Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter and providing feed backs.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
Ren Amaki, the summoned hero of the sword, knew he was dead. His opponent had managed to bait him to over extend himself with a faint, making him think there's a weakness in her defense that he could exploit. It's only when he fully committed to the swing, that he found his opponent had managed to stick the bridge of their sword to his blade, guiding it to spin in a wide arc that would have sent it instantly out of his hand if it wasn't for the holy weapon's quirk to stick on their wielder. As it is, his entire body is now tipping with the sword, completely breaking his balance and his opponent was quick to capitalize the weakness in his stance. With one good push from her shoulder, he stumbles completely, back hitting the dirt. And he found the blade of his opponent pressed against his neck. With nothing left to do, he managed to squeeze the words of defeat through his teeth with as much dignity as he could muster. "I yield."
"REN!" Wyndia quickly skips her feet over to kneel at his right side, and she's just as quick to offer comforting words. "Eclea got you again... but that's okay! You'll win next time!"
"Miss Wyndia is right, Master Sword Hero. You improve daily. Please, do not let the lack of victory against me discourage you. I have been training as a squire since six and I only earned my knighthood... actually, I haven't earned it yet. There's still a long way for me to go." Eclea seems to suddenly stumble over her words near the end. He can't help but feel a bit resentment at how she might have let her strings of victory over him go to her head. Regardless, the squire extended her hand at him, offering to help him up.
"I don't need pity." Ren almost slapped Eclea's hand away on reflex, but he catches himself at the end. Still, he didn't take the squire's hand, and stood up on his own... mostly on his own. Wyndia is still hovering over his shoulder, and she helped support his shoulder while he stood. If Eclea is hurt by his standoffish attitude, she didn't show it. Although the bucket-like helmet hiding her face might have something to do with it. "None of you have to mince words with me. If you, Eclea of Harp had been a squire for over ten years and still haven't earned your knighthood yet. What does it say about my skill? I haven't won once against someone who is only training to be a knight. Would I be ready to go help Naofumi if I learn where he is right now? Would I have any chance if I go up against one of those templar knights from the church?"
Interlude 19: Rally of The Three Heroes
The place he has taken for his personal sparring sessions with Eclea isn't one of the official dueling rings, or training ground built around the barracks of Stormwind. It doesn't feel right to impose himself on the House Amelia's men-at-arms, or one of the mercenary bands they hired to maintain peace in Stormwind. He's not doing something fancy, like an obstacle course. So a patch of land where he can fight with Eclea is all it took. Which usually ends up being somewhere outside the wall of the small annexed kingdom near the eastern gate. The uneven ground is fine for him, as it simulates real life combat situations that could happen anywhere better than a cleared out dueling ring. And it has the extra benefit of letting him spot Motoyasu's group when they return.
At the start, some people from Stormwind, even some of House Amelia's men would go on the wall to see the two of them fight. Overtime, most of the adults disappeared. Probably because the result is always a swift beatdown he gets from Eclea, the spectacle of seeing the Sword Hero fight quickly fades away. Now, only the patrols on the wall occasionally shoot a glance over their way, and sometimes a group of small children gather around to see how the adults 'play'.
Wyndia's silence, and the way Eclea's head turned away from his gaze told him all he needed to know. No, he is not even ready to fight a bunch of religious fanatics and their glorified thugs. Seemingly sensing his resignation, Eclea mutters under her breath. "Skill takes time to build and there's no shortcut... you need to condition your body day in, day out with repetition and hard work. But I'm sure you'll be fine if you rely more on your hero abilities and skills. I'm pretty sure you would have easily beat me if you used them."
"What good will it do, if all it takes to disable, or kill me is for a knight. Any knight can get through everyone and fight me at melee range. I can't even win against a squire, or fight you to a draw." Ren knows that he's being too harsh on the people who are only trying to help him. Neither Wyndia, nor Eclea deserves the bad attitude and temper he is throwing at them. But he can't help himself. Back home, he had always taken pride in how he is someone who honed his skill to raise up the ladder of leaderboard in the most popular game and looked down on the ability spamming scrubs who brute force combat encounters. The knowledge that he is one such spamming scrub who doesn't know how to properly fight annoys him to no end.
Once again, he knows video game skill doesn't directly translate to real life skill, despite VR technology having made all the games much more hands on than using the more traditional gaming systems. If he had even a tenth of the skill his character possessed in Brave Star Online, he would not have died to some random mugger on the street. But to experience the real dissonance between what his real battle prowess (or lack thereof) is compared to his game avatar is still a withering experience.
