I'll be honest with you all, not much happens in this chapter since its mostly just set up for the next one. But I hope you all found it enjoyable nonetheless.

:)

Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter and making sure everything was alright.

More author's notes at the end for people who want to see me ramble a bit more.

With that said, let's get this chapter started !

Chapter 44: Fortress of Light

The new Lady Seatto was a sight for sore eyes for someone who had been in the castle's private hospital for the better part of a month. In fact, she didn't look much different from the last time Mein had seen her, which was quite a long time ago since Eclair was not someone she kept in touch with like Katarina or Bertia.

Eclair stood at attention before the two Legendary Heroes, despite her current attire making her look more akin to a knight captain, her posture resembled that of a proper noble lady of Melromarc. No matter what the naysayers and gossipers at court said about Eclair, she was trained in all the proper etiquette classes they all had to take as children. The Lady of House Seatto bowed her head to the Legendary Heroes in true reverence, not in the fake mocking type people like Rabier gave. True reverence and respect, something not many others would give to the Cardinal Heroes unless they were the religious type.

That was admittedly one of the few things Mein admired about House Seatto, their firm grip on virtues like loyalty and honor.

" Sir Bow Hero and Sir Shield Hero, I am Lady Eclair Seatto of Silver Keep " Eclair greeted herself politely as she raised her head once more to look them in the eye.

" Yeah...sorry for just suddenly showing up with bandits on our tail " Naofumi apologized awkwardly.

" Think nothing of it, Sir Shield Hero. I was surprised by the sudden notice of your appearance, but I was relieved that my forces were able to aid you in time " Eclair brushed it off professionally.

" Well, thanks for the assist back there. Not sure what would have happened if we didn't come here " Itsuki said as he caught his breath.

" It was my pleasure Sir Bow Hero, I am just glad you are both safe and well "

" Please just call me Itsuki, no need with the formalities and 'Sir's " Itsuki said with a look of mild annoyance at being called formal titles.

" Same with me. I prefer just to be called Naofumi " Naofumi added in agreement with his fellow hero.

Eclair was surprised for a moment, before she nodded in understanding " Very well then, Sir Naofumi and Sir Itsuki "

"Oh my god..." Naofumi put his palm to his face, as some of them chuckled a little at the sight of what was going on, Mein included. It was a nice moment of levity from the high-stress situation they had just been in.

" AH ! Damn..." Itsuki cut the levity in half as he cursed, as he tried to stand up straight only to fall back down onto one knee.

Armina was quick to her hero's side, helping him up " Itsuki ! Are you alright ? Did those bandits get you ?"

" I'm fine...just my ribs still hurting " Itsuki said as he grit his teeth to bear the pain.

" Big sister Mein...I'm sleepy..." Raphtalia called out, pulling on her hand.

Mein nodded to her, before turning back to the Shield Hero, ready to ask him to request for them to stay at Silver Keep for the night. Considering they had to abandon their tents back there, they would have little other choice but to stay here, aside from travelling to the next town over looking for an inn large enough to accommodate their large party, which was unlikely.

Thankfully she didn't need to speak, Alice took the step forward and spoke in place of them.

"We need shelter. We were forced to abandon our camp when the bandits attacked, may we stay at Silver Keep for the night Lady Seatto ?" Alice spoke in the tone of respect to the Lady Seatto, but Mein already knew what Eclair's answer would be.

" Of course honorable priestess, you may all stay for as long you need to recuperate in the safety of Silver Keep " Eclair said sincerely " We have plenty of room at Silver Keep after certain...events..." A sad expression crossed Eclair's face and Mein had a pretty good guess as to why.

If the rumors that Silver Keep had suffered numerous casualties during the First Wave were true, alongside other bandit and monster attacks, its no wonder they had lost much more than men.

Eclair turned to a certain mouse knight " Lucatiel, do you mind helping both Sir Naofumi and Sir Itsuki's party settle into some of the spare guest rooms ?"

Lucatiel ? Mein racked her brain for any information about the mouse knight Eclair addressed and found nothing of note. Even with all the times, she had visited the Keep before in the past with father, she had never really bothered getting to know or associate with any of the demi-human and beastmen knights that Uncle Uther had under his command. It was unlikely this Lucatiel would recognize her as the Princess, even if she took her mask off...but she was not willing to take that risk just yet.

