Author's Notes : And we are on chapter 3 ... I'll admit that this is one of the more significant chapters in regards to Malty's character . I won't spoil or say too much since this chapter is long enough as it is .
Big thanks to Putain de Plagieur and Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter !
With that said , let's get this chapter started !
Malty doesn't know what was happening ...
The entire day has gone by like a haze , one minute she's training in the courtyard and the next Father is telling her to go to her room and stay there .
Under regular pretenses , Malty would have obeyed her Father without a word , but curiosity got the better of her and she's wandering the halls of the castle , trying to figure out what in the world is even happening . The strangest thing is that the halls of the castle are almost completely empty , she wonders where all of the knights had gone or perhaps where they had been called away by either Father or Mother .
The indistinct shouting echoing throughout the castle makes Malty jump at first , before she proceeded to follow it . It didn't take long before she figured out that it was most likely coming from the Throne Room .
Quietly as possible , she manages to move her way to the Throne Room ...
She gives the side door leading to the Throne Room a small push , just enough to see inside ...
And she could not believe what she was seeing , to the point where she had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself from gasping too loudly ...
A man being held down by the knights , their spears pointed at his neck to force him to kneel and he is surrounded by what looks to be every knight in the castle . She sees a few Three Heroes Church members standing on the side of the Throne Room , holding a rosary in their hands.
Father , who looks at the man as if he were trash beneath his feet , glares at him with a rage and hatred in his eyes Malty had never seen before .
Her breath seems to hitch in her throat as Father begins to speak .
" You goddamn heretic ! I knew from the moment you stepped foot in this castle , you would be nothing but trouble but I never would have suspected that you would be a heretic ! " Father's glare turns into a full on death glare at the man as he continues " As of this moment , I strip you of your rank and position in this castle and you are to be put to death immediately ! " Father stands up from his Throne to point at the man .
A morbid silence falls over the Throne Room , as the only thing she can hear is her own erratic breathing .
Malty looks at the man , his face is covered by the shadow of his hair , making it impossible to tell his expression to all of this .
Eventually he raises his head , enough for her to get a good look into his eyes and Malty could only describe the emotion she saw in them in a single word .
Wrath
That was the only thing that filled his eyes , they were completely devoid of any other emotion , no sadness , no betrayal , no fear ...
Just Wrath ...
" Aultcray you bastard ! " The man somehow manages to stand up , despite being held at spear point , the knights holding him down seem to be having trouble holding down just one man .
" You set me up ! Planned all this from the start ! You found out and told them , didn't you !? " The man sends a death glare of his own , that makes Father's glare look like a pout in comparison
" Silence heretic ! " Father tries his best not to waver under the deathly glare of the man .
" I swear Aultcray ... that on this day , you and every single person who was ever involved in this plot will suffer ! " The man summons a strength nobody could have predicted and forces all of the spears off of his neck .
" That is more than enough from you ! Guards ! Take him away ! "
Several knights grab the man by his arms , as they start to drag him to the dungeon as the man continues to yell and struggle .
" I WILL KILL YOU AULTCRAY ! DO YOU HEAR ME !? I WILL KILL YOU AND YOUR WHOLE FAMILY ! "
" I WILL KILL YOU !"
That was the last thing the man said before the doors to the Throne Room closed and silence plagued them once more .
Malty could only watch in barely suppressed shock as tears started to fill her eyes , without waiting another moment she ran back to her room to cry some more .
Chapter 3 : A Trial Long Forgotten
Mein's eyes snap open and in an instant she rises from her bed , looking around to make sure she's still in her room at the inn . She sighs in exasperation , she hates having dreams about her past , they bring back one too many unpleasant feelings .
And she damns every person who were cause of those bad memories everyday .
That same damn memory ...
Getting up from her bed , she stretches her arms out a bit , relieving some of the soreness she feels in her arms .
" Open up Shield Hero ! " A loud voice calls out , followed by the sound of a door being kicked opened , with the clanking of swords and loud metallic footsteps on the wooden flooring .
" What the -! What's going on !?" Mein can hear the Shield's alarmed cry , she could clearly hear it through the walls and outside the door .
Well , it would seem that the trap has already been sprung .
It is quite unfortunate , she was hoping to do a bit more stretching before the trial , but she supposes she can do that later . After all , she has Heroes and stupid nobility to fool as the would be victim of a horrible crime after all .
Mein looks to the Shield Hero's armor , money and interloper clothing . She can't reasonably have it on her during the trial and it would be too suspicious for her to give it to her chosen hero immediately after the trial is over . Mein has no doubts that the Shield Hero surely would have noticed by now the disappearance of his belongings . And if he's precise over what exactly he lost during the trial , than she is certain even the Bow Hero would catch on .
She will need to find somewhere to stash his belongings so that she can come back for it after the trial is over , but where ...?
Mein incidentally steps onto a squeaky floorboard , she looks down and an idea comes to mind ...
Using her dagger , she pries the floorboard up and removed it from its place , to her luck there appears to be just enough space to stash the Shield Hero's belongings . Placing the armor , money and of course his interloper clothing from yesterday into the space below . Mein then refitted it and stepped on it so that it wasn't too noticeable . She used her dagger to stab a hole into it as a sort of mark to remind her where it is .
Content with her hiding place , Mein grabs her belongings and exits the room to find a crowd had formed in the hallway curious over what was happening .
Now where is the Bow Hero ? You think you would be able to easily spot a Legendary Hero among all the rabble , but there is no such sight of him .
She quietly shuffles through the crowd of spectators , she can hear the sound of the Shield Hero being tied down by the knights , as the crowd continues to try and get a better look at what's happening with the Shield Hero . Moving out the back of the crowd to search for the Bow Hero , she suddenly bumps into somebody just as she maneuvered her way out . Fortunately before she could insult whoever dared bump into her , she looks to see that it is the Bow Hero himself , who appeared to have come upstairs to see what all the commotion is about .
" I-I-I apologize ... Sir Ituski , pardon me for bumping into you " Mein purposefully stutters , as to keep in character the persona of a 'traumatized' rape victim .
The Bow Hero looks at her with concern in his eyes , not like the cold ... slightly sadistic eyes she saw last night " Its okay Mein , I heard about what happened from the soldiers " The Bow Hero looks ahead the crowd to the Shield Hero's room " Ren and Motoyasu have already headed for the castle , but I decided I wanted to try and talk to Naofumi about what happened , see if I could get the whole story but I guess that's out the window . Would you like to come with me to the castle ? I'm sure everything will be cleared up there "
" I ... I would like that Sir Itsuki , you have my sincerest gratitude " The Bow Hero places a comforting hand on her shoulder as he escorts her out of the inn with his party helping to keep her shielded from the mobs of people in the inn . Mein saw Armina give her sympathetic look , but didn't say anything .
As soon as they exit the inn , they head towards the castle ... where the trial of the Shield Hero will begin soon .
She keeps her head down as she is led by the Bow Hero , just staring at the cobblestone pavement as the Bow Hero and his companions walk in total silence .
She eventually looks up when she knows that they are nearing the castle ... her home .