"I think you are too hard on yourself, Master Sword Hero. I know I'm only a squire... but my skill is as good as most knights. I'm sure. Sir Lucatiel didn't grant me full knighthood not because of my lacking swordsmanship, but more out of concern for my inexperience." Once again, Eclea doesn't even try to meet his eyes despite her helmet hiding most of her features. She looks down, at her own twitching feet.
Ren can't help but feel guilty for the distress his awkward social skill and temper is causing the squire. He wishes Motoyasu is here, his older and more immature fellow hero would know what to do to defuse the situation. While his spear wielding comrade is for all intent and purpose, a clueless idiot. He also seems to have strong intuition, especially around females on what to say and do to put them at ease.
Speaking of Motoyasu... when the two of them learnt that Itsuki got involved with a war (or a border skirmish) with Siltvelt, they immediately offered to go and help him. Although Itsuki declined their help. The battle was apparently going well for Melromarc's defending force, as their superior position allowed them to turtle behind walls and fortifications, and let Siltvelt invasion force pay every step with their blood.
So with Naofumi turned fugitive at large and Itsuki busy with the war effort, he worked out a routine with Motoyasu. They would rotate during morning and afternoon, where one of them would train and spar with someone who knows how to properly use their weapon, while the other would take their allies out in the field hunting monsters to help raise everyone's levels. Yes, Zellus told them leveling up too fast is a bad thing, as it leads to combatants having a hard time controlling their quickly grown strength. But they'll need strong combatants if they are going against those zealous militants from the Three Heroes' Church.
Ren didn't believe for a second that they could reach some kind of peaceful reconciliation with the Three Heroes' Church at this point. Despite the faith's supposed reverence towards them. Naofumi being hunted down by them, and one of Motoyasu's companions getting enslaved wasn't enough clue. The church's attempt at arrest, and then kidnap of Motoyasu's companions was enough to open the eyes of the blind.
Speaking of which... a group of around fifty people is making their way towards the gate from the east. Their pace is much faster than normal travelers, especially on feet rather than on steed. He doesn't need to see their faces to know Motoyasu's group is now back, which means it'll be his turn to take a group and help them level up after a quick meal.
Ren does remember there had been a dozen or so filorials who went with Motoyasu this morning. New birds he raised up from eggs, as his personal 'army' to fight against the Three Heroes' Church when a full on war between them inevitably breaks out. So this new batch has gained their humanoid form? As Motoyasu's group runs closer, Ren begins to focus his gaze on the unfamiliar faces... but his attention is instantly drawn above their head to their particular hairstyles. "Do you have to give everyone of your bird an ahoge? It really messes up with the hairstyle of their namesakes."
"Hey, it's not me! Blame the crazy bird lady! She keeps insisting on 'testing' all my children. Because she is going mental, or something like that." Motoyasu raises and waves his hands, almost like he wants to shake his hands clean of Ren's accusation. It only makes the Sword Hero raise his eyebrows, since he has no idea what the slightly older hero is talking about.
"Queen Fitoria is not some 'crazy bird lady', Master Motoyasu." Miya, the oldest of filorials raised by Motoyasu in his second batch, wipes a hand over her forehead. She looks like she's trying her hardest not to grimace. "And she's not going mental. Our queen is trying to find a candidate to pass down her mantle of the filorial queen. That's why she is testing all of us, to see who would be the best candidate to be the next queen."
"I thought all of you were filorial queens?" Ren's raised eyebrow didn't lower at Miya's explanation. He looks over at Kuro and Kou. "Or kings, I suppose?"
"No way! Kuro is a queen too! Just like Yuki and Sakura!" Kuro takes a few quick strides forward to stand in front of Ren. He rests his hands on his waist, bends his body forward to pout at Ren. The little crossdresser doesn't look pleased at Ren's assumption of his role. In hindsight... how he preferred to wear an elaborate dress should have been enough of a clue. "Don't tell Kuro he can't be a queen just because he's born a boy!"
"I'm sure you'll make a great queen, Kuro." Ren extends his hand forward to pet Kuro's hair. The petite bird boy looks satisfied by this gesture, and glides his way back to Motoyasu's side.
