Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
Mein lets out a startled gasp, she feels her shoulder being grabbed by someone. For a brief moment, she thought the person was Naofumi. But the Gallian accent quickly changed her mind before she heard the whole question. "What's wrong, Miss Sophia? Did they get into an argument?"
"May- maybe? The Three Heroes' Church emissary. She- she stabbed Father Gordon." The princess turned fugitive has to blink a couple of times to make sure she didn't imagine the whole thing. Yes, she knew Iris' distant cousin is a bit of a bitch (In a more sophisticated way, Iris can be one too when she decides to make a stand and fight for something), but she didn't expect someone related to Iris can be such an idiot. Attacking the Shield Hero and his companions is one thing, attacking a fellow priestess of her own order is another, but trying to murder a head priest of Four Heroes' Church in his own chapel? Madness, and stupidity.
"WHA-!" Oersted reacted about as well as one can expect, but his scream was quickly cut short. Thankfully, someone was calm enough to muffle him.
Father Gordon didn't fall down despite having a dagger in his stomach. He actually takes a step forward, and punches Amelia with a right hook hard enough to send her flying back into two of her escorts. The other two templars step forward, clearly trying to take the wounded priest down, but they don't fare better with a one-two punch from the head priest of Graile. Gordon turns around, and staggers his way over to them as he opens the door.
Mein stumbles back into the bodies of her Gallian guards. The hilt sticking out of Gordon's body looks much more horrifying with how close he is to them. "Members from Three Heroes' Church have lost their minds. Take them and go, Brother Demetrius!"
Chapter 89: Riot at Graile
The fugitive princess of Melromarc can hear both the sound of armored feet clanking against the stone floor, and Amelia's banshee-like screech from the main hall. "What are you looking at, you useless imbeciles!? Don't you see that the Four Heroes' Church is colluding with animals and cultists?! Kill all these heretics! Burn them all to the ground!"
"Come with us, Father Gordon!" The young acolyte extends his arm towards Father Gordon, but the older priest slaps his hand away.
"There's no time, go!" As Gordon turns around, a group of fully armored, and armed templars fill the space behind him. A pair of almost solid looking golden miracle gauntlets covers over his hand and forearm, as he holds both arms in front of his chest and face in a guard. "I'm your opponent!"
"This way, Master Uranus." The acolyte Demetrius quickly leads them down the side room, leaving behind the sound of fighting and pained screaming behind them. They turn a few corners, and Demetrius charges through a wooden side door with his shoulder, leading them into the garden of the chapel. More noise of riot can be heard beyond the chapel wall, sound of things breaking, weapon clanking, and screams of both pain and fear.
Instead of trying to run towards the front where the Three Heroes' Church men no doubt are guarding, Demetrius leads them further to the back and pushes aside some bushes. He reveals a hole in the chapel's outer wall, likely opened up by some stray animals. All of them take turns to crawl through. Thankfully, there are no members of the Three Heroes' Church waiting outside the hole, waiting to chop their heads off as they escape. But what they found wasn't much better.
Outside the wall is what seems to be the slum, or at least the poor district of Graile with mostly small, dilapidated wooden shacks. People in rags, human and demi-human alike are running around like scared filorial chicks from armed men, both in church armor, and the armor of Gallian style. The young ones who are grabbed are brought back to people in robes, where they scream as slave's seal are forced upon them.
She stands corrected when she thought Sister Amelia's action inside the Four Heroes' Church chapel was madness. No, THIS is pure madness. The power of the church in Melromarc is strong, especially during times of crisis when strong faith is needed to cast a longer shadow than the villages, towns, and cities the people of Melromarc live in. But the nobility who controls the land and the people often pushes back against the influence of the church, fearing the clergy for overstepping their boundaries and stealing the power of landowning nobility.
For the guards and soldiers of Graile to work together with the Three Heroes' Church, turning the very people of the city into slaves controlled by the Three Heroes' Church? The world truly have gone mad, for whoever governs Graile to make such a decision.
"Are they forcing people into slavery?! They can't do that!" Oersted stomps his feet on the ground, he pulls his sword out of its sheath. "We are supposed to protect our people, not force them against their will!"
"You are welcome to correct their behaviors." Streibough snorts at the young knight.
"Not now, Oersted, Streibough!" Uranus reprimands the two younger Gallians as he takes a step forward. Wielding his wooden staff, he hits two Gallian soldiers catching the poor people on the head, knocking both down. "We'll help whoever is on our path to safety, the rest… we can't save everyone. We have to protect Miss Sophia first!"
"Right!" Oersted looks back at Mein, as he squeezes the hilt of his sword tight. Despite his determination, there is still panic in his eyes. The young knight is clearly lost at what to do, now that the very people who are supposed to act as the protectors of the common people have turned their prosecutors. "What are we going to do? There are rebels and traitors everywhere!"
"Follow me! I don't know what's taken over the mind of our Three Heroes' worshiping brothers and sisters. Or the fighters of Graile. But the people of Graile won't just sit around, waiting to be turned slaves." Brother Demetrius leads them down into a narrow back alley street. "They'll turn into a mob, trying to escape out of the gates. We'll see if we can get out hiding among them."
