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Chapter Text

"Lady Yumiella, I-!"

"Save your strength, Miss Alicia. Edwin is closer, heal him," Yumiella instructed as she tried to apply pressure to her wound.

Unfortunately, the wound was a fist-sized hole in her abdomen that had pierced through her stomach and spine. Her Level 99 magic was exhausted and she was losing a lot of blood, but Alicia was on the far side of the throne room, was equally exhausted, and was prevented from coming over by the loss of her left foot.

The three boys who were Alicia's prospective love interests in the game this world had resembled were splayed out around the chamber with their own grievous injuries.

Indeed, the only good thing in this scene was the body of the Demon King, whom they had come here to slay before his armies could overwhelm the kingdom's defenders. He hadn't been so difficult to defeat in the game -- Yumiella ought to have been able to solo him at Level 99 even though her 4 party members were in their 50s and the recommended party average was Level 70 -- but when the Demon King had realized he was outmatched he had switched to tactics that were not possible in the game, such as collapsing the castle masonry on them and conjuring an impenetrable black mist for hit-and-run attacks.

Their party of five had not adapted well to the switch. Oswald Grimzard, their resident squishy wizard, had been the first to be severely injured, and as Alicia had healed him despite the black fog the Demon King had hurled projectiles with his Level 70 Boss strength to bruise the boys and concuss Alicia when one clipped her head.

He had swiped and harassed and slowly bled their team, running them into each other in the dark mist and launching attacks at ankle height that they could not know to dodge or block, which was how Alicia had lost one foot.

Yumiella's magic was more powerful in raw output, but the Demon King was centuries old and had far greater skill, allowing him on several occasions to unravel her dark magic spells and potentially even refresh his reserves by absorbing her spent mana.

Yumiella had landed exactly one solid hit on him, a reflexive kick when he came at her from behind, and while he hadn't injured her in that attack he had snatched the Protection Amulet off her neck that would allow her to survive a lethal blow with 1 HP.

Said Amulet had allowed him to survive Yumiella's lethal attack when she finally thought she'd got a good chance to hit him, and in the end what had brought them both down was accidental friendly fire.

Yumiella was physically stronger than the Demon King due to her superior Level, and while she'd spent a lot of magic healing her teammates and Alicia she still had the brute strength to fight him in melee and potentially win. Yumiella had managed to turn a lucky grab into a grapple and had immediately called for Alicia to throw Light Magic at the immobilized Demon King.

Alicia had desperately hurled a Light Magic Spear bright enough that Yumiella and the Demon King had both been blinded. It had caught the Demon King in his back, pierced through him, and then to Alicia's stark horror the spell had pierced through Yumiella on his other side and the wall behind her as well.

So now Yumiella was dying.

At least Patrick is safe. He's much higher Level than anyone in the army's main force, and wide-scale battle is his specialty, Yumiella reflected, her dimming mind straying to the gray-haired boy who had shown her kindness, companionship, and eventually even entered a romance with her.

The last thing she saw as her vision went dark was Alicia's teary face as the pink-haired, common-born light mage tried to crawl to Yumiella from across the ruined throne room.

The last thing she thought of was the boy who'd kissed her under the night sky and asked her to return home to him safely.

She faded gently, peacefully into death and was swallowed by a darkness deeper than even her magic could control

And then there was light.

"Oh Brave Heroes, please save our world and our people!"

Chapter Text

"Fantastic, the summoning was a success! Oh Brave Heroes, won't you please save our world and our people?"

"What?" Naofumi asked. What the heck is going on here? Wait, were there other voices too?

Still on his hands and knees in the middle of what looked like a glowing fantasy summoning circle, Naofumi turned to see two boys and a girl on his left who were also rising to their feet.

"An Isekai summoning?" the girl assessed softly.

"I mean, I guess it looks like it. Huh?" the tall guy looked in surprise at his own spear, and then Naofumi checked his own arm as well.

"A shield? What is this, where am I? Isekai light novels aren't supposed to happen in real life," Naofumi complained, his head spinning.

The glow of the summoning circle finally dimmed enough to see without squinting, and the robed guy at the head of the summoners stepped forward.

"We implore you for aid, oh Brave Heroes. Our world is in dire need of salvation."

"Is this for real?" Naofumi wondered.

"What do you mean it's in need of saving?" the youngest of the four, who was carrying a bow, inquired.

"The story involved is long and complicated, but suffice it to say that you are the Four Cardinal Heroes, summoned here by an ancient ritual," the lead summoner declared. "Our world is in a most fragile state, and life teeters on the brink of destruction." His face looked stricken and gaunt, and he bowed his head as he spoke.

Naofumi couldn't exactly say no to that kind of plea, now could he? "I mean, I guess I could hear you out," he offered. I really don't feel like a hero, though. Even with this thing on my arm.

"You can send us back to our homeward, right?" the tall guy with the spear checked.

The girl in the red and white school uniform (or maybe it was cosplay or a normal fancy dress) stepped forward. "Did you perform this ritual of your own will, or on instructions from someone else? I believe we have the right to hear the situation from our host, if possible," she insisted, her voice flat.

"Not to mention, we need to know what we need to do and what happens when we're done," the boy with the bow declared. "If you throw us away once we've restored peace, what then?"

"How willing are you to accommodate our requests?" the spear guy pressed.

Naofumi stared, but apparently the two boys being so full of themselves inspired the girl to do an about-face. "If we have been given legendary weapons or cheat powers to solve a problem they cannot, then I expect we will be able to provide well for ourselves. After all, if it was possible for them to solve this problem, people in this world would have done so and gained the glory for themselves, rather than asking for help. Mister Summoner," she continued, "you are asking for our help, but we cannot agree in good faith without learning what calamity is threatening the world. Has a Demon Lord begun to muster his armies? Is a poisonous monster spreading a deadly plague? Legendary weapons seem more fit to fighting foes than to ending a famine or halting a natural disaster."

Impressive speech. Though she looks pretty tired out. She immediately identified this as "Isekai" so I'm betting she's an introvert otaku girl... although compared to our street clothes, she looks much fancier and prettier than I'd expect from an Otaku girl. Was she going to a convention in cosplay, or is she just rich?

While Naofumi had been thinking, the spear guy had puffed up. "You're right! we can't figure out anything here when we don't know the situation, so there's no point talking to small fry. Take us to your leader!"

"What are you, a martian?" Naofumi muttered, and the kid with a bow burst out laughing. Right, he's Marvin the Martian until I learn his name or something.

Standing in the second throne room of her lifetimes, Yumiella firmly felt that Balshine did it better than Melromarc. When she'd been called before Prince Edwin's parents, there had been brighter lights, better decorations, and a larger audience. Additionally, she'd also had instructions from the herald on how to behave to avoid embarrassment before she'd been announced, which Melromarc apparently didn't bother with.

If it was because the kingdom was cutting costs due to whatever catastrophe threatened them, then she could understand it, but even if it had arguably given her a third life after her second time dying she wasn't sure she could hold a high opinion of a nation that pulled in ignorant people from other worlds rather than solve their own problems.

"So, you are the Four Cardinal Heroes of ancient legend?" the old king rumbled from his throne. "I am Aultcray Melromarc, thirty-second king of the land of Melromarc. Welcome, brave heroes. Please identify yourselves."

Yumiella she was the only one who had any etiquette training in how to address aristocracy, but she wasn't an extrovert and she wanted to get a read on the room first before she dropped her revelation, so she remained silent and gestured for the boys to go.

(She belated realized that this might have been a violation of some "Ladies First" etiquette, but overall she decided that she didn't care.)

The crowd burst into murmurs as the boy with the spear stepped up.

"I'm Kitamura Motoyasu, college student, age 21," Motoyasu declared, his voice warm and proud.

There was a pause.

"Guess we're going by age? I'm Iwatani Naofumi, college student-,"

"Yes," the king interrupted tiredly, "but I don't know what a college is, so saying that won't explain much to me. And you, sir Bow Hero?"

"Hey!" Naofumi yelped, only to be stopped by Yumiella's hand.

"Patience," she cautioned as she scanned around the room. Naofumi and I both have black hair and black eyes, while the other two have much lighter coloring. I cannot see any similar appearance in the people in this room, other than some redheads and brunettes. If we are to be discriminated against, let us not make enemies too quickly.

"My name is Kawasumi Itsuki. I am seventeen years old and I was.. about a year from graduating my homeland's... training to be a national guard," he introduced proudly.

That sounded like a lie, unless he's from a world where Japan is more militarized and he's very fit despite his slender physical stature -- seriously, Oswald Grimzard might have better muscle definition than Itsuki -- but it's also clever. No one will know the truth unless they have lie-detecting magical abilities here, so either we can raise our stature in the eyes of others or flush out the existence of an ability to tell truth from lies.

"And you, Lady Sword Heroine?" King Aultcray wondered.

Yumiella stepped forward and dipped into her most formal curtsy.

"I am Countess Yumiella Dolkness, Protector of Valshine Kingdom, Order of the Orange Dawn Third class, Dragon Knight in Training, made by birthright and by might the leader of Dolkness County in the Kingdom of Valshine. If there is a risk to the innocent people of the world then it is my duty to oppose it, so please explain why you have summoned us here."

Everyone in the throne room shifted uncomfortably or started muttering, and it was then that Yumiella realized something which she had suspected but had not thought about up to now: she was no longer Level 99.

My Level 99 ears ought to be able to decipher each individual whisper easily, but it all sounds indistinct. My eyes as well... when I look out the window, I see less far and less clearly than I am used to. I cannot test my strength or my magic in front of unknown witnesses, but I suspect that when I died my Level was reset.

It was an idea that gave her mixed feelings. On the one hand, she was vulnerable to danger again and even if she had better ideas for grinding now it would still probably taker her 4-5 years of grinding to recover her own status.

On the flip side, Yumiella had been very sad that she had hit the Level Cap in her past life and could no longer enjoy growth through her grinding, so the chance to do a New Game Plus with her knowledge and experience and to beat her record in hitting the Level Cap... That was a little exciting.

She put those thoughts aside for the moment to focus on King Aultcray finally giving them the Lore Dump they'd been asking for.

In essence:

1) at various times throughout recorded history, there would be a series of spacetime distortions through which hordes of monsters would arrive to rampage destructively

2) each individual event of a distortion is called a "Wave" and they are collectively the "Waves of Calamity"

3) An artifact called the Dragon's Era Hourglass can predict the time until a Wave arrives, allowing people to get ready for a fight even if they don't know where the wave will occur

4) Rather than preparing for the Waves of Calamity, time had run out unexpectedly and the First Wave had hit the kingdom of Melromarc only a few days ago. It had been fought off by the kingdom's military and an impromptu alliance of local adventurers, but it had lasted longer and done much more damage than predicted, and each successive Wave would only become stronger.

5) Even though historical texts claim of previous Waves of Calamity occurred over the course of several years and even up to two decades, Melromarc's Dragon Hourglass predicted that the Second Wave would strike in the next month or so, meaning the schedule needed to be accelerated and the expected losses were likely to be horrendous if new methods were not used.

6) Waves may or may not have a time limit -- it would be a limit several days long or more if they did, since the first Wave had lasted well over 12 hours -- but each Wave had a Wave Boss who could be slain to end the Wave immediately, which meant a fast-moving strike team hunting down said Boss ASAP was the best method to save the most number of lives.

7) Because the monsters invaded from another world, they could be more successfully opposed by defenders who were also from another world. The Four Cardinal Weapons chose worthy souls to become these defending heroes and lead the world to safety through the coming conflict.

8) Given that the progressive Waves would be stronger, Yumiella could undoubtedly gain tremendous EXP and protect innocent people by fighting them, but she'd probably have to rush since she missed the grinding opportunity of the first and weakest Wave.

Also, the sinister-looking evil old Vizier character standing beside the king promised that they would be handsomely rewarded if they succeeded. Yumiella noted him down as being suspicious -- and the king as potentially being either gullible or corrupt if he wasn't worried about the presence of someone so suspicious -- while Motoyasu seemed happy to accept the offer of future wealth and glory and Itsuki made clear that he didn't want to be looked down on.

Yumiella was looking down on him in her head all the same, but it seemed no one could notice it in her face so it passed without comment. I don't want to let these suspicious people know that I am suspicious of them and of the situation, but since we haven't been branded with magic slave controls or such then I suspect that they cannot force our obedience but need some form of cooperation from us to fight the Waves.

I'll have to see if I can get the other three alone to discuss this. But they look Japanese... I suppose it makes sense to be summoned from your first life instead of your second life, but we'll probably need to cooperate to form a plan of action so we don't set off the wrong kind of political alarms.

At least in Balshine I was too powerful for the assassins to threaten me, but now I'm weak again and I need time to do proper grinding, plus resources for equipment. How troublesome.

"I would ask you brave heroes to now check your statuses," King Aultcray continued.

"Is there a magic tool we will need?" Yumiella checked. She wouldn't enjoy having a Level 1 reading after all she'd lived through, but if it also included STAT data that she didn't have in her past life or an EXP gauge to measure how quickly she could grow...

"There is something called Status Magic that is exclusive to legendary heroes," the king explained.

"Oh! Yeah, like a video game menu in the corner of your eye guys, see?" Motoyasu declared.

Yumiella focused on a little glowing overlay symbol she was quite certain had not been there ten seconds ago, and a video game menu popped up.

"Only Level 1? Well that's really disconcerting," Itsuki commented.

"...I agree..." Yumiella grit out, trying not to cry tears of blood at the damning numbers that hovered in front of her.

YUMIELLA DOLKNESS (COUNTESS) -- SWORD HERO -- LEVEL 1 

HP = 99/99 _____ MP = 99/99 ____ SP = 25/25

ATTACK = 9 ____ MAGIC ATTACK = 19 ____ DEFENSE = 14 ____ MAGIC DEFENSE = 11 ____ AGILITY = 17

Has some otherworldly being at least given me a lot of 9s appearing interference to my old achievement? It looks so low, I must be weak! Yumiella grit her teeth and forced herself to stop moping, because conversation was continuing on as the King and the Vizier were explaining how they needed to go on adventures and quests to increase the powers of the Cardinal Weapons.

Naofumi was just voicing how he'd look forward to teaming up with everyone when he got interrupted again (which made Yumiella more sure there was something dirty behind the scenes).

"I'm afraid, great heroes," the Vizier elaborated, and Yumiella also made note of him trying to butter them up by switching from 'brave' to 'great', "that you are advised not to cooperate too closely during your quests and training, only during the Wave itself. Records state that by their very nature, the Cardinal Weapons repel or inhibit each other when kept too close for too long. If you try to work together, it will apparently hinder their development."

Yumiella's eyes narrowed and she silently searched her Status Menu for some kind of HELP or DATA function to potentially confirm this.

HELP --> Cardinal Weapon Functions --> Experience Enhancement

In order to save the world, the Cardinal Weapons receive the "blessing of the land", also known as "the support of the world", where the world itself supplements the energy that the Cardinal Heroes gain through achievements like slaying dangerous monsters.

However, it is the area that immediately surrounds the Cardinal Heroes which supplies this support, and thus if the Cardinal Heroes step within each other's territory, the same piece of land will be forced to divide the blessing it provides between multiple Cardinal Heroes, slowing or inhibiting their growth.

Sadly, there wasn't any search bar to type in any of the dozen question Yumiella wanted to ask, and the King was still talking, so it looked like she'd have to endure an unskippable cut scene before they got around to the point of being summoned here.

At least it would give her the opportunity to figure out how to make a better good impression on these people. If she wasn't Level 99 anymore, then instead of being a mild inconvenience, being mistaken for an evil demon lord could get her killed yet again, and she could end up in some craizer video game world even further away from Ryu and Patrick!

Chapter Text

After a tasty dinner of unfamiliar foreign foods, the four heroes had been left alone to talk and Motoyasu figured that as the oldest he might as well get the ball rolling.

"So are you really a Countess, or whatever? Like, from Europe, or are you Japanese?" he asked the elegant only lady of their quartet.

"I was born the only child of Count and Countess Dolkness eighteen years ago, and I rose to hold the title roughly 6 months ago," she confirmed, her eyes and hands giving the impression that she was still examining her MENU two hours after they'd gained it, but apparently she could multitask which made her pretty and intelligent!

"Wait, do you mean your parents died that recently? I'm sorry for your loss," the guy with the shield, (Naofumi! his brain reminded him,) offered.

"Oh, yeah, sorry if I... I might have a handkerchief if you," Motoyasu attempted.

"I have my own handkerchief, thank you," Yumiella denied, producing said piece of cloth. "My parents were not slain, they were arrested and sentenced to life in prison for attempting to assassinate me."

Motoyasu tried to parse that and felt his mental gears grind a bit. Wow, no wonder she doesn't smile or laugh and she's all business. She's a Broken Bird with a really tragic backstory, a real Kuudere!. "Right, we'll stop asking until your ready," he said, because pressing girls to talk about unpleasant things was how you ended up forced to listen to them describing their monthly flow, and no thank you on that!

"Have you found anything particularly interesting in your menu?" Itsuki asked, and she nodded distantly while peering intently at whatever her screen was showing.

"Speaking of, doesn't this kind of seem like a video game?" Naofumi wondered, and Motoyasu had to laugh at how long it took him to catch on.

"This is a video game," he laughed. "It's exactly like Emerald Online, just with better immersion."

"Uh, never heard of it," Naofumi admitted, revealing himself to be hopelessly behind on popular culture.

"Seriously, it's huge?"

"I've never heard of Emerald Online," Itsuki intervened, "but this is too reminiscent of a console game I've been playing called Dimension Web. The stat matchups and the menu format arrangement are exactly the same, and there's even the plot of the monster-spewing Waves of Calamity."

Motoyasu was about to start an argument when Yumiella stood.

"Considering the multiverse theory, I suspect that we were all inhabitants of different versions of Japan, and thus the popular games we see reflected in this world will be different between our worlds," Yumiella declared. "If we can be summoned from one dimension to another, I see no reason why we cannot be summoned from multiple dimensions."

Whoa, she really is smart! I bet she's a total Class President type... except isn't she from European nobility or something? I know there are still some dukes and counts and things, but is Balshine Kingdom a thing that exists alongside Japan?  "Alright then, let's compare some general knowledge, then," he suggested, taking the lead as the oldest. "Historical figures, important dates, or even just what year it was for you."

It took about ten minutes of Q&A exchanges to establish that Naofumi was from a world where Oda Nobunaga had died so some guy named Tokugawa Ieyasu won the Daimyo Wars instead, Yumiella was from a European-style world where there was magic and dragons and dungeons as well, and upon learning that Itsuki had admitted he was from a world where people had begun being born with X-Men like super powers called Quirks in the 1950s and there had been a major shakeup and collapse of civilization in his grandparents' lifetime as a result.

At the end of that revelation, Naofumi lounged back in exhaustion and asked, "So we've got a girl who grew up in this kind of fantasy world and you two both played video games like it, so why am I the only one left out of the loop?"

Motoyasu opened his mouth to console him about being stuck with the Shield to boot, but-

"While it's possible that the summoners may have erred in their ritual and you are paying the price, it is more likely that you have some form of talent or real-life experience that will be pertinent to the task at hand, and it is simply less obvious in the metaphorical tutorial stage," Yumiella assessed drily.

"Really?" Naofumi wondered, and Motoyasu didn't have the heart to break his happy bubble.

Sadly, Itsuki was younger and thus less prone to being understanding. "And here I thought it was just because you got stuck as the Shield Hero," the bowman teased.

"Huh?"

"Is there something wrong with the Shield?" Naofumi wonder, worrying that he was really drawing the shortest straw in this crazy adventure thing.

Motoyasu claimed it was his job as the oldest to share the bad news. "As far as I've ever seen, the Shielder Class in Emerald Online that specializes in shields is... well, it's pretty much for losers, because no true gamer ever plays it."

"It whaaaaaaat?!" Naofumi wailed, his fragile hope and dreams collapsing on him. "Itsuki, what about in your world? Yumiella, are there awesome magic shields in a live fantasy world?"

"Sorry man, shielders suck," Itsuki admitted.

Yumiella looked thoughtful. "Were there weapons in your games that are not represented here, such as clubs or flails? If so, then someone wielding one of those would have been summoned in place of the shield. If nothing else, a shield doubles as both a heavy bludgeon and a powerful blade... Enchanted weapons were not used much compared to spells in Balshine, but I vaguely remember an online game a long time ago where a great-shield user was the third-ranked player who had even PVP killed the two players ranked above her without ever dying. So it should be possible, but I expect you will have a harder time until we learn what techniques the shield can be used to do."

Naofumi felt a bit more confident, Itsuki huffed, and Motoyasu laughed out loud.

"Ahahaha~! Wow, good luck trying to level grind on Hard Mode, Naofumi. I'll pray for you to get a cheat code or a quick unlock, and if you die we'll make fun of you at your spawn point."

Yumiella smacked the table, showing the first frown he'd seen on her face all day.

"Do not joke about that. This is not a game, this is a world with similarities to a game, but the people here who are dying in the waves are flesh and blood with lives and souls. If you try to treat them like NPCs, they are likely to surprise you in the worst way," she warned flatly. "They - sss! - bleed just red as we do, and their lives are no less precious."

"Shit, your hand!" Motoyasu yelped as Naofumi's stomach squirmed.

Yumiella had used her sword's edge to deliberately cut the heel of her left palm wide open, producing a lot of blood and a glimpse of bone at the center of the gash.

"This hurts. This world is not a game, and if you treat this world-ending catastrophe lightly, you will die," Yumiella insisted, holding out her wounded hand to make her point clear. "Turgid Flow."

Blood kept flowing, dripping down to the floor.

"...Ah. It appears my healing magic does not work in this world."

The door to the room burst open.

"Lady Sword Hero, I'm here to help!" a woman in summoner-group robes from before shouted as she rushed over.

Yumiella's cut was healed with the new world's healing magic easily enough, and the castle kindly provided her with some night clothes and the promise that her blood-spattered clothes would be laundered and returned in the morning.

The maid then showed her back to the meeting room and bowed.

"Before you go," Yumiella requested, "can you please bring us paper and writing instruments. I believe it will be useful if we can take notes as we speak."

"Right away," the woman agreed, and a stack of blank paper was derived with some quills and metal pens a minute later.

"Oh great, high school note-taking time," Itsuki sighed tiredly.

"If two of you have information regarding locations, events, or specific skills and power-ups to pursue, then it seems a good idea to share some of it," Yumiella said.

But that was not what she wrote.

People are eavesdropping on us, talk and write different things.

"Eh?" "That's?" "Hmm..."

"Well," Motoyasu said as Yumiella continued writing Japanese and hoping she wasn't making many mistakes, "I can't turn down a girl with beauty and brains. I think each weapon has their own individual preferred hunting grounds, so I'll rattle off what I can remember- oy! Don't just crib off the lady's notes, you two, grab some paper and do your own writing," he scolded the other two boys.

They grabbed their own papers and Yumiella presented her next set of hopefully-legible Japanese Kana for them to read

If the king is not secretly evil, then I suspect the Grand Vizier who was beside him has a stereotypical wicked plot in the works. There are certainly other political factions who want our help, our support, or our service. They are listening to us now and the weapons require us to split up, so we will have very limited ability to make plans.

Motoyasu rubbed at his chin, then instead of writing anything he impressed Yumiella with some applicable double-talk.

"The world mechanics are similar to Emerald Online, but there wasn't any Melromarc Kingdom in that game that I recall. Chances are, even if locations are similar they're going to have different names," Motoyasu rambled slowly to give them all time to write. "I didn't really party up with other people, but it's a pity there isn't any way to contact the admins or PM each other for references on what we encounter. Miss Yumiella, are you remembering anything from your own fantasy monster hunting experiences?" 

"Game fights are nothing like live combat," Yumiella answered firmly as she wrote more. "They're good to predict elemental affinities and weaknesses... Itsuki,do you have anything to contribute in particular?"

"In Dimension Web, each weapon can be built and upgraded with specific rare drops or materials, so each weapon has its own superior 'hunting ground' where it is better to train and find those materials."

"A list of weapons and materials would be invaluable, thank you," Yumiella said perfunctorily as she finished. "If you could read this and give me your opinion, please?"

She held out the paper on which she'd written her big reveal, and the boys gathered around.

"Wait, is this for real?" Naofumi asked.

"Is the idea of a New Game Plus really so surprising?" Yumiella answered plainly.

Japan and Balshine did not exist on the same planet. In my first life, I was a 20-year-old college student who was struck by a drunk driver and died in the hospital a day later. I then became aware of myself as a 5-year-old girl, and I realized I had reincarnated into a side character in a video game I enjoyed in my first life. The real world was very different from the game despite some similarities, and those differences got me killed.

In the game, the recommended level to fight the Demon King is a party of four Level 70+ characters. In real life, I was Level 99 when I fought the Demon King at the head of a party of five. When he realized he was outmatched in direct combat, the Demon King changed to tactics that did not exist in the game: impenetrable fog to induce friendly fire, hit and run attacks to wear us down, and eventually collapsing the masonry of his castle on us to kill us.

Additionally, there were several groups and factions who did not exist in the game but who tried to interfere with, recruit, blackmail, or assassinate me.

I suspect my experience with the dangers of this is why I was summoned, to counterbalance your knowledge of the world mechanics. They are eavesdropping on us still.

"Spooky," Naofumi said with a short nod.

"That does explain a few things I was wondering about," Itsuki agreed slowly. "And you too... Hey, guys, this is a slight change of topic, but what were your situations before you were summoned? I had a dump truck bearing down on me at high speed, so I'll admit, part of me was worrying this was some weird coma dream while I was in my hospital bed."

"I had a fist-sized hole through my stomach and spine, and our only healer was exhausted on top of having three other injury victims to treat," Yumiella summarized, since her written paper had most of the words and context already. So it seems we all died here? That would explain why I have no injuries and also suffered a Level Reset.

"Ouch! But yeah, I definitely died too," Motoyasu admitted. "Two girls I liked and was seeing, they got into a fight, and when I got between them they both stabbed me."

"Wait, all three of you died? I was just in a library, reading this weird old book when light enveloped me and I was falling through space."

"We all died. Probably the light and the fall was the result of a bomb going off nearby and you died before the pain registered," Yumiella assessed.

"I could believe that," Itsuki said thoughtfully.

"Ouch! But hey, at least it was painless," Motoyasu offered. "Well, that, or maybe magic existed in your world behind a masquerade and you were reading a magic book that summoned you. What was it about, any weird squiggly writing?"

Yumiella wasn't sure the book would be important, but Naofumi seemed to disagree as he suddenly almost jolted out of his seat and grabbed more blank paper.

"It might have been a magic book, let me transcribe some things and you guys tell me what you think," Naofumi said hurriedly.

"A bolt of manic inspiration," Itsuki sighed. "Maybe we should all put down our notes?"

I feel we're doing this a bit too obviously... but I suppose it doesn't matter in the long run, Yumiella assessed, so she set to writing an outline of how her experiences with Light Mage & Hero had differed from her experiences living as Yumiella.

Chapter Text

Naofumi:

The book I read was really weird, because it read like a Light Novel but the text looked hand-written, the pages looked at least 100 years old, and it was bound in beaten up leather too. So maybe it was a magic book!

It was about four heroes who had to save the world from catastrophe, and they were a lot like us with each one wielding a sword, a bow, a shield, or a spear. Some chapters focused on all four of them but there were also chapters focused on one of them specifically, but then when I got to the chapter of the Shield Hero, the second page and every page after that was blank and that was when it started to glow.

 

Yumiella:

That may be why you were summoned. A novel has characters and plot events, so while we have experience with game mechanics and how to translate them into real life actions, your book would give you experience with the characters we will interact with, political factions we may encounter, and other data. What do you remember?

Motoyasu:

Yup, sounds like a magic book to me. Did the characters have our names? Maybe that's why they left the Shield blank, if you were summoned last of us four.

Itsuki:

It might have been a history book. Supposedly there were previous heroes who fought against previous Waves of Calamity, so it might have been their story instead. Yumiella, did your world have any events like a wave of Calamity? You mentioned a Demon King?

Yumiella:

No. The Demon King was a human who used evil magic to become an immortal demon and send his army of undead monsters out to destroy the kingdom. And after twelve years, I cannot remember games and series from my first life very clearly. Naofumi, do you have the book with you?

Motoyasu:

We came with our clothes! I'll go ask a maid if they can send someone to check the summoning circle if you dropped it.

Naofumi:

I don't have it, and I only skimmed to see if I would want to buy it since reading it in a bookstore and putting it back on the shelf is rude.

But the book was really weird because instead of names it used titles for everything. The Kingdom. The Princess. The Spear Hero. The Royal Bird.

Okay, first thing. There are all sorts of magical creatures and then there are many people too. No elves and dwarves, but there are Demihumans who look a little animal like a cat girl, beast men who look more like animals, and then there are Royal Monsters which are monsters who can talk and use magic. They don't all get along.

*Several pages were splattered with ink and discarded as Motoyasu immediately began asking about cat-girls and fox-girls and cute girls with angel wings*

Yumiella:

I had a tame pet dragon in my last life, Ryu. I miss him.

Naofumi:

Dragons exist and so do tame monsters, I think. There was a big deal about a very powerful Royal Bird?

The first specific chapter had the Sword Hero taking point in the first wave, where cut off all three heads of a Cerberus at once while the other heroes killed its pack of hellhounds. However, the Sword Hero became too proud of his achievement and slew a dragon, only for the dragon's family to somehow swear vengeance? The plot was still going, I don't know.

The Bow Hero's chapter was about how he became hunted for some crime he got tricked into earlier, and then when the second wave hit he had to argue for his right to one of the chimera's heads as a prize alongside the others.

Apparently there's something about monster material being valuable? I think the Bow Hero went on to coat his arrows in snake poison, but maybe that was Hercules.

The Spear Hero was well-loved, and then he became the most powerful when he learned that he could use the other weapons special strengthening methods on his spear, because the others didn't want to bother using his methods, but it turned out people in his party were plotting against him.

The Shield Hero chapter was blank, but before that there was The King who trusted the wrong people and The Princess who had some kind of malevolent plan to seize the throne? Since apparently she didn't want to wait for her parents to die of old age. Oh, and The Queen exists and is alive, but she's visiting another country.

Itsuki:

Motoyasu, you're a ladies' man. Can you avoid getting stabbed if you ask a maid to tell you about the queen and whether there's a royal princess?

*Ink smudges from a scuffle as Motoyasu demonstrates his ability to give a noogie*

Yumiella:

Since the Cardinal Weapons do not translate the written word, at some point it may be worth taking an hour to have people read a history book out loud to us. In the meanwhile, I have a short list of the types of situations we might encounter.

1) Resentful companions -- people who resent our growth and resent that strangers are gaining the power we will use to save the world. In my Balshine life, several people whom I knew to be generally nice characters in the game were very resentful, distrustful, and accusatory to me for years because they were scared of my capability and hated that I outshone them by reaching the Level Cap.

2) Leeches -- people who will seek to befriend us so they can ask favors and profit off of us. After I became known as Level 99, several people aggressively offered me gaudy, expensive gifts in hopes I would be bound to them. One idiot actually offered to buy me "all the jewels and gowns I wanted" if I married him and helped him conquer our neighbors.

3) Trick Quests and Trap Quests -- at the end of the first year in-game, there was a quest to go slay a fire-element dragon that was terrorizing a town. The character dialogue seemed to push you to go out where it was hunting livestock and attack it immediately with fire resistant armor, but it was a trap. If you scouted out the dragon's nest, you would discover that it was a mated pair of dragons guarding an egg, and you needed wind-resistant equipment to avoid being killed by the second dragon. The quest killed me three times before I figured out how to beat it correctly.

4) Disguised Assassinations -- be very careful if anyone claiming to be an agent of the crown asks you to do something that sounds suspicious. In my last life, an assassin once approached me in broad daylight claiming to be a researcher for the Royal Tool Laboratory. He invited me to a room to test anti-magic manacles the crown wanted to use to restrain criminals. When I reported that I could not access my magic at all, several assassins emerged to attack me.

Naofumi:

I'm definitely seeing treachery and betrayal as a recurring risk here, with the Bow Hero tricked into crime and the Spear Hero being plotted against by his party.

And having the Shield means I don't even have the option to play it safe and go solo because my ATK is so low.

Itsuki

Being framed for a crime would be a nightmare for me, yes. Motoyasu already mentioned that he was stabbed by two girls he trusted, and I can see Yumiella's pride in being Level 99 and having the experience of a New Game Plus might make her overconfident.

Dimension Web didn't have very many trap quests, but there were a few chain quests where you had to do them in multiple steps as the situation changed after each step: go to the forest to get ingredients for a woman's medicine only to discover when you return that the town was attacked by bandits and you need to rescue the kidnapping victims, that kind of thing. There was also one quest where you went into a cave and then the quest-giver ambushed you because he wanted to steal your gear and sell them.

Motoyasu:

I just finished my list of Emerald Online's Mastery and Enchanting methods, don't talk bad about me while I'm too busy to read after I found out for us the Queen is out of the country! Where's your list of cool data stuff Itsuki?

Chapter Text

It was dark the first night after their summoning, but darkness hadn't stopped Yumiella from intently staring at the phantasmal Status Message that only she could see.

New Sword Unlocked! -- Ichor Sword I (unmastered)

Base Power = ATK+3 ... ...  Equip Bonus = +4 M.ATK

Unique Ability: Rush of Blood -- Passively increase M.ATK by percent equal to the percent of HP you have lost, to a maximum of +99%

Yumiella would have told the three boys about this 'new form' she had presumably unlocked by bleeding on the Cardinal Sword when she cut her hand open, but she hadn't noticed the alert message until she was already in the room the palace set up for her, and she remembered how Patrick had reacted the first time she invited him into her room in broad daylight when they were both clothed and Rita was present to chaperone.

So instead, she had done her own investigations in her temporary guest bed.

Sadly, discovering there were new ways to unlock new swords she could then master (AKA, Level Up each weapon individually,) had prompted Yumiella to do an even deeper Status Menu wiki walk than she had attempted earlier in the evening, and as a result she hadn't gone to sleep until well past midnight.

She'd needed to be shaken awake twice by a maid the next morning, and they'd brought her a small breakfast to eat quickly so she wouldn't keep the king waiting in the audience chamber, so there hadn't been time for any more surreptitious secret discussions.

Still, last night's discussion had given each of the four a list of location descriptions to level-grind, a list of particularly nasty trick monsters to look out for -- they all agreed that Yumiella's description of a Shadow Assassin was very spooky -- a list of common scams they'd each heard about from pop culture in their worlds, and a list of how the mechanics of the two video games could translate to improve a character and their equipment in a real fantasy world.

Yumiella was still Level One, but she and the others would be changing that very soon, and Motoyasu had even made a bet for a favor about which of them had a higher level come the next Wave. She hoped it would be an engaging (and distracting, because she missed Patrick and Ryu and Balshine all so much) competition for a good cause.

The next morning, Motoyasu and Naofumi had keeled over laughing when Yumiella rushed up to the door to the audience room with a piece of toast still half-eaten, so Yumiella quickly gulped it down and tried to hit them with Dark Bind repeatedly (to no avail, her magic just wasn't working,) until the doors swung open.

"Great heroes, thank you for answering my summons! We sent out for capable volunteers, and we have gathered brave souls to accompany you on your quest!" King Aultcray declared.

Yumiella had already started contemplating how she would vet the ones applying to be her teammates when the King continued, and it took her a moment to parse that the applicants would instead be selecting which hero they wished to follow.

And when was the last time I ever won a popularity contest?  Yumiella reflected tiredly as the dozen adventurers each moved to stand behind the hero they had chosen. Moreover, this guarantees that a spy can be slipped into each of our parties without missing anyone or doubling up. Excellent plotting on someone's part.

Once the decisions were made, Yumiella turned to look-

What?

-and she found that both her prior assumptions may have been wrong, as not only did she have the most followers behind her, but Naofumi had none, which would leave him unsupported but also with no spies to control him or report back.

Perhaps I read it wrong, and the kingdom just did not plan this out very efficiently, she acknowledge. Still... "Six party members, that seems a little much."

"It's way too much!" Naofumi complained.

"Hahahahahaha~! Looks like Melromarc knows the value of a powerful and beautiful woman," Motoyasu cackled.

"I only like men who can defeat me," Yumiella answered on reflex as he finally exceeded her tolerance for stupid flirting. Motoyasu saluted her challengingly with her spear. Wait, I'm no longer Level 99 now!  "I have a boyfriend, no flirting."

"Ma'am yes ma'am," he drawled smarmily in reply.

"Yo! King!" Naofumi shouted. "What's with this?"

"Despite my title of Wisdom King, even I was not expecting this," the King slowly mused.

Wisdom King? No one is snickering so I guess he wasn't senile enough to invent that name, Yumiella assessed.

"No volunteers? He must have zero charisma," the now-confirmed-almost-certainly-evil Vizier mocked unhelpfully. Meanwhile, Yumiella was at least relieved to see a knight lean in and whisper help to the aging and potentially senile king.

"Hrm? I see... My apologies, but servant gossip has unofficially spread rumors of the contents of your private discussion last night, Great Heroes. There seems to be a belief that the Shield Hero is more ignorant of our world than the other three, even though the heroes are supposed to be summoned with knowledge regarding our lands and language. In contrast, Lady Sword Hero-," Yumiella twitched at the title, which had begun to be by used servants after she'd revealed herself to be a countess in her previous world. "-is reputed to be a veteran who rose to the Level Cap despite her young age, and our adventurers are understandably very drawn to her."

"Damn, and here I thought the eavesdropping worries were overblown," Motoyasu hissed to Naofumi.

"You think? Better late than never I guess," Naofumi replied. "Still! Yumiella, there's no way you need as many as the rest of us combined! Just give me half and it'll be fair."

That does sound reasonable. "That does sound reasonable," Yumiella agreed, only for her group of six to shift uncomfortably and begin muttering. "...Six is too large a party to manage this early. If two or three of you help the Shield Hero for a week or two, we can switch back afterward."

"Ahem!" Yumiella had to turn her attention back to the king before any of her followers could cave in to her plan. "Brave Heroes, as the heroes are the ones who will lead their party to victory or death, an adventurer's need to trust in their commander must not be ignored; in light of this, I am unwilling to overrule the companions' decisions and force them to move."

"I wouldn't want to kick out any of the ladies in my party," Motoyasu agreed. "Sorry!"

"Forcing the issue definitely could destroy everyone's moral, making them give up because they feel trapped and unhappy or unsafe," Itsuki added.

This isn't really between the two of you, it's between me, Naofumi, and six figures who may want to leech off me without putting the work in, Yumiella brooded.

"Oh come on! You're telling me I ought to just go it alone?! I have no attack power!!"

"If you are willing to spend this first month with the Shield Hero, and switch back after I will be in your debt for the convenience," Yumiella pressed, and all six again looked very uncomfortable. This... is not natural anxiety on their parts.

"If I may, Sire," the sinister-looking vizier interrupted, and Yumiella braced for a malicious plot, "perhaps the matter can be remedied with money? We had already planned to give each Hero and their Party a small allowance for expenses; if the Shield hero receives a slightly larger allowance while also having smaller expenses due to traveling on his own, it should be easy for him to hire a few companions to help him level up and train."

On the one hand, I am now wondering if I misjudged and the Vizier is not evil, Yumiella assessed. On the other hand, this could be a good opening for a long-term plan to slip thieves or traitors into the Shield Hero's party in a different method. By why not just have an adventurer join the Shield Hero of their own accord without this show?

There is something very important we do not know, and unlike my last life I have no meta-knowledge to guide me.

Yumiella had been repeatedly told that she lacked some elements of common sense (although she disagreed with this statement), but she usually had relatively solid political sense for understanding plots and plans in the making. This time, she was utterly confused and had to assume either that some first step had failed off-screen in a comedic way and that everyone was scrambling to cover for it... or there was some other unknown detail that would explain where this was going.

"That does seem-,"

"Sir Hero!" One of Motoyasu's followers, a redhead with an armored leather bustier and a sword on her belt, stepped out of their line-up. "If it wouldn't leave you too understaffed, Sir Spear Hero, I'd be willing to shift over and join the Shield Hero's party instead, with your permission."

"Um." One of the women who'd stood behind Yumiella leaned out and admitted, "I'm not sure about the Shield, but if Lady Sword Hero is willing then I would like to move over to the Spear Hero's party?"

Yumiella desperately resisted the urge to face-palm and gestured for the appropriate re-shuffling to commence. At the end of everyone's awkward shifting, she was down to 4 followers, Itsuki had 4 after an archer had moved over from Yumiella to join him, Motoyasu had three girls again, and Naofumi had the redheaded adventurer Myne.

The first month's funds were distributed, with Naofumi's 2-man party getting an extra 200 silver to hire help, and finally they were all dismissed to move out the front gate and off to the castle town.

As they passed under the portcullis, Yumiella declared, "Please give us privacy to speak with my fellow heroes." She had to shoo her hands a few times -- I really miss being Level 99, with almost everyone willing to listen to me about normal things -- but eventually all of the followers stepped away.

"Is it just me, or was that whole thing weird?" Naofumi complained. "Like, I got zero people?!"

"Aww, suck it up. You got the absolute ten of a beauty all alone with you in the end, didn't you?" Motoyasu countered. "Bet someone's gonna get lucky soon~!

"No, it was very suspicious, and the king seemed... slow," Yumiella agreed. "I suspect the Vizier tried to sneak a spy into each of our parties to report on us and control us-,"

"Except Naofumi almost didn't have a party," Itsuki countered.

"Yeah! No way a beauty like Myne could do anything sneaky!" Motoyasu agreed loudly.

"My maid of three years, Rita, was forced to poison my tea because her sister's life was being held hostage against her compliance. You don't have to be evil to do a bad deed for the sake of your family," Yumiella disagreed. Motoyasu grimaced and Naofumi scowled.

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why it didn't work and Naofumi almost had no party," Itsuki observed. "Did they not want to spy on him or something?"

"Do not assume that other people's plans cannot suffer misfortune. My best guess is that one of the prospective spies got replaced, or the Vizier didn't have enough spies," Yumiella reasoned evenly, "but for six people to refuse to join the Shield Hero even though they were willing to join the other heroes?"

"I mean, the Shielder class is for losers," Motoyasu said with a shrug.

"Hey! Just because I haven't unlocked my Hard Mode Super Move powers doesn't mean I never will!"

"Do you usually solo-play Emerald Online? Does it have a party system? I can imagine that no one wants to be the Shielder unless it's as a boast," Yumiella noted, "but it would be very helpful to have a Shielder teammate who can protect you."

"Moreover," Itsuki agreed, "we didn't know why Naofumi had a different summoning event until he remembered about the book. We don't know why the shield was summoned, but as Countess Dolkness-," She smirked at her and she resisted the urge to scare him with dark magic she did not possess. "-said, the fact that you were summoned with a shield instead of a club or a flail seems significant. ...I guess we can't cooperate directly until the Wave without consequences, but good luck with Myne and your recruitment."

"Ah. I checked my Help menu," Yumiella relayed before the boys could split, "and the 'support of the world' is a multiplier of 10 to experience gained, but it then gets divided between all the heroes in range. If your experience gain does not end in a multiple of 10, it means we are too close and the benefits are splitting. Please use that to estimate how far we need to travel away from each other. Also..."

"What, again?" Naofumi complained as Yumiella cut her finger and squeezed a drop of her blood onto his Shield's jewel. "Huh? Ichor Shield II, but its ability is locked?"

"Two? I unlocked Ichor Sword One when I bled on my own sword last night." Maybe it's-,

"Aha, got it! Ichor Sword I, needed my own blood. Here, let's see if I can get you version three," Motoyasu offered, holding out the finger he'd stabbed with his spear head.

It took several tries to make Naofumi bleed, because apparently the Shield's bullshit defense meant that Yumiella's sword swing would bounce off him and Motoyasu had to put effort into a thrust, but eventually Yumiella was staring at the Status Updates of all four Ichor Swords.

Ichor Sword I (unmastered)

Base Power = ATK+3 ... ...  Equip Bonus: +4 M.ATK

Ability: Rush of Blood -- Increase M.ATK by percent equal to the percent of HP you have lost, to a maximum of +99%

 

Ichor Sword II (unmastered)

Base Power = ATK+3 ... ...  Equip Bonus:  +3 M.ATK ... +2 ATK

Equip Skill: Baying For Blood -- spend SP over time for a damage increase (medium) against any opponent who has injured a member of your party or a fellow Cardinal Hero (the user does not count)

 

Ichor Sword III (unmastered)

Base Power = ATK+3 ... ...  Equip Bonus:  +3 M.ATK ... +2 ATK ... +2 SPD

Ability: Blood in Your Eyes -- enhance perception to improve chances of landing a critical hit against a target that has injured you

 

Ichor Sword IV (unmastered)

Base Power = ATK+3 ... ...  Equip Bonus:  +2 ATK ... +2 M.ATK ... +2 DEF ... +2 M.DEF

Ability: Write with Blood, and Thou Will Find that Blood is Spirit -- the Status Menu gains a Messages Tab where you can send messages to other Legendary Heroes through their weapons, but sending a message will drain HP in proportion to its length

The fourth ability seemed to be shared between all four heroes, even if the details on the other weapons in this development tree tended to vary slightly.

"Hah, great! So we've got accessed to email again, but we literally pay for it in blood?  That's useless," Motoyasu complained.

"It's more useful than not having it," Itsuki countered. "Email can be hacked, snail mail can be lost or delayed or stolen, but with this there's no way for anyone to intercept or overhear our discussions. I have more than 100 HP, I can burn 10 or 20 if I'm not going to fight much."

"Sent," Yumiella declared, having written a practice message while the boys were talking. "It seems to be roughly 1 HP per word. Have you received it yet?"

The boys all checked and nodded.

"All right. As the oldest and the guy prophecized by Naofumi's book to be the most awesome, I hereby dismiss us for training! Booyah!"

"Yo! Try not to get stabbed by your teammates," Naofumi called after him.

"Don't go reading the wrong books while I'm gone, ya useless Shielder!" Motoyasu fired back as the four parted ways to reunite with their parties and start their day.

Chapter Text

"My name is Bakta, Lady Hero," began the largest and oldest figure at their brunch table. "I spent my early years helping my father cut timber in the woods, until monsters attacked us one afternoon and I found my calling in cutting them apart. I'm skilled in tracking, woodcraft, and carpentry as well as harvesting monsters for materials."

Yumielaa considered this. "In my homeland, monster that were slain would usually dissolve and leave behind a mana stone. Here they need to be rendered down into hide, sinew, meat, and oil fat by hand?"

"Yes! It's a messy job, but I'm happy to do it! You kill 'em, I grill 'em! Plus I can cook too," he boasted, "and I'll kill anything that tries to get me when it thinks I'm busy."

"Thank you... Mister Bakta." I ought to put more effort into remembering their names than I did with my classmates' names. At least I remember roughly how job interviews and team introductions went from my first life. "And you?"

The gray-haired boy -- Don't think of Patrick, don't get distracted by remembering Patrick -- shifted around like he wanted to stand and bow, but also didn't want to make a scene over lunch.

"My name is Welt, Countess Dolkness. My aunt is the Countess Bluegrass, and she funded my magical studies. I have an array of Faust spells across the elements and several Zweite spells of the wind and ice elements."

"I see. I am unfamiliar with the terminology and elemental notation that you mentioned, but that can wait. If you have the resources, I would be interested in learning to cast magic as well."

"Y-Yes milady! It would be my honor!!" he shouted, bolting up eagerly from his chair and spraying a bit of spit that just missed Yumiella's face.

...Another loud and excitable person, less cute than Eleonora, Yumiella realized. She turned to the next man, an orangey brunette, who gave her a sharp smile and a nod.

"My name is Tersia, Lady Hero," he greeted with a smooth voice that reminded her a lot of Principal Ronald when he was trying to make himself sound trustworthy. "I have scouting skills much like Bakta, although my combat skills lean more toward knives and agility."

"A rogue-type. Climbing trees and ambush tactics?" Yumiella assessed.

"Hah! Just because you're unable to take them head on," Bakta laughed with a hearty backslap. "Man up and learn to hunt, why don't you?"

"Name your place and your prey, old man," Tersia countered with a bit of grit to his voice before he remembered himself. "Ahem. Bakta might arguably be better than me in the deep forest, but if we'll be traveling across Melromarc then my naturalist skills and herbal remedies cannot be beat, whether we're in the mountains or by the sea. I've also served several years running high-priority messages between noble houses, so my discretion is top-notch and many noble guards are familiar with me."

"Poisons and other herbal techniques are likely to be very useful," Yumiella agreed, which for some reason made the three men shift anxiously. "And finally...?"

The green-haired girl had literally done a cartwheel from excitement on their way to the restaurant, so Yumiella was braced for a more Eleonora-style outburst, but instead she put her hands together and bowed in her seat.

"My name is Farrie, and I specialize in unarmed combat augmented by a little magic. My dream is to become skilled enough that I develop my own unique style and have it named after me. After treating my own injuries, I have also taken lessons first aid and medicine, so I can splint a bone, stitch up a cut, remove an arrowhead, and suck the venom from a snakebite. Thank you for accepting me into your party."

Yumiella took a moment to reference her Japanese and Balshine etiquette lessons for her reply/introduction.

"My name is Yumiella Dolkness, summoned from Balshine Kingdom as the Cardinal Sword Hero. Despite wielding the cardinal sword, I have only three years of sword lessons, as I primarily used to fight with my raw strength and magical skill. Nevertheless, I became the youngest and most powerful person in our Kingdom's history by achieving Level 99 prior to my fifteenth birthday, and I intend to use the lessons I learned then to repeat the feat faster now that my level has been reset, and hopefully to bring you with me to the highest echelons of ability. It will take tremendous effort and a lot of combat, but I intend that we will conquer the Waves and save the world."

"""YES!!""" the other four cheered, and Yumiella smiled at their enthusiasm.

Even if one of them is a spy, I hope we can succeed without problems. No one has ever showed enthusiasm about my leveling methods before. It feels nice to be accepted.

"Holy Sword Hero! How may we be of service?" invited the very excited nun/priestess.

"The Dragon Hourglass, please," Yumiella requested.

"Yes, of course, right this way!"

Yumiella had wanted to get started with Level Grinding immediately after brunch, but when he'd heard she was planning for them to leave the capital city Bakta had suggested that she needed to synchronize with the Dragon Hourglass so that it would alert and transport her to the Second Wave when it came.

"The Hero of the Holy Bow came by earlier, and he revealed that the Dragon's Hourglass sand can be used to unlock the power of the Three Holy Weapons as well, so we'll be happy to provide you with a small amount of that too," the holy woman gushed as she led the way. "It won't be necessary yet, of course but when your brave companions eventually reach the Level Cap then you can return to the Three Heroes Church have them Class Up at no cost as a courtesy at any time."

"Level Cap? Class Up?" Yumiella asked intently. Three Heroes Church? Not four?

"Oh! Yes, um... Ordinary human people cannot progress beyond the Level Cap at Level 40, no matter what great deeds they obtain, unless they come to the Dragon's Hourglass to undergo a Class Up ceremony, after which they can progress all the way to Level 100," the woman recited. "When you Class Up, you change from your basic Class to an advanced class with superior stat growth and specialties. I am a priestess, so if I ever reach Level 30 I could become an arch-priestess, or a cleric, or a paladin, or something similar."

"Level Thirty? Or Level Forty?"

"My most fervent apologies for being vague, your holiness," the woman clarified. "For people who live violent and active lives seeking combat, it is usually wiser to Class Up when you reach the Level Cap at Level 40, but it is possible to Class Up as early as Level 30 if you don't mind your options being restricted and your growth afterward being less than what it could be."

"That is very useful, thank you. Can you tell me more about Class options?" Do I have a Class? It might be that "Sword Hero" bit in my status menu... but how do people check their status if status magic is supposed to be exclusive to the Legendary weapons? A magic tool?

"I must shamefully confess that I don't know much about anything other than being a Priestess, your holiness. It's all I've ever wanted. But! If you'll give me a minute or two, I can fetch someone far more educated than I, while you link to the Dragon's Hourglass."

"Yes please," Yumiella sighed. This brief exchange while moving through the church had left her with far more questions than answers, and she had some sinking suspicions about the answers she would find after some digging. How is it that a kingdom with a literal 'Anti-King Faction' felt more cohesive and less corrupt than Melromarc does?

Chapter Text

People who lacked faith might have believed that the Sword Hero's arrival in poor timing was a sign that heaven was against them, but Biscas T. Balmus the Supreme High Priest (a.k.a. "Pope", according to a Holy Sword Hero of generations past,) held no such doubts.

Did it feel inconvenient that the Holy Sword Hero had arrived during his lunch hour, meaning he could not immediately introduce himself and assess her character? Yes.

However, in truth this turn of events merely allowed Balmus to demonstrate his humility and dedication by abandoning his half-finished plate to attend to the holy heroine and answer her questions! Rather than force himself into the three heroes' spheres, he had always intended to let them come to him -- as the Bow Hero had done already that morning -- in order to take their measure and to judge whether or not they were true heroes willing to support his Holy Crusade.

Best of all, he had his remaining lunch hour to speak with her before other business would interfere.

Melromarc was a matriarchy, so having a woman summoned as a Holy Hero was an exciting proposition, and he'd had to forcibly remind his spies in the companions group to stick with their assignments rather than gathering around the Sword Hero.

Moreover, while Balmus knew that a True Holy Hero was summoned with some knowledge of their world -- and that the Shield Devil lacked this knowledge was a convenient confirmation of his incompetent evil and his corrupt nature -- his Shadows had reported that the Holy Sword Hero was reputedly a high-level noble warrior potentially at or near the Level Cap before her summoning induced a Level Reset.

The word of a female Holy Hero would pull in tremendous national support, even from those sinfully tepid demographics who held too much trust in Queen Mirellia. The Holy Sword Hero would not 'make or break' his upcoming campaign -- divine mandate had ensured that he would succeed, the only question was how many of his loyal followers were slain by the sinful in the process of purifying Melromarc -- but she could sweep him to triumph with ease or she could turn the battle into a long and bloody slog.

Balmus bowed reverently when he arrived to find the Holy Sword Hero waiting by the Dragon Hourglass.

"Your Holiness, I am Pope Balmus, the leader of this church. Sister Challene mentioned that you had some questions, in addition to needing to synchronize with the Dragon's Era Hourglass. May I be of service to you this day?"

The long moment it took her to respond was enough for Balmus to write off the Sword Hero as either slow or possessed of a very good gambling face.

"Yes, thank you," she finally said with a polite curtsy. "I have questions about Classes and Class-Up options."

"Ah, certainly! I admit, I have not memorized all the pertinent information," Balmus lied, "but I keep a few reference texts in my private office when I discuss options with my petitioners prior to a Class Up ceremony. If you'll follow me there- oh! Before we go, legend says that the sand of the Dragon's Hourglass can be absorbed to unlock a Hero's wondrous powers. May I offer you some?"

"Thank you," the Sword Hero agreed, showing neither contempt nor gratitude.

Balmus fiddled around with the Dragon's Hourglass far longer than necessary to give his Shadows time to set up his 'private office' -- in actuality just a cluttered room far below his dignity that he kept stocked with various 'humanizing' items like children's books to put skittish parishioners more at ease than his genuine office's spacious luxury would provide -- and then led her slowly to the small side room he would use, giving a nod to the shadow-disguised-as-a-friar who was sweeping the hallway outside to keep an ear open.

They even remembered to bring in my plate of lunch, wonderful,  Balmus chuckled as he led the Sword Hero inside.

"Now your holiness, how may I be of service to you?"

The resulting conversation was... thorough. Balmus had to mentally adjust his judgement of the Sword Hero's mind to resemble the Spirit Tortoise of legend: slow moving and yet very strong.

She questioned him at length about Class benefits, Class Up options, the meaning and uses of people's stats, and magical elemental affinities to begin with.

...

"There is no prejudice against any of the magical elements?" she asked intently.

"Certainly not, outside of some rural superstition. The element with the worst reputation might be Fire, as it spreads and can rage out of control so easily, but fire is so commonly used in combat that it is too popular to suffer discrimination. Was there such a thing in your home world, child?" he asked in his best sad grandfather voice.

"Light-attribute magic was considered holy, and dark-attribute was unpopular because it was used by a Demon King to attack the world," she answered. "I was worried whether learning any particular element would cause a problem."

"Certainly not," he assured her. "In fact, if you wish to learn, I have an introductory grimoire of magic right here in my office. Please take it with you."

"Thank you." The Holy Sword Hero took the book gratefully but put it on her lap rather than open it.

Balmus was momentarily stumped. "Please make sure to read the chapters in order, as you'll need to learn the magic alphabet in the first chapter- ah. Are you able to-? Oh, no, wait," he 'remembered' like a doddering fool, "you would have learned literacy at a young age, my apologies. So many of the children who come in haven't learned to read the word of god," he sighed.

"I cannot read your language, only my own," the Sword Hero corrected placidly, "but my teammates have offered to help me learn."

"Always useful if you have the time," Balmus said agreeably. "Queen Mirellia prefers to focus on infrastructure and economy over education, but we've been able to set up more church-run schools the past few years. Might be my favorite achievement as Pope!"

This was a complete lie. Mirellia did set up schools like her aunt Queen Marcella had done before her, as did the church, but his crowning achievement would soon be the installation of the Three Heroes Church theocracy that could then move on to bring order to the sinful world.

However, it was a lie that would be difficult to verify and would almost certainly blacken Mirellia's name and make the Sword Hero more willing to overthrow her in the future.

"I have some basic literacy primers as well. The waves will keep me too busy for the next month or two to invite any children in for a reading hour, so you might as well take them," Balmus said, having seen that the Shadows put those books on his shelf as well.

"Thank you."

...

From there the conversation moved to the doctrine of the church, legends about the powers of past heroes, and records they may have left for the heroes of future waves to peruse.

"Sadly, the royal library that held all our records was pillaged and burned in a war against Siltvelt roughly 25 years ago," Balmus 'apologized'. "Any first-hand records the heroes may have left would be best found in Faubley, but I must strenuously recommend against ever setting foot in that kingdom," he insisted, eager to keep the Sword Hero pinned in Melromarc and gleeful that he was able to use a verifiable truth to do so. 

"What if a Wave occurs in Faubley? Don't they occur over the world?" Yumiella checked.

"According to legend, the Waves spread out like ripples from the area of the first Wave, which is why Melromarc summoned all four heroes," Blamus lied smoothly. "If a Wave does occur in Faubley, and Faubley does not simply repel it with their military as they have publicly claimed a desire to do, then at least you will be fighting that Wave with the other two Holy Heroes to help defend your virtue from Faubley itself. The country has long had misogynistic leanings, but with the ascension of 'Rape King' Bör Faubley to the throne, even your holy status could not protect you. You would be undoubtedly forced to guard your honor with violence and bloodshed."

Alas, the Sword Hero had an excellent poker face, but she did shift her weight in her seat at the mention. Balmus guessed she felt disturbed.

"That bad?"

"King Faubley possesses a powerful weapon, the Seven Stars Vassal Axe, and he has bought the loyalty of similarly-minded brutes to prevent himself from being violently overthrown. He's also politically canny and has built up the world's most powerful military while annexing, conquering, and colonizing a number of other smaller nations," Balmus listed solemnly. "Unless you and your party were all Level 90 or above, he would certainly be able to catch and 'taste' you for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to 'enjoy' a Cardinal Hero. I expect the resultant outrage would see him deposed and overthrown in the next two months, but you would still be dead or worse. Please do not risk it. I would happily bloody my blade again in your name, but I suspect I am too old to survive the battle, and many loyal followers would die alongside us." All my plans will go up in smoke if you go abroad or you get killed and we need to fight a war with Faubley before I'm ready to bring the Holy Three Heroes Army against them! And for that matter, please take the bait and drop the subject!

"I will not risk it," the Sword Hero affirmed. "...Your blade?"

"Oh! Yes," Balmus laughed, gesturing to the sword his Shadows had hung on the wall. "I used a sword in my youth as a Church Knight-," Another total lie, he had always eschewed the battlefield front lines in favor of casting spells and commanding a clear numerical majority for purges, which was why he had lived long enough to become Pope while most of the other candidates had died in battle (or by assassins who caught them at the end of a valiant battle). "-but I'm afraid my old bones aren't up to swinging it around anymore."

"May I try? It resembles the swords I studied with more than my current sword."

"Be careful. The edge is sharp, and there are stories about the Holy Weapons refusing to let their wielder be sullied by lesser weapons, but I'm not certain how to interpret that aspect of mythology." He genuinely wasn't certain, but if he could get confirmation of his suspicions...

The Sword Hero examined the sword and checked its balance, but after giving it a single swing the Holy Sword emitted a shock of magic.

"Ah."

"Did something occur?"

"Wielders of the Cardinal Weapons are not permitted to use other weapons," she confirmed. "Thank you for the loan."

"It was my honor," he lied, "and pleasure," which was true enough. "May the might of the supreme god go with you."

"And you too." she stood, moved toward the door, and then doubled back. "One more request, sir?"

"Certainly!" Please get on with it before the Spear Hero arrives and I need to have my 'office' rapidly redecorated with spears.

"Much like the sand of the Dragon Hourglass, the Cardinal Weapons can absorb other substances to unlock their powers. May I trouble you for a drop of blood, or a hair? An offering from a saint like yourself must be of even greater efficacy than one from royalty."

The old man's pride swelled in satisfaction: not only was she entirely viewing him as a friendly holy figure, but she had asked a favor of him! A favor that he could guilt her into repaying at a later date. A chance to permanently merge his body with a piece of divinity, in preparation for his true ascension!! Oh this was so exciting, especially if he could replicate it with the Replica Weapon, he just had to see how it would work!!!

"It would be my honor, Lady Hero. A bit of hair and a bit of blood, and I can heal myself with magic so if you'll let me flense off a little skin as well..."

Having finally left the Church, Yumiella took a seat on a bench outside and took a moment to just breathe in the shade.

She wanted to fight something. She really wanted to go out fighting and stop being Level 1 and get out and move and-

The time-limit.

More than anything else, the time-limit was making her antsy. They had 29 days and 2 hours before the start of the Wave, so she needed to squeeze in as much grinding as possible, but that also meant she needed to get as many resources and forms and skills and power-ups as possible.

Without any casualties or making mistakes that would screw them over, because there was no resetting the game file to redo a quest here.

In her first life, Yumiella had been trying to speed-run the dragon's egg quest in Light Mage Hero her first time playing and she'd suffered a party wipe three times straight as a result.

She couldn't try a Speed Run in real life, it had to be a 100% Completion No Party Deaths run (this was not a game), but she had to do that 100% Completion Run with a time limit when she barely knew any of the mechanics or upcoming plot events or anything, and some of the information she got form the other heroes could easily be inaccurate.

Not to mention the lying and the politics, Yumiella fumed as she finally opened her eyes to view the damming Status Update floating in front of her face.

New Sword Unlocked! -- Decorative Sword (unmastered)

Base Power = ATK+1 ... ...  Equip Bonus:  +1 ATK ... Disguise Improvement (small)

I had my doubts about him before, but claiming this was a sword he used to win accolades in bloody combat with? He lied to my face, and I don't know what else he lied about.

Worse, Pope Balmus is the leader of the major religion in this country, which controls access to the Dragon Hourglass, and he lied to an ostensibly holy figure with no sign of guilt or shame.

In Balshine, I had to deal with rumors, discrimination, and wariness, but never anything like a religious Crusade or an Inquisition. He's manipulative and a hypocrite, and I have no doubt he'll abuse his political and spiritual power if he has reason to focus on or suspect me.

Melromarc -- 32:01:45:52

Melromarc -- 32:01:45:51

Melromarc -- 32:01:45:50

It was the paradox of the time limit. Yumiella could not waste time, but making a clumsy misstep early on would be more catastrophic and could get people killed in the Wave. 

If you had to get somewhere fast, tripping was an acceptable risk to run instead of walk; if the risk was a broken leg that would need to weeks to heal, the risk was less acceptable.

But either way, standing around will get me nowhere fast.

Yumiella stood, glanced around the square, and began walking.

"Pardon me, Ma'am," she greeted a gray-haired woman who was struggling to wrangle a basket of groceries and a rambunctious boy.

"Peotre, will you-! Oh, yes, thank you kindly, Miss," the woman agreed, and Yumiella took the basket so she could pull the boy up into her arms and scold him.

It was short walk to the woman's door, Yumiella accepted her thanks, and then she asked a question as she handed over the basket.

"I am a visitor from Faubley Kingdom, Ma'am, and I wanted to say prayers of gratitude at the Church. People told me the main church was the building I met you outside of, but when I stepped inside earlier, the decoration, it seemed...?" Yumiella trailed off, hoping this was common knowledge.

"From Faubley?"  The old woman's nose wrinkled and she almost turned away. "Melromarc follows the Three Heroes Church, for the most part."

"Three, instead of four?" Yumiella murmured and got something a bit like a stink eye before the woman sighed.

"Those beasts worship the Shield exclusively, dearie, so we cast it out for the sins of its wielder a few centuries ago. If you want the Four Saints Church, you'll need to go down to the..."

Yumiella listened to the directions, thanked her guide, and then went off in a different direction because going directly to a rival church immediately after leaving the prominent church could be problematic if she was being followed. She'd need to see how well the Decorative Sword improved her disguise skills (which currently amounted to a bit of make-up from her first life and hiding her black hair under a hat,) before she risked exploring that in person. Still...

Yumiella wandered slowly back to the fountain where her new party had agreed to meet after completing their morning errands, and when she saw she was the first to return she settled down by the running water to wait.

She opened her Status Menu and began to carefully compose a message.

MESSAGES --> ALL

Suspicious Discovery: Kingdom's main religion worships three heroes, not the Shield. Four Saints Church at Marsham Square.

NOT Naofumi investigate. Itsuki or Motoyasu compare to Three Heroes Church? Secret mission please

Yumiella double-checked the contents, hit send, and cringed as the blood-thirsty magic devoured 30 HP for the message.

She'd confirmed with her first test that it didn't injure her beyond pain (and this was nothing compared to when the Boss Dullahan had cut her arm off, or many other training agonies,) and that it was 1 HP per word even if she sent it to multiple people at once, but the idea of wiping out a third of her health bar made her uncomfortable.

She wanted to chug some healing potions, or better yet get her healing magic back already by grinding some monsters, but getting her team outfitted and making travel arrangements shouldn't wait either. 'Well begun is half done,' and all that.

Not to mention the disturbing discovery that Cardinal Sword forms could be unlocked with other people's blood, hair, and flesh. Balmus had donated and then gotten a more junior priest to donate as well, and then she'd lied that the second donation hadn't generated any gains because he was disturbing her a little -- only for that to puff him up more with how important The Pope must be -- and he'd given her a bit of Holy Water to unlock that sword form as well.

Bloodshed Sword I (unmastered) 2/20 ... ... Base Power = ATK+5

ATK +1 ... improved damage to humanoids (small) ... improved damage to humans (medium)

 

Haircut Sword (unmastered) 2/30 ... ... Base Power = ATK+1

ATK +1 ... SPD +1 ... haircut and shaving +3

 

Epidermis Sword (unmastered) 2/20 ... ... Base Power = ATK+2

ATK +1 ... DEF +1 ... M.DEF +2 ... 

 

Human Meat Sword (unmastered) 1/20 ... ... Base Power = ATK+4

ATK +3 ... dissection +4

 

Energetic Sword (unmastered) 1/40 ... ... Base Power = ATK+2

ATK +1 ... improved damage to unholy (medium) ... improved SP restoration (strong)

Yumiella hadn't been certain about what the numbers were or meant, but they seemed to be counting the samples that had been fed to her sword? Balmus had cut himself on the sword deeply enough to count as getting flesh in there, while she had been much more careful to peel off skin from the priest Balmus had pulled in for a sample.

Did this mean she was supposed to feed the sword human flesh?

As a woman who had unjustly been treated like she was the evil Demon King, this made her feel a little sick and suspect that the 'Holy' Cardinal Weapons may be secretly evil.

A manipulative Vizier, a lying Pope, a human-eating weapon... This new world is certainly going to be complicated and difficult to navigate, Yumiella sighed to herself.

"Lady Hero! Lady Hero!"

Yumiella looked up from her seat to see Welt Bluegrass running with his shoes slapping against the street stones, his gray hair ruffled by the wind like Patrick Don't think about it.

Yumiella nodded politely. "Mister Welt."

"Lady Hero, I found what you wanted!" Welt gasped out excitedly. "I found it! My aunt had one locked away, although she warned me that it's cursed, but it's an amulet that increases experience gain!"

"Where is it?"

"Agh! Hurting," Welt gasped as his fingers twitched, and Yumiella realized that she had grabbed his wrists and was squeezing.

She released him. "My apologies, Mister Welt." 

"It's fine- All good-," Welt wheezed as he got his breath back. "But- Um, here it is." He handed over a small pouch, which Yumiella opened quickly yet reverently. "But it's cursed, too she said."

"How so?" People called me a cursed child for foolish reasons, but at the same time, you'd think to expect to see more of these about in times of Calamity when strength can save lives.

"It works by the concept of 'drawing in' and 'absorption'," Welt explained. "You gain extra experience by drawing in the life and soul of the monsters you slay, but you also suffer extra damage and have a hard time dodging because attacks are drawn toward you as well. You're more likely to die before you get strong."

"How much is drawn in?" Yumiella asked.

"...Double or triple? She didn't say, since it wasn't used for ten years or more."

"Then it's worth trying out." Yumiella smiled as she looped the chain over her neck and tucked the 'cursed' amulet into her shirt. "I have a lot of experience with killing monsters."

Chapter Text

"The driver wanted all 100 coins as a down payment to show we're serious and it isn't a prank," Farrie reported breathlessly, "but he says if we do show up then he'll give 50 back."

"Take this in case we have other expenses," Yumiella offered, handing over another handful of silver since she wasn't much for shopping anyway.

"50 silver is highway robbery," Bakta growled. "Lady Hero, I don't understand why you believe this is necessary."

He's been complaining... but his words are "I don't understand" rather than trying to tell me that I am wrong.

"We are on a time-limit," Yumiella reminded him. "If possible, I want everyone in our team to Class Up before the Wave, which requires dedicated training and time efficiency. Given the likelihood of being stymied by the presence of the other three around the outskirts of the capital, it makes sense to move to other areas quickly, especially since we can stay close enough for the first day or three to move back to the capital if necessary. We need to train, travel, and sleep as efficiently as possible, or we need to establish that my methods of Level Up efficiency are flawed within the first week so that we can fall back on the more conventional methods you prefer for the remaining time period."

"But the tried and true methods aren't good enough?" Bakta pressed. "I worry this could backfire badly."

"The tried and true military techniques were not enough for the First Wave, Mister Bakta," Yumiella reminded him. "If you prefer a more conventional adventure, you are welcome to keep your share of the silver and join one of the other Cardinal teams instead."

For a moment, Yumiella both hoped and worried that Bakta would take the offer, but finally the large man shook his head and relented. "My instincts told me to trust you, Lady Hero. I will obey."

"I will endeavor to live up to your faith in me. Mister Tersia?" 

"I've got maps, I've got potions, and I've got recommendations from store owners about trouble spots and where to shop along the way. Bakta?" he prodded.

"Made food arrangements and got the bones and wood and things you asked about," the big man rumbled. "There's also a butcher's shop that said they had a whole carcass gone rancid that they couldn't use it, promised to give it to us if we can by sunset. Not sure if that will matter."

"Finding out whether I personally need to kill the monsters I absorbed is worth experimenting with," Yumiella assured him.

"I got three grimoires and some enchanted items my aunt was okay loaning me, but she'll want them back or paid for after the Wave or we'll have hell to pay," Welt finished hurriedly.

"Thank you. I have one last experiment for today: I want to see what will happening if you each add a sample of blood and hair to the Cardinal Sword. After that, we will have our first hunting expedition."

A casual sword slash bisected a floating Orange Balloon monster through its jaw as it flew at her hungrily.

+ 4 EXP

You are now LEVEL 5!      HP = 50/108 ... MP = 109/109 ... SP = 19/32

ATK 21 ... M. ATK = 31 ... DEF = 19 ... M.DEF = 19 ... SPD = 29

"Hold," she ordered quietly with a frown. "We must have strayed too close to another hero's hunting grounds, my experience was diminished."

"I'll look around and see who it is, be right back," Tersia volunteered, promptly climbing up a tree.

"Don't forget the balloon fragments, Lady Hero," Bakta reminded her as he stooped down, a yellow balloon monster held in one large hand to be killed once they got out of range again.

"Yes." Yumiella took them absently and absorbed them into her sword as she scanned the surroundings in hopes of seeing something.

"Lady Her-!"

Orange Rubber Sword (unmastered) 41/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... DEF+1

Yellow Rubber Sword (unmastered) 17/50 -- -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... SPD+2

 

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED!

Captivity Sword I (unmastered) 1/20 -- -- Base Power = ATK-2 ... ... Equip = ATK+3

Unique Ability: Pommel Into Submission -- store a single subdued monster in your Sword Inventory and release it at will

"Hah," Yumiella huffed. "I fed it a monster."

"No harm done, mildly, I was going to kill it in a minute or two," Bakta dismissed.

"No, it-,"

"Lady Hero!" Tersia called, reappearing from his jaunt through the treetops, "I saw the Bow Hero hunting northwest of us, so we should move widdershins around the capital to escape his range."

I don't know how to calculate either of those directions... "Please lead the way," Yumiella invited. "Also, I want to try feeding the Sword a live monster instead of dead materials."

"Another sword form? How many are there?" Farrie wondered. "Here."

"As many holy weapon forms exist as there are ideas in the world," Bakta intoned solemnly.

Yumiella took the Orange Balloon Farrie offered and fed it-

ACTION FORBIDDEN, PLEASE REALEASE THE STORED MONSTER TO STORE A NEW MONSTER

-and held onto it a little longer as they walked until she judged that it might be enough to escape Itsuki's territory.

"Pommel Submission," she commanded, which released the yellow balloon and didn't cost her any SP.

She slew that yellow ballon-

+30 EXP

-fed its rubber to her Sword, and then shoved in the Orange Balloon to see that the count had become Captivity Sword I (unmastered) 2/20 now, but also that she'd spent 2 SP, so it seemed the cost was for storing monsters and not releasing them.

Which makes sense, as storing a monster is an unnatural action that requires effort, while releasing it is simply a restoration of the natural order. "Pommel Submission. Please bring me more live balloons, I wish to experiment."

+30 EXP

Her party moved steadily through the fields of tall grasses where the balloons lived, and she found that while the orange and yellow balloons didn't raise the count above 2/20, adding in a Red Balloon made it 3/20 once they found a few of those.

"They need to be different colors, eh?" Tersia figured, dipping into a warm-up stretch. "We've still got at least two hours to sunset, so if we only need one of each how about I run around to each area and bring back one of every color I find?"

"You'll miss your own grinding opportunity," Yumiella warned the rogue, but he only laughed.

"It's only our first day, umahahaha~ and if we won't be back to the capital until the next Wave then milking everything we can today is more important. I can get experience any time, but balloons mostly only live near the capital and a few other large population centers. Be right back!"

"...I think I see the marks of an Eggug that passed by. I'll try to bring it back for you, Lady Hero," Bakta offered deferentially.

"Thank you," Yumiella acceded. I can't improve Captivity Shield until I get more live monsters, so I may as well switch to the Energetic Sword for SP regeneration.

"Hey Welt," Farrie wondered, flipping herself into a walking handstand as they moved into an area where the grass wouldn't cover her upside down head, "you're supposed to be a mage, but you've hammered the balloons with your staff or popped them with a knife. When are we going to see some magic?"

"My MP will exhaust itself long before my arms exhaust themselves, you wild brawler," he riposted, and Yumiella let their back-and-forth banter wash over her as they meandered toward the next patch of tall grass to find more balloons.

Farrie flipped back to her feet once they were at the waist-high field, and the killing continued.

