Not So Hidden Justice
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Armory of the Forgotten Hero! Our heroes return to a familiar setting in this chapter, but that's not the only thing they'll find familiar. And speaking of a familiar place with new stuff, why not check out my Pat reon to catch up on the latest news, scene samples and commissions by becoming a patron! Now then, I believe that's all the important bits, and with no guest review questions this week, on with the story!
Daytime: The Newly Named Ivyred Castle in Koteraan
The clanging of steel rang out in the morning air as a straight blade met two curved blades. "HAAA!" Rishia cried out as she struck with a couple of thrusting attacks before transitioning into a swing.
"Oh," Figneria hummed with amusement while parrying the latest set of blows, "what has you so eager this morning, your highness?"
"I keep telling you," The green-haired girl grunted in between strikes, "you don't have to call me that."
"I have to remember my manners every now and then," the former assassin smirked playfully while continuing to bob and weave around a couple of vertical strikes, "and you need to remember your title. There will come moments in the future when everyone will be calling you 'princess'." Last night had been one such occurrence. Rishia had been summoned back to participate in a banquet of sorts which also had a bit of royal business involved that she needed to learn about and at least be aware of.
"I know," Rishia admitted, missing her latest vertical strike before bringing up her blade to block two horizontal strikes from her current teacher, "but I don't want my friends acting like they have to be so formal with me. They're definitely not formal with Melty."
"Believe me I know what it's like to be overly familiar with someone outside of my station," Figneria acknowledged with a seductive glance towards the individual sitting cross-legged on the ground a short distance away whose back was currently facing them.
"I can feel you undressing me with your eyes," Darius called back without turning around.
"Of course," the mercenary woman brought her and Rishia into a weapons lock before quickly separating from it, "I have you to thank for being in such a good mood this morning."
"I'm certain Rishia was more than aware of that fact," the Armory Hero snorted good naturedly, "but isn't it bad manners to discuss such private matters out in the open?"
"And how will her highness learn to navigate gossip if I don't," Figneria countered verbally while physically countering Rishia's next attack.
"Because it's embarrassing!" The recently crowned princess exclaimed while going for a low strike aimed at her teacher's waist. It was a good attack and might have even landed, had the warrior woman not leapt up and sailed over Rishia's head to land a few feet behind her. Thankfully, her reflexes had improved and she whirled around in time to block a strike aimed for her neck.
"Very good," Figneria nodded as they separated and relaxed their stances, "your grasp on Hengen Musou and swordsmanship have both improved greatly. You even managed to put your defenses back up despite being flustered. Though I did notice an odd lack of focus earlier."
"Oh, that," Rishia brushed one of her long braids back over her shoulder, "well, we managed to convince two of the cardinal heroes to fight alongside us, which is wonderful."
"But this last guy is a bit personal for you," Darius finished for her while standing up and walking over to them. "Can't say I blame you, though I recall you giving him and his party a pretty good piece of your mind before leaving. And you banned him from ever setting foot in this kingdom again."
"I did," the green-haired girl nodded in recollection, "Truthfully, I should be satisfied with that and let things be since the world is on the line, but the idea of working alongside him again. I honestly don't know what I'll do when we see Itsuki again."
"You can probably ask Naofumi to let you sit this one out if you're worried about doing something detrimental," The Armory Hero offered, "just one of our parties will probably be more than enough to bring him in."
"That's kind of you to offer, but no," Rishia clenched her fist, "I imagine Naofumi will bring him to live in the village like he did with Ren, and somewhat with Motoyasu. Whatever issues I might have with him, it'll be better for everyone if I face them now rather than later."
"A wise decision," Figneria nodded in approval, "letting something fester over time typically doesn't end well. The temptation to let someone you hate die in battle can be a strong one."
"No kidding," Darius sighed, "but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, things seem to have slowed down a bit as far as preparations go for the upcoming battle."
"If you don't count the misadventure involving a dragon emperor," his lover put her hands on her hips, "honestly, heroes can never seem to get into ordinary trouble."
"Just comes with having a job that's anything but ordinary," the Armory Hero shrugged, "the good news is I'm finally starting to get the hang of this Hengen Musou stuff." He demonstrated by poking Figneria in the back. It made it to her nerves but the sound she made was a bit more, erotic, than he anticipated.
"Oh Darius," she looked at him mischievously, "I think I know another way you can train with that."
