Originally planned to post this chapter on the first of January, but ended a day late. Still Happy New Year to everybody ! Hope this year goes better than the past couple of years, even though we all know it won't. Still you gotta hope a little.

:)

Anyway so sorry this chapter came out later than I wanted it too, but writer's block is a bitch.

Also some more mildly bad news, my sem starts next week so expect updates to be slower from here on out. I'll try to get at least one more chapter out before then but I can make no promises on that front.

Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter and providing important feedback.

With that said, let's get it started!

Chapter 37: Joining the Hunt

Mein was briefly confused by the intrusion of this new group before she got a closer look at the group and recognized them.

The three demi-humans caught her eye at first, because she recalled how the rabbit and cat whores were trying to cozy up to Naofumi. She could see that the rabbit was an archer while the cat was a fighter based on the bow and quarterstaff, along with the fact that the two of them were dressed more exposed than the whores from the red lantern district. The lamb was the only one who dressed properly in the robes of a cleric...and Mein caught notice of a pendant around her neck of a shield.

A true Church of the Shield member ? Thought they were a dying breed after the Great War. She's practically asking to get harassed for wearing her faith on her shoulder like that.

She turned her attention to the other group with the three demi's, a full party of humans- A warrior priestess, wizard, fighter and a warrior. She remembered them as the ones who helped exonerate their party when they were falsely accused by that band of rogue adventurers who tried to kill them in the slums. That should put her at ease, but the priestess is still a member of the Three Heroes Church and cannot be trusted.

" Don't tell me you've forgotten about us already Shield Hero~" The cat girl threw Naofumi a flirting smirk " Such a shame you left so soon after our last meeting, we would have loved to get better acquainted with you "

The cat put her hand on Naofumi's chest plate while the rabbit moved in on his side, making the Shield Hero blush from the sudden close proximity with these two harlots.

Mein grumbled as she felt the fires of jealousy rise within her. People can say what they will about her ability to form romantic relationships, but nobody touches her man !

" Excuse me miss, but I don't think my companion here appreciates the way you're acting " Mein stepped up " I would suggest you back off. Now "

" So you're the hooman who ditched him the day we met your dear Shield Hero " The cat sneered at her " Shame you couldn't keep up with him and met him before we did. We would have been a much better trio-"

The cat immediately shut up when Mein grabbed her wrist that had been touching Naofumi's chest plate...and quickly realized how much stronger Mein was physically. Easily being able to pull her hand away and slowly began to crush her wrist.

" I strongly suggest you both back off, before I skin you like the rabbit and cat my father ordered me to kill when I was a child " Mein said with a creepy smile making the rabbit back away in fear. She herself knowing that she was completely serious in her threats.

Never make a threat that you neither have the will or capacity to carry out swiftly.

One of the many great things Thomas had taught her.

" Alright, both of you settle down " The priestess intervened, pushing Mein and the cat away from each other " Kate, Via, keep it in your pants and don't provoke people " The priestess said in a scolding tone.

The cat and the rabbit grumbled and glared at Mein, but backed off. The lamb giving a disapproving look to her teammates, which gave Mein the feeling that the lamb was the leader of the demi-harlot trio.

Mein's satisfaction at seeing the two whores back-off was short-lived when the priestess turned to her " And you, don't make fake threats like that in here. Nobody in the guild wants to start a fight "

They weren't fake.

Mein wants to say to this priestess but holds her tongue for now. Taking a moment to think clearly, she knows that de-escalating the situation is best. Doesn't mean that she's going to get cozy with somebody from the Church or some whores who just tried to make a move on her man.

"...Fine " Mein said simply.

An awkward moment of silence passed, before Naofumi gave a fake cough to clear the air " Um...you're that priestess who helped us a while back with those adventurers who tried to attack us. Alice, right ? "

Alice gave a courteous nod " Yes Shield Hero, my name is Alice. I'm glad you remembered my team " Alice pointed a thumb to the rest of her group " This is Clarissa, Nina and Rufus "

The wizard and fighter gave simple nods and smiles, but the warrior gave a big smile " Nice to meet ya Shield Hero ! Our group is called 'Titan Storm' ! Don't forget it "

Clarissa and Nina groaned in tiredness at Rufus telling their team name, while the Shield Hero's group just looked confused.

Mein's face scrunched up in confusion at the team name. She knew that adventurer groups would occasionally give themselves a nickname or titles as a way to be better recognized...but Titan Storm sounds so stupid and makes no sense.

" Titan Storm ? What does that even mean ? "

" Don't question it, for you own sanity " Clarissa said exasperated " Rufus came up with that dumb name when we were just rookies and he STILL will not let it die "

" Its cool and you know it !" Rufus defended " People have called us that and we have gotten more jobs as a result "

Clarissa grumbled but didn't retort, leading Mein to think that the warrior might be right.

