Virtue of the Shield Hero

by Allen Blaster

According to Newton's Third Law, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Unfortunately, Naofumi and co will find this to be especially true after returning from their Otherworld trip. Rest of Summary inside. The third installment is here. Multiple pairings. Covers Season Three Territory and beyond. Arc 10: Chapters Twelve: A Mother's Love

160. 7: Orca and Hakuko

Chapter Seven: Orca and Hakuko

---

Motoyasu's night back in Lurolona ended up being pleasantly uneventful. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

Melty was drawing plans for their town's expansion. Granny and Eclair were busy training the fighters. Tersia and Farrie had made some progress in their studies on the hero texts. Crystal and Karn still didn't look like they were getting along. And Ren still wasn't motivated to do much of anything.

One of the only notable changes was that the Sword Couple's dragon daughter had hatched successfully. It was an ugly little red lizard (though Motoyasu wouldn't dare admit such a thing to his younger brother). Wyndia was able to drag her boyfriend out of the house afterward to watch the newborn Gaelion trying to learn how to use her wings for the first time, but besides that, the Sword Hero still couldn't motivate himself to do much of anything.

Motoyasu ended up equipping the "Spirit Tortoise Tree Bark Spear" last night so he could unlock its equip bonus while he slept. It wasn't a strong weapon form by any means, but its unique equip bonus unlocked a recipe for a potent medicine that could be autocrafted by the Cardinal Spear. It was called "Yggdrasil's Elixir".

It was a top-tier healing item back in Emerald Online. Motoyasu had some reservations about trying to get some of it at first, but after a little asking around, he found out that it was the same medicine that brought Naofumi back from the brink of death after his second battle with the Spirit Tortoise.

The Spear Hero wondered if it could be used to speed up Ren's mental recovery, but when he shared that idea with Granny during their morning spar, she informed him that it wouldn't work that way.

In her words: Some wounds just can't be healed, no matter how powerful medicine becomes.

Best to show him that you care, that he isn't alone. That will help more than anything else.

…

Motoyasu was internally starting to feel frustrated from not being around to help Ren out. The slow progress in Zeltoble was also not helping matters. The sooner he was done there, the sooner he could go back to the village full-time, and maybe see if there was something else he could do to help his younger brother out.

Regardless, even if it wouldn't help Ren, Motoyasu still had his Spear autocrafting the new medicine right now, just in case it was needed for something later. But it took twelve hours for the Cardinal Spear to craft even a single vial of the stuff.

And on top of that, it required a lot of healing, magic healing, and soul-healing potions to make. Around thirty of all three types. Looking over the recipe itself, Motoyasu could only shudder. He knew he could never hope to make the miracle medicine with his own hands. It was possible that not even Naofumi would be capable of brewing it, at least as he was right now.

The Spear Hero wondered if their local Apothecarian in Lurolona would be capable of brewing it. It probably wouldn't hurt to check in later with him, just in case. That guy was good at his craft, after all.

Either way, even with the Spear's auto-crafting system, it would take a long time and an absurd amount of supplies to build a stockpile of this miracle medicine… Come to think of it, wasn't there someone else in their town who could use it besides Ren?

What was his name again… Motoyasu was pretty sure the wolfman's name was Fang.

Yeah, that was his name! The Spear Hero had seen Crystal pushing her adopted father's wheelchair around the town square this morning! Maybe using the first auto-crafted medicine on him to test its effectiveness would be one way to cheer up the spearwoman of Itsuki's party and-

"Big Brother, you're spacing out again." Amber sighed.

"Oh, s-sorry, Amber." Motoyasu sweatdropped.

"Does this happen to him often?" A well-dressed old man walking next to them asked.

"Sometimes. Usually when Big Brother has lots of worries on his mind." Amber smiled at the third person with them.

Hickwaal's butler, Sebas, smiled softly in return. "I see. Then perhaps the battles today will help to clear Sir Bubba's head? It certainly helped to clear mine when I was younger."

"Ooh! Maybe Amber can try finding another mate for Big Brother today?!" Amber jumped up and down excitedly.

"Please, no. I don't need a repeat of what happened yesterday." Motoyasu sweatdropped.

The Spear Hero and his Royal Filolial were currently following Hickwaal's butler down one of the underground roads. As they finished talking, they walked out into the underground plaza they'd seen the day before.

Keel and Anya weren't with them this time. The group had escorted the pair of demihumans to the Colosseum topside for today's fighting tournament, while Sebas was leading Motoyasu and Amber toward the fighting pit where they'd be having their first match.

The dog and cat girl would be fine so long as they didn't wander too far away from the large arena. The topside's security was considerably more robust than the undercity's. Not only did the majority of Zeltoble's elites live there, but it was also where most of the inns where the tourists stayed were located.

And even if something happened, Motoyasu would be notified of it through his HUD. Keel and Anya's names were right above Hickwaal's. Sebas and some of Hickwaal's other trusted servants were beneath the merchant's name as well. In effect, the Spear Hero would be able to know if something happened to any of them.

Hickwaal didn't have a high level, being only in the 50's. Sebas, on the other hand, had a level of 98. It was no wonder he looked strong.

"Are there any differences I should know about between tournaments that happen above and below ground that Hickwaal hasn't told me about yet?" Motoyasu asked Sebas as they walked so he could distract himself from his previous thoughts.

"Hmmm…" The older man thought to himself for a moment. "Betting is allowed above and below ground. But if I were to identify something different, it'd be the use of a ranking system in the Colosseum for bets.

"Up there, they have ranks from one to a hundred, separated in brackets by groups of ten. Typically, newcomers start in the bottom bracket and have to work their way up. However, if the newcomer has already gone through a class change and has a high level, then they are placed at a higher bracket to keep things fair for the fighters."

"Sounds like one way to keep the medical costs down," Motoyasu muttered to himself. So far, what Sebas said sounded similar to the Arena System he knew from Emerald Online. If it was that similar, then the bottom brackets would be 1-10, with the top bracket being 90-100. The person at the top would be crowned as the "Grand Champion of the Arena", who would typically receive bonuses like premium in-game currency as well as rare monster materials and the like.

"Indeed, as well as that, one-sided fights are typically viewed in a negative light in the Colosseum since death amongst the participants isn't allowed," Sebas added. "Officials try their best to keep such scenarios from happening up above, allowing for participants to compete where their abilities would best fit while giving audience members a fair chance in the betting pool."

"Now when it comes to fighting in the underground fighting pits… you can forget everything I said before." The Butler's expression hardened.

"What do you mean by that?" Motoyasu pressed on.

"Underground, there is no official ranking system," Sebas explained. "The Gladiators all know who the strong are. If they end up matched against them, they'll either surrender the match or prepare an ambush between matches to try and kill their opponent before they have to fight in the arena.

"Depending on where you start, it generally takes weeks or a few months to advance through the rankings far enough to be able to face the Grand Champion. Down here though, a promising rookie team could end up being matched against the strongest gladiators after only one fight, if the people in charge feel so inclined."

"Those matches tend to attract large crowds of gamblers due to the potential of great payoff if the newcomers manage to snatch the win. It seldom happens, but it doesn't stop those who want to get rich quick from betting on them anyway."

"... huh. That'd make our job pretty easy." Motoyasu chuckled.

"Big Brother, Amber doesn't want just one fight." The Filolial Girl pouted.

"No worries, my dear little sister, if we're lucky, then we'll be able to deal with all sorts of unsavory individuals while we're down here!" Motoyasu proudly posed.

Sebas withheld a chuckle at the sight. He had a feeling these two would do just fine. After all, it wasn't every day their arenas got to host a Cardinal Hero without knowing it.

The disguised Spear Hero soon found himself standing in front of a portcullis for one of the underground fighting pits. Amber stood at his side, shaking with excitement. Or was that nervousness?

Honestly, it was hard to distinguish between the two. Motoyasu was so hyped to finally get started on this! This would be their debut in their grand mission to save the kids imprisoned in this city!

"You ready, little sis?!"

"As ready as Amber will ever be, Big Brother!"

The portcullis raised before their eyes. Opposite them, Motoyasu could see a group of three walking out to face them. They looked like a rogue, a mage, and a barbarian. Their cockiness and confidence in their victory could be seen plain as day through the way they carried themselves and from the expressions that they wore while doing it.

Oh man, the Spear Hero could already feel the blood pumping through his veins as he gripped the Piensa Guard Naginata in his hands. A real arena fight! Just like the ones from his game, albeit underground.

"And for our first match of the day, we have the ol' reliable, the proof that if it works, then you don't need to fix it! The Unholy Triumvirate!" An announcer guy yelled to the crowds around the area.

"And facing them today in their first match ever… pfft! Ahem, Bubba and Amber of the Fiery Sworn Duo!"

"Oi!" Motoyasu heard the laugh that was forced down at the last second and glared under his visor at the announcer's booth up above.

"Cast your bets, everyone! Let's see what these rookies are made of!" The announcer's voice yelled over the crowd.

It was only the first match, and a low-stakes one at that, so only half the seats were filled at most. Still, Motoyasu took a stance with his weapon, readying to face down his opponents.

"Haven't seen you two around before. Nice armor by the by. I'll be sure to put it to good use after I pry it off your lifeless body." The barbarian licked his axe in an intimidating manner.

"Are you some kind of disgraced noble? Man, I love dealing with you lot. You always cry about being poor and destitute, but the moment you get some holes in you, lots of gold conveniently turns up on your person every time." The rogue chuckled as he broke off from his two allies and began to circle Moto and Amber.

"You really should give up and save yourself the trouble." The mage added in a bored tone. "These two psychos here never hold back. And neither do I." He lifted his staff high above his head.

"Heh," Amber smirked in response. "Then maybe Amber will have to try!"

Motoyasu stayed silent. He prepared to rush forward and attack.

"And begin!" The announcer roared as a bell was rung under some mild cheers from the crowd of onlookers.

---

"Huh… I mean, I should have expected this, but still…" Motoyasu said in a deadpan.

"They were… a lot weaker than Amber was expecting," Amber said, tilting her head in confusion.

"Ughhh…" "Urgh…" "Ohhhhh…" The three idiots of the opposing team lay in a pile of limbs at the other end of the arena. Some serious burns were visible all over their exposed skin.

The fight hadn't lasted long. Barely five seconds, if that.

