Chapter 18: Trial by fire
Naofumi and the others noticed that they were in some ruins now right after Fitoria had said Portal. Filo and Garfiel were both amazed by this.
"Awesome!"
"Wow!"
They all started to walk outside of the carriage with Naofumi investigating the area.
"Wh-What just happened?" Raphtalia questioned.
"Did we travel instantly?" Melty asked as she noted how different their environment was.
"Ruins, huh?"
"You can practically feel their history."
"..." Naofumi looked at Fitoria in a serious expression, remaining silent.
"I hear it's considered the remains of the civilization the original heroes defended."
"You don't sound very sure." The Shield Hero pointed out.
"It existed before I was born. For what it's worth, I'm watching over it." As Fitoria said this, Melty took the chance to ask:
"Is this a filolial sanctuary?"
"Yes. I'm not supposed to bring humans here."
"Wow." Melty was impressed.
"Then I guess we'll be safe here for the time being." Naofumi commented before turning towards the knocked out Motoyasu. It'll be fine until he wakes up.
As he was about to turn towards Fitoria to question her, they all heard Filo and Garfiel's stomachs growl.
"..."
"..."
Both remain silent to which Fitoria took the chance to say:
"I think you should get some rest."
" 'T's been a long day. We probably should rest."
"Probably, however you aren't off the hook."
"What're ya talkin' 'bout?"
"Getting yourself captured. That caused such a mess."
"Come on, 't wasn't th't bad."
"We should probably not fight amongst each other." Melty added in, viewing this conversation pointless.
"Could we please eat, master?" Filo asked as she approached Naofumi. He was silent for a second before closing his eyes and sighing.
"Let's take a break, then."
"Yay!" Filo jumped up with excitement.
"That was a long day." Melty said as she also sighed, feeling tired out. Naofumi turned towards Raphtalia, having noticed that she looked down.
" 'R ya okay?" Garfiel said first, beating the Shield Hero to the punch.
"I wonder if Keel-kun and the other kids are alright."
"They've got Van and those demi-humans with them. They should be fine."
Raphtalia paused for a moment, processing what her master had said.
She turned towards him with a reassured smile while responding to the Shield Hero's response to her comment,
"You're right."
Naofumi smiled for a second before turning towards the others.
"First, let's eat. I bet you're all hungry."
"Yeah!" Both Filo and Garfiel said, prompting Naofumi to turn right towards the demi human boy.
"Garfiel, you go get the food and set up the fire."
"What?"
"You heard me. You want to eat, set everything up on your own. Consider it a punishment for acting reckless once again."
"Fine. Fine. Th's isn't th' worst punishment."
"What was that?"
"Nothin'." Garfiel said with an annoyed tone, knowing that saying anything more will just result in Naofumi punishing him severely.
As he went to grab all the supplies for dinner for the party, the others took this chance to rest up.
After a while of Garfiel gathering supplies and setting up the fire, Naofumi took over due to not wanting Garfiel to mess anything up.
As he was cooking for his party and for Fitoria, eventually Motoyasu woke up.
"Hm? Where am I?"
"Well shit, seems like spear moron's awake."
"Yeah, I noticed." Naofumi commented annoyedly before turning towards Motoyasu's direction.
'What to do with him?'
"Hey! Is anybody there? Hello?"
"So, queen, whatcha wanna do with him?" Garfiel said to Fitoria.
She remained silent for a moment before shaking in slight fear since she didn't like how the Spear Hero acted upon first meeting.
Once regaining her composure, she responded to the demi human boy's question in a blank tone:
with:
"As much as I want him gone, he can join us. Bring him to me."
"Understood."
Garfiel nodded before heading to where Motoyasu's at.
"Hm? What do you want?" The Spear Hero said as he saw Garfiel approaching him.
"Th'Queen's allowin' ya t'be in her presence."
"The Queen?" Motoyasu questioned for a moment before remembering the giant filolial and the beautiful angel he saw before losing conscious.
"Right! The Queen of Filolials! Where is sh—?"
A sudden smack shut him up for a moment.
"What the hell?! What was that for?!"
"Stop actin' all weird. Don't ya want respect from th'queen herself?"
"..." The Spear Hero remained silent for a second before noticing that the queen is looking at him.
He quickly got up and jumped right near Fitoria's location, prompting everyone to be on guard.
"What's your name?" Motoyasu said in a respectful tone. Fitoria had her guard up and ready to defend herself though the question did catch her off guard.
"Fitoria, queen of the filolials."
"That's a cute name!"
"..." Fitoria's serious manner broke as she was both creeped out and afraid of the way Motoyasu spoke as well as the way he's acting.
" 'f ya keep actin' like th't, Filo's gonna hate ya even more." Garfiel added, having a feeling that saying this would keep Motoyasu in check.
This indeed paid off as Motoyasu immediately turned towards Filo, seeing that she was creeped out by his actions.
"Creep."
"Filo! I'm sorry!" Motoyasu bows, not wanting her to hate him.
Garfiel and Naofumi were both annoyed by this though as long as it keeps the Spear Hero out of trouble, the two return to their duties.
"Spear Hero, I'm surprised my sister wasn't with you when you found us." Melty commented, a bit curious in her tone of voice. "Why was that?"
"...W-Well, I really went on my own. I figured that Itsuki, his party, and mine could handle Ren and his party without me. Really I didn't want Naofumi to escape."
"Makes sense." Melty said though he was curious on something, "Did my sister said anything to you before you went to chase us?"
"Hm?" The Spear Hero thought to himself.
("Motoyasu! Where are you going?")
"Well, it was more on instinct. I think she knows that I went after you all."
"So ya just ra without much 'f a plan. Not really th'smartest move." Garfiel added.
"It did paid off, I caught up to you all."
"Yes, while we we're in th'middle 'f a fight."
"Doesn't matter the circumstances, I found you, that's all that matters."
"I guess." Garfiel turned towards Naofumi, "When's th'food done."
"In a moment. Be patient or you won't get any."
"Aight Aight, was just askin'."
Garfiel sat down and just kept to himself for the most part, trying to regain all of his strength while he still could.
Raphtalia sat near Naofumi as she watched Filo and Melty speak with each other.
Motoyasu looked up at the sky as his thoughts drifted from Filo and from Fitoria towards something else.
Naofumi caught this however he didn't really care much for it.
The only important thing is that Motoyasu keeps himself out of trouble and does not cause him or his party any more trouble than he already has.
After a few minutes, Naofumi told everyone that the food was ready.
He first fed Filo and Melty before Raphtalia, then Garfiel, and lastly Fitoria.
"Time to dig in!" Filo spoke with excitement.
"Hey Naofumi! Can I get some?"
"Get your own."
"What?!"
Motoyasu was annoyed by Naofumi's response, making him nearly go hostile until he remembered that Filo and Fitoria along with many regular filolials looking at him.
This prompted him to slightly cool himself though to still complain.
"Come on, let me have some food."
"I won't repeat myself. Get your own damn food."
