Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad helping me with SPAG edit. Also thanks to Angel Wraith for reading my rough draft and provide important feedbacks.
Special thanks for fellow writer Pretty Lazy for letting me use their original characters for The Rising of The Four Heroes. Which I highly recommend people to check out because it has great character moments, AND vastly less pop culture reference than my story. Although my version of Aldrecht and Zellus is based on one of their previous iteration we talked about, so anyone already reading Four Heroes will definitely get a different experience with these characters.
I realize my exposure for seeker7246's new story (maybe?) wasn't very clear, it's multiple excerpt posted in the thread of their main story 'Promotion to Queen' thread on SpaceBattle.
More author note at the end for people who are interested to see me blabber some more.
The wheel spins faster than an enchanted spindle, as the cart of their carriage shakes. Both Raphtalia and Éclair are still puking their lungs out over the back gate. The devil bird is doing her best to try and catch up to the Church's expedition team, but it's clear a team of riders naturally moves faster than one bird pulling a heavyset wagon behind it.
Their cart slows down, and eventually comes to a full stop. Naofumi's voice sounds exhausted. "Did we have another stowaway, Kyubey?"
"No, Master Shield Hero." Kyubey's droning voice carries itself through the sheet cover. "There seems to be a fight ahead, bodies laying all over. Gaston is checking them out."
"Stay with Raphtalia and Éclair, Yatsuhashi." Naofumi shares a quick look with Mein and moves forward, the princess following right after.
Mein pulls her hood further down and squints her eyes to get a better look. In front of them, a single dirt road stretches up towards the mountain with pine trees growing on the hills. Mangled bodies, in various states of slashes and cuts lie all around on the dirt, grass or slumped against the trunk of trees. Most of them wear fur and leather, a few have some haphazard metal pieces strapped across their bodies.
Bandits, real ones and not the desperate refugee turned banditry kind like Porter's group.
Their opponents on the other hand are all alive and well. Their armors still shine under the afternoon sun, even if some of them are covered in blood. White tabards decorated with golden lining, with the holy triangle of the Three sit in the middle in a shade of scarlet more vibrant than the blood of their victims. It reminds the princess of the color of the Wave itself.
Some of them are digging what seems to be a hole in the ground with their weapons. No doubt a mass grave for the dead bandits so their rotting carcasses don't start a plague. Others are picking up the bodies, tossing and kicking them down said grave.
It seems like the Three Heroes' Church expeditionary force was delayed by the Bitchlord's bandits.
Chapter 47: Aria of the Past
As the first princess of glorious Melromarc (even if she's no longer first in line), Mein was still aware of the fall of House Rabier back in the Great War when the entire family was killed by Siltvelt invaders. She also knew from gossip and hearsays that a bandit lord had arisen in place of the fallen noble house, and had been consolidating all the bandits in Silver Pass province under her banner to terrorizing the 'good and honest' citizens of Silver Pass.
But as the princess of the Crownland, all of this knowledge firmly is nothing more than small talks one makes with their vassals and guests during a banquet, or a joke on how House Seatto utterly mismanaged their state affairs.
She hasn't expected that the bandit problems has gotten so bad, they are emboldened enough to attack not just merchant caravans, but an expedition of the Church's elite fighting force: Knight Templars - The ones responsible to fight against the Wave of Catastrophe, and containing renegade heroes when they decided to harm the world.
"Halt, citizens. I suggest you turn back, you are heading into Rabier County lost to banditry, it's not safe for you." Jaune, who was standing near the back of the group walks up to meet them, obviously didn't recognize them at first glance.
"Not my first venture with these cutthroats, luckily." Mein can practically hear the smirk on Gaston's face even with his head turned. "Guided my village's trade caravan to Port a year ago. Although I did have both of my eyes back then."
"My condolences to you, good sir." The youngest Arc bows his head, showing no sign of smug entitlement from a typical noble scion. "I still advise caution, for the bandits have only grown bolder since the fall of House Seatto. They even tried to ambush us, a team of templars in broad daylight."
"Well, you know what they say about bandits." Gaston looks to the side of the road, he kicks away a decapitated head into a dug grave. "They aren't too bright, or else they wouldn't enter banditry in the first place."
"Indeed." Jaune shakes his head. He notices Naofumi and Mein walking towards him. "Ah, Sir Shield Hero. Fancy meeting you again. Hope you and your party are holding well so far."
"We are well, thanks for asking." Naofumi nods right back to the church knight before turning his attention back to the dead bandits. There are easily two dozen bodies lying around by the foot of the mountain, and who knows how many more on the elevation and the top. "They are demi-human."
"A lot of demi-human, particularly former slaves turned to join the Bitchlord's band. Herself being a demi-human after all." Jaune looks down at his foot while letting out a sigh. "It got worse after her raids into Reichnott County. Holy water to erase the slave branding is a temptation too great for slaves to resist. Especially when their owners shirk away from their duties."
"I don't think there were any 'duties' to begin with." Naofumi grits his teeth as he stands up from his kneeling position. His words make Jaune's head hang even lower. "Sounds more like a consequence of using an abusive system. I just wish it wasn't the common citizens who got hurt the most."
"Sad, but true." The solemn look on Jaune's face reminds Mein a lot of her own Naofumi. Even with his blonde hair, blue eyes and more sculpted cheekbones. "And my family didn't do anything to help them either."
She almost opens her mouth to comfort the young Arc when the redhead in his group opens her mouth first. "You can't blame yourself, or your family, Jaune. At least they don't abuse the demi-humans, like a lot of other noble houses."
