Chapter 51

"Seize him!" Like any coward who didn't like getting their hands dirty, Jiralis left it to someone else to try and stop me.

But with the thick black smoke all around us, and almost no wind on the nice balcony we were on, the dozen guards who'd followed/led me here started to flail in my last known direction. So instead of standing there like an idiot and waiting, I pulled my Mask out of the Shield's inventory, took two steps to the right, and put it on.

Just in time too! These guards weren't as incompetent as I thought, and my advantage of being able to see in the black smoke was mostly overcome by them actually using their other senses. But knowing where I was, and being able to do something about it while still being unable to see were two vastly different things.

The first one to swing his halberd at me found the point of his weapon pushed along to clang off the stone floor, then the rest of him flipped over my knee onto his back. The next one tried for a stab in my direction, and almost caught me too, but I slipped aside, stepped towards his chest and used the ridge of his thigh armour to pull his leg out from under him.

Then someone started casting.

Between my third opponent (actually using the shield to stop a swing) and forth (ducking between the larger man's legs then standing up as fast as I could to slam his head into the nice marble of the balcony's low domed ceiling), I put on one of my spell gloves simply by passing my hand exactly three CM above the gem of the Shield, and pulling it out of the inventory.

It had taken a few dozen tries to get this trick down, using the 'always appears exactly three CM from the gem' and 'moving an object in the way'. But with a weird little 'fuzz' of static over the skin of my hand, I turned, ducked under another almost accurate swing, pointed my hand towards the one casting and probably did his job for him.

Most of the smoke, and three of the guards, vanished over the side of the balcony as one of the gems went dark and let out Usa's defensive 'wind wall' spell.

I stumbled forward a half step, catching the shaft of a halberd in the back, then a step to the side as someone tried to tackle me. The push from the pole arm actually saved me from getting buried under a bear in plate armour, and as I twisted around, another gem on my glove went dim and the two of them were locked in Melty's 'ice prison' spell.

Jiralis stood with three other guards next to him, and started getting frantic, "What are you waiting for!"

"Last chance." I said, waving my hand at the entrance, another gem going dark, and filling the portal with magical stone. "If I have to throw them off the side to get to you, I will. There are only two ways you live through this."

"You'll make an enemy of all of Siltvelt!" He roared, the last three guards starting to look very nervous.

"You've got it backwards. But it's too late, since involving children in your plan to try and force me to your side, has made you my enemy." I took a step forward and let out an electrocuting blast of energy from my gauntlet. While Jiralis was only forced to drop his sword, the last three guards and all their nice metal armour had it much worse. They'd be fine, so long as they didn't have a heart condition, but for the moment they were rendered into twitching heaps on the stone.

"The others were in on it too!" He backed up, but not before picking up his sword again.

"Oh, they tried to win me over. But you were the one who crossed the line." I took a step forward, a wire-frame image of the Shield Prison forming in my field of view around him as I mentally 'aimed' its area of effect. "It boggles my mind. I'm summoned from another world. I'm given this legendary scrap of metal. I have a task to save your world from destruction. But almost every time I meet someone with authority, they try and force me to do something for them!"

"That's right!" Even if his tail was curled around his leg again, he latched on to my angry speech like a life preserver and talked back, "It's your sacred duty to save and serve the world! Yet here you are, fighting against a country whose old name was 'Shieldweld! Everything you could ever want would be yours! All you needed to do was serve!"

He couldn't see me close my eyes behind my mask as I let out a deep sigh, "The only duty I have, is that of a prisoner! To escape!" I growled, "Were you not listening? I have a wife, family, friends, a Goddess! The only reason your world means anything to me, is that if I let it get destroyed, I can't go home!"

He laughed, actually laughed, "All you'd have to do is serve me, and you would have all the power you needed to save the world. It works out well too! Since you care so little about it, all the time and investment we would gladly put behind you would be returned!"

