To Have a Little Feith: You don't need to worry, Naofumi still gets Filo. And because of him already knowing about what happened to Arthur, he won't be caught completely by surprise when Filo gets her humanoid body.

To Guest(1): I am truly sorry but I don't think I can do your request. I'm already having some trouble giving each girl in Eugeo's harem their time to shine so I don't know if I can handle more members.

To NightHawk The Warrior: You are only half correct. Naofumi gets Lord Camelot once he masters the Blessed Series while Eugeo gets Excalibur.

To setokayba2n: I'm sorry if I disappointed you a little but in my defense, some of the things that I write are inspired from the Videogames that I play. Especially when thinking of the appropriate field monsters for my characters to fight.

To RedBurningDragon: Your guess of how Ren killed Gaelion has some merit. Although it doesn't matter much now with this version of the Dragon Emperor.

- You are definitely right. The Wool Sword came from Maple's Wool skill in the Bofuri anime. Hehehe... I don't know when in the distant future, but I will one day try to make a Fanfic with Maple as the Shield Hero.

To Guest Squire Ann: Sorry to disappoint you my beloved reader, but the Naofumi flashback chapter is still 2 to 3 chapters away. We will get there eventually and I promise to make it a very interesting one.

To Giuseppe: Thanks for being an understanding reader. I promise to bring some really good chapters at the coming updates.

To Willing Helper: Thanks a lot for your offer and I really feel flattered for your willingness to help me. But I think I prefer to do my stories myself. I hope you continue to enjoy this story and any of my other future works.

386 Reviews, 422 Favorites, 536 Follows

(*WOOSH!*)

Eugeo hastily activates a Weapon Skill as the Snow Wyvern in front of them decided that the best way to welcome them to its home... is with a Freezing Ice Breath to the face!

"Giest Claw!"

The Legendary Sword glowed bright yellow as 4 energy slashes that eerily resembles the claws of a mighty dragon, is released to counter the ice beam. With a small burst of mist and snowy fog, the attack was diverted to the side. Leaving Eugeo and his party unharmed by the hostile assault.

Seeing its initial attack fail, the beast tried to do a more direct approach as it opens its wings. Going up slightly in the air before going for a divebomb with its teeth and talons bared.

"Scatter!" Eugeo orders to his party, which they are all quick to obey. They all jumped in different directions to evade the attack. So the monster only caused a small explosion of ice as it crashed into the snow covered ground. Unknowingly putting itself in a really vulnerable position as Eugeo and his friends are all in the optimal place for a counterattack.

"Everyone! Altogether now!" Eugeo declares as he finished using his Appraisal Skill on the creature. Discovering that this monster is only at Level 30.

Considering just how much Eugeo outlevels this monster along with all the Status Boosters that he and his party received from the Legendary Sword...

Eugeo Zuberg - Level 54

Kirin Toudou - Level 46

Arthur - Level 34

Anna Fidi - Level 32

Rifana - Level 30

... this couldn't even be called a battle. It's literally a slaughter!

"Right!" the rest of his party answered in chorus as they all powered up their attacks.

"Sonic Leap!"

Rifana's sword shines a bright green as she jumps up high with a more powerful version of the {Vertical} Sword Skill to strike at the Snow Wyvern's back.

"Zweit Lightning Slash!"

Anna casted a Lightning spell on her daggers before charging forward to unleash a heavy, double hit slash at the monster's vulnerable underbelly.

"Blue Sea Wave!"

Kirin dishes out 5 diagonal slashes that effectively severed the Wyvern's spikey tail into neat sushi slices!

"Bounded Wing!"

Arthur follows that up with a new move that he recently learned. Both of his wings to glow a bright blue. Before releasing two powerful wing strikes at the giant lizard's face.

And last but certainly not least...

"Vorpal Draconic Strike!"

Making a running start from a small distance away, Eugeo leaped straight towards the Wyvern's unguarded chest. His [Chimera Dragon Sword] now being enveloped with high concentrations of red flames with the implemented Sword Skill causing the blade to double in length!

