Review Responses:

setokayba2n: I'd say no, since that usually doesn't happen. From what I know, dragon emperors can learn to transform eventually if they really want to. Of course, I also said this story probably wouldn't be harem-y, and look where we are now.

Chapter 53 – Homecoming

Raphtalia stared at the monster in her arms. It stared right back, its tail swishing back and forth.

"Rafu!" It chirped, a happy smile on its face.

"Dante!" Raphtalia anxiously called out. "Please explain!"

"It's a familiar." Dante said simply.

"Why does it sound like me!?" She cried out.

"I'm pretty sure you know why." Dante said.

"Rafu!" The familiar called again, patting Raphtalia on her face.

"But why!?"

By this time, some of the other familiars had come closer, approaching the people they resembled. A dog, a ferret, a pair of small tigers. It was a rather soothing sight after the last few days.

"Basically, they're to help with communication." Dante finally explained. "The one thing we really needed was a way for any of you to call for me if I'm not around and a situation comes up."

"This is really weird…" Keel looked down at the dog familiar that approached him. It sat on its hind legs and wagged its tail at him.

"Wan!" It called up at him.

Keel's response was to hold the dragon closer to him. His familiar just tilted its head to the side and placed a paw on his leg.

"I'm really conflicted about this, Mister Dante." Rifana was less than twice the size of her familiar in her therianthrope form.

"Rifa!"

"Hm." Atla made a face, though it was more out of confusion. "It almost feels like there's two of everyone."

"Well, not everyone." Reiko said from across the lab. "There was a limitation we couldn't work around."

Rat nodded. "To implement the key function you wanted, Lord, we used the connection of the slave seal. That's why Governor Fiadia doesn't have one."

"So they have to stay slaves for it to work?" Dante asked, looking around the familiars for one in particular.

"No. We just needed the initial connection."

"This is just too strange." Eclair shook her head. "Did you really have to make them resemble everyone? If I recall, Reiko made one that—eh!"

"Berry!" In front of Eclair's face was her familiar held under its arms by Dante. It was roughly the same size as the others, though it looked more similar to Eclair. It had long, pink hair reaching halfway down its back and wore a similar military-esque outfit that Eclair had. Its face wasn't exactly human looking, having more of a doll-like feel to it. The eyes were pupil-less, with bright blue irises.

"…I don't like this at all." Eclair stared at the creature before her.

"Oh, don't be like that." Dante pushed the familiar forward. Eclair's arms seemed to react on their own, accepting the familiar while she stood there slightly dazed.

"Let's have everyone bond with their familiar so we can explain how they work." Reiko instructed.

"Can I not?" Raphtalia pleaded.

"You should have thought of that before you touched Raph-chan." Dante said. The second Raph-chan latched onto Raphtalia, he saw a notice in his status.

"That's what you named it!?" Raphtalia yelled before sighing deeply. "How did Reiko make these, anyway?"

Dante raised an eyebrow. "Are you in denial right now?" He raised his hand toward the fox girl. "How does Reiko make monsters?"

Raphtalia's eyes widened as she looked back at Raph-chan. She promptly let go of her, Raph-chan deftly landing on her feet. Eclair had a similar response and result.

"Sir MacRory, this is…I can't even begin to…And with our blood…You should have asked us first!" Eclair yelled.

"If I had asked, would you have said yes?" Dante asked.

"No!" Eclair forcefully responded.

"Well, there you go." He had to admit, seeing these familiars was probably a bit of a shock to them. Still, they were largely adorable to him.

"How could you make this thing?" Eclair instead voiced her disapproval to Reiko.

"It'll help, really! Besides, it looks really cute." Reiko pointed to the tiny Eclair, who was waving cutely up at regular Eclair. The lady knight must have been really freaked out if she turned to Reiko for validation. "So, can I explain their features, or…" Reiko asked the group.

"Ara~."

"Oh my~!"

Dante looked over and saw a tiny whale floating in the air next to Sadeena. He was also thankful that Reiko shared his sense of humor with the noises they made.

Reiko went on to inform everyone of what the familiars could do. While they resembled the party, they were actually registered as Dante's familiars. Similar to Reiko and his tiny cacodemon—which had actually been lost in Faubrey's wave—they could have the familiars alert Dante. They couldn't really communicate with words, but they would cry out when needed.

