This chapter picks right back off where we left with Naofumi and Malty fleeing Ebonheart city. This is more of a wrap-up to that situation with some fun problem solving that involves manipulating people. You know, just politician stuff.
:P
Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter and providing important feedback on two very important scenes.
With that said, let's get this chapter started!
Chapter 60: New Blood
The ride from Ebonheart city to Silver Keep was pretty quiet all things considered. The former residents of the slums were silent for the most part as they made their way to Silver Keep with Mein riding next to driver's seat alongside Three Dog to help direct him. Naofumi was sitting in the back with the rest of Three Dog's crew and a handful of demi-humans and beastmen. There was obviously something that was bothering the Shield Hero, likely something that transpired while she was dealing with Spark and Flint, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him about it straight away when they still had a trip to make to Silver Keep.
The carriages that Naofumi and Three Dog acquired were actually quite decent, which impressed Mein that they were able to procure so many carriages in such a short span of time and rally so many people that all six carriages were filled to their maximum carry weight. That was up until 10 minutes after they lost sight of Ebonheart city that Mein noticed that two of the carriages carried the insignia of House Ebonheart and Three Dog explained that they might have borrowed them from a group of knights that were sent to reinforce the garrison and quell the rebellion started by the Hound Lord.
Mein was honestly too scared to ask what happened to said knights since that was a whole other slew of problems, but she quickly ordered the two carriages to stop and cut off the emblems that showed who the carriages belonged to. There can be absolutely no evidence linking them to this robbery and probably among other things that happened in Ebonheart city.
Outsider knows they've already committed enough crimes in one city already. She's already making a mental note to never visit Ebonheart city ever again, adding it to a list of other cities that she can never return to for one reason or another.
After quite a bit of riding on the road, Mein could see Silver Keep coming into view just as the early evening started to come around and the sun started to fall in the distance. The castle belonging to House Seatto being a very much welcomed sight after the day that she has had with meeting her...old friends and taking care of them. But she knew very well that her job was far from over with her needing to report what happened at Ebonheart city to Eclair.
" So this is the famous fortress of light, huh? Thought it would actually be made of silver." Three Dog's look of amazement almost Mein chuckle at how similar his line of thinking was to Raphtalia.
" It may not be silver, but I promise you that it is not a half-bad place to live in. You should all be safe here for the time being...just try not to steal or piss off any of the knights." Mein warned. She trusted Three Dog to be smart enough not to try and rob the very place she is taking them to for safety, but she cannot be certain about the colorful mix mash of demi-humans and beastmen that he and Naofumi managed to rally to join them on their evacuation. Hopefully the presence of armed knights will be enough to deter any sort of petty theft.
" Please my boys and girls ain't that stupid." Three Dog quipped with a smile.
As they got closer to the gate, Mein could see a few knights standing on the walls with torches in hand near the gatehouse that controlled the rise and fall of the portcullis made out of strong iron.
" HALT! Who goes there?! This is the Silver Keep belonging to the famed Silver Hands of-"
" Its the Shield Hero! Open the damn gate and get your commander down here too!" Mein shouted at the Silver Hand before he could finish his little speech. She was not in the mood to deal with this shit.
" The Shield Hero? Open the gate! And get Chapter Master Aslatiel down here now!" The knights on the wall scrambled to get the gate open and not a minute later, the iron portcullis was lifted and the convoy of carriages was able to enter.
Mein guided Three Dog to park the carriage near the stables which was more than a bit cramped considering the number of carriages that were following them, but they managed to fit all of them in. Once all the carriages came to a complete stop, all of the passengers began disembarking from the carriage. Mein and Three Dog quickly got off the front to help handle the very large group of refugees who all had faces of uncertainty at being in a new location.
" Alright everybody please calm down! I know that we've had a hell of a day, but the worst is behind us." Three Dog didn't miss a beat trying to cheer up the folks with his upbeat attitude. " Chin up, boys and girls! We're at the famed Fortress of Light itself! The only place in Melromarc where demi's are actually treated like equals!"
It was uncertain whether his words actually helped calm the crowd, but a few of the kids did look up at the castle in genuine amazement of the 'Fortress of Light'. The princess turned agent let Three Dog handle the crowd when she heard the sound of armored boots coming towards them. She turned to see Aslatiel leading a squad of men towards her with a shocked look on his face on what the hell is even happening.
" Mein, who in the name of the Chief God are all these people?" Aslatiel said in shock as he looked over the large number of demi-humans and beastmen that suddenly showed up on their doorstep.
" They are refugees from Ebonheart city. Its a long story." Mein gave a tired look at Aslatiel." I'll explain it later but right now can you help get these people settled? We also need to speak with Eclair urgently to brief her on what happened."
Aslatiel glanced between her and the refugees from Ebonheart city, before he let out a sigh." Ugh, just our goddamned luck that this comes our way." Aslatiel muttered under his breath as he turned to his men." Get these people inside the Keep, there are plenty of spare beds in the barracks and I want an accurate headcount on all of them. And tell our Lady that the Shield Hero has returned and his companion is requesting an urgent debrief in the war room."
" Understood sir. Okay, everybody just stay calm and we'll get you all sorted!" One of the knights helped Three Dog organize the refugees of Ebonheart city.
Mein was about to walk into the Keep when she felt a pat on her back, turning to see the Shield Hero with a troubled expression. " Um, sorry Mein, do you think you can handle the report to Eclair? I'm not really feeling that well." Naofumi excused himself. She couldn't see any sort of physical wounds so whatever was bothering Naofumi was likely the same thing that had kept him silent during the entire ride.
She wanted to question him about it, but felt that now wasn't the right time to pry. " No problem Naofumi, get some rest. Its been a long day." Mein said with a soft smile.
Oh well, at least that allows her to speak to Eclair personally about what happened. She still had a long night ahead of her.