For some strange reason , the sight of her home didn't bring her any happiness or calm but instead a feeling of dread , as her home no longer looked like her home , but instead a place for people to die .
It wasn't all that sunny today either making the mood all the more somber . It felt more like she was walking to an execution rather than a trial .
She doesn't even notice when the gate guards raise the portcullis and they walk through , most likely due to the sight of the Bow Hero since she is still being hidden behind his party of adventurers .
Once inside the castle , they make their way up the parade staircase and towards the Throne Room . The large wooden doors open up for them and there is nothing but silence that greets them as they enter . To Mein's surprise the Shield Hero isn't present yet .
Mein looks around trying to find the Shield Hero to no avail .
Why hasn't he arrived yet ?
She remembers seeing a prison carriage outside the inn as they were walking out , surely if he were taken to the castle via carriage he would have arrived ahead of them , what could possibly be taking them so long ?
Both Mein and the Bow Hero are approached by the Spear and Sword Hero with their parties by their side , the Spear Hero is unusually quiet but certainly does not look happy with what is happening . The Sword Hero still somehow maintains his mask of apathy , but there is a certain sympathy in his eyes when he looks at her .
" Hey Mein ... we heard about what happened ... you have my condolences " The Sword Hero attempts to offer his sympathy , which is a nice change of pace considering how insufferably condescending he was to her last night .
" Where's Naofumi ? I thought he would be here by now " The Bow Hero scans the room , but still finds no trace of the Shield Hero .
" He isn't here yet " The Spear Hero speaks up and Mein can notice that there is a certain anger underneath his voice " I can't believe he would do this ..." The Spear Hero mumbles under his breath , just audible enough to be heard .
" Whether you believe it or not , we still haven't seen any evidence of his supposed 'crime' and he isn't even here yet to tell his side of the story " The Sword Hero lists out reasons to calm the Spear Hero down " So I don't think we can conclude him guilty just yet "
" Or innocent " The Spear Hero retorts back .
" Fair enough " The Sword Hero reseeds .
" Look guys , lets just take a breather here and just wait until Naofumi arrives and then we can figure what really happened . Agreed ?" The Bow Hero steps up to mediate between his fellow heroes to which they both simply nod .
It would seem that she underestimated the Sword Hero's intelligence , Father's going to need to plant some damn good evidence if he wants to fully convince the Sword Hero of the Shield Hero's guilt .
The stage has been set ... now all that's left is for the Shield Hero to arrive .
Mein tries to ignore the growing unpleasant feeling in her stomach , as she continues to wait for the Shield Hero's arrival .
Naofumi's POV
" Can somebody please explain to me , what the hell is going on !?" Naofumi struggled against the knight as he felt the cuffs snap on his wrists , but ultimately the resistance is useless due to the knight's superior strength .
" You're being brought in for the horrific and disgusting crime you had committed , Sir Hero " The knight roughly lifts Naofumi to his feet , as he pushes Naofumi out the door and into the hallway where a crowd is being held back by several knights .
Naofumi couldn't help but feel more than a little humiliated and embarrassed , as he's still only dressed in his underclothes . He had just woken up to find all of his belongings missing , the chainmail , the funds , even his clothes from when he first arrived were all gone . The next thing he knows there are knights busting down his door and arresting him for a crime he didn't even know he committed .
" On your feet , Hero " The knight grabs Naofumi by the shoulder to pull him up , which is difficult for him to do since his hands a tied behind his back .
" Its kinda hard to move with my hands tied ..."
" I don't give a damn , either you get moving now or do you need a little incentive ?" The knight slams the side of Naofumi's body into the wall of the hallway , which doesn't hurt that much with his high defense but he still felt it .
" Leave him alone , you sorry excuse for a knight "
A voice cuts in and both Naofumi and the knight turn to see a much younger knight walking towards them .
" Stay the fuck out of this " The rude knight was about to slam Naofumi into the wall again , before the younger knight grabbed him by the arm in what looked like a iron grip and pushed him away hard .
The knight recovered quickly , stomping right up to the younger knight and getting in his face . Naofumi couldn't help but be amazed by the younger knight despite the ruder knight being taller than him , he still stood his ground .
" You have no business getting involved private " The rude knight glares at his fellow knight , to which he only glared back .
" As a matter of fact I do , despite being a low rank it is still my responsibility as a knight to see to it that the Shield Hero is treated with respect " The young knight turned back to Naofumi for a brief moment , before returning to the rude knight " So I think I'll be taking over from here "
The rude knight looked furious at this point " What right do you have to-!"
" Do I need to tell the captain and everybody in the entire order what you secretly keep underneath your bed ? I'm sure the captain would love to hear about all the stupid shit you do on guard duty with that thing "
The ruder knight is shocked into silence and his eyes start to show fear in them .
" Now run along you stupid dog and don't get in my way again "
Naofumi could see the rude knight clench his fist and grit his teeth before walking away silently .
" You okay , Sir Shield Hero ?" The knight ask him , only this time there isn't any sarcasm in his voice when he says the word hero .
" Yeah , I'm good " Naofumi stands up with help from the young knight who kept a hand on his arm to steady him
Naofumi looks at him questioningly " Why did you help me ?"
" Because it was the right thing to do , next question ?" The knight looks at him with neutral eyes and a blank face that reminds Naofumi of Ren .
" Y-Yeah , my belongings were stolen from me last night and I have no idea what the hell is going on... " Naofumi was still a bit shocked by everything that is happening , but he still needs to get it together and figure out what's going on " I also don't know know where my companion , Mein Sophie is "
Naofumi was worried that they had arrested her as well just on the grounds of being in his party ...
" Your belongings were stolen from you , huh ...?" The knight looks deep in thought " And your companion is missing as well ...?"
" Y-Yeah ..." Naofumi was honestly more worried about Mein than the money or equipment .
" Come with me " The knight suddenly grabbed his arm and started dragging him away from the room .
The young knight escorts Naofumi by the arm out of inn , as the knights finally disperse the crowd that had formed in the hallway . Naofumi kept his head down , partly out of embarrassment because he was still in his underwear . Outside of the inn , Naofumi sees that they had a carriage that looked like a cage to hold him in and a sense of fear start rise up in his stomach as he didn't know what was going to happen next .
" What the hell is taking so long ? We should have left by now ..." A man with a mustache complains by the looks of it , he seemed to be the captain of the knights . Since he was the only wearing some kind of purple cape .
The captain turns to the young knight and Naofumi as they approach , with an annoyed expression on his face " Ake , what the hell took you so long ? "
" My apologies captain , but there was some ... internal issues when we were restraining the Shield Hero " The young knight , named Ake , bows respectfully to his superior .
Well , it was not like he could tell the captain what actually happened .
Ake raises his head from the bow and looks at his captain seriously " Sir , the Shield Hero has just reported to me that all of his belongings and funds have been stolen during the night "
The captain looks at Naofumi with a serious expression which makes him freeze a bit under his gaze " Your armor and money has been stolen from you ? "
Naofumi nods his head in response " Yes , and I have no idea where my companion Mein is "
The captain and Ake look at each other , before the captain sighs " Just get him into the carriage , we're already late for the trial ..."
