Sorry this chapter came out a bit later than I would have liked, but you all know how hectic life can get. Also doesn't help that I've been working on other stories beside this one. But I think the wait will be well worth it with the info this chapter gives regarding Malty's backstory and past with Thomas. Enjoy!

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

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

Chapter 48: Stomping Rats

Life at their new fortress was actually pretty peaceful and fun. The fort was so big too! It had a big courtyard to play in, long hallways, rooms and it almost reminded her of the castle in a way.

But a lot of it was pretty dusty with cobwebs everywhere at first and Malty couldn't stop sneezing the first week because of how much of it there was. Malty even saw a few stinkbugs and rats running around too! It was then that Thomas decided they should clean up the fort or at least most of it because it was simply too much to live with, so they set some time aside to clean the fort place by place.

The little princess didn't really know how to feel about sweeping and scrubbing the floors, that was something the maids and cleaners did that Malty couldn't help but feel was a little humiliating to do. But Thomas promised her that a good day's hard work was nothing to feel humiliated about and was a good exercise to do for the body.

And he said that he would give her some sweets if she did it, so she enthusiastically joined.

It took a lot of hard work and time, but they eventually managed to clean up most of the fort which was good enough for them. Malty was exhausted afterward, laying on the stone floor as she sweated and breathed out like she had spent the last few hours exercising. Thomas was right, this was really tiring! She has a lot more respect for maids and cleaning ladies now, if they can do this every single day.

Thomas gave her a pat on the head and some sweets for a job well done.

The fort was...starting to feel like home. Like their own little hideaway from the world, where Malty could train and play to her hearts content, where they were finally safe. It reminded her of the castle, all the time she spent playing within her old home's walls, with mother and father watching from a distance. The memory makes her chest hurt like its in pain.

She twists and turns on her bed to try and get comfortable but it seemed impossible to do. Malty stared up at the stone ceiling of her room, waiting for sleep to come but it never came. She just kept staring in the dark of her room at nothingness at all.

Eventually she got up from her bed to get a glass of water from the kitchen, that usually helped her go to sleep. She quietly exited her room, the faintest sounds of the creak of the door opening and closing as she entered the hallway, making sure to make as little noise as possible with that trick Thomas taught her as if she was sneaking.

Though when she passed by Thomas's room which wasn't very far from hers, she noticed that the door was left wide open. Which was weird because Thomas usually closed his door when he went to sleep and when she looked inside, Thomas wasn't in his bed.

Malty was confused by all this. Did Thomas go out while she was sleeping? No, that wasn't possible, he always told her if he was going somewhere and when he would be back. And he wouldn't have left this late at night without a word.

The princess decided to find out where her friend was, he couldn't have left the fort because he would have told her so he must still be here somewhere. She stopped and tried to think about where he would go...he doesn't like eating late at night or getting water before bed, so the only place he would go was his office! Well, technically it was the office of the previous Captain before this place was abandoned, but nobody had been here in a while so it made it theirs!

Malty headed to office quickly to find her friend, having already remembered all the different pathways that led around the fort to get to places. Eventually, she reached his office and could see the faint light coming from the partially opened door.

The Princess smiled with pride that she was able to guess where her friend was, but she refocused as she slowly approached and entered the office, seeing Thomas standing over the table with his hands pressed against it.

" Thomas?" Malty's voice was almost quiet, but it was enough to let Thomas know she was here.

Thomas's head darted to her the second he heard her voice, his face showed that he was surprised to see her there. " K-Kid? What are you doing here? I thought you'd gone to bed already "

" I...I had trouble sleeping, then I wanted to get some water, but then I noticed you were gone and I got scared..." Malty suddenly felt guilty for intruding as she looked to the stone floor." I'm sorry..."

" No, no, its alright. I'm sorry for disappearing without saying a word " Thomas knelled down to her level to pat her head which made her feel better.

Malty's eyes wandered over to the table and the board he had set up on the wall." What...what are you doing?"

" Just some work..." Thomas said slowly " Malty, I think you should go back to sleep-"

It was at that moment that she noticed that on the board by the wall there were several names written on pieces of parchment that were all connected by red string...and what scared her the most was that she recognized some of the names there.

Amelia. Noches. Reichnott. Seatto. Claes. Consevatie. Melromarc.

These were all the names of her friends families...her family. Why were they here?

" Thomas, what is this?" Malty spoke with fear in her tone at seeing these names, turning to her friend.

" Its complicated kid..." Thomas said as if he didn't know how to really explain it.

But Malty gave him a pleading look that was basically begging for him to tell her what was going on.

Thomas let out a sigh as he placed his hands on the table again " Tell me Malty: Are you happy here?" Thomas asked out of the blue that Malty was taken aback by it.

