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.
"Should we even talk about what name to give to a newborn dino, when Naofumi is prosecuted like a criminal and is forced to go on the run?" Itsuki's question makes his two fellow heroes look away from his gaze, and suddenly find the ground very interesting. With how intense battling a Godzilla-sized zombie T-Rex was, it's easy to forget what happened to one of their fellow heroes. He would like to think the reason he still remembers is because he still cared about upholding Shining Man's ideals of justice more than the other because their world apparently didn't have real super heroes.
The more likely reason was he just hung back and shot his energy arrow at a giant target, while Ren and Motoyasu both got close and personal. And it's easier for them to get lost in a heated moment and forget about other things.
"Yeah. Mutsu is in those guy's hands too." Motoyasu falls to his ass and sits down, leaning his spear over his shoulder while scratching through his hair with his left hand. "And that little princess Melty! I promised the king I'd take care of her and keep her safe."
"Brother Mutsu is strong, Master Motoyasu." Miya, the leader of the filorials Motoyasu raised for Princess Melty walks right behind him, kneels down and wraps her arms around his shoulders. "He'll take care of Princess Melty, and himself."
"Yeah. But they still put a slave seal on him! Those church guys enslaved one of my children, and they didn't even let me see him!" It's a bit surprising to see how worked up Motoyasu is. Considering the person he is talking about looks like a young adult man instead of a pretty girl, and how childish the Spear Hero usually acts. It's moments like this that remind Itsuki that Motoyasu is actually the oldest of them. "They can call themselves the Three Heroes' Church all they want. But I'm not supporting them back after those stunts they pulled!"
"You aren't the only one. I think Itsuki agrees with us." Ren slightly tilts his head at him, almost as if he is asking for confirmation. He feels a bit offended that the other high schoolers of their little summoned heroes group have so little faith in him.
"Of course! They support slavery of all things! You really think I'm going to agree with them?" He glares right back at Ren, daring their youngest to say something back. The Sword Hero simply crosses his arms, looking annoyed at his anger but doesn't openly say anything to oppose him either.
"They can't get away with this. Right?!" Motoyasu isn't interested in the little glaring contest he's holding with Ren. He wonders if the Spear Hero even noticed there's anything happening between them at all. Motoyasu turns to look at Iris, whose Father is supposedly one of the big shot aristocrats, and one of the important ministers working for the royal family. That's what his companions told him, anyways. "There's something we can do to get Mutsu, and Melty back from church people, right?"
"It won't be easy. Mutsu isn't a human, therefore doesn't enjoy the practice of laws that protect him as a man free from being indentured. But his status as a follower of you, the Spear Hero should keep him safe." Iris covers her lower face with a snap of her folding fan. But for a split second, he sees the regal looking noble lady biting the nail of her free hand. She's definitely feeling more anxious than she is trying to present herself. "The complication is if he willingly offered himself as a slave to stay with her highness when she is taken into the 'protective' custody of the Three Heroes' Church when you fell against the Outer Goddess. Because that action would mean he willingly gave up his status as your follower, and offered him as property to the church."
"Can Mister Mutsu even give legal consent for his 'service' to the church?" Rishia's question makes everyone turn to look at her. The Stormwind girl jumps at the sudden attention everyone showers her way, as she quickly runs back into his party.
Interlude 16: Rebellion of the Three Heroes
"You should learn to keep your trap closed, and only speak when spoken to. You stupid girl!" Mald's booming bark makes Itsuki's ear hurt. The knight by comparison has no problem with being the center of focus as he addresses everyone in a rather snide manner. "I don't know what's there to complain about, heroes. All of you should put more faith in the Three Heroes' Church who worship you, and keep the undesirables in line for this nation."
Motoyasu looks like he wants to protest as he throws his arm up, Sir Crepe… or Princess Josephine looks like she's about to do the same thing with her taking a heated step towards Mald. But Itsuki speaks before either of them have the chance to. "You should follow your own advice and speak to your better only when talked to, Mald. I did NOT give you permission to speak like you knew better than us."
The huge knight's eyes bug out, clearly not expecting Itsuki to turn his own words against himself. He takes a step back and bows his head in subservice. "O-of course not, Master Itsuki. Sorry for my impudence."
Satisfied with silencing the thug in his party, Itsuki refocuses his sight around his party, trying to get a better look at where Rishia is hiding. She seems to have her head halfway bowed behind where Princess Josephine was standing, likely finding a sense of safety from the one who doesn't hesitate to support her despite her being a lower social class from a small kingdom that's now crumbled thanks to his actions. With her head and sight lowered, she hasn't noticed Josephine has moved away.
Itsuki takes a step towards the timid girl, trying to keep his voice soft but encouraging like how Naofumi tends to speak. The last thing he wants is to further scare Rishia away after the crap Mald pulled. "You had some idea, Rishia? Go on, share with us."
"Oh, it's probably just a silly thought, Master Itsuki." Rishia looked up, but her eyes didn't look at him. No. She is staring at Motoyasu's direction. "Lady Amelia would have surely brought it up if it had merit. The heiress of a high lord like Lady Amelia would surely be more knowledgeable about her own nation's statecraft and laws than I am."
"Regardless of my social status, I might have overlooked something. Most of my knowledge about Melromarc law tends to focus on trade, not judicial and estate rights." Itsuki narrows his eyes, and notices Iris' eyes looking away for a brief second near the end. Almost as if she is trying to hide her embarrassment, similar to how she covered her lower face with her fan when she was nervously biting her own finger. Perhaps she is actually speaking out of past experience… a mistake, perhaps. "Do continue, Lady Rishia. We will correct and excuse you, if your thoughts truly have no merit."
