground. It seems like the Whip Hero had learned his lesson from his last exchange with the titanic arachnid, and decided to go for a more sneaky approach. But he doesn't seem to have any time left. As the time between Dio saving him from that rot sorcery and him reorganizing his new offense, the Wave boss is already upon their battle formation. Losing a leg didn't cause it to have any visible slow down.

"[Meteor Shield]!""[Mercy Barrier]!""[METEOR SPEAR]!" An emerald meteorite shell suddenly appears right in front of the spider's legs, on the side where it only has three. It seems like Naofumi had come to the same strategy as Tact, trying to trip the titanic arachnid with its own momentum generated by its enormous body and deceptively fast speed. A coat of golden shine quickly covers over his emerald meteor shell, with the form of a goddess holding her arms up to her shoulder at the center. The two elite demi-human templar knights Balmus left Naofumi had added their own miracles to his shield weapon arts. Motoyasu also throws his attack at the boss monster's leg in an effort to cause some damage. Their combined effort still wasn't enough to stop the advance of the titanic arachnid as its leg smashes through their combined barrier, but it did slow down a little and allowed the forces of the Whip Hero to arrange themselves.

"[Battle Formation: CLOUD DRAGON]!" The sound of a woman can be heard even as the followers of Prince Tact rearrange themselves into what look like a V shape, with its two wings pointed out towards the giant spider, and the point in the back. But the formation itself isn't a single layer of V. Countless more layers form up behind and connected with the first line by Tact's (wo)men... and even the Siltvelt army lead over by Tenzen, making it look like a long worm (or a serpent 'dragon' as its name implies, Malty suppose). What's more, a white mist began to come into form above the head of the army. It begins to change shape, until it turns into a cloud that resembles an actual serpent dragon.

With a loud boom, the titanic arachnid collides into the waiting mouth of the 'Cloud Dragon'. The heaven and earth itself seems to quake between their clashes, and the literal cloud dragon above the army's head shakes, but doesn't get shattered. The combined army defending Cal Mira Island was able to stop this earth bound deity of a Wave boss.

Warriors, and mages at the pinnacle of Prestige Level range (Lv41-100) can break heaven and shatter earth with their weapon arts and spells. But all nations still keep a standing army that's mostly composed of common level soldiers. To the uneducated, this act seems to be an oxymoron, even self-defeating. If a level 100 warrior and mage could bring down a literal mountain, what is the use for a low level standard army? The answer to this question lies with a very simple fact: talented commanders who can utilize battle formations and combine the might of an army. So when a prestige champion fights against an army, they aren't fighting individual common ranged soldiers. They are fighting the combined might of thousands, even tens of thousands fighters all at once. Even a champion who had broken through the barrier of prestige level range and into epic (Lv100+) can do nothing but escape when they are pitted against talented commanders who can fully combine thousands of men into a single formation by themselves.

And the phenomenon known as the 'Battle Cloud' is the ultimate achievement of a commander's ability. An aura of the army's naturally flowing life force that floats above the army they are leading. So long as this 'Battle Cloud' doesn't get destroyed by their enemy, none of the soldiers within the army could be harmed. Malty can't help but wonder who is leading the combined army at this moment. Even her father, the venerated 'Magician of the Battle Field', or Melromarc's greatest frontline general Diaz Gazelle Anderson, Melromarc's greatest army commanders are unable to consistently produce a Battle Cloud.

Father's specialty was using strategies to confuse and mislead his opponent, letting them expose their own weakness before he hit them with a decisive strike. General Anderson is most well known for his courage, and his valiance of going straight on the offense till he pressures his enemy into a total rout. Both are great army commanders who can lead tens of thousands of men under them without them descending into total chaos. Both their command abilities aren't their strongest points. And they could only form a 'Battle Cloud' with their men in small numbers in the thousands (still a great achievement for most commanders). But above ten thousand, they could only produce a Battle Cloud in the most specific circumstance where their whole army is fighting for a single goal with high morale. To be able to generate a Battle Cloud with a coalition army that's technically still enemies against each other against this Wave boss... the one leading the army must have been a genius among genius, even if she only did it out of coincidence. Malty stands up on her toes, trying to take a good look at who is leading the army at the front. She manages to catch a large bundle of long red hair in her eyes.

" Rias Gremory the Crouching Dragon, of the Azure Dragon Clan, Gremory Hall. She's Lung's subordinate." Malty turns back to look at Lord Dio again. The Gauntlet Hero apparently read Malty's curiosity and decided to answer her unvoiced question. "She is one of our two best young commanders alongside Prince Kael'Thas Sunstrider, the Young Phoenix of Sunstrider Hall. But I didn't know she was this talented commander either. Gremory must have broken through her limit when I wasn't looking."

"The enemy is being stopped! Don't stop, men! Continue the pressure!" Lady Rias is fully focused on commanding the army and doesn't let gossip behind her back distract her. Immediately, the fighters under her that managed to stop the giant spider's charge begin to advance and start to hit the Wave boss' thick carapace covered body with long range weapon arts. Motoyasu, and the two high ranking Sons of Biscas also join their assault. As the daughter of Melromarc's best army commander, Malty was taught the arts of leading a battle. She may lack Father's talent, and she wasn't the most diligent student either but she still recognizes most of the common battle formations in war.

[Cloud Dragon] formation is considered both the best, and the most advanced defensive formation, but not for the defensive buff it grants to its user. That honor belongs to the [Square Fortress]. But unlike a purely defensive, and more importantly... Stationary formations like [Square Fortress], [Cloud Dragon] boost the army's defenses without sacrificing any of its mobility... or offensive capabilities. Allowing it to instantly go back on the counterattack when an opportunity presents itself. Right now, Lady Rias is using [Cloud Dragon] formation's advantage to its fullest.

But the army under the command of Lady Rias only stopped the giant spider Wave boss's charge, not its ability to move its body and more importantly... its ability to fight back. The spider rises up its right frontal leg, its sharp, segmented limb looking like a scythe the size of a giant warship, and it falls down on the army's head with the force of the fallen sky. Lady Rias' [Cloud Dragon] formation might have stopped the leviathan Wave boss from trampling over the army under her command, but there will definitely be casualties after the Wave boss' assault.

"Once more - [ THE WORLD - SACRED HAND PRINT ]!" At least that's what Malty thought, until a pair of purple colored, ethereal looking hands appeared right over the army's head with the sound of Lord Dio echoing in her ears. The Gauntlet Hero was not merely bragging, or making empty promises when he told Prince Tact, and seemingly everyone else that he would defend them. Giant purple hands meet sharp crimson carapace-covered limbs in the air, with a loud crack, the titanic arachnid's remaining front limb pierced right through Lord Dio's defense. As the defender who conjures up huge barriers to protect an army, the Gauntlet Hero is at a natural disadvantage. Since he needs to distribute his barrier evenly among everyone he is protecting, the attacker can focus their full strength at a single point. Especially with the Wave boss is an earthbound deity, someone who might already be stronger than the veteran hero.

But to Malty's surprise, the pair of giant purple hands didn't immediately shatter as they were pierced through by the titanic arachnid's front limb. Normally, a defensive barrier, no matter how unyieldingly steadfast would crumble into nothing if it's been pierced around the center. Yet the same principle doesn't seem to apply to whatever hero ability used by Dio. In fact, the pair of purple hands seems to take advantage of its opponent's hesitation as its fingers coil around, wrapping themselves tightly around the giant spider's limb, holding it in place even tighter than what Lady Rias managed with her army.

The princess turned slave looks back at Lord Dio. To her shock, she sees a trail of blood slowly dripping down from the corner of the white tiger warrior's mouth. Blood also seems to seep through the seams of the star gauntlet around his hands. Whatever ability he used to protect the Lady Rias' army has left him badly hurt. But the Gauntlet Hero doesn't back down. He stands, with his legs and back straight. At the moment, his figure begins to remind Malty of Naofumi when he was risking it all to protect his friends.

"I kept you all waiting for long enough, huh?! [WHIP WEAPON ART: LAND SPIDER]!" Prince Tact seems to realize that he is no longer at the center of everyone's attention. He lets out a loud laughter, as eight dark pillars erupt out of the ground and climbs into heaven. Six of them were right beside the titanic arachnid's remaining legs still standing on the ground, while the last two pointed straight up at its head aiming at the same point. With a loud bang, the tip of Tact's whip shatters on the spider's jaw without penetrating its head. But the seven pillars that opened up near the boss monster's legs were able to destabilize the ground hard enough that earth itself began to crumble and shatter underneath the spider's huge legs, sinking it into the ground. That seems to be the plan the Whip Hero was going for: to immobilize the titanic arachnid's deceptively blinding mobility by burrowing its legs deep into the ground. "What are you waiting for?! Hit its eyes! Its eyes can't be as hard as its carapace!"

Malty thought Prince Tact was talking to her at first, so she prepares a fire spell even if she can't see the spider's eyes that's probably on top of its head, and she doubts she has enough mana reserve to hurt a leviathan monster like this. But then she feels a shadow cast over her and looks up, only to see Prince Tact's previously beached airship flying over her head once again. Its enchanted canons all pointed downwards, and released those specially constructed cannonballs on top of the titanic spider's head. Clearly, these special made ammunition had much better effect than the regular firearms Tact's (wo)men used against the other spider monsters as the boss monster lets out a loud, and painful screech.

As explosions, smoke, and whatever magical effect ravages the titanic spider's head, Gaelion flies over to its side where it lost a leg. Orange fire leaks out from the edge of his jaws till he lets out a single Wave of continuous flame from his opened mouth. "[YolToorShul]!"

"You call that a fire breath?! You third rate failure of an incarnate!" The little dragon girl following Prince Tact apparently has his arrogance rubbed off her. She leans her body down, placing both of her hands onto the ground as her body begins to change shape and expand. Until the little girl is no more, replaced by a gigantic red dragon spreading its wings and taking into the sky. She spins around, flying onto the leg besides Gaelion and opens her own jaws. "In the name of [Shulmaartoor] (Sun - Terror - Inferno) the lord of Inferno Flame: [TRUE VALFLAME]!"

A continuous stream of crimson flame leaves Shulmaartoor's mouth, engulfing the joint of the titanic dragon's leg. The light emitted from the infernal flame lord's fire is so bright, it first glows bright white... and then turns darker than the blackest night. It feels even more powerful to Malty than the same spell used by Duke Arvis during the Third Wave battle, and it made sense. The crusader of the inferno was only able to use his own power thanks to the blood of the dragon lord Salamander (the lesser name of Shulmaartoor apparently, just like Gaelion's true name was Grahlahneystrun). But now, she's witnessing the power of House Velthamor's patron demi-god.

"BAH! You want me to show you my real power? How about you try to conjure thunder against me?! You pet kitten of a mortal?!" Gaelion stops releasing fire from his mouth and snaps back at Salamander, he leans his head back and releases a shout as world shaking as Salamander before him. "In the name of [Grahlahneystrun] (Battle - Live - Storm) the Lord of Raging Storm: [TRUE MJÖLNIR]!"

Gaelion opens his maw. Unlike Salamander, a purple orb of cracking lightning forms around his mouth. Golden, and white arcs dance on the surface of the electric sphere as he releases it from his mouth at the titanic arachnid's arm he was roasting moments ago. A figure jumps off from Gaelion's head, and it takes a brief moment for Malty to recognize it as the Sword Hero Ren. He seems to be chasing after the thunder orb released by Gaelion as he holds the legendary sword in front of him. Instead of being turned into charcoal like Malty feared and half expected, the Gaelion's thunder orb begins to seamlessly merge with his sword and wrap around it, making it look like Ren is holding a blade of purple lightning a hundred times longer than his own body. He brings it down on the wounded leg of the titanic arachnid as the sound of a thousand birds crack around him. The leg of the Wave boss in front of the Sword Hero splits from its body and falls onto the ground.

But the peril for the Sword Hero isn't over. The abdomen of the titanic arachnid coils around, and shoots out a Wave of webbing towards its assailant. Ren was lucky enough not to get caught, but the much larger Salamander and Gaelion aren't as fortunate. Both dragon lords were swarmed by a tide of sticky silk, their powerful leather wings unable to flap fast enough to create the lift for them to stay in the air as they plummet toward ground. So is the Sword Hero, who is already beginning to fall towards his death. But even as he begins to lose control of his body mid air, Ren manages to swing his sword wide enough to take the second leg that was already burnt black by Salamander.

"Quick! You have to save Ren!" Naofumi gives Janne a push, beckoning her to take to the sky to save the Sword Hero like she did to himself in the last Wave battle. And to the former battle saint's credit, her wing does flutter in a way that indicates she is ready to bolt into the sky. But someone is even faster than her. The griffin girl besides Prince Tact shoots into the sky like an arrow, and her body transforms into a royal griffin in the air as she snatches Ren off the air and pulls away before the Wave of spider silk could immobilize her too. With the life of the Sword Hero saved, Naofumi turns his face to look at Malty next. "Boost my attack, Malty!"

"[Unstoppable Force]!" Malty's body moved before her mind, using the same spell on the Shield Hero that killed the ancient thunder lizard. It didn't occur to her to question if Naofumi would have enough stamina to last through the entire fight against the Wave boss, if he's having the severe stamina drain of having his Saiga out, and having the same enchantment on him.

"[Air Strike Shield - KOTEN ZANSHUN]!" Naofumi didn't waste a single second. He immediately conjured up a floating round emerald shield above his hand, and threw it at the last leg on the titanic arachnid's left side like a disk. He didn't immediately collapse like he did when fighting the ancient thunder lizard. Although that might be thanks to Motoyasu holding him from the side as his body is covered in sweat almost in an instant. He quickly pulls out a stamina potion from his shield and chugs the liquid content down his throat. Clearly, Naofumi doesn't believe this fight will end any time soon.

On the other side, Naofumi's aim was true as his destructive disc slices right through the titanic arachnid's last leg on its left side. The Wave boss, already hubbling on its 'last leg', begins to turn over and fall towards the ground. For a brief moment, it looks like Salamander and Gaelion are about to be crushed to death by the turned over body of a giant spider. But the two dragon lords immediately begin to release a stream of fire from their maws, burning away the sticky webbing around their bodies and manage to escape their cruel (and somewhat comedic, if it had happened) fate at the last second. The colossal body of the titanic arachnid Wave boss kicks up large chunks of dirt, dust and sand into the air as it finally plunges into the ground, effectively generating a smoke screen around the point of impact.

"Don't let up! A boss monster like this wouldn't be killed by a fall! Continue the pressure till it's been reduced to dust!" Lady Rias is showing the alertness of a good general even as their enemy seems defeated. With her command, the elite troops under her command let out another Wave of weapon arts into the dust cloud. The Whip Hero's airship also continues its firing from the sky, and his royal griffin throws Ren onto the ground not far in front of Malty's group. The magical beast spins around towards the boss monster once again, its majestic wings flapping at the cloud of dust and sand, sending out a strong gust of wind that blows the cover away. 

With their vision cleared by Prince Tact's royal griffin, Malty sees the titanic arachnid lying on its side in a massive crater. Its imposing figure looks somewhat pathetic as all four legs on its right side flails and struggles uselessly around, unable to right itself, or reach any of its attackers. But the princess turned adventurer doesn't dare to relax just like the Shield Hero. It's still a Wave boss of gigantic size, who nearly killed the Whip Hero earlier if Lord Dio didn't step in. Who knows what other foul sorcery it's capable of. What the spider did next completely surprised Malty. The top of its carapace armor on its head opened up, and a humanoid figure slowly emerged out like a butterfly breaking through its cocoon. In spite of the person burrowing out from the head of a spider, there is no blood and gore covering her body. No, she has pure white hair flowing like the smoothest silk down her back, and wears a white dress in the same color as her hair. The woman wouldn't look out of place in a church, if not for the red, segmented scythe she holds in her right hand. Which looks like it's made of a severed leg of a much smaller spider she emerged out from.

Chapter Text

The ride towards the north wasn't as tough as Raphtalia feared. They didn't encounter any wave monsters after leaving the Menagerie Resort area. The hotel had truly been turned into a fortress by Naofumi, and its defenders, stopping the second horde of wave monsters cold in their path, making them unable to attack the army gathered at the north from the back. Aside from dodging through the foliage of the tropical forest, there's no obstacle between their small group and the army gathered in the northern edge of the forest. They occasionally see a few animals among the trees that immediately run away when they are noticed. And they’re the only living things around them.

"Faster, FASTER!" Atla's urgent sounding voice makes Raphtalia turn to look at her. The younger sister of the white tiger sibling is riding on top of Kou ahead of everyone with her brother. Katarina's maid Anne is in front of them both, taking control of Kou's reign. Even Kuro is lagging behind her. But the little white tiger girl doesn't look content. She turns around and gives a slap to Kou's back every few seconds.

"Hey! Don't bully Kou!" Katarina's furious voice can be heard besides Raphtalia. The young lady of House Claes has graciously lended Kou to the white tiger siblings. And right now, she's clearly not happy that her steed is being mistreated by the people she's helping.

"I wouldn't have whipped the dumb bird if he wasn't so slow !" Atla turns around and glares right back at Katarina. She even spits at the young lady of House Claes. Privately, Raphtalia found the young girl to be kind of selfish ... and insufferable . It's one thing to not be grateful towards someone else's help and treat it like some kind of obligation, but to demand more on top of it... Was this young girl not properly taught by her parents or something?

"Don't act so disrespectful, Atla. This isn't what our mother taught us! We need to be grateful for someone's help." Fohl's response breaks Raphtalia out of her own admittedly malicious thoughts. So they did receive some good teaching growing up. Maybe it's only the little sister because she was spoiled due to her being younger. The white tiger boy turns his head around and gives an apologetic bow towards Katarina. "I'm sorry, Lady Katarina. Please forgive my younger sister. She can be a little … exuberant because she was ill when she was young."

That's certainly a way to describe Atla. Then again, it's clear the elder brother is in the habit of pampering his younger sister even when he is scolding her. Raphtalia suppose she can't fault him for trying to take care of an ill younger sibling, even if someone really needs to teach Atla better manners. Katarina lets out a soft 'hmph', and resorts to continuing her glaring contest with the white tiger girl. At least Atla is now properly distracted to not abuse Kou, or trying to pick a fight with someone.

Their peace didn't last long when they finally reached the group of fighters gathered at the northern beach. The size of the army is smaller than Raphtalia expected, especially compared to the thousands of men gathered to fight in the Third Wave. But then she noticed the giant ice bridge stretching north, and the tail end of an army still at the halfway point. It seems like the majority of the army had left for the island toward the north to take the fight directly to the Wave boss. And they only left a comparatively smaller group to protect their back. Unfortunately, the small group of defenders is exactly who is causing problems.

Firo is already crumbled on the ground, and the one who proclaimed to be Naofumi's biggest fan (Raphtalia gets the sense Naofumi didn't agree with his own assessment, neither does she for that matter. Since he tried to kill Malty) is fighting against a woman with long, gray hair... That's the same crazy woman who nearly whipped Naofumi to death after the queen forced him to reset his levels! Raphtalia doesn't like her to say the least, but she still knows she's someone from one of those big name noble families in Melromarc. Why did the Throwing Weapon Hero pick a fight with her?! And even though he is a star hero with a hero weapon like Naofumi and Malty, he's being pushed back step after step by the crazy woman.

"What's going on here?! Why is the Throwing Weapon Hero fighting against Lady Mordred?!" Katarina leaps off Sakura and screams at the soldiers who lined up behind the ensuing fight. They all grip their weapons tightly and stand in some kind of battle formation, with heavily armored warriors holding shields in front of them. The tip of spears pointing outward between them, and archers behind the defensive line. Raphtalia didn't need her own (admittedly minimalist since her father didn't believe they would reclaim their lost 'empire') imperial princess training to realize they are ready to receive some kind of enemy, and it clearly isn't the Throwing Weapon Hero considering none of them bothered to join the fight.

"Atla! Fohl! Help me kill this villain!" The Throwing Weapon Hero awkwardly blocks another attack from Mordred as she kicks him down onto the ground. "She took Firo away from Naofumi-sama! We can't let a villain like her live!"

"Yes, Master Tairou! I'll help you!" Once again, Atla charges straight at Mordred like an arrow before Fohl has a chance to grab her. Her brother lets out a pained grunt, and quickly follows after his younger sister. Raphtalia feels the same as she covers her eyes with her own hands. How would she even explain this to Naofumi and Malty? Things have gotten way worse for them while they are risking their lives trying to put a stop to this current Wave.

Chapter 14: Heroes in the Goddess’ Web

"Did a young girl just come out of that huge spider's head?" Motoyasu asked the question that's ringing in Malty's head. And to be honest, it's neither a smart, nor a good question. They already witnessed filorial monarchs, dragon lords, and royal griffins turning into humans (or the other way around), so the idea of a demonic spider demi-god invading from a foreign world having a human form really shouldn't be that big a deal. But the point remains that the giant spider didn't simply miniaturize and turn into a human. The young looking woman crawled and dug out of the titanic arachnid's head, which suggests that she and the giant spider might be two separate entities. That, or she has some kind of ability similar to the flesh crafting taught by the Seven False Heroes: foul sorcery that constructs a flesh golem shell around her real body.

On that thought... she came from the same world as the Seven False Heroes might be what's happening. It is well known they are dimensional invaders that came from another world after all. And the Wave of Catastrophe is apparently a phenomenon where different worlds bleed into each other.

"Don't let your guard down. She may look like a young woman , but Gaelion told us she's an earthbound god. I saw what an earthbound god can do. A griffin king was helpless against Fitoria." Naofumi's warning makes Malty refocus on the woman in front of them once again. It's easy to overlook the short battle King Waerjak had with Fitoria since Malty was merely an observer. And it's followed up by Fitoria and Metatron's revelation on the nature of a hero, their world, and the Burning Legion . But now she thinks about it, that battle was completely beyond her abilities. The king of Griffin's Spine mountain range already had enough power to reshape the landscape of his domain, yet he was treated almost like a child by the avatar of Alaya. How strong would this invading earthbound goddess be? Will the gathered heroes be enough to resist her? Malty feels paralyzed by the power the woman could have, even if she's doing nothing but standing on top of the titanic arachnid for now.

"Don't lose your will to fight yet. If she truly is a goddess, even an earthbound one. She would be subjected to 'Divine Limit Fifteen Thousand' when she goes to a foreign world not part of her domain." Lord Dio takes a few well measured long strides forward, till he steps over all of them and they can only see his seemingly increasingly large backside. "It's a limit to godly beings collectively placed down by the divine court of multiple pantheons. To protect worlds from the invasion of malignant foreign invaders. "

"Well, well, well... What do we have here? The giant spider that's been giving us troubles turns out to be a beautiful woman? " By contrast, Prince Tact's posture is so relaxed he's letting out an aloof whistle. He exchanges the handle of the star whip into his left hand, and holds out his right towards the white goddess almost like he's inviting her to a dance, or to a fancy dinner. "Maybe you should give up on invading worlds and join me- join us instead? I'm sure we can tickle whatever it is you fancy."

"Hey! Don't try to grab another beauty for yourself while I 'm not around." The sound of an equally foolhardy voice draws Malty's sight briefly away from the still unmoving goddess. She sees Tenzen and Lung landing on one of the severed spider legs. Tenzen leans his body back a little, showing off his admittedly well toned muscles on his tanned chest as he rests the back of his great saber on his shoulder. "Not all the women of this world and next belong to you , Tact. "

"You honestly think you even have a chance to compete against me, little kitten? You are nothing without your Uncle Dionysius. A little kitten borrowing the power of a grown tiger." The Whip Hero clearly doesn't show the same respect... or caution towards Dio's nephew as he does to the Gauntlet Hero.

"Aren't you two forgetting someone? Beautiful women don't have to belong to arrogant, lecherous men like you two." Lung brings her free hand up to the side of her face, and brushes away a strand of her luscious dark hair like she's trying to recommend some hair care product. Malty has to admit that the Princess of All Dragons certainly has good hair, even without Naofumi's hair caring potion... no! Don't get involved with their nonsense! Focus on the battle!

"Stop fooling around, you idiots ." The sound of metal and bone crack draws Malty's attention away from the three idiots flirting at the invading outer goddess while snapping at each other. The princess turned slave looks towards Dio and sees him squeezing his fingers tightly together. Blood still drips down from the seams of his golden gauntlet. "We are fighting against an outer goddess . This is no time to think about your lecherous thoughts. We have to kill, or find a way to banish her to stop this Wave."

"But I live my life fighting for the pretty ladies. Why do you always have to be serious all the time, Uncle Dio?" Prince Tact and Lung instantly go quiet, but Tenzen still whines at his uncle. Probably less due to him being stronger than the other two, and more on he is related to Lord Dio. His long, blade-like eyebrows twitch in the most irresponsible playful manner. Malty doesn't know how strong this young white tiger noble is, but he had clearly never faced enough hardship in life to know when to stop his filorial dung and get serious. She knows people like Tenzen well, she was just like him before her journey with Naofumi.

"What the hell is wrong with them... they are acting dumber than Motoyasu." Naofumi lets out a low groan at those who should have been his allies. Malty can't exactly blame him for such feelings, since she's also highly annoyed by them. But clearly he wasn't being quiet enough with his own complaint. Not that the other heroes heard him, but Motoyasu certainly did.

"Do you still think I'm dumb , Naofumi? I thought we were friends." Motoyasu makes a whimpering sound that reminded Malty of a kicked baby filorial bird. Perhaps he had spent too much time with his birdies.

"Well... you aren't the smartest among us. But don't worry. You are getting better." Naofumi instantly looks regretful at his own words. He reaches his hand out, and gives the Spear Hero's shoulder a few light taps. His backhanded compliment instantly made Motoyasu's face light up.

While all of this farce is going on, not all the gathered high level heroes and nobles devolved into their own tomfoolery. Besides Dio, Lady Rias is also one of the defenders that treated this new threat seriously. The long, worm-like formation of the coalition army slowly approached the white goddess with caution. The warriors at the front holding up their weapons, or shields as they take measured steps toward their new opponent. 

The unnamed goddess in white, after curiously touching the ash-filled sands with her toes, seems to finally acknowledge those around her as she slowly turns to look at the approaching fighters. 

Her face looks young, someone that has not yet lost the naive, boundless energy of teen years and reached full adulthood. Her immaculate white dress, silver hair, and soft skin sets her apart from the hardened, crimson carapace of the titanic arachnid she emerged from. To many, they were never expecting such an ethereal beauty to grace the beachside, let alone one as voluptuous beyond their wildest imaginations, with large, soft breasts, supple hips connected to thick, meaty thighs and long, graceful calves. There was a reason why degenerate lechers like Tact and Tenzen would forgo all reason and attempt mating with monsters like her.

The only thing that seems to connect her with the colossal, beastly body she left behind are her eyes. A pair of large, but still human enough looking eyes, are surrounded by three pairs of additional, smaller eyes that come to a total of eight just like the giant spider. And all of them are a bottomless pool of crimson sclerae just like the carapace that covered the arachnid, or the tear hanging over the sky, soon obscured by the formation of large landmasses floating above the darkened waters from nearby.

o(-_-)o[T]

Rias Gremory, for her part, is unamused. She knew the head of her Great Clan was a prideful hedonist, but she still underestimated how flippant the Claw Hero carries herself in front of an invading outer goddess during a wave battle. The red dragon turns to her peerage to take advantage of the lull now before them. 

A short-haired, handsome blonde boy armed with a longsword (in a well-dressed tunic), a short girl with a stoic expression, and what appeared to be a perpetually smiling Oriental woman with a large ponytail (possibly bustier than Rias herself), were among her entourage. 

“Kiba, Koneko,” Rias calls out to her peerage, “head down to the front and be ready to attack on my signal. Akeno, start your spells and provide support. I want her struck down this very instant.”

The two complied and jumped down behind the frontline troops on the beach. Yuuto Kiba himself drew his sword with a two-handed guard.

“Why certainly, Mistress,” Akeno Himejima cheerily complied with her facetious smile and closed eyes. “But are you sure that we can’t use them? We have two expendable weapons we can deploy against a mere obstacle like her. Why send our most reliable members?”

“I have my role to play in the Wave,” Rias stoically muttered, lost in thought. “I can’t afford to show my hand too early. This world is due for countless more Waves in the future. We’ll unveil our masterpieces in due time, when the time is right.”

“If you say so,” Akeno replied as bat and bird wings sprouted out from the back of her house’s tunic, taking up position above the Gremory rank and file, with her dazed and lucid eyes, ready to send a thunderbolt down with a snap of her fingers.

Koneko Toujou bent her knees and leapt up above the army masses, followed by Kiba, whose speed was near incalculable. 

For a short, petite girl with a childlike frame, she had quite the punch on her, as she forced the goddess to block with the shaft of her scythe.

However, Koneko's punches were rather predictable, as the goddess nonchalantly bobbed and weaved away from the various left and hooks aimed towards her face. Not even the following roundhouse was enough to misdirect the goddess, let alone land a successful hit.

"See ya on the flipside," Koneko muttered.

What the goddess didn't expect, however - was Koneko grabbing her by the waist, and attempting to suplex her into the sands. Then, hurling her high above in the air, forcing her to safely land on her two feet …

… which led the goddess vulnerable to a gut punch that sent her a few yards back, and bent her midsection in the process. The goddess responded in kind with a backhand that sent the pint-sized powerhouse skidding across the sandy beach. 

o(-_-)o[T]

Malty could see the sheer force of the backhand in spite of her lack of visible wounds. Credit where it’s due - that Koneko must’ve been a lot sturdier than what her child-like frame implied.

"Kiba!"

The swordsman instantly appeared in front of her, and with one draw, aimed cleanly at her upper torso, though the goddess simply arched backwards without a single cut.

"Damnit," Kiba muttered. The swing would have cleanly sliced her arms apart had she not dodged. 

Snarling, Kiba then concentrated. Perhaps it was time for him to show off more of his power.

"Sword Birth!"

Instantly, hundreds of blades of various shapes, and sizes emerged from the ashen sands, too dense to count. Any foe foolish enough would be impaled by these long and improvised spikes. 

The goddess, however, simply leapt on top of the various blades, with nary a cut on her bare feet, with Kiba following suit by landing on the hilts of the swords instead.

Leaping on top of the blades, Kiba sprang into action, trying to swing his blades on top of these deadly spikes, trying to catch her in a game of cat-and-mouse. His double handed style was insufficient to actually catch the goddess, who simply landed on her dainty toes as Kiba struggled to catch up with each careful jump. Kiba even had to duck under one horizontal swing of her scythe while maintaining balance!

One swing, two swings, it didn’t matter how many swipes Kiba hurled at the goddess - she narrowly parried just by shifting the shaft a smidge to the left or right, or even her body, presenting a lower target. Kiba had to constantly jump forward on the swords he unleashed, as she proved too fast to anticipate.

She kicked some of the entrenched blades away, snapping them into projectiles, which forced Kiba to deflect them away. 

Landing back onto the sands, the goddess then kicked up a massive dust cloud headed Kiba's way. 

"Repression Calm!"

Conjuring up a different sword, he quickly swung the blade at the dust storm, which absorbed the wind, letting the sands stay still. 

However, a stream of fire was hurled at Kiba, some of it fusing with the still-dispersing sands to form shards of glass. If Kiba tried to dodge the fire, he would be cornered on both sides by the glass projectiles headed towards him. 

"Flame Eraser!"

Wasting no time, the second sword immediately grew a large blade of ice. With one swing, the glass shards were parried by icicles ricocheting in their direction, and the fire was dispersed by the cold temperature of the blade itself.

The Goddess wasn’t done, however - a beam of light immediately shot towards the Gremory knight.

“Holy Eraser!”

The blackened sword immediately began absorbing the beam of light, devouring it whole, until the light magic vanished.  

Boulders, orbs of water, and poison were next in the goddess’ magic barrage, as Kiba finally decided to press forward instead of playing defense.

“Freonic Evaporator!”

Running forward with two swords, a scimitar enveloped by a burning flame detonated the boulders, destroyed the poison, and evaporated the water orbs, forming into a smoke cloud, obscuring the goddess’ vision. 

If Kiba would break through the smokescreen with a frontal charge, the goddess was surely mistaken, as he appeared to teleport behind her, his sword swings still blocked. 

There was no mistaking it - the goddess was just too skilled , fast and could defend against any sword skill unleashed against her. The V-shaped Vertical Arc, the 4-shaped Savage Fulcrum , the triple slanted slash combo Sharp Nail , and one-handed thrust combos such as the four hit Quadruple Pain … every move studied from Kirito’s repertoire as a Sword Hero of old, that could beat experienced fencers such as Weiss Schnee from long ago, was effortlessly blocked and parried by a scythe’s shaft with minimal effort. 

And that wasn’t all - once the Goddess started retaliating, Kiba had to duck backwards against the wide reach of the scythe against him. The white-haired maiden wasn’t even trying anymore, if she could merely twirl the scythe blade on the ground parallel to where her feet stood, and her body with it. The crimson scythe kept sweeping towards his midsection, then his head, before Kiba had to roll to the sides in order to tumble away from the overhead swings. 

Thrusts and jabs were insufficient as the scythe became a whirlwind, the goddess naturally moving her body with the momentum of the blade. Kiba lost count of how many one-handed swings nearly clamped onto his neck, ready to decapitate him at a moment’s notice. Vertical swings, horizontal sweeps, and diagonal vectors of attacks continued to overwhelm him. 

Lady Rias raises her hand, looking ready to give some command to the army under her. Maybe it's an order to charge, or perhaps it's something more cautious like holding their position and testing the strength of the red eyed white arachnid goddess with weapon arts. Malty would never know unless she asks House Gremory's Crouching Dragon , as she didn't have a chance to let out a single syllable. 

The white goddess beats her voices with action. Her eyes light up in purple, and the army that has been acting like a single unit suddenly turned into pandemonium. Those who stood at the front suddenly turned around, and began to swing their weapons at their comrades in arms behind them.

“Damnit,” Kiba grunted, muttering as he blocked a swing from the possessed army. “Losing an entire army of our best men …”

“It’s a moot point,” Koneko sighed as she lifted one of the foot soldiers and tossed him aside into the rest of the turned, knocking them aside. The two were now surrounded by their own men, who have lost all sense of reason. Friends were now turned to foes as they converged on the Gremory Clan’s strongest soldiers.

“Akeno,” Rias called out, “... you have my authority. Collateral damage is permitted.”

“Coming right up,” Akeno sweetly cooed as she snapped her fingers, and generated a stream of lightning that electrocuted the troops. 

“Seems like a waste,” Kiba snarked as he swung his sword on another puppet, slicing him in half. 

"Don't look at her eyes, Naofumi, Motoyasu!" Her eyes... she can clearly use some kind of foul magic with her eyes! Malty quickly looks away, fearful of being inflicted with whatever ailment the army under Lady Rias is in. She takes a brief moment to look at said army. And noticed the Battle Cloud above their heads are gone. What stood against the full body charge of a gigantic spider that would stand over all the castles in the world didn't survive a single stare from the earthbound goddess.

The white goddess doesn't seem content to merely disrupt the army and let them kill each other. She brings her hand back, and then points it forward in a wide arc like she's trying to slap someone. A scarlet wave of fog blows towards the army in chaos, anyone who was touched by it quickly becomes covered in red boils like they are being flayed alive. And then they turn into ash once they are fully engulfed. 

What's more, as the ashes fall onto the ground, they slowly reconstruct themselves into the dead fighters. Their eyes glowing with the same red light of the dimensional tear in the sky, and they raised their weapons at anyone around them who are not the same ash creatures as themselves.

Thankfully, the Gremory servants were wise to step back, and maintained their faculties … and allegiance. Kiba wasted no time against the shambling armies that stood in front of them.

"Sword Birth!"

And soon, Kiba's many blades impaled their rank and file, emerging from the ashen sands. Armor and clothing were torn asunder as ashes emerged from the wounds on their skin. 

"It's not going to work, Kiba," Koneko dryly remarked. "They're just going to pull themselves back together. They're made of that stuff."

"Seriously?" Kiba sighed. "How are we supposed to fight them!?"

"Yoo-hoo! With me, silly!"

A bolt of lightning electro-shocked the undead horde as their limbs and synapses spasmed. It wasn't strong enough to obliterate them entirely, but it did lock them into place, sending the horde into a tortured scream.

And that voluptuous Akeno was quite the sadomasochistic fiend indeed, giggling and licking her lips at a challenging opponent. The screams of pain were ecstasy to her ears.

"Malty! That's the same ash creature we fought in Gallia !" Malty shares a quick look with Naofumi. They nod at each other. Any doubt of Fitoria and Metatron's word about The Burning Legion leaves their mind. Naofumi quickly whips his head away to the panicking fighters around him. "Use ice magic to freeze them! They reconstruct if you destroy them! Ice is the only effective method to deal with them! "

"Take the army and retreat, Gremory! This is a fight between an invader god and us, the champions of Medea! Anyone not a hero or at the top of prestige levels, run! You'll only get in the way." Lord Dio didn't waste time while giving command to the army. He pushes his hands forward, countless purple hands appear all around the converted ash creatures, wrapping their fingers around these puppets of The Burning Legion and holding them in place. Dio was apparently smart enough to catch the most important point behind Naofumi's instruction even if he doesn't show signs of being able to cast ice magic: the important part is to contain the ash creatures, as trying to destroy them only lead to them reconstituting themselves.

"Acknowledged, Lord Dio. May fortune smile upon your conquest!" Rias gritted her teeth before she sighed. Perhaps she's trying to use this wave fight to gain some prestige for her own hall. Regardless, it seems like her contribution would stop here. Rias hollered out, before turning to her subordinates. "Kiba, Koneko! Form our rearguard. Do not maintain eye contact with the enemy, and do not destroy the enemy troops! Disable or incapacitate them, but they will regenerate and attack again. Akeno, I want a barrier and a containment field against the troops immediately.”

“Certainly, Mistress,” Akeno sweetly smiled, as a wall of lightning descended from the crimson skies, blocking the undead’s path, while a dome formed nearby trapped more of the ashen troopers.

And with the snap of her fingers, Kiba and Koneko leapt back, maintaining a fighting retreat.

The red-haired warrior lady quickly reorganized the men under her command. Thanks to Dio stopping the ash creatures, they were able to detach themselves from the chaotic fight without being chased down. Their rearguard quickly become vanguard and the other way around, and begin their retreat from the battle between the champions of Medea and a single invading outer goddess.

Tact, Lung, and even Tenzen had all jumped into action around the same time as Dio. Long sword-like claw teeth, broad spined war saber, and cunning thorned whips all fall towards her slender and dainty looking body. The Whip Hero being the loudest among them. "Who told you that you could harm my girls?!"

Right... because the first few lines of the army Lady Rias commanded were entirely made of Tact's (wo)men, who happens to be the one that suffered the brunt of the white goddess' attack. He lost the most manpower and resources in this battle, and judging from the way his face scrunched up in anger and pain, high-leveled fighters as well. He has the most reason to hate this invading goddess, even if he was flippantly flirting with her a moment ago.  

As for the goddess under attack, her serene face showed no emotions and she merely raised her right arm holding the crimson scythe a degree higher. With one loud snap, the weapons of Tact, Lung, and Tenzen all fall onto the teeth of the scythe, almost like they choreographed their exchange with the white goddess beforehand. All three of them let out a single unbelieving cry in unison. "WHAT!?"

Lung's reaction was the fastest. She immediately grabs Tenzen with her free hand, and jumps away from the white goddess with the young white tiger man in hand. Tact was only a second behind her, but he's already too late as the invading goddess fixed her glowing purple eyes on him.  

The Whip Hero's body suddenly and unnaturally freezes on the ground, his body posture looks like he's ready to leap away, yet unable to break through some invisible hold. The white goddess' mouth twitches at the corner, almost like she's breaking into a smile. But then she opens her mouth impossibly large, like her lower jaw had been cut off from its hinges and about to fall onto the ground. 

With the sound of a loud crash, Tact was pushed out of the white goddess' grasp by a woman in maid uniform. He blinks once, and sits up from the ground. His usually cocky look is replaced by a face that belies genuine shock... and fear. "Ellie?! ELLIE!"

"Master Tact, run-" The young woman in maid's uniform barely finished her words as red boils started to cover her body, from the crimson fog that enveloped her. Tact lets out a scream that sounds like a wounded animal as he jumps up from the ground and tries to throw himself at the white goddess. But Lord Dio takes a few strides forward and grabs him by his neck just as the woman crumbles into dust. The Gauntlet Hero lets go of the Whip Hero, letting the young man crumble onto the ground in a heap. For once since Malty knew Prince Tact, he looks genuinely disturbed and devastated as he lets out a few choking sounds as his body shakes on the ground. 

Lord Dio encases himself in his protection bubbles and steps forward as she is being reconstructed out of ash. The newly reborn ashen puppet is quickly wrapped around in one of his purple, energy-constructed hands. The white goddess turns to stare at him with her glowing eyes, and then cocks her head slightly to the side when Dio doesn't get affected the same as Tact before him. 

She brings her crimson scythe forward, and the Gauntlet Hero meets her head on with his own hands … emitting shockwaves everytime they clashed, sending everyone (Malty included) stumbling behind on their feet.

"Tsk. I guess she's a genuine goddess after all." Lung snorted, sneering from the corner of her eyes. She turns her head to look at Tenzen... and then presses her lips on the mouth of the tanned white tiger man without any warning. Malty briefly wonders if the Claw Hero had lost her mind after the shock. Why would she decide to play around a man while her enemy is right in front of her, and clearly more powerful than her? But then she notices how Tenzen's cheeks... and bulging muscles begin to visibly deflate while he is locked in a kiss with Lung. The Princess of All Dragons is apparently a genuine maneater in the most literal sense - someone who practices the foul sorcery of sucking out the life force from another man (and possibly woman). By the time she lets go of Tenzen, the previously strong young warrior looks like a refugee whose skin is loosely hanging off his bones. Lung wipes the corner of her mouth off with her sleeve. Her previously dark eyes glowing a menacing shade of gold, a pair of golden antlers sprouts above her ears, and she's also covered in a shine of light aura as she glares murder at the white goddess. It seems like Lung didn't save Tenzen earlier out of any sense of kindness, or even affection towards him as she leaps forward at the invader goddess a second time, joining the fight alongside Dio. "Round two, and I'm not holding back on you anymore, INSOLENT WORM!"

This time, Lung didn't immediately swing her weapon at the white goddess. She lands a fair distance away from the battle between Dio and the goddess and proceeds to... glare at the foreign invader. Before Malty has a chance to question the point of this action, both the heads of Lung and the white goddess recoil back like they are hit in the face by a powerful hammer strike. Malty can't see what's going on with the Princess of All Dragons, but she could see trails of blood dripping down from all of the goddess' eyes. She wonders if the Claw Hero had managed to damage her enough to stop her from using the abilities of her eyes. Dio didn't take a break, or lose himself in his thought as his opponent was briefly put on the back foot. 

Every scythe was too wide, or required wind-up time for Dio to simply raise his elbows and block, or weave within the scythe’s reach over and/or under the blade to close the distance. The shorter reach of his arms was enough for him to maintain a consistently fast defense.

The Gauntlet Hero, who had been fighting defensively to block and parry the goddess' scythe strikes, finally saw the opening and reached out with his left hand. He grabs the goddess' hair... and proceeds to furiously punch her right in the eyes with his right hand. "MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA-!! "

For the goddess, she's simply taking Dio's endless assault without letting out any noise. Aside from the sound of fist meeting flesh... and bones, of course. But the way her face becomes progressively bloody and worn, with skins and flesh peeling off suggests that the Gauntlet Hero isn't simply wasting his strength. His attack method might lack any sense of grace or skill, but it appears to be brutally effective even against an earthbound deity.

"Master Tenzen! Here!" A red haired fox woman wearing a pair of glasses, and a girl with white quills sticking out of her black hair run over to the barely alive, almost skeleton looking tenzen. She pulls her sleeve down, and hands her exposed arm in front of Tenzen's mouth while the quilled girl holds onto Tenzen. Malty manages to focus her sight on the woman enough to notice some biting marks on her skin, and that's exactly what Tenzen did next: sinking his teeth into the young woman's exposed arm. 

The woman's face scrunches up, visibly biting her own lips from inside as Tenzen's body slowly inflates once again. By the time the red fox woman collapses on the ground, Tenzen had recovered his previous stature. His skin still looks eerily pale compared to its previous tan, but he doesn't look like something that's on death's door anymore. Tenzen shakily stands up while holding onto the unconscious woman in his arms. "Ink. Take care of Karin. Your ability won't be useful in this fight."

The one he's referring to is also a woman with fox ears just like Karin. But unlike the fair skinned young woman with blazing red hair, she has deeply tanned skin with black hair. Perhaps that's why her name is Ink. And she gives the air of more maturity compared to Karin. Ink bends her knees slightly down, and takes the unconscious red fox from Tenzen as she gives a concerned look to the white tiger warrior. "You can leave Karin with me, but should retreat to a safe distance with us, young master."

"I'll come to you when I know Uncle Dio is safe." Tenzen shakes his head. His legs are shaking, and he's using his great saber like an impromptu cane holding himself up, but he stands defiantly and steadfastly watching the ensuing battle. It seems like even as a playful lecher, he still cares about his family... or maybe he's only using Dio as an excuse to watch over Lung. Regardless, Ink gives a respectful bow and leaps away with Karin in her arms.

"Sala! Ashi! Get over here! Nobody gets to kill MY GIRL without paying a price!" The animalistic scream of Tact brings Malty's attention back to him. Salamander and the griffin girl jump over to stand on his sides. Each of them offering their hand out to the Whip Hero, like a noble lady allowing a male scion kissing their hand. And that's exactly what Tact does one after the other. As his lips leave the little dragon girl, a pair of red horns spread out atop of his head. As does a pair of scale covered leather wings looming over his body. 

And after he kissed the griffin girl, his ears became more furry looking, and a second pair of white feather covered wings sprouted underneath his first, dragon-like wings. The two young-looking girls, on the other hand, seem to lose their beastly features and become indistinguishable from a normal, human girl. Prince Tact stands up to his feet, his bloodshot eyes emitting nothing but pure hate towards the outer goddess as he shoots himself back into the battle once again.

The empowered Whip Hero isn't the only one who has some grudges to settle against the invading outer goddess. Lung had recovered from her earlier flinch and removed her hands from her face. 

Trails of blood still drip down from her eyes, her nose, the corner of her lips and even down her ears. But her haggard looking state doesn't diminish the fury on the face of the Princess of All Dragons. In fact, she looks much more angry than before, to the point that her previous delicate looking nose had grown much taller and wider, making her look more like a ferocious looking serpent dragon. 

She jumps into battle right after Tact. With Lord Dio still having full monopoly on the goddess' head, thorned whip, and sword sharp claws begin to fall on the goddess' body from her side and back. Her previously immaculate white dress gets ripped, torn apart, until it becomes specks of ash flying off her bruised body as all three veteran heroes descend on her without any sense of mercy. 

"[Barrier]." Naofumi quickly puts up a golden, miracle barrier in front of them. The force emitted from the clash between the three veteran heroes and the invading outer goddess is becoming strong enough that they could barely stand on their feet. Surely under such a furious beating, even a goddess can't simply take it and not suffer any harm? Her body seems to be breaking apart under Dio, Tact and Lung's combined assault, after all.

And that's exactly what happened next. Red veins begin to emerge through the white goddess' skin, as her body bulges and contorts itself in different ways. The goddess panted and roared her head back, and hissed out a scream so vicious, as her body exploded, blood, organs and crimson mana leaking from the vessel now torn asunder - probably an implosion thanks to the relentless barrage the other heroes unleashed. Or she couldn’t control her mana reserves/regeneration through this supposedly unstable body.

But the physical destruction of the goddess' mortal vessel didn't stop the wave over the sky as Malty expected. In fact, countless strands of webbing seem to erupt out of the goddess' broken body and restrained all three veteran heroes, making them all fall on the ground in various states of disarray. 

“What the hell!?” Motoyasu screamed as he struggled to break free of his restraints. “Isn’t she dead!?”

“Must be one failsafe,” Ren retorted. “She’s not ill-prepared. Keep … your eyes peeled.”

It’s a sign that the goddess wasn't banished from their realm, but willingly discarded the current vassal she's using just like her previous gigantic arachnid body. Which begs the question... where is the goddess right now?

What’s worse, was that this was no longer a mere beachhead, but countless more large pieces of island bedrock from nearby land masses began to swirl and gather in the skies and the waters away from them. And the webbing itself connected the ashen sands to the floating islands, creating a wide, large net that could reach even the dimensional tear itself.

"Uncle Dio!" Tenzen stumbles forward, making his way over to the Gauntlet Hero with the assistance of the girl with white quills in her hair. He brings his saber down, and tries to see the webbing off Lord Dio. The girl is much more... enthusiastic . She pulls out the sword hanging by her waist, brings it high above her head... and starts to furiously hack and slash at Dio's body like she's trying to kill him. She doesn't seem to be particularly smart, but she's doing as much damage to the Gauntlet Hero as she is doing to the web wrapped tightly around him: none.

"Everyone stand together, the goddess isn't done ye-AH~!"  Malty didn't finish her warning as she suddenly feels a strong pull around her ankles. The next thing she knows is a wave of pain and dizziness around her head while her bag is dragged across the sandy ground beneath her. By the time she somewhat recovered her faculties, she realizes she's being pulled towards a white spider about the same size as a grown man, with glowing, crimson leylines covering her carapace like a chaotic web.

o(-_-)o[T]

"MALTY!"

Naofumi saw with terrified, saddened eyes that for some reason, the goddess was attempting to capture Malty for some reason as she sped across the ash-filled beach, and began to leap across the broken pieces of island strewn across the skies. There could be only two reasons as to what could happen with her - either the goddess would eat her as food, or escape out of sight with her in tow, probably at the behest of her masters, the originators of the Waves themselves!

The goddess was no longer a woman, nor a feral beast, but a horrifying fusion of both. She still retained her beautiful, bare human torso, but everywhere below the navel ended up like a smaller version of the titanic arachnid they faced earlier, complete with crimson carapace and bulging veins on her exoskeleton and legs. 

And he did not want to lose his oldest friend … no, his beloved , to a goddess, as she began to scurry up the extensive webbing that held both beach and floating landmass together. He had to get her back at all costs, and surely that’s what anyone would do in his shoes!

“Give her back, damnit! I want her back!”

Ren can barely hold back Naofumi with Motoyasu's help. Forget about his supposed lower level, or him lacking attack power because he's the Shield Hero. A panicking Naofumi is the strongest among them all. 

But he still does not dare to let his friend go face that spider goddess on his own. Three high-leveled, veteran heroes had already tried to fight her head on, and right now they are writhing on the ground, tied up by webbing like mummies.

"You stay where it's safe, Master Shield Hero. We'll get Princess Malty back!" The two winged demi-humans leap towards the spider goddess. Even from a distance, they have already prepared their attack. A bundle of golden lightning collects in the white winged woman, surrounding the spear she is holding. And the young looking... boy, or maybe a girl with peacock tails, has all of their tail feathers folded together over their head like a halo and shoots out a giant purple eye shaped energy sphere at the white spider, as the demi-humans try to fly towards the webbing.

"Sunlight Spear! Cosmo Illusion!"

However, the spider goddess turns around, aims her abdomen, and shoots out two more strands of webbing from its abdomen. Ren didn't expect something like spidersilk would carry a lot of force, but that's what it apparently did when they pushed right through both of the demi-human templars’ attacks, dispelling the magic energies themselves.

The two strands of webbing didn't stop after overpowering the spear of golden lightning and purple energy sphere, as they hit both demi-human fighters right on their chests, puncturing their armor and tunics in one shot each. 

Instead of wrapping around and restraining them like Ren expected, both of them spit out a gust of blood from their mouth, and are sent flying back on the ground, their faces pale as they writhe on the ground. Ren knew these two former church members are stronger than himself, how would he end up if he had tried to do the same? Would he even be alive if he's hit by the same attack?

While he is being distracted by the goddess' strength, Naofumi has managed to break his hold and charges straight toward the white spider. 

He begins to try and steadily climb the net of webbing, struggling not to stay tangled, with his foot dangling in one of the open spaces. No matter what, he would do whatever it takes - he would snatch his woman back and kill the spider goddess himself! 

Motoyasu lets out an intelligible yell as he quickly gives chase after Naofumi. Ren doesn't have much time to hesitate as he follows after his two friends. He's not sure what he can do to help keep them alive, but he's not about to let these two get themselves killed without doing anything. 

“How do you even climb on these things!?” Motoyasu screamed, as he dangled on the threads. “Are you a competitive rock climber or something!?”

Motoyasu, for his part, is still helplessly tangled in the webbing, just hanging on for dear life, while Ren, with his expert footwork, can easily balance himself on the strands with the soles of his feet, without much struggle.

“Stop wasting time, Motoyasu,” Ren snarked as he quickly increased the pace, gradually running towards Naofumi and the spider goddess. He had to sprint on the strands, since rescuing Malty from being spider food was paramount. 

Naofumi himself didn't waste any time of his own to clip his shield into an iron ball - but instead of tossing it at the spider goddess, he held it right in front of his balled up fist like an extra fist grew over his hand as he frantically sprinted, charging at the goddess and willing his entire body to do so, no matter how much he stumbled on the strands to awkwardly chase after her. 

Just like before, the spider goddess hisses and shoots out a strand of webbing at Naofumi from its abdomen, but the Shield Hero seems prepared for it. 

He tosses a concussive blast below himself, and 'rocket jumps' over the goddess' attack at her body as he swings his balled up [Crown Shield] at her head even as droplets of red rain down from his mouth. "Don't you dare hurt my WOMAN! "

In a split second, the body of the goddess flashes for a brief moment, almost like she had stepped into a thin layer of fog. And when the invisible 'fog' cleared up, she became the pale woman in her white dress, holding her crimson red scythe once again as she stands daintily on the webbing. She swings her weapon up at Naofumi's coiled Crown Shield. With a loud crack, both weapons met in the air. 

Cracks begin to form on the Crown Shield where the two weapons collide, but instead of simply crumbling into dust, it explodes like a miniature sun, sending a wave of heat and firestorm onto the goddess. For the first time since she took this humanoid form, she actually lets out a voice from her mouth. 

“A–AAAAAAaAAaAh~!”

It's a faint, almost silent thing, but she is showing something she didn't even display when the three veteran heroes were beating her down: a visible sign of pain.

That wasn’t all - the patch of webbing they were on immediately snapped , sending them falling back on the ashen beaches. As for the goddess, she turned her head around as she tried to shoot new strands to repair the improvised net, and stay afloat, with the bound and unconscious Malty precariously dangling from the webbing, something Naofumi could be thankful for, as his body falls and tumbles on the ground. 

The goddess, however, doesn't seem willing to leave him be. She opens her mouth wide once the flame from the destruction of his Crown Shield passes over, and blows a wave of red fog at Naofumi. That's the same move she uses to kill the Whip Hero's maid ... and Ren knows there's nothing he can do to save his friend since he is too far away. 

But something travels much faster than the wind of scarlet plague blown out by the white goddess. A white, glowing chain shoots out from Motoyasu's wrist, connecting to Naofumi's arm as the Spear Hero pulls his body back with all his strength, flinging him away from the beachhead, and onto a different part of the spider’s web. That's when Ren noticed another chain extending out from Motoyasu, and connected to his own wrist. That was the ability Motoyasu had to 'link up' with some of his own companions, wasn't it?

"Hold your Dovah Sword up, Skykid !" Gaelion's voice rings in Ren's head, he doesn't have time to hesitate, or get annoyed at his new nickname. Wyndia's father can be a bit silly at times, but he wouldn't fuck around in a life or death situation like this. So he must be planning something with his instruction. As Ren holds up the sword of Gaelion's choosing, he sees the dragon lord fly towards his hand in his miniaturized form like a bat. The tiny dragon lord lands on his hand, and begins to wrap his elongated neck and tail around his sword. Gaelion disappears with a purple flash and the sword in his hand changes form once again. 

Before, the Dovah (Dragon) Sword already had a draconic look. But with it being made of dragon's bones, the resemblance is in a more primal form. Like some kind of decoration a caveman would build with limited tools. But now, the guard and hilt of his new sword look like a well crafted piece of art that resembles a delicate replication of Gaelion's body. His torso and tail make up the hilt and middle of the sword guard, his wings literally become the two wings of the sword guard, and his head connects to the blade, which now has a dark purple shine like the lightning he spews out of his mouth. And he can hear Gaelion's voice echoing in his head. " Don't get distracted! You have sixty seconds - make them count! "

Ren doesn't need to be told twice as he leaps off his strand of webbing, rappelling into the air into a flying charge towards the white goddess - even over Motoyasu , who just caught Naofumi's body. He feels it from the current of air more than he saw it through the flight. And the youngest hero suddenly became very aware of his enhanced senses. He could sense every spec of ash falling on everyone around him, like he somehow gained 360 degree vision over miles, yet also has the sudden brain power to process all the information. Is this how Gaelion sees the world, or is it some kind of combined effort thanks to his dragon power, and the legendary sword? He remembers Gaelion's warning, and focuses on himself - no, immersing himself in the battle ahead.

o(-_-)o[T]

Malty has regained her clarity even as she's being bound and dragged through the ash-filled beach and up towards the skies by the invading foreign goddess. This is the second time when she's being targeted by an invading goddess, and she honestly can't say she enjoys this dubious 'honor'. She's tentatively aware of Janne and Abel trying to push the white goddess back, only to be badly injured by her. 

And then Naofumi threw everything he had at the goddess, even exploding his own [Crown Shield] in an effort to push the goddess back. He didn't seem to have done much more than the three veteran heroes. And now Ren charges forward, wearing some kind of dragon armor on him while holding a new sword. Motoyasu charged up behind him, while Naofumi quickly scrambles on his feet and cupping his hands, likely trying to bring his [Crown Shield] back out again.

All while she’s helplessly dangling off the web, unable to move or even contribute. The only thing she could do at this point was watch.

Ren seems to have completely given up on defense, focusing on clashing weapons with the white goddess instead. His purple sword meets her crimson scythe, each blow releasing lightning bolts and red mist between the two of them. 

Motoyasu uses a spear form she doesn't recognize from before, something that breaks into three segments with chains connecting the two short sticks and the short spear together. Was that a replica of General Anderson's Conqueror's Spear? He brings his spear out from behind Ren, helps block the goddess' strikes against his comrade in arms, and swings around the tail segment like a flail at the same time to catch her off guard. Both men have managed to maintain their balance on the webbing as they continue to run with great speed towards the enemy.

The goddess seems to get annoyed at Motoyasu's constant harassment as her eyes begin to glow purple again, but she doesn't have a chance to use her eye ability when Naofumi's body is swung forward by Motoyasu as the Shield Hero's feet smashes into her face. Right... because that astral chain the Spear Hero connected out to his companions isn't only a physical chain that binds them together. It also shares their life , and combines their strength together so even the Shield Hero could deal damage without bringing out his saiga.

Malty doesn't know how long the three cardinal heroes could keep up their assault that has the white goddess on the back foot for now. Whatever the state Ren is in, she's willing to bet it had something to do with Gaelion just like how Tact took away Salamander (and that royal griffin)'s power. His body most definitely can't keep the power for long. 

She tries to move her arms, to loosen if not breaking the webbing around her body. So she can give them some help and hopefully banish the goddess out of their world before it's too late. But it's no use, all she managed to do is have them digging deeper into her flesh. Even the veteran heroes who have broken through the ceiling of prestige levels and into epic (lv 100+) range were helpless against the goddess' bind. What could someone like her, a pampered princess who only recently got into the prestige level range, with a half broken hero weapon could do?

When was the last time she felt as hopeless as she does now? When the Three Heroes’ Church betrayed them at the end of Third Wave after the rampage caused by that fucking goddess summoned by Lautrec? No... Naofumi might have lost his shield. Raphtalia and Firo might have been enslaved by Fuckboy , Kyubey and Farkas were killed. But she hasn't given up trying to survive the desperate situation they were caught in. 

Or how about that time when they were caught by Fuckboy's trap outside the wall of Melromarc Castle, thrown into the dungeon and waiting for their death? Yes... she had given up all chances of fighting back, and was mired in regret for dragging Naofumi down alongside her. But deep down, she also knew it was mainly Fuckboy's fault. She was suddenly reminded of the one time in her life, when she truly felt defeated from the depth of her bones.

o(-_-)o[T]

The ember of fire sitting in Malty's hand exploded, nearly splashing into her face, her nose, her eyes... a gust of wind wipes them away, before they have a chance to hurt her. Malty turns her head around on instinct to look at her magic teacher, and almost instantly lets her face drop into her own lap from shame. There's no sense of chastise on Uncle Aldrecht's face as he looks up from his own parchment, only surprise. She might have felt better if he looked more upset with her. "You are distracted, Malty. What's wrong?"

"My younger sister, Melty. She has her magic affinity tested today." Malty throws her arms up, and then wraps around her own body. She hates how whiny she is sounding, but she can't stop herself. "Melty got our father's water affinity from his Tristan bloodline. And everyone's talking about how she'll be a much better princess than I am. Water can heal people, can create mists to distract, can bring rainfall for our peasants... and they have more ways to hurt monsters and invaders even when Melty has to fight. All I can do is burn people... and the first person I ended up burning was my nanny. "

"Ah... I see you are exposed to that foolish debate on which one of the Founder Brimir's four prime elements is the best again. Didn't I tell you it's a waste of time that only utter fools would indulge themselves in. And you should treat such pointless gossip as wind?" Uncle Aldrecht stands up from his chair and walks over. He bends down, and runs his finger around the corner of Malty's eyes. She belatedly realized that tears were dropping down from her eyes after the fact. 

Uncle Aldrecht gently wraps his large hand around Malty's, and brings her over to his table and lets her sit down across from him. "In spite of what most foolish peasants, and even some of the pretentious charlatans pretending to be mages to gain favor from the rulers like to debate, there is absolutely no element of Founder Brimir's four prime elements that stand above the others. Water can put out fire, yes. But a strong enough fire source would burn out water as well. In the end, it depends on the mage who wields them. That's why I have been hammering home the point to you that your strength as a mage will always only be as good as your control. At least, that's the principle we are working with if you take Found Brimir's wizardry school at its face value."

"Are you talking about your own theory on the Founder meant to have his four elements represent the state of the matter in our physical world again, Uncle Aldrecht?" Malty's attention is successfully led away from the mean gossip of the servants to the much more fascinating topic of magic theories. She can't help her excitement as she begins to bump on top of her chair. Who cares what those uneducated servants think, if someone like Uncle Aldrecht would have a different opinion? "Do you think my fire affinity is actually stronger? "

"Well... I don't know if fire is the strongest with my own theory. But I do know the state of plasma would be the purest form of energy from our physical realm, therefore being the closest to the essence of magic itself: pure energy." Uncle Aldrecht lets out a chuckle escape his nose, as he lets a small bundle of orange flame rise up from his hand. Like a warm bunfire, selflessly distributing its warmth. "And even if I'm wrong, heat is still one of the most prime forms of energy. With it you can fuel, create, and destroy. If you can fully unlock your potential to gain its control, you will become one of the world's best mages with it alone."

o(-_-)o[T]

Malty sits up from the ground while the white goddess is distracted by all three cardinal heroes around her. With an almost ethereal sounding clank, a glowing chain connects between her and the Spear Hero's wrist. It doesn't matter her hands and arms are bound tightly by the goddess' webbing - she opens her mouth, and blows out a steady stream of fire.

Chapter Text

Mittelt doubles over on the stone wall. She would have dropped head down onto the street, with snapping maws of the Wave spawn monsters waiting below if Blake hadn't grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. The daughter of the Menagerie Resort's owner isn't going to have her fight on the frontline in her current condition, or perhaps she doesn't want Mittelt to distract the other more capable fighters. She grabs the young little crow girl, and slips down one of the ropes onto the little courtyard and lies her against one of the many crates. She actually looks worried for Mittelt, as she Waves her hand in front of her eyes and asks. "Hey, are you alright? You looked sick there."

"I'm alright. Nothing is hurting me... but I'm worried for Big Sister Janne." Mittelt turns her face to look north again. The Wave of malice she's been feeling since earlier didn't grow weaker. In fact, it only got ever stronger since she started to feel something truly evil breached into their world. It reminded her of that time, when she was still one of the squatters surviving in the slum, fending for herself before big sister Janne showed her light, a life that has more meaning than her own meager life.

No... that's not exactly true. She didn't only have herself. It's something much worse. Before she realizes it, she has blurted out the first thing that's on her mind to Blake. "Have you ever met a demon yourself?"

"I'm sorry?" The little black-haired cat girl flinches back at Mittelt's question. The former slave templar of the Three Heroes’ Church briefly wonders what got Blake so spooked. Yes, the teaching of the Chief God has drilled into everyone that demons and devils from another world are bad, and you should avoid them and report their whereabouts to the nearest church officials, preferably one with experience in fighting. 

But most people who have never encountered one in their life (thankfully compressed over 99.99% of Medea's population) have no idea how malicious those entities truly are. Therefore, they have no true fear for them. In fact, it wasn't that uncommon to see one of the novels of the more trashy variety to romanticize them, making them off as more benevolent than they are. It's obvious heresy to the Chief God and his pantheon, of course. But even the church could do little to stop the spread of gossip since those writers would never use their true name to get their degenerative works published. And the church could do little more than burn any physical copies they find, and forbid their own members and faithful from consuming them.

"I have never consorted with a demon, or their foul worshippers, sister. We at Cal Mira Island don't revere the Chief God as strongly as the people of the mainland, but I can assure you that we would not consort with our world's biggest enemies." Blake's response makes Mittelt do a double take before it occurred in her mind. That the little cat girl thought she was interrogating her for possible consort with demons.

"No, worry not, little miss. I'm not interrogating you. I wasn't part of the inquisition." The former slave templar Waves her hand at Blake, and then she turns her face back toward North once again. She's still very far from the source of the eminent aura of malice, but it feels practically right next to her. She wonders how strong this sense of evil would have been if she followed big sister Janne to the Wave. Would she even be able to stand? She really shouldn't do it. She doesn't know the character of Blake that well, and this information could ruin her... and 

Big Sister Janne too if it gets out. But she can't help it. It's been staying buried in her mind for too long, like an old wound underneath the skin that's been allowed to fester. And now, it has been reopened with a powerful demon breaching into their world once again. So she whispers to Blake, almost like the little cat girl is an agent from the Chief God and she needs to confess her sins to gain absolution. "Before I was brought to the church's light... I was raised by a demon."

