Chapter 66 – Family Matters
The next few hours were a blur of activity.
The first step was convincing Aultcray to denounce the Three Heroes Church and allow their destruction. That would not be an easy task and time was not on their side. Whoever was registered to Malty's slave seal would have known it was terminated and informed others. It was the main reason she needed Dante to come to Melromarc as quickly as possible.
Luckily, Dante had become better at negotiation. That being, he promised to bring Melty back once they took care of business. Aultcray's family-first attitude worked in their favor.
Then, it was a dual-action plan. Dante and his party made their way to the church invisibly while Malty worked in the castle to broadcast a message. Since it was short notice, it was only to be spread in the city for now. In said message, she revealed that the Three Heroes Church plotted to overthrow the kingdom, having enslaved her and framed the Shield Hero for a crime he didn't commit. Malty also added how she worked in secret with the Shield Hero to purge the country of the filth that had infested it, legitimizing Dante's killings. It was a clever touch.
By the time the message aired to the major sections of the city, Raphtalia returned to where the party hid near the church. From what she could tell, the priests, nuns, and knights inside were working fast to move out. It seemed like there wasn't enough there to try taking the castle, unless there were more knights loyal to the church there. Dante's party figured if Aultcray was killed, they'd have been able to take over quickly.
A casting of Liberation Firestorm X halted any such potential ideas.
While Sadeena wasn't happy about him using it, Dante persuaded her of its lessened effect on him. Now that he had Way of the Dragon Vein, the only thing his Curse of Greed had to do was combine that, standard magic, and SP in a way for the spell to function properly. He still needed to learn it himself, but that was one of his next things to do.
With the large cathedral either burning or crumbling, Dante's party returned to the castle. They could sift through the remains later when they had more hands, or let knights actually loyal to the royal family handle it.
Once back in the castle, Dante fulfilled his promise. He brought Motoyasu and Raphtalia back to the village and—with two people having a saved location—brought back Melty, the rest of Motoyasu's party, and a few more from Dante's. Melty reunited with her father, making him forget his hatred for the Shield Hero. For a moment, at least. Seeing Rifana with his old staff, as well as more demi-humans, put his emotions back where the old man wanted them.
The destruction of the cathedral was a good demoralizer for the less faithful. Dante didn't care for staying in the castle, but those more loyal to the church were probably still around. The shadows were one such troublesome group. So, in order to ensure the safety of Melty and Malty, and begrudgingly Aultcray, Dante was to spend the night there. They could always teleport back to the village at the first sign of trouble at either location.
As a bonus, Dante and Sadeena were able to kill two more shadows. The church sent one with each hero group to aid in reconnaissance and information gathering. The one in Zeltoble just knew what to say to live, at least initially. The heroes would teleport back at the end of the day to report on what they found. For his patience, Dante was rewarded with Itsuki's shocked/angry/horrified face when he grabbed the shadow the moment they appeared and had Sadeena skewer them. Ren was the same, minus the angry part.
Motoyasu and Malty were mostly able to keep a fight from breaking out, though that didn't stop Armor's sister from trying. Given the time, they put off having a large discussion about what to do next until the morning, when everyone had a night to process what all happened.
Of course, two people needed to have a meeting of their own before that.
~The Wrong Hero~
"She's just inside here." Motoyasu gestured to the door next to him.
One of Dante's former obstacles, Malty, was waiting for him.
"Hm." Dante felt conflicted. He had half a day to think about what happened and he still wasn't entirely sure.
"Look…" Motoyasu scratched the back of his head. "This has been pretty weird. I know Myne wanted to talk with you in private, but…I just need to make sure you aren't going to hurt her."
"I am not." Dante said. That much, he was sure.
"Boo!" Fleonne puffed up her cheeks, holding onto Motoyasu's leg. "I don't want the bad man to be with Mama!"
"Dad isn't bad!" JoJo fired back. He was in a similar position with Sadeena, who stood next to Dante.
Motoyasu patted her head. "Fleonne, I told you. It was all a mistake. Dante's…a good guy…"
You do not sound confident about that.
Dante decided not to voice his thought. A lot of blood was on his hands, both here and his old world. He knew for a fact not everyone he killed deserved their fate.
"He sure is~!" Sadeena offered her own opinion, leaning into Dante. "Just be careful, little Motoyasu~. He might try to swoon your lover~."
That was a disturbing image if he ever saw one.
"Wha-No!" Motoyasu held up his hands. "She isn't…Myne's great, but we aren't like that!"
"Hm~?" Sadeena tilted her head to the side. "But aren't you little Fleonne's mama and papa~?"
"She just likes to call us that." Motoyasu explained, giving Fleonne another soothing pat. "Fleonne is like my daughter, but Myne and I aren't together. It's the same with the other girls in my party. They're all great and really supported Myne after Dante…I mean, after that knight did that to her. Fleonne calls them all 'auntie'." He slightly turns his face to the side, a hard smile on his face. "Just don't call any of them that. Lesty threatened to smack me if I did again."
Dante raised an eyebrow.
"Ah, but they aren't bad or anything! They're really nice and it's fun to sleep with them all. I mean—I haven't slept with them! I mean, I do, but I don't do anything! We just cuddle and stuff! And I wouldn't do that with Myne after what happened! One of the other girls would. Wait, that's not what I meant—"
"This is more information than I need." Dante halted the rambling Spear Hero.
"Oh my~! How innocent~." Sadeena waved him over. "I'd love to hear all about it while little Dante talks with little Malty."
