Chapter Three: Dragon Egg, Through Glassy Eyes
"Gwah! Gwah! Gwah! (Hey! Hey! Blue!)"
"Ahhhh…"
A familiar, blue-feathered Filolial stirred as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes.
Craning his head up, Blue looked around to find himself exactly where he'd dozed off earlier. At the gate of Lurolona Village, watching the forest for any signs of trespassers or other suspicious activities.
Blue looked quite a bit different from how he used to look before. He had grown into a large, familiar owl shape. Just like Filo and Amber.
His transformation into a Filolial King had completed itself overnight. Surprisingly, despite being male, he didn't look that different from the two Queens.
He was slightly taller, perhaps? His head structure looked a bit more masculine too, with a slightly longer beak. But outside of that, a Filolial King and a Filolial Queen really weren't that different from each other in terms of looks. Who would have thought?
"Gwah… (Geez, stop falling asleep. Aren't there supposed to be villains skulking outside our new nest?)"
Blue lazily turned his head to the source of the voice: a regular filolial that stood by the other side of the village gate. She was black-feathered, and, for some strange reason, she wore a white eyepatch over her left eye.
"Well, yea. But they aren't here yet, are they? And I wanna save my energy for later today when I'll finally get to play with Noodle alone." Blue responded before yawning to himself again.
Blue did not know why Rikka wore the strange eyepatch. She could see just fine. Rikka claimed that it was to keep the power of the Tyrant Eye suppressed outside of when Rikka needed it.
Blue thought such a name for it was stupid.
…
It would have been far cooler if Rikka had called it the Demonic Eye instead.
Rikka wouldn't listen though since she didn't know what the word cool even meant.
"(Hmmm, is Blue certain that Dog Girl will allow Blue to hoard Cool Hero to himself for a whole day?)" Rikka asked as she yawned tiredly into her wing next.
"Dog Girl better! Or else I will show Dog Girl just how mad Blue can really get!" The Filolial King promised, stamping his large taloned feet into the ground as he did so.
With the two birds bickering, neither of them noticed the carriage that was quietly approaching the gate. Or the woman sitting on the driver's bench of said carriage whose eyes widened in curiosity at hearing one of the monsters at the gates communicating verbally.
The pair just continued talking to each other, with Rikka gwahing and Blue speaking out loud since he could do that now.
"(Rikka still doesn't understand why Blue gets so upset about Dog Girl and Cool Hero being so happy together. Isn't Blue happy that Dog Girl helps Cool Hero to cheer up?)" Rikka sighed. It was a topic she and Amber had covered together at length when Blue wasn't around.
"NO! I am not happy about it at all! The last thing Noodle needs is to smell like Dog Girl all the time! Blue can totally cheer Noodle up much better! You'll see!" Blue continued to rant and complain.
"(I don't think Blue actually understands what Rikka is talking about.)" Rikka spoke quietly to herself.
And to think that Blue was supposedly one of the smarter members of Fitoria's flock.
"What was that?" Blue asked angrily.
"(It was nothing.)" Rikka shrugged.
"Huh, fascinating." An unfamiliar voice spoke up. But again, neither Filolial noticed it.
"Blue's certain that Rikka said something just now!" Blue puffed out his feathers, making himself look bigger and more intimidating. But Rikka barely reacted to his new aggressive stance.
Being tired probably helped with that. Then again, as friends, they'd bickered a lot in the past. So this was nothing new.
"(Rikka is just pointing out how Cool Hero went through a lot, and how Dog Girl and the others have been trying to help Cool Hero recover. Is Blue certain that trying to keep Cool Hero away from Cool Hero's friends is a good idea?)" Rikka asked seriously.
"Eh~!? But I am big and strong now! I am more than capable with helping Noodle than Dog Girl ever will be!" Fire flashed in the Filolial King's eyes.
Rikka sighed again. Blue really didn't know what she was talking about. Yet Blue continued in his rant before she could say what she meant.
"I swear, I will do everything in my power to keep Dog Girl and the others away from Noodle today! And then I will help Noodle to have a lot of fun outside the village, so Noodle can relax, and then-"
The Filolial King's voice was cut off as a feminine hand suddenly reached out from somewhere and firmly grabbed his wing before roughly unfurling it.
An open black carriage filled with large wooden crates had stopped before the gate. The two caterpilland monsters that'd been pulling it pawed at the ground with their many tiny feet nervously at the sight of the two Filolials before them.
But the person who drove the carriage was the main concern at the moment.
She was standing next to Blue, holding out one of his wings and examining it. She had the appearance of a sultry, Middle-Eastern human woman in her late twenties. She was buxom, wearing a white coat. She had long platinum-blonde hair that resembled Kyo's which made for a striking image when combined with her deeply tanned skin and the exotic jewelry she wore.
"Hmmm, a bit shorter than I expected. But the color seems healthy enough." The woman spoke as if she was examining a lab animal. "The feathers are well groomed too. Though, they seem to go pretty deep. I wonder if that means you have some unusual organs on the inside."
"H-H-Huh?! Who are you!?" Blue yelled as he tried to pull his wing back.
However, the woman's grip turned out to be surprisingly strong. Blue's eyes widened even more at her hidden strength, and before he could say anything else, the woman grabbed his beak and forced it open before pushing her head into the Filolial King's mouth..
Blue's eyes widened even further! He tried to step back, to jump away, to gag, but the woman's grip on his head was resolute.
He kept on involuntarily trying to choke up until the strange woman finally pulled her head back out of his throat.
"Hmmm, I couldn't get a good look in there since you were struggling so much. But I didn't notice anything too unusual back there."
Blue continued to sputter, trying to catch his breath and figure out what the hell was happening to him. The strange woman, however, continued to speak nonchalantly.
"I'm surprised you can speak and understand human language.
"How fascinating. You must definitely be a Filolial Royal variant like in the legends."
The woman, who'd looked up at Blue's face now, had a strange glint in her purple eyes. Her tongue slowly licked over her lips.
"R-R-Rikka?!" Blue finally managed to speak, looking to the side with his blue eyes wide with terror.
However, his friend was long gone. A dust trail led into the plains by the forest, and a series of black feathers in Rikka's outline hung in the air where she'd been standing for a few seconds, before finally falling to the ground.
No matter how stupid Blue thought it was, Rikka's 'Tyrant Eye' was able to tell just how unusual this woman was with one glance. And Rikka thought the best plan was to stay as far away from her as possible for now.
"Ah, was that the name of that Filolial?" The woman asked politely, pulling Blue's attention back to her again. "I didn't really pay her much attention since she didn't look like a Royal.
"But you don't have to worry about her. I'm more interested in getting samples from you, after all."
"S-S-S-S-Samples?" Blue asked again, his voice shaking as more fear filled his body.
He didn't know why. This person was just another human, and he'd been strengthened under his time as a member of Fitoria's flock, and now as the Filolial of the great Sword Hero! He shouldn't have been afraid of anything at this point!
Except, the way she was looking at him as if he was a piece of meat…
"Mmhmm. I'll only need a few seconds to get what I need, if you comply, that is. I have tranquilizer though, just in case." As the bizarre woman spoke, she put a hand in her back pocket.
And pulled out a syringe the size of her forearm.
…
Blue's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. 'N-N-N-N-N-N-NEEEEEDLEEEEEE!'
The woman raised the massive syringe over her head.
"Now this should only hurt a little bit."
The Sword Hero lay in his bed, slowly coming out of the land of the sleep to rejoin the land of the living.
Strange, maybe it was because of the new sword Motoyasu found for him. Or maybe it was because of how happy Wyndia and his friends had been last night. Or maybe it was even because his girlfriend was snuggled up next to him right now, smiling softly while dreaming about dragons in her sleep.
Whatever the case, the Sword Hero's sleep had actually been pretty restful… for once.
That was a rare thing these days. Yet the Sword Hero smiled softly, feeling that today was going to be a good day. That everything would be ok and nothing bad was going to happen-
The door to the room suddenly burst open.
"NOOOOOOODLE!"
"Huh-" Ren barely had time to say a word before his rare peaceful morning was interrupted by a blue-haired angel-winged preteen boy tackling him out of his bed. "OOF!"
The Sword Hero found himself sprawled on the floor in his pajamas. His legs comically raised in the air, and a dazed look set in his eyes.
"Mmmmm… five more minutes…" Wyndia grumbled tiredly from under the blankets. She was trying to reach out and hug the dragon that she'd been sleeping against.
Odd, where had his warmth disappeared to?
"PLEASE! NOODLE HAS TO PROTECT BLUE FROM EVIL MAD SCIENTIST LADY!" The kid, who turned out to be Blue, screamed in terror.
"Huh… wha…" Ren continued to mutter in confusion.
Weird, he didn't remember Wyndia and him ever having a kid. And how the hell was he twelve already?
…
Could their kids even have blue hair? He didn't think that would happen since it didn't run in his family. Then again, Wyndia knew very little about her original family, so maybe it was a possibility.
"WILL NOODLE PLEASE STOP THINKING ABOUT DOG GIRL FOR ONE MOMENT AND PROTECT BLUE RIGHT NOW?!" The kid yelled frantically.
Too bad Ren was still out of it. Even if he wasn't groggy from sleep, this would have been a confusing event for anyone to wake up to.
"What the- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, BRAT?!" Wyndia jerked awake, throwing her blankets off and looking over the side of the bed to spot the kid who tackled her Sword Hero out of it. Her tired face morphed into a familiar glare of rage.
And she'd been having such a great dream too! Damn this little guy for ruining it!
"BOO! I DON'T HAVE TO SAY SQUAT TO DOG GIRL FOR HOGGING ALL OF NOODLE'S ATTENTION FROM BLUE!" The kid pouted at her while still hugging the Sword Hero tightly around the chest.
"Noodle? Who the hell is that?" Wyndia's face tightened first in confusion, and then fury. "And besides that, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO YOU ARE! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT TACKLED MY BOYFRIEND OUT OF OUR BED!"
"I REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT NOODLE AND DOG GIRL ARE THAT CLOSE WITH EACH OTHER!" The boy shouted back.
"ALRIGHT, THAT DOES IT! YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET BUSTING IN HERE AND RUINING OUR MORNING, BRAT!"