Let it be said that Eclair Seatto was not an easy person to rattle like you could any other noble child who has likely been pampered to hell and back to believe the world belonged to them. Mein honestly respected that about her, Uncle Uther was a famous(or infamous depending on who you ask) general that was a war hero during the Great War despite his controversial views on demi-humans and beastmen. Eclair clearly did her best to try and follow in his footsteps, and while it was difficult to say whether she was achieving that goal, Mein liked to think that Eclair did inherit Uncle Uther's grit.
Eclair clearly wasn't sleeping considering it was only early evening when Mein called for a meeting with her, but her faced looked like one that hadn't slept in days with a worried and tired look on it as she covered her face with her hand. Lucatiel was present with them as her brother was still preoccupied dealing with the large influx of refugees.
" I...am honestly kind of scared to ask what happened in Ebonheart city." Eclair confessed with a worried look on her face. But she still removed the hand covering her eyes to look Mein in the eye.
" You would be right to be afraid Eclair." Mein didn't mince her words as she explained what the hell happened that caused all this. " The Hound Lord's men, the ones we were hunting staged a rebellion in Ebonheart city with the local demi-human population. Based on the intel I gathered, they had been planning this for a while, smuggling weapons into the city and taking out squads of guards to thin the garrison as much as possible to the point where reinforcements had to be sent into the city...which just happened to be on the exact same day the Hound Lord's men launched their attack. Naofumi and I were present when one of the convoys rolled into the city, and had to watch as they got ambushed by a mix of fire spells and steel."
Mein flinched at the reminder of what Spark, her own student did. She almost would be impressed if she wasn't horrified at the result. " Most of the garrison at Ebonheart city is probably dead by now. I assume House Ebonheart will need to send additional reinforcements to the city and further divide their forces."
" Chief God above." Eclair muttered under her breath as she rubbed her temples together to try and sooth the headache she was getting. This sudden attack was certainly the last thing Eclair needed but Mein needed to finish her report.
" With the situation in Ebonheart city going to shit, Naofumi and I quickly came up with a plan to evacuate as many demi-humans and beastmen out of the city as possible. The city would eventually be brought back under control and even those who did not participate in the rebellion would be punished harshly anyway. The treatment of demi's in the city was already bad when we got there, there's going to be hell to pay for any that were still in the city." Mein's words made both Lucatiel and Eclair flinch, perhaps she was laying it on a bit too thick but there was no other way to say it." Naofumi rallied as many people as he could to come with us. And I...managed to take out the Hound Lord's men that were leading the rebellion so they couldn't organize a tactical retreat before we left. Not sure if the rebellion fizzled out right away after I killed the leaders but it should slow them down."
Mein spoke about her kills with no pride in her voice for once, like she normally would about killing bandits. Spark and Flint weren't just a pair of scumbag bandits that she could kill without remorse, they are...were her friends once upon times ago. What happened to the kind and shy girl that jumped for joy when she mastered her first fire spell? Or the young standoffish boy that taught her how to use an axe properly with Thomas? Where did the time go? Or was this simply the natural result of what was going to happen to them eventually?
Would she end up the same?
" The situation in Ebonheart's territory is truly lost then, relations between human and demi-human are beyond repair. Goddamnit..." Eclair cursed as she looked between wanting to scream into a wall while bashing her head in or crying her eyes out.
" I'm sorry Eclair." Mein apologized to the last Seatto in a genuinely sincere voice, rubbing her left Marked hand in shame.
" N-No, you and the Shield Hero didn't do anything wrong. You both did more than most men could do in such a situation." Eclair shook her head at the apology. " Thank you both for taking care of the Hound Lord's men and saving as many innocents as you could. I just hoped that it didn't come to this of all things."
Mein was silent at Eclair's words. That's not what she was apologizing for.
It was at that moment that the door to the war room opened and walked in the second half of Eclair's trusted mouse knight siblings.
" How many refugees brother?" Lucatiel asked as she patted Eclair on the shoulder.
" Give or take a 132 men and women, not counting a few handfuls of children of various ages." Aslatiel said with a sigh as he entered." We managed to get them all settled, thankfully we still have all those spare beds in the barracks but I'm not quite sure what we should do with them milady." Aslatiel asked for the opinion of his commander who seemed just as unsure of what to do.
" I'm not sure honestly. Obviously they can stay here where they will be safe, but going forward is where I'm uncertain." Eclair said with an uncertain expression on her face. Not that Mein can blame her, they didn't exactly send a message to give Eclair a heads-up that she's going to need to deal with a large group of refugees from Ebonheart city.
Mein for her part thought about the company sized worth of refugees that they brought from Ebonheart city. While a pessimist might view the large group as nothing more than an inconvenience at best or extra mouths to feed and shelter at worst, Thomas taught her to see opportunity where others saw weakness or liabilities. The situation in Ebonheart city may be lost, but that need not be the same case for Eclair's territory. The refugees are in desperate need of a new home...so why not give them the choice to have one in the form of working for Eclair?
The more she thought about it, the more it made quite a bit of sense. Silver Keep needs more reinforcements if they want to survive the next Wave. Why not make use of these refugees and turn them into proper knights to help fight against the Hound Lord and the Wave on top of it? A company's worth of untrained conscripts won't instantly be turned into a company of elite trained knights, but at least their numbers will improve. Or at the minimum some workers that can help in gathering resources in the area.
" As morbid as this will sound Eclair, the disaster at Ebonheart city may not be a total loss for us." Mein's words instantly made the mouse knights and Eclair look at her in shock. She quickly clarified what she meant. " Don't get me wrong, what happened in Ebonheart city and what is going to happen is an awful tragedy, but the presence of over a hundred refugees at the Keep need not be a disadvantage. While quite a number of them may not be combat ready, some training and good gear will turn them into fine soldiers with time."
" Are you suggesting that we should recruit the refugees into our ranks?" Eclair quickly caught on to what Mein was saying.
" That is exactly what I'm suggesting. The refugees of Ebonheart city have just lost their home, and I'm willing to bet that they would be willing to fight alongside you in exchange for a safe place to call home, a hot meal and a living wage." Mein elaborated on her suggestion.