Naofumi decided to ignore those two and focus on Alice" Well anyway, we never did to get to thank you for helping us back then. If it weren't for you guys, I don't know what would have happened to us if those adventurers had won back then " Naofumi bowed his head to the priestess of the Church.

" It is no trouble Shield Hero. It is our duty as members of the Church to treat the heroes fairly, even if my own faith views the Shield in a...not so pleasant light " Alice struggled on that last part.

" Hey ! What about us ? We helped too " Via cut in.

" You guys were basically just tagging along the whole time " Clarissa said dryly.

" On a more important note..." Mein turned to the Shield Hero " Naofumi...please explain to me how you know these women ? " Mein said, giving him a cold stare.

" Its not what you think !" Naofumi quickly said " It happened on the day that you decided to take a rest and-"

" Sorry to interrupt but maybe we should have this conversation elsewhere ? " Ake suddenly suggested " I'm getting the distinct feeling that we are not well liked here "

Mein looked around and saw that they were getting dirty looks and light glares from some of the occupants of the guild.

" Good call. I know a tavern nearby we can go to " Lana suggested. Everybody agreed on that part, it was better to have their conversation with fewer eyes glaring at them.

Their now much larger group filtered out into the streets with the lamb at the front leading them to their destination. The street they were walking on was mostly clear with the usual crowd of civilians passing them by, Mein took care to keep an eye on their back. Very subtly looking back and towards the rooftops to make sure that there weren't any suspicious persons following them around.

The fact that those Shinobi from Q'ten Lo had been following them for Outsider knows how long served as a good reminder to Mein that she needs to be ever vigilant. That there are plenty of eyes on Melromarc and the Cardinal Heroes. They were lucky that those Shinobi were cooperative with them, she doubts the next spy or assassin group they meet will be as courteous.

Her senses were hampered for a second as she heard the sound of shouting and hammering passing them by. She turned her head to see a large group of men carrying stone, moving wood, and dressed in laborer's clothes. She spied the foreman telling his men to get the materials underway along with a pulley system to help carry some of the materials. Naofumi as well seemed to have stopped for a brief second to look at the construction of what looks to be a large building made out of fine stone.

" Looks like the King is smarter than I thought he was " Naofumi muttered as he observed the workers building.

Mein eyebrows furrow less at the jab at her father and more towards Naofumi actually complimenting her father " How so Naofumi ? "

" He's invigorating the economy of the nation by hiring people to build stuff like this, this is good especially for people who lost their homes and are looking for work" Naofumi explains in detail " This way he can help those who are looking for jobs while at the same time stimulating the economy of the country. I wonder if there are other building projects like this going around ? " Naofumi thought out loud.

" Actually Sir Naofumi, that's House Amelia's private project " Ake cut in, much to their surprise. It was only at that moment that Mein had noticed that the workers had patches on their shoulder showing the crest of House Amelia.

" I heard back then just before I joined up with you that House Amelia announced several of these private projects after the 1st Wave hit " Ake continued with a shrug " Seemed to have helped the people by giving them jobs and such "

" So House Amelia is funding these projects ?" Naofumi seemed to think it over for a moment " Wait a second, but isn't that just one big economic power grab? If House Amelia is the one footing the bill for all these projects than that just gives them massive economic power over other territories while at the same time earning the goodwill and loyalty of the people. Since they are the ones who pay the subjects of other lords salaries...I wonder if none of the other lords have realized this "

Mein thought about it as well for a moment before she came to the same conclusion as Naofumi did...and found herself a little concerned.

Naofumi was correct, with scary accuracy too. House Amelia had gained its reputation for being the wealthiest noble family in Melromarc, it was bad enough that the entire nation is hopelessly indebted to House Amelie for all the money and resources they spent during the Great War but with this power grab, House Amelia will only become even more powerful.

The first princess silently grumbles, trying to calm her nerves. That's an issue she can deal with later, hopefully after the Wave.

" Hey ! You guys coming ? " Rufus shouted at their group, who had fallen behind as a result.

" Coming !" Naofumi said as they hurried along to catch up.

It didn't take them long to reach the tavern Lana had spoken of which was nicely named ' Heroes Rest' by the sign out front. Entering, Mein can see the restaurant at least half full, but they still managed to spot a table big enough for all of them.

After they got seated and ordered some food and drink to bide their time as Naofumi told his story.

" Anyway, where were we ? " Naofumi recollected in a second " Oh yeah, I met these girls on the day you were taking a rest and-"

Naofumi went on to tell Mein exactly what happened and how he met these three harlots.

