Heroes, Blunders and Hot Springs

Near the Northern Territory of Melromarc: Afternoon

"Thank you three again for your help in delivering this," said an old merchant in blue robes and a hat as he examined the jewel they'd just given him, "It really is a boon to our business to have someone capable of flying items over on short notice."

"Heroes got to eat too," said Darius as he accepted the payment for the delivery. Through a slight mix up, the merchant had forgotten to bring the item with him, so the accessories seller had requested aid from the Armory Hero's group for a rush delivery, something they'd gotten exceedingly good at. "By the way, what's the current situation like up in this part of the kingdom?"

"Well there isn't any calamities going on at the moment if that's what you mean," replied the Merchant, "But there has been word of an increase in refugee activity as of late coming from the country just across the border. Requests for relief supplies have also increased greatly in the last few days."

"What in the world could cause something like that?" Questioned Rifana, who was sharpening the edges on her mace.

"Well I only know what I've heard," said the merchant as he lowered his voice, "But word has it that the king was overthrown recently by a resistance who were unhappy with the high taxes which had been levied. But what makes it hard to believe entirely is that there are wild rumors about someone wielding a powerful bow who helped them."

"Itsuki," said Darius with a hand on his chin, "but why would he be all the way up in another country?"

"As I said they're mostly just wild rumors I've heard through the grapevine," said the Merchant as he turned to take his leave, "But if you are looking for work up here, I'd suggest keeping away from the border. It's been hard to trade there recently." He said no more as he walked off, leaving the group deep in thought, well except for Johann who was currently stuffing his face with the meat they'd had as part of their lunch.

"What are you thinking Darius," questioned Rifana after flicking Johann on the head to make him eat slower.

"It might be worth checking out just to see if we can't confirm what Itsuki's been up to this whole time," said Darius, "But on the other hand, we might get mixed up in a possible international incident if we run into trouble at the border. Either way it'd probably be best to talk it over with Naofumi and see if we shouldn't head up there next."

"The more heroes the better I suppose," said Rifana, not really sure what they should do with the new information either.

"Why do we keep hanging around the Shield Hero anyway?" Questioned Johann as he finished his food, "I mean sure, he's let you copy all of the shields he's gotten so far and I know he'll be fighting alongside us during the wave, but that's about it."

"Are you bringing this up because you don't want to be in the same room with Filo again," said Rifana with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it's not just that stupid Filolial-ow," Johann said before being flicked on the head by Darius next, "It just seems like we waste a lot of time flying all the way back to wherever he's at just to do a day or so worth of business with him then we split up again. But there are three other cardinal heroes you could be meeting with to copy their abilities and to do some 'actual' heroic quests."

"We do go monster hunting," The Armory Hero pointed out, "I think you can count those as quests. Also, do you really want to meet the Spear Hero and his royal cheerleader again?"

"Okay I'll give you that one, Spear Guy sucks," said Johann, "But the Bow Hero and the Sword Hero are both out there doing actual hero deeds while we're busy trying to make ends meat doing small time jobs with 'the savior of the heavenly fowl.'"

"Those small time jobs pay for all the food you scarf down," said Rifana with her arms crossed, "And the Shield Hero also saved my best friend from death as a slave, so you'd better watch what you say about him." The dragon boy frowned at this and looked to Darius, likely hoping for a different answer.

"We hang around with Naofumi because most anyone else wouldn't," explained the Armory Hero, "And the reason most others don't is that the king of this country has had it out for him since he got here. He was clearly framed for a crime he didn't commit and that has left him with very few people he can call his allies, which is why he needs all the friends he can get. So to answer your question, we stick around with the Shield Hero because it's the right thing to do, even if everyone else thinks otherwise because that's what a hero does. We stand up for what we know to be right when no one else will and we help others in need if we can. Just because we're not fighting village destroying beasts or tearing through waves upon waves of enemy soldiers doesn't mean we aren't doing anything heroic."

"So I guess that means the Shield Hero would be lost without us," said Johann as he put his hands behind his head with a smirk, "Yeah I think that makes sense."

"That's not what I'm saying," said the Armory Hero, "as I've told you before the Shield Hero is part of the four cardinal heroes who are normally called, meaning he has the potential to be just as powerful as the other three. We need each other if we're going to survive in this world."

"I guess if you say so," sighed Johann as they continued walking, now in relative silence. It didn't last long, though, as Rifana's ears suddenly picked up a soft sound coming from a nearby alley.

"Do you guys hear that?" Questioned the weasel girl as she turned her head to look down the alley. The Armory Hero and the dragon boy peeked down where she was indicating and noticed someone apparently trembling in the shadows. It was a girl with dark hair dressed in a rather scanty dress with a short skirt and short sleeves, making it relatively obvious what her profession probably was.

"Is it really you," she said with a voice that was filled with half hope and half dread, "are you the one the rumors are about?"

"You'll have to be a bit more specific," said Darius as he knelt down to her level, "there are a lot of rumors going around about us lately."

"The Merciful Dragon Knight," she said, "you're wearing light armor and a white scarf cape. You match the description perfectly."

