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.
Lefon was surprised at how easy his trip south to the capital was. Forget about demons serving some world invading army. He didn't even encounter any bandits, or monsters. Finding this supposed new knightly order of the former demi-human battle slaves. That took much more effort. He heard about their formation from the town cryer after Lord Balgruuf took back his fief. But they didn't mention where the knightly order is aside from 'it's near the capital'.
He did think about bringing one of those 'Sons of Biscas' with him as a guide. But there's only a handful that came with the big dragon, and they are needed to protect the heroes. The beautiful, blonde woman with wings told him they are near the village of Lute. His old hometown before he got married and moved to the Town of Trumpet! So he decided to ask for directions after he found the aforementioned village. Thankfully, some of his old friends pointed him in the right direction. They are currently dwelling in the old, abandoned mine before a new, proper monastery can be built near the ironwood forest.
The diminished inn keeper looks at the cave entrance, and the foreman's office outside which has seen some recent repairs done. This brings back memories of when he was a child, following Gaston's lead to explore the mineshaft, pretending to be adventurers. Those were the good, simple days when everything made sense. And they didn't have to worry about being torn apart by Wave-spawn monsters, betrayed and enslaved by the church, or have their souls forever damned by demons.
"Who goes there?! Identify yourself! State your business, or risk being destroyed!" A loud, but smooth voice warns Lefon, nearly making him fall off his filorial steed. He looks forward, and sees a fighter wearing silver colored full plate armor and helmet holding a trident towards his small group. The knight wears a set of tight blue cloth underneath his armor, and the side of his helmet is decorated with fins that look like a fish's gill.
"I am a messenger of the heroes, and Sir Janne D'Arc. The heroes are attacked by a demon lord at the village of Balafon, and Sir Janne is calling for aid from her brothers." Lefon quickly holds the envelope above his head.
The trident holding knight, and his companions' body posture all becomes rigid for a brief second. The knight comes close to Lefon, takes the envelope from his hand before backing his way back to his companions, not taking his eyes away from Lefon's group. After he rejoins the rest of his knight, he finally breaks the seal and begins to read over the letter.
He then turns to a long haired woman standing besides him and passes the letter to her. She has long flowing black hair and piercing magenta eyes, like a certain attendant of the Gremory clan, as she demurely smiles back and complies, before curtly bowing in a pink dress-like tunic that hugged her voluptuous figure.
"Sir Raynare, go get Brother Cain and Brother Raziel."
Chapter 28: Night by the Bonfire
Things become less hectic for Malty and the heroes in the next few days. They help out the villagers in their rebuilding effort, and train their fighting abilities on the day. And talk about the situation they are in at night. There is an almost routine quietness, which was a welcoming contrast after the rebellion caused by the Three Heroes' Church, and everything they experienced throughout their journey to Cal Mira Island to attend the Hero Conference.
Motoyasu walks near their tents, his legendary spear taking the form of a hoe, which he is resting on his right shoulder. If one ignores the armor he is wearing, he doesn't look too different from any other Balafon villagers. And he is only wearing his armor because they are cautious of another attack from Lord Phenex, or any other possible agents from the Burning Legion. Tsukiumi, the golden haired filorial monarch, points her hand at one of the empty cups in their tent, filling it with water. Rishia takes the cup and brings it over to the Spear Hero. He holds his face up, and downs the full cup in one go. "That feels good."
It was a surprise to Malty that out of the four Cardinal Heroes, the Spear Hero is the one that's the most diligent when it comes down to working like a common born peasant. Perhaps she underestimated him when her impression of the guy being a fool who is pampered by Iris and her fellow noble ladies. Or maybe he is doing more than the other heroes because he knows Balafon is the base of Crown Princess Melty. Regardless, she shouldn't underestimate him simply because of his childishness and lack of sophistication.
"Come sit with us together, Motoyasu." Naofumi waves his hand at Motoyasu, beckoning him to sit with him and the rest of the heroes at the bonfire they had in the middle of all their tents. Balafon's rebuilding is on the way, but it still has a long way to go. Not even the newly ascended Gaston, Lord of the village has his long house built yet. So like everyone else, the heroes also take up residence in temporary tents. Not that Malty would complain, like she would before she started traveling with the Shield Hero. He turns to look at Duchess Emily next. "I saw Mr. Corvo come back earlier today. Have you heard anything about this 'Feminus' from your contact yet?"
Right now, Malty, the four Cardinal Heroes, Duchess Emily and the Three Siltvelt princes sit, or stand around their bonfire. Besides them, only Tsukiumi, Rishia, Wyndia and Gaelion stay near them. Tsukiumi is around them because her water magic makes it much easier (and cleaner) to fill everyone's cups. Rishia acts like a servant helping around everyone. Wyndia simply sits around them because she follows Ren everywhere, and because her adopted father is one of the dragon lords who can disintegrate a village in a blink of an eye, so nobody dares to tell her no. Everyone else, be it heroes' companions, or their reinforcements who came with Gaelion are standing around their tents, acting as their guards and sentries. Or are already in their respective tent, taking their turn to rest. They are on the lookout for more agents of the Burning Legion, or agents of other elements who seek to do the heroes harm.
The light from their bonfire reflects on Emily's solemn looking face. She shakes her head before elaborating further with her words. "Corvo didn't hear anything from our contact. Whoever this 'Feminus' is. She … or he is good at covering their own tracks. We can be sure this is a fake identity, but I think cousin Malty was right. For her to know the route Aunt Mirellia takes, not to mention whatever the other hits Dread Pirate Robert has done before now. She must have been a high ranking minister, military, or noble of a nation, and was present at the Hero Conference."
