)—(\IV/)|—(

His head rolled up to the open sky as the young boy held silent, letting his eyes soak in the brilliant lights that were scattered across. Perhaps if he could see a shooting star, he could wish away everything in his life and start all over again. He figured it wasn't such a rare sight to see, but from part of Japan he lived in, they said those spectacles were much harder to come by and the only feasible way to hunt for them was to blindly lay across the grass and wait until God dropped it out from their hands.

Pushing aside that unfortunate luck, it might have already been a fruitless endeavor the moment he tried to trust in the higher beings that they would easily bestow such a treat neatly into his lap. If they never did anything for him then, there was clearly no reason to believe that they would do anything now, but even so, he kept gazing upwards.

It hadn't been because he didn't know any better than to trust the urban legends of the shooting star.

It was simply the act of a child with their backs against the wall. He had no other choice but to believe in silly urban legends that he was brutally told to have not existed. Miracles weren't something spontaneous, nor had they been dependent on one's karma. He was told that they straight-up didn't exist, so he should stop clinging to such meaninglessness, but he didn't have an argument to counter with.

Even if he did have a voice in the conversation, he would be inclined to agree based purely on personal experience. Nothing in his pocket would be able to answer back through the empty pains and senseless hardships that his small body had to go through.

He wanted to ask about the reason, but he never got one.

Slowly yet surely, his mentality started to deteriorate with nothing left except the shirt on his back and the pants on his legs. He never even got to learn what the meaning of innocence was until it was pulled out from under his feet.

And back he was, once again, to the single place he felt safe from his own mundane life.

It was a place a bit far from the beaten pathway of the forest and it rolled down the hill to a small little area where the trees suddenly stopped. They surrounded a small little field, filled with lustrous grass that was comfortable to lie on alongside a giant rock that was held within the center. The moon would always shine brightly down onto the surface as if it kept calling the light to imbue it with its mystifying energy, not that such a thing would exist.

Though, after staying there for about an hour, mindlessly watching for aerial movements, the child thought he would call it quits for today or perhaps, he should call it quits permanently. He didn't know what possessed him to keep returning night after night, but that little hope that remained in his heart was definitely starting to vanish.

As long as he lived, there might have been a chance that it would get better.

But as long as he lived, he would continue to suffer a nightmare that didn't have the light at the end of its tunnel.

It would have been much better for him if he had simply disappeared.

And yet, over the past years with that thought in his mind, he was too scared to leave. He wouldn't have known what else he would do since he wasn't taught about anything properly except his own outlook on the world. Questions about what he would eat and where he would sleep started to pop up in the young mind; questions that a young child should never think about in solitude.

If he ever did see a shooting star, he wondered what he would have wished for.

Would it have been for his life to be better?

Or would it have been the ability to go away from this world?

"What are you doing here?"

The young boy stiffened as he turned around to look where the voice had come from. He was surprised to hear somebody, but at the same time, he was scared. He always thought that this place had been a secret area that he knew of exclusively and he didn't want this place to be exposed by the people around him.

However, there was another boy, about his own age with black hair, that had been standing high on the rock. His gaze looked as if it could pierce his soul, freezing him in place out of fear. If the boy had focused anymore, he would have recognized the unusual black clothing that looked like it was ripped out from an anime. It was all ripped by the ends as the arm was covered in bandages, yet they were all loose as if it was supposed to be a prop.

The black-haired boy asked once more.

"What is an invader like you doing in my ultra super secret hideout!?"

"H-Huh…?"

Those blue eyes met clearly with the confused boy, conveying it silently through the golden pupils.

"I can't make my plans to defeat the world that casts me aside if you're in my way! If the light is the one that insists on using me as a tool, then I shall fall into the darkness to exact my vengeance! Only then, my justice will be perfect!" The black-haired boy pointed outwards to the edge of the forest, hanging over the stunned audience member. "Now leave, invader! While I still permit you to have your life! Or else I'll let my shadows consume you into the void as practice for everyone else in this wretched world!"

"I-I…"

"What are you mumbling about!? Oh, that's right!" The boy on the rock struck a pose that was advertised to be fearsome. "In addition to letting you live, the shadows claim that you must forget that this place ever existed in the first place! This is my ultra super secret hideout, after all! No one must know about it since it's where I conduct my plans to act among my true allies!"

The boy finally realized that this person wanted him to leave.

Even this place was going to be stripped from him and everything collapsed on his heart.

He started crying while the black-haired boy flinched in the unplanned reaction.

"W-Whoa, wait! Why are you crying!? I-Is this some trick to lower my guard!?"

He jumped down from the rock and landed next to the boy, flailing his arms about to try and get the attention away from the tears, but the boy just kept on crying. There was some much built-up within him that couldn't stop even if he wanted to; when the dams broke, there was no way to quickly rebuild it.

"I-I was only kidding!" the black-haired boy stammered. "L-Look, let's cut a deal here! The shadows don't like outsiders trying to disrupt their righteous path, so they always want to make sure that they aren't being betrayed by those who seek to simply use them! So if you want to return here, you'll have to make a blood pact with the darkness!"

The sobbing somehow slowed down as he looked over to the ramblings of the black-haired boy. The outspoken noticed the garnered attention and struck a dramatic pose to sell the idea, acting like something was controlling his bandaged arm.

"Yes…! Yes!" he shouted, swinging his arm to cover half of his face. "The shadows are definitely telling me that you have the potential! If you enter a blood pact with the darkness, perhaps the both of us can combine our strengths and show this world what they're messing with!"

"Show this world…" The golden-eyed boy managed to break the crying down a few sniffles as he averted his gaze. "Was it too hard… for them to treat me like a normal person? I don't even know what I did to make them angry at me."

The black-haired boy widened his eyes as his hand slowly fell to his side. For the first moment of their meeting, he took the posture of a normal person with his arms by his sides and looked longingly into the ground.

"Then it's not your fault if they think it's normal to trample over people like us," he growled suddenly as his hands wrapped themselves up into a fist. The golden-eyed boy silently gasped from the second that he mentioned the both of them. "If they think we're some type of tool for their sakes, whatever it might be, they have another thing coming to them. They keep insisting that they're part of the light of this world, then we have no choice but to join forces with the darkness if we're going to change their ways!"

"C-Change their ways?"

The black-haired boy swung an arm outwards to the side. "If our light doesn't exist, we just have to make our own source of justice! I'm tired of waiting for someone else's justice! I'm sure that you feel the same way, right!? That must be why the shadows have lured you here to me!"

The golden-eyed boy was starting to look forwards as the tears were mere trinkles down his face. His breath was taken away from the dynamic speech of this mysterious boy he met merely a few minutes ago.

"Worry not! With our teamwork, we'll face the wicked injustice that the others can't see!"

His body felt light as he heard these ironically bright words, regardless if they were speaking from the darkness. Though, it may have been the sole reason he could ever understand this light, stemming from the same shadows that he was pushed into head-first without a warning.

Perhaps it was the familiar blue eyes.

Not in colour, but there was a feeling of semblance below the surface, as if they both were suffering from a world they didn't understand and was chained up from the inside out.

He forgot how it felt to smile, but he found himself laughing.