"I don't know about knight," said Darius before pointing a thumb at Johann, "But I do ride around on a dragon. Though the real question here is how did you wind up in this alley in the first place and what would you need a dragon knight for?"

"Well first, I should probably tell you my name," she said, "I'm Rino and until about a month and a half ago, I was an adventurer."

"It didn't work out by the looks of it," said Rifana as she indicated the slave crest on Rino's chest, "Did you pick a fight with a powerful nobleman."

"No," she said, "I was actually invited to be a member of the Spear Hero's party."

"Motoyasu's party," said Darius with a good bit of surprise in his voice, "But that guy was acting like slavery is the last thing a hero should be involved in, are you telling me he sold you?!"

"It wasn't Sir Motoyasu," replied Rino, "It was his party member Myne who tricked me. I called attention to the fact that neither she nor any of the Spear Hero's other party members actually helped him. They were content to stand by and simply cheer him on while he did all the fighting. I actually tried to help, but Myne felt threatened or simply didn't want to face the truth, so she tricked me and sold into me slavery. The next time I saw the Spear Hero, I tried calling out to him but he acted like he didn't recognize me or even hear me."

Tears had been welling up the entire time she spoke and as she finished the last part of her story, she broke down. Rifana was quick to console her with a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What do you think Darius," asked the weasel girl in a neutral but dangerous tone.

"I take it you've been ordered not to lie," said Darius. Rino responded with a quick nod of her head. "Have you told anyone else about what happened?"

"Even if I did, everyone would assume the princess had a good reason for selling me or wouldn't believe that I was part of the Spear Hero's party in the first place," said Rino, "The only reason I thought you might listen to me is because all of the rumors say you're a good soul."

"Well I at least know the truth about that royal bitch, and since you've got that crest, we've got no reason to doubt anything you've said." The Armory Hero then conjured a small bottle in his hand with a purple liquid inside.

"Is that what I think it is?" Questioned Rifana with a hopeful look on her face.

"The solvent for slave crests," explained Darius as he pulled the top off, "I nicked some when the slave merchant, Beloukas, wasn't looking. Figured he wouldn't notice given that he's usually applying crests instead of removing them." He then held the bottle over Rino's crest and let a large drop fall. Like with Raphtalia's original crest, this one glowed for a moment before fading completely.

"It's gone," said Rino as more tears came to her eyes. She launched herself at Darius then and hugged his midsection, clearly overjoyed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you Sir Knight!"

"I'm not really a knight, per se," corrected Darius as he patted her head gently, "just the Armory Hero."

"Knight or hero I don't care," she said with a smile, "You've freed me and I-."

"WHAT'S GOING ON OVER HERE!" Snarled a thin man dressed in loose fitting robes with a round cap that had a feather in it. Darius stood and helped Rino to her feet before answering.

"Just solving a little problem that's all," said the Armory Hero, "I take it you're the previous owner?"

"Previous, I'm the current owner you-CRACK!" He didn't finish his sentence as Rino had moved surprisingly quickly from her spot next to Darius and slammed her fist into the man's nose, likely breaking it.

"I am an adventurer!" She yelled as she threw another punch across the slave owner's jaw, "And I'm done with letting others get the best of me so easily! I let myself be swayed by a flirtatious guy and then let myself get tricked by people I knew were no good! But I'm free now and you won't use me as a harlot anymore!" She kept hitting the man as she said all of this, knocking him into the ground where his blood was now creating a small puddle.

"Oh don't just stand there you nitwits, help me!" The man called back to Darius's group as he tried to get the enraged girl off of him.

"Rifana," said Darius as he took up a spot next to the alley entrance, "Make sure that guy doesn't get away." The weasel girl nodded with a mischievous smile before heading over to Rino and blocking the other end of the alley. As for Johann and the Armory Hero, they stood watch at the entrance, making a show of sharpening their weapons to ward off anyone curious about the yelling until it finally faded. Shortly after that, Rifana guided a now tired Rino over to them, doing her best to clean the blood off of the girl's hands.

"Thank you again," said Rino between breaths, "the only reason he was able to keep me from escaping was because of that crest."

"Do we need to clean up the body?" Questioned Darius with a neutral tone. The former slave's outburst was a bit unexpected to him but not necessarily unwelcome, especially when he considered that he'd likely have done the same thing in her position.

"I stopped just before killing him," said Rino, "His face will never be the same again, but he'll live."

"None of us will object to finishing him off," said Johann with his hands behind his head, "And besides, getting eaten by a dragon isn't an unheard of way to die, especially when you're stupid enough to mess with a dragon knight."

"Thank you but no," said Rino with a shake of her head, "He did buy me and put me through a good bit of misery, but he wasn't the one responsible for selling me in the first place. Those girls in the Spear Hero's party are the ones to blame for what happened to me, and my own gullibility."

"Well you're free now," said Rifana, "What do you feel like doing next?"

"I need to get home," she said, "even while I was adventuring I kept in contact with my family, so they're likely worried sick. But I'm not sure where to start in getting the supplies I need."