A flaming Weapon Skill being boosted by a one-hit ultra high-speed Sword Skill. The strength of the strike gaining a significant amount of explosive might and piercing power.

With such an intense onslaught of attacks, finished off with a super effective final blow plunged right at the creature's most vulnerable spot...

"ROOOOOAAAAARRRR! ! !"

... it's small wonder why the monster's HP quickly gets reduced to zero.

The Snow Wyvern screamed in pain for the last time as it succumbed to its injuries. Falling to the snow covered ground with a heavy thud.

"This stupid lizard is no much for me!" Arthur puffed out his chest and raised both wings to the air as he boasted with pride. He never got the chance to talk back to Gaelion so he used this battle to vent some of his pent up frustration.

"This battle is actually a bit disappointing." Anna couldn't help but complain as she absentmindedly re-sheated her daggers to the holsters fastened on her thighs.

"No kidding! It only took us no more than 3 minutes to bring it down." Kirin agreed with a slight whine in her tone, "The latest generation of Adventurers must be slacking off in their training if they had a hard time with monsters like this one."

"Now don't be mean." Rifana gently fretted at her comrades as she also re-sheated her sword. "We are kind of a special case. We have Master Eugeo with us boosting our Stats after all."

Kirin and Anna couldn't really deny the truth of Rifana's words. Eugeo's Companion Enhancing swords really DID made wonders with their overall strength, causing all of their Stats to skyrocket. Making them much higher than they should be if they compare themselves with other Adventurers of the very same Level.

So they both decided to concede to her point.

With the Snow Wyvern out of the picture, everyone but Eugeo got to work with mining as much rare metals and magical ores that they can easily find surrounding the monster's nest. Piling them up for Eugeo to store inside his Sword Inventory for safekeeping later.

They're going straight for Siltvelt after this. So hiding their haul will make things much easier and faster for Arthur's pulling. It will also keep them from getting targeted by bandits who might be interested in their hard earned loot.

The Adventurer's Guild weren't kidding about just how much high class materials that they can find in this place.

The entire mountain plateau is chocked full of mana crystals, rare ores, precious metals and even a few gems!

Everything they collected today will no doubt fetch a pretty hefty price if sold to Blacksmiths and Craftsmen. That's not even mentioning about how the price will double or maybe even triple after these raw materials get processed into weapons, armor and even accessories. No wonder the Guild assigned a bountiful reward money upon the Completion of this Quest!

While the girls got to work, Alice suggested to Arthur to take this chance to catch some sleep. Explaining to her adopted son that it's so can have more energy for the next stretch of their journey. They are a bit of a hurry so he's going to pull their carriage at a much faster pace than normal.

Meanwhile, Eugeo busied himself by absorbing the materials he got from the Snow Wyvern.

As usual, almost all of the sword forms that he unlocked only gave Status Boosters. But they did increase his resistance to the cold, reaching to the point that he's almost immune to it. But when he absorbed the Snow Wyvern's head, he received...

[Snow Wyvern Head Sword Unlocked]

[Quality: High - Base Attack: 100]

[Mastery: 0/125 - Resonance: 0%]

[Equip Bonus: Icicle Barrage - Lv. 0]

Level 40 Required

After Eugeo finished storing up all of the rare materials that his friends mined for him into his Sword's Inventory. They immediately climbed aboard the carriage and left for their next destination which is Siltvelt.

Eugeo volunteered to do driving duty this time as his way to show his appreciation for the girls' efforts. They have done almost all the work in mining the rare metals and ores while he was too busy absorbing the Snow Wyvern's corpse to help. So both the Sword Hero and Sword Spirit pretty much ordered the girls to take their turn to sleep for the next few hours of their journey. Which the girls are actually thankful for.

As the girls slept and with Arthur doing most of the steering of the carriage on autopilot, Eugeo used this chance to open up his Stacia Window. Taking a look at the information that the Help menu provided about his latest unlocked sword.

"Still not enough..."

Eugeo couldn't help but sigh in disappointment after he finished reading it.

