Chapter Forty-Seven: Before the Storm

Raphtalia awoke to the sound of crackling wood. 'Hmmm?'

She was sitting against something soft. She had a blanket over her. She felt groggy, but she also felt very warm, well-rested, and better-minded than she had in a long time.

There was no worry about Naofumi being taken and killed by bad people. No suffering being caused by some curse. No guilt for failing to save someone she cared for.

Her mind felt warm and peaceful.

'Mmmm… Naofumi?' She started rubbing her eyes. She looked behind her, but she was sitting against a bedroll. And behind that was the ruins of some home.

Her ears flicked around in confusion. 'Odd, I could have sworn that wasn't a dream. Why am I here instead of-'

"Mommy!"

Raphtalia was jerked out of groggy land as her daughter jumped in her lap and hugged her.

"Filo! She was just asleep!" Naofumi yelled at the overexcited girl.

"But Mommy's awake! And Filo wants to hug mommy!" Filo complained.

"She's awake now because of you!" Naofumi yelled.

"Don't you remember how rough she had it last night?!"

"Oh… Filo's sorry mommy." She said dejectedly.

Raphtalia smiled. "No, it's okay, sweetie." She embraced Filo back. She smiled above Filo's shoulder at a very worried Naofumi. "Mommy feels a lot better now that she's hugged you."

"Really?!" Raphtalia looked Filo in the eyes, smiling happily as she nodded. Filo smiled brightly in response. "YAYYYYY!" She hugged her mommy back.

Naofumi's worried look disappeared somewhat, but the worry didn't disappear from his eyes. He turned and got back to stirring a pot he had hanging over a good-sized fire.

Filo got off of Raphtalia and ran around like a little ball of energy. She was very happy that her mommy was okay.

Raphtalia then stood up and stretched herself out. The blanket fell to the ground beside her. She was still dressed in her usual armored attire. Looking around, she realized they were camped in front of the ruins of her town's Church.

The large square was pretty open, besides the debris strewn about from destroyed buildings and stands. Naofumi had a fire going, and he was preparing dinner over it.

Well, she thought it was dinner. He was rushing his current creation. And there were six big pots with food stains on the insides to the side. As she watched, Naofumi took the current pot off the fire and put it to the side. He grabbed one of the six pots and began cleaning it out to use again. As he did so, Filo ran up to the still-hot pot and began shoveling the food inside down her throat with her hands.

Raphtalia looked at Naofumi confusedly.

"I promised her an all-you-can-eat buffet." He said with a sigh. "I had to reward her sometime. But I didn't want to leave you alone either in case..."

Raphtalia giggled. She felt bad for Naofumi. He must have been cooking for hours.

An all-you-could-eat buffet for Filo was like trying to fill a black hole. Damn near impossible.

But at the same time, she also felt even warmer. Naofumi caring about her well-being made her feel even better. Her tail wagged happily behind her at his thoughtfulness.

"Raphtalia, are you really sure you're okay? If you're not, you can just tell me, or-" Naofumi started to say worriedly as he finished stirring and focused on her again. He didn't want to push her to her limit again or anything.

"Yes," Raphtalia cut him off with a hug. Her tail wagged even more happily behind her. She'd caught him off guard with how quickly she'd closed the distance between them. "I'm fine now. Really."

…

Naofumi's face softened. He gently hugged her back. "Okay… but I'm still sorry I moved you here without your permission. After you fell asleep, I didn't want to leave you on the cliffside. And I wanted you nearby just in case you needed me or-"

*chu*

Raphtalia shut him up this time with a soft kiss on the cheek. After it was over, her cheeks were flushed with red, as were his. "Naofumi. Please shut up."

Naofumi blushed a deeper red. Rubbing a hand over his cheek where Raphtalia had kissed him. "Thanks, really. But you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine now thanks to you."

"You're sure?" He asked, still sounding worried.

She pushed down her inner embarrassment. It was really heartwarming that he cared so much about her well-being! She wanted to tackle him to the ground and kiss him over and over and over again for some reason. But she pushed it down and nodded as she poked a finger in his chest.

"Yes, I'm sure." She smirked as he was lightly pushed back. "Besides, you shouldn't be worrying about me. You should be worrying about making sure our daughter eats her fill."

Naofumi groaned. 'Noooo, please save me from this horrible fate. I'll do anything!'

