"Didn't expect to run into you here."

"Neither did I."

Ren leaned back in his chair and assessed Itsuki. It's been a while since he ran into him and if he's being honest, not much has changed of the guy. He still had that boyish look to him when they first met. Not that Ren expected him to change all that much. He sure didn't change at all during his time here.

The day started regularly for his team. They had just arrived back to Castle Town from a nearby village. In that village, he was prepping his team to fight a dragon that was roaming a village. Dragon Village. Their assignment had come from a hunting guild and he saw it as an opportunity to gain more levels for him and his team. Plus, there was the reward the hunting guild was offering.

However, a messenger falcon was sent from the guild to him. The note had said the dragon went away and hasn't been seen since.

That brought Ren's mood down a lot. So much so his party avoided any conversation with him. Not that he cared if they were avoiding him.

They gathered their supplies and headed back to Castle Town where Ren hoped there would be some kind of mission for him to do.

Instead, he ran into Itsuki at the inn he was staying in.

"So, how have you been?" Ren asked. They were in the dining area of the inn seated at a small table while their party was lounging in the main lobby.

"Good, more or less," Itsuki replied. "I've been out on different missions. Not much else has been going on. You?"

"Same." Ren sighed.

"What's wrong?" Itsuki wondered.

"Nothing. It's just a mission was canceled and now I'm pissed about it."

It felt good talking about it to someone. He'd always had that issue long before coming here. He was never sure if he should talk to anyone about his feelings or issues. His parents always welcomed any discussion with him. That and they'd baby him so much to the point where it got annoying and didn't go to them for anything. Something he regrets now and then.

This game was an escape from everything back home. Why of all times was he wishing to leave and go back? Things here are way different. The upside about living back home was the technology, accessibility to almost anything, and a sense of safety. Oh, and plumbing. Thank god Castle Town and other villages have plumbing.

The memory of having to squat over a chamber pot in one village was going to give him nightmares.

'Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it," he repeated in his mind.

God, he wishes he could just go back to his regular life.

Well, until then, he'll just have to tough it out here.

"Besides," he said, "I was thinking of having an audience with the King to ask if he can give me something to work on."

If his team is to get strong, then they needed tough missions.

Overall, they were a well-balanced team. Only two were behind a few levels but their strength and magical powers were more than enough to help. He made sure to recruit only the best and no newbie or fledging. The stronger the better. And with more party members, the stronger he'll become.

Speaking of party members.

"Did you hear about what happened to the captain of the royal knights?"

Itsuki, who was drinking from his mug, set it down. "Yeah, I've been hearing about that since I got here yesterday. Naofumi was the one who defeated him, right?"

"Yeah. And I hear he has a new party member. A beastmaster."

"Also, he's been helping around Lute Village."

Word quickly spread of Naofumi's heroics and generosity. Different than what Ren had expected from him. The man was accused of rape and yet he's been hearing nothing but good things about him. From saving Lute to helping that village with some sort of sickness, to stopping a corrupt captain, to saving Lute again, it didn't make sense.

At least, that's what he thought until two days ago.

Ren had always thought of gossip as nothing else, just gossip. It was a waste of time to worry over something that probably isn't true or the words passed between people were somehow warped.

With Naofumi, he didn't question when the older boy was accused. Malty – or Myne, he reminded himself – was scared as she accused him. The look on her face, the distressed tone of her voice was enough to convince him.

Until…

Could he trust Itsuki with what he heard? It sounded like gossip when he first heard about it. But given how Naofumi's been acting lately, it's hard to believe what is true and what is false.

Screw it. It couldn't hurt.

"Listen," he started. "You know that dancer woman Naofumi is with, yeah?"

"Mina," Itsuki nodded. "What about her?"

"I ran into her dance troupe two days ago."

"You did?" This got Itsuki's attention. "And?"

"I figured if Naofumi could get a dancer on his team, I could get one too. They're good for any party. I got to speak to three of them and asked if any of them would join. Except…"

Two days ago

"No."

Ren was taken aback by the woman's straightforwardness. It was only one word yet it hit him like a punch.

"What do you mean no?" He asked.

"What I said, kid. No." The woman he was speaking to was dressed in a similar dancing garb like Mina was only in blue. Ren prayed he wasn't blushing.