"How dare you speak to me like that?! I'm being nice here!"
"Nice?! Ha! What a joke."
"Aight, enough!" Garfiel said as he was getting annoyed by this bickering. "Here, take mine already. Now quit yer whinin'."
As he gave his food to the Spear hero, he went to grab another bowl for himself.
As everyone was eating, the quiet atmosphere began to get tense suddenly.
"U-Uh, you know...I feel too guilty to eat." As she said this, Garfiel and Motoyasu looked up to see a flock of filolials looking at them, wanting to eat their food.
Naofumi was silent for a second before commenting on what the second princess had said:
"Same here." As he said this in a blank tone, he continued to eat his food.
Garfiel and Motoyasu were hesitant to take a bite from their respective bowls since the looks on the filolials' eyes were distracting.
Filo seemed indifferent with the filolials watching her as she was speaking with Fitoria.
"Isn't it yummy?"
"It's great." Fitoria responded with a blank facial expression, yet with a positive tone in her voice.
"They're like sisters."
"Right? They even eat in the same sloppy manner." Naofumi commented. Raphtalia turned towards her master's direction.
"Um, Naofumi-sama?"
Naofumi turned towards Raphtalia first, noticing her concerned tone of voice.
As he looked at her, he could tell immediately that on his right side there was something that got her attention.
He turned towards his right side only to be surprised by the amount of filolials giving him the sad eyes, wanting to eat their food.
He was surprised for only a moment before sighing, annoyed by this.
"God, fine! I'll make you some!" The Shield Hero said as he started to get up. "Bring me some huge pots and a ton of ingredients."
The filolials heard the Shield Hero's words, prompting them to follow those instructions with the first couple of them bringing a bunch of pots before eventually the others brought some ingredients.
Garfiel, Filo, Raphtalia, and even Motoyasu assisted the filolials in grabbing some ingredients to help create a delicious meal for all filolials.
Once he had received all the necessary ingredients, Naofumi with some assistance from Melty created a large amount of food to feed all filolials enough for two fillings, including for themselves.
"Dig in."
As Naofumi said this, all the filolials went nuts and began to eat everything they can get their beaks into.
Once it was all said and done, Naofumi looked at all the filolials sleeping after having had his cooking.
"Why'd I even have to feed this KFC farm?"
As he asked himself this question, he turned towards his right side to have noticed Fitoria approaching him.
"What? You're not getting any seconds."
"I know. It's time to talk." As she said this with a serious expression, she turned towards the sleeping Motoyasu that was tied up again for trying to bother Filo. "Wake him up, he's needed in this conversation."
"Is he really needed? We are better off speaking without him being involved."
"...I must speak with both cardinal heroes. If it helps, have the blonde boy join us."
"..." Naofumi didn't like that at all, the last thing he wants is to be involved in a conversation that has Motoyasu.
Although he's humiliated him a multitude of times already, he really isn't in any mood to speak with someone as stupid as him.
Though considering that the Filolial Queen will just wake him up herself if he chooses to not listen or possibly use force on him, he turns towards Motoyasu and kicks him.
"Wake up."
As he did this, Motoyasu got up as his back was hurting.
"What the hell?!"
"..."
Naofumi looked at him for a moment before turning towards where Garfiel was sleeping, on top of two filolials. Once approaching Garfiel's location, he spoke in a stern voice:
"Get up."
"...e-eh?"
"I said up, we have something important to take care of."
"...'kay." Garfiel stretched his arms for a moment before getting up and following the Shield Hero.
Motoyasu got up once he spotted Fitoria, having an idea as to why he was awakened.
Once they gathered, the Spear hero looked at Fitoria with a respectful manner before saying:
"How can we be of assistance, milady?"
"..." Fitoria was silent for a moment before suddenly shaking as she was still bothered by his presence.
She turned around and began to walk, indicating the two cardinal heroes and the demi human boy to follow behind.
As they were following behind, the queen filolial eventually started the conversation by questioning the three:
"I want to know how that monster was released from its seal."
"Some crazy fatass freed it—"
"Hey! You can't speak like that in front of the queen!" Motoyasu said, annoying Garfiel. Naofumi ignored the two as he commented on what Fitoria had said.
"I thought you came to save us because you knew."
"I was there because I was told a new queen candidate had been found."
"Queen Candidate? Are you referring to Filo?" Motoyasu said, which was something Naofumi was going to say.
Both the Shield Hero and the Shield of Sanctuary looked annoyed at the Spear Hero before hearing Fitoria's response.
"...yes."
She sounded hesitant though still firm since despite the type of person Motoyasu is, he's still the Spear Hero.
Naofumi hearing this prompted him to ask:
"Then can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why is Filo growing so differently than other filolials?"
"That's because..." Fitoria paused herself for a second. "...a hero is raising her."
"..." All three were silent when this was revealed.
"Wait, so if me, Ren, or Itsuki had raised our own filolials...?"
"Yes, they could become candidates for my successor." Fitoria responded calmly before changing subjects. She turned towards Garfiel to ask, "Now tell me, why did this man you mentioned removed the seal?"
Her look was sharp as ever, prompting Garfiel to smile confidently to respond with:
"He was crazy mad cause we kicked his ass."
"..."
Naofumi took over the conversation as he can tell that Fitoria was unsatisfied with Garfiel's response.
"What he means is that the seal wasn't opened by our own doing."
"That may be true, but it was your actions that led to that outcome." Fitoria swiftly responded as she turned her attention towards Naofumi, still unimpressed by the responses she was getting. The Shield Hero was annoyed by her expression.
"It's not like they listen. Look at this idiot over here. He wouldn't take the chance to hear what I have to say."
As Naofumi said this, all attention was directed towards Motoyasu with the Spear Hero himself taking note of one thing The Shield Hero said about him.
"Hey! I'm not the idiot one here!"
"Says the one that follows that lying bitch."
"Hey! Don't speak ill about Myne!"
As a fight seemed like it was about to break, Fitoria made it very clear with a simple look that she was not having this.
Her murderous aura had caught everyone's attention, prompting both heroes to turn towards her as she spoke in an intimidating tone:
"Enough! The Cardinal Heroes are meant to protect the world from catastrophe, not fighting among themselves!"
As she made this clear, she turned towards Motoyasu to question him.
"What makes you heroes fight among yourselves?"
"It's all because Naofumi decided to—"
Before Motoyasu had the chance to start at the beginning, Naofumi suddenly had his shield right on his neck.
"I'd choose my words very carefully."
"...What the hell?!"
"..."
Fitoria without a second of hesitation landed a strong kick onto the Shield Hero's gut, sending him flying.
As Garfiel and Motoyasu were caught off guard by this, Fitoria spoke with a stern tone:
"That's your only warning. Any transgression amongst yourselves will result in both your deaths. Understood?"
Naofumi slowly got up with his chest area hurting, having a clear understanding that any threats to Motoyasu will get him killed.
Granted though it also protects him should Motoyasu decide to turn on them.
