"Alright, Aquilla." said Marius as he arranged a few black chess pieces on the chessboard. "Began."

Aquilla stared at the chess pieces at the table with his hand on his chin. Then his face lighted up, and he pushed all of the white pieces towards the black pieces. He lifted his head with a confident smile but Marius stared at him with a scowled face.

"He's not that bright, is he?" said Mercy.

"No." said Marius, "But if Filo can learn, so can he."

Then the tent flap opened up and Fohl entered, "Sir Marius."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Master Naofumi invited you to join a trip to Cal Mira."

"Cal Mira. They made the best wine. When do they move?"

"Now. They're waiting for you right now."

"Very well." Marius got up from his chair. "Will you take my place?"

"Perhaps I could help teach him." said Mercy.

She sat down on Marius's chair, facing Aquilla. While Marius exited the tent with Fohl followed beside him.

"Follow me." said Fohl as he walked way ahead of Marius.

"Fohl, is it?" said Marius.

"I thought you know my name."

"We hardly talk. But I know your sister."

Fohl stopped for a moment, then he turned around, "You stay away from my sister, you lolicon!"

"I am not interested with your sister. I'm already engaged to someone."

Fohl turned around and continued walking, "Fine. But that doesn't mean I trust you, old man."

"Respect your elders, boy. And I'm not that old."


In the onsen on Cal Mira, Naofumi stepped in the water with Hanzo, Itsuki and Rishia, who Naofumi has permission to join the men's side just to take care of Itsuki.

As they submerged themselves in the hot water, Marius came in with his towel on his shoulders while being completely naked and Rishia quickly turned her head away.

"Can you please cover up!" said Naofumi.

"I thought this is a bath house." said Marius.

"Technically, yes. But it's not the type of bath house you know!"

"My apologize." said Marius. He then proceed to walked towards the water then started submerging his entire body. "The water is hot."

"That's what an onsen is. It's suppose to rest your body and mind."

"Sounds like something I needed. I wonder why you never brought me here?"

Then, Filo jumped over the hedge that separated the men's bath and the women's bath with Melty on her back before jumping into the water with them.

"Filo! This is the men's bath!" said Melty as he frantically cover herself with her towel.

"Filo, not again. I thought we've talked about this." said Naofumi.

"But I want to bathe with Marius." said Filo.

"I can see why." said Marius.

"As your future wife, Filo will wash your back for you."

"Very well."

Filo transformed into her human form then happily swam towards Marius. She grabbed the nearest soap then started rubbing her fiance's back.

"You seem to enjoy this role of a wife." said Naofumi.

"Mmhmm. Big fish sister said it's a wife's duty to make the husband happy." said Filo.

"Oh yeah, same thing goes to the husband." Naofumi shifted his sight at Marius.

"Uh? How does the husband makes the husband happy?"

"I understood what you mean." said Marius.

Meanwhile, Melty slowly creeped towards Hanzo with only her head on the surface and sat next to her bodyguard.

"Did something happened between you two?" said Naofumi, who noticed the bright red blush on their faces.

"He's my bodyguard! Of course I have to be close to him!" said Melty.

Suddenly, Filo stopped rubbing Marius's back and started submerging herself.

"What's wrong?" said Marius.

"Hello father-in-law!" said Motoyasu with one of his filolial following him.

"Malaka."

"Oh, the Ugly Bastard is here too."

"You are free to leave."

Motoyasu then saw Filo peeked out behind Marius, "Filo-chan! Filo-chan, did the Ugly Bastard hurt you!"

Filo quickly retreated back behind Marius, shaken in fear.

"Go to the women's bath." Marius whispered.

"But."

"You will be safe with Raphtalia. Go."

Filo got out of the water before transforming to her filolial form then jumped back to the women's side.

"Filo-chan..." said Motoyasu with his hands stretch out for Filo.

"Quit your pursuit for Filo. It will serve you well."

Motoyasu quickly drew his spear then pointed the sharp tip at Marius, "Ever thought you might not belong in this story!"

"What?"

