Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad helping me with SPAG edit. Also thanks to Angel Wraith for reading my rough draft and provide important feedbacks.

More author note at the end for people who are interested to see me blabber some more.

As the unofficial future bride of her uncle King Egbert Faubley, substantial time of her personal study is devoted to learn about the strongest nation: Its rich history, culture, and geography. The first princess was well aware of the revolution in their technology some thirty years ago, and how it has completely changed the heart of the ancient nation. For better, or ill.

Yet, nothing could have prepared her when she first set foot on Faubley soil. Black smokes bellow out of the many chimneys stretching away from the Germania Castle. The air feels as heavy as it is stale on her skin and she can practically taste the sourness in her mouth.

It is under this darkened and dreary sky, she meets her distant uncle and possibly future husband to be.

"My dearest cousin Milly!" Seeing her uncle in the flesh makes the first princess realize why father was fond of calling his adopted brother 'old pig', and not in the playful sibling kind of way. The man is short, almost like a half grown child, yet has almost as much width as his height. The finest royal robe waved out of devil spider silk does nothing to hide his boorishness. Or perhaps the gaudy outfit only emphasizes the coarse nature of its wearer. "It's good to see you make it to the adoption ceremony of my future son."

"Cousin Bert-" Mother barely has a chance to get a word out before the old pig king rips her hand away, and kisses it like a dog in heat. One would be forgiven to think her uncle wanted to marry her hag of a mother, not herself.

After licking all over mother's hand, King Egbert releases mother and looks towards her direction. "Ah, this must be your daughter. I see she lived up to her mother's beauty. Come! Let's meet my adopted son Tact. This celebration will be special, on account of him being chosen as the holy whip's wielder."

Mother pauses for a slight second, her expression unreadable. As a nation ruled by fellow humans and the long time ally of Melromarc, Faubley gaining a new vassal hero is something to take comfort in. Yet considering the death of Melromarc's own Hammer Hero Bloom Fiege back in The Great War... the princess is willing to bet her mother's feelings are as conflicted as her own.

Chapter 50: A Shieldless Flight

The eyes of the first princess wanders around, desperately trying to find someone familiar in this foreign court. She hoped cousin Emily would be near, on account of her being the daughter of King Egbert's adopted sister Princess Lucia and the Duchess of Dunwall and its surrounding archipelago.

The two of them have steadily grown closer after Father returned the cure of wailing death from Faubley. Cousin Emily makes an effort to visit her at least once a year on her birthday celebration, and they frequently exchange letters in between visits. Her much older cousin was a welcome presence in her life, on account of Emily having almost a decade worth of maturity yet still retaining a certain playful impish side to not feel like a complete bore unlike her well behaving younger sister.

Sadly, the duchess is nowhere in sight, clearly not allowed to make an appearance in this more intimate stage of the royal visit. The reason Mother allowed her to tag along to rub shoulders and socialize with Faubley nobility instead of being confined to her home 'studies' is clear: Letting her uncle inspect the goods, before the backdoor deal of their marriage contract can be finalized.

Father would have no doubt thrown up a storm of fits back home if he was present. Sadly, Mother dispatched him to the border a month ago, on account of inspecting the reconstruction of two northern provinces that serve as the shield against beastman incursions. Her argument of sending Father instead of an agent being that he had two years of extensive guerilla warfare experience against the Siltvelt occupation army in the north, therefore knows what needs to be done more than any agent she can dispatch.

Back to the present. The way Prince Tact dresses, or carries himself, does not live up to his current royal status. The young man, boy, really, has a playful smirk on the corner of his mouth as if he holds constant contempt over everything except himself. His posture is relaxed and slouching in the form of a well off son of a wealthy merchant who never had a single day of hardship in his life. It lacks the graceful yet rigid discipline of a noble drilled into their bones since youth, who are expected to rule over his people therefore need to constantly project an image of dignity and strength.

But his facial expression, or how he carries himself both pale in how he dresses. He has a big piece of thick fabric - they are called bandanas, the first princess thinks - atop his shoulder length blond hair. He wears a long suit jacket more fitting to a highwayman who has too many fancy ideas about being a dashing rogue than a future prince ought to be.

Right now, he has two girls dressed in maid uniform giving him a message as he leans back into an armchair.

The girl working on his shoulder has a Zebest family's trademark deep red hair and tanned skin.

As for the one kneeling by his legs... if the blue marking near her eyes are genuine, it suggests the lineage of an Azure Dragon beastman clan, the closest thing Siltvelt has to a royal family. Probably not from the main branch, since their infamous pride makes it impossible a highborn Azure Dragon would reduce herself into servitude to a boy, hero or not.

Regardless, having a girl from one of the prominent Faubley noble families, and an Azure Dragon beastman being his servant girl is nothing to scoff at.