"I'm not sure Grilaroc Sensei would qualify that as actual progress," Rishia sweat-dropped. Darius could only laugh nervously while rubbing the back of his head.
Later In The Morning: Rurorona Village
"Ah, there you are," Naofumi greeted as Darius arrived with Rishia and Figneria in tow.
"Figneria!" Rifana rushed over and gave her master a quick hug, "I'm so glad you could make it over today."
"Likewise," she smiled, "I was worried when Darius told me about your latest battle. How are you all feeling?"
"We are all back to full strength," Izumi answered for everyone, "or at least most of us are. The curse still remains on Sir Naofumi and Darling and though Johann and Filo's curses have been removed, their levels have not returned to what they once were."
"But they can reach those levels again, right?" Figneria asked before kneeling down and hugging both of the mounts, "after all, I don't want to lose these precious ones either."
"We're fine," Johann groaned, "a dragon emperor like me isn't going down easily."
"Filo just realized she's never snuggled with knife lady before," the Filolial actually hugged her back, "you smell like Darius again today."
"Of course, he and I snuggled this morning," Figneria smiled.
"And last night," Naofumi shook his head while his hands were on his hips.
"Aren't you and Raphtalia snuggling at night now," Darius countered with his arms crossed.
"That's different!" The Shield Hero looked away as he and Raphtalia both tried to hide their blushing faces, "we're doing that to deal with a mild issue."
"The clingy shield who wants to double as a crotch pad," Rifana stated bluntly.
"Not quite the way I'd phrase that, but yes," Raphtalia sweat-dropped, "Atla hasn't been able to sneak into Naofumi's room since we started sharing the bed."
"If all he needs is a bedmate then surely you can switch out with me from time to time," Sadeena cooed while hugging Raphtalia from behind. Judging by the look on her face, the raccoon girl was not fond of that particular idea.
"Alright, no more discussing our bed practices right now," the Shield Hero pinched the bridge of his nose, "the rest of the kids are showing up." Indeed the majority of the villagers, with Keel in the lead, had gathered in front of the Shield Hero's home. He'd sent word out that it was time for a meeting just before Darius showed up. Once it appeared that no one else was going to arrive, he began.
"Okay, we all seem to be here," Naofumi observed with Raph-chan sitting on his shoulder, "I have an announcement. Princess Melty intends to leave on a journey so she'll be gone for a little while. The purpose of this journey is for her to become stronger alongside her beloved bird and dragon."
"HOORAY!" Filo and Johann both cheered while Melty couldn't be more confused. A murmur went through the gathered crowd before the princess moved to confront the cardinal hero.
"What?! A journey?! I never agreed to that!" Melty exclaimed in irritation.
"It's what we'll be telling people," Naofumi clarified, "and Elcair will be sure to spread the word."
"I'll begin as soon as she departs," the swordswoman saluted.
"Hold on," the princess protested, "you can't just decide that!"
"I actually got permission from the Shadows," the Shield Hero revealed as one of said Shadows poked her head out from behind him, "they think it's a great idea and since they know your mother so well it's safe to say she'll agree to this too." This only served to further confuse the blue-haired girl. "You probably noticed during our fight with the dragon emperor, you've got plenty of magical potential, but your mother and many of us are worried your level's too low. The threats we're facing are only going to get stronger and if you're going to run the country someday, you'll need to be closer to your mother in terms of magical power."
"He's correct, I dare say," the Shadow concurred with a nod.
"But leaving like this so suddenly is, I mean, Darius, say something!" Melty stammered.
"I don't know what you expect me to say," the Armory Hero shrugged with his arms crossed, "Johann and Filo need to get back up to at least the strength they were before getting their levels stolen and it wouldn't hurt for you to level up a bit too. This village still has a good-sized target on its back and as we've just seen trouble can go from small to huge in no time flat. So keep an eye on her, Johann."
"You got it boss!" The dragon boy saluted before transforming alongside Filo.
"Ready to go, Melty," the Filolial asked cheerfully.
"No! I'm not ready, I never said anything-." The princess pleaded but to no avail as Filo picked her up and began running towards the edge of the village.
"Off we go!" Johann cheered as he took flight and followed after his friends.
"I promise you're gonna regret this!" Melty called one last time as they disappeared into the distance.
"They'll be fine, right," Rifana glanced at Darius.
"Shadow," the Armory Hero turned to the masked woman, "it probably goes without saying but I assume you and the others will make sure they don't get lost?"