Most people would think that having three beautiful animal ladies want to jump in bed with you would be every otaku shut-in's dream and maybe it was...

But Naofumi had enough self-awareness to know that his otaku shut-in ass did not have the sociability or confidence to jump into bed with three women. Plus, he could only imagine the reaction Mein would give if she found out that he was dicking around( Literally and metaphorically) with three women behind her back. And Naofumi was not confident he would survive that outcome.

Naofumi kept running despite almost immediately feeling tired and out of breath, his high DEF stat naturally meant that his agility and speed were average at best. And Naofumi had never been a particularly active person back in his home world, a fact that he is instantly regretting right about now.

The Shield Hero felt his fears be revitalized as he heard the sounds of running coming from behind him and he didn't dare look back in fear of seeing the trio of demi-human women chasing after him. Naofumi himself start to feel his own heartbeat rapidly against his chest in fear at being hunted like prey.

He had been so occupied with running, he didn't even notice a man come out of an alley and without having the time to stop, he bumped into him, causing Naofumi to fall back on the ground, hearing the grunt of the man he bumped into.

The Shield Hero himself feeling a slight headache and pain, feeling as if he had collided with metal and upon looking up, he sees a man dressed in full metal armor with a helmet with grills that covers his face. Naofumi felt his heart drop as he realized that he had just bumped into Goblin Slayer. The veteran adventurer glancing at him without saying a word, which just made him all the more scary.

Naofumi quickly got up and apologized " S-So sorry about that ! I was just running and-"

" Hey ! Come back here, Shield Hero ! We just want to talk !" Naofumi heard the rabbit girl from before yell out to him and he dared to turn around to see the trio of demi-humans running at him.

" Oh shit..." Naofumi cursed. Without fully thinking about it, Naofumi ducked behind Goblin Slayer and whispered " Please don't let them take me..."

Goblin Slayer made out a grumbling noise but turned back to the trio who had finally caught up to him.

" What's the rush Shield Hero, we just wanted to...talk..." The rabbit slowed down as she stared up at Slayer. Naofumi noticing that the demi-human trio from before now looked much more tense and afraid that they were before.

The sheep girl from before took a brave step forward to Slayer, clearing her throat before speaking " Excuse me Slayer, but do you think you could...let us speak to the Shield Hero ? I'm afraid that my companions may have come off too...strongly "

" No " Slayer said simply, his voice dispassionate and cold " I think it would be best if you leave for now"

" Come on, Slayer don't be like that " The cat girl argued " We just want to be close friends with the Shield Hero and-"

" If its anything like how the rest of your kind tried to be 'friends' with humans during the Great War, than the answer is still no..." Slayer said coldly and the trio flinched in that regard.

" That's not fair Slayer..." The sheep girl said quietly

" It isn't. Now I will ask nicely one more time, leave..." Slayer said taking a step forward and Naofumi was suddenly more afraid for the trio. He noticed Slayer's hand was steady, like Mein's and he wondered if he would be so reckless as to fight three of the girls in the street.

The trio tensed up, before they backed off "...Fine " The cat girl said simply as they walked away, though the sheep girl did give Naofumi an apologetic look.

Once they were out of sight, Naofumi let out a sigh of relief until he saw Slayer turn to him next.

" You. Beat it " Goblin Slayer said menacingly, and Naofumi swore to god that he saw a red eye glow through the grills of Slayer's helmet.

Nothing more was said as Naofumi made a beeline back to the inn, now not sure if he was more scared of discount Goblin Slayer or the trio of demi-human women.

" And that's how I got back to the inn after meeting these three " Naofumi finished telling his story, their food and drink having already arrived.

" Yeah, that sounds like Slayer " Rufus said nonchalantly as he took a swig of his drink.

" So that's how you met these demi's ? " Mein said.

" These 'demis' have a name you know, hooman " The cat girl said gruffly.

" Don't even start with that " The lamb warned her companion with a tired expression as she introduced herself " I'm Lana, this is Kate and Via "

" Well, its nice to formally meet you all "Naofumi said politely.

" Yes Shield Hero, I would like to apologize on behalf of my companions. Their remarks and behavior towards you may have made them come off as more..." Lana rambled off.

" Horny idiots ? " Clarissa finished which caused the rabbit and cat to let an indignant shout at her.

" I was going to say overzealous, but that works too " Lana bowed her head to Naofumi " As an acolyte of the Church of the Shield it is shameful for me to have allowed such a thing to happen to you Lord Shield Hero "

" I-Its fine, I guess I just got really nervous is all " Naofumi said with an awkward smile.