The Spear Hero turned towards the Queen Filolial as she looked at him directly with murder in her eyes.
"I once again ask for the last time, what makes you heroes fight among yourselves?"
"...Naofumi was accused of some things that he did to a party member of mine. Terrible things to which he's only proven more that he's a villain by stealing the younger princess!"
"I told you, he didn't steal me!" Melty jumped in. "The Shield Hero has been nothing more than helpful."
"Wait, yer up?" Garfiel questioned as he knew she along with Raphtalia and Filo were asleep before heading into the forest to speak.
"Yes. I was but you are all so loud."
"Wait, where's th'others?"
"Still asleep for now."
"I see."
"We shouldn't get distracted!" Motoyasu shouted before turning his attention towards Melty. "You are only saying that because of the brainwashing shield!"
"What makes you believe such things?" Fitoria curiously said, wondering what's making the Spear Hero think this.
"That party member of mine, the sister of the younger princess. The same person Naofumi defiled!"
As Motoyasu said this, Naofumi felt his anger boiling up once again, not wanting to hear these 'accusations' again from the biggest dumbass in the face of all the worlds.
Fitoria looked at Naofumi after hearing this, noticing the immense anger that was building up.
She then turned towards Garfiel and could tell it's bothering him though he was controlling himself, if barely. She turned back to Motoyasu to say:
"I believe that ally of yours might be lying to you."
"Myne is an honest woman!"
'Yeah right!' Both Garfiel and Naofumi had the same thoughts when hearing this.
Fitoria looked at Motoyasu's eyes, being surprisingly impressed by his dedication towards his party member.
"That loyalty to your ally is something I won't ignore. From what I can remember, the Spear hero is known for their unwavering loyalty. It's impressive, however it can also be used against you.."
"How so?" He questioned, a bit confused by her words. She looked at him for a moment before turning around while responding with:
"That I can't answer for you. All I can say is really think, does this ally of yours have your best interest or do they act like they do?"
"..." Motoyasu remained silent.
"Well, I can see why you cardinal heroes have been acting like fools." She closed her eyes as she was very mad at not just the two heroes with her but at the other two. "Foolish politics. I'm appalled at all you cardinal heroes for squabbling with the Wave nearly here."
"..."
Both Naofumi and Motoyasu turned towards each other, viewing it as the other's fault. Fitoria continued:
"I know the Shield Hero has always been scorned by human supremacist countries."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Motoyasu questioned.
"The Shield Hero is hated by humans."
"Th-That may be true but it's all Naofumi's fault, he's the villain!"
"If that were true, then the filolial he raised wouldn't be kind-hearted."
"..." The Spear Hero remained silent for a second as he turned towards Filo for a second.
He turned back towards Fitoria while the Queen Filolial continued to walk towards the forest.
"Have any of you bothered to talk it out?"
"Eh?"
"What?"
"Have either of you talked your problems out? As much as humans and demi-humans might hate each other, it is unacceptable for heroes to be fighting."
There was silence as both heroes were just caught off guard by the way Fitoria was speaking to them.
She turned towards Melty with a calm expression.
"You should rest. My meeting is with the two cardinal heroes."
"If this talk has anything to do with the heroes, I should be involved." The second princess spoke with a serious tone. "I will stay with all due respect."
"..." Fitoria only wished to speak with Naofumi and Motoyasu alone though due to the distrust the Shield Hero had, she allowed having Garfiel Tinsel involved.
Having Melty Melromarc involved can be tricky...however she's heard enough that she wants to listen in.
Not wanting to damage their relationship, she allowed it for now though her focus was on how the two heroes react to the rest of their conversation.
"Don't you cardinal heroes know about the hourglass?"
"You mean the dragon hourglass?"
"We know about it."
Fitoria paused for a second before turning at the two heroes.
"Then why aren't you fighting Waves across the world?"
Both heroes' eyes widened when they heard this.
"What?"
"Are you saying the Waves happen outside of Melromarc, too?" This question prompted Naofumi to turn towards Melty. "Is it true?"
"...yes." The second princess hesitated. Hearing this made him mad at her at first before recalling his first day in this world.
The king and his lackeys had summoned him, Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu all at once.
"So your father selfishly summoned all four heroes, knowing that the other countries are also in need of help from the waves?"
"..." Melty remained silent since this was something she and her mother were against since that act alone would lead Melromarc in a bad position with the other kingdoms. "...Mother's trying to negotiate with the other kingdoms, to prevent them from declaring war to Melromarc."
The two cardinal heroes looked at each other, for once being on the same note when it comes down to this new information.
Although Motoyasu's focus is more on the ladies, he even thinks this was a bad move from the king all the while both Naofumi and Garfiel have even lower amounts of respect for the king than they did before.
Fitoria looked at them all for a moment, seeing that this was all one kingdom's fault that the four heroes were summoned in just one area.
She turned towards the sky as she began to say:
"The four cardinal heroes are meant to be summoned to one country each and help them fight the Waves."
"That's the first we've heard about."
"..." Fitoria was silent as she could see how surprised both heroes were. "I'm going wherever I'm asked. But you four aren't taking part in any other battles."
"I just found out about the other hourglasses."
"And I had thought that the other kingdoms had their own things figured out."
Fitoria looked at the two for a second before returning her attention to the sky.
"Honestly, I don't care about what happens to humans. I fight because the hero who raised me asked me to."
"A hero asked you to?"
"My job is to protect the world."
Garfiel, Naofumi, and Motoyasu all were intrigued in their own ways by what she said. Fitoria continued:
"But I can't protect it all by myself. I need the heroes."
"No offense t'them but yer way more capable than any 'f us right now."
"Maybe I am. But eventually, I won't be able to save a thing." As she said this, a sudden tree collapsed to the ground.
"R' ya worried ya'll grow old? Cause' ya don't look old—"
Both Naofumi and Motoyasu hit Garfiel on the top of his head, both not liking what he had said.
"Don't say stupid things like that." The Shield Hero said.
"Show some respect!" The Spear Hero said.
Naofumi turned towards Fitoria after calming down to ask her:
"Is that why you need the heroes?"
"..." She was silent for a second before answering, "You heroes are supposed to work together. That is an absolute necessity in order to protect the world."
"Don't think th't's possible yer majesty. Aside from th's stubborn bastard, th'bow idiot won't listen t'anyone. Only one th't's friend's with Shield boss would be th'Sword Hero."
"Then try harder to make it work. The heroes mustn't fight among themselves."
"You seem rather obsessed with that." Naofumi pointed out.
"Because it's unacceptable, that's why." Fitoria paused herself from continuing as a different thought had popped up for a split second before fading away. "It was all so long ago that my memory of it has faded, but I do still remember the right thing to do. If the heroes are fighting each other instead of the Waves of Catastrophe, then for the sake of the world, I must kill all four Cardinal Heroes." The second she finished speaking, both the Shield Hero and the Spear Hero were on their guard as they could sense the killing intent from the Filolial Queen herself.
Garfiel Tinsel remained calm though his body was itching for a fight should she try to attack Naofumi.