" Of course, my Lady " The mouse knight complied.

" My Lady ! We have chased off the bandits, but the scouts are asking for permission to pursue " Another mouse knight, this one male and looking similar to the first one ran up to Eclair.

" Please give me a moment " Eclair held up a hand " Pardon me, Sir Naofumi and Itsuki, but I must attend to my men "

Both Naofumi and Itsuki nodded, as Eclair turned back to her men to command them.

Slayer audibly grumbled as he crossed his arms, glancing at all of the demi-human knights around him. It was unclear to Mein whether he was uncomfortable or cautious around them. Maybe both.

" I do not-" Slayer was cut off with Clarissa grabbing his arm.

" Don't even start with that tonight Slayer, its been a long night already and we are not travelling all the way to the next town over to rest " Clarissa said firmly.

Slayer didn't look like he agreed, but he nonetheless shut up and kept his head down. It seemed that Alice wasn't the only one who had pull with Slayer.

" Please follow me heroes " Lucatiel said as she led the way into the Keep. Mein following behind at the back of the group, holding onto both Jun and Raphtalia's hands as they were guided inside. The princess casted one last glance at the Lady Seatto before they left.

Mein briefly wondered whether she should take this opportunity to speak to Eclair later tonight, they'll likely be staying at Silver Keep for a few days at least and she would rather not have Eclair blurting her true identity out in the middle of dinner, because Mein forgot to secure the cloth to her face that protected her identity. The newly made heiress turned Lady was not the best liar if Mein's memory served right. She'd rather not have that sort of looming threat over her, while they are staying at the Keep. And she's certain she can sneak out of her room later and meet up with Eclair to secure her silence about her true identity and her loyalty too perhaps.

A yawn that came from her side, knocked Mein out of her scheming as she saw a sleep deprived Raphtalia wobbling with her every step.

Nevermind, I can do it another night or something.

They were led inside with Lucatiel leading them all at the front as they all stepped into the famed Silver Keep for likely the first time.

But for Mein it was very different, she had visited the Keep before several times with father over the course of her life. She knows what the glorious and beautiful ancestral home of Silver Keep is supposed to look and feel like.

But this...this is not it.

She was somewhat shocked at the sorry state of the Keep to be frank. The wood looked old and damaged, there were even a few claw marks on the inside, were they attacked by monsters as well ? There was uncleaned blood on the walls and floor...both old and new. Mein didn't realize immediately before, but she noticed that the armor Lucatiel and some of the demi-human knights they had passed looked worn down, bruised and mildly damaged in certain areas. It was becoming increasingly clear that the losses Silver Keep endured during the First Wave were not exaggerated in the slightest.

The atmosphere alone spoke of despair and sadness, that the famed Fortress of Light had been reduced to this...it made Mein feel a little sad as well, having actually visited the Keep in its prime...it saddened her to see how far it had fallen. Uncle Uther had always been kind to her, so she bore no ill will towards him or House Seatto.

It was nothing like the true Fortress of Light she had visited in her youth. It had clean and pristine halls, a nice warm homey feel to it that lied in contrast to the somber omnipresent atmosphere of her own home.

Mein silently gripped Raphtalia's hand, perhaps in comfort to herself as they continued to walk down the halls of the famed Silver Keep.

It took maybe another half hour before they were all settled away into each of their rooms, Uncle Uther was always prepared to have guests over, so there was no shortage of spare rooms. Jun had fallen asleep during the trip there, forcing Mein to carry him and tuck him into bed.

Which left just Naofumi, Mein and Raphtalia to get settled in.

" I'm going to tuck Raphtalia into bed tonight...you get some sleep Naofumi " Mein said firmly, still feeling relatively okay to keep going.

" Are you sure ? You didn't get any sleep earlier and-" Naofumi was cut off by his own yawn, which merely helped confirm Mein's earlier point about him not being fit for watch duty.

" Its fine Naofumi, I'm a trained night owl and can keep going for a few more minutes to tuck Raphtalia into bed " Mein said calmly.

" You would have totally been a gamer girl back in my world Mein " Naofumi said with a smirk.