" We were being serious you know, if you're ever considering switching parties..." The cat girl gave him a flirty look, in which Mein responded by giving a death glare, which made the cat subconsciously move away.

" Um, anyway...so there actually is a Church of the Shield presence in Melromarc ? " Naofumi changed the subject quickly.

" If you can really call it that... " Lana said sadly " Our presence is practically non-existent in this country. We have few churches around the nation and that's in places that are slightly more tolerant of demi-humans or didn't get hit as hard during the war. We don't have any influence or power like the Three Heroes Church or even like the Four Heroes Church. So I'm afraid that our faith won't be able to help you much my Lord "

Naofumi's expression turned to one of sympathy" No need to be sorry, my party and I can already take of ourselves well enough...I had no idea even the religious situation of demi-humans in this nation was this bad "

" Many of our members and believers are forced to practice their faith in private if they want to avoid getting harassed from locals, guards or pretty much anybody who has a grudge against the Shield and demi-humans...my group and I have definitely had our fair share of those " Lana said sadly, as Alice placed a gentle hand on her shoulder in comfort.

Mein's eyebrows furrowed at that, based on their interactions and body language with each other, Mein could tell that Lana and Alice were dear friends which was...unusual to say the least. While members of the Three Heroes Church didn't openly go out of their way to bully and harrass people of other faiths, it wasn't uncommon to see members of differing faiths get into pissing matches with each other.

A friendship between an acolyte of the Shield and a priestess of the Three Heroes Church was...unlikely to say the least. And yet it still happened.

" Well...if its any comfort, I do plan to try and use my influence to make things better in this country for demi-humans " Naofumi told them " I don't know whether that includes your order, but I will do my best to help them. You have my word "

Mein resisted the urge to tell Naofumi not to make more promises than they could afford to keep. He already made a promise to those Shinobi just last night and here he goes again, making promises to try and help the dying Church of the Shield in Melromarc.

Lana looked as if she had been kissed by the Chief God himself, and she ended up bowing her head to Naofumi.

" Thank you so much my lord, you have no idea how much this means to me and-"

" Alright, alright, keep it in your pants Lana " Kate interrupted rudely, getting her party member to stop openly bowing her head.

" By the way...mind explaining why you have children in your party ? " Nina asked, glancing at Jun, Filo and Raphtalia " Like I've heard of kids joining the guild before they were of age, but they look way too young "

" Its a bit complicated..." Ake struggled to explain " The girl is sorta a filorial and the boy is a raptor and-"

" They are Hero Beasts ? " Alice and Lana said at the same time. The two religious women seemed to be fully understanding of what their children were.

" Wait a second, you know what they are ? " Naofumi questioned.

" Yes, we do, its a rather obscure part of the Legendary Weapons powers, one of them is being able to unlock the full potential of certain beasts and monsters " Alice explained in detail " There have been many legends and tales about heroes reportedly having the power to raise powerful beasts that could change forms "

" Still to see one in person..." Lana seemed to be amazed at the two children. She took out a piece of dried meat and held it out to Filo, who suddenly started paying attention and practically snatched the jerky out of Lana's hand and eat it.

" Incredible..." Lana muttered and Mein was absolutely dumbfounded with this sheep. Like Filo rudely taking and eating a piece of dried meat was some holy discovery of the century. Religious fools never cease to amaze Mein with their stupidity.

" Filo, don't just snatch food away without asking first " Mein scolded.

" Filo was hungry..." Filo grumbled back.

" Its fine, I was giving it as a treat anyway " Lana shrugged it off.

Mein rolled her eyes, she will have to train Jun to be better than Filo. Naofumi may not give a damn about teaching Filo restraint and proper manners, but that doesn't mean she's just going to let her Jun fall into the same low's as that half-witted bird.

" What happened to the girl's arm ? " Alice asked suddenly, changing the subject. The priestess was eyeing Raphtalia with both a sympathetic and concerned look in her eye.

Naofumi's and Raphtalia's expression saddened at that " Raphtalia lost her arm during the 2nd wave while we were defending a village under attack-"

" You brought a child to the wave ? " Clarissa interrupted with disapproval in her eyes.

" D-Don't get angry at Master Naofumi...I wanted to come with them, I didn't want to be alone...and paid the price " Raphtalia defended, though her expression was still saddened.

" She lost her family to the wave and was turned into a slave. We found her and took her in " Ake said simply, not divulging more than that.

" I see..." Alice said sympathetically as she saw the sad looks on Naofumi and Raphtalia's faces, her expression turned to a thinking one " Raphtalia, do you by any chance have an affinity for illusion magic ? "

Mein raised an eyebrow at the priestess, wondering what she was getting at.

" I-I do...for Light and Dark " Raphtalia answered.