Orange Rubber Sword (M) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... DEF+1

Yellow Rubber Sword (unmastered) 39/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... SPD+2

It was all well and good until Welt ruffled his hair with one hand, and all of a sudden Yumiella was looking at Patrick beside her, making that same gesture as he joked about Edwin avoiding Eleonora while she scratched Ryu behind the ears, and her stomach was churning, the world was spinning, it felt like she couldn't breathe and there was a hole in her-

"-miella, Lady Yumiella!"

"-an you talk to me? What's your name?"

"-any colors you see. Five colors? What color is this?"

"O-orange," Yumiella muttered.

"What color is that?"

The sky is blue. "Blue. White cloud," Yumiella muttered, squinting against the sunlight.

"Drink this," a different voice Patrick said, pressing a glass bottle to her lips.

"Lady Sword Hero?" rasped a deeper voice as a stabilizing coolness spread through Yumiella's chaotic, overheated chest, and her fluttering heartbeat slowed. "What happened?!"

"It looks like hungry memories. We were walking, then she did a double-take, staggered, started sweating and muttering about a Patrick and a Roo-,"

"Ryu." I miss Ryu. I've never been away from him for more than a day since he hatched. How is he doing without his scratches? Will the Kingdom let Patrick keep him if I don't come back? He's a cute child and helpful, he knows to listen to Patrick, but maybe Patrick won't be allowed to take him home to the Ashbatten March, but I wanted Patrick to move into the Dolkness County, Patrick and I were going to- Patrick-!

Yumiella sucked in a ragged breath and her vision stabilized. "I'm here," she declared, seeing Farrie, Welt, and Bakta all gathered around her worriedly.

Sadly, this declaration did not assuage her party members that she was able to continue, so instead of being able to fight and move and get things done Yumiella needed to spend another five or ten minutes (they were on a time limit they barely had a month) resting before she finally grabbed the two Eggug that Bakta had brought.

Captivity Sword I (unmastered) 5/20

+20 EXP ... +30 EXP

Pale Egg Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = DEF+1 ... Cooking +1

Sky Egg Sword (unmastered) 1/40 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... Simple Recipes

"Waiting here will not help us Level Grind," she insisted. 

"Nor will letting this incapacitate you again in the field," Bakta rumbled.

"Is there-? That looked like hungry memories eating your brain," Ferrie pressed, leaning in with her big, wide eyes exactly the way Eleonora did when she was begging. "Can you tell us what it was so we don't do it again?"

"It- It's not a weakness to get help from other people, Lady Hero," Welt said earnestly, leaning in with an intent expression like-

"Hair!" Yumiella gasped as her vision spun for a moment. "Gray... can you dye your hair? You look like- like Patrick." Her heart hurt. She had seen him not so long ago, but she might not see him again now if she couldn't...

"Oooh! Is Patrick your boyfriend?" Ferrie squealed, and Yumiella found herself at a total loss for how to answer that.

"I- I can do that, Lady sword Hero! I can definitely do that, I can even shave my head and-,"

His eagerness broke the similarity he had to Patrick; Yumiella closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax a bit as she tuned him out.

Bakta offered his hooded robe to cover Welt's hair, Yumiella got some food and was made to sit down for a few minutes (again, instead of getting things done, she needed to Level Up did they not understand this?!), and then their party finally started moving onward once more.

Further on they came upon what looked like a furball rabbit.

"That is...?" Yumiella tried to recall the list of monsters found in the area.

"Usapil, Lady Hero," Bakta said, moving in front of her. "Please let me fight this one, so I can show you how to dissect it."

It bounced at them with its two buck teeth bared, and Bakta split it with a swing of his axe. Then he gave a quick lesson on how to skin and debone it before he offered the materials to Yumiella.

"Not the bones, too?" she wondered as he moved to dispose of the rest.

"I... suppose so," he acknowledged, handing them over.

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED

Usapil Sword (unmastered) 1/30 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... Jumping improvement (medium)

Usapil Hide Sword (unmastered) 1/30 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = SPD+2

Usapil Meat Sword (unmastered) 3/40 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = Dissection improvement (small)

Usapil Bone Sword (unmastered) 9/40 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... DEF+1 ... SPD+1

"No fur sword, but the bone sword is versatile," Yumiella assessed, shifting into that form to find that it resembled two incisor teeth stretched out into sword blades. I suppose teeth are made of bone, after all. "Mister Bakta, I want to help dissect the next one. The meat sword gave me a dissection improvement," she insisted when she saw he was about to argue.

Bakta struck her as a reverent man who didn't like to see the 'Holy Lady Sword Hero' get dirty, but if the 'Holy' Sword wanted her to do it...

"Usapil don't usually stray this close to the wall on this side of the city, so we might not see many more," he warned.

"Oh! I know!" Farrie volunteered. "You take Welt and go bring back a couple of live Usapil for her capture sword too! That way she won't see his hair and get startled."

"My-?" Welt curled in on himself (like a frightened little Alicia had, their first few days of school,) and pulled the hood tighter over his head.

"Good thinking. Come along, boyo. We'll leave the ladies to it, beggin' your pardon, Lady Hero," Bakta rumbled, picking up Welt (who squawked in shock) with one arm.

Yumiella gave a nod of permission and Bakta meandered away with Welt still shouting to be let down, he could walk, he wasn't a child, etc.

Yumiella's lips twitched at the sight. Then she turned back to the field ahead only to see-

"Hiyah!"

-Farrie kill a charging Orange Balloon with a dramatic kick.

"Whoops, sorry! I should have left that one for you."

Flickers of the game character quartet rendered injured and helpless by the Demon King flashed across her mind, and Yumiella shook her head.

"No matter how powerful, one person can only be in one place at a time," she asserted. "Attempting to do everything with my own power led me to ruin before, and I should not repeat that mistake again when the fate of this world is on the line. You all should be leveling up diligently as well, even if we need to gather materials."

"And we are! But I was already Level 8 when I volunteered, so you're still behind me, no worries," Farrie assured her.

They kept walking toward the next field of high grass, and as Yumiella stepped up to face two more balloons, the green-haired girl eventually asked, "Do you mind me cheerful?"

+20 EXP ... +20 EXP

"Hm?" Was that a question, or an error in the translation magic?

"I'm... normally loud and cheerful, Lady Hero, but I know that sometimes I get on people's nerves. You seemed to tense up a bit when Welt was gushing and babbling, so I went with my more reserved face, my 'show respect for your teachers and the training hall' mode... but I keep slipping up now. Do you mind me being loud and cheery?"

"...You remind me of Eleonora, my friend," Yumiella said as they kept moving onward and more balloons rushed toward them.

"Like Welt reminds you of your boyfriend?"

+20 EXP ... +20 EXP

Yumiella didn't really have a good answer for that -- she and Patrick had chastely kissed a few times without explicitly naming their relationship, but at the same time they'd been discussing marriage arrangements she needed to make with the head of his family -- so she said nothing.

"Sorry, milady. I might be less awed by you than Welt, but I still blabber a bit. Hi-yah! Hyah!!"

"I... don't mind the company. Red," Yumiella requested, as she'd mastered the Orange Rubber Sword so there was no point in feeding more shreds to her weapon.

"Right. Y'know, these are still worth a few coppers, and I heard that artisans outside the capital might buy them for more," Farrie reflected as she tucked the orange rubber shreds into a pouch while Yumiella fed the red to her Sword.

"What do they make with them?" Yumiella asked idly. Wait. Rubber to make 'rubbers'. Her face grew hot. "Ah, never-,"

"Toy balls to bounce around and waterproof bags, mostly? Hey, you look flushed, are you feeling hot?"

"Fine," Yumiella insisted, pushing ahead and using her embarrassment as fuel for a balloon hunting surge that got her most of the way to Level 6.

And then, after about ten minutes of a relatively satisfying low-level grind session (but it still wasn't enough, she used to clear hordes and dungeons with such speed)...

+2 EXP ... +4 EXP ... +2 EXP

"We're in the same area as another Cardinal Weapon," Yumiella declared.

"Whoopsie. Think we need to outrun the Sir Bow Hero if he's following us?"

Yumiella answered by picking up her pace, though Farrie followed along so effortlessly that she could still do the occasional cartwheel as they moved.

Instead, finding themselves at the top of a sloping hill, Yumiella looked down Naofumi repeatedly punching a bunch of balloons while his companion (she really needed to get better about names, but she really didn't care) stood by supportively so as not to kill steal.

“Yeah!” Naofumi shouted as he suddenly popped the balloon. “Wait, only seven?!”

Yumiella mentally winced -- Is he still Level 1? Seven experience sounds like what I was earning per balloon at the start when I discount the bonuses. -- and descended the slope as Naofumi was suddenly swarmed by several orange balloons, which latched on with their teeth but seemed unable to injure.

“Wait!” Yumiella called as the redhead drew her sword and moved to pop a balloon.

“Miss Yumiella?” “Oh! Dame Sword Hero.”

“My apologies for the experience loss, Mister Naofumi,” Yumiella said. “We came this way to get out of Mister Itsuki’s territory and entered yours. Please wait to slay more until we move further on.”

“Eh, it happens,” Naofumi dismissed, stooping to pick up the shreds of orange rubber. “Cool, new shield.”

New? Definitely still Level 1. He must have gone shopping for armor and equipment and only just begun grinding now, Yumiella realized. “Miss Farrie, please share our collected rubber bits with Mister Naofumi as an apology.”

“I-? Right, here,” Ferrie agreed.

“Oh, thanks,” Naofumi celebrated. “Huh, what’s this counter?”

But he was the one who described this from the Shield's Help Menu last night?  “Last night, you said if we store enough of the material that unlocks the shield-,”

“It will automatically master the shield, right! Slipped my mind after everything,” Naofumi laughed. “You’ve probably got lots more unlocked than I do, but I’ll catch up with Myne helping me soon!”

“I do, see?” Yumiella pulled up her Status Window, positioned for Naofumi to read.

“Uh, I can’t see it.”

No ‘screen sharing’? Hmm… “Take my hand,” she instructed.

PERMIT SHIELD HERO NAOFUMI TO VIEW STATUS? YES/NO

Yumiella selected YES.

“Sweet! Wow, you have got a lot already,” Naofumi complimented.

“Yes, and in addition to the swords we unlocked together, I unlocked some other similar swords. Miss Myne, may I trouble you for a drop of blood?”

The redhead shot a questioning look to Farrie, who gave a short nod.

“Certainly, Dame Hero,” Myne allowed.

ICHOR SWORD V REQUIREMENTS UNLOCKED — CURRENT STATUS INSUFFICIENT

That is…? I could ask, but it would give away that I know something is suspicious. Not now, Yumiella decided. “Are you having difficulty slaying the balloons?” Yumiella asked instead.

“Haha yeah~,” Naofumi laughed awkwardly. “Each punch only does, like, 1 damage to them; they can’t hurt me at all, but I have to cherry tap them to death.”

“Exactly?” You can measure the one damage?  

“That’s what it says from the status thing,” Naofumi confirmed.

Yumiella thought a moment about how to get around the damage issue.

“Hitting them with a flaming torch may do more damage... If you can hold the balloons safely, you may stick them in a campfire instead if your Shield protects you from the burn. Alternatively, squishing them with your weight or drowning them in a rock-filled sack in a pond may also give you experience from killing them.”

“How barbaric!” Myne cried. “Isn’t that what commoners do to unwanted puppies? You aren’t a puppy killer Sir Naofumi, are you?”

“What? No!”

“Or if you place some spiked object on the ground and press the balloons against it, you are not wielding the spikes like a weapon but you are still the living being responsible for dealing damage,” Yumiella continued. “Miss Myne, Miss Farrie, would you two be willing to get some sharp stones or branches and to capture some more balloons to help Mister Naofumi?”

“I… can go cut a few tree branches, but we shouldn’t start a fire unless we want to burn down the entire field,” Myne offered.

“I’ll go grab some more balloons, but I can only hold a few at a time,” Farrie agreed carefully.

“Stick them in here,” Naofumi offered, holding out a sack that he had pulled from somewhere.

“I will keep walking to move out of your territory,” Yumiella offered.

“Thanks,” Naofumi told her.

All three girls started moving away from him in different directions, but Yumiella doubled back once the two companions were out of easy hearing range.

“Mister Naofumi.”

“Huh? Oh, Miss Yumiella, weren’t you going?”

“Yes, but first.” She produced Welt’s loaned amulet from her neck. “This amulet doubles experience gain, but it also doubles the damage sustained by the wearer. I will need it back by sunset, but I am willing to loan it to you briefly."

"That would be great, thank you!"

Yumiella handed it to Naofumi, who put it-

Did he just feed that to his Shield?  "Did you just feed that to your shield?" She wasn't the most expressive, but the sheer callous carelessness he'd shown prompted her to try to glare venomously at him.

Naofumi didn't seem to notice her outrage; once again, Yumiella really missed being a Level 99 badass that everyone listened to for her achievements and abilities.

"Yeah? Ooh, cool," Naofumi celebrated, "it gave me the Absorption Shield, halves my defense to improve-,"

"That amulet was a loan from my party member's aunt. I will need you to repay them for destroying it."

"It's... not destroyed?" Yumiella blinked as Naofumi reached into his shield's green jewel core and drew out the amulet. "I just put it in my Inventory?"

...I forgot that we had a subspace dimensional inventory. I can never let him know. "I had assumed that the first sample material was consumed to unlock a new form. Thank you."

"You totally forgot we had an inventory, didn't you," Naofumi chuckled, eyeing the belt pouches full of potions and other material she was wearing.

"I assumed that the first sample material was consumed," Yumiella repeated, snatching back the amulet and feeding it to her own Cardinal Sword Core.

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED

Absorption Sword (unmastered) 1/10 -- Base Power = ATK÷2 ... ... No Equip Bonus

Unique Equip Skill: Soul Sucking -- Reduce DEF, M.DEF, M.ATK, and SPD to activate skill. While skill is active, gain EXP with each strike on a live foe equivalent to the damage inflicted.

Then she moved over to the Inventory tab that she hadn't experimented with much yet -- it did have what looked like all the materials she had harvested up to now -- and pulled the amulet out again to put it back around her neck.

"If it's a loan, you should probably hold onto it, but thanks for the new Shield."

"I can share some materials, too."

"Thanks, I'll get my own in time on my adventures, and if there's anything I miss we can trade back come the next Wave or something. Get out of my area you experience thief," Naofumi joked.

Yumiella twitched, nodded, and left as requested.

Chapter Text

"You requested to speak with me, Lady Sword Hero?"

"Thank you, your Majesty," Yumiella confirmed with a bow. "After discussion with my teammates and consulting the maps, my team has decided our path of training in preparation for the coming Wave. I wished to ask if there were any documents or travel passes we needed?"

"You may need to pay a few tolls," the King mused, "but national and international law grants the Legendary Heroes generally free travel and permission to access most areas, including restricted preserves. Though these may be revoked or restricted if you abuse them. Otherwise, merely displaying your Holy Weapon should grant you passage."

"An odd law if there are centuries between the waves," Yumiella opined mildly.

King Aultcray shifted for a moment and then admitted, "Legendary Heroes count not only the Four Cardinal Heroes, but the Seven Star Heroes, who are not summoned from another world but recruited from our own people, to keep the peace in between the Waves."

"Ah yes, Pope Balmus mentioned that King Bör Faubley held the Seven Stars Axe." She caught the king's mild wince. "Is there more information about the Seven Star Heroes? I expect it would be useful to recruit them, or to gain advice in wielding a Legendary Weapon."

"The only one of the seven outside of Faubley is the Vassal Cane, which... is temporarily unavailable. I will speak on this no further."

Yumiella waited patiently, debating what to say. Aultcray did not speak.

"If you ever wish to unburden your heart, your Majesty, I will be waiting," she offered, since it would be invaluable to get a glimpse of what the man was actually thinking. "Beyond that, I have uncovered a Sword Form that is unlocked and empowered with the blood of great men, like Pope Balmus or my fellow heroes. May I trouble you for a drop of blood? After that, I must meet my teammates by sunset."

"Blood?" King Aultcray agreed shifted his hand, as though he were attempting to reach for or fiddle with an item he was used to holding. "I... ask me again after the coming Wave, Sword Hero. I do not feel it would be good right now."

"By your leave then." Yumiella curtsied and departed.

The setting sun had just touched the horizon as Yumiella arrived at the capital city's southern gate.

"Lady Sword Hero," Bakta greeted, standing respectfully from his seat on the large cart that was waiting by the gate, and the other three quickly moved over.

It was a very large cart, long with a prarie schooner canopy over it and two large ostrich-sized birds (they'd been called Filorials when she asked,) hitched to the front.

Birds with cloth over their eyes, because apparently blind Filorial were the only ones that could reliably pull carts overnight and sleep during the day.

"Dame Sword Hero," greeted the carriage's driver. "I scarcely believed it was you who hired me." 

He was an older man, not quite wizened but definitely worn, like a knotted hardwood walking stick, and he smiled though he missed half his teeth.

"Thank you for taking our patronage, Mister Driver," Yumiella greeted. "Will there be any problems with our planned trip?"

"We'll be going slower than we would at night, but we'll be moving steady so you all should be able to sleep. All aboard the Marston carriage, next stop Lute village!"

The overnight carriage was parked in the outskirts of Lute Village when Yumiella woke up the next morning.

Melromarc -- 31:07:11:21

Melromarc -- 31:07:11:20

Melromarc -- 31:07:11:19

"I was just getting breakfast started, Lady Hero," Bakta greeted by a small campfire with Marston.

"I have food supplies." Yumiella offered, producing some of the meat and egg monster materials from her Inventory.

The rest of the team woke up in due time as well, and after breakfast they went into town to check for local supplies in shops and to hear about which monsters were nearby.

"There's a mine with 'Light Metal' nearby?" Yumiella asked. That sounds like something more useful to Alicia than to me... but since I don't currently have any Dark Magic available, the point is moot either way.

I really want my dark magic back....

"Not many monsters, apparently, but good for supplies."

"We can buy Light Metal for the new sword form," Yumiella observed. Wait. This is a world with real people, but it isn't impossible that a mine could lead to a dungeon-like area or to hidden treasure. "We should investigate until noon and then reassess," she decided.

"Lady Hero, before we go any further," Bakta mentioned, "I spoke with members of the Holy Spear Hero's party last evening and it seems they have a method to share experience between party members. Perhaps you should activate it?"

Yumiella paused. I heard something about that but it slipped my mind. Bother. "One moment."

It took a bit of experimenting with her STATUS MENU over several minutes, but she managed to send the Party Invitations -- she very carefully did not express how stupid she'd felt over forgetting to do that while they were grinding yesterday, it meant her party members missed all the benefits of being in her party! -- and view everyone's status in a new Party tab.

PARTY STATUS

Yumiella Dolkness -- Cardinal Sword Hero -- Level 7 -- HP = 113/113 -- MP = 117/117 -- SP = 37/37

Welt Bluegrass -- Sorcerer -- Level 7 -- HP = 84/84 -- MP = 105/105

Farrie Bonheim -- Martial Artist -- Level 8 -- HP = 152/152 -- MP = 81/81

Bakta -- Ranger -- Level 10 -- HP = 200/200 -- MP = 87/87

Tersia -- Scout -- Level 5 -- HP = 97/97 -- MP = 91/91

Egg

Egg

Egg

Yumiella had picked up three (cheap, but random) monster eggs from a dealer to hatch and raise on Tersia's recommendation before they left 

"Are the eggs supposed to be in the party?" Yumiella wondered.

"They are? Cute! Does it say what they are yet, or when they'll hatch?" Farrie wondered.

"Monsters grow faster from gaining experience, so it makes sense to be possible," Bakta explained. "We should probably leave them in the cart, though."

Yumiella twinged, remembering her time with Ryu's egg, and she said, "Give me a moment."

Two minutes later, she had established that two of the eggs were the same type while the third was different, and that eggs could fit in her Captivity Sword (now 15/20 after Tersia had brought her all 10 kinds of balloons) but they still counted as one monster each.

Yumiella put the lone egg in her Captivity Sword to take with her while she left the twins in the carriage, packed their boxed lunches into her inventory with other supplies, and followed Bakta toward the semi-abandoned mine.

"The tunnels might get cramped, maybe we should have half of us venture in and half stay outside," Tersia assessed.

"Tersia, Farrie, will you come in with me?" Yumiella decided, as they were small and agile.

There was a brief discussion as Bakta didn't want to let her out of his sight, but Yumiella observed that he was large enough that he could cramp the tunnels, and his skills were more in forests by his own admission.

"...By your will, Lady Sword Hero," Bakta conceded, and the trio entered.

"What do you think we're going to see first, bats?" Farrie wondered. Her voice was cherry, but quiet so as not to echo much. "Maybe a voice gengar?"

*shink!*

+80 EXP

"Snakes," Yumiella declared, having stabbed a snake that crawled out of a hole by her ankle. Good, my instincts honed by the Shadow Assassins I fought growing up are still there, even if my stats have been reduced. Which one was...?  She switched to the Usapil Meat Sword for its dissection bonus and began to skin the corpse and de-bone it.

"Want me to scout ahead in case anything is coming down the tunnel?" Tersia offered.

"Thank you," Yumiella agreed.

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED

Tunnel Snake Sword (unmastered) 1/30 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... improved sneaking skill (small)

Tunnel Snake Skin Sword (unmastered) 1/40 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = DEF+1 ... improved healing (small)

Tunnel Snake Meat Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = Dissection +1

Tunnel Snake Fang Sword (unmastered) 1/40 -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip Skill: Snakebite -- use SP to make coat sword in mild poison

"The snakes may be poisonous," she warned.

"Venomous, 'cause they bite you," Farrie corrected automatically, juggling the glow-rock-on-a-stick they were using as a torch. "Hey, do you know if the venom on its own can make a sword?"

"It did not this time. I will ask Bakta to help me extract it next time."

They continued deeper into the tunnel. The floor was relatively even, with cart rails, but the walls bulged unevenly, meaning that there were lumps and corners obstructing deeper vision. Then they came to a three-way fork

"Hold your breath please," Yumiella requested, and Farrie took a deep inhale.

Yumiella closed her eyes to listen. Her senses had mostly diminished with her level reset, but even before she reached Level 99 in her first life she had learned to use her senses to navigate the darkness of the Dolkness County Dungeon, and those skills still remained.

Yumiella listened.

Dripping water and air currents. Skittering, scrabbling, and scurrying little legs. Rustling near the top of one tunnel. A wet splash. Controlled breathing.

"There are bats near the top one the left tunnel. Tersia is in one of the other tunnels, but I'm not certain which," Yumiella reported.

"The right tunnel, he marked an arrow on the wall," Farrie confirmed, pointing to it.

Yumiella fought the urge to twitch about having missed that. "Should we follow him or wait for him to return?"

+17 EXP

"Wait, so we don't get something from another tunnel following down after us in a pincer," Farrie advised.

"I just received an experience notice." That wasn't a multiple of 10. Maybe it divides unevenly in favor of the person who dealt the last attack? I can't disagree with that.

Farrie paused, frowned, and declared, "I think it must just be the heroes, I didn't get anything. Think it was Tersia?"

"I cannot guess. It could be outside." It would be very convenient if I had a Message function to reach my teammates, even with the HP cost. "What strategies should we use?"

"Bats are pretty simple, Voice Gengars are trickier. They trick your ears, make you think your friends are saying horrible insults to upset you. People get angry, start fighting with each other..."

"The imitate voices? But how do they know what to say?" Yumiella mused.

"It's magic, it tricks your mind."

"Hallucinations," Yumiella assessed. Then, "Mister Tersia, what did you find?"

"There's three big wolves sleeping further down the right tunnel. Really big," Tersia reported. "I wasn't sure I even had enough to kill them in their sleep, so I came back."

"The experience was from outside, then," Farrie muttered.

"Let me decide which sword form to use," Yumiella requested. ...The Tunnel Snake Fang Sword, and then Ichor Sword III if they survive and fight more. "Will 25 attack be enough?"

"These things? Absolutely not," Tersia said.

"Could she kill one while we fight the others?" Farrie checked.

"They were big. Wolves, not dogs," Tersia insisted. "We might need back-up."

+23 EXP

"25 attack with poison won't be enough?"

"They're probably double our stats each," Tersia replied.

Yumiella closed her eyes to think.

She was very used to smashing through problems with her overwhelming Level 99 might, but that probably wouldn't work well here.

She still wanted to just try fighting already. She wanted to stop being so painfully weak.

She wanted to get back to Patrick and Ryu, Eleonora and Alicia and everyone else.

She wanted to get something done already without all this hedging and planning.

"Was there anything we could use in the tunnel?"

"Let's go down a different tunnel," Farrie suggested. "Get another Level or two and some useful new sword forms."

"The wolves could wake up and follow us," Yumiella observed. I thought the wolves were our largest priority for now, in case they attacked us later.

"If they didn't wake up when Tersia went down the tunnel, they won't wake up from some noise down another tunnel. You have nets and wiretaps to block off the tunnel, right?"

"I do," Tersia confirmed. "I think I can set it up to cover the whole entrance."

"You only really need the bottom half to fence them in," Farrie observed.

"Wires and nets," Yumiella agreed, nodding slowly. I wonder...

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED

Rope Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... SPD+2 ... ... Equip Skill: Air Strike Slash -- project a sword strike at range ... ... Unique Equip Ability -- Extending rope

Wire Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip Skill: Binding Slash -- spend SP to bind two things together by cutting them both with one slash

"It didn't give me a net sword, but the wire sword is useful and the rope sword gives me a ranged attack option."

"Meaning we can get the Voice Gengars on the ceiling?" Farrie suggested quietly, punching excitedly as Tersia tied off the last net.

"Voice Gengars?" the scout hissed.

"Or bats, down the right hand tunnel." If I can hear them rustling, then I can aim at them. The Air Strike Slash can probably hit them on the ceiling.

"Don't freak out, we just stop up our ears if they're not bats," Farrie insisted. 

+31 EXP ... +27 EXP

"There is more fighting outside. Do we worry about monsters coming down the entry tunnel?" Yumiella checked.

"There's nothing like that that'd be dangerous around here," Tersia assured her, though he was now twirling a knife nervously. "Wolves and bears are the biggest threats, though I thought those wolves would be smaller..."

"Just remember to ignore your ears and we can deal with the gengars," Farrie pressed.

In the end, Tersia convinced them to let him scout down the central tunnel, and in frustration at how weak she was Yumiella fell to randomly grabbing things at the cross-road tunnels to feed to her Sword, which proved... shockingly productive.

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED

Limestone Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip: DEF+4 ... Equip Skill: Heavy Block -- spend SP to increase your weight for 30 seconds

Cave Moss Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip ability: improved regeneration (small)

Sand Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = SPD+2 ... Equip Skill: Sand Slash -- use SP to throw sand from the arc of a swing

"Lady Hero?" Farrie wondered.

"Miss Farrie, I just got three new sword forms now. What else can I... Please consider what else I can use while I get more sand and limestone," Yumiella requested, leaning down to get handfuls of sand and limestone and shovel them into her sword.

"Wait, seriously? Like, water and ice and leaves and grass and sand- ew, do you think you can feed the Holy Sword manure? That's not sacrilegious is it?"

Despite her cheery chirp, Farrie kept her voice low, and she knelt down to help Yumiella add to her sword, eventually pulling Yumiella back down the entry hall to see if a waist-high boulder would gain any particular effect (it didn't).

Then she suggested breaking off stalactites (none were in view) and stalagmites (they found two).

Limestone Sword (MASTERED) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip: DEF+4 ... Equip Skill: Heavy Rock -- spend SP to increase your weight for 30 seconds

Cave Moss Sword (unmastered) 11/40 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip ability: improved healing (small)

Sand Sword (MASTERED) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = SPD+2 ... Equip Skill: Sand Slash -- use SP to throw sand from the arc of a swing

 

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED

Stalagmite Sword (unmastered) 2/40 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+2 ... Equip Skill: Stone Spike -- cut the earth and spend SP to conjure a stone spike

Even celebrating and brainstorming, they were quiet, which meant that they both could sprinting footsteps and half-audible shouts well before Tersia came into view.

They heard the crashing of a greater weight and a wet roar before Tersia got to them too.

Yumiella stepped to one side of the tunnel and readied her sword.

"-bear, owlbear! Zombie Owlbear, run!"

Tersia wasn't trying for any type of stealth, he wasn't keeping any kind of cool, and the hulking, red-eyed reason why rounded the corner barely ten paces behind him, loping on all fours with a wet wheeze roaring out from its half-rotted jaw.

Ever since she bled out in the Demon King's throne room, Yumiella had been off-balance. She hadn't felt the ever-present pleasant pressure of her oceanic magic in her bones, she hadn't known where she was or who was surrounding her, and beyond guesses as she waited to learn more, she hadn't really known whether it was even possible to fight these Waves and win, possible to go home. All she'd really had to solve her problems with were basic manners and tremendous capability with violence.

She couldn't solve her ignorance with violence.

She couldn't solve her disorientation with violence.

King Aultcray was untrustworthy or senile at best, and she couldn't solve that with violence.

Pope Balmus had blatantly lied to her face, and she couldn't solve that with violence.

She felt eyes watching her and following her when she wanted to be alone, and she couldn't solve that with violence.

She had no idea whether Patrick and Ryu had survived the Demon King's army, and she couldn't solve that with violence.

Here at last was a problem she could solve with violence.

"Zombie Owlbear!! Run!!" Tersia shouted. Farrie grabbed for her, but Yumiella exploded forward in a lunge that had led to the deaths of countless monsters.

Zombie is undead, which means unholy. Energetic Sword, she mentally commanded, and the Cardinal Sword shifted into a sizable longsword that glowed bright with silver light.

Yumiella hadn't really slain many beasts with a bladed weapon, but she knew how monsters worked: they tended to flinch when a dangerous blow came toward their head and then get very angry if it hit and they survived. Large monsters tried to rear up and intimidate or crush smaller prey. Quadrupedal monsters had problems trying to spin or turn, so they tended to move up, down, or forward first.

Her silver blade cut a blazing arc aimed at the owlbear's eyes, and it attempted to duck. Having learned from Patrick how he could manage to spar against her without being totally overwhelmed, Yumiella had already been prepared for a dodge, shifting her weight and the angle of her elbows mid-swing.

Instead of glancing off the hard top of its skull, her sword dug into the zombie's left eye, its red glow snuffed out, and carved wicked line down its muzzle to break part of its beak.

Yumiella hadn't stopped running, so she was several paces past the owl bear as it tried to change course and pursue her, which gave her another chance to slash at its side.

Having killed its momentum by thrusting a paw against the cave wall, the owlbear zombie reared up on its hind legs, expecting its prey to cower. Instead, Yumiella stepped in closer on its blind side and stabbed upward into the gash she had already opened on its side.

The Energetic Sword flared with white light, and the zombie warbled out a scream of hate as its paw rose up to smash this agonizing enemy.

Usapil Sword, Yumiella had directed even before the paw started to rise, and the large broadsword shifted to a smaller blade stylized like sharp rabbit ears.

The smaller blade slid free of the oversized wound with no effort, and the jumping bonus helped Yumiella leap away out of range as the clawed paw began to fall.

When she was ten or eleven or maybe twelve, (no one in Dolkness kept close track of her birthdays,) Yumiella had already beaten the local dungeon and had sought to make training more fun with self-imposed challenges, such as the time she lost her arm attempting to punch every monster in the Dungeon to death.

About a month after she'd regrown her arm, Yumiella had spent two weeks trying to Goomba-stomp every enemy in the Dungeon to death, and then she'd spent another month trying a floor-is-lava challenge where she didn't touch the ground at all, only bouncing off walls and the heads of the monsters.

Sword Hero Yumiella may have lost the Level 99 strength that propelled her across rooftops, but she possessed the balance, the judgment, and the raw kinesthetic experience she had learned along the way that made those acts possible.

When Yumiella leapt away from the zombie owlbear's strike with her Usapil Sword, she landed on a slanted ledge of cave wall and immediately sprang back toward the monster as it was realizing that its prey was gone.

The momentum of its own missed paw strike carried the zombie forward, and it couldn't see from the side she approached.

Heavy Rock, Yumiella commanded, brutally willing the recently mastered Limestone Sword's skill to increase her weight.

"Yumiella Stomp," she declared, lancing both legs down in a devastating double kick. She overshot the head, but she felt the owlbear's vertebrae shatter underfoot with a satisfying crunch. Despite her skill use, she still had the Usapil sword active, and as the bear collapse she rolled to the right and let the momentum carry her to land by its left side.

Right beside the stab wound she had made already.

Switch to Epidermis Sword, Yumiella commanded, and the Cardinal Weapon shifted into the smallest form she had unlocked as she leaned forward and shoved her arm up to the elbow into the gash in its side. Switch to Energetic Sword.

Now impaled, the zombie owlbear spasmed.

Right arm soaked with slimy gore, she stepped out of range as the zombie owlbear thrashed, now having a holy water-infused broadsword longer than her arm piercing through all its insides, with the point poking an inch out of the back of its neck.

+30,320 EXP

Yumiella saw that she had a Level Up message -- she probably had several with that rush of experience -- but she dismissed it in favor of her ears, which told her that Farrie was sobbing while begging her to stay away, that Welt was hysterically calling her a crazy monster, and other noises like Ryu's pained keening and the 'female demon king' whispers of her classmates.

It was these last ones, combined with feeling something fluttering past her hair as she'd been in mid-air moments ago, that had clued her in to what happened.

Epidermis Sword, she ordered, wrenching her smallest sword free of the carcass with a squelch. Usapil Sword. She jumped again and then rebounded off the wall with a twist to make her spin as she rose toward the cave ceiling.

"Rope Sword: Air Strike Slash," she ordered, twirling like a ballerina, and her new ranged attack skill slashed out repeatedly in every direction, shredding more than half the colony of monsters fluttering around the ceiling with their chittering and chirping.

Then the top of Yumiella's skull slammed into the stone ceiling and white stars exploded behind her eyes. Ow. I jumped too high.

She lost control of her arc but fortunately broke her fall by hitting a wall instead of suffering a straight drop; still, her whole head was throbbing like bite wound (she'd had plenty of those) and her eyes had teared up too much to see clearly even as she flailed to her knees and then tried to struggle to her feet.

Her ears weren't quite ringing, though, which meant she could hear perfectly well even if her focus was shot. I forgot how much pain hurt!  "Where are you two?"

Welt and Farrie's voices both came from the same direction, which meant-!

"Sand Sword: Sand Slash Sand Slash Sand Slash!" Yumiella called, putting her teammates at her back and slashing forward. I feel like a Pokemon trainer... or a Pokemon.

Her brain spat that image up at her, but she was used to keeping alert in a dungeon and her ears tracked the sand she'd sent flying.

Most of it fell to the floor of the cave in a gentle susurrus, but despite the voices of her two teammates being behind her, Yumiella heard huffs and growls as some of the sand splashed into vulnerable eyes and noses.

The vulnerable eyes and noses of monsters.

"Stalagmite Sword: Stone Spike." She stabbed the ground and a pained yelp came from further down the tunnel. "Stone Spike. Stone Spike." She had just under half of her SP left from that; if the wolves had woken up and gotten through the net barrier then she needed to wall off their approach.

Yumiella blinked again; her head still throbbed, but her eyes were finally clearing enough to see the three pointed pillars she had made in the middle of the tunnel, and that one wolf -- half again as large as the monster wolves were in Balshine -- was slinking down the side of the tunnel with a hungry rage in its eyes.

You're too close to the wall. Here's a trick I learned from Patrick. "Stone Spike. Stone Spike."

The foremost wolf whined and pawed and struggled, but rather than try to impale it Yumiella had grown the spikes out to one side of it, pinning the wolf between two rock spikes and the hard wall.

Yumiella moved forward just as the other two wolves started to make their way around her barrier. "Wire Sword: Bind Slash, Bind Slash. Energetic Sword," she shifted to hopefully regenerate the SP she had used now that glowing energy had bound the first wolf to solid stone.

Then she charged, because predators were rarely prepared for a direct charge.

"F-Faust Stone Skin! Faust Stone Skin!"

Yumiella heard Farrie's voice and felt friendly magic settle over her as she ran. She swung for the muzzle and the wolf tried to dart away just as the owlbear had.

Tunnel Snake Fang Sword. "Snakebite," Yumiella commanded mid-swing, and her envenomed blade bit into the canine's face.

It howled, but Yumiella kept moving to lunge and thrust the poisoned blade into the third wolf. It missed the face but scraped across the wolf's ribs, though she would probably need to roll when it-

"Faust Tailwind!"

-retaliated. Energy enveloped Yumiella and she dodged around the wolf, lighter and fast than before, dodging a snap of its fangs with ease and twisting her head just enough to check that the other wolf was occupied by Farrie and Tersia.

Wire Sword. "Binding Slash." Yumiella stabbed out to nick the wolf's leg and then the cavern floor. It tugged at the line of green light, lowered its head to bite, and Yumiella stabbed it in the mouth to tie its jaw together.

She checked over her shoulder that Farrie and Tersia were still handling the second hound while the first had not escaped, and shifted to her Energetic sword.

Rather than aim at the neck, which might risk bouncing off its skull according to Patrick's lessons, Yumiella made sure to hack at its back so she could sever the spine to cripple it.

Farrie and Tersia were sounding increasingly distressed, so she left the crippled wolf alive to bail them out.

Farrie had latched onto the wolf's neck and seem to be trying to choke it as she shrieked, while Tersia kept daring in and around to knife it so it couldn't focus.

Yumiella smashed her Energetic Sword into its eyes at it snapped at Tersia's green cape. This blinded it, but Farrie was startled enough to release her choke hold and get thrown flying.

Yumiella shifted to the Usapil sword, jumped, and with Heavy Rock active she stomped the full weight of both heels down on the wolf with a crunch.

+2,800 EXP

Yumiella hummed pleasantly, shifted back to Energetic Sword again, and moved to finish off the first wolf, still trapped by her stone.

She swung. And swung. And swung again, and gain, and again, and again.

It took about eight strong hits to kill, which was long enough for the poison to finish off the crippled wolf as well.

+2,800 EXP ... +2,800 EXP

There might have been a bit of fluttering around the roof, and she took a moment to judge whether she could kill the rest of those monsters too for more EXP, but it sounded like they were going deeper into the cave system and she would need to chase them down.

Chasing them down shouldn't be too difficult, and I can find more monsters in there too. Maybe I can even find a boss to kill for better loot or a reward.

Yumiella felt good. She began to move deeper into the cave, to continue Leveling Up and finally get enough power to fix her life, to end the Waves and go home to Patrick and Ryu.

And as she was proceeding with this task, the mission she was summoned to fulfill, the main purpose her life had now and her only way home, some idiot grabbed her.

"Lady Yu-!!"

Yumiella could not have put a name to the roiling cauldron of emotions in her chest, but she finally felt good again after failing against the Demon King and being constantly on edge for betrayal or noble games with no power to defend herself. She felt strong and confident and capable, like she was supposed to! Fighting is what they were supposed to do, slaying monsters to grow strong!

"I'm going to hunt," Yumiella declared, her sword blade resting softly against Farrie's throat. I'm going to hunt and get strong and fix everything. Let go of me.

"I-I-I-! L-Lady Hero, Tersia is injured! W-We already nearly died, he needs help!"

"Give him a potion and we'll continue." I'm on a roll and I want to keep going.

"I- I don't have-!" Farrie shut up, eyes wide, as Yumiella pressed ever so gently with her weapon.

Then what good are you? He's bleeding from one arm, he isn't dying! I lost my arm above the elbow and I kept going. That's what you do, you keep going!

You can't go back to your old life and the parents who love you and the neighbors you help around their house and the classmates you game and trade and study with! So you keep going and get stronger and try not to think about them and keep busy so you won't miss them!

If you walk forward while looking backward, then you'll trip over your own feet and get killed by the OP Heroine or a Demon King you ought to beat one-handed!!

The fate of the world is at stake, and I'm going to get strong to stop it because power is the only thing  people care about in these worlds! It all comes down to being strong!! You need to Level Up!!!

I'm going to be strong so that no one can imprison or bully or kill me again, so that no one can tear me away from my family!!!

If you're going to be this useless, I may as well just turn you into EXP now and go clear the cave myself, so you won't fill some monster's stomach to make it stronger instead of me!!!

...

REQUIREMENTS MET!

CURSE SERIES: SWORD OF GREED UNLOCKED!

wouLd yoU LikE To gaiN mOre Power...? 

"...Yumiella, please. You really need to be more considerate of other people's feelings," Patrick sighed. "We can't all be as strong as you."

"You could if you put in the effort," Yumiella grumbled, but secretly she was enjoying the Princess carry even if she didn't need it.

Falling off Ryu was no big deal for her! She was fine!

Patrick laughed. "I suppose, but what's the point of having that strength? What are you doing with it that you can't do otherwise, flattening mountains for fun?"

"Mm." Yumiella pouted at his tease. "You were there, Mister Patrick. Last vacation, Their Majesties asked me to help heal old injuries as a goodwill volunteer mission among the populace. Alicia is only Level 3, so I'm still the only healer in the country able to regrow limbs."

"Good point, that is impressive," Patrick agreed, smiling at her as Ryu soared down to them. Her heart fluttered a little, and she found herself smiling back at him.

...

"Right," Yumiella sighed, "I have the potions all in my inventory. My apologies." She lowered her sword from Farrie's throat and produced several potions from the inventory. "Are these ingested, or topical?" she checked, leading the still-rattled martial artist over to where their dirty blond scout was dazedly clutching his bleeding arm.

"I- I don't know what topical means," Farrie managed faintly.

"Do I pour it on his wound, or in his mouth?"

Between them they got Tersia treated and standing, though he still needed support from both of them because he'd lost a lot of blood.

Deciding that it was best to pause the grinding mission for now, Yumiella and Farrie lent their shoulders to lead their injured teammate to daylight.

As they saw some daylight around a cave in the bend, Farrie mused. "Hey, I... I feel sort of weird? Floaty? Is that a thing with fighting?"

"I feel it too. I expect we level up repeatedly with our victory," Yumiella answered, pulling up her MENU to check.

PARTY STATUS

Yumiella Dolkness -- Cardinal Sword Hero -- Level 19 -- HP = 129/153 -- MP = 179/179 -- SP = 28/99

Welt Bluegrass -- Sorcerer -- Level 15 -- HP = 98/108 -- MP = 72/105

Farrie Bonheim -- Martial Artist -- Level 16 -- HP = 193/205 -- MP = 57/98

Bakta -- Ranger -- Level 10 -- HP = 200/200 -- MP = 87/87

Tersia -- Scout -- Level 14 -- HP = 32/131 -- MP = 91/91

Egg

Egg

Egg

"You're now Level 16," Yumiella told her.

"H-Holy shit," Farrie laughed drunkenly. "Let's never do that again, okay?"

"Not until we have better team combat abilities," Yumiella allowed.

Chapter Text

ARC II -- NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE

An hour after they left the cave, Farrie's heart was still pounding, no matter her breathing exercises.

She'd always loved action and her family had been willing to fund her training; it had taught her to control her boundless energy and made her capable of impressive athletic feats.

She wasn't near the main line of inheritance, so she didn't have to settle down for kids if she didn't want to, and bringing fame to the family name through deeds was perfectly honorable, so she'd been stoked when the Crown's call went out for members of prominent families who would be willing and able to aid and accompany the Legendary Cardinal Heroes, to train. with them and grow alongside them as companions.

Her mom's family were Zenoble, but her father's side had fought and bled in the war against Siltvelt, so after she'd grown up hearing stories of how they hid behind their shields and then tore their enemies apart with their bare claws, Farrie wasn't going to serve under the Shield Hero if she had a say in the matter, and since the King instructed them to choose which hero to follow, she had!

And then the Sword Hero had turned out to be a woman!

There were only a handful of legends about female Cardinal Heroes, which had caused her some tension growing up in a matriarchal monarchy, when boasting about imitating a strong woman like the Queen got boys teasing how they'd be like the Wisest King of Wisdom or the age-old Spear Hero who founded the Faubley bloodline.

As a kid, Farrie had spent days killing balloons in the fields outside with her dagger and fists until she made it up to Level 2 and Level 3, at which point her parents took her to Zenoble for her next birthday and her mother's extended family bought some monsters that Farrie could learn to fight and kill.

They'd continued to visit for several weeks every year, and Farrie followed her lessons and trained rigorously and went hunting on her own, and when they visited last year Farrie had decided to prove that she was an adult now by sneaking out of the house to compete in a fighting competition.

She lost the contest, but she beat her first opponent and she made the second one pay for his win despite being twice her size, so she thought she had skills to contribute and even if she was from a branch line of a mere Viscounty it was still her noble duty to help save the world!

And then-! And then she'd been allowed to join the Lady Sword Hero and watch her in action!

Lady Yumiella had been a noble before she was summoned -- Farrie had never really thought about the Heroes being people who weren't cut whole from holy cloth by the summoning, though she'd read a few novels that played with the concept -- and rumor said she claimed to have hit the Level Cap at a young age, which had to be some kind of record!

Her organization might have been a bit spotty, but her plans to prepare for the Wave were ambitious and time-efficient; in the fields around the capital itself, the truth of the rumors and legends had born fruit, as Lady Dolkness had moved with smooth experience and suffered not a single scratch from the balloons (which was harder than it sounded, since they tended to leap at you from behind).

There were hints of impatience in her manner, but she was overall a calm and refined lady who could match the Queen in demeanor. Those hints mostly appeared in response to what she felt was coddling or unnecessary noise, so Farrie did her best to obey the Lady Hero, to give her space for what she wanted to do, and to neither suck up nor argue.

They were, after all, on a time-limit until the next Wave struck, so a bit of impatience was very understandable.

When they'd finally got to the mine, their first unsupervised outing in unknown territory, and the softly-spoken Heroine and been so impatient to get going that she'd been trying to ignore most of the basic exploration safety tips! Farrie sort agreed that it was worth trying the right tunnel since they had a strategy, but waking up a wolf pack at her level? No thank you!!

Yes the world was important, but they couldn't save the world if they were dead! Exploration rules were there to keep you alive in place of catastrophe and the unexpected!

And just to prove that fact, Tersia had come back from his investigation with a bloody undead Owlbear on his heels.

Farrie been been sure they were dead.

A grown Owlbear usually required someone at least Level 25-30 to take it down without dying, or a team of 15-20 if you were willing to lose several of them.

When dealing with undead, add at least 5 to the level requirements.

Farrie had stared death in the face, uncertain whether she ought to grab the Sword Hero and run for daylight or jump in front of the monsters so she could run for herself. She'd hesitated.

Lady Yumiella had not.

Aglow with holy might, the Holy Sword Hero had charged the undead that threatened their lives and struck it down in seconds.

Literally. It couldn't have been more than ten or eleven seconds, and Farrie had damn near seen it all in perfect clarity.

Lady Yumiella wasn't as fast as her, and Farrie's eyes had tracked the hero's every move even as she had trouble following the zombie's swipes.

The difference in speed hadn't matter. Lady Yumiella had never stopped moving, and by the time those lethal blows had fallen, she simply was no longer there.

Farrie was faster than Yumiella. She could have done those exact dodges if she'd known how to move in time, but in practice she would have died.

The Sword Hero had cut down an enemy strong enough to kill the rest of their team, and she'd made it look terrifyingly easy and incredibly terrifying, even as Farrie had broken down briefly in shock and terror, babbling nonsense words she would never sanely mean.

And with the Owlbear dead, Yumiella kept going. She hadn't run, but she'd jumped and attacked a flock in the air Farrie hadn't known was there, then blocked off the wolves and cut them down one by one.

Farrie had overcome her hysteria enough to empower Lady Yumiella with support spells, and once she pinned the first and focused on the third, Farrie and Tersia had flailed about and nearly died just slowing the second wolf down until the Sword Hero could attend to it.

And then-

And then Farrie had overstepped herself, and if death was seeing the owlbear's charge, then damnation was the kiss of steel to her neck. Farrie had doubted her Lady, had rebelled, and had been judged. And it was not a woman who judged her, but an inscrutable incarnation of divine will, a being that had effortlessly slaughtered threats which would kill Farrie five times over.

She had been judged... and she had been pardoned. Found innocent? Forgiven for her trespass?

Those deep, inhuman eyes had looked through Farrie's soul, the touch of the Holy Sword set to swallow her soul as it stole her breath, and then she was released.

Farrie was praised. No rebuke, no punishment. It was unthinkable that Farrie could try to grab or inhibit the Supreme Pope, and how much higher than that mortal man was the physical incarnation of divine authority, strength, and judgment!

Lady Yumiella had sheathed the Holy Sword, had treated Tersia's wound despite his failures, had taken them both outside, and there was not a word of scolding as they regrouped with the other two for an impromptu camp to rest and debrief.

The Holy Sword Hero's face and voice hadn't shown any emotion, even disappointment or frustration, but it had been the better part of an hour and Farrie's hands were still trembling.

Ashamed, Farrie buried her face in her knees and began to silently pray.

Day 2, afternoon

"Lady Sword Hero! Did you gain any useful forms from the monsters in the cave?"

"I did," Yumiella told Welt. "The hounds were from the First Wave."

"...They were what?" Tersia wheezed from where he'd been napping while the healing potion knitted his bicep back together.

"They gave me the Interdimensional Hound Sword; the first canine I absorbed was consumed and destroyed instead of being stored in my Inventory."

Yumiella had left the bodies behind in the cave when she helped her teammates stagger outside to regroup, but after they were treated she had gotten restless and asked Bakta to accompany her back to the cave to harvest them.

He'd butchered the carcasses and walked her through the process as well -- including how to handle undead remnants safely -- and then taken her around to where he'd left the rendered down carcasses of the monsters he and Welt had slain.

With nothing particularly urgent to discuss yet as the party considered her revelation, Yumiella reviewed the sword forms she had unlocked from this outing.

Tunnel Snake Sword (unmastered) 1/30 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... improved sneaking skill (small)

Tunnel Snake Skin Sword (unmastered) 1/40 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = DEF+1 … improved healing (small)

Tunnel Snake Meat Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = Dissection +1

Tunnel Snake Fang Sword (unmastered) 1/40 -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip Skill: Snakebite -- use SP to make coat sword in mild poison

Rope Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... SPD+2 ... ... Equip Skill: Air Strike Slash -- project a sword strike at range ... ... Unique Equip Ability -- Extending rope

Wire Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip Skill: Binding Slash -- spend SP to bind two things you've cut together

Limestone Sword (M) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip: DEF+4 ... Equip Skill: Heavy Block -- spend SP to increase your weight for 30 seconds

Cave Moss Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip ability: improved regeneration (small)

Sand Sword (M) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = SPD+2 ... Equip Skill: Sand Slash -- use SP to throw sand from the arc of a swing

Stalagmite Sword (unmastered) 2/40 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+2 ... Equip Skill: Stone Spike -- cut the earth and spend SP to conjure a stone spike

Undead Sword I (M) 10/10 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... improve disease resistance (small) ... improve damage to undead (small)

Owlbear Sword (unmastered) 1/10 -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 ... DEF+3 ... sense improvement (small)

Owlbear Meat Sword (unmastered) 7/20 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip Skill = cooking improvement (small)

Owlbear Hide Sword (unmastered) 4/30 -- Base Power = ATK-2 ... ... Equip = DEF+4

Owlbear Bone Sword (M) 20/20 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip Bonus = HP total increase (small)

Bat Sword (unmastered) 11/50 -- Base Power = ATK-1 ... ... Equip = SPD+1 ... hearing improvement (small) ... stealth improvement (small)

Voice Gengar Sword (unmastered) 2/30 -- Base Power = ATK+ ... ... Equip Skill = Sonic Endurance improvement (small) … Unique Skill: Megaphone — spend SP to increase sound volume

(LOCKED: Requires XXXX and Level 40) Wing Sword I (unmastered) 1/20 -- Base Power = ATK-10 ... ... Equip = SPD+4 ... Unique Equip Skill = Spread Your Wings

Bat Meat Sword (unmastered) 11/30 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = dissection improvement (small)

Bat Bone Sword (M) 40/40 -- Base Power = ATK-2 ... ... Equip = improved MP total (small)

Interdimensional Hound Sword (unmastered) 3/20 -- Base Power = ATK+8 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 ... Equip Skill: Tracking -- use SP to place a tracking beacon on something you strike

Porcupine Sword (unmastered) 3/30 -- Base Power = ATK+10 ... ... Equip Skill = Spiny Sword -- hits cause pain beyond dealing damage and leave needles in the wounds

Porcupine Meat Sword (unmastered) 9/20 -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small)

Porcupine Bone Sword (M) 20/20 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = total HP improvement (small)

Animal Spine Sword I (M) 40/40 -- Base Power = ATK+5 and DEF+10 ... ... Equip = ATK+8 ... Equip Skill: Sharp Stab -- spend SP to diminish target's DEF for one attack

Blue Egg Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = passive vision improvement (small)

As the others re-grouped and got their bearings together, she spoke only enough to keep Welt preoccupied from trying to 'help' Bakta with cooking by getting another lesson from him in the magical alphabet.

They ate in what Yumiella felt was a comfortable silence and Yumiella opted to continue her magic lessons with Welt rather than go grinding, since to be honest they were ahead of schedule. She gave everyone free time until 14:00 other than continuing her magic lessons with Welt (which would have felt a little like taking advantage of him except that he had volunteered), and Bakta mentioned he was going to collect news around town while Tersia and Farrie went off to do their own tasks.

They hadn't got around to getting dye, but with a headscarf around his head Yumiella avoided having any flashbacks to Patrick and made solid progress in recognizing the magic alphabet's sigils.

At roughly two in the afternoon, when her Menu's Hourglass timer went from [Melromarc -- 31:00:00:00] to [Melromarc -- 30:23:59:59], Yumiella called their party back to order for a meeting.

How did those business etiquette scenes go? Like I'm the CEO at the head of a table calling everyone together to discuss their quarterly earnings and quotas. Ugh, so much talking...

"Thank you for coming," she began, reciting lines she had heard in several TV and IRL meetings. "I would like to begin by discussing this morning's events, and then we'll go around the table to give everyone a chance to contribute." She caught everyone else look at the fire pit they'd gathered around, which was definitely not a table, and stiffly continued speaking. "Farrie, Tersia-,"

As though the sound of her name had twisted open a faucet, Farrie practically collapsed to the ground face-first. "I'm sorry! Please let me continue, I'm sorry I was useless, I'll do better!"

Have I convinced someone else that I'm a murderous Demon King?  "Sorry?"

"I know sorry isn't enough, that I failed when we faced our first monster, it was a disaster! I said horrible things I didn't mean at all, but I'll work twice as hard and do everything you tell me to, just please let me continue to fight by your side!!"

"...Accepted," Yumiella agreed. I really hope this wasn't a poetic love confession with the "fight by your side" bit.

"Thank you," Farrie practically sobbed. After a few seconds, Yumiella gently reach out to pat her head like she did Ryu sometimes, after which a conflicted looking Tersia pulled Farrie back to her seat.

Then Welt spoke. "Lady Sword Hero! I also wish to continue to fight alongside you! Please let me continue with you!!"

"...Yes. Mister Bakta, when did I say I was planning to disband the party?"

He looked mildly amused at the younger members' behavior. "I think they're being overdramatic about having been scared by their first big monster fight. They think they disappointed you."

They performed well for their level, given the corresponding amount of combat experience they must have had. "Ah. I am not disappointed. While there was the potential for catastrophe, by every metric this morning was a complete success," Yumiella assured the group.

Farrie's head snapped up incredulously, Tersia made a sound that would have been a spit-take if he'd been drinking, and Bakta chortled merrily at them all.

"Everyone went up several Levels, and after two half-days of Level Grinding we range between Level 14 and Level 19 with high likelihood that we can increase another level or two before tonight. We are ahead of schedule, I gained several tremendously potent Sword Forms, and we gained practical information to improve our training methodology. Our fight could very easily have become a disaster," Yumiella acknowledged, "as my combat tactics relied heavily several sword forms that I did not have when we entered the cave system, and because I have not mastered all of them, meaning I had to rapidly switch between them."

"I possess combat instincts and experience, but I need to increase my power and versatility. Other than combat, the best way to do that is to unlock more Sword forms and to master those that are the most useful or the easiest to master. Later I will ask for a list of suggestions to unlock new sword forms, as Farrie's idea regarding the stalagmite sword was very useful." Patrick, I learned about leadership from you, thank you. I hope I will make you proud when I see you again. "Because I do not know how you fight, we will need to have sparring matches and practice cooperating, organizing a vanguard and a rearguard and how to hunt monsters together. I primarily fought solo, so I have little experience with buff effects and combination moves."

"I also expect everyone else to figure out ideas for how you wish to train and grow, and how to prepare for the coming Wave. Given the confirmation that Wave monsters unlock more powerful weapon forms than average, I intend to visit the site of the First Wave and hunt down any remaining monsters. If possible, I may be able to harvest the Wave's Boss for a new form. Do you know if it was burned?"

"I-? Lady Hero, I remember hearing about a highly ranked knight bringing back one head as a trophy! But I don't know who it was," Welt admitted.

"I believe the rest of it was buried, or it might have been left out to rot," Bakta mused.

"So long as the bones are accessible, it should provide something valuable," Yumiella asserted. I think that covers everything I have to say... right, I should finish with a summary review to ensure that everyone has it all. "I am pleased with this morning but I need more forms and we need to practice team combat. We are ahead of schedule on levels, so we will stay here for about three more days before we head to...?"

"To Soma Valley, renowned for its fine brewery products and magical potions," Bakta chuckled. "We can wholesale some higher quality potions than normal if we have the funds before we take a ferry south to Seaetto territory... but there may be a need to double-back."

"A delay." Is the river afflicted by flood or drought? If it is a monster we can slay, that should be good for some EXP.

"In town earlier, I heard some disturbing news that the so-called 'Hero' of the Shield was arrested and put on trial for rape." Bakta's voice dripped with disgust as the others hissed or gasped, and something hot, black, and sour stirred in Yumiella's stomach. "It seems he sexually assaulted his companion, Miss Myne, last night, and she alerted the guards to arrest him this morning. Reportedly, he offered no coherent defense, instead spitting threats and relying on the fact that new Cardinal Heroes can be summoned only if all four Cardinal Heroes die to avoid punishment."

That... sounds like a set-up, but at the same time these are people I have known for less than two days. MENU --> Messages. Ah, that relieves me: if this were a genuine issue, one of the other three would have sent me a message about it, yet there is nothing in my 'Inbox'.

Yumiella took a moment to send a brief message without moving her hands to type it -- [Rumor Shield accused of rape? Plot? Truth?] -- before she dismissed her Menu, the HP cost being negligible.

"I see no reason we need to return to the capital. We are not witnesses, and the investigation should be able to handle it alone. I will confront Mister Naofumi when we meet after fighting the next Wave, but until then, I trust that justice will be done." I absolutely do not, but my teammates don't need to know that yet, and rather than a same-day rumor in a town 4+ hours away, it will be more useful for one of the other three to update me on the situation privately. Until then, I will proceed as though it were untrue gossip.

you can Gain moRe powEr at grEat speeD if you juSt gIve iN...

Yumiella shuddered and shook her head to dismiss the idea of going back to the capital so she could start killing all the guards and corrupt officials she could find. The situation probably wasn't that bad or they would have sprung the trap earlier, disappearing the Shield Hero before the other three met and got to know him at all.

Turning back won't be useful until I know more. Forward to continue our preparations, and one of the others will inform me of the facts later.

"I... yes, Lady Hero," Bakta submitted under her steady gaze.

"Next issue? Miss Farrie."

"Do you need to be present for us to receive the experience bonus? I still feel inadequate and I think better when I'm fighting, so if you've got your magic reading lessons with Welt going on now, I'd like to go hunt a few more monsters."

Yumiella pulled up her MENU --> HELP --> CARDINAL SWORD ABILITIES --> EXP BONUS and began reading. I think this was worded slightly differently... well, if the Sword changes I suppose the instructions might change to match it as well, since it gives me new tabs with further developments.

There still wasn't any place to input a search query, but Yumiella read thoroughly through the text provided in search of an answer.

"The effects may diminish with great distance, but it would need more than a day of traveling apart," Yumiella summarized. "Would you like to borrow a growth amulet?"

"It's cursed to also cause extra damage if you get hit," Welt warned.

"Not today, Lady Hero, but thank you."

"Next issue?"

Welt raised his hand. "My head scarf is getting annoying in the heat. If we can't find good hair dye, I would rather just shave my head."

"...I do have a haircut sword form to give me those skills," Yumiella allowed. Although I... he hasn't done it yet. I need to think about this, she decided, unwilling to look at Welt directly because his looks made her stomach squirm, but also feeling guilty about this refusal.

Tersia guffawed. "Welt, man, you have to. You'll be the height of fashion! The only one in the world who had a Legendary Hero do his hair, it's great!"

"Isn't that... disrespectful?" Bakta wondered.

"It is a power the Sword gives me. Should I refuse to use it?" He didn't have an answer to that.

"I can hit up the local market and check for good potions, blacksmiths, the like. Maybe do a little hunting too," Tersia offered.

"If you unlock more sword forms and master them with more ingredients, milady, then I am happy to track down specific ingredients for the most critical forms," Bakta offered.

Yumiella checked her list. "Small live monsters for my captivity sword, Usapil, Pocupines, and any new monsters, please."

"Since I'll be off hunting, can I have a list of what swords you have to help me think about new Holy Sword form ideas, please?" Farrie requested.

"I'll transcribe it if you just say them, since the language thing."

"Yes." I will need to omit a few sensitive sword forms. "I unlocked: the Ichor Sword from my own blood; swords from human blood, skin, and hair; sword from balloon fragments; the captivity sword from a live balloon; swords from the eggug remnants..."

Chapter Text

Day 3, morning

"Since you unlocked the wood sword even if we couldn't get a bark sword, let's try this next."

Yumiella took the burning branch Welt had pulled out of the campfire and fed it into her sword.

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED

Flaming Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 ... fire magic improvement (small)

Unique Equip Skill: Blazing Blade -- the sword drains SP to catch alight with flame, dealing additional (medium) fire damage

"Fire damage. This will be useful," Yumiella complimented. The sun is getting higher this morning... "This is enough for now. I will refresh myself and then we will go hunting," Yumiella declared.

Rather than go back into the cave, where there was constrained space and low visibility, Yumiella had agreed to hunt outdoors today so that everyone could get a handle on their improved stats. 

Several farms between Riyute Village and Gitah River had reported problems with a trip of Motor Goats ravaging their crops and put out a request to exterminate them, so the team would be riding for an hour or to to check the area and get anything they could manage while Riyute Villagers checked the usability of the mine now that the big monsters were dead and brought back ore samples for the Cardinal Sword.

(Yumiella had originally thought she misheard the assignment, but it turned out that Motor Goats were magical fire-attribute goat monsters with metallic fur, the ability to eat almost anything, and a tendency to belch toxic fumes as they charged with great speed and strength across land or water. After thinking about it, Yumiella had to admit that they didn't make much less sense than Boss Monsters capable of human speech remaining at the bottom floor of a dungeon and respawning after each death, but she had to wonder if these and the balloons were natural developments or the results of escaped breeding experiments.)

Yumiella trudged into town, paid the innkeeper a few coppers for accessing the amenities, and made herself ready to travel.

On the ride over, she kept the pack holding her three Gacha monster eggs on her lap, stroking the three eggs and willing them to hatch soon even as part of her also wanted them to stay small and cute forever, because she'd barely gotten any time with Ryu as a baby before she had to move him outside to his own dwelling.

Thinking of Ryu made her heart hurt, but it was a sweet sort of pain, and for once Yumiella just peacefully let herself be as they traveled toward the last sighting of the Motor Goats.

"We're here, milady," Bakta reported. "Do you have a plan?"

"Pommel Submission." Yumiella stored away one monster egg to stay with her and put the other two safely away in the pack. "Step one, find the herd with our tracking skills. Step two, isolate one Motor Goat, kill it, feed it to the Cardinal Sword. Step three, use what we learn to develop a plan to wipe them out en masse. Mister Bakta, please look around for stool and hoof prints. Mister Tersia, please find high ground to spy for the smoke they produce. Mister Welt, please use your wind magic in whatever way you think will work." Welt had mentioned that he had spells to buff hearing or aid distance vision, and Yumiella didn't want to give a stupid order that flopped. "Miss Farrie and I will speak to the local farmers."

This little speech had mostly exhausted Yumiella's social battery for the morning, so she let Farrie take point in the discussion as she tried to get her itch for a fight back under control. Their prior experiments had unlocked several swords that were easily mastered-

Soil Sword (M) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = Earth magic improvement (small)

Leaf Sword (M) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = Harvesting improvement (small)

Wood Sword (M) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = Carpentry skill improvement (small) … Lumber improvement (small)

Grass Sword (M) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = Harvesting improvement (small)

-but none of them particularly provided useful passive stat bonuses. Her Animal Spine Sword offered the highest ATK and a useful skill, so she planned to keep using that until they got a grip on how hard the goats were to kill, but she felt like there was some benefit to using un-mastered swords she was forgetting...

Right, I have a Help Menu now, Yumiella remembered with a twitch as they moved through the woods. She pulled it up with her mind, nearly tripped over a tree root, remembered that they were walking toward where the Motor Goats were guessed to be, and decided to leave it for later.

There was Level Grinding to be done.

"Careful, Lady Hero," Welt warned as he steadied her, and Yumiella felt very grateful that he'd gotten his hair dyed as black as hers, since she didn't have to handle another flashback.

Although... Was it fair of me to ask him-

A put-ut-ut-ut sound filled the air, and then a second, and then a hard crack of impact as her head snapped toward the monsters they'd all heard.

"Mating display, two males tussling," Tersia reported from the tree branch he'd hopped up to.

"Mister Welt, can you freeze them in ice?" Yumiella requested.

"I might not have enough power..." He judged as they carefully snuck closer to the two males in the clearing.

"Ah!" Despite the exclamation, Farrie had kept her exclamation soft. "Faust Mana Breath," she chanted, exhaling a glitter that gathered around Welt. He inhaled and flexed his fingers.

"Right, now I can do it," he decided, shifting to get a good aim. "I am an acolyte who has deciphered the laws of nature. I command the origin of power: bind their forms and their feet in chilling frost! Zweit Winter Prison!"

Chilling mist coalesced around the smoke-spewing goats, who couldn't unlock their horns fast enough but began bleating in alarm as several inches of ice froze them in place.

Sharp Stab. Yumiella raced forward and pierced through both goats' skull with a single thrust of the rapier-style blade.

+400 EXP ... +400 EXP

It wasn't enough to hit the next level, but it was a respectable amount of experience per kill and Yumiella hoped that she would hit Level 20 and 21 by the end of the day. "Mister Bakta, please come help me dismantle these," Yumiella requested as she shifted to Human Meat Sword, which gave her a sizable dissection skill bonus but which (because she wasn't a human-murdering Demon Lord like school rumors said,) she hadn't mastered yet to unlock the permanent passive bonus.

"I think we'll need to melt the ice first, milady," the large, bearded man considered.

Yumiella wordlessly reached into her Inventory to produce the burning branch from earlier-

"!"

-and produced a handful of warm ash instead.

...Oh. The branch burned out in the Inventory. I thought it would still be aflame.

I suppose that means it is not time-paused, and things inside are prone to rot or temperature changes. ...But if it burned to ash instead of the fire guttering out on a scorched branch, then fire was not extinguished, so does that mean there was a source of oxygen as well? I suppose the Inventory could supply airflow, but I don't walk around with the inventory open all day, so there must be airflow even if it is closed.

Now that I think of it, airflow in my inventory would make sense for ensuring the captured monsters of Pummeled Into Submission don't suffocate either. I was assuming it involved suspended animation, but now I suspect otherwise.

Does this mean that I can deliberately store air, oxygen, or other gases in my Inventory? A supply of fresh air could work wonders in underwater areas or places with toxic gas.

Keeping her inventory open, Yumiella waved the Cardinal Sword around, trying to get air to flow into it, but she received no notifications. Frowning, she took a deep breath, pressed her mouth to the Inventory entrance, and blew.

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED

Breath Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Base Power = ATK-2 ... ... Equip = SPD+1 ... stamina improvement (small) ... hold breath improvement (small)

"Lady Hero?" Bakta pressed, shaking her.

A surge of annoyance -- I am experimenting to get stronger right now -- flickered through her before she remembered the location.

"The branch in my inventory burned out," Yumiella explained, dusting the ash off her hands. "Mister Welt, do you know fire magic?"

"Even better, Lady Sword Hero! I am an acolyte who has deciphered the laws of nature. I command the origin of power: ease this bondage with gentle warmth and let the water flow free! Anti-Zweit Winter Prison!"

The ice melted away, Yumiella complimented his counter-spell, and Bakta set to her dissection lesson.

NEW SWORD UNLOCKED

Motor Goat Sword (unmastered) 2/20 -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip Skill = Ram -- inflict Knock-back with the potential to Stun

Motor Goat Hide Sword (unmastered) 4/30 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+3 ... improved resistance to friction (small)

Motor Goat Meat Sword (unmastered) 8/20 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small) ... improved poison resistance (small)

Motor Goat Horn Sword (unmastered) 4/20 -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... DEF+3 ... ... Equip = improved Knock-back resistance (small)

Motor Goat Bone Sword (M) 30/30 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = DEF+3 ... M.DEF+2

Bezoar Sword (unmastered) 1/10 -- Base Power = ATK+0 ... ... Equip = improved poison resistance (small)

Ice Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = improved ice magic (small)

I'm glad my experiment with the bit of ice succeeded, but what will it take for me to unlock a sword that boosts Dark Magic? Yumiella wondered irately.

you could Get moRe powEr if you triEd harDer...

She shook off the image of tracking down a bunch of bandits to slaughter them in the name of justice. Killing people was wrong, and possibly more wrong than usual when it was convenient.

"If you have finished your experiments, we should find the rest of the herd."

"Yes, Lady Sword Hero! Despite ice's traditional weakness to fire, my ice magic was able to punch through the hide samples much better than any other element, so a rain of icicles should be perfect to eliminate them."

"The majority of them. Plus we need to get across the river to find them... Tersia went to look around, saw the rest of them across the river, came back, and now he's off looking for a boat again," Farrie informed the rest of the party, having apparently decided to do a handstand to pass the time while they were busy with dissections.

"If the goats are near the river, we may be able to use river water to augment the spell. This should be simple enough," Yumiella judged.

... ...

"Urk! Uuuurpp..."

"Poor Lady," Farrie cooed, rubbing Yumiella's shoulders as the Dolkness Countess vomited over the side.

"I've heard of seasick, but I've never heard of anyone getting river sick," Tersia reflected drily as the rowboat rocked back and forth on the river currents.

"Shaddup and show our Lady some respect," Bakta grumbled as he did his best to row smoothly.

I never got on a boat in my entire life as Yumiella... and it was only once when I lived in Japan when I was twelve... How is it that I'm still getting seasick...?

"Lady Hero, I see the goats!" Welt's voice shouted eagerly, but Yumiella was too miserable to react. "I am an acolyte-,"

"Faust Mana Breath! Oh, actually, Faust Life Breath," Farrie cast, and Yumiella felt better as the glimmering energy settled over her.

"...Thank you," Yumiella muttered as Welt finished his chant and icicles rained down to the sound of bleating goats. A flood of EXP gain notices hit her, followed by:

LEVEL UP!

YUMIELLA DOLKNESS -- CARDINAL SWORD HERO -- LEVEL 20

HP = 199/199 ... MP = 234/234 ... SP = 99/99

She dismissed the notice as the sound of bleating came to their ears again.

"Missed some!" Tersia shouted as he pulled out his daggers and the sound of splashing neared.

"Ohshit. I am an acolyte who has-,"

"He's not gonna make it, I'll get you to shore," Farrie promised as she grabbed Yumiella by the waist.

"Sharp Stab," Yumiella hissed, feeling good enough to push Farrie aside and thrust the Cardinal Sword so it impaled the Motor Goat before the monster could capsize their boat.

The first goat died with a bleat as the water stopped churning behind it, then Bakta got the second goat with his axe and Welt finished his chant to end the rest.

ALERT -- A Cardinal Hero may not discard their weapon!

The sword that Yumiella had blearily dropped in the river reappeared in her hand and zapped her hard enough to shave off 5 HP.

Yumiella's only response was to quietly groan as her stomach tried to turn itself inside out again. And we'll need to take the boat back when we're done. I wish I could jump the river like I used to when my legs were Level 99...

Bakta generously handled all the dissections with Tersia's assistance while Yumiella slowly recovered, as Farrie gave her a back massage and Welt took assorted notes on various ideas while muttering excitedly to himself.

Yumiella decided that she felt too sick to want to risk a boat ride back immediately, so Farrie offered to catch some fish to offer the Cardinal Sword and Welt got a campfire going to improve the Flaming Sword while Yumiella waited miserably for her stomach to settle; Bakta and Tersia offered to scout around the area for monsters or beneficial herbs before they crossed back.

Yumiella felt too queasy to care that she wasn't being terribly productive, for once, so since she was halfway to her personal goal of Level 40 it all in all wasn't a terrible way to spend the afternoon.

Chapter Text

Day 4, morning

Morning dawned, and Yumiella Dolkness sat quietly by the breakfast campfire, considering her achievements from the previous day.

Fishing Sword (unmastered) 17/30 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = fishing skill up (small)

Ash Sword (M) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip Skill = Smokescreen -- use SP to conjure a cloud that covers sight and scent with irritating smoke

Pikyupikyu Sword (unmastered) 4/30 -- Base Power = ATK+2, DEF+2 ... ... Equip = equipment repair improvement (small)

Pikyupikyu Meat Sword (unmastered) 15/40 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small)

Pikyupikyu Feather Sword (M) 40/40 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip Skill = Light as a Feather — Float gently through the air to land on the ground [Cooldown 00:01:00]

Pikyupikyu Bone Sword (M) 40/40 -- Base Power = ATK+2, DEF-2 ... ... Equip Skill = Hollow Bones — decrease body weight (small) [Cooldown 00:10]

Mastering more sword forms was always good, but the most important notification was one she'd woken up to that morning, after having spent all yesterday and last night with the Animal Spine Sword form instead of switching around.

ALERT

Proficiency Achieved - Animal Spine Sword I -- 100%

Would you like to reset its Proficiency Level to release the amassed Proficiency Points (PP)? Yes / No

This message had prompted Yumiella to go through her Help Menu in detail again, and then to go through her notes, and the main reason she hadn't yet asked her teammates for their opinion on whether or not the reset would be worth it was because she hadn't wanted to admit that she'd forgotten about this using this Proficiency improvement method for herself after she'd written notes about it for the other three heroes in their first strategy meeting.

Although her written notes hadn't included the data that an unmastered sword couldn't get 100% Proficiency (her Help Menu didn't explain whether it couldn't get any Proficiency until it was Mastered or whether it topped out at 99%) or any mention of how much PP was a lot or a little, so she felt less embarrassed for forgetting about it.

Melromarc -- 30:05:39:52

Deciding that waiting longer wouldn't help her, Yumiella reset the Proficiency and was awarded 15 PP. It seemed she couldn't Awaken a sword form that wasn't Mastered yet either, so after perusing the list she decided on the Limestone Sword, which couldn't go too wrong.

Limestone Sword (M) 50/50 -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip: DEF+4 ... Equip Skill: Heavy Block -- spend SP to increase your weight for 30 seconds

AWAKENING -- 10 PP consumed! -- RARITY IMPROVED

Limestone Sword (M) 50/50 -- Common -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip: DEF+5 ... Equip Skill: Heavy Block -- spend SP to significantly increase your weight and toughness for 30 seconds

5 PP available

It improved all the stats of the Sword and its skill, and I have 5 PP remaining. Interesting... I need to get in the habit of keeping one Sword Form instead of switching between them, Yumiella noted. It may seem counter-intuitive to not become used to multiple forms' weight and shape, but improving the numerical values needs to take precedent early on, and later I can specialize more with the few sword forms that I find comfortable and useful.

"Breakfast is up, Lady Sword Hero," Bakta declared, and she turned from her contemplation to eat.

