Chapter 23: The Corrupt Council and Wayward Soldier
"Whoa! Look how big it is!" Sakura's eyes sparkled as she ran through the house. However, calling it a house would be an understatement, as it was a manor. Zalton's manor, to be specific. Why does a single person need a manor? Naofumi didn't know the answer; none of them did. But they could care less. It was finally a place to rest their head after everything that happened.
"Make yourselves at home. I have every amenity one might need for their stay. Tea?" Zalton poured a cup and gave it to Sakura, who was the most eager to drink something.
"Also, my lord, I just got word from the Genmu. He had been summoned to the castle along with the rest of the remaining council. You'll finally get your meeting as requested tomorrow morning." Zalton reported.
"It's about time." Naofumi scoffed.
"Shall I prepare a carriage for tomorrow?"
"Go for it. I'll prepare things here."
"As you command." Disappearing, Zalton went off to do his task.
"Gathering everyone as soon as we put our weapons up for maintenance. We're in a pretty compromising position at the moment." Naofumi commented. Moving over to one of the chairs, he sat down, with everyone else sitting across from him as well.
"Sakura can handle herself without a weapon. If someone tries anything, I'm hi em with this." Sakura shadow-boxed the air. Despite everything, she had the most energy in the group, despite it being so late.
"Right. Sakura and Keel are the only ones who can fight proficiently while unarmed." Raphtalia remarked.
"Then it's settled. Sakura, you're coming with me. You all can figure out someone else to do it."
"Mind if I invite Heishan back then? We still have some things we'd like to work on."
"Do whatever. But away from here. I don't want anyone else knowing of this place." Naofumi ordered.
With Zalton warding off other shadows. This was the only area where they had an air of privacy. So the fewer people in the know, the better.
"Also thanks to yesterday's grinding. I finally have a new toy to play with."
Dragon Hourglass Sand Shield C
Equip Bonus: Portal Shield
Naofumi swapped to his Dragon Hourglass shield. A shield he had gotten a while back but couldn't use. Now, it was ready, and quite neat too. He had three slots he could place down where he could teleport to. It actually came with a preset point in the Melromarc summon room. But Naofumi immediately swapped that one out for Zalton's manor.
He didn't want an incident where he'd accidentally teleport into the wrong place. Even if the skill itself was based on intent, he didn't want to take any chances.
"I can now teleport to a certain extent. This should help our travels and escape be a lot easier. Sadly, I only have two slots other than those to work with, so we'll have to be smart about where we place those.
"You can teleport now? That's so cool!" Keel marveled in amazement.
"A shame you unlocked it now. It would have been really helpful when we went to save Ake."
"Sakura knows. Maybe she wouldn't have been shot." Sakura chuckled.
"I'm glad that you guys can get a joke outta those events, but mind changing the subject, please?" Ake sighed, still shaken by what happened.
"Right, sorry." Sakura apologized. Scratching the back of her head.
"Well, you all can do whatever. I, on the other hand, will be going to sleep."
"I'm going to see if there's a bath in here," Raphtalia muttered.
"Same, it's been a bit since Sakura washed her feathers." Running off. Raphtalia walked behind Sakura, leaving only Keel and Ake in the room.
There was an awkward tension in the room. Keel said nothing, while Ake struggled to say anything. For whatever reason, he felt cautious around Keel. Not because he felt in danger or anything, far from it. He was cautious about words, fearing that whatever he said would anger the dog in a way.
That's something he learned during his time as a soldier. The knight, unfortunately, does not spark hope in the hearts of demi-humans. But instead, caution and fear.
"So…" Ake started. But before he could say anything else. Keel walked off.
"...I might have an idea why he hates me." With a sigh, Ake exited the house and entered the courtyard. Stretching his body, he picked up several of the chairs and began doing lunges, with no sign of stopping any time soon.
/~/
Siltvelt Castle
"Now introducing our lord. Naofumi Iwatani, the shield hero!" The guard announced.
Entering the hall with Sakura by his side. They walked down the path and faced the Silvert Council.
There were ten seats and four above those ones. From what I knew about Siltvelt culture, the four seats above the ten councilmen were meant for the four supreme races. The turtle raced the Genmu. Their representative was the old man they met two days ago.
Meeting each other again after all the time. The turtle sneakily put a finger on his lips, indicating he'll keep quiet about their deal. Or he should keep quiet about it. No matter which one it meant, Naofumi wasn't planning on telling the council either, so he sneakily returned the gesture.
Next was the phoenix race, the Shusaku, with their representative, Werner. The phoenix didn't look so well, looking exhausted, most likely because he had to deal with an entire castle of potential assassins and the disappearance of their lord yesterday afternoon.
Needless to say, he had seen better days. And was overjoyed and relieved as Naofumi walked into the room.
