"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
"True, but they can lead from behind for the next few battles. We'll allow them some glory after they've class upgraded. Don't want them dropping as quickly as their fathers, hehe." Lady Grimwald said with a snicker.
"I will secure Einclad's daughter and Osmond's son's safety, then stab all you monsters in the back." Aldreick thought to himself.
...
Filo had been going at a high speed for nearly three hours. Naofumi knew she could go for longer, but requested she lowered herself to an even pace. He also had to store everything he could in the cart into his [Inventory] as there were too many passengers. After that, Naofumi focused on tending to Leon and the shadow. They would likely get little time for sleep too.
"Listen dad, um..." Monti went to ask Naofumi something.
"We know and we don't blame you. It wasn't your intention." Raphtalia cut him off.
"What are you talking about? What happened?" Eclair asked.
"...I ended up killing one of those mages back there." Monti admitted.
"So what? They were the enemy and had every intention of killing you." Eclair saw no problem.
"I get that, but... It's probably better that I don't start acting like that." Monti said.
"Monti. Things might be very different soon. Killing people won't be off the table." Naofumi said in a sad voice.
"...But..." Monti began.
"If someone tries to kill a member of this family, or Melty, what will you do?" Naofumi asked Monti.
"...You said 'sometimes we can't decide whether someone lives or dies, but who lives and who dies'... So guess that means... I'll have to kill." Monti said.
"I know you don't like the idea, but if our lives are on the line, then we cannot hesitate." Raphtalia told him.
Eclair began forming her opinions on the shield hero's 'family'. She expected power from Monti given the form she saw, but to see him struggling with killing was disappointing. His usefulness was a lot lower than she had hoped. Teal and Leon both proved very useful in the last battle. She had yet to witness Filo at all. Raphtalia's knife skills were adequate, as it saved her life. She just hoped this party was good enough to aid the shield hero.
"I just can't believe this. The church, why?" Melty pondered out loud.
"It might be because you sided so heavily with me?" Naofumi said.
"It could also be the way you handled the king?" Eclair thought aloud.
Suddenly, the shadow began to stir. She tried to sit up, but Teal and Ake had to help her.
"I can provide some information on that front... Sorry for misreading your intentions, shield hero. Had I trusted you, I'd be unharmed and of more use." The shadow said.
"Don't worry about that. I jumped at you without any explanation... If you're up for it, we'd really like that information."
"First, where are we heading?" The shadow asked.
"Briarhaven. Liviccic Blackcrown has returned there and established himself as acting lord. He seems eager to protect Melty and fight the church."
"I see, then you know a little. I can't give all the details, but know that the church doesn't stand alone. Most of the greater lords stand by the church's side in this coup."
"Why was I not told of this!?" Melty was angry.
"Your mother's orders. She wanted you to focus on improving relations with the shield hero. She thought that attacking you in the castle couldn't be their opening move. She was confident that she could handle everything else... Your drastic action may have led the church to act in a way that the queen could not predict." The shadow informed them.
"Oi! Don't blame Melty for stepping into a trap that you fuckers knew about." Naofumi was upset.
"That wasn't my intent, I-" The shadow tried defending.
"Melty promised to march a small army into the church to get me my class upgrades with you standing right there. Had I agreed and we actually did that, we'd be walking into a warzone... So it isn't just me, you people can't even trust Melty with the information to save herself."
Melty took a step away from the shadow and sat next to Raphtalia.
"I can only act as I am told, but I think the queen had a lot of trust in Princess Melty. She's to be the next queen after all." The shadow defended.
"Speaking of that... Isn't it usually the eldest child that gets the crown?" Naofumi asked.
"Oh, well... My sister was originally the crown princess, but she formed a history of terrible behavior. It got so bad that she lost her position."
"Hehe, serves that bitch right." Naofumi concluded.
"To your earlier point, shield hero. I would not have let Princess Melty walk into the church like that. I would have let her words convince you to go back to the capital, then gave only the most necessary information... I see now that this was the wrong way of doing things." The shadow admitted.
Everyone had a lot to talk about and even more to think about. Melty was starting to trust her shadow less. Naofumi was starting to trust the queen less. Eclair saw both of these shifts and thought how best to rectify both.