Earlier that day, Ren and his party departed from the village and began their trek back to Castle Town. Along the way, he spotted colorful tents on the horizon and when they neared, he could see people in dancing clothes moving around.

That's when he remembered Mina. This must be the dance troupe she was with.

"Lula's!" Squealed one of his party members, Tersia.

Her eyes were wide and practically glittering with joy.

Come to think of it, he was curious about the dance troupe. If someone like Mina is capable of beating Motoyasu in combat, then maybe one of them will join him if he asked.

At least that was the plan.

He'd didn't expect any of the dancers to join immediately, but it didn't hurt to ask. He just wasn't expecting to be rejected on the spot.

"Can I at least ask why?" He asked the dancer?

The dancer chuckled. "You may be a hero, but you can't pick anyone to travel with you. It's up to us if we want to leave. Though we're under contract, we can leave whenever we want. And frankly, I'd rather stay here than travel with the King's pet."

King's pet?

'What is she talking about?' Ren thought.

"Besides," the dancer next to the woman who was dressed more modestly fixed her gaze on him. "The Spear Hero came by a few days ago and tried to recruit some of us. I'd rather dance on nails than to join his party with that girl."

"Don't you mean that bitch?" The blue dancer laughed.

Ren was now even more confused. The last time he saw Motoyasu he had lots of women in his party. The only one that stood out among the was Myne.

Then that means…

"You mean Myne?"

"Myne, Malty," The modest dancer waved a hand. "Who cares what she's called. The point is, there's no way I would ever want to travel with her."

"I doubt anyone would," the other dancer, a petite woman with long blonde hair said. She was dressed in a long black skirt with floral patterns and a red lace top.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

All three of the dancers looked at him.

"You don't know?" The petite dancer looked surprised.

"Hah! All the more reason not to join you." The blue dancer tittered. "Surely you've heard the stories about her, haven't you?"

Before Ren could answer, the modest dancer beat him to it. "I'm going to guess no. And, if I might add, your crew hasn't said anything about her, have they?"

By now, Ren was getting annoyed.

"Just tell me what's going on?" He snapped. He hated it when people danced around a subject.

"Well," the petite dancer started. "Malty isn't exactly well-liked by some people. If anything, people like her younger sister than her. Malty has a rather… bad reputation."

This is new to Ren. Never did he hear anything bad about Malty. The only bad thing he did hear was her attempt to put a tax on Lute Village. Not that he cared what happened to a village of NPCs.

"She's nothing but a liar," The modest dancer said. "Her father babied her so much, she probably doesn't even know the first thing about running a country, let alone a village."

"Not to mention how terrible she is at pretending." The blue dancer said. "Word of advice, Sword Hero, stay away from that girl. All those good things people say about her? They're just lying through their teeth. Secretly, they despise her. She can live in her little world where her daddy loves her and so does everyone when really, no one likes her."

"But…" Ren couldn't come up with a rebuttal to their accusations. No. They didn't sound like accusations. They spoke of it like it was the truth.

He didn't know what to believe.

There was something he had to ask.

"You said I was the King's pet. What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I mean," the blue dancer said. "Melromarc is a matrimonial country. Meaning the Queen is in charge. The King is nothing but a regent with little power unless the Queen permits it. That old man may be the Staff Hero, but when it comes to power, Queen Mirellia is the one with the power. Ergo, you, the Spear Hero, and the Bow Hero are like pets to him, following his every word without knowing who's really in charge."

Again, Ren was at a loss for words. The time he's been in this game, he'd accepted the world the way it was. Didn't question anything about it other than gaining levels. And when Naofumi was accused, he believed it because it is what it is.

To hear these women speak badly about Malty made him want to defend her. Sure he didn't know her that much, but what reason would she have to lie?

Except for Naofumi's actions these past few weeks proved otherwise. Then there are his party members. They joined him despite knowing the accusation against Naofumi. Unless they never believed what was said about him.

This is stupid. He never liked rumors in the first place, and yet this game seemed to thrive off of them. What started as recruiting a dancer turned into a headache.

Two stories.

One was telling the truth.

The other was lying.

"What's going on here, ladies?" a voice called out.

Ren turned to the sound and his eye's widened.

A man stepped from around a tent and was dressed even less than the blue dancer. The male dancers he seen when he entered the camp were dressed in various clothes. Some were modest, others revealing. This man, however, was twice as revealing as the other dancers.