"All of us have become monarchs thanks to Master Motoyasu unlocking our potential, yes. But there can only be one true queen... or king, Who bears the mantle of Alaya. That's what Queen Fitoria is trying to pass down." Everything Miya spoke flew over Ren's head except one name: Alaya. No... she can't be using terminology from the FATE franchise. It's probably just him misheard her, or a coincidence. A chocobo knock off who can turn into a human isn't going to be powerful enough to be one of the two counter guardians.
Ren opens his mouth, but he isn't sure what he wanted to talk about. Asking Miya to elaborate on the supposed true queen, or asking Motoyasu of his group's progress, maybe? Regardless, he's interrupted by a topaz colored ray of light that suddenly shoots through the sky towards the center of Stormwind. Motoyasu instantly jumps forward into a full sprint. "That's Itsuki! Something must have happened!"
Motoyasu's group split into two. All his birds, Katarina, Bertia and their respective cohorts run to follow the Spear Hero. While Iris, and her much smaller group simply trailed behind, walking towards Stormwind at a more leisurely pace. Ren himself ran to catch up to his fellow hero. The last time they contacted each other, Itsuki was fighting in the conflict at the border. He didn't make it sound too bad, but something has clearly gone wrong if he suddenly teleported over to Stormwind instead of giving them a call.
When he approaches the city center, Ren sees a large crowd of people gathered around. Almost forming a wall with their bodies. That's a bit peculiar, considering the people of Stormwind have seen enough of the faces of Motoyasu and himself to not make a deal out of seeing a hero on the street. The feeling only intensified when he saw the metal caps, and tips of sharpened spear tips among the sea of people. Guards. Something definitely happened.
Then he heard the sound of struggling, and someone's angry shouting coming from the center of the crowd. "I asked you to take Rishia away, not start a revolt and throw out the ruling family! You fucking idiot! Do you know how many people died because of your stupid stunt?!"
"NO! Please! Stop it, big brother Raruk!" It takes Ren a few moments to realize the other speaker was Rishia, as she is speaking, even shouting much louder than Ren ever heard her. Not that he heard her speak very often. Which is very out of character for the quiet, shy girl who always avoids confrontations. That's probably why he didn't even realize her identity after he thought about it for a little while. " S-Sir Itsuki...he was only trying to help the people of Stormwind ! He didn't mean for any of this to happen !"
"Well, I only meant it well too when I asked him to whisk you away. I didn't think he'd start a revolt on his own! And do you know how many people died in the revolt? The riot after?" Ren has no idea whoever this enraged speaker is. He clearly sounds like a young man, with how erratic his voice sounds. And Rishia calls him big brother. Which in itself was a surprise. Rishia has an elder brother? That's certainly news to him. Then again, he doesn't know anything about Itsuki's most quiet companion. Considering how often she just stands in the back being quiet, or in the back organizing Itsuki's supply like part of the background. "I'm sure the victims of everybody who died because of his shitty revolution feel just as good as he does, that he was 'only trying to help'. Look around you, Rishia ! Half of the people here are dead, starved and the only reason we're not fighting each other for a scrap of bread is because some nobles from Melromarc came to take their piece of territory!"
"Excuse me. Coming through." Motoyasu runs into the wall of people and begins to squeeze his way through. The annoyance anyone showed him quickly disappears when they realize it's the Spear Hero. And they quickly part ways to let him and his group through. Either out of respect... or fear. Motoyasu probably missed it, but Ren definitely noticed how the eyes of some people of Stormwind suddenly enlarged, their mouth gap open. Particularly those around middle age or older. Considering what Rishia's brother is screaming at Itsuki, they might genuinely be afraid of how a hero could harm them like Itsuki did.
Ren follows right after Motoyasu and slides his way through. As he breaks through the bodies, the younger hero manages to get a good look at the person who is going off on Itsuki. Just as he expected, he was a young man, around or maybe slightly older than Motoyasu. It's hard to judge his exact age when Motoyasu's demeanor often makes him come off as someone younger, while this man's sour face and dead fish like eyes makes him look more weary and older. His form is on the lanky side, wearing a buttoned shirt and a neat pair of pants where the color of the dye is starting to fade from what Ren assumed to be constant wash. Business casual, if Ren goes by his own world's standard.
The young man's hair is cut short, but has an oil-like shine to it that reminded Ren of how Professor Snape's hair was described in those Harry Potter books. So an alchemist, or a potion maker? But one who has a more modern style of fashion as opposed to thick robes? It certainly makes more sense that his clothes are tight and neat if he has to work around what's essentially a medieval fantasy equivalent of laboratory equipment. As opposed to something that's floppy and loose just to go with what people associate with magician aesthetics.