Mein's eyebrow cocked in confusion " Gamer...girl ? What is that ? "

" Its like uh...girl who plays games ? But its like actual games and its not physical but um...god, how do I explain this ?" Naofumi seemed to stumble on his own words.

Mein didn't decide to take this opportunity to counterattack " Go to bed Naofumi, if you're good maybe I'll come by later and give you a kiss goodnight " Mein purposefully made a kissy noise next to him as they walked past him and she was satisfied with herself when she saw him turn red from it.

She just loves her job sometimes.

Mein guided Raphtalia to her room, entering inside the princess could see that it was a pretty decently sized guest room. Much more space than a child like Raphtalia would logically need, it was a pretty big room with furnishings such as a table, chairs, parchment, chests and a bed that was bigger than Raphtalia's own body. Though Mein noticed that certain parts of the room were dusty, which she found odd. Uncle Uther always made sure to have the servants clean the rooms on at least a day by day basis.

Actually where were the servants ? Had they all fled when the Keep looked near the end ? Mein decided not to think too hard on it, as she helped Raphtalia into bed and pull the blanket over her.

" Is something the matter Raphtalia ?" Mein asked as she noticed Raphtalia's troubled expression.

" I...Father and Mother would sometimes tell me stories about Silver Keep before bed, I always dreamed about visiting it with Rifana and Keel...but now that I'm actually here its..." Raphtalia trailed off, but Mein knew what she was trying to say.

" Not what you expected ?" Mein finished, to Raphtalia nodding shyly in confirmation." Well, I can't say that I blame you for thinking that. This isn't normally what Silver Keep is supposed to look like...or so I have heard, things have just been really hard on the Seatto family since the First Wave " Mein was somewhat understating just how difficult things truly were for House Seatto, with the loss of their former lord and a good chunk of their army, it left her wondering whether House Seatto will survive the end of this Current Wave.

But Mein didn't feel like burdening Raphtalia with those uncomfortable truths.

" Mother and Father would always speak highly of the Seatto family, they were one of the few nobles who were willing to treat us fairly, I...don't want anything bad to happen to them " Raphtalia confessed, the idea of losing one of the very few noble houses in Melromarc that advocate for demi-human equality would certainly be distressing for somebody like Raphtalia.

" I'm sure they will be fine Raphtalia. Ecl-I mean, Lady Seatto is a strong and smart woman, I'm sure she'll be able to figure it out " Mein half-lied. In truth, she wasn't certain either about the survivability of House Seatto, and if she was being honest, she didn't like their chances if the state of this Keep was anything to go by.

" I actually once thought that Silver Keep...was made completely out of silver " Raphtalia admitted and Mein couldn't resist the urge to laugh. Raphtalia blushed as she threw her single arm around " Don't laugh !"

" S-Sorry sorry..." Mein caught her breath as she gently patted " I'm not laughing at you, I think it's rather cute... "

That merely served to embarrass Raphtalia more, which Mein definitely did not intend to do.

Mein calmed herself down as she thought about what to do next, since she unfortunately managed to rile Raphtalia up.

" How about I tell you a bedtime story Raphtalia ?" Mein offered just as a perfect one came to mind." The story of the great Lord Seatto, the Merciful General of Melromarc. Fairest of them all "

Raphtalia's attention was successfully caught as she sit up straight on the bed and gave Mein her utmost attention.

" Lord Uther Seatto was by far one of the most honorable and loyal knight Melromarc had seen in his generation, raising his blade, he casted a bright light that illuminated the dark of the war. Helping the Wise Sage and Miracle Maker bring peace and mercy to the land..." Mein spoke in a grandiose tone to exaggerate the story a little " They say that before he set out he spoke these words-"

Mein spent the next few minutes telling Raphtalia tall tales that her own father had told her when she was a child about the honorable Lord Uther. How he had once defeated an entire squad of demi-human soldiers by himself, how he had risked his life to save a village that had been occupied by Siltvelt's army, how he was one of the few who could quell Father's anger and stopped him from executing some of the younger enemy soldiers they had captured during the Great War, earning him the moniker ' The Merciful General'.

It didn't take long before Raphtalia fell asleep and Mein smiled as she tucked the little girl into bed, before turning in herself for the night.

Silver Keep wasn't home, but its close enough for now.

