Some things to go over before we begin. Firstly, I want to once again apologize for the debacle surrounding the last chapter being uploaded with Ch23. I had found an error that I wanted to fix, but I guess I accidentally selected the wrong file to replace the chapter with.

Secondly, I didn't mention this before, but I'll be moving my story to a bi-weekly upload schedule. It seems, no matter what I do to try and avoid it, my writing mood seems to have down-turned. I'll do my best to try and keep writing, since the mood still does strike me, but I wanted to give myself some leniency when it comes to uploads.

Ren and his party approached a rather important set of doors found deep in the catacombs of the Church of the Three Heroes. Welt and Farrie saw the enchantments on the door and began dispelling them as best as they could. What dark secrets is the church holding down here?

A few days ago, him and Itsuki had met again once their business elsewhere was finished. The Bow Hero noted that the Lord that was over taxing his citizens was also a member of the faith and he was able to wring some information out about the church before having all ownership of his land transferred to the more trustworthy next-door Lord. Rishia, his newest addition to the party, was helpful in deciphering certain texts that the church sent to the lord.

Turns out that the church locks away secrets that the pope doesn't want getting out into a library vault that's sealed with magic. The two heroes decided to raid the vault and glean what they could to try and clear Naofumi's and Chazon's names in some way.

However there was a catch with Itsuki's party: he had passionate followers of the faith in his party whereas Ren did not. The two heroes kept their meeting topics a secret from Itsuki's party to prevent one of them from squealing to the church. As such, both agreed that Ren's party was best suited for raiding the vault while Itsuki's party does more background digging from other nobles. When Itsuki discovered that there were nobles who mistreated their slaves to brutal degrees, he wanted to enforce justice on them but knew he had to hold off until the right time.

The magic surrounding the vault door dissipated as it opened. Wyndia clenched her sword with a grimace. "To think that many of the church's dirty secrets were hidden here."

Welt nodded. "Even as the son of a noble and someone who grew up surrounded by the faith, I always preferred the "seeing is believing" mentality. As such, I always regarded the most zealous of followers with distrust."

Bakta sighed at that. "I'm going to feel extra bad if my own family has been privy to these secrets and willingly allowed terrible things to happen to innocent people."

"Oh cheer up, ya big lug." Tersia patted the armored man on the shoulder. "Besides, doing this might help alleviate some of your guilt."

"Kill the noise, we'll draw attention if we talk too much." Farrie was determined to make this mission a success. Up until recently, she had withheld the fact that she grew up around demi-humans and was best friends with some. When she was given the chance at smearing dirt all over the church that denounces their very existence, she didn't even hesitate.

Ren mentally sighed. To think I would have never noticed their comradery and personalities if I kept treating this world as a game… better late than never I suppose. Hopefully Farrie and Wyndia will find some closure here.

"Ren-sama, are you thinking down on yourself again?"

That got a flinch out of the Sword Hero; Wyndia had gotten pretty good at knowing what was on his mind, especially after that one scrape with a boss monster. "Never mind that. Let's get reading through these books. Skim the titles and only read further if it looks promising." I'm just glad I took the time to learn this world's written language in the end.

Malty grimaced as she saw the Sword Hero's party scatter to read the books. Why is the Sword Hero here? Don't you know what you're getting yourself into?

It was morning at the filolial ancient forest when Chazon stirred from his sleep, only to become aware of his torso and arms being weighed down. He looked as best as he could, only to see four of the girls sleeping all over him, much to his embarrassment and chagrin. Okay, I'm definitely going to get the reason why everyone besides Rino has been overly affectionate with me lately.

"Awake are you?" Chazon looked and saw Naofumi with a cheeky grin on his face. "Quite the mess of limbs you got there."

"If you're done having a laugh, could I get a hand? I won't be able to help you cook breakfast while I'm pseudo-dog piled here."

"Worry not, for I have the perfect plan to get everyone up!" Kekal suddenly outburst with gusto.

Chazon looked over at her, only for all of the color to drain from his face when he saw her with two frying pans. "Do not, I repeat, do NOT do that, Kekal! Naofumi, stop her!"

That got a snort out of the shield hero. "I was going to, but I'm more interested in what'll happen if she goes through with it."

Chazon let out a suffering sigh at that. "Thanks for the help. Anyways, Kekal, if you go through with that you're not getting breakfast!"

She lowered her pans with a pout. "Boo." Naofumi clicked his tongue in disappointment.

"Boo on you too. Think of the children at least!" He looks over at the four children sleeping together some distance away.

"Chazon-kun… what's going on?" Rino woke up from the talking going on, only to note Kekal with two frying pans. "Kekal-chan… tell me you weren't…"

"Uh… hehehe?" Kekal dropped the two frying pans and started whistling.

Sadly for her, she was standing on solid stone bricks when she dropped them. Two loud clangs rang out, waking up literally everyone in a panic. Kardia was especially frazzled. "Who in the bloody blue blazes?!"

Raphtalia didn't look too pleased herself; her ears were still ringing. "Care to explain yourself, Kekal?" It was bad when she dropped calling someone "chan" like that.

"Err… EEEEP!" She ran away, only to get chased by a herd of angry filolials.