"Of course," she nodded in confirmation, "I daresay we would be in dire straights if the crown princess couldn't find her way back."
"I just hope they're able to have fun," Raphtalia mused aloud.
"It is important that children get the chance to be children from time to time," Sadeena agreed.
"Well what's done is done and we've got our own business to tend to," Naofumi raised his voice so everyone could hear his next statement, "alright, those were all the announcements for now! If you have work to do, get to it!" The majority of the gathered villagers dispersed then, leaving the two parties to their own devices. "Éclair, while Melty's gone I'm gonna need you to act as ruler and handle her day-to-day duties."
"Are you sure," the swordswoman looked a bit nervous at the prospect.
"You'll have to do the job full-time eventually," Darius reminded, "you are the Seaetto heir, after all."
"You should really thank Melty when she gets back," Naofumi added, "she's been handling most of the tedious stuff you're supposed to be doing. You can't keep relying so heavily on her."
"I…understand," Éclair gave a somewhat downtrodden look. She couldn't deny that she'd been slacking on some of her duties. Her skills with the pen were far inferior to her skills with a sword.
"If there's something I can do to help," Ren spoke up hesitantly, "would I be allowed to do so?"
"So long as you're keeping up with your training and other tasks, you can do what you want to do," Naofumi gave an understanding smile before turning to head off. At least that was the plan until he jumped back due to an unexpected arrival.
"Is something the matter," S'yne asked, either having teleported or snuck up on them. Even Sadeena was caught by surprise.
"Could you not just pop up out of nowhere," the Shield Hero groaned.
"My Jumping Needle is the most efficient way to get back here and inform you of current events," the Vassal Sewing Hero answered matter-of-factly before holding out her weapon in its yarn form, "Darius, could you?"
"Sure thing," the Armory Hero reached out and put his hand on the jewel. The white energy of his Repair ability shined faintly as he again worked to slow its degradation. "So what's new at the coliseum-GROOOOWL!"
"Could we discuss that over a meal," S'yne requested alongside her growling stomach, "I didn't get a chance to eat before I came back."
A Few Minutes Later
"Thank you kindly," the white-haired girl expressed her gratitude while setting down her fourth or fifth bowl of food. She'd apparently missed breakfast that morning, meaning she was very, very hungry. The rest of the group sat around the long rectangular table that was part of Naofumi's dining room, including Keel, Fohl, Atla, and Ren. "As always, it was delicious."
"It was," Izumi agreed, "so about what Darling asked you earlier?"
"I've been doing work in the underground arena," S'yne answered, "mainly, participating in matches." She produced a sack of coins and set it in front of Naofumi. "As per our agreement, I'll be giving you half of all my winnings."
"Nice work," Naofumi complimented with a look that was a little too smug, "keep the money coming."
"I'm not sure that's the sort of thing you should be saying to a friend," Raphtalia sighed.
"It's just what I'd expect from Master Naofumi," Atla praised, apparently.
"Why would you expect something like that," Keel asked in confusion.
"Putting that aside, it's impressive you've made so much in such a short period of time," Sadeena complimented her fellow gladiator.
"Thank you, but there's actually someone there who made even more than me," S'yne revealed, "I heard about it while performing the information gathering portion of my duties. There's a rumor going around about an archer who fights in a different arena every day."
"That sounds familiar," Rishia observed, "did you hear what the archer's name is?"
"Apparently," the white-haired girl recalled, "the archer goes by the name 'Perfect Hidden Justice'." This was met with varied reactions, chief among them being Darius snorting.
"Jeez, the only way he could be more obvious is if he used the title 'Not the Bow Hero'," The University Student quipped, "I'm amazed the Shadows didn't pick up on this already."
"He only recently started competing," S'yne offered, "Zeltoble is a big place with new competitors entering the coliseum at a fairly regular interval."
"And ridiculous names like that might be obvious to us but to people from this world it could mean all kinds of things," Ren pointed out.
"It's worth checking out, at least," Naofumi mused, "we can't afford to pass up any leads at this point."
"If you're going back to the arena then I want to go too," Keel practically demanded.
"This isn't a trip for goofing off," the Shield Hero warned.
"I know that," she urged, "but I need to know how strong I am now and I need to take whatever chance I can get to become stronger!"
"I'd actually recommend taking her with you," Grilaroc advised upon entering the house, "she's at the level now where basic mercenaries shouldn't give her too much trouble. Besides, there's only so much experience one can gain from fighting the same people over and over again in the same environment."