"I…uh…sure." Motoyasu barely squeaked out, his face having gradually turned red after his poor explanation.
"See you soon, little Dante." She gave him a quick kiss before turning around.
"Watch out for her." Dante told him.
"She's going to make fun of me a lot, isn't she?" Motoyasu asked.
"Most likely. It is good you noticed that now." Dante nodded. "But, I meant watch for any threats. I still do not fully trust this place, and she is my lover and is carrying my child."
"Got it." Motoyasu gave him a thumbs up and walked off as Dante opened the door. "Wait, what—"
His response was cut off when the door closed.
Dante was confident his party could handle any threat that managed to sneak in, but he still worried. Raphtalia stayed near Keel, Rifana, and Reiko to help keep Sadeena at peace. Their room was next to Melty's, which was also occupied by Aultcray. The king wanted to spend as much time with his daughter as he could, and Melty felt the same. Aside from the other heroes and their parties, all that was left was Malty and Dante.
The princess in question sat at the conference table in the room. She had on a dress rather than her previous armor. It wasn't as extravagant as Melty's, but it still looked well made. It reached down to her ankles, but left her upper back and chest open. It seemed to complement her hair with its purple-red color.
"I'm glad you could join me, Sir Shield Hero." She gave a light bow from her seat.
"Of course." Dante took the seat next to hers. He switched to his Humming Shield, since she wanted this conversation to be private.
Malty pulled a bottle closer, as well as a pair of glasses. "Wine?"
"No, thank you. Sadeena is pregnant and cannot drink, so I am abstaining as well." He also stopped smoking, as seldom as he did.
"I see. Congratulations." She gave him a smile and left the wine unopened. "I imagine this situations is uncomfortable for you, given what's happened between us."
Dante shook his head. "No, just unexpected. This is far from what I imagined my eventual return to Melromarc would be like. Far from what I imagined you would be like."
Malty lowered her head. "I haven't forgotten how I left you after your first day out in the world. First you were robbed of your possessions and silver, and I helped the Three Heroes Church take the rest."
"That was a lie." Dante's correction caused her to look up. "I was not robbed. I left most of my equipment with Sadeena precisely so it would not be stolen."
"You did? But…how did you know?" Malty asked.
At this point, Dante had little reason to hide it. "I knew more about this world than what I led the others to believe. There are several books and stories based on this world that I was able to draw from."
"Oh…" Malty deflated after he said that. "Sir Shield Hero, what am I to you?"
Dante tilted his head. "A princess?"
"What else?"
"Human?"
"Am I real?" Malty's question caught him off guard.
"Yes? Why would you ask that?"
With a sigh, she answered. "The other three heroes seem to believe this world is some sort of game."
Dante sighed with her. "Idiots."
From the way Motoyasu acted, he hoped the man realized this world was real. Evidently, that was not the case.
"That was the single most frustrating thing I learned when I had them meet to discuss how to find you." Malty lamented. "They even tried to keep hidden how to make their weapons stronger."
"They…shared their power up methods with one another?" Dante's question was answered with a nod.
Thinking about it, that explained how Motoyasu's attack was able to hurt him. At the Wave, Itsuki's Bunker Shot skill barely did anything to Dante at point-blank range. He didn't want to imagine taking an attack like that now. If the others already knew they could share their power up methods, it saved Dante a lot of headache.
"How did you convince them to believe each other?" Dante asked. He thought they would stubbornly refuse to accept each other's words.
"I reminded them very loudly that Sir Shield Hero had taken my sister and they needed to work together." Malty gave a slight smirk. "I also told them how you easily overpowered that woman during the Wave when they were defeated together."
It seemed he did help convince them, by proxy.
"That was also when I learned they viewed everything as a game. Sir Itsuki claimed you cheated somehow. After hearing how they improved their weapons, and playing to their conceptions of our world, I managed to convince them you somehow already knew some or all of their power up methods. Was I right?"
"Mostly." Dante nodded. "I will need the methods I am missing from them."
"We'll worry about exchanging information tomorrow." Malty concluded. "For now, there's something else I wished to discuss."
Dante wondered what it was. She already mentioned earlier the church's plan. Before the three heroes even went out, the church began preparing to invade Siltvelt, collecting as many soldiers as they could. Malty learned the pope had a superweapon he could wield to launch devastating attacks. Dante immediately knew that to be the replica of the Holy Weapons.
It was the reason the church was relatively empty. They must not have considered Malty getting her slave seal removed so soon, if at all. If one of the other three heroes managed to find and kill Dante, Siltvelt wouldn't stand a chance.
"Some of your companions are from Lurolona, correct?" Malty asked.
"Hm? Yes. Four are from Lurolona while Reiko is from Ronota."
"I assume some of them were captured after the first Wave?"
"Raphtalia, Rifana, and Keel were." Dante clarified. "They are the only survivors."
"What do you mean?" Malty asked.
"I had a slave trader search for the villagers. He found where they were sold, but there was a fire…"
Dante didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to revisit one of his failures in this world. Sadeena and the others may have accepted it, but he knew he let them down.
"They're alive."
Dante snapped up at Malty's words.
"The knight that…" Malty stopped herself short. "He gloated to the nun about selling the women and children in another town. While I was recuperating the next day, I was able to contact a lord in the capital I knew was loyal to my mother and had him immediately buy everyone from the village."
"You…" Dante was at a loss for words.