Day 4, late morning

Yumiella remained in the center of their formation as they trooped through the tunnels of the mine. While they had been hunting Motor Goats the day before, a few of the Riyute miners had gone back to investigate the mine, only to report that they'd had a run-in with some man-sized beetles and spiders now that the hounds and the one zombie were gone.

Since Yumiella didn't have those sword forms and they sounded like good EXP, she'd taken her team in to clear the mine's tunnels more thoroughly.

"Hey Bakta, we passed the spot they said," Tersia observed, pointing out a few shards of glass by one side of the tunnel where the bug monsters had attacked the miners and broken a lantern. "You sure you don't want me to take point, since it's a cave?"

Bakta scratched awkwardly at his beard. "You'd be a better tracker over the stone in here, but you're most like to survive an attack from behind, and I'm better if we get charged from the front."

"Umahahahaha... Fair," Tersia allowed, anxiously spinning one of his daggers. "Wait, get me some light up near the ceiling?" Farrie stretched her torch up higher. "Oooh, the bugs dug out a tunnel above our eye level. We'll need to keep our eyes on those."

"Mister Welt, please seal it up with ice," Yumiella instructed. One chant later, they continued further down the tunnel.

Yumiella had her Bat Sword active, since it had passive stealth and hearing bonuses, and her level growth combined with passive ATK bonuses from mastered swords meant that she probably wouldn't need to change forms with her party to assist her.

So they moved steadily deeper into the mines.

"Wait," Bakta ordered. They paused, and he peered ahead. "Tersia, my instincts are telling me there's something here, but I can't identify why I'm worried."

Their sneaky scout moved up as Yumiella shifted to rearguard position, keeping her attention out for assaults from behind.

"...Spiderwebs. Might just be regular spiders instead of giant ones," Tersia concluded, "but there are several strands in the tunnel ahead, good instincts."

"Tug on the web and try to lure a spider," Yumiella suggested.

Nothing showed up after a few minutes, so Yumiella cut the web to put in her sword -- it increased the sample counter for her Wire Sword instead of creating a new sword -- and they proceeded deeper.

More spiderwebs began to blanket the edges of the tunnel, but at least Yumiella got to improve her sample counter toward mastering the Wire Sword as a result, even as no monsters came out to attack them.

And then she heard chittering.

"Stop. Behind and above," Yumiella informed her teammates.

"Faust Flare," Welt cast, hurling a bolt of fire at the ceiling.

It splashed off the rocky roof next to a beetle that had been approaching while clinging to the ceiling, illuminating several more giant beetles nearby.

"Blow them to the floor," Yumiella ordered. "Don't retreat."

"I am an acolyte who wields the origin of power! I have deciphered the laws of nature!"

One giant beetle dropped deliberately down onto them, but Yumiella swatted it away in mid-air, Farrie snapped off a high kick that knocked it further off, and then Tersia raced forward to take its head off with his daggers.

+ 80 EXP

"Winds around us, rip these anchors from their moorings and hurl them by my will! Zweit Tearing Gale!"

Wind howled down the tunnel, ripping four more beetles from the roof of the cavern.

Yumiella lunged, burying her sword in the guts of one beetle as it fell, bisecting it before it hit the ground. She grimaced as its death throes scratched her with its flailing leg, and said "Heavy Block."

The Skill of her Awakened Limestone Sword only had a mild SP cost, and where before it had made her heavy enough to break a zombie's bones with flying kicks, now all she needed to do was stomp on the beetles' shells to kill them.

It was when Yumiella began unlocking new Sword Forms using the first of the beetle carcasses that she noticed a problem.

"...How long ago was the First Wave?" she asked quietly.

"About two weeks ago, milady," Bakta estimated.

"Wait," Tersia realized, "don't tell me...?"

+ 80 EXP ... + 80 EXP ... + 80 EXP ... + 80 EXP

NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED

Interdimensional Black Beetle Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = M.DEF+3 ... climbing skill improvement (small)

Interdimensional Black Beetle Carapace Sword (unmastered) 5/50 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = DEF+5

"These beetles are Wave monsters," Yumiella confirmed. With wolves traveling this far it made more sense. Maybe if the beetles can fly...? But if it will take us several days to travel to the site of the first Wave, and we've seen two groups of monsters that have spread this far out... "We may need to accelerate our schedule to help wiping out the remnants of the last Wave. But we should not move with haste in here, so we will discuss it when we leave. For now, remain alert."

They continued to explore.

Tersia's thrown daggers took down several bats, including a live bat that got put into the Captivity Sword, but no Voice Gengars appeared. Bakta beheaded a tunnel snake before it could slither into a crevice, so Yumiella got some good additions to her sword counts.

And then the spider webs became much, much thicker.

"I can't safely go any further," Bakta admitted.

Yumiella closed her eyes, then said, "I do not hear any movement in the cavern."

"I'm up, then," Tersia declared, striding forward and beginning to pick his way through the tangled webs.

"I was going to throw the captive bat into the web and see if a spider arrived," Yumiella noted, but Tersia gave a casual wave as he carefully ducked and weaved into the large, web strewn cavern ahead of them. Once he was well through the entryway, he peered around, then very very careful began to make his way back. He looks pale, Yumiella noted, preparing for bad news.

"G-guys... There are three to five spiders up in the cavern there, but there's a giant egg sac hanging in a corner. If that hatches-,"

"We exterminate it," Yumiella confirmed. "Do we have enough supplies?"

"If it's ultimately just the spiders, then yes," Bakta assessed. "Maybe some more fuel to burn it the webs-,"

"Spider webs don't burn," Farrie interrupted.

"A large fire would eat the good air and suffocate us," Welt objected at the same moment.

There was a pause, so Yumiella stepped in. "I will throw a bat to draw in the spiders. Mister Welt, please be prepared to use magic if I have difficulty killing them. Everyone else, please guard against attacks from behind."

"Right, but... In case you get grabbed, we should tie a rope around your waist so we can pull you back," Farrie advised.

Preparations were made, the new formation was assumed, and the bat was tossed into the spider webs.

When the first giant spider appeared, Yumiella frowned slightly as she fought down her urge to charge forward into battle so she could slay it immediately.

fiGht to eaRn powEr, strEngth from Death...

"Welt, kill it with magic please. I shouldn't charge into the web," she judged as the spider's chelicerae began examining the struggling bat.

"Faust... Icicle, Faust Wind Spear," he quickly chanted, and the wind-boosted ice spike struck the spider through one eye.

It still twitched for almost a minute before it died, during which Yumiella kept a tense watch for any tricks.

+120 EXP

"Is there a risk of the other spiders taking the egg sack out of our reach?" she checked once no new attack was forthcoming.

""No,"" three of her team answered at once.

"Farrie, or Bakta, please bring me the spider's body and more webbing."

Wire Sword (M) 20/20 -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip Skill: Binding Slash -- spend SP to bind two things you've cut together

NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED

Interdimensional Spider Sword (unmastered) 1/10 -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = SPD+4 ... climbing improvement (small)

Interdimensional Spider Shell Sword (unmastered) 4/20 -- Base Power = ATK+2, DEF+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+3 ... total HP increase (small)

"Still no sign of the other spiders moving around," Tersia reported from the entryway as Yumiella finished absorbing everything.

"If we cannot lure them to us, then we will not be lured to them. Mister Welt, can you kill them safely?"

"I will strike them down with-!"

"Quietly," Tersia hissed.

"Um," Farrie tapped Tersia on the shoulder. "Wouldn't it be a good thing if we make enough noise to draw the spiders to us?"

"Not if the noise makes those spiders scurry away," Bakta answered quietly.

Yumiella sighed and waited for them to get it out of their systems.

Day 4, afternoon

After the spiders were dead, Bakta had insisted on crushing all the spider eggs rather than trying to raise, store, or sell any because 'You do not take risks with Wave monsters'.

Yumiella had been disappointed, but she hadn't argued about it, though she'd sighed when the egg and cocoon remains had not unlocked any new forms.

They'd encountered several more groups of beetles and a few individual spiders, but nothing troubling before they returned outside for an afternoon break.

Melromarc -- 30:00:03:14

Thirty days until the wave. I want to hit Level 21 by the end of today... I did gain 100% Proficiency with the Bat Sword, so I can reset it to get more PP.

What swords should I awaken, and what swords do I need to master?  Yumiella munched on her late lunch with all three incubating eggs in her lap and perused her MENU list of sword forms.

Swords I need to Master: Ichor Sword I because all I should need are healing potions to rejuvenate the blood I feed it. Bloodshed Sword can be mastered if I ask villagers to donate some drops of blood. Haircut Sword is similar...

Yumiella paused, swallowed her mouthful, and then turned to look at Welt.

Specifically, at Welt's dyed black hair.

"Mister Welt," she admitted with a knot in her stomach, "I feel like I owe you an apology."

"Ah-? For what, Lady Hero?"

"It was wrong of me to ask you to dye your hair. I should not-,"

"Um," Farrie intervened, "it was because his hair woke up hungry memories, right?"

"Y-Yes! Lady Sword Hero, please don't-!"

Yumiella held up a hand, and Welt's loud declaration cut off.

"I want to tell you about Balshine, the world I was born into before this world. The first king of Balshine had two lieutenants, a woman with powerful Light and Holy magic, and a man who was a skilled warrior and monster tamer with powerful Dark magic. While the woman married the first King to become the Saintess Queen, there grew a powerful resentment between the king and his right-hand warrior. Eventually, the man's grudge grew to a point that he transformed into the self-proclaimed Demon King and directed armies of monsters to attack Balshine Kingdom."

Yumiella paused her tale for a moment as her party members muttered reactions of outrage.

"In addition to his dark magic, the Demon King possessed naturally black hair and eyes. Each of these three characteristics -- dark hair, dark eyes, and dark-attribute magic -- became individually considered bad omens or points of mockery, such that Patrick was mocked by some of his family for having dark gray hair, despite his green eyes and his talent with wind and earth magic. Similarly, children with brown hair and brown eyes were also often looked down on and would not play with their age mates."

"That's sad~!" Farrie cried.

"And stupid," Bakta rumbled. "Discrimination based on hair color. That's no way for humans to treat each other."

Welt fiddled awkwardly with his newly black hair, but Tersia leaned forward intently.

"Lady Hero, I remember you said that you had dark-element magic before the summoning reset your level," Tersia noted. "If you have dark hair, dark eyes, and dark magic... how did that world treat you?"

"They-,"

Farrie gasped dramatically. "Oh! Are you feeling guilty because you had to dye your hair, and now you made Welt do it too?"

"That's not-,"

"Ah-! Lady Hero! Please don't feel guilty, it was my own choice to make this change for your comfort!!"

"I-,"

"Hair dye to avoid medical problems is different from a vanity, Lady Hero, please don't feel guilty," Tersia insisted.

"That-,"

"SHADDUP! Let our Lady Sword Hero speak already, you punks!"  Bakta roared, and the other three fell silent. "Besides, she would have got her coloring from one of her parents, so they must have taught her how to handle it, even if she couldn't be her true and holy self until the summoning brought her to us."

But you shouted over me as well even though they were... never mind, Yumiella sighed. "My parents were both blonde, although they had violet eyes that may have contributed. I do not know what elements, if any, they had an affinity for."

All four of her teammates reacted very slightly, in the manner that an anime would have exaggerated with sweat drops and sounds effects.

"D-doesn't that violate genetic principles, Lady Hero? I mean! I only know the bare minimum since it's studied mostly in Siltvelt and Faubley, but His Majesty brought a bit of the knowledge over with him so I have the basic bits, like two blonde parents producing blonde children..." Welt trailed off awkwardly. "Um, genetics are-,"

"I do not know if the workings of heredity, genotypes, and phenotypes are the same between different worlds, but I have studied the concepts," declared Yumiella Dolkness, once Yumi Satou, a college student in 21st-century Japan. "However, I am certain that there was no affair involved, or else Count Dolkness would certainly have abandoned and erased me as an infant, and possibly his wife as well to cover the scandal. I was not made to dye my hair or change my appearance as a child, rather, I was left at the Dolkness Estate in our county's seat while my parents lived full-time in the capital city, with only sporadic letters exchanged between us. The maids who raised me did not bare me malice, but they feared my appearance and left me alone as much as they could. I reached the Level Cap at a young age because my primary form of entertainment each day was to sneak out of the house and hunt nearby monsters with the magic I taught myself from books and experimenting."

"When I was old enough to attend the Royal Magic Academy and my Max Level became known, my birth parents still did not visit me face-to-face, only sending letters with files for marriage candidacy and instructions that my husband would become the new Count Dolkness, while I would provide our line an heir."

If any of her party members had been drinking, there would have been some epic spit-takes.

"They what!?" "You'd what?!" "That's-!" "How the-?!"

It took a bit for everyone to stop objecting over each other and calm down into coherency.

"Lady Hero," Welt eventually asked, "were either or both of your parents, by chance, the result of inbreeding?"

"Yeah, that's brain damage levels of dumb-as fuck," Tersia agreed quietly.

"Idiot!" Bakta whacked Welt upside the head, and Yumiella idly checked her MENU to note that it had done some HP damage. "If they were, then you'd be implying that she was as well!"

Welt began babbling apologies, so Yumiella cut him off: "I did later discover that my parents were cousins, yes. I do not know about their parents, but it would not surprise me." Welt looked stricken as the others grimaced. "When I traveled to the academy, people were afraid of my power and my magic, but also of my appearance and my hair color. It was wrong of me to ask you to change your appearance for the sake of my comfort."

With that, Yumiella stood and gave a formal Japanese bow toward Welt.

The was some awkward shuffling, and then Farrie spoke out instead of Welt.

"Guys, I vote we all dye our hair black as a show of support for Lady Yumiella!"

"Eh, sure." "Sounds great, umahahahaha~!"

Yumiella... had no idea how to respond to that.

NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED

Nakama Sword (unmastered) -- Super Rare (SR) -- Weapon Power = 5 ... ... Equip Effect = trusted teammate stat growth improvement (small)

Or that. Why must this world keep throwing curveballs at me? she wondered, even though she felt something other than exasperated in her heart.

She blinked rapidly, because her eyes were oddly blurry, and then Farrie was patting her cheeks dry with a handkerchief for some odd reason.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Chapter Text

Day 4, afternoon

With her other teammates off to make crazy fashion choices in support of her, Yumiella was left to quietly contemplate how her life ended up like this.

Thinking about it started to give her a headache and make her chest tight, so she went back to diving through her HELP MENU to get a better idea of all the power-up methods, how they could be used, which methods were worth using, and how to differentiate between them.

Yumiella would have felt guilty about not doing this earlier, except her memories definitely told her that the HELP MENU had not been this thorough on previous viewings, so it looked like the menu grew with her (possibly certain entries were level locked?) and that she would need to continue checking it for new information in the future.

HELP --> Cardinal Weapon Functions --> Growth Methods --> All Legendary Weapons

ABSORPTION

Weapons can absorb loot, items, and materials to unlock new variations of themselves. The user can access new transformations provided they reach the level requirement. Things absorbed by the Legendary Weapons to unlock new forms are not destroyed, and can be accessed again from the Inventory.

1) Not everything absorbed will unlock a new form

2) Due to assorted circumstances, absorbing material that can unlock a weapon form does not always mean it will unlock every possible weapon form

3) Interdimensional material from a Wave that is absorbed will be consumed to create new weapon forms, rather than unlocking a sealed but known-to-exist weapon form. Later samples of this material may be stored normally in the Inventory.

4) Repeatedly absorbing new material of the same type that unlocked a weapon form will fill a Mastery Counter that brings the weapon form closer to being Mastered [ (M) ]

Yumiella wrote all that down, once in Japanese and once in Balshine's language, and then proceeded to the next topic.

Mastery was something she thought she had been familiar with, but it turned out there were details she had missed.

HELP --> Cardinal Weapon Functions --> Growth Methods --> All Legendary Weapons

MASTERY 

A weapon form that is Mastered (M) will have its equip bonuses (skills, effects, and stat improvements,) permanently applied to the Hero, even when a different form is equipped.

Most weapon forms may be mastered through any of three methods:

1) repeated absorption of different samples of the unlocking material, filling a Mastery Counter in the weapon form's list entry (i.e. 15/20)

2) Keeping the same weapon form active for prolonged periods of time without shifting between other forms

3) Using the same weapon form to fight and slay multiple monsters without shifting to other forms

When a form is Mastered through one method, applying a different method will not result in any further Mastery. A form is Mastered (M) or it is not (unmastered).

The second and third mastery methods share a mastery gauge with each other, but they do not share the Absoption-based Mastery Counter. Mastery cannot be unlocked with half material absorption and half time or combat use.

There are certain situations in which a weapon form's Mastery may be reset; this does not overlap with the Weapon Proficiency reset effect that generates PP!

Yumiella had to fume a bit as she read more information that had not been in her HELP MENU earlier.

I was habitually swapping between weapon forms to gain familiarity with their weight and balance, but that turned out to be the worst possible thing to do as it interfered with the sword forms' Mastery process. Why didn't I-?

Yumiella cut herself off. She was discovering this comparatively early on, after all, with another four weeks (specifically, 29 days now,) to benefit from it, so each day she could choose one unmastered Sword Form and keep her weapon in that form overnight and into the next morning's grinding until it was mastered.

She'd already set her weapon to its Human Meat Sword form, as she wanted the passive dissection bonus (medium) for gaining materials but was revolted by the idea of feeding her sword human flesh. After she achieved that she would run down a list of other forms to master.

Once she'd noted down all that information, she moved to the improvement methods that originated with the Cardinal Sword: information which she had mostly shared with the other three heroes that first night, but had not thought about too deeply herself with everything else taking up space in her brain.

HELP --> Cardinal Weapon Functions --> Growth Methods --> Legendary Sword

PROFICIENCY

Using the same weapon form continuously or very frequently will improve a Proficiency Gauge up to 100% Proficiency 

A weapon form with 100% Proficiency gains improvements to its skills, effects, and bonuses whose benefits are links to the Level of the Cardinal Hero

At any time, the Hero may reset a form's Proficiency Gauge to release the Proficiency Point energy into a 'pool' of PP that may be used by the Hero

If the Hero resets a weapon form with 100% Proficiency, the resulting PP added to the pool is greater than the benefits of reseting incomplete proficiency

Items and materials stored in the Inventory may also be turned into PP, but the conversion rate is not good

PP may be used to improve a weapon's Rarity, which correspondingly increases the weapons stats and bonus benefits; this increase has a chance for failure

After reading and actually paying attention to this, Yumiella had irately twitched while wondering why this hadn't been shown on her Menu before, and then she'd suffered a brief headache for two minutes as her list of sword forms rearranged itself to include Rarity notations attached to each weapon form.

Adding to her annoyance, the rarity notations themselves struck her as a stupid series of name identifiers -- common, uncommon, rare, and then assorted levels of super-duper rare -- and she'd spent the next ten or twenty minutes poking at the MENU options to see if she could alter the terminology to something a little less abstruse.

Whatever got it done might just have been the Cardinal Sword responding to her frustration, but after poking at her Help Menu for far too long she finally ended up with something that didn't make her want to Yumiella Kick the designers in their teeth.

HELP --> Cardinal Weapon Functions --> Growth Methods --> Legendary Sword

RARITY

Each weapon form has a Rarity value related to the materials it was made of or unlocked by

Rarity values from highest to lowest are as follows: SS > S > A > B > C > D > E > F > G

This rarity value may be improved/awakened by spending PP on the weapon form in proportion to the benefits it gives the Hero, or by other methods

There is a variable non-zero risk that the effort to improve a weapon's rarity will fail; failure does not reset a weapon form's rarity or damage the form

Whether it fails or succeeds, spent PP are not refunded to the Hero

Forms in each rarity ranking include:

G -- Sand Sword . Soil Sword . Leaf Sword . Wood Sword . Haircut Sword ... (more)

F -- Orange Rubber Sword . Cave Moss Sword . Porcupine Sword . Fishing Sword ... (more)

E -- Voice Gengar Sword . Motor Goat Sword . Wire Sword ... (more)

D -- Undead Sword . Captivity Sword . Interdimensional Black Beetle Sword ... (more)

C -- Interdimensional Hound Sword . Interdimensional Spider Sword . Owlbear Sword ... (more)

B -- Ichor Sword Series . Nakama Sword

With that settled, Yumiella turned to the sparser notes she had on other improvement methods. Motoyasu's and Itsuki's descriptions both seemed to involve ores -- preferably expensive or rare ores -- and enchantment improvements that seemed to have some probability of failure involved with a risk of reset the weapon's improvements.

To be honest, Yumiella wasn't certain that they weren't both describing the same process with opposing vocabulary, so she sent off another questioning message (noting that there was still no response to her prior messages, suggesting a sharp range limit,) and mentally put those methods aside until she could meet with either boy to ask them for examples and a demonstration.

The only rare ore Yumiella was likely to have access to for certain in the near future was the Light Metal from the nearby mine, and while she resolved that she'd consider adding some +1 enchantment to some useful weapons, the risk of using up limited ore and suffering a reset made her cringe. At least the PP Rarity Awakening function didn't carry risk of a reset tied to its failure.

After that, her teammates still hadn't returned from their hair dye expedition, so Yumiella set to studying the local mundane and magical alphabets.

It was... incredibly tempting to go out and try to Level Up, but if Wave monsters were moving into the area then there was a genuine risk of encountering something she couldn't handle while she had no back-up available, and she wasn't willing to put a country or a world at risk again like she had being too sure of her ability against the Demon King. Back when she had been raising her Level for the first time in Dolkness County, even while having tremendous fun she had known she couldn't begin by fighting the entire dungeon in one run, so she had carefully paced herself! Thus, she simply had to apply the same rules here, except this time she would have back-up to help her handle the unexpected!

Although if something wanders into our campsite, I feel quite confident in killing it, Yumiella resolved, hoping she wasn't tempting fate. Still, it is too much to ask for something to happen?

"Egg" is hatching!

Yumiella stared at the status update blankly before the meaning registered and she rushed off to the eggs' impromptu incubator.

One of the eggs was twitching!

It was shaking!

There was a crack!

"Ganbatte, egg-chan! Ganbatte-kudasai!" Yumiella cheered quietly. What will you be? Another cute child like Ryu? My heart is fluttering! You can do it, egg-chan, ganbatte!

*crack*

A piece of the shell fell away, and a scaly green foot flailed awkwardly.

"You can do it. Yosh! You can do it," Yumiella whispered, almost vibrating as more shell bits broke free.

*C-Crack!*

"Yom!"

"Yom," Yumiella greeted, metaphorical stars in her eyes. "How cute... You're just like Ryu at that age."

"Yom!" chirped the little dragon, colored green with some purple patches and a distinct lack of wings.

Yumiella cleared away the last few bits of eggshell and pulled him to her, enjoying this sacred moment between mother and child.

You have hatched a male Level 1 Tyrella!

Would you like to name the Tyrella? ______________

Yumiella cuddled the baby dragon to her, enjoying this sacred moment between mother and child with no interruption from anything...!

"...Ah, please don't eat kaa-chan's hair, I'll get you something good for your first meal. Was it said that animals eat their own eggshells to absorb nutrients?"

Yumiella tried, but the baby dragon didn't want to eat its eggshell, so she got out an assortment of food options from her inventory to tempt him with.

At first he sniffed the meat and seems interested, but then he got to a piece of fruit she had laid out.

"Yom!" the baby dragon nearly sang as it sank its teeth into a juicy piece of sweet fruit. Watching it chirp and eat happily, Yumiella felt like her heart was healed, and she realized.

"Tyrella are mounts for knights, dragons who run and jump and devour prey. From now on, little one, your name is Yoshi."

"Yom!" Yoshi-kun chirped happily.

Day 4, late afternoon

Yumiella's eye twitched as she stared at the updates about her newest sword forms.

NEW SWORD FORMS UNLOCKED!

Demon Egg Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Rarity = E -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small)

Monster Tamer Sword I (unmastered) 1/50 -- Rarity = C -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = monster growth improvement (small)

Even while gently scratching her new child's head, Yumiella grit her teeth so hard it was a wonder her jaw didn't crack.

It isn't enough that I get called the Demon King and treated fearfully... Now this stupid 'holy' sword has to label my cute child a monster and a demon! Whether it's liquid nitrogen or over-grinding or dynamite, I will find a way to make you regret this you stupid hunk of stupid steel!!

The so-called 'holy' sword shocked her once, and then as Yumiella glared furiously while envisioning a new use for Black Hole, the Status Menu flickered and altered its text.

Magical Beast Egg Sword (unmastered) 1/50 -- Rarity = E -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small)

Wild Tamer Sword I (unmastered) 1/50 -- Rarity = C -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = monster growth improvement (small)

That's more like it, Yumiella allowed.

"Lady Sword Hero?" Bakta checked. "You were glaring at the Holy Sword just now...?"

"The Cardinal Sword and I were having a disagreement over the importance of proper vocabulary, and whether I needed to start referring to it as the cardinal scrap," Yumiella answered. She raised her face from feeding baby Yoshi more tidbits and tried not to react at seeing her teammates.

Bakta didn't look much changed by the dye, since he'd had dark hair before, but seeing Farrie and Tersia with ink-black hair was different.

Farrie's eyes went wide much like Eleonora's would. "Ooh, idea! Are carved wooden practice swords something the Holy Sword could use?"

That started a pleasant discussion about types of weapons and practice weapons that might mesh with the Cardinal Sword -- ideas included scimitars, the flamberge, hotel blades, and other variants -- which lasted until a runner from the Riyute Village chief arrived.

"Emergency! Em-emergency!" the boy panted. "There's an Armor Quill tearing up the south- the southwest fields!"

The group jumped into action, the runner boy leading them toward the trouble zone.

"What is an armor quill?" Yumiella checked, as her mind had pulled up some image fusing a suit of plate armor with a giant writing quill.

"Large porcupine, metal quills, claws," Bakta huffed, being the slowest runner of the team.

"Is it slow? Me and Tersia can lead it around," Farrie offered.

"I think," Bakta allowed.

"Sounds good then," Tersia chuckled.

"Don't get injured," Yumiella ordered, slowing momentarily as the fastest two of the team shot off far ahead toward the distant fields on the far side of the town. "Bakta, weaknesses?"

"Fire," he huffed. "Cook it in- its own- skin."

"Will Faust- Flare be e- enough?" Welt panted, only slightly faster than Bakta but possessed of less stamina.

Yumiella pulled them to a stop. "Give me support magic, then focus on inhibiting its movements when you arrive."

"R-right," Welt gasped. "Faust Stoneskin. Faust Windspeed. Faust Brilliant Blaze."

Duly empowered, Yumiella rocketed off toward the battle site, where she found a swathe of crops trampled with the ground torn and furrowed.

"The armor quill has a bunch of Porcupine followers!" Tersia yelled, pulling his dagger from the eye socket of a dead porcupine as Farrie somersaulted over the charging bronze-colored monster that was leading this battle.

"I'll clear them," Yumiella assured Tersia, "keep it tied up."

"On it!"

There were at least 10 porcupines on the field, three of which were between Yumiella and the boss, so she went for those first. She didn't bother to use Flaming Sword when she stabbed the first porcupine in its unprotected side, which got her a delicious EXP notice and a squeal of pain that attracted the other porcupines' attention.

Then Yumiella had to deal with eight monsters charging at her, which (unfortunately for the monsters) was about half what she'd usually get from blowing her Flute in her prior life.

She sidestepped the first porcupine's rolling charge and gutted it with a stab to the side of its underbelly as it passed. The second porcupine got beheaded when it hesitated.

Rope Sword. "Air Strike Slash," Yumiella cast, knocking the next two closest porcupines into each other.

Gaining precious seconds, Yumiella stabbed the gutted porcupine in its spiky back before it had completely died, to check whether or not her improved ATK stat was high enough to cut through their spines directly.

It was, which meant she didn't need to bother with artistry and could just enjoy the EXP gained from bisecting them.

At least until the Armor Quill charged her.

"Look out!" Tersia shouted; Yumiella dodged the soil-churning stampede of rage and pain and was momentarily bemused by the sight of rope and most of a tree trunk stuck to the Armor Quill's back. "Sorry. Farrie flipped it back-first into a tree and I tied it there, but it thrashed so hard the wood broke."

"Hey," Farrie gasped, winded but otherwise uninjured, "at least it can't burrow underground to escape now."

Flaming Sword. "You tempted fate," Yumiella informed her teammate just as a shower of soil began to fly into the air from under the Armor Quill. "Blazing Blade."

Her orange-bronze sword lit aflame, and her SP began to drain, but Yumiella could easily keep up the pace for a while. She charged, stabbed the Armor Quill in its metallic haunch, then rolled aside without her sword as brassy spikes went flying everywhere.

*zap*

ALERT -- Cardinal Heroes are NOT permitted to discard their weapons!

Rather than discarding it, I think of a small amount of HP and pain as cheap to retrieve my weapon when it would be unwieldy to pull it free, Yumiella thought toward her sword, which had reappeared in her hand with only a bit of pain as punishment.

Staying low, she slashed her still flaming sword at the limbs and side of the Armor Quill, doing damage but not much.

The Armor Quill shook itself like a wet dog; Yumiella had to duck the rope ends and wood splinters that went flying, and then Yumiella wanted to face-palm when she remembered what said ropes were attached to.

Five seconds later, the Armor Quill was shrieking around with half a burning tree trunk on its back.

"Shoot, shoot! The field!" Farrie squawked as smoke and burning embers went everywhere.

Ah. Perhaps that was not such a good idea, Yumiella acknowledged as she backed away. Stalagmite Sword. "Stone Spike. Stone Spike. Stone Spike." Rather than try to pierce through its metallic belly, Yumiella focused on hemming it in and trying to restrain its thrashing. "Stone Spike. Stone Spike." I think I have it mostly immobilized by now. Flaming Sword.

She reactivated the Blazing Blade skill, dashed around to the Armor Quill's front, and stabbed burning hot metal straight into its screaming mouth.

Then her Shadow Assassin reflexes -- trained by years of fighting dark attribute monsters deep in the local dungeon that lunged at your back from out of your shadow -- triggered and she instinctively kicked backwards at a threat.

Pain.

"Ah, we missed one!" Farrie dashed over and dropkicked away the final porcupine that hadn't yet died, kneeling down to check Yumiella's injured leg, with three large quills poking into it.

Yumiella balanced awkwardly until the Armor Quill finally stopped thrashing, and with her EXP notice came one final bit of good news.

LEVEL UP! 

YUMIELLA DOLKNESS -- CARDINAL SWORD HERO -- LEVEL 21

"Pass me some potions, I need to be really careful taking these out and apply the treatment immediately," Farrie instructed, holding Yumiella's injured foot gingerly.

This did not make it easier for the Sword Heroine to keep her balance, but at least she didn't end up worsening her injuries when she inevitably toppled face-first into bloody dirt of the ruined field.

Chapter Text

Day 5, morning

"Are you certain you can't stay any longer, Lady Hero?" one of the Riyute village leaders asked.

Yumiella to a deep, slow breath and quietly reviewed her mental timeline.

Day Zero: the Cardinal Heroes were summoned and the four of us exchanged notes. Day One: we arranged our teams and went grinding around the city; I rose to Level 7 that day. Day Two: we arrived in Riyute, entered the mine, and I made it to Level 19. Day Three: we hunted the Motor Goat herd. Day Four: yesterday we returned to the mine and cleared out more Wave monsters in the morning, and then I hurt my leg defeating the Armor Quill and the porcupines in the afternoon.

Day Five: we inform the town that we plan to leave this evening so that we can fill up on supplies.

Truth be told, I wish we had left last evening instead of taking it easy as my wounds healed. We are ahead of schedule, still possessing three weeks to get from Level 21 to Level 40 before the Wave, but...

"The monsters responsible for recent issues -- infesting your mine, and pushing other creatures like the Motor Goats and the Armor Quill out of their native territories -- are monsters that survived the previous wave and are spreading out. If we stay here," Yumiella explained, "they will continue to trickle toward your village and the neighboring villages as they spread out like ripples. If we continue toward the site of the previous Wave, we can exterminate them in larger groups and prevent them from spreading out to reach you. I am resolved that this evening we will be continuing on toward Soma Valley," she finished. "If there are any requests you wish to make, please say so today."

The old woman looked dismayed, but curtsied. "I will convey this to the village."

Yumiella turned her attention back to feeding Yoshi some fruit and scraps of raw meat. The Tyrella wasn't growing anywhere near as fast as Ryu had, but he had still almost doubled in size from hatching yesterday and was cheerfully ravenous.

After patching her up, Farrie had got Yumiella to a trained healer and they'd given her orders to take it easy for a day even if the quill wounds were healed... but Yumiella had a slightly different idea of 'light duty' and was still hoping for some kind of quest or hunting.

Day 5, noon

"Ack!"

"Hold," Yumiella sighed, although her teammates had already halted their sparring when Welt hit the ground. "Tersia and Farrie win."

"Speed over power!" Farrie cheered, cartwheeling over to help Welt up after he'd been sent flying by her kick, while Tersia and Bakta shook hands for a good match.

"True, but I think you both work better fighting against humans than against most monsters," Bakta judged. "Maybe we should look for a mission or two to hunt down bandits?"

"No." Yumiella's stomach had squirmed at the thought of harvesting EXP from human beings, even if some distant part of her mind had whispered about how easy it would be to farm EXP that way. "No hunting people. If we see crimes, then we can stop them, but the cardinal weapons exist to protect the people of the world, even criminals."

It was mostly just an excuse so that she didn't have to risk committing murder -- she hadn't killed her own birth parents when they sent assassins after her, she didn't want to imagine killing random bandits on the road -- but her four teammates gave her wide-eyed looks like she had said something impressive, so at least it seemed that the message had been received.

She checked the time.

Melromarc -- 27:02:07:40

With two hours until the future time of the next Wave, that means it's almost noon today. Nearly time for lunch.

"Good work everyone. We should break for lunch soon," Yumiella decided.

"Yom!"

"Yes, yum-yum," Yumiella assured little Yoshi, pulling more Porcupine meat from her Inventory and dropping it into his adorable little snapping jaws.

Rather than trouble any of her team with cooking, they moved to a tavern that did a good lunch spread and didn't object to a labrador-sized baby Tyrella curling up their table as they ate.

"I've got an idea, but I'm not sure if we have time for it today," Farrie mentioned once they were tucking in. "Remember how we talked about wooden practice swords and whether or not they'd just count for your wood sword, Lady Yumiella? What if we got a bunch of wooden practice swords and had a bunch of villagers do practice matches with them! I'm not certain how the Holy Sword works, but if they're carved and used in practice, that might differentiate them from regular pieces of wood, right?"

Yumiella hummed thoughtfully and checked her list of existing sword forms. Other than things like her Wild Tamer sword and her Nakama Sword, the closest she could see to something Farrie was suggesting involved her Breath Sword or the Stalagmite Sword... or maybe the Fishing Sword that she'd got from a fish Farrie had caught.

Still, it was worth experimenting with, since Yumiella couldn't find any way to get EXP today while on light duty. The Wood Sword does seem to improve my Carpentry skill...

"It is a good plan. Who wants to hunt for experience, and who wants to help me with carving swords?"

After lunch, Tersia and Welt went Level grinding while Bakta and Farrie stayed to carve, although Bakta went to do some hunting after they had enough swords that Farrie left to get some volunteers.

Plenty of villagers were interested in practice matches and a sword lesson run by the Cardinal Sword Hero herself, and Yumiella noted that easily half the students were girls with stars in their eyes. In fact, they got so many volunteers that several people had to make do with broom handles or other makeshift weapons.

Yumiella demonstrated the footwork and stances she had learned early at the Royal Academy, and after a few minutes of swings to get them used to it, she went around pairing people up for matches and correcting holds or footwork as best she could remember how.

Once the matches were under way, she turned back to her Menu.

Between turning useless things like monster bones into PP (with a horrible exchange rate, admittedly,) and her discovery of how to master forms more quickly by keeping them active, Yumiella had a pool of 42 PP and little idea of what to spend it on.

It should probably be a sword form that I have mastered, she reflected as she examined her list, but is it better to spend it all on attempting to upgrade an already powerful sword, or to give myself more options that are more powerful?

No. Rather, a better question is to decide what sword forms' skills I make the most use of and upgrade those to be more useful. I kept the Usapil Sword active and got the Mastery and Proficiency alerts for it this morning because I knew that it was too inconvenient to switch back to that form whenever I jump, and my fighting style when I can't easily overpower monsters involves a lot of reflexive movement.

I can get raw stat bonuses by unlocking and mastering new sword forms instead of improving existing sword forms, so improving my Skills and passive effects are more important.

Yumiella minimized her Menu to do another walk around the sparring students and change up their partners. Part of her wanted to join in -- her foot wasn't even tender anymore! -- but she knew Farrie and the others would cluck at her if she did so.

She gave the starting signal for the next round of pairs' matches and pulled up her Menu while trusting Farrie to supervise.

42 PP available!

Usapil Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... Jumping improvement (medium)

Tunnel Snake Skin Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = DEF+1 … improved healing (small)

Tunnel Snake Fang Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip Skill: Snakebite -- use SP to make coat sword in mild poison

Limestone Sword (M) — Rarity F (up from G) — Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip: DEF+5 ... Equip Skill: Heavy Block -- spend SP to significantly increase your weight and toughness for 30 seconds

Rope Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... SPD+2 ... ... Equip Skill: Air Strike Slash -- project a sword strike at range ... ... Unique Equip Ability -- Extending rope

Wire Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip Skill: Binding Slash -- spend SP to bind two things you've cut together

Sand Sword (M) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = SPD+2 ... Equip Skill: Sand Slash -- use SP to throw sand from the arc of a swing

Stalagmite Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+2 ... Equip Skill: Stone Spike -- stab the earth and spend SP to conjure a stone spike

Owlbear Bone Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip Bonus = HP total increase (small)

Porcupine Bone Sword (M) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = total HP improvement (small)

Breath Sword (M) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK-2 ... ... Equip = SPD+1 ... stamina improvement (small) ... hold breath improvement (small)

Motor Goat Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip Skill = Ram -- inflict Knock-back with the potential to Stun

Pikyupikyu Feather Sword (M) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip Skill = Light as a Feather — Float gently through the air to land on the ground

Wild Tamer Sword I (M) -- Rarity C -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = monster growth improvement (small)

Armor Quill Sword (unmastered) 1/20 — Rarity E — Base Power = ATK+4, DEF+4 ... ... Equip Skill = Burrow - spend SP to move the earth around you

Armor Quill Bone Sword (M) 20/20 — E — Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip Ability= broken bone resistance (small)

Yumiella heaved an exasperated sigh at all the options in front of her. I need to master the two tunnel Snake swords for poison and improved healing, and the Stalagmite sword because I use it often for crowd control tactics. The rope Sword too, for a ranged attack... Until I Master them, I believe I can cross them off the list... I can try to Awaken the Wild Tamer Sword, but that might decimate my pool of energy.

"Awaken Usapil Sword and Wire Sword," Yumiella declared.

AWAKENING Usapil sword -- 15 PP consumed! -- Rarity Improved F-->E

AWAKENING Wire Sword -- 20 PP consumed! -- Rarity Improved E-->D

Usapil Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... SPD+2 ... Jumping improvement (intermediate)

Wire Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip Skill = Binding Slash -- spend SP to bind two things you've cut together

12 PP available!

"Intermediate? I thought the options were small, medium, and large," Yumiella murmured.

She made notes to check her HELP MENU again later for a better explanation -- and to ensure that Binding Slash was improved by the awakening process -- and turned her attention to the sparring pairs.

Everything seemed under control, so Yumiella decided to check how intermediate jumping improvement differed from medium improvement.

She bent her legs and leaped.

(Sadly, she wasn't yet capable of jumping onto rooftops again, so she had to apologize when she careened off a wall and into a sparring pair, knocking them both over.)

Once it was almost dinner time, several Riyute Village leaders gathered together to present Yumiella's party with tokens of their appreciation for the help they'd given the village, which included some more potions but also multiple samples of ore from the mine.

Given that she'd unlocked a Sand Sword and a Limestone Sword, the idea of absorbing metal ores should have been obvious to her, but Yumiella was still taken by surprise.

Once the swords were unlocked, though, she quickly asked the villagers for more samples so that she could master the swords in question, promising to return them from her inventory once she was done.

Light Metal Ore Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = M.ATK+2 ... M.DEF+1 ... SPD+2

Crystal Quartz Ore Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+1, M.ATK+1 ... ... Equip = finery crafting improvement (small)

Iron Ore Sword (M) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = metalworking skill improvement (small)

Copper Ore Sword (M)  -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = metalworking skill improvement (minor)

Silver Ore Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = M.ATK+1 ... improved damage to demonic (small)

Lead Ore Sword (M) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = chance (small) that a critical hit will also stun the opponent

Whetstone Sword (M) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = weapon maintenance improvement (small) ... ... Unique Equip Effect -- drains SP over 8 hours to passively sharpen all weapons kept in the Inventory for the full duration

"Thank you," Yumiella said with a curtsy to the village representatives. "This has been very helpful. Are you able to offer sample of ore to any other Cardinal Heroes who come this way?"

It was unlikely, since the four of them had agreed to train in four different directions to prepare for the Wave, but Riyute village was close enough that Yumiella could easily point the boys toward it for a day visit at some point.

"Certainly, Lady Hero. We pay our taxes in raw ore, but we have enough set aside for this month with a surplus for the time being."

Yumiella expressed her gratitude once again, and the villagers insisted on throwing a small party before she and her team boarded the overnight carriage they'd hired for the month and finally trundled off into the darkness.

Day 6, morning

Yumiella woke up to the gray light of pre-dawn, wondering why she was awake. Then she saw her MENU icon blinking.

ALERT

Wild Tamer Sword is mastered (M)! ... Wild Tamer Sword 100% Proficiency!

Reset and let me sleep; we're moving, so we haven't arrived in Soma Valley yet, Yumiella grumbled silently as her body twitched and rocked.

Wild Tamer Sword (M) Proficiency reset to 0% ... 27 PP available!

"Egg" is ready to hatch!

"Egg" is ready to hatch!

Yumiella shot awake as she realized the two eggs in her arms were twitching.

"Yoshi. Yoshi-kun, wake up," she hissed to the Tyrella curled up beside her. "Yoshi, the twins are hatching! Ganbatte, ganbatte-kudasai!"

"Yom!"

First one, then the other, the two eggs cracked and broke apart, revealing two adorable little bird chicks, one gray and one brown.

"Piiyaah!" "Piyu-piyu!"

Both darker colors, similar to my own hair... and to my teammates' dyed color as well, Yumiella reflected as she pulled the to chirping baby birds to her as Yoshi watched curiously.

In the gray light of dawn, Yumiella enjoyed the sacred moment between parent and child with no interruptions.

You have hatched a Level 1 "Filorial"! ... You have hatched a Level 1 "Filorial"!

Would you like to name the "Filorial"? ... Would you like to name the "Filorial"? 

I will figure out a way to make you suffer...!  Yumiella silently threatened the Cardinal Sword, and it obligingly dismissed its alert function.

The events of the rest of the morning were nothing special: Yumiella unlocked Wild Tamer Sword II with the eggshells, which seemed to give a small intelligence bonus to tamed animals; Yoshi got upset about losing her attention so she had to soothe him and feed all three of them and apologize that it woke up her teammates; and at mid-morning their carriage arrived at Soma Town, in Soma Valley, in the territory of Countess Soma and her husband.

They ate a large breakfast at the camp to use up food supplies that wouldn't stay edible much longer, and Yumiella took the opportunity to discuss their strategy for the next few days.

"With all three of our eggs hatched, I want to focus on mastering Wild Tamer Sword Two today, so no monsters that are too dangerous until we get an understanding of what we're up against," she assessed. "Some of us should investigate the surrounding area for monsters nests, and the rest of us should get the news in town."

"Tersia and I are the best suited to scout the locale," Bakta volunteered, "but since we're in a noble's territory now, Lady Sword Hero, you should probably go introduce yourself to Countess Soma to be polite."

"Should I?" I really would prefer to avoid politics...

"Lady Hero! As the nephew of a Marquess, please let me go with you!" Welt volunteered loudly. Yumiella glared at him as the twins started peeping at the noise. "Sorry, ma'am. Miss. Um..."

"Hey," Farrie interjected smoothly, offering the birds a bit of her breakfast bacon as Yumiella soothed them, "how about Welt and Lady Yumiella go to the Countess while I go check around town for shops and rumors? But chances are the Countess will know what's going on better than most people, and she might have a request or two that isn't public knowledge. By the way, did you name these cuties after creatures from your world like you did with Yoshi?"

Yumiella's face remained impassive even as her mind spun into motion.

"...Yes, I did," she hedged slowly. I named Ryu after the word for dragons, so following that pattern should work. "The gray child is... Rich, short for Ostrich, a flightless bird from my home world. The tan child..." Another flightless bird is the Dodo, but is naming her after an extinct bird a potential death flag? Wait... The Sand Sword has the skill Sand Slash, and I thought I sounded like a Pokemon saying it...!  "...is named Doduo, after a mythical bird with two heads that can evolve into Dodrio, a bird with three heads. Rich is a boy and Doduo is a girl."

"So cute! I heard some tamed monsters-," Yumiella glared but Farrie was looking away and didn't notice. "-can eventually Class Up too, so will you change her name to Dodrio if that happens?"

"...To be determined," Yumiella answered.

Day 6, afternoon

As it happened, Countess Soma was busy with some wine-making project, but her third son (of four adult children,) greeted Welt politely and Yumiella very politely, and he was happy to tell them about several local monster issues, ranging from patches of magically altered bloodsucking garlic that had been cropping up, to different families of colored Slime monsters inhabiting various stretches of river in the valley, to the fact that the valley's local Giant Toad population was larger than normal and had suffered a boom in numbers from eating a lot of the giant insects released from the First Wave, so some assistance in culling their numbers before they ate too many goats or goatherds would be wonderful.

The Giant Frogs in the Dolkness County Dungeon had been a royal pain for her to fight in her past life until she got strong enough to stomp them, because she hadn't been using a weapon: they were largely impervious to blunt force and one of the few things that could resist her Dark Magic. Up until she learned Dark Flame, she'd tended to just skip through their rooms as much as possible so she didn't have to deal with them.

According the to nobleman, the Giant Toads here were similarly impervious to blunt force, but sharp weapons and most magic worked perfectly well on them.

I wasn't expecting them to larger than a horse-drawn carriage, but I suppose "giant" means giant. "Mister Welt, you said you have lightning magic?"

"Yyyes, but it- It's only Faust-level magic, Lady Hero. I don't think I can kill it in one hit," he worried, peering down at the giant toad resting near the bottom of the hill.

"Miss Farrie taught you her Faust Tailwind spell," Yumiella reminded him.

"I- yes. Should I cast it on you, Lady Hero?"

"On both of us, and on Yoshi. Please hold the twins and cast a lightning spell," Yumiella instructed, "then run if it survives. We will prevent the toad from chasing you down."

"R-Right! Come here birdies, Uncle Welt will be taking you for a ride..."

...

"to speed our way! Zweite Tailwind," Welt finished casting.

"Is your MP at an acceptable level?" He looks more tired than I expected.

"Yes, Lady Hero. I'm just not- huff- not used to casting in succession so much. But I'll improve! Faust Shocking Lance!"

The flash of magic plasma hit the giant toad in its back, but there was no EXP notification. It croaked like grinding stone and jumped... the direction it had been facing, away from them.

"Tsh. Yoshi, chase," she commanded. He wasn't large enough for her to ride yet, but he could keep up with her like a hunting hound as they both shot into motion after the giant toad.

It turned, and Yumiella immediately broke left with Yoshi before the toad took the air again, with them both getting well out of its landing zone when it leaped.

Given how much the ground had shook from its first impact, Yumiella jumped at the toad just as it was coming down, so the tremor couldn't disrupt her footing. She landed on its back and began to stab with Wild Tamer Sword II at its spine and skull.

The toad croaked again, deafeningly, and she heard Yoshi savaging at its side or one of its legs but she didn't stop.

"Sharp Stab. Sharp Stab," Yumiella used when she realized she wasn't doing damage fast enough.

The giant toad died with a gurgle, and Yumiella got a delicious EXP notification. She'd intended to absorb the body and break it down later with Bakta's help, but she got a notification that it was too large to absorb in one piece so Welt kept watch as she broke it down and absorbed the components.

+240 EXP

NEW SWORD FORMS UNLOCKED

Giant Toad Sword (unmastered) 1/30 -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+3, DEF+3, SPD+3 ... ... Equip = jumping skill improvement (small)

Giant Toad Skin Sword (unmastered) 5/30 -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+3 ... water damage resistance (small), blunt force resistance (small)

Giant Toad Meat Sword (M) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small)

Giant Toad Bone Sword (M) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = Total HP up (small)

The toads were so giant that she got enough meat and bones to master those sword forms just from the first toad, which was very convenient. 

Then she took some of the meat out from her Inventory again to feed Rich, Doduo, and Yoshi, as it seemed they all loved the smell and taste of it.

"I can't tell, was that close or not? It seemed like you had it under control...?" Welt checked as the animal trio tucked in ravenously.

"I expect that your lightning dulled its reflexes, so it did not try to fall on its back. However, between magical buffs, my mobility, and use of weapon skills, we should be easily able to kill another five or ten without mishap, especially if we can approach them from behind."

"Five or ten...?" Welt looked worried for a moment, then he rallied. "Yes! I will not fail you!! Lady Sword Hero!!!"

Chapter Text

Day 6, afternoon

"Hollow Bones," Yumiella murmured, feeling her body grow lighter.

She waited, patiently, for the giant toad to take the bait.

They'd come across this strategy partly by accident, and she'd nearly had a heart attack the first time -- no giant toad had ever been made sorrier before it messily died -- but Yoshi seemed to enjoy it and she was loathe to cut down on his helpful fun, even if she insisted that Welt keep a damage protection spell over her Tyrella baby for safety.

*Phlbt!*

"Rrri-!"

Now! Yumiella jumped, propelled by her natural strength and the jumping bonus she'd gained, and at the height of her arc she got her sword (still in Wild Tamer II form, but it seemed very close to mastery and 100% proficiency,) into a downward stabbing position as she began to fall. Heavy Block. Sharp Stab!

The bite to her SP was nothing major, but these Skills combined horrendously well to shatter the Giant Toad's skull on impact and drive her sword through its brain.

It died, Yumiella clambered down to solid ground, and just as her feet touched the ground Yoshi messily tore his way out of the toad's belly to meet her.

Is this what the saying means, Happy as a pig in the mud?  Yumiella wondered fondly as she scratched the least bloody bit of Yoshi's skull available.

"You'll have your food soon, here's some from the last toad to tide you by," she chided, producing more meat from her Inventory.

Yoshi and the twin birds had all been growing very quickly and eating ravenously since they'd started the hunt a few hours before; Yoshi was now the size of a pony or a large wolf, though not so large that Yumiella felt it safe to ride him, while Rich and Doduo were larger than chickens but still smaller than the average swan.

(Yumiella had spent a 30-minute break teaching the birds to walk and then how to play hopscotch when Welt had confessed that he was having trouble carrying them, and once the duo had been insulted by Yoshi winning a few rounds they had buckled down, gotten the hang of it, and begun running literal circles around Welt to explore this brand new adventure of movement.)

Once she'd finished her dissection, Yumiella got a pleasant surprise.

Giant Toad sword (unmastered) 9/30

Giant Toad Skin Sword 30/30 has been Mastered!

Wild Tamer Sword II has been Mastered!

Wild Tamer Sword II has 100% Proficiency!

Yumiella idly reset the Proficiency, which brought her total up to 42 PP, and shifted to her Bat Sword form so that she could master it and get the bonuses to stealth and hearing that it provided.

I hit Level 22 about an hour ago, so we're making good progress on that front... Awakening a sword form seems to cost 10 PP for the Rank G forms and an additional 5 PP for each form after that, with increasing possibilities for failure. But if Wild Tamer II Sword has been mastered and its passive bonuses are improved, then I should upgrade that to make the most of it. That or Nakama Sword, but I still don't fully understand that one and... yes, at B Rarity it is more expensive and more likely to fail than at C Rarity.

"Awaken Wild Tamer Sword II," Yumiella ordered. Her Menu fuzzed, and for a scary moment Yumiella worried that she had just burned 30 PP on a failure by reaching too far.

"Yom!" "Pi-piru-pi!" "Piiyuuu~!"

SUCCESS

AWAKENING Wild Tamer Sword II -- 30 PP consumed -- Rarity improved C --> B

Wild Tamer Sword II (M) -- B -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... beast growth improvement (medium) ... beast intelligence improvement (medium)

12 PP available

"Lady Hero? Was the Holy Sword supposed to glow?" Welt checked.

"Yes. I succeeded in a power-up," Yumiella confirmed.

"That's good... Can we get back to the camp and meet the others please?" Welt requested; Yumiella could almost imagine the anime sweat drop symbol beside his head.

"Ah." I forgot, they must be waiting for us.

After being scolded for going out to Level Up without proper back-up, everyone had compared notes about their discoveries:

Bakta had brought back enough small Pikyupikyu to finish mastering her Captivity Sword, and he'd pointed out a few local likely nesting places and watering holes.

Tersia had gone further afield around the valley and asked several households about trouble spots, including three places where multiple colors of slime monsters often gathered, but he'd also had to limp back after stepping in a plant patch that tried to tear up his ankle; Yumiella made a note that it was inconvenient for her to be the only holder of healing potions, and promptly redistributed several potions to her teammates for emergency use.

Welt shared what the son of the Countess had told them, and then Farrie contributed rumors she had picked up about a lot of giant insects making their home in one particular patch of forest, which everyone had agreed were likely the wave monsters and that they should be stomped out first thing before they could breed.

Yumiella had taken idle note of this while feeding more and more food to her trio of animal children, and then Bakta had brought up a point that placed her in a conundrum: monsters usually went through growth spurts as a result of gaining experience, but with Yumiella herself, four humans, and three animals all sharing experience, then not only was it being divided 8 ways but they were facing a group EXP penalty from having a party larger than 6 individuals.

Yumiella hadn't particularly noticed due to her own amulet doubling EXP on top of the Hero bonuses, but the idea of inhibiting anyone's growth made her very uncomfortable, yet she couldn't just decide to remove anyone from her party either.

She told them she would sleep on it, and then later before trying to sleep on it she'd gotten into an argument with Bakta about whether or not it was safe to leave a pile of food out for Yoshi, Rich, and Doduo to snack on all night when they felt hungry.

He'd insisted it would attract monsters, and Yumiella had immediately wondered why they were hunting monsters up to now instead of leaving out food to attract them to prepared locations, like she'd used to do with setting up a prepared area to blow her Flute.

In the end, Yumiella had left a pile of cooked and raw meat out with instructions for her babies to also feel free to eat any monsters that came by the campsite.

She woke up to a respectable pile of EXP notifications, as well as the sight of Doduo and Rich being fully ostrich-sized while Yoshi had grown large enough for her to ride.

Her Bat Sword had been mastered with 100% Proficiency overnight, so she reset the Proficiency (27 PP available) and settled down to talk with her team about their training plans.

"Some of my skills and Cardinal Weapon abilities have a cooldown period," Yumiella explained, "but the party system does not, so I can remove or re-add members at will. Given the number of monsters they hunted this past night, keeping one of them in our party each day and switching to have them all in the party at night while we sleep seems fair."

"If they're hunting without us, they should reap the benefits," Farrie agreed, and that statement stopped the men from voicing any objections.

"Guess we're bringing one of them along today?" Tersia mused.

"We're still planning to wipe out the bugs from the First Wave, Lady Hero?" Bakta checked.

"Yoshi first, since he is the oldest," Yumiella confirmed.

"Piiii-yiiiii!" "Piyu-pi!"

Both the large birds heard that plan and objected, Rich even beginning to peck at Yoshi irately while Doduo sulked.

As Ryu had been an absolutely obedient sweetheart, Yumiella had no idea how to handle her misbehaving children other than getting between the fight to break them up; other than a momentary flare of murderous rage, she felt somewhat grateful when Bakta physically intervened by whapping Rich on his beak, which left the dark gray Filorial in a stunned jaw-drop.

"It's not about pain, it's about making them pay attention," Farrie had agreed, getting forehead to forehead with Rich and using her wide eyes to make him blink. "Behave. Hurting your big brother also hurts your mommy, okay? You see how scuffed up and distressed she is? You did that to her, you made Yoshi hunker down all scared."

The message seemed to get through, as Rich let out a keening moan and curled up in shame with one head under his wing.

Yumiella desperately wanted to comfort her fluffy gray baby, but she already had her hands full petting Yoshi in the hopes that he would settle down.

Bakta buried his face in his hands and muttered a prayer for patience to deal with this.

"How about I go check out the forest and see what insects we're dealing with, where good choke points would be, that stuff," Tersia offered.

"Alone?" Welt worried.

"As long as I don't enter the grove and get caught in webs, I can outrun the bugs easily," Tersia chuckled reassuringly. "I'll try to sketch out a map for when you guys arrive."

Yumiella gave approval after checking he had emergency equipment, and Tersia raced off.

It took another 10 minutes to hash out a plan of action, which amounted to Farrie taking a day off -- her martial arts skills weren't great at fighting giant insects -- to supervise Rich's punishment while the other six (including Yoshi and Doduo) partied up together and cleared out the Wave monster infestation.

It took Yumiella a little longer to convince the others that she didn't want to bother with a special saddle -- they talked her into a folded blanket tied to Yoshi's back with a rope -- and then they headed off to the patch of woods where Wave monsters had reportedly made a nest.

"The really creepy thing is that the beetles and spiders aren't fighting each other," Tersia reported once he'd clambered down from his spying tree. "I saw a bunch of spider webs in the tree branches, but the beetles are crawling around ground level with no problems. Spiders are carnivorous but the beetles are probably omnivorous, since I think they've been eating plants and some of the trees. These three areas," he marked them on the map, "had the densest webbing and multiple spiders around, so any egg sacks are most likely there."

I really wish I could hurry up and learn magic again for ranged options. Better use Rope Sword so I can master it efficiently here, she decided. "Welt, would your ice magic or other spells be able to fence off the area and prevent the monsters from fleeing?"

"Wave monsters don't usually flee, they single-mindedly attack when there are humans in their range," Bakta observed.

"Maybe during the Waves, but if that were true, then these guys would've chased fleeing humans into town and tried to rampage before now," Tersia countered.

"It should be easy enough to check," Yumiella decided. "I will enter their demesne, draw aggro, and lure them out so you can attack."

She'd already stood to do so, and her three teammates immediately grabbed her to object.

"I can tear their webs and resist their poisonous fangs with my sword skills, while you have no such safety net," she had replied.

"But-! Lady Hero, at least send in one of the two animals to-,"

A sound like a crack or a pop came from Yumiella's clenched fist, and Bakta immediately blanched and dropped the callous suggestion before she needed to decide whether yelling or hitting him or something else would be the most appropriate response.

Tersia insisted she take a potion before her apparently injured hand could begin to swell, and then she gave Yoshi and Doduo a firm instruction to "stay".

Even walking just a few steps into the trees felt... It feels like a just walked into the entry of a Dungeon, Yumiella assessed. She swung her Rope Sword with a smile. Air Strike Slash!

Her arc of power carved through several tree branches, which fell to the ground with a crash. Immediately, her ears picked up a familiar skittering.

The first beetle came into view and Yumiella immediately lunged, stabbing her sword behind its head and then crushing said head with a stomp.

+40 EXP

"Ah..." Right, I was supposed to lure them outside. Sword-chan, can you please store this in your inventory to dismantle it later?

More skittering neared, and Yumiella reflexively kicked back at a beetle that tried to lunge out of a hole in the tree roots at her while she was bent over absorbing the first body.

+40 EXP

No! I don't have time to get the second body absorbed with more monsters coming! I'm sorry, precious material drops, I'll be back for you!

As three more beetles charged, Yumiella had to leave and kite the monster trio out into the sunlight where her party was waiting.

The large black beetles chased her out of the forested area, but then the two in the rear began to hesitate and slow their charge as she led them further away from the trees.

The rearmost beetle finally turned, only for an arrow to shoot from Tersia's treetop perch and skewer its head.

"Pi-yuuuu~!"

"Yahm!"

Doduo immediately fell from the sky feet first to smash the pinned beetle and then savage the second beetle with his beak, while Yoshi bounded out from the bushes to snap up the frontmost beetle with his jaws.

+20 EXP, +20 EXP, +20 EXP

So adorable! I wish I had a camera, but I'll have to immortalize this in my memory: the siblings' first shared monster hunt, protecting their mother!

Yumiella could only barely resist the urge to squeal in glee at her two babies' cuteness, and she immediately moved to give them cuddles and scritchies and encouragement without even caring that they were devouring the monster corpses she'd wanted to absorb.

Once the beetles were all eaten up -- and her teammates in hiding had seen several more beetles scurry up to the tree line, observe the scene, and then retreat out of sight again -- they had settled in to discuss their method of approach.

Bakta had wanted to ask the Soma family for permission to burn down that patch of forest.

Tersia wanted to thin the bugs' numbers by repeating Yumiella's kiting actions.

Welt said that he wasn't very experienced with consecutive casting -- the act of linking spells one after the next to create an enhanced chain reaction effect -- but he knew enough to put together an area effect that could inhibit or disadvantage a large number of bugs at once, preferably by freezing them.

Yumiella had cut to the chase.

"Doduo and Yoshi are both capable of out-running the insect swarms, and I can reliably kill them without taking damage already. We will enter the forest while staying within view of the tree line, goad as many insects to attack us as possible, kill them, and retreat back to open grassland if we begin to be overwhelmed by numbers. Welt, please stick to Faust-level magic but conserve your MP enough to use a Zweit-level spell if we need an opening to retreat. I will ride Yoshi, but does anyone wish to ride Doduo?"

Her teammates couldn't really argue with her plan, so long as they stayed on the ground, in view of the path to retreat, so once Welt was mounted on Doduo (as the one who most needed protection), they stepped back beneath the trees.

Day 7, noon

"Yomyomyom~!"

"Pyuuuuu~!"

Tersia still had arrows, so he didn't let up on shooting, but he shivered at the sound of those beastial war cries, and the wet crunching that followed them.

Was it extremely satisfying that a lot of Wave Monsters were being slaughtered and devoured so they could never hurt good people ever again? Yes.

Was it still disturbing to see a couple of animals hatched only a few days ago tearing through Wave Monsters like- like...

Tersia didn't even really have a good comparison for watching a Tyrella bounce around like a skipping stone as it crunched monsters under its feet, or watching a Filorial kick giant bugs into the air and snap them in half with her beak.

Welt had already vomited once (though not on Doduo's feathers) from motion sickness when the bird jumped up among the tree branches to eat some spiders.

Yoshi was even more active, but the Holy Sword Hero seemed utterly unaffected, no matter many times her mount jumped to squash a bug, ducked to munch on them, or spun into a tail whip.

At least three times, he'd seen Lady Yumiella hop off Yoshi's back to cut through a group of bugs massed together, and one of those times had involved Yoshi's tail slingshotting her into a treetop!

Despite the rapid pace of her combat, she never lost her cool and he'd never seen her make a mistake; the 'Air Sword Slash' arcs she sent out every few seconds in between precise sword strikes never failed to hit at least two bugs, save for one time where she cut through a tree trunk such that it squashed six or seven bugs when it fell.

Welt was releasing Faust Icicle spells at a good pace while Tersia and Bakta killed monsters as fast as they could, but Tersia felt certain that the Lady sword Hero had killed more monsters than the three of them combined, and that was without counting the literal piles of bodies her mounts had slain.

Once he'd run out of arrows, Tersia had to kill the giant insects with his daggers, but by then he'd leveled up enough that his stats meant he was in minimal danger. He could probably kill the monsters with his bare hands if he had to.

He started stomping the bug monsters to death just because it'd keep him from being distracted by the ick on his hands, and that seemed to work well enough.

Then he smashed one more beetle's head, stomped its shell in half to make sure it was dead, and spun around to look for his next target.

"...Huh? Wow, I guess we're done." He almost said it felt like there ought to be more monsters left, except 1) he knew not to tempt fate like that, and 2) he could see Lady Yumiella beginning to absorb monsters from the first of several waist-high and shoulder-high piles of carcasses. "Blades and Bow, we must torn through eighty or more in, what? Was it an hour?"

"Eleven minutes," Lady Yumiella answered.

"It... felt longer," Bakta managed.

"Guuuuuhhhh..." Welt groaned.

"There are at least two spiders still alive, and we will need to check for egg sacks. Do you need medical treatment?" she asked Welt, totally unfazed and not pausing her absorption of corpses.

Welt groaned again, slipped off Doduo to the ground, and tried to say something but only managed a garbled mess.

"I'll clean him up and wash his mouth out," Tersia offered so he wouldn't have to stare at the surrounding carnage and wonder when he'd gone from a sneaky message-runner to a guy capable of helping cause it.

It was extremely satisfying!

He was damn proud to be striking a blow for humanity against the Wave and proud that he'd become so strong. It just...

Walking into a den of monsters and slaughtering them all without losses is the type of thing you hear bards sing about Classed Up knight troops doing! I don't feel like some kind of living legend, but am I going to hear people talking about how Tricky Tersia did some crazy feat? I don't feel like an awesome hero, I feel like I got caught in a rush of people and had to struggle free!

Admittedly, that's better than feeling like I got munched on by ravenous monsters, but I just...

"Next time, you ride the bird, okay?" Welt wheezed once he'd rinsed his mouth out.

"Not on your life," Tersia hissed.

"Well I'm not doing it!"

"I can ride Doduo if one of you would prefer to ride Yoshi," Lady Yumiella offered blithely, even though she ought to have been out of hearing range.

"No!"

"No way, I wouldn't want to steal either kid from mommy," Tersia denied. "My old bones just can't keep up with young whippersnappers, you know? Maybe one of them can just have some free rein around the battlefield, testing their limits? Or Bakta, do you want a ride on either of them? Bakta?"

"Mister Bakta went ahead to scout for egg sacks or dense webs," Yumiella informed them. "I will hear if he gets in trouble."

Left unsaid was the utter certainty that she could get him out of trouble when necessary, and Tersia couldn't fault her confidence.

It really put the capabilities of a Hero in a new light for him, and that was after he'd been awed by the cavern fight.

Chapter Text

Day 9, morning

The first day in Soma Valley, Yumiella had been excited when her remaining two eggs hatched, and she'd taken Welt hunting Giant Toads so that her babies would have plenty to eat.

Their second day in Soma Valley, she'd taken her old-enough-to-fight children (oh she missed Ryu. He would love to cuddle his little siblings. She didn't even know if he and Patrick had survived- don't think about it, just keep moving,) to clear out a den of Wave monster insects and crush all the eggs they'd laid, which the County Guard was grateful for as it spared them burning down a large patch of forest to accomplish the same thing. Rich had to sit it out because he'd been a jealous baby who attacked Yoshi, but after they'd cleared the forest she'd taken all three of her children to hunt a few more Giant Toads with Farrie as family bonding and positive reinforcement.

Their third day in Soma Valley, Yumiella had laid out large piles of the not-yet spoiled Giant Frog meat as bait by the riverside for hordes of slimes to come eat and get turned into EXP and new weapon forms. Each slime type only unlocked one sword form, much like the balloon monsters, but like the balloon monsters there existed enough varieties in enough numbers that Yumiella still got a lot of sword forms out of it and was able to master them.

Their fourth day in Soma Valley, they were eating breakfast and discussing plans for the day as Yumiella contemplated their achievements thus far and their plans for the day.

Melromarc -- 23:04:58:26

Red Slime Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = water damage resistance (small)

Orange Slime Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = acid damage resistance (small)

Yellow Slime Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = brewing improvement (small)

Green Slime Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = potion compounding improvement (small)

Blue Slime Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = water magic improvement (small)

Teal Slime Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ice damage resistance (small)

Purple Slime Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = disease resistance (small)

Pink Slime Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = drug resistance (small)

Black Slime Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = dark magic improvement (small) ... necrotic damage resistance (small)

38 PP available

The Black Slime sword was the only type she hadn't been able to get enough samples to master, so she'd mastered it overnight and gotten 100% Proficiency and immediately Awakened it once she woke up that morning, and was in an excellent mood now that she was another step closer to getting her old reliable Dark Magic back.

The slimes hadn't given much experience each, but leaving out the toad meat had drawn in several hundred slimes from the river to hunt, so there was debate whether they should try that strategy again or try something else.

Yumiella hadn't even thought to wonder whether her inventory could run out of space until after they'd done, but it seemed she could at least reliably store 100+ copies of each type of item without issue. That was good to know.

"Yumiella? Any opinions?" Farrie wondered.

"Slimes don't give good experience, I already gained all the weapon forms they offer, and if we hunt them again we should wait a day or two for their numbers to replenish. I want to find the bloodsucking garlic and other magical plants in the valley."

"Ah! Lady Hero, I did a little research and it seems the animate plants are partly a natural development, but partly the result of experiments by an alchemist who had a laboratory in the mountains to the northwest! It might be worth a visit?" Welt offered.

"Show me on a map."

"Well, I don't know the exact location..."

Yumiella examined the area Welt outlined, did a few mental calculations, and shook her head. "There's a location in that area where the Bow Hero intended to train, we don't know the location of the cave so we would need to search for it, and if we did know the location it would still take us at least three days to travel there and three days to come back. I don't want to spend that time searching for something indeterminate before the next wave, but it will be worth going there afterward."

"Piyuu! I bet I could carry Mama there and back in a single day," a girl's voice said.

"Huh?" "What was...?" "Ohmigoshohmygoshohmy-!" "Th-that...?"

"Doduo-chan, you can talk? Yoshi-kun, Ostrich-kun, can you talk as well?" Was there some way I could have taught Ryu to talk? He didn't in the game, but many things in my last life would not have been possible in the game... was I a neglectful mother by never educating him?  Yumiella worried.

"Yom!"

"Dummie lizard isn't smart enough to talk," Rich groused, which earned him a bop on the beak.

"Don't insult your big brother, family support each other," Yumiella scolded.

"WAIT THEY CAN TALK!?" "THIS ISN'T NORMAL!!" "HOW ARE YOU SO CALM HERE?!" "OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHTHAT'SAMAZING!!"

As the only one who appreciated her brilliant children, Yumiella decided that Farrie was now her favorite teammate.

In unrelated news, her party members for some reason got stirred up and had trouble focusing, so they didn't get much done at all for the rest of the morning.

(Yumiella ought to have cared, since time was EXP, but honestly, her twin babies' first words were more important and she had to cuddle Yoshi too so he didn't feel left out about everything.)

Day 9, noon

"Mnuuumm, sho good!" 

"Yom-nom!"

"Hey, I wanted the other thigh!"

"Rich-kun, you chose the stomach meat," Yumiella reminded him. "The other thigh was free for Yoshi to take. Please stop picking fights."

"Fiiiine..."

Is this just the terrible twos, or has he become a rebellious teenager already? They say children grow up so fast, but this is surely too fast, isn't it...?

Yumiella had taken the trio hunting for lunch -- and to work on mastering her Giant Toad Sword for its passive jumping bonus -- while her teammates asked around in town for places where the bloodsucking garlic had been cropping up or there were other interesting plants to examine and absorb.

Yoshi was his usual cheerful self and remained non-verbal, Doduo had asked a lot of opinions but hadn't had much else to express, and Rich seemed to resent Yoshi's presence from his continued desire to pick a fight.

Yumiella was doing her best to press love and family into each of her kids, but she was also this close to figuring out if she knew enough mechanical physics to recreate spray bottles, because spritzing her cat Tora was the only discipline method that had worked in her first life.

"Lady Yumiella~!" The hero of the sword turned to see Farrie exuberantly tumbling down a hill with a large pack. "I've got news! And things!"

Thankfully, once she got closer Farrie modified her voice as she pulled out a wine bottle and-

"Ah." We did that experiment with making wooden swords, but then we packed them up and forgot to put them in my inventory. "Thank you, Farrie."

The martial artist smiled widely. "All good, but the real treat is this wine. It's supposed to have magical medical properties, so maybe absorbing it will be good?"

Yumiella put the wine bottle in her inventory, frowned, and pulled it out again. "Nothing was unlocked."

"Huh, really? You said you unlocked a sword using Holy Water, so I thought it might...?"

"Mm." Wait. When I unlocked the Energetic sword with Holy Water, they poured the water directly into my inventory rather than putting in a bottle of it. Same for the sand that gave me that Portal Sword I can't use until Level 50. Maybe pouring in the wine will be a better result.

*pop*

"Lady Yumiella...?"

NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED!

Mana Wine Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3, M.ATK+3 ... ... Equip = total MP up (small)

Beaker Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = liquid compounding improvement (small)

"It worked," Yumiella declared. "Put the swords in, please." Not wanting to get shocked, she held her Inventory open for Farrie, who obliged.

NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED!

Wooden Practice Sword Mastered!

Wooden Practice Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Weapon Power = 1 ... ... Unique Equip Effect = Counting Coup -- the Hero cannot deal damage while this sword form is equipped

Yumiella blinked, then immediately spent 15 PP to awaken the sword form in hopes of getting an upgrade that allowed her to neither deal nor receive damage, which would be a tremendous defensive benefit.

She got a spinning hourglass symbol, a progress bar that needed about a minute to fill, and a feeling of struggling to climb uphill until the slope became to steep.

AWAKENING SUCCESS -- 23 PP available

Wooden Practice Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Weapon Power = 1 ... ... Unique Equip Effect = Counting Coup -- the Hero cannot deal damage using this sword form, but the damage that would be dealt is instead used to calculate and apply a chance of inflicting either Stun or Knockback onto the target

Yumiella scowled and tried to spend 20 PP to upgrade it to D-rank in hopes of getting what she'd envisioned, only to get an alert that Awakening a form had a 24-hour cooldown period before the same form could undergo the process a second time.

"Lady Yumiella?"

Yumiella jolted as Farrie poked her. "Ah. It was a success," she explained, shifting into her Wooden Practice Sword form.

"Cool," Farrie commended quietly, though her smiled indicated that she wanted to shout hurray. "Does it have cool powers, like improved sword skill learning?"

"No, but it will be very useful to fight opponents I do not want to kill by mistake. Rich-kun, Doduo-chan, Yoshi-kun! We should have a family sparring match," she declared.

The three kids cheered, and Farrie volunteered to referee provided she got to join in a later round.

Day 9, early afternoon

"Here it is."

"Thank you, Mister Bakta," Yumiella said as she accepted the struggling bulb of garlic from his thickly gloved hands. Ah. It can hurt me, that stings, but I can still put it in my inventory. ...It seems this does not count as a monster for Captivity Sword?

NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED

Animate Garlic Sword (unmastered) 1/30 -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = ATK+3 ... ... Unique Equip = improved damage to unholy (small) ... Unique Skill = Bloodsucker -- spend SP to restore your health with half the damage you deal from one attack (1 minute cooldown)

"It can hurt me, but not enough to worry about," Yumiella informed her teammates. She shifted to her Absorption Sword for the first time in a long time -- there hadn't been many enemies she could easily overwhelm by enough to make the halved stats worth the EXP bonus up to now -- and activated Soul Sucking as she pulled the angry garlic back out of her Inventory.

With her Defense cut in half, the garlic spiky stems stabbed her much more painfully, but even with her Attack halved she was easily able to crush it to death with her bare hand.

+20 EXP ... +20 EXP

The confirmation that she'd gotten two EXP gains from one garlic bulb was very satisfying.

"You're bleeding," Bakta warned her.

"Faust Heal. Ooh, it worked," Farrie cheered as her newest spell sealed up the bleeding gashes.

"Congratulations," Yumiella said. Then, "Heavy Block." The Limestone Sword's skill heavily increased her weight and her body's toughness, so with Soul Sucking active she still felt no problem striding directly into the bloodsucking garlic patch and stomping several bulbs to death with each step.

In the 30 seconds that Heavy Block lasted, Yumiella's vision was thoroughly blanketed with EXP gain notification, and she stepped back onto safe ground with a second to spare.

"Blades and Bow," Tersia muttered, "I think I felt myself Level Up just now."