Their group, guided by acolyte Demetrius, begin to weave their way through the waves of people. Fighting their way towards the gate of Graile, trying to escape the ensuing lunacy happening all around them.
"[Force]." Naofumi sends out a concussion blast over, knocking a Graile soldier away from the pair of demi-human teens he's dragging away. The young man, and woman quickly scramble up to their feet, and Mein realizes they were the two who were selling those stewed noodles by the main road.
"Come on, Siesta!" Mein grabs Naofumi's wrist and pulls him behind her. The situation around them may not be life and death like their escape from the Three Heroes' Church after Third Wave, but it's still dire. With the people who are tasked to keep the order starting a riot in Graile, it's pretty much everyone for themselves if they don't want to end up as a slave of the Three Heroes' Church. Even with their Gallian escort, there's no way for them to outlast an entire army tasked to hold down a fortress city.
It's mostly thanks to Brother Demetrius' familiarity with the back alley streets of Graile's poor district that they haven't been grabbed by the larger force of the manhunters yet. The young Graile chapel acolyte managed to lead them away from the larger forces of the slave catchers, and only encounter a few stragglers here and there. Unfortunately, soon their luck is about to run out.
"NO! We are too late!" Demetrius rounds another corner as he looks out at the main street. Sadly, the door to the wall gate has already been shut, with both local soldiers and men of the Three Heroes' Church patrolling around the closed wooden gate. Many young men and women are already forced onto their knees, a newly tattoo'ed slavery seal no doubt over their chest, with more being forced to join them. Their plan to escape the city with a mob of runners is a failure before it's put to the test. "Turn back, we'll have to hide in the slums for now."
"We can't hide from these bastards forever! And we can't just stand around, letting them harm innocent people! I took an oath to protect the innocent when I was knighted!" Oersted waves his sword. His mind is clearly confused, judging from how he's scraping the edge of his blade needlessly, and mindlessly across the wall of the houses beside him.
"We can't fight an army head on either. Unless you want to fulfill your oath by dying. In which case go ahead." Streibough snorts at the idealistic knight. His face looks annoyed, but Mein gets a sense that he's actually enjoying the situation because of how upset it's making Sir Oersted. His eye turns over to the young acolyte. "But I hope you have a better plan than simply hiding from these soldiers and clerics turned slave hunters as long as possible, before we'll eventually get cornered and captured."
"I know, sir knight. Believe me, it pains me to see the innocent caught in this mess started by my brothers and sisters of the Three Heroes' Church. But we can't help them if we get killed ourselves." Demetrius pulls Oersted back into the back alley with all his might. The hair and robe of the acolyte is visibly drenched with sweat from all the running, and forcing Oersted back to safety. He turns to look at Streibough next. "Admittedly, I don't have a plan to get us to safety now they have taken the gate. But there's bound to be some cellars we can hide in, and hopefully they'll let their guard down after a day or two."
"Great, our best hope right now is for our enemies to act like idiots and leave an opening for us to exploit." Streibough's eyes turn sharper on Demetrius as he crosses his arms, clearly unimpressed by the acolyte's response.
"We are not out of danger yet. Our best course of action is to listen to a local's suggestion like Brother Demetrius. Unless any of you have a better idea on how to get to safety yourself." Uranus didn't specifically reprimand Streibough for his arrogant attitude, but he still made his stance clear on where the little shit can take it.
"Can you do that flying, or jumping magic thing you did back then?" Naofumi leans closer to Mein's ear and whispers to her, clearly referring to her [Ikarus Flight] spell.
The fugitive princess looks up at the wall, seeing the guards with their arrows knocked on their bows staring down at the city street below them. They may not be shooting their own people dead yet, but it's clear they won't hesitate to release their arrows if they start seeing the people of Graile try to fight back. "Look at all the guards and soldiers with their bows and arrows ready on the wall. It'll be too risky."
The Shield Hero looks up like she suggested, he nods back to her.
They start running again, this time with a decidedly less well thought out destination. It feels like Demetrius is mostly leading them away from the largest sound of rioting. As they turn another corner, they are faced with a full squad of soldiers across from them. The eyes of these Graile protectors turned manhunters practically twinkle. "Get them!"
"Come and get me, you traitorous dogs!" Oersted takes a step forward, standing in front of everyone with his sword pointed at the slave catchers. But before he has a chance to take a swing at the traitors, a large pot as tall as a grown man suddenly falls down on the Graile soldiers, knocking all of them out. Mein looks up, and sees no other than the raccoon boy and dog girl manning the noodle stand on top of the shack.
"Yeah, take that! You big meanies!" The dog girl shakes her fist at the downed guards. Unfortunately, the sound of a large pot breaking over a bunch of people wearing armor was apparently loud enough to attract attention as a second group of guards and Three Heroes' Church knights quickly came around the corner. The dog girl jumps back down from the shack with her male companion and waves at Mein's group. "EEK! This way! Follow us!"
"Come on! We can take these traitorous scum!" Oersted, being a young and idealistic knight, looks ready to stand his ground. He's clearly had enough of the soldiers and clergy who were sworn to protect the innocent harming them instead. But he's quickly dragged away by the much more experienced Uranus.
"We can't risk attracting more guards to us!"