Raphtalia giggled and began walking away from the camp. "I'm going to wash up. Make sure Filo doesn't clean out all our food, Naofumi. I might want some later."

"No, please, save me Raphtalia-" Raphtalia didn't listen. It almost seemed like she was skipping away into the ruins of her village.

…

Had she read his mind again? Probably. But the sound of the pot hitting the ground and a loud satisfying burp brought him back to reality. "More food Daddy!" Filo said happily.

Naofumi groaned to himself. 'Why did I have to reward Filo like this?'

He consigned himself and his shield to his fate. He finished cleaning the pot and used a water source Melty had made to fill it with more water. He took out another monster carcass from his shield and got to slicing it up to make more quick monster meat stew.

The food glowed from the effects of the Chimera Viper Shield improving the taste of his food.

'Stupid Yandere Shield!'

Why couldn't he have a dozen or so different shields boosting something useful like his Attack stat?!

"I'm hungry daddy!" Filo complained childishly.

'GAHHHHHHHHHH!'

The sun was close to setting when Raphtalia finished drying and changing. Her village once had a bathhouse before the Wave destroyed it. With it gone, she had to hike to a nearby river and clean herself there. She walked back towards the village, putting her towel and other clothes away and squeezing the water from her long hair braids.

Not only did she feel mentally and emotionally refreshed. She also felt physically refreshed. Like she was an entirely new person who'd been washed clean of the last few days.

It wasn't like she was forgetting what had happened. Far from it.

But she felt she could live normally. Or at least, what would be considered normal for their circumstances.

'I can smile. I can be happy.' And that was exactly what Rifana wanted from her.

So that was what Raphtalia was going to do.

Her stomach growled, and she blushed to herself. 'I should see if Naofumi would be willing to make something for me while he's feeding Filo.' It felt cruel to do so. But she was too hungry to not want his cooking.

She quickly arrived back in the village. But as she walked down the ruined road, seeing the ruins all around her, she decided to take a slight detour down memory lane. Now that she wasn't blinded by grief and loss.

She looked at the various homes. All of which were in various states of collapse. 'That was Keel's house… and that was Petal's grandparents… and… and that one was Rifana's…' She stopped in front of the home in question. It was completely leveled.

She'd almost forgotten. Rifana's house had been completely destroyed during the Wave, and Keel's house had been unlivable. The large Cerberus Dog had plowed through them both during its rampage. But since part of Raphtalia's house had survived, Rifana and Keel had stayed with her up until the Knights came...

After a moment, she moved on. She saw a familiar area. It took her a moment to remember that was where she'd been standing when the Knights slaughtered everybody. Looking around, it was like she could visualize the events of that day...

She shook her head and continued on. Only a few houses down from that, and not far from the cliffs, was her home.

To her surprise, she found the living room she, Rifana, and Keel had slept in was still intact. The upstairs roof had collapsed, and her parent's room was gone, but the living room was still there.

Raphtalia cleared some debris that had fallen from the ceiling. The couch looked like it had seen better days. But she was able to sit on it. Her parent's walking chair was also there. She remembered sitting in her dad's lap in that chair so many times to listen to stories about the Cardinal Heroes.

Her hand reached out and lovingly felt the wood… to think it had only been over three months ago...

'I'll grab that before we go.' She decided. As well as the book on the Four Heroes that was tucked away underneath it. Naofumi told her he'd learned he could store all sorts of things in his Shield. It wasn't a far cry to consider storing furniture in it too.

Plus, maybe it'd help him to unlock a useful shield.

Looking around the room some more, she found a ball nearby. If she remembered correctly. It was Keel's. He'd used it in a series of friendly games after the Wave to cheer up the kids in the village who lost their parents to the monsters. And near that were some dolls. Raphtalia had scavenged them out of the destroyed part of her house for Rifana. So she could keep them with her at night when they went to sleep. That way, Rifana wouldn't feel so alone with her parents being dead...

Far from feeling depressed, Raphtalia was impressed that the three of them were able to even get through those times. It had been so hard, and things had looked bleak even before the Knights did what they did. Yet she'd smiled for everyone back then. She'd been nice. She'd helped Rifana and Keel and the other kids to smile despite losing her parents. She'd smiled and tried to encourage others even after they were enslaved.

