Chapter 9: The Royalty and The Royal Knight
A Few Hours Later…
"Ugh…" Reika slowly wakes up. "What happened… Where am I…"
She noticed that she's in a bed in some unknown building.
"?!!!" She then remembered what happened. "That's right! The pope!"
Reika turned her head to the side, just to see a dark blue haired wolf demi human girl staring at her.
"Hello-"
"AH!!!"
"AH!!!"
Both of them then started screaming. The wolf girl instantly ran away from the room.
"Oww…" Reika touched her stomach, which is wrapped with bandages. Currently, she's in her camisole and shorts. She looked to the sides, and saw her party bandaged up and sleeping peacefully. "Where the hell am I?"
"Look! She had woken up, Ivaran!"
Reika can hear the voice of the wolf girl outside from the room.
"Wait, Ivaran?" Reika knew who that was, even though they never spoke to each other before.
Clank*
The door was opened by Kyrie.
"See? I've told you so!"
"Yeah, yeah. Just go back to your bed. It's already past your bedtime." Ivaran said to the wolf girl.
"Hey, I'm older than you! You can't treat me like a little kid!" She retorted.
Of course it's unfair just because he's taller than her.
"Just go, or I will call Tomori-san here. He's scary when he's mad, you know."
"Hah! You think that you can trick me like that?!"
Tomori is a kind and good hearted man. There's no way he would do something trivial like staying up late.
"Oh, would you like to try that?" Ivaran menacingly.
"Grr… Just wait until I level up…" Kyrie grumpily walked to her room.
Ivaran turned his head towards Reika.
"Sorry about that, she's my friend."
"Yeah. No probs." She replied. "Anyways, can you call Tomori here for me? There's something urgent I wanted to talk to him about."
"Oh, actually, he's quite busy right now, but I could get you the Magic Hero right now."
"Akira is here as well… Where is this?" She asked.
"We're currently at Bailwo Territory right now."
"I see… Well then, could you call her for me?"
"Sure."
He left the room to call for the Magic Hero.
A few minutes later…
"Reika!" Akira comes inside the room. "Thank goodness you're okay!"
"Yeah… Actually, how did I come all the way here?" The Projectile Hero asked the Magic Hero
"Some people who called themselves the shadows just appeared in front of Tomori and brought you and your party. Tomori said that they worked under the queen of this country." She explained.
"Gotcha."
"Anyways, how did you and your party get yourself injured?"
"I wanted to wait for Tomori to come so then I don't have to explain everything again."
"Did someone say my name just now?" Reika heard a familiar voice that she didn't hear for around two weeks. The said man entered the room holding a tray. "Are you okay, girl?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Alright then, here you go." Tomori put the tray on the left side of the bed. There's actually a bowl of porridge, a teapot, a couple tea cups and a couple of potion bottles. "A bowl of porridge with small chunks of meat, a freshly brewed honey lemon tea and a couple of Nourishment Potions if you needed."
"Oh, thank you…" Reika wanted to explain something important to them, but a meal before that is okay, right? She picked up the wooden spoon and scooped up the porridge. "Itadakimasu…"
She inserted the spoon into her mouth.
"?!" Her face turned from tired to shocked. "This… This is…!"
For more than a month, she hasn't felt this kind of flavour that reminded her of her home.
"The porridge is warm and flavourful. And the meat chunks are tender to the point that I can swallow it without biting it. How about the tea…" She poured some tea on the cup and sipped it, Giorno style. "The tea…! The contrast between sweet and sour is perfect! And it's easy to go down as well!"
As she quickly eats and drinks, Tomori just stares at her, wondering if she hasn't eaten for a month or what.
"Ah…" As she finished the porridge, she noticed that both of the other heroes watched her eat intensely. "Why did you guys look at me like that?"
"O-Oh, nothing at all." Both of them said simultaneously.
"Okay…" Reika put the bowl and tea cup back onto the tray. "Anyways, there's something I wanted to talk about. And it's also the reason me and my group ended up like this.
"First of all, during the evening, I went to an abandoned church of Transpierce to find out some information about them."
"Why did you do that?" Tomori asked her.
"Duh, it's because they're fishy as heck towards you. And besides that, they will continue to disturb us, even if we're in the middle of the wave."
