Bringing It Home

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! We're introducing a couple new characters today that I think a few of you will know along with getting to know some of the ones you're less familiar with. Plus, I've got an announcement to make. I am planning on releasing a new story quite possibly this week. It shall be the first Star Wars fic I've ever uploaded to this site, so if you like that you'll hopefully like this too! Naturally for more accurate updates on things like the title and possible dates of release, check out my Pat reon! Now then I've kept you all waiting long enough, so on to the story!

Zeltoble: Slave Trader's Uncle's Underground Storage Area

"Remind me again why we're down here," Darius sighed as he and Naofumi walked among a setting that had become way too familiar for the Armory Hero's tastes: slave cages. Unsurprisingly, not only did the slave trader of Zeltoble resemble the one in Melromarc, his setup was identical too. The main difference was they were underground in a stone room instead of in a tent.

"We still need more hands," the shield hero replied simply, "I was told he had some high-quality people here."

"More like he badgered you about it," the Armory Hero pointed out, "we just got a whole load of village kids back to their home which gives us easily a dozen hands more. That's in addition to Keel and his friends, the other folks you bought in Melromarc, Rino, Éclair, Melty, Grilaroc, Natsui and the other five clan members he brought with him, Ake and the folks he managed to gather, a small detachment of Melromarc soldiers, Rishia's personal guards, the fishing folk, and our parties. I think we're getting to the point where we don't have to worry about being shorthanded near as badly as before."

"We still can't afford to turn down good combat power when we come across it," Naofumi insisted, "us and most of our party members are still under a curse. Until it's completely gone, we need to have as many able-bodied fighters as possible."

"And we're giving people a chance at a better life, too," Rishia reminded. She, Izumi and the two cardinal heroes were the only ones currently in Zeltoble. Raphtalia, Rifana and Sadeena were back in the village helping their friends get settled and taken care of. Filo and Johann were also there, not seeing much point in going to the city if they didn't have any fighting to do and they wanted to goof off with Filo's flail a bit.

The quartet half-expected to come back and find something on fire. As for Figneria, she'd needed to head back to Koteraan and didn't have a lot of reasons not too now that the business with the dark coliseum was over and done with. Darius hoped her work hadn't piled up too much while she was gone but had to push those thoughts aside as their top-hat-wearing host made his presence known. "Welcome Sir Shield Hero and Sir Armory Hero!" He greeted with his trademark toothy grin, "right this way! I have something prepared just for you!"

"It better be worth the trip," Naofumi warned in the no-nonsense tone he'd become so good at.

"I think you'll find it quite to your liking," the trader assured while leading them to a surprisingly extravagant cage that was gold in color. Inside were two women, one with rabbit ears and the other with two long horns, and a third younger girl with dog ears and a tail. They all looked quite excited to see the quartet. "They specialize in combat, are young enough to be raised with ease and, to match your tastes, they're all female."

"I don't know who told you I prefer female slaves," the shield hero breathed out in annoyance, "the fact that I have only female members in my party is a coincidence. But that's not the main issue here."

"Oh, is there something wrong with-," he started to ask before Naofumi narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, these aren't slaves," he growled, "what are you trying to pull here?"

"Ahaha, you noticed," the slave trader's smile didn't fall despite being found out, "I admit, these are indeed fake slaves."

"What! Of course we're real slaves! Can't you see we need help?!" The three girls protested.

"What we can see is a stark difference between you and the rest of the people here," Darius spoke up with his arms crossed, "your clothes might be ragged but you're not. You're clearly well fed, clean, and don't have the same eyes as the rest of the folks here. So back to our original question: what're you trying to pull?"

"It was our parents," the youngest of the trio spoke up, "father said that the Shield Hero only kept slaves by his side."

"Your accent," Rishia observed, "are you from Siltvelt?"

"They are," Izumi confirmed, "it appears that some of the Siltvelt nobility has sent their daughters over in hopes of tricking Sir Iwatani."