"Wait ... trial !?" Naofumi's eyes widened in shock , he was going on trial ? For what ? He doesn't even know what he did ?!
" Sir , may we at least acquire some clothing for the Shield Hero ? It is utterly disgraceful , for him to be seen in such a manner ..." Ake jumps to Naofumi's defense once again , though Naofumi would have been happy to just have some pants .
" No , we're late and we have to go now ... " The captain quickly rejects the young knights request , ordering him to get Naofumi inside the carriage .
With a sigh the young knight grabs Naofumi by the arm again and escorts him to the back of a carriage that looked like it was designed akin a cage . It reminded Naofumi so much of all those cages at carnivals where they kept animals in cages , is that what they see him as ? An animal that needs to be locked up in a cage ?
Naofumi look at the knight fearfully about the cage and the knight only sighs in response .
" Just get inside Shield Hero ... "
Sensing there was no point in fighting it , Naofumi steps onto the carriage with one foot and ...
CRACK !
Before Naofumi could even place his next foot into the cage like carriage , the whole thing falls down onto its right side and he falls back .
Luckily the knight caught Naofumi and pushed him back onto his feet .
Naofumi takes in a few deep breaths at the sudden surprise before turning to the knight with a grateful expression " Thanks ..."
" What the hell is going on !?" The captain yells out to them , directing a glare at Naofumi specifically .
" I don't know , somethings wrong with the carriage , let me check " The young knight , crouches down to the right side of the carriage where it had dropped down to .
Naofumi looks over the knight's shoulder to see that the wheel of the carriage had fallen off which caused the carriage to fall like it did .
" Captain , the whole wheel's fallen off and I can't find the bolts " The knight runs his hand over the ground trying to feel for the bolts .
" Great ... another thing I can't deal with today ..." The captain rubs two fingers to his temple to massage what seems to be a growing headache .
The captain takes out a coin purse and throws it at the one of the other knights stationed " You ! Go find a shop nearby that can provide the tools to fix this and make it fast or we're all going to be looking for new jobs "
" Y-Yes sir ! " The knight who he threw the coin pouch to saluted before running off in the direction of the shops .
And so Naofumi just stood there with the young knight and the captain for the better of part of maybe 3 or 4 minutes , he tried to hide himself out of shame behind the knight as he was still just in his underwear and standing in the middle of the street , luckily there didn't seem to be many people in the street in the morning but there were a few passersby who looked at the half naked Shield Hero a bit strangely .
Naofumi shivers a bit as he feels a cold wind blows past them ...
The knight who was still holding onto his arm , looks at him pitifully before turning to his captain " Excuse me , captain ?"
" What is it ?" The captain turned to the young knight with an annoyed expression , though Naofumi could tell that annoyance was mainly due to their lateness .
" Sir , if you would relieve me of my duty for a few short minutes , I could go fetch the Shield Hero something to wear " Naofumi looks at the knight , surprised that he was willing to go to such lengths to help him out .
" We're already running late , if I let you go than we'll be even more late " The captain checks his pocket watch and does not look happy with the time .
" I know somebody nearby who I can acquire some clothing from and I'll even pay for it out of my own pocket sir " The young knight bows to his superior to let him go .
" I'm sorry , but we simply do not have the time and I'm certain that Jager will be returning soon anyway " The captain crosses his arms as he respectfully rejects the young knight's request .
The young knight turns to Naofumi with an apologetic look on his face .
Well it was worth a try ...
The sound of clanking of metal boots coming towards them resounded throughout the street and they all turn to see the knight the captain sent away running towards them.
" See what did I tell you ?" The captain reminds the young knight before turning to the other knight " Private , have you acquired what we need to fix the carriage ?"
" Y-Yes sir , but there's a problem ... I did manage to find a shop that could help us but ..." The knight nervously trails off , afraid of the look the captain is giving him .
" What is it ?" The captain looks like he's about have another headache coming on .
" It would appear that you didn't give me enough coin to cover it ..."
The captain knight growls under his breath , he looks close to ripping his helmet off and kicking it in anger but he reels it in and just hands the knight a few more silvers " Here and make it fast will you ? The king's going to have my head for this "
" Uh ... that might be difficult because the shop keep did say it would take a while before they could find suitable bolts for the carriage " The knight nervously informs his captain before running off back in the direction he came .
The young knight walked up to the captain and gave him a look .
The captain turns to the young knight with a serious look on his face " You got 5 minutes "
" I'm offended you think I need more " That was all the young knight before running off as well to go get the Shield Hero some clothing .
That just left Naofumi with the captain and a few knights who were watching the perimeter , a few minutes pass in total silence .
" Um ... excuse me ?" Naofumi decided to ask the captain if he knew what the hell was going on ? Where Mein was and what happened to his chainmail and funds ?
" What is it ?" The captain did not look too pleased to be talking to him but Naofumi couldn't get deterred now .
" Could you please tell me what in the world is going on ? One minute I'm sleeping my room the next there are knights breaking down my door and arresting for a crime I didn't even know I committed ! " Naofumi needed answers and he couldn't get them out of the young knight , so here's hoping the captain will tell him something .
" You're being brought in for suspected sexual assault ..." The captain tells him calmly , not looking at him directly .
" What !? " Naofumi's eyes widened in shock , he simply could not believe it ... he was being arrested under suspicion of sexually assaulting someone ?
It was unreal , he would never in his entire life ever even think of forcing somebody down and sexually assaulting them . Yet here he is being arrested for that very crime
" Keep your voice down ... " The captain instructed giving him a critical eye " Apparently somebody heard screams coming from your room last night and thought you were ..."
I can't believe it , somebody thinks that I did that to someone ?! I would never ! Wait a minute ... Mein hasn't been seen and our rooms were close to each other , so does that mean that they think I ...
Before Naofumi could dwell on it more , he hears the familiar sound of metal boots clanking towards him . Turning to see the young knight running towards him carrying a satchel over his arm . The young knight takes out a key and unlocks Naofumi's cuffs and Naofumi rubs his wrists a bit as he feels free from the cold cuffs .
" Here " The young knight throws the satchel at him , which he manages to catch " It was all I could find on short notice"
Inside the satchel , there was a white shirt with gold trimming around the collar , some green pants with a black belt , a pair of leather boots and a green cloak . They seemed like the type of clothes a villager would wear , but Naofumi was grateful for it all the same . It was better than being in his underwear , by a longshot .
" Thank you so much ..." Naofumi bows his head , feeling relieved that he finally had something to wear .
" Just hurry up and get dressed " The knight doesn't seem to acknowledge his thanks at all , but simply walks past him .
Guessing that he probably wasn't in the mood for small talk , Naofumi decided to quietly put the clothes on . He took cover behind the carriage as to not have anyone see him while he put the clothes on. They were much more comfortable than the chainmail , since he was still getting used to wearing armor , so it was kinda nice to wear something simple .
" Captain ! " Just as Naofumi had finished putting on his clothes , the knight that the captain had sent out returned carrying a bag filled with what he assumed to be bolts in one and a box of tools in the other .