The shackles started to fall off.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

The black-haired boy smirked, sensing that the mood was lifted back up. "Ah, so you're interested in the offer!? The shadows have done well to bring you here and together, we'll change this stupid world! If they want to change us, the only thing we can do is try to change them! No matter what it takes!"

"Would that be… justice?"

"Call it whatever you want! The path of the righteousness has many names!"

The two boys stared at each other silently before they both bursted out in a contented chuckle. He didn't know when the tears were converted into ones of genuine happiness, but he was finally glad that there existed some person out there who wanted to stand beside him, rather than on top of him.

"So what's your name?" the golden-haired boy asked.

The black-haired boy turned and climbed up on the large rock to let the moon's light act as his backdrop, striking one more pose with his finger pointed straight into the air. He pulled it down after a powerful pause and pointed right to the golden-haired boy.

"Breathing in the shadows! Darker than black! The figure that was rejected by the world when he discovered their true nature! I am the heaven's tree that has descended into the darkness out of fate and choice! As my new comrade, you shall remember my name well!"

The bandages on his arm started to become undone as he pointed to himself. A mysterious breeze came to be called as it rushed past the golden-haired boy and up towards the stage, flickering the black clothing in a breathtaking scene.

"My name is Ren Amaki! Now let the shadows of the earth hear your name, my new friend!"

The boy smiled widely at the term he hadn't heard as a reference to him until this fated encounter landed in his lap. It sounded nice.

"My name is—"

)—(\IV| Chapter 1-20 |IV/)|—(
)\( Those With Tainted Wings )/(

"—Itsuki. Oi, Sir Itsuki! Wake up already, we're here!"

Itsuki groaned as he felt a stick being poked at his stomach. His eyes started to clear up as he rubbed them, seeing that the carriage they were riding had come to a stop. He honestly didn't know when he dozed off or why he even slept in the first place; he remembered getting a decent amount of sleep last night, but it was a bit hard to count without a proper clock.

He was sitting in the back of the carriage as Welst had been standing by the back, extending his staff to lazily make attempts on the awakening. Itsuki broke out a yawn and an outwards stretch as the mage pulled back his harmless weapon.

"Took you long enough, Sir Itsuki. I didn't take you as a heavy sleeper."

"I'm usually not. I must have missed a few hours last night" he dragged on, clearing out the last few yawns out of his system. "Anyways, I didn't mean to doze off on such a short ride. Are we here?"

"Yeah, everyone's just waiting on you. Kojeel and Mald already headed inside."

As Itsuki jumped off the back, he could see the main building of the premises before him as the front steps allured visitors to take a breath instead of climbing them first. It was a bit bigger than the manors that he had already seen through his time in Melromarc, but he couldn't help but to look around.

The main shape, judging from his position, had been formed in a curve, surrounding the roundabout pathway that their carriage used to arrive at the doors. The pathway led downwards on an incline to the gate where past the iron bars and stone walls as the rest of the bustling town travelled among their daily lives. In the middle of the roundabout, an odd monument stood tall with marked inscriptions to which he couldn't read. It was probably some type of noble decoration like gnomes on a garden, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

He would admit that there was some type of ominous feeling to it based on its unusual and yet sleek design.

A butler walked up to Welst and Itsuki and cleared his throat to get their attention. In the meanwhile, the carriage started to move away, noticing that there was someone new handling the horses instead of Kojeel. The uniformed man rode it over to the side of the manor where Itsuki could barely see a garage-like stable around the corner.

"May we proceed?" the butler asked, showing them to the stairs. "The governor is expecting you."

"Please lead the way."

The interior had been as dazzling as the outside, built like it was supposed to be a display of the noble's wealth. The walls and columns had seemed like they were personally sculpted by an artist with how the skirting boards were formed. The instinctive details were pulled over to the paintings and statues that were presented in high respects as if they were trying to show that they were evidently more expensive than the visitors.

He could even see each of the five floors from the zigzagging staircases down the center of the room. The stairs would scale up to the next floor's hallway before continuing upwards on the other side until it reached the top. It was an interesting design that added to the extravagance of the front room, but if it hadn't been already clear, this noble was very rich.

As they followed the butler, Itsuki looked out all the windows that they passed, admiring the view of the town. With nothing else to do, he quickly checked his stats again.

[Itsuki Kawasumi]
Class : Bow Hero LV21

[Job Levels]
Attack LV3 14/25
Magic LV2 10/11

(…)

He couldn't shake away what happened more than a week ago where he had his meeting with the mysterious figure named Metatron and lost all of his stats so suddenly. He wanted to say that Metatron had done something to him, but when he returned to the campsite and woke up the next morning, ready to explain his strength's disappearance. However, he was surprised to see that they were all back, as if they hadn't left in the first place, so he never said anything about it.

He didn't exactly know what triggered it and over the last few days, he kept wondering what had happened.

They went on to clear up the quest that was originally given to them by the guild, being thanked by the village chief. The bandits hadn't been much of a problem for them as they were able to clear out the goons and wiped out the leader without much difficulty.

As a result, they were unexpectedly presented with a gift from the village chief, being the carriage and two horses, though they were part of the things that were taken away from the bandits. The carriage was fixed up a bit for their convenience and considering that Kojeel knew how to handle horses already, that made for a worthwhile pick-up.

However, they made a stop during a particular town where Itsuki overheard a conversation about the town's dire situation at the inn. Originally, they were supposed to use this town as a place to rest and stock up for the journey back to the capital, but the hero proposed that they investigated the problem at the civilians' hands.

There was the side that genuinely wanted to help these people out, but the topic of the problem had been quite interesting to him. He politely joined into the conversation and gathered what he could collect from them, but it didn't resort to much other than the hook. Apparently, all details were to be reported to the presiding governor of the territory and that was the reason as to why they were here.

And yet, throughout all of those events, his stats never bothered to disappear on him like before.

The only clue that remained in his memory were the extra notifications that appeared when he lost his stats. Not even the help menus said anything about the incident, despite the aloof girl telling him something about the act being a tutorial.

It mentioned something about a transfer over to Ren, the Sword Hero, but even through his attempts of trying to parse through other game mechanics, none of them really matched with what he experienced.

It was probably better to think of it as a glitch, but it was too odd for him to consider it as that.

"Hey, Sir Itsuki." Welst's call to him snapped him out of his trance of recollection. "Your feet stopped moving. You've been spacing out a considerable amount lately. Is everything alright?"

Itsuki gulped and wryly chuckled. "N-No, there isn't anything wrong. I'm probably getting a bit homesick, that's all." It certainly wasn't the truth, but it was a valid feeling that was sinking near his heart. "I think I need a few more weeks to get used to this whole lifestyle of an adventurer."

"Don't take too long. You need to be able to… do your job, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

Itsuki had requested that his allies would not speak much about his status of being the Bow Hero. He didn't like having his name being spreaded around in such a loud manner and besides, if the wicked ever heard that he was around, then it would escape without the chance of subjugation or judgement. It was always better to lay low and watch for evil to strike.

They proceeded down the hall as the butler stopped before a set of closed doors. He knocked on the door a few times before a voice called him in, granting the permission to push open the doors for Itsuki and Welst to step inside.