"They were sent to a remote territory his son governs. While Lord Joel isn't favorable to demi-humans, his son is. They're being kept safe, and hidden, from anyone that would want to harm them." Malty gave him a soft smile. "I could…introduce you to him?"
"This is…" Dante reached over and grabbed her shoulders. "Malty, I cannot begin to thank you enough for this!"
Malty tensed at his touch, but quickly calmed down. "This is nothing, Sir Shield Hero."
"It is everything!" He shouted excitedly.
With all that his party went through, learning that their old neighbors were still alive would be a source of unbelievable relief. Raphtalia especially, given her recent loss. Dante knew the lady knight could rest easy with her father's citizens still living.
"Why did you not say anything sooner?" Dante asked.
Malty slowly moved his hands from her shoulders to the table. "I wasn't sure how you'd react. With the slave seal, I was worried you'd think I was trying to bargain with you. Then, when you showed me the head of that knight, I was…distracted."
"All this time, you had them kept safe." Dante relaxed into his chair. "If only I had known sooner."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were looking for them." Malty admitted. "I didn't recognize that orca woman at the banquet. When I saw Lady Eclair at the Wave, I remembered where I saw her before. Until the banquet, I just thought she was some tattooed adventurer you decided to work with. That's what Lord Joel said his hired adventurers reported."
"Adventurers? Wait." Dante thought back. After the rape accusation, Dante had a few adventurers approach and offer to join him. He already had Sadeena and Keel, plus two filolials that would hatch soon. They turned the adventurers down, some even trying a couple times. "That was you?"
"Yes." Malty nodded. "I had to do everything in my power to make sure you weren't alone in the world."
Dante ran his fingers through his hair. "I know my knowledge of this world has been inaccurate, but I would never imagine it was to this degree. Especially with you."
Malty smirked. "You knew about me from your stories? I think I'd like to hear what they said about me, Sir Shield Hero."
"I do not think you would." Dante tried warning her.
"Nonsense." Malty leaned her elbows on the table, letting her head rest on her interlocked fingers. "I'd love to learn what was said about me."
"If you insist…"
Dante proceeded to tell Malty everything her book counterparts did.
Framing the Shield Hero and stealing everything he owned.
Selling some of her fellow party members into slavery, including Rino.
Tricking Motoyasu into dueling the Shield Hero to take away his slave, and cheating when the Spear Hero started losing.
Claiming lordship of a village through Motoyasu and attempting to charge exorbitant fees to enter and leave.
Attempting to murder her sister for the throne.
Carrying out a coup in the capital with brainwashing.
Allying with a man who killed her mother.
Helping to attack other worlds and kill everyone.
All while Dante told Malty these acts in as much detail he could remember, the older princess's face went from interest to horror. Likely the worst thing she heard was how she poisoned her own brother when she was a child. By the end of it, Malty had her face hidden behind her hands.
"How could anyone do such horrible things!?" She cried out.
"I have seen my fair share of terrible people." Dante said evenly. "A few nobles here have shown me what people are capable of."
"I admit I've been a bit spoiled, but I couldn't imagine doing any of that." Malty lowered her hands to look at him. "No wonder you were ready to kill me so easily."
"If it is any conciliation, at least one version of your evil self got everything she deserved." Dante offered.
The air in the room felt like it got a few degrees colder. Malty folded her hands in her lap.
"My uncle."
Dante turned his head to the side. "Good guess. You know."
She gave him a nod. "Yes. My uncle, or half-uncle, wants me as one of his brides." The last word seemed to crawl out of her mouth.
"That will not be happening." Dante told her.
While it was true he considered it, Malty would have needed to do a few of the things he just described to her. As things stood, there wasn't a chance in hell he'd let the Pig King take Malty.
"I appreciate your concern, Sir Shield Hero, but I don't think you'll be able to stop it." Malty lamented. "I suppose it will be my punishment for everything I've done to you, as well as my…perversion."
"Any punishment you think you deserve for any of that has been more than delivered by that dead knight." Dante asserted.
Malty let out a dark laugh. "It's almost funny. That knight knew about it. He said he would help 'fix me'. I think a lot of the higher ups in the church knew, too." She let silence hang in the air before giving Dante a forlorn look. "You're disgusted by me, aren't you?"
"Hardly." Dante wave his hand. "Well, it was shocking to hear, but I am not particularly disgusted by it. You are not the first woman I met who was attracted to her younger sister."
When she whispered that to him in the throne room, he could hardly believe it. If she wasn't bound by a slave seal, he probably wouldn't. Her attraction did hold merit on why she was removed from the line of succession. Were that information to get out, it would be a huge scandal. It was probably why she was sent to Faubrey for more schooling until the Waves started, given what he learned from Melty about it.
Dante was no psychologist, but he had a little time to think about it. Fohl cared deeply for her little sister. She did everything in her power to make sure Atla had medicine to survive. Malty, on the other hand, was there when her brother was poisoned. Then along comes Melty. Not wanting the same fate for her newest sibling, she became protective of her.
Maybe it is genetic.
"You're rather open-minded about it." Malty noted with surprise.
"It is wrong, do not be mistaken. However, being around someone who shares your view has dulled any reaction I might have had."
The fact that Fohl was around Atla almost all the time helped him get used to it. It was still weird, but it felt more like a quirk at this point.
"But back to your original concern. You forget, heroes are like small armies. Faubrey would not be able to act." Dante reminded her.
Malty shook her head. "With the state Melromarc is in, not to mention how other countries view us, even the heroes may not be enough. I doubt Mother will be able to negotiate my safety."