It hadn't been perfect. She'd been sad. She had nightmares at night. But she'd had a reason to smile, just like now.

She reached over and picked the ball up. She could give this to Keel next time she saw him.

She then picked up the dolls. They were proof that she could smile, and help others to do the same.

She was putting them away when someone spoke. "Was this your home?"

Raphtalia jumped. She looked to the doorway and sighed in relief. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry." Melty quickly apologized. "I swear I wasn't trying to sneak up on you."

"It's fine. And yes, this was my home."

"Okay…" Melty stood in the doorway. Weirdly enough, she looked shy. Holding her hands together in front of her blue dress. "Is… is it alright if I come in?"

Raphtalia smiled happily. "Of course." She patted the couch seat next to her. "There's not much, but it's home."

Melty looked around and then hustled inside. She sat next to Raphtalia. But she hugged herself and looked down at the ground. Not looking in Raphtalia's direction.

"What did you want to talk about?" Raphtalia asked.

"How do you know I want to talk to you about something?" Melty asked.

"Call it intuition," Raphtalia said. "Or maybe I've seen when you're debating about asking Filo something important too many times these last few days." Melty blushed heavily at that. Was she really that obvious?!

"Is it about Naofumi calling you Second Princess?"

Melty flared up. "You're not going to call me that too, are you?!" She indignantly asked.

"No, of course not." Raphtalia smiled gently. "I know I normally call you Princess Melty. But I can call you Melty or Mel if you prefer."

…

"Mel would be nice," Melty admitted shyly.

Growing up, she probably didn't have many friends who didn't address her as Princess Melty or Second Princess. "So tell me, Mel, what's troubling you?" It was like Melty had visited an aunt.

Melty smiled slightly at the nickname Filo had casually given her. She hadn't admitted it to anyone yet, but it meant a lot more to her than she let on. "Well… I've spent a lot of time walking around today and thinking. And I... I was wondering how much damage came from the Wave… and how much came from the Knights that were supposed to protect the region." She asked shyly.

"... well… my house and many of the others got damaged by monsters from the Wave," Raphtalia said. "... but I'm afraid the Knights of Melromarc caused most of the destruction." She finished honestly.

...

Melty stared at Raphtalia for a moment, and then she looked sadly at the ground. "You were there. What happened that day?"

Raphtalia didn't go into all the details she told Naofumi before the Lute Wave. But she talked about how they had been rebuilding. How the knights had charged out of nowhere. How the adults were slaughtered. How she and the other kids were taken captive. How some of the knights burned the bodies, tore down what they'd rebuilt, and burned the Seaetto flag in the largest bonfire of all.

When she was finished, Melty was quiet. "I'm… I'm so sorry. My mother and I didn't know." She said sadly.

"I don't see how you could have," Raphtalia said, rubbing the back of Melty's head comfortingly. The poor little blue-haired girl looked like she was beating herself up over this. "If what Eclair told Naofumi is true, the Three Heroes Church hid it from everyone." The Church Knights had cordoned off the whole region. The Royal &^% Commander had been limiting which Royal Knights went in. And Van had mentioned that the region had been abandoned. So besides the slave kids that were taken, there really wasn't a way for people to know about what happened unless they were there.

"Still… Seaetto was supposed to be Mom's big project in ensuring peace with Siltvelt. It was supposed to show humans and demi-humans could get along. We were supposed to keep a close eye on it... And they just… they just…" She couldn't finish it. But Raphtalia knew what she wanted to say.

The Church completely destroyed it, without mercy and without restraint. All on the basis of prejudice, greed, and power.

"And that cellar… you and others were put through such terrible things. And it's only because you weren't born human." A tear fell down the side of Melty's face. "I can't help but think that some of this is my fault."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know. The Queen didn't know." Raphtalia said again. She then spoke words of wisdom. "You can't act when you don't know that there's a problem to deal with." It was something she'd been forced to realize herself.

Melty sniffed some more. She knew Raphtalia was right, but part of her still felt bad about not being able to do anything... But then she wiped the tears away from her eyes. "I swear. When this is all over, I'll work with my mom to bring the knights that did this to your village to justice Raphtalia." She said determinedly. "They'll pay for what they did here. Then we'll make sure no one ever repeats what happened in that cellar again."