"Because I can't help but wondering if you're just a parasite! Taking all the glory which should have been mine!"

"You're talking nonsense."

"You came to this world just to steal my glory! No, you probably here to take my place!"

Marius got up then stepped forward, "I did not choose to be in this world. I was suppose to die in battle then have my soul be judged fairly. But the fates have put me here instead."

"Don't use fate as an excuse!"

"I accepted my fate, and so should you. Neither me nor you can change it."

The atmosphere became incredibly tense as the two spear wielders had a long stare down. Even the girls on the women's side started peeking through a hole to watch the scene.

Motoyasu lowered his spear, then he got out of the water. "Come on, Midori. I suddenly lost my desire to bathe. He already dirtied the water anyways."

Marius scoffed before going back to where he sat down, while Motoyasu and the male filolial followed him.

"We still need him for the meeting here." said Ren.

"I'll go looking for him after we finished." said Naofumi, "You really have to pissed him off like that, Marius?"

"I only gave him advice. He is still young, he will need it." said Marius.

"Doesn't look like he wants to take it."

"Then pray it won't be his downfall. I know he is important in saving this world, and I rather not take his place."

"Naofumi said you took Motoyasu's spear off his hand then use it against him. Was that true?" said Ren.

"Yes. Hopefully, it will teach him a lesson." said Marius.

"But how?"

"I never bothered to find out."

"Why?"

"Because I don't care."


While on his way to his room, he saw Fohl leaned against the wall.

"I did not saw you bathing with us." said Marius.

"I didn't felt like joining." said Fohl.

"Then why are you here? I did not see your sister with the others."

"Stay away from her!"

"For the last time, I am not interested in your sister... Come with me."

"What are you planning on doing?"

"We will drink. You look old enough... Well?"

"Fine. I have to know what I'm up against."


In the tavern, Marius poured wine into his and Fohl's cup. Fohl took the cup then start drinking from it while keeping his eyes on Marius. After the wine touched his tongue, Fohl tried not to spat out the wine then swallowed it.

Fohl then watch as Marius gulped down his cup with no difficulty. Marius then separated the cup from his lips before letting down a satisfied ah.

"How's the taste?" said Marius.

"Like rotten eggs." said Fohl.

"I was perhaps younger than you when I drank my first wine."

"Why are you bringing me here?"

"So we could bond like men. Naofumi has a meeting with the heroes and I do not want to know what a drunk filolial queen will look like."

"... You fought in wars before?"

"Yes, but not of this world. Yet."

"How many?"

"Too many I could count."

"What's it like?"

"First, you will be eager to fight. To do for what you have been trained for years. But when the fight is over and the enemy routed, you will be left with fields of corpses of the enemy and your comrades. Then you will start wondering if all of it was worth it."

"But only through war can peace be achieve."

"Yes that is true. But you will wish a better way that will not leave so soldiers in their graves... But there is none." Marius refilled his cup and started drinking from it.

Meanwhile, Fohl just stared at the puddle of wine in his cup.

"You fought at the coliseum so you could take care of your sister, yes?"

"She was ill. I couldn't afford medicine so I fought to earn money... Until Master Naofumi came in and took us in."

"Your master is a good man. It was his kindness that brought us here."

"Do you have a sister?"

"Well, I do consider Raphtalia and Rishia as my sisters-"

"No. I meant your real sister."

Hearing that, Marius filled his cup full then started gulping it down. He did it twice.

"I had... A sister... She was naive and often childish. And I would fight any men who tried to court her. But she would be mad at me in the end."

"I understand."

"I made a promise I would protect her from harm. But I broke that promise when I ran away from home to join the legion."

"You're a terrible brother."

"I know."

"So what happened to her?"

Marius face turned to sorrow. He looked away at stared at the horizon as a single tear fell on his eye, "I wasn't there when my own people betrayed my family... I let my own ambition in the way of my family... Fohl, promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Protect your sister... Don't make the same mistake I did." Marius got up then dropped a few silver coins on the table, "I enjoyed your company. Now return to your room."

Marius then walked out of the tavern, leaving Fohl behind with two empty cups and half a bottle of wine.