"Your country has Aultcray." Dante added.
"Father hasn't been his wise self in years. If he had been, he wouldn't have summoned all four heroes to deter my uncle from trying to claim me." Malty said.
That reminded Dante of what Werner told him before. Mirellia wanted her country to have the Shield Hero. Ignoring the church for a moment, that would have helped secure Siltvelt's aid against Faubrey, should they be invaded. Hell, the queen may have even pushed for a marriage, political or otherwise. Of course, Dante could see him being more of a political hostage than anything in that scenario.
"That is not your fate." Dante took her hand. "I will see to that."
Malty nodded. "Thank you for trying, Sir Shield Hero."
"Dante." He corrected her. "Just Dante."
"I don't feel worthy to call you by your name after all I've helped put you through."
"For all that you have done for my family, you are more than worthy."
The rest of the talk moved to increasingly lighter topics, if only to elevate the mood. According to what Malty heard from the church, Mirellia was on her way back to the capital. She should arrive with her army late tomorrow morning. When asked what the church planned to do about that, Malty only had speculations. It seemed they hoped Dante would have been killed, leaving Mirellia with only bad options. Invading Siltvelt before they could retaliate seemed most likely.
Dante didn't put it past fanatics to act in an irrational and self-destructive way.
From there, they talked about how Motoyasu's and Dante's parties were, and their accomplishments. Dante revealed the existence of two cousins to Malty, which she was happy to hear of. Of course, he swore her to secrecy for the moment, the same as Melty. He gave Malty the obvious reason of them being hakukos, but he had something else in mind.
Once they were done, they left to find Motoyasu, Sadeena, and the two filolials. Dante half expected the kids to be bickering, but…
"Dad, can you make another pizza?" JoJo asked him as soon as he and Malty came into the room.
"Papa's going to make his stir fry. It'll be better!" Fleonne added.
"Come on, Dante, let's get cooking!" Motoyasu hastily chimed in, though the look on his face was one of panic rather than excitement.
"It is a bit late for cooking." Dante told them, noting the moon outside the room's window.
"It's never too late for cooking!" Motoyasu quickly linked his arm around Dante's and tried to march off with him. "Let's quickly go to the kitchen while everyone else waits here!"
Confused by his actions, Dante looked to the woman sitting in the room grinning like an idiot. Motoyasu's flushed face, combined with the topic they left with, clued him in on what all happened. He didn't know if they talked about how Motoyasu interacted with the women in his party, how Dante interacted with the women—one specifically—in his party, or some combination.
"You tease people too much." Dante told his lover as he was taken away.
Sadeena gave him a light wave as she disappeared from sight.
~The Wrong Hero~
After a minor cook-off to let Motoyasu calm down and rant about Sadeena's lewdness, the filolials were fed. Despite his curse penalty, it seemed Dante's cooking was still better, much to Fleonne's reluctant admission.
Once morning came, everyone that was needed got ready for the next meeting. This one would be between all the heroes so they could discuss how to become stronger. It was the second one for the three weapon heroes, but this time would include the Shield Hero and three Vassal Heroes. Warbaldt stayed in Siltvelt, continuing the preparations for Q'ten Lo.
On that note, Dante checked in with Siltvelt before the hero meeting. Preparations were nearly complete. That included both the military arrangements and the outfit for Raphtalia. They could sail as early as tomorrow.
Gaelion's words about multiple fronts came to mind. Preferably, Dante wanted to deal with the pope before setting out, or at least prepare the others enough that they could handle it. He could always teleport back when the ships docked and bring some of them back with him to fight Q'ten Lo.
"Let us commence the second hero meeting." Malty announced. She was back in her usual armor, as opposed to the dress she wore the night before. Having already hosted one meeting previously, no one had any issue with her moderating this one.
They sat in a conference room around a round table, similar to the one Dante and Malty used. Chairs were brought in to accommodate the heroes and host, though an extra one seemed to be present now.
"Before we start…" Itsuki looked at Dante with a scowl on his face. He was glaring at Reiko not even a second ago, clearly recognizing her.
"What?" Dante asked, meeting his gaze.
"What are you doing?" Itsuki asked.
"Sitting?" Dante gave him an obvious answer.
"I mean, why is she sitting on your lap?" Itsuki gestured with his hand.
Rifana was indeed sitting on Dante's lap. He had Raphtalia to his left and Reiko to his right. The extra seat was next to Raphtalia, but Dante guided Rifana to his instead.
"It is calming." He told the Bow Hero.
His mind was not always in the right place, even more so after Dio and Eclair's deaths and the revelation of Sadeena's pregnancy. He was torn between keeping Sadeena out of danger at all—something she was against—and being with her at all times. Here, in Melromarc, where there was still plenty of potential danger, wore on his nerves. Rifana's immediate presence helped.
"It's distracting!" Itsuki complained.
That was another reason for Rifana being where she was. She would also keep him from smacking around ignorant brats, but he didn't want to say that out loud.
Dante leaned forward, keeping Rifana steady. "Itsuki, it was only yesterday that I was no longer considered a criminal in Melromarc, and even that is tentative. Since the king continues to act like a belligerent fool, I am concerned he might try something against the woman carrying my child. If he did, the result would be…bloody." He eased back into his chair. "So, yes, Rifana will sit here and help keep me calm."
With Dante meeting Malty yesterday, there was another hero with Sadeena. Sure, she was currently with the rest of his party, not to mention Motoyasu's party. He was still worried. It didn't help that the woman from Itsuki's party still had it out for him.