It started with Motoyasu rushing forward to clash with the barbarian. Their mage had begun chanting some kind of spell in response, causing Amber to begin chanting a spell of her own as the rogue dashed in from the side to flank Motoyasu.

But the disguised Spear Hero sideswiped the both of them with just one swing of his weapon, throwing them back into their mage companion with heavy injuries. This caused the mage to stop chanting his attack magic as he switched to healing magic, but Amber didn't stop chanting. As the mage was struggling to heal his companions, Amber's fire spell flew over and exploded above the group.

Needless to say, they were in no shape to fight anymore.

"I… what just…" Even the announcer sounded shocked for a moment until he finally coughed and cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen! In an unbelievable upset, the winners of today's first match are Bubba and Amber of the Sworn Duo!"

The pair got a few cheers from the crowd, but most of it was busy booing. The booing wasn't directed at Motoyasu, thankfully, but rather at his defeated opponents for being knocked out so quickly. The few that were booing Motoyasu and Amber were the ones who cast bets on the other team before the fight started.

There hadn't been any time for bets to be thrown around after the match began. A loss for those too late to join the party.

Amber and Motoyasu quickly left the pit the way they'd entered. Sebas raised an eyebrow seeing the pair again so soon. "Did the other team surrender at the start of the match?"

"No. Me and Amber just beat them up before they had the chance to do anything." Motoyasu noted, a sweatdrop forming on his forehead. He swore he was using a weaker weapon form too. Maybe those guys had just been underleveled?

Or maybe this was a sign that even with a weaker weapon form, Motoyasu was still strong enough to destroy entire armies if he so desired.

Yeah, those guys were surprisingly weak." Amber noted in a bored tone. "Amber didn't even get the chance to warm up."

"Heh, hopefully, we'll get matched against somebody stronger next time." Motoyasu smiled as he ran a hand over the Filolial's luscious bright-orange hair.

"Hmmm…" Amber crossed her arms and didn't respond.

Oh my Gods, she looked just like Fitoria when that little girl looked disappointed.

IT WAS SO FREAKING ADORABLE, I SAY! HE WANTED TO PET HER EVEN MORE!

"Well, it's a bit ahead of schedule, but since you finished your fight so quickly, I will escort you to the Gladiator's Bar now." Sebas turned around and gestured for the duo to follow him.

The Gladiator's Bar- OH, RIGHT! That's where this Nadia person wanted to meet them!

But then…

"That fight was kind of didn't last very long. Do you think that this Nadia person had enough time to want to talk to me after that?" Motoyasu asked.

"... Sir Bubba," Sebas spoke in a calm tone. "I didn't get to see your fight from back here. But if Nadia didn't want to talk to you after witnessing a pair of rookies crush their opponents in less than ten seconds, then she would not deserve her status as Champion of the Underground.

"Were I in her shoes, I'd want to meet you just so I'd have an idea of what I was up against in the future."

"... fair enough." Motoyasu shrugged.

And so, just like that, Motoyasu was led back up a set of stairs to the plaza. And from there up to another set of stairs to the infamous "Gladiator's Bar".

Sebas excused himself after this, stating that he would wait outside. Amber and Motoyasu walked up the stairs together to the place of first contact.

---

It… looked surprisingly cozy?

The place didn't have any walls. Instead, each side opened up to a different fighting pit underground. And for the fighting pits that weren't centered around the place, there rested crystal balls on tabletops, showing holographic projections over them of the battles going on in other fighting pits elsewhere underground.

Motoyasu and his group entered from a staircase a few feet away from the bar. It was a long counter grafted from a wood that looked like mahogany, behind which several bartenders worked, grabbing various types of alcohol from the circular shelf behind them to serve to the patrons. Just about all of the visitors here were gladiators.

The gamblers attended different establishments in the city that were better catered to their needs. At least, according to Hickwaal.

The only people here who weren't gladiators were mercenaries or slave soldiers, standing guard even here to make sure that no major disturbances occurred. They looked a bit stronger and more well-equipped compared to their comrades guarding the underground plaza.

Understandable, seeing the fights they'd need to break up here.

Hopefully, that sort of thing didn't happen too often.

Right after Motoyasu and Amber appeared, several heads immediately turned their way.

"Ah, so these are the newbies who just set a new record for the fastest first fight ever!" A bulky man approached, wearing the same cocky smirk as the trio that got destroyed earlier.

Was this brazen attitude some kind of local phenomenon? A part of gladiator culture?

Before Motoyasu could think on it more, the burly man spoke again. "Sir Buttkiss, was it?!"

...

Huh… hearing that actually made Sir Bubba sound far better.

Amber frowned. "Big Brother's name is Bubba."

"Relax, Amber." Motoyasu smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "We just won one fight. There's no need for us to start another."

"Oh, you're that confident you'd win?" The man standing in front of them asked cockily.

Honestly, looking the man over, he looked no different from the so-called veterans that they'd beaten earlier. So unless he was like those folks who'd attacked Amber's flock a few days ago…

"I'd say so. You don't look that strong." The Spear Hero said nonchalantly.

…

The man's countenance darkened at the blonde's words. He straightened to his full height, which was almost a head taller than Motoyasu.

Crap, he'd thought acting big and confident would keep the man from wanting to start a fight! Motoyasu also spotted a pair of mercenaries nearby rustling themselves to attention.

"Do you know who I am?" The man spoke in a deep, threatening tone.

Aw man, that was such a classic intimidation line too! Motoyasu knew he could take him on but he didn't want to start a fight here!

Should he apologize?! Or should he just dig into his position and hope he could out-intimidate this guy and his friends?!

"Not really. Am I supposed to know?" He decided to dig down. Maybe he could out-intimidate the guy?

The man clenched his fists. He looked ready to pummel the knight before him.

Perhaps digging down hadn't been the right idea after all-

"Ara ara. There's no need to fight, boys."

Just like that, an unfamiliar woman butted into the conversation. Or rather, she drunkenly wrapped her arms around Motoyasu from behind. Her flushed face appeared next to his helmet. "Hmmm, you feel strong," The woman whispered sensually.

"What the-" Motoyasu tried to jump out of her arms, but the woman's grip was surprisingly strong! What the hell!?

"Oh?! Did Big Brother find himself a-" Amber started to speak excitedly, but got interrupted by the man in front of them, as well as his friends who'd gathered at his sides.

"Urgh, what do you want with this one, Nadia?" The man's threatening posture crumbled to submissiveness and defeat on the spot.

"Didn't you see we were about to give him the good ol' rookie welcome?" Another burly guy asked with audible disappointment in his voice. "He seems like a promising fella too. Didn't even break a sweat from Gary's act as far as I can tell."

Had… had that whole exchange just been an initiation of some kind?!

Phew! What a relief! Motoyasu almost thought he was about to fight a bunch of people there!

"Mhmhmhm." Nadia giggled as she pulled back from Motoyasu's head. Though one of her arms stayed wrapped around his, pressing it between her assets. "You boys can play with him later, I'm feeling a bit lonely right now and this gentleman here seems very interesting.

"You wouldn't want little ol' me drinking all by lonesome now, would you?" She asked the crowd of gladiators with an innocent smile spreading across her gorgeous mature features.

…

…

The group of gladiators exchanged several uncertain looks. They must have been privy to this woman's usual antics and weren't buying whatever she was trying to pull.

After another moment, Nadia sighed theatrically after noticing that no one was falling for her usual charms. "Well, in that case..."

She let go of Motoyasu, slamming a fist down on the counter next to her. Motoyasu and Amber both jumped slightly in surprise at the action.

"Barkeep! The next round of drinks is on me! Give everyone the expensive stuff!" Nadia declared in a loud commanding voice.

Everyone in the bar, including the gladiators who'd been about to cause them trouble, began to cheer as they simultaneously rushed toward the counter. The multiple barkeeps began to run around to fulfill the sudden surge of orders coming in from the dozens of patrons.

Motoyasu stared at the scene in surprise, but the woman giggled to herself again at how easily the situation was resolved. "Ahh, those boys are always so easy to please. But then again, I love a good drink myself."

"Whoa!" Motoyasu managed to reel himself back this time as Nadia pressed his arm between her breasts again. And this time, because he managed to create some distance between them, he was finally able to get a good look at her.

She was fairly tall. Her height was around the same as Naofumi's, if just a tad shorter. She had long, shining black hair that went all the way down her back. A pair of shining blue eyes full of playful mischief and dulled with a slight buzz looked back at the Spear Hero.

Motoyasu couldn't see ears on her head or a tail, yet he could tell she was a demi-human because of the unusually shaped pigmentations on her skin that traveled along her arms, neck, and other parts of her body. If he remembered her race correctly from what he saw in his game, this meant that Nadia was an orca demi-human.

And hoo boy, she was by far the hottest-looking one he'd ever laid eyes upon. Even her outfit seemed to accentuate her body's assets, and his arm was being pressed between those two large glorious mounds right now.

If this wasn't heaven, then he had no idea what was.

"Hmmmm…" Looking at the Grand Champion of the fighting pits, Amber started to have second thoughts about what she'd been about to say earlier. "I don't think you'd be the right person for Big Brother either."

"Eh!?" Motoyasu looked at the girl with wide eyes.

"Oh my." Nadia put a hand to her chin, letting go of Motoyasu's arm. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Amber isn't sure… but Amber gets the feeling that Orca Lady isn't acting like herself around Amber's Big Brother." The Filolial said.

"Hmmm…" Nadia looked the redhead over curiously. Her eyebrows moved up and down as she shifted from side to side. To anyone watching, it would have looked like she was drunkenly looking her over.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Nadia eventually said, sighing while looking disappointed. "I am who I am." She then picked up a bottle from the counter and downed it in one large gulp.

"Oooh, I love the taste of this one." The woman giggled, hugging the bottle to herself. "Would you like some as well?" The orca woman asked Motoyasu in a sweet voice. "It'd be a great way to celebrate your victory earlier."

Motoyasu opened his mouth to accept on the spot, only to see Amber out of the corner of his eye shaking her head at him.

He felt a spike of disappointment go through him again. However, as he saw the woman down another bottle in front of them, he could feel his enthusiasm naturally curb on its own.

Motoyasu didn't have a problem with drinking, per se, but seeing the rate at which Nadia was going through these bottles brought some unfortunate suppressed memories to the forefront of his mind.