He was fair-skinned and had long brown hair adorned by a purple headdress.

He put a hand on his hip and looked at Ren inquisitively.

"My my," he said. "The Sword Hero? And to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Don't worry, Alistair," the blue dancer said. "He was just trying to recruit us. He probably figured we go with him as Mina did with the Shield Hero."

"Ah, now I see. I take it you told him about how we work, Ari?"

The blue dancer, Ari, nodded.

"Well then, Sword Hero. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your efforts are in vain. Even if one of us decided to join you, we rather not get involved in the royal court when the Queen isn't here."

Ren fought the urge to scoff. This was a waste of time.

"Can someone explain what is going on here?"

'More people?!'

The voice came from behind and when Ren turned, he was approached by a woman dressed in a pastel dress. She looked around his mother's age but her steps were graceful yet powering like she was a confident CEO walking down the hall.

She took one look at the dancers then at Ren.

"Don't worry, Lana," Alistair said. "We were just explaining to our Cardinal Hero here that he can't just pick one of us to join him."

Lana raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" She looked to Ren and Ren felt a shiver go down his spine. The way she looked at him was the same look his mom gave him when he got a bad grade on a test: disappointment.

"Ren, is it? I've heard your name around here and there. Let me tell you something about my dancers. They are exotic birds. Human, demi-human, they are all beautiful and graceful. They are also deadly, ready to strike when in danger. We are not pretty trinkets you can pick out. I suggest you go think of people as they are: people with wants and feelings. If you have no other business here, leave. We are still on tour."

Her disappointed and intimidating look did it for him.

Ren turned on his heels and began walking. But not before hearing Lana speak.

"Alistair, good. I have a favor to ask you."

"Wow." Itsuki finished the last of his drink. "You got an earful from them."

"Tell me about it. I never thought NPCs could be this mean. Whoever made this game, they sure did a damn good job making these NPCs like actual people."

Just thinking about them was giving him a headache. But what stayed with him was what the dancers said about Myne. Is she a liar? If she wasn't liked by most of the people, then why did it seem like they adore her? And where is this other sister?

'This would be a lot easier if I had some codex most games have.'

There was no point in thinking about this any longer.

He was now curious about what Itsuki has been doing.

"And you?" He asked. "Anything interesting happen to you?"

Itsuki looked around him. Ren was a little confused by the boy's action. It was like he wanted to tell a secret. Never mind that the dining room at the inn was crowded and the patrons spoke over them.

Finally, Itsuki leaned in.

"I'm thinking about going after the Black Foxes."

Ren now understood the secrecy. He first heard about them a few weeks ago and when he asked his party about them, he wished he didn't. The Black Foxes are no ordinary group. They target bad nobles and killed them in brutal ways. They didn't just kill. They killed with a passion.

"You sure about that?" Ren wasn't one to question Itsuki's power. He checked the boy's stats and while he may be a few levels behind, his stats could easily take out monsters.

"Yeah I'm sure," Itsuki declared. "Those guys have been killing nobles for over 20 something years and no one has stopped them. If this keeps going on, they might decide to attack those in the royal court. Someone has to stop them. And it'll be me."

He sounded like he had a hero complex. As if he was some kind of hero of justice. Ren had his doubts, however.

"Good luck, then." He stood up from his chair. "I gotta go. We need more supplies."

"See ya." Itsuki waved a hand lazily.

Ren went to his party and told them of his plan.

Outside, the sun was beating down on their backs. Ren paid no mind to it as they made their way to the magic shop.

In the distance, he could see the Church. The Church of the Three Heroes was something he learned a few days after he got here. They worshiped the Spear, Bow, And Sword Heroes but not the Shield. That was in contrast to the Teachings of the Four Gods he has heard from different villages. The Teachings worshiped not only four gods, but also viewed the Cardinal Heroes as equals.

In a way, they were the same as Myne and Naofumi.

He sighed.

He didn't know what to believe.

For this particular chapter, I wanted to write something different than Naofumi and Co. going off to somewhere else. While this is a short chapter, it does go a bit into what Ren thinks of everything around him, from Naofumi to Malty to even the different religions if briefly.

For Itsuki and the Black Foxes, things will get complicated. Though the Black Foxes are only mentioned from a few chapters ago, when you are introduced to them, you'll see just how brutal they can be. And if Itsuki can handle them or not.

Enjoy the chapter!