" I hope you are not suggesting we threaten to throw them out and leave them to starve on the road if they don't join us, your majesty." Lucatiel's voice had a hint of disrespect behind it at what she assumed to be the worst of Mein's suggestion. Which she will admit was correct as her suggestion was not completely benevolent towards the refugees.
" Of course not Sir Lucatiel. But we need to be realistic here in a time of crisis where sometimes you need to make tough decisions and last time I checked Silver Keep does not possess endless resources." Mein turned to Aslatiel." I assume you've already pulled back whatever remaining forces you have back to Silver Keep from Port Harp and any other detachments?" It was probably cold of Mein to ask, but she hoped that Eclair or Aslatiel wasn't wasting the manpower protecting some ruins that used be Raphtalia's home.
Port Harp may have been a glorious trading hub in its day that brought in plenty of money for House Seatto, but it is destroyed now and Eclair does not have the manpower to spare protecting the ruins of Raphtalia's former home.
" Yes, I figured with the loss of our Lord Seatto and my Lady being injured, I thought it would be best to consolidate our strength here at the Keep with the losses we incurred during the First Wave." Aslatiel confirmation put Mein at ease, but just barely.
" All that and House Seatto's army is still stuck at maybe half its original strength." Mein's harsh words made the mouse knights and Eclair. The princess is vividly aware that she's probably not winning any favor speaking to Eclair like this, but she knew that the only way to convince her was to confront her with the cold hard reality." A company's worth of fresh recruits, even untrained ones could be the boost in numbers you need to get back up to your former strength as an army. And I know you have a surplus of armor and weapons that we captured from the hideouts and bases belonging to some of the Hound Lord's men. You do not lack for proper means to support and arm them in the short-term."
Eclair's expression was difficult to read, she was clearly conflicted. But in the way that meant she was in agreement or not was uncertain. Lucatiel didn't seem to be taking kindly to Mein's suggestion, while not quite glaring at her, she certainly wasn't happy about her suggesting Eclair act less than honorably. Aslatiel's face was much more neutral, whether he agreed with her or not was equally uncertain.
After a moment passed, Eclair turned to the two mouse knights. " Asla, Lucatiel, can you both please leave to let me speak to her majesty alone?"
The order caught all of them off guard including Mein. She was not expecting Eclair to say that of all things, dismissing her two trusted advisors to speak with her.
" My Lady, please tell me you are not actually considering this." Lucatiel said in a surprised voice at the order.
" I'm not considering anything Lucatiel, I simply wish to speak to her majesty alone." Eclair gave a look towards the two mouse knights. Not one of command or authority, but the kind one would give to a trusted friend or family member.
The mouse knights glanced at each other, before they quietly left. Mein noticing Lucatiel giving her the stink eye on the way out but decided not to say anything about it.
A silence washed over them for a minute, neither of them saying anything but Eclair did get up from her chair and leaned up against the table with a sigh. Mein slowly approached the table to stand next to Eclair to close the distance between them. Mein allowing a quiet moment of companionship to build before she decided to break it.
" I take it, you are not quite in agreement with my suggestion?" Mein broke the silence by cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
" I am...undecided." Eclair clarified." While you raise a good point your majesty, I can't help but feel like this is exploiting innocent people. These people have just escaped a horrible situation from Ebonheart city, lost everything they hold dear and now we are essentially pressing them into service under me. It feels unfair to them." A guilty expression crossed Eclair's face and Mein was starting to understand the root of the Lady Seatto's issues with her idea. She felt that it was dishonorable to expect servitude from people she should be protecting.
Mein expected Eclair would be somewhat against the idea of recruiting the refugees for honorable reasons. It was understandable to an extent and Mein didn't want to see these refugees harmed either. But she needed to convince Eclair to go through with this or House Seatto truly won't live past this current Wave, much less the next one.
" If we weren't literally under threat of the Wave than I would agree with you Eclair, but as it is we need every available man, woman and child that we can get to fight back against the Wave and any other threats." Mein spoke in a gentle tone to try and ease Eclair into it." Its not like you are force pressing them into slavery and working them to death. You are offering food, shelter and eventual employment with you in return for their loyalty."
" I know that, but I am still asking them to put their lives on the line for me in exchange for safety and food." Eclair said with a sigh as she pressed her hands against the hard ironwood table." What could I even say that would get them to join?"
" Persuade them. Make promises to convince them, even if you don't plan on following through with them. Just say what you think they want to hear." Mein gave some rather blunt advice. While she could have packaged it in a more deliverable way, honest and to the point was the best approach here if she wants Eclair to see the light.
" You want me to lie and manipulate them?" Eclair turned her head to look at her in shock.
If Mein was a lesser woman, she would have tucked her tail in and said that it wasn't like that at all. Or try to clarify that it totally isn't manipulating the common man into doing what you want for your own ends like pretty much every other noble that has ever existed since ever. Maybe she could even try to re-deliver it in a more benevolent manner like Eclair is doing the refugees a favor by manipulating them into joining her.
She was sadly not that kind of person.
" Honestly? Yes." Mein confirmed much to Eclair's shock that got even worse after those words. It was too late to back down now. " I know that its not exactly the most honorable of strategies for recruiting them, but if its what it takes to get them on your side than so be it. Sometimes you need to lie to inspire people to your cause and get them to help you defend Silver Pass."
Eclair didn't rise up to reject Mein's words with righteous fury in her tone like she taught that she would. Instead the Lady Seatto stared almost dejectedly at the floor with conflicting sadness in her eyes. It was clear that she saw the logic in Mein's cold harsh truth and wanted to find some kind of refute to it, but none was coming to mind. Mein hated doing this to Eclair, breaking the layer of righteous idealism but she needed to open the knight lady's eyes to the reality of what was going on. No matter how harsh or unkind it was.