Plus, well… they were still in what could only be described as enemy territory. So he had to stay sober.

"Thank you, ma'am. But I'll pass for now. It's rather early in the day for me." Motoyasu chuckled while making a flair with his arm.

Amber smiled happily in relief while Nadia sighed in disappointment again. "Oh, how disappointing. Poor lil' ol' me, having to share a drink only with myself.

"Will I ever be able to find a man who can share my favorite drinks with me?"

She downed the third bottle in one go, before throwing it over her shoulder.

The Spear Hero watched as the empty glass bottle sailed through the air down into one of the nearby fighting pits while a fight was taking place.

Neither participant started with any weapons, leaving them with only hand-to-hand combat. One of the men had the other pinned to the ground, choking him out and ready to end the match. But then the bottle landed in the sand next to the pinned guy's hand, and…

---

She smashed the bottle against the other girl's head, causing her to let out a shrill scream and start crying.

"What the $%^& did you just say you dirty bitch? Know your place! He's mine!"

"P-Princess! Stop! What're you doing!?" The Blonde man latched himself to the girl's back and restrained her before she could drive the broken bottle's jagged end into the other girl's tear-stained face.

---

"Ah, funny how one bottle can be capable of turning a whole battle around when used properly," Nadia commented as she saw the results brought by the makeshift weapon she threw into the pit.

"...Yea," Motoyasu responded curtly as he pulled himself back into the now and looked down into the fighting pit again.

Others in the crowd cheered or booed at the turn of events. It looked like someone paid to have healing magic cast on the guy who got smashed by the bottle so he could get back into the fight, but he was now being relentlessly pounded by the other opponent's fists.

He had no chance of winning at this point.

Nadia watched for a few seconds longer. Motoyasu and Amber stood together, looking around to see if anything else was going to happen.

However, the other bar patrons were still taking advantage of the free booze Nadia bought for them. The crowd of gladiators and mercenaries was quickly becoming rowdy as a result. The crowd down below was similarly getting rowdy with how quickly the match had turned on its head.

"Alright, that should be enough." Nadia began walking towards a staircase leading up to the ceiling. "Would you care to join me for a walk on the surface, Sir Bubba?" She asked with a friendly smile.

"Oh? And where will we be going, Miss Nadia?" Motoyasu asked suavely.

"Somewhere where we can have a bit more… privacy." Nadia's smile didn't change. There was, however, a dangerous edge in her gaze as she spoke the last word.

Motoyasu looked at Amber again, and the angel girl looked unsure.

Amber had a way of reading people. However, this woman's vibe jumped all over the place. The Filolial girl couldn't tell if this Nadia person wanted to mate with her big brother, kill him where no one could see him, or have a private talk as she claimed.

Nadia didn't wait for their answer, however. She was already stumbling her way up the stairs and out of the bar.

…

Motoyasu and Amber eventually followed right behind. Leaving the tavern and all the various fights behind.

---

Several minutes passed as the group traveled through the undercity's dark passages.

Amber summoned a ball of fire so they could see their surroundings better, but besides that, no words had been exchanged yet.

Nadia still looked cheerful even when everyone else was gone, but as the group moved further away from the bar, that cheerfulness gradually vanished. It was replaced with a calm and serious expression that looked almost out of place on the beautiful woman's face.

…

They eventually came to a section of wall, and Nadia pressed a hand against a stone brick. The wall proceeded to slide to the side, revealing an empty alleyway.

"Amber, was it?" Nadia said. "Would you mind standing guard to make sure that nobody follows us through this pathway?"

"Huh? Why?" The girl asked before Motoyasu could.

"As I said earlier, I just want to have a private chat with Sir Bubba. And I want to make sure we have our way back down below." Nadia said in a calm tone of voice. "It is very important we aren't interrupted by the wrong people."

"..." Amber frowned, looking like she didn't want to leave them alone.

"I'll be fine, Amber," Motoyasu told her. "If I get in trouble, you'll be able to see it on the party system."

"... okay."

Amber stayed standing in the hallway as the stone wall closed in front of her.

And Motoyasu was left with the scantily clad orca woman in the middle of a deserted alleyway.

…

…

Nadia let out a long breath. She looked to the left, and then to the right.

Her drunken swaying had vanished by this point. To Motoyasu's surprise, her eyes looked even sharper now than ever. They were the eyes of an experienced warrior who was scanning the environment around her for any threats.

Yet she still had a laidback smile on her face, and her hand found his as she pulled him along.

"This way, Sir Bubba," Nadia spoke in a cheery voice. "There's a great fountain not many people know about over here."

"Oh! That sounds rather romantic! Let's go there with haste!" Motoyasu replied, sounding eager while internally taking note of the strength of the woman's grip as she pulled him along behind her.

After another short walk, the pair came out of the alleyway and Motoyasu saw the clear blue sky above them. They were in the upper city again. So this was another hidden pathway. There sure were a lot of those.

The street that they came out to was fairly empty too, with only a handful of people walking down either side.

Nadia giggled happily as they walked past another couple, who looked at the odd-looking pair in surprise.

Motoyasu held on to Nadia's hand as they walked some more. Eventually going down another side alleyway before coming into a small square that had a large circular fountain in the center. Multiple streams of water shot out of different sculptures of demihumans, cascading down into the fount and making a continuous calm sound that filled the square.

They were near the top of the city here. Allowing Motoyasu to see a view of the buildings down to the mile-long river in the distance.

"It's surprising, right?" Nadia said in a happy voice as she pulled Motoyasu to a bench next to the fountain. "It's the middle of the day, and yet, nobody else is here to enjoy the spot.

"Hardly anybody ever comes up here from what I've seen."

"It's their loss then. I'm more than happy to have this place all to ourselves, Miss Nadia." Motoyasu shrugged, using this opportunity to look around and prime his teleport skill, just in case.

As fun as thinking of this as a date would be, he could tell that the woman in front of him was only flirting casually while collecting her thoughts.

Nadia laughed softly at Motoyasu's response. "Yes, we are quite blessed, aren't we? Perhaps everyone here is content with everything else this place has to offer. Or, maybe nobody else has had the chance to discover this spot.

"After all, everyone here is busy with their lives. Maybe they've just forgotten how to take their time and sit back and relax."

Nadia giggled as she uncorked another bottle of alcohol in her hands… Motoyasu's eyes widened slightly underneath his helmet. He had no idea how she'd hid that bottle on her person without him noticing.

Unlike before, however, she took only a small sip from it. She then smiled again as she offered it to the knight sitting beside her. "Are you sure you don't want to try any, Sir Bubba? I promise that I haven't tried putting a ruculu fruit in it. Even I can't handle one of those little things."

Motoyasu slowly lifted the visor of his helmet. It was the first time Nadia was able to properly see the handsome man's face. "I will admit, I don't usually shy away from sharing a drink with a beautiful woman, Miss Nadia, but I'd rather have a clear head while I'm in this city."

"Ah… that's a shame then." Nadia tipped her head back, drinking down a large portion of the bottle, before pulling it away from her rich, lustrous lips and wiping them with the back of her hand. "You seemed pretty strong. I would have liked it if you could outdrink me."

"Why's that?" Motoyasu asked.

"It's a long story. And one that I'm not willing to share right now." Nadia shook her head. "But it's something rather important to me. Perhaps I'll share it with you another time."

"Very well. We're not in a rush." Motoyasu let it drop.

…

The Spear Hero took his helmet off, setting it on the edge of the fountain next to him and allowing his hair a chance to catch the breeze.

He saw the Colosseum in the distance and had the brief thought that Anya or Keel could be fighting about now. It made him wish he had Itsuki's skill that allowed him to see from a spot high above him. It would have been cool to see how their matches were going.

"Sir Bubba… is that your name?" Nadia asked after a moment.

"No. But it's alright. Nadia isn't your real name either." Motoyasu turned his head to face her with an easy smile.

"Oh my, do you think it's not?" Nadia's lips spread apart in a pleased and intrigued manner as well.

"Well, I can't recall seeing a name like that on Lurolona's census papers. Although, a great deal of them got lost, so it could be because of that." Motoyasu answered.

...

"..." The woman tilted her head, her eyes staring into Motoyasu's as a serious expression came onto her face again. "Does that mean my message arrived?"

"It did." Motoyasu nodded. "I volunteered along with several others to come here and help you out."

...

"... … …" The Spear Hero's answer was met with silence, as Nadia looked him over with a critical eye. There was no drunken haze to them, despite the amount of alcohol she'd consumed in the last few minutes.

"I don't believe you're lying to me." She said. "But just in case, I'd like to know.

"If you truly are helping to rebuild Lurolona, could you tell me the names of some of the people who lived there?" She said.

"Well, that's easy." Motoyasu nodded. "The first one who comes to mind is Keel. Keel's a dog demihuman. She and another girl who isn't from the village originally are here in this city right now. Though I'm trying to limit their movements topside for obvious reasons."

The Spear Hero pointed at the distant Colosseum building with his chin for emphasis and Nadia's eyes widened slightly in worry. "Here?! But isn't she still a child?!"

"Not anymore." The Spear Hero shook his head. "She and her friends gained a lot of levels recently. They'll probably reach full maturity in a week or two. Keel and her friend have already undergone the class-up ceremony."

"I… I see. That puts my mind at ease... if just a little." Nadia sighed and put a hand on her chest. "Anyone else? Maybe a weasel or Raccoon demihuman, perhaps...?"

"Weasel? Oh." Motoyasu's expression hardened. "You mean, Rifana. No, she's..." Motoyasu paused, trying to think up a way to put it more delicately but Nadia seemed to understand already and her eyes became downcast.

"Of course. It would be foolish to think that everyone would survive such harrowing experiences.

"If, if Rifana-chan is dead then... I take it that..." The orca woman swallowed hard and her hands began to shake. "Raphtalia-chan is also-"

"Oh, no! No, no, no! Raphtalia is fine, she's still alive!" Motoyasu responded quickly.

That bit of news seemed to hit the woman like a punch to the gut. "W-What?!"

"Yeah, Raphtalia." Motoyasu started to chuckle. "She's a raccoon demihuman, or... a tanuki demi-human? Honestly, it's hard to tell. But anyway, yeah. She's fine. An amazing person too, absolutely in love with the Shield Hero, and-"

"Raphtalia-chan is okay?!" Nadia grabbed Motoyasu by the shoulders, facing him fully towards her.

