Chapter 7: Bird and Heroes?
Day 21 (Evening)
"Who are they, who is that, why are they Filolial all over the place, why is there a fire, and how does Freon know what Super Sentai is?!"
"Super what?"
"Don't change the topic!"
"But I wasn't."
Naofumi continued his barrage of questions. His voice obviously carried hints of anger, but the villagers have been through enough situations like this to know that he's more concerned than anything.
"Maybe you should give her some time to answer Naofumi. You aren't going to get anything if you keep barraging her."
"I think I have the right to ask as many questions as I need to since. Especially since we've just been attacked! You know what. Team meeting right now! Get into the house!"
"But we don't have chairs yet!"
"You heard what I said!"
/~/
After calming down, Naofumi entered the house to see 5 slaves and a bird inside. He had thought of a situation for which he had to leave the village to fend for itself. His first failsafe was Melty, as she can handle most issues by herself. But whenever both he and she were unavailable like today, his second failsafe would have to take charge.
Raphtalia, Rifana, Keel, Dalton, Delia, and Yuki. 6 of his most trusted and strongest slaves/monsters, all chosen to deal with a certain aspect of the village.
Yuki was pretty much the leader of the filolials at this point. All the birds seem to listen to her orders, and she does well at leading them. Delia was already in charge of most of the housing operations in the village already. Her father was a builder, so she had plenty of knowledge on how to properly make a house.
Dalton has been in charge of various hunting parties. After learning dragon vein from Sadeena, his connection to the wind has vastly improved. By sensing the changes in the wind, he sort of became a monster radar, being able to find the tiniest of monsters in hiding. Keel has also been in charge of hunting parties, but he pretty much acts as the village's scout.
His transformation enhances his senses like the dog he is, so anything that even comes close to the village is quickly hunted down and taken out by the guard dog. There was an incident where Keel found a couple of slaves running away from their owner. He and Rifana responded by beating the shit out of the guy and running off with the kids before he got back up. Needless to say, Naofumi saw him as suitable for the job.
Rifana was just as ruthless as Keel. She's the self-proclaimed captain of the nonexistent guard. Despite the title only being a ploy to look down on Keel. The weasel was easily one of the strongest in the village. Her adventures in the hunting teams as well as her outings with Keel have shown she's not to be messed with and probably deserves the actual captain spot once it's created.
And finally, Raphtalia. She was the acting, acting leader of the village. Due to her recent and second growth spurt, along with the fact Naofumi doesn't trust Sadeena with anything work-related, Raphtalia stepped up as the new village's big sister. Many of the slaves who were scared of Naofumi would go to her, and she would quickly deal with the problem. If she wasn't able to, she would then go to Naofumi to deal with the issue, and they'll both solve it instead. Naofumi also couldn't put his finger on why, but she carried a presence none of the other slaves have. She had always been different from the other villagers. But with the knowledge of her past being kept hidden by Sadeena, he had no way to answer the lingering questions in his mind. Either way, she is Naofumi's most trusted slave. And she has been granted this position because of it.
Of course, none of these titles were ever made official. The village has just naturally shifted to this balance of power, and Naofumi saw no reason to change it. The villagers needed to have their own people to rely on, and these were the 6 capable enough for the job.
"Hold up, We're missing someone." Just as the thought occurred, the door was knocked on.
Opening the door, Naofumi found no one there and closed it. Once he turned around however, Zalton was suddenly in the room, and standing by the window. "How did you- Wait, is that a piece of cardboard?"
"Good eye." The cardboard cut-out Zalton fell, revealing the real Zalton to be standing right behind it, in the exact pose. Almost everyone in the room was dumbfounded by the unnecessary use of the cutout, and Naofumi yelled at him to quit wasting time.
"Alright. Now that I have everyone here-" Naofumi started before being interrupted by a knock at the door. Irritated, he opens it only to find the new filolial standing at the door.
"Not right now. We're in a meeting." Naofumi closed the door and waited a few seconds before opening it again. The filolial was still standing there.