The Filolial King stood up, blue fire in his eyes as Wyndia stood opposite. Pure red fire raged behind her in the shape of a dragon.
The two looked like they were about to go all out against each other then and there, with the dazed Sword Hero still lying on the ground beneath them in a bundle of limbs and confusion.
It might have made for quite the battle too.
However…
"Hmmm, fascinating, I wasn't expecting his first transformation to show him without clothes. I could have sworn I heard the other Heroes' Filolial Queens had clothes of their own." A voice said from the door.
"Perhaps my theory about their feathers changing into attire was wrong and Royal Filolials need magic clothes that transform with them just like regular therianthrope races. Oh well, at least I know this now."
Blue's face paled, and his energy disappeared as he trembled in terror at the sight of the woman from the gate appearing in front of the Sword Hero's bedroom door. Had she seriously chased him all the way here?!
Wyndia's face also paled, though it was for a different reason entirely.
She finally realized that this boy, who'd tackled her Hero boyfriend out of their bed and interrupted their sleep, was the Filolial Blue. He was also completely naked. And he was being extremely possessive of Ren, just like when he was a Filolial.
After all the times they'd butted heads in the past, Wyndia stumbled over her words for a moment. Trying to overcome her shock at the situation she'd been thrust into.
"Ah- Ah- GET AWAY FROM MY BOYFRIEND, YOU DUMB BIRDBRAIN!" And after chanting a series of words in the space of a second while grabbing the sapphire off her nightstand, Wyndia threw a punch at the boy's face before he could overcome his fear of the woman in the doorway.
"SAPPHIRE DRAGON'S BLOW!"
WHACK!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Blue was launched out Ren's open bedroom window. Screaming as his small form flew far, far out over the ocean until, finally, he landed at least a hundred feet out into the sea, creating a small Splash!
"Eh, I give that a 5." Keel shrugged on the sandy beach.
"More like a 4. That form was pathetic." One of her friends, a dog demi-human with floppy ears and chocolate-colored hair named Katia, commented next to her.
"I'll give it a six since she managed to jump out pretty far." Another friend commented on the other side. She had panda ears on her head and her name was Silis. "That's all I'll give it though."
"So five overall?" Keel asked.
"Yeah." "Mmhmm." The two agreed.
They were about to discuss who would jump next when a voice yelled from the top of the cliff.
"Alright, I'm ready to jump!" Anya announced.
"Wai-" "What!?" "HUH?!" The three demi-humans all jumped up, looking in shock at the cat demi-human now standing at the top of the cliff.
"What? Did I miss something getting up here?" Anya asked.
If she hadn't jumped, then who was…
Blue's body resurfaced, with his head facing down.
"Blblblblblbl…" It looked like Wyndia's spell had knocked him out cold.
Keel and the others quickly jumped in the water and swam out to save the drowning Filolial King.
And just like that, the duel they were about to have came to a sudden and abrupt finish. With Wyndia clearly being the victor.
Because dragons were the superior species and not Filolials.
…
The light-brown-haired girl breathed in and out heavily, her fist still shaking with rage as she slowly lowered it. Opening it up, she found the sapphire she was gripping was still intact. It was even glowing softly in response to her touch.
Heh, she still wasn't sure if Therese's 'friends' were alive or not. She had as of yet to hear any voices from these gemstones. At least, she thought she hadn't.
There were times she thought she heard whispers when practicing with the stones, but the whispers were all suggestions for things to try out in bed with Ren once he got better. So she guessed it was just her imagination running wild.
Nevertheless, the dog girl had vastly improved in her usage of Gem Magic since the Spirit Tortoise's death.
She was happy she was able to instinctively get off that spell at full power without harming the gemstone. Perhaps it'd be okay for her to be a little more confident in using Gem Magic in battles now?
Before she could ponder on this more, however…
"Oh? Was that Earth Vein Magic? I've never seen it used via gemstones before.
"Does that mean you've been blessed by a Dragon or another creature that has access to the energy of the world?"
The dog girl stopped admiring the gemstone to look at the door to their room.
"Yawn, Wyndia, do you and Ren have to make so much noise so early in the morning?" Farrie's door opened down the hall. "Some of us are still sleeping, you… … …" The mage's tired, yet teasing voice trailed off as she also saw the person standing at the door to Ren's room.
"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you?" Farrie asked the dark-skinned woman.
"How… how do you know about dragon vein magic? I thought that wasn't common knowledge." Wyndia shakily asked. She had no idea why she'd asked that question first. Perhaps the sight of another stranger in her home after the naked boy incident was too much?
Especially since this stranger looked hot enough to seduce Ren with just a glance.
Wyndia should have been more confident in herself. But it wasn't every day that a person like this just wandered into your room.
The woman tilted her head. "Did Her Majesty not send word to Princess Melty of my arrival?
"I guess she does have other things on her plate right now. Or maybe the message got lost or delayed on the way somehow. Oh well. Can't be bothered now."
She sighed as if it really was that much of a bother. "My name is Ratotille Anthreya, the prodigy of the Faubley Institute of Technology. I've learned quite a bit there, which includes the various branches of Dragon Vein Magic and how one gains access to it.
"That said, I have come here to offer my services and specialties to the Hero's new nation, as well as to safely deliver some gifts that were en route from Siltvelt on my way here."
…
"Huh?" Ren asked confusedly where he'd sat up on the ground.
He still didn't look to be entirely there at the moment. But his reaction pretty much summed up everyone else's thoughts.
"Now, with the pleasantries out of the way, is it alright if I take a blood sample from that Filolial King you sent flying into the ocean?" Rat asked. "It could prove useful for the perfect monster I wish to make."
There was… definitely some confusion that needed to be cleared up after that.
Several things had to be addressed. Like Blue showing that he could transform into the form of a preteen. Or how Keel and her friends saved the young Filolial from drowning in the ocean. Or the others learning how said boy had wanted to take Ren out of the village for the day even though he didn't have any clothes yet.
Which was probably one of the more important things to cover at the moment, in all honesty. Due to the stir he'd caused outside.
"What do you mean I can't transform whenever I want?!" Blue angrily cried as Farrie used some Fire-healing magic to heal the massive bruise covering his face.
His small body was wrapped up in a towel, giving him a small modicum of decency. He had pure white wings with the edges trimmed with blue sticking out his back. His human form was bigger than Filo, but nowhere near as tall as Amber's. And his face also held a perpetual pout on it.
"What I mean is that since you can transform into a human now, you have to follow some basic human norms. And one of those norms is wearing clothes to cover your nakedness." Tersia sat in front of the kid, who was the newest addition to Ren's party.
Blue was about to protest further when realization dawned on his youthful face which was then quickly followed by another pout of annoyance. "Oh yeaaaa… Humans are obsessed with covering themselves up with stuff, aren't they? Yeesh, how annoying!"
The nun had a rare stern look she hadn't pulled out as of late. Farrie teasingly called it her 'lecture' mode. "I'm glad you understand, Blue. So, please, refrain from using this form until we can get you a set of transforming clothes.
"Oh, come on! Can't I just wear regular clothes for the time being? I wanna try this form out! Do you know how crazy cool it is to suddenly transform into something completely different like that? It's wild!" The boy yelled.
"Amber wasn't allowed to change forms in public either until Motoyasu made her the dress she's wearing now. It's only fair for you to have to do the same." Tersia replied.
"No way! I wanna test out what I can do now!" The boy yelled even louder.
Tersia grit her teeth as Farrie chuckled next to her. "That's not going to work. You'll just randomly turn back and forth and keep ruining set after set of clothes. Amber promised to be careful too at first, but even she slipped up several times while we were with her, causing all sorts of awkward moments that I'd rather not see happen again!
"BOO! YOU CAN'T TELL BLUE WHAT TO DO! BLUE WILL ONLY LISTEN TO NOODLE!"
"I'm sorry, you want to run that by me again…" A deadly pressure came from the corner of the room, where Wyndia was leaning against the wall.
She'd changed out of her pajamas into her normal white shirt, brown skirt, and blue-cloaked outfit. And she was glaring daggers at the boy.
Bright emerald green fire covered her hands, and a scowl adorned her lips. "I couldn't care less about you going around streaking through town. But I will make bird roast out of you if I see you trying to get clingy with Ren while naked again!"
…
…
Blue looked sufficiently frightened at her threat, and Tersia shook her head at Wyndia. "Don't be so mean. Blue might be a Filolial, but he is still just a kid."
Wyndia scoffed in response and the flames she was holding dispersed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "This 'kid' here is around thirty, which is considered middle-aged for Filolials, Tersia."
"Hey, I'm twenty-five, thank you very much!" The boy protested. "I'm still in the prime of my life!"
Wyndia ignored his outburst and kept going. "So I think I'm pretty entitled to be pissed off since some pervert bird just tried to get in bed with my boyfriend."
…
"..."
"..."
The deadly pressure in the room suddenly increased tenfold.
Wyndia's friends both turned to stare at Blue, their faces devoid of emotions, but their eyes were glinting with danger. Farrie's amusement at the situation was gone.
"Thinking back on it, you told Wyndia to stay away from the Sword Hero, didn't you?" Tersia spoke in a calm, dead tone.
"Uh, yes, obviously." Blue rolled his eyes.
"Are you asking for us to kill you right now?" Farrie spoke in the same tone as her sister. Her head was tilted at an odd angle, and she'd started pulling a grimoire from the depths of her cloak.
If there was anyone who loved watching Ren and Wyndia's relationship develop a lot over the last few months, it'd be these two. Sure, it hadn't always been good, and Farrie had even said some hurtful things to her friend after losing Bakta, but the two genuinely wanted to see their Hero and Demi friend be happy together.
Call it hogwash or whatever but with all the unhappiness in the world and the uncertainties and challenges they were facing via the Waves and other threats, seeing two of their close friends happily in love was one of the best things they could have ever asked for. And the two deserved that happiness after everything they'd been through.
…
And Blue wanted to just come in and ruin all of their hard work in getting the two together in the first place?!
"Well… everyone here spends too much time with Noodle anyway! I wanted a day alone with Noodle as well!" Blue defended himself. These were just humans! They were nowhere close to the strength that Filolials achieved!