" I understand that you didn't ask for any of this Eclair, but this is simply the reality of the situation. Silver Keep needs more manpower and this is the solution to get it." Mein said as she raised a hand and touched Eclair's shoulder hoping she wasn't crossing any boundaries with this." Its not totally clean or honorable or the most noble of things to do, but its what needs to be done if you want House Seatto to seriously survive the next Wave. You can't defend the innocent if you can't even protect yourself, I'm sorry to say."
Eclair didn't say anything and Mein took that as her cue to leave, it seems like the Lady Seatto needs some time alone.
" You don't need to make a decision right away. Take some time to think about it, but you will need to address the refugees by tomorrow. Just do whatever you think is best Eclair." Mein said as she gently patted the Lady Seatto on the shoulder before turning to leave.
But before her hand touched the handle of the door, she heard Eclair's voice call out to her.
"...How can I even be certain that they will follow me?" Eclair asked out loud, voicing her own self-doubts about her ability to lead. The question was sudden, but Mein already had an answer in mind.
" You're Lord Seatto's daughter. You have everything you need to make them follow you loyally. Get some rest, its been a long day." Mein gave Eclair one last smile as she left the war room.
The princess turned agent let out a tired sigh, it has been a long day both emotionally and physically. And all she wanted to do was just pass out on her bed to call it a night.
But she couldn't do that yet. There was still another matter that needs attending to. She just wants to figure out what the hell is going on with Naofumi since they left Ebonheart city.
Naofumi's POV
Naofumi headed straight for his room first chance that he got. He hadn't felt right ever since they left Ebonheart city, his stomach twisting in all the wrong ways as a pit of anxiety built up in his gut. He felt like he wanted to throw up but nothing would come out, which honestly felt even worse than if he did vomit. Instead this pit of anxiety was just building up in his stomach, eating away at him like a virus no matter how much he tossed and turn in his bed.
He knew what the cause was. His first kill. That Paulina woman, he still couldn't get her out of his head and the same questions kept going on and on.
Could he have done something differently? Why didn't he just trap her in a Shield Prison and paralyze her? Was he...trying to kill her or just hurt her for killing that innocent boy? Would anybody know that he killed her? What would happen to him or his companions if this was found out?
A dozen worried thoughts went through his head up until he heard a knock on his door that interrupted them.
Naofumi let out a sigh as he already had a good guess on who it was and as he got up to answer the door, he felt like that he should have known that this was coming eventually. The Shield Hero was belatedly unsurprised when he saw that it was in fact his first red haired companion.
" Hi Naofumi..." Mein greeted with a weak smile.
" Hi Mein." Naofumi said with a similarly weak smile. It had been a long day for both of them.
" Mind if I come in so we can talk?" Mein asked politely and honestly speaking, Naofumi just wanted to be left alone. But he knew that Mein was a curious one and would ask him about it again the next chance she got. Might as well get it out of the way than try dragging it out.
" Sure." Naofumi stepped aside and Mein walked in.
His first companion didn't walk around the room much, before sitting on the bed. Gesturing for him to take a seat next to her and making room on the bed. Naofumi took a deep breath as he sat down on the bed beside Mein who was giving him a worried look.
" So...I guess there's no point dancing around it, what happened while you and Three Dog were separated from me?" Mein immediately cut to the chase and straight to the matter of what was bothering him." You were dead silent during the whole trip and you've had this troubled look on your face ever since we left the city. So what happened while I was away?"
Naofumi couldn't help but chuckle at how easily Mein figured it out. He really does need to work on his poker face if he wants to ever keep a secret from her. " Really can't hide anything from you, huh Mein?"
" I've been trained to detect lies and deceit from people." Mein said in a joking manner as she scooted closer to him. " Come on Naofumi, talk to me." Mein said in a gentle tone as Naofumi pondered on whether he should tell her what happened. He very quickly figured that there was no point trying to hide it since she could probably just ask Three Dog about what happened. But that didn't make it any easier to speak about it.
" You know, how Three Dog said that two of the carriages we got were stolen from knights that belonged to that House Ebonheart?" Naofumi waited for Mein to nod before continuing. " Yeah well...they didn't exactly give it up without a fight."
Mein's face was utterly neutral, her lips pursed as if trying to comfort him as he slowly explained what happened while they were away. Maybe she already guessed what happened based on what Three Dog told her.
" W-W-We weren't trying to kill them, we just ran into them while we were running through the streets. We came across these two carriages that were carrying reinforcements and there was this woman, Paulina I think she was called." Naofumi grimaces as he remembered that crazy bitch shooting down a kid right in front of him. " S-She killed a kid Mein. Barely a teenager, she shot him dead right in front of me and I...kind of lost it. Our two groups fought and right when Paulina was about to kill Three Dog, I intervened and the two of us working together..."
" Its okay Naofumi, you don't need to say anymore." Mein stopped him just before he could say it. She grabbed his hand and held it comfortingly.
We killed her. I killed her.
Those were the words that went unsaid, but Mein put it together well enough.
They sat there in silence for a moment, before Mein spoke again. " I'm sorry for asking this, but...were there any witnesses?"
Naofumi shook his head, not feeling any better at that questioning or the memories it brought up." No, Three Dog's men took care any of survivors from the knights." The Shield Hero flinched at the memory of how Three Dog's men slit the throats of the knights that he paralyzed and stunned. He felt responsible for their deaths just as much as he did Paulina's.
" She killed a kid and I still feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it. I still feel guilty about it..." Naofumi took his hand away as he gripped the sides of his head and gazed down at the floor in contemplation." How the hell do I even live with something like that?"
It was honestly ironic how Naofumi used to feel like the unluckiest guy in the world to have the only Legendary Weapon without enough attack power to even kill a small balloon. Now he doesn't even want to think about killing another person with his own two hands.
The sound of Mein's voice knocked him out of his headspace and what she said was like nothing Naofumi could have expected to hear.
" I took my first kill when I was just 9 years old."
Naofumi's head raised instantly at those words and he turned his head to Mein in shock at what he heard. To his surprise, his companion had a soft, calm and almost...sad look on her face. As if she was contemplating what she had said.
