Author's Note: Okay so good news is COVID decided to go back to monke and so as a consequence restrictions are being lowered, the bad news being that no one can get outside anyway cause we keep getting back to back snow storms. Ah well, things'll go back to normal eventually. Read, Review, Favourite and Enjoy!
Chapter 49: The Princess's Trial
The remaining stay in Cal Mira was uneventful. Maple's group discovered that Maple wouldn't be getting any XP back until after the Hot Springs was done removing the curse of Gluttony and by then it was already too late to reap the bonuses of the Activation event. Instead the girls flew back to Melromarc inside of Rat's monster airship as plans were already being made as to how they would get her Level back up and then tackle the dungeon in Shieldfreeden, and it's wave. That said however...
"Understood. Sir Heroes." A rabbit man slave that the girls knew to be bound to the Queen had slave seal spark in discomfort as he relayed a message from his mistress. "The Cane Hero has captured the wayward princess and brought her back to the custody of her parents."
"Not as fast as I would like." Tanya stated as she drew up designs for her next instant fortress. The slave wasn't sure if she was talking about the logistics of the fortress or the results of Malty's capture.
"The Queen would like to invite the Heroes to the castle in order to discuss the plans going forward." Including the fate of the princess.
"Eli, take this living Pager and inform Maple and the others of the Queen's letter."
The girls were by now aware of who had ordered the hit taken out on Maple's head back in the earliest days of their stay in this world. Maple should have a say in the princess's ultimate fate.
"I don't want to hear about this again." Maple stated bluntly as she prepared the lettuce for her sandwich that would be her lunch for the day. She's had enough of hearing about how she had been bullied into rampaging through a densely populated area the day she had done so. "Thanks to the Shield of Compassion I'm finally starting to get past all of these nightmares that I've been having, which becomes increasingly difficult the more that this keeps coming up over and over again." Maple stated as she glared at the Rabbit Man slave that had been sent to give the message about the situation to Maple.
The Pursuit of Justice and vengeance? Perhaps if someone else had been summoned in her place, Maple however would much more rather heal and forget about the entire affair, that wasn't to say that she'd forgive Malty, only that she wasn't important enough to be worth holding a grudge. That the Rabbit concluded, would be the greater insult. Here Malty was dedicating her all to try and end the girl and yet she couldn't be bothered to give her the time of day in return.
"Didn't I do this already?" Katarina asked looking at the slave as she looked up from her card game with Kyurie. The humanoid telephone noted that this message was as much for the spy as it had been the Spear Hero, seeing as how they were talking about the woman who nearly roped his country into war with theirs.
"Your imprisoning of the former first princess was merely temporary incapacitation until the Queen could return to resolve the matter." There were crimes that needed addressing here, attempting to kill a hero, nearly starting a war, attempted defecting to another country doubtlessly in exchange for what Malty would have interpreted as valuable information.
"Fine." Katarina had ultimately concluded that try as she might she would not be getting out of being made to act on the part of the four Heroes by virtue of being the only one present that would be guaranteed to keep her marbles.
For some reason Katarina saw that Kyurie was nodding his head in approval.
To the diplomat's surprise concerning the rumours when he found Kuro with her lover they were not going at it like rabbits in heat, yes the long eared slave was aware of the irony, and instead were listening to music. He applauded their choice considering the fine Faubrian composer who had written the music but it was completely beside the point.
"The Queen wants us in attendance?" Kuro asked brow cocked suspiciously in the air. "Both of us?" Kuro added indicating both herself and her lover with her finger.
"We've been able to confirm that Miss Atla and her brother Mr. Fohl are the young children of the former Prince consort's sister, as well as the last remaining heirs of the former Hakuko chieftain." Which ties the both of them to three royal families, and as Kuro's lover Atla was closely tied to Kuro as well. That Four way knot was not going to be nice to untangle, Atla was considered the more notable of the siblings but Fohl wasn't being a push over either, thanks to that enhanced transformation skill of Maple he had managed to tear apart dozens of wave monsters during the last bout. It was just that he somehow lacked presence next to his sister, which considering the fact that she had partially manifested one of the singular greatest kings Kuro's world had ever known inside of her body it would be a miracle if you ever even remembered he existed.