...
With the church officials
...
A shadow met the pope as he rode in his armored coach. He lost all sense of calm after he heard the beginning of the report.
"What do you mean, she escaped!? How!?" The pope asked in anger.
"Poor timing. They did as instructed and attempted to kill Princess Melty before we even engaged properly. Unfortunately, she caught up to the shield devil. He protected her and his beasts stopped the mages from doing more than their first spell..."
"And from there, the Melromarc knights won...? Curses...!" One of the other officials said.
"Why was the shield devil not rushing to the border at full speed? If he was, Melty would never have caught up..." The pope thought.
"How many did both sides lose? Which way did they retreat?" A much calmer official asked.
The shadow didn't speak until Balmus waved his hand, telling him to answer.
"Nearly all of ours are dead, only I and a single mage escaped. The Melromarc knights were about 100 at the time of the attack, they lost roughly 10 men. The shield devil rode in one direction, but I noticed the marching knights turned eastward afterwards, but I was unable to follow."
"An entire strike team and the element of surprise and we've only killed 10 of them? Damn the shield devil." The angry official said aloud.
"Hmm, why were you unable to follow?" The calm man asked.
The pope immediately wave for the shadow to answer.
"There was more than one shadow on their side. There was the shadow that followed Princess Melty, but there was also another that must have been tracking the shield devil. She caught my fellow shadows and killed them both. If I tried to pursue them-"
"You would have been killed and we'd be left even more in the dark... You made the right call." The calmer official finished for him.
The shadow went to complain, "I need no praise from y-"
The calm official pulled out a map and opened it. "Where was the attack?"
The shadow gave up and just answered, "It took place in a hamlet, here." The shadow pointed.
"So small it's not even on the map? Well I trust a shadow's information... East from here is nothing of note...! Could they be going to Briarhaven?" The official said in a louder, but still calm tone.
"Hmm? Without a lord, they may wish for Melty to order the men of Briarhaven to assist them... If that happens, it will cost us a lot of men to kill her... This is troublesome." Balmus said.
"We don't have anyone around there... We can't intercept them..." The calm official said.
"You are wrong. We will use those three fools, who hold the title of hero. Their ability to teleport, we'll win with that. Inform them of what the awful shield devil did in kidnapping the princess. About how he sicked his dragon on a small hamlet and nearly burned it to the ground."
"At once." The shadow said as he left.
"Brilliant Balmus! The shield hero seems unable to teleport like the others, so he can't escape. Haha." The less calm official said.
"..." The calmer one kept staring at the map.
"What is it? This plan is simple enough and too much for that devil to overcome." The less calm official asked.
"One thing about the report doesn't make sense..." The calm official started.
The angry official started to accuse the man." Are you suggesting our shadow network-"
"Of course not. Like I said before, I have full trust in the word of a shadow. It's because I think it's true, that gives me such pause."
Balmus now seemed concerned "What is it? What did I miss?"
"The shadow said the shield devil left one way and likely went the same direction the knights did later. I agree with that. Splitting their power up isn't very smart, but even more so, doing that would leave them incapable of communicating..." The calm official kept speaking
"!" The pope figured it out.
"So, how did the knight know where to go after the fact?"
The coach was silent.
"So you believe they planned to go to Briarhaven from the start? As if that was the plan?" The pope asked.
"It's the only thing that makes sense..." The calm official stated.
"... We are switching destinations. We will head to Briarhaven, not the Siltvelt border." The pope declared.
...
On the road, Melromarc
...
The greater lord's growing warband continued their long route gathering their forces and going to the border as previously agreed. They had just received its latest addition, Lord Aldro Veramir of Crowood (Lv: 56).
He was an older man, well worn by the years, yet seemed to carry himself as if he was still young. He had short grey hair and amber eyes. The man wore spiked armor with clawed armored fingers and carried a large greatsword. He spoke little, but when he did, he seemed to gather everyone's attention.
"Must we really prioritize these brats over Idol? I say let them come when they can, no need to hold their damned hands." Aldro complained.
"Oh? And I thought you hated Idol?" Langiva said.