"Get these rebels!" The manhunters, apparently having no self-awareness of their own treachery, follow right after them. Once again, they begin to weave through the winding street of Graile's back alley, dodging and pushing aside the many crates, baskets and pots on the side in an effort to slow down their pursuers.
"Where are we going!? They already closed the gates!" Mein throws a quick glance over at the pair of teenage demi-humans.
"We are going to Nagumo-Sensei's dojo! He'll take care of them." The dog girl speaks with a strong Q'ten Lo accent, further solidifying Mein's assumption of them being refugees from Port Harp. Although before they apparently reached their destination, their pursuers suddenly let out a few pained screams followed by the sound of bodies dropping on the ground. Mein nearly slams into Demetrius running ahead of her when they stop to look back.
Behind them, standing atop the crumbled bodies of the Graile guards and Three Heroes' clerics chasing after them are a pair of demi-human boys. One raccoon and one dog, wearing short sleeved tunics showing their arms with much more pronounced muscles. They are taller than the raccoon boy who was leading them away, but doesn't look much, if any older. The raccoon boy has scruff black hair, while the dog boy's light brown hair is well smoothed out.
"Biggo! Big brother Ken!" The dog girl clearly recognizes them both, as she runs towards them and throws herself into the dog boy's arms.
"Minami." The dog boy runs his hand through the hair of his little sister, while he squints his eyes and looks at Mein's group with barely concealed suspicion. Understandable, considering the crazy situation they found themselves in.
"They are okay, big brother Ken. They saved us, from those mean guardsmen." Minami pulls at Ken's clothes, trying to reassure him.
"What happened here while we were away, Saya? We almost couldn't get in the city with the guards going crazy and rounding up the poor people." Biggo, the taller raccoon boy pats his hands while walking closer to the shorter boy across from them. "Ken had to help me scale the walls where they didn't have enough sentries."
"I don't know. It didn't feel any different than any other day, then all of sudden the soldiers and guards went crazy. They started going around, catching anyone living in the poor district." Saya looks between ragged breaths, seemingly still jumpy with the distant sound of rioting. "I think I heard some of those church people chanting about serving the Chief God, while they start tattooing people with slave seals."
"Crazy fanatics…" Ken throws another glare over at Demetrius as he looks back at Minami. His frown suddenly grows deeper. "Where is your pendant, Minami? Did you forget it at home?"
"No… One of the guards eating at our stall took it. I think he's a captain with his plumed helmet. I don't think he even paid us for the ramen… that asshole…" Minami looks away, as she mumbles curses at the rude Gallian captain.
"WHAT?! That's serious, Minami. You know that-" Ken suddenly loses his voice as he looks over at Mein's group, clearly doesn't want them to overhear what he has to say. He releases Minami and takes a step back. "That pendant has been in our family for a long time. Biggo, take Minami and Saya to Nagumo-Sensei's dojo. I'm going out there, see what more information I'll find. I want to know why Graile went crazy, and I want to know which fatherless bastard stole Minami's pendant."
"Will you be alright, big brother Ken? There are a lot of big, mean people on the street!" The dog girl Minami takes a step forward, trying to grab Ken's hand but misses. "Come with us to Nagumo Sensei's dojo. We'll think of something together later."
"Don't worry, Minami. I'll stay in the shadows." As if trying to prove his point. Ken takes two long clothes inside his pocket. He wraps one around his hair and another around his lower face to hide most of his features. His body seems to flicker for a brief moment, and then he's gone from where he was standing before.
That… that was the [body flicker] technique, something Mother's shadows love to use to spook and intimidate people. A movement ability that can move across a distance almost instantly. Although the distance it covers varies, what sets apart a master from a novice is how much time it takes to charge it up. For it to be used almost instantly like this boy did, at least his [body flicker] technique is on par with Mother's elite lone shadows.
"Come on, we aren't safe yet. We'll go hide with Nagumo-Sensei." Biggo grabs Minami's hand, and turns around to face Mein's group. "Come on, but don't try anything funny. Oji-San doesn't look like it, but he's strong. He'll knock you all down."
Is there something that got lost in translation here?
Mein can't help but notice how this Biggo guy is the only one who didn't address Nagumo Sensei formally as she fights back a snigger at Biggo's strange way of speaking. She wonders what's the relationship between the two of them. Maybe they are related? Wasn't 'Oji-San' a casual way for Q'ten Lo people to call their grandfather?
"Nagumo? I think I heard that name before… huh, can't remember where." Not far from her, Sir Oersted's eyes flash with the light between confusion and realization.
"We are going to meet him anyway, you'll see it soon enough." Streibough rolls his eyes, gives Oersted's shoulder a bump as he follows after the demi-humans.
"Do you know who this Nagumo is, Streibough? Come on~ don't ignore me!" The blonde knight whines at his wizard… friend? Enemy? Frenemy? But the disciple of Lady Sheffield is steadfast in his effort to not respond back to Oersted.
"Isn't Sir Oersted acting a bit different from Mister Streibough, Master Uranus?" While the young knight can be a bit… exuberant, he's usually very formal and polite. It's strange for him to act this child like, almost reminding Mein of the Spear Hero.
"Ah, these two have known each other from the start, since Oersted was still only a squire under Sir Dillon, and Streibough was hand picked by Lady Sheffield as her personal apprentice for his triple affinity of fire, water, and air. I guess you can say Oersted feels most easy going, when he's around his friend." Uranus gives Mein a nod, as he smiles at the two younger Gallians.