"Kill the heroes...?" Melty was in horror when she looked at Fitoria, her killing intent. "I-Isn't that a bit too much?"
Fitoria slowly turned towards her, noticing her comments.
"If the heroes continue to not cooperate, then it's best to have a new set of heroes summoned that can do a better job in protecting the world."
The second princess remained silent after getting the response from Fitoria, unsure on how to respond to her response. Fitoria turned towards Garfiel Tinsel, noticing that he had something to say.
"Speak."
"Killin' them will only delay th'problem 'f th's waves 'f not make it worse. Th'new heroes aren't gonna be ready fer th'hard waves comin' in. As much as Spear dumbass and Bow moron 'r a pain in th'ass, they got experience with th'waves. And they know what their doin' fer th'most part."
"What good is that when they will be fighting amongst themselves? That alone is enough reason to eliminate them all and bring in new heroes to their proper kingdoms."
Garfiel was still against this.
Despite his issues with Itsuki and Motoyasu, he knows that those two are still somewhat useful in a fight.
Fitoria turned around and started walking towards the forest.
"Get some rest. We can discuss more when you've gotten your strength back."
The moment she finished speaking, she went into the forest, leaving the others on their own.
Once the next day had started, Garfiel, Naofumi, and Raphtalia to clean up the area after the mess the filolials had made in the previous night.
While they were cleaning, Raphtalia could tell that something was on their minds.
The two were thinking about the conversation with Fitoria regarding the heroes having to work together or to die by her hand.
'Kill the four cardinal heroes, eh?' Naofumi knew that Fitoria wasn't bluffing when saying that considering the murderous aura that he felt coming from her.
Garfiel had a similar thought though he was more wanting to see how he could get strong enough to eventually surpass the queen of all filolials.
After cleaning up, Naofumi cooked breakfast for all of his party members and for the filolials that were awake.
As they sat down and were about to eat, Garfiel and Melty looked around to see that the filolials were all eagerly eating their breakfast.
"They've really taken to you." Raphtalia commented.
"Right?" Melty said with a smile.
Garfiel remained silent as he began to eat.
As it seemed like a normal breakfast, Raphtalia looked around to realize that the Spear Hero is nowhere around.
"Where's the Spear Hero?"
"..." Naofumi didn't answer as he didn't care about him.
"He's probably doin' somethin' like botherin' Fitoria." Garfiel guessed though he didn't care as much...though when Fitoria had suddenly appeared, he was caught off guard.
"Hold up, where's Spear moron?"
"The Spear Hero is sleeping somewhere around. He should be waking up in a moment." As she finished answering the demi human boy's question, she moved her hand towards the second princess.
"Liberation: Wind Prison."
"Huh?"
A wind barrier was created around Melty while the wind around her and the queen filolial had caused everywhere around them to be blown away.
After a few seconds, the table that had the breakfast flew around before crashing into a couple of trees.
"Melty!" Filo shouted. This shouting actually woke up Motoyasu, sensing that Filo's in trouble.
As he got up, he turned to see what was going on in regards to Fitoria holding Melty hostage.
"What's going on?" Melty questioned. She was not expecting Fitoria to just hold her hostage.
"What's th'meanin' 'f th's?!" Garfiel shouted as he prepared himself for a fight.
Melty looked at the wind prison and attempted to lightly touch the wind only to receive a small cut on her index finger.
Seeing the slight pain her friend received from a simple tap prompted Filo to angrily ask:
"What are you doing to Mel-chan?!"
"Mel-tan, I need you to be my hostage."
"'Hostage'? What's the meaning of this?" Naofumi questioned.
"What's going on?" Motoyasu said as he arrived at the scene.
The only ones who turned back to see him were Raphtalia and Garfiel all the while Naofumi ignored him and Filo was more focused on Melty.
Fitoria looked at Motoyasu for a moment, happy that he arrived since it's easier to address both cardinal heroes at the same time than individually.
"Shield Hero. Spear Hero. Promise me. Promise me that all you heroes make up."
"Let Mel-chan out of there!" Filo shouted, not really listening to what Fitoria was saying.
"And if I don't, you're threatening to hurt Melty?" Naofumi responded to what Fitoria had said.
"Hey! Don't hurt the princess!" Motoyasu shouted as he prepared for a fight.
"Then will you team up with the Shield Hero? Put your differences aside?"
"Yeah sure, why not? We are fighting the waves as a team after all, even if I don't like the guy."
Fitoria was silent for a second. She can see that he isn't trying to deceive her, however...
"Not good enough." Fitoria pointed towards Naofumi. "Unless he can work with you, your answer is not good enough."
"..." Naofumi remained silent as he knew that he wasn't going to just trust Motoyasu of all people and Itsuki at the rate he's going.
"Even if you don't want to, I must ask you to."
"Why are you obsessed with the heroes working together?"
"Because I made a promise to the hero who raised me. And because the heroes must cooperate in order to save the world from the Waves. Please."
"No matter how many times you ask, I won't work with those morons."
"Well maybe with Sword guy he'll work with—"
Garfiel received a smack from Naofumi before he turned his attention back towards the queen filolial.
"That's besides the point. I have no intention to work with those that are nothing but nuisances."
"If you heroes don't cooperate, then in that case, new heroes will have to be summoned. And to enable that, I'll have to kill all the current heroes."
Garfiel and Motoyasu had themselves ready for a fight, Naofumi remained unfazed as any movement could get him killed, and the rest were just shocked by Fitoria's words. Fitoria continued:
"It will help the world in the long run. Now please reconcile with the other heroes."
Garfiel turned towards Motoyasu after Fitoria finished her sentence.
"Ya think ya can work with Shield boss?"
"...shouldn't be a problem. Those waves are way more of a threat than he is."
Garfiel still didn't trust the Spear Hero, though he can see that Motoyasu's taking this situation seriously.
"Oi! Queen! Don't think we gonna let ya harm Shield boss or any 'f th'other heroes."
Fitoria turned towards Garfiel.
"Why are you loyal to the Shield Hero?"
"'Cause despite how much 'f a pain in th'ass he can be, he's still a good man."
"Hm." Fitoria was intrigued with Garfiel's answer though she wasn't interested in fighting him. She turned back towards Naofumi as he got his shield up and ready for a fight.
"If you want to kill me, feel free. But...Just know that I'm not going down without a fight!"
"Hm." Garfiel smiled as he stood beside Naofumi, prepared to fight alongside him.
As the two were ready for a fight, Naofumi's shield began to burn, indicating that he's preparing to summon the Wrath Shield.
Fitoria knew what he was doing and quickly acted by moving her hand towards his direction.
"Don't."
Her hand began to glow which had actually jammed Naofumi's ability to use the Wrath Shield, catching him off guard.
"What?"
"I understand how you feel, Shield Hero."
"Hm?"
"If that's how it is, prove to me that you and your party can fight the Waves alone."
"How'd you propose to do th't?" Garfiel asked as he was cracking his knuckles, ready to prove it himself by having a one on one with the queen herself.