A brave thing for him to say.
Brave, but stupid.
"We're all acting together as Ren's support to help him heal not just physically, but mentally and emotionally," Farrie spoke again. Her voice still holding the same tone as before. But just like Wyndia earlier, the hand not holding the grimoire began to cover itself with fire magic as she stepped closer.
"Are you saying that we're doing a bad job of helping him out?"
…
Blue paled even further as he shrank back in his chair.
He suddenly recalled that these humans were members of the Sword Hero's party long before he was. Not only did they have their levels and bonuses from being acquainted with the Sword Hero, but Fitoria had used that strange method of hers to empower Farrie's stats.
The fire she was holding looked pretty strong...
...
The last of his bravery promptly walked out the door and shot itself out back.
Yeah, this kind of thinking wasn't going to fly. Screw Blue running around naked and being a public nuisance. If he kidnapped Ren and the Sword Hero had another mental breakdown while no one else was around…
Farrie joined her older sister in lecturing/coercing/threatening/possibly torturing the young kid for his selfishness and arrogance. Stating in no unclear terms how these attributes wouldn't help the Sword Hero to recover in the slightest.
Ren's recovery was a team effort from all of them. It was alright to be worried for Ren and to want to help him out. It was NOT alright to prevent others from or getting in the way of doing so as well. Especially those whom the Sword Hero loved and respected dearly.
Even Wyndia had understood this and accepted the others' help for her Hero.
As for the dog girl… she eventually had to leave the room partway through, as her desire for barbeque Filolial only seemed to increase as the minutes passed. Blue was truly a stubborn kid.
Which was ironic, since he was older than Amber by at least ten to fifteen years
How he could be this emotionally stupid at that age was beyond them.
…
Although, in his defense, Blue living most of his life amongst Filolials could explain some of his weird opinions on things.
…
…
Anyway, that was just one part of what'd happened.
The other part occurred in Melty's office in the town's newly constructed administrative building while Blue was still in the middle of being grilled by Ren's friends.
Melty already knew she was going to have a lot of paperwork today. Blue had caused quite the commotion by running through the streets naked while screaming his head off. It was enough that she couldn't even be excited about the fact that he was a Filolial King now.
And to think she'd been about ready to tackle challenges the town hadn't addressed yet like taking a census of everyone living there and gathering an inventory of what they had. She also had to establish laws for trade, now that their nation was reaching that point thanks to Elena's efforts.
Melty began rubbing her forehead to alleviate her headache. Why did Blue have to sour her busy morning with his actions?
"Everything alright, Princess?" Eclair asked from beside her.
"Yes, I'm fine." Melty irritably snapped at the rose-haired knight.
If Eclair was offended by the Second Princess's tone, she didn't show it. She understood that even though Melty had been super elated last night about something, she'd still been under a lot of stress. And now, here she was, having awoken to a new batch of problems to deal with.
One of those 'problems' was sitting in front of Melty's desk right now. And Melty focused on it at last.
"So you're, um… Ratatouille?" Melty asked from behind her desk.
"Ratotille, actually, but feel free to call me Rat, if you prefer." Rat crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't care what others call me, so long as I'm able to do what I want."
"Alright, um, Rat… Is there a reason why you were in the Sword Hero's home earlier?" Melty pressed on.
"I was following a very interesting Filolial King that I spotted at your town gate. And I wasn't going to let him escape and prevent me from getting what I wanted from him." Rat answered.
Fortunately, some of Blue's blood had been on the wall of the Sword Hero's room thanks to Wyndia's attack. It wasn't the cleanest way to get what she needed, and she'd need more blood from him later on. But it was probably enough for her to get a good start on her project.
"Hmmm…" Melty clasped her hands in front of her, looking down at a letter her Mother had sent her a couple of days ago. Funnily enough, it'd arrived at the same time as the message from Zeltoble, so it'd fallen under her radar.
To paraphrase, Mirellia said that this Ratotille person had traveled from Faubley to join the Hero Village. That her Shadows were certain that she wasn't a spy. And that she had also been entrusted with a carriage containing gifts for the Heroes that'd come from Siltvelt.
Probably not the most sane thing to do. Then again, this had also occurred right after the Spirit Tortoise incident was over. So there were plenty of crazy things going on in the world around that time.
Anyway, besides that, the Queen had also supplied Melty with a bit of Rat's background in her message. She was a genius, though more than a bit socially inept. Someone like her wanting to help out the Heroes was mind-boggling.
"From what I understand, you were the top student in Faubley's Academy, is that correct?" The Princess continued the interrogation.
"Yes. I was told many times by my professors that I was the brightest student they've ever had." Rat said boredly while looking down at her hand. "I even outshined the so-called 'genius', His Royal bratiness, Prince Tact.
"Though, honestly, that boy is a complete moron. The only thing he's good at is making other people do what he tells them.
"Most of his ideas were complete garbage. And the ones that weren't were highly inefficient.
"Did you hear about the new brand of paper he invented that was supposed to be easier and less costly to make? Well, it might have made things more efficient for book industries in the short term. But I did some of my tests on it and found out that the paper he made would wither away after only a few decades. Had that project been allowed out into the world, it would have destroyed the world's faith in Faubley's new printing presses."
"I-I'm sorry, printing presses?" Melty asked, looking confused.
"Yea, that was one of the idiot's useful inventions. Though I'm guessing it was his younger sister who made it and gave the credit for it to her older brother." Rat rolled her eyes. "Their relationship is quite gross. And they aren't even trying to hide it.
"But I digress. A printing press allows a person to make many copies of a book at a time, instead of having to write each copy by hand. In time, it could make magic grimoires and other texts less expensive as the supply of those books surges around the world. Allowing even commoners to purchase them.
"I can acknowledge that as a useful advancement for those reasons and more. But no, I just had to critique the paper and earn that bastard's ire.
"Oh well, not like I wasn't already hated enough because of my own research." Rat held her hands together. "And speaking of it. That's why I'm here. I wish to use my expertise and knowledge to bolster your nation's growth.
"I heard the Hero's Village had a strange breed of plant that could mimic monster qualities, and that the Heroes were also raising a legendary breed of Filolial Royals. I was hoping that studying these unique monsters could help me to progress along in my projects"
…
Melty opened and closed her mouth.
A lot had been said there, and some of it didn't make much sense to her. To say Rat was a genius was an understatement. Even Melty, who'd been under some of the best tutelage a royal could afford, and who'd been trained personally by the Vixen of Melromarc, couldn't follow along with everything Rat had just said.
So, she remembered what her Mother had taught her, and breathed in deep, composing her mind and her thoughts.
Within a moment, she opened her eyes and stared calmly at the lady before her. She discarded what she couldn't understand right now, resolving to ask about such things later. She decided to stick to what was important right now.
"Before I consider your offer to join the Heroes' Nation, I'd like to know the reason why you left Faubley in the first place.
"I might not have attended Faubley's Academy myself, but I do know that it is among the best schools in the entire world. One would be hard-pressed to find anywhere better to learn or conduct research into new and exciting projects like the ones you mentioned.
"And besides that, you caused quite a commotion earlier with Blue. You've already made my morning ten times harder than usual." Melty, despite her best efforts, could not keep her pout off her face.
Rat pursed her lips. She didn't immediately answer.
…
"Um… is this Faubley Institute really that great a place?" Ren shakily asked.
The Sword Hero sat in a corner of the room. Melty hadn't wanted to trouble him initially. But given that Rat had gone into his house, the Sword Hero ended up tagging along when Rat was brought to the newly constructed administrative building across from the Church, which had housed her former office.
Perhaps Ren's friends hadn't wanted to trouble him with Blue. Or maybe he'd just wanted to get out of his home? Either way, he was here now.
As for why he'd asked this question… he had heard about the Institute in his game before. But he'd never learned the lore behind it, outside of a few side quests. And those quests were pretty much gathering materials and items to help researchers out.
"It is." Eclair answered the Sword Hero's earlier question. "Because Faubley's royalty is backing it, the Institute has near endless funds at its disposal. The only ones who are allowed to attend are those of exceptional skill with the blade like myself, or those with the best and brightest minds our world has to offer…
"Which makes me wonder how Mother ever managed to get my older sister into that place," Melty whispered to herself.
Eclair looked down at the Second Princess, who coughed into her sleeve. "Anyway, Eclair is right. To say that the Faubley Academy is one of, if not the best school in the entire world wouldn't be an understatement. The students and professors there are responsible for many of the world's advancements in technology, magic, swordsmanship, and other areas over the past century.
"Besides Faubley's Royalty personally backing it, the Academy also has backing from the Four Heroes Church. Their professors are some of the only people allowed by the Church to do research into the Hero Weapons.
"To get in without nobility or royalty backing you is considered a huge achievement. Those who graduate are known for becoming leaders and well-known figures in their nations around the world.
"... Which has me wondering why you'd give all that up just to help us out?" Melty finished, staring hard at the woman before her.
…
…
…
This time, the silence between them was enduring and long.
Ren fidgeted in his seat. Trying to not look too uncomfortable with the sudden atmosphere. Even though Eclair was in the room, she was acting as Melty's bodyguard at the moment. She couldn't abandon her charge to distract the Sword Hero from his thoughts.
He suddenly wished that Wyndia or Farrie or one of his other friends was there. If not to break the silence, then to at least help him focus his mind on something besides that silence. And what'd happened before when…
He clenched his eyes tight. Fortunately, Rat finally broke the silence, helping Ren to push those troublesome thoughts out of his mind.
"If you're wondering why I gave it up… I didn't." Rat admitted with a scowl. "If I had it my way, I would still be in Faubley, performing my research without anyone else bothering me."
Melty's eyes narrowed. "Why come here then? I don't believe there is much we could offer you compared to other nations due to our limited size and influence at the moment. We don't even have a school of our own!"
"Hm. Hmhmhmhm." Rat crossed her arms and chuckled to herself. "Only an idiot would think a nation run by the four Heroes would remain irrelevant in the grand scheme of things for long. What Siltvelt asked me to deliver is proof enough of that.
