Armory of the Forgotten Hero

by Masked Spider

The legend goes that there are four cardinal heroes. But fact and fable are often twisted in the land of Melromarc, while others are left out completely. One such fact is that there is actually another hero, the Armory hero, who doesn't wield a primary weapon. But the world will soon remember as Darius Saxon is called to remind the people that there aren't four heroes, but five.

25. Council of Heroes and Fools

Council of Heroes and Fools

Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! But first, let's answer a quick guest review: To Gadget Boy: I have indeed taken these facts into consideration and I'm more than grateful you pointed them out to me in the first place. As for the other guest reviews, they can be answered with this simple statement: Read on to find out!

Outside the Now Renamed Five Heroes Church

The sun was slowly rising into the sky as Darius yawned while waiting on the steps of the cathedral. Thanks once again to Johann's dislike of anything Filolial-related, namely riding in a wagon pulled by one, the Armory Hero's party had to head out ahead of Naofumi's to insure they arrived at the location around the same time. While Darius had wanted to make the dragon boy carry them in exchange for not riding in the wagon, Rifana was quick to point out that it might draw a bit of attention if they rode a giant winged reptile in the streets. Not that attention was necessarily a bad thing, especially now that their names had been cleared in front of the kingdom, but it would've made the trek to the cathedral take all day if the two parties had to wade through a cheering crowd. So it was eventually decided that the Armory Hero's group would head out a little earlier and the Shield Hero's group would catch up.

Apparently, however, Naofumi was still feeling a bit of the effects from his curse series and was slow to get up that morning. Which meant Darius's party now had to sit and wait for them to show up before going in. Admittedly it wasn't the worse thing ever with Rifana curled up in a blanket with her head resting on his shoulder and Johann asleep against his back but it was still a little inconvenient given that he himself couldn't sleep while keeping watch. But soon enough, the familiar sound of rapidly turning wagon wheels reached his ears as Filo came into view pulling her beloved cart with Raphtalia and Naofumi in tow. "That's our cue, sleeping time's over," said Darius as he gently shook his two companions.

"About time they showed up," said Johann as he rubbed his eyes.

"They're too early in my opinion," yawned Rifana as she stood up and stowed the blanket, "I was enjoying my favorite Armory Pillow."

"Well the pillow needs to get some feeling back in his arm," said Darius, flexing his fingers as Naofumi's party came walking up the stairs.

"Look, they've already altered the symbol Master Naofumi," Raphtalia pointed out as her group reached the top step where Darius and the others were waiting. The rest of them glanced back, having already seen the simple yet monumental alterations with the shield being added in the center and the Armory Bands hanging down from each side of the bow where they connected to the shield. "It'll be a lot different in this country with a symbol showing all five heroes."

"Sure will," said Naofumi, "and now that none of us are outcasts we can upgrade our classes without being harassed." Everyone nodded with Raphtalia making a comment about thanking the Queen as the two parties entered the church. The inside hadn't changed much save for all the symbols being altered, but a little surprise was waiting for them once they say the ones guarding the dragon's hourglass.

"Greetings everyone," said the Young knight who'd helped them in the third wave. He was being assisted in his current duty by the purple-haired mage of the same group. "The Queen entrusted us with the duty of looking after the hourglass. So step right this way and we'll get the class upgrade ritual underway."

"Alright!" Cheered Johann and Filo as they rushed up to the hourglass and put their hands on the base. Rifana and Raphtalia looked to their respective heroes who nodded in assent before they too walked up to the hourglass and put their hands on the base. The giant timekeeper began to glow as information scrolled across their HUDs: Class Upgrade unlocked.

The Throne Room of the Queen of Melromarc: Later That Day

"I'm sorry to hear that," said the Queen as both the Shield and Armory Hero's parties stood in front of her throne, "It's unusual for a problem to occur with a class upgrade."

"Well the class upgrade worked and all," said Naofumi, "but for some reason all our party members only got a single option for what they upgraded too."

"I have heard that it's possible for the class upgrade process to be affected by certain items," said the Queen with her fan in front of her mouth, "it may very well be what happened to all of you."

"You mean like this cow lick and dragon horns Fitoria gave to our mounts," Questioned Naofumi as he flicked the one on Filo's head, receiving a quick 'hey!' in return.

"As in the Filolial Queen Fitoria?!" Asked the Queen with a sudden tone of excitement.

"You should've been there to see her mother," said Melty, who'd been standing off to the side, with a note of fondness for the memory, "she's indescribably beautiful."

"And what else Melty," asked the Queen as she stood up, "I'd love to know every detail about her!"

"Well her bird form is as enormous as a tyrant dragon and her larger feathers are the color of the sky," replied Melty excitedly, "and she had feathers on her head shaped like a crown. She even let me ride on her head, it was all I ever dreamed it would be!" Her Mother let out a squeal of euphoria upon hearing this.

"Oh it all sounds so wonderful," said the Queen as she squirmed in front of them, "I'm honestly jealous of you sweet Melty. What I wouldn't give for even a single ride upon her head!"

