Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter and providing feed backs.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
Cross posted on AO3, for anyone who prefer that site.
"It's the sea! It's the SEA!" Wyndia hops up and down on her feet as she throws herself onto the wooden fence. Ren doesn't share the not so little shiba inu girl's excitement as their huge group arrives at New Albion, but something about her boundless youthful energy starts to rub off on him. He can definitely feel the spring back in his feet again similar to how when he was first summoned to this world, and started using his combat skills gained from playing VR games for real. "Look at the big sailed ships, the clear sky, and the water. SO MUCH WATER! Have you seen something like this, Skyguy?!"
"Yes, I have, Snips." Ren adds his new nickname for Wyndia almost like an afterthought. He's not usually so flippant that he would be this close to someone. Not even when he was talking with his friend Mikoto. Actually... talking with Mikoto might have been an exaggeration now he thinks over it. It's more fitting to say all of their interaction was when Mikoto starts a conversation, and then he answers her excitement with some subdued response. With his mind drifting back to his left behind friend (who now knows that they definitely aren't separated between life and death), he feels a sudden jerk on his wrist as he's pulled right beside Wyndia. "Calm down, Snips. I have seen the sea before. The city I came from is built alongside the coastline."
"But have you seen the sea like THIS!?" Wyndia grabs the back of Ren's head and pushes his head forward, making his body lean forward and really focus on the bustling port of New Albion. He might have complained if it's one of his fellow heroes, and he would definitely backhanded Motoyasu if he's the one doing it. But it's hard to get truly angry, or even annoyed at who he knows is a little girl around ten years dealing with the suddenly increased hormones of her adult body. "Look at how clear and BLUE this is!"
This isn't the first, or even the first tenth times Ren had been to the seaside, or visited a beach. He would have been perfectly fine to shut himself in his room playing VR games if his only friend wasn't Mikoto. She drags him out of his room more often than he cared to admit, and the beach is a popular spot for a young girl full of life to like to visit. But now that he is forced to look at the port and the vast expanse of ocean further away, he does recognize how it looks so much more vibrant than the seaside he knew from his last life. Ren briefly considers if that's caused by the pollution of his modern (and judging from his fellow heroes, much more technically advanced than other alternative earth) world, or if it's the magic in this world giving everything a more subtle but distinct look.
"It does look nice. Can you let go now?" Ren feels a sense of relief as the pressure from the back of his head disappears. He backs away and straightens himself. The peripheral of his vision noticed Gaelion landing on one of the pillars of the wooden fence. The dragon lord's head is fixed at an angle, looking out into the ocean in spite of there being nothing. "Something's the matter, Ga- Gondra?"
Gaelion snorts out a small cloud of ember out of his nose. He still doesn't appreciate the fake name Ren gave him. Well, the reincarnated dragon lord was the one that let Ren call him whatever Ren wanted. "I can feel the presence of Salamander's new incarnation across the sea. She is definitely at Cal Mira Island with the hero who raised her."
Chapter 4: Stormfront
"That's the one who took away your own dragon flight before you found and raised me, wasn't it? Father?" Ren can see another puff of ember filled smoke coming out of Gaelion's nose. Privately, the Sword Hero sympathizes with the dragon lord. He would have felt very indignant too if his biggest defeat had been casually brought up.
"Bah! She had cheated when she was brought up by one of the heroes. How can I beat that young upstart when she had a hero who unlocked her full potential from the start." Gaelion flies up from the wooden pole and lands on top of Wyndia's head. He leans down, resting on top of his daughter's hair like a chicken settling inside its nest. "The newest incarnation of Salamander makes me sick. Wagging her tails at one of those 'heroes' like she's a domesticated bonedog. Where is her draconic pride?"
"Isn't this the same thing as what you are doing now, father? You are also providing assistance to the heroes." Wyndia's question nearly made her miniature sized 'father' fall off her head. He manages to grab hold of Wyndia's hair to stay upright, unwittingly causing some minor pain to his daughter. "OUCH! Watch it, Father!"
"It's NOT the same thing! I render service to the heroes as a debt I owed them for saving you. And in exchange for them to protect the world the two of us live in. What I am NOT is a glorified pet owned by one of the heroes." Gaelion flies off Wyndia's hair and turns around to stare at his daughter. "Something the new reincarnation of Salamander clearly has no problem being."
"Something doesn't line up." Ren's mind is focused on something else, as his memory is drawn back to the time when he briefly met Naofumi in the tavern of Burden Rest inn before he took on that misguided mission to get rid of Gaelion. His browns twist together, trying to figure out the history, and the math. "I remember hearing the people of Trumpet city talking about some fight from ten years ago. Did the Whip Hero raise that other dragon that long ago?"
Gaelion's body completely freezes in midair. As his body completely froze like time itself stood still. Even though his small leather wings no longer flaps, he still remains levitated in the air. It seems like the dragon lord does not generate his lift with his wings, and it's more for show than anything else. Wyndia also seems intrigued by Ren's question as she stares at her father's face and blinks. "Skyguy is right, father. Didn't Prince Tact get chosen by the whip, and then adopted by King Egbert after I became your daughter? How did he raise a reincarnation of Salamander before?"