Raphtalia stood up, and she helped Melty to stand too. "I'll look forward to that day... Thank you, Mel." Raphtalia said happily.

"Who knows, maybe the Queen and the Bow Hero could work together in bringing her country's nobles in line in the future?"

Melty smiled genuinely and looked off to the side. "Also… could you do me a favor?" She asked.

"What is it?"

"Can you get Naofumi to stop calling me Second Princess!?"

The poor girl had had a dream of everyone calling her Second Princess. And she was certain it was all Naofumi's fault! "I find it very rude of him to still be addressing me by that stupid title after everything I've done!"

Raphtalia sweatdropped. "I'll… I'll see what I can do."

Raphtalia picked up the rocking chair, and the two of them left the house. Now chatting with each other about different topics.

It seemed Melty had found someone besides Filo that she could confide in.

An hour later, Eclair arrived back at Lurolona. The sun was beginning to set, and the sky was clear. She saw a trail of smoke rising from the village. And after a little while navigating the ruins, she found Naofumi cooking over a campfire.

"Don't tell me I have to cook for one more."

The poor guy looked worn out. He was surrounded by a pile of used pots and utensils he'd cleaned again and again.

Fortunately, Filo rested against a wall in her Filolial form. Her wings folded over her bulging stomach. Melty rested against the warm pile of feathers. He'd temporarily conquered the greatest hill of all and managed to feed Filo till she couldn't eat anymore.

Unfortunately, he was making dinner one more time for Raphtalia, Melty, and himself. And unlike Filo's all-you-could-eat, he was taking more time to prepare their dinner. Seeing Eclair made him groan as he moved to grab more ingredients.

"It's fine, Sir Naofumi. I ate in Seaetto before I came here." She said dryly.

Naofumi looked at her distrustfully. That sounded too good to be true. But Eclair walked past her to Raphtalia. She was eagerly awaiting her dinner.

"Miss Raphtalia. Are you ready to resume your training?"

Naofumi again wondered if that was the right thing to do or not. But Raphtalia nodded happily and got up. "Sure." She unsheathed her sword, and they got into it.

…

After a moment of watching, Naofumi sighed and went back to stirring his pot.

It felt odd. He wanted to be overprotective of Raphtalia. It was hard to forget how devastated she'd been that morning. Yet now, her eyes and smile were warm and full of life. Just like they had been after the Sacred Duel.

She looked happy and had nothing weighing her down. Had it really been only a few hours ago when he carried her back into the village and kissed her forehead after covering her with a blanket?

Maybe this was a sign that she was past the hard stuff in her life... or, maybe, she'd been through so many terrible things that she was used to this?

The thought made him sad. No one should ever be used to the hardships of life.

When this mess with the Church was over, Naofumi was going to make sure Raphtalia didn't have to go through something like this ever again.

The last few days had seen enough angst to sink a battleship. He'd rather they finally have somewhat smooth sailing instead of more angst, turmoil, and edge.

It almost reminded him of some of the animes he'd watched back in Japan. Not that they were necessarily bad of course. But there was only so much EDGE a person could take.

He swore if his hair suddenly turned white, he'd run for his life. He did not want to be at the center of an EDGE plot mixed with a poorly thought-out harem.

...

Oh well. At least he didn't have to cook for anyone else.

"Also, I was told to inform you the other two heroes will be arriving soon," Eclair said. "I don't know if they've eaten today or not."

Naofumi groaned again. "Nooooo… Please, don't tell me I have to cook for them too."

Eclair didn't respond and got back to helping Raphtalia.

The sun had set by the time the other two heroes arrived. Their parties had stayed behind to help out in Seaetto.

Itsuki looked to be in a far better mood than before. Ren looked calm and aloof. Like when he'd first seen him at the summoning.

"What smells good, Naofumi? I'm starving."

Naofumi groaned in his mind. 'Damn it Itsuki. Just when you were becoming a better person.' He'd luckily sucked it up and had already prepared another meal for the two.

Still, Naofumi grumbled as he threw the meat into the pot to stew.

"I could go for some food too," Ren said. "What stew are you making there?"

"At this point, I'm not sure what monster meat I'm using for the stew," Naofumi grumbled.

For all he knew, he could throw dung inside and it'd taste great thanks to his shields! But he wouldn't since that would be an insult to his culinary tastes.