"I do, Lang, that fat rat bastard. He out bids me so damned often for the demi-human slaves. I'm down to five. Five!?" Aldro complained further.
"Quit whining, Vera! You'd have plenty of slaves if every one of them didn't have to be young women." Averill shouted, half drunk.
"And why on earth would I want to own a man, Av? I just need Idol to stop running through his slaves so fast. He's ruining the market." Aldro spoke as if it were common sense.
"Hm, true enough. He even asked me to make a poison that'd kill the victim over as long a period as possible. As if I'd make such a useless brew." Grimwald added.
"To pay for something just to break it? Vera has a point. That's wasteful as hell." Langiva admitted.
"Indeed. He has land to run and people to tend to, yet he throws so much money away to no benefit at all." Aldreick added.
"Ah, Al. It's good to work with you again. You're the only one with sense here, myself included." Said Aldro with a grin.
"Don't expect me to hold your hands. I tried guiding that fool of a king for years. I'm tired of dealing with stubborn people." Aldreick said.
"And yet, you currently ride side by side with some of the most stubborn people in this land, haha." Averill commented.
"That both Av and Vera are completely aware of their shortcomings and do nothing about it... It's almost sad." Grimwald said with a tired expression.
"Hehe, still this is great. All of us together again. War again. The thing we were best at. I don't know about all of you, but I was even starting to get bored of women. So a war was just what I needed." Aldro admitted with delight.
"Here, here!" Averill agreed.
"Alcohol, women, slaves, killing for sport... This is the state of the nobility in Melromarc? Disgraceful." Aldreick thought to himself as they rode on towards Opaltown.
...
With the family
...
Leon was up and the rest of the party was relieved.
"Thank you for protecting the knights of Melromarc." Eclair said genuinely.
"Well, my father is the shield hero, it only makes sense to have been their shield." Leon said with his head held high.
"You did a good job Leon. We're proud of you." Raphtalia said as she sat next to him and stroked his long hair.
Leon basked in the praise. A moment later, he thought to ask.
"How long has it been? How long was I out?"
"Nine hours. We're heading to Briarhaven." Naofumi said, as he continued making potions, just in case.
"Why aren't we leaving Melromarc?" Leon was confused.
"Because they'll likely have that area covered! This shitty place won't let us leave!" Naofumi yelled, stress clear in his voice.
"..."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to yell." Naofumi said in a low voice.
The cart had been uncomfortable for most of their trip. Melty seemed to be thinking mostly, which was good. The shadow had mostly recovered and rode atop the cart to be out of their sights. They seemed to not like looking at her. Teal assisted Naofumi in making Sp recovery potions based on the potion he drank during the wave. They both seemed to have a specific reason for this, but didn't say. Monti scouted often and Raphtalia tended to Leon.
Eclair was beginning to see that Naofumi's party actually ran pretty smoothly, but she noticed something else. They ran more like a family than an adventuring party. She had sat there and observed the situation. Seeing who or how she could get Naofumi to hold a better opinion of Melromarc, but if his number one concern was the safety of the family... it'd be a hard sell. At this point, her best bet was to get in good with Raphtalia.
She found out that even though they were leaving the country, they were going to stop to kill the wave boss that killed Raphtalia's parents. If her feelings were prioritized, then she was the key. Plus... she wanted a crack at the beast too. It was likely the thing that killed her own father. She may brush it off, but she idealized her father and losing him was devastating.
"Raphtalia? When this is all said and done, I'd like to join you in killing that beast." Eclair said.
"...But you're really low level..." Raphtalia didn't want to get her killed.
"It's true they reset my level when I was thrown in prison, but I will gain some levels by that time... and levels are not everything." Eclair assured her.
"How did you wind up in prison, Eclair?" Raphtalia asked.
"Dammit. I can't keep talking about how corrupt the country is... I'll simply blame the king." Eclair thought.
"I originally offered to be the shield hero's party member, but was imprisoned by the king before the summoning."
Naofumi didn't even look up, just let out a small chuckle. Melty just added that to the list of awful things her father had done.
"If the queen was there, I'm sure your time in Melromarc would have been much better."
"Though... If the queen was there, you'd have been summoned by Siltvelt as planned."