The miniature dragon lord flaps his jaw rather than wings, but doesn't say anything out loud. After a few more moments of staring at his daughter, he simply turns around and flies away. It seems like the reason he gave to Wyndia was more of an excuse to save his own face, he really lost his flight to the other dragon lord in a fair battle. It didn't stop Wyndia from elbowing Ren's guts in annoyance. "Why were you mean to my father, Skyguy?"
"I'm very sorry, Snips." Ren doesn't really feel sorry for trying to work out an error he noticed in the timeframe of the event. But he also doesn't need Motoyasu's experience with women to know that in this situation, he needs to grovel and beg for forgiveness no matter how unfair it is.
"You are putting too much power into your flame." Malty slaps out the wisp of ember dancing on top of Flare's finger. It's slowly turning into an orb of fire that would threaten to spread onto the ship they are currently boarded on. "The point of this exercise is to maintain only a small cloud of ember putting as little of your magic into it as possible. To train your ability to control your spells. You are entirely missing the point if you pump too much mana into your spell, not to mention you'd burn us all alive if you don't sink our ship first."
"I'm trying! But it's too hard! It's hard to do enough when I'm riding my unicorn. Here on this ship with all the rocking, and wind? It's impossible!" The Consevatie girl whines at Malty's chastise. The princess turned slave wonders if this is how Uncle Aldrecht felt when he first started to train her. Did she whine as much as this pampered little 'princess' when she first started out? Even if that's the case... she's less than ten at the time, while Flare would be considered an adult by the world's standard even if she behaves like a spoiled little girl. It seems like that's a bit of a pattern for the children of the Consevatie family. And perhaps the great irony is how that son of Raleigh The Vulture, the most well known child lover of Melromarc, appeared to be more professional and competent in the short time she managed to observe him before he was killed by that rockslide engineered by Naofumi. On second thought... The short period of time she had with him might have been the reason why he appeared to be Fuckboy, and Flare's better. She simply didn't have enough time to notice the other male Consevatie's flaws yet.
"Try harder, but not in the way where you pump more of your magic into the spell. It defeats the purpose of this exercise, and you might kill us all." Flare lets out a frustrated groan, but starts her magic training all over again. Malty is perfectly aware that she is being too hard on the Consevatie girl. Considering her very clear lack of discipline in her casting, throwing her into the deep end of the pond and telling her to sink or swim is not the most effective training. But her action does have an alternative, and devious goal. She is trying to observe how Flare acts when she is being forced to do something completely unfair. She is the daughter of Lord Grima, one of the (admittedly not very loyal) lackeys of Malty's Mother. And more importantly, she is the little sister of Fuckboy. Malty has to carefully test Flare's motivation for joining them to decide if she is trustworthy or not. So apart from imparting some wisdom on what spells to not be mixed together for catastrophic effects, Malty isn't too motivated to teach the pampered little 'princess' actual casting spells. She has to prepare for the possibility that Flare would eventually stab them all in the back.
So far, the pampered little lady is putting up with all her almost unfair demand. Which tells Malty that Flare didn't join Naofumi's retinue out of a flightful fancy. But a better question remained. Why did she join them, despite the grudge they have with her elder brother? Could it be that she genuinely wants to use her talent to protect the world? Or was it on her father's order to curtail political favor from them?
"How is the training?" Malty turns her head to the side to see Naofumi coming along. Even though the Shield Hero is on top of a rocking ship (a massive warship, granted), he looks completely at ease no different than when he is walking on solid ground. Malty is reminded of how he was the only one who isn't affected by sickness at all when Firo breaks out into a full speed sprint. She briefly wonders if that's another ability one of his shields granted him. But Naofumi's mind is clearly on the Consevatie girl as he simply stares at her struggling to not let the ember on top of her finger get snuffed out by gusts of sea breeze. She's not having much success, as she simply repeats the step of conjuring up what looks like a tiny candle light, have it blown out, and try to relight it over and over again with a scowl. "She seems to be struggling. Are you sure this was the beginner exercise you did when you were a child?"
It technically is. But under Uncle Aldrecht's tutelage, Malty didn't have to do this kind of exercise on a rocking boat, against a strong wind. The first companion of the Shield Hero makes a mental note to explain to Naofumi her reasoning in privacy away from Flare's ears. So she gives another truth that would satisfy Naofumi's confusion, and somewhat appeases Flare. "It's always much easier to get your spell under control when you are a child, Master Naofumi. As an adult, she's completely used to pumping as much mana into all her spells, and let her strong natural reserve do all the hard parts. It'll take her extra time, and dedication to un-learn all her bad habits. And grew the discipline I'm used to as a child."
"Sounds about right... but you two have to wrap it up for now." Naofumi points his thumb over his shoulder behind his back. Malty looks at the direction he is pointing at, and sees Artoria Arc standing over the helm of the ship. Whatever fault one could find in Archduke Wales, he does not pamper his children, especially not his heir. The first in line to inherit his title seems to be an experienced captain to be left in charge like this. "She said something about a storm coming. All of us better get inside. We don't want to get in the way of the sailors."