"Only two people can tell me what to do. Only two people will ever be able to hold power over me without question."

I held out my hand again, not because I needed to, but because I wanted, needed to see the look of terror on his face as he realized I was about to do something. With a clank of chains, rattle of steel, and groaning of metal, he was captured by the Shield Prison.

"And someone who tries to use children as hostages, or break apart a family, will never even get consideration let alone power over me." I growled, "Change Shield!"

"What?! NO! What are you doing! Let me out!" Jiralis yelled, the prison of shields quivering slightly as he punched and kicked at the uncaring metal. Then he shrieked as the shields changed to the Acid Worm shield, dozens of them all facing inwards. "You can't do this!"

"A-"

"Boss. The situation has been handled." Said Frost's voice from my pocket.

I stopped my mental 'finger' from pressing the 'acid spray' button, and reached into my pouch. "Explain."

"Holy... That's a scary face."

"Ahem."

"Right... Well your giant bee handled it about thirty seconds before the order to leave us alone got here." A pause, "Yes, you are a good bee." His shoulder moved, his arm 'out of frame', but I could hear a pleased buzz of wings.

"Fine. I will be there soon." I put the Occulus back in its pouch, then looked towards the Shield Prison and dispelled it. "I'm guessing one of the other three just refuted your order. The next time you do something like this to me, I will simply show up from a shadow, and kill you."

I hardly looked at the nervous wreck I'd made of the Hakuko representative, as I waved a hand at the mess of magic stone to make it vanish into sparkles, and left.

I walked out of the castle like I owned it, the guards, the servants, the occasional dancer, all moving out of the way as strode down the halls, descended the stairs, and left as I had arrived, through the front gate with everyone present looking at me.

Just outside the gate, (which was closed with great haste), I found Clive and Usa. As usual, Usa was getting a comforting pat on the shoulder to calm down, while Clive provided them like a good brother. I noticed, that Usa had his whip, Clive his bow, and Raphtalia's sword was on the lizard man's hip.

They spotted me, both waving, but I wouldn't let that be all, and I wedged myself between them and hugged them both just like I would my Familia at home, "Good job. Clive? Usa? The others?"

"Raphtalia ran past a moment ago and told me to stay here. Tetsu and the elderly half dragon walked by a moment or two after that, and Clive arrived a minute or so before you with all our equipment." Usa explained, leaving his good arm around my back and falling into step beside me.

I looked to Clive, and he started to sign some simple words. Sneak, lock, gather, sneak, wall, blind.

"You got out of your room, picked the lock to to get our weapons back, tiptoed out, climbed the wall and no one saw you?"

He nodded.

"Excellent work. If we aren't chased out of town before we leave, we can see if any of the local spices are for sale. I'll be sure to grind it up better than they did for sure."

We arrived at the wagon just in time to catch the last of Frost's retelling of Kunshu's arrival. We also arrived in time to see some of the castle guards (though they were wearing red or green sashes, not white over their breastplates) gathering up broken bits of equipment into a cart.

"I tell ya! It was like hearing hail on a metal roof! All these little black streaks just ripped down from the air, and suddenly, everyone in that silly armour of theirs was on the ground full of holes!" He was telling the Aotatsu Elder, who was giving Kunshu an experimental pat. This was making Tetsu sad, so Raphtalia was giving HER a pat.

At least until she saw the three of us finishing our approach. "Kodori!"

"Aw..." Tetsu pouted as Raphtalia made her way over to us. "Oh! Boss!"

A short reunion later, followed by a weapon recovery and many 'well done' compliments (that left Frost looking amused, and the Elder looking thoughtful), someone (the Shusaku Representative who was mingling with the guards, fallen over or not) asked the big question.

"And the fate of Jiralis?" He asked, his hands a little bloody as he adjusted what looked like a doctor's bag slung over his shoulder.

