CHAPTER 7: Checking in with others

Shirou smiled at the inn keep of the Conel inn as he handed him the cash.

"Thank you. Your rooms are on the second floor, back three rooms. One for the lass and two for the four of you."

Shirou nodded at that. "Thank you again." With that, the group began to move, walking up to the second floor in silence. It wasn't until they got to the end of the hallway that Shirou spoke.

"Alright. We have fifteen days left according to the hourglass, so I think we can stay here for two days. It took us about ten or eleven days to get here, but I'd like to leave a bit earlier in case anything comes up." The group nods in understanding.

"May I suggest we hunt in the mountains then whilst we are here? I know my way around them, and from what I remember, further in gives some good experience." Tersia spoke up.

Shirou looked at his party, seeing if anyone had anything against it, and upon seeing no complaints, Shirou nodded.

"Sounds good. I suppose we'll have to rely on you to guide us at that point. For now, I think we should just relax. Go to our rooms and do what you want." With a nod the group split off, Bakta being with Shirou again.

Shirou looked at Bakta, and Bakta sighed. "Let me guess, more projections?" Shirou nodded.

"Fine, let's get to it."

Shirou explained the situation easily to Bakta.

"So somehow, the arm is merging with your body. And you think it's because of your sword?" Shirou nodded again.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"I'm not so sure. What if it wipes the arm clean, takes all the memories?"

Bakta put a hand to his chin. "It could do that…" he spoke. "But why would it? If it contains those blades like you said, would the legendary sword, which you presume to be sentient, derive itself of a potentially powerful addition to its arsenal?"

Thinking that way, Shirou realised he had been overthinking it. "Y-yeah. You're right. It was stupid." Shirou spoke. "It's fine. I'll just keep projecting them. It can't be that hard."

Bakta signed, sitting beside him again. "Same thing as last time. If you're out of it for too long, I'll go get a healer." With a nod, the cloth came undone again, and Shirou was sucked into the memories.

Shirou recognised the red spear. The spear of lancer in the fifth heavens feel. He had wondered just what had happened to that servant and their master.

He shook his head. He was here to learn about swords, to project them. Not think on memories.

He recognised the scene. His house during the first night of the war. If he remembered correctly, Lancer would try to spear him any moment.

And Shirou was correct, the battle cry of Lancer letting the dream Shirou block his strike, rolling out of the way.

"Huh, impressive kid. Some nice magecraft you got there. It's a shame it won't save you." The dream Shirou didn't respond, simply holding the reinforced rod.

Shirou shook his head. This can't be Archer's memory, right? Archer simply wasn't in this room when Lancer ambushed him. He was still beside Rin, rushing to get over to his house.

The dream Shirou was kicked through the doors, landing in a pile of dust outside, Lancer whistling as he strode forward.

"Come on kid. Just accept your fate."

He moved forwards, and dream Shirou rolled away, towards the shed.

Shirou knew how this part went. He could remember the mana draining in the air, the formation of the command seals on his hand as Saber was summoned. It all happened as he remembered. the Lancer being driven away via command seal from his master. And yet, he couldn't help but feel it would be different.

Shirou was chucked forward, following behind Saber as she moved to the front to confront who he presumed to be Rin and Archer.

He was correct. Even as he witnessed himself run through the entrance to his house, the similar scene of Rin and Archer stood there, but it was different. Instead of Archer having only been slashed, Saber didn't stop there. She quickly lunged forwards, even as Archer fell back, a shocked look on his face.

Saber lunged forwards, impaling the silver haired Archer on her blade, his face a mixture of horror and shock, even as he began to fade away. As Saber turned to Rin, the world began to blur.

Shirou gasped again, this time, his throat wasn't dry, but he hadn't come out with any usable weapon for himself. He had simply gotten the Lancers Spear. A formidable weapon still. Shaking his head, he thought back to the memory.

That wasn't his holy grail war. He was certain of it. The only similarities were the beginning. The blue lancer, the king of knights being summoned. But then, the differences began to emerge. In his, Archer hadn't been killed that early. He had only been injured, taking a day to rest. He remembered himself getting there earlier, and yet, the dream Shirou never even arrived until the end, to stunned to do anything. He shook his head, looking at Bakta as he spoke another question

"Did you get another weapon?"

Shirou hummed. "I suppose I did. For the Spear hero."

Bakta nodded. "I guess you can't expect to get a sword every time. But at least you can arm your fellow heroes, right?"

Shirou nodded at that. The only issue he had, was that whilst he could arm Motoyasu with several spears, Itsuki with a bow, and maybe if archer had seen arrows. He wasn't exactly sure how Itsukis weapon worked. Did it draw arrows from nothingness? He shook his head, getting back on track. His main issue was that he couldn't help Naofumi. He only had one shield, and he had no idea where Naofumi would even start with trying to copy it. It seemed like some experimentation was in order at a later point, but for now, they had some hunting to do.