"Perhaps we should gather the pirates and ask them more about what they know about this mysterious contact. She, if she's indeed a woman, is obviously hiding a lot of things from the pirates and is only using them. But when and how did she contact them... we could probably find some clues through them." Malty's suggestion makes both Naofumi and Ren nod their heads. Itsuki simply looks between the three of them, and Motoyasu looks to be drifting off to sleep with his eyes still open. Malty looks around, and lowers her head and begins to speak in an intentionally hushed whisper. "Although... we probably should do it in privacy, not letting the queen know. Maybe not even some of the other emissaries."
"Why are we keeping secrets from your mother? I know she's not exactly a nice person, but she's a queen. She should have way more resources to help us find out who this Feminus is." Naofumi's head instantly looks up at Malty. He might have some basic knowledge of how politics works, but he clearly lacks the finer knowledge on the specific nuance. The Shield Hero turns his head to look at Duchess Emily next. "And why are we hiding it with people from some of the other countries, but not with your cousin? She's from Faubley, isn't she?"
"I can trust Cousin Emily with my life, I can't say the same for the other emissaries." Malty looks at her Faubley cousin. Emily returns her with an appreciative smile. The former princess turns to Naofumi next. "As for my queen mother. You have seen how she acted when she was passing judgment to the Three Heroes' Church, and to you after their failed rebellion. You have seen how she acted during the Hero Conference at Cal Mira island. Do you think she's someone we can trust to do the right thing, and not to use the information to try and cause you trouble?"
"NO! She's NOT!" Ironically, the one who immediately jumped up, and came to the same conclusion as Malty was the Spear Hero. Motoyasu either doesn't realize, or doesn't know that the queen is on his (technically Melty, but he is the protector of Melty) side.
Naofumi's head slowly droops down, he begins to brush his finger over his nose showing that he is seriously considering what she said. After a while, he looks up. "I still say we tell everyone. At least the queen, if not all the people from the other nations involved. I have read plenty of stories, where things become worse because everyone that's 'technically fighting on the same side' keeps secrets from each other. Simply because they have different goals or interests. And it never ends well. Problems that could be solved if one of them did the right thing only got worse. I don't trust those other world leaders to do the right thing. But I trust they are on the side of their greed. You said that if one of the heroes dies, the wave becomes much harder. And right now we are already fighting demi-gods. Surely, they don't want this Feminus to get us killed, and have all of them die in the Wave of Catastrophe as well?"
"They could always resort to sacrificing the lives of the common people to block the wave out with a barrier. It would not work if there's a demonic legion behind it, ready to undermine everything we do. But it's not like they actually believe The Burning Legion to be real. Not to mention we don't know who might be connected to this 'Feminus' from another nation. They could pass the knowledge back to her, or him." Malty lets out a sigh, remembering how dismissive Dumbledore acted when both Naofumi, and that rebel sheep brought otherworld invaders up. What did that idiot think was behind the current Wave of Catastrophe again? Some giant metal cuttlefish who call themselves 'rapers'? Absurd! Simply absurd. "I say we only tell my queen mother for now. She was a victim of Feminus' scheme as well when Jackdaw attacked the fleet we were on, so we know she isn't an accomplice of this Feminus. She'll also be more open to the idea of someone dishing out the wild card in The Game to make everyone lose. Plus, she'll actually care if the Wave of Catastrophe becomes even worse. She'll probably use this opportunity to further snub you, and regain some of the reputation she lost because of the Three Heroes' Church. But she'll at least treat the threat seriously."
Technically, mother being a victim of Feminus' scheme doesn't eliminate her as a possible culprit. Since she could have used the failed hit to make herself look clean. But based on Malty's knowledge of her mother's usual action, that's too advanced a scheme for her mother to pull off.
Naofumi nods his head, seemingly convinced by Malty for now. It's not that she disagrees with his sentiment on principle, but he doesn't know how cutthroat The Game is really played. One wrong secret getting out... it would lead to a bloodbath for everyone and anyone involved. Oh, well. Letting her mother know about Feminus' involvement isn't too bad. There's probably a new shadow assigned to watch Malty over now that her mother most definitely knows about the death of the other one by Towair and his Ravens. So it's not like she can keep any secret away from her mother in the end.
"This Feminus isn't the only one we have to watch out for. You still remember that renegade Unspeakable Zeke, correct?" Malty turns her face to look at Naofumi. The solemn look on the Shield Hero's face didn't change, and he stayed frozen for a few seconds. But in the end, he nods his head. Seemingly content to let Malty explain it to the other heroes and Duchess Emily, so she does. "When we were running away from the Three Heroes' Church near Griffin's Spine mountain range, we met a group of Faubley Unspeakables. They tried to take Naofumi to Faubley for 'protection'. But one of them, a middle aged man named Zeke, tried to murder Naofumi with his subordinates. And when we encountered the griffin King Waerjak, he attacked the griffin king. I think he was trying to provoke Waerjak to get Naofumi killed."
