"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
The man drew his sword and Naofumi walked at him without regard for himself. The man swung his sword only for [Hazard] to rebound hard, breaking his sword, gauntlet, and damaging his arm.
"See my point? I'll be there in two days."
...
Their wagon was still in the capital, meaning they weren't going to be traveling by cart. So they settled for flying on Leon, much to Filo's dismay. She was made even more upset by not receiving her promised double dinner, as they had nothing to prepare food. They had spare food from Naofumi's [Inventory] for each meal.
Their travel time was still good, having Leon not follow roads sped things up, but he also had to take more breaks than Filo did. Of course, Filo pointed that out.
The family collectively noticed Monti was acting different, in a good way. He was still diligent and reliable, but he seemed to be less serious. He'd crack a joke or two more than he would normally and overall seemed less stressed. Naofumi and Raphtalia had yet to discuss it, but they both liked the change for Monti's own sake.
While flying back without all of his tools, Naofumi had less 'work' to do than if he was in the cart. This gave him more time for other things. One of which was enjoying the view, but of course, that wasn't very productive. The other major thing was looking through his menus.
He decided to master the [Commander Shield] and [Soul Eater Shield] over the two days of travel. They were easily the most important shields he needed mastered. He also went through his drop list. Not only to review the new things that they received in the wave, but also to look back over older drops that he may have misjudged.
The rarest thing he got from the Skin Walkers was
.
[Wolf Kigurumi]
[Hp +10, Atk+8, Def +11, Mdef +2, Agi+18, Earth Resistance (large), Shadow Resistance (small), Stamina Restore (low), Skill Adjustment (small)]
.
"What? 'Wolf' my ass. It's a puppy mascot suit... These items are getting dumber..., but those stats..."
And the rarest thing he got from the lizardmen was.
.
[Carcass Carver]
[Atk +28, resistance bypass (weak)]
.
"Good weapon, too big for Raphtalia. For an adventurer of a larger build? might sell this..."
One of the Soul Eaters dropped an item.
.
[Essence Jar]
[Gain a small portion of energy whenever someone dies near you.]
.
"That's it? You don't have any way to use that energy? Can I absorb the essence? Use it as a crafting material? This seems useless."
Besides these three items, nothing was that special. The Lizardmen dropped a lot of their scaled skin and the Skin Walkers dropped a lot of these weird wolf pelts. Between the two a lot of light armor could be made. The shadow goblins barely had drops and even then, it was only smoke bombs.
Once the [Commander Shield] was mastered, he was able to see all of the differences between party members and sub-party members.
Sub party members can use [Tele-communication], but only between other members of the same sub-party. Likewise, normal party members could not communicate with sub-party members if they are not within the same sub-party. So messages would need the party leader to relay both ways. Naofumi would need to remember to choose party members that have leadership qualities to avoid communication breakdown during the next wave.
He also found he could not summon sub-members with [Knock Knock], but could still summon them with [Knock Knock II], by summoning the leader of that sub-party. Though in that case, you either summoned that whole sub-party or just the leader. You couldn't pick and choose sub-members to summon. It was all or nothing.
Naofumi was pleased to see that his stat growth boosting shields helped sub-members, if applicable. He'd have to try and unlock shields to help others that may join him. He wondered if a human stat growth shield was even possible and if so, if it'd boost his own stats.
The others found themselves bored and so joined Filo on her newest time waster. She wanted to make up songs based on their adventures so far. One for the race she had in Lute town, one for the Bioplant incident, another for the zombie dragon, and lastly a song for this wave fight. The others helped Filo, but Naofumi stayed out of it. He knew he had no talent for music.
When they had to stop and sleep, Leon was devastated to find out that their bedding was still in the cart and not in Naofumi's [Inventory]. Between Naofumi's cloak doubling as a blanket and Filo's trademark 'softest soft' everyone else was fine. Leon wasn't cold, his clothes took care of that. He just preferred extra heat while sleeping. He ultimately refused Filo's tempting fluff and just hid away in his clothes. However, the moment Leon and Filo were asleep, Teal grew her arm out to grab him and drag him in. He almost woke up, but the moment his head hit Filo's feathers, he was done.