"Whoa! Yea, yea, she is! I just told you!" Motoyasu reeled in surprise. But the woman's grip on him only tightened.

It was only then that he saw tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.

"Where is she?! Is she here too?! Can I see her?!"

"No, it's just me, Amber, Keel, and her friend Anya!" The Spear Hero shook his head.

"Raphtalia…" Nadia let out a whimper. "She's… she's still alive…"

…

Motoyasu wasn't sure what to do. However, he put his hands on the woman's wrists, pulling her hands off of his shoulders. Trembling, she hardly even reacted to his touch.

"I… I'm going to take a guess here. Raphtalia is very important to you, isn't she?

"Are you related to her, by any chance?"

…

It took Nadia several moments to compose herself. She had to breathe in and out deeply several times. She also set her bottle to the side, forgetting about it entirely.

"I… I'm not related to her… not by blood, at least. Though, I was like her older sister, since her parents were the ones that took me in when I was twelve." The woman eventually managed to get the words out. However, she looked incredibly small and vulnerable at the confession.

Motoyasu continued to hold one of her hands. And Nadia gripped his in return. "She's… she's okay, isn't she?" She eventually managed to ask. "She's not in danger anymore or anything?"

"No." Motoyasu smiled. "Well, to be precise, I don't know about the being in danger part exactly. But as long as she and Naofumi are together, I think she'll be fine."

"... who is Naofumi?" Nadia questioned.

"Ah, right. It has been a while since you two last saw each other. When was the last time you saw her?" Motoyasu asked.

"... about a few days before the Wave hit Lurolona," Nadia said in a calm voice. "I was out at sea on a deep dive fishing trip."

In the story she gave, she described how she suddenly got swarmed by monsters. How she fought almost the whole way back to her village, which took her almost a week. How she'd discovered that Lurolona had been destroyed. How she saw the burned remains of the adult villagers who'd been left in a pile.

How after she gave them a proper burial, she eventually found out that some of the kids survived, and that slavers had captured them. Which led to her eventually coming to Zeltoble in the hopes of finding and buying them off the slave market before they could end up with a horrible master somewhere else in the world.

It was concise. And there'd likely been parts she'd left out, things she wasn't comfortable with sharing at this time. But Motoyasu could almost feel the pain she felt from having not been there. Judging by the tired look on her face, she'd been through a lot ever since coming here too.

"Were you the one that rescued Raphtalia?" Nadia then asked after she was done. "I'm assuming you're one of the Cardinal Heroes."

"Me? No, I didn't save her. Naofumi was the one who ended up buying her in Melromarc's Capital shortly after we were summoned." Motoyasu shook his head. "But you're right that I am one of the Cardinal Heroes. Hickwaal gave me a good cover story to help hide that fact."

"I… I see…" Nadia looked back at the fountain. "... So is Raphtalia safe with this Naofumi person?"

"Absolutely." Motoyasu grinned. "He's the Shield Hero. There's no one more capable of protecting others than him. Though, she also does her fair share of protecting him as well."

"R-Really?!" Nadia looked surprised. "The Raphtalia I know is super meek and shy around others!" Her eyes then narrowed. "Are you trying to trick me?!"

"No! I mean, I've certainly seen her be shy when Naofumi is lovey-dovey with her in public. But outside of that, I've seen her be pretty assertive and confident. Especially in regards to helping other people out." Motoyasu said in a serious tone.

"... … …" Nadia was silent for a long while again. Her lips had morphed into a frown. Motoyasu almost could have sworn he heard her whispering something to herself, but he didn't catch what the words were.

"You said you brought Keel here as well?" She spoke aloud.

"Yes," Motoyasu said. "She's supposed to be my way of verifying who you are. Though, I wasn't expecting to have a talk like this so soon."

"... I see." Nadia sighed, looking disappointed. "So she has grown up too?"

"Not as much as Raphtalia, but yeah," Motoyasu answered with a smile.

"Aren't you Heroes supposed to be protecting them?" Nadia asked.

"Yeah, but she and the others chose to become strong so they'd be able to protect themselves when we weren't around," Motoyasu answered. "I'd rather they didn't have to fight. But they chose it for themselves. Keel especially.

"They don't want to lose anybody else they care about after what they've been through."

…

…

…

There was a long period of silence between Motoyasu and Nadia this time.

The orca woman looked around the area again. Motoyasu could guess at this point that she did so to make sure nobody was watching them. She seemed to be rather paranoid when she wasn't faking being drunk. Either that, or she didn't trust this place in the slightest.

Understandable. He didn't trust this place either. His eyes were alert for threats, just like hers was.

"I should have known that lil' one in particular would get herself into trouble." Nadia eventually sighed. "She's always been headstrong whenever she decides to do something.

"Tell me. Did Keel figure out what her Father meant by becoming a man of the sea?" Nadia asked with an exasperated smile.

"She did." Motoyasu chuckled. "Keel knows she's a girl now. Last I checked, she wants to become a woman of the sea!"

His answer elicited a laugh from the orca woman. It was a sound so pure that the sound of the water fountain faded briefly, as if it too was listening to the mirth in her voice.

"I'd need to see Raphtalia for myself to determine if what you said about her is true. I have many questions revolving around her and what she's been doing these past few months... But I don't doubt that you know her friend Keel, at the very least." Nadia smiled with a relaxed face at the Spear Hero. "Which means the Hero's Nation got my message after all."

"Yeah. And we're here to help you bring those kids back home." Motoyasu said seriously.

"I wish it would be that easy." Nadia sagged. "I wouldn't have asked for help otherwise."

"Can you tell me what's happening and how we can help now?" The Spear Hero scooted closer to the orca woman along the fountain's outer rim.

Nadia looked like she was about to answer, however, when she looked over his shoulder again, her eyes narrowed. "Let's move. We've stayed here for too long as it is."

Motoyasu looked back, but Nadia smiled and pulled on his hand. Bringing it to her chest. "Look, Boobies!" She giggled in a drunken tone.

"W-Whoa!?" Motoyasu pulled his hand back in surprise.

And yet, the soft, pillowy sensation seemed to linger on his hand.

Nadia picked the helmet up from the side of the fountain, putting it back on his head before kissing the cheek of it. She then giggled some more as she pulled him along towards the other entryway into the square. "This way! There's more stuff to see, Sir Bubba!"

Motoyasu barely had the time to look back and see a pair of men entering the plaza after appearing the way that Nadia and him had come in before he was pulled out of sight.

---

It was around fifteen minutes later when they finally got back to the alleyway they first appeared in earlier.

Thankfully, there was nobody around, though, in their attempts to get back here, Nadia had spotted other individuals Motoyasu recognized to be tracking her down.

When Motoyasu asked, she said they were sent by her sponsor to keep an eye on her.

He didn't get much more info than that, as they then ducked behind a home to avoid another pair of men armed with swords trying to locate Nadia. She'd taken advantage of that situation though to make sure Motoyasu knew exactly what her chest felt like with his arm before they continued.

It would be a long time before Motoyasu ever brought himself to wash said arm, as it'd been blessed by a goddess multiple times that day. Along with his hand.

Though when Nadia pulled yet another bottle of alcohol from behind a crate as if she'd set it there in advance just for an occasion like this, Motoyasu knew that a woman like her wouldn't be his type.

She just loved alcohol way too much.

Unfortunate. But you couldn't win everything.

Finally, they reached the secret passage from before, and after Nadia pushed on one of the stones again, the wall moved aside, revealing the figure of a familiar frowning filolial waiting behind it.

"Ah, Big Brother, you're finally back!" Amber said in relief as her frown vanished.

"Did anybody come this way, Amber?" Motoyasu asked.

"No, but Amber could hear others searching outside." She said worriedly. "Did Big Brother get attacked?"

"No, but we didn't have time to finish our conversation," Motoyasu admitted, looking at Nadia.

The woman nodded her head. "I'll need to head down to the Gladiator's Bar for now. I've made my sponsor suspicious by vanishing for this long." She pressed her hand into the opposite wall, and another passage opened up. "That'll lead you down to the plaza. Meet up with Sebas and go to wherever you're staying for now. Oh, and expect to be ambushed along the way. Just the boys' way of welcoming you to the fighting pits."

"Wait, what-" Motoyasu started to ask, but Nadia continued.

"I'll have Hickwaal send you another message with details on where to meet tomorrow if I manage to shake off my stalkers again. Until then." Having said her piece, Nadia began walking down the passage leading back towards the Gladiator Bar.

"Wait, there's one thing I want to know at least," Motoyasu called after her.

The orca woman stopped, looking back at Motoyasu. "What's your real name?" The Spear Hero asked.

Nadia lifted an eyebrow. "Is there a reason why you need a name from lil' ol' me at this point?"

"Not for me. But I want to tell Keel who you are. She might be missing you too for all I know."

"... hmmm. Alright, but only if you give me your name first, Sir Bubba." The orca woman said with a playful smile after thinking about it for a moment.

Motoyasu stood up straight, holding his weapon before him. "Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero."

"Motoyasu…" Nadia turned around, facing the stairs leading down. "Sadeena. The older sister of Raphtalia. The strongest fighter from Lurolona.

"I hope I'll see you again soon, Spear Hero." Sadeena gave him a real smile and a wink as she turned her head to look at him one last time, before running down in the direction of the Gladiator's Bar."

…

Hmmm, Sadeena… that name sounded familiar for some reason. He thought he saw such a name on the census documents Melty had him check.

...

Now that he thought about it, he was pretty certain he had heard Keel mention her name a time or two.

He'd definitely ask Keel about her after they met up later today. From what he could tell, this wasn't a trap.

"Are we good to go, Blondie?" Amber spoke out after a moment.

"Yeah, let's find Sebas. I want to make sure we draw no suspicion towards us after today." Motoyasu responded firmly.

And he could also get himself ready for a certain 'ambush' while he was at it.

---

The two went down the secret passage Sadeena had opened up for them, eventually coming out on a side street close to the plaza.

The pair, unsurprisingly, got ambushed by a group of individuals on their way back to the plaza. Motoyasu and Amber dealt with the drunk boneheaded idiots of the Gladiator's Bar easily enough. They had their good fun and all that. That one big burly guy named Gary had actually been surprisingly nice and invited them to join him and the others for a drink any time!

They were nice people, I say! Motoyasu hoped he didn't end up fighting them in the future...