"You did," Yumiella confirmed as she waited for Heavy Block to cool down. "Heavy Block."

It took several more repetitions to wipe out that patch of garlic, at which point they dug up the smushed bulbs and fed enough to the Cardinal Sword to master that form.

"Ooh, yummy!" Doduo cheered as she munched on some excess garlic bulbs.

"Spicy. It's okay," Rich commented even though he was gobbling them down too.

Ah, my youngest son is a Tsundere, Yumiella realized. Yoshi seems not to like the veggies compared to meat, which makes sense since he is a dragon... Is his bed acceptable or should I arrange some treasure for him? Well, it hasn't been a problem yet. "Be careful that you don't eat dirt and make yourselves sick," she warned the twins.

"It looks like they're almost done," Bakta assessed. "Should we continue to the next patch of garlic?"

"I would prefer to unlock other sword forms," Yumiella answered.

"The magic plants that grow here include pop-up potatoes, snake grapes, attack apples, watchful wheat, bright barley, hopping hops, and jousting juniper!" Welt volunteered. "There are some wild patches of most of them, if we look!"

"Or we can ask the farmers if they'll share with the Holy Sword Hero," Tersia observed slyly.

Chapter Text

"Urp! Bleeaaaaaaagh..."

Despite how successful their time in Soma Valley had been, Yumiella's life the past day and a half after leaving had been utter misery. She was vaguely aware of periodic EXP gain notifications, and that her teammates brought her things like fish to feed to the Cardinal Sword, but ever since they'd set foot on the river barge that would take them to Seatto Territory, her sea sickness had resurged again and she wasn't paying much attention to it.

Despite its unpleasant ending, though, their week in Soma Valley had been a wonderful grinding opportunity.

After making rounds to several farms to unlock and master multiple magic plant forms, the team had done a bit more monster-hunting and grinding interspersed with sparring practice sessions to develop their cooperative combat skills before buying gear with intent to leave.

Then the Soma family -- the eldest daughter of the countess, and her husband this time -- had approached them with a request that carried a handsome cash reward for its completion.

More Wave monsters, a mix of skeletons and hounds, had settled near the border of Soma Valley and its neighboring fief, and both nobles were putting off dealing with the encamped monsters.

Yumiella had happily taken her team to wipe them out, gaining and mastering the Interdimensional Skeleton Sword as well as mastering the Interdimensional Hound Sword.

The next day, after buying a carriage for Doduo and Rich to pull (at their own insistence, as otherwise Yumiella would have had misgivings about child labor like that,) and bidding an early farewell to the rented carriage that had taken them this far, the team had left Soma Valley to take a barge down the river to Seatto Territory proper, seeking the site of the First Wave.

Sadly, it turned out that the stomach soothing medicine Yumiella had taken was not strong enough, and the overnight barge trip had been miserable since it wore off.

Yoshi had curled up with her like a lovely air-conditioned pillow, and the twins had brought her fish to feed the sword and things and they bunked down with her at night after swimming in the river, but Yumiella only sporadically felt well enough to cuddle them back until the barge dropped her team and their new carriage off at the river bank in Seatto Territory.

It still took another hour or two of rest and medicine before Yumiella felt well enough to review their progress.

Bloodsucker Garlic Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = ATK+3 ... ... Unique Equip = improved damage to unholy (small) ... Unique Skill = Bloodsucker -- spend SP to restore your health with half the damage you deal from one attack (1 minute cooldown)

Attack Apple Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small)

Bright Barley Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = dark vision improvement (small)

Hopping Hops Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = jumping improvement (small)... brewing improvement (small)

Jousting Juniper Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 

Popping Potatoes Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... SPD+2

Snake Grapes Sword (M) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = SPD+2 ... poison resistance (small)

Watchful Wheat Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = senses improvement (small)

Interdimensional Skeleton Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip Effect = DEF+2 ... inventory rot resistance (small)

Interdimensional Hound Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+8 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 ... Equip Skill: Tracking -- use SP to place a tracking beacon on something you strike

Cheshire Catfish Sword (unmastered) 7/20 -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = M.DEF+3 ... stealth improvement (small)

Goldfish Sword (unmastered) 3/20 -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = item drop improvement (small)

Rocky Fish Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+3

Flying Fish Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = SPD+4

River Pike Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ATK+3

Yumiella blinked and checked her inventory. That... is a lot of fish. Actually, I think that's more fish than would account for the sword forms I gained, and multiple types of pike and goldfish. It seems as though not every fish granted a form, and that several different subspecies got folded into a single type. Still, even with rot prevention from the skeletons, I wouldn't trust this fish to stay edible for very long. Although maybe Welt's ice magic can freeze it...?

Then the Level indicator at the upper corner of her Menu caught her eye, and Yumiella quickly switched over to her Party page to check everyone's levels.

Yumiella Dolkness -- Level 32 -- HP = 324/324 -- MP = 299/299 -- SP = 179/179

Welt Bluegrass -- Sorcerer -- Level 27 -- HP = 181/181 -- MP = 255/255

Farrie Bonheim -- Martial Artist -- Level 25 -- HP = 283/283 -- MP = 172/172

Bakta -- Ranger -- Level 29 -- HP = 310/310 -- MP = 149/149

Tersia -- Scout -- Level 27 -- HP = 209/209 -- MP = 152/152

Yoshi -- Tyrella -- Level 21 -- HP = 227/227 -- MP = 74/74

Rich -- Filorial -- Level 23 -- HP = 249/249 -- MP = 137/137

Doduo -- Filorial -- Level 22 -- HP = 202/202 -- MP = 157/157

"You did a lot of hunting on the river. Good job," Yumiella congratulated her team.

"Lady Yumiella, you're up!" Farrie bounced over and pulled her into a quick hug, followed by everyone else moving their way and her three babies demanding the cuddling they'd missed out on.

According to the map, they still had a day or two of travel by carriage to arrive at Seatto territory proper, and then another day or two to reach the site of the First Wave, but that would be easy enough.

...This feels like cheating, Yumiella reflected as she got another EXP notification, along with a message that Doduo had leveled up.

"I see some more doggies, Pyuu~!"

"Yom!"

"Kick one over here, gueh! I can't leave the carriage!"

"Sacred Seven Stars," Tersia muttered, their carriage-cart shaking a bit as the sounds of messy mayhem reached their ears.

There weren't any particularly good grinding zones near where they had bene let off, and Yumiella had left it up to Doduo and Rich whether they fought at day if the twins were fine to pull a carriage at night, or whether they moved more slowly and mixed in grinding during the day.

...She'd then had to break up an argument about which of them would be 'allowed' to pull the carriage, insisting that they switch off in one or two hour shifts, and that they had to get a good amount of sleep and food along the way.

It turned out that there were several thousand (or several tens of thousands) of Wave monsters left over in the area from the initial Wave, and that they'd learned to lurk by the roadside to pick off humans who traveled.

Doduo had been pulling the carriage the first time a Wave Hound had come out of the bushes, and Yumiella (who was keeping her company by reciting some mangled fairy tales from her first life,) had barely noticed it before Doduo kick it hard enough to shatter its ribs, grabbed it from the air with her beak, and began to dig in while still moving.

Rich had promptly left his perch in the carriage and run out beside her, demanding that she share with him.

Thus, instead of taking the carriage along the road and periodically stopping to fight monsters, Yumiella had decided on a new team arrangement where one twin would pull the carriage while the other twin and Yoshi (and riders, sometimes,) would scout the roadside to flush out and slay as many Wave monsters as they could manage.

Moreover, in addition to being exceptionally strong children in combat (just like their mother and older brothers Ryu and Yoshi too!), it seemed that Rich and Doduo could comfortably pull the carriage faster than average, so they were making excellent time in their journey!

Granted, Yumiella felt a little useless and worried she was taking advantage of them, but all her children seemed really happy and she made sure they ate and rested, so since the team -- well, herself, her three children, and whichever members of the team were being cycled through the party at that moment -- was getting EXP and they were all happy and making good time, she had made her peace with it.

It still felt a little like cheating to get EXP without doing anything, though. Where was the fun of growing stronger!?

ALERT

Goldfish Sword has been Mastered!

Goldfish Sword has 100% Proficiency!

Yumiella reset the proficiency -- 59 PP available and she hadn't decided what to use it on -- and returned to studying the magic and local alphabets, since Welt was going to quiz her once his shift was finished.

"Lady Hero! I see the city near the horizon, we should make it by sunset or a little after," Welt called from the driver's seat.

They'd arrived a little after sunset and informed the gate guards, who sent a runner up to whatever noble was in charge of the city.

Said noble was not a member of the Seatto family, apparently, as the head had died fighting the Wave and his heir was... back at the capital for some reason? There were mixed explanations with no clear answers to be had from the guards and passers-by near the gate, but King Aultcray had sent an interim governor who they would meet the next morning.

Given her status as the eccentric (sensible) Cardinal Sword Hero, the guards didn't make a fuss when Yumiella decided to save money by making camp near the gates.

The next morning, Yumiella woke up early to find herself cuddling Yoshi and two unknown children that looked age 10.

The children --  a boy and a girl -- had brown and gray wings similar in coloring to the twins' plumage. They were also a boy and a girl.

A mother is inevitably able to recognize her children, so Yumiella blinked blearily and went back to sleep with her three kids.

"What the fuck?"  Bakta yelped, waking up everyone in the cart and disturbing Yumiella's pleasant family cuddle pile.

"You're just totally unfazed by this, aren't you?" Farrie wondered as she accompanied Lady Yumiella and 'the twins' through the town to buy them shape-changing outfits.

"Is it strange?" Yumiella wondered.

"Yup," Farrie confirmed. "Talking Filorials who can shape-shift into Demi-humans? That's, like... I can't even think of fiction stories that have stuff like that. It's crazy!"

"Next to dimensional tears spewing monsters, heroes summoned from another world, shape-shifting weapons, and my Inventory storage, this doesn't seem so exceptional."

Farrie opened her mouth to comment and then shut it with a click. I... Well, she's definitely not wrong, I guess. "Did anything like this happen in your prior life's world, Lady Yumiella?"

"No."

Farrie sort of expected more of an answer, but Lady Yumiella didn't seem inclined to answer when she was keeping Doduo and Rich on-task, and Farrie wasn't willing to press.

They got to a clothing store to ask about magical clothing, and it turned out the store owner knew exactly what to give them and had a bastite crystal on hand to provide it.

Apparently, it was because there were a higher number of Demi-humans living in Seaetto Territory, and they requested transforming clothes relatively often for assorted reasons, which...

Well, Farrie's family wasn't exactly devout when it came to attending services anyway -- she was pretty sure her Mom had been raised Four Saints instead of Three Heroes and just didn't mention it anymore -- and she'd met some Demi-humans in her trips to Zenoble who'd been not really different from the humans she met...

And besides! For all that she'd heard plenty of horror stories about things that Demi-humans did to humanity, none of those stories had a patch over the stories of what King Faubley did to his so-called 'brides', and he was 100% human!

So yeah, Farrie was fine with seeing a couple groups of Demi-humans on the street as they were walking to the store and with using therianthrope techniques to make Lady Yumiella's clothing requests. It was a bit weird, but weird wasn't bad or evil, just strange!

Lady Yumiella handed over a downpayment and made arrangements to pick up the clothing the next day, as well as taking her own spool of mana thread to feed to the Holy Sword.

"Did you get any useful sword forms, Lady Yumiella?" Farrie asked once they'd left the shop. She looked pleased when she was allowed to borrow the bastite crystal for the Holy Sword.

"Two," she confirmed, and Farrie guessed that was enough talking so the four of them walked back to the cart in pleasant silence.

+230 EXP ... +1,200 EXP ... +230 EXP

LEVEL UP! ... Yumiella Dolkness - Cardinal Sword Hero - Level 35

SWORD MASTERED!

Interdimensional Hound Sword (M) 20/20 -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+8 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 ... Equip Skill: Tracking -- use SP to place a tracking beacon on something you strike

NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED

Interdimensional Orthrus Sword (M) 1/20 — D — Base Power = ATK+12 ... ... Equip = ATK+8 ... "Tracking" Skill improvement (medium) ... “Dual Wielding I” Unlocked

NEW SKILL: Dual Wielding I -- pay SP proportionate to the power of the Sword Form used to duplicate the Cardinal Sword and wield two swords total, gaining double the equip bonus

Yumiella blinked and then checked her HELP MENU to see whether Dual Wielding a sword form would potentially help it gain Mastery and Proficiency at twice the speed.

It would.

This is like a Growth Amulet for the swords' experience, she reflected, immediately duplicating the Owlbear Sword she'd been using for this hunt.

"Two-?"

"A useful power," Yumiella informed Bakta, who had been helping her practice dissecting the wave monster corpses and watching her back as she absorbed them.

A burst of EXP gain notices flashed through her vision, indicating that her teammates were continuing to hunt the Wave monsters that were still inhabiting the area.

"Does it double the Holy Sword's power?" Bakta wondered.

"Not quite, but it doubles the speed of growth. We should continue hunting."

"Ooh, this feels nice! Doduo likes it, thank you!"

"Mahahahaha~! This is awesome, it's great! Thanks miss!"

Is this really okay with you, Rich-kun?  Yumiella wondered as the twins got on their new outfits. She'd been envisioning something like overalls or a martial arts gi for her youngest son, but she had only really told the tailor to make the clothes 'appropriate', meaning Rich had gotten a dress to match his sister despite being a boy. Or I suppose it's called a kilt when a boy wears it? ...Actually, does that mean Rich-kun might want to play the bagpipes?

Yumiella considered the image of herself attending her kids' music recital in the future, or of Rich taking the part of some battlefield coordinator using music to march around... and then she had the idea of a rockstar Rich breaking his guitar over an enemy's head in battle...

"Lady Yumiella?"

Yumiella blinked back to attention when Farrie prodded her.

"Thank you for your excellent work," she said, since her children both seemed happy with their clothes. She handed over the rest of the payment -- it was expensive, but there was a bounty on the Wave monsters inhabiting the area and Yumiella's team had collected almost two gold coins just for the work they did yesterday -- and the four of them (Farrie had come along as the 'cool aunt' figure,) stepped back out onto the street.

"We're not heading back to the cart?" Farrie checked as she and Yumiella pulled the twins into piggyback rides.

"Not yet. I want-,"

"Boo!" Rich complained, tugging at her hair. "Mooooom, I want to go fight and eat something tasty!"

Yumiella very nearly changed her plans for the day, such was the power of his cuteness.

"Bro, be nice!" Doduo scolded from Farrie's shoulders. "You just had breakfast, and Mom told us to say 'please'!"

"Don't wanna!"

Right, I can't reward bad behavior or it will teach them bad habits, Yumiella resolved. "Farrie and I need to run a few errands, and you need to stay with us, Rich-kun."

His grumbling and her (half-hearted attempts at) scolding lasted until the four of them were outside the gold building where adventurers gathered for quests and bounties.

"Farrie, today is your day off," Yumiella triple-checked.

"Mmhmm! I'm still planning to do some training and sparring, but if you have something else for me?" the martial artist confirmed.

"Information on the first wave, particularly from people who fought in it."

"Right! Where did the Boss appear, how quickly did the monsters come out, that type of thing?"

"As well as the strategies used by knights and adventurers to fight it, what was done with the remains, and as many names as you can get regarding the people who fought against it."

"Right. ...Any reason you didn't mention this earlier?" Farrie checked.

"You are the person I feel most certain is not reporting to anybody else, of our party. I have suspicions that there is some form of foul play around our summoning and the events of the First Wave, and I do not want to let our teammates or assorted followers know about my suspicions."

There was a long pause as several expressions crossed Farries face like clouds blown across the sun.

"Um, are you counting letters home as reporting to anyone?" Farrie asked worriedly.

"No."

"Oh, thank god. ...What do you mean by assorted followers?"

Yumiella leaned in and told a plausible lie that she suspected but didn't actually have evidence of: "We have had at least two people following our party since we left the capital, but they stay far enough away and move fast enough that I am unable to investigate them at my current level." If worst comes to worse, and Farrie is reporting on me as well, any followers might be tricked into revealing themselves with the implication that there is another follower they are unaware of.

She felt a little guilty about the deception, but a local equivalent of the assassination attempts Count Dolkness had thrown at her would be catastrophic and nearly guaranteed to succeed, so she needed to get information fast and keep her search under wraps.

If she figured out a way to clear Farrie, she'd apologize and hope she was forgiven. But the nice girl was nodding slowly and then offered, "If I find anything or anyone important, do you want me to write it down or maybe call them back to talk to you in person?"

"Yes please," Yumiella confirmed as she held out her arms to take Doduo so they could head back to the cart.

"-in ice! Drifa Tundra!" Welt cast, and his magic answered. A wave of cold crashed through the forest, its efficacy enhanced by the humid fog he'd created in advance, and those Wave monsters that weren't killed by it still found themselves frozen and struggling to break free.

The rest of the party all fell upon the wolves, crushing and cutting as Welt caught his breath.

I did it! I really did it! My first ever Drifa-level spell and it was a total success, Welt rejoiced as the wave monsters died. Right, but I can't rest while they're fighting. "Faust Wing Blow! Faust Wing Blow!"

He kept casting steadily, throwing around blasts of solid air that smashed frozen monsters or hurled around the more resilient ones. They'd been at this all afternoon since Lady Yumiella wanted to leave the next day, and Welt was honestly feeling like he might hit the Class Up cap before they even got to Cal Mira Archipelago.

Granted, the main reason they were going was to check the equipment and any records left by previous Legendary Heroes, since the Cal Mira Event wasn't happening at the moment.

But since it was so far to travel, they'd probably stay at the Archipelago as long as possible until the Wave arrived.

Two weeks ago -- had it really only been two weeks? It felt like ages -- Welt would've reluctantly admitted that he was as terrified of having to fight a Wave as he was eager to prove himself.

Today he actually felt confident. His MP had swelled enormously, and his casting capability with it. Lady Yumiella had made them periodically spar a bit each morning and evening to get used to each other's fighting styles, and now he was pretty sure he could kill some Wave monsters without magic!

Not that he was eager to test that, but he was debating whether to get a sturdier staff the could be used like a club with his share of the wave monster bounty money.

Still, he experimentally punched a few frozen monsters and then stomped on them instead when he hurt his hand, just to see how it felt.

The monster dog made a very satisfying crunch when he killed it, he had to admit.

"Hey, the sun's below the tree line now," Tersia called once the battle was dying down. "Do we want to head back or keep going?"

"More! Frozen meat taste good in the heat," Rich, the little gray-winged kid demanded.

"Tastes good, baby brother, and you need to say please," his tan-winged sister Doduo insisted. "But I'm fine to keep going here, Mom."

"I think we should head back. Night is too opportune a time for monsters to stalk and ambush us," Bakta disagreed immediately.

Welt was honestly 50-50 on whether Bakta actually believed that, or whether Bakta just didn't like the kids making demands. Still... "If Rich and Doduo can guard our camp at night, I think they can keep us safe when we're awake and able to fight back. I'm not running low on mana, so I can keep up a simple light spell too. Tersia?"

"Honestly, I've been beating monsters with the pommel of my short sword because I'm worried it's going to break," he admitted. "My strength is outstripping my equipment, but if we call it now and cash in the bounties I can maybe get some shopping done."

"Mooo~om, what are we doing already? Unf," Rich grunted when Lady Yumiella booped his nose.

"Please go easy on the whining, Rich-kun. ...Welt, I have a few errands to run as well, but if you feel confident, I am willing to trust my kids to you."

Welt puffed up immediately and had to remind himself that she had a fiancé, she wasn't flirting with him. "Absolutely! Um, just the twins, or Yoshi too?" If I have to ride Yoshi I'll probably throw up again, but I'm not sure how else to handle and keep an eye on him.

"Yoshi?"

"Yom! Yo-yom."

"Yoshi will come back with me. Doduo, Rich, I want both of you to stay in sight of Welt. He is in charge," she emphasized slowly. "Promise me?"

"We'll stay with Mister Welt, Mama!"

"Fine, I promise."

Welt really hoped that he didn't screw this up, because he'd seen Lady Yuiella's face when the local governor had offered to buy one of the twins from her, and while her expression had barely changed he'd been amazed that the man hadn't caught fire or frozen or withered away under her oppressive aura of indignation.

Welt really didn't want to find out how she'd react if one of her kids got hurt.

"I- I won't let you down, Lady Hero!" he pledged, as much to himself as to her.

Chapter Text

Day 16, morning

"A bunch of the knights were bragging about the money they got from selling the villagers. A lot of people here hated it and them, but fighting back would have gotten us arrested or executed," the worn man confessed quietly.

"Do you know the names of people involved? Information you heard them say, not rumors," Yumiella requested seriously.

Asking Farrie to tap into local rumors about the Wave and its aftermath had turned up a veritable goldmine of scandalous information, not least of which was the pervasive belief among local citizens that their lord had been assassinated during the Wave. It was quite the repellant series of events:

1) When the Dragon Hourglasses across the world had begun to pour out sand again, counting down to an incoming Wave, the major powers of the world had all agreed to send their leaders or authoritative delegates to an international conference, to discuss measures taken to fight the Waves of Calamity.

2) Queen Mirellia, the rightful ruler of Melromarc, had raised a few eyebrows by appointing Duke Seaetto as her regent while she went to the conference, rather than her husband or their 20-year-old daughter. However, King Aultcray was considered much more a warrior king, general, and direct combatant than he was a statesman or a politician, so everyone was expecting that the Seven Star Hero of the Cane would take the field to directly combat the Waves while Duke Seaetto organized relief efforts and handled the legislative issues.

3) By some stroke of horrendous luck, Melromarc's first Wave had struck in Seaetto territory, and the Duke had ridden in the vanguard of Seaetto territory forces to combat it, or at least to hold it off until crown knight reinforcements could arrive from the nearby garrisons. Despite being a seasoned veteran of the last war against Siltvelt, Duke Seaetto and his personal retainers had died on the battlefield. The local Four Saints Church (which the Seaetto family had supported and attended, so it was more prominent in their territory than in most of the kingdom,) had said prayers of mourning for him, but the local Three Heroes Church (which the new governor had quickly cozied up to,) had been quick to declare his death a matter of divine punishment for his 'soft touch' in dealing with and hosting Demi-humans, and passing laws that they were to be treated the same as humans when they lived in his territory.

4) Within a few days after the duke's death, surviving demi-humans from the Seaetto territory villages were disappearing or being found dead, killed by weapons rather than torn apart by monsters. There had also been a lot of movement of slave traders -- it was hard to hide the caged wagons commonly used to transport slaves, especially when the slaves were calling for help or loudly crying and the slave merchants occasionally made offers to sell their 'merchandise' to people -- around Seaetto territory.

5) King Aultcray had assumed the crown's full authority after Duke Seaetto died -- presumably with the support or permission or Queen Mirellia, but no one had proof of that -- and had appointed a governor of his choosing from the capital to stabilize Seaetto territory rather than falling back on the late duke's heir, or his loyal advisors and officers who were familiar with the territory already.

6) The duke's only daughter, Eclair Seaetto, had quickly returned and begun to rally a small group of local adventurers and guards to fight off the (armed and numerous) slave traders who were abducting the surviving Demi-humans. After three days, she had disappeared, reportedly being shuffled back off to the castle to be 'tried for her crimes', with the governor and the crown being very vague on what those supposed crimes involved.

7) The relief funds set aside ahead of time to rebuild areas damaged by the Wave were not being used to rebuild the ruined Demi-human villages, but the Three Heroes Church had done some flashy building improvements and recruiting events, trying to displace the Four Saints Church who were more rooted in the territory.

8) A bunch of knights the governor had brought with him from the capital had been tossing money around, boasting while drunk over their exploits selling off assorted Demi-humans and cutting down those who fought back.

There were other smaller details, and not every person's version of events matched exactly, but the overall theme was heavily consistent: whether or not the Duke had been assassinated, there had functionally been a coup of the duchy organized by King Aultcray (or at least his subordinates,) that was attempting to supplant the local faith and enslave a minority group who had been recognized as peaceful and friendly citizens before the Wave hit.

It was exactly the type of ruthlessly dirty dealing that Yumiella had been worried would come after her in Balshine, but to find it here when everyone involved knew that there was a world-ending threat occurring...

The literacy rate in Melromarc was relatively high, so Farrie had made sure to get a lot of written testimonies and names as soon as she'd realized what the search had stumbled into. All that information was being concealed from her other teammates for now, and the hard copies were stored safely in Yumiella's Inventory.

According to her HELP MENU, the only known ways to get at anything stored in her inventory were either for another Legendary Hero to beat her into submission and force it open, or for her to give her allies Inventory access permissions (a process that had not been clearly described enough for Yumiella to do so, just enough to know it was something possible to do,) that they abused to steal from her. So that was a relief.

Still, one consistent feeling through everything was that a lot of people resented the crown-appointed governor, and that plenty of human neighbors were doing their best to take pity on the Demi-humans who were still in the area. They'd also been very happy to offer the names of the knight officers who liked to boast, and where Yumiella could likely find them.

Yumiella had needed to go be alone for a bit after everything was done and make some decisions. It was incredibly tempting to double-back to the capital city or two stay longer in Seaetto's capital to gather more evidence, but 1) she didn't want to tip off anyone that she had figured this out, and 2) she did still need to Level Grind in preparation for the oncoming Wave, and doubling back wouldn't help her with that.

you can Gain moRe powEr at grEat speeD if you juSt gIve iN...

Yumiella shook herself a bit -- getting in a big fight with all the liars and corrupt officials would just result in a lot of blood and chaos, and she didn't want to kill people -- and decided that 'he who chases two hares catches neither' was in effect here. If nothing else, it would be better to confront King Aultcray with this information after she had devastated the Wave, when she would have the social pull and combative might to insist on changes being made.

Although it maybe wouldn't hurt if they stayed in the city a bit longer to make investigations, provided she kept the right secrets the right way. Maybe an excuse that they were looking for a guide who'd been in the area...?

Day 16, late afternoon

"Lady Hero, may I speak with you privately? It's a bit delicate."

"Certainly, Mister Bakta," Yumiella confirmed. "If you will excuse me. Miss Farrie, please keep an eye out for our guest."

"Will do," Farrie mock saluted. "Mister Hawkins and the twins will be safe with me. Whoa, too hard Rich, too hard!"

Mr. Hawkins -- a winged demi-human who was giving the twins lessons into how to balance and fight in the human forms -- had turned at the sound of his name and promptly taken a jump-kick from Rich to his face, which sent him tumbling.

Yumiella took Bakta out into the patch of forest around Seaetto City (or whatever its proper name was,) until they were a ways away from the wall.

"We are as private here as we will ever be, Mister Bakta. What are your concerns?"

"I... Lady Hero, do you believe this 'Hawkins' is trustworthy?"

"He has no criminal record, and he will not personally benefit from leading us to the sacked villages. Do you believe he is untrustworthy?"

"Yes, Lady Hero," Bakta admitted. "I'm not sure why, but I... he sets my instincts grinding in alarm."

Yumiella nodded slowly. He's taking longer than I expected to get to the point. "Talk me through it. What are your fears about what will happen if I accept his guidance?"

Bakta rubbed his bristly beard in thought slowly.

"There has long been animosity between humans and demi-humans, which is why we mostly live in unconnected countries," he began. "On top of historical problems, there was a war not long ago where Siltvelt, the Demi-humans' kingdom, sought to conquer the world. It was King Aultcray and Melromarc that halted their advance and broke the back of their attack, and King Aultcray personally killed the Beast King in direct combat. The creation of Demi-human towns in this territory was... not a popular measure, especially as Demi-humans tend to scorn the cardinal Heroes like yourself, and many of them follow a heretical sect or even the Faith of The Dragon, which eschews the belief that Legendary Heroes are necessary or even desirable to help fight the Waves."

"I see. Please, tell me more," Yumiella said, falling back on two of her Three Treasures of Conversation to keep him talking.

"Queen Mirellia inherited the crown from her aunt, her mother's elder sister, because Princess Myrtle and Crown Princess Mandala were both assassinated by aquatic demi-humans while traveling by ship to Cal Mira Archipelago to train," Bakta obligingly continued. "There were unpleasant stories about the Demi-human villages and what Duke Seaetto turned a blind eye to stretching back several years, and it... is very significant that the First Wave opened up right on this territory. It's been said that even the supreme god cannot halt the Waves -- that the Waves occur when the demonic forces he fights in heaven get past him due to sinfulness and crime in our mortal world -- but that he can guide them toward places of sin and suffering, fighting fire with fire so that fewer innocents are harmed."

"That's amazing," Yumiella offered blithely, though she didn't feel that her third Sacred Treasure was really appropriate here.

Bakta nevertheless seemed to buy it. "Yes! The miracles we are granted, especially your own powers, are extraordinary things. But in light of that... it wasn't far off the coast of Seaetto territory that the two princesses were assassinated, and that was before there were villages of Demi-humans on this land to set up a base for foreign agents. It would be far too easy for this Shusaku to lead us into a trap while you still are training to grow stronger."

Yumiella nodded, though she didn't particularly agree. It wasn't that Bakta was saying anything wrong, but... "If there are any foreign agents in the area, they would see us while traveling and ambush us regardless of whether someone leads us into a trap. Moreover, any agents would likely have already attacked the humans in the area, to slake their rage and hate at the loss of these villages. Despite that, I have heard no stories or rumor about this. Lastly... do you doubt my power to escape this trap, Mister Bakta?"

For a bit of theatricality, she pulled out the Cardinal Sword and shifted to the Energetic form, which had been unlocked with Holy Water and then upgraded to Rarity B for superior effects. It was very much the stereotypical Holy Sword in appearance, and she felt it suited to pressure his faith.

"I- Lady Hero..." Bakta bowed his head, looking away from the pure, clean glow of the blade. Yumiella guessed it was due to guilt.

Yumiella had gotten Farrie to tell her some bits of religious verse that would be helpful, and she'd put together a plan to confront Bakta over the inconsistencies she'd noticed. It was time.

"It's a very powerful weapon, very beautiful," Yumiella faux-mused. "Don't swing it, but I'd be obliged if you would hold it for a moment, Mister Bakta."

He stammered and tried to defer, but Bakta couldn't bring himself to actively refuse and he eventually held out his hands.

Yumiella placed the hilt in his large, calloused hand, and he stared wonderingly at the legendary weapon.

"It feels..."

"Mister Bakta, what faith do you follow?" she questioned bluntly.

He flinched. It was just a passing, momentary expression, but he winced before he caught himself and answered.

"I worship the Holy Cardinal Heroes, milady, and the supre-,"

Human Meat Sword, Yumiella commanded, and Bakta yelped in alarm as the weapon changed in his hands, becoming much more gruesome even as it fell from his grip to the ground.

He stumbled back, face pale beneath his fuzzy beard, and Yumiella was quietly relieved that the falling blade had not impaled his foot. She didn't want to hurt him, after all.

Time for some theatrics. I cannot believe that I am playing into the Divine Hero archetype, but if it's useful to getting stronger and keeping people alive...

"I am disappointed in you, Mister Bakta. You lied to me," Yumiella stated.

"What? No! Lady Hero," he protested, dropping to his knees, "I swear to you that every word I've said is true!"

"The power of this Sword divides; the good from the ill and the truth from the lies," Yumiella quoted, grateful that Farrie had dug up that bit of local scripture. "Your words may be true, Mister Bakta, but that does not mean they are honest. You did not lie to me with your tongue; you lied with your heart. You told me a truth that you hoped I would misinterpret. Are you not a member of the Three Heroes' Faith?"

"I am! I'm-,"

"And yet you chose to obfuscate, not to state yourself as such." Energetic Sword. "Should you be given my trust, Mister Bakta?"

"Lady Sword Hero, I'm sorry, I-,"

"Say it with the Sword, please. Tell me everything." Bakta looked, frightened, down at where Yumiella had changed the Cardinal Sword back to its holy-seeming form. Slowly, gently, he reached out to pull it up from the ground.

Then he began to speak.

It was not a short tale, beginning when his logging group had been attacked by a raiding party of Demi-humans (not monsters, though Bakta spoke as though he believed them to be monsters,) from Siltvelt in the lead-up to the most recent major war, which killed his father among other casualties.

He'd served in the military for a bit before deciding that so heavily structured a life was too confining, and he'd also attended religious services far more regularly, drawn in by how the preachers blamed the type of people who'd killed his father and their allies for all kinds of other problems.

What spooled out from there was a long story across a decade and a half of work, life, and service, leading up to when he had been invited by several high Church officials to join one of the Cardinal Heroes' teams and keep them safe while helping them to grow.

He had volunteered to join the Bow Hero at first, since he had experience with archery, but another man had pulled rank and he had been asked to serve the Holy Sword instead.

He did not regret it.

Yumiella had shifted the Cardinal Sword's form a few times -- when Bakta said something that sounded too vague, or too much like hedging, like he was attempting to feel out the limits of her 'ability' to detect a lie -- but never to something so scary or 'unholy' that she might accuse Bakta of a deliberate lie when he wasn't.

Bakta may not have even noticed the changes, so focused was he on unburdening himself.

Finally, the outpouring of words slowed to a stop. For lack of a better idea of what to do, Yumiella reached out to pat Bakta's head like she did with the kids.

"I see," she said.

"Th-thank you, Lady Hero. I'm sorry for lying to you. I await your judgement," Bakta managed, kneeling.

"Please, tell me more." Ah, too automatic a response. "What reports do you send back about us, to whom, and how often? I know that there have been between two and five people observing and following us since we left the capital city, including three people in the nearby area right now-," This was a lie, she had no evidence to support her suspicions that even one person was following them, but if there were watchers spying on them right now then the assertion might goad them into revealing themselves. "-but they can run away too quickly for me to bother chasing them with my current speed and level."

"Th-three?!" Bakta snapped his head around, alarmed.

Convenient as it would have been, no figures emerged from hiding to talk with them.

"As I said, we are as private out here as we can reasonably be, but none of us have really had privacy since we left the capital," Yumiella doubled-down. "I assumed you knew, but I apologize if my statement was misleading." She bowed her head, and Bakta quickly stammered out that it was okay, it was her holy right to make those calls, it was he who should have been sorry, etc.

Once she got him to stop apologizing, the rest of their discussion was very productive. She got him to relay the reports he had sent -- nothing fancy there, just letters mailed to the capital and the occasional verbal update to someone who would meet him in the local Three Heroes Church -- the orders and requests he had been given, and most importantly the method he had used to conceal his true Level (he'd started off closer to Level 20 when they met) from her sword's status magic, a magic amulet.

NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED

Concealment Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Rarity B -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = disguise improvement (medium) ... Skill: Obscure Data -- spend SP to create a 'cover' over your information that prevents other people from assessing its abilities, or can even provide false information. This can also conceal the Cardinal Sword's unique characteristics.

"Do you know of any other amulets like this? The ability to change my appearance would be useful."

"I know that trained Church Shadows have an object like that, but I was using my real appearance..."

"Useful."

"I can ask about providing one for you, Lady Hero?"

"Thank you. You said that you stopped obscuring your true Level once the rest of us had gained enough experience to be closer to you?"

"Yes, Lady Sword Hero," Bakta confirmed.

"Then I will keep this, and we will return to camp. Assuming you wish to stay in my party?"

"I do! But... Holy One," he said formally, "are my worries about a Demi-human trap unfounded?"

Ah, a difficult question. We may be led into a trap, but if I guess wrong either way then I will seem less omniscient and less able to discern truth from lies. Much like he tried to do earlier, I need to give a vague answer that is dramatic enough to distract him without committing.

"If I were so weak that such a trap could slay me, I would certainly die fighting against the coming Wave. It would be better to die now, early, than to die later when the Waves will be too strong for newly summoned heroes to overcome. Are you returning to camp with me?"

"I- Yes, Lady Hero!"

Day 17, noon

"This is where they dragged the monster king's carcass. I expect some knights took the heads for trophies, but..."

"This will be sufficient. Thank you, Mister Hawkins," Yumiella assured him as she hopped down into the ditch.

After a month left out to the elements, the remains weren't pretty, but they'd mostly been picked clean of meat and there were only bones remaining with maybe a little fur. Nevertheless, Yumiella carefully did her best to get everything from the ditch, even if her sword had to absorb some dirt and grime as well.

NEW SWORD FORMS UNLOCKED!

Black Cerberus Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity B -- Base Power = ATK+30 ... ... Equip Skills = 1) Guard Dog -- spend SP to surround yourself with three spectral dog heads for up to a minute, which can intimidate, bite, or block enemies within three meters of you ... 2) Watch Dog -- passively alerts you to threats that come close to you, or will actively drain SP to provide "all sensory improvement (medium)" while active ... 3) Hell Hound -- Release a terrifying sound that intimidates and inhibits nearby enemies; your attacks against affected enemies deal double damage [300 second cooldown]

Black Cerberus Bone Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity B -- Base Power = ATK+12 ... ... Equip = all detrimental status effect resistance (small)

Black Cerberus Pelt Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity B -- Base Power = ATK+10 ... ... Equip = M.ATK+4 ... DEF+4 ... M.DEF+4

High rarity and correspondingly very powerful, Yumiella noted. How close am I to mastering the Voice Gengar sword? ...Yes, once I've mastered that I should switch to Black Cerberus Sword to master it for its skills. If I can Awaken it before the Wave, that would be invaluable as a power boost.

"Did it work?" Tersia called down after her.

"Yes. This was definitely the Wave Boss Cerberus. You have probably provided me with my primary weapon form for the next wave, Mister Hawkins. Thank you."

He fluttered his wings bashfully and bowed as she jumped back up to ground level. "It was my pleasure, Lady Hero. You said you wanted to see the village, or what's left of it?"

"Yes," Yumiella confirmed.

It wasn't a far trip, but as soon as the damaged houses came into view, they all fell silent, with even Rich and Doduo knowing not to raise their voices above a whisper.

"It's so... wrecked," Rich muttered, turning to peer at the broken and burned homes on each side of the group.

"So sad..." Doduo agreed, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yom..."

"We buried the bodies over here," the red-winged man said, and we followed his turn down a different street to a patch of land with the patchy grass and impromptu markers of a cemetery. "Of 400 people who lived here, barely 100 of us managed to get back to the village alive, and there's a lot of people we couldn't confirm as dead or alive."

Yumiella bowed her head in a moment of respect for the dead -- she wasn't certain it meant anything, but this was a fantasy world so she wasn't sure that it didn't either -- and everyone else followed suit, either silently or whispering a few prayers.

"I'm sort of impressed that a hundred people survived being caught in a 20-hour long Wave," Tersia admitted. "Did you take boats out onto the ocean? Did you hide?"

The winged man ruffled uncomfortably. "I was able to fly and outrun them, but I could only carry one kid with me," he admitted. "It was too stormy to go out on the ocean, and most of our fishing boats were out fishing when the Wave occurred. Down at the bottom of the cliffs, there's a cave system that's partly underwater, but it doesn't get totally submerged except at the very highest of high tides, if that. The caves are so small even most teenagers can't fit in them, but almost all the village's children were able to hide out there until the Wave ended, while most of the adults were eaten or drowned."

"Did anyone who fought the wave survive? It would be useful to get an idea of how it changed over time, and how quickly the monsters emerged," Yumiella suggested.

"Or any of the village leaders? It's abandoned now, but you survived, did anyone else?"

"We didn't really have a formal village chief, just a couple of influential people who moderated and got us all organized for big projects," Hawkins admitted. "Our strongest fighter, Sadeena -- she was the only one in the village who'd had a Class Up -- I know she survived, because she was traveling abroad when the Wave hit. I'm not sure if she's been back here yet, assuming she's heard the news."

"It would be pretty difficult to miss," Bakta rumbled. "Was there anyone among the survivors who looked to be assuming a leadership role until...?"

The big man trailed off; Yumiella guessed (hoped) that he was uncomfortable with the idea of people targeting Wave survivors no matter their species, especially a bunch of children.

Hawkins scoffed. "The closest were my father-in-law, who got gutted by the knights, and Loft's daughter who was pulling everyone together when the slavers arrived." Hawkins had previously relayed to Yumiella that said slavers were in fact knights from the capital, and she'd gotten his signed testimony to that extent, but she'd also advised him to not say it bluntly until after the coming wave, when she could reconnect with him and would be more likely to keep him from being assassinated to suppress his testimony.

"Did she-?"

"Raphtalia was only about waist high, even after the Wave," Hawkins clarified. "I think she was older than that, but a bunch of the village kids were deliberately growth deprived so they could go gather shell fish and the occasional bits of ore or treasure from the sea caves. And honestly, the fact that we all needed a midget kid who'd just dug both her parents' graves to pull us together and convince us to start rebuilding is... it's the heaviest condemnation I can think of for how bad things were with all of us after the Wave. But I swear," he mused quietly, "if those monsters hadn't come to pillage us, we might have pulled our home back together after all."

Yumiella had several questions, but the first one she asked was, "Growth deprived?"

Three people tried to answer her at the same time; Hawkins and Bakta shot each other looks, which left Welt to continue talking over them.

"Growth deprivation is a state where a demi-human is denied experience gain, which inhibits their growth and maturation. Much like Filorials, demi-humans can age to maturity with abnormal speed if they gain a sudden influx of experience and an increase in levels," Welt recited eagerly. "However, the reverse situation is also possible, where a dearth of experience and levels can slow physical growth and maturation. It varies a little between individuals, but a rule of thumb is that if a Demi-human's level is lower than their age, they will usually appear as much as half their usual age. This phenomenon doesn't usually occur until the children are at least seven, and sometimes as old as ten, but it means you can have a 20-year-old Demi-human at Level 1 who appears to be a pre-teen, and at age forty they'll seem to be a young adult, while in their eighties they'll appear to be forty!"

"There's reputedly a sect called the Record Keepers," Welt continued, "which began in the Genmu Clan but has since begun accepting other applicants, who take advantage of this to prolong their lives! Initiates live their lives in the safety of the compounds and deliberately remain at Level 1 until they are into their seventies or eighties, while appearing to be half that age in body! Then they are assisted in going out to hunt monsters and grow in Level very quickly, and in an unusual turn, the influx of experience causes their bodies to reverse-age back to their prime! It only works the once, after which they age at normal time, but given that the Genmu Clan can already live to be 200, using this method can add another century or more to their lifespan! It's fascinating, it really is!! I've even heard that some elderly demi-humans will deliberately have their levels reset to Level 1 and then go hunting for an influx of levels to regain a bit of their lost youth and strength! Records are much more mixed about whether this works in any meaningful way, but the idea that it's even a possibility, or that resetting your Level could be desirable, it's fascinating!"

Yumiella, whose prior world considered Levels important, but not that much, nodded along. If this had functioned that way in my last world, I would never have gotten away with Level Grinding in secret. The maids and staff might have turned a blind eye to my disappearances, but a rapid growth spurt would have been impossible to ignore when I needed new clothes.

If I was physically in my teens, would Balshine have forced me to attend the Royal Academy even when I was chronologically 8?

...Actually, if Alicia was Level 1 at the beginning of the school year, would she have been a cute little Imouto character who appeared 7 despite being twice that age? Would Oswald have still locked her out of the gates, or couldn't he bear to see a child cry? I can definitely imagine Will being a cool Onii-chan guy giving piggy-back rides to the cute heroine, and Edwin... actually, I have no idea how well Edwin would deal with children. Of course, Patrick would be excellent with-

The image of Patrick playing with little dark-haired children who nevertheless had his green eyes... That thought sucker-punched Yumiella hard enough to drive the air from her lungs, and her head swum dizzily for a moment or two as she lost track of what the others were talking about.

-and Ryu would take them flying and maybe share their bed, he could be the dragon under the bed, who eats all the scary boogiemen, and I'd teach them how to Level Grind and watch them so they don't ever lose an arm, and they'd never be lonely when they'd have friends...

She eventually came back to herself to find that their group had moved over toward the ocean, and if anyone had noticed-

"Yom?"

-if anyone other than Yoshi had noticed anything off about her, none of them were talking about it. Farrie had taken the twins to play on the shore -- Rich liked swimming and splashing while Doduo preferred playing the sand -- and Welt was chatting animatedly with Hawkins about demi-human agin and how it interacted with shape-shifting magic or glamours that humans used to preserve their youth and beauty.

Bakta and Tersia were quietly discussing something about animal tracks not far from her, but not so close as to get her attention. She guessed that they were keeping an eye on her, just in case.

Yumiella checked the time.

Melromarc -- 16:03:02:52

We still have an hour until noon, so it's too early for lunch, she decided, nevertheless pulling a treat for Yoshi out from her inventory, since he'd been nudging her worriedly. Her oldest child in this world ignored the treat lick her face, and Yumiella gave him a smile and a head-scratching.

"Thank you for caring, Yoshi-kun," she murmured to him. "One day, I hope I can take you to meet your elder brother. I think you and Ryu would get along well. Bakta, Tersia," she called out, "is there anything else to do nearby, or should we continue on toward the port?"

"There are at least two kinds of monsters living nearby that might be worth using for Sword forms," Tersia said, "it's just a matter of if Bakta and I can find them."

"The Dunes are probably more difficult, since they live underground, but also less important. The caterpillands could be useful, though they're usually tame like Filorials and Tyrella," Bakta assessed.

"Hm. Hey, speaking of, did you ever add feathers from the twins to the Holy Sword? I don't think Yoshi has shed his skin yet, but that could work too," Tersia reasoned.

The rogue promptly burst out laughing as Yumiella buried her face in her hands at forgetting that.

Day 17, late afternoon

"Are there any more?" Yumiella asked once the fighting at the third monster den Hawkins had directed them to was done.

"By the wind and the waves," Hawkins murmured reverently at the carnage. "No. None that I know about."

"Then we can continue on toward the nearest port, Mr. Hawkins. Thank you for your assistance. Will you need a ride home?"

Rich and Doduo promptly started squabbling about whose turn it was to pull the cart -- Yumiella thought it was Doduo-chan's turn, so she'd have to rein in Rich-kun before he forced his way in -- as the rest of their party started packing up, and Hawkins quietly contemplated what Yumiella was really asking.

Are you worried about being targeted if we leave you alone?

The red-winged man eventually shook his head. "I have wind magic and my wings, but thank you. If I meet anyone else from the village with useful testimony, I'll send them toward Cal Mira or bring them with me to the Capital after the Wave," he assured her.

With that, they parted. Yumiella offered to ride on Rich while Doduo pulled the cart, which her youngest son grudgingly accepted (she really did need a spray bottle), and they all set off to the nearest port, from which they would charter a ship to Cal Mira Archipelago.

Idly stroking Rich-kun's fluffy feathers, Yumiella pulled up her MENU to contemplate the progress they had made.

Black Cerberus Sword (M) -- 91% Proficiency -- Rarity B -- Base Power = ATK+30 ... ... Equip Skills = 1) Guard Dog -- spend SP to surround yourself with three spectral dog heads for up to a minute, which can intimidate, bite, or block enemies within three meters of you ... 2) Watch Dog -- passively alerts you to threats that come close to you, or will actively drain SP to provide "all sensory improvement (medium)" while active ... 3) Hell Hound -- Release a terrifying sound that intimidates and inhibits nearby enemies; your attacks against affected enemies deal double damage [300 second cooldown]

Black Cerberus Bone Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity B -- Base Power = ATK+12 ... ... Equip = all detrimental status effect resistance (small)

Black Cerberus Pelt Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity B -- Base Power = ATK+10 ... ... Equip = M.ATK+4 ... DEF+4 ... M.DEF+4

Duneworm Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = ATK+1 ... M.ATK+1 ... M.DEF+1

Duneworm Skin Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = plant gathering quality up (small)

Caterpilland Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = stamina improvement (small) ... lift strength improvement (small)

Caterpilland Shell Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = DEF+1 ... M.DEF+1

Caterpilland Leg Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = climbing improvement (small)

Caterpilland Eye Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+0 ... ... Equip = SPD+1 ... vision improvement (small)

Filorial Sword I (unmastered) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = allied Filorial stat growth improvement (small) ... leg strength improvement (small)

Filorial Feather Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+0 ... ... Equip = DEF+2 ... M.DEF+2 ... [Light as a feather] skill improvement (small)

Filorial Talon Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = ATK+2

Dragon Sword I (unmastered) -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = allied dragon stat growth improvement (small)

Cavalry Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = riding skill improvement (small) 

Tyrella Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... SPD+3

Tyrella Claw Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = ATK+3 

Tyrella Scale Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = DEF+2 ... M.DEF+2

Riding skill improvement?  Yumiella shifted to the Cavalry sword and immediately noted that her ride on Rich's back did seem smoother.

"Rich-kun, feel free to speed up or jump a bit. I want to practice swinging my sword from your back, please."

"Hah! You got it Mom!"

Chapter Text

Day 19, morning

Just like the last ones, the (overnight! Urrrrgh,) boat ride to Cal Mira Archipelago was total misery, and Yumiella needed a few hours of rest to recover once they made landfall in the evening, so she swallowed down some broth and collapsed into the bed they'd arranged, with the twins and Yoshi cuddling up with her in the hopes she would feel better.

Come the morning, Yumiella woke up feeling hungry but human, and since she didn't want to stop cuddling with her three kids she decided to check her Menu to see how the boat trip over had gone.

Cavalry Sword has been Mastered! ... Cavalry Sword 100% Proficiency!

 

NEW SWORD FORMS UNLOCKED!

Blue Shark Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 ... swimming improvement (small)

Shark Fang Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... naval combat skill improvement (small)

Sharkskin Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+2 ... swimming improvement (small)

Shark Meat Sword (M) -- Rarity F -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small)

Gouging Turtle Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+4 ... Equip Skill: Gouging Blow -- spend SP and attack for a chance to tear out a chunk of the target's body, either lowering their defense around the wound or inflicting the Bleeding status condition

Gouging Turtle Shell Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = DEF+4 ... M.DEF+4

Gouging Turtle Meat Sword (unmastered) 1/20 -- Rarity D -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small)

 

You have reached Level 40!

UNLOCKED: Multi-Squad Party System!

Yumiella needed a moment to wonder why the shark-type swords had all been mastered.

She checked her inventory, which had a lot of dissected shark pieces. Then she very quickly checked the Party Status page, which seemed to have mutated a bit.

PARTIES

Squad 1:

Yumiella Dolkness (Commander) -- Cardinal Sword Hero - Level 40

Yoshi Dolkness -- Tyrella Mount -- Level 27

Rich Dolkness -- Royal Filorial -- Level 28

Doduo Dolkness - Royal filorial -- Level 27

Farrie Bonheim -- Martial Artist -- Level 33

Welt Bluegrass -- Sorcerer -- Level 32

 

Squad 2:

Tersia (Captain) -- Scout -- Level 32

Bakta -- Ranger -- Level 35

She was about to read more about the changes when a burst of Alert notices distracted her.

+20 EXP ... +80 EXP ... +220 EXP ... +80 EXP ... +20 EXP ... +20 EXP ... +20 EXP ... +20 EXP ... +20 EXP ... +20 EXP ... +20 EXP ... +80 EXP

Welt must have wiped out a large group with a spell barrage, she realized. Then she realized that meant they were out Level-grinding without her, and they had 14 days left until the Wave hit. If we hurry, it may even be possible to get back to the capital and Class Up everyone before the Wave hits, so no EXP goes to waste when fighting it! Especially if I can get to Level 50, since that is when Motoyasu and Itsuki said the teleportation ability is unlocked.

"Kids, we should eat breakfast and begin," she said, nudging the twins awake and prodding Yoshi as well.

"Yom!"

"Fooooo~ood!"

"Good morning Mama!"

She had such adorable children.

"We are grateful for your hospitality, Margrave Habenburg," Yumiella greeted with her most formal curtsy. She had grilled Patrick for how to address various noble ranks because his father was a margrave and Yumiella would eventually need to ask for his blessing, so while she wasn't putting in as much effort here she still felt she did a reputable job!

The sallow man -- his hair was thinning and his skin had been pulled taught against his face, with dark, sunken eyes -- bowed politely in turn. "It is a great honor to host you in my territory, Lady Sword Hero. All our amenities will be reasonably at your disposal for the length of your stay, although it surprises me that you have come now, with no Activation event. Still, your party mentioned that you had an interest in records left by Heroes of previous generations, and I know of one I can show you to right away, if you'll follow me."

Yumiella really wanted to get to training, but establishing the location and the enemies she'd be facing was important for grinding -- people who brought fire-resistant equipment to get Ryu's egg would have been blown away, after all -- and so she peppered Margrave Habenburg with questions about the islands, their composition, the monsters found there, and stories of previous heroes as they moved through the march's capital city. (She also made a mental note for some plot line development or twist where he either turned out to be 'secretly' evil somehow due to his ominous appearance, or he turned out to be critically ill and there would be a mission Quest available to get him magical medicine for treatment. Given friendly he seemed as they walked, she hoped it would be the latter, or a replacement impersonator who was responsible for the former if it came to it.)

Margrave Habenburg was a font of useful information who nevertheless greeted passing people warmly as they walked through the city streets.

1) The Four Cardinal Heroes of the past made friends with four pioneers who initially developed the archipelago (or re-developed it after some disaster wiped out the inhabitants). These four pioneers were given names/nicknames/titles/honorifics of some form based on animals from the Cardinal Heroes' home world, with the animals supposedly becoming each pioneer's personal symbol or totem. These names were Pekkel (penguin), Usuani (rabbit), Risuka (squirrel), and Inult (dog).

2) Some time after getting the island settled, the four pioneers had continued out into the ocean in search of other new lands to discover, and were never heard from again. (Yumiella thought this was particularly suspicious, and suspected dimensional magic shenanigans involved assuming it wasn't some simple cover up for an assassination, but it was unlikely that she would find much evidence either way if the generations of Heroes between then and now hadn't recorded any discoveries.)

3) During the Activation Event, the normal monster inhabitants' life cycles were explosively accelerated and the EXP they gave when slain was doubled. Moreover, the largest four islands of the archipelago -- Margrave Habenburg's capital city was on a large central isle, but it was by no means the largest of them -- also had a population boom of unique monsters, and even Royal Monsters (aka the Dungeon Boss of the island) leading them. Sadly, no Boss monster had been seen outside the activation events; there were folk tales that the Boss Monsters would appear to fight a Seven Stars hero even outside the Activation Event, but there was no record of conclusive evidence so it may have just been idle boasting.

4) During the activation events, people were asked to only move between islands by ferry for the sake of crowd control, but outside of that it was possible to walk or wade between the islands at low tide and there were ferries and a few bridges at high tide for people who were unable to swim.

5) There was a good spread of monsters between the smaller islands with much overlap, but the larger islands had more specialized or unique ecosystems. (Ergo, training on one small island was as good as another, but she'd need to visit each large island to unlock as many forms as possible.) Given that the Activation Event was not occurring, it was strongly requested that she exercise discretion by not killing too many monsters on any given island, so as not to throw the local ecosystem into disarray.

"I will keep a list and submit it to you after each hunting period," Yumiella offered, as it wasn't that dissimilar from Pokemon EV training in her first life's teen years, nd the materials gathered would make it easy to keep count. "Should I also submit monster materials, or may we keep those?"

"Ordinarily we would buy monster materials at a fixed price, provided you avoid over-hunting," Margrave Habenburg explained, "but Legendary Heroes are not subject to those issues, as they historically claim that they have other uses and needs for the materials they harvest."

Yumiella nodded along, mentally flipping through her list of Weapon Empowerment methods that involved equipping something to a weapon form or turning harvested materials into PP or another form of energy.

"Here we have an inscription left by the founding heroes of the island, that has been renewed or added to by successive generations of Cardinal Heroes. The Seven Star Heroes generally cannot decipher it, but we keep it pristine and intact as every Cardinal Hero visits at least once to learn some form of powerful sorcery.

...Ah. Perhaps I came here too soon, as I have not yet finished my lessons in reading grimoires. Still, it will be worth trying. "Is there anything I should do here?"

"Try to read it, maybe place your hand on it?"

"It looks squiggly, ugh," Rich complained, and she absently gave him a head pat as he fidgeted.

"Yom." Yoshi butted her gently with his head, while Doduo gave a curious look from where she had wandered off to peer at a penguin-squirrel-rabbit-dog totem pole.

Yumiella peered at the magical symbols, focusing and doing her best to run through every symbol she recognized and its meaning as she tried to-

The writing shifted, and suddenly she was reading Japanese: a message from heroes of old to their successors and instructions about...

...

...

!!

"As the Source of thy Power, I, the Sword Hero, command thee," Yumiella chanted. "Forces of nature whose laws I have deciphered, turn that strength which opposes me against my enemies. Imbue."

It was her first spell in this new world, and Yumiella felt a rush of satisfaction as old as her second life, back the first time she had conjure dark magic.

Her sword glowed with magic power, and she could practically hear the swell of background theme music into a crescendo.

Yumiella began to feel very let down when nothing else happened.

"Oh! I know! Rich, like uncle Welt taught us! Faust Air Shot!"

"Faust Tornado!"

Yumiella would never have struck out at her kids, but she did start to dodge and move her sword into a guard position as the wind spells -- one small and one large enough that she worried it would cause collateral damage to the area -- flew at her.

Then the spells bent toward her as the sword's glow grew brighter, and they were swallowed up entirely, coating the blade in a shifting swirl of tightly controlled air currents.

"Thank you," she told her kids with a faint smile. This... will be very useful.

Day 19, noon

"There wasn't much else to do once it was too dark to fish for sharks, and Doduo had been listening in on our lessons anyway and wanted to show off some spells for me when I was riding her on our hunts. I... didn't realized you didn't know."

+280 EXP ... +220 EXP 

"I see. How did you obtain that many sharks during the journey?" Yumiella checked, sidestepping the jump of the third Magenta Frog so it flew past her.

"Faust Icicle. You don't remember?" Welt wondered as the EXP notice for the frog he'd just impaled arrived. Yumiella gave him a bland look. "Sorry! You were occasionally lucid enough to pull some of the meat out of your Inventory for the kids to snack on, except some of it was getting rancid. Tersia had the idea to tie it up in a net and dump it overboard as a lure. It worked a lot better than we expected."

"Good initiative," Yumiella congratulated. I had mostly given up on finding a way to draw monsters to our location with no Monster Summoning Flute equivalent, but dragging raw meat through the water would be far more effective than leave a pile of meat out in the open air.

"Yeah," Welt chuckled as another Magenta Frog braced to jump at them. "It was really nerve-wracking when the twins jumped in and started kicking sharks up onto deck, but-,"

Yumiella spun to glare at him, absently (furiously) kicking the frog mid-jump so hard that its legs flew off in different directions from its pulped torso. "You let my kids what?"

(Welt abruptly realized why the other members of their party had all made themselves scarce when Yumiella woke up.)

Day 19, mid-afternoon

"Ow! Ack!"

Bakta's hands trembled a little as he watched Lady Yumiella's ruthless 'sparring session' with Tersia, knowing that he was next in line (he was the oldest and most experienced, she was saving the best for last,) for his punishment.

It seemed that Welt hadn't been able to keep quiet how they'd failed to stop the two Filorials from jumping into shark-infested waters to to hunt and fight while Lady Yumiella was abed with seasickness, and that she Did Not Approve of what had occurred, no matter how much EXP and how many monster materials it had netted them.

Intellectually, Bakta really wanted to protest that 1) the duo weren't kids no matter their shape-shifted appearance, 2) they weren't even human, they were just tamed monsters she was training to help fight the Waves, 3) they'd been jumping into the water of their own accord, no one made either of them do it, and 4) they'd come out of it perfectly okay and happy to have had the chance to play like that.

Emotionally, he was pretty sure that would just make his situation worse -- even reasonable people could have feelings about a beloved pet getting hurt, and nobility were especially prone to temper tantrums in his experience -- and he was relying on a trump card to minimize his suffering.

"Woof!"

Bakta winced in sympathy as Yumiella spun around a dagger swipe and uppercut the tip of her wooden practice sword (which she seemed to have empowered in some way, as it appeared fancier than it used to look when she'd first unlocked the form,) into his jaw. Rather than just snap his head back, the strike lifted Tersia's feet off the ground and sent him flying to land on a nearby bush.

"Go team," Farrie moaned tiredly from her spot on the grass. "Longest survival time yet, Tersia."

"Mwoooooooaaahhhh..."

Lady Yumiella turned to him, entirely pristine after three fights other than one bruise on her cheek from the lone blow that anyone (Farrie) had thus far landed against her. "Sir Bakta?" she invited politely, but her eyes made clear that he had no options.

"Right, I'm up. Oh," Bakta 'remembered' just as she got into a dueling stance, "I nearly forgot. I spoke to a helpful person at the Church and they wanted me to give you this, though they'd like it back before the Wave hits." He handed over the decorated leather belt which the local Three Heroes Church Shadow had assured him carried the magic they used to change their appearances fur undercover missions. I hope this gets her pleased enough to go easy on me.

Lady Yumiella fed it to her Holy Sword's central gem, took a moment to read whatever message had appeared, and then turned her attention back to him.

"Well done," she said, and they began.

...

In terms of fighting skill, she did not go easy on him in the least.

However, Bakta did finally realize why despite her striking them at full force, none of his teammates had needed medical attention or a potion after their 'sparring matches'.

While getting hit by each blow was sort of shocking, it didn't actually hurt him per se, much like the pillow fights he'd had with friends as a child. Force was imparted into his body when her horizontal slash struck his gut, and while it winded him and forced him to bend double, it didn't cause pain or make him nearly vomit.

He still got disoriented and had to stumble around, but his HP didn't drop at all and compared to how savaged the beat-downs had appeared from the outside, Bakta was was getting off infinitely easier than he'd feared.

(It still bruised his pride to be effortlessly beaten by a slip of a girl -- he didn't even mean Lady Yumiella, who was a Legendary Holy Hero and thus expected to be far above them all, but rather beaten through his inability to match Farrie's feat of landing even one blow on their Lady -- but that just meant that he had room to improve and grow stronger.)

(With Lady Yumiella leading them, he would grow far stronger indeed, he felt.)

Day 19, past sunset

"Swim swim swimming swimming swim pyu pyuu~!"

"So... was it just me, or did you perk up when Tersia mentioned there were hot springs on the island?"

"I did," Yumiella acknowledged. The party had all gone to wash off the grime of a day of training (and soak their bruises after she'd expressed her displeasure with how they irresponsibly let her kids jump into shark-infested waters), and when Tersia had dropped the words 'hot spring' Yumiella had immediately changed her plans from perusing the local shops for equipment to relaxing all evening.

This left Farrie, Yumiella, and Doduo on the girls' side of the hot spring while Rich (who was at that stage where he insisted he was 'all grown up' and it made him so adorable!) had joined the men on their side to soak a bit.

Doduo was swimming laps while the older girls (both still teenagers, unless you counted Yumiella's first life) soaked their troubles away.

"I've read some novels about the Legendary Heroes of old, including a few written by them, and it seems like there's a thing about hotsprings in there? Something relating mythological... Wait, you came from Balshine, not Japan," Farrie realized.

"I know about and have been to Japan," Yumiella simplified. "It is called the Land of the Rising Sun because it is the nation forest in the direction of the dawn on our world maps, and it is a series of large, mountainous islands with significant seismic and volcanic activity. Underground magma flow create geothermal heat, which warms the groundwater and infuses it with minerals to create hot springs."

"Oh wow. I thought I got a good education, but you really know a lot," Farrie complimented. Then, "Um, is there any chance of a volcano erupting here?"

"The local people should know to recognize it and give warning to evacuate," Yumiella assured her. "Even Pompeii had pillars of smoke before its eruption."

"Pompeii?"

"An ancient city that is a valuable historical site. A nearby volcano erupted so violently and unexpectedly that many of the people died before they could, and the buildings were buried in ash to be perfectly preserved. It was dug up several thousand years later and taught us a lot about history of that era." It was also a location to explore in the Ghosts of Old Stones video game, with lots of fire-type undead monsters to slay.

"Wow. I'm surprised the lava didn't just burn it to the ground, though."

"Swimswimswim swimming swimming swim pyu~!"

"Lava rarely travels far in most eruptions. The main danger comes from clouds of hot ash and poisonous gas , which will burn and suffocate people but leave stone buildings largely intact."

The talk descended to other types of natural disasters -- Farrie didn't know what a tsunami was, and Yumiella was curious about weather events in a magical world -- and then to other topics like favorite seasons (Yumiella liked spring and summer, when the days were long and warm for her to get in plenty of her favorite outdoor activity, which Farrie agreed with,) and the environments they enjoyed traveling through (Yumiella was very comfortable with caves and mountains, due to her childhood grinding in the Dolkness Dungeon, while Farrie preferred forests).

All the while, Doduo seemed perfectly happy to splash around acting her age, and the sound of her fun soothed Yumiella's aching heart.

"You know," Farrie mused after the conversation had slowed and they'd sank back to relax again, "I remember you got a fire sword and an ice sword an a sand sword, but did you ever get anything like a water sword in the river?"

...I feel very stupid. "If nothing else," Yumiella fudged as she dipped the Cardinal Sword beneath the surface, "hot springs often have minerals mixed into their water that are beneficial, and this may unlock a Steam Sword as well.

NEW SWORD FORM UNLOCKED!

Freshwater Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip = water magic improvement (small)

Steam Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = M.ATK+2

Water Vapor Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity G -- Base Power = ATK+1 ... ... Equip Skill = Cloud -- spend SP to create an obscuring cloud of mist, 45 second cooldown

[LOCKED - Requires Level 50] Purification Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity B -- Base Power = ATK+10 ... ... Equip = M.ATK+10, M.DEF+5 ... ... Unique Equip = improved damage to Unholy (medium) ... Unique Skill: Purify -- spend SP to cleanse yourself or a target in range of a negative status condition (one cured at a time), 70 second cooldown

Yumiella blinked, re-read the locked entry, checked how much time they had until the next Wave (13 days and 7 hours), and immediately resolved that she had to unlock and master this sword before the upcoming Wave, no matter what!

She immediately glanced up at the night sky, and when no ominous rumble of thunder sounded she hoped that she had not just jinxed herself. Then she put the Cardinal Sword back into the hot spring and opened her Inventory, hoping to master the Freshwater and Steam forms before bed that night.

Chapter Text

Day 20, mid-morning

"Bored~!"

"Rich!"

"We'll find monsters without poisonous skin for you to fight soon," Yumiella assured the twins as Doduo huffed at her brother.

"You can also just try to grab a tree branch and club them," Farrie suggested, having cartwheeled over from the three large poison-skinned frogs she'd kicked into some trees.

The gray-winged boy blinked, tore off a thick tree branch, and immediately jumped into to fray swinging wildly.

"Whoa! Watch it kiddo," Tersia scolded, "you almost got me there!"

"Rich-kun, batter up," Yumiella called, switching to her Wooden Practice Sword form (now upgraded to Rarity D with better stats) to smack the few frogs jumping toward her over to him so he could smash them. "Doduo-chan, do you want to join in?"

"Later mama, I'm trying to make something cool with uncle Welt," her beige-winged daughter demurred from her perch on Yoshi's back alongside the mage. 

Yumiella tossed Yoshi a treat for him being so patient about not fighting the poison-covered frogs, and set to absorbing some nearby bodies once the current crowd of frogs had been depleted.

Magenta Frog Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = SPD+3 ... jumping improvement (small)

Magenta Frog Meat Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = Poison resistance improvement (small)

Magenta Frog Bone Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+2 ... total HP up (small)

Magenta Frog Skin Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = DEF+2 ... Poison quality improvement (small)

"All of these forms have been mastered. Let's move on to find other monsters on the island," she instructed.

"Gonna squish some bugs!" Rich cheered.

"You say 'going to,' little big brother!" Doduo giggled at him.

Day 20, early evening

Having finished clearing out the most recent group of monsters on the second island they'd explored that day, everyone sat back around the carcass-filled clearing to relax a bit as Yumiella set to absorbing monster materials.

"Whew," Tersia sighed, "I'm glad we're in the shade but it's still scorching. Anyone fancy a swim? Ow!"

"There are ladies present, you three-inch cad!" Farrie scolded, having thrown something at his face. "Go be lewd on your own time!"

"I brought along swimwear, no skivvies necessary," Welt contributed smugly. "Are you saying you weren't prepared to get wet on an archipelago?"

"I didn't bring them with me out here! Wearing waxed wool would've melted me in this heat," Farrie complained irately. "Just because you can keep yourself cool with wind and ice magic..."

"Ooh! Doduo-chan can keep you cool, Aunt Farrie! Faust Tornado!"

Congratulations! Doduo has learned gust, Yumiella's mind chirped, and she had to suppress an amused snort.

"Hah, that's weak sis! I am-,"

"Hey, hey, maybe let's not throw around any big magic right now," Welt intervened quickly before things got chaotic.

"Booooring! Yoshi, fight with me!"

"Hey, that's not," Bakta tried to intervene.

"Yo-yom!"

Yumiella glanced up again quickly at the sound of a scuffle, shifting to Wooden Practice Sword in case she needed to break them up, but it seemed Rich-kun had learned more restraint after his last scolding and was keeping it to play-tussling levels, which Yoshi reciprocated. She gave Bakta a nod that he could let them be and set to finishing the absorptions.

"How have we done today, Lady Hero?" the older man rumbled as the last carcass entered her Inventory.

"I know I went up 3 Levels, and I expect the rest of us did too," Welt commented as he stroked Doduo's hair.

Yumiella paused. "How did you know that?"

"Huh? Why wouldn't I?"

"I thought I was the only one able to access Status magic and check our progress," Yumiella answered. The King mentioned that... "Isn't status magic unique to the heroes?" I know that in my last life, I didn't have a way to check my own Level or other stats without using various magical tools, or else things would have been very different.

"Ooh, it used to be!" Farrie input as the rest of the group tried to parse her question. "I don't know how long ago it was, but basically old mages eventually created spells or magic accessories that let normal people access a weaker, watered-down version of the Legendary Status Magic. Not everyone bothers to buy an item or learn those spells, but Welt and I both know it so he just had to check it on his own."

"Hey, I know it too," Tersia complained.

"I have an accessory," Bakta hedged with a significant look to Yumiella.

"I see." When no more conversation was forthcoming, Yumiella pulled up her Menu -- if nothing else she ought to check her kids' level growth -- to review their achievements for the day.

PARTY STATUS

Yumiella Dolkness (Commander) -- Cardinal Sword Hero - Level 42

Yoshi Dolkness -- Tyrella Mount -- Level 29

Rich Dolkness -- Royal Filorial -- Level 31

Doduo Dolkness - Royal Filorial -- Level 30

Farrie Bonheim -- Martial Artist -- Level 35

Welt Bluegrass -- Sorcerer -- Level 35

Tersia (Captain) -- Scout -- Level 35

Bakta -- Ranger -- Level 37

"I should take out the kids for some extra grinding soon, but everyone else is on-schedule to reach Level 40 by the end of the week or sooner. After that we can discuss whether we want to continue training until the Wave arrives, or whether we should return to... is the capital the only place to Class Up?"

"There are stories about other ways to Class Up in the black market," Tersia answered, "but nothing concrete, and as far as I know the only Dragon's Hourglass is in the Castle City."

"That fits everything I know," Bakta agreed.

"We could also take a boat to Zeltbul, in Zenoble. I've got family there, they've got a Dragon Hourglass, and the capital is pretty close to the coast while Castle City is much further inland, so going to Zeltbul would be faster."

"I'm  to sure that's wise," Bakta interjected worriedly, which sparked off a debate about the rewards of leaving Melromarc (better gear in Zeltbul's markets, new monsters,) versus the risk of heading to Zeltbul (which had blood sports and a lot of money-based government corruption, and it would be easy to strong-arm them if they party wasn't strong enough to hold their own).

"We'll discuss it after we reach the Class Up point and need to decide," Yumiella judged after several minutes of back-and-forth had culminated in Tersia's observation that Zenoble wasn't generally religious beyond their worship of money, and a lot of people there would be trying to buy or steal a talking Filorial.

The others settled down at her declaration and they began packing up to leave the island.

"You get enough sword forms for today, or should we do a bit more hunting?" Tersia wondered once they were all packed.

Yumiella checked her recent acquisitions list.

Violet Blob Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = M.ATK+3 ... M.DEF+2

Violet Blob Plasma Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = potion compounding up (small) ... MP recovery up (small)

Yellow Beetle Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = ATK+3 ... M.DEF+2

Yellow Beetle Wing Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = SPD+5

Yellow Beetle Horn Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip = ATK+4

Yellow Beetle Shell Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = DEF+3 ... M.DEF+4

Yellow Beetle Meat Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = cooking improvement (small) ... dissection improvement (small)

Cactus Worm Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... Skill power improvement (tiny)

Cactus Worm Spike Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = ATK+3 ... Spiny Sword skill improvement (small)

Cactus Worm Skin Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Equip = ATK+2 ... DEF+2 ... M.DEF+1

Cactus Worm Meat Sword (M) -- Rarity E -- Base Power = ATK+4 ... ... Equip = ATK+3 ... cooking improvement (small)

"We made excellent progress today; tomorrow we should move onto one of the larger islands and search out the rarer monsters."

"I can ask around town to see whether anyone saw them recently on any of the four in particular," Farrie offered.

"That'll probably be better than Tersia or me trying to find them before sunset in person," Bakta agreed.

Day 20, evening

Black Slime Sword, Yumiella commanded, and the Cardinal Sword shifted forms to bolster her Dark Magic. "I am the Hero of the Sword, who commands the origin of power. I have read and deciphered a law of nature. Smother strength and stifle my target: Jinx!"

The chant made her feel embarrassingly chuuni, but at the same time as she spoke it she meant it, for while she had bent mana and matter to her will for years she had come to understand the laws they often followed. And her magic responded.

Dark smoke wreathed her hand and flowed to the wooden post before her, which creaked and discolored under her spell.

"You did it! Congratulations, Lady Yumiella!" Welt cheered. "That was Jinx, a dark-attribute spell that deteriorates the target's condition with a status effect and can even do a little damage if you cast it right. I'm not certain how a status effect would translate from flesh bodies to wood," he acknowledged, leaning in to examine the now rotting post, "but it was certainly powerful. Jinx conventionally pairs really well with Hex, a dark-attribute spell that deals extra damage if the target is suffering a status condition. Do you think you know Hex too, now? Or can you cast one of the advanced variants of Jinx? ...Lady Yumiella?"

Yumiella, who had been contemplating several different trains of thought along with her satisfaction -- thoughts such as Wasn't there a Pokemon move named Hex? And a Pokemon named Jinx? I wonder if Jinx could learn Hex, to continue the theme with Doduo-chan and my Sand Slash skill? Actually, there were dark-type moves like Bite and Crunch, Thief and Beat Up... However, I still prefer to try to learn or recreate my old spells, like Dark Bind or Shadow Lance. would I be allowed to cast Shadow Lance, though? The Cardinal Sword might forcibly change it to Shadow Sword instead, like the Dark Knight equipment of Dark Souls? Although maybe I already had that theme, since knights were supposed to use lances... -- blinked away her distraction and turned back to Welt, her lips still unmistakably in a small smile.

"Faust Jinx," she cast, and a smaller flow of darkness warped and discolored the post closer to its base.

It clearly did perhaps a third as much to the wooden target, but the speed she'd cast it would likely make the Faust version more tactically useful in tense fights.

"Fantastic!!" Welt cheered, and while she agreed Yumiella rather wished he'd be a bit quieter about it; her ears might no longer be Level 99, but they were still very keen and she had several bonuses to hearing. "Can you cast the Zweit version, Lady Hero? That would be amazing to see!!"

Yumiella didn't disagree with him, and her MP wasn't anywhere near depleted, so she began to chant.

"I am the Hero of the Sword, who commands the origin-,"

*beep beep be-beedle beep ... beep beep be-beedle beep*

A familiar sound reached her ears, and she cut off her chant to reach for her purse or pockets before she realized how absurd it was.

She hadn't heard a cellphone's ringtone since her first life back in Japan, after all.

*beep beep be-beedle beep*

"Do you... hear that, Mister Welt?" she checked carefully.

"Hear what, Lady Yu...miella...?" He trailed off and started glancing around uncertainly.

*beep beep be-beedle beep*

Welt was still glancing around, so Yumiella pulled up her MENU and immediately got an alert that answered almost as many questions as it created.

