Getting into the castle, it was nice to see Motoyasu. He looked…relieved, happy, and maybe just a tinge sad, when we walked into the room. It was obvious he was going to miss Myne, for all that she had used him, she was still his biggest supporter to his face. Losing the person who was the one telling him he was awesome all the time, false or not, was going to be a big hit to his ego, and had he no supporters at all, like say if his whole team decided to bolt because of what she'd been, he'd have been in a state.

But he'd traded a cold, calculating woman who saw him as a means to an end for one who seemed far warmer, who had given him a weapon with a special power, and seemed to constantly be in awe of him. It could have been an act, of course, but you could see the joy on her face when he spoke, and the way she all but doted on him, not hanging off him like a social leech, but instead someone basking in the glow of his presence.

Oddly, I had expected us to be taken to the throne room, but instead the knights led us around that hall to one I hadn't seen before, which then twisted around behind the throne room to a chamber that was built at the almost exact center of the castle, if I missed my guess. It was, even to my relatively untrained eye, a bunker of sorts, and you could almost feel the magic in the air as we came in sight of a set of very heavy double doors that tried to look normal, but just weren't.

"Secret defensive room for if the castle is besieged. Cute," said Ren, voicing what I'm pretty sure the rest of us were thinking. The knights said nothing, but stated that ONLY the Heroes were allowed inside, as a security precaution given the placement of Myne's allies. They wanted to be sure of the safety of the rest of the Royal Family.

Which made me look around and realize that Melty had, at some point, gotten away from us, and I actually didn't remember seeing her in the Inn, so perhaps she'd slipped off before we'd even left? It would explain why Naofumi looked around confused for a moment himself. He didn't say anything about it though, and gave some whispered instructions to Filo and Raphtalia, while Ren waited, as his party had been left at the Inn, and Motoyasu said goodbye to Rishia for now. I turned towards Ray and Lucia myself, but they stared at the guards for a long moment, then at each other, and Lucia made a motion to give the floor to Ray.

"Let it be known that if you lose my Hero while he's in your custody, I will be making my displeasure known very energetically," she told them, eyeing the other three heroes in such a way that they nodded along with the catwoman, not wanting to get on her bad side. Meanwhile Lucia looked at me.

"And if YOU get it in your head to run off again, I know a place to buy a leash. Remember that," she told me very forcefully. as the pair, along with the others, were escorted off by the knights, who were laughing…I hoped it wasn't at me…it was a thin hope, but still, it was a hope.

Regardless, the doors were opened, and we were ushered into a room that looked…not as fancy as I would have expected. Instead of lavish luxury, designed for hiding out in, the walls were made of simple, if strong, stones, and pillars placed along the edges, giving it a feeling of a fortress. This was, despite what I had assumed outside, not a room to hide in, but instead, a war room of sorts, with a barrel full of weapons in front of each of the pillars in the back, all gleaming and sharp, showing how well maintained they were.

In addition to those, a huge table, round with the symbol of Melromarc in its center, dominated the room between the pillars that had several chairs at it. Each one was spaced expertly so that we would not be sitting at each other's sides, but distant enough to make us speak loudly if we wanted to say anything to each other. Meanwhile, the three Royals, Aultcray, Mirellia and Melty, sat clumped together at the side most distant from the doors.

Seeing nothing better to do, I took the leftmost chair from the Royal's perspective, and Naofumi the one beside it, while Ren the next, and finally Motoyasu, each of us settling in, as the seats were, if not plush, at least designed for comfort more than those in say, the barracks we'd spent or time in. The moment we were settled, the Queen nodded, and rose from her chair, drawing our eyes to her.

"It gives me pleasure to see the four of you assembled in this room, and I thank you for coming to speak with me so quickly. I have heard, if not in detail than at least in brief, of the journeys the four of you have been on in my fair nation, and I have many things to say before we start," she began, and stepped away from the table. She tapped at the wall behind her, and magic, or perhaps some mechanism, dropped a map that must have been the continent, from above her, covering the space between some of the pillars.

"First, some of you have heard of why I was not here to greet you on your summoning, and while the account is accurate, as far as it goes, I feel you deserve an explanation of my actions, perhaps also to understand why I took the steps I did," she began, and pointed a finger to her own nation in the southern center of the map.

"Melromarc, my beloved home, is not without sin or flaw, but I have tried to make it the best nation I can, within the means and ability I have. It has not been easy, and the wars, the turmoil, and all the things that would plague a nation have taxed us, some years less, some more," she began.

"Then, almost half a year ago, the Waves struck. They were known to be coming, but we had been told by scripture and history that we would have warning, up to a year of it, before it threatened our world. As my husband informed you when you arrived, in our era, we had hours of warning, and even then, it took time for it to reach our ears," she said, making me wonder, idly, if the Pope might have delayed telling her. It sounded like something he'd do, and her tone implied it, but it also sounded dangerous for him as well, given the Waves could kill him as easily as anyone, and that alone would have given the message wings.

"We survived that assault, but it was a close thing, our knights suffered fatalities in the hundreds, and casualties in the thousands. The Guild, much as I'm loath to admit it, was quick to offer affordable aid, not only to ourselves but our people, and the Church seemed to rush to heal all the wounds it could, making sure that every village had a priest of at least middling level to help with the rebuilding and recovery," she began, which explained something I'd wondered about.

If the first Wave had been so devastating, why had we found ANY villages still standing, instead of them all being abandoned and empty? If the Guild and Church had worked together, the recovery would have taken only a few weeks, if not days, depending on how they'd been deployed and what sort of effort they put behind it. After all, neither group was served by a dead populace, unable to make food enough for their members, let alone for the kingdom's own forces.

"The greatest Augurs of our age offered one hope, that the lack of warning would be followed by a greater time between the First and Second Waves than ever before recorded. As such, I made the decision that caused me to leave. To beseech the Kingdoms around us, enemy and ally alike, to aid us in the summoning of Heroes, as it has ever been a costly ritual, and we would be all but broken by shouldering the burden ourselves," she continued.

"I…erred, I will admit. I delayed your coming by months, and the Kingdoms to which I went for aid…Siltvelt's memories of our prior conflicts have not faded as much as I would like, and Shieldfreeden is simply not as aligned with our nation as I had assumed. As for Faubrey…I have nothing but venom to spew at their King for his actions, and while his Kingdom is strong, it is a cesspit," she said simply, making me wonder at her directness in that. Stories were, it was indeed as bad as that, and possibly worse, but the lack of diplomatic candor was shocking, considering she went to them regardless.

"Had my agent in court been allowed to enact the will I left him with, your summoning would not have happened until after the Second Wave, and I see nothing good to come of such a delay. The means by which my agent was convinced are not what I would have wished, and the deal made to secure the resources for your summoning was vile in its own right," she said, sounding saddened, and yet…strong in her conviction. Seaetto was doing what she told him to do, and it had gotten him killed, and nearly the whole kingdom with him. It was, in the end, her fault, and hearing her talk, admitting it? That was a surprise.

"As all that is the case, I would like you to accept my apology. Your entrance into this world, and the months since, were not nearly as gentle as they should have been. I hope, despite this, you will listen to my words from this moment on, and understand that I do not mean to hinder you in your mission," she said, bowing far more deeply than our station compared to hers deserved. Better, her husband and daughter rose to their feet and mimed it, with a bit more difficulty as the king was still wearing his armor.

The four of us looked at each other as the Royals rose. Our seats had been specifically placed so we couldn't talk about what had just happened, perhaps deliberately, perhaps simply as a courtesy considering our history was not quite as pleasant with each other as we might have been. Still, a look can carry words, and I hoped my own carried some, as they traded glances, and then, as one, we rose to our own feet, and bowed back, if not quite as deeply.

"We understand you tried something for the good of your nation, and your world. It didn't work, but to err is human, so we won't hold it against you, Your Majesty," said, surprisingly, Ren of all people, as he held up his Weapon suddenly, and the rest of us, after a moment followed him, with Motoyasu holding out his Spear, while Naofumi and I held up the hands we had our own Weapons on.

"We promise to continue to do our best to defend this world, and defeat the Waves as they come," added Motoyasu, and they looked towards Naofumi next.

"And I…forgive you for what your daughter did. You and Melty had no hand in it, and the King did what he did out of pain and love I can at least understand…for now anyway," he said, adding the last bit, but I didn't let them dwell on it, as I spoke up last.

"I have little objection to continuing on this journey. I have those who depend on me now, both within and without my party. That responsibility will drive me forward," I assured them, and the Queen smiled at us as she took her seat again, the rest of us following suit.

"The words of you four Heroes fill me with hope for the future. Hope I will admit to not having felt for some time now, even before the Waves began to strike our world. With them said, I would open this Council of Four Heroes, that you might learn from each other, and we might find ways to assist you in the path towards victory," said said, causing us to look at each other and nod, as we scooted our chairs forward, looking to begin the trade of strategies and information.