I'm posting the first two initial chapters of this fic simultaneously. So keep that in mind if you're wondering where the first chapter is...

Also, I hope you like what I did with Atla. I hate the canon character, so I hope I've done her justice while making her more tolerable, even actually endearing...

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

CHAPTER 2:

NIGHT THOUGHTS

That night, Atla had asked to speak with Harry after dinner. Harry agreed, but with Raphtalia in tow, ensuring that the young demi-human understood where the line was. She didn't protest, though something ugly briefly came over her expression when Harry told her this.

They met her near the graveyard, Fohl watching from a distance, though out of earshot. He would have accompanied his sister, but she had rebuked him with a blow that sent him flying. But Harry nodded to Fohl, and the young demi-human boy returned it, reluctantly.

"So, what did you want to talk about, Atla?" Harry asked.

"About you…and Raphtalia, I suppose," Atla said.

And then, she opened her eyes.

Harry blinked. The girl had the same sky-blue eyes as her brother, shining softly in the moonlight. Unlike her brother, though, the pupils were round rather than a slit, closer to a human's(1). They were also milky with cataracts or something similar.

"How well can you actually see?" Raphtalia asked.

"With my eyes? Not well. I am almost totally blind. I can see light and impressions of colour, but that is it. It has been that way for many months. I keep my eyes closed to protect them from sunlight and irritants. The Draught of Yggdrasil can work many miracles, even allowing me to walk, run and fight, but restoring my sight isn't one of them," Atla said. "Still, I learned how to sense life-force to compensate. I believe your guardians, the Itamis, likened it to a concept from your world known as ki. They actually told me much about you two…about your pasts." She turned to look, as much as a blind girl could, at the graves. "My father, Blake, was taken from me by battle when I was barely old enough to remember him…though my mother believed that he was betrayed and murdered."

"…Did she know by whom?" Harry asked.

"…Only suspected," Atla said. "I will know it for sure when I meet that man. Jaralis, one of the most prominent nobles in Siltvelt. Mother lasted longer, despite her illness, but not that long ago, she joined our father. My treatment ate up much of our remaining monies, and Fohl was forced to fight to ensure I survived. And then, along came the Shield Hero, saving us both from afar. Like something out of a fairy tale."

"Except I'm not. I'm not a hero, Atla. I may be the Shield Hero, but…I just try to help people."

"I'd argue that makes you a better hero than many with that title, but…like I said, the Itamis told me much. About how your adventures even before coming to this world affected you. How Britain could not decide whether you were their saviour or their next enemy. How your celebrity played havoc with your life." She gazed out to the moonlit ocean, even if she couldn't see the view. "Father hated his fame too. Not just because he was the son of Tyran Ga Fayon, a father whom he hated, but because he was also a great warrior who nonetheless wished for a quiet life. It's why he abandoned Siltvelt with Mother for a quiet existence. You and he are very alike, I realise. He only agreed to fight in that skirmish against Melromarc to protect us."

After a moment, Raphtalia asked, "Atla…how did Lucia know it was Jaralis?"

"Jaralis was the man who took Father away, as the country we were in, a small country on the borderlands of Siltvelt, was allied to Siltvelt. What was more, he was fighting in the same unit, and it was Jaralis who reported his death. Mother never liked the man. Of course, I have little proof…but I believe, once I meet the man, I will know, one way or another. Even if he was not Father's murderer, my mother got tidings from Siltvelt. He is an ambitious and ruthless man who hid behind a thin veneer of humility. He sneers at halfbreeds, as well as those demi-human breeds who are of a lower class in Siltvelt." She turned, and walked closer to them. "In other words, you and I…no matter that my grandfather was one of their most celebrated leaders…" Then, in a soft whisper, she said, to Raphtalia, "…or that your own lineage is royal. The Itamis told me about it."

"…I'd like that kept quiet," Raphtalia said.

"I know. I do not want to rouse Q'ten Lo's ire at all." More loudly, she said, "In some regards, we are much alike, Raphtalia. We know the pain of loss, and the sting of slavery. But…I owe you both a debt. I intend to repay it by fighting by your side. And where I go, Fohl goes."

"…Are you sure?" Harry asked. "I don't want a repeat of what happened with Rifana. I don't want to force you guys to fight. Not like I was. And I don't hold debts over people, at least decent ones."