You have an incoming communication from Kawasumi, Itsuki.

Will you accept this communication? Yes / No

Will you contribute SP to support the length and quality of the communication? Yes/ No

"Please excuse me," Yumiella said reflexively, stepping away and waving Welt off for privacy (and not at all to hide her total confusion as she pinched herself to check this wasn't a dream,) as she mentally hit Y and Y on her Menu. "Moshi-,"

"Melromarc has slavery!" Itsuki burst out across the line, and her Menu even provided jagged line that went spiky and fuzzy in time with his voice.

Yumiella attempted to come up with something and fell back on, "I see."

"Slaves! Not human slaves, not usually, they're called Demi-humans, but there's been wars and they're treated like trash here, there's no Constance Convention or a Declaration on Human Rights, none of my party seemed bothered by any of it when we passed a man hanging from a tree and now I found kids, what am I supposed to do here?!"

Yumiella skipped over 'That's amazing' because it was disgusting and would have tried to use 'Please tell me more' if not for her brain stumbling over the most inane thing.

"Do you mean the Geneva Convention?" she said instead.

There was a strangled gurgle that made the menu's heart-monitor-voice-display line wobble very interestingly.

Yumiella didn't often apologize, but Patrick had gotten her in the habit of it for when she could tell she'd said something wrong here. "I'm sorry. I'm in shock," she managed.

"You're in shock?! You're the one who knows about plots and plans and politics! You're the one who guessed we might be hoodwinked! You're supposed to tell me what to do!!"

"I'm- I think I need to know more. How are you- is there a telephone bow?"

"That's what you're curious about?! What kind of- I saw a family of four hanging from a tree, a teenage girl and her pre-teen brother and their parents, and you want to know how I-? Motoyasu's a moron and Naofumi's a fucking rapist, I've been sending you messages for the past week since I found out slaves still fucking exist and you haven't responded!! I had to stick silver, zinc, and copper in a dozen potatoes to simulate an electric circuit and experiment like crazy to unlock a fucking Telegraph Bow and then upgrade it three times with your fucking Awakening ability, but oh no, the actual message of executed kids isn't important, let me tell you more my whacky primary school science projects I based this on so I can spend all my SP feeding this ability that sucks it down like crazy and never get around to asking you for advice on this shit!!! Are you fucking braindead?!!!"

"Yes. Some people have called me that," Yumiella admitted for lack of anything else to say. "I need to-," She stopped, checked her menu, and said, "This is draining my SP too. I will get to where I can regenerate it. Tell me how I can help you."

It took her 90 seconds, liberal flashing the Holy Sacred Cardinal Sword in its Energetic Sword form (with 'strong' SP regeneration) to invoke her privilege, and a large handful of coins dumped on a countertop, but she got herself exclusive access to the highest quality magical hot spring the staff could point her to so she could immerse herself and her sword completely before her SP could drop below half her total.

She hadn't thought she was reacting to Itsuki's story, but once her hand started tingling in the hot water she realized that her nails (trimmed short, since she didn't bother with conventional beauty methods and long nails would only get in her way) were carving crescents into the meat of her palms, and in hindsight she'd probably dripped some blood on the counter along with her payment.

She distantly hoped that there wasn't any kind of voodoo magic that used blood samples in this world, but Itsuki was pouring out his story and that deserved her full attention.

It wasn't pretty.

As per the hero quartet's vague plan from their first night, Itsuki had gone west after leaving the king's castle -- Itsuki had mentioned Naofumi's rape trial, but Yumiella wasn't going to push for details on that when the younger boy was in this state -- toward a mountainous area where the Bow Hero could snipe at great distances from mountainous peaks overlooking monster-filled valleys, and where there were plenty of rare ores for his Ore Equip and the Tempering method that Motyasu had shared with them.

Also in keeping with Yumiella's suggestion that the four heroes look for artifacts, messages, and legacies left by previous generations of heroes, Itsuki had asked around while hunting bandits (he seemed to have no issues with fighting or killing humans so long as they were criminals; Yumiella chose not to press,) and eventually heard about an obelisk monument in the capital town of Count Rabier's territory, which was said to mark or commemorate the defeat of an ancient dragon by the Cardinal Heroes of old.

Rabier County was the place where Itsuki had first begun to realize that things were off, and this new world had more hidden darkness and brutality than he had realized. He didn't go into much detail, but it involved Count Rabier's nephew (the man himself was back at the capital when they visited,) brutally beating a demi-human maid ("A child! He straight-up punched a fucking kid in her face, and he'd have done it again if I didn't grab his arm! I ought to have killed him for it!!") who'd dropped the tea service when Itsuki was there for a meet and greet.

Itsuki had thought he'd hidden his disquiet while feeling out his companions' opinions on the conflict at the time, but now he wasn't sure of anything. Still, he had kept his eyes and ears open through the next few noble estates they had visited while also comparing multiple people's stories to see what was consistent.

He'd learned that slavery was legal in Melromarc -- was legal across the entire continent, even, albeit with varying specifics -- but that humans in Melromarc could only be enslaved either as the result of being found guilty of severe crimes, or by willingly selling themselves into slavery with a formal legal contract and a monetary payout.

He'd learned that Demi-humans had far less protection, unless the local laws of the territory they lived in said otherwise, although this was ostensibly the result either of Demi-humans 'needing to be kept under control' because 'they were the result of human-monster crossbreeding and slavery kept them from turning into feral man-eating predators', or it was a result of previous wars with demi-human nations who had invaded Melromarc not many years past, and the population of enslaved demi-humans descended from captured enemy soldiers.

He'd learned that it was quite common for nobles to own a few slaves as status symbols, though they might be 'employed' as body guards, farm laborers, craftsmen, domestic servants, 'domestic companions' (i.e. sex slaves, but it had taken the teen a while to put together that innuendo), or in other various positions.

He'd learned that slaves were expensive enough that it was good business sense to keep them alive and in relatively good health, because replacing a dead slave would be costly for most people, so they weren't regularly tortured, starved, or killed the same way you wouldn't deliberately break your own tools or burn your own fancy clothing.

He'd almost left things at that because he hadn't felt sure about the situation.

Almost, but Yumiella's warnings about leeches and resentful companions had twinged at Itsuki's suspicions when two of his party members had heavily advised against going into a certain noble's territory or meeting with the man, as the Reichnott lands were reportedly rather anarchical and there were heretical people living there who might attack the party.

Itsuki had soon after snuck away under the guise of 'a stealth mission to find a rare animal in the forest, but I need to do it alone because you all move too loudly,' and had traveled quickly to the supposedly lawless territory, expecting that he would find a wretched hive of scum and villainy ruled by powerful tyrants his teammates had wanted to spare him from clashing with until he was strong enough to make a difference.

Instead, Itsuki had found that Lord Van Reichnott was a reasonable and educated man who ruled a largely peaceful territory and was respected by his diverse citizenry for being patient, fair, and just. Moreover, despite being woken in the middle of the night, Van Raichnott met with Itsuki and shared a lot of new information about the state of the kingdom and the world at large.

Slavery was legal. Slavery was enforced by magical slaves crests that could cause pain or death by the controller's will. The king who'd summoned them was not supposed to have done so for a dozen different reasons. The kingdom's plurality-and-nearly-majority religion had begun as a heretical offshoot that demonized one Cardinal Weapon (the Shield) and its wielder.

The Waves of Calamity were occurring across the entire world, not just in Melromarc; Melromarc had been first, the site of the First Wave of this iteration, but they'd already received news of a Wave in Shiltfrieden, and the casualties there had been 'significant' with Melromarc monopolizing all four Cardinal Heroes in violation of the ancient tradition to summon them separately across the continent for better coverage.

King Aultcray was not supposed to be the highest authority in the kingdom. He was a foreign hero who had married into the royal family, so when Queen Mirellia had left for an international conference to discuss the Waves she had left her distant cousin Duke Seaetto in charge as her proxy; by tremendous bad luck, the First Wave had opened on Duke Seaetto's home territory and he had been killed fighting against it, which allowed Aultcray to reclaim the sovereign's authority and command the summoning of all four Cardinal Heroes.

Itsuki had been so shocked that he hadn't wanted to believe it -- there was nothing like this kind of treacherous sub-plot in Dimension Web! -- and due to that, he hadn't confronted his teammates directly once he snuck back, instead questioning them more about the laws and legal processes over the next few days.

He'd also sent several PMs to the others, but replies had been very slow to arrive, and when they did come they were not helpful; Naofumi had responded with a flood of insults, Motoyasu hadn't been helpful when he eventually responded, and Yumiella hadn't been responding at all.

Itsuki had started quietly investigating the wealthy and powerful people of the territories he'd traveled through, making excuses to go off alone more often to level grind without his party so they wouldn't think his behavior was odd, and what he'd found was...

It wasn't good, even if it what he'd found then hadn't been atrocious enough to make him confront his comrades directly, but he'd continued getting more and more paranoid. He had begun experimenting with his telegraph recreation device in hopes of unlocking some communication Bow form he could use to check that Yumiella was alive and get advice from her.

He'd gotten a Transmission Bow and then Awakened it once after it hadn't provided the type of communication Skill he'd wanted, and then decided to Awaken it again the next day, and when two awakenings hadn't yielded the desired results he'd put the idea away to try again later.

Then, earlier today, his party had passed by Rabier territory again. Itsuki had been hunting ahead on his own and had made an impromptu detour toward the city -- he'd realized that he ought to try and get copies or charcoal rubbings of the obelisk's engravings, in case the other heroes could decipher them even though he couldn't -- only to unexpectedly stumble across a family of four fox-type Demi-humans hanging from a tree by the roadside, several days dead and having clearly been tortured and defiled before they died.

Itsuki couldn't read the wooden placard nailed to the tree, but he'd raced up to the nearby city's gates, grabbed a gate guard under his authority as a Cardinal Hero, and dragged the man off to the site of the crime.

Or rather, the site of the execution.

Itsuki had been under the impression that he was reporting a homicide, but the guard explained without any fear or shame that it was a public execution that had taken place a few days before, common knowledge in the city, and the wooden placard identified them as rebellious slaves.

It seemed that a young man of the Rabier household had wanted to 'break in' the teenage fox-girl of the family -- the guard had expressed comical surprise that she wasn't sullied already, and had joked that Count Rabier must have been saving her for a special occasion or planning to re-sell her for more money once the parents had produced another daughter to replace her -- and she had violently resisted.

As the four were legally owned by Count Rabier, the younger nobleman hadn't been able to use the Slavery Control Seal to subdue her, so she'd not only clawed out one eye while fighting, but also bitten a large enough chunk from his neck that he might have bled to death.

As the guard had joked, 'Well, when a dirty Demi does something that fucking stupid, you can't kill just one, it's not a big enough example to get through their thick animal skulls.'

The guard had survived this 'joke', as well as his re-telling of the gruesome events of the execution, solely because Itsuki had been too flabbergasted to do worse than punch him out when the re-telling got too filthy to stomach.

The Rabier aristocrat whose assault started everything was still alive primarily because he had reportedly left town already to seek medical treatment in the capital for his injuries, and Itsuki had been too preoccupied giving the four bodies decent burial to go hunting.

In lieu of tracking down some villains to Bring Justice upon for this, Itsuki had spent the past few hours burning through every upgrade, power-up, and alternate form he had available to try to reach Yumiella with his Transmission Bow because he was panicking and overwhelmed and wanted help from the girl who knew noble plotting and politics.

"I just... please," he managed at the end of it, "I don't know what to do."

Yumiella had listened to Itsuki's staggered outpouring of words with only a bit of contribution from her side, and when he finally slowed to a halt she realized that she needed to say something.

"Itsuki, I... One moment." Yumiella raised her head, pitched her voice to carry, and called, "Shadow of the Three Heroes Church, I feel the glow of your righteous soul and by my authority as the Holy Sword Hero I summon you to stand before me. I require consultation with you regarding the religious laws and strictures that the Church observes in this day and age; answer now or forever turn your face from we Holy Three."

She waited, counting back from twenty under her breath, and Itsuki didn't interrupt her.

"...one...zero. Thank you, Itsuki, I needed to see that I was not being spied on," Yumiella relayed. "First question: is the guard you attacked still alive?"

"Yes, he's still unconscious. I might change that, though."

"Has anyone else seen you burying the bodies?"

"No. I used a bit of earth magic and some Bow skills, it didn't take me that long."

"How many guards at the gate saw you bring this guard with you to the scene?"

"There were two guards, but the other one was busy inspecting a caravan and didn't pay much attention to me. He might not have heard exactly what I was saying."

"If you have any alcohol or potions in your storage, a way to inflict drunkenness, confusion, or delirium, then you can apply those to the guard to cover your tracks," Yumiella advised.

"I don't care about me! Stop focusing on me and help me plan this fucking slave rebellion!" Itsuki screamed across the line at her. "This is rank injustice, I need to set them free!"

"If you immediately attempt a violent revolution, the tyrants in power can easily organize a mass execution of innocent slaves either to spite you or to bait you into a trap, ambush you, and enslave or kill you."

"We're Holy Heroes! It's our job to change the world and save the people of the world, and we can't even be affected by slave seals or mind control! We're the only people they can't enslave this way, we're the only ones who are safe to fight them!"

ALERT: Legendary Heroes are immune to Slave Control Seals and other forms of external control magic.

Yumiella blinked at her menu notice, linked through to the Help Menu that described it, and after a quick skim she said, "Meaning either they will kill us all and summon new heroes while the Waves are weak enough that it's safe to train, or they will dose you to the gills with magically enhanced addictive drugs and alcohol to keep you compliant and obedient. We don't appear to be immune to alcohol, narcotics, or other forms of drugs and poisons."

"We-!" He cut himself off, and for a few moments Yumiella only heard Itsuki's ragged breathing over the line. She guessed he was checking his own Menu. "Still, we can't just do nothing here! The police here violated a fourteen-year-old because she defended herself from a rapist, burned her eyes out, hanged her and her parents naked from a tree, and hung her eight-year-old brother beside them just to make an example!  These people are fucking evil and maybe they don't deserve to be saved!"

"Maybe," Yumiella agreed, "but for all we know, King Aultcray may have summoned four different Cardinal Heroes a week before he summoned us, only to dispose of them a few days later when they discovered this an attempted to plot a rebellion."

"Hah... Hah... Haah..."

All she heard over the line was Itsuki's ragged panting.

"In Balshine, if I had not been Level 99 when I entered society, any attempts I made at social change would have failed or floundered immensely, and I would have been manipulated or disposed of quickly," Yumiella assessed clinically. "If you want to save the slaves and end slavery, the fastest way that is likely to succeed is for all four Cardinal Heroes to become too strong for the government to suppress, and for us to use our power and our popularity to unanimously demand change from the legal authorities. If the four of us present a united front-,"

"Hah! You fucking out-of-touch ignoramus," Itsuki accused venomously, "that will never work! Motoyasu might go for it if we phrase it as rescuing pretty girls from sex slavery, but Naofumi bought himself a slave two or three days after he was convicted of raping his- Actually, that could work," Itsuki realized. "If all three of us agitate to end slavery and we hammer in the point that Naofumi owns slaves, the Three Hero Church would have to realize that slavery is evil and it helps the Shield Hero and the people who act! We can do it, quick and easy! Once rape-Hero Naofumi and his slave prove useless in the next Wave while we conquer it, we can get slavery abolished then and there by the end of this month!"

"Wait. Naofumi what?" Yumiella asked uncertainly, going back to the unread messages she had noticed -- beginning with a message chain in response to her own question about the rumor Bakta had reported after her defeat of the zombie owlbear -- once Itsuki reminded her to check them at the start of his call, but that she hadn't yet read because she was listening to his story.

It was...

Well...

That's a lot of swearing. I wonder how much HP Naofumi has to feel safe burning this much on insults and ranting about conspiracies.

"The Shield 'Hero' raped his adventuring partner, Myne, during their first night in the inn the day they met up." Itsuki hesitated a moment. "Or, I guess he attempted to rape her, but he was drunk enough that she fought him off and fled to report him? I think that's how it happened, he was tearing her clothes off when she struggled free and fled."

"You weren't in the capital so they couldn't invite you," the Bow Hero continued, "but Myne ran to Motoyasu for safety so he was at the trial, and I got invited to watch the proceedings as well. Naofumi was basically naked and sweaty when they dragged him in, and pretty hung over or still drunk even given that he didn't seem to think he'd done anything wrong. The first words out of his mouth were literally 'What the hell, Myne,' as soon as he saw her, he showed no remorse for the fact that she was crying, and he called Motoyasu a thief for stealing Myne from him, as though she- He was already treating people like property back then! That fucking bastard!!"

"I see. Please, tell me more," Yumiella requested as she tried to reconcile this image with the Naofumi she knew... the Naofumi she had known for barely a day. This sounds like a scam or a set-up, but if Itsuki believes it and he was there, I have no good reason to doubt him on it... "What was the result?"

"Naofumi didn't have any kind of alibi or explanation, he just claimed that Motoyasu was fabricating the false charges to steal his equipment, presumably including Myne herself in that category," Itsuki relayed. "Naofumi even tried to rant that Motoyasu must have come up with this scheme the very morning he met Myne, and that she had moved to the Shield's party at Motoyasu's suggestion to set up this chain of events, as though the very basic starting amount of money -- money Naofumi had already apparently squandered in just the first day out -- was worth anything compared to the loot and drops we've been getting after a week or two of honest work hunting monsters."

"Rather than accept any form of responsibility or apologize for his drunken assault, Naofumi demanded to be sent home again, fleeing responsibility like a spoiled brat! However, this world can't get new heroes unless all four of us die, so Naofumi was essentially holding our lives hostage against receiving just punishment for his crimes. In the face of that kind of defiance, King Aultcray could only have Naofumi judged and punished in the court of public opinion, given that our lives as Cardinal Heroes are too important to the wellbeing of everyone on the planet."

"So Naofumi got let off without any punishment except public scorn and infamy, and to cap it off that lying son of a bitch made a blasphemous religious reference by throwing thirty silver coins at Motoyasu's face as he stalked out of the throne room, even though he'd been claiming a minute ago that all his stuff got stolen! So if he was lying about that and totally unashamed, what else do you think he was lying about?!"

"I see. That's..." Yumiella couldn't bring herself to say amazing. She was still trying to process everything. It was certainly possible that Naofumi had been set up, but it was equally possible that he was a mean drunk, and trying to judge the situation as an armchair psychologist would be a waste of breath. Still... "What punishment exactly -- what limits and prohibition and oversight -- was Naofumi subjected to after he was found guilty but released to fight the waves?"

"I just told you, nothing! He walked out free as a bird- No, that's an insult to birds, I like birds. He walked out free as a mosquito, free as a cockroach that everyone loathes like the disgusting wretch it is, but no one wants to get close enough to squash it for fear of getting its guts on them! I ought to hunt him down and kill that fucker, even if it means they'll try to kill me too! Three strong heroes can still beat the Waves, we can change the world!!"

"No punishment?" Yumiella pressed incredulously.

"Nothing! I told you, the King could do nothing! And that makes more sense, if he isn't the legitimate monarch and doesn't-,"

"That was a set-up," Yumiella interjected.

...

...

...

...

"...You think it what?"  Itsuki hissed furiously. "You think I'm a moron?  You're a girl, what kind of dumbass victim-blaming shit is normal in your world, you always believe women about sexual assault when they report it, you-,"

"The King, he didn't believe the charges," Yumiella clarified. "Possibly Myne was genuinely attacked, there is magic to impersonate appearances, but King Aultcray did not believe the charges against Naofumi were true. If he did, Naofumi would not have been freed."

"I just told you, he's only the royal consort! If there are laws about not punishing Holy Heroes, then he can't overturn them with the Queen away," Itsuki countered. "He didn't have a choice but to follow the law, even if the law here is stupid and evil."

"Parole officers," Yumiella countered.

"Well- What about them?"

"If Naofumi -- the Shield Hero with no known offensive power, who had only been fighting monsters for a day when this crime was committed -- if such a man were powerful and impulsive enough to have assaulted a trained adventurer who'd been judged suitable to support the Heroes in fighting against the Waves, and to nearly overcome her," Yumiella explained slowly, "then such a man would have no trouble successfully assaulting peasant women with no combat training who have never fought any monsters in their lives."

"Breaking into a house in the capital city might risk causing a fuss, but it would be easy for him to walk down the road to a farming village and find a house with a vulnerable woman he could target. Breaking in at night and assaulting her would also afford him the chance to rob her of money and materials, and he could cover his tracks by burning the house down afterward so that it seemed like a tragic accident he had nothing to do with."

"Itsuki," Yumiella spelled out, "if Naofumi was a sexual predator, and if he was already declared immune from conventional legal punishment for the sake of fighting the Waves, then Naofumi has nothing to fear and nothing to lose by indulging in every evil vice he can physically attempt to perform, and 'Wisest King of Wisdom' Aultcray would know this. If he knows that he can't be punished for his attempted rape, then such a man knows he will not be punished for future assaults where he is successful. If I can realize it, then King Aultcray must know the same thing."

"Rather than setting an attempted rapist free to attack again indiscriminately, the responsible decision would have been to assign two or three guards to accompany Naofumi, force him out into the wild to level up so he can fight the Waves, and supervise him along the way to prevent him from assaulting anyone else. If Aultcray let Naofumi walk away free, that means Aultcray believes that Naofumi will not reoffend," she concluded. "If Naofumi was sorry, that could be understandable, but if Naofumi showed open contempt for the court and no remorse for his crime, yet 'the Wisest King of Wisdom' genuinely believes there is no need for guards, genuinely believes Naofumi will not assault other innocent women or seek revenge against Myne by ambushing her later-,"

"Then Aultcray believes Naofumi didn't commit that first crime to begin with," Itsuki finished, sounding faint. "Buddha's balls, that son of a bitch lied to my face and made me complicit in a fucking Kangaroo Court. I'll fucking murder him and feed his body to wild boars."

"He'll kill you," Yumiella warned.

"I'm the fucking Bow Hero, I can snipe an explosive arrow through his bedroom window from the walls around the city!"

"He's the Seven Star Hero of the Cane, he's almost certainly hit the Level Cap of 100 and may have used royal secrets to exceed it, and he's a long-range magic specialist who nevertheless killed the Level 120 King of Siltvelt in battle despite the Siltvelt king being fast enough to enter close combat," Yumiella answered. "Do you have a skill to wipe his HP before he immolates the city block where you're hiding?"

There was a long pause.

"Fuuuuuck," Itsuki wheezed, and she guessed he'd started crying again. "How the fuck are we supposed to handle this? Why the fuck does this world even fucking need summoned heroes with old monsters like that running around to fuck shit up~?"

It was a disquieting reminder that Itsuki wasn't just younger than her mentally, but that he was the same age or younger than her classmates at Balshine's academy. At least Naofumi had been 20 and in college, and Yumiella was the same before her first death, but Itsuki was still a literal teen who'd been in high school and it showed.

She may have been grateful for this second chance at life after bleeding out in the Demon Lord's throne room, but if Yumiella ever met whatever power was responsible for choosing the people who got summoned, they were going to get a Yumiella Kick straight in the face for this.

Possibly followed by a Black Hole if the explanation wasn't very good.

"If there was an easy way to solve this problem, people already would have solved it. This will take time and effort, but we will overcome it," Yumiella assured Itsuki. "Regarding your companions, one of my party confessed to reporting on me for the Three Heroes Church, and he said the spy in your party who'd pulled rank on him was a knight and a nobleman."

"Mald," Itsuki growled immediately.

"You don't want him or the others to get suspicious of you, or else people will target us secretly," she reasoned. "Rather than telling them about your opinions, pretend to be naive and inexperienced with the cruelties of the world, and ask them to voice their opinions and experiences about slavery, Demi-humans, the church, and the crown. We have..."

Melromarc -- 12:17:28:32

Melromarc -- 12:17:28:31

Melromarc -- 12:17:28:30

"...twelve days until the second Wave arrives. If you attempt to start any large scale plans of rebellion you will be interrupted and pulled away within two weeks. Instead, get your party more used to the idea of training while you go off alone. Pretend you have quests that are solo-only, or that the Cardinal Bow is imposing requirements on you. Stop sharing experience with them and try to remove them from your party without their noticing so that they don't become unreasonably stronger than you can handle before you decide whether you can trust them. Don't drink alcohol yourself, but if you gift your party with a few bottles of wine to get them talking and bragging, then you should quickly figure out which of them you can trust to support your new ideas."

"That won't help if I'm forced to watch innocent kids get killed for bullshit bigotry," Itsuki snarled. "I'll fucking take the risks to free them and you'll have to back me or they'll kill you too after I make them kill me!"

"I don't know the details of slave-control magic, but until you have a Bow Skill with some form of anti-magic skill that can cleanse those control seals, any slave you spirit off to freedom will die painfully when the master triggers their control seal. If a nobleman dies under suspicious circumstances, it's likely that his slaves will be sold to other people if they aren't tortured and killed under suspicion of assassinating him."

"Then I'll take them all on the run with me! We'll flee in secret and embody Perfect Hidden Justice as we-,"

"if a nobleman dies and all his slaves simultaneously disappear, then everyone will assume it is the prelude to a large-scale slave revolt," Yumiella countered. "Neighboring nobles will muster their armies to suppress it, and slave owners will either flee the area with their slaves or begin to mass-execute their slaves before the slaves turn on them. Until our side has the power to defeat hordes of trained soldiers, many of whom may be veterans from the war against Siltvelt who have Classed Up, acting hastily will get the innocent people we wish to save killed instead."

"I won't just leave them! If I see them stringing up or crucifying more innocent people, I'm not some fucking psychopath who'll go, 'Sorry folks, you're dying too early, but I promise to come back eventually and save some of your friends and neighbors, assuming they have been murdered too while they're waiting~!' I'm going to intervene!"

"Then intervene. But do so in a way that people don't know it is the Bow Hero who has intervened. I don't know what Bow Forms you have unlocked, but I have several sword forms that grant bonuses to fast movement, stealth, disguise, and skills that create smokescreens or distractions. Provided you intervene in such a way that it seems like random chaos, a monster attack, a group of random bandits, or other forces unrelated to the very public Cardinal Bow Hero, you should be able to act without too much scrutiny."

"...Right. A secret hero who hides his identity, even from the public, in order to save people and roust out corruption in the government," Itsuki summarized. "Fantasy Owlman, I can do that."

"...Do you mean Batman?"

"What? No, batman is the evil crime syndicate villain who- right, different worlds, fuck!  Okay, you said you had a list?"

"A decorative sword that someone tried to pass off as a battle weapon," Yumiella read off her MENU list of forms, "which grants me a passive disguise bonus. The Usapil Sword, which grants me a jumping bonus. The sand sword, which grants a skill to create a blinding cloud and dirt and dust. The bat sword, which..."

...

...

...

(It was a long list, but Itsuki said he had the outline of a plan once she finished. Yumiella didn't know what other help she could provide him from the archipelago, but they said their goodbyes and she invited him to call again for more help with planning.)

(That night, before bed, Yumiella warned her team that she would be changing their training plan over the next few days.)

(The next morning, Yumiella went to Margrave Habenburg to request a trusted guide who could lead her to monsters on the larger islands for solo-grinding. She needed to reach Level 50 and unlock the Teleportation Skill as quickly as possible.)

Chapter Text

Day 21, noon

Yumiella spun, struck, and beheaded the final hound monster mid-jump.

"Saints and souls," the grey-haired guide Margrave Habsburg had loaned her mumbled appreciatively. "Lady Hero, what Level did you say you were again?"

"I just made Level 45," Yumiella reported as she fed the monsters to her Cardinal Sword and pulled up the listings for her most recent four swords. "Yoshi, leave that, here's your treat," she scolded, offering him a fruit he liked from the market so he would stop sniffing at the bodies she needed to absorb.

"Yom!"

NEW SWORD FORMS UNLOCKED!

Karma Penguin Familia Sword (unmastered) 4/20 -- Rarity C -- Base Power = ATK+9 ... ... Equip = ATK+7 ... swimming improvement (small) ... fishing improvement (medium)

Karma Rabbit Familia Sword (unmastered) 2/20 -- Rarity C -- Base Power = ATK+9 ... ... Equip = SPD+7 ... earth magic improvement (small) ... hearing improvement (medium)

Karma Squirrel Familia Sword (unmastered) 2/20 -- Rarity C -- Base Power = ATK+10 ... ... Equip = ATK+5 ... SPD+4 ... reflexes improvement (small)

Karma Dog Familia Sword (unmastered) 3/20 -- Rarity C -- Base Power = ATK+12 ... ... Equip = ATK+7 ... M.ATK+4 ... smell improvement (small)

"The dog and the penguin were the easiest for me to defeat," Yumiella reported, "and the Karma Dog Familia is more useful to master, so we should remain on this island." It's odd that, like the Wave monsters, these only unlock one form each even after I dissected them.

"Right, this way. Most adventurers have the most difficulty fighting the Karma Dog and its familia, compared to the others," he commented as he led her and her reptilian child through the undergrowth.

"I find it more effective to fight monsters that deal high damage, as they tend to be less resistant to my attacks," Yumiella answered. "Provided I can strike first and kill them at range, there is minimal risk."

"I'm surprised you wield the Sword instead of the Bow, with that belief, milady."

"My accuracy is atrocious," Yumiella answered drily. That and with my Level 99 strength I kept breaking the bowstrings... or the bow.

"Yom!"

She killed a few more monsters as he led her through the uneven terrain (and fed them to Yoshi since they were repeats she didn't need to absorb), until they came to a large clearing.

"This here is usually where the king Karma Dog appears during the activation event, and there's usually a few of the Familia hanging around on the off-season."

"Is there anything I should particularly do to lure them in?" The sword they unlocked offers smell improvement, so maybe food?  "Will the smell of blood lure them in?" she asked intently.

Her guide shuddered a bit. "Maybe we can just wait a bit, or make some noise talking and they'll come investigate?"

"I'm on a time-limit," Yumiella disagreed, producing a bunch of wet, raw Cactus Worm organs from her inventory.

"Oh. Bait, ah wasn' expecting that," her guide admitted. "Gud thinkin'."

"Yoshi-kun, don't eat these, we need to attract monsters. Mister Guide," she checked as she spread the viscera around, "is there a lake nearby? Some form of watering hole where monsters gather to-,"

ALERT

Monster Spawner is currently deactivated. Contribute SP to spawn a Karma Dog boss monster? Y / N

(Karma Dog may have deteriorated stats due to insufficient SP)

Yumiella blinked, read the alert, read it again, and suddenly realized that the periodic activation event, the unique monsters, and other game elements might have a reasonable explanation.

It was said that the Legendary Heroes of old helped the pioneers to settle and pacify the archipelago. It's not a matter of chance with the bosses, they developed some form of SP-fueled monster spawner that they distributed to large, centralized ecosystems. Possibly the once-a-decade element is how long the system needs to naturally accumulate an overflow of SP from the environment, or possibly the overflow naturally occurs periodically and the activation event serves to bleed it off beneficially. Pity I'm still not Level 50, or I could access the Purification Sword. As it is, I'll need to stick with the Energetic Sword form.

"Do you know whether monsters brought to Cal Mira during the activation event will also grant double experience? Or tamed monsters raised on the archipelago?" she questioned.

"I... don't rightly think I've heard either way, ma'am. Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Please step out of the way," Yumiella requested, and she selected YES on her menu.

Yumiella had expected a drain on her SP, or ideally a counter so she could select how much to donate.

Instead, she staggered as dizziness hit her like a hammer, and suddenly a giant black wolf was lunging for her throat.

"Yumiella Kick."

Her foot smashed its slavering jaws together, and she made excellent use of her jump improvements to get distance and land a slash on its side.

"Greeyowooooo~!" it howled angrily, flaring black wings at her.

"Faust Jinx," Yumiella cast, and it shivered as darkness flowed over it. My SP is at 0, so I can't use any skills until it regenerates, but I still have my magic. I should be able to-

"Yom!"

"Graaaoooooooo~!"

"Yoshi!" Her oldest child in this new world had attacked to defend his mother, and while Yoshi was powerful and growing well, he was less than a month old and fighting a boss monster twice his size.

"Faust Jinx, Faust Jinx, Faust Hex, Faust Jinx," Yumiella chanted as she rushed in swinging. The giant hound spun away from the Tyrella mid-lunge to deal with this new irritant, only for Yoshi to bite a chunk out of its left wing while it was distracted.

Yumiella's fourth swing finally caught its sensitive nose as it snapped at her, and the monster howled in pain, instead of rage.

Its wings didn't seem to let it fly, and unlike a bear it didn't rear up on its hind legs, but at least one of Yumiella's spells had hit its face and there was some inhibiting effect as a result.

She and Yoshi had flanked the monster, it was off-balance, and Yumiella never stopped moving long enough for it to bite her.

The monster hunkered down after thirty seconds of relentless, two-pronged assault had opened a dozen bleeding wounds across its pelt. Then it tried to raise its head in the first notes of an echoing howl, and Yumiella lunged in with a sideways slash to its throat.

It must be a Boss monster with so much HP, Yumiella reflected grimly as her attack failed to behead it, or even to open its throat.

Nevertheless, the neck chop caused the building howl to immediately cut off, and as it hacked she shoved an open hand near its head.

"Faust Hex," Yumiella cast at close range, and the faint dark streamers of Jinx smoke intensified as its eyes began leaking black pus.

The monster howled, but not in pain or anger.

It howled in fear, a desperate attempt to scare foes and stave off dying.

"Yo-yom!" Yoshi cried, and the Karma Dog's leg bone cracked between Yoshi's jaws.

It tried to simultaneously lunge at Yoshi for revenge while swiping at Yumiella with its wing, but rather than dodge away or block she jumped up over the blow and swung her sword down on its spine as Yoshi kicked it in the face.

There was a crunch, it half-collapsed as its legs gave out, and Yumiella stabbed her sword between its ribs before the shift in balance could throw her off.

+77,880 EXP

LEVEL UP!

Yumiella Dolkness -- Cardinal Sword Hero -- Level 48

Energetic Sword -- Proficiency 100%

Would you like to reset Proficiency? Y / N

"Holy Seven Stars," her guide uttered shakily.

"Yoshi, you were very helpful, and thank you, but I almost had a heart attack when you lunged in like that," Yumiella scolded. "Please exercise more care in the future, and leave the dangerous fighting to Kaa-chan."

"Yurm," Yoshi grumped back at her with a stern glare.

Well, I can't really argue that it's okay for me but not for him. And he was very helpful... From the speed of its blows and how long it took to wear it down, I'd estimate there was a greater power gap between us here than there was the first time I fought and failed to defeat the Dullahan Boss in the Dolkness Dungeon, who was a Level 50 threat.

And unlike when I first fought the Dullahan, here my magic capability is minimal, my SP was reduced to 0 unexpectedly, and there was an innocent civilian in harm's way.

This could have ended very badly... although the worst possibilities would require me to be unable to run away, or for it to successfully chase me off the island.

"Are there any records of these Boss Monsters fleeing their home islands?"

"Never willingly," her guide confirmed, "and the few times people strong enough tried to drag 'em away, they went berserk and died fighting to break free. Gotta say, the Legendary Heroes really are something else; I really thought I would hafta step in, since most people need to be Level 60 or higher before they fight a boss, much less fight one solo." He gave her an approving nod.

Yumiella blinked, parsed that, and sighed as she resisted the urge to face-palm. "If you grew up here, I suppose you would have lived three six or seven of these activation events," she noted.

"Yup! Plus there's usually a few days when it's just locals in the beginning, right as it starts but the news isn't out yet to the rest of the world an' the monsters aren't too populous. Someone's gotta report the population booms an' all," he laughed appreciatively. "Still though, 73 years alive and I ain't never seen this ole boss outside the activation days. How'd you do it?"

Yumiella considered obfuscating, considered that he was probably twice her level if he'd been alive for four or five activation periods, and said, "In addition to HP and MP, the Legendary Weapons possess a regenerating pool of SP used to fuel our unique weapon skills. I was able to prompt the generation of the Boss unexpectedly, but it forcibly sucked out all of my SP to do so. I suspect that whatever mechanisms the previous Cardinal Heroes implemented when helping settle these islands fed off either their SP or a natural wellspring of such energy."

"You don't have any left? Is that safe?" her guide checked worriedly.

Yumiella checked her Menu. "I could continue to fight the weaker monsters, especially with Yoshi, but even if my SP were full it would be very dangerous for me to attempt to spawn another Boss, no matter the experience benefits."

ALERT

Karma Dog Spawner cooldown period:

01:00:37:15

Yumiella blinked as it dropped to 14, then 13, and 12...

"Also, it seems I will not be able to respawn another Karma Dog Boss until tomorrow. However, if we return to the hot springs I can recover my SP and investigate whether I am able to spawn one of the other Boss monsters. May I impose upon you?"

"Only if'n you bring more proper backup to the fight," her guide insisted firmly. "Friends and teamwork are important."

"...Agreed."

Day 21, afternoon

The muscular Karma Penguin boss monster fell with a final angry shriek as she slashed its six-pack open, and Yumiella stepped forward to absorb its body.

Only one sword form again, and it is also locked until Level 60. So the Karma monsters resemble Wave monsters but not Wave Bosses, interesting. But with this I'm finally Level 50, and I can use the teleporting power that was unlocked.

Portal Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity A -- Base Power = ATK+3 ... ... Unique Equip Skill = Transport -- spend SP to immediately teleport yourself and up to 2+(Level/20) allies to one of three locations you are familiar with (cooldown 00:01:00:00)

"That was terrifying," Farrie panted, dripping with sweat. "Have you hit Level 50, or are we going to hit the last island?"

"Our training was a success," Yumiella assured her. "Thank you."

Farrie shot her a thumbs-up. "Happy to. I could use a soak in the hot springs, though." Yumiella hesitated. Farrie frowned. "You don't have to tell me anything secret, but you clearly have some kind of... plan? Is there some emergency? I don't need to rest if you need help."

Yumiella debated explaining it immediately, then realized that either way she could use yet another dip in the hot springs to restore her SP for teleporting fuel. "We should go to the hot springs."

The trip back went without issue, and she thanked her guide with a promise to return and give him something more appropriate than money (which he had plenty of) as a tip. He laughed and bowed and they parted ways.

Yumiella gave Yoshi's scales a quick rub down and left him with some tasty treats before she joined Farrie in the springs.

"So...?"

"One moment," Yumiella requested, and she shifted the Cardinal Sword to the Nakama Sword form that she had Awakened earlier that week.

Nakama Sword (M) -- Rarity A -- Base Power = ATK+5 ... ... Equip Effect = trusted party members stat growth improvement (medium) ... Unique Equip Effect = unlock Relationships Gauge tab

She hadn't really been trying to get that when she'd Awakened the sword, she'd just wanted the stat bonus improvements to help her teammates stay alive, but in addition to a basic attempt at numerically describing someone's feelings toward her, it gave a... a reaction regarding her party members' emotions.

It had felt too much like an invasion of privacy, when she had gained this sword form through their trust and support, but this time Yumiella needed to be certain.

"I have been lied to about several things since I arrived in this world," Yumiella told Farrie. "I wish to know if you are complicit."

Farrie opened her mouth, closed her mouth, and said, "I don't think so? What have you been lied to ab- wait, is this about that pageantry in the beginning when we chose our heroes to follow and none of us chose the Shield?"

"Among other things," Yumiella agreed, keeping her attention on the gauge's reaction. "Were you aware that historically the Cardinal Heroes were summoned one to a nation, not all four at once?"

Farrie frowned. "That... makes sense with what I've read, but I didn't know it- I know that Faubley has historically gone after the Spear Hero and Siltvelt has traditionally been the home of the Shield Hero, but all the stories usually involve all of them traveling around the world."

"Traveling rather than staying in one kingdom?" Yumiella pressed as Farrie blushed. She's... embarrassed, but not guilty. Self-recrimination, not panic.

"I mean-! Lady Yumiella, I've mostly read novels and some centuries-old accounts, nothing that went in-depth! But yeah, what you're saying... it fits, and it actually makes more sense with why a Shield Hero has historically sided with Demi-humans despite being human, if it's a cycle where they always summon the Shield Hero and... he..." she trailed off, and Yumiella got the idea that there was some kind of reassessment and muted panic going on with her. "Ohshit. Is there some kind of conspiracy or evil plot going on? You think I'm part of it? I swear, I'm-,"

"I believe you," Yumiella said simply. "I wish to know whether you will join me in unraveling these events."

"I- If I'm following you to fight a Wave, then I'm definitely willing to help you fight normal people. I'm, uh, I'm not that great with books and logic," Farrie admitted, "but I'll try to help you there if I can. What do you need?"

Shame, but also sincerity. She feels honest, Yumiella decided. "Do you remember Bakta's report that the Shield Hero had raped his one companion?"

"Yeah? I heard rumors like that as we were traveling, but I figured you'd speak up if you had feelings about it."

"I received a message from the Bow Hero earlier, and it seems the Shield Hero may have been framed by the Three Heroes Church to discredit him. Your opinion?"

"I... feel uncomfortable, but I can imagine that," Farrie said slowly. "We've never been really religious, not until I ended up serving a Holy Hero who blew the legends out of the water-," Yumiella blinked at this, given that said legends included slaughtering armies of monsters and defeating a monster the size of a mountain, but indications were that Farrie was sincere. "-and I've been praying more since then, but not really with any specific doctrine? I just... I don't really know any Demi-humans, but I saw them living side-by-side with humans just fine when we visited my cousins in Zenoble, and the Three Heroes Church trying to blame them for everything when humans can be evil too never sat right with me. I just wasn't really religious enough to bother caring which services I attended when I went to Church. Um. This sounds totally wishy-washy and I'm talking with like a saint about how I'd skiff off church to train, fuck," Farrie hissed. "Wait, sorry, moving on, what do you need me to do? If you want my help then you have it, no matter my past mistakes."

Total sincerity, at least as far as I can tell, Yumiella assessed. "What is your opinion of slavery?"

"I mean, some of what slave owners do is gross because they're gross people, but, um..." Farrie's mouth worked for a moment. "I guess saying I don't have an opinion is sort of shitty?" Yumiella didn't answer her. "It's... like, part of it just sort of like pets," she hazarded. "There are people who treat pets with love, shepherds who have them help with their job and cry when they die, and then there are assholes who beat their dog because they're mean. And it's also partly just, like, there's nobility and priests and rich merchants and peasants and then slaves are below peasants. I just... never really thought of it before? I don't have a better answer than that."

...I suppose I can't really fault her about that. I never questioned the idea that the Demon King was a threat to the world instead of focusing his hate on the Royal Family of Balshine, and despite growing up in a parliamentary democracy in my first life, I never particularly questioned or criticized the aristocratic government of Balshine even when Edwin behaved ineptly. I thought it was inefficient that most people weren't given the opportunity to easily Level Up under supervision as children, but other than helping Alicia when the game plots's influence pushed her to train in a daze, I made no particular efforts to help anyone else Level Up or prepare for the Demon King's revival.

Really, there was no reason for only five of us to go fight the Demon King, rather than eight or ten people who were of a respectable level, and even if there weren't people willing to train under my methods, it would have been the work of only another weekend or two to take Alicia back to the dungeon I first took her and have her run through it several more times for better equipment and a Level more suited to face the Demon King than what she had after that one day of training.

I simply never thought much about the differences between games and the real world unless those differences were slapping me in the face, because it was what I knew and what I had come to expect.

"There are many problems in the world that I, too, never thought much about before," Yumiella affirmed. "We shall try to grow better and wiser together, from now on."

Farrie went from shamed to surprised, and then pleasantly hopeful, offering Yumiella a wide smile and a thumbs-up in affirmation. "Right, we will! What do you need me to do?"

"I needed to reach Level 50 to unlock a teleportation sword form, which will allow me to return to the capital without any watchers reporting on my actions. Once there, I can disguise myself-," She still had both the disguise artifact Bakta had given her and an Awakened Decorative Sword form that improved her disguise skills. "-to covertly investigate the rape accusation against Naofumi as well as rendezvous with Itsuki to discuss his desire to free slaves and abolish slavery. Are you willing to assist?"

"Yes," Farrie agreed immediately.

Chapter Text

Day 21, sunset

Without mentioning teleportation, the explanation Yumiella gave to the rest of the party was that Farrie would be taking her to Zeltbull, capital of Zenoble, to check out the equipment sold there with potential to recruit new party members, and that the three men were to watch over the twins (she was only bringing Yoshi with her, as a Tyrella mount was less visible than fluffy Filorials or winged children,) and continue training in hopes they would hit the Level Cap before Yumiella got back.

(Farrie had started laughing when Yumiella was giving them advice on what to do regarding faster methods they could use if necessary, so Yumiella suspected she'd made some faux pas from that and the men's faces, but it didn't seem important enough for anyone to bring up and she had other things to take care of.)

Once those plans and arrangements were made, Yumiella got on a boat bound for Zenoble with Yoshi and Farrie... and then used the Portal Sword to transport directly near where her party had shared a meal and made plans that first day, which was distinctive enough to be a targetable location without alerting any of the city, palace, or church guards to their entry.

In the dark of sundown, no one noticed their arrival; Farrie had applied make-up and basic disguises once she and Yumiella were on the ship, so with the mix of Dual Wielder and Haircut Sword form Yumiella now looked like Farrie's less cheerful twin with double daggers at her belt.

Yumiella sent Itsuki a PM that she was at the capital and to call her to set up a rendezvous -- for all they knew, the PM might not even arrive before he was scheduled to call her anyway, but whether or not it arrived by the call would give them a baseline to test the message travel speed, now that they'd learned it wasn't instant like they'd assumed -- and then she and Farrie went asking around town about the Shield Hero.

(Well, Farrie asked around under the guise of being traveling sisters who were worried about being targeted with 'that nefarious fiend!' roaming free. She got better results. But Yumiella was present too!)

The answers weren't great, but there was nothing overtly damning either. After his trial, the Shield Hero seemed to have hung around the capital like an angry storm cloud for a bit, but he never attacked anyone beyond mean words or a scary look. There was news that he'd intimidated people with threats to sic monsters on them, or blackmailed merchants into doing business with him, but no accounts of him actually stealing or committing a crime.

After about a week of this (accounts varied), he'd turned up with a demi-human slave girl following him, and after a few more days the duo had gone off... to Riyute Village of all places, and Yumiella felt pangs guilt (considering that there were one or two messages to her from Naofumi outside of the group messages where he was insulting and abrasive,) that he may have been hoping to meet up with her when she had already moved on.

I don't think I checked my messages at all after Yoshi-kun hatched, she reflected guiltily. Between getting into the double-digit levels again and tending my new child, I allowed myself to totally lose sight of the importance of keeping in contact with my comrades. And now I have to worry whether Naofumi actually has committed heinous crimes, meaning I might not be able to contact him for fear of him trying to cover up the evidence.

"Lady Yumiella?" Farrie wondered.

"If Naofumi is a predator, it will show in his treatment of his slave," Yumiella decided. "What are the ways he could control or hurt her?" 'I need to know what options we'll need to work around.'

It was an educational talk -- slavery was even more common in Zenoble than in Melromarc, albeit with less bigotry involved, so Farrie knew quite a bit through osmosis -- and Yumiella's interest was immediately pinged by the knowledge that applying a Slave Control Seal required magical ink, the owner's blood, and a sorcery procedure, but that removing such a seal could be done with only a potion. Said potion was kept under tight control by the slave traders, but if Itsuki could get a supply then he could stealthily free as many slaves as he wanted.

There were plenty of other details too -- slave seals could only be keyed to one master at a time unless a specific and expensive version was used; the death of the master deactivated the slave seal but didn't remove it; slaves could disobey and refuse orders if they could resist the pain, provided they didn't mind that it would eventually kill them; slaves usually showed up in the status magic of the owner but that couldn't be used to give them orders -- and Yumiella made certain to write it down in Japanese, so that she could give the notes to Itsuki.

Day 22, early morning

"He says Reichnott Territory is three or four days west of Riyute Village," Itsuki relayed as his SP steadily ticked lower.

"Call me again at noon, and I will tell you how close I am," Yumiella instructed, and he would never admit it but part of Itsuki felt so relieved to have someone older and more experienced helping him deal with this.

"I will," Itsuki affirmed, and he ended the call. Turning to Van Reichnott, he asked, "Is there a nearby slave trader I could visit? I want to see if I can buy some of the remover potion she mentioned."

"Even nobles aren't supposed to own that potion without a license, or I'd have a supply of it on hand, but for a Legendary Hero they might make an exception," Van said thoughtfully. "If there's a slave trader in my domain, the guards would need to know so they could inspect that the business is up to code, so it should be easy to find out."

"Do so," Itsuki commanded. "I'll go back to my group, allay their suspicions, hunt some monsters, and return at noon to call the Sword Hero."

He was still a long way from the level requirement for the Portal Bow, but he had copied a bow that gave him the Blink Shot skill, allowing him to teleport wherever the arrow landed. With that, he was able to get back to his teammates in time for breakfast, their meal including a few birds he'd brought back as his excuse for going out alone so early.

No one was drinking this early in the morning, but under the excuse of wondering about Melromarc having 'unjust laws that failed to punish that fiendish Shield Hero,' Itsuki was able to get them talking about some historically influential court cases and legal precedents.

It was probably better than pre-shogunate Japan had been (history was never Itsuki's strongest subject), if you excluded the slavery, but that was such a low bar that Itsuki still couldn't bear to call it 'good'.

Itsuki told his followers he had seen a rare bird monster flying around out of his arrow range earlier, so he was going to spend the morning tracking it, but that they would re-group for a late lunch and check whether there were any worthwhile quests for their party to do in the afternoon.

Then he went and spent two hours hunting a bunch of monsters from high vantage points, because he needed to fucking move and act and not just sit back being helpless as innocent kids got murdered. He usually disdained being too far away from his targets -- there was no challenge or excitement to that type of sniping, people nearby wouldn't know that he was the one stepping in to save them, and it was a pain to get closer after the fact to absorb the bodies -- but right now he needed maximum EXP and drop items at top speed, and he didn't want too many people to know where he was anyway. He just needed a Blink Shot to the big pile of monster corpses each time he was done and that was that.

Right around noon, he returned to Van Reichnott's home, got a bunch of Soul Healing Water ready to drink, and made a call to Yumiella to hear her location.

...It took him consulting a map to triple-check and van Reichnott confirming it, but apparently the Sword Hero had made obscenely good time traveling toward them? How?!  Still, Itsuki wasn't going to rifle through good fortune's pockets, and if Yumiella arrived by that evening then that was all the better.

He returned to his party for lunch -- they asked him about the bird and he said it had stayed too far out of his range, but he hunted some other monsters along the way -- and after they'd eaten Yari produced three viable quests from her trip to the Guild.

Usually Itsuki would have gone after the bandit investigation/arrest request, as it involved bringing evildoers to Justice and he'd done that kind of work several times before, but the request specifically noted the 'bandits' as including at least two Demi-humans and that was enough for Itsuki to quietly worry that it might be some set-up of escapees trying to survive.

Instead, he took the request to hunt down some mountain cat monsters that had started hunting livestock nearby, and it went off without a hitch.

(In fact, the team cleaned up faster than usual because Itsuki was so furiously frustrated that he didn't hang back waiting to save his teammates from trouble, he went in full force from the very beginning to clear the monsters out ASAP.)

(He had to admit, everyone's praise of his astounding combat aggression felt good, too. Different from their gratitude for him helping them out of danger, but still good.)

Under the guise of celebrating their successful mission, Itsuki declared they should spring for an inn and splurge on dinner, and that everyone's levels had gone up enough to reassess tomorrow afternoon whether they needed to buy a new round of supplies and equipment. He also made sure to buy multiple rounds of drinks for everyone, talking up Mald (the man who was probably spying on him for the corrupt King, but Itsuki couldn't kick the jackass out without tipping his hand,) and toasting the man several times to get him thoroughly drunk off his ass.

Itsuki himself remained sober, and slipped off to Van Reichnott's estate from his private bedroom (locked but with a note on his bedside table in case his team decided to break down the door if they knocked and he didn't respond,) to find that the Sword Hero had already arrived and met their host.

"Yumiella," he greeted. "You made good time. Do you have a travel-assisting skill or spell?" I would have required most of a week to travel from here to the capital, unless I burned through a lot of Soul Healing Water to make use of Blink Shot. Is there a more efficient method?

"Yoshi-kun is an agile and resolute child," Yumiella answered, tossing a treat out the open window to... to the dragon-mount poking his head into the meeting room.

"Ah. I see." Itsuki cleared his throat to chase away the awkwardness. "Lord Reichnott's legal requirements for slave traders are stricter than most-,"

Van Reichnott required documentation of how a slave entered slavery, and any slave sale in his domain required a copy of the receipt to be sent to his records; additionally, slaves had the legal status nearly equal to that of minor children under their owner's guardianship, so abusing a slave could see the owner face legal charges.

It wasn't the best system, but Itsuki appreciated that the man didn't have the authority to outlaw slavery entirely, so in those circumstances it was admirable for him to follow in the footsteps of Oskar Schindler trying to protect vulnerable victims.

"-but there are other slave traders in nearby lands, so it shouldn't be too much trouble to get a sample of the slavery removal-,"

*thunk*

"-potion. Already?" Itsuki asked, a bit flabbergasted that Yumiella was able to produce a jar of said potion immediately. "How did you...?"

"I informed a slave trader in the capital that the potion could unlock a useful sword form, and I desire to buy some from him. He would not give me a jar, so I had him pour it directly into my Inventory after telling him it would be consumed instead of stored. After I said 'stop,' I poured a little bit back out again to sell the idea that the rest was consumed, and then I paid him. It unlocked the Liberation sword as well."

"Huh." Itsuki took the jar.

NEW FORM UNLOCKED

Liberation Bow (unmastered) -- Very Uncommon -- Ore 0/15 -- Base Power = ATK+2 ... ... Equip = M.ATK+3 ... M.DEF+2 ... SPD+4 ... Unique Equip Skill - spend SP to slip free of mundane or magical bindings that impede free movement 

"I was hoping for something that would let me free slaves using a Skill, but this will have its uses. Maybe if I Awaken it once or twice it will develop a new skill. Have you had that happen?" he checked, uncertain if the Sword Hero would have had the same experience.

"Yes. My Cavalry Sword gained the ability to increase my mount's stamina, which helped us arrive quickly."

I hope that's an example and not the only ability she unlocked... "Lord Reichnott, do you know how many slaves this much potion could free? Or failing that, do you have alchemists who would be able to recreate it?"

"Ten or twenty slaves, perhaps? I'm not certain about alchemical recreation with this little. We could identify some of the ingredients, but the compounding methods and enchantments to make it would be more difficult without using more for tests and experimentation."

"As soon as I find another slave trader, I can bring you more," Itsuki resolved.

"I have sword forms to improve alchemy and mixing," Yumiella contributed. "I need lessons, but they may help, and Itsuki should be able to unlock them as well."

"You do? Which ones, may I see?" I don't really remember... I might have one or two low-level forms that I never bothered to use, but this feels like she means more than that.

"I have questions about Ore Equip, if I may see how you use it?"

"Certainly," Itsuki said, toggling a MENU function to let her see his Status Menu as she did the same with hers. "Before I forget again, I also uncovered a new improvement method called Job Assignment; I vaguely knew it existed from before our summoning, since the method existed in Dimension Web, but it didn't initially show up in my Menu, possibly because it slipped my mind and I didn't have any of the ingredients used for it during our first exchange."

"This will be useful, thank you," Yumiella confirmed as she switched over to his HELP MENU tab. "I have not been able to figure out which ores work for Ore Equip or where to buy them, if you will help me with that."

"Buy? Well, you can buy some of them, but you also get a lot from monster drops."

"Other than absorbing monster body parts, I have not found any drop items in my menu, nor or by the bodies of defeated monsters. Nor the Soul Fragments that Motoyasu mentioned."

"What really?" That can't be right, I've been using her Awakening method to increase Rarity without any problems. He switched over to her Menu page, scrolled down to the very bottom that still had its row of empty boxes, waiting to be filled, and told her, "That tab is right here, and the Soul Fragments too, see?" He poked one, then the other. He blinked and checked them both again. Holy Shit, even if she hasn't accessed them at all, having so many of these stored up feels obscene. How many monsters has she been- Holy Fuck! The stats on the Penguin Kigurumi armor are fucking insane, how the shit did she get it?!

"I suspect it was from the Karma Penguins at Cal Mira."

"Ah, did I say that out- Wait, the archipelago activation event is happening? And we're missing it?!"

"No, but there are monsters present even without the activation event," Yumiella answered, putting an end to his unscheduled heart palpitations.

Itsuki swore again, quietly, then said, "I'm beginning to see the benefits to your sequence breaking methods. What Level are you right now?"

"Fifty-one. We met some monsters on the way here."

Itsuki swallowed. Almost two weeks until the next wave, that Wave's suggested Level is 35, and she's 51. Right. Any doubt about her genuinely getting to Level 99 in her second life before this is totally gone, she knows what she's doing here.

I need to get better, or I'll just be a footnote as she saves the world on her own.

"Any advice on Leveling up quickly? I'm only thirty-three, right now," he admitted.

She flicked through a few pages of his Menu, then said, "You seem to only have one bow form per type of monster. If you dissect the monsters, skinning and deboning them, and absorb those portions separately, then you can usually unlock between two and five forms for each breed of monster."

She changed both their menu pages to the weapon form lists to demonstrate; where Itsuki only had the Pikypikyu bird sword that let him maintain and repair his equipment (a benefit he rarely used when he could just buy new stuff or hire someone else to fix it if his party couldn't do it for him), she had additional forms for the meat, bones, and feathers.

None of those forms were very good quality or useful, but when he checked her other entries to see the Owlbear Sword or the Usapil sword, there were still plenty of passive benefits and stat bonuses she had that he didn't.

"Right. I'm not sure it'd be a good use of my time to do it myself," Itsuki reasoned, not wanting to get covered in gore and guts when they were far away from civilization and decent wash stations, "but if my party won't do it then that'd be a good excuse to hire a new member who isn't potentially spying on me." He frowned and looked over her weapon forms list again, until he finally realized what was bugging him. "Have you been making use of the Weapon Copy system? I don't see any weapons here that I recognize from it."

"The what?" Yumiella wondered.

[expletive] [expletive] [expletive]. Wow. On the one hand, it's sort of hilarious that she's been exclusively using material unlocks this entire time instead of the powerful Weapon Copy method. On the other hand, those material unlock forms got her to Level 51 and her stats are more than double mine, so if I laugh at her she can waste me.

Itsuki turned his chuckle into a wheezing cough, which got him a glass of water to clear his throat (and buy him time to regain his composure, very important that), and then posited, "In hindsight, I suspect that one conversation, late at night, after a long and confusing day dealing with our summoning, when we had no practical experience using our improvement methods in any live situations... was not the best circumstance to try explaining our powers to each other. We should go through each of our methodologies and what we've learned again, so we don't have any more miscommunications like this."

"Yes. ...If Naofumi turns out to be innocent of his accusation, I intend to share these with him as well."

"Only if he's not guilty," Itsuki agreed, feeling an itch to scratch his fist on someone's face, be it the shitty Kangaroo King or Naofumi. "Do you have any leads either way?"

"One of my party is investigating him."

...The party assigned to us by the King, who might be full of spies?  "Is it a trustworthy member of your party? Not a spy?"

"Yes," Yumiella answered, and since she was the one who'd told him about the spies he didn't feel like he should press for more details.

"Right, so... Ore Equip," he began to explain, "is based on the idea that each weapon form can be empowered attaching valuable ores to it, but only so many at once..."

Chapter Text

Day 23, morning

After sleeping in Lord Reichnott's guest bedroom and enjoying a pleasant breakfast, Yumiella took the opportunity to review what she had learned from Itsuki while waiting for him to arrive to discuss further planning.

Her MENU didn't directly have a note-taking tab, but Itsuki had showed her a trick where she could send herself a Written In Blood message for 1 HP total (rather than per word) that he'd copied out from his habit of saving things (presumably stuff he didn't want his parents to see,) by emailing them to himself instead of saving them to his computer itself.

SWORD EMPOWERMENT

1) Level Improvement -- very vague? Becoming higher level makes the Cardinal Sword stronger, which is very vague and should apply to all the Cardinal Weapons, but there's no real description of how unless it involves the Level Requirement for assorted weapon forms, or my theory that certain Menu entries, data, and functions have unwritten Level Requirements as well to unlock.

Other option is that it relates to stat growth improving as your Level increases? Itsuki estimated that stat growth was exponential along 20-level increments -- a Level 40 has double the stats they had at Level 20, then at Level 60 they have double their Level 40 stats and again at Level 80 and Level 100 -- where I had expected it to be more linear, but given our passive stat bonuses from Mastered weapon forms it seems very difficult to measure that and check.

 

2) Weapon Proficiency -- when a single sword form is used more often, it gains Proficiency gauge that increases from 0% to 100%. From Itsuki's experience, it seems that a form can gain up to 99% Proficiency without being Mastered, but it must be Mastered to gain 100% Proficiency.

According to Itsuki, a weapon form with 100% Proficiency will have a 50% to its stats or so -- this is an 'invisible bonus' that doesn't show up on the Menu list of forms unless you toggle it or deliberately activate the specific exact details of that form's abilities, which is why I didn't notice it before -- so it's useful to keep one or two powerful forms at 100% for the stat increase while resetting the rest to gain PP.

 

3) PP (Power Points) -- Formerly "Proficiency Points", until Itsuki mentioned that he had a similar function unrelated to Proficiency, at which point the name changed. PP can be gained through several methods, but resetting a sword form's 100% Proficiency status grants a reliable 15 PP per reset. Might not be considered its own improvement method so much as fuel for the improvement methods, much like how multiple elements of magic all draw from the same MP supply.

 

4) Awakening -- weapon forms each fall into one of 8 known categories depending on their Rarity (Itsuki insists it should be "Quality" to not overlap with his Bow's rarity-based methods), which are G, F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, where G is so common that it can be found randomly on the ground, such as grass, soil, leaves, rocks, etc.

It requires 10 PP to attempt to Awaken and upgrade a G-rank form to F-rank, +5 PP added to the cost for each successive rank improvement. Improving multiple forms quickly is possible if you can supply the PP, but each individual weapon from has a 24-hour cooldown before you can try to Awaken it again.

Awakening a weapon form can fail, which will consume the PP used in the attempt and require a 24-hour cooldown period before you try again. However, there are no negative consequences to the stats or rarity/quality of the weapon itself.

Honestly, given that she'd had to learn quite a bit about what her own Cardinal Sword's so-called 'Help' Menu insisted was the sword's original improvement methods from Itsuki, Yumiella was feeling annoyed at life and desiring to lodge yet another fist-coated complaint in the GM's face (or rather, their divine equivalent).

Also, despite Itsuki's willingness and ability to explain certain elements of her own weapon's abilities to her, she couldn't shake the nagging idea that he was dead wrong about some of what he'd insisted was correct, even if she didn't have a better explanation for it herself.

Still, she'd at least been willing to take him at his word when he explained the Bow's empowerment methods, even if some of them made very little sense to her as well.

BOW EMPOWERMENT

1) Rarity / Value / Quality -- According to Itsuki, "the rarity of your equipment is everything, and after that is building up money to buy supplies and rarer equipment". He insists that rare weapons and weapons made out (or unlocked by) of rare or valuable materials are consequentially more powerful. He insists this is not a tautology where "equipment with better stats is more difficult to make and thus costs more," but floundered when I brought up the way that diamonds on Earth were considered valuable because the market for them was tightly controlled, despite being more common than other less valuable gems, or how pearls used to be very valuable until humans figured out how to farm them.

We will agree to disagree until we can uncover evidence either way, but it does appear to be generally true that sword forms with a higher Rarity rating tend to be superior to forms with a lower rating.

Itsuki claims that mixing silver into steel when creating the weapon will result in a superior weapon, but had no reply when I wondered whether or not it was because of the magical processes and silver's higher magical conductivity, so we will consult some blacksmiths regarding whether a solid gold show weapon would be worth wielding in battle.

 

2) Ore Equip -- I described this as, "the magical equivalent of adding decorative jewels or gold leaf to improve the value" and Itsuki called it an astute simplification, "provided you remember that each ornament carries an improvement enchantment".

Each weapon form has a predetermined number of "slots" which can be filled by equipping certain ores to supply stat boosts. Each ore will reliably provide the same boost to the same stat, regardless of the weapon form to which it is applied. These bonuses act as passive Unique Equip bonuses to that weapon form, so you can only benefit from the Ore Equip bonuses of the Weapon Form you have actively equipped at the time.

NOTE: try to unlock a Dual Wielder variant that allows me to equip two different weapon forms to see if the Ore Equip bonuses stack, as neither Itsuki nor I currently have that skill to test it.

Itsuki was not certain whether the "ores" used are all classified as metals, gems, and/or other types of minerals, but he agreed with my assessment that a cut gemstone or a pure gold ingot MIGHT be more valuable and potent than an uncut jewel or gold ore.

There is no loss of equipped ores and nothing to prevent removing and re-equipping them to mix and match bonuses, however each individual bonus is small (+1 or +1%) unless you use far more rare and expensive ores to get a higher bonus (up to +5 or +5% each).

Awakening seems to increase the number of slots by 5 -- G has 0 slots, F has 5, D has 10, up to A having 30 slots -- but he still disagrees about whether the Sword and Bow rarity-related methods have overlap in determining, and for some reason his Menu is showing the C, UC, R, SR, SSR, AR, L, ratings alongside my G-SS ranks once I explained them to him, rather than replacing one with the other.

 

3) Item Enchantment -- transform items (monster materials only? Drop Items? Experiment) in the Inventory into a % bonus to a certain stat regarding a certain enemy for a specific weapon form. One serving of Yellow Beetle shells will provide +2% damage resistance against insect-type monsters, while the meat and organs provide +2% damage dealt to insect-type monsters.

There can only be one Item Enchantment on a weapon form at a time, but the Level of the enchantment can be improved by consuming additional samples of the enchanting material used. The rule of thumb seems to be "+2% (stat) against (enemy type)" per level of enchantment level.

There is no cooldown period required between enchantment attempts, whether applying a new enchantment or improving an old one, but THERE IS A CHANCE OF FAILURE. Improving to higher levels of enchantment have a greater risk of failure, and ONE FAILURE WILL ERASE THE ENTIRE ENCHANTMENT, forcing you to enchant it anew from Level 0.

Itsuki does not think that allowing for there to be cooldown time between attempts would improve the chances of succeeding, so to avoid wasting materials I will likely not use this very much.

NOTE: if the system does not care for the exact state of the material used, then this seems like a useful way to productively get rid of monster materials on the verge of going bad.

 

4) Job Rank -- there exists a list of "Jobs" which people can be given, and being assigned to this Job provides a helpful benefit of some form. The Level of the Job can be improved (24 hour cooldown, with no chance of failure) by feeding certain materials to fill a counter gauge's count [i.e. Level 1 is 0/5 to 5/5, the next day Level 2 is 0/6 to 6/6] with a Job Level Up achieved when the count is achieved.

People can only gain the Stat benefit of one Job at a time, but raising a Job to certain levels (Itsuki was vague but said multiple of ten were normal, though not every multiple) can unlock Skills that the Job-holder can use whether or not that particular Job is equipped.

All Jobs begin at Level 0 with no benefit provided. Itsuki said that new Jobs occasionally appeared on his list, but he was not sure what had prompted this (Level improvement?); he has never had a Job removed from his list that he remembers.

Itsuki thought that it was impossible to assign Jobs to other people, but my Menu says I needed to be touching the Job recipient to assign, alter, or improve their Job. We do not know whether Itsuki never tried this before, whether it is a possibility unlocked by my higher Level, or whether it is a result of my Nakama Sword form.

Almost any monster material (but not other materials like wood or dirt) can be used to improve a Job Gauge, but you have to use sufficiently similar material to fill the entire gauge. As such, it seems best to fill a gauge all at once rather than leaving it half full if you run out of the required material and cannot obtain more for several days.

Yumiella wasn't yet certain how or even if these Jobs related to people's classes and the Class Up process, but she had given herself the Warlock Job at Level 1 to improve her M.ATK a bit now that she finally knew a few spells, and she'd explore the other options with her teammates later on.

Since Naofumi's HELP MENU had been even less helpful than her own, and he hadn't played a comparable video game to give him inspiration, last up was the Cardinal Spear's methods, which neither she nor Itsuki understood very well. Nonetheless, they'd compared what they remembered of Motoyasu's explanations and the parts they had put into practice.

SPEAR IMPROVEMENT

1) Weapon Mastery -- supposedly, using a single weapon form more often would cause it to gain stat growth or some other form of improvement, but neither Itsuki nor I have been able to identify this happening to any of our weapons. It might be an "invisible" bonus similar to Itsuki's "Rarity improvement" and my "Level improvement" but we cannot find solid information on it either way.

Which, oddly enough, seems to fit the pattern of each weapon having one very vague and general improvement method that isn't well understood, and then several more useful and specific methods. Possibly it could be a red herring or a plot hook to be followed up on in the future? Maybe it's a way to say, "Level and Weapons and Value are all important, so don't neglect any of them"? That raises the question of which of Naofumi's Shield Improvement methods is the vague one of great importance...

 

2) Smelting -- it seems to be a cross between Item Enchantment and Ore Equip (both Bow methods), where Ores are consumed in an attempt to power up a specific weapon form.

The power-up itself is very general, represented just as a +1 or higher (with successive Tempering improvement levels) in the form's Menu entry rather than explaining what SPECIFIC benefits it provides.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF FAILURE.

Itsuki claims that applying a +1 bonus will never fail (similar to Item Enchantment), and estimated about a 10% chance of failure to create a +2 bonus, but he's uncertain beyond that whether the chance of failure is the same as Item Enchantment because it doesn't tell him automatically and he's never tried to go beyond +4 after his first attempt at a +5 failed and reset his form to +0.

Each weapon can only be upgraded by a specific type of ore, but one type of ore can apply to multiple weapon forms (although each sample of ore can only be used once and then consumed).

There is no cooldown period, so in a disadvantageous fight it may be worth testing my luck to apply +2 or +3 quickly to a few weapon forms, but otherwise I do not plan to use this very much.

 

3) Status Enchantment -- Can turn items into energy (similar to Item Enchant) and infuse that energy into a weapon form to give it a boost to one stat while I have it equipped.

Unlike Item Enchantment, this is a flat STAT improvement (i.e. +20 ATK, +15 SPD) with no known upper limit.

However, the stat affected and the size of the boost are RANDOM, or at least unpredictable.

Only one enchantment per form, and the items used are consumed with no recovery (also like Item Enchantment, but without levels of improvement).

Itsuki and I suspect that consuming more items and more valuable items for the enchantment might prompt better odds of a superior enchantment -- there certainly should be some limit where Balloon Fragments can't be used to randomly apply +200 ATK to a weapon form, we just don't know what that limit is -- but the details remain uncertain.

Status enchantments cannot be altered (CANNOT be improved) or transferred, they can only be removed when a new enchantment replaces them.

No Cooldown period, No risk of failure, but the result seems RANDOM even if it's generally good

 

4) Spirit Enchantment -- in addition to EXP and drop items, we seem to get pieces of monsters' souls when we slay them? I seriously worry now if I'm going to be haunted by monsters with a powerful grudge, but nothing has happened so far.

This is almost EXACTLY like Item Enchantment, except it uses soul fragments and there does not seem to be any chance of failure so far.

Infusing soul fragments into a weapon form seems to give it a PERCENT bonus to harming or resisting a specific type of monster, but the strength is only dependent on how many soul fragments are infused (such as spider souls granting +1% damage to bug monsters per fragment used)

There seems to be no risk of failure or resetting, so it is more like Item Enchant with the security of Ore Equip; soul fragments appear to be rarer and less potent that Item enchant levels, but they can be amassed, removed, and transferred to other weapon forms without issue.

Each type of soul fragment only gives one type of bonus no matter which form it is applied to, and only one type of soul fragment can be equipped to one weapon form at a time.

Itsuki and I have not yet discovered whether there is an upper limit to how high a bonus can be applied.

"Ha~ah," Yumiella huffed, drumming her fingers on the Cardinal Sword's hilt. She'd only done a little experimenting with the assorted improvement methods, but already it was cluttering up her weapon list tremendously when she tried to look at them.

Plus she wanted to go find a blacksmith or something to copy some weapon forms, but she needed to wait for Itsuki and then she ought to check in on Farrie if possible.

But sitting around to wait for Itsuki was such a pain when she could be Grinding!

To kill time, in addition to playing fetch with Yoshi-kun by throwing around some bones for him, Yumiella played with equipping the ore samples she had (primarily a bunch from her Drop Items Menu, since she'd had no reason to carry these things around before after unlocking and mastering those swords,) and cycling through the descriptions of the Job options she had unlocked.

Unfortunately, where she'd once had abundant PP and could have Awakened both her Energetic Sword and her Black Cerberus Sword to decide which form might be better to use in the upcoming Wave, she had already used her PP to improve a number of her forms that granted alchemical brewing and crafting bonuses, in preparation for 1) trying to unravel the slave liberation potion, and 2) potentially forging her own swords to to then Weapon Copy, as it seemed like a good step to attempt in the future.

Finally, the Bow Hero arrived.

"Yoshi-kun, game time is done, I need the bone," Yumiella called.

"Yom!"

"He's very well trained," Itsuki complimented.

"He's a diligent and intelligent child," Yumiella agreed. "Absorb this." She offered him the gnawed bone she'd been throwing around.

"Okay... Holy mother of-!"

"I tracked down the remnants of the Cerberus Boss of the First Wave, and they unlocked some useful swords."

"Useful!? Incredible base power, a crowd control skill, a multi-shot skill, twenty-five ore slots, this is going to be one of my main weapon forms now!"

Yes, that's why I called it useful, because I expect you to use it a lot. "I have some of the other materials to unlock forms, but they are mostly bones, as the meat will rot. However, the bones include skeleton monsters from the First Wave, which granted an inventory rot resistance ability to improve storage longevity."

"Right, hold on then, I have a bunch of mats I should trade you and- Hey, the Cerberus bone isn't in my- Oh," he realized as the 'wave materials are consumed to unlock weapons' alert must have popped up to explain things. "Huh, that's new."

"I have observed that our Help Menu could be more helpful," Yumiella deadpanned.

NOTICE: Certain Menu functions are locked and must be manually unlocked through level achievement, great acts, discovered skills, or independent research.

Yes, I figured that out already by now.

The two of them spent 20-30 minutes exchanging various items, which unlocked about 30+ more weapon forms for her to juggle, before they rejoined Lord Van Reichnott to begin work on the seal remover recipe.

Their first few attempts were not awful, but once they'd consumed 5 or so doses and only identified two or three ingredients Itsuki decided to call it quits for the day.

"I know that once we figure out the ingredients and method I'll be able to have the Bow mass produce this," he huffed, "but until then every dose we burn without a new source is a dose that can't be used to save an innocent in danger."

"Mass production?" Yumiella wondered.

"Well yeah, we can... I never mentioned it and I'm not sure if Motoyasu knew about it either," Itsuki realized. He then quickly explained how possession of recipes and ingredients could then be used to feed ingredients to the Cardinal Weapon to mass produce the recipes, with the caveat that the quality was always average. "It's a good way to keep a steady supply of basic items in stock and to get rid of mediocre materials that won't sell as well."

"Yes," Yumiella agreed, flipping through the list of recipes she could access to try it out.

Day 23, night

"The disguise is complete," Yumiella confirmed after she'd finished applying the last of the color to Yoshi's scales.

"Yom!" her strong and brave child cheered, licking her face affectionately.

"Hush," Itsuki hissed, "they might hear us."

When Van Reichnott had mentioned a rumor that Lord Rabier was heading back from the capital, Itsuki hadn't wanted to wait any longer before liberating the man's surviving slaves and investigating how deep this rot really went.

Lord Reichnott knew from personal experience that Rabier was 'an odious, wasteful, arrogant, violent, and bigoted man,' and had heard appalling rumors about what went on in the Rabier Mansion, but as it all occurred in Rabier's home inside his domain, and he was a friend of King Aultcray from their war days, there was never any solid knowledge or legal investigation of events there.