"Tell him he owes Frost's Ragers for their professional and prompt reporting. And tell me if he tries to endanger children again for political clout." I said coldly, "Fohl!"

Their was a noise from inside the wagon, and Fohl's head poked out, looked left and right for danger, then he himself jumped out. He was ready for combat, but like a good brother would have been the last person between his sister and danger. "S...sir?" He had to think of what title to give me it seemed.

"You're not actually a criminal here, are you?" I asked, holding a finger to stall comment for a moment while I added, "Not that I still wouldn't get between you and someone who would abuse children for gain. But I would like to know."

He thought for a moment, "N..." The slave crest started to glow and he paused with a wince of pain, "Tax evasion?"

I looked to the Shusaku Representative. "Tax evasion?"

"From what little I know, I can only guess. Likely not paying their last season of taxes before abandoning their property and running away." He shrugged then looked to the Elderly half-dragon, "I vote we pardon this young man and his sister from tax evasion."

"In favour."

"I doubt we'll have trouble getting a third vote. You are free and clear to visit without consequence in the future for any doings in the past. Fohl and Atla Fayon." He said with a nod to the boy. If you ever own property again, be sure to... blah blah blah." He waved a hand to clear the topic, the stuffy tone making people chuckle. "What? It's hardly after breakfast, and I am already done with the day."

The Elder and I shared a knowing eyebrow waggle, two people seeing a third understand the stupidity of politics.

"I can't think of anything else then." Fohl said, the slave crest unresponsive.

"Good. Speaking of. It is after breakfast. Forgive me, but I don't want to be in your town anymore for the moment. So, we're going to do some shopping, then leave."

The two politicians looked at each other, then me, and shrugged, "We are sorry you had to suffer through such a... farce of a power struggle." He said with a sniff, "While we are disappointed that Melromarc has summoned the four heroes, yourself included, we understand now that the Shield Hero does not work for them, but for everyone."

I wanted to say thank you, or at the least nod and smile, but I just had to correct him. "No. I work for myself. My goal will always be to get home. But that won't stop me from doing good while I make my way back. I don't need this," I tapped the Shield, "To direct my morals."

"Then we are lucky you are such an upstanding young man." The Elder said. "Now if you'll forgive me, I had a pilgrimage to prepare for."

"Bye bye Mr. Dragon!" Tetsu waved, "If we meet again I'll put my saddle on for you!"

I tried to get everyone to stop staring at the young girl dragon-newt for her awkward comment, by saying, "Speaking of Melromarc... Where are Melty and Lady Mirellia?"

"Ah, they are procuring a second wagon, and outfitting it to their needs for travel." The remaining politician said, "Under escort, to ensure nothing else happens while they are here." He added to assure us, "While I would like you to understand you are free to come and go as you please, until Jiralis calms down, you won't be entirely safe in Siltvelt."

"I've got one thing to do before I leave, then we'll eat, resupply, and be out of here before noon." I said, "Frost? Any problems with that?"

"All good. Want me to help with shopping?"

"I'm sure you know where all the best beer is sold."

"That too, but we do stop by here occasionally. We know some places." He tried very hard to mimic the Aotatsu's 'noble sniff', but it just sounded like he had a runny nose.

"Where are you going?" Raphtalia asked, giving Clive a thankful pat on the shoulder in exchange for her sword.

Location Registered

"It's so weird..." Raphtalia said, "It's... exactly the same."

I was wondering about that myself. Melromarc, Zeltobe and now Siltvelt had a dragon hourglass. And they were, so far as I could tell, plus or minus a few fingerprints or a bit of dust, exactly the same. Even the stone platforms they were on were the same.

To be fair, even on Earth, towns would spring up around a landmark of some kind. But also on Earth, that landmark didn't have to be natural. It could have been a tavern, a gas station, or in this case, a weird magical hourglass.

"Wonder if I could build one." I mumbled, "Funny enough... I'd bet you could have gotten a class up here."