Merlay sighed as she shook her head. "Guess we're awake now…"

Not the wake-up call anyone needed. Chazon shook his head as he got up unimpeded. "While Kekal's busy entertaining Fitoria's subjects, shall we get started on breakfast, Naofumi?" He got a nod at that.

Rifana sighed as well at the display before getting up… only to notice something. "Kardia-chan, you have a fourth tail!"

The new tail sported an emerald green tip, which Fitoria confirmed represented wind. The tails were all a bit longer than normal as well. "So now I have four affinities."

Chazon nodded at that, only to notice that his status magic was updating him on Kardia's attributes. Checking them, he saw something he's never seen before:

Multicast

Capable of casting multiple spells at once. Verbal chanting is no longer required.

"Kardia, try casting a wind spell while just thinking of it."

Kardia cocked her head in confusion but complied. Her hand glowed green and a wind spell followed suit, surprising everyone except Fitoria. "I can cast without even saying the name out loud?"

"Yeah. Now try casting multiple spells that way." She did so and two different magic circles appeared; one for fire and one for water. "The moment you grew your fourth tail, you gained Multicast as a trait."

Merlay had stars in her eyes. "I never thought I'd see the day where I'd witness someone casting multiple spells at the same time! It's like a dream come true!"

Kardia looked at her hands in shock. "I… didn't think this possible."

"That is because you are the inheritor of the mantle of Nine-Tails, Kardia-tan. Multicast is the Nine-Tails' unique power, one that is almost impossible to replicate by anyone else." Fitoria remembered something and leveled a slight glare at Kardia. "However, if my memory is correct, once you gained your fourth tail you lose the ability to cast spells outside of the affinities represented in your tails."

Kardia blanched before trying to cast a support spell. Nothing happened. "Guess it's a good thing this happened AFTER the fight with the Tyrant Dragon Rex, else we would have just relied on Kekal's debuffs and Merlay's support."

"I mean I still had Piercing Thrust to shatter the core with, but I'm inclined to agree." Chazon observed Kardia before smiling. "You certainly are a sight with four tails, though." Kardia blushed at that.

Filo noticed that she was clutching onto Obsidian throughout the whole ordeal… only for her reaction to be holding him a bit tighter. "Err… Filo-chan?"

"You're nice and warm, Kuro-kun…" Filo was sporting a slight blush with her smile. Melty once again squeed at the sight.

"Let me feel!" Amber grabbed onto Obsidian as well and started humming happily. The black-feathered filolial was blushing immensely now, much to everyone's amusement.

As breakfast was cooking and Kekal was getting a scolding from her fellow demi-humans after she was done being chased, Naofumi thought back to his conversation with Fitoria last night. She was concerned over if the four heroes were working together or not. I shudder to think what her knee-jerk reaction would've been if we weren't.

Right before everyone started eating, Fitoria called for everyone's attention. "There is something I would like to do after our meal this morning involving the two filolial's raised by the heroes."

Filo and Obsidian look at each other. "Involving us?"

"Yes, but I would be remiss to act upon it while our stomachs are empty. As such, I wished to warn you ahead of time before we started eating. With that… thank you for the meal." Fitoria started eating her own food.

Chazon raised an eyebrow as he started eating as well. What would require a forewarning like that?

Once everyone was fed and all the filolials had finally calmed down enough from the rude awakening, Fitoria had the two younger filolials with her in the ruined plaza while everyone else was off to the side. "As I told Shield Hero Naofumi last night, the reason why I approached you all was to judge the candidates to rule the filolial race. However, only one has the right to rule and thus I'll only test one of you."

That surprised everyone as Rino put her hand on her heart in worry. "You mean they have to fight each other for the right to rule?!"

"Not unless one is willing to concede to the other immediately." Fitoria was a tough-love mentor, but she wasn't cruel. If the two candidates could settle who would be the most fit to rule in a peaceful manner, then all the better.

Obsidian gave Fitoria a shocked look before shaking his head. "Then pick Filo-chan. I'm sure she'll make a wonderful Queen!"

"Kuro-kun, what about you?! You've got a good head on your shoulders!" Filo was exasperated at being nominated.

"But you're stronger in more areas than I am! I'm fast and hard-hitting physically, but that's it!"

Or they could do the reverse of a squabble by trying to nominate each other… can't say I didn't see this coming though. Fitoria sighed; until the two could find a middle ground… or whatever it is now, between them, she won't be able to test one.

"Queen Fitoria, correct me on one thing." Chazon spoke up, deciding that the two younger filolials have tried putting each other on higher pedestals for long enough. "Does it ABSOLUTELY need to be a single candidate that inherits the title?"

Fitoria thought about it for a moment before tilting her head. "As far as I know, only one Queen or King has ever been chosen to rule the filolial race."

Naofumi found that odd. "You sound uncertain."

"The last Queen said something similar… but because I was the only filolial raised by a hero, I basically had no competition. Why do you ask?"

Kardia noted where Chazon was going with his line of thought. "Can't they both rule together?" Filo and Obsidian looked at each other. "I mean, all you have to go off of is the word of the last queen and that was over 700 years ago. Plus, like you said, you were the only candidate last time, so why not make an allowance?"

Kekal smiled at that. "But of course! Even someone as great as I needs to have an equal to keep me in line… err…"

"So you finally admit that you're a handful, eh?" Chazon snorted in laughter as he facepalmed. A red-faced Kekal tried desperately to save face, but to no avail.