Ren tips his head to the side and gets a better look at the young man's face. Rishia calls him brother, but they don't look anything alike. But then again, his observation could have easily been skewed by their very different facial expressions. Rishia is nervous, awkward. Her soft expression often quickly morphed into shock when someone talks to her. Her brother on the other hand is currently wearing a much more severe expression, angry and confrontation that makes all his features look much sharper. Even when he is currently being held back by two guards. And right now, his fury is fully focused on Itsuki, who is lying on the ground. "Get off your goddamn ass, Bow Hero ! Or do you intend to hide behind Rishia all day long and moping on the ground, because you don't have the guts to face your failures !"
"I understand you are angry, big brother Raruk. But you still shouldn't have attacked Master Itsuki! You are only making it hard on yourself!" Rishia seems to realize the futility to change her brother's opinion on Itsuki, and tries to plead him on rationality. Although it's already too late, judging from how her brother is being detained. Not to mention how Ren is currently seeing Iris' younger brother Barn, the current governor of Stormwind had come onto the scene from the opposite side. Three other young men around his age, and one slightly younger, more portly boy behind them. The young governor doesn't look happy, probably because Rishia's brother made him look bad in front of his... friends? And also his sister who is definitely coming.
"You again. I grow tired of your belligerence, L'arc Berg." Barn narrows his eyes at Rishia's brother. Well, now Ren has a name to refer to. So his name is something like Raruk L'Arc Berg? It's a bit of a mouthful. The governor turns to the guards holding onto the young troublemaker. "Take him away. A few days in the dungeon should cool his head off."
"Please, don't be too hard on big brother..." Rishia's weak protest sounds more like she's talking to herself than the guards as her brother is taken away. The young man continues to struggle against his capturers and screaming curses even as he's dragged away.
Now that the confrontation with her brother is resolved, Ren focuses his attention on Itsuki. He is instantly shocked at the state his fellow hero is in. Itsuki's face is unnaturally pale, the color of his lips is closer to indigo than any natural color, and his short hair a disheveled nest. It's clear that Itsuki wasn't unsettled by the anger of Rishia's brother. He might not even be aware of himself being punched and fall on the ground. Ren walks over to Itsuki's side and kneels down, speaking gently to his fellow hero. "Did the war go that bad, Itsuki?"
"...The war? Yes, it was hell." Itsuki's eyes don't focus on him, and the way he speaks is more like he's mumbling in his dream. "So many people... just charging at our fortification. They get cut down by the dozens, but more keeps coming. And I just keep putting them down one after another. I saw some of them as young as me, their legs and arms broken, still chanting Naofumi's name... we aren't fighting for the good guys."
Ren's mouth feels dry even when he only hears the way Itsuki describes the war he is in. Now he understands why his fellow hero didn't let Motoyasu and himself get involved. That's not the kind of slaughter one comes out with their sanity wholly intact from. He knows that he should in some way offer Itsuki comfort, but he doesn't know how. Should he try to offer a hug? Is he close enough to Itsuki to do something like this without unsettling him even more?
"Geez, you look like shit, Itsuki. What happened? Last I heard, you were fighting in combat near that fort." While Ren is too hesitant to do anything, Motoyasu instantly opens his mouth and speaks what's on his mind. What he actually said makes Ren's head hurt.
"You did not just say 'fighting in combat'. Isn't that like saying you'll kill someone to death?"
"You bet your ass I'm going to kill that old fart who took Mutsu away to death. As soon as I get the go ahead from Iris, I'll storm his church and kill them so hard, they'll all die to death." Motoyasu crosses his arms in front of his chest, and acts like what he said was actually sensible. It gives Ren an even bigger migraine than before.
"Haha... that's Motoyasu for you. Never change..." Itsuki actually lets out a chuckle at the antics of their oldest (but most immature) fellow hero. At least he actually seems to be aware of his surroundings this time. Which Ren took as a good thing. Just like he thought, Motoyasu is an idiot, but he has his moment. "Anyways, the war we had with Siltvelt army isn't why I came back. We got some news about Naofumi. And we have to move fast."