"That's a fair point," Darius admitted, "perhaps we should take a few of the other kids, too. Give them more combat experience against people. Any more you'd like to recommend, sensei?"
"I can confidently say they're all at about that level," the Hengen Musou Master's expression didn't hold a shred of doubt, "I'll spread the word and we can see who else wants to tag along."
Later That Day: The Upper Coliseum of Zeltoble
"This is awesome!" Keel cheered from their spot in the stands. They'd purchased a spot in the upper levels where there were practically no spectators. The majority of the crowd was cheering down on the main levels as they watched the latest bout. "Are we really going to get to fight in here?"
"Yeah," Naofumi confirmed, albeit with the smallest amount of hesitation in his voice, "just don't do anything dumb, okay." Keel acknowledged his words but was finding it hard to tear his eyes away from the spectacle before him. The same could be said for many of the children they'd brought with them, which turned out to be close to a dozen. Fohl, interestingly, had decided not to come despite his prior participation in the underground coliseum. Apparently he still felt he was too weak and decided to intensify his training with Grilaroc.
"It's different being in a coliseum where the sunlight actually reaches," Darius observed, "hope that bit about this place going by the rules is true." A few of the others nodded in agreement to that. Though more than a couple moods were soured when a certain blacksuit wearing man appeared.
"How good to see the both of you!" The slave merchant of Zeltoble greeted with his arms held high, "welcome back Shield and Armory Hero! I take it the little ones with you here are today's entrants? They look exactly like I pictured the slaves of heroes to look, such fire burning in their eyes."
"It's called proper care, asshole," Rifana crossed her arms, "even without hero bonuses you'd be amazed how much better people look when they're treated like people."
"Ah, my apologies," the merchant's smile didn't leave his face, "in my excitement I'd forgotten that's a bit of a sour subject for many of you."
"Let's just get to the point," Naofumi shot him his customary look of disgust, "this tournament isn't likely to have any of the other merchants or nobles pulling a fast one, right?"
"Not to worry," the short man assured with his hands held up, "today's tournament is mostly for sport so there shouldn't be any big players or interests today. I promise there's no need to worry."
"Sadeena," the Shield Hero turned to the harpoon wielder, "you're in charge here, you know the arena better than any of us."
"Sure thing," she clapped her hands together happily, "I promise everything will be fine."
"Figneria," Darius turned to his lover, "I don't doubt Sadeena's got this, but would you mind helping out, just in case?"
"I believe the two of us won't have any problems," she smiled reassuringly.
"Now listen up all of you," Naofumi spoke to the children next, "make sure you're careful while you're fighting down there."
"Okay!" They all agreed enthusiastically before following after Sadeena and Figneria.
"Ah, they grow up so fast," Darius joked, "one day you're helping tuck them in for bed and the next you're dropping them off at the coliseum to engage in combat with full-grown adults."
"It does feel like we're taking them on a field trip right now," the Shield Hero couldn't help but notice the resemblance at how excited the kids were, "but we didn't come here just for competition."
"Indeed," the slave merchant put his arms behind his back, "I believe you also had a question for me today?"
"It's about one of the contestants," both heroes expressions switched back to business, "is there an archer competing today by the name of Perfect Hidden Justice?" The merchant put a hand to his chin in thought but before he was about to answer, Rishia shouted.
"What, guys!" She waved at them from one of the stadium entrances, "this way!" There was no time for any further questions as the green-haired girl took off. The others weren't far behind her as they rushed down the stone hallway, bobbing and weaving through the crowd until they reached a doorway that was guarded by men with staffs. Said men were quick to cross their weapons in front of the door to deny them entry.
"That is the Bow Hero," Izumi asked while peering into the room with benches meant for contestants who were about to fight, "I thought he had a green cape?"
"It's him alright," Rifana sniffed the air, "we've had enough run-ins now I'd recognize that smell."
"My oh my," breathed the round merchant as he finally caught up to them and took a moment to catch his breath, "you all started running so quickly, I thought I'd never catch up to you." He stood up straight after another minute and resumed his usual posture. "I take it that is the archer you were referring too?"
"It is," Naofumi confirmed, "since the match hasn't started yet, can we talk to him? It's hero business."
"Of course," he nodded, "such business is of utter importance, so I can make a small exception for you." The man signaled to the two guards who moved their staffs back into position and allowed the group in.
"You know," Darius decided to open up the conversation, "I would've thought you hated the color white by this point. What changed your mind?"
