Author's Note

Important! Please read. I would like to recommend to readers to please this prologue and the first chapter before commenting for there will be a post chapter author's note explaining exactly why I chose to write this story. Thank you and enjoy!

The storm had come out of nowhere. Just minutes ago it had been a pleasant growing evening at sea, now it was a raging nightmare. And for the second time, Malty S Melromarc was scared for her life.

The first time had not been too long ago, for it was during her supposed execution. When she realized she was really going to die, she had pleaded for her life. She first had tried asking the Spear Hero for help, believing that his loyalty and devotion to her would save her, but he had only turned away. He had finally seen through her lies and wanted nothing more to do with her. Desperate, more than she had ever been in her life, she had turned to the Shield Hero, the very man she despised and had set out to destroy, and begged him to let her live.

To her surprise he did, but he did so in the most humiliating manner. Having already been stripped of her title as the First Princess of Melromarc, the Shield Hero took away her name and replaced with the word Bitch, along with her adventurers name being turned from Myne Sophia to Slut. What was worse was that her mother-damn her to Hell!-the Queen of Melromarc had approved of the Shield Hero's proposal and declared that she would be addressed as such from now on and she would forever be a slave until she paid her debt. On top of that, the slave crest that had been placed on her during her trial was to remain as assurance that she would remain obedient.

The nerve! The arrogance! How dare they treat her in such a way!

She may no longer be a princess, but she still had her pride! People may call her bitch and slut from now but she would never call herself that, let alone accept it. Her pride simply wouldn't allow it! One day she would take back what was hers and she will have her revenge against the Shield Hero, her mother, and everyone else who was foolish enough to insult her. Right now, however, that was the least of her worries. Since she had not been executed her mother had instead decided to send her to the Kingdom of Faubley. To be reeducated, as her mother described it. But now the ship she was on was in serious trouble.

The storm had come so suddenly that the crew had not reacted quickly enough to batten down the hatches and reel in the sails. It was chaos everywhere. Crew, passengers, and adventures were running around screaming in panic. The ship was knocked back and forth by the big waves crashing against its hull, the sails were beginning to tear and flapping like white flags, and the loose ropes from the rigging from lashed around in the air like whips.

Malty was holding on against the stairs of the quarterdeck on the starboard side. Night had already fallen and it was black everywhere. Lightning flashed close enough to illuminate the entire ship and what she saw horrified her. In that brief moment she saw what she believed to be hell. Figures running around flailing and screaming helplessly. What was worse was that many of those figures seemed to be reaching for her, their faces pale and their eyes being black sockets.

Terror seized her heart. It was as if Hell itself was trying to drag her into the depths below, to punish for all the sins she committed.

Lightning struck again, but this time the bolt struck the top of the main mast, setting it on fire. Even through the howling wind people screamed in terror. Malty herself looked up at the flames that were quickly spreading despite the heavy sheet of rain that was falling. She began shaking, not from the cold or the fact that she was soaked to the skin. She was shaking with fear; the Devil was after her. He been cheated of taking her soul when the Shield Hero stopped her execution. In revenge he brought the storm down upon them, and he had now unleashed the fires of Hell.

She needed to run! Escape! But where was there to go? What choice should she make? To drown in the black abyss or be burned to death?

As she pondered someone grabbed her right shoulder and before she could see to what who had been foolish enough to touch her she suddenly felt something cold and sharp pierce her side, followed by searing pain. She gasped as she realized that she had been stabbed. Stabbed! This had never happened before! True, she had been stabbed twice by the Shield Hero's demi-human slut Raphtalia, but that had been a magic sword that had only taken away her magic abilities. This time, however, she was actually bleeding.

She looked up to see who her attacker was. The flames above had illuminated the ship just enough for her to get a glimpse. A young sailor, eyes filled with rage and murderous intent.

Despite the howling winds, she heard him say, "For my father!"

He withdrew the blade of his sailor's knife and raised it to stab her again. With a sneer she shoved him away, but before she could anything else a giant wave suddenly came over the port side of the ship and swept across the deck. Having moved from her position of the stairs onto the open deck in an effort to get away from her attacker Malty was immediately caught up by the wave and she was flung overboard.

It happened so quickly she didn't even realize she was underwater until she drank a mouthful of disgusting seawater. Luckily she knew how to swim. On that thought she immediately kicked to the surface. It seemed to take forever before her head finally emerged.

Now in a panic she looked around. The burning ship was no more than ten yards away from her and she could see others jumping overboard to escape the inferno. She tried calling out for help but the fierce winds drowned out her voice. Then the pain at her side finally registered. She was bleeding and she would soon lose consciousness.

Thanks to glow of the flames she saw a heavy wooden plank to her left and quickly swam toward it. Once she did she took a firm grip and lifted the upper portion of her body onto it. The plank was her only chance for survival, and she would survive by the Gods! She would find out who it was that stabbed her and-

The sudden sharp crack and the splintering of wood brought her head up, just in time to see the main mast come down, straight towards her!

She only had time to scream before the top of the mast came crashing down and her world went black.

The Four Cardinal Heroes had been summoned by Queen Mirellia. The aftermath of the last Wave had brought about a tremendous effect on the way they were handled and the Queen wanted to discuss with the heroes new strategies in order to counter the Waves more effectively. However, the Shield Hero was paying only half a mind to the discussion.

It seemed only yesterday that Naofumi and the other heroes sat in this very chamber beneath the castle, away from the eyes of the always scheming nobles. The Queen had caused quite a stir when she took over the throne after having the king and her oldest daughter arrested, stripped of their titles, and tried for their treacherous acts against the Shield Hero. Then they were sentenced to death, but Naofumi had stopped it when the former Princess Malty, the woman who had caused so much trouble, begged him to spare. He had, and he had given her two new names for her to live by as her punishment.