Despite the difference in their upbringing, the first princess feels she knows this boy already. He reminds her of Siegmar Isaac Octavius Consevatie, the pompous son of Lord Grima Consevatie and heir to his title. How sad, to know the future leaders of both nations consist of vainglorious fools more fit in a jester's outfit.

"Come, son! Come meet your aunt Mirelia, and your future mother." The pig king of Faubley beckons his adopted son with a wave of his stubby hand.

"My aunt, and my future mother?" The smirk on Prince Tact's lips grow thicker. It's hard to tell if the boy's ire is aimed at his adopted father, or the Melromarc royals. He waves away his masseuses as he slowly stands up to full height. "Isn't this going to cause utter chaos for the old family tree?"

"Don't get witty with me, boy! Show some respect to your future mother!" Uncle and her future husband (isn't that a depressing thought)'s eyes grow round, he blows at his own mustache with his fat, sausage-like lips. The attempt to intimidate his adopted son, the holy whip hero into submission failed miserably because... well, it's rather self-explanatory. Her uncle isn't a very imposing figure with his short, overweight stature.

"A... bold young man." Mother struggles for a brief second with her words, the kind of pause only noticeable to someone who is familiar with her. "He'll grow to be a strong leader and good future king when he learns the value of patience and temperance."

The adopted prince neither speaks or changes his expression, not even letting out a scoff or snort. His face still wearing his infuriating smirk full of disinterested derision. The whip hero clearly find Mother's words not worth the dignity of any response.

"At any rate, keep your future mother in attendance and entertained for five minutes, boy! I need to talk with cousin Milly in privacy." Uncle Egbert turns around, knowing there's nothing he can do to cower the hero of the holy whip. He guides Mother away with a hand on her back, dangerously low to touch her hips. If Mother notices uncle's inappropriate gesture, she doesn't do anything to correct him as she gracefully glides away on her heels.

One could be excused to think her uncle wants a mother and daughter two for one deal, with all the talks and rumors about his bedroom activities.

"So, you are the newest toy of the old pig, huh?" The first princess almost startled into a jump when she felt the hot breath of a young man on her face. She backs away from the leaning face of the arrogant young hero, who lets out a chuckle. "Hope he doesn't break you like his other toys. A beauty like you is wasted on him anyways."

She tries to compose herself the best she can and bring back her neutral mask. "I'd think the king of Faubley would not treat me, the first princess of glorious Melromarc, like a common whore he summons to his room."

"Do you honestly believe you'll be an exception, when the old pig openly lusts over your mother? If so, you are stupider than you look." The smirk on Prince Tact's face is back in full force. While she would contest the 'openly' part, it's clear her (very) distant uncle has some unhealthy obsession towards her mother. "But he's right about one thing. We should get to know each other... more intimately. Like I said, someone as young and beautiful as you are wasted on the pig. My 'father' won't be around forever, and we won't need those ancient dinosaurs when we are the ones in charge."

Did the boy just openly admit to plotting against his newly adopted father in the palace of Faubley capital? Doesn't Faubley's court have their own agent to collect all the whispers like Mother's shadow? It's clearly the boy who is stupider than he looks, despite his sharp, handsome face. She needs to divert the topic, if she doesn't want to be seen as his accomplice in the eyes of her future husband.

"Dino, sauras?" She struggles a little to pronounce the unfamiliar word brought up by the Whip Hero. Judging from the context, maybe it's some kind of exotic monsters that have gone extinct? She never paid too much attention in those kinds of zoology lessons.

"Ah, sorry. A figure of speech I... borrowed from my friend Max, the Hammer Hero." The adopted prince quickly avoided her eyes, his reaction surprised her a little at how he became flustered at seemingly random things. "We met back in the Hero Academy... he's a hero summoned from another world by the Hammer, just like the four Cardinals, you know."

"I see..." The first princess looks down, lamenting at the opportunities she passed over to make meaningful connections for being homeschooled.

Still, the newly adopted prince shows clear signs of interest in her, and she needs to examine it more strategically. A passing fancy, or simple desire to add her into his collection like the newest trinket? If she plays it right... perhaps the young hero may make her future prospects in Faubley more accommodating.

"And what would you suggest we do, oh my dashing hero prince?" The first princess fully regains the composure she's been sorely lacking since arriving on Faubley soil. She presents the adopted prince her hand, ready to let him guide her away.

"I would say you are too good for my pig of an adopted father, princess. A young hero should be more up to your standard." The vigorous boy pulls her towards him, instead of leading her like she wanted. She nearly stumbles on her feet as she falls into the young hero. The smirk on his self-important face is the only thing she sees as he leans closer towards her face.

His lips taste bitter, almost foul. Like a strong mix of different medical herbs.

That's not right... I never shared a kiss with that foolish boy back then. Mother and Uncle came back before he could put his plan to action, and he got an earful of scolding from Uncle. Not it did him any good... judging from the letters he's been gloating and pestering me since.