"Oh… alright. But Lady Amelia was saying that there's no way for Master Spear Hero to legally obtain Mister Mutsu's service if he freely offered himself into indentured servitude for the church. My question was… is Mister Mutsu's offer even legal in the eyes of the court?" Rishia seems to want to shrink back again after her question. But Princess Josephine quickly turns around, and grabs her hand again, to offer support to the Stormwind girl. "I mean, he was a filorial raised by Master Spear Hero, right? Doesn't it mean that he would be… two months old even if Master Spear Hero immediately got him after being summoned? Therefore he is technically a baby and has no right to make such a choice himself. And only his guardian, or owner Master Spear Hero has the right to give him away to the church?"
"Oh yeah! That's right! Mutsu is technically still a baby!" Motoyasu looks around at all the human looking filorials standing around him. "That's even more reason to get him back from the church! I don't care if a judge tells me otherwise! I'm not letting those damn church people hurt Mutsu with their magical tattoos! I'll knock down the door, and beat everyone up to take him back if I have to!"
"That's… actually a valid argument! I was admittedly thinking of Mutsu like an adult demi-human because he looks like one. The fact that he is a filorial in origin actually means he has even less right to consent himself for a major change in ownership." The knot above Iris' eyes untwist, a sense of sudden epiphany seems to flash on her face, making the scar over her nose look even more prominent. "The Three Heroes' Church might still bury our argument in a mountain of bribery if we take it to a judge and try to solve it through proper legal channels. Especially with the Queen being away and the King indisposed of. But if Master Motoyasu files a legal petition through the court… he would not suffer as much consequences than if he actually does resort to kicking down the door and taking Mutsu back by force."
"Oh yeah! That's what I'll do this instant." Motoyasu pulls up his sleeves among the cheers of Katarina and Kou. He is about to stomp away, when his arm is suddenly grabbed by Ren. "What's up, Ren?"
"Don't do that, Motoyasu." Motoyasu is about to protest at Ren's objection, when the youngest among them cut him off. "Mutsu is a slave, that means he has one of those slave seals on his body. It's a magical torture device, and a killswitch. What will you do, if the church holds his life hostage over you?"
"Damn it! OW!" Motoyasu furiously throws his spear into a group. Something he shouldn't have done, since it flies right back into his hand… and ends up hitting him square on the nose. He covers his face with his left hand, as Katarina and Bertia quickly run over to fuss over him. "What are we going to do now?!"
"Excuse me, heroes. I think I overheard you talking about Sir Shield Hero?" Ren looks like he's about to shrug his shoulders when Itsuki hears someone talking behind him. He turns around, and sees a… knight? Sellsword? It's hard to guess the young woman's identity with her mismatched armor of a knight's pot helmet, and the leather armor that's more typical of a mercenary. Her voice suggests she's someone young, maybe around Motoyasu and Naofumi's age at most, and that's about the only thing he can be sure of. "Is it true that the church persecuted the Shield Hero?"
"Should you not properly introduce yourself first?" The voice of Lady Iris' personal maid sounds clipped. A threat to someone unfamiliar to her, no doubt. "I remember you standing, and fighting amongst Sir Shield Hero's companions. But you never properly introduced yourself."
Wait, she was Naofumi's companion for a while? When did that happen?
"Ah, sorry. I am Eclea of Port Harp. A common sellsword." Eclea looks to the side, at the woman wearing a silver, mustached mask and places a hand on her arm. One of her companions, perhaps? The Bow Hero notices how this much taller woman slowly pulls her hand away from the hilt of her large sword. "Yes, I accompanied Lord Shield Hero for a while on our trip north. But I split with him before the Third wave, because I wanted to join the group taking back Rabier County from the bandits and make my home safer."
"An admirable action." Iris puts her fan back and nods to the mercenary. "And to answer your question. Yes, the Three Heroes' Church accused Lord Shield Hero for summoning an outer god and tried to take him into custody. He ran away with Miss Mein, while the rest of his party were either killed, or enslaved by the church in their battle."
"WHAT?!" Eclea takes a step back, and she nearly tumbles on her feet. This time, her companion is the one who held her. "The church can't do that to him! They can't just arrest a lord without holding a proper trial!"
"Yes. The church is getting away with a lot of things they aren't supposed to. That's usually what happens when the law isn't enforced by a strong enough group of people." Iris turns her gaze away from the sellsword girl. Itsuki can't help but feel her impatience at explaining something obvious to an unsophisticated person. "Now if you excuse us, we need to talk about what to do with the church's recent behaviors."
"No, that's not what I meant. The church can't do that without possibly turning the entire nobility against them!" Eclea takes a few steps towards Iris. Iris' maid steps between them, trying to push the mercenary girl away, causing the Eclea's mask-wearing companion to move her hand onto the hilt of her sword again. "Jarl Balgruuf of House Whiterun named Lord Shield Hero as his thane. That puts Lord Shield Hero at the level of a Melromarc baron even if he hasn't properly set up his barony yet. And there are rules that the church can't just make up some excuse and dispose of a noble!"