It took her a moment to think about it, she was happy here now. The fort was really dusty at first and Malty thought they could never live here, but after cleaning it up and spending some time here, Malty was really starting to enjoy it here. She was able to have a place she could come back to, where they no longer had to run and could instead just be at peace.

" Y-Yes, I am...this place is really starting to feel like a home Thomas and a place to stay for us-"

" Then you're not going to like the idea that we may have to eventually leave this place at some point " Thomas interrupted her before she could finish.

Malty's eyes widened at what Thomas had just said, she couldn't believe it. They would have to...leave? But they had finally found a safe place, why would they have to leave?

" W-W-What? But you said this place was h-hidden and that we couldn't be found here..." Malty said with a crack in her voice.

" Its hard to find and well-hidden, but this place isn't going to last forever, its only a matter of time before its discovered by either your mother or her allies. " Thomas said gravely. " And we both know what's going to happen if that occurs..."

" The bad things..." Malty said with a quiver.

Thomas only nodded in agreement.

He was quiet for a moment before speaking again. " Do you remember when we were back at the castle? When everything was great?" Thomas asked her. " When we didn't need to worry about looking over our shoulders and wondering if we would be found at last? Wouldn't you want to go back to those times?"

Yes. More than anything else.

Malty only nodded silently.

" I knew you would, which is why I've come up with a plan that will let us go back to the castle soon " Thomas said as he looked over the board once.

" R-Really?" Malty asked hopefully. Returning back to the castle would be like a dream come true for her.

" Yes, really..." Thomas nodded. " But if we want to return to the castle we need to handle your mother...and to do that, we need to weaken her first by taking away her core allies "

Malty felt her blood run cold at what Thomas had just said.

The names on the board flashed through her mind again. Katarina, Bertia and Iris...they were all targets too?

" Thomas...what are you going to do?" Malty asks, but a small part of her already knew what he was going to do.

" I'm going to take care of some people who want to hurt us, by hurting them first " Thomas said with coldness in his tone. " I've already selected my first target, felt the most fitting I suppose "

Malty was almost terrified to ask who it was, but knew she had to.

She had to know what Thomas was going to do for them.

"...Who...Who?"

Thomas turned to her with a dark expression on his face.

" The Vallière family..."

It was quite fortunate that the Bow Hero had the foresight to set up a portal point in Rabier city otherwise travelling all the way back would have been a pain. They had arrived in the early evening when there was still light coming from the sun but it was fading soon and night was going to fall in another hour or two at the latest which should give them plenty of cover to operate discreetly to not give the Hound Lord's spies a heads-up that they are coming.

Itsuki peaked out the alleyway they had portal into to give a good look around to confirm that there was no trouble waiting for them before giving the signal for them to move out.

" Remind me again, why we couldn't come back here when the sun was still out?" Armina asked as she adjusted her cloak." And why are we wearing disguises again?"

Mein decided to answer for Ituski for she knew the answer. " The night gives us some cover and allows us to move unimpeded. And because the rats only come out at night when they think its safe..." It was practically common knowledge that all the urchins, monsters in human skin and scumbags come out at night to do their dirty dealings. They felt more comfortable operating at night when they think no one's watching.

" Well said Mein " Itsuki smiled in agreement.

" Okay, but why the disguises then? People already know what we look like so I don't see the point " Armina was telling the truth, the three of them were dressed in a severe change of outfits.

Armina was no longer wearing her usual chest plate but instead donning a simple chain shirt they had gotten from the Silver Keep armor over a shirt and a cloak that looked quite rugged. She wasn't even carrying her usual spear, but in place of it had a longsword at her hip. The Bow Hero wasn't dressed any fancier either, wearing leather armor instead of his usual chainmail hidden underneath his tunic getup, his Legendary Bow taking on a smaller more compact form he carried on his side that one would think he was unarmed.

" Correction, people know that we're in the city but not exactly what we look like. We'll still be able to blend in if we change our appearance " Itsuki explained. " We're going into the slums, if we show up dressed head to toe in good gear and armor than we're bound to attract the wrong kind of attention and just give our targets a warning that we're coming for them. Better to try and blend in to get the jump on them than kick in the front door when they already know we're coming "

Armina looked conflicted but not necessarily disagreeing with Itsuki's logic." Fair point...but I do feel kinda naked being out here without my armor and spear "

Mein had to admit that she shared Armina's sentiment a little, having to forgo her Silver Huntress armor and instead donning her original leather armor set she had worn when she first joined up with Naofumi. The leather wasn't exactly top quality, a regular sword could probably pierce through it and she didn't have Naofumi's insanely high DEF stat to protect her in that case. Though she understood Itsuki's logic of avoiding being noticed and standing out, no doubt her armor would have attracted more than a few unwanted gazes. She might need to consider buying some better quality leather armor for more subtle missions like this.