Hound Lord's POV

One of the most important lessons he had been taught by his former master was focus.

That advice applied to a lot of the things he did these days, including his current activity of creating some new bonecharms.

Contrary to what those hypocritical and pompous fools of the Three Heroes Church may say, there was a fine art and precious care that went into the crafting of these beautiful bonecharms that they deem heretical, it wasn't as simple as just stringing a bunch of monster or human bones together to generate the power of the Void. No, he quickly found out through many weeks of trial and error, that there was a special craft in creating bonecharms.

Obtaining the instructions and knowledge for how to craft bonecharms in the first place was hard enough, actually doing it was a whole other issue. Yet after many years of practice, he believes he finally has the crafting process perfected...mostly.

He carefully strung together the bones of various creatures...monsters...human...collected through various sources. Its not like who they belonged to needed them anymore.

He felt a surge of pride as he slowly felt the energy of the void start to pulse with bonecharm, as he whispered the ancient words that had been lost to time.

Excellent. Now he just needs to-

" Boss ? Are you awake ?"

A voice called out to him from behind just as he was about to finish making the bonecharm. He recognized the voice of Farah, one of his underlings and resisted the urge to tell her to bugger off.

He let out a sigh in tiredness " May I not have a moment of peace ?"

" S-Sorry boss, but something came up and-"

He held up a hand to stop Farah's rambling, might as well suck it up and get it over with.

" Just tell me what is it ?" He said firmly.

" We just heard back from Erwin's group to the West, they were able to ambush the heroes like you ordered " Farah cut straight to the chase and that was enough to get his attention.

" Oh ?" He sat up a bit straighter, and turned to face his subordinate.

His spies that he had placed in Rabier City to keep tabs on that swine Rabier, seems to have paid off well. Though he hadn't expected to hear that the Bow would show up there, much less with the Shield too. He had been hearing rumors that the Bow was actively hunting him. He shrugged it off at first, if some little shit wants to take him on, let him. He would gladly show him the depths of his training and power.

But even he had to admit now that there were two Legendary Heroes possibly gunning for his head...that was cause for some legitimate worry. Which is why he had instructed a nearby bandit group to go ambush them while they were travelling and hopefully kill them off before they could become a problem.

Though from the expression on Farah's face...he could tell it wasn't good news she was delivering.

" I take it, you didn't come here to tell me that Erwin succeeded in killing the two bastards ?" He said bluntly.

" N-No, boss...they did manage to ambush them, but the pathetic man-animals managed to flee to the safety of Silver Keep before they could kill them without taking a single casualty on their side "

" Silver Keep, huh ?" He said with spite. Still remembering kicking the asses of those pathetic traitors to their race not too long ago.

In all honesty, he hadn't really expected Erwin and his group to actually kill off any of the heroes. He was mostly just hoping to just soften them up, maybe kill off some of their companions to diminish their strength. But the fact they got away without a single casualty...it was frustrating to say the least.

" Erwin's group is asking what you want him to do now ? "

" Tell him to stay on standby, I'll have their next orders soon " He said simply which should have been all the excuse Farah needed to leave.

But she didn't. Instead she stood there, like she wanted to say something.

" What ?" He inquired.

" Boss, sorry but...some of the other underling groups are grumbling. They are unhappy with the way things are going with the Bow kicking our asses, they agreed to work and take orders from us because we had the right connections but with how things have been going recently..." Farah confessed her fears.

He waved off her concerns though " Don't worry Farah, they won't turn on us...not when we're the ones who have the connections that are supplying them with weapons and armor in the first place and even then..." He turned back to his bonecharm at work, quickly finishing it and inspecting it " We're the only ones with knowledge on how to make these precious little things..."

" We will take care of the Bow and Shield...and once that's finished, we will gut every single last pig noble in this province " He said with pride and confidence in his voice.

" Yes, boss..." Farah said with respect as she left.

Now that he was alone, he held the newly crafted bonecharm in his hand. Holding it as gently as a child...he could feel the power from within it.

And his own power growing as well.

Mein's POV

Mein wakes up just a few painfully short hours later, much to her internal displeasure and groaning at being woken up so late. She barely got any sleep last night with being on watch, then having to help fight off an ambush, to later fleeing said ambush and then tucking Raphtalia into bed later. A night owl she may be, she still needs her rest. By some miracle of the heavens themselves, she wills herself out of bed and freshens herself up for the long day ahead.