Itsuki's reply makes Ren look behind him, and notices not everyone in his group came from his party. In particular, there is a boy who is around Raphtalia's age, clearly too young to be fighting monsters (which speaks a lot about Raphtalia's previous arrangement... but he tries to not judge Naofumi too much because he doesn't know what exactly happened with him). And that big man with tanned skin in green armor who was definitely in Naofumi's party before the Wave. Someone he supposedly sent on an errant right before the Wave, for some reason.
"We should probably speak about it in private. Too many ears out in the open like this." The young man who Naofumi sent away helpfully added. From the corner of his eyes, Ren notices Iris and her cohort finally joins up with their group, and she's currently talking with her younger brother Barn. The governor's face looks rather interesting, like he is suffering from constipation. Was he chastised by Iris for something?
"Very well. We shall gather around and hear Lord Shield Hero's predicament in Barn's office."
Barn's office is the study of the previously deposed and executed king. It's definitely spacious enough to contain most of their group, which does not include a lot of the birds Motoyasu raised up. That's fine, Ren doesn't expect them to offer much contribution to the conversation at hand. As it is, the only ones accompanying them are Yuki and Miya. Sakura went to sleep in one of the castle's bedrooms, while Kuro and Kou are running around the place with the rest of their younger 'siblings' who haven't unlocked their human form, or even their monarch form yet. He doesn't know what the other humanoid filorials Motoyasu raised (which now number a few dozen) are up to.
A lot of chairs had to be taken from other rooms to let everyone sit down, although a few refused and simply stood. The tanned giant who was at Naofumi's party is one of them. With the way his body tensed up like a fully pulled back bowstring, Ren almost expected him to jump on someone like Rishia's brother supposedly did to Itsuki. And when the boy who tagged along his fellow hero speaks up, the reason quickly becomes clear. "Master Shield Hero was captured by the Three Heroes' Church outside the capital. They laid a trap for him, started a rumor about the Vicar of Four Heroes' Church being denied entry into the capital. It was a lie, a trap prepared to capture Master Shield Hero and we fell for it."
"The Shield Hero... captured?" Eclea leans into the back of her seat. Even with the helmet hiding her face, Ren can feel the sense of devastation rolling from her. "It's my fault... I should have gone with him to the Third Wave. I could have-"
"Please, don't blame yourself, Lady Eclair. My thane sent me away before the Third Wave too. Because he had a bad feeling about the Three Heroes' Church. Master Shield Hero wanted me away from harm... and to help him when I can. I... haven't done anything yet. The Three Heroes' Church's take over had taken everyone, my Jarl included, by complete surprise." The large young man from Naofumi's party comforts Eclea with a surprisingly gentle, yet pained voice. Ren can't help but notice the specific way he pronounced Eclea's name. Is it an accent, or something else?
"That does it!" Motoyasu interrupts Ren's thoughts by immediately jumping up from his seat, and raises his spear high. Ren saw it, used the ability himself enough to know Motoyasu is prepared to teleport himself straight to the capital. Probably to kick down the door to the church and start a rampage by himself.
"I'm going with you, Master Motoyasu!" Katarina instantly shoots up from her seat. Bertia doesn't say anything, but she silently grabs Motoyasu's sleeve with her fingers showing her support. Strangely, Iris looks completely composed behind her fan.
"Sit down, Motoyasu. You are not going to the capital to make a scene!" Ren does his best to channel the impression of a stern teacher scolding his rambunctious students. Hoping it's enough to stop Motoyasu's newest act of foolishness before he has to resort to violence. It worked, at least for the moment. The much bigger (and older) hero flinches, and lowers his hand. "We can't save Naofumi by charging ahead into our enemy. We need to plan our actions out."
"What's there to plan?! Naofumi is captured by them! That stupid cult who thinks he's a demon! Who knows what they are doing to him right now?!" Just as Ren expected, Motoyasu only stopped due to the shock of being yelled at rather than being convinced by his argument. At least right now the older hero is focused on screaming at him, rather than running off by himself and doing something that'll really make them swim up the shit creek without a pedal. "We need to go and get him out now! Him, Melty and Mutsu! We'll have to bring down their church if we have to!"
"And how do you plan to do that if they push them out and threaten to kill them?" Ren crosses his arm and glares right back at Motoyasu. The older hero simply stares at him right back with a gaped mouth, unable to come up with a rebuke. "I'm not saying we leave Naofumi to that damn cult. But we have to be smart about it. The church knows we are against them when we refuse to let them arrest your companions, but they don't know what we are doing. For all they know, we are hiding out here in Stormwind building our strength. If we are to have a chance to rescue them, we can't waste our element of surprise and charge at them like a bunch of idiots!"