Aside from the Genmu. He was perhaps Naofumi's biggest supporter. Even Sakura, who had been picking up the language rather quickly, could sense how genuine he was in every reaction. He needed to get him on his side no matter what. Thankfully, it shouldn't be that hard, assuming how much he worships him daily.
The final two races were the White Tigers and Hakuko. And the Dragons, Aotatsu. Unfortunately, no one filled their seats.
The Aotatsu split off Siltvelt entirely and made their own known as Shildfreeden. He knew very little about them, other than that it was another place that worshiped the shield hero, alongside the dragons.
The last was the Hakuko, who were all but wiped out during the war with Melromarc. Their previous king, Tyron Fayon was killed by a man known as the wisest king of wisdom. The story goes he had two grandchildren who suddenly disappeared one day. Until then, the Hakuko seat shifted from person to person until they found a suitable leader to take over.
With the four races out of the way, the rest of the council readied themselves as Naofumi stared at them. There was every kind of demi-human and beast-man there. From to bulls. Lions and giraffes. There were even some mystical creatures he didn't think were demi-humans, like the werewolf and vampire council members. If he knew those existed, he would have outfitted himself with silver and garlic a while ago. Though thinking about it now. That could possibly be offensive towards their people.
"Welcome, my lord. And welcome to your mistress as well." The giraffe spoke. Much to Sakura's frustration.
"Okay, let Sakura put a gag order on this right now! She is not Naofumi's mistress! Sakura exclaimed.
"Oh, up, s-sorry. I didn't mean to imply anything."
"Just don't worry about it. Sakura, stand by for now; I'll handle things here." Naofumi demanded, silencing the giraffe immediately. Sakura also took her command and started goofing off in the background.
"As he was saying." Werner cleared his throat, getting the attention of the room. "We welcome you back to the castle. We were quite worried when you left." Werner continued with a sigh of relief.
"I saw that the castle was unsafe and took my own measures to protect me and my party. Will there be an issue with that?" Naofumi stated firmly. It was mostly a test to gauge the council's reaction, and many were taken aback.
The one who looked the most suspicious was the lion. He was completely uninterested until Naofumi spoke now. Unlike the other council members, who were either shocked or saddened or understanding of Naofumi's decision. He was the only one who looked pissed off and annoyed. Even if it was only a split second. They both saw the scowl on his face. It may not be much evidence. But for now, they found enemy number one.
That lion does look conniving. I'll tell the Genmu to keep an eye on him… or maybe I can tell Zalton. Never had a personal shadow before.
As Naofumi had this thought, he could have sworn he saw Zalton tip his fedora before disappearing.
"We understand your disappointment in us, so we respect your decision. If you'll allow us, we'll set up temporary hou-"
"No thanks." Naofumi interrupted.
"B-but my lord." Werner started. But Naofumi interrupted him again.
"I took the matter of housing into my own hands. I shall not disclose where, when, or how. Just that I'm already there."
"But surely you'd like some maids or staffing of some kind, my lord."
"The same staff who allowed women into my room and tried to, or didn't even notice the poison-laced in my meals," Naofumi argued.
Werner was going to respond, but he dared not speak again. His lord was right, and there was no point trying to argue against it. The werewolf councilmen, however, didn't get the memo. And spoke up in his stead.
"My lord, I can assure you. The castle is the safest place in all of Siltvelt. You can't just let one bad experience sway your opin-" Before he could finish speaking, he was swiftly smacked on the head by another member, Lion.
"Jaralis, what the—" The werewolf couldn't get any more words in as Jaralis forced him to bow.
"Apologize for his disrespect, sir; he's still relatively new." Jaralis chuckled, though Naofumi stood there unamused.
"What I believe he meant to say is that outside the castle. We won't be able to guarantee your safety. Not to mention the supplies in case of an emergency. Now I'm not trying to disregard your decision and all. But is this what you want?" The lion inquired.
For a lion. He really weaseled his way out of that one.
"I'm pretty sure I made myself clear the first time. The answer is no. Besides, I want a proper place to return to once I return."
"What do you mean?"
"Simple. Despite popular belief, I am not here to stay."
"Wh-What!" Jaralis exclaimed.
Granted, it was quite a shock, so he could excuse that reaction just now. What really confused him, however, is that they thought he'd stay there forever.
"My lord. You can't possibly want to return to Melromarc after everything they did!" Another councilman exclaimed. This time it was a snake demi-human. Her tongue hissing at every opportunity.
"I am, and I will."
"B-but why!? If I may inquire?" Jaralis stammered as he caught himself.
"Have you forgotten what's going on? I'm not here because I want to stay in Siltvelt; I'm here to deal with the waves and the waves alone. That means Melromarc's too, whether you like it or not."
Not that I have much of a choice either. Naofumi grumbled. Even if Fitoria didn't threaten them. The world being destroyed with him still in it wasn't his ideal reality.