Melty thought of something as well. "Besides… wouldn't it be better if there was both a Queen AND a King ruling together?"

Naofumi gave Melty a flat look. Leave it to royalty to think like that.

Fitoria noted everything said and pondered it over. Perhaps simply limiting it to a single candidate when the two of them are very close in age and strength WOULD be a bit unfair. Perhaps my own bitterness at being the only candidate last time clouded my judgement here…

Obsidian suddenly had a determined glare. "If Filo-chan and I can take the test together, then I'm all for it!" Filo had an equally determined smile and she psyched herself up.

At the mention of being able to work together, they switched gears. Fitoria contemplated for a bit before sighing. "Very well. If that is what you wish, then I'll test both of you at the same time. However, should one of you fail to meet my expectations, then BOTH of you will fail. Do we have an agreement?" She gets two nods.

Rifana grabbed Raphtalia's arm in relief. "So both of them will be teaming up together… I'm glad it didn't devolve into them having to fight each other."

"With that…" Fitoria raises a hand in the air and the arena is suddenly surrounded by a purple dome. "Let the test begin. See if you can hit me in a meaningful way while weathering my own attacks."

Filo grinned. "That's it? Let's… huh?" She was trying to transform, but the barrier Fitoria casted was preventing her.

"That's something I noticed about both of you: you rely too much on your filolial forms in combat. While your strength and speed is amazing, you also become a bigger target and less able to make quick corrections in your movement." Fitoria narrowed her eyes. "I wish to see how you two perform without using your filolial forms."

Obsidian winced at that; he has never tried fighting outside of his filolial form before. But what can we do in these forms? Not unless we still have access to our magic and other techniques.

"That's fine by me, because here I come!" Filo was about to rush forward when Obsidian grabbed her by the helm of her dress. "Kuro-kun, what are you-"

"Rushing in blindly will get us nowhere, Filo-chan. Permit me to try something first." He looked at Fitoria with a determined glare before leaning forward. "High Quick!"

He disappeared in a blur to everyone else, but to Fitoria his movements were still easily trackable. She moved to counter his attack swiftly, resulting in a rather nasty blow to the stomach. "You've already figured out that you have access to magic in this form, but that is still insufficient."

Merlay called out to Obsidian, "Your clothes are made from magic thread, right? Focus your magic to repair them and strengthen your defenses in them!"

Both heroes looked at her with surprise as Naofumi said, "I never knew they could do that."

"That's the main benefit of magic thread clothing besides transforming with the wearer. The stronger the clothes are, the stronger the defenses when one focuses their magic into them."

Chazon adopted a thoughtful posture. I wonder if most mage clothing is made with magic threads if that's the case. Besides, this knowledge just made Amber even more capable of taking hits.

"Then how about this? Zweite Tornado!" Filo, following Obsidian's example in using magic in human form, launched a tornado at Fitoria.

"Anti-Zweite Tornado." Fitoria launched a tornado that spiraled in the opposite direction of Filo's, canceling it out with no problems. She suddenly rushed up to Filo and flatly stated, "You're leaving yourself wide open." Before forcing her palm into Filo's chest and launching her into some nearby rubble.

Chazon grimaced at the display "Should have figured there was anti-magic in this world. Mages would be nigh unstoppable if they could cast spells without fear of consequence or opposition."

Obsidian got up and was preparing for another strike; this one to try and get Fitoria away from Filo. He tried to dodge the counter-attack, but didn't have the speed sufficient for it, even with Fitoria lowering herself to their levels as he was launched again. "You rely too much on attacks that have no follow-up. Like Filo-tan, you leave yourself wide open." She narrowed her eyes. "Let me ask you two one thing: what are you two fighting for? If your will is weak, then this whole test will have been pointless."

Obsidian was struggling to stand after the last attack. "I fight… for my Daddy… so that he… never has to feel hate or despair ever again!"

Obsidian… you…

Filo gasped a few times. "I fight for my Master- no, my Papa! That we can continue moving towards a brighter future!" Naofumi didn't know what to think; Filo had just switched from calling him her Master to calling him Papa.

"Admirable resolutions, but there is more to such resolve than just stating it." Fitoria launched Obsidian backwards again after blindsiding him before knocking Filo over at him as well. "If that is truly your wish, then you must prove you have the strength to uphold it."

Obsidian managed to correct himself, but it was clear that he was getting extremely frustrated, especially when he saw Filo attempt to attack again only to get hit away. That prompted Chazon to finally call out to him. "Calm yourself, Obsidian! The moment you lose yourself to frustration and rage is the moment you are blind to more obvious movements!"

"Chazon's right! Both of you, focus and observe with your partner! I know you can do it, I know BOTH of you can!" Naofumi shouted as well.

Fitoria, for the briefest of moments, remembered her own shield hero in both of the heroes before her. Both of them… even the Spear Hero, who has chosen a different path than his predecessor?

Obsidian, after taking his Daddy's advice and calming himself, rendezvoused with Filo. She grimaced as she felt the magic in the air swirl. "We're going to need a strategy. She's gathering magic around herself and I don't want to wait to see what it is."