" About time you showed up , hurry up and get the wheel fixed , now ! " The captain looks irritated , even though the knight had returned with the tools " The king really is going to have our heads for this ... "
It took around 5 or 7 minutes before they fully fixed the detached wheel of the carriage , with the captain yelling at his men to work faster and faster as if it were life or death .
Well , to be completely fair it probably is , I don't know how punishment of incompetence works here but I'm guessing from the sense of dread and fear coming from all of the knights , excluding Ake that it probably wasn't pretty .
Naofumi shook his head , he had more important things to worry about now .
Like maybe not getting framed as a criminal rapist ...
" Sir , the wheel has been fixed ! " A knight calls out as soon as the wheel has been reattached .
" Alright , somebody get the Shield Hero into the carriage and lets go ! " The captain shouts orders at his men , one of the knights that Naofumi hadn't recognized grabbed him by the arm and escorted him to the back of the carriage , where he opened up the door leading to the inside of the cage . Naofumi quickly stepped on board , this time the carriage didn't fall which made him feel relived , Naofumi could tell that there was a certain urgency in all of the knights movements .
From the inside of the cage , he can see the captain hop onto the drivers side , before turning to the rest of his men " The rest of you stay here and keep the crime scene and the area of the inn secured , understood ?"
" Yes , sir ! " All of the knights salute at their commanding officer . From between the bars , Naofumi can see the young knight Ake , who casts him a glance before turning his back to him .
The carriage begins moving , as Naofumi pulls the hood of the green cloak over his head to shield his face . He saw many people staring at him through the bars of the carriage , but he kept his head down for the most part , he was glad that he was at least wearing clothes so that he wasn't escorted through town naked and trapped in a cage like an animal .
Naofumi looked to the royal castle that was coming into view , a feeling of uncertainty and fear rising in his stomach .
Ake's POV
Ake looked at the carriage that was carrying the Shield Hero , before turning away and walking back to the inn . He threw a couple of black bolts into the air and caught them . The wheel falling off of the carriage wasn't his doing , but hiding the bolts to them most certainly was . It had been complete coincidence that it had happened , but it would seem that fate had favored him and it gave him the opportunity to go fetch the Shield Hero some clothing .
Ake never really did believe any of that ' Devil of the Shield ' crap that the Three Heroes Church preaches , but he sure as hell was not devout to the Church of the Shield Hero either , that those sons of whores and animals from Siltvelt worship . But he was being honest when he said that it was utterly disgraceful for a Hero of Legend to be seen in such a humiliating manner . Even if he was under suspicion of sexual assault on his companion , he still deserved fair treatment .
Entering the inn once more , what the Shield Hero told him before still lingers in his mind , about how his armor and equipment had been stolen from him .
Ake decides that against his better judgement ... he'll investigate the Shield Hero's claim .
Walking back upstairs to the Shield Hero's room , Ake ponders about the case , he highly doubts that the Shield Hero misplaced his belongings , that would be too coincidental and easy . And the Shield Hero didn't come off as someone who would be so clumsy and dimwitted to lose his belongings by accident .
Ake gives a nod to his fellow knights that were guarding the door to the Shield Hero's room before entering himself and closing the door behind him as to not draw any suspicion .
Upon inspecting the room , Ake doesn't find any sign of the Shield Hero's equipment or money and he gave the room a good look around . He checked the cupboard , dresser , underneath the bed ... Ake literally checked everywhere .
Letting out a disgruntled sigh , Ake deduces that it was most certainly a thief that stole his belongings ... but who ?
And more importantly how ? Ake checked the door and saw that it had been busted open , indicating that it had been locked the entire night . Ake remembers from one of his father's former associates , a locksmith , that thieves can't relock doors from the outside . They can certainly pick the lock and enter , but they can't reengage the lock to secure it . And the Shield Hero's door locked from the inside only meant that the thief either found some way to relock the door after picking the lock or they never used the door to begin with .
Ake opens up the window of the room and runs his hand over the edge of it and he feels something .
Ake can just barely make out the residual dirt on the edge of the window , dirt that had to have come from a boot from the outside .
So the thief did find some other way to enter the room .
Ake looks to the building on the opposite side of the window , the gap between the window and the rooftop wasn't that big so its entirely possible that somebody could have scaled the building , got onto the rooftop and then jumped and grabbed onto the edge of the window . From there , they could have opened the window from the outside since it doesn't have a lock , stole the Shield Hero's belongings and then grabbed onto the tiles of the rooftop and then make their getaway .
It all makes sense but it doesn't get him any closer to figuring out who stole his belongings ...
The clock is ticking and he's running out of time ...
Ake places a finger to his chin in thought , why would anybody try to rob a Cardinal Hero ? Just conspiring to even steal from a Hero of Legend is already grounds for capital punishment , regardless of the country's ... distaste towards the Shield .
Maybe the thief stole from the Shield Hero specifically because they thought that the king wouldn't take the crime too seriously even if the Shield reported it to him ? But Ake is certain that the other heroes wouldn't stand for the king simply brushing the crime committed against the Shield Hero under the rug and he can't get away with denying the Shield Hero more funds to replace that which was lost .
Unless the report of sexual assault was timed with the robbery ...
It had just clicked with Ake that it was too convenient for the Shield Hero's belongings to be stolen , just before he gets arrested under suspicion of sexual assault .
If he gets convicted of the crime of rape , than nobody will give a shit if he tells the king that all of his belongings were stolen , in fact the king would probably brush it off as nothing more than just the howling of a convicted criminal ..
Actually ... didn't the report say that the Shield Hero reportedly assaulted his only companion , Mein Sophie if he recalls the name ...
Ake quickly exited the room and stomped down to the receptions desk where a female demi with cat ears was posted .
" Excuse me , the Shield Hero rented a room for the night , didn't he ? " Ake looks down at the reception girl , who straighten up her posture before him .
" Y-Yes , the Shield Hero rented a room last night "
" And he had a companion with him right ? A woman , by the name of Mein Sophie " Ake didn't know why but he had a bad feeling about this Mein Sophie , he didn't know what it was but he could tell it was bad news .
" Yes , the Shield Hero had a companion with him who went by the name of Mein Sophie " The receptions girl pulls out a logbook and scrolls through it before arriving on a certain name " It was impossible to miss her , she had lovely green eyes and silky bright red hair that would make any woman jealous "
Wait a second ... bright red hair ? And green eyes ?
Could it be who I think it is ...?
The only other noble young woman he knows of is some stuckup bitch named Sofia Rein , but House Rein aren't exactly best friends with House Melromarc .
So that only leaves one other suspect , the First Princess , Malty S Melromarc .
If his theory is correct , then the king sent his elder daughter undercover to play seductress to the Shield Hero . Then once he sleeps , she steals all of his money and equipment and he's left to be branded a rapist . And with a conviction like that on his back , the king will have free reign to mistreat him however the hell he sees fit .
It disgusts Ake beyond measure ...
" Where was the Shield Hero's companion room exactly ?" Ake turns back to the receptionist who has been throughout his internal deduction .
" Her room was right next to the Shield Hero's room as a matter of fact " The receptionist looks at the logbook to confirm it first before responding .
Gotcha .