She joins Naofumi and the Bow Hero's party for breakfast...which was in the mess hall of Silver Keep for some odd reason, where all the surviving knights of House Seatto were eating as well. Mein found this incredibly strange since Silver Keep did have a proper dining hall for guests, it was weird that they were instead directed to eat amongst the other knights.

Their breakfast caught Mein's eye too, their meal was surprisingly light consisting only of small portions of potatoes, tomato soup and simple bread. No fresh food or ingredients were offered to them, much less dessert. The food itself was given to them by a demi-human dressed in light armor. That came back to Mein's question last night, where were all the servants ?

Mein was already prepared for roughing it out as an adventurer, despite secretly being a princess who should be treated according to her station. But Mein was finding this increasingly strange, two Legendary Heroes had arrived at Silver Keep and this was all they were being spared ?

It wasn't just the food either, as they all ate, she noticed that some of the demi-human knights in the mess hall were given glances and stares. Some of them were looking at them with humble curiosity and a little reverence. While many others were flat out giving them sideway glares and dirty looks, particularly aimed at Naofumi, Itsuki and of course, their human party members. She noticed even one dog knight, giving Alice a dirty look, perhaps for her ties to the Three Heroes Church ?

This was certainly a surprise since Mein half expected the demi-humans and beastmen of the famed Silver Keep to practically be throwing themselves at him. She supposes that when a demi-human reaches a comfortable position in life, either in nobility or knighthood they no longer look to the Shield as a savior, they no longer need saving anymore. That may be the reason for the disdainful looks Naofumi was getting.

Religion is little more than a tool to control the unenlightened masses after all.

Either way, the stares they were getting did nothing but create a cautious atmosphere as they ate, Slayer himself looking tense as she sat in between Alice and Rufus. His blade by his side and practically itching to use it in a situation like this. Mein couldn't totally blame him.

" They don't look happy to have us here " Armina voiced her concerns out to the rest of them, as she looked over to some of the knights who were staring at them, but quickly averted their gazes when she did.

" Yeah, I noticed that too " Ake agreed " You'd think having two Legendary Heroes show up would be a blessing for these knights, but they are looking at us like we're a bunch of washed out knight rejects "

Mein noticed some rabbitmen archers a few tables over chuckle a little. Most likely they are hearing their every word with their greater hearing capabilities.

" The foods kinda subpar too " Audrey commented but he still ate it anyway.

" We could have just cooked our own food and it would be way better " Welst complained, barely even touching his food.

Another grumble from the rabbitmen archers a few tables over. They are definitely hearing their conversation.

Small portions...minimal food options...no servants either...could it be they-

"-They are low on food supplies " Naofumi said out of the blue, interrupting Mein's train of thought.

" How do you figure that ?" Ake questioned.

" Just look at the food and the portions we're being served...the looks we're getting..." Naofumi surmised as he looked at this plate " Its obvious that they are trying to conserve food supplies, and see us as just extra mouths to feed "

Mein thought about Naofumi's deduction and found herself agreeing with him, that did seem like the most rational explanation for Silver Keep's current situation. Although if that truly is the case...

Then the situation here is much more dire than she previously anticipated.

Itsuki hummed in agreement " Good eye. Thought I was the only one who noticed that "

" Heh, guess I've gotten better at noticing things " Naofumi modestly with a smile.

" Well, I think its quite impressive..." Mein said with a flirty smile. She was genuinely impressed that Naofumi managed to pick up on that detail before she did. She needs to be faster in the future.

Another groan from the rabbitmen. Okay this was getting tiring.

" On that note..." Mein cleared her throat as she turned her attention to the rabbitmen archers that were eavesdropping on them " If you have something to say then say it, if not shut your damn ears and mind your own business " Mein said with as much venom in her tone as she can muster, keeping her voice steady and medium, not raising it to the point of shouting much to the confusion of some of the others at the table.

" Uh...Mein, who are you talking to-"

" I know you can hear me from this distance rabbits " Mein said more clearly which caused the rabbits to flinch at the fact that they had been called out. And they quickly ducked their heads and kept eating.

" Nice..." Itsuki complimented.