Within the room, there was something Itsuki would recognize as an office space. A desk were present within the back-center area as seats were prepared between them, facing towards the other with none exactly pointing to the back wall. Though, the back wall had mostly glass which allowed for the bright sunlight to seep through and a perfect overview of the entire town. This was merely the third floor, so Itsuki could only imagine the sights seen on the fifth.

In the seats, both Mald and Kojeel were already sitting down with tea prepared by the present servants.

Behind the desk, Itsuki could only assume that man to be the governor that they were looking for. He was a middle-aged man with a disheveled hairstyle, messier than Motoyasu's hair when he wakes up from a good night's sleep. His eyes were rather small alongside that odd attempt at a mustache, but he kept up the intimidating appearance regardless with his elegantly dressed clothing of black and purple and having white frills around his neck.

He couldn't explain why he was getting bad vibes from this man, but he bowed as did Welst.

"Sorry for our delay."

"There hasn't been much discussion of the main topic so far," Kojeel responded. "We've been waiting on our leader as the representative here. You were the one interested in pursuing the issue, right?"

Itsuki and Welst walked up as the mage sat next to Kojeel while giving Mald a dirty look. It didn't matter how well their cooperation was on the battlefield; their personalities had always clashed regardless and Itsuki was starting to think it was a fruitless endeavor to pursue teamwork outside of battle.

As Itsuki took his seat next to Mald, the governor smirked at him.

"My my." There was a pompous tone in his voice. "And here I thought I was going to throw everyone out if the identity was wrong, but it ended up being correct. I'm quite pleased to have the Legendary Bow Hero within my estate."

Itsuki stiffened his spine as he glared at both party members, only to realize that they had been surprised too.

"We made no mention of Sir Itsuki's identity," Mald defiantly stated towards the governor. "How were you able to know that detail without our words? Did you look into our identities when we entered the town? That doesn't seem like something a governor should do all of a sudden."

"I'm quite curious too," Kojeel said. "Nothing we said allured to the fact that the person leading our group was the Bow Hero. You dug background information on us for whatever reason."

The governor merely laughed. "I certainly have my methods, but never mind that. If you were trying to keep it a secret from me, don't even bother. My connections are strong enough to overlook your barriers, though I am willing to see that you could be trying to hide your leader's identity." He slammed his hand on the desk as if to daunt them. "I'll keep this a secret between us, so be grateful."

Itsuki didn't know how he felt about immediately being in debt within the few minutes of meeting someone, but before he could mutter a word, Kojeel had stepped in front of the line.

"I see. We have your thanks."

"If the governor of this land already knows my identity, I guess I should introduce myself properly." Itsuki placed a hand on his chest. "My name is Itsuki Kawasumi, one of the Cardinal Heroes summoned to this world. Could we have a name to refer to you by?"

The governor glared at Kojeel, giving her a silent order that she had understood somehow. She held out her hand towards the governor and it became clear that she was going to be the one presenting him.

"He is the governor of this territory, Lord Idol Rabier."

"Idol Rabier…"

Itsuki mulled the name in his head, but he noticed in his peripheral that Welst's expressions had whitened.

"W-Wait! The same Idol Rabier from the Siltvelt War!?"

"Was he someone important?"

"He was one of the leading commanders for one of the main plans and from what I remember, he was also one of the youngest commanders enlisted during the war."

"Ah yes, I remember those days where the cursed demi-humans tried to steal away my life." His hand crumpled into a fist and slammed hard against the desk again. This time, it had been quite hard and yet, less intentional. "Can't do anything about it now. I'm merely glad we were able to put those cursed demi-humans in their place. Serves them right. We wouldn't have been able to wrap it up nicely without that good ol' duo."

"With due respect, we should save the history lessons for later," Mald interrupted. "Our leader came here for a reason and that was to talk to you about an issue in the town."

"An issue in the town, you say?"

Itsuki leaned forward from his seat to project his voice clearly.

"I overheard a conversation between two of your civilians about the recent monster attack on the town. From my understanding, they came during the night and injured some of the people that were out on the streets and escaped before anybody was able to catch it. From eyewitnesses, they said that the monsters were rather similar to what monsters they had heard about from the first wave of destruction and as a Cardinal Hero, I wanted to investigate that."

"Monsters from the waves?" Rabier scrunched his eyebrows. "In my territory?"

"W-What!?" Itsuki stood up in surprise from the governor's lackluster reaction. "H-How have you not heard about the monsters!? Haven't the townsfolk come to tell you about it!?"

"I'm a very busy man, Sir Bow Hero! Being a governor is no easy task!" he shouted back in a snarl. "If I had to listen to every single person's requests, I would get nowhere with managing the land! Don't think you're superior to me at my job just because you're a Cardinal Hero!"

"That's not what I was—!"

Rabier's groan interrupted Itsuki's attempt at a rebuttal and if it hadn't been that, Kojeel's hand was already moving inwards to stop him from speaking anymore. A silent leer told him that he should probably bite his tongue before he said anything further.

"Regardless, I already heard about their issues surrounding that. I was planning on letting the knights themselves fix the problem, but an unfortunate incident happened in the capital that's left them on edge. If you want to lend some assistance in the job, you're free to do so. I'll even let you use the guest rooms here as a part of my thanks, but in that regard, don't expect a significant payment of some sort. Frankly, I might be considering not paying in the first place."

"W-What!?" Welst gasped. "A-Are you cheaping out on us!?"

"You folks came to me. I never asked for assistance, so I don't see the reason as to why I should cough up money for dirty adventurers. The only reason I even considered letting you tw—three step into my office is that the Bow Hero is your leader. Only by proxy, you haven't been kicked out yet."

"Then shouldn't we receive some type of payment here!?"

"To let you know, the rooms I'm allowing you to stay at cost much more than what a mere inn would require you to pay per day and certainly more than what you would make in an entire month. As a bargain, you can stay here for free until the problem is solved. If anything, you should be thanking me."

"B-But—!"

Kojeel immediately slapped her hand on his mouth, blocking the rest into mumbling noises while she looked over to Itsuki.

"Sir Itsuki? Do you think these conditions are acceptable?"

Honestly, Itsuki hadn't been thinking of the money he could gain from this. The information he could collect from the monsters could be well worth the trade, not to mention the unexpected offer of temporary residence at a place equivalent to the castle.

"That should be fine. No payment is necessary."

Welst's confused noise was muffled through Kojeel's firm grip over his mouth.

"Don't make things worse here, you stupid mage," Mald growled. "All you have to do is follow what Sir Itsuki says and it'll be fine."

Welst's muffling was converted into a tiger's growl with pierce death stares at the armoured party member. However, a quick tightening by Kojeel transitioned it into a whimper then silence as Itsuki tried to ignore what was happening next to him.

"So where are these monsters? We'll investigate the area as soon as possible and try to hunt them down by tomorrow."

"Actually, there's a small problem with that."

"What is it?"

Rabier sighed and stood up from his seat, waddling over slowly to the windows behind him. He looked into the town that was acting as his backdrop as Itsuki noticed that he had two weapons on his belt, a whip and a sword. The latter looked rather familiar as a decorative blade more than anything.