As such, Yumiella had conceded Itsuki's assertion that they ought to break into the manor itself, see the status of the people in the dungeons with their own eyes -- Van Reichnott had been able to confirm the existence of 'dungeons' rather than the more common wine cellars under Rabier Manor, as Idol Rabier had held prisoners there in the past -- and free them before their vile master could return.

The plan itself was straightforward and simple. Itsuki would find a high vantage point and non-lethally snipe people with his Booze Bow to render them unconscious if they came to investigate or sound an alarm.

Yumiella would use her upgraded Wooden Practice Sword-

Wooden Practice Sword (M) +2 -- Rarity D -- Ore: 15/15 -- Weapon Power = 2 ... ... Equip: muscle memory improvement (small)

Unique Equip Effect = Counting Coup -- the Hero cannot deal damage using this sword form, but the damage that would be dealt is instead used to calculate and apply a chance of inflicting Stun or Knockback onto the target; inflicting proportionate pain with attacks is optional

Status Enchant = SPD+20

Ore = Zinc x15 (SPD+15)

-to stun and incapacitate the guards and the servants and then go down into the dungeons to free the slaves with Yoshi on stand-by to carry them out to Itsuki and back her up.

All three of them were disguised to not be identified, and since the Sword Hero wasn't even believed to be in Melromarc at the moment, their cover ought to be solid.

"I'm going to snipe the guards, get ready to drag them out of view," Itsuki warned.

"Yes," Yumiella agreed.

She didn't even see his arrow, she just saw the patrolling soldier topple over and she raced off, speeding through the dark that felt as homey to her as her academy bedroom.

She had passive bonuses to stealth and night vision in addition to her years of experience sneaking out to go dungeon diving, and she made full use of them to pull the grizzled, lightly armored man out of easy view.

Per Van Reichnott's suggestion, she splashed some liquor on his shirt and mouth and propped him up under a tree on the grounds, so that it would look like he'd been drinking on duty.

Then she moved to where the next guard would be.

Four guards down later, she gave the signal for Yoshi to follow her into the manor quietly, and they disappeared inside.

The layout doesn't seem too different from Dolkness Manor... I wonder if we had dungeons as well, Yumiella reflected as she prowled through the dark rooms and hallways. she didn't have any particular lock picking skills, but her ATK was high enough that she could quietly cut open any locked doors (she'd only encountered two) to check them without alerting anyone.

Once or twice she went still and silent for several minutes, as her ears alerted her to footsteps, but they were always on the upper floors and never any cause for further alarm.

If she'd been a thief, she might have gone upstairs to raid valuables and jewelry, but dungeons would be below ground so she stayed on the first floor.

She eventually found the kitchens -- it was easy once she found the large banquet room, since they'd want to bring the food there quickly -- and subdued a single kitchenmaid with her Counting Coup stun skill, pulling the haggard girl (it seemed the low-ranking servants of the house were not treated well, she had bruises across her back, even Rita's sister Sara hadn't looked this drawn when Count Dolkness was holding her hostage against Rita's compliance,) outside and deliberately binding her, since unlike the soldiers she would care if this girl got punished for drinking on duty.

Yumiella searched the kitchens and the food pantries to no avail, stepped from that area out into an underground hall, and cringed.

An odor of rot and sewage had wafted into her nose, not too intense, but similar to being downwind of a filled outhouse. She turned to go search the opposite end of the hall first, and then she paused.

Abused slaves are not likely to be treated well or kept in clean quarters, she reasoned, so she followed her nose toward the scent instead. It led her to a thick, heavy door with two solid deadbolts, both of which were on the side facing her.

"Yoshi-kun, please guard this door and keep it open," Yumiella requested, rubbing her second child's head comfortingly before she descended down the musty stone stairs.

She smelled it long before she saw anyone: rot and old blood, smells that in a dungeon would herald a bunch of wet and squishy zombies. It was too dark even for her enhanced senses, so she produced a bit of ore from her inventory that glowed when magical power was applied, and she heard the gasp of at least one living voice as the new light swept over them.

The basement dungeon housed four living people and one dead body; a man's corpse was hung upside-down, and he had clearly expired unpleasantly and in pain.

Yumiella first moved to an adult woman -- she looked comparatively the healthiest, other than her badly mangled rabbit ears -- who had been locked in a pillory, cutting the metal lock out of the wood and producing a thick cloak to give her a semblance of modesty.

"Holy Shield protect us," the woman rasped quietly as Yumiella handed her a potion. "Are you-?"

"Wrong weapon, but we're here to free you," Yumiella assured her as she moved to the gangly teenage boy with a visibly broken leg.

"If we leave the cellar, our slave seals will kill us," the rabbit woman warned, but she was already stumbling over to the cage where the two young girls were imprisoned.

"I can't walk. If you can get us out, get the girls out and come back for me," the lone boy wheezed.

"We're faking your deaths," Yumiella answered, beginning to produce a number of human-shaped bones wrapped in cuts of raw monster meat and doing her best to position some 'arm bone' pieces in the pillory. "Yoshi-kun can carry all of you-,"

Incoming Call from KAWASUMI, ITSUKI. Will you accept?  Y / N

"Have we been found?" Yumiella checked as soon as she accepted, pulling out more potions to get the nearly-ex-slaves in functional condition and then getting the remover potion.

"Not yet, but a fancy carriage was pulling up to the gate and I blew it up. The fucker survived and I'm shooting to kill but he's blocking my arrows with a fucking whip!"

Yumiella cursed mentally, ran through a bunch of things she could tell Itsuki like 'you should have shot a wheel off the carriage rather than blow it up and alarm everyone nearby,' and decided that recriminations wouldn't help with the immediate problems.

"Keep everyone in front of the manor and use fire arrows to set it on fire so we can escape out the back," she told him. To the surviving four she brandish the rag and bottle and said, "Come here and I'll remove your seals."

"Kids first," the rabbit woman insisted.

"'m not a kid, I'm seventeen," one of the two huffed.

"Then act your age, pygmy," the boy scolded.

Yumiella briskly soaked the rag and scrubbed off the seals on their chests. "The shouting is starting to spread to the house and people are waking up," she warned, producing the wooden boxes of accelerant to spread around. "Climb onto Yoshi-kun and hang on."

Twenty-five seconds later, they were all out the back door of the manor as flames began to spread across it, the distant sounds of a fight reaching their ears.

Day 23, almost midnight

"You should have shot the wheels off the carriage to make it stop, or shot the horses with something to drive them out of control," Yumiella insisted.

"It worked, didn't it?" Itsuki snapped. "We succeeded, they're free-,"

"Rabier is alive, angry, and he knows that someone shot magical arrows at him while the Bow Hero was traveling through the area. I expect he will send people to find your party and ask you to come investigate the assassins that torched his home. Either you accept and risk your cover being blown or you refuse and there's the question of why you're refusing to deal with. If you couldn't kill him from ambush, do you think you'll be able to kill him when he is armed, armored, and supported by guards on his home territory?"

"I'll handle it," Itsuki insisted tersely.

"Then you should go back to your party and try to find a reason to skip town that they won't associate with the magical archer assassin."

"Fine," the boy (he was only 17, Yumiella reminded herself,) scoffed. Then, "Hey Reichnott, think you can send a runner to my camp early tomorrow morning with some excuse to get us moving elsewhere?"

The scholarly man, who'd just returned from getting the four ex-slaves medical treatment, startled a moment. "I can try, but I haven't the foggiest what excuse I could offer a Cardinal Hero that would outweigh a request from Idol Rabier."

"Aren't you supposed to be some scheming political genius, Countess Dolkness?" Itsuki accused, and Yumiella guessed she recognized the near onset of a tantrum.

She thought a moment and produced the ridiculous Penguin Kigurumi armor that Itsuki had gushed over when he saw it in her Drop Menu. "I will write a letter from the Sword Hero to the Bow Hero, announcing the powerful items I have found on Cal Mira. You will move to meet me at the capital immediately so I can take you there before the Wave, once you receive the letter from Lord Reichnott, who received it from messengers under orders to deliver it to you. Will that be persuasive?" she checked.

"So long as no one wonders why you sent it to me- Ah. You heard my name mentioned by citizens of the Seaetto Duchy when you passed through, so you assumed I would have connections to reach the nearest Hero," Van Reichnott filled in. "That should suffice."

"Thank you." She turned to Itsuki. "If you haven't already, get someone to teach you to read magical letters, there's a stone on Cal Mira that has a grimoire effect attuned to heroes."

Itsuki grimaced. "Language studies? Isn't there some crystal ball version of it I could use instead?"

"What kind of crystal ball?"

"The King had a bunch of them for the heroes to learn some useful magic, just hold it and bam, knowledge download," Itsuki explained.

...And I spent several weeks studying languages to get my dark magic back, why?

Chapter Text

In her sleep, she dreamed often of old memories.

Raphtalia's oldest memory was of the apartment where she and her mother lived. She was about three, and her mother had come home from working as a maid (whatever that was). She hadn't come alone though.

"Look who I brought with me," she teased as an unfamiliar man stepped through the door after her.

Then the man's illusion magic dropped, and Raphtalia rushed him with open arms. "Papa!"

She only rarely saw her Papa -- she wasn't old enough to really question why, or where he was the rest of the time, or why he changed his appearance when he went outside -- but she loved to see him, and he and Mama were always so happy when all three of them were together.

...

In her dreams, Raphtalia is five again. Her parents have been quietly talking, the last two times Papa came home.

They're worried, but they won't tell her if there are monsters in the closet or bad men lurking outside.

Now she and Mama and Papa are all on a boat, sailing off into the night across the rippling sea, and- oh!

"Sadeena? Sadeena-nee-chan!" Raphtalia cheered despite her yawning as the amazing older girl hauls herself out of the water and onto the deck.

"Hush please, Raphtalia," her mother murmurs as her father casts some spells. "Remember, we're sneaking sneakily away."

"Yes, Mama," Raphtalia agrees. She holds out her arms and Sadeena grabs some dry cloth so her hug isn't soaking, and then Raphtalia relaxes again and begins to nod off.

She wonders why Sadeena isn't wearing all her fancy clothes and jewelry she wore before, the few times Sadeena entertained her in her room when Mama smuggled her to work for a day, but Raphtalia figures that people don't wear fancy clothes to go swimming so that makes sense. Maybe she snuck them into the bag she has?

Warm and content in her mother's arms, Raphtalia nods off to sleep.

...

Raphtalia is ten, kicking her ball around with two friends. She, Rifana, and Keel have been inseparable since they all three met after moving to the village, (Raphtalia neither knows or cares which of them arrived earlier or later,) and they play every day, even trading off cooperating with chores or making it a competition so they finish faster.

More hands make lighter loads, after all!

"Hey! The tide is down!"  Rifana's cousin, Rufus, has been by the edge of the cliff that overlooks the sea to watch for this.

"Race you there!" Keel yells, sprinting off immediately mid game.

"Hey, no fair, save some for me! Come on, Rifana!" Raftalia insists, pulling the third of their trio along.

When the tide is low, it exposes a bunch of caves in the cliff-face that are half-full of water or more at high tide.

There's no monsters inside, but low tide exposes lots of shellfish, regular fish trapped in the cave's tide pools, and all sorts of treasure.

The caves are too small for adults to crawl inside, but it's too big a bounty for their tiny village to ignore, so the rules are that no kids can go in alone and there always have to be adults watching over them.

Raphtalia doesn't really remember it, but supposedly there was a time when the adults tried to ban kids from the caves, but it didn't work so they gave up and changed the rules to be more safe.

It's dark and secret and tremendous fun, and the caves are big but not so big a kid could get lost for real, plus there are some old ropes and handhold to navigate, it's great!

...

Raphtalia is twelve, but she looks closer to eight, and she's more than happy to stay that way for another year.

"You sure you don't want to go leveling a bit?" Sadeena teases from across the table as they share her birthday dinner.

"If we couldn't fit into the caves anymore, that would be bad," Raphtalia reaffirms as she munches on her honey cake.

"Don't you want to grow up a little bit more, get big and strong like mama and papa?" her mother presses.

"Growing up sucks," Raphtalia insists. "I hear you guys talk all the time about responsibility and being tired." Her mama frowns a bit in disappointment, so Raphtalia plays her trump card. "I promise I'll get big like Sadeena-nee-chan if you make me a big sister, okay? Then I'll be Raphtalia-nee-chan!"

Sadeena-nee-chan -- Raphtalia doesn't know much about what 'nee-chan' means, but it's apparently been passed down as a term that ancient Heroes like the Legendary Shield Hero who protects Demi-humans use to refer to a Big Sister who's awesome and needs to be respected -- falls off her chair laughing as as Papa guffaws and Mama buries her red cheeks in her hands.

"Well, your Mama and I will certainly try," her Papa teased, giving Mama a quick kiss, and Raphtalia squeals because she wants Mama to get pregnant but she doesn't want to see it! "You were a happy accident, but fate might still expand our family."

"Loft!" her Mama scolds, swatting at his arm. "Look, I just... is it really healthy for Raphtalia to stay this young at her age? I got my first few levels when I was nine or ten, to keep my growth steady."

There are some who deliberately stay at Level 1 into their sixties or older, prolonging their lifespan, and then use the skills they've amassed to level up all at once and regress back to peak fitness to maintain their youth even longer," Sadeena answered. "Waiting a few years for her levels won't hurt anyone."

"And you know how young I was when they pushed me to adulthood, leveling," Papa reminded her more gently, referencing how he'd sometimes talked about having an unhappy childhood, and wanting her and her friends to have better. "A few more years won't hurt her, and I have to admit that the caves' harvests are very useful."

"Fine, fine," Mama sighs, eyeing Raphtalia's empty plate. "At least it'll mean we won't need to stockpile food for a ravenous teen yet."

...

Raphtalia is fifteen, but she looks more like nine. She's still level one, although Keel recently bragged about becoming Level three when he killed a Pikyupikyu with a short sword her father lent him. Keel has been doing some hunting on and off, and Raphtalia and Rifana have joined in enough to get a little experience, but Raphtalia feels like catching and gutting fish is very different from getting hot red blood on her hands, and she doesn't like it.

She and Rifana are talking about boys, since their neighbor Amala asked Sadeena-nee to help her level up so she could try to date a human boy in a nearby town.

Raphtalia admits she doesn't get the appeal yet, but Rifana is having fun making up stories about how she'll meet and marry the Shield Hero like in legends.

Raphtalia just wants to be as happy as her Mama is with Papa, and she still isn't a nee-chan but one day she'll have a bunch of kids with someone she loves and raise a family full of fun and laughter, and her kids can say 'Grandma! Grandpa!' and give her parents extra hugs.

...

Raphtalia is seventeen, running for her life on ten-year-old legs, desperately wishing that she'd ever taken Sadeena-nee up on an offer to go gain some levels.

Now Sadeena is off traveling until Autumn, monsters are pouring out of the sky, and Raphtalia is running from skeletons and giant scary bugs.

Papa is hurling around light spells, but every four monsters he kills has five more emerge to keep chasing them. Mama lost her hatchet when she killed a giant spider and couldn't pull it out of the spider's head, so now she's shepherding the crowd along, trying to get to the few boats that aren't out on the stormy ocean already so everyone can evacuate.

Then the hounds arrive.

Baying reaches her ears first before giant black dogs, larger but less numerous than the other monsters, burst out and charge the villagers. Chaos instantly descends as the evacuees all panic, and Raphtalia is knocked over in the panic.

Mama was there seconds later, scooping Raphtalia up and sprinting for the ocean as the evacuation devolved into a panic. Clutched to her mother's chest alongside Rifana, Raphtalia could see her father falling back as he hurled balls of light at the largest beast, a three-headed dog.

One swipe of its paw sent her Papa and Mr. Parrus flying, but her Papa rolled with his landing and hurled more magic.

Mr. Parrus got eaten in a big bite, bit in half, and Raphtalia prayed that the Shield Hero would appear to rescue them.

Her Mama stopped running, and Raphtalia realized they were at the cliffside. Not by the seashore, where they could get into boats (although she could look below and see some of the dogs swimming out after everyone, and a bunch of people were dead in the water, and more were screaming, crying, praying,) but up at the top of the cliff, at the edge.

Raphtalia still had a child's brain, no matter her age, but there had been funerals at the village -- most recently Keel's grandfather -- and she guessed they were going to die here, her and her mom and Rifana clinging to Mama's leg too.

Speaking of Keel, she saw him down by the shore. He wasn't in the water on a boat, but he was running along the cliffs to-

"The caves!" Keel shouted to the other land-bound villagers. "We can hide in the caves and board it up!"

"Lumber! We were building ladders and stuff," Rifana remembered. "If we can get down there-,"

"We can board up the caves and hide, the tide is still leaving and it won't come back for hours!" Raphtalia finished. "Mama, how do we-?"

Raphtalia cut off, partly because she remembered that her Mama was an adult, and wouldn't fit into the caves. But Mama could squeeze in, right? It was an emergency! But how could they get down to the caves?

"Love," her papa called, having put up a bright magic wall that was holding monsters off but was quickly fading as they tore at it, "I need to make a stand here and stop this thing, or it'll follow everyone down into the ocean. I'm sorry."

"I'll get the girls down to safety, I'm resolved," her Mama replied. Raphtalia was still scared out of her mind but, as her Mama resettled Rifana beside her in her arms, Raphtalia had hopes that they could get through this and survive. "Raphtalia," her Mama said seriously, "Don't forget to smile, and be nice to others."

"She's right," Papa agreed as the three-headed dog howled and magic light gathered around his fingertips. "Your smile can help other people remember to smile. Things will be hard, so be careful, and know that I always love you."

"Oh no," Rifana breathed, like she'd realized something bad.

"Live a long life, girls, and please forgive our selfishness. Take a deep breath, now!" her Mama ordered.

Then Mama jumped over the cliff, with Raphtalia and Rifana still in her arms.

Raphtalia didn't understand for a moment, even as she held her breath and they fell.

There was water under the cliff, but it was shallow water with some rocks, which was why they were never allowed to jump in, even if it looked safe to jump at high tide and sounded fun.

Still in the air, Raphtalia saw the largest monster lunge at her father before the rising cliff covered her view.

Seconds later, she heard her mother's bones crunch as they hit the water, her Mama shielding the two girls with her body.

"Get in the cave. Leave me, get in the cave, and don't look back! Run and live, girls!! Live!!!" Mama commanded.

Raphtalia ran. She slogged through the surf and sprinted for the caves with Rifana, joining a dozen other kids running to Keel for shelter.

But Raphtalia also looked back. She would never forget it.

...

Hiding in the cave felt like eternity and a moment's dream, all at once. Eventually, the skies cleared and they heard voice, instead of cries and howling. She didn't know how long it took, just that she was tired and cold and hungry and she didn't feel a thing about anything.

She and all the other kids clambered out to find knights and adventurers clearing away the monsters dead bodies. Raphtalia vaguely realized that it had to be the next day, unless the sun had moved backward in the sky from when the monsters arrived, but she couldn't bring herself to care about it.

The humans getting rid of the bodies said things like, "Good thing it had already taken a beating," and "Yeah, otherwise we probably couldn't have killed it," but they didn't seem to respect or care about the dead villagers who had fought the monsters first.

On the flip side, some of them talked about 'grabbing' her and the other kids but were dissuaded, so it seemed like Duke Seaetto was still maintaining order and protecting them.

The villagers' bodies at least weren't being disposed of like the monsters' bodies; a few adventurers had teamed up with adults from Lulorona to find the bodies of people and pull them over to a central spot to be identified and counted.

Later on, Raphtalia would be grateful that someone had placed her parents' remains side by side, but when she saw them, all she could do was shake and sob horribly.

"NOOOOOOOOO~!" Raphtalia wailed tearfully.

...

By the time she came back to herself, Raphtalia had a shovel and was piling dirt onto her parents' bodies. She didn't want them left out for the bugs and birds, after all.

Her cheeks were wet, but her eyes were dry and scratchy. She'd cried herself out.

'Don't forget to smile, and be nice to others.'

'Your smile can help other people remember to smile.'

'Run and live, girls!! Live!!!'

"I won't..." Raphtalia gasped to her parents' graves tiredly, "I won't let your deaths be in vain. My... My childhood is ended, Papa, just like yours was, but you gave me longer. I'll be good to everyone," she promised, "and I'll step up to take care of the lives you saved by fighting." She twisted her  face: first into a grimace, and then into bared teeth, and then she called up the memory of her parents hugging her, their laughter, and she finally managed a watery smile. "I'll be good to everyone, Mama, Papa. I'll remind us all to smile and we'll live long into the future now!"

Looking around, she found a few other people nearby, crying as well. She helped finish the one final grave her neighbor was digging, then she tugged everyones' hands together, hugged them, and led them back toward the ruins of the village.

She greeted everyone with a hug, and a smile, and the words, "I'm glad you're alive." People were surprised, and she had to reiterate a few times that her parents had not survived, because she seemed too happy.

Raphtalia hopped up onto a broken cart and gave a speech. It went something like this:

"Everyone! Before they died, my parents told me to cheer everyone up and remind us all to smile. We're alive! I'm sad, and I know you all are sad too. We'll be sad for a long time. But our parents, our families, our friends... they don't want us to stand around crying! Many of our loved ones are dead, and we will cry, but we also have to keep living good lives because they love us and they want us to be happy again! Many more of our friends and family are missing, but they might be alive! When they come back to our village, we don't want them to see it like this! The village is a family that we have made together, and when times are hard, families pull together to share love and give comfort! We will rebuild! We are alive," Raphtalia insisted as some of the crowd seemed to perk up and grow resolute, while others were still uncertain. "We..."

The sea breeze brought with it a flutter of falling cloth.

Duke Seaetto had given Lulorona village a flag to recognize it. Several versions of it had hung across town, from tall and important buildings.

As the breeze stirred, the flag from the watch tower broke free and wafted down toward the ground.

Impulsively, Raphtalia jumped off her stand and raced to grab it. It was a sign, it had to be! A sign that her parents and everyone else were watching over them.

"We will raise our flag again and fly it proudly! We are Lulorona, and no army of monsters is strong enough to stamp us out!"

The cheers weren't too loud, but there were cheers at her words, and everyone seemed to rally a bit and agree with her.

...

Raphtalia's house had burned down along with many others, so almost everyone was living in tents, since the weather was warm and mild.

This meant that plenty of people heard her screaming from night terrors, and most of the villagers had keen enough noses to tell when someone wet the bed, but Raphtalia wasn't the only one to have bad reactions so she tried her best not to feel ashamed.

There was only so much work someone of her size and strength could do -- she wished dearly yet again that she had accepted Sadeena's offer to help her hunt and train, why did she want to stay immature and be useless? -- but every little bit helped, and she knew several of the adults were inspired not to let a scrawny pygmy outdo them in recovery efforts.

Raphtalia herself spent most of the first few days digging graves when she wasn't motivating everyone. She didn't have the knowledge or skill to plan and build, but her Papa had been one of the village's leaders and most of the adults seemed to accept any plans that she said sounded good.

Everyone had decided to leave the totally destroyed houses as they were, to better focus on repairing the buildings that could be repaired so that everyone could cram in there more safely each night.

It seemed that Raphtalia's parents had supposedly brought a store of emergency funds when they immigrated to the village, and they had buried it somewhere for safety, but Raphtalia didn't know the location so she gave some of her neighbors permission to go digging around her burnt out house. It would supposedly be enough to buy extra food and maybe hire some laborers to speed the rebuilding, if they could find it.

In hindsight, it was probably for the best that they didn't find the money before the knights arrived, or else it would have been stolen as well.

"Wahahaha~!" A scummy looking man in metal armor with a sword laugh mockingly as he led a group of similar humans into the village. "I'd heard there were still some demi-humans alive here. I guess it was true!"

"Yeah," a second man agreed with a sneer, "and this area isn't protected. We can make some good money here!"

"This area is protected by the order of Duke Seaetto, and there are castle knights nearby if you try anything!" a Lumo man with gray in his fur warned furiously, flexing his digging claws. "Begone! Monsters weren't enough to kill us, and neither are you!"

"Duke Seaetto is dead," the leading man scoffed, and then suddenly his sword flashed. A bloody gash cut across the Lumo man's stomach and he toppled over with a cry. "Furthermore, we are the castle knights! Wahahahahaha~!"

"Run!"

"Everyone, run!"

"Don't let them escape! Women and children get the highest prices, don't kill them!"

In the chaos of trying to run and hide, as some of these knights threw torches to spread more fire, something grabbed Raphtalia hair and pulled her off her feet.

From there, everything got a little blurry.

...

Raphtalia was in a dirty dungeon. She'd been solid off as a slave and passed through passed through two owners -- they didn't seem like mean people, they'd tried to train her to be a maid or to do sewing and weaving, but her screaming dreams caused problems and they resold her -- before ending up with this new owner, who made them call him 'Master Lord Rabier' on pain of pain, because he was hard and cruel.

There was a rabbit-kin nee-chan named Sage about Sadeena's age, and she talked to them quietly when 'Master Lord Rabier' wasn't around and assured them as best she could. There were other people in the basement too, but Raphtalia wasn't sure how many of them were dead or alive.

Rabier liked to beat her and Rifana, whom he'd bought before he bought Raftalia, by hanging them in chains and using a whip on their backs. That said, his treatment of Sage-nee-chan was gross and disgusting, even if it meant she sometimes got brought upstairs out of the basement. Occasionally Raphtalia got brought up out of the basement to do chores, provided she wasn't dripping blood, but they always found some mistake (she was trying!) and brought her back down to beat her again for being 'lazy'.

Sage-nee-chan assured them that 'Master Lord Rabier' usually kept his slaves alive unless he got very angry, because he had a 'resale deal' and he would lose money if a slave died, so she advised Raphtalia and Rifana to beg and cry and scream a lot so the beatings would end faster and he'd have to resell them in a week or two before they died.

Raphtalia had promised her parents to keep smiling, though. She wasn't willing to give up hope yet.

The basement dungeon they got kept in was old, and the mortar that held the stones, bars, and chains in place was crumbling.

If she could dig out mortar in the right places, they could wriggle free or fight back!

Sage-nee-chan told Raphtalia that she was being foolish, and she'd get herself killed by her slave brand if she tried it, but Raphtalia refused to give up!

Then one day she got caught digging at the mortar.

"You filthy mongrel! You want to damage my property like this?!"

Her beating that day was especially severe; then he grabbed pliers and pulled out five of her fingernails 'for thieving' as she screamed.

Then he sold her off to another man again, a fat and menacingly cheerful man in a nice suit.

Master Beloukas gave her food and some medicine and ordered her to eat it -- he said he'd 'lose money if you died, yes indeed!' -- and gave her pain with the seal until she obeyed, but part of Raphtalia hoped she would die anyway, even if the other part hoped she could live to one day escape.

People walked by her cage occasionally, time passed, and eventually, someone decided to buy her. He was a young man, his gaze sharp enough to kill; there was hate in his eyes as he looked at her, and Raphtalia wondered if this would be a worse death than dying beside Rifana in the dungeon of 'Master Lord Rabier'.

Money changed hands, she felt the burn of the transference ceremony once again, and she walked out behind the man she felt would be her last master.

After all, her cough was getting worse, so she probably didn't have much time left.

...

No matter the hate in his gaze, her new master -- 'Naofumi. Just Naofumi,' -- treated her with kindness she'd barely have hoped for.

She'd been terrified when he plucked her out of the fat man's tent, and re-writing her Slave Crest had hurt, but that was beginning to be a familiar pain at least.

He'd taken her hand as he led her down the road, and he'd glared with hate at everybody, not just her! She wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but it was different.

At a smithy, he'd spent his own money to buy her a knife and some new clothing from Mr. Erhardt.

"Raphtalia, this is your weapon. I can't attack, so I'm giving you this knife to fight monsters on my behalf."

Raphtalia had whined as the word 'monsters' brought back memories of the Wave. Then she'd frozen as he moved his cape aside to reveal a round orange monster gnawing at his leg.

"Stab this and pop it."

"Heeeeeee~!" she'd shrieked, almost dropping her new knife. "I... uh...!"

"That's an order," he'd pressed.

"I... No." She'd refused, she couldn't bring herself to f-f-fight and die like her parents! She didn't want to be eaten! She wanted to live! "Uugh..."

The seal on her chest began to throb and burn again.

"Look, if you don't pop the balloon, you're the one who- bloody hell," her master muttered, and the pain cut off. She swayed and staggered.

Raphtalia blinked and took a few ragged breaths. Then she raised her head.

Rather than anger, her new owner had sat down across from her, looking sad and tired, like a lot of the surviving adults at Lulorona.

"Look Raphtalia... I want to show you something."

She nodded carefully.

"Hand me the knife?"

She didn't think he was going to cut her with it, but she stayed ready to dodge as she passed it to him.

"Watch carefully, please," he said as he gripped the knife. He stabbed down at the balloon and-

*Brrrrzzzzzzzap!*

Crackling magic jolted across his whole body, pulling a grunt of pain -- Raphtalia knew that sound, she'd made it herself trying not to scream so many times -- from her owner as he twitched and shook, and the knife fell from his hand.

Raphtalia had heard those sounds before, had seen magic like that, had felt it... had felt it just a moment ago.

"I... are you a slave, too, master?" Raphtalia wondered as he panted.

"P-Pretty much. I don't have a human owner, but I have this." He patted the shield on his arm. "I have a single-digit attack stat, Raphtalia. I can't take it off so I have to even sleep with it or it shocks me, I can't try to use any other weapons or it punishes me with pain... The Waves of Calamity are coming. In about a month, I'm going to be teleported there to fight the Wave monsters, whether I want to or not, whether I can or not. I'm a slave who gets owned by the country, by the entire world. They can spit on me and hurt me and still order me to protect them, and I'll have to do it," he said quietly. "I went to that tent planning to buy a tamed monster, an attack dog-,"

Raphtalia squeaked at the d-word, at the thought of the monsters that killed her parents.

"-but someone who can listen to me, who can trade shifts keeping watch, who can go buy and sell supplies without being tarred with the brush of my bullshit bad reputation? That got me thinking. Then I saw you, sick and miserable, and I was pretty sure you'd be dead soon if you stayed there. Here's the deal," he offered. "Once we both survive the coming Wave, I'll have enough money to buy proper monsters to do my attacking and you're free. You'll be strong enough to go wherever you want; I'll be alive to fight in the next Wave, whether I want to or not..." He held out his hand. "What do you say?"

Raphtalia blinked at his extended hand, uncertain what the gesture- ah!

"Right." Raphtalia nodded, grabbed the knife, and stabbed the balloon monster, dreams of her freedom and their town and the warm sun in her mind.

...

Master Naofumi made her kill a few more orange balloons, and then a bigger red balloon, and then he'd laughed crazily when that was enough experience to push Raphtalia over to Level 2.

Raphtalia really wished that she had hunted more and maybe she could have fought back against the wave. She'd been so close!

Then they'd left, and when her stomach had rumbled she'd thought he would yell at her, but he'd taken her to a restaurant and bought her tasty food! It even came with a flag!

"Five bronze for the kids meal and four bronze for the lunch stew special comes to nine bronze total," the waitress had said.

He'd spent more money on her food than on his own! And he'd let her eat it and keep the little flag, he hadn't yelled at her or made her eat off the floor or anything!

Her new clothes had pockets, and Raphtalia put the flag in her pocket when they left the restaurant to go to his camp. He made her drink bitter medicine, but it soothed her developing cough and gave her a bit more feeling back. He told her to wash in the river, and he didn't follow her or touch her or look at her or steal her clothes.

He turned the shield on his arm into some kind of pillow with a blanket and made her curl up under it beside him. Raphtalia tried not to go to sleep, so she wouldn't scream and wake him, but eventually tiredness claimed her and she had to rest.

She had a nightmare that ended with her parents being torn apart, and she woke up screaming to find Master Naofumi cuddling her and stroking her hair.

She really thought she'd be beaten for wetting the bed with him in it, it smelled awful and his face did not look happy, but he just took her to the river so they could wash their clothes and their bodies, and then he used his magic shield to start up the campfire again to dry them and their clothes off.

...

Over the next few days, Master Naofumi worked her hard helping him hunt monsters and gather materials, but he also kept her clean and safe and warm. He bought her simple treasures: a pouch to hold her belongings, a ball to kick around and bounce, a new knife when she broke the first one, some prettily colored string to play Thread Figures with...

Raphtalia felt he was working her hard, hunting monsters and searching for certain plants or rocks, but he never let a monster hurt her and she was never more tired at the end of the day than when she'd had a long day doing chores back home.

She grew levels so fast it was amazing -- Sadeena-nee-chan had made it sound like leveling up took days, and she'd gained two or three levels each day with Master Naofumi -- and after a bit they moved farther away from the castle town, deeper into the forest to live off the land directly instead of selling things at market.

Raphtalia had panicked the first time she stabbed a monster that bled red all over her, and she'd cried, and then another monster had shown up to avenge its dead friend... but Master Naofumi hadn't let it hurt her, and he'd told her his story.

He was actually the Legendary Shield Hero (no wonder he was so nice to her!) and he was going to fight the next Wave when it came. He was going to fight monsters and protect people, so that no more villages got wiped out like Lulorona.

Raphtalia wanted to get strong, to become his sword and cut down the monsters that threatened people. She wanted to avenge the home that was destroyed.

Raphtalia killed every monster they found that day, to help Master Naofumi, and then she went hunting for more when he gave her a bit of free time while setting up their camp.

...

Eventually, they went off to a nearby village and went to a mine with monsters to get ore. It was called Riyute village, or something? It seemed that another one of the other Legendary Heroes had passed through and killed a lot of monsters, but a few more had snuck into the mine after she left.

It put Master Naofumi in an odd mood, where he acted snappish and distracted but also somehow seemed less angry for a while.\

They went to the mine to dig up ore, with Master Naofumi mentioning something about 'smelting' that Raphtalia didn't get.

That was when they found the black dog. It was thin and gangly, but it was taller than Master Naofumi, with two heads just like- just like the- like-

Raphtalia had panicked again, and Master Naofumi had pulled out all the stops with his Legendary Shield to protect her, even eventually calling out 'Barrier Blaze' and lighting himself on fire to burn the dog with him and make it back away.

Raphtalia had been too small and weak to fight the Wave before, but she would never be weak again. She raced around Master Naofumi as the dog staggered back from him and slashed it with her sword until it was dead dead dead and would never kill anyone ever again.

They both patched up their wounds, taking especially good care with Master Naofumi's burns, and once that was done they went through the mines to kill every other monster they could find. They made their camp in a niche for the night and Raphtalia slept like a peaceful and happy baby, then they searched for ore to sell and monsters to hunt for the next few days.

She didn't really ask Master Naofumi much about his Legendary Holy Shield, but he seemed very happy with all the ore they found, and the money they got for selling most of it: 350 silver!

They returned to the castle town -- it apparently had some long and fancy name as the Melromarc capital city, but everyone casually called it castle town even though it was far too big to be a town -- and Raphtalia begged Master Naofumi to take her to the Slave Trader so they could see if anyone else from Lurolona had been sold to the man, promising that they would work extra hard like her to fight the wave and avenge their home (she'd told him her story after they killed the black dog) if he bought them to join her.

There hadn't been anyone from Lurolona, but Master Naofumi had made her smile while crying when he'd paid 20 silver in advance for the Slave Trader to keep an eye out for Lurolona slaves.

After that, Master Naofumi had bought a monster egg to raise as a mount and attack beast, like he'd planned to before he decided to buy her, and then they went out hunting to explore the area north of castle town, the side opposite from where she'd camped with Master Naofumi before.

Raphtalia wasn't keeping close track of the days, but that was when they'd met Carrie, a young woman on the run from the law because she'd burned down a nobleman's manor after he went back on his offer to marry her sister, which drove her sister to suicide in shame.

Carrie had seemed not to know who Master Naofumi was, but she'd begged them fervently and promised to 'do anything' if they gave her shelter and didn't turn her in to be executed.

Master Naofumi had seemed scornful and distrusting, but while he said hadn't accepted her, he also hadn't driven her away. Carrie had actually been helpful, because she'd known what to she the Filorial chick that hatched from their egg, and if she was the one who took their stuff into castle town to sell it (after getting Master Naofumi to help her with a disguise), then Carrie could get a better price than what they gave Master Naofumi because of all the malicious rumors about the crimes he'd been framed for.

Carrie didn't seem to have a high Attack, but she was willing to stun monsters with rocks or tree branches and bring them to Raphtalia for proper killing, and she wasn't interested in joining their party for EXP, instead asking Naofumi to buy the monsters she brought them with silver coins.

So far, Raphtalia had only seen her buy alcohol and then get drunk sharing their campfire; Master Naofumi had refused to have any even when she offered it for free, and he hadn't wanted Raphtalia to try any even though she was grown up now with a body to match her age. He'd also just snorted when Carrie had sloppily gotten drunk and fallen asleep on him, leaving her on the ground to sleep it off with the reasoning, "Idiots don't catch colds".

Still, Carrie had been very nice to Raphtalia and hadn't looked down on or talked down to her, and she'd taught Raphtalia and Master Naofumi how to care care of Firo, their new Filorial, who was growing incredibly quickly.

The Wave would be here in a week or two, and Carrie probably wouldn't be fighting, but until then Raftalia would enjoy time with her new friend, with Firo, and with Master Naofumi all around one shared campfire.

Day 24, morning

Raphtalia woke up to the crackle of their campfire and the smell of something cooking. It took her a moment to realize this was odd, but Master Naofumi was still sharing his Restful Shield with her and Carrie... Well, she supposed Carrie could have woken up earlier and started breakfast, but Master Naofumi was usually the one who did the cooking.

Master Naofumi's Alert skill hadn't gone off, so it wasn't like an enemy had snuck into their camp and started to cook for them.

Raphtalia wiggled free from Naofumi's blanket -- she hadn't gotten him to sleep while holding her yet, even if they shared the blanket and pillow of his Restful Shield -- and turned to join Carrie for breakfast. "Good mo-!?"

Sitting across from Carrie by the campfire was an unfamiliar woman with long, dark hair whom Raphtalia had never seen before.

The sword by her side, however, had the same jewel in its hilt as the Holy Shield.

"Good morning, Miss Raphtalia" the stranger greeted quietly.

The Cardinal Sword Hero had found them.

Chapter Text

Day 24, morning

Naofumi Iwatani, Cardinal Hero of the Shield, woke up to the smell of bacon and the sound of Raphtalia's voice as she shook him.

"Master Naofumi, Master Naofumi!"

"Geez, what is it, Raphtalia?" he groaned as he sat up. His special Restful Shield had been upgraded enough to provide extra protection during sleep, and he'd mastered the Black Orthrus Shield so its Alert ability would have sounded if an enemy snuck within 20 meters of them.

...Although granted, it might not have sounded if someone already that close decided to untrustfully sneak away with their gear (which was why he kept most of it in the Cardinal Weapon's inventory function overnight).

"Did Carrie sneak off to hock our shit for booze money?" he guessed as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"Hey! I'll have you know I was faking it that entire time," said girl objected from the campfire.

"Yeah, sure you pawed at me and fell asleep but you were faking it, why would-?"

"Oh?" said an unfamiliar voice that was eerily familiar. Adrenaline shot him into wakefulness as Naofumi stared at the Cardinal Sword Hero.

"I didn't do it!" he swore immediately.

"I know."

"I know what the rumors are, but I never touched that bitch. I don't fucking drink! I went to bed and woke up with all my stuff missing, and a minute later guards kicked my door in to drag me off to the palace for that bullshit excuse of a trial!"

"I didn't know about the door."

"No one believed me about anything!"

"I see."

"The bitch fucking smirked at me while she was fake crying and no one called her on it!"

"That's amazing."

"Ever since, the whole world here's been treating me like shit!"

"Please, tell me more."

"Everyone blackened my name and spit on me, you never answered any messages, why the fuck did you leave me hanging? Were you in on it too?! Give us warnings about double-crosses and leaving us out to dry because I'm the useless shielder with no attack-? Wait," Naofumi realized as Carrie offered him a plate. "Dolkness, what are you doing here?"

Carrie, the wanted-for-arson layabout who'd been helping them out recently, intervened with a wave of her hand. "Hi, sorry, my name's actually Farrie Bonheim, we met briefly the morning when I chose to follow Yumiella? When she heard the accusations had actually happened and weren't just crazy rumors, she asked me to investigate you a bit, so I showed up, acted vulnerable and then drunk, and you didn't try anything with me so I told her you were probably innocent. Especially since you haven't kissed or pawed at Raphtalia, either."

"She's literally a kid," Naofumi's mouth complained as his brain was still processing.

"Master Naofumi! I'm not a kid anymore!" Raphtalia protested fiercely.

"Yeah, yeah, sure you're not," Naofumi deadpanned, reaching out to rub the top of her head the way that always calmed her down. Geez, they're not supposed to hit the teenage "I'm all grown up and big now" stage for another year or two, right?  "So. You, uh..."

"I am convinced there is reasonable doubt of your guilt, so I should not castrate you," Yumiella answered casually as she took a breakfast plate from Carrie Farrie. "I have come to discuss the next steps with you."

Naofumi snorted and shoved a mouthful of food between his teeth. No flavor, but it was hot and probably nutritious.

"Pyuu~!" Firo sang from where she was eating... some big hunk of meat he didn't remember providing.

"Think we can clear my name to the other two dicks and turn the tables on that Bitch? Also, where'd the roast come from?"

"Rich-kun and Doduo-chan both like that type of meat, so I offered some extra I had to Firo-san to keep her from fighting with Yoshi-kun. I already informed Itsuki of my suspicions and I expect he will apologize to you next time you meet. Given that the King likely instigated the set-up, it is unlikely we will be able to overturn his verdict anytime soon. Nevertheless, a sufficiently public press by the other three of us may be effective, since he needed to get the public on his side by framing you. I believe I will be able to convince Motoyasu."

"Good luck," Naofumi snorted. "You think Itsuki will really mean that apology either? And that trash king doing the whole set-up, yeah, I can see that shit. Is me not assaulting a chick really a convincing sign of innocence, though?" he added. I don't want to believe she'd double-cross me, but if she can't convince me that she believes I'm innocent, she's sure as shit not convincing anyone else.

"Perhaps I should begin by outlining my encounters up to now," Yumiella suggested.

It was... not a short story, for sure. Naofumi had to jump in to say "Holy shit!" or "For real?" or that type of thing several times, and that was before her team got to Cal Mira.

Then she told him about Itsuki replicating some phone call bow bullshit and what he'd seen by the road, and Naofumi really needed to remind himself that Old Man Blacksmith and the people of Riyute had treated him well and didn't deserve to be eaten by monsters, because holy shit. It wasn't really surprising, but Naofumi at least never bothered with revenge-by-proxy shit, and if a mob of people were less moral than the supposed 'Shield Devil' then he hoped they all really went to hell for it.

Day 24, morning

"I spoke with Itsuki, and I suspect he will apologize to you," Yumiella repeated after she'd given the generalities of her story (although she omitted a few things like her and Itsuki's arson incident). "I have a few possibilities to discuss with Motoyasu as well, but even two or three of us together should be significant. In the meanwhile, how has your journey been to date?" I want to discuss him owning a slave soon, but Farrie made it sound like her not being enslaved while around the capital risked her being abducted and re-sold, if not killed, given King Aultcray's biases from his prior battles against demi-humans. I left my Liberation potion doses with Itsuki, but if she is not being abused, then it can wait a few days when I can get her alone without him watching.

"Well," Naofumi snorted, "even if you'r an airhead who never checks her messages, I'll admit that your info exchange our first evening and the next day probably saved my life a few times. Trying to find any ores was hard as shit, up until I finally got to a cave, but it turns out that 'using a shield in battle' for Proficiency includes receiving attacks that don't do damage, even if the attacks are to my body instead of the Shield. Once I got the idea to carry some balloons around gnawing harmlessly at my body, I started to hit 100% Proficiency about three times a day, and once in the middle of the night if I wasn't using my Restful Shield."

Yumiella stared, tried not to be jealous, and wondered if that method could work for her too. "I see."

"I've basically turned into a forager, potioneer, and amateur blacksmith with all my passive support skills that get buffed higher by being Awakened, plus your idea about sticking monsters underwater or in the campfire helped me unlock a shield form to set myself on fire. Hurts like a bitch so I still usually have Raphtalia do the attacking," he admitted, "but if anything gets close to me I can usually make it back away with some burns."

"I have a Flaming sword with a similar skill, but it drains SP instead of HP," Yumiella contributed.

"Hah! Yeah, but you have a double-digit attack stat for dealing damage; even after Awakening my Animal Spine shield a couple times, my attack is still stuck at nine," Naofumi riposted. "That said, I've got high-quality potions out the wazoo with all my crafting bonuses, and... You know, I should probably take you to meet the Old Man. There's a blacksmith who believed from the beginning that I didn't do it, so he gave me some cheap shit on clearance and introduced me to a few more store owners who weren't asshats to me. If you've got the dough, I'd love to send you his way."

"I have been neglecting the weapon copy function up to now," Yumiella conceded thoughtfully, "and I have been meaning to fix that. Is there a price attached to copying weapon forms from him?"

"He charges me a silver per weapon copy, since I'm upfront, but if you go in and try to copy it on the sly he'll probably try to land you with the whole price," Naofumi chuckled. "Apparently, Itsuki and Motoyasu both blew through on day one to try out every weapon he had before they left without buying much, so he's pissed that they stole his 'intellectual property'. Although, should the Sword Hero really be seen with a Shield Devil like me, if we're trying to keep this on the down-low until we spring some counter-trap on these fuckers?"

"Provided I've kept the first observer unable to report anything, there are a few ways to handle that. For instance," Yumiella reasoned, "if you drip some blood on your inseam and walk with a limp, we can tell anyone who asks that I castrated you for your crime."

He cringed at that, then looked thoughtful. "Huh. Yeah, it's not like anyone is going to check my- Wait, what 'first observer'?" Yumiella pointed toward where Yoshi-kun sat in the distance, watching the prisoner where Firo wouldn't bother him. "The fuck?"

"They were well-hidden, but Yoshi-kun was able to smell them, so I subdued them," Yumiella informed him as her precocious child prodded the bound and unconscious 'Shadow' with his tail.

Naofumi let loose a string of vehement swearing. "-ing burlap sack! Right, any idea how long the fucker was following me?"

"No. I struck from behind in the darkness, so the spy should not be aware of my presence or involvement; the unconsciousness status should remain for another hour or so before I may need to reapply it."

"Useful. Any hints about which weapon form provides that so I can get it?"

"It is the counting coup ability of the Wooden Practice Sword form, which I have upgraded repeatedly. I imagine a practice shield would be different."

"Right," Naofumi huffed. "Okay, let's figure out a game-plan from here."

"Don't forget to eat!" Farrie chirped, sticking another full plate in front of each Cardinal Hero before returning to Raphtalia's lesson in table manners.

Day 24, noon

"Damn, kid! I didn't recognize you," Erhardt laughed. "That's a really good disguise ya have on now! Here for another smithing lesson?"

"Not quite, but now might be a good time for your lunch hour," Naofumi answered.

Erhardt had been happy to greet the bunch of new customers that came through his door, only for them not to be new customers at all, but the Holy Shield Hero with some extra companions.

His decision to trust that Naofumi hadn't done the wicked deed hadn't proven wrong yet, at least; he'd been leery about the guy getting a girl slave, but little Raphtalia had grown up to be a happy and healthy young woman in the last two weeks, even if Naofumi himself still acted grim and brusque. Raphtalia's behavior wasn't that of an abuse victim, and someone would've bought her, so if she was happier out fighting than being a maid or learning needlework then he didn't have much right to complain.

Still, if Naofumi brought me some new clients to outfit... "All right, then. I'll put up the sign and it looks like I'll be doing measurements for armor, Miss...?"

"Yumiella Dolkness, the Cardinal Sword Hero," she introduced, displaying a small dagger that she quickly shifted through a few forms. "Naofumi informed me that you have a reasonable charge for weapon copying?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah, plus I'll do commissions or let him use the forge to try making his own shields a bit," Erhardt confirmed. "Hadn't heard you were back in the city yet."

"I will be in and out secretly for a little while. Naofumi mentioned that you believe in his innocence?"

"Uh, yeah, I liked the look in his eye." It was a bit more complicated than that, but basically... "I don't have solid evidence really, though. Just a gut feeling."

"She believes me too, but if anyone asks, I'm walking with a limp because she castrated me," Naofumi deadpanned. "Also, we might want to borrow your shop or upstairs rooms for a private meeting later, if you can swing it."

Erhardt chewed his lip a bit, thinking. "Let's get the blacksmith business done first. I don't see you wearing anything, so do you want armor for the Wave?"

"I normally rely on evasion, if you have armor that will not inhibit me," Lady Dolkness answered.

"Yeah, she moves like crazy," Naofumi's new friend Carrie confirmed. "Oh, by the way, I'm part of her party, I just went undercover to check the rumors for her. Farrie Bonheim at your service!" She gave a half-serious bow, and Erhardt nodded in return.

I guess that explains why she's more willing to believe his innocence, he figured. "Sounds like you'll want leather and enchanted cloth, minimal metal for less weight. I'll get Naofumi here set up at the forge if that's the plan, you copy stuff and pay me a silver per copy; also, since you're a Hero that the public will like, maybe we can talk about an advertising deal while I take your measurements, huh?"

"...Fighting monsters is dangerous, even for a Cardinal Hero," Yumiella said out of nowhere. Erhardt paused, unsure if she was going for a threat or a plea or what. "With thousands of monsters swarming around during the Wave, I rely on Erhardt smithy's top quality armor to keep me safe from attacks as I protect the world. Erhardt's smithy, insert business slogan here, exclamation point."

Naofumi laughed so hard he hit the floor.

Day 24, afternoon

"Transport," Yumiella commanded, and the Skill immediately teleported her group back to Cal Mira.

"Oh wow," Raphtalia mused. "This is..."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Naofumi agreed, fiddling with the metal helmet that was his Face Shield form for disguise. "You said you could introduce us to your shape-shifting bird twins?"

"Kueh!" His filorial chirped.

"It'll stress disbelief that we're back this fast, but the others probably won't care since she did get a whole bunch of weapon copy forms," Farrie confirmed.

The plan was to keep Yumiella's other teammates in the dark -- she knew who Bakta was reporting to, but she wasn't certain about the other two yet -- and have Yumiella go back to training with them while Farrie and the twins joined Naofumi's party for training on a different island. They'd be far enough away to avoid an EXP conflict, Naofumi's party would get carried to a higher Level in her teammates' backpacks, and Farrie and the twins would get the EXP bonus from being in a Cardinal Hero's party.

At some point today or tomorrow, she'd get a call from Itsuki when he reached the capital, and she'd take Naofumi back for a meeting of the Cardinal Heroes to make plans in secret.

Until then, she'd give the twins a new Filorial playmate, she'd help Naofumi get up to a more appropriate Level, and she'd work on using and Mastering the copied sword forms she bought from Mr. Erhardt.

Time to find her team.

... ... ...

Yumiella hit YES on her Menu and immediately fell back behind Bakta as Tersia darted sideways to flank the boss.

"Drifa Icicle Prison!" Welt cast, immediately attempting to freeze and imprison the Karma Squirrel, but it was fast and he only froze its hind legs, leaving its claws free to scrape at the ice.

That was when Tersia jumped on it to knife its spine.

Hm, it seems Soul Healing Water isn't sufficient to entirely restore my SP, Yumiella assessed, discarding the empty bottle of the potion that Itsuki had told her about and Naofumi had taught her the recipe for. Still, it is far more useful than relying on form-based regeneration or retreating to the hot springs to recover.

"Shooting Star Sword," Yumiella declared, using the special skill of the Siderite Sword she was using for this battle. "Faust Jinx."

"Yom!" Yoshi yipped just before it bit the Karma Squirrel's fluffy tail, heedless of the fact that the tail hairs seemed to harden into spikes.

Bakta stepped forward to smash his axe into into the squirrel's neck right as it tried to twist around and bite at Yoshi or Tersia.

"Zweite Icicle Prison!" Welkt cast, icing down the squirrel's legs again.

"Faust Jinx. Faust Hex," Yumiella cast, taking a moment to down another SP restorative. The boss squirrel shrieked as dark magic washed over it, and she stepped forward to enter melee with her sword right as Tersia leaped off the squirrel's back and dropped a net down over it.

Her blade hit it in the mouth but only chipped the squirrel's teeth without drawing blood, though she hoped that might inhibit its biting capability.

That was when the Karma Squirrel went berserk.

...

"Hey captain," Tersia called, using the title he'd started to use instead of 'lady' or 'hero' or whatnot for her, "it's getting dark, so can we not try another fight and head to the inn?"

Yumiella blinked and flipped the little mental switch that would tone down all of her passive see-in-the-dark bonuses, discovering that yes, the shadows were long and it was dark enough she had trouble seeing her teammates' faces now.

Some other day, it would be useful to grind overnight and leave the day hunting to less able teams... but for now we should call it quits. "We can head back to the city," Yumiella confirmed. "Who needs a ride?"

"Yom!" Yoshi-kun offered cheerfully.

...About half an hour later, Yoshi was settled with a large serving of meat and pitted fruit in the stables while the party settled in for a late supper.

Bakta and Tersia were discussing equipment upgrades while Yumiella was discussing the methodology of creating a new spell with Welt -- she would get back her Dark Bind and Shadow Lance and Black Hole eventually, she absolutely would -- when a tall woman in a bikini stormed up to the table.

"What the flipping fuck?!" the woman accused, grabbing Bakta by the shoulder. "You told me she'd be in Zenoble until next week, I was this close to swimming out after her and she's fucking back already?!"

"Fuck off and let go of me, she only got back today," he snapped back with booze-flushed cheeks, and there was almost the beginning of a bar brawl before Tersia got between them to finesse things and pull the boys off to the bar.

This left Yumiella at the table with the tall, muscular, scantily clad and very self-confident woman.

"I am Yumiella Dolkness. Pleased to meet you," she offered.

"I'm Sadeena."

"I see." That sounds vaguely familiar but I don't know from where.

"From Lulorona. Hawkins sent me," Sadeena clarified.

"Ah. Should we talk here, or more privately?" Yumiella checked.

"Here's fine. Hawkins said you were primarily interested in how the Wave functioned, and I wasn't there for that one-," Sadeena looked terribly grim and sad for a brief moment. "-but I helped out with a Wave near Siltvelt about two weeks ago, so I can tell you about that. But in trade, I'm hoping you can help me find and free the surviving kids from Lulorona. I tracked some to a few slave traders still doing business in Melromarc, but most of them got shipped off to Zenoble, which is why I almost swam after you instead of waiting."

"I am willing to help," Yumiella confirmed. "If you're willing to join my party and help with the Wave, it will also give you improved status and authority to push publicly for action."

"Think your teammates will be okay with that?" Sadeena checked.

"If Bakta objects strongly, I will write him a recommendation to transfer to a different Hero's party. If nothing else, demi-humans and humans should work together now because the Waves risk eliminating everyone," Yumiella stated. She sent a Party Invitation to Sadeena, who had a morose look on her face.

"Yeah, but if people could be that reasonable, then the world wouldn't have half its current problems," she griped as she accepted the invitation.

Yumiella quickly checked over the woman's status, then immediately stopped to re-read it from the top.

She's reached Level 91 without having the EXP bonus from a hero's party?!  "Senpai, please teach me the secrets of your efficient grinding," Yumiella requested sincerely.

"Eh- what?"

Chapter Text

Day 25, sunset

"Alright," Motoyasu cheered as his party rambled back into the starting town where they'd been summoned. "Let's find an inn and I'll start putting out feelers to meet with Itsuki!"

Honestly, for all that the Sword Hero was predicting some Cerebus Twist to hit them once the waves started, with warnings about political manipulations and trapped quest requests, Motoyasu had been having the time of his life so far! There were cute girls who were sevens, eights, and nines everywhere he went, and as soon as he showed off the Cardinal Spear they'd be all over him!

Granted, he hadn't really had the opportunity to go all the way with any of them -- a hero had a busy schedule, and the three girls who'd remained by his side were nobility who had the 'not before marriage' thing, even if Malty had been hinting about 'celebrating' after the coming Wave recently -- but the excitement his arrival brought wherever he went and the attention from pretty girls and beautiful women was always welcome.

Besides which, he had three beautiful flowers by his side for this fun adventure!

First was Elena, a green-eyed girl whose hair tended to swap between carrot-top orange, brunette, and blonde since she liked to dye it every so often. Either way, she wore her hair in an inverted bob cut, she knew useful support and wind magic, and she had good business sense in hunting down deals and high-quality supplies for the party, even if she was a bit withdrawn. She might have been quietly casually, but in combat she never hesitated to cheer for him and raise his spirits!

Next was Myne, although her real name was Malty S. Melromarc, traveling around to save the world even though she was secretly this country's princess who could live a life of lazy luxury if she desired. But she had a fire deep inside her, and I loved her for that fact. She'd been willing to join my party at the beginning, but when she saw the Shield Hero didn't have anyone willing to party with him, she'd been moved to pity and had swapped partied to travel by his side. That very night, the bastard got drunk and molested her with an attempt to escalate to rape, and he didn't even have the spine to apologize the next morning when the guards dragged him in! Well, Motoyasu had been plenty willing accept her and protect her as she recovered, and rapist Naofumi was getting the first helping of his just desserts, with more to come as soon as they beat the Waves and he could be properly tried.

Lastly there was Lesty, who had gone to some fancy boarding school for nobles with Malty when they were teens. She'd joined Motoyasu's after after about a week of adventuring, and if Myne was a 9, then Lesty was an 8 who was much more willing to show skin and bare her midriff, even if she could be a bit snappish with other people.

Everyone else tended to leave Motoyasu's party after a few days of traveling together, half the time without really saying a proper good-bye, just leaving a message with Myne that they 'wanted to find a better fit'. Well, Motoyasu hadn't had guys in his party since the first week or so, and he wasn't fond of clingy girls (he didn't want to get stabbed again!!), but ti still made him a bit morose sometimes, even if he wished them well.

Back before Naofumi had revealed himself to be a total scumbag, the Four Cardinal Heroes had made a plan to each travel in one of the four cardinal directions from Castle Town, Melromarc's capital. Naofumi the shield 'hero' was supposed to have gone East, but after his scumbag nature was revealed the loser had mostly hung around the capital city like a sucky NEET, according to rumor. Yumiella, the beautiful flower who held the Cardinal Sword, had traveled South so quickly that she hadn't even been able to attend Naofumi's trial, although Motoyasu had remembered to send her a warning in case she hadn't heard the news about 4-5 days after he'd taken Myne into his party.

Itsuki had traveled East, and had apparently discovered something that had him send a lot of garbled messages Motoyasu hadn't seen until much later because he was too busy to check his messages much. But apparently Itsuki either Met God and got a cheat code or he was just a total science nerd who was able to recreate telephones or radio or something, because Motoyasu had got a psudeo phone call from Itsuki asking him to covertly come back to Castle Town and rendezvous about something.

Motoyasu wasn't really good at lying and he didn't have the heart to keep stuff from his trustworthy teammates, so he'd just vaguely suggested they head back to Castle Town to re-stock their supplies and have a planning session to prep for the Wave, and the girls had seemed happy enough.

So now he was killing time with some wine in an inn, waiting for Itsuki to get in contact.

Unfortunately, Itsuki wasn't the hero who found him first.

"Well, look who we have here," a voice grumbled, and Motoyasu turned.

"Holy shit! Are you still fighting in those rags, Naofumi," he countered upon locking eyes with the scowling rapist. "Now your outside can match your inside, at least."

"Hah! That's a good one, Sir Motoyasu," Myne cheered, seeming to be fearless in the face of the man who molested her. "Why don't you go back in the alley with the rest of the garbage?"

"Don't you talk to me like that," Naofumi hissed, and several things happened very fast.

Naofumi grabbed Myne's arm, Myne moved to slap him, Motoyasu moved to deck him, and then a blur was pulling Naofumi away from Myne and out of range.

"He-ey!" the shield fucker squawked, suddenly doubling over.

"Behave," the girl scolded, "or we'll find out if her Ladyship can repeat her treatment of you." Naofumi winced and stayed curled up.

"Sorry about that," the girl said. "I'm Farrie Bonheim, from the Sword Hero's party? Lady Yumiella assigned me to keep an eye on him in the city, stop his trouble-making."

Myne sniffed. "Well, it's certainly good to see him put in his place, even if you should have intervened earlier. Take him away already."

"I will," Farrie said with a bob of her head and a sweet smile -- she was a 9 or at least an 8 like Lesty, with smaller tits but a softer and happier face -- and she wrangled Naofumi fearlessly, "but I need to bring Sir Motoyasu too, please. Her Ladyship is trying to organize a meeting of the Four Heroes for their Wave strategy, if you'll follow me?"

"Oh? Yeah, sure," Motoyasu laughed, assuming this was what Itsuki had wanted him to come see. "Although, is it really safe for Yumiella to put you in charge of watching this guy? If you're not careful, he could turn on you really quickly." The last thing Motoyasu wanted was for Naofumi to successfully rape a woman after his first attempt had failed -- he'd be very tempted to 'kill' the fucker and send him back to the shitty world he came from like in Death Defying New World Exploration, even if that would apparently make the Waves much harder for the remaining three of them -- and he'd have thought that as a fellow girl Yumiella wouldn't be so careless.

Farrie offered a wide, mirthless smile as a result. "Oh, he couldn't rape me if I let him, anymore. Lady Yumiella was extremely upset when she heard about his escapades, so I got to hold him down while she castrated him yesterday. See?"

She whacked between Naofumi's legs with the back of her hand, and he whimpered as a spot or two of red blood showed up on his inseam.

Myne burst out laughing, but Motyasu winced despite himself.

I mean, yeah, it's hard to argue that a rapist doesn't deserve that... But any guy losing his twig and berries has got to be... ugh... Plus, it reminds me too much of that whole "cutting off your hand for stealing" thing that doesn't actually solve the problem. Still, I guess the girls would know best how to handle it, and it's too late to argue now, even if it's a bit extreme.

"Right, well, I guess justice has been served," Motoyasu said weakly, but he was merciful enough to help the whimpering Naofumi back up to his feet from Farrie's hit. "Girls, will you be okay to make camp here tonight and I'll come back after the meeting?"

Myne hadn't stopped laughing yet, but Elena confirmed that they'd stay at this inn and get a room for him as well, so Motoyasu pulled Naofumi out into the dark street.

"Lead the way, my lovely Miss Farrie," he invited.

"Stop flirting with the girl who can kick your ass," Naofumi grumbled, "and I can fucking walk, already."

"Hah! Maybe she can kick your ass, ya useless vagabond, but I'm the Holy Spear Hero, the man who will help to save the world!"

"This way, follow me," Farrie said, leading the two men (or maybe it was only one-and-a-half, eugh,) down the street.

"I still say I didn't do it," Naofumi grumbled as they trudged along.

"Well you sure as hell didn't do nothing!" Motoyasu snapped back. "Man up! I wouldn't have done that, but maybe if more girls were like the Sword Heroine, men like you would be too scared to abuse women."

"I'm sorry, remind me what evidence there was against me again," Naofumi answered sourly.

"Oh, I don't know, just the fact that your victim identified you to the guards after she escaped your attack," Motoyasu snapped back.

"Right. I got identified by a woman who knew me for all of one day, when it was the dark of the night, after she'd had some wine before bed," Naofumi retaliated.

"None of that means she'd actually make a mistake when the guy she'd spent all day with barges through her door to start pawing her," Motoyasu countered. "I can't believe I was feeling sorry for you, you piece of trash!"

The argument between them continued for a couple blocks, but Motoyasu managed to be the adult between them and not deck Naofumi for talking out of his ass, no matter how tempting Naofumi made it. Farrie finally brought them to a blacksmith shop Motoyasu recognized from having breezed through the first day to copy a bunch of weapon forms, and told them to go to the room upstairs while she stayed outside.

"Ugh, stairs," Naofumi wheezed, and Motoyasu slowed down enough to not leave him behind. "Hey, Motoyasu. Two more points I didn't want to bring up outside."

"You're still on this?" Some people just cannot admit to wrongdoing. "Fine, what?" he asked as they trudged up the stairs.

"One, if King Aultcray thought I was a rapist, why did he release me back into the wild where I could've targeted other innocent woman who weren't adventurers that could fight me off?" Naofumi challenged.

Motoyasu blinked. "I mean, what could he do to you? We're the Cardinal Heroes, he needs us free to fight the waves, remember that whole speech? At least he made sure everyone knew what you did so they'd know to avoid you."

"Yes, a rapist cardinal hero would totally be thwarted from repeat attacks by that instead of targeting a farmer's daughter while she's out gather herbs in the forest and helpless," Naofumi deadpanned.

"Wait, you what?!" Motoyasu roared, swinging around to grab his collar. "I'll fucking kill you, send you back to the shitty world that gave birth to you!"

He smashed his fist into Naofumi's nose -- look, he wasn't actually going to send him back yet, but he was pissed and he wanted to make a point -- but from how Naofumi reacted it seemed like Motoyasu couldn't overwhelm his DEF stat without having his Spear ready.

"Uh..." Naofumi looked blank for a moment.

"You really didn't learn anything from Myne's denouncement, did you?!" Motoyasu snarled.

"That wasn't a confession, that was a hypothetical. I didn't do it then, and I sure didn't do anything else after," Naofumi corrected caustically.

Motoyasu grimaced, shook Naofumi by his collar once to get the point across, and then let him go. "Right. But all your denials aren't really helping your case," he pointed out reasonably. "Claiming 'I didn't do it' is what all the crooks say when they get caught."

"What am I supposed to do, then? Confess to a crime I didn't commit?"

"How about taking responsibility like a man?" Motoyasu countered. Wait. Shit, I didn't want to mock him losing his balls; that's too low even for me. 

Naofumi snorted. "Well, let's get to my second point before we go in, then."

Phew, he's moving on. "What?"

"We're in a fantasy world with magic, Motoyasu. That includes stuff like shape-shifting and illusions. King Aultcray never did any kind of investigation beyond Myne's testimony, so what if someone else just shape-shifted into 'the Shield Hero' using magic and assaulted her to frame me?" Naofumi challenged.

Motoyasu snorted. "Seriously?  To begin with, I haven't seen any kind of magic like that since we arrived here, so it's all make-believe. Plus, that would require someone to fool Myne, and she's no dim bulb, Naofumi. If you were too drunk to remember what you did, then you still were the one who drank the drink, but you could have apologized and gone cold turkey. But trying to pretend anyone would get fooled into mistaking someone else for you is low and shitty."

Naofumi's face flattened out, but his eyes stared at Motoyasu sharply. "But you just did."

One hand reached for his belt, under his cloak, and Motoyasu was almost worried that he was drawing a weapon before he remembered that Naofumi couldn't carry weaponry with his Shield.

The other hand pushed open the door to reveal Itsuki, Naofumi, and two girls waiting for them.

Wait, what? There's two of that jackass now?

"Uh... What the...?" Motoyasu's head swiveled back and forth as the Naofumi beside him fiddled with a belt buckle, and then he melted away to reveal-

"This," Yumiella explained, holding out a leather belt with golden embroidery, "is a magical tool used by spies to change their appearance for secrecy. You and Myne both mistook me for Naofumi just now, even though you spent a prolonged period with me. There are easily one or two dozen similar tools in this city, as they are standard issue for secret security protecting the nobility and for spies from foreign powers who are infiltrating the capital city. If a foreign agent wished to destabilize Melromarc's defenses against the Waves, it would be child's play for an agent to impersonate Naofumi with one of these, assault Myne in the night, and change their appearance to disappear once she was able to flee."

"Yeah," the apparently real Naofumi griped darkly from his seat near Itsuki, "and that Trash King is so senile he took the bait, hook, line, and sinker without doing any investigating."

"The old man used both our names to lend credence to this miscarriage of Justice," Itsuki finished. "I'm not happy, and I don't think you are, either, Motoyasu. This whole thing got bungled from start to finish, and it's been so long that there might no longer be a way of discovering the truth behind it. I'm not sure about the laws of your home world's Japan, Motoyasu, but my Japan had a 99% conviction rate because they investigated throughly and only took crimes to trial when they had solid evidence of wrongdoing. Naofumi's case wasn't nearly solid enough for a 'guilty' by that standard, or by any reasonable standard, especially in a world where magic was involved. I'm just glad it's being found out now, because whoever did this go go sack villages with our faces and dirty our names to further divide us, and we'd have no defense against it."

"I don't," Motoyasu managed, his head feeling way too full of stuff all a sudden, even as his eyes refused to leave the bruise that he'd made on Yumiella's face, punching the elegant girl with his fist because he'd mistaken her for Naofumi. Mistaken her so easily, he'd been so certain, Myne had thought that he was, that she was... "I- I need to sit down," he wheezed.

Day 25, nighttime

As Itsuki had feared, Motoyasu was completely unwilling to accept the idea that Myne had lied to or misled him.

Fortunately, Motoyasu was willing to accept the idea that a third party had framed Naofumi by assaulting Myne with his face, and while Naofumi had trouble shutting up about his disdain for Myne (whom Itsuki had to admit could have been genuinely assaulted), he and Yumiella were able to keep the two stubborn idiots on track.

Motoyasu got very upset when Raphtalia and Sadeena talked about slave hunters assaulting Lulorona village, even if another fist fight almost broke out when Motoyasu found out that Raphtalia was Naofumi's slave, but since they were going to hit up a slave trader in the next day or two anyway and Yumiella had agreed to pay for it, Naofumi and Raphtalia consented to have her slave seal removed so she could give testimony about her experience without being coerced.

Yumiella was the one who handled the actual removal, since it involved rubbing a potion onto the chest of a rather well-endowed young woman -- Naofumi gained points for physically grabbing Motoyasu and turning his face the other way when Raphtalia's shirt came off and the Spear Hero didn't turn away on his own -- and then the Demi-human girl began to give her testimony.

From the Wave itself, to the slave raiders who explicitly aimed to preferentially capture and sell girls and women while killing older men, to Raphtalia's experience being enslaved, to the deprivations she suffered under Idol fucking Rabier...

"I'll kill him! If I ever meet that monster, I'll kill him dead for shedding the blood of such lovely flowers!!" Motoyasu swore as he raged at what they'd heard.

"You'll have to beat me to it, and I know where he lives," Itsuki challenged. "I burned his house down and freed the others, I'm planning to go finish the job as soon-,"

"You freed the others?! What about Rifana, was she still there?" Raphtalia demanded, immediately grabbing Itsuki and shaking him.

H-h-holy sh-shoo-oo-oo-oot!  Itsuki thought as he felts his brain rattling around for a bit. How strong is this girl?

It took a few minutes to re-establish order in the meeting room, and for Itsuki and Yumiella to describe the slaves enough for Raphtalia to identify the dead man and several of the survivors they'd freed. Naofumi gave a lackadaisical promise that they'd swing by the Reichnott Territory after they fought the upcoming wave and she could meet her friends again, and the older girl Sadeena even shed a single tear that her fellow villagers were being slowly saved and reunited.

"Just, before we move on with our discussion," Motoyasu said once things were finally settled down again, "I have one final question: if you're free now, with that seal gone, why on earth would you ever want to go back to being enslaved?"

It was a question that Itsuki himself was wondering, since his first impulse had been to wreak Justice on Naofumi for buying and owning a slave, especially a slave girl, and he had only held off for a little bit to keep the peace while they were planning.

"Since the day we met, Master Naofumi has never used the seal to hurt me, and the only time Master Naofumi ever would the seal is if I needed to fight to protect both our lives and I was too scared to move on my own," Raphtalia avowed firmly.

"But he could," Motoyasu insisted.

"He let me wash myself instead of remaining stinky and filthy in squalor. He never spied on my body or touched me, even when we were sleeping side by side beneath the same blanket. He gave warm food when I was hungry and he let me share his table instead of making me eat off the floor. He spent hours making medicine with his own hands to treat the sickness that was slowly killing me, and he even though he could have made thirty-five gold by selling me back to the slave-trader, he instead spent money buying a monster egg so that we would have another partner to travel with us and keep us safe. Would you extend a helping hand to a sick, filthy, hungry slave?" she challenged.

If nothing else, Itsuki had to respect her fire and her sincerity. There was no doubt or hesitation in her voice, no shiftiness or shame in her eyes. She had no slave seal to compel her, and she was speaking the full and unvarnished truth of her beliefs.

Honestly, with no curse seal, Itsuki had to wonder if this wasn't more like some of those 'master and slave' alternative BDSM relationships he'd read about in those magazines he kept secret from his parents, though it seemed Naofumi was missing out on her hints.

Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that Naofumi went all wide-eyed at Myne that first day, I'd wonder if he was actually gay... which would really put the whole Kangaroo Court thing in an even worse light. Then Itsuki came out of his thoughts as Motoyasu finally picked up his jaw and responded.

"W-would I? Of course I would reach out my hand to them!" he insisted.

"Then surely you'll be happy to buy a slave tomorrow, when we go to get my seal reapplied?" she challenged.

"I- But-?"

Naofumi started cackling at the look on that womanizer's face, and Itsuki found himself chuckling along.

Yumiella didn't really react -- she'd been pretty quiet since she arrived with Motoyasu and revealed her disguise; if he had to guess, she was a major introvert and talking as much as Naofumi did int he walk over had totally exhausted her social batteries for the night -- but Itsuki thought he saw the hint of a smile on her face.

"Slavery is wrong! I- I won't contribute to it when people shouldn't be enslaved," Motoyasu objected.

"Then the slaves you refuse to buy will die slowly in their filthy cages. If Master Naofumi frees me, then I can be recaptured and sold back to Idol Rabier to die, just like I was taken from my village the first time," Raphtalia countered. "As his slave, I am safe from that... so if you object so strongly, then use your authority as Hero of the Spear to oppose this situation and protect people the way Master Naofumi has protected me."

Motoyasu didn't have an answer for that.

"For the time being," Yumiella finally intervened, "this is all hypothetical. Until we defeat the coming Wave, we have no standing by which to demand change. Raphtalia, Sadeena, as survivors of past Waves, will you please share with us what you observed about their patterns and spawn rate?"

Motoyasu stayed quiet through that part of the discussion, as Raphtalia described the first Wave's monsters and Sadeena outlined the ways that they appeared from the sky, so Itsuki hoped that the airhead was thinking.

Itsuki himself hadn't really realized that Waves were happening across the entire world at the beginning, and found himself galled by the idea that he had failed to combat a foreign Wave or two already.

Naofumi calling that old man the Trash King may less than he deserves for everything. If I ever find out that those Crown Knights were acting on his orders...

Itsuki put aside the idea of the codger's trial and punishment for his crimes to focus on strategy talk.

"In Dimension Wave," Itsuki began once discussion of the past Waves had finished, "the Boss of the First Wave was a Cerberus flanked by lesser hounds, which is consistent with what's been described so far. Then the Second Wave is led by a Chimera with multiple health bars, with the primary Wave Monsters being giant insects and assorted zombies, mostly humans but with some giant zombies and ghouls mixed in. Motoyasu, is that the same with you?"

"Sounds similar, but I think the details in Emerald Online were different," he assessed. "What do you mean when you say 'multiple health bars'?"

"You could choose to target different parts of the Chimera's body with your attacks," Itsuki explained. "It had four heads which you could attack individually, but you could also attack the main body to damage all four heads' health bars at once. However, attacking the main body would prompt all four heads to launch their breath attacks at you in retaliation: flames from the dragon, a sonic roar from the lion, a cloud of acid from the goat, and a spray of poison from the snake. If you whittled down each head individually, you could avoid those mass attacks at the cost of needing longer to defeat the boss."

"Right, that's one difference," Motoyasu conceded. "In Emerald Online, the Chimera only has one health bar but it's a sequential boss fight that resets the health bar each time you wipe it out. It begins as a dragon, but as soon as you wipe its original health bar, the bar refills and it grows a lion's head for increased attack. Then the goat head, and the snake grows on its tail as its final 'red mode,' because up until that point attacking it from behind has been the best way to deal damage, and the snake tail prevents that. Once you beat it for good, each head can be used to unlock a powerful weapon form, although I guess we'll be splitting them one-each this time."