" Thank you..." Mein said as she ate breakfast in peace.

" Daddy ! Can I have some more ?" Which was quickly broken when bird brat with a bright smile, holding her empty plate out to Naofumi expectantly, finishing her small portions in record time.

Naofumi looked unsure as he glanced over at Mein and Itsuki.

" I don't think you're going to win any favors if you cut into anymore of their food supplies " Itsuki said bluntly.

" Its fine, I have some monster meat I can cook up for Filo and maybe some of these people too " Naofumi suggested.

" I...don't think that's a good idea Naofumi " Mein tried to stop him as he stood up from his seat to head over to the back kitchen of the mess hall.

" Why ? I'm just making breakfast for Filo " Naofumi argued.

" I just...you might end up with more on your plate than you can handle "

" It'll be fine Mein, what's the worst that could happen ?" Naofumi shrugged off her warning as he stood up from the table and went over to the kitchen.

A lot of things, but I'm curious to see where this goes.

" Are you going to stop him ?" Ake asked.

" I would, but I feel like he needs to learn " Mein said as she took a bite out of her potatoes.

Mein watched from a distance as Naofumi went over to the knights serving out breakfast to everybody, talking for a few minutes to ask if he could use their kitchen to make some food and from the nods he got, that was a yes. He headed into the back where Mein was guessing he was preparing food

" How long do you think before his food attracts attention ?" Ake asked.

" Depends on how fast he can make it, which should be in about...4 minutes..." Mein said jokingly.

And sure enough within the next few minutes, Mein caught the whiff of something good cooking in the kitchen, cooked meat definitely. Naofumi seemed to be making some delicious cooked meat and handed off in a plate to Filo...who in turn got more stares from the others who were eating in the mess hall. Several dogs, cats, foxes, bears and even rabbits all started staring at Naofumi who had just come out of the kitchen in anticipation, with hungry looks in their eyes and some were even drooling.

Naofumi held up his hands in both fear and awkwardness " Uh...I can make more !"

And he did make more, quickly running back into the kitchen to start cooking for more people. Unfortunately the smell of the good food Naofumi was cooking only served to attract more knights from around the Keep to the mess hall, with some even being invited from others who had supposedly 'smelled' something good. It certainly didn't help that some demi-humans had a heightened sense of smell, so it wouldn't be long before the whole Keep came running for Naofumi's cooking.

It was both a gift and curse...mostly a curse for Naofumi though.

Mein chuckled as she watched Naofumi run around like everybody's personal chef, as the mess hall started to become more and more crowded.

" So are you going to help him or...?" Itsuki asked, looking amused at Naofumi's suffering.

" Yes, yes, in a few moments when I'm done eating " Mein waved him off " He'll be fine...what's the worst that could happen ?"

Mein was going to help him out of course...in maybe 10 minutes.

In the meantime, she was enjoying entertainment to go with her food.

After breakfast was concluded, they were summoned to meet with Eclair in the ' War Room' of Silver Keep, well it wouldn't really be called a war room these days because they were no longer at war, though one could make the argument they were at war with the Hound Lord. Uncle Uther always disliked that name, insisting to change it to the 'Strategy Room' which was basically the same thing in Mein's opinion, but she was never one to argue with stubborn men like Uncle Uther. Stubborn as a mule...or like her father, she supposes.

Only the heroes were summoned to meet with Éclair, but Mein, Slayer, Titan Storm, and Ake. Everybody else was relieved to go do whatever they wanted for the morning. Mein honestly preferred it this way, since she didn't want to deal with Filo and Jun arguing while they were meeting Eclair, she asked Armina to look after them and Raphtalia. She thinks she can be trusted to do so or at the very least make sure Jun and Filo don't kill each other.

And so they walked the halls of Silver Keep to go speak with Eclair...with Mein being forced to help the tired Shield Hero walk all the way there.

" There were so many..." Naofumi groaned, clearly traumatized from his experience of having to cook for an entire army.

" I told you it was a bad idea " Mein reminded.

" Why didn't you stop me ?"

" Well, I did somewhat try..." Mein shrugged, much to Naofumi's displeasure.