Sound of distant drums and war cries wakes up the incognito princess with a violent jerk. She tries to take a deep breath to clear her still groggy head. It proves to be a mistake, as liquid went into her lungs instead of her stomach. She starts to cough furiously as she feels someone awkwardly flipping her around, running a tiny hand up and down her back. "You are awake, big sister Mein!"

"Ye, yeah! Wah- why wouldn't I?" Mein manages to get her words out between coughs. She tears her traveling suit jacket open, feeling her chest drenched by some very unpleasant thick liquid. She blinks her eyes, feeling both her vision and her wits slowly returning.

"You, you weren't drinking the antidote! You keep spilling the antidote out and you'll die! I, I had to feed you poison antidote and healing potion with my mouth, like Raki taught me." The child is clearly rambling in her near panic state of mind, but the princess manages to get most of what Raphtalia is saying. She was poisoned, low on her health and she's not ingesting potions that would save her life in the normal way. So Raphtalia took the medicine in her own mouth, and forced it down Mein's throat through... kissing. It seems like that Lute boy Raki wasn't full of filorial dung.

She never even shared a kiss with her Naofumi, or Jaune, or any of the boys who attempted to court (or in the Whip Hero's case, assault) her. And her first kiss was taken by Raphtalia when she wasn't even conscious!

Oh well, small price to pay for the chance to stay alive... and at least the girl didn't give her the tongue. Hopefully she hasn't, or else they need to have a good sit down and talk to explain the intricacies of intimate relationships... after all this mess is over. Whatever the mess she just got into.

"ああああああああああああああああ~!"

That's when she realized the sound she mistook for war drum beats is the sound of her Naofumi's sworn shield rapidly, and repeatedly hitting a half collapsed, rotting wooden wall still standing with his bare fists. For a second, she wonders if the bodyguard is up for some late night exercise to keep himself awake and it gets out of hand. But his furious, ogre-like face and hoarse, almost animalistic screaming makes the princess realize the sworn shield has lost his mind.

"What happened?" She looks around, realizing only Raphtalia and Kyubey are around their bonfire aside from the mad bodyguard.

The princess stands corrected. Firo, their fat gluttonous devil bird is running circles around them while screeching up a storm. It almost looks and sounds like someone put a blindfold around her eyes and caused a severe panic. The three rubbery abominations all huddled by Raphtalia's feet, making sad whimpering noise.

"Those travelers... They were beastmen in disguise. Probably the Siltvelt Ravens we heard in the bard's tales." Kyubey's voice sounds heavier than usual despite his usual lack of emotion.

The princess pauses for a brief second at this revelation. How? How did the beastman manage to fool everyone? Did those savages really dispatched a team of six demon foxes, or six master illusionists to her nation? No, that can't be right. Fox isn't their martial caste, and there's no way anyone in their right mind would risk six master illusionists on a mission without any proper escorts. The price to lose any of them would be too great for the mage branch of even the strongest nations.

Any further question Mein has is put on hold when Kyubey reveals the next part of the news. "...They got Master Shield Hero."

Oh.

That explains why her Naofumi's sworn shield is losing his mind. She's tempted to join him. She leans further back into Kyubey's good arm for support, as she feels her breath caught against her chest once again.

SWEET CHIEF GOD HAVE MERCY ON THEIR SOULS! THEY JUST LOST THE SHIELD HERO TO THOSE SAVAGE FILTHY ANIMALS!

"Get a hold of yourself, foolish boy!" The loud barking from Farkas cut through the night, making the bodyguard stop his violent self flagellation. "Destroying your hands will do your master no good! Save your strength when we go get him back!"

The wall falls into the ground with a loud creak and the body guards stop. His previously controlled breath labored, dark liquid slowly drips down from his still balled up fists. It's hard to tell if the boy listened to Farkas, completely spent his energy, or finally composed himself now he managed to destroy one of the few still standing structures in Flute.

Raphtalia quickly leaves Mein's side. She dips some bandages with healing potion, and starts to wrap them around the usually gentle giant's hands.

"Come see this, guys!" Eclair's voice beckons further away from the dark forest surrounding the deserted village. "Gaston found something!"

Mein does her best to avoid the few dead bodies now adorning around their ruined campsite. All of them have feather covered heads, and raven wings sprout out of their backs. She manages to make it over to Gaston with the help of both Raphtalia and Kyubey.

The something turns out to be a dead woman wearing tight, form fitting red clothes designed to not impede movement.

The corpse of a queen's shadow. More precisely, the shadow that's most likely been tailing her from the start. It's hard to determine the direct cause of death with various knives, darts, and needles imbued in her body and countless laceration wounds, and discolored skin caused by severe blunt force trauma. The death was slow, messy and painful. Not a good way to die, but perhaps a fitting one for someone who lives exclusively in their namesake.