"Okay… So what happened to you there?"
"Well, in short, me and my party had been searching for clues against the church. And that's how we find the abandoned church. When we went there, we found a book that tells about a legendary weapon that can replicate my skills and Tadashi's skill. The weapon's name is 'Weapons of Transpierce'." Reika explained to them.
"Weapons of Transpierce…" Akira muttered.
"Wait…" But Tomori just realised something. "I have faced someone who used the same type of weapon before."
"Huh?! Really?!" Akira exclaimed.
"I already knew about that." Reika spoke up.
"You did…?" Tomori is now by what Reika had just said.
"Yeah, and that's the reason I'm like this. When we're reading the book, suddenly, the pope of the church of Transpierce himself comes to ambush us with the true version of the weapon. And then he showed us the footage of you when you killed all of the residents of Bradforde."
"Huh?! How did they get the footage?!"
"They used Crystal Orb to record it."
"What?! That thing could record videos?"
"Yeah. That is how metubers get their gameplay footage of CPO."
"Uh-huh… And what did you mean by the 'true version' of the weapon?"
"Essentially, the ones that the Bradforde's son has is a prototype version."
"I see. No wonder the skills are weaker…"
"And the real deal is even scarier. It can even lock you from accessing other weapon forms aside from our beginner's weapon. Not only that, it also can block us from using our teleport skill."
"What?!" How does a weapon like that exist?! Who the f*ck created that weapon?!
"The pope used that to his advantage and took us down one by one. And I almost died because of it. If it weren't for these shadows that Akira told me about, I wouldn't be here right now…"
"I see…" Akira said in a lower tone.
"Sh*t… How can I sleep knowing that there's a person out there who can kill me just easily? The Small Sword isn't powerful enough to defeat a normal person, nor the pope whose level must be high. Even though my level is higher than him, there's no telling that they had prepared a plan to fight against me. Damn it…" Tomori bites his thumb in frustration. He takes an empty tea cup from the tray and pours himself some tea. He then chug it all down and let out a frustrated sigh. "Alright… Reika, have you already learnt the hero' exclusive magic spell?"
"I have, but I haven't used it yet since I don't find the proper time to use it." She answered him.
"Aight. I wanted you to fully rest up for three days so that you can go to Castle Town with us."
"Why would we go there?" Tomori explained the situation to her. "Alright… The queen wanted you to take care of her daughter, that isn't the red haired princess, in case anything bad happened to her? Why did she pick you out of all the people to do that? No offence to you, though."
"None taken. I'm in a pretty bad spot right now. And if I did take care of her daughter, maybe the queen will reward me in some way or another. It's not what I expected. All I wanted is for all of this to be over."
"That same goes for me." Reika said.
"Me too." Akira spoke up.
" Sigh* I hope this will be over soon…" Tomori sighed in desperation. "Anyways, since ALL of the heroes are here, I hope we can go through this without a scratch."
"Why do you always leave out Tadashi when talking about the heroes?" Reika commented. "And speaking about him, you need to be careful around him, Tomori. From what I see, he really wanted to hunt you down."
"That blockhead… I'll knock some sense out of him when we meet." Tomori said as he's annoyed to be dealing with the blondie. "In any case, I'm really sleepy right now. I'm gonna return back to my room. If ya need anything, just scream Akira's name."
"Why did it have to be me?!" She retorted.
"Duh, it's because you stayed here for the night, dumdums. My room is in the mansion. In any case, I bid y'all adieu." Tomori then left the room and went on to the mansion.
"Grr… He just does whatever he likes, isn't he?" Akira muttered. " Sigh* Can I blame him, though? I mean, he was forced to kill people after all…"
"Wait, what do you say, Akira?" Reika asked her. "You meant… He didn't kill those people willingly?"
"Yeah… Actually, a dragon controls his body so that it can have revenge against the humans that killed him and his childrens."
"I see… No wonder his vibe is different in the footage. He was controlled…"
"But he said that he could stop the dragon if he wanted to, but he didn't because he sympathised with it. So, he just let the dragon do what it wants."
"And where is this dragon now?"
"Not in the living world, that's for sure."
" Sigh*" Reika put her hands on her head. "Since when did our conquest to defeat the waves become like this?"