"Then let's follow our Daddy's advice and focus!" Filo nodded and started focusing her magic onto herself. Obsidian realized what she was doing and followed suit, knowing what to do with it. I was born to move fast… and I was born to hit hard. Let my magic allow me to do both even better!

Fitoria noted the two younger monarchs gathering their energy and narrowed her eyes. "Still too slow."

"Perhaps before… but how about now?" The duo finished gathering their magic and nodded at each other. Obsidian bent forward in a racing-start position. "Turn Burst!" His feet suddenly glowed purple and what looked like shoes with wings on them manifested for the brief moment he was visible before he vanished.

Fitoria realized that he was even faster than before and was barely able to track what he was doing. Realizing he was about to attack from behind again she turned to counter-attack, only to notice that he was too far behind her. "Did you miscalculate, Obsidian?"

"You think I would miscalculate something like this?" Obsidian had a look of absolute determination on his face. Fitoria quickly realized what he was really after.

"Spiral Strike!" Filo's gloves ripped apart to reveal a pair of yellow magic claws, poised to strike. Fitoria tried to block it, but Filo was able to scratch her despite her high defenses. Fitoria moved to counter-attack her, only to receive a powered-up kick in the side from Obsidian which knocked her away.

"Fitoria-sama, no matter what, we'll fight for the ones who raised us!" Both Filo and Obsidian stood back to back, facing the Queen with looks of absolute determination.

Fitoria stared at them for a while longer before allowing herself a smile. "Then I suppose we have no need to continue on like this. You both pass the test."

Both younger filolials looked at her in shock before relief passed over their features. Filo was quick to hug Obsidian. "Kuro-kun, we did it! We did it together!"

"We did." Obsidian looked at Chazon who nodded at him, pride swelling in his heart.

The barrier dropped as Fitoria healed both of them, allowing everyone to approach. Amber was especially fast to hug Obsidian. "Big Brother, you did it!" Melty did the same to Filo.

Rifana smiled. "Congratulations, you two."

"Filo, Obsidian. I have something to give you two." Fitoria raised both palms upward and a crown and tiara appeared above each.

Filo tilted her head in confusion. "What are those?"

"Symbols proving your worth as my successors. Bow down for a moment." Both of them bow and Fitoria fitted both symbols onto their heads, which caused all of the nearby filolials to start crying out in celebration. "I appoint both Filo and Obsidian as my successors to the titles of Queen and King"

Rino beamed at that. "That means you two will both become the rulers of the filolial race!"

"Not bad, if I do say so myself!" Kekal stated boisterously. Chazon sighed at her.

Both symbols suddenly burst in a flash of colors on top of Filo and Obsidian's heads. What happened next caught everyone off guard: both gained a cow-lick coming from their bangs.

Raphtalia looked at them in surprise. "Is that… supposed to show that they're next in line?"

Chazon had to bite back some laughter. Looks like I'm going to have fun teasing Obsidian with that cow-lick now!

Amber beat him to it as she started flicking it. "Obsidian-nii, your hair is even funner to play with!" That got a nervous smile out of Obsidian.

"Augh! I don't want this!" Filo plucked her cow-lick off, much to Melty's disappointment. Filo was quickly disappointed in turn when it grew back instantly. "You're joking, right?!"

Fitoria regarded Filo with amusement. "Don't bother trying to keep it down either, for it'll always spring back up. Additionally, you'll grow more as you age."

"Guess it's something to look forward to…?" Obsidian rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, having already accepted his fate. Both heroes noted that their respective filolial monarchs had their base stats increased all around, which was a boon considering that they were stuck at level 40 for now.

"I also have a gift for the heroes who raised these two." Fitoria plucked two of her own cow-licks, which promptly grew back as well. "Show me your shield and spear."

The heroes did so and she put one piece of hair in each. Both of them were notified that the entire filolial series of weapons were force unlocked, even though they haven't met all of the requirements for them. Once we can access them, these'll be an even bigger increase to our stats as well.

"I still wish to discuss more with you, preferably with Spear Hero Chazon present as well, considering that you were… preoccupied last night." Chazon blushed heavily at those words, much to Fitoria's and Naofumi's amusement. "But I have one final gift. Kardia-tan?"

The kitsune looked confused as she approached. "Me of all people?"

"Yes. Because you are the next bearer of the title of Nine-Tails, I wish to bestow a gift that one of your predecessors left behind with me." Fitoria gave Kardia a pair of jewel-embedded white gloves. "You are familiar with caster gloves, but these were created so that those with the Multicaster talent can combine their affinities. You can combine your water and fire affinities for ice magic, for example, or even use spell combos that normally require two people to use."

Kardia widened her eyes at that as Merlay looked like she was going to explode with excitement. "Spell combos from a single caster too?! Kardia, I'm going to teach as many spell combos as I can to you!"

After putting her new gloves on gratefully, Kardia looked at the glove she used to wear for a second before handing it to Raphtalia. "Naofumi-sama doesn't have a dedicated magic caster as a permanent party member yet. Melty-sama isn't going to be around all the time. As such, I feel letting you wear the glove will help compensate you on that front at least a little bit."

Raphtalia accepted the glove with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, Kardia-chan."

"U-um…" Fitoria looks at Melty, who looked embarrassed at the moment. "W-would it be okay i-if I… rode on your head, Queen Fitoria?"