"But only now, after all that happened." Raphtalia sighed, "Are you okay?"

Not expecting the question, I was a little defensive with my reply, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No no... It's... Jiralis. He is a demi-human, but acted a lot like Idol..."

We turned away from the Hourglass, and I put a silver coin in the 'donate so we can pay people to clean the hourglass' box. "We'll see if leaving him alive was a mistake or not." I said, "But I doubt we'll see him again unless we come back this way."

As predicted, we left Siltvelt before lunch.

For the most part, our party went back to exactly how it had been before we arrived, though now Melty was sitting next to her mother on their own wagon (drawn by two filolials, one of them being the one Melty had been riding around since we met), (oh, and the other had not come to an understanding with Tetsu, and had tried to peck her when she went to say hello).

Frost, on his impressive (but not nearly as personable) Knight Dragon came up beside me as I sat in the driver seat of our own wagon.

"Y'know." He started, "Your party needs a break."

I raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't deny it. "I know. And provided we can put the Queen back in place, we'll have a bit of time to actually rest before the next wave." I sighed, "Of all the things that are similar from back home, having a timer on the next catastrophe is not one of them."

"Oh, I get that." He nodded, "Not as serious or nothing, since the worst deadline I've ever had to face is say... payday for my company during a dry spell of work. But if you don't relax just a little, you're gonna snap."

I was getting the feeling that he was talking about me, not to me. And I thought about it for nearly a full minute before speaking again. "You're right." I nodded.

So, I looked back into the wagon, caught Usa's eye while he and Clive played cards with Fohl. "Sir?"

"I'm going to nap until dinner. Take the front seat. Clive, when you're done beating poor Fohl at cards, go work with Raphtalia to hunt dinner. Fohl, get an idea of what people want for dinner, and I'll cook it."

And with that, I hopped back into the wagon, let my body 'relax' out of its 'male' disguise, and flopped onto one of the narrow cots bolted into the wagon wall.

A good sleep, and being domestic. It wasn't what I really craved, but it was the best I was likely to get in this world when it came to my 'relaxing hobbies'. While I slept, our caravan moved along the roads. No one got hurt. No one got in trouble. The world didn't end. My party did all the usual things I'd taught them to do when they were idle...

I blamed the stupid clock in the corner of my vision. With it ticking away, I couldn't help but think I could be doing more to improve, while being less idle.

And it dawned on me, exactly what it felt like. It was like playing a video game, where you were too invested to quit, but you'd stopped having fun. That 'wall' where you had to grind more levels, more money, more skill, just to survive the next big boss. Where the giant, immersive world you were playing in, became so immersive it felt like work.

"Sir?"

As usual, Usa broke me out of my thoughts as I sighed all the giggles out of my body. "Sorry. Did you want more?"

"A little more please." He nodded, moving his bowl towards me so I could ladle more stew into it.

Day two on our way back to Melromarc was pretty dull. But after my little revelation at dinner time last night, I had a slightly different mindset. I was falling into an 'overtime' mentality, and now that I'd realized it, I was going to force myself into a better 'work/life' balance.

So like I had done back in Orario, I was going to take my hands off a couple of projects, and let others deal with it until they asked for help. One of those was training things only I could really do. That hint from Tetsu's mental roommate had let me readjust my senjitsu abilities a little, so they didn't feel like I was throwing with my off hand. So I practised that.

During breaks, I took out the Book Shield and went about gathering spells from Frost's crew. Almost all of his crew knew a little magic, most of it already in the Book, but there were a few that weren't covered in the 'magic for the barely capable' book we'd been given from the nice Witch in Melromarc. Dutifully, when I found one that wasn't in the simple book, I sent the appropriate party member to them to learn it as well.

I got in a little more sparring time. Most of that was because of the aforementioned spell casters saying they would only teach me if they could go a round with me. Stress relief and a new spell? Almost felt like home.