" Thank you for your time miss ..." Ake gives a half meaningful bow before quickly going back upstairs .
Passing his fellow knight still guarding the door to the Shield Hero's room , Ake merely passes them without a word and enters the room that belonged to the Shield Hero's companion.
Now the question is , where are the Shield's belongings ? She obviously couldn't have hidden them on her person , that would just be plain stupid , she had to have stashed it somewhere . She couldn't have stashed it anywhere else but her own room as from what he's heard , she was escorted by the Bow Hero straight to the castle , so that doesn't leave anywhere else to hide the Shield Hero's belongings on such short notice .
Closing the door behind him just like before , Ake gives the room a good look around . He doesn't find anything remotely odd , checking every nook and cranny in the room , he finds absolutely nothing , no sign of any of the Shield Hero's belongings .
Opening the window and taking a peek outside , Ake runs his hand over the surface of the edge of the window and finds the exact same dirt like on the Shield Hero's window . With all of the clues in his possession , Ake deduces that the Princess must have jumped from her window to the building on the other side , climbed up and jumped and grabbed the edge of the Shield Hero's window . From there , she opened the window , got in , stole his stuff and like that she was gone like the wind .
That still doesn't get him any closer to figuring out where she stashed it ...
Just as Ake was thinking in anger , he suddenly steps onto a squeaky floorboard , he looks to the floor and a realization hits him ...
Ake got down on all fours searching for some kind of mark or symbol on the floorboards , searching for something , anything ...
She had to have marked it ...
His eyes stumble onto a particular floorboard , that had what looked to be a large stab wound and it seemed to be recent based on the splintering of the wood alone .
Taking out his sword and prying the plank from the floor , he managed to get it off and low and behold he sees something hidden beneath the small space below the floorboards .
Pulling out what looked to be chainmail of very good quality , a big bag of coins and some strange as hell clothing .
Ake for the first time in a long while ...smiles .
Got you now , bitch .
Mein's POV
What was taking them so long ?
Mein was starting to get irritated by how long the knights were taking to escort the Shield Hero to the castle , the inn wasn't even that far away from the castle and if they were taking him by carriage , it would take them no less than 10 minutes , maybe even less !
So what in heroes of old's name was taking them so long ?
Mein wonders if the Shield Hero put up some fight and tried to escape when the knights came to arrest him , though she seriously doubts that this is the case as his attack power is practically non-existent at the moment and with his level still being only 2 , he wouldn't have the physical strength to overpower the knights .
She just wanted the Shield Hero to finally arrive so that this trial could be over and done with . Because for some odd reason , Mein couldn't seem to shake this aching bad feeling she had in her stomach , ever since she arrived in the throne room with the Bow .
Doubt ? Dread ? Guilt ?
She couldn't tell if the feeling was any of those three forms ... or maybe it was a combination of all them combined , but either way she was not liking this feeling .
Mein goes over the plan in her head . She frames the Shield Hero for the crime of rape , his reputation is ruined , father has an excuse to cut him off from all support both from the crown and the general public , the Shield Hero probably dies in one of the waves ... and than the Pope works his magic and somehow she's suddenly the Queen ?
Mein realizes the gaping hole in the sequence of events that transpire . She starts to have some serious doubts about the Pope's letter to her , the night before she joined the Shield Hero . He said that he could make her queen , but how exactly ?
Perhaps , he plans to give her his full support in her claim for the throne ? On one hand , having the nations strongest religious faction backing her up would give her a massive advantage over her younger sister ... but the Pope is still one of many powerful figures in Melromarc.
And the vast majority of the nobility already seem to have thrown their hats in with Melty and Mother will no doubt try to sabotage her if the Pope openly supports her claim to the throne .
The main issue is that Mein doesn't know the Pope's plan for how he's going to deal with mother , to help her take the throne and that makes her feel uneasy .
Mein racks her brain for any possible way , the Pope could put her on the throne .
One comes to mind , perhaps he plans to assassinate Melty ?
Mein discards the idea as quickly as it comes to mind . Even if the Pope is the leader of the most powerful religion in the country , he nowhere near has the power to assassinate a member of royalty , especially the heir to the throne . And even if he does , somehow manage to launch a successful assassination , mother will not rest until Melty's killer is found and it will not take long for mother to trace the ones who killed Melty back to the church .
And if the Pope burns than she burns , because even if she confesses that she had no hand or knowledge of the assassination than she would still be charged for colluding with the church on the grounds of overthrowing the crown .
The only possible way the Pope could get away with it , is if he managed to kill mother as well and the mere thought of it is laughable .
And worse yet , it is possible that this entire frame plot is just a means of having Mein hang herself out to dry while the Church gets to make off relatively unscathed . She might damn well just be a scapegoat for them .
Mein starts to see the major flaws with trusting the Pope , she knows nothing of his plan for her ascension to the throne . Without knowing anything of his plan , she'll just have to blindly play along with him , following his orders without question , she would practically become a puppet of the Pope altogether !
Its became all too clear to Mein , that she absolutely cannot trust the Pope .
The only issue with this little revelation is that ...
This grand revelation came a little too late !
She's already in the throne room and trial is already underway ! Well , technically the trial doesn't officially start until the Shield Hero arrives , but he can't be too far by now ! She can't just stop the trial , especially with father already seated and all of the heroes present , so what is there to do !? What should she -
Before Mein could continue to have her mental panic , the grand doors to the throne room opened and the familiar raven haired Shield Hero walked in , with the guards carrying him by his arms . They throw him in front of the throne and he lands on all fours .
Well , fuck .
To Mein's surprise the Shield Hero isn't clad in his underclothes when he arrives , but he appears to be wearing actual clothing that makes him kind of look like a villager . This confuses Mein as she is certain that she remembered to take all of the equipment and even his otherworlder clothing from him when he first arrived . She briefly wonders how he managed to procure such clothing in the first place . Before the Shield Hero could stand up , the knights point their spears at his neck keeping him in a kneeling position .
" Is it true Naofumi !? Did you really try to rape Mein !?"The Spear Hero steps forward , pointing his spear at the Shield Hero , anger clear on his face . His regular nice and carefree attitude completely gone .
Mein can hear the nobles from the top of the observation balcony that overlooks the throne room , where they are watching the trial of the Shield Hero . Some are whispering among themselves , while others are watching with a critical eye .
" Rape !? I would never do something like that ! " The Shield Hero refutes the Spear Hero , attempting to stand up , only to be forced down again by the guards " What evidence do you even have that I committed a crime like that ! "
" Don't try to deny it ! We received reliable information , that they saw you entering your companions room and reported screams shortly after that ! " Father yells right back at the Shield Hero , glaring at him all the way .
" But none of that makes any sense !" Naofumi tries to refute , but his words fall on deaf ears .
" Silence , you fiend ! " Father cuts off the shield hero once more , not even giving him a chance to speak in his defense .
" Now hang on a second ! " The loud voice comes from none other than the ever so quiet Sword Hero , his usual emotionless face is broken for a moment , turning to the Shield Hero " What do you mean , by that Naofumi ?"