" Well, I think I can show you something that can cheer you up " Alice smiled as she held out her left hand and in a moment, a swirl of darkness floated up from her palm and danced in her hand.

Raphtalia, Filo and even Jun seemed to watch in subtle amazement as Alice entertained them with basic dark magic.

The priestess seemingly able to manipulate the direction the dark tendrils went and floated. Eventually the dark whisps curled up into a small ball made out of darkness itself before Alice crushed it with her hand...and when she opened it again, dozens of tiny dark birds flew out.

" Wow..." Raphtalia muttered, astounded by the display of magic by Alice.

Alice giggled as she patted Raphtalia on the head " I'm glad you thought so..."

" Your magical affinity is Dark ? " Naofumi asked off-handedly.

" Yes, and Support actually " Alice clarified " Is that a surprise ? "

" Uh, no, no nevermind..." Naofumi awkwardly changed the subject which Mein found odd. She wondered if he was attempting to gauge Alice like she was.

She put that thought aside for now as she turned back to the conversation between Naofumi and the adventurer group. Making friendly conversation about mundane topics and the like. Mein was able to get a better feel for these two groups and their members as a result.

Lana was genuinely faithful to the Shield, not like some selfish toadies like Consevatie and Amelia who only join a religion for their own ulterior motives and gains. Via and Kate seemed to respect Lana as their leader, but their views on the Shield seemed to be closer to how much they could gain by becoming his whores, which Mein will kill them both to prevent that from happening.

But that was a thought for later.

" So Alice...I've been to ask but..." Naofumi slowly brought it up " Your group used to work with Slayer, right ? "

Titan Storm suddenly went quiet at that, and Naofumi suddenly looked more nervous, as if he had accidentally opened up the box of forbidden knowledge that was never meant to be opened. Lana's group gave sympathetic looks to their comrades but said nothing. Titan Storm's expressions were mixed of conflicted, stoic, sad or thoughtful.

" Chief God, why does literally everybody in the guild have to ask us that ? " Clarissa broke the silence with a sigh.

" Sorry..." Naofumi muttered.

" Its fine, nothing to worry about..." Alice said with a sigh " We didn't part on bad terms, things are just...tense between us right now "

Mein thought back to the interaction between Alice and Slayer when they were accused, and found herself agreeing with the priestess.

" Speaking of Slayer, did you hear that he's working with the Bow Hero ? " Rufus interrupted " I heard that they are going after the Hound Lord himself "

" The Hound Lord ? Who or what is that ?" Naofumi asked confused.

" A demi-human bandit lord from what we gather, currently running one of the biggest and most organized bandit groups in the north " Nina explained " We actually encountered and fought some of his goons not too long ago on a job, they were robbing merchants who were travelling from the capital "

" Any bandit groups who actually has the balls to go raiding this close to the capital is either stupid, arrogant or got the numbers and strength to back it up " Clarissa added " The fact that the waves have stretched the army thin has made it difficult to go after him and from what we can tell, he's been working on growing his numbers "

Mein thought back long ago, back when Raphtalia and Keel had run away from their group. Mein had managed to use her underground connections to uncover a bandit recruitment operation right here in the capital being run by some of the Hound Lord's men. Their plan of recruiting runaway slaves like Keel and Raphtalia and turned them into stone-cold bandits to hurt the innocent.

She can't help but wonder what would have happened had Keel not died when that vicious dog attacked the camp in the mine, would he have joined up with the Hound Lord himself ?

Mein decides not to think about it, since she is certain that she does not want to know the answer to that question.

" And that's not all, when we encountered this bandit group who was working for the Hound Lord, we discovered that he's been empowering his men with bonecharms and possibly other black magic " Alice said gravely.

" Wait a second, black magic ? Bonecharms ? " Naofumi questioned " But I thought only like...Marked could use it through their tattoo and stuff "

" Not quite. There are many different ways for an ordinary person to gain access to black magic " Alice explained in detail " One of the easiest is getting a bonecharm which is made out of various bones of monsters...and sometimes people to imbue it with black magic. This usually gives the wearer some kind of enhancement or power "

Mein thought about it for a minute and she recalled hearing about the existence of bonecharms from Thomas back then. She's pretty sure that he never used them himself.

" There's also the...darker method of..." Lana began, her voice nervous " Inserting a bonecharm or rune into one's own very soul..."

Mein's interest piqued at that, the others looking with expressions of shock and mild horror.

Inserting a black magic item into your very own soul ? She had never heard of such a thing before.