"Yes. Corvo heard about that 'incident' from Tommy. He's our contact in the Unspeakables, by the way." Malty has to pause for a brief second to think about if she knew this 'Tommy' her cousin Emily is speaking about. In the end, she settled for that older agent who acted as a superior to Reiner and Annie. Zeke did call him Thomas during their brief exchange, so 'Tommy' could have easily been a nickname for him. "Tommy was sure that Zeke survived the griffin king's attack. But we know Zeke hasn't returned to the Unspeakables after that incident. At least not the department Tommy is familiar with. There are many smaller departments... cells really, among the Unspeakables not even most of the agents are aware of. It's very concerning that one of the agents was trying to get one of the four Cardinal Heroes killed. And we can't tell if he went rogue himself, compromised by a foreign power, or if he is following someone else's order within Faubley."
"Someone from your country wants Naofumi dead? Why? He hasn't even visited this Faubley place!" Motoyasu immediately jumped on his feet. The Spear Hero blows puffs of air out of both his mouth and nose. After a few moments, he turns to look at Naofumi like an afterthought. "I mean... you haven't been to this Faubley, right?"
"The only place other than Melromarc I have been to is Stormwind, and Cal Mira Island with the three of you. So unless either of these places are part of Faubley, no." Naofumi shrugs his shoulders, looking rather tired at Motoyasu's question. His face scrunches up after. "Do you think the elites from this world need a reason, or at least, a good reason to want us killed? They could have done it just because they don't like us, or think we are trying to steal from them, or something. Not like I care about most of them either."
"Shield Hero isn't revered in Faubley like in Siltvelt, or Shiltfreeden. At least in theory." Emily stares at the three Siltvelt princes in an almost taunting manner. Both Kael'thas, and Cleose returns her with a huff from their noses, while Mohammed remained calm. Malty knows Emily isn't simply being petty. The Siltvelt ravens, and the Raven Lord Towair was the first non-Melromarc element that tried to actively harm Naofumi in some way.
Cousin Emily's words did remind of Malty. Kael'thas told Naofumi that he would report Towair's treachery against the Shield Hero back to Siltvelt so he can be punished. It's a good chance to see if the phoenix prince did fulfill his words... and how the Siltvelt nobility responded to such actions. Now that Duchess Emily is too busy having a staring contest with the two Siltvelt princes, it's a chance for Malty to interject without being too rude. "Duchess Emily did remind me. What came to the Raven Lord Towair after he took Master Naofumi hostage, and harmed him? Did venerated Siltvelt actually punish one of their own for such betrayal against their rightful king, or did they choose to protect one of their own?"
"I did have one of my rangers bring the word back to Siltvelt. But seeing how I didn't return... I'll let one of my fellow Vermili prince answer your question." Kael'thas cast his eyes to his fellow Siltvelt princes. The two of them exchange a brief look at each other. The face of the Bennu Prince looked neutral as before, but Malty could see the slight twitch on the silver haired Prince Cleose. She has a feeling that their answer won't be good. At least it won't be good for Naofumi.
"Jon Arryn, the Raven Lord of Blood openly named Lord Towair a traitor, and wanted to punish him publically for such treachery against our rightful king. But..." Prince Cleose's answer confuses Malty at the start, it sounds like the Siltvelt nobility have acted surprisingly fair and just, much more so than she expected. She almost suspected the white phoenix is somehow an accomplice of Towair the Deceiver. Then again, of course there is a 'but' at the end. "...Lord Arryn and the ravens loyal to him... couldn't find Lord Towair, or any of his subordinates."
"How did that happen? Isn't this guy some kind of noble? Doesn't he have land, and family?" The three Siltvelt Princes' heads dips further and further each time Naofumi asks them a question. The three of them quickly exchange a look between each other... and then both phoenix princes begin to stare at Prince Mohammed.
"Lord Towair does not have an immediate family. His parents both died in The Great War twenty five years ago, and he never married, or had children. That was one reason why he was considered such a good candidate as a Raven Lord." Mohammed Avdol's answer makes Malty think. The Bennu prince didn't further explain if his parents died in Melromarc, or to the Faubley army that joined at the end of the war. But this guy likely has personal grudge against Melromarc, possibly Faubley. It would certainly explain why he built his little undercover operation with the Bitch Lord acting as a front. "While he does have his fief, vassals and slaves under him, he barely spends any time on it. All four Raven Lords act independent of each other even if the Raven Lord of Blood is considered their leader. And Lord Towair's focus had always been on... foreign affairs."
"In other words, we have this guy who holds personal grudge against Melromarc, or Faubley, constantly trying to sabotage, or undermine Siltvelt's foreign enemies. He probably has his real stronghold somewhere outside of Siltvelt. So now he is a known traitor, none of you Siltvelt people know where to find him. What a wonderful display of Siltvelt's authority." Malty's words make the three Siltvelt princes further dip their heads, and Naofumi slaps his own face. "Any more good news for your rightful king, the Shield Hero?"
"Lord Towair most likely has his fair share of accomplices among the great clan leaders. Or else I doubt Lord Arryn is unable to find anything about him. Lord Arryn... isn't popular among certain Siltvelt chieftains, or clan heads. Some believe him a traitor, if not a race traitor for spending more time waging war on corrupt Siltvelt nobles who harm our own people than our foreign enemies. I, and my fellow Vermili princes obviously do not share such sentiment. But among most Malisi it is always considered that humans are worse enemies than our own people, therefore needed to be united against on principle. Especially among the elites." The eyelid of Kael'thas twitches as he carefully glances at Shield Hero. After a few moments of silence, almost like he's trying to gather his determination, he finally continues. "No Malisi dare to say it out loud openly, especially after the sin committed by The Kingtaker against The Great Conqueror himself. But I have heard rumors even before my trip to Melromarc to attend you, my king. There are... certain clan leaders who consider you to be... impure, tainted. Because you were summoned by the Mon-Keighs of Melromarc..."