So, that's what Jaune's new sweetheart Consevatie was talking about. The princess gives the other redhead a quick look from head to toe. She has a pretty, fresh looking face not touched up by makeup worn by the highborn ladies. Her movement is clean and precise in the way a seasoned adventurer or fighter carries themselves and reminds the princess of her fencing coach Zellus, but not too bothered at looking graceful and reserved.
All in all, Mein wouldn't call the girl ragged, but she's definitely more warrior lady than a dainty flower. Hmm... always figured Jaune likes a strong woman who can take the lead. That's probably the reason why he wasn't too bothered with her always getting her way back when they were still courting.
"Father didn't do enough to help them either, Pyrrha. Unlike Lord Seatto, you won't find a demi-human knight in our court. You barely see demi-human citizens in New Albion." Jaune sits down on a rock, resting his back on his blade. "Sometimes, I wonder the reason he doesn't use demi-human slave labor was more of him blamed the Siltvelt beastman for killing his family, than kindness towards our demi-human citizens."
"Was that back in the last war I heard about? What happened?" Naofumi slowly stands back up, his movement a bit more sluggish than usual.
"Father's whole family was murdered by Siltvelt invaders, when our castle fell. Father himself would have died, if Pope Balmus, still a simple priest at the time, didn't carry him out of the siege on his back." The blonde knight slowly looks up from his impromptu seat at the Shield Hero. "I never knew my grandfather, or uncles and aunts. But it'd probably be hard for me to look at our demi-human brothers, if they killed my father and sisters."
Mein wonders if Naofumi will offer the young knight some placating words of condolences, but the Shield Hero simply remains silent with his head low. He clearly understands empty words won't offer comfort, especially when he has a demi-human, and a beastman in his party.
"I don't want to sit on this, it's not like I was even alive to know my grandparents, uncles and aunts. And in spite of what father thinks about demi-humans, he tries his best to teach us hatred only begets more hatred. And we should at least treat the demi-human of this nation fairly. Considering many of them the progeny of rape ... they are as victims as us." The knight slowly stands up and returns the sword back to his back, the last words to the annoying heir of House Consevatie. "Are we moving out, Sieg?"
"Fraternizing with the enemies, I see." The arrogant son of Marquis Consevatie doesn't answer Jaune's question. Rather, he tosses an accusation at his fellow scion with a smirk on his face. The pompous boy in a man's body turns to sneer at Naofumi, just in case anyone mistaken who he meant as the 'enemy'. "You were always the naive one."
The boy's hand is still far away from the handle of his axe, indicating he has more bark than bite. Same can't be said by the group of half a dozen knights, and battle priests following him.
"There is no enemy, Sir Shield Hero already proven himself a steadfast ally against the Wave of Catastrophe." Jaune immediately opens his arms up and steps in front of the Shield Hero, trying his best to defuse an ensuing fight. "Whatever can be said for the previous Shield Heroes, the current one is our ally, not our enemy."
"That's what they all did, before they turned into murdering rapists on everyone." Consevatie scoffs at Jaune's rebuke. His eyes turn to the redhead Knight Templar Pyrrha in a way that gives the impression he's going to lick her all over. "Wonder how you'll feel, when he starts bedding your new sweetheart."
"That's uncalled for, Sieg. Pyrrha is a person, not some object to be passed around." A frown comes up to Jaune's face. Friends or not, the only son of House Arc clearly doesn't appreciate Consevatie's ungentlemanly behavior.
"And I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much." The soft face of the other redhead turns stern as she looks at Consevatie. She's not sneering or scoffing like the subject of her ire, but her cold eyes give the impression she's looking at something she peeled off from her armored boots.
"That's what they all say, before they start falling into the arms of the so-called 'heroes'." The snide, almost shrill voice comes from another familiar face: The nun from House Amelia who tried to deny Mein her holy water when she suffered from the cursed wound.
It's a wonder how a noble house can produce daughters who seem to be on the opposite extreme of intelligence.
The priestess gives a knowing look towards the princess in disguise and turns up her nose. "We should have never counted on the interlopers from another world to save us from the start. They create more tragedies than they solve from the start."
Sister Amelia's words remind the princess of a memory that feels so long ago, she practically forgot till this moment. Back on the first night of the hero summoning when her ears drooped on them using the piped listening room, she ran into one of the knights in Father's court who showed a clear disdain towards summoned heroes.
It seems even the very faith that is supposed to worship the heroes can't escape the resentment bubbling underneath the surface. Or perhaps worshipping the dimensional interloper as their god figure is what started the animosity in the first place.
"The 'interloper' is still here, and he can hear you." Naofumi crosses his arms, his eyes half closed.
"Good, we have no need to hide our true feelings to the likes of you." Consevatie turns to glare down at the Shield Hero, looking equally unimpressed with Naofumi. A dozen of his fellow Knight Templars walk forward and line themselves up behind the pompous heir, clearly backing him up on his chest puffing. "You are nothing without your holy weapons."
"Please, everyone stand down. This is not the time to fight among ourselves..." The Arc boy holds both of his arms up in a valiant effort to stop a fight that's about to break out.
Lucky for him, the expedition's commanding officer seems to notice the growing tension as Sir Leroy strides over. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Arc here forgot about his priorities, I'm gracious enough to remind him of it." Consevatie gives an innocent grin as real as Mein's current identity.
"If you lot have too much time to waste, go help clean up. The undead from Silver Keep won't wait for us." Paladin Leroy narrows his eyes at the gathered people. "We'll continue north as soon as we fill the dig."
"Captain Leroy, we should take the long road from Ascart County." Jaune holds his hand up at the gray haired paladin commander to get his attention. "We were already ambushed once, it's too risky to continue cutting through the lost Rabier County."