Naofumi himself also looked confused " Insert it into your soul ? How is that even...how would that even work ? "

" Its done through a dark ritual that I am not so sure how it works...but essentially by injecting the black magic artifact directly into a person's soul, it allows that person access to much more powerful abilities than any bonecharm or so I have heard " Alice explained " It was rumored that this technique was invented by the 'Mistress of Chaos' herself "

" Mistress of Chaos ? " Naofumi raised an eyebrow at that.

"I'll explain later if you want " Mein said off-handedly, urging Alice to continue.

Alice continued " Besides those two methods, there's always the possibility of being given black magic powers directly from the Outsider, similar to how we clerics receive our Miracles in a sense "

" So the Outsider can grant powers to people even without giving them a Mark ? Interesting..." Naofumi muttered.

" I hope Slayer and the Bow Hero will be okay " Alice muttered " Black magic is very powerful and Slayer has never faced a bandit that used it "

" I'm sure Slayer will be just fine, we used to take down groups that big back when we were working with him, so I think he'll be fine if he's got the support of a hero " Clarissa said calmly.

" Yes, but still..." Alice mumbled off.

It was at that moment that Mein noticed that the rabbit girl had been staring at Naofumi, but not quite in the lustful manner she did before.

" Actually, why don't you go and help the Bow Hero and Slayer, Shield Hero ? " Via suddenly suggested suddenly.

" Huh ? " Naofumi said in confusion.

" Like somebody should probably give a heads-up to the Bow Hero about the threat he's facing and from what I've heard, the Hound Lord has the equivalent of a small army protecting him " Via explained " Plus helping take down the Hound Lord would grant you incredible prestige Shield Hero and would probably help convince some of the common folk and some nobles about you "

" Well, I guess I wouldn't mind helping Itsuki, but our main goal was to help Raphtalia get a magical prosthetic before the next wave..." Naofumi thought it over before turning to her " What do you think Mein ? "

Mein thought about it for a moment, the rabbit was factually correct. Helping take down a notorious bandit lord would do wonders for Naofumi's reputation, the common people could definitely be simple-minded and easy to sway. It would help get those who are unsure about Naofumi on their side and might even get some of the more demi-human neutral lords on their side.

Plus...the Hound Lord was the one who set up that operation in the mine near Lute that got Keel killed.

They owe him one for that.

" Yes, Naofumi I think it would be beneficial to us to help the Bow Hero in capturing or eliminating the Hound Lord. He and his group have reigned terror on the innocents for too long..." Mein said " And I also remember hearing that there's a large reward out on his head. How much was it again ? "

" Around 12000 silvers " Alice answered.

" That amount of money would be a great help in aiding us get a prosthetic for Raphtalia, so we would be helping her more this way " Mein argued. They might even be able to forgo their original plan to build Raphtalia a magical prosthetic and just buy one straight away.

" Alright, we'll go meet up with Itsuki after we get Filo and Jun's clothes " Naofumi decided.

" You know where they might be ? " Ake asked.

" I heard that they've been taking down bandit groups in the north near Rabier County " Alice said " I remember the Bow Hero portalling back a few times to the capital to discuss their plans and I overheard them mentioning it"

Rabier County...now that's a familiar name.

" Okay...well, we'd better be on our way then " Naofumi stood up " Thank you so much for all the help Alice, you're a lot more friendlier than I expected..."

" Why do you say that ? " Rufus asked.

" Oh ! Well um...uh..." Naofumi rambled off, but Mein understood perfectly what he meant.

Clarissa gave a glance between Naofumi and Alice.

" You thought Alice was some kind of crazy religious nut, didn't you ? " Clarissa said blankly.

Naofumi choked up, he looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite find the words to say. Alice looked more surprised than outright offended, which Mein wasn't sure was a good thing. But the rest of her friends gave Naofumi dirty looks as a result.

" N-No, of course not, I-" Naofumi sputtered nervously.

" Has anyone ever told you that your boyfriend sucks at lying ? " Clarissa calmly stated taking a sip of her drink.

" No, but they have now " Mein responded. She couldn't deny that for all the Shield Hero's positive qualities, he actually did suck at lying. She couldn't even genuinely be offended by what Clarissa said.

" Sorry..." Naofumi bowed his head " I haven't exactly had the best experiences with some of the other members of your Church. No offense "

Alice let out a tired sigh " I suppose I cannot blame you for that then. It is regretful that some members of my faith act the way they do, granted some have their reasons more than others "

" Well, we're gonna go help Itsuki and Slayer...do you guys want to come along too ? " Naofumi asked the two groups.

Lana shook her head " As much as I want to help Lord Shield Hero, I doubt Slayer would appreciate our presence and we would just cause more problems than we would solve "

" Yeah, Slayer just barely tolerates demi-humans in the guild, do you really think he would work with us ? " Via said dryly.