"Yeah, I still remember how he's still called 'straw boy' back then, because his family gathered straws for a living." Oersted looks back at Mein and smiled.
"SHUT UP, Oersted!" Streibough turns around to glare back at his 'friend'. It's rather clear he doesn't share the same affection Sir Oersted has for him. "Nobody will mistake you for a mute, if you keep quiet!"
Their journey becomes less hectic without anyone chasing after them. Not long after, they arrive at a collection of wooden shacks standing together. It doesn't look too out of place with the rest of the poor district, but the way multiple shakes facing inward effectively leaves one entrance to them, almost acting like an outer wall hiding the inside from all but one direction. Biggo quickly ushers everyone inside the main building, while he stands guard at the outside.
The main shack facing towards the entrance is bare of any furnitures, or decorations aside from a few spread out scrolls hanging on the wall with symbols written with watery ink. Mein doesn't recognize any of them, but knows they are Q'ten Lo letters judging by their styles. This is no doubt, the 'dojo' of this Nagumo-Sensei the demi-humans were talking about. It's still a bit on the small side, but without anything in the way, she can see students practice whatever form of combat this Nagumo-Sensei must teach.
"So, it really was you. Nagumo, Sonnosuke." Uranus' voice makes Mein turn back to look at the doorway. It seems like the elderly Four Heroes' Church priest also had some expectation on who they are meeting. Although the person standing by the empty doorway is kind of underwhelming, judging from the kind of almost reverent expectation shown by the younger demi-humans.
Now Mein knows why Biggo didn't treat this Nagumo-Sensei with respect. Even if they aren't related, it's hard to see him as someone worthy of respect at a first glance.
An skinny old man, slightly hunched over, looking about in his fifties dressed in a suit of casual, short sleeved tunic and short pants that doesn't reach his knees is leaning by the doorframe. His graying dark hair is short, only reaches his ears, and has a thick bush of beard not commonly seen by a beastman of Q'ten Lo descent. A large pair of spectacles, made of cheap copper frame over his nose, making his sleepy looking eyes seem bigger than they really are. That's what this Nagumo Sensei looks like. The only thing on him that suggests he might be some kind of old master worthy of respect is a necklace of beads hanging by his neck, with a large, blood red beat three times larger than the rest at the bottom.
Prayer beads, a kind of spiritual accessory that's specifically used by Q'ten Lo monks, and certain tribes of Siltvelt. Although the large, blood red one is rather unusual, as unlike different kinds of necklace and talisman, those chains of beads tend to have uniformed shape and size.
"Well, I can't believe you are still alive, you old tanuki! When was the last time the two of us met? Twenty years ago?" Uranus smiles, as he takes a step towards Nagumo-Sensei. "Time sure treated you fine. You look barely ten years older than the last time I saw you!"
"Ah, I'm afraid the same can't be said about you, Uranus. You are already going bald!" Nagumo Sensei's reply nearly makes Uranus tumble on his feet.
"Who are you calling bold, you old raccoon dog!? I'll have you know I still have hair on my head!" The indignant elderly priest points his free hand at the half ring of white hair around his ears and back of his head.
"Wait, you also knew who we were meeting, Master Uranus? And you both left me in the dark?!" Sir Oersted looks around at both the young wizard, and the elderly priest. "Not cool, man!"
"I do not know who we are meeting. But Nagumo was the family name of a well known Samurai House before Kyutenrou was destroyed by the King of Rape. Specifically, the sworn vassal of House Okami. The warrior branch of the three pillars of Kyutenrou's priest cast." Streibough cast a glimpse at Sir Oersted from the corner of his eyes. "You'd have known it too, if you bothered to read the history books between your training sessions."
Mein can't help but feel her own face burning up a little. She's also guilty of sleeping through most of her history lessons.
"Miss Sophia, Miss Siesta. I'd like to introduce you to Sonnosuke Nagumo, the last descendant of House Nagumo, and Nagumo style Aikido." Uranus turns around to face everyone in the shack, while holding his arm up towards the old demi-human. "We met some twenty years ago, when we were solving the possession case of the bloody witch of Gallia."
"I'm sure the young ones didn't come to my home for stories on how we met. Uranus. We can catch up later. Come." Nagumo Sensei flips his hand, beckoning everyone to follow him.
"Nagumo-Sensei. The Gallian guards, I think it's a captain. He took Minami's moo- pendant!" Before Nagumo-Sensei has a chance to disappear from everyone's view, Saya suddenly takes a step forward and shouts out at the old raccoon demi-human.
Nagumo's body tenses up for a brief moment. He resumes his walking right after. "We'll talk about it once we are safe."
They leave the main shack that serves as the practice room of his dojo, and enter one of the side rooms, Biggo once again brings up the rear as he stays near the door and looks outside, making sure nobody comes after them.
The side room they entered had a long time by the entrance, and a stove in the far side. Nagumo-Sensei moves over to the stove, moves it aside and reveals a hole in the ground. He opens up a kindling kit and lights up a small lantern, passing it to Saya, he once again beckons his hand, inviting everyone to crawl down the cave.
"We are hiding in our safe room, Nagumo-Sensei?" Minami turns around to look at the skinny old demi-human expectantly. "Aren't you going out there, and showing those mean church people and soldiers who are the boss?"
"I can't take an entire army by myself, young Minami. We need to work out a plan first, and it won't do us any good if we are captured before that point. Come on." Nagumo sensei brushes Minami's long hair with a smile, but he once again points his finger at the hole in the ground. Wordlessly ordering the girl to seek shelter underneath.
Mein isn't sure about hiding underneath a hidden chamber below the kitchen and dining room of this Nagumo-Sensei. If they were refugees from Port Harp, there wouldn't have been enough time for them to dig up and hide a safe room large enough for more than ten people. Moreover, the safe room itself definitely would not have another hidden exit for them to escape if the stove entrance is discovered. It might allow them to hide through the worst riot that's currently happening, but they'll have nowhere to run if the Three Heroes' Church and their lackeys at Graile catch them underneath.
"Sir Oersted, you go in first. Miss Sophia and Miss Siesta will follow after you." Unfortunately for her, it seems the elderly priest is all for Nagumo Sensei's plan and she doesn't have any room to argue. After Saya and Minami both disappear down under, Oersted follows after them, and Mein jumps down after him with a resigned sigh. With the string of unfortunate events chained together like Nagumo's prayer beads, she has no choice but to follow through, and see where fortune leads her to.
It takes Mein's eyes a few moments to adjust to the much dimmer light of Saya's lantern. She stays near the entrance to help Naofumi climb down, doing her best to not make the others around her realize there are three balloon monsters hiding inside the long dress of 'Siesta'. As she helps the disguised Shield Hero touch his feet on the floor, she realizes the underground safe room chamber is much larger than she initially thought. To be fair, it is still only a large cave dug through the dirt rather than something fancier, like a fully bricked escape tunnel with wooden support beams built into most castles. But it also has a tunnel at the other end, which Saya, the short young raccoon demi-human is waving his arm at, no doubt asking their unexpected human 'guests' to follow after him.
"Tunnel warfare…" Naofumi whispers into Mein's ears, reminding the princess turned fugitive on how he suggested to the people of Lute to prepare for the Wave of Catastrophe. It happened only a month ago, but now it feels like a lifetime. She shakes her head, and follows after their demi-human guides.
The dirt tunnel itself starts to wind forward, seemingly stretching into the core of earth itself. It even has a few branches along the way, supposedly to diverge the pursuers away so they can be divided and disposed separately. Saya and Minami help them navigate through the right path, they stop at certain points, knocking on the wall with a certain rhythm before continuing. As Mein starts to lose track of time, they stop in front of an actual stone brick wall. Saya leans over and starts to knock on the wall once again with a certain rhythm, and the stone wall itself splits open into an entrance.
Something like this definitely took more than one month to build, even if they had one, or a few good earth mages.
As they move through the brick wall entrance, Mein notices the people behind the wall are wearing some kind of wooden armor plate on their body. The carving itself is crude, but the style is very different from the ones used by Melromarc or Faubley. They also carry weapons on them, and not the old, rusted one used by the muggers and squatters back in Melromarc's slum either. Even in the dim lights from lanterns, the metal blades in their heads, or the head of their spear glimmers. These weapons may have been around for a while, but they are well taken care of. These men are likely the descendants of whatever remnant forces followed House Nagumo when they escaped Q'ten Lo's destruction.
Definitely more than mere refugees escaping Port Harp's demise during the First Wave.
"Humans? In our sanctuary?" The descendants of the Q'ten Lo warriors look at Mein's group with suspicion in their eyes. They brandish their weapons, putting themselves into a fighting stance. Sir Oersted quickly follows their example. Thankfully Minami runs between them with her arms spread out, stopping anyone with the intention of bloodshed.
"Stand down! These humans are with us! They saved Saya and I from being captured by the slave hunters!" The Q'ten Lo warriors give another glare to Mein's group, but they pull their weapons away and stand down. Six of the armed men still remain around them, the rest disperse, and disappear into the dark, bricked tunnels.
With their most immediate violent encounter averted, the fugitive princess manages to take a better look around this new tunnel she finds herself in while catching her breath. In fact, calling it a tunnel isn't the most accurate, it's more accurate to say that they are in a fully built chamber with stone bricks for floors, walls, and ceilings. There are even stone pillars rising from the ground to hold up said ceiling and stone… is that a stone coffin?
"You and your men dug into Graile's catacomb?" Mein turns around to look at Nagumo Sensei, who by this point has also entered the chamber with the rest of their group. "Why did you do that? All those Three Heroes' Church bastards have to do to find us now is to send a group down the burial hall!"
"Worry not, my young friend." Nagumo-Sensei raises his left hand and waves at Mein dismissively. "Graile may not be as ancient, and a cultured city as Gallia city itself. But it's also an ancient fortress city in and of itself. The burial catacomb stretches almost endlessly into the ground, many have been walled in throughout the time. The section we used as our safe room won't be discovered if our enemies enter from the main burial hall."
"I hope you know what you are talking about…" Giving the old raccoon demi-human one last look, Mein takes Naofumi's hands and walks to the far wall. She sits down with her back against the wall, the Shield Hero gives her a look, and follows her lead. Oersted looks over to them, and stands guard over them. He has returned his sword back to its sheath, probably on account of his long sword being unwieldy in the dirt tunnel. But his hand doesn't leave the hilt. Streibough on the other hand, seems to be more interested in the pair of young demi-humans who first led them to this Nagumo-Sensei.
Mein notices there are more people scattered around her in the catacomb chamber. These aren't adult men or women with weapons and a few articles of armor. No, these are the elderly, and young who sit in each other's embrace, looking as lost and scared as Raphtalia when she was first bought off Beloukas' hand.
The thought of their little girl makes Mein's heart tighten once again. She wonders if Raphtalia is even still alive, as the Three Heroes' Church obviously didn't bother to keep Kyubey, or Farkas in the land of living. And even if she isn't dead either because they wanted to keep a leverage on the 'Shield Demon', or because her identity of being the lost princess of the Q'ten Lo people got out, she's likely now an enslaved servant of the church.
"Where is your elder brother, Minami?" While she's resting by the wall, Nagumo starts to talk with Minami. "After what happened, I'd imagine he would glue himself to you."
"Big brother asked Biggo to protect us. He went around, trying to find out what happened in Graile… and where that mean captain took my pendant."
"So, you've been living in Graile all this time, Nagumo? To think you are just a couple of days away from Gallia city. I should have visited you more." Uranus walks over to Nagumo-Sensei, apparently trying to catch up to his old acquaintance. "What have you been up to for the last twenty years?"
"Might as well you haven't. Uranus. I wasn't exactly opening my doors to the guests. I've mostly been teaching the young ones our old ways. Making sure it doesn't die out with the empire." The supposed master of… something something 'Do' simply shrugs his shoulders. Mein squints her eyes at the old man. She's no stranger to the concept of a master of a certain art being eccentric. Both Uncle Aldrecht and Coach Zellus have their own special kind of quirk especially when it comes to their own specialities. But the way this Nagumo-Sensei carries himself is more like a normal, if somewhat comical old man.
"You've been around in Graile longer than I, obviously. Have you noticed something different that would build up to what happened today?" Uranus narrows his eyes, his usually grandfatherly face takes a much sharper edge as he stares at Nagumo-Sensei. It appears the whole catching up part of their conversation is simply Uranus easing the other man into the main course of their conversation.
"If something has been happening, it didn't leak onto the street. At least not in the poor district. This was a surprise to all of us. It's lucky most of our men managed to retreat back here to our safe house." Nagumo casts a glance over at Minami. "If I knew all the chaos would ensue, I would not have let Minami and Saya out to the market today."
"Which means either the Three Heroes' Church planned this traitorous action well enough to not have the plan leaked out beforehand, or it's a rushed scheme without proper planning." Uranus closes his eyes, and scratches his beard with his free hand.
"Most likely the second case." Everyone turned their faces towards Streibough. "Their action? Other than how shocking it was, it was sloppy. They had raided the Four Heroes' Church chapel with a hundred men squad of elite knights, and we still managed to escape. They started a whole riot in Graile's poor district that'll surely have repercussions later down the road. And among all of that, you here managed to retreat into this dug out catacomb chamber apparently without them noticing. I for one, would not believe this act of treason was conducted with any sort of extensive pre-planning."
"What about how they managed to take control of the gates from the start, not letting anyone escape out of Graile?" Oersted tilts his head to the other side. "The gate is one of the most well protected areas of any wall. Surely, that would have taken some kind of planning to execute effectively?"
"They aren't an invading army, you imbecile!" Streibough turns around to glare at Oersted. "Officially, the Three Heroes' Church are allies to all Melromarc great houses. All it takes is a message or two delivered to the right inside men, they'll take over the gate houses without any difficulties. And even if the governor, or the lord of Graile disagrees with what the clerics want to do, all they have to do is slip in someone to take the governor or lord hostage, and the rest of the army will blindly follow their commander."
"Even if that's true, it would still suggest the Three Heroes' Church has been influencing, if not flat out grooming the leaderships of the Graile force. I wonder how much influence they have in other major military points in Melromarc." Uranus sits down near the moveable brick wall, his face etched in a deep frown.
"What would happen to Yatsuhashi, and Jarl Balgruuf? Would something like this happen in Whiterun?" Naofumi's quiet rhetorical question makes Mein realize that yes, something similar could very well be happening to the lord of Midgardian descent, who has put a lot of his support behind the Shield Hero… and she herself, the first princess of Melromarc.
The Three Heroes' Church knows who she really is. And with Cromwell working on Melty right now, it would go to the reason that they would put the pressure on any lady, or lord that would support her. Unfortunately for Naofumi's sworn shield, him not physically being in the Third Wave might only postpone, not avert whatever tragic fate awaits him.
"We barely know what has happened, and what is happening now above us. Rest for now. We'll wait till Ken, and the rest of my men come back, and plan our next step based on the information they gathered." Nagumo Sensei waves his hand dismissively, as his men take some blankets and rolls of cloth from deeper in the chamber, and begin to pass them around.