That amused Fitoria to no end. "That's it? I can oblige since I probably worried you to death with that test." She turns to everyone else. "Would anyone else like a ride?"

Amber, Melty, and Rino all went for a ride of the transformed Fitoria's head, much to their delight. Filo looked up at the giant queen with a smile. "I want to be big soon so that I can give Mel-chan a ride like that too!"

"Filo-chan, I thought you didn't want to have any more cow-licks?" Obsidian inquired, much to his fellow monarch's dismay as she tried to flatten hers. Everyone laughed at her reaction.

Chazon suddenly hugged Obsidian. "Words fail to express how proud I am of you, Obsidian. You did amazing back there." Obsidian hugged his Daddy back with a look of pure joy.

Naofumi, deciding to respect Filo's change of what she calls him, hugged her as well. "And I'm proud of you, Filo. Your teamwork more than earned you a victory there."

"Thank you, Papa!" Naofumi smiled at that as she hugged him back; it sounded a lot better than her calling him Master, even if she acted like a spoiled glutton. Raphtalia felt pure joy at the scene. Naofumi accepted Filo's choice of title for him.

By the time Fitoria came back with the three joy-riders it was time for lunch. Kardia gave Amber a questioning gaze as Naofumi and Chazon cooked. "Amber-chan, you can fly. Why did you want to ride on Queen Fitoria's head?"

"I just wanted to join Mel-chan up there!" Amber said with the biggest smile. Kardia rolled her eyes at that.

"It was fun, but it was even funner with Amber-chan and Rino-chan up there with me!" Melty proclaimed.

"Decided to be the one adult up there, eh Rino?" Chazon looked at her from one of the pots he was tending to with amusement. Rino simply giggled at that.

After lunch was eaten, Fitoria smiled at the group. "The day is still young. Care for more rest before you all leave?"

Rifana stretched with a relaxed face. "That sounds rather nice, actually. We've only had one day of relaxation and even then we had to leave and camp out for the night."

Naofumi thought about it before nodding. "Fitoria is offering, so why not? Like Rifana said, it's nice to be able to relax for now without worry." Melty looked excited over the prospect.

"I've been unable to properly show you all hospitality anyways. Besides, it is a time of celebration."

"Celebration?" Filo realized what Fitoria meant and looked exasperated. "Jeeze, don't make decisions without me!"

"Filo-chan, lighten up! Besides, I'm sure Fitoria-sama had planned it this way anyway." Obsidian patted Filo on the head, which got a smile out of the blond girl.

"Most likely. But all the same, congratulations to you two!" Merlay said with a small smile, only to squeak in surprise when a filolial suddenly lifted her onto its back.

It wasn't long until everyone who wasn't Naofumi or Chazon was on the back of a filolial. They all let out one final cry before dashing off into the forest with their riders. Chazon rubbed his head with an awkward smile. "So… I'm guessing the filolial joy-ride is part of the celebration?"

"Perhaps…" Fitoria gave a coy smile, which made Chazon roll his eyes. Naofumi let out a snort of laughter at that. "But we can get one of our conversations out of the way while everyone else is busy."

"Right, since I was… unable to move last night, you couldn't get me up for a talk. So what is it that you want to discuss?"

Naofumi looked in the direction everyone went. "Since we don't know when they'll all get back, we'll keep it to a less important topic for the time being and save the heavier stuff for tonight when everyone else is asleep." Fitoria nodded at that before Naofumi grinned at Chazon. "So how about we talk about your love life?"

There was a moment of silence before Chazon gave Naofumi the flattest look he has ever made. "Really? Really right now? That topic has zero importance to everything going on right now."

"It could become important if it gets in the way of you fighting the waves." Fitoria stated in a neutral voice. "Besides, you are aware of the bigger girls in your party showing an abnormal amount of affection towards you, correct?"

"It's not like I'm unaware of it, but I already have Rino. I'll admit, I really need to talk to them about it since it's somewhat uncomfortable as a taken man."

"Then what are your feelings towards the rest of your party?" Fitoria knew that Chazon's love life really was an unimportant topic like he was trying to say, but she wasn't lying about it potentially getting in the way of his mission.

A light blush dusted Chazon's face as he folded his arms. "W-well… Rifana is a klutz, but she is very well meaning and innocent. Kardia can be mischievous, but deeply cares about her party member's well being, including me. Merlay can be soft-spoken, but she is very kind and caring like Rino."

There was a pause before Fitoria raised an eyebrow. "What about Kekal?"

"I forgot about her. She only joined me the other night and gave me a bad first impression of herself. She's… improving in my eyes thanks to the fight with the Tyrant Dragon Rex, but she really needs to hock the current attitude she has."

Naofumi noted that he never explicitly stated his actual feelings about them and sighed. "Guess I can't blame you for somewhat dodging the question. When you're born and raised in a society that only ever supports single marriage relationships, you tend to automatically switch gears once you're already in a relationship… provided you aren't a cheating heart or playboy."

Chazon looked at him with a confused look as he tried to figure out what Naofumi was getting at. Fitoria decided to give him a push. "Let me ask you one thing, spear hero Chazon. Why are the other girls showing so much affection towards you despite them knowing you and Rino-tan are mates already?"