" I'm sure its nothing we can't handle...and if nothing else, I am happy to see what you look like out of all that armor " Itsuki gave Armina a smirk " Gotta say, not disappointed "

Armina blushed a little before playfully punching Itsuki's arm. " Cheeky bastard..."

Mein rolled her eyes, before she faked cough " Can we get back to the mission please?

" R-Right, the bandit leader we interrogated said the spies were located on the Southeast end of the slums, and led by a racoon named Ash" Itsuki turned his gaze to her. " You know where that is?"

" Yes, follow me " Mein easily remembered the location of where the slums were.

Mein took the lead as she lead them through the winding backalleys, streets and other paths to get to the slums. Looking around, she could see that people were starting to return to their homes and the amount of people on the street was being reduced with each passing minute. And Mein knew that it was right around this time that the urchins, rats and scumbags came out to play. Where muggers would prey on the weak and helpless, where dealers of exotic goods would show off their products to passing customers, where the local prostitutes came out in full force to lure in souls looking for pleasure like sirens into their dens.

Why does it feel like every slum was more or less the same? Maybe because it always is.

" So Mein, you been to Rabier City before? You seem like you know this place " Itsuki asked to drone up conversation as they walked.

She wouldn't really say that she's extensively familiar with the layout of Rabier City, she is simply familiar where all the important sites and places are.

Mein thought over her answer for a moment before speaking." I visited this place a couple times in my youth, even stayed here for a short while with my father "

" Sounds nice..." Itsuki said half-heartedly." I noticed how efficiently you interrogated that bandit back at the fort. Impressive work, got him to spill in just a few minutes, where did you learn how to do that? "

Mein was caught off guard by the sudden change in question, but quickly came up with a lie." I...instinct, I guess. I was angry after seeing what we saw and wanted to take it out on him-"

" No, no, no, I know what angry torture looks like and that wasn't it. If that was the case, you would have been beating him black and blue until the poor bastard could do little more than write out the information we wanted " Itsuki gave her an inquisitive look " That wasn't what you were doing. You were angry yes, but there was a certain level of control to it. A style and tactic to it, coming up with that impalement threat was pretty good "

" You were threatening to impale a guy? " Armina gave her a weirded out look.

Mein couldn't help but feel a bit corner as she felt both Itsuki and Armina's eyes on her. She's not sure a simple brush off is going to work, and staying silent doesn't seem a good look on her. So she resorts to telling the truth.

Or at least the technical truth.

"...My father was the one who taught me how to interrogate people." Mein answered. Well, technically speaking Thomas didn't exactly 'teach' her but she has observed plenty of his interrogation and torture techniques to integrate them into her own tactics.

" Your father taught you how to torture and interrogate people?" Itsuki gave her a curious look.

" He was a Faubley Ranger, so part of his job included hunting down bandits and sometimes interrogating them. He taught me some of his techniques "

" You mean, he taught you how to torture people? That's...a pretty messed up thing to teach to your kids." Armina said in a disgusted tone that offended Mein a little.

" He taught me how to take care of myself and survive " Mein said defensively.

" My dad taught me how to fight too, he didn't teach how to torture people for information" Armina shot back." How to survive doesn't usually include how to come up with creative and sadistic torture techniques "

That hit a nerve for Mein.

" My father is gone Armina " Mein said firmly as she glared at the spearwoman " And I will not have you speaking ill of his name "

A sympathetic look crossed Armina's eyes " Mein, I didn't-"

" We can cut through to the slums here " Mein ended the conversation there, feeling adequately riled up by the stupid invasive questions of Itsuki and Armina. She much prefers to just focus on the damn mission instead of playing 20 questions.

They cut through an alleyway to get to the slums and after a few minutes of walking, Mein could start to notice the change in scenery that indicated they were getting close to their target location. No longer were they on the brightly lit street with clean and kind looking common people, but instead moving through backalleys that seemed to get dirtier and worst looking the further they went in. The buildings all around them looked much more rundown and abandoned than the ones they had seen previously on the better streets, and Mein's nose was continuously being insulted by disgusting smells she's not sure she wants to know the origins of.

Mein looked around to see a drunken man sitting on the ground with a bottle in hand, yelling insane mutterings about what have you and the smell of piss and decay hitting her nostrils.

They were in the slums now.