Malty looks up at the sky. Seeing how clear and blue it looks, her faith in Archduke Wales' trust in his daughter is beginning to waver. Does Artoria truly know what she is talking about, or is she simply pretending to be competent like Malty's mother while riding the coattail of someone who is truly in charge. She doesn't think Archduke Wales is someone who is irresponsible enough to knowingly endanger his liege, the four cardinal heroes, and all the important people from Melromarc who will attend the Hero Conference. But he wouldn't be the first noble to be deceived by their own children. She suppose it'll be for the best that they clear out of the deck. As Naofumi said, she doesn't want to get in the way of the sailors if they'll be battling through a storm. If Artoria was talking filorial dung... no harm for them to stay in the relative comfort of their cabins either.
The storm came like Artoria predicted. It really feels like for one moment, everything is fine and nice. And then as if the Chief God the people of Medea worshiped randomly snapped his finger, and everyone is puking their guts out as their ship begins to rock left and right. Naofumi still feels fine, and that's honestly the most surprising thing to him.
The only one from his party who doesn't have their head buried in a bucket (aside from himself, of course) is Yatsuhashi, who is sitting in a corner with his legs coiled in a meditative posture. And even his deeply tanned face looks pale by comparison. Raphtalia is in her adult form for the extra hardiness, even if it doesn't seem to help her much. There is also Raphtalia's friend Keel, who insisted she stay with Raphtalia all the time after what happened during the Three Heroes'' Church's rebellion.
In contrast, Naofumi doesn't even feel a slight bit of dizziness, or nausea. He's pretty sure he had more trouble riding trains before his summoning once or twice than the current roller coaster ride. Was it one of his shield's abilities? He looks through his status screen again, reading over the description of all his shields carefully to make sure he's not missing some subtext. It's not like he has anything better to do right now. Or he could actually help his companions. As wonderful and convenient as his miracle spells are, curing sea sickness while their boat is shaking like an earthquake isn't something it can do.
"I'm dying... I'm actually dying. I'm going to puke my guts out if this storm doesn't tear our ship apart first." Malty falls over on the floor. Her face is turning a sickly shade of green by this point. She grabs Naofumi's ankle, eyes glittering with intense madness. "Master Naofumi... if you survive and I don't... make sure you engrave on my gravestone that I blame my mother for everything!"
Naofumi feels like someone would have come along, slapped Malty's face and tells her to stop her snivelling for comedic effect. If his life really is someone's fanfiction of some badly written isekai novel, that is. And then he feels very guilty for thinking like this, considering Raphtalia was puking her guts out even worse than Malty. Well... he can't tell which of them is suffering worse, to be honest. He only made assumptions since Raphtalia can't seem to even talk.
"Calm down, Malty... I know you are suffering, but I'm sure it won't come to that." Naofumi waves away his status screen and holds his hands up in front of him, trying to appease Malty. The insanity in her glare doesn't recede at all. Right... he's thinking like a rational person because he isn't in enough pain to feel like the world is ending. That's clearly not the case for Malty, or Raphtalia... He needs to do something right now. "Just... hold on for now. I'm going to go see Gaelion. I know some dragon shout can call a storm, so maybe that's what happened. I'll see if Gaelion has a way to clear the storm too."
"Right... you do that. In the meantime... I'm sure this is ALL MY MOTHER'S FAULT SOMEHOW!" Malty let go of Naofumi's leg, and began to scream into the wooden ceiling like a dying animal. Naofumi doesn't waste anymore time, and he half runs, half crawls his way out of their cabin to get Gaelion. Hopefully he has a way to get them out of this, because Naofumi is starting to worry as much as Malty that their ships won't survive if this raging storm continues.
The cabin Ren was assigned to isn't any less of a pandamonium than Naofumi's. In this case, the chaos mostly comes from Wyndia. When Naofumi pushes open the door to poke his head in, he sees Wyndia throttling Gaelion by his neck. "Make this damn storm stop, father! You are the dragon lord of the storm. Aren't you?"
"Well... yes, baby girl. But my domain is calling storms forth, not dispelling them- GAHK!" The miniature form of Gaelion lets out a squeak that reminds Naofumi of a chicken as Wyndia bodily slams her father onto the floor.
"That's what I'm here for. My companions are also suffering." Naofumi quickly charges into the cabin and snatches Gaelion's body out of Wyndia's hands. Ren gives him a slight bob of his head, and a rise of his eyebrows. But seeing how his face is also pale, his fellow hero clearly isn't capable, or has any desire to stop him. With the miniaturized body of the dragon lord in his hand, the Shield Hero quickly escapes out of the cabin. He tries to ignore the frustrated grunting from Wyndia like he did to his own companion.