" Sounds a lot more fucked up when I say it out loud, huh?" Mein asked as she kept talking in that way too calm but distant tone." The guy was attacking my father and I burned him alive with a fire spell. Didn't even kill him right away, the poor bastard lingered for a few minutes before dying. I didn't find out until later that he had a wife and kid. Just a guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
" Oh, oh my god Mein." Naofumi said not in horror, but more shocked fuel sympathy at hearing what his companion went through as a child.
What kind of life did Mein live that she ends up in the position to kill a man at such a young age?
" Yeah...I remember feeling sick to my stomach afterwards too. Threw up I think because the burnt flesh disgusted me so much." Mein said in a melancholic tone as eyes looked distant." And I remember feeling so guilty that I thought I would never be able to live with it."
" How...how did you deal with it?" Naofumi asked, desperately wanting to know the answer.
" I don't know, I truly don't Naofumi." Mein said with an almost nonchalant shrug." I've killed many in my lifetime and like I said before, I don't particularly feel bad about a lot of them. Many had it coming...but its the ones I don't know whether they deserved it or not that bother me the most. I don't really feel much of anything over killing some scum of Medea bandit besides brief satisfaction. But its the poor bastards who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time that mess with me."
Naofumi said nothing at Mein's confession over how she feels when she kills, simply listening and taking it all in. He's not sure how to feel about it.
" But trust me when I say that if you're feeling bad over killing a literal child murderer than believe me you're doing something right." Mein's said in an uplifting manner as she took his hand again and gave it a good squeeze.
" I...I don't want to kill anyone again." Naofumi confessed.
" You won't have to Naofumi. Just leave that part to me." Mein gave a sad smile and Naofumi felt sad for her.
Neither of them said anything more after that. Just enjoying each other's company and for the first time since they left Ebonheart city behind, Naofumi felt the pit of anxiety dispel a bit in his stomach.
Eclair's POV
Eclair had spent the night thinking about it, getting a nice rest to gather her thoughts on what to do regarding the influx of refugees that were suddenly present in the Keep. The Lady Seatto wasn't upset with her majesty about bringing them to the Keep, as she and Shield Hero were stuck in a bad situation and were trying to mend it as best they could before they left. But the question of what to do with the refugees now falls to her as the Lady of House Seatto.
It was in many ways a sobering reminder that she was no longer a mere heiress who preferred to act the role of a knight, but now the Lady Paramount to Silver Pass and all its inhabitants.
She spent the longest time thinking over the First Princess's words on recruiting the refugees into her ranks to help regrow her army and combat strength. It certainly wasn't a bad idea on parchment, even if it will take some time to train them into proper soldiers, a company's worth of reinforcements is what the Keep needs to persevere through this next Wave. But a part of her still couldn't help but feel like this was...maybe exploitation wasn't the right word, but manipulative coercion maybe? It certainly wasn't the most honorable thing to do recruiting people who were down on their luck. Then again a majority of Silver Keep's current knights including Lucatiel and Asla used to be people exactly like the refugees when father recruited them.
Was this what Father would have done if he was in her position? Would he approve of what she was considering? She doesn't know and can't say for certain. Despite all the tall tales she grew up hearing about her father's deeds and fame, he didn't really like talking about the Great War at length. He almost seemed to scoff at some of the tales about himself that he said were overexaggerated by bards.
" My Lady? They are ready for you now." Lucatiel called out to her and Eclair took a deep breath as she stepped into the courtyard.
She still hadn't quite made up her mind at that moment when she walked out in the courtyard.
Eclair took a deep breath as she walked out into the outer training courtyard where the refugees had been assembled for her announcement on what was going to happen to them or rather the offer she was about to make them. She was dressed in her regular knight armor since she doubts that a pretty dress was an appropriate choice of attire for such an occasion with these people having just lost their homes and livelihoods. Eclair could see that the Bow and Shield Hero were also present with their respective parties, sitting on the sidelines for her announcement.
The Lady Seatto stepped up onto the...not really a stage since there was no way she was going to ask her men to waste their time and energy assembling a makeshift stage in a short span of time, but more like a series of crates that formed a ladder into an extra large crate that elevated her above the rest and brought all eyes to her. Eclair took a deep breath as she prepared to speak.
Now or never.
" Good morning to you all, I was unable give proper introductions last night but I would like to welcome you all to Silver Keep." Eclair started off with some rudimentary greetings to kick things off. She got no response but no boos either, so that was something to work with. " Many of you may know who I am, but for those who don't my name is Eclair Seatto, daughter of Uther Seatto. The Lightbringer of Melromarc."
The mention of her father's title during the war was enough to get a few of the refugees talking and whispering to each other. The children in particular were looking at her with wonderful amazement in their eyes, while the adults mostly had neutral expressions.
" I have heard of your plight from Ebonheart city and while I admit to not be expecting your presence here, you are all welcome in my lands. You shall be taken care of for the time being..." The welcoming nature of her speech did get a few approval nods among the crowd, but she wonders if that will change when she gets to the next part. " But today I present a choice to you all. One of great importance that concerns not just to Silver Pass, but the entirety of Melromarc. The Waves of Catastrophe."
"As some of you may know, Port Harp was the pride of my family and it showed the glory of what could be achieved with cooperation between human and demi-humans. It had a regular garrison and was probably the most well-protected town in my territories." Eclair's voice turned dead serious as she spoke." It was destroyed within the First Wave, when the waves are supposed at their weakest mind you all. My House lost many brave men and woman who died fighting for the innocent."
A wave of grim faces appeared at the mention of the former trading port. Eclair herself is saddened at the reminder that the hub of her family's greatest achievement of the glory that could come from cooperation between demi-human and human was gone. The fall of the trading port and the very recent rebellion in Ebonheart has set back relations between the two races by about a generation if Eclair was being realistically generous.
" So today I would like to present a choice to you all: Join me. Join the ranks of the elite Silver Hands, protectors of Silver Pass." Eclair made her offer to the refugees." For those of you who choose to join, you will be given the training of the elite knights of the Silver Hands. You shall become honorbound protectors of the innocent and the defenseless. You will become Silver Hands."
The crowd's reaction to the offer was mixed if Eclair was any good at judging expressions. Some looked excited and wanted to join, while others maintained a neutral expression. Plenty had skeptical looks on their faces at the offer to join her that she anticipated.
" What happens if we say no?" One of the demi-humans asked with a suspicious tone.
" And what about those of us who can't fight?" Another demi-human piled on the question.
Eclair suppressed a flinch, she knew those questions were coming and she was only prepared for one.
" Those who cannot or are unwilling to fight will help gather resources, they will be escorted by armed guard so you need not fear monster attacks." Eclair explained in a calm tone as she tried to convince the crowd to join her even as she ignored the uncomfortable question of what was going to happen to those that didn't join her." I understand that none of you asked for this, to be essentially forced to flee your homes or face further discrimination. But this is simply how it is: Join me here at Silver Keep and help me defend this province from the Waves and bandits."
Her words didn't quite change many of the skeptical looks and Eclair was getting nervous that she might have failed in this speech...
It was at that moment that she made her choice on what to do.
" If you all join me, than I promise you all that Port Harp will rise again! The pride of House Seatto and proof to the rest of Melromarc that humans and demi-humans can live together in peace!" Eclair shouted at the crowd to rally them." A place where human and demi-humans can live together, and where demi's need not be afraid to walk the street as second class citizens. Join me and you shall live to see Port Harp get rebuilt after the Wave of Catastrophe is over. A place where your children can live without fear of discrimination, a safe haven and beacon of hope in all of Melromarc!"
Eclair knew that she was flat out lying to them all. She had no idea if Port Harp could ever realistically be rebuilt back to its former glory even after the Waves of Catastrophe has passed them. She was a knight more than a noble, and she was not nearly as experienced at balancing a finance book as Uncle Reichnott was or the first thing about rebuilding a trading port. The Hirata family were the real pioneers of Port Harp, they were the ones who turned a simple fishing village into a trading port and with them gone she's not sure she can rebuild it alone. Along with the recent rebellion in Ebonheart city has probably destroyed any chance of peaceful relations between demi-humans and human in those territories.
But it was what the crowd wanted to hear and she would make such promises. And she would bear the guilt of manipulating them all into joining her.
The promise made was a shock to many of the skeptical faces, but it changed their skepticism to one of agreement as the one thing all demi-humans and beastman wanted in Melromarc was a place to belong. The crowd was quiet for moment until a dog demi-human stood up and turned to the rest of the crowd.
" I don't know about you all, but I think we should fight for this little Lady Seatto!" The dog demi-human shouted in support of her. " The Wave of Catastrophe is a threat to us all! The Hound Lord too! He's the reason why we had to leave cause that asshole started a rebellion! There's no sitting on the fence today boys and girls! We fight together or we die! So I say we fight together under this Seatto! Let's rebuild Port Harp back up from the ashes!"
" YEAH!" The rest of the crowd joined on the shout in agreement and pride.
Eclair forced a smiled, doing her best to ignore the guilt." Thank you all. I welcome you all to the Silver Hands."
Eclair stepped off the makeshift crate and walked towards a waiting Lucatiel and Asla. Neither of them showing disapproval or disappointment in what she just did, simply quiet acceptance.
The Lady Seatto breathed once she was out of sight, she hoped that she did the right thing. Only time will tell.
Mein's POV
Mein liked to think that she was pretty realistic about her own abilities and skills. Unlike that Consevatie brat who probably thought he was the toughest bastard to ever walk Medea and had the charisma to convince any woman to jump into bed with him, when neither was not even close to the truth considering Mein barely held herself back from ripping his tongue out from sheer annoyance. Mein always made sure that she had a good grasp on her skills to a realistic degree, on what she could and couldn't do even before she was Marked by the Outsider himself. And she tried to make sure that she never became too reliant on her new supernatural powers that she neglects her own natural abilities.
That knowledge unfortunately didn't make the loss any better as she was knocked on her ass by Aslatiel.
" Oof!" Mein exclaimed as she fell on her ass after being bested by the mouse knight.
Mein was getting a good reminder that demi-human knights like Aslatiel certainly didn't get his position simply because of his closeness to Eclair. Uncle Uther was the kind man who rewarded people based on personal merit rather than nepotism.
The first thing she saw from the ground was Aslatiel's face and him offering a hand up to her." Good spar."
" Likewise." Mein nodded in respect as she took his hand and pulled herself up. At least Aslatiel wasn't a braggy winner.
A day had passed at Silver Keep since the refugees from Ebonheart city chose to join up with Eclair, even the children were excited to get into the thick of things and become Silver Hand knights. Mein was glad that Eclair took her advice to recruit the refugees into her ranks even though the Lady Seatto was forced to make false promises on rebuilding Port Harp to do it. But as cruel as it sounded she was glad that Eclair was learning one of the most core skills of politics which was lying. Silver Keep definitely needed more manpower if they were going to survive this coming Wave. Of course, that meant that a lot of new and untested blood that needed to be trained in a hurry so the Keep had been quite abuzz since then with former refugees being drilled in combat techniques while others helped gather resources like wood or medicinal herbs. The Bow Hero even took a group of fighters with him to help raise their levels.
Mein for her part was trying to work on her swordsmanship which led to her asking Aslatiel for a duel and that led to her getting knocked on her ass.
" Your form is pretty good. You lasted much longer than most other knights here against me." Aslatiel offered some friendly support about her loss.
" Still would be dead if it was a real fight."
" You can't think like that. You aren't a bad fighter, Aldori Style right?" Aslatiel guessed what style of fighting she was using against him.
" Yup, learned it while I was staying in Faubley for a while." Mein technically didn't lie about where she learned it.