"Since we're summoned, I guess." Akira replied. "The church hates the Blade Hero. And we were summoned with him. So, in technicality, we're pretty much involved in this to a certain degree."
"I don't think I'm understanding that logic…"
"If you don't, then just get to sleep."
"Alright…"
Akira turned off the light and left the room.
Three Days Later
In just three days, a lot has happened.
Tomori continued to practise his magic. Although he can't properly cast Rising spells without Riri's assistant, however, he had already achieved High class for his Lightning magic and had already got used to Bone magic.
And in his free time, he managed to make crates of potions with Akira's help. Other than that, he spammed his teleportation skill so that more people can teleport with him.
As for Reika, even though she hasn't fully healed, she is still practising her archery skills on the field. Not only that, she also practises magic with her companions so that she wouldn't rely on her weapons when she can't use it.
For the heroes' party themselves, they used this time to practise and get to know each other. Tomori quote that,
"This is what probably had happened if the church isn't a d*ck…"
All in all, the day has arrived. And all of the heroes are in a meeting with the nobleman of this Territory for a final briefing.
"It's sad for me to know that we have to part this way." Rheat said. "However, the princess is one of the important figures in this country."
"Really?" Tomori spoke up. "Did you happen to know this princess?"
"Yes. The princess can be quite… 'Stingy', but I can assure you that she's a good kid at heart."
"Huh, so she might be a Tsundere… I can deal with that." Tomori thought to himself. "In any case, thanks for every help you have given to us. I don't know if I can repay your gratitude…"
"There's no need for that, Blade Hero. Like I said before, it's an honor for me to assist the heroes, especially when they risked their lives to fight for the safety of the world." He explained, as he saw the three heroes in front of him.
"Well… We're going now."
"I'll wish you nothing but luck."
Both Tomori and Rheat shake each other's hands.
"Alright, let's meet up with others." Tomori said to the other heroes.
"You're really going, huh?" Kyrie said to Ivaran.
"Yeah. Where am I supposed to go if I'm not following Tomori-san?" Ivaran said while packing his things.
"I mean… You can stay here with us." Kyrie said while the rest of their friends got closer to them.
"You don't have to go, you know…"
"It sounds really dangerous…"
"And who's gonna scold Kyrie for staying up late?"
"Hey, I heard that!" She retorted.
"Guys… I have to go. It's for Liyana… The reason I'm holding this shield is for her wishes." Ivaran takes a look at the Shield of Absorver. "At first, I'm sceptical about joining the Tomori-san party. But after knowing him for who he truly is and what challenges he had to face every day, I wanted to stay by his side so that he wouldn't stray from the path of what a hero should be."
"Wow… Liyana really leaves you with that much burden, huh?"
"Well, I'm enjoying my life right now. Even though I felt like I'm on the run for doing a heinous crime."
"I see… Well then, if you really wanted to go… Then promised us that you would come back alive, okay?" Kyrie said, representing all of her friends.
"I promise." Ivaran said to them. All then formed a group hug. "Alright, I'm going now. Stay safe…"
He wears his bag and puts his shield onto it and leaves the building.
"Sorry for being late!" The half-elf rushed towards the group.
"Don't worry about it." Tomori spoke up. "And since we're here, let's start with the last brief. Our plan here is to infiltrate Castle Town. After that, we will find a safe place to hide.
"As Akira suggested, she and her group will stay at the Magic Shop while the rest of us will stay at the Weapon Shop. This princess here should arrive during the evening or night. So we have to prepare as much as possible to make a grand escape if anything goes downhill." Tomori then pulled out two huge sacks out from his gemstone and handed it over each to Akira and Reika. "There's a batch of potions inside there that I made with Akira yesterday."
"Wow… I have never seen this many potion bottles in my entire life…" Rylon said as she inspected the sack.
"It feels like I'm going to a war for some reason…" Lowri commented.
"It will turn into a war if we aren't careful enough." Akira spoke up.
"Yeah, the church has been preparing for that since we're summoned." Reika said while putting the sack onto her gemstone. "And also, thanks to Tomori for killing those hundreds of knights, we can expect their numbers to be lower than usual."
At least there is something good from Azamiere's revenge.