"How has your brother been anyway?" The rabbit man asked brow cocked in suspicion. "I believe I heard rumour that he was training in private in the bowls of the ship."
"I haven't been spending much time with him lately." Atla admitted casually. "You are in good health Atla, and he did look after you all these years. It would be nice to share some of that good health with him." Plus there was also Tanya's good-as-a-accusation that Kuro had become addicted to Atla's presence and was under the full weight of the cursed blades in her arsenal of transformations, but like a good person who knows how to practice self restraint Kuro was encouraging her lover to look after her families mental health as well.
"Alright lemme know if you need anything." Atla stated as she left to go find her brother.
That night Kuro found herself up half of the night, wearing her latest cat girl lingerie with fur trimming with a familiar sticky liquid covering her palms as she looked up at the bunk above her with a look that was equal parts satisfied, tired, and concerned.
"Tanya might be right, maybe I do have a problem." Kuro stated before she tried to go to sleep, she ended up taking herself for another round before she succeeded.
The Heroes and their parties went their separate ways later that morning. Maple had politely sent the Queen a letter explaining her desire to just wipe her hands of the entire affair, and the Queen couldn't blame her. That said only Heroes were allowed to bare witness to the trial, the heroes and those that the Queen would allow for political reasons. Malty had a rough trip over: she was still soaked through her clothing after her father took the fountain back to Melromarc dragging her over along the way.
"We will now proceed with the trial of the former First Princess of Melromarc Malty S. Melromarc." The Queen stated her tone even as she glared at her own flesh and blood. "Proceed with the binding." Beloukas was present, not for any political connections but rather his expertise. The Queen bled her finger in front of the gathered crowd into a saucer of fresh slave ink and painted the symbol of slavery onto Malty's chest. But that wasn't the only thing he did, a magic circle he had prepared in advance lit up and Malty screamed. It was a high grade slave seal: the kind that would not be broken off by mere ink remover for it was a far more permanent bond. And it would not be broken so long as the Queen lives.
"I do not see the Shield Hero." Oroko stated his fat neck swivelling around the throne room.
"She has opted to not attend the trial. As proof the Letter is written entirely in Hero Language." The Queen stated as she pulled out the sheet of paper in question. "Warrant Officer if you'd do the honours." The Queen asked indicating Tanya with the folded paper. Tanya marched across the throne room and received the letter.
"'Look everyone, I know that this is a really important thing, and that you all think that I should be there but honestly: it's not worth the effort. I've moved past what she and her cohorts did to me, I would appreciate if you would stop bringing this up. If my absence does not disavow my opinion I will say this: I prefer to forget as oppose to forgive.'"
Once finished with the letter Tanya handed it over to Oroko. She had no doubt that he knew how to read it, or had access to people who could but that was simply what it was. Malty was not a person who was worth the time or the effort it would take to be remembered, and in doing so Maple had handed her an insult finer than most were capable of: she simply forgot that Malty ever existed.
"Coward!" Malty screeched and was shocked in response. "She can't even face me! The mere mention of my name-!" A second shock interrupted Malty as the Queen glared an air of aloofness on her features.
"The Shield Hero is not on trial here. We had that one already it has been settled." And for added insurance the Queen programmed the new order into Malty's slave seal. "The Former First Princess has been Charged with Treason, Attempting to Kill a Legendary Hero, multiple accounts of murder, and multiple accounts of false rape accusations." The Queen started with the least severe crimes first, with a simple command she forcibly wrung out every person whose life Malty has taken and the reasons why, what was truly sickening was that the Queen knew of more but Malty could not genuinely remember them. Malty has more precisely gotten away with two accusations of Rape, both of them untrue as she had been made to confess. The first had been a rabbit eared demi-human whom the King in his rage had executed. The second though?