"I more or less know your abilities and strength; you, the Shield Hero, and even the Spear Hero." She turned towards Filo's direction while also pointing at her. "I want a one-on-one with Filo."
"Huh? Me?" Filo asked as she was shocked by this.
"If you prove to me that you're strong, I'll release Mel-chan. And I won't kill the heroes for a while. I'll give you time."
"A while?" Motoyasu questioned. "How long is that?"
"..." Fitoria didn't respond, if anything she ignored him.
Filo took a few seconds to think before confidently responding to Fitoria's request of a one on one battle with her:
"I don't really understand, but if I win, Master won't be killed, and Mel-chan will be freed too, right?"
"Wait." Naofumi said, not liking what Filo's about to do.
"Filo, hold on—" Raphtalia tried to stop her.
"Then I'll fight." Filo said with a smile, ready to be the one to protect her master and her friend.
"I'll fight in this form, so you fight me in human form too, Filo."
Filo quickly pulled out the gloves given to her by the store owner before saying, "Gotcha."
"I said wait!" Naofumi shouted.
"Let it go, Shield Boss. Nothin's gonna change her mind."
The Shield Hero paused for a second before smacking Garfiel in the head.
"Oi! What was th't fer?!"
"For being a bad influence on Filo."
As Garfiel rubbed the top of his head, Fitoria jumped down from where she was to be on the same level as Filo before saying:
"This way."
As the two filolials were walking to an area, Naofumi was ready to interfere with the match only to be grabbed by his arm by Motoyasu.
"Hold on Naofumi."
"..." The anger that was building up within Naofumi was telling as he pulled his arm back. "Let go of me. What the hell do you want?"
"You know, that anger of yours is not good for your health. Perhaps a vacation could fix that."
"What do you want?!"
A sudden explosion happens near the two, prompting the two cardinal heroes to turn towards Fitoria, seeing that she was responsible for causing said explosion.
She didn't have to say anything to them, her actions speak for themselves. Any further conflict and she will wipe them both out.
This pissed Naofumi off since all he wants to do right now is punch Motoyasu for even causing more problems for him.
"I'll just say this, have faith in Filo-chan! She's got this!"
This made Naofumi want to kill Motoyasu...however at this point, he'll need to rely on Filo to do her part to beat Fitoria.
Not like he wants to doubt her...but the power gap between the two does worry him.
"She's got th's." Garfiel said as he smiled confidently.
Naofumi looked at the Shield of Sanctuary for a moment before looking back at Filo and Fitoria.
The Queen of Filolials created a barrier around the two in order to prevent anyone else from suddenly jumping in.
The two look at each other, Fitoria having a blank expression all the while Filo was excited.
"Here I come!" Filo shouted in pure excitement.
"Whenever you're ready." Fitoria spoke calmly.
Filo jumped up for a moment, causing Motoyasu to be amazed by how she looked like an angel flying up.
Garfiel smacked him in the head.
"What the hell was that for?!"
"Ya were lookin' a bit too interested."
"What? Filo looks like an angel—" Another smack he received from Garfiel.
"Agh! Do you want a fight?"
"Trust me, I do. But, I must watch Filo's fight first."
"Tsk."
The two looked at the battle as Filo attempted to land a kick on Fitoria only for the queen to easily dodge her attack.
"Huh?"
"You're slow."
Before Filo had a chance to move, she was suddenly tossed onto the air effortlessly.
She quickly recovered herself though those few seconds of being sent flying and recovering, she noticed Fitoria was gone.
"Watch out Filo-tan!"
"Above you!"
"Turn around."
Motoyasu, Raphtalia, and Garfiel all three shouted to warn Filo of Fitoria being behind her and above her.
Before having a chance to turn around, Fitoria without mercy landed a hit onto the back of Filo, sending her crashing to the ground.
"Filo-chan!" Melty spoke with concern for her friend.
"Ow..." Filo was slowly getting back up.
"Are you okay, Filo-tan?!" Motoyasu shouted with concern for his favorite filolial.
"..." She remained silent, not responding to his question.
'Why did Fitoria choose to fight Filo and not Raphtalia or Garfiel? And why are they fighting in human form?'
"Oi! Filo! Don't just charge at her. Pay attention t'her movements and attack when ya afta!"
As Garfiel beat Naofumi to the punch in warning Filo to not fight blindly, she nodded as she closed the gap between herself and the queen filolial.
She attempted to land a couple of hits onto Fitoria yet the queen was able to easily dodge all punches thrown towards her before tapping onto her forehead.
This caused her to be sent flying a few feet away.
"Garfiel, that advice was horrible!" Naofumi shouted before turning his attention to Filo. "Filo! You also need to use your head!"
"Master..." Filo said as she was slowly getting back up, having a tough time breathing. Naofumi continued:
"And regenerate your clothes when you have the chance! Pour mana into it and increase your defense as much as you can!"
Filo was silent as she truly thought about what her master had said.
Once she had a good idea of what he was telling her, she turned towards Fitoria's direction with confidence in her expression.
"Gotcha!"
She moved her hands up before saying:
"As source of your powers, Filo orders you. Decipher the laws of nature and blow my target away with a vicious vacuum burst."
A green aura surrounded her with two green spheres surrounding her hands.
She moved her hands towards her opponent while shouting:
"Zweit Tornado!"
Two tornadoes were created from her two hands and directed towards Fitoria, who was unfazed by this.
"Nullify the vacuum burst." She moved her left hand towards the approaching tornadoes. "Anti-Zweit Tornado!"
Just as she was surrounded by the tornado, her sphere grew large enough to nullify Filo's attack.
"What?" As she was surprised, she was surrounded by dirt and dust.
"Watch out! It's jamming magic!"
Fitoria took the chance of Filo being blind to brush through the dirt and dust floating around and reached her target's position.
"You're wide open."
With a simple movement, Filo was sent flying into a boulder nearby them.
As she crashed into the boulder, Filo was struggling to get up.
"She has no time to regenerate her clothes at all."
"Not with the Queen knowing how to nullify Filo-tan's abilities." Motoyasu observed the way Fitoria was fighting. He knew that even if they all teamed up against her in her human form, they wouldn't stand a chance in beating her. "It has to be a test."
Naofumi ignored what Motoyasu was saying and just turned towards Melty, having an idea.
Before he could do anything, Garfiel grabbed his shoulder while questioning him,
"Where do ya think yer goin'?"
"I'm going to help Filo, now let go."
"Ya think she's gonna let ya?"
"..." He remained silent as he continued to make his way towards Melty's direction since he can't stand watching anymore.
Garfiel knew that this could be a problem, prompting him to turn towards Filo to shout:
"Filo! Come on, yer stronger than th's! Show her who's th'boss!"
Filo turned towards Garfiel's direction, at first wanting to use those words from him to get herself back up though she did notice Naofumi wasn't there.
"Wh-Where's master?"
"Hm?"
Fitoria turned towards Garfiel and the other's direction, seeing that the Shield Hero wasn't there.