"Sword Hero speaks the truth. Our failure to get princess Melty, and Mutsu back from the Three Heroes' Church through words has proven that they are planning something for their own nefarious purpose, and would not back down even if all of you revered heroes go to them making demands together." Iris snaps her fan back close with a crisp click. Ren can't help but raise his eyebrow despite the heiress supporting his words. Something in her body language tells him that she knows more than any of them. There was no sense of surprise... or anything when the young boy revealed Naofumi's fate. Almost like she... expected it.
"What aren't you telling us, Iris?" Ren doubts he would have been diplomatic even in a better situation. He isn't someone who dresses up his words with politeness to live up to the ideal of being a hero like Itsuki, or being nice to others (especially women) due to his kind nature like Motoyasu. He has always preferred to be blunt whenever he speaks, which was probably why Mikoto was the only one who could tolerate him back home. For now, he really isn't in the mood to beat around the bushes with whatever game Iris is playing. "You are being too calm. Almost like you knew the information beforehand."
Iris doesn't say anything back to him. She simply opens her fan to hide her face once again, as her cohort stares right back at Ren with cold glare or furious sneer.
"Yeah! That's not nice, Ren! Don't take it out on Iris just because you are angry at what happened to Naofumi." Motoyasu's response nearly made Ren roll his eyes. He probably should have expected this from the Spear Hero, but did Motoyasu really chastise him because the idiot believed he was taking his temper out on Iris? Okay... maybe he is, a little. But it still doesn't change the fact that Iris is now obviously being sinister and isn't revealing everything to them.
"Your lady friend obviously knows something we don't. Information that would have helped us come up with a better plan to help Naofumi, and your enslaved companion. Things she's now keeping away from us." Ren points his finger at Iris. "While all of you have your attention on the boy-"
"I'm Raki. Raki of Lute." The boy helpfully supplements his name, interrupting Ren's speech in the process.
"Right, Raki of Lute." Ren throws a bland look over at the boy's direction. The blonde boy seems to get the message, and promptly shuts his mouth. "While all of you were focused on looking at Raki of Lute, I was looking at everyone else. Your lady friend Iris, and her entire group is the only one who didn't show any sign of anger, or surprise when we learnt of Naofumi's capture."
"A noble lady, and her attendants should always keep their composure even as a mountain collapses in front of them. Please don't assume I haven't mastered my courtly mask, just because my childhood friends haven't yet." Iris' attempt at deflection makes Ren's eyes twitch. Really? She's going to keep up this charade even with everything else?
"Really? Even when one of the heroes, and a princess is involved?"
The man with wild, dark hair who doesn't bother to button up his shirt properly scowls back at Ren. "How dare you question Lady Iris? Who do you think you are?"
"What Master Sword Hero said makes a lot of sense... If Master Shield Hero is truly harmed by the Three Heroes' Church, it would be very bad for all of us in Melromarc. At the least, it would give all the other nations an excuse to declare a full on crusade against us and rip our nation apart, taking whatever spoil they wanted for themselves. At worst, it would make the Wave of Catastrophe unstoppable if the Shield Hero is actually killed." The blue haired knight from Itsuki's party suddenly looks up and focuses her eyes at Iris. "That's not something any heiress, or even a lady of the Great House would keep calm of. Especially not someone like you, Lady Iris. Your family stands to lose the most."
"...very well. I do know that Master Shield Hero, and Princess Malty had managed to escape with their lives shortly after they were captured by the Three Heroes' Church. Lady Bertia's father, Lord Noches, staged a rescue with all the assets he had, and managed to break them both out of the dungeon." Once again, Iris closes her fan with a crisp click. "That action, alongside the church's ambition to seize the assets owned by my family, led to their attempt to arrest Lady Bertia and myself back in the city of Trumpet."
"WHAT? When did you know about that, Iris?" Motoyasu's head instantly whips around to look at his companion in sheer disbelief. "When did you know that? Why didn't you say anything to us?"
"Yeah? Why did you hide it from us, Iris?" Bertia looks at Iris with her glittering eyes, clearly hurt by her friend's secret keeping. "Is my father still well? Has he been hurt? And what about my mother and younger brother?"