The shadow clearly tried her best to disengage the Ravens, likely to report the grave news back to her mother. But in the end, there's nothing a single shadow can do against multiple Ravens ganging up on her like a swarm of angry balloons.

"A queen's shadow. I heard about them from the senior rangers back in service." Gaston closes the shadow's unseeing eyes as he slowly stands up. Éclair casts a quick glance towards Mein while everyone else focuses on the hunter. "She must have followed those Ravens from the border."

"That must be it, they really were the Siltvelt Ravens." Mein quickly gives the last Seatto a hard glare, making certain that the girl won't spill her secret by accident. "How did they fool all of us!? They looked like regular humans! They aren't demon foxes, and there's no way all of them are master illusionists!"

It would have been a criminal waste of resources, considering at least one, or maybe a few of the dead bodies belonged to the initial six travelers. Then again, the Siltvelt savages aren't exactly known for being rational. The family head of White Tiger kidnapping the Faubley princess was one of the instances of utter stupidity that would have caused Mein to pull all her hair out... if she was on Siltvelt's side.

"No, not illusion Wizardry. It was Animancy - soul and spirit magic." Mein whips her head around to look at Farkas. The werewolf has his teeth bared on the dead corpse. "Arch-Heretic Brimir's magic is considered a perversion of the spirits by the children of Malis. We have our own branch of magic, you furless barbarians know it as Sorcery."

"What's the difference? Magic is magic." Gaston slowly backs away from the dead shadow.

"Everything is different! I may not be a sorcerer, but I still grew up on the teachings of Gaia!" Farkas looks like he's about to pounce on Gaston this time. Éclair steps between them in a valiant, but likely vain effort to stop the possible ensuing violence. "Profaned Wizardry created by the Arch-Heretic draws on the power of perverted Endless Ether to bend and debase reality to one's unnatural will! Animancy draws on Gaia and their children to lend their power and aid us in an act of reverence for all lives!"

"Please use words we can understand." Kyubey's tastelessly bland voice manages to make the werewolf take a step back... and takes a deep breath.

"Animancy is the magic of conducting holy communion with nature's spirits. And that's how they changed their appearance." The werewolf gives an annoyed huff in the end. "At least one of the ravens must have contracted with a powerful water spirit. They cast a constantly changing glamour on all of them to fool us. That's probably why they were quick to withdraw, this kind of glamour can't be maintained for long even for a high spirit."

A dynamic, constantly changing glamour! That's a brilliant way to perfectly disguise oneself, considering a static illusion would usually have flaws that can be observed from certain angles, or lighting conditions. Yet, it's also equally unfeasible using Wizardry branch of magic to create a dynamic glamour like Farkas described: it's impossible for a wizard to achieve the focus for the constant modification one need to actively maintain while pretending to act like a normal person, especially hard to achieve with silent and catalyst-less casting which is what you need to do to avoid detection in the first place.

All the pentagon magical institutes in Melromarc would insist studying of sorcery used by the beast is at best, a severe disgrace aimed at The Founder, if not an outright treason to one's nation. Yet clearly, their branch of magic has its strength and is at least worth the study, if not the actual use.

But that's an issue for the future, because THEY STILL LOST HER NAOFUMI TO THE SAVAGE BEASTMAN, OH CHIEF GOD'S MERCY! THEY HAVE TO SAVE HIM! BUT WHAT SHOULD THEY DO NOW WITHOUT HIM!?

"Forget about how they played us for fools, we have to get my thane back! Who knows what they'll do to him!" The Sworn Shield's shaken voice sounds more like a beastly howl into the night than Farkas.

"Sir Yatsuhashi is right! We have to get Sir Shield Hero back from those Ravens! Oh, Chief God! What if they kidnap him to Siltvelt!? They might be halfway through the Pass and going into Griffin's Back by now! We have to go after them immediately! But what if they go west, or east and then North-" Éclair's panic induced screech brings everyone back to the present, and realizes the severity of the situation.

"CALM YOURSELVES! You call yourselves a housecarl and a knight!?" The werewolf's barking promptly shuts the dishonored knight up. Farkas turns around to glare at Gaston. "You, hunter! You used to serve in the Ranger's Corps?"

"Five years." The Lute hunter gives a short answer to the wolf man, not trying to start a verbal spat with Farkas again.

"Chase down the Ravens' trail now. The Shield Hero was in heavy armor when he's abducted, and he'll slow the Ravens down and leave trails no matter how high their levels are. Leave marks for us to follow you." The usually lone wolf starts to bark out a series of orders, once again showing evidence of not being a mere brute despite his bad attitude.

"Leave it to Gaston!" The hunter flips on top of his midnight black filorial. He's about to gallop away when Gaston suddenly stops. "Are any of you able to follow a ranger's mark?"

"I'm trained in what, and where to look for them." Éclair manages to regain her composure, the knight reassures the former ranger.

