Okay here's the 10th ch of the story

Anyway it's good to see my first custom arc didn't end up being a bust since I got reviews and favorites and followers.

"I have to say this is certainly quite a surprise." Bluebell said as she learned of the demi human she and Audrey had freed joining their party upon coming to the tavern and inquiring as to why Baxley's name suddenly appeared on the roster of her hub earlier that morning. "Regardless I'm pleased to see we'll have a new comrade going forward."

"I'll be sure to prove myself a great asset to fighting the waves of calamity." The hyena demi human declared.

"I'm curious though now that you have your freedom back is anything more than you might hope to do?"

"What do you mean?" Baxley inquired with a look of genuine confusion. "I'm more than a bit certain that helping one of the cardinal heroes save our world from the waves of calamity is one of if not the greatest aspiration one could have."

Bluebell giggled at the statement a bit. "No, I mean is there any more personal goal you'd like to achieve or maybe someone you might want to see."

Baxley took a few moments to ponder the question before answering. "Well I'd like to meet our god even if only once."

At this both Bluebell and even Audrey couldn't but giggle a bit at that statement. Considering that the shield hero was known to be the idol of the demi humans and beastmen they should have expected as much. "That should be easy enough to arrange."

"Really?!"

"Yes but be advised due to the crown's plot against him sir Naofumi is wary of strangers now, that being said he still has a kind soul underneath his hardened exterior."

"I understand."

"Also there is one more person I'd like to see."

"It wouldn't happen to be one of the other two heroes would it?"

"Of course not, after what the spear hero had done in Cadia I hold nothing but disgust for him."

Audrey clicked her tongue as she recalled the state that the town had been reduced to and all the people who died as a result "As you should but we're getting off topic, who is this other person you want to see again?" The bow hero inquired wanting to drop the subject of Motoyasu. She wouldn't be forgetting about what had happened to the people of Cadia anytime soon or ever for that matter but she couldn't let it distract her from moving forward. She still had the waves to contend with.

Baxley's expression became much more solemn. "A dear friend of mine who grew up in the same village as myself."

"I see, we may be able to head to the settlement to see her in the near future."

Baxley smiled at that but it was obviously forced unlike any previous one that day. "That won't be possible."

"Did…...something happen?" Audrey asked with a bit of caution now getting the feeling she might have just touched on a sensitive subject.

"Yeah before the entire situation with the waves even happened, a group of slave hunters came and raided our village."

And that pretty much confirmed it. Audrey silently cursed herself, she might have not wanted to think about all the wrongs being committed by Motoyasu and Mein but that didn't mean the prospect of bringing a subject of a different tragedy was appealing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stir up any bad memories for you."

"It's fine, if anything it's far more preferable to talk to someone such as yourself than those within the gang I was forced to serve under who merely used it as a way to gibe me.

Bluebell scratched the side of her head. "Um Baxley I don't want to sound rude but why would you ever tell such vile men about your past to begin with? You should have known they wouldn't show you any sympathy."

"I never told them. My previous captor let it slip when they sold me to the gang."

"You had another captor before the bandits?"

"Perhaps I should start from the beginning so there's no confusion."

Both women simply gave Baxley a silent look prodding him to go on. "As I told you my village was raided by slave hunters. Those who put up too much resistance were killed and the rest of us were taken prisoner to be put on Zeltobe's market."

"So where does this other person you want to see come in?"

"Like me she was sold on the very same market and we remained together with our other friends who were left until I was purchased by my first owner who wanted me to fight in the colosseum and earn them money."

Both women remained silent as they let what they had been told so far sink in whilst the hyena demi human continued.

"For the next few weeks I fought in the colosseum earning my owner money. It helped that I was a hunter before being enslaved so I already had some skill with an axe as well as a bow to help me survive my fights up until the point that I lost."

"What happened afterwards?" Bluebell inquired.

"My owner at the time was more than a bit angry since they had bet a good sum of money on me and my defeat had cost them all of it so they put me back on the slave market where I saw that my friend was nowhere to be found and from there I was sold to the bandits that you defeated." Baxley replied before sighing as he recalled the rest of the story within the confounds of his mind.

"While I was with that gang of bandits I was dragged along on any raids the gang went on until the previous day where you finally put an end to them."

"So that's what happened to you." Audrey mused. "And you're hoping to find this dear friend of yours."

"Yes."

"In that case we'll do everything within our power to help you find her."

Baxley gave Audrey a look of pure shock. "Yo-you really mean that?!"

"Yeah, there's no reason she or anyone from your village should be put through enslavement."

Baxley's mouth opened and closed repeatedly but no words came. Audrey's statement may have sounded like a casual comment but for the bow hero to offer her support was far more than Baxley felt he could ever ask of her after what she had done for him already. At this rate there'd be no way he'd be able to truly repay Audrey's kindness even if he spent his entire life trying.

Still if he had help from the bow hero then the possibility of reuniting with his childhood friend definitely existed if she was still alive, if not then he'd be able to make sure whoever was responsible for her death answered for it. "Th-thank you."

"You're welcome, still I have to ask, what's their name?"

"Her name was Carina, she was one of the kindest souls you'd ever meet."

"Sounds as if she is someone who's been dear to you for quite a long time." Bluebell mused.

"I've known her for as long as I can remember."

Audrey shrugged. "That's good to know but there is one more thing that we need to know."

Both of the bow hero's companions turned to her in silence waiting for what she was about to say next. "Do you have any inkling as to where she might be?"

Baxley's shoulder slumped. "Unfortunately no, when I was brought back to Zeltobe's market to be sold again she was already gone. When I tried to ask the man in charge of slaves sold on the market he only told me that she was bought by a customer who was "quite rich" as he put it.