Expanding his Inventory to display all the new materials that he got from this Quest, Eugeo began browsing over them. Thinking about the best metal and ore combinations that he can use for the [Weapon Creation] function.

'Out of curiosity, what exactly are you trying to create Eugeo?' Alice asked as she watched her lover use the function. Starting the unlocking process of just one Sword Form while leaving some of the ice based magic ores untouched.

'Sorry but no spoilers Alice.' Eugeo replied with a knowing smile as he purposely severs a bit of his connection with her so she couldn't hear some of his thoughts. Much to the Sword Spirit's annoyance as she slightly pouts for his so called secrecy before going dormant for the time being. Since she couldn't sense any alarming threats for the next stretch of their journey, Alice decided to spend her time in her Mindscape to browse through the sword's various forms.

Looking for one that is most appropriate for her to use as a Demi-human disguise once they reach Siltvelt's capital city.

So for the next few hours until the sun started setting upon the horizon, everything stayed relatively peaceful. They eventually arrived at the border that separates Melromarc from Siltvelt. But that's when things got a little bit problematic as Eugeo discovered something quite troublesome.

Troublesome enough that the best way to solve it is for him to use one of his more exotic Weapon Skills.

"Dimensional Scar!"

With a mighty swing of the Legendary Sword (the sword now being midnight black with spots that looked like stars sprinkled all over the blade), an inky bolt of energy is launched into a nearby tree. A dimensional breach into space itself is formed as it grew larger and larger. Up until it's big enough for the entirety of Arthur and the rest of the carriage to safely squeeze through.

Eugeo and Kirin are now in their Hakuko disguises in preparation of them exiting Melromarc territory. The wormhole that Eugeo created actually leads to the other side of the walls that separated Melromarc from Siltvelt.

Why did Eugeo resorted to use this short range Teleportation Skill to cross the borders between countries?

The answer is quite simple...

"Aultcray is an even bigger tyrant than I thought." Alice angrily and quite loudly, commented to everyone as they successfully found themselves at the other side of the border walls. The wormhole closing behind them as Eugeo willed it to disappear.

"I really should have seen this coming." Anna grumbled as she took a seat beside Eugeo so she can take her turn in driving duty, "Aultcray and the Church already made sure to subdue me and any other Demi-human that could have aided the Shield Hero back when you Heroes were first summoned. So of course they will go the extra mile to heavily guard the borders that lead to Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden."

"It's also possible that its 2nd purpose is to keep the other Heroes from traveling to other countries that they don't approve of." Kirin (now being Yuuki) added while turning around to watch the border walls getting further as Arthur pulls the carriage away from Melromarc soil.

As it turns out, according to Eugeo's Map Projection, the Border Walls are practically filled to the brim with Castle soldiers. A whole lot more than what is considered necessary if their job is to simply guard Melromarc's borders. And judging by the number of horses, carriages, supplies and even a few Ballista bows...

yeah, it's painfully obvious that they're willing to use aggressive force to keep the Heroes for themselves. While at the same time, also denying the Shield Hero from receiving any sort of help from the Demi-human countries by keeping him inside Melromarc.

Because of the unpleasant situation, Alice came up with an idea. To get close to the walls as discretely as possible with the use of the trees as cover before Eugeo uses the {Dimensional Scar} Skill to create a portal that leads to other side of the Border Walls.

While the Exclusive Ability {Transport Sword} is much better in comparison, the downside is that the Ability only works on locations that he previously visited. On the other hand, the {Dimensional Scar} creates portals that leads to a specific location of his choosing. The farther the exit portal point is, the more energy it requires to fuel the skill.

But despite their success in overcoming Aultcray's selfish effort of keeping him and the Cardinal Heroes for himself, the group's mood didn't get much better.

Eugeo and Rifana solemnly agreed with Anna and Rifana's words as they now gained a much clearer understanding as to why Lurolona Village was destroyed.

The cruel king allowed the village to be destroyed.

Not only to enslave its people... but to make sure that by the time Naofumi arrives, the nearest location that could have provided him with much needed help no longer existed.