Chapter 15: The Fourth Wave, Dispersed

"Brother Abel." Janne opens her eyes up, trying to look for the heroes who are hopefully still fighting against the invading outer goddess. She tries to push herself up from the ground, but fails. Her limbs feel like dried up twigs, going to snap at any moment. Her battle brother didn't answer her, but the ragged breath tells Janne that the peacock is still alive beside her. But Abel isn't in any better shape than she is in. Knowing what she has to do, she gathers her remaining strength in her left hand, and sends it towards her battle brother. Unlike most of her fellow Sons of Biscas, Abel is a strong sorcerer due to a peacock's enhanced elemental sense. But Janne is the better user of the Chief God's miracle. So it makes sense that she gives her remaining strength to Abel. To have one of the two of them be battle ready, rather than both of them lying around uselessly while their father's appointed successor fights for his life. "Do the right thing. For our father."

As her vision grows dark, she feels Abaddon Abel prying the Replica hero weapon off her hand.

o(-_-)o[T]

The bodies of humans aren't made the same way as a dragon. Malty knows this very simple fact. And no matter how strong a mage's affinity is with the fire element, they should not be able to blow fire from their mouth like a dragon.

There certainly isn't any historical record about Founder Brimir spewing fire from his mouth. But then again, there's no record of him being tied up either. She's pretty sure he would have resorted to some rather unsavory methods to save his life otherwise. So with her arms very much preoccupied, the princess turned slave looks for the most unorthodox way to save her own life, and help the heroes in their effort to take down the goddess. She wasn't sure pushing her magic towards her mouth would give her the attribute of a dragon, or burn her up from the inside. 

Then again... immolating herself from the inside out might be a better way to go than whatever the white goddess had in mind. She can't imagine the last moment of Tact's maid was peaceful as her body was covered in boils and then turned to ash.  

Thankfully, she managed to breathe out a wave of fire towards the invading outer goddess like she hoped. The sensation feels familiar as well - like she's watching every drop of magic flowing in her own body as they move through some invisible veins. 

It feels almost exactly like that time when she managed to get into that eldritch state when she was fighting the newborn outer god outside of Balafon. Is it because of that outer god's influence, or did she end in this state by complete accident?

The white goddess herself was distracted by three of the four cardinal heroes orbiting around her, sending attacks to her any chance they find an opening, as they’re bouncing about, trying to stay on balance and find an opportunity. 

She clearly didn't notice the stream of fire Malty sent her way. And as the wave of fire finally scorches her back, she actually flinches once again and hisses out a pained snarl. 

“GRRRaaaaA–AAAAAAaAAaAh~!”

The enemy sounded more like an animal than a man, with that burning scar tarnishing her pale back. It didn’t matter that the once-composed enemy turned feral , for scars began to heal with her absurd regeneration. But as her magic touches the goddess, Malty begins to 'sense' the inner body of the goddess just like her own.

And to her confusion, she found that there was nothing inside. Almost as if she's looking at the hollow insides of a tree, or a piece of rock where everything was filled up. But instead of something structured like wood branches or stone lattices, the mana flow feels much more fluid and chaotic at the same time, like a violent torrent endlessly spinning around something that's glowing in the center.

The goddess turns to look at Malty again, her face twisted into an angry glare as her eyes light up in purple ... only to have her head instantly recoil back as ten arrows in total buries into her eyes, with one in each. 

Malty is pretty sure Itsuki hasn't arrived on this northern island after Naofumi and Motoyasu, and the legendary bow doesn't shoot out physical arrows anyway. But clearly he isn't the only archer among the gathered fighters.

Ren and Motoyasu used this chance to surge forward. The Sword Hero charging at the goddess' behind and leaves a diagonal slash on her back, while the Spear Hero charges from the opposite side and shoots out his spinning stab at where the heart should be located for a mortal. Both of their attacks land true, as a bloody hole is drilled through the goddess' chest, and her body collapses on the ground as Ren seemingly cuts her spine in two. 

She slumps on the ground, and Malty briefly wonders if the goddess would cast her body aside just like she did when facing the three veteran heroes. 

But she didn't do it this time, as her twisted flesh began to slowly try to knit itself back together. Perhaps she only has a number of bodies she could throw away? Regardless, their attacks seem to be having an effect, and begin to weaken the goddess.

Unfortunately for them, the invading outer goddess isn't the only one being weakened. Ren's body suddenly begins to convulse, as the pygmy form of Gaelion flies off his sword. Whatever Gaelion did to give Ren his power clearly pushed the young hero's body to his limit, and all of them weakened as the Sword Hero's power dropped to even below his average baseline stats. 

The goddess seems to know Ren's weakness even without her sight. She brings her scythe down, looking ready to lop his head off from his shoulders. But at the last moment, Naofumi manages to bring his [Crown Shield] back out again. With a loud yell, the Shield Hero coils his saiga into its attack form and swings it at the weapon wielded by the white goddess. He isn't alone this time, as a purple beam of light falls towards the goddess like a comet. Abaddon Abel is holding the Replica in both hands, the peacock's entire body is spinning like a hurricane with all the power collected at the front of the spear tip. As the spinning speartip and the chained hammer meet the goddess' crimson scythe one after the other once again, the complete opposite happens - this time. A small crack formed on the goddess' scythe after Abel's attack even as the petite peacock was sent flying back from their clash, and then the coiled Crown Shield shattered the goddess' scythe into countless pieces.

With the prized scythe shattered, the goddess paused. 

The goddess, for her part, had darted her widened eyes, now tense and fearful. A look of desperation and fury erupted on her face as she quickly opened her mouth and shot out a web, aimed at a bright white wisp that emerged from the shattered scythe blade, catching it and swallowing it. This white wisp was no mere magical orb for a foreign “goddess” of innumerable mana reserves, but what Malty probably surmised as a fragment of her soul. 

Soon, her pupils dilated, as her eyes widened. It was as if something awakened, or snapped within her, after absorbing the wisp back into her body.

“More …”, the Goddess muttered. “ More .”

Suddenly, the thunderclouds rumbled as the air grew dense around her. Large mists of crimson magic flooded the vicinity.

“Everybody, get away!” Naofumi screamed. “She’s going to try and attack!”

A large fog of thick, red mist enveloped the whole area, as the heroes’ vision became clouded, and they instinctively started covering their faces, coughing all the while.

“No … shield yourselves!” Malty screamed. “ Your flesh will burn and melt to ash !”

However, no such thing occurred. Instead, when they came to and the clouds cleared, they saw something else entirely.

“What’s going on!?” Motoyasu cried out as he jumped and stomped around, while patting down his body with his free hand. “Are we dead already!?”

“That wouldn’t be the case,” Ren surmised. “We’d be screaming in agony. The fact that we can feel our skin tells me this isn’t the enemy’s acidic poison.”

Then, they saw the grassy field. Lush grasses, and verdant forests under a bright sun and clear blue skies. This wasn’t the hellscape they had expected - nor was it the afterlife. Pristine white castles stood on the far side of the lands. What kind of trick could it be?

“Wait …” Naofumi muttered, “... this is a field? No, this can’t be right. The Wave still isn’t over. Is this … a vision?”

They saw from the eyes of the fair, white-haired maiden, as she gripped the scythe tightly. 

They saw from the goddess’ many eyes how her land was destroyed in front of her, as a dark cloud formed in the skies, and legions of demonic creatures and soldiers with blank crimson eyes on their death march, as lush grasses and trees became rotten branches and immolated fields. Even in her transformed state, with poison magic, and her array of spells and webs, did little against the Burning Legion. Their numbers were too innumerable, and their powers were too great.

Soon, scars, and blood awaited the outer goddess as she struggled to stay conscious …

When she came to, the room was dark. The goddess, now in her arachne hybrid form, was stripped naked and bound by her arms, her many legs … and even abdomen .

Her white hair, once braided, was now unkempt and disheveled, her scarlet eyes revealing apprehension at what was to happen next. Slowly healing scars were laid across her pale, bare alabaster body.

Then, the approaching march of the Legion’s faceless infantry heralded many of their so-called officers. Judgment was to be decided for this goddess who dared to stubbornly resist.

The faceless drones simply saluted, and stepped aside. 

The leaders of the Burning Legion had captured many who were strong enough to survive. By all accounts, for an enemy of her caliber to remain alive, she must have inflicted quite a lot on the Legion’s troops before being finally worn down.

One of them steps forward, and approaches the now-bound goddess with the sauntering clack of her heels.

“Shiraori the Merciless,” the woman called out, her face hidden in the shadows of the room. “Your reputation precedes you. You think that just because you fight fiercely, you can match the might of the Burning Legion ? What do you have to prove by resisting us? That everything you do is for the greater good? You have no friends left. The mistress you submitted yourself to is indisposed of. We are on the verge of driving you to the brink of starvation.”

“Why …,” Shiraori asked. “... why … me …?”

“You have so much potential,” the woman coldly replied. “You conquered nations without quarter given, all in the service of protecting your interests. You slaughtered countless people, warriors and civilians alike, taking no prisoners. How very narrow-minded of you. You belong right with the Legion.”

“Please …,” the goddess had begged in a more coherent speech, “ … what …  more do you want?”

The figure’s face was obscured, their voice distorted. But there was just something about that... familiar, yet completely alien.

“I will give you what you want,” the Legion’s leader had replied, before she stepped forward. "I will give you … more ."

Who? Malty wondered. Who are you!?

The veil was dropped; and Malty's eyes widened. She knows the face beneath her medium length brown hair and fluffy raccoon ears. This member of the Burning Legion ... 

“No … it can’t be …”, Malty muttered, in such disbelief.

It was the face of Raphtalia. 

To be more precise, she resembled Raphtalia in her older form, yet that familiar face was sinister. Her triangle shaped eyes narrowed with glaring contempt, in contrast with Raphtalia's boundless wide-eyed optimism. And her lips are curled into a contemptuous smirk down at an earthbound demi-goddess kneeling by her feet. Malty can't imagine Raphtalia would ever look at anyone, not even someone like Fuckboy, with this much open disgust.

"Naofumi, I'm not delusional, am I?" Ren buries the blade of his sword into the sand, the exhausted Sword Hero trying to use his hero weapon like a cane as he struggles back on his feet. "That looks kind of like Raphtalia ."

"It's a LIE! She's trying to trick us!" Motoyasu loudly declares with Naofumi (and Malty herself) in stunned silence . "Raphtalia wouldn't be someone like this! Keep your guard up! She's trying to trick us! "

“Motoyasu’s right  …”, Naofumi muttered. “Raphtalia was with us the entire time. She knows exactly what torture would be like. Hell, she never even met this outer goddess.”

“This might not be Raphtalia, but… this could be her memory... I mean the goddess' memory. Not some illusion or fabrication to trick us.” Malty gasped, horrified at the realization. "Think... Why does a goddess need to trick us into thinking Raphtalia is related to the Burning Legion? She could have killed us all if she wanted to without some mental trickery to cast us into doubt. And even if she wants to play mind games... Why choose Raphtalia? She's not with us right now, and she's not particularly powerful enough to leave a lasting impression with us to leave us confused and paranoid for long. If the goddess meant to use some fabrication to erode our will to fight, and wanted to choose someone we all know. Wouldn't it make more sense if she chose someone like... me? "

A solemn expression appeared on their faces as they realized they bore witness to. This invading outer goddess, with a reputation for slaughtering entire races for her master’s ideology, was conquered and mistreated so badly, reduced to being a timid and pathetic slave for a faceless horde.

“I want you … to find a certain person … and bring them to me,” the doppelganger commanded. "You will do … what I say … when I say … back on this front.” 

And soon, with one finger, she concentrated the crimson mists of what Malty assumes to be chaos magick (based on what she felt when she metaphysically touched the goddess), glowing a bright scarlet, as a searing hot needle opened up her bare torso, from her bare chest to navel. 

Shiraori screamed in agony. She thrashed about, trying to undo her bonds, and break free with pure strength, but it was in vain.

This Raphtalia could now see her mana reserves, and her internal organs, before she gathered a stream of crimson energy and placed her palm on her torso, as Shiraori’s magical energies began to violently fluctuate, from the chaotic energies now seeping into her body.

Slowly but surely, her abdomen turned from white to red. Her spasming arachnid legs bulged with enlarged blood vessels, underneath the hardened chitin where spikes began to grow. 

Struggling to resist, another set of arachnid legs and abdomens burst from her back, u

Blood opened up on her forehead, the skin opening to form her four new smaller eyes - sockets, blood vessels and eyeballs without irises and pupils, leaving only the bloodlust her glowing crimson sclerae had revealed. Red, glowing ley lines begin to cover her body like some kind of grotesque vines, or blood vessels.

Her heart beat can be heard, faster and faster as if her mana flow began to violently swirl around in many different directions. She 

With the chains released, Shiraori’s arachne form slumped on the ground, as she panted, tears flowing down her cheeks.

“Please … no more …”, the goddess pathetically mumbled. “ The pain … it hurts ! So painful … why!? Stop it … please! Help me! I’m scared … someone … save me! Pain …  No … no … no …”

" Pathetic. For a goddess that decimated your world’s armies and abetted the genocide of this world’s elves, you are quite ill-prepared for the … discipline required of a Legionnaire initiate." The older Raphtalia was displeased. She slowly walked up to the mutant arachne, and gently lifted her chin, tilting it up so that Shiraori could look her right in the eye. 

“No,” the older and meaner looking Raphtalia refused. “More. I will give you more. And you will live, only for the sake of the Burning Legion. You will command my armies, breed my children, and conquer worlds on our whim. You would have made a fine general, but it's a shame you lack the vision to carry it out. You will live only to consume, and destroy. You are to be bred to kill them all - anyone who stands in our way without exception. You will remain our servant, until you fall.”

And with a kiss on the cheek, ‘Raphtalia’ quickly generated an orb of chaos magic. 

Shiraori slowly consumed the orb, choking at first, trying to resist. It must have been less painful compared to the torture, because she eventually swallowed.

"Good girl," 'Raphtalia' gently cooed … before patting her on the head, brushing aside the snowy locks of her hair as the arachne swallowed.

Shiraori’s trembling cries soon ceased, replaced with the longing eagerness of a child desperate for the love and approval of a mother. Then, her eyes narrowed in fury, feral mania of her hunger. The goddess was now a mere attack dog, an ignoble fate that befell a mighty deity, strongest of her world.

“Now go. Go to the world of our Goddess, the one who brings the truth and unites all. Bring me my quarry, and you will be fed with the corpses and blood of our enemies. You will feast on their flesh and drink in their despair.”

o(-_-)o[T]

The mists having cleared, the heroes now realized they were in the present, with the goddess still stuck in her trance. 

As the fog dispersed, the goddess’ bipedal feet  stumbled back. Pupils dilated as she was sent into a feral mania, staring fiendishly at the skies, as she helplessly arched her back. She could only open her mouth and scream at the skies. 

Malty had to wonder … was this something that triggered her past trauma? Was this a suppressed part of her personality that resurfaced?

A large ray of crimson energy struck the goddess, sending her into a manic frenzy. Large mists of crimson magic were swallowed up.

“MORE! MORRREEEE!”

First, four large crimson legs violently burst from her back, each ending in a razor thin blade, now had bulging crimson flesh, reinforced with strong, human-like muscles, veins bulging beneath the skin. Each leg possessed their own silk glands and spinerettes, ready to weave webs ( or shoot many more projectile-shaped threads) at such an unprecedented pace.  

The goddess immediately climbed up the island and ran across the sides, sending spider leg after spider leg towards the group, forcing them to scramble forward as the appendages slammed against the sand.

Naofumi struggled as he caught the sharp limbs with his bare hands. His shield, still in its hammer form, lay too far away from the collision with Shiraori's scythe for him to defend himself with. Then Naofumi did the previously unthinkable - he landed a mighty gut punch to her stomach, knocking all four of her arachnid off balance and sending her tumbling back onto the ground. Because even without the Crown Shield literally in his hand, its attack power still boosted the Shield Hero's innate strength. Not to mention he's now linked with Motoyasu, Ren and Malty herself, letting him borrow all of their strength.

The goddess arched back, and the entire skin of her upper back burst apart. Revealing the four spider legs extended, bursting through old cells and vessels, as they grew joint after joint. Pus-like growths were on the top of the bladed tips. And they were soon joined by two smaller legs that began to grow from her shoulder blades, and one from the base of her spinal cortex, below her neck. Leaping from spot to spot, she continued to advance on the Shield Hero, trying to confuse him and catch him off guard. Finally, she retracted her seven legs, and leapt in the sky, ready to dive at the Shield Hero and using the fall to increase her own strength like Abaddon Abel's previous attack.

However, Naofumi timed his counterattack right, grabbing her by the waist and head, and choke slamming her down onto the ground. Her exaggerated movement at the end proves to be her own undoing, as it was too telegraphed, and allowed the Shield Hero to react in time. Violently thrashing about, she tried to extend her legs outwards, in a hissing. But Naofumi didn't hesitate as he pinned her in place and shouted out to his comrade in arms. “Do it!”

Naofumi's fellow heroes and Abel began attacking the large, pus-like growths with their weapons, causing them to explode. 

She screeched in pain and arched her back, as the growths' destruction sent her thrashing about . They must have been connected to her nervous system as the feedback reverberated back to her spine.

However, she snarled and kicked Naofumi away in the chest, sending him away with a cough of his blood escaping his mouth while she twirled to the side, knocking Ren, Motoyasu and Abaddon off their feet with her spider limbs. Seeing Naofumi hurt by the spider goddess, Malty tries to gather her magic in her mouth once again. Collecting it into a shape that's more refined than simply a wild stream of fire to send it further at the goddess. All she managed to do is have her own fire literally blow up in her face. Gathering magic around her mouth is very different than shaping it through her hand.

For his part, Ren was now disarmed of his precious sword, as Shiraori cracked a smile, the goddess pinning down the Sword Hero, she giggled, ready to impale her prey. Ren gritted his teeth as he struggled to fend off the offending venom-tipped leg. Any closer to his neck, and he would be done for from the sheer sharpness and girth of the tip, let alone the venom.  

So, he did the only thing he could - he hoisted off a whole leg, and rammed the leg back to her exposed, fleshy navel, sending her screaming.

“Graagh … agh!” 

Pulling out the venom, Shiraori hissed in anger. Ready to finish her work on the Sword Hero. Motoyasu and Abaddon jump back up, but they are still too far to reach Ren. Before either of them could do anything, a stream of compressed air hits the goddess in the head like a flying hammer, knocking her away from Ren. Everyone turns around, and sees Dio the Gauntlet Hero has freed himself from the goddess' webbing as he right fist pointed at where the Goddess was. The goddess reacted like a wounded animal, leaping at the white tiger lord next.

  “Tch,” Dio muttered, and he got to work conjuring another spectral arm to catch the appendage mid-stab. This time, the goddess was not amused, and rapidly sent her limb back and forth, thrusting faster than any mortal fencer witnessed. Dio’s clutches however, snapped the offending arm in half, causing the goddess to scream. 

Next, however, Shiraori snarled, as an abdomen emerged just above her buttocks. Hissing and snarling, she screamed in pain as the transformation continued to be painful.

Another abdomen expanded, this time at the center of her spine, where an entire spider’s torso, complete with another set of legs, grew out and expanded.

“Look out!”

Soon, the other eight legs began firing arrow-like threads at the three heroes, forcing Motoyasu and Ren to awkwardly tumble and roll away respectively on the sand in order to avoid being hit. Abaddon quickly flies over to Naofumi and pulls the Shield Hero from the line of fire. The Shield Hero casts a healing miracle on himself, snaps the Crown Shield back into its shield configuration on his arm. He did both just in time as Abel tosses him away when the peacock is caught in a strand of webbing. The Shield Hero didn't have time to worry for his own downed helper as he jumps back on his feet.

“Follow me!” With Naofumi tanking the blows with his mighty shield, the mighty heroes followed suit in a single file line, with Motoyasu then hurling his spear towards the enemy.

“JET STREAM ATTACK!”

With the spear having missed the goddess, Ren then somersaulted above the formation and left a couple of nasty gashes across the 

… before Naofumi jumped up and drop-kicked the goddess in the torso, sending her tumbling towards the sand a good few feet away. 

“Again!” Naofumi rallied

However, the goddess underwent yet another change. This time, bony chitin grew from her skull, her abdomen expanding even further. Four, bonelike ribs expanded from her midsection, 

As Motoyasu made another leaping strike, the goddess quickly opened her mouth and spewed out a collection of razor-sharp webbing trying to bind him in place. The Spear Hero only had enough time to pull his lunge attack back, and spin his weapon in front of him like a defensive shield to keep the webbing away from his body. But it still formed around his falling form and threatens to engulf him like a cacoon.

“Damnit, Motoyasu,” Ren grunted as he imbued his sword, rushing to slice apart the thin threads of webbing, trying to free his friend from being strangled, if not sliced apart to pieces.

In her muddled state to deal with the three Cardinal Heroes, the goddess has made a fatal mistake in ignoring Dio. But the Gauntlet Hero didn't show any grace to her. He charges at her, fingers extended out from his palm like sabers, as he begins to slice up the goddess with his hand blade. Soon, she was reduced to a limbless head and torso, crying in agony as excruciating pain must have been felt.

Screeching, the goddess wasn’t finished. Her thrashing torso, the core of her being, continued to glow a bright red aura as the flesh around her stumps began to wiggle and move again.

From the bloodied stumps, veins started extending and branching out, as bone, muscle, chitin and exoskeleton began being formed out of thin air. Flesh became gooey blobs until they hardened and solidified. 

More crimson blood vessels burst from her hips, as they flailed like tentacles, before they began to grow a new pair of hind legs. Her human arms were now bound by the vessels to a new pair of fore legs, while her legs were bound to her abdomen. And to make matters worse, another quartet of legs emerged from her back to replace the lost appendages.  

Snarling with a feral hiss, she continued to fire her barrage of bullet threads from her back legs, forcing them aside. The goddess' legs became pedipalps, as her abdomen continued to expand, with many more legs bursting out from the sides of the newly-formed abdomen.

It became clear as day that this was a more monstrous version of her arachne form from earlier.

The goddess then shot another layer of webbing at Malty, before putting all of her legs on the web she constructed between the islands.

Then, the goddess began to scurry away with her quarry, all the way back towards the crimson sky. 

“After her!” Naofumi screamed. “We can’t let her capture Malty!”

The heroes continued the chase as they climbed back up the webbing. Naofumi, for his part, climbed underneath the base of the threads, having seen a large gap to flank the goddess from underneath, akin to the net.

“Now!” 

Leaping back from under the hole, Naofumi snaps the Crown Shield into a hammer and slams the goddess on her human back, stunning her, and leaving her wide open. The goddess violently slammed her pedipalps down, which forced the heroes to tightly cling onto the webbing, hanging on the threads for dear life. 

“Now!” 

Motoyasu quickly ran his spear right at center mass; impaling her in the heart. Blood began to flow heavily as Shiraori shrieked in pain.

With the creature shrieking from the stab wound, she felt her head arch back. An arrow flying from the crowd had hit its mark and scored a headshot. If the creature could not think coherently, then it could never mount a proper counter.

The foul beast still wouldn’t die, however, as she pulled out the arrow. She still had the damned regenerative ability, as flesh knitted itself back together. Large slabs of meat filled the slab wounds, until her bare skin was fully healed. 

“FEED! FEED! MORE! MORE!” 

And in response to her manic command, her main abdomen continued to swell up, and her legs grew even larger than before. The holes in the webbing continued to fill as her spinnerette kept shooting out more silk, which hardened densely and quickly. 

The heroes steeled themselves. Fortunately, with how strong the webbing had become, they could now stand on it like solid platforms. 

And the goddess herself continued to violently slam on the net with her forelegs and pedipalps, trying to violently shake them off back into the murky seas.

“We’ve got to flank her!” Ren called out. 

Then the goddess did something unusual - she hoisted her main, bloated abdomen down at the base of the webbing, and proceeded to lift her entire underside up, curling her legs downward, firing strand after strand at the heroes, who had to run and roll away to another part of the solidified webbing. And, they had to keep an eye out for any strands that erupted from the network of threads they stood on - that bloated 

Motoyasu then rammed his spear into the bloated abdomen, sending the goddess rearing her entire torso back, and crying out in pain.

 “Ra~A~a~A~a~A~aAAgh!” 

“Go!” Naofumi screamed. 

Ren leapt upwards on the shield, fearlessly deflecting the barrage of bullet-like threads raining down on him, as he immediately sliced apart her pedipalps and forelegs, before leaping down down and impaling the blade on the heart, and ripping her apart at her human navel. 

The goddess violently thrashed and flailed about, as she hissed and screamed, the wounds on her torso continuing to painfully repair itself. Her spider legs continued to engorge and expand, alongside her abdomen.  

Not only does she have an arachne body, she has a second set of arachne limbs emerging from her back, constantly emerging. Her main spider limbs are bloating, ready to burst underneath the chitin armor, the end of each leg possesses a spinnerette that spins silk, a second abdomen is growing from her mid back (fanfiction of Veran, in Spikerman87’s Seven Deadly Sorcerers) 

Soon, all they saw was a hulking abomination. 

Multiple massive, muscular legs emerged from her back. Her main abdomen glowed a sickly green, ready to spew out acidic bile. And that wasn’t counting the other small abdomens emerging from her shoulder blades on her humanoid torso.

Several large legs, reinforced with muscle fibers and spiked chitin, obscured the large, spider-like body. Each leg was large enough to carry their own spinnerets, silk glands, and of course, reinforced by a tangled, bloated network of veins underneath. And on these legs appeared to be crimson, humanoid eyes.  

The goddess reared her head back, and began vomiting green bile. Some of it began melting entire portions of the webbing

The goddess hisses before opening her mouth, spewing out the red mist once again. Naofumi pulls the chain of his [Crown Shield] back, straightening it into a great shield in his hand. Without hesitation, he pushes his shield forward without activating any of his shield weapon arts. 

Before Malty has a chance to worry for the Shield Hero, the red fog begins to get absorbed into the [Crown Shield] like water going down a vortex. Naofumi charges forward with his shield in front of him, pushing it right into the goddess' body. "My Saiga is the [CROWN SHIELD]! Let's see how you like your own medicine!"

The invading outer goddess writhes in pain as her right side is covered in the same red mist she uses to kill others. As half of her body boiled over, she didn't turn into ash like her victims. But the side of her body that's been affected by her own attack looks withered, almost like a husk. 

She might have some resistance to her own attack, but she definitely isn't immune to it, even if her regeneration quickly undid the scars and boils on her bare, alabaster torso. But that wasn’t the only weakness this abominable goddess possessed. 

Malty concentrates her mind, focusing on the goddess' internal body. The violent energies inside her body haven't stabilized in the slightest. In fact, she feels like they are ready to burst at the seams now that the goddess' shell has been repeatedly damaged. 

And this was something Malty was ready to provide. Inspired by one of Abaddon's attacks where the peacock fires attack out of all the 'eyes' from the tail feathers, the princess turned slave focuses every drop of her magic, pushing them out from every pore of her body like countless needles. Something she doesn't dare to do before... or after unless she finds herself in this strange state again. 

Her thousands of magic needles shoot towards the body of the goddess, but they don't imbed themselves into their target. No, all of them press along the goddess' skin, and start to 'travel' around her body like Malty is trying to wrap her up like the goddess did to her own opponent with her webs.

But instead of binding the goddess' physical form, Malty's own magic begins to agitate the goddess' physical shell, making it more and more actively unstable, speeding up the process of her own energy bursting from the inside.

Naofumi, Motoyasu and Ren clearly have no idea what Malty is trying to do. But they aren't simply standing around doing nothing while she works her magic. Their weapons fall on the goddess just as her physical vassal reaches its limit to contain her power.

She began to retch blood. She vomited. 

Slowly, but surely, her many bloated limbs, one by one, had their blood vessels pop, bleeding through her skin, before bones and muscles snapped apart, from the femur .  Her multiple abdomens bled from the top, as her exoskeletons began to crack and snap apart.. 

The goddess herself, with her human hand, clutched her chest as it beat first, very slowly, with ragged breaths. Agonizing pain seared across her chest, as she struggled to draw breath, her Then, it beat very quickly . Her heartbeat was now arrhythmic as it expanded, its walls expanding larger and larger in dilated cardiomyopathy … before it exploded, her veins finally rupturing from the magical feedback.  

With a loud cracking boom, and a flash of crimson light, her body finally burst open, knocking all three of the heroes flying away. Naofumi, in particular, releases a gush of blood from his mouth.

It reached critical mass as the goddess’ bloated, physical body then proceeded to explode, limbs and internal organs strewn apart, leaving a mass of blood and rotting innards on the ground, as a surge of magical energy erupted from the source. A raining mist of crimson blood surrounded them in the vicinity. 

Malty could see a white wisp shoot out of the explosion, towards the red tear in the sky as it began to diminish. 

Her teary-eyed face was aghast, in terror and sadness, decapitated from the explosion, from the rest of her human torso, limp and bloodied several feet away.

They did it! The Fourth Wave is coming to a close, even if they haven't truly killed the invading outer goddess. Most people even noticed the goddess' soul trying to escape, and they most certainly lack the strength, or the ability to stop its escape, Malty herself included. 

She'll just have to accept that it'll go back to where it came from, and probably come at them again in the next Wave. At least, that's what the former princess thought until a purple ethereal hand suddenly appears around the white wisp, and grabs it with a tight squeeze. 

The soul of the white spider goddess helplessly flails about, clearly still trying to escape its confine to no avail even as the dimensional fissure in the sky finally closes. Malty turns around, and sees Lord Dio walking towards them while holding his balled up right hand towards where the goddess' soul was captured. 

Now that the goddess' corporeal form has been destroyed and her soul captured, Malty realizes the webbing wrapped around her slowly breaks apart.

"You are just going to keep that soul of a god captured?" Ren slowly sits up from the ground as he looks at Dio. Malty looks towards the Gauntlet Hero as well. His purple ethereal hand slowly descended down from the sky hovering right in front of her. "I wonder how she compares to the goddess Lautrec summoned in the Third Wave. We got beaten pretty badly."

"I don't know about the goddess you are talking about. But if I have to guess, this one's probably very weak. More like a scrub among the divinity. The dragon lords called her an earthbound, something more akin to a demi-god than a full fledged god-ling. And she would have her power reduced by [Divine Limit Fifteen Thousand]." 

Lord Dio's gaze remains at the struggling little white wisp in his energy construct hand. Reduced to a pathetic, and pitiable spirit, the goddess tried to squirm, clawing for one last bout for survival. There was still that feral mania as she clamored for more. More food to eat, perhaps. The primal, ravenous instinct to consume, devour and satisfy, overwhelmed her reason and corroded her higher thoughts.

“More … more … more …”, the spirit muttered.  

But there was a hint of sadness, really - behind her face. One could see that she was a more simple creature, but with her exhausted, tortured eyes lay a lifetime of torment. Whatever the Burning Legion did to her and her home must have been so devastating if she was mutated into this spider-like abomination. Part of her was probably begging for release … tired of suffering, and longing to be free from the influence of the chaos magic that corrupted her body … and mind. If spirits could cry , it would be now.  

“I’m … dying … why …? Born … die …”, she mumbled, making it clear as day why she would have to suffer such a fate - to be enslaved, tortured, and have her fate decided by her enemies.

Malty, for her part, was downtrodden. This was supposed to be the enemy, merciless, mindless and feral. She should’ve been reeling from the trauma. She should’ve hated her foe and reveled in her impending demise. Most would have felt it just to demand that she spend her last moments suffering in her predicament.

But she couldn’t help but pity that this was once a sentient person stripped of her happiness and bred to be a pet, a feral slave meant only to destroy, and cursed the Legion’s unseen masters .

The heroes thought the same, and Dio probably agreed, solemnly closing his eyes with a parted breath.

He squeezes his hand tighter, and the soul of the goddess lets out one last shriek as it gets snuffed out, putting the pathetic arachne out of her misery. "Still - better destroy it completely, than risk it coming back again," he muttered, leaving Malty to wonder if he regretted having to kill her.

"Someone get Naofumi some help! My healing isn't working!" Motoyasu's panicked voice makes Malty spin her entire body to look back. The Spear Hero laid the body of Naofumi on his legs, while propping up the Shield Heroes head with one of his arms. Naofumi's face is deathly pale, as he continues to cough up blood. Idiot, idiot, IDIOT! Naofumi risked everything to save her life from an invading outer god, but she's distracted thinking about what to do and that captured soul rather than attending to him at the first moment!

"Feed this to him. Should keep him alive for better healing. If he still needs it." Prince Tact's voice accompanies a bottle flying towards Motoyasu. The Spear Hero snatches it out of the air, and Malty instantly recognizes the content inside. It was the same pills the Whip Hero's subordinate gave to her when her heart was acting up. And it saved her life in Rabier County: Pills made out of Yggdrasil's leaves. Malty gives Motoyasu a quick nod, and the Spear Hero stops hesitating. He quickly pulls up the cover, and feeds the pill into Naofumi's mouth. He brings out a waterskin out of his spear, takes a mouthful, and presses his lips on Naofumi's mouth. Malty knows that Motoyasu is helping Naofumi to take the medicine... but she doesn't know how to feel about a man kissing Naofumi barely a week after she shared her first kiss with him.

"Thanks for taking care of Naofumi, Lord Motoyasu. But next time... maybe let me do it..." Malty's voice grows progressively faint as she looks away. Feeling too ashamed for ignoring Naofumi's well-being after their battle against the white goddess... and her whining towards Motoyasu for taking better care of Shield Hero than herself did. As she looks away from the Spear Hero, she notices Ren's eyes are also shifting away, looking equally embarrassed and guilty than she probably feels. He's honestly being too hard on himself if that's how he feels. It's really not his place to worry about the Shield Hero's well being and that's not her being courteous. 

Throughout the chronicle of the ages, it's very clearly recorded that the Cardinal Heroes tend to be rivals, if not bitter enemies towards each other more often than not. To cover up her shame, she turns to the Whip Hero, whose slightly hunched over back makes him look more lonely than she ever saw him. In Spite of the pair of dragon and griffin girl hanging by his arms. "Thank you for providing medicine to Master Naofumi, Prince Tact. We are in your debt."

"Think nothing of it. Too many people have died in this Wave already, damnit..." The Whip Hero didn't even turn around to look at Malty. He takes an urn out from his star whip, and walks back towards the spot where he fought the goddess alongside Lung and Lord Dio. The purple hand that restrained the reconstructed body of his maid no longer exists. Neither does the ash creature his former maid had become, only a pile of ash remains on the ground. Tact kneels down by his maid's remains, and begins to collect the pile of ash into his urn with the two little monster girls' help.

Once again, Malty finds herself not able to help as everyone else around her keeps themselves busy. She has expanded all of her magic when fighting the goddess, and there's not many fighters around her who are injured. Those who got wounded fighting the spider minions had been pulled to the backline where they were getting treated. And anyone who was unlucky to get affected by the goddess' foul sorcery were instantly killed. Naofumi's condition quickly stabilized after Motoyasu helped him down the pills given by Prince Tact. The Whip Hero didn't try to harm them by giving them poison. With the Shield Hero quickly back to his feet, Malty runs over to him and props up his right side.

"Tisk. What a waste having to kill that so-called 'goddess'. She would have made a fine trophy even as a disembodied soul. And I'm sure I could have found a way to put her into a harmless body to keep around like a pet." Lung cast a glimpse at Lord Dio's back. She can't be serious... doesn't she realize how dangerous that white spider goddess was? The Gauntlet Hero didn't dignify her mewling with any response. Lung turns to Prince Tact next, as she screams at him after some giggles. "Stop digging through the dust of your maid , Tact. Where's my ride back to Menagerie resort?"

"Find your own way back, you STD carrying old hag . I'm busy here." To Malty's surprise, Tact looks up and sends a withering glare towards Lung. The princess turned slave doesn't know what surprised herself more. The Whip Hero openly spat with one of his fellow veteran heroes in the most severe way, or that he used Naofumi's words against Lung.

"Well, isn't the little pup woke up on the wrong side of the bed?" Lung's eyes narrow at Tact, clearly unhappy that her new nickname got spread among such a huge crowd. But she didn't do anything more against the Whip Hero. Perhaps emboldened by Dio's lack of rebuke, Lung strides her way over to Tenzen. She grabs the still pale looking young white tiger's open collar, and begins to drag him away like he's a pet puppy. "You seemed to have had enough rest, you big ero-tiger. Come with me. The night is still too young for sleep."

She can't be serious... is she going to fuck around with that white tiger warrior right after a Wave battle ? In which she nearly sucked him dry in the most literal sense? Malty is apparently not the only one who gets completely indignant with Lung's lecherous behavior. The girl with white quills in her head instantly stabs her sword at the Princess of All Dragons. Not that she had much success, as all Lung had to do to stop her was to grab the tip of her sword between her index and middle fingers like a pincer. 

The girl's face turns a deep shade of red as she tries to pull her sword out of Lung's hand. A ray of silver shoots at Lung's head from behind. The familiar looking attack makes Malty realize that it's the same sniper who shot out the goddess' eyes when she tried to use her gaze attack. Yet Lung acts like she predicted this attack. She tips her head sideways, and easily dodges the silver arrow. The playful smirk didn't grow any fainter from the Princess of All Dragons. "Well, well, well... Dio... and little Tenzen's little cheer squad. You don't need to get anxious. You can join Tenzen and I if you want to."

"That's enough, Sennen, Petals! Stop attacking Lung. You two aren't strong enough to face her." Tenzen quickly calls off the attack. For a brief moment, Malty wonders if he is fearing for the well being of his subordinates after witnessing the death of Prince Tact's (wo)men. But then, a lecherous smile appears on the face of the young white tiger. He turns to cast an almost taunting wink at Whip Hero's direction. "Besides, as a perfect gentleman I'd never turn down a lady's invitation even if I'm at death's door. Dying under a blooming rose would be the best way for a young man to part with this beautiful world."

Malty can't resist rolling her eyes at the idiot. Apparently, it's possible for a man to be even more of a loin-brained idiot than Tact. She takes away any possible compliment she might ever give to the foolish young white tiger.

The former first princess of Melromarc isn't the only one who finds the situation ridiculous. The girl with quills in her head (Malty still can't tell if she is supposed to be 'Sennen', or 'Petals') turns to Dio, as if trying to find some support. "Is it okay to leave young master Tenzen in the hands of Lung, Master Dio?"

"Tenzen isn't a boy. I'm not the one to make all the decisions for him. If he wants to drop dead on a woman's stomach , let him." Dio's eyes twitch, like he is trying his hardest not to roll his eyes like Malty did a brief moment ago. His lips part, letting out a soft sigh as he strides away towards the ice bridge to the south of the beach. Just like how he came to this northern island, the Gauntlet Hero doesn't seem to have any intention of riding Tact's airship back. The girl with quills in her head gives one last look to Dio's back, as she quickly runs to catch up to the retreating form of Lung and Tenzen.

Malty feels Naofumi moving away from her. She quickly refocuses her attention on the man she's trying to support, and realizes he's walking towards the Whip Hero. To offer his gratitude for the Yggdrasil pills? Or condolences for his dead companion? Both would be in character to someone like Naofumi, even if he should be aware of the masked contempt from his previous meeting with Tact (and Lung). So she leans closer to Naofumi's ears and whispers to him. "Now's not a good time to socialize with the Whip Hero, Master Naofumi. He's unstable because he just lost someone he clearly cared for. Look at how he just snapped at the Claw Hero. You don't want to get him mad at you, and let him do something that's regrettable later."

Naofumi stops his feet, clearly thinking over Malty's words even if his eyes are still focused on the back of Prince Tact. After a brief moment, his gaze becomes more focused, face stern with determination. "Maybe, but I'll be careful. He's clearly in a bad spot and needs someone's help. We can't afford to lose someone this powerful if we are already fighting a god level threat on the Fourth Wave, and everything only grows harder from this point on."

Malty opens her mouth to protest, but she couldn't find a good reason to rebuke Naofumi. He is right of course, that they'll need the strength of veteran heroes like Dio and Tact to match up against any more possible outer gods the Burning Legion probably have. And letting him wallow in his sadness will not be good no matter how one looks at this situation. She simply wishes someone else other than Naofumi would be the one to try and comfort the Whip Hero while he is so upset. Motoyasu didn't leave Naofumi's side, and Ren steps up behind him showing his silent support. 

They wouldn't mean much against a dragon lord, and a griffin queen by Tact's side, not to mention the probably over-leveled veteran Whip Hero himself. But perhaps the unity of the Cardinal Heroes (minus the Bow Hero) might make Tact think twice about starting a fight with them. With a sigh, Malty whispers to the Shield Hero once again. "Just be careful with what you say to Prince Tact. You saw what he could do in battle. You don't want him to turn on you."

Naofumi pauses for a brief moment, and then gives her a stern nod before making his way over to the Whip Hero once again. Stops about ten paces away from Tact. "I want to thank you for saving me with your pills. And my condolences about your loss."

Tact's body stops moving, indicating he has heard Naofumi's voice. But he doesn't turn around, or speak back to the Shield Hero. Both girls standing beside him spin around on their feet, and glares at Naofumi. It would have looked more cute than scary, if Malty didn't know their real bodies are one of the twelve dragon lords, and a giant griffin queen respectively . After the brief glaring contest, the Whip Hero finally speaks in a dismissive tone that sounds deeper than his usual voice. "I don't need your fake sympathy - leave."

"I know you don't want to hear this right now. But this isn't the first time an outer god invaded during a Wave. At the end of the last Wave, a goddess was summoned. I lost two of my companions because of what she did, and she almost killed Malty . I don't think outer gods will stop coming to invade this world, and if we don't step up, more people will get hurt." The Shield Hero slowly raises his opened up right hand towards the direction of Tact in an offering of peace. "I can tell you don't think much of us. Because we are new, and because we are low on levels. But if we work together, we'll be able to look after each other's backs. That's how my friends and I have stayed alive so far."

Prince Tact stays silent for a few more moments, his body unmoving. Malty can't tell if he finished collecting the ashes of his maid, or if he's genuinely thinking over Naofumi's words. After a brief but tense moment, he rises up from the ground and turns around. The urn containing the remains of the young woman who saved his life pressed tightly into his body with his free hand. Malty's heart drops as she sees his face. He has his usual smirk on his face, but it doesn't look aloof, or playful this time. As his lips stay open in a way that dangerously exposes his teeth. "What? You think you know how I feel because you lost some companions you picked from some tavern in the last Wave?"

Malty certainly wouldn't have said the same thing to Tact as Naofumi. The Shield Hero appears to be trying to appease the Whip Hero's more heroic aspiration, which he might not have much if any. As someone who used to live a pampered, privileged life, Malty is deeply aware how self-centered and self-serving someone like her would be. She's honestly more surprised that Tact didn't throw Naofumi's words back into his face like he did to Lung.

"I obviously don't. I have no idea what you, and your own companion went through together. But I know how I felt with my own companions." Naofumi replied back to Tact without missing a single beat. Malty didn't even have a moment to pull on his arm, cover his mouth, or to do anything to have him step back and not directly confront the much more powerful Whip Hero. "One of them was named Farkas. He used to be a captain in Siltvelt, but he got involved with some rebellion and got turned into a slave. He didn't think too much of me, I think he despised me because I'm a summoned 'hero' who doesn't know how this world truly worked. And he made sure I knew how he thought of me every chance making dismissive comments at my actions. But he always came through when I needed his strength, even though both of his arms were broken. And he died charging the Three Heroes' Church when they turned against me at the end of the Third Wave. Let me have a chance to escape."

Malty steals a glance at the Whip Hero. His facial expression didn't change, which surprised the former princess. From their previous encounters, she has assumed Tact to be someone who is arrogant as he was bold. A brat who constantly tosses around his own unhidden feelings to everyone around him, not caring about who he might offend because of how much figurative weight he had to throw around both as the scion of Faubley, and as a veteran hero. But now, his face is frozen in that slightly aggressive, teeth exposed smirk he had from the start. Not getting better, or worse as Naofumi speaks. It makes gauging his feelings, and possible reactions very difficult. Since when did this smug little shit begin to learn one of the more useful skills at playing The Game? Or perhaps he always had it, but he simply never bothered to use it? Regardless, it made Malty realize that she has once again underestimated the Whip Hero. And this brief encounter would be highly beneficial for her later confrontation with him be it friend or foe. Assuming they survive this current meeting.

"Kyubei was another one of my companions I met with the slave trader. He unnerved me at first because the way he behaved reminded me of someone sinister from my own world, and I never fully trusted him." Naofumi's confession to Tact surprised Malty a little. Now that she thinks back, the Shield Hero does seem to act a bit jumpy around Kyubey (and more around Lautrec, but that's for a good reason). She thought it's due to his lack of emotion on his face, and his voice. She never expected it to be caused by the rabbit man reminding Naofumi someone from his world that he's afraid of. "He threw himself into a fireball to detonate it prematurely, to cover our escape when we were being hunted down by the Three Heroes' Church."

Tact didn't say anything back to Naofumi. He made his ire known through action by striding menacingly in front of Naofumi. Malty expects the Whip Hero to attack, and she knows that with her magic reserve depleted, there is nothing she can do to help the Cardinal Heroes if Tact decides to attack. Her eyes furiously darted around all the people near them, trying to find anyone who could possibly help them. All she saw are Tact's (wo)men standing in a circle around them, looking every bit as malicious as their master. But the Whip Hero didn't attack, all he did was raise his balled up fist that's not holding onto the urn with the ashes of his maid, and pressed it into Naofumi's chest. "Never, ever , compare Ellie to some slave you picked up one, maybe two months ago from some shady skin trafficker. You heard that?!"

"Duly noted." To Malty's somewhat relief, Naofumi didn't do anything more that could further provoke Tact's aggression. Malty glanced back between the words exchanged by them, and noticed that around the southern beach where Lung's ice bridge still stands, Lord Dio the Gauntlet Hero has stopped his stride back towards the main Cal Mira Island. His feet firmly planted in seawater drenched sand, looking over towards their direction. Malty is reminded of the gossip that Tact, and the current Hammer Hero had a very violent spat back when they were both attending Faubley's Hero Academy. And it was stopped only by the intervention of Lord Dio. Did the Whip Hero forsake this chance to harm the Cardinal Heroes when they were surrounded by his (wo)men because Naofumi's word reached him on some level, or is it due to the fear of Lord Dio? She will never know .

"Come with me. It's late at night, I'm tired." Tact spins on his heels, turning towards the direction of his airship which is slowly setting down on the ground. He makes a hand gesture that invites them to his airship. Malty isn't sure if this is meant to be a genuine invitation, or a trap where he could take out them all in the privacy of his own vessel. But she knows that rejecting his offer would be seen as an act of disrespect, and would only give Tact more reason to hurt them.

Chapter Text

Unknown to everyone at the beach, two figures stand atop the mountain of the island north of Cal Mira. Underneath where the Fourth Wave of Catastrophe opened. Both of them appear to be young men, although they look almost the opposite of each other. The one standing at the edge of a cliff has short blonde hair. Two lines of fold underneath his deep blue eyes run outward diagonally like a pair of wings. An unbuttoned golden trimmed burgundy blazer covers over his white shirt underneath. The man following behind him wears a set of black suits that's typical of a well trained butler. Thin lines of red and yellow are mixed in his otherwise black hair above his closed eyes.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect them to take down a minor goddess. Impressive... Very impressive. Especially these three... well... I guess four young upstarts if we count the little princess. They may be weak individually, but by finding a way to link their life together, they were able to fight off a goddess without losing any of them." The blonde man rises his foot away from the edge of the cliff and steps back. He turns his head around to look at his silent and serene companion. "Stop pretending to be asleep, Noir. What do you think?"

"As you say, Lord Phenex." The black butler leans his upper body slightly forward. Not bowing down fully, but showing enough recognition to the one who asked him a question. His response is short and to the point. It's also entirely devoid of emotions.

"Tisk... This isn't enough to stop the Burning Legion. There'll be plenty where that came from. But before that... I'm thinking about having some fun on my own. What do you say, Noir? Want to pay a direct visit to the heroes of this world with me?" The blonde Lord Phenex shakes his head with a disappointed frown on his face as he extends his arms outwards as he walks past Noir's body.

"Don't get carried away, Lord Phenex. Master won't be happy." Noir also turns around as he follows the much more flamboyant Lord Phenex into the dark of the night. A gust of wind blows past the mountain, and the two of them disappear as if no one had set foot on this unnamed mountain.

Chapter 16: Malty's Darkest Night

The flight back to Cal Mira Island is as bleak as their travel north to fight the Wave boss. But at least none of the Whip Hero's retinue tried to harm any of them like the worst case scenario Malty feared. In spite of their victory against a literal invading outer goddess, nobody (aside from Lung) feels like celebrating. The Fourth Wave is still considered one of the earlier Waves, and it shouldn't get the best fighters from all the powerful nations involved. Yet that's what it took for them to snatch a hard earned victory from the jaws of defeat like it's one of the end Waves. Malty wonders what it speaks for the future Waves when it is supposed to only grow more and more powerful as time goes on. No, the four Cardinal Heroes are still early at climbing their respective power curves (and one was missing from the fight), and only three, no, four (she almost forgot to count herself) of the seven Vassal Heroes participated in the battle. But the three in question were also veterans who were supposed to be near the pinnacle of a hero's power, and they had two dragon lords actively participate in the battle.

Malty turns her head around to look at the three Cardinal Heroes. Both Naofumi and Ren look pensive, almost depressed in their own ways. Not hard to imagine why. Both of them had been served a harsh reminder by the invader goddess on how powerful the threat that aimed at Medea can be, and how far a distance they still have to bridge to take on such foes. For someone as competitive as Ren, that's clearly a hard pill to swallow. And said pill only gets more personal and bitter with Naofumi. He nearly saw Malty herself get hurt by another invading outer goddess, and it no doubt reminded him of what happened by the end of the Third Wave. The only one who looks somewhat relaxed is Motoyasu, even if there's a lack of energy in the way he walks. The Spear Hero paces over, and sits down on the ground beside Naofumi, putting a hand on the Shield Hero's shoulder. "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, Naofumi. We won, and Malty didn't get hurt. That's the important thing we should focus on. We'll get stronger, and prepare for the next Wave better now we know there'll be some god every time."

Naofumi slowly turns his head towards Motoyasu like he's a golem made of clockworks. After staring at his fellow hero for a brief moment, he nods his head. "...you are right. I should thank you for saving my life."

"What are friends and rivals for? I'm sure you'd have done the same for me." Motoyasu bumps his fist with Naofumi. He turns his focus to Ren next. "What's with the long face, Ren? We just stopped another Wave and all of us survived, it's something we should be happy about."

"How can I be happy after seeing how powerful our enemy was? Didn't you see it, the 'goddess' we fought this time was probably stronger than the last one." Ren uncrosses his arms, his voice is higher than his usual way of speaking. Some of the Whip Hero's subordinates turn their heads around to look at the fuss caused by the guest who boarded their airship. "And all of you saw how powerful those vassal heroes are. One of them created an ice bridge and caused a flood over an island. She's sixty years old! All of us have less than a year to prepare, and grow our power before this supposed final battle against some world conquering legion. Could we get strong enough to cause a difference? And if we focus on growing our power, would we be able to control it?"

The Sword Hero's view is decidedly much more pessimistic. Malty can't fault him for it. The reality of their situation does feel pretty hopeless after the confirmation from the Avatar of Alaya that they are facing an outer god invasion this time. Not to mention, the power displayed by the enslaved demi-goddess wasn't even what hit her hardest. That vision of the goddess' past all of them saw... the Burning Legion warrior who looks strikingly similar to Raphtalia, yet radiating pure malice and contempt out of her... she can't be the only one who is utterly unnerved by it. It would have deeply bothered Naofumi even if his fellow Cardinal Heroes might feel different. Logically Malty knows Raphtalia would rather die first than become a creature like it. Yet her body shivers every time she thinks back on that monster that looks so similar to her surrogate daughter.

Gaelion slowly descends on Ren's head, interrupting his rant that's less fueled by anger, and more by desperation. "You shouldn't give up hope yet, Skykid. Sure, you guys don't have a lot of time to prepare. But some of you have already come up with more creative ways to empower yourselves. I haven't seen the previous heroes done."

"Shield kid found a way to achieve an interesting super form that let him fully unlock the potential of his weapon at the cost of burning his stamina reserve. Spear kid found a way to further advance the technique created by his predecessor to link even his fellow heroes together. As for you..." Gaelion's head turns to Naofumi first, and then moves to Motoyasu, till he finally focuses on Ren. "I'm sure you'll have your moment to shine, same as bow kid. And I'll teach you all of the knowledge I know. We'll face future Waves together with our strongest. If this Burning Legion wants to destroy us, they'll have to work for it."

"When they come after us with full strength, there'll be no place to run to, or to hide in. And judging from that goddess' memory, begging for our lives wouldn't work against the Burning Legion either. We can only give our best, and if we die in the end... we'll at least make them hurt, so that they can't simply go on to the next world." Malty stands up, and walks towards the railing of Tact's airship. She had always been a coward in her life. Her legs were more tired of standing her ground than running from danger. But if there is one thing her journey with Naofumi has taught her so far, it is that conflict, and mortal danger doesn't simply leave one alone simply because one wants to avoid them. And since the Burning Legion wanted to destroy the world she is part of... she'll remind them that her strongest affinity was fire, and she'll make the Burning Legion's name into something that's more literal than its creator intended. She takes a few breaths to calm her beating heart down, and looks below at the ground in an attempt to distract herself from the creeping sense of despair after the information she glimpsed fighting the enslaved goddess... and then she notices something unusual. "Master Naofumi, is someone fighting below us?"

"What? Let me see..." Naofumi, Motoyasu and Ren all lean their heads out of the railing to look down. Underneath the flying vassal on the beach, a few figures are going back and forth in front of an audience thousands times their own number. The army from different nations are no longer keeping to their rigid formation after the Wave had visibly been stopped, and it appears the soldiers all needed some entertainment after participating in a Wave battle. For a brief moment, Malty wonders if some of the fighters had volunteered to provide a bit of after war mirth to the rest of the soldiers to help relieve tension and keep morale up. Then she remembered that their gathered army is a coalition from different nations who are rivals, if not bitter enemies against each other. And then Naofumi pointed at someone lying in the dirt, he looked ready to jump right off the board if not for Motoyasu grabbing the back of his collar. "There! The one in the dirt! That's Firo , isn't she?!"

Malty narrows her eyes and tries to focus her sight. A little bit of distance away from the swirling dust storm and sand is something with a long neck and not big enough wings gracelessly flopped on the ground. She can't tell if that's Firo or not, but it's definitely an adult, non-monarch filorial. If that's the case, it would explain who got into another fight. She has to wonder why one of the Star Weapon summoned an overly aggressive idiot who goes around picking fights with anyone and everyone... and then she remembered how Tact and Lung behaved themselves during the Wave battle they just fought in. Okay... so maybe there's a pattern here... considering how the heroes are empowered, maybe they are subconsciously driven to conflict?

"Help us get down there, Gaelion!" "Stop using me like some kind of damned rental bird! You damn ungrateful brats!" Ren's urgent request, and Gaelion's annoyed whine came out nearly at the same time. It seems like they have done enough of this song and dance for them to anticipate each other's words. In spite of his obvious indignation, the Dragon Lord of Raging Storms flies off Ren's head. The three Cardinal Heroes Instantly throw themselves over the railing towards Gaelion. Malty pauses only for the briefest second before following after them. Jumping off an airship towards a flying dragon reminded her of the ordeal she went through with Naofumi during the Third Wave. It's no way healthy for her weakened heart. But she'd still take this option over staying alone on Tact's ship by herself.

Thankfully, the heroes were clearly expecting her. All three of them reach their arms up above Gaelion's broad back to catch her. With their position on Gaelion secure, the dragon lord begins to make his descent towards the sand. The army that were previously lazily spectating the battle in front of them slowly noticed their presence, and they quickly began to back away, leaving enough room for Gaelion to land on sand without squashing anyone. One figure in particular does the opposite of everybody else. She squeezes through the gap between armored bodies as she runs towards Gaelion. " Skyguy! Father! You are both okay!"

"I'm very disturbed that you put this little brat above your own father, baby girl. You are still too young to get stolen by some snot nosed little bug." Gaelion leans his body low on the sand and drops his wings, allowing Malty and the Cardinal Heroes to have an easier and safer landing by sliding down his wings. His eyes however were turned back, glaring at Ren the entire time. "What's going on here? Why are these idiots fighting each other?"

"It really is Firo! Firo! What's going on?!" Naofumi barely lets both of his feet touch the ground before he starts running at the adult filorial crumbled on the beach. His hands were already covered in a healing miracle's golden light. Malty quickly runs after him, only to see from the corner of her eyes that another flash of something metallic is spinning at her. Motoyasu spins into action as he stabs his spear out. The legendary spear manages to collide into the star tomahawk and changes its trajectory enough to spin past Malty's head, not hitting anything. But this one more brush against death still makes Malty reach her hand up to her neck, and then her face. Trying to feel her head to make sure it's still sitting atop of her shoulders.

"You dare to get distracted in our duel?!" Mordred's furious screech makes Malty's head spin a little. The wrathful daughter of House Arc kicks her leg out, making the tip of her metal boots collide into the side of Throwing Weapon Hero's face. The devious little shit was sent spinning away just like his own weapon till he hit the sand with a loud thud. 

Atla's scream could have rivaled Mordred as she charged forward, wrapped fist furiously punching the shaft of the spear wielded by her own opponent, but unable to break through Elina Vance's defense. A short distance away from them, Lancelotte is fighting against Atla's brother. But neither looked to be into their own fights as they barely exchanged any heavy blows, or aimed at the other side's vital points. It looks more like they are in an almost choreographed spar than a fierce death battle like the other two pairs. How long have they been at each other's throat like this? After the end of the Wave battle? Surely these fools can't have been fighting each other while everyone else was still facing the spider goddess? Malty wonders why they were allowed to go at each other like this without people trying to stop them fighting each other. Then, she noticed Claudette Vance standing at the edge of their battle with men from House Vance, clearly stopping people from interfering. 

"Big Sister Malty! You are okay!" Raphtalia's joyful cry can be heard echoing in Malty's head. In her logical mind, the former princess knows this is the same Raphtalia she unintentionally raised together with Naofumi. Someone who she treated with disdain at first, but slowly came to see as a part of her family. Yet suddenly seeing her in person reminded Malty of the Legion's doppelganger... and her body flinches. Her face must also have shown some great look of fear, because Raphtalia's wide smile slowly freezes, and then turns into confusion, finally settling into that of hurt. "Did- did I do something wrong?!"

Malty opens her mouth, trying to explain to Raphtalia that she's only disturbed by what she saw from the goddess' memory. But how would she explain to her surrogate daughter why she only froze after hearing Raphtalia's voice? What would Raphtalia think if knows there's possibly someone from the Burning Legion who shares such a strong resemblance to her? Or how such revelation had shaken Malty so much now her voice alone is enough to cause Malty's danger instinct to kick in? The former princess didn't explain any of the thoughts racing in her mind when she feels someone wrap their arms around her, and talks down to Raphtalia in a haughty, taunting voice. "Big Sister Malty! I'm so glad you begin to remember who your real family is! I know you must have been exhausted after what you saw and done in this Wave battle. We should reconnect a little tonight, having a little sleep together like when we were little."

Malty turns her face around to look at Melty hanging by her arm. She wonders when her little sister has learnt these courtly barbs between the noble ladies who could metaphorically fling mud, and rip each other's mouth off without even uttering a single rude word. Was someone being a very bad influence to good, innocent little Melty (it has to be Iris!), or did she always have this skill but simply never had the need to use it. Well... Melty's words are honey coated daggers, but they would have been more effective if she's not pinching the corner of her eyelid, while poking her tongue out at Raphtalia in a clearly (and very childish ) insulting manner.

Raphtalia's feet shuffled on the ground, her eyes twitching in a way that looks obviously hurt by both Malty's reaction and Melty's gloating. Keel glares back at Malty, while pulling at Raphtalia's arm. "You see it now, Raphtalia? These (I)man animals(I)- these humans never truly care about us even when they pretend to be nice. It's better for you to stick with those who truly care about you, then play pretend family with them."

"Big brother! Save Master Tairou!" Atla's desperate scream makes Fohl look away from his own fight. Lancelotte simply allows himself to get distracted without using the chance to attack him. And she allows him to retreat away from her rather than trying to intercept his effort. The young white tiger leaps his way over between the rolling body of Tairou Sato and Mordred and puts his arms up in a defensive manner to stop the youngest Arc sisters from killing the Throwing Weapon Hero.

"Lancelotte! Take care of your own opponent, damnit!" Mordred's already angry face becomes even more filled with fury, to the point it almost looks like her previous delicate features are splitting apart on her face. Lancelotte didn't answer her sister's accusation, nor did she jump into the battle. She simply walks over to the edge of Mordred's battle, still holding her sword in her hand and observing. Her body is tense like a fully winded up crossbow, ready to jump into battle at a moment's notice. Not that Mordred needed it, as her furious attack quickly began to cause some wounds on Fohl's body. Especially once the Throwing Weapon Hero climbs back up from the ground and rejoins the battle. His participation didn't help Fohl at all, and the poor young man ends up getting more hurt because now he's distracted trying to protect the unskilled 'hero'.

"Don't get too upset, Raphtalia. Malty got a little shaken after what we went through this Wave. All of us were." Motoyasu walks over to Raphtalia, kneels down in front of her and places a hand on her shoulder. Ren turns his face around slightly, looking at his spear wielding fellow hero from the corner of his eyes with a slightly raised eyebrow but doesn't say anything as Motoyasu explains the circumstance to the little raccoon dog girl. "We just fought another invading goddess." 

" Another goddess? Like the thing Lautrec summoned?!" Whatever hurt Raphtalia had in her eyes and on her face instantly gave ways to concern. For Malty and Naofumi, and probably for everyone else who fought her. "Are all of you okay? I still remember how strong that goddess from the Third Wave was. Almost nobody could hurt her. And people say each Wave was only supposed to be harder."

"Don't worry, Raphtalia. We beat her together. The veteran heroes were really strong. One of them could summon a flood by herself, another could grow dragon and griffin wings. But after they got caught in some webbing, we had to fill in their place to fight off the goddess together." Motoyasu gently pet Raphtalia's hair in a comforting rhythm as he began to explain to her what happened in a gentle voice. "Now, I'm not saying what happened after this is I believed it, but Malty believes it and she's smarter than me. So I'd trust her judgment. 

But anyways, during our fight we begin to see a scene from some mist she conjured up. I thought maybe the goddess was trying to trick us with some illusion, but Malty thought it could be her memory. And from what we understood, she was some minor, earthbound demi-god from another world who had her world destroyed, and then enslaved into the Burning Legion . And the one from the Burning Legion who enslaved that demi-goddess looks like you in your adult form."

Malty doesn't know how she feels about Motoyasu given Raphtalia the (somewhat edited) truth. On the one hand, being honest is good. On the other hand... Raphtalia is still a child. Would it be a good idea to tell her this kind of thing that could have further traumatized her. Especially with the last part, where someone who looked like her was part of the Burning Legion . Malty's worry grows as Raphtalia's face slowly turns to fear, but then her more childlike expression gives way for a look of focused determination. "I... I heard the legend from the Kagura family about my family's ancestors supposed to be some kind of god. I don't know if that's true, or if someone working for the Burning Legion looked like me because she's my ancestor. But I won’t end up like her! I'll grow stronger, more useful to Naofumi and Malty, and help them protect this world!"

"Raphtalia! How can you say that!" Keel whips her head around and stares at her friend with scrunched up brows that seem to give a mixed look of furious, nervous, and intrigued. "You aren't a slave, or a tool for these people! Why are you-"

"And what would you have me do, Keel? The world we are living in is in danger! There's an army of demons trying to destroy us all! Should I just lay around and wait to die, just so I can be independent from the people who saved me from slavery , did their best to raise me, and give me a second family?" Raphtalia also turns her face and glares back at her friend. The little raccoon girl is usually shy and timid, but she wins the glaring contest against Keel and makes her friend blink and look away first. "You can go away if you don't want to help the heroes, Keel."

"NO WAY! I don't care about these so-called heroes, or these filthy rich nobles, but I care about you! Rifana is already gone, I'm not about to lose you too!" Keel turns her head around to look at Raphtalia again. She grabs her friend's shoulders with her hands. "I was always (I)tougher(I) than you and Rifana put together! I wouldn't have let bad things happen to Rifana if I was with you two! I shouldn't have left the two of you to look for food on that day, and I should have gone with you to the Third Wave! I'm not making this mistake a third time! From now on, if you fight in the Wave, I too shall fight in the Wave!"

Malty can't say she likes Raphtalia's childhood friend personally, but at least she appreciates Keel for her loyalty towards Raphtalia. And yes, the princess turned slave is willing to tolerate the little thug's other shortcomings so long as she keeps this promise to Raphtalia. She turns to look at Melty next. Her usually sweet and proper sister is showing a lot of malice towards her surrogate daughter, and she has to do something about it. With that in her mind, she opens her mouth. "Melty, I think you should apologize to Raphtalia. I understand you feel a little envious of the time Raphtalia gets to spend with me. But your current actions are beneath you, the Crown Princess of glorious Melromarc . I'll try to find more time to spend with you, but you can't go around berating people like this."

Melty looks up at Malty, her face looks longer than usual, her mouth is slightly protruding outwards, and her eyes twinkle in a way that clearly shows she feels wronged. But being the proper sister and princess between the two of them, Melty gives a court nod, and then a bow towards Raphtalia. "I'm sorry for my unruly behavior, Miss Raphtalia. It was improper of me to judge you based on who gave birth to you, and I apologize for it. I hope you will find it in you to forgive me. I do not mean to make this difficult for my elder sister Malty."

Well... Melty is apologizing like Malty wanted, which should be good. But her words are clearly still laid with barbs even if Malty technically finds no fault in them. The former princess of Melromarc wonders if Raphtalia had enough court education from her family's protector to pick up on Melty's passive aggression. Rapthalia didn't respond back to Melty directly, or even acknowledge these words. But perhaps this in itself shows Raphtalia definitely picked up on the hidden meanings behind Melty's words.

"[Air Strike Shield]!" Naofumi's voice, and his familiar signature move breaks Malty out of her thoughts. His emerald shield weapon art meanwhile blocks Mordred's attempt at going after both Fohl and the Throwing Weapon Hero. A short distance away from them, Ren extends his sword out to block a clash between Atla and Elina, causing both girls to take a step away from each other while glaring at each other with careful deliberation. Naofumi's voice sounds a little angry even as he throws some healing spells at both Fohl and Tairou, a very awaked Firo following behind him. "What's going on here! Why are you fighting each other when we were fighting the Wave?"