"Hey Boss," whispered Johann, "Is something wrong with her? It can't be normal to get this excited about a Filolial."

"I guess we know where Melty gets it from," commented Naofumi. It was at this point the Queen remembered that she had guests and turned to them with a somewhat embarrassed smile.

"My apologies," said the Queen, "I hope you'll excuse my little outburst."

"You know we can come back later if you're, ahem, busy," said Darius.

"No that's quite alright," replied the Queen, "I did call all of you hear to begin with so it's only right I at least tell you the reason."

"I have been wondering that," said Naofumi, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh quite the opposite really," said the Queen, "I happen to be throwing something of a party tonight and I'd like all five cardinal heroes to attend."

"And you couldn't have given us advance notice because?" Questioned Naofumi.

"Would you have come if I had told you the reason I called you here?" The Queen responded as she sat down on her throne. "But the real truth is the party is merely meant to get all of you here. You see there is a matter the five of you need to know about as it could benefit you greatly. This makes it of the utmost importance." 'I guess we're having dinner at the castle tonight,' mused the Armory Hero as the group listened to the plans for the evening.

Halls of the Royal Castle: A Short Time Later

"Alright I'm only saying this once," said Darius, "not a single one of you is to tell the Queen I trained under Fitoria, got it? If that's the way the woman gets after just hearing about a ride on her head I don't wanna imagine what she'll do to a guy who spent a week with the Filolial Queen."

"I think you're exaggerating just a little," said Raphtalia, "she'll just ask for details about your time with Fitoria."

"Yeah while straddling him," added Rifana, "she'd probably lose it just hearing that Darius spent a night with the Filolial Queen nuzzled under his arm."

"Ah I don't want to hear anymore," said Johann with his hands covering his ears, "I've already got enough bad images in my head of that feather head hugging the Boss, I don't need extras!"

"Alright let's all just settle down," said Naofumi, "the real problem here is we couldn't give any of our party members the class upgrades they were hoping for."

"But it's really alright, I don't mind what I got at all," said Raphtalia with her usual friendly smile.

"It's not alright," countered Naofumi, "me and Darius won't always be around to help you. We both want to make sure you're taken care of when we finally have to leave."

"Well that's assum-shit," Darius conjured a dagger and swung around midsentence as a figure came leaping up the stairs, and assaulted his face with a hug that pulled his head into her healthily-sized bosom.

"You're speed has increased a bit my dear student," said the woman, "but it seems you still need a little work on your awareness."

"Mmf, umf," Darius managed to wriggle his head around enough that he could actually breathe, "Figneria?"

"Teacher!" exclaimed Rifana happily as she hugged Figneria, trapping the Armory Hero in the embrace as well and once more burying his face. This time between both women.

"Why are you here booby assassin lady," asked Johann as he pointed his finger at Figneria.

"I'm now officially an envoy of Koteraan," said Figneria as she released Rifana and Darius, the latter of which was taking a few deep breaths with a very red face, "I happened to be dropping by to discuss the next shipment of relief supplies with the Queen when I heard my former students were here. And this must be the Shield Hero and his party, I've heard much about you."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Raphtalia and this is Filo," said the raccoon girl politely while Filo gave a wave and a loud 'hellooooo!'

"And I'm Naofumi, Naofumi Iwatani," said the Shield Hero as he seemed to be taking the whole situation in.

"Rifana told me about how you trained her and even showed me some of what she learned," said Raphtalia, "I've been wanting to thank you for helping my friends ever since I heard about you."

"Well I couldn't just let an inexperienced girl rush after an inexperienced Cardinal Hero," said Figneria, "and I needed a hand cleaning up the monster problem around the mansion. But it goes without saying that these two have exceeded a number of my expectations."

"You're being too kind," said Darius as he rubbed his head, "we couldn't have liberated, well re-liberated, Koteraan without your planning."

"And you're being too modest," said Figneria, "but we can discuss that later. I came up here to tell Darius and Sir Shield Hero that the Queen is ready for them to come to the conference room."

"I guess we'll have to talk later," said Naofumi, "try to enjoy yourselves but remember to behave alright."

"And that goes double for you and Filo," said Darius as he pointed to Johann and the Filolial Queen candidate. Both of them simply 'hmphed' and turned away with their arms crossed as the two cardinal heroes began their trek down the stairs. Naofumi spoke again once they were out of earshot of everyone.

"So that's the weapons master who trained you," said Naofumi.

"Yep, the one and only," replied Darius without turning his head.

"Damn dude, I can see why she was able to persuade you and Rifana so easily," said the Shield Hero.

"Like I said, it was all here idea," replied Darius. While this was happening, their parties were led to a large table Figneria had managed to arrange as the festivities got underway. It was quite similar to the last party they attended at the castle, though this one promised a far lower chance of a sudden duel breaking out, for the moment. What was even more pleasant was the presence of Melty at their table.

"I honestly didn't expect to see either of you again so soon," said Melty, "but I'm glad you could all come."