'How could they be so cruel!? What did we ever do to deserve such a horrible treatment!?' Rifana internally screamed as she curled into a ball and silently wept in grief for her parents' deaths along with those who didn't make it out alive. Eugeo wrapped his arms around her in his effort to comfort the distressed girl.

Said Hero's hands balled into fists, the whites of his knuckles showing in anger as he made an oath. A promise, that he will do everything in his power to bring justice for the lives that were lost during that dreadful day. He will make sure that the King, the Princess and the Three Hero's Church would pay!

Alice, Anna, Kirin and Arthur all joined in with an awkward group hug to assure the grieving Demi-Weasel that the guilty culprits won't get away with their crimes. Especially Anna since she also has a serious bone to pick with them as she also suffered a great deal from the manipulations of these people.

Rifana thanked everyone for their support before falling asleep in Eugeo's arms because of mental and emotional exhaustion.

For the next couple of days, Kirito and his party traveled in Siltvelt lands in a relatively peaceful fashion. Purposely avoiding a few settlements to avoid any unnecessary distractions while only fighting the few monsters that dared to get in their way.

They met some Demi-human Merchants and a few Adventurers every now then but they didn't cause them any problems. Largely thanks to the Hakuko disguises that Eugeo and Kirin are wearing.

The traveling group eventually saw the Capital city in the distance.

The large settlement having been built in a semi-pyramid like architecture with the Royal Castle at the top. Each level going downwards being segregated by high walls with the lowest level containing the largest portion of its people.

With their destination in sight, Alice announced that it's time for her to materialize. Explaining that it's better for her to transform now so she can safely prepare herself before she enters the bustling city.

This way, they don't have to worry about any spies seeing her transform or causing a scene. And thanks to the Mana Crystals and all the Stat Boosters that he got from the Snow Wyvern's nest, Eugeo's MP and SP reserves have shown a significant growth.

Large enough for Alice to safely stay in human form for at least a full hour. Eugeo will just have to stay alert and remember to drink his Potions whenever his energy levels are starting to get low.

Using the Snow Tiger Sword form to disguise herself, Alice ended up looking like a Hakuko too. Complete with a blonde colored tiger ears on top of her head and a striped tail.

But much to her and Eugeo's extreme embarrassment and to the other ladies' great amusement...

... the only piece of clothing the tiger form provided for her is a very revealing, two piece, tiger themed bra and panties!

Rifana hurriedly covered Arthur's eyes during the entire fiasco as Alice's face practically glowed a bright crimson while she screams in embarrassment. Making a futile attempt to cover herself with her arms as Eugeo turns around. But only after unconsciously imprinting this glorious image of her lover in the most cherished part of his brain for him to look back later. A gentleman he might be, but Eugeo is still a hot-blooded young man.

Hastily materializing his now obsolete [Young Chivalry] armor from his {Item Storage} and handing it over to Anna. Asking for the three women to help Alice in getting dressed before escorting Arthur and himself out of the carriage to give them privacy.

Going on their merry way as soon as Alice is decently clothed and pretending that the entire fiasco didn't happen. Although judging by Anna's playfully malicious look, it's clear that she's definitely going to be revisiting this incident the next time that she feels like it.

The Queen and her Shadows weren't kidding when they mentioned about how much Hakukos are held in high regards in Demi-human lands. It was quite obvious in the eyes of the people that they meet just how much they respected the race that the human trio are currently posing as.

So when Kirito and company all managed to reach Siltvelt's capital, it was no longer a surprise that the two guards at the entrance were a tiny bit starstrucked.

"Hakukos?"

"Not just one? But three of them in one party?!"

The few citizens who just happened to be in hearing range all turned their heads to see if they heard them right. Stumbling upon even just one Hakuko is already very rare.

Meeting three of them at once in one party?

That's quite the scenario that is almost next to impossible to happen!

But their eyes weren't deceiving them (or so they think) when they all looked and saw that there are indeed three Hakukos sitting side by side on the carriage's driver seat.