"We have no information as to the whereabouts of their nest."

"Huh!?"

"As you mentioned, the attack happened at night. There was no feasible way for the present knights to chase them into the darkness blindly. Hopefully, extra knights would be soon provided to me from the king and we can determine where they are. So far though, it doesn't seem like something we should actively pursue."

"Then what are we supposed to do until then!?"

"I've already given you my offer and it still stands. Tell you what." Rabier turned around his head to face the standing Itsuki. "I predict that the monsters will strike once more before the extra knights are able to be dispatched to my territory. You can use that chance to figure out where they are all retreating to."

Welst managed to pull himself out from Kojeel's hand and spat out his concerning thoughts.

"Wait, doesn't that mean you're actively using the town as bait!?"

"Whatever gets the job done."

Itsuki and Welst couldn't believe their ears.

"T-That's insane!"

"Lord Rabier has a point though," Kojeel responded, surprising the both of them. "If we try and search for the monster without any major leads, it's essentially looking for a needle in a stack of hay. By the time the monsters come to attack once more, we would be no closer to finding their nest to prevent another attack. The attack would most likely be unavoidable, so we might as well plan around it."

Hearing it from a rational perspective, Itsuki felt conflicted. He seriously didn't want to use those innocent civilians as bait, but to be fair, if the proper preparations were taken, they could probably keep people safe while doing their task. He made a defeated sigh upon his realization.

"Is that enough noise out of you?" Rabier turned his head back to the window, as if he was already finished with the conversation. "As I mentioned, I'm a very busy man, so I would deeply appreciate it if you would finish up this conversation and leave for your rooms. The servants will guide you over accordingly and perhaps, if I am in the mood, I will invite you to have dinner with me. Be on your best behaviour until then."

Itsuki sincerely didn't like the vibes that Idol Rabier was sending off.

He didn't want to say that he was tipped off by the appearance or the attitude, but at the same time, they were all part of what a normal side-villain in a story would seem like. He didn't have much evidence on the noble, but he was starting to tick off all of the boxes except for any solid evidence of being such a terrible person.

"Thanks, Idol."

"That's Lord Rabier to you, Sir Bow Hero. Act a bit like the friend you sent in before you came in and you might find your life expectancy to be much longer."

That felt like a straight-up threat from disrespecting him, but Kojeel was landing her visual daggers on his back to be as deep as possible and it would be stupid of him to ignore such a warning.

"Y-Yes, Lord Rabier."

That drew the line for him.

He knew that preparations needed to be made, but while he waited for the monster to show up, he could probably search around for another thing to uncover. During his free time, he wanted to figure out if they were committing any types of evil behind their backs. Accusing people of unsavory behavior wasn't enough, but from personal experience, one usually meant the other.

If so, Rabier could serve as a little practice for things to come.

He did remember that slave trader talking about how some nobles were his customers, after all.

)—(\IV/)|—(

"So you got nothing on him…"

Welst sighed as he walked behind Itsuki through the streets.

The town clearly wasn't as big as the capital, but walking through the streets gave him the perception that he was in such an environment. The shops had been similar and the townsfolk had been working the same way, trying to come to an end's meet. From how they spoke, they really had no serious opinions with Rabier as their governor, meaning that he hadn't been doing anything outstanding that could be confronted on. There had been a few things that the residents were ill-contented about, but Rabier himself admitted that he wasn't listening to every single problem for the sake of time-management.

In other words, his plan landed in a bust.

Welst wanted to go along with Itsuki, even after he explained what he was trying to do. He provided something akin to a supportive role, keenly looking out the amissed. He kept himself mostly silent when talking with the people, letting Itsuki feel to try and vocally muscle through any leverage against Rabier.

On the other hand, Mald had remained in his room while Kojeel went on her own stroll through the town. Considering how serious he had been during their meeting, both of them knew that if Kojeel were to know that they were trying to mark Rabier as a villain, she would immediately put a stop on their plans. However, if they were to find good evidence, they could potentially win her over.

Though, there had to be evidence for that to happen.

Luckily, she wasn't encountered in their investigation.

They were coming close to returning to the manor since Rabier decided that he would invite them to dinner and the natural lights were approaching their end.

"Still though," Welst continued his thought, "Lord Rabier really let himself go."

"Did he have a better attitude in the past?"

"I wouldn't know. The stories about the Siltvelt War don't take into account the personalities of everyone, but I would imagine that they stayed relatively the same if Lord Aldrecht is to be taken as an example." Welst started slapping his stomach, sneering as he did. "I'm talking about his actual size. He was definitely much thinner back in the day, no doubt about it. Being a governor probably injected the high life in that brain of his."

"Well, commander of a past war or not, that doesn't excuse the way he's treating me," Itsuki growled, clenching his fist. "He should have kept that sour attitude in that back pocket of his or else I wouldn't be trying to dig up any possible evil from his other pockets."

"What makes you so sure that Lord Rabier is up to no good?"

"Just call it intuition and… experience."

"... Sir Itsuki?"

Itsuki grimaced as he spoke; Welst's breath tightened upon noticing his reaction. "Look, I've met people like Rabier before and all they want to do is push you into the ground until only your head is sticking out. They're all capable of evil and I wouldn't be surprised if Rabier is doing the same, but unlike my past, I can actually do something about this if there's anything worth chasing about him."

"Oi, Sir Itsuki? You're doing alright?"

Itsuki sighed, holding his fist next to his heart. "Sorry, just… bad memories," he said, shaking his head. "It's nothing worth talking about since it's all in the past, especially when I'm a hero inside another world. That's two layers on top of that unnecessary topic."

"I feel like I should remind you that, regardless on how Lord Rabier acts, I guess he's still the governor of this territory. He has a solid amount of power under his thumb and if we do dig something up from his shadows, you can be sure that he'll be prepared with a counter strike. He wasn't a good tactician like the king, but he certainly can get the job done."

"It doesn't matter. Heroes always stand back up on top if they're against evil." Itsuki gritted his teeth. "I'll make sure of it. I'll correct any injustice that exists in this world. If I can't do something as simple as that, there's no way that I could…"

Itsuki was about to say something about Naofumi's trial, but he managed to catch himself before revealing any type of intimacy with the Shield Hero. To the group, Naofumi was still regarded as a criminal and even as Welst had his outspoken doubts, there was little reason to tell him that he and Naofumi, alongside the rest of the heroes, came from the same world.

After all, that was Zellus' recommendation on how to avoid the Church of Three Heroes.

"Huh?" Welst's confused grunt pulled Itsuki away from thought and caused him to look up. "What's going on at the front?"

Itsuki could see a large carriage being pulled out from the front gate. The size suggested that it was carrying large cargo and the lack of details along the sides added to that clue. Before he could determine any other ideas, it stopped as the handler of the horses had gone to speak with one of the knights guarding the entrance.

However, Itsuki's eyes were finally able to roll onto the short man that had been departing from the premises and his heart skipped a beat upon his realization.

"W-What the hell is he doing here!?"

He would never forget that creepy smile.

He wanted to run up and strike that man in the face, but the reminder of what happened last time emerged in his head. Despite that, he really didn't want Beloukas to be getting the last laugh here.

"Welst, follow me!"

"W-What's happening!?"

"Just be quiet and follow me!"

Clicking his tongue, Itsuki ducked into a nearby alleyway and peeked out from the corner. Welst tried to do the same, but without knowing the entire context behind the situation, he was completely lost on the matter and staggered behind the Bow Hero's seemingly erratic behaviour.

Itsuki could barely hear the words, but they were speaking rather quietly. There wasn't a way to get closer to hear everything, but if he could simply gather some of the words, he could piece together something feasible.

He then remembered about some of the bows he unlocked during their journey. He never thought he needed such a bow and was planning to let it sit among his vast amount of forms, but this was probably one of those perfect times to use it.

[Black Cavern Bat Bow] 0/15 C
(Equip Bonus) : Agility 1
(Special Effect) : Listening Ability 1
(Mastery Level) : 0
(Item Enhancement) : LV0

Upon changing bows, he felt like his ears popped for a second before the conversation between the slave trader and the knight sounded much clearer. It was rather amazing how different bows could increase some of his physical abilities, but this wasn't the time to be impressed.

He leaned further out to get the best range and honed in on the continuing conversation.

"—and so, you should make sure that Rabier doesn't end up with another dead slave. I've warned him before about how the rental slaves worked and if he continues to ignore my warnings, the next dead slave will certainly be his last one from me, indeed."

"I'm sorry, Mister Beloukas. We've been trying to remind Lord Rabier, but he won't listen to us."

"Then do a better job! Indeed, I would have less of a problem if he immediately paid up as per the contract said, but it's been weeks, maybe a month, after that first one was killed!"

"Personally, I'm not going to take the fall for those demi-humans. If any of us interrupt Lord Rabier as he's disciplining the slaves, we know that there's a chance for him to turn onto us and to be frank, being a guard for his manor pays well otherwise. All we have to do is wag our tails when Lord Rabier says so."

"It's bad for the business, indeed! I'm only asking this once since I know Rabier isn't going to be fond of losing our partnership. If that happens, you'll know who he'll move onto, indeed."

"O-Oh, I see what you're trying to say."

"That's a smart boy. Now, I'll be on my way and I don't want to see another dead slave when I return."

The carriage started to move away.

"Of course, Mister Beloukas. Have a safe journey back to the capital."

As the carriage moved down the streets and out from their perspective, Itsuki walked out from the hiding place while transforming his bow back to normal. Welst still didn't understand what happened as he noticed Itsuki's body trembling.

"I think we have a jackpot," Itsuki said coldly.

"Hold up, I'm still lost." Welst managed to step in front of Itsuki before he could move onwards to the gate. He staggered a bit, seeing an intense glare sweep over his way. "Mind filling in a few details here, Sir Itsuki?"

Itsuki pointed to where the carriage was. "That man that just left Rabier's manor was a slave trader and something tells me that he wasn't simply here to say some salutations. I met him back in the capital and that was the reason why I brought up the whole slave thing in the first place."

"And how is that a jackpot?"

"How is it not!?"

Itsuki stomped his foot forward, causing Welst to flinch instinctively. He raised his arms in a defensive manner, just in case his leader wanted to take another step. He tried to stick his words in before Itsuki could ramble on.

"Have you forgotten what Kojeel was talking about that day? You can't be in the right if everything that they're doing is legal."

"Then I'll fix it by myself and show you that this system of your land is flawed."

"I know it's flawed, but it's not worth the risk. Regardless of what I say, demi-humans will always be seen as the lower species by Melromarc."

"There could be a life that's desperately hanging on for dear life within Rabier's iron grip and you're telling him that it's not worth the risk to save someone that needs help? They're waiting for someone to come save them from their misery! Hoping endlessly and trudging through their own despair!"

Itsuki's sudden shouting gathered some attention from the passersby, but not enough to warrant their full stop. Welst winced, thanking that no one had been listening too avidly to what Itsuki had said, but closing in to try and lower their voices.

"Look, we can go off and continue searching for anything unlawful that Rabier has done tomorrow. Demi-human slavery isn't a crime, for the time, and we can't confront him for such a thing. There might be easier things to cover like the generic embezzlement or inefficient job handling with false reporting to the capital."

"Those are much easier to cover up though."

"I'm sure we'll find some type of evidence for that to dish out pain to that stuck-up veteran if he acts like such a… such a Mald." Welst silently patted himself on the shoulder for finally using that insult, but the mood couldn't match with the expectations. "If I were in your shoes, I'd ignore it."

"If you were in my shoes, you couldn't," he growled back, causing Welst to quietly hold himself back. "I can't ignore the possibility that there are slaves suffering in the same building as I'm sleeping in. Regardless, I need to see this issue for myself."

Itsuki pushed Welst out of the way, though he certainly wasn't using his full strength to stop the Bow Hero. It was more like Welst stepping out of the way than a push, as the mage watched him walk with his discomforted expression.

"Sir Itsuki…"

)—(\IV/)|—(

Dinner was served accordingly as Rabier said, but Itsuki couldn't bring himself to look at the fat noble in his disgusting face. Despite what he said to Welst earlier, he couldn't outright ask Rabier without confirming the slaves as he tried to merely focus on eating silently, only speaking what needed to be said. Rabier was insistent on having conversations and it took most of his energy to not stand up to leave.

The food wasn't even that good to begin with; it was the same meal that Rabier had been sumptuously chowing down on and it had appealed to his party members. He couldn't tell if Kojeel had been enjoying it though considering he couldn't get a read on her, but she ate the meal indifferently. He, on the other hand, would have ranked it many levels below Naofumi's cooking, despite the beautiful appearance and seasoning of the steak.

Once he was finished, he left as quickly as possible.

Rabier revealed that he was going to be stuck in his office until midnight, trying to finish up the required paperwork, as a passing topic of how busy he was going to be. That instance became perfect, giving him the window of opportunity to go snooping around for where the slaves could be.

The bonus point came when Kojeel told Itsuki that she was going for another stroll. The last time had been for private business, but given the risen moon in the skies, she thought it would have been a nice time to stroll through the town while having her smoke. He felt like Kojeel would always go about the towns they visit by herself whenever they had spare time, but what she did in those moments were of no relevance to him; as long as she returned in time, it barely mattered.

Mald and Welst decided to call it a day and headed to their rooms, being escorted by the guards. As it would seem, Rabier was trying to keep an eye on their movements by proxy, given the fact that a guard was also assigned to him, even when he was pretending to waste time, sitting out on the front steps to look up to the stars.

"You can leave now," he attempted to dismiss. "I'll be back in my room in an hour. Could I not have some privacy for myself?"

"The only place Lord Rabier had permitted for you to be alone is your assigned room, Lord Itsuki. If you wish to see the stars, you are allowed to open up the windows for a better view. You would be higher up on the fifth floor, so you would have a closer sight."

'As if a few extra floors is going to be a better experience for star-gazing.'

There was no way that Itsuki could do anything once he was in his room. If the guest rooms were around the second floor, he could have tried to jump out the window as a method of losing the guard, but from the fifth floor, he would be shattering his legs.