"...You speak highly of the queen, but she married that trash. She left him to attend to the country."
"That's not true. The king was not left in charge. My father was tasked by the queen to act in her stead. She knew my father did not discriminate against demi-humans and wanted stability in her absence."
"So him dying fucked everything up, huh? ...Then she sent Melty? ...At least those decisions sounded decent..." Naofumi admitted.
"Yes. She really wants the best for both humans and demi-humans, but the war with Siltvelt caused a lot of problems."
"...We ain't stopping for another hour or so. Tell me about it." Naofumi said.
"Siltvelt is a mirror of Melromarc. They worship the shield hero, but demonize the other three cardinal heroes. They also have a majority demi-human population, with fewer humans than even beastmen. They also practice demi-human superiority, enslaving humans." Eclair informed him.
"Well damn, not the perfect place we hoped..., but I'm the shield hero and no other member of my family is a human. It's cruel to say it, but at least we'd be safe." Naofumi admitted.
Eclair continued. "Siltvelt started a war many years ago. It would be no lie to say their goal was world domination. Melromarc is the largest and most powerful country and so, we were their first target. We struggled for years. Back then, the king was nothing like he was now, the complete opposite. He led many battles and eventually the queen signed a treaty with Siltvelt at the war's end. The two of them were absolutely necessary for victory."
"There is no way that trash was ever anything but trash." Naofumi thought.
"But it'd also be a lie to say they did it alone. Many people lost their lives, some of noble birth, the king's sister was one such example. After the war, order needed to be reestablished. The best way to do that was to grant lordship to those who stood out during the war. Those who contributed the most to victory... It was seen as the only fair thing to do."
"Yeah well, we met that Wagner fuck. Not a great move." Naofumi complained.
"Yes... At the time it was the only choice to make, but there were problems that arose from it. Suddenly, there were many more powerful people, both politically and in person, that gained both through killing demi-humans. Either their bigotry pushed them to perform well in the war or the war itself caused them to hold such bigotry, either way, the results were unavoidable. Most of the lords, especially those with more power, held a strong hatred of demi-humans." Eclair finished.
"And the queen can't just challenge them all collectively because authority isn't absolute. Even replacing them one by one would be terrible because in the eyes of the people, they did their jobs as lord and would see it as veterans being stripped of their rewards..." Naofumi reasoned.
Naofumi had to admit that things were a lot more complicated than he wanted to give them credit for. He could not think of a single way to have avoided this outcome if he were in the queen's position. Perhaps she wasn't uncaring, but simply dealt the worst hand imaginable.
Eclair saw Naofumi's face go through a few expressions. She felt she had spoken more than enough for now. Best to leave Naofumi to stew on that himself.
After the next hour they stopped to eat. They pulled heavily off the road and Teal planted trees to encircle them, except enough space to leave. Naofumi got to work making food and asked Filo to get some sleep, saying they'd need a second long stretch before they'd sleep properly and he was worried about her. Filo was fine, but slept just to ease his worry.
Leon and Monti went to hunt. Raphtalia assisted Naofumi. Ake helped gather firewood while Melty continued thinking to herself, her shadow was not visible. Meanwhile, Eclair kept studying Naofumi and his party.
"This seems out of the ordinary for your party. What's the usual setup?" Eclair asked casually.
"Well, I cook either way, but sometimes the kids play, other times we spawn monsters to fight. Sometimes we focus on studying magic... Filo hates that."
"...I'm sorry? Spawn monster?" Eclair was lost.
"Ah, is that something Monti does?" Ake asked.
"No. It's closely related to Teal actually. Naofumi-sama has these seeds that spawn monsters in moments, we use those to gain levels on the road." Raphtalia came in immediately to turn the conversation away from Monti.
"Wow. That's actually quite amazing. Where did you come by such a thing?" Eclair asked.
Naofumi told her what happened in Lerno, which lead to him telling her what happened in Mirso. Eclair was impressed. Not only that he saved two villages, but also the way he did so. Solving the food crisis in Lerno and curing the sick in Mirso was an act of a true hero. Naofumi got full marks from Eclair.