"We call Adviser Trash, the father of the accused and former king of Melromarc, to stand as witness to the accused's character." The Queen stated bluntly and Trash rose to his feet. "Please state, for the record, the trial of the second of the Princess's 'rapists,' Richard Von Reichnott, and the evidence you brought to my attention."
As Trash stood up and walked in front of the court Katarina noted that Elena was clenching her fist and cracking her knuckles, was this Richard guy someone Elena knew?
"The first time my daughter made her accusation I was horrified and enraged to limits that had not been tested in actual literal decades, as any father would be, and have not been tested again until a couple of years later. To my regret I had not even given the man a trial, merely ordered his execution. Perhaps with more caution I could've prevented years of suffering. As it stands I know not even his name." It wasn't what he was asked of, but it was a matter that weighed heavy on him regardless. "So the second time I took no chances, now bringing us to the point of the unfortunate Richard."
"Unfortunate!? That bastard Raped-!" Malty got a electrical shock that told the crowd otherwise.
"When my daughter told me she had gotten another boyfriend I was... cautiously optimistic." The King presented a crystal orb, the kind used in recordings. "And so being the wise man that I am known for being, I assigned a shadow to record their entire evening together in secret." Malty's face went pale. "Of course I had intended to do the same for quite some time until my heart was reasonably clear. But what happened next did the exact opposite."
The crystal orb released the projection it has been keeping secret all these years showing the image of a couple that was by all accounts having a lovely evening together, ending in a uneventful sleep, and entered the morning after which Malty had a shower before messing up her hair and running out of the inn she had been sleeping in screaming about being raped. The recording ended, a servant coming in to take the recording and file it with the rest of the evidence while Trash thought about the implications. He wanted to retch as badly now as he had back then as the implications hit him, condemning a innocent man to death for the crime of her daughter's amusement.
"After that, I never trusted her again, locked her inside of the castle, ostentatiously for her own protection, while I came to terms with the fact I raised a monster, and only released her when I had need for a disposable connection to the Heroes Party." Now having finished his story, the King faced the court and looked his wife in the eyes. "So you, ladies and gentlemen of the court, have asked if my daughter is capable of framing a random stranger for the most horrific crimes that you can imagine, my answer to you people of the court: is yes." Trash seemed to have resigned himself, well you can't take in a viper out of the cold and expect it to not bite you when the thaw comes.
"Now a question for the defendant." The Queen glared at Malty. "Did you attempt to frame the Shield Hero for trying to destroy the castle town?"
"No Mama-!" Zap. "-Mother!" Zap. "-Your Majesty I did not!" No crack of inbuilt electric whips this time, meaning that Malty had not violated any of the rules set by the Queen when she answered the question. "Then I shall rephrase the question." While Maple was not in attendance she had given her side of the story, and how it all started with a man with a knife. "Did you attempt to have the Shield Hero Killed?"
"No You-" It took three rounds of the electrical torture before Malty answered truthfully. "Yes I tried to have the little bitch killed!" Malty snapped going mad with rage. "I only wish that I had someone take a swing at all four of them!" Malty's venomous tongue was less tongue and more flailing cobra spewing vitriol all over the area at this point.
"Was it just to settle your own petty whims or did you do it on the behalf of another?" The Queen asked becoming less and less amused with her daughter the longer that this conversation progressed.
"The Church said that they would have me put on the throne if I had the Shield Hero killed!" Malty snapped and no slave seal activated thus confirming that she was telling the truth. "Add attempting a coup to the list of the defendants crimes." The Queen commanded and so the matter was done. "As I recall the defendant was being held in a slave farm outside of the borders of the country a couple of weeks ago." The Queen stated looking at Malty questioningly.
"Yes, where all of my hair had been burned off and my tongue was cut out, after I was brutalised by the Spear Hero and her party!" Malty snapped glaring hatefully.