Naofumi can feel Gaelion twitch in his hand, so he relaxes his fingers and lets the dragon lord fly away. Despite his draconic face being very different from a human, Gaelion clearly looks annoyed with the way he narrows his eyes almost into an arrow shape. The embers blowing out of his nose is also a good indication. "Do NOT ever do that again. Especially in public. I have an image to maintain as one of the twelve dragon lords of the world. I can't be seen manhandled by a mere mortal, even a hero as yourself by most people, especially my own patrons."
"Aren't we wasting time on pointless discussion here? Wyndia was smashing you into the floor!" Naofumi genuinely takes a pause at Gaelion's priorities. Their ships are being threatened to go under, or torn apart by the raging storm. And he's more worried about how he's being snatched left and right by people like some angry kitten? It's not like he wants to go around grabbing a dragon who will probably disintegrate him. "Can you stop this storm or not?"
"Exactly! Only Wyndia is allowed to do it because she's my daughter. So don't ever do that again." Gaelion makes a brief pause, possibly for dramatic effect, before continuing. "Okay... this storm is definitely not normal. The ocean can be a deceptive and tricky beast. But it usually doesn't go from clear sky with no sign of cloud to one of the worst raging storms you'd ever see. Someone, or something is doing this because they either want all you heroes dead, or is trying to make some point-"
"What do you mean 'trying to make some point'? Are you telling me someone conjured up a raging storm that could sink a fleet for no reason other than shits and giggles?!" Naofumi nearly reaches his hands over and throttles Gaelion like Wyndia did earlier. He manages to fight back his instinct at the last moment to avoid possible disintegration by Gaelion.
"You are clearly still too inexperienced, Lord Shield Hero. Worse things have been done for far less in this world. Now if you didn't interrupt me, I was going to explain." This time, the floating mini-dragon lord looks positively smug with the way his maw curves. "The Hero Conference usually doesn't wait for all four Cardinal Heroes to arrive together. Since the four of you were supposed to have been summoned separately by different nations. And almost all of them would always have conflicts of interest. So it's not unheard of for some of them to get the idea to assert their dominance over a hero controlled by their rival nations and give them a scare before they arrive at Cal Mira Island. The island itself is declared eternal peaceful neutral ground by generations of past heroes. But the sea surrounding it? That's fair game."
Once again, Naofumi is reminded of the absolute pettiness of this world's ruling elite. They are facing a world ending crisis, yet their priority seems to be playing the equivalent of international office politics that they would risk the death of the heroes. Someone whose lives are as Malty has explained, tied directly to the strength of the monster waves they would face.
"Which brings us to the current cycle. All four of you were summoned by Melromarc alone. Illegally when its regent king broke the sacred covenant established since the first ever Hero Summoning. That means every nation that isn't a direct ally of Melromarc now has their full attention on this upcoming Hero Conference now." The mini-dragon lord flies left and right, like a human who is walking in circles while giving away their explanation. "Those who might have otherwise stayed behind have come to Cal Mira Island on a short notice. And more than some of them would be bold enough to try showing off, everyone is no doubt enraged at what Melromarc did. So for them, giving a good scare to those aboard the incoming Melromarc fleet would make their point loud and clear. And let all of you heroes see the strength of this world's elite on what they can do. They probably figured it would help cower you and make you easier to control."
"They have another thing going if they try. I can't kick their asses because I'm the Shield Hero. But I'll kick up a fuss to fuck with them." Naofumi crosses over his arms. He can feel an anger induced headache climbing up to the top of his head once again. Forget about how he himself was mistreated when he's supposed to be one of the summoned heroes. With how everyone in his party was badly treated, he isn't going to lie flat and let everyone who has some gold in their pocket walk all over his companions. It would have been especially unfair to Kyubey and Farkas after they gave their lives to ensure his own survival.
"Don't forget that's only one of my assumptions. There are plenty of mortals who genuinely want you hero types, especially the summoned ones to die. Either because they don't like the changes a summoned hero often brings to this world, or because they genuinely want this world to end. Some of them are quite powerful and influential for mortal's standards. So for all we know, someone really is trying to kill all four of you, and your mortal escorts." Naofumi isn't too sure which one of Gaelion's assumption makes him feel worse. Because a shitty world filled with self-serving politicians, and greedy rich people who want to exploit isekai'ed people like himself in the middle of a world ending crisis isn't enough. Of course, there are genuine doomsday cultists too. Because why not? According to that (possibly insane) modern incarnate Fuckboy, this world was originally some web novel. And Judging by Malty's original, gruesome and totally undeserved fate, whoever wrote the thing obviously lacks any good sense of taste, or class. And if he really is in a fanfiction, whoever wrote this is clearly also an asshole, considering what happened so far.
"Okay. Let's forget the fuckers who caused this storm. Can you stop it? People are suffering, and I hate people suffering because of me." Naofumi shoves the distaste he has for the people responsible for his current predicament into the darkest corner of his mind and focuses on the important thing. "I don't know how much you are different from the Skyrim dragons. But there's a [Clear Sky] dragon shout in that game. You should know it, right?"
"Yes. There is. But a dragon lord doesn't get to use every draconic spell they want to. When a dragon ascends, we are each given a domain of the previous dragon lord. My domain is the storm, as in: calling in a raging storm. Clearing it away is the antithesis of my own domain." Gaelion's answer is obviously not the one Naofumi wants to hear. But the dragon continues to slowly spin around, as if thinking of something. "My daughter is suffering too. Normally, I'd simply throw her onto my back and fly away. But if I do this and all of you die in the storm, Wyndia really will strangle me to death. I'll do my best and see how much I can affect the storm. But don't expect a miracle from Audin! At most, I might be able to calm the storm down a little."
"Okay, let's roll." Naofumi spins on his heels, only to stop right in his tracks with a startle. On the other side of the hall, his housecarl/sworn shield Yatsuhashi is edging his steps towards him while holding the wooden wall for support. "Yatsuhashi, why aren't you in our cabin?"
"As your housecarl, it is my duty to protect you, my thane." The giant's answer didn't surprise Naofumi, but it did frustrate him a little. This must be how his own companion feels when he lets his own aspiration to protect others over his own wellbeing gets the better of himself. The ship gives a sudden, violent shake again. Naofumi manages to stay upright, but his own oath bond protector didn't fare so well. The tanned man in heavy armor falls onto the wooden floor with a dull, but loud thud. The Shield Hero can clearly see some indent on the wooden board as Yatsuhashi slowly gets back up on his feet.
"You are not well. Go rest in our cabin. I'm sure nobody will try to harm me." The intense twinkle in Yatsuhashi's eyes made Naofumi realize he must have said something wrong.
"Lady Mordred tried to lash you to death. She's also on this ship." Yatsuhashi's words actually make Naofumi blink this time. That was a very unpleasant experience to say the least, and probably the closest he had gotten to death since his summoning. To know that the woman who most definitely tried to kill him during his official punishment is on the same ship does make him suddenly more self-aware of danger. But he looks at Yatsuhashi's condition again, and decides that there is a more practical reason to convince him not to tag alone.
"Okay... Mordred will be a problem. But I can put her in a [Shield Prison] and run. You can barely walk right. What would happen if you trip and throw me overboard? What if you fall on top of me? I think I'm in more danger of being thrown into the ocean and drowning, or being crushed to death by you than being killed by Mordred." Yatsuhashi's eyes twist in obvious pain, but he relent in the end with a respectful bow.
"I understand... I shall return to my cabin... and better acquaint myself. I will make sure I adapt to all situations, so I won't be far away from you when you are in danger again." The tan skinned giant turns around and staggers his way back to Naofumi's cabin room. The Shield Hero realized that he had ignored his bodyguard's feelings. Yatsuhashi must have felt like shit when he wasn't around during the Third Wave. He needs to talk with his bodyguard and have it sorted out. But for now, he has bigger problems to worry about.
"Okay. Let's go, Gaelion." Naofumi gives one last acknowledgement to the mini-dragon lord, as the two of them bolt for the upper deck. As the Shield Hero climbs up the stairs, he can already feel a strong, cold gust blowing at his face like knives threaten to force his eyes shut, his armor felt heavier than ever. At times like this, he wished he was more of a digimon fanboy and wore goggles everywhere to proudly announce his fandom. As is, he puts down the faceguard of his helmet, as he climbs the final set of stairs. It doesn't actually protect his eyes, but it'll have to do.
"What are you doing out here, Shield Hero?! Don't get in our way, or I'll knock you overboard myself!" Naofumi whips his face around towards the direction of the chastise. And he sees the enraged face of Mordred through the tiny eyeholes of his faceguard. Behind her, Lancelotte's eyes dart between her younger sister, and Naofumi. Mouth downward in a clear show of distress over the conflict brewing between them.
"I'm trying to help calm the storm. Gaelion could help." Naofumi quickly puts his hands up in both an act of appeasement and surrender. His attempt to defuse the situation doesn't seem to work as Mordred's eyes simply grow even larger from her glare.
"We are fighting to stay upright in this storm. We have no time for the shits of you summoned heroes. Leave, or I'll toss you overboard my-" Mordred's threat suddenly cuts off half way as a high pitched shriek can be heard overhead. Both Mordred, and Lancelote turn around from facing Naofumi to look upwards at the direction of the sound.
Against his better judgment, Naofumi pulls up his faceguard and begins to look for the origin of the shriek just like the Arc sisters. Strong gust of wind begins to cut his face, as droplets of water hit his face like bullets. But then, he can feel something strange against his bare skin. Almost like a minor shock one would get from suddenly touching a surface. The path seems to open within the storm, as something covered in golden snakes of lightning begin to spin upwards into the oppressive dark clouds. It reminded the Shield Hero of the attack used by the griffin king against Fitoria when he was crossing over the mountain range to escape Melromarc.
Behind the twister of lightning is a dark presence, like a giant flying statue made of darkest stone. Its bat-shaped wing, elongated neck and tail reminds Naofumi of Gaelion's own full sized form. Another dragon, as large, maybe even larger than the dragon lord of raging storm. It flies up the rolling thunder cloud through the path opened up by its (assumedly) companion, and an earth shattering shout begins to echo down from heaven into the ocean that sends Naofumi tumbling onto his back. When his head is no longer spinning, he notices Gaelion glaring up at the sky in silent sulking. After a while, as both the storm and the cloud over everyone begin to part ways for clear, azure sky, Gaelion finally opens his maw and lets out a sneer. "Show off."
"You know that guy?" Naofumi places his hands on the wooden floor to support himself, and then slowly pushes himself to sit up. He was starting to get used to the extra weight from his armor. But moments like this where he gets knocked down the stairs and dizzy in the head... possibly even suffering from minor concussion. He is reminded how his current armor is definitely designed more as a training tool rather than a proper defense equipment. He misses the blue knight armor he first bought from Uncle Elhard. Hopefully Sir Oersted can find it, and bring it back to him. "With the way you grunt. I don't think that dragon was family, or friend?"
"Oh, Salamander is family alright. The kind I wouldn't mind if they stayed in some hole when it comes down to a meeting between us dragon lords." Instead of his usual ember, Gaelion is spitting out lightning bolts. "Salamander is the Dragon Lord of inferno fire, and the patron of House Velthomar. Her current incarnation is the little pet of the Whip Hero. Disgusting, for one of my fellow Dragon Lords to lower themselves like some family kitten."
"Can you not make a scene with her? Or start some other shit? I don't know what this Whip Hero is like, but we'll need everyone if we are fighting against some demonic legion at the end." Gaelion stays silent and unmoving at Naofumi's question. After a long pause, he slowly nods his head. "Thank you."
"I doubt I can beat her now. She has been a companion of the Whip Hero since he was chosen by the world shard. She has enough time to grow back to her full potential." Naofumi feels, rather than hear the unspoken line from Gaelion. While his apparent rival is growing stronger as a dragon, he had been spending time as a father to Wyndia. Privately, Naofumi doesn't think Gaelion made a bad choice. His own impromptu parenthood with Raphtalia... and Firo wasn't without difficulties. And he failed Firo in the worst way. But he wouldn't trade them away for anything. And if he has a chance to start over from the start... he would look for them again just to do a better job this time. "Well. The storm has calmed without my input. I shall go see my daughter. You do whatever you want to, Shield Hero."
The Shield Hero follows Gaelion's example as he quickly runs his way back towards his cabin. The stench of half digested food and stomach acid fills the air of the stuffy room. Malty and Raphtalia don't immediately recover from their sickness simply because the ship is running in calm weather now. But they both look to be adjusting now that the ship ride no longer resembles a very dangerous roller coaster. Raphtalia in particular is no longer in her hardier adult body. When Naofumi's eyes fall on Malty, a red shade actually appears on her face. "I'm very sorry for my unruly behavior from earlier, Master Naofumi."
"No need. You were in a lot of pain. Are you feeling better now?" Malty gives a faint, curt nod. Knowing that she still hasn't fully recovered yet, Naofumi walks over and kneels down in front of Malty and Raphtalia. He gives each of them a hug hoping the support would help them. He feels the death glare coming from Raphtalia's friend from the side. "How about you, Raphtalia? You couldn't even speak earlier."
"I'm alright now, Master Naofumi." Ratphalia also nods back to Naofumi. She gently pushes Keel back a little. Perhaps seeing none of them trying to puke out their guts anymore, Yatsuhashi stands up, takes the bucket and exits their cabin to go out and dump the wastes. "We'll really be at Cal Mira Island soon?"
"Yeah. I think you will like it, Raphtalia. It's a famous 'vacation' spot in addition to being the eternal peaceful neutral ground. It's built on top of many generations of heroes. There's even a museum displaying artifacts and relics from previous summoned heroes." Their adopted daughter looks thoughtful at Malty's explanation. But Naofumi still sees the twinkle in her eyes when previous heroes were mentioned by Malty. Raphtalia is much calmer than when she was first adopted by them, but it seems like she had kept her fascination with heroes.
"They openly display artifacts from past heroes, and nobody tried to steal, or rob the place?" Naofumi sits down on the floor and voices his suspicion. What Malty said doesn't sound very realistic. "I know you said it's eternal neutral ground. But with how shitty people act in this world, you'd think some idiots would try something."
"Well... I say artifacts and relics. But I mean the not empowered kind. Like a favorite cup, or mirror used by a past hero. That kind of thing. More memorabilia than artifacts, I suppose. The most high profile exhibition was a diamond wedding ring donated by a descendant of a past spear hero. Not enchanted in any way, of course. And nobody would risk the wrath of the entire world for a piece of gem." Naofumi nods along with Malty's explanation. Yes, that sounds more reasonable. The princess who was forced into his (much to his own disgust and regret) slave tilts her head slightly to the side for a brief moment before asking. "You were able to clear the storm, Master Naofumi. Was it Gaelion?"
"No, it was some other dragon lord. Gaelion called her Salamander, and said she's raised by the Whip Hero." Naofumi immediately notices the way Malty's eyes narrow with recognition of the name. Or more specifically, the title of the hero. "You know them?"
"I know as much about Salamander as the next one born into nobility. The dragon lord of inferno fire, and the patron of House Velthomar. As for the Whip Hero. I met him in person when my mother... brought me to Faubley to meet my uncle when I was younger." Malty's feet twitch on the floor at the mention. Naofumi's heart goes out to her. Considering that secret betrothal between her and her distant uncle, it must have been very unpleasant. He pulls Malty into an embrace again, much tighter and longer this time. The two of them ignore the gagging sound made by Keel, and Raphtalia attempts to actually gag her friend. "He was adopted by King Egbert after he was chosen by the Star Whip. And he can be a pompous ass, and a lecher just like his adopted father. But don't pick a fight with him if he does something stupid. He had way more time to ramp up his levels and his abilities than all four of you combined."
"I'll try to work with him. I'm not some aggro-thinking dipshit like Fuckboy who flies into rage when people don't listen to me." Naofumi immediately begins to get the same image as someone like Fuckboy. He wonders if he can truly keep his words if the Whip Hero is as insufferable as that reincarnate who believed himself to be the protagonist in some shitty fanfiction. What would he do if this Whip Hero tries to take advantage of Malty, or Raphtalia? The answer is obvious. "So long as he keeps his hands away from you, or Raphtalia. If he is like Fuckboy. I'm not going to leave him to do whatever he wants to."
"That is fair, Master Naofumi. Not to worry. Prince Tact isn't entirely devoid of class like that insane reincarnate..." The way Malty's eyes avoid Naofumi's gaze near the end, and her voice trails off tells the Shield Hero that she's not very confident with her own answer.
Malty follows immediately after her mother's own entourage with the closest companions of Naofumi as they prepare to make landfall at Cal Mira Island's port. She would have liked to stay far away from her mother, to avoid drawing attention to her, and because she genuinely dislikes being in her mother's presence now. The brief moment of face to face, and heart to heart confrontation she had with her Mother at the end of the Three Heroes' Church's rebellion didn't endear her Queen Mother to her, and she doubted she endeared herself to her Queen Mother either. From her Queen Mother's confession, it's clear that Queen Mirellia had never truly seen Princess Malty as an independent person. Now, all the regal red queen of (not so) glorious Melromarc saw was her own long shadow that had casted over Princess Malty.
Unfortunately for Malty, this isn't an occasion where she can afford to indulge her own desires. The point of their trip to Cal Mira Island was for Melromarc to hand the four Cardinal Heroes to other powerful nations of the world and let them get a piece of the metaphorical hero resource pie. So the core entourage of the four heroes would follow right after the queen. She could choose to stay on the ship. But she can't be sure of her own safety considering how many people resent Melromarc for Father's actions, and how many of them might be further emboldened to take it on a slave. And fortunately for her, the other Three Heroes' let Naofumi walk before them all to show their respect and trust in him. How nice of them.
She feels someone's finger curl around her hand and then give it a strong squeeze. The Princess turned slave turns her head to look to her left, and sees Naofumi giving her an encouraging nod. The simple gesture brings peace back to her mind. No matter how low she has sunk in terms of her official social status, she has something much better: The trust... and love of her hero, Naofumi Iwatani. But his show of adoration didn't stop right there. When it's his turn to walk down the plank, his hand guided Malty forward, letting her walk right beside him, rather than behind him as expected for a companion of the hero. She doesn't know if Naofumi was simply doing it out of courtesy, or if he understood the political intention behind such a move. Regardless, the Shield Hero's intention to everyone watching is clear: He has enough affection and attachment to his slave that would put her equal to himself despite their difference in social status.
Malty steals a look behind her out of curiosity. It seems like Naofumi's gesture had been copied by his fellow heroes. As Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki let Lady Iris, Wyndia, and Rishia walk right beside them on their descent as well. The princess turned slave turns her head around to look straight at their welcome committee. They are led by a tall, large man with black hair in an open vest proudly displaying his chest and his muscular physique. No animalistic ears on his head, but the thick patch of black fur on his chest (yes, actual fur, not very thick chest hair) proudly displays his lineage. Malty doesn't know this person, but judging from how he is leading the procession with dignitaries from foreign nations much more powerful than Cal Mira Archipelago, this must be the leader of Cal Mira.
And speaking of foreign representatives... Faubley, SIltvelt and Shitfreeden all sent out their members. But not the ones actually (at least in the official capacity) in charge of their nation. King Egbert of Faubley, Regent Jardis of Siltvelt and President Katharine of Shiltfreeden are not here. A pressure tactic, and a not too subtle snub to the High Queen of Melromarc telling her that she isn't worthy of being welcomed by their own nations' official leaders.
In her uncle's place, Lord Dumbledore (who had too many names to list them all), the mage lord regent of (probably not so) noble Faubley leads the 'welcome' party of the other nations. His eyes twinkle as he sets his eyes on the heroes, yet there's no mirth to it.