"Is there a reason why you have to keep watching me? I'm not going to be doing anything terrible."

"I'm simply following orders from Lord Rabier. I personally have enough trust in the Great Bow Hero, but perhaps the governor has assigned me to you as another layer of personal protection on top of your party members. I can't say for certain, but I would be inclined to believe that."

Itsuki thought he was trying to pull some empathy cards from his hand to cause him to not suspect anything out of the ordinary. By making the middleman seemingly more natural, Rabier could hide the strict security notion under the rug, but Itsuki was obviously not buying it.

By process of assumptions and experience from other games, enslaved people would either be forced to work in the open and trapped in the basement from a building. On that logic, all he had to do was sweep the first floor for the sublevel and he'll be able to discover them.

Though, that did present a difficult task of trying to lose this guard.

He didn't think the man would appreciate the Bow Hero sticking his nose into places where it didn't belong, but he couldn't think of a good way to shake him off.

"He already has enough personal protection from us."

Itsuki heard Welst's voice, turning around alongside the guard to his mage who had been standing behind them. However, there was a distinct lack of an assigned guard as he walked closer to them.

"Wasn't someone supposed to be watching over you?" the guard asked skeptically.

"He was apparently call to meet Lord Rabier for… something; I don't know, it wasn't my orders, so I didn't pay much attention to it," Welst said, scratching the back of his head. "Someone was supposed to take over, but it took a while to wait, so I came here to get two birds down with one stone."

"I'll go find someone to provide protection for—"

"Though, I'm surprised that you're still here," Welst said, rubbing his chin. "I thought that little meeting with Lord Rabier was something between all the active guards for us. That's what my assigned guard mentioned."

"I-I didn't hear anything about that!"

"Well, you should go up and check. Don't worry about us, I'll take care of Sir Itsuki while we wait on everyone. There's not a lot of places we can go anyways. Despite being a big manor, there's surprisingly little we can do. No wonder one of my allies keeps disappearing into the town; she must have been bored."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be sure? I literally heard about it a few minutes ago."

The guard looked over to Itsuki before turning back to Welst, nodding.

"A-Alright. But you two stay put while I go check up on Lord Rabier in his office and see what he wants. I'll be back down in a few minutes."

"Again, there's not much else to do."

The guard started running up the stairs and despite still being able to see him, Welst walked up closer to the Bow Hero, crossing his arms with a defeated sigh.

"There. Let's go search for the slaves."

"Huh?" Itsuki stood up from the steps in surprise, realizing that Welst had been lying the entire time. He probably didn't want to ask what happened to his assigned guard anyways. "Didn't you mention that we should chase other possible crimes that Rabier has done?"

"Even if I said that, you would have tried to insist on this one, right? I noticed how many death stares you were handing Lord Rabier on a silver platter during dinner."

"Was it that obvious?"

"Not too obvious that Lord Rabier could notice."

"Though, I don't think we can check up on the entire perimeter in a few minutes."

"No need. I already went ahead and got a good idea where the basement might be. That's where they usually keep the prisons, as far as I know." Welst started walking back into the manor as the guard disappeared onto the third floor. "I need to leave now. You want to see the slaves for yourself, right?"

Itsuki was pleasantly surprised that Welst had already got everything finished up. He didn't know what caused such a turnabout of decisions, but he wasn't going to question it. He walked quickly to match Welst as they turned the corner to move down the hallways.

Some of the staff weren't paying much attention to them, either giving mere salutations out of respect or ignoring them to tend to their current jobs. They definitely weren't arousing any suspicions from them as they went deeper into the manor until Welst pointed out a specific door.

"It's that one, but…" Welst grimaced as they came closer. "When I walked around here, there were two guard protecting this door and they were making sure nothing would get in or out. It looked important, so for there to be no one here… And here I was, trying to come with with a crazy amount of excuses."

"Regardless, we take the opportunity."

Itsuki didn't hesitate to open the door, easily turning the knob to see a downwards staircase be revealed behind it. It was dimly lit and less polished than the rest of the manner to such a point where Itsuki had doubts whether they were even part of the same building or not.

Nevertheless, he started walking down the steps, leaving Welst to double-check their surroundings for anybody before following, closing the door behind them. It was definitely dark without the lights emerging from the main hallways, but Welst's fire magic gave enough vision to not fall over the stairs.

The pathway took a while to descend, as if it was preparing for the dramatic reveal, but Itsuki could feel his chest getting tighter every passing moment. The memory of those suffering with the slave trader's tent were burning in his mind. If there were more people like Raphtalia being imprisoned against their will and being mistreated horribly, that was only more of a reason to save them.

His falling footsteps finally stopped on a grounded level as a silent stench started to fill the air. Welst had flinched before the smell, while Itsuki didn't. He was much too concerned with the running implications of the odor. For Rabier's sake, Itsuki better have not found what he thought the source was, but considering the iron-barred prison layout, Rabier was most likely already dead in his eyes.

They slowly walked through the basement as coughs and subtle noises started to become clearer to his ears. The smell started to get stronger until he finally got to see them.

There were definitely slaves here.

Malnourished, bruised, filled up with despair.

They all looked up to the mysterious newcomer before they glanced away, minding their own business. It was either that, or they were so stuck inside their little world of pain that they didn't even realize that he arrived.

"... This is messed up," Itsuki growled.

"Friendly reminder that it's legal to keep them like this," Welst said. "Your only hope of busting this thing is hoping that Lord Rabier is keeping a human slave throughout all these demi-humans. It's pretty disgusting to see these slaves in such a state, but I guess I'm a bit dulled out to this."

"We have to break them out."

"Oi!" Welst grabbed Itsuki's shoulder, preventing him from running. "You said you wanted to see them, right!? You said nothing about breaking them out! That would cause problems on another level entirely!"

"What's the difference here!?"

"You would be the one performing illegal acts! There's a law within Melromarc against stealing the property of another person."

"They. Aren't. Property."

"Well, try your best to argue that to the Melromarcian Knights! I would love to see that!"

"Are you suggesting that I forget about this then!? I can't just leave them here to die!" Itsuki shook off Welst's grip and faced him. "I know what I heard from that damned slave trader as he left the manor. Rabier is doing something to these slaves that is getting them killed and considering the fact that I haven't seen a single slave up on the main floors or anywhere else, that only means that their lives are confined to here."

Welst silently frowned as Itsuki went on. He already knew what conclusion his leader had made and frankly, it was something he already knew about. He knew it would give much discomfort to him, considering how much he cared about their well-being back in the capital.

"For some reason, they're being tortured here. And it sounds like it's all random selection!"

Itsuki turned to a prison and tried to break the locks on it with a strong attack. The slave that was inside noticed, but was scared by the pull-back on his bow. However, before he could shoot his arrow, Welst extended his hand to stop him.

"It won't matter anyways."

"W-Why!?"

"If they're slaves, they likely have a slave crest assigned to Lord Rabier."

Itsuki clicked his tongue, remembering what happened to Raphtalia back at the slave trader. Beloukas snapped his fingers and caused her to experience pain for simply disobeying the instructions. He didn't say much more than what was needed, but the fact of the matter was that they couldn't disregard Rabier's words or else they would end up dying.