As it turns out, Tersia was right. The mountain gave plenty of Experience, and in just the two days they had been there, Shirou had levelled to level 37, whilst his party was level 38. it had allowed Shirou to equip Kanshou and Bakuya. He has immediately spent the pool of mastered energy he had gotten on the married blades, levelling them from common to Rare. Whilst it was still only a upgrade of two ranks, Shirou could see the difference, especially with one of the abilities unlocked.

Kanshou and Bakuya (degraded)

Rarity: UC

Skill:

triple crane linked wings.

Passive ability: damage to monsters 10%

Shirou smiled as they headed back to the Inn. Whilst he wasn't the strongest, he could be, he had certainly tried his best. He just hoped it was enough for the wave. But now, it was time for them to head back to castle town. Whilst it would take some time, He was looking forward to meeting with his fellow heroes.

Naofumi panted beside Raphtalia, gently patting her head as tears slid down her face.

"P-please, Mr Naofumi, don't leave me" she spoke softly crying into his now bloodied cloak.

Naofumi despised this. The fact that she was forced to fight for him. It made him hate this world more and more.

Naofumi nodded. "As long as you keep fighting, I won't leave you." Naofumi spoke, still comforting her, gently patting her head.

Raphtalia nodded wordlessly, still crying into his bloodstained cloak.

Looking at the demon dog, he decided it could wait a few minutes. His sla- no, companion needed help.

Naofumi sat at the table, Raphtalia the opposite side of him as they ate. As usual, Naofumi couldn't taste anything. It was just another thing this world had taken from him, but he had gotten used to it.

It frustrated him still, but he had learnt to move past that particular hurdle for now. He just watched as Raphtalia finished her meal, before absently looking at their levels.

Level 28 and Level 27. Not bad for only a couple of weeks. Naofumi mentally thought. He was bought out of his thoughts by Raphtalia, who had begun calling his name.

"-fumi, Mr Naofumi!"

"Huh, what is it Raphtalia?"

"I was just thinking, we should probably head back to the capital. You need to figure out where the wave is as well as getting some new equipment for us."

He nodded. "Yeah, I think you need a new sword, your old ones looking a bit chipped. But why me? I don't exactly need armour considering my shield." As if to prove his point, he raised his shield to her.

Raphtalia looked at him in disbelief.

"You just got hurt by that porcupine monster! You need more defense! At least use some of the materials we have on hand to get something custom made!" She began shouting. Naofumi simply lowered his head, ready for her to start shouting. It really was tiring, getting lectured for his own safety.

Motoyasu pet his Tyrella on the side of its head, using his other hand to scratch its chin. The Tyrella shook in happiness, and Motoyasu smiled.

"Man, this game is so realistic. It all feels so… real." He spoke to himself, a wide smile on his face. He truly felt like a hero here. Helping everyone out, a beautiful group of women following him, it was all Motoyasu wanted.

His thoughts were only soured by Naofumi, but he shook his head. He didn't know how he'd break the news to Shirou, that Naofumi had tried to rape one of his companions. He shook his head again. Shirou would be here soon

He didn't want to feel angry when Shirou was here. He wanted to laugh, share stories with Itsuki and Shirou, exchange tips and just have general fun with them.

With a smile, he stood up. He had reservations to make. Surely, they'd make an exception for the heroes. With one last scratch behind the Tyrella ears, Motoyasu walked out.

Itsuki slinked back into the city, his party having already gone ahead of him, despite their protests. Itsuki had simply waved them off.

The truth was, the only reason Itsuki was here was because Motoyasu wanted to meet up with him and Shirou. He very much doubted Naofumi would appear.

Shaking his head as he walked through the gate, he thought of what he had done. Whilst most of it had been killing monsters, he had stopped that one king to the north. He smiled at that.

He had felt great when they had hailed him as a hero of justice. When he has gotten told of the exorbitant taxes the king had raised, he had moved in immediately. Surely only a tyrant would do something like that! That's what Itsuki told himself, what let him keep moving forwards.

He had even gotten a new NPC to follow him. He had enjoyed listening to her gush over his justice. He had listened to her beg to join his party and had accepted. Whilst the green haired NPC had been skilled with magic, it wasn't what he needed. He needed a front-line fighter, someone else who could cover him, so he had her train with a sword.

He shook his head, the thought leaving his mind. He still had to decide whether he was going to tell the others of his involvement in the overthrowing of the northern king. He slinked off again.

Somewhere, in a room far from Melromarc, the Queen sat on a table.

"Shadow, you may show yourself."

The shadow appeared on the balcony, kneeling Infront of the lady.

"Of course, my Queen."

"Can you tell me if the four heroes?"

"Yes. Which would you like me to start with, your majesty?"