" Sigh*" Can't say that he's proud of that. "In any case, we need to be careful to not walk into any landmines in Castle Town. I believe they already expect us to go there. Make sure to not engage in any unnecessary fight. Our objective is to snatch the princess out if anything happens and TP to a safe location that we had marked. Is that clear?"
All of them gave him a nod of agreement.
"It's tiring being a leader. Maybe I should let the other two heroes take charge next time." Tomori changed his weapon form into the dagger that he received from the shadow. He had upgraded the weapon a bit.
Blade of the Shadows (Awakened)(3)(IV)(Great) : Ability Unlocked
Equip Bonus: Hiding Up, Smell Concealment Up
Skill: Assassination Blade
Special Effect: Hiding Magic Up (Strong), "Hiding Blade" Ability Up (Medium), Stealth Up (Medium), Noise Reduction Up (Medium)
Mastery Level: 100
"Okay… Let's do this!" He selected the location of where he wanted to teleport and pick all of them as the target. " Transport Blade!"
Forest Near to Castle Town…
All of them were teleported to the forest near Castle Town.
" Hiding Blade!" Tomori selected all of them as the target of his skill. He instantly switched his weapon to TBKDCS and pulled a Soul Healing Potion and chugged it up. "If any of you can cast Hiding Magic, then do it. It's safer that way."
" Silent Predator!" Reika also uses her skill. She then pulled out a potion and chug it. "It's for us to hide our noise."
All of the ones who can cast Hiding magic use it to improve their chances of not being found. They all then sprint to the gates of the Castle Town.
"Oh wow, they really don't notice us…" Rylon whispered as he ran past through the knights.
"Yeah, and look at the surroundings of this town…" Lowri commented as she inspected her surroundings.
There weren't a lot of stalls that opened. Usually, the morning would be packed with people.
"I wonder if it's because they are scared of something…" Emil spoke up.
"It's probably because of the Blade Hero-dono. They probably had heard the news about him and Bradforde Territory." Mizune said to him.
"No wonder they locked the doors of their buildings." Thea said as she saw none of the building's doors were opened.
"We can't blame them. It's not like they heard the story from Tomori's side." Akira spoke up while glancing at the direction of the Magic Shop. "I hope the shop is open though…"
"Hey, you two." Reika spoke up. "I tried using my teleportation skill, but there's an interference notice on my HUD."
"It's the same for me too." Akira said to them. "It's probably because they have casted a spell around this town that forbids any usage of teleport magic."
"As I expected, they already prepared… But we can't back down. It's now or never. And it seems like this is where we part ways." Tomori stops and looks at the weapon shop in front of him. "If you saw or had any news, send Mizune to the Weapon Shop. But don't walk through the front door."
"Affirmative." She said to him.
The group split into two. Akira's group goes to the Magic Shop, while Tomori's and Reika's group go to the Weapon Shop.
Tomori then led them to the back side of the shop.
"Thanks, Vadge. For leaving the bathroom's window open." Tomori pulled his sword out. " Reflect Blade! Long Rope!"
A rope came out from the blade. He throws the rope into the bathroom and hopes it latches onto something. He pulled the rope down and it latched onto something. He climbed first into the bathroom and let the rope out for the other five people to climb.
"It felt like we're doing something bad right now…" Ivaran commented as he is the last person to climb into the bathroom.
"What would people think if the front door just opened magically by itself?" Tomori said to him.
"Maybe we can trick them into thinking that it's a ghost." Riri said to them.
"Ghost doesn't exist in this world. If anything, they're just a bunch of spiritual beings that can't be seen with naked eyes." Tomori explained.
"Quit talking about ghosts, you two." Reika said to them.
"What, are you scared of ghosts or something?" Tomori replied to her.
Reika's whole body then twitched a little.
"Since when did I say that I'm scared of ghosts?" She said back to him. From her body language, Tomori thought that wasn't the case.
"Alright, I believe you."
"From that tone, that doesn't seem to be the case."
"Whatever. Anyways, how do I explain to Vadge about our situation…"
"Just explain it to him. It's not like he's gonna rat us out, right…?"
"Nah, he wouldn't do that. But how DO I explain to him that I broke into his shop THROUGH the bathroom's window."
Thud* Thud* Thud*
All of them heard footsteps outside the bathroom.
Clack*
Someone opened the door.