Audrey sighed. "That doesn't really provide us with anything to go on."

"On the contrary even that small piece of information might be more useful than you might think." Bluebell said, gaining Audrey's attention.

"Could you elaborate? I'm a bit confused at the moment."

"Assuming that what the slave dealer told Baxley was indeed true it might narrow down the list of possible owners."

Audrey's eyes widened as it hit her just where her friend was going with this. "Meaning the owner would have to be a noble?"

"Or at least a high ranking mercenary within Zeltobe's political ranks."

"Meaning this girl has to be somewhere within Zeltobe."

"Only if it's the latter, if it's the former then there's a good chance she's here within Melromarc."

"So we've at least narrowed down where she'd have to be on the continent." Audrey mused before sighing. "I suppose that's something of a start but we're talking about two entire countries, if we just go searching for them randomly it could take too much time to find this girl and that's assuming we make any actual progress."

It was a bitter pill to swallow since Audrey had no desire to crush Baxley's hopes of seeing Carina anytime soon but even a single country made for an astronomical amount of ground to cover so having two did nothing to help matters. Even if she tried confronting every noble and high ranking mercenary it would be very easy for the actual owner to slip between her fingertips and even if the culprit was amongst whoever she decided to question they could easily brush it off or lie outright about it.

To say finding this Carina person was like looking for a needle in a haystack might have actually been something of an understatement since in this case this was no guarantee that the needle was even there in the stack to begin with.

"I'm aware it won't be an easy search, it might even be pointless but it can even start if Carina's already departed from this world. But even so I don't want to just give up without even trying."

"Hey don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to give up or going back on my previous decision to help you, it's just we need to find more information to narrow down where your friend could be even farther than we have now."

"I understand, I'm not saying I want you to put everything on hold for my selfish desire, but a chance should ever present itself I'd like to act on it."

"Trust me, when that time comes I'll make sure you and her are reunited or that whoever's responsible for her end answers for it."

"As will I." Bluebell added.

Baxley smiled more genuinely "Thank you, both of you."

"Save it for when we find the owner or your friend. Anyway we need to head back to the capital to see Erhard."

"Are there some supplies you need?" Baxley asked.

"Actually yes I need to get more potions since I don't have all the ingredients on hand to synthesize them with item creation at the moment but the main reason for heading to the capital is to get you better gear."

Bluebell sweatdropped "I thought you gathered some ingredients to make potions beforehand."

"I did, but I used them to create the potions we gave to the refugees of Cadia."

"Oh...I see." Bluebell mused as she sweatdropped once more.

"We can gather more the next time we're out leveling up." Audrey replied as she stood up. "Anyway I need to go grab the Filolial egg from our room at the inn real fast.

"We do get to at least eat before we head out right?" Bluebell asked.

"Ummm that should go without saying." Audrey replied scratching the back of her head before leaving the tavern whilst Bluebell breathed a sigh of relief which earned a slight chuckle from the newest member of the party.

"I'm not sure why you were worried about not being able to eat. From what I've seen so far Audrey doesn't seem like the type to needlessly deny anyone a meal."

Bluebell sighed. "I know it's just before joining her I tried adventuring on my own and luck always seemed to be well...near non existent."

"What do you mean?"

"To put it simply I could hardly find any job that was within my ability to take on alone and offer a plentiful reward and even on the rare occasion that I did it would be for nothing since someone would have already beaten me to whatever I was trying to do and as a result I had to ration whatever funds I had and even skip some meals because of it."

"I…..see." Was all Baxley could say feeling more than a bit sorry for the blue haired swordwielder after finding how she was plagued with misfortune. "But that all came to an end once you joined lady Audrey right?"

"It's been better in a lot of ways but harder in others since we're fighting the waves and dealing with a corrupt king and princess, as well as a completely incompetent hero possibly two."

"And that's not even counting the hardships the holy shield hero is being faced with."

XXXXX

Back in the room she was using, Audrey had just finished storing the monster egg incubator along with the Filolial egg she had received from Naofumi back in her bow's item storage.

A good part of her held a fair deal of anticipation for when the egg hatched. After hearing the Filolials had a fondness for pulling carts. That combined with the speed shown by Filo at least showed her that once the egg hatched and she got her hands on a wagon of sorts she'd have a much more efficient mode of transportation.

The question left in Audrey's mind was whether or not she'd be able to have the Filolial fight for her, Filo showed a lot of leg strength when she sent Motoyasu flying (which Audrey was extremely thankful for, god only knew the last thing the world needed was for the spear hero to reproduce) however that and fighting monsters were two very different scenarios. Assuming her new addition would indeed be able to contribute in future fights she had to wonder just how much she'd be able to expect from the bird like monster. In the end only time would tell.

Still the better part of her hoped that her unhatched monster would be able to help in a fight since it would mean another ally to have on her side. It might not have been much if one only looked at the increase in number but every little bit counted if the confrontation with the bandit gang proved anything. Audrey and Bluebell may have been able to deal with the situation on their own but they had to be extremely careful about how they went about it as to not let the bandits simply overwhelm them with sheer numbers. With the new addition of Baxley the party was already in a better position to take more dangerous tasks but the improvement to their situation could be taken further if the Filolial egg was included.

As Audrey exited her room and left the Inn she was greeted by a somewhat unexpected person.

"Ella?!...Is there something I can help you with?" Audrey asked. She wasn't sure what else she was supposed to say in this situation. After finding out that the refugees had become disillusioned with the cardinal heroes thanks to Motoyasu the bow hero wasn't sure if she could bring herself to face them again anytime soon let alone the following morning right after the realization.

"It's about the previous night when we all discovered that you were one of the cardinal heroes."

Audrey tensed up trying to ready herself mentally for whatever Ella was about to say.

"I wanted to apologize on the behalf of everyone you saved for who all of us acted towards you after finding out who you were."

The bow hero found herself caught off guard by that statement. "Yo-you mean that?"

"Of course I'm well aware why you might believe that we've all come to resent you but that isn't the case. It was just that the idea of one of the cardinal heroes being the one to save us was….. a lot to take in since it was also one of you who..." Ella trailed off, unable to finish.

"It's okay, I don't blame a single one of you for being wary of me, I'm just as shocked that Mot-the spear hero would do something so idiotic especially since he's constantly trying put on an image of himself being the most ideal hero."

Ella had to resist the urge to snarl in disgust. "I'd hardly call him the ideal hero. If anything he's the furthest from it, in fact I doubt there's anything about him that can even be considered heroic."

Audrey actually had to let a brief chuckle upon hearing that, while the subject of Motoyasu was not something she was fond of talking about since it just made her remember all the heartache Motoyasu has caused up to this point it was surprisingly refreshing to find someone else aside from herself, Naofumi, or their respectable companions who saw the spear hero for what he truly was and also the princess by extension.

"What you said has even more truth than even you yourself realize and I promise he's gonna pay for what he did to your home along with everything else he's done and so is that despot of a princess."

"What do you mean by everything else?"

"You see the destruction of your home was the worst thing they did but it isn't by any means the only thing those two have done."

"How much more could those two have done?"

Audrey sighed. "It might be better to start from the beginning when me and the other heroes were first summoned to this world."

The bow hero went on to explain the entire story of what had happened with her, Naofumi, and the other two heroes being summoned how the sword and spear heroes immediately started making demands that they weren't entitled to, the kangaroo trial, the wave, and rigged duel, and the race between the spear and shield heroes. By the end of her explanation Ella needed more than just a few moments to take it all in.

"Everything you told me is…. All but unbelievable to say the least. To think that the crown could be so treacherous as to frame one of the heroes for a false crime, if not for what was done to my home I'd have refused to believe it. The crown and the spear hero can't be allowed to get away with this."

"After seeing what they did to your home I'm gonna kill those two the next time I see them." Audrey announced, with everything both the Mien and Motoyasu had done before the incident with Cadia it had taken everything she had not to act on the anger and disgust she felt towards them especially when they were trying to hurt someone she had come to care for, now it got to the point that lives were needlessly lost because their fucking charade, one way or the other it needed to stop.

"Lady bow hero you disgust and anger at the actions of Malty and the spear hero are justified degozaru but it would be wise to refrain from taking any rash actions against them at this time degozaru." A completely new voice rang out.

Both Audrey and Ella turned to see a woman with long brown hair tied in a long braided ponytail and wearing a fine blue dress. Judging from the woman's appearance Audrey could safely deduce that this new arrival was a noble though which begged the question of why a lady of noble birth would care enough to come to the heavily damaged village of lute and without any type of escort.

However her reason for being there at all quickly became irrelevant when Audrey fully registered what the noble woman had just suggested. "You really want me to overlook what your idol and princess have just done?"

"Forgive me lady bow hero, that is not what I meant, it's for the best you do not act rashly degozaru."

Audrey could only let out a bitter laugh. "That's far easier said than done, do you have any idea what that bitch and her brain dead boytoy have done?"

"Spread select information to prevent the shield hero from gaining companions, stole the shield hero's original armor and clothes, framed him for a false crime, attempted to deprive him of his only companion twice via wooing her and through a dishonorable duel, and tried unjustly tax this settlement degozaru."

"I see….." Audrey replied now much more wary of this woman, whoever this noble was she was a bit too well informed of what's been happening with the heroes. "Still if you're aware of everything Mein and Motoyasu have done then you gotta know that refraining from putting an arrow in each of their hearts is asking a lot especially at this point."

"Understandable degozaru. But it would be best to restrain yourself just the same, if you were to act rashly and take their lives then the king would no doubt utilize every recourse at his disposal to hunt you down degozaru."

"Maybe but do you really think that letting them get away with everything is acceptable?"

"Of course not, this country's true ruler will see to it that Malty and even the king's crimes are answered for degozaru."

"True ruler?" Audrey asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes degozaru, while lord Aultcray may be posing as this country's ruler it's actually a matriarchy."

"Meaning the real power lies with the queen."

"Precisely degozaru."

"Then why haven't I, Naofumi, or even the other two heroes met her yet? I'd think that the summoning of the four cardinal heroes would be something that would more than garner her attention."

"It normally would degozaru, however her majesty is currently away dealing with diplomatic matters and the other countries."

"That answers the question of why none of us have met her but that alone doesn't ensure she'll do anything to bring either her husband and daughter to justice."

"All the King and princess's actions are the result of them taking advantage of her absence degozaru."

Audrey shrugged. "So am I supposed to take it that she wouldn't approve of what's been done."

"Thinking about it now I'd definitely say so." Ella definitely said, causing Audrey to turn to her with a look of confusion before the refugee decided to explain.

"You see Lady Audrey back before we had any town guards it was the queen who personally arranged for the local townspeople to be trained in the art of combat so our people would be able to protect Cadia ourselves."

Audrey found herself nearly floored by that reveal. While Audrey wasn't in much of a position to make a judgement call when it came to the queen since she had never actually met her, Aultcray's actions thus far along with Mien's haven't left the bow hero with any semblance of a positive impression of the crown as all whole. Hearing that the queen was actually the type to care for her people from Ella was quite surprising, especially considering the crown had a hand in her home's destruction.

Ella continued. "Audrey, please listen to this woman's advice."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, the queen would never stand for the actions of the king or the princess."

The noble woman shrugged. "Rest assured she'll make sure both of them are held accountable for all of their wrong doings degozaru."

"And Motoyasu?" Audrey inquired. "He might be one of the heroes but that doesn't mean everything he does should be overlooked."

"I assure my lady the spear hero's atrocities will be brought to light by our queen, so I beseech you to stay your hand for the time being degozaru."

Audrey stood in silence for a few long moments contemplating what she should do. On one hand a large part of her still wanted to make Aultcray, Mien, and Motoyasu pay for everything they've done whether it be because of they're need to constantly torture and torment one of the people she had come to care for since coming to this world or hurting innocent people for their own gain; the images of all the bodies scattered around Cadia from those that didn't survive the raid was still fresh in the bow heroes mind.

On the other hand what the noble woman was suggesting sounded like the far more pragmatic option but that was assuming everything she was being told about what the queen would likely do when she returned proved to be to be true, while Ella's input gave Audrey a better impression as compared to a few moments ago but the fact remained that she had never personally meet the queen in person. The idea of leaving the task of having the king, princess, and Motoyasu dealt with in her hands was something of a gamble.

Still if the bow hero tried to take matters in her own hands it would pretty much be a given that the entire country would be out for her head and more than likely Bluebell and even Baxley by extension and if the crown's tack record was anything to go by Naofumi would also be targeted along with Raphtalia and Filo. That thought worried her greatly and maybe even scared her. She could deal with risks to her own life since it would be due to her own decision but she would never under any type of circumstance wish for anyone she cared for to be dragged into it. Bluebell, Naofumi, Raphtalia had all become great friends that Audrey cared for and even Filo which she had only seen once and Baxley was someone she had just met they both too were precious allies in her eyes.

If anything ever happened to a single one of them because of something Audrey had done she'd never be able to forgive herself. Sighing Audrey turned to the noble woman. "If I agree to refrain from doing anything against any of the king's daughter, or Motoyasu can you assure me that they'll be made to answer for what they've done along with the king when the queen returns? Otherwise I might have to take matters into my own hands."

"Of course degozaru."

"Okay, I'll leave everything to the queen then."

"Thank you lady bow hero but there is one more matter I need to warn you of degozaru."

"What is it?" Audrey inquired.

"The man that tried to take your life when you went to rescue the last refugee from the bandits that destroyed Cadia had many allies who hold beliefs that were sympathetic to his own, many of which may come after you in the future degozaru."

While Audrey was that much more alarmed with this woman being too well informed about the happenings pertaining to herself she also just gave Audrey vital information that could save her life. Since she was now informed that more people like the man that tried to kill her were likely going to come after her she wouldn't be caught off guard like last time.

"If anymore people like that guy from before come after me I don't plan on allowing myself to be killed and while we're on the subject there's something I need to know."

"I shall answer to the best of my abilities degozaru."

"Is there any chance these people will try to hurt Naofumi?"

For what might have been the first time since she appeared so suddenly the noble lady showed what might have been a shift in emotions as she seemed to tense up giving the bow hero a good idea of what the answer was going to be. "While I wish I could assure you that they won't ever that might not always be the case degozaru."

"Meaning they're not concerned with him for the time being."

"Precisely degozaru, right now the group the individual that attacked you is a part of is convinced that the shield hero will simply fall to waves however…."

"However?" Audrey repeated.

"Considering that the shield hero has been steadily rising little by little even without the support of the crown or people the group I speak of may decide to take action if he comes far enough."

"I see." Audrey said before her thoughts drifted to the bow currently resting on her back. Now being aware of the possibility that Naofumi could be attacked by these people was something that filled her with no shortage of worry but there wasn't much she could do, thanks to the nature of the legendary weapons hindering each other she had to keep her distance while the two of them were leveling up in preparation for the waves. If these people decided to attack Naofumi during that period of time, odds were that Audrey wouldn't be able to do anything to help him and that was assuming she was ever aware of it when the attack took place.

Things would be a lot better if she and Naofumi were able to fight in the same party the she'd be able to act as a fighter for him, on that account while she was glad someone like Raphtalia was with him she also felt a glimmer of envy toward the tanuki girl being able to do what she couldn't. Why did the legendary weapons have that stupid feature keeping the heroes from being near one another when they leveled up? For the life of Audrey she could not see any possible purpose such a thing could serve. In the end all she could do was hope that this group that wanted her dead didn't make a move against Naofumi or that he'd be ready when they did.

"I understand why this information may be displeasing but it's best if you focus on gaining strength for the time being degozaru."

"Right. If that's everything I need to meet with my party."

"Of course, I shall take leave then." The noble said before turning around to leave Lute somewhat confusing Audrey.

If she was just going to leave after arriving then why did the noble ever come to Lute to begin with? There was no use dwelling on it right now, Audrey needed to meet with her teammates and head to the capital after she and the others ate.

Still in spite of the warning and uncertainty of the queen's potential actions and the reluctance to restrain herself the next time she sees them one thing Audrey took comfort in was the fact that Ella and maybe the others didn't see her in the same terrible light as Motoyasu, speaking of which.

"Ella."

"Yes?"

"Thank you, I'm happy to know that you don't hate me."

"Of course, as I have said before the spear hero is the one responsible for the sins against my village, not you but I digress, you'd best hurry to meet my friends."

XXXXX

As Audrey walked into the come into both Bluebell and Baxley both called her over to the table they were occupying. Once the bow hero got closer both members of her party noticed the solemn mood she had.

Bluebell was the first to ask the obvious question. "Lady Audrey, did something happen? You were gone longer than I thought you'd be."

"I ran into Ella along with some random noble woman that showed up out of the blue."

"Oh I hope Ella wasn't too harsh with you."

"No, actually she assured me that she knew I wasn't to blame for what happened at Cadia."

"That's a relief, still judging by your demeanor there has to be something on your mind."

"It has to do with the noble woman."

"She didn't try to extort or threaten you did she?"

"No, she actually had a bit to say about what we've been doing since we started fighting the waves."

"I assume she wanted to criticize you for standing by Sir Naofumi's side?"

"No actually she was shockingly well informed about everything we've been doing to the point that it was a bit unnerving."

"Unnerving in what way?"

"She knew about what happened here in Lute the other day with Motoyasu and Mien and also with what happened when me and you went to Cadia to stop the bandits."

"That's certainly worrisome, even if word spread of the race there's no possible way word of what happened with our mission in Cadia could have spread."

"I know, what's more she even knew about that guy we fought off on the mountainside and had a warning to go with it."

Baxley raised an eyebrow. "What kind of warning?"

"She said that the man we fought had sympathizers who might come after us in the future."

"I see, however, should they come I won't hesitate to cut them down."

Bluebell nodded in agreement."My thoughts align with Baxley's on what I'll do if we encounter anymore of these people, but looking back on what that man's actions I realize something."

"What?" Audrey inquired curiously.

"From the things that man was ranting about I believe he was someone who was symptomatic to the three heroes church."

"Make sense now that I think about it, anyone who believes in that church is pissed off since I side with Naofumi when they try to wrong him."

"Yes but that means that as per what this noble said we may very well be attacked by more people who are like that man."

"If that's the case it's all the more reason for us to get stronger so we were better prepared, not only for the waves but these people as well."

"Of course." Came Bluebell's simple reply as she thought more on the matter. If that man had allies who would try to accomplish what he failed to do then that had to mean they were something of an organized group and considering how fanatical the figure was during the encounter with him the group in question he was with was more than likely…!

Bluebell felt her stomach turn cold as her line of thought stopped dead in its tracks. If what she was thinking was correct then the entire anti shield campaign against Naofumi ran even deeper than she thought and made the situation substantially worse. 'Please let me be wrong for sir Naoumi's sake… and for Audrey's too.

If Naofumi was ever put in the type of danger that Bluebell was anticipating then Audrey wouldn't stand by, she cared for Naofumi to the point to it angered her to no end seeing him being repeatedly wronged at every turn practically as much as Naofumi himself making her actions in such a scenario something of a given.

As the group received their food and began eating Baxley decided to shift the conversation in a less foreboding direction. "Lady Audrey, if it's okay to ask, do you have any plan for us once we're resupplied at the capitol?"

Audrey shrugged. "Either find a quest to take care of that's more official than our last one or find a place with monsters around our level to gather experience points and level ourselves up."

"Fair enough. Though I have to ask, do you really feel such a need to get me better gear?"

Audrey glanced at Baxley scrutinizing his stats momentarily.

"Baxley Lvl 28" gear: village clothes, iron axe (worn down)

"Yes, it's within our best interest to get you better or perhaps I should say actual gear since you don't actually have gear to begin with."

Baxley's ears dropped in embarrassment. "That's true but I have my fast guard spell which raises my defense."

"Maybe but the said raise would work better if the base state was higher than it is now."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, let me try to elaborate on my point, let's say someone has a base stat of 5 and a way to multiply it by 3, while the multiplier would raise the said stat to a higher number than it is originally the amped state would only go up to 15."

"Okay." Baxley said not understanding what the bow hero was trying to say."

"In that particular scenario even though the stat in question would a visible increase it ultimately wouldn't amount to much if anything at all."

"I….see." The hyena demi said still somewhat confused.

"But let's say the base stat was 25, at that level it's adequate for balloons and monsters a bit above them including low level boss monsters at that point. However if that was multiplied by 3 you could raise the state high enough to face an opponent a few levels above you since it would go all the way up to 75."

Baxley finally realized what Audrey was trying to get at before laughing to himself for his own shortsightedness. "I think I understand now. I can essentially draw much more potential out of my support magic."

"That's basically what I was trying to get at when I said it would work better if your base defense is higher than it currently is and it'll mean leaving you more protected without it just in case you're attacked while it's not casted."

"Fair enough." Baxley said rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Good, now that I've got my point across let's hurry up and eat. I want to be back at the capital and get everything we need before it gets too late in the day.

XXXXXX

"Well if it isn't the lady bow hero. Are you here to get new gear for yourself?" Inquired the weapons shop owner Erhard when saw Audrey enter along with both of her respective party members.

"You're half right, I'm here to get some new gear but it's not for me or Bluebell."

Audrey gestured toward Baxley. "It's for him."

Erhard eyed the newest addition to the bow hero's group with curiosity. "A demi human eh; don't tell me you're also purchasing slaves"

Before Audrey could reply Baxley decided to say his piece. "On the contrary lady Audrey saved me from my previous captor and gave me back my freedom and so I've decided to join her in her endeavor to defeat the waves."

"So the little lady's out saving people even when the waves aren't around."

Audrey shrugged. "I wouldn't really be much of a hero if I ignored every bad situation aside from the waves themselves but I digress, as I said before I want to get actual gear for Baxley."

Erhard glanced at the Hyena demi human for a moment. "Yeah he's not exactly equipped for any type of fight."

Though Baxley wasn't dressed in mere rags like Raphtalia had been when Naofumi had first brought her to the weapons shop what he was wearing wasn't that much of a step up, the newest member of the bow hero's party was only wearing a plain tan long sleeve tunic shirt that showed signs of being rather worn out and left the entire lower half of his forearms bare and trousers that more or less in the same condition also leaving more of Baxley's shins bare than they should have and plain shoes that at least provided him with a form of foot wear. His leather cap was gone since his encounter with Audrey and Bluebell at Cadia but it didn't make a difference since the cap was merely meant to hide his ears so the bandits could ignore the fact there was a demi human within their presence.

"Anything you have in mind?" Erhard inquired.

Audrey shrugged. "Beyond the fact that it needs to be within a reasonable price range and provide him extra defense to himself I'll let Baxley decide for himself."

Baxley scratched the back of his head unsure of what to choose now that the decision being left to him, seeing as the entire decision to get him new gear was Audrey's idea he just assumed she was going to pick whatever gear he got so he didn't put any real thought into what he was going to get. "If it's really being left up to me then I take anything that as lady Audrey put it will provide a boost to my defense but also not hinder my movement's, I don't wanna be weighed down otherwise I won't be of any use to lady Audrey or anyone for that matter."

"Sounds like you have the same taste as the shield hero."

"Really?" Baxley asked, genuinely surprised by the comment and maybe a bit excited by the idea judging by the wagging of his tail which only Bluebell noticed since she was standing behind him and Baxley's tail was too small to be seen from in front of him.

The Bluehaired swordswoman couldn't help but giggle at the sight, it only made sense for Baxley to get excited at the idea of having something in common with Naofumi since the latter was the shield hero and the former was a demi human.

"Ye-yeah the shield hero also wanted something that would boost his defense and not slow him down and I think I have just the thing this time." Erhard said heading to the back of the shop.

"So the shield hero really has the same preference as me?" Baxley inquired causing both Audrey and Bluebell to sweat drop.

"Pretty much, though he went with a custom type order since back then the only thing I had on hand was chainmail which he's come to hate since it brings up bad memories for him."

"Any chance I could get a custom order?"

Audrey scratched the side of her head. "Maybe in the future but right now we don't have the materials or time for one."

"Alright, thank you."

"Here we are." Erhard said returning to the front desk with a leather cuirass that included two leather shoulder pads, and a pair of bracers. "It's pretty basic but it'll still provide extra protection and you can get it refitted with stronger stuff down the line to make it better."

Audrey smiled. "It'll do. How much?"

"Thirty five copper pieces."

"Okay." Audrey pulled the requested amount along with an extra five pieces earning a raised eyebrow before she explained the reason for the extra payment. "For a new pair of shirt and pants that aren't worn down to the point that they need to be thrown out."

"I can agree your new companion needs better clothes. Anything else?"

"We'll also be buying him a new weapon, preferably an axe."

"My selection of axes is on the rack over there." With Erhard went toward the back once more.

Audrey went over to the rack in question skimming through the axes until she found one that she felt would suit her newest companion. A steel axe, she would have preferred a magic steel type weapon because of the convenience that the magic coating provided by keeping the edge from dulling but from what she saw there was none available at the moment.

If it couldn't be helped she'd make due with using a whetstone to sharpen the weapons edge, actually now that she thought about it Audrey realized that she had the opportunity to gain a new bow variant. 'I'll buy two of them'

With that decision made Audrey grabbed the steel axe from the rack and brought it to the counter.

"So that's your pick for your new companion?" The weapon shop owner inquired as he emerged from the back with a new set of clothes for Baxley.

"Yeah, I also want to add two whetstones to what I'm getting."

"Seems like you are trying to buy up everything you can."

Audrey shrugged. "Just want to make sure I have everything I need before we head out, we're going to be facing more powerful monsters going forward."

"Fair enough." Erhard mused before turning his attention over to Baxley.

"These auto be your size, use the fitting room to make sure the new gear fits."

"Alright." With that Baxley grabbed the set of clothes and leather armor and went into the fitting room.

Erhard meanwhile turned his attention back to Audrey before pulling out two whetstones. "How much?" The bow hero inquired

"Along with the axe seventy silver."

Audrey immediately paid the amount needed for the two whetstones before placing one in her item inventory and using the other to unlock the corresponding bow.

Whetstone Bow unlocked

Stat: impact resistance+ 10 slash resistance + 5 Def + 5

Equip effect: sharpening weapons (8.00.00)

Skill: none

It seemed that the new bow variant granted Audrey a nice enough boost in the defensive Department, hopefully the increased impacted resistance would help her against any attacks there were like or at least similar enough to the goathead of the second wave boss' ramming attack, at the very least the bow hero would like to not end up being liberally launched high enough in the air that she could see the roofs of building below her like with what happened with her in Lute when she was rammed with the chimera's goathead.

Meanwhile Baxley emerged from the fitting room now donning his new gear before Audrey scrutinized him. With the new clothes and leather armor Baxley looked much better off than before. "Here." Audrey said grabbing the steel axe she purchased and handing it to her newest party member before taking the remaining whetstone back out of her item inventory and handing Baxley the material. "It'll help keep your weapon sharp, I couldn't find any steel axe with magic coating."

"That's fine, my father always taught me not to always rely on the most convenient things in life, otherwise it would dull one's diligence and work ethic."

"Sounds like he was someone who believed in hard work."

"He was a firm believer in earning what he was after through his own merits."

Audrey smiled. "That's pretty admirable of them. Anyway let's hurry up and head to the apothecary to get some potions."

With all the items they needed from Erhard's weapon ship the trio exited the establishment and headed over to their next destination.

"Lady bow hero it's been a bit." The owner said upon seeing Audrey and her party enter the building

"Likewise, I'm here to restock on healing potions." Audrey said before scanning over the shelf where the potions were kept before deciding to buy three of "fair" quality and four of "poor" quality.

"Have you learned any recipes yet?"

"Yeah a few actually, including the hp one but I don't have the ingredients to make any at the moment hence why I'm here buying them."

"I see. It probably goes without saying but the next time you're out exploring you should stock up on the ingredients you need."

"That's what I had planned."

"Any idea of where you'll be headed to next?"

"Until my Filolial egg hatches and gives me and my party a better mode of transportation I'll just look into small time jobs I can do for the guild."

"You have a Filolial egg?"

"Yeah, from what I found out it turns out they have a love for pulling carts and that combined with their natural speed will provide me with what I need, maybe more depending on if they are capable of fighting."

"I see, anyway the total for your purchase comes out to 3 silver and 20 copper pieces."

Audrey pulled out the amount needed to purchase the items she wanted before the group headed over to the inn to purchase rooms in advance before heading to the guild from there.

Once the group arrived Audrey immediately went to the desk where the guild keeper was. "Ah if it isn't the bow hero. How can I help you today?"

"I was wondering if you had any good paying missions available." Audrey said almost stoically.

She didn't downright hate the supervisor of this branch but she wasn't particularly fond of them either since they refused entry or any type of business with Naofumi. Suffice to say she did not desire to spend any more time than necessary, often turning down any suggestions to stay and eat or drink even when offered by other adventures or the guild master.

The guild master clicked their tongue before stealing a glance at the newest member of Audrey's party and suppressing a grimace at the sight of a demi human in the establishment before turning back to Audrey. "I think I have one in mind that might be right up your alley being one of the three heroes and all.

It was now Audrey's turn to suppress a grimace. The Guild master using the term "three heroes" when there were in fact four heroes only made it even more apparent the this individual didn't like Naofumi though after seeing him from time to time on occasion she was getting the vibe that this guy was someone who followed the religion of the three heroes church and now it was showing even more when they gave Baxley a look of near disgust before repressing it behind a friendly persona just before it could fully show. "Glad to hear it. What's the job in question?"

"In the north western region of this kingdom rumors of some kind of monster with strange powers."

"Okay." The bow hero found herself unsure of how anything could qualify as unusual when it came to a monster's abilities. If one was going with normal (any version of earth's standards) logic then the most any monster could do was use their claws and teeth and on some occasions the environment to blend in to use an ambush to gain the upper hand however this world didn't fall into that category. The world Audrey had been summoned to acted on laws akin to your standard fantasy based RPG and she came across a few that did have monsters exhibit more abilities the simply biting or clawing which included status effects (the chimera was a prime example seeing as its tail had an attack that inflicted a paralysis effect) and magic though when it came to the latter the only example that came to mind off the top of her head was an app she downloaded for a special type of rpgs called Record of Agarest war but the point was that the monsters that were in this world could exhibit essentially any type of ability so categorizing any as unusual felt somewhat redundant. "Anything else you can tell me?"

"Only that the monster seems to stay in a small forest so it should be easy enough to find however…."

"However?"

"More than a few adventurers and hunters have tried to take this beast out already and not a single of them has returned."

"Which basically confirms that it's not your run of the mill type of enemy."

The guildmaster smiled. "Which is why you might be perfect for this job. The reward if you succeed is seven hundred silver pieces."

"Alright, how far is it from the capitol?"

"On foot it'll likely take three days."

"Alright." Audrey said. She wasn't keen on the idea of having to spend three days simply walking somewhere on foot, but it was the only option she had available at the moment until her egg hatched and the filolial was fully grown.

As she turned to leave and bring her party to the inn the guild master decided to say one last piece "I can arrange for a guy I know to take you by cart to help save up time getting there."

Audrey stopped to think about the offer. It would make things easier for her party at least going one way but for some reason the bow hero had sensed something amiss with what the guild master was telling her yet she didn't sense he was lying about any of the information he had given yet she still felt something was up with this particular offer.

In spite of that she needed to make sure that her party was making a constant stream of money, they may have been on a better position compared to Noafumi's party the crown refused any additional support for Audrey beyond rewards for the waves and even that was being intentionally reduced albeit to a lesser extent to Noafumi's, still the fact remained that if she didn't keep a steady flow of income coming in her party would eventually suffer for it.

The fact that the guildmaster was suddenly offering her a better means of travel at least for this singular quest came off as unusual, it might be chucked up to the fact that she was one of the heroes but since he had initially laid eyes on Baxley the guildmaster's friendly demeanor became a lot more forced.

It was clear he didn't like the fact that Audrey now had a demi human in her party so if anything she was expecting him to deny her any form of excessive generosity so for him to be offering her a convenient means of getting to her next destination the following morning was less than expected, in spite of that however…."Alright. Any chance they can meet up with us tomorrow morning?"

"Of course they'll be waiting right here in front of the guild."

"Alright we'll be back here in the morning." With that Audrey and her party left the building before the guildmaster's face contorted into a scowl. "First she becomes friendly with the shield demon even after he shows his true colors and now she has a filthy demi human in her party."

"Not much of a hero is she?" Another voice said, causing the guildmaster to turn toward the source and see an adventurer with a sword strapped to his back and combed back brown hair wearing an arrogant smirk on his face.

"No she is not, that wench is more of a traitor to all of us with what she always does, helping the demon of the shield and now demi humans too."

"Yet you still provided a generous mission."

The guildmaster clicked his tongue."Not really, while I didn't lie about anything I left one specific detail out."

"And that would be?"

"That the unknown monster in question has failed adventurers as high as level thirty to forty and even two that had received class ups."

"That might just end with the bow hero's death. Is that what you're hoping for?"

"She brought this on herself, if she wants to associate with those that deserve little more than death then she can join them in hell."

The adventurer leaned back in the chair he was sitting before grinning. "If that's the case how about a proposition to speed up the process of taking out the bow hero and her allies."

"Depends what you have in mind."

"Simple if you can provide me the means to follow her to the northwest I can intercept her while she's trying to complete the little quest you gave her and end her then and there in place of this mysterious monster you told her about."

The guildmaster raised an eyebrow "Are you sure you're up to the challenge? You'd be going against one of the three cardinal heroes and she's not alone, mind you."

The adventurer chuckled. "Don't worry I can hire a few like minded people to even the odds besides." The adventure partially pulled his blade out of its sheath revealing a blade with dark orange colored metal. "I've been meaning to test my new blade, it should serve as quite the trump card."

"And should you fail?"

"I'll just retreat and let this monster she's after take care of the rest, either way the bow hero's downfall is assured."

"Fair enough. And what would you want in exchange."

"The reward you promised the bow hero."

The guildmaster chuckled. "If you succeed I'll pay twice that price but remember it's only if you succeed."

"Don't worry I'll bring back her severed head as proof."

"Then it looks like we have a deal. I make sure you're provided another wagon to follow the bow hero along with any partners you decide to bring."

"Good. Look forward to news of the bow hero's end."

"I will, and maybe afterwards I hire you to get rid of the shield demon, he needs to pay for his crime."

"I'll be available for the job when I return from this one."

"I'll be waiting. By the way I never got your name."

"The adventurer simply smirked. "I'm simply known as Berk."

XXXXX

'I'm really starting to wish that this bow told me how much time it's going to take for this egg to hatch.' Audrey thought to herself that following morning.

After she and her companions retired to the inn the previous night Bluebell made it known that she also noticed the slight shift in demeanor from the Guildmaster when he saw Baxley but simply chucked it up to the usual disdain towards Demi humans though she was also surprised that the guildmaster offered to have a ride prepared for them.

The group all just figured that Audrey's reputation as the bow hero won out against the Guildmaster's hatred of Demi humans and put it in the back of their minds.

Now morning came and Audrey had just woken up and got on her armor and stared at her monster egg resting on the incubator. While she already knew the process of hatching was going to take a bit of time due the egg being stored in her item inventory whenever she was heading somewhere she hoped that the egg would hatch soon so she could look into getting a wagon once the Filolial was fully grown.

However from the look of things it would take a little longer since she had to store the egg in the legendary bow's item inventory for the rest of the day. Afterwards Audrey quickly met both of her teammates in the main area of the inn before heading out to meet up with the Guildmaster.

It didn't take the trio long to reach the guild and just as the Guildmaster had promised they were outside the building ready to meet the group and with a wagon in sight along with a driver standing in front of him talking about something but the trio couldn't hear since they were still just out of hearing range.

By the time the trio got closer both the guild keeper and driver finished whatever conversation they were having before the former handed the latter a bag of coins and turned to the approaching group.

"Lady bow hero, I have a wagon ready for you and your companions."

"Good, we're all ready to leave immediately."

The driver smiled. "Just climb in the back and we'll be off."

Not needing to be told twice, all of Audrey's party complied while the driver got in the front and got the horses to begin pulling the wagon.

"I've been meaning to ask. What is the name of the place we're heading to?" Audrey asked.

The driver chuckled. "The guildmaster never told you, did he? It's called Herba. It's a quiet place but has a high abundance of herbs and other ingredients for different concoctions."

"That's good to know." Audrey said, smiling and looking at her companions. "We'll be able to kill two birds with one stone quest."

Bluebell also smiled. "Perhaps three assuming your egg hatches while we're there."

"Maybe but bear in mind if that does happen we'll have to delay returning to the capitol after we're done with the mission."

"It'll be fine, if things really do play out like that then we'll finally have a better way to travel than simply walking everywhere on foot."

"Let's hope this beast we're going to fail gives us a good chunk of experience points." Baxley mused.

"If this monster is something that's exceptionally stronger compared to your run of the mill kind than it should definitely yield a reward in that regard." Audrey replied.

While the trio continued chatting away about what they could have to anticipate once they reached the settlement of Herba none of them noticed the driver smile sinisterly to himself. The group thought they were going to achieve some major feat for money and a reward but they were in for a terrible shock.

Once the second cart that would soon be tailing them caught with the bow hero's party in Herba their quest would be coming to an abrupt end. 'Serves you right for fighting alongside the shield demon and the lowly demi humans.'

And that's the end for this chapter. Again sorry for the near eternal wait but a lot of things have been going on with my personal life but contrary to what's probably become popular belief this story's not abandoned.

Anyway I know not a lot really happened in this chapter but I can't just keep springing up a climatic fight scene liberally every chapter, I decided to use this one as an opportunity to quickly flush out Baxley a bit more as a character since his introduction into Audrey's party was a bit rushed looking back on it, granted her saving him gave him a legimate reason to want to join her I still felt the need to give readers a better look at him as a character since he's obviously going to be a major OC.

And just in case anyone's wondering more about Bluebell's charatcher and backstory will be shown later on in the story, I already dropped a hint of it in one of the previous chs if anyone noticed.

The other purpose the chapter served if what did happen is anything to go by is to set things up for the next custom arc. I'd like to think I did something right with the first one since I got a fair amount of reviews on it so let's see if I can do as good with this one.

Also when it came to the scene with Ella, yes it was rather bitter sweet since they were a lot of villagers who we're already dead but at the very least I wasn't going to have Audrey be hated for it since what happened wasn't her fault so I wanted things to end on a better note than that. All that being said that DOES NOT mean what happened to the people of Cadia has been forgotten for a moment, it wouldn't be realistic considering all the people who died including Saphera which brings me to the scene with the noble showing up.

I won't say it but I'm pretty sure that all but everyone can guess who that was. Having revealing how Melromarc was ruled by its queen was something I originally wanted to hold off on but I realized that with the character I established for her already it was not realistic for Audrey not to lose her shit the next time she saw Bitch and Motoyasu after the needless tragedy they caused in Cadia so I had to make sure she's provided a good enough incentive (aside from the obvious consequences alone) to restrain herself from ending the two of two on the spot the next she meets them.