I started teaching people to cook. Poor Frost... He and his company were professionals! But not when it came to cooking.

I also did some 'gardening' on the all purpose vine snaked around the wagon. Kunshu was now the proud new caretaker of that nice red flower (I had to buy a fresh one before we left Siltvelt).

Day three, and Melromarc's northern boarder with within sight. If nothing went wrong, we'd be there by morning. Of course, now that I thought about it, something did go wrong. What exactly, well...

"Kodori." Mirellia called for me just after she emerged from her wagon for breakfast. "We have a problem."

I swished at Usa with my tail so he would take over watching the frying pan, stood, and walked over to her. By the time I'd taken the ten or so steps over, Melty emerged from the wagon as well, giving her leather armour one last wiggle and tug to settle it properly. My redeveloping sense of senjitsu also felt a third person near, or in, their wagon, but I wasn't able to pin the location down exactly.

"Your shadows are hard at work." I said, glancing towards the wagon, "What's the problem?"

"The other three heroes are missing, and Lord Van's territory will be under siege very soon." She said flatly, "The Sword and Bow, last seen, had been captured, while the Spear seems to have simply vanished entirely." She held up the finger of conversation pausing, "Lastly, the self proclaimed Pope of the Three Hero's Church is the one at the head of the force marching towards Lord Van's territory."

The finger lowered, and I replied with, "Crap."

"Indeed." She replied.

"First." I waved my hand over the Shield a couple of times, pulling out my last Occulus spare. "Give this to your shadow, have them do what they can. You still have the one I gave you?" She nodded while accepting the two little boxes, "Good. I'll find Frost's official morning kicker, have him kicked awake, and then get you back to your throne." This time I put up the finger of conversation pausing, "That's his contracted job. While he's doing that, my party and I will interrupt, or break, the siege. Don't worry about us, your job is to get your house in order."

"While I appreciate your efforts, I know what my job is." She said with a frown, "Those are my people, as much as yours."

"By the word of your own laws, no, they aren't." I replied with a frown of my own. "Find your loyal knights, get them organized, and clean up after your husband. My party and I will do our best to cut the head off this cult."

She was still frowning, but nodded, "Melty, go with her."

"Yes mother."

"Thank you, Mirellia." I said almost speaking over Melty.

"If I fail, she will be needed to replace me." She said stiffly. "For this, she is likely safer with you, than with me." And she vanished into her wagon.

I sighed, gave Melty a pat on the shoulder, then went to look for Frost.

Things were sorted, hands were shaken, orders were given, and the party split. Frost, before becoming the Queen's honour guard, got one of his company to give me a bit of armour. On it, was his emblem, and with it the authority to take command of the mercenaries he'd sent along with Sadeena to escort the last of Raphtalia's village to Van's territory.

Hopefully they had made it behind the walls in time, and the Shadow's information wasn't too old. With us at least another two days away, three if we didn't want to risk Tetsu or the wagon getting tired or broken on the hilly roads, we had some time to plan, prepare, and try out the new mini-forge.

But only during breaks, and when Atla wasn't sleeping.

Speaking of, she was taking all this so... calmly. To be fair, even I had been in that kind of mentality before, simply accepting what came next. But she had been that way for most of her life... Fohl would probably have tried to kill me if I asked if I could keep her, so for now, we simply planned on how to keep her safe while we attempted to break a siege, stop an army on the move, or break into a castle that might have been captured.

At the border of Melromarc, with me once again 'needing to find my merchant license between my breasts' for the nice guard to prove I had a reason to cross, and paying the bribe to get us through, we were starting to get nervous.

Equipment checks every two hours. Kunshu zipping up into the air under a cloaking illusion from Raphtalia. Usa sitting on top of the wagon and turning his 'hearing protection' amulet off. Using trail rations instead of cooking so we were never hungry and didn't risk a fire. Napping when not doing any of the above. Me returning to my 'male' form to keep up appearances...