In the middle is a young male with midnight black hair, wearing a black stealthy leather armor.

The one on the left has dark purple hair who seems to give off a mischievous and tomboyish aura. Her attire being of a similar theme as the one her male counterpart is wearing.

The one the right, on the other hand, is the perfect picture of a pure and noble beauty. The girl has the most beautiful golden shade of blonde hair with a face that seems to represent the elegance of a righteous warrior. This trait is highlighted even more by the Knight Trainee's armor that she seems to be wearing.

Trying his very best to keep his head out of the gutter, Kirito tried to move things along. Nervously asking as he noticed the attention he and the girls are getting from the nearby civilians, "Do we have your permission to enter?"

The two guards, who appear to be Dog Demi-humans, shook their heads to snap themselves out of their shock induced daze before firmly answering with a question of their own.

"That depends good sir. What exactly is your business here?"

"If you're here to mess with the city's political hierarchy, I'm afraid we can't let you through these gates."

Yuuki replied with a wave of her hands to calm the guards and listening crowd, "If that's what you're worried about, then you don't need to fret. We're only here to help in fighting the Wave of Catastrophe."

The guards and the eavesdroppers were both stunned and elated.

Surprised that three individuals, who they sensed to have the strength and the birthright to change the entire power balance of the city, to outright rejecting to go for a political power grab.

And happy that a few members of one of their most respected clans has returned to lend their aid in these troubling times.

"Truly?! You're here to aid us in the coming conflict?" the two guards asked in slight disbelief.

"Yes we are. We have no interest whatsoever in getting tangled up with matters such as politics." Alice scoffed while looking away, all the while snuggling a little more with Kirito's shoulder, "We are more than content at the simple life that we are living now instead of getting involved in troublesome drabble like that."

Blushing a little at the ministrations, Kirito finished their statement with his piece, "What they said is the truth. We're only here to help fight against the impending Wave. We will be leaving as soon as the Wave for this month has been taken care of."

With that, the guards were more than happy to allow them inside the city. The nearby citizens feeling a bit happy and relieved as they gained a significant boost in morale. The Hakukos may have lost the money and political influence that they once had, but the power each member possesses when in the battlefield is still a force to be reckoned with!

"Whew! That was a little nerve-racking." Kirito sighed in relief as soon as the carriage was able to gain some distance from the gates and the surrounding onlookers resumed with their own businesses. Alice and Yuuki both nodding in agreement with their shoulders slacking from their tensed state as they can now relax a bit.

"I guess it's to be expected." Anna giggled slyly as her arms slithered around Kirito's neck in a way that forces her sizable rack to slightly touch his firm back. The disguised hero's face heating up so much that it seems to be releasing some steam as he tries his best to keep himself from bursting.

'Stay cool. Don't freak out. Alice is sitting right beside you for the Goddess' sake!' Kirito internally screaming to himself. Cutting his mental connection from Alice in his misleaded effort to stay true to Alice and keeping Anna and any other girl at arms length. Both in the physical and the relationship sense.

"Hakukos were once the primary ruling clan of this country so it isn't very surprising to see how cautious some people might be. Three supposed members coming out of nowhere and possibly planning to mess up the power balance that the other remaining clans have been maintaining... I'm sure all of you can get the picture."

"I think I understand now." Rifana replied with a strained smile, "My parents never thought me much about politics so I'm a bit clueless in some aspects. But I can see why those guards were relieved when it was made clear that we plan to leave once the Wave is finished for this month."

With the entrance drama out of the way, Anna volunteers to take charge in leading them to Siltvelt's main Church. Because just like Melromarc, that is where their own Dragon hourglass is being kept so Alice can synchronize with it.

Since she did some Questing for this country's Guild back in her early Adventurer days, she has a much better grasp in navigating through this city than Eugeo and Alice. Even if the Couple had an awesome holographic map of the city, nothing truly beats having knowledge gained from first hand experience.

With the exception of Anna who already knows and Arthur who's too innocent to care, everyone in Kirito's party sweatdropped when they arrived at their destination.