" Fair point. What about you guys ? " Naofumi turned his attention to Titan Storm.

Titan Storm looked among each other, they didn't say anything but Mein could tell that there was a silent debate going on between them.

" No...that time has long past us " Alice shook her head " You go on without us, but please go give Slayer our-"

" Okay Alice, this is just getting ridiculous" To everybody's surprise, Nina suddenly spoke up despite being silent for the most part. Her expression wasn't one of disappointment or anger, it was one of concern for a friend " It was fine when we just left Irving's group and you needed time to sort things out, but at this point you're really just running away from the issue between you two " Nina's words seemed to have struck a cord with Alice as her face turned to one of conflict.

Mein and the rest of them quietly watched the two talk it out, with only Naofumi breaking the silence.

" Wait a second, Slayer's real name is Irving? " Naofumi asked in surprise.

" Shut it " Clarissa said with a glare.

" Sorry..."

Nina let out a sigh and her face softened a little " Look, I get why you're so tense and awkward around Irving. We left for the same reasons you did, we get it. You were closer to him than any of us, but you can't keep dodging the issue between you two " Nina said passionately " You don't want to work with Irving again, fine that's fair. But we should at least help take down that Hound Lord bastard that's been raiding, kidnapping and raping innocents since the start of the Wave itself "

Alice was in deep thought for a moment as if contemplating whether she should or shouldn't do this. After about a minute of thinking she nodded her head and turned back to them.

" Alright Shield Hero, my group will work with you to take down the Hound Lord" Alice agreed " Give us until tomorrow to prepare ourselves so we can depart "

" It'll be good to work with you Alice " Naofumi nodded his head.

After making some arrangements on where to meet and exactly when, their group departed after wishing Lana's group goodbye for now.

Mein was just glad to finally get Naofumi away from those demi harlots.

The next day they returned to Eda's shop and like the tailor had promised, she had completed Filo and Jun's clothes...though she did look more than a little too proud of herself about that.

" Behold ladies and gentlemen, my MASTERPIECE !" Eda shouted so loudly you could have heard her from the castle. The bags under her eyes indicating that she had not slept since she had last seen them.

Still Mein had to give credit where it was due and she had to say that Filo and Jun's clothes came out looking great.

Filo wore a pure white dress with blue frills and some pure white little booties for her feet. Mein almost would have thought she looked adorable if she didn't know how much of a gluttonous brat the bird could be. Jun looked much more adorable and he almost looked like the son of a noble, he wore a clean white shirt beneath a black coat and pants with purple highlights. He also wore some brown gloves and boots.

" Daddy ! Do I...look cute ? " Filo asked Naofumi.

" Yes Filo, you look very cute " Naofumi said with a smile.

" Yaaay !"

Jun was more stoic but Mein could tell that he also wanted to ask her if he looked good.

" You look good too Jun " Mein said softly.

Jun beamed at that, his little tail wagging happily like a dog.

" I stayed up all night making their outfits, I spent the first hour thinking about what kind of color and design I should go for and then I decided to base it off of you two " Eda rambled like a madwoman " So then I started sewing and stitching, colouring and and-"

" Goddamnit Eda, did you forget to eat or sleep again ? " Ake said with a sigh.

" Whaaaaat ? Nooooo...of course not, Ake, I've-"

" Yeah, you're going to bed " Ake said, pushing Eda towards the back." Based on the materials and Eda's personal suffering, I think around 600 silvers is a fair price for the clothes "

" Um...okay ? " Naofumi said awkwardly at Ake basically dictating the price for his friend. Taking out the money and placing it on the counter.

" Akeeeeeee, let's sleep together like we did when we were kids " Eda giggled like a drunk woman.

" That only happened when I was like 2 " Ake said with a sigh " You guys go on ahead, I'll take care of Eda and close up the shop for her, and then catch up with you "

" Meet up back at the carriage when you're done" Mein said simply as they left the shop to Ake.

The first princess let out a tired sigh, at long last they had finally acquired the clothes they needed to get for Filo and Jun. She watched as the two children walked around freely and without needing to wear oversized cloaks to cover themselves up. Now looking like proper members of their party.

Mein looked up towards the sun and felt warmth shine down on her. It felt like a good day.

The princess in disguise thought about their next quest, hunting the Hound Lord himself. She had heard plenty of rumors and tales going on about him from the underworld, about him supposedly having been a slave prior to turning bandit and about him using black magic to empower himself and his followers. She can already guess that he's going to be a tough one to kill, she needs to make a mental note to make a stop at Erhard's place to stock-up on some new weapons and equipment before they leave.

" Shield Boy, kid, its good to see you again " Erhard greeted them as they entered the shop.