He added a little more water. Chopped up more vegetables into little pieces before dropping them in. Then he lightly dribbled seasonings he'd made over the stew. An even nicer smell filled the air, making his stomach rumble in anticipation.

He hated that he had to cook so much today. But he was starving for something good. If he was going to eat something, he'd do his best to make sure it was damn near PERFECT!

"Whatever you're making, it smells good," Itsuki said happily.

Seriously?! Why was he suddenly so happy? Naofumi doubted he'd been forced to spend his day cooking and comforting his party member!

Not that he was mad about doing the second part. But if that boy didn't drop the smile, he was going to show some ineffectual punches around!

His hair better not turn white! He didn't want the EDGE!

Ren and Itsuki sat down on pieces of debris. Both of them saw Raphtalia and Eclair practicing together, but didn't comment to Naofumi about Raphtalia being up and smiling.

Actually, Ren looked more impressed at the sword training Eclair was doing. Two months ago, he would have gawked at the idea of training. But after what he'd seen, it wasn't sounding like such a bad idea anymore.

Maybe after they'd had a little time to settle in when things were over...

"So… Do we know what we're doing next?" Naofumi asked after finally calming down. He continued lightly stirring the stew.

"Van's scouts are reporting that the Church Army didn't follow us," Itsuki answered. "He has people in towns outside the region gathering news. But by the looks of it, they'll be safe here for now."

"So we'll be able to go to the Capital to face the Pope then," Naofumi said.

"... yeah," Ren said. "But we're not sure when we're leaving for that."

"Would you rather wait till after the Wave?" Naofumi asked.

"I don't know," Itsuki said. "We'd have a chance to talk to Motoyasu at the Wave. But the news we're hearing about in the Kingdom doesn't sound very good."

It'd only been a day. But Itsuki shared what some of Van's adventurers had managed to gather from speaking undercover with friendly members of the guild.

The Church wasn't just imprisoning demi-humans, but anyone that spoke out against the change in leadership. There were rumors of the Church's followers gathering in the capital. There'd been no news given about the Cardinal Heroes besides the Shield Demon tricking the Sword and Bow Heroes into attempting to raze the capital, their efforts only being stopped by the brave efforts of the country's knights and the Spear Hero.

No news had been published about what happened to Idol. And the only current news about the Cardinal Heroes was that the Spear Hero was at the Capital, watching over the First Princess's recovery.

There was one last bit of worrying news. The Church was going to host a public execution soon.

No news was coming out of the eastern part of the kingdom for some reason. But it sounded like something big was going down there. Maybe a mass slaughter?

Quite honestly, it sounded like the Pope had &^%$%^ up the country really badly in the short time he'd been ruling thus far.

"I don't know how long we can afford to wait," Itsuki said. "That's why Ren and I wanted to talk to you now. We wanted to make sure… you know…" Itsuki glanced in Raphtalia's direction.

"Don't worry. She's fine now." Naofumi said. The stew was almost finished.

"Really?" Ren asked curiously.

"Yeah. I don't know how or what I did. But she's… better than I've seen her in a while." He admitted.

She looked even better than when he'd confessed to her that he loved her. Even though she'd been through a lot herself these last few days.

That girl was really something else. If only he knew what Rifana had done for the half-tanuki woman in her sleep.

The two were silent after that. Naofumi finished the stew and called everyone else over. They gathered around the fire, wooden bowls and spoons in hand to eat. Except for Eclair, who continued training by herself.

"Mmmm, it tastes really good Naofumi," Raphtalia said, her tail wagging happily behind her. It'd been a while since she'd eaten his cooking.

In a way, it made the extra effort he'd put in worth it.

"Yeah, this is really good," Itsuki said, looking down at the bowl in shock.

Ren didn't say anything. He was plowing into the bowl's contents like a starving man. He'd never tasted food so good in his LIFE! Cool and aloofness be damned!

Its warmth filled him and helped him feel better about the things that had happened lately.

"I have my stupid shield to thank for that too," Naofumi grumbled. The food tasted really, really good. It was almost good enough to make him feel better.

"Where can I unlock a weapon like that?" Itsuki asked. "This beats any old stew I make."

"Trust me. You don't want to find that class of weapons." Naofumi muttered. "Or that class of enchantments for that matter."

"But why not?" Itsuki complained.