"Well as it so happens," said Darius, "I might know a couple of people with some spare items and supplies. As for travel, well Johann here doesn't take much issue in carrying a third person for a bit, do you?"

"I mean she doesn't look like she weighs a lot, so why not," said the dragon boy with a shrug, before getting knocked on the head. "Ow, what'd I do now?"

"You don't talk about a girl's weight like that," said Rifana with a huff as she crossed her arms.

"Hey boss," whispered Johann, "why are girls always so crazy?"

"It's just one of life's great mysteries," Darius whispered back before getting a notification on his HUD. It was a communication request from Naofumi. "What's going on?"

"You know that village we were tasked with bringing a bunch of herbicide too?" Said the Shield Hero.

"I remember you needed a lot of it to deal with some type of infestation," replied the Armory Hero.

"Well it's a lot worse than we thought," he said, "We got plant monsters roaming around and the whole area is covered in vines. Filo, Raphtalia and I managed to kill the main monster but it really took it out of us. Do you think you could fly over and give the area some burn treatment?"

"We'll need to grab some supplies first," said Darius, "But if we move quickly we might be able to make it to where you're at by late night or very early morning. You see we just picked up a new passenger and it's already late afternoon."

"Just get here when you can," said Naofumi, "Filo and Rapthalia are keeping watch currently and I need to sleep, so I'll talk to you again when you get here."

"Sounds good," said Darius as the communication cut out. "Well it looks like we're going to have to make a detour."

"Is everything okay?" Questioned Rifana with a hint of concern in her voice.

"We got some plant monsters to burn," replied Darius, "But first we need to get Rino fixed up."

"Please, you've already done enough," said Rino, "I should be able to make it home on my own now."

"Not without some money and decent clothing," Darius pointed out, "And besides, we might be heading towards your home anyway, so why not come along for a bit." The adventurer still looked a little unsure, but eventually she nodded her head in agreement and they proceeded to the nearest clothing store.

Southwest Village: Early the Next Day

Naofumi had been enjoying a relatively good sleep, until the smell of something burning and a good bit of commotion caused him to wake up. "I knew they'd make it here early," said the Shield Hero as he rubbed his head, "But not this early." As he walked out of his tent, the Shield Hero noticed the sun hadn't even risen, but there was more than enough light outside of the village as a blue blaze ate away at the vines and plant monsters surrounding the village. After a moment of searching, he found Raphtalia and Filo who were standing near the village gate watching everything unfold.

"Oh, Master Naofumi," said Raphtalia as she noticed the Shield Hero, "Rifana and the others showed up just a little while ago. They've already gotten to work burning all of the vines that aren't attached to buildings."

"They didn't just fly in and start throwing flames all over the place did they?" Questioned Naofumi as he rubbed his eyes a bit.

"Actually they started by cutting all of the vines which were attached to any living structures," explained Raphtalia, "Then Rifana used earth magic to dig trenches or raise dirt walls to corral the flames. So now that the fire's going, it should burn back into itself until there's nothing left to burn." As she explained all of this, Darius and Johann came flying by to unleash another volley of flame attacks on some of the vines which hadn't caught fire yet.

"He did remember to tell everyone that this isn't a dragon attack right?" Questioned The Shield Hero, "Because I do not want to deal with another headache from a clumsy hero this morning."

"Well he made an announcement when he landed," said a dark-haired girl who'd been standing next to Raphtalia, "Rifana and I also spread the message for anyone who was still asleep when we arrived to avoid panic. He's even doing a few aerial acrobatics to amuse the children."

"Good enough I guess," said Naofumi as he pulled out some seeds and switched to his new mandragora shield, "Just so long as he doesn't burn down anything he shouldn't."

"He won't," said the girl, "He's far more responsible than the last hero I traveled with. By chance, are you the Shield Hero?"

"What about it?" asked Naofumi as he continued making adjustments to the seed from a menu produced by his shield.

"You just seem different from what everyone else says about you, though that's nothing new for me I suppose," remarked the girl as Johann suddenly landed in the center of the village.

"Alright," said Darius before hopping off of the dragon mount, "that should take care of all the vines and plant monsters blocking the streets and going down the hillsides, but you're still gonna need to clear the vines off of your homes by hand."

"That won't prove a problem now that all the dangerous creatures are gone," said the village chief, an older man with a short grey beard, as he bowed. "Thank you both, I had no idea the Savior of the Heavenly Fowl and the Merciful Dragon Knight worked together."

"Well the working title is actually 'Armory Hero,'" said Darius, "But I suppose I can't really complain about the other title."

"So that must mean that you are indeed the Shield Hero," said the Village Chief to Naofumi.

"It doesn't really matter either way, does it," said Naofumi as he made more adjustments to the seed he had.

"What happened here anyway?" Questioned Darius, "I'm no gardener but even I know these vines didn't grow naturally."

"What happened is Motoyasu can't read," said Naofumi, "this plant golem we've had to exterminate came from the same temple we visited not too long ago. You know the one that used to house a dangerous alchemist. Turns out it had a cursed seed in a maze with a very clear warning sign right next to it. Bet you anything it was that royal cunt's idea to take the seed and use it here."