"I meant it when I said I was here to offer my services to the four Heroes. I know besides these mutant bio-plants you have, you recently started raising and cultivating monsters to help out around the village.
"I can help with taking care of and raising these monsters. I can also use my knowledge to help them grow big and strong so they can do more than just assist with mundane tasks.
"The only thing I need in return is a quiet space for a laboratory where I can continue my research.
"What I was able to salvage after most of it was destroyed, at least."
…
Melty stared at Rat, who didn't look her in the eyes.
At the confession, the tanned woman's face had finally fallen.
"... oh." Melty sat back in her chair. "I see, then."
Eclair sighed where she was standing. "Is that why you're here? To get our help to seek revenge on the people who destroyed all your research?"
"Oh? No. Goodness no." Rat shook her head as she chuckled at the rose-haired knight. "That Tact idiot I mentioned? He wasn't the one who did it exactly, but I'm sure he or his little sister were the ones who gave the details of what I was researching to the wrong people at the university.
"While I would like payback on them, I don't have a death wish. Instead, I'd be content with managing to create the ultimate monster and having it fight on behalf of the Heroes of Legend in saving the world." Rat smirked brightly. "That'd be far better revenge for me than seeing heads roll around."
"Hmmm…" Melty continued to stare at the tanned woman, trying to keep her thoughts and feelings masked.
She didn't know what Rat meant by creating an ultimate monster to fight on behalf of the Heroes. However, their village could use a monster doctor/tamer.
Wyndia, thanks to her Father being a dragon, knew quite a bit when it came to raising monsters and taking care of them. She'd even been helping a few of the kids learn how to take care of the Caterpillands and Dunes as well as some of Fitoria's Filolials in her free time.
But there was only so much time the dog girl had when she was constantly with Ren and helping him out or supporting him in his various activities.
Plus, Melty was certain that the kids had found and hidden monster eggs they'd found in the forest in the stables where they were keeping the Caterpillands and Dunes they were raising. Beloukas had stopped by the stables both times he'd visited in the last week.
Not that she could blame the kids either. She'd LOVE for one of those eggs to turn out to be a Filolial egg, just so she could have a chance to claim it for herself. But while the hatched monsters could help out the village, they simply didn't have someone who could watch over and take care of a dozen different species of monsters on a constant basis.
"I think it'd be fine if she moved into the village." Ren finally spoke, interrupting Melty's thoughts. "It'd certainly help out the kids Wyndia has been teaching to look after the monsters."
"Oh, you mean the dog girl who you were sleeping with earlier is a monster doctor too?" Rat asked curiously.
"Not exactly…" Ren couldn't help but rub the back of his neck in embarrassment. Eclair and Melty were both giving the Sword Hero looks of surprise upon learning that he and Wyndia were sleeping together. Yet despite his embarrassment, a soft smile appeared on his face. "She was raised by a dragon and, from what I understand, she grew up with a lot of different monster siblings.
"She learned quite a bit about taking care of monsters because of her upbringing."
"Hmmm… I see." A frown appeared on Rat's face. At a look from Melty though, she amended what she would say next. "From my knowledge of dragons, I didn't think there was one who'd raise a demi-girl as its child.
"They tend to be mindless brutes who destroy the land and ruin the local ecosystem wherever they choose to nest."
"..." Ren's face fell a little. "The Dragon Emperor Gaelion was really special in that regard. He lived far away from humans and took care of everyone he considered his child before…
"Before he died."
…
Eclair finally walked over, resting a hand on the Sword Hero's shoulder to steady his trembling. He didn't look up, but he appreciated the kind gesture from his mentor.
"Hmmm…" Rat seemed more intrigued again.
After another moment, she looked at Melty. "If you're still hesitant about me joining the Hero's Nation, I could show off a bit of my skills as a monster doctor with what I brought from Siltvelt." She suggested.
Melty tilted her head to the side. Right, there was also the carriage Rat had brought with her. She hadn't been told about what gifts were inside of it yet though.
Knowing they came from Siltvelt, it was likely a peace offering meant for the Shield Hero specifically. But he wasn't around right now.
It could be considered wrong to look through the gifts immediately with that in mind. However, Melty still didn't have many positive thoughts about the Shield Hero at the moment. So she didn't care how he'd react to them spoiling the surprise.
"... alright. Let's see what you've brought before I make any decisions." Melty stood up from her desk.
Rat stood up, looking rather confident as she looked back at the Sword Hero, who was looking down at the floor depressedly. "Oh, I'm sure that if you don't like it, Princess Melty, than the Sword Hero and his girlfriend definitely will."
Ren looked up, seeming to be confused about being called out.
But Rat exited through the door. And Melty, Eclair, and Ren followed behind her.
Outside, quite a bit of the village had gathered around the Church, thanks to the earlier commotion Blue had caused.
While there was some confusion and grogginess from being woken up, the town's knights, who'd been assisting with the construction of the village's border wall, surrounded Rat's wagon. Keeping others from getting close to it till Melty, Eclair, and Ren arrived with Rat leading them to it.
Now, there were quite a few gifts Siltvelt had entrusted to Rat to deliver to the Hero's village. All of which had been untouched by her, and all of which were contained in wooden crates that had their tops taken off.
Among the gifts was a bunch of high-tier weapons and armor. Some rare high-quality herbs, ores, and wood. A few spellbooks. And some monster eggs, ranging from Usapils to rarer breeds.
"Aye, this came at the perfect time," Jerry commented as he held up one of the swords to examine it. Most of the weapons and armor here were meant for individuals around level 50 to level 70. Equipment that he and the Sword Hero were unable to make at the moment. "Some of the wee ones could definitely use these after I'm done with refitting them."
"I was running low on some of these." The old apothecarian's lips curved upward a little as he appraised some of the rare high-quality herbs. Usually, Naofumi or the other Heroes had to gather them in the wild for Kusuriya so the quality would be this high, but because of the current state of affairs, he could only rely on whatever supplies he could get from Melromarc's Capital.
These supplies didn't come cheap since without the help of Heroes, finding herbs of this quality out in the wild was a rare feat.
"Oooh! These spellbooks are meant to help people learn the drifa tier of magic! This will be perfect for my pupils!" The resident witch exclaimed happily while hugging some of the spell tomes to her chest.
One of the more notable gifts was several boxes, filled to the brim with chocolate. Melty's eyes boggled out of their sockets at the sight of them.
You see, chocolate was a rare commodity in this world. It only grew on a breed of trees in the southern part of the world once a year around Valentine's Day.
No, really. Sugar in its traditional form didn't exist in this world. Thus, the chocolate was THAT rare. To call it a simple gift was an understatement. To have several boxes worth of it was worthy of being called a national treasure.
And they now had four. One for each of the Cardinal Heroes.
Unfortunately, Eclair slapped Melty's hand away and shook her head in disapproval when the Princess reached for the box identified in Siltveltian and Melromarcian text to be for the Shield Hero. It was almost twice as big as what the other Heroes were getting.
"Aw come on!" Melty pouted up at the knight.
"Please restrain yourself, Princess. People are watching." Eclair warned her.
Boo! She wanted to taste it now! Even as a princess, she only managed to taste chocolate once before in her life!
Her mother never wasted money on the luxury food since it was one of the few things outside of high-quality armor and weapons whose value could be measured in gold coins! A pure chocolate bar could be worth as much as fifty gold coins in some countries, so her father had to go out of his way behind Mirellia's back just to obtain a small piece for one of her birthdays!
…
At remembering her parents, Melty calmed down a bit and realized the wisdom in the knight's words, before nodding. Eclair proceeded to smile while giving the younger girl a conspiratorial wink.
After all, the rose-haired knight had as of yet to entirely forgive Naofumi too. And she was curious as to how this 'chocolate' tasted as well.
They'd just eat some out of sight of everyone else. So word wouldn't get back to the Shield Hero about their 'endeavor'. That'd teach the Shield Hero!
"Oh…" Ren had pulled out a tiny black square from his box and put it in his mouth. A soft smile formed on his face as he savored it. "It's even better than what I had back home."
Actually, now that he thought about it, it might pair well with the strawberry oranges from the Bio-Plants.
"Really? Can I try?" Farrie appeared with Tersia and Blue, looking at the delicious square with hungry eyes.
"I'm not sure if Noodle should be eating that. It looks bad." The little kid, now dressed in a pair of pants and a t-shirt, gave a look of disgust at what Ren had just eaten.
"Now now, there are other things to go through first," Tersia said with a frown. "And besides, that is Ren's gift. He should be the one to decide who to share it with."
"Awww…" Farrie deflated.
Not that they didn't think Ren wouldn't share with them. But they knew who he'd share it with first.
Though Wyndia, who moved to stand beside her boyfriend, wasn't asking for the chocolate, as she was staring in surprise at one of the monster eggs in the back of the wagon.
It was a large, black egg. At least a third of her size. Its texture was rough and grainy, yet when she reached a hand out and touched it, it had a familiar warmth to it.
"Is this… is this a dragon egg?" She asked in a shaky voice.
Ren was brought out of his happy state to look at his girlfriend, and then at Rat in surprise.
The tanned woman nodded her head. "It is. I still haven't been able to determine what breed it is, but it's definitely among the rarer dragon species from what I can tell."
"Unlike the other monster eggs, that one is going to require a high-level seal on it so the hatched dragon's reproductive activities can be restricted." The tanned woman explained. "Fortunately, I was also given the equipment necessary to perform the ritual, so I should be able to do that as well for the dragon as well as any future monsters the Heroes want to raise."
"... reproductive activities?" Ren asked confusedly.
"Don't you know that most pureblood dragons are notorious for mating excessively with other species?" Rat asked. "That's why I mentioned that they tend to destroy the ecosystems they live in. The Dragon Emperors especially are known for having endless lust and thus produce lots of offspring with various monsters and, in rare cases, even humans."
"Gaelion wasn't like that!" Wyndia instantly bristled.
"Yes, I've already heard a bit about him from the Sword Hero." Rat agreed. "I do have my questions about why and how such a Dragon Emperor was able to restrain their natural impulses, but regardless, I would theorize him to be an exception to pureblood dragons, and would still recommend a high-level monster seal on the egg so the creature doesn't cause any unnecessary trouble for the other monsters in the village down the road."