"WHAT?!" Much or what's said between Eclea and Iris went over Itsuki's head. Yes, Mald and Lesty has been doing their best to drive proper etiquette and customs of Melromarc into him, but he still have a lot of holes between what he knows. At least it clearly caught Iris' attention with how she turns her entire body to face Eclea, and pushes his maid away. "Are you saying that one of the Melromarc nobles already granted the Shield Hero a title before the Third wave?"
"Yes. Sir Sword Hero witnessed it with me." Eclea turns to Ren this time. "Remember when we… met Lord Gaelion outside of Trumpet. And when we returned to Jarl Balgruuf, he named Lord Shield Hero his thane in return for his service?"
"Yes. That definitely happened." Ren's eyes turn, clearly trying to recall the event mentioned by Eclea. He looks at Iris next. "Although Naofumi only got a small house in his city for it. That makes him a noble? What difference does this make?"
"Midgardian aristocracy doesn't work one to one like our current system. But for the sake of our argument, yes. If Lord Shield Hero was named a thane by a lord of Midgardian descent, then he would be treated as the equivalent of a baron. As for what difference this makes…"
"Oh, I know! I KNOW!" Katarina furiously waves her hand from the otherside of Motoyasu. "Even I remember this one! It was a big change from the whole religious reform when the Brimirian church renounced Saint Brimir's divinity, and joined the new church that worships our current patheon and the heroes, right?"
"Quite right, Katarina." Iris gives a quick nod to her friend as she turns back to face Motoyasu, Ren, and himself. "It was pushed by the new faith that worships our Chief God, and his messenger the legendary heroes to have more accountability. The old faith that worshiped Saint Brimir had too much power. The church could take away a noble's aristocracy standing because all nobles were supposedly descended from the Founder of Wizardry Brimir in their words."
"In plain speak. There's always tension between the aristocrats, and the clergy. And to push out the old guards, this new faith that worships some new gods and heroes like us sold out some of the church's right to gain support from nobility." Ren narrows his eyes, and summarizes Iris' words in a less flattering narrative. Motoyasu's companion didn't say anything to object.
"Okay, that's interesting." The impatient frown on Motoyasu suggests he's feeling the exact opposite. "How are we supposed to help Naofumi, Princess Melty and Mutsu? Because those church guys already did what they did."
"Lord Shield Hero's nobility title was clearly not formally recognized at the time of the Third Wave. Or else the church would at the very least need to hold a public trial before accusing him of heresy, and take his companions into slavery. They would be opposing the entire nobility otherwise." Iris covers her face with her fan, Itsuki has a suspicion she is biting her nail once again. "Jarl Balgruuf would have sent an official letter to the queen's court officiating Lord Shield Hero's title… of course! King Aultcray withheld the papers, because of his paranoia against the Shield Hero! That's why the church was bold enough to persecute him!"
"But recognized or not, he's still a noble at the time. Right? Surely we can do something about the church doing something they aren't allowed to?" Itsuki turns to his own party for confirmation. "Lesty. You also came from a noble family. You also know this, right? What about you, Sir Crepe? You should also know this..."
"Yes! I would know this because of my knight's training, yes!" Her response makes Itsuki blink for a brief second, before remembering that she doesn't want to be treated like a princess. He looks at his fellow heroes, Motoyasu is still oblivious as ever, Ren is raising an eyebrow at Princess Josephine's antics. "Right… even if the king's men misplaced Lord Balgruuf's letter, there'll be records that can be traced back found in… Lesty! *whispers* Help me out here."
"There will be records in Jarl Balgruuf's own archive, in case the letter is lost during transportation. It won't be enough to have the church retract their stance posthaste, but finding the document will win Lord Shield Heo some support among the nobility and put the pressure on the Three Heroes' Church." Lesty's reply is much more elegant than the actual princess. Even as Mald scoffs, and bristles beside her like a miserable wet cat.
"We'll go see this Balgruuf guy in that case! He's in charge of Balafon, right?" Motoyasu claps his hands together. "All of us have Balafon's location saved up because that's where we prepared for the last wave. It won't take us long to port over, and then go to the city! We'll have to do something fast, before the Three Heroes Church catches Naofumi!"
"No. You and I will go see Jarl Balgruuf. Itsuki will stay here." Itsuki turns his head with Motoyasu to look at Ren, wondering what the youngest of them is planning. "Motoyasu is right. We can't waste any time if we want to help Naofumi. It's already days after he went on the run, and who knows how close the Three Heroes' Church is to find him and… Mein. That's why Itsuki will stay here, and tell all the nobles gathered here on what we discussed so far. We helped them kill that giant zombie dinosaur, they owe us a favor and they already have an army gathered here. Plus, some of the children of important nobles fought with us against the giant zombie dino. As soon as we get proof of Naofumi being a noble like them, they can immediately start putting pressure on the Three Heroes' Church."
"So… Miss Mein was with Lord Shield Hero when he escaped… that's good." Eclea's head falls slightly downward, as she mumbles to herself. "Not saying it's right for the others to die or be captured… but at least she's safe…"
"Do you know who Mein really was?" Ren's face whips around to stare at Eclea. His reaction made Itsuki belatedly realize that Eclea's reaction was a bit strange. "Why are you so relieved that she was the one who escaped with Naofumi?"