'Because if you do, your Bow will try to turn you into a butler too.' Naofumi thought sarcastically to himself.

He felt a little zap from his shield at that. Or maybe he was just imagining it? "Just trust me when I say this is a curse."

"But it tastes really good!" Itsuki said. Not even Melty was talking! This stew was better than anything her royal chefs had ever made for her.

Naofumi felt he was very much in danger of being downgraded to royal butler status. "Just shut up and eat it!"

There really wasn't too much else to note. Everyone listened to Naofumi. The food was so good, they focused more on eating instead of talking. Soon, all the stew was gone, and everyone besides Eclair lay around the fire. Their bellies full and warm.

"This… this is actually pretty nice," Itsuki said. They weren't doing anything important. They weren't prepared to face some noble. They were getting a chance to take a break.

"I'm too full to move." Ren moaned. "Is it alright if we crash here tonight, Naofumi?" He'd eaten so much that he felt too lazy to want to go all the way back to Seaetto.

Not having to face his party for an extra day was a bonus!

"It's not like I can do anything to stop you." Naofumi groaned. He'd eaten too much himself. "Do whatever you want."

Apparently, no matter how high his defense was, his belly could still bring him down.

Itsuki and Ren pulled out sleeping rolls from their inventories. Naofumi pulled out a sleeping roll too.

Melty snuggled into Filo's feathers. The poor bird was out cold. She sighed happily at the comfort and warmth. 'What a weird girl.'

He was preparing to pull out a blanket when Raphtalia put the one she'd been using earlier over his shoulders. "I'll take the first watch." She volunteered. Smiling down at him. It looked like Eclair would be on watch with her.

Naofumi bit back the response of wanting to make sure she was okay with it. He instead offered a small smile to her. "Thanks, Raphtalia."

She kissed him on the forehead. It made the stress and events of the day melt away. "Sweet dreams, Naofumi." She whispered softly.

He burrowed himself in the blanket. It'd been a while. But he again wondered how he'd been blessed to have such a wonderful companion that could make all his stress and worry melt away at the end of the day.

Ren and Itsuki were already asleep. Exhausted from the events of last night and the day.

Naofumi followed soon after.

"...fumi… … Naof… Naofumi? Naofumi?"

Naofumi groaned. He was shaken awake.

"What?" He asked tiredly. He peeked open an eye and saw the stars of the night sky up above. It was Raphtalia that was shaking him. "What is it Raphtalia?"

"Naofumi, there's a strange fog approaching the village."

Raphtalia helped him stand up. When he looked in the direction she was pointing, his mind finally became alert.

A bank of fog was descending on the edge of the village. But the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end from its appearance.

There was definitely something magical about the fog.

"Filo, Second Princess, get up."

Eclair had already woken Itsuki up, and both of them were waking up Ren. Naofumi helped Raphtalia wake up Filo and Melty. But by the time they were ready to move, the fog had stopped just at the edge of the camp. It didn't approach any farther. Its mysterious appearance and the way it just stayed in place definitely said this was magic.

"What is that?" Naofumi asked.

"It looks like some kind of magic barrier," Itsuki said seriously. He'd pulled back the string on his bow, and was prepared to fire at whatever threat that would come out of the fog.

Melty felt the magic was familiar. But she couldn't remember why at first.

'Seriously. I thought we were finally getting a break!' Why couldn't Naofumi just get a break for like a few days at least!? Was that too much to ask for?!

Did the Universe really hate him that much?!

The group was on edge. The sound of many thumping feet was approaching. Large shadows in the fog appeared running towards them.

Ren and Itsuki didn't recognize this from any game scenario, which made them both more on edge as it was unknown to them. Ren held up his sword, his Status Magic preparing to select One Hundred Swords in case there were a lot of enemies.

But then Filolials started running out of the fog. Instead of running at them, they ran along the circumference of their camp. Surrounding them in a semi-circle.

The sight confused all the Heroes and Naofumi's party.

"Stay back! We just took down a big powerful dino yesterday!" Itsuki yelled in an attempt at intimidation.

His voice sounded a little too high though to be very intimidating.

"Wait, stand down Sir Bow Hero, I recognize this magic," Melty said.

"What do you mean Second Prin-" Raphtalia jabbed Naofumi in the side. Apparently, his DEF stat wasn't high enough. "Ow!"