"Urghhh…" Wyndia looked conflicted for a moment, before sighing. "Fine. Gaelion did have many children besides me that he looked after. So you're not entirely wrong.
"But he was a loving Father to all of them, including me! And as far as I know, he left people alone!"
Rat nodded and proceeded to give more instructions about raising and caring for the egg up until it hatched.
To give it the best possible chance, Ren would have to carry it around on his back. This would help the hatched dragon to become familiar with his warmth and look at him as its parent, which would make it easier to teach it to obey his commands in the future.
"I… don't know if I'd be able to carry it around with me all the time," Ren muttered unsurely.
Not only did he have his spars with Eclair, but other things like blacksmithing came to his mind. He couldn't carry a large dragon egg around with him 24/7.
"That's okay. I can hold it and keep it warm whenever you can't." Fortunately, Wyndia gladly volunteered to step up. "Would that work?" She then asked Rat.
"It… yes, I believe so. However, if I'm not mistaken, while the hatched dragon would be equally likely to obey both of you, it'd also look at you two as its parents.
"Is that something you'd be comfortable with?" The purple-eyed woman asked.
Wyndia's smile only brightened at the information. "I don't think I'd mind that. Would you, Ren?" She asked him.
"I…" Ren was floored at first by the implications of her statement.
Tersia, Eclair, and Farrie were similarly shocked at the girl's words. But very quickly, the two mages began giving their Hero encouraging smiles/grins. His mentor figure shook her head with a chuckle but gave Ren a smile of encouragement as well.
Blue was still standing in his spot, not paying attention to what was going on since he was glaring at the dragon egg. He wondered if it'd taste good for breakfast.
Ren finally started smiling again. "I guess Naofumi and Raphtalia considered themselves Filo's parents early on so… sure, why not?"
Wyndia's smile brightened even more, and she got on her tippy toes, pecking the Sword Hero on the cheek before hugging her boyfriend happily.
Rat frowned at the display of public affection but continued from where she'd left off before on how to care for the egg before it hatched.
The young couple eventually learned that the gender of the hatched dragon could be either male or female, depending on how warm they kept the egg. And that it'd only require two to three days to hatch if things managed to go well.
"Now, with all that said, I need to know this, what gender do you want the dragon hatchling to be?" Rat asked.
Wyndia thought on it for a few seconds and her decision came easily. She'd want to raise a boy dragon so she could name it after her Father. Only a strong dragon raised by her and the Sword Hero could be worthy of such a name.
"I'd… like for it to be a girl, if you could." However, Ren spoke before she was able to. Causing Wyndia to look at her boyfriend in surprise.
"Hmmm, your reason being?" Rat asked.
Ren lifted the egg out of the wagon, feeling its rough surface in his hands.
Life was hard, but holding the life he'd be raising personally, a soft smile spread over his features. "I don't know. I just… like the thought of me and Wyndia raising a daughter together…"
"It just feels right to me."
…
…
…
Wyndia, as well as Eclair, Farrie, Melty, and Tersia; were staring at the Hero in shock again at what he'd admitted. Blue was still holding a glaring contest with the egg, though, he was starting to look concerned at the casual way Ren was holding it.
Did Noodle not want dragon yolk for breakfast?! Smash it already!
…
After several seconds, Tersia and Farrie were grinning like devils. Eclair was smiling in happiness while Melty still looked too astonished to say anything.
As for the light-brown-haired dog girl… she'd turned her head away, pulling her hood over her head to hide the massive blush crawling up her cheeks right now.
Had Ren really admitted that in front of the whole town?!
…
Oddly enough, her embarrassment melted away as warmth filled her chest. Ren was really thinking of the two of them raising a family together in the future!
Maybe…
You know what, Gaelion would make a good name for a girl dragon too. Wyndia was all for it!
"Hmmm…" Rat continued to try and figure out the two's strange reactions.
A genius she was, but social, she was not. "Well, if it's a female, then it definitely wouldn't cause as much trouble as a male dragon since she'd be the only one who could get pregnant."
Wyndia went back to glaring at the alchemist lady again, but Rat didn't bother to figure out why.
Having finished instructing the pair on how to raise the egg, she turned to look at Melty again. "Now that everything's settled, would Your Highness be alright if I stayed to help out the Hero's Nation?" Rat asked.
Melty was about to head to Naofumi's house with his portion of the chocolate so she and Eclair could 'taste test' it when Rat spoke. She didn't care if it was considered a national treasure or not. She was far from wanting to entirely forgive Naofumi at this point. And besides, it wasn't like he'd miss a little bit of chocolate he didn't even know he had.
"..." Back in the present, however, Melty heaved a sigh. "Honestly, I was already considering it, but the fact that you can do the monster crest ritual for us will be a big help."
"Oh, how so?" Rat asked.
"I'd much rather you stayed to help with that whenever it's needed than… him." Melty shuddered.
It was like all of them could picture the rainbow-shrouded midget in their heads at the same time. And a collective shudder went down their spines.
"Eh?" Rat tilted her head in confusion.
"Eh-hem." Melty straightened her posture. "Welcome to our village, Ratotille Antheya. We'll look forward to seeing how you contribute to our nation."
"Please, just drop the formalities." Rat sighed. "I dealt with enough of those from the snobs in Faubley."
Melty and the others laughed, and Ren continued to smile a little while holding the dragon egg in his arms next to Wyndia. The young couple looked happy to have this addition to their new family.
And that was how the Hero's village gained another member while Motoyasu was gone. And besides Blue needing magic transforming clothes and Ren and Wyndia taking on the task of raising a dragon together, things progressed as normal.
"What the- NOODLE CAN'T RAISE A DRAGON! DRAGONS STINK!" Blue yelled as he finally realized what was going on.
And Tersia and Farrie had to forgo studying magic and smutty Hero diaries for the rest of the day, as the Filolial King still required their undivided attention.
And possibly their protection because of Wyndia's desire to barbeque the Filolial King for that remark. Though, torture probably wasn't a normal part of protecting somebody from someone else.
"Thanks for helping us to level up today again Crystal-san! We'll see you again tomorrow!" A girl with bunny ears waved happily to the spearwoman of Itsuki's party as she and her four friends ran off in the direction of the communal kitchen. Though not before dropping off the sacks full of monster parts they were carrying inside the collection building for the Heroes to absorb into their weapons later.
Crystal didn't react much beyond giving the group of kids a wave with her hand, before hefting a large deneedled porcupine monster on her shoulder and walking towards another section of the town by herself.
It'd been another average day in the life of the silver-haired seventeen-year-old. And it'd been spent like all the other days since the Spirit Tortoise's defeat; patiently waiting for Itsuki and the others to return from their Otherworld Trip while doing her part around the village as a Hero's party member to help out.
These days, her duties usually consisted of either sparring with the village fighters to enhance their combat skills, lending a hand in different construction projects, gathering materials for said construction projects, or otherwise helping everyone to level up by killing the monsters living in the surrounding area.
Today had been a day where she spent all day leveling some of the kids. By the sounds of it, tomorrow was going to be another one if Princess Melty did end up assigning her to help those kids again.
It wasn't that she hated doing this. Compared to Karn's antics, watching over those five as they hunted monsters was somewhat tolerable. Far better than hanging around that rogue, especially as of late…
…
If Crystal was being honest, however, she found doing all this more than a bit agitating.
She wanted to head back out into the world with Itsuki. Freeing other slaves while, more importantly, finding her big brother.
Ever since learning about how they were headed to Cal Mira, it felt like all of her original goals and plans had been put on the back burner. And she understood why. She did.
Before Cal Mira, she'd struggled to grow stronger alongside the others. She felt like more of a detriment than an active participant.
After the Hero Service Crest, and after leveling up a lot in Cal Mira, she found that she had the stats to finally make a difference. To go toe to toe with most nobility and their guards just like Itsuki and the others.
As for the whole mess with the Spirit Tortoise… well, had it not been stopped, finding her missing brother would have been the least of her concerns.
So she understood why they'd stopped doing what they'd been doing before. What she didn't understand was why they couldn't go back to trying to find him now?!
"Just wait till Itsuki comes back and ask for his help again. Not like you'd be able to accomplish that much on your own anyway, so why bother?"
Crystal grit her teeth, remembering the words Karn had said several nights ago. She'd yelled at him for it, but he just shrugged and chuckled like usual before closing his bedroom door in her face.
Did that prick truly understand anything?!
It'd been almost half a year since her older brother in all but blood had been ripped from her life by a group of Church slavers! Mirellia nor her Shadows had found anyone matching his description amongst the nobility's slaves in Melromarc or in some of the surrounding countries.
Was he even alive at this point-
Crystal immediately shook the intrusive thought from her mind before it could finish running its course, yet she already felt sick in her stomach.
Even without all the events that'd happened since joining up with the Bow Hero, there were dozens, if not hundreds of ways a slave could die at the hands of their owners in all sorts of different scenarios.
She couldn't afford to ponder on such what-ifs, even if they constantly popped up and tempted her with such thoughts.
They'd never help her with finding Klaus…
…
As she walked, her posture sagging a bit, some villagers talking in front of their house noticed her and smiled and waved at the party member of one of the Heroes.
Crystal… did her best to straighten her posture and not frown as she waved back and hurried on. The pair went back to talking to each other.
Crystal sighed to herself as she held an arm close.
This was the other reason why she wished Itsuki and the others were back.
It was easier to not stand out with figures like Itsuki or that large oaf Aksel around.
Gods, she couldn't believe she was missing the knight and his antics. What the hell had happened to her world?
Maya too. Even if she'd been a tad annoying at the start, she'd been there to help comfort Crystal on some nights when thoughts of her missing brother became too overbearing for her. Even if the girl hadn't known it at the time.
She still remembered one such night when Maya had still been just a child. When she'd been standing on the balcony of Reichnott's estate, looking up at the night sky.
"C-Crystal-san?"
"Who- oh, hey, Maya." Crystal sighed before she looked up at the night sky again.
A small, black-haired raccoon girl slowly walked up. Her arms were huddled close to her body. It had been several days since she'd been rescued, but she still acted meek and afraid, especially at night.