"Note the defendants mistreatment for the record." With a quick flourish of his hand the scribe had jotted down Malty's 'Mistreatment' for the record. "Would the Spear Hero like to explain for what reason she and her party chose to take such measures with the defendant?"
Elena elbowed Katarina who in turn stood up to address the courtroom.
"She attempted to stop us from going to Shieldfreeden to help with their wave. It was Elena's idea to lock her in the slave camp." Katarina shamelessly sold out her companion who only shrugged in response.
"Add attempting to start a war to the list of charges. Then would you care to explain to the court under what circumstances did the defendant leave the camp in question?" Malty's face cramped up as her brow twitched.
"The Whip Hero rescued me from my unjust-" Zap!
"It is important that the defendant gets the wording correct for their answer to remain truthful." The Queen reminded in a scolding tone of voice.
"The Whip Hero rescued me from imprisonment inside of the prison camp!" Malty snapped back already realising that she was on the back foot in matters such as this.
"And for what reason did the now deceased Hero rescue you?" The Queen asked tone dripping with sarcasm.
"He loved me-" Zap!
"You don't seem to believe that." The Queen stated brow cocked suspiciously at her daughter.
"Tch." Malty didn't even have the honour of being his first, and that was back in middle school. She hadn't been in contact with him in years, and he only came looking for her when he needed something, much too busy having freak sex apparently with his harem of monster girls. "He wanted my help in trying to feed those four brats to the Pig King in revenge for stealing his weapons!"
"Add making attempts on the other Three Heroes lives to the list of offences." The Queen stated and her scribe saw to it her will was done. "Now than. I sincerely doubt that you simply walked into Faubrey's palace, declared yourself the daughter of the man who nearly drove them to ruination and they gave you the time of day. What did you give them?" It was several more rounds of electric torture before they got something of use out of the former princess, exhausted and physically wounded by the repeated strikes of electricity. Beloukas walked over and checked Malty's condition.
"Your Majesty, the prisoner is in poor condition, it would be unwise to continue with the trial at this time." And Shieldfreeden's wave was drawing close too, they did not have time to waste here.
"For the time being: the former princess will begin serving time for the many crimes to wit she has already committed, in the mean time the Heroes are asked to attend to matters abroad." The Queen stated as Tanya gave a bow while her associates were already walking out of the room.
"Has anyone seen where Maple went?" Tanya asked as she already started making preparations for dealing with Shieldfreeden's hoard of screaming lunatics.
Erhard's shop was nice to visit, if the Castle Town was a wave of turbulent emotions then the black smith's store was a island amidst the raging sea.
"What the hell did you kill kid?" Erhard took the Charge Blade that he finished upgrading and put it on the counter for Maple to take a hold of.
'Weapon Copy Activated. Tyrant's Charge Blade level locked 80.'
Maple use to be able to use this one, stupid cursed shield.
"A really mean dragon." That was proving to be the gift that kept giving, after Aranaya created a upgraded Tyrant Dragon Kigurumi to a few degrees of higher quality the next bit of Tyrant material upgrade was lining the damage eating part of the Charge Blade contraption with dragon scales, using the bastard son of a dinosaur's claws to give the thing even more of a cutting edge than it already had, and finally a chunk of it's massive dragon emperor core to increase the power. "I heard that it's suppose to be some kind of legendary monster that was sealed away in the Rabier estate."
Erhard clicked his tongue having heard the legend.
"Yeah. We're not going to upgrade this thing anymore than we already have." Erhard stated simply as Maple took out the payment for the weapon after she handed it over to Eclair. Unlike her Eclair could actually use the thing in the way it was intended as a sword and shield.
"I meant to ask about something else too." Maple understood that in the process of upgrading her weapons requires rare ores, and so asking someone familiar with metallurgy was the best course of action. "Do you know anywhere we can find a metal called Mythril?"
Erhard looked at Maple with genuine concern as he pulled out a book that was behind him and began sorting through it.