"It was," said the dark-haired girl, "the temple was where they were headed when I was sold into slavery."

"Sorry, who are you exactly?" Questioned Naofumi as he finally looked up from what he was doing. The dark-haired girl was wearing a light red outfit with a combat skirt, long brown boots and gloves which went past her wrists.

"Oh right," said Darius as he put a hand on her shoulder, "This is Rino. We recently freed her from her slave owner after running into her in an alley. She's an adventurer who traveled with Motoyasu's party."

"Recently freed," repeated Naofumi before putting two and two together, "Wait, are you saying his party sold you into slavery?!"

"Motoyasu had no idea," said Rino as she explained what happened to her. Needless to say, neither Raphtalia nor the Shield Hero liked what they heard.

"So she can't even stand having party members that question her," said the Shield Hero, "And here I thought she just had a problem with me."

"It's just best to assume she's deranged at this point," said Darius, "And that she's got no actual interest in solving the kingdom's problems."

"Well at least we can clean up one mess," said Naofumi as he used his shield on the seed he'd just buried. In a matter of one to two minutes, a small tree had sprouted from the ground and was already bearing delicious-looking red fruit.

"Oh those look so tasty," said a drooling Filo before Johann pushed her aside.

"And it seems only right that the best worker get some," said the dragon boy with a smirk. He was quickly pushed back by an irritated Filo.

"You just burnt up a bunch of vines," argued Filo, "I actually helped kill the big monster and picked up the seeds!"

"But who was it that needed us to show up to finish the job!" Said Johann as the two monster children began pushing and pulling on the other, "I burnt up way more plant monsters then you did and that was after carrying three people a long distance in just a few hours!"

"I pulled a wagon with two people and a whole lot of full crates! It definitely weighed more than three people!" A pair of chains suddenly erupted from the ground to restrain them, courtesy of Darius, as Naofumi gave them both an irritated glare.

"If you don't settle down neither of you will be getting any," said the Shield Hero sternly before turning to address the villagers. "Anyway, I managed to reduce the potential for breeding and mutation on this plant while maximizing growth and productivity. In short, your village shouldn't have to worry about famine anymore."

"You have our everlasting gratitude sir heroes," said the village chief, "Not only did you spare us from disaster but you've given us a wonderful gift as well."

"I never said I was just giving this to you," remarked Naofumi, "I'll give you the seeds but only for the right price."

"Naofumi," said Darius with his arms crossed, "Now's not the time to be thinking about business."

"The villagers already paid us what little they had left for the extermination," added Raphtalia, "there's no money left to buy any of these."

"It's true, we have nothing left of value," said the disheartened village chief.

"Well you'd best get looking if you want anym-." The Shield Hero was interrupted by a pouch of coins being tossed to him.

"You have got to stop this 'I'm not a nice guy' act at some point," said Darius, "It's starting to grate on my nerves."

"I never said you had to pay for these Darius," said Naofumi with a frown.

"I'm only giving half the seeds I'm purchasing to the villagers here," explained Darius, "I've heard word that there's a need for relief supplies up North. As for the rest of the seeds, I think the villagers would be willing to part with a little excess fruit that would undoubtedly sell on the market."

"He does have a point," said the village chief with a hand on his chin, "What would you say to exchanging some of your seeds for our fruit?" The Shield Hero made a show of thinking about it for a moment.

Hot Springs Town: The Next Day

In the end, Naofumi was able to walk away with a small payday and a mass of the new fruit and seeds he'd created. As luck would have it, the specimens did fetch a good price after the accessories seller, Hickwaal, got a good look at them and purchased the entire stock. Though the pay on that was split between Darius and Naofumi as they were technically business partners and the Armory Hero said it offset the cost of the Shield Hero being 'unnecessarily dickish' this time around. Hickwaal had then offered them another job for transporting some goods to an Inn at a hot springs town.

Darius wanted to give the job to Naofumi as he felt it was best to head back up North as soon as possible, but was quickly outvoted by Rifana and Johann when they heard the part about hot springs. Naofumi's group were also delighted by the idea of spending the night in a hot springs town once they got a good look at it. Which is how Darius found himself soaking in a large natural spring with a swimming dragon boy and the Shield Hero. "You know of all the things I expected to find in this world, a hot springs town wasn't one of them," said Naofumi.

"I often forget these things are big in Japan," remarked Darius, "And I suppose I can see why. Nothing like some hot tub temperature water to loosen the muscles a bit."

"I didn't think there was water I'd actually enjoy being in," cheered Johann as he happily swam from one end of the spring to the other.

"You're supposed to relax in these things not zip around in the water!" called Darius, getting an 'aw man' out of the dragon boy.

"So they don't have springs like this in your version of America?" Questioned Naofumi.

"Not a lot of natural springs, no," replied Darius as he leaned against the side, "the ones we do have are few and far between and so hot that they'd boil you alive long before you could relax. Not to mention it's something of a cultural difference as well, no indecent exposure and all that."

"Speaking of cultural differences, what's it like living with a bunch of drones watching your every move?" Asked the Shield Hero.

