For all that I had expected arguments, especially from the Royals of Melromarc, the decision was made in minutes to go after the other Vassal Weapons. Faubury was already agitated, but at this point, they had apparently rebuffed Queen Mirellia's attempts to broach the subject with their King. If we Heroes went in person to make the demand though? Well the Church of Heroes had enough sway that even that pigheaded oaf, as she so diplomatically referred to him, would have to at least give us time with them.
Beyond that, we mostly discussed a few basic bits of what had happened over the few days. Naofumi apologized, twice, to myself and Lucia for not having seen through L'arc and Therese's deception, which we both waved off, pointing out that no one had seen through it. He had more chances, he insisted, but that just meant it was harder for him to see them as enemies, when they had been so close. It was my fault, honestly, more than his, I insisted. If I'd just actually READ what (Insight) had on L'arc when I confirmed his name it likely would have had something in it to tip me off to something being amiss.
"Regardless of that, I think it's time we brought out the rewards we had planned, so that it doesn't surprise them when we make the public announcement," said the Queen as she rose up, and then walked towards one of the walls of the room. There, she opened a small chest sitting along a shelf, and pulled out three scrolls, which gleamed a bit, glossy sheen showing they had been made VERY carefully just to add to the prestige of what was on them.
"The Bow Hero's suggestion of public honors for Our Knights and the Adventurers is a good one, and to show we know how gratitude works, the Royal Family of Melromarc would like to present the Heroes of the Sword, Shield, and Spear with rewards equal to what they have done this day," she said, passing one scroll to her daughter, and one to her husband, before the three took their places beside each of the named Heroes, with Melty for Naofumi, the Queen herself for Ren, and Aultcray for Motoyasu. Making sure they were in position, Mirellia nodded to her daughter to go first, and she unrolled the scroll before reading.
"Hero of the Shield, Companions Raphtalia and Filo, We, that is the Royal Family of Melromarc, wish to bestow upon you the title to a land here, in our nation, that is currently without a Lord. Along the coast of our great nation once stood the village of Lurolona, home to Raphtalia, and formally under Lord Seaetto's control. We give the title of Lord of that Village to Ser Naofumi now, in recognition of your deeds, and with all the aid we can give for the rebuilding of the once prosperous land," she said, rolling the scroll back up, and passing it to Naofumi.
The Hero of the Shield and his party were shocked to say the least, staring dumbly at the Princess of Melromarc, before Naofumi pulled open the scroll, the two young ladies reading over his shoulder as he went over the thing in his hands. The fact that Raphtalia was looking like she was ready to cry said that this was as much a gift to her as to Naofumi, given she'd mentioned it had been destroyed in the First Wave many months ago. As the party of the Shield Hero stared at the scroll, Melty nodded towards her father.
"Ser Motoyasu, I…I must admit, the Adventurer Myne erred once, in giving you this very power, as she directed your ideas of this world, being someone who would sabotage you for her own gain and amusement. However, I feel now, more than ever, that it is in your power to rule with grace and wisdom. Once more I ask that you take up the mantle of Lord of Lute Village, to guide her into the future, and make her prosper," he said, passing the scroll to the Spear Hero, who gaped like a fish, as he looked at it, obviously not sure if he should take it or no, but then reaching out his hand, and grasping it firmly.
"I swear, I will LEARN how to be a good Lord in this world, and with your guidance, and that of my companion, I will make you proud," he declared.
"Good man," said the King, before turning to his wife, who opened her own scroll next.
"And to you, Ser Ren, we gift Lordship of Mirso Village, which once suffered as a dragon was revealed to rest nearby. Your actions slew the beast, and made that land safe for the village, and her people, even if some more actions were necessary to secure that future. We believe you to be a skilled young man, and that with your companion at your side, and just a bit of help from the crown, you will find yourself growing into the position," she said, and it took me a minute to remember that Naofumi had gained his Curse Shield from an incident with a zombie dragon, which was likely what they were referring to as Ren had failed to cleanse the corpse, leaving it as requested, and causing more problems later on.
Two of the three Royals returned to their side of the table, standing beside their seats, as the three other Heroes went over their scrolls, reading and rereading their contents, and given what was said, I had little doubt their 'lordships' included stipends from the crown to help them build their places anew. Each village had suffered in some way, and would need strong leadership, as well as money, if they were to be strong again. It also gave each of them a base to work from, and bound them more thoroughly to the nation of Melromarc itself.
I was so distracted thinking about that, that I nearly leapt out of my seat when a cough brought me back to reality, and I turned to find the third Royal, King Aultcray, standing before me, his face grim and stoic now, rather than the bright smile he'd had before. For a moment, I might have thought he was going to punish me, but he motioned for myself, and my two companions to rise, which we did so, standing before him as he nodded, and then held out his hand towards Lucia.