"A festival?" said Marius.

"Yes. We'll be having it the nearest town." said Naofumi.

"And who's idea was this?"

"Princess Melty. She said it'll be a good idea to pull in more profits to us."

"So you want security?"

"Well that, and... We have a variety of attractions planned for the festival."

"And?"

"One of the attraction involved Filo going on stage performing."

"... Why?"

"Incase you don't know, after she sang and danced back in the inn she kinda garnered alot of fans... I mean admirers."

"How many?"

"Enough to fill the entire town." said Melty as she and her bodyguard entered while carrying more stacks of documents. "Rumors about her performance spread like wildfire."

"Rather than having her just stay here to take care of your child, I think it's great that we'll let her do something else." said Naofumi.

"No... I do not permit this." said Marius, who grew impatient.

"But I do. I know you're engaged to Filo but she's still my slave. She still needs to do what I told her to."

Marius groaned and turned towards the exit.

"But you can still watch her."

Marius punched the wall on his way out and it shook the dust off the ceiling.

Naofumi sighed, "What am I gonna do with him."

"It's a bad idea to test his patience that much." said Mercy who appeared beside them out of nowhere.

Everyone in Naofumi's office was surprised except for Hanzo.

"Why are you still here? Pretty sure the people who were hunting you were already executed." said Naofumi.

"I like this village." said Mercy.

"Seriously?"

"She's right." said Hanzo, "You might risk breaking his trust on you."

"Well, he's gonna have to accept it sooner or later." said Naofumi.

"So you rather have a blood bathe happening during the festival?" said Mercy.

"Well I'm not cancelling Filo's performance. How about you follow him and prevent him from acting out."

"Perhaps I can help. This sounds like a difficult task." said Hanzo.

"You're okay with me borrowing your bodyguard?" said Naofumi to Melty.

"For the sake of the festival, yes you may." said Melty.


The large crowd cheered for the filolial queen Filo as she sings and dance on the stage with musicians following her beat. The center of town became an ocean of Filo's adoring fans. All cheered on for the singing girl, except for Marius who tried to silently calm himself.

"Love me! Filo-chan!" Motoyasu cheered while waving a flag with Filo's face on it, with his three filolial queens who grew bored by the show.

"I am so happy to be able to listen to her singing!" said one of the audience to another.

"I know! It was worth travelling this far! I can feel the love she brought to us with her singing!" said another audience.

"Hey friend! You look down! Don't you love her singing!" one of the audience said to Marius.

"Yes... I do."

"Then show it! Let Filo knows how much we love her."

"I did. I'm engaged to her." said Marius, hoping it will deter the two audience.

But the of them started laughing.

Furious, Marius turned his whole body to face the two, "Did I stutter?"

"Listen, we are all her fans here. But don't go around claiming she's your fiancee."

On the verge of losing his patience, Marius reached for his gladius when someone grabbed his shoulder.

"If you want to keep your heads I suggest moving somewhere else." said Mercy.

The two audience complied and walked away.

"Can you believe this guy? Talk about being delusional." said the other audience while the other one laughed.

"You finally have better control of your patience, centurion." said Mercy.

"I'm taking a break." said Marius as he pushed through the crowd as Mercy and Hanzo tried catching up with him.

After he got out of the crowd, he was met with a sight of more of Filo's fan buying and showing off their Filo merchandise.

"This is not a good place." said Hanzo.

"Agree." Marius gritted his teeth.

They escorted Marius away till they reached where Rato was presenting Aquila to a group of filolial enthusiast and breeders who all came to look at the new filolial species.

"Aquila!" said Marius.

"Yes, centurion father!" said Aquila.

"Go to queen mother's stage and stand guard. Protect her with you life."

"Yes, centurion father!" Aquilla got out of his display pen then transformed and headed towards the concert.

"What are you doing?!" said Rato.

"He's a legionnaire. Not a pet."

"First, you won't let me do research on Filo. Then you won't let me check on your unborn child. And now this!"

"Your research is not my concern." Marius walked passed Rato.