"Great. Of course there's racism because I'm summoned by humans who are Siltvelt's enemies. Or at least political power play in the guise of racism. Did the previous Shield Heroes summoned by Siltvelt happen to be furries with animal ears?!" Naofumi's rhetorical question immediately makes all three Siltvelt princes fall on their knees. The Shield Hero rolls his eyes at how Kael'thas, Cleose and Mohammed reacted, he waves up at them. "Stand up. I'm not angry at any of you. I'm just sick and tired of how we are fighting against a legion of demons trying to kill everything and turn the world into a wasteland, while all the powerful people in this world are too busy fighting each other for power, or personal grudges."
"Then you won't be happy with the state of Faubley either, Lord Shield Hero." After her brief spat session that led to all of this talk regarding Siltvelt, Emily returns her attention back to the Cardinal Heroes once again. "Almost all the Faubley nobles are alumni of Faubley's Hero Academy. And the whole 'Order Politics' gets extended from their school life all the way to their courtly affair. To make things simpler to understand... There are four different orders in the Hero Academy. Each represents one of you four Cardinal Heroes. The current headmaster of the school, and regent of Faubley, Lord Dumbledore belongs to the Order of the Sword. His grudge against the last Shield Hero Mikage Mikami is well known due to Mikami destroying the last Sword Hero's mind with the Imperius slave seal."
"Hmph. Good old school politics become office politics. Well... The Dumbledore we met does look more like Ian McDiarmid with a long beard than that guy who played Dumbledore in the movies..." The other three heroes all look at Naofumi as he mumbles to himself. Malty wonders if they understand him better than she does. The Shield Hero seems to realize he's drawing others' attention as he jerks back to awareness, and looks at Emily. "So, too many names Dumbledore is the one I'll have to watch out for? That's not too bad. I kind of got the impression with how that joke of a Hero Conference went."
"If it's only that easy. Don't forget, Naofumi. You are the reason that my uncle, King Egbert can't have me. He has reason to want you indisposed of to get to me. Assuming he still wants me as a political trophy and not a personal plaything... And Uncle Egbert is exactly the kind that would risk the well being of his nation, or the world for his own greed." Emily scoffs at Malty's words while nodding her own head. Clearly aiming her contempt at her liege, rather Malty's words being a slander.
"These two aren't even the only ones. There are so many small fries who want harm to come to the Shield Hero like good old James Potter or his little fuckbuddy Sirius Black senior, I won't even bother to list them all here. We'd be here the next morning. But for what's relevant, the largest risk aside from our king and our regent would be coming from Lord Shield Hero's own order." Duchess Emily's face continues to grow more and more grim as she explains the intricacy of Noble Faubley's court. "Lord Charles 'Long Legs' Dance Von Balveproven wouldn't say it out loud. But he would very much like the Shield Hero to not be an issue."
"Did I hear someone speak the name of my ever dour, and fun hating lord father? I think I have a good saying on the matter, wouldn't it? Well... I suppose I should call him my sirer rather than my lord father, seeing how he burned my entry off our family tapestry so I'm technically no longer a Von Balveproven anymore." Malty turned her head over to the direction of the voice. Sure enough, Zylden is walking towards them with his stubby legs shaking from the liquor he keeps putting in his belly.
While the imp is technically not a part of the heroes faction, Naofumi knows him well enough. And he had helped the heroes out on multiple occasions, and he hasn't sold his loyalties to any noble houses, or the church (especially not the Three Heroes' Church during their rebellion, no thanks to that obsessive Chief God). So Naofumi had instructed his impromptu guards to let Zylden through if he decided to join them. From a security perspective, that might not be the best option. Then again, Zylden being an independant and a very accomplished arcane researcher makes him a valuable future ally to win over. So showing him trust would be a good way to gain favor for the half-man who is very used to people looking down on him simply due to his birth deformity.
Zylden crushes his bottom down, more than sitting down on a patch of empty soil around their bonfire. Malty notices a large flower suddenly sprouting out of the ground under him like a chair. Bed-Chan is definitely with the imp. As for Zylden himself, he has his water skin, no doubt filled with watered (or perhaps undiluted) wine in one hand, the other has a platter of dried up dryad fruit. Turns out, there wasn't too much difference between dry preserving this magical fruit from the regular fruit (according to her cousin Emily, it's not like Malty knows how normal fruits are preserved. Although she doesn't wonder why a Faubley Duchess like Emily knows this). The process of cutting, and drying is enough for the mana previously stored inside to escape into the air. He holds the platter in front of Malty and gives it a light shake. "Want a piece, princess?"
"Don't mind if I do, imp." Malty takes a small piece of the dried dryad fruit and puts it into her mouth. She can see why this has become Zylden's favorite snack. The mix of sweetness and sourness helps bring out the food and drink. "Since we are talking about Faubley nobles, and their real opinion on Master Shield Hero. I think you should start now you are here. You probably know Lord Charles better than my cousin, and she can fill in anything you don't know after you leave home."