"Let me guess... this is called the Shield Hero's Church isn't it?" Alice asked with a deadpanned expression which is shared by Kirito, Yuuki and Rifana.

Because right in front of them is what looks like an inversed version of the Church that Melromarc had. With the most prominent difference being that the symbol at the door and the designs embedded in its walls are composed solely with the Legendary Shield. There was no sign of the other Legendary Weapons anywhere!

Kirito and Alice couldn't help but sigh in exasperation and annoyance. Both at the meaningless racial discrimination, and at the foolish segregation of the Heroes that Melromarc and Siltvelt are practicing.

After asking Anna and Rifana to stay with the carriage to keep Arthur company, the three Fake Hakukos enters the Church.

Inside, the trio were met with a bit more respect than the average citizen by the nuns who are mostly composed of Cat and Rabbit Demi-humans. All of them wearing white robes with a Shield Rosario dangling from their necks. When Alice informs them of they're purpose here, the nuns were quick to lead them to the Dragon Hourglass.

But as they entered the mechanical chamber, the nuns all froze and deeply bowed towards a beautiful woman who happens to be standing right in front of the Dragon Hourglass.

The woman seems to be some kind of Bird Demi-human. Judging by the pair of bright forest green wings that matches with her hair and the more elaborate designs of her robes, it's safe to assume that she is a prominent member of this Church.

Not wanting to appear rude, Kirito made a slight bow with Alice and Yuuki following suit.

Smiling at the respectful hero, the woman nodded in approval before turning her attention towards the nuns.

"You ladies may return to your respective duties. I will be taking it from here. Our superiors have informed me about their arrival and was told that they have some very sensitive information to share with me. Information that must be handled with great care to avoid causing any unnecessary implications."

Despite feeling slightly confused, the nuns obediently obeyed and left the room while closing the doors to give the remaining occupants some privacy.

Deciding to take the initiative, the woman gave a curtsey and introduced herself with a bright smile...

"My name is Nasir Alsaqur, one of the high Bishops of the Shield Hero's Church. And, to put your minds at ease, I'm proud to admit that I'm one of the few individuals who don't discriminate against humans and the other three Heroes."

'Alice?' Kirito mentally asked as he is a bit hesitant to immediately trust Nasir. Which, to be frank, is somewhat justified for all the negative experiences they had with Melromarc's own twisted believers.

'I'm not detecting any signs of deception coming from her. Furthermore, I can also sense some kind of sound barrier surrounding the entire room. Very similar to your Sound Muffler Sacred Art. So I think it's safe for you to give her a chance.'

Briefly thanking Alice for her input, Kirito decided to return Nasir's introduction with his Swordsman's salute.

"A pleasure to meet you Lady Nasir. My name is Eugeo Zuberg. And as you were probably already told, I'm the Legendary Sword Hero. But I would appreciate it if you call me Kirito when I'm wearing this disguise of mine."

This is followed up by Yuuki's own introduction as she gave her own curtsey with an equally cheerful smile, "I'm Kirin Toudou, although I use my Adventurer name Yuuki when I'm in this form. And just like you, I'm also one of the few Nobles in Melromarc who don't discriminate by race. So I hope we can get along."

When it was Alice's turn, she transforms into her Angel form before speaking, "And I'm Alice, the spirit of the Legendary Sword."

Nasir couldn't help but take a step back in awe at the literal incarnation of the Legendary Sword as the spirit added...

"Although you seem to be a genuinely kind-hearted person, I don't trust you enough to reveal more about myself. So my station is all you need to know for the time being."

"I completely understand and a pleasure to meet all of you also." Nasir gently replied before clapping her hands and gesturing towards the Dragon Hourglass, "Well then... why don't you go ahead and synchronize with the Hourglass before we move on to other important matters."

Alice's blue eyes glowed brightly as soon as she got near the Dragon Hourglass before two small beams of light shoots from them into the center of the hourglass. A second timer appears atop of Kirito's Stacia Hud with a countdown saying that they have about 27 hours, 18 minutes and 36 seconds. Which roughly translates to early afternoon of the next day.

Nasir then touched the gem attached to her neck that activated a familiar disguising spell on herself. Turning herself into a Raccoon Demi-human with her hair changing into a soft brown color with her clothes changing into the standard beginners garb that low level Adventurers wore. Much to Kirito and the girls' surprise as this action just exposed the fact that Nasir is a part-time Shadow of Siltvelt.

"You three aren't the only ones that need to use fake identities to perform their responsibilities. Just call me Rani when I'm in this form." the now Fake Raccoon giggled mischievously with a wink before getting serious again...

"I wish to escort all of you to one of my secret private homes that you can use as your temporary base. It's well hidden in plain sight and only I and a select few people know about it. Making it the perfect place for you to use during your monthly visits in combating Siltvelt's Waves."

Seeing that Nasir's plan is well thought out and will actually be a great boon for them in the long run, the Fake Hakuko trio agreed to follow through with her plan.

As it turns out, the secret private home that Nasir was talking about is technically the second floor of a moderately well established Restaurant.

The secret home is actually quite cozy with three rooms, each with dual beds to accommodate all of them. Complete with a backdoor that leads to a somewhat overlooked alley way where they can park Arthur's carriage with no worries of it getting stolen. Kirito along with the rest of the gang thanked Nasir immensely for all her help.

Arthur cheerfully transforming into his humanoid form before giving Nasir a big hug at her waist, "Thank you so much for the great house Auntie Nasir!"

"A-Auntie!?" the newly minted Auntie Nasir stuttered at her latest nickname.

"You have bright beautiful wings just like me and mother. So you must be my newest auntie!"

The young woman felt very much embarrassed as she averted her gaze from the cute little boy, "Umm... Well... you see..."

"You don't want to be my auntie?" Arthur whimpers as he asked while looking up at her with teary eyes that are at the brink of crying.

"P-please don't cry! Yes! I can be your auntie! I'll be more than happy to. So please don't cry!" the newly minted Auntie Nasir said in her panic as she frantically tried to keep the boy from crying by returning the hug.

All the while Kirito and the girls were all trying their very best in containing their snickers as they watched the High Society Noblewoman getting owned by a child. It's just too hilarious to watch.

Nasir promptly said her goodbyes to the group as they started settling in. Explaining that she might inadvertantly attract the attention of the other big clans if she stayed with them for to long. Literally spreading her wings and jumping out of the back window to fly to who knows where. Using the nearby buildings to hide her presence as she went along to her next mission.

After Nasir left, Kirito and company had a short discussion with each other about their sleeping arrangements. Kirito firmly putting his foot down in a fit of embarrassment when he rejected Anna's suggestion. Stating that he won't be sharing a room with her or any of the girls.

But when Rifana, in a moment of being completely out of character from her normal shy self, asked if this included Alice...

Which definitely caused a reaction as both Eugeo and Alice flinched with both of them blushing. Since in truth, they were secretly having cuddle sessions with each other whenever the others were already asleep for almost every night.

Fortunately for them, they were literally saved by the bell. Or in this case, by Arthur's very loud stomach growling since they haven't eaten lunch yet. Having postponed their meal because of their need to see the Dragon Hourglass as soon as they arrived.

So they ate their lunch at the restaurant, which is literally right below them before visiting the Blacksmith Shop that Anna recommended. Revealing that it's also the place where she got her favorite weapon of choice, which is her "Twin-Chained Nails".

When they entered the Shop, Kirito was fully expecting to see the stereotypical blacksmith. Perhaps a Demi-human version of Sadore from Centoria or Erhard from Melromarc who are most likely at their early 40s.

So when a girl, who's probably just a couple of years older than him, dropped the heavy black grind stone that she was carrying and tacklehugs Anna to the ground...

Kirito and the rest of the party were slightly surprised at the blacksmith's appearance and sudden actions. Although they are all quick to realize that the girl didn't mean to do any harm.

"Anna! Where have you been!? Did you got involved in another troublesome Quest and bit off more than you can chew!? I thought you already learned your lesson from last time! I haven't heard of any news about your whereabouts for weeks! Waaaahh!!!" the now confirmed female blacksmith slightly cried as she continued hugging the Snake Demi-human. Much to the Snake ladies amusement as she gently returned the hug and rubbing the girls back.

Taking a closer look at the girl who's currently pinning Anna to the wooden floor, she seems to be a Cat Demi-human with reddish orange hair, ears and tail along with piercing crimson eyes. She's got a slightly tomboyish beauty to her which is amplified by her more feminine blacksmithing uniform. The few stains of dirt and sooth doing very little to lessen her good looks.

"I'm really sorry for disappearing like that Ingrid." Anna said as she comfortingly patted the younger girl's cat ears, "If you let me get up and help us with our equipment, I promise to give you an explanation as to why I have been gone for so long."

The now named girl Ingrid murmured a barely audible "Okay" before standing up and helping Anna getting back on her feet. Only then did Ingrid finally regained the presence of mind to notice the other people present in her shop. Kirito and company all awkwardly waving their hands to say hello.

"What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time Anna!" Ingrid now yelling in exasperation as she is very much shocked to see not one but three Hakukos in one party.

"That's a bit of a long story." Anna chuckled as she knew full well that telling the entire truth is not a good idea. No matter how much she trusted Ingrid, some information is just too dangerous to share. So Anna decided that mixing her story with a few half-truths and some misleading words is her best option. All the while keeping any mention about Kirito's true identity as the Sword Hero a secret.

Ingrid temporarily closes up her shop and brought them to her forging chambers where they can speak privately.

Needless to say, Ingrid is beyond just pissed off by everything the Idiot King of Melromarc has done in his self-imposed mission to impede the Shield Hero. Accidentally snapping one of the random experiment swords that was lying around with her bare hands out of anger. Ingrid's anger then turned into gratitude when Anna told her how Kirito and his companions saved her and many other Demi-humans from a life of slavery.

"This is the reason why I decided to join Kirito's party. Not only are they strong, but they're also doing their best to make this world a better place instead of just doing a Guild Quests for the money." Anna said as she finished her explanation.

"Wow. Even though what you experienced is terrible beyond words, it changed you to a much better person." Ingrid said in amazement. Since the Anna that she used to know didn't really care about these kind of things. Even though she always had a motherly nature to her, it seems to be much more pronounced now.

Although Anna still retains her mischievous nature as Ingrid saw how Anna shamelessly hugged one of Kirito's arms with her boobs sandwiching said arm.

So out of gratitude for saving her friend, Ingrid announced that she will be giving Kirito and his party a 50% discount on all of her services.

Kirito was a bit reluctant to accept the offer but soon relented as Ingrid wouldn't take no for an answer. Declaring that she is honor bound to do this since if it wasn't for him... her precious friend would have been lost forever.

When they finally left Ingrid's Blacksmith shop, Kirito's group are now more than prepared to face the Wave of Catastrophe.

And much to Anna's delight, Ingrid is even kind enough to hand over the notes on how she created her "Twin-Chained Nails". So Kirito will now have a much easier time in forging a new and improved version of Anna's favored Weapon.

The two friends shared one last hug before saying their goodbyes.

"We'll be back for the next month's Wave. I promise." Anna said as she released the hug.

"Then I look forward to seeing all of you again. You and your friends are always welcome at my shop." Ingrid replied with a bright smile.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

- I'm very sorry to disappoint some of my readers but the battle for Siltvelt's Wave of Catastrophe will be in Chapter 16. The next update would be a special chapter for our Main Couple as they will finally have some time to go on their very first date.

I hope you guys look forward to it!

- I'm going to do some SERIOUS brainstorming for Siltvelt's Wave of Catastrophe to make up for the long wait that you readers will be forced to do.

As always, thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows. I'm open for compatible suggestions and any advice that you readers could give. As for those nasty Reviewers who loves to Insult us authors, please just leave us alone.

Stay safe from the Coronovirus and stay indoors as much as possible!