"I'll deal with that later." Naofumi closed the door once again. "As I was saying. Now that everyone is here, we can finally figure out what the hell happened."
"Was it really necessary to bring us all here?" Delia asked.
"Well assuming we were just attacked. I say yes. Now someone, explain."
"I'll handle it. It'll all started when the guards at the front gate said they noticed some peculiar footprints."
Raphtalia then told Naofumi about the day. From the slaver's camp to the attack, and finally the arrival of the new Filolial. All of this impressed Naofumi a bit. His village handling an attack without any casualties is cool and all. But the fact that he was attacked in the first place really grinded his gears. Especially the fact that many of the villagers got hurt from this experience.
"Well is nice to know you guys did so well. I'll be sure to increase village security soon. Now Zalton. Why didn't you tell me you found a camp EARLIER!" Naofumi shouted.
"I tried my lord, but you said, and I quote. "Go away, I'm in the middle of something important. " Then when I insisted, you also said. "I told you I'm doing something important. Buzz off." By the time the house was done, you had already left and I missed my chance. Thankfully, lady Raphtalia was there to help."
"That's what you get for dismissing people." Melty chided.
"Shut up. It's not my fault you surprised me with a court request."
"It is your fault when you don't listen to your shadow. He's a spy, he obviously knows things you don't."
"Master. Perhaps we should focus issue at hand?"
"Kill 'em. Jail em. I'll leave it to you guys."
"Eh!" Keel and Rifana squealed.
"Now where were you during all of this?" Naofumi asked, pointing at Dalton this time.
"Oh. Well, I took the Filolial out to level. That's when I ran into another filolial. I didn't know if it was one of ours. So I brought her back."
"So that's where you went. We could have used the extra help, Dalton." Rifana lightly jabbed Dalton on his arm.
"Ow. How was I supposed to know."
"Yeah Rifana, he shouldn't be blamed. All of this happened too suddenly for everyone."
"But why attack today? Was it a coincidence, or did they somehow know you'd be leaving today?" Melty pondered.
"You think someone from the village leaked information?"
"Not from the village. I kept the letter very hidden to keep you from noticing."
"Screw you by the way."
"Same for you. Now the only option would be another noble who knew you'd be leaving today."
"So we have no leads?" Raphtalia asked.
"Pretty much. We can interrogate using the slave crest. But the likelihood that the noble used a 3rd party messenger is extremely likely. So I believe that's also a waste of time and resources."
"Then let's drop them in a pit with a bunch of dogs."
"We aren't making a colosseum!"
"But Melty."
"Rifana. NO!"
"Aww." Rifana hung her head low.
"So. What now?"
"We rebuild and prepare for another possible situation. If any and all questioning will lead to a dead end, then it's best we don't pursue it."
"Yes, master."
"Oh. And one last thing. The other heroes are arriving here in 3 days so we can plan for the wave. Under absolutely no circumstances should you allow a red-haired bitch to come inside."
"Umm. Yes sir?" Everyone replied, very confused.
"Naofumi. Although it may be true. Please refrain from calling my sister a bitch while I'm around."
"I say what I see. Not happening." Naofumi opened the door, only to find the bird still standing there.
"Oh right. I forgot about her. You guys can go, I'll handle this one." Naofumi ushered everyone out of the room as the mysterious new girl entered. "Alright then. Who might you be exactly?"
"Greetings shield hero. I am Fitoria, queen of all filolials."
"Wait, queen!? Oh, my god! I heard stories about you from my mother. They said you were 100 feet tall and breathed fire!... or was that about a dragon?" Melty pondered, questioning both the size and fire-breathing claims.
"I can assure you that the height one is true. But Staying in the human limelight isn't my goal."
"Then what are you here for?" Naofumi replied, holding Melty back to keep her from pouncing on the queen.
"I am here because my flock informed me that a hero has raised not just one royal candidate. But 30 of them all at the same time."