"Just the heads? I'd be happy to grab the rest of the body," Naofumi offered with a dry chuckle.

"Oh, right," Itsuki realized. "Motoyasu, are you still absorbing your monsters whole instead of butchering them?"

"Uh, yeah? I don't know how to do butchering, it's probably not stuff you should eat, and I'm not going to make the girls do anything like that," he confirmed.

"Most monsters are safe to eat, especially if cooked properly," Yumiella contributed.

"Oh yeah, hunting sea monsters was a great way to get the village some extra supplies through a bad season," Sadeena confirmed.

"Master Naofumi and I have been eating a lot of butchered monsters while training," Raphtalia agreed. "He seemed to learn the skills very quickly, and I already knew how to clean fish and dress meat, but your teammates don't?"

"More importantly," Itsuki intervened, "it turns out that absorbing a monster's individual pieces can unlock more specialized weapon forms, based around the bones and hide and meat."

"Yumiella and I figured it out independently, and she told Itsuki," Naofumi added.

"Oh shut it! Anyway," Itsuki continued, "it can give you a lot of passive stat buffs, and if Yumiella is willing to share her supply of Cerberus bones, then you both can also unlock forms relating to the First Wave's Boss since she tracked down its body. My Black Cerberus Bow has already become one of my go-to forms for fighting, with high stats and multiple skills."

"Ah, yes." Yumiella produced two large bones from her Inventory and passed them over to be absorbed.

"Huh, wow." "Holy crap!"

Itsuki nodded smugly as the other two gave impressed reactions to the high-spec weapons. Granted, Naofumi's lack of an attack stat probably meant the shield version wasn't as impressive, but it still ought to have some useful skills he could appreciate.

"That should have unlocked the generic shield and the Cerberus bone variant," Itsuki lectured the less-knowledgable hero. "The rest had all rotted away, but for other monsters-,"

"Wow, that's a lot weapon forms, I see what you mean," Motoyasu said appreciatively, and Itsuki snapped out of his sensei-mode to see that Yumiella had shared her screen and was showing Motoyasu her forms list. "Your stats must be crazy with all those passive bonuses. Though it looks like you're not really using Tempering," he added with a pout.

"Figuring out which ores to use was troublesome, and I dislike the chance of failure," Yumiella conceded. "Although that does bring up the issue of comparing other things we have learned since our last meeting."

"Before that," Itsuki cut in to keep everyone on task, "we ought to discuss our strategy for fighting the Wave. Playing a console game, I have no precedent to guess whether we will be transported to fight the Wave in one group, or if we will be on opposite corners of the battlefield."

"There's also the possibility that we get distributed randomly," Naofumi added. "Plus, it probably won't apply to me, but it would suck for you guys if it turned out that the not-too-close rule applied during the Wave too, so you teamed up on the Boss and got zero experience for it."

"That wouldn't-," Itsuki cut himself off and started fervently checking his Help Menu to confirm that it wouldn't work like that. I'm not seeing anything about it. Shit.

"Okay, good catch Naofumi. Are we going to portion up the Boss or is it first come, first serve?" Motoyasu wondered.

"Given my range advantage, I'm certainly not going to refuse to snipe the Boss just because you claim dibs," Itsuki insisted. Raining death on a monster from outside its range is by far the most efficient way to deal with it, especially with the multi-shot skills and defense-breaking capabilities I have now.

"Yeah, but if you make a mistake, the Boss will kill you with no back-up," Naofumi teased. "I think our resident Level 51 badass is the best option to solo it, of anyone."

"...The last time I fought a Boss on my own, it did not end well for me. Although that was the end-game boss, and I defeated a Level 50 Dungeon Boss repeatedly without issue," Yumiella said thoughtfully." Itsuki grit his teeth, but rather than stake a claim, Yumiella said, "Experience is easy to obtain in this world, with the Waves and abundant monsters. We are not trying for a speed run, but for a zero-casualty, 100% completion run. When lives are at stake, kill-stealing and lost EXP are irrelevant."

Itsuki huffed. "I can't argue with that." Much as I would love to solo the Boss myself... but people trying to do that might have been part of what led to the damage caused by the Lulorona Wave.

"Neither can I," Motoyasu agreed. "So whoever gets to the boss should start fighting it, and the others will join in as they arrive?"

My range advantage means I ought to have an easier time hitting the boss, potentially whittling it down before the others arrive. "I can agree to that."

"Cool, good for you guys," Naofumi huffed. "Now, who wants to start the knowledge-sharing?"

You might be a victim, but it was the King that wronged you, so don't be a jerk. "Thank you for volunteering, Naofumi," Itsuki said. "I know I found out about an improvement method I didn't know about when we were first summoned, so I'd love to hear if you've learned about any of the shield-specific improvement methods."

Rather than wilting in embarrassment or getting angry at his own lack, Naofumi's toothy grin got wider. "Actually, I have," he gloated. "It started back when the inn where-," He glanced at Motoyasu. "-where I stayed the night before I was arrested, they threw me out with no refund even though I'd paid in advance for several nights, since I figured it would take a few days for me to move beyond balloons. I got really pissed off, so I ended up sleeping in the alley outside the inn, fuming." The look of anger in Naofumi's eyes was a little scary, though intellectually Itsuki couldn't deny that he had a right to resent the injustice he'd suffered. "In the middle of the night, I decided that I'd paid for a bed, and so I'd sleep on a bed even if I had to do it in a barn. The inn's security sucked, so I snuck into an empty room and tried to absorb a whole bed into my inventory."

Itsuki snorted as Motoyasu laughed. "Really? Common sense should have told you that it would never fit in the gem," Itsuki observed.

"Nah, I mean, you can fit some pretty big monsters in there, right?" Motoyasu disagreed. "So what happened?"

"Well, I was absorbing it," Naofumi asserted, "but it was taking a long time to suck the whole bed in, so my mind started to wander. I didn't have a lot of weapon forms, so I started to wonder whether I would get something from absorbing the bed, then I started thinking about what it would look like and the stats and skills... That's when I unlocked Custom Commission, the ability to potentially create a new weapon form by consuming material you've absorbed."

"That's so broken," Itsuki complained, immediately pulling up his Menu to examine the new ability.

"It's got some limits, like needing a lot of material and there's never a 100% chance of success, plus the shield starts off with horrible stats at minimum Rarity rank -- the Restful Shield actually decreased my defense when I had it equipped, until I'd Awakened it twice and it broke even -- but it'll usually have a skill that fits the conceptual theme of the form, like the Restful Shield's 'rest improvement' ability. But again, it has to consume and destroy the material in question, whether or not making the form succeeds."

"Does it mention the odds of success or failure?" Yumiella questioned.

"Yeah, it would definitely be good to know if more or higher quality material helps improve the odds," Itsuki agreed. "I'd hate to use up stuff made of rare and valuable materials if common stuff would work equally well."

"I eventually got it to give me some percentages before I did the process, and I've never seen odds higher than 90% or lower than 10% so far," Naofumi answered. "Also, since we're talking about odds, I figured some stuff out about Tempering."

"Wait, really?" Motoyasu checked eagerly. "So did I, but you can go first."

"Right. Well, I don't really have a way to improve the odds of success, but once I got some good ore from Riyute's mine to experiment with, I managed to figure out a fraction representation what those odds were, and my Menu says it's correct," Naofumi amended. "Basically, it looks like the odds of successful Tempering start at 10/10, or 100% chance of getting a +1 bonus. Moving up to the next level has a 10/11 chance of success, then 10/12, and so on. So once you're at a +10 bonus, you've literally got a 50-50 chance of success or failure, and that's assuming you can get that high in the first place. I'm pretty sure that there's some way to make the odds more reasonable, but I haven't figured out how to do it yet."

Motoyasu was nodding along slowly. "Okay, yeah, that fits with everything I've observed, and since we're onto Tempering now, I figure I'll take my turn unless there's anything else."

"Still got some stuff to share," Naofumi disagreed. "First off, I unlocked a bunch of shield forms by putting money into my inventory, and most of them give bonuses to drop item quality after you awaken them once or twice. Second, I've used Custom Commission to get a few useful forms, but one that's interesting is the Container Shield I got from consuming a bunch of empty containers, ranging from barrels and boxes and wooden crates to empty purses and burlap sacks. It didn't do what I'd hoped it would when I got it, which is another limit of Custom Creation, but it did give me the ability to pull things out of my inventory without needing to open the portal and reach inside it, provided I had a good idea of what I wanted to make."

"Do you think skills will hold true across the Cardinal Weapons?" Itsuki asked intently. If I can get those forms as well... actually, they may not be incredibly useful, other than Restful Bow giving me more hours of activity each day. "Would the Restful Bow work the same way as the Restful Shield does with you?"

"Not. A. Clue," Naofumi answered. "Anyway... Third, when I tried putting more coins into my Shield to master it, they started showing up in my Menu as 'GP', where a copper coin is 1 GP, bronze is 10 GP, silver is 100, and I don't have any of the bigger denominations but I'd imagine it matches up. I haven't figured out anything I can do with GP yet, because my Shield just says 'Error: Insufficient Data' and tells me the function is locked. If any of you guys can figure it out, that'd be useful. Alright, now you're up."

Naofumi's tone made it clear that there was some insult like 'dickhead' he'd deliberately refrained from appending, but Motoyasu was too busy shoving coins into his spear to notice.

"Ooh, some new Spear forms! And yup, GP, but I got that message too. My turn? Right, well, I wasn't certain before but I had a suspicion that maybe I can check with this probability thing Naofumi mentioned whether it's real or I just got lucky," Motoyasu rambled. "So, you missed this because you were already traveling, Yumiella, but back when we three were all at the same inn that first night before... before Myne got assaulted," he continued as Naofumi sneered, and Itsuki couldn't decide whether or not that counted as tactful for the Spear Hero, "the three of us compared some stories about our days and shared some ideas about how our methods might interact or overlap."

"Like how the Cardinal Sword's Awakening method also increases the Ore Equip slots of that weapon form," Itsuki contributed, because he didn't want Motoyasu to steal or comment on that discovery.

"Right, that. So Itsuki and I got into an argument about whether there was overlap between the ores for Tempering and Ore Equip."

"The ores he listed don't grant any bonuses when used in Ore Equip, I checked," Itsuki insisted.

"Right," Motoyasu allowed, "but while we were talking, Naofumi raised the possibility that equipping those ores might improve the odds of successful Tempering, and it's not anything like guaranteed, but I managed to get one of my weapons up to a +14 bonus before I chickened out and decided I didn't want to risk a loss by continuing. Though if I can figure out how to get those fractions to display, and can trial-and-error to stack the odds further."

Itsuki frowned. "That's... it's true that you can apply any ore to Ore Equip slots, I've simply always considered that there's no point apply ores that have zero effect. That's very perceptive," he complimented. I can't believe that Motoyasu figured out something like that before me, gah!

"I still need to double-check, but yeah, it's cool," Motoyasu agreed shamelessly, prompting Itsuki to twitch. "Also, I later figured out an overlap between the Sword's Weapon Proficiency Gauge and my Spear's Weapon Expertise. You guys usually reset the Proficiency for PP immediately, right?"

"I do," Itsuki confirmed.

"Right, well the annoying thing about Weapon Expertise is that you need to go deep in the Menu to figure out the bonuses or guesstimate based on the results, because it's mostly an invisible bonus," Motoyasu conceded. "However, since I barely bother resetting Proficiency for any forms, and especially not for my most useful forms, I eventually got to see the Proficiency gauge move up past 100%, and those extra bits are when I started getting the Expertise bonus. How's that for useful?"

Itsuki checked his Menu for confirmation and his stomach sank. Great. I really wish I can come up with something impressive other than my Job Level method, because otherwise I'll fall behind in contributing. Argh, it isn't fair!? How did that meathead stumble onto something I missed so easily?!

(They ended up talking until around midnight, comparing stories with a lot to share.)

(Itsuki had to admit, being treated as an equal instead of deferred to and worshiped manipulated by sycophants or looked down on, it was... really quite nice.)

Chapter Text

Day 26, late morning

"You want to what?" Yumiella checked, uncertain she had heard correctly.

"I want to get a slave seal that you're keyed to, for the stat growth bonus," Farrie repeated.

Yumiella opened her mouth. Yumiella closed her mouth.

"I see. ...I do not see, please tell me more," she managed.

"First off, I know you mentioned that Nakama Sword you have, and Sir Naofumi unlocked it with something Raphtalia gave him after her slave crest was removed yesterday," Farrie began, "but I asked him when I heard Raphtalia explaining why she wanted it re-applied, and not only does he think the two different bonuses might stack, but his Slaver Owner form grants what he called 'growth correction' on top of growth improvement, which if you have it too means I can get a stat boost applied for the levels I gained before you got the Nakama bonus."

"...Really?"

"Raphtalia showed me her status magic reading yesterday while she was still enslaved, because I doubted her improvement was that major, and she had higher stats than I did even though she's ten levels below me. Then she showed me her status window again this morning now that she's free, and her stats were still way high for her level, but they'd definitely dropped too."

"...I don't have a Slave User Sword," Yumiella reminded her.

Farrie shrugged. "I trust you, and I'm not about to turn up my nose at a giant stat boost when the Wave is a week away. I can't make you get that form, even if we're going to the Slave Merchant in a bit, but do you mind if I get that slave seal keyed to Sir Naofumi then? I still want to be in your party, if you'll have me," she added quickly.

...I have no idea what to do right now, but I really don't want her to leave my party, Yumiella admitted. I also feel like there will be trouble if I am a part of this. 

Day 26, noon

Despite her affinity for fighting and defeating monsters, Yumiella Dolkness did not consider herself a violent person.

When people insulted or offended her, she turned the other cheek. She preferred to solve her problems with words instead of brute power, unless people in authority forced her hand. She liked to earn the things she wanted instead of taking them by might or receiving them as charity. She had not the stomach to murder people, even when they were assassins or useless assholes who had hired assassins to kill her.

I want to kill him, Yumiella reflected. I could cut off his head in one stroke and turn him into EXP, then his slaves would be free and-

She cut her line of thought off there. Yes, I could in theory kill him and transport his slaves to Cal Mira or to Lord Reichnott's home, especially if the others cooperate to cover it up and aid me, but he also has at least a dozen employees and apprentices working under him. It's very good odds that several of them have control of some of the seals, to avoid a riot in case Belkouas dies suddenly, and if they scatter we would need to track and kill all of them quickly before they could sound any form of alarm.

I cannot safely kill him. Not yet, she concluded grimly.

That didn't stop her from fantasizing about skewering Belkouas the slave merchant through his blackened, filthy heart.

She hadn't been into the slave-holding portion of his business before, when she gotten her kids' eggs or when she'd got the remover potion to take to Itsuki.

This time she had, out of morbid curiosity, and her heart was steaming with rage at what she saw.

The slave-holding cages were dimly lit, with a lingering odor of filth and rot in the air, covered up by cloying perfumes but lacking the sharp scent of antiseptic cleaning substances.

To begin with, the fact that Belkouas felt a need to use cages when he could easily set the Slave Seal to incapacitate any slave who left their assigned area... The man had no appreciation for fire safety, and all his slaves would likely die if the circus tent set-up they were in caught flame.

Despite the existence of magical potions and healing spells, many of the caged bodies had old wounds that had scarred over, some improperly set bones on a few of them, or scabs that may or may not have bandages on them. If Belkouas hadn't wanted to shell out money for treatment it would be one (still bad) thing, but either he and his apprentices hadn't any skill or training with potions or medical magic despite the use of those skills, or they just didn't care.

Some figures were elderly, which at least meant that Belkouas didn't casually dispose of his own 'stock', but Yumiella wasn't inclined to give him credit. Other than a few high-class slaves in better conditions near the front, every face had a look of despondency and they didn't try to appeal to her or sell themselves and their skills. They were drained of hope.

Then in the furthest, darkest stretches of the tent, there was the scent of death. A smell far less prominent than a battlefield, but the type of smell encountered when you walked too close to carrion that had been picked over by predators.

For the sake of remembering these lives lost, Yumiella stared into the area unflinchingly.

For the sake of not starting a murderous rampage, though, she didn't step too close to see details.

But one day, Yumiella vowed, there will be a reckoning.

Day 26, evening

Aultcray had been surprised when the Holy Sword Hero rode into town on a Tyrella and requested a private meeting at his earliest convenience, but with a week until the Second Wave he supposed it wasn't too shocking that the most famous and accomplished of the Three Heroes would want to make strategic arrangements in advance.

"Thank you for this consideration, Your Majesty," she greeted with a curtsy once the chamberlain had ushered her into his private office and left them alone.

"For the services you have done and will do to support Our Kingdom, it is important to provide what support we can," he returned. "Please, have seat."

Once they were both seated, he gestured for her to raise whatever issue had brought her here.

"I have several things to discuss, but first is the matter of the Seven Stars Cane."

Aultcray winced, his hand reaching reflexively for the weapon that had spurned his touch for years, and yet still refused to let him take up any other. "That is not-,"

"Each of the Cardinal Weapons uses different methods to grow in power, such as my own Sword's 'Awakening' that can further empower individual forms, or the Spear's Status Enchantment. Upon comparing notes the evening after our summoning, we discovered it was possible to utilize each other's methods."

"It...?" Aultcray frowned as he tried to process this, having never encountered such things in the past. Is it impossible for the Cane, or was it turning from me even then?

"At the time, we were not told of the Seven Star Weapons, much less that one of their number was so close at hand. Now that I know, I have come to enquire as to the nature of the Seven Star Weapons, and their empowerment methods, that we may attempt to incorporate their methods with our own."

Aultcray hesitated, his years-old shame twisting and aching in his chest."I suspect that it will not succeed, as despite knowing some methods of other weapons myself, I was only able to use that of the Cane."

"Given that the Cane is wielded by a native of this world instead of a summoned Hero, it seems the nature of Cardinal and Seven Star weapons is different. Incorporating other empowerment methods may be an ability unique to Cardinal weapons, and it costs nothing to try, Your Majesty. Unless you have other information about the Seven Star weapons? I confess, I do not know what forms they take."

Having said her piece, Lady Dolkness waited calmly, expectantly, for him to respond.

Not wanting to think about the Cane spurning his hand too much, Aultcray took the conversational alternative gladly. "The Legendary Seven Star Weapons are divine implements made to support the Cardinal Weapons and to maintain order. Two each serve the Bow, the Sword, and the Spear while the Seven Star Claws serve the Shield; the reason for the discrepancy is uncertain, but it's been suggested that if there ever was a second support weapon of the Shield, it was lost or destroyed after it was turned to evil."

"Which weapons serve the other three?" the Sword Hero wondered, and Aultcray sighed in relief that she wasn't raising an objection with the misdeeds of the Shield and its affiliated power.

"The Cane and the Projectile support the Holy Spear, being modeled after it but specialized for ranged combat instead of melee," he answered. "The Axe and the Gauntlet support the Holy Sword. The Whip and the Hammer support the Holy Bow... I do not know if there is a particular affinity between the Seven Star weapons and those they support, although very old legends speak of the triad heroes working together rather more than they speak of Cardinal Heroes cooperating," he acknowledged. If Mirellia... My darling is not here, though, so I must do the best I can. For Melromarc.

Lady Dolkness seemed to consider this for a moment. "After the wave, perhaps I should seek out the Axe and Gauntlet heroes, then."

"No!" The thought of her seeking out his demented, psychotic brother... "The gauntlets have been unclaimed for several centuries, and the Seven Stars Axe is held by the King of Faubley, a loathsome human who uses his political and combat power to indulge his basest desires. Please do not endanger yourself by seeking him out," Aultcray implored.

"...Very well, it can wait. However, regarding the Seven Stars Cane and what empowerment methods you know, Your Majesty?"

Alutcray grimaced, reflexively -- longingly -- checking his status magic to see Cane Hero still present as ever. I suppose I can no longer put it off. "The Seven Stars Cane makes use of a unique empowerment method known as Magic Rank. While wielding it, each Level I advanced added several Rank Points to a pool, which I could spend to learn, upgrade, and improve those spells which I cast with the Cane. Each spell can be upgraded up to ten times, receiving a numeral beside it to denote the upgrade."

Lady Dolkness pulled up her status menu -- he couldn't see it without her permission, obviously, but he knew the signs in how her eyes focused -- and perused it.

"Are the Points gained by each level increase, or for each Level you possess?" she asked him.

"Those are the same thing."

"No. Could you increase your pool of points by reseting and raising your Level at the Dragon Hourglass, or would the Level Reset also reduce your pool to zero?" she clarified.

It was something Aultcray had never considered before, really. But... "When I first earned the right to wield the Holy Cane, I already began with a pool of points corresponding to my Level at the time," he recalled. "Thus, I expect that the points available correspond to your numerical level, not to the number of times you level up."

"Please, tell me more."

"What more?"

"...Are the points permanently distributed, or can they be reassigned? What are the benefits of upgrading a spell? Is it better to have one spell upgraded to the maximum, or multiple spells with minor upgrades? Is there an equivalent cost to upgrading a spell to the first level as the final?"

Aultcray cleared his throat, desperately wishing he could stop talking about this old and painful embarrassment, but they were pertinent questions and the well-being of Melromarc and the world were at stake. "Ahem. Yes, that is... Once a point is applied to a spell, it cannot be removed or reapplied until the next day, although other points can be further added to improve the spell more. Each rank of improvement requires points equivalent to the value of the rank; first rank costs one, the second rank add two for a total of three, fifth rank costs a total of fifteen, and rank ten requires a total of 55 Rank Points. Buying the first rank will shorten the spell's chant, but with later ranks you can choose to increase its power, its range, its longevity, its efficiency... While I wanted to upgrade as many spells as possible, I recommend upgrading one spell each for combat and other areas as much as possible, and then ranking up assorted other spells to a lesser degree as useful fallback options."

"Spell Rank, the ability of the Legendary Cane to improve spells by spending from a pool of Rank Points corresponding to the Hero's current Level," Lady Dolkness interrupted. Her voice was bland and calm, but Aultcray saw a twinge of triumph in her face and eyes. That declaration made, her lips formed a small, quiet smile as she raised her gaze from her Menu back up to him. "Thank you for sharing this, Your Majesty. Do you know of any other empowerment methods for the Seven Star Weapons?"

"I... need a moment to think." Truly, the Cardinal Weapons are as immensely powerful and earth-shaking as the legends claimed. What other methods...?

"Take your time, please." Lady Dolkness seemed content to investigate the Cardinal Sword's Status Menu as Aultcray wracked his brain, trying to tie together various rumors, legends, comments, and suspicions he'd gained over his long life while fighting alongside or against other members of the Seven Stars.

The Cane had always been enough for him, even though he was no longer enough for it now, thus he had never sought too deeply into the Seven Star Weapons as a whole.

"On several occasions," he mused slowly, "I have fought against the Seven Star Claws. I believe their empowerment method is similar to my own, using points to improve their Skills instead of their Spells. Decreased cooldown, improved power, and the like."

"The Claws...?" After a moment, she gestured at her menu and then shook her head. "Insufficient information."

"Pity. I suspect that the Axe functions in a similar manner, allowing the wielder to improve their health, their stats, and possibly even to buy martial skills... Is that enough?"

"No, it is not," she answered. Then, "Do you know of a method which uses money, or GP?"

"Valerya!" Aultcray remembered. Aha! That was why she was like that!

"...?"

"When I was a child, I knew the Seven Stars Projectile Hero of the day. She focused a lot on money, and on feeding money to the Holy Projectile, and when I inquired about it she revealed that she could buy powers and improvements by turning money into 'GP'. She called it... Oh what was the term...? Small purchases?"

"Microtransactions," Lady Dolkness declared with satisfaction. "The ability to convert circulated currency into power improvements or to buy off the losses of other improvement methods... The description is vague, but I suspect I will discover more as I utilize it. The other Seven Star weapons are the Whip, the Gauntlet, and the Hammer?"

"The Hammer Hero is traditionally based around the kingdom of Q'ten Lo, which is rather isolationist. I have never met them nor heard much about them, if there even is an active Hero," Aultcray admitted. "The Gauntlets remain unclaimed in the homeland of their last wielder, West of us, and I know little about them or him. As for the Whip... actually, yes, I do recall a bit about the Whip," he remembered. "I met a previous Whip Hero in my youth as well, and my eldest daughter, Princess Malty, befriended the young man who became the current Whip Hero when they attended Lemorst Academy together. She always spoke quite fondly and emphatically of his prowess, and I believe they kept up a correspondence. To my understanding, the Seven Stars Whip allows the user to sacrifice Levels in exchange for empowering one's stats."

"Lose... Levels?"

"Yes, and they can do the same with their allies as well, although I do not know if they can forcibly de-level an unwilling opponent," Aultcray mused. "Whip Hero Konrad made a bit of a stir by bringing in the same party members to repeatedly Class Up several times over a year or two, often enough that they wouldn't have had time to reach that point after a normal Level Reset. I remember that it apparently spawned a lot of discussion about what stats each person preferred to improve under such a revision, or whether it could simultaneously improve all of them."

"Growth Revision, empowerment method of the Seven Stars Whip," Yumiella concluded with a nod. "These three methods will be useful for fighting the Waves."

"I can send messages to historians regarding the other Seven Star weapons," Aultcray assured her. "Perhaps I should arrange for more coins in your upcoming stipend... Oh, but I must ask that you do not share these methods with the Shield Hero, for the sake of public safety," he added intently.

"I see. Please, tell me more."

"That scoundrel-," Aultcray's voice dripped with his genuine contempt for the Shield Devil, even if the accusation was a set-up intended to keep him from becoming dangerous. "-assaulted his adventuring companion, Myne, literally the first night after she joined him. Due to the importance of the Cardinal Heroes for fighting the Waves, there was little I could do beyond finding him guilty and spreading word of his misdeeds to the public, so they would know to be on-guard. If he were to learn of GP and have incentive to add theft to his repertoire of crime, or the other abilities, there would be little to hold him back, I fear."

I certainly don't want him to distinguish himself positively in the public eye, not when he's been progressing slowly despite the roadblocks we put in his path. I ought to have assassinated that slave of his before she could help him improve, but having the 'Holy Shield Hero' own a Demi-human slave was too good to pass up; Siltvelt must be grinding their teeth to nubs!

"Yes, I've been meaning to have words with the Spear and Bow Heroes when we can meet," Lady Yumiella agreed placidly. "You may be restricted, Your Majesty, but in the same way we cannot be restricted from our acts, we also cannot be restricted from regulating each other."

"You have an idea?"

"I already castrated him on my way into town, and after the Wave we can simply leave a more powerful member of our party with him as a supervisor, since he lacks the attack rating needed to threaten them," she stated.

"I... I beg your pardon?"

"After the Wave, each of us can leave our party members with Naofumi to reign in his misdeeds through force."

"No, before that," Aultcray clarified.

"I happened upon the Shield Hero's camp as I was traveling here. I confronted him, and given his response I felt it necessary to remove his genitalia for the sake of public safety."

Aultcray burst out laughing. He couldn't help himself!

Oh, he knew that if news of it got out, Siltvelt would kick up a fuss because they were obsessed with Shield-baby Demi-humans, but that just made it better! Their 'Holy Shield' had been unmanned by another Cardinal Hero and they just had to gnash their teeth and fume!

"-aha..." he finally finished, getting his breath back. "Ahem. My apologies for that disgraceful sight, but I approve of your choice of action, Lady Dolkness. Please do not spread around what you have done, or what I am doing now, but take this." He quickly wrote out a royal order for the treasury to dispense a weighty sum and handed it to her. "You've taken steps to protect the public which I could not, even if the public should not be told of this. Thank you."

She accepted the writ, glanced at it, and said, "May I make a request?"

"Something other than money?" Aultcray extrapolated.

"Certain minerals and ores can be used to empower weapon forms. I have the funds to buy them, but some of them are rare enough that I can buy out the stock with money to spare. Making use of royal connections to requisition these minerals would be more useful than needing to track down various samples across the stores of several towns."

"There are royal warehouses I can open to you, and I will see it done once you provide me with a list. Keep the funds," he added when she attempted to return the pay slip. "If nothing else, you will need some GP to start your empowerment." For what you've done to the blasted Shield, this is not even enough repayment, Lady Hero.

"Thank you. My last question relates to the highest tier of magic, the Liberation-class spells?"

Magical theory. It still brings back memories of the Cane, but nevertheless... "Ah, that is a topic I am well-acquainted with, yes. You see..."

His enthusiastic sorcery lecture ended up dragging on far longer than it should have, much to Aultcray's belated embarrassment, but the Sword Hero seemed intent and interested in his explanations (as much as she ever displayed any emotion) and engaged enough to ask perceptive questions of him...

Honestly, it was the most fun he'd had in months. Given that the Holy Spear Hero had been a bit dim when they interacted, he considered whether Malty would be willing to cross-train in a different hero's party for a while, to better grow and improve.

Chapter Text

Day 27, morning

Motoyasu had surprised his teammates that morning with tickets to a spa, saying they deserved the best for all their work preparing for the Wave, and the party could regroup for lunch.

Honestly, he just wanted them out of the way for another Four Heroes meeting about the situation, but he didn't have the heart to leave them or lie to them.

He'd only ever believe the best of Myne, but with the other three all suggesting that it was kinder to keep her uninvolved from their planning so she wouldn't feel guilty.

Better that I feel guilty than that I make her feel guilty, that's what Itsuki said, he sighed. Then he heard his name. "Sorry?"

Itsuki rolled his eyes like the kid he was. "I was checking whether all three of the new empowerment methods are working for you. Are they?"

"Right, right. They're all on my Menu, RP and GP and the revision option..." Motoyasu quickly bought a Faust Flare I upgrade with 1 RP and then cringed at the monetary cost in GP for other improvements. 'Micro'-transactions my ass!  "Looks good, though I'm not eager to lose any Levels this close to the Wave."

"Given the prevalence of monsters for experience," Yumiella noted, "losing a few levels during the Wave might be best once we establish whether we are over-leveled enough to not be threatened."

"Heads up, it's expensive, but it looks like GP can buy some improvements to the Growth Revision power," Naofumi added from across the table.

Motoyasu checked those prices, winced, and started looking for some more affordable options instead. Hmm... actually , buying off a Tempering fail-and-reset looks way more affordable. Wouldn't cost much GP to have a safety net for trying to get a bigger upgrade without losing out.

"Huh. It looks like the cheaper options involving buying off upgrading failures or upgrading skills' efficiency or cooldown," Itsuki assessed, "while actual improvements are far more expensive. Huh. Buying off an Awakening or Tempering failure is pretty cheap, but I haven't had Awakening fail much for me anyway."

"Yeah, and Tempering is- huh? Oh, hey," Motoyasu realized, "the Status Enchantment Specification actually looks pretty affordable too! Yeah, when you make a status enchantment, it lets you narrow the results of the random improvement by selecting an option from a list that the enchantment won't affect."

"I'm checking Ore Equip to see if there's a way to improve- hah! I've got something, it'll improve the bonus on a weapon if I equip ores all of one type," Naofumi declared with odd satisfaction. "Sounds perfect for me to pour in a bunch of copper, heh."

Motoyasu almost made a snide comment about the selection, reminded himself that Naofumi was very plausibly Not Guilty of assaulting Myne, and then checked the Microtransaction option in his own Menu to see what it was.

"Copper ore? Why would you bother using copper?" Itsuki wondered. "That's one of the weakest Ore Equip options there is! It's not even a percent, it's a flat +1 bonus! Please tell me you have better options and are just going for something cheap to start."

"No, I get it," Motoyasu disagreed. "Improving the +1 attack per copper ore equipped to +2 attack each or whatever means he can equip 20 or 30 coppers to one shield and get an actual attack stat. ...That means you don't need slaves to fight for you anymore, right?" he added tightly.

Naofumi snorted at him. "Raphtalia and Sadeena are both carrying flasks of the removal potion, they'll come or go as they prefer."

Motoyasu winced, as that verbal barb hit him in his soft heart. Comrades coming and going... You talk about that like it's no big deal, Naofumi. 

He brooded on how many people had entered and then left his party for a few minutes, letting the conversation flow around him, before he finally got his courage up.

"Hey, Yumiella, I..." He trailed off as he realized that all three of them were now eyeing him. "Uh, never mind."

"Naofumi," Itsuki declared, "how about we go to the other room to compare notes about potion compounding."

"Huh? Why move?"

"Because, I think Motoyasu has a private question he wants to discuss with Yumiella," Itsuki grit out.

I can't believe I'm so transparent that a high-schooler can see through me. Once they were alone, he gathered his courage again. "I... want to ask about parties."

"I see."

"Party dynamics. About... About my party, and if I'm a good leader," he admitted.

"Please, tell me more."

"I've gone though almost twenty party members who joined and then left, usually just a few days later."

"That's amazing."

"Hah! Yeah, but not in a good way," Motoyasu agreed. "I'm worried there's something I'm doing that keeps putting them off. A few people said they would leave because of a 'family emergency' or something, but mostly either they say 'I feel like this is a bad fit' or they don't stay anything, they just leave a letter and head out without talking to me. So I have no clue what I'm doing wrong, and I'm terrified that I'm somehow imposing on the three girls who are with me, like they don't want to stay but they're worried to leave me alone. I... Do you...?"

He trailed off helplessly, not really sure what he wanted from her.

"I have an idea," she told him.

Day 27, noon

"Do you know how to use that?" Rino teased the doofus man who was flirting with her in the Adventurers' Guild hall.

Magic weapons -- like the sword she'd recently purchased to celebrate rising to Level 20 -- had become more popular since the waves began and everyone started remembering the old tales of the Cardinal and Seven Star Heroes, so it wasn't a surprise that this guy also had a spear that could change shape.

Still, he was handsome and he had an air of strength, even if he also struck her as an airhead, so Rino decided she could go for a team-up with him.

"OOOH! Are you the Spear Hero? Neat!"

She wasn't actually expecting the answer to be affirmative, but then a redhead with a scroll -- she wore a sword on her belt, but she carried herself like a sorceress with revealing armor, mediocre balance, unmuscled limbs, and unmarred skin -- dashed over to intervene between them.

"Mister Motoyasu, we have a guild request!"

Rino paused a moment, preoccupied first with the idea that these people were important enough for the Guild to make a request of them instead of vice-versa, and then his name...

Stars of steel! Is he actually Spear Hero Motoyasu? I thought he'd be hanging out in the palace and dining with the Pope, not here in a Guild Hall getting work!

I so want in on this now. It's a chance to help save the world, what woman in her right mind would pass it up?

"Sorry, lady," the redhead continued in a darker tone, "but Mister Motoyasu has important work, so you'd better get on with your day."

Rino pouted and made her eyes wide, almost teary. "But... he asked me to join him for a mission? I know swordsmanship and support magic."

That was when another girl in a skimpy (but magically enhanced) outfit showed up. "Oh, you want to be in Mr. Motoyasu's party too?"

"As I've been telling Sherry, it's a difficult job, you might not be able to keep up," a third woman noted as she appeared.

Beside her, a fourth woman wearing a lot of cloth wraps, including in her pale blonde hair, gave a wave.

"Oh? And who is Miss Sherry? Sir Motoyasu," the redhead cooed, "are you bored and replacing us?"

"What? Nonono!" the Cardinal Spear Hero babbled. "Myne, Lesty, Elena, no one could ever replace any of you in my party or in my heart, you're my precious comrades!" Rino blinked at the cheesy bit about his heart and wondered if the Spear Hero was forming a harem like several of the historical heroes had done in old stories. "It's just, we've been having turnover you know, and with the Wave coming up more hands makes lighter work to get ready for it. You really want to come, Miss?"

"Yes! I'm- I'm Rino," she said, accepting his Party Invite and joining the party of the Holy Spear Hero! (Squee!!)

They did proper introductions -- the redhead was Myne, the skimpily dressed one was her friend Lesty, the third was Elena, and then the fellow blonde was another new recruit Sherry Atric -- and Rino grimaced upon realizing that being Level 20 still left her the lowest in the party, after Sherry at 25, but she mentally swore that she would put forth her utmost effort to earn her place!

...As it turned out, though, the only things Rino really strained that day were her vocal chords, her common sense, and her patience.

The Guild Request assignment was for the Spear Hero to escort a caravan of relief supplies to a village suffering a famine, but the caravan didn't leave until the next morning, so Motoyasu suggested they all go hunt some monsters to raise their levels.

Rino was pretty sure that the fiction stories of Holy Heroes rising 10 or 20 levels in a single day of epic battle were just stories, but as Sir Motoyasu led them to a watering hole where monsters often gathered she was still excited to show off and rise to the occasion.

When an Azure Wing showed up -- a bird monster that couldn't fly but could still jump and glide, with a wicked beak -- Rino had her sword out and was moving to flank it when Motoyasu gave the order to stand back.

"You girls aren't suited to bloody battles, so just hang back and cheer me on," was what he said.

He killed the first two or three pretty quickly, and Rino set herself to cheering appreciatively as he showed off, but more birds showed up and it took him longer to slay them, even if he never really got overwhelmed, and after about half an hour of this Sherry was bold enough to confess that she was bored and wanted to stretch her legs, and'would Motoyasu like her to flush some more monsters toward him for hunting?

"But if you go off alone, what if you're attacked and hurt?"

"I know buff magic, so I can climb a tree and outrun them, right? But Miss Myne and Miss Lesty know attack magic, so they can probably wipe out a big bunch of monsters if I get them grouped up, and then we can all get a bunch of experience!"

There was a bit of an argument, since Myne and Lesty weren't sure it was safe while Sherry said it ought to be less dangerous than the risk that a monster might attack them while Motoyasu was preoccupied, and Rino sided with Sherry since she wanted to finally do some fighting even if her woodcraft was sub-par.

Once the fighting kicked up a notch, Rino just let herself get into the swing of things, although Myne's wind-empowered fire magic was impressive enough that the redhead got a lot of kills with area attacks, and Rino was impressed to watch several of her enemies get roasted faster than she could take their heads off.

She thought Myne needed more practice with her aim, as Rino ended the afternoon with a few scorch marks, but her Magical Resilience was pretty high after growing up with a brother who liked magical pranks, and she thought she'd done pretty well for herself!

Yes, she'd stumbled once or twice and her head had been swimming a bit, but she'd contributed even if she might not have gotten a finishing blow, and while she'd lost the accessory she used to check her stats she hoped that she might have hit Level 21 after all that fighting!

Sir Motoyasu wouldn't stop apologizing that he'd gotten them sweaty and dirty, as it "doesn't suit such beautiful flowers," and Rino laughed a bit when Sherry asked him whether flower gardens were usually full of dirt or not, which made Lesty get snappish.

As they were heading back to town at the end of a good day, with Myne, Lesty, and Sherry bickering, Elena matched stride with Rino and slipped close beside her.

"You should leave our party," Elena murmured to Rino's confusion.

"Huh?"

"Quiet," the stoic woman whispered. "Myne and Lesty are rich noble daughters who like to get their way no matter what, and they won't tolerate competition, especially not someone who makes them work more instead of cheering on Sir Hero. I get by brown-nosing and acting as our quartermaster, but they'll start harassing you in a day or two to drive you away."

Rino frowned. Both girls had been a bit sharp, but nothing that couldn't be explained by them resenting that a less-experienced girl was stealing EXP. "If I'm hunting monsters too, it's more experience for them, right? they're not going to do anything that would risk Sir Motoyasu's disappointment, will they? You're useful, can't I be?"

"I'm useful at things they don't want to do, and they can write my family if I buck the reins," Elena answered softly as Myne squawked and stomped irately, nearly stumbling before Motoyasu caught her. "They don't have that kind of handle to rein you in, and your actions are making them look lazy."

"They are," Rino countered irately. "Why aren't you warning off Sherry, she's the bigger fuss?"

"I talked to Sherry twice today, but she's a thrill-seeking airhead who won't listen. You risk getting pushed in front of a monster when Sir Hero's preoccupied, so Myne can save you with fire but accidentally burn your pretty face, thereby reaffirming the Spear Hero's desire to keep us off the front lines."

"Tough. Her reflexes are shit despite her stats; I can take her," Rino decided.

"Rich. Noble. Daughter."

"Spear. Hero. Watching," Rino countered.

"Huh? Watching what?" Sir Motoyasu checked, which keyed the girls in that the bickering had died down and they were at the edge of town now.

"We were discussing symphonies, Sir Motoyasu, and whether it's better to listen with your eyes closed or to watch the musicians at their playing," Elena lied smoothly, changing stride to move beside Lesty with a dismissive look at Rino.

Lesty similarly looked down her nose at Rino, but Myne mostly looked distracted and thoughtful, so Rino found herself wondering if Elena had projected her own manipulativeness and hostility onto the redhead. Myne didn't really strike her as intelligent enough to plot anything nasty that wasn't blatantly obvious; the girl wore her feelings on her face for everyone to see, and her brain was only large enough to do one feeling at a time.

Rino would keep her eyes open just in case, but once she got Sir Motoyasu to understand that she wanted to contribute, she thought this ought to be a pretty sweet opportunity.

"It's not yet sunset, so I want to do some shopping," Motoyasu declared once they'd made it back to town. "Meet up at the in once it's dark?"

"We'll be at the spa, my treat," Myne offered. "It's always to good wash off our sweat before we eat and sleep."

Rino wasn't usually able to afford those luxuries, so she washed with a cloth and a kettle, but if Myne was offering... "That sounds lovely, thank you."

Myne beamed joyously, while Elena broke off alone for some shopping instead of a wash, so the four of them headed to a spa Myne knew and had a membership at.

It was not quite in the seedy part of town, but still close enough that Lesty's disparaging comment about its other clients suggested it was convenient for courtesans finishing their shifts...

Well, the actual scrubbing areas were all neat and clean, with hot and cold running water and flowery soaps, so the business overall honestly could have passed for being in a much fancier part of town. They even had good security and a solid client recording processes, as Rino & Sherry had to sign some papers as new clients promising to obey the spa rules, and Myne shelled out some extra silvers for all of them to get "the works" to celebrate new teammates.

Rino stripped, scrubbed, and soaked in scented steaming hot water as a bathhouse worker applied a thickly smelling paste to her face that would help her relax and sleep well that night for the trip tomorrow.

It was sort of odd that Myne and Lesty hadn't come in to soak yet, but Lesty had mentioned maybe getting a foot rub because she'd been on her feet all day, and the face cream smelled so nice, she didn't understand why Sherry was trying to wipe it off and shaking at Rino's shoulder, but it was probably bad that Sherry was taking a nap in the pool, no wait the worker had fished her out so she wouldn't drown, that meant Rino didn't have to worry and could just float along in this daze...

Hands were moving her, but she didn't have to walk, and she got towed off with something warm and fluffy so she wasn't really complaining, though the air as they took her downstairs was a bit chilly, maybe they were underground?

"-don't know about their virginity, but healing magic can fake-..."

"-till costs money for magic... need to check for diseases... call it ten gold for both?"

"Two no-name adventurers no one will miss? You owe me for diminished risk, no one will look for them, no need to move them outside the city," Myne argued dismissively as Rino blinked slowly in the chilly dark room, only to realize that she was... was somewhere, but she felt funny, she had trouble moving, and she didn't have her clothes or her things. "Thirteen gold."

"Muh- Myne?" she managed, blinking heavily eyelids as she she tried to stir, to stand, to cover herself.

Myne and the other one turned to look at her.

"Both are waking up, it will take more effort to keep them under controlled, s'why lower levels are better. Eleven gold."

"Eleven, deal." Myne held out her open palm to accept payment of more money than Rino had ever held at one time, and then turned to Rino.

Something was wrong, several things were wrong, but Rino's head felt thick and heavy and her mind was trying to race through knee-deep mud.

"Buh-bye, Sherry and Rino," Myne called sweetly as she sauntered toward the door. "You're no good as adventures, but with meals and a warm bed I hope you enjoy your new jobs as Henhouse Tavern's newest prime whores! You've even got a contract, thanks to a switcheroo with your membership papers, and soon you'll have a lovely new slave crest and a line of hungry customers out the door, isn't that grand!"

With a winsome smile, Myne sauntered out the room and vanished into the gloom.

Rino's heart was beating as she began to understand that she was in trouble as more people entered the room, but her head was so muffled and her limbs were like lead and she just... couldn't... move...

...

...

...

She hadn't been moved since Myne left, but other people were moving around the room, she smelled magic and chanting and acrid stuff, but she could barely turn her head to see or struggle when someone finally grabbed her and moved her around.

The magic hummed louder, and she felt something cold swish across her collar bone and she realized, It's ink, they're painting a slave seal onto me. I need to fight back.

"Such-suh-stahp. Ahm furry," Rino moaned, only to find her arms were tied. "N-not...!"

"Furry? Not to worry, we'll shave you nice and clean for your first customer," a voice answered from the edge of the glowing diagram on the floor.

"Spray some perfume, add some lace, put some makeup on that-!"

There was a thud, a shout, a pained grunt, and then doors started slamming, there were a bunch of rapid footfalls, and someone made the diagram stop glowing and hurting Rino, which was such a relief she just had to... close her eyes... for a minute...

Day 27, afternoon

Naofumi swallowed the Soul Healing Water, hit Y to spend SP as it was going down, and back pedaled fast as the giant Pekkul Boss tried to knock his head off.

"Zweite Lightning!" Sadeena cast to blast it back (and hopefully paralyze it), immediately lunging forward to grapple it as Naofumi sucked down another SP potion.

"Shield Prison!" Naofumi cast, trapping three of the Pekkul mobs (which looked much closer to deranged penguins that the musclebound boss) as they tried to flank Raphtalia while she focused on cutting down two more. "Air Strike Shield, Second Shield!"

The flat barriers sandwiched two more Pekkul for Raphtalia to slice through, and then he dismissed the Shield Prison so she could eliminate the Pekkul trapped inside.

Sadeena was above Level 90, which meant she was able to handle the Karma Penguin thing single-handed, though Raphtalia still ducked in and out to swipe and stab as Naofumi kept an eye out for more Pekkul or other monsters to show up, and Firo stomped a remaining Pekkul or two.

"Pui~!"

"Yeah, more food," Naofumi huffed as he tossed some cooked meat to Firo and set to absorbing the Pekkul bodies as Sadeena wore down the boss.

He was just feeding the last Pekkul to his Shield when Raphtalia gave a triumphant shout and he got a large EXP notice that pushed the three of them up a few levels (though not Sadeena).

"Right, that's done. Any stragglers?" Sadeena checked.

"Nee-chan, I don't leave stragglers," Raphtalia complained in a huff.

Naofumi smirked at Raphtalia's form of address: apparently, terms like "nee-chan" had been used by summoned heroes enough that they had trickled down into common use in some places, even if no one really knew they context for what they meant.

"Right, we had a good day and we won't be able to get it to spawn again until tomorrow-," And that's assuming that one of the others doesn't want to spawn the Bosses to train. "-so we should get heading back to town before sunset." Yumiella might be crazy enough to train all night with her birds, but I'm going to enjoy my warm bed while I have one. "Firo, ride time."

"Pyui!"

"It's hard to believe she hatched a few days ago, and now she's carrying us on her own," Raphtalia mused.

"First they're walking, next they're talking, next they're sneaking out of the house to hook up on the sly," Sadeena chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. Sweet, we got one of those Penguin Outfit armors," he realized as Firo began towing their makeshift carriage and he checked his Drop Menu.

Penguin Kigurumi

Equip Bonuses = 「Defense Up」「Size Correction」「Increased Swim Time」「Race Change - Penguin」

Enchantments = 「Attack Resistance (small)」「Water Resistance (large)」「Shadow Resistance (small)」「HP Recovery (low)」「Magic Up (medium)」「Automatic Recovery Function」「Skill Adjustment (small)」「Monster Equip Time」「No Alterations other than Type」

"C'mon, I barely understand what half of these do," Naofumi grumbled. "Any idea what the Cardinal Shield has against offering numbers?" 

"Hmm?" Sadeena made a sound, so Naofumi toggled a mental switch and showed her the description on his screen, Raphtalia peering at it as well.

"Oh! That looks very warm and happy," Raphtalia declared.

"I don't know which numbers correspond to which label, but I half-remember some childhood counting rhyme that they increased by half again: half and three is five, plus half is seven then ten, up to fifteen, twenty-two to thirty-three, half one-hundred half again is seventy-five," Sadeena sang, and Naofumi felt several moments of discombobulation as his ears registered a lyrical rhyme while his mind insisted on parsing the words into a very clunky meaning that utterly butchered the original rhythm.

"Erg," Naofumi shuddered, "let's avoid the poetry, okay? That felt weird to hear."

"Oh? Ah, yes, the holy translation magic doesn't do well there," Saddeena remembered.

"...Did Yumiella talk to you about that? I don't think I told you much?"

"I mean, I was there when she mentioned that grimoire stone with magical Nihongo," Sadeena reminded him. "Other than that, my birthplace had a lot of old stories hanging around... But maybe I should start you on your magic lessons before the sun sets?"

Naofumi checked the sky. "Alright, fine." I want that hero spell before the next Wave anyway, so I need to buckle down like it's midterms come early.

"Master Naofumi! Since we'll be out of the forest soon, you should reapply your disguise," Raphtalia reminded him.

"Oh? Good catch," he commended her, using one of the magic belts Yumiella had given him -- she'd snagged several off the handful of secret agents following them around that she'd intercepted at various points -- to change his hair color, nose shape, and jaw line as well as to give himself a disfiguring scar, just in case anyone was looking for the Shield Devil.

It wasn't likely, but it was possible, so he changed the Cardinal Shield to an inconspicuous form as they emerge from trees onto the island's beach. Sadeena chanted a quick spell that turned a large stretch of ocean into a stable platform, and Firo cheerfully stepped on it to begin pulling them to the central island.

As Sadeena maintained the spell, Raphtalia and Naofumi began drilling each other with magic alphabet flashcards, first single characters and then combining them with Sadeena to check they got it right.

Naofumi wasn't certain if he'd learn Yumiella's Imbue or another heroic spell, but he needed every trick he could get, and he had enough RP from the Cane's empowerment method to buff several spells to their max as soon as he learned them.

They made it back to the main island without incident and headed to a tavern near the cottage they had rented to get dinner.

Bellies no longer rumbling, Sadeena left to go barhopping for a bit -- Naofumi wasn't sure if she really liked booze or if she was drinking to cope with Lulorona's destruction -- while Raphtalia tried to see if she could get Firo talking like Yumiella's two birds.

Lacking access to a forge, Naofumi set to work experimenting with carving some wooden shields that he could Weapon Copy to get a few new forms. They weren't likely to have great stats, but any Equip Bonus was better than none and he might be able to eventually make himself something really impressive.

It was a pity my Balloons got popped by the Karma Squirrel; I'll probably miss out on two or three opportunities for Mastery and Proficiency tonight without them chewing on me all the time, he reflected with a sigh. I still don't have Teleportation access, so I need one of the others to come give me a ride... Actually, I wonder if there's any kind of local clam or leech that could bite me like those balloons did to grind my shield proficiency. Something to ask Sadeena when she gets back.

It wasn't quite midnight when someone knocked on the door. Sadeena would have just walked in, so Naofumi switched to one of his better Shield forms, crept carefully toward the door as the knocking continued, and opened it to find himself facing Itsuki.

"I searched half the inns on this island before I found you," the younger boy huffed. "Let me in, I've got news."

Naofumi let him in, still wary just in case. "What news?"

"Yumiella's dueling Motoyasu."

"Right now?" Am I missing it?

"No. Tomorrow, or maybe the next day. It's one of those ancient honor duel challenges, they've got formalities to go through. ...Also, Myne has proven beyond reasonable doubt to be an untrustworthy, conniving schemer who needs to be stopped."

Naofumi shut the door, switched to his Interdimensional Cerberus Shield form for its enemy detection skill just in case, and said, "Tell me everything."

Itsuki told him.

Motoyasu had been worried that he was mishandling his team due to the high turnover rate, so Yumiella had offered her for teammate to go undercover and quest with them, same as she'd done to investigate Naofumi.

Where Carrie Farrie had been totally safe with Naofumi even when she pretended to get drunk, paw at him, and fall asleep...

Well, after a single day of hunting monsters with Motoyasu's team, Myne had taken the girls to relax at a spa to celebrate their new team, only for 'Sherry' and an unrelated new recruit named Rino to end up drugged, sold to traffickers, and about a minute from being branded with control crests before Sherry Farrie managed to snap out of it enough to knock out the slavers and get them to safety.

Myne, meanwhile, had gone back to Motoyasu and claimed that the two girls had left of their own accords, to search for a better fit with another party. Given that 'Sherry' was supposed to stay with him until the Wave to check his party management, Motoyasu was very confused and tried to press Myne about it, but he couldn't get a straight answer beyond her shrugging, so after dinner he had gone out to search from them at an inn or find Yumiella to ask about where Farrie had gone.

Still half-drugged, but way tougher than the slavers, Farrie had flagged Motoyasu down from the criminals' den as they were staggering out while he was walking past, and he quickly intervened and got the guard involved on his heroic authority and having all the criminals arrested.

The problem was that Myne had pulled out crocodile tears, and Motoyasu refused to believe that she had sold them to the slavers, insisting that it must have been impersonators using a magic belt, or a hallucination caused by the drug.

"I'd say he even has a good argument about it, if not for how she's done this shit before," Itsuki fumed after laying out the situation. "Farrie and Rino both remember a discussion about how girls with lower levels were easier to control, and Rino was 20 while Farrie posed as 25, so Motoyasu was asserting that the slave-takers clearly went after the two weaker girls and tricked the stronger girls into not noticing to avoid a losing fight."

"Wow. I bet you can't believe you ever agreed with him on anything," Naofumi joked. That traitorous bent finally overstepped herself and will get her just desserts! Yes!!

"Hey! I was raised to believe women about predators, and that's why I'm believing Farrie about this. Don't joke about that or you might get sexually assaulted and need to report it, you ass!" Itsuki snapped.

Naofumi shrugged. "Sure, maybe I can even fill out a Bad Things Bingo card and win a prize at this rate. So it's some honor duel to determine the truth?"

Itsuki worked his jaw for a moment before growling. "Rrrrrrrgh...! That senile dunce on the throne is refusing to believe that Myne could be involved in this at all, pressing Farrie and Rino to recant their 'slander'. He says since the actual sex traffickers are under arrest and facing the death penalty for the other times they've done this, and there's 'no reason to throw mud on the good names of adventurers helping the Cardinal Heroes when everyone involved was fooled by a nefarious trick'."

"Piece of trash," Naofumi snorted. I can't believe he's still defending her, though. You'd think the trash would cut her loose. "Why's he so obsessed with Myne, anyway? Think she's his bastard daughter he's indulging while the wife is out of town?" He'd meant it as a joke, but spoken out loud it sounded plausible, and they both frowned thoughtfully.

"You might have a point with that, actually. I guess I can add nepotism to his list of offenses," Itsuki griped. "But Yumiella responded to that slight against her comrade's honor by getting involved, especially with the observation that Motoyasu's party has had a lot of turnover so they ought to be able to track down and interview the former members, and if they can't then that suggests something very suspicious. But she also insisted that teammates who would fall for this type of trick with such high stakes and evil consequences are a dangerous detraction to someone as important as a Cardinal Hero, and that she wanted Motoyasu to switch up his party."

Apparently, Itsuki explained further, Motoyasu had balked at 'abandoning' his teammates with the Wave coming up, Myne had thrown a hissy fit of tears protesting the 'injustice' of her suffering, the King had tried to side with her but had utterly failed to meaningfully mediate the meeting, and in the end it had shaken out to an Honor Duel between the Spear and Sword with stakes of Farrie recanting her testimony against Myne to drop the charges versus Motoyasu restructuring his party by Yumiella's suggestion.

There was a bit of general worry about them dueling prior to the oncoming Wave, but precisely because of that the duel was likely going to be rushed a bit and occur tomorrow or maybe the next day.

"It probably wouldn't be wise of you to show up in person with your name still slandered," Itsuki advised, "but at the same time neither of us should miss this, so if you can come in disguise...?"

"Oh yeah, totally easy," Naofumi dismissed. "But Itsuki, you still have meta-knowledge of this world from your game, right? I need you to tell me something vitally important."

"...certainly."

"Where," Naofumi asked seriously, "do I go to buy some popcorn?"

Heck yeah! This is gonna be GREAT!!

Chapter Text

Day 28, noon

"I know you want to support me, I just need to be alone with my thoughts," Motoyasu demurred. "This is going to be a tough fight, and I don't want to let you down."

"My hero," Myne sighed, and then she leaned forward and kissed him. His stomach buzzed as a spark jolted down his spine, and he inhaled her sweet scent as he memorized the warmth of her lips, the press on his mouth, the-

Myne pulled away all too soon and he was too dazed to catch her and continue the kiss. She nevertheless offered a winsome smile as she waltzed to the door of the room.

"You're a king among men, Sir Motoyasu, you know that? And once we've beaten the Waves, well, it won't be a surprise that you become King for real," she cooed. "But that's the future. You just win now, today, and tonight we can... celebrate."

She licked her lips and darted away, and Motoyasu had taken two steps after her before he caught himself.

Head thoroughly befuddled, he tried deep breathing to clear it, and then pacing, and then twisting his hair through his fingers while groaning.

What am I doing? I'm... I'm defending Myne's honor, defending Princess Malty, a girl who wouldn't have anything to gain from human trafficking because she has a royal purse if she needed money, a girl who's already been assaulted and attacked and- and...

"Fuuuuuuck," Motoyasu groaned, slumping to the floor and leaning against his omnipresent Holy Spear. "I don't suppose you have any advice for me, buddy?"

ALERT: Despite the circumstances, Areadbhair remains LOCKED to user, no exception will be made

Motoyasu blinked. "Uh... I don't suppose you'd mind explaining? Like, did you have to censor the weapon name too?"

All he got in response was the standard message about how certain weapon forms were locked until the requirements were reached.

He sighed and started flicking through his menu, deciding whether there were any almost-last-minute modifications he wanted to make to his enchantments, since there was still about an hour and a half.

He... really didn't want to fight a girl, not after what those two psychos had got him sent to this new adventure world, but at the same time he couldn't bear to let Myne down either, not after all she'd done to support him and the consequences she was facing if he lost.

But... was he letting down Rino...? Letting down Farrie, who'd trusted he would keep her safe while she was away from Yumiella, only for her to be- for her to nearly-? After only just a day with him-!

Yumiella wasn't fighting him for her own sake, she was also fighting for the sake of her teammate. He could respect that.

But Farrie won't suffer horrible consequences if she just admits she was too drugged to be sure of what Myne did!

...Er, to remember Myne doing-? Too drugged to be reliable in her testimony?

She was drugged, meaning she could easily have hallucinated Myne's involvement and her testimony isn't reliable. There! Yeah, that sounds right, Motoyasu concluded with a nod.

Now I just need to figure out how to fight a girl that's ten levels higher than me.

At that daunting thought, there was a knock on the door. He opened it to reveal Yumiella and their referee, some Count or something. "Huh?"

"It is almost time to begin," Yumiella stated, "but I realized I should deliver these before the match, so the opportunity does not seem contingent on the outcome. Please return them once you have copied them."

"I have inspected them for interference and foul play but found nothing," the referee agreed, stroking his gray beard.

"Uh? You're giving me more weapons? Aren't you worried I'll use them against you?" Motoyasu checked even as he took one of the bundle of spears to Weapon Copy it. "Whoa! Weapon stats are poor, but this thing is way useful for magic, where did you get it?!" This thing could really give my flame spells a punch! And yeah, this one is water, this one is darkness... are they all different elements?  "Where did you get these, I never encountered anything like them?"

"I rented several magic canes from a magic shop and hired a blacksmith to attach spearheads without damaging them."

"Wow, I never thought of that at all! I mean, I guess it is a wooden rod with a knife at the end... But you're not worried that I could use these against you?"

"Using a weapon you have not Mastered and have barely improved would be counter-productive, but you are welcome to try," Yumiella answered. "Additionally... This is, as much as anything, a battle to see which of our training methods is superior. If these weapons are enough to turn the tide in your favor, then my methods are not strong enough to deserve victory."

His jaw shut with a click. He grimaced, thought a bit as he copied another three staff-spear, and asked, "If it's just about that, then do we have to bring Myne and the others into this?"

"Yes."

"But what if Rino and Farrie did hallucinate Myne and she really is innocent?"

"Then the resulting investigation will turn up evidence of her innocence and she will be found Not Guilty of those crimes by the court," Yumiella replied. "However, there needs to be an investigation before we can conclude either way."

"Wait, so you do think she's innocent?" If she believes Rino and Farrie are wrong-? But she's right, she doesn't want Myne punished, just investigated... It would prove her innocence...

"It is possible that she is innocent. It is possible that she is guilty. If she is innocent, she will spend a week or two in confinement before she is released. If she is guilty, she will face the consequences of hurting two girls."

"Were they really hur-?" Motoyasu cut off, his own chivalry forbidding him from finishing the question. If Myne suffering a near-rape by Naofumi by someone who looked like Naofumi is bad, then Farrie and Rino nearly being turned into sex slaves to suffer that repeatedly is worse, yeah. "Look, but will you beating me really prove whether-? Why are you insisting that you want me to change my team if you win? I'm not saying anything about your team! Is it even fair that you're ten levels above me?"

He wasn't trying to whine, and he hoped his voice didn't sound like it, but everything in him that rebelled against hitting a girl was shouting for him to forfeit here, just as everything in him that wanted to protect those beautiful flowers of womanhood cried that he couldn't let Myne and Lesty down.

"You are the primary experience provider for your team of four people, correct? You have earned enough experience to raise yourself and three teammates to level forty."

"Yyyeeeaaahhhh...?" he confirmed.

"If you had been adventuring on your own, that much experience would place you well above me, at level 61 or so," Yumiella asserted. "If you were traveling with combat capable companions instead of cheerleaders who benefited from your shared EXP, you could potentially be even higher by now. Truth be told," she finished quietly, "your growth rate astounds me, and I feel sad to see you diminish yourself by becoming a crutch for people who won't have the skills and training to hunt the overwhelming number of monsters in a Wave, even if they have the stats and levels that should be necessary."

"I have had two nightmares about outliving my current party in the past week, and more before that," Yumiella finished. "If Myne, Elena, and Lesty do not wish to die by an unexpected surprise the way I perished in Balshine, then for their own safety they need to either learn to fight without you to protect them, or they need to retire from adventuring and stay far from the battlefield. I want you to change your party composition as your forfeit for the duel because I believe you have the potential to surpass me, but your preoccupation with women will drag you down if left unchecked. With effort, you can save the world," she told him firmly.

"I... I see," Motoyasu managed. I mean... crap, even in Emerald Online I was always a solo player, I don't have experience in protecting people when we're surrounded by monsters.

But if they've all had their Class Up, it's not going to be a big deal, right?

Maybe not in the first one or two Waves, but when the Spirit Beasts get involved there will be hordes of familiars and giant area attacks, he remembered grimly.

Now the image of Myne vaporized by the lightning beam, or Elena crushed to a bloody pulp by gravity magic... he hoped he wouldn't be having nightmares tonight.

Their referee coughed.

"This is usually the point where I confirm that you both wish to go through with this, instead of settling your differences some other way," he informed them. "It sounds...?"

Motoyasu grimaced. "I don't want Myne locked up on- due to evidence that could be based on a drug-induced hallucination or impersonation. It's my job to protect my party- I failed at protecting Farrie and Rino, but one failure doesn't mean I should quit trying to protect everyone I can!"

The anxious pit in his stomach grew heavier.

"And you, Lady Sword Hero?"

"I also trust my teammate, and I believe the accusation must be investigated. I will not recant," she answered. "If Myne is innocent, she will come to no harm other than spending a few days under guard during the investigation. If Myne is guilty, then she may have done similarly to other members of the Spear Hero's team who left previously, and we need to know where they are to find and help them."

That hit Motoyasu like a punch to the gut, because whether or not it was Myne responsible, the idea that some conspiracy might have been targeting his team the same way that Naofumi had been framed and there were spies with Yumiella and Itsuki...

Honestly, he realized distractedly as his vision swam a bit, it would only take one person with a grudge and a shape-changing belt to nab members of my party, impersonate them, and tell the rest of the party they were leaving to "find a better fit". Has my high turnover been because of abductions and I missed it? Oh God, I really do need to figure this out ASAP.

Which of my former party members told me stuff about their families, about where they lived or how I could get in contact with them? I really need to do a check-in if they're okay.

"Very well then. I will review the rules one final time," the referee declared, heedless of Motoyasu's internal panic, "and then the duel will begin in one hour, before the eyes of the people, the Crown, and the Supreme God in witness arbitrating.

Day 28, noon

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! Today, we have before us two of the Holy Heroes wishing to resolve their differences in the field!"

Motoyasu stepped out into the arena across from Yumiella. He'd done a couple gladiatorial exhibition matches once or twice -- Myne had suggested that it was important for a Hero to be seen by the public as strong and capable, to reassure them and raise public morale -- but where he'd usually waved cheerily to the crowd, here he remained serious.

Yumiella didn't look any different than usual either, but her usually dull eyes were focused on him intently.

Steel Halberd Spear +14 (M) -- Rarity C -- Prof 189% -- Ores 20/20 (+20% ATK, +20% SPD)

Equip Bonus = ATK+4 ... DEF+1

Item Enchantment Lv.8: +16% damage to humanoids

Goblin Spirit Enchantment: +10% damage resistance from humanoids

Status Enhancement: SPD+20

Motoyasu wasn't a guy who went around killing people, not even rapists or bandits, but he'd fought a number of bipedal primate monsters -- a memory niggled that Myne had equated them to demihumans, but he'd been able to talk with Sadeena and Raphtalia just fine while the goblins hadn't had any kind of language his spear could translate, so at some point he ought to correct her misunderstanding before a future tragedy struck -- who'd proven to be vicious killers despite being about as tall as the average child, and this was the weapon he'd decided was best used against Yumiella.

It looked heavy and weighty, but it actually had a powerful enchantment for speed that kept him agile in the midst of a swarm of smaller, more maneuverable foes, and he'd enchanted it to work well against humanoids, which Yumiella was on account of being human.

He didn't really know how she fought other than some vague second-hand descriptions, but he knew that she mostly fought monsters so with his experience in show fights for publicity morale he ought to have the edge here.

The main thing to watch out for is her Skills, especially anything she got from Cal Mira or the Cerberus, but I don't recognize what sword form she's currently using so I need to be careful.

On the flip side, fortune favors the bold, Motoyasu resolved, and trying to wait her out will just let her plan out something big.

The referee had been going over the rules as they both assumed waiting positions, him balancing the Spear on his shoulder and her standing with her sword point grounded in the earth.

The call came-

"Begin!"

-and Motoyasu charged in swinging.

It would have been really badass if he hadn't tripped three steps in and eaten dirt.

"Do you need a hand?" Yumiella offered, and he reflexively rolled aside in case she was swinging her sword down.

Huh. Did she just not even move from the start?  He wondered as he saw her patiently standing in the same place and position she'd been. "Ah, I'm good thanks. ...You're not attacking me?" he checked as he bounced up to his feet.

"I did attack you, but I want to push you to your limits and see what you are capable of," she corrected.

Motoyasu glanced back, saw stone jutting out around where he'd tripped, and chuckled. "Useful skill. En Garde!"

He struck fast, aiming for her knee to harmlessly sweep her feet, but she moved quickly and he got a shallow cut across the back of one hand instead.

"First blood to me."

I'm on the back foot and I need to pressure her. Don't want to bring out the big guns with Splitting Fang yet, so... "Yeah, but last blood is what matters in a duel! Chaos Thrust!" His spear split into three nearly simultaneous attacks with blurring speed, his skill went on cooldown, and he barely heard her murmur 'Hollow Bones' before she jumped straight up, well over his head. Ranged attack while she can't dodge, he decided. "Air Strike Thrust!"

"-Bite One-Hundred Swords," she countered calmly at the edge of hearing, and in a move that had to be stolen from Bleach a rain of steel blades smashed his projected javelin to bits as it fell down on him.

"Spear Prison!" Motoyasu shouted, and in a move that his weapon probably stole from Naruto, Motoyasu found himself protected by a barred cage made of tightly fit-together spears. Several of those falling swords still punched through a few gaps between the bars, but Motyasu only ended up with a few painful cuts nowhere import. Pity there's no items used in a duel, this would be a good time to regroup.

He glanced around, trying to see any sign of her through the bars, but no dice.

"Burst Lance!" he invoked, throwing his Skill at the location he best guessed she'd have landed as he dismissed his Spear Prison. "Second Lance!" he yelped as he dashed away at an angle only to find that she was already almost on him. "Third-!"

The second explosion should have caught her full in the face, (and he'd panicked about hurting her later, hello new nightmares,) but the tip of her Sword caught the tip of his spear and slid it aside, sending the explosion well over her shoulder to barely rustle her hair.

His third attempt was interrupted when her swing caught his ribs and sent him flying. As in, she hit him so hard his ribs and right collarbone went numb and tingly, his brain forgot how to breathe, and his feet literally left the ground because she sent him soaring at least a dozen meters to slam spine-first into the wall of their dueling arena, the gasps and cheers and screams of the crowd rattling through his head.

Cold washed over him, and then a burning flush, and then cold again as he choked and gasped unpleasantly while trying to breathe.

Motoyasu wasn't sure how long he'd stayed down trying not to choke on his vomit, but it probably ought to have been more than a 10-count. Nevertheless, when his head stopped swimming and he looked up, he saw the referee was still present and Yumiella stood not too far away, her sword grounded, waiting.

"W-whu?" he coughed, sucked in a deeper breath, and managed, "He hazn't galled et?"

"I intend to defeat your warrior's pride," Yumiella answered. "Until you are entirely unable to continue, or you acknowledge my assertions and surrender, I will continue."

That was...

"Right then," he wheezed. "I'm not giving up yet. Sword versus Spear, let's see who wins. Air Strike!" His javelin flew at her face, but she leaned to one side and it flew past harmlessly.

Motoyasu tried to drown out the laughter of the crowd as she shook her head.

Then Yumiella drove her sword blade two-thirds deep into the ground of the arena, and he tensed for an earth attack but nothing came. "Huh?"

"You have the wrong conception," she informed him, releasing the hilt and stepping away. "This duel is not Sword versus Spear. It is Yumiella versus Motoyasu. My philosophy of teams and fighting against your own. The strength of the Cardinal Sword is irrelevant to my strength, and you have twisted yourself into enough knots that I can beat you without it."

Motoyasu gaped. Whoa. On the one hand, that's a hugely arrogant gamble she's taking, but it's the type of thing most anime-sensei say before they show up a plucky student to teach humility.

On the other hand, it's an opportunity for me to pull out the win and clear Myne's name, to not lose the girls who all trust in me.

His stomach churned a bit as images surfaced in his mind of Rino, shouting and crying as she accused Myne of treachery, but he swallowed down his bile and got back to his feet. "Let's go then. Spear Prison! Second Prison!"

Yumiella dodged the first cage but got caught in the second, and Motoyasu immediately moved to deal some damage. "Burst La-!"

One side of the cage exploded into splinters as Yumiella shattered it, rushed out, and blurred into zig-zaggin motion across the field.

"-nce!" Holy shit, how high is her Speed stat! What the heck?  he wondered as she dodged his skill and zoomed in on him.

"Yumiella Punch."

"Solid Stance! Faust Flare V!" I feel so slow! Really wish I'd dumped more RP into spells but I totally forgot, crap. If I try to do shit with my menu now she'll flatten me!

She twisted away from his spell, tried to sweep his feet with a kick, and it missed his legs but nearly wrenched the Spear from his hand and sent him staggering.

"Lightning Lance! Faust Flare V!" he tried again, but with a word and a gesture she dissolved his flames and knocked his aim away, and then she was blitzing melee attacks so fast he barely had time to think or to breathe, much less to do anything other than dodge and defend.

Realizing that she'd gotten in closer than his halberd could defend against, Motoyasu tried switching to a smaller Spear form, only for her to grab his wrist, wrench his elbow, and throw him on his back in a blur of motion.

"Using magic is good," he heard as his head spun, "but you need genuine combat skills and reflexes. Your stances are sloppy, your balance is barely adequate, and you lose too much strength and flexibility with too tight a grip."

"Aren't- Aren't you a sword person?" Motoyasu managed, staying flat on his back as his head spun. "How do you-?"

"My boyfriend uses a spear. We like to spar," she answered, and part of Motoyasu jealously wished the man who held that beauty would just go and explode.

The rest of him realized that she probably had experience fighting spears, then.

"Right," he wheezed, finally daring to sit up again. "Uh, I'm low on SP, if you'll give me another ten seconds...?"

"No. You learned magic from a crystal ball instead of from a grimoire, correct? Let me show you why plug-and-play magic is inferior to the real," she declared, hopping back and assuming a dramatic stance.

Oh shoot, that sounds bad, like anime enemy about to deliver a curb stomp, he realized, desperately leveraging his weight against the Holy Spear to stand. "Um, when you say-?"

"I am the Hidden Boss who has deciphered the laws of nature," she declared darkly. "Thus do I command the origin of power: cut off reason, retie it, and release it. By my will and by my word, let every spirit's wail be heard."

Motoyasu was already bracing for a blast, because that sounded like a whole chant all on its own, but then Myne's voice reached his ears from the crowd and he paled.

"Sir Motoyasu! That's Revelation-Class magic! Stop her now!"

"Air Strike Thrust! Second Thrust! Third-!" He staggered and wheezed as Yumiella danced away from each javelin, and the third was cut off abruptly.

ALERT: Insufficent SP remaining

I can't be that low!. Quickly as his shaking hands could manage, Motoyasu pulled a Soul-Healing Water out of his inventory and chugged it. He only belatedly realized that he wasn't supposed to do that during a duel, and the crowd certainly disapproved, but Yumiella hadn't stopped her ominous magical chant at all and given what he knew about Revelation-class spells he did not want to have to tank that.

"Gnaw this iron. Bite that steel. Grind all mountains into meal. Taste the way that ants must feel when crushed beneath my mighty heel. Revelation Devastation X!" Yumiella shouted.

Motoyasu dropped to one knee, held out his spear, and answered, "Rotary WALL!"

It was his most powerful anti-magic technique, sucking out so much SP he'd have dropped if he wasn't already on one knee, but for a few precious seconds the Holy Cardinal Spear spun before him like a plane propeller with a dragon's roar, nearly deafening Motoyasu as it shredded and scattered any incoming magic aimed at him.

After about 10 seconds of bracing for a hit, the propeller began to slow as he ran out of SP.

Motoyasu opened his eyes as it stopped. Did I block it?

"Yumiella kick."

He felt his nose crunch, his feet left the ground, and then the back of his head hit the wall and he saw stars everywhere. Ow... How did she...?  "Mumurgleshmurglemurph?"

"If you'd learned magic the proper way, you would have been able to feel that I wasn't chanting, I was just shouting words to fake you out. Please surrender, Motoyasu. You need different training and a more supportive team; if we fight any enemies able to match me in the future, you'll die protecting them and then your current teammates will die anyway. For their own safety, please accept my advice," she pressed quietly.

Head spinning, blood leaking out his nose, Motoyasu weakly slapped the ground three times.

"The winner is Her Ladyship, Countess Yumiella Dolkness the Sword Hero!"

Chapter Text

Day 29, morning

"I'm guessing it had to involve magic."

"Tersia, quit badgering her!"

"She used her stalagmite skill instead of earth magic at the beginning..."

Yumiella finished her breakfast and waved to grab her teammates' attention. "I used the Snake Bite skill prior to my One-Hundred Swords to coat the blades with poison, and then after I hit Motoyasu the first time I cast Faust Jinx X while he was down to apply multiple de-buff effects that inhibited him. Beyond that, I had superior stats and combat experience."

"Score!" Tersia shouted as Welt clapped appreciatively. "Isn't your mom awesome?"

"She's the best!" Rich-kun agreed.

"Uh-huh!" Doduo-chan seconded.