Mein's raises an eyebrow at this , so it would appear that the Sword Hero isn't so dimwitted after all , if he's willing to let the Shield Hero speak in his defense .
" I was trying to say the whole idea of me raping somebody doesn't make any sense at all , my attack power is practically non-existent and my level is still only 2, so I wouldn't even have the strength to force myself onto to someone of a higher level than me ! " The Shield somehow still manages to come up with sound and rational arguments for his defense even in such a stressful situation " And why would I try to force myself onto my own companion ? When I can't even fight by myself ? "
The Spear Hero looks conflicted and uncertain , while the Sword Hero seems to be in thought over what the Shield Hero just said .
" Naofumi makes a good point , Mein told me last night that her level was 17 , so it would be stupid to think Naofumi would be able to overpower her enough to force himself onto her " The Sword Hero , both defend and unconsciously insult the Shield Hero at the same time .
" One's attack stat , doesn't necessarily dictate their strength ! You still could have raped your companion , even with your low level ! " Father doesn't even seem to realize as he casts aside the Shield Hero's defense , that he just said something stupid . The higher your level , the stronger you are . So even if Naofumi is a man , she would still be physically stronger than him .
Thankfully it seems that nobody makes a comment on that .
" Do you even have any physical evidence of the crime ?" The Sword Hero , eyes father with a suspicious and critical look .
" Of course , we do Sir Ren , guards ! " Father said that a little too quickly , as he ordered the guards .
" We uncovered this from the Shield Hero's room " One of the knights step forward and show off , what looks to be a torn up bra to the entire courtroom .
" So you did do it , Naofumi ! " The Spear Hero looked to be on the verge of taking the Shield Hero's head off at this point .
" I can't believe this ..." Mein can hear the Bow Hero , mumble under his breath , he has been mostly silent throughout the trial .
"Now , wait a second !-" The Shield is cut off from saying his part again by father .
" I think the evidence is clear for all to see , the despicable crime committed by the Shield Hero , did you think your prestige as a Hero would let you get away with a crime like this !? " Father seems close to wrapping this entire trial up .
" Hang on a second ! " The Sword Hero raises his voice once more to get everyone's attention " We still haven't even heard the victims side of the story so we can't declare him guilty , until we hear what she has to say first "
" Very well , if it pleases you Sir Ren ..." Father sounds as if it doesn't even matter , like the outcome of this trial has already been set in stone .
Mein can feel all the eyes in the throne room turn to her , even the Shield Hero manages to turn his head enough to look at her , hiding behind the Bow Hero .
She steps out from behind the Bow Hero and takes a step forward for all to see her " The Shield Hero ..."
Mein gulps taking a deep breath , trying to ignore the feeling in her stomach that makes her want to throw up " T-The ... Shield Hero ..."
Mein casts a quick glance at Naofumi and they both make eye contact . Mein can see the sense of realization in his eyes , the knowledge that he had been duped from the start by the one person he trusted in this world .
But that isn't all she sees that makes her heart stop for a minute .
She can see the innocence in his eyes slowly dying out like a light , his optimism and good nature draining from him , and being replaced with something ... much more dangerous , something she knew all to well ...
Wrath .
It terrified her to no end , to the point where she couldn't even speak ...
" If the victim , is unable to speak due to what the Shield Hero has done to her , then I believe that should be enough " Father tries to steer everybody into believing her silence , as her way of telling everybody that the Shield Hero was guilty .
Father stands up from his throne , to deliver his verdict " I , Aultcray Melromarc XXXII , deem the Shield Hero -"
" Innocent ..."
A quiet low voice cuts him off , as all eyes turn to Mein once more .
" Sir Naofumi is innocent ! " Mein shouts with more force than necessary .
For what was around 2 minutes felt like an hour , the entire throne room seemed to be shocked into silence . Father's jaw was hanging open , looking like he was trying to comprehend the situation but was failing to . The knights eyes grew to the size of cart wheels and the nobility that was watching the entire trial , seemed to be whispering among themselves much more than before .
Mein looks to the Shield Hero , she can see the look of relief on his face even though he has his head down and is clutching at the spears pointed at his neck as if to keep himself from collapsing onto the floor completely .
" The accusations against the Shield Hero are completely false . During our time together , he has treated me with the utmost respect and courtesy . Never once commanding me into doing anything unreasonable and he defended me from the monsters on the plains . The Shield Hero didn't even make any attempts to try and seduce me into bed with him or did anything inappropriate to me " Mein placing a hand to her heart , relays the absolute truth of their time together from yesterday , while painting the Shield Hero in a good light to the court .
" Honestly , the simple idea that somebody as gentle and kind as the Shield Hero trying to force himself onto me is simply ... " Mein looks to father for a brief moment " Unbelievable ..."
Father manages to steady himself enough to face her , trying to keep his composure the best he can " Well then , how do you explain the report of the Shield Hero entering your room ? "
Mein has to hold herself back from smiling smugly at her father , enough to come up with a counterpoint " While I can't say anything for the person who merely claims to have seen someone who may have resembled Sir Naofumi , I will say that the Shield Hero did not once during the night enter or come to my room , as a matter of fact he went to bed earlier than I did "
Mein discredits both the report and the imaginary witness " I will also say this as well ..." Mein redirects her eyes to the knight who held up the torn up bra " The torn up bra that was presented earlier that was found in the Shield Hero's room is not mine "
"What ?" The Spear Hero's shocked reaction is but one of many shared in the throne room .
" A-Are you sure it isn't yours ?" Father almost sounded pathetic just now , almost as if he is hoping this is just some big joke .
" Yes , I am sure your highness " Mein calmly repeats " If it would clear Sir Naofumi's name , I wouldn't mind consenting to a strip search to verify that I still have my underclothes on me "
Mein is bluffing obviously , she doesn't actually intend on stripping for the entire court to see , but father was never quick to pick up on things like that .
" No ! That is uh ... unnecessary , adventurer Mein " Father's voice sounds exasperated at this point , slumping back into his throne .
" If we know that Naofumi is innocent , than shouldn't we be letting him off the ground right about now ? Its humiliating enough for him to be treated like a dirty criminal " To Mein's surprise , the Spear Hero is the one who steps up for the Shield Hero , despite antagonizing him mere moments ago . The Spear Hero , walks to stand in front of Naofumi and seems to glare at the knights holding him down .
Father is quick to act before anything can happen " What are you waiting for you damn fools ! Release the Shield Hero now ! "
The knights quickly remove their spears and back away , not wanting to anger the king . The Spear Hero helps Naofumi stand up , his legs seeming to have fallen asleep .
" You okay , Naofumi ?" The Spear Hero appears to be genuinely concerned over the Shield Hero right about now , contrast to his anger towards him just a few moments ago .
" Yeah , I guess ... I think I'm fine ..." The Shield Hero puts one hand on the Spear Hero's shoulder to help steady to himself . He looks as if he's still reeling in from the shock of the entire situation .
" Listen , sorry about ... just now and everything " The Spear Hero apologizes for his behavior towards the Shield Hero just now .