"Me too," said Filo happily, "Oh, maybe we could go explore the castle later!"

"I vote for tag or hide and seek," said Johann, "that'll really spice things up." The sound of their growling stomachs said otherwise at this suggestion.

"Oh I'm super hungry, what's taking Master and Darius so long to get here?" Questioned Filo.

"They both had an important matter to attend too," explained Figneria, "If I know Sir Armory Hero like I think, I doubt he'll be upset if you go ahead and eat without him."

"Master Naofumi won't mind either," said Raphtalia, "So feel free to dig in you two."

"Okay!" said the mounts happily as they began devouring the pies in front of them. It was a rather cute sight until Melty happened to notice a certain someone entering the kitchen out of the corner of her eye.

Conference Room: About the Same Time

The Five Heroes sat at a round table with Darius and Naofumi on either side of the Queen while the other three heroes sat opposite them, or as opposite as one can sit at a round table. While the Armory Hero was fairly relaxed and the Shield Hero was more or less his usual bored looking self, the rest of the heroes seemed annoyed in a way. "So," said Darius, deciding he might as well speak if no one else was going too, "how you guys doing lately? You seem kind of irritable for having been at another celebration recently."

"I have nothing of note to be irritable about," said Ren in his usual stoic manner.

"Yeah sure you don't," said Itsuki with his own dismissive tone.

"Alright then," said Darius, "how about you Motoyasu? You actually seem like you're rather pissed about something."

"I am," said Motoyasu with somewhat gritted teeth, "and the reason for it is sitting at this table right now."

"But Naofumi didn't do anything," said the Armory Hero, "this is the first time he's even seen you since-."

"I'm not angry at Naofumi I'm angry at you!" exclaimed Motoyasu as he stood up and pointed an accusing finger at Darius. "Do you have any idea what you've done to my reputation?!"

"Given that I have no idea what your usual reputation is I haven't a clue," said Darius, "I figured everyone knew you were an incorrigible flirt by now."

"Well not anymore!" exclaimed Motoyasu as he pointed to himself, "ever since you brought in Rino and all my former party members at that trial all the girls in the kingdom have avoided me! Even the adventurers I'd normally be able to recruit turn down my invitations because they don't think I can protect them!"

"Are you sure you can't just hire a group of mercenaries?" Naofumi pointed out, "I'm sure the reward for fighting the waves would more than compensate them for whatever price they ask."

"Have you ever tried hiring mercenaries before?" Questioned Motoyasu, "There are almost no cute girls among them! The cutest ones are usually the innocent adventurers who are in it for more than just the money!"

"And so we have reached the actual heart of the issue," said Darius, "you're upset because you can't get a party of cute girls to follow you like before. But you do know it's not my fault your last party was composed of nothing but bitches."

"I thought we had already discussed an arrangement on that," said the Queen, "you can have your old party back provided you do as instructed if you're not willing to hire any mercenaries."

"But I can't lead a party of enslaved women!" exclaimed Motoyasu, "that's not something a hero does!"

"Why not," said Naofumi, "It's worked pretty well for me so far. You just gotta be willing to use that crest from time to time."

"I don't want to hear that coming from you," said Motoyasu as he slammed his hands on the table, "you might not be the creep I thought you were but I still find it unbelievable that you'd so willingly enslave two innocent girls!" 'Well this is getting off to a great start,' thought Darius as everyone else was forced to endure the Spear Hero's ranting and raving. Unfortunately, the Shield and Armory Heroes weren't the only ones having trouble getting along with others.

Back in the reception hall, both Rifana and Raphtalia were lost in thought as they mulled over what Naofumi said about the two heroes not being around one day. 'I know Darius said he had no idea whether or not he had a choice in the matter when it comes to staying in this world,' thought Rifana, 'but if he does have a choice, would he still go home anyway?' The musings of the two demi-human girls was interrupted as a bottle was slammed down on their table by a familiar knucklehead in armor.

"Ah that explains the bad taste in my wine," said a clearly drunk Mald, "a couple of filthy demis."

"Can we help you jack wagon," said Rifana with a sigh, really not in the mood for something like this.

"I just want you to remember your place," said Mald, "don't think being with the Shield or that Armory guy makes you special."

"Says the fool who seems to think a suit of armor makes him a man," said Figneria calmly as she sipped her own drink, "Now why not be a good boy and head back to whatever party you lumbered away from."

"How dare you!" said Mald as he slammed his fist on their table, "I'm a member of the great Itsuki's party. In fact," he raised his voice to the whole assembly, "Itsuki's the greatest of all the heroes! With him around we don't need any of the others especially not a disgrace like the Shield or that copycat Armory guy!"

"Sure he's all you need," said Rifana, "if you're planning on messing up another country."

"What'd you say," slurred Mald as he hiccupped between sentences.

"You heard me," said Rifana, "If we really compare the record of accomplishments, the so-called disgrace and the copycat seem to be doing much better. It was Darius that cleaned up your mess in Koteraan by actually making use of the authority and fear granted to a cardinal hero instead of sneaking around trying to be mysterious. And when the country was liberated he actually gave a public apology for deceiving everyone and gave all the credit to Figneria while refusing to ask for any sort of reward."

"But the people stopped him and forced him to take a reward anyway, as well as holding a ceremony to honor his deeds," said Figneria, "true it was my idea to use the Bow Hero's identity but it was only because of Darius that such a plan was even possible in the first place."

"Then there's the third wave," continued Rifana, "where we defended a village for three hours waiting on your oh so great hero to figure out what to do and that's before Naofumi and Darius saved all of your sorry lives at the risk of their own fighting not only a powerful monster but an even more powerful fan lady. I should probably also mention the part where Darius whooped your great hero's ass in a straight up fight that would've ended in a win for him even if Rishia hadn't opened a hole in the ground. Topping it all off is the fact that you're only breathing alcohol breathe on us right now because Darius used the power of the 'disgraceful shield' to save both the Bow and Sword Heroes along with their parties. So from where I'm sitting the disgrace and the copycat are doing a way better job than your hero's glory-hogging ass."

"Those two might've gotten lucky so far," hiccupped Mald, "but you'd best tell them to stay out of our way from here on out or those two cowards are only going to get hurt."

"Oh you think so," said Raphtalia as her grip on the knife in her hand increased significantly, "if anyone's getting hurt first, it won't be either of them." The raccoon girl stood up then and readied her sword. Rifana and Johann were quick to follow as Figneria simply sighed and walked away with her own plate, following after Melty. The situation quickly devolved into an all-out brawl as the mercenary woman and second princess entered the kitchen which currently only had one occupant.

"Pardon me dear sister," said Melty, startling the former first princess as she turned around to show her bruised and scarred face.

"Goodness," said Figneria, "I heard about the punishments handed down by the Shield and Armory Heroes, but it's much more grotesque up close. Though it doesn't help that you clearly have no idea how to properly bandage yourself."

"And just whose pie are you poisoning?" Asked Melty, "Is that one heading to our table? I'm afraid that's a violation of the slave crest." The former first princess could only laugh, well what passed for a laugh with her swelled up jaw, weakly as she knew what was coming next.

Conference Room: About the Same Time

"I suppose now that that's out of the way, we can finally begin," said the Queen as Motoyasu sat in his chair trying to catch his breath from all the recent yelling.

"I guess a good heart to heart would do us all good," said Naofumi, "so what exactly is the big news that's going to benefit everyone here?"

"I've recently received word that Cal Mira Archipelago seems to be active," replied the Queen.

"Are you for real," said Ren as he and Itsuki perked up.

"So then a bonus field is gonna be generated around the island," said the Bow Hero.

"Does that happen often," Questioned Naofumi with similar interest.

"The field is generated around the island of Cal Mira about once a decade," explained the Queen, "while it is up, all experience points gained by adventurers and by the heroes are greatly increased."

"Did you guys seriously not know that?" Questioned Motoyasu smugly.

"You're not exactly in the best of positions to be making fun of someone's ignorance," remarked Darius, getting a growl from the Spear Hero before they were interrupted by Melty entering the room.

"Ah Melty, what seems to be the problem?" Asked her mother. The Second Princess whispered a quick explanation in her ear which actually made her face palm. "It seems skipping the party was a good idea after all. It seems Mal-or rather Bitch was caught by Melty and Figneria attempting to poison food for the Shield and Armory Hero's table."

"She what?!" exclaimed Motoyasu as he stood up from his seat, "are you sure it was My-er I mean Whore?"

"I know my own sister, even if her face is a mess," said Melty, "Sis-or rather Bitch admitted as much after her slave crest shocked her."

"You can confirm it for yourself the next time you see her," said the Queen, "all of your party members already have slave crests so finding the truth should be no issue. Or have you managed to find a new party to follow you?"

"No," said Motoyasu fairly quietly as he sat back down in his seat.

"You know if she's going to keep causing trouble after her life was spared," said Darius to the Queen, "I am gonna pick up where the guillotine left off. So you'd best do an overhaul on the restrictions of her slave crest or else."

"Can we get back on topic now," said Naofumi, "we still got a lot to unpack here."

"And I believe the crux of the problem is quite clear in this case," said the Queen, "my foolish daughter may have driven the initial wedge between most of you, but even with her crimes laid bare and the Shield and Armory Hero's innocence proven you still seem to hold a fair bit of animosity towards each other. This, I believe, is the real reason you haven't leveled up as fast as you could be. So I suggest you all share a bit of what you've learned since coming to this world to help clear the air a bit. It should at the very least make your trip to Cal Mira that much more productive."

"I don't believe that's really necessary," said Ren with a smug expression.

"I already know all I need to know so what's to share," Said Motoyasu.

"Truthfully it all sounds like a waste of time," added Itsuki with a bored tone.

"Yeah you clearly know everything except how to do your jobs," said Darius, "or are you purposely holding back on information like the crafting and weapon copy mechanics because you think we might be able to use them better than you?" A collective 'What' sounded from all three of the heroes as they stood up straighter?

"I believe Sir Armory Hero is merely trying to illustrate what I've been too polite to say," Explained the Queen as she closed her fan, "you see to be perfectly blunt, if things continue as they are now Sirs Naofumi and Darius may survive the next wave but the three of you will not."

"Just what exactly are you trying to say here?" Questioned Ren for the three of them.

"I'd hoped my meaning was obvious," said the Queen, "All three of you suffered defeat in the last wave and given the nature of each one increasing in danger it's very unlikely you'll survive the next one. The only way you'll triumph is if all five heroes rally together. You could say this conference is a way to cultivate the solidarity between you." Darius and Naofumi knew the Queen was right, but whether or not they'd be able to work with the other heroes was just as dependent on them as it was their own willingness to cooperate.

After a few looks were passed between the other three heroes, Itsuki decided to speak up first. "Alright then, why don't we start with where the two of you got those cheat weapons?"

"Are you fucking kidding me right now," said Darius as he and Naofumi sighed.

The Reception Hall

The initially calm atmosphere at the start had all but deteriorated into an absolute mess as a pair of adventures each had to hold back Raphtalia and Mald, both of whom were still shouting insults at each other. Their dispute had also sparked a number of other altercations as all five parties were basically fighting to one degree or another. Rifana had long since stopped caring as to whether or not the people she was fighting had insulted her friends, having devolved to simply fighting anyone who rushed at her. Currently she was tossing one unfortunate soul off the stairs while Johann had managed to latch himself onto another member of the Bow Hero's party and was currently alternating between beating him senseless and using his teeth to rip out his hair while the victim kept screaming for someone to get the crazy dragon off of him.

"And here I expected a little more dignity from all of the parties," said Figneria as she and Filo kept to their own corner eating their meal, though Figneria did chop one of the Sword Hero's party members on the side of the neck when he started chanting a spell. "I merely hope those two are making better progress in there than what's happening out here."

Conference Room: About the Same Time

"I've said this before," stated Naofumi, "the shield I use and Darius's bands aren't cheats. We managed to make them strong through a lot of hard work."

"Not to mention these bands wouldn't even be here if not for the four cardinal heroes working together to save their friend," added Darius as he pointed at his left band, "It was also through the combined efforts of the five cardinal heroes that a replica holy weapon was created. So it all adds up to one simple fact: we have nothing to lose by telling each other what we know and everything to gain. So I promise if you tell us your secrets we'll be just as forthcoming with ours."

"What do you think Ren," asked Itsuki, "is it worth it?"

"From what we've been told there really isn't much choice in the matter," replied Ren.

"Yeah fine," shrugged Motoyasu, "I'll even dumb it down for the two of you. Now Darius mentioned the weapon copy system, which basically works by picking up the same type of weapon as your legendary weapon and copying its attributes."

"It was a big help when we started out," continued Itsuki, "It allowed us to get a large number of strong weapons basically for free." 'It probably also helped that King Trash gave you access to the royal armory,' thought Darius.

"So that's really all there is to it, just pick it up," said Naofumi, surprised by this new knowledge.

"Except in my case," said Darius, "I just need to be within a certain visual range. One good long look and I can create a replica."

"It still must be terrible that you didn't know something so simple Nao-," Itsuki started to laugh before Naofumi cut him off.

"Can it and tell me about the crafting system already," said the Shield Hero impatiently.

"As long as you have the correct crafting skill and the recipes, all you need to do is feed the required materials to your cardinal weapon and it'll craft materials for you," explained Ren.

"And to think of all the time I've spent doing that stuff by hand," said Naofumi.

"You should be happy you actually have a crafting system," said Darius, "judging from the memories I absorbed, the Armory Hero's dimensional storage ability replaces it. I guess there isn't really a need when you can pull all your stuff out of midair."

"You can teleport your stuff out of thin air but it looks like you don't actually know about the teleport skill," said Itsuki, "it lets you instantly travel to any location you've visited."

"To think the amount of throw up we could've avoided if we'd known about that," said Naofumi as he rubbed his head.

"Well if you didn't know any of that then you certainly won't know about this," said Itsuki, "the real secret to getting strong quickly and becoming the best in this world. It all comes down to weapon rarity. So if you just focus on that you'll-."

"I thought we agreed not to lie to each other," Ren cut in.

"Weird as it sounds I gotta agree with Ren on this one," said Darius, "rare weapons are great and all but if you don't know how to use any of them you'll still get your ass kicked. I seem to recall kicking yours rather recently despite you having what should've been a better weapon."

"You had help during that fight and you know it!" exclaimed Itsuki.

"Yeah, help after I succeeded in pinning your weapon to the ground," Said the Armory Hero.

"I think the point Darius is trying to make is that the real secret is weapon proficiency," said Ren.

"Oh come on all of you are wrong," said Motoyasu as he stood up from his seat, yet again, "The most important thing is refining your weapon and boosting its Stats!"

"That's crazy talk," said Itsuki, "rare weapons clearly have a higher value!"

"You're making all of that up!" exclaimed Ren as the three heroes commenced to arguing over which approach was better. The Queen and Melty simply sighed at the scene while Darius and Naofumi rolled their eyes.

"This is such a freakin' waste," said Naofumi as noise from outside started to reach their ears.

"You think they'd consider just using all three methods," said Darius, "just think what one could do if they were proficient with an enhanced rare weapon. By the way, am I hearing things or is something going down in the reception hall."

"Well it's possible one or two people from separate parties are in an altercation right now," said Melty.

"Well that's just wonderful," said the Armory Hero as Ren and Motoyasu were getting into something of a shoving match.

"Ah forget it then!" said Naofumi as he slammed his fist on the table, drawing the other three hero's attention, "We're getting nowhere with you three arguing so we're out of here!" The Shield Hero shoved his chair back and turned to walk away as Darius rose from his own seat more reluctantly.

"Apologies your majesties but it doesn't seem like we're gonna make any further progress this evening," said the Armory Hero, "but I still thank you for your hospitality and bid you good night." Darius turned and left in far less of a huff as he caught up to Naofumi who was just about at the top of the stairs to the reception hall, where a large amount of noise was currently erupting from.

"Jeez how can three people be so," Naofumi started to say before he and Darius looked out at the scene before them. "OH WHAT THE SHIT!" Both cardinal heroes said at the same time as they watched all five parties brawling, swinging weapons, fighting and otherwise breaking everything.

"Someone help, I can't see!" exclaimed a frightened Rishia who'd somehow gotten a pie on her face as she ran up the stairs before tripping on the top step and falling in front of them.

"What in the world happened here," said Darius as he helped the girl up and cleaned off her glasses enough for her to see.

"Well Sir Mald got drunk and said some things which were a little upsetting for your party," said Rishia.

"I guess Rifana and Johann are as impulsive as ever," commented Naofumi.

"Actually it was Raphtalia who drew her sword first," said Rishia, "then everyone just kinda started fighting everyone else."

"The dickhead must've said something bad about you," Darius surmised, "I guess even someone as gentle as her can get set off if you push the right button."

"Well whatever the case we need to do something about all of this," said Naofumi.

"Yeah yeah I'm on it," replied Darius as he slammed his hands on the ground, conjuring ten portals around the room. A chain shot out of each portal and yanked a number of the more spirited combatants away from each other, restraining them against the nearest wall, pillar, and in some cases the ceiling as everyone else froze mid-movement to stare at the newcomers. "Alright fun's over! The next person to start something gets to deal with me and I am not in a good mood right now!" Rifana was quick to drop the person she'd been holding above her head while Johann hopped off of his latest victim's back. Raphtalia sighed and sheathed her sword, her expression one of embarrassment.

The remaining members of the other parties also made the most intelligent decision they'd made that night and stood aside as Darius and Naofumi walked down the steps. "We're out of here everyone," said Naofumi as he and the Armory Hero passed by the mess that was once an organized set of dining tables. Their party members were quick to fall in behind them as Darius snapped his fingers to release those chained up, a few of whom were party members of the Spear and Bow hero that fell from the ceiling right as they walked out the door.

Private Bed Chambers: Later That Night

"I'm sorry everyone," apologized Raphtalia as they all sat in the room, "I just couldn't stand listening to that moron insulting Master Naofumi like that."

"In all fairness if you hadn't knocked him around I probably would have," consoled Rifana.

"Well it's not like things went much better on our end either," admitted Naofumi, "By the way, where are Filo and Johann?"

"They wanted to visit Melty some more, given that dinner was interrupted," said Raphtalia, "so the two flipped a coin and now Filo is sleeping with Melty and Johann is on guard duty, or something of the sort."

"I still wonder why Johann's trying to convince Melty that dragons are cooler," said Rifana, "I guess it's just his competitive side."

"I'd believe it," said Darius as he was checking through his menu, "but I gotta say, the weirder thing here right now is I can't seem to find a teleport skill."

"I'm not having any luck with this so-called weapon copy skill either," said Naofumi, opening his own menu, "but I don't think those guys would get so worked up over something if they were lying about it. Maybe the methods they were talking about are specific to their legendary weapons."

"The upgrade methods might be," said Darius, "but if the memories in my head are right, the ones that aren't too jumbled anyway, the weapon copy and teleport skills aren't exclusive to just one cardinal weapon. In fact they're among the more common skills possessed by all the cardinal heroes."

"So I guess that means we're just gonna have to trust them on this one," said Naofumi.

"Well if you really think about what we've seen so far, there's really no reason our weapons shouldn't be able to do at least a few of those things," said Darius. A sound from their HUDs alerted them to a new message then as something strange happened. The moment they believed it was possible, both the teleport and weapon crafting skills were unlocked in their weapons. "Hello jackpot!"

"They're real, they're actually real!" said Naofumi with excitement in his voice.

"Hey Rifana," said Darius, "didn't Figneria mention something about us making an appearance a good distance from here?"

"Yeah, but she said when we had time," replied the weasel girl, "the wave needs to be dealt with first."

"I think we may have found some time," said the Armory Hero with a slight smirk as a number of possibilities raced through his mind. It was time for some field testing.

Koteraan Royal Castle: The Next Morning

The nobleman known as Ivyred was a rather busy man nowadays. It wasn't that he had no duties before as a noble, but now his responsibilities had increased substantially as he poured over some documents while pacing in the throne room. He'd come to rely a fair bit on Figneria these days for certain assurances and whenever she had to travel it made him a bit more nervous when it came to moving around the castle. It didn't help that the woman, being a mercenary and occasional assassin herself, had mentioned a number of ways he could die at the hands of other scheming parties if he wasn't careful. He had to keep reminding himself that he had no cause to worry so much as she could take care of herself and her mission was simply as an envoy this time around, with a little favor on the side. If all went well she'd return very soon.

'Assuming she'll even be able to get ahold of the person I wish to speak too,' thought Ivyred when a sudden light in the center of the throne room caught his attention. It grew brighter for a second before fading to reveal four very familiar figures. "L-Lady Figneria!" exclaimed the noble, "and Sir Armory Hero!"

"Hey Ivyred, been a few days hasn't it," said Darius with a polite wave, "I heard you wanted to talk to me about something."

"W-well yes," he replied, "but how in the world did you get here so fast?!"

"Learned a new trick," the cardinal hero replied simply, "thought this would be a good test to see if distance had any effect on where we end up."

"Well it's quite impressive," said the noble, "but putting that aside I was hoping you'd be willing to assist with a small matter."

"And that would be?" Questioned Rifana with a tilt of her head.

"Well you see," began Ivyred, "you all played such a large part in getting this country back on its feet. Our trade is flowing again, repairs are going smoothly and Figneria has managed to churn out a sizeable fighting force with some reorganization and using honest adventurers to assist her in training new soldiers. Given that we owe all of this to you, I thought it would be more than appropriate if you and your party joined us for the official coronation of the new king of Koteraan."

"Well we do suddenly have a bit more time on our hands," said Darius as he rubbed his chin in thought, "but wouldn't it be better to hold a ceremony like that after the next wave?"

"That was actually the plan," confirmed Ivyred, "I had instructed Figneria to bring all of you and Rishia back when the time seemed appropriate or, at the very least, pass on the message that I wanted to see you all."

"Well we can pop up in all kinds of places now," said Johann with his arms crossed, "so if you've got a date you probably oughtta hurry up and spill it. We can't stay too long right now."

"I think it would be more prudent if I simply stuck by them for a little while longer," Figneria said, "after all they will be facing a wave soon and it would be impossible for them to keep any sort of date if something happened."

"Of course you're right Lady Figneria, but what about you?" Questioned Ivyred.

"I am still the one who taught them how to use their weapons," said Figneria, "You needn't worry about me. I shall simply have the Armory Hero return me with his new teleport skill when the time comes."

"Well at least bring my daughter back with you next time," said Ivyred, "I've heard a few rumors that she's traveling with the actual Bow Hero. I know she can be a curious girl but I can't imagine a lot of good coming from her traveling with the one who uprooted much of our country's infrastructure in the first place."

"No need to worry about that," said Darius as he opened his menu and selected the next teleport location, "we'll keep an eye on her. So take care and we'll see you at the coronation." With another press of a button on his menu, the Armory Hero and his party were whisked away to their next location, which was in a far more somber location.

The Village of Raphtalia and Rifana

The group teleported to the Seaetto region, which was as close to the ocean as they'd been in their travels up to this point. Johann was more than fine with the arrangement, though, because it meant he could fly them over in his dragon form. Darius had contacted Naofumi when they were getting close and found that he'd taken a little detour per request of Raphtalia. When Rifana heard where, she also requested to stop at the location.

It was the first time Darius had ever laid eyes on the home of his party member, or rather, what remained of it. Not a single building had escaped damage from the first wave with several having fallen in on themselves and the ones that remained standing were little more than skeletal structures as opposed to actual buildings. If anything of value had remained, it was long gone thanks to the bastard soldiers who'd raided the place afterward. Both the Shield and Armory Heroes could see the pain this place caused their companions, but they respectfully kept silent as Rifana and Raphtalia knelt in front of the graves of their parents to pray for them.

The two girls were joined by Keel and the other girls Darius had rescued while Reichnott, the one who'd brought them over, stood alongside the two heroes and their mounts. "Thank you for helping the villagers bury their loved ones," said Darius as he turned to Reichnott, "at least they can have some peace after everything that's happened."

"It was a group effort," replied Reichnott, "everyone in the village contributed." The cardinal heroes nodded as Keel spoke up.

"Hey Raphtalia, Rifana," said the dog boy, "let's work hard and get the village back to the way it was."

"Right," said the two girls as various memories of happier times played out in their minds.

"There must be more we can do," said Reichnott as they continued to observe the scene at a distance, "Survivors like them are scattered throughout the world. But I don't even know where to start in order to help them."

"One small step at a time," said Darius, "that's how most change starts. You just keep finding little things you can do and before you know it, you'll have helped more people than you can even count."

"Yes that is an optimistic way to look at it," said Reichnott.

"It's something my parents told me once," said Darius as he gazed at Rifana, "I just never realized how true it was until now." The cardinal hero caught some movement out of the corner of his eye then as he spied a red-haired man and a blue-haired girl walking away from where Naofumi had been exploring the village. Curiosity got the better of him as he went after his friend, who was staring at the departing strangers. "Who were those two just now?"

"You got me," said Naofumi with a shrug as Raphtalia and Rifana walked up behind them, "apparently one of them was named L'arc or something like that. Anyway, are the two of you ready to go?"

"Yes, I think we're both ready now that we've told our parents we're alright," said Raphtalia.

"I know it doesn't mean much coming from me," said Darius as they began walking out of the village, picking up Johann and Filo on the way, "but I'm sure they'd be proud of the both of you."

"Thanks Darius," said Rifana with a soft smile as the group walked out of the village gate with Keel, Reichnott and the others waving good bye to them, "that means a lot more than you know." The Armory Hero smiled in return until he'd noticed Raphtalia had stopped. The rest of the party stopped along with her as Naofumi and Darius ended up taking a slight lead due to being in the front.

"Hey, what's wrong," asked the Shield Hero with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Master Naofumi, Darius," Raphtalia began, "the two of you won't leave us will you? I, no, not just me but Rifana as well. I'm sure I speak for the both of us when I say we can't imagine a world without you."

"What are you talking about," said a confused Johann, "No one said anything about leaving."

"Are you going somewhere Master," questioned Filo, just as confused as her dragon counterpart. The Armory Hero averted his eyes a bit as he tried to think of what to say. In truth, he still remembered that he'd never been given a choice to come to this world in the first place, and he didn't want to lie now if it turned out he'd be sent back whether he wanted to go or not. In the end, Naofumi broke the silence.

"None of you need to worry," said the Shield Hero, "we're staying right here."

"Do you promise?" Asked Filo with a hopeful expression in her eyes.

"Of course we promise," Said Naofumi, "do you really think either of us want to leave this world in the hands of the three cardinal stooges?"

"Are you kidding me," said Johann, "I'd trust even the Filolial Queen over those idiots and that's saying something!" The tension seemed to leave the rest of the party with this comment as everyone sighed in relief.

"Now that we cleared that up, can we go now," said Naofumi with feigned impatience.

"Yes," agreed Raphtalia happily as the group gathered around the heroes and followed them out of the village. Rifana was happily hanging off of Darius's arm while Filo and Raphtalia got into a slight tug of war over who should be holding onto Naofumi. 'Thanks for cheering them up Naofumi,' thought Darius as he glanced at his smiling companions, 'but you realize that lie also makes you a real bastard too.'

Melromarc Harbor

"I think I see our ship," said Rifana as they flew over a small port town and landed at the spot where the Shield Hero's party was parking the wagon. The group had picked up Figneria on the way out of the village and she'd been more than happy to be flying on Johann's back once again. What confirmed everyone's suspicions about the large vessel with three masts, though, was the presence of three rather grumpy individuals sitting and waiting on the dock behind a line of other adventurers.

"What a bunch of morons," said Naofumi as he caught sight of the other three cardinal heroes, "Only so many ships can depart in a day."

"When you mentioned they left early I was actually hoping we might be taking a different ship than them," commented Darius, "but I guess karma works both ways in this case. Either way we'd all best climb aboard."

"YAAAAAAAY!" Cheered their party as they quickly headed onto the floating vessel with everyone else. It seemed the party's timing couldn't have been any better as the ship set sail soon after they were aboard. But the up and down trend continued as the crew member responsible for showing them to their cabin arrived with bad news.

"We're sincerely sorry Sir Heros," said the crew member as he led them through a hallway below deck lined with rooms on either side, "we were sure we had a private room reserved for you, but when the other heroes showed up early they pretty much took every available cabin."

"So they're punishing us because they got here too early and had to wait," scoffed Naofumi, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised."

"Well the other cabins can't be any worse than sleeping in a cave," commented Darius, "so what do you have left?"

"We have one room left but it's only large enough to accommodate five people comfortably," replied the crew member, "we do apologize for the inconvenience but some of your group will have to share a cabin with other passengers."

"Well let's see who we got first and then figure it out," said Naofumi as he opened the door and froze. The occupants of the cabin, were none other than the blue-haired girl and red-headed man he'd met in the village not too long ago.

"Well well," said the man with a smile, "it seems we meet again kiddo."

And so begins the short but still very eventful Cal Mira arc! Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed this latest lengthy chapter (definitely had no idea it'd gotten this long) and as always 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 our heroes work on conquering the island paradise of Cal Mira! 'Til then.