"I-Isn't it cold out here, C-Crystal-san?" Maya stuttered out again.
"Not really. Also, drop the -san. Just Crystal is fine with me."
"O-Okay." Maya trembled as the chilly air stung at her small frame.
Crystal sighed to herself again, but eventually, she took off the cloak from her armor and got down on one knee, wrapping it around the girl's shoulders. Maya looked at her in surprise.
"You know you don't have to stand out here with me." Crystal said as she put a clasp on the cloak to keep it from flying off. "You had a long day, and you'll have another one tomorrow if you want to catch up to everyone's levels."
"B… But Crystal-san looked so lonely out here." Maya said quietly.
Crystal's hands stopped.
The spearwoman slowly looked up to see Maya had turned her head slightly away. "It… it didn't feel right for me to stay inside when Crystal-san looked so sad all by herself." She admitted.
…
…
There was a silence that permeated the air for a moment. But, eventually, Crystal raised her hand, rubbing the girl's hair between her ears.
Maya shrunk back instinctively out of habit. But, after a few seconds, she relaxed as her tail began to wag happily in delight behind her.
"I'm just having trouble falling asleep is all." Crystal managed a small smile. "Aksel is a really loud snorer as I've come to learn."
The little girl began giggling to herself happily. "He snores like a bear, doesn't he?"
"Might be as lazy as one too." Crystal's smile turned into a smirk.
The two giggled together, with Crystal eventually standing up and looking out over the dark fields of Van's estate again. "Come on, let's get you back to bed. I wasn't joking when I said tomorrow would be hard for you. You'll need all the rest you can get."
"Got it, thanks Crystal-san!" Maya said happily.
"I said just Crystal would be fine." The girl rolled her eyes as she led the young girl back inside.
It wouldn't take long for the two to fall asleep after that.
Yeah, it had taken a bit to get Maya to call her and the others by just their names. But nights like that one and others had helped her to not worry so much about her missing brother and to focus on the here and now.
It was a shame that such nights stopped happening altogether after settling into their home in Lurolona. Crystal could have used a midnight talk with her friend right about now…
…
It was while she was still contemplating such memories that the girl walked up to the door of one of the homes that had been built a few days ago.
She gave the door a heavy knock.
"Coming!" A young voice yelled from within.
A few seconds later, the door opened, and Crystal finally smiled as a small eight-year-old boy with fox ears on his head appeared. His eyes widened, and he smiled widely in delight. "Mommy! Mommy! Kris is here!" He announced inside excitedly.
"Wha- so soon!?" Another voice yelled, sounding surprised.
This was one that Crystal recognized. Her reserved smile grew just a little bigger as she walked inside out of public view. Still carrying her prize on her back as she entered a living room.
Most of the houses in the village looked the same on the inside. Opening up into a furnished living room with a small kitchen attachment on the side. Bedrooms and the like were in the back of the house after entering a hallway.
Some of the houses had a second floor or a cellar, as well as other accommodations depending on the demi-human's preferences.
For the kitsune family living here, however, the regular cottage design was enough.
"H-How was your day, Crystal-sama." A blonde-haired kitsune woman asked as she hustled over from the kitchen. It looked like she'd been in the middle of drying some dishes before Crystal's arrival.
"Well enough, Eleanor. Though, I've told you that you don't have to address me so formally." Crystal answered.
"S-Sorry. It's still a habit I'm trying to get rid of." The woman said sadly, looking disappointed in herself.
"No worries. Here, I brought back something big this time." As Crystal said that, she set the large monster she'd been carrying down on the table.
The woman sighed in relief as she looked it over. "Perfect. I should be able to feed everyone today with this."
"Whoaaaaaaaa!" The four other kitsunes of the home ran into the room right after, being led by their youngest sibling. The younger boys had looks of surprise and excitement on their faces, while the two eldest, two daughters, though more reserved than their younger siblings, looked genuinely happy as well.
"So much meat!"
"I want some already!"
"No, me first!"
"No, ME!" The siblings then began roughhousing with each other all over the floor.
However, all of a sudden, their mom appeared in their midst. A slipper held in one hand as a chilly, threatening smile covered her features.
The nervous woman from before had vanished entirely. And the children's tails stood on end as looks of fright covered their faces.
"Dears, is this how you're supposed to behave when we have guests over?" Eleanor asked kindly.
…
The kids quickly got up, bowing to their mother in apology at the sight of the infamous slipper. Crystal watched with amusement at the sight.
They'd been torn apart as a family, enslaved, and separated for months under various masters. Having to go through all sorts of different trials and abuses.
But even after all that time, there was nothing that could spark fear in the minds of these kids like their mom holding a slipper over their heads and threatening to take them out of the world she'd born them into.
"Good." And then, just like that, the mother became cheery again, and the threatening atmosphere around her vanished.
Crystal raised an eyebrow at the sudden end of it, but the two younger boys had already ran outside, deciding it'd be better to play while their older sisters grabbed knives from the counter so they could begin the process of butchering the monster alongside their mother.
…
"You know, you are allowed to get extra food from the communal kitchen if the initial portions aren't enough." Crystal eventually pointed out when she felt like she could speak again.
"Nonsense. I couldn't trouble those kids to cook for me all the time. I need to be able to take care of my own kids." Eleanor smiled solemnly. Running one of her hands through her blonde hair, which had several gray streaks running through it.
Those streaks didn't come from age, but instead from stress and worry after being enslaved and separated from her precious sons and daughters over the last few months.
She was still capable of disciplining her kids when they acted poorly in front of others. But that didn't mean she loved them any less.
…
Crystal briefly looked away, her smile disappearing.
Eleanor was the mother of Marx. The first casualty of Itsuki's party who had been slain by Church Shadows early on. Beloukas had located her and Marx's siblings and brought them to the village last week, shortly after everyone returned from the campaign against the Spirit Tortoise.
Crystal hadn't sat down with the woman to discuss her dead son. She hadn't known Marx well enough back then to have any strong feelings about his death.
However, after seeing Rachel break the news to Eleanor and watching her and the kids break down, Crystal felt guilty about not getting to know the blonde half-demihuman better.
…
Well, she could at least do things like this for them for now. They were a good family, who'd hopefully be made whole again as soon as Marx's father was found and brought to the village. Her two young boys especially wanted to have the Hero Crests applied to them immediately so they could become strong enough to defend their mother and elder sisters.
But the laws that Melty and the Heroes established early on enforced that a Hero Service Seal was only allowed to be applied to people aged ten and above. Not even the consent of their parents could change that. And even then, Elly had been firm about not wanting her kids to have to fight for their lives. This was why she'd had the Hero Crest applied to herself instead, and was going to undergo Fitoria's delevel treatment before she was given the power level treatment so she could fight for the sake of her family's future.
Yeah, she was a good mom. She reminded Crystal of her original mom in a way.
There was also another reason Crystal liked coming here. At the moment, the village didn't have enough housing for everyone yet, so…
"Ah, my girl."
Crystal's smile genuinely widened in delight for the first time that day. Rushing forward uncharacteristically, she wrapped her arms around the wolf man who was wheeled into the room by his wife. "Papa!" She yelled.
Crystal's dad laughed, his wolf face spreading into a grin as he embraced the girl he considered his daughter while the wolf woman behind him tsked in agitation. "Be careful of his legs, dear. Fang still isn't in the best shape."
"Don't worry, Mom, I'll make sure I only hurt Dad by squeezing him with my big hug!"
The pair of demi-humans both laughed, as her adoptive mom Aria relaxed and joined her husband Fang in hugging their adoptive daughter.
Crystal's parents were recent additions to the village as well. Having moved in right after Eleanor and her kids arrived. Her Mom had been carrying her nearly unconscious father on her back at the time.
Fang and Aria were both beastmen, meaning that while their bodies were humanoid, they looked like walking and talking wolves instead of a normal person.
Fang was balding on his head and looked to be regaining the portly belly he once had a year ago. Aria had long flowing brown hair, as well as a face creased with worry and smile lines after years of raising Crystal and her Big Brother, Klaus.
They were also two of the kindest people Crystal knew. Outside of her brother and the Cardinal Heroes themselves. And they'd gone through a lot these last few months, just like Crystal had.
When Crystal stopped hugging her parents, she looked down at her father's lower half. His legs were bound in thick, twin casts. Even with that, one could see that his legs were bent at an odd angle, and a bad smell leaked out from underneath the tight bandages.
She'd seen his legs before he'd received medical attention. They'd been discolored and grotesque, leaking puss in some areas.
Bits of rot still poked out from the bandages, having soaked through them.
Crystal had to clench her fists behind her back, out of sight of her parents' gazes while fighting off a snarl. If she ever got her hands on those Church Slavers…
"Did Mahoya stop by today?" The girl asked, doing her best to keep her anger out of her tone.
"Yeah. The pain is less than yesterday. After she used some healing magic, she helped with cleaning some of the wounds too, those that could be cleaned at least." Fang shrugged, still smiling happily.
"She and Kusuriya are being very thorough with my treatment. I almost didn't think such kindness existed in Melromarc anymore." He chuckled to himself.
"Were they this nice before they moved into the Hero's Village?" Aria asked.
"I don't know. Maybe?" Crystal said unsurely. She couldn't remember which of the Heroes the witch and apothecarian had interacted with in the past.
"Well, whatever the case, I'll just be grateful to walk again thanks to their help." Her Father stated with a smile, doing his best to look upbeat. "Hopefully it won't be too long now."
Crystal stayed frowning. She 'really' hoped Fang's legs could recover.
In sitting down to talk with them before, she'd learned what her parents had gone through after she first left their house to rescue Klaus.
And it was nothing short of a living hell.
…
Before all this, her Father had run a general store in a small village in eastern Melromarc. He received many threats from Church fanatics throughout his life to close his shop and leave due to his race, but he chose not to. Even if he wasn't well-liked, he had enough support from the local populace that he couldn't be forced out.
Even the town's mayor couldn't deny how they greatly benefited from his business since no other merchant wanted to set up shop in their backwater village without charging exorbitant prices for their goods. And with Mirellia as the Queen, the Church Fanatics had to be careful not to draw unwanted attention to themselves.