"I am sure. In any case, that's all I wanted to say." She went to go to Fohl, before shooting a smirk over her shoulder. "Besides, this way, I can get to know you two. And maybe when I'm an adult, I can join you both as your mistress." With a giggle, she jogged away to Fohl.

"…What the actual fuck was that at the end?" Harry said in a tight tone of voice.

"…She's got a crush on you," Raphtalia muttered in irritation and embarrassment. "We sort of knew that already. I think that was her olive branch to me. But what do you say to something like that?"

"Nothing. We'll just pretend she didn't say anything at the end," Harry said firmly. "I don't even want to think about that, not having her as a mistress even grown-up, not pulling a Motoyasu with a harem or underaged girls, so she said nothing."

"Agreed," Raphtalia said. "Still…if Jaralis is the one responsible for their father's death…what will happen if we bring them to Siltvelt?"

"Buggered if I know, but Mirelia did point him out as someone to be careful about," Harry said. "We'll probably have to go there at some point to appease them, but we go there, we get the Shield synced with the Dragon Hourglass, and we get the hell out of there before they try to entrap us. I'd be tempted to raze the country to the ground with the human slavery there. Zeltoble is almost as likely to piss me off."

"I can't blame you. What I keep hearing about that place isn't good."

Harry and Raphtalia whirled to find Ren Amaki, the Sword Hero, coming up to them. The Japanese teen was the youngest of those summoned to become Cardinal Heroes, but he was also one of the more mature and intelligent ones. Despite being aloof and proud, he was the first of the Cardinal Heroes to become their ally in this world, after Raphtalia's argument that this world was real rather than some variant of the games the other three had played struck a chord with him.

"What's wrong, Ren?" Harry asked.

"I was just coming to see if you two were all right," Ren said. "I knew it couldn't be romantic, given that the Fayons brought you out. Atla give you any trouble?"

"Not really. I think we've come to an understanding," Raphtalia said. "What about you?"

Ren ran a hand through his hair. "I think I just needed some air. I'm still struggling to bond with my party members. Oh, we're friendly enough, but…being around so many…I'm not that comfortable. Wyndia's easier to talk to, she's like a little sister to me. And so was Éclair, oddly enough, even if she's not part of my party. She's quite down to earth for a noble. I'm actually looking forward to our lessons. I know I have a lot to learn, but…maybe I can get better, stronger. I wasn't much use during the last Wave. I was stuck protecting Mirelia."

"But you helped. You fought bravely, according to Mirelia and Melty!" Raphtalia protested. "When the Death Eaters attacked, you barely hesitated to stop them!"

Ren nodded solemnly. "…I know. It wasn't the first time I had killed people either. I'd slain some bandits on a couple of my missions for the Adventurers' Guild, before Mirelia came back from Faubrey. Welt, the axe-fighter in my party…he helped me through the aftermath as much as he could, as did the others, but he had fought in battle before. But still…if I had been better, I could have saved Rifana. Though I'm sure both of you feel the same way. It's naïve to think we can save everyone, true, but…"

"…Say no more, Ren," Harry said. "I'm glad you said that. Not because I want you to be guilty about Rifana, but…I'm grateful that you care."

"…Thanks. I'll be honest…I actually prefer it here," Ren said, looking up to the night sky. "Back home…I was a loner myself. I only had a couple of friends, and my guardians…they were forcing me to excel, not encouraging me. But here…it's dangerous, it's deadly, the politics are a minefield, and the tech level's not much past the Renaissance level for the most part. And I still have a lot of expectations made of me. And yet…I feel more at home here than I did in my Japan. I feel like I can be more, be better. I'm trying to avoid falling to the temptation of just giving into the isekai power trip, but I'm enjoying myself being a hero, not because I'm gaining power, but because I'm helping others too. I just want to avoid more deaths like Rifana's. It's one thing if we're fighting the Waves or powerful monsters. It's another if it's down to the magical equivalent of terrorists. They haven't had any word about Malty yet, have they?"

"Do you think they would?" Harry asked quietly. "That bitch has buggered off to Merlin knows where, possibly wherever the World Eater resides. I'm more worried about Kyo. Given his target, and how slippery that bastard has been, I'm worried that, by the time we find him, it'll be too late. The Spirit Tortoise is a disaster of literally apocalyptic proportions. At least Ost Hourai is an ally, but who's to say Kyo can't control her or at least bypass her?"