"What, you aren't scared of some bandit rabble, are you?" Consevatie looks back at his cohorts, who starts sniggering at the youngest Arc. "I never figured out someone with the blood of the old Albion royal house is this gutless."
"Yeah, maybe you should leave the vanguard and stay in the back." A knight with similar blonde hair laughs at Jaune.
"Let Jaune finish first, Consevatie, Jackson!" Pyrrah steps forward, obviously not happy the other group keeps interrupting her... partner, subject of affection?
Has the two of them started official courtship yet? Consevatie did talk about them being sweet together back in the banquet, but the princess isn't sure if they are in an official relationship, or have obvious feelings towards one another.
"What, are you going to let your woman fight all your battles now, Arc?" The pompous Consevatie heir simply throws more taunt at his fellow scion, rather than reply directly back to the redhead.
"BE QUIET, YOU FOOLS!" Their commanding officer finally sees fit to put an end to the chest pumping and dick waving. He turns back to Jaune again. "Explain, Sir Arc. As paladins of the church, why should we ignore the bandits and deviants who continue terrorizing the land?"
Sir Leroy's tone is encouraging, but his wording is accusatory. It's clear there will be reprimand, if not something more severe if Jaune's word doesn't satisfy him.
"I understand, commander Leroy. It pains me to ignore the problem plague Silver Pass right in front of our eyes. But we have an undead infestation, threatening to turn into an undead scourge at hand." The only son of House Arc bows his head and takes a pause to let his words sink in. "Bandits can be placated, and paid off. An undead scourge won't stop till it kills everything in its pass just like a Wave of Catastrophe. We must focus on the worst problem, and preserve as much as our strength till we deal with the undead infestation in the Silver Keep."
The elder paladin runs his stubby and callous covered finger across his beard for a moment before nodding his head. "Very well, we'll go around Ascart County. Arc, you are in charge of protecting our rear and supplies, Consevatie will be with me in the vanguard. We leave as soon as we bury these damn raiders."
"About time." Consevatie gives Jaune a smirk as Paladin Leroy turns to walk away. "Enjoy your time counting ration packs, and leave the fighting to us real men."
"Don't let Consevatie and his cronies get to you, Jaune." Pyrrha immediately turns around and puts both her hands on the Arc boy's shoulders and looks him in the eyes. "You gave the right advice to Sir Leroy. I'm sure he puts you in charge of our rare supplies not meant as a demotion, but because he trusts you. If not, he's as much a fool as Consevatie."
"I'm not bothered, Pyrrha. Both Sir Leroy and Sieg has always been... headstrong." Pyrrha purses her lips when the Consevatie heir is mentioned. She clearly doesn't share the friendly, if highly exasperated disposition Jaune has with the arrogant heir. "I'm just worried about the two of them commanding our vanguard. They both like to charge head first into a problem than thinking things over."
"You aren't responsible for everyone, whatever happens... Sir Leroy and Consevatie has to live with the consequences." Pyrrha's head drops down for a moment before she looks back up at Jaune again.
"I know, Pyrrha. But thanks for telling me this." The Arc boy turns around to look at the Shield Hero again. "Sorry you have to see that, Sir Shield Hero. Our order may not worship the Shield Hero, but we bear no ill will towards you. Sadly, some of my brothers and sisters take their duties too seriously."
Mein can't help but roll her eyes towards her former court. It's clear the son of ArchDuke Wales is being too optimistic about both the Three Heroes' Church, and human nature in general.
"I'll keep that in mind." Naofumi's voice is carefully neutral, but he doesn't sound any more convinced than the incognito princess.
"If you don't mind me asking, where are you going, Sir Shield Hero?" Jaune shakes his head, and he returns back to being the earnest and noble son of House Arc. "We seem to be meeting a lot these past few days. Perhaps you don't mind traveling together? There is safety in numbers in this trying time."
"We are going to Port Harp to pay our respects. Two of my party members are survivors of the first wave." If Mein had any doubt about Naofumi's disposition towards the Three Heroes' Church, his fake answer about their destination reassured her that the Shield Hero is still being careful at what information he reveals. "As for traveling together... no offense. Some of your colleagues' actions don't reassure my safety. I'll take my own chances."
Jaune lowers his head and stays silent for a few moments before responding. "...I understand. And your companions have my condolences."
"Sir Arc, before you leave." Mein reaches her hand out towards Jaune before the young man turns away with his partner. She briefly wonders if the man who courted her for a while would recognize her voice, but to her relief, the young Arc doesn't show any indication of knowing her. "Two of our members suffer from travelling sickness from a rocky wagon. Can the church provide some comfort to them?"
"There's nothing our church can provide, but we do have someone who can help. Brother Martin, a moment of your time?" Jaune turns around and calls out to a man standing near the mass grave wearing a set of unassuming gray robes.
The man turns around and shows his healthy looking tanned face of someone in his early thirties, and smooth brown hair freely falling down. He has a sheathed sword and a traveling pouch hanging by his waist, and holds a gem embedded ceremonial spear like a walking stick that no doubt also acts as a focus for Miracles. A battle priest of the Church, it seems. "What is required of me, brother Jaune?"
"The companions of Sir Shield Hero suffer from travel sickness. Do you have more of the pouches you gave me?"
"We'll need them for two people." Mein quickly added after Jaune.
"I prepared them for all our brothers and sisters, there's more than enough to go around." Priest Martin reaches into his pouch and fishes out two small bags the size of a necklace pendant, both tied to strings long enough to be tied around the neck. He walks forward and places them into Naofumi's hand. "They don't smell very nice, but they'll hold travel sickness at bay for another month."