Ake walked by his side and helped Naofumi stand up straight " Quit moaning, we're about to meet Lady Eclair. Stand up straight "

Naofumi let out a sigh as he stood up straight, as they stood in front of the door to the War Room, Mein and Ake opening it up to let the rest of the party in. Mein entering after them to keep on the sidelines and avoid drawing attention to herself, since she was about to be in the same room as Eclair. The only person in the entire Keep who could positively identify her and blow her cover.

Entering the War Room, it was exactly as Mein had remembered it since she did recall sneaking into the room once or twice during her visits with father. She had always been a rather curious child back then.

The room was incredibly large befitting its purpose with a large rectangular table in the center of the room, a large map laid out on it for planning strikes and operations. There were also weapon racks on the walls, including ornamental swords, spears, shields, along with a plaque that had the emblem of House Seatto painted on it, to show its allegiance. The room honestly seemed to be in much better condition than everywhere else in the Keep, a small blessing perhaps.

Standing behind the table overlooking the map was Eclair herself, who immediately looked up upon seeing them enter. She wasn't alone either, a few other knights dressed in armor were there as well, along with that Lucatiel that showed them their rooms last night.

Mein kept her head down as she walked behind Naofumi as if she was his shadow. She did not come this far to have her cover blown because Eclair couldn't keep her mouth shut.

" Ah Sir Naofumi, Sir Itsuki, I'm glad you could come " Eclair said sincerely. Thankfully her attention seemed to be focused on the two Legendary Heroes, which made her job a bit easier." I'm relieved to see that none of you were injured during last night's ambush "

" No problem, if anything we should be thanking you for allowing us to stay at your Keep " Naofumi returned gratefully with a nod. Mein was glad that Naofumi knew basic etiquette...or maybe she has just spent too long with patronising arrogant noble swine that can't be bothered to have basic decency.

" Like I said before, it was my honor to help the Legendary Heroes " Eclair responded respectfully.

Itsuki coughed to get everybody's attention " Well, Lady Eclair while we are grateful for your help in repelling the bandits last night...we actually already had plans to come to Silver Keep and meet with you anyway "

" Really ?" Eclair said in surprise.

" Yes, me and Naofumi are hunting the Hound Lord and his band of cronies. We want your help in taking that bastard down " Itsuki said firmly as he stepped up to the table.

Eclair and her fellow knights looked at each other, before turning back to Itsuki with a serious look in their eyes.

" Then it seems we have a common enemy then Sir Itsuki, we were as well planning on asking you for your aid in eliminating the Hound Lord, but I should have known the Bow Hero would already have plans to do so already " Eclair said with respect in her voice.

" We've been taking out a lot of his underlings and cronies, but we need to start making bigger waves against this bastard " Itsuki surmised as he took out the map with all the marked possible bandit hideout locations on it and showed it to Eclair " We got this map from Count Rabier, whose scouts believe these are all possible hideout locations. That's why we need your Keep's forces to sweep these areas..."

Eclair and her knight advisors looked at the map for a moment, uncertainty in their eyes and Mein could guess the reason why.

" Sir Itsuki, please know that we at Silver Keep are at your disposal, it's just that...things are difficult for us right now " Eclair admitted reluctantly.

That's a bit of an understatement.

Itsuki gave a sympathetic look at Eclair " Give it to me straight then, what's the condition and strength of the Keep right now ? "

A sad look crossed Eclair's face, but she took a deep breath to explain.

" I will not lie to you Sir Itsuki, the condition of Silver Keep is...bad to say the least " Eclair said as if she was being force-fed week old bad eggs. Mein can understand it would be difficult to admit that the once glorious Fortress of Light has been reduced to so much." Our forces are severely depleted, resources such as food and medicine dwindling, we are still waiting on a food shipment that I ordered from the Golden Coast but that could take some time to arrive, our weapons and armor are in sub-par condition...the problems just seem to keep piling up "

One of the knights that were with Eclair, a mouse knight that looked very similar to Lucatiel. Her brother perhaps ?

" We don't expect you heroes to be able to summon food, medicine and weapons out of thin air, but we are open to suggestions on how to solve these issues. Legendary Heroes of past have used their knowledge that they obtained for their worlds to solve certain issues "

Naofumi and Itsuki looked at each other, the former's expression was uncertain and uncomfortable from being put on the spot. While the latter crossed his arms and couldn't look into their eyes.