Eclea jumps on her feet as she takes a step back, she practically squirms under his scrutinizing gaze even if she has her helmet to hide her face. "Oh, she's the daughter of Lord Ascart's scribe, and maid of course. As for why I was relieved… I was closest to Miss Mein when we journeyed north… Yes, that's it.``
"Hey, let's not get too overly stressed out here, Ren. I know you are upset, I'm upset about what happened to Naofumi, his party and Mutsu. But you are making Miss Eclea here upset too…" He feels Motoyasu's hand around his shoulder, but he simply shakes away the immature Spear Hero. The time to play nice is over, and he wants some answers.
"No, she is not." The Sword Hero narrows his eyes, as he takes another step towards 'Eclea', if that's even her real identity. Eclea's much taller companion takes a step in, and stands protectively over her similar to how Tanya shielded Iris earlier. "We met the real Mein of Samphor when we were in the capital before the Third Wave. And she's not Naofumi's companion."
"OH! Is that it? I… I didn't know about that… haha…" Eclea looks away, trying and failing to not look suspicious. Even Itsuki is starting to look at her with eyebrows raised by now.
"I don't know who you are to know her real identity, but there's no point playing this game anymore. You are right, Sir Sword Hero. Mein of Samphor isn't who she pretended to be." To Ren's surprise, Iris is the one who stepped forward. To think all this time he and Itsuki decided to exclude Motoyasu from knowing about Mein being an imposter. If they went to him sooner, they might have been able to know the truth earlier. "Her true identity is Malty S Melromarc, the firstborn princess of the royal family."
"WHAT!" The loud exclamation didn't come from the three of them. It came from Katarina and Bertia instead. "All this time we've been thinking about our friend, and she's been with Lord Shield Hero all along?!"
"Oh… OH~! I see it now!" Katarina smirks as the shock slowly recedes from her face. "She's trying to keep the Shield Hero all to herself. That sly dog! I owe her an entire year's supply of sponge cakes now!"
"I'm sure Malty won't fight you over your sweets, Katarina. Assuming she survives in the end." Iris gives a tired look to her friend.
"I expected you to act a bit more surprised." Ren turns his head to look at Motoyasu. Honestly, he half expected the manchild to act exactly like two of his three lady companions.
"I… guess it's kind of a surprise. Although I already went through something like this with Melty." Motoyasu scratches his head absentmindedly. His reaction makes Ren slap his own face. Apparently, Motoyasu's reaction, or lack thereof, wasn't him being calm and collected. He was simply too dumb to be surprised. "You think that's where Melty got her idea from? Her elder sister?"
"Does this country have some tradition about princesses pretending to be someone else, and running around the place?" For some reason, Itsuki is running a hand over his face, and then pinching the bridge of his nose. "I mean, Melty in Motoyasu's party was a princess. And now we know Mein was also a princess. Is there a princess in your party too, Ren?"
"No princess here." Ren looks over at his own group. Only Terishia is a girl, and he's pretty sure she has no relationship with any royal family whatsoever… or does she?
"Hey! What am I? Scraps you throw to your pet bonedog?" Wyndia jumps up and down with a pouty face. "I'll have all of you know that my father is a Dragon Emperor."
"Right. Unless you count Wyndia." Ren looks back at Itsuki. His free hand ran over Wyndia's hair, trying his best to pacify her.
"Emm… let's focus on what's important… If our friend got caught up in this whole mess with the Shield Hero and the church, that's more reason for us to act quickly. I don't want Malty to get hurt." Bertia's voice sounds squeaky like a mouse, and her face is all red as she tries to maintain a stare at everyone around. But in the end, she focuses her gaze on Katarina, almost accusingly. "That's more important than thinking about your sweet tooth, Katarina."
"Oh, yeah! That's right! Princess or not, our childhood friend is in danger!" Katarina squeezes her fist, making her knuckles crack. "We need to do something to save her!"
"We don't even know where Malty, or Lord Shield Hero, is." Iris' tired sign makes Katarina drop to her butt, completely deflating.
"Right, back on topic. Mein, or Princess Malty's real identity aside, I think our best action is to go through with my plan." Ren schools his expression as he restarts laying out his plan. "I'll take Motoyasu and go see Jarl Balgruuf. Get the document where he made Naofumi one of the nobles. Itsuki, you take everyone else here, and go see the gathered nobles before they go home with their army. Tell them what we discussed here. Try to get as many of them on our side as possible if we'll try to force the church from standing down, and backing off from Naofumi."
"I guess it's a good thing that Ellie girl put a knife in one of them. With how she exploded for no reason… I don't think she'd have helped Naofumi." Ren can't tell if Itsuki is making a mad joke to try and lighten up the mood with his comment. But the Bow Hero's words still makes him realize that they'll likely be facing an uphill battle to help Naofumi, considering the general consensus this country has towards the Shield Hero. "So who are you going to take with you? Between you and Motoyasu, you can only take ten people. Unless you want Gaelion to fly you over."
Ren turns his head over to the tiny dragon lord. He suppose the suggestion has some merit, since Gaelion flies much faster than a filorial can run. And even with them porting over to Balafon, they still look at two, or three hours of ride depending on how fast they want to push. Chibi-Gaelion narrows his eyes, and blows a snort of ember over his nose. "I'm not your personal carriage service, boy."
So much for that idea. But it might as well. "It's probably best we don't ride Gaelion over anyway. If we are asking Jarl Balgruuf for help, best we don't approach like we are trying to threaten him. As for who we'll take… Motoyasu's companions need to come with us. We'll need them to help us navigate all the political talks. And I'll also take Eclea, since she was with Naofumi's party when he was granted his noble title-"
"I follow my lady… friend wherever she goes." The much taller woman in the silver mask cuts into his speech before he has any time to say otherwise. He's a little annoyed at her, but supposed it was understandable if these two were close.