"Is that a threat!?" Itsuki slammed his hands on the table as he jumped up.
"This arrangement is fine." Malty quickly interjected. "My father has been less than hospitable to Sir Shield…Sir Dante."
While Dante preferred as few titles as possible, he at least acknowledged how Malty addressed the other heroes.
"It's not a big deal, Itsuki." Ren chimed in. "Let's just get on with the meeting."
"Hmph!" Itsuki crossed his arms, but he did sit back down.
"Now then," Malty cleared her throat, "we are here to discuss the ways you heroes grow in power. With the Three Heroes Church's treachery exposed, there will no doubt be a fight with them. To that end, I would like you all to share information honestly, just as the three heroes did before."
"MacRory should start." Itsuki gave him a pointed look.
"Why is that?" Dante casually asked.
"You knew we could use each other's power up methods from the start and you didn't say anything!" Itsuki jabbed his finger in Dante's direction. "It's only right you tell us what you know first!"
While they hid it, Ren doing a better job than Motoyasu, both were interested in what Dante had to say.
"Would you have believed me if I told you?" Dante asked. "Besides, from my point of view, I have more information than you."
"Nice try!" A smirk formed on Itsuki's face. "The king already told me his method yesterday. The method from the Seven Star Staff you stole!"
Of course he did. And I wonder how that conversation came about.
Malty had the heroes keep their power up sharing a secret before, even from the old man. Itsuki must have asked Aultcray his method for some minor leverage.
"It is her staff now." Dante pointed to Rifana in his lap, who didn't seem to appreciate the attention, at least not from everyone else. "If the old man was still worthy of being a hero, I would not have been able to take it."
"Besides, we have more methods than you!" Itsuki seemed to completely ignore Dante. "We have 12, while you have 6!"
A glance at Malty told Dante she was already tired of Itsuki's complaining. Motoyasu didn't look that much better, but it also seemed like he saw a flaw in Itsuki's logic.
"Two things." Dante held up a finger. "First, I already know about half of your methods. Second, I know all of the Vassal Weapons' power up methods."
"That's even more reason for you to go first!" Itsuki declared.
Dante knew he'd be an annoyance, but he didn't realize just how bad. It was fortunate he had Rifana on his lap. Otherwise, he really would have smacked Itsuki by now.
"Hey, hey, let's all calm down." Motoyasu played the voice of reason. "Why don't we have Dante's group say a method we don't know, and we tell him one they don't know, and just go back and forth?"
That was basically the idea Dante had from the get-go. Itsuki just distracted him.
"Seems reasonable." Ren nodded stoically.
"After everything he did, you just want to make him stronger?" Itsuki turned to Motoyasu. "He killed Mald!"
Who? Oh, right, Armor.
Dante could still barely remember the man's name, despite his sister trying to kill him. He couldn't even recall what her name was, if she ever gave it.
"I heard that guy killed one of your other party members first." Ren told Itsuki. "Why do you care about him so much?"
"That was an accident!" Itsuki defended. "MacRory cut off Mald's head intentionally!"
"Wasn't Keel the one to—"
"He will not listen anyway." Dante stopped Raphtalia's question. To Itsuki, Dante was clearly the embodiment of evil.
He would have been confused why Itsuki turned out like this, but Malty clued him in a little beforehand. Apparently, Itsuki worked with the church a lot. They provided additional funding and quests to him. It was probably why he was so antagonistic to Dante at the feast.
Dante didn't really want to give Itsuki more power, but Ren and Motoyasu were at least being reasonable. With Malty's help to smooth things over more, the benefits outweighed the detriments.
"Can we move this along already?" Ren asked, arms crossed. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we can deal with the church."
"Grrr. Fine!" Itsuki fell back into his seat. He grumbled under his breath something about not everyone in the church being bad. Raphtalia clenched her fists, clearly having heard exactly what he said, but did nothing else.
"Great!" Motoyasu gave Dante an easygoing smile. "So, which methods do you already know?"
Dante nodded. "Alright, starting with the Spear…"
They went over their power up methods. Ren was surprised to learn Dante knew about using energy from weapon forms, but not how to use it to release forms. Dante felt like he should have remembered, but there was no helping it now. All three of them were equally surprised to learn about an eighth Seven Star Weapon.
One piece of advice Dante gave was to unlock as many weapon forms as possible. The only times he wasn't was when he was in a dangerous area, or he was making potions, though that one hasn't been as useful as of late. It seemed the other heroes didn't focus too much on unlocking every stat bonus they could. More accurately, they unlocked the higher bonuses and didn't bother letting the smaller ones add up.
Both Ren and Itsuki seemed annoyed that two of Dante's power up methods were either abstract—Trust—or redundant—Sharing. Dante was quick to point out that, while sharing the methods was always possible, knowing that was a method of the Shield made them stronger.
Motoyasu believed that immediately. One reason was because Dante only took a little damage from a direct attack, even if it wasn't a skill. The second was from what he witnessed yesterday.
"I saw the spell Dante used from the castle." He said with a shiver. "It was…terrifying."
"That was the height of magic possible in this world by a single person, and only by heroes." Dante said. "I have a dragon in my village who can give you access to Way of the Dragon Vein, which is needed to cast those spells. You will have to train, but both he and Sadeena are very proficient in that magic."
"Right, Sadeena…" Ren murmured. "That's another thing. How is your party so strong? Is it because of the Whip method?"