Oh, and after them, they were ambushed by a different group of individuals. This group had nothing to do with those following Sadeena, thankfully. They were instead from the fighting pit Moto and Amber were participating in that day.

Granny had already warned him that this could happen, so they weren't that surprised when they jumped out of the shadows and attacked the pair of adventurers.

After a few more minutes, and after thoroughly thrashing the individuals who'd tried to take them on outside the fighting pits, the pair found Sebas again.

If the butler found it strange that they came from an opposite direction from the Gladiator's Bar with blood and tearstains coating their outfits and armor, he didn't show it.

Hickwaal's assistant led the two back to their apartment, where they spent the rest of the day waiting until they would have their next scheduled match later that night.

The gladiators they were supposed to be fighting against never showed up, however, for obvious reasons.

The Spear Hero guessed that they were already starting to develop a reputation here.

And so, the pair had yet another boring win without a notable fight happening whatsoever.

"Amber's bored." The Filolial girl pouted again.

"I could ask Granny to spar with you after we get back?" Motoyasu offered.

"... Amber's not that bored." The girl said nervously.

Yep, he always knew Filolials were the smartest species in existence.

And so, they waited for the two demi-kids to return...

---

"Good luck with your first match, Anya!"

"Thanks, let's meet again in the Finals to determine who's stronger between us." Anya smiled happily as she waved to the dog girl before walking onto the arena floor.

"Hah! You can't even beat me in our practice spars at home! I'll look forward to mopping the ground with you in a real fight!" Keel called after her.

Anya simply stuck her tongue out as the wooden portcullis fell behind her, putting her out of sight.

Keel steadied herself against the wall as she waited.

She had so much nervous energy bursting through her. Not even Granny's breathing exercises were enough to calm down her excitement and panic.

Keel just had to wait, trying to guess how Anya's match was going based on the sounds of fighting she heard from the other side. It was annoying that the participants had to register in advance and stay in this little waiting area. The dog girl would have loved to watch her friend's match!

They were the final two matches of the first round. There'd been all sorts of folks around them at the start. But now the winners of those matches were waiting in a different room and the same was true for the losers, leaving the dog girl all by herself. Her opponent would be all by themselves too in a room on the opposite side of the stadium, so she could at least try to imagine who she'd be fighting while she waited.

…

Oh wait, she'd paid the others very little attention. So she didn't have any idea who she'd be fighting against.

So much for having that to distract herself with.

…

Eventually, the sounds stopped, and about a minute later, the portcullis began to rise in front of her. Keel looked surprised as Anya limped into the hall.

"What happened? Did you win?" Keel asked worriedly.

"No, I had the worst possible luck with my match-up. The guy fought with a sword and used anti-magic." Anya growled, sounding pained.

Keel gave the girl one of the Healing Potions she'd been entrusted with by Motoyasu. Then she gave her friend a quick hug. "Don't worry, I'll make sure I beat him in the Finals for you."

"Yeah, I'll just focus on getting the third-place spot in the loser's bracket instead." The cat girl responded, still looking disappointed in herself.

All that training, all that effort... and she'd lost in her very first match. It was very disheartening, to say the least.

Keel frowned. But then, she slapped her cheeks and perked herself up. "Hey, it's not like we ever trained to face enemies who could cancel out magic! Now you have something else to learn from Mahoya and Rachel after we get home!"

"What about… Granny?" Anya asked hesitantly.

"Nah, she would just train you to fight through those kinds of opponents with your fists." Keel deadpanned.

Anya laughed at her answer. She was already starting to look a lot better again. "Alright. I'll just win the loser's bracket instead then.

"Make sure to knock 'em dead for me!"

Keel laughed as she ran out onto the sand for her first match.

...

The first thing Keel noticed upon exiting was a pretty large audience, filling the seats of the Colosseum.

Just like that, a lot of her nervous energy came back in full force. Oh, right, she was about to fight in front of a whole bunch of people. No wonder Anya had looked so sad about losing before.

She'd have to try extra hard to make it up to her friend later.

"And now, for the last match of the first round, we have the newcomer Keel, versus one of our youngest and most promising gladiators: give a hand for our hakuko friend: Fohhhhhhhl Fayon!"

The crowd began to roar as a lone individual walked out onto the field from the opposite end. Keel eyed up her opponent as he approached.

He looked like a teenager, just like her. The color of his short-cropped hair and the fur on his tail alternated in lines of white and black, which was a signature look among the hakuko. A pair of cute round ears poked out from the top of the boy's head. His eyes were blue, just like the dog girl's, but his pupils were vertically aligned like Anya's. They also gave off an intimidating aura that matched Fohl's fierce facial expression.

The last thing of note about Fohl's appearance was that his clothing somewhat clashed with his otherwise clean and cared-for appearance. It only consisted of an old dirty brown shirt that was fraying at the edges of its sleeves and gray pants with multiple patched-over holes in them. He didn't even have shoes and was going to fight barefoot.

In many ways, Fohl reminded Keel of Dou-Lon. Except without the furry arms and legs, and the blue eyes instead of gold… and on top of that, well, this guy looked more... 'grumpy' for a lack of a better word.

And when Fohl finished eyeing Keel up in return, his expression soured even more before he sharply looked up and shouted at the crowd above. "Ec drec cusa geht uv zuga?! So vencd vekrd dutyo ec ykyehcd y syet?!"

"H-huh?" Keel nearly faltered, having forgotten that people here spoke in a different language. "I'm sorry. I don't understand you. Is there a problem?"

"Problem?! Of course, I have a problem! I was told I'd be fighting against a classed-up newcomer in my first match! Where's my actual opponent?!" The tiger boy yelled at Keel this time in surprisingly coherent Melromarcian while pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"H-Huh?!" Keel stuttered in shock.

"Tell me where my real opponent is!" Fohl repeated.

What the- who did this guy think she was?!

Keel's nervousness and excitement vanished. Her face focused into a glare.

This guy wanted to underestimate Keel and think she wasn't worth fighting? Fine, she'd just have to make sure he never made that mistake ever again.

"There is no mistake, Fohl! This lovely young lass is your opponent!" The announcer shouted from his booth, making the boy's face twist in disbelief. "Now, begin!"

"Hey! Stop messing with me! Is this another lame special event or something?! Tell me who I'm fighting against-" The tiger boy continued to complain, facing the announcer instead of Keel at this point.

That's why he was left completely unprepared when Keel's fist drove into the side of his face with enough force that a visible shockwave accompanied the impact.

Boom! "Gah!"

Fohl's body was sent rolling across the sand, kicking up a bunch of dust until he came to a crashing halt against a boulder sticking out from the sand.

Blood slowly trickled from one of his nostrils as he dizzily got up, still trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Just a maid, huh? And here I thought the fighters would be a little smarter than that."

Keel rudely spat to her side and raised her fists again while standing tall in her ridiculous get-up. Waves of killing intent were radiating off her form now and her eyes narrowed to slits. "Why don't I 'serve' you up some pain in that case!"

"What the- how are you so-" Fohl started to cry out, still sounding confused.

Keel closed the distance between them like a speeding bullet. The tiger boy barely raised his arms to protect his face in time, blocking her next punch.

Ah, so he could react to her attacks! Good to know. Keel wasn't going to hold anything back in this fight then.

---

To say that Keel laid an absolute smackdown on the poor tiger kid in the moments after those first attacks connected would have been an understatement.

Fohl did try to fight back. He did.

However, there wasn't much he could do when his opponent moved like a blur in his eyes. Despite being dressed as a maid, the dog girl's attacks were hard to follow, and when they landed, they hit like a pair of sledgehammers.

Staying on the defensive was all Fohl could do, just to avoid getting knocked out of the fight right away.

"Ha! Got you!" The tiger boy finally managed to sidestep one of the dog girl's punches and tried to use this opportunity to land a counterattack.

Keel, however, sidestepped the hakuko's attempt at retaliation that moved a lot slower in her vision. It was only thanks to Fohl's sharp instincts that he caught himself before he lost his balance.

Not that it mattered, as Keel's palm slammed into his chest. The tiger kid was sent flying back over a dozen feet but managed to land into a roll and quickly get back up.

"Yeah, you sure got me, alright." Keel taunted with a teeth-baring smirk and made a 'bring it' gesture at the hakuko.

"Stop making fun of me!" Fohl rushed forward, his eyes filled with anger as he punched as fast and hard as he could.

Keel began swaying left and right, dodging his attacks with little to no effort. "Making fun of you?" She asked in a chiding voice.

With a growl, the tiger boy tried to deliver a devastating haymaker. Yet Keel sidestepped the massive punch and then proceeded to kick Fohl in the behind, causing him to fall face-first into the sand again. "I'm taking you seriously since you believed I wasn't strong enough to be your actual opponent."

The eyes of the people up above were wide in astonishment, at seeing Keel literally kicking Fohl's butt. Yet the young teenager still extracted himself from the sand, standing wobbly on his feet.

"Y-You tricked me! This isn't fair!" He looked beyond furious now. He had blood dribbling down from several cuts on his face.

"Tricked you?" Keel raised an eyebrow. "I didn't do anything. You tricked yourself."

"AHHHHHHH!" Instead of answering her rebuttal, Fohl charged forward. Ready to unleash an all-out, desperate attack against the dog girl.

Keel caught his fist midair.

Fohl's eyes widened in surprise.

"Maybe it would have been better if you had taken me seriously from the start," Keel said in a dry voice.

"AHHH-" He tried to punch with his other hand, but Keel caught that one too. He then tried to headbutt her, but Keel headbutted him in return.

Fohl cried out as he bled from a gash in his forehead.

"You're not going to win. Yield." Keel ordered in an authoritative voice.

"I… I refuse to lose to a freaking maid!" Fohl growled out. The anger in his eyes only grew as he struggled to free his fists.

"Yield!" Keel tightened her grip on the tiger boy's fists, but he didn't relent.

"I will win! I HAVE TO WIN!"

"Yi-"

Pop!

Keel's eyes widened in astonishment as the guy suddenly twisted his body sideways, dislocating his left arm from its socket and dragging the dog girl down onto the arena floor with the resulting momentum. She was so shocked by the desperate move, in fact, that she couldn't react in time when Fohl used this opportunity to kick her in the gut.

The dog girl rolled back, quickly getting back to her feet as she grasped her stomach. That kick hurt!