"The spear hero."

With a cough, the shadow spoke.

"The spear hero. He seems to surround himself with women but seems to have been specifically picked for your daughter, Malty. Whilst the Spear hero himself is not a bad person from what I can tell, she has him wrapped around her finger. I fear for him if she ever loses interest in him. I believe she would cast him away to simply up her social standing."

The Queen nodded, tapping her fingers on the desk.

"Can you tell me what he's done so far?

"Whilst he has mainly been preparing himself for the next wave, as he was told to, he keeps his party behind him, not letting them take part in any of his fighting. He has also dealt with monster infestations to the West. Whilst it's nothing major, it can't be expected for a new hero to do what the heroes of legends did."

The Queen nodded in agreement.

"What about the bow?"

"The young bow hero hid himself from the public as soon as the option was available to him. Like the spear, he has cleared a few monster infestations in the north, but he may have done something he did not understand the ramifications of." The shadow spoke nervously.

"What did he do?"

"The king of the country bordering melromarc to the north. He killed him because a few settlements told him of the taxes he had imposed. Whilst they were heavy taxes, and could have been implemented better, the Bow did not know this. He assassinated the king and left immediately after. There has been a power struggle since, and the people are beginning to flee to Melromarc. If I may make a suggestion, if we can correct his path, it would not be a bad idea to teach him how to hide himself better."

The queen nodded at the last part. "It makes sense. If we can correct his path, then I will permit it." She thought over the rest of the Bows actions, eventually shaking her head.

"I see. The bow hero has made a mistake, but he was fed the wrong information. I can only hope we reach him at some point. Never mind. Send aid to the fleeing resident's if possible. What of the Sword?"

"The Sword hero went south immediately after he met his party. He seems to be a calm person. He talks with his members often enough and asks for their input on situations. The last place he was seen was Conel village, but from what I have heard, he had begun heading back to Castle town to meet with the other heroes. As far as we know, he does not know if the Shields issues."

The queen nodded again.

"How is the shield doing then?"

"Whilst he is not as high as the other heroes, having started almost an entire week behind them, he has grown stronger, the slave along with him. They entered the Riyute mines, and emerged bloody, having defeated the wave monster inside it."

The queen nodded as she heard the information.

"If I may add my own input, your majesty?"

"You may."

"So far, the heroes are doing a competent job. The only thing holding them back I feel is the accusations against the shield hero. It may be wise to try and sort it out sooner rather than later."

The queen thought it over for a moment.

"I would have to agree. The only issue is that if I were to leave now, no one would be able to take my place in these negotiations. This last month would have been a waste, and I am… cautious about sending Melty."

The shadow nodded, and the queen continued to speak. "But when I do get back, my first task will be to throw out these false accusations against the shield. Hopefully, the shield will have enough strength to survive until then."

The shadow coughed slightly. "There has also been reports from the three heroes church, your majesty. They have begun to organise. We don't know what for, but we fear it may involve the heroes somehow."

"Send some more shadows to keep an eye on them. See if you are able to gather anything else you may think is important."

The shadow nodded. "If that is your wish, your majesty." With that said, the shadow disappeared again, with the queen sighing.

The Pope pondered what to do as he looked towards the statue, the weapon in its grasp. He wouldn't act yet. He still had to figure out whether he could draw the heroes to his side. To see if they were truly the holy figures they had been painted to be.

Another sigh escaped him as he thought back to the nun who had spoken of the Sword. How he had been asking about the lack of anything regarding the shield.

The hero was perceptive, the Pope would give him that. He would simply have to manipulate the King more. Make it seem as if it was only the King's personal grudge at play, nothing related to the church.

His thoughts drifted to the Spear and Bow hero. The spear was easily controlled as of now due to the red-haired princess, but if the church was to ever get what they wanted, she would eventually have to perish. He had plans in place, ways to replace her role to the hero of the spear, but he held back on them. Not out of any sentiment to her, but simply because she was making it easier for them.

the bow hero would be easy. From what the pope had seen from the reports, the hero of the bow was led by his vision of justice, much like many of the past bow heroes. All he had to do was simply exploit it. Maybe get a village of loyal followers to talk about the kingdom in a bad light. Maybe even the Pope would appear before him, asking for his help in taking down the corrupt royal family of Melromarc.

With a shake of his head, he dispelled his thoughts. The heroes still had time to become what he thought they could. He would give them until the third wave. If they failed? Then they would simply summon another set. It was always easier to control heroes who had just been summoned after all.

Shirou and his party stood on the mountain overlooking castle town, a smile on their faces as they looked at the town. Even from above, they could see the people rushing around, the many merchants on the streets selling their wares.

"Well. Let's head to Erhard's first yeah? then we can meet up with everyone else." Shirou spoke.

With a nod from the rest of the group, they set off again, heading towards the entrance to Castle town.