"I learnt of it three days after we arrived here in Stormwind, from a letter penned to me by my father. Lord Noches is fine. His resistance suffered heavy losses covering Master Shield Hero and Princess Malty's retreat, and was pushed out of the capital. But he himself is alive and well. His family had been taken under House Amelia's protection. As it's deemed his fief is too close to the capital, and they are not safe from the Three Heroes' Church's wrath. They are now both safe in Ameliport." Ren might be paranoid and jumping into conclusion. But he can hear the thinly veiled threat under Iris' voice. There might be some truth to how her family helped out her childhood friend's, but it sounds more like a power grab by her family during this time of misfortune. The way she's been keeping secrets from everyone certainly doesn't help her case. "The reason I didn't tell any of you is because it has already happened when I heard words from it. There's nothing any of us could do in the situation. Master Shield Hero and Princess Malty disappeared into the wild after their escape, Bertia's family is safe. Continuing preparing for our eventual confrontation with the church as we were is the best option for us going forward. With how sentimental all of you are, I deemed it would only cause you undue stress if I told you what I know. And you might make mistakes the Three Heroes' Church could exploit if you learn of it. As Master Motoyasu just showed a moment ago."
"Oh... I guess that's okay then. But you can't keep something like this a secret from us from now on, Iris." Motoyasu turns around, and rests both of his hands on Iris' shoulder. His action elicits an eyeroll and snort from Iris' more gruff bodyguard. "Talk to us. Explain to us what we should do, and why we should do it. You are smarter than us, we'll listen to you. But don't keep us in the dark."
Ren can't help but raise his own eyebrows. Was Motoyasu being reasonable just now?
"Duly noted..." Iris nods at Motoyasu. This part of their relationship seems to have been flipped over, like a page in a book. Regardless, despite what Motoyasu believes, it's clear to him that Iris is on her own side, that of her family rather than himself and his fellow heroes. Sure, she is willing to work with them and even help him... when it serves her own purpose. But they can't blindly believe that she would help them in any situation like she's a character from a story that only exists to help the 'heroes'.
"I came alongside Raki, because I wanted to get help from my thane. I would charge the wall of the capital by myself, if it would help Lord Shield Hero. But now I know he's no longer imprisoned in the capital, I don't even know where he is. Will any of you heroes lend aid?" The voice of the large warrior speaks up. There's something very contradicting about his massive size, and the almost pleading way of his voice. "We did have a plan to escape from this nation if things go bad, and regroup in Zeltoble. The free city of sellswords and gladiators. So I know Master Shield Hero would be making his way north to escape the Three Heroes' Church."
"Of course! We'll help Naofumi anyway we can! It's only right after he helped us. I'll go out with all my children, we'll turn the land upside down if we have to!" Motoyasu turns his face away from Iris to look at Naofumi's former companion. Despite his bravado, he clearly has no idea what he should be doing to help their wayward fellow hero.
"No. We can't just go search for Naofumi like headless chicken. Well... we can. But it won't be very effective, and it's not the first thing we should be doing right now." Ren holds his hand out, stopping Motoyasu from further making a fool of himself. "Like I said. We'll go up against the Three Heroes' Church eventually. And all they have to do to make us stand down is to push out their hostages. What will we do if we find Naofumi, and the church puts a sword on Melty and Mutsu's neck, forcing us to hand him over?"
"Eh... we'll... we can't just hand him over!" Once again, despite Motoyasu's attempt at rejecting Ren's words, he has no come back at rebuffing his points.
"Exactly. We can't just hand Naofumi over if we find him. But we'd be signing death warrants for Melty and Mutsu in that case. Maybe not Melty since she's the princess, but definitely your child Mutsu." Ren points his finger at Motoyasu. "Send some of your more experienced children out south. Around the northern border to look, and listen for any rumor about Naofumi. But our first priority should be breaking Melty and Mutsu out of wherever the Three Heroes' Church is keeping them. Otherwise, we can't do anything directly against them without these assholes from the church threatening us with the hostages."
"The Sword Hero speaks the truth. With the younger princess in their hand, the Three Heroes' Church can claim moral high ground. They can say the princess ordered them to do what they did, no matter how apprehensive the actions are. But if we get the princess back, we can easily make a counterclaim that they imprisoned Princess Melty and used her as their political puppet. It's probably not far from the truth." Iris narrows her eyes and nods her head along.