Steam started coming out of Chazon's ears as he tried to think about it with what was given to him by both Naofumi and Fitoria. Ever so slowly, his blush got worse until he was beet red. "A-are you guys i-implying… that they t-think I can m-marry them all?!"

Fitoria nodded. "Indeed. And before you say anything about how the values of society wouldn't allow it, that is incorrect. The values of your OLD society wouldn't allow it, but you're in a NEW society that will allow it thanks to your status as a Cardinal Hero."

"Excuse me?! I forgot to mention this, but I see Rifana and Kardia as my adoptive daughters, so that's completely out of the question for me! Merlay I see as a good friend for the most part… and Kekal, while I'm slowly warming towards her, probably won't ever reach close to that level with me!" I know that all sounds like excuses, but that's how I see things right now.

Naofumi suddenly felt a connection to Chazon in regards to his demi-human party members. Just like how I see Raphtalia as more akin to my daughter...

Fitoria noted something. "Are you unaware of how vampire demi-humans function in society and biologically?"

Chazon forgot his embarrassment and gave Fitoria a curious look as he rubbed his bite-mark. "All I know is that they don't need as much sleep and they don't actually require blood to live."

"Indeed, blood is more of a meal substitute than a necessity for survival. However… vampires can suck blood to empower themselves with a status called "Bloodcane" that greatly enhances all of their attributes for a short period of time. Obviously, the vampire has to willingly access it after drinking someone's blood, else the blood is simply used for nutrition.

"However, there is a special rule that applies to vampires when it comes to drinking blood. They can drink blood from anywhere except the neck and nothing will change after the fact. However… If a vampire bites the neck of the opposite gender, the vampire's personal magic "marks" the person and irreversibly changes one thing in their biology. They can no longer drink blood from anyone else for it will be disgusting to them, sometimes toxic even."

Naofumi folded his arms. "They work radically different from the vampires from the stories in my old world."

Chazon had a flat look on his face. "So now Kekal can't drink anyone else's blood now? Wonderful… I always wanted to be someone's personal blood bag… not!"

"What you fail to understand is the meaning behind this change. Vampires do that to mark their mates-for-life in this manner. Kekal bit your neck because she wanted you to be her mate."

"What?! We had just MET when she did that!" Words failed to express Chazon's exasperation at that moment

"Vampire society is… very eccentric, Spear Hero Chazon, especially if it hasn't changed since I cut myself off from the rest of the world. Kekal-tan is actually one of the more mild vampires you'll meet and they all radically believe in love at first sight. If she saw something in you that made her feel that way, her instincts will have made her go for your neck to mark you before anyone else."

Fitoria looks at the sky somberly. "I've seen many vampires in the past, before I separated from human and demi-human societies, that have been rejected by their marked mate and forced to live the rest of their lives all alone. Even as an entity who doesn't see much value in romance, even I admit that it is a lonely existence…"

So basically, I have to let Kekal in if I don't want her to be alone for the rest of her life thanks to deeply-ingrained instincts? What's even worse is that I can't imagine how much worse she COULD have been… but perhaps I should take Fitoria's word for it and be thankful she isn't even more obnoxious.

Fitoria looked at Chazon and observed before sighing. "Going back to your original problem, you don't need to come up with an answer by yourself. Everyone in your party, even Kekal-tan despite her personality, loves you dearly. Once any immediate issues are out of the way, discuss this with them. I'm sure you all can come up with an arrangement that everyone can agree on."

I never pegged Fitoria to be someone concerned about someone else's love life… unless she genuinely believes that it'll become a severe problem down the line if not taken care of. Chazon noted Naofumi's slowly growing smirk and glares at him. "Don't you dare, Shield Hero! Don't forget that karma ALWAYS collects her debts, no matter how long it takes!"

"You're no fun…" Naofumi scoffed; he wanted to tease Chazon about his harem even more, but something was telling him to back off. I don't know why I feel that way. Not like I'm going to have my own harem considering everything going on.

There was an awkward silence in the air until Chazon sighed. "Permission to go for a walk, Fitoria? I… need to think about some things."

"If you'd like, but I'd recommend against wandering too far else you'll get lost."

"Don't worry, I have my ways." Chazon used his status magic map to slap a waymark onto the center of the plaza, which Fitoria regarded with wonder. "There, now I'll have a beacon to follow if I do wander too far. With that… I'll see you guys a bit later." He walks into the tree line.

Naofumi stared after him for a bit. "Do you think he's feeling a bit jaded at us talking about his love life?"

"Perhaps, but it needed to be said. Like I said last night, the last thing we need is one of the heroes falling apart at the seams because of internal conflicts like that." Naofumi sighed at that; he never really thought that romance would actually get in the way of fighting the waves if left alone.

Chazon walked through the forest with a storm of chaotic thoughts raging in his head. Between realizing why his party members were more affectionate, the fact that he can LEGALLY marry them all, Kekal's reason for marking him, and learning more about the vampire demi-humans has left him feeling severely confused.

I mean… it really does explain why they started being more affectionate towards me, but when did they find out about it themselves? Plus… how would that even work to begin with? I know Fitoria told me to discuss it with them, but I feel that's easier said than done. Besides… it's not like I can just remove deeply-ingrained values instilled into me just because I'm in a new culture. My old culture… attempted to put value on the sanctity of two-person marriages and that's not something that goes away overnight.