"Master Naofumi! You are finally here! Thank you for your help!" The Throwing Weapon Hero's face turned from something that looks feral and angry to that of pure delight. He instantly turns around, completely ignores Fohl, the only reason he is alive from Mordred's overwhelming beatdown, and also someone who got cut up by Mordred over a dozen times to protect him. The white tiger doesn't show any visible reaction with Tairou's lack of concern towards him, almost like he expected to be treated this way. As the Throwing Weapon Hero giddily jumps his way over to Naofumi, Malty is reminded of one time when she saw some commoner's pet bonedog wagging its tail to its owner to beg for a piece of half eaten rip. "Master Naofumi! I'm trying to kill this evil noble who wronged you!"

The group of spectators begin to part way even as the delusional Throwing Weapon idiot is metaphorically dancing around the Shield Hero begging for compliments. Some familiar figures walk through the gathered people. Malty immediately picked out the form of her own Mother, and leaders from the other nations. She should have expected them to be near, Mother wouldn't have let Melty away from her during a Wave battle. But Malty's attention is being drawn away from the frown on her Mother's face by the little twinkle from the narrowed eyes of Lord Regent Dumbledore. The former princess tries to trail his sight without being too apparent to draw the attention to herself, and she could vaguely determine the old mountain goat is looking at Naofumi.

Speaking of the Shield Hero, his eyes and mouth twitch in a way that seems to be leaking his irritation. His eyebrow twists in a way that shows he is also very confused at this situation. He closes his eyes to take a deep breath, and then reopens his eyes to look at the Throwing Weapon Hero. "Why do you think she's an evil noble who wronged me? And why do you think I want to kill her?"

"This witch forced Firo away from you! I know! That's why Firo immediately attacked her." Tairou answers without skipping a single beat. Behind Naofumi, Firo bobbing her head up and down while making some cooing noise as if agreeing with the Throwing Weapon Hero. He points his finger at Mordred as he glares at the youngest Arc sisters. Mordred would have come at him again if Lancelotte didn't immediately grab her from the back. "Only evil nobles, like that pig Idol Rabier, take your woman away from you. That means she's an evil noble! Just like that filthy pig!"

"Don't you dare blame it on me! You arrogant little fool!" Mordred can't reach Tairou with her elder sister's hands grabbing her, instead, she settles for screaming death and murder at the Throwing Weapon Hero.

"That's quite enough! Sir Sato! You are acting out of turn even as a hero." The warrior lady from Zeltoble had stepped up right besides Lady Claudette. She looked much more grim looking then when they were fighting the Wave spawn. "You are summoned by Zeltoble. That means all of your actions reflect on us. And right now, you are not acting as a hero should!"

"And why shouldn't Firo kill your vile, noble twit of a brother? He got what's coming to him! As for you! You don't own me just because you nobodies from Zeltoble summoned me!" Tairou turns his nose up and sneers at Mordred, not even bothering to address the Zeltoble lady in spite of her increasingly dark look. The youngest Arc sisters let out an animalistic scream as she renews her effort to lunge at the Throwing Weapon Hero. The smug look on his face quickly disappears when Naofumi slaps him. Tairou looks very confused at what happened. "Naofumi-sama? What-"

"Her brother Jaune was on my side, you idiot! Firo was exiled because she killed their little brother Jaune when he was trying to help me stop the Three Heroes Church! If anything, she got off easy with an exile when she would have been put to death!" Naofumi angrily roars back to the Throwing Weapon idiot makes Malty feel like covering her face and screaming. Yes... Naofumi definitely still thought Firo's condemnation ws her (and by extension, his) own fault than a political powerplay orchestrated by her Mother to snub him. Her attempt at putting his mind to it didn't work. She... should find a moment and explain to him in private, so he'll stop blaming himself for everything and become more cautious around her Mother.

"Oh... that's a shame. But it's clearly his honor to die for you in that case. And just because he's good doesn't mean his sister isn't less of a witch for taking Firo away from you!" Naofumi lets out a frustrated scream at the Throwing Weapon idiot's logic. Malty has truly felt sympathetic towards Naofumi, his head must be hurting.

"I already got into trouble because Firo killed a noble by accident, and your solution to me is to have me kill more nobles? Are you mad? Or did you get kicked on your head?!" Naofumi's hand slowly slides down his face as he glares murder at his self-proclaimed biggest fan. It must be frustrating to engage in the futile exercise of talking to a wall. Especially when said wall is metaphorically bashing your brain out of your ears while completely convinced they are doing it for your own good.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. The queen of Melromarc will take care of any political upheaval for you, Master Naofumi." Malty has to look away from Tairou's face to fight off the urge of throwing something at him. The belief that her Mother would make enemies of her (admittedly fast dwindling) supporters in order to appease Naofumi is utterly comical if the idea isn't so pathetically wrong.

"I have no idea who gave you such a misconception, Sir Throwing Weapon Hero. But glorious Melromarc is a nation ruled by law. Your, or Lord Shield Hero's hero status does in fact, not automatically give both of you the right to trample over our laws and customs." The reply from Malty's Mother back to the Throwing Weapon Hero is equally eye roll worthy. Yes... her verdict to level reset Firo and Naofumi, and then exile Firo after is totally the example of rule by law.

"Hey, psst... Ren! Should we let this fool keep on talking?" Malty looks over to Motoyasu. He is putting up his hand to the side of his mouth like he's whispering to Ren, but his voice is definitely loud enough to let everyone hear what he's speaking about. "He's being really silly right now. And Naofumi looks ready to kill somebody for it."

"And how do you plan to stop him? Knock him out?" Ren crosses his arms in front of him while rolling his eyes. It's clear he agrees with Motoyasu on principle, if not in practicality. "Pretty sure that's still assault and against the law. The guy is from another country, and we'll start an international incident."

"Oh, pick me, pick me Skyguy ! I have an idea!" Wyndia holds her arm up in the air, and furiously Waves her hand around. Ren and Motoyasu both look at her, and the young shiba inu woman puts her hands on her waist, puffing her chest and starts to speak with a smug looking smile. "I propose we immediately go grab the largest burlap bag, catch him from head to toe and take him away. And if he tries to resist... we could have Spear Hero spank his behind with the shaft of his spear. Like what he did to Fuckboy !"

"What part of 'this isn't legal' didn't you understand, Snips? What you suggested is even worse. That's kidnapping ." Ren gives Wyndia a hard, long look before he asks her. Although Malty is pretty sure that's less of a serious suggestion from her, and more of her trying to fuck with and make fun of the Throwing Weapon Hero.

The Throwing Weapon Hero doesn't show any sign of indignation with the way Motoyasu and Ren gossip and make snarky comments at him. Probably because he is clearly reeling from the shock of the queen of Melromarc would side with her own elites against a dimensional interloper like the Shield Hero. Imagine that crazy idea. But his own most psychotic fan got angry in his stead. She too, like Mordred Arc, looks ready to lunge at and murder someone if her sibling wasn't holding her back. " Don't trash talk Master Tairou like he's not even here!" 

"What? But- but you are supposed to be Master Naofumi's biggest supporter..." And speaking of the Throwing Weapon idiot , his face turns left and right between looking at the queen of glorious Melromarc and the Shield Hero. Malty wonders what kind of freak of a story's barely coherent narrative the novel version of their lives he has read for the plot to go the way he thinks. After a brief moment of extreme confusion, his eyes settle on the dishonored princess herself. The puzzlement from him quickly recedes, replaced by hostility as he narrows his eyes at Malty. "I know! It's all Bitch 's fault! The queen thought you were being deceived by Bitch, and that's why she's not supporting you, Master Naofumi! I'm telling you she's an evil witch, and she's only using you! She's trying to murder her sister, and she'll murder the queen too! You can't trust her one bit! She's just evil through and through!"

This time, Malty truly feels anger at the rambling idiot's continued verbal (and physical) attacks on her. Throwing mud at her in private is annoying, but she can ignore it like some rabid dog barking at her. Throwing the accusation of kinslaying in front of so many important figures from other nations? That's an attack on the Melromarc royal family. Before Malty has a chance to jump at the idiot, her sister already did it for her. Melty has to be held back by others to stop her from scratching the mad hero's eyes out. But any indignation Malty has for herself is quickly replaced when she turns her head to look at Naofumi's face. His face is as dark as Gaelion's scales. Normally, she would have felt good about Naofumi being angry at someone openly disrespecting her, but not on this occasion! So many leaders of the worlds' most powerful nations have gathered around. Any outburst from Naofumi would leave them all in a very bad place. So she quickly gets closer and grabs his arm, trying to use words to calm him down. "Please don't lose your calm, Master Naofumi. It's not worth it to make yourself look bad because of some bad words aimed at me!"

"Get away from Master Naofumi, you BITCH! " The Throwing Weapon Hero lunges at Malty. Firo jumps up and down while flapping her wings looking completely excited. Thankfully Motoyasu and Ren both stepped forward. They crossed their weapons with Tairou, and pushed the impulsive fool back.

"How dare you attack my sister after besmirching her good name!" Melty pulls out her gem encrusted sword wand out of its sheath. The blade of the sword makes a long scraping noise against the inside of its holder, showing that its user isn't used to the act of quickly and subconsciously pulling her weapons out. She Waves her sword threateningly at the Throwing Weapon Hero, and then turns to look sharply at the noble from Zeltoble. "Is this how Zeltoble teaches its summoned heroes to behave? If so, Melromarc is within our right to lodge an official complaint! "

"Stop being ungrateful to Master Tairou when he's trying to keep you safe, you little- MMMPPPHHH!!!" Atla, being the loyal and unthinking personal attack dog of her equally unhinged master, instantly turns her head to scream at Melty without thinking of the consequences. Fohl quickly reaches one of his hands up to cover her mouth.

"Shut up. You just... SHUT UP! Do you even know what happened to Malty from the past to throw this kind of crazy accusation at her, you FUCKING IDIOT ?!" Naofumi clearly reached his limit with how much he could tolerate his self-proclaimed 'biggest fan'. His words, which were previously only being snarky at Throwing Weapon Hero are now down right hostile with cursing words mixed in. "Her mother wanted to marry her off to a serial rapist just for some political brownie point! Why shouldn't she get angry at her mother?! I'd have punched her in the face if she didn't have an army around her all the time! And you want me to blame a victim, and side with her abuser just for some political support?!"

Malty covers up her face with her eyes once again. Naofumi, in his wrath said what's no doubt on his mind (which he should definitely have kept to himself), and now everything is falling apart all because of his insane, crazy 'supporter'. As expected, the knights around Mother begin to get more than a bit loud and rowdy. " How dare you threaten our liege, Shield Hero! "

"Hold. I shall forgive Lord Shield Hero's transgression on account of him being under extreme mental duress." Mother holds up her hand, commanding her loyal knights to stand down. A good chance for her to play the 'fair, good ruler' role she cultivated as her public image, but Malty knows she isn't simply letting Naofumi off the hook. She's passing up this opportunity to further snub the Shield Hero because she is under scrutiny from the other nations, but she's still having Naofumi owing her a favor she could collect in the future.

"Of course, I know what happened, and will happen to Bitch . For a witch, and a liar who throw false rape accusation at any men she comes across, get tortured to death over and over again is no less than what she deserves!" Even with pressure from both Motoyasu and Ren on him, the Throwing Weapon idiot continues to run his mouth.

Malty releases her arms from Naofumi with a pained yelp. The coldness that seems to be emanating from his body feels piercing on her skin even if she's completely covered up with armor and cloth. Thankfully, her worst fear isn't realized. There's no cursed dark fire coming from his body. But Naofumi's face looks surprisingly calm as he begins to step forward. Pushing both Motoyasu and Ren apart so he stands face to face with Tairou Sato. The Throwing Weapon Hero immediately puts his own weapon away seeing his idol in front of him. The most flattering smile adorns his face. "You finally realized what a horrible person Bitch is, Master Naofumi?!"

"You are dead."

"WHA-" The Shield Hero didn't leave his self-proclaimed biggest fan any time to react to his verbal threat. The much larger and heavier (thanks to his heavy armors) hero immediately throws himself onto the object of his ire. His hands, a pair of iron shackles forming a vice grip around Tairou's neck as he furiously slams the Throwing Weapon Hero's head into the ground over and over again.

"I kill you, I kill you, I KILL YOU! " Naofumi's animalistic roar made the spectating soldiers step back with nervous looks on their faces. No doubt after this night, rumors and gossips about Naofumi being the true successor to the King of Rape would spread around with wildfire. Meanwhile, his body seems to be using action to answer a very important question about how one particular legendary hero works: Can the Shield Hero, with his overwhelming natural DEF growth paired with his lackluster ATK growth actually kill someone without external help, such as any kind of ATK boosting magic, enchantments, or abilities?

Judging by how the eyes of Tairou are rolling into the back of his head, and how white foams are beginning to pour out of his mouth. The answer appears to be 'yes'. Maybe not in the 'slamming someone's head repeatedly into the ground' way, but definitely in the 'closing his hands around someone's neck and stopping them from breathing' way.

Fohl lets out a pained yelp as his hand covering his sister's face lets go. Did she just bite him? With only one arm around her, the young white tiger man can no longer keep his sister restrained. Atla runs straight at Naofumi and lets a series of punches fall on him. Loud and heavy clunking sounds come from the Shield Hero's armor, some parts even become clearly dented but he focuses on choking the life out of Tairou and doesn't even seem to notice the damage he is taking. Firo lets out a distressed shriek this time as she runs forward too, knocking Atla rolling with her on the ground. The white tiger girl flails around on the sand, while sending some badly aimed punches at Firo. "Get off me, you stupid, dumb bird! Whose side are you on?! "

Fohl recovered from his minor hand injury. He quickly runs over to separate Firo and Atla in spite of his little sister's protest. On the other side, Motoyasu and Ren begin to prying Naofumi off the downed Throwing Weapon Hero. The Sword Hero remains silent the whole time, but the Spear Hero makes some verbal attempt at defusing the situation. "Okay, you have to take a chill pill , Naofumi. I know you are angry at that other guy for talking trash at Malty. And yes, he totally asked for being choked to death. But you don't want to become a murderer !"

After some struggles, both heroes finally manage to get the still struggling Naofumi off Tairou before the lateral was suffocated to death. As the Shield Hero is still breathing heavily while glaring death at the slowly recovering Throwing Weapon Hero drawing in a large mouthful of breath, Lord Regent Dumbledore's voice interrupts everyone. "Now, I understand you heroes are young and have boundless energy compared to an old timer like me. But I believe this farce has gone on long enough, hmm? You don't have to try to cover it up. Who would have guessed that Zeltoble already has made a play on one of the Cardinal Heroes?"

Malty's eyes cast over to the regent of Faubley. Of course, the manipulative old goat would see the scene happen in front of his eyes and instantly try to explain it away with political machinations. That's one of the two things constant in the court of Faubley's high society aside from death and taxation: Political power plays, and excessive inbreeding. Feeling like she should explain it to Naofumi, she moves closer to the Shield Hero and whispers to his ears. "Lord Dumbledore is saying you had something planned with the Throwing Weapon Hero before. Possibly with connection to Zeltoble's higher ups. I don't know if he honestly thinks it's true, or if he's making this statement to weaken Zeltoble's position in the later negotiation regarding who gets to keep a hero..."

"Not everything has to be some conspiracy, fuck it!" Naofumi's ire is turned from the Throwing Weapon Hero to the regent of Faubley. "I never saw this creepy guy before today, and I hardly know him other than he's my creepy stalker fan! "

"No, I'm your biggest fan , Master Naofumi! I'll make sure to help you get to the top much easier and earlier this time around!" Tairou's borderline bootlicking flattery towards Naofumi quickly turns to sheer scorn as he glances at Motoyasu, Ren, and Malty herself from the corner of his eyes. "Even if you have this idiot and Bitch trying to drag you down."

Naofumi lets a snarl escape his mouth. For a brief moment, it looks like the whole song and dance of the Throwing Weapon idiot enraging the Shield Hero, leading to Naofumi attempting to murder Tairou would continue. Until the commotion is interrupted by a deep, almost brooding voice coming from the back of the gathered people. "You have wasted enough of everyone's time. Step aside. Those who fought in the Wave need their rest."

The Throwing Weapon idiot turns his face around to look at Lord Dio. The foolhardy young man stomps his way over in front of the Gauntlet Hero, glaring right back at the much larger, and more intimidating figure. Malty almost feels a bit of respect for his lack of self-preservation instinct as he sneers back to one of the most powerful veteran heroes. "What does a nobody like you dare to do about it-"

Dio didn't waste any more time or effort with Tairou Sato. He raises his right fist, and punches the idiot out with a single well aimed fist to the Throwing Weapon idiot's face without even looking at him. Atla charges at him with a screech, and the result was the same. One single well aimed punch, and she's out like a light. Clearly, the Gauntlet Hero has no problem with hitting a woman when that's the fastest way to get rid of her, a very young one at that. Malty looks at Fohl, wonders what he would do to someone who hurt his younger sister. But the young white tiger seems resigned at how much stronger Dio is compared to him. He simply picks up Atla like he's hugging her with his right arm, and drags the unconscious form of the Throwing Weapon Hero by the ankle using his remaining hand. He throws Tairou's body over Firo's bag like a sack of potatoes, and gives the little bird a gentle tag by her reign. "Come on, Firo. Let's go back to the resort."

"You better do as he says, Firo. It's late, and everyone's tired." Firo looks at Naofumi. The Shield Hero gives her a smile and scratches Firo's lower face. She bobs her head a few times, lets out a croak, and turns around towards south with him leading her. Not having any more reasons to waste time, Malty follows Naofumi alongside everyone from the heroes' party and retinue. By the time the Menagerie Resort is in their sight, she really does start to feel the fatigue catching up to her.

The street of the entire resort section of Cal Mira Island is filled with dead bodies of the monsters, and occasional human limbs. There isn't a sight of a hero's welcome from them, only large, crude looking stone 'walls' around the biggest hotel of Cal Mira Island. The former princess cast a glance over at Naofumi, wondering if this fortification was his doing. He returns her with a nod.

"Lord Heroes?" Malty looks up on the wall with Naofumi as she hears the voice of someone calling them. She doesn't know the young lord personally, but she recognizes the long blue hair of Count Seliph, and House Chalphy's holy sword Tyrfing in his hand. The young paladin looks both happy, and relieved to see the return of the heroes. "We managed to hold this fort without letting the Wavespawn in. Everyone's safe! Also, Lord Bow Hero has woken up, and he's asking for all of you."

The Bow Hero had awakened from his rest? Well... it's too early for him to get the full [Well Rested] effect. He's probably awakened by all the sound of fighting around him. Malty doesn't relish the idea of visiting him instead of throwing herself into a bed... maybe after a quick bath. Thankfully, Naofumi is being considerate with a light tap to her shoulder. "You go rest, Malty. We'll go see Itsuki by ourselves."

Chapter Text

Malty opens the door to her own suite. What a night... fighting the Fourth Wave, getting attacked by another goddess a second time after the Third Wave, and then almost getting assassinated by the same delusional vassal 'hero' a second time. She's exhausted, and wants to get into a hot bath to wash away all the grime, then fall unconscious on top of her bed. But she immediately noticed something wrong inside the room. The air feels too fresh, and not in a good way. She could smell the faint scent of ash, cinder mixed with burnt flesh and foul blood. Remnants of the battle taking place in the resort town while the Fourth Wave raged. Someone, or something had sneaked into her room, likely from a window and didn't bother to shut it back down. A sloppy intruder? Or they intentionally want her to know for some reason?

The star wand takes the form of a sword wand in her hand as she begins to creep around her own hotel room, trying to find the sign of whoever got inside. Were they here to rob the hotel amid all the chaos for wealth, or are they here to target her? Or perhaps they are messengers sent to her by someone, like her old 'friend' Iris? Henchmen number two was killed while fighting the Three Heroes' Church, but that doesn't mean Iris would be short of any messengers. Even if their temporary alliance should be dissolved now that House Amelia has officially become part of Princess Melty's faction. She probably should have backed out immediately, and called the security of Menagerie. But the way the perpetrator leaves such an obvious tell of their entry seems to indicate they were either an amateur who got in over their head, or they want Malty to notice their presence. Before she gets too far, her eyes are suddenly covered from the back. Malty gets startled, almost hopping on her feet. But she still isn't worried. She simply lets out a tired sign. "Cut the crap, Cousin Emi. I know it's you."

A string of chime like giggles come from behind Malty as the hands covering her eyes get released like a pair of unfolded wings. Malty turns around, and sees the black-haired woman standing before her. She is a few years' senior to Malty, and she should look mature with the dress suit that looks half like navy uniform, half resembling what a Faubley gentleman wears to an evening ball. But right now Duchess Emily is smiling like a little girl. "How do you know it's me, Cousin Mal? I didn't even say anything this time!"

"Who else would go through all this trouble just to mess around with me?" Malty points her thumb up over her shoulders at the opened window behind her. "The infiltration is too sloppy compared to how easy you had me. If you were an assassin, you'd have snapped my neck when you had me from behind. If you are a kidnapper, you should have used something to make me fall unconscious."

"Aww... look at you, Cousin Mal. Getting all grown up and serious. The last time I pulled this stunt, you were kicking and screaming for guards like a child. I heard you became a companion to the Shield Hero? He must have been good for you." Cousin Emily opens her arm, lunges forward and pulls Malty into a tight hug. "I missed you so much!"

"Stop that, Cousin Emi! We aren't children anymore, and you can't keep embarrassing me! If you want a hug pillow, go get Melty. She likes your hugs. But yeah, I miss you too." Malty's back tenses up from Emily's sudden embrace. She slowly relaxes and wraps her arms around Emily too. She turns her face slightly wider to look at the man dressed in a similar blue uniform to Emily, wearing a full hooded mask that has clockwork built in. "Hello to you too, Sir Corvo."

Cousin Emily's protector didn't speak, but he did give Malty a nod of acknowledgement. Before Malty has any chance to do anything, she's led over by the bed. Cousin Emily half pushes Malty onto the bed, and carefully opens her cloth and armor to expose her collar. The Duchess of Dunwall pulls off her leather glove, and brushes against Malty's marred skin with her bare fingers. "So, someone from the Three Heroes' Church really did force you into slavery! Those bastards! Tell me who did it, and I'll send Corvo to that motherless swine!"

"Don't make a big deal out of it, Cousin Emi. The other guy got it worse. He got disowned by his family, forced into slavery just like me. And unlike me, his master doesn't care enough to treat him like a freeman." Malty surprises herself at how little care she has towards Fuckboy. Not that she doesn't hold a grudge against the delusional reincarnate for what he did to Naofumi and Raphtalia... but she found herself honestly more concerned at what she witnessed during the Fourth Wave than caring about petty revenge against an arrogant, yet helpless fool. "When did you get here? I didn't see you during the Fourth Wave battle, and I just came back from all the fighting."

"Oh, yeah. That's why you are still technically a slave. Or otherwise you'd be forced to marry Uncle Egbert. Well, at least the Shield Hero is treating you well. He better be, or else I'm sticking Corvo on him too." Emily's voice trails off near the end, she begins to avoid Malty's eye contact much to the ex princess' confusion. "As for why I wasn't here waiting for you... well... That's more complicated and I'm sure you are too tired to hear me explain from the beginning."

"When Lady Emily heard what happened to you and the Shield Hero, she jumped onto the nearest ship to Melromarc. She missed you by a hair's width." Corvo opens his mouth this time, his voice sounds rough, like sandpaper being rubbed together. Malty used to remember his voice being smoother than this when Cousin Emily visited her while they were younger, and it reminds her that much like her own father, the protector of her cousin isn't getting any younger.

"Don't embarrass me in front of Cousin Mal, Corvo! You can go back to playing mute!" Emily Waves her hand dismissively at her bodyguard and personal attendant. The old protector gives a faint bow to the Duchess of Dunwall, turns around and disappears into the suite's bathroom. Malty can hear the sound of running water not too long after. It seems like he's preparing a bath for the two of them. "Anyways... sorry I wasn't there with you when you needed me, Cousin Mal. I know you must be tired, but you want to catch up?"

"You know I always have time for you, Cousin Emi." Malty isn't lying this time. In a lot of ways, Duchess Emily feels more like a sister to her than Melty. For one thing, Emily is older than her, and tends to pamper her a little when she does come to visit Melromarc. And there is no direct political conflict between them with them not competing for the same crown, so Malty always feels more free around her cousin than her own sister. "I should tell you all about what happened between Naofumi, Raphtalia, and myself... I'm sure you'll love the two of them when you get to meet them."

Chapter 17: Sleepless Night before the Conference

Naofumi doesn't know what he expected when they visited the room Itsuki stayed in. Something like a modern hospital, maybe. But they were led straight to the heroes' suite located at the top level of Menagerie Resort. There's not even any strong smell of herb or medicine like the infirmary of that little unnamed forest monastery they stayed in after that ill thought out revolt in the city of Graile. No, it seems like Itsuki was simply put into the hotel room he was assigned in. At least there's a youngish looking woman in a white priestly robe by the side of his bed. The Shield Hero gives a few more looks at the healer woman. Not because her beauty naturally draws everyone's attention to her. She's honestly somewhat plain looking compared to a lot of other women he's seen in this world. But there's a certain look to her soft facial feature, that gives her an almost traditionally eastern look to her. Seeing the three of them enter, she moves away from the side of Itsuki's bed. "Master Bow Hero is slowly, but surely making his way to recovery. Revered heroes. After a good night's rest, he should be able to attend the Hero Conference without any problem tomorrow."

"Thank you. We'll look after Itsuki... and have a few words with him before he goes to sleep." Ren gives a nod to the female priestess who is clearly a few years, if not a full decade older than them. His words are blunt as usual, but the priestess didn't seem to mind. She gives them a bow of respect, and moves to leave the room without a word of complaint or protest.

With no one besides the four of them in the room, Naofumi moves closer to Itsuki's bed with Motoyasu and Ren. Their bow using a companion doesn't look too bad considering he got electrocuted and almost drowned in the hot spring. His eyelids are drooping down, but besides the exhausted look he doesn't look too out of ordinary. The Shield Hero sees a bucket of water on the night stand besides the bed. He grabs the small blanket off Itsuki's forehand, gives it a wash in the bucket and places it back on him. "How are you feeling, Itsuki? You don't have to worry about the Fourth Wave. We won. The other heroes were a big help."

"So I missed the whole thing... damn my lack of DEF rating..." Itsuki's lips move, but it looks unnatural. Half of his face was twitching much faster than the other side. Seemingly noticed Naofumi's staring, Itsuki raises his left hand and points to his right. "Yeah. Half of my body is still numb. So, what happened in this Wave?"

"We fought another goddess. She didn't run us over like the last one, but it wasn't an easy fight either." Ren drags over a few chairs and sets them around Itsuki's bed. Motoyasu instantly falls into the armchair, while Ren sits down on the edge with half of his butt in the air. "Gaelion said she's an earthbound deity. Like his father, or that avatar of Alaya Motoyasu and Naofumi met. I don't know if it's something that the golden knight did in the Third Wave. But I don't think it's a one time thing anymore. We'll probably fight a new god every Wave from now on, or something like that."

"Oh, yeah! At first she was this mountain like spider running all over the place, going all 'I'm going to eat you all!' And then this completely white-skinned, and white-haired young woman looked like something came out of the giant spider's head going around turning people into ashes with her big ass scythe! And when that scary white haired dude punching her face while going through seven pages of 'MUDAMUDA!', she exploded her body and turned into a smaller spider..." Motoyasu began to wildly swing his arms around once again. Naofumi witnessed the whole battle, and even he feels confused by what Motoyasu is talking about.

Naofumi was not the only one who got baffled by Motoyasu's inability to tell a coherent story. Ren cocks his head sideways, and begins to stare to their spear-wielding friend without blinking. Motoyasu apparently noticed Ren gawking at him, after a while, his voice began to slowly fizzle out. Ren finally concludes for all of them. "Motoyasu, you are not going to explain anything to any of us anymore."

"What Motoyasu tried to say was that the goddess we fought against looks like a giant red spider at first. But apparently, she can also assume the form of a white skinned, white haired woman wearing a white dress. She has this ability where she conjures up a red mist of plague that'll rot people into ash, and then..." Naofumi suddenly stops his explanation. He suddenly remembered that he never properly told his fellow hero friends what happened to Malty and himself while they were on the run from the Three Heroes' Church. So he puts his hands up into a stop sign first. "Okay... let me go back a bit so we are all at the same starting point. Everything happened too fast since Lautrec summoned his fucking goddess at the end of the Third Wave. And I never explained to the three of you what happened to Malty and I while we were on the run. Because quite a lot has happened."

"Yes. That would have been helpful." Ren is giving Naofumi the same, almost accusatory look he cast towards Motoyasu a moment ago. Naofumi could see Motoyasu furiously blinking at Ren from the side, almost like he's trying to tell Ren something. After a few moments, Ren seems to finally get Motoyasu's hint and his voice becomes slightly less tense. "I knew you went through a lot with Malty, and the queen didn't exactly give you, or any of us time to recover. But if you have important information about what we are facing, share with us. It's bad enough if we are going to fight a god every Wave from now on, worse if we fight a god without knowing critical information."

"Duly noted." Naofumi doesn't feel happy about the almost chastising tone Ren is taking. But he knew Ren's bluntness comes more from his social awkwardness than arrogance, or malice. And honestly, he could somewhat understand Ren's problem. He's not exactly a social person himself before meeting Malty. "Ren, Motoyasu. You both saw those ash creatures the goddess used against us in this Wave battle. And Itsuki, the goddess we fought this Wave, has some ability where she rots people down into ash, and then she reanimates them from ash like they were some undead creatures. And they reform back even if we destroy them again. This isn't the first time Malty and I encountered these ash creatures. When we were escaping from Gallia, we encountered a small cult using similar magic. Malty thinks they have something to do with this 'Burning Legion' Fitoria and Metatron told us about."

Both Itsuki and Motoyasu turn their gaze towards Ren. It seems like they are used to having their sword-wielding friend make the final decision. Even if Ren is actually their youngest. "Flesh turns into ash after they are... burned? So that means the ash creatures were controlled by the Burning Legion? A bit on the nose and coincidental. But if the goddess we fight really did work for this Burning Legion, and that cultist were using the same creatures it would have made sense. Still... I don't think we'll be able to convince anyone who hasn't already made the decision to support up on such a flimsy argument alone."

"Are you talking about the Hero Conference we'll be attending tomorrow?" Naofumi's question instantly received a nod of acknowledgement from Ren. "But surely it's in all of these world leaders' interest to stop the Burning Legion from, you know? Destroying the world? I mean, don't these social elites have the most to lose because they have more wealth and power than everyone else? And they did dispatch the army to go fight that goddess."

"Naofumi. Those so-called 'world leaders' didn't dispatch the army. They were commanded by Dio, the Gauntlet Hero." All of sudden, Naofumi becomes very familiar with how Motoyasu must have felt a mere moment ago as Ren turns to focus his gaze on himself without blinking. "Those kings and what not... they didn't even want to dispatch any army to go save you and Motoyasu when Malty told them a second group of Wave monsters destroyed all of our ships. And they, especially that old Dumbledore guy, treated us like children who didn't know better. I don't think they'll do much even if someone from the Burning Legion comes from the Wave and declares war on them."

"Ah, right. Politicians. They are only good at telling lies, stealing money and playing office politics." Naofumi fights back the urge to roll his eyes. Honestly... considering what happened back in his own world... he doesn't even know why he expected any better from the politicians of this world. Maybe because he unconsciously romanticized them because they were medieval politicians, and not modern politicians? Regardless, they sound equally awful. "So in the end, we could not rely on anyone but ourselves. Well... maybe some of the other heroes. Not that Sato Tairou guy though. Honestly, I don't even know why he claims to be my biggest fan if he's not listening to a single word I say, and tries to kill my- Malty."

"What's up with that silly, crazy guy anyway?" Motoyasu puts his hands behind his head and leans his chair back, he kicks off his armored boots, and rests his feet on the edge of Itsuki's bed. "He started spouting some nonsense about how we were novel characters, and then started trash talking Malty and wanted to kill her. You think he's crazy? Or if in some other world there really is someone who wrote a story about us?"

"That's what that whole fight is about? That Tairou guy thinks we are in a novel, and you were supposed to be the main character?" Ren's eyebrows instantly raised into his hairline. He lets out a huff of air from both his nose and mouth. Naofumi isn't sure how he thinks about Ren's words. Their youngest seems more surprised, or perhaps more indignant that Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero is supposedly the 'main character' of this whole mess than the fact that a summoned hero genuinely thought the fate of this world is already written by the author of some trashy wish fulfillment story. Then again, it's not like he ever thought himself as the isekai main character either back during their first discussion. "And here I thought we all fucked up pretty badly. To think there's someone who thinks this whole world was written exactly like a book, and he started picking fights with everyone because he was trying to get on your good side."

"Yeah. That's what I wanted to talk to you in private about. Since I don't know what to do with that guy. I mean, I guess he's trying to help me. So I don't feel like being too mean to him. But his 'helping' is making everything worse, and he doesn't listen to a word I try to tell him." Naofumi opens his hands and shrugs his shoulders with exasperation.

Once again, Ren begins to stare at him without blinking. "You tried to strangle him to death."

"That's because he tried to kill Malty, TWICE! And then he started trash talking about her being a b- a bad person who deserved to get married to a known serial rapist and torturer since she's a kid! Seriously, what kind of fucked up people think like that?! How would you feel if someone did this, and said this about... I don't know, Wyndia?!"

"I'd appreciate it if someone explained to me from the beginning." Itsuki's eyes move towards Motoyasu. He gives the lateral an annoyed glare and kicks his feet off the bed. Motoyasu nearly falls over in his chair due to the surprise attack done by Itsuki.

Ren casts a sideways glance at Itsuki first, before facing Naofumi once again. "When we came back from the Wave battle, we saw some people were fighting each other. One of them was that crazy noble woman who wanted to whip Naofumi to death. The other was the Throwing Weapon Hero summoned by Zeltoble and his lackeys. Turns out this 'hero' thinks we are all some isekai novel characters, he was apparently Naofumi's 'biggest fan'. He started picking a fight with that crazy noble woman because of what she did to Naofumi.

Naofumi could feel Itsuki's stare on him without looking at the Bow Hero still lying on the bed. After a while, the Bow Hero finally concludes. "So you are Mr. Incredible, and that crazy guy Syndrome. But he hasn't gone to the villain side yet like the movie, and you are trying to stop this part from happening? That's what got you worked up?"

"Oh, he's a worse fanboy than Syndrome was before he became an evil Bond villain. Syndrome was annoying as a kid fanboy, but Sato actively tried to kill Malty, twice. Trash … trash-talked about all three of you because he thinks all three of you can't change till I apparently beat all of you into submission and turn you into my glorified henchmen... or something like that." Naofumi rolls his eyes as he thinks about the crazy fanboy once again. "Talk about pot calling the kettle black. Not like he's listening to a word I said."

"Maybe you could do the same thing he wants you to do to the three of us?" Motoyasu moves over and picks up a short, soft seat without a back or arms. Is it still called an ottoman in this world if the country doesn't exist? Well... not important. His self-proclaimed rival and friend sets the little seat in front of him, plops himself back onto his chair and rests his feet on the soft seat this time. "You know? Beat him into submission and turn him into your henchman? He can't complain about it if he's the one who suggested it, right?"

"I don't think he is the problem. The country summoned him could be though." Ren crosses his arms in front of chest as his face twists into a deep frown. "He was being an idiot when he started dissing everyone around him. But he isn't summoned from the same country like the four of us. Judging by how these so-called 'world leaders' reacted when Malty and I talked with them, I'm betting on them starting some shit up if we go around beating a hero someone else owned."

"So we are back at square one. Tolerating my psychotic fanboy, and hoping he doesn't do something too ridiculous and fuck everyone over. At least till he goes completely into the deep end, turning into an actual villain, or getting everyone sick and tired of him. Meanwhile, I can't do anything even after he tried to kill Malty twice. And he's probably going to keep the track record." Naofumi's head drops down and he pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. He can feel someone giving his shoulder a few pats, and he's willing to bet it's Motoyasu. "Fuck my life."

"But the reverse should be true. Your fanboy attacked your companion twice without provocation, and his companion tried to assassinate you twice." Ren's index finger suddenly flies up from his left fist. "Why not use your hero's influence to block him politically?"

"Would they even listen though? I'm not exactly on the Queen's well-liked list at the moment." Naofumi shrugs his shoulders as he opens both of his hands. "Not sure if she wants me to actually die. But she certainly won't be fighting for me."

"What about Siltvelt? Aren't you their rightful king? One of their princes became your slave to be your bodyguard." Ren's suggestion does make Naofumi think over his options. Yes... he could probably use Siltvelt to air his grievances against his annoying fanboy. But what price would he pay in exchange? They did imprison the last Shield Hero, and that eventually lead to him losing his mind and became the King of Rape.

"Hey, look on the bright side, Naofumi. A psychotic fanboy is better than a psychotic girl chasing after you. You haven't been stabbed to death by him yet. We'll just have to make sure Malty stays safe from this one crazy guy... and all the crazy gods trying to kill her too." Motoyasu's words didn't make him feel better. Because he is suddenly reminded by the fact that yes, both the goddess summoned by Lautrec, and that spider goddess was specifically targeting Malty. "...Okay... maybe that's the not so bright side."

"That reminded me... I don't know who Lautrec's goddess was. But I think the spider goddess was Kumoko." Naofumi puts his hand down and raises his head up to look through the faces of his fellow heroes. "I didn't think about it when I first arrived on the other island with Motoyasu. Because she is a giant, crimson spider the size of a mountain. But didn't her humanoid body look just like Kumoko when she got her humanoid form? I mean aside from her eyes? She's using a scythe as her weapon too. Her rot ability looks different from Kumoko's rot magic, but aside from controlling the ash of the people she killed, didn't it have a similar effect?"

"Now that you mentioned it... yes. If the spider goddess was Kumoko, it would explain why she gives everyone a hard time even with three veteran heroes fighting with us. She was one-shotting the heroes of her world in her novels." Ren's eyes trail off to the side as he seems to ponder over Naofumi's words. The frown on his face only grows deeper. "And it's really bad news for all of us. It means this Burning Legion we are facing against has the power to beat other isekai novel protagonists. Kumoko wasn't just a hero in her own story - she was a demon lord, and a goddess.

This means if what that annoying fanboy said was true that we are in a novel, and Naofumi is the main hero, we still can't rely on the original plot and assume we would win in the end. Actually, Naofumi. You should ask him if this Burning Legion appeared in the novel he read or not. Even if we don't take everything he said at face value, knowing if the main threat we are facing is 'canonical' or not should still give us some clues to work with."

Naofumi thinks over Ren's suggestion. He's not eager to see his annoying fan anywhere near him, let alone trying to talk to the delusional fuck. But yes, he could see Ren's suggestion yielding fruit. On the one hand, he knows better than taking outside sources wholesale based on inaccurate information his fellow heroes revealed about the games from their worlds. If the Burning Legion is a threat from the novel Sato, Tairou read, then it'll give them some information about this threat even if they can't take it at face value. But if the Burning Legion doesn't appear in the novel based on their journey, it would be a clear indication that any information Tairou revealed to them later is unreliable if his novel doesn't even predict their greatest threat. "Very well... I could take one for the team and try to fish for some information from my number one fan. Motoyasu, I want you to take care of Malty and make sure she's safe while I go talk to Tairou. I don't want him to have another chance to kill her."

"Yeah! I can do that. Katarina and Bertia probably wanted to get in touch with their friends too. But aren't you missing something more important, Naofumi?" Motoyasu edges his own chair closer to Naofumi, and places a hand on the Shield Hero's shoulder. "Malty got attacked twice by this crazy fucker since she got to Cal Mira Island. And she's targeted by another evil goddess again. You should do something nice for her. Make her feel comfortable, safe, and loved."

"We have more important things to worry about - like the survival of this world and everyone in it. I'm sure Malty will understand." Naofumi Waves Motoyasu's suggestion away. Not that he doesn't care about how Malty feels... but right now he's more concerned for the power of the Burning Legion.

Especially after seeing that part of Kumoko's memory. Motoyasu doesn't look convinced as his eyes narrow, mouth puffing out. Both Ren and Itsuki roll their eyes at their most childish, an ironically oldest member. "I'll think about how to make up for Malty later, okay? Right now let's conclude what we learnt from our Wave battle to Itsuki so he doesn't get left out of the loop. But anyways, while we were fighting Kumoko... she conjured up some images behind her. It showed how she's beaten into the ground by the Burning Legion, and was forced to serve them. What's more... The woman who enslaved her is a tanuki demi-human. And she looks just like Raphtalia grown up."

"You mean she looks like Raphtalia, if she grows up badly and looks angry at everyone around her." Motoyasu's attention is successfully diverted from his earlier priority of comforting Malty. He narrows his eyes in a different way, like he's trying to make a scary face to scare a child. "Her eyes are all scrunched up like this, her eyes always point down like everyone is bug underneath her, and she talks like a villain from an anime putting them down and calling them all pathetic and stuff. I doubt she's actually Raphtalia in any way."

"Do you think she's that goddess summoned by your lizardman from the last Wave battle, Naofumi?" Ren's question makes Naofumi look away from Motoyasu. "It fits, doesn't it? She's also a tanuki like Raphtalia, and we never saw what the goddess from the the Third Wave looked like because her face was covered by some kind of a fog. It could have been her all along."

Naofumi thinks over the goddess' demeanor during her brief appearance at the end of the Third Wave. He shakes his head when he thinks about how the tanuki goddess talked with Lautrec. It was a brief exchange, but the goddess did treat Lautrec with a kind of polite respect that sets her apart from the evil Raphtalia lookalike from Kumoko's memory. But the Shield Hero finds himself changing his opinion and nodding his head along when he remembers how Lautrec's fucking goddess acted afterwards when she fought against everyone. She was very dismissive towards everyone who fought against her, and she hurt the Pope of the Three Heroes' Church with the clear intention to kill. Not to mention her almost excessively obsessive intention to kill Malty. It fits the evil Raphtalia look alike's callous attitude.

Then, Naofumi shakes his head once again when he remembers how shocked and ashamed the goddess looked when he accused her of not giving people chances, in spite of how he can't see her face clearly. He... can't imagine that evil-looking Raphtalia having the same look on her. "I don't know. I can't be sure. But... I don't think she's the same one from Kumoko's memory. The goddess looked very regretful when I confronted her about her careless attitude towards Malty and everyone else she hurt. I can't imagine that... that woman fighting for the Burning Legion to look the same."

"Who knows? Maybe she's a Raphtalia from another Medea who was evil... what?" Motoyasu's eyes suddenly begin to dart across the room as the gaze of Naofumi, Ren and Itsuki all focus on him. "I mean, it's possible. Right? We all know we come from different versions of Earth. So it's possible this world has different alternate versions too!"

"Our worlds are very different. All of you said people with super power aren't real, or at least not well known. And Ren comes from a world with very advanced VR technology. I don't know what's the difference between yours and Naofumi, but we know at the very least Japan has different prime ministers." Itsuki manages to let out a snort even with half of his face still twitching. "What makes you think another Raphtalia would have existed even if there's another version of Medea?"

"No... Motoyasu's suggestion actually does have merit. I've been sitting on this thought for a while. But I didn't think it was important till now." Naofumi looks at Ren next, their youngest fellow hero looks thoughtful as his face slowly bobs up and down while his eyes cast downward at the floor. "Most of the time, we understand each other when we make pop culture references. All of you were making fun of me being similar to Kirito from Sword Art Online, and we all reacted the same when Katarina told us that Son Goku was her ancestor. Which means Dragon Ball as a franchise exists in all of our worlds even if the story might be a bit different. Let's try what we did again. On the count of three, who was the creator of Dragon Ball?"

All four of them look at each other as Ren slowly raises his fingers up in place of verbal counting. When the middle finger on his left hand comes up, all four of them speak together. "AKIRA TORIYAMA!"

The four of them fall into stunned silence afterwards. Not even Motoyasu made a sound, or some faint movement with his body. But after a few seconds, the Spear Hero is the first one to break the silence between them. "So we now know Akira Toriyama-sensei is a constant in all of our worlds? THAT'S AWESOME!"

"And you believe Raphtalia is also a constant of any possible different versions of this world, Medea. Even if in another world she might have grown up... bad." Naofumi doesn't know how to feel about his surrogate daughter, who was the definition of a good, well behaving child, could have become what that woman serving the Burning Legion was like from another version of this world. But he does (at least he thinks) manages to catch the main point from Ren's argument.

"She might not be the only one. Think about it." Ren raises both of his hands and taps his index fingers on both sides of his temples. "The goddess summoned by Lautrec targeted Malty. Kumoko also tried to capture Malty. Something about Malty, which we haven't figured out is clearly important for both of them. We already know gods are aware of, and could invade other worlds. Wouldn't it make more sense that they both targeted her because of what might have happened to her, or what she might have done from another world?"

Naofumi doesn't like to entertain the thought of alternate worlds, possibly even the idea of alternate timelines. He barely knows all the important details about the world he is living in. And now Ren throws in the possibility of another Malty from another world, or timelines? Itsuki is faster at expressing his annoyance than Naofumi. "You gotta be kidding me! We all have countless messes about what's happening in front of us. And now you are throwing in the idea that this whole clusterfuck is started because of some alternate dimension crap?! lIf that's what happened, I'd have rather stayed on my Earth. At least things made sense!"

"It doesn't matter if there are other Raphtalia, or Malty running around. We should focus on what's happening in front of us." Motoyasu stands up front his seat (without putting his boots back on, Naofumi likes to point out. At least he's wearing socks so he's not standing around in his bare feet.), and holds his arms out. He is actually acting somewhat of his age at this moment. "The Burning Legion is trying to destroy the world we are in, and kill or enslave everyone we know. Forget what happened, or is happening in other worlds. What they are doing to our world is wrong and we have to stop them!"

Or die trying. That's what Naofumi is thinking of in his own mind. Because he already witnessed what the slaves of the Burning Legion could have done from the Wave battle they just came back from. It took the strongest veteran heroes working together to fight Kumoko to a stand still. Which actually feels about right, considering how powerful she's supposed to be from her own novel. And he nearly died if it wasn't for the medicine given to him by the Whip Hero. He looks over at Ren. With the way his lips move, Naofumi immediately knows their youngest hero thought of the same and was ready to say it out loud. "Ren, just don't. We all had a long day with the ride through the storm, that crazy woman's assassination attempt, and the Wave battle. Let's just go back to our rooms and rest."

Ren's eyes turn to look at Naofumi. His eyes narrow, brows cocking slightly downwards. The Sword Hero clearly didn't like the way Naofumi silenced him, but he didn't fight Naofumi over, or continue to say what he thought of out loud. With a curt nod, he stands up from the chair. "Naofumi's right. We are all tired, and we have another long day ahead of the whole Hero Conference nonsense. We should rest, and make sure we'll be at our A game tomorrow."

"Yes. Now there's no war going on outside my window, I could finally have a good sleep and forget how I got electrocuted by an insane woman. Something has to be done about her." Itsuki didn't try to keep them around for longer. With a few snarky remarks, he Waves them out of his room. At least Motoyasu remembered his stripped-off boots, and he grabbed them before exiting out of Itsuki's room.

Ren didn't say anything more as he turned around and entered into his own suite. He apparently wasn't being courteous, or considerate to Itsuki when he said everyone should rest. Naofumi turns around and looks at Motoyasu. The Spear Hero is currently hopping around on one foot, trying to put his armored boots back on. As the Shield Hero is still mulling over what to say, Motoyasu has already put his foot armor back on, walked over to Naofumi and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder. "Okay, let's go."

"I haven't said anything... yet?" Naofumi blinks his eyes a couple of times as he stares blankly back at Motoyasu. Yes, he did want to talk with Motoyasu, or rather, anyone who he doesn't have to hide anything with. But he wasn't sure if his fellow hero is up to more chatting after everything they already went through on this day. Surely, Motoyasu is feeling as tired as he is.

"I thought you looked like you wanted to talk, maybe even take a walk together. Because, you know? If you didn't, you'd have gone to your own room like Ren just did." Motoyasu backs away and puts his hands up above his head. "Or did I read you wrong, and you really did want to go to sleep? Because that's cool too."

"No... I did want to talk with someone. Clearing up my head a little. It feels like more things happened today then what I went through while I was running away from the Three Heroes' Church with Malty. I mean... I guess I want to talk about some of that too." Naofumi knows that he is sounding like a rambling idiot. He wonders if he got somehow infected by whatever caused his self-proclaimed 'biggest fan' to make all those stupid decisions. Motoyasu didn't seem to mind, as he simply held his arm towards the stair like he's waiting for Naofumi to take the first step. So that's what the Shield Hero did. He tries to use the silence between the two of them to think over everything. Maybe organize his thoughts a bit so he doesn't sound like Motoyasu spinning a story around and getting everyone confused. But he doesn't know where to begin. All these thoughts on how there's apparently an isekai novel in another world about him, like he is a made up character no different from some of the previous heroes that have been summoned. Or the possibilities of other alternate versions of the world he got summoned into. Before he manages to comb through his mind, Motoyasu suddenly pushes him against a wall. "Hey, what gives-"

The Spear Hero didn't immediately reply back. He puts his index finger up in front of his mouth in a 'hush' gesture, and then peeked his head out around the corner. Naofumi follows Motoyasu's example, and sees two figures standing in the hallway. It's that spear wielding knight with black hair, and the blonde female knight who helped reinforce them during the Wave battle. Right now, the young man is talking to the woman with a very stern looking face. "Nanna, I think we should renew our vows while we are here at Cal Mira island. We aren't getting any younger, and we are fighting a Wave of Catastrophe battle right now. I heard from those who fought at the front, they fought another invading god just like the last Wave. If we wait till we fulfill our vows... we might die before we get married."

"Yes... I should know better than to expect that my Mother is still alive. We have been searching for her since the end of the war. And if we can't find her by now..." Nanna's eyes cast down, she sounds very dejected. But before she had a chance to say anything, the young man in front of her grabbed her hand.

"Lady Lachesis must still be alive somewhere in the world, never give up hope, Nanna!" The black haired young knight looks into her eyes with a determined expression. Naofumi wasn't sure if he truly believed what he's saying, but he's certainly trying to convince his own... girlfriend? Sweetheart? He cast a quick look at Motoyasu, these two were part of his retinue, he probably knows them a bit more. Probably. While the Shield Hero is lost in his thoughts, the black haired knight continues. "We both survived, and we were children. She was already an accomplished master knight. Let us renew our vows here, and hold our official ceremony once we return Leonister in front of my brother. And when we find Lady Lachesis... we can proudly tell her that we are happily married."

"Yes... I think my Mother would have liked that." A smile slowly began to appear on Nanna's face. The two of them turned around, walking around towards Naofumi and Motoyasu. The Spear Hero drags Naofumi back up the stairs, till they hear the footsteps grow closer to them, and then turn around growing fainter as they take the stairs down.

"What was that?" Naofumi turns around to look at Motoyasu. His spear wielding friend simply shrugs back. For a little while, he's slightly concerned that Motoyasu is going to go on another long, unintelligent ramble once again trying to explain things.

"Marquis Leif is Katarina's distant cousin. He joined my retinue because of her." Thankfully, Motoyasu's reply was short and to the point this time. "We better ask Katarina if we want to know more. But did you really want to interrupt the two of them at that moment?"

"Alright..." Naofumi wasn't sure he understood all of this. He doesn't exactly have a lot of personal experience with all this lovey and cuddly stuffy with how awkward he was around other people. And while Motoyasu is surrounded by young women all the time, Naofumi isn't sure he truly understands all of that stuff either. Aside from that one time he publicly proposed to Iris, he honestly acts more like he's just having a fun and friendly time around them. By the time he recovered his thoughts from all of this confusing boy and girl stuff, he realized that they are under the stars rather than the ceiling of Menagerie Hotel.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Motoyasu turns around and rests his hands behind the back of his head once again. "I'm not smart like Iris, or Ren. So don't expect me to give you some smart answers. But at least I can listen and pretend I understand what you are talking about. I heard it from Aunt Naru, that's a good thing."

Well... at least Motoyasu is being honest. And truly, Naofumi didn't expect anyone to give him an answer to his question either. He's not sure he trusts anyone's answer anyway, considering how much burden is rested on them. All four of them have messed up big time before this point, Itsuki with both Stormwind and his answer to that crazy Emon guy, Ren almost caused the desolation of Smaug with Gaelion, Motoyasu was the one who suggested using that seed around Balafon which give birth to that young outer god, and himself didn't realize how much a threat the Three Heroes' Church truly was and his companions paid the price. But maybe he was right, sometimes having a friendly ear willing to listen to one's complaint will make one feel better. "I'm afraid, Motoyasu. For a long time, Malty thought I was a professional hero trained in some hero school before I was summoned. I was obviously not, and I'm just a regular guy like anyone of you. Heck, Itsuki might have been the most well-prepared out of us on how his world actually had super heroes. Now that I told her the truth... and she didn't show any disappointment in me being just a regular guy, I don't feel any better."

Motoyasu didn't say anything back to Naofumi. He simply walks alongside the deserted street that's still filled with the broken bodies of Wave monsters and stained by their blood. So Naofumi continues. "I don't know if Kumoko was exactly the same as the one we read from her novel before she's taken and corrupted by the Burning Legion. If that Sato guy didn't lie to us, she might be like us... like me. Different from how she was written in a novel. But Gaelion did call her an Earthbound deity like his father, and like Fitoria. If a minor god can't stop this Burning Legion, could someone like me do it?"

"Well... I can't say for sure. You already know I'm not smart, but even I can tell Kumoko was clearly stronger than we put together." Motoyasu shrugs his shoulders. But his nonchalant look breaks apart from something that's more heavy looking as he points towards a direction with his finger. Naofumi turns his gaze to look, and sees what appeared to be an onsen house that had its walls torn apart, the building itself about to fall into the ground. Not the one they went to, but looking similar enough even with it came to ruin. "There... I saw a really nice-looking grandmother and her young grandson got torn apart by the Wave monsters before I could get to them. And you were the one telling me we can't save everyone even if we were heroes."

The Shield Hero realizes that he's learning what gave Motoyasu his near breakdown while they were separated from Malty and Ren, trying to hold back the second group of Wave monsters from overrun the resort district. "I'm not smart, so don't expect me to give you a good answer that'll cheer you up. But you did tell me to keep going when I was sad because I couldn't save everyone in front of me. If we try our best, we might not be able to help everyone. But if we don't do anything, we won't help anyone. That's what you wanted to tell me, wasn't it? I think that's what I'll do for this world. I know the Burning Legion are bad guys if they are killing innocent people. And I'll fight them with everything I have even if I get beaten by them."

Motoyasu's response isn't very sophisticated like he admitted. But there is a certain sense of wisdom to his simple logic. There's no use worrying, or fear for the possibility of losing to the Burning Legion. They are already summoned into this world under invasion from some world- ending demonic legion, while most of its social elites (who also happen to be some of their strongest fighters) were too busy playing political games for influence and power than banding together to stop this world-ending crisis. There's no point on worrying about the possibility of losing when the situation is nearly fucked up beyond repair. They just have to... do their best, and help everyone they can along the way. "Thanks, Motoyasu. That was... surprisingly insightful.

The Spear Hero didn't say anything more. Motoyasu gives Naofumi another light tap on the shoulder, and the two of them turn a circle around the street to return to the Menagerie Hotel from a different street. This time, they picked a far route that's closer to the beach. There is a sense of quiet beauty to the island under the moon and stars even with the destruction, the dead bodies, the stink of fire and blood. The port where countless ships sank into the bay has less corpses piled all over. The guards of Cal Mira Island clearly give up on defending it due to their lack of numbers. And right now, there's a small bundle of fire near the port. At first, Naofumi thought it's more of the leftover fire caused by the fierce fighting. But then he takes a closer look, and realizes it's a small bonfire made by two people both have their backs towards the Shield Hero. One of them was the blue haired knight who came to their rescue at the resort, the other being the priestess who was taking care of Itsuki.

Naofumi carefully begins to walk closer to them, curious on what they are doing. Turns out, the blue haired knight is roasting some fishes over the fire he made. The Shield Hero could smell the burnt scent of them being overcooked, but the young knight doesn't seem to realize it as he continues to spread powders of salt (at least Naofumi assume them to be salt), and then coat what seems to be some kind of sauce onto the fish with a brush. The priestess puts a hand on the knight's shoulder. "Seliph, maybe I should be cooking them? That's not something you should be doing."

"Nonsense, Muirne. You've been busy taking care of all the wounded fighters, and Lord Bow Hero. Taking care of you is the least I could do." The blue haired knight Seliph picks up one roasted fish by its wooden branch and hands it over to Muirne. Naofumi doesn't know how good those roasted fish taste. They can't be that good considering how he could clearly see they were half burnt. Seliph clearly wasn't used to cooking, but neither himself nor Muirne complained about it as they slowly had their night snack.

Naofumi feels a tag on his arm, and knows that Motoyasu is trying to pull him away. The Shield Hero didn't protest, or fight against his friend. He didn't want to interrupt the quiet moment the knight and the priestess had with each other. He turns around, and almost regrets his decision as Motoyasu gives him an almost conspiratory look that clearly ruined whatever simple wisdom he had a few moments before. "Doesn't looking at them make you think of something?"

"What are you talking about?" Naofumi slaps Motoyasu's hand away with some annoyance.

Motoyasu covers his face, looking like he's genuinely hurt due to Naofumi not coming to some silly conclusion he himself clearly came to. "Hello? Didn't you notice what both Leif, and Seliph did before you? They were trying to do something nice, and special for their girls. This is a good time for you to show how much you care about Malty too! And I have just the idea."

Naofumi feels like he's going to regret listening to Motoyasu for whatever mischief his fellow hero comes up with. But he does want to do something nice and special for Malty, and he's all out of ideas. He just hopes it won't backfire spectacularly.

Chapter Text

The bathroom of the Menagerie Hotel isn't as large as the one from the palace. Which is to say, it's not the same size as a small house itself. And it doesn't have a squad of servants ready to attend to Malty's every need. But it had everything it needed to have a relaxing and warm soak. It feels like heaven after her adventure with the Shield Hero, especially after an intense battle with a corrupted outer goddess.

"It's nice to know the Shield Hero is trying his best to take care of you. I'm sure he could have done more... but at least he's trying." Cousin Emily brushes at Malty's hair. Her movement stops for a brief moment, and the princess turned slave knows that her Faubley cousin is staring at her burnt scar. She lets out a brief fake cough, which seems to shake Emily out of her thoughts as her hands continue her movement. "But the Three Heroes' Church, and that Chief God damned Fuckboy! Forget about sending Corvo to them. I'll send them personally to the deepest hell of Baator myself!"

"Please don't, cousin. I know you care about me, but impulsive and sentimental decisions were what led to my father's fall from grace. You need to control yourself." This time, Malty turns around to look at Emily in her eyes and grabs her by the wrist. "All those responsible in the Three Heroes' Church, and especially Fuckboy himself got what they deserved from my mother. You inflicting further punishment on them by your own hand would only cause a political incident that'll put everyone in a worse spot."

"What about that worm Cromwell? From what I heard, he gets to enjoy all the perks of being the personal lackey of the High Queen of Glorious Melromarc." Cousin Emily almost spits the word out of her mouth. Having his name mentioned does make Malty feel the heat of anger rising inside of her. Especially after she learnt that this fucker was the one behind the church's rebellion, not Pope Balmus. He might not have enjoyed an official rise in ranks like Logarius, but he still controlled enough power to rival, if not top the recently ascended Arch Vicar thanks to him selling out his dubious loyalty to Mother. But she understands why Mother would want a dog like Cromwell. As someone who plays the role of a fair and good queen, she can't be seen as someone who does morally dubious or politically questionable acts. These abhorrent, yet necessary actions can be delegated to an already notorious figure like Cromwell.

So long as mother can still keep overall control of the increasingly tumultuous situation, of course. As soon as he thinks he has the upper hand, scum like Cromwell will be the first to betray Mother and stab her in the back. That's already proven after Pope Balmus was put into a healing coma by Lautrec's goddess. Malty could only hope that her mother is paranoid enough to get rid of Cromwell before that inevitable point comes. Because with Mother losing so much of her previous prestige, to the point even Archduke Wales (who is usually a loyalist to the crown) openly defies, and challenges her rule. A political storm, if not a flat out civil war, is right around the horizon.

Chapter 18: The Gathering of Heroes

"Okay. I'll control myself and not make your life anymore miserable, Cousin Mal." Thankfully, Cousin Emily managed to come to her senses after taking a few deep breaths. That's at least one major headache Malty doesn't have to worry about. But her relief is short-lived when Cousin Emily screams at the door. "Corvo! I need you to stay beside Cousin Malty and make sure she doesn't get hurt by any more of these bottom feeding balloons!"

"My first priority is to keep you safe, Lady Emily." Corvo's voice comes from outside the bathroom, yet he almost sounds like he is standing next to the two of them. As a man, he chooses to attend and protect them outside the door while Malty and Emily are having their baths together. And it seems like he's a dutiful man who knows what's best for his charge, rather than blindly follow their directions.

"What about agents of The Unspeakables? You have friends in them, don't you?" Emily's suggestion almost makes Malty jump on her feet. They already had an assassination attempt by the Faubley Unspeakables while they were trying to cross Griffin's Spine to escape the clutches of the Three Heroes' Church. And what's more, they still didn't know who gave the order for that treacherous Zeke to kill the Shield Hero. Getting 'protection' from them is the equivalent of asking dragons, or griffins to look after filorial eggs, not to mention the other problem.

"Cousin Emily, I know you are trying to help. But please don't suggest something like this ever again." Malty quickly turns around and grabs Emily by her shoulder. Still not satisfied, she even shakes her cousin to make sure Emily truly listens to what she says. "Think about how my mother would think if I had Faubley Unspeakables trailing behind me, 'protecting' my safety. She might execute me on the charge of treason."

Malty isn't kidding about severe punishment from her mother. On the surface, Melromarc and Faubley are allies on account of them being two of the largest human dominant nations in the world. And they have Siltvelt as a common enemy. But the reason for their cooperation is also the same reason for their conflict: whenever an ambitious ruler comes into power in either Melromarc (and the Kingdom of Gallia before the Melromarc Dynasty) or Faubley, said ruler would want to overpower their biggest 'ally' to become the unchallenged leader of human nations. That's no doubt one of the main reasons why King Egbert sold mother out and let her face the wrath of Siltvelt alone for almost five years during The Great War. Openly inviting the secret agents of Faubley to act as her escort would give Mother the exact excuse she needed to get rid of Malty permanently.

"You are right. I'm sorry, Cousin Mal. I got too anxious and forgot who we are dealing with here." Duchess Emily shakes her head, and she turns around to pick up a bathing robe off the hanger and throws it over Malty's shoulders. "What was I thinking!? Aunt Mirellia really would have you killed after what she did to you and Uncle Aultcray. I know she's cold-hearted after she betrothed you to Uncle Egbert... but I lost any respect I left for her after she had you and Uncle Aultcray take her fall for her after that mess with the Three Heroes' Church."

"I'm sure Mother doesn't take pleasure in what she does to my Father and I. Or to Melty." Malty isn't nearly as confident in the belief of her mother as her words to her cousin. Sure, Mother says she felt bad about her actions during her little private confession with Malty. But that's little comfort to her when mother chooses to sell out her father and herself for the dubious reason of 'the good of the nation and the people'. A so-called admission of guilt is nothing more than an arrogant brag if the confessor isn't willing to change their errors.

"I hear you... cousin." Emily didn't say anymore as she rested her arm across Malty's shoulder as she guided the princess turned slave out of her bathroom and into her bedroom. Malty privately wonders who had it worse between herself and Cousin Emily. Having a mother in power, who is willing to sell you out for the 'greater good' of the nation, or losing a mother in a war that supposedly loved you. Corvo stayed out of sight as the pair of cousins quietly sat on the queen-sized bed in Malty's hotel room. After a while, her cousin finally breaks the silence between them. "Hey. At least I'll be a friendly face at tomorrow's Hero Conference. I'll make sure Queen Mirellia, or King Egbert doesn't act too rowdy with you."

"Thank you, cousin." Malty gives her cousin a genuine smile. It's good to know that she has a family she could count on even in the nation of Faubley. Before she has a chance to turn in for the night, or even saying anything to Emily, she begins to hear somewhat faint music somewhere outside her room. The music nodes sound exotic, and different from instruments from Medea. As if they come from another world... the world of the heroes, perhaps? Both Malty and Emily stand up once again as they walk out of the door and onto the balcony to look down.

Underneath them on the courtyard of Menagerie Hotel, both the Shield Hero and the Spear Hero are standing under moonlight. Motoyasu is holding the shaft of his [Smartphone Spear] where the melody comes from. Noticing Malty, he first gives Malty a wave, and then he turns to point his finger furiously at Naofumi, finally ending with turning his free hand into a thumb up of encouragement to the Shield Hero. That's when the Shield Hero opens his mouth and begins to sing, and Malty knows he's singing to her.

Daryl Hall and John Oates -  Kiss On My List

My friends wonder why I call you all the time, what can I say?

I don't feel the need to give such secrets away

You think maybe I need help, though I know I'm right, alright

I'm just better off not listening to friends' advice

When they insist on knowing my bliss

I tell them this

When they wanna know what the reason is

I only smile when I lie, then I tell them why

Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss is on my list of the best things in life

Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss, your kiss I can't resist

Because your kiss is what I miss when I turn out the light

I go crazy wonderin' what there is to really see

Did the night just take up your time 'cause it means more to me

Sometimes I forget what I'm doing, I don't forget what I want, what I want

Regret what I've done, regret you? I couldn't go on

But if you insist on knowing my bliss

I'll tell you this

If you want to know what the reason is

I only smile when I lie, then I'll tell you why

Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss is on my list of the best things in life

Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss, your kiss I can't resist

Because your kiss is what I miss when I turn out the light

I really miss you, babe

Ahh

Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss is on my list of the best things in life

Oh, babe, because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss, your kiss I can't resist

Because your kiss is what I miss when I turn out the light

Because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss, your kiss I can't resist

Because your kiss is on my list of the best things in life

Oh-ooh, because your kiss, your kiss is on my list

Because your kiss, your kiss I can't resist

With the way that the Shield Hero sometimes awkwardly goes off notes, Malty would haste a guess that he's not used to singing, in public or in private. And it made the fact that he's publically serenading her right in front of Cal Mira Island's largest hotel more sweet. Still! It's embarrassing, especially with Cousin Emily standing besides her. Her cousin seems to realize Malty's shame, as Emily covers her lower face with one hand, while gently patting Malty's shoulder with her friend's hand. "Well, Cousin Mal. At least Lord Shield Hero does love you."