"What's with him?" said Rato.

"He's not in a good mood." said Mercy as she and Hanzo followed Marius.

After he was far away from the festival concert, Marius saw the tailor lady running towards him.

"There you are!" said the Tailor Lady, "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I needed a break." said Marius.

"Well, since I got you here. Could you follow me to my shop?"

"What for?"

"I need your measurement for your wedding suit."

"Do I need it?"

"Of course. It won't be fair if only the bride has to wear something special for a special day."

"Very well."


Inside the tailor shop, the tailor lady carefully measured Marius's body as he stood still, letting the woman do her work.

"How is Filo's performance? I saw many people gathered at the stage." said the tailor lady.

"I do enjoy her singing but her admirers ruined it for me." said Marius.

"Is that jealousy I'm sensing?" the tailor lady teased.

"No... Yes."

"That's normal. That shows how much you love her." the tailor lady wrote down Marius measurement on a notebook. "I mean, as long as she doesn't fell in love with one of her admirers and decided to cancel the engagement before running off to marry somewhere else... Like that cheating worthless bastard!"

Marius noticed her change in tone, "Is everything alright?"

The tailor lady then switched back to her regular tone, "Oh, nothing! Everything's fine!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I'm alright!"

"... Very well. Is there more?"

"More what?"

"Do you need more for this wedding suit of mine?"

"Oh no. I actually have all your measurement, so it should be good."

"Very well. Now I must get a drink."

"But won't you miss out all of her singing?"

"Yes but with all her admirers, I rather get stab."


After the festival was over, Marius returned to his room and started removing his armor. One by one, his armor pieces fell to the floor. Starting from the pauldron to his cuirass.

He then heard his door creaking. He turned his head and saw Filo who timidly entered his room with her idol dress.

"How was your show?" said Marius.

"It was great! There were alot of people coming to see Filo! And Filo received many gift from the fans!"

"I see." Marius took off his vambraces then placed it on his table.

"But Filo didn't see you when it ended. Where were you? Don't you like Filo's singing?"

"I do. But the loud cheering from them ruined it."

"You don't like the people who came to see Filo?"

"No."

"Well..." Filo jumped on Marius's bed and gets on her knees, "I said to them no one else can get closer to Filo. Only my future husband can."

"You told all them that?"

"Yes. But all of them were surprised to hear that, and some of them even started crying. Filo thought telling them will make them feel happy for Filo. And after that master started scolding me."

"Damn you, Naofumi." said Marius under his breath.

"Now Filo wants to be with you. Filo is not tired yet, so..."

Marius took off his tunic and joined Filo on his bed. Marius pulled Filo closer to him and the two started their sensual kiss. After they parted their lips, Filo started unbuttoning her idol dress and exposed her breast to Marius. But the slave crest marked on her chest only reminded Marius that she is still Naofumi's slave.

"Marius? What's wrong?" said Filo.

"Nothing."

Filo grabbed her lover's arm then she pulled him down as she laid on her back and Marius was on top of her.

"I'm more worried about my door. I haven't fix it yet."


The next morning...

"You wanted to see me?" said Marius as he entered Naofumi's office.

"I just want to know if you're still mad at me." said Naofumi.

"No. Not as much."

"Good. And is everything alright last night?"

"Yes, I didn't murdered all the audience."

"That's good to hear. Anyways, did you ordered your men to take all of Filo's fan mail to the barracks?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"The night can be so cold for my legionnaires. So the mail from the admirers will make excellent fuel for the campfire."

"You do realized those were meant for Filo, right?"

"Yes but Filo is not the type to sit down and read all the mail. So rather than leave it to the dust I decided to give it a good use for the legions."

"I see your point. You're dismissed."

"Thank you." Marius turned around and headed to the door.

"Wait. Can you bring back some of the mail here. We're nearly ran out of firewood for the fireplace."

"Very well. I'll have the legionnaires send them here."

"Thank you."

After Marius left the office, Naofumi could continue counting the profits they made from the festival. As he counted the mountain of wealth he gained he started laughing to himself as greed started taking over his heart.