"Ah, yes. Order politics. Both my favorite topic, and something the nobles are best at in Noble Faubley." The emphasis Zylden put on certain words is a good indication he is putting out his sarcasm at max level now. His eyes slowly move through the faces of the Cardinal Heroes, and the half man takes on a more serious expression. "One thing all of you should know before I say anything else. The so-called unity, or harmony, or whatever nice words they choose among the order does not translate to actual loyalty towards any of you heroes. Nobles in Faubley cares about one thing only: their own greed for power. Probably not all of them, of course. There's always an exception or two when you get a large enough pool. But it's a good general rule of thumb to go by when dealing with them."
"Oh, really? And here I thought the saying is 'Shields Unite Against the World'." Malty remarks with her own sarcasm. She didn't have too much, if any idealistic expectation from Faubley nobility's loyalty to anything but themselves. The reputation of The Game they played proceeded themselves, of course. But it's still a good thing to confirm it from those who had first hand experience living among them. Now the heroes shouldn't have any unrealistic hope for them either. Well... Motoyasu might still do, but he's a lost cause.
"Well, my precious princess. I'm sure the loyalty towards order does mean something when order politics come into play. But when it comes down to power play among the individual nobles for authority, influence, or wealth? None of it means much. So that's something the heroes especially shouldn't count on. Oh, I'm sure you can find a use for the Faubley nobles if you can give them something they want, or drill the idea that they stand to lose things if they don't help you. It's the drilling through their titanite skull that's the hard part, and don't expect them to act any better than a group of children. Sophisticated children, maybe. But they still act as rowdy as they are cruel to each other."
Cousin Emily lets out a very unlady-like snort at Zylden's description. She clearly agrees with his assessment. Then again, Malty probably should put Emily into the 'exception' category, at least when it comes to herself... and maybe the heroes. She's sure Emily has her share of enemies in Faubley and she acts exactly like Zylden described the rest of the Faubley nobles.
"As for my ever dignified lord father... Well, to understand why he has something against the shield boy when he is a member of the Shield Order, you need to first understand the history behind Faubley nobility. Not all of them are cut from the same cloth. There are two types of noble families with different origins. Those who are descended from the big mage families from Germania and Tristan, and those who were Germanian warlords. My own family can trace our origin from lords who escaped from Albion to Germania after it fell to the beastman, oh, I'm sorry. 'Siltvelt' invaders." Zylden cast his eyes over to look at the three Siltvelt princes. Once again, both the red and white phoenix narrow their eyes at Zylden, while the dark skinned Bennu remains stoic. "Some of them can do basic magic, yes. But they were still considered by the mage lord families to be unsophisticated and barbaric Germanian warlords."
"Ah, yes. Of course. Because prejudice does not only happen between different races... or species." Naofumi's eyes slowly move from the Siltvelt princess over to Zylden. "Class, and occupation is also an easy way to separate 'us' and 'the others'."
"You got it." Zylden shrugs his shoulders as he continues. "The nobles from the Order of Shield act cordial enough when they are being pushed around by the other orders. But the two major factions are rivals with each other instead of friends. And it just so happens after Voldemort, the mage families lack a leader who can unify them together. On the other hand, my ever solemn and ever boring former lord father Charles had unified the descendents of the warlords under his banners... do you think he wants the Shield Hero to come to Faubley, and give the mage lord families someone they can rally around?"
Naofumi didn't immediately answer Zylden's question. He squints his eyes, and bobs his head up and down as he rubs his finger around his chin. After a while, he finally opens his mouth again. "Could this be why Lucius Malfoy didn't insist that I come to Faubley with him? That he knows I could be in as much danger in Faubley as I stayed in Melromarc?"
"You could ask his valet Hayato if you want to. Not sure he would tell you the truth, or use this opportunity to put in some good words for his lord. But he's still in the capital even after all the riots and fights." Ren shrugs his shoulders. Malty looks at the face of the Sword Hero closer. But as always, it's hard to tell anything from observing Ren. His slightly cold, and nonchalant expression is a very good way to mask what he truly feels underneath.
"Hayato and his friends helped us save Melty, and Mutsu from those bad Three Heroes' Church guys. I think we should trust him more." By contrast, Motoyasu's face is always full of expression. In the short time he's speaking, his face has changed from happy gratefulness when speaking of Hayato, to furious resentment when talking about the church. Then again, the Spear Hero's sincerity in committing to everything he does on his face coupled with his impulsiveness without thinking about consequences makes him a hard to control element for anyone not in his grace. He might not go far in The Game, but he certainly will make a lot of other Players come up short.
"What do you think, Naofumi? Do you want to get into contact with Hayato? You already have emissaries from the other nations following you... well, us around. So it won't look too strange if you contact someone serving the noble from another country. Probably..." The Bow Hero on the other hand, seems to be somewhere between the Sword and the Spear Hero. He obviously wants to be more intellectual, or at least analytical like Ren, but Itsuki's actual intelligence is more on the level of Motoyasu. In a way, that makes him even more vulnerable than Motoyasu in The Game since he would be too hesitant to make any decisions, and lacks enough mind to think things properly through. And unlike Motoyasu, he does not have an experienced noble like Iris guiding him. Now that the four heroes are allied with each other, he definitely needs the most care to ensure he doesn't become the weak link for their enemies to break through. While Malty is thinking over the heroes, Itsuki looks at Zylden and Emily. "Actually, why don't we ask our Faubley friends for their opinions. You two know the Malfoy family better, right?"