"I see. And as the omega of the filolial, you're here to show us the pecking order." Naofumi passed a note over to Melty. Its contents were "Leave no witnesses."
"I've come to do the opposite actually. Fitoria has been doing this for 1000 years, so she wants to bless the new generation of Filolial so she can retire after the waves."
"So you want to bless our filolial… just so you can give your job to us. Yeah, I'm gonna have to pass on that."
"Would it be worth your while if the blessing gave you a special buff?"
"...Go on."
"Really Naofumi." Melty pulled Naofumi to the side.
"What it's a buff. We should always be searching for those."
"But we don't even know what the cost of this buff even is, much less if it's actually real or not."
"Fitoria will also be staying for a bit in order to conduct these tests for herself if you agree."
"Go on!" Melty relented, completely losing track of her previous concerns.
"What's the catch?"
"Fitoria desires something as she stays here."
"It's food isn't it."
"Yes!"
"Fine. But only choose 3I don't need 30 flocks of birds all running amuck."
"That is acceptable. The class up does spread to others nearby."
"Perfect." Naofumi shook Fitoria's hand with a mischievous grin on her face. Melty wasn't there to call him out on it though, as she was too mesmerized by the filolial in front of her.
/~/
Day 25 (3 days till the next wave)
"It's quite odd don't you think?" Ren asked as he walked along a path. He was the current sword hero, and beside him was Itsuki, the current bow hero. He came across Itsuki and his party while he was traveling. They later figured out that they were traveling to the same place under the orders of the king, and decided to travel alongside each other in order to catch up.
"I'm not following."
"I mean. Why would the king ask us to meet in an unknown town instead of the castle? That would be the smart choice right?"
"He's the Wisest King of Wisdom from what I've heard. This might be a strategic stronghold of some kind in order to prep for the waves." Itsuki shrugged his shoulders.
"I just feel like our time would be better spent if we went to raise our levels. There's not much a normal person can do to even prepare for the waves. So this is pretty much use-"
"Halt!" A voice shouted. Standing in front of them was a boy with black dog ears and a tail. The shirt he wore exposed his navel, along with some bandages peeking out. Beside him was a girl that Ren and Itsuki guessed was some kind of ferret or weasel. Along with her ears and tail, she wore a Kigurumi that was a mix of a raccoon and tanuki. (Raph-Chan)
"This village is off limits. Go away or I'll kick you in the shin." Rifana threatened.
"Is that a Kigurumi?"
"Don't ask."
"Alright then? Anyways, we were invited here by the king and lord." Ren pulled out a scroll, showing the invitation sent to them days ago.
"Oh… So you're the heroes. Master will be in the large building on the hill. If you see construction, avoid it. If you see the filolial fighting, avoid it."
"What?"
"I'm not done. If you see an orca, run for the hills. And do not, I repeat do not touch the experimental Bio-Plant wall. You will be absorbed into the hedge and possibly die."
"What?!"
"It's experimental for a reason. If you follow these rules, you will live. Keel here will give you the tour."
"Don't volunteer me! Why can't you do it?"
"Because I said so." Two stared at each other for a bit until Keel spoke.
"... Rock paper scissors."
"You're on."
Rifana and Keel do a few rounds with Keel ultimately winning in the end.
"Ha. Eat it!"
"Come on! Fine, follow me." Rifana begrudgingly took charge of the escort as Ren and Itsuki hesitantly followed her as they entered the village. As they walked around. They witnessed all the insanity their escort was talking about.
The first thing they see was a bunch of child-sized angels. All of them were trying their best to gang up on another angel in the middle, and they were failing badly. On the other side of the village, they find the orca Rifana was talking about. She was sitting on some makeshift stone table and was passed out while holding a bottle of alcohol in her hand.
Added the fact that the good majority of the village has several craters, unfinished buildings, and several humans tied up to posts. Ren and Itsuki considered this place to be an unorganized mess and considered the lord of this place was extremely incompetent at his job.