"Some homebrew motion sickness medicine?" Naofumi gives a quick sniff of the little bag, as he quickly holds the bag far away from his face. Mein can practically taste the bitterness in her nose even with her standing a few steps away, and her cloth mask up.
A shade of pink finds itself on the priest's face. "I'm afraid I wasn't always a pious follower of our teachers and saviors, and the Chief God himself. In my youth, I joined the cult who worshipped the Chief God as the Lord of Debauchery. You can make it yourself, by mixing Marching Weed, and refreshing herbs at 3 to 7, and add in grinded up Egg-Up shell powder soaked in its white."
A brown rises up into Naofumi's hairline. "Not a title I expect from the big cheese of your religion."
"One can say our gods have many different faces. Many, including my foolish younger self, choose to honor our god differently from the orthodox faith. May the Chief God watch over you, Sir Shield Hero." The priest clearly doesn't want to elaborate on this topic, as he quickly excuses himself and joins the rest of the Knight Templars with Jaune and Pyrrha.
"Let's bring the travel sickness cure to Raphtalia and Éclair, Master Naofumi. We probably shouldn't get too close with the church expedition, in case some of them try something." Mein also guides Naofumi away from the gathered church knights. The Shield Hero doesn't put up any fight, as he probably agrees with her assessment.
Both Éclair and Raphtalia let out a series of rapid coughs and sneezes when Naofumi and Mein fastened the string around their necks. But they no longer look halfway out of consciousness afterwards. It doesn't take long for the Knight Templars to toss the corpses of the bandits into their mass grave and fill it up with dirt, they quickly climb up on their raptor mounts and speed away.
Naofumi gives one quick glance towards the dust cloud left by the expedition before turning towards his own party. "Well, now we know where the church expedition is, how should we proceed afterwards?"
"There are two roads to Port Harp, and House Seatto's seat of power." Kyubey spread out the map on the ground, his finger traced along the road on the parchment. "We either go east into Ascart County, takes the winding road to Samphor and then loops back west from Reichnott County to Harp... or we go north west through Rabier County, directly towards Harp..."
"...Right through the heart of the Bitchlord's territory." Gaston finishes the rabbit man's sentence for him. "We went through Ascart and then to Reichnott the last time Lute sent our trading caravan before Port Harp was destroyed. Took us over five days, so an expedition without a wagon will be faster."
"And right now, the Church expedition already took that route. So we'd fall behind." Naofumi's brown ties are tied together into a knot. "But we don't know if we'll get through the bandits, if we cut straight north west."
"I can make through if it's myself." Farkas looks through everyone huddled around the map, his sniffs his nose like Consevatie boy. "With all of you? No way."
"How sure was Master Aldrecht of the church's betrayal, Éclair?" Mein turns her head towards the last Seatto. The princess already figured out the Church, and more specifically the Pope was up to something against the royal house if he tried to mess the succession. But that's not something she can reveal to her Naofumi, without giving away who she was. "If we know there's an intended coup against the crown... we could simply let the church retrieve the artifact... and then take it from them after they are softened up by the undead. We already fought one group of church knights in Lute anyway."
"There's only speculation but no solid evidence, or Master Aldrecht would have taken it to his majesty." Éclair looks up at Mein for a moment before shaking her head. "Remember, I'm someone who was supposed to be executed. Master Aldrecht took great personal risk to smuggle me out of the dungeon."
"No, we aren't attacking the church." Naofumi puts his metaphorical foot down on the ground. "Not everyone in the church sees me as an enemy yet, and I'd play right into the hands of the detractors if I attack them first."
"And there are more not only see you, but all of your fellow summoned heroes as the enemies." The princess lets out a deep sigh at Naofumi's determination. Her Naofumi is being almost naively optimistic again just like Jaune, but it's not like giving the church the very excuse they are waiting for to antagonize her Naofumi without repercussion is a wise decision. "But I understand your concern, Master Naofumi. We'll just have to do our best, if we don't retrieve Éclair's artifact..."
"There is a third route not a lot of people know." Gaston points his finger down at one unmarked spot at the border of Rabier and Ascart County. "This is the ruin of the village of Flute, a mountain village at the edge of Rabier County. It was destroyed in the Great War, and was never rebuilt with House Rabier gone and bandits took control of their land. We can shave one, maybe two days of travel if we go the old road, and we should avoid the brunt of the bandits under the Bitchlord."
"Show me the full route." Naofumi squints his eyes at the map as Gaston traces his finger along the edge of the border following his instruction. While the hunter is running his own finger, the Shield Hero traces his own finger along the marked road that would take him through Ascart to Reichnott County. "It's shorter, yes. But won't the bandits know about it?"
"They would, yes. But I don't imagine we'll face a lot of bandits if we go through the road that'll take us through the ruin of Flute." Gaston scratches his chin while nodding his head along. "Most trade caravans go through Reichnott and Ascart County to avoid the bandits. There'd be no point lying in ambush on a side road not many know about in the first place, and even less have the guts to go through. We'd encounter some stragglers who aren't too close with the Bitchlord and her inner circle at most."
"We'll have to risk it either way... either with the bandits, or with the church." Naofumi looks down, his hand claws at the dirt underneath. His eyes slowly move to both Raphtalia and settle on Éclair. "Will you be okay? Judging from all the bodies the church expedition buried, we'll need all hands on deck if we get ambushed."
"The herb pouch definitely helps with my dizziness." Éclair looks down at her neck, and picks up Brother Martin's little pouch. "It won't be pleasant, but I think I'll be fine, Sir Shield Hero."
"I'll help. I won't slow everyone down." Raphtalia furiously nods her head after the knight.