" Hey Erhard, how's business been going ? " Naofumi asked in a friendly manner.

" Pretty good. Plenty of adventurers and people coming around to buy my stock " Erhard said off-handedly as he glanced at Jun and Filo " I see you finally got your kids some clothing at long last "

" You're telling me, you have no idea how relieved I was to finally get them proper clothes " Naofumi said tiredly.

" I hear ya boy...so what's next on your agenda ? "

" We're going after the Hound Lord " Mein said simply " We're going to be working with the Bow Hero to take him down "

" The Hound Lord? That bastard, eh ? I'd say its about time somebody put down that dog, long past time..." Erhard mumbled "So I take it you're here to arm yourselves up? " Erhard asked.

" You know us so well " Mein dryly said " We need a rapier. The lighter the better" Mein asked.

" Rapier, huh ? Pretty sure I got a few good ones here " Erhard went over to the rack where there seemed to be a selection of rapiers and took one off the wall before placing it on the counter " Probably the lightest one I got, enchanted with Feather touched making it even lighter "

Mein took the blade off the counter and inspected it for a brief moment, giving it a few good twirls to confirm its quality. After a moment, she gave a nod to Naofumi before setting it back down on the counter.

" Alright, we'll take it " Naofumi said.

" Anything else you need ? "

" Any new shields for me to copy?" Naofumi said humorously.

" Screw you heroes and your goddamn forgery weapon skills " Erhard shot back.

Mein thought about it for a moment, she couldn't really decide if she needed anything particular. Her current armor and weapons suited her well, but she felt as though there was something more she needed.

" Actually, I don't think I ever got to ask this but did you ever get your class-up yet kid ? " Erhard interrupted her thinking with his question.

" Yes, I chose the Assassin class " Mein answered.

" Assassin, huh ? Well that's morbidly appropriate "

" What ? "

" Nothing, nothing...I think I may have something here that may interest you " Erhard went into the back for a moment before coming back with two items he plopped down on the counter " Throwing knives and a shortsword. The kind that spies and assassins use, if you ever plan on taking the silent approach, these items can help make a difference "

Mein picked up one of the throwing knives, twirling it in her fingers before throwing it at a target board Erhard had on his wall. The blade landing cleanly on the center of the board.

Perfect shot.

" You pick things up fast " Erhard commented with a smile.

" May I, Naofumi ?" Mein asked. She gave the shortblade a good thrust and slash, it would definitely be much more suited for stealth attacks than her current sword which was too long for silent skills.

" Sure, we'll take it " Naofumi agreed, paying for the weapons.

" Give that Hound Lord bastard a kick in the ass from me, will you ? " Erhard gave them a big smirk as they left the shop after saying their goodbyes.

By the time, they finished up with Erhard and got back to the carriage, they saw that Titan Storm and Ake had already come back and had been patiently waiting for them.

" About time you showed up " Clarissa said grumpily.

" Is your group ready ? " Mein asked Alice as they approached.

" Yes, we have brought extra supplies and weapons for the journey " Alice gestured to some of the bags carried by Rufus and Nina.

" Alright, let's get moving " Naofumi got into the driver's seat as the rest of them got into the back of the carriage.

Soon their new much larger group departed from the capital and set out to kill a bandit lord.

The hunt had begun.

Oh my dear readers, you all have no idea how long I've waited to get to this 'Bandit Arc'. This one has been in the works for a long time now and I am glad that it is finally here.

The idea of having Titan Storm join up with Naofumi to help take down the Hound Lord, but Qin pointed out it would be a bit of a waste not to have them tag along. If only for the great reunion between Alice and Slayer that I have had some ideas for up to this point.

And I hope you all enjoyed some of the allusions to Alice and Slayer's past so far. I wanted to show that Slayer wasn't a total murder hobo in Naofumi's flashback, where he only subtly threatened Lana's group and told Naofumi to beat it.

Progress is progress, I say !

:)

In all seriousness, I do hope to give Titan Storm and Alice a bit of the spotlight in this next arc. Since it is one that tackles some character's past and brings new ones to light.

Next chapter we'll be getting into the travelling aspect of things, hope you all enjoy!

Now to answer some reviews.

To EXCUBITORE:

Thank you so much ! I hope I can live up to this story's plans and such.

To lord Martiya:

I'm assuming that you're referring to the flashback scene in chapter 34 where Queenie declared Malty dead to the people, in that case, yes Malty was officially declared dead at that moment. But she was never officially disinherited, which is why her Princess status was reinstated when she was brought back.

If we're talking about the present time, she is legally alive and still the First Princess of the nation.

With that said, I will see you all in the next one.

Angel Out.