"You almost seem happy." Atla said quietly as I sat, put my back to a wagon wall and got ready for a nap. "Even though we are most assuredly about to fight people."

"I fight people." I replied just as quietly.

"Hunt animals, and kill monsters." She finished for me, "But... isn't that a little sad? That you would be happy to do so?"

"Back home, if you weren't a merchant, a craftsman, or a farmer, that's what you did. It was a job like any other. No less important, just more dangerous. I'm not happy. But I'm returning to the familiar. The routine." I explained, slowing my breathing, "And if this 'Pope' is behind this mess, and he really is laying siege to Van's territory just to kill some demi-humans and their human protector..." I felt my mind dimming, that 'sleep anywhere' skill that every successful adventurer (or parent!) had taking hold.

"I won't be fighting a person. I'll be killing a monster."

(Siltvelt)

Jiralis was... upset. Really upset. So upset, that the last servant to bring him something to drink had been thrown out the nearest window.

Thankfully, it had only been the window of the Hakuko Representative's manor, not the castle. But the outburst had kept everyone away from his chambers since the 'incident', letting him work out his anger, alone, until he himself emerged to find something to eat.

He was thinking of doing just that, three days into his temper tantrum, when the door to his chambers opened. No knocking, no announcement. Just... Opened.

"I am not to be disturbed!" He roared (a little dryly, since he'd had very little to drink as well).

"And I do not care." The reply was gruff and almost as much growling as speaking. "Sir Jiralis." And mocking.

Jiralis froze, the heavy metal goblet he was about to throw (again. It was tough, and had suffered more than most things during his tantrum) falling to the mostly ruined carpet. "Rhubaldt." He said, taking a moment to straighten out his collar, adjust his official if somewhat stained robes as if he hadn't just spent nearly three days acting like a petulant child. "I am sure you've heard?"

Rhubaldt finished walking into the room. He was a massive werewolf, taller than Jiralis by at least a head, and covered head to toe in light blue fur and minimal armour. Tall, yes, but his build was more athletic than bulky, like a pit fighter, not a body builder. And while his simple armour (shoulder guards, vest that covered his ribs and abdominal area, shorts) was simple and functional, wrapped around his feet and ankles, like some kind of weird sandals, was the Vassal Claw.

"You yelling and screaming? Or that the Shield Hero was here?" Rhubaldt chuckled, "Or that your attempt to bring her over to your side failed so badly she nearly killed you?"

Jiralis had to remind himself that he was speaking to the Vassal Claw Wielder, Siltvelt's hero. A certain degree of informality was expected from such a capable fighter. Then he realized something, "Her?"

"You noble types, noses always clogged with cheap perfume. I knew the instant I visited the castle it was a woman who carries the Shield."

Jiralis frowned, carefully scratching his nose and suddenly realizing he had also not bathed in three days.

"Don't feel bad, at least about that. Foxes are quite tricky. Even the Genmu was fooled, at least until she was helpless on the bed. What was it she said? Only another woman could satisfy like that without a-"

"Enough." Jiralis growled, "Who else knows?"

"About you being beaten by someone all but crippled by the power of the Shield? Or her being a woman?" Rhubaldt laughed. "You, I, and whomever else the Genmu told."

"Excellent. Rhubaldt, I want you t-" Jiralis blinked, the words catching in his throat...

No... lower. They weren't forming at all. The air... it...

Jiralis looked up at the big werewolf, followed his shoulder with his eyes, down the arm, elbow, forearm, wrist and...

Rhubaldt withdrew bloody fingers from Jiralis's chest. Blood straight from the heart and lungs bubbled out of Jiralis as he fell backwards, his eyes uncomprehending, his arms attempting to rise and do something about the fatal wound through his heart.

(Kodori)

I didn't know why I'd woken from my nap. One moment, I was talking to Atla, then suddenly I was waking up. It wasn't the 'jolted awake' shift of surprise, but it was certainly more sudden than I would have liked.