"I know. It gives me the chills thinking about it. The Guardian Beasts, or their equivalent in Brave Star Online, were raid bosses that make the Wave Bosses pale by comparison. You'd need multiple teams in the game just to have a chance at beating them. I'm worried about what would happen if they were awoken. If that happens, I'll share what I know from Brave Star Online about how to beat them. I never fought them myself, but I've read up on strategy guides on how to beat them, and even if they don't work, it has to have some useful intel on them. I'll see if I can get Itsuki to spill on anything he knows from Dimension Wave."

"Because it's better that we have some sort of plan in place in advance, right?" Raphtalia asked.

"Yeah. You might want to have the Ivyred girl do some research in the library at Melromarc Castle Town, too. Itsuki told me she's got a keen mind when she isn't being timid. A shame your friend Hermione isn't here. You told me she was keen-minded too. Then again, if Kyo Ethnina is going after the Spirit Tortoise here, surely the equivalent on that world can do something similar. So why here?"

"He's probably hoping to avoid attention from L'Arc, Therese, and Glass," Raphtalia pointed out. "It could be that he's also on bad terms with whatever country their equivalent of the Spirit Tortoise resides in, or maybe it's better guarded. Here, on the other hand, he's not as well known. And if he's after the power the Spirit Tortoise can gather…well, they implied that things weren't going as well on that world, so maybe he's hoping to harvest more people's souls, as we may not have been hit as hard by the Waves or by other disasters. They had to deal with some Dragon Emperor or whatever it was shortly after Kizuna and Naofumi were summoned to that world. Of course, if he causes a genocide here, he could spin it to say he was saving his own world. If they were desperate enough to consider killing the Cardinal Heroes here and leave this world to die, then that would explain it."

"Of course, he could just be a completely psychotic nutcase, and is doing things just because he's on a power trip," Harry snarked. "Just because he is apparently extremely intelligent doesn't necessarily mean he's remotely rational. I mean, look at Motoyasu. Wasn't he meant to be a university student? And yet, looked at how readily Malty wrapped him around her finger. The former king, I could understand, she's his daughter, and she put on a good enough act until Raphtalia got framed anyway. But Motoyasu isn't winning many prizes for critical thinking."

"Motoyasu does set the bar somewhat low," Raphtalia said. "But my point is, if Kyo's rational enough to avoid detection, then he is rational enough to have a reason for choosing this world. Don't misunderstand me, if he intends to exploit the Spirit Tortoise, and commit genocide just for his personal power, then we have to stop him, with extreme prejudice. I just want to know…why us?"

"I don't think you can expect a sane answer from him," Ren said. "We just need to be prepared."

"Constant Vigilance, eh?" Harry asked with a sigh. "Oh, joy."

"That's why we're undertaking this training," Raphtalia said. "Working on our fundamental skills should help, and maybe some of us could find some use in the Hengen Musou training. Atla seems to have taken to it well, and Elrasa seems to think Rishia has potential."

"Despite Itsuki's party members thinking she's a weakling?" Ren chuckled. "It'd be a slap in the face for them. Anyway, we'd better head to bed before too long. We'll have an early start tomorrow."

Harry nodded. He just hoped that things would go smoothly enough with the training. Something told him that between Itsuki's party and Motoyasu being…well, Motoyasu, it probably wouldn't. Time would tell…

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

So, here you have it. Some nice talks with Atla and with Ren.

Now, Atla in canon annoys the everloving fuck out of me. She's a bit like Albedo from Overlord, but as a loli tiger girl. You have her disturbing desire to have Naofumi's babies, her speaking for him and misconstruing what he actually wants, possibly deliberately (and that's without going into her bullying of Fohl)…it was tempting to simply bash her. Instead, I decided to reconstruct her character. She still wants to be Harry's mistress, but she's willing to wait the decade or so before she's grown up. It's thanks to the Itamis and Mirelia gently sitting her down and explaining Harry's past, along with Raphtalia's. She's still jealous about Harry's closeness to Raphtalia, but she's more philosophical about it.

Meanwhile, as Ren is the Cardinal Hero closest to Harry and Raphtalia, I thought I'd have him discuss matters with Harry. The canon Ren, at this stage, was still the best of the Three Stooges, but he was still arrogant and prideful. But as he's had a few wake-up calls, this fic's Ren, while still flawed and struggling with leadership and teamwork within his party, is still reaching out to others outside his party.

1. Atla's character design sheet for the novels shows her eyes, and unlike Fohl's, the pupils look round. Chalk that one up to a genetic quirk.