It was amazing that even in a thriving city like this, there are always those less fortunate. Those who are forced to live in the muck and dirt, doing whatever they had to do to survive. Mein could understand that sentiment quite well honestly. The slums here weren't really any different from the one back in castletown, not really anyway. They were still populated with the same kind of people. Urchins, thieves, scumbags and the poor souls who don't have anywhere else to go but here and are caught in the middle.

When she's Queen she should start thinking about maybe improving the state of the slums, but that's a thought for another time.

By this point, night had fully fallen over Rabier City with their only source of light in the slums being the moonlight that gave some level of visibility to them. Their small group kept quiet as it moved through the slums, passing by a few common people who were dressed in clothes that could barely be called rags, they received a few curious glances but nothing so far. Mein knew from experience that the common rule in the slums was ' you keep to yourself and I'll keep to mine'...provided you aren't one of the major pawns that are likely fighting for control in the slums. Even in a shithole like this, there would always be rats trying to climb to the top for dominance.

Was it really so different from Melromarc high society though? Mein wondered. She knew that in the Game, there were no true friends or even allies. Simply pawns and players in the Game. Everybody betrays everybody at some point because its more convenient than continued cooperation. It was nothing personal really, simply a means to an end and everybody's goal in the game was to survive, gather as much power as possible and overthrow their rivals. That was how the Game was played.

She's not sure whether she likes this line of thought, so she refocuses on the mission.

" I think we're at the South end of the slums...now we just need to find that raccoon " Mein says as they stop for a moment to think about a plan.

" In a big place like this, its going to be hard to find a single person " Armina added, crossing her arms.

" True that will be difficult..." Itsuki turned to her " What do you suggest Mein?"

Mein thought over what their options are. They could head up to the rooftops to scour the entire slums top to bottom to find this Ash person. But that would take much too long and they run the risk of their presence being detected and the Hound Lord's spies making a break for it. They could try going to one of Mein's other contacts here in Rabier City but...Mein's not too comfortable with the idea of leading others to her personal contacts.

So the only reason option is to simply familiarize themselves with the local urchins.

" We go talk to the local urchins, beat it out of them if we have to, somebody should know where this Ash character is " Mein said as she led the way, with Itsuki and Armina following after her.

" How would some random criminals know where this Ash is?" Armina questioned.

" Trust me, in the slums everybody knows everybody of note if you want to avoid getting stabbed in the gut and left to bleed out " Mein said with a smirk as they walked through the slums.

Figuring out where to find some muggers wasn't all that difficult, she knew that muggers liked to target more isolated and smaller pathways so that they could easily trap and surround them. Muggers usually operated in small groups, likely so they didn't have to share a big score.

It didn't take them long to find a nice narrow alley that everybody seemed to avoid for no particular reason.

They quite calmly walked down this narrow alley and Mein's enhanced senses immediately picked up the sounds of footsteps coming from their front and back. She could see three men surround them on their front, while what sounded like three more sets of footsteps behind them, she did a quick glance to see that they were all human men.

That was way too easy to have done.

"Well, well, well...what do we have here? Some fresh meat on our turf " The leader with ruffled hair approach them with a smug smirk at them. Could these muggers be anymore unsubtle than they already were?

" What's two fine pieces of ass doing walking around with this bitchboy? Why don't you come hang out with some real men?" One of his lackies leered at Mein and Armina. He gets his arms broken for that.

" Looks like we're gonna have some fun tonight boys!" One of the muggers from behind them laughed as if victory was already theirs.

Mein is going to enjoy this.

" Touch either of them and I will take your hands " Itsuki said evenly.

" Oooooh! I'm shaking in my boots" The leader said mockingly as he pointed his finger in Mein's direction " Start by handing off all your valuable and-AAAAHHHH!"

Mein didn't wait any longer as she immediately grabbed the leader's hand snapped his pointy finger in a bent direction following it up with a sucker punch straight in the face. She wasn't finished yet as she twisted the leader's arm behind his back before slamming his face into the near stone wall, resulting in a splatter and the sound of his nose being broken from the force. Mein finished it off with a quick snap of his right arm, effectively immobilizing him for the time being before dropping him to the ground. Not looking so smug or proud anymore with a crushed nose.

Mein wanted to kill him, but she knew they needed answers and killing seemed too quick of a punishment.

" Get them !" One of the other lackies shouted at the sight of seeing their leader getting beat up.

Mein handled the two on their front, while Armina and Itsuki tackled the ones flanking their behind. The two muggers pulled out knives and attempted to charge at her, trying to cut and stab with the grace of a drunken housewife.

Pathetic.

Mein dodged the two sloppy attempts to cut her, and when one of the lackies tried to go for a downward stab, Mein grabbed his wrist and redirected it to stab his own leg making him scream out in pain. She did a quick twirl and with as much force as possible kick her foot upward right into the crotch of lacky number 2, making him scream at a high pitch that almost would have impressed Mein.