" Sigh* There aren't a lot of customers today either…" It was the blacksmith himself. "Huh? Why is it so hot here?"
"What do we do now?! WHAT DO WE DO NOW?!" Tomor whispered loudly to Reika.
"Just greet him normally, man…"
"Nah, girl. You greet him. I ain't well versed on making the first move."
"No, you greet him. Why do I have to greet him? You know him more than me, right?"
"That's not the case. How the f*ck am I going to explain to him that we're breaking INTO his house THROUGH the bathroom's WINDOW."
"All I know is that I'm not involved in any of this."
"Nuh-uh, girl. If you're here with us, then you're clearly involved."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"Nuh-uh, you're capping."
"Yes-uh, I ain't chatting sh*t."
The small conversation between the two heroes has turned into a silent argument between siblings.
"You two, can you stop fighting?" Ivaran said to them.
"...Is it me or did I hear someone whispering right now..." The blacksmith muttered to himself.
"Sh*t! He's already noticed!" Tomori said under his breath.
"Wait, isn't that a good thing?" Ivaran said to them.
"Ivaran, just stay silent for a bit. I'm pretty conflicted right now."
"Okay…" The half-elf didn't know what's conflicting about telling the blacksmith that they're here.
"I think it's coming from here-" The blacksmith started approaching Tomori.
"Okay! Time out! Time out!" He instantly cancelled out his skill.
"Wha?!" The blacksmith backed down after seeing the Blade Hero instantly appear in front of him. "Blade Lad? What are you doing in my bathroom?!"
"Hey, Vadge… Long time no see…" Tomori awkwardly greeted him.
"Don't change the subject now!"
"Hahaha… Guys, I think you can come out now."
Upon hearing that, the rest of them cancelled their invisibility skill and magic.
"What?! There's more here?! No wonder it's so hot in here… But in any case, glad to see you are still on top of your game, Blade Lad." Vadge said to him.
"Thanks…"
"And you're with the Projectile Hero and her goonies, huh… and who's the wolf demi-girl here?"
"Oh, that's Riri."
"I see… She can transform now-Say what now?!"
A Few Hours Later…
Tomori explained everything to Vadge. Including the 'killing 500 people' thing, the mission he had received from the queen and the rescue mission to him
"Good grief… Seems like you can't catch a break, huh?" The blacksmith said to him.
"Believe me, what I want right now is a good nap through the evening."
"Hahaha! But still, can't believe you get yourself possessed by a legendary Bone King Dragon. And not only that, you even get its weapon. Sheesh, you're becoming more dangerous each day."
"I think the right word is 'stronger', right?"
"Hmm… Yeah, it's the same."
"Okay… I'm sorry for bothering you, especially at times like this?" Tomori lowered his head.
"Don't worry about it too much, lad. All of this wouldn't happen if it weren't for the church. So don't just blame yourself for it."
"Yeah…" He muttered. "Though, all of this wouldn't have happened if I'm not summoned-No… There's no point in playing what-if's now. If things had happened, then they already happened. It's not like I can go to the past and prevent things from happening. Unless there's a weapon for that… Who am I kidding? A weapon that can turn to the past? Surely something convenient like that wouldn't exist… But Isekai exist… Maybe-"
"Blade Hero-dono." Out of nowhere, Mizune appears next to him.
"Wah… She almost gave me a heart attack…" He thought to himself.
"Using one of Akira-dono's skills, we have located a wagon that is on its way to the castle. Should we proceed to the next phase?"
"Yeah." Tomori stood up and turned to Reika. "You'll take the lead from now on. I will give a signal when anything goes wrong."
"Roger that." She replied
"Alright. Seems like our short meeting ends here, Vadge." Tomori turned to the blacksmith.
"Well, I hope you can stay longer, but it's probably not safe for you or either of these guys here." He said as he looked at his surroundings. "I had a hunch that this is going to be over soon. So, be safe out there, Blade Lad!"
"I will!" Tomori exclaimed. He then turned his head back to Mizune. "Inform the rest about the second phase initiation."
"Affirmative!" Mizune instantly disappeared. For some reason, it kinda reminds him about the shadows.
"Probably my imagination." Tomori switched to the dagger back. " Hiding Blade!"
He turned invisible and left the shop through the bathroom's window and rushed to the castle.