Mein grabs one for herself and Naofumi. She drips it over the two of them, as they lean themselves on the hard, and cold brick, trying to make themselves as comfortable as they can in the situation. From both physical and mental exhaustion, she begins to drift away from the land of the waking. Not a full sleep, considering how uncomfortable their situation is, and the kind of stress she is in, worrying about the Three Heroes' Church and their lackeys bursting down the brick walls of the catacomb.
Between her nap and waking, the fugitive princess heard the voice of Streibough. "You can stop this pretense. I can tell you two are from House Okami."
Mein splits her eyes open, as she sees Nagumo's men once again have their weapons out and pointed at them. As for the little shit he himself, he is currently being hanged by his neck, held up by Ken's right hand.
Omake: Resolution of the Royal Spymaster
[...With both King Aultcray and Pope Balmus indisposed, the Three Heroes' Church has officially gone rogue. Their forces have all but taken over the capital, forcing the lords gathered for the war council into taking shelters in their respective mansions, and chased me down to the last of my safe house…]
The tip of Marquis Noches' quill glides through the parchment he's penning Her Grace Queen Mirellia, while he listens to the report of the agent he has still available. "The Three Heroes' Church Penance Legion led by Father Caleb the Executioner has hit your last safe house, my Lord. I regret to inform you that your body double, agent forty seven is dead."
"Set aside a ledger for his family. Make sure his family will be well taken care of… if we get through our current crisis." Lord Noches, spymaster of glorious Melromarc looks up at his agent, before going back to the urgent message he's penning to the rightful ruler of Melromarc.
[...therefore, as the spymaster I recommend your grace's immediate return to the home front, no matter what price we'll pay to King Egbert to ensure your safe return. For you may not have a country to return to, if you delay it any further.]
Lord Noches wraps up the parchment, and hands it to the waiting hand of Queen Mirellia's Lone Shadow. She looks like any other one of them, with only the emblem of a Petunia flower over her left shoulder to indicate her being one of the elite Lone Shadows. "Make sure Her Grace receives this message as soon as possible. We don't have much time left."
"It shall be done." The Lone Shadow's body flickers for a brief moment, before she seemingly dissolves into thin air, not leaving anything but empty space where she stood a moment ago.
"If there's anything my Lord could do to help, you'll only have to ask. Lord Noches." The young, yet reserved voice with a Tristanian accent rings from Lord Noches' right side. The fugitive Melromarc Lord turns his face slightly to the right, to look at the raccoon demi-human boy. In spite of the Q'ten Lo descent of his, Hayate, the velvet and butler-in-training of House Malfoy is every bit the trained, and professional Faubley servant of his master. "The Three Heroes' Church is currently persecuting Lord Shield Hero, and you are fighting against it. That makes you my Lord's most precious ally currently in Melromarc."
"Thank you for your offer, Mr. Hayate. But this is so far, still Melromarc's internal affair." Lord Noches waves Hayate away. The valet didn't show any sign of disappointment. He gives a bow, and disappears from the room.
As Melromarc's spymaster, Lord Noches has expected the Three Heroes' Church to figure out the location of his safe houses. They were originally set up by Mercer, the master of thieves guild. And that two faced rat would tattle their location to the most powerful bider at the first sign of his weakness. What he didn't expect was how bad the result of the Third Wave of Catastrophe was, and how fast everything is currently falling apart. Yes, with Aultcray possibly going insane with his grief and paranoia, things were already hanging by a thread. But with both him, and Pope Balmus indisposed of, there's nothing holding back the more fanatical elements of the Three Heroes' Church.
The Wave of Catastrophe… it truly lived up to its name. At the culmination of the Third Wave, anything could have gone wrong, had gone wrong in the most catastrophic way possible.
Before he retreated from his office, the last thing he heard from the Cathedral of the Three Heroes was that it nearly devolved into a civil war. After returning from Gallia, High Confessor Cromwell immediately took the entire board of Vicars hostage, and threw all the influential figures from the revisionist and moderate faction into the dungeon. The only reason they haven't been tortured to death is thanks to High Lord Inquisitor Duncan's immediate action of rallying all his loyal inquisitors and stormed the dungeon. They have since barricaded themselves inside the dungeon, protecting the prisoners from Cromwell's harm.
Unfortunately, things above the ground isn't any more promising either as the Three Heroes' Church starting to raising both their own loyal men, and an army of slaves in an effort to 'protect' both King Aultcray, and Princess Melty. So far, still normal as far as a coup is concerned… if he disregards how Cromwell has also put all the gathered ladies and lords in Melromarc castle under siege in their own mansions. Even inside the safe house provided by House Malfoy, he can still practically hear the sound of fighting and rioting outside.
There are no other options left. No matter how much reparation they have to pay King Egbert of Faubley… Her Grace Mirellia has to return home to put an end to this madness. It might not be what Aultcray wished, but…
"Your Majesty, I beseech thee!" He reaches his arm out towards Queen Mirellia, even as the royal guards hold him back with their glittering mithril halberds. "It's the only way to save my wife! Please, give me some of the Ruona herbs from the treasury."
"Marquis Noches, please. I cannot prioritize my own vassals when the population is suffering." Queen Mirellia's words are sympathetic, yet her face is a perfect mask of neutrality. Even worse, he knew what she was saying wasn't true. She has secretly sent a package of Ruona herbs to House Claes, to the family of her childhood friend Lord Luigi for his ill father. Because House Claes is both a more politically powerful backer, and a steadfast ally of House Melromarc. "I'm sorry, Douglas. While I can't provide you with Ruona herbs, I'll help however else I can. Please, stay firm."