The rest of the night passed without much fanfare. By the time Malty woke up on her own bed, Duchess Emily had already left. Knowing the rulers, and most influential overlords would attend the Hero Conference, Malty knows that she's going into a conflict that's as severe as the wave fight against an invading outer goddess. She has a quick wash to refresh herself, and throws a new set of clothes on before leaving her room.

Outside, Naofumi and Raphtalia are already waiting for her. The other three heroes and their own supporters stand a little distance away from Naofumi. Yatsuhashi, and Prince Kael'thas are standing with them to give space for the three of them to talk. It seems like Naofumi's sworn shield and the Phoenix Prince are both confident that assassins won't be allowed into the Menagerie Hotel. At least not when a previous assassination attempt already happened one night ago. Remembering Naofumi's impulsive temper, Malty quickly grabs his hand and advises him with a hushed whisper. "The Hero Conference will not be easy, nor will it be held in good faith, Master Naofumi. The world of Medea has gone through enough Waves of Catastrophe for those standing at the top of the ladder to see such a disaster as a predestined nuisance. Their priority will be on how to maximize the gain of their prestige, and power. And the four Cardinal Heroes such as you and your friends will be the spoil they fight over. Don't let their callousness get to you. Do your best to ignore their taunts, remain level headed, and don't leave any weaknesses for them to exploit. If you want to say anything, tell me first. I will speak for you."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself, but I'll do my best." Naofumi stays silent as he sucks in a few deep breaths. He finally replies when Raphtalia turns her head around to look at him. Not exactly the answer Malty hoped for, but she doesn't expect someone like Naofumi to simply stay silent and take in these social elites' belligerent action like he is some stone sculpture of a god. She takes a step forward, gives Naofumi another pat on his shoulder. Knowing there's nothing else to say, they join the rest of their group as they leave the hallway together and into the staircases.

In front of them stand two women, one tall and one slightly short. The tall woman happens to be the blue haired, muscle bound security guard who took away Sadina after her assassination attempt on the Shield Hero. Raphtalia's gaze freezes on her for a brief second before she quickly ducks behind Naofumi. The shorter one looks slightly younger, around the same age Raphtalia's older body shows, more of a teenage girl than an adult woman. She has the same dark hair, and feline ear as the manager, and uncrowned lord of Cal Mira. A daughter, or one of his clan's girls? Malty's unvoiced question is quickly answered by the girl herself. "Revered heroes. My father Ghira Belladonna, Manager of the Menagerie Hotel, has dispatched me to guide all of you to the Four Corners' Room where the Hero Conference is being held."

Malty gives a quick look back to the rest of her group. She half expected Iris to step forward and answer Lady Belladonna back. Among their group, Prince Kael'thas hold the highest rank being a prince of a prominent noble family of the Vermilion Sparrow Great Clan. But he also represents Siltvelt when the four Cardinal Heroes were all summoned by Melromarc, and he is officially a slave of the Shield Hero. Iris, being the heiress of House Ameli,a would have been the next highest ranking member among them. But she seems content to remain silent with the Motoyasu, and his two fellow weapon wielding heroes standing quietly and contently behind the Shield Hero. Malty quickly turns her head forward again and speaks for Naofumi like she promised. "Master Shield Hero and his fellow Cardinal Heroes all thank you and your Father for your hospitality, Lady Belladonna. Please, lead on."

The 'princess' of Cal Mira bows her head down to them courteously with her escort. They then turn around, and begin to lead the heroes' group down stairs. After they reach the ground floor, Lady Belladonna turns around a corner which has a pair of guards standing in front of. They step aside, allowing Malty and everyone else into this guarded wing of Menagerie Hotel. The princess turned slave sees movement from the corner of her eyes, and notices Kael'thas stepping up right besides Naofumi, and he's whispering to him like she did earlier. "This wing is where Prince Cleose, Prince Mohammed and myself was led into when we activated the magic protection of Cal Mira Island, my king."

The Shield Hero didn't say anything back to the Phoenix Prince, and Kael'thas doesn't look disappointed at his lack of response. Not too long after, Lady Belladonna arrives in front of a thick metal door. Its dark, almost rustic look makes Malty realize that they are standing in front of a pair of solid titanite that would be heavy enough to smash all of them into a sheet of parchment with its weight alone. Lady Belladonna takes out a gem encrusted key and inserts it into the door, not too long after it opens up on its own. The way the gems on the key glows makes Malty realize it's some kind of magic empowered gadget that's powering this pair of barriers into whatever forbidden territory further ahead.

Inside the door is a single dark room, with a staircase leading further down into the underground. The room itself isn't made entirely out of titanite like the doors, but it's still made of thick stone, and Malty is ready to bet whatever wealth she has left that the room is also somehow magically enchanted to make it nearly impossible to breach into. The security of this entrance into this 'Four Corners' Room' reminded her of the rumor of the famed magical vault of Faubley's Hero Academy. She stops her mind from wandering when someone pushes her from behind, and Malty quickly realizes that Lady Belladonna and her Amazon escorts have already begun to descend further down the stairs.

The heroes' group follows their guide into the underground level. All around them, magically powered torches cast their blue light on large slabs of enchanted stones. It reminded Malty of House Seaetto's underground catacomb. It made her wonder what happened to that damn orb Naofumi gave to Jaune at the end of their expedition. Does mother have it after she gutted most of the Three Heroes' Church for herself? Or did Cromwell manage to hide it away from her? The princess turned slave isn't eager to ask her mother for its whereabouts. Between the Three Heroes' Church and her mother, she's not eager to help either faction. Plus that orb is likely some cursed object considering what happened to Eclair's father... and it made her lose her mind enough to kill Uncle Aldrecht by accident.

They enter the large conference room while Malty is still wasting time thinking over pointless trivia. The former princess quickly put a stop to her own wandering mind as she looked around the room. Melromarc, Faubley, Siltvelt and Shiltfreeden's representatives have all been gathered, there's even a fifth group that's wearing different Zeltoble free city emblems. In short, it's clear that there's not enough heroes to be evenly distributed among the waiting nations. As Lady Belladonna leads the heroes to sit at one corner of the tables, Malty begins to quietly observe the attendants. Needless to say, mother and Melty are sitting together representing Glorious Melromarc, with mother's loyal knights... and Cromwell standing behind them.

The four heroes sit down on the seats prepared for them. Lady Belladonna quietly leaves the room alongside her amazonian escort behind the heroes. Prince Kael'thas didn't join the rest of the Siltvelt representatives. He takes one step forward, and stands behind Naofumi on his left side, making his allegiance clear to his fellow Siltvelt lords. Malty quickly takes up his right side. She bows her head slightly lower, so she can talk with Naofumi with a quieter voice. "You already know my mother, and my younger sister Princess Melty, Master Naofumi. I shall introduce the rest of these leaders to you."

Naofumi didn't say anything back to her. He might have taken Malty's whole 'don't speak and let me speak for you' advice a step too far. But he did give her a nod to let her continue. Malty looks up, and immediately sees her cousin Emily, the Duchess of Dunwall giving her a faint nod from the Faubley delegation. In this kind of public area, Emily didn't dare to throw away decorum and act too close with Malty. But the Duchess wasn't joking when she said that she would be one of the friendly faces Malty would see at the Hero Conference. "Master Naofumi. Sitting across from us is the delegation of Noble Faubley. His majesty, King Egbert. His regent Lord Dumbledore, and his adopted son Prince Tact. The woman beside them is the Duchess of Dunwall, Emily Kaldwin Faubley, daughter of King Egbert's adopted sister, the late Jasmine Faubley of Dunwall, and second in line to the Faubley throne."

The Shield Hero nods his head alone without any expression on his face, not showing much to Malty but thankfully not giving any of his potential enemies to use against him either. But after a brief moment, he turns to look at her. "Adopted sister, you say? Wasn't your father his adopted brother before he married your mother? Are they..."

"Yes. She was my father's sister by blood. They were distant relatives of the Faubley royal family. The old Faubley King before King Egbert adopted them both after the passing of their parents. If Father did not come to Melromarc, he would have been the Duke of Tristan." Malty tries to keep her face as neutral as possible while she explains her father's relationship with his Faubley siblings. "King Egbert hated my father from the start, but he was at least cordial towards my aunt Jasmine till she was taken by Paris, the head of White Tiger Great Clan, at a peace conference during The Great War."

While she is explaining the sordid past of her distant Faubley family to Naofumi, Malty is also peering at Kael'thas' reaction from the corner of her eyes. She notices how the Phoenix Prince's corner of eyes and lips both begin to twitch at the mention of Paris. The former first princess of Melromarc knows that Vermillion Sparrow Great Clan's biggest enemy is the Azure Dragon, but they also have some conflict with the other two holy beast great clans as well. And it appears the Phoenix Prince doesn't think too highly of the white tiger whose action single handedly caused the eventual downfall of the Siltvelt Empire. When she has more time, she really needs to figure out what's the main reason for Kael'thas' distaste towards the late Lord Paris. It would help her understand more of the character, and principle of the Phoenix Prince.

"Why hasn't Lung arrived yet? She's making everyone wait for her." An inpatient sounding voice comes from Siltvelt's delegation. The white tiger hero of Star Gauntlet is impatiently clicking his finger on the stone table. He doesn't come off as an impatient type to Malty during the fight in the Fourth Wave. But perhaps his distaste comes more from Lung not taking this conference seriously. He turns around and looks at the dark haired and skinned fox standing behind him. "Go find out what's keeping Lung from showing up, Ink."

"Lord Dionysius the Gauntlet Hero is the younger brother of the late head of White Tiger Great Clan, my king." As Dio's female attendant leaves the room, Kael'thas uses the chance to introduce his own nation to Naofumi. Malty could have interrupted him and give her own interpretation, but she would rather wait till the representatives of Siltvelt making their own mistake. Right now, the only thing stopping her from being given to her uncle is Naofumi's trust. She can't afford to act out and make herself look bad in front of the Shield Hero.

"Not the current head of this White Tiger Great Clan?" Once again, Naofumi pauses for a few moments before looking up at Kael'thas. Malty nods her head along the Shield Hero's words. Once again, he shows a good affinity to learn information even in fields he's not experienced in, such as politics. Naofumi's question beckons Kael'thas to give a more detailed explanation on the internal politics of one of the most powerful great clans.

"The current head belongs to Lord Paris' son, Lord Tenzen. Lord Paris and Lord Dionysius's mother Lady Hushie is acting as their regent right now." Kael'thas' reply is short, yet interesting to Malty. As a hero, Dio should have been the one to inherit Paris' position as the clan head, not his son Tenzen. For this to happen, it implies either Dio willingly stepped down, or he's forced to step aside from his nephew for some reason. The White Tiger Great Clan having a regent when both Dio and Tenzen have come of age is even more interesting... It seems like this Lady Hushie is acting similarly to Malty's own mother. Something she could further discuss with Naofumi in private away from Kael'thas... depends on what happens at this current conference.

Kael'thas seems to be unaware of the Malty's thought as he continues to explain the power structure of Siltvelt. "...The Four Saints' Beasts Great Clans form the upper council, while the rest of the fifty-two great clans, fifty-three if we count the remnant of Kyutenrou, form a lower council. Aside from the seat of our king itself, Siltvelt is divided into eight regions, each one being commanded by a 'Pillar of the Nation' grand general. Besides the pillars, there are the twelve Diva Generals who oversees the military fair of Venerated Siltvelt."

"Are you one of them?" Naofumi slightly raises his eyebrow as he stares at Kael'thas. Once again, the Shield Hero instantly captured the most important part of Kael'thas' explanation. Knowing Kael'thas' current position in terms of overall power structure within Siltvelt would give the Shield Hero both a better grasp of his supposed vassals, and also an estimation of Kael'thas' personal ambition. Or maybe Malty is simply projecting her own thoughts onto Naofumi, and he's merely curious.

"I am still too young to be thinking of the position of a Diva General, or one of the eight Pillars, my king. I am merely fortunate enough to be the Lord of my own hall within the Vermilion Sparrow Clan." Kael'thas' words are humble, yet Malty can hear his underlined pride. Of the Four Saint Beast families, the White Tiger is the only one that has a life span similar to a normal human due to their focus on power. The Azure Dragon, Vermilion Sparrow and Ebony Turtle all have much greater longevity to their lives, and in particular both Azure Dragon and Vermilion Sparrow have much longer time when they stay in their prime, Lung was a good example of someone who looks only barely over twenty years old, yet is actually over sixty (to be fair, Lung is young for an Azure Dragon, who can easily live to one thousand years old). So Kael'thas' youthful look isn't a great indication of his actual age. Yet still, there's no doubt other phoenix beastman who are much older than him, yet he was the one that was picked as the prince of their hall.

"That's enough about yourself. Focus on the others from Siltvelt." Naofumi raises his hand up, seemingly realizing Kael'thas' attempt at an underhanded brag of his own achievement. "I know who Dio is. What about the lion besides him?"

Kael'thas narrows his eyes, Malty could see the scoff he's swallowing back down before opening his mouth for the introduction. "Jardis Priderock. Pillar of the West, Prideland. Head of the Priderock Great Clan. Although he acts as the steward of Siltvelt throne most of the time, and leaves ruling Prideland to the 12th Diva General, Grommash Hellscream."

"Not a fan of his works?"

Kael'thas turns his face and stares at Malty for a brief second before he continues. "His ascension to both the Head of Priderock Great Clan, and the Pillar of West were questionable. Near the end of the Great War, he challenged the previous clan head, Mufasa to a 'Right of Taking' duel to the death for both titles and slew Mufasa in single combat. But it's well known that Mufasa was already badly wounded fighting the Faubley army at the time. So there are some questions on if his ascension was legitimate or not. But Mufasa's younger brother, Lord Taka didn't challenge him back for the position of his late elder brother. So most people let him be. And he did a fine enough job acting as the steward of the throne to not get thrown out."

It's clear that Kael'thas doesn't like this Jardis Priderock. His criticism towards the lion lord is scathing, while his explanation on how the crafty lion managed to hold onto his titles fall under the 'backhanded compliment' territory. Once again, Malty wonders if Kael'thas' distaste towards this steward of the throne is due to more private grudge.

The Shield Hero doesn't notice, or perhaps isn't interested in the polite spat Malty exchanged with Kael'thas. He nudges his chin towards the last two groups who neither Malty, nor Kael'thas introduced to him yet. "Alright, what about the other two groups? I'm guessing one of them is Shiltfreeden? Why did their secret agents work under Tact, the hero, and Prince of Faubley?"

"The Shiltfreeden delegation is the one where they have the winged shield emblem, Master Naofumi." Malty stops trading barbs, or thinking about Kael'thas as she nudges her own chin at the group she's talking about. Their group is much smaller compared to the other delegations with a middle aged woman with a long horse-like face sitting at the middle, flanked by an old man with graying hair and beard, and a middle aged man. A single young adult woman in military uniform stands behind them as their escort. Even Zeltoble, which is more of a mutual defense pact of the many free cities than a proper nation, has more people among their group. Or perhaps that's why Zeltoble had more representatives. At least each of the three major free cities (Zeltoble, Restov and Dalaran) all wanted their own representations. "I don't know the Shiltfreeden representatives as much as some of the others. But if I hazard a guess, the one sitting in the middle is their president Katherine Kennedy-"

"President? Not a queen?" Naofumi turns his entire face towards Malty, interrupting her explanation this way. "I thought this world is entirely built on aristocracy and monarchy? Does this mean Shiltfreeden vote for, and elect their own leader periodically?"

"Yes, Master Naofumi. It's a custom passed down from the progenitor that created the nation we know as Shiltfreeden. When a group of oppressed demi-human made their exodus away from Venerated Siltvelt to find a new home for themselves. I'm sure Prince Kael'thas could explain the history in better detail to you after the Hero Conference. If you are interested." The Phoenix Prince in question throws a dirty look at Malty from the corner of his eyes. Needless to say, he isn't happy to explain what's considered one of the biggest scandals of his nation. "The short version is that the leader of their group refused to become the king of the new nation they built. Because he believed people who seeked freedom should be free to choose their own leaders. Supposedly how things were done before the time of heroes. And this custom eventually developed much later after his passing, to the point that the people of Shiltfreeden hold a vote every few years to elect their leader, as you say."

"A backwards way for uncivilized savages to govern themselves. That's why Shiltfreeden spent most of the ages being a glorified vassal to truly strong nations such as venerated Siltvelt... or Faubley and Melromarc." Kael'thas mutters under his breath. Malty has a feeling that the Phoenix Prince is complaining more to himself than trying to relay this information to Naofumi. Still, the Shield Hero gives a blank stare to Prince Kael'thas, but he didn't say anything to chastise the Phoenix Prince as per usual. It's a good thing that he's taken Malty's warning to heart.

"I don't know the two military men sitting besides President Katherine. But judging from their uniform and how they were able to attend this meeting, my guess would be they are the supreme commander of Siltvelt's navy, and ground force respectively: Admiral Hackett, and General Anderson." Seeing that the Shield Hero has returned to his silence, Malty begins to introduce the two members sitting by Shiltfreeden's president. She casts a look at the redhead, and the somewhat young warrior looks back at her, seemingly noticing that she's been watched.

The other redhead has a pair of goat horns on her head, and she wears a suit of dark colored, form fitting armor instead of the uniform like her superiors. She gives Malty a smile from the corner of her mouth. The former princess wouldn't call it an entirely rude, or aggressive gesture. But the way how this Shiltfreeden warrior immediately noticed Malty's gaze makes her think it's meant as a warning more than a friendly acknowledgement. Regardless, she didn't pay it much mind. Not like the woman can do much to the personal attendant of the Shield Hero. "I have no idea who the one standing behind them is."

"I know her well. Lieutenant Commander Briar Shepard, the Lion of Elysium. She became well known enough after she thwarted a slave raid to the port city of Elysium by rallying its citizens and militia to fight alongside her." Once again, Malty could hear Kael'thas' attempt at hiding his snort before his voice came out. It's clear that the Phoenix Prince once again, doesn't think as highly of this Commander Shepard as her reputation precedes her. And suddenly, Malty realized something. If Kael'thas doesn't consider this Shiltfreeden warrior officer worthy, why does he know her? Unless, the culprit behind the slave raid happens to be...

"Was it a raid conducted by Venerated Siltvelt? Like the periodical raid your great and powerful nation inflicted on Melromarc?" Malty didn't turn her face to look at Kael'thas, but she can still glimpse the way his body twitched, desperately trying to not show a reaction to her words but not quite managing it to the end. She was right, the raid on Elysium was done by someone from Siltvelt, and it gave Commander Shepard her rise to fame. That's what had Kael'thas acting so indignant on the whole affair.

Malty knows that she shouldn't keep antagonizing Prince Kael'thas. On a personal level, she had been metaphorically burnt off House Melromarc's family tree, and right now she's a slave owned by the Shield Hero. And as a slave who has no right, she has nothing protecting herself from people who might want to do her harm aside from Naofumi's trust. So making an enemy out of Kael'thas (who is also technically a slave, but he is still the head of the Phoenix Hall of the Vermillion Sparrow Great Clan of Siltvelt) on top of her mother, and when she is lusted after by both her distant uncle King Egbert of Faubley, and Prince Tact the Whip Hero, is a short sighted move at the best of time.

Her action is even more foolish if she considers herself as a member of the Shield Hero's political faction. With the fall of the Three Heroes' Church, the Shield Hero might no longer be the Cardinal Hero at the most disadvantage. But Naofumi still has not enough political capital, prestige, or a plot of land and people living on it to begin building a true base of power for himself. So he is still only a piece on the board for The Game, not a player himself. At such a precarious time, Malty promoting inner conflict within his own faction would eventually push the Shield Hero onto the chopping block like the Bitch Lord.

Yet... can she truly say Kael'thas is trustworthy even without her antagonizing him? Sure, he supposedly tried to save Naofumi while he was being pursued by the Three Heroes' Church. But from the Phoenix Prince's own admission and what information she managed to piece together from Iris' mouth, what Kael'thas actually did near the end of the Three Heroes' Church's rebellion was staging a failed siege at Fort Wolf's Mouth, and then rallied the scattered Prideland raiders and tried to take over Stormwind. It could have easily been an attempt at raiding Melromarc's wealth, disguised as a rescue attempt for the good of the Shield Hero. Yes, he willingly took the slave's seal from Naofumi to stay by his side.

But it also means he became a close follower of the current Shield Hero (the rightful 'king' of Siltvelt') before the other Siltvelt elites. He could be another fair weathered friend who only followed the Shield Hero for the political gain, or whatever the heroes' effect to supposedly unlock his full potential. If Raphtalia went from a normal raccoon girl to unlocking her family's most coveted after shapeshift ability, what potential gain Kael'thas would have gained as a phoenix beastman for the small price of being made the Shield Hero's servant? Because Naofumi would have never truly treated him as a slave, and worked him to death to begin with. Her provocation at Kael'thas could be used to gauge his trustworthiness, so long as she does not overdo it.

Prince Kael'thas must be annoyed, if not enraged by Malty's continued taunts. But he didn't bother to show his distaste towards her, instead he focuses his attention on the Shield Hero's accusatory stare. "I have personally never agreed with the slavery policy of my nation, my king. Not after seeing how some of my opponents on the battlefield who are worthy of respect are being treated as spoils of war, objects by my fellow Siltvelt elites. But it's also a shame of mine that I have not done more to hold back such backwards behavior. I heard you are very much against the use of slavery, my king. Rest assured, I will be your ally in such a future endeavor."

"I will take it under advisement." The Shield Hero gives a nod back to the Phoenix Prince, but from how he's no longer looking at Kael'thas, he didn't put much focus on such a gesture. Naofumi has instead focused his gaze on the last group which hasn't been introduced to him yet, the delegation of Zeltoble. "Maybe you can tell me about this last group-"

Before either Malty or Kael'thas has time to inform the Shield Hero what they know of the free city alliance, the dark skinned fox woman dispatched away by Dio has returned. A dragon lady, and her small group of retainers follows after the fox woman. But instead of Lung the Claw Hero, it was that blonde-haired, young looking woman dressed in red commanding the coalition troops against the spider goddess. Dio clearly noticed how his subordinate brought the wrong dragon lady, and his lower face split in a show of his barely contained anger. "I dispatched you to get Lung, Ink. Why have you come, Lady Gremory? And where is your Head of the Clan?"

"Lady Lung is still exhausted after her fight against the invading Outer Goddess, Lord Dionysius. She has dispatched me to sit in her place, while she takes a rest with Lord Tenzen." The sound of stone cracking follows after Lady Gremory's reply. Malty feels her teeth arch as she sees the Gauntlet Hero tear off a good chunk of stone from the large, circular table in front of him. Knowing how this entire building is both a luxury lodging as well as a fortress enchanted to withstand a siege (or a wave attack, as last night proved), and how this Four Corners' Room is its heart, she has no need to doubt the stone table in front of her is as steadfast as Melromarc Castle's city wall.

"What do these two think the Hero Conference is! All available heroes should attend the meeting to discuss how to fight back the Wave of Catastrophe." Dio stands up from his seat, dust slowly drips from his gauntlet hand. He looks ready to leave the room and drag the Claw Hero into this room himself. But the lion sitting by his side reaches his hand up to his shoulder.

"There's no point delaying the important discussion for Lady Lung, when she has no intention to treat it seriously. If she doesn't want her voice heard, she'll simply have to accept whatever conclusion we make." The steward of Siltvelt Throne's answer makes Malty slightly raise her eyebrow. A Hero Conference is essentially an event that lets the most powerful nations decide how to divide the most important spoil of a Wave of Catastrophe: the right to control Cardinal Heroes. And the presence of vassal heroes would be a good way to support their host nation in fighting over a hero. Yet Siltvelt is willingly kneecapping itself by not having one of their powerful veteran heroes attend? Were they really this confident in their stance, or is the infamous infight between the great clans already escalated to the point of them not willing to present an united front? Regardless, it's a shortsighted action for the good of Siltvelt as a nation, but then again... they have always been more of coalition of different tribes and smaller kingdoms than a unified nation without their hero king.

"We'll fill you in with the Zeltoble leaders later, Master Naofumi. We don't want to miss anything they say in the conference. It's going to determine the fate of you and your friends." Malty gives a quick, apologetic explanation to the Shield Hero. He doesn't look discontent with this arrangement. To the former princess' surprise, Lord Dumbledore, the regent of Faubley, stands up from his seat as Dio sits down. She obviously hasn't attended any other Hero Conference on account of the last one happening sixty years ago. But shouldn't the leader of Cal Mira island act as the host, even without Q'ten Lo, the Judges of Heroes?

"Very well. With the Siltvelt representative's willingness to-" The headmaster of Faubley Hero academy, and the regent of Noble Faubley's words are suddenly interrupted by a commotion outside the door to their conference room. They could hear the sound of banging, and angry shouting outside as Lady Belladonna runs inside.

"The Hammer Hero, Maximilien Washington and representatives from his Rebel Alliance are at the door. And they demand to attend the Hero Conference!" Lady Belladonna's reply worked like pouring hot oil into boiling water on the Faubley delegation. Specifically, on Prince Tact and his servants. But Malty also noticed Naofumi's body seems to tense up when the name of the Hammer Hero is announced.

"Master Naofumi? Are you okay?" Malty leans closer and whispers to him with a low enough voice that only he hears her. He didn't say anything back to her, merely giving her an appeasing looking smile and shaking his head. She isn't sure what he meant to say with it, but he's clearly not okay.

"This is an OUTRAGE! How dare these rebel scums show their faces in this meeting after what they did in Shiltfreeden! We should toss them out on the street, if not taking back the Star Hammer from that arrogant clown!" President Katherine's body nudges uncomfortably at Prince Tact's angry demand.

"SILENCE!" Dio slams his palm onto the table in front of him (which is now missing a huge chunk of it from his earlier outburst). The Whip Hero, who was roaring like a lion a moment ago, instantly sat back down as it turned into a pussy cat. "This is the Hero Conference. All heroes who wish to attend should have their voices heard. Even if they are mentally defective."

Malty's eyes instantly cast towards the Throwing Weapon Hero who had been shifting between jumping up and down to wave at Naofumi, to throwing her dirty looks. Oh, well. No need to be concerned about the small fry when someone like Lord Dionysius is in the room. She doesn't know if Dio is intentionally taking shots at the insane upstart, but he fits the description of a mentally defective hero most within their room.

"Fine, fine! Let the arrogant fool in! Don't say I didn't warn you when he starts to make a mess out of everything." Tact puts his hands behind the back of his head. He leans his chair back and rests both of his feet atop of the stone table in front of him. The Whip Hero is trying to play off his subservience to Lord Dio with aloofness. It might work for people who don't know the history between the two of them... which probably only consist of the newly summoned heroes in this room and whoever had a humble birth therefore do not have their own way of hearing major events happening in the world. Malty happens to one of those who know better.

Malty turns her face around to look at the slowly reopened door. She doesn't know what she expected for a group that calls themselves the 'Rebel Alliance' as if the name itself is some kind of badge of honor. But she certainly didn't expect a group of young men and women dressed in casual clothes. The stern looking man with a shaved head, and strong chin walking at the front of their group is about the only one who seems like some hardened veteran who is currently fighting a civil war in Shiltfreeden. He stops his feet in front of the circular table as he looks at the redheaded warrior woman standing behind the Shiltfreeden representatives. After a brief staring contest between them, the stern man nods at her. "Briar."

"Ahab." The so-called 'Lion of Elysium nods back. Malty notices that he has a pair of slightly more prominent sheep horns on his head, just like the warrior woman from Shiltfreeden.

"Ahab Shepard, the so-called 'Butcher of Torfan'. He is the twin brother of Commander Briar Shepard. He got his name from taking the abandoned Fort Torfan from slavers, after throwing away the lives of most of his troops in the operation. But after the Hammer Hero ran away from Faubley's Hero academy and started his little 'Rebel Alliance', he defected from the Shiltfreeden army to join his rebellion." Kael'thas' voice is filled with even more disdain than when introducing Ahab's sister. And he didn't intentionally keep his voice down this time, almost like he's openly taunting the rebel. Malty didn't antagonize the Phoenix Prince this time, she isn't some loyal knight willing to die for her sworn liege, or nation. But she has no love for traitors.

Ahab clearly heard Kael'thas' provocation, as he turned his head around to glare at the Siltvelt prince without saying a word. The Phoenix Prince didn't say anything either, but he did lift his own chin and turn his nose up at the rebel commander. Neither of them bothered to hide their mutual animosity towards each other even if they didn't exchange a single word.

"Idiot.""Scum." And speaking of not bothering to hide their mutual animosity... a young man around Naofumi's age is glaring daggers at the Whip Hero. A purple crystal embedded hammer hanging by his waist. He isn't what Malty would consider to be hard on the eyes with his strong features, especially his strong chin. But he doesn't stand out in the room with his dirty blonde hair and blue eyes either. She wouldn't have considered this somewhat plain looking young man to be the Hammer Hero, and the one who started an entire civil war in Shiltfreeden either. The true renegade hero of their current generation: The Hammer Hero, Maximilien Washington.

Chapter Text

The Four Corners’ Room was cool before, and now the temperature had gone below freezing with the Hammer Hero and the Whip Hero getting into a glaring contest. Not that Malty can blame these two, for their grudge against each other comes straight out of a knight's novel. Originally before The Great War, the Star Hammer was in the care of Melromarc. Siltvelt took it after slaying its last holder, Bloom Friege in battle, and it was part of the tribute given to Faubley in exchange to conclude the war. And of course, King Egbert never returned it to Melromarc after the war in spite of consistent protest from Malty's mother. Eventually, a hero was summoned to Faubley using the Star Hammer, probably to settle this dispute once and for all. Said 'hero' from the other world being the figure standing in front of everyone, Maximilien Washington. He met Tact (who was not yet adopted by King Egbert at the time) back when they were both attending Faubley's Hero Academy, and the two soon became thick as thieves.

Their fallout began when Tact became the user of the Star Whip, and was adopted by the king of Faubley. It resulted in a fight to the death between the two of them, one which the Hammer Hero only escaped with his life thanks to Lord Dionysius of Siltvelt stepping in. The exact reason for their conflict is unclear. The public statement given by Faubley was that Prince Tact thwarted a conspiracy planned by the renegade Hammer Hero for trying to subvert the crown and harming the nobility. But it could have easily been a fabrication by the Faubley royal family to save face for its recently adopted heir to the crown. Malty has heard rumors among the servants, or gossip in the tavern. On how the Whip Hero had grown jealous of his old 'friend' and tried to murder him and take the Star Hammer for himself to further his own power. She's not too inclined to believe the explanation given by Noble Faubley considering what their king was like. But then again… the Hammer Hero did cause a major rebellion in Shiltfreeden that split the Faubley's vassal nation into a still ongoing civil war threatening to spill into neighboring countries. So who knows which side was telling the truth? The answer could easily have been: both, yet neither.

Malty turns around to look at Naofumi, and instantly notices he seems unusual from his normal behavior. She's not sure if Naofumi could be described as stoic, considering how he could easily fall apart when he sees his trusted allies, friends, or just innocent people get hurt. And he could also easily fly into rage. But he's not someone who is overly jumpy and acts in sudden agitation like the Spear Hero (or Bow Hero, in a different way from Motoyasu) either. Yet right now, his gaze is fixed on the Hammer Hero, and his face is twitching like he's seen a ghost. "What's wrong, Master Naofumi? Don't tell me it's nothing. There's clearly something this Hammer Hero has done to have gotten you."

Naofumi pulls his gaze back from the renegade vassal hero and looks at Malty. He stays silent for a few moments, perhaps trying to reorganize his thoughts till he finally says. "I know him. He's some rich kid of some big name military industry company, and his death made news."

Chapter 19: The Sound of Ignorance

The Shield Hero's short reply gives Malty pause. Naofumi didn't give a detailed explanation of Maximilien Washington's backstory like Kael'thas. But there's still a lot of information packed in what he said, and more importantly, how he said it. First, he is also summoned from a hero world. The exact same one Naofumi is from. So even though he had turned renegade, he was still a legitimate hero at the start. Not some destined 'fake hero' that somehow cheated the Star Hammer like Faubley's public statement claimed. Second, Naofumi doesn't seem to think too highly of this character with how lacking respect the way he chooses his words. That probably comes from the way he described Maximilien Washington: some rich kid. On its own, he could have simply meant the young man came from a well off family, but the tone Naofumi used implies Washington was more than simply the son of some wealthy merchant. The distaste from Naofumi's voice sounds more similar than when he hears the decadent exploit of aristocratic families. Which implies Washington was a noble, or something close from his world. This is further supported by how this young man's death was clearly newsworthy for Naofumi (who came from a humble origin before his summoning) to know. Malty has no idea what a 'military industry company' means, but it probably has something to do with Washington's family wealth, and it's clearly connected with the army in some way if the word 'military' means anything. 

So in short, the Hammer Hero was the scion of a noble family from Naofumi's world before his summoning. Yet after he arrived on Medea, he got into a fight with a commoner who was adopted by the Faubley royal family. And now he is the head of a rebellion run by common rabbles that caused a civil war in Shiltfreeden in the middle of a Wave of Catastrophe that's supposedly trying to overthrow their Faubley oppressors. That is certainly a story worth to be translated into a novel.

"Max, my boy. I understand your grudge against your fellow hero. But this isn't the best place, or time to be holding onto them. We are fighting against a threat that would destroy us all if not treated properly." Lord Regent Dumbledore stands up from the Faubley delegation, making both Washington and Tact break their glaring contest with each other to look at him. Right... They both attended the Hero Academy even if one had to drop out due to the threat on his life. So technically, Dumbledore is the teacher of them both. "While I have mixed feelings about your alliance, I understand why you felt the need to do what you did. And right now, we should cease fighting among ourselves and talk about how to stop the ongoing Wave of Catastrophe. Now that you are invited to join the Hero Conference, I ask you to hold your grudge against Prince Tact's former actions, sit down and talk about the mutual defense of our world."

The Hammer Hero stares blankly at Lord Dumbledore, just as the old wizard staring back at him without flinching. After a short while, the young man blinks first. He leads the rest of his group over to an empty space around the circular stone table, between where the cardinal heroes and the small delegation of Shiltfreeden representatives sit. "Very well, Headmaster. We shall hear what you say, before making our declaration clear."

"Briar."

"Ahab."

As the Hammer Hero sits down, the bald warrior exchanges a quick nod with the red haired female from the Shiltfreeden group. Kael'thas did say that they both used to be warriors of the same nation. So it's not unimaginable for them to know each other beforehand. Actually... they could very well be related to them having the same last name. General Anderson's gaze is fixed on Ahab, while Admiral Hackett's mouth twitches like he wanted to say anything. But in the end, all the navy admiral let out was a soft sigh.

"Now that there will be no more interruptions... we could properly begin the Hero Conference." Lord Dumbledore's eyes move slowly across the room as the old wizard scans for any possible interruption before he continues. "As all of you know, the phenomenon known as 'The Wave of Catastrophe' appears every two hundred, or one hundred years since the first time it has been recorded. The four Cardinal Heroes of Alaya had been summoned time, and time again to save our world from oblivion with the seven Vassal Heroes supporting them. This current Wave of Catastrophe is a surprise to us since the last crisis was sixty years ago, but I believe it means we are better prepared for it for we still have some veterans who were alive since the last Wave. I, in particular, was one of the first companions of the last Sword Hero, Master Kazuto Kirigaya . I believe my personal experience would be invaluable in our defense against this current Wave of Catastrophe-"

"We are wasting our time talking, and listening to nothing ." The Butcher of Torfan rudely interrupts Dumbledore's winding introduction to the Hero Conference, drawing everyone's attention over to the rebel. "We know previous Waves were not always natural , and they can be used by malevolent outer gods to invade our worlds . And we have evidence to show this current Wave isn't a simple natural disaster like it usually is. Evil entities are behind it, trying to assimilate our world. Why are we wasting time talking in this conference when we could use the time to gather our forces and resources, to strike at our enemies?"

"I agree with Commander Shepard." Naofumi opens his mouth before Malty has a chance to stop him. It seems like meeting a like minded person who is also clearly annoyed by the needless bureaucracy of the self-serving nobility had him throw Malty's warning behind his back. She would like to point out that this renegade isn't a proper commander of anything since he wouldn't be holding any official military ranks, but that's honestly the least problem in his speech. "I met this Avatar of Alaya, and she confirmed the external threat we are facing this time. And it's-"

"Giant mechanical cuttlefish from the dark space. They call themselves the Reapers. " Ahab follows after Naofumi's words without skipping a single beat. It would have been impressive if not for the ridiculous nonsense he's sprouting. Malty fights back her instinct to groan, or to roll her eyes. Some of the other people in the room don't have as much success as her. Great... an out of his mind doomsayer is now among them. That's going to make Naofumi's case of trying to convince all the important leaders of this invading demonic legion much easier.

"Right, the Reap- WHAT?!" Naofumi clearly didn't pay enough attention to the rebel as he almost followed right after Ahab's nonsense. The Shield Hero manages to catch himself at the last moment as he whips around his face to look incredulously at the former Shiltfreeden warrior. "The Avatar of Alaya told me the enemy we are facing is called 'The Burning Legion'. Are you sure you didn't get them mixed up?"

"I have not met this demi-god like you claimed. But I know what I saw with my own eyes. " Ahab turns his own face around to glare right back at Naofumi. The intensity of his stares instantly makes the Shield Hero avoid his gaze. "The First Wave descended upon us, while the Rebel Alliance and the Shiltfreeden army was in the middle of fighting. A giant, godlike cuttlefish calling itself The Sovereign came at both sides. It turned the fallen bodies of both sides into abominations. It took the combined effort of both the Rebel Alliance, and the Shiltfreeden army to kill it. More will come, to harvest us all if we continue to waste our time and resources playing politics than building up our army to prepare for them!"

"Stranger things than the giant squid god you claim have come out of the previous Waves, Ahab my boy. Not all of them being some appointed vanguard of some malevolent outer gods. Neither this one example of strangeness, nor our current Wave of Catastrophe's relative closeness from the last one prove this current Wave we face being commandeered by an outer god for their own nefarious purpose. Unless you have more examples of this army of 'Reapers' you claim to be trying to 'harvest' us?" Ahab whips his face around to show his death glare to Dumbledore next. But the old wizard, and the Lord Regent of Noble Faubley doesn't back down like Naofumi did mere moments ago. In fact, he looks as nonchalant as he is aloof, brushing away Ahab's anger like it's nothing more than the furious mewling of a newborn kitten. The lack of coherent words from the renegade Shiltfreeden warrior only emphasis the old wizard's smugness. "I thought so. Regardless if this current Wave of Catastrophe has an outer god, or some other evil entity behind it. We shall prevail in the end, as long as we all do our part in defending our world. Our world has repelled such invasions from the divine realm in the past, after all. Which brings us back to the point I was trying to make: The Cardinal Heroes should not be the private property of the nations that summoned them. Especially when one nation broke the covenant to summon all four of them. All nations that have donated resources, or forces to defend our world against the Wave of Catastrophe should have a rightful claim of the heroes."

"Commander Shepard is right - there really is nothing to talk about." Once again, Lord Dumbledore's monologue is interrupted, this time by the Hammer Hero who has turned renegade and sided with a group of rebels. Interestingly, he also refers to the rogue Siltvelt warrior by the title of 'commander', and perhaps that's Ahab's title within their little merry band of rebel scum. It would beg the question how Naofumi learnt it, but it's not important for now. The Hammer Hero pushes himself up from his seat as he turns his head towards the head master of his former school. "Headmaster Dumbledore. This will be the last time I refer to you with this title. I thought perhaps that you truly wanted what's best for this world, and your previous inactions were merely a result of your work as the headmaster of the Hero Academy, and being the regent of the most heinous, oppressive tyrant of this world trying to stop him from running his nation into the ground. But now I have seen the truth. You brush away Commander Shepard's legitimate concern of an otherworldly invasion to pursue the right to claim a summoned hero. You are no better than the rest of these aristocrats who bleed the people for their decadent lives."

"Oh, boy. Here we go again." Tact leans back into his chair as he whistles at his nemesis, showing everyone just how little shit he gives to the Hammer Hero's pontification. The adopted Faubley prince and the Whip Hero turn to look at Lord Dio, who remains stoic and doesn't react to either the Hammer Hero, or the Whip Hero. "See? This is what I tried to warn you about. Now this little upstart has gone and made a comedy out of this Hero Conference."

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal , that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness ." The Hammer Hero gives the Whip Hero a glare from the corner of his eyes, but he didn't stop his own monologue, seemingly giving some kind of declaration. " The very system of aristocracy is an affront to such values, as it enables oppressors to continually abuse those powerless to fight against them. Therefore, I declare all the nobles of this world who mistreat the good people to be my enemies, and make it my personal mission to grant freedom to everyone who is oppressed by the nobility!"

"And who do you think you are? A group of rebels starting a causeless war when we have the Wave of Catastrophe to contend with? The Whip Hero was right, you shouldn't have given the floor to speak such nonsense!" With a metal clank, Sir Palmer pulls her sword out of its sheath and approaches the Hammer Hero. An action of intimidation, or aggression? Malty could never tell when it came from her mother's most brutish thug. But Palmer doesn't have time to make good on her promise when Shepard takes a step forward, and grips her sword holding hand. The look of pain creeps up Palmer's face as her fingers slowly lose its grip on the hilt of her weapon, letting it drop onto the ground. Shepard kicks away her sword, loses her wrist but closes both of his hands around the side of Palmer's face as he rocks her around violently. The knight's body spasms, her hands flailing around either out of desperate struggle, or an uncoordinated attempt to strike back at the rebel in an attempt to free herself. It didn't take long till her limb goes prong and Shepard throws her body onto the ground with a thud.

Movement from the corner of Malty's eyes causes her to look away from the Hammer Hero. To her surprise, the former princess found Naofumi of all people gritting his teeth while glaring at the renegade hero. Blood veins visible on the back of his balled up fist. The Shield Hero looks... angry at Maximilien Washington, and it doesn't make any sense. Malty knows how much Naofumi cares about the wellbeing of the humble birthed common people, and how much disdain he has towards nobility. Yet, here is a hero from his own world , promoting the exact kind of value he seems to care for, yet what he shows is anger? If she doesn't know him better, the former princess would have assumed that the Shield Hero is angry that another hero has taken his stance and taken away some of his prestige. Yet she knows how sincerely kind Naofumi is, and he would have easily placed the greater good for other people over his own reputation.

Afraid of what he might blurt out, Malty leans down to Naofumi's side, and forcefully twists his face to make him look at her. "You are losing your mind, Master Naofumi. Think. Before you say anything, at least tell me what's wrong first."

Naofumi didn't say anything to Malty. But as he looks at her, his previously erratic breath gradually slows down, till it becomes even. His almost maniacal eyes slowly return to their usual self. Finally, the Shield Hero calms down and gives Malty a nod. The princess would have preferred if he explained what got to him, but she'll settle for him returning to normal. "Thank you, Malty. I'm calm now."

"Hold on a minute now. I don't like nobles who mistreat innocent people anymore than the next guy. But you can't just go ahead and declare war on the entire nobility ." While Naofumi is busy locking eyes with Malty, Itsuki has spoken up at the Hammer Hero. "I have personally seen good nobles who do the right things not to gain power for themselves, but because they are the right things. I have seen some of the highest ranking nobles willingly throw away their noble title to help people. You can't just deny an entire group of people and call them your enemy because there are bad ones. I know, because I did it myself. And I only made things worse, not better. The Kingdom of Stormwind collapsed, and a lot of people died because I killed its king and its army officers when I thought they raised taxes to steal money from the people. When it turns out the tax was raised to fight the Wave. We should focus on fighting back the Wave first, before thinking about something like political reform."

Maximilien Washington slowly turns his body around together with his group of rebels. They stare at Itsuki in thoughtful silence. For his credit, the Hammer Hero does seem to genuinely consider what Itsuki said, rather than immediately puts him down like Dumbledore does to his opposition. After a few moments of mulling over the Bow Hero's words, the renegade hero finally opens his mouth. "You might have a point, Mr. Bow Hero. But it does not change the fact that the governing system of aristocracy is a system that gives overwhelming power to its social elites, whose only qualification for their title is their birth. It is a flawed system by design for the small group of nobility to oppress the masses who have no power to legitimately fight back. The few good outliers who are genuinely virtuous does nothing to hold back an otherwise completely corrupt system. Therefore, if we allow such a system to fester, a lot of resources would go into waste even if some gets channeled into fighting the Wave and saving this world. And in the end, it's the common people who will suffer while the small percent of the rich grows richer. Therefore, it is imperative that we reform the system to deal with the corruption before we prepare for the fight against this Wave of Catastrophe."

"I have allowed you to say your piece as a fellow hero, and now you have." Lord Dionysius didn't raise his voice, or slam his hand onto the table. He simply stands up from his seat, and speaks with his usual deep, slightly gruff voice. Yet this simple gesture immediately turns the center of the room away from the Hammer Hero to himself as everyone turns to look at the white tiger lord. He slowly walks around the table, into the center of the room. He doesn't walk right in front of the renegade Hammer Hero, yet his body seems to tower over the young upstart. "This is a conference for the most powerful nations to negotiate over the strategy to deal with the Wave of Catastrophe. If you are more interested in playing your little game of revolution than fighting our common enemy, you are welcome to leave."

"You are from the most wealthy and powerful family from Siltvelt, which still uses slavery to power your economy. Your country openly worships a warmongering tyrant. Of course, an oppressor like you would be in support of a completely corrupt system." By contrast, Maximilien Washington's attitude towards Lord Dionysius is entirely dismissive. Malty isn't sure if it's empowered by empty bravado, or sheer stupidity and lack of self-preservation. Regardless, it's almost impressive if it wasn't utterly foolish at the same time. "But you are a native of this land. You have not lived through an age of enlightenment like us heroes who are summoned from the modern world. So your ignorance is understandable. And as a citizen of the United States of America, it's my duty to show you the error of your ways. My ancestors fought against tyranny to secure our independence, and we cast away slavery to forge our modern world. I will not step down from doing the right thing."

The Gauntlet Hero didn't pull the first punch. Nor did he dignify the renegade's monologue with any response. Lord Dionysius simply stares at the Hammer Hero with both arms hanging by his side as Maximilien Washington grabs the Star Hammer off his waist and assumes a fighting stance. For a while, two vassal heroes simply stare at each other without moving, till the upstart blinks first as he raises his hammer to strike at Dio. Dio's arm is faster, before the head of the hammer even touches his body, the white tiger lord's gauntlet wearing hand has grabbed Washington by his head. With a downward toss and a loud BANG, the Gauntlet Hero throws the head of his opponent face first into the ground. Washington's body bent in a way that looks like he is groveling down to the feet of the white tiger warlord, not moving.

The sudden defeat of the rebel leader makes most of them jump on their feet. Out of their dozen men group, only two manage to react like they should. A hidden blade pokes out of Ahab Shepard's sleeve from the side of his forearm, as he swings forward at Lord Dio. A much more serious attempt at hurting Dio than when he effortlessly handled Palmer. The other man is a young, tanned skinned man with a short cap and a pair of glasses over his nose. He takes off what looks to be a metal ball tied to a chain in his cloth, but he's much slower than Shepard. He's still trying to untangle his weapon of choice while his bald compatriot has already engaged with Lord Dio. Or more precisely, as Shepard's head is suddenly grabbed by Dio, and slammed into the ground just like the Hammer Hero. And now with a second loud BANG, there are two figures groveling at Dio's feet.

The dark-skinned underling of the Hammer Hero finally managed to get his weapon untangled from his clothes by this point, but he isn't the one who attacks Lord Dionysius next. The red haired woman from Shiltfreeden takes a step forward, and pulls a pistol off the side of her armor and immediately points it at Dio's head. Malty doesn't understand why this warrior of Shiltfreeden is trying to kill a Siltvelt hero for hurting a rebel she should be fighting against. Perhaps she got overly impulsive and tried to avenge her brother? Regardless, all Dio had to do was turn his body slightly around to dodge the bullet. He opens his hand up at the red head, and she's immediately sucked off her feet and flies into Gauntlet Hero's hand as if she's dragged by an invisible hand. Lord Dionysius didn't bother to say anything, and he simply threw his captive down at the ground.

BANG! Now a third figure grovels at his feet with her head buried in the ground like the two previous challengers. The dark skinned rebel swings his little chained hammer in his hand, but his body is paralyzed on the spot. His face twitches behind his spectacles, looking completely lost if he should follow the three previous examples and have himself crushed into the ground by Dio, or simply back down. The Gauntlet Hero didn't even bother to pay any mind to him. Dio turns around with his back against his potential enemy, walks back to his seat and sits back down. He turns his face to look at Lord Dumbledore. "I have taken care of the disruptors. Continue with your conference."

"Well... yes. Thank you for keeping the order. Dio, my boy." Dumbledore's eyes are fixed on Lord Dionysius. While he's staring at the Gauntlet Hero, the Hammer Heroes' subordinates seem to finally shake out of their stupor. They run to the middle of the room, grab the unconscious summoned hero, and the renegade Shiltvelt warrior and run out of the room like they are being chased by ghosts. Lord Regent Dumbledore didn't pay them any mind as his face slowly turned around to regard president Katherine of Shiltfreeden. 

With Dio not saying anything, and Dumbledore not paying them any attention, nobody else seems interested in stopping the group of rebels who had essentially just declared war on all the nobles in the world. Malty thought it's a bit callous for them not to treat the group of rebels to end all rebellions as a serious threat. But perhaps she's simply giving them too much credit? Her mother certainly doesn't seem to be paying the Hammer Hero and his lackeys any attention.

"Katherine, my girl. Care to explain why one of your military officers decided to attack the Gauntlet Hero of Siltvelt?" As Malty expected, the regent of King Faubley turns his attention onto the only remaining victim of Dio still with her head buried at the center of the room. His tone was accusatory, even if he clearly wasn't angry at the assault on a Siltvelt hero. The headmaster of Faubley's Hero Academy is going to use this little screw up to push the Shiltfreeden president where he wants her. "It's not exactly my place to demand reparation on Siltvelt's behalf. But the action of your warrior-"

"Commander Shepard acted on her own impulsive nature. I have reprimanded her multiple times for such behavior. Unfortunately, she is too headstrong to take my advice." President Katherine Kennedy interrupts Dumbledore before he has a chance to finish his monologue. Both of her military officers turn to look at her attempt to throw Shepard under the carriage, the general's glare more piercing than the navy admiral. "I will make sure to have her punished , and put on a tighter leash from now on."

"If we are at the stage where we settle all of our grievances before we talk about our strategies to fight back the Wave of Catastrophe, then I would like to bring up my own claim." Kael'thas takes a step forward behind Naofumi's back. The Phoenix Prince still doesn't walk in front of the sitting Shield Hero, but he is standing right besides Naofumi's chair. "Barely a full day has passed since our arrival at Cal Mira Island. Yet within a short period of time, one of the companions of Throwing Weapon Hero of Zeltoble has already tried to assassinate my rightful king twice, and he has tried to kill my king's personal companion twice. A full squad of Frost Wolf tribe raiders have given their lives to save my king, the Shield Hero twice. I demand retribution for my king, and a guarantee that such barbaric actions won't be repeated a third time!"

"Yes. It is a tragedy." The regent gives a curt nod of his head. But the tone of his voice didn't pack any emotion. It's clear that the Faubley King's regent didn't feel any pity for the assassination Naofumi and Malty experienced, or the death of the Siltvelt warriors. He does turn to look at the Zeltoble delegation. "And what do our Zeltoble representatives have to say for Siltvelt's accusation?"

"Sadina shouldn't do what she did, I have no idea what got into her! She should have been happy that Raphtalia will enjoy a good life with Naofumi-sama. She should have offered herself to Naofumi-sama after a-" The Throwing Weapon Hero jumps up and begins to run off his mouth before any lords of Zeltoble could speak, or stop him. Malty quickly grabs Naofumi's hand to calm him down as he begins to grip the arm of his chair tightly. Suddenly, Sato seems to figure out something as his eyes trail away. "Wait a minute! That's why! She should have challenged Naofumi-sama to a drinking contest . And offer herself as his slave after she loses! All we have to do is to have the two of them get into a drinking contest and the problem will solve itself!"

Malty has no idea how having Naofumi outdrink the crazy nudist (assuming he can outdrink her in the first place. It's not like the Shield Hero is well known for his alcohol capacity) is going to solve any problem between them. She doubts an insane woman who wants to kill one of the heroes in spite of protest from the child she claimed to protect would be as accommodating as her equally mad hero master claims. Apparently, Kael'thas agrees with her assessment. The Phoenix Prince crosses his arms and sarcastically gives his counter proposal. "Why not simply offer your companion as a slave to my king as a tribute in this case? The slave seal itself will stop her further attempt on my king's life, either by 'convincing' her of the error of her ways if she values her own life, or stop her dead in her tracks if she doesn't. I fail to see the necessity of a drinking contest, unless you wish to use the opportunity to promote the businesses of alcohol brewers."

"YES! That's a fitting solution to the problem! I will make Sadina a slave owned by the Shield Hero, and this will stop her from killing him!" Kael'thas takes half a step back at Sato's enthusiastic reply, clearly not expecting his sarcastic snark to get taken seriously and somewhat disturbed by it. He's apparently not the only one, as Malty could see Dumbledore's smile in his eyes and underneath his thick beard disappearing as his sight moves from the Throwing Weapon Hero to Naofumi. He's already admitted that he thinks Sato was working together with the Shield Hero during the Throwing Weapon Hero's conflict with House Arc. Is he expecting Naofumi to become the second coming of Mikage like Malty's father?

Jerky movement from the side caught Malty's eyes. She turns around and sees Raphtalia trembling on the spot. The princess turned slave turns to her surrogate daughter, and whispers in her ears. "What's wrong, Raphtalia? Talk to me."

"How could he do this to Big Sister Sadina? Making her into someone's property..." Raphtalia takes a deep breath, trying to hold back her emotions. But her pitch is still higher than usual. "I know he's offering Big Sister Sadina to Master Naofumi, and he's nice… but still..."

" Indentured servitude is how she'll be kept alive . She tried to assassinate the heroes twice . And she nearly succeeded. It's either slavery, or execution ." Malty wraps her arms around Raphtalia to give her surrogate daughter a hopefully comforting pat. "Don't worry. Master Naofumi will set her free if she stops trying to kill him."

Raphtalia doesn't say anything. But she doesn't look convinced either. Malty can't blame her.

"I don't want to support the use of slavery, but if this stops her from trying to murder me and my friends... but what's going to stop you from murdering Malty? That's the bigger problem here! I have enough HP and DEF to not immediately be killed by Raphtalia's crazy bodyguard, Malty doesn't! And we know normal slave seals don't work on heroes like us. I'm not going to bust out that forbidden Imperius slave seal, but you have to stop trying to murder my partner! Or else I won't be courteous with you any more. " Naofumi stands up from his seat, and openly brings forth his demand towards Sato just like he's pointing his finger at the Throwing Weapon Hero.

"I would also like to bring my own complaint against Lord Throwing Weapon Hero of Zeltoble. The grudge between House Arc and the Shield Hero for the accidental murder of their scion should have been concluded since I passed my judgment to exile his murderer from Melromarc. But with Lord Throwing Weapon Hero openly attacking Lady Mordred, he's opening a page on their grudge, regardless of Lord Shield Hero's involvement." And of course, Mother begins to fan the fire of animosity between her own nobles and Naofumi, because there isn't enough trouble for the Shield Hero yet. She isn't openly accusing Naofumi for doing anything like Dumbledore did, but she had subtly told everyone that Shield Hero is not her ally and does not have her protection. Well... of course she wouldn't support Naofumi, since he's openly standing together with Malty herself, plus mother strongly suspect she wouldn't keep the Shield Hero after this conference.

Malty immediately moves her hand over Naofumi's shoulder. She expects the insane vassal hero to let out another outburst about what a manipulative bitch she was (to be fair, he's not wrong in this regard). And how he would continue for the Shield Hero's own good. She can't do anything to stop the Throwing Weapon hero from acting as a complete idiot, but she can at least do her best to stop Naofumi from reacting violently to Sato's response. To her surprise, the Throwing Weapon Hero takes a deep breath, his face twitching like someone is taking a knife and cutting meat off his body, but his response is almost... reasonable. "I... apologize for the way my impulsive actions have... inconvenienced Naofumi-sama. I will seize my hostile actions on his companions, and find ways to repay the Melromarc nobles I antagonized."

Malty has no idea what the Throwing Weapon Hero is suddenly playing at. His response really isn't that cunning compared to someone who is used to court life. But it's practically genius compared to how he usually carries himself. He openly admitted his own mistake, and apologized to both Naofumi, and the queen of Melromarc who is chastising the Zeltoble aligned vassal hero on behalf of House Arc. Therefore no longer giving them any reason to escalate the situation without making them look bad in front of the other nations. This clearly isn't a strategy the Throwing Weapon Hero came up with himself, judging by his pained expression, and how this conflicts with the usual way he acts. So the better question would be who managed to put a leash on the previously out of control Throwing Weapon Hero? One of his companions, or perhaps someone from Zeltoble? And how did they do it? Malty suppose it's not so urgent that she must figure out the answer at this moment, but still a mystery she needs to solve eventually so she wouldn't be caught off guard by the Throwing Weapon Hero like she just did.

"I appreciate your honesty and your willingness to do better, young hero. But your empty apology won't mean much after you openly assaulted one of my nobles." Mother turns her face to look at the Zeltoble delegation. "And what of the representatives of Zeltoble? Do you endorse the action of having heroes you summoned openly attack nobles from another nation? During the middle of a Wave battle to begin with? If not, then I think I am within my right to ask for compensation on behalf of House Arc, and the Shield Hero."

The warrior lady who fought in the Fourth Wave turns to look at her fellow Zeltoble leaders. Of the three major cities within the Zeltoble Pact, the gladiator and mercenary city of Zeltoble is the most wealthy. Not from all the sellsword works, but from all the tribute when freelance adventurers wanted to gain their [Class-Up]. Of all the nations that possess Dragon Hourglass, this benefit tends to be reserved for troops loyal to the crown, and the royal family's more steadfast allies. Zeltoble is the only one that freely lets anyone obtain their class-up, so long as they can pay for the enormous fee. It seems like mother has decided to use the opportunity opened up to her by the Throwing Weapon Hero's mess up to take some money from the gladiator and mercenary city to recover the damage caused by the Three Heroes’ Church's failed rebellion.

"Please, do not be so hasty, Cousin Milly . While I'm sure the Zeltoble Pact can pay you back to settle the grudge of both your noble and Lord Shield Hero. How would the rest of the world benefit from such an action? Not to mention, it would not be fair to Siltvelt which has lost a number of men due to actions of the Throwing Weapon Hero and his companions." Malty was both unsurprised and surprised by King Egbert interjecting himself. On the one hand, this was the same guy who left her mother to face Siltvelt's wrath alone during The Great War. So another backstab from him whenever the opportunity to raise itself is guaranteed. On the other hand, Malty certainly didn't expect the pig king to be thinking for 'the rest of the world'. "If I'm not mistaken, one of the two grandmasters of the Peerless Change style martial arts is working alongside the Throwing Weapon Hero of Zeltoble , no? How about having her take some more students from each of our nations as a reparation for Throwing Weapon Hero's impulsive mistakes? This way, all of us gain some stronger fighters who could fight back the Wave of Catastrophe, and Zeltoble doesn't have to pay monetary compensation for the mistakes of their inexperienced hero."

Malty blinks, and then stares at the king of Faubley. Why would he make such a proposal when his adopted son and chosen heir is already adapted in the Peerless Change style? Sure, Prince Tact is probably not a master at the style with him both being a young man, and more focused on his perks as a hero. But he should be well trained in the style to teach some students to fight Wave battles. Elrasla Grilaroc did admit the style itself is more body enhancement than a proper fighting style, so one really doesn't need to be a great master to teach the basics. Unless...  Is there already conflict brewing between the two of them?

The princess turned slave turns her focus on Prince Tact. He doesn't seem to be paying any mind to the discussion after the escape of the Hammer Hero and his rebel subordinate. Choosing to fix his own nails instead. The Whip Hero seems to have recovered from the death of his maid and returned to his usual aloof and foolish self. Or is he simply playing the role of a fool to let others underestimate him? Malty thinks back on their earlier meetings before she became a companion of the Shield Hero, and all those letters he sent her. He was bold enough to make passes at her, when she was secretly arranged to be his step mother. And the way King Egbert acted when he discovered Prince Tact's little (failed) courtship adventure... Yes, there's definitely no love between them in spite of the pig king adopting him as an heir. It was a publicity move to gather more prestige to the crown and to pressure the rest of Faubley nobility by showing the king has their nation's hero in his grasp. But it's a double sided sword, as now this young and very likely ambitious hero is slowly growing to challenge the aging king for the right to rule the nation.

"Very well... Melromarc agrees with Faubley's proposal." Mother stares into King Egbert's eyes for a long while. Her eyes halfway down cast to let her displeasure known. But in the end, she goes along with the pig king's proposal. Mother had never been able to truly stand up to Malty's (very) distant uncle, considering Faubley was one of the biggest reasons that Melromarc was even allowed to exist after The Great War for multiple reasons.

"Wonderful! Now that all the disagreements are settled, we could go back to the most important topic of this conference: the belonging of the four Cardinal Heroes." Lord Dumbledore stands up from his seat once again, trying to act as if he has the control of the room this whole time when incident after incident has been spinning out of his grasp over and over again. He does manage to wrestle everyone's attention back to him once again, now that the time to divide the proverbial cake has arrived. Needless to say, all the important figures would be very interested to see how he'll assign the four Cardinal Heroes. Because there are five major factions present, but only four heroes to split between them. "As all of you know, the last time the Wave of Catastrophe happened, the hero that was summoned by Noble Faubley was Master Sword Hero Kazuto Kirigaya. And I was one of his earliest companions at the time. This means I have a lot of knowledge to help the current sword hero develop even if I am a wizard. Therefore, it makes the most sense that we should be getting the current Sword Hero."

The old wizard turns his gaze upon the Zeltoble delegation next, and his eyes slowly move to look at the other group sitting by the circular table. "I believe Bow Hero should go with Zeltoble. It is well known that the Bow Hero's strength is his attack power, but he has severe weakness in defense and close quarter combat, therefore needing the support of a large group of hardened warriors to keep himself safe. The city of Zeltoble is well known for being the free city of mercenaries and gladiators, therefore it fits this criteria perfectly. And the Ardorian swordlords of Restov are killed enough to keep individual fighters back. As for the Spear Hero and Shield Hero... Melromarc has abused their power after they broke the covenant and summoned all four heroes together. But they still have enough power to back up at least one hero as shown by the current retinue of the Cardinal Heroes, so I am willing to give Melromarc a second chance. And Siltvelt of course, could have their king back so long as we monitor the Shield Hero's development to make sure he doesn't repeat the same steps as his immediate predecessor King Mikage Mikami. While it's a bit unfortunate to not include Shiltfreeden in the consideration, I can't in good conscience entrust the safety of a Cardinal Hero to a nation still embroiled in civil war. That being said, I am sure both Prince Tact, and Lord Sword Hero would be willing to lend President Kennedy a hand in stopping this foolish waste of human lives."

For a brief moment, Malty was surprised by Dumbledore's assignment of the Cardinal Heroes. She didn't expect him to give away one of the Heroes to the Zeltoble Pact since it's a defensive pact of free cities rather than a true nation. She didn't expect him to deprive Shiltfreeden, the vassal of Faubley, a hero when he could control two Cardinal Heroes using Shiltfreeden as a proxy. And most of all, she didn't expect him to willingly hand Siltvelt the hero they wanted. Perhaps the old wizard is genuinely unnerved by the power Lord Dionysius the Gauntlet Hero of Siltvelt commanded. Or perhaps he always planned to treat the current Shield Hero as a lost cause just like Malty's own father due to the past actions of Mikage Mikami. Regardless, Malty could feel her heart sink when Dumbledore openly invited Siltvelt to take Naofumi away without any attempt to block their attempt.

"So you are just going to give us away. Like we are a set of tools for you rich, powerful people to distribute over and use?" Malty turns around to look at Naofumi. The Shield Hero's brows are twisted in a knot as he glares at Dumbledore. His head shakes slightly, making his hair bounce a little. His three fellow Cardinal Heroes all turn their heads slightly to look at Naofumi in the face for one brief moment, before they all look forward to stare at Dumbledore in silent support of the Shield Hero. "Aren't you even going to listen to what we think, what we want before you decide what we should do?"

"Naofumi, my boy. I am aware that you, and your fellow heroes would want to choose your own fate. However , you have to accept that we simply have better experience leading large scale operations than all of you, and know our world better than what all of you could have discovered on your own. So, for the greater good of stopping this current Wave of Catastrophe, it is simply better for everyone for you to follow our guidance." Light begins to twinkle in the eyes of the headmaster of Faubley's Hero Academy. He talks as if addressing one of his own students, patient like a grandfather, yet patronizing in a way that's self-assured of his own superiority over the Heroes. "That being said. It is our duty to hear your concerns. So please, share them, and let us put your worries to rest before you focus on your duty of saving the world."

"You say dispatching us to different countries is for the greater good of stopping the Wave of Catastrophe. But I have to ask. Have most of you... any of you seen what damage a Wave could cause to the people living under your rules? Because I did. The first Wave I fought in, it was a small village near the capital of Melromarc. The boss of the Wave and most of the horde didn't go to the village. But to the villagers, it's still a horde of endless monsters that almost overran an entire village and killed them all." As Naofumi speaks of his personal experience, his three fellow Cardinal Heroes all look down in shame. They were reminded of their own callous nature at the start when they cared more about the glory... or perhaps the fun of going against the boss of the Wave than the lives they were saving. "That was the first Wave. There's no invading outer god, and the monsters were much weaker than what we are facing now. But it's still the end of those villager's worlds and many of their lives. "

"I have to make a minor correction for you, Master Naofumi. The first Wave we fought in was actually the Second Wave. The first one merely destroyed Port Harp, one of Melromarc's most important trading ports and the Silver Fort, one of Melromarc's most important northern fortresses." With a faint smirk, Malty pretends to undermine Naofumi's words, only to emphasize the main point he is trying to get across. "I'm sure little Raphtalia could recount the traumatic events from her own perspective to all the revered great leaders sitting here, if they so choose to."