" Sigh* I hope this 'second phase' I come out with doesn't bite me back…"
Tomori continued to run until he saw the wagon slowly going to the bridge that's connected to the castle. He swiftly rushed to the wagon and slowly walked behind it. The wagon then stopped in front of the main garden of the castle.
"Thank you for the ride, kind sir." Tomori heard a young girl's voice as the doors to the wagon opened. The girl who gets out of it is a girl in her early teens, who has blonde twin tails hair and purple eyes, wearing a purple frilly dress.
"As I thought, she's a Tsundere."
"No problem. Always a pleasure to help out the royalty of this country." The wagon driver then snapped the reins and guided the horse out of the garden.
The blonde girl then slowly walked through the garden to the main hall of the castle while Tomori followed her from the back.
"Now that I think of it, her sister has red hair, while she's blonde. Does their mother have orange hair or something?" The only way to find out is to meet the queen directly.
They then arrived in front of the gates that lead to the chamber. The knights guarding the chamber gate were surprised to see the princess here. They quickly opened the gate for her as she walked in.
"Hey, isn't Imperial like three weeks and a half from here? How did she get here so fast?" The knight whispered to the knight next to him.
"I don't know. Even the fastest horse could only arrive here in around three weeks."
"So, they had expected her to come, but now right now, eh? This can be my chance to get her out of here easily while they're unprepared." Tomori thought to himself.
He entered the chamber before the knights closed it back.
"Oh, Miya!" The king exclaimed as he rushed towards his daughter.
"Father!" The girl then embraced her father.
"My dear, daughter. I missed you so much…" The king said with a tone of happiness.
"This is the first time I saw him happy like this." Tomori commented as he saw the father and daughter embracing each other. "It's been a few years since I hugged my parents like that. Damn, I'm getting homesick right now…"
"I missed you too, father…"
The two of them held their hugs until the king backed down.
"What makes you return sooner? Is there any problem abroad?" The king asked his daughter.
"Mother-I mean the queen gave me permission to return here around two weeks ago to meet you in regards to the Blade Hero." Miya said to him.
The king's face instantly turned to grimace.
"Miya… Did you know what he does to your sister?"
"Yes, father. I had already been informed by that. I'm also informed of what had happened at Cunningfield and Bradforde. And that's the reason I'm here. I wanted to negotiate with the Blade Hero to make him surrender himself and proceed with his trial regarding that matter."
"B-But that's reckless. I'm not going to make you meet up with him. He's too dangerous. And he has committed sins after sins."
"I understand that. However, he's one of the Holy Heroes. Not only that, I've heard that he defended the Brighton Territory from monsters and fought alongside the other heroes during the waves two weeks ago. That's odd, considering the fact that he put his life into protecting others while continuously striking chaos."
The king stayed silent when his daughter was talking.
"If the sins he has caused are without any reason aside from pure malice, then surely her majesty wouldn't forgive him and immediately have him executed. But for now, we need to hear his side of the story before jumping into any conclusion." The blonde girl continued.
"Damn… I guess never judge the book by its cover. The girl here is a pro."
"V-Very well, then. But you must be tired right?" The king said. "How about I escort you to your room?"
"I'm thankful for your concern, father. But there's something I need to do and I need your permission for it."
"Oh, what is it, dear daughter?"
"I need to go down to the dungeons and free Flan Bassett as soon as possible."
"Wait…" Tomori recognised that word from somewhere. "Isn't that the name of the territory of Ivaran's village?"
"Lord Bassett's son… He was imprisoned there because he killed a priest. Thankfully, your sister managed to catch him in the act."
"Oh… Just from that, I can see that the red hair lied about it to her father."
"However, the queen had ordered for his release." The girl then pulled out a parchment of paper from her back. "Until she arrives back to Welle, Flan Bassett will be released and be observed under my watch. I hope that you can respect her majesty wish, King Aleksander."
"Yes, of course! Please escort her to the underground dungeon!" The king turned to the knights beside him.
"Yes!" Two of the knights walk to the side of the princess. Tomori could see from their face that they don't fancy this idea of releasing this "Flan" guy.
"Alright, this is unexpected, but a welcome one. I guess we have to add another person to our road trip here."