"Kid, normally people go to exotic resort islands and come back home looking like a million gold. You just look like you need a sandwich." Maple felt her face where poor nutrition had caused her cheeks to sink in before Erhard held up the open book, with a map that led into a mountain. "Here it is, only place in the world with a steady supply of mythril coming out of it." Maple nodded her head and gave Erhard her thanks.
The Shield of Gluttony ate up all of her steel when the misbegotten abomination upgraded itself, to suppress it she would need similar materials. Of course she already maxed out proficiency on the Shield of Compassion making it the Shield of Compassion II, that just made for the other two methods of reinforcement, one requiring the ultra rare metal that she would now need to cross borders in order to find some. The other though... The Shield of Gluttony required the hunger taken from the souls of Cal Mira's monsters, that did not bode well for the Shield of Compassion. One fight at a time, with luck she'll figure out a method of removing the damned shield entirely one day, preferably before it hijacks her body again and makes her eat another wave, or the army fighting it.
"We have a lot of ground to cover if we want to fix this stupid shield." Maple stated letting out a sigh as she held up a map Erhard had given her and was reading it now.
"What about Shieldfreeden? They aren't going to be happy if we're not there to fight their wave for them." Keel stated hands on the back of their head as they approached a stand for kebabs.
"They can wait long enough for me to try and get better right?" The other members of Maple's party, with exception of Filo who was already eating Kebabs, simply stared back at Maple blankly.
They're not called 'Swordfreeden' or 'Bowfreeden' after all.
"With Katarina's help we'll portal over to Shieldfreeden and register for their wave, then we'll take the shortest possible route over to... Turtle Country I think this is what this is called and get what we need to fix my shield. If we can't make it there in time, then we create a transfer point on the way over so that we can go back after the wave in Shieldfreeden is over." The other members of Maple's party nodded in agreement before they moved on.
"Have you been doing any more work with the Bio-plants?" Raphtalia asked recalling the vaguely tasty plants Maple had bred.
"I'm letting Rat take over the research on those, she's pretty good with it." For some reason they didn't understand there was a huge number of forms in the whip that revolved around manipulating DNA, pair that with Rat's existing expertise and the mutable nature of the Bio-Plants and she was making huge leaps and bounds in her research.
"If memory serves the focus of Lady Ratoulle's research was 'monsters as units of war.'" Which she pretty much succeeded in doing when she somehow or another combined the Bio-plants with balloons and a wave monster to create a crude approximation of a Faubrian Airship. That said the next logical step would be to create additional units that could fit the mold of the Faubrian war machine, which required her own approximations of Air planes and tanks. "Either way we should find lady Claes soon so that we can go to Shieldfreeden." Eclair stated and the others nodded.
The waves waited for no one after all, or so they had thought once upon a time.
Review Section:
RonaldM0196867: True. I respected him before. There are similarities, differences too I expect that he was a inspiration for the character. I have too little interest in politics and history to be able to answer that question. If it was your daughter would you?
Captain Imaginat: Kyurie is alive, his lost arm/wing was restored to him and he was returned to Katarina's party. In defence of FL Katarina, I think she was being influenced by Dark Magic in the game universe, something that real Katarina's brain damage made impossible.
Onishin Tsukitenshi: Faubrey is in Melromarc's debt, in so far as Melromarc is concerned, for the better half of the past century Faubrey has been one-sidily extorting every other country in the world for resources, women, and whatever else drove the King's fancy. By my estimates Melromarc is owed over 2000 women, 2500 thousand pounds in fuel, over 10000 pounds in raw material and millions in gold, plus interest. Faubrey has cared little for the rest of the world's capacity to pay owed debts and will be treated with the same courtesy now that they lack the capacity to stop anyone.
Surpreme Failure: Too easy for her to break free. Hair was more convenient and practical.
Guest: You think so do you? It's been my experience that luck is a fixed resource, you have a limited amount of it, and then you have none until such time you have reacquired it.
Amatsumi: Yeah, in a manner of speaking.
Engineer4ever: Sorry to disappoint.
Nightshadegirl: 'Shrugs Shoulders.'