Using her senses, she was able to tell that he was attempting to free her hostage.
She quickly fired a projectile right towards the Shield Hero's direction.
Right as this projectile was about to hit him, he attempted to block the attack only for Garfiel to tackle him out of the projectile's path.
Doing this allowed neither of them to get hit while also having the projectile pass by them and to explode on the wall behind them.
"Told ya 't wasn't a good idea."
"You should listen to him." Fitoria spoke in a calm manner, though showing some signs of anger in her voice. "I won't miss next time."
"Master! Garf!"
"Eyes on me." Fitoria said as she prepared to slap her.
"Filo-tan! Put your hands up! Now!"
As Motoyasu shouted this, Filo looked at Fitoria and only listened the moment she saw that she was about to be slapped.
She was able to protect herself, but her opponent's strength was enough to send her back a bit.
"Nice reflexes, however that was all because you were told." Fitoria turned towards Naofumi again to check and see if he was bold enough to try that again.
The only thing she saw was him smacking Garfiel in the head again.
"Th'fuck was th't fer?!"
"For not keeping your mouth shut."
"..."
She turned towards Filo, seeing that she's attempting to attack her again. She dodged these attacks once again with ease.
"These attacks are sloppy."
She tapped Filo's head once again which sent her flying though the moment her feet weren't on the ground, she attempted to kick Fitoria while she was in the air though she wasn't fast enough to move for an attempt on the kick.
As she was sent onto the ground again, she once again got back up.
"Do you know why your master attempted to cheat?"
"..." Filo didn't respond as she was catching her breath.
"Because you're weak."
"..." Those words hurt since it implies that her master doesn't view her as useful.
"What do you fight for?"
"Isn't it obvious? For Master!" She charged once again at Fitoria, wanting to prove that she's strong.
"Remember, use yer head, Filo!" Garfiel shouted, trusting that she's learning how to deal with Fitoria.
This prompted her to stop as she noticed Fitoria about to counter-attack whatever she was going to do.
This caught her attention though she was still looking unimpressed.
"You couldn't beat the dragon last night, you can't beat me now, and you expect to be useful to the Shield Hero?"
"I'm not gonna lose! I'm gonna become strong for Master!" As Filo shouted this, she charged at her opponent.
"Not with such a shallow will."
Fitoria without hesitation managed to knock Filo back with a single hit.
As she was on the ground, Fitoria moved her hand towards the little filolial and began to fire a barrage of projectiles at her. Not strong enough to do any fatal damage though enough to injure her.
While there was dust covering around the filolial, she began to think back to everything from the first memory she has all the way until now.
Thinking of these memories were enough to make her continue to fight by slowly approaching Fitoria.
"I-I...won't lose...I'll get...much much stronger!"
"Really?"
She turned towards Melty and began to make the wind prison smaller.
"Better hurry up then, Mel-chan is in trouble."
"Leave her alone!" Filo shouted angrily before charging at Fitoria once again.
Unlike the other times, Naofumi and the others watching noticed that Filo was moving faster than before.
Garfiel smirked as he said,
"I knew she's got th's."
With that comment, he watched as Filo was adapting to the fight.
Her speed was strong though her attacks were still lacking.
They did seem like strong attacks however the way Fitoria was still dodging everything she threw at him.
After a few swings, Fitoria once again was able to send her flying back.
As Filo crashed onto the ground once again, she got back up once again only this time she took the chance to heal herself since she was starting to reach her limit.
Once she was healed up, she continued to go on the offensive with Fitoria easily handling things on the defensive.
This continued for a minute until Filo was hit by another barrage of projectiles, these nearly knocking her out.
Fitoria tilt her head for a second as she saw Filo refusing to back down.
"Impressive."
Fitoria saw the potential Filo had, which prompted her to start gathering the mana all around her.
"Hm? What's she up to?" Garfiel asked as he wasn't sure.
"Is she absorbing the mana particles in the air? Is that even possible?" Melty also questioned.
Fitoria continued to absorb the mana around all the while Filo once again started to heal up.
"Too slow." Fitoria said as she finished gathering the mana, Filo finished healing up as well as powering herself up.
She knew that this is now or never.
"Okay, but I'll still beat you!"
She jumped up once again before flying directly towards Fitoria's direction, with both her fists glowing a green like aura.
Fitoria saw this and just casually used the mana she had gathered to create a barrier around her.
"Spiral...Strike." As Filo shouted this, the glove she was wearing in her right hand had suddenly broken while a large claw was created in its place.
This claw clashed with Fitoria's barrier, prompting Filo to put everything she had in this one attack.
"Go!"
As she shouted this, more to motivate herself than anything else, her strength had increased enough to break the barrier.
Everyone was surprised by this with Filo managing to land a small cut onto Fitoria's right cheek. After passing by Fitoria, she crashed onto the ground with barely any energy to get back up.
"I...I won't lose." Filo said as she was gathering her strength to continue speaking, "Master, I'll grow stronger. Strong enough to protect you, Mel-chan, Raphtalia-oneechan, and Garf. Strong enough to protect everyone."
She got back up and continued to make her way towards Fitoria's direction.
She attempted to try and land a punch but it was nothing.
She collapsed onto her knees while continuing to say,
"Okay...So, I'll never lose."
"..." Fitoria was silent for a moment as she could see Filo was attempting to get back up and continue to fight. "That's enough, Filo. You win."
Filo looked up and saw Fitoria smile, something so rare for everyone watching.
The barrier that Fitoria had created started to fade away all the while Fitoria kneeled down to be on the same level as Filo.
"I'll free Mel-chan. You did well."
Filo was surprised by the words she was hearing though someone else's voice caught her attention more.
"Filo-chan."
She turned to see Melty running towards her, looking unharmed.
The second princess goes to hug her filolial friend, having been worried for her sake.
"Mel-chan..."
Filo smiled as the two friends hugged before the others started to approach the two.
"Good job, Filo." Garfiel spoke proudly.
"Amazing job, Filo-tan!" Motoyasu said in a cheerful tone, having always had faith in her.
Filo turned towards the direction and smiled when seeing Naofumi.
"Master...I won."
"Yeah. You did amazing, Filo."
Filo smiled when hearing those words from her master all the while the Shield Hero reflected on what Fitoria was doing.
Throughout the fight, he slowly was figuring out that Fitoria was actually training Filo.
Had it been a real fight, he knows full well that Filo wouldn't have a chance in winning.
Fitoria begins to heal Filo completely before telling her:
"You did well to pass the trial."
"Huh?" Filo tilted her head, a bit distrusting on Fitoria which prompted her to turn towards her master for clarification.
"Filo, she was just testing you."
"..." Filo was left silent, still uncertain of everything that had happened.
"Yes. If you hadn't passed it, you would've died. And both the Shield Hero and Spear Hero would've been killed too."
Naofumi and Motoyasu for once were on the same mindset that it's a little unnerving the way the queen of filolials spoke when mentioning that she would kill them if Filo would've lost.