Malty also immediately noticed Tact among the welcome party. He's having his hands on the head of two short girls, both look Firo's age in her humanoid form. But they are clearly not human judging from the little stubby horn on one, and the pair of golden wings on the other. He snorts when he sees the arrived Cardinal Heroes. While he didn't shout it on top of his lungs, his voice was still loud and clear enough to let Malty (and a lot of other people around her) hear what he said. "So these are the Cardinal Heroes? They don't look very impressive."
The woman who leads the Siltvelt group (easily noticeable with how many of them have animal heads) has long, straight, midnight black hair that runs down her back like a cape. Her face is heart shaped, as opposed to Malty's more diamond shaped face. And her features are much more softer than the more curved out features Malty inherited from her father's Faubley lineage. It should have made the woman come off as more welcoming, yet there's something unmistakably haughty about her. The way she carries herself, the way her eyes twitch as she sees the heroes, the way her lips curl almost into a sneer... or more boldly, the way she licks her lips as her eyes fall on Naofumi and Malty. No doubt, the woman is a much more dangerous predator than Tact, possibly even more so than his adopted father King Egbert.
A notable absence are any representatives from the Zeltoble Alliance. While they are nothing more than a mutual defense pact among the free cities scattered between Melromarc, Siltvelt, Shiltfreeden and Faubley, Malty still expected them to show themselves. Perhaps the squabbling city state leadership simply can't make up their decisions on who should be present. The alternative would be more curious however. Perhaps someone in Zeltoble had already formed the alliance into one true nation, and is biding their time while making all of their opponents guess. Malty herself, and all the players much more experienced in The Game wouldn't know till Zeltoble's leadership made themselves known.
"Welcome to Cal Mira Archipelago again, Your Grace. And honored heroes." The demihuman inclines his head. "We have already prepared lodging for all of you at Menagerie Hotel. And other rooms around Cal Mira for your retinues. Please enjoy your rest for today, so you may attend the official Hero Conference tomorrow when you are refreshed."
"...I thought the Hero Conference would start as soon as we arrived?" In her mind, Malty echoes the same sentiment as her Mother. With how urgent she brought the heroes to Cal Mira considering the heroes were summoned almost two months ago, she expected the other world leaders to be impatient. Especially after that clearly unnatural storm they encountered on the ocean. But it seems like the other major players are also more patient than Malty and her Mother give them credit for.
"Considering the hardship you, your crew, and the heroes have suffered through that unexpected storm. We decided to postpone the Hero Conference to the morrow so our revered heroes may rest." Lord Dumbledore steps over the leader of Cal Mira Island to answer the queen's question. In spite of his cordial words and welcoming gesture, Malty narrows her eyes at the lord regent of Faubley. His kind, grandfatherly facade does not hide how he is asserting his dominance among everyone, or the subtle words of snub aimed at Mother once again. The conference is postponed for the heroes' benefit on the grace of the representing leaders on Cal Mira Island, and the high queen of Melromarc has to wait on their collective decisions.
And even that is ignoring the metaphorical gutter beak in the metaphorical room. As a Mjöðvitnir, a mage who has strong affinity to all known elements, Dumbledore would be one of the few mages who is capable of conjuring up that unnatural storm all by himself. Not to mention his legions of former, and current mage students from the Hero Academy of Faubley who are perfectly capable of pulling the feat off without directly incriminating the revered headmaster. He could be the very person that's behind that show of force, in which case bringing the matter up is another pressure tactic on both the queen of Melromarc, and the heroes. And on that thought... he doesn't even have to be the one who is guilty of the act. The fact that he is capable of pulling the feat off in numerous ways that wouldn't have him punished is an incredible burden that now gets dumped on the shoulders of everyone present.
Malty feels the fingers around her palm curl into her hand, and gives her a tight squeeze. She faintly turns her head around to see Naofumi also looking at her. He might lack the knowledge of all the political plays, but he clearly picked up Dumbledore's thinly veiled threat. And the Shield Hero is not cowed by it.
No matter what hardship comes, Malty will face it together with Naofumi. Because as he said to her, they are partners in this together.
End Note:
In case anyone got curious. No, I have no idea who brought the storm on top of the Melromarc fleet, because I don't play pretend with the 'everything is going according to plan' BS like Alenko. Just like I still have no idea who planned Melty's assassination in Ambition (it's currently coming down to either Prince Joseph, or someone from Faubley, either the pig king or Tywin). But like a lot of political machination that I totally didn't work out all the details yet.
I'm sure I'll asign it to someone eventually as more of the plot unravels and I gets to narrow down the culprit... or I'll leave it unanswered and everyone can be free to come up with their own theories and have them all (well...the better ones anyway) be correct. I still think Fromsoft made a narrative mistake (regardless of Nameless King's quality as a gameplay boss) in telling us who the first born was in Dark Souls 3... and he turns out to be a nobody (as in he didn't appear in the original Dark Souls) leeching off Ornstein's popularity.
But the heroes finally make landfall on Cal Mira island, where all the major Players are waiting for them. Well... let the game begin anew!