Chapter 31 – Past Deeds
There was little noise Dante could hear from outside the hospital room. He expected it to be louder, but it probably was much so earlier. He had been delayed getting here, since he was dealing with a few pests when he got the text. Once he was finished and flipped open his phone, he made a beeline to the hospital.
He'd asked the receptionist what room the Meleros were in and found it easy enough. They were already done some time ago. All that was left was for him to knock and go it. He knew that five minutes ago when he showed up at the door.
Finding the courage needed, he knocked on the door and cracked it open. "Hey, it's Dante." He said through the opening.
"Well, well, well. Nice of you to show up." He heard the playful voice from within the room.
Pushing the door open fully, Dante saw the two people he was closest to in the world. Gloria lied on the hospital bed, Eddy standing next to her. In her arms, Dante could see a small blanket, wrapped around an equally small body.
"You're late." Gloria said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you'd appear the moment my water broke."
"S-Sorry." Dante said, rubbing the back of his neck. Nearing the end of her pregnancy, Dante had taken to being within earshot whenever possible. "Something came up."
"I know. Eddy told me." She nodded to her husband, who'd kept a smile on his face since before Dante came into the room. "Well, get over here. Or, are you afraid of a baby?"
"I'm not afraid…" Dante took a slow step into the room. Then another.
"Come on, you can do it." Gloria encouraged him.
Dante sighed. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Read the room a little."
Gloria smirked. "I gave birth today. The room is whatever I say it is."
Dante made it to the other side of the bed, across from Eddy. He had a look in his eye that Dante didn't like. "What?"
"I didn't say anything." Eddy shrugged, then gestured to his wife. The woman adjusted her holding on the bundle in her arms, moving it closer to Dante and causing him to turn away.
"What? You're afraid of tits now too?" Gloria said with a laugh.
"Mothers shouldn't talk like that…" Dante murmured.
"Are you saying something's wrong with my wife's tits?" Eddy jumped in.
"Why are the two of you like this?" Dante sighed. Eddy adjusted the sheet around Gloria, covering her back up. Dante turned back and leaned over, carefully wrapping his arms around the offered bundle. He looked down at the baby girl as she stared back up with her dark brown eyes. "Have you two come up with a name?"
"Mary." Gloria said, holding Eddy's hand.
"Mary…" Dante rocked the baby gently, earning a soft coo from her. "And…I'm still going to be her uncle, right?" He asked. It wasn't as if he asked them a few dozen times about that or anything. Being an uncle at 19, blood-related or not, was something Dante would have expected more from his parents' generation, what with that generation having more siblings.
"About that…" Eddy started. "We've talked it over a bit, and we wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?" Dante barely looked up, keeping his eyes on Mary's.
Gloria spoke next. "We want you to be Mary's godfather."
That caused Dante to snap up. His eyes widened as he looked at the couple. "What?"
"There's no one we trust more than you, Dante." Eddy said. "We'd love it if you agreed to be her godfather."
Dante's mouth moved, but no words came out. He looked back down at the baby in his arms.
"Now, we do have a condition." Eddy continued. "I don't want you making any 'Godfather' references. No 'make him an offer he can't refuse', no 'day of my daughter's wedding', no talking like you have cotton balls in your mouth." Eddy said, listing his grievances. "And no randomly talking in Italian, unless you actually need to. Just because your grandfather watches the trilogy twice a year, doesn't make it a good series."
For his part, Dante barely listened to his best friend's rant. His opinion on cinema wasn't important at the moment. The little girl in his arms, Mary, his goddaughter, was far more important. His goddaughter. They were going to introduce him as her uncle, and now he's her godfather.
"Oh my~." Gloria said with a laugh. "I think you've upset poor Dante."
"Geez, Dante." Eddy shook his head, smiling. "If it's that important to you, you can mimic 'Godfather' a little bit, okay? No need to cry about it."
"…Shut up…" Dante barely whispered.
He stood there, rocking his goddaughter in his arms. As he looked down at her, he knew he'd do whatever it took to keep her safe. He'd never let anything happen to her.