"Good, I'll see you guys on the other side. Giddy-up!" Gaston quickly disappears into the night, leaving the rest of them behind to organize and prepare for the expedition to retrieve their lost Shield Hero.

"Saddle two day's worth of spare ration and water from our cart onto the damn bird. We'll make do with the rest through foraging, if it comes to that." Farkas barks another order to Kyubey, the former shopkeeper dutifully leaves to make preparations with the none thane-less Housecarl. He turns to look at Mein and Raphtalia next. "We'll have to leave our cart behind. The two of you ride our only bird, everyone else will follow on foot. Don't get too comfortable, we'll have to fight if there are ambushes."

A month ago, the princess would be affronted at taking orders from a beastman born in Siltvelt. She only wants to get her Naofumi back now, and Farkas seems to be doing a fine job at organizing and leading them thus far.

Farkas gives a side glare towards her direction. "If you have something to say, say it."

"Where did you learn all this?" The princess only realizes he's talking to Raphtalia, when the girl speaks out. She's clearly as curious about the werewolf's hidden skill at leading them. As much as their small size, this kind of planning isn't something a rabble who only knows how to swing a sword would know.

The werewolf stares down at Raphtalia instead of answering her. The raccoon girl is about to coil into herself when he speaks up. "I was trained together with my twin brother Wilkas, to be one of the future captains for the Five Hundred."

Wasn't that the name for Siltvelt's most elite honor guards named after the original Five Hundred Companions of the First Shield Hero? The group that in principle only follows the command of the Shield Hero, or defends Siltvelt against an invasion?

Thankfully, their expedition to rescue the Shield Hero wasn't too exciting, all things considered as they follow Gaston's mark west. There was no large-scale, organized ambush or resistance on the way, aside from whatever small group of brigands, highwaymen, or scouts they encountered. By the nightfall of the next day, they catch up to Gaston. The light of the moon and stars illuminate the outline of a keep in the distance. Some of the castle's walls have collapsed into rubble, but most of the main structure is still intact. Probably thanks to it being brought down from within by traitorous slaves.

"Is that the old keep of-" Éclair's trembling voice has a tint of disbelief.

"I never saw them before the Great War, but yes. I'd say it's the ruined keep of House Rabier taken by the Bitch Lord. The only one castle around here anyways." Gaston spats at the ground. "There are stories about her connection with Siltvelt. Guess it's more than baseless gossips and hearsay."

"That's why there was a convenient large-scale raid by War Chief Grom when your father was asked to contain the Bitch Lord. The Bitch Lord was in cahoots with those Siltvelt - " Mein is about to say some choice words when she remembers who is leading them now. She wisely decides to stay quiet.

"So we failed after all..." Éclair falls to her knees at the now connected dots. "My family was supposed to be the protector of Silver Pass... but Father failed to realize our enemy had a base right under our eyes for twenty years. We failed to defend our lords and people against the enemies, and now they even took away one of the summoned heroes..."

"It's not just Lord Seatto's fault. The crown is equally to blame." Mein quickly takes a few steps forward, kneels down beside the distraught last Seatto and places her hands on Éclair's shoulders. "The king commands our spy network, and the queen has her personal agents. Yet both of them were none the wiser. You can't only blame your father, and yourself over it."

"This is where my thane is being kept against his will." Yatsuhashi unhooks Fulcrum from his back as the fingers of his free hand digs into the bark of a tree, the ogre inside of him seems to slowly come out again as his face becomes slowly twisted by rage.

"Hold it, for now!" A quick command from Farkas stops the young bodyguard in his tracks, the werewolf quietly steps over and begins questioning Gaston for anything he has scouted so far. "How are the patrols?"

"Frankly? It's bad, atrocious." Gaston spits on the ground again, the eye patch over his face makes him look offended on the bandits' part. "The torches and braziers are alight. But there are barely two men on each wall. Sometimes there's no one, the sentry probably went away drinking, pissing, or Chief God knows what happens with them."

The werewolf takes a pause at what Gaston reported. "Has anyone left since you arrived?"

"Saw something like six figures left north at dusk through the gate, pretty sure Shield Boy wasn't with them." Gaston turns around to look at the distant Rabier Keep again, his hand scratching his chin. "None of the figures had his bulk, dragging someone with them, or had large enough luggage to carry a grown person."

"Lord Arryn turned the Raven order into a policing force after The Great War. Unless something happened to him and they are under new leadership, the keep's defense should be one of the first things they would take over." Farkas lets out a sound that sounds like some combination between a snort and a scoff.

The first princess realizes Farkas must be speaking of Jon Arryn, holder of the Bloodroar Shield. While the four Raven Lords who collectively oversee the Raven Order tend to historically be elusive creatures, Jon Arryn had been one of the more worldly Raven Lords. If news and rumors from Siltvelt are true, he actively participates in the enforcement of laws between different clans, and uses the Ravens under his command to great result at settling disputes.