"YOU WON'T BEAT ME! I HAVE TO WIN! I WILL WINNNNNNNN!" Fohl screamed, his left arm hanging limply from his side as he charged forward, his right fist aimed for Keel's face.

The dog girl ducked his blow. And he followed with another.

But she'd disappeared from view entirely.

Fohl's eyes widened in shock as he looked around, trying to spot where the maid girl had gone.

"No, you're not," Keel said in a calm voice down below.

Fohl looked further down and his widened eyes stared in dumbfounded confusion. "Wha…" The rest of the crowd was confused too.

The creature was wearing Keel's maid outfit, so it was her. However… She was standing on two stubby legs, flexing her small, puppy-like arms.

Yes, Keel had just transformed into a Siberian Husky Puppy. Nobody could have seen this coming.

As Fohl was still trying to process the oddly adorable sight, the puppy girl jumped up, delivering a devastating roundhouse kick into the back of the hakuko boy's right knee.

"GAH!" He screamed as he collapsed to the ground, clutching his dislocated joint with his good hand.

Keel then transformed back into her human form, appearing behind Fohl with her arms clenched around his stomach. Lifting him, she brought him over her body, crashing his head into the ground of the arena with a perfectly executed German suplex.

Against any normal person, these hits and more would have knocked them out of the fight for good. However, even as Keel turned around to face her opponent again, the tiger kid rushed forward. Blood leaking from multiple wounds, and a crazed determined look in his eyes.

"YOU FREAKING MAID!"

Keel barely dodged this time as his clawed hand swiped across her face. Her eyes saw the tips of the sharp claws he'd had retracted until that moment.

"I WILL WIN! I WILL-"

Keel flipped over the boy's next strike. Landing behind him and taking him in a chokehold.

Fohl tried to cry out, only for his voice to be cut off.

He drove his right elbow into Keel's side. He then clawed Keel's wrist, leaving small gashes in her skin. But the dog girl stubbornly clung onto the struggling tiger teen, and after he managed to claw her, she threw themselves back into the ground. Briefly stunning the tiger boy and allowing her to use her leg to restrain his right arm before putting him back into the chokehold.

"Ack! ACK!"

The crowd all held their breath, watching as Fohl continued to struggle. Yet Keel had the feral fighter completely restrained.

He'd fought well, the kid's grit and determination, his skills and combat experience, and his connection to the hakuko race were all benefits that allowed him to fight toe to toe with stronger opponents.

But against Keel, who was trained by Granny, he'd never stood a chance.

After a minute, the kid's eyes finally rolled up into the back of his head, and he passed out.

Keel released him right after, checking his body over to make sure that she hadn't accidentally killed him.

…

After a moment, when she confirmed that the hakuko teen was still breathing, she looked up to the announcer. As did every other member of the crowd.

The man still looked surprised. But after a moment, he coughed into his hand and started to grin widely. "And in a surprise turnabout that no one could have seen coming, our young Fohl gets knocked out during his first fight of the day!

"Everyone, please give a round of applause for this fight's winner, our newcomer, Keel!" The man proclaimed.

Keel smiled happily as she stood up, waving to the cheering crowds of people.

Holy- this feeling of victory felt exhilarating!

Looking up at everyone cheering her name… the dog girl felt like all her hard work, all the hours she'd spent training with Granny and leveling against monsters in the forest… was finally paying off!

She changed into her puppy dog form again. Flexing her tiny dog muscles before everyone before changing back into her human form. Showcasing her tricks and abilities while showboating in front of everyone over her victory.

The crowd of people ate it up. Only stoking the dog girl's ego even more.

This went on for a couple of minutes, with the crowd loving it, and then, as Keel finally began moving to leave the arena, in a burst of thought, she quickly turned around. She realized that she should help the boy wake up and get back on his feet. You know, as a show of good sportsmanship.

The people would probably like that too, right?

However, after turning around, she saw that her opponent was already gone from the spot where she'd left him and was slowly limping towards the exit. He was holding his left arm to himself, and as she spotted him, she watched as he grabbed his dislocated arm and popped it back into place.

A look of pain briefly crossed Fohl's face at the action, but it quickly passed, replaced with a look of despair going across his features as he disappeared from the crowd's view.

Without saying a word, or even acknowledging her for her win, he vanished without a trace.

…

"Hmph, fine then. Can't believe he didn't apologize for thinking I was weak." Keel huffed as she turned around and marched out of the arena the way she'd entered.

The crowd continued to cheer long after she'd vanished. Up until it was almost time for the second round of matches to commence.

---

The rest of the day quickly flew by for the two demis.

Keel fought in a total of six matches. She wondered if they'd be as difficult as the first, and except for her third match, the fights that she had matched or went beyond what she'd experienced in the first round.

In her third match, Keel ended up facing off against some weird black-robed individual who spent all his time before the match preaching to the audience about how the Waves of Destruction was a divine punishment to the people for not offering enough sacrifices and how he was dedicating his fight to the true Gods of this world or something along those lines.

The rural dog girl honestly didn't pay much attention to his blabbering. She'd been standing there impatiently, waiting for him to make the first move after the announcer started the fight. But when the zealot wouldn't stop blabbering to the annoyed crowd even then, and when he began jabbering on in a different language Keel didn't know, she just rushed forward, grabbing the side of his head and smashing it against one of the boulders sticking out of the sand.

The crowd had been all too happy to see the weirdo being carried out by a pair of mercenaries after being knocked out so efficiently. Unlike her first opponent, he did not wake up for a while after that strike.

In her final match, Keel went on to face the guy who beat Anya in her first match. He was a loud spiky-haired swordsman who looked like a young teenager himself, a guy who went by the name Asta.

He was strong. Keel had to use every trick Granny had pounded into her body and therianthrope form to win by the thinnest of margins. But she did win in the end. It was one of the most exciting fights of her life!

"Wow, you're really strong! I'm glad we got to fight each other!" The loud-mouthed boy ended up being a surprisingly good sport after his loss and shook her hand after the award ceremony when she was crowned as the victor for today's tournament and given her prize money.

Five whole gold coins… Huh?

The dog girl stared dumbfounded at the stack of paper that was handed out to her by one of the Colosseum's staff members.

"Hey! What the hell is this!? Where's my money?" Keel angrily shouted at the sweating attendant.

"Ah, you've just arrived at the city, right?" Asta, who had received the second-place winnings, spoke up again. "Don't panic, you're not being scammed or anything. It freaked me out too when I first arrived.

"This paper is called 'Zeni'. It's the currency used by the people here. It's as good as gold and can be exchanged for it in the city's banks. One Zeni is worth one silver. You can tell the denomination by the number printed on it. See, you've got five bills with one hundred written on each. So you effectively have five hundred silvers which are worth five gold, so everything checks out."

"Huh?" Keel cocked her head to the side in confusion. "I don't get it, how can this paper be worth as much as silver? Isn't it just paper?"

"Didn't we learn about this from Melty before we came here?" Anya sighed." Forget it, I'll explain it again later, just take these for now."

Keel narrowed her eyes but took the bills from the sweating arena staff member and put them into her pocket.

"Anyway, good fights, Keel, Anya! I'll look forward to fighting you again!" Asta waved to the two demihumans and ran off.

"Same here! We'll totally have to spar again sometime!" Keel responded excitedly.

"Sure thing! Bye!" And like that, the boy rushed out of the Colosseum. Leaving a very happy Keel to look at the money that she'd just… won.

"Anya, is this really money?" The dog girl narrowed her eyes again in displeasure before turning to face her friend.

"Yes, it is, so stop looking at it sourly." Anya waved the dog girl off. Unlike Keel, the cat girl looked pleased with herself this time. She'd managed to fight her way through the loser's bracket. Having a far easier time than Keel had in the main bracket. Her skills had helped her to shine where her friend couldn't.

It had been just plain bad luck that her very first match had her pitted against someone who was built to defeat mages. Her Shadow and Wind Magic never stood a chance against him.

"But how can paper be money?!" Keel complained again.

"I- urgh, here, let me show you!"

A couple minutes later, the pair walked out of a building next to the Colosseum. Keel was staring in awe at the gold coins in her hands that the receptionist inside had given in exchange for the 'Zenis' she'd turned in.

"Paper really is money here."

"Not all the paper here is money…" Anya said with an angry pout.

"Eh?" Keel cocked her head to the side in confusion.

Oh for the love of- THIS GIRL WAS REALLY GOING TO PISS ANYA OFF AT THIS RATE!

ALRIGHT, SHE WAS GOING TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT, AND HOPE THAT KEEL FORGOT ABOUT THIS IN A FEW MINUTES!

"What are you going to spend your coins on?" Anya asked in a fake, cheery voice.

"Well... remember that cool-looking stall with all those cool-looking toys in it? The one we saw when Sebas escorted us here?" Keel thought out loud. "I think our friends back home would like some of them."

"Great idea! I think I remember where it was!" Anya perked up cheerfully. Yes, now they could move on to the fun stuff!

As they walked and laughed together, Keel felt like she'd learned a lot today thanks to all the fights she'd participated in. Whether she held a blade in her hands, made use of her fists, or dealt with her opponents in her therianthrope form. Granny was right in that she and Anya could learn a lot from fighting here.

She hoped they'd be able to come back even after they got their friends out. It could be a good way for her to gain more fighting experience against others.

"Hey, I'm feeling hungry as well. Mind if we get something to eat after the toy stall?" Anya rubbed her tummy. "They didn't provide the best food to snack on between matches."

"Yeah, those nutrition bars tasted sooooo dry. It was like eating paper instead of food- wait, could it be that I was eating money in there?" Keel thought out loud to herself.

"No!" Anya yelled angrily. "We are not bringing that up again!"

"Ehhhh~!?" Keel tilted her head to the side in confusion again.

Oh well. It wasn't long before the two friends were back to their playful banter.

It was only a short while later that they spotted the toy stall Keel mentioned. It was late evening by this point, but the man hadn't closed his shop yet. Keel also spotted a restaurant nearby with a sign written in Melromarcian on the front.

They had everything they needed for a nice, relaxing evening after the hard day of fighting they'd gone through.

But as Anya approached the stall to find something for the kids back home, Keel paused. She noticed somebody walking down the far side of the road, his head hanging down in front of him.