And yet, he didn't want to listen.

It was clear each of them were here without their accordance, being stamped with a life that was thrusted onto them. He could see it in their eyes—those rather familiar eyes, the ones that wait for freedom and justice, but could never attain it.

Itsuki lowered his bow, much to Welst's relief, but he started to scan the rest of the prisons down the hall.

That's when he noticed that one of the cells was open, unlike all the others that were at the very most closed shut. His intuition had been wiggling and dragged him over as Welst silently followed him, glancing around for any human slaves. He could hear the solitude's footstep echoing as the stretch somehow got stronger.

Something was rotting.

He turned the corner to see what was inside the opened cell and widened his eyes to see what had been waiting for him. Itsuki almost wanted to puke on its sheer sight as shivers were thrusted onto his spine. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing, but it was definitely the last straw that broke him.

There was a small girl, about Raphtalia's own age, laying still on the ground. Similarly, there were ears in the shape of a weasel's on her head, but that was about all Itsuki could register. Her eyes were blank and her skin was cold, not to mention the shriveled surface.

Welst quickly stepped inside the cell to check up on the girl, following Itsuki's shock to check up on her condition, but it was obvious from a glance what happened. Added to the context he gained from the slave trader's words and—

"She's been dead for a while," Welst said, standing back up. "Looks like the malnourishment got to her weeks ago, but the wounds she suffered from whip-like strikes weren't helping her out. I'm not too well-versed in autopsies, but that's the most I can manage from my experience. Poor girl was clinging on for dear life."

Itsuki recalled the whip weapon on Rabier's belt, tightening his anger, figuring this was the true purpose of that weapon instead of preparativeness.

"Unfortunately, she's a demi-human, so he could technically get away with this, as much as you might hate it. The man didn't even bother to move the body out," Welst sighed, glancing back to Itsuki's distress. "Let's hurry up with sweeping the area for a human slave. We probably don't want to be caught down here."

However, Itsuki walked forwards towards the girl and knelt down to her, running his fingers' middle phalanx against the surface. Quick autopsies may reveal one thing, but none of the physical analysis could ever stand a candle to how she must have felt receiving these nonsensical attacks. He would assume that a girl of her age was innocent, but simply guilty for existing.

His memories started to fog up his eyes.

They rang, his cries which were ignored. They hurt, the trauma he received.

There was no reason for innocent people to experience what he felt as a child and that was why he wanted to pursue justice against those who violated the basic code of human conduct. He couldn't take it anymore, nor was he going to let people like Rabier walk freely and continue his evil reign.

In a burst, Itsuki ran out of the cell, leaving Welst in the dust.

"S-Sir Itsuki!? W-Where are you going!?" Welst shouted out. He tried running after the quick archer, but the difference in clothing made it difficult to catch up with him. Like a flicker of a flame, Welst immediately realized what Itsuki's plan was. "H-Hold up, let's not do anything rash here! Sir Itsuki, let's think about this for a moment!"

Welst groaned as Itsuki reached the staircase first, blindly running up with a light source.

'Damn it, this isn't good!' Welst panicked, trying to at least keep the Bow Hero in his sights. 'If he confronts Lord Rabier about this, it's going to end up poorly for us, especially if he's in that mood! I have to stop him before we're the ones that end up here!'

Itsuki stopped thinking, kicking his way through the closed door. One of the servants that was passing by had a shrilled fright, but after scanning the area left-to-right, he ran down the hall, reaching the staircase quickly. Some of the other servants were staring at him oddly as he darted past them, but Itsuki didn't register that there had been no guards, waiting about.

Welst noticed it however, thinking some bad was going to happen, but he had to chase his leader down regardless of his gut feeling. He buckled himself up and ran faster than he expected to, but that wasn't enough catch up.

Itsuki ran up the zigzagging stairs and turned on the third floor as Welst just reached the second, trying to call out to him without any results other than a frantic mage.

Bringing himself down the hall and in front of the office, Itsuki didn't hesitate to bash open the double doors with his shoulder. With a riled voice, he shouted the few moments he got at the working governor.

"Idol Rabier! Answer me for your evil deeds! I can't let you—!"

Itsuki's voice stopped as he entered the room.

"L-Lord Rabier, this is just a misunderstanding! Sir Itsuki doesn't mean anything by his—!"

Welst slowed down, seeing that Itsuki had suddenly calmed down, but it only appeared to be as such. He was merely confused as Itsuki walked closer into the wide room, approaching the desk.

The empty desk.

Idol Rabier hadn't been here, despite saying that he was.

"Where the hell is he?" Itsuki growled. "Didn't he say that he was stuck doing paperwork!?"

"Maybe he's not here right now," Welst panted, walking up next to him. "In that case, we lucked out. Let's get out of here before we come across Lord Rabier returns."

"And return, I shall."

They both turned around to see Rabier standing at the doors and stepping inside slowly, as if he was expecting them. Welst tried his best to prevent Itsuki from baring his fangs, holding onto the Bow Hero tightly to prevent him from running up and slamming a fist in the governor.

"U-Uhm, we must have taken a wrong turn here, Lord Rabier…!" Welst nervously explained, sweating beyond belief. "S-Sorry for interrupting you! W-We'll be on our way!"

"We're not going anywhere, Welst."

Itsuki shook off Welst's handling and stomped a foot forwards.

"Idol Rabier! What's the meaning of the slaves being kept in the basement!?"

"So you've seen them?" Rabier laughed contentedly, as if he was ignoring the mood Itsuki was in. "Hmm, I was thinking about sprucing up the place a bit before allowing the Bow Hero to see such a wonderful display of demi-human suffering, as per the teachings of the Church of Three Heroes. The place must have smelled of dirty and undesirable demi-humans."

Itsuki swung up a clenched fist. "You thought I would enjoy something like that!? Like hell, I would have! Do you not feel anything when you're hurting them!?"

"Of course I do. I'm not heartless and everytime they suffer, I find amusement and happiness." He flaunted him with a cynical smile. "It's my personal service to praise the three Cardinal Heroes."

"Then you'll stop it if you know what's good for you."

"Unfortunately, I don't see a reason to listen."

Welst's face whitened. 'Oh, this is soooo not good.'

"Why not!? I'm the Bow Hero! Isn't the entire religion supposed to be revering me or something!?"

"Yes, we respect the Bow Hero."

Rabier snapped his finger as knights started to flood the room, cutting off all manners of escape. The strongly reinforced armour contrasted differently from the normal guards that were hanging around the manor before Itsuki noticed the emblem on their equipment; that being of the Church of Three Heroes. Both Itsuki and Welst backed off past the desk, seeing the sudden emergence.

"On the other hand, we don't respect allies of the Shield Demon. In fact, we loathe them, even if they are people that wear the name of our heavenly gods. And that is what you are, an ally of the Shield Demon that is masking himself as one of our gods."

'Huh? He know I'm friends with Naofumi!?'

"And therefore, you tarnish our religion with your demonic mask and we'll happily kill you for the sake of the real Gods."

"Like hell you will!" Itsuki shouted. "You'll pay, Idol Rabier! For the blood spilt and the suffering of the enslaved!"