As with the Sadeena familiar, they could all levitate, though not quickly. The people they were modeled after could also focus to see through their eyes. Dante, in turn, could see what they were seeing by focusing and looking deeply into the eyes of the familiar. It wasn't entirely clear, but either one could get an idea of what was happening on the other side. With a short but loud outcry, Dante promised not to spy on any of them, especially reassuring Eclair and Raphtalia. Not that it was entirely needed, since either person could choose to block it. Strenuous activity also disrupted the vision.

One of the key feature of these familiars was that—unlike Reiko's other monsters or familiars created by normal alchemists—these ones could gain XP like any other monster. That meant they started at level one, but they could grow much more powerful. With so many familiars, Dante unlocked a corresponding shield that would allow him to adjust their growth. There were a few other abilities, plus whatever they would be able to do after growing more.

Most of his party understood the explanation. Fiadia had left shortly after the introduction, not having a familiar of herself. Dio and JoJo were more interested in the idea of having their own flocks now. Rishia likely didn't hear any of it. She did have a familiar of her, but she seemed to have passed out while standing when she saw it.

A final ability the familiars had was one of convenience. They could compact themselves into thin, wooden stick-like amulets to be carried around. Half the party immediately asked Dante to do so. It was part of the plan anyway, since they were mostly for emergency communication. In that form, a popup would appear in Dante's vision for emergencies. He wasn't too concerned about leveling them for now, since he was sure his party would be stronger anyway.

"It's still not fair that Rat was the only one that got a different looking familiar." Keel complained, now back in his therianthrope form.

"I'm quite satisfied with it." Dante said.

"With everything I know about you now, I'm kind of surprised you get all these references." Reiko gazed at two of her creations.

"What? I have hobbies." Dante defended.

Rat's only demand with helping Reiko was a familiar that didn't resemble her. Reiko's familiar looked like an orange fox, but its face resembled a mask from a game involving a certain green-clad swordsman. Rat's, on the other hand, looked like a small gorilla. It had brown fur, a bit of extra hair on its head that formed into a drooping peak, and a red tie around its neck.

Truly, it was a work of art.

"If that's all, Lord, I'll return to preparing a cure for your curse, and experimenting on Reiko's other monsters." Rat said.

"Oh! There's one other thing." Dante approached and whispered in her ear.

Rat took in a deep breath and sighed. "That's the most asinine thing I've ever heard, Lord."

"I believe you. But, is it doable?" Dante asked.

"Before I met you, I would have said no. Now? Maybe." Rat gave a light shrug.

"I'll take it." Dante smiled. "This is far less urgent than my curse, so whenever you have time is good."

"Of course, Lord." Rat pinched the bridge of her nose at the work ahead of her as Dante went back to his party.

"What was that about?" Raphtalia asked fearfully.

"Nothing to worry about." Dante said.

"After what we just saw, I'm having trouble believing that." Raphtalia said through half lidded eyes.

"That's fair."

~The Wrong Hero~

Dante teleported to the next parade town with Keel and the dragon, after he cleaned up from last night. Most of his party had gotten their class ups by this point and were catching up with Keel's level. Keel himself had gotten used to the parades and was starting to enjoy them, if for no other reason than the variety of food that was prepared for them afterward. Apparently, his participation was also seen as a positive by the people of Siltvelt. Something about Dante having a companion that wasn't from one of the elite tribes or a prestigious family, according to the dragon rider.

With the towns now being a bit more spread out, there would only be one parade per day, but they'd be longer. There were more villages surrounding the town, so the route had to either include them or hit larger gathering points. Thankfully, Dante didn't agree to any additional features to include in the event.

The parade ended without issue, and the three of them rested in the home of the governor before Dante would set out for tomorrow's town. After the usual small talk with the governor, he left them to relax on their own.

"Thanks for sticking with me here." Dante told Keel. He'd already changed and sat back, the dragon resting comfortably on his lap.

"No problem." Keel was next to him, still in his therianthrope form as he pet the dragon. "By the way, did you come up with a name for her yet?"

"Lilith." Dante said, stroking the dragon.

"Gao!" Lilith gave a happy flap of her wings. She seemed to like the name, or his petting.