"Maybe there's not enough Ravens? You guys already killed some last night, and six left on something according to Gaston." The princess helps Éclair stand up, proposing her thoughts at the same time. "There can't be that many slipping through in the first place. I'm sure the king's spies and the queen's shadows aren't THAT incompetent."

"Possibly, what do you think they left for?" The werewolf nods his head at Mein's thought, clearly listening. He tosses out a question at the end.

How would she know what those animals are up to? Does the wolf man think she's some kind of shadow in disguise? It's not like she met any actual Ravens before, unless she counts the two lowly spies pretending to be...

Wait, those two were trying to smuggle her Naofumi back to Siltvelt when they first introduced themselves. Granted, their plan was ridiculously stupid, but the goal of the real Ravens should be very similar. "Must be making some preparations to smuggle the Shield Hero out of the border. Before we went to... retrieve all of you, we met a couple Siltvelt spies pretending to be Ravens. They wanted to take the Shield Hero out of the country on the King's Road. Siltvelt must be desperate to get their hands on the Shield Hero."

"Possible." Farkas nods his head along as he moves closer to the edge of the forested hill they currently lie. He looks over at the distant keep again before looking back at everyone. "Someone has to sneak in, see where, and if the Shield Hero is still inside. We are wasting time if he's already taken. But if he's still there, we need to know where he's being kept to devise a rescue plan. If we storm the keep blindly, they'll put a sword to his neck and force us to heel."

That's... actually pretty reasonable. Except none of them are trained to be an infiltrator. As much as her Naofumi currently have a 'party' over six strong, none of them is a rogue let alone a spy. The princess once again laments over how the shadow is only loyal to the reigning queen. That dead shadow would have accomplished so much more with her life (not to mention still being alive), if she's part of their party.

"I'll go." The timid, childish yet determined voice of Raphtalia makes the princess turn on her heel to look at the child. The tiny raccoon girl is visibly biting her lips, yet her eyes show resolution instead of fear.

No! Raphtalia didn't just volunteer to go into a keep full of bloodthirsty and cutthroat bandits led by a ruthless bandit lord who sacked Lord Reichnott. And possibly still have Ravens from Siltvelt crawling somewhere in the dark.

"NO! You can't go in there! It's too dangerous for a child like you!" Mein takes a step forward and snatches Raphtalia around by her shoulders. "It should be one of us adults! Back me up here, Éclair. And Kyubey, you've been taking care of Raphtalia!"

The rabbit demi-human is unusually quiet at Mein's request. The Seatto knight looks around, almost like she's unsure of what she wants to do today. "Yeah. You are still a child, you shouldn't risk your life when us adults are around."

Raphtalia's eyes move through everyone else. "Farkas, Gaston and Yatsuhashi are all too big... Farkas can't use his arms, and Gaston can't see from one side. Kyubey can't use one of his arms. Éclair isn't used to sneak around, and big sister Mein... you have your heart problem."

"Miss Raphtalia isn't wrong about me..." Éclair looks over to Mein, shame clearly on her face for letting down both the princess, and the child she's supposed to protect.

"I have the best chance. I'm small, harder to spot than someone like Farkas, or Gaston. My race is supposed to be natural thieves, and short distance runners. And I had the most experience hiding in this party." Raphtalia's voice almost sounded resentful at the end. "That's all I've been doing anyway. Plus, I'm a demi-human. It'll be worse if you or Éclair are captured."

"You think you being a demi-human matters to them?! They are savages, animals! They don't care about demi-humans, and they even kill their own kind!" The princess waves her arm wildly at the branches hiding them from the prying eyes on the wall.

She is rather grateful that there's not enough Ravens infiltrated Melromarc soil, and are currently inside Rabier Keep. All their shouting would have surely attracted their attention by now.

"Back in The Great War, the Siltvelt invasion army freed demi-human slaves wherever they went when they marched onto Melromarc soil. You know what they did to those freed slaves afterwards? Those animals give the freed demi-human slaves each a buckler and some rusty iron sword... and have them fill the moat of Melromarc capital with their bodies! They marched the 'freed' slaves to die at the wall, so their own troops don't have to!"

Farkas looks down at the accusation from the princess. If she didn't know better, she'd think he's actually ashamed of his own people. "Most likely true. The ones the furless call demi-humans... they are mixed blood between a child of Malis, and a human. They are considered weak, and impure unless fathered by the Shield Hero. Not a true child of Malis at best, abominations and freaks at worst by our society."

"Did you hear him?! They'll kill you just like they'll kill me, or Éclair and Gaston!" The princess can feel her breath catching up to her now, and she can barely get more words out. "Hate me if you want, but I won't... let... you... go-"

Gasp for breath replaces words coming out of her mouth as she's forced to let go of Raphtalia's shoulders to run her hands over her tightening chest. Mein doesn't get to say fully what's on her mind, she isn't sure that she wants to say them out loud in the end. It's completely inappropriate for her, the first princess of Melromarc, to say it to a former demi-human slave. But Raphtalia has become more than simply a raccoon child they picked up from some slum-dwelling skin merchant, hasn't she?