The princess in disguise kicked out the knees of the first lacky as she pulled out the knife stuck in his leg, before using it to stab the second lacky straight through the eye before kicking him to the ground to bleed out. She finished off her last lacky by grabbing the sides of his head and twisting it until it was completely turned around.

Mein turned to see Itsuki and Armina finish off the last of the muggers, based off the fact that their muggers were still groaning on the ground instead of completely motionless it was clear that the two had been more merciful than Mein was.

" You okay?" Itsuki asked the two of them, which they both responded with nods.

Armina looked over the two dead muggers, before whistling." Damn, you don't hold back do you?"

" I see no point showing mercy to enemies who have none for us...that being said " Mein's gaze turned to the leader who was still groaning on the ground in pain from his cracked nose and broken arm. Mein knelled down next to him with a cruel smile on her face " Now where were we?"

The leader held up his one good arm " H-Hey,H-hey ! I'm sorry okay ! I didn't realize you were-"

" Shut up. We want information, not listen to you prattle like an idiot " Itsuki said harshly. " We're looking for a raccoon goes by the name of Ash. Know anything?"

The mugger leader's eyes suddenly flicked to the side indicating that he was trying to come up with a lie or was just nervous. " I-I-I don't know what you're talking about-AHH! "

The leader shouted in pain as Mein stomped on his broken arm. " Lie to us again and I will break the other one"

" I-I-I...I know where he is, just don't !" The leader begged as he gave up where Ash was and where the house was located. Interestingly enough, he was actually just a short walk away from where they are now.

Mein observed the leader's expression, he was telling the truth.

" There I told you everything you wanted to know...just let me go please!" The pathetic man begged and Mein wondered how merciful she was feeling tonight.

Mein glared at him before grabbing him by the cuff of his shirt and throwing him down the alley " If I meet you again, you will wish I had killed you right here and now"

The leader didn't say anything more, as he hurriedly ran off out of fear.

" So you are capable of showing mercy " Itsuki said humorously.

" Just didn't want to get my clothes dirty " Mein said calmly " We have the location now, let's go pay those spies a visit "

It only took them another few minutes to locate the house the mugger had mentioned. It was a rather rundown house similar to the one Mein attacked back at the capital, with rotting wood, few windows and peeled off paint. The only sign of life was the faint glow of a light, the perfect unsuspecting hideout where the Hound Lord's spies could conduct their operations and recruit any potential new bandits for service. It made Mein wonder if the Hound Lord had any other recruitment operations like this in other cities, how big did his influence stretch if he was able to set up observation outposts in not just Rabier City but the capital too? It was an unnerving thought that was for sure.

Their small group chose not to immediately kick in the door to confront the Hound Lord's spies but instead chose to observe the house to make sure their target, the leader Ash was actually inside otherwise he might end up bolting at the first opportunity. It would be awful embarrassing to break in and find that he isn't there. So they decided to play it safe, observing the house from a safe distance from the safety of a dark alley and waiting for someone to come up.

After roughly half an hour of doing nothing and sitting on their asses, Armina suggested they just kick in the front door.

" This is taking too long, and we're too exposed out here. I say we kick in the door " Armina suggested.

" I like that plan " Mein smiled at the thought.

" We need to confirm he's there " Itsuki said in a whisper with a shake of his head." We go in there guns blazing and he isn't there, then he bolts before we can learn anything. We need a positive ID on the target "

Both Mein and Armina look at each other in confusion at the Bow Hero's choice of words that sounded like something from his world. What does guns blazing mean, was he talking about firearms? And in the world does positive E-D even refer to? Is it some kind of lingo?

" What does guns blazing and positive Eee-D mean?" Armina asked her hero in confusion.

The Bow Hero blinked for a moment before realizing what he had just said " Oh yeah right sorry, guns blazing basically means going in full force with complete disregard for subtlety. And positive ID just means that we need to make sure that our target is there " Itsuki explained his choice words.

Mein nodded in understanding that made a bit more sense now.

The princess pondered whether she should just sneak up to the house using her Silent Step class ability and use Dark Vision to check if Ash really was there. But with Armina and Itsuki watching the house like hawks, that doesn't seem likely since they will just be observing her walking up to a house and just staring through the walls like a crazy person. And she's not confident enough in her ability to come up with a convincing enough excuse for why she was doing that.

If they can't get in to confirm Ash is there, then they'll simply have to bring them out.

An idea came to her mind and she thinks she knows how they can confirm his presence there.

" I have an idea, but I need you both to trust me " Mein said suddenly. Armina and Itsuki looked at each other for a moment before turning back to her with a nod.