"I've been giving my tongue a good workout. I think I'll pass this question over to the Duchess of Dunwall." Zylden pops his waterskin open, and takes a sip of his watered wine. "Not that I often see eye to eye with Lord Charles, but I did grow up in his household. My opinion on the Malfoys... or any mage lord families probably aren't too positive. Not that I think they deserve it, with their constant infighting and inbreeding. I swear those over-thinking fools can't make up their mind if they want to stab each other's throat, or stab each other's womb."
"Pfft. While our short friend could be less crude with his words, I happen to have the same opinion on the Faubley families of mage descent. They really can't make up their mind if they love, or hate each other with them thinking their bloodlines are above the rest." Emily didn't bother to hide her snort. That's not the only unlady-like behavior, as she leans back and opens up her legs around the bonfire to make herself more comfortable. She must enjoy spending time with the Cardinal Heroes and their companions more than spending time at the court. Sir Corvo doesn't seem eager to correct the behavior of his charge. "The nobles descended from the ancient mage lords have been secretly killing each other not too long since the last Wave from sixty years ago. Because of that supposed powerful dark lord Subal Mudbelrode. Although there's this supposed Lord Voldemort taking over for him after he was defeated by Dumbledore."
"What I heard from my family too. That's probably the reason why Lord Charles got the chance to gather all the nobles from warlord descent under his own banner. The mage families are too busy fighting and bitching at each other to stop Lord Charles till it was too late. So now in addition to each other, they have this 'upstart warlord' to content themselves with." Zylden shrugs his shoulders once again as he takes another sip. "I'm not complaining. I got to enjoy a few dozen years of my life using Lord Charles' coffer. But honestly, I'm glad he burnt me off the family chart under the pressure of me being a malborn. I don't want to be a deadman in addition to being the halfman."
"As what Mr. Zylden said. The Game in Faubley can be brutal. All the nobles dress in their best suits or dresses when attending balls and gatherings. But assassinations, and underground duel to the death is the expectation, not exception when it comes down to grudges. Personal, family, or good old order politics. There's never enough reason for the Faubley nobles to spill each other's blood even as they marry each other's how many times removed cousins." Emily slowly pulls her sight back from Zylden as she looks at the four heroes. "As for the Malfoy family. They are one of the most powerful, and influential noble families in Faubley. Supposedly descended from the First Shield Hero and the Tristan princess he left behind when he joined the beastmen. While De La Valliere are the official Shepherd of Tristan, they are the real backbone of the province with how many businesses they control."
"Shepherd is the title for the noble family in charge of a province. Similar to Lord Paramount used in Melromarc, and the National Pillar from Siltvelt." Seeing the unfazed look on the four heroes, Malty quickly interjects to explain Faubley's power structure. It obviously didn't occur to Duchess Emily that she needs to inform the heroes of her nation's power structure since it's second nature for her to understand it.
"As the self-proclaimed descendent of First Shield Hero, the Malfoys have always been ambitious, thinking they have the right to lead the shield aligned mage lord great houses. Not surprisingly, there are rumors of House Malfoy being a major follower, oh, I'm sorry. 'Ally' to both dark lords. They have been weakened a lot because of it, to the point they are now simply one of the more powerful factions within the shield aligned families. Certainly not as powerful, or influential as Lord Charles among the warlords." This time, it's Zylden's term to snort at Emily.
"If they are suspected to be terrorists, why wasn't anything done to them? Doesn't make much sense to me that they are allowed to run free and do whatever they want. What if they do something bad later?" Naofumi's face looks thoughtful, he interrupts Emily's explanation as she takes a deeper breath. Malty wonders if he's intentionally playing ignorant, or if he simply forgot the conversation they had with the Le Stranges when they were running away from Three Heroes' Church. The second case is less likely, but they did go through a lot of unpleasantness after their escapade. So it's better not to assume anything.
"Oh, the Malfoy family would have been gutted like the Le Strange family if lord regent Dumbledore had his way. But our king finally stepped in and stopped him." Duchess Emily rolls her eyes as she shifts her body around the fire, putting her left leg up while letting her right leg rest on the ground. "I better go from the very start so poor cousin Mal doesn't have to fill anything in for me. What do you heroes know about the Plague of Wailing Death?"
"That's the magical plague that happened something like... ten years ago? Katarina's grandfather died from it. Bertia's mother almost got taken too. Both of them still remember." Motoyasu jumped in before Naofumi had a chance to. This time, he didn't ramble inconsistent nonsense in his usual high-energy manner, and he almost sounds solemn for once.
Malty was lucky that she didn't personally get a taste of the plague. Behind the enchanted stone walls of her palace home, the plague feels as distant to her as the fabled holy land Flangey. So all the personal memories she had about the event that devastated so many Melromarc families, both of humble and noble birth, was how bored she was when the plague was running wild... and how she got her friend Mein killed near the end because she snuck out of the palace. Of course, now the plague became much more personal to her. Because she learnt that the plague was what made her father make his impulsive decision to use Melromarc's royal air cavalry to transport the cure from Faubley. And this was how her uncle forced her mother to sign the secret betrothal.
"There's still not enough evidence to prove where the magical plague came from. Only that it was a man-made, artificial disease. Some believe it's divine punishment because not even the Chief God's healing miracles are able to cure it. Others think it's foul sorcery. Obviously, the most believed explanation here in Melromarc is some evil, Siltvelt sorcerer made it as revenge for their defeat in The Great War." Malty does her best to keep her voice neutral. But she steals a glance over at the three Siltvelt princes. Obviously, the two phoenixes both cast dirty looks at her. Even the Bennu prince is looking at her from the corner of his eyes. "I'm sure Siltvelt has a different mind. Same as Shiltfreeden, and Faubley."
"Correct. Dumbledore claimed that the Le Strange family was responsible for the act. That's why Lord Rabastan was incarcerated and imprisoned afterwards. Although the evidence was flimsy at best." Duchess Emily continues after Malty's pause without missing a beat. "The Aurors, that's the peace keeping force of the mages, had conducted a raid on Lord Rabastan's home, and caught him finishing a long distance communication ritual with someone. He stopped the ritual right before the Aurors kicked down the door to his secret room, so they couldn't get any evidence of his supposed 'conspiracy'. It was both a huge scandal, and a huge farce. Lord James Potter and Sirius Black Senior wanted to use this as an excuse to 'clean house' on any lord associated with the Order of Shield. But most likely, Dumbledore was behind those two loin brained idiots. Needless to say, the Order of the Shield banded together to push back against their effort. Even King Egbert had to step in at the end to stop it from devolving into a full civil war between all the noble houses."
Malty feels someone staring at her. She looks to the side, and sees Naofumi winking at her. So she was correct, Naofumi does still remember the two members of the Le Strange family who helped them on their journey to escape the Three Heroes' Church. She raises her index finger, and drums on Naofumi's hand to reassure him that she gets his message. The two of them will talk about this in private before bringing it to anyone else, especially people from outside Melromarc. Bellatrix did say that Lord Voldemort helped some of the Faubley noble families fake their deaths and escaped Faubley's death trap of The Game. The two LeStranges probably won't appreciate their carefree lives getting interrupted by the two of them if their secret becomes public. They should still ask them about the event Emily brought up, but probably without anyone else, Naofumi's own retinue included.
"For all the perks I lost as a member of the Belproven family, I really should thank his uptightness Lord Charles for disowning me. Honestly, it's quite the sordid life to live as a Faubley noble. Don't know why my sister loves it. Last I heard, she and Potter senior are still at each other's throats. My poor nephews and niece!" Zylden takes a large mouthful of watered wine. There is no mirth in either his voice or his eyes. The imp might pretend he doesn't care about his past, or his birth family who rejected him. But there is clearly still sadness hidden underneath his usual comical and aloof mask.
Malty could understand why he acted this way. As much as she is annoyed at her father's sentimental foolishness, her little sister's annoying overenthusiasm, or her mother's paranoia induced cruelty, she can't truly wish harm on them. Maybe if she hadn't become the companion of Naofumi, and met other people like Raphtalia and got used to their uncompromising kindness, she could lie to herself about how she doesn't care for her family, and she would one day believe in her own lies. But not anymore. She's often upset about her family, but she doesn't want bad things to happen to them. "You are helping the Shield Hero, Zylden. I'm sure your family would eventually want you back, or at least feel shame for casting you out once your achievements become more well known."
Zylden looks at Malty from the corner of his eyes. Not exactly the most polite thing to do, then again... perhaps it fit the both of them. The exiled son of a Faubley highlord, and the disgraced daughter of Melromarc royal family. It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. At least the imp isn't sulking anymore. "Well. That would be the day. Lord Charles and Lenna, both forced to eat their own words. I doubt it'll ever happen. But thanks for putting that mental image in my head."
"We still don't know who has it out for the four of us. Other than: everyone, possibly. I don't know what I expected." Naofumi shakes his head in clear distaste. After looking down at the fire in front of him, he looks up once again. "I should still contact that guy from the Malfoy family. Even if they also want to use me, they'll fight against those who want me dead. And they'd be fighting each other even if I do nothing. If it's all the same... I might as well see if I can also use them."
"Enemy of my enemy is my ally for the short term. I can't find any fault in that logic. At least we know not to easily trust any of these so-called 'nobles'. Even when they are on our side at a surface level. I think we should conclude here, get some rest for tomorrow." Ren points his finger at Motoyasu. "His girlfriend... and the queen will probably arrive the next day. We need all our strength to prepare for all the tomfoolery that'll happen."
"Right! Even I can tell the queen doesn't like Naofumi." The Spear Hero furiously nods his head. Clearly unable to recognize that the Sword Hero was implying most of the tomfoolery would come from himself, not the queen.
"You do realize Ren was mainly worried about you when it comes to 'tomfoolery'?" Itsuki stares at Motoyasu the whole time, and in the end, he finally opens his mouth and explains Ren's sarcastic quip to the Spear Hero. Motoyasu's eyes stay unfocused for a brief moment before he turns to glare at Ren with a loud 'Hey'!
"Let's stop right here like Master Ren said. We learned all we needed to know from the Siltvelt princes, and Duchess Emily. Any more talk would be a waste of time and effort." Seeing the discussion is slowly moving towards pointless bickering, Malty stands up and walks between the heroes. "We should rest for tomorrow when Her Majesty Queen Mirellia and Princess Melty arrive at Balafon. We'll have to subjugate the group of bandits in southern Whiterun County."
Gaston's friend still hasn't brought back the reinforcement from the late Pope Balmus' 'children' yet. As expected, since he needs to ride to the capital first, and then ride back with a fairly sized host. They need extra time to prepare for steeds, and supplies for both the riders and their steed for their journey. On the other hand, House Amelia has already prepared everything for the queen and Melty's journey back south when they ported away from Stormwind. If Naofumi waits for the demi-human knights' host, there's a good chance that Malty's mother would have killed the bandits he wants to recruit with her own host as she journeys back to the capital. With how much prestige she lost since the start of the wave, she would be looking at any opportunity to gain them back. Even something as normally unremarkable as destroying a small bandit group.