"Any information you can share with us is welcome. You clearly know more about what's happening than us, Lady Iris." Ren narrows his eyes too, although probably for a different reason than Iris. Clearly feeling his ire, the Amelia heiress looks up at him, while her cohorts collectively glare daggers at the Sword Hero. Some are more fierce than others. That's fine for Ren too, he was never too keen on being everyone's friend like Motoyasu and Naofumi. He's fine with others hating his guts, as long as he gets what he wants from them. And right now, he needs information on what's going on at the center of the political shitstorm.
"Very well, Master Sword Hero. I will share what I learnt from my father." Iris stares at him for a few minutes, before slowly explaining the situation with a slow drawl. "Pope Balmus, the leader of the the Three Heroes' Church called a stop to the aggressions his faith started back in the capital. Supposedly after he was revived from a healing coma. And one of his first actions afterwards was gathering all the high lords in the capital together, and forming a board of regency to better 'assist' and 'educate' Princess Melty while the nation is in turmoil. So we know that the Three Heroes' Church has Princess Melty still in their custody, but she is not being isolated away from everyone else."
"Which means we might end up looking like the bad guys. If we just go in, and get the princess out. To everyone else, we would be kidnapping the princess." Itsuki mumbles under his breath. He's clearly not happy about this development.
"So what! We know the church did some horrible shit to Naofumi and his group! There's no way they are the good guys! I say screw them all, if these churches and what not care more about themselves than Melty!" Motoyasu waves his spear around in a wide circle in frustration, forcing everyone around him to duck down his swing. He turns to Iris next. "Your father is in the capital, Iris? Can he help us get Melty out?"
"Unfortunately, my family can not assist in this quest to liberate Princess Melty from the church. Since I am one of your companions, his direct involvement would be seen by the rest of the nobility as him making a power grab by taking Princess Melty away from everyone else and keeping her in his own clutch. All the money in the world wouldn't be enough to bribe the noble houses and the churchs from declaring our family the public enemy in that case. It will cause a civil war at this precarious time, and utterly ruin everything." Just as Ren expected, Iris refused to help them when it would incur too much risk for her family. Iris waves her hand over at her two childhood friends, stopping them from speaking. "Same reason goes for Katarina and Bertia. I'm afraid you heroes have to do this on your own, Master Motoyasu."
"So we would be going in blind without any assistance. The odds would be stacked against us." Ren grits his teeth, and he fights back the urge to start biting his nails at the frustrating situation. He might act more boldly in a similar situation, except he's not in some make belief game, or fantasy world. A misstep on their parts would cause a lot of deaths, like Itsuki personally found out.
"We can offer our assistance." A completely unfamiliar voice suddenly cut through the room like the sound of tearing fabric. Tanya and Glass both take out a knife from their dress, and throw them towards the direction where the sound came from. A pair of young, yet callous filled hands snatches the blade out of thin air as a figure emerges from behind the curtain of the window to the outside. "Do not be alarmed. I meant no harm to any of you. I only come to render aid to the heroes as commanded by my lord."
Ren turns his face over to the young man wearing a neat set of black suit over white dress shirt. Despite the youthful face, he looks the typical European butler. He puts the two confiscated throwing knives away and bows his head, letting his short blue hair and fluffy raccoon ears drip down. "Hayate of House Malfoy, butler-in-training, at your service, revered heroes."
End Note:
Someone on this site did write 'fighting combat' by the way, and it's not me (well... not me at first). I saw this in a certain Digimon fanfiction first where the author's favorite phrase to describe someone in a fight was 'XX and XX fighting combat'... and my reaction was about the same as Ren in this chapter. So yeah, that makes it the perfect thing for Motoyasu to say.
Sorry I didn't telegraph this week (and next)'s chapter is going to be interlude. Slipped my mind last time when I updated. But yeah, we get an interlude from the three stooges again to see what they are currently doing and planning while Naofumi is running for his life. And this chapter I get to shown a bit more of their canon trait. Motoyasu is still an idiot, Ren still has his jealousy issue and Itsuki... well... him suffering PTSD and is a bit unhinged is kind of like the effect he had due to Pride Bow in the Web Novel. Although of course, he got it from the battlefield and not a plot McGuffin with doublestandard.
At least they are actually doing something good rather than just bumming around this time.
Also... Hayate being introduced early in the story, and then have a major role to play here in rescuing Melty and Mutsu is totally not a Chekov's Gun I planned from the start (because actual planning skill is something I completely suck at). I just throw a Hayate the Combat Buttler reference in because I felt like it during Lucius Malfoy's introduction. And of course, it's a convenient plot point for me to pick up and use now a bit undercover work is required.