"Even still, you can't possibly help Melro-"
"I made my decision. There's nothing to discuss." Naofumi stated coldly.
Jaralis obviously didn't like that, but he held his tongue.
"Understood, my lord." Jaralis bowed. The rest of the council did the same, some more reluctant than others. More enemies have been identified.
"Now. This doesn't mean I'm done with Siltvelt, far from it. I'll do my best to help this nation the best I can. But I need your help to do that, and we should start by dealing with the waves, or we're all dead. That is my priority before I do anything else, understand?"
A lot of the council members nodded in agreement, a select few including Jaralis. Now he has his potential allies narrowed down, with one of them speaking up almost immediately.
"Whatever it is you desire to do. You have the Genmu's full support." The old Genmu declared.
"Old man. Don't you think it's a bit too eager to offer everything so early?" The giraffe spoke up.
"Whatever do you mean? Are you saying giving my lord my utmost dedication and support is a bad thing?" The Genmu smirked.
The giraffe immediately began to stammer, coming up with every excuse he could to salvage the situation. In the corner of his eye, he could even see Jaralis cringe and rub his head in annoyance.
I'm starting to like this turtle. Now let's see how the others react. Naofumi pondered as Werner stood.
"A lot of your misfortunes have happened under my watch. Therefore, I shall offer my sincerest apologies and give my utmost support to the Shusaku as well." Werner declared.
"As a member of this council, I also agree." The vampire spoke up.
"As do I. My vote was always in support of you anyway." Another added.
"I for one think we should discuss this further." The werewolf spoke, voting against support.
"Agreed. There's much to discuss with our lord's demands."
"Discuss what exactly? Our lord is asking for support to save the world, not thousands of gold with no questions asked!?"
"I just don't want to disappoint our lord with an unkeepable promise!"
"Don't give me that excuse! You're just a heretic!"
"Don't you dare call me a heretic!"
The room erupted into a frenzy as the council began a vote, arguing both sides. Granted, Naofumi couldn't help but understand the opposing side's argument. He quite literally said he'd help their sworn enemy multiple times and was pretty vocal about his disappointment in the country entirely.
Aside from that, they had no real reason for this rejection. And was more arguing a postponement on support for some reason they never came up with.
Near the end of the debate, it came up to a 5-4 vote, with Jaralis being the last to voice his opinion.
If he sides with the Genmu, they win. If they tie, however, that's where things become tricky. Whenever a Hakuko gets in a disagreement with one of his own, they would fight, with the victor getting his way. And much like their king before, this translated to the council as well.
Now Jaralis was in a bad spot. If he disagreed. Not only would he be under more suspicion from two members of the supreme races. But the shield hero himself. Not to mention, his side seemed to have fewer powerhouses, as opposed to Werner and the Genmu, who are supposedly level 120, a trait shared by the supreme races of Siltvelt, and only surpassed by the heroes themselves.
On the other hand, if he agrees with the Genmu. Whatever he was planning would go to waste. A loss either way. So Naofumi was curious to see which one he'd take.
"As I am the last one. I believe it's fitting to say that the waves should be focused on above all else. With that in mind, I vote to give my full support to the shield hero." Jaralis declared.
The opposition all looked over to him, surprised at this stand. But he brushed them off.
"I ask my lord." Jaralis scoffed under his breath. "What is it that you need?"
"Well, since you asked. I have a few requests." Naofumi grinned.
/~/
Ake sat outside. Despite it raining and making him soaked. He did his best to ignore it as he meditated. Before long, however, he got frustrated and got back into cover.
"I just don't get it, Heishan," Ake grumbled.
"Ake, it's been five minutes." Heishan sighed.
They were back at the Ditzy Drunk. And after dealing with a rather angry Rhino, they began practicing.
Though no matter what he did, Ake just couldn't seem to get a grasp on the concept.
"Towel."
"Thanks, Zalton." Ake began drying off his face before jumping back.
"Zalton!"
"Master Ake." Zalton nodded. "I've heard you were trying to access your life force?"
"Y-yeah. I'm working on it. But I haven't gotten far." Ake admitted.
"Well, it is your first day. It could take months to figure things out."
"Yeah, I know, but I'm not frustrated at that." Ake got up, sticking his hand into the rain. "I can pick up things quickly. Everything usually just has a feeling. And once I figure it out, it's smooth sailing from there."
"Show off." Heishan chuckled.
"What I mean to say is that. I don't know what I'm working towards. There's no feeling, no pain. Just… nothing. How am I supposed to grasp something if nothing is there?" Ake admitted, his voice trailing off in frustration.
He never did like not being able to grasp something.
"It's a bit hard to demonstrate. But I'll do my best."
Zalton tossed a gold coin over to the bartender, who gave him a thumbs up in approval.