Even to this day, the memory of that event was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't understand why it bothered him so much. The look on that woman's face when she begged for her life haunted him. Her plead had been genuine, even if it was pathetic. The entire trial had revealed how much of a coward she was. She had framed the Shield Hero for a raping her, tried to kill her younger sister in an attempt to frame him for it, and had gotten in his way more times than he cared to count. She had made his life a living hell. She had rightly deserved the punishment he gave her.

And yet... despite all the horrible things she did to him and so many others, despite all the rightful anger and resentment he had towards her, despite all the times he'd wished she was dead, Naofumi still felt pity for the former First Princess of Melromarc.

It was a small yet significant part of him that felt that way, and his still couldn't out figure why. Perhaps it was because that woman did him a favor when she revealed how a woman can easily manipulate a man through her charms. He was very naive when he first came to this world, even with his little knowledge of women. So in strange way, Bitch had taught to be more cautious when it came to attractive women, especially when they were from the higher class.

And that woman was indeed very attractive. Naofumi would be lying if he didn't find her beautiful especially when they first met. Perhaps that was the real reason why he felt a small amount of pity towards her. In was such a shame that an attractive, intelligent, and cunning young woman went down the wrong path of life when she could have been as strong as her mother. In fact it felt more like a waste. While her younger sister Melty was indeed the polar opposite, Naofumi sometimes wondered if Melty was capable of being a queen when compared to the knowledge her older sister had. Granted, that woman had used her knowledge for all the wrong reasons, but it was the kind of knowledge Naofumi could never hope to match no matter how long he'd stay in this world.

Well, he will never know now, for Queen Mirellia had sent her oldest away to the Kingdom of Faubley. Naofumi had only heard rumors about the king of that country... and none of them were pleasant. He felt himself shuddering a little despite himself. He couldn't help but wonder if the Queen had purposely sent her oldest daughter to an even crueler fate. While Bitch may have rightly deserved it for everything she had done, even the Shield Hero felt that that was too cruel a fate even for her.

The sudden sound of the chamber door opening and closing upstairs followed by the hurried footsteps of a soldier descending the stairs caught his attention, as did the rest. The Queen stopped speaking and turned in her chair. Her younger daughter Melty was also at her side. The soldier reached the floor and made his way to the Queen.

"Forgive the sudden interruption, you Majesty," he bowed, "But we just received an urgent message from one of our ports in the south."

"Proceed, Lieutenant," the Queen waved her hand.

"A hurricane had struck the waters of that area just the night before," the lieutenant went on to report, "One of ships came across wreckage belonging to the Helen Lou."

The Queen's face suddenly went pale. Princess Melty, seeing this, rushed to her side.

"What's wrong, Mother."

Naofumi and the other Heroes watched as Queen Mirellia took a deep breath, turned to her daughter and said, "Your sister was on that ship."

Stunned silence engulfed the chamber at this sudden revelation. From the corner of his eye Naofumi saw the Spear Hero stiffen. Despite being shown Bitch's true nature, the Spear Hero still held some sort of loyalty to that woman.

"Have they found any survivors?" asked the Queen.

"A few, Your Majesty," said the lieutenant, "but unfortunately we have not yet found anyone matching the description of the former First Princess. Some of the survivors did say they saw her aboard the ship, but they do not if she'd survived of went down with it."

The Queen took another breath, "Very well... keep me updating as the search continues. Inform the ship captains that if they need any additional aid I will see that it provided."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the soldier bowed and quickly left the room.

The Queen turned back around and sat heavily in her chair. Princess Melty took her hand and held it tightly in hers. Naofumi understood how they felt. Despite all the evil things that woman had done, she was still family. Their reactions were only natural.

Naofumi then felt a glare directed at him. He didn't have to guess who it was, but when he turned to look he found the Spear Hero glaring at him. Not in hostile manner, but still in a very angry.

"I hope you're happy now, Shield Hero," he said coldly.

Naofumi said nothing. He simply waited for the meeting to end so he, Raphtalia, and Filo could go adventuring again and not think the turmoil that was going through his mind.

Far away in a hidden part of the world, atop the tallest mountain, inside a temple that was the only remaining evidence of a forgotten religion, a young woman suddenly awoke with a start just at the crack of dawn. Sweat poured down her body as she breathed heavily. She had just experienced something that she had never experienced before and her heart began to pound as her excitement grew. Without second thought she threw back the covers, put on her white robe, and sprinted out the door. She paid no mind to those she awoke as she left the dormitory, and she ignored the nuns and priests who stared and frowned at her as she ran across the courtyard to the Reverend Mother's chambers. What she had just seen was more important than those around her.

She didn't stop running until she was at the Reverend Mother's door. From there she pounded desperately until she heard the older say come, "Come!" in a very agitated voice. The young was inside the chamber in a mere second. The Reverend Mother appeared to have been almost finished dressing when she arrived. She looked at the girl with a scowl on her face.

"What in the name of Heaven has got you all excited, Child?" she asked.

Shutting the heavy door, the young woman stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Reverend Mother... I have had a dream... a vision... a message from the Goddess."

The Reverend Mother raised her eyebrows but her scowl remained. Then she shook her head and said, "Child... you have already failed-"

"No, no, Reverend Mother!" the young woman rapidly shook her head, "It wasn't about me. But rather... she was telling me, to inform everyone, to expect someone... someone who will arrive here after a long journey to lead the Divine Crusade."

This time the Reverend Mother's eyebrows shot up even further and her scowl vanished from her face as she gaped. She turned away and the young woman could almost see what was going on in the older woman's mind. This had never happened before. Then the Reverend Mother went to her desk and waved the young woman towards the chair across from her.

"Sit down, Child, and tell me exactly what you saw. Down to the last detail."