"It doesn't have any particular meaning, in case you're wondering." Dante said. "Gloria liked to grow flowers in her garden, and violet lilies were one that I remembered. Lily became Lilith."

"Oh…" Keel fidgeted in his seat. "I know we got swept along earlier, but are you really okay now? About, you know…"

Dante stroked Lilith a few more times before responding. "I'm…okay, I suppose. I know it's a problem down the line, but I can't really do much at the moment. Talking about it helped."

Sadeena was pretty good at reading his mood and giving him what he needed. It was a distraction, sure, but it was a needed distraction. At some point, he'd take the time to sit down with someone in Siltvelt and discuss it properly, likely Werner or Jaralis. Sure, they were both political leaders with their own agendas, but they've both been plenty helpful. He'd see how far it went.

"Besides, it's all 'ifs' and 'mays' right now." Dante added. "People see how much I care about family, if the amount of former slaves with kids of their own are any indication. I could probably use that."

Keel nodded along. "I guess that means you don't need to pet me anymore."

"Well, I don't need to…" Dante said, making scratching motions with his free hand. Keel gave him a blank look in response. "Or, would you rather I pet Wan-chan?"

"You and Reiko give the weirdest names." Keel shook his head.

"I'm still surprised she remembers all this stuff." Dante laughed.

Reiko named most of the familiars, save for Raph-chan. Though, hearing that name likely gave her some ideas. The orca familiar was called Onee-chan and Eclair's was Berry-chan, after all. Incidentally, all his familiars were currently in their amulet form and stored behind his shield.

"So, with regards to those head scratches…" Dante prompted.

With a sigh, Keel shifted in his seat and positioned his back toward Dante. "You're really weird."

"After that stunt with the familiars, everyone knows it." Dante said, proceeding to enjoy himself. He might as well do so as long as Keel let him.

Not long after, Dante started making his way to the next town with the dragon rider. He sent Keel back to the village, along with Lilith, despite her protests. Keel said he'd take her out to gain a few levels, though just in the forest for now. Without Dante around, there was no way either one of his kids would take her with them, so it'd be slow going for a while.

He went to Siltvelt's castle after that. It was nothing major, mostly just checking what was offered to him. It was mostly accessories for his party, and most of them were good quality and went with their fighting styles. He didn't find it as hard as he thought he would adding names to the list of favors owed. Dante also picked up his magic clothing, since he'd neglected to before. It was basically what he wore already, a pair of baggy white pants and a red tunic. There didn't seem to be any issue wearing them, since they didn't adjust his stats at all. The tailor assured him that, once Dante regained his original gender, the clothes would alter themselves to fit him again.

By the time Dante was able to return to the village, it was already evening. He helped out a little with work in the village, mostly anything needing heavy lifting. Despite all the time he'd already spent in this world, it still amused him how much he could lift up.

At night, it was time for Dante's treatment. Before he and Keel got started, they had to look around.

"I don't see her anywhere." Keel reported.

"She's not outside the window." Dante came back from the wall.

They'd lost track of Sadeena after dinner, and she was blocking Dante's vision with the familiar. While the orca woman may have been joking about joining them, neither one particularly wanted that. For Keel, he was embarrassed about having someone he grew up around doing something like that with him. It didn't help that she might try to give him pointers in the middle of it. Dante also thought it'd be weird, since this was supposed to help keep him grounded and not for fun.

It didn't help that Atla had disappeared, too. Dante thought it was highly possible they were plotting together, though he couldn't see through that familiar anyway. At least Fohl said she'd keep Dante from taking her little sister's purity. Word choice aside, it was still three against two.

"Let's just do it quickly." Keel suggested.

"That's not romantic at all~." Dante joked.

"Seriously!?"

Dante couldn't help but have just a little fun.

"If Rat didn't say staying close by afterward helped, I'd agree with your plan." Dante admitted. "Let's just bar the door and hope for the best."

"Aright." Keel agreed. "Just make sure you use that quiet shield."

"Oh, right…Good idea." Dante was usually pretty good at remembering it, but there were obvious examples of when he forgot switch to his Humming Shield.

It was a little awkward, not only from being more aware of Keel this time, but with keeping an eye out for Sadeena. They both felt like there were hidden eyes on them the whole time. Nevertheless, they were able to make it through the whole act without issue. Even as they went to sleep, no one came to them.