"Here we go. This is the lord's manor. Now a few rules while inside. Don't be too loud, there are kids sleeping upstairs. Don't go upstairs. And certainly do not use any weapons in the house. If you do, I will kick you in the shin."
"What's up with you and shin-kicking threats?"
"Do you prefer to get hit in the balls instead?"
"...Point taken."
"Good. I'll inform the master of your arrival." Rifana exited the house, leaving the two heroes inside. The living and dining room areas are now fully furnished, and the villagers were using these new appliances to good use.
One of the slaves opened up the top of the furnace and left a black steel pan there so they can sear some monster meat that was currently being prepped on the table. Other villages in the house were doing some light housework in order to tidy up the place.
"Well other than the house, I think we both agree that this place is a shit show of a village."
"It's still being rebuilt, what do you expect." Said an unknown voice. Ren and Itsuki looked over to the door to see Melty standing there.
"Huh. This is the first human child I've seen here. Are you perhaps the lord's daughter?"
"Daughter to Naofumi! Not in a million years!" Melty exclaimed..
"What? Naofumi's the lord!?" Ren exclaimed.
"Yes, I am." A familiar voice replied. Coming in from behind Melty was Naofumi himself.
"But why would they make you of all people a lord. You're a criminal!"
"It's because he was pardoned of his chargers after we found out they were false," Melty replied.
"What do you mean he was pardoned!" Both of them shouted.
"Exactly as I said. Naofumi was pardoned after the claims of my sister were found to be false. You werent at the castle that day, so I prepared a log of the entire conversation if you're curious." Melty produced 2 large stacks of paper from her satchel and handed it over to the heroes.
"Wow. you really are prepared."
"Father always told me to be 4 parallel universes ahead for any scenario."
"The hell does that mean?"
"I do not know."
Melty ushered the 3 heroes into the study, and sat down at the table. It was a brown round table that was estimated to hold around 12 people. Naofumi had a previous table made that was much larger than the current table. But not only were they unable to fit it in the room, but they also weren't even able to get it into the house and were forced to scrap it and try a new design.
"This is unreal. Myne lied? Why?" Ren sat down in a chair far from everyone else.
"I ask myself that every day." Naofumi sat down to the chair next to Melty, and Itsuki choose one a few seats away from Ren.
"It's just hard to believe. Is there any reason as to- wait. If Myne's your sister, and she is the princess. Then wouldn't that make you?"
"Yes, I am Melty Q Melromarc. Crowned princess of the nat-"
"NAOFUMI!" An angry voice shouted.
"And there goes thing 3."
Bursting through the door of the house was Motoyasu who looked extremely pissed.
"How dare you lock Myne outside the village!"
"You mean how dare I blacklist the person who stole my stuff and ruin my life from the village? If you ask anyone, I'm sure they'll say it's a pretty reasonable fucking reaction!"
"Wait what happened exactly?" Itsuki ask."
"Well when I arrived-"
/~/
"What do you mean I'm not allowed? I am the princess!"
"Yeah, why can't she be let in!" Motoyasu protested.
"I'm sorry spear hero, but master specifically said no bitches allowed."
Just then. Two female dog demi humans ran past the front gate with the spear heroes luggage.
"Correction. No red-haired bitch named Malty is allowed." Keel corrected.
"What did you say to me dog!"
"Be warned. I was given permission to take you down with non-lethal force if deemed necessary. We don't want to cause a ruckus here.".
"Is that a threat you welp!"
"No, it's a promise." Keel dropped the useless spear and flexed his hand, popping his claws out. Malty responded by pulling out her sword, but Motoyasu stopped her before it was fully drawn.
"Calm down Myne. I'll go deal with Naofumi."
"Good luck spear hero." Keel allowed Motoyasu to pass while keeping a very close eye on Malty.
"So. Are we going to do this the easy way? Or the hard way?"
AN: Raph-Chan Suit. Guess which author told me to use that one.
Thank you for reading
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