"Naofumi, my boy. The tragedies you described are precisely the reason why distributing you, and your fellow heroes across the world is one of the most important, and urgent steps we have to take to fight back against the Wave." Dumbledore shakes his head in an act of disapproval. His face scrunches up like a disappointed grandfather at his misbehaving grandchild. "There are only so much resources and guidance a single nation could bestow upon the hero, and we can't have it further divided among all four of you. Now that we have seen the example of strange beings using this Wave to invade our world, it's imperative for all of you to grow as strong as you can as fast as possible. So the tragedies you speak of would not become the norm."

"Yet a tragedy I described just happened yesterday! At the place all of you are standing around! And all of you noble leaders sit in this grand room of a luxury hotel, discussing which country gets to own us like tools, then talking about how to help the people who are hurt! You care more about who is paying coins to fill your wallet, not about how to help the people getting hurt by this end of the world disaster!" The Shield Hero slams both of his hands on the table to push himself up from his seat. He points his finger at Malty's mother, without looking at her. "If all of you only care about your political gains like the revered queen of Melromarc, I'm staying where I am! At least after two months and a rebellion in Melromarc, I know where I'm standing! I know who my enemies are, who my friends are, and who aren't interested in stopping the Wave of Catastrophe, but will help me for their own gains!"

"This is an outrage! Gremory, get Lady Lung! We can not allow our rightful king to stay with our biggest enemy, his biggest enemy !" The lion from Siltvelt also stands up. But he is stopped immediately by Dio raising his arm.

"Sit down! The Shield Hero is an adult who can make his own decision! You should respect it. Or do you plan to knock him unconscious, and kidnap him to Siltvelt?" Dio's face slowly turns to let his eyes glare at the steward of the Siltvelt throne. The pillar of the west let out a shiver as his body shifted half a step away from Dio.

"Alternatively, you could do what Nazgrel, his raiders and myself did," Kael'thas looks down at the cowardly lion. The phoenix prince rips open his clothes, showing the mark of a slave on his chest to everyone in the room. "Accept the mark of fealty, sworn away your other duties to become a personal protector of our rightful king above all else. But I suppose your duties as both the ruler of the west, and the steward of the Siltvelt throne makes you unavailable to be Master Shield Hero's personal guard."

The cowardly lion sits down back in his seat, thoroughly chastised by both the Gauntlet Hero and the Phoenix Prince. But he's clearly not the only one who disagrees with Naofumi's proposal. Dumbledore slightly turns his head as he looks at the Shield Hero from the corner of his eyes. "In regard to your choice to pick Melromarc over Siltvelt, I'm sure we can make some arrangement to make things work for the rest of the nations. But surely, the rest of the heroes would not be willing to have you make their decisions for them-"

"I'm with Naofumi! I trust him more than I trust any of you! If he thinks Melromarc is our best choice, I'll support his decision!" Motoyasu is the first to stand up and give his support to the Shield Hero. He looks at their two younger compatriots. "Ren! Itsuki! What do you say?"

"I don't know who is on the right. I didn't even fight the Waves yesterday because I got hurt. But I saw how all of you just acted now. Naofumi once taught me justice isn't about judging other people, but to protect other people. And right now, he's the one trying to protect more people. So I will stay with him." With the Bow Hero also giving his word for the Shield Hero, everyone set their eyes on the last Cardinal Hero in the room who hasn't made a statement yet.

The Sword Hero didn't jump at the chance to blurt words out of his mouth like his other two fellow heroes. He casts his eyes over on everyone sitting in the room. "I did fight the Wave battle with all of you from the start. Of all of you who were there, some of you went to fight the invading outer goddess. Others hide behind your army and let others do the work for you. A warrior once told me being strong is about challenging someone who is stronger than you, to keep bettering yourself. So I refuse to believe someone who contributed nothing in the Wave battle has anything to teach me. I'm staying with the rest of my friends."

Ren didn't openly state any names, or point fingers. But everyone can tell he meant Dumbledore. And speaking of the regent of Noble Faubley, the patronizingly grandfather-like smile is gone from his face. The way his eyes narrowed at Naofumi makes him look like an angry owl inspecting its next prey. His beard moves, like he's sucking in a breath of air before he speaks. But another old wizard beats him to the punch. The white haired and bearded wizard from the free city of Dalaran speaks before Dumbledore. "The wishes of the revered Cardinal Heroes must be respected . However, their well being can not be left to Melromarc alone considering how they abused their power before this Hero Conference. Therefore, I propose all of us send our own delegations to monitor the action of Melromarc from this point after. To make sure they aren't exploiting, or abusing the heroes. Or sending them aid and support when the heroes request them."

"I second Magister Kal'thuzad's motion. And I volunteer to represent Noble Faubley. Surely, no one, but the terminally insane would think about mistreating the heroes under the watchful eye of Duchess of Dunwall and her personal retinue." Before Dumbledore has any chance to fight back against the proposal of his fellow wizard, Duchess Emily stabs himself in the back a second time. Malty's cousin gives a faint nod to her, to which the former princess nods her own head back at Emily for her timely help.

The four Cardinal Heroes, standing together, were able to fight back at the attempt by the other world leaders to divide and manipulate them. It shouldn't have felt like a bigger victory than when they managed to kill that corrupted outer goddess last night, but it did to Malty. Their influence might not be enough to command unilateral support, and their base of power is still comparatively small. But they are shown to be more than pieces used by all the players in The Game.

Chapter Text

Malty carefully gathered a stream of water, and let it pass over the mud stained wooden boards to the right of her to wash it clean. On her left side, three bundles of flame burn evenly, as they slowly heat the bucket of water above them. The former princess is offhandedly reminded that menial tasks like washing things and making hot water certainly fits her current position of being a slave. But they are also good practice to help her further honing the control of her magic. A little further away from her, the other fire and water mages she gathered among the parties and retinues of Naofumi's fellow heroes are doing similar tasks as herself. Flare and Melty are having some trouble actually controlling their respectively large reserves to not burn up the bucket, and snap the wooden boards in front of them respectively. Their eyes glaring at their own projects, not daring to wipe away the beads of sweat running down their faces in fear of breaking their concentration. By contrast, Rishia who has very weak reserves seems to do it naturally, as she's one of the few mages besides Malty who is doing both tasks at the same time without breaking a sweat.

For the past few days, the dock of Cal Mira Island became busier than the resort itself as workers trying their best to bring the sunken ships, and whatever resources that could still be used back from the bottom of the bay. All the ruined ships are in too poor a condition to be patched back up, but some of the wooden boards are still good enough to be used for something else. And the effort is also needed to clean up the dock to allow a new fleet from the various delegation's home land to be safely sent to Cal Mira Island to pick them up and allow them to go home. While they are waiting for new ships to take them back to Melromarc, the four Cardinal Heroes all decide to do their best to help Cal Mira Island recover from the damage caused by the Wave.

"Pull with me, my children! Pull, pull, PULL! Good work, children!" Motoyasu is holding onto the anchor of a ruined ship as he backs away on the beach. In front of him, dozens upon dozens of his filorial children in their bird form have ropes tied around their bodies, all linked back to the ruined ship they are trying to drag out of the bay. The Spear Hero shouts commands from the top of his lungs while they work together. It seems to help his filorials pull at the sunken wreckage at the same time. Their group is definitely helping out the most in clearing out the debris floating, and hidden in water. The Spear Hero and his companions make their way to his children, and begin to feed them some treats to congratulate and reward them from getting another ruined ship out of water. Looking out into the bay, there's barely any wreckage sticking out of the sea's surface anymore. Although the ones hidden underneath the waves would always be more dangerous to any incoming ships.

"We are ahead of our schedule thanks to the help from the heroes. Dock three is already cleared of all wreckage thanks to the help from Lord Spear Hero and his filorial children." A female tiger (regular tiger, not white tiger) demi-human is moving her finger across the map of Cal Mira Island as she explains the situation to Ghira Belladonna . Malty didn't pay much attention to the power structure of the independent settlement on Cal Mira Island, but she seems to act as some kind of military leader for the different sea tribes. "If we station a flag bearer by the dock, we'll be able to guide income ships to the safe dock to make port. And we can develop some additional buoyants to make ships steer clear of the danger zones."

"Do both. We can't allow our guests to get hurt due to our own negligence." The leader of Cal Mira gives a nod to the tiger woman, who quickly jogs away to organize her men at the new tasks. All around them, the previously peaceful, almost lazy resort town has transformed into a building site to recover what's lost and ruined by the Fourth Wave.

"Food’s here." On the other side, Ren arrived with his companions carrying the bodies of sea monsters they hunted to use as food sources to feed the stranded tourists turned refugees. Originally, the Bow Hero Itsuki was tasked with this job. That's until they discovered he's actually a surprisingly good carpenter thanks to some of the bow forms he unlocked which enhanced his woodworking skill. So now the Bow Hero had temporarily and figuratively changed his profession from a hero to a carpenter, and Ren took over the job of finding food for everyone. The Shield Hero will be the one that'll transform the dead carcass of these often hideous looking sea monsters into tasty meals.

"Aren't they bugs? We are going to eat that ?!" Malty turns her head around. She really didn't need to see with her eyes to know it's Flare making yet another complaint once again. But she's still morbidly curious to see what kind of exaggerated expression the little spoiled lady of House Consevatie wears on her face. Malty's newest protege looks pale, her eyes bugged out as she stares at the monster lying by the Shield Hero. And to Flare's credit, this batch of spoils brought back by the Sword Hero do look ugly like some of the bugs with their thick carapace, multiple eyes, and elongated limbs. The former princess would likely have voiced the same objection. She herself would have likely protested at the start of her own adventuring life. Melty didn't say anything besides Lady Flare, but from the way she is constantly darting between the dead sea monsters and Malty, she's thinking the same thing.

"They truly are some ugly motherfuckers , aren't they? Like something you'd find in the Cambrian period." Naofumi runs his fingers on his chin, looking thoughtful. "But let me try to cook them first , and maybe they actually taste good?"

" NO! NO WAY! I have been eating the same peasant meals as a commoner for over a week. A WEEK ! But I draw my line at eating bugs !" Flare stands up to her feet as she furiously shakes her head. She looks ready to either flip on her head, or fall on her back to start kicking around like an ornery infant. "I will not be eating bugs like I am some kind of... gluttonous devil bird! I'd rather throw myself into the sea and drown!"

Half an hour later, the sweet scent of a well cooked meal began to draw in all the workers who were busy repairing the docks, or pulling debris out of the bay. All of them fervently dig into their meal. Amongst them happens to be Lady Flare, who is most definitely not eating like a well-behaved noblewoman. Grease and a little of her saliva are dripping down from the corner of her mouth. She has a narrow eyed grin on her face that wouldn't be out of place on a bootlicking servant figuratively wagging their tail at their master to beg for compliment or reward. " So tasty . "

Chapter 20: The Return

The Faubley's air gallery arrived almost at the same time as House Amelia's golden clover emblemed ships in the horizon. The largest one in the middle has its name engraved on the side of its armor plate in golden letters: Gerald . No doubt named after the Golden King, Gerald the Wise of the Avalon Dynasty . One of the most famous warrior kings in Faubley's history. Seeing the airship, one of the Cal Mira Island tribal warriors immediately turns around and runs towards the Menagerie hotel. Likely to inform King Egbert and his regent Lord Dumbledore that their ride to return home has finally arrived. As for Prince Tact... the adopted Whip Hero has left Cal Mira Archipelago the day after the Hero Conference on his personal airship, leaving his adopted father stranded behind. Further evidence that the current king and his adopted prince isn't as close as their respective titles suggest.

"Don't feel too bad about leaving Cal Mira Island, Cousin Mal. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to enjoy a vacation after we stop this ongoing Wave of Catastrophe." Emily pats Malty's shoulder from her back before resting them on the former princess indefinitely. While Malty didn't expect herself to become the target of another goddess after the last Wave, she doesn't feel any sense of regret that she didn't fully enjoy the world famous vacation of Cal Mira Island. Emily likely knew it too, but she's trying to play light of the situation so they don't have to worry about the additional members to the Heroes' retinue the other world leaders stuck with them .

"And knowing what my mother is like, she'll have us packed up and stuffed into House Amelia's Golden Fleet before the sun reaches its highest point. Can you gather the other retinue members of the heroes for me, Cousin Emi? We'll have to get ready for boarding soon." Malty returns her cousin's gesture with a few light slap on the back of Emily's hand. Normally, this task shouldn't be delegated to someone from another nation. But Malty trusts her Faubley cousin more than her own mother.

"Of course, of course. I always enjoy a good workout. I'll see you around later, okay? Little Melty?" Emily pulls away from Malty with a light giggle. She waves Melty goodbye. The crown princess of Melromarc looks up from where she's quietly eating Naofumi's cooking, smiles at Emily and returns her gesture. The Duchess of Dunwall turns around with her loyal protector Corvo behind her, and the two of them quickly disappear from the dock area where the heroes and some of their followers rest.

"Is there anything specific you would require of us, Master Shield Hero?" Tanya, not Iris' personal maid, but the squad leader of Shiltfreeten's shivs who 'assisted' Naofumi's escape from the Bitch Lord asks him. Out of all the liaison groups from the different nations, her group was the one which the Shield Hero specifically asked for in name. Not hard to imagine why, since they literally helped save his life when he was captured by a Siltvelt Raven Lord's machination. And Prince Tact was gracious enough to allow it to happen without any objection. "Do you need to cover our eyes, or bind our hands and feet to make sure we can't sabotage the Melromarc fleet we'll be riding on?"

"No... that won't be necessary. Unless you guys want to do something like sink the ship while it's in the sea, or something. You aren't trying to kill yourself to fulfill some evil objectives, right?" Naofumi looks up from his cooking station, and stares at the petite, pig headed shive agent for a long look. He's probably trying to figure out if Tanya's offer was genuine, or if she's being sarcastic. Malty can't really tell if he's being sarcastic, or trying to give a warning to Tanya and her squad in the guise of a bad faithed joke. Either way, the little pig girl doesn't look impressed.

"In that case, Master Shield Hero. Maybe you want some of your own men to inspect and handle some of the equipment we plan to bring with us." Tanya sharply turns around on her heel. She points at some wooden crates that've been stored in one of the wooden shacks near the beach. It's missing one of its walls, but is still standing strong compared to some of the other buildings that've been ruined, or entirely totalled by the Wave spawn horde. The Shives who were assigned to become Shiltfreeden liaisons to the Shield Hero had been sparing two of its members to guard it every shift. 

Both Naofumi and Malty walk over with Tanya to her unit's temporary supply depot. The petite pig girl nods to her fellow Shives, and they begin to flip open the covers of the supply crates to show the content side. Tanya points at the different packages inside and continues her explanation. "Melromarc does not have the necessary industrial base to produce the ammunition, and other expendables my unit need to remain at our full capacity. So unless the queen or someone else at a high position wishes to invest the capital needed to bridge the industry gap, we will be working off whatever supplies Faubley will periodically stock us with. Needless to say, some of them are highly volatile. But more importantly..."

One of Tanya's subordinates, who has long straight black hair (Malty vaguely remembers her name is something alongside 'Angel') opens up a single wooden crate that's been sitting by its lonesome. Instead of neatly packaged and stacked boxes, this one has a boxy, yet fancy looking black metal device with a lot of crystals and other gems embedded in it. The lack of any ornament, or decoration made of precious metal such as silver, or gold tells Malty that the precious stones are chosen for their magic conductivity, not their monetary value. "This is one of the prototype long range communication devices developed by Shiltfreeden, Faubley joint venture under General Ironwood of Faubley's military innovation initiatives. Originally, President Kennedy and Lord Dumbledore were going to negotiate with Overseer Belladonna on installing it in the Menagerie Hotel. But given the circumstance, both of them believe that it is more crucial to keep them informed of the need of the revered Cardinal Heroes. So they can send aid whenever it is required, of course."

Malty frowns at Tanya's explanation. Faubley has assumed high ranking military men willing to invest the money into developing new equipment is nothing new. The whole sordid past of their golem suit project that wasted enough gold to feed nations she once explained to Naofumi is the kind of vanity project that would only exist in a nation like Faubley: A nation that's being pulled in two opposite direction by both its past, mystery obsessed past of its mage lords, and new, innovative idea seeking mavericks willing to desecrate any rules and traditions that would only been born out of a nation of barbarian warlords constantly fighting for supremacy. That being said, one such warlord who actually has enough vision to push their waste of military spending to give them an actual advantage in the form of instant, long range communication device is much more concerning than any metal tube that makes something it points at go 'BOOM'.

But the goals of the Faubley leadership implied by Tanya of its various savory or unsavory nature is more concerning. Cal Mira Island, as the eternal neutral ground meant to host all future generations of hero summoning should be politically independent from every other nation. And previously it was ensured by Q'ten Lo, the self-proclaimed 'Judges of the Heroes'. Yet, with the nation's obliteration, it seems like Faubley has already made plans to expand their influence over Cal Mira Island, and the process of hero summoning itself before Malty's father unknowingly ruined their plan due to his own grudge. Furthermore... Tanya has openly admitted her role in reporting the latest development with the heroes back to Faubley. Honestly, that should be expected considering one of the reasons why different nations were going to send their representatives to Melromarc was to ensure Melromarc does not 'abuse' the four Cardinal Heroes like what happened during the Three Heroes’ Church's rebellion, as in openly spying for the other nations. The fact that Tanya has a device that allows her to instantly communicate to someone from Faubley and Shiltfreeden is disconcerning, but at least she's being honest about it.

"I'm guessing all the expansive looking crystals and gems are the reason why this magical radio station is still a prototype, and not some mass produced module." Naofumi leans his head down as he carefully inspect the device. He seems to suddenly remember something as he straightens his back and looks back at Tanya. "Wait. Didn't all of you use some portable communication radios while you guys were helping me fight off that T-Rex? monster?"

"Yes. Faubley's portable communication device had been perfected enough to be mass produced. And his highness Prince Tact has passed down this device to some of his personal units outside of Faubley army." Tanya pulls off a small metal box from her belt. Unlike the much more complex looking device in the crate, this one only has a single piece of magical crystal embedded in the metal casing. "The difference is the communication range. Our portable communicator only works about as far as our eyes can see. And it could easily be disrupted by strong magical fields. This device on the other hand can send messages across continents, and its signal is strong enough to ignore most magical interference unless someone tries to specifically intercept a message sent by the device. But it's also pretty delicate as a result. I wouldn't worry about it blowing up like our ammunition, but I don't recommend you drop it off the table and then try to send a message with it."

"I suppose that makes sense. Better stick a note and tell whoever is handling this equipment to be extra careful..." Naofumi nods his head along, seemingly immersed in his own mind once again as he thinks over Tanya's explanation. While that's going on, Malty notices a dark 'cloud' coming from the Menagerie Hotel through one of the shack's windows. She steps out of the half ruined shack to get a better look. Sure enough, her mother and King Egbert are at the front of the group. The Faubley King very inappropriately placed his hand on the Melromarc queen's waist, but nobody bothered to make a comment on it. Some of the younger Melromarc knights glare angrily at the Pig King's rude behavior, but the older knights who are more versed in the whole political aspect of different nations all share the same look of exhausted understanding.

"A shame we'll have to part ways here, Cousin Milly . But I know we both have our duties to our nations." King Egbert turns on his heel to face Queen Mirellia. He picks her hand, and places a kiss on her hand. "Take care of the four Cardinal Heroes for everyone, Cousin Milly. Tell me if you need anything. Noble Faubley is always ready to lend its strength to defend our world."

"I will hold you to your promise, Cousin Bert." Mother's face remains carefully neutral. Malty wonders if that's the same thing she said to King Egbert before she started the conflict that later came to be known as 'The Great War'. Regardless, Melromarc and Faubley processions part ways with each other. Mother leads the group who will follow her to Melromarc towards the 3rd dock of Menagerie Resort, waiting for House Amelia's golden fleet coming at them. King Egbert on the other hand led the Faubley procession further inland, towards wherever the air galleries will land so they can fly back to their home.

The Shield Hero's attention is also grabbed by both parties. He leaves Tanya and her Shives behind guarding their supply depot and walks onto the beach once again. Seeing the Shield Hero, the procession behind Malty's mother split another group of people walking towards him, led by Duchess Emily and Duchess Eclair (who has reclaimed her noble title from Queen Mirellia, even if her realm is still in ruin). These are the heroes' retinue, and the emissaries assigned to Melromarc to represent the other nations. In addition to Duchess Emily representing Faubley, and Tanya's group reporting back to Shiltfreeden (and probably the Whip Hero too, considering she was working for Tact when she helped save Naofumi from Towair and Abby), the Shield Hero supposedly also met the two Siltvelt representatives: A tall, lanky and pale skinned, and pale haired Vermili named Cleose Fallenscion, and a broad shouldered, dark skinned and dark haired Vermili named Mohammed Avadil. Apparently, they were also Vermili princes just like Kael'thas Sunstrider. Unlike the red phoenix, neither of them needed to brand themselves as the Shield Hero's personal slaves to remain in Melromarc on account of them being officially recognized diplomats.

As for the two representatives from the Zeltoble Pact, they are more interesting. In the sense that the free city of Zeltoble, the largest, most powerful, wealthiest, and the city that's in control of their Dragon Hourglass didn't send anyone to represent itself. Then again, that's likely the chaotic nature of Zeltoble itself. It's a free city housing the largest population of mercenaries and gladiators, and lacks a proper command structure compared to the red wizards of Dalaran, or the sword lords of Restov. Which incidentally did send their own representatives. A man named Gauldoth speaks for Dalaran, and he's an apprentice of the archwizard Kal'thuzad. That's all Malty knows about him, considering he wraps himself tightly in a set of pale, hooded cloth. Even hiding his own face behind a mask. He rarely speaks, and his voice sounds dry when he does. The Restov emissary is almost the exact opposite of the apprentice wizard. A young woman with short, bob shaped brown hair with the name of Valerie, and the military rank of Captain. Her stern face, army demeanor or the heavy armor she clad around her body doesn't hide her pretty, delicate face or her soft, pleasant sounding voice. About the only thing she has in common with the apprentice pale wizard is her lack of drive to start a conversation with other people.

The Cardinal Heroes certainly have a cast of colorful characters who will act as liaisons to them from various other nations. Then again, perhaps not that unorthodox compared to some of the characters who are already part of their personal retinue.

The great ships belonging to House Amelia slowly come to rest at the dock, and the queen of Melromarc begins to lead her procession to board their new vessels for their return trip. Naofumi turns around to look at the young Lady Belladonna, his face looking apologetic. "Looks like we'll be leaving you guys before the rebuild is complete. Sorry we can't finish our jobs."

"There's nothing to apologize for, revered heroes. It is not your duty to care for one single town during the Wave of Catastrophe. We may not look the part, but we of Cal Mira are hardy people. We'll get back on our feet on our own." Blake's voice sounds nonchalant in spite of the damage her home suffered. She's most likely trying to reassure the Shield Hero, rather than truly not feeling anything from her home's destruction. "But I'll be joining you with some of our warriors. I have asked my father to personally lead some of our warriors to fight alongside you revered heroes. Maybe we can even pass some of our sea tribe's unique water dance to your warriors."

"Oh. Are you sure about this?" Naofumi's head leans slightly back. He's clearly shocked at Blake's revelation. The Shield Hero looks around, at the still ruined building all around the previously bustling resort town. "You haven't finished rebuilding your home yet. Is it fine for us to take some of your warriors?"

"We were caught off guard this time, because the Wave happened before what was expected from the Dragon Hourglass' warning. But now we know this could happen, we'll be on guard for it to happen again." Blake answers without missing a beat. "It is well known that the main breach during a subsequent Wave will not happen in a previous location. And even if it does break the norm like this Wave, we'll be better prepared now we know about malicious outer gods behind it. All the other nations have all dispatched their own fighters, and mages to help us maintain our magical barrier. And my father has enacted an emergency edict for the other sea tribes scattered across the archipelago to rally at the main island together the day after the Wave battle. Cal Mira Island will be at our most ready when we face another Wave battle from the first cycle."

"And speaking of the Dragon Hourglass... We discovered another one around one of the islands while we were hunting sea monsters for food." Ren moves over after over-hearing Naofumi's conversation with Blake. He casually points his finger at the sea, dropping a bomb as ground shaking as the goddess that has breached into their world a few nights ago. "It's in some kind of ruined temple under water, in that direction."

"...is that so? I’d better tell my father right away! Please excuse me, revered heroes..." The little cat girl blinks a few times. When her mind finally starts working again, she immediately breaks into a sprint towards the Menagerie Hotel. But after a few steps, she catches herself as she slowly turns back to the Sword Hero and asks him another question. "Master Sword Hero... if you don't mind me asking. How many people knew about this?"

"Not that many. I was working with Wyndia, and some of Motoyasu's bird 'children'. Haven't even told Motoyasu yet." The Sword Hero shrugs his shoulders, clearly not realizing the weight of his discovery, or his own answer. And what fate would be left to Cal Mira Island with his discovery. In a way, it is almost absurd that a Dragon Hourglass was so close to home and nobody discovered it till this point. On the other, perhaps its close proximity to a long declared 'neutral ground' is the reason why most people overlooked its existence.

"Immediately rally all Master Motoyasu's children who you took with you to discover that Dragon Hourglass, Master Ren. Make sure they don't tell this to anyone, not even Master Motoyasu himself. If they already did, get Master Motoyasu, and anyone who knows about it too. We can't let this information become public knowledge." Malty grabs both Ren and Naofumi and forces their head to lean closer to her mouth. She whispers a command to them before Blake has a chance to explain further. She'd have preferred it if someone like Motoyasu never learned of it, considering he often speaks and acts without thinking things over. "Dragon Hourglass is one of the most important artifacts in our world thanks to it being the only holy artifact that allows [class-up]. If word gets out that Cal Mira Archipelago has its own Dragon Hourglass, one of the more ambitious leaders might break the covenant of the 'Eternal Neutral Ground' and annex it to make sure this power doesn't leak to just about anyone."

"They would really throw away all that pretense? And get the other leaders pissed at them?" Ren's eyes turn to look at Malty without moving his own head. It occurs to the former princess that the Sword Hero really didn't understand how precious a Dragon Hourglass is to a nation's ruler. But for a hero who didn't have to undergo 'class-up' to raise his level above 40, perhaps a more in depth explanation is needed.

"A Dragon Hourglass is one of the foundations for a ruler to ensure their vassal's obedience, Master Ren. You probably don't have to think about it, because as a hero you have no level limit. And all of your companions and retinue would enjoy a free class-up. But for a man of humble birth, and even to some of the nobles. Level 40 is the limit of their power. Because the owner of a nation's Dragon Hourglass, usually a king or a queen, would deny them the ability to class-up. That's how a ruler ensures only their most loyal allies have the strongest power to maintain the power of their own regime." Both the Sword Hero and the Shield Hero blink their eyes thoughtfully at Malty's explanation. It's good to know that she's not talking to a wall. "The Shives from Shiltfreeden that's now acting as a liaison for Master Naofumi have already admitted Faubley, and its vassal Shiltfreeden's intention to build long range communication with Cal Mira Island. It'll only be the first step for Faubley to expand its influence on this supposed neutral ground. They would surely accelerate this effort if they knew about the existence of another Dragon Hourglass around Cal Mira Archipelago. Maybe even outright annex Cal Mira Island now they are weak after they were hit by the Fourth Wave."

"I see. I'll go find Motoyasu's children right away." The Sword Hero seems to finally understand the weight of his discovery. Malty releases her hand on him, and lets Ren run along. Hopefully he could get the filorials to keep this secret, and none of them (or more likely, Motoyasu in case he already learnt of the Dragon Hourglass' existence) would blurt it out by accident. Malty doesn't truly care about the lives of Cal Mira Island natives. At least nowhere near someone like Naofumi or his fellow heroes. But having Ghira Belladonna secretly win over the control of a previously undiscovered Dragon Hourglass has some potential advantages for her. The sea tribes would be able to have their warriors class-up and grow stronger. And with Malty essentially doing a favor for them in helping them keep this secret, she could potentially have some of the people who are loyal to the Shield Hero and herself, but not part of his official retinue, enjoy their class-up at Cal Mira Island. It could be the first step for the Shield Hero to build a strong enough power base to truly gain his independence from the major world leaders.

o(-_-)o[T]

Fohl fights back the urge to sigh as he looks at the Throwing Weapon Hero. Right now, he's switching between sulks at the corner of the ship, and throwing death glare at the red haired slave of the Shield Hero. Not the most heroic , or sensible act from him. But at least he's no longer trying to murder one of the Shield Hero's closest companions every chance he gets. Fohl can't say that he cares about what happens to a young woman who he doesn't personally know other than her being a (probably spoiled) princess before becoming the companion of a hero. But he doesn't want the Shield Hero and his allies to get angry at Sato, and in turn, his younger sister Atla. He knows how obsessive and stubborn Atla can get when she makes up her mind. And if the Throwing Weapon Hero pushes himself onto the opposite side of the Shield Hero, Atla would fight the Shield Hero till he submits to her idol, or die trying.

"You should stop bowing down to that ungrateful Shield Hero, Master Tairou! He doesn't deserve your help! You've been nothing but nice to him, but all he does is reject your help. He even tried to kill you! There's no point in playing nice if he'll ever treat you like dirt." Atla's grudge filled curse makes Fohl rub his own temples. In the end, his attempt at guiding the Throwing Weapon Hero to be less confrontational with the Shield Hero is pointless when his younger sister has already made up her mind to blame the Shield Hero for their own ridiculous tomfuckery. "I know what bullies like him are like. The only way for him to stop mistreating you... is for you to teach him a lesson. Show him how you aren't someone to be pushed around."

"Please don't give Master Throwing Weapon Hero wrong ideas, Atla. Master Shield Hero is one of the four Cardinal Heroes. Their lives are tied with our world's barrier, and the Wave spawn would grow in strength when they are killed. It'll hurt us all in the end if we try to kill them, Master Throwing Weapon included." Fohl shakes his head, trying to carefully convince Atla to abandon her completely self-defeating suggestion. They were given a spot on Melromarc's flagship so all the heroes could be kept together in the safest place in the fleet. But multiple seamen were kept around them for their 'protection'. They really shouldn't be planning something as extreme as trying to fight the Shield Hero. "Not to mention they have the support of all the major nations. What do you think would happen if we go against them? We can't fight off armies by ourselves.

"I didn't say we'll have to kill him..." Atla turns to look at Fohl, an annoyed frown on her face. "But we can't allow him to keep walking all over Master Tairou! And even if we don't give him a thorough thrashing, we could just do our own things and leave the Shield Hero alone. We don't need someone like him when we have a much better hero like Master Tairou. And for the armies... Zeltoble is the city of sellswords and gladiators. All we have to do to gain their respect and get an army of our own is to show them how strong Master Tairou is! I believe Master Tairou will grow much stronger with training from Master "

Aside from Atla's ridiculous idea of raising an army to fight the cardinal heroes, her suggestion this time isn't that bad. Considering how the Throwing Weapon Hero seems to lose all his ability to reason when he is close to his idol, separating them and having them each do their own things to stop the Wave would have been the best action. Unfortunately for Fohl, he knows that the Throwing Weapon Hero has the same streak of stubborness in him like his younger sister. And after meeting his hero in person, there's no way he would turn the other way.

"We need Naofumi-sama, Atla. He's the smartest Hero ever, on the level of a god. He'll be the one to save us all in the end." The Throwing Weapon Hero's one-sided flattery towards the Shield Hero would have been annoying, if he isn't trying to avoid a confrontation with the Cardinal Heroes. "Fohl was right. Naofumi-sama won't easily trust anyone after what he went through with those evil Three Weapon Church villains. I need to gain his trust first. Even if I have to... tolerate Bitch to do it. But I'll be keeping an eye on her. And when she does try to hurt the Shield Hero with one of her schemes, I'll be there. And I'll show Naofumi-sama her true colors, and make him realize I'm the one who'll help him save the world. He'll always do the right thing in the end. Because he's Naofumi Iwatani-sama, the Shield Hero."

"You shouldn't look down on yourself, Master Tairou. If the Shield Hero got deceived by this manipulative bitch, but you didn't. Doesn't this make you the better and smarter hero? Someone who'll be better suited to save us all?" Atla mumbles under her breath. More like she's trying to complain to herself than genuinely trying to convince the Throwing Weapon Hero. 

Fohl doesn't know if Atla is in the right, because he doubts everything the Throwing Weapon Hero told them was true. He might have helped cure the illness Atla was born with, but he also volunteered one of their fellow companions to become a slave to the Shield Hero without missing a beat. Even if he believes he's doing the right thing, he clearly has a callous cruel side to him. Regardless, Fohl hopes he's in the wrong and the Throwing Weapon Hero is simply dimwitted, rather than mindlessly malicious. Atla worships the Throwing Weapon Hero for giving her a healthy, proper life. If he turns out to be a bad character in the end... she'll either follow him to the mouth of a Wave to die, or be completely destroyed by the truth.

o(-_-)o[T]

The salty sea wind blows at Malty's face once again as she rests her arms at the railing of the great House Amelia Man-of-War. She didn't have much time to worry over the fate of Cal Mira Island, and its newly discovered Dragon Hourglass. House Amelia's golden fleet pulled into the dock very soon, and the entire Melromarc procession began to board their vessel home. To not appear suspicious to her mother and her allies and subordinates, Malty doesn't dare to start another conversation with the Sword Hero. Especially when the topic could insinuate about a certain Dragon Hourglass. She hopes the news hasn't become public, and is cautiously optimistic considering she hasn't heard any new comotion from her mother yet. The Pig King of Faubley wouldn't be the only one seeking to profit from such a news, any leader of major factions would be playing the situation for their own advantage, just like Malty did.

"Malty, are you feeling better?" Malty turns her head around to look at Naofumi. Flare quickly snuffs out the ember that's been dancing on her finger, and ducks away. The Consevatie lady might be more than a bit pampered, but she is clearly socially adapted enough to know when to make herself scarce. This once again, makes the former princess wonder what the chief god damned hell is wrong with House Consevatie to make one of their daughters act so skittish. She shakes her head, putting all her thoughts about Lady Flare to the back of her mind to focus on the Shield Hero. "I was wondering if you are okay. Because... you know. This is the second Wave another goddess came after you."

"I'm fine, Master Naofumi. I'm not the one who got hurt badly and almost died." Malty turns around and claps Naofumi's hand between her own. To be wanted by the gods is a scary thought, but it surprisingly doesn't scare her as much as it should. At least she knows that the gods would only come after her during a Wave fight, rather than trying to physically harm her, or get her with some elaborate scheme and have her jump at her own shadows every waking moment. Something her mother is doing a very good job of. "I'm glad you, and your fellow heroes, decided to stay in Melromarc, Master Naofumi."

Malty suddenly feels a cold, piercing glare aimed at the back of her neck. She turns around, and sees the Throwing Weapon Hero quickly avoiding his eyes. Right... because the little shit managed to weasel his way onto mother's ship. Siting how one of his companions is now officially the Shield Hero's property. Mother was more than happy to accept a hero's temporary service. Especially when said hero openly displayed animosity towards Malty herself. It's a harsh reminder to her that while the Throwing Weapon Hero is behaving himself, his animosity towards her has not decreased one bit.

"Tell me if my annoying fan is giving you trouble again. I'll toss him into the sea if I have to." Naofumi's voice is cold when he casually brings up murder as a possible solution for the Throwing Weapon Hero's idiocy. Malty can't say she disagrees with his suggestion, even if she doubts Naofumi is being serious. Regardless, it's always nice to hear it from the Shield Hero that he values her life above one of her fellow Vassal Heroes.

"Big Sister Sadina! Stop! NO! I'm not kidding! Stop this nonsense!" Unfortunately for her and the Shield Hero, their brief moment is interrupted by Raphtalia's frustrated yelling. They turn around together, take one step backwards together, and do a double take together. In front of them, Raphtalia's insane former bodyguard is carrying a large barrel of... something over her shoulder as she stomps her way towards them. Raphtalia is doing her best trying (and failing) to hold the crazy orca woman back by her waist. Not too far from them, Theresa is glaring at Sadina with her narrowed eyes like an owl. Her fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of her double sided staff blade, looking ready to jump in at a moment's notice. Raphtalia turns her face to look at Naofumi and Malty both, and releases an exhausted sigh. "Master Naofumi, Big Sister Malty. I'm really sorry. But I can't stop Big Sister Sadina when she sets her mind on something..."

The mad orca woman drops the barrel onto the wooden floor in front of Naofumi. Malty could feel the board underneath her feet shake from the impact. It's a wonder how Sadina didn't simply smash the barrel into pieces. From the sound of something swirling inside the wooden barrel, Malty has to make a guess it contains some kind of liquid. And then her nose begins to pick up the burning scent of alcohol. Did the crazy woman get a whole barrel of rum for herself!?

"Well, you got me as your slave because you have your hand in the Throwing Weapon Hero's pocket, Shield Hero." Sadina pulls the collar of her cloth down to reveal the slave seal on her upper chest. In spite of her subservient position, she smirks at Naofumi more like a shark than a whale. "But I'm not going to lie down, and listen to a young, fresh meat who can't hold his liquor. If you want me to leave you alone and listen to you, you have to be able to drink me under the table first. If not... release me from your 'service'. Either way, I get to enjoy some of the good rum from Melromarc's Gold Coast."

"...you do realize you have no choice, right?" Malty raises her eyebrow, she looks at the orca woman up and down. She knew the orca woman was insane, and kind of stupid. The fact that she failed to protect Raphtalia and her family when she knew when the first Wave would happen (because it certainly didn't happen ahead of Dragon Hourglass' prediction like the one they just fought through) is a good indication of her incompetence. But to threaten her master's life, when she is under the slave seal's effect? That's a new level of brainlessness. "The effect of your slave seal would activate no matter what you want . I doubt your precious prophet of a hero was gracious enough to not set a punishment method for you. You want to threaten the Shield Hero when you would drop dead?"

"Exactly." Sadina's eyes begin to flash with a mad twinkle. She doesn't bother to look at Malty, but stares right into Naofumi's eyes instead, almost like she's challenging him right now. "I might die, but I'll make sure you can't hurt Raphtalia before I drop."

"You dare to call yourself Raphtalia's protector ?! You know how sad Raphtalia will be, because she sees you like an older sister. But you are carelessly hurting her feelings and taking her hostage!" Malty takes a step forward, she points her finger at Raphtalia's self-proclaimed protector. She turns to look at Naofumi next. "Master Naofumi! Don't take her words and let her play you! As a slave, she can do nothing to force you into a bet like this!"

Theresa takes a step forward. Her double blade isn't coated in fire, but she's holding it in a way that allows her to bring it forward and strike Sadina down if the orca woman tries anything. Yatsuhashi, who had been silently staying beside Naofumi has now stepped over both the Shield Hero and Malty. Everyone around them looks ready to fight the unhinged slave... except the Shield Hero himself. He gives Malty a gentle tap on the shoulder, and pushes his own sworn shield aside. "You want to make this a game? Fine. I'll take your challenge. But you better keep your own word."

Chapter Text

The ship from Iris' family was more opulent than the same kind of ship owned by Archduke Wales. The size of their cabins are the same. No amount of coins could magically make a battleship's internal space larger than its outside. But comparing the furniture inside the cabin is night and day. The furniture inside the ships of House Arc are made of dark colored iron wood, utilitarian, and hardy. House Amelia on the other hand used mostly golden colored dryad wood, finely crafted with decorations covering its arms and legs like they are all handcrafted from a master. If Melty ignores the compact size of her cabin, she could believe she's in a small, but high class hotel room.

"...The rebuilding of Balafon is going nicely under Sei. The damage caused by the Three Heroes’ Church, and later by Lord Shield Hero's little raid to free all the enslaved villagers were mostly done to the village itself. Still highly unfortunate for the people of Balafon, but recoverable. Balafon is near the forest of the northern province, so the village isn't short of material for its rebuild. But more importantly, its primary source of wealth, the dryad orchard created after the incident with the magical seed was unharmed..." Melty feels her head growing heavy from Iris' droning report. In her head, the crown princess of Melromarc knew she should pay the report better attention. They are the direct vassals of House Whiterun, and the newly appointed Baron Guston, but they are still her people. They lived through a great tragedy where their homes were destroyed and they themselves were enslaved. Not to mention Melty is appointed as their governor by Mother so she's directly responsible for rebuilding their homes. It doesn't change the fact that everything is extremely boring .

"It seems like your valet is keeping everything in control without my input, Lady Iris. I think I'll see what more I can help once I return to the village I'm appointed governor of. I'm sure it's much easier to take in all this information if I have something to look at, and not just listen to a report." Melty waves her hand at the heiress of House Amelia. Iris didn't say anything, her face didn't change from her carefully neutral look. She simply gives Melty a faint nod, and takes a step back. The perfect picture of a high society lady, just like her mother. Melty's finger clicks on the chair she's sitting on, her face slowly turning into a frown as she thinks about everything that has happened after the church's rebellion. She knows she's being a terrible governor to the people of Balafon right now, but she can't help it. She has something else to worry about. "Is there any way we can liberate my sister from the bond of slavery she's in without forcing her to marry my distant uncle, King Egbert? She didn't do anything wrong, but she's been made a slave to the Shield Hero. That's not fair to her. Why did Mother force the issue?"

"It's unfortunate, but King Egbert clearly forced the issue with Queen Mirellia. Especially after what former King Regent Aultcray did. Former Princess Malty is a victim in this case just like the people of Balafon, but there is nothing that can be changed about their situation. Because the kingdom of Faubley has enough power to back up its king for what he wants. And its nobility has reason to back up his demand because it gives them more power and influence. That's why to save herself, former Princess Malty pleaded herself as a property of Lord Shield Hero." Melty's frown only grows deeper as she listens to Iris' explanation. Wasn't Big Sister Malty one of her childhood friends? Yet, Iris is talking about the whole thing like she's talking about an object. "If you wish to change the situation around former Princess Malty, the only way to go forward is for you to take power. And rebuild Melromarc's strength so we no longer have to bow down our heads to our 'ally'. Because to someone like her majesty, having Princess Malty sacrifice herself for the greater good of Melromarc people is what's expected of a royal princess."

Melty doesn't say anything, and she simply closes her eyes and nods back to her sister's childhood friend. She hates how right Iris is being right now. Mother has made it very clear that both Big Sister Malty, and herself are the royal princesses of Melromarc first, her daughter and sisters to each other second. She even threatened to have another child just so Melty herself could be replaced if she continues to 'neglect her own duties'. Mother would not do anything to save her elder sister, from their distant Faubley uncle... or the Shield Hero . If she wants to free her sister, she'll have to get through Mother and do it herself. Another voice catches the attention of Iris, and herself. "Right now, the biggest threat to former Princess Malty isn't her majesty Queen Mirellia, King Egbert of Faubley, or even the Shield Hero himself. The smaller families who want to join The Game will push former Princess Malty to a road of no return before any of them would want to take care of her permanently."

Chapter 21: Black Flag

Melty turns her head to look at the other noble lady who will serve as her main advisor alongside Iris Lana Amelia. She doesn't like the noble lady known as Lacus Clyne Consevatie. Maybe she's being petty and unreasonable, but Lacus' brother was the one who originally enslaved Big Sister Malty. Melty doesn't feel like someone who is related to the scum that deeply hurt her sister is any trustworthy. But her mother was very insistent that she give the daughter of one of her obedient subordinates a fair chance. Melty does feel bad that she got angry and yelled at her mother after what happened to her older sister. So she allowed Lady Lacus to follow her around and voice her opinion. And right now, she is at least curious about what the pink haired woman wants to say. But Lady Lacus remained silent after her initial objection, so Melty beckoned her to continue. "Please, continue voicing your opinion, Lady Lacus. I don't plan to become a tyrant who punishes my advisors for saying something I don't agree with."

"As you wish, Your Highness." Lady Lacus gives Melty a full bow. Unlike Iris, Lady Lacus is very careful to make sure she treats Melty with all the courtesy her new position as Melromarc's crown princess required even in private. "You might be noticing that a lot of people have gathered around not only Lord Shield Hero, or Lord Spear Hero, but their fellow Cardinal Heroes as well. Many of them are scions from different noble, or knightly houses. Regardless which hero they directly serve, a number of them are gravitating towards former Princess Malty."

"Isn't that a good thing? That means there's still a lot of people willing to help and protect my older sister." Melty narrows her eyes at Lady Lacus. She wonders what's the issue that got her advisor seemingly concerned. Then she remembered that Lady Lacus is related to Sieg- no, Fuckboy . Was she afraid of Big Sister Malty's anger from Fuckboy 's actions?

"On the surface, that is a good thing for a former princess like Malty. But I have taken note of what kind of person these are, and found them to be either from small, failing, or already fallen noble, and knightly houses. One of the most prominent families who sent their heir to serve the Shield Hero happens to be the only son of Count Valentine Winchester. And his rank is only a count, still has a lot of potential for him to rise as a noble." Once again, Melty doesn't see what the issue was. But Lady Lacus seems to see what she doesn't, and the crown princess could swear she hears the sound of distant rumbling thunder accompany Lady Lacus' words. So she turns to look at Iris next, and sees big sister Malty's childhood friend is frowning much harder than the younger sister of Fuckboy .

"Lady Lacus is concerned that former Princess Malty is being used by ambitious, prospective nobles and knights who want to profit from The Game. They have no birthright claim of their own to rise to their current positions. But through former Princess Malty, who is the first born daughter of our queen, they could advance their rank through her by helping her reclaim her birthright, maybe even taking it a step further by helping her ascend the throne." Iris seems to feel Melty's gaze. She looks up and elaborates on Lady Lacus' point. "At this stage when former Princess Malty is weak and needs their protection, they would offer security for her. But it would also mean former Princess Malty would owe them favors, and become dependent on their strength. She would be forced to make decisions that might be against her own wants and needs to benefit her supporters and allies or face losing them."

"Both of you think the new 'allies and supporters' around my big sister are only trying to use her. But she has no choice other than accepting them, because she needs them." Melty's body digs deeper into the cushion of her armchair. She feels a wave of exhaustion even if she hasn't done anything taxing to her body.

"Correct, Your Highness. This is the most likely reason why your mother was going to sacrifice your elder sister to King Egbert without hesitation. There is the fact that former King Regent Aultcray broke the covenant and betrayed every other nation to take control of all four Cardinal Heroes. Which would likely result in a crusade declared on Melromarc by the other nations and lead to countless deaths of our people. But the most immediate, and powerful push to get her grace to act would be the nobles allied to her. They know the situation much better than a man of humble birth who learns everything from baseless rumors and gossip, and they stand the most to lose." Lacus' words only further remind Melty of how hopeless a situation her older sister is placed in by both of their parents. But her previously distant voice suddenly has a subtle change. Almost like something is... rising in her alluring whispers. "That means you are the only one who is in any position to help your older sister, your highness."

"What could I do when my father, and mother both failed, or had no intention to help my sister Malty? I'm not even of age yet. Mother only appointed me to govern over the village of Balafon to gain administrative experience." Melty doesn't dare to hope that she could do a better job than her own mother. Mother is a legend who lived through The Great War, and led Melromarc back from the brink of destruction. Meanwhile, she is simply a young princess who learns most things from her books and the mouth of her own instructors. Yet in spite of this harsh reality, she dares to hope that maybe she could find a way to help her only sister. Big sister Malty took care of her when she's young, and when their parents were busy ruling the nation. She doesn't want her sister to meet her end in the hand of someone who wishes her harm, or be pushed onto a path of no return by those who pretend to help her, only to exploit her.

"Do not sell yourself short, Your Highness. With former princess Malty made a slave to the Shield Hero, you are the only princess and legitimate heir to Melromarc's throne left. And as you have seen during her majesty's return, many nobles were quite unhappy with the way she handled the situation. While I doubt all of them are selfless, there are those who oppose the current queen for what they believe to be right, rather than their personal gain. Like Archduke Wales, or the father of Lady Amelia. Both of them also happen to be some of the most powerful nobles of this nation. Much more powerful than the small, or fallen noble houses that's trying to rally behind former princess Malty." Iris looks at Lady Lacus from the corner of her eyes when her family is mentioned, but she doesn't say anything to interject, or interrupt. "If you successfully unite them behind your cause, you would have enough power to influence what decisions her majesty makes. And you could cower anyone who wishes to harm your sister, such as the Pig King of Faubley. Wouldn't it be worth it to have enough strength to push back at those who wish to do your sister harm?"

Melty isn't too convinced at what Lady Lacus said. But she does want to become strong enough to not let anyone else decide the fate of herself, and her older sister. She turns to look at Iris next, and the House Amelia heiress pries her eyes off Lady Lacus to look at Melty. To her disappointment, Iris didn't further elaborate on the possible success of Lady Lacus' plan. Rather, she gives some further steps on how to possibly achieve it. "Your grace, I suggest you start building a relationship with Lady Katarina if you wish to proceed with Lady Lacus' suggestion. Lady Katarina is distantly related to Lord Leif of the crusaders, but they have a very close relationship with each other, as if they are siblings. Through her, you could make connections with the rest of the crusader block. They are some of the strongest martial families of Melromarc. And with your mother's decision to distance with them, you will have a chance to secure an advantage over your own queen mother. However, you also must beware of Duke Alvis if you do proceed to go down this path. He is an active, and highly adapted figure in Melromarc court even before your mother's ascension. There will always be a chance for him to exploit your position as the crown princess, and possibly the next queen of Melromarc for him to further his own goals."

Melty fights back the urge to sigh, to scream in frustration, or to bang her head against a wall. All she wants is for her family to return to the time before the whole Wave of Catastrophe, and hero summoning. When everything was simple and they loved each other. But both Lady Lacus and Iris are pushing her towards this complex... court stuff she doesn't want to think about. And they are making it like her own mother is her bitter enemy. Yes, she's very frustrated with her mother with what she did to Father, and Big Sister Malty, but she doesn't want to fight against her own mother. But before she has a chance to say or do anything, a sudden wave of quake throws her off the armchair onto the wooden floor. For a while, Melty can't think straight, and everything looks faint in her eyes like she's seeing everything through fog. Someone helps her up from the side, she looks over but can't tell if the face belongs to Iris, or Lady Lacus. But the woman has pink hair, so it's probably the sister of Fuckboy . Someone slams the door to their cabin open. Once again, Melty can't see clear enough who it was. But the voice sounds like Iris' personal maid Tanya. "My lady, we are under attack by pirates! It's pure chaos out there!"

"How did we get sneak up on by an entire fleet of pirate ships? Where's our escort?!" For the first time since Melty could remember, Iris actually sounds angry and alarmed. Right... because they are on the House Amelia fleet's flagship The Golden Wind , and the escort ships should have blocked an enemy's fire like this. "What's Commodore Mitsuo Fukuda doing?!"

"There's only one pirate ship, my lady. And it's running circles around our escort ships. As for Fukuda... he's doing what he does best: hiding underneath his desk . Her Majesty has taken over command." The faint figure runs over to Melty, and helps her up from the opposite side of Lady Lacus. "Come on, my lady! We might need to get to the lifeboat... It's the Jackdaw . We are being targeted by Dread Pirate Robert. "

o(-_-)o[T]

The first sign that something was wrong is when Malty hears a large splash from the southeast. She tears her eyes from Naofumi and Sadina's drinking contest to look towards the direction of the thundercrack. Sure enough, there's dark smoke coming up from one of their escort ships from the distance. She briefly wonders if someone got careless with the stored explosive until the sound of cannon firing can be heard. Their escort ships are definitely shooting at something.

"What's going on?!" Malty turns her face around. Naofumi has jumped up from the stool where he was drinking with Raphtalia's self proclaimed escort (of very dubious competence). The Shield Hero leans his body on the wooden railing, desperately peeking his head over trying to make sense of the situation even if he can't see much. His psychotic fan follows his example. Sadina, on the other hand... she seems to have decided that she won the drinking contest against Naofumi with his premature departure and wanted to celebrate. The whale woman heaves the rum barrel with both hands, and pours its entire content down into her throat. She tosses the empty barrel away, and falls face down onto the deck, completely unconscious. Well... good thing nobody expected her to actually protect Raphtalia from anything. Or else Raphtalia might actually be in danger like what happened during the first wave.

"I don't know much about navy warfare, but we are definitely under attack." Malty closes her eyes and focuses on her hearing. She can't see much, on House Amelia's flagship behind their line of escort, but she hears the continuous sound of water splashing and cannon firing. "The fleet escorts are firing their cannons. It has to be either enemy ships, or a large sea monster . I saw smoke rising from one of the galleries, so my guess is on an enemy ship."

"I'm going to take Big Sister Sadina down the deck. She's not helping anyone here." Raphtalia pulls her unconscious protector up the floor. Malty gives her a quick nod, dismissing the racoon girl with her friend, and the inebriated Sadina.

"You think it's a pirate? Are they looking for One Piece and got lost? Ah, SHIT!" Malty has no idea what Naofumi is getting at, but she at least understands what a pirate is. The princess turned slave opens her eyes, just in time to see a ship with black flag squeezing its way through House Amelia's escort fleet towards them. Its forward mounting cannon opens fire like an enraged dragon, as metal balls larger than an adult man's head flies straight at them. Naofumi immediately pushes Malty down with himself on top of her. The sound of wood breaking mixed with a loud boom can be heard, and Malty knew the pirate's aim was true. The ship they are on has sustained some damage. The sound of angry screams and explosive curses can be heard all around them as Naofumi slowly moves over. Malty carefully raises herself up and looks around. One of the secondary masts has been knocked over, and there's a fairly large sized hole on the right side of their ship. The princess turned slave slowly peaks her head over the railing to look at the direction the pirate ship came from. At least three of their escort galleries are burning over the water. Blood chilling screams can be heard from their direction.

"How did that pirate ship get through our escort fleet?! How did it take down three ships this fast? How did a large ship move that fast?!" Malty nearly startled herself with how ear piercingly high her own voice sounds. But what just happened doesn't make any sense! The ship that made a charge at them a moment ago was a sized man-o-war just like the one they are on. Yet it's moving even faster and more nimble than a small gunboat.

"Not a large ship. It was a medium sized brig. Only two masts." Malty was instantly corrected by Theresa, who probably knew more about ships on account of her growing up on an archipelago. "Still shouldn't have moved that fast - they probably have some kind of powerful sea witch that boosts its speed, like casting a strong wind on its sail. I don't think they meant to attack us directly like that. Was probably trying to speed past and lose our escorts, and they ended up heading right at our ship by complete accident."

"What do you mean?" Naofumi turns his head to look at the cat girl from Cal Mira Island.

"They are sailing on a brig - a medium sized warship. We are riding on a Man-O-War , the heaviest ship with multiple decks of broadside cannons. We would have instantly shredded those pirates with our side guns if our gunners weren't too shocked to react from their sudden appearance. Even without our escort ships, they should be using their speed and agility to approach and weaken us from the back where a Man-O-War has its weakest defense in gun placement." Blake begins to run her fingers on the deck to help explain their situation. "I think Theresa was right. They were trying to cut through our escort ships, and overshot themselves. But their crew were better prepared than us so they took advantage of our slow reaction. Making it look like they intentionally attacked our ship."

"It had some kind of afterburner ." Malty turns to look at Naofumi's annoying fan, his body is frozen like a statue, still leaning against the railing. Did he get scared witless, that he didn't even think of ducking down while cannon balls were flying straight at them (granted, she was also frozen by both shock and fear till Naofumi pulled her down, but that's besides the point). It seems like the Throwing Weapon Hero managed to see the whole exchange as a result. "There's a large stream of fire coming out of its sides like a pair of fire wings, then it crashes right through those ships, setting them on fire."

A fire magic user? Helping out in naval battle? This revelation caught Malty by complete surprise, since she's a fire user herself. As a result, she knows how much of a disadvantage they are at in open sea battle considering there's water everywhere around them. Steady, almost rhythmic footsteps come at them from the side. Malty turns her head, and sees Kael'thas walking beside him, the other three Cardinal Heroes quickly overtaking him and throwing themselves onto the railings. They all have good reasons to look frantic. Even a large Man-O-War only has so much room to spare besides their crew. So a large number of their retinue are distributed among the rest of the ships in the fleet. And right now, three of said ships are on fire. The eyes of the Phoenix Prince are thoughtfully narrowed, he opens his mouth after a brief moment of silent poundering. "It wasn't just a fire magic user. Neither a brimirian heretic, nor a pyromancer would be able to conjure strong enough fire to make a difference on open sea like this. It has to be either a high class Azuri, or Vermili clan member using a strong fire flow."

"[Meteor Spear]!" Motoyasu apparently didn't pay any attention to Kael'thas' explanation. His eyes grow round like a saucer as he jumps onto the railing and starts firing his spear weapon art at the pirate ship. His attack falls harmlessly besides the fast moving vassal, pushing a large pillar of water above the surface and gives a flurry of salty rain onto his target, but otherwise leaves them unharmed. The Spear Hero himself nearly trips forward into the sea below, if his two fellow Cardinal Heroes didn't immediately grab him by his ankles. And even as the Spear Hero becomes a side ornament of their ship, he continues to fire attacks at the quickly retreating pirate ship while screaming murder at it. "COME BACK AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN! YOU FUCKING STRAW HATS WANNABES! I'LL TEACH YOU TO HURT MY CHILDREN, YOU FUCKOS!"

"That's interesting. You want to translate in a language we can understand?! " While his friends are busy dealing with Motoyasu's tomfoolery, Naofumi's head turns sharply towards Kael'thas. His calm and collected voice slowly morphed into a desperate and loud yell at the indentured Phoenix Prince. Around them, the pirate brig continues to use its burst of speed to wreak havoc on their escort fleet, twisting them around into a cluster, or a line to rain cannon balls on them, or torch them with streams of fire.

"I'm terribly sorry, my king." Kael'thas nearly jumps on his feet at Naofumi's sudden outburst. He takes only a brief pause to recollect himself before elaborating. "Flow method is a technique used by high class warriors who are also accomplished elemental spellwrights. They combine the life force of a well trained fighter with the magic affinity of a spellcaster. Giving additional attributes to one's own techniques and weapon arts while not having as much direct draw back of the magical equivalent. From the way this pirate ship is moving with bursts of fire, I can only assume it has a high class Azure Dragon, or Scarlet Sparrow clan member onboard. Although it does beg the question... What is such a member from high class Siltvelt society doing here? Even if they are exiled by their family for whatever reason, there are surely better avenues to pursue than consorting with scums like pirates..."

Malty stopped paying attention to the Phoenix Prince at this moment. Her eyes and mind focused on the sea battle happening in front of her. The vassal of the legendary pirate continues making fools out of House Amelia's prided golden fleet. But she did notice one peculiar detail. Jackdaw is quick to disable House Amelia ships, but it doesn't seem to be interested in finishing them off. The first part is easy to understand even for an amateur like her (as much as she hates to admit her lack of competency, she can't even tell the difference between a heavily armed and fortified Man O War from a medium built ship like a brig on a first glance), legendary pirate or not, a single brig is entirely outnumbered and outgunned when going up against a proper fleet. So cutting its enemy's number down is obviously a top priority to make sure it doesn't get torn apart by an entire fleet of ships. But surely, the better option would be to sink the ships that are heavily damaged? Yet for all the ships it is torn into, they are all remaining afloat, even if they are all dead in the water at the same time. Even the three gunboats it set on fire had remained upright after the fire had been put out.

"Wind mages, power to the main sail! We won't sit around and let our enemy tear out our escort fleet!" Mother's voice can be heard from the wheel. Malty turns around to look at the direction of the command. Her mother, the queen of Melromarc , isn't literally piloting the ship, but she's standing at the helm giving out clear command. "We'll match our enemy for speed, and press them down with our superior fire power. Giving time for our escort to cut their escape route off! Today will be remembered as the day the Dread Pirate Roberts finally met his end!"

Normally, the idea of the heaviest ship matching any other ship lighter than its class for speed is absurd even when it's crafted by the most wealthy noble family like House Amelia. Especially for a ship that's moving with more nimbleness than the fastest ships. But the situation is very different when said vassal is commanded by the High Queen of Melromarc, with her entire retinue here to back her up. Most specifically, there are enough powerful, and skilled wind mages ready to use spells to enhance the ship's performance. As expected, mages in robes quickly rallied around the deck, pushing their magic onto a crystal ball embedded into the (thankfully undamaged) main mast of their ship. Specially made sails of monster leather blow up like a full moon, carrying the normally lumbering ship forward, chasing after the pirate ship attacking their escort ships.

"Fire at them, Itsuki!" Naofumi moves over to help Ren pull Motoyasu up, freeing the Bow Hero to go on the attack aimed at the pirate ship. After some brief struggle, the two of them manage to pull Motoyasu back onto the board again. Naofumi bodily tosses the Spear Hero down the railing and chastises him. "What were you thinking!? Did you want to dive into the ocean looking for dragon balls?!"

"He's an idiot, and a brainless simp ! He's clearly not thinking!" The Throwing Weapon very unhelpfully said besides the Shield Hero. Naofumi throws him a dirty look, and bodily shoves his psychotic fan away. Once again, Atla looks more furious than a pot filled with boiling water. Thankfully, she's pushed back by the combined efforts of Theresa and Yatsuhashi.

"That black flagged fucker set our ships on fire! My children are on them!" Motoyasu lets out a quiet whine. The Spear Hero clearly knows that he messed up again, even if he's still blaming the pirate for his own misjudgement.

"[Random Arrow]!" Itsuki starts firing his own weapon art down at the pirate brig. His voice is nearly covered over by the sound of a full broadside barrage from The Golden Wind . Even with all the wind mages under mother's service working together, they can't turn a massive sea vassal into an agile ship. But The Golden Wind 's forward speed going in a straight line still easily matched the Jackdaw, and they managed to get a good enough angle to fire on their target. For a brief second, Malty could see the legendary pirate vessel sunk by her mother, but then a spinning blue 'shield' of pure fire covered their target for a brief moment, prematurely detonating the barrage of cannonballs, allowing the nimble ship to once again slip away from them.

"Blue- No, AZURE FIRE?! IMPOSSIBLE! " Kael'thas nearly throws himself overboard like Motoyasu as the Phoenix Prince leans himself over the railing. His eyes nearly bugging out as he glares at the quickly retreating pirate ship. Malty snaps her face towards the shocked Vermili prince, and he quickly begins to explain. "The azure colored flame is a fire only used by very few members from the core Azure Dragon Clan members. The only one besides Lady Lung who could use it was the daughter of Lord Ozai... no, it can't be her . She's dead ."

"So we are fighting against ghost pirates now? Wonderful!" Naofumi comments with no small amount of sarcasm in his voice. "Let's focus on beating this pirate back, before we get creative with the idea of where they came from. You are a fire user too, right? Can you take them on?"

Before the Phoenix Prince has a chance to answer, someone flips onto their ship. Malty narrows her eyes, and realizes she doesn't recognize the figure at all. He is dressed in tight dark clothing, wrapped under a dark cloak and wears a mask over his face. If not for the claymore in his hand, she would mistaken the man as some assistant, or bodyguard of their new Zeltoble liaison from Dalaran. The man slams a ruby gem into a slot in his sword, making both its blade and its sword guard wrapped up in red flame. The same battle enchantment as Theresa, but from the way she also lights up her double blade, he is no friend of hers. A member of her tribe that has gone rogue and joined piracy? The female tribal warrior didn't say anything, she ran towards the figure with a loud yell as they began to clash their weapons together. The clash between the two sends embers and waves of wind all around, blowing back anyone who dares to think about intervening in their duel as they dance around each other on the shaking board.

Both marine fighters incorporated a lot of spinning techniques to their move set. Something which would have been fancy, yet wasteful nonsense that's more suited for spectacle than utility for land based fighters such as a heavily armored knight. But on top of a rocking ship, these moves actually seem to take advantage of the natural momentum brought by a constantly wavering deck. Yet Theresa is clearly at a visible disadvantage. With fire being both of their go to enchantments for their weapons, she needs to constantly be mindful to not get The Golden Wind on fire. It forces her to avoid moves that incorporate vertical spinning due to the length of her double bladed staff saber. The claymore wielding pirate on the other hand, only has to spin the hilt of his great sword in his hand to have its burning guard threaten Theresa, plus he obviously doesn't care if any of his moves actually catch The Golden Wind on fire.

"I shall do my best to disrupt them, my king." Kael'thas replies back to the Shield Hero, now that he has a moment to breathe. He sends out his crimson bird familiar, it flies low towards the pirate ship, almost at the surface of the ocean. For a brief moment, Malty completely lost track of the small bird amongst the literal sea of dark water. That's until a small wisp of red suddenly burst into existence around the pirate ship as it rams into the side of the bow. Rather than doing something fanciful, the Phoenix Prince has chosen a stealthy approach. Letting his familiar sneak near the enemy vessel and then unleashing its power. The pirate boat shakes, but when the smoke clears they don't see any visible damage to the side where Kael'thas' attack impact. Even (or perhaps, especially) a pirate would invest a lot of money into their ship, it clearly has some enchanted armor to resist a magic attack. But still, the impact itself had slowed their target down for a brief moment to let The Golden Wind and Itsuki release another volley at it. This time, Motoyasu also joined in with his own weapon art attack. Likely to get some revenge for the danger the pirates put his children in.

Once again, an enigmatic looking blue fire blast out from the pirate ship like the last time. Unlike the last time when the fire spread over the top of the pirate ship like an umbrella, it surges out in a single direction. Pushing the pirate ship away just in time to avoid a direct hit that could seriously damage, if not sink it. But that doesn't look like the only thing the unidentified Azure Dragon sorcerer was trying to do. The stream of blue fire suddenly coils around at the end, leaping up towards the deck of The Golden Wind like a viper with a mind of its own.

"[Meteor Shield]! [Barrier]!" The Shield Hero immediately erect two layers of his defense in front of The Golden Wind. Both defensive abilities formed almost on top of each other, giving the meteor shaped shield art a golden hue. The blue stream of fire collided against his defense like a rapid stream falling on top of a boulder in the middle of a river. For a brief moment, both sides seem to be evenly matched, till the jet of fire engulfs Naofumi's barrier and overpowers it. Right, because the Shield Hero didn't have the time, or didn't think of bringing out his saiga. And he's too under leveled and underpowered compared to whoever was using this blue flame among the pirates. Kael'thas takes a step forward, waving his hands around to conjure up a spinning disk of red fire in front of them. The edge of his fire disk swirls much faster than the center, till it begins to elongate outward and reshape into a cone. The stream of blue fire rams into Kael'thas' swiftly spinning cone of fire, and gets deflected outwards.