~The Wrong Hero~

Morning came, and Dante saw the two of them were still alone in the room. Dante shook Keel to wake him, but he was pretty groggy. He was conscious enough to move his hand over and grab Dante's ass. Dante merely rolled his eyes and nipped Keel's ear. That woke him up in a hurry. He actually jumped from the bed, landing on all fours after transforming.

After calming down, they assessed the situation. Keel figured it was just Sadeena messing with them, and Dante had to agree. They got up and went to make breakfast after washing up.

Once the others started coming around, Dante saw Sadeena and Atla together again, with Fohl right behind them. The two simply smiled and waved at him as they took their seats. Dante motioned for Fohl to come over and whispered to her.

"You were able to keep those two from coming in, right?" He asked.

Fohl shook her head, scrunching up her face. "I didn't do anything. When I found them, they were just talking."

"Talking?" Dante asked. "Like, how to sneak into my room?"

Fohl looked annoyed, but shook her head again. "No, just…chatting. About the village, about what they like to do, normal stuff."

"Huh." Dante looked over at Sadeena again. Her usual smile was still plastered on her face as she waved at him again. "Well, alright then."

He didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth at the moment. Not even a minute into breakfast, he really wished he did.

"Little Dante, would stand up for a moment?" Sadeena asked, standing from her seat next to his.

"Hm? Yeah, sure." Dante said as he got up.

Sadeena gave him an appraising look. "Hug me."

Dante raised his eyebrows. He looked around the room, most of his party and Fiadia taking notice of the situation. "Okay…"

He did just that, bringing his arms up and around her, placing them on her upper back. Sadeena let out a pleased hum, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and bringing him in contact with her chest. Out of the corner of his eye, Dante could see a few people turning their gazes away.

"Sadeena, this really isn't—"

"Shhh~" Sadeena quieted him, swaying from side to side.

While I don't mind the show of affection, this really isn't the best time.

Dante could see his party becoming more uncomfortable with the display. Dio and JoJo didn't have an issue, and Eclair and Raphtalia seemed more bored of it. Rifana had a mixed look of embarrassment and possibly jealousy, as did Elvira to a lesser extent, though it was mostly embarrassment. Atla, on the other hand, seemed to stare at the pair, even with her eyes closed.

Sadeena looked over at the younger tiger sister. "How does it feel, little Atla?"

"I sense such warmth coming from Miss Dante." She said, likely sensing the life force around him. "It feels gentle and loving, even from such a simple hug."

"And how does it compare~?"

Atla held her chin in thought. "It's different from when Miss Dante kissed me, and I think…it's less than what I felt last night."

"What?" Dante stared at her.

"Oh my~!" Sadeena gave Dante a squeeze. "So, you prefer little Keel over me~?"

"What?" Dante repeated, switching to Sadeena. With his hold loosened, she easily stepped back from him.

"But that strong feeling was from both of them, and it was more than just a hug." Atla added on.

"It was for his curse, nothing more!" Keel shouted, leaning on the table with his paws.

"What?" Dante could see Keel's blushing face under his fur. He was getting a lot of information with so few words. "Atla, did you…but, you weren't there to…"

Sadeena chuckled. "Little Dante, didn't little Reiko explain what your familiars could do?"

Dante slowly nodded. "Yeah, but…they weren't…"

"Did you know? Even when they're transformed, we can still hear and see through them. It was a little hard to see from behind your shield, though." Sadeena explained. "Oh, and it seems our other senses work through them, too~!"

Dante looked between the two of them. They did have senses the others did not. Specifically, echolocation and life force sensing. Then again, it wasn't as if Atla really needed to go through the familiar. She had sensed Dante's approach while she was still at the slave merchant's place.

"From what I heard last night, I don't think there'll be as many marks on little Keel." Sadeena commented. "Can I have a look~?"

"No!" Keel shouted, covering his head with his paws on the table.

It seemed like using the Humming Shield really didn't stop the familiars from transmitting that. It wasn't as if the familiars could be used as phones, since they didn't really transmit sound, but Sadeena's ability seemed to work around that.

"Oh my~! Well, you did leave a couple on little Dante here~."

"Sadeena!" Keel whined.

It was awkward and weird and a little disturbing, but Dante couldn't help but smile. It was still funny.