Oh, that was why. Stupid Shield.

Two or more Legendary weapons in close proximity will halt EXP gain!

I lifted my head the rest of the way, stood slowly (disturbing Clive who was also napping by his usual spot at the back door of the wagon) and waking Kunshu (who needed no excuse to nap at all). A half second after I'd given myself a shake to wake my arms and legs up, Raphtalia moved the driver end curtain over a little, "Ah... sir? I think you have a guest."

"Where is everyone else?" I asked as I stepped over to her and opened the curtain so I could pass through.

"I'm up here Sir." Usa said. "I hear Fohl and Melty returning."

"Suppose we'll have frozen meat to cook later." I said, looking up the road.

And smiling. I actually had to check to make sure I was, then hide the fact by scratching my cheek. "Motoyasu." I greeted, looking up, "Usa?"

"Just him and his filolial."

The Spear hero had stopped in front of us, and while yes, he was mounted on Kuro, his black feathered (with striking white highlights!) filolial, it was not what I'd come to expect from the rest of the species.

First, it was huge. Not just 'robust ostrich', but more like a... I had nothing to really compare it with... If you've ever seen a smart-car... Yeah. Like a fluffy feathered smart car with big three forward, one back, clawed feet, and a head with big owlish eyes and a slightly hooked beak. Amusingly (past the image of a feathery smart-car that was now stuck in my head) it also had a feather sticking out of the top of its head that seemed to act independently from the rest of its plumage.

It was acting like all the other filolial I'd seen when encountering Tetsu though, and keeping a firm eye on her.

Motoyasu had changed as well. Nothing so dramatic as growing into a smart-car, but his armour looked properly worn in, his clothing was less flashy and mostly in duller natural colours (better for hunting and hiding), and he actually held his spear properly. Oh, his hair had also grown a bit, and he had the start of a beard framing his chin.

Tetsu broke the 'heroes sizing each other up' stare with a cheerful, "I wanna hug it! She looks SO POOFY!" Followed by eager hopping back and forth in place.

To my surprise, Kuro was the one who replied, "No you may not." The voice was just a little high pitched, but very dignified. "I will not suffer myself to be hugged by an overgrown newt."

"I'll... share dinner with you?" Tetsu, now that she was able to talk to a filolial, chose the first thing to come to mind when it came to her usual understanding with the all purpose birds.

Motoyasu hopped off the big feather pile, ran a hand (he had to bury his arm up to almost the shoulder to do so) through the feathers of its flank, "At least try and get along?"

Kuro sighed theatrically, "If I must." Before pointing a wing at Tetsu, "But no hugging!"

"Aww..."

I hopped off the wagon, waving a hand to stop Raphtalia (Clive, Usa and Kunshu as well) from drawing weapons. Motoyasu's walk was purposeful, and even though he was smiling, any warrior with a hint of experience knew that walk.

"Gonna try again?" I asked, thinking about just how hard I'd go into this, then just figuring I'd escalate as needed if I had to. So with the nice Hagane Red small Shield on my arm, I stopped just outside of spear range.

"You would not believe the time I've had recently." He grinned, taking a moment to make sure his hair wouldn't get in his eyes, then a little shoulder rotation/shrug to settle his armour. "But I have to know."

"Keep it quiet, and don't scratch my wagon. We're trying to sneak up on-"

"Yeah, I know."

I blinked, a little surprised, but felt that weird feeling smile grow just a tiny bit. Good. I looked over my shoulder, "Make sure Fohl and Melty don't jump to any conclusions."

"Yes sir."

And just to test him properly, I did a little hop in place to settle my own armour, then ran towards suddenly serious faced Spear Hero.

Notes!

Timelines, they are a shattering. But then its like a puzzle, where you just start hammering the pieces in place because they mostly fit.

Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!

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