As Theresa and the unnamed pirate finish another exchange between them, something from the corner of Malty's eyes flickers. The next thing she knows, a brown figure dashes out among the crowd and closes in upon the two fighting mariners. As Theresa steps away, the figure reaches a hand out, and presses her palm into the chest of the unnamed pirate. It was the elderly martial art master granny (Malty can't recall her real name). The masked man lets out a pained grunt as he's knocked flying back, but not before he tosses his claymore towards the mast like a shooting star. Malty's head rises as her eyes trails after the sword. She reaches her hand up towards the sword streaking through the air, trying to gather enough of her magic to shoot it down. But she's too late, its sharp tip stabs right through the main mast of The Golden Wind, right through the wind crystal. With a loud boom and a blast of air pressure, Malty is knocked onto the board. Her head spinning from the impact. That must have been what the masked pirate was aiming at to begin with: the magical crystal which gave The Golden Wind its unmatched speed for a large and heavy Man-O-War which allowed it to pursue the Jackdaw.

"So long, my good marines. All of you shall remember this day when Dread Pirate Robert almost got caught~!" Malty slowly pulls herself up by the railing. She only gets to see a sorry sight of House Amelia's disarrayed, and very damaged fleet floating around in complete chaos as the pirate brig cutting through wind and waves, riding into the horizon. The Sword Hero swings his weapon forward, pointing it at the pirate brig and casts his sword art [Swords of Revealing Light] in an effort to hold it back. The Jackdaw freezes on water for a brief moment, before shattering his weapon art and continues its escape unimpeded.

With its main mast down, unable to receive the benefit of mother's mage entourage, The Golden Wind no longer has the ability to keep up with the vessel of the legendary pirate. Malty turns around to look at her mother. Just as she thought, the color on the high queen of Melromarc's face is shifting between red, blue and pale white. Her face is that of a high class lady who accidently caught a fly in her mouth during an important event. Someone who doesn't want to swallow the nasty bug, but is too afraid to open her mouth and let everyone see a fly leaving her tongue. Iris, who came out from the lower deck, looks about the same as Malty's mother. This fleet is supposed to be the pride of her family. Yet put on a decidedly embarrassing display for everyone to witness when they were attacked by a single pirate ship. Granted, the ship belongs to the legendary dread pirate, who has sunk countless numbers of famous warships, even entire fleets. But it's still a bad look on her family that their golden fleet got torn apart by a single medium sized brig with nothing to show for.

"You useless idiots! The pirates got away from Naofumi-sama because you three stooges were useless!" The Throwing Weapon Hero stomps over to the heroes and points his finger aggressively at them. Malty silently wonders if she could simply knock the idiot overboard, and pretend it was an accident.

"Says the one who did nothing but spectate the whole naval battle." Ren crosses his arms and sneers right back at the idiot.

"Still! We aren't letting them get away with this, are we?" Itsuki slams his fist onto the wooden railing in frustration. He left a fist shaped indent in the wood. It might not look much, until one remembers House Amelia built their ships with the strongest (and often, most expansive) materials. In this case, Galian stone wood. A kind of wood that's harder than steel and stone. While the Bow Hero is helplessly raging at the pirate vessel from getting away, the Spear Hero had turned around on his heel and ran towards the back of their ship. The drastic movement caught Itsuki's attention as he turned towards Motoyasu. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get a boat! I have to check if my children on the other ships are hurt!" Motoyasu didn't bother to look back, he simply shouted out his reply at Itsuki while he's making a straight line for the lifeboats strapped on the back of The Golden Wind. The Bow Hero takes a brief pause, turning his face down after hearing the Spear Hero's answer before running after him.

"Itsuki is right, Naofumi. Are we simply going to let these pirates go? What will people think of us if words get out?" Ren looks at Naofumi from the corner of his eyes. He appears much more calm than Itsuki and Motoyasu, but he looks deeply annoyed at how easily a ship of a few dozen pirates get away from them with almost no damage. The only one who got hurt was that lone, masked pirate who boarded their ship to take down The Golden Wind's mast. And even he was only beaten back by a one-hundred year old martial arts master.

The Shield Hero is silent. His finger brushing the bridge of his nose for a brief moment till he turns around to look at Gaelion. The response from the miniaturized dragon lord was as quick as he is steadfast. He crosses over his tiny little front limbs, and then pushes them outward over and over again. "NO WAY! You youngsters won't get to ride me like a steed, or a transport vessel whenever you like to! It's different if you have a life or death emergency, but I'm not about to carry you into a dangerous battle like some fat bird steed. I'm the direct son of Lord Gaia, gods damn it! I have to keep some of my dignity!"

"I have to agree with Lord Gaelion, my thane." Naofumi's stoic bodyguard breaks his silence and stands in front of the Shield Hero. He also has his arms crossed into an X shape in front of his chest while shaking his head fervently like Gaelion. Ren stares into his back, the corner of his mouth curved downward. "They already made a mockery of an entire well equipped fleet of warships, and were shown to have power and skill to defend themselves. Moreover, you would be fighting on unfamiliar terrain that deeply favors our enemy, a ship on the open sea. It's simply too dangerous an act to take for revenge, or vanity reasons."

"It's not only for revenge, or pride. I see an opportunity if we can catch up to, and force these pirates to work for us. And we'll be dealt a very severe blow if we let them get away."Naofumi's eyes begin to sweep around the people around him. "Think about it. We just rejected those self-serving noblemen's attempt to divide us up among them from the Hero Conference to stay in Melromarc together. What would they say once when they learned we allowed a single pirate ship to smash the fleet that's carrying us back to Melromarc? They are probably going to say something about Melromarc can't protect us, or we aren't strong enough to force us away again. But if we chase the pirates down, on the other hand..."

"We could take them down by the four of us. Showing the four heroes working together is stronger than an entire fleet from one of the most powerful nations." Ren finished Naofumi's sentence for him. And judging by how the Shield Hero nods alone, he was thinking the exactly same thing.

"Not only that. These pirates are proven to be capable fighters. If we take them down and force them to fight the Wave, we get some additional manpower that won't be controlled by one of those scummy nobles." The Shield Hero stops talking for a moment and looks down, his face pensive. "Normally, I hate press gang people into fighting a war they might die from. But we are talking about criminals who would be executed, or be forced into indentured service. So at least this way, they do something good with their lives..."

"You are finally going to build your slave army, Naofumi-sama?! I'm so happy for you!" The Shield Hero shoots a dirty look at his psychotic fan. But he didn't say anything back or deny the accusation. It might have been what he went through with the Fourth Wave, or maybe for the fact that he already used a technicality from slavery to keep Malty herself from the clutch of the Pig King of Faubley. People might call Naofumi a hypocrite for doing the exact same thing he wishes to abolish, but it seems like he's no longer fundamentally against the practice of slavery regardless of their reasoning.

"I hope you know what you are doing. But I'll go get Motoyasu and Itsuki." Ren gives Naofumi one last look as he runs to the back of the ship to find their fellow heroes. Naofumi turns his gaze towards Gaelion once again. The shrunken dragon lord didn't dignify him with a verbal response, choosing to bar his teeth and grunt at the Shield Hero instead.

Malty doesn't know where Naofumi's sudden change of thinking like a Player of The Game, rather than a selfless hero who goes around doing his best to help everyone came from. Perhaps it's witnessing how self-serving all the so-called 'leaders of the world' acted during the Hero Conference. Or perhaps it's the way that the people of Cal Mira Island desperately trying to hide the news of a Dragon Hourglass being discovered around their home in fear that their 'eternal neutral ground' status would no longer keep them safe. Regardless, it seems like the Shield Hero realized the importance of having power to protect himself. And it makes Malty think about herself. When she first joined Naofumi, she wanted to use his influence, and power to win prestige for herself in hope of replacing Melty as her mother's successor. After the third wave, she was focused on Naofumi, and her own survival. Now that she is no longer in immediate danger, and she has given up her chance to inherit her mother's crown... What can she do to help Naofumi?

"We do not have to impose Lord Gaelion for the task of carrying you to battle, my king. While my power is nowhere near a son of Lord Gaia, I could, and would be honored to serve you." Kael'thas interrupts the staring contest between the two competitors of the human-pygmy dragon staring contest. He kneels down, and his humanoid body begins to change shape, growing into something much larger. When he was done, a long eared human in crimson, elaborated battle robe was nowhere to be found. In his place is a red bird the size of at least two carriages with golden flame burning on his wings and crest feathers. The sound of Prince Kael'thas coming out of the red phoenix as his beak opens. "We children of Malis are blessed by the beast spirit of our lost home land. And for some of us highborn, we can still assume the form of our ancestral spirit."

Chapter Text

Itsuki didn't know what he expected from the pirate's damage on Melromarc's fleet. Probably something similar to the state of the big battleship he and Motoyasu left. So when the lifeboat the two of them boarded on stopped by a beaten up looking ship, he's a bit shocked to see the damage. Holes large enough to let people jump through (which is exactly what Motoyasu does), and wood burnt to black with ashes dripping from the edge of the newly opened tears. He quickly followed after Motoyasu leaping into the side of the drifting ship.

The inside looks and smells much worse. From the outside, the scent of smoke is much stronger, mixed with the smell of blood telling Itsuki the pirate didn't only cause property damage. Their attacks have killed people. Naofumi taught him through action the importance of not casting judgment on other people too fast. That being a hero is more about protecting and saving innocent lives than killing those he thinks are guilty. But the Bow Hero can't find any reason to justify the pirates' action. So much destruction, and likely death. For what? They were chased away in the end, probably didn't even find the time to rob any of the ships (unless some of the pirates boarded one of the wounded ships and took something while he's not looking, which he doubts). Itsuki frantically turns his head left and right, trying to find Motoyasu among the wrecked interior, rising smoke, and broken body parts... The Bow Hero does his best to ignore the last part. He hopes the end was at least quick for these victims of the pirates.

"FATHER! MITSUHA'S LEG HURTS!" The desperate wailing of a girl caught Itsuki's attention. The Bow Hero runs towards the crying sound, dodging splitters and still burning embers. As he rounded a corner through a half fallen wall into a cabin, the youngest cardinal hero saw a ghastly looking sight. A young looking girl in her early teens, with a pair of blonde twintails is writhing on the ground. Both her right leg and arm bend in a completely unnatural way, and part of her cloth around her wound looks almost melted into her skin. Her upper body is wrapped around what looks to be metal wires, likely someone's effort to limit her movement and not let her desperate flailing make her broken leg even worse.

"I'm here, Mitsuha. I'll make things better, I promise. Good job keeping your sister still, Mitsuki." Motoyasu is kneeling in front of the now named Mitsuha. He gives a quick nod of acknowledgement towards a girl kneeling by Mitsuha's head, who looks almost identical to the girl with broken limbs. From their conversation, Itsuki realizes the victim is one of Motoyasu's filorial 'children'. He doesn't know if this makes the matter better, or worse. While the girl looks, and acts like a young teen, she is technically only lightly over one month old from her birth.

Itsuki feels like he's intruding on something important between Motoyasu and his children. He is aware that he can't do anything to help in this situation. Unlike the Spear Hero, he had no affinity for any kind of healing magic, or miracles. And he only started learning the basics of medicine making from Rishia, and he doubts a healing balm is any good for broken limbs and very bad burns. But he doesn't know if he should back out of the chamber or not after barging into it. Thankfully (or unfortunately for Motoyasu and his children), someone came in behind him, and broke the awkward moment. "Motoyasu, Itsuki. Come back with me to the flag ship. Naofumi is going to chase after the pirates who did this. He'll need all three of us."

Motoyasu didn't say anything. The tip of his tongue pokes out between the corner of his lips, and slowly moves towards the center of his mouth before retracting inside. He... could simply feel his lips being too dry after moving through the inside of a ship that still had embers of fire not fully put out. The silence between them is broken when Mitsuha lets out a weak, shaking beg. "Please, Father. Don't leave me..."

"I want to stay with you till you get better, Mitsuha. But I have to go get the bad guys who hurt you. So they don't get to hurt anyone else. You sit tight and rest, your siblings will take care of you while I'm gone. And I'll be back for you and your siblings as soon as I take care of the bad men." Motoyasu gently places his hand on Mitsuha's head and gives her a few comforting rubs before slowly standing up. He slowly stands up from where he kneeled down, face looking serious and stern. "Let's go get them."

Ren looks at Itsuki next. The Bow Hero simply nods back to the sword hero. Any sense of doubt he might have about going after the pirates vanished after coming inside this ship with Motoyasu. Their spear-wielding friend might not be the brightest, but he is right this time. Someone who did this for seemingly no reason must be stopped.

Chapter 22: The Day Dread Pirate Robert Almost Escaped

Convincing the other two heroes didn't take much effort. The hard part was getting to Motoyasu and Itsuki when they had already jumped onto a small life boat to look for the Spear Hero's bird children while Naofumi was trying to convince everyone of his idea to go after the escaped pirate ship. Thankfully, none of his children were killed thanks to their high level (something can't be said for the marines employed under House Amelia), even if some did get hurt pretty badly during the ship to ship combat. Malty didn't go to take a look at the ships that's been heavily damaged by the Jackdaw herself, but from the solemn faces of Motoyasu and Itsuki, they were bad. Needless to say, Motoyasu was ready to get some revenge for his children, and Itsuki was eager to stop the pirate from hurting more people.

Once again, piercing wind begins to blow into Malty's face like hundreds of blades. She tightens her cloak wrapped around her head, but holds fast on phoenix Kael'thas' back. From the side, Naofumi wraps his shield arm around her shoulder, using his legendary weapon to offer her some more protection against the element. Kael'thas isn't the only one who is carrying them, his two Siltvelt prince colleagues are trailed right behind him across the sky. But even with three spirit birds, their capacity is very limited and the four cardinal heroes didn't bring their full party with them. Aside from the four heroes themselves, Malty is obviously here because her [Clairvoyance] is how they are tracking down the pirate vessel. A fully recovered Yatsuhashi is also sitting behind Naofumi even if he's not suited to fight on a ship, because he doesn't want to entertain the possibility of his charge getting hurt while he's not present. In addition, Blake and some of her best sea tribe warriors (including Theresa, obviously) followed them in case the pirates put up a fierce fight. 

Among those who stayed back on The Golden Wind is Raphtalia, who volunteered to 'take care of Big Sister Sadina', even if it should have been the other way around. This would be a situation where Raphtalia's very incompetent bodyguard would have been very helpful with her fighting prowess and her ability to transform into a large marine animal. Which of course, means she's not available because she's passed out drinking that whole barrel of rum by herself. The Throwing Weapon Hero had some fierce protest being left behind, and for a brief moment Malty wondered if someone had to knock him out again. Thankfully his white tiger companion convinced him to listen to Naofumi this time. With words, not his fist.

"They have slowed down after escaping from House Amelia's fleet, Master Naofumi." As Malty tries to talk, she instantly feels cold air filling the inside of mouth, lungs, stomach... It's not a pleasant feeling to say the least. Her spell doesn't give her actual vision per say, but she does see a trail of white smoke leading into the distant horizon. In addition, she's now also seeing what seems to be a blip of white shining light. That's something she never experienced before when using her [Clairvoyance], and she wonders if the effect came from her father's wand, or if it's something she earned herself by practicing with her magic since she became a companion of the Shield Hero. Regardless, it allowed her to gauge the distance between themselves and the pirate ship they are chasing down, and they are getting closer to their target.

"Don't speak. Concentrate on directing Kael." Naofumi gives a light, but encouraging pat on Malty's shoulder. The former princess nods, and begins to run her finger on phoenix Kael'thas' back to adjust his direction. Of course, it goes to reason that the speed (and agility, but that's less important when a ship is trying to create distance from their initial target) displayed by the Jackdaw during their sea battle is not normal even for the most advanced ship built with the finest material and enchanted technology. Their fire users need to rest to recover their strength, so do the devices on their ships to not get damaged.

It's hard to keep track of time when they are flying through the sky, but it feels almost like an instance. The next time Malty opens her eyes, something other than endless blue sky and dark water comes into her sight. A single boat in the distance under them, flying the black flag of a pirate. They have caught up with their target. Malty hasn't done anything other than pointing Kael'thas towards the direction of the Jackdaw. But she admits, it's a nice feeling to be the predator chasing down a target, rather than a prey constantly worrying about getting caught.

"Brace yourself, my king. The ride is about to get rough." The Phoenix Prince accelerated, clearly intended to crash down on their enemy and limit the time their range attack could hurt him, or his passengers on his back. Malty looks back, and sees the white phoenix and the dark Bennu do the same. To the pirate's credit, they clearly see Kael'thas coming as fireballs begin to launch at them like a flurry. There are also loud snapping sounds, and bolts as large as fully grown trees soar through the sky at them. It seems like the pirates weren't content to simply sit around and let their fire user do all the work defending their ship. A naval cannon isn't the best kind of siege engine for fire defense, the same thing can't be said for Scorpio Ballista. The Phoenix Prince flaps his flaming wings and waves around. Easily dodging all the attacks. The ride becomes even tougher for Malty as Kael'thas warned, but she manages to hold on as she and everyone around her leans down on Kael'thas' back. As they get closer to the ship, sounds of firearms going off can also be heard. Other pirates have joined in the effort of their mysterious fire user to defend their ship. Although the effect seems to be negligible since the phoenix prince doesn't seem to put any more effort into his dodging attempt. "COMING IN HOT!"

Malty could feel her body, or rather, the body underneath herself suddenly jerks to a stop. The sudden movement almost makes her vomit, and she wonders how the Phoenix Prince would look if she actually does puke on him. Thankfully, the effect didn't last long. The next time Malty opens her eyes, she sees they are on an unfamiliar deck. Ruined wood and ash on the 'ground' where Kael'thas made his impact that's closer to a bombardment hit than a simple landing. All around them, rough looking people in baggy, open chested dark jackets and white pants surround them holding guns and cutlasses.

"The four Cardinal Heroes, was it? A good display of your strength and unity. Bravo, bravo! Please, allow me to welcome you all to the free nation of Jackdaw." An aloof and surprisingly cultured sounding voice comes from the helm of the pirate ship accompanied by slow, but loud claps. Malty squints her eyes to get a better look at the legendary dream pirate Roberts. She doesn't know what to expect. This mythical figure that has been terrorizing the sea for centuries. To the point that some people have suspected him to be some kind of demon. Maybe a giant of a man that would rival someone like the dead (and very much unmourned) Battle Saint of the Four Heroes’ Church, Roger of Ajax. Or the late (and very much mourned) Pope of the Three Heroes’ Church Biscas Tiberius Balmus, but probably with the addition of a terrible, or magnificent beard of either pure black, or pure white.

Malty finds the actual figure of Dread Pirate Robert to be very underwhelming. His stature isn't exactly short, or tiny. But perhaps he would actually stand out more if that was the case. No, the captain of the Jackdaw happens to have a very standard height and build. His skin is very tanned and looks to be more than a bit rough, probably due to the constant exposure to the element as the captain of a pirate ship. He has dirty blonde hair dripping to the side of his head, with unclean stubble around his face instead of a beard or even a mustache. He also looks fairly young, as he can't be more than his early thirties. All in all, his appearance doesn't look very remarkable aside from the fact that his face apparently belongs to the legendary pirate captain who took down countless ships and fleet, while escaping justice till this point.

"Did you think it's all fun and games when you hurt my children?! I'M GOING TO FUCK YOUR FACE IN!" The furious roar of Motoyasu came down together with someone else's desperate scream. Malty, and most of the pirates look up. Atop the crow's nest, Motoyasu is dangling a pirate upside down by holding his ankle with one hand, and his spear pointing down at the deck of the pirate ship underneath his feet. Besides him on the mast, the white phoenix of Prince Cleose's beast form perches. Clearly, the flippant attitude of the pirate captain easily enraged the Spear Hero. Looking angry enough to do anything between skewering the legendary dread pirate to blowing up his entire ship.

Above him, the dark Bennu form of Prince Mohammed Avdol flies in circles around the pirate ship. The four Cardinal Heroes decided to come after the pirates in an attempt to subjugate  them. And this is the strategy they settled on: Naofumi and Ren would land right on the deck to negotiate the pirate's term of surrender, and possibly be beaten down on those who decide to resist. Motoyasu would stay on one of the masts with the threat to sink their ship if the pirates try to overwhelm Naofumi and Ren with numbers. And Itsuki would stay in the air as their final safety net.

Naofumi stayed on Kael'thas' back. He silently held his arm up in the direction of Motoyasu to stop him. Probably trying to remember the Spear Hero that they are trying to take the pirates in alive so they can be used to fight the current Wave of Catastrophe.

"Hold for now, Motoyasu." Blake, Theresa, and the few Cal Mira Island marines jumped down from Kael'thas' back and got into their respective fighting stance. The two Cardinal Heroes and Malty stayed on Kael'thas, in case they needed to escape into the sky in a hurry. The pirates clearly looked agitated at their uncloaked aggression, but didn't do anything much other than twitching around, and shifting their weight in their own fighting stance. For a group of unruly criminals, they are surprisingly well-disciplined to not instantly devolve into chaos when boarded by the four Cardinal Heroes and their retinue. The Shield Hero looks at the pirates and begin to address them next. "You already know our identities, yet decided to raid and rob the fleet we are on? Are you that confident in your power, or did you think we were easy targets?"

"Well. To be fair we didn't expect any of you to be on the Melromarc fleet. I think we got suckered by our informant." Dread Pirate Robert shrugs his shoulders. Besides him, the masked pirate slowly shifts his legs, while holding his chest with his left hand. His right hand is the only one that's holding up the hilt of another claymore. 

On the other another, another severe looking young man is in his own fighting stance, his bare hands each holding a bundle of burning flame. It seems like Malty found the identity of the pirate's flame user. His features are grim, but surprisingly delicate looking. Malty would almost call him pretty if they are not enemies with each other. As the situation is, she leans closer to the Sword Hero and whispers into his ears. "You see that guy holding fire in his hands, Master Ren? If a fight starts between us, immediately use your restricted sword art on him and go after him. He's probably the most dangerous one."

Ren doesn't say anything back to, or even look at Malty. He merely bobs his head up and down a few times as an acknowledgement that easily been overlooked by everyone. The Sword Hero clearly knows the importance of keeping their immediate battle strategy a secret. Thankfully Dread Pirate Robert doesn't seem to have super hearing, as he continues monologuing his explanation to the heroes. "Feminus told us that all the Cardinal Heroes had been taken away from Melromarc, and this is a great opportunity to plunder their ship for riches, maybe even take their queen and crown princess for a handsome ransom. Granted, we didn't exactly verify if her information was accurate or not before we did our raid. But hey, what did you expect? We are pirates, not one of those fancy spy organizations used by the big nations. And we did leave you guys alone immediately when we started seeing the weapon arts of all your Cardinal Heroes. Doesn't that deserve some consideration?"

"We don't care about what made you raid the fleet we were on. Or if you get deceived by someone else. You caused a lot of damage, and you hurt and killed a lot of people. My buddy's children included." Naofumi points his thumb at Motoyasu, who lets out a muffled growl to help emphasize the point. "We can do this two ways now that we chased you down. You can come quietly and face the sentence of your past actions. Fight the rest of the Waves for us as a punishment for all your past crimes... or we fight and like the Melromarc queen said - end all of you today."

"Go ahead and refuse! I dare you ! Give me a reason to nuke all you fuckhead from orbit and end you all!" Motoyasu added from atop the mast, perfectly playing the rule of the brutal thug following the order of a more sophisticated and reasonable leader.

"Very well. We accept your turn and surrender to you revered heroes." Dread Pirate Robert's acceptance of their punishment is so fast, it nearly made Malty trip her feet on nothing. Motoyasu did trip on his feet and fell over the mast. He would have plunged down with his captive if it wasn't for Katarina immediately grabbing onto his own ankle. The Spear Hero was clearly looking for any excuse to pick a fight with the pirates so he can avenge his bird children. The pirates surrounding the heroes all look back at their pirate captain for one brief moment, clearly as confused by the situation as everyone else. But they didn't immediately start a mutiny at his decision that would put them all into indentured service. They didn't even voice any objection, once again showing the discipline more expected from elite soldiers than a group of unsavory rabble.

"That was fast. All of you do realize we aren't going to take your word for it, right?" Itsuki's incredulously sounding voice rains down from the sky. He is probably raising his eyebrows at the pirates. Maybe someone should have stopped him from explaining Naofumi's exact term of demand to the pirates. But perhaps letting them know what's expected of them clearly from the start would be better for everyone now they are at an isolated location. Better to have them try something dangerous when they have nowhere to run and could sink into the bottom of the ocean if they resist, than risk them escaping into the wild and continuing to hurt more people. "I don't like the idea. But all of you are criminals. We are going to have to use that murder seal on all of you to make sure you don't try anything funny."

"GO DIVE OFF A CLIFF!" The fire user screams out before the pirate captain has a chance to respond. The orange fire in his hands instantly turns blue. Malty turns back to look at Kael'thas. Sure enough, the eyes of the phoenix prince are narrowed into a slit. " I'd rather go down fighting than get turned into property and sold out by opportunist scum like you!"

"GLADLY!" Motoyasu didn't let his current dangling state stop him. Still holding his spear in a way that has its tip pointed at the helm of Jackdaw. A ruby colored energy sphere begin to gather in front of his spear tip. Looking ready to launch his heaviest hitting Spear Weapon Art at the pirate leaders. Naofumi stops him once again with an arm wave. Motoyasu turns his head slightly to the side to glare at the Shield Hero, but he steps back without saying anything.

"I'm not looking to profit off your lives! I hate the whole slave trading business as much as you do!" The Shield Hero also takes a step forward, his narrowed eyes twitching with fury. From his previous actions, and witnessing how the whole slavery system had been abused by decadent nobles and zealous church, it must be tearing his inside apart that he's now willing to participate in the same action. "What I need all of you for is to fight the waves. Because most of those so-called 'world leaders' treat this world ending threat seriously. I was told by a demi-god that this wave isn't like most others. There is this ' Burning Legion' from outside this world ready to conquer and destroy this world. I personally fought two invading goddesses back to back in the last two Waves! But none of those so-called leaders treat it seriously . They act like I'm joking, or making up stories because I'm a little boy who doesn't know better! That's why I know I can't count on them to fight the Legion , and I need to find good fighters elsewhere. And if you survive the fight, I'll consider your past crimes paid and release all of you. Until I catch any of you trying to rob another ship again."

"Sounds like how those social elites act, alright - only getting off their lazy behind when there's something to gain." The unnamed fire user actually waves off the fire in his hands, and then crosses his arms in front of his chest. His body posture still looks rigid, but no longer in a battle ready stance that could toss fireballs at Naofumi at a moment's notice. It seems like they have found a common ground in their mutual hatred towards the self-serving nobility. The fire user narrows their eyes at Naofumi in a glare though.” But what type of guarantee can you even give that you’ll release us when all this is over? What’s stopping you from simply keeping us all as your personal slaves to attack others?” 

Malty can’t help but think the fire user is being too presumptuous, if they think they are in any position to negotiate. Their only other option is to fight all Four Cardinal Heroes to the last man and somehow win or die. But from the look on the fire user’s face, they seem fully committed to it. 

Naofumi flinches in response, probably realizing that he has no way of guaranteeing that. But he does try at least. “I’ll give you all an official pardon. I’m the King of Siltvelt technically, I’m sure I can get you all a pardon of some kind.” 

“King in name only…” The fire user rolls his eyes at Naofumi, he seemed decidedly unimpressed by the Shield Hero. Or perhaps he is simply too knowledgeable about Siltvelt's backward power structure. Kael'thas did allude to him being from the Azure Dragon clan after all.

“That’s the best you guys are going to get. Take it or leave it.” Ren stepped up to support Naofumi.

"Very well. We'll take your offer ." Dread Pirate Robert nods his head and opens his arm up in a shrug. The silent, masked pirate beside him puts his weapon down first, and then slowly sits down on the floor. Once again, the gathered pirates all look back at him for a brief moment, clearly questioning his decision. But after a brief, silent, and tense moment, they all put their weapons away without much resistance.

"That was easy... You better not be trying to play some tricks!" Itsuki's voice rains down from the sky once again. Ren narrows his eyes, and Motoyasu grits his teeth and lets out a loud growl atop the mast. The Bow Hero might be the one who voiced the question, but he clearly isn't the only one who doesn't trust the pirates.

"Maybe they are, but it's not like they can do anything once we get slave seals on them. Still, better keep them all together under heavy guard till that happens..." Naofumi dips his head low as he mumbles to himself, his eyes focused on a piece of slightly chipped wooden board in front of him. For someone as usually kind hearted as Naofumi to come up with solutions that's more in line with a callous and cruel aristocrat, the Shield Hero is as suspicious of the pirates' response as his fellow heroes.

"Ah. I know what all of you revered heroes must be thinking. Why would a group of freedom loving seamen, who choose to brave the waves rather than kneel down to a liege, so readily swear themselves to you?" The pirate captain of the Jackdaw puts his right hand under his chin, and his left hand under his right elbow in a mock thinking gesture. He began to pace the helm of his ship left and right. "The reason is very simple, my legendary friends: the four of you . You heroes still carry some very valuable prestige to everyone in the world. Those fat elites may not take your demands seriously and only want to fatten their own pocket, but they can't openly become an enemy of you in the fear of giving their rivals and enemies an excuse to take them down. We, on the other hand... unfortunately did just that because we were lied to by our informant. Which means the other nations now have extra incentive to go after us in addition to the bragging right of taking down the legendary Dread Pirate Robert. Which of course, means serving you to fight the Wave is probably the best deal we can get out of this terrible misunderstanding. We are freedom lovers who enjoy unrestricted lives, not idiots with death wishes."

"I told you that the mark was too good to be true. That shady Feminus was trying to pull one over us. But no, you have to 'take the risk for the greatest opportunity'." The still unintroduced fire user turns his head around to glare at his captain in clear annoyance.

"Oh well. You win some and you lose some. That's part of life." Dread Pirate Robert lets out a shrug once again as he brushes off their impending sentence nonchalantly. "Besides, Oku - I don't hear you complaining about Feminus when we do hit some high value target when her leak comes through for us."

Feminus ... it's a bit of a ridiculous name. Malty is willing to bet this pirate informant didn't contact them with her real name. Though come to think about it, that makes sense. From the conversation between Robert and (the now named fire sorcerer) Oku, they implied that they have hit quite a number of valuable targets thanks to information from her. Which implies they are someone who has a high position in society. Not just some rich merchant, or even a noble who is far from the center of power in any nation's court. No, this has to be someone who holds a high enough military, or administrative position to know a lot of secrets. Possibly even someone who was present in Cal Mira Island during the recent Hero Conference.

Which begs the better question. Why did Feminus lie to, and manipulate Dread Pirate Robert to attack House Amelia's fleet which was carrying the heroes back to Melromarc? It can't be that she's trying to have them kidnap the heroes or else she would have revealed the truth to them in case they kill one, or multiple heroes during the naval battle by accident. Was this 'Feminus' short sighted, or insane enough to try to get the heroes killed, consequences be damned? Was she a greedy, but incompetent opportunist? Or was she some doom cultist who actively wanted the world destroyed? Possibly even an agent working for The Burning Legion ? If that's the case, it reminded Malty of one person: Zeke, that Faubley Unspeakable who has the ability to construct a giant ape body. Regardless of their motivation, their actions certainly have similarities. Does this mean that 'Feminus' was Zeke himself (even if Robert and his pirates believed Feminus to be a woman), or perhaps his ally or accomplice who shared similar goals? So many questions, possibilities... none of them good for the Cardinal Heroes, or the world of Medea. She needs to share these thoughts to all four Cardinal Heroes next time they have some privacy, even if she doubts they have enough information to come to any conclusion. They need to be fully aware of all the possible risks involved with this Zeke, and this Feminus character. Assuming they are two different people, of course.

"I'm not going to bullshit you. It won't be easy fighting the Wave for me. Most of you probably won't live till you get released from slavery." The eyes of the Shield Hero rises back up, he scans through each and every pirates' face. "The goddess we fought from the Fourth Wave could melt people into ash. Who knows what other abominations we'll be facing in the future? But I will promise you this: as your master, I won't sell you like property. I won't use you like cannon fodder. I need warriors who are willing to fight, and die to defend this world. Not unthinking tools to be used and thrown away. And for those of you who do survive in the end, I'll consider your past crimes paid and return your freedom to you. And as you might know, I am one of the heroes. That means I'm entitled to the noble rank of a duke. For those of you who fight valiantly to defend the world, I will not act miserly for reward. Maybe I could even reward some of you a little bit of land for you to rule over."

The Shield Hero did learn something from his previous experience. Now, he no longer seems to reject the future where he would join the rank of nobility. And he seems to have been inspired by the act of Count Balgruuf rewarding Gaston with the village of Balafon to be his personal fief. Malty has no doubt that the Shield Hero would make good on his promise. He had already proven to be able to establish villages with his knowledge, and his hero abilities based on what he did with the group of refugees turned bandits in Whiterun County. All he has to do is to repeat a similar process with these pirates to hopefully turn them into future loyal subjects.

"You look down on us, Lord Shield Hero. We are pirates , freedom seeking men on the high seas. We normally bow down to no lieges or masters. That means we understand the burden of true freedom . Anything we do to others, those who are stronger has the same to render unto us. And I can assure you, dying from a cannon ball doesn't look, or feel any less painful than melted into ash by foul magic. But I shall hold you to your promise. Come on, boys. All those who are brave enough to fight the Wave of Catastrophe for a handsome reward shout AYE! All those who are too cowardly to defend our world alongside the legendary heroes whimper NAY!" The pirates raise their weapons once again to cheer alongside their captain. The masked, unintroduced and likely wounded pirate didn't say anything, but he did raise his sword up as a response. As for the (likely Azure Dragon) fire sorcerer Oku... he turns his face away and rolls his eyes to show much more pessimistic thoughts. But the sorcerer didn't openly say anything to challenge Dread Pirate Robert's decision either. He might know their end wouldn't be as bright as the Shield Hero painted for them, but he also realizes they would all sink into the sea now that the heroes show they have the ability to chase them down from the sky. As a fellow user of fire, Oku would know how deadly it is to ships.

Motoyasu jumps down from the mast onto the deck, and walks through the crowd of gathered pirates to reach Naofumi. Not the smartest thing to do... but none of the pirates tried to hurt him. To Malty's surprise... It seems like their surrender is genuine. Likewise, Mohammed Avdol also slowly descends till he lands on the front of the ship not far from Kael'thas, allowing Itsuki to walk over as well.

"Psst... Naofumi. So we really are going to let these fuckers join us without even a slap on the wrist?" Motoyasu whispers to the Shield Hero, his usually silly looking face scrunched up and twisted with anger that reminded Malty of a certain dead and unmourned Four Heroes’ Church Battle Saint. The princess turned slave wonders what he witnessed on the other ship to have the normally childish, but good natured hero act with this much vindictiveness. Hopefully, none of his bird 'children' were killed by the pirates. They really don't need to have the buried hatchet come out and cause an infighting during the more critical time. Because the already concluded Hero Conference showed them one simple fact: The Burning Legion aren't the only enemies they'll be facing. Most, if not all the greedy social elites from the very world they are trying to protect are all ready to use them, and stabbing them in the back. It reminded her of a saying she heard from someone who she couldn't recall the name of. Fear not your god like enemies, but be very fearful of your pig like allies.

"I know you weren't there on the other, smaller ships. And you didn't see how bad things got for them. But can we truly trust these criminals just because they act like everything's fine and games?" Like the Spear Hero, Itsuki also voiced his own concern. So far, the only Cardinal Hero who hasn't openly said anything about adding pirates to their own forces is Ren. But even the Sword Hero looks grim with his arms crossed in front of him... or maybe he's just being his usual sulking self. "Motoyasu's children got hurt badly. I saw one of them get her leg all bent wrong. But at least she survived . There's a lot of people who didn't. I know... because I saw torn up body parts in the ships that've been hit by cannon balls from these pirates. If anything, the way they act all flippantly is concerning, because it's clear they don't care about the atrocities they committed, and don't treat it as a serious offense."

"Like I told these pirates. I'm not rewarding them, and I especially don't trust them . I'm having them fight the toughest battle, even going up against invading outer gods . I doubt many of them will even survive the next Wave battle. That's why I'm putting slave seals on them, even if I hate the practice and still want to abolish slave trade. Better to risk the lives of these criminals to fight The Burning Legion than honest folks like the villagers from Lute, or Balafon. Besides, we can't exactly force the law-abiding citizens to go up against their own lords if we have a disagreement with those greedy, self-serving nobles. Well... we can . But then we'll be no better than those bad nobles." This time, the Shield Hero fully turns around to face the vitriol filled Spear Hero and gives him a few comforting pats on the back. "Look, Motoyasu. I understand you hate them because of what they did to your children. I'd feel the same thing if they hurt Raphtalia, Firo, Lial or Lori. Leave these criminals to me, you don't have to do anything with them. Just pretend they don't exist."

"Fine. But I don't want them anywhere near my children. You tell them to stay away, that I'll skewer them all if any of them dare to look at one of my children funny." Motoyasu throws a dirty look at the pirates before looking back at Naofumi. The Spear Hero might act like a silly child all the time, but just like a child, he has his own moment of cruelty. Likewise, the other two heroes didn't say much 

"Bring out the good rum, boys! We'll have to welcome the heroes to the Jackdaw to show there's nothing personal between us and them!" Dread Pirate Robert doesn't seem to be aware of the animosity the Spear Hero (and probably the other heroes) has towards them. Or perhaps the legendary, possibly unnaturally long lived pirate captain does know, but chooses to underplay it to not cause a mutiny from the cutthroats under him. Regardless, neither the heroes nor their supporters took his jovial attitude at face value. All of them still have their hands on the hilt, or shaft of their respective weapons. The three Vermili princes still remained in their great bird form, likely ready to snatch the heroes and fly away at the first sign of danger. Regardless, neither side chose to come to blows with each other. Naofumi needed warriors who aren't loyal to any of the established social elites to fight for him, and the pirates want to continue to live after painting the biggest target on their own backs. So very soon, a small party began to take place on the Jackdaw's deck. The pirate captain brought out the best fresh sea delicacies, alcohol, and even some preserved fruit out. Dread Pirate Robert likely knows that he won't be calling the shots of his ship for long, so he took out the good food to have one last feast to make sure none of his current subordinates decides to take off his own head.

"Why the long face, Lord Spear Hero? Like I said, I didn't mean to hurt one of your children. I'd have told my men to turn our sail and run if I knew you four were in that House Amelia fleet. That's a complete accident." While the pirate crew of Jackdaw are busy having one last drink and feast before their official incarceration (enslavement), Dread Pirate Robert walks up to the Spear Hero with two mugs of rum in his hands. He pushes one mug against Motoyasu's arm, seemingly not caring if this action would cause the Spear Hero to make good of his promise and skewer him to death. "Have a drink of our spirit, eat some of our food, be merry! And then we'll consider this horrible misunderstanding water under the bridge."

The Spear Hero didn't say anything back to the pirate captain. He lets out an annoyed grunt, but takes the mug of alcohol in his hand and downs it in one go. Motoyasu moves onto some of the food brought out by the heroes, but instead of stuffing his own face, he puts some of them into his spear. Maybe he's going to bring them back to his children. Although knowing what Firo was like... this food probably isn't much when dividing them among over a hundred filorial birds.

"What is your relationship with the Azure Dragon Great Clan? Or better yet, its main branch?" The grim voice of interrogation from Kael'thas takes Malty's attention away from the Spear Hero. She looks at the Phoenix Prince, and sure enough the flaming bird is glaring down at the comparatively small fire sorcerer Oku. "The last Azure Dragon to use the azure fire was Lord Ozai's daughter Princess Azula, but she's been dead for over a decade now. At least that's what the Azure Dragon Great Clan stated publicly. What game is Ozai, or Lung playing?!"

"Ozai can pretend there's something inherently superior about his bloodline all he wants. But there's nothing special about it. Any Azuli could use the azure fire if they go through the effort of rigorous training." Oku didn't answer Kael'thas' interrogation directly. Instead, he scoffs and spits at the dragon lord mentioned by the phoenix prince.

For a time, Kael'thas didn't say anything back to the fire sorcerer. The large flaming bird and the young (probably older than he looks due to Azure Dragon clan's slow aging) man glare at each other in complete silence. The Phoenix Prince finally breaks their staring contest after a good while. "I'll be watching you."

"We are approaching the Melromarc fleet now, my captain!" Someone from up the crow's nest shouts down at the pirates who are partying below. Because even as the merriment continued, they were slowly making their way back to the fleet they raided a moment earlier. Perhaps not the best idea since someone from House Amelia might be trying to take revenge against the pirates for their earlier crimes. But the heroes still have to officially report to Queen Mirellia about their success to pacify the crew of Jackdaw and incorporate them into Naofumi's retinue. As long as the pirates have done everything to show their lack of hostility, they should have nothing to worry about. "They are shooting at us!"

The warning came just as a huge pillar of water blew up from the side of the ship. Not harming the Jackdaw or the crew, but giving all of them a good splash that doused whatever good spirit they might have from before. Malty looks up at the mast of their ship, wondering if they were still flying the black flag of the pirate. But to her lack of surprise, they are flying a white flag of parley instead. Their ship was also moving at a slow speed to show that they do not bear hostile intention. Did some sailor from the House Amelia fleet fire a shot at the pirate on their own, or did her mother command their remaining ships to try and take the pirate ship down.

Her answer came quickly when more cannonballs started to fly at the Jackdaw. Naofumi quickly erects multiple shield weapon arts and miracle barriers in front of the pirate ship. They didn't last long against the barrages of fire, but the time was enough for the pirates to leave their drinks and food to jump back into their battle stations and have their ship to accelerate back to full speed fit for naval battle. They may be drinking rum for a while, but they still look sober enough to fight. Regardless, a good number of them are throwing dirty looks at the Shield Hero and his companions for this sudden attack. They probably think Naofumi has lied to them. And to a certain extent... he kind of did. Since his promise of taking them into indentured service and then releasing them if they redeem their past crimes through fighting the wave was never talked about, and has been acknowledged by the high queen of Melromarc... or any other authority figure for that matter. And while he is entitled to the noble rank of a duke, none of the heroes have been officially recognized as a noble with their own fiefdom yet.

"Queen of Melromarc. The pirates have all been pacified by the four Cardinal Heroes, and their former vessel Jackdaw has also been taken over by the heroes with all of them onboard! Cease this act of aggression against the four Cardinal Heroes IMMEDIATELY!" Malty doesn't have time to explain the situation to the heroes, or to the pirates. She needs to take charge of this situation before things deteriorate further due to mother's attempt at snubbing the Shield Hero (and herself). Switching the form of her wand to the one with voice manipulation, she uses it to amplify her voice and blast her warning over the entire House Amelia fleet. "Any further act of aggression will be considered aggression aimed at the four Cardinal Heroes!"

Normally, Malty would not dare to openly challenge her mother even as a personal retainer (slave) to the Shield Hero. But this time things are different. Be it true negligence or pretention (because Naofumi certainly didn't ask for the queen's permission, or even send her a message when he made his plan up to recruit the pirates), her mother had opened fire on the Cardinal Heroes, in full view of the liaisons from other nations . This would have been a major offense Mother committed in her attempt at snubbing Naofumi's influence, Something her political rivals from other nations would be more than happy to take advantage of.

The silent waiting for her mother's response feels long. At least the lack of more cannon balls flying their direction feels encouraging. After who knows how long, Queen Mirellia's voice can be heard from the Golden Wind. She lacks the convenience of a hero weapon's abilities, but she certainly doesn't lack highly skilled mages. "The Shield Hero does not have the right to pardon criminals on Melromarc's behalf. Dread Pirate Robert's aggressive actions have caused damage to Melromarc property and personnel. The Cardinal Heroes are required to leave the pirate vessel immediately, so as not to be harmed when we punish the pirates according to our law."

"Request denied! What the four Cardinal Heroes did have legal precedence as recent as The Great War." Malty can feel both the heroes, and the pirates looking at her as she continues her confrontation with her mother. "Archduke Wales Arc in his youth, have recruited criminals to fight Siltvelt occupation army. Same for the former king regent and Wand Hero Aultcray. Said criminals who survived the Great War were later incorporated into Melromarc Free Fighters to work off their sentence in service of the crown. Nobles recruiting criminals to fight a great crisis is part of Melromarc tradition. As all Cardinal Heroes are legally entitled to the rank of a duke, and the Wave of Catastrophe is the greatest threat our world would face, the Cardinal Heroes have acted according to Melromarc law. Something even the high queen of Melromarc could not override without holding a grand council with the rest of the nobility to have the law changed!"

Once again, silence reigns over the space between Jackdaw and the Amelia fleet. Malty's mother could still try to force them to abandon the crew of Jackdaw by resuming the bombardment. But she would be painting herself as an unstable tyrant in front of the liaisons of the other nations. Malty feels grateful for Kal'thuzad's suggestion. It really was a good addition to make sure her mother can't step too much out of her line. After a while, the voice of Queen Mirellia can be heard from the Golden Wind once again. "Very well. The former pirate vessel Jackdaw may join our formation. But we will be watching you closely. And make no mistake, this is not a pardon from the crown. The pirate crew, as well as Dread Pirate Robert will work off their sentence through indentured service."

Malty lets out the breath she's been holding back, and she feels proud of herself. She had a lot of external help, and she took advantage of the situation. But for the first time, she openly challenged her mother, and made her mother blink first.

Chapter Text

The rumbling of cannon, and splashing water above the deck has ceased, so is the violent shaking of the ship. Raphtalia could only assume that the sea battle has concluded one way or another. She doesn't hear the sound of clashing weapons, so she could only assume there's no fighting above the deck either. But Naofumi and Malty haven't come to see her yet. She doesn't know if the battle ended in their favor or not. And honestly, she doesn't truly care about the conclusion of the battle so long as her family wasn't hurt. House Amelia, or the queen of Melromarc haven't exactly been nice to her, or her surrogate family. Especially the queen who almost married Malty away, reset Naofumi's level and had him whipped half to death. She doesn't wish bad things to happen to the queen like Fuckboy , because she saw how bad things got all around without the queen overlooking everything. But she wouldn't spare a silent prayer for her safety when she has more important things on hand.

Raphtalia lets out a sigh at big sister Sadina, begins to twitch and turn on top of the bedsheet, making a mess of everything. Once again, Raphtalia tucks her childhood protector in, and takes off the damp blanket on top of her forehead that's beginning to grow warm. She washed it in the bucket of cold water beside them, cooled it down before carefully placing the blanket back on big sister Sadina's head. Throughout the process, the only family she has left from her previous life lets out barely intelligible groans beside her. "...more...MORE~!"

Raphtalia feels the knot in her throat as she looks at her childhood protector lying on the floor. Big sister Sadina was her protector as far back as her memory could recall. Always there to look after her, make sure she doesn't put herself in real danger. Something that she made extra hard by playing with children outside of her family, instead of children from other Kyutenrou remnant families who Big Sister Sadina's family considered to be the 'right, proper friends for our princess'. Keel in particular, got Rifana and herself into more trouble than she could count. While Big Sister Sadina isn't always there right besides her, she knows her older protector was watching her just outside of her view. She looked so tall, so strong, like the mountain range north of their home. But looking at her big sister now... she looks like trampled mud. "You can't keep drinking like this, Big Sister Sadina. You are going to kill yourself one day."

"Non- nonsense! You worry too much, little Raphtalia. Here~ have a sip of the courage water. It'll make all your worries go away~" Big Sister Sadina raises her right arm towards Raphtalia. Or she tried to, since her hand is pointing two people's width right to where Raphtalia is actually sitting. The fingers in her raised hand are coiled around, like she's holding an invisible cup. Raphtalia knew what Big Sister Sadina meant by 'courage water' is more alcohol, so she lets out another sigh as her childhood protector seems to be lost in her own head. "Hey... hey? Why are there three of you, little Raphtalia?"

Chapter 23: Enter the New Player, Shield Hero

"Raphtalia! Good, you are okay." Keel half crashed her way into their cabin. Seeing how nothing happened to Raphtalia since she's gone, Keel lets out a deep breath, then slowly paces her way over and plops herself down besides Raphtalia. She reaches her hand over to a water skin, and dumps most of its content into her mouth. A bad thing to do, probably more so in a ship that's constantly shaking. She spits out half of the water right out of her mouth, letting some of them fall on big sister Sadina's blanket, and even her face. Raphtalia wants to chastise Keel for being so foolish, but she can't force herself to when her friend begins to violently cough.

"Slow down! Don't drink so fast, Keel! You are going to choke to death!" Raphtalia snatches the water skin away from Keel's hands. She puts the stopper on, and then tosses the water container aside before patting her friend on the back, helping her get the water out. "What's happening? Are the pirates chased away?"

"The- *cough cough* pirates? Oh, they are long gone." Keel recovers her breath after a few more moments of violent coughing. "Apparently the pirate ship turned tail and ran after the ship we were on had hit them with two full volleys. People on the deck are praising the queen for her quick act to chase away this Dread Pirate Robert fellow. But I don't know. I saw two masts snapped from the middle, and this ship looks sorry. But people aren't fighting anymore."

Raphtalia lets out the breath she's been holding. The pirate didn't win the sea battle, that means they are safe. She didn't think the pirate they were fighting had enough high level people to beat everyone if they got onboard. But it doesn't mean they can't sink the ship they are on and kill everyone. It doesn't matter how strong the heroes are, they can't survive if they fall head first into the ocean without a ship and supplies to take them back to land. But then she realized something strange, how come Naofumi or Malty hasn't come looking for her if the pirates are gone? She already told them that she is taking big sister Sadina down under the deck to make sure she doesn't get thrown into the ocean. "What happened to Naofumi and Malty? Are they hurt?"

"They went after the pirates. At least that's what I heard from the crew." Keel shrugs her shoulders, clearly not as concerned about the heroes' whereabouts as Raphtalia herself. This answer instantly made Raphtalia's rapidly beating heart jump back into her throat again. Did Naofumi and Malty chase after the pirates on a ship? Or had they flown to the pirates? What if they get hurt while away from the fleet? Who is going to know if they are lost in the sea? Raphtalia looks down at Big Sister Sadina. Her childhood protector has already begun to snore, not caring and probably not know there has been a navy battle around her for a good while. Raphtalia jumps up to her feet, and runs out of the cabin. She can still hear Keel's voice behind her, even if she's not paying her friend any mind. "HEY! Where are you going, Raphtalia?! Wait for me!"

Raphtalia runs as fast as her feet can carry her, and she practically flies up the stairs leading to the deck. As she feels the spicy sea wind in her face again, a loud wave of rumbling and loud boom causes her to lose balance, and nearly tumbles back down the stairs again. Only Keel's support behind her back saved her from a painful fall. She jumps up to the deck again, and sees the sailors loading cannons to the right side of the ship. She turns around, trying to understand the situation around her better. And she sees the queen standing near the wheel. Her blue haired, mean little daughter (she's Malty, her surrogate mother's younger sister, Raphtalia reminds herself) being held back by a couple of knights. "Stop it, MOTHER! What if Big Sister Malty is on the pirate ship!? You'll kill her!"

"There's nothing for you to worry about, Melty. Your older sister has a great self preservation instinct. Something you could learn from her. She would not have willingly put herself in danger." The lack of emotion in the queen's voice makes Raphtalia feel cold. This... this is not how a mother talks about or to her own child. Raphtalia's own mother never speaks to her like this, nor does Malty. It makes her think that the queen doesn't really care if she actually hurt , or killed Malty by accident.

"As the representative of Noble Faubley, I must officially voice my concern. Your careless action would endanger the four Cardinal Heroes. Whose lives are crucial to repel the Wave of Catastrophe." The dark haired woman from Faubley takes a single step towards the queen with her bodyguard wearing the scary looking mask. She also gives a quick glance to the side, at the young looking girls who helped them rescue Naofumi from that B- bad bandit woman.

"Just like former princess Malty, there is no need for the heroes to remain on the pirate ship. They flew to the pirate ship-" The queen didn't have a chance to finish her explanation when Malty's voice boomed its way over from the distant pirate ship. She raises her hand with an unhappy looking face. "Cease firing."

Thankfully, things resolve quickly afterwards. The queen didn't want the heroes to take these pirates into fighting the Wave of Catastrophe for some reason. But in the end, she accepted the outcome. Raphtalia is vaguely aware of what's going to happen. The pirates pacified by the heroes would be turned into slaves to fight monsters. She isn't sure what to think about. How Naofumi turned people into slaves instead of freeing them. But these are criminals who had raided their ships and hurt a lot of people. So it's either death for them, or being turned into slaves to serve their sentence anyway. And the queen... she tried to push the heroes (most likely aimed at Naofumi and Malty, like what she did back in the capital) around. It made Raphtalia realize how even with a revered title like heroes, her family needs to have more to not get bullied by these nobles and lieges who have a lot of people they can throw at them.

How could she help her new surrogate family more? She's only a kid who can turn into an animal, or into her (supposed) adult body. And she barely started her combat training. But even if she finishes her lesson, she is only one person against many. The only possible way she could influence more people is... to use her identity as the 'last princess of Kyutenrou'. But would it only bring more trouble to Naofumi and Malty? Because the biggest group of her people that's been settled together are ruled by Lord Isshin . And he's been looking all around for Raphtalia's family.

Sound of something hitting wood brings Raphtalia out of her own head. It's not as loud as an explosion, or something that completely snaps the wood. The pirate ship comes closer the big warship Raphtalia is on. Not too long after, some grappling hooks are tossed onto the railing to stabilize the two ships together. Boards are also brought out between the two ships to allow people to walk between both ships. Naofumi appears on the other end, and waves at Raphtalia. He also turns his face to the Throwing Weapon Hero with an equally annoyed look like the queen. "Come over Raphtalia! We are going to Stormwind first. And... you too. Throwing Weapon Hero Tairou, and your companions. Make sure to bring along Firo."

o(-_-)o[T]

The sound of a bell echoes over the port of Stormwind city as Amelia fleet limps its way into port. Some of the lighter escort ships might be scuttled all together, while most others require the most extensive repair. Even the flagship Golden Wind needs to have two of its three masts (one of them being the main mast with the wind crystal completely destroyed) replaced. Needless to say, the dock workers and craftsmen of Stormwind will have a lot of work in the coming months, and will probably be paid well out of House Amelia's vault.

The Jackdaw also pulls into the port after the House Amelia fleet. Its former pirate crew have their hands bound, and tied up with ropes as they are paraded on the street, before officially entering their sentence in front of the church in the city of Stormwind. But instead of being owned by the nation of Melromarc (aka the Melromarc royal family), their master will be the Shield Hero for he is the one who subdued them. Naofumi will gain a group of fighters who are only loyal to him (enforced by the slave seal, of course), but House Amelia and the queen of Melromarc will also be allowed to save their faces for what would have been a crushing naval defeat by a single pirate brig. Everybody wins in the end, except for the pirates. But Malty can't be bothered to care for a group of criminals.

"We'll keep the ship safe for you, Lord Shield Hero." Lady Belladonna stayed on the ship with the dozen of her sea tribe warriors who served as her personal guards. Apparently, they are also experienced sailors in addition to marine fighters. It makes sense, considering their home is an archipelago even if the area of Cal Mira is more of a tribal confederacy than a proper nation. Most of the travels between their natives are done on smaller boats and canoes. But they still needed large trade ships to import materials and supplies they couldn't produce themselves, and escort warships to protect their transporters. The covenant that allows them to stay independent doesn't cover their ships, plus pirates... or privateers paid off by the other nations wouldn't exactly follow such rules. "And I'll pen a letter to Father, to let him send out some more seasoned sailors, so we can have enough men for multiple shifts."

"Good. See to it that this ship is safe. I don't know when we'll actually need it since we already have carriages and teleportation skills. But having a seaworthy ship of our own should come in handy. And also, thank you." The Cal Mira warriors didn't react too much to the Shield Hero's command, or his gratitude. While some of them are demi-human, they don't revere the Shield Hero as much as those who live in Siltvelt or Shiltfreeden. Probably because they weren't oppressed as badly as their mainland dwelling kin. 

Naofumi turns around to leave the port with his fellow heroes and all of their companions. As the Jackdaw slowly begins to disappear from their view, Malty gives a quick look around to make sure nobody has their attention on Naofumi and herself. She leans into Naofumi's ear and whispers to him. "Once the original pirate crews are officially 'incarcerated', you should mix them with the Cal Mira crew, Master Naofumi. We still don't know if we can fully trust the people of Cal Mira Island yet. Having a mixed crew could have them guard, and monitor each other."

Naofumi stops his feet mid step. He places both feet on the ground and stays still for a few moments, seemingly thinking over Malty's suggestion before turning to look at her. "Wouldn't this decrease the overall effectiveness of our crew if they are busy watching over each other? I thought you should fully trust the people working for you, and simply not use them if you doubt their loyalty?"

"In an ideal world. Yes. But our situation is far from perfect." Malty also pauses her steps right behind the Shield Hero. "We didn't recruit the people of Cal Mira Island ourselves. They followed us because of your identity as a Cardinal Hero. We didn't have enough time to read over what kind of people they truly are. On the other hand, we did recruit the pirates. By threatening to kill them all, and forcing them to subjugate us with the threat of slave seals. Neither side are someone we can blindly trust with our lives, and not worry about them stabbing us in the back for revenge, or for their personal gain. We could start to trust them once they earn it, but for now, we need to come up with plans and contingencies to make sure of our own safety first. And think about it this way, Master Naofumi. If they truly are loyal to us, they won't be easily deterred by some minor inconveniences and open distrust. But if they are not... it'll put our own lives at risk."

The Shield Hero doesn't immediately answer her back. He is clearly pondering over Malty's suggestions. She supposes it's a good thing that he is truly weighing over her words, rather than outright rejecting them like he sometimes did before the Third Wave. "Very well. I think you are right. We should be careful and make sure we are safe first before thinking about the feelings of other people. But once I'm convinced of their trustworthiness, I won't have my own subordinates work against each other."

"That's fine. I'm sure they'll be grateful once that happens." As Naofumi begins to move his feet after the parade of surrendered pirates, Malty follows right after him. She's willing to bet Naofumi's standard of fully trusting some previous strangers isn't the same as her own. Then again, her own method of how to manage her own subordinates would likely be different from him. As she would ensure she knows what's going on with her followers all the time, except those closest to her. But she does see the advantage of Naofumi's way, especially for the more upstanding and honorable types like Eclair's family. Perhaps she should learn from Naofumi's example and try to believe more in the faithful kind of people.

The queen's victory parade was longer than it needed to be. But if Malty knows her mother, she'll hold an even bigger celebration when they return to the capital. Not for the act of subduing the legendary dread pirate, but for taking back all four Cardinal Heroes from the Hero Conference held at Cal Mira Island. It didn't have anything to do with the High Queen of Melromarc, as the four Cardinal Heroes fought for it themselves. But it'll be a way to boost the failing prestige of the queen, at least in the eyes of unsophisticated common men who learn news from gossip, and whatever official announcement from a town crier. But regardless how needlessly drawn out the event held, and how much extra distance their feet covered. Their little parade of prisoners eventually reached the chapel in Stormwind, where the seal of the slave will be placed on the chest of the captured pirates.

The pirates took their sentence with surprising little fanfare. Their bodies twitched around a little as the guards stripped their upper body bare, and they let out some grunts of pain as priests drew the seal of servitude on their chest with magical ink. But they didn't try to fight back, or try to make a break for the crowd while they were being paraded around, for that matter. And for a few selected of them such as Dread Pirate Robert himself, and the still yet unnamed mask-wearing pirate, they didn't even move around or let out any noise as they are branded as slaves of the Shield Hero. At least Malty hopes her mother isn't dumb enough to try to pull some trick and make herself as their master. Consider it's the four Cardinal Heroes' insistence to stay in Melromarc that's going to boost her right to sit on the throne, and the three weapon wielding heroes all trust the Shield Hero. Openly stealing indentured servants that rightfully belongs to him would be the fastest way for her to lose her newly regained prestige and likely cause someone from the nobility to motion for another Vote of No Confidence against her again. She's going to have someone she trusts examine the condition of all their slave seals later anyway. Maybe the LeStrange wizards living in Whiterun County.

"Keep your dirty hands away from me!" A furious voice and a few shocked screams breaks the solemness of the act in the chapel. Malty looks up, and sees the startled guards are walking back, while trying to pat away the small bundles of fire on their bodies. Needless to say, they are caused by Oku, the pirates' fire sorcerer. The queen's knights who were only standing near the queen to protect her steps forward, looking ready to subdue the resisting pirate with stern expression (and in Palmer's case, gleeful expression). But before they close the distance, Oku already rips open his shirt at the front. "I'll do it myself."

Originally, Malty thought the fire sorcerer was being quite foolish. If he wanted to escape, the best chance to do so would be when he was being paraded around on the streets of Stormwind. There were guards walking by the side, but the queen's personal, high leveled escorts were at the front with their charge. Away from the pirate instead of within twenty paces of him and could subdue him in a blink of eye. There is also, of course, a large crowd of common people who could easily be scared into a panicked stampede by a fire user like him, which would in term allow him and his fellow pirates a chance to escape in the chaos. But seeing his exposed chest, Malty realized why the fire sorcerer acted the way he did. Well... correction, acted the way she did. On her chest, there are bands of fabric a woman uses to restrict her own chest. For ease of movement... or to look like a man.

Most of the knights still have their legs and halt their advance on Oku. They look back at their queen, waiting for further instruction. Not Palmer, she didn't let the fact that her opponent is unarmed deter her own charge. Even if a knight should very much even threaten someone without a weapon let alone trying to hurt and possibly kill them. Regardless, it didn't do Palmer any good. Oku simply catches the tip of the sword between the index and middle finger of her left hand. Azure fire envelopes her hand, goating, and then melting the castle forged steel blade to hot liquid as she kicks out her feet, and buries her feet into Palmer's stomach. The knight is sent flying backwards, faster than when she charged at Oku, even faster than the cannonballs fired out of the Golden Wind. The sound of crumbling stone, clanking metal and a newly created hole in the back wall of the chapel's hall tells everyone where Queen Mirellia's most favored thug ended up.

"Is this how the Shield Hero is going to keep his little private army? Letting them go around attacking other people?" The queen's tone is as accusatory as it is cold. She is using this as another opportunity to snub the Shield Hero. Did she intentionally instruct Palmer to make a sacrifice play for such development, or did she simply stayed back and allowed such a situation to come naturally? Malty can't say. But perhaps that's the reason why she would keep someone as brutish as Palmer as one of her most favored knight. Even if her behavior should have her discharged a long time ago.

"She had it coming. Keep acting like a complete twat, you'll get twat'ed by the bigger bully." Naofumi crosses his arms and snorts right back at the queen. He didn't take the trap before Malty even had the time to warn him of the pitfall. Maybe he knew the importance of a leader keeping his own men safe from threat to earn their loyalty and trust. Or perhaps he simply decided to go against the queen out of grudge due to all the mistreatment and abuse she forced onto him. Regardless, he openly challenged the queen rather than acted like some good, tamed dog of her. And his scathing words aren't leaving much dignity for the queen. "Don't treat me like I'm blind, deaf and stupid . I know you had it out for me as much as you had it out for your own daughter . And don't think I decided to stay in this country because of you . I stayed in this country with my friends in spite of you . And if you push me too far, I'm sure other nations would welcome us. Before you decide to accuse me for anything, clean your own house first."

"Of course, my king. Siltvelt will welcome the glorious presence of you... and your friends any time. While I can't speak for the other great clans, I can vow as the prince of the Red Phoenix. That all Vermili will support, and defend you to our dying breath as a repentance to what The Kingtaker did to our previous king." Prince Kael'thas bows down his upper body right behind the Shield Hero. Playing the role of an accommodating sycophant supporter of the Shield Hero well. "As for you, honorable queen of glorious Melromarc. You’d do well to remember that the person you're speaking to isn't one of your personal footstools who is constantly at your beck and call, but your equal. Master Shield Hero may have not assumed his rightful throne yet, but the moment he is summoned, he is the rightful king of all the children of Malis."

Needless to say, both the Shield Hero and Siltvelt's own Red Phoenix Prince had put Mother onto the metaphorical fire pit for a good roasting. And in a way, this is a complete reversal of the situation the queen tried to force onto the Shield Hero himself. Either sacrifice yet another one of her pawns to protect herself for a little longer and take a major hit to her already tattered reputation, or go head to head with the Shield Hero... and risk losing the support of the heroes which would have her lose her crown even quicker. At this crucial moment, someone else stepped forth and saved her from the one who would decide Sir Palmer's fate.

The one who stepped out is a woman with naturally curly golden blonde hair covering half of her face. With strands of gray mixed with her golden locks, and aged lines on her face, she looks at least a decade older than Malty's mother, with a suit of green tinted heavy armor. Malty doesn't know Sir Meggie as much as some of her mother's other lackeys. But she still knows the commander, and the lady of Castle Cello belongs to Mother's inner circle. Not only an attack dog, and a bodyguard Mother keeps around her like Palmer. The seasoned dragon knight is someone who had experience and success leading her fellow knights against Siltvelt occupation army back in The Great War. A general to rely on , not a pawn to be tossed away. "Sir Palmer acted out of her term, my queen. I suggest you discipline her for her repeated violation of our own knightly code."

"Very well. I shall leave Sir Palmer to you to straighten out some of her worst behaviors. As for you, Lord Shield Hero. Now that you have a proper retinue, and started to recruit more men from the unsavory type. I believe I have a job that's right up your alley." Mother waves Sir Meggie off. Malty isn't sure if she is meant to let the knight commander work on her pet thug's behavior, or simply an excuse to take the brutish knight way. Regardless, she turns to look at the Shield Hero. "There's a sighting of a group of bandits that's been targeting peasants and merchants traveling up and down the road between the capital and Whiterun County. They haven't been the most dire threat our nation faced considering the other, more pressing matters such as the ongoing Wave of Catastrophe, or the rebellion of the Three Heroes' Church. But now the church has been pacified and the matters with the waves settled, I need someone to clear out this nest of bandits that's been sowing chaos in my realm. Especially now there's witnesses reporting that they are building some kind of camp. Seeing how you have experience dealing with bandits, you will be tasked to resolve this matter. I expect this matter to be settled in the following week to ensure there will be no further disruption for us to prepare for the following Wave battles."

Mother is, of course, talking about Porter's group. Unless there's another band of highwaymen, robbers and thieves who moved into their abandoned camp after they resettled near the abandoned tower with the Lestranges. It suddenly occurred to Malty that her mother most likely doesn't know the relationship Naofumi already built with Porter's group, or else she likely wouldn't have sent the Shield Hero out for this task that would have no doubt given him another excuse to start recruiting some people to his cause. But in a twist of irony, Mother isn't the only one who has no idea what's at play here when Kael'thas voices his objection. "Queen of Melromarc, you have no right to command the rightful God King of Siltvelt for any task as if he is but another one of your subordinate. Moreover, it is unfair to dispatch our king, the one who you forced into a level reset, (I)to go fight a group of vicious bandits(I) when his fellow heroes will have free reign to do tasks, or train themselves as they please."

"Now that all four Cardinal Heroes have chosen glorious Melromarc as their base of operation, it is in their interest to ensure the smooth operation of my nation for our effort to prepare for future waves. I will also be delegating tasks to the other heroes. But if the Shield Hero is not up to the task, I will have one of his fellow heroes pacify this bandit group." Mother continues to cross words with Prince Kael'thas. Neither realizing the conflict they are fighting over should have already been settled in Naofumi's mind. Although the Shield Hero did surprise Malty when he took over the argument.

"Back, Kael. I'm always up to the task of making this world safer for the innocent common people. However, I would like to ask for some reward since I'm now on official business from the royalty of this nation." Naofumi holds his hand up to silence Kael'thas. The honest thing to do for the Shield Hero in this situation would, of course, be to reveal his previous connection with Porter's group. It might very well be what Naofumi would have done before the Third Wave, and their sordid business with the Three Heroes' Church. Which is why 'the right thing' is not what the Shield Hero is doing. Rather than explaining to mother the nature of the bandit group, he is using this opportunity to ask for a reward. Malty doesn't know if some of her words finally got through to Naofumi, or if he would have independently come to this method. She's proud of him regardless of thinking less as a hero, and more as a player in The Game. "I have seen a soldier, or some clerk guy asking his lord for a reward when his lord asked him to go after some records. Surely, I'm also within my right to ask for a reward now you want me to risk my life to fight some bandits."

This time, Malty has to pause and truly think about the event Naofumi is talking about.

"Asking for a reward to defend the innocent is not a fitting action for a hero ." The frown on Mother's face grows deeper. The queen didn't even wait to hear what Naofumi wanted before showing her disapproval. It could be a genuine reaction, or it could be a calculated attempt to intimidate Naofumi into abandoning his request. It makes no difference when the Shield Hero's face barely even twitched at her displeasure. So the queen turns to look at Naofumi's fellow heroes. "Would your fellow heroes approve of what you are doing?"

"Why shouldn't we? You are the one who abused Naofumi since your return. And if that's how you treat Naofumi, what's to say you won't have the three of us whipped for whatever reason you please?" Ren narrows his eyes at the queen. Itsuki and Motoyasu didn't say anything, but they all took a few steps to stand behind the young Sword Hero, seemingly content to let him speak for both of them. "But Naofumi is the one who decided we should give you another chance. If anything, you owe Naofumi without sending him on a job."

"Yeah! What's that about, queen? Why are you being extra mean to Naofumi, and Malty? I get you don't like Naofumi because he's the Shield Hero, but isn't Malty also your daughter like Melty?" The Spear Hero once again, speaks what everyone knows deep down but doesn't voice out loud with the sincerity of an honest child. "I'm cutting you some slack because I don't want to upset Melty. But don't think I haven't noticed you had it out for Naofumi and Malty."

"I assure you I have no personal grudge against Lord Shield Hero, or my foolish elder daughter. I do everything for the greater good of my nation, and my people." Malty's mother quickly tries to change the topic, and appease the heroes to not lose any more face than she already did. She turns to the Shield Hero next, seemingly resigned to the fact that she will have to accept whatever reward Naofumi asks for... within reason. Of course. "I am open to hear your demand in exchange for your service to pacify the bandit group south of the city of Trumpet, Lord Shield Hero."

"First of all, I'm not going to ask you for money. I know you probably need all the money to train your army, pay off all the damage caused by the Three Heroes’ Church and I'm not another fat, greedy noble here to bleed you dry. I'll find my own way to make coins to pay off that Prince Joseph guy." The Shield Hero turns his face to the side, and nods his thanks to his fellow heroes first before looking back at the queen. "Which is what I'm going to ask of you. I can make potions with my shield ability, so I'm going to be open to selling my surplus to anyone rich enough to buy them. Even you. I'm sure you'll find a use for healing items to help the people you apparently treasure so much, and you'll need them for your army in the following wave battles. I'm not here to skim you from the top either. But I am asking for an official contract. Buy what potion you need from me at a reasonable market price, and I'll use whatever I get from you to pay back Prince Joseph for the damage I caused him. I don't care if you turn around and sell these potions at higher price to your fellow orders, but don't let me hear you jacking the price for the common people you apparently cared so much for. Because if I hear something like that, you'll bet I'll re-negotiate a contract that's less favorable to you for the next shipment."

"Easy enough. Consider it done." Mother nods her regal head, agreeing to the Shield Hero's term like she's doing him a favor. But she continues to look at the Shield Hero afterwards, almost like she's expecting him to ask for more. A reasonable expectation. The contract Naofumi offered her is more than fair, and in a lot of ways he is the one doing the queen a favor. Healing potion is a valuable supply to have during the Wave of Catastrophe, and the Three Heroes' Church has caused Melromarc a lot of damage with its badly thought out, even worse timed rebellion. Local apothecaries and alchemists likely won't have enough stock to supply the royal family, not to mention whatever demand local lords would also have. And if the queen of Melromarc tries to import them from outside of Melromarc, she'll be buying them at a very high premium considering the other nations will also need such items for the Wave battles.

"Next, I want a place where I can set up shop. Somewhere to call my own. Somewhere I can run to with my friends and hunker down in case someone else in this country wants my head like those church guys. That place you said the bandits are building a camp of... sounds like it'll make a nice summer vacation house. Since I'm also a Thane of Jarl Balgruuf like Gaston, I'm sure I can convince him to let me take over the camp once I take care of its residents. But I'll be needing more manpower to turn it around." The Shield Hero points his finger at the queen of Melromarc, not showing her any respect her title should command. "And what do you know? I happen to know you are sitting on a lot of manpower you aren't actively using. I know, because I have been to the slum in your capital more than once. Almost got shanked by a bunch of squatters, and I did get mugged by a gang. So let me take these people to help me build my summer vacation home and employ them there."

"You are asking for a lot, Sir Shield Hero - To ask for a new sanctuary fully dedicated to your own when you already have two right at your fingertips." Mother narrows her eyes at Naofumi. Malty didn't miss the beat that she stopped using the title 'lord' to address him. It's a clear hint that she doesn't intend to let him claim the full right he is rightfully entitled to. "If safety is what you want, then it is to my understanding that Lord Spear Hero and his companions have made the city of Stormwind a fortress. And if a walled city isn't to your liking, or if you want to have an active role in the direction of a settlement, then you could have put in the effort to help rebuild the village of Balafon. It is to my understanding that Count Balgruuf appointed the rulership of the village to a former ranger, and hunter from the village of Lute. Someone who shares close confidence with you."

"Don't you dare to bring the village of Balafon up! You wanted to give it to your daughter... oh, I'm sorry. Your favorite daughter who is still a kid, while you were perfectly happy to send your older, adult daughter to a known rapist murderer! If Jarl Balgruuf didn't step in, would you have let Balafon be a place opened to us all, or would you have made it your precious golden child's personal fief?" Naofumi is not intimidated, or shamed by the queen in the slightest as he takes a step forward and glares right back at the queen. "I'm not going to mince words here. The people I'm looking for are rough. Squatters, thieves, gangsters... probably even murderers and other terrible people. People I won't feel bad about sticking a torture device and killswitch on their skin. Do you even want these kinds of people around your precious golden daughter?"

The queen doesn't speak. She continues to look back at Naofumi with her silent, but piercing gaze. As if questioning the very practicality of Naofumi's plan. The Shield Hero takes half a step back. Normally, such an act could be interpreted as a sign of weakness. But from the way Naofumi's upper body bends slightly backwards and his eyes narrowing into a slit, it looks more like an act of confidence, Like he is looking down at the queen of Melromarc. "Think about it this way. I'm doing an experiment at my own expense. I'm trying to see if I can rehabilitate a bunch of people you can't put to use in any way. If I'm successful with my little attempt at establishing a new village, you'll get a bunch of people who used to commit crimes as a living becoming good, tax paying citizens. And those who can't be rehabilitated will be sent out as the first Wave of cannon fodders to die in the Wave battle. And if this experiment fails, you'll have a lot of dead criminals at the end of the day that'll only improve the order of your country. You win either way. All I'm asking is the right to pardon them when these undesirables get turned into a proper, loyal citizen again. If anything, I'm doing a favor for you."

"Fine. You will have your right to take criminals, and the right to pardon them if they are properly redeemed to proper, loyal citizens of Melromarc again. But knowing this, these criminals will be your responsibility. If any of them relapses back to their criminal way again, or worse, manages to fool you into thinking they have turned over a new leaf to have you release them. Whatever evil deed they'll commit in the future will be answered by you , and weigh on your conscience." The high queen of Melromarc finally relent to Naofumi's demand after much convincing... and some thinly veiled threats from the four Cardinal Heroes. She turns around, and leaves with most of her knightly escort through the front of the chapel. Sir Meggie did take a few of her fellow knights and split from the queen's entourage to leave from the back. Presumably to collect Sir Palmer after she's knocked through a wall by Oku. Because of course, the gloriously splendid High Queen of Melromarc would not exit from the back of any building. Not after she made a huge event parading the captured pirates through Stormwind anyways.

Naofumi's eyes follow the queen and her entourage as she leaves the hall of the Stormwind chapel, and then disappears down the street. He finally lets out a long breath he's apparently been holding this entire time as he turns to look at his fellow Cardinal Heroes. "Thanks for the support and vote of confidence, guys. If you guys didn't have my back all the way, there's no way she'd let me get what I wanted.

"Don't mention it Naofumi. Everyone who isn't blind, deaf and dumb could tell this queen has it out for you and Malty." This time, the one who answered the Shield Hero happens to be the Bow Hero Itsuki. He nudges his head slightly towards Motoyasu. "Even Motoyasu was against the queen this time."

The Spear Hero furiously nods his head along Itsuki's words. Besides him, Ren asks with one raised eyebrow. "You do realize Itsuki isn't complimenting you? He's saying you blindly agree with women and let them walk all over you."

"Hey, that's not nice! I respect women, but I don't let them walk all over me !" Motoyasu stays silent for a few seconds. He suddenly jumps on his feet as his brain seems to finally catch up to what the Sword Hero was saying. He looks at the rest of the Cardinal Heroes, who all stare at him at various elevations of their eyebrows. "Do all of you think I'm a doormat to girls?"

"If you need us to spell it out? YES." Naofumi answers all of them. His composure is quickly broken when Motoyasu suddenly charges at him, and puts his head in a headlock. The Spear Hero drills his balled up free hand into his skull for a few spins. He then moves onto the two younger heroes to ruffle their hair too.

Malty silently looks at the four Cardinal Heroes running around, trying to push each other onto the floor and mess with each other's hair. A bit childish for heroes who have the world rested on their shoulders. But perhaps they earned this carefree moment of respite after fighting off an invading outer goddess, and the players of The Game from different nations.

Chapter Text

The Cardinal Heroes didn't get to fool around for too long before they had to recuperate themselves. Thankfully, there's no real damage between them other than some disheveled clothes, messed up hair, and a few scraps here and there on the two younger heroes while they were all rolling on the floor having their four-way mock fight. A hero's work is never done, especially while the Wave of Catastrophe is still fully underway.

"You know, Itsuki? I was just thinking about something." As Naofumi walks through the chapel with his newly 'recruited' pirate crew behind him, he turns to look at the Bow Hero. "You said your world stopped making comic books for superheroes because they are real. Right? How come you instantly picked up on The Incredibles reference. when we were talking?"

"Yeah. It was surprising when Pixar made a CG animated film about superheroes. But the story was a pretty refreshing take compared to what's going on in the world so it got a lot of positive attention." Itsuki shrugs his shoulders. "It was even more surprising when Pixar turned around the next year, and made a sequel that's a romantic suspense thriller."

"What? That shitty sequel with the 'Screen Slaver' they came out years later?" Naofumi's feet suddenly plant into the ground, making Malty bump into his back. The Shield Hero fully turns his body to look at Itsuki, and the motion is mimicked by both Motoyasu and Ren.

"Who’s ScreenSlaver? Is that what your version of The Incredibles 2 named its main villain? Chrono Gaze was the better name." The Bow Hero lets a snort escape his nose. Seeing the confused face of all the other heroes, he goes into a bit more details to explain. "I don't know the version you guys had. But the one we got started out as a romance movie at the start where Violet got an online boyfriend, who later turns out to be Syndrome himself. And while he's manipulating Violet to exact his revenge on the supers, Chrono Gaze, a daughter of one of the heroes he killed was secretly building her own little band of vigilantes to murder Syndrome to avenge her daughter. And she even used her super power to mind control other young heroes who don't agree with her method. It was quite a ride."

"Huh... that version of The Incredibles 2 definitely wouldn't happen in my world. He got killed off by the end of the first movie." Naofumi begins to slowly nod his head along after a short pause of silence. "Well, I don't know if your version was better. But it at least sounds more interesting."

Chapter 24: A New Beginning

"All the fun and jokes aside, are you absolutely sure turning criminals into slaves to fight the wave battles is a good idea?" The smile on Itsuki's face slowly disappears as he stares at Naofumi with a stern look. "I didn't say anything before. Because I don't want that queen thinking we have problems with each other. Didn't you want to abolish slavery ? I know you are only going to take criminals as slaves. What will happen if some bad nobles, or slavers oppose you and bring out your own use of slavery and paint you as some hypocrite?"

"I know what you mean. To be honest, it probably will cause me headaches later. But I was told that 'slavery', or at least the slave seal, is already widely used as a way to punish crime in this world and keep incarcerated criminals in line. And to be honest... why wouldn't they use it? It's a convenient torture device, and easy to enforce killswitch to punish bad guys." Naofumi's face looks solemn, he is obviously not happy with the decision he made. "But this world, and everything that has happened to us so far has made me desperate. We already faced two outer gods in wave battles, and I heard from a living demi-god that some demonic legion is behind this wave we are fighting. But you all saw how none of those so-called 'world leaders' took the threat seriously. I need to find people, anyone who'll fight the Burning Legion. And if hardened criminals like bandits, or pirates are going to kill and rob people... might as well turn them into cannon fodders who fight the Burning Legion . Like I told those pirates, I'm not here for the slave trade business. I only want to protect this world and save as many people as I can. If I have to force criminals to do it, so be it."

"I don't think greedy, self-serving skin merchants and aristocrats will make the distinction for you. If anything, they'll paint you as no different from them. Or at least no better from them." Ren didn't relax his crossed arms, or his narrowed eyes as he bobs his head up and down while looking at the floor.

"I know that. But what else should we do right now? I want to do things right, only use volunteers who want to fight the wave and prepare them for the battle ahead. But we don't have the time! To get to know people, or to train them up to fight legions of demons and outer gods . There's a Wave battle every month. We barely know anyone in this world. Even those who support us. Who can say the people who are 'helping' us right now are doing it for altruistic, or heroic reasons. And who is supporting us because they want to smooch off our reputation, or hero abilities for personal gain?" Naofumi throws his hands skywards in frustration. "The only people we can trust for sure are those we have total control over... because we have total control over them. I let Lautrec leave after the first Wave battle we had, thinking I was doing the right thing. And look where it got us. He came in the Third Wave and summoned his goddess! Maybe the last Wave battle we fought at Cal Mira Island was so weird because of him. If that's the case... I might have just doomed this world."

"Hey, HEY! Relax, Naofumi. Nobody is blaming you here. Itsuki and Ren are only concerned about you. Right, guys?" Motoyasu takes a step over and throws his arm around Naofumi's shoulders. He turns his face to wink at the two younger heroes. They nod back to the two older heroes. "See? We are okay, and we are all friends. Let's just do our best to prepare for wave battles. You go take down bandits, pirates, and whatever other bandits. Force them to fight the Wave to work off his crimes. I'll continue raising my children to help you. And if any of those bad merchants, or nobles try to use us... we'll just have to knock them all down and spank them hard. Like what I did to that Consevatie guy."

Malty feels skeptical that things would be as easy as the Spear Hero described. Although Ren seems to be genuinely convinced by his suggestion. He unhooks his arms in front of his chest, looks up, and thoughtfully rubs his chin. "History is written by the victors. So long as we can make sure we are stronger than these bad slavers and nobles who want to profit off slave trading, people will make up reasons to glorify our actions for later."

"So that's it? We are just going to give up, and adopt a 'might makes right' attitude to our actions?!" Itsuki turns his head around to look at the Sword Hero. Malty looks at his hand, and realizes his nails are starting to dig into the flesh of his palm. "Wouldn't that make us into super powered bullies who are no better than the people we fight against?"

"Naofumi isn't wrong. The same magical seal used on slaves is the same one used on prisoners. Be it from war, or from incarceration. It's to make sure they can't hurt other honest, innocent people. And his method of using enslaved bandits or other unsavory types to fight in the war isn't anything new either. It's widely used by both sides during The Great War. At least he didn't pretend to free slaves, only to turn around, give them the worst, flimsy equipment to send out in the first wave to die like Siltvelt did." Malty steps in before the discussion could blow out into a full argument between the heroes. "As for Itsuki's worry about you honored heroes turning into bullies... I don't think you need to worry about this yet. The truth is, a lot of people in high position on Medea already have the 'Might makes Right' belief. Be them openly preaching it like in Siltvelt, or secretly believing and practicing them while speaking the opposite ideology like a number of certain unsavory types of nobles of our nation. You can't speak things like honor, or virtue to them and hope to convince them of the error of their ways. The only way to have them fall in line after you is through the only language they speak: overwhelming and absolute power. And I don't only mean personal power, although it helps. Master Naofumi, and all of you need the power of a strong group of followers to let others know that there'll be dire consequences to fight against you, or try to exploit you."

The Bow Hero doesn't look happy at this revelation. But he seems to be convinced by Malty's explanation as he nods his head, and falls into silence comparable to the Sword Hero. Naofumi doesn't seem content to leave Itsuki looking discouraged, and possibly having a grudge against him. So he further clarified. "Don't get me wrong, Itsuki. I appreciate you voice your concern. I'm not a perfect man, I make mistakes. Sometimes, very severe mistakes that get people killed. That's why I want you to be honest with me even when you disagree with my decisions. Maybe through our debate, we can find better solutions to the problem at hand. But like I said, I'm desperate right now. That's why I choose to enslave criminals to fight the Wave. I have no doubt I would eventually step out of the line one day and become just like those greedy slave traders, and self-serving nobles. if there's too many people enabling me and singing my praises, but not enough to criticize my actions. That's why I want you... or anyone else who doesn't think like me to always be honest, and tell me when I do something wrong."

"I'll hold you to this promise." The Bow Hero nods his head, seemingly content with their conversation for now. They continue their walk afterwards. As they step down the stairs of the chapel, they see the two filorial birds Naofumi raised after the mess with the Three Heroes' Church waiting for him on the street. Both have fully grown into their fully puffed up, monarch glory, but have not yet gained the ability to turn into their humanoid forms yet. However, they are not alone. In front of them, Firo who has also grown back to her monarch form is snapping her beak at Lial and Lori. The orange feathered Lial squeaks back at Firo, while Lori backs off from their squabbling.

"FIRO! Stop that! These are your younger sisters!" Seeing Firo and Lial almost starting to fight each other, Naofumi quickly holds his hands up and flies down the last few steps towards them. He holds his arms out, doing his best to separate the two fighting filorial monarchs. He might have been weakened due to the queen's machination, but so was Firo, and Lial was born after the whole affair. So he's still capable of holding them back at his arm's length. "Families should love and support each other, not fight each other!"

"Listen to Naofumi-sama, Firo. He's always right." Firo turns her (almost nonexistent) neck around to stare at Sato. She's a bird, who has very different facial features as a human. Yet Malty still feels the incredulousness coming from Firo like she could hardly believe what the Throwing Weapon Hero is saying. Did he try to have them fight before Naofumi stepped in? Malty wouldn't put it past this insane fool. Regardless, he didn't pay much attention to Firo afterwards. He looks at Naofumi with a very flattering face. "What are we going to do now, Naofumi-sama? Are we going to go make some money? Or are we going to take down some bandits?"

"Yes. We are going to take down a group of bandits I'm well acquainted with. They are camped near the city of Trumpet, at Whiterun County to the south. And they have some pretty strong people. They should be a major help in future Wave battles." Naofumi told his annoying fan the truth of what he planned to do without trying to hide anything. Malty privately questions the wisdom of him being honest to everyone, his psychotic fan included. Then again, as a fellow hero who hasn't made enough (political) mistakes to have himself labeled as a heretic, rogue, or fake hero yet, there's nothing stopping Sato from simply following Naofumi.

"OH! Good choice! I see you are finally starting to build your slave army! Yeah. This world's armies are useless against the Waves, and only your empowered slaves can be trusted!" Naofumi takes a brief pause, and then he stares at his self-proclaimed 'biggest fan' with a look that's as annoyed as it looks forlorn. It's rather ironic that he was just talking with Bow Hero about listening to different opinions rather than having people unconditionally enable him, only to turn around and bump into his biggest chearring courtier. "But if you take the bandit out, you are going to deprive yourself of a renewable source of income. You could repeatedly harvest them for all their riches if you leave them alone. Hmm... I know! How about you enslave them like you wanted to, but you don't tell anyone about it? And let them stay in their bandit camp where they can continue to gather riches for you? You'll get a group of fighters loyal to you, and you get to keep this source of income!"

Malty can't tell if the Throwing Weapon Hero is too stupid to live, or simply too brilliant to be understood. She knew a number of people (her mother included) consider her to be a manipulative and shameless schemer, but even she didn't consider such a deviously genius way to use a group of refugee turned bandits. Of course, that's only the case if she doesn't care at all about the people of her nation, and only wishes to exploit them in the most efficient way possible. Obviously, Naofumi's fellow heroes don't agree with this method. The Spear Hero looks confused, he probably didn't understand Sato's plan at all. The Sword Hero shifts his feet anxiously, while the Bow Hero stares intensely at Naofumi. "You aren't going to run a bandit protection racket, are you?"

"Shut up! You stupid idiots! How dare you question Naofumi-sama's decisions! He is always right with his superior intelligence!" Like Malty expected, the Throwing Weapon Hero instantly began jumping up and down his feet, pointing his finger and hurling insults at the Cardinal Heroes. Motoyasu looks even more confused as he cocks his head sideways, looking like a wild filorial who suddenly sees a large bundle of light in front of his eyes. Itsuki returns Naofumi's annoying fan with a dry look. As for Ren... he simply looks at Sato like the insane fool is something he peeled off the bottom of his armored boots. "All you three stooges are just jealous that Naofumi-sama achieved better things from you and is better than you! Don't listen to anything they tell you, Naofumi-sama. They are only good to be your obedient henchmen."

"Ah. So all we are ever good for is to listen to Naofumi and do what he wants us to, huh?" Itsuki crosses his arms, his eyes twitch at the Throwing Weapon Hero's words. "Guess he didn't need our help to rescue him from the Three Heroes' Church either."

"Yes, you clearly don't care about Naofumi as much as you say if you were too busy stealing his 'canon companions' than helping him fight the Three Heroes' Church." Ren also adds his own barbs aimed at the insane 'hero'.

"Of course, he doesn't! He's the one who rescued all you three ungrateful idiots from Three Heroes' Church, and the one who did all the work killing their Pope. All of you useless fools and Bitch would have been killed if not for Naofumi-sama! I know Naofumi-sama didn't need the help from any of you, or even me taking down those incompetent evil clowns from the Three Heroes' Church! That's why I did the right thing by gathering his companions for him, so he can have actual competent help sooner." Naofumi's insane fanboy rambles, clearly not realizing the irony in his own words since he obviously didn't live through the event.

The Shield Hero didn't say anything. He simply stares back silently at the Throwing Weapon Hero without any expression on his face. Naofumi is probably stunned by the irony of encountering the exact type of person he wants to avoid from his earlier conversation with his fellow heroes. As for Malty, she sees a good opportunity to rebuke the insane fool, and have a bit of fun of her own. She smiles at the Shield Hero's psychotic supporter, while hooking her index finger at herself. "So if Master Naofumi is always in the right, does that mean you were wrong about me? Because as you know, Master Naofumi trusts me explicitly."

The face of the Throwing Weapon Hero turns purple almost in an instance, as his head seems to blow a few layers larger. Malty doesn't know what personal grudge an otherworld interloper could have against her (other than the fact that both himself, and Fuckboy have revealed that the novel they read apparently portrayed her like some evil queen stereotype, as if she'd ever act that stupid and lacking even the most basic survival instinct ). But she has to admit, it's fun to tease and mess the idiot up with his own words. After audibly grinding his own teeth for a while, he finally manages to squeeze some words through. "...Naofumi-sama is clearly an even bigger badass than I realized if he was able to tame you and bring you in line, Bitch . But make no mistakes, I know you are irredeemably evil, and are just waiting for your chance to stab him in the back. And when you do, I'll be waiting there to chop your head off."

"Do you even know where bandits would be getting their loot from?" Naofumi pushes past, and stands over Malty. The princess turned adventurer can't see his face, but she imagines it must look grim with how stern his voice sounds.

"Who knows?" Malty could distinctly hear the unsaid 'who cares' behind Tairou Sato's nonchalant, almost flippant voice. "They probably get them from some corrupted nobles, or fat merchants. Nothing you should worry about if they come to you in the end."

"Nobles or merchants who have money and connections to get guards and get them the best equipment for fighting, or peasants who could only arm themselves with farming tools and wear the cloth on their back. Which one do you think is the more likely victim?" The tone of Naofumi's voice grows more severe. Malty still can't see Naofumi's face since she's not about to step into his line of sight when he clearly sounds furious. But she can see the reaction from the two white tiger siblings followed behind the Throwing Weapon Hero. The brother looks about as passive as he usually is, but the sister... she looks ready to explode with her barely contained red face of anger.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Naofumi-sama. You aren't at fault. Anyone who can't defend themselves only has themselves to blame. I'm sure nobody will trace these bandits' involvement back to you. Everyone in this world except you and your supporters are stupid." Once again, Malty can't tell what Naofumi's face looks like. But he must be looking rather upset judging from the way that his psychotic fan completely missed his main point. As for the other heroes, Motoyasu still looks like a confused baby bird. Ren and Itsuki's faces only grow more and more twisted in what seems to be a mix of contempt and confusion. "And even if someone does figure it out, it's no problem for you. Because we all know you aren't trying to be a hero."

"I'm going to take care of the bandit group in Whiterun. If you aren't going to help, get out of my way." Naofumi's voice is bland, almost tasteless. It's the same voice he used right before trying to strangle the Throwing Weapon Hero the night during the Fourth Wave fight. He didn't have any time to attempt physical harm on Sato this time. It's hard to tell if he would have held himself back, but Firo suddenly tackles him from the side before he has a chance to do anything else. Malty briefly wonders how the idiot managed to tame the gluttonous devil bird so much that she's willing to attack Naofumi to save him. Because Firo was one of Naofumi's most loyal companions in spite of her lack of morals. She nearly murdered Raphtalia when they were captured by Fuckboy outside of the capital. Because Raphtalia was forced by Fuckboy to use her illusion magic to trick them. But then, she realizes Firo isn't trying to attack Naofumi, she's furiously rubbing herself against him, while having her beak closed around his shoulder. "No, you can't come with me, Firo. They'll murder you if you return to Melromarc, remember?"

"You are talking about that crazy, evil noble woman with gray hair, aren't you? Naofumi-sama? Don't worry! I'll go kill her and her family with my party. And then Firo will return back to you. Don't worry, the queen is wise unlike her useless and stupid husband. She'll realize you are the one she has to rely on once I take care of those bad nobles trying to hurt you." The Throwing Weapon Hero almost instantly turns around on his heels and begins to walk away. Malty wonders if the idiot even knows where to go to find Mordred and her family. She also distinctly remembers the Throwing Weapon Hero made some promises (as in he broke some wind with his mouth) about making up with Mordred and her family for openly attacking her during the Fourth Wave battle. But then again, the way he spoke sounded unnatural at the time, so he clearly was just repeating some lines others taught him without intention to follow them through. Malty is not surprised. Regardless, Naofumi probably wanted to stop him judging by how he reached his hand towards Sato. Unfortunately, he is still being pinned on the ground by Firo's body to do anything. Fortunately for him, someone from Sato's own party stops him.

"Stop. Master Sato. I don't want my sister to murder one of the most powerful Melromarc noble families." Fohl spread his arms to the side. He stands in front of Sato, stopping him from walking away. "Killing one of the most ancient, and noble families of this world is a serious offense. You might escape the death penalty thanks to your hero status. But not for my sister. If you don't stop this foolishness right now, I'll have to stop you and let you sit on the decision for a little."

Fohl's voice is solemn and steadfast. The young white tiger clearly put a lot of thought into his decision, and is determined to do what he has to. By contrast, Tairou Sato's voice is flippant, nonchalant. Like a young child speaking of things he obviously has now real understanding of. "Get out of my way, Fohl. I know you are suspicious about Naofumi-sama because of your petty grudge against slavery. But he meant what's best for you and your sister. We need to repay his kindness, even if we have to sacrifice ourselves. Your sister understands this, she's even willing to die for Naofumi-sama."

"But I don't want to die for this ungrateful hypocrite , Master Tairou!" Atla's frustrated scream makes both Fohl and Sato jump on their feet. The little white tiger girl stares at the completely dumbfounded Throwing Weapon Hero with equal part longing, and frustration. "Why are you so... so devoted to this thankless jerk, Master Tairou? You've been nothing but loyal and helpful to him, and he never appreciates you! I hate seeing how you do so much for him, and he treats you like trash! We don't need the Shield Hero. You are a hero yourself, Master Tairou! If the Shield Hero doesn't appreciate what you are trying to do, that's his loss! We should be growing stronger ourselves and save the world our way!"

"No, no, NO! You are confused, Atla. You are one of the most loyal companions of Naofumi-sama. Even more than Raphtalia! You would have died for him against Houou, not Raphtalia. Because you wanted to repay him for saving your life and curing your disease..." Abject horror appears on Sato's usually carefree face. He turns around and forgets all about Fohl as he runs in front of Atla, kneels down in front of her and grabs her shoulders with his hand.

"I don't know what is supposed to happen, Master Tairou. But that trash didn't do anything you said. You did. You are the one who found my brother and I, saved us from slavery, and cured my ailment! Everything I did, I did for you, not the Shield Hero ." Once again, Malty is never surprised at finding out how someone could say the word Hero and make it sound dirty. Regardless, the horror on Sato's face grows more severe as it's mixed with what seems to be a belated realization as his eyes lose focus on Atla's face and wanders away. Like he is finally starting to use that brain thingy everyone has, and needs to survive.

"I think Master Tairou is confused, Atla. Here's some coins I saved up. Why don't you take Master Tairou, find a small cafe or something and buy something sweet for the two of you. I'm sure you'll both feel better after." Fohl goes around the paralyzed Throwing Weapon Hero and hands a small silk bag to his younger sister. Atla seems happy, as she grabs Sato's hand and drags him away behind her. Fohl looks back to the four Cardinal Heroes as his sister and the Throwing Weapon Hero turns the corner on the street. "Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the mess Master Tairou and my sister caused. I'll have to follow them and make sure they don't do something too ridiculous... like trying to murder that noblewoman. You take care, Lord Cardinal Heroes."

"Thank you! Just so you know, I truly appreciate it!" Naofumi finally manages to shove Firo away from his face. He shouts back at Fohl's disappearing back as he looks at Firo once again. "Look, Firo. You can't go back to Whiterun with me. And I really need to take care of this issue. I have the city of Trumpet saved in my shield. I can port myself and my party over, take down the bandits, and then come right back to Stormwind before night falls to spend more time with you. Don't go around kicking people and hurting them, okay? You throwing a tantrum around without caring who you hurt was how we got into this mess."

"Not to say Firo wasn't at fault, because she absolutely was." Malty turns her body to the side to dodge a very telegraphed kick from Firo. The gluttonous devil bird didn't get a chance to make a second attempt when Lial, Naofumi's newly raised orange filorial tackles her away. "But I would like to point out that you are technically not at fault for Jaune's death, Master Naofumi. When I tried to speak to you during that farce of a trial, I knew what I was doing. If Mother didn't block my motion because of my slave status, everyone in the nobility would have known you were legally innocent in Jaune's death."

"I know I shouldn't have been legally held responsible for Jaune's death. It doesn't mean my action isn't responsible for his death. If I had taught Firo to be better, more responsible, he wouldn't have gotten killed in her rampage." Naofumi's eyes cast down, looking genuinely sad for the death of Jaune. And why wouldn't he? Out of all the people from Three Heroes' Church, Jaune was the person who was supportive of Naofumi from the start to finish just like Logarius. He even put himself on the line twice for Naofumi's sake. She could understand Naofumi's grief. Jaune was also the only other young man she ever had made a genuine connection with before Naofumi. Maybe she'll find the time to properly mourn for the loss of her first love later in her life when she is old, wrinkled, and constantly lives in memory. But right now, she needs to take care of the one who is still living.

"You're Not the only one at fault here, Master Naofumi. Remember when Filorial Bill said man raised filorials normally aren't vicious like Firo... unlike they were attacked when they were born? I'm responsible for that part of Firo. Remember when I flickered her head because she didn't like the name for her? The two of us... as Firo's parents, we share equal blame for how she turned out." Malty takes a deep breath, and tells Naofumi what she had figured out for a long time with an even tone. She would have trepidation to openly talk about such a massive mistake on her part before the whole mess with the Three Heroes' Church. Or more specifically, before the heart to heart talk she had with Naofumi at the end. But now... she doesn't fear admitting her own mistakes to Naofumi anymore. What mistakes could she still make that would be greater than hiding her true identity from him, and get him involved in that whole conspiracy with the church?

Naofumi looked more unconvinced than he was upset at her confession." Mein, no offense but I don't think you flicking Firo in the head once when she was a chick turned her violent or what Filorial Bill meant when he said 'attacked' as babies. Unless you were abusing her behind all our backs, were you?" Naofumi waited for her to shake her head before continuing." Didn't think so. And even if that was the case, you were the one who warned me consistently about Firo's behavior problem and I didn't listen when I had the chance. Now Firo is an exile and an innocent person is dead. This is on me."

"This is on us, as Firo's parents she's our responsibility like it or not." Mein argued.

"Yeah. We have to learn from everyone's mistakes, ourselves included, and be better. Or else what's the point of saving the world if we become the same thing we fight against." The Shield Hero's response once again, proves that his insane fanboy has no idea he was talking about. Or the fact that Naofumi is a very different person from the fabricated version Sato read as a novel. Because of course, real people can not be fully summarized by a predestined novel no matter how long it is.

Malty nods her head. She's grateful that the Shield Hero didn't get manipulated into thinking himself deserved the punishment that was forced onto him, in spite of her mother's best attempt. But she can understand his trepidation of becoming something he despised. Especially now that he is forced to choose a morally dubious method to stay independent from the world leaders' manipulation to fight back the wave. Before Pope Balmus died, he described Naofumi as someone who walks his own path. And perhaps his words are prophetic as Naofumi proves to be someone who would not willingly follow the path laid down by the most powerful men of this world when they are proven to be self-serving. They don't know where his own path would lead them, and she could only hope that it would be better than if he simply 

o(-_-)o[T]

The forest of northern Melromarc mountain range is cold after a flurry of heavy rain. Kyrie's cloth and armor clings on her skin like mud. But she feels colder on the inside. Right makes might, but justice alone is not enough to bring villains to justice. That's why she spent her whole life learning under her master Inquisitor Emon, and honed her skill. To punish evildoers and make sure the innocent people can live free of their foul deeds. Yet... in the end it was not enough to triumph over the Shield Hero . Just like when the manipulative bastard killed her teacher Emon, he's going to thrive and be remembered as a hero, rather than the villain he truly is.

"Kyrie." A quiet voice makes the inquisitor look up from the fallen log she's been sitting on. The voice of her second in command, Anadine is lacking her usual cheerfulness and youthful energy. Just like her auburn locks are now twisted together and matted by the rain and the dirt turned mud. "Our men are asking if we could return to Faubley. We have been laying low in this mountain forest for over a week now, and the Shield Hero doesn't seem to be coming back. And that's the thing. Wouldn't he have gone to Siltvelt, or Shiltfreeden after the Hero Conference at Cal Mira Island? I think we are wasting our time waiting to ambush him..."

"Is this what you thought, or what our men thought?" The way Anadine avoid Kyrie's gaze tells the older woman what her subordinate, and apprentice is thinking. She bites back the urge to make a growl at the other Faubley inquisitors. She personally trained all the junior inquisitors serving under her, but they don't share the same vision of Emon like herself and Anadine. Rather than doing everything they can to incarcerate villains that go around to harm innocent people, they are much rather enjoying their life of luxury back in the grand cathedrals back in Noble Faubley. Normally, they wouldn't dare to question her decisions due to her past series of success. But with her failure to bring down the Shield Hero, they seem to be getting bolder at questioning her decisions. "It seems like I need to remind our men what their oath required them to do."

"Don't be too hard on your men now, Kyrie." A familiar smooth, yet roguish voice catches Kyrie's attention. She stands up from the log and turns around, instantly recognizing the man who grew up like her brother. One would think a man with deep brown slicked back hair, and well trimmed mustache has no business appearing in a thick forest on a mountain that's mostly ruled by griffins. But with a thick overcoat, and traveling boots that's meant more for journeying through the rough land, the slightly older man is a blend of civilized, yet untamed. 

"Reiner! I'm so glad to see you!" Kyrie takes a quick few steps forward, pulling the spy master into an embrace. Reiner reciprocated her passion, tightly wrapping his arms around her for a brief moment before parting. "What are you doing here in Melromarc? Did the nobility, or better yet, the church finally see reasons?"

"Believe me when I say I wish I could have brought you good news, Kyrie. But unfortunately, the House of Lords are doing their usual things. You know... Lord Malfoy and his allies block every motion that's negative to the Shield Hero. While Lord Potter is more interested in playing school politics than pushing for real changes. You probably don't want to know what they are saying about you in the church." Kyrie didn't stop the snarl escaping from her mouth. She expected such actions from those greedy nobles, and self-serving clerics. If they are not such treacherous creatures, they would not have conflict with her mentor Emon. They would definitely not have celebrated his passing.

"Reiner, my boy. I understand your trepidation towards both the church, and the shield aligned noble houses. But I do think you are a bit too hard on James and his fellow lords from the order of the sword. Sure, they have their own flaws and make mistakes as we all do. But they are always trying to help the downtrodden common people. Shouldn't such a deed deserve some praise, or at least consideration?" A jolly, grandfatherly voice takes Kyrie's attention away from Reiner. Behind Kyrie's foster brother, Lord Dumbledore is stepping through the thick foliage towards them. As the regent of Noble Faubley, Dumbledore's authority is only below their king Egbert. But as always, he never wears a suit or jewelry that's more fitting for a courtly noble man. Granted, his wizard robe always tends to be on the flamboyant side with bright colors that literally glittered in the eyes. But Kyrie is still willing to bet they cost much less money than most nobles spend on their hands, or feet.

"Lord Dumbledore!" Kyrie pulls away from Reiner and strides her way over in front of the Lord Regent of Faubley, and the Headmaster of Faubley's Hero Academy. She never studied in his school on account of her being induced into the church by her mentor Emon. But she knows Lord Dumbledore, and his Order of Phoenix are the few allies her late mentor had. That alone makes him trustworthy in her eyes. "I didn't think you would come find me so soon. Wasn't you at the Hero Conference at Cal Mira Island?"

"Yes, I was at the Hero Conference. And that is precisely the reason why I came to find you, the inheritor of Emon's will." As Lord Dumbledore speaks, Kyrie notices two things. First, his eyes are devoid of his usual joyful twinkles. And second, Reiner's eyes narrowed slightly at the well meaning lord regent and headmaster. "It's only the Fourth Wave, yet the Shield Hero has already sunk his hands on his fellow Cardinal Heroes. Originally, the plan was for them to be divided among different nations, so we can divide our resources to fight the Wave more evenly among the heroes, and the nations. But the Shield Hero demanded all of them to be granted the right to stay in Melromarc. Not only did the other Cardinal Heroes not fight his decision, they supported him. That kind of influence is not seen or heard of, maybe with the exception of the very first hero summoning before the Shield Hero decided to side with the Malisi."

"You think he used the Imperius Seal on the other heroes?" Kyrie's breath grows quicker. So does her heartbeat. While in theory everyone should be equal under the law, it is well known that summoned heroes would get much more consideration even when they break certain customs due to their interloper status, and the power they command. One of the few sure ways to have a 'hero' labeled as a heretic, rogue, or false hero is the use of the tabooed Imperius Seal. Which has the ability to overpower a hero weapon's protection and completely shatter a fellow hero's mind. If there is a sign of the Shield Hero using the evil magic created by his predecessor, this would give Kyrie the evidence she needed to finally take this scheming villain down and avenge her mentor... so justice can be served.

"Unfortunately, things are not so simple, my girl. I know the Imperius Seal more than anyone alive. It was used by Mikage Mikami to break the mind of the Hero Kazuto Kirigaya." Dumbledore's eyes slowly cast down at his own feet. As the lord regent, and the headmaster of Faubley's Hero Academy, Lord Dumbledore has many enemies. He doesn't have a lot of time, or the people he trusted to show his weakness. Yet, mentioning the Imperius Seal instantly made him drop his jolly, grandfather-like demeanor. Kyrie feels regretful that she reminded him of one of his biggest regrets in life. It makes her hate the current Shield Hero even more. Because of course, the manipulative bastard has to be a hypocrite who knows not to make the most forbidden mistake that would get his dastardly schemes easily revealed. "Which is actually much more concerning than if he had somehow recreated the Imperius Seal in less than three months he arrived in our world. It means the Shield Hero has somehow convinced his fellow Cardinal Heroes to voluntarily support him at their own disadvantage. He made the other heroes trust him."

"If the other Cardinal Heroes are willingly ignoring the atrocities he committed to support him, it means we can't rely on them to do the right thing and help us. We'll have to be prepared to fight all four Cardinal Heroes. Either after the Wave of Catastrophe is stopped... or before it reaches its apex so we have time to stop the wave ourselves." Kyrie notices Reiner turns his face around sharply to look at her. His eyes wide open for a brief moment before he schools his expression. His lips opened, looking like he wanted to say something. But he gives Lord Dumbledore a glance from the corner of his eyes, and stays quiet.

"Yes, Kyrie, my girl. That is precisely what we must do to ensure our world's survival. I see Emon has picked the right person to succeed him, and he prepared you well." Dumbledore nods his head, his eyes regaining some of its usual warmth. "Now, Kyrie, my girl. I have heard of your attempt to take the Shield Hero into custody by using an inquisitor's right for self-defense. It is a clever tactic, if I do say so myself. However... I'm afraid some of your colleagues have disagreed with your... creative application of your right as an inquisitor. Arch Vicar Lutasha in particular, have motioned to suspend your role as an inquisitor of Faubley's Four Heroes’ Church. Citing you had no right to operate on Melromarc soil just like your mentor Emon..."

"That backstabbing snake! Bottom feeding rat!" Dumbledore's words make Kyrie see red in her eyes. After he blamed her mentor Emon's death on himself, she should have expected Lutasha to do something like this to her. "He's settling personal grudges when we needed him to be fair and just in a time of crisis! My mentor Lord Emon has exposed him unlawfully obtaining lands from the common people before he went to Melromarc to investigate the actions of the Shield Hero. And he's taking revenge on my mentor and myself!"

"I understand your disappointment in His Eminence. It's a shame that I have no influence on him, and the rest of the Faubley clergy. And have no way to offer you, or your late mentor any support. However, I believe I have the perfect solution for your dilemma." Lord Dumbledore turns his body halfway to the right and waves his hand, beckoning one of his escorts to step forward. The warrior steps forward, and takes off something strapped on his back.

As the fighter slowly unwraps the fabric, Kyrie's breath once again becomes hitched as she looks at the artifact slowly being revealed to her. It's an ax, but unlike most axes with metal heads and shafts made of either wood or other metal, this one is constructed of a white material. Paler than even the finest porcelain, with completely dark decorative lines. A purple crystal embedded in the head like it's naturally grown in the middle rather than slotted in later. "Is that the Star Axe?"

"Of course, Kyrie, my girl. As you probably remembered, the Star Axe has not found its new owner after the death of its previous master. And I believe you are the perfect candidate. Much like your late mentor, you are righteous, and uncompromising towards the evil of this world. And you are young enough to use this weapon to its fullest potential. I believe you will be the perfect candidate as the next Axe Hero. Plus, with your ascension to a vassal hero, you can stand against the Shield Hero as an equal, and won't be easily leashed by greedy nobles, or self-serving clerics. You have my blessing to take up the mantle, Kyrie." Lord Dumbledore passes the Star Axe into Kyrie's hand, which she receives with both hands. She can't say anything back to the honored lord regent and headmaster. Her throat is closed by both the grateful passion towards her late mentor's one true ally. "I can't stay in Melromarc and afford to draw attention. So I leave the rest of the work to you. Good luck."

With his final words, Lord Dumbledore turns around and disappears north east, presumably to return to Faubley where he continues to battle the shield-aligned noble houses to uphold the order of Noble Faubley. Kyrie's fingers brush against the cool, smooth surface of the hero weapon, Her Hero Weapon . She loses track of time as she feels herself becoming invigorated by the weapon accepting her as its new master. But then the voice of her surrogate brother catches her attention again. "You aren't thinking about going after the Shield Hero again, are you, Kyrie?"

Kyrie looks up, and notices Lord Dumbledore, and the warriors who served as his escort have all disappeared. Other than some snapped and stomped over vegetation, there's no trace of them ever been to this forest. Yet Reiner remained. And he is currently looking at her with a deep frown. "Don't worry about me, Reiner. I'm no fool. I may be a hero just like The Shield, but I need time to get used to my new hero weapon and grow my strength. But once I am well prepared... I will take the false hero in custody, and make him finally answer for all his crimes. This is what our surrogate father Lord Emon wanted, and what Lord Dumbledore also wanted."

Reiner's frown only grows deeper as he steps closer to her. "But I am worried for you, Kyrie. You are the only family I have left, I don't want to see you burn yourself out in your pursuit with justice like Emon. As for Dumbledore... I shouldn't speak unkindly of him behind his back. But he's not as well-meaning as he appears. He is also a Player on the court, he speaks things he doesn't believe in to get what he wants from other people."

"Don't worry, Reiner. Even if Lord Dumbledore has his own agenda, he gives the Star Axe to me. This alone elevated my position high enough to make my own decisions, not even he could fully control. Not saying I'm going to be ungrateful for his help, which I am. But I would not blindly follow him, if he tries to harm the innocent common people." Kyrie holds her hand up to comfort Reiner. "I see you haven't left with Lord Dumbledore and his escort. Are you going to stay with me, Reiner? You know me. I can be impulsive, and not always think my actions through. But you are always careful, and you are good at gathering information after training with the Unspeakables. I feel much more confident with you by my side."

"Of course, Kyrie. You are my sister, I'll always have your back."

Chapter Text

They walk towards the Stormwind Castle which had become the headquarter of House Amelia. A figure suddenly runs out of the front gate so fast, it's practically a streak of blue and light brown colors. Malty can't tell who it is, but it doesn't seem to confuse Motoyasu as the Spear Hero voices his question without a pause. "Hey, that's Katarina? What got her so scared she's running for her life?"

That's a good question, since Katarina can be brave (or dimwitted) on the edge of being foolhardy. It would probably take more than a dragon lord, or an invading god to truly scare her. Something, such as the wrath of her own mother. Surely, she hasn't made a mess big enough to warrant Lady Claes to come all the way north of Griffin's Spine? Malty and Motoyasu's question is soon answered when they hear the voice of a young female. "Lady Katarina! Come back! I went all the way to Faubley to get your amulet for you! Why are you running away?"

The new figure is a woman around mid twenties in age. Her red hair is a few shades darker than Malty's, and they are tied up around her head to not get into her vision. What's most noteworthy is her armor. It’s large and curvaceous (but not in the sexually inviting sense) and has vertical lines running down the surface of the armor between every few fingers of length. It looks less like a water barrel, and more like a giant onion on its feet. The armor makes the woman look fat, yet the shape of her face and the speed she manages to achieve chasing after Katarina suggests she should have a fairly slim build underneath the large armor. Katarina's personal maid follows only a few steps behind the woman. "Please slow down, Lady Katarina. You at least owe Sir Sieglinde, your own sworn shield, an explanation after sending her on that wild chase in Faubley."

"NO! I DON'T!" Katarina's voice sounds genuinely panicking as she continues to fly down the stairs. Nearly tripping herself a few times as she leaps down. Her eyes instantly lit up as she saw Motoyasu. "Master Motoyasu! Don't you have to go on an adventure somewhere? I'm totally available right now!"

"I don't know, Katarina. Shouldn't you attend to your companions first? They look awfully worried about you." Motoyasu didn't immediately agree with Katarina's request. His eyes cast onto the two young women chasing behind the Claes heiress. The red haired knight looks anxious, while Anne simply has a look of exhaustion on her face with her eyes turning into a slit. "Didn't you say something about sending your bodyguard to Faubley on an important errand? You should be happy she came back with the thing you wanted, right?"

"Yes! My lady! Now that I have the amulet, we can all go home where you'll be far away from danger! Your mother, Lady Miridiana must have been worried sick for you!" The red haired knight in her onion-like armor skids to a stop right behind Katarina. The amulet in her hand has a cream colored gem embedded into a spiral shaped gold pendant. So, that's the Faubley amulet that supposedly enhances the flavor of sweet someone injects. Malty would not have objected to getting one herself, but right now she has much greater problems to worry about.

Chapter 25: Last Stop in Stormwind

"But Mother would not let me leave her sight again if I got back home now! What'll I do with Tia, Iris, Master Motoyasu... and Malty! She's been turned into a slave ! She needs help from all her friends now more than ever!" Katarina points her finger at Malty. For anyone else, Malty would have felt annoyed when she's being used as an excuse to keep them away from their homestead. But for someone like Katarina, she's as sincere on the inside as her exterior. So she really did bring Malty up due to personal worry.

"I appreciate you caring about me, Katarina. But you shouldn't make your Mother worry. If she's afraid of you getting into danger, that means she cares about you. And families should take care of each other, not get into fights and keep away from each other." Motoyasu holds his hands up, and gently pats down the dirt on Katarina's cloth. "Remember Tia's father? Her father was pretty worried about her too. But he allowed Tia to travel around with us. I'm sure your Mother would understand if you just talk to her and explain everything."

Katarina looks ready to argue with some more, but Anne interrupts her after pulling her sight away from Malty while staring intently at Malty. She wonders why the maid seems to take extra attention to her. Surely she's not thinking about coming back to serve her again after so many years after being Katarina's personal maid. "Lord Motoyasu is right, Lady Katarina. Remember how you got your father, and Mother talking with each other, and realized how they cared about each other? Because you were being honest after Lord Luigi took Keith into our household, while everyone else was too worried to speak about what's on their mind and they all misunderstood each other. You already proved your ability to take care of yourself in travel, and in fight when you went against the Three Heroes' Church, even if Lady Meridiana worries for you, she will understand once you explain how you care for Lord Motoyasu and want to be by his side."

Katarina wipes her head around to look at her maid for a few moments in complete and out of character silence. She suddenly slaps her head, with the bottom of her palm. "You are right, Anne! How could I forget!? Thank you! I don't know what I'd do without you!"

"I'm simply performing my duties to your parents- MPH!" Anne's voice is cut short when Katarina pulls her into a tight hug. As for the onion armored knight... she seems to be busy wiping tears off the corner of her eyes. She's apparently the simple minded kind. Not surprising, considering Katarina was able to lure her away with a very simple scheme about chasing after a likely pricy, but completely redundant magical accessory. Although what the Claes heiress revealed did get Malty thinking. It appears just like the Heiress for House Noches, Katarina also left her home to join the Spear Hero without her parent(s)’ (possibly both) permission.

Which begs the question. Did both Katarina and Bertia come to the same decision on their own? Or did someone have a hand in influencing them? Someone who is likely to be very close to them therefore has their trust, and has to come from families that have similar, if not superior background to them both? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that someone is most likely being Iris. All noble houses, big and small, wealthy or destitute would benefit from a marriage with one of the summoned heroes. But as a rule of thumb, ladies from smaller noble families tend to be the ones that would seek to join a hero's adventuring party earlier. They lack the resources to compete with the more powerful families, who could afford to wait after the wave battles are concluded to not risk the lives of their daughters and simply have one of their daughters marry the hero by throwing money at the hero, or helping him with their power, connection and influence when a hero inevitably becomes a noble like themselves at the end. For Iris, who is one of the most powerful heiresses in Melromarc to volunteer herself as a companion besides one of the Cardinal Heroes, scheming to chase away the Spear Hero's original companions... manipulating her friends into joining forces with her in spite of their parents' will is simply another step. Which begs the question, what is Iris, or more likely her father planning to risk her life like this. Granted, neither of them realize the current Wave of Catastrophe would have a demonic legion behind it, and they would be facing invading outer gods since the third wave battle. But they should still be aware of the danger Iris could potentially face. Dangers that can't be solved by throwing piles of money at it.

"Lady Katarina, and her personal servant can travel with us as we move south to escort Princess Melty to the village of Balafon where she would stay as its governor." Iris' voice shakes Malty out of her thoughts. Above them at the foot of the castle gate, Iris, and other noble ladies also begin to walk down the staircase behind Melty. Iris, and the young lady from House Consevatie are the only two noble ladies who follows Melty a half pace's distance. An act to show that the two of them have most of the crown princess' favor. "House Claes' fief is close enough to Whiterun County, they would not waste too much time traveling with our larger entourage. There is safety in numbers during a trying time such as now."

"Does this mean we are setting up Balafon as our main base of operation?" Ren's voice is neutral as always. He stares at Iris, eyes not blinking. It's hard to tell if he approved of the arrangement or not. "I suppose we can't exactly change where the princess is going to reside after her Mother already appointed her as a governor. But I heard the village got trash pretty badly during the church's rebellion? And what about Stormwind? What if it comes under attack again?"

"You need not to worry about Stormwind's safety, Lord Sword Hero. The Hero Conference has been concluded where the other nations have all accepted the choice made by you revered heroes. We no longer fear the possibility of an united crusade against Melromarc even if some individual noble families or tribes are unhappy with the result. Stormwind being a port city, we could easily move resources and reinforcements through ships even in the face of a siege. I realize my family hasn't exactly proven ourselves in our most recent naval battle. But rest assured, most pirates, or privateers are not Dread Pirate Robert who can take on an entire fleet with a single barge." Iris begins to appease the heroes with her usual graceful, but leisurely pace. "As for the village of Balafon. Rebuilding it is the main reason why our queen appointed her daughter as its governor. It's a declaration to the rest of the nobility, and the clergy that Jarl Balgruuf, and his fief has the backing and favor of the crown. We should not encounter much, if any difficulties during its rebuild."

"The village of Balafon is a good place to set up shop. Better than Stormwind. It's within a day's ride to where I want to build my base. With Motoyasu's bird 'children', we could go between our two main bases without resorting to our teleport weapon skill, so we aren't limited to bring five people alongside us. Plus, we have the town of Trumpet between us. So we can get a lot of things from Trumpet before we develop our bases into proper settlement." Naofumi nods his head along, evaluating the explanation given by Iris in a straightforward manner. Not making any comment regarding her slowly closing grasp around Melty, the crown princess.

Malty isn't sure if he truly missed the underlying political machination beneath Iris' excuses, or if he chose to ignore it because he doesn't want to start a conflict with Motoyasu's fiance. Regardless, it's something she'll discuss with him in privacy. If he knows what Iris is playing at but chooses to not blow it out in the open for the sake of unity with his fellow Cardinal Heroes, good. It means he both has the perception and understanding to see through the political power play, and the wisdom to ignore it for longer reaching goals. If he honestly overlooked it, or not understanding it... Malty will simply have to use her experience monitoring her parents' court to teach him this needed skill.

"Motoyasu, I still think you should leave some of your children here at Stormwind even if we won't use it as one of our main bases. It's north of the mountain range, so it's easier for Stormwind to know what's going on in the world than a small village like Balafon. Plus it's a big port city. You never know when sea travel could come in handy." Naofumi ignores the blank, yet persistent stare Iris is giving him in favor of speaking to Motoyasu. "Talk with your children, Motoyasu. See who are responsible enough to leave at Stormwind. But don't leave them here for the rest of the waves. Maybe pick 3, or 4 of them a team, and switch them around after one or two weeks. So they can still spend time with you in Balafon. I don't want to force them to be away from their father when they are less than a year old."

"Don't forget that they also have to be strong. We are leaving Firo here at Stormwind. If she gets into an angry tantrum, she'll probably take down half of Stormwind once she starts ramping up again. Her fellow filorial monarchs are the best candidates to stop her." Malty helpfully (at least she hopes) adds. She likes to think Firo learnt her lesson after her careless action caused the death of Jaune, which forced her into exile. But judging from her manners, and how the Throwing Weapon Hero acts... she's willing to bet that Firo has only gotten worse since she became the companion of another hero.

"Got it, Naofumi, Malty. I'll go talk to my children, see who'll be fine at staying here. Although I'm thinking about making Yume in charge. She's responsible even if she's young." Motoyasu half answers the Shield Hero, and half mutters to himself as he walks away. Malty would like to point out all of his 'children' are young, since he's only been summoned to Medea for less than three months. But maybe he's talking about she's young even when it comes to his many birds.

Naofumi turns around to look at Ren and Itsuki next. He pauses for a brief moment, seems to be thinking over what to do before speaking up once again. "What about you two, Ren, Itsuki? Are you two also planning to set up somewhere, or will you stay at Balafon, or the settlement I want to start up? Because you know, we are all supposed to have the title of Dukes if we want to stay after the Wave is finished, so you two should be allowed to have your own land."

"Your Highness, it seems like the honored heroes are going to prepare themselves for their next mission. Perhaps it's time for us to retire, and prepare for your own departure south to Balafon." Iris seems to get the clue that the Shield Hero is no longer paying her, or Melty much attention. She leans closer to Melty's ear and asks her in a low voice as to not rudely disturb the conversation between the heroes, but loud enough to let them hear her words to know she's not trying to badmouth them, or pulling some scheme on them. "Unlike the honored heroes, we have no convenience of a teleportation spell. We need to assemble a proper escort for you to make sure you won't be put into danger during your trip."

"I shall wait till I bid my sister farewell... you may prepare for our escort, Iris. I know there are many untested, but talented commanders in Lord Motoyasu's retinue and I assume it's the same case among other heroes." Melty immediately waves Iris' suggestion off. But she did allow the House Amelia heiress to prepare for their departure without her presence. If Iris is annoyed by Melty's closeness to Malty, she didn't show it on her face. She beckons her personal maid over, and begins whispering to Tanya (her maid, not the Shiltfreeden Shive squad leader with the pig head), presumably for the details of their escort party.

"Two bases are more than enough for now. Plus we have three if we count Stormwind." After some deliberation, Ren shakes his head. "There'll come a time to have our own land and build our settlement. Now is not the right time. We saw what these so-called 'leaders' acted in the conference. They'll try to exploit and manipulate us however they can. We need to stick together right now."

"Ren is right. Although I'm probably going to make some trips back here to Stormwind. I got this country in a mess, I should help with its rebuild." The Bow Hero looks at his friends before speaking his own decisions. It shouldn't be Malty's place to remind him, since technically the four Cardinal Heroes are all still competitors. But since they did come to Naofumi and her rescue during the battle with the Three Heroes' Church, and stood together with Naofumi to pressure the other leaders during the conference to get what he wanted, she feels it's bad faith if she doesn't remind him of the danger of staying in Stormwind.

"You should be aware that King Wyrian has an heir to his throne, Master Itsuki. He wouldn't have been a victim of the uprising you caused here, since he's still studying in Faubley's Hero Academy. I imagine he would not have much love for you once he returns. Especially since he would associate House Amelia's action of annexing Stormwind to your own actions." Malty cast her eyes at Iris. Not an accusatory glare, because Iris is the heiress of the most powerful noble family in Melromarc and she's currently only a slave owned by the Shield Hero. She's merely giving her the same blank stare Iris gave to the heroes moments earlier.

"House Amelia did not annex Stormwind. We merely restored, and maintained its order so its people won't murder each other over whatever scraps of food they have left. Once Prince Anduin returns, he will be made the next king of Stormwind with the support of House Amelia." Malty fights the urge to roll her eyes at Iris' explanation. Iris would no doubt keep her words. As a noble house who openly runs one of the largest internal and foreign trade empires, Iris can't be caught openly lying to destroy her own credibility. But kings are not the same. Even if Prince Anduin manages to bring some of his friends (and assuming they are loyal to him), they would not be able to challenge House Amelia's rule when Iris likely has her own men take over all the important positions in Stormwind. If he returns with no one but himself... the title of a king is likely the only thing he will get. Not that Malty could blame Iris, she herself would have done the same thing in Iris' own shoes. But unlike Iris, she wouldn't even dare to think about bringing back the son of the late king for the risk of him causing a coup to take back power.

Iris Amelia is an active Player of The Game, no different from her father. Yet, in spite of her ambitious and scheming nature, she does try to do her friends and allies right. That kind of confidence is something Malty lacks... something she needs to bridge the gap with her childhood playmate if she wants to become a player herself, let alone winning the throne from her little sister. She still lacks the capacity to become one of the top nobles, let alone a queen.

"I'll go take a look at the local potion shops, or alchemist while we wait for Motoyasu. Now that we have the free time, I need to consult an expert on potion making. You two have something you wanted to do?" Naofumi's question makes Malty pause for a brief moment. He's looking for a healer? He was hurt fighting that spider outer god, although Tact did give him some Yggdrasil pills. Then again, Tanya did say they are only good for keeping you from dying, but has no ability to cure long term ailment of disability. If he did suffer from a crippling disability fighting the goddess, it's definitely best to have a healer look him over.

"Oh, yeah. Rishia's 'brother' is a pretty good alchemist. I mean... they are not really related by blood. He's more of her childhood friend who knew her enough to be family. What am I saying..." Ren turns his head to look at Itsuki, who is letting his mouth ramble while looking everywhere but at his two fellow heroes. Malty wonders what these two younger heroes are playing at. "I'll go get Rishia and she can lead you guys to him. It's probably better if I don't accompany you. He doesn't really like me, because of the mess I caused Stormwind. Don't want him to toss you all out just because he sees you with me. I'll go get her right now!"

The Bow Hero turns around, and flies up the staircase to the castle of Stormwind like death is chasing him. Rishia's 'brother' must really not like him if mentioning the guy causes Itsuki to act this jumpy. Malty feels someone pulling her hand, so she turns her head around, and sees her younger sister standing beside her. It seems like Melty decided to stop waiting around for the heroes to finish their conversation, and decided to say whatever she wants to Malty.

"Don't worry, Big Sister Malty. I'll make everything right for you." The crown princess whispers in Malty's ear, and quickly ducks her head and runs away before Malty has a chance to grasp what she said, or ask her for clarification. Somehow, Malty feels the opposite of reassured, even if Melty seems to want to reassure her of... something. And it's the lack of clarity over what that 'something' is that makes Malty very worried.

"Have you decided who to take with you to Balafon? Each of us only has five candidates to teleport alongside us." Ren turns his head to ask the Shield Hero, and his companions. "I suppose you want to take Malty, Raphtalia, your bodyguard and your two birds with you?"

"NO WAY! You aren't taking Raphtalia anywhere without me!" Keel immediately jumps in front of Raphtalia. Pushing her friend back while blocking Naofumi's sight from her. "She's not going anywhere without me! I'm not going to let anyone take her as a slave again because you can't protect her!"

Raphtalia looks between her friend and Naofumi. She takes a step back before speaking. "I think I'll go with the big group of people, Master Naofumi. I'm not going to be much help to you or Malty in a big fight. I could still use some training with my new teacher. Plus, I'm kind of worried about what new problems Big Sister Sadeena would get into."

"Take care of yourself, Raphtalia. I'm happy you are trying to do more things by yourself than relying on us, but I just want you to be careful." Naofumi bends down on his knees and gives his surrogate daughter a hug. Malty does the same after him. She's not worried about Raphtalia's safety, since she's going to travel with the retinue of the heroes, the crown princess and the queen's retinue south. Not to mention they also have one, no, two martial art masters among them. Probably much safer than the heroes' relatively smaller group. If she somehow still got hurt... it's a sign that the end time has truly come.

"And what about you, Malty? Are you sure you'll be alright without me? Or even one of them?" Mala looks at Malty with Baldy and Blue Eyes behind her. It's clear she meant the two knights. "The last time you tried to do something by yourself, you nearly got killed by the church."

"I'll be fine, Mala. I'm also one of the heroes now." Malty holds the broken star wand up in front of Mala's face. "I can't always hide behind one of my former servants."

"I'm coming with you if you aren't taking your personal maid, or one of your knights." Malty feels someone throwing her arms around her shoulder. She looks behind, and sure enough, Cousin Emily is hanging on her back, with Sir Corvo looking at her.

Lori (Mein II) looks between them, she takes a step to the side and groom's Raphtalia's hair. Seemingly showing the Shield Hero that she'll stay behind and keep Raphtalia safe.

"Sorry it took me this long, Master Heroes!" Rishia can be heard and seen running out of the castle and down the stairs. Malty knows factually that the jumpy girl is more confident than when she first started adventuring. She has seen Rishia fight with the rest of the Bow Hero's party rather than staying in the back and holding onto their supplies. And she has seen Rishia stand up to other people who try to bully her. But it's easy to forget it when she's still as anxious around the heroes as she started. As soon as she reaches the foot of the staircase, she begins to bow down her head repeatedly at the heroes. It's almost hilarious that she looks like someone who is having neck problems, rather than a young girl who is very respectful to the heroes. "Honored heroes! Master Itsuki just informed me that you seek the help of my brother? Please come with me, I shall lead you to him."