"Keel really likes to kiss." He decided to join in.

"Dante!" Keel barked out. "That was…You told me to!"

Dante shrugged. "I just gave you some additional advice. You were the one to use it."

"And he did such a good job, too~." Sadeena gave Keel a wink.

"Stop!" Keel cried out, tears practically falling from his eyes.

"You should feel good about this, Keel." Dante said with some mirth. "There's nothing wrong with being a gentle and loving partner. You're still a little nervous about it, but you have potential."

"Oh god, the two of you!" Keel sunk down beneath the table.

"Sorry, Keel. I'll take any and every hit for you, but for stuff like this, you're on your own." Dante couldn't help but laugh at Keel's outburst.

"It reminded me of our first night together." Sadeena gave Dante a nudge. "Little Atla can hardly wait for her turn with you, little Dante."

"Hey, don't talk about Atla like that!" Fohl shouted.

"Sister, don't interfere!" Atla countered with a quick jab to Fohl's side.

Dante laughed again. After the initial shock, he found he didn't actual mind learning they were watched. It was pretty clear to him this whole curse awakened something in him, and that he didn't like. Part of Dante wished things would stay this way, making jokes and building up this village.

But, of course, life doesn't work out that way. No one thought this day would end the way it would.

~The Wrong Hero~

The parade for this town was much shorter than yesterday's. After saving the next location, Dante returned to the village for a short time. Then, he took Rishia and Dio to Melromarc. He used an old portal location near the border toward Faubrey, having kept it just in case it was needed. It turned out the territory Rishia's parents governed was reasonably close to it.

Dante wasn't too worried about being recognized. Aside from the obvious reason, he had on a hooded cloak to cover his face and had Dio in her regular filolial form. He also kept his shield in its bracelet form. For the time being, the familiars were tucked into his pants' sash as amulets.

"Alright, let's get going." Dante said, getting on top of Dio. "Hop on."

"Um…" Rishia looked at his extended hand, and the space in front of him. "C-Could I sit behind you?"

Dante shook his head. "Eclair tells me you aren't so great at staying on running filolials."

While Dante was in his daze, they had taken Rishia out to sea to gain levels with the others. He'd already sacrificed a class up for her so her stat growth would increase. That was another regret he had about that time, since the boosted growth didn't seem to do much. She'd recently gotten her class up again, too, and her stats were still terrible. Even if she had a normal slave seal, she wouldn't be able to overpower it.

I sort of remember her needing a higher level to become more powerful, but I'm not really sure. I guess it really depends on what she wants to do.

"You, um…" Rishia fidgeted. "Earlier in the village…You aren't like that with everyone in your party, right?"

Dante raised an eyebrow. He was about to respond with a joke, but realized she would take him too seriously if he said it. "No. I'm with Sadeena. Keel, too, for the moment. Rifana and Atla are interested, though."

Hesitantly, Rishia took his offered hand and was pulled up in front of him, making her noise again before clamping down her mouth.

"Let's go, Dio." Dante said.

"Gweh!" Dio took off running, causing Rishia to cry out again.

Dante cast his Aura spell to increase Dio's speed and stamina. After a few minutes, Rishia got settled into the ride. With a long ride ahead of them, Dante spoke.

"Rishia."

"Fehhh-!" The girl cried out again before calming down. "Y-Yes, Sir Dante?"

"Would you tell me what happened?" Dante asked. "How did you end up sold to Nisha?"

The only thing he heard from Eclair was that she was taken as collateral by a lord of Melromarc while her parents tried to pay off their debt. Beyond that, the knight remained silent, saying it was for Rishia to tell.

"I-If Sir Dante commands it, then…" Rishia whimpered out.

"Rishia, I'm not commanding you. I haven't given you any commands yet, remember?" Not once had he used the slave seal on her. She knew that.

"Okay…" Rishia said quietly. She took in a calming breath. "It started after I returned from my schooling in Faubrey…"

Rishia explained her whole situation. Before the Dragon Hourglasses began counting down, Rishia was called home. Her parents' wealth had been in decline. While they were nobles, they didn't own a lot of land. Their home was less of a manor and more a farmhouse, but they were well liked by the people they governed.