"At the most basic level. It could be used to enhance one's body and vitality. But, when refined."
Appearing from a dark portal, Zalton pulled out a weapon. A tanto to be exact.
"Lifeweave: 3rd Cycle, First Quarter."
Doing a slash. The table in front of them split in half, as a streak of blue cut through it.
"To me. I see it as an extension of not only my body but my weapon as well." Zalton explained. But Ake tilted his head in confusion.
"Yeah, I don't get it," Ake admitted.
With a sigh. Zalton put away his sword and hit Ake twice. The first blow at normal strength, the second enforced with ki.
"Ugh." Ake fell to the ground, gasping for air.
"Apologies. But there you have it. A punch with and without ki."
"Yeah, I felt it." Ake gasped. "It felt harder like I was hit with steel.
"Yes. Do not use that. Try to replicate that feeling." Heishan cheered.
"Alright!" Ake threw a punch at Zalton, but it did nothing. There wasn't even a clank. His punch just did so little damage that Zalton didn't even flinch."
"Well… yeah, keep meditating."
"Aww." Ake held his head low.
/~/
Ake spent the rest of the day practicing, to minimal results. Before long, it was night, and he and Zalton went back to the manor for the night.
But he couldn't sleep. He barely slept yesterday either. His body was on constant alert since that day, and even when he was able to calm down, nightmares of him being tortured jolted him awake.
Usually, when that happened, he would just begin working out outside until the morning arrived. A few stamina potions here and there were enough to keep him awake.
And tonight was no different. Waking up as a knife finished carving the church insignia into his chest, he went outside and did the usual.
This time, however, he wasn't alone. Instead, there was a familiar face outside.
"Sakura?" What are you doing up so late?"
"Sakura could ask you the same thing. Are you feeling alright?" Sakura asked, placing a hand on his head.
"I'm fine… mostly. No need to worry."
"Well, that's certainly a lie," Sakura grumbled.
"What's bothering you? Sakura can deal with it."
Sakura brought her knuckles together.
"No, no, it's not that. Just... I've been having trouble sleeping." Ake admitted.
"Ahh. Nightmares?"
"Y-yeah. How did you know?"
"Raphtalia went through something similar. She had just gone through the waves, and then Melromarc knights the surviving children into slavery. It took her a bit to get over it." Sakura chuckled. "Old times."
No wonder Keel has been so weary of me. I knew the knights weren't so dandy. But to do something like this.
Ake fell to his knees, much to the concern of Sakura.
"I just don't understand. I was proud to be a knight. Just as proud as being religious. Captain Trent was my role model. I studied the blade under him; he convinced me to join the knight and took me under into his squad. And Angela… she was like a mother to me. Out of every sister who took care of the orphanage, she would spend the most time with me. Yet…" Ake began to cry. "They turned on me so quickly. Dump me out the second… and for what? Doing what's right."
Sakura comforted the boy. She couldn't blame him; he was still very young for the field he was in. Now his entire nation is pretty much against him. It's a hard reality, a reality he struggled to cope with.
"I don't even know what to believe in anymore. The knight's code is a sham. And the religion I spent so long learning is just... wrong. What do I do, Sakura? Ake pleaded.
Sakura took a moment, trying to find the words to say. Before long, she wrapped her wings around Ake and pulled him closer to her chest.
Mothers do this all the time, right? Sakura pondered.
"I don't think I can answer. There's not much, so the only thing you can do is what you can and find your own path… Ake?"
Looking down. Sakura found the boy fast asleep. If she were to be honest, it was quite cute. But she dared not make a sound; he needed this.
"Good night, our knight."
/~/
"Jaralis!" The hippo shouted. They were at a table, in a secret room hidden in Jaralis's manor.
The werewolf, snake, giraffe, and hippo demi-humans all sat around each other, each one taking their turn to yell at the lion.
"How dare—!"
"How dare I what? Save our asses for the time being." Jaralis argued. Getting out of the chair, he paced around the room.
"The shield hero is already suspicious of us. Hell, he hates us. Arguing against him any further is essentially signing your will early. Especially now that he has the support of both Shusaku and Genmu races." Jaralis explained with a huff.
"So what do we do now? The shield hero has expressed a disinterest in our women and refuses to listen to anything we say." The snake asked.
"Honestly. I say we kill him. I am disappointed that a human was summoned as the shield hero." The hippo sneered. Crossing his arms.
"Relax. Things will come together in time. Right now, the best we can try is to attempt to sway him to our side and wring him dry when we have the chance. He may not listen to reason now, but after some time and another negative encounter in Melromarc. He'll be coming back to us." Jaralis grinned.
"Until then. Try to gain his favor. Once we do, it's smooth sailing from there."
/~/
Sorry for the wait, Merry!
More importantly, welcome back. I'm locked the fuck in now. Let's get it.
Hope you enjoyed it!