She had studied and trained in all Nine Forms of Solitude under Coach Zellus, who as much of a prick as he could be was definitely able to put his coin where his mouth was. Originally being the grand champion of the Coliseum of Fools in Zeltoble that was well-known for having some of the best gladiators and fighters in the world despite being a city state alongside the other free cities. Coach Zellus had been sure to teach her the Nine Forms of Solitude alongside a mish mash of other styles that he felt was suitable for her and she in turn practiced as much as she could over the many years she had known the asshole Vice Captain and during her time at the Hero Academy in Faubley.
The Aldori Style or the Nine Forms of Solitude is considered the undisputed best dueling style in the world, having been created by the 8th Sword Hero and passed down by his disciples. The legends say that whoever masters all nine forms will be capable of bridging the gap between levels and become nigh invincible, capable of taking down a level 100 opponent even if they themselves are at a far lower level.
She's fairly certain that the story isn't true or if it did hold some measure of truth to it, than it has likely been greatly overexaggerated as another legend from the heroes of old. While she's heard plenty of tall tales about the heroes and she's certain some might be true, she's not keen on believing the whole mastery of the Nine Forms will grant indescribable power to the user. There's probably a good reason why nobody has managed to master all Nine Forms, not even any of the 8th Sword Hero's original disciples ever mastered all Nine.
She even remembers hearing a rumor that the 8th Sword Hero devised the Nine Forms with the intent to counter rogue Cardinal or Star Heroes, as all Nine Forms can be used against the weapons. That one might actually be true considering how often Cardinal and Star Heroes came into conflict for one reason or another.
" Your Aldori Style is actually pretty good, but I noticed that you didn't seem...fully in control of your speed and body." Aslatiel gave advice on her form during their fight." And you seemed distracted too."
Mein didn't say anything about the distracted bit since Outsider knows that she's had plenty on her mind since they started hunting the Hound Lord. The first part of Aslatiel's assessment was interesting though.
" You're right. I have been noticing that I'm not moving as fast as I should be." Mein noticed that despite her sky high agility, she's not moving as fast as she should be.
" How is that even possible?" Naofumi asked from the sidelines where he was sitting with the others, watching her fight." Mein's agility is almost as high as my DEF rating."
" I'm not sure, she SHOULD be moving faster than me and be able to overwhelm me. But she wasn't able to." Aslatiel himself looked perplexed at what's the cause of this. Mein herself took a moment to think and went back to the teachings and days she spent training with Coach Zellus. He was considered the best fighter of the Royal Guards and some named him the 'Speed Demon' for how fast he could move and outpace his opponents that even mother's elite knights had trouble with him in spars.
She remembers asking Coach Zellus how he managed to move so fast and his answer was surprisingly simple: I never let my stat and level growth outpace my skill and control of my body.
Mein recalls a conversation she had with Coach Zellus years ago where he explained his theory on the status screen and how the SPEED rating or agility stat works.
' Here's the thing you need to understand Princess, don't take what your status screen tells you at face value. I know a lot of people seem to think that high stats and level is all you need to plow through any opponent but that's a load of filorial dung. Sure, a high level and stats are needed but that's just raw power, and power is useless if you don't know how to use it right. To break it down in simple terms, the stat rating shown on your status screen is not quite your actual rating at any given time like your ATK or DEF, but more like your limit.' She remembers Coach Zellus explaining in a strangely scholarly tone.' Most fighters obviously can't maintain 100% of their limit all the time if they haven't been training properly and testing the limits of their speed. Basically if you raise your levels too quickly and in too short a time, your body won't be able to keep up with your growing potential without dedicated training to the point that your body might spin out of control just by using half of your full power.'
' That's why some noble brat who focuses on raising their levels and stats as quickly as possible falters quickly in the face of a real fighter who knows what they are doing. That's the main difference between a person who only cares about levels and stats, and a true fighter. Only one of them knows how to use their power to the maximum limit and beyond, while the former would be lucky not to hurt themselves.'
" It could be possible that my stat and level growth is starting to outpace my skill and control over my body." Mein said out loud much to the surprise Aslatiel and Naofumi.
" How do you figure that?" Naofumi asked with a raised eyebrow.
" I once met a prick of a swordsman who explained that when you level up too quickly, your body can't keep up with the growth potential and you can't use your full power effectively." Mein explained in detail. As much of a prick Coach Zellus used to be, Mein is inclined to believe that his words are truth as she is currently experiencing it now. " I might need to cut back on raising levels so my body can catch up to my current limit."
She was already level 55, which was way more than she could ever need at tackling whatever threats she comes across. So this seemed like a good enough milestone to rest at for now.
" So grinding levels and stats aren't the answer to every problem. Should have seen that one coming." Naofumi shrugged at the information but he had a thinking look on his face as he processed it.
While Mein was thinking of a proper training regiment to get control over her power once again, the priestess from the Three Heroes Church approached the mouse knight.
" Sir Aslatiel, perhaps you and I could spar?" Alice asked as she stepped up to the challenge of trying to beat one of Eclair's top knights.
" Of course, take your position." Aslatiel instantly agreed, taking his greatsword out and getting in defensive position, while Alice took her sword out.
Mein quickly got out of the way for the two as she watched with the rest of Alice's team for how this fight would go. She was quite curious as Alice proved herself to be a competent fighter.
The two fighters squared off against each other, both of them in their readied stances. A moment of silence passed before the mouse knight made the first move, thrusting forward with his greatsword with surprising speed despite his chosen weapon being heavier and should slow him down. Alice was ready to receive him, deflecting the attempted blow and quickly repositioning and moving. The priestess's footwork was fantastic as she was able to simultaneously keep moving on her feet and parrying blows from Aslatiel's greatsword.
It took Mein less than a minute to figure out that Alice was purposefully going for a defensive form, focusing on deflects and parry's, waiting for the perfect opportunity to counterattack and bring the fight to a close. It was a stark contrast to her Aldori Style of fighting that was pretty much purely offensive, based on the core idea of finding the weakness in an opponents form and attacking it with overwhelming force. She had tried to using Form Two: Sword Breaker against the mouse knight that didn't work out so well, so she's curious to see if this defensive style works better.
Alice repeatedly blocked and parried Aslatiel's blows, occasionally counterattacking with a swing of her sword but for the most she was on the defensive as the mouse knight seemed unable to break through her defensive wall. This seemed to go on a minute or two until Aslatiel made a mistake of overextending his sword and left himself open to attack, which resulted in him getting a kick straight in the chestplate that sent him tumbling to the ground.
The mouse knight quickly recovered before Alice could press on her advantage, haphazardly deflecting a blow from Alice's sword as he got back on his feet.
Two seconds too late and Aslatiel would be down and out.
Mein was starting to see a pattern in the Priestess's style of fighting and the defensive form she was using. The tight, controlled movements and strict economy of action. The way Alice seemed to be waiting for openings in Aslatiel's form and that was when Mein realized that she recognized the style the priestess was using.
Wait a second, is Alice using Soresu? From the Seven Heavenly Virtues Style of Siltvelt?
The Seven Heavenly Virtues Style originated from Siltvelt. Mein couldn't help but roll her eyes at the overly pretentious name considering those animals from Siltvelt take pride in rape, but if one ignores the shitty naming convention the Seven Heavenly Virtues Style was supposedly conceived by several sword masters from Siltvelt that hailed from multiple different Great Clans who wanted to create a style of swordsmanship that rivaled the Aldori Style. There is a lot of debate on whether they were successful in their efforts as many still consider the Aldori style the best dueling form in the world, but the Seven Virtues Style is fairly popular in and around Siltvelt.
Mein herself practiced Ataru, Shien & Djem So, and Niman courtesy of Coach Zellus who felt fast paced styles were best suited for her. But this raises a rather important question in the disguised princess's mind.
How did a Priestess from the Three Heroes Church manage to learn the Seven Heavenly Virtues Style? Mein was well aware that the dogs from Siltvelt weren't exactly keen on sharing their techniques with outsiders, much less humans. The only reason Coach Zellus learned the style was because he met some practitioners during his days as a wandering merc in Zeltoble and he earned their respect for them to teach him. How did Alice know about the style?
She didn't get to think about it exceptionally long as the Priestess and Silver Hand started exchanging several quick blows between each other. Both seem to be trying to break through the others stance and throw the other one off balance.
The two twirled with their blades raised high...
And it ended up with their blades pressed against the side of their necks at the exact same time, signaling the end of the fight.
" A tie. Good spar." Aslatiel accepted the result with honor and respect.
" Likewise Sir Aslatiel." Alice smiled as she walked back to join her friends.
" Oh man, you were so close to beating him!" Rufus bemoaned as Alice walked back.
" Don't be like that Rufus, every loss is an opportunity to learn." Nina chided her boyfriend.
It was around that time that Mein noticed Naofumi walk up to none other than the monk of Titan Storm herself.
" Hey Nina, sorry for the sudden ask but you're a martial artist right?" Naofumi asked out of the blue.
" Um, yes? Why?" Nina responded in similar confusion.
" Do you think you could teach me some of your moves and how to subdue someone non-lethally?"
All cards on the table here, I was not planning for there to be a Malty and Eclair friendship in this story to happen but I think I'm gonna roll with it. I hope you all enjoyed Malty giving Eclair some hard and realistic advice on what to do with the refugees, by essentially doing what ever other noble house that has ever existed does. Lying to the common people to get them on your side and convincing them to fight for you. Its not pretty but like Malty said, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Eclair taking her first steps into becoming a proper noble of her House and Lady Paramount of Silver Pass...by manipulating and lying to a bunch of desperate refugees. While its a stretch to say that Eclair acted dishonorably, straight up lying to people and making false promises that she knows will never come true is certainly not the most honorable thing to do. Its a sort of grey area that Eclair unfortunately had to cross into to make sure that her House survives this current Waves.
Hope I managed to make Naofumi's aftermath reaction to his first kill realistic. I think that Naofumi is the most normal/everyman of all the Cardinal Heroes, he doesn't have some traumatic backstory or advanced prior training, he really is just a regular guy. He can't shrug off just killing somebody like Malty could, hell the only reason Malty was bothered at all after Ebonheart was because she knew Spark and Flint. But through his relationship with Malty, he manages to get back on his feet and process it in a more healthy way.
By the way, the Seven Heavenly Virtues Style is based off of the Lightsaber forms from Star Wars. Figured it would be fun to throw it in here. And of course, the end of the chapter with Naofumi wanting to do more by learning how to fight properly on his own.
Now let's respond to some reviews shall we?
To EXCUBITORE:
Oh yes, absolutely. The Hound Lord's group causing instability in an already unstable as fuck situation and country is just going to make things a 100 times worse in the long-run for everybody with the Waves of Catastrophe ongoing. Malty's former friends are just hellbent on following Thomas's old teaching...which was pretty much just kill a lot of people. This is actually contemplated by Malty in this chapter where she wonders if she will end up walking the same path as them, since she does follow Thomas's teachings as well.
You are correct that Malty is a Dishonored Princess, but she still has a duty not to the crown, but to protect the innocent.
To jmwilliamsart:
Honestly speaking both out and in-universe? No clue at all. Naofumi may be the Shield Hero and Malty is a badass in the making but even they have limits on what they can realistically do, they sure as hell can't control information flow throughout the country. That would require a massive organization that has a stranglehold on the spread of information across Melromarc that they sadly do not have at their disposal. That's the whole point of Eclair's lies to the refugees of Ebonheart city, she has no clue on how demi-humans and humans are ever going to live in peace after this. Sure
I don't want to reveal too much on Naofumi learning Malty's identity, but you are correct that it will happen eventually. How that happens is yet to be revealed.
I shall say nothing about how Malty deals with her former friends, but let me just say this: The time for peace is over.
With that happy and ominous, I will see you all in the next chapter!
Angel Out.