" Okay, what's your idea?" Itsuki asked.

" Nothing much, just a little misdirection " Mein smirked as she peeked out of the alley they were observing the house from.

It was a good thing the house was mostly made out of wood.

"Fast Fireball !" Mein shouted as she hit a barrel that laid next to the house which resulted in the fire spreading to the rotting wood of the house. Mein smiled as she saw the fire spread to the house before taking a deep breath. " FIRE! Everybody get out now!"

Mein shouted at the top of her lungs to the point the entire neighborhood could hear them. At her scream, quite a few people from the nearby buildings came out, mostly out of concern for their lives.

And just as expected, the house she had partially set on fire with her fireball came outside to check out what was going on with all the commotion.

" WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" A raccoon demi-human with a rugged face and hair in his early 20's at most, ran out of the run down house with his posse. " Who the hell started this fire!?"

Jackpot.

His posse were quick to stamp out the fire, all mildly shaken up by the fact that their house was suddenly on fire. They looked around wondering what the hell could have caused a fire to suddenly break out.

" 12 bandits counting the leader. 5 dogs, 3 bull beastmen and 3 cats. No archers " Itsuki counted their enemies numbers. " I can take a few of them out with a skill, but Ash would be caught in the crossfire."

" Leave that to me, just prepare to attack when I get him out of the way " Mein said with a confident smirk as she exited the alley, walking straight towards Ash.

The demi-human bandits immediately caught sight of her approaching and eyed her. " Hey ! Do you know what happened here?"

" Good evening boys, do you happen to be Ash by any chance?" Mein said in a friendly manner as she walked up to the raccoon.

Ash looked between his lackies back to Mein. " Who the hell are you?"

" Mein nice to meet you fine boys on this evening " Mein held out her hand to Ash, who was still weirded out but still took her hand like a fool." I'm your torturer for today"

" Wait, what?" Ash said, before Mein kicked him in the nuts knocking the wind out of him before pulling him by his collar back into the house, shutting the door behind them. Well out of harm's way.

" BOSS!"

" Air Strike Spread!" Mein heard Itsuki shout as he and Armina began engaging the bandits.

Leaving Mein with plenty of time to kick the interrogation off, ignoring the sounds of fighting as she threw the raccoon to the ground.

" AAAHHHH! You fucking bitch-AAAH!" Ash was cut off when Mein kicked him in the gut, when he still laid on the ground.

" Get up asshole " Mein grabbed him by the collar and held him up against the wall. She felt the hood of her cloak come off amidst all the altercations, but she didn't particularly care." My companions are killing your friends so let's get acquainted in the meantime shall we?"

" Fuck you!" Ash reached to his side and pulled out a knife, attempting to stab Mein in the gut.

Thankfully her reflexes kicked and she pinned his wrist to the wall, wrestling the blade out of his hand instead holding it to neck.

" Nice blade, looks perfect for cutting body parts off " Mein gave him a creepy smile." Now why don't you tell me where the Hound Lord is and I'll consider killing you quick"

" I'm not telling you shit! You fucking bastards can go...go..." Ash trailed off as he stared into her face, shock in his eyes. "Its...Its you..."

Mein was taken aback by this, did this bandit...recognize her? But that's impossible! How could some bandit know who she was?

" What did you just say to me?" Mein voice had a cold edge.

" Its- Its you...you're that kid from the Vallière family...you're the one who unlocked our cells and gave us the Holy Water to remove our slave seals..." Ash's eyes widen and his voice was barely above a whisper " You were with the Shadow Demon that night he rescued us..."

The Vallière family? But that's...no it can't be possible, it can't be!

Mein's eyes widened as she remembered that night at the Vallière estate...the night she heard the screams of Lady Vallière...the night house Vallière fell and its ancestral home was burned to the ground...

The night the Shadow Demon claimed his first victims. Who better than the very same noble family he used to work for and gave him to the royal family as a gift?

" Why are you here? Don't tell me you're working for these fuckers-Ugh !" Ash was shut up when Mein slammed him into the wall and dug the blade into his neck.

" Shut up. Shut the hell up..." Mein said with gritted teeth." I didn't come here to catch up, I'm looking for the Hound Lord. Tell me where he is and I'll let you live "

Ash's expression turned to one of disappointment. " So you are working for these bastards...unfortunate..." A smile crossed Ash's face." You remember his lesson about what to do when captured?"

Better to die than let yourself reveal damning information on your comrades.

Mein tried to pull the blade back but Ash grabbed her hand and forced it forward.

" LONG LIVE THE TRUE SHADOW HEIR!" Ash shouted before he forced his neck onto the blade, making him choke on his own blood as Mein pushed him off and let him fall to the ground.