"It's Melty. Not Second Princess." Raphtalia corrected. "But what do you mean Melty?" Raphtalia asked.

Why was that important?! What was up with Raphtalia this time!? He-... wised up and didn't finish that thought.

He'd rather it didn't get caught on her mind reader abilities if she did have such a thing.

Melty gave Raphtalia a happy nod, confirming his companion was in league against him to get him to stop calling the Second Princess by her nickname.

Little did she know the war she was starting to get out of being called by that title. But that wasn't important. What was important was the Filolial pulling a very fancy carriage out of the fog towards them.

Melty walked forward, smiling happily. "This is the rare Filolial I met on my way to the Capital." She said happily. "She saved my life from a dragon."

It looked like another Filolial to Naofumi. Sure, its Sky Blue feathers were shinier than Filo's. The light red piercing eyes were also different from what he'd seen on other Filolials. And the carriage looked fancy enough to carry royalty inside.

But it still didn't look that different from other Filolials he'd seen.

"I mean you no harm. Please, put down your weapons, Sword and Bow Heroes."

Naofumi backpedaled.

Okay, the speaking was definitely not normal.

Itsuki and Ren looked surprised. Melty jumped back in surprise. "You, you can talk?!"

"Indeed, I can, Princess Melty." The Filolial said to Melty. Melty looked somewhere between shocked and overjoyed.

"What... the hell..." Ren lowered his sword in amazement. Itsuki followed suit.

"I thought you said you knew her Sec-" Raphtalia jabbed Naofumi in the side. Cutting off the nickname again!

"Who are you?!" Ren asked. His sword was down, but he still looked to be on his guard.

"I am not your enemy." The Filolial shone brightly. And then it shrunk down, similar to Filo's transformation magic. But without the poof of feathers that accompanied it.

After a moment. A little girl with angel wings stood in front of them. She was dressed in a gothic style red and white dress and boots. She had white hair with three cowlicks sticking up in the front. Her face was small and well-composed. She was the same height as Filo in her girl form, but her wings were longer.

The heroes all stared in slack-jawed amazement. Including Naofumi. 'WHAT IN THE FREAKING HELL!?'

"My name is Fitoria," Fitoria said. "And there's much I wish to discuss with you three."

Hero Clips!

Maybe One More

"Please don't tell me I have to cook for them too."

"I'm afraid so, Naofumi."

Naofumi sighed. He pulled out another pot and threw some meat into it to sizzle. He hoped Itsuki and Ren were the last ones that were going to come.

"Oh, I think Lord Reichnott is also coming," Eclair said. "I don't think he's eaten all day with how busy he's been."

"Fine…" Naofumi pulled out a cutting board and a table and started chopping vegetables into pieces.

"Now that I think about it, I think he's also bringing the Hero's parties along for protection," Eclair said, thinking to herself. "They could probably use some food too."

A vein bulged in Naofumi's forehead. He pulled out another pot, started another fire, and began to fill the pot with water so he could have a second stew going. "Anyone else?" He asked.

Eclair thought about it for a moment while Naofumi went about getting the second stew going. "I think Van is having his scouts come here to report while he's with us."

Naofumi groaned mentally. He pulled out more meat and vegetables along with seasoning. Setting them out on another table he'd pulled from his inventory.

"There's also a couple of the former child slaves that are tagging along because they want to thank you."

Naofumi started the third fire.

"And maybe a few of the adult slaves who want to thank you."

Naofumi pulled out more food.

"As well as some of the demi-humans who want to meet you."

Naofumi started the fourth fire.

"I think the one nurse that helped Raphtalia who also wanted to see you-"

"IS THERE ANYONE ELSE?!" Naofumi yelled.

…

"Maybe one more," Eclair said. "I can't remember who though."

Naofumi huffed and got to cooking. That one could deal with it if there wasn't enough food.

He was almost done cooking when all the people Eclair mentioned arrived… on the backs of wild Filolials. "Sir Hero!" Van waved happily from the royal carriage being pulled by Fitoria.

"Oh yeah. There's also the Queen of the Filolials. She said she and her flock would be starving after traveling all this distance." Eclair said, remembering who the last guest(s) were going to be.

…

Naofumi's left eye twitched.

Somebody was going to die.

Till Next Time

Allen