"It's fine," Itsuki mumbled, still staring at the floor, "everything's fine. I'm the Bow Hero after all, and everyone wants the Bow Hero's help. The prize money I win today will save lives." He seemed to be talking to himself more than anyone else.
"Ah shit," the Armory Hero breathed out, "you're already a mental case, aren't you?"
"I'm, just as strong as I used to be," he growled.
"You need help," Rishia decided to step forward, "you're not well right now."
"No," the Bow Hero shot up and turned towards them, "I'm….a servant of justice!" He swung his fist towards Rishia then and felt an impact. But for the first time, his eyes seemed to have life in them as they widened. The green-haired girl he'd always thought of as frail, had caught his arm by the wrist in a surprisingly strong grip.
"Kawasumi," Rishia had a look on her face that Darius hadn't seen since Cal Mira Island: legitimate anger and disappointment, "you're just pretending again." Itsuki didn't seem to know how to react for a moment so he reached for his bow. Rishia was faster and slugged him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
"Oh, damn," Darius and Naofumi blurted out at the same time, "you weren't kidding when you said you didn't know what you'd do."
"I need some air," Rishia turned, her eyes shadowed by her hair as she walked out the door.
"Guess even someone as kind as her can learn to hold a grudge," Ren mused as Darius went to help Itsuki up. Expectedly at this point, he wasn't in the best of moods.
"Keep your hands off me!" The Bow Hero snarled, pushing his fellow hero away, "I know why you're here, you're not fooling me."
"We're not here to arrest you, if that's what you're worried about," Naofumi assured.
"No, you're here to recruit me for your own ends," Itsuki shot them a glare, "she told me what you've done. Princess Malty told me everything."
"Don't tell me," Ren stepped forward, "Bitch is traveling with you now?"
"Her name is Malty," the Bow Hero shot back, "and so what if she is? It's none of your business who's in my party."
"When your party member is not only a convicted criminal but also actively trying to kill us all, yeah, it very much is our business," Darius narrowed his eyes.
"Take it from me, I was the first one she screwed over," Naofumi reminded, "you're better off ditching her, or better yet, handing her over to the authorities."
"I found out the hard way too," the Sword Hero added, "don't make our mistakes, she's lying to you."
"How would you know," a smug look spread on Itsuki's face, "you don't even know what she said."
"Basically she said Naofumi and I were responsible for the Spirit Tortoise incident," the Armory Hero had to fight not to roll his eyes, "claimed it was all some plan to make you look bad and hog all the glory to ourselves. She also said the trial was a sham that we set up. Her proof was showing the slave crest didn't activate but oddly she also has a new necklace that she basically never takes off, even when she's sleeping or taking a bath."
"How did you," Itsuki was momentarily confused by this so Ren added his own testimony.
"Because that's what she told me," he revealed, "no doubt she's also told you that what you're doing is right, that she's the only one on your side, the only one who believes in you. Every last one of those are lies! When that bitch had gotten everything she wanted from me she did to me what she did to Naofumi, stole my equipment and sold me out to people wanting to kill me. It's only a matter of time before she does the same to you and since we've found you it'll be sooner rather than later at this point."
"No," the Bow Hero looked conflicted for a moment before his face returned to the same soulless, condescending expression he'd had earlier, "it's not a matter of time. I'm just wasting mine trying to convince all of you. Now if you'll excuse me, my match is about to start." He stalked off then, leaving a collection of heroes breathing out frustrated sighs.
A Short Time Later: The Stands
"Ah, so participant 982 is the one known as Perfect Hidden Justice," the slave merchant mused, "if I recall correctly he showed up practically right after you left."
"Of all the bad timing," the Armory Hero was sitting down with his party and Naofumi's, save for Figneria and Sadeena who were still watching the kids. "If he'd shown up just a day or two earlier we might've caught him. I know we don't have as many people searching as we could right now but how is it Bitch managed to find both Ren and Itsuki before anyone else?"
"However she did, we won't be able to have a productive conversation while she's in the picture," Naofumi sighed.
"He's looking like Motoyasu and I did when you found us," the Sword Hero recalled, "we probably don't have much time before he accidentally awakens his curse series."
"Wouldn't it be possible for us to knock him out and capture him," Atla suggested, a little too cheerily for anyone's liking, "or since he doesn't seem to be convinced by words, we should speak to him with our fists."
"Both of those approaches are equally violent," Raphtalia pointed out.
"And Itsuki's not a martial artist," Darius added, "as much as I'd like to put Master Asia's wisdom of communicating with our fists to the test, it probably wouldn't get through to him."
"Who's Master Asia," Atla tilted her head in confusion.
"It's a reference, don't worry about it," Rifana, having learned to identify many of them, patted her on the shoulder.
"I'd rather resolve this peacefully, if possible," the Shield Hero sighed as the doors of the coliseum opened to admit Itsuki. He was facing off against an opponent with a small shield and a spear. At this point, such an opponent should've posed no threat to a cardinal hero and yet, as soon as the match began it was clear the Bow Hero was lacking. His shots were slightly erratic and he missed a couple times, enough for his opponent to close in and cut his left arm with his spear.
"I was afraid of this," Naofumi narrowed his eyes, "he hasn't powered up his cardinal weapon hardly at all. Do you see that bow he's using, Darius?"
"The accessory on the front is giving off negative energy," he analyzed, "it appears to be amplifying the feelings that can lead to a cursed series. Getting that thing off will probably be a good first step to clearing his head. The problem will be doing it without triggering the cursed series in the process."
"Then let's show him the error of his ways," Rishia stood up in front of them, "he believes he's on the side of good and that he'll always win because of it. But if someone like me beats him, someone he never thought could be strong, he'll have to face facts. We could also take the opportunity to destroy that accessory during the fight."
"You want to challenge him to a match," Ren realized, "Rishia, that could be dangerous."
"I'm much stronger now than I was before," the green-haired girl assured, "and I share the same risk as everyone else in my party. I may be the princess of Koteraan now, but that's even more reason for me to be the one to fight him. He still doesn't feel sincere regret for what he did in my homeland so it's my responsibility to make him apologize."
"Not sure if all that tracks, but fine," the Shield Hero conceded, "you spent the most time with him, so you know him best."
"Well if you're planning on challenging him to a match I might have just the thing," the slave merchant offered.
"I got an idea too," Darius chimed in, "you still have those extra masks from the last time we were here, right?"
"I held on to them in case we needed them again, why?" Naofumi raised an eyebrow.
"I was just thinking," the Armory Hero spun his replica of the vassal sewing set on his finger in its small scissor form, "it might be time for a villain phase."
That Night: A Zeltoble Inn
"Here's all the money I made today," Itsuki set down several sacks of coins on the table in front of him.
"Nicely done," the armored man, Mald complimented, "it's even more than last time." He was sitting on a blue couch with the two women of Itsuki's original party standing behind him. Malty herself was sitting in one of the two blue chairs on either side of the couch.
"I'm impressed, it really is," the spear woman added upon counting the money herself. Her compatriot simply smiled in satisfaction.
"Thank you for doing all of this, Itsuki," Malty, known as Bitch to everyone else, said in gratitude. A frown formed on her features then.
"Is something wrong," the Bow Hero noticed her seeming change of mood.
"Not wrong, it's just," she looked to the side, "we still don't have enough for rescuing the slaves. When I think of the kids we can't save…"
"I told you before not to worry about that," Itsuki assured, "just leave everything to me." The red-haired woman appeared touched by this. "As long as I have you by my side, and this bow you gave me, I'm sure, no, I swear I'll save them!" A sudden thought made him deflate a little. "There is one issue, though, I ran into Naofumi and Darius today."
The party gasped at this revelation. "It's exactly as you said, they had slaves with them, and the tournament coordinator confirmed they were fighting in one of the arenas today," Itsuki continued, "they also said you were lying to me."
"D-Do you think we're lying to you," Mald asked nervously.
"Of course not, you've given me no reason to believe you're lying," the Bow Hero assured, "and if you're worried about those two, don't be. Once we make enough money to free all of the slaves, I'm sure they'll come around and see that we're the ones in the right."
"Un why can't we start right now, mein friend," A new voice sounded from a figure who'd suddenly appeared in the chair on the other side of the table. Everyone froze in surprise and by the time they reacted, he held up a large ball of thread with a jewel on it. The next thing anyone knew, they were being swarmed.
Why the German accent, you ask? Because it's so easy to make a guy sound evil when they got a German accent. At the same time it's also a very fun accent, so I thought why not. But let me know what you think in your comments and reviews along with what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters! And check out news on this and other upcoming stories on my Pat reon! Be sure to stop in next time as our villain reveals his evil plans! 'Til then.