"Partially." Dante said. "Sadeena always had good stats. I also have shield forms that boost the growth of slaves in my party, and others for monsters. Slave ink and monster egg shells, as well as some blood and hair, will reveal a few forms in the series."
"I'm not making my party members slaves!" Itsuki roared.
"Is there anything similar to that?" Motoyasu asked.
Dante racked his brain. "I…believe there is, though I do not know what is required for it."
"Yeah, right." Itsuki scoffed.
"How do you know all of this anyway?" Ren asked. "You obviously knew about this world. What was your game like?"
Malty bristled at his question.
"It was not a game, and neither is this." Dante said, though he knew the second bit fell on deaf ears. "It was a web novel that got published as a light novel. Most of it is in the Shield Hero's point of view, but about two-thirds of the full web novel is in Motoyasu's."
"Me?" Motoyasu pointed to himself. "Why?"
In response, Reiko started snickering. She looked to be holding back, but the laughter got louder.
"What?" Motoyasu looked over at the fox girl.
"It's just…" Reiko couldn't stop grinning. "Dante told me some stories about it. You were jumping around timelines and dimensions like you were Buckaroo Banzai."
Dante let out a deep sigh as he turned to her. "How do you even know about that movie?"
"How do you know about that movie?" The other three heroes shouted at him, before looking at one another.
"What?" Dante looked at each of them in turn.
"You've seen that movie?" Ren asked. "I thought our worlds were all different."
"How did you see it?" Motoyasu turned to him.
"There's a collection of old, foreign movies free online that are easily translated." Ren answered. "You?"
"One of my old girlfriends really liked western sci-fi movies." Motoyasu gave him a sly smile. "Itsuki?"
"There's a store near my home that translates foreign movies and rents them." He said. "Old ones don't cost anything, so they usually do those."
Dante slumped back in his seat.
Out of all the things we could have shared in the multiverse, it has to be Buckaroo fucking Banzai?
"This is fascinating, but pointless." Dante concluded. "What else is there to talk about?"
Malty was the one to answer that one. "I think, for the other heroes to be able to trust you better, you should explain what you've done in this country. That way, they won't have to wonder what is true and what was a lie."
"Hm." It sounded reasonable to Dante. He remembered when he first met Lloyd in Othil and how a few of the things he heard were false. "Very well. Ask away."
~The Wrong Hero~
The rest of the meeting mostly revolved around asking Dante what, exactly, he did. Namely, what crimes he was actually guilty of, though he also brought up a number of the positives he did that were swept under the rug.
The most well-known thing he did was sell medicine throughout the country at a low cost. They rid a town of rogue mercenaries, thus freeing Eclair. Dante cleaned up the mess Ren left on Gaelion's old mountain, which the Sword Hero was horrified to learn about. They prevented Reiko from killing more people at the cave he took over—which was met with mixed reactions, given that Reiko was there now as the Seven Star Whip Hero. The last big thing was rescuing the villagers of Reichnott's lands.
Of course, Itsuki was quick to disbelieve everything good Dante did. He even called Dante a liar when he claimed he didn't do certain crimes, like general banditry. Which was odd, since Dante admitted to worse crimes, including what could only be described as murder.
Raphtalia snapped at Itsuki at one point, claiming he wasn't even half the hero Dante was. It was a little funny, given how much bad Dante did since arriving and having most of it laid bare. Dante remembered how Itsuki seemed to care more about looking like a hero than being one from the books, and it looked to hold true here. Though, Itsuki seemed keener on making Dante look bad and himself good by comparison.
The only other topic was the Vassal Axe on Dante's back, and the circumstances that landed it and the other Vassal Weapons in his possession. Itsuki was sure Dante started that fight somehow and made sure Dante knew that. Given the Axe Hero's disposition toward Dante, he didn't entirely disagree. Just mostly.
Eventually, the meeting came to a close when a knight knocked and entered the room. The queen had just arrived at the castle.
Malty quickly dismissed everyone and left to meet with her.
The knight informed the heroes that they were to rejoin their parties and then meet in the throne room in an hour. It would give the queen enough time to prepare after her long journey. Though, Dante was asked to meet with her there in half that time with his party.
Time passed quickly enough and Dante found himself just outside the throne room with his party. The doors were opened and he was announced to those inside.
SMASH!
The moment the end of the room came into view, a giant icicle burst from the ground and tore one of the thrones apart. Mirellia stood in front of her seat with her folding fan extended to the now destroyed throne. Aultcray stood behind it, shaking in fear. Likewise, Malty and Melty were behind Mirellia, also looking none too courageous.
Dante kept on walking. It wasn't that he wasn't surprised. He was just extremely pleased at what he just saw.
Satisfied with her work, Mirellia turned. She had on an elegant-looking dress fit for a queen. In fact, Malty had changed out of her armor to match tone with the rest of her family, now wearing a dress similar to last night.
"Greetings." Mirellia said royally, calmly taking her seat as if she didn't just cast a spell to break a throne. "I am Mirellia Q Melromarc, Queen of Melromarc."
Dante lowered his head ever so slightly. "I am Dante MacRory, the Shield Hero."
The rest of his party was positioned behind him, though the hakuko sisters were nowhere to be seen. Dante didn't want to deal with that just yet. To that end, Dante gave Elvira a bit of his blood after having her promise not to add to any argument that might break out, likely involving Aultcray. She was currently riding what Dante only assumed was a high. Rishia was there as well, outside of her kigurumi and in more normal-looking armor. JoJo gave Melty a light wave with his wing, which was quickly returned. The only other party member that wasn't there was Lilith, who Dante kept back in the village for now.