"That leaves three candidates left…" Ren looks over at everyone staring at him with bated breath. "Take the filorials of your companion, Motoyasu. They are monarch filorials, they run faster than regular filorials, and they should be able to carry us."
"NO WAY! You are leaving me behind?!" Wyndia jumps in front of him, clearly not happy with his choice. "You can't just leave me behind again like when you came over to fight that giant zombie thunder lizard! We are trying to save the Shield Hero, the hero I wanted to marry! And… I'm worried what'll happen to you, like your fight with Zilla. If you don't take me with you, I'll… I'll follow you with my Father!"
"Don't do that, Wyndia. Don't go and scare the people of Trumpet again. You weren't there when your father was turning the land upside down looking for you. They were scared, and looked like they were preparing for a siege. It'll just end up costing us time looking for the document to help Naofumi." Ren kneels down and looks Wyndia in the eyes. "I won't be in much, if any danger this time. We are just going to talk with a noble about getting some important documents. I'm taking the best members to get this job done. And I'm sure the church won't let Naofumi go this easily. Not after they killed some of his friends and enslaved Raphtalia and Firo. There's probably going to be fighting later. If you want to help Naofumi, use the time you have to get stronger."
Wyndia looks like she wants to argue some more, but Gaelion picks this time to land on her head. "The Sword Hero is right, baby girl. Right now, they are fighting a battle in the court of the humans. A fight neither you nor I were equipped to help. But regardless of how this battle will end, there'll be a more literal battle with the church of humans later where you can potentially help. Not in your current state though. Now I see that in the years I tried to shelter you, I left you less capable to defend yourself. Something we still have time to rectify before we meet the Shield Hero again, if you want to put in the extra time and effort."
Wyndia bites her lips, staring down at the ground like she wants to cry for a brief second before meeting his eyes again. "You better do your best to help out the Shield Hero… and take care of yourself."
Ren gives one last ruffle of Wyndia's hair as he stands up, the rest of his companions are also looking at him. Sir Becktor in particular has a knowing smile on his face. "Galivanting off without us again, Lord Ren? And here we thought we finally started to learn to work together."
"When the situation calls for it, Sir Becktor. Itsuki is going to need witnesses to back his claim when he tries to convince the gathered nobles to help us and Naofumi. And you guys both witnessed our conversation here, and when Naofumi was named Thane by Balgruuf."
"As you wish. We'll look after our little dragon princess together with her father. Don't you worry about us." The seasoned knight exchanges a nod with Ren as he walks over to the group of people he picked to go to Trumpet.
On the other side, Motoyasu is sharing a hug with Kuro before he walks over to join them. As the two of them raise their respective weapons, Motoyasu looks over at Iris. "Wait. If Mein, or Malty was a princess, could the church do what they did to her and get away with it?"
"Yeah. That would be treason, wouldn't it?" Katarina turns to ask Iris for confirmation.
"I think the church has long walked past that line when they decided to prosecute Lord Shield Hero." Iris simply rubs her temple while all of them disappear from the war camp, and reappears in a flash of light in Balafon. After battling a brief moment of dizzy spells, they prepare to embark on their journey south towards the city of Trumpet.
That's when he notices something a little different going on in the farming village. For one, there's around three times the soldiers walking around the street, even some of the white robed people with the Three Heroes' Church's triangle on their chest. And while Balafon is always busy during the day due to it being a farming village, there's not a single villager he recognizes on the dirt road.
"Oh, great. These assholes again." Motoyasu narrows his eyes at the church people. It seems even the childish Spear Hero noticed the discrepancy, although he probably doesn't realize what's wrong with it.
"Prepare to ride south, Motoyasu. I don't like what I'm seeing here." Ren gives a brief whisper to the Spear Hero's ear as he walks towards one of the guards patrolling the street. "YOU! Yes, you. What's going on here? Where are the villagers? And why are there so many soldiers, and even church people on the street?"
"Ah, Lord Sword Hero, and Spear Hero, is it?" The soldier turns around to face him. "The people of Balafon are hard at work in the field. We got hit by another Wave, and we'll need a lot of food for refugees. This village is the only one in the land that'll produce food fast enough thanks to their miracle ashes. As for the soldiers and Three Heroes' Church clerics… bandits usually become more active after a Wave hit. And there are talks of undead creatures in the north, from the Stolen Land. We came to protect the only farming village that'll help us in the crisis."
He narrows his eyes at the guard. There doesn't seem to be any fault with the answer he's given. But there's still something he doesn't like. Perhaps it's the guard's tone of voice that doesn't agree with him. Regardless, he waves the guard away as he prepares to join Motoyasu's group riding though. "Very well, as you were. The undead creature to the north has been defeated. So that's one less thing to worry about."
"Is it? That's very good news indeed." Once again, he can't shake away the weird feeling as he hops onto Kou behind Katarina.
Motoyasu feels very confused as he rides on top of Yuki behind Iris. Mein is actually Malty, and the first princess of this country. Does that make Naofumi future king if the two of them are together like he and Iris? How would that even work? Since the current king apparently hates Naofumi.
Actually, if Malty was the princess, it makes sense why the king would hate Naofumi. It wasn't some random girl he supposedly forced himself on. It's the king's daughter. If someone tried to do the same to Kuro, Yuki, Kou, Sakura or his other children, he'd probably beat them to a pulp.
Malty said that Naofumi didn't do it. It was a big misunderstanding, or like that evil mustache guy (he's Bertia's father) said it was some lie made by bad people to get other people into trouble. So the king didn't have a reason to hate Naofumi anymore. But then again, what would he do if someone told him this random guy tried to force himself onto one of his children, and his children told him it was a lie? He'd still probably be a bit uneasy with this random guy. So maybe the king's action does make sense after all.
Maybe he should leave this thinking over things to smarter people, like Iris.
"Look alive. We are approaching the wall." Ren's words shake him awake. Sure enough, the big city can be seen south of them on the plain. Still, with the big city only having a gate from the south, they need to swing around to get in. Isn't it pretty inconvenient? Maybe they should have a gate on each side of the city. But then again, the city was built on a hill in the middle of the plain, and the big ass castle on the cliff took most of the northern side. Maybe it'll be an even bigger hassle to build a gate if they need to build an even bigger bridge to connect the gate.
Right, he'll leave all the thinking to people smarter than him.
As they go around the wall, Eclea makes a comment similar to her talking about Naofumi and Mei- Malty escaping from the church. "That's strange. It looks like someone tried to put Trumpet to siege."
"What do you mean?" Ren looks around, turning his body to look at Naofumi's companion.
"See those black marks on the wall near the gate? That's the scorch marks caused by magic." Eclea points her finger at the darker shade around the gate. It's something he didn't pay much attention to, assuming it's always there. But now that she pointed it out… he really can't unsee it. It's almost like some kind of scar, no that sounds too gross. A tattoo? Yes, it looks like a tattoo on the wall. "It's not a heavy siege. Or else we'd see walls cracked from damages caused by siege engines. But it definitely looks like someone tried to get into the city by force… and the fight didn't last too long. Not long enough to cause more permanent damage to the structure of the wall, at least."
"Who could possibly do something like this? To leave a mark on a reinforced wall… we are talking about a master mage in mid to high prestige level range. Or a group of mages conducting a ritual spell together." Iris is trying to remain calm, but the syllables coming out of her mouth are shaking. Like the way she talked when she was scarred by the giant bio-plant. "That rules out bandits. Not even the Bitch Lord at the height of her power can pull something like this off."
"Can those church people do it? If they hurt Naofumi and his friends… they'd try and hurt people who are close with Naofumi, right?"
Iris stays silent for a little while after he voiced his question. "Could be. It could also be some rival great house seeking to settle some old grudges. We won't know till' we get closer, maybe inside the city."
"Get ready for trouble. And if something doesn't look right, we'll port right out." Ren shares a quick look with him, and they nod at each other. They need to get inside this city if they want to find evidence that'll help Naofumi against the church. There's not much to think about.
"Ah, Sword Hero and Spear Hero was it? Jarl Whiterun is waiting for you two." As their group gets closer to the gate, one of the guards walks forward to greet them.
"How do you know we are coming?" Ren narrows his eyes at glares at the gate.
"We received a raven from Balafon. Informing us you two were riding south with your companions. With your ability to teleport to most major cities, it's not hard to figure out you are coming to see Jarl Whiterun." The guard explains, while the rest of his comrades slowly open the gate. The street looks kind of empty, just like Balafon now Motoyasu thinks about it. Only a few people walk around with their heads lowered, while the guards patrol the street.
"Very well." Ren seems to squeeze his fingers around the hilt of his sword tighter as they ride inside. He throws a look over Motoyasu's way, staring at the spear. Asking him to have his weapon ready? Is this a trap?
With the street cleared of most people, they ride almost the whole way up the sloped street towards the castle. Although he did notice two buildings near the entrance were both boarded up. One was some kind of… weapon shop? There's a lot of forge looking stuff and a smelter outside the building. The other seems to be a pretty plain-looking two floor shack.
They stop till they reach the square around a giant tree, in front of a woman's statue. The rest of the way to the castle is made entirely of stone stairs, so they get off Yuki, Kou, and Sakura and let them change into their angel forms, and walk the rest of the way. The large castle at the top made of stone and wood looks pretty impressive, he supposed. Although it looks like a pain to clean up.
The door to the castle is about as large, maybe even larger than the big gate at the wall. And once they enter, they are met with… more stairs. Naofumi and Ren had to put up with this when they came to meet the guy in charge? Granted, he doesn't tire as easily as back home thanks to all the training he did to be a hero, but it still feels like a bother. Ren's voice once again brings him back to the present. "You aren't Jarl Balgruuf."
He looks straight up, and the one sitting on the big wooden throne under a dragon skull is… a boy? Looking about as old as Kou? Yeah, he doesn't need Ren, or Iris to tell him something doesn't look right here.
"Damn right I'm not. After seeing so many adventurers coming in here licking my Father's boots, it's about time I'm calling the shots now." The boy smirks at them as he puts his legs up. "It's a good thing he went and pissed in the church's cup, isn't it?"
With the sound of clanking boots on stone or wood, countless fighters in armor rushes into the large room. Swords, spears, and bows pointing at them. All of them wear a large piece of cloth apron over their body, white with a red triangle. People from the Three Heroes' Church. "Lady Iris Lana Amelia, Lady Bertia Ebil Noches. Your fathers are found guilty of conspiring against the crown and treason. Turn yourselves in, and we won't have to raise our arms against Lord Sword Hero and Lord Spear Hero."