He followed the princess and the two knights from the back to this underground dungeon.
"Is it me or nobles and royalties have a thing for having a prison around their property?"
If Tomori would get a yen every time he saw a prison around someone's property, then he would get 3 yen. Which isn't a lot by any means, but it's weird that it has happened thrice.
"Makes me wonder if Rheat had his own prison around that mansion…"
A person as good as him wouldn't have it, right?
…
…
…
Tomori needs to ask the man himself for answers. But that could wait. He needs to save the princess and this 'Flan' fellow, if he or she needs saving in the first place.
"Oh, we're stopping at a cell…"
Tomori looks at the person inside the cell with shackles on his limbs and closing his eyes as if he's meditating. He has brown hair with an orange accent at the edges of his hair. To be honest, Tomori thinks that his hair looks like a pudding.
"Wait a damn minute… He isn't meditating, he is sleeping while sitting. How the hell could he sleep that peacefully while sitting like that? Either he's good at this or he's just a lazy bum-bum."
Tomori gazed at the princess who's speaking with the two guards that are guarding the cell.
"Let me see the Royal Knight Flan." The young girl said to the guards.
"I'm sorry, Princess Miya, but I can't allow you-"
"I have orders from the queen, and also the permission from the king." Miya said as she rolled out the parchment paper given by her mother, the queen. "Now, unlock his cell and let me see him."
"B-But, the Royal Knight is charged with murdering one of the Church of Transpierce's believer by the First Princess, and he's still waiting his trial-"
"Should I repeat it a second time?" The princess said in a menacing tone. "I have been given authority by both the queen and king. And you dare to even defy them?"
"Damn… She could make a good yandere as well. Is her bloodline like this? Because her sister is crazy, and I don't know about her mother though… I hope she isn't crazy."
"No… Right this way…" The guard gave up and unlocked the lock of the cell.
The princess then stepped into the cell and faced the sleeping man. She then cleared her throat first before speaking.
"Flan, you can wake up now…"
"Zzz…" But the man is still sleeping peacefully.
"Ehem! Flan, I said you can wake up now…"
"Zzz…" Still sleeping.
"Grr…" The princess then stomp her right foot onto the ground, making a loud noise. "I said you can wake up!"
"Uwah?!!!" The man then fell to the floor. "Oh my… What-"
He then looked in front and saw the princess staring at him. He immediately kneels down in front of her.
"Princess Miya! May I ask why are you here?!" Flan asked her.
" Sigh* The queen had ordered for you to be released. When she arrives here, your trial shall be observed by her majesty. And until then, you will be under my watch." She replied.
"Wait… Really?!" Flan's face turned from serious to excited.
"Yes. Therefore, we should depart from here right away. This place always gives me the creeps…"
"Right away!" He stood up and began to follow the princess from behind.
However, the gate of the cell was blocked by the guards and knights that accompany the princess.
"What are you doing? Let us through." Miya told them.
The guards and knights then looked at each other and then the princess.
"Sorry, little princess. The bishops said that the Demon might be around somewhere. And in order to bring him out, we need a sacrifice." All of them then unsheathed their swords.
"Princess!" Flan then stood in front of her. "What do you think you are doing in front of the next heir of the Welle's Crown?!"
"Wait… Next heir? Doesn't that mean she's the next queen of this country? And not her sister?" Tomori thought to himself as he watched what was going to unfold.
"Heh, we don't answer to her order. We only follow our gods!" The knight barked.
"Tch! I knew it. You guys from the church!" Flan clicked his tongue.
"Lower down your weapons, and your punishment would be decreased if her majesty wishes for it!" Miya said loudly to them.
"I don't follow orders from a brat. Alright, you guys can kill them. We can blame it on that good for nothing demon!"
"Yeah!!!"
They then started marching into the cell.
"Oh no, you don't!" Flan then started holding back the knights while evading their swords. But, one knight managed to get past him. "Sh*t! Princess!"
"With this, the demon shall show himself!" The knight then swings his sword at Miya who's covering her face with her hand.
" Blade Whip!"
Splurt*
"Gah?!!!" Suddenly, the knight's shoulder gets stabbed by something. "As I thought, the demon really came…"
Miya and Flan turned their attention towards the man who's entering the cell.