"Well to put it simply," said Darius, "No one can make fun of you for being a shut in because everyone's a shut in to one degree or another in a police state. Or at least it was a police state in everything but name. Despite that the number of false accusations was surprisingly low, so it was also kind of an 'us against them' scenario."

"No one wants to draw attention to themselves," mused Naofumi, "that's hard to imagine. Where I come from is pretty much a regular modern city with the usual ups and downs, nothing too exciting really."

"Well when you think about it, neither of us was that exciting until we came here," the Armory Hero pointed out, "now we're businessmen, adventurers and heroes in a kingdom that hates our guts."

"That reminds me," said Naofumi, "Rifana told Rapthtalia about how you freed Rino. Did you know she wouldn't kill her slave owner?"

"It wasn't really a matter of knowing if she would or wouldn't," said Darius, "I freed her and she took that chance to strike back at the one abusing her. Another dead slave owner wouldn't have lost me any sleep, just like I haven't lost sleep after watching Rifana stab that nobleman to death."

"And you gave me crap about charging those villagers for the seeds I made," said Naofumi.

"Because they made a simple mistake in trusting a hero instead of fact checking where he got that seed," explained Darius, "they more than paid for that mistake with the infestation we cleared up. So it seemed a bit excessive to be charging them after they'd suffered through so much already, especially when we consider that you spared a bunch of bandits who threatened you and your party's lives."

"They paid for their lives with all they had," said Naofumi, "It was more beneficial that way."

"Granted," said Darius, "but the guards still might have let them out after they mentioned being captured by the Shield Hero. In my opinion it would've been more beneficial in the long run to simply end them. That's the policy me and Rifana have been going with up to this point when it comes to extra-nasty bandits."

"And people think you're the nicer out of the two of us," remarked Naofumi with a raised eyebrow. "Is Rifana really okay with ending lives like that?"

"Need I remind you that her and Raphtalia both were imprisoned and tortured by a racist piece of shit nobleman," said Darius, "and that this is a medieval society where people like that are answerable only to the crown, you know the same one that's been giving you the smear treatment. I've never forced her to kill anyone. She's always used her own judgement before taking a life and that same judgement is what she's going to have to rely on when the both of us are gone."

"I suppose you got something of a point," admitted the Shield Hero, "Once all the waves are done, we'll be heading back to our worlds and they'll need to get along without us."

"I'm not saying my approach is the best," said Darius, "it's very possible I'll end the wrong piece of shit and it'll wind up being the end of me later on. But when you can't rely on those in power to dispense justice fairly, what else can you do?"

"Be your own hero," suggested Naofumi with a shrug before the two fell into a short but comfortable silence.

"But on to a lighter subject," said Darius after a moment, "what do you think the girls are talking about over there?"

"How would I know," said the Shield Hero with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh like you haven't thought about what Raphtalia's doing while she's in one of these things," said Darius with a smirk.

"She's doing the same thing we're doing," said Naofumi, "what's there to think about?"

"Well let's see," said Darius as he counted off on his fingers, "she's an animal girl, which I don't think I need to remind you is a dream for many Otaku like us, she's well-proportioned and given that this is a medieval-like society, probably legal, at least in a physical sense."

"You'd best not be thinking about hitting on her," growled Naofumi with an odd hostility.

"Oh right, she's like your daughter," said Darius, "In which case, can I have permission to hit on her, Dad."

"No dude," said Naofumi, "You just finished saying we won't be around and now you're talking about hitting on her."

"There's no rule that we can't be friends with benefits until then," Darius replied while quirking his eyebrows. "Besides, you're not gonna hit on her."

"You're freakin' unbelievable, you know that." Said Naofumi with a frown. Darius's only response was him breaking into a fit of laughter.

While this was going on, the girls were having a conversation of their own, though it was a lot less serious. Filo was splashing around happily while Rino, Raphtalia and Rifana soaked peacefully and discussed what was on their minds.

"So what's the deal with you and Filo lately," whispered Rifana, "You two have been arguing over all kinds of little issues lately."

"It's nothing," said Rapthalia, "she's just been so clingy with Master Naofumi lately and she's acting spoiled because of it."

"Is that the real problem?" Questioned Rifana with a knowing look, "Or are you possibly just the slightest bit jealous?"

"I AM NOT!" exclaimed Rapthtalia as she stood up, splashing water everywhere while her face flushed red from an entirely different source than the hot springs.

"Uh huh," said Rifana with a smug look on her face, "I remember you once said something about marrying the Shield Hero one day."

"I remember you said something like that yourself," said Raphtalia as she sat back down in the water.

"True, but now that I've actually met all of the heroes, well," Rifana said with a hand to her chin, "They seem a lot less romantic than the stories make them out to be."

"This coming from the girl who was always talking about boys and romance," remarked Raphtalia, "And here I thought you had a special place in your heart for Darius."

"Maybe I do," said Rifana as she thought about it for a bit, "Unless you're telling me that you've actually got your eyes on him."

"W-what, no," exclaimed Raphtalia, "I mean he's nice and a really great guy but-."

"But he's not Naofumi," finished Rifana, "I've known you long enough to know when something's on your mind. Why don't I tell you a little secret," the weasel girl whispered the story of the springs she'd read about earlier to Raphtalia.

"R-really success in love!" exclaimed the raccoon girl, "that means if Naofumi and I-wait I didn't mean!"

"Uh huh," said Rifana triumphantly, "that's what I thought. But just to be fair, I will tell you another little secret. I actually do kind of like Darius." Raphtalia blinked a few times in response to this, not really sure what to say.

"You do, but then why haven't you, ya know," questioned the confused raccoon girl.

"Because I doubt he'd like me back, in that way," said Rifana with a slight slump to her shoulders, "thanks to him I've become stronger and more confident in myself than I've ever been, I'm an actual warrior now. But in becoming that, I don't really feel like I'm an ideal woman anymore."

"Why would you think that?" Questioned Raphtalia, surprised to hear this from her formerly romantic friend.

"I use a mace Raphtalia," replied the weasel girl, "I've beaten up men twice my size and made it clear I don't like being hit on by creeps. The thought of actually wearing a dress seems ridiculous to me now and on top of that, the first thing Darius ever saw me do was stab a man to death. I'm probably the furthest thing from a fair maiden in most people's eyes. I might be Darius's partner, but I'm not a life partner."

Raphtalia couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was her romantically-minded friend actually giving up on romance? No, there had to be a way to fix this for the both of them. "Rifana," she said, "let's just think about this for a moment. My Mother married my Dad after he gave her a gift, right?"

"Yes, but I don't see how that helps us here," said Rifana, "We'd have to come up with a pretty spectacular gift to get their thick-headed attention, especially Naofumi's."

"I know just the thing," said Raphtalia, "I overheard some of the other guests at the Inn mention a little substance called Lachium. It can actually be found nearby, but we'll need to wait until everyone's gone to sleep to go looking for it." Now Rifana couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was her goody two-shoes friend who barely understood the concept of getting in trouble at one point, suggesting they sneak out to do this. Guess she wasn't the only one who's changed a bit.

"Where do we need to go?" Asked Rifana before they were interrupted by Rino yelling for some help washing Filo's hair.

Hot Springs Town Mountainside: That Night

"So if I'm understanding this correctly," said Rifana as she and Raphtalia walked along a mountain path just outside of the town, "this Lachium stuff you heard about is collected by a Gaggoko bird and if we find the nest, we find the Lachium."

"That's what I've heard," said Raphtalia, "a number of the birds roost outside of the town, so it shouldn't be too hard to find."

"In theory," said Rifana, "though I'm not entirely sure how a stone is supposed to be a good gift for someone."

"Well according to legend," explained Raphtalia, "Lachium can be made into a charm which can make one very successful in love when given as a gift."

"We make love charms out of them?" Questioned Rifana, "Assuming that works, wouldn't it kind of be cheating in a way?"

"It's a way for us to express our true feelings," said Raphtalia, "I'm certain that even if it doesn't work they'll understand and then we can-well we'll have to do something besides kiss, because otherwise we'll get pregnant!" The raccoon girl had become incredibly flushed as she mentioned this last part.

"You still believe that," laughed Rifana, "demi-humans may grow fast but we don't get pregnant from just kissing."

"W-we don't," said Raphtalia in slight disbelief, "You mean I could've been kissing Master Naofumi this whole time?!"

"Sorry, I thought someone would've told you by now," said Rifana, "that's just something my Mother tried to tell me so I wouldn't go around kissing any boy that was nice to me. I never realized you took it so seriously."

"So it's okay for me and Master Naofumi too-," Raphtalia stuttered out until another voice interrupted her.

"What's this about master," said Filo. The little Filolial had been listening to part of the conversation while sitting on a small boulder. Neither of them had noticed because of the certain subject they'd just been discussing.

"F-Filo, why are you up here?!" Asked Raphtalia in a slightly panicked voice.

"The same reason as you two," said Filo, "for the eggs."

"Eggs?" repeated Rifana, "Are you talking about the eggs of a Gaggoko bird?"

"Sure am," said Filo, "I was told by the old man at the Inn that Gaggoko eggs are a rare delicacy."

"Oh so that's all-," Raphtalia was about to say until Filo mentioned the next part.

"I'm certain master will like me even more if I bring him some of the eggs," said Filo, "He'll pet me and brush my hair and maybe he'll even become my mate for life!"

"M-mate," stammered Raphtalia, "as in marriage?" 'I didn't know she had actually planned so far ahead!'

"I doubt there'll be enough to share though, so bye!" said Filo excitedly as she took off down the mountain trail.

"Hey wait up!" exclaimed Raphtalia as she raced after Filo with Rifana close behind. 'So this is what all the fuss is about,' thought the weasel girl, 'Raphtalia thinks she needs to be in competition with a Filolial that's not even a full month old for the Shield Hero's affection!' She'd always heard that love could make people do crazy things, but something about all of this just seemed, well, stupid. Regardless, the weasel girl still found herself racing behind Raphtalia in an attempt to catch up to the winged girl.

"Ha ha, Raphtalia's a slow poke," sang Filo as she turned around and ran backwards for a moment. But this also meant she wasn't watching her footing or what was behind her.

"Filo look out!" exclaimed Raphtalia as the blond girl landed on the ground and stepped backward, right off of a cliff. The little girl let out a cry of surprise as her raccoon companion managed to cross the short distance and grab a hold of her hand. But, she leaned too far forward and would've fallen over the cliff herself if not for Rifana grabbing her and pulling them both back with her considerable strength. The end result was the three of them landing in a groaning heap on the ground.

"Ow," said Filo, "are you okay Raphtalia?" Her raccoon-eared friend took a moment to rub her tail before answering.

"I landed on my tail," she replied, "But other than that I'm alright."

"Well since you two are alright, could you both get off of me," said Rifana.

"Oh, sorry," said Raphtalia as they helped the weasel girl to her feet. Unbeknownst to them, however, their little save at the cliff caused some of the stones to fall off and land in the eye of a rather nasty sleeping boar monster. But they figured it out soon enough when the large creature began snorting.

"Uh, what's that," said Filo as they noticed the angry creature.

"Something we should be running from!" Exclaimed Rifana as the three of them turned tail and fled up a different trail. This didn't deter the surprisingly mobile creature, however, as it charged up the cliff side after them.

The trio ran for several yards from the charging boar as they moved farther and farther up the trail before arriving at another problem. Some of the trail was missing, leaving a massive drop in front of them while an angry boar larger than a ground dragon was gaining on them from behind. "Raphtalia, Rifana," said Filo as she switched into her Filolial form, "grab on quick!" The demi-human girls didn't need any encouragement as they leapt onto her back and held on tight. The bird girl jumped the gap with all of her might and just managed to clear the gap.

The pursuing giant boar stopped short on the other side, snorting angrily at its escaped prey. "Well that was kinda scary," commented Filo as she switched back to her child form.

"Yeah, but I guess it does make us even now," said Raphtalia as she helped the bird girl to her feet.

"And I got more good news," said Rifana as she stared at something in the distance, "Does that look like our bird?" Filo and Raphtalia looked where she was pointing to see a bird almost as large as Filo's Filolial form sitting in a giant nest. It had brown feathers with a red stomach and green markings on its head with a short, round beak. Any doubts as to its identity were put to rest by the rising sun glinting off of a shiny stone sticking out of the nest.

"That has to be it, let's go," said Raphtalia as the three of them slid down the hill before dropping to their stomachs.

"Yummy eggs, yummy eggs," whispered Filo as the three of them crawled along the ground towards the large avian creature. The Gaggoko glanced at them lazily as Raphtalia reached for the Lachium before suddenly flapping its wings frantically.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to scare you," said Raphtalia, "I just need that little stone in your nest."

"Uh Raphtalia, it's not squawking at us," said Rifana as the other two looked behind them. Some way, somehow the giant boar from earlier had found a way around and followed them all the way to the Gaggoko's nest. The snorting beast charged at its prey once again as everyone rolled out of the way while the bird took flight. The boar's charge was not without casualties, however, as it tore through the nest, destroying all of the eggs and sending the glinting stone flying.

"No, the Lachium!" exclaimed Raphtalia as she reached toward the sky. Meanwhile Filo was mourning the now ruined eggs. Rifana simply dusted herself off in a huff as the boar readied to charge them again.

"Alright, are either of you as fed up with this as I am," said Rifana as she pulled out her mace and shot a menacing glare at the boar.

"Yes," both Filo and Raphtalia answered as they also glared daggers at the boar. Shortly after that, it was the boar who was running and it didn't make it very far in the end.

Hot Springs Town: Later That Morning

Despite searching the rest of the area, they couldn't find any other nests or the Lachium which had been sent flying. So, to avoid coming back empty handed, they agreed to carry the boar back into the town with them. "I guess this is what we get for trying to force things instead of letting them happen naturally," said Rifana as they walked down a set of stone steps.

"Well maybe we can still make a good meal for Naofumi and Darius out of this," said Raphtalia, "It's not what we'd hoped for, but Mom always said it's the thought that counts."

"Hey you three!" said a couple of the townsfolk as they came rushing over. One was wearing a green shirt while the other had a brown shirt, "You wouldn't happen to be carrying a silver razorback there with you?"

"You mean like the boar mentioned on the fountain?" Questioned Rifana.

"Yes, they're very valuable because we often use them in our town rituals," explained the man in the green shirt, "Would you be willing to give it to us?"

"We'll pay really good money for it, so please," begged the man in the brown shirt.

"You'll give us money for this," said Raphtalia as an idea formed in her mind. Rifana and Filo were on board as well as the trio all nodded in agreement.

The Boys Room at the Inn: Later

"What's the occasion for this," asked Naofumi as he looked at the small hammer Raphtalia and Filo had gifted to him.

"Well Filo and I thought it would help you out when you're crafting metals," explained the raccoon girl.

"I mean it will, but this looks like it was expensive," observed the Shield Hero as he examined the tool.

"It's our way of saying thanks for always taking care of us," said Raphtalia, "So even if it was a little pricey, it's the least we could do."

"It's the same for me," said Rifana as Darius examined the belt with pouches she'd gotten for him, "The white gem in that belt is supposed to provide a little extra mana and while you probably don't need it, those pouches can hold all kinds of other items."

"They provide a good aesthetic if nothing else," said the Armory Hero as he put the belt around his waist, "I'll make good use of it, so thank you Rifana." He patted her head then, causing her tail to wag a bit. Naofumi did the same with Filo and Raphtalia.

"Ah, where's my gift," whined Johann as he crossed his arms in disappointment.

"Tell you what," said Naofumi, "the four of you go take a dip in the hot springs. We'll handle packing up here."

"Oh thank you master!" exclaimed Filo as she gave Naofumi a hug before rushing off with Raphtalia close behind. Rifana and Johann glanced at Darius for a moment, who answered with a simple nod. The weasel girl gave him a quick hug before she and the dragon boy rushed down the hall after their friends.

"They can all be really cute when they want to be," noted Darius.

"I'm just glad Raphtalia and Filo seem to be getting along again," said Naofumi, "I still can't figure out what the problem was to begin with."

"Just remember to pat Raphtalia's head a little more often and it shouldn't happen again," suggested Darius.

"If you say so," said the Shield Hero, still not really understanding, "Anyway, we'd best get moving. That wagon isn't going to pack itself."

"Yep, back to work," said Darius as the two heroes began the process of gathering everything up.

The Three Heroes Church: That Night

Malty Melromarc was irritated, which wasn't anything technically new, but what was new was the source of her irritation. 'How dare they humiliate us,' thought the scheming princess as she rubbed the spot on her back where that despicable dragon had whipped her with its tail. Even after some magic healing treatments she could still see the outline on her back and feel a small bit of residual pain. 'It was supposed to be easy: summon only three of the heroes or, in the event the Shield Hero was summoned, destroy his reputation so that no one would party up with him. Yet somehow he'd not only found a strong party member but was being aided by a 'fifth' cardinal hero who showed up from out of nowhere with a party of his own!'

The royal gritted her teeth in frustration as she continued to tap her foot impatiently, the sound echoing throughout the halls of the church. Finally, one of the church mages wearing dark robes emerged from around the corner. "It took you long enough," said the princess with her arms crossed, "so did you find anything out or not?"

"As you know, many of the exploits of the Shield Hero were removed during the establishment of the Three Heroes Church, so it was difficult to pinpoint anything concrete," explained the mage, "However, our sources in Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden were able to acquire some information as to who this 'Armory Hero' actually is."

"Well spit it out already, is he a cardinal hero or isn't he," demanded Malty.

"The sources match what he told the other heroes," said the Church Mage, "There has indeed been an Armory Hero in the past but his appearances were few and far between. The original wasn't even a Cardinal Hero at first until he was bestowed the status by the other four heroes. This would explain why he is only summoned under certain conditions."

"And what sort of conditions have brought this one here?" Questioned Malty.

"We only have a working theory so far but it is also the most plausible at the moment," said the Mage, "about the same week the other cardinal heroes were summoned, one of our staunchest supporters, Idol Rabier, was reported killed at his mansion along with most of his guards."

"The scum did mention something about a noble pissing him off when he was threatening my father," said the princess with a hand to her chin, "but what does that have to do with how he got here?"

"The few remaining guards all reported that the massacre was caused by a mysterious magic weaver who was capable of summoning weapons at will," Said the Mage, "they also reported that he was found wandering down the road on foot the day before, but what was strange was that he seemed to have a limited knowledge of this world already."

"But how does that tell us anything about him that we don't already know?" Questioned Malty with mounting frustration.

"Because one week before we performed the ritual which summoned the Devil of the Shield with the other heroes, we attempted to summon only three of the heroes with a slightly different ritual."

"Yes I recall the attempt," said the princess, "I recall it being an absolute failure that did nothing other than create a light which shot off into the distance."

"But what if the ritual wasn't a failure," asked the Mage, "what if, in theory, the ritual succeeded in a way we did not anticipate? Given that there's much we don't know about the ancient magic used it's highly plausible that the Armory Hero was summoned by the first ritual in a different location in Melromarc, where he met the Filolial Queen and learned about this land."

"So in other words we have your botched ritual to thank for providing that shield wielding criminal with an ally," said Malty with even more irritation.

"We are already taking steps to insure his demise," said the mage, "it was our own error that brought him here and God in his mercy shall provide us with a way to destroy both him and the devil of the Shield."

"Just don't mess it up again," said Malty as she turned to leave. 'They'll both pay. Melromarc only needs three heroes and soon enough that's all that will be left.'

Wow, this one turned out surprisingly lengthy but it is here and hopefully you all enjoyed it. For those wondering, Darius's group will be splitting off from Naofumi's group for the next chapter or two, so don't worry too much about that. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as Darius's group gets into some nasty business up North and runs into an old friend. 'Til next time.