One of their neighbors had been acting somewhat aggressively, increasing taxes on trade between the two territories, not to mention illicit dealings. At the same time, there was an increase in burglaries, prompting her parents to spend more gold on security. Still, the burglaries kept increasing, causing more revenue to be lost. Adventures came and dealt with the burglaries and gave her parents the bill, even though they never called for them. The neighboring noble loaned them the gold to pay off the adventurers and took Rishia as collateral.

This much Dante faintly recalled from the books, though the details were murky. It was likely this noble was the cause of their more recent problems. What happened next, however, defied his expectations.

It became clear to Rishia that the noble wasn't going to let her go, no matter what. In fact, he intended on using Rishia for his own pleasure. That, too, sounded familiar, but not the noble's wife. She found out about Rishia and what her husband planned. However, instead of returning the girl, the wife sold Rishia in an attempt to make back some of the gold her husband loaned out.

The first slave trader was rather abusive. Whenever she made her frightened noise, he'd either activate her seal or strike her. Once she was traded, she'd developed the habit of covering her mouth after she cried out, hoping to avoid punishment. She ended up being traded off a few times before eventually making it into Siltvelt. That was when Nisha bought her to bring to Dante.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Dante said at the end of her story. "Depending on the situation, I may be able to do something about that noble."

"You would?" Rishia asked, her eyes stained with tears from her retelling, looking back at him.

Dante nodded. "I'm not sure how much you've heard from Eclair, but my reputation in Melromarc isn't so great. Many knights are dead because of me, some nobles too. I have no problem killing a few more."

"Fehhh-!" Rishia cried out again. "T-That's…to kill him…I mean…"

"Even after what he planned for you, you still don't want him dead?" Dante asked. Rishia shook her head. "Then you are a kind-hearted person. That doesn't leave many options, though. I can't arrest him, and I'm sure I'd be arrested by the crown if I tried. Well, not that they really could."

"But still…" Rishia weakly argued.

"It's probably the only way you'll get justice." Dante pointed out. "Unlike Itsuki, that's not really my style."

"Itsuki?" Rishia asked.

"The Bow Hero." Dante told her. "In truth, he should have rescued you before you were sold off."

Rishia nodded. "Miss Eclair said you had some knowledge of the future."

"That's the gist of it, yeah. That future, however, can be affected by the smallest things. Or, the biggest. I've killed people earlier than what I remember, and those that may not have died at all. People have acted differently, too, so there's no telling if Itsuki would have ever shown up. Though, from what I've heard him say about justice, there's a chance he brought in that noble."

Rishia made a complicated face. "If he did, I'd like to thank him. But, I heard you two don't get along."

Dante smirked. "He tried to shoot me with an arrow. So, no, we don't get along."

Part of it was coincidence or being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The majority, however, seemed to be what Itsuki saw him doing—having slaves. Rumors spread about him didn't help, and that recording crystal of him confronting that baroness probably cemented any ideas Itsuki had about him.

"If he hasn't taken care of that noble, I can. Without a recognized hero's authority, vengeance is what you'll have to settle for."

Rishia frowned. "I don't want revenge. I just want him to be stopped."

"You want justice." Dante corrected. "I don't have much faith in the justice system here at the moment. Besides, revenge is just state sanctioned justice, anyway."

"Still…"

Dante had to remember she was a girl, barely considered an adult here. She's lived a pretty good life so far. The idea of taking someone else's probably hasn't crossed her mind yet.

"Well, it's something to consider."

They continued traveling on Dio's back. They passed by a number of villages, always keeping their distance. Dante could handle just about anyone they came across, but it wouldn't be worth the hassle. He never heard what kind of bounty was placed on him, legitimately anyway. He also didn't know what other crimes he was accused of, or if it was only the ones he committed. The Three Heroes Church did do some pretty backhanded things, like sending out fake Shield Heroes to commit crimes in the books. Even with the known things Dante did, it couldn't really hurt to throw out a few more.

Finally, they neared the Ivyred territory. It was something like a large village, bigger than Lurolona. Other than that, he didn't really see anything noteworthy about it.

"Hey, Rishia." Dante prompted, earning another yelp from her.

"Y-Yes?" She looked back at him again.

"After you've reunited with your parents, feel free to get the slave seal removed." He said, nodding toward its location. "I don't know if it'll cost anything, since you're a human in Melromarc. If it does and you can't afford it, don't worry. I won't issue any commands through it."