"You are…" Even though Flan had never seen him before, he knew who this individual was.
"Good grief… Attacking a kid to make me go out from my hiding? What belief did your religion teach you, huh?" Tomori said to them.
"A demon like you wouldn't understand our-"
" Reflect Blade! Lightning Blade (Large)" Tomori's TBKDCS then started emitting lightning from the blade that travels to the knight.
"Gah!!!" He then falls to the ground unconscious.
"Damnit! Attack the demon! Buy as much time as we-"
"No way in hell!" Flan then pushed the three knights towards Tomori.
" Strike Edge!" In a single swing, Tomori knocked out the three knights. He then turned to Flan. "Thanks for the support. Sorry I couldn't come out early. I need to hear the whole thing first from these zealots before taking any action."
"No, it's fine. You did save the princess from harm, so I should thank you."
"Um…" The princess walked closer to them. "Flan, did you know who he is?"
"Wait, I thought you know who I am considering you're a royalty. Oh well, I guess I could tell since we're in this situation." Tomori shows his sword to them. "I'm Tomori Tanaka, the Blade Hero. I would say nice to meet you, but we're definitely not in a nice situation right now."
"The… Blade Hero?" Miya muttered.
"Yep! And we can't stay here any longer. More of them will come. We need to get out of here ASAP-"
Swish*
A purple dagger went towards Tomori.
Clang*
But he blocked the flying dagger with his sword.
"Shadows…!"
Swish* Swish* Swish*
More daggers went towards him.
"Tch! Spinning Blade!" He spun his sword handle on his palm and put it in front of him.
Clang* Clang* Clang*
All the daggers that were blocked by the sword then fell to the ground. Flan then takes the fallen daggers from the ground and starts throwing them in the direction outside the cell.
"Argh!"
Some of the daggers then hit the shadows that were hiding using their magic. When their presence gets exposed, the remaining standing shadows proceed to flee from them.
" Shine Blade!" Tomori then activates a skill that makes his sword glow. He walked closer to the fallen shadows, who had Church of Transpierce's rosary hanging on their necks.
"You're going to fall… Demon…" One of the fallen shadows said to him.
" High Lightning Chain!" Tomori quickly chants and releases the spell onto the shadows, knocking them unconscious. He then picked up the rosary and carefully inspected it. " Sigh* Can these guys just stop already…"
He throws the rosary to the sides and throws all of the shadows' unconscious bodies into the cell along with Flan and proceeds to lock the cell.
"Are you okay, Princess Miya?" Flan asked him.
"Yes… And also…" She turned her head towards Tomori. "There's a lot of matters that I wanted to discuss with you, Blade Hero. However, our situation here might interrupt that very moment."
"Agreed. In any case, I need to get both of you out of here. You can discuss whatever you want with me after we aren't chased by anyone." Tomori said to her. He then turned to the man that stood next to him. "Flan, right? Do you know any shortcut that can lead us out of here faster?"
"Yes, but can we take a detour towards the locker first? I need to take my sword and armor that was confiscated by them."
"Okay! Lead us the way! Let's go, princess! I'll explain to you about everything that happened along the way!" Tomori then grabbed the princess' hand.
"Eh? Why did you suddenly pull my HANDDDDSSSSS?!!!" Miya screams as Tomori sprints while pulling her hands and force her to run, following Flan from behind.
Somewhere close to Castle Town…
" Comet Thrust!" Tadashi activated his skill at a monster and instantly killed it. "Level 55… Not enough… Are there any monsters out here that give more EXP?"
He scouted the area while his party members stayed near a tree.
"What?! Is this the truth?!" The red haired princess shouted.
"Hmm? What's wrong, May?" Tadashi asked her. Not only that, he also saw a person standing in front of her. If his memory serves him right, that person would be called 'shadows'.
"Tadashi-sama!" She then latches herself onto him. "My little sister… Who has arrived at Castle Town this evening… Were abducted by the Blade Demon!"
"What?!" Tadashi exclaimed. "Damnit, Tomori… Why the hell are you doing this… Just stop it already…"
He can't understand why Tomori would continuously bring disasters as his reputation is already bad from the beginning.
"Alright! We're returning to Castle Town now!" Tadashi said to his party members. "Tomori… I'm going to take you down and bring you to justice!"