"Calm yourself. We aren't going to hurt you, or yell at you." The Shield Hero takes a step forward and puts his hands up in a comforting manner. He keeps his voice low, and friendly. "Itsuki mentioned your brother is a good alchemist?"

"YES! Please, don't let his young age fool you. He's been an apprentice to our old alchemist since a child. He's one of the best alchemists in our country." Malty briefly wonders if by 'our country', Rishia meant only Stormwind. Since he's likely the only alchemist in this small nation. The jumpy girl quickly clarifies. "I mean he's one of the best alchemists even compared to his peers in Melromarc!"

Ren turns to look at Naofumi. His face has the same blank look as he always carries. "He did help me examine some nightbloom extract before we went to help you fight the Three Heroes' Church. Let's try him first. If he can't do anything, we'll go ask around other people."

The walk to this alchemist shop didn't take long. The city of Stormwind is small compared to Melromarc Castle. But when they arrived at the shop district, Malty noticed there's a crowd gathered around a single shop. She looks up, and instantly sees the potion bottle shaped wooden cut out hanging off the building. While the princess turned slave wondering the reason for these people's gathering, a furious scream seems to answer her question. "Oh, so it's 'L'Arc' now? I thought my name was 'Little Raruk' after you got everyone in Stormwind calling me that. Out! NOW!"

"Please, don't act like this, L'Arc. I knew I was very foolish when I visited Stormwind as a girl. And it was totally my fault that you got picked on by everyone because of my bad pronunciation. But I'm smarter and more sophisticated now! I read a lot of books written by mainland people! Let me make it up to you. Here, let me help you carry these-" The sound of glasses shattering cuts the voice short. To Malty's surprise, the almost pleading voice belongs to none other than one of Lady Blake's escorts, Theresa to be specific. The sea amazon is strong enough to fight Sadina to a stand still, and Sadina was able to take down Yatsuhashi. She doesn't know what's Rishia's 'brother' look like. But she knows the guy is supposedly a good alchemist, at least in Rishia's own eyes. Perhaps it's generalization, but a good alchemist tends to spend most of their time in a lab as part of their profession. Not much free time to train their body, or kill monsters to raise their levels. She doesn't know how the guy manages to have the courage to confront such a buffed amazon, and more surprisingly, actually forces her to back down.

The sound of something... hitting something firm can be heard inside the shop, and Malty soon has her answers. Theresa is the first one that ran out of the potion shop. A lot of indescribable, and thick looking liquid drenched her cloth and covered her exposed body. The presence of glass shard embedded in her cloth, or in her hair clues in the Princess turned adventurer that she probably knocked over a lot of potions inside the shop. Soon after, Rishia's childhood friend, one she's close enough to see as family, comes out. He looks like a typical, if somewhat young, potion master or alchemist: long, thick, but neat and tight robe covering his body to ensure his body is protected in case of alchemical and brewing accident, but not get in the way of his operation. His hair is greasy and there are bags under his squinted eyes likely due to constant foams of his work. He is gripping the handle of a long broom in one hand, while pushing her out of the shop with the other. "OUT! OUT! You clumsy, stupid ogre girl! What do you think my shop is? I brew life saving medicines for ill people, and you just smashed half of them!"

"So the name of your 'brother' is actually L'Arc, not Raruk?" One of Ren's eyebrows has raised into his hairline once again as he looks at Rishia. As for the Stormwind native... She has both of her eyes covering her face, looking very much embarrassed by the display. Malty wonders if there's some kind of story behind Ren's display of incredulousness.

"Yes... big brother Raruk's birth name was L'Arc Berg. And there used to be a lot of trade between us and Cal Mira Island because we were both independent nations from the big power blocks." Malty's eye flickers over to the now named alchemist. He has a family name, which means his ancestors are either a wealthy merchant, or a knight. Possibly even a noble, although 'Berg' doesn't particularly sound like the family name for a noble family. "When Theresa first came to Stormwind, her pronunciation of Medea Common wasn't really good... so she kept calling big brother 'little Raruk' and it got stuck. He let it slide now... but he clearly still holds some resentment towards Theresa."

"Theresa, I think you should leave for now. Let your 'friend' calm down a bit... and please, stop trying to 'help' if you just end up smashing everything." Naofumi walks over between him. He pushes the reluctant looking sea amazon away, ignoring the business end of a broomstick falling onto his back, or the unidentifiable (and likely disgusting) mix of magical liquid touching his hand. Theresa finally resigned that she's not repairing any relationship she has with her childhood... actually, what is her relationship with L'Arc? She seems to care about the alchemist if she's willing to apologize and tries to make up for the past grievances between them. But Rishia's 'brother' doesn't seem to share her sentiment. Regardless, the Shield Hero turns around to look at the young potion shop owner after Theresa disappeared into the crowd. "Is it okay if we come into your shop to discuss something, or is it a bad time now?"

"What are you nosy fools looking at? Stop being a bother and go back to your work. Do you want my healing potion, or not?" L'Arc waves his fist threateningly at the spectating crowd, making them all turn around and dissipate. He turns to the Shield Hero next, hooking his fingers to beckon Naofumi inside. He speaks with a gruff voice. "Come in, just don't make a further mess. That clumsy oaf set me back at least a week's schedule."

"If you need more healing potions, I can help." Naofumi enters into the potion shop, Malty follows after him. She wouldn't call the interior dingy, but it's definitely not something she would describe as homely either, let alone one well-decorated. There's a counter facing the door, and plenty of shelves lined up the walls. There's a big pile of broken glasses and chipped wooden crates, likely where Theresa made her accident earlier. "With my fully limit break alchemy shield series, my shield can naturally produce pretty good quality potions as long as I supply my shield with the raw materials."

"Ah, yes. Of course. You heroes have your hero weapon that makes everything easy." L'Arc rolls his eyes, the white of his eyes making the dark circle looking even more prominent. He turns the broom around, and begins to sweep all the shattered glass into a single pile. "Look. I'm not against you producing healing potions en masse, so long as you use them to help people and not use it to drive all your competitors out of business. Because you can't expect standardized, mass produced potions to fit all situations. Certain people have specific conditions in their body that requires a brewer to make customized potions for them, or else it'll hurt them instead. You take away the way of living from all the potion masters from a town, you take away the lives of people with those conditions."

"That's actually the reason why I came to see you. Well... sort of." Naofumi's voice makes L'Arc stop his work and look up. The Shield Hero takes the green chunk of crystal that looks like a vibrant emerald out of his shield. It's the 'fruit' of Yggdrasil given to him by Metatron. "I was told this can be turned into a potion that could even revive someone at death's door-"

"Give me that!" L'Arc tosses his broom aside, takes a long stride towards Naofumi and snatches the crystal off his hand. The young alchemist walks over by the window, holds it in front of his eyes and turns it over a few times, inspecting it under the sunlight. Afterwards, he sniffed it with his nose, and even bit it a few times with his teeth. "I'll be. A genuine piece of the Cosmic Seed. They are the core ingredient of Yggdrasil Medicine... among other things. One of the most powerful, rare, therefore valuable magical reagents of our world. I'm assuming the fact you took this to me, an alchemist and potion brewer, is because you want the medicine, and not other things it could be used for?"

"Yes. That's correct. I heard that medicine could be used to bring someone back from the edge of death. And even completely fix any problem their body has without any drawback. Can you make it? I don't want to mess up the brewing myself." Malty nods her head along. There is... probably not a wrong way to use the fruit of Yggdrasil from Metatrone. Although the insurance of what's essentially an extra life is certainly something she wouldn't complain about.

"Let's see what potion you have first. Brewing the Yggdrasil Potion is a big time investment. I'd rather make sure the common people are taken care of, than doing some special order for you to give you an extra life." L'Arc's voice still isn't friendly or inviting. But at least he's not shooting down Naofumi's request outright. It seems like in spite of his bad attitude, the young alchemist takes his duty seriously, and he cares about taking care of common people more for the gain of money, prestige, or gaining favor or connection with a legendary hero. Once, someone like L'Arc would have annoyed Malty due to their lack of greedy weakness she could exploit. But after building a relationship with Eclair, and observing Naofumi, she realized people like this are, in a way, easier to manipulate than greedy, self-serving scum. All one has to do is to learn what button to push them, and they are much more trustworthy than a scum who could be bought through money once you earn their loyalty, or even their willingness to cooperate with you.

"Of course. I have a lot of potions to restore HP, cure common ailments like poison and paralysis. I also have plenty of medicines that could be used to cure common illnesses..." The Shield Hero begins to take vials of potion out of his shield, and spread them on the counter of L'Arc's shop.

L'Arc cast a quick look at the vials of potion Naofumi left on the counter. He immediately reaches his hand over for the medicine. Once again, the young alchemist holds the potion underneath the light to look over. He then opens the stopper to sniff at the liquid. At least he didn't try to bite... or more to the point dropping the medicine in his mouth to taste them. Afterwards, he puts the stopper back on the vial and sets it on the counter again, then points his finger at the illness curing medicine. "These are more important to common people. Not everyone goes out to fight wild animals in their spare time. Aside from occasional bar fights or criminals trying to resist arrest, most city dwellers don't need healing potions. So take them to adventurer's guild, or peddle them on a stall near the waterfront where most mercs and sellswords gather. Leave me something like ten vials of health recovery potion, and 100 or so cures common illnesses for me every month, I'll have time to do custom orders for you, or anyone else. You can leave the cosmic seed with me for ten days, and then I'll have your potion for you."

"Done. I'll leave these potions, and this chunk of magic seed here with you." Naofumi casts his eyes over to Rishia. The Stormwind native girl has her eyes dancing between the two of them. The Shield Hero pulls his sight back and sets the green chunk of crystal on the counter next to the large pile of potions. "She's stuck with Itsuki through the whole Three Heroes' Church rebellion. I'm sure you as her childhood friend would be just as faithful and not cut us short. What about you, Ren? Do you have anything you want from an alchemist?"

The Sword Hero was looking at the different vials of potion displayed on one of the shelves. After hearing his name, he turns around to look at Naofumi and then settles his sight on L'Arc. The youngest Cardinal Hero didn't immediately answer the Shield Hero's question. He takes a brief pause, seemingly pondering over the question for a brief moment. "I still haven't decided what to do with my piece yet. I think I'll hold onto it for now. I'll wait till’ all of you make up your mind. Save mine for an emergency."

"Not a bad idea. We probably should save one of these in case something bad happens. Although you probably don't want to sit on it for too long. L'Arc did say it takes a while to turn this chunk of rock into a potion. I imagine it's the same for other uses." Rishia's brother lets out a snort at Naofumi's words. Malty isn't sure if he's annoyed at the intimate way Naofumi addressed him, or the Shield Hero calling one of the most powerful reagents in their world a 'chunk of rock'. "You probably don't want to hold it till we are facing the main force of the Burning Legion. That would be too late."

The sound of more commotion comes from outside the shop. For a brief second, Malty wonders if Theresa is back once again, so she opens the door to check. The princess found both the Spear Hero and the Bow Hero. There is also the Throwing Weapon Hero, and his two white tiger lackeys. They seem to be in a dispute over something as the pitch of their voices, particularly Naofumi's psychotic fan, keep getting louder and louder. "What do you mean you won't take me along!? Are you trying to pull something over Naofumi-Sama again?!"

"What's going on here?!" Malty steps through the door and takes a better look at the situation. Turns out, neither Itsuki or Motoyasu came by themselves. The Spear Hero especially. There's a few dozen beautiful looking young men and women (most of them women) behind him, all of them wearing flamboyant, often strange looking (there's a lot of holes in their cloth, seemingly cut out intentionally to show their skin) clothing. She's willing to bet all of them are his bird 'children', because right now all of them are staring at the Throwing Weapon Hero in various different states of confusion, anger... or sheer contempt. "Is he causing problems again, Master Motoyasu, Master Itsuki? Should I go get Master Naofumi?"

"These two useless idiots are the ones causing problems for Naofumi-sama! Although I don't suppose you would know, or care, Bitch . I know you are trying to drag Naofumi-sama down every chance you get." The Throwing Weapon Hero crosses his arms and narrows his eyes to glare at Malty. The princess turned slave didn't pay him any attention. After facing demi-gods, Pope Balmus and the more threatening thugs of the church (both from the Three Heroes' Church and Four Heroes’ Church), Naofumi's psychotic fan is barely a yapping baby bonedog.

"You shut up. We'll be here all day if you try to explain." Motoyasu takes half a step forward. But Itsuki holds his hand up and slaps him away before he has a chance to let any word leave his open mouth. Interestingly, none of Motoyasu's 'children' reacted to Bow Hero straight up attacking the Spear Hero. Perhaps the rumor of filorial having the innate ability to sense someone's aggression has some truth. Regardless of what Malty thinks, the Bow Hero explains what happened between them. "This guy came to us, demanding us to teleport him, and his... people instead of our own companions to Balafon."

"You three stooges, and all your asskissers are useless. Only Naofumi-sama, and his companions will do the right thing and save everyone from the Wave of Catastrophe! Actually, all of you are worse than useless . Because I know you'll try to hurt Naofumi-sama because you idiots are all jealous of his achievement! Take Naofumi-sama's canon companions and I along! We'll help him because none of you will do anything!" The Throwing Weapon Hero straightens his back and lets some air out of his nose, acting like a priced racing filorial who won the annual filorial race in the city of Zeltoble. 

Malty isn't sure if she should look down at the young madman for his utter foolishness, or have some twisted respect for his stubbornness. He is trying to plead the Cardinal Heroes for help... while looking down at them and insulting them with nonsense. He does realize all they have to do is not take him along when they teleport... right? Meanwhile, the white tiger girl Atla's face is twisted between furiously glaring back at Motoyasu's children, and pulling Sato's arm back. Knowing what she thinks of Naofumi... she probably doesn't want the Throwing Weapon Hero to come along anyway. As for her brother Fohl, he looks dead on his feet, exhausting at everything happening around him. Poor guy, Malty would have felt the same way if she's in his not so envious position. Maybe she could ask Naofumi to do something nice for him. Because he deserves it... and it might further instill the Throwing Weapon Hero's party with inward paranoia that they'd be too busy arguing and fighting each other than making everyone else's life hard.

"Motoyasu, and Itsuki. Have all of you picked your companions that'll come alone?" Naofumi pokes his head out of L'Arc's potion shop. For the briefest moment when he noticed Sato's presence, his face scrunched up in a way as if silently saying ' You again '. But he didn't actually say anything to the Throwing Weapon Hero. It seems like the Shield Hero has figured out the best way to deal with his fan who is clearly insane: by not dealing with him and pretending he doesn't exist.

"Yeah. I'll take Kazehana, Homura, Tsukiumi, Musubi, and Kusano with me. Yume and Karasuba will stay in Stormwind with Benitsubasa and Haihane. Miya and Mutsu will lead the rest of their sisters and brothers to escort Melty to Balafon." Motoyasu began to point his fingers at his many 'children'. He clearly didn't realize Naofumi's question was not the go ahead to have him personally introduce which one of his children is acting in what role. Not that Malty (or anyone else, for that matter) would even know which one of his many birds he is talking about. No wonder Itsuki slapped him off when he tried to explain what's going on between them and Sato. "You need something else before we go."

"No, I-" Naofumi continues to ignore Sato's furiously waving hand. He seems to suddenly realize something, as he pulls his cloak aside, and pokes at the orange rubber 'belt' on his waist. The three 'Yuzu' seemingly understand what he's asking, as they detach themselves and revert back to their original balloon form. Motoyasu immediately stumbles back, and would likely fall on his behind if his children didn't get a hold of him. It seems like Malty wasn't the only one who had an unforgettable memory of balloon bite. "Let your children take Yuzu with them. I think they would have also been included on the five person limit during a teleportation. I don't want to accidentally leave anyone behind."

"NO! Wait, Naofumi-sama! Have these idiots take your canon companions, and me with you! We'll do more to help you than these useless stooges, I promise you!!!" Seemingly realizing the Shield Hero's intention to leave them behind, Sato tries to run over to Naofumi's side. He collides into a wall of bodies made of Motoyasu's children instead.

"You are a hero too. Why don't you teleport your companions, and yourself if you want to follow me. I doubt you'll help me more than my friends already did with the Three Heroes' Church when you need to mooch them off in the first place." Naofumi finally acknowledges Sato, but instead of supporting him, he simply hisses at him while giving him some well deserved tongue lashing.

"My level isn't high enough to use the teleportation form! And they only 'helped' you because they were there, and they'd be hurt by the Three Heroes' Church too! I know only you did anything meaningful against that stupid liar Balmus!" Sato quickly picks himself back up and tries to run to Naofumi again. But Motoyasu's children don't budge, and simply push him right back. They may look slim now, but all of their real, bird bodies are as large as a carriage with nothing but pure muscles and bones.

"Maybe you should have fought that invading goddess with me, instead of picking a fight with a noble woman? My level wasn't high enough to use my teleportation shield either. But after killing that goddess, my level went above 50." Naofumi rolls his eyes at Sato, no longer pretending to have any basic respect towards his psychotic fan.

"YES! I know only you are badass enough to kill gods , Naofumi-sama! You clearly didn't need mine, or anyone else's help. That's why I would focus on clearing out other minor obstacles for you, like that evil noble woman!"

"Master Shield Hero. Here is the declaration my queen has for you that gives you the right to pardon minor criminals... within reason." The sound of a female knight under Mother catches everyone's attention. Sure enough, she is holding a scroll in her hand. Naofumi takes the royal decree in his hand, spreads it out and glares at the thing like he wants it to catch on fire. After a few moments, he passes the scroll over to Malty. Right... His understanding of Medea Common isn't enough to read a complex legal document yet.

Malty takes over the decree and reads it over from the start to finish. Half expected her mother to leave some intentional loopholes or traps to have the Shield Hero hang himself. To her surprise, the declaration is genuine in terms of what power it gives to the Shield Hero. It seems like Mother realized how severe the punishment from the other nations is if she tries to spring a legal trap on the heroes she shouldn't be allowed to have. She closes the scroll and looks at Naofumi. "The queen's decree is genuine, Master Naofumi. We are all set."

The Shield Hero nods to Malty. He didn't respond back to his idiot fan. After one last stare casted at Sato with the blankest expression for a few seconds, the Shield Hero turned to his fellow Cardinal Heroes. "We wasted enough time. Let's go."

"NO! Naofumi-sama! Is this because I cuckolded your companions by accident? I DIDN'T MEAN TO-" Malty didn't hear the rest of Sato's ramble when her vision was filled with the emerald light of Naofumi's [Teleportation Shield] ability.

Chapter Text

Four columns of beams of emerald, ruby, sapphire and topaz color sails through the sky and descend at the center of Balafon village. The four cardinal heroes, and five of their companions step out of the pillars of teleportation light. Malty looks around her, the agrarian village has seen better days after the rampage of the life root and enslavement by Fuckboy (and Naofumi's rescue attempt after she set the village on fire). There are burnt, and collapsed buildings everywhere inside the palisade, holes big enough to sink entire carriages can be seen on the village roads, or among the buildings. But there are also people, both in commoner's clothing and armor with House Whiterun's family insignia piling bricks and wood in an attempt to rebuild the village. Malty wonders how many of them came from Count Balgruuf's seat of power, and how many of Balafon's native residents have come back after the fall of the Three Heroes' Church. There are tents everywhere, no doubt serving as the temporary dwelling of the villagers and the guards before the rebuilding process could be completed. 

Sadly, not all of their landing was without issue. Motoyasu, and his children happen to land right on a pile of logs. They end up totaling the pile, making them fall on each other in a tangle of limbs, and then covered by piles of wood. They can hear Motoyasu's muffled voice coming from underneath. "...I'm okay..."

"It's Master Spear Hero... and Master Shield Hero!" One of the villagers working near their landing site immediately recognized Motoyasu and Naofumi. He quickly runs away towards a large tent to the north. Malty can't tell if he said those words out of excitement, or fear. Although none of the other villagers acted in any urgent manner. She takes it as a good sign.

"Why do you heroes always cause a scene wherever you go?" The deep voice of a female signs in exasperation. Malty turned her head, and noticed a rabbit demi-human with dark gray fur and wearing leather armor looking at them not far away from the center of the destroyed town. She still had some recollection of this rabbit demi-human warrior. She was the bodyguard of Count Balgruuf who was initially sent with them to help the village of Balafon when it was suffering from starvation. 

The princess turned slave looked around her. They have landed at the place where Fuckboy kept the enslaved Balafon villagers. It's a fairly big open field without any building, which means there weren't ruined houses in the way to keep all the building materials. Motoyasu and his party were unlucky enough to land right on top of one as a result. And speaking of the Spear Hero...he's being helped by a young raccoon man who leads them to the dungeon containing the magical seed. The logs on top of them weren't any issue since the ones underneath consist of one Spear Hero (who recently fought against an invading outer goddess ), and his five filorial monarch 'children'. The tangled limbs on the other hand... that had required outside aid to sort though, which the former raccoon sheppard was more than happy to provide. "Thanks for the help, Minato."

Chapter 26: Devilish Omen

"You are very welcome, honored hero." The young lanky man pulls the filorials off Motoyasu one after another. By the end, Motoyasu was able to jump back up to his feet on his own. Clearly, he didn't suffer in any way other than his possible pride. "Is there anything I could help you with, Master Spear Hero?"

One of Motoyasu's bird children lets out a growl of her stomach. The one with short, brown hair tied into a single tail behind her head, and wearing baggy, Q'ten Lo style cloth. Malty can't tell, and can't honestly say she cares about what name she has since the Spear Hero has raised more filorial monarchs than she can count at a first glance by this point. "Musabi could use some food?"

"Don't act like an unsophisticated fool, Musabi! You are shaming Master Motoyasu!" One of Motoyasu's children scolded Musubi. This one has long, golden hair split from the middle of her head and then went down all the way to her hip like a cap. Her dark overcoat over white blouse while looking a bit plain, at least fit what a mid to high class Melromarc woman would wear unlike most of her siblings. It seems like her personality is as uptight as her own clothing.

"But Musabi didn't do anything bad! Musabi even protected her decency!" Overeager to prove her decency, Musabi ironically flips her skirt up in front of everyone. Causing most of the men in their group to immediately shield their eyes, or look away. The golden haired woman looked ready to burst a blood vessel or two, but a wave of loud growl coming from her stomach took all the proverbial wind out of her sail. Musabi releases her hand on her skirt, letting it fall down naturally as she points at her sister. "See! You are also hungry, Tsukiumi!"  

"We still have a good number of fresh dryad tree fruits leftover from our last harvest. They contain too much mana for people to eat for the long term, but they are fine food for filorials." The easily excited Musabi, and young looking Kusano both jump on their feet with excitement at Minato's announcement, while the other three are more reserved in their reaction. But the twinkle of their eyes, or the curving from the corner of their mouths all show they are just as happy at the news. They are filorials after all, and it's in their nature to eat, and pull carts.

"We don't want to impose too much on you. With the life root and the Three Heroes' Church, you guys suffered twice because of me." Needless to say, the one who is concerned about the people of Balafon is Naofumi . He looks around the (once again) slowly rebuilding farming village and asks. "How are you guys recovering? Enough food, medicine, and everything else? I still owed that Prince Joseph guy a lot of money... I assume anyway. He didn't tell me how much he wanted from me, but I imagine a lot. Sorry, that's not important. The point is I'll do my best to help you guys get back on your feet."

Right... while Naofumi didn't start the whole problem in Graile, he was responsible for the eventual rebellion that happened in the fortress city. Which likely caused a lot of additional death and property damage (those siege ballistas Naofumi destroyed immediately came to Malty's mind) than if the Three Heroes' Church had simply enslaved the whole city without any resistance. Especially considering Prince Joseph likely allowed Cromwell's lackeys to do the deed. And it's probably not easy to fill back the giant sinkhole Streighbour made near the gate. Sitting down with Prince Joseph, and hearing his full demand on how he wants to resolve this issue is probably something they should do sooner than later. Since the later they wait for it, the more likely the mad prince will increase his demand. So Malty immediately leans to Naofumi's ear and whispers her suggestion. "We should sit down with Prince Joseph and get a full written contract on how he wants you to repay the damage caused to Grail, preferably with your fellow heroes and emissaries from the other nations present. We want to be clear what he demands from you, so he can't keep adding more terms when he considers the grudge settled. The presence of your fellow heroes, and the emissaries will make sure Joseph behaves himself and doesn't try to bully, or cheat you with an unfair clause."

The Shield Hero didn't say anything back to Malty. Although he did nod his head to show that he heard, and likely agrees with her suggestion. Minato didn't hear Malty, or choose to ignore her words. He continues to explain the situation of Balafon. "We are doing well, Shield Hero-sama. Thanks to all of you stopping the Three Heroes' Church - we have Lord Balgruuf back and won our freedom. Thankfully, Fuckboy didn't get to rule for too long. So our fields, and orchard didn't suffer too badly from his terrible management. We'll be letting our field rest so we don't turn our land barren by accident, but we have enough food supply to last us through. Especially with the harvest we got from the dryad trees."

"Didn't you just say those fruits are not good for people to eat?" Ren raises one of his eyebrows.

"Fresh dryad fruit can cause addiction if people eat too much of it, because it has too much mana inside. But if we dry it up to store it for longer, most of the mana inside would be gone, and they can be used as a ration." Minato quickly begins to explain the nuance of treating something that's both edible, and also has a high amount of natural mana in them. "If you would like to, I can show you where and how we process these fruits while I take Master Spear Hero's children for something to eat."

"OH! I like that!" Wyndia hops on her feet as she turns around to look at Ren. The small dog girl grabs his hand and begins to furiously swing his arm. "Come on, let's go, Skyguy . It'll be like a little date between us."

Malty would like to point out that it's probably not fun for them to tour around a village that's been badly raided, burnt down (by Malty herself, no less) and in the process of rebuilding. And there are too many people around Ren and Wyndia to make the situation any romantic. But then again, the little dog girl probably didn't know what a real 'date' was. The senior knight in the Sword Hero's group opened his mouth when she chose to remain silent. "Shouldn't we take care of the more urgent duty of stopping that group of bandits, Master Ren? The village of Balafon wouldn't be going anywhere, and we can come back after we stop the bandit raids."

"Actually. I know the bandit group the queen was talking about well. They were displaced refugees forced to resort to banditry to make a living. And the last time we saw them, they were doing fine enough to not rob people. I don't think the queen knows what she was talking about when she appointed me to this task. Unless a different group of bandits moved in when they were hiding from the Three Heroes' Church..." Naofumi's voice trails off at the end when he considers other possibilities. After his brief pause, he continues. "Regardless, I don't think we'll waste any time learning how to properly prepare these fruits, or other magical food. Motoyasu's children need something to eat. And we'll need them to reach the bandit before today ends. Even if we leave without them, they'll just have to catch up to us after they finish eating, and take us the rest of the way."

The knight from the Sword Hero's team nods his head once, and steps back into his group. Nobody else voiced their dispute after them. So they walked with Minato towards the north where the dryad orchard was located. Malty wonders off hand if they store and process the magical fruits inside the village palisade, or build some new warehouse and workshop near the orchard. As they moved, she noticed a somewhat familiar figure due to the thick, dark blue colored robe with hood which covers the wearer's entire body. It was that court mage serving Lord Balgruuf, who Naofumi bribed, no, gifted some of Gaelion's scales. He's standing near some large pitfall on the open ground, directing some of the other wizards as they cast spells. The sinkhole visibly begins to shake and narrow, but not fully close. Some random villagers she doesn't recognize quickly carry over a ladder and slowly begin to send it down. Minato seems to notice Malty's confusion, as he explains without being prompted to. "Master Farengar Secret-Fire, the court wizard of Jarl Balgruuf and his mage apprentices came to help us. We already had these underground tunnels left from that giant plant monster's attack. All they need is some fortification from some earth mages, and they'll make for interconnected cellars to store our food produce, and act as a hideout in case of another attack."

It seems like Naofumi isn't the only one who is learning from older experience. The villagers of Balafon are already using whatever means they have to prepare for the Wave of Catastrophe... or human made catastrophes. And knowing the Burning Legion is a very real threat, that's what they'll need to survive the ongoing crisis.

o(-_-)o[T]

There isn't enough steed for Princess Melty's entire entourage. Even the wealth of House Amelia is only so much. Especially when a sizable number of the crown princess' personal guards are made of House Amelia sworn swords. Lady Iris Amelia ends up tossing a lot of coins for the natives of Stormwind to buy any beast of burden, and cart they have to spare. They didn't manage to get too many usable steeds out of the act, considering the city went through a full riot that killed their king and army generals not too long ago. But the extra carts the people of Stormwind had lying around does help out a lot. With the extra means of transportation, they are ready to start their journey south.

"Don't run too fast, okay? Most of these carts aren't in good condition. You don't want to pull them apart." Yume brushes her hand at one of her younger filorial siblings as she's fasted in front of the cart. It's clearly designed to transport goods rather than people since all it had was the driver's seat at the front, with no seat at the bed behind it. It'll serve its purpose, as the common-born members of the heroes' retinue jump in and sit down. Making themselves as comfortable as the flat wooden bed can make them.

"Get in position, you lazy bones! Don't blame me when I strike you with my mace if you hold up the line!" Eclair turns her head over to glare at her lieutenant Winchester, who is barking orders and making threats at the Shield Hero's retinue members. From the way he slaps the head of his mace in his own gauntlet wearing hand, Eclair gets the sense that the young noble knight isn't making an empty threat. Not the way a knight should carry himself, but he did manage to get the undisciplined retinue members to act with haste. He passes over Eclair to his own demigryph, probably not realizing Exclair could hear his muttering. ".. .lazy peasants. Won't pick up their pace if you don't give them a good lashing or two..."

"Do you think Lady Malty will be fine without us?" Eclair's attention is taken elsewhere before she has a chance to give Cardin a reprimand. She looks to the side and sees Flair riding towards her. The two of them aren't exactly friends. Other than trading barbs in front of Malty, Eclair said less things to the pampered little 'princess' of House Consevatie than Weiss of the Schnee family. For Lady Flair to ride up to and talk to her without trading any insult, she must truly be worried about Malty. Eclair could at least respec t Flair for this.

"I'm sure Malty will be fine, Lady Flair. She is one of the Star Heroes, even if her weapon is damaged. She has all four Cardinal Heroes, and their companions with her. They are experienced at fighting enemies tougher than them. And they are at the heart of Melromarc fighting a group of badly trained, and equipt bandits." Eclair reaches her hand over, and gently taps Lady Flair on her shoulder. She didn't tell the Lady of Consevatie that the 'bandit' they are going against is likely the group of refugees they encountered earlier in their adventure. If so, they are not under any danger whatsoever. She's probably just being pointlessly paranoid hiding this information from Flair, but she is the younger sister of Fuckboy . Not the most chivalrous thing to do, keeping secret her own allies, but perhaps Malty had passed some of her carefulness over.

Lady Flair's head slowly dips down, her eyes are downcast as her finger begins to play with a curl of her pink lock. Eclair thought maybe this signals the end of their brief conversation and she can go back to things she's more comfortable with. Like maintaining order of Naofumi's retinue. But then the lady of House Consevatie began to murmur, almost like she's talking to herself more than to Eclair. "I don't know... I know I only served Lady Malty- I mean Master Shield Hero for a short time. And my brother was... him . But do you think they are only putting up with me because of my family? Not even my family like me..."

Oh no... she is totally not prepared to deal with conversation like this. It's not like Eclair herself sometimes feels like she falls short of what her family... more specifically her father expects of her. But as the one who Naofumi and Malty put in charge when they are away, she is responsible for all of their retinue members. "I'm sure both Lord Shield Hero, and Malty care about you for who you are, not your family. They are not the types to blindly support a rich, and powerful noble family for favor. Plus with what Fuckboy did to them, don't you think they'd show some anger to you if they cared more for your family than you? As for your fear of not being good enough. None of us are born with competence. We all have to work for them."

"I'm guessing our young captain didn't know the princess well. At least not when she was used to loitering around the palace all day, doing nothing." Eclair casts her sight away from Flair, and moves onto the pair of knights riding towards them. One of them bald underneath his helmet, the other has the most brilliantly blue eyes. The lady (and only remaining member) of House Seaetto doesn't have a very strong memory of them for whatever reason. She vaguely recalls seeing them trailing behind Malty while she was still being fostered, and squired by the royal family, acting more like her servants than proper fighting men. They certainly didn't have much martial excellence to speak about as knights.

"Then again, she did change a lot when we weren't looking. She even thanked us for saving her life." The knight with blue eyes added, as both of them looked at each other with a knowing smile. "The journey with the Shield Hero must be good for her."

"Go back to your rows and don't let me catch you gossiping and lollygagging around. I can still smack you both without my hands." Malty's former maid walks up to her knights. The two of them quickly run away with their heads hanging low.

"Prince Avdol, would you kindly make a prediction on our rightful king's fortune?" Eclair turns her head to look at Kael'thas a short distance to her left. Kael'thas is talking to the dark skinned Siltvelt prince. Prince Avdol takes out a stack of cards from his cloth, and begins shuffling through them. After a while, Kael'thas picks out a card. His pale face instantly darkens. Curiosity pushes Eclair and Flair to move over and look, the card in Kael'thas' hand happens to be the Devil.

"That's... that's just bad luck, right? There's magic, and there's gods' miracles. But divination by us mortals isn't real..." Flair's voice sounds more cracked and nervous than usual. She's clearly trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

"No need to panic! This is Naofumi-sama we are talking about. Didn't he already kill an invading god in the wave we just fought through?" Lady Flair swings her head back to glare at the flippant attitude of the Throwing Weapon Hero. As for Exclair herself... she isn't sure what she thinks about. On the one hand, she hopes the Throwing Weapon Hero is correct that there's nothing to worry about Naofumi... and Malty. On the other hand, he's also clearly an idiot. "Naofumi-sama will easily beat anyone and anything, even if he comes face to face with the devil!"

"You did not fight the Wave with the rest of us. You were nowhere to be seen when those monsters came at us like a tide." Flair crosses her arms and hisses at the Throwing Weapon Hero. The white tiger girl besides him hisses back at her, looking ready to attack if not for her brother holding her back. Eclair dismounted from her demigryph to stand between Flair and the white tiger siblings. She still hasn't got used to the new steed gifted to her by Count Winchester, and she feels more confident fighting on her own legs for now. Cardin, and his fellow demigryph knights from House Winchester move over when they notice the commotion. "You showed up when the Wave was almost over, and you picked a fight with Lady Mordred of House Arc."

" EXACTLY ! All of you were wasting time fighting unimportant mooks, while I was doing the important thing of trying to kill an evil noble who dared to hurt Naofumi-sama! Things would have gone better if any of you actually had guts, and helped me kill that evil bitch!" Eclair's face begins to twitch at the Throwing Weapon Hero's nonsense. Not only does he still not understand the problem he caused Naofumi and Malty for opening another grudge with House Arc in their names (therefore give Mordred an excuse to openly come at Naofumi if she wants to, which she DOES ), he somehow think fighting each other is more important than fighting back the Wave of Catastrophe that would destroy their world if left unchecked?

"Be quiet, you fools! You are breaking Prince Avdol's concentration!" Kael'thas' voice is harsh as he reprimands them all. The Throwing Weapon Hero looked ready to pick a fight, with the loyal ally of the hero he is trying to help . Thankfully, his mouth is immediately covered by the young white tiger man of his party. As for Prince Avdol himself, he didn't answer Lady Flair or any of them. Although his face looked as grim as Prince Kael'thas. No matter what, it seems like he himself believes in the result of his divination. Similar to how a certain member (such as the white tiger girl who is glaring at everyone) of the Throwing Weapon Hero still believes himself to be some mythical prophet even when he proved himself to be a fool. The dark skinned Siltvelt prince takes what looks like a wooden cylinder container filled with thin bamboo pieces out of his cloth and begins to shake the container. After a while, one of them falls onto the ground. This time, Eclair leaps over and picks up the wooden piece to take a look at what's written on it: 'Low - Low'. One bad divination result is just bad luck, but a repeat is clearly a sign of a bad omen to come. Now she feels regret that she didn't fight for herself to have a spot among the heroes' teleportation.

o(-_-)o[T]

The storage, and workshop for the dryad fruit happens to be built outside the village's palisade, right besides the orchard. Malty suppose it makes sense in spite of the security risk. Magical, dryad trees produce its fruit fast. Even if it doesn't instantly have their fruit spawn all over its branches like the life roots, they still produce fruit within the week rather than seasons. The advantage of being able to process the produce right at the orchard outweigh whatever disadvantage to post additional guards. And ironically, because it's outside of the village proper, it wasn't destroyed when Malty nearly set the whole village on fire to create her distraction when they were trying to liberate Balafon from Fuckboy .

"Shield boy~! Good to see you again!" A familiar sound makes Malty turn her head to look at the direction of the dryad tree orchard. Sure enough, with the posture of a death row convict going to his execution is none other than the Imp of Casterly Rock walking towards them, a pair of Balafon villagers (none of them are young, nubile women) a few steps behind them, carrying a basket filled with the red magical fruit, and a pot of what Malty assumes to be dryad wood resin. His face is the usual shape of a flippant smile that looks inviting, rather than arrogant like Fuckboy . It seems like with the fall of Three Heroes' Church, the imp is living the good life again.

"Zylden. You look well." Malty calls the imp before Naofumi even has a chance to. For some reason, he actually takes a brief pause. His feet shuffle on the ground, and his face looks away. Malty wonders why he suddenly looks all embarrassed. Is he thinking back on the last time they met face to face. And more specifically, that time when he got beaten and tied up by Three Heroes' Church rebels and thugs of Fuckboy ?

"Damn, lass. Have you been possessed, or got kidnapped and impersonated by a shapeshifter? I think I liked you better when you called me 'Imp'." Zylden's words make Malty realize that perhaps she is being too nice with the little half man. As someone who likes to act foolish and deflect serious situations by cracking jokes likely due to the shortcoming of his birth, he probably doesn't know how to react if someone treats with sincerity. The imp points his stubby finger at Malty, and then slowly moves to point at Naofumi. "So, I'm guessing you finally came clean with the shield boy? And you two look even more chummy together than before! What? Did someone push the shield boy to serenade you under the moon?"

"You bet!" Motoyasu jumps forward. He reaches his hands out, grabs both Naofumi and Malty's shoulder to move them close together. Malty looks away, feeling slightly embarrassed, no, indignant at the Spear Hero's foolishness. But then she feels another hand around her. Looking back, she realizes Naofumi has his hand wrapped around her. It seems like after that little night session at Cal Mira Island, Naofumi had stopped worrying about openly showing his affection towards Malty. She wonders if that means they are openly in a courtship.

"It's hard not to have my identity blow out in the open when the Three Heroes' Church knows who I am... and with my mother waiting for us back at the capital. Although she probably didn't count on Master Naofumi being lenient, and accepting of my flaws." Malty smiles, and wraps her arm around Naofumi too. Act of intimacy is easy with someone she wants to manipulate, since she doesn't have any emotion tied to her action, and doesn't have to worry about the possibility of rejection. But now that she knows how much Naofumi cares about her, she realizes she didn't have to worry about it in the first place.

"See. I told you that you were thinking too much, and things would be fine if you would just be honest with the shield boy. So I'm going to do it again, officially: I told you so ." Zylden's smile grows wider, almost comically exaggerated. Yet, it also looks more genuine at the same time.

"Yes, you are a great prophet who predicts the rise and fall of nations, and everyone should listen to you." Malty rolls her eyes at Zylden's antics, she waves the dwarf off. "We are getting some food for Motoyasu's children, and then we'll move south to deal with the bandits holed up south of Trumpet city. Do you guys have some carriages, or carts lying around? We have more men than we have filorial birds."

"We do have carts for transporting our harvest. They were actually built by Master Spear Hero when he stayed with us." Minato's explanation makes Malty look over to the oldest Cardinal Hero. She shouldn't be surprised that a fool could have his moment of brilliance. They fell for a trap set by Fuckboy of all people, and he was the mother of all idiots. "Most of them survived the Three Heroes' Church occupation. If you honored heroes and companions do not mind riding on a produce cart, we could fasten them behind your birds."

"We are used to adventuring, and fighting by this point. Comfort is not a concern. Go feed Motoyasu's birds." Ren waves away Minato's concern. The young racoon boy does as he is told, but the Sword Hero's attention seems to be drawn on something else. He looks around their little workshop and asks. "Is it fine for you to work this far from your village? What if you get raided by some bandit, or another army decides to take over? Or if you get hit by monsters?"

The Sword Hero's concern isn't entirely without reason. As the orchard is located even further away from the village of Balafon than their field. It would take a good half an hour's walk for a grown man to go between their village and the orchard. Granted, during a time of crisis they would be running for their lives rather than casually walking. But it would still take too much time for any guards stationed at the village to respond to any threat. Instead of directly answering him, Zylden waves his hand at the heroes, and then he points at a sprout on the ground. For a brief second, Malty didn't know what he's getting at. And then she noticed the little plant is waving unnaturally, and it's definitely not because of some gust of wind. Naofumi is more open about his observations than Malty. "Bed-chan? You survived?!"

The little sprout waves up and down, almost like it's nodding its head. Naofumi's previously passive face slowly morphs into a smile as he goes down on his knees to look at the verdant, tender looking plant closer. The other heroes, who have no idea what he's going at all look confused. Itsuki is the one who asks for an explanation. "Don't keep us in the dark, Naofumi. What's so special about this one little sprouting plant?"

"Not just any sprout. This is Bed-chan . A dryad created by Fuckboy , with the same intelligence level as us humans and plant manipulation ability. She helped me a lot when I was running away from the Three Heroes' Church. " Naofumi reaches his hand out and gently runs his finger along Bed-chan's leaf. It bends slightly over, reminding Malty of a purring cat. "She got snapped in half by that Roger of Ajax guy when we were trying to rescue the people of Balafon from Three Heroes' Church, and we got separated. I'm happy she survived."

"The lass did more than simply survive, shield boy. She's thriving now that she's back to where she was born, among her less sentient sisters. And the high concentration of magic around here doesn't hurt either." Zylden proudly strikes his hand at dryad trees around him. "With her taking over this fortified ground, this dryad orchard and our village is no longer defenseless even without any lord's army, or some sellswords. But even better, nothing could escape her senses. Any unsuspecting monster horde, bandit group, or even professional army would get a nasty surprise if they think this village is easy picking."

Malty doubts Bed-chan alone is strong enough to repel a wave considering they seem to come with invading outer gods now. Then again, nothing short of the avatar of Gaia or Alaya would be strong enough to fight back an invading outer god by itself. So she can't fault Bed-chan for that.

" Nothing can escape a little dryad spirit's watch, huh? Dare to make a bet with me?" An unfamiliar male voice comes from Malty's back. It seems like she's not the only one who is cynical about Bed-Chan's ability to defend Balafon by herself. The way Naofumi suddenly leaps to his feet and turns around to face the direction of the sound makes Malty realize it's not just some random villager, or maybe even an adventurer passing by. She spins around on her heel and looks back. There are two men looking to be in their twenties standing about twenty paces away, maybe two paces away from each other. Both of them have short hair, one golden, the other one dark as midnight. The one in the front wears a fiery red colored suit with the newer style from Faubley, favored by the wealthy merchants. An arrogant looking smirk on his face that reminded Malty of someone like Fuckboy . The one standing in the back wears a dark suit matching his hair, styled in the more traditional style for a noble's servant. His face is passive in a serene way, his head slightly bowed down. 

On the first glance, they look like a pair of noblemen, or a well off merchant and his trusty servant visiting from Faubley. But Naofumi's guard isn't lowered after seeing them. If anything, his legs further split apart to lower his weight down from the center, hands raised in front of him to take up a fighting stance. His fellows all follow his example. Malty doesn't know who these two are, or how the Shield Hero recognized them. But she takes her own fighting stance just like the rest of the companions of the heroes. Zylden steps back behind them all. The dwarf can fight in a pinch, quite well too for a half man. But obviously he likes to leave the fighting to the experts. He doesn't have anything to be ashamed of, as the two fully grown men from Balafon are doing the same. "New friends of yours, shield boy?"

"Not quite... but I do know him, I think. Wish I had Kael'thas with me." The Shield Hero's feet slowly sliding on the ground, the sound of the sole of his boots grinding against dirt can be heard by everyone. He doesn't dare to take large strides forward, but is clearly trying to put himself in front of everyone else. "Riser Phenex... Are you another Siltvelt noble like Rias , or are you a demon ?"

"It seems like my reputation still precedes me. I am a devil, actually. We are aligned with the sphere of order , not chaos. There are orders in the infernal plane too." Their now named opponent didn't take their confrontation seriously, still having his hands in his pocket. The only difference is his smirk growing wider when he answers Naofumi back. Malty can feel the air around her growing cold at Riser's admission. Demon is an all incompass term that could be used to describe entities that do not originate from their world (which technically makes the Three Heroes' Church correct when they called Naofumi the Shield 'Demon'. But that would also apply to all other summoned heroes), and their appearance always comes with mischief on their part. But the worst is always those who originate from any of the infernal planes due to their openly malicious nature. Disasters, and death follow them like their own shadow.

"Why don't you go away and bother Rias? She's in this world too. This village could use a break." The frown on Naofumi's face grows deeper as a golden sphere of miracle gathered in his free, left hand. His shield remains solid on his arm, rather than being dissolved to begin bringing out his saiga. Malty doesn't know how strong this Riser Phenex is, and he's not doing anything particularly threatening with him merely standing around, smirking, and throwing barbs at them. But the Shield Hero clearly takes him as a serious threat if he doesn't dare to leave himself open to bring out his strongest shield.

"But I'd rather talk to you. Those who think you have what it takes to challenge the Burning Legion . Countless worlds, ones similar to this one had already been reduced to cinder by them. What makes you think any of you could make a difference?" A trail of light shoots at Devil Phenex, to which he leisurely raises his hand to snatch an arrow of light in his hand. The smirk he wears on his face doesn't diminish as he squeezes his hand tighter, shattering the light arrow into countless topaz colored wisps. "It's rude interrupting someone's words."

"Don't act rashly, guys! He's a demon, he has strong regeneration ability. A normally lethal wound wouldn't kill, or even hurt someone like him." Naofumi grabs the shoulder of his sworn shield, who looks ready to charge Devil Phenex. The Shield Hero's voice sounds as worried as he is desperate. Malty has no real experience dealing with infernal creatures (unless either goddesses who tried to kill her during the Wave battle counts as one), but she heard stories about them from the church. So she knows Naofumi's concern is well earned. It's nice that he sees fit to inform everyone in their group, in case some of their members who were of humbler birth, or pagan origin missed the preaching session from the church about demons and devils.

Yatsuhashi plants both of his feet firmly back on the ground once again, crossing his two handed, curved red blade in front of him defensively. The others, heroes and their companions alike follow his practice. Malty herself conjured three [Hydro Sphere] spells, and had them hovering in front of her in anticipation of Devil Phenex's attack. The princess turned slave idly thinks to herself on how this would have been a situation where the church's knowledge and experience at dealing with the threat of the infernal plane would have been immensely helpful. Alas, any element from the church was expelled after the Three Heroes' Church's extremely shortsighted decision to dispose of Count Balgruuf. But while all of them carefully staring Devil Phenex down, someone outside of their current group, and outside their perception has already launched their attack. 

A wave of fire, thick enough to be liquid, roared towards the self proclaimed devil. Completely swallowing his body in mere seconds. Malty allows her sight to wander away at their opponent, and sees two of Motoyasu's bird children standing outside the dryad fruit processing workshop. One of them being Kazehana, the big sister looking woman wearing a one piece dress with too much cut out (especially considering that she's once again, not even a year old) Motoyasu raised to protect Melty. The other is someone with short gray hair, with a nondescript long, one piece suit, and a mask of the same color covering his lower face... actually, can she even be sure this other filorial is a boy and not a girl? He, or she looks old enough to be a human young adult, and has a very flat chest. But that's not a guarantee of a filorial monarch's gender.

"Not bad, not bad. Your attack is fast and fierce. The fire is hot enough to melt metal or rock. And it's further enhanced by the gusts of strong wind that both give it extra strength, but also contain the fire to make sure it's a concentrated attack that doesn't splash everywhere and catch the whole area on fire." A wave of loud claps makes Malty realize she's thinking complete nonsense, rather than focusing on the fight at hand. She looks straight once again, and sees the devil Phenex standing in the middle of the burning inferno. His body, or his clothes are completely unharmed even as the tongue of fire continues to lick him. "But sadly, it is still only a dead fire without any spirit behind it. And dead fire can't hurt someone who is made of living flame. Here, let me show you how it's done."

The fire devil slowly raises his right arm, till it stays on the same level as his shoulders. He opens his hand, the large bond of fire which has been previously dancing around him is suddenly sucked in front of his palm, slowly reshaping into a ball. Its white, scorching white center looks like the eye of a dangerous predator gazing at the Cardinal Heroes and their companions. Malty's eyes grow wide as she realizes the amount of control the fire devil is exhibiting, as fire is well known as the most volatile of the four prime elements. "His attack is as strong as a forbidden [Super Nova] spell!"

Without pause to think further, Malty immediately directs her own water spells towards the fire nova dancing in front of Phenex' hand. She didn't stop after sending all three of her [Hydro Sphere] forward, as the princess turned slave immediately began to conjure more of them and throw them all at the fire devil one after another. The result didn't change, as all of them dissolved into nothing but a trail of white smoke before they even touched Phenex, or his attack. The smile on Phenex' face didn't diminish, just like his body didn't even make a single twitch at Malty's futile attacks. "Water douse out fire... but a strong enough fire would burn out water. You can't put out a burning cart full of timber with a single cup's water, no matter how many more you throw it out."

Malty is well aware of how overwhelming power can be intoxicating. That's something she seeked herself before she was forced to adopt uncle Aldrecht's viewpoint on focusing on her own control. But the opponent she is facing is someone who displays overwhelming power, and perfect control in equal harmony. As a magic user herself, she truly understands what an unscalable mountain devil Phenex is to her. She didn't have much time to ponder on the hopeless situation when Phenex tosses his attack forward at them, with the uncaring attitude as if he's simply throwing away a worthless pebble.

"[Swords of Revealing Light]!" The Sword Hero immediately activates his dimensional freeze ability, making Phenex' fire nova freeze mid-air for a brief few seconds before shattering his light swords and continuing towards the heroes and their companions. Thankfully, the time Ren brought for everyone wasn't wasted as he wasn't the only one who reacted to the attack. Everyone, who has some kind of defensive ability, be it weapon art, magic, or miracles all throw them in the path of Fenex' nova attack. But none of their efforts were able to stop the fire devil's attack. The fire nova thrown out by Phenex easily breaks through all of their defenses without slowing down for a second.

" [SANTEN KESSHUN] !" A voice calls out, coupled with a loud wave of noise that explodes into drilling pain inside Malty's head. An orange colored, triangular shaped shield appears in the path of Phenex' attack. Unlike the other barrier abilities, this one actually does manage to stop the fire nova even if it doesn't feel any stronger than the other abilities already used by everyone. The princess turned slave looks back, and sees the Balafon shepherd boy Minato holding his hands towards the space where the barrier meets Phenex' attack. It could be her pain induced imagination, but Malty could swear she heard the sounds of shrieking coming from the clash between Phenex and Minato.

"What do we have here? A spirit magic user? Yes, the best way to defend against spirit attack is defense that also employs spirit." The fire devil looks neither surprised, nor angry at his attack being stopped by his opponent, giving the impression that he's merely toying with the heroes and their companions. A figure leaps at him like a blur from the direction of the dryad fruit workshop, he raises his left arm. But instead of protecting himself with his entire arm or even his hand, all he did was extend out his index finger. With a loud crash, the blurring figure is stopped right in front of him, revealing it to be none other than Musabi, the filorial queen wearing Q'ten Lo style cloth (and a deceptively well endowed body considering she is like her siblings, actually less than a year old). Phenex flickers her with his coiled up middle finger, sending her flying back even faster than when she jumped at him. Minato runs a few steps forward, he catches Musabi's body in his arms, spins a few circles while skidding back before laying her on the ground.

The ground around the orchard suddenly parted as a massive wave of roots erupted out like giant beasts. Rather than slamming down on the fire devil, they pour globs of resin onto Phenex. It hardens quickly, completely sealing the devil inside a massive ember. Malty doesn't dare to lower her guard, as she continues to conjure up new water spells around her in anticipation of the next attack. She doubts the self-proclaimed (which is likely true) devil could be this easily defeated by Bed-Chan. And even if he did, his dark haired and dark clothed companion is still standing. Her attention is so focused on her enemies, she didn't even notice the sudden wave of coldness until it feels like countless blade is gnawing at her exposed skin, and all her [Hydro Sphere] spells drop onto and shatter on the ground as lumps and ice.

"There is no 'cold' in the world. The feeling of cold is merely the lack of heat. And as a devil of fire affinity, I control ice as much as fire." The amber prison Bed-Chan created around Phenex shatters, as the fire devil steps out wearing a sharp armor made of pure, white ice. "Let's see how you heroes fare against the Ice Emperor."

Chapter Text

Riser Phenex looks entirely different from before he broke through Bed-Chan's amber prison around him. His previously flamboyant looking red suit has been completely hidden underneath the thick layer of white cold ice armor with sharp edges that's clearly not only meant to look intimidating, but would serve as a weapon in close combat. The armor feels like it's sucking up all the heat in the world around him. As a well learned mage, Malty knows that's simply a misconception. If Phenex' armor is sucking in all this heat, it would have melted into water and completely drenched the fire devil. But that understanding only increased her concern, no, fear from this agent of The Burning Legion . Being a devil of fire affinity, his control of his innate power is so great that he could use it to manipulate what would be considered the opposite of his power.

Yet at the same time, Phenex' action confuses her. Aside from Bed-Chan surprising him and catches him off guard with a dose of her resin downpour, the fire devil had all the advantage in their fight. His fire nova attack was unstoppable until Balafon's former shepherd boy stepped in and used his strange magic. Perhaps it's not accurate to say that one attack is enough to push the Cardinal Heroes and all of their companions to the point of no return, but it would certainly leave them at a major disadvantage. And even with Bed-Chan's sneak attack, he should be able to easily free himself using his default fire magic. There certainly wasn't any need for Phenex to reveal he can use ice by controlling the heat around him. It would have certainly served him better if he saved this ability and used it to surprise the Cardinal Heroes.

In other words, the fire devil is still toying with all of them in spite of showing off more of his power. Possibly even more so than previously considering how nonchalant he is at showing everyone what would have served him better as a secret trump attack if he is pushed to a corner. Which means he's either fully confident that there's no one present who could truly put him on the back foot... or he has even more tricks hidden up his sleeves. Neither possibility bode well for them.

"We can't let him set up his attacks! Follow me!" Unlike before when Naofumi held back his bodyguard, the Shield Hero is the first one to lead the charge. All the fighters with melee range weapons follow behind him as they run up to the ice armor covered fire devil. Malty casts a quick glance at Phenex' companion. The passive face on the darkly dressed devil didn't change. He certainly doesn't look worried for his fire devil companion.

Sound of weapons clashing... and shattering can be heard from the fierce battle. Malty quickly looks back at the battle, and finds most of the fighters who charged at devil Phenex are lying, or kneeling on the ground. The shattered remains of their weapons near them. The fire devil's armor might be made of ice, but they are certainly not fragile if they destroy weapons made of the finest castle forged steel. Besides the three Cardinal Heroes, Yatsuhashi is the only one who is still in the fight. Malty doesn't recognize the material used to create his crimson colored blade, but it's likely as hardy as titanite. As for the fire devil himself, he looks skilled enough to actually utilize the many spikes and claws on his ice armor, as he parries away the strikes of Ren, Motoyasu and Yatsuhashi with the ease of swatting away flies, yet not leaving himself open for counter by the Shield Hero, or anyone else.

"[Unstoppable Force]! Hold the devil down, everyone! I'm going to try something!" Malty immediately casts her enhanced spell on Ren, Motoyasu, Yatsuhashi, but not Naofumi. With his very unbalanced DEF rating, he could still only make a few swings on a target before completely exhausting himself due to the spell's negative effect on his stamina. And right now, they can't place all of their bets on Naofumi's damage potential while under [Unstoppable Force] could take down the fire devil. That being said, she does have a plan that could hurt, or at least weaken their opponent. The princess puts her hands above her head, left hand open up and facing the tip of the star wand as a fireball begins to gather on top. Her water magic is useless due to Phenex' ability to control heat, it's time to go back to her basics.

Chapter 27: Threat of the Legion

Cromwell scowls as his hand leaves the orb set on the counter. He bites back his urge to let out a string of violent curses. Curses! CURSES! Setback after setback! He is beset on all sides by self-serving idiots and arrogant fools! The lord confessor of the greatly diminished Church of Three Heroes cursed that vainglorious liar Balmus. For all his bluster about being the chosen one of the Chief God, he went and got himself killed by those four young upstart 'heroes'. And he had the audacity to name his own killer as his successor, as if that naive young boy is anything but a tool in the grand scheme of The Game.

He cursed the little pets Balmus kept around, his so-called 'children'. Rather than avenging their father (not that the old fool needed any avenging, he got what's going to him), most of them groveled and begged the Shield 'Hero' to take them in like some lost wild dogs. Once a tool, always a tool.

He also cursed his so-called allies, the useless fools who can't even capture a pair of children and repeatedly let them get away. He would have reigned as the next supreme leader of the Three Heroes’ Church as he was meant to be, if any of his incompetent subordinates had done their jobs. Be them Monroe, Amelia, or that insane, arrogant little shit sired by Consevatie. He is surrounded by idiots!

And the worst thing about his strings of setbacks... he can't even enjoy the fruit of his admittedly limited victories. This damn orb under his thumb for example... that's the so-called 'Seatto Heirloom' that made young Consevatie unearthed from House Seaetto's ancestral home before the Shield 'Hero', with the stupidly naive son of Arc somehow managed to collapse the entire castle. It's fabled to give whoever held it great power, even unlocking their full potential like one of the Cardinal Heroes. Yet for some reason, it refuses to lend its strength to him, the rightful messenger of the Chief God!

Cromwell takes a deep breath to calm himself. Yes, that's all he is currently encountering: setbacks. Not losses. Those pesky children could enjoy their current victories, but they will not have the last laugh. The so-called 'queen' of Melromarc is already aware of the damages a bunch of arrogant, clueless children could cause to their world, and especially to the nation she is desperately trying to keep safe. And her attitude towards the Shield 'Hero' in particular is very telling. Cautiously holding back his demand and power every step, even with the risk of being accused for 'unfairly penalizing the honored heroes' by the rest of these self-serving aristocrats from both the other nations, and her own nation . BAH! As if those nobles wouldn't do more if they were the ones dealing with, and butting heads with these meddlesome kids.

The queen may have gutted and neutered the Three Heroes’ Church, but that'll only come to his advantage later on! The church will have nowhere to go with that pretentious, apathetic Logarius appointed as their head by the queen. Meanwhile... She still needs someone to further curb the influence and power of these so-called summoned 'heroes' to make sure her own position as the unquestioned leader of the nation still persists. The kind of expertise Cromwell he himself happens to have, and is ready to lend to the queen. It's also fortuitous that the majority of the true faithfuls of the Chief God are those the queen kept together, and induced into her direct command. It might take a while longer than his original plan, but given the path both the summoned 'heroes' and the queen of Melromarc are going, he still has the chance to become a gray eminence within the center of the nation...

o(-_-)o[T]

Malty doesn't dare to use another forbidden spell like the one she used against the newborn Life Root. Her heart most definitely can NOT handle it, especially without another mage of the ancient bloodlines, or have a dozen apprentices to share the burden of casting the magic. But seeing Phenex' own fire manipulation did give her ideas. Mainly, to condense the fire under her control to focus its destructive power, rather than having it wild dance around everywhere. With the star wand's ability giving her extra control of fire, she is able to do so even if her own control of the most volatile prime element isn't up to the task.

Short of actually invading outer god, the fire devil Riser Phenex is definitely one of the most powerful, and skilled enemies the heroes, and Malty herself has faced. But like all their previous fallen opponents, his pride, be it mad arrogance such as Fuckboy , or stubbornness to maintain their integrity such as Pope Balmus, shall be his undoing. In his gloat, Phenex has revealed the secret to his own power. A fire devil who is able to freely control ice without melting it would no doubt be a terrifying thought. But during his gloating, he explained the principle of his power follows the same law as any mage practicing Founder Brimir's wizardry laws, only with much finer control than what most fire mages are capable of. Not some infernal secret only denizens of whatever hell he came from is aware of. And in doing so, Phenex also unintentionally revealed that he most likely has whatever weakness a wizardry school mage would suffer from.

The princess feels immense heat radiating down. She looks up at her head, and instantly squints her eyes to shield herself from the light. The ball of fire she gathered has become white hot, like a small sun pulled down from heaven. Malty looks down at the sight of battle once again, the fire devil like before, is still not treating the battle seriously. Yes, this is the opportunity she's been waiting for. She screams at the heroes and Yatsuhashi as she tosses her super condensed fireball at their enemy. "Everyone, dodge!"

Malty's fire spell shoots at Phenex like a searing comet, the heroes, and Yatsuhashi jumps away from the fire devil just in time to leave Phenex no chance to dodge away like them. The Burning Legion agent puts both of his hands in front of him like a crossguard as Malty's spell clashes against his body. A loud boom, and a massive wave of explosion engulfs the fire devil, and his darkly dressed companion standing about a dozen paces away. The concussive force of the blast itself was enough to throw the heroes and Naofumi's bodyguard flying away.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Malty hears Phenex' voice as she wonders if this attack caused any lasting damage. The fact that he's keeping his completely aloof tone without any audible shake, or even sign of annoyance in his voice is already boding ill for her gambit. As the smoke clears, Phenex is standing at the center of a newly created scorch crater. Yet, neither his body nor his clothes show any visible damage. The only result Malty's attack did manage to get is clearing the fire devil's ice armor off his body. Phenex' eyes slowly moved towards Malty, his smirk didn't leave his face. In spite of the aloof expression on the fire devil's face, she feels like a rabbit pill being stared down by a hungry bone dog. Probably because anyone who could protect her against the fire devil are all lying on the ground. Of the four Cardinal Heroes, only Itsuki is still standing besides her, and to his credit, he is firing his arrows at Phenex. Yet the fire devil isn't even sparing the effort to swat them away. He simply let topaz colored arrows hit, and harmlessly shatter on his body.

She vaguely becomes aware that her cousin Emily suddenly steps in front of her, and Emily's protector Corvo steps in front of them both. But it didn't bring her too much comfort. Both Emily and Corvo's strength are to sneak attack someone, not fighting face to face with a much stronger opponent.

"Well done, little princess. I see you are also a learned professional mage. You realized how quickly separating water would create hydrogen and oxygen, both fuels for fire and that's what you were aiming for with your condensed fireball attack, isn't it? Turning my own armor into the source of your explosion? Sadly, you forgot to account for the difference between the constitution of a pure breed devil, and mortals. So your attack ends up hurting your allies more than me. That's something you should be more mindful of going onward." The fact that the fire devil is ignoring the Bow Hero's last desperate effort to hurt him is a very clear indication of the validity of his words.

"I believe you are causing too much of a ruckus , Lord Phenex." The darkly dressed companion of the fire devil is also unharmed in the explosion. He slightly turns his body to the side and holds his hand up towards his back. A dozen arrows, as well as magical fireballs, ice spikes, and lightning bolts freeze in the air behind him. Malty dares to pry her eyes off devil Phenex to look. In the distance, she sees Gaston, Irelith, Farengar and a bunch of House Whiterun guards and apprentice mages running at them. "The Master will not be happy if you get too many natives involved."

"Tisk, of course. I can't have too much fun on my own." Phenex rolls his eyes, but he does seem to take the dark devil's warning to heart. He puts hand up besides head and waves at the heroes. "Guess this will be our time together this time. Until we meet again, heroes."

Burning wings of fire spread out behind Lord Phenex' back. His companion on the other hand sprouted more appropriate looking black, bat-like wings. Both of them take to the sky in the blink of eyes, disappearing into the clouds. Besides Malty, Itsuki landed on his knees, the young hero letting out labored breath as sweat rains down from his hair. He wasn't only shooting at the fire devil with regular shots (assuming there is anything 'normal' with his energy arrows in the first place). Most of them are different kinds of bow weapon arts, some of them supposedly able to negate a target's defense value. Yet, the fire devil simply ignored them all. Either the denizens of the inferno planes play by entirely different rules, or his power and control of it is so great that he could simply ignore a hero's best effort to attack him. 

Still, the way of both Lord Phenex and his ally (possibly his servant?) simply departed without killing, or even permanently hurting one of the heroes come off as strange to Malty. Yes, Gaston, and the House Whiterun members have come to their aid, but they are clearly not doing anything against Lord Phenex and his unnamed devil associate. And surely, whoever is their unnamed 'master' within the Burning Legion wouldn't care about hurting some natives of the world they are trying to invade ?

The sound, and shock of something falling down from the sky knocked Malty off her feet before her eyes even registered this sudden development. As she desperately scrambles to get herself up, she briefly fears that maybe the two devils of the Burning Legion have come back to finish the job they started. But as the dust cleared, she only saw the figure of Gaelion, and the three Siltvelt princes in their bird form. A few dozen of warriors and mages from the heroes' retinue jumping off their back, thankfully not including the Throwing Weapon Hero and his insane lackeys. It appears the reason Lord Phenex and his unnamed companion give before their departure is merely an excuse for their exit. They likely sensed the approaching reinforcements for the heroes, and decided to leave before the tide truly turned against them.

"Master Malty~!" Flare is among one of the first to leap off Gaelion, she runs straight at Malty, and nearly tackles her into the ground. "I was so worried for you! The divination of one of those Siltvelt a- allies of the Shield Hero were all bad for you. And one of the former church pet- priestess said she could sense the evil power of demons. You aren't hurt, are you?"

"I am well , Lady Flare. The demons left right before all of your arrival. I think they sensed you all, and retreated to be cautious." Well, it sounds like Lady Flare still has a hard time overcoming the hate towards demi-humans in their nation, and likely her family instilled in her. Something Malty herself understands too well. At least the sister of Fuckboy is putting in an effort to get them under control, unlike her insane and completely incompetent brother. She looks around the members that came to the heroes' rescue. Unsurprisingly, all of them are noble in origin since they tend to be the one that's affluent enough to practice fighting from a young age and has advantage over the members of humbler origin. Although she does find one curious absence. "Lady Eclair is still with Princess Melty's retinue?"