The Shield Hero offers a small smile in return " Its fine man , I know you didn't mean anything by it "
The Sword Hero is the next one to go to stand by his fellow cardinal heroes a move which surprises everybody " You know , thinking back on it , this wasn't a very fair trial now was it ?" The Sword Hero glares at father , who seems to wilt like a leaf under the Sword Hero's gaze " You didn't give Naofumi a chance to properly to defend himself and that was only after I asked him , not that it would even matter since you completely disregarded any of his points . I thought the king of this country would at least be fair during a trial concerning the Hero's of Legend "
Father looks like a man who has just got a serious tongue lashing from his mother " Please Heroes , I guarantee you this is all just a misunderstanding ..."
" Don't give us that ! " The Bow Hero seems to fall in line with the Sword Hero . Walking over to stand with the rest of his cardinal heroes , Mein follows him over " You were way too hasty during this trial ! You obviously believed that he was guilty before he even arrived and you were completely unfair to Naofumi , treating him like he was already convicted as a rapist ! "
Well ... that was the entire plan .
" And where exactly is this 'witness' that supposedly saw Naofumi entering Mein's room and hearing would be screams , huh ?" The Sword Hero doesn't bother keeping any of the sarcasm out of his voice , even if he is speaking to the king " Shouldn't they be present as well ?"
" Well ... the witness , has chosen to um ... stay anonymous for the sake of their privacy " Father tries to weasel his way out with an excuse but it doesn't seem to be fooling any of the heroes .
" Are you trying to tell us that you damn near branded Naofumi a rapist , based on an anonymous tip that you didn't even know was real ?" The Bow Hero's anger from last night is starting to show here in the throne room " Committing a crime like rape is horrible and despicable in my eyes , but accusing somebody of it when they are innocent is even worse ! " Father seems to flinch at the Bow Hero's words .
The entire throne room falls silent , father seems to be at a lost for what to say to save his own skin , his advisers seem to be just as dumbfounded as he is . The nobility still chatting it up in the observation balcony , Mein can almost hear some of them laughing at the king for his failure .
" I'm with Itsuki on this one , how about you Motoyasu ?" The Sword looks to the Spear Hero who nods at him .
" I'm with you guys " The Spear Hero turns to father " Naofumi is entitled to some form of compensation and an apology at least "
Father looks as if he would rather be burned alive than apologize to the Shield Hero but he seems to suck it up " You have my sincerest apologies , Shield Hero ... it would appear that I let my fair judgement be clouded by ... the actions of the previous Shield Hero "
" So you're basically being biased towards somebody because of the actions of his predecessor , that he had nothing to do with ? Kinda stupid when you think about it .." The Bow Hero openly insults father if he was not a Legendary Hero , he would most likely have his tongue cut out .
" It is still quite worrying , we'll still be fighting for a country that could turn on us at any given moment ... "
" Guys , I think that's enough " The Sword Hero seems to be ready to start another line of insults towards father , when he is cut off by none other than the Shield Hero " The king already knows he's made a mistake , no point in twisting the wound "
" The king was only doing what he thought was right and messed up , we shouldn't rub it in his face anymore " The Shield Hero seems to diffuse the situation with calmness and rationality , while his fellow cardinal heroes seem to be surprised at his forgiveness .
Or maybe he just wants this whole ordeal to be over and done with .
The other heroes seem to reluctantly agree with him " Fine . We'll let it go ... but don't expect the rest of us to be as forgiving as Naofumi " The Sword Hero throws father one last glare .
One of father's advisers step up to speak on behalf of the king " Well , if everything is settled then ..."
" Actually ..." The Shield Hero speaks up to get everyone's attention " There is still another matter that still needs to be solved "
The adviser manages to keep a straight face as he looks at the Shield Hero " What matter might you be referring to Shield Hero ?"
" Well , you see my armor and funds were all stolen from me last night " The Shield Hero seems to addressing Mein's theft last night , so he did figure out that he was robbed .
" Your belongings were stolen Naofumi ?" Itsuki looks at the Shield Hero with a shocked expression .
" Yeah , everything was taken from me , even my regular clothes from yesterday was stolen "
" Did you report it to the knights ?" The Spear Hero inquires , casting a glance at some of the knights in the throne room .
" Yeah , but they really didn't care all too much , on the count of me being arrested " The Shield Hero scratches his head as he seems to recall this morning .
" Very honorable and just knights you got here , your majesty " The Sword Hero glares at both the knights and father , the word ' majesty' is dripping with sarcasm and sounding more like an insult than anything .
" If you could compensate me for my stolen funds and equipment , that would already be enough " Mein raises an eyebrow at the Shield Hero's modest and humble attitude , you would think that after almost getting branded a rapist , you would demand for more .
" That will not be necessary , Sir Shield Hero "
Both the cardinal heroes and Mein turn to the side , to see a knight enter the throne room through the side door carrying a satchel . The knight seems to be a private , based on his armor alone , seeing as it is the standard equipment that the knights of Melromarc receive .
The knight turns to father and bows respectively " Pardon , my interruption your majesty but I come to deliver urgent news " The knights turns to the Shield Hero and hands him the satchel " I believe these belong to you , Shield Hero "
Mein leans in to see the contents of the satchel and to her surprise it is the Shield Hero's belongings that she stole !
Mein looks at the knight with a shocked expression , how the hell did he manage to locate it !? She was certain that she had hidden it well enough , unless this private had the ability to see through walls than she is stumped on how he discovered the Shield Hero's belongings . And that's not even the worst part , if he did find the Shield Hero's belongings than he must have deduced that she was the thief ! Or at the very least has a very strong suspicion of her involvement .
" These are my missing belongings ! The chainmail , funds , my clothes , they're all here " The Shield Hero looks both surprised to see his belongings once more " Thank you " The Shield Hero nods his head to the knight .
" It is my pleasure , Sir Shield Hero " The knight bows his head to him as well .
" Where did you discover the Shield Hero's belongings , knight ?" Father takes this chance to speak up , but Mein is really wishing he had chosen to stay quiet . Because now he has just prompted a new line of questioning that could reveal her hand in the theft !
" Yeah , where did you find them ? I looked everywhere for them before the knights busted in " The Shield Hero falls in support of this line of questioning as all attention falls on the knight and she can barely keep herself from wanting to run away at this moment .
" Well ... " Mein can see the knight cast a sideways glance at her and she freezes at that moment . This knights knows what she did and she is about to be exposed for all to see .
" I found it underneath the Shield Hero's bed in his room "
What ?
"What ?" The Shield Hero seems to follow her thought process .
What !? He knows I did it then ... why isn't he calling me out on it ?
Could it be because he knows not to cross the royal family ? Or maybe he does not want to endanger his position in the order ? Either way , Mein is grateful that this knight knows better .
" Yes , after the captain took the Shield Hero and left us to guard the crime scene , I stumbled upon the Shield Hero's belongings while I was inspecting the room " The knight comes up with a believable enough lie and story for the heroes and the people to eat up .
" You must have misplaced your stuff the night before" The Sword Hero seems to buy the knight's made up story .
" Don't be embarrassed Naofumi , I misplace my stuff all the time " The Spear Hero pats the Shield Hero's back in an attempt to dispel some of the awkwardness .