The royal guards push him to his knees as Queen Mirellia turns around and walks away with her entourage of ladies. The effort was not needed, for his knees have already lost all their strength. Years of loyal service to the crown, it's still not enough to be rewarded for the life saving medicine that will keep his wife alive.
All because his family wasn't powerful enough… if only he had more power-
"Stand up! Douglas! Even those Siltvelt animals knew there was gold buried under a man's knees. You should not bend your knees so easily." He's pulled to his feet by a strong hand. The hand itself has more calluses than royalties, even lords of his age. Time is also leaving lines in his once handsome face, yet Aultcray still speaks with the force of a roaring lion.
He must have been kneeling in the corridor of the palace for longer than he realized. Not only is there no longer any trace of Queen Mirellia and her retinue of ladies. There's not even a trace of the royal guards who held him back.
"Aultcray? Will you try and convince Her Grace to spare me-" The regent king of Melromarc waves his hand and interrupts him.
"Neither you, nor I will beg her for anything, especially when it doesn't even work. Ruona herbs can only hold back the effects of Wailing Death, not curing it. We will bring the cure back, from Faubley." Aultcray tightens his hand around the Star Wand. He starts making stride towards the exit of the palace.
"YES! With your Star Wand, you can port yourself to Faubley and bring back the cure-" He is stopped by himself, not Aultcray this time. He knows that Aultcray became the Hero of Wand after he arrived in Melromarc, and he has not set foot in Faubley since due to the… unpleasantness between himself and his stepbrother King Egbert. "No, you don't have Faubley saved in your Star Wand. Without enough Ruona herbs, it'll take too long to bring the cure back from Faubley no matter if you go by land, or water."
To see a ray of hope, only to have it brutally snuffed out… He wonders if it would have been better, if Aultcray had allowed him to stew in his own despair.
"Land or water, no. But we'll have enough time if we make a straight line with air. Especially if I port myself straight back, and bring the cure right to you will have the rest of the cure for the people shipped back with my retinue." A mad glitter began to gather in his eyes, and he doesn't know if what Aultcray suggested would have been better to allow Metia to die.
"We didn't develop our airship fleet like Faubley before The Great War. The only way to go by air would be… using our wyvern knights. Please, I beg you to reconsider, your grace." He can't help but realize the irony of him begging Queen Mirellia to save his own wife, yet, now he's begging King Aultcray to leave his wife to die. "Faubley will see this as an act of provocation! We can't afford to pay them the kind of reparation they'll demand after The Great War devastated us!"
"Douglas." Aultcray turns around on his feet to look him fully in the eyes. "Without a family, a man has nothing."
These were the last words Aultcray told him, before he flew to Faubley with what remained of Melromarc's wyvern knights.
Aultcray's reputation is very different depending on if you ask someone of common birth, or those born into nobility. To the commoners, he is the wise king who saved Melromarc from the plague of the Wailing Death. The savior who brought back the cure from Faubley. To the nobles, he is the foolish king who nearly ruined the nation after The Great War, due to his failed 'raid' on Faubley. And the one who sent his first born daughter into the hand of his pig like step brother.
But he, Douglas Ebil Noches, alone knows who Aultcray is. A mourning husband and father, who knows how cold a man feels without his family. And his greatest wish is to see no family being torn apart, in spite of his own actions often having the opposite effect.
He was afraid to die, because he doesn't know who will take care of his children if he's gone from this world. But Bertia has grown up, and she has found someone who will take care of her in spite of his own shortcomings.
It's time for him to repay Aultcray of his faithfulness, with his own loyalty. It might not be what Aultcray wanted to happen, but it's the best way to keep his daughters safe.
"Aultcray, I'll follow you no matter where you go."
End Note:
Not going to lie, I was more hyped at getting to this chapter's omake, than the main chapter itself. I planned this second omake short for Marquis Notches a pretty long time ago, and it's nice to finally get to it and get the final piece of the puzzle on Trash's seemingly ridiculous action that caused Malty's betrothal to Faubley king. So, yes. He basically got triggered by Notches about to lose his wife like he did back in The Great War, and tried everything within his power to save his good friend's wife in a pro gamer move.
Although to clarify since my last omake kind of mislead a lot of people. Trash didn't tried to stage an actual raid on Faubley to get the cure. He used his country's air calvary as an express air delivery service... which of course, Piggard used this to blackmail him claiming it was an act of aggression, because Piggard is as much a bastard as he is a cutthroat politician.
I was also really eager to show how someone is both a very good man, and competent (compared to how canonical Trash was, anyway) politician would be so loyal to him. In a way, not unlike Katarina. Because Trash was sincere in his kindness towards Marquis Notches when the queen acted as a proper politician.
As for the event happening in the main chapter... well. Originally I wasn't that eager about the current event, basically treating it as another set piece before the final emotional, and action payoff of the fight against 3HC. But the recent reviews did give me a lot to think about... and I ends up get inspired to expand this current plot much more than my initial plan. It'll start showing by the next chapter.