" Um...I know a bit about agriculture and business management, but I don't know much about supplying a whole Keep " Naofumi confessed.

" I might be a badass, but I don't know shit about the logistics of running a Keep of this size. That's beyond my skill set " Itsuki shook his head.

" Incredibly helpful. Both of you " The mouse knight rolled his eyes.

" Aslatiel please..." Eclair chided the knight.

Mercifully, the priestess of their group walked up to the table " Excuse me Lady Eclair, but were you able to catch those bandits that were chasing after us yesterday ?" Alice spoke up.

" No, they were too fast. But they left enough tracks that our scouts were able to locate their hideout, but I told them not to engage " Eclair pointed out on the map " Our scouts reported back that their hideout is right here "

Eclair pointed out the location of the bandit hideout on the map, which seemed to be quite a distance away from Silver Keep, but not that far away. The map wasn't your standard, sold for cheap map of Melromarc that you could get at the Adventurer's guild or general store either. It was an incredibly detailed and well-written map with villages, towns, cities, travelling routes and much more written on it.

" Actually this has been bothering me since last night, but how did those bandits know where we were in the first place ?" Naofumi asked out loud.

That was a good question, now that I think about it.

" Yeah, I noticed that too. It was clearly a planned ambush, they sure as hell didn't just stumble upon our camp. They had mounts and were ready to chase us down if need be..." Ake added with a grave look on his face " Somebody ordered them to be there..."

" The tavern..." Itsuki muttered.

" What ?" Rufus questioned.

" You shouting my name back at the tavern in Rabier City, the information probably made its way to the back channels and market, where it was picked up by spies that were likely planted in the city to keep tabs on Count Rabier " Itsuki deduced rather quickly.

" B-But...that was literally just a day ago !" Naofumi said in shock.

" Yes. It seems the Hound Lord may be more be well-connected than we initially believe...or whichever bandit group had listeners planted in the city " Itsuki said blankly.

" Oh...shit, sorry..." Naofumi apologized once again.

" Whatever the case may be, this group that was ordered to ambush us last night may have information about the Hound Lord if they received their orders from him " Itsuki turned to the rest of them " What do you say we go pay them a visit ?"

So...next chapter we'll be seeing Naofumi and Itsuki working together to take down a bandit group together as a sorta practice run of working together. I'll be honest I was actually debating whether or not to have Raphtalia show up during the war room scene and have Eclair recognize her, but decided to save it for another scene since I didn't want to mess up the flow and purpose of the scene by adding it in.

Hope it turned out well enough, even if this is just a set-up chapter.

Now let's answer some reviews, shall we ?

To Caspian123:

In Itsuki's defense, he wasn't outright trying to antagonize or purposefully be mean to Filo, he was just stating the facts of Filo's lineage( She really is a garden breed) and Filo threw a tantrum as a result and kicked him. I did want to show that Filo definitely can't get out of everything just because she's cute, she's a brat with the strength to actually be a problem to the party.

To WeirdRaptor:

Yeah, I think Qin summed up my reasons for writing a Rotsh story pretty well. I definitely grew to see what an incredibly suck, pretentious and dumb story Alenko wrote, but I could see the potential the world of Rotsh had for writing an ACTUALLY realistic deconstruction/subversion isekai story. Instead of the story Alenko wrote where they just wrote another dumb trash power fantasy but dressed it up to look like a smart isekai deconstruct.

Though I will admit that part of the main reason why I started writing was because I was inspired by Qin's 'Ambition of the Red Princess' story to write my own Malty-centric fic. But of course, I couldn't resist throwing in my own twist on the series...in the form of adding the Outsider from Dishonored and its powers.

To Qin:

Yeah, in hindsight, I probably should have wrote 'chest' or 'abdomen' since I had Itsuki complain about his ribs.

XD

In all seriousness, you are correct that Itsuki knows there's a time and place to act like the tough guy and Itsuki knows that was not it. Working as a vigilante with no powerful quirk to back him up in a world full of superpowered people that could kill him in less than a minute, any arrogant pride he may have had, he quite literally got that beaten out of him, exceedingly quickly if his first night as a vigilante is anything to go by. And Lady Nagant did genuinely train him to be a skilled combatant.

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

Angel Out.