Fitoria moved her hand to summon a tiara.
"What's that?" Filo asked.
"A symbol proving that you overcame my trial." Fitoria calmly responded, still having a smile. "Lower your head."
Filo paused for a moment before turning towards Naofumi, wanting to make sure that her master is okay with this.
He nodded which prompting her to kneel down in order for Fitoria to place the tiara onto her head.
Once this was done, all the filolials around started to scream in joy.
"Filo-tan looks so cute!" Motoyasu shouted, impressed by the way Filo looks with a tiara on her head.
Garfiel paused as he was suddenly reminded by his captain when Motoyasu spoke in such a way.
("Emilia-tan looks so cute!")
'...gonna preten' I didn't hear th't.'
He turned back towards Filo and Fitoria's direction as the queen herself was saying:
"Filo, I appoint you my successor."
"Successor?"
Everyone was surprised along with Filo on Fitoria's words.
"You mean she'll become the next filolial queen?" Naofumi asked to which Fitoria was silent on.
"Now she's outta yer league, Spear idiot."
"Hey! I'm a hero! The hero always gets the princess!" Motoyasu retorted.
"...ya ain't wrong..." Garfiel reluctantly said as he thought about his captain and Emilia's relationship.
"That's amazing, Filo-chan!" Melty spoke with pride, seeing that her friend is a princess like her now.
"..." Filo didn't want this. She knows that it's going to mean that she'll have responsibilities now.
Before she could complain, the tiara suddenly disappeared. After a few seconds, a singular cowlick appeared on her head; one strand of hair stuck straight up.
"..." Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Garfiel all remained silent.
"...huh?" Filo looked up as she just noticed this.
"Filo-chan! You're so cute!" Melty said as she was excited by this.
Filo reached up and touched her cowlick only to start freaking out.
"Ah! What's that? There's something weird on my head!" As Filo shouted and nearly jumped, she grabbed the clump of hair and pulled it out with ease. "Ouch!"
Although it hurt, Filo felt proud only for another strand of hair to pop up in its place.
"Another one?!"
She pulled this one off despite how much it hurts only for another one to pop up in that one's place. Since she knows that it'll be pointless, she gave up and hung her head.
"It'll only keep growing back, so you'd better give up. The more you grow, the more cowlicks you'll have."
"What? But I don't want..."
Filo looked at Fitoria's cowlicks, prompting her to pout since this isn't what she wants.
While this was going on, Naofumi was a bit curious on something.
He brought up Filo's status screen to notice that her stats had improved.
The tiara had conferred some abilities and status improvement.
Although at the moment Filo is maxed leveled until they can get to the hourglass, this reward from Fitoria is beneficial since it helped her grow stronger.
At the moment, Garfiel Tinsel is the strongest of the group in terms of raw strength, which makes Filo be second strongest by just a bit thanks to this power up.
Raphtalia would still win but now the two are on equal terms. Fitoria turned towards him.
"I also have something for you, Shield Hero."
"I don't want a cowlick."
Both Garfiel and Motoyasu thought on how a cowlick on Naofumi would look before bursting into laughter.
"Hahaha, th't would be pretty funny."
"Yeah! Just imagine, Naofumi, with a cowlick. Hahaha!"
"..." He wanted to kill the two of them right then and there but since Fitoria is right in front of him, he restrained himself...for now. Raphtalia tilted her head as she didn't know what the two were laughing about.
"It's something better. Show me your Shield."
"..." He wasn't trusting this at first but considering that she helped Filo in her stats, he believed that it could be the same.
He allowed the queen of filolials to mess with his shield, making Motoyasu a bit jealous.
She plucked one of her own cowlicks before placing it on the green circle on the center of the shield, allowing it to absorb her cowlick.
Filolial Series Forcibly Unlocked!
"Forcibly unlocked?"
He was confused when seeing this though he was intrigued that there was so much given to him...though he will have to wait until he is the right level to use these abilities.
The main one that jumped out to him was an ability called "While Riding".
This only gave him the idea that it's supposed to be for Filo to help her fight better when someone's riding her back.
Fitoria turned towards the Spear Hero, not happy about this but since he's been a good boy this day, she said to him:
"I shall also give you this gift. Bring your spear here."
"..." Motoyasu approached Fitoria and just as she was about to place her cowlick on the orb, Motoyasu grabbed it while asking:
"Could I hold on to it?"
"Why? You could use it to gain—"
"I know I know, but this alone is an amazing gift already!" As he said this, he tied the cowlick right onto his spear. "There, now you'll always be by my side, Fitoria-chan!"
"..." She could only blame herself for this, prompting her to just leave him be...at least in terms of speaking with him on non important things.
"Shield Hero, Spear Hero, I still wish to speak with you in private, but I also wish to speak with the demi human boy, Garfiel Tinsel."
"Hm?" Garfiel was a bit curious on what she wanted with him.
The three boys turned towards one another before turning towards Fitoria, all wondering what she would like to speak with them about in private.
"There's more?" Naofumi questioned. Before Fitoria could answer this, Melty spoke:
"Um...uh..."
"Hm?" Fitoria turned towards Melty. The second princess was hesitant and somewhat embarrassed to speak with her. "What?"
"That was just a test for Filo, right? You weren't...using me?"
"Of course not. Isn't there anything you want, Mel-chan?"
"Um...can you become a really big filolial and let me ride on your head?" Oddly engaged and passionate, Melty made her request.
"...Very well." Fitoria was a little put out, but she patted Melty's head before growing large. Once she was in her filolial form, Motoyasu was caught off guard once again before passing out.
"Come on, man." Garfiel was just...disappointed by this.
"Wow..." Melty was amazed when seeing this.
As promised, Melty was put on the top of Fitoria's head in order to ride as promised. She was not only more amazed by the view but she was having the time of her life.
"Wow, amazing! I'm so high up!" Melty looked around and could see so many trees as far as the eye could see. "Ah, I'm living the dream!"
"Is a ride all she really wanted?" Naofumi questioned, not exactly sure what's so cool about it.
"I wanna be really big soon, too!" Filo said, jealous that Melty was enjoying her ride with Fitoria. Naofumi turned towards Filo with a smile on his face.
"Who knows how many cowlicks you'll have by then?"
"No!" Filo shouted as she grabbed her hair, not wanting any more cowlicks.
Garfiel and Raphtalia noticed something rare at this moment, a wholesome Naofumi.
Not filled with anger or caution, just letting himself enjoy the moment.
This was something they will forever keep in mind since it'll be a long time before seeing this side of him again.
The four of them and a knocked out Motoyasu waited until Melty had enjoyed her ride with Fitoria before the two returned to the group.
"That was so much fun!"
"The day had only just begun."
"Yea, meanin' we got a whole day t'do somethin' fun." Garfiel said as he was really itching for a match with Fitoria.
"Get some more rest before you leave." Fitoria spoke calmly with a blank expression once again.
"But..." Melty was unsure if Naofumi was really going to want to rest for another day there. He noticed that she was looking at him.