"If you don't mind me asking, can I fight some of those monsters? I have too much energy sitting in the cart for hours."
"Sure, you'll need the levels. Teal, do you mind helping?"
"No problem." Teal said, taking a lot of seeds from Naofumi.
Eclair grabbed Ake as she left. The boy knew better than to fight it and let her drag him off. After Eclair and Ake left, Melty stood up and walked over to Naofumi.
"I'm so sorry that my stupid decisions led to this. I put you and your whole family in danger just to try and protect my own..." Her head hung low.
"Melty, you were in the dark as much as we were. No one blames you, but you. Personally, I was impressed when you told me that you threw that trash in the dungeons. I know that regardless of how I feel about him, it was probably pretty tough to do that to your own father. You've also taken an effort to not hide things from us since we found out who you really are. You've done right by me, right by all of us... So we will see you to safety."
"But you're still leaving." Melty said in disappointment.
"..." Naofumi said nothing.
Naofumi was still thinking through the information Eclair told him and what that information might mean for Melromarc.
They stayed quiet until dinner. Once everyone had their food, they sat to eat.
Eclair took a single bite of her food.
"How is it so good!?" Eclair exclaimed.
Ake spoke before taking his first bite. "Compared to the food of the dungeons, I imagine campfire food is quite the blessing." He then took a bite and froze.
"How is it so good!?" Ake exclaimed.
"Dad's cooking is the best~!" Filo announced.
"It very well might be the best, no joke..." Eclair muttered to herself.
Eclair fancied herself a woman of discipline, a knight of honor..., but she had seconds without shame.
Naofumi made a plate for the shadow as well, then had Melty order her to eat it. The moment she appeared, Naofumi spoke.
"Now that I know a bit more I'm not as mad with you as I am the situation. I'm sure Melty feels the same after thinking it through." Melty nodded to that.
The shadow gave a quiet nod and moved to a tree to eat, away from the others.
...
The next day, Briarhaven
...
Things were going surprisingly well in organizing the troops. While Liviccic thought it'd be a long process in getting the knights to listen to him, he wasn't entirely correct. Without his father here to order them, they began to become disorganized and actually craved leadership. So when Liviccic told them that Princess Melty had been attacked and was rushing here for safety, the men acted instantly. There was no arguing or complaining.
Liviccic had a lot to do. He had to reorganize all the knights, their positions, duties and rank. He made as few changes as he was able to without sacrificing efficiency. He figured too many changes at once would cause resentment for him and too many people in unfamiliar positions
This was partially his fault, the 15 knights he killed had left certain departments understaffed. What concerned him the most right now was Sophia. She had been extremely cooperative in this trying time. Which was a huge red flag. She never spoke if it would take away from his own words, she asserted herself on the lower knights, but actually acted cordially with the higher ranked ones. She only relaxed when they were in private and she did her best to not leave his side unless he was addressing the men.
He had no idea why she was behaving so well and it had his anxiety going through the roof.
As he came back to his father's home for a small break, a shadow stood in the middle of the room. Liviccic was quite surprised by this. The house had a few undead guarding the inside, four knights guarding the outside, and Sophia's [Triggering Thread] was setup on every window.
"Greetings shadow. Before you start... How the hell did you enter? I need to know for security purposes."
"Greetings, to you as well. I don't want to say. What if I need to deliver more letters?" She asked playfully.
"A letter, huh? Sophie." As soon as he finished saying her name, the shadow was wrapped in thread, Sophia behind her.
"I said I came to deliver a letter!" The shadow was taken off guard.
"And I don't know whose shadow you are. Now answer my questions first: Whom do you serve and how did you get in here?" Liviccic adopted the serious look he'd been needing to use a lot more lately.
"...I serve the queen, I entered through the chimney." The shadow answered.
"Good... From now on, enter through the highest window on the southern side." He answered, as Sophia let the web loosen.
"Despite your age, you certainly act the part of a lord." She held a letter out for him.
He politely took the letter and read it. His face showed no reaction as he read it several times.
"C'mon, what does it say?" Sophia wanted to know.
"It says that the queen recognizes me as both a greater lord and lord of Briarhaven..., barring certain requests. Most of it I was already doing... And we are in better shape than I thought."