"Is it gonna raise the noble's prestige to have their daughters as my slaves," Naofumi cocked an eyebrow.

"No, we're bridal candidates for Sir Shield Hero!" The rabbit girl cheered.

"Not interested," he deadpanned before moving to walk away. The group ignored the caged girl's irritated rants about being rejected as they continued down the lines of cages.

"You should know those girls are still capable of being useful," the slave trader pointed out.

"I hate to agree," Rishia's face twisted in discomfort at the fact she was saying this, "but if they're anything like Izumi they probably would be helpful."

"Izumi was upfront about her intentions and proved her strength," Naofumi pointed out, "not to mention, no one was bribed into giving her a good review."

"I admit I may have exaggerated their abilities a little bit," the trader revealed, "but I wasn't lying when I said I had some high-quality products for you to look at. The main course is just this way." He led them to the back wall where a large cell had been installed. He produced a pair of keys to open the door and the moment the group entered the slave's quarters the contrast was obvious.

The cell smelled like death and the individual before them clearly hadn't had a bath in a while. His clothes, which consisted of a simple brown tunic and pants, were pretty worn out. He was also glaring at them while crouched protectively in front of something in the back of the cell. His eyes promised violence if they made a wrong move here. "Try anything on Atla," the boy growled while raising his arms, "and I'll kill you."

"Hey, I remember this kid," Darius realized the moment he saw the mop of black and white hair with catlike ears poking out the top, "you were a contestant in the Dark Coliseum. I can see now why you took a dive." He was referring to the object, or rather person behind the demi-human kid. They were of a similar size to the boy in front of them but none of their features were visible due to their body being wrapped in so many bandages that it looked like a small mummy was lying on the floor.

The bandaged individual also appeared to be the source of the deathly smell in the air. 'Not dead yet,' the Armoy Hero noted once he looked at the mummy's stats, 'but definitely not lively.' "What's your name," Naofumi questioned, getting down to business.

"Fohl," he answered, "and my sister behind me is Atla. What do you want with us?"

"First, tell me what makes you so special that you'd be recommended to me?" The Shield Hero questioned.

"Allow me to explain that," the slave trader chimed in, "you've no doubt checked his status already and found it to be quite high." This, for the first time today, was an understatement. Even after doublechecking it was still a little hard to believe. Fohl, despite his age, was level 32! "The boy, you see, is of the Hakuko or white tiger race. They're among the top demi-human races which can be counted on one hand."

"They can upgrade their class to level sixty and can reach level 120 after upgrading," he continued, "it was thanks to this enormous combat ability that they were able to fight off even the strategies of the king of wisdom during the war between Siltvelt and Melromarc. They're among the most powerful beings in the world and I can only imagine what one raised by a hero would be capable of. Now that you know all of that, you'll understand why I'm charging a rate of a hundred and twenty gold pieces for him."

"What about his sister," Darius asked, "what's wrong with her?"

"I'm afraid his sister is suffering from a congenital disease," the short man explained, "it's rendered her blind and unable to walk. I wouldn't be able to sell her for even thirty silvers."

"So, you fight in the coliseum to pay for your sister's care," Naofumi surmised, turning his attention back to the white tiger siblings.

"It really is a sad story," the trader said in faux lamentation, "he goes there day after day to pay for her food and medicine, but I fear he's only delaying the inevitable."

"Bullshit," the Shield Hero shot a glare in his direction, "I'll bet you take a good chunk of his winnings."

"Haha, you know my nephew and I so well!" He grinned.

"I know you're as shitty of a businessman as your nephew," Darius deadpanned, "even if you only see the people you sell as merchandise a good businessman ensures what they sell is in top condition. Since Atla here is also a Hakuko what's your excuse for not paying for her medical treatment so you can get twice the price out of them?"

"The problem is that her treatment requires a very potent elixir," the slave trader revealed, "I don't know if you've heard of it: the Elixir of Yggdrasil. It's exceedingly rare and capable of curing practically all ailments. Just acquiring even a single vial of it would cost me far more than I'd get in return for both of them."