Aside from Dante and his party, the only other people in the room was the royal family.
"Thank you for meeting with me ahead of the others, Hero MacRory." Mirellia said evenly.
"I am sure we have a lot to talk about." He replied.
"Indeed." The queen cast a glance at her husband, who quickly turned his head away. "There are many important things to discuss, including your treatment in this country. First and foremost, I must thank you for freeing my daughter from the church."
"No thanks necessary for that." Dante waved his hand. He didn't know what all Malty told her mother, but he knew how close he was to killing her. "We can talk about my treatment, and actions, later.
The queen nodded. "Then I will start with the most urgent subject, though I will speak more about how to proceed when the other three heroes join us. The Three Heroes Church is being routed."
"Oh?" Dante quirked an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting that.
"While my husband may have been blind to their actions, I was not." She went on. "Once I received word about the accusation leveled against you by my oldest daughter, coupled with the performance of the hero summoning, I knew the church was involved. My shadows collected information to expand on that, though I did not know the exact degree until I returned to my country."
Mirellia explained further. After she sent Melty to help mend relations with Dante, she went around to other countries to appease them and keep war from breaking out. While abroad, she received reports on what the church claimed the Shield Hero was doing, which was countered by what her own shadows saw.
By the time she returned to her country's borders, the church had actually begun to fracture. It seemed some believed they should march for Siltvelt, while others thought finding Dante was paramount, and a third group was adamant that stopping Mirellia from returning was the best course.
Needless to say, the leadership didn't have a solid plan. A host of knights and priests waited for Mirellia at the border, though it paled in comparison to her army. Those forces were summarily crushed.
"Where is the pope in all this?" Dante asked.
"We don't know." Mirellia replied. "Subsequent to our third Wave and your meeting with my husband, Pope Balmus vanished. My shadows have been unable to find him, nor any mention of where he might have gone."
"Hrrm." Dante didn't like that one bit. It really would be asking too much to simply find his charred body among those recovered in the destroyed cathedral.
Malty didn't mention the pope's disappearance last night. She was either kept in the dark about it or was too focused on finding Dante to check.
Mirellia covered her lower face with her fan. "Now then, there is one other matter I would like to discuss with you, Hero MacRory. It involves an international issue I believe my daughter has informed you of."
Dante nodded. "The King of Faubrey." Aultcray grimaced at his words. "I have met with him several times and he is everything I expected him to be. He is still very much interested in your daughter."
"If you try to give my daughter to that beast, I'll—" Aultcray's yell was cut off with a slap from Mirellia's fan. It left a welt on his face.
"I will not." Dante assured him. "That man is the most disgusting person I have ever met, and I have killed two of your lords for less."
Both Idol and that baroness—whose name Dante couldn't be bothered to remember—were some of the worst people he's ever known. They were also less powerful politically than the King of Faubrey. Given that they would also likely stand in the way of lasting peace with Siltvelt, Dante wasn't too worried about Mirellia's view on their deaths.
"I have a few ideas on how to handle the situation." Mirellia spoke again, unfolding her fan to conceal her face once more. "But first, I would like to know what you think should be done."
"Hm." It sounded like she wanted to propose something he wouldn't like. "Well, from what Malty told me before, simply being in Motoyasu's party will not be enough."
"That is correct." Mirellia confirmed.
"And I assume me taking her as a slave would not dissuade the king." Malty winced as Dante said this.
"You dare suggest—" Aultcray was once again silenced with Mirellia's fan before it returned to its original position.
"You assume right." Mirellia nodded. "Should Malty become your slave, the King of Faubrey would see no reason why you could not lend her to him."
That was an understatement. Aside from that, Siltvelt likely wouldn't care too much to help. Sure, Dante was their god, but Malty was the princess of an opposing nation. At worst, the Pig King could try to steal what would be Dante's property. While an affront, it was nothing to go to war over.
Luckily, Dante had come up with an idea. Or, he repurposed an idea someone already likely had.
"In that case, I have come up with a plan that should satisfy most everyone here." Dante began. "First, we will send to the king any Three Heroes nuns we manage to round up. They should act as adequate compensation for the loss of his…fascination."
Melty shook. "You would send women to be subjected to…that?"
"To save your sister, yes." Dante affirmed. "They planned to overthrow the country. All that awaits them is death anyway, so it is better to make use of them." His eyes lit up for a moment. "Oh! I wonder if that bitch with the mole who said a class up was 15 gold is still alive. Raphtalia?"
He turned to the large tanuki woman, who shook her head. "I don't think I saw someone like that at the church before you destroyed it."
"Perfect!" It was somewhat petty and spiteful, but the woman had no problem hampering a hero's work to literally save the world. "Then, to further dissuade the king from moving on Malty, I will need something in return."
Mirellia raised her eyebrows. "And what would that be?"
"Lurolona." Dante stated. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Raphtalia smile. Rifana and Keel looked pleased as well. "Ronota, too. All the territory owned by the late Lord Seaetto."
"I see." Though Dante couldn't see Mirellia's expression that well, there was noticeable mirth in her voice. "And why would I give you such a sizable amount of land?"
Dante smiled, knowing she caught on. "It seems appropriate. What else would you give the god of Siltvelt as a dowry than former demi-human inhabited lands?"
"What!?" Aultcray nearly screamed.