Rabier snapped his fingers once more, cowardly standing behind the array. Welst noticed that a few of the knights were starting to cast magic, muttering under their breaths. Without another choice, he stepped up with his staff spinning forwards and quickly fired off a spell to match.

'Out of all the places to die…'

"I am the source of my power! Burn up all that crosses my path! [Zweite Fire Barrier]!"

Flame broke out to block the incoming spells, but some of the attacks managed to break through, hitting Welst in a few places on his body. The attacks dropped him onto his knee, pushing on his staff to prevent him from falling any further.

"W-Welst!?"

"D-Damn it…" he winced. "T-That stings…"

Itsuki grunted, pulling back on his bow, but there were definitely too many of them to concentrate on. They covered the entire front wall, pushing them back to the window and he didn't have many tricks up his sleeve for such an encounter. Nevertheless, he wanted Rabier dead for his sins and the flames merely roared louder, resonating through his ears.

"Resisting like the demon that makes himself as the Sword Hero. It only makes sense, being allies of the Shield Demon."

Itsuki stared at Rabier in disbelief.

"The demon that… What?"

Itsuki gasped as his memories drew him a connection towards the fight that Metatron had shown him. Now that he thought about it, the books that were serving as the arena could have been matching the library that Ren had been talking about within the Church's building.

"The demon known as the 'Sword Hero' was taken care of already. The capital insisted on protecting him, but everyone all knows he's a demon. He destroyed the library of our main building of worship; no real God would have done such a thing to their follower and all we'll going to do is wait to applaud for his eventual execution."

'Naofumi's been framed and Ren's been taken in to be killed…? And now, this? What the hell is going on!?'

Itsuki tried to take a quick shot at Rabier's head through the knights, but one of them blocked the arrow, having it bounce off like dust on one's shoulder. Chills burned over his spine, realizing that they were way out of their league, but he desperately wanted to wipe out that disgusting smirk off Rabier's face.

"In service of the real Cardinal Heroes, it's time to end your pitiful existence and assure my place in heaven as the relinquisher of a demon. Justice will now be served."

Magic spells were being chanted by the knights with everything being pointed to them. Welst was in no position to perform another counter spell and Itsuki didn't have any tools to defend themselves against the incoming storm. He didn't know what else to do.

His feet stood frozen. His hands upon the bow shook.

Kojeel's words were starting to ring louder in his ears than before. In retrospect, he knew he ran into the situation blindly, but what else could he have done? His heart was telling him he should have done something, but it was that same heart that was fearing for his own life right now.

'Was I going to die here?'

Itsuki braced himself as the magic spells were fired off, but then—

—the sound of shattering glass emerged from behind them, causing Itsuki and Welst to turn around.

A figure emerged from the broken window and landed on the desk, smoothly transitioning into a jump to face the magic spells. They couldn't utter a single sound before the spell exploded against the figure, kicking up into a smoke.

"W-Who!?"

Rabier noticed the sudden appearance, but as the smoke cleared up, he noticed that it had been one of the Bow Hero's allies that broke through. The person stood up from the smoke as it faded away, revealing to be unharmed, but Rabier wasn't expecting this turn of events.

"Hmm. I supposed I've caught Sir Zellus' habits of showing up at the last second. I should probably work on erasing that out."

Itsuki and Welst gasped.

"Kojeel, you're here!?"

"But her equipment…?"

No longer did Kojeel have her leather armour that the group was used to seeing. Instead, she had metal plating armour that looked strong, and yet they were thin enough for her to move freely. Her arms weren't exposed anymore, being covered with a black sleeve underneath arm protection and gauntlets on the end. Her red bandana was still being held on her forehead as her bangs swayed with her movements.

However, what was rather different had been the purple cloth that wrapped over her right thigh. On it, there was an emblem similarly drawn on Melromarc's flag.

"Ah, so the Bow Demon even brainwashed a knight of Melromarc?" Rabier scowled. "No matter! I'll still have you killed alongside him! No mercy for those who align with the Shield Demon!"

"W-What?" Itsuki flinched at the revelation, one which Rabier apparently knew already. "A knight of Melromarc?"

Kojeel sighed and despite the numbers disadvantage, she spoke calmly. "I figured it might end up like this when I found out you were investigating the slaves, Sir Itsuki."

"How did you—!?"

"Let's not worry about that for now. I'll explain later, but since it's unavoidable, allow me to re-introduce myself."

She spun her spear in her hand and brought it behind her with her gaze locked on Rabier and the Holy knights. Rabier had shied away for a brief moment before his bravado returned.

"My name is Kojeel, a high knight of the Melromarcian Army, assigned with the protection of the Legendary Bow Hero by the king." Her composed voice only made the words more daunting. "It's a pleasure to serve under you, Sir Itsuki. Shall I make an escape route for you?"

)—(\IV/)|—(
SKIT 036 : Kojeel's Hobby

[Welst] : "You know, Kojeel always keeps going on her walks around the town whenever she gets the chance. Now that it sank in, it's… oddly out-of-character from what we know from her. She's always so serious and mature that I would have thought that during her spare time, she's training or something along those lines."

[Itsuki] : "So having a quiet and harmless hobby suddenly makes Kojeel odd?"

[Welst] : "N-No, that's not what I was trying to imply here. Just based on what I know of her from the time I've been with everyone, it just feels weird to think that Kojeel's preferred hobby, with that personality of hers, could technically be moonlit romantic walks by the beach."

[Itsuki] : "..."

[Itsuki] : "Good job, Welst. Now I can't get that out of my head."

[Welst] : "See!? It's weird!"

[Itsuki] : "Only if you define it like that!"

)—(\IV/)|—(

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SKIT 037 : Endless Rivalry

[Itsuki] : "What's your opinion on it, Kojeel?"

[Kojeel] : "Please excuse me, but what might you be referring to?"

[Itsuki] : "Welst's and Mald's endless bickering with one another. I know they're both strong, but they could at least learn to get along with each other. We'll be fighting waves eventually and I don't want to be bringing them into an important fight where they're going to butt heads with one another constantly."

[Kojeel] : "I would say that their competitive spirit against each other keeps them in the fight. One doesn't want to be outdone by the other and be given the liability card, correct? It ends up as an endless rivalry of who would trump who and sometimes, that causes some odd coordination methods to exist."

[Itsuki] : "Does such a thing really exist?"

[Kojeel] : "You already saw it in action with our fight with the bandits. Welst would keep the incoming bandits at bay to protect Mald, but Mald would always give the bandits a reason for them to come attack him instead of Welst. They end up scratching each other's backs, even for the reason to see who can outscratch who."

[Itsuki] : "And you think that's okay?"

[Kojeel] : "As long as the job is completed, I have no arguments."

[Kojeel] : "... Though, I would highly advise them to not come close to setting an entire forest on fire again. Or breaking territory-owned structures. Or scaring civilians. Also, I vaguely remember them almost killing each other too after a botched fight against a monster."

[Kojeel] : "Hmm. Perhaps the negatives could outweigh the positives…"

[Itsuki] : "I-I guess that was a good input. T-Thanks, Kojeel…"

)—(\IV/)|—(