~The Wrong Hero~
Dante looked at the small family before him. These people, who looked so much like his own family, gazed back at him. The man had his hand on the girl's shoulder, keeper her close.
"Can we help you?" The man asked cautiously.
"Ah…" Dante realized he was staring at them. He tried to speak up, but the words kept getting caught in his throat.
"Dear?" The woman held the man's other hand, keeping behind him.
"Go inside." He told her, moving the girl around to follow the woman.
"Eddy!" Dante finally shouted, causing them to stop. "Does that name…Do you recognize it? Edmundo Melero? Gloria? Mary?"
He didn't think they would, but it was possible. He didn't know if there was any sort of time difference between the two worlds. That could explain it, if much more time passed in this world than in his own. That was how he was seeing Eddy and Gloria, or people who looked very much like them. They had a daughter that was just like Mary. They were able to be together again, born in the same country, and…
"No, I don't." The man who looked like Eddy said.
Dante knew he'd say that. The sheer amount of coincidences that would require was unbelievable. More so than finding oneself in the world of a book series.
"Right…" Dante slowly nodded. "Sorry, I—"
"Lord Shield!" The shusaku guide dropped from above and landed before Dante. "What happened?"
Dante simply shook his head. "It's nothing."
"Did these people do something?" The shusaku pointed at the family, who had already fallen to the ground. The man and woman were on their knees, and the man had his hand on the girl's back, holding her down.
"Please, forgive us!" The man shouted. "We didn't realize you were the Shield Hero!"
"Ah, no, that's…" It killed him inside to see people with the faces of his family fear him like that. "Please, stand up."
The family remained on the ground.
"Lord Shield gave you an order." The shusaku said, taking a step toward them. He was held back, a firm hand on his left shoulder.
"Wait at the carriage." Dante told him.
"But, Lord Shield…" The shusaku began to argue, but immediately stopped. A dangerous look in Dante's eye was all it took to silence him. With a nod and a bow, the shusaku walked towards the carriage.
Dante sighed and approached the family. They kept to the ground, shrinking back ever so slightly at his approach. Dante took a knee in front of the man. "Please, stand up." He said, offering the man his hand.
The man hesitantly looked up, eyeing Dante's extended hand. Slowly, he took Dante's hand in his own and was lifted up. Dante did the same for the woman and the girl. The parents shared a look between them before holding their daughter close.
"I'm sorry about all that." Dante said, bowing his head slightly. It seemed the fastest way to show he didn't have any negative emotions toward them. "I saw your daughter in the village and I thought she was…" He trailed off, unable to say what he hoped was true.
"Oh…" The man held his daughter closer to him. He spared another look at his wife before he spoke again. "Then…are you here for our daughter? She is only nine." He asked. His tone was somewhat forceful, but still respectful.
"No! God, no!" Dante quickly waved off that idea. He really needed to figure out people's perception of the Shield Hero in this world. It seemed to be vastly different than what he thought it would be. Or, it was just heroes in general. He seemed to recall reading that both holy and vassal heroes would form harems. The implication that they—or, at least, the Shield Hero—went for children disturbed him.
Upon hearing his refusal, the man sighed in relief. His wife did too, smiling as she dropped down to hug her daughter.
"I'm sorry if I caused you to worry." Dante said. He'd let himself get swept away at the thought of seeing Mary again.
"It's quite alright, Shield Hero." The man said happily. "I apologize if we seemed disrespectful at all."
"No worries." Dante said with a smile. Now that he knew these people weren't his family, he could go.
"It's an honor meeting you." The woman said, bowing her head as she stood again.
"Please, there's no need for that." Dante held up his hand. He needed to leave. Seeing people who looked like his family act like that wasn't what he wanted.
"My name is Marcus." The man said. "This is my wife, Cassia, and our daughter, Lucia."
"Dante MacRory." With their introductions done, he needed to go.
"If there's anything we can do for you, Shield Hero Dante, please let us know." Marcus said.
"In that case…could we sit down and speak for a while?" Dante asked, against his better judgement. Being around people who looked like his family wasn't a good idea, but he didn't care. He just wanted to see them again.
"Of course, Shield Hero Dante!" Marcus said, gesturing to the door to their home.
"Just 'Dante', please." Dante said, following them inside.
~The Wrong Hero~
The conversation between the four of them was nice. That was the best way Dante could put it. It didn't involve anything grand, like the politics of the world or the waves—beyond Dante affirming his role in fighting them. It was simple things, like the family's life in the village. Dante had asked them numerous questions.
The two of them, as well as their families, were taken as slaves when Siltvelt made a bid for world domination almost 25 years ago. When that war ended, they were separated from their families and traded around before settling into their places. Cassia ended up as a servant to a noble while Marcus became a farmhand, both in the same territory. When Queen Mirellia put forward her peace initiative, the lord of this area set up Korokan village and willingly freed some of his slaves. Some other people here were refuges, while others were travelers looking to settle down.
Not long after joining the village, the two of them met and started courting. Within a year, they got married and started trying to have a child. It reminded Dante a little of Eddy and Gloria, in a sense. While not experiencing anything close to slavery, they both had somewhat tough childhoods. Eddy never knew his father and lived in a rough neighborhood. His mother tried her best to keep him from falling into the wrong crowd, which was actually what led to him and Dante becoming friends, being connected through a teacher. Gloria's mother was in and out of rehab since she was 10, and she often helped her father out at his business. It wasn't uncommon for her mother to pass out in her father's shop.
Using his skills he learned being a farmhand, Marcus ended up growing one of the largest fields in the village. Cassia had become one of the lead servants under the lord, so she learned a variety of skills. One of those skills involved organization and communication, leading her becoming the one who did the bartering with other villages, outside of what the lord did.
"You two have done quite well for yourselves." Dante said, sipping some tea that Cassia prepared.
"Thank you, Sh—Dante." Marcus said with a slight bow. They had gotten better over the course of their talk, but the couple was still a bit stiff. Lucia, on the other hand, was much more outgoing. She did seem to pick up on her parents' hesitation, but with them improving, it was easy to be relaxed.
"Things are good in the village, right?" Dante asked. "No problems with bandits or slavers?
"Nothing like that, Dante." Cassia chimed in. "The lord here takes care of us."
"Good, good." Dante nodded. He really didn't want another Lurolona. "If that changes, you let me know. Being in Siltvelt's capital, I have quite a bit of sway."
"You don't need to worry about that." Cassia said. "The lord here is quite friendly with humans. He never once abused me when I served him."
Dante would argue that not abusing one's slaves didn't exactly put them in a positive light, but he took her meaning. Slavery was quite common in this world, though it was mostly nobles and the wealthy that had them. Obvious differences aside, he himself had slaves, as did Eclair's father.
A knock at the door caught their attention. Dante went to answer it, but Marcus signaled with his hand to stay seated. He was a guest, after all. When Marcus opened it, he was greeted by a playful voice.
"Hello, I'm looking for a young man with a shield strapped to his arm. Long black hair, a little taller than me, some demi-humans view him as an object of worship." Sadeena said from the doorway, glancing over at Dante. "Oh, there you are~."
"Hey, Sadeena. What's up?" Dante asked, standing from his chair.
"Well, our guide is getting a bit antsy." She explained. "It seems you asked him to wait at the carriage, and he has remained there ever since. He asked me to check on you."
"Did I scare him that much?" Dante didn't think he was that intimidating. But, like Sadeena said, he was viewed as a god here. "Well, I'm fine. I've just been chatting with these people here."
"Oh~?" Sadeena looked the family over, her eyes settling on Cassia for a bit longer. "Well, I'm sorry to intrude, but we need to start heading back to the capital. There is that feast, after all."
"There's plenty of time for that." Dante argued. "That shusaku worries too much."
Sadeena tilted her head to the side. "Little Dante, you've been here over an hour now."
"An hour?" Dante's eyes widened at that. It didn't even feel like a third of that. He really lost track of time.
"Mm. Don't worry. We looked around the village while we waited. Combined with your knowledge here, we should have a complete view~." Sadeena said teasingly.
Shit. I'm really glad they picked up the slack.
"Ah, yes, good." Dante said, trying to save a tiny bit of face, mostly in vain. "I suppose we should be going then."
Marcus made room as Dante approached the door. He turned back to face the couple and their daughter. "Thank you for your hospitality. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to visit you again." He said.
"We would be delighted." Marcus said with another bow.
Dante sighed and walked over to the family. Marcus seemed to tense up a little before Dante stopped in front of him. He brought his arm to the side, just over the eating table. He let 10 silver slide from his shield and land with a soft clink.
"For your troubles. It's not much, but please accept it." Dante said, leaving before any of them could refuse his offer.
Outside of the house, Sadeena walked next to Dante, a large smile plastered on her face. She held her hands behind her back, swaying from side to side as she walked.
"Okay, what is it?" Dante asked. He was glad she wasn't upset, but this was a little off-putting.
"Nothing~." She said, giving him a grin. "Now I know what your type of woman is~."
"That's not…!" He wanted to argue, but he already knew she was messing with him. Besides, he apparently left them alone for an hour. He could take a little teasing. "Was I really in there that long?" He decided to adjust the conversation.
"You were." Sadeena nodded. "Though, I have to say…"
"What?"
Sadeena stopped them both and looked Dante in the eye, her hands on his shoulders. "I hope you were there to ogle the woman, and not the little girl."
"Why are you like this?" Dante deadpanned to her.
Sadeena gave him a quick kiss before they continued on. "So? What does she have that I don't? Is it the lightly tanned skin? The nearly white hair? We both have great figures~." She accentuated her point by drawing her hands up from her hips and sides to her chest. "Though, she seems to have just a tiny bit more up here."
"Your breasts are great and it's not that at all." He wondered how long this would go on if he didn't correct the matter.
"Oh, I see~." Sadeena continued on before he could. "It must be the big sister feel I got from her. Well, don't worry, little Dante~." Sadeena weaved her hand through his long hair. "Once we're alone again, big sis here will take care of you~."
"Gloria." Dante said. As appealing as that sentiment was, he didn't want to be too flirty with Sadeena out in the open. "The wife, Cassia, reminded me of Gloria. Marcus was like Eddy, and Lucia is the spitting image of Mary."
"Oh." There was far less humor in her voice. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Dante said. "Great, actually. It was…nice to see their faces again, even if they weren't all perfect matches."
Part of him didn't want to stay as long as he did with them, or visit with them at all, but he was still glad he did. It was a reminder of what he was fighting for. One of the reasons, at any rate.
"I'm glad to hear that." Sadeena said, though she formed a grin on her face again. "So~? How different was Cassia from Gloria?"
Dante sighed. "Well, Gloria's hair was blond, and her skin wasn't so tan. There are a few differences in her face too."
"What else?" Sadeena pressed on.
"I guess Gloria was more forward with the sisterly feeling? She used to rub my head in high school, uh, when we were around 14 or 15. It started around when I said Eddy was like a brother to me. I think it was partly to tease me, and partly to make Eddy jealous. It's not like either of us had romantic feelings for each other." Dante quickly added. "But, she was sort of like the big sister I never had."
"What else~?" Sadeena asked again, running her fingers through Dante's hair again.
"Stop that." Dante brushed her hand away, checking around to see if anyone was looking. He didn't really think Sadeena would flirt like that if anyone in Siltvelt was watching, he was just being cautious. He spotted a few wolf therianthrope guards when they entered the village, but none inside. It was really just the shusaku guide here, and he was still waiting at the carriage. "What exactly are you looking to find out?"
Sadeena grabbed his arm and squeezed it to her chest. "Her boobies!" She stuck out her tongue and laughed.
"Seriously?" Dante asked, exasperated. "Why does that matter?"
"Sometimes girls like to know!" Sadeena said with a sigh. "How can I hope to calm my jealousy with you being with yet another beautiful woman if you can't even confide in me this small detail~?"
"I can think of a few reasons why you shouldn't be jealous. Two particular days, to be specific." Dante said with an arched eyebrow.
"Oh, Dante~! You shouldn't talk about such things in public!" Sadeena started fanning her face.
"Yeah, yeah, you're hilarious." Dante said as they continued on. They passed by another house, bringing the carriage into view, before he spoke again. "Bigger." He whispered. Sadeena's eyes snapped to him, her grin in full force. "Gloria's were even bigger."
"Oh my~!"
Even when in high school, Dante didn't care much for romance, but he did understand lust. He wasn't completely clueless in that regard. Gloria, of course, noticed him checking out a girl one day and gave him a piece of advice. It was coupled with a presentation.
"If you get yourself a girlfriend, you'll be able to play with these!"
The presentation was her pressing her breasts together and nearly shoving them in Dante's face. Not exactly the type of thing he wanted from his big sister figure.
~The Wrong Hero~
Once they returned to the capital, they started getting rushed around. The feast was to be held around noon, and Dante's excursion to the human village had brought them close to the deadline for preparing. They had him wear this strange getup. The coat reminded him of his leather jacket, but even more punk-looking. The material seemed softer and the collar was lined with fur. The pants were almost like a thin denim, and there was plenty of metal sewn into it. It seemed like the castle tailor was hard at work, because there was another side cloak made for him. The headpiece made him feel a bit like Hercules. Or, maybe Heracles, he couldn't remember what the difference was. At least the boots appeared normal.
The feast itself wasn't too bad. At least, from what he could see. His mind was elsewhere throughout most of the event. In the great hall, he sat on the throne while the various tribe heads came to greet him and offer their reverence. Dante acknowledged them in kind, a little surprised at all the different races. Some he expected weren't there, but he figured they were lumped together in what he thought would be another tribe. He did recall an elephant therianthrope was part of a house of mammoths, so anything was possible.
In what seemed like no time at all, the feast was over. He did recall the food tasting good, even better than what he'd been cooking. It wasn't a great comparison, since he mostly cooked things over a campfire. Though, that very same campfire food seemed to taste better than what they were served yesterday. Maybe they brought in a renowned chef for the feast, and not just the castle cooks. Dante would need to swing by the kitchen at some point, for an unrelated matter.
The parade also went by somewhat quicker than Dante anticipated. His role there was pretty straightforward: wave to the people. He was basically pulled along on a massive float as they went around the capital. They started in the highest ring and went in a circle, going through the gatehouse to the next lower tier and repeating until they covered all the main streets. Dante hadn't really thought of it before, but that was another difference between Siltvelt and Melromarc. The separation was a bit less pronounced in Melromarc than Siltvelt, though he could still easily tell which parts were for the nobility and which were the slums.
Finally, there was one last thing Dante had to do for the day. In a large conference room, Dante sat at the head of the table. Surrounding him were the heads of some of the most influential tribes in Siltvelt. There were a dozen people at the conference, plus Dante. A few he recognized right away. Werner and Jaralis were present, of course, as was the head of the genmu tribe.
One he was surprised, and nervous, to see was a clan head of the aotatsu tribe. He recalled that the leader was involved with Takt, so he didn't want to do anything to bring him here early. With his current level and shields available, Dante didn't think he and his party would be able to take on Takt. His highest rank spell was Zweite, and he didn't have the ability to use Dragon Vein magic. Sadeena did inform him that she could now use her Drifa rank magic, though. Their equipment wasn't anything crazy either, his armor being the best piece at the moment with a few item drops being contenders for a close second place. The most he could hope to do was use the stat boosting potions, but even then, that wasn't much against people with several hundred levels.
"Now, let us commence with the meeting." Werner said, getting things started.
"The first order of business is to ensure Lord Shield has everything he requires to battle the wave." The large mammoth therianthrope stated. "Lord Shield, I understand you took part in Melromarc's wave. How did you fair in that?"
"Quite well." Dante answered. This didn't seem like particularly damaging information, so he decided to tell them about it. Most of it, anyway. "The wave monsters weren't a threat to us at all. We split up the party, three going after the wave's boss and five to defend the nearby village. Only the three that fought the boss took any damage. In fact, aside from a few knights, there were no casualties."
That was something Dante was really proud of his party for. They all handled themselves really well.
"Forgive me, Lord Shield, but you seem to be leaving out some information." Werner interjected.
"I am?" Dante asked.
Jaralis spoke up next. "He is referring to the knights that attacked you in the village, as well as the monster tamer child that did the same."
"Ah…" Their spy network was better than Dante thought. Then again, a single spy should be able to travel faster than a group of knights from the capital. "Well, there's not much to tell. The knights that attacked me are all dead, thanks to that very same monster tamer child."
"Who is this boy?" The aotatsu woman asked. "Our reports only stated that he had unknown monsters following him."
Dante wasn't sure how much to reveal. Anything he said about Reiko could put him in danger, but trying to hide it could be worse. Giving him protected status seemed to be the best, and that involved revealing one particular detail.
"He's my contact in Melromarc." Dante said. "He catches any knights or slavers involved in attacking Lurolona, and he holds them for me to interrogate later."
"Ah, then he's an ally of yours." Werner said.
"Very much so." Dante said, then added on. "I believe you should have a good view of my time in Melromarc from my party's interview."
Werner nodded. "Yes, they gave us a good idea of how you spent your time there. However…"
"Yes?" Dante saw the man give a difficult expression.
"With regards to how to interact with your retainers, we would ask that you don't act quite so casual with them."
"I'm not really sure what to do about that." Dante said. "We've been traveling together for some time. Eclair still holds my position with respect, but I'm not going to have the others change how they address me."
He understood that 'Lord Shield' had an image to uphold, but wasn't about to distance himself from them.
"Werner, Lord Shield seems to be a more direct man." Jaralis said. "You need to give more direct statements."
I don't want to say he's right, but he kind of is. Werner definitely seems more cautious with his words, at any rate.
"Forgive me, Lord Shield." Werner said before bowing. "In this case, I'm referring to your interaction with the raccoon woman at the feast."
"Oh." Dante knew exactly what he was talking about.
Before the feast, Raphtalia had received new clothing spun from her magic thread. Apparently, that was a different tailor than the one spinning out Dante's cloaks. In any case, Dante wanted her to transform again now that she was properly clothed. She tried to refuse, but Dante wasn't having it, since their agreement was back in effect. When she did, he understood her hesitation.
Circumstantial evidence suggested that the tailor who made her new clothes was some sort of a distant relative to Ann from Melromarc. In her demi-human form, the clothes resembled what she had on before. In her therianthrope form, however, the clothing was a bit more…risqué. The skirt did stretch out, but it only went down around mid-thigh on Raphtalia. Likewise, her shirt seemed to have its sleeves recede. The only part it really covered was her larger breasts and upper back, similar to a sports bra.
Raphtalia pretty quickly drew the eyes of the partygoers. She immediately challenged Dante to a match to be allowed to transform. Feeling good from earlier, Dante accepted, paying no mind to the optics. They quickly went out to the garden to have their bout. Many of the attendees followed after. Sadeena did try to persuade him not to, but he paid her no mind.
When they started, Dante realized something about her therianthrope form. Her agility had skyrocketed. Afterwards, he came to the conclusion that the class up somehow altered her transformed stats. It was from Fitoria's blessing, so it wasn't completely out there. Regardless of her speed boost, Dante was still able to hold her back. Even with her enhanced movements, she wasn't able to pin Dante down.
It seemed like Raphtalia was about to call off the match when one of the nobles objected, saying Dante shouldn't be dueling by himself. Dante would have pointed out that it was something they agreed to, but the noble was already calling for someone in his family to fight on Dante's behalf. He didn't want to cause a further stir, realizing how he already did, and it would be interesting to see how Raphtalia measured up to one of Siltvelt's warriors. Dante had to translate for Raphtalia, since the challengers didn't speak Melromarc's language like some of the other nobles.
The noble and his retainer were actually lion therianthropes, though from a different house than Jaralis. The retainer's level was in the mid-60s, so Raphtalia would have hard time facing him. That was, before her class up. The retainer was on his back and pinned to the ground within ten seconds, much like Raphtalia was in her first match with Dante.
"Right, that." Dante nodded to Werner. "Just a bit of test for Raphtalia. We'll hold off doing that so publicly in the future."
"What was the contest for?" The old genmu asked.
"She doesn't like being in her therianthrope form. We agreed that she would stay in that form at all times, until she managed to beat me in a wrestling match." Dante explained.
"She seems to hold onto that form quite well." The genmu praised.
He wasn't wrong. Another reason for the continued transformation was to reduce the cost of using that form. A demi-human staying in a therianthrope form cost MP. They were able to replenish MP regularly with the alcohol Dante brewed. They all enjoyed it well enough, since Dante was able to mix some bioplant fruit into the brew. Luckily, the amount needed to replenish their magical stores wasn't enough to get them drunk, especially due to the bonuses he had. And, thanks to their training, they all had the MP costs reduced. Keel, Rifana, and Raphtalia were all well on their way to having no MP cost to stay transformed, just like Sadeena already did.
"Normally, it would be improper to stay transformed in Lord Shield's presence, but an exception can be made for his retainers." Werner stated, casting a glance at the genmu. The old man did come into the conference room in his therianthrope form before changing back, after all.
"I don't really get it, but I'll leave this cultural matter to you." Dante said. He understood that natural therianthropes were, on average, stronger than demi-humans, and demi-humans that could transform went up to that level of strength. He supposed it was basically a way of not showing aggression.
"We seem to have gotten a little off topic." The mammoth therianthrope said. "Lord Shield, what do you require for the waves going forward?"
"Well, a few things would be good." Dante said, stating what they needed. The two biggest things were magical training and equipment. For the magic, it was mostly just getting tutors to help them all understand the magic they had an affinity for. As for equipment, they were sorely overdue.
It was actually lucky they didn't have any fights since coming to Siltvelt. During their visit to Korokan village, Raphtalia and Keel had sparred to pass the time. However, when they clashed with their weapons, they ended up shattering them both. Dante didn't realize before how badly they needed new gear, so it was quite fortunate they found out then. He still had a few drop items they could use, but new equipment would be better than what they had. It wasn't as if he didn't have the monster parts to make good gear. Probably.
"We will begin gathering what you require, Lord Shield." Werner said. "Moving on, the next order of business involves your harem."
I was wondering when that would be brought up. Second item on the list, eh?
"It seems you dismissed the women that we dispatched to you." Werner went on. "Were they not to your liking?"
"Nothing like that." Dante said. "They were all quite beautiful, though some size differences were a bit concerning." There were both very large women, such as an elephant therianthrope, and much smaller ones, like the husky therianthrope, similar in size to Keel and Rifana.
"Please, I ask you not to hold any of the tribes in a bad light over this." Werner said with a bow.
"That's not what I meant." Dante leaned back in his chair. "Look, so long as none of them are children, I don't have any particular problem."
Werner brightened up. "In that case, we will prepare—"
"However," Dante interjected, "what I said before remains. I understand that the Shield Hero has certain responsibilities and expectations in Siltvelt, but I'm still preparing for the waves. I certainly can't do that and be with a few dozen women every night."
Ideally, he would only be with one particular woman at night, but circumstances were what they were.
"What do you suggest, Lord Shield?" The genmu asked.
"Only a few per night, three at most." Again, ideally, only one being sent would be best, but he didn't know if that would be acceptable.
"How should we decide who goes?" Another conference member, this one a dog therianthrope, asked.
"I would like to leave that up to all of you, but…" Dante honestly didn't know how they would decide it. Maybe a raffle would be good. He imagined the more influential tribes would lobby to have their noble women get first dibs, then the less influential would have their turn. Of course, they would want to make sure the women became pregnant and carried the Shield Hero's child.
That was something else Dante had asked about before. Rifana had made a point to mention both 'harem' and 'wives', so he was curious about it. The shadow told him that harem members, sometimes referred to as 'concubines', basically had no say in the affairs of the hero, at least officially. They were for pleasure, and for carrying a hero's child, which had its own benefits for their family lines. Wives, on the other hand, held more power. For heroes, marriage was more political, like between noble houses.
As an aside, Sadeena proposed acting as one of his concubines while in Siltvelt. The risks wouldn't be as high with either Siltvelt or Q'ten Lo. He didn't want to say no to that, but they put a pin in the idea.
"I have a proposal for that." Jaralis said, holding up a claw.
Well, this ought to be good.
"I suggest we have a merit based system." He began. "When one of us performs a deed seen as highly beneficial to Lord Shield, he will take a daughter from our tribe to bed with him, with his maximum of three women per night. Of course, it is expected he do more than sleep with them, if Lord Shield takes my meaning for it."
Jaralis seemed keen on surprising Dante. This time, it was actually something in Dante's favor. Now he wouldn't be exhausted, and he would be getting something out of it. Aside from, of course, the sex.
"I like that idea." Dante told the group. "Although, I hope you aren't trying to count that as your beneficial deed." He added with a smile.
"Not at all, Lord Shield." Jaralis said with a bow. "I have other things in the works that I'm sure you'll appreciate."
If nothing else, the lion was a clever politician. He came up with a plan that Dante was in favor of and was already working on carrying it out. Perhaps he even deduced that Dante didn't care for having a harem based only on last night's refusal. After all, even if he was tired, who would refuse being pampered by beautiful women? Well, if he were gay, that would be a good reason. Perhaps it'd be a good idea to let Jaralis think he has Dante in the palm of his hand.
With that, it was decided how women would be chosen for Dante. He imagined this was something like that Bachelor show he heard about, but more extreme.
"So, what's next on the list?" Dante asked the assembled representatives.
Jaralis smirked. "Next is determining what to do about Melromarc, the foolish king, the vixen queen, and the treacherous former princess."
Dante had almost forgotten who he was talking to. "There is a list of reasons why not to attack Melromarc. At the top of that list is them having the other three holy heroes. Soon after is that I don't plan on starting any big international conflicts that would reduce our ability to fight the waves."
"We needn't attack them directly and openly." Jaralis said. "However, I do believe now would be a good time for it."
"Something to counterbalance my reasons?" Dante asked.
"Indeed!" Jaralis slapped the table for emphasis. "You may not be aware, Lord Shield, but Melromarc has been greatly weakened recently."
"What happened?" Dante as pretty sure he kept certain things from spiraling out of control. The only thing he could think of was some knights giving some shop owners trouble in the capital. Of course, if the threats made throughout the kingdom started building resentment…Dante didn't want to think about that outcome.
"Something truly glorious, Lord Shield!" Jaralis shouted, clearly excited to give Dante whatever the news was. "It seems Idol Rabier, one of the most influential lords in Melromarc and a powerful war veteran, has gone missing and is presumed dead!"
Dante took in a deep breath at the news. Well, well, well. If it isn't the consequences of my own actions. If his shield didn't interfere with Reiko's power, he'd give Idol's body to the fox boy so he could kill him again.
Not that this mattered. He'd keep them from outright declaring war on Melromarc. The waves aside, the other heroes aside, that sort of conflict would likely only make it more difficult to locate the other Lurolona villagers. Even if the war went well, that would also only increase the number of orphans, something Dante wanted no part of.
"Here's the problem with that…" Dante began. It was going to be a long evening.
Author's Notes:
I still surprise myself with how much I write to say what I want to say. I didn't think the time in the village would take so many words, but here we are. I'm still trying to get better about not leaving writing most of the chapter to a single day. Don't get me wrong, it's nice being capable of doing that, but I know that's partly why I had a few thing seem to drag on earlier in my story.