But sometime after the Queen left to discuss the coming of the Waves with the other nations, after Klaus was kidnapped in the middle of the night, and after Crystal donned her adventurer gear and chased after the slavers to rescue him, the Church fanatics returned to the village, and they brought a small contingent of Church Knights from the Capital to assist them.
These Knights broke into the wolfman's shop around sunset, driving out his customers before binding and beating the owner severely. They broke his arms and legs and healed them over and over again, demanding information on Siltvelt, who they believed had sent Fang there to spy on them.
He eventually passed out from the pain and woke up to find his shop and all his merchandise burning down around him. His arms had been fine, but his legs had been left twisted and shattered by the Church Knights before they left him to die.
Despite being unable to feel his shattered legs, he somehow managed to crawl out of the burning wreckage. Eventually being found by Aria, who had managed to escape from their home with some money and a few things before the Church fanatics had arrived, thanks to some forewarning from the villagers who'd been driven out of his shop earlier.
They stayed on the outskirts of the forest that night, wanting to return to a semblance of their lives. But the next day, the mayor's head had been mounted on a pike and posters of the two beastmen had been put up on the outskirts of the town.
One of their good friends managed to find them and give them what she could, but the message was clear. None of the villagers would be safe as long as the pair were around. They had to leave.
After that, they'd been on the run. Being forced to stay in the wild, Fang came down with sicknesses repeatedly due to his injuries, and Aria had to hide her beastman identity whenever they came across a village so she could buy medicine for her husband.
She was also forced to fight monsters every day to defend themselves and so they could have something to stomach at night. Aria spent many a sleepless night keeping watch, as monster attacks happened constantly.
It was only through fortune and pure luck that they'd survived so long without being captured and enslaved, or worse; killed.
Aria eventually made it to another town, where she learned about the Church's fall and the establishment of the Hero's Village. And since she had no money left, and no trust left for the country and the people that ran it, Crystal's mom had carried Fang all the way here on her own two feet. Finally reaching the Hero's Village, where her Mother had finally had the chance to rest after Mahoya immediately began treatment on the wolfman's legs.
Fang had not only suffered compound fractures and shattered bones that'd healed wrong, but he'd suffered through multiple infections as well. He was receiving medicine and healing magic now, but it was unknown if his legs could be saved anymore.
At the thought, Crystal's eyes saddened, and she almost wanted to cry.
The two had gone through a lot without her there. She couldn't help but wonder briefly if it'd been a bad idea for her to leave after all.
"My dear, is everything alright?" Fang asked, suddenly looking worried at the look of sadness on his daughter's face.
…
Crystal forced back her tears. She'd already cried enough the day she was reunited with her parents. It wouldn't do if she cried because she regretted leaving them back then.
She'd gone off to save her brother because of them. Before she met her current parents, she'd lost her original family to disease, been shunned by the people of her village at seven years old, and been forced to live as a small-time thief for four years before the wolf family took her in and raised her.
Before the Heroes, these beastmen were the only group of people who'd taken her in and showed her love and kindness. She wanted to pay them back for accepting her into their small family, no matter how long it took.
So even though she wasn't doing much of anything now… she wanted to continue growing as a person. And she was all the more motivated to do so because her parents in all but flesh and blood were with her now again at last.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Papa," Crystal answered, forcing a happy, grateful smile onto her face as she looked into the beastman's shiny black eyes.
He grunted, and Crystal wheeled him over to the couch so she and Aria could sit and talk amongst each other while Eleanor and her kids prepared tonight's dinner in the kitchen.
Crystal recounted more of her stories and adventures with them during that time. She'd told them already of how she'd tried going after the Church when Klaus was taken, only to be captured and then deleveled at an Hourglass before being released back into the public. Receiving only a warning of how she'd be executed next time if she associated with beast folk or demi-humans ever again.
She'd also recounted how she was introduced to the Bow Hero sometime after that when she was struggling on her own. And how she'd joined him in freeing slaves all over Melromarc before telling them about how they'd overthrown the Three Heroes Church.
She told her parents about the good times with the Bow Hero and his comrades. From helping out in the village to Cal Mira and the other good things around them.
"I'm grateful." Aria eventually said, smiling with tears in her eyes. "You were so mistrustful of everyone for the longest time. Even of us, after we took you in…"
Her words caused Crystal to pause. "What do you mean?"
Her mom wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm just happy that you've found others you can trust besides us."
"I know how hard it is for you to bond with others, after the life you've lived."
"Hahaha, indeed." Her Father laughed, before smiling happily himself. "I'm looking forward to meeting this great Bow Hero for myself."
…
Crystal gave her parents a half-hearted smile. Continuing with where she'd left off before.
Eventually, as the evening sun was lowering in the sky, Eleanor announced that she had dinner ready, and Crystal stood up and excused herself.
"Are you leaving already, dear?" Her mom asked.
"I made plenty if you want to stay, Crystal-sama," Eleanor added afterward.
Crystal smiled back at them. "It's fine. I forgot I need to do some training with the kids tonight before bed."
Her Father chuckled to himself. "Sorry that I can't assist you with that at the moment."
"Pbth. Like you've ever held a spear in your life." Crystal jabbed the old wolfman in his portly belly.
"You'd be shocked. Perhaps I was a spy for Siltvelt all along!" Her Father grinned, showing all of his wolf teeth.
"Dear. We both know I would have been the more likely one to be a spy." Aria rolled her eyes.
"Come on! At least let me pretend I wear the pants in our family!" He pouted at her.
"You're certainly not capable of wearing pants right now." She jabbed, a playful smile on her lips.
"You two, please don't make me gag." Crystal put a hand over her mouth.
Her parents laughed. "Someday, you'll understand love as well." Fang smiled sincerely.
"And when that day comes, you'll never want to let it go." Aria finished, smiling as well.
Little did they know that she did understand.
It was why she didn't want to let go of any of them, after all.
"Take all the time you need to rest and heal up," Crystal said to her Father.
Her mom hugged her, waving goodbye to her at the door as she walked away from the warm home.
Crystal was able to smile for a little longer after that. Still feeling the warmth of that home on her skin for a moment, before that warmth was replaced with the chill of the coming night.
Instead of walking towards the training area, Crystal walked towards the Bow Hero's home.
Even if she hadn't been lying earlier, she felt like she'd spent enough time around others for today. She'd rather not be the center of attention anymore for today.
"Well, well, well. And where have you been all day?"
Unfortunately, as she was walking up to the doorstep, Crystal found the orange-eyed rogue of the party waiting for her on the porch.
Just like always, he had a mischievous smile on his face as his body leaned casually against the wooden wall.
The sight of him made a shiver crawl down Crystal's spine. She shook her head and tried to ignore him.
"What? No good night hug or kiss?" Karn asked in mock amusement.
"Not in a billion years," Crystal said in a deadpan.
"Shame. Wish I could live that long. Maybe I'd have a chance then." Karn chuckled while giving the young woman a wink.
Crystal's eyes narrowed in dangerous annoyance. But she opened the door, entering the Bow Hero's home. She closed it behind her, hoping that Karn would leave her alone after the short exchange.
"Hey, am I not allowed to come inside? I live here too, you know." Karn asked. His foot had appeared to block the door before it could close shut.
"Ugh…" Crystal groaned.
Karn moved over to the couch, where he plopped himself down. "Oh, I should clarify that I meant coming inside the house. We'd probably have to be married before I could do something like that to you."
Crystal's desire to deck the man in the face only grew. "Is there a reason you're bothering me tonight? Go find someone else to annoy."
"Who else can I be my good-natured self with besides you?" Karn asked with a chuckle. "Rachel and her husband have gotten past their grief and are enjoying their honeymoon phase every night. And I'm not exactly close to the other Hero's party members, in case you didn't know."
"The two of us are barely friends," Crystal said. "Stop thinking we're closer than we are."
"Even though I was the one that introduced you to 'Sir' Itsuki?" Karn asked innocently.
…
"..." Crystal's scowl turned into a frown. She turned from the rogue swordsman to head down the hallway to her room.
She didn't want to continue this charade for tonight. She had a hard enough time trying to understand Itsuki's rogue friend as it was.
"Hmmm…" Karn hummed to himself as he followed. "Although, when you act like this, I can't help but wonder if it was a good idea for me to introduce you to Itsuki all those months ago.
"After all, you've caused quite a bit of trouble with your antics."
…
…
Crystal stopped in her tracks, looking back at her fellow party member.
Karn was leaning against his bedroom door now. He was studying his fingernails instead of looking directly at her.
"What do you mean by that?" Crystal asked.
"Nothing, really. Just remembering how I almost died in the Spirit Tortoise protecting you; is all." Karn remarked in an uninterested tone.
Crystal turned to fully face him. Her face reddened with anger. "You didn't have to jump in front of that monster to protect me!"
"And you didn't have to almost get us killed by tripping on a stupid rock," Karn remarked in the same uninterested tone.
"Are you saying it'd be better if I left then?!" Crystal asked angrily.
"I didn't say that," Karn smirked.
"You seem to be implying it!" Crystal raged.
"If you think that's what I'm implying here, then that says more about what you think about yourself than what I think about you." Karn continued to smirk as Crystal 'boiled' in front of him.
"Like, don't get me wrong, one could say it's heartwarming that a member of the Hero's party cares so much about her parents. But to forgo so much time and effort in helping the people to grow stronger to spend time with family instead, and to even forget to cut off a part of the monster she gave her parents when they could just as easily get more than enough food from the communal kitchen?
"Imagine what the other villagers must be thinking about you right now?"
…
Crystal breathed in deeply, calming herself down. "I thought we learned recently that the needles of a porcupine monster could be absorbed by the Heroes to get the monster's drop item. Those kids dropped them off with the rest of what we acquired."
Karn's smirk didn't lessen. He just shrugged while still leaning against his door. "Maybe they do, maybe they don't.
"You'd probably have to verify it with Sir Motoyasu tomorrow morning before he leaves. If you manage to wake up on time to spar with him, that is.
"Funny how you called me the lazy one before when I wake up every day before you do. On top of that, I spend all day working hard so this town will be able to combat our enemies and the Waves of Catastrophe so we won't lose anyone else to some stupid ambush."
…
The silver-haired girl continued to glare at the rogue swordsman. Karn pushed off his door, standing up tall again while stretching his arms out. "Anyway, all that being said, I'm tired after spending all of today doing 'productive' things around the village."
"And what exactly were those 'productive' things you were doing, Karn?" Crystal asked with thinly concealed anger.
"You know, this and that. Teaching some kids how to wield a sword since Eclair wasn't available this morning. Gathering logs for the town wall. Tracking down monster nests in the forest so the villagers can level more effectively.
"Speaking of which, there's a nest of around fifty or so frog monsters ten miles out in the forest, near the mountains. They're huddled around a pond in the area, so you can't miss them. I'd recommend going out and slaying them tomorrow, if you decide not to waste the day away bragging to your parents again, that is." Karn shrugged.
Crystal scoffed, turning away from the swordsman. "Whatever. As if you were actually doing all that."
"Heh. You'd be surprised what I can accomplish when I'm on my own, Crystal. After all, I didn't have to join a Hero party to get stronger, unlike the others.
"You pointed out as much yourself when you praised me for leveling so effectively when I was by myself when we were at Cal Mira."
"I should have never said that. Had you never gotten yourself hurt in the Spirit Tortoise, I could have ended up going with Itsuki to another world instead of staying behind to babysit you." Crystal spat.
"And had you never tripped on that rock, I wouldn't have felt like you needed my protection against the Spirit Tortoise's Heart."
…
Crystal said nothing more to the rogue. Entering her room and closing the door behind her.
"Good night to you too!" Karn laughed before finally entering his room and closing the door behind him.
…
Inside her room, sitting down on the floor against her door, Crystal hugged her legs as she trembled with fury.
This was what her daily interactions with the rogue swordsman had boiled down to as of late. With him bugging her about her failures and her nearly snapping and punching him in the face whenever he did so.
It didn't help that she really had no idea what he did during the day. This morning may have been an exception, as she did recall him teaching some villagers how to wield a sword before she left. But beyond that, she was never around him, and for the most part, no one else was too.
She couldn't explain it in words. But ever since the Spirit Tortoise, she… did not trust her fellow party member. At all.
It wasn't because he spent so much time annoying her and pushing her buttons. He'd been doing that almost since the day she joined Itsuki's party. However, the intensity at which he did so had seemed to increase as of late.
It started after she tripped in the fleshy chambers that housed the heart of the Spirit Tortoise. After Karn had torn into her about making such a stupid mistake that nearly cost them their lives.
From an outside perspective, it really did seem like an honest mistake on her part. She would own up to it if that was the case. Except...
That part of the Spirit Tortoise was nothing but flesh. There had been no rocks on the floor, walls, or ceiling. She'd checked quite thoroughly around the Heart's perimeter so that such a mistake wouldn't come up in the heat of battle. Which, it hadn't.
Somehow, she'd tripped on the only rock in the area. A rock she hadn't noticed. A rock which she knew had not been there before she took her first step away from the Heart.
It was after the battle with the Heart had finished and she and the other soldiers had managed to retreat to their forward base inside the caverns of the Spirit Tortoise that she mulled over what'd happened. And it was after that that she began to grow more suspicious of her fellow party member since he'd been standing nearby when she tripped.
It really didn't help that it felt like Karn was trying to get her to quit. His words reminded her of what people in her village had said after her family died and her hair changed color.
How they'd shunned her and driven her away from the only home she'd known.
…
Crystal shuddered as she hugged herself.
She wanted to think that Karn was just keeping up the playful banter he normally used with everyone back when Itsuki was around. Except… it didn't feel like 'playful' banter to her anymore.
Karn was acting weird. And for some reason, he wanted her to leave.
...
As she pondered on it to herself, she stood up so she could walk over and sit on her bed. Before she could lie down, however, a masked figure appeared in the darkness of the room.
"Anything to report?" Crystal asked the Shadow, not looking surprised at his appearance.
"Nothing az of yet." The man spoke with a strange accent. "My colleaguez in the other countriez are digging quite thoroughly to find zomething."
Crystal nodded her head. "Alright. Let me know if anyone does learn anything."
The Shadow nodded his head, bowing low to the Hero's party member before vanishing without a trace to give his report to Her Majesty.
Crystal lay down on her bed, thinking over the man's words.
Even though she hadn't been sure about it, she'd held an audience with the Queen and told her about her suspicions. Years ago, she never could have imagined ever having the chance to converse with her Majesty, knowing what her background was, but that was beside the point.
Crystal requested having one or two of Mirellia's shadows look into Karn's background if she had the resources to spare for it.
The Queen surprised her by accepting, and had even pulled in on some of the favors the other countries in the coalition owed her so that her Shadows could work in tandem with theirs, getting far more done.
Crystal learned then that the Queen had her own suspicions in regards to Karn.
In her surprise, she'd asked Her Majesty why... and the Queen surprised her again with what she said.
"A while ago, shortly after Balamus's trial, I tasked some of my Shadows with learning all they could about the Hero's allies to make sure they were upright and trustworthy individuals.
"I've known since then that I can trust you and everyone else... except for him."
The Queen elaborated, explaining the few things her Shadows had learned about the wandering rogue swordsman. They did not know where he was born. Where he grew up. If he was a native of Melromarc or a foreigner from another country.
There were no records of him anywhere in the world. His first mention was escorting a noble family on a trip to Zeltoble several years before the Waves hit.
The nobles described him as a talented fighter back then. He fought off a small group of monsters that attacked their caravan all by himself. He also lent a hand to other nobles not just in Melromarc, but in surrounding nations as well.
It made little sense how someone like him could have gone under the radar for so long.
It'd only been a while since that conversation, but the Shadows Mirellia had tasked with looking into the matter still had as of yet to find anything new. Including mention of him assisting in the battle that occurred shortly after the Spirit Tortoise woke up for the second time.
Not surprising, due to the sheer size of the battle to comb through. The Heroes and their companions had saved many lives through their actions.
Which had Crystal wonder… how the hell had no info on Karn turned up yet? Even she had received thanks from some of the people she'd rescued. They had recognized her as a party member of the Bow Hero that'd saved them.
As much as she didn't want to stand out, they were all famously known as members of the Heroes' parties. There was no way one of them couldn't stand out.
If only she could confide her suspicions to Rachel. But outside of the Queen and her Shadows, she didn't want to involve anyone else. Just in case her suspicions came to be unfounded.
After all, she didn't want to believe that Karn had some sort of hidden agenda. Even if that was what her gut was telling her right now.
…
…
Crystal's thoughts on her friend's suspicious behavior continued until she fell asleep.
Author's Notes:
Just in case anyone is wondering about the focus/reintroduction of Itsuki's party member Crystal in this chapter, since I've never had a focus on her before due to content density with other characters in Hope and Diligence, I thought it'd be good to reintroduce her here since she, Rachel, Karn, and the other members of Itsuki's party are going to have more importance in the future.
Overall, I'm satisfied with that, as well as with Rat's intro in this chapter. Man, I'm going to look forward to Season Four fleshing her character out more. I'll have to see if I have more time to spend on her this arc or not with everything else that is going on.
I'll see you all again in two weeks!
Hero Clips!
Filolial Jealousy
"Oh…" Ren had pulled out a tiny black square from his box and put it in his mouth. A soft smile formed on his face as he savored it. "It's even better than what I had back home."
"Really? Can I try?" Farrie appeared with Tersia and Blue, looking at the delicious square with hungry eyes.
"Now now, we both know who he's going to share that with first," Tersia said with a teasing grin.
"Me, right?!" Blue's head perked up in excitement.
Only, Tersia and Farrie both moved and blocked him from view.
"Hey, what gives?! I want to try it first! I'm Noodle's trustworthy and loyal steed!" Blue cried out.
"Here," Ren gave a small chocolate square to his girlfriend, who looked at it hesitantly.
"Are you sure?" She asked, knowing how valuable it was.
Ren nodded, giving her a big smile. And Wyndia slowly placed it to her lips.
"Mmmm…" Her expression relaxed, and a happy sparkle appeared in her amber-colored eyes.
"NO! BLUE SHOULD GET TO TASTE IT FIRST! NOT WEIRD DOG GIRL!" The Filolial King yelled out of jealousy.
However, Wyndia and Ren both shared another piece. Smiling in happiness while completely ignoring the jealous Filolial King Tersia and Farrie were preventing from ruining the heartwarming scene.
"Shouldn't we intervene here?" Melty asked confusedly. Blue was causing a commotion amongst the villagers with his antics, again.
She didn't know how much more paperwork she could handle after this.
"And waste the opportunity he's giving us?" Eclair asked.
Melty was confused at first, but seeing the grin on the knight's face, Melty began to grin as well.
The two both lifted the Shield Hero's crate of chocolate out of the cart before sneaking off into her old office in the Church's attic to… 'sample' it.
Yep, sample it. Just like how Rat wanted to sample Blue's blood earlier. And how Wyndia wanted to sample her boyfriend right now.
"Strange. What kind of scene is this?" Said tanned woman muttered confusedly while observing what was going on.
"Eh, you get used to it," Motoyasu said with a shrug while smiling happily.
Blue looked so adorable! HE WANTED A FILOLIAL KING TOO, I SAY!
"Spear Hero? Aren't you supposed to be traveling to Zeltoble?!" Rat asked in astonishment.
"And miss out on this heartwarming scene?" The blonde asked.
Meanwhile, Wyndia fed a chocolate square to her hero boyfriend using her lips.
Turns out she wanted to sample them first before moving on to the main course.
"REEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Blue screamed and flailed in jealousy in the background. Drawing the attention of the villagers onto him.
This was SO UNFAIR!
The Hero Couple continued to enjoy their now private moment. Whilst Rat patiently waited to introduce the dragon egg that'd end up getting more attention than her during this arc.
"Eh, I'd prefer focusing on my research anyway since that'll help out far more than some stupid dragon." Rat shrugged nonchalantly to herself.
Given that she was a legit genius like Ethnobalt, that was a fair assumption to make.
Boy, I'm glad that she wasn't the reincarnator here.
Till Next Time
Allen