"Well, if Fitoria's offering, why not accept?"
"Really?" Melty asked in a surprised tone though she had a smile on her face when asking this.
"This is a celebration, after all."
"We need to show you some real hospitality as well."
The filolials all cheer once again.
"A party to celebrate the appointment of a new queen? You mean me? Don't go making decisions for me!" Filo was very annoyed by all of this.
"Congratulations, Filo-chan!" As she was smiling, she was caught off guard by a filolial picking her up. Raphtalia smiled at all of this before being picked up as well.
"Me too?"
As Raphtalia questioned this, she along with Melty and Filo that were sitting on separate filolials were all taken away into the forest.
Naofumi, Garfiel, and Fitoria all looked at one another, a bit confused before following them.
Motoyasu eventually woke up and noticed the three walking into the forest.
"Hm? What's happening? Where's everyone? Hold on guys!"
For the rest of the day, they spend time celebrating with the filolials.
As the day came and went, at night time the filolials gather together as they celebrate.
A couple of filolials mess with Naofumi, much to his dismay.
Filo at first did not liking the attention she was getting but over the night she was letting herself go and party with Melty.
Garfiel and Motoyasu took this chance to cook for everyone, surprising them all with their combined cooking skills for a moment only to realize that it was barely good.
Naofumi was forced to cook for everyone since all the filolials were bugging him for his cooking until he finally made them dinner.
Once the party had ended with the only remaining people up being Naofumi, Garfiel, and Motoyasu.
The Spear Hero turned towards the two before telling them:
"You know, you aren't half bad. I still hate you both, but you know how to make things fun."
"..." Naofumi looked at him with a blank expression before turning back towards the sleeping Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty.
"Ya know, ya at least know how t'party." That was the only compliment he was going to give Motoyasu since the two did make a pretty good dinner bowl even if everyone else thinks it was mediocre.
"I'm happy to see you all working together." Fitoria spoke, catching the three boys attention once again.
"I thought you were asleep."
"I'm not sleeping until we speak, now that everyone's asleep."
"What did ya wanted with my amazin' self?"
"I was curious on something, where are you from?"
"Hm? Whatcha mean?" Garfiel crossed his arms as he asked in a curious tone.
"Your smell is different. It's similar to the demi humans here but also different, similar to the cardinal heroes."
"..." He was silent for a moment since this is the first time he's asked in this regard. "Guess it's time t'talk 'bout how I was taken away from my world 'n placed here."
"Wait, so you were isekai'd too?" Motoyasu questioned, surprised that a demi human would be isekai'd from what appears to be another fantasy world.
Naofumi had suspected this but hearing it was a bit of a surprise.
'Perhaps his captain he talks about is from Japan like me and the others.' Naofumi thought to himself, having found it suspicious at first that he knew things that only those in Japan knew.
Now that this information has come to light and connection has been made, it all starts to make sense.
"Hm. Then allow me to ask, what purpose are you working with the Shield Hero?"
"Cause it's cool he fights with a shield. Like Cap'n likes t'say, the best defense is a good offense."
"That's one way of putting it."
Fitoria turned towards the two cardinal heroes as her interest were now with the two now that she had gotten her answer from the demi human boy.
"Can you two work together?"
"Not this again."
"Come on Naofumi, it shouldn't be hard to work together."
"Oh really?" He turned towards the Spear Hero very annoyed at that comment. "Would you work with me if Fitoria hadn't asked you to?"
"I mean...um..."
"That's right. You wouldn't. You'd still be hunting me down and taking Melty right into trap by her bitch of a sister."
"Now hey! Don't you go and insult Myne! I'm trying to bridge the gap despite the stuff you did to her!"
"I did to her! She lied—"
Fitoria punched both heroes in the gut with enough force to knock the wind out of them.
"No fighting among you heroes."
The two nearly collapsed from this, prompting both to turn towards the queen filolial.
"How are you supposed to defeat the waves if all you do is hate each other."
"..."
The two remained silent as she gave them a look of disappointment before turning her attention up towards the sky.
"Shield Hero, did you try to clear your name?"
"Well..." He thought back on all the times they were constantly berating him with the false accusations thrown towards him. "I didn't bother, as if they would ever believe me, let alone listen."
"If you don't tell them they're wrong, you're basically admitting your guilt."
"She's right Naofumi, only guilty people—"
"Spear Hero, did you bother to listen? Or did you blindly follow what everyone else was saying because they were treating you better?"
"I...um..."
"Hm, perhaps you should learn when to shut up."
"I'm trying to help you out but every time I look at you, you are always in some kind of mess."
"Then why don't you listen, Spear Hero? Listen to the Shield Hero's side of the story without your bias before reaching a conclusion."
"..."
Motoyasu knew that Naofumi's side was that Myne lied about the event and basically did it for bad reasons, making her a bad person.
He refused to believe this...though he did want to listen to Fitoria's wishes for them to work together.
He tightened his fist and bit a part of his lip before saying reluctantly,
"Fine. I'll listen. Tell me what happened. From the moment we split up that first day."
"..." Naofumi looked at Motoyasu, seeing that he didn't want to do this but was forcing himself to listen. This annoyed him more since he's only doing it for Fitoria's sake...though he might as well give it a try.
"We were working together, she was helping me learn about the world. We bought a few things with the only thing getting for me was the chainmail. That night we went out to eat and she wanted me to drink wine. I refused." He paused as he was hating this memory all the same. Although he was treated fairly by her, the fact that this was all a facade boiled him. He continued to push through, "I...ended the night and just went to sleep. I wanted to do things the next day but next thing I knew, I was robbed. You know the rest."
He would rather die than to speak on that throne room mess and have to think back on that painful moment.
Motoyasu was silent as for the first time he was listening to Naofumi's story, trying to make sense of the situation.
He didn't want to believe that Myne would be cruel to fake the crimes she had accused Naofumi since that's more than evil...he turned towards Fitoria.
"Queen Fitoria, is he lying?"
"I told you that—"
"I just...I want to be sure." He said as he doesn't want to hear his complaining. He turned back towards Fitoria, "Is he?"
Fitoria looked at Motoyasu and could see the desperation in his eyes, wanting to believe that his ally was not the evil witch that Naofumi made her out to be.
She turned towards Naofumi and could tell that he's regretting this since he knew this was going to happen.
She just looked disappointed at the two before responding to the Spear Hero's question:
"He's speaking truthfully."
"..."
Motoyasu was silent for a moment before turning around, needing some time to think.
Before he left, Fitoria stopped him as she wasn't done speaking with the two cardinal heroes.
"Unfortunately you can't leave."
"Why not?"
"I have news about one of the cardinal heroes."
"Hm?" Both Naofumi and Motoyasu were curious about this news Fitoria had for them.
"It seems that the Sword Hero's life is in mortal danger."
Author's note:
It's been a bit since posting a chapter, which I'm sorry about. I have been reading the light novels in order to add some stuff as well as a few twists I can't wait to bring out. Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter.