Aris covered his ears to drown out the loud banging on the door of his bathhouse. Women of various ages squealed their praises to him.

Aris sighed, using his Sheikah arm's Hookshot Mode to fire at his Magic Satchel pouch and pull out two Poké Balls. From them, he summoned Garchomp and Charizard. "You hear those annoying people outside?" he said to them. "Go tell them to back the hell off. Stay out there until I'm done here."

"Chom, garchom!"

"Izard!"

Garchomp and Charizard exited the bathhouse and both let out a mighty roar, scaring off Aris's unwelcome fans.

Aris breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally...inner peace..."

"Oh, dear, we are ever so sorry for neglecting to inform you of that, Your Excellency," Werner apologized. "Previous Shield Heroes have enjoyed being bathed by various women of nobility, so I assumed you would be no different."

"Well, tell them to back the hell off!" Aris sighed, exasperated.

The lion therianthrope from the previous conference strolled over. "Hmm...it seems His Excellency is rather...picky when it comes to women."

"I'm not picky," Aris replied. "I'm faithful. Faithful to the woman I love more than anything."

Werner furrowed his brow at the lion. "Jaralis, please bear in mind that the Shield Hero has already chosen a woman to call his lover."

Jaralis backed off, glancing at Atla and Fohl with a vindictive glare.

"Again, Your Excellency," said Werner, "I am so terribly sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Aris deadpanned. "Look, I'm not mad at you. Whoever arranged for those ladies to...visit me probably didn't know I was in a relationship. But can you please hurry up and get my team and I a ride to Q'ten Lo?"

"Th-That will take time, Your Excellency," Werner replied.

"Will it, though?"

Werner didn't reply.

Aris sighed. "My friends and I will head outside the city and camp for the night. We could warp back to the village, but I kinda want to do things the old fashioned way."

"W-Wait!" Werner interjected. "That would cause too many problems, Your Excellency! Please, give us more time!"

"There a reason you want me to stay in the castle so badly?"

"It...It would hurt the reputation of our country if you left without even staying the night." Werner shifted. "In a case such as that, Your Excellency, whether or not we could fulfill your request would be...unclear."

"Well then don't let anyone know about it!" Aris replied. "We're just heading elsewhere to sleep, that's all."

"Maybe we should give them one more chance," Fohl suggested. "Otherwise, we'd likely never reach an agreeable arrangement."

"For once," added Atla, "I agree with my brother."

Sadeena entered the room. "We could always try getting to Q'ten Lo without Siltvelt's assistance, but there's no guarantee we'll be able to make it."

Aris sighed, turning back to Werner. "Fine. We'll stay here for the time being."

"Splendid," Werner replied. "I will call for a vote to arrange a ship to Q'ten Lo for you at the next council assembly. I will do as much as I can to ensure His Excellency receives our assistance."

"You fucking better..." Aris muttered.

Aris woke at the crack of dawn the next morning to find Raphtalia standing on a nearby balcony. He quietly walked up behind her. "You're up early."

Raphtalia turned around. "Oh, it's you. You kind of scared me for a second there."

Aris smiled. "Sorry."

He sidled up to his lover and admired the sight before them. "Nice view from up here," Raphtalia pointed out.

"I'll give Siltvelt that," said Aris. "It's got great views."

Raphtalia looked at Aris. "Love? Could I tell you something?"

"Anything, dear."

"I..." Raphtalia hesitated for a second, "I'm glad you turned down Werner's offer to have those women bathe you."

"What gave you the idea I wouldn't turn him down?" Aris told her.

"...jealousy," replied Raphtalia. "I...I thought one of them would take you away from me."

Aris cupped her right cheek in his left hand, lifting her head to meet her eyes. "Darling...you know I only have eyes for you."

"I-I know that." Raphtalia blushed. "But, I couldn't help but get a little anxious. Those girls are so much more...important than I am. They have more to offer than I do. They're so much more worthy of someone like you than I am."

Aris held Raphtalia in a tight embrace, gently rocking her back and forth and running a gentle left hand through her hair. "That may be true. Those ladies might be wealthier, more confident, or even more beautiful than you. And that's okay. But that doesn't mean I'll stop loving you. I don't love you for money, beauty, or anything like that. My darling...I love you because there is no one else I would rather be with."

Raphtalia reached up and kissed him. "What did I do to deserve you?"

Aris and Raphtalia found the hakuko twins sitting with a third, older hakuko-looking fellow.

Upon sight of Aris, the old hakuko knelt in reverence. "Your Excellency, you must be the one who took Atla and Fohl in at Lighthaven Village. Words cannot express how grateful I am for their safety."

Atla butted in, "He used to work for our parents, so he was worried about us."

"On your feet, amigo," Aris said to the older man. "No need for the fancy titles. Atla and Fohl needed a home, so what better place than a safe haven for Demi-human refugees, right?"

"True that," agreed the older hakuko.

"Anyway," said Aris, "what were you guys chatting about?"

"We have some connections with people here in Siltvelt," Fohl explained, "so we decided to contact one of our family's old servants. We thought he might be able to help us."

"Okay," said Aris. He turned to the old hakuko. "What all can you do?"

"I can offer some...information," replied the old man. "The shusaku representative and the other council members...they don't quite intend for you to leave Siltvelt. At least, not anytime soon."

"No surprise there, but thanks for the confirmation," said Aris. "Don't entirely know why exactly they're so intent on keeping me here, though. If something wasn't up, they'd probably let me leave of my own accord."

"There's a number of hypothetical reasons," said the old man. "I'm sure you can guess what some of them might be."

"Does he plan on getting us a ride to Q'ten Lo?" asked Raphtalia.

The old man thought for a moment. "I can't say for sure. But I can say that the hakuko council members are doing everything they can to make sure your request gets fulfilled."

"That being said," Fohl added, "the hakuko don't exactly have much influence in Siltvelt anymore due to the old wars."

"Ah, yes," the old man agreed. "But, Fohl, there is something else. A rather dubious individual is putting their machinations into action with the intention of keeping His Excellency here, and I strongly advise being cautious."

"Care to elaborate?" asked Aris.

"A lion therianthrope," said the old man. "Jaralis is his name."

Before the old man could continue, footsteps echoed through the nearby corridor like the sound of thunder. A female lion therianthrope entered the room. "Ah, there is His Excellency!"

Aris sighed. "Whoop-de-doo."

"Assassin presence has been reported throughout the castle in the past few hours," the lion woman told him. "I strongly advise that His Excellency waits in his room until breakfast has been prepared."

Raphtalia looked at Aris, a sad glimmer in her eyes.

"I'll be fine," Aris assured her. "Keep in touch." He made a peculiar hand motion near his ear, miming a telephone.

Raphtalia nodded understandingly.

Breakfast was served at a large banquet table on a lavishly decorated terrace with a phenomenal view of Siltvelt's capital city. Aris had petitioned the castle servants to allow him and his group to sit on the same side of the table, a request that was granted without delay.

"You guys been okay without me?" Aris asked.

"I've been getting dirty looks from the noble women," Raphtalia replied.

"Way too many people have been trying to mess with my wings," Pit added.

Filo squinted at the food before her. "Do any of you guys have a...bad feeling about this stuff?"

Everyone analyzed their food and exchanged looks. Sadeena nodded. "Something isn't right here."

Werner loudly cleared his throat, earning himself the attention of everyone present. "Now, before we enjoy our meal, let us pray."

Everyone who wasn't a Knight of New Hyrule clasped their hands together and recited a very rehearsed prayer to the Shield Hero.

"May all things be as the Lord of the Shield will them. We are thankful for this food and its nourishment to our mortal bodies. May it bestow upon us the strength to enact the wishes of our lord, the protector of this world. Amen."

Aris wanted to pass out.

Once the nobles started eating, Aris sent everyone a hushed message over CD-Comm. "Don't eat the stew just yet. I've got a plan. Atla and Lorie, when I give the signal, work your magic."

In his peripheral vision, Aris saw Jaralis smirking.

Aris pretended to take a small bite of his stew before making a spectacle of himself by loudly coughing it up into a napkin. All voices fell silent; all eyes were on him.

"Okay," said Aris. "You guys literally just prayed to me like I'm some kind of god - which, by the way, made me feel very uncomfortable." He neglected to mention that he already believed in the Goddesses of Hyrule. "But, anyway, that's not the point I'm trying to get at here. My point is...if I'm basically your god, I want someone who isn't one of my friends here to eat a bite of one of our bowls of stew."

Atla seemingly caught on. "And make it snappy!"

Werner nodded hesitantly. "Ah...as His Excellency wishes!"

Some of the Siltvelt nobles took a bite from the Knights' portions of stew. They immediately started coughing as though they were about to expel their lungs from their mouths.

Aris glanced at Atla and Loretta. "Now, both of you!"

With blinding speed, Atla and Loretta pounced at the nobles who hadn't eaten a bite of the Knights' stew and knocked them to the floor with lightning fast kicks to their stomachs.

"Gah!" one of them cried. "Y-Your Excellency! What are you doing?!"

Aris ignored the downed nobles and turned to Sora. "Heal up the people who ate."

Sora nodded, summoning his Keyblade and pointing it at them. "Curaga!"

All the coughing stopped immediately.

Aris turned back to the nobles Loretta and Atla had subdued. "You guys wanna explain this?"

"I've waited long enough, Jaralis," Aris demanded. "I'm tired of you stalling us!"

"Listen, bud," said Dante. "We wanna get to Q'ten Lo before anything bad happens back in New Hyrule. And because of what you and your posse have been doing, Q'ten Lo's assassins could be wiping out everyone there as we speak. Innocent people might be dead because of you!"

"But...if you leave so soon," said Jaralis, "backlash will strike from the hearts of Siltvelt's people. I don't know if they can be kept under control if that happens."

"Bullshit!" Loretta shouted.

"I...I heard about the assassins in your territory," Jaralis continued, "and about the ones in red with the inverted eye masks. If backlash comes from the people, some of them may very well take up arms in alliance with either or both groups."

"And why the hell would they?" Joker countered.

"Because to them," said Jaralis, "a Shield Hero who is content to stay in Melromarc is nothing but an impostor. A false god. As such, it's only natural that we would want you to help us resolve this issue. Whether you do it directly or task your...friends with doing so is at your discretion."

"And what exactly do you want me to do about this?" asked Aris.

"Surely you know the answer," replied Jaralis. "Werner desires the same thing as representative of the shusaku. The same thing all leaders of Siltvelt desire. In fact, it is what all of Siltvelt desires!"

Aris raised an eyebrow. "I'm drawing a blank here."

"First of all," said Jaralis, "you would commit to acting as the Shield Hero solely on behalf of Siltvelt."

"Solely?!" Loretta yelled. "So you're just gonna force my brother and I to separate?!"

"Correct," Jaralis confirmed. "You would no longer act on behalf of that damned Melromarc, but as Siltvelt's Hero. And only Siltvelt's Hero."

"You're forgetting something," Aris pointed out. "The Heroes are summoned to fight the Waves all across the world. Do you not want that? Because if there's just something you need me to quickly do here, I might be able to help."

Jaralis let out a howling, villainous laugh. "Are you truly so blind?! Do you really think Siltvelt would allow its Hero to enter other countries?!"

"So, what, you're putting me under house arrest in a place that isn't even my house?!"

"There's more," replied Jaralis. "You will also take for yourself one wife from each Demi-human and therianthrope tribe and raise an heir with each. And all that is just the bare minimum. You'll have to do a lot more if you want to ease the growing discontent among the tri-"

Aris reared his mechanical right arm and punched Jaralis across his face, knocking out a few smaller teeth. "Screw that! Screw all of that! You think I'd just abandon the woman I love because you said so?! I've already found the woman I want to be my wife, so tell whoever you want me to marry to get lost!"

Raphtalia felt her heart skip multiple beats.

"Well, if you will not do that," said Jaralis, wiping away blood trickling from his busted lip, "the dissatisfaction of the tribes will remain. It is your own fault that Q'ten Lo is sending assassins to destroy New Hyrule, and that the bearers of that inverted eye are after your head. I can believe the intentions of the inverted eye, but to say that Q'ten Lo would send assassins all for the purpose of killing a meek little raccoon girl is utterly ludicrous."

"Keep Raphtalia's name out of your dirty mouth!" Aris quickly snatched Ebony from Dante's hip via Hookshot Mode and put a bullet into Jaralis's left leg. Werner gasped at the sound of Jaralis crying out in pain.

Aris promptly tossed Ebony back to Dante before holding a non-shield weapon other than the Master Sword could punish him.

Jaralis gritted his teeth, covering the bullet hole that now drew blood from his calf. "Do not...misunderstand," he strained. "What I have told you is...the collective desire of Siltvelt's people. However...I am not like them. Allow me...to arrange a ship to Q'ten Lo for you, Your Excellency."

Jaralis staggered to his feet, approaching Aris with a significant limp. The lion therianthrope winced every time his shot leg hit the ground.

"Jaralis, you lying bastard!" Werner cried.

Jaralis ignored him. "That is right, Your Excellency. I will prepare a ship for you...you have my word."

Dante fell in beside Aris, drawing Ebony and Ivory. He placed their barrels against Jaralis's forehead. "You expect any of us to fall for your bullshit?"

"I know you're lying!" Filo chimed in, pointing at Jaralis. She turned to the Knights of New Hyrule. "You guys saw it, right? That look in his eyes? And the way he was clenching his fists under the table when Aris pretended to eat that stew?"

Loretta nodded. "The exact same look Bitch had."

"S-Surely you must be mistaken!" exclaimed Jaralis. "That's purely coincidental! Surely a glint in one's eyes wouldn't incriminate him! Does framing people give you pleasure, Your Excellency?!"

"Not framing," said Aris. "Convicting. With a little thing called evidence."

"I'd ask if you've seen Law and Order, but television doesn't exist in this world," Dante quipped.

"Your eyes were deceiving you," Jaralis sneered. "I did no such things."

"Don't think I didn't see that smirk, motherfucker," Aris shot back. "Or do you have some bullshit excuse for that, too?"

Raphtalia finally spoke up. "I've had enough of this! Just let Aris go, get us a ship to Q'ten Lo, and we'll all be fine!"

Jaralis scoffed. "You have no right to speak, wench! You are the one who coerced His Excellency into not fulfilling the wishes of our tribes!"

"It's not coercion!" said Aris. "I'm with Raphtalia by choice. My choice. And if you keep badmouthing her, I'll gladly put a bullet through that pea-sized brain of yours."

Raphtalia pointed the Vassal Katana at Jaralis. "You know why Siltvelt exists. You worship the Shield Hero, and yet here you are treating him like crap!"

"Wh-What are you saying?!" Werner exclaimed. "Have we not welcomed His Excellency back-"

"First of all, he has a name!" Raphtalia shouted. "Second of all, why does he look so upset, then?! Surely you haven't forgotten how many times you've made him unhappy! The way you treat him makes me wish this place never existed!"

Atla chimed in, "And speaking of Siltvelt's existence, can you tell me why it does? Why it exists?"

"O-Of course!" replied a noble. "It was founded by the Shield Hero and exists for his sake!"

"Exactly!" said Atla. "And just as Siltvelt was built by the Shield Hero, so too was Sayette restored as New Hyrule under Aris! And yet you make veiled threats to send your assassins to destroy New Hyrule! If the original Shield Hero who founded Siltvelt knew you would eventually do this, he may not have founded Siltvelt at all!"

"N-Nonsense!" the noble shot back. "Siltvelt is an entire nation! That miniscule province you call New Hyrule is-"

"And was Siltvelt always so massive?!" Atla retorted. "Are you saying New Hyrule is insignificant because it's a small province within a larger nation?!"

Raphtalia added on, "Do you want your generation to be remembered for looking to the future instead of being a bunch of stubborn, stick-in-the-mud old farts?!"

"Ask yourselves this," said Atla, "what is the purpose of our unique, beastly traits? Our claws, tails, ears, or fangs? Do they exist for world domination? No! They exist so that we may protect those who cannot protect themselves, just as the Shield Hero protects us!"

"You can say whatever you want about me, or about any of us," Raphtalia stated. "But you won't stop me from being with Aris! Nothing you do will stop me from loving him!"

"And Raphtalia's not alone!" Loretta chimed in. "Aris and I have been together from birth! We survived a catastrophe that left our home completely desolate! He's my brother, and I'll never leave his side!"

Atla joined them. "If you really declare your faith to the Shield Hero, then act like it! Serve and respect him as a faithful believer would!"

Applause filled the room. Aris looked on in shock. Raphtalia looked like she would lose her composure any second, but she still held her ground. Loretta stood firm, refusing to leave Aris's side.

The council members knelt in reverence. Aris waved his hands to stop them. "But none of that worshiping stuff! It makes me feel really uncomfortable!"

The nobles promptly stood back up.

"The Shield Hero has come to this world as its salvation from the Waves!" one of the nobles said loudly. "Our purpose is to do anything and everything in our power to support His Excellency, yet we tried to use His Excellency as a tool for our own selfish desires!"

"Hogwash!" exclaimed Jaralis. "I submit that this Shield Hero is an impostor! Otherwise he would not carry a sword!"

"Jaralis!" Werner shot back. "Were you keeping yourself familiarized with current events, you would know that this Shield Hero is different."

Aris nodded. "I'm not just a Shield. I'm more than that."

"Indeed," said Werner. "Jaralis! Your insolence ends here!"

"Insolence?!" Jaralis cackled. "You're sorely mistaken! I calmly state my opinion so that Siltvelt, the land which I deeply care about, is not harmed by any rash decisions you all may make."

"His Excellency makes no mistakes!" one of the nobles shouted.

Aris mentally sighed. He knew that statement couldn't be any further from the truth.

"Now, I am not saying that he is a false god," said Jaralis. "I am simply questioning whether or not we have been seeing is truly a product of the Waves. If they are, why would the Shield Hero be summoned to our enemy Melromarc?!"

"Because this is the prophesied time that all four Heroes are summoned together!" Atla refuted. "The true power of the Heroes lies in them working together! In other words, Aris was summoned to Melromarc because that's where the other Heroes were summoned!"

"Keep your sophistry to yourself, brat!" Jaralis sneered.

"Who's the real sophist here?!" Atla countered.

The room fell silent. If looks could kill, Atla and Jaralis would be locked in a fight to the death.

"Ridicule the child, you do," said an old voice, "yet strong and fierce, her will is, as that of a tiger. If one were to ask who among you is the truest of Siltveltians, answer her, you surely would."

An older turtle therianthrope hobbled into the room alongside the aged hakuko man Atla and Fohl had contacted.

"Who's that?" Aris asked quietly.

Werner answered for him. "He is a genmu and one of the country's most influential people."

The old genmu approached Aris. "Greetings, Your Excellency. Reaching my ears for a long time now, word of your deeds has been. A great honor it is to finally greet you in person."

"Ah...thanks, I guess," Aris said awkwardly.

Werner glared at the genmu. "Might I remind you that you stand before His Excellency the Shield Hero? Rid yourself of that form immediately!"

Aris nudged him. "It doesn't bother me, he can stay as he wants."

The genmu complied. "Please, worry not, Your Excellency. For me to change forms, it is no trouble."

The quadrupedal turtle therianthrope became a plump, bipedal old man who looked to be in his 60's. He carried a cane and wore an off-white robe, reminding Aris of a certain character from a movie he'd watched several years ago.

"Gentlemen," said the therianthrope, "prepared ourselves, we have, for the coming of this prophesied time. Kept this country alive and strong, we have, so that serve His Excellency, it may. To say that Siltvelt will collapse without His Excellency's presence...utter folly, that is."

Everyone aside from Jaralis agreed.

"Are you suggesting we listen to the whore who stole the tribes' chance for an heir and some dirty mongrel girl?!" the lion therianthrope roared. "Nothing about either of them is Siltveltian, nothing!"

Raphtalia pointed her Vassal Katana closer to Jaralis's face. "If you don't let him leave, I'll gladly make a way for us to leave by force!"

Gasps of surprise erupted from the nobles.

"Haha!" Jaralis cackled. "A most welcome proposition indeed! And one that cannot be avoided!"

Raphtalia nodded.

"Very well, then," said Werner. "As is customary in Siltvelt, I permit Jaralis of the Siltveltian high council and Raphtalia of the Knights of New Hyrule to engage in a duel!"

I rewrote the genmu's dialogue to reference a certain wise old master.