Mein stared at the blood soaked blade in her hand before throwing it away. At that moment, Itsuki and Armina burst through the door looking genuinely frazzled from their brief fight with Ash's group.

" Mein, we're here ! Are you okay-" Itsuki stopped himself as he saw the dead body of Ash on the floor before his expression soured." Goddamnit..."

The Bow Hero cursed as he stepped over to the body, giving it a look over and confirming that he was dead.

" What the hell happened?" Itsuki asked her. Not quite an accusation, but one laced with suspicion.

" I...he killed himself to prevent from giving up the location of the Hound Lord." Mein told the truth. Just like Thomas had taught him.

Itsuki gave her a critical eye for a moment before turning away, making it unclear whether he actually believed her or not.

" Damn, the guy actually killed himself just to keep from talking? Some of these bandits might just be genuinely dedicated to the Hound Lord " Armina said with a whistle.

" I heard him yell 'Shadow Heir' from outside. What does that mean?" Itsuki asked.

" The Shadow Heir, I haven't heard that in-"

Mein cut Armina off " We should sweep this place for any information, maybe they have the location marked down somewhere "

Itsuki and Armina looked at each other before nodding. They spent the next half hour scouring through the dirty house for any clues, as Mein searched through the lazily placed mattresses on the ground and the personal belongings of the bandits, it was made increasingly clear that they weren't exactly cleaning this place despite having so many people living here. The most they found was a small stash of money, along with food and weapons that Itsuki pocketed as more supplies. They spent an extra 20 minutes turning the place over but still found nothing.

" You two find anything?" Itsuki asked.

" Nothing." Mein couldn't help but admit that she felt a little bit upset but what was she expecting? To find a big map with all the Hound Lord's bases marked perfectly.

" Damnit. That asshole Ash must have been the only one who knew..." Itsuki sighed." Whatever. Let's get the hell out of here and head back to Silver Keep "

Mein had no disagreements with that, as they all exited the house Mein could see the dead bodies of what was left of Ash's crew. Itsuki and Armina didn't take any survivors.

As they left the slums behind and headed back to Silver Keep, Mein's mind was still rife with thoughts about what she learned from Ash.

It can't be possible. It shouldn't be possible...

Naofumi's POV

Itsuki called them all to the war room to discuss what had happened as soon as he, Mein and Armina got back from Rabier City. At the moment, Naofumi was standing next to Mein who was sitting in a chair with Ake by his side. Slayer, Titan Storm, Eclair, her two knights, and Itsuki's party also showed up to the meeting to hear Itsuki recant what exactly happened during their trip to Rabier City.

"-So after that, we headed back here " Itsuki finished his story about what happened.

" So you were unable to learn anything about the Hound Lord's whereabouts?" Slayer voice wasn't one of disappointment, but rather one of fact. If he was upset about how it went than he didn't show it.

" Nada. We searched the place from top to bottom but couldn't find any clues, leads or anything that would lead us to the Hound Lord's base." Itsuki looked far more upset than Slayer was. " Damnit, if only we took that Ash guy alive..."

" Don't be too hard on yourself Itsuki, you heard the guy would have suicided first chance even if we did take him alive " Armina tried to cheer up Itsuki.

That caught Naofumi's attention in more ways than one. He was surprised that a bandit would actually suicide just to keep his boss safe, from the way Alice spoke of them most bandits are usually assholes who are in it for themselves and no real loyalty towards each other, so this Ash guy must have been insanely dedicated if he was actually willing to cut his throat just to take whatever information he had to the grave. Maybe this Hound Lord might different in the way he treats his subordinates at least.

" Are you sure you didn't learn anything that could help us? Any clues or anything?" Clarissa pushed.

" None, though I did hear that Ash guy shout something about Shadow...something?" Itsuki scratched his head as he tried to think of it. " I heard it from outside so we couldn't hear-"

" Long Live the True Shadow Heir..."

Mein's voice interrupted Itsuki as she looked up at all of them." That's what he said before he killed himself "

Shadow Heir...why do I get the feeling that has something to do with the Shadow Demon?

" The Shadow Heir...what exactly is that?" Itsuki asked all of them.

Eclair had a concerned look on her face as she spoke up." How much do you heroes know about the Shadow Demon?"

" Shadow Demon? First time, I'm hearing that name " Itsuki said with a confused expression.

" I've heard of him. Apparently he was some kind of serial killer who had a grudge against the royal family, how he was hunting down any noble family that supported them and how he kidnapped the Princess of Melromarc at one point when she was just a kid and held her for over a year. They called it the Slaughter of Melromarc " Naofumi told Itsuki what he had learned about the Shadow Demon during his time. It wasn't a pretty history.