Because it was Raphtalia who believed her worthy enough to be a hero, when her own mother only saw her as a political bargaining chip. That's why she would rather brave the danger herself. A disgusting showing of gross sentimentalism, especially for someone who is still committed to play The Game. But she doesn't want to disappoint one of the few people who still believes in her.

"I've been doing nothing for too long. I did nothing when Father and Mother pushed me down the cliff to save my life. I did nothing to save my friends Rifana and Keel when we were captured. And I have been doing nothing since Master Naofumi and you saved me..." Raphtalia's voice sounds as distant as when they first met her back in Beloukas' hidden warehouse.

Is that what the girl is convinced of when she hasn't done anything wrong? That she's a burden on everyone? If her Naofumi is here, the Shield Hero would no doubt tell the girl that's what a kid her age should do. Being protected by adults.

No, forget about that, there's plenty of times where Raphtalia did something brave in a fight that saved her life. Her voice is still rough, and her breath is still hard, but Mein finally managed to recover enough to speak again. "You haven't been doing nothing, Raphtalia. You saved my life in the Wave when you jumped down from the village hall and knocked away a goblin. You saved everyone when you threw that hair potion at Porter. You saved my life again when you pushed me out of the way outside Balafon."

Raphtalia takes a pause, somehow looking surprised at Mein's recount of her achievement so far. "But I don't help anything in the fight! I'm still not good enough with my aim to fight with my sling yet, and all I do is throw a potion or two, or help deliver potions."

The demi-human girl holds her arm up and points at the distant Rabier Keep. "This, THIS is what I can do best in our group! You have to let me go!"

"As much as I don't want to risk her life, Raphtalia is right. Out of us all, she has the best chances." Kyubey's emotionless voice cut through the group again. "One of us can go in her stead. But if we are discovered... The Bitch Lord will know we are coming to rescue the Shield Hero. We won't have any chance afterwards. The life of the Shield Hero is more important than any of us."

Not helping here, you damn bunny! Haven't you heard of 'if you have nothing helpful to say, don't say anything'!?

Raphtalia's eyes wander all over, before they become focused again as she looks serious for a second. Her youthful face almost looks like that of an adult for a second. "I, I can also do this."

The girl hooks her hands together with some exotic looking finger gesture, and suddenly a cloud of smoke pops all around her, making the princess in disguise jump back in surprise. When the cloud clears, the demi-human girl is no longer in front of them. Instead, a small, fluffy looking raccoon looks up at everyone with their innocent eyes and makes a squeaky noise. "...hmm?"

"Wow, tell me I'm not the only one seeing it!" Gaston looks over at everyone else equally and has their jaws dropped like himself. "Is it the kid?"

"I heard tales about some demi-humans able to change back to their full..." Éclair looks over at Farkas, clearly pounding if her next words would be taken as an offense. "... animal form."

"Not normally, no. At least, shouldn't be possible for half-breeds, unless they are from powerful bloodlines." Farkas on the other hand is clearly not bothered about using derogatory names. "I know the four holy beast families can all change into their guardian beast form if they are strong enough. Didn't hear any raccoon turning into a real raccoon."

For the brief second, the first princess wonders if Raphtalia has some small amount of Q'ten Lo royal blood in her lineage. She is from Port Harp, the trade city built up by the hermit island nation's refugees after all. It's not impossible that one of her family was distantly related to their former nation's royal house.

She's also a party member of the Shield Hero for almost as long as he was summoned to Medea. If the rumor about the holy hero bringing out the full potential of all their companions being true, it's not impossible for whatever few drops of her Q'ten Lo royal blood to unlock, and develop into a full bloodline ability like shapeshifting.

"This pretty much determines it. Raphtalia has significantly more chances than us to sneak in and find Master Shield Hero." Kyubey's emotionless voice feels like a dagger into the chest of the princess. Who knows true words can hurt her this much, when it's not even spoken with malice. "The life of the Shield Hero is more valuable than any of us."

"My life for the Shield." Farkas' voice has his usual tone of derision back, yet the werewolf doesn't say anything to impede the girl.

"I'm sorry, I failed you all again. If I never got any of you involved with this quest of mine..." Éclair looks away, the knight is clearly ashamed at having to let a child put herself in danger.

"You are more brave than me, back when I was ten." Gaston walks forward and squads down, looking into the eyes of the little raccoon. "Don't be a hero if things turn south. Run back to us, we'll figure something out."

"You shouldn't risk yourself. It should have been my duty... but you are the only one who can do it." Yatsuhashi also bends down, he runs a finger through Raphtalia's fur. "Find my Thane the Shield Hero. I'll do the rest."