"What? There has to be a mistake!" Bertia nearly trips over as she turns around to look at the armed church people surrounding them.
"Yeah! Tia's father is the most loyal friend of King Aultcray!" Katarina immediately takes her axe off the strap, waving it at the fighters.
"There's no point trying to talk it out when they planned this big ambush on us." Iris takes a step back, hiding behind her personal maid Tanya. "They are clearly trying to take us hostage to use as leverage against our fathers. I wouldn't be surprised the reason Katarina isn't included is because her father is in Cal Mira Island with her majesty."
"Nobody takes another of my companions away!" He points his spear at the gathered church people. "You think I'm going to take Iris and Bertia away like you fuckers did to Mutsu? Well, piss off if you don't want to get hurt!"
"Don't waste your time! Port out!" Ren gives a quick squeeze on his shoulder while raising his sword. "[Portal Sword]- what the hell?"
The sapphire colored light that normally teleports Ren and five people of his choosing away simply fizzled out this time, almost like an exploding lightbulb.
"We may not be able to use portal skills like you revered heroes, but over time we have come up with ways to stop a hero… or a demon masquerading as a hero to use foul sorcery from teleporting right into the heart of our cities." Even he recognized the threat in the church people's smug voice. "You heroes might be revered, but you are not above the law. Stand down, and let us take the criminals among you and we won't be forced to resort to violence."
"I got two words for you. [Meteor Spear]!" He fires his strongest attack into the crowd. The archers standing above on the wooden platforms from the side begin raining arrows at them. Thankfully Bertia immediately cast her shadow magic to block them.
"Keep them busy, Motoyasu! I'm contacting Itsuki!" Ren quickly changes his sword into his smart phone and starts dialing. He doesn't need to be told a second time, as he charges into the crowd while they are still disoriented with his sudden attack. Using lessons he took from Tanya, he waves his spear in a circle, knocking people flying away like a staff as well as cutting them with the speartip. From the sound of Katarina's angry yell, she's doing something similar.
"Itsuki? Trumpet is a trap, we can't teleport out!" Behind him amongst a wave of angry shouting and pained groaning, Ren's urgent voice can be heard.
"What?! Hang on! I'm coming!" "NO! didn't you hear me? Porting doesn't work! Tell the gathered lords the Three Heroes' Church betrayed us!" "Okay! Hang in there! Help's on the way!" "Got to go! [Meteor Sword]!" Another five point star shaped explosion sending the archers flying down the platform. Ren has clearly joined the fight.
"The false heroes have shown their true colors! Don't panic and regroup!" One of the church people shouts from the back, as a line of heavily armored knight looking people close in around him, their shields linked. A golden wall of light made of hexagon begins to push him back. "[Tortoise]!"
Chains of light fly out from his wrist, linking up with both Katarina and Bertia. The boost from their combined strength lets him crack some of the hexagon shaped light mirrors, but he can hit one, and two people at a time before they block his shots again. "What are we going to do, Ren!? There's too many of them!"
"Bravo! BRAVO! Let me see more of this show! HEY! Let me watch more!" The boy jumps up on his throne, clapping and screaming. He's quickly pulled away by one of the guards.
"Itsuki said help's on the way after I told him teleport doesn't work… he's sending Gaelion!" Ren tries to fire more [Meteor Sword] attack up on the higher platform to hit their archers. But his attack is blocked by a wall of golden light. Seeing this, Motoyasu quickly takes a few steps back, picks up Katarina against Annie's protest and throws his companion up the platform. Katarina rockets through the air like a missile, crushes right through the light wall like glass, and starts to slap people around left and right with her big ax. "Is there a large open platform, or a balcony we can use to get on Gaelion and escape?"
"There's a large open stone stage behind Dragon Keep! We'll use it to escape!" Iris points to the north where more stairs lead to the upper level of the castle. She grabs Bertia's hand, and quickly pulls Bertia with her towards the stair while Tanya backs away a few steps behind them. Skewering anyone chasing them or swat away their weapons with her spear.
"Alright! I'll clear the way with your birds! Motoyasu! You hang back and stop the pursuers behind us!" Ren turns around, and starts firing off a chain of sword abilities. The loud chirping of birds also tells him that his children are doing exactly what Ren asked of them. He stands shoulder to shoulder with Tanya and Annie like Ren asked, keeping the church people away from them with their three spears.
"Sakura charge!" The sound of some wood snapping tells him that Sakura managed to knock through some door. Thinking that's probably his que to leave, he fires off another [Meteor Spear] to push the church people back, picks up Tanya and Annie and jumps right up the stairs with a single leap. Leaving the church people screaming murder behind him.
The room above is littered with more armored church people, some of them still twitch on the ground groaning in pain, others… are very much not moving. Some of their bodies bent the way he's pretty sure aren't supposed to even in video games. Well… he's not going to worry about the church people for trying to harm his friends and companions. He runs through the broken door, still with Tanya and Annie in tow.
Outside is a large stone… balcony? Stage? It reminds him a bit of the theater he went to with Momiji once to watch and listen to a bunch of people sing weird songs, but much bigger. It's above the wall of the city, but a colored dom covers the sky like an inverted bowl. Is this what stopped Ren from teleporting out?
He doesn't have much time to think over things, when he hears the sound of people chasing after them. Quickly putting Tanya and Annie on their feet again, he turns around and blindly fires another [Meteor Spear] behind him to slow their chasers down. He runs towards the rest of their group, they are standing near the edge of the fence in a half circle, ready to hold out before Gaelion gets here.