On top of that, I can't just start looking at Rifana and Kardia in 'that' way now. Despite their appearances, they're still technically just as old as they were when I first adopted them! Even though I never acknowledged them as such, they really do feel like my daughters. Even Amber and Obsidian agree with me. Meanwhile Merlay… at times feels like a daughter as well, even though I want to just call her a very good friend.

Then there's Kekal… if vampires really do act on love-at-first-sight instinct to mark their mates, what made her instantly fall for me? Was it because I saved her from Idol and fed her when she hadn't eaten anything for a long time? I no longer doubt her combat capabilities, but I'm still not wanting to let her into my life in that way quite yet…

His brain started hurting as he shook his head. Perhaps I'll talk to Rino first about everything I've learned. She has always been very accepting of new party members, even Kekal after she marked me, though I wonder if she knows the significance behind my bite mark…

There were a couple of angry squawks a bit further into the forest which brought Chazon out of his thoughts. Curiosity getting the better of him, he went further into the bush only to see two filolials in aggressive postures… facing down a Cyclops Mauler.

The Mauler was only level 20, but Chazon flinched at the sight no less, being reminded of his first week in this world. He looked over and color drained from his face.

Behind the Mauler were a couple of nests… full of broken eggs that weren't even being eaten. One of the eggs had a still developing chick impaled on its own eggshell. The Mauler didn't want the eggs. It smashed them to get at the two mothers before it.

Chazon saw red at that very moment as the Mauler roared at the two filolials and dashed out to strike the monster in the back of the head with his spear. The filolial mothers squawked in surprise at the intervention. The Mauler tried to get up… only to find itself pinned by a very unhappy Spear Hero.

To think that the first time I fought one of these things, I almost died to try and kill it. Yet here I am, overpowering it with no problem at all. Amazing what all these stat gains can do. Chazon glowered at the bear monster. "Your kind really is cruelty incarnate. You end young life not to feed on them, but to lure their parents so that you can kill them more easily? Perhaps you need to be made an example out of!"

With those words, Chazon grabbed one of the arms and slowly started ripping it off with grotesque sounds of breaking bones and tearing flesh. The monster started whimpering in pain as chazon tore its arm off before twisting its neck harshly, killing it instantly. He would have made it suffer more, but he'd rather not succumb to another Corruption Series on Fitoria's turf.

Chazon sighed, anger ebbing away to sadness as he walked over to the two nests and dropped to his knees in front of them. The two filolial mothers, clearly not bothered by his brutal display, walked over and let out a few mournful chirps; their young never had a chance to even live outside of their eggs. They even saw Chazon gently caress one of the dead chicks, tears slowly rolling down his face.

Eventually the two mothers began to leave somberly; there was no point in staying anymore. Chazon had been shifting his hand around in the first nest mournfully before his hand contacted something rather solid. Overcome with curiosity, he removed some of the broken eggshells… and saw a still intact egg that survived the Cyclops Mauler. He quickly moved to the other nest and found one more intact egg that was also still alive.

"Mama filolials!" The two mothers looked back when they heard Chazon call out, only to chirp in surprise at him holding out two eggs to the both of them. "You still have eggs that can hatch!" They looked at each other for a moment… before they used their heads to push their eggs back towards the spear hero with soft chirps. "You're… letting me take care of them?"

Both mothers nod and a wave of emotions washed over Chazon. After gently putting the eggs down, he managed to extract the two incubators that he had held on to from when he got Obsidian's and Amber's eggs. After the new eggs were safely in the incubators, he got up and pressed his head against both filolial's heads. "I promise… that your chicks will grow to be strong and healthy. That your sacrifices will not have been in vain." He got a couple more soft chirps before they finally left.

Picking up the two incubators, he decided to push any and all thoughts from before to the back of his mind for now. He needed to return to Fitoria and tell her what happened.

After confirming his position and where the waymark is, he rushed back to the ruined plaza. When he got there, he noted that it was still just Fitoria and Naofumi, who looked surprised at the blood that was on him. "Queen Fitoria… I found some of your subjects getting attacked by a Cyclops Mauler."

Fitoria widened her eyes at that. "While my barrier doesn't prevent other monsters from entering, they still don't typically invade for fear of my retribution."

"Well… this one felt like it could destroy the nests and eggs of two mothers before trying to kill them." Seething hot rage passed over Fitoria's eyes, though she quickly calmed down when she made the correlation between the information and the blood on his armor. "I did find two intact and still alive eggs, but both mothers saw fit to let me take care of them…"

"Then... take care of them for me as well…" Fitoria's voice had become soft.

Chazon thought for a moment before nodding at Naofumi. "Could you take care of one as well? My party is already very big and I have no doubts that you'll be able to raise this chick as well as you raised Filo."

Naofumi looked at Fitoria, who nodded, before sighing as he accepted one incubator. "If you're certain. Just know that if this egg hatches into another glutton, I'm not going to be happy."

Chazon couldn't hold back his laugh at that. "I understand."

Fitoria smiled at the scene, knowing that two of her unborn subjects were going to be raised lovingly by the two heroes before her. Even if they grow into candidates, I've already chosen my successors so I no longer have to worry about that.