Rishia smiled at him. "Thank you, Sir Dante."

"One last thing. You have incredible potential."

"Fehhh-!" Rishia cried out. "N-No, that can't be true. I don't—"

"Rishia, I've seen the future, remember?" Dante gave her an easygoing smile. "Even if it doesn't all line up, enough does. You have a great power hiding in you. I know an old woman who'd love to meet you. If you ever want to chase that, just call for me through the familiar. I'll leave a portal location here, just in case."

Rishia vigorously shook her head. "Y-You must be mistaken, Sir Dante! I don't have any hidden power or anything like that! I'm—"

"Alright, alright. I'm not trying to make a sale here. Just consider it for later." Dante eased her back. "We're entering the village now, so don't say my name or title."

As they approached the gate, a gruff looking guard blocked their path.

"There's a toll for entering the village." He said. "Five silver each."

"Fehhh-! F-Five silver!?" Rishia shouted.

The guard clicked his tongue. "Noisy girl."

"T-That can't be right! My father would never—"

"Quiet." Dante placed his hand on her shoulder, startling her. Her parents were likely desperate to earn enough money to free their daughter.

The guard looked around her. "Say, you look familiar…"

"I just have one of those faces." Dante rummaged behind him. "Here's your silver."

After taking the coins, the guard gave them one more look before opening the gate. Dio trotted past him and into the village.

Rishia looked back. "Why did you pay him? If I told him who I was…"

Dante shook his head. "I don't want to make a scene here."

While her parents might overlook him being the Shield Hero, he didn't have the same expectations from the guards. He carried enough money on him for any tolls they couldn't avoid, anyway. The merchant pass might have tipped someone off, so he left it behind.

It was rather quiet when they got closer to the homes and shops. The people seemed to be minding their own business, not paying attention to the travelers on a filolial. Rishia told him where she lived and Dio followed along a dirt path. Once there, they hopped off. Dio stayed in her current form, following the two of them to the farmhouse.

"Mother! Father! I'm home!" Rishia happily called out as she entered.

However, there was no response. Dante peaked inside. He didn't see anyone. In fact, it looked a bit of a mess.

"Are they in the village and we missed them?" Dante asked.

"I guess so." Rishia reasoned.

They hopped back on Dio and started searching. All throughout the village, the people kept their heads down and focused on their work. There was hardly any talking. The few kids they saw out and playing did so very unenthusiastically.

After going from one end of the village to the other, Rishia still didn't see her parents anywhere. At this point, Dante led Dio to one of the villagers to see if he knew where they were.

"Excuse me." Dante said in a quiet voice.

The balding man looked up at him with distant eyes. Those eyes quickly gained life as he looked at Rishia.

"Lady Rishia? Is that you?" He asked.

"It's me, Mister Mulder." Rishia dismounted, only to be wrapped in a hug from the man.

"Oh, I thought we'd never see you again!" He cried. "After that noble's men took you—"

"Keep your voice down." Dante calmly said, looking around. No one else seemed to notice, and there weren't any guards nearby.

Rishia separated from the man. "It's good to see you again. I'm looking for my parents. Do you know where they are?"

In an instant, the man's eyes turned somber. "Oh…"

"What is it?" Rishia asked, holding a hand to her chest.

"That's…" The man looked to the ground, as if searching for an answer. "Yes, I know where they are. Follow me."

He turned about and started walking. Rishia and Dante looked between them. Dante came down from Dio and followed along with Dio, right behind Rishia.

The man led them down the road. They passed a few buildings, the people near them still paying no mind to anything aside from their work. At the last building, they came to a stop. It was a small church to the three heroes.

"My parents are here?" Rishia asked, looking at the building.

"Not there." The man shook his head sadly. He took them to the side of it and pointed.

Headstones were lined up there. Many were old, but there were two new ones near the front. Rishia approached them, her legs shaking. Dante walked behind her, names on the stones becoming clearer as they neared.

From the man's reaction, Dante had a few ideas what was wrong. When they stopped at the church, it was confirmed. He didn't need to read the names on the headstones to know who they belonged to.

Author's Notes:

Not quite where I wanted to end this chapter, but it feels better here.

Next chapter, a curse will be broken.