"C'mon, don't make me ask you to elaborate." Sophia said in a huff.
"The queen seems very much aware of the coup and has been siphoning off soldiers from as many lesser lords as she could without giving notice. She also has several lesser lords lying in wait... As well as another greater lord, Lord Aldreick Wymarc of Windingbrook. He is acting as the queen's spy. She is already on the move. She also wants me to contact Naofumi, she seems to know of his communication skill..."
"She has given you titles, and valuable information. How they plan to act, what they've done. The queen wants your help in both quelling the coup and convincing the shield hero to stay in Melromarc."
"I will do both of those things and would do so regardless... Can you deliver a letter back to the queen?"
"Of course, lord Blackcrown" The shadow was now bowing as she would to any other lord.
"So the moment he read that letter, it was official?" Sophia asked.
"Yes." Was all the shadow said.
Sophia fell on the floor in relief.
"What the hell are you doing?" Liviccic asked.
"I'm just relieved is all. Usually, one must be married before one takes a position like this, right? I was hoping it'd be official before I had to kill a few offered wives."
"And why would that be?" Liviccic said in a sarcastic tone.
Sophia stood up in a serious manner. Liviccic was regretting that moment of playfulness. She walked up beside him, then spoke.
"Because you are mine. No jokes, no excuses. You. Are. Mine." She said, not breaking eye-contact.
Liviccic had gone through a lot in a few months. He lost his father, lost his home, lost to Sophia, rose to level 40, joined a cardinal hero, fought in a wave, retook his home, and just moments ago he rose to the station of greater lord..., but this was something he wasn't prepared for.
Of course he liked her. She was a flawless beauty that never let him stay on his high horse too long. She helped him with his magic, protected him, encouraged him... Lately she has been far closer of an ally than anyone else could be..., but he thought she was playing around with all that 'little boy' stuff.
"Come to think of it, the 'little boy' stuff hasn't come up in the last week or more..."
He pushed her words aside for the moment and wrote the letter, then handed it to the shadow.
"I added it into the letter, but the capital situation is worse than ever."
"We know. That the king drove the shield hero off and that Princess Melty had to place him in the dungeons."
"Is that all you know? The Princess is currently with Naofumi. She was nearly assassinated by the church when she went to pursue him. They are currently en route here."
"What!? I must leave at once." The shadow took the letter and bowed. In the next, she was gone, a strong breeze left behind.
Liviccic was still nervous and didn't want to turn toward Sophia. She came up behind him and placed her spider limbs on his shoulders.
"How much time do you have before you must return to work?" She whispered in his ear.
His heart was pounding.
"That took the time I had. I need to return to work." He said automatically.
"Hmm, too bad. I'll be waiting for you tonight then." She said again in a whisper.
"I-Um... Sophia?"
"Nervousness is fine, but a real man faces challenges to gain what he wants..." She said in a normal tone.
Liviccic knew what he wanted. He turned to face her, seeing she was just as embarrassed as he was.
"Then I'll see you tonight." Liviccic said with as much confidence as he could muster.
He left soon after, needing to show the high ranking officers the queen's letter. Sophia watching him from the windows until he is out of sight.
"You better break my fucking back tonight, making me wait the whole day." She muttered aloud, many shades redder than before.
.
[Author's Notes]
The family and co make great time.
They call out the shadow's BS.
The church alter their plans and have some misleading assumptions that might leave them in a weird situation later.
I made the calmer church official smarter, but not 'anime smart'. He comes to logical conclusions based on the limited information he has. In this case, he can't know about [Tele-communication] and so comes to the wrong conclusion.
The heroes will meet up soon...yay.
The warband grow larger and the greater lords gather. Next they'll gain everyone's favorite idiot, lord Wagner. With him, they also gain his son and the gathered mercenaries that he hired. The threat keeps growing.
Eclair wishes to change Naofumi's opinion
We find out why so many nobles are racist. That it was a real policy based reason that led to things being the way they are.
The queen has a small army of her own at the ready.
Things are heating up, but it will be a bit until the boiling point.
Liviccic is officially a greater lord, lord of Briarhaven-
(and by morning, he'll be a man too)
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