It was almost dark when everyone else returned from their rides. When they noted that Chazon and Naofumi were both carrying incubators that contained filolail eggs, everyone was excited. Filo especially wanted to have a younger sibling while Obsidian and Amber were excited over the prospect of having another member of the family.

While dinner was cooking, Chazon kept staring awkwardly at the girls of his party as they chatted with Naofumi's party and each other. Shoot… things are going to get very awkward for me now that I know the true reason behind them being more affectionate… perhaps I need to talk with them about this sooner rather than later.

Once the "festivities" were done, including all of the filolials crowding on top of both of the heroes much to their chagrin, everyone was once again asleep in their groups. Chazon noted Filo and Obsidian cuddling in their sleep and smiled at the sight. May you both find solace in each other as the years go by.

He noticed Naofumi beckoning him and the Spear Hero followed. They came to the top of some stairs with Fitoria standing nearby. "I know we don't have all night, but could I get caught up on everything you two discussed last night?"

"It would be rude to not catch you up on the subjects at hand." Fitoria and Naofumi summed up everything they discussed last night, including the reason why Chazon's love life was brought up earlier.

Chazon folded his arms. "That you are concerned over if the four heroes are working together or not… will the waves be that harsh going forward?"

Fitoria sighed at that. "More than you know. As it stands right now, all four of you are too weak at the current rate. The battles against the Soul Eaters and the invader from another world only worked out by a paper-thin margin. Unless you four get together and discuss things properly, the next wave may very well be your last."

"And the world and all its people… will cease to exist…" Chazon frowned at that; he couldn't imagine a world of nothing.

Fitoria looks at the two heroes. "Eventually, you'll be forced to choose between saving the world… or saving the people. If you choose to save the world, your duty will be fulfilled but many will lose their lives in the process. If you choose the people… all I can say is that it'll be a very thorny path."

Naofumi looks at the sky somberly. "Then I'll need the Shield of Wrath more than ever, even with the four of us working together."

"I'll do my best with both my Purity and Corruption Series weapons as well."

"While I still dislike the prospect of you two using such forbidden powers, I'll bow to Reine Skala's mindset and provide you with the means to resist your curse and corruption." Fitoria touched Naofumi's breastplate and his Barbarian's Armor gained a Curse corrosion resistance bonus. She turned and touched Chazon's which enhanced his Corruption corrosion resistance to an extreme bonus.

Chazon thought of something right then. "Perhaps you can protect Naofumi further if I give you this?" He withdraws one of the Purity Dragon Scales he got from Reine Skala and gives it to Fitoria. He had already given one scale to Naofumi earlier for a new shield.

She regards the scale with wonder. "That Reine Skala deemed you worthy of giving you some of his scales… I am amazed. This will indeed strengthen my blessing." She put the scale on Naofumi's armor and further enhanced it. "However… even with this, the corrosion won't be completely stopped. I'd recommend doing your best in getting strong enough to never resort to such powers ever again."

Naofumi smiled at her. "Even so, you blessed us with the means to better fight back against our dark powers. You really are nice, Fitoria."

Fitoria felt a wave of emotion wash over here as she remembered her own hero, prompting her to lay her head down on Naofumi's lap. He simply smiled and stroked her hair affectionately.

Chazon looked at the moon with a determined look. We'll have to choose between the people and the world, huh? If I had a choice, I'd try to save both, but I know it doesn't work like that. If push comes to shove… I'll save the people, no questions asked. Even with how many cruel people live in it, it's no different from my old world. To condemn the innocent just because of the guilty is a cruel thing to do.

The next morning found the two parties being warped by Obsidian's carriage thanks to Fitoria. The group decided to report back to Queen Mirellia and inform her of the decision to bring the other two heroes in for a hero-to-hero talk.

Obsidian's carriage was not only large enough to fit many people as passengers, but it also had enough room for the two filolial monarchs to pull it side by side. "Kuro-kun, your carriage feels nice!"

"I think so as well! Daddy made it for me when I was born!" Chazon rolled his eyes; it was made before Obsidian was born, but he decided to omit that info.

It didn't take long before the Queen's encampment came into view. The knights recognized the Spear Hero and allowed the carriage in. After getting parked, one of the soldiers informed Chazon that the demi-human slaves he had freed were safely escorted to Van's territory.

Reaching the back of the encampment, they had barely started approaching the Queen's tent when Mirellia burst out of it. "Is Melty safe?!"

"Mother!" Melty rushed forward and embraced her mom tearfully.

Chazon grimaced at that. She didn't know we went with Fitoria. She could have been worried sick or even despondent that her daughter was dead or lost thanks to that scuffle with the Tyrant Dragon Rex. "Sorry we're late, your majesty. We were summoned elsewhere after the Tyrant Dragon Rex was killed."

"It's fine. I'm just glad my daughter is safe!" There were tears of happiness in Mirellia's eyes, which made everyone smile. After introductions were made between Naofumi's party and the Queen, her mood turned down. "As happy as this moment should be… I have bad news to share with you all."

Naofumi stiffened at that. "What now?"

"The Church of the Three Heroes… have taken over Castle Town, turned it into their stronghold, and declared the royalty of Melromarc as heretics; Siltvelt is attempting to invade once again despite me pleading with them not to; and… I received word that the other two heroes are dead."