"Oh my~." Sadeena covered her smile with her hand.
"If you think I'll let you take Melty away again, you're insane!" Aultcray practically stamped his foot on the ground for emphasis.
"Melty?" Dante cocked an eyebrow. "Have you gone senile? Why would I marry a child? No offense, Melty."
Melty shook her head, though a bit stiffly.
"Me?" Malty asked, pointing to herself. Dante nodded.
"Oh?" Mirellia glanced at her children. "I, too, thought you meant Melty. Wouldn't it make more sense for Siltvelt's god to marry the heir to Melromarc? Or, did you perhaps wish for Malty to be designated as heir?"
"No to both. I have had my fill of politics in Siltvelt and wish for as little more as possible." Dante folded his hands behind his back. "This is simply me repaying a debt for what your daughter has done for my family. Besides, have you not heard? The first princess and I have been colluding to bring down the traitorous Three Heroes Church."
Given what Malty said the night before, it was likely him marrying Malty was Mirellia's plan all along. It was something he discussed with everyone before the hero meeting. Specifically Sadeena, Rifana, and Atla, who were all interested in the same thing. Sadeena understood politics was at play and had no problem after learning what Malty did for the villagers. Rifana was the same. Dante thought it would be weird for Atla, since Malty was her cousin, but she was unbothered by it. Fohl likely wanted to complain, likely something about Dante diluting his love to Atla with another wife, while also not wanting Atla to be with him in the first place. She was complicated.
Dante ran the marriage idea past Werner when he teleported there and back. He didn't buy that Malty was working with him the whole time and needed to keep it a secret. But, he understood how Malty was instrumental in Three Heroes Church's denouncement and the destruction of their cathedral. While unhappy about idea, he acknowledged Dante's will. Lasting peace with Melromarc was also a good motivator.
"Of course, that means my enemies are your enemies, and vice versa." Dante continued. "The church will fall, but I have need of the other heroes to deal with a problem of my own. Something to discuss later today."
"Of course." Mirellia closed her fan, giving him a smile. "It will be good to know what else you've been up to."
"I refuse to accept this!" Predictably, there was one not in favor of the idea.
"Your acceptance isn't necessary." Mirellia pointedly told her husband.
"No, dear wife, this can't be allowed!" Aultcray turned to her while pointing at Dante. "This man has done unspeakable things in our country!"
"Your daughter is fully aware of what I have done." Dante said. "You can ask her or the other heroes—"
"Silence!" Aultcray's voice boomed throughout the throne room.
"Enough!" Mirellia shot back at her husband. "This is the best way to protect Malty, because you decided to make an enemy of every other nation by summoning all four Cardinal Heroes." Even Mirellia was starting to lose her composure from his outbursts, asides from smacking him.
"I did that to protect our family!" Aultcray clenched his fists.
"Because of your negligence, you nearly caused the death of our family!" Mirellia stood from her throne. "If it wasn't for Hero MacRory, Siltvelt would have already invaded, especially after you let their emissaries be hung!"
"Those beasts got what they deserved, especially the hakuko!"
Dante flinched when Aultcray said that. The reaction didn't go unnoticed.
"That's right, Shield Demon!" Aultcray turned back to him. "I have heard of it. You have hakukos in your party. Your intentions are clear as day!"
"Father, please—" Melty tried to get a word in.
"You've sided with those beasts and wish to destroy everything I have! I will not allow it! I'll kill you and every last one of those hakuko filth! From the oldest beast to the last child, I will wipe them from our world! But before that, I will take my staff back from that wretched beast next to—"
"Aultcray!" A resounding slap emanated from his face. Mirellia's hand shook with restrained anger. "That is enough!" She turned back to Dante and gave a light bow. "Hero MacRory, please overlook my foolish husband's outburst."
Dante stood there, still as a board. Rifana fidgeted next to him, shifting the Staff in her hands. She didn't appear afraid, at least not of Aultcray. Raphtalia, on the other hand, looked ready to draw her hammer at a moment's notice, her hand on its shaft.
"…Sorry." Dante murmured, barely audible.
"Little Dante…" Sadeena whispered, then looked behind him.
"Sorry?" Aultcray laughed. "You think an apology is enough to—"
"This was not my intent." Dante said as he looked down. "I wanted you to see him in person, but I did not imagine he would be this bad. Raphtalia. Drop it."
She looked over at him and nodded. She kept her hand in place on her hammer, as that was not what he was referring to. Instead, she released the spell she had cast.
"There, see!?" Aultcray roared, point toward Dante once more. "The Shield Demon shows his true colors! He has brought with…him…"
Slowly, Aultcray's voice reduced to nothing. Before him were two hakuko women. One had a dejected look on her face as she turned away. The other looked more impassive, though her face was surely recognized by the old king.
They were his party members, after all. It was only right they came with him when his party was called. Atla was happy to continue being by his side, but that wasn't Fohl's reason. She wanted to see her uncle, to see what he was like, to get to know what other family she had left in the world.
Now she did.
Author's Notes:
For those who are curious, the coup with brainwashing was something from the WN. It involved the 3HC, which I thought was nice, since they basically dropped off the map after the pope fight in canon. I honestly preferred how Itsuki was used there instead of in Zeltoble in the LN.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. I saw that movie a couple years ago because it was referenced in a Youtube series I like. It was…okay. Not something I'd watch again while sober. I've been waiting to make that reference since…I don't know, almost a year? I'm weird, don't look at me in that tone of voice!