" Well , I do tend to misplace things and I didn't check under the bed , granted I didn't have a lot of time before the knights came charging in " the Shield Hero seems to accept the knight's story as fact , choosing wisely not to delve in too deep .
" Thank you private , for locating the Shield Hero's belongings and returning them " Father sounds genuine in his gratitude to the knight , but more for the fact of him not selling Mein out as a thief .
" Of course , my liege " The knight bow his head one last time before being dismissed and exiting the throne room
" Well , if everything has been settled , can I be excused now ?" the Shield Hero , looks like he's about ready to end this sordid trial once and for all .
"Of course , Shield Hero , you may go now " The feeling seems to be mutual with father , who wants to end the humiliation he has suffered today " I promise that I will compensate you for your troubles , but it may take some time "
" I told you already , I'm fine without any receiving any compensation " Naofumi looks about ready to reject the compensation entirely when the Spear Hero gives him a pat on the back and gives him a look . Naofumi lets out a sigh " But if you insist ..."
" Of course , we will call you when we have it ready for you " Father signals the guards to escort the nobility out of the castle .
And like that , the trial of the Shield Hero was officially over .
Mein decided to keep silent and follow the Shield Hero out of the castle , with the other heroes and their parties following suit .
Once they were out of the castle , Mein quickly hugs the young man , taking her opportunity " Sir Naofumi ! I'm so sorry you had to endure such a disgraceful humiliation because of me ! " Mein silently cries into his chest , staining his villager clothes " I was ... I was so worried about you ! And everything was happening so fast and I didn't know where you were this morning and ... and ..."
Mein is cut off when Naofumi returns her hug , wrapping his arms around her " No Mein , it wasn't your fault . It was whoever set this whole trial up , that deserves the blame . Thank you Mein ... for stepping up for me and believing in me "
" Mein was very brave for stepping up in your defense and by extension standing up to the king himself " The Sword Hero looks at Mein sympathetically as she detaches from Naofumi " Perhaps , I have misjudged you Mein . I'm sorry "
Mein is caught off guard by the Sword Hero's apology but accepts it , nodding her head .
" But don't you think you were being a little too soft , Naofumi ? " the Bow Hero chimes in " You could have been much more ... abrasive and we would have backed you up "
" I didn't want the situation to end in a bloodbath . He may not like me but ... he's still the king of the country nonetheless " Naofumi sounds tired as if he just wants this whole day to end .
" If you say so , Naofumi , but I don't think we can fully trust the king anymore " The Spear Hero crosses his arms " If he almost convicted Naofumi as a rapist just because he didn't like him very much ... than who's the say , he won't try the same thing with us if we get on his bad side ?"
" I don't know ... but I think we should all just go about our business getting stronger and keep our eyes peeled , if the king tries something like this again , then we all need to be ready for it " The Sword Hero lets out a sigh , clearly just as tired as the Shield Hero .
The Sword Hero gives a nod to Naofumi before turning to leave with his party , most likely to go raise his level . The Bow Hero follows after the Sword Hero , shortly after , Mein could swear she saw one of his party members giving her a look , he looked dressed like a big hulking knight ... just not the good kind .
The Spear Hero was the last one to leave , " Take care of yourself Naofumi ... and take care of Mein too , she's a keeper " the Spear Hero winks at Naofumi and Mein could see the Shield Hero's cheeks turn red a bit .
The Spear Hero chuckles a bit , patting Naofumi on the shoulder as he walks away with his party .
Mein and Naofumi both watch as the three heroes and their parties disappear in the crowds .
" So ... Mein " Naofumi holds out a hand to her " We should probably get going if we want to raise our levels "
Mein smiles at him and hooks her arm around his as they both start walking through the streets of Castletown " Of course , Sir Naofumi "
Mein leans her head onto the Naofumi's shoulder as she walked .
To a regular person , it might seem like Mein has just made the worst possible choice imaginable , but that is not quite so .
In fact , she has just made the best choice , not only for herself ... but also for the country .
Father is too short sighted to understand what would happen if the other countries got word of the Shield Hero's mistreatment . Siltvelt , Shieltfreeden , Zeltoble , they would all rally against Melromarc and quite literally burn it to the ground for the Shield Hero , leaving nothing left for her to rule .
And if she did go along with the Pope's plan than she still would have just become a puppet under him just like father has become .
Yes , she has made some enemies today ...
Mein looks at the smiling Naofumi for a brief second .
But she has also made a powerful companion as well .
Why burn something to ashes , when you can turn it into a powerful asset ?
Naofumi's POV
Naofumi and Mein took some cover in an out of the way alley , so Naofumi could put on his chainmail . Naofumi still felt greatly relieved that he hadn't lost all of his belongings on top of being branded a rapist . Naofumi looks to Mein , who was keeping an eye out to the street . Naofumi felt extremely grateful that Mein stood up for him back there , if she didn't ... than he doesn't know what would have happened .
Well , he could probably take a good guess , he'd be branded a rapist , be hated by everybody including the other heroes and left penniless to starve to death in the streets . Naofumi briefly wonders if he would become one of those badly written edgy isekai protagonists , but shook his head at the thought .
This isn't a game , yeah sure maybe it might seem that way , but this is reality ... so I have to fight my hardest to prove myself !
I may have failed back home ... this is my second chance to prove that I'm not a failure !
Naofumi felt a renewed optimism in his heart at the thought of it .
After Naofumi put back on the chainmail , he decided to do a quick check of his coin bag just to make sure it was all there .
But when he opened the bag , he found all of his money still there , but there was also something that was not supposed to be there .
It was a note .
It had been hidden among the coins and Naofumi discovered it while he was counting his coin .
Putting his coin bag away , Naofumi opens up the note to read it .
' Shield Hero , I don't have much time to explain , so I'm just going to tell you now . '
' Your companion , Mein Sophie was the thief '
Naofumi's eyes widened at this , he could barely hold back the gasp that came after reading such a short note .
Mein ... was the thief ? So he did get robbed ? How ? And why ? If she was the one who robbed him in the first place ... then why did she stand up for him back in the trial ? It didn't make any sense !
He suspects that it was the knight who went to fetch him clothing and brought him back his belongings during the trial , since he was the only he told about his missing belongings excluding the captain . And he did stay behind at the inn while he was sent to the castle for the trial , if he stayed behind and found his belongings during that time and figured out that Mein did it then ...
Why didn't he call her out on it ? Was there some kind of greater reason ?
" Sir Naofumi ?" A soft gentle voice cuts Naofumi's internal mental conflict . He turns to see Mein smiling sweetly at him " Are you done ? We should get a move on , we're burning daylight " Mein giggled a bit and for some reason ... that made him feel uneasy .
" Yeah ... sure , lets go " Naofumi led the way as they left the alley and headed for the plains .
During that entire time Naofumi stayed silent , not uttering a single word .
The only thing that was on his mind , was what the note said :
' Mein Sophie was the thief '
Oh I'm sorry , did you think Malty was the only one I was essentially turning into an OOC ?
:P
Jokes aside , I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and the flashback scene . There will be more like in the future .
With that said , I'll see you all in the next one .
Angel Out .