Is everyone else already accepting Raphtalia's volunteering as a fact? From a purely strategic perspective, the princess can even agree with them. With the revelation of Raphtalia's newly shown transformation ability, she has the best chance to slip in, and then get out unseen. But nearly everyone here was still oblivious to something about the girl she knows better. Everyone except Kyubey! The traitorous bunny!

"NO! Every single one of you are wrong!" The princess screeches at the ones in front of her as she wildly stabs her finger at them.

She takes a moment to catch a breath before continuing, and Éclair takes the chance to move over and covers her mouth. "Please be quiet, my- Mein. The bandits might hear you."

"Don't 'be quiet' me, you... young lady! You weren't there when we first met Raphtalia in the slum! You weren't there when I talked with her about her past in the bowl of Lute's abandoned mineshaft!" Mein flails around, managing to knock Éclair's hand away from her face. "Her best friend died in Viscount Consevatie's dungeon! She had nightmares about them! STILL have them! And now we are sending her back into another dungeon to look for the Shield Hero! How do you think she'd react!?"

"...Oh." Comes the eloquent reply of the last Seatto.

With another light pop of smoke, the raccoon changes back into Raphtalia again. The girl moves forward, gently wraps her arms around Mein's waist as she leans into her stomach. Her voice is low, yet there's an unshakable resolve in them that is harder than any steel. "You saved me with Master Shield Hero, big sister Mein. The two of you... are like my mother and father. Please, let me do something to repay you back. Let me go, you have to let me go."

Any fight Mein has left disappears at Raphtalia's gentle words. She may not have her growth bonus yet, and she may still have a panic attack once in a while. But Raphtalia has grown up, while the first princess of Melromarc is plotting for The Game and not looking at her child. She slowly descends down to her knees, so she can give Raphtalia a hug at eye level. "Come back to me safe."

"I will. I can do this." Raphtalia tightens her arms around Mein's shoulder for one last time before she lets go. She makes her hand gesture to turn into a raccoon, gives everyone one last look before disappearing into the tall grass down the hill towards the Rabier Keep that's been taken over by a bandit on Siltvelt's payroll under the moonlight and stars.

End Note:

Well, that escalated quickly.

Memes aside, Naofumi being kidnapped, and his party need to rescue him, AND Raphtalia gets her spotlight not as a fighter, but as an infiltrator is something I started planning shortly after the Chimera fight. I think it helps distinguish her from the rest of the party.

Plus canon definitely was trying to draw link or at least inspiration between Raphatalia with Gyoubu Danuki from Japanese folklore, which to my best (reading limited) knowledge is a trickster demon. I think it just fits better for her being a small, but sharp trickster/infiltrator than a flat out power house.

And yeah, the Bitch Lord is essentially my story's stand-in for Idol Rabier's arc. I have to admit, I didn't plan to have her connected with Idol Rabier when I first had Gaston mention her in the post-wave celebration scene. She was just supposed to be some regular bandit leader that cause mischief for traders and lords. But then I decided to salvage what I can force myself to give a fuck about the whole Idol Rabier dumpster fire from canon, and made a completely interconnected backstory between the two of them... which basically means I'm turning the canon on its head for my story again.

I suppose time (and reader feedback) will tell if I delivered something good for my take when the curtain rolls for this arc.

To LaBahia:

Can't speak for Commissar Gaunt since obviously I'm not them. But I'm pretty sure he suggested the 'noble dark' ending purely from what's reasonably feasible perspective, and not from a moral perspective. Since if you think about it, I already setup this world as a place where practice of slavery has been normalized from a few millennia of use, not to mention some failed abolish movements already (some of them directly headed by summoned heroes). I think its history is definitely enough for the elite class to justify its continued usage and resist change unless something very drastic happen down the line. Don't want to give away too much, since obviously I'm still a VERY long way from the final Wave, and nothing concrete has been planned yet.

I'm not well versed enough in world history to make definitive comment about bottom up revolution... aside from I think most people's opinion on it is too overly romanticized. But if I get to actually go through what I planned for my story, such topic will definitely be touched upon. One thing that draw my initial attention to RotSH in the first place was a supposed realistic, deconstruction take on Isekai genre and how realistic consequence might come to someone who has no idea what they are doing and are just wielding overwhelming power like a three years old wielding a sledgehammer. Sadly, it's something the author clearly had no interest in actually exploring, considering the disgusting level of emotional validation their imaginary dream pet husbando get post Three Heroes Church arc.

Once again, not a cultural lore buff so I'm probably putting my feet in my mouth again. But from my personal experience, I think most time when internet accuse of someone for being 'woke', they generally means something you described here. As in someone elevating themselves to a virtuous position without having those virtue to begin with. My personal opinion on this matter has always been virtue is something to be aspired to live up to, but not something anyone can achieve all the time. That's what make them virtues to begin with.