...
With Fitts at his camp
...
Fitts had returned to camp after trading in the nearby village. He finally had the slave ink he needed, but it cost him most of what he salvaged from the many church followers. The box felt heavy in his hand, but he paid it no mind.
"Oh, you made it back? You were gone for longer than you said. I was hoping you were caught, away from all your traps." His freed hostage said in a goading manner.
"...Hello to you too." Fitts said, trying to ignore his hostage.
"Did you get anything to eat? Your traps seem to work great on people, but you've yet to catch as much as a rabbit in the last week."
"All you do is complain." Fitts pointed out, as he began removing things from his bag.
"I'm a prisoner with nothing to entertain myself, except making fun of you." She said in a snide tone.
"Well then, you'll be happy to know I'll allow you to continue doing so... after I get the information I need." Fitts finished by pulling out the slave ink.
The shadow's attitude crumbled in an instant. The moment she saw the ink, she freaked out. She went to grab the knife Fitts used for preparing meals, but the moment she did, a small string broke and her arm was bound by a rope trap.
Fitts went over to grab the other arm, only for her to thrash about in an act of desperation he'd not seen out of her before. He took hold of her other arm, only for her to try and bite him.
It was no use. Fitts had been adding light sedatives to her food for a while now, she didn't have the strength to fight him off.
So she did the only thing she could think of. She attempted to bring her neck to the knife in her other hand. She was trying to kill herself.
"Dammit! Be reasonable! I just need the information! Is that really more important than your life!?" Fitts yelled as he wrestled the knife out of her hand.
"Never! Never again! I'll never let someone do that to me again! Aaahhh!" The shadow tried with all her might to overpower Fitts.
She even came close, despite the numerous reasons that she shouldn't be able to.
"Former slave? Doesn't make sense. Melromarc doesn't allow human slavery."
Her mind ran from one random thing to another. Trying to think of any way to escape long enough to kill herself. As he bound her completely, she had but a single useless option: to beg.
"I'll give you all the information you want! I tell you anything! I'll do anything! Just not that! Anything but that!" At this point she was sobbing heavily.
Fitts stopped. There was no amount of information she could give him as a free woman, that she couldn't give to him as a slave. In fact, she'd give more as a slave and he'd know for a fact that it was true...
But she truly looked pitiful to him right now. He thought about his time on the run and how desperate he was, about the fear and paranoia. All he wanted to do was survive..., but she feared something more than death. He couldn't begin to understand what that must be like, to prefer his worst fear over it.
"...Talk."
He gave her a chance. It was stupid, and served no purpose, but he did.
She spilled her guts on every little thing she knew. She told him of the pope's plans, who and how the nobles were poisoned, the organized coup using the shield hero as merely the rallying call to gather the forces without the king reacting, the church's deals with Princess Malty, their plan to kill all the royalty and divide up administrative power of Melromarc between the greater lords, she even mentioned a long since missing weapon of legend that the church had been preparing for the battle.
She truly left no detail out.
"..." Fitts considered this.
"..." She pleaded in her heart that he'd simply kill her.
"What you said before... You couldn't have been a slave of Melro-"
"Siltvelt... I was a slave in Siltvelt... Why do you think I joined the three heroes church?" She said while trying to catch her breath from crying so hard.
Fitts considered this. He believed her, but the question was what to do now? Enslave her to confirm the information? Then use her as a weapon? Force her to relay bad info to bait more of the church's men to their doom? Or just slit her throat and be done with it?
Any other decision could get him killed...
He started making excuses. He'd need to act on this information, so he'd need to leave. She could track him or relay information, but not both. Was it really that large a danger?
Fitts was being stubborn and he knew it. He stood there, over her, for nearly ten minutes thinking.
The shadow watched his eyes, doing her best to read him and his thoughts.
Finally, Fitts heaved a sigh and tossed the ink aside. He picked her up and began untying her. She said nothing.
"I'm gathering my things and leaving... Goodbye."
The shadow stood there, shell-shocked. Thinking through what to do with what she knew and being free to leave. A moment later, she had her answer.
She started yelling at him again. "Okay, first of all asshole-"
...
The capital
...
Leon landed right at the castle gates and transformed into his human form, terrifying the guards quite a bit. No one bothered explaining themselves as they went through the entrance with none of the men stationed there having the nerve to speak up. As soon as they were inside the town, Naofumi spoke.
"Do whatever you all like, worst case scenario, I'll summon you all to my side."
"Wouldn't you prefer company? Facing the king alone..." Raphtalia was concerned.
"I'll be fine... Besides, I know you hate that place even more than I do."
"Make sure Mel-chan is okay!" Filo reminded him. For like the tenth time.
"Of course..." Naofumi scooped all the kids up with Raphtalia in the middle for a big goodbye hug.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." Naofumi said with a wave.
Once he left, Raphtalia and the kids thought of what to do.
"I wanna go see Mr. Beloukas" Leon quickly said.
"To ask about Gaelion's other child?" Raphtalia asked.
"Yeah. Other stuff too, but that's the big reason" Leon said, looking at Monti and Teal, all but asking one of them to go with.
Raphtalia was a little worried on what this 'other stuff' was. Beloukas was a slave trader after all. Before she voiced her concerns, Teal piped up.
"I'll go with you. I also have business with him." She said casually.
Now Raphtalia was doubly concerned, but she also knew the two of them would be safe. They were both strong and Beloukas liked Naofumi too much to try anything.
"Alright, but you two be careful."
They nodded and left. What would the three remaining do?
"Filo wants to go to the cart! Filo misses it so, so much!" Filo said too loudly.
"It's not ideal, but that cart is our home, huh? ... Alright. Let's make sure it's okay."
...
The throne room
...
Naofumi was escorted into the throne room, which is to say that he walked in and the guards simply kept pace with him. When he entered he noticed that the only ones here were the king, himself and like three dozen knights.
"Obviously not a nice meeting." He made sure to use [Record] on the entire exchange.
Naofumi took so many steps forward and waited for the king to speak. The king pulled out a crystal ball and played the recording. It showed him using [Sunder] on the first Soul Eater and [Iron Maiden] on the second one. The king let it play a few second longer, before turning it off and putting the crystal away. Finally, he spoke.
"These feats are truly amazing, as it pains me to admit."
"Holy shit, is this happening?"
"I called you here because I have questions and need answers."
"Of course, trash will be trash."
"How did you obtain this power? Such power is not becoming of a shield hero. You have a duty to answer my questions. Now spit it out and don't you dare lie to me."
"Demand answers, then accuse me of lying, the fuck?"
Naofumi thought of going off on the king. As he was now, he didn't fear the whole of the castle's staff. Even if the king is a vassal hero, he looked to not have it on him..., but ultimately he decided to play along a bit, for Melty's sake.
"That first ability [Sunder] was my strongest and only offensive move before that fight. It's strong, but has a heavy restriction. I assume that's why it's so strong." Naofumi answered honestly.
"How did you gain it and what restrictions does it have?" The king wanted every little thing.
"I had a talented blacksmith in this city make me a few custom shields. I can copy the form and therefore the function of other shields. This is that shield."
Naofumi switched shields to show him.
"I only had 1 attack stat, I hoped to get some offense from these commissions and did. There's only one restriction, I can only use it once a day."
"That's quite the restriction..." The king said, not believing a word of it. "And that other skill, the one that near killed the other wave boss all by itself, what of it?"
"If he was doubting me before, he's not gonna like this."
"There's a lot about the shield that made that skill possible that I don't understand. I obtained it in a very different way from my other shields." Naofumi hoped the king would just move on.
"Different how?" The king kept probing.
"Well, for example, I just obtained this shield-" He switched to the [Commander Shield] before continuing, "during the wave when I tried to form a party of more than 20 members, it-"
"I find it hard to believe that that many people would ever join you." The king interrupted with a snide remark.
"For Melty, For Melty, For Melty-"
"It seems I obtain a few select shields when certain conditions are met. The skill that killed that boss came from a shield that I obtained when I thought my f-party was wiped out. I lost it, obtaining this shield..., but it's dangerous. I can only use it in big fights like that."
"Because?" The king was truly ruthless in his probing.
"Because I'm not in my right mind when I use it. Without people there to pull me out of it, the damned thing sends me into a rage. Obviously not very desirable."
"..." The king thought a moment.
"If you're done with your questions, I have a few of my own. For starters, where is Melty? She promised to help me once I returned."
The mentioning of Melty seemed to tick him off.
"After what you did to my first daughter, I'll never-"
"Stop that. You knew my attack stat was 1 didn't you? You knew I was out there all damned day getting that measly 7 EXP. You knew and still you-"
"You will not interrupt me! I am the king! Talk out of turn again and-"
"And you'll what?" Naofumi challenged.
The king grit his teeth.
"Nothing as I thought. Good."
"I just need to speak to the person who's really in charge. My party nearly died in that wave and clearly the other heroes aren't going to be of any help. Despite that, you made it so my party can't use the hourglass to class upgrade. That needs to be rectified immediately."
"Or what?" the king said, quoting Naofumi.
"You piece of shit."
"Or else when the next wave comes around, all four heroes die and then everyone else dies too."
"Tsk." The king turned his head, unimpressed. "After what you've done, you should be happy to not be in a cage."
"What I've done!?" Naofumi was losing patience.
"I'll tell you what 'I've done'. I reached level 49 despite the fact that a full day's work netted me 7 EXP. I turned a little starving, sickly girl that was made a slave by your shitty actions into a warrior that'd tear every knight in this room to pieces. I saved Lute village, while the heroes covered themselves in glory. I saved Lerno from the spear hero's idiocy. I saved Mirso from the Sword hero's idiocy. I saved countless people by taking on the guise of the savior of the heavenly fowl. I just saved another village and beat two wave bosses, minutes apart. I completed a wave without a single death, which I doubt has ever happened before."
At this point the knights were exchanging looks and seemed blown away. The king went to speak, but Naofumi spoke over him.
"And that's in spite of all the things this country, and more specifically YOU, have done to me. You kidnapped me and made me essentially your slave. To fight and die as you see fit. Found me guilty of a crime while fully aware I was too busy doing my duty as hero. The list goes on... What the fuck have you done!? You, a vassal hero that doesn't fight in the waves! You, a king who actively sabotages his only hope of survival! If the people knew what you were doing- hell if enough people in this room cared about their families living another year... Your fat head would be on a fucking spike!"
The knights once again exchanged looks.
"Enough! How dare you speak to me in such a manner!? Obviously I've been too lenient with you! I should have-"
"Those are my words! After all the shit you put me through, I saved your people, your villages. I did your job as a vassal hero and as a king and you summon me here to interrogate me and talk shit!? I can't believe I actually answered your questions and tried to play nice. I can't believe I answered your summons at all. To sit here and answer questions from one of the people whose caused me the most pain and try to be civil, only for this? This!?"
"You think yourself so mighty that you can say and do as you please, while also demanding class upgrades and complaining of your low attack!? If you are as strong as you seem to think yourself, then you aren't in need of assistance getting class upgrades. I have more questions for you and you shall answer them."
"I've answered several of your questions. Answer mine. Where is Melty? I need to speak to her." Naofumi repeated.
"Firstly, you will show her the respect she deserves. You are to address her as 'Princess Melty'. Further, I see no reason that you'd need to speak to her." The king said.
"Are you kidding me? I need to speak to her because otherwise I have to deal with you! You've given me nothing but grief. Melty has been more helpful in the three days leading up to the wave than the rest of the royalty and sum total of all your knights combined. Did you know that most of the tactics, strategy, and even command structure we used during the wave were made by Princess Melty?" He added Princess not to do as the king said, but because he did respect her.
"Melty did?" The king was genuinely put off.
"Yeah. When they write a book about her, and they most certainly will, I'm sure that'll be the first thing. A ten year old girl achieved the first zero casualty wave defense with two hours of prep and a single hero. That's why I want to talk to her. Despite her age, she already acts like a ruler should. Even as a child, she has done more for her country than most citizens will in their whole lives... So... Please let me speak to her?" Naofumi tried to calm down, tried to reel it in.
The king had been on the back foot of this entire exchange and he was likely not to recover. To hear such heavy praise for his daughter would be welcome if it came from anyone else.
"...To answer your question, she is being kept from you due to the obvious circumstances. Melty is a very bright girl, but at her age she trusts too easily. I can't have someone like you near her. If something were to happen to Melty... of an adult nature, your hero status would not protect you. I'd kill you myself and that's a promise..." The kings words slowed as he finished, letting the words hang in the air.
The room was quiet.
"I see..."
Naofumi would be denied access to Melty. It made sense. Melty was the missing piece that let them achieve what they needed to achieve.
"Then this whole thing is a waste of time. You wanna deal? Here it is... I'll keep saving every single person in this country. I'll save every village and beat every wave. Best of all, I'll never enter this castle again. As in you'll never have to see me again. Which means you'll never have to reward me. All you got to do is let my party class upgrade. How about it? You get what you want and I basically work for free?"
"If I say I won't come to the castle, that also means no Melty. I'm sure Melty will find a way to fix things on her end in time. I just need the class upgrades. If I can get those, then we don't have to leave."
"Do you think you can dictate terms to me?" The king asked in fury.
"You can't be serious?"
"Your party will not be allowed to class upgrade. Not until I feel you've repaid for your crimes. Until then-"
"What the fuck is wrong with you!?" Naofumi yelled at the top of his lungs.
"I've done more than anyone else and all I ask is that you remove a single restriction that you yourself put in place to be petty and I'd continue being an unrivaled boon in your country for less than free... AND YOU SAY NO!?"
"I'm done tolerating your mouth, shield hero. You may think your defense keeps you safe, but your party doesn't have that luxury."
Naofumi Froze.
"If you continue to act in this manner, I'll simply punish your party members in your place."
Naofumi's brain and body weren't working together, but they were catching up. He slowly walked towards the king in an aggressive manner. The knights saw this and seven of them attempted to stop Naofumi. The moment their weapons made contact with them, they shattered along with some of their armor. All seven fell as Naofumi started walking up the few stairs to the king.
The king called out, "What do you think you are doing!? You fool! I'll-"
Naofumi reached the king, leaned over and slammed his arm against the back of the thrown, just next to his face. Their faces were an inch apart.
"You just did the only thing you shouldn't have done. You threatened my family. My woman, my sons, my daughters. I have half a mind to kill you right here and now. Do you understand me?" Naofumi spoke frightfully calm, as if laser focused and ready for anything. Not a knight moved.
"Family? What are you talking ab-" The king was equal parts terrified and confused.
"My family. You threatened them. You've done something with Melty, leaving her unable to help and even me promising you that I would do everything for free has failed. I can no longer protect both my family and this country. So, It's decided... I quit." Naofumi leaned up and began to slowly leave.
"Qu-Quit? What do you mean 'quit'?"
"Tell Melty that I'm sorry she won't get to play with Filo anymore. Maybe years from now, when you're dead, I'll bring her for a visit."
"You talk of my death as if it's a certainty." The king said with prideful anger.
"There are 36 knight in this room. When I came at you, only 7 went to defend you. That means 29 of them stood there and watched. I'm sure the 7 that acted had no family. Just like Melty, your authority can be ignored too." Naofumi said alluding to what he said earlier.
As Naofumi left, the knights that were escorting him ran ahead to open each door with a bow. Once he reached the last set of doors, they bowed again, but spoke.
"Thank you for all that you've done, savior." The knights sounded like they meant it.
"Now we have to leave... Now."
Naofumi used [Tele-communication] and spoke to the party.
"I'm sorry everyone, but things got bad. We are leaving tonight. Return to the cart by dusk."
"Mr. Erhart?" Raphtalia argued.
"Tsk, you're right. I'll go see him... and the witch. Someone is going to need to see Beloukas."
"Me and Leon are already here, dad. What do you want to tell him?" Teal answered?
"Just let him know that we're not coming back for a long time, if ever. See if we can set up some kind of go-between partner in Siltvelt." Naofumi directed.
"Understood." Leon finished.
Filo was nearly in tears realizing she wasn't going to see Melty today. Once she understood just how long it could be, she was crying, Monti doing his best to comfort her.
Leon and Teal had to rush their business with Beloukas. Teal was selling him a modified plant monster to be a new product for his front business. She wanted more coin than he was offering because Beloukas could use the one seed/plant to grow more, Leon knowing if Beloukas was short changing them. Leon wanted an update on the search and Beloukas said he found one that matched some of the description and was negotiating to confirm more of the info before he purchased her.
Leon would need to come back here later to pick up the child. Even if they left, he was determined to do so.
...
Erhart's shop
...
Naofumi entered the shop. He stopped to take in the weapons on the wall, the beating of Erhart's hammer, the smells of the forge in the back. He wouldn't be back for a while... If ever again. He'd miss Erhart, the witch, even that damned tailor. He was never safe or comfortable here, but having multiple allies helped him greatly.
Naofumi seemed to get lost in his head. As Erhart had stopped the forge and brought a new item out front, he caught sight of Naofumi.
"Oi, kid. You could have yelled... Did something happen in the wave?" Erhart saw Naofumi's mood and assumed the worst.
"Not really... It was rough, but we achieved a zero casualty rate." Naofumi bragged
"That's good to hear... So, what's wrong?" Erhart saw something was wrong, but asked anyways.
"...We nearly died... We need to class upgrade, but the king won't let us. He even threatened Raphtalia and the kids... So, I'm out."
Erhart said nothing, Naofumi continued.
"We're going to Siltvelt. I came because Raphtalia's new sword was broken by the thing that almost killed us... and to thank you, for everything."
"...I gotta few things I can give you for the road. Take your pile of rocks with you too... Sorry things didn't work out."
"Yeah..." Naofumi was upset at how things turned out.
He and Erhart spoke for a time. Only now, when Naofumi was leaving, did he really appreciate Erhart to the fullest. He was the first to believe him and first to help him. He made him armor that saved his life and gave Raphtalia the blades that let her grow into the woman she was. For all his thoughts on his bad luck, he was pretty damned lucky to have met and known Erhart. Naofumi was eventually handed a bag and he gathered his crystal ore and went to leave.
"I seriously can't thank you enough, Erhart. You armed Raphtalia, protected me, helped the kids. Again, thank you for everything." Naofumi meant every word and it showed on his face.
Naofumi gave the man a firm handshake and left. Erhart stood there. The moment Naofumi closed the door, Erhart began to shake in anger.
"After all the shit you put the kid though and all that he's done for you in spite of it all...! To threaten Raphtalia and the kids! Now I'm pissed!"
Erhart had half a mind to leave the capital. He didn't want to work on Melromarc armor anymore. Their knight didn't deserve his effort, just like they didn't deserve Naofumi's effort.
He'd need time to consider where else to go, if he could.
...
The magic shop
...
Naofumi entered at a bad time. Once again, Motoyasu's mage was here. Naofumi ignored her and went to the counter.
"Ah, shield hero. I've been told you did well in the wave." The witch greeted kindly.
"By who? Her?" Naofumi thought as he glanced briefly toward Rino.
"It was actually really rough and we nearly died. That's sorta related to why I'm here."
"Oh my, what can I do to help?" The witch's expression changed to one of concern.
"You can't. You've done plenty. I just came to tell you that I'm leaving the country. It may be some time before I can return... So take good care of yourself."
Naofumi tried being nice and calm, but the witch reacted about as expected.
"What happened? I'll seriously help you if it keeps you here."
"I need class upgrades"
"... Well... I can't help you there."
"The king ruled that my party can't receive class upgrades and even threatened Raphtalia and the kids. So, I'm done and we're leaving. I'll miss all of you guys and hate I had to make the choice, but if I have to choose between this country and my family-"
"I understand completely..." The witch said as she gathered a few things.
"You don't have to do that, we-"
"How did your youngest fair, the dragon...Leon was his name? Was he able to cast a spell yet?" The witch interrupted.
Naofumi gave up. "Believe it or not, he cast a beginner spell the next day and an intermediate spell during the wave."
The witch was really excited by that news. "Really? That's great to hear."
She finished grabbing some items and placed them in a bag. She held it out for Naofumi to take. Naofumi just stared back at it, guilt rising in him.
"I hate this. You don't have to be so nice... I'm abandoning you. I'm abandoning Lute."
"...I never bought into that whole 'savior of the heavenly fowl' nonsense like the others. I just saw you as a young man with plenty of heart..., but now steel is being pointed at your family. You have to abandon us. You helped us when you could, but now you can't, simple as that. Here." Then she tossed the bag to him, not wanting to hold it any longer.
"... I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It was our fault for not protecting you in turn. I took the idea of you sticking around for granted. Had I known it'd come to this..."
"Really, it's my-"
"I'd of taught Raphtalia how to suck the soul out of-"
"To the very end with you!" Naofumi stopped her from finishing.
The witch laughed as Naofumi blushed.
He walked to the door and waited a moment. He tried to find some kind of wise or meaningful words to say as his last to her, but he never found them. He left the shop.
Once he was gone, Rino went to the front, to the witch.
"...Well darn. So much for that, huh?" Rino said.
"Now we have no more useful heroes..."
Rino seemed to not mind the insult to Motoyasu.
"Then it looks like I'm staying with Motoyasu for now..."
"I'm sure you'll find a place worthy of your talent in time, dear."
"It's not about finding a place that's 'worthy of me'. I'm nothing special... I just want to matter to the people around me. I was going to die and all he did was yell my name. Meanwhile a complete stranger rescued me at the drop of a hat."
"Hmm. People like that are rare though... and now I see why. We run them out of town."
...
Back at the cart
...
Naofumi arrived to see a bit of a standoff in progress. Filo and Monti were transformed with Raphtalia, Teal and Leon behind them, nearly two dozen knights ahead of them.
"What's going on?" Naofumi asked.
"They won't let us leave." Raphtalia said.
One of the guards turned to Naofumi, "Kings orders, you are to remain-"
"Rough them up." Was all Naofumi said.
"I'm done dealing with that trash."
Within one minute, every guard was down for the count. Some were luckier than others. Filo prioritized kicking them in the dick. Teal's bad influence, no doubt.
They got themselves settled into the cart and went to leave. The guards couldn't open the gate (on account of them being knocked out), so Monti held it open for them.
They were back on the road, leaving the capital by midday. They didn't know how well Siltvelt would treat them, but anything is better than here.
.
[Author's Notes]
We got more drops and know how the sub-party system works.
Fitts finally got his answers and luckily, didn't have to use the ink.
I hope you were as satisfied by reading the throne room scene as I was writing it.
Erhart and the witch parting with gifts.
Siltvelt awaits.
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