"Rao, get! Fydlr ed!" A lion demihuman pedestrian yelled angrily in an unknown language as the tiger boy accidentally bumped into him.

Fohl hardly reacted to him though, barely turning in his direction and muttering something before continuing.

The man, who looked like some kind of high-profile merchant, scoffed. However, instead of staying around and making a big deal out of some dirty-looking kid making a mess of his robes, he turned around and continued on his way. Leaving Fohl to continue walking all by himself.

"What are you staring at?" Anya asked curiously when she realized her friend wasn't looking at any of the toys in the stall.

"I'm not… sorry, I'll be right back!" Keel suddenly said, handing her winnings over to the cat girl before rushing across the street.

"Huh? Keel?!" Anya shouted in surprise.

The dog girl weaved between carriages going down both sides of the road. It took her more than a few seconds to cross, and she got yelled at by more than a few angry drivers, but she eventually made it to the other side of the road.

"Nabahd, vuumecr cehhanc! Nabahd yht zueh ic, pavuna ed'c duu myda!" A man in a black cloak was shouting something on this side of the street while standing on top of an empty wooden crate.

"Oh geez, not one of these weirdos again." The dog girl muttered quietly while rolling her eyes. She had no clue what this particular Zealot was shouting this time since he wasn't speaking Melromarcian. She needed to find where Fohl had gone. But there were a few more cloaked individuals with him drawing the crowds in who seemed to be in the process of... giving out food?

Come to think of it, there was a sizable crowd of Demihuman slaves around the preacher. And- wait, Fohl was listening to him too?!

Sure enough, the tiger boy was standing at the edge of the crowd listening to whatever drivel the cloaked man was spewing. One of the other cloaked men who were giving out food handed Fohl a paper bag and said something to him, causing the hakuko boy to awkwardly nod in response and mutter something else before breaking off from the crowd and quickly running out of sight.

'Huh, wonder why they're just giving out food here?' Keel almost forgot about the entire reason she'd come over here in the first place.

Thankfully, she didn't.

Keel gave the cloaked figures one last look before moving in the direction she'd seen Fohl run off to.

The dog girl knew that she was acting in a pretty stupid manner, but she felt a bit bad about how her fight with the hakuko went. Even though he was rude, he didn't seem like a bad person. And the way he fought, especially at the end... Keel couldn't help but feel a certain amount of kinship and respect towards his determination.

Fohl acted like how a true man of the sea should.

Keel came to a stop, looking left and right along the sidewalk. She'd lost track of the tiger boy in the crowds again.

She ran to the section of sidewalk where she'd seen him before and changed into her therianthrope form to take a deep sniff.

A lot of different scents went across her nose. But it took her only a second to discern the fresh scent of the opponent she'd fought earlier today. Keel made a mental note to thank Uncle Dou-lon again later for all the pointers that he gave in regards to how to best use one's therianthrope form before following the scent trail.

She went forward a hundred feet, where the scent veered right into an alleyway. She spotted Fohl just before he limped around a corner.

Feeling somewhat proud of how her tracking skills had improved, Keel transformed back into her human form and quietly rushed to the intersection. She was careful to not make too much noise in case she scared the boy off or made him act out in anger like he had earlier.

She'd tried to throw what happened during their match, as well as the look on his face at the end out of her mind. However, while sitting and waiting between matches, she couldn't help but think about how Fohl hadn't given up the whole fight.

The kid had literally dislocated his left arm just so he'd be able to give his leg enough room to kick her. And even after she'd nearly turned his knee inside out and hit him with several different massive attacks, he still hadn't relented.

And while Keel hadn't killed him, the hakuko boy got hurt so badly that he wasn't able to even put up a fight in the loser's bracket. Despite trying to push through with his injuries, Fohl lost again almost immediately and got booted out of the building by security afterward.

Maybe it was curiosity, or maybe it was guilt, but the dog girl at least wanted to know why he hadn't wanted to lose!

As Keel finally reached the corner, a hand grabbed her by the shoulder, making her come to a sudden stop. "Keel, what the hell are you doing?"

Fortunately, Anya spoke up before Keel could turn around and punch her assailant. Keel only turned her head enough to glance back at her friend.

"I'm tailing the guy I fought in my first match," The dog girl answered in a quiet voice.

"Really? Heh! Now that's the Keel I know, running off into trouble!" Anya gave the dog girl a smug cat-lipped grin. "So, did you get a crush on-"

Keel ignored her friend and just moved to the corner, peeking around it.

Fortunately, Fohl hadn't spotted them, as he moved to stand in front of a section of wall. His bag was clutched tightly in his right fist.

After another moment of taking in a deep breath, he pressed his shoulder into a stone, causing the wall to move to the side, revealing an entrance underground. Without looking to either side, he walked in.

The door started to slide shut behind him on its own ten seconds later. Enough time for Keel to close the distance and rush in before it closed.

"Wait, can't we at least get dinner before we do this? We don't have much time before we have to return to the apartment." Anya asked.

"No, now stop talking and use your magic to help us sneak around or whatever." Keel waved her friend off as she started to sneak forward.

Looking very unhappy, but not wanting her friend to go off by herself, Anya began chanting a spell under her breath as the door closed behind them.

"Zweite Shadow Walk."

Shadows covered the two's feet. While not an invisibility spell, this would at least mask the sound of their footfalls.

Anya observed her friend in the torchlight. "Ten minutes. And then we're out of here so we can grab dinner on our way back."

"Ehehe. Thanks, Anya." Keel giggled happily.

The cat girl groaned, but the two trailed Fohl for a short while after that.

It was only half a minute later when the passage widened, and cages holding various monsters appeared on either side of them. Price tags were attached to some of the cages, indicating that this place was a store.

The two ducked behind a line of cages, getting out of sight as someone approached the tiger boy in front of them.

"Yr, oui'na pylg! Ruf tet dra vekrdc ku dutyo, ouihk Fohl?" An eerily familiar voice asked. Though neither believed it was who they were thinking of.

"What are they saying?" Keel whispered to the cat girl quietly.

"It's Siltveltish, I'll translate. Stay quiet." Anya whispered back.

"... … …"

"Oof, that bad, huh? Did you at least place?"

"... … …"

"Hmmm, they didn't ask you to throw the first round, did they?" The man asked.

"... I was beaten in the first round… they said that I'd be allowed to fight without needing to hold back in today's tournament," Fohl admitted in a tight voice. "But my opponent..."

"Ah, I see..."

"Please, could you buy the medicine my sister needs? I promise I'll pay you back after I win the tournament this weekend!" Fohl pleaded.

"With injuries like that? My boy, I'm already going to be doing you a favor paying a healer to fix you up as it is." The man sighed.

"Please! Forget about healing me! I'll be fine! If I don't get Atla what she needs, then-" Fohl raised his voice.

Neither girl saw it, but the man poked Fohl's left shoulder. The poor boy cried out as the area flared with pain.

"My boy, unless the organizers arrange for that tournament to be thrown in your favor, you won't be winning any fights for a while in your condition. You're of better use to me healthy than you are dead."

"But… but my sister…"

"I will do you a favor by not adding to your debt with the healer. But it'd be bad business if I spent money on your dying sister when she has no hope of being bought in her condition."

Fohl gasped as if he was struggling to breathe.

"Your persistence in caring for the young girl is admirable. I've been in this business long enough to know. She would have died from her illness long ago if not for you."

"But you can't keep pushing yourself like this, boy. You'll destroy yourself and your sister at this rate if you don't do something to change your situation. And that'd leave me a lot less money if you died."

"And what choice do I have?!" Fohl yelled in a tight voice. "Where else could I get the money to afford Atla's medicine?! Where else could I trust her to stay without fearing for her life?!"

"If I don't throw a match here or there, if I tried fighting without restraint for the prize money I need, then… they'd target her. And I'd have nothing left to live for."

"Fohl-"

"I just… I don't want to lose her… she's the only family I have left…" Fohl said with finality. "Please..."

…

The man sighed. "I'll see about it, but it's already too late to go out. You'll have to wait till tomorrow."

"But-" Fohl tried to say.

"Tomorrow." The man repeated.

...

No more words were exchanged between the two, and Fohl moved on while the man sighed to himself again and walked to another part of his underground shop.

Anya was frowning, and she wanted to suggest they head back. However, before she could, Keel moved on ahead, trailing behind Fohl from the other side of the cage line.

The cat girl followed behind her friend.

…

A few seconds later, the line of cages ended. Being replaced with a hallway full of what looked like open-bar prison cells. Instead of monsters, these held people in them. A very familiar tattoo could be seen painted on their chests.

So that's what sort of store this was...

Keel and Anya crouched behind the last cage as Fohl entered the hallway. Nodding to the slave soldier standing guard before opening the door to one of the cells with his good hand.

At first, it didn't look like anybody else was inside… the entire cell was barren. The only light came from a sconce on the wall. The ground was covered in straw. And there looked to be a sleeping area where a mound of blankets lay on the floor.

"Big… Big Brother? Is that you?" A weak voice came from the mound of blankets. Both girls' eyes widened as the voice spoke in Melromarcian.

And that's when Keel and Anya realized that it wasn't a pile of blankets. But a blanket, laid over a smaller girl with hair just like her brother's. Her body was wrapped in bandages.

The dirtied strips of cloth covered her whole body, even her face. Only her mouth, ears, and hair were visible.

"Hey, Atla." Fohl forced himself to smile, trying his best to mask his pain from his voice as he sat down next to her. She was blind, so she'd never see his face, but he tried to smile anyway. She'd always been able to tell what face he was making for some reason.

It'd been adorable when she was a baby. It was far more painful now that they were older.

"You're… you're hurt." The girl said quietly again. "I heard you yelling earlier too. But I couldn't tell what it was about."

"It's nothing. I just had a bad match today, that's all. Don't worry about it." Fohl said, doing his best to keep the fake smile plastered on his face. "Look, I brought you some bread!" He then said in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Hmmm…" She didn't sit up, and her older brother took a piece of stale bread from the bag he'd been carrying.

It was the only thing that'd been in that bag. Something a baker acquaintance of his gave him out of the kindness of his heart.

That's what he kept telling Atla, at least.

Fohl split it in half as if he was going to share it between themselves. But after helping his younger sister to eat the first half and making sounds as if he was eating his own, he grabbed the second half and touched her lips with it.

"There's… still more?" She asked.