The sun cast down a golden shine outside their cart, indicating it's close to sundown. Their wagon rocks like a boat as it flies across the poorly maintained road. The princess thought she could simply toughen it through without having the persistent bitterness clung to her body, she's sadly mistaken and now paying the price. Now she's the one lying horizontal on her back, while Raphtalia and Éclair are both upright.
At least they haven't been jumped by any bandits yet. And if Gaston was right, they only have another day to go before they emerge through the other side of Rabier County.
"So, what's this business about the 'Lord of Debauchery'?" Naofumi's voice sounds far away, even if he's only sitting and fanning her right next. "The priest mentioned he got the recipe when he was in this cult."
"Ah, those fun loving gentlemen... I should have known. They were probably trying to create some cure for inebriation." Éclair's voice is almost low enough to be a hiss by the end. "They are a small cult obsessed with drinking and... fornication, but at least they aren't aggressive like some other cults. Still, you shouldn't bother yourself with them, Sir Shield Hero."
Mein briefly wonders if they should discuss this topic with Raphtalia still around. She turns her head, and realizes the little raccoon girl is no longer inside the wagon. Did Raphtalia climb into the front to sit with Kyubey and Farkas while she's drifting in and out of consciousness?
"I still want to learn more about your world... and your culture." Naofumi sets down a bag of mixed Marching Weed and Refreshing Herb besides Mein. It lacks the distinct repugnant smell of Brother Martin's mix to keep her wide awake, but at least her stomach is no longer threatening to turn over. "I'm all out of Egg-Up shells, Mein. Hope this still helps."
"They are revelers, who want to have some meaning to their life of depravity through connection with our Chief God." There is a clear tone of contempt from the Seatto knight. It's to be expected, as the knight clearly takes her worship as seriously as the code of honor. "But the belief is that the fellow gods and angels of Chief God are mostly female, and they are thought of as his many wives by both the Cult of Debauchery and many who follow the orthodox faith. And the Chief God himself is known as someone who can't be put down even with a thousand cups."
"And they take this as permission, or explicit encouragement from the god to live a life of drinking and fornication." Naofumi finishes up Éclair's sentence for her. "No wonder that priest looked embarrassed."
"Exactly." The rocking of their cart starts to slow down, indicating they are about to pull over and rest for the night. Something the princess is only too grateful over.
"Master Naofumi, there are people standing at the gate of Flute." Kyubey's voice warns of the Shield Hero and princess; it's too early to celebrate any possible reprieve.
"Bandits?" Naofumi immediately stands up into a half squat, ready to leap into action anytime compared to his previous relaxed sitting position.
"It's hard to tell. They are just standing... and walking around. Not lying in ambush." Kyubey stays silent for a few moments before adding more. "It's too far for me to hear whatever they may talk about."
"They smell no different than bandits, all stink of sweat, mud and blood." The low growl of Farkas helpfully adds some extra information for everyone.
"Sounds like a trap to me, maybe they have more men on the side of the road." Mein slowly crawls back up now the wagon is no longer shaking like a storm. She can see the Shield Hero rubbing his nose, clearly thinking over their situation. "Is it too late to back out? Can we turn around with Firo and Wolfgang's speed?"
"It'll be hard with our wagon. If it's an ambush, they likely already lay some trap on the road behind us to close us in." The last Seatto hopefully provides some knowledge of her expertise.
"Might also be adventurers." Yatsuhashi's words make the Shield Hero and Éclair look at her. "Professional adventurers look all valiant and dashing with their cleaned armor and weapons in the guildhall. But out a few weeks in the field, they don't look or smell differently from your average highwayman or vagabond. Let me approach them first, Master Shield Hero. I'll spring the trap if they are bandits, and all of you will be together and ready for them."
"What about you?"
"I'm your Housecarl, Master Shield Hero. This is what I'm trained for, and I'm sworn to do." The giant swordsman jumps down from the back of the cart, presumably to make his way over to the unidentified figures around the ruined village.
"Come back here, stay with Mein and Éclair, Raphtalia." Naofumi slides open the sheet cover, he carries the raccoon child back into the cart. The Shield Hero crawls into the front himself, and then pets Raphtalia's head a few times. "Our cart is built with ironwood, and covered with monster leather. It'll stop most arrows in case of an ambush, you'll be safe inside."
"You stay safe too, Master Naofumi." Mein notices Raphtalia holding another bottle of the failed hair potion tightly in her hand, clearly ready to toss it out at first sign of danger.
The princess slowly scoots over to the front. Both Kyubey and Farkas have hopped onto the ground, the rabbit man has his rapier drawn, while Naofumi draws the two handed sword from Farkas' back and places it into his metal muzzle. The claws clench together with a crisp 'SCHNIZZ', firmly locking the handle in case the beastman goes in for a charge.
As for the village itself, most of the original palisade has been destroyed in the war, or rotted away. A few lonely wooden pillars still standing on the ground, or sit in long weeds to show any curious explorer there once was a village on this part of the earth. Likewise, most of the buildings that are still standing have various different degrees of burn and rot, all of them missing roofs, and walls.
Where the broken, grass covered road once led to the gate of the village, palisade stands, and strolls half a dozen men. The man Yatsuhashi is currently walking towards. They notice him approaching, two of them draw their weapons while the rest are still lazy about it. From the way they reflect the sunlight like mirrors instead of having a dull shine coating over, they seem to be made of fine castle forged steel, instead of lower quality such as copper, bronze, or iron.
Mein takes notice of the group's armor next. Unlike the fur covered bodies of the demi-human bandits, most of them wear chainmail, and full plate. Which means they are either adventurers like Yatsuhashi suggested, or what passes for elites under the Bitchlord.
"HALT! What's your business!?" One of the unknown men, someone in his early thirties at most judging from his voice, holds up his hand to stop the nomad Housecarl from advancing further.
"I mean you no harm. My master and I are simply travelers, who wish to save ourselves some time traveling northwest." The towering swordsman holds his arm above his shoulders to show his unarmed status, but also position his right hand close to his sword handle that he'll easily flow into an opening strike if the situation calls for.
"I'll be the judge of dat!" A much older, and gruff voice booms out. A shadow Mein passed for a boulder a moment earlier stands up from a small section of the still standing palisade.
The man is wearing a horned steel helmet, like the old Midgard berserkers and Northern beastman warriors often depicted as. Below his head, he only has a pair of leather pants from waist down, exposing the bulging muscles on his trunk like arms and rock solid bare chest.
"Ya say ya going north? What ya going north for?! Port Harp is a ruin, and Stormwind is another shithole. Sounds mighty suspicious to me!" The man's loud voice explodes out of his mouth hidden underneath a messy bush of tangled, untrimmed beard. The big, gruff man takes his battle axe from his waist, looking ready to start a fight.
"Stand down, Xepan my men. Don't you see the one standing beside the filorial cart?" A hand sitting inside an uniform gauntlet slowly slaps down on the helmet of the new named Xepan. The man's voice almost carries a lazy tone despite the knight's armor the man wears. "That's the Shield Hero."
Mein briefly wonders if this is the week where she starts to meet everyone she ever knows in life by total coincidence. The man is none other than her fencing coach Zellus, the vice-captain of Father's royal guard. At this rate, she wouldn't even be surprised if her cousin Emily drops her a visit all the way from Faubley.
The sound of something heavy drops at the side of their wagon. Mein and her Naofumi both turn around, and see the two handed steel sword on the ground while Farkas takes some steps forward.
"YOU!"
"Hey! My fellow former Zeltoble Coliseum grand champion! Looking good!" The mouth of Zellus split into a wide grin as he waves back at Farkas, even Mein can see his teeth from a few dozen paces away. "Didn't recognize you with your new headgear! What was your name again... was it Farris? How's life treating you?"
"Don't pretend you don't remember me, milk drinker!" Farkas' angry growl turns into a full howl by this point. "YOU are the one who did this to me!"
It takes a few moments for the princess to connect the dots, and realize Farkas is talking about his useless arms.
"Yeah, shame about that. You gave me a real workout that day! Best fight I had in my life. And let's get real here, if you won you'd tear my neck out." Zellus runs his finger across his chin. "And you'd at least met the Shield Hero now, so as far as I'm concerned, we are even."
"Stand down, Farkas. I don't want to fight someone who beat you before your injury." Naofumi quickly moves forward and places a hand on the werewolf's shoulder. This seems to calm Farkas enough, that he only lets out some more muffled grunt than actually charging towards the royal guard. "I'm guessing you aren't some bandit working for the Bitchlord?"
"Freedom is nice, but harming weaklings just isn't my style. Nah, I prefer to fight someone strong, feel the thrill of battle. Some say you can't beat the feeling of climax. Me? I'd take the feeling of a clutch between life and death... and push through overwhelming odds any day." The most unfit knight in Melromarc service smirks at the Shield Hero. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm acting as a bodyguard for Old Al right now while he runs an errand for his old friend."
"Old Al?" The Shield Hero looks at the rough looking men still looking at his party with suspicion and alarm in their eyes. The princess in disguise on the other hand, feels like slapping herself.
Of course, she should have realized these are the Melromarc free fighters: The group of mercenaries, veteran adventurers and even former bandits working for their pardon, who are under the official employment of the royal house.
"Vice-Captain Zellus must mean Master Aldrecht, Master Shield Hero." Éclair pokes her head through the sheet. She jumps down and walks to Naofumi's side.
"He's over there at the center of this dump. Come, I'll bring you to him." The royal knight hooks his finger to beckon the Shield Hero. Naofumi shares another look with Éclair before he follows after. Mein quickly follows after him, despite knowing it's better to stay hidden inside the wagon while both her coach and magical instructor know her true identity.
Despite being close enough to call him uncle Aldrecht, she never knew who her magic teacher was as a person, besides 'Master Aldrecht, Royal Battle Mage', or Father's oldest and best friend. The princess can't help but feel there won't be another opportunity if she passes this one.
The inside of Flute looks no better than outside, with scorched and fallen buildings, and weed covered streets no one bothered to clean up. Near the center of the village, there's a slightly bigger building, collapsed now like any other but has a fence around the garden. Inside, she sees a large stone standing over a dirt mound, with hard carved words on the front of the stone.
Here lies Marianne, loving wife and nurturing mother.
Here lies Henrietta, a loving daughter.
A grave, with a mother and her daughter buried, presumably by the husband and father. In front, uncle Aldrecht kneels in a prayer with some flowers shaped like yellow bells set in front of the grave marker. Wind Chime, its language being 'everlasting remembrance'. The grave itself is well maintained despite the condition of the ruined village at large, with weeds all pulled out.
Are these uncle Aldrecht's wife and child? It would certainly explain why he disappears around the castle at the same time every year... and why he never took a wife and had an heir himself, if he can't forget his first wife and daughter.
The Shield Hero stands outside the fence in silence. Even the aloof Zellus seems to carry himself a bit straighter, not to mention quieter. Mein doesn't do anything to break the serenity of the moment out of respect for her magic teacher, who she owes a lot of her achievements to.
Uncle Aldrecht slowly stands up and takes notice of the audience he got. "Ah, Sir Shield Hero, was it? Do excuse me, I'm afraid you caught me at an inopportune time."
"That's Master Aldrecht, Sir Shield Hero." Éclair quietly informs Naofumi.