"Good thing we're here to bail you out then," Naofumi commented as he shifted his shield to a wood and moss form resembling the side of a tree. 'The Spirit Tortoise's Sacred Tree Shield,' the Armory Hero recalled without even needing his analysis ability. The cardinal hero held out his other hand and conjured an ornate vial of green liquid then, the required elixir. He made it look easy, but Darius knew it was no simple conjuration.

Naofumi had actually tried to craft this very medicine once before and failed even with his shield's abilities. It was only now that he had the 'Miracle Pharmacology Recipe' from the Spirit Tortoise that he was able to craft even a small number of the exceptionally rare elixirs. "Alright kid, listen up. I can use this medicine to cure your sister, but in exchange you'll spend the rest of your life working off the cost for it. Sound like a deal?"

"Do you think I'm stupid?!" Fohl barked, "there's no way that's the real thing! You're just trying to trick me so that you can poison Atla!"

"Your sisters on the verge of death," the shield hero stated matter-of-factly, "I don't need to poison her. All I'd have to do is leave and come back later once she's croaked. But I'd rather she lived so she can help with the work back at the village."

"You want to put Atla to work, are you insane?!" The white tiger boy yelled.

"She'll be healthy enough to work once she's better," Naofumi pointed out, "the alternative is she dies, and you come work for me by yourself. Either way I'm not leaving here without at least one of you."

"We'll see about that!" Fohl yelled before pouncing with a punch aimed at the shield hero, the blow ringing out in the cell as it collided with the mystical steel. In that same instant, the boy was entangled and pulled to the side of the room by several wires produced by a large ball of thread the other hero had summoned. "What, what is this?!"

"It seems we forgot to do the polite thing and introduce ourselves," the replica wielder sighed, "my name is Darius Saxon, the Armory Hero."

"Armory Hero," he repeated as Naofumi went over to the bandaged girl, "but that would mean-?"

"Bro-ther," a weak voice sounded, "what's happening?"

"Don't speak just yet," the cardinal hero instructed as he knelt down and gently lifted the bandaged girl's upper body so that he could administer the elixir. "My name is Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero. I'll be taking you and your brother under my care from this moment on." Naturally she couldn't reply immediately, having to wait until she'd drank the entire elixir.

Once she was finished her body glowed green for a few seconds. Naofumi let her go and backed up then while Darius released Fohl. "Atla!" he exclaimed, rushing over to check on his sister. Amazingly, she was sitting up on her own now.

"I feel so….warm," she noted quietly, her voice sounding much more even than before.

"Atla," he took her hands and felt them, surprised to feel more warmth from them than he had in ages. "You're alright, I'm so glad."

"She's not entirely out of the woods," Naofumi informed, "she'll need to take the elixir at least a few more times before she's fully recovered."

"But she'll finally be better," Fohl wiped a few tears from his eyes, "then we'll do it. We'll come work for you, Mr. Shield Hero."

"Just call me Naofumi," he insisted before picking up Atla and carrying her bridal style, "alright, let's wrap things up here. It's time to go home." Everyone happily agreed to that and once the purchase was complete, they finally put Zeltoble behind them.

Rurorona Village

"Welcome back everyone! Sir Hero! Hey guys!" Almost the moment they teleported back they were greeted by their friends and the villagers.

"Naofumi, Darius," Melty waved, "how did it go?"

"Done and over with," Darius sighed, "as usual I feel like I need a bath now. Good news is we got another couple folks we managed to help out."

"I'm sorry I attacked you both," Fohl apologized, earning a confused gasp from Melty.

"Don't be," the Armory Hero assured while spinning the ball of thread, which he now knew as the Vassal Sewing Set, on his finger, "I've been looking for an excuse to try this thing out. Happy to say the first field test was a success!"

"You've been messing with that thing since we got back from the coliseum," the shield hero sighed, "are you that excited to be using wire attacks?"