"Yeah, the baker was extra nice today." Fohl lied.

"Brother… you need to eat too," Atla told him.

"I'll be fine. I ate plenty at today's tournament." Fohl lied again.

He couldn't tell her how he'd been kicked out of the Colosseum. His reward from the sponsors behind him for failing so spectacularly on a day when he was let off his leash.

"Brother…" Before she could say anything else, the girl began violently coughing.

"Atla, Atla!" Fohl started screaming in fear as he grabbed her by the shoulders, helping to keep her body pinned down.

…

After a moment, the girl's coughing stopped. She turned her head to the side, a sad frown on her face. Blood dribbled from her lips.

"Come on, please eat. You need to keep your strength up." Fohl pleaded.

"Big Brother. You can't keep sacrificing for me."

"Atla, it's fine! It's not that much if I skip a meal here or there so long as you're able to-!" Fohl yelled.

Atla coughed again. It sounded hoarse and raspy. The blood on her lips soaked into the dirtied bandages below her mouth. "It hurts… it hurts so much, Big Brother." She said in a tiny voice. A few droplets of blood remained on the corners of her lips.

Fohl was trying so hard not to break down and start sobbing. But he could not hide the sound of his tears falling onto the floor beneath him as he set the second piece of bread to the side. "I… tomorrow, I'll win enough money so Deloukas can afford to get you some stronger medicine! You won't be in pain for a while after that, I promise!"

"Big Brother…" The girl was too weak to say anything else.

...

Anya poked Keel's shoulder, almost making the girl gasp as she was pulled out from what she'd been watching. She turned her head, and her friend gestured that it was time to go. She had a haunted look in her eyes.

They'd seen enough.

They'd seen more than enough.

...

Yet, Keel looked back at the prison cell. Where Fohl had rested his sister's head on his lap.

He'd started singing a lullaby for the poor girl. Helping her to the land of dreams, where she'd be able to hide from the pain her body was in at least for some time.

"When one person loves another,

"What do they lose in return?

"When time seeks, what was lost in time…

"The song it knew..."

…

As soon as Fohl noticed that his sister was asleep, he stopped singing. His voice cracked as he began to quietly sob.

"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry that I couldn't get you your medicine today." He whimpered, running his good hand through his younger sister's hair.

"I'll try. I'll try again tomorrow. I'll convince my sponsors to let me fight in the pits underground and not throw any of my matches so I'll win enough money to get some powerful medicine from that nice pharmacist lady. It'll be so strong that it'll cure your illness.

"Just please, please don't die on me before then, Atla.

"I… I can't lose you too…"

The young boy continued sobbing into his hands. The young girl in his lap breathing and twitching in her troubled sleep.

…

As Anya and Keel finally snuck out the way they came, the dog girl's blue eyes fell to the floor.

She… didn't feel good about winning today's tournament anymore.

She understood all too well now why Fohl had been so determined to win.

And satisfying her curiosity had left her with an all too deep sense of guilt at what she'd done.

---

Author's Notes:

Sadeena, Atla, and Fohl. The holy Triumvirate are finally here in Virtue.

Long chapter, but it's more than worth it. I'll see you all again in two weeks.

---

Hero Clips!

---

Introducing Sadeena

---

"Ara ara?" Sadeena looked curiously at the fourth wall. This was a new and exciting development. Has she seen this somewhere before?

"Huh, Author and Proofreader-kun still aren't here, huh? Must still be busy watching over things in the Otherworld." Motoyasu looked around curiously. "I wonder if they at least left me notes for today's character introduction."

"Oh, is that what this is?" Sadeena asked the Spear Hero curiously.

"Yeah, I think so, at least. I could have sworn you had a character introduction over in Shield Kid's Bizarre Adventure at least, but I guess that was a less serious take on your character." Motoyasu shrugged.

"Hmmm… I wonder if I was too drunk at the time. I can't recall something like that in my mind." Sadeena said curiously. She was leaning forward on a desk, putting her assets on display.

Motoyasu quickly turned his head, red filling his cheeks. Goddamn, she was so HOT! It was too bad she was an alcoholic. He would have loved to get to know her better and-

"Ahem, anyway! Luckily, it looks like Allen did leave me some notes on your character right here!" Motoyasu said, pulling out a stack of papers from behind a desk.

"Oh, let's see what Author-kun has to say about me then." Sadeena winked while smirking flirtatiously.

Motoyasu gulped again. Stay strong, man. Just focus on what Author-kun wrote about her character. That should help you to find out about the more serious aspects of her background and personality!

Motoyasu looked at the first page of her description.

HOT

…

Motoyasu flipped over to the next page.

HOT!

The same word covered the whole page. Written in big, bold letters, with the addition of an exclamation mark at the end of the word.

…

Motoyasu began hesitantly flipping over the pages after that. Hoping the first two were just some kind of sick joke from Author-Kun.

HOOOOT!

HOTTTTTTT!

SO HHHHHOT!

HOT DAMN!

MOTHER OF THICCNESS!

PLEASE SQUASH ME BETWEEN YOUR THICC CHEEKS ORCA MOMMY!

Motoyasu's eyebrows slowly raised higher and higher. Sadeena stood in her spot, staring curiously at the Spear Hero as he remained silent.

"Ara?" She asked again.

SHE CAN ARA THOSE SWEET LIPS WITH MINE AND-

"Alright!" Motoyasu suddenly ripped up almost every paper in the stack all at once. "That was certainly helpful!"

Fortunately, the paper at the bottom wasn't covered in giant bold handwriting. It looked like it might have something helpful about Sadeena's character that wasn't drowned in hormones!

…

"I can't, I literally can't. Her body combined with her outfit just makes it too hard to keep any description of her PG!

"Norin, hit me with the bonk bat again! I NEED IT!"

…

…

Motoyasu looked from the paper to Sadeena again.

"Hmmm? Is there a problem, Motoyasu?" Sadeena tilted her head to the side again.

"Excuse me, I'll be needing that." A shadowy figure, armed with a comically large baseball bat with the words NO HORNY written on it, snatched the piece of paper from Motoyasu's hands before disappearing from the room.

…

You know what, Author-Kun made a valid point. Motoyasu felt the need to be put in horny jail himself right now.

"If you all want the omake of her giving her background, you should go read Shield Kid instead! It'll be in one of the chapters at the end!" Motoyasu said, sweating nervously in his spot. After reading through all that, the Spear Hero had a feeling that even Author-Kun would give an exception to someone writing an SI if that SI got together with Sadeena instead of the other girls in the setting.

"I guess this means we'll be alone now, right?" Sadeena asked, her voice naturally sounding flirtatious in the Spear Hero's ears as she got close to him.

SWEET GODS! ALLEN WAS SO RIGHT! THIS GIRL COULD ARA THOSE SWEET LIPS OF HERS WITH HIS AND-

The scene was quickly cut off by a burst of static.

*We are experiencing technical difficulties at this time. Please wait patiently as we fix this issue*

It'd be a while before Motoyasu was freed from his horny jail of his.

---

Hero Clips!

---

Could you make Yggdrasil's Elixir?

---

"Ah, Sir Motoyasu, it's been a while.

"It sure has Apothecarian dude whose name I can't remember unlike Mahoya the Witch." Motoyasu grinned as he walked into the old man's shop.

Man, the last time he could remember talking to him must have been when that stupid raccoon family broke that window of his. There'd probably been a time or two after that when he saw him, but this was the old man's first relevant mention in a long time... at least from what he could recall. Man, he should give this guy some more screentime so it'd be easier to remember his name.

"Well then, is there a reason why you're gracing my humble shop with your presence today?" The old man asked, feeling slightly offended without understanding why.

"Yeah. I wanted to ask if you knew how to make Yggdrasil's Elixir." Motoyasu asked.

…

"Pardon?" The Apothecarian said after a moment of silence.

"Yggdrasil's Elixir? You know, the most powerful medicine in the world. Do you know how to make it?" Motoyasu clarified.

"I… my boy, I'm tickled that you'd ask me such a question. Unfortunately, that medicine is a bit too complicated for me." The old man shook his head.

"Would you be able to make it if you had the recipe?" Motoyasu asked.

"No. The recipe isn't exactly a closely guarded secret. It's just so bloody difficult to brew and the price of all the ingredients and tools needed are so expensive that I'd never dream of even trying it. In fact, most experienced apothecaries don't even attempt brewing it in their lifetime since they could lose all their money failing to brew it."

"Oh… okay, I didn't realize there was that much forethought put into it," Motoyasu said nonchalantly.

"Indeed. It makes sense that such a powerful medicine would be so hard for normal people such as myself to make. Maybe Sir Naofumi could make it, if he had a few more years of experience.

"Now, is there a reason why you came to me to ask such a question?"

"Well, I asked because I found out that my weapon can autocraft Yggdrasil's Elixir now." Motoyasu started.

The old man's eyes immediately widened in shock. "What?!" He yelled.

"Yeah, it takes twelve hours for my weapon to autocraft one Yggdrasil's Elixir of average quality though. Weird limitation, amirite?"

"WHAT!?" The old man yelled.

"It takes thirty of all the different potions too. Man, I'm going to be blowing through a lot just to make 2 of these things a day.

"Are you sure you couldn't make one yourself? I can give you the recipe and the materials too if you want and-"

"TWELVE HOURS?! DO YOU THINK IT'S THAT EASY TO MAKE THIS POTION!? IT TAKES EXPERIENCED APOTHECARIES GODDAMN DAYS IF NOT WEEKS OF NONSTOP WORK AND LOADS MORE INGREDIENTS AND POTIONS DUE TO ALL THE THINGS THAT COULD LEAD TO A FAILED RESULT TO MAKE A SINGLE YGGDRASIL'S ELIXIR!" The old man screamed.

"... so, is that a no then?" Motoyasu asked.

The old man proceeded to have a heart attack and almost died in his shop.

So… yeah. The moral of the story was that heroes aren't just busted when it comes to their raw stat advantage over people.

Just don't expect them to be throwing the most powerful medicine in the universe around without a hell of a lot of grinding for the materials they'll need first… oh, and they had to take down the right Guardian Beast to find the weapon form that had the weapon recipe attached to it too. Can't forget that detail, lol.

Man, Kyo really threw the power scale out the window waking that giant turtle a year early. That bug should be updated in the next patch.

---

Till Next Time

Allen