"No, I should apologize for interrupting you while you..." The Shield Hero turns to look at the grave marker. "...my reading of your language is still bad, but I'm sure I saw 'wife' and 'daughter' on it. That would be your wife and daughter buried here, wouldn't it?"
"Oh, Chief God no. I was never someone who has the patience to take a wife, or raise a child myself." Uncle Aldrecht's word caught Mein by complete surprise. Considering his patience to put up with her, she always thought the man could make an excellent father, or grandfather. "I'm merely paying respect on behalf of a friend, who is too busy with his duty every year to come in person."
A friend of uncle Aldrecht, who is too busy visiting the grave of his wife and daughter with a lovingly maintained grave in a ruined village rampaged by bandits? He can't mean...
NO! That means she was never the first...
Father had always been the one in her life. But did he love her as herself, or was he simply seeing his first, lost daughter through her?
She's having trouble breathing again, why is she having trouble breathing? Éclair is supporting her shoulders, stopping her from going flat on the ground and propping her up. "Breathe, you have to remember to breathe, my lady."
Naofumi takes a step back in complete surprise, not noticing the distress Mein is currently under. He opens his mouth, but catches himself before saying anything on his mind. The young hero stays quiet for a few more moments before concluding. "You mean the king."
"Why would you think that?" The old mage turns his body to face the Shield Hero properly, his tone inquisitive, but not dismissive in the least.
"Well, you are the most important mage in this country's court, that suggests your 'friend' is in a high position." The Shield Hero gives a quick look inside the fence. "The gravesite is well-taken care of in this ruined village, suggesting the husband didn't part with his wife and daughter on bad terms, yet he can't even make the trip himself to pay them respects? This suggests the duty must be very important, like ruling over an entire country."
The Shield Hero stays silent as he walks inside the fence and knees down in front of the grave. Closing his own hands in a prayer gesture as he gives the burial mound a bow. "Furthermore... explains all the shit he tried to pull on me, excuse my language. If the king lost his first wife and daughter in a war against the people who worshipped the Shield Hero, it explains why the supposed wise king went out of his way to antagonize the current Shield Hero, myself, doesn't it? He's simply acting out his grief, and not thinking straight."
Huh... She honestly forgets just how smart her Naofumi can be despite his naive optimism, as long as he puts his mind to it. It's a wonder he still hasn't figured out she's not a commoner yet. Perhaps he simply doesn't want to figure out she's actually a noble, someone who has given him one trouble after another since his summoning.
"You are wise for your age, Sir Shield Hero. Although at the time, my friend was not a king, but a simple husband and father living a quiet, yet happy life in this mountain village with his family." The old battle mage gives the young hero a hand to help him up. "Forgive the ramble of an old man, I'm sure you aren't interested in listening to ancient history."
"No, I want to know everything." The Shield Hero quickly proves uncle Aldrecht wrong. "There's a lot of people who hate me for coming from another world. I want to prove them wrong, learn your history, and respect your culture."
"I see you are already familiar with the wisdom of patience, my young friend." Aldrecht runs his hand through his beard while he walks alongside the Shield Hero, leaving the grave of Father's first wife and... daughter in peace. "What would you like to know about?"
"As much as you feel comfortable sharing with me. The war, the king... hell, maybe even how this place turned into a bandit infested mess."
"My friend, he could have had a comfortable life after he and his younger sister were adopted by the last king of Faubley as their children. But he gave away a life of luxury for me, when he rescued me after I was kidnapped by the ravens of Siltvelt. The two of us, and his wife Marianne settled down in this village, because we didn't want to live a life of betrayal and political backstabbing of a royal court. That is all I want to say today." Uncle Aldrecht looks down at his foot, there is clearly more to the story than his simple explanation, but he no longer wishes to share it with the Shield Hero.
"...I understand."
"As for the fall of Rabier County itself... I'm afraid I'd have to take you further back, to its rise first." The old battle mage turns around, most likely facing the direction of the ruined Rabier Keep. "Unlike certain noble houses, House Rabier had a humble beginning. The first Count Rabier was an unassuming man of humble birth over two hundred years ago. He fought valiantly as a loyal companion of the Saint of Spear, and was rewarded for his valor and faith by Queen Evangeline. For over two hundred years, his descendents ruled the land with both honor, and temperance, bringing prosperity and happiness to the people."
Naofumi turns around just like uncle Aldrecht, his eyes unfocused. It seems like the Shield Hero is trying to picture in his mind how a responsible noble who cares for his subjects would look like.
"Sadly, this came to an end during the Great War twenty five years ago. When the invasion army of Siltvelt rolled down south, they opened the door of their keep to both their citizens, and slave workers..."
"...slaves?" Naofumi's head immediately whips over to look at the old battle mage, who doesn't seem to notice his interruption and keeps going.
"...this kindness proves to be their undoing, as a group of ungrateful demi-human slaves opened the gate of their keep to Siltvelt army at the dead of the night. While their keep would eventually fall at the hand of higher leveled and more numerous Siltvelt beastmen, arguably some of them might be able to get away with their lives through escape tunnels. But because of the surprise breach of their castle, everyone of House Rabier was killed that night."
"Wait, hold on a moment! You said they use slaves?!" Naofumi slaps his hands together to get uncle Aldrecht's attention. "Can they, or you for that matter, blame slaves for their deaths if they mistreated the slaves first?"
The old mage slowly turns to look at the Shield Hero, his expression carefully neutral. "I can tell you already met some less... responsible owners who choose to treat their slaves as toys to break. But the fact is slave labor is common in this nation, and our world at large. And a good number of owners know it makes more sense in terms of investment to take care of their slaves by keeping them well fed and healthy."
Naofumi narrows his eyes but doesn't say anything. He doesn't look convinced by uncle Aldrecht's placating words.
"And for House Rabier itself... if you believe my words, I can vouch for them being responsible owners. In fact, I met their son Idol a couple of times when I had to run errands at their keep. And I believe he's quite smitten with one of their slaves... I believe her name was Abby? It's debatable if his father would have allowed him to marry a demi-human slave girl even if The Great War didn't happen, but it was quite heartwarming to see the budding romance of a young noble, and a slave girl."
"No, there's nothing heartwarming about it. He's in a position of absolute power, and she can't refuse him even if he's only playing around with her." Naofumi's eyes are twitching, while his mouth looks like he's sucking on something very sour. "But speaking about slavery at large, even if the owner is responsible, it still doesn't change all slaves have a magical torture device, and kill switch all tattooed onto their skin. And the owners are the ones who enjoy the fruit of labor while the slaves have to toil till their death. Under the circumstances, can we blame the people, who have no power to fight back and are being exploited like cattle... or worse, property taking a chance to fight back and earn their freedom?"
Uncle Aldrecht stays quiet as he continues running his hand through his long beard. Unlike before, Mein gets the feeling that the old master is actually listening, and thinking over the point her Naofumi brought forth. After a while, he finally relent. "I admit, you do have a point and you are definitely wiser than your age. Although I have to wonder, is this all your thoughts, or is it thanks to your otherworldly knowledge? While it is fortunate for you to be wise beyond your years, do take note most people in our world aren't as fortunate as you, and do not use your wisdom to pass judgment on other less fortunate."
"I'll remember that." Naofumi nods his head after a few quiet moment. He turns around to look at Mein. "Hey, Mein. Didn't you have some questions about that founder's Grimoire? Maybe you want to ask the best mage in this country?"
All of sudden, the princess in disguise feels needles picking more than her heart.
End Note:
I didn't realize when I was writing this chapter, but I kind of made Jaune into the main character in this chapter where most of the conflict revolves around him.
:P
Jokes aside, I'm definitely going all in with giving more depth (and internal conflict) for 3HC than the simple evil Christianity themed cult it is canonically. I'm pretty against organized religion in real life, but a faction that basically act as a hive minded biomass of 'doing evil things evilly' isn't exactly interesting in my opinion. I mean, even if the organization only have evil people, it would be much more interesting if it has multiple high rank members who directly conflict and try to back stab each other.
And in case there's any confusion, yes, Idol Rabier is dead for good in my story all the back in The Great War. There's no secret survival where he's lying to plotting revenge against any and all demi-human or anything like it. I don't include him in my story, because I hate him as a character, but not in the way I hate Queen Safespace.
Obviously, I'm going full tinfoil hat theory here again. But I think the reason the author made the Idol Rabier irredeemably evil because they wanted a bad slave owner foil to Naofumi being the 'benevolent good slave owner'. Except Idol Rabier isn't a foil to Naofumi, he's a beneficiary of Naofumi's actions.
Rising Naofumi as a character was never against slave use, or even slave abuse. He himself certainly have no problem using slavery punishment to the fullest when he forced Raphtalia to take her medicine, or using coercion to force her killing monsters for him when he threatened to throw Raphtalia back to Beloukas (which would most likely result in her death). And this isn't a fluke either, as he did exactly the same with Firo when he puts in a stronger slave seal on her when she destroyed the first one, and then threatens to sell her if she doesn't listen to him. His excuse of treating his slave as valued companions (about three levels below his own wellbeing, but I digress) only apply to the broken ones that are thoroughly sub-servant to him.
This is why I think the existence of Idol Rabier is completely worthless as a character, or even as a plot device in the story. Because all he does is show 'nobles are evil!' which isn't like the story has been sledgehammering reader's face in till this point.
Guest review time.
To Night:
Well, y1fellas' omake isn't canon, since I already established this world so far only have male cardinal heroes. I'm not even going to pretend this was anything other than a cheap justification of why Melromarc is a matriarchy that has long outlived its usefulness (and past due date). And yes, it is misogynistic for me to suggest the girls are only in power because they get to marry the male heroes.
XD
Yeah, it's the Sarah Palmer from Halo. And she got put in her place by Melty of all people.
There's definitely still salt for Malty about her younger sister. I'd imagine anyone would when they learn at young age that their younger sibling was born to replace them, but there's no reason for Melty to have any salt towards her elder sister. Since I imagine with Malty being smarter, she understand the importance of keeping up the appearance of a cordial relationship with her younger sister, and she's probably the cool big sister who read bedtime stories, let Melty eats her sweets, and take her for joy rides.
To Guest:
Speaking of which... there'll definitely be some sour note (or as we Chinese say, vinegar) between Melty and Raphtalia in a 'don't steal my big sister!' moment.
XD
To HeshGerlan:
Well, Queen Safespace did want herself a proper heir, plus Trash did hammer it home for her about how precarious a position she'd put Melty in if she rises the younger daughter as the crown princess from the start. So Melty is still instructed like she's the spare even if she's getting the full heir education package.
I don't want to give full commentary on your thought for the queen, because I definitely haven't shown everything about her in this story (*winkwink*). Hope when the full truth is revealed, it'll be satisfying.
Obviously I didn't think there's anything wrong with Malty on a character level want to keep her true identity away from Naofumi either, or else I'd have her reveal it by now. But I can understand people's frustration from a pure plot perspective, since their critic of their relationship being stale is on point.
Honestly, my own pop culture reference fetish haven't gotten worse from the start at all. I think people probably just started to notice it more as I'm throwing in characters and lore from more popular and well known franchises like Skyrim and RWBY.
XD