" What the Sir Naofumi says is accurate Sir Itsuki. I was just a child when the Shadow Demon struck fear into the hearts of all nobility, their children and knights around Melromarc. A horror story to tell children at night " Eclair spoke with fear in her tone.

" Sounds like a lovely guy, what does he have to do with this Shadow Heir?" Itsuki said sarcastically turning his attention to Eclair.

" After the Shadow Demon's death, there were rumors circulating among the noble circles and around the country that he had left behind an heir...somebody who would one day rise and take up the mantle of the Shadow Demon. When that day comes, nobles will cower in their homes again, the heavens will weep, darkness will reign and Melromarc will have a new ruler." Eclair said with graveness in her tone. " I always thought it was just common superstition among the nobility, scary stories for nobles to tell their children at night...but if they are true than we may be facing an even graver threat "

" He yelled 'Long Live the Shadow Heir' before he died..." Nina mused " You don't think Ash was talking about the Hound Lord, did you?"

" Its possible. There have been reports that the Hound Lord uses black magic to fight " Alice nodded.

" He does use Black Magic to fight, I've witnessed it myself and it is...unlike anything I've ever seen before " Eclair said as if remembering a bad memory.

" So this Hound Lord might actually be the Shadow Heir?" Itsuki asked out loud.

" Seems likely." Clarissa shrugged.

The atmosphere of the room changed a bit, now being a bit more tense. Some of the faces in the room turned to worry at the idea of facing down the possible second coming of the Shadow Demon and Naofumi couldn't blame since he was among those worried faces for just about the same reasons but with more context. He has seen what Mein is capable of doing with her Mark, he's seen her skills, imagining that kind of power in the hands of a guy like the Hound Lord? Does not make him feel better.

" So what's the plan now?" Naofumi asked to break the silence.

Itsuki put a hand to his chin in thought "We stick to the original plan. We take out more suspected bandit hideouts until somebody gives up the Hound Lord, that Ash couldn't have been the only one who knew where he was " Itsuki said firmly " Even if we don't find the bastard, he'll eventually have to come out of whatever hole he's hiding in to face us directly or risk looking weak in front of the rest of his lackies "

" Weakening our enemy's forces is a sound strategy Bow Hero " Eclair agreed.

" Alright, I think we're done here. We can work out which bandit hideouts we can hit later, but for now this meeting is over " Itsuki finished the meeting just like that.

So they ARE going the Far Cry sandbox route of taking down mini-bosses until the big guy shows himself.

Naofumi thought in silent amusement as they all slowly left the room, Naofumi noticed Mein hadn't left the chair just yet and he was about to ask her what was wrong-

It was at that moment that Naofumi noticed something just before Mein got out of her chair...

Why were Mein's hands shaking?

The flashback at the start of the chapter is going the first in a series of flashbacks in the chapters to come regarding the 'Slaughter of Melromarc' and Malty's time with Thomas. And I hope its a good way to demonstrate just how much of a psycho murderer Thomas was at the time, while he does genuinely care about Malty to try and teach her some good morals, that doesn't stop him from going to extreme lengths to protect her by literally targeting her friend's noble families. Sure, the Amelia's and Consevatie family aren't exactly angels...but you can't say the same for the Claes, Seatto and Noches.

I hope this chapter was a good way to show Malty's personality a bit more and her past...alongside the bandit at the end there recognizing her from the raid on the Valliere estate. The fact that it genuinely shook her up should tell you everything you need to know.

Now let's answer some reviews shall we?

To EXCUBITORE:

In a sense, you were kinda right that Itsuki was trying to get Malty to open up by putting her in an environment where she would feel right at home. It might be subtle but Itsuki was mining for information on Mein in more ways than one by building up a psychological profile of her and learning a bit more about her past.

To Caspian123:

Malty is definitely the most honest politician in the story thus far, that's probably because she's a lot less politically minded compared to Ambition Malty and thinks more like an assassin. She's actually a pretty genuine person in that if you show her friendship than she'll recuperate it. Malty may have a heart of a killer, but hurting an honor bound person like Eclair, even if she is telling the truth definitely gets her in her soft spot that was left by the time she dated Jaune.

Malty's decision not to tell Naofumi the truth about her identity is definitely going to bite her in the butt eventually. In more ways than one.

To jimwilliamsart:

Thank you so much for saying that, I'm glad you're liking the story so far. My goal from the start was definitely to make Malty more understandable and someone you can emphathize with.

That moment might be coming sooner than you think.

:)

To Kamen Rider Sentry:

Jaune Arc is already in the story, he's one of Malty's former love interests, though he's only appeared in Interlude 4.

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

Angel Out.