"Try ecstatic," Darius corrected, "wire abilities are in my top ten list of anime powers. I should probably apologize now because I'm likely going to be a little annoying over the next few days."

"Just don't get spider thread everywhere," Naofumi sighed before showing Melty the girl in his arms, "anyway, this is Atla. She's going to need treatment for a little while. And this is her older brother, Fohl."

"Pleased to meet you both," the princess curtsied, "I'm Melty Melromarc. Why don't we get something for your sister and then we can show you both around the village."

"What is this place?" Fohl asked while looking around.

"A war camp," Darius answered simply, "a base, a village. But mostly a home that needs a little rebuilding. Welcome to Rurorona village."

"Speaking of which, we should get to work," Naofumi reminded before walking forward.

"About that," Melty walked alongside them, "everyone was talking while you were gone, and we thought we should do something considering the return of so many villagers marks such a happy occasion."

"Like what, a party?" The shield hero raised an eyebrow. "You know we don't have time to set something like that up."

"Not a party, exactly," the princess corrected, "more like-."

A Short Time Later

"BEACH TIME!" The villagers cheered with the majority of them rushing to the water.

"Do we really have time for this," Naofumi asked, standing with his party next to Darius's party.

"Bit late to stop it now," the Armory Hero pointed out, "and we've all been busting our tails for the last few days."

"And this is the first time a lot of us have been able to swim here in ages," Rifana pointed out, having donned her yellow swimsuit from Cal Mira once again, "I think we can afford a few hours."

"And I can take a swim with Naofumi!" Sadeena declared suddenly while grabbing the cardinal hero's arm and rubbing against it. Her 'swimsuit' consisted of her outfit without the black sleeves and vest.

"Neechan!" Raphtalia, again in her blue swimsuit, scolded while pushing her away. But Sadeena simply hugged her instead.

"And you and Rifana have grown up so much!" She cheered, "it's making me cry!"

"And I guess you finally found your drinking buddy," Rifana sweat-dropped.

"It was bound to happen at some point," Izumi reminded, "previous Shield Heroes have also had harems." This was the first time Darius had seen her in a swimsuit and she'd clearly gotten advice from Figneria. She was wearing a black and blue bikini with butterfly decorations that left little to the imagination, not that Darius needed much help in that regard.

"I doubt Naofumi's as interested or willing to have a harem," he pointed out, "we've been able to get this to work out fairly well so far because you all entered into it with the expectation that you'd have to share but it's had its rough patches. I personally can't thank you enough for your patience with everything so far."

"I won't pretend like I'm completely okay with it," Rifana admitted while pressing up against her boyfriend, "but I'm willing to give it a shot after everything you've done for me and the village."

"I too, shall do my utmost," Izumi pressed in on the other side, "so long as you'll have me."

"Then let's give it a shot," Darius decided while putting an arm around each of their waists, "what say we take a walk."

"This will be my first time walking on a beach," the horned girl mused aloud.

"Doesn't Siltvelt have beaches on the other side?" Rifana asked.

"They have a port on the other side," Izumi informed, "but not a huge number of beaches. Though even if they did our clan doesn't typically travel so far down the mountains for mere recreation. The closest we have to a beach is the shores of a lake."

"Is that why the rest of you keep glancing at the water uneasily," the Armory Hero directed his question to Natsui and the other Yama clan members. They'd been wordlessly following them for the last few minutes. It was almost hard to take them seriously in their swimwear even if they were carrying weapons.

"As Izumi said, we haven't exactly spent time on beaches," he answered, "but our duty also forbids it. We must guard the Armory and Shield Heroes."

"Do all of you have to be on duty at the same time, though," Darius asked back, "there's a half dozen of you and we're celebrating."

"All the more reason we should be vigilant," Natsui insisted, "our vulnerability is greatest at times like these."

"Fair enough I guess," the cardinal hero admitted, "but you guys need a break too. So how about this; since there are a half dozen of you just assign one person each for me and Naofumi and swap out from time to time. That way we'll still have a look out, and you can still have a good time."

"That is…. acceptable," the Yama clan warrior conceded, "be it one or all of us, we shall not fail."

"I believe you," Darius nodded before walking off with Izumi and Rifana, "just remember to enjoy yourselves!" It was definitely what everyone else planned on doing. The kids naturally swam, built sandcastles, and played games. Filo and Johann practiced hunting aquatic life from the sea and the air. Melty and Éclair supervised a lot of the events, though they joined in from time to time, and many of the adults were simply happy to rest on the beach for a bit.

There was one odd incident, however, that changed the dynamic of the village a little. "Why's everyone looking at me," Keel asked, "do I have something on my face?"

"Not your face," a mole demi-human by the name of Imiya corrected, "your chest is wrapped, why?" It was a legitimate question. For some reason Keel had bandages wrapped around his upper body, almost like.

"My chest just got swollen recently," the wolf demi-human insisted, "it'll get better soon."

"Keel," Raphtalia walked up, "you do know the difference between boys and girls, right?"

"What, of course I do," Keel claimed. The raccoon girl moved over and whispered in his ear then, explaining the difference. "Yeah, I knew that. Mine just hasn't grown in yet. I'll get it when I become an adult!"

"Who told you that, exactly?" Rifana asked in concern.

"My dad," Keel informed, "he said being a man of the sea is all about spirit!"

"That's a completely different thing!" Rifana and Raphtalia both exclaimed.

"A student of anatomy Keel's dad was not," Darius commented as he and Naofumi watched this all unfold, "at least in the worst-case scenario. Right now, I'm hoping he just didn't have time to teach Keel the difference."

"I do question how his dad managed to have a kid if his understanding was that poor," Naofumi agreed, "but what confuses me more is how no one noticed this whole time."

"How did we not notice," the Armory Hero asked, "years of being on the lookout for traps and reverse traps in anime and manga and we still somehow got reverse trapped!"

"Just be thankful it wasn't the other way around," the shield hero deadpanned.

"Yes, one less trauma for the both of us," Darius admitted, "but now we have to deal with someone else's dramatic revelation." Dramatic being the fact that Keel was now currently on the ground looking as if he just realized his entire life had been a lie. The next few days around her were going to be awkward.

A Few Days Later

The beach party was considered a huge success with everybody managing to have at least a bit of fun while it lasted. But as is always the case, it was back to work the next day. It took a bit to organize the newly returned villagers and find work for all of them but eventually they managed to get a job for most of them. Construction was naturally continuing, and a new project emerged with the building of a wooden wall. As per the usual construction around the village was handled mostly by Naofumi and Melty with Éclair supervising what she could.

Darius, for his part, found himself in charge of security as his main job since he could most easily examine the condition of weapons and because the Yama Clan members insisted on answering to him first instead of Naofumi. Something he just now had time to wonder about. "So quick question, uh, sorry still learning names here," he asked his current bodyguard, a Yama clan girl with short bowl cut hair and two almost foot long horns.

"Komuri, Sir Darius," she reminded, "what would you like to know?"

"Thank you," the cardinal hero said, "Komuri, has your clan ever come into conflict because of your choice to follow the Armory Hero over the Shield Hero?"

"Not at first," the clan girl answered, "the shield hero of that time and your predecessor were close allies. When they passed away, however, there were extremists we had to deal with from time to time. They would often ally with our rivals and other enemies, calling us blasphemers for not worshipping the shield hero. Why do you ask?"

"Just getting to know who I'm working with," Darius answered matter-of-factly, "and because I need you to pass the word along about the chain of command."

"We all intend to follow your orders to the letter," Komuri assured, "our loyalty to the Armory Hero is absolute."

"Oh I ain't worried about that," he waved dismissively, "just saying that when I'm not around you should listen to Naofumi and when neither of us is around listen to Melty, Elcair, or Figneria if she happens to be here."

"Lady Melty does seem competent enough," the Yama clan girl observed, "lady Figneria and Éclair are also accomplished warriors. I believe it will be possible for us to take orders from them."

"She mentioned you all did your jobs to the letter while we were at the coliseum," Darius recalled, "personally I was relieved to hear it."

"Did you think us incapable of guarding the village," Komuri tilted her head questioningly.

"No, far from it," the Armory Hero assured, "I was a bit worried there might be a problem with you guys being Siltvelt folk near Melromarc."

"You must be referring to the bad blood between our kingdoms," she surmised, "some members of our clan were lost when they participated in the war between Melromarc and Siltvelt, but we place the blame for that on Aultcray, the king of wisdom. Lady Melty is a friend of the Armory Hero and even if we did have as great a hatred for Melromarc as the rest of Siltvelt we wouldn't dare give him reason to be angry with us. You have my word; no harm shall come to her by our hands unless you desire it."

"Appreciate it," he nodded in gratitude, "navigating around these age long conflicts has been trickier than dealing with the Waves."

"I also have an inquiry for you," Komuri thought how best to word her question, "why is it that you sent Izumi away to do other work around the village? Has she displeased you somehow?"

"I want to see if there's any kind of job she enjoys doing outside of combat," Darius explained, "I know it's supposed to be her job to basically spend the rest of her life with me, but I don't think she should feel obligated to spend every waking moment with me. Izumi's her own person and not everything she does has to revolve around me. The same goes for you and the rest of the Yama clan. And it's her turn to sleep with me tonight anyway so I think we'll get plenty of time together soon enough."

"I am confused," the horned girl tilted her head, "you are…. concerned…that we might be spending too much time guarding you?"

"Just concerned that you're not taking any time for yourselves," the Armory Hero explained, "life's short, especially in our case when interdimensional pricks could come down and kill us tomorrow. So yeah, do your jobs and take them seriously when you're doing them but try to find time to enjoy life too. You're not robots, after all."

"I don't know what a robot is," Komuri almost laughed, "but I'll be sure to pass along your wishes to the rest of my clansmen and women."

"Thanks," the Armory Hero nodded, "now let's go check on that new weapons storehouse. With the progress Rifana's made in that section of the village it might already be finished."

"It just might be," his current guard acknowledged before following along after him. Her shift would end later in the day, and another would take her place while Darius continued his rounds. When he wasn't helping check the perimeter, looking over weapon-related items, security issues, or doing paperwork he was helping Naofumi compound herbs and a few poisons of his own. And when he wasn't doing that, he was doing any other job that he could do that needed doing.

This work would continue on after sundown for him and a few others. "Haa," Melty sighed as she set down a stack of papers listing their expenses compared to their profits, "we're going to have to seriously work on selling those bio-plants and medicines. Right now, we're still short on money for building proper facilities." They were currently in what amounted to a study in Naofumi's house.

The right wall had a couple of full bookshelves and the middle of the room had two green plush chairs facing each other and a small table in the center for guests. "Just building the storehouses is taking a good chunk out of our finances," Darius added while looking over his own section of paperwork, "I know you don't want to store anymore weapons in the underwater temple but that might be our only option for the time being."

"We're starting to make more money trading," Naofumi pointed out from behind his desk while reading what looked like a literal book of the village's business transactions, "since there are only two of us, we can only do one quick teleport each before having to wait an hour to do it again. Even with multiple people we'd only be able to make a few trips if we needed to transport weapons back here in a short time."

"You'd make a whole day out of that," the princess commented before she decided to ask a question which had been on her mind for a bit. "Naofumi, Darius, how are things going with all the new kids around?"

"Noisier than before," the Armory Hero shrugged, "but they've all taken to the work we've given them pretty well. Plus, Rifana's happy and that's always a good thing as far as I'm concerned."

"Pretty much what Darius said," the Shield Hero gave his own thoughts, "we've got more to manage but I'm happy that Raphtalia's happy."

"And that's good to hear, but what I'm getting at is that we're basically parents of a huge family right now," Melty clarified, "you get up super early to make breakfast and then work well past sunset. Even with the physical enhancements from your weapons that has to be draining for both of you."

"She's right!" Sadeena chimed in, walking through the doorway with, expectedly, a bottle of something alcoholic in her hand. "It's good that you've made new friends but don't work too hard!" She stopped suddenly at the window behind Naofumi's desk, staring intently out into the night. "If you're not well rested, you won't be ready for what might be out there."

Her demeanor had changed suddenly upon her last sentence, the drunk smile slipping from her face and turning into a frown. Everyone was so taken aback by the odd shift in her mood that they almost didn't notice another two people walking in. "Sadeena-neesan!" Raphtalia barked, a tray of fresh drinks in her hands. Rifana was right behind her, an annoyed look on her face that matched her friend's.

"Aw, Raphtalia! Rifana!" She slurred before moving to sling one arm each around their shoulders, "I was just checking up on everyone here!"

"We've told you not to bring alcohol into the study when the others are working," Rifana scolded, "and no we don't care if Naofumi can handle it, he can't work if you're making him guzzle down a whole bar full!"

"But this is just water to us," Sadeena assured, shaking the bottle in her hand for emphasis, "the water of life! You wouldn't deny me sharing the water of life, would you?"

"What you're supposed to be doing right now is helping us with the kids," Raphtalia reminded as both she and Rifana grabbed ahold of the whale woman and began dragging her off, "some of them still get scared at night and need help falling asleep."

"Then I'll just have to sleep with Naofumi some other time," she commented in a singsong voice, her mood not affected by the fact that she was being drug off.

"You will not," Raphtalia corrected immediately.

"Try not to stay up too late tonight guys," Rifana implored as they exited the room, "we'll see you later!" Even after they left the the sound of Sadeena's drunk cheering could be heard for another minute before finally fading from earshot.

"That woman's become more annoying than ever," the shield hero sighed.

"All things considered she could've fallen for someone far worse," Melty pointed out, "I've heard stories about some not-so-great drunks out there."

"We both just wish she wasn't such a drunk," Darius pointed out, "pretty sure if you stick your dick in that it'll come out smelling like a brewery."

"And that's a mental image I did not need," Naofumi again sighed, "let's just hurry up and get this done." That was something everyone could agree on.

Another Couple Days Later

The time came sooner than any of them expected. Atla's treatments continued to heal her body of the disease that ravaged it and now she was finally able to take off the bandages she'd been forced to wear for so long. The young girl underneath was beautiful with black and white hair that reached past her waist, some of which she'd later wear as braids hanging over the front of her shoulders. A tigerlike tail and ears also adorned her body.

Sadly, even the Yggdrasil Elixir was incapable of healing her sight. But that didn't seem to trouble the young girl who was simply happy she could move at all. She was so happy, in fact, that she'd leapt out of the wooden wheelchair they'd provided her with to thank Naofumi for nursing her back to health. After that, Fohl would take her out from time to time so that she could try standing.

Naturally the shield hero was interested in watching her progress to make sure there wasn't any sort of relapse, but other business beckoned. As Melty had mentioned they needed to sell more items, so they came up with a plan. Naofumi would venture off to Lute Village and discuss opening a trade route of sorts along with other possible business dealings. Darius would do the same at Reichnott's and Whittaker's estates.

As much as he would've liked it to be, a trade route with Koteraan wasn't possible at the moment due to distance and most of their dealings being with Melromarc. Thankfully, both trips would prove relatively fruitful, and deals would be struck. Unfortunately, what they'd find upon returning to their village would be far less pleasant.

New faces, new dynamics, and the same old busy days in Rurorona Village. But as we all know nothing stays quiet very long for our heroes and once again trouble is planning on rearing its ugly head. But that's for next chapter, so 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. Also, check in on my Pat reon for news on my current and upcoming stories! Last thing, stop in next time as our heroes deal with rowdy visitors with their own unique form of diplomacy! 'Til then.