"You caused us enough trouble, false heroes. But there's nowhere to run." The church guy's armor is dented and dirtied, as he slowly closes in on them with more church people behind him. At least a hundred, if not more. "Hand Lady Amelia and Lady Noches over, and maybe we can forgive this transgression- GAH!"
The bad church man's speech is cut short, when a giant wooden frame fell on them. It looks like one of those torture devices used have people strapped down and stop them from moving. Except it's clearly used to capture something much bigger. Maybe a dragon?
"Don't threaten my lady, you scum of earth." Motoyasu looks up, and sees a young woman with long, silky black hair running down her back in a maid's uniform just like Tanya and Annie and piercing red eyes. Despite her calm, almost cold expression, she's clearly the one who released that giant wood… dragon capture device?
"GLASS!" Bertia jumps on her feet as the maid jumps down the stone platform from the side, and runs towards them while the church people try to push the giant wooden frame off their bodies. Their tight formation makes them tangled in each other, and unable to dodge away from the giant wooden trap. "Don't attack her! That's Glass, My personal maid! What happened to Father and Mother? And what about my little brother? How did you find us?"
"Your family is fine, for now, my lady. Lord Noches is in hiding, but organizing a resistance movement against the Three Heroes' Church's betrayal. I was traveling north, trying to find you when I saw you ride into the city on your big bird." The maid runs to them and slides into a kneel in front of Bertia, just as the glass dome in the sky shatters, revealing Gaelion as he flies down towards them. Glass casts a dismissive gaze over at the church knights. "And I'm guessing this is your cue to leave these floundering fools behind?"
"Okay, that's our escape. JUMP!" Ren picks up Eclea and her friend, tossing them over the railing on Gaelion's back before he leaps down as well. Tanya and Glass pick up Iris and Bertia respectively, while Katarina pulls Annie behind her as she flips off the fence railing with a mad laughter. Knowing there's nothing else to do for now, Motoyasu follows right after with his filorial children among the angry shouts of the bad church people. "We didn't get any document to help Naofumi. What are we going to do now?"
"We'll regroup in Stormwind. My little brother Barn has taken over governing the city, it'll be safe for us before we come up with a new plan." Iris brushes a strain of hair away from her face, as Gaelion takes off leaving Trumpet behind them. "You mentioned a resistance organized by Lord Noches, Glass? We'll see if we can put our resources together."
End Note:
So... I totally did NOT plan ahead of time that Naofumi being granted the title of Thane by Balgruuf being a major plot point where people start to rally behind this fact against Three Heroes Church back when I wrote his crossover event with Ren back in ACT II. At the time, I just thought having him gets Dragonborn's title from Skyrim is cool, since I plucked Whiterun into Melromarc. And in his way Naofumi was also involved in some dragon plot just like Dragonborn. But it worked out here in this chapter.
The three weapon heroes regroup with Eclair and they start to plan around helping out Naofumi was however, planned very early on (I can't remember specifically when, but definitely before Eclair joined Naofumi's party in my story). Although this came in a very different context from my original plan, which would have happened WAY later than this point. It's once again, some more plot point Commissar Gaunt helped me hammer it out. I will probably talk about it more later, when I reach the point where I originally planned it to happen.
Also, I'm going to say something a lot of people probably don't agree on. Ren is the smartest Cardinal Hero, and yes, I include Rising timeline Naofumi. At least when Ren isn't suffering from a crippling INT debuff due to his fierce competitiveness and hatred to accept losing.
I already pointed out that the whole Zombie Gaelion incident was in fact, NOT Ren's fault at all. And in the Siltvelt timeline of Reprisal of the Spear Hero, he fully shown just how perceptive and smart he is compared to Naofumi. He realized Melromarc nobility was manipulating, and using Itsuki and himself from nothing other than they were pampering them both rotten, and had the good sense to GTFO before shit hit the fan. While at the same point in Rising, Queen Safespace already had Rising timeline Naofumi eating right out of her hand.
So yeah, Ren kind of takes over the leadership role of the three heroes in this chapter. Even though he is the youngest, something I always forget till someone remind me Itsuki was actually 17, not 14 (because he sure acts like one most of the time).
Also... Glass appears in this chapter. Well... Melromarc's native counterpart to Glass, the Fan Hero. To be honest, I been thinking about introducing a Medea counterpart to Glass for a while now because Goddess Raphtalia appear at the end of 3rd Wave, not Glass. And I just don't know what to do with this hypothetical character. Until I realized Bertia doesn't have a personal maid unlike Iris and Katarina yet. Because in her canon story, Kuro the dark spirit fox is supposed to gain a humanoid form and become her personal maid, something I might NOT do at all for this story, because I like cute spirit animals stay as cute animals. BAM! Medea Glass counterpart, personal maid for Bertia.
Pointless trivia. Originally, I was going to write a (obviously non-canon) omake at the end of 3rd wave, showing what would have happened if the heroes in this story did fight Glass instead of Goddess Raphtalia. And they actually kill Glass by working together, covering each other's weakness while exploiting Glass' weakness. I decided to not write it because I'm a lazy ass... and also I feel like it would have step on the toe of the emotion I been building up for the 3HC's big betrayal causing Naofumi to hit rock bottom too much.
Next chapter, we see what Raphtalia is going through... and what Consevatie the Young is up to. Same Red Princess (haha) time, same Red Princess (haha) channel.