"We cannot, in good faith, offer more than what the Bow Hero has in terms of land, save perhaps the Village of Thud, which has, to be fair, been all but abandoned as the roads shift towards Sanctuary instead," he began, sounding…not quite angry, but at least not happy about that, as he then shifts his hand, revealing that he was holding the Vassal Staff in it, and then pushes the Weapon towards Lucia, the surprised woman taking hold of it, so the pair hold it together.
"Still, we cannot forgo rewarding a party that sacrificed much in the previous battle. As such, in honor of what was lost, and for the bravery of one who has given her all and more to this battle, we gift the Bow Hero's party with this Weapon, may it serve them well," he said, bowing his head, a reluctant flash of sorrow in his eyes before they dipped down, and with a deliberate force of will, he uncurled his hands, allowing Lucia to take hold of the Vassal Staff alone.
"Your Majesty, this…," she trailed off as she held the thing in on hand, moving her other over it, tracing the lines of its body, and then twisting it, causing the length to seemingly change before our eyes, and then back to what it had been, going from the size of Welts' crystal rod, to a staff as tall as I was, and back again.
"You need a weapon capable of withstanding the Enemy's power, should they return, and you were willing to throw yourself at them for the chance of changing the course of a battle. I can think of no greater qualifications for wielding the Staff than that," he said with a smile on his lips, warm and fatherly, as he placed his hand on her shoulder, before finally walking away, leaving her to continue to move her new weapon about for a moment, before 'stowing it' in the sleeve of the 'robe' she was wearing.
"We can offer little more than moral support at this point in time. The previous battle, much as the Bow Hero spreads the credit out, depended on you Heroes to take up most of the burden. I am…glad to have found men, young and otherwise, to have taken up for our Kingdom, and we will continue to make all the aid we can available to you," said the Queen as her husband took to standing beside her. The three bowed their heads together, and looking at one another, we rose to our own feet, and mirrored the gesture.
No words were spoken, and instead, they gracefully left the chamber, the guards watching them, some eyeing the scrolls the others were holding, one eyeing the sleeve where Lucia had stored the Vassal Staff, but none saying anything. When the Royals had vanished into the hallway beyond, the doors slammed closed with a finality that left us to our own devices, obviously deliberately.
With us alone now, the other three Heroes immediately burst into talk, going over what they knew of the places they'd been given, Motoyasu turning to Naofumi and asking him about how much the people made, as apparently that had become a contentious point between them when Mal-when the Adventurer Myne had given him the village previously, and Naofumi had 'won' it from him in a race. Neither was legally binding, mind, as she didn't have the authority to appoint a new lord the way she had.
Regardless, they soon all turned to me for advice on running a city, which I had to admit, I didn't really. Sanctuary was mine only in that it needed my approval for things. In point of fact, that would probably be the way they might want to run their own villages. Find out who was already on site with skills, and make them the actual head of the village, while they continued to grind for levels and the like, especially given we were still in the middle of a war or something as good as.
However, I did take a moment to ask how the King knew about Lucia's battle, as I hadn't thought about how Ray had known enough about it, when neither she, nor I could tell them. The explanation was mundane, in a way. The Princess' Regalia was just covered in those recording sphere things, and apparently the barrier was not capable of blocking them. Mind, they couldn't HEAR what happened, but they saw Lucia fighting valiantly against Therese, before…
As for my own efforts, Motoyasu got quiet as that came up, and then shook his head at me. He now was VERY sure that whatever the Curse Series was, it was demonic in nature. Naofumi's flames and that horrible 'icy' glare in my eyes told him as such, and he outright ordered myself and Naofumi not to use those powers again, not unless the situation was completely hopeless otherwise, because…well even Ren had to admit, it was hard to trust what we became under the influence.
Naofumi didn't object, which shocked me, as he told the Spear Hero he was right. It turned out it had taken several potions to heal Filo after Naofumi and she dove straight into Glass' wind barrier thing, and he knew she'd nearly died, simply because he couldn't focus on her wounds. As for myself, he saw me 'play' with Therese, and that was, according to him, more disturbing than if I had just killed her outright, a thing I couldn't argue with myself, as I agreed.
With little else to discuss, we pulled out a map, and pointed out where each village was, Ren offering to give a 'ride' via his Fast Travel to both Naofumi and Motoyasu, as the former still didn't have a Fast Travel unlocked, and the latter's apparently didn't register Lute as a destination. As we got up, I asked Motoyasu for a moment, passing him a piece of paper from one of the drawers along the room's wall, and a writing implement, before asking him for a quick and dirty use of one of his non-combat skills.
We left a few minutes later, opening the doors and telling the guards to inform the Royal Family that we would return in one or two days' time, to give them updates on not only the villages, but on our preparations. Then we'd take on Faubury's King, and if he proved recalcitrant to our request, we'd force that issue, which seemed to please the guards, showing there was little love for their sister nation. All that done, we vanished in our separate ways, to rest, recover, and grow stronger.