"Naofumi... if we are going to wait till Melty and Katarina get here... do you mind if I take a break from going with you?" Motoyasu's eyes wander away as he shakes his head. "She's going to see her family... What if she gets attacked by those bad guys from the Burning Legion? I want to go with her, I can at least teleport her away if something goes wrong."
"That's actually a good point. Plus we can keep in touch with each other through our 'smartphone' weapon forms. Yeah. Do that, Motoyasu." Naofumi turns his head to look at Ren. "Ren. You stay here at Balafon, coordinate with us. Send a message to both our groups every hour in case something happens to us, or Balafon village. I'll take Itsuki with me. Between the two of us, and our full retinue we don't need all four heroes to subjugate Porter's group. Especially since I have the order to pardon them from the queen. Balafon is one of our first bases, and we have both the dryad orchard and Bed-chan here. We can't rule out the possibility that the Burning Legion would try to sack one of our more important bases here to cause chaos, hurt our credibility, and destroy our power base."
Naofumi most definitely has grown from his post 3rd wave ordeal. He is starting to act more and more as both a Player in The Game, and a war time leader. The Sword Hero nods his head, clearly agreeing with Naofumi's plan. Without anything else to talk about, the four cardinal heroes part their ways and begin to move towards their own tent. Before Malty moves to join Naofumi, she feels someone grabbing her from the back. She turns her head around, and sees Emily giving her a conspiratory look as her cousin puts something into her hand. Even through the monster leather glove, she can guess it's some bottle. Emily gives her a wink. "Something to help you along with the Shield Hero. Don't worry, I know how awkward you are when it comes to boys you actually like."
Malty has a feeling she doesn't want to know (much less let Naofumi find out) what her cousin Emily shoved into her hand. That feeling becomes especially true when she sees Corvo looking ready to palm his own face through his clockwork mask. As Emily spins on her heel and moves away, she looks down at her hand. It's a malachite bottle... shaped into the form of a heart, with some ominous looking glowing pink liquid inside. Now she understood why Sir Corvo looked the way he was. She considers immediately throwing the offending bottle away... but maybe it'll come in handy for some other occasions. Slipping it carefully into one of her pockets while wishing the inventory space of the star wand wasn't broken, she joins Naofumi in his tent.
"I think we should ask the Lestranges while we are at Porter's camp. Rudolphus and Bellatrix. See what they say about that plague. I'm not sure we can trust them, since Rudolphus' brother was involved in the whole conspiracy. But maybe they can tell us something different your cousin doesn't know of. Not while my mother is with us, of course. Chief God knows what she'd do if she learns known Faubley fugitives are living within her border. She might sell them out to her precious 'Cousin Bert' for some political favors." In the monster leather tent, Naofumi is in the process of spreading their sleeping bags on the ground. Even with a full retinue, the Shield Hero clearly isn't someone who is used to having servants, subordinates, or slaves (like she is now) tend to him.
"True. The nobles from old mage families often know much more secrets than those who descend from warlords. They are the ones who seek knowledge more than treasures." Malty sits down on her sleeping bag, which Naofumi had already set for her. She wonders how many heroes' companions throughout the ages, a slave especially, had the honor to be attended by one of the Cardinal Heroes. Thankfully, Naofumi had never let his status, both his current one and his future rank among nobility get into his head. Unlike a certain former noble who was forced to change his name. Speaking of Fuckboy... She hasn't seen him around since he was enslaved, and given to House Arc for his punishment. With luck, he'll act like an insane, arrogant fool so much, he'll get executed by his new master.
"Right. Let's better turn in early. We'll need it when we meet our mother tomorrow. Not to mention we'll have to get in touch with Prince Joseph's emissaries on our trip. So we can talk about his proper compensation." Naofumi rolls his eyes, clearly not looking forward to the eventual confrontation, no, negotiation with the mad prince of Gallia. But it's better if they have a proper term to follow, rather than having Joseph constantly hold it over their heads. With that thought, she exchanged a few pleasant things with Naofumi, before tucking herself into her sleeping bag and falling into unconsciousness. While she's busy dodging both fireballs and ice spikes in her dream, she suddenly hears a scream from outside the tent.
"COME OUT AND DIE, SHIELD DEMON!"
End Note:
On record, I would say the biggest failure of the [Harry Potter] films was not getting Ian McDiarmid to play Dumbledore. The guy they did get was okay, but he's nothing compared to how Ian McDiarmid would have played this character. And yes, I believe EVIL!Dumbledore (doesn't require GOOD!Voldemort trope) is the best kind of Dumbledore.
JK Trolling doesn't seem to understand the difference between a character who makes mistakes out of good intentions because they honestly don't know better, and a guy whose action is literally directly, or indirectly linked to, if not caused every single tragedy in a story. And Dumbo is so far into the second camp, he is just a delusional, iredeemable evil and incompetent piece of shit who mindfucked himself into believing he is still a good guy. Making him intentionally evil rather than delusionally evil from the start doesn't make him more evil than his canon self, it just makes him less incompetent, and more likeable because he would be more in control of his own emotions and goals.
On this chapter, the heroes continue to discover more and more hurdles they need to overcome in a real world that doesn't have easy deus ex machina plot devices to Thanos snap all the political conflicts away for them. At least they are slowly building their own base of power, and getting more allies.