Yumiella drained her cup of tea, took a moment to appreciate everyone's support, and then turned to the business of the day. "Bakta, would you be willing to accompany the Spear Hero through the coming Wave? I believe that Motoyasu needs a responsible adult to ride herd on his womanizing tendencies, and up to now he has not benefited from dissecting his kills, so your capabilities would be of great benefit to him."

Bakta looked torn for a moment, then nodded. "If he will have me, then yes, milady."

"Thank you. Tersia." The rogue perked up. "King Aultcray mentioned that you were reporting back on our activities. I would like-,"

"Here!" Tersia produced a notebook and handed it over with a grin immediately. "Records of what information I've bene selling to which groups of people, and when. I decided pretty early on that I shouldn't put in anything too incriminating or delicate, and then it was harder to send updates once we'd moved a ways away so no one could call me on it if I sent information that was too late to be very useful."

The others glared at him as Yumiella sighed.

As expected of a cunning rogue. "As expected of a cunning rogue." Tersia's grin widened. "You should have informed me of this prior to now; we will discuss later whether you will continue as a member of the Sword Hero's party." His smile dropped.

"Yes ma'am, I understand," he stated soberly.

"Welt, I definitely wish for you to continue in this party, and we will continue efforts to recreate dark-element spells I am familiar with."

"Yes, Lady Yumiella," he agreed.

"Farrie, you are welcome to remain in my party or to transfer to any of the other Heroes' parties on my recommendation."

She gave a thumbs-up. "I'll stay, Lady Yumiella."

"Rich-kun?"

"Could we get a cart? Do the other parties have a cart I can pull without sharing?" Rich asked.

They aren't supposed to grow up this fast. "...If you wait a few days, Rich-kun, I will obtain carts for you and your sister each."

"Yes!" "Yaaaaay!" both twins cheered.

Yumiella relaxed, now that her children were not leaving the nest so soon.

Day 29, afternoon

"You look pensive," Yumiella commented to Farrie once they had left the Three Heroes Church, every member of her party now having received a Class Up (including Yoshi and the twins).

"Didn't go as well as you'd hoped?" Tersia checked. "I've heard that can happen... and occasionally that the Class-Up ceremony can fail and it resets your Level."

Yumiella twitched and shivered. All that progress, gone...!

"I'm not great with weapons so I went with my best Attack-improvement class option, and it's got a good Defense improvement too, but I feel I'm lower on Speed than I want to be and my magic skills haven't really improved," Farrie confirmed. "Think we've got time to experiment with Growth Revision, Yumiella?"

"After the Wave may be best, so see if you can get used to it. Mister Bakta, I see Motoyasu waiting for us," she declared, having turned her gaze to the meeting point where they'd agreed to rendezvous and transfer Bakta to Motoyasu's party as a supervisor.

Motoyasu looked unhappy, but not really angry, so she hoped he wasn't holding a grudge. It would be very inconvenient if one of the Cardinal Heroes threatened to leak their post-Wave plans in a fit of pique.

Day 30, morning

"We're going to hit the mines while Itsuki runs the Bosses today, so you're free to leave or stay," Naofumi informed Sadeena over breakfast. "Need some ore, plus Sword made a request for us to quarry for her."

The older orca-girl chuckled. "Well, Raphtalia, do you mind if I crash your date? Or you could come with me for a while today?" she added, eyeing the slave crest under Raphtalia's shirt.

A week ago, the idea of Raphtalia leaving him alone might have sent Naofumi off in a panic, but now Raphtalia and Sadeena were carrying around doses of slave-freeing potion and Naofumi was chill with it. Geez, Yumiella showed up and everything changed. That Trash King and the Bitch won't know what hit them, Naofumi reflected.

"I'll stay, Sadeena-nee-chan. Uh! A-and it's not a date, it's absolutely not a date!" Raphtalia added, totally flustered at the tease.

"Hah! Too easy, little Raphtalia," Sadeena laughed. "I figure I'll go hunt around for some rare deep sea monsters and bring back materials. If I don't see you at the exit in good time, I'll assume there was a cave-in or something."

Day 30, evening

"You're a fast learner, Sir Motoyasu."

"Thanks," I laughed as the Ossan from Yumiella's party, Mr. Bakta, finished upon his lesson on rendering and dissecting a slain monsters. "I try... but if we're being honest, the Spear is also giving me a bonus to dissections from a form or two, and I'll probably get more soon, from more monsters."

"Nevertheless," Bakta assured me. The big older man wasn't much of a talker, but that meant his compliments felt sincere, so Motoyasu's mood lifted a bit.

His mind still kept flitting back to Princess Malty, but while she'd been fuming at her confinement when he visited, she was being put up in a private suite by the Church so she had servants and luxuries to make sure she was comfy while the investigation was proceeding.

I really hope she's not guilty. Like, I can't imagine her doing something so awful, but I also can't imagine Rino or Farrie lying... It has to be some big conspiracy by people to turn all the heroes against each other by impersonating and picking off assorted party members.

It has to be.

With that little prayer, Motoyasu turned his attention to his new party for the next few days.

Lesty had remained in the capital with Princess Malty in similar confinement, since they were both under suspicion, but Elena was allowed to continue with him since she hadn't gone anywhere near the human trafficking location, although there'd apparently been a very tense conversation between Elena and Rino with Yumiella mediating before that decision was reached.

Speaking of, Rino had elected to come along as well; she was absolutely giving Motoyasu the cold shoulder for his actions in the duel and things, though he hoped she was slowly warming up to him again as he showed her his sincerity.

Bakta was on loan to supervise him and train him in useful skills through this Wave, and possibly through the next.

Then there was also knight traveling with him to teach proper spearmanship forms, and Motoyasu had managed to track down a male mage who'd entered and then left his party to cover their magic support needs for this mission.

Ryan had been very relieved when he saw Malty/Myne wasn't in the party, even if he hadn't been willing to discuss it with Motoyasu (yet), but the various possibilities didn't fill the Spear Hero with joy and cheer.

"The town is in sight!"

"A caravan! There's a caravan in coming here!"

"Oh, food!"

"It's the relief aide from the Crown!"

"Everyone, there's food here!"

That said, when their caravan finally trundled into town and Motoyasu saw everyone's hope and joy as his party started distributing relief supplies, well, that definitely made him satisfied with a job well done.

Although, how long will this much food last for this many people... Wasn't there a mission like this in Emerald Online?

His brain tried to recall what he'd been thinking, and then after a couple minutes he went to find the Headman or some similar Lore Dump guy to confirm his belief.

Day 31, morning

Since they'd stayed the night, Motoyasu relayed his plan to the group the next morning.

"A magic seed?" Bakta mused, glancing at Ryan, the party's current mage.

"I've never heard of anything like that, but I know there is magic to help plants grow," Ryan considered. "How have you heard of this, Sir Motoyasu?"

"It's part of the knowledge I brought with me from my old world to this one: an alchemist had his laboratory trying to solve a famine, and when he died it became a dungeon in which this miracle seed is buried that will grow crops very quickly when it's planted and solve the famine here!"

Rino raised her hand. "Without exhausting the nutrients in the soil and rendering the land barren, Sir Motoyasu?" she checked archly.

"I mean... I don't have any information that it's a risk, but it'd mostly mean you just have to refertilizes the soil more often, right?" Motoyasu hazarded. She looked satisfied, so he'd guessed he'd said the right thing.

"When we passed through Soma Valley, where there are a number of animated plants, I remember hearing that most of them were attributed to an alchemist who'd lived nearby a century or two in the past. Is there a risk the seed was sealed away because the plant became animate?" Bakta wondered.

"Alchemy is tricky," Ryan said, "but the seed definitely isn't going to do any good if it's locked away for all time, and at the worst the Crown has modern Alchemists who can improve it, right?"

"The wave's coming up soon, and chances are everything is going to go crazy for a few days when that happens," Motoyasu reminded them, "so I'm hoping we can get these people fed now if possible. Are you with me?"

Like that, they decided to go investigate the old alchemist's dungeon.

...

"Sir Motoyasu, why are you lighting the candles when we can bring our own torches in?"

"Huh?" Oh right, I guess they wouldn't know the details, Motoyasu recalled belatedly. "Basically, this is a trick dungeon with a timed trap, okay? At the end of the dungeon is the Alchemists's Lab where we'll find the Magic Seed, but there's a protector Golem still waiting there from before he died who'll fight us. We have to defeat that golem and claim the Alchemist's Seed before the candles burn out, which should take about thirty minutes."

"Thirty minutes to explore a dungeon? They're usually pretty big," Rino noted skeptically.

"I know the way through!" Motoyasu assured her quickly. I hope! Game knowledge, please don't let me down!

"If it used to be an alchemist's laboratory, he'd want his equipment secured, but he wouldn't want a long and complicated journey every time he went out to get groceries," Ryan noted.

"Sir Motoyasu," the palace knight, Sir Kit, intervened, "what will happen if the candles blow out while we are in the dungeon?"

"Well, nothing immediately, but after we beat the golem, a trap door in the floor will drop us into the dungeon's basement instead of letting us claim the seed," Motoyasu explained. "Chances are we'll be dumped into different areas and need to meet up and find our way out... Right! There's also good odds that we'll encounters these trickster monsters down there, called a Voice Gengar, which-,"

"Oh those." "Oh dear." "Hate those fuckers."

Huh?  "Sounds like you guys know about them?"

"They're a known danger of caves, even if they're rare to encounter, Sir Hero," Bakta confirmed. "Can you tell us more about the traps in this dungeon? The usual way to deal with a trap that can send people to different areas is to tie people's waists together in pairs or trios, so we aren't all separated. But for instance, is there a risk that wind could blow out the candelabras even if we defeat the golem in good time? If someone waits out here, could they light the candelabra after 20 or 30 minutes in order to give us an extension on our time?"

"I mean... I don't have any solid knowledge, but that sounds like the type of hack that-," The type of thing a GM or Admin would punish you for, but this is real life with real mechanics to the traps and stuff. Plus, real people starving in the face of famine. "Huh... Hey Ryan, Bakta, do you know any diagnostics inspection spells that could check whether there's magic on the candles or stuff?"

It might take a little longer, but as long as we get it done today... Yumiella was right that we're not trying to speed run this world, we're going for a Zero Casualty run, and that means being thorough and taking care. An extra hour or two here won't hurt us, and if we clear it thoroughly and check the path to the golem first, I'll probably get some better EXP and weapon forms too from all the monsters.

Day 31, afternoon

Shifting the Cardinal Sword, Yumiella dropped the last few feet to the ground. "Thank you, Welt. I call that a success."

"You're sure you'll be able to fight like that though, Lady Hero?" Welt pressed.

"My spells should be sufficient for the average Wave monsters, and if not I have other options," she confirmed. She turned.

"Yom!" "Momma, we got a big one, come see!" "It's really cool!"

It seems the kids found some form of rare monster for me. I should go cherish them. "If you'll excuse me, Welt."

"Can I come see? Farrie ought to have an impressive story."

"Please do."

Day 31, night

"A what?"

"A Dragon's Hourglass," Naofumi confirmed. "If it works like the others, then you can probably show me how to get Raphtalia and Firo their Class Up stuff without us needing to let the Church know, and maybe that means it'll be possible for us to reset some people's levels when we capture them if necessary... Oh, and when I synced to it, I got a +1 increase to the number of people I'll be able to teleport with once I hit the level requirement, and it'll let me have one additional teleport destination saved."

"It's underwater, in a temple that opened up when Naofumi brought the Cardinal Shield to the door, and there's magic keeping water out of the building," Sadeena elaborated. "I wasn't sure what I'd found, but Naofumi told me enough about 'flags' and 'side quests' that I thought he'd want to see it. Worse, it's counting down to 72 days until a Wave hits Cal Mira. We haven't told the Margrave yet, but I can take you down tomorrow?"

"Please take me down tonight, and I will inform the Margrave tomorrow morning," Yumiella insisted. 

Day 32, morning

Once he'd recovered his wits, Margrave Habenburg had immediately begun planning how to build shelters and evacuate Cal Mira in two months.

"You realize that failure to inform the Crown of this matter could be High Treason? I'm already uncomfortable enough holding the spies you've captured and brought me in our cells," he warned the Lady Sword Hero.

She looked unperturbed, which was about the same as she always looked, but she handed him a document.

On it, with her signature, was a formal advisement to Margrave Habenburg that he wait to announce the oncoming of the Cal Mira Wave in 70 days until after the upcoming Wave, so as to avoid undue panic or disruption to ongoing preparations, with a statement that the Cardinal Sword Hero would assume personal responsibility for any backlash he faced from those in authority.

"I am also willing to teleport you with my team to the capital when we return tomorrow to prepare for the Wave," Yumiella added. "This way, you can inform the king in person that you have an urgent matter to report as soon as the current Wave has been dealt with."

"That... should cover everything," Margrave Habenburg admitted. "I suppose it also means there is no chance the upcoming Wave could strike here, so I can't be castigated for leaving my lands unattended." Though if I'm going to be appearing in court, I should get my formal armor checked over and make sure to be carrying several antidotes.

Day 33, early afternoon

With the Wave due in a quarter-hour, Bismuth T. Balmus was pleasantly surprised that the Cardinal Sword Hero came to request a benediction from him before the battle.

The second most holy figure in their world knelt to the most Holy, as was fitting, and Balmus placed his hand over her head and recited a prayer for victory, faithfully certain that God would smile on this strange yet pious girl and her retinue... even the winged children, who were disgustingly similar to demi-humans but who were also serving her as loyal beasts of burden in their proper place, and thus would be permitted to live as long as that remained so.

They still had a few minutes left, and the Sword Hero placidly heard him preach an impromptu sermon about victory in the face of difficulty, and then the last grain of sand fell from the ancient Hourglass, and the Lady Sword Hero and her party disappeared.

Balmus offered another prayer to smile on the three Heroes, and then he stepped back into a private area and summoned a Shadow to attend him.

"With the Cardinal Heroes preoccupied, take action now to shore up Princess Malty's alibis as much as possible, while leaving opportunity for the truth of Aultcray ordering such a cover-up to be revealed in due time," he ordered. I'll be done with and dispose of that loathsome chit soon enough, but until then it's important that the Crown look as corrupt and incompetent as possible, so that we can reveal this corruption as justification to overthrow them and put in place a proper theocracy to enlighten this sinful world.

Day 33, same time

"Lady Sword Hero? Why, with the Wave almost here, I never would have expected you," Malty Melromarc, future Queen, greeted with as much simpering and innocence as she could convey.

"I will be washing Princess Malty for a religious cleansing; give us privacy," the Sword Hero ordered, and all the servants cleared out.

"A cleansing?" Malty questioned. I'm... not certain what is happening here. Oh! Shit, is this an attack?  she wondered as the appearance of the Sword Heroine shifted to that of a Shadow, but the Shadow quickly knelt in obeisance.

"His Eminence has constructed a plan to most effectively clear the name of the future Queen from scandal," the Shadow stated deferentially. "If you will grant consent for my magic to affect you, I will take you from this place and wreck the room, to convince them that criminals have abducted you, and then you will be found with a slave crest and it will be reported that you have been 'heavily abused', to garner sympathy and make clear that you had no alliance with these villains, and also to make it improper for even a temporary slave seal to be applied to interrogate you."

I'm finally getting free of this blasted room! Brilliant! It will undercut that sword bitch's plans and bring Sir Motoyasu back to me immediately!

"By all means, lead the way," Malty allowed, and she felt a pull of power wash over her.

She had a moment of confusion upon hearing the spell's name, and then it was washed away as she fell into a comforting dark sleep.

"Captive's Bow."

(In the room, the Shadow quickly grabbed and stirred away somewhere a number of toiletries, clothes, and valuables of the kind that Myne might bring with her when making a run for it, and then the Shadow darted into a closet to hide, hoping that time would run out before anyone realized the bluff.)

(A minute later, shouting voices burst into the room to sound an alarm, but before anyone could check the closet, the distant bell of the Dragon's Hourglass began to sound. Itsuki dropped his disguise, resuming his true appearance as the Holy Bow Hero, and with Myne stored safely in his Captivity Bow's Skill where she could neither be silenced nor helped to escape, he was immediately teleported out of the room to join his party in fighting the coming Wave.)

(Let's see if she can cry and scream her way out of this, having disappeared and run away from observation with the investigation still underway, Itsuki chuckled, looking around to find his team as he began to shoot down the nearest monsters he could see.) 

Chapter Text

Day 33, early afternoon

Yumiella was rather bored with the Pope's speech, but she'd judged her timing correctly so she didn't need to wait for long; her presence in the Church with her party would also give an unshakable alibi to prevent her from being accused of grabbing Myne, which was Itsuki's duty.

Melromarc -- 00:00:00:03

Melromarc -- 00:00:00:02

Melromarc -- 00:00:00:01

Melromarc -- 00:00:00:00

There was the echo of a great bell as darkness consumed her, and then a whirling kaleidoscope of color with the sound of glass shattering, and Yumiella stood with her team atop a small hill as the cracks Wave spread through the red sky and monsters began to descend from the breeches.

"Rich-kun, Doduo-chan, I love you both, so stay with the adults and listen to them and be safe," she said quickly. "Farrie, Welt, Tersia-,"

"Farmland, towns, and break up big groups of monsters, but don't over-extend," Tersia confirmed. "We'll see if we can meet up with another group... I think I might recognize this area."

"Ganbatte," Yumiella wished them, hugging the twins quickly. Dual Wielding: Wing Sword. Spread Your Wings. Float Like A Feather. Hollow Bones.

The Cardinal Sword split into two blades, one in each hand, each with bumpy curves like feathers along the edges. She raised her arms as Welt finished his chant.

Wing Sword I (M) +4 -- Rarity C ... Prof 100% -- Base Power = ATK-2 ... ... Equip = SPD+8

Requires [Level 40] and [Dual Wielding]

Unique Equip Skill = Spread Your Wings -- while holding a sword in each hand, you can treat your arms like wings and fly like a bird

Item Enchantment Lv. 11 = +22% damage resistance from insect monsters

Spirit Enchantment = +33% damage to insect monsters

Status Enchantment = SPD+20

"-and carry us on our way! Zweite Sailing Gale!" Welt finished, and a strong wind caught Yumiella's wings, lifting her up several stories into the air. Taking a moment to get her hearings and scan the ground, Yumeilla shifted her weight, angled her sword-wings, and began to soar as her team cheered encouragement behind her.

"Get those monsters!"

"You can do it!"

"Knock 'em dead!"

"Go mommy!"

"Beat them all!"

Buoyed as much by their encouragement as by the spell, Yumiella swept forward toward the rough center of the Wave's area, where Itsuki and Motoyasu guessed the Boss would be.

She got 30 seconds free before she heard buzzing wings, and a swarm of enormous wasps and locusts came at her.

"All Faust Jinx X." Yumiella said, and her maximized quick spell swept across the group.

She wasn't quite certain what de-buff(s) she applied, but they stopped the bugs' flying, and the swarm fell below her.

Oh, some experience, she noted a few seconds later. Not all, but I guess several of them did not survive the fall. I didn't even need to use All Faust Hex X on them either, that's convenient.

She scanned the ground, keeping her ears alert, and keeping away from the larger zombies which seemed to be slowly drifting down, since they couldn't reach her to attack.

It was frustrating, seeing all that free EXP going by, but Yumiella's part to play was to target the Boss immediately and exclusively, as she and Itsuki had the greatest mobility of the four Heroes to reach it.

Once the Boss was slain, she could butcher weak monsters to her heart's content and Level Grind the night away, but it was important to cap the incoming monsters as quickly as possible so they couldn't later spread out as far as in the First Wave at Lulorona.

It would also aid the quartet's upcoming plans if this Wave was ended near-immediately, compared with the most-of-a-day fiasco of the First Wave, to legitimize the changes they would push to make. As the most experienced monster slayer, Yumiella was the best choice to enact this.

I'm seeing plenty of giant-sized humanoid zombies, but nothing quadrupedal like the chimera. Maybe the game knowledge isn't accurate here?  "All Faust Jinx X," she cast as another swarm of bugs rushed up at her. Getting closer could give me a better view, but at the cost of mobility and more effort to get high if I need a wider view. Maybe I... the buzzing hasn't stopped. More bugs. She quickly rolled, scanning the surrounding sky, and located the second oncoming swarm. "All Faust Jinx X." Missed a few at the edges. Or did they resist?  "All Faust Hex X," she cast for a bit of variation, and this time all the bugs died faster than they could fall.

I can't get their carcasses for new forms, but I might have a few new drop items... oh, and killing them gets me the Soul Fragments as well, so I can raise the anti-insect Spirit Enchantments higher on the forms that have them!

Yumiella swept over to search a new segment of the battlefield, idly wasting another group of bugs with her improved Hex spell as she worked her Menu mentally, but she kept her eyes mostly on the ground all the same.

Five minutes (and several scores of dead insects) later, she saw it: a lion larger than a horse-and-carriage roaring as it paced around a clearing surrounded by other, smaller quadrupedal monsters.

Itsuki hadn't been able to replicate anything quite like his phone call Bow for the rest of them, but Yumiella had sunk an obscene amount of PP into upgrading her Ichor Sword IV so that its message function would actually be useful, and she rose up before she shifted and began to fall.

MESSAGE --> Shield + Bow + Spear

Found Boss Lion in a clearing between two hills

She sent it before she got too close to the ground, switched back to her Wing Sword form, and swept down to clear mobs so they couldn't gang up on her.

"I am the Hidden Boss who has read and deciphered the laws of nature. I command the origin of power: spread darkness upon those who step across this land, smother their strength blind their eyes, rot their skin, chill their blood, and and make their very spirits cease to breathe. Wide Drifa Jinx X."

Her de-buff spell's increased area covered twice the radius of the clearing, and her ears were immediately assaulted by screams and howls as the myriad creatures writhed in agony.

"All Faust Hex X. All Faust Hex X. All Faust-,"

*GRRAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH~!!!!"

A deafening and murderous roar sent her tumbling, her ears ringing as the air pressure swept over her, but Yumiella had cast spells with a severed arm in the past and this would not stop her either.

"-Hex X. All Fast Hex X. Faust Hex X," she finished as she lost altitude, wiping out groups of monsters in the four directions around the Boss and finishing with a spell that sent it sprawling painfully before it could leap at her.

It's still getting up? I wonder how much health it has, to endure an X-rank de-buff and a similar spell that deals increased damage to enemies afflicted by status conditions. Time to break its back, then. Hollow Bones.

Her bodyweight lightened, Yumiella launched herself over the staggered Boss monster, and at the apex of her jump she gestured around her Sword with a mental command.

A stone slab the size of a car -- one of five that Naofumi had quarried from Cal Mira's mines for her while digging out ore -- slid smoothly out of her inventory thanks to Container Sword's Skill, dropped three stories, and landed on the lion's back haunches with a crunch of bone.

"Off center," Yumiella mused with a sigh, nevertheless rushing in to-

*GRRAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH~!!!!"

This time, at much closer range, the roar had much greater effect.

Yumiella staggered, didn't fall over, and with her eyes watering she braced for an attack as she quickly shifted swords forms to deal with this.

Purification Sword (M) +7 -- Rarity A ... Prof 127% ... Ore 30/30  -- Base Power = ATK+12 ... M.DEF+3

Equip Bonus = M.ATK+12, M.DEF+7 ... ... Unique Equip Bonus = improved damage to Unholy (large)

Unique Equip Skill: Purify -- spend SP to cleanse yourself or a target in range of a negative status condition; 1 or 2 cured per use; 55 or 70 second cooldown respectively

Ore 30/30 = +10% ATK ... +20% SPD ... +10% DEF

Item Enchant Lv. 14 = +28% damage to Beast monsters

Spirit Enchant = +38% damage to Beast monsters

Status Enchant = +40 M.DEF

"Purify," Yumiella commanded. Her SP dipped, but immediately the roar's discombobulating effect left her and she swept in as the cooldown counter started in a corner of her vision.

The Boss's rear right leg was badly broken, but it was still tough and it was strong enough to pull itself free from the slab of stone. It heard her, twisted, and swiped a forepaw as she neared, but Yumiella parried the sloppy blow and slid closer into striking range as its putrid breath rolled over her.

"Gouging Blow," she invoked, and the turtle-beak skill tore a strip of flesh off the lion's neck at it screamed, but its debilitating roar hadn't finished cooldown either. "Spiny Sword, Snakebite, Sharp Stab." Her SP took a bigger hit, but her blade bit deep into the lion's flesh.

Its teeth gnashed, but Yumiella had already darted back as they slammed shut on where her face had been, barely noticing the mild sting as the Cardinal Sword teleported back to her hand.

It's not as fast or quite as strong as the Dullahan in the Dolkness Dungeon, she assessed. Meanwhile, I likely have better abilities than I had the first time I fought it. I'm impressed that it hasn't died yet, but it's poisoned, suffering a half-dozen de-buffs, and mostly immobilized with its back legs shattered.

More than delivering a kill, my greatest difficulty the next few minutes will be delivering a beheading blow to see whether it regenerates a new head with its supposed new health bar. If it does, then there's the possibility to get extra heads for extra forms; if it doesn't then I can kill each head one at a time and it will die much faster.

I might as well give Yoshi-kun a warm-up while it's safe. Release Pommel Into Submission.

"Yom!" her Tyrella child chirped as he popped out of the Sword Storage where she'd kept him for faster transport.

"Faust Jinx X," Yumiella cats at the Boss agains for good measure, and it still didn't go down. "Yoshi-kun, are you ready to help me slay this?"

"Yo-yom!" he agreed, and she hopped onto his saddle without further ado.

"I want to remove more neck skin to make a beheading blow easier. Can you close in and stay safe?"

Howling with glee, Yoshi charged, and with the Gouging Blow cooldown reset again, Yumiella swung.

Day 33, Riyute Village Wave

Naofumi was playing Big Loud Distraction to draw the monsters to him while Firo, Raphtalia, and Sadeena handled the evacuation of Riyute Village into the mines, since for some reason they didn't have a secure building or shelter and they hadn't already taken cover.

Did that trash King seriously not send out a warning for when the Wave was happening? We literally had it timed down to the second all this past month, Naofumi fumed as his team ran damage control. "Shield Prison!" he shouted as a few giant bugs got too close to a group of civilians.

"-paint light across the skies. Wide Drifa Spark Storm!" Sadeena cast, blanketing a large swathe of the air over Riyute with an electrical cloud bank.

"Hate Reaction!" Come and get it, you dumb lugs, Naofumi sneered as all the monsters still moving zoomed in toward him.

"This way, follow me, to the mines! Follow me!" Raphtalia was shouting as Firo dragged a cart around town to round up all the villagers who might've had trouble moving.

"Gruuuuuuuaaaahhhh~!" a zombie thrice Naofumi's height groaned as it charged him, stomping over several other monsters along the way.

"Studded Shield: Sharp Stop!" Naofumi invoked as the troll-zombie or whatever swung at him 

With a clang and a shtup the zombie's fist was messily pulverized: inspired by the pointed studs in doors meant to discourage ramming attacks, Naofumi had made himself a shield with Erhardt's help and gained a skill that could rebound failed attack damage onto the attacker. It didn't actually raise his ATK any, but it let him deal damage if he timed it right, and that was worth its weight in gold to him.

"Air Strike Shield! Heh. The bigger they are..."

Rather than use it as a protective barrier, Naofumi had stuck the projected shield under the giant zombie's feet as it staggered, and the monster collapsed onto a bunch of other monsters in a tangled piles of gnashing.

*ding!*

Message from YUMIELLA

Found Boss Lion in a clearing between two hills

Naofumi huffed a laugh and dismissed it with a thought. Man. Admittedly, I didn't have the 150+ PP it took me to upgrade the Ichor Shield IV back then, but things really would've been way different if we'd realized the PM function needed improvements. Ah well...

"Here boys, have some flesh-eating acid!" He called to the monsters as he pulled a large flask out of him Inventory and chucked it on the pile.

Dead flesh sizzled, noxious smoke rose, and the zombies briefly looked even more ugly before they started turning into EXP notices.

Naofumi scanned the area, saw that they ought to have about 30-50 seconds free before a new rush of monsters arrived at Riyute, and quickly grabbed some of the zombies' bodies to absorb them.

"Ooh, 'inventory rot resistance,' that'll be useful. Still no damage, so I'm probably safe to try mastering a couple of these as the battle goes on."

Naofumi shifted to the Interdimensional Zombie Shield, attached a few Zombie Soul Fragments for +3% damage resistance, and jogged off toward a new horde of weapon-wielding zombies that had just crested the hill near the town.

Day 33, Riyute Village Wave

Yumiella grit her teeth and pulled back as Yoshi carried her away again.

The giant lion must've had a massive stock of HP, because she'd been carving it up for ten minutes and it wasn't dead yet, but it also hadn't started visibly regenerating.

Part of the delay may have been that she and Yoshi had gotten flanked or piled on four times by 2-5 lesser beast monsters, as the roars also seemed intended to summon aid, but with judicious dodging and spells they had come out largely unharmed despite being slowed down.

Still... its deafening roar doesn't recharge faster than my Purify skill, and while I'm riding him I can target Yoshi-kun and myself with the same use. Ah!

Yumiella leaned her weight and Yoshi followed her lead, and a moment later she'd grabbed a strip of the lion's hide off the dirt and fed it into her sword.

Interdimensional Chimera Hide Sword, no skills but a solid mix of equip bonus stats. At least that confirms that this is the Chimera, I was worried.

"Still and brace," she ordered Yoshi as she recognized the set-up for the chimera's roar. "...Purify."

*GRRAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH~!!!!"

The wave of sound swept over her and Yoshi, and she suffered a moment of disorientation before her Skill cleared her head again.

"YOM!!" Yoshi yelped, charging in again without needing her command.

"Fast Jinx X. ...Sharp Stab Great Cleave!"

Her sword fell, and the lion's head was finally severed, sent flying a few paces only for her to grab it and feed it into her Sword.

Interdimensional Lion Chimera Sword (unmastered) -- Rarity B ... Prof 0% ... Ore 0/25  -- Base Power = ATK+25 ... ... Equip Bonus = ATK+5 ... M.ATK+5

Skill: 「Hell Hound」skill improvement (medium) ... increased range, volume, effectiveness, and selective precision of frightful roar noise.

Skill「Change Sword」-- chain changes between weapon forms for combinations attack!

Skill 「Lion's Anthem」-- a powerful slash that can blow past resistance, 3 minute cooldown

Yumiella dismissed the notice without bothering to read it, since using an unmastered and unimproved Sword Form in a boss battle was inviting catastrophe.

There was no glow, but the flesh of the neck writhed and began to grow as the other wounds she'd inflicted began sealing up.

Bother. The damage I did to its legs is also healing, so it may regain full mobility. Time to hobble it fast, she decided, keeping an eye on the neck stump as the new heads began to grow.

"I am the Hidden Boss who has read and deciphered the laws of nature. I command the origin of power: smother the strength of my foe, chill their blood with terror, make weak their will, and rot them. Zweite Jinx X." Good, no invulnerability panels, she assessed as her spell sank into the writhing flesh as the Chimera took its feet again, visible lumps finally (it had barely been five seconds) beginning to show. The dragon or the goat? Either way... "Snake Bite. One Hundred Swords," Yumiella invoked.

She swung, and a storm of poisoned blades plunged into her foe. None pierced too deep, but she dealt a lot of small injuries, and it would be inhibited.

PAIN!

Her foot had lashed out reflexively on instinct, only to be pierced with cold agony and yanked from Yoshi's back.

"Yoyom!" her child cried, lunging after her, and the lion-header Chimera lunged at Yoshi's exposed back.

"Airstrikesecondstrike," Yumiella invoked as she swung wildly, launching two energy slashes that caught the lion's open mouth before it could take a bite out of Yoshi-kun.

Her momentum changed, her leg burned, and Yumiella ate dirt.

*GRRAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH~!!!!"

Purify,  she invoked a moment later, and her head cleared as the countdown started. She rolled to her feet to see Yoshi stunned and vulnerable with the lion on one side and its snake tail on the other as they lunged-

"Stone Spike. Light as a Feather, Hollow Bones. ...Pommel Into Submission."

Stone erupted, the skill launched Yoshi into the air, and Yumiella jumped up after to grab him and store him in her Captivity Sword's skill, since he hadn't been poisoned and she just needed a breather to reposition.

The Chimera's snake tail stretched to triple its initial length as it rushed up to bite her, and Yumiella switched to Wing Swords to dodge and maneuver.

*ding!*

Message from NAOFUMI

If anyone finds civilians, send them to the mine at the Northeast. My & sword's teams are cooperating on evacuation and guarding.

She dismissed it with a thought, pulled another giant stone slab out of her Inventory, and let it fall, but this time the Chimera had no trouble dodging away contemptuously, its four eyes still on her.

"Faust Hex X," Yumiella cast, and it was incredibly satisfying to watch the monster's face show fear as it lunged far away from the wave of dark energy. It's learned that can cause pain, at least. Yumiella tilted forward into a dive and the snake tail rose up like a cobra to meet her. "Heavy Block. Ram."

She wasn't sure if the Boss Monster could get a concussion, but the knock back hit it so hard the chimera's body got pulled back several steps by the impact.

"Guard Dog," Yumiella invoked, calling up a Skill from the Cerberus Sword that conjured three spectral dog heads to protect her back and flanks. "Hell Hound."

*AAAAARRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~!!!!*

She smiled slightly as the Chimera backed up two more steps, cowed by her superior roar ability.

"Sharp Stab, Gouging Blow," she invoked, aiming to peel off more of the monster's skin and lower its Defense rating.

She charged in, and the battle continued.

Day 33, Riyute Village Wave

"Split Fang Five!" Motoyasu invoked, shifting to his ATK-heavy, anti-undead Spear Form just in time for the Skill to take over.

His one swing, empowered by the Cerberus Spear form's skill, branched into five attacks that dug into the heads or chests of the five large zombies that had shown up.

The move had a higher SP cost than his Chaos Thrust skill, but Split Fang also had better power and accuracy, plus the ability to control how many multi-attacks he made by naming a specific number, up to nine.

Case in point, all five zombies collapsed instantly, when Chaos Thrust wouldn't have managed that.

"Any signs of the Boss? We're between two hills," Motoyasu called as he moved on to the next group of incoming monsters. "Air Strike Javelin!"

"Too many hills!" Rino shouted tersely as she cut into a wasp as Motoyasu's lance pierced one swooping in from above it.

"We'll hear her long before we see her," Bakta assured them as he crushed the skull of an armored zombie. "How's your pacing, Sir Hero?"

"More than half my SP," Motoyasu confirmed. I haven't needed to use a Soul Healing Water yet, those combat tactics lessons were useful. "Let's find the next batch of monsters, aaaaaaand see if I can find where Yuma's fighting the Boss."

He hopped up to a nearby tree branch to search the nearby skies and try to hear roars of monsters.

We cleared out everything in the immediate area, but more are still coming... Can I see fire or hear any roars?

Motoyasu saw several groups of new monsters nearby, but there was too much noise on the wind to dig out anything specific.

Fire?

He craned his head at the sight of a raining cloud of fire, far out near the edge of the Wave instead of closer to the center.

"Wait, is that the boss? Like, giant firestorm, see?!" Motoyasu shouted. There wasn't anything like that in the game! Can Yumiella use fire?  "Is it Yumiella? Can she use fire?"

"It's choir magic!" one of his teammates shouted.

"Uh, like music?" What am I missing?

"Spells collectively cast by a group working together," Rino snapped at him. "Get down from there, you'll be a target!"

"It's reinforcements, royal knights from the palace clearing out a large gathering of monsters," Bakta clarified.

"Oh, not a distress call. Got it." Aaaand it's fading. Those monsters must be toast!

*Ding*

Message from ITSUKI

Found Yumiella and Boss. 3/4 heads, focus on monster clean-up and get ready for the end.

Already?!?!?!?!?! I don't think it's been an hour yet!  "Already?! Guys, Itsuki says the Boss is almost dead and we should focus on clean-up, so let's find some big groups and waste them at top speed!"

The rest of his party shouted agreement.

Day 33, Riyute Village Wave

Yumiella quickly dropped Yoshi-kun back into her Captivity sword and sprang up, the Chimera's goat-head charge passing through where they'd been after Yoshi took a hard fall and landed oddly.

No time to diagnose or attempt to heal him, it'll have to wait, she assessed as she arced through the air. Still, with his help, I've got the Chimera to its third stage and severed one head while barely suffering any damage. Well done, Yoshi-kun. Still a few seconds on several of my cooldown timers and... my SP is getting low.

With that, Yumiella pulled out and drank a Soul Healing Water as she began to fall back to the ground.

The goat-head's charge had pulverized a tree trunk, and it was struggling to turn around with the injuries they'd stacked up, especially after Yoshi-kun had bit out its leg tendon.

The two stumps were still dripping blood as she landed, and the goat-head sneered and snarled with predatory hate as corrosive black smoke poured from its mouth.

Before it could spew an acid cloud or charge, a golden bolt fell from the sky and a magic cage formed around the Boss.

Yumiella sent a quick 'call me' message to Itsuki even as she pulled Yoshi out of her Captivity Sword and poured a potion into his mouth.

Incoming Call from KAWASUMI, ITSUKI

Yumiella accepted it and put Yoshi back into her Captivity Sword as the Chimera spewed a plume of corrosive black smoke that degraded the magic cage.

"I'm going to finish it as quickly as possible, once it regenerates with all four heads can you shoot its center of mass to trigger the mass attack?" she checked as the magic cage began to splinter and fizzle.

"I'm staying out of interference range, but is it safe? You've been fighting this thing for half an hour when it was supposed to be Level 35 or so," Itsuki checked.

"It's smarter and more durable than the Cal Mira boss monsters, but it's not actually stronger than them, despite its annoying skills," Yumiella answered. "I can- Faust Jinx X, Faust Hex X," she cast quickly as the cage splintered under a goat-horned charge.

The Chimera staggered and she swept in. "Sharp Stab, Great Cleave!"

The goat's head went flying, and the neck stumps writhed as the Boss Chimera began regenerating.

"I've also had to deal with other mobs coming in to support it, just keep me from being attacked until I finish my chant, please," Yumiella requested.

"...Right," Itsuki agreed. "Swarm Shot! Splinter Shot! Wind Arrow, Second Arrow, Third Arrow, Four Winds Arrow," he called, leaving the line open so Yumiella could chant.

She checked her back for incoming monsters, found a stable stance in case she needed to jump or dodge, and focused on her center, finding a brief moment of stillness and peace.

"I am the Hidden Boss," she declared, "wielder of the Cardinal Sword, she who has deciphered, read, and understood the many laws of nature. I thusly command the origin of power: cut off reason, retie it, and release it."

As each word passed her lips, it was as though she were assembling a mental puzzle, all the pieces slotting into place. She did not rush, she did not hesitate.

"From the sky to the cave, through the ocean and the flame, grant me power I use to save, make the natural forces tame."

*GRRAA-!"

The lion's head roared, only for several arrows to fly inside its mouth, and then another Skill of Itsuki's dropped some form of suppressive aura rippling like gelatin over the beast before it could inflict any status effect.

"Take strength from the foe who stands before me, make it my own, and with it I shall break my enemy. ...Now, Itsuki," she whispered, holding her spell at the precipice of activation.

"Eagle Piercing Shot!" he called over the call, and his attack struck the Chimera in its spine.

Rearing up in bristling hate, the lion's head moved to roar again, this time joined by the other three maws, a dragon's head grown directly between the lion and goat.

*GRRAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH~!!!!"

A spray of poison, a cloud of acid, a shockwave of sound, and a fiery storm burst forth and fused into one incredible, all-annihilating attack that would scour the land clear of life as it bore down.

"Revelation Imbue X."

The oncoming wave bent beneath her will, flowed and gathered toward her, the energy wrapped obediently around her sword, a seething pillar raised over her head of hellfire and foulness and a dying scream.

The Chimera hesitated, intelligent enough to be afraid and confused.

Yumiella lunged.

The Sword swung down.

Day 33, Riyute Village Wave

Itsuki winced and covered his eyes at the titanic energy blast of Yumiella's slash.

Not sure if that's an Excaliblast, but it's pretty close, he acknowledge with just a twinge of envy.

Wave End -- 00:00:03:00

Wave End -- 00:00:02:59

Wave End -- 00:00:02:58

The countdown timer confirmed that the Wave was ending, and that the Chimera Boss was dead, so Itsuki used his short-range teleport skill to reappear near Yumiella as she stood over the body.

He shivered slightly.

Where it seemed before that she'd been going for beheading blows -- he could see multiple snake and lion heads around the clearing, which hadn't been possible in Dimension wave and probably not in Motoyasu's game either -- but for the final kill Yumiella had cleanly bisected it, a slash separating the lion and dragon heads that continued through its spine and torso to its haunches, and then on to carve a smoking gorge several dozen meters into the landscape.

"You okay?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "I have a lion head; I'll take the lone dragon head, and you can divide the other eight between the three of you. Yoshi-kun, let me see your leg."

"Yom!" Agreed the dragon mount who'd reappeared from her Captivity Blade.

Itsuki nervously checked his own Menu, confirming that his own Captivity Bow still had the treacherous redhead in storage without any issue.

"Don't forget the other materials," he advised.

"I absorbed most ofthem during the fight. I'll just take a leg for bone... I suggest you and Motoyasu see if Naofumi feels up to crafting anything using the Chimera mats."

"Yeah, that makes- not sticking around?" he checked.

"There are more monsters to hunt," she answered, switching the Cardinal Sword to what Itsuki recognized as her Absorption Sword form with an EXP gain bonus. "I want to hit Level 60 before I quit fighting."

"There'll probably be a banquet tonight." Don't forget about our plans to expose the King, he willed her to remember.

"My second Teleport Point is in the capital. Expect me around sundown or a little later. Yoshi-kun, we hunt!"

"Yoyom!"

Itsuki saw the flash of her smile as she rode off, and he shivered.

I, he reminded himself, am very glad that she is on my side.

Chapter Text

Day 33, evening

The first PM Yumiella received during her EXP harvest frenzy had been vague, and she'd largely ignored it, telling Naofumi to either PM her or they'd talk later because she was scything down monsters at the moment.

He'd obligingly left her alone until sunset, when she'd thinned the ranks enough to go five minutes without finding another victim and had decided that was it for the night.

She'd messaged him that she was free to talk if he was and then teleported back to the capital to meet him and show face at the banquet.

His follow-up PM was an apology and an instruction to check her Party Status Menu.

Yumiella had shoulder-checked two guards hard enough to send them flying, broken down a door in her haste, and made it to the castle's infirmary in 30 seconds flat to scoop Rich and Doduo into her arms.

The twins were unharmed, keeping watch at the infirmary bedsides, but Yumiella's friends were hurt and she hadn't been there.

Bitterly wishing that she had her past world's healing magic, all she could do at the moment was hug her kids and grab the nearest medic to get an update on her teammates.

Part of her dearly wanted to go out and butcher more monsters for what they'd done, but she'd already been doing that and it wouldn't change anything. This wasn't a problem she could solve with violence.

It wasn't a problem she could solve at all, but she could solve the problem of the lying and manipulative King tonight, and by all she held dear Yumiella intended to solve that problem with a vengeance.

Day 33, evening

The Chimera had been divvied up, its constituent forms had been unlocked, Naofumi was allotted to keep the rest of the materials in case he got some cool crafting ideas, and now the heroes and their parties were stuck mingling at a fancy party while Naofumi really wished he could punch out balloons or something.

Yumiella had been off indulging her battle lust while the other three met up at the Chimera and then headed back toward what was left of Riyute town, so in the end Naofumi had to send her a PM about what had happened on his watch.

Intellectually, he knew it wasn't his fault -- and there was a black fire in him eager to see those responsible get what was coming to them -- but when the Trash King had called for a moment of silence to commemorate the lives lost, Naofumi had barely been able to breath knowing that the only casualties among the Heroes' parties had happened on his watch, when he failed to defend them.

When Yumiella had finally showed up at the party after ending her grind marathon with a visit to the infirmary, she'd had her two Filorials kid-sized and in her arms, and she hadn't approached Naofumi to blame or accuse him.

Part of him wished she had.

(The rest of him wanted to see the fuckers responsible get torn apart by wild horses. Hate. Hate! HATE!)

While wondering about things he could've done differently, Naofumi had found a Help Menu entry detailing that 'preparations' could be made to bring people along outside their immediate parties, and for a brief red-hot moment he'd wanted to wring the neck of whoever made their interface so crappy.

They'd need another debriefing, where he could tell Yumiella in person the full story of what had happened while she was Boss-slaying, but apparently she felt the soiree wasn't the place for that.

Given the number of eavesdroppers, Naofumi totally agreed, and he'd made sure that Firo and Raphtalia were carrying multiple doses of multiple antidotes in case they felt sleepy or sick while enjoying the food.

Raphtalia had grown up poor, and Firo had a tremendous appetite, so he wasn't about to forbid them from partaking so long as they stayed close by himself or Sadeena (who was in her 100% Human form and a fancier outfit so that no one would realize she was also a demi-human).

*ding!*

Message from MOTOYASU:

One of the Three Heroes Church nuns just approached me about "that poor raccoon girl" being enslaved and abused by the rapist Shield Hero and begged me to do something to help her. I'm going to ask the King privately about dueling laws and stuff, and then I think our plan is go.

Naofumi smirked expectantly, sent a confirmation message, and took another bite of the tasteless food. The first step of his revenge was around the corner, and it would be more sweet than any dessert he was missing at the moment.

Itsuki and Yumiella sent their own notices a few moments later, confirming that they'd talked to a few government and Church officials about important background without spilling the plan, and Naofumi briefly followed Motoyasu as the gullible womanizer headed toward the senile and corrupt piece-of-trash king. 

Then he turned back to his plate and glass, because he didn't want to seem like he was expecting anything.

As he ate, he kept one eye on his status menu in case of drugs, and otherwise he turned over the plan in his mind a few more times.

The four Cardinal Heroes had plotted out a couple different ways the confrontation would go, and Itsuki had somehow put together something resembling a flow chart and a few pages of notes in their PM for reference if their minds blanked, but it wasn't impossible that something could go wrong.

It wasn't impossible that the Trash King was secretly a super-badass who could kill them all, silence the attendees, and summon a new bunch of heroes.

But they'd done enough research to say it wasn't very likely, either.

The main downside was including a couple flowchart options where they didn't have time to argue Naofumi being Not Guilty and he would need to stay 'in bad odor' until a later day, but since Naofumi was planning to disappear out of the public eye until the next Wave anyway and his allies knew the truth about him, he didn't much care.

Beside which, Naofumi being looked down on by the other three was something they'd discussed harnessing, so he had the option to make himself deliberately unlikeable and interject so the others would look better by smacking him down.

All those noble pissants will be laughing at me, the miserable Shield Demon, with no clue that we're playing them all like a bunch of fiddles. ...like an orchestra? A string quartet?

Naofumi shook the thought off, turned back to watching his three party members enjoy the banquet, and waited for it all to begin.

It still took a while, though. Naofumi had time to read the notes all over again as the other three did their backstage maneuvering to get ready for the show.

*ding!*

Message from MOTOYASU:

King just dropped a perfect line for me to begin on. I'm starting now. 

Naofumi kept his back turned and sent a 'go on then' message that Itsuki and Yumiella quickly seconded.

It took less than ten seconds for a hush to flow over the room as heads turned, and Naofumi finally looked around to see Motoyasu, looking as officious and heroic as possible, stride into a central area of the banquet hall, raise his spear, and then bring its shaft down on the floor.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Melromarc, please grant me your gracious attention," he called as he shifted his Spear into something that looked impressively magical and holy. "I am Motoyasu Kitamura, the Holy Spear Hero, and matters have come to my attention that I need to address publicly."

"Please speak, Sir Hero," the trash king affirmed. "As one of our kingdom's rising saviors, your words have great weight with us."

Motoyasu grinned, and it didn't look nice at all. "I'm very glad to hear that, your majesty."

*Bang!*

"Seven Stars Cane Hero Aultcray Melromarc, in my position of the Spear Hero which the Cane is sworn to support, I hereby accuse you of inaction, incompetence, and neglect in your holy duties!"

The old man's face was glorious.

"My kingdom for a camera," Naofumi chuckled as the audience all gasped.

"I- what?" he managed.

"It is the duty of the Seven Star Heroes to fight the Waves with and alongside the Cardinal Heroes," Motoyasu charged on, not giving the coot time to get his bearings or argue. "Both this Wave and the last, you neglected your duty to register at the Dragon's Hourglass and take the field in defense of Melromarc. How dare you! In other kingdoms, where other Waves occur, the Seven Star Heroes have taken the field to defend the world, and yet twice you have sat back behind the walls of your castle, too drunk on your own power to contribute!"

"Worse, you have broken taboo and lied about it! the Four Cardinal Heroes are meant to be summoned to different countries, so that we can better defend the entire world! Your selfishness has monopolized us within too small an area, and there are Waves that lasted too long outside of Melromarc! You claim to wield the Seven Stars Cane? You call yourself a hero?  On my authority as the Hero of the Holy Spear, I demand that you explain yourself!"

"I- I am not some child to be-! I am the King! I will have you- How dare you!"

"You are the husband of Queen Mirellia, Lüge Lansarz Faubrey!" Motoyasu shouted over him, and the king's jaw dropped again. "This behavior is what I expect of your brother, not the 'Wisest King of the West'. What brilliant military strategies did you employ against the Waves? What valiant daring did the Cane Hero exhibit on the field? Nothing! You have usurped the regent position from the late Duke Seaetto, who dared to face the Waves without a Seven Star Weapon, and you have spat upon Queen Mirellia's wishes! You call yourself a Hero? I charge you to summon the Seven Star Cane and defend your so-called honor, you swine!"

Naofumi hoped the old guy wouldn't have a literal apoplexy, because then the night would end too soon.

Aultcray groped at his side blindly -- this was a turning point on which their plans hinged, because the worst case was Aultcray pulling out the Legendary Cane and wasting them with powerful magic, since Yumiella couldn't declare it impossible even if her talk with him made her suspect he had somehow lost it a while ago -- but in the end he shouted, "Guards!"

At the shout, a few knights jolted and some tried to step forward.

"Ruling Roar," Motoyasu answered, a wave of sound swept the room, forcing half the audience to their knees or to take a few steps back in fright.

Good, I still count as an ally. Raphtalia and the others too, Naofumi assessed, noting who had resisted the effect and who hadn't been hit by it at all.

"You have failed in your duties as a king. You have failed in your duties as a general. You have failed in your duties as a Hero. I am the Holy Spear Hero, and I find you unworthy to lead Melromarc," Motoyasu thundered. "Who agrees with me?"

Itsuki stepped forward.

"His crimes are worse than that. By summoning the Four Cardinal Heroes together, in one location, he committed a grave heresy, Spear Hero. In our introduction at court," Itsuki reminded everyone, "Aultcray and his advisor admitted to knowing that the Cardinal Weapons repel each other by nature, inhibiting experience gain to incentivize the Four Heroes to spread out and protect the entire world, rather the grouping together in one location as Aultcray has caused us to do."

"We were summoned together, but we were not summoned simultaneously," Itsuki continued, speaking to the audience as much as anyone else. "The Spear Hero was summoned first, and thus the Cardinal Spear manifested with no other Holy Weapons present. However, when the Lady Sword Hero was summoned, the Holy Cardinal Sword was summoned into an area where the Holy Cardinal Spear already existed, and the Spear's presence damaged the Sword by attempting to repel it during those critical moments it manifested from the ether. Lady Yumiella?"

"My Status Magic ability was damaged," Yumiella confirmed, "but because the Sword is a melee weapon intended to close in with enemies, it is by nature resilient. It pushed me to leave the capital city quickly, to collect materials and energy it could use to repair itself, but other than losing the knowledge of this world that the weapons are supposed to grant each Hero, the Holy Cardinal Sword is functional, as evidenced by my ability to slay the Wave Boss so quickly this afternoon."

That's my cue: time to take a verbal pratfall and make the others look good. "Hey, hey! You know, I lost my knowledge of the world too, and I don't even have the empowerment methods you guys got! I'm lucky I didn't mmph!"

Itsuki had plucked a cream-covered tart off a tray and hurled it in Naofumi's face, using his ESPer power to make it land.

Naofumi staggered back like he'd practiced, arms flailing, and he heard several chuckles break out in the audience at the misfortune of the 'Shield Devil'.

"Keep quiet and wait your turn, Naofumi," Itsuki sneered as Naofumi finally, frantically wiped his face clean.

Keep laughing you chucklekfucks. You're all dancing right into our hands, Naofumi reflected as he pretended to sulk at Itsuki's reprimand.

The Bow Hero kept going. "As mentioned, the Shield Hero suffered damage too, but as the Shield focuses on defense it is more resilient, so we don't really care." A few more laughs, but these were quickly strangled by Itsuki's glare. "However, the Holy Cardinal Bow does not have the resilience of the other weapons, being intended for combat at range with minimal defense. The Cardinal Bow was summoned third, into an area where two Cardinal Weapons attempted to repel it, and the Bow suffered much greater damage. My party members have several times reported that they found themselves unexpectedly ejected from my party this past month, due to the damage suffered by the Bow, and on several occasions I have had to leave them behind when the Cardinal Bow detected materials nearby it urgently needed and required me to retrieve them."

"Given that we have just conquered a Wave, Aultcray, you may want to say that all is well that ends well. However, the Cardinal Bow is still recovering, and the damage is so extreme... well, if I die in the next year, the Cardinal Bow may permanently die with me."

The crowd gasped, and Naofumi his a smirk at this little revelation, which was tailored to keep zealots from declaring them 'false heroes' as had happened in some past records and killing them to summon new people who'd be more thoroughly hoodwinked and controlled.

"What's worse is that if the Cardinal Bow had been summoned fourth instead of third, it may well have been destroyed in the summoning ritual. A holy weapon," Itsuki emphasized as he stalked up to Aultcray, "destroyed by one man's laziness and indolence. I agree that you are incompetent to rule Melromarc, and I expect the Holy Cane has spurned you for your heresy. Admit your misdeeds," Itsuki bellowed, "or call the Cane and prove me wrong!"

"I- The Cardinal Weapons are not so fragile! They are indestructible," Aultcray asserted. "The will of the supreme god made manifest! Only a false hero would claim they-,"

"Only a false hero would deny the very nature of the Cardinal Weapons, Aultcray," Yumiella intervened as she took center-stage, Cardinal Sword drawn and glowing for her to do her shifting forms thing when someone tried to pass off an obvious lie. "Directly after our summoning, when you met us to explain our quest, you stated, 'the Legendary Weapons are now at their weakest, so you must train and embark on a journey to strengthen them'. You knew the weapons repelled each other, and you knew they are weakest in the moment of summoning, and you chose to summon all four Cardinal weapons in violation of every sacred record from time immemorial. Your arrogance in heresy came perilously close to permanently destroying parts of this world's defense against the Waves. Also..." Yumiella held up her sword in its obviously-holy form for the audience to see. "You still have not brought forth the Holy Cane, you fake hero. Your recklessness and poor battle management cost Melromarc innocent lives. 'The power of this Sword divides: the good from ill and truth from lies'. Tell me you are still the Seven Star Cane Hero, and I will tell the people you are lying."

"I- The summoning ritual required tremendous magical energy and a catalyst attuned to the Cardinal Weapons. The Cane is exhausted and requires rest to-,"

"Lies," Yumiella declared, and the crowd gasped as she switched to an ugly form with a megaphone effect, from how the word boomed around the room. "The Cane turned its face from you years ago, Aultcray. Furthermore, there is evidence that you may have gained your regency position dishonestly, by assassinating Duke Seaetto, Queen Mirellia's legitimate regent, whom she appointed because she knew of your inadequacy."

"Tha- Impossible! I would never- Duke Seaetto died fighting against the Wave, when it opened on Seaetto lands to punish his sins!"

"A Wave which you refused to fight, false Cane Hero!" Motoyasu reiterated forcefully. "The Cardinal Sword itself refutes you!"

People were murmuring worriedly again, and it picked up fervor as Yumiella brandished her sword in another ominous form.

"I traveled through Seaetto lands while training to fight the Wave," Yumiella informed the disturbed audience. "Several warriors who fought the Wave reported seeing His Grace alive throughout the battle, and in the immediate aftermath several villages knew His Grace had survived and was issuing commands to maintain order. Then, the guardsmen who accompanied him all 'died fighting' and a group of unaffiliated mercenaries delivered Duke Seaetto's body to the duchy's seat the next day, even though he was a war veteran who had long ago undergone a Class Up and should have been far too strong to be threatened by the monsters of the first Wave."

"Within a week, several villages who had seen him alive were put to the sword, sacked and pillaged by Royal Knights, with only a few survivors able to run and hide as the other villagers -- the other witnesses who could personally attest to seeing His Grace alive at the end of the Wave -- were murdered, or captured to be sold as illegal slaves, in Melromarc or abroad depending on their race."

More murmuring, and Naofumi caught people figuring out that humans had been killed or sold off to Siltvelt as part of this, not just the filthy demi-humans they loved to hate.

It was the shakiest part of this story, because Yumiella was heavily editing confirmed events to sound as bad as possible so that people wouldn't write off the destruction of an all-demi village, and probably just lying about a few other details, but much like Myne's accusation it was all stuff that sounded plausible and would be really hard to disprove without a long and thorough investigation that Aultcray really didn't want to authorize.

And hey, maybe Aultcray did have the Seaetto lord assassinated and we're framing the guilty party, Naofumi reflected as he took in everyone's faces, especially the Trash King. Once more: my kingdom for a camera! I should have figured out some way to get that with Custom Creation and now I'm missing it! Ah well...

"Moreover," Yumiella continued, "Seaetto's heiress returned home to pacify her lands, having heard of the rampant banditry against towns which had already endured a Wave, only for her to quickly be 'arrested' by a Crown-appointed territory manager and sent back to the capital, to face a 'trial' that has not yet occurred for 'crimes' which have not been announced, and even I was turned away from visiting her when I made inquiries. You assassinated Duke Seaetto to usurp his noble territory in addition to the regent's authority assigned to him by Queen Mirellia, and you employed the sloppiest cover-up I have ever seen, including the time someone blackmailed my maid to poison me and she confessed as soon as I smelled the tea. 'This Sword of Justice cuts the necks of all sinners, its edge as sharp as the unvarnished truth.' You are fortunate I have resolved to see you tried for your actions," Yumiella finished, "because I am tempted to judge you immediately; you live now because we intend to discover how deep your rot goes, and what other crimes you have indulged in behind Queen Mirellia's back."

Might as well hammer in the final nail, Naofumi decided, since he wanted to cause that growing look of utter despair to fully bloom across Trash's face.

(Hate. Hate! HATE!)

"While we're talking about cover-ups and mid-Wave assassination attempts," Naofumi added, having wiped the last of the dessert off his face so he could look serious again, "this usurper tried it again just a few hours ago. Raphtalia, the demi-human in my party, was a survivor of the first Wave in Seaetto, daughter of Lulorona's village headman; she can give personal testimony to how she was illegally sold into slavery by royal knights who attacked their town as they were rebuilding. To silence her testimony, a bunch of royal knights launched a... what was it?" he passed the verbal buck off before anyone could start getting too antsy about listening to the Shield talk.

"Choral-class fire-magic, fired into the middle of Riyute Village as we were evacuating it," Sadeena confirmed, as she was a high-level woman whom everyone would take more seriously since she currently appeared to be 100% human. "It hindered the evacuation process, burned several of the people fighting the Wave, and destroyed the homes and businesses of loyal citizens of Melromarc. The knights deliberately attacked an area inhabited by civilians and their fellow defenders, where most of the monsters were already being handled. That's not battle strategy, that's an assassination disguised as friendly fire."

"That's a lie!" shouted the ugly knight commander as he stepped out of the crowd. "There were new waves of monsters swarming in, and I made a battlefield tactical decision! If it was an assassination, then why didn't anyone die, huh? We used exactly the right amount of force for the job and kept you from being swarmed under by numbers, that's why?"

Hook, line, and sinker, Naofumi sneered as he fought down the urge to rip this guy's throat out with his teeth, ATK stat be damned!

(Hate. Hate! HATE!)

"Oh, so you claim that you gave that order under your own authority, knight commander? People did die, you jackass," Naofumi spat. "While the Holy Sword Hero fought the Wave Boss single-handedly, she'd assigned her party to help evacuating civilians. I was close enough to my teammates to defend them, but the companions of the Sword Hero took the full force of the spell you ordered. Farrie Bonheim and Tersia received crippling injuries that may prevent them from fighting in any future Wave, denying Melromarc and the world more protectors. Welt Bluegrass and three civilians died in your attack."

Another round of gasps as the knight commander blanched.

"What? Th-that is... Are we supposed to trust the word of a rapist like you? Who's to say you didn't kill them yourself?" the commander spat, but a chill breeze was sweeping through the room leaving people pale and the commander himself shivering at the gravity of what he'd done.

"I mean, other than the survivors' ability to testify that I gave them emergency medical treatment and potions to save their lives," Naofumi began, but he got no further.

"You..."  a voice rasped, soft and furious, and rather than a breeze, chilling malice oozed over Naofumi, over everyone in the room as the lights darkened and the sounds were swallowed up by a terrifying aura. "You murdered my friend... You TOOK THEM FROM ME! ... ... ...You're useless, become my EXP."

Wielding her Sword in a terrifying new form, Yumiella charged the knight commander.

Chapter Text

Day 33, night

Naofumi felt chills down his spine as she spoke.

"...You're useless, become my EXP."

"AirStrikeShieldSecondShield!" What the hell is happening?!

In hindsight, Naofumi would have to wonder he'd somehow triggered the Skills before speaking, because he was pretty sure she'd been lunging faster than his mouth worked.

At the time, he was preoccupied with Yumiella going all 'Sword Demon' with murder on her mind.

Much as Naofumi wanted that ass to suffer and die, he knew she wasn't down with killing people from their discussions, and her going on a terrifying rampage would probably undercut the changes they were trying to push through.

Besides, (Hate. Hate! HATE!) a quick beheading was far too clean and painless for the corrupt knight captain.

Either way, she'd thank him later for jumping in.

"Shield Prison!" he launched as she shattered the projected barriers.

"Zweite Paralyzing Thunder!" Sadeena seconded, electrifying the shields Naofumi had wrapped her in. "Zweite Storm Cell! Everyone keep piling on!" Sadeena shouted as clouds boiled around the ceiling of the banquet room "We need to hold her and calm her down!"

People shouted and screamed, and then with a shriek of tearing metal Yumiella's evil-looking sword bisected her prison in one swing.

"He stole them. His life is MINE," she rasped, movements jerky as static clung around her.

At least the paralysis seems to have landed, Naofumi reflected, shifting around the room for positioning as Itsuki and Motoyasu tried to lock her down.

"Spear Prison!"

"Syrup Arrow, Second Arrow!"

Yumiella pulverized Motoyasu's cage bars as soon as they sprung up around her, but it still took her a moment to force her semi-paralyzed form forward as her blade caught the two arrows mid-flight.

Itsuki's skill was more effective, the blocked arrows dousing her in a splash of thick, sticky gel that ought to slow her limbs and stick her feet to the ground.

Then Motoyasu charged in, only for a swing of her jagged blade to send him flying.

That aura... it feels hungry. Cold and hateful, Naofumi assessed as he grimly got his ass in gear as her malevolence spiked.

"Maneater... Air Strike Slash,"  Yumiella rasped, an arc of black energy carving through the stone of the banquet room floor.

"Sleep Arrow Second Arrow Binding Arrow Second Arrow," Itsuki rattled off from the far side of the room, shots blurring through the air to hit her legs and feet.

"Drifa Lightning Cage!" Sadeena shouted, not quite fast enough to block off Yumiella's ranged attack.

"Solid Block!" Naofumi invoked as the ranged attack bore down, having positioned himself in between Yumiella and the shitty victim she'd regret killing too quickly.

The Skill rendered Naofumi momentarily immobile, but spiked his physical and magical defenses immensely in consequence, so much so that direct hits from Cal Mira's bosses hadn't moved him an inch.

Agony tore open his right arm and chest as the impact blew him back two meters, having gashed open his arm and chest through the Cardinal Shield's defenses, and Naofumi momentarily whited out before he came back to himself to find Raphtalia pouring a potion on his wound as she pulled him up again.

Eh, I've had worse from that hound, he assessed grimly, since the wounds were ugly but shallow. How are they doing?

He eyed the battlefield to see Itsuki firing arrows constantly, aiming especially at Yumiella's legs and feet while she was constrained by the gel and the lightning cage.

The Sword Heroine paid him just enough attention to dodge or deflect at least half of his arrows as she trudged up to the bars of lightning that blocked her path.

"Faust Imbue X," Yumiella hissed, and her spiky sword crackled as it drank in the magic energy.

"Faust Rock Wrecker V!" Motyasu shouted, and she immediately raised her blade to intercept with Imbue still visibly active.

This meant she was entirely wrong-footed when the stone floor shattered around her feet and she dropped into an impromptu pitfall.

"Spread Your Wings," Yumiella countered as her wicked blade split in two, and she'd barely dropped waist-deep before she was rising through the air again, an angel of death soaring single-mindedly toward the shitty knight who was too terrified to flee.

"Air Strike Shield, Second Shield!" Naofumi repeated to block off her progress as Raphtalia helped him stand again. Then he saw her start to draw her sword.

"Faust Fire Blast X!" Motoyasu shouted, which delayed Yumiella a bit to shred those flames contemptuously.

"Don't get in range, just be ready to pull victims away," he told Raphtalia before she could charge in against Yumiella and get gutted.

"Okay," she acceded reluctantly.

"Fly swat!" Itsuki shouted as the Sword Hero casually pulverized Naofumi's two barriers, and whatever his skill was it knocked her out of the air and back to the floor, even if it didn't dump her down that hole again. "Syrup Arrow!"

For a moment, Naofumi saw that she'd landed flat on her face, and he hoped the sticky goo would glue her down.

"Maneater... Blazing Blade!"  Yumiella answered, and in a wash of purple-black flames the gel started boiling away as she rose up again.

"Shield Prison!"

"Arrow Pin!"

Both skills enveloped Yumiella as Motyasu charged in, his Cardinal Spear crackling with Sadeena's lightning as he shouted something inaudible over the noise of lightning.

"FINISH THIS NOW!" Motoyasu roared as he thrust for the shuddering ball of arrow-pierced shields that had suddenly started smoking black-

*SCREEEE~!*

-only for her to carve through both their skills, parry his attack with an eye-watering flash, and then send Motoyasu flying spine first into a crowd of onlookers with a swing of her sword.

"My power... It's all mine, they were MINE, give them back to me! Dissident Claim!"

"That's a mana drain skill, don't let her power up!" Sadeena shouted as a wave of dark miasma washed out from Yumiella, thinning the clouds around the ceiling as the crowd all shrieked again and staggered back.

"Rambo Shot!" Itsuki shouted, but his skill blew a hole out the wall as Yumiella swatted it off-target and charged the knight commander, shoving aside several other knights who'd attempted to get in her way, the touch of her chill fog prompting shrieks but not seeming to inflict a direct injury, even if a few people collapsed from it.

Right, got a new form. I hope this works!  Naofumi prayed grimly as she neared him and the fucker he was stuck protecting, because whatever this was could not be good for her to go through. Shithead deserves to die, but I don't want her to do it, and definitely not like this. Please don't kill me either!

"Maneater Lion's Anthem,"  she invoked with a voice like death. 

"Battered Ram!" he countered as she swung.

The Chimera Goat Shield he'd gotten earlier hadn't been mastered yet, and its Defense rating wasn't enough to keep her from breaking his arm and opening another ugly gash across his ribs, but its knock-back Skill was still immensely powerful.

Yumiella went flying out the hole Itsuki had blown in the wall.

Naofumi's knees hit the floor as Raphtalia grabbed him and poured more potions over his wound, babbling something too frantic for him to make out.

"Stand back! I shall vanquish this false dem- aarrrrgghh!"

As the potions took effect and his pain eased, a crackle of lightning drew Naofumi's attention to the trash king.

He'd produced a decorated wooden stave at some point, but it was emitting crackling energy that brought him to his knees in pain.

So the Seven Stars Cane did turn its face from him. Good to know.

"If you defend them,"  Yumiella rasped as she suddenly reappeared on the far side of the hole in the wall, silhouetted by moonlight and the night sky, "then I will claim you too, take ALL THE POWER MYSELF, and protect this world alone until I go HOME! Maneater Hundred-!"

"Spring Spear!" Motoyasu shouted as he bolted to the hole in the wall, jumped out to meet her, and thrust.

*BROOOOOIIIIIIINNNGGGG~!!!*

Even through the curse, Yumeilla's face looked hilarious as she suddenly got pinball shot out of sight, presumably smacking into something else from the sounds of a crash while Motyasu got ricocheted backwards back into the banquet room. Taking advantage of the opening, Itsuki jogged up to the hole to take aim and start shooting.

Naofumi blinked as Raphtalia poured another potion down his throat, and then another ally showed up beside him.

"Momma!" "Let us go! Mommy!"

"Naofumi, her stats have shot through the roof, we need your spell to hold her down," Sadeena insisted, still holding Rich and Doduo in her arms. "On everyone, if you can."

My spell? Oh right, Itsuki and I know those spells, he blearily remembered. "'Got it. I am... the Hero of the Shield... w-who commands the origin of power. Having read and d-deciphered a law of nature, grant all things... all things to those of us who strive and struggle. All Aura X!"

It was the only spell Naofumi knew, because learning to decipher magic text on Cal Mira had been much easier when the language underneath was Japanese, but Aura was basically a massive boost to all stats that lasted a decent while.

Sadeena, Rich, Doduo, Itsuki, Motoyuasu, Firo, and Raphtalia all glowed green with energy, as did Naofumi himself.

Right, still don't want to come off as threatening. "Uuuuuuuugh, Shield is not happy about me using that, even for a special exception," he groaned melodramatically as he staggered back to collapse against an overturned table. "Go calm her down, okay?"

"-and sap my foe's strength. Down X," Itsuki cast from the hole near the wall. "Arrow Pin! There, that should slow her down much better."

"Go grab your mom and hug her because you love her a lot," Sadeena told the twins as she let them go.

"Mommy!" "We're coming!"

"Wait, angel kids! Don't go alone! Firo-chan, please stay behind where it's safe!" Motoyasu shouted, jumping out the hole in the wall after them as Itsuki and Raphtalia took up guard positions by the hole.

"Uuuum?"

"You can keep eating unless people call for help, Firo," Naofumi informed her as he slumped down dramatically like he was exhausted, belatedly realizing that the winged girl had been pigging out on banquet food the entire time.

"Yay!"

Naofumi took a moment to read the room, and heard the trash king trying to convince people that Yumiella had become a demon. Can't let that stand.

"Miss Sadeena, you said you were educated about the Cardinal Heroes growing up? Any idea what just happened?" he asked loudly as sounds of struggle and the shouts of the kids leaked in from outside. "King Faubley's brother seems to believe she's become a demon or something...?"

Sadeena caught his eye, then snorted loudly. "If that were true, Aultcray himself would be the spawn of demons; what happened here is the same thing as told in the tale of his ancestor, Spear Hero Fubari, who went on a furious rampage against the men who murdered his young daughter. It's nothing less than divine wrath, the desire to smite people for their sins; the only difference is that you're on the receiving end now," Sadeena explained with a haughty look at that trash king and the scummy knight.

"Huh. Shield Prison. You're not going anywhere except a cell," Naofumi added when he saw the terrified knight commander trying to crawl away. "Think they need help?"

"She was still rational enough to swat innocents out of the way instead of killing them," Sadeena observed, eyeing the other knights who'd been knocked over. "She won't hurt the kids."

"Motoyasu's got her in a grapple and the kids are clinging to her arms so she can't stab anyone," Itsuki reported from the hole. "That miasma is dying down..."

"Huh. I'm impressed that worked," Naofumi admitted. This world may not be a video game, but I'm wondering if The Power of Love and friendship still applies and stuff. He idly wrapped an arm protectively around Raphtalia to keep her safe use her as a human crutch, prompting her tail to start furiously wagging.

"It's the main difference being demonic attacks and divine judgment," Sadeena answered, pitching her voice to reach their audience. "Monsters enjoy pain and misery, but justice will listen to the heartfelt pleas of innocent children."

Naofumi had enough hearing boosts to tell that the murmurs had become much more positive. Is she actually citing the local scripture, or is it improvised BS? Either way, good going Sadeena. "Right. Hey, you knights, don't let the fake cane hero run away either, we still need to figure out what to do with him!"

That lieutenant who'd stepped up to help in Riyute moved to stand by the trash king's side and put a hand on his shoulder so he'd stay put.

Don't want everyone to go away or lose tension, got to keep up the interest somehow through the intermission... "Hey, Miss Sadeena? Do you have any other stories about old heroes passing divine judgment on sinners like this? I want these crooks to understand just how lightly they're getting off right now."

"Well, Spear Hero Fubari himself is an interesting story..." She gave him a nod and launched into the tale, which Naofumi hoped would keep their audience preoccupied until Yumiella got her head back together.

Day 33, night

In the dark of the nighttime palace gardens, a desperate struggle finally slowed to a stop.

"You feeling okay?" Motoyasu checked once the evil aura finally went away and the Cardinal Sword reverted to a normal form.

"No," Yumiella grunting, clutching her kids tightly to her chest.

"Yeah, I thought that much. Any lasting stat damage, like are you poisoned now from the evil energy?" I still don't- what was that? Some sort of super-cheat form, except she seemed obsessed and not in control, so I dunno, a single-target berserker form?

"...cursed," Yumiella muttered, and a moment later her status screen popped up in front of Motoyasu's eyes.

Oof! "Slowed MP recovery, slowed SP recovery, and you can't gain Proficiency or EXP for thirteen days!  Holy shit, that's bad."

She didn't respond, not even with a grunt or a glare, and Motoyasu let her have a bit more breathing time as his mind started whirring.

If she can't get EXP or Proficiency, then her improvement journey's basically on hold for two weeks, but we did have a couple options we were going to discuss about the interim...

...

"By my authority as the Holy Spear Hero, I strip you of your authority and place you in custody pending a full investigation and trial of your misdeeds. Captivity Spear!" Motoyasu declared, and with a flash Aultcray was sucked into the Spear's storage.

The audience cheered a bit, which was a good indication of popular support among the people here, and Motoyasu took a proud and heroic stance to pose a bit for everyone. Then he gestured to Itsuki, who stepped up.

"With Aultcray unseated," the younger boy declared, "Melromarc will need an interim leader until we can contact Queen Mirellia to appoint a replacement regent! As the fastest of the Cardinal Heroes, I myself will carry the message to her, and it seems fitting that another of my comrades should watch over this fair kingdom in the meanwhile."

"I second this!" Motoyasu declared, to more cheers. "Rage against true injustice is no sin, and as the woman who defeated both myself and the Wave Boss, yet has harmed not one innocent this evening-," I mean, technically a big fat lie, but Itsuki and I are standing up here looking totally untouched  "-I propose Countess Yumiella be recognized as the interim governess of Melromarc, to cut apart lies and seek out the truth of what dark deeds were done here!"

Yumiella, who had opted to return to the banquet hall rather than retire for the night so she could make clear to everyone that she had calmed down and recovered, grimaced and then nodded, since he'd tossed the idea to her given her curse when they were making their way back to the crowd.

"Fuck! Seriously?!"  Naofumi, who was still pretending to be the 'surly unpopular anti-hero' of the four, stomped his foot angrily and scowled, which just made the crowd break out into loud and enthusiastic cheers, shouting Yumiella name in support of her appointment.

Wow... You know, Motoyasu reflected as he moved aside for Yumiella to take center stage, I think we can actually pull this off.

Day 34, noon

How did I let myself get talked into this, Yumiella despaired as she lingered over lunch to prolong diving back into the paperwork and meetings she'd have to deal with.

After they'd deposed Aultcray -- who was now stuck in Motoyasu's Captivity Spear so he couldn't escape during a distraction or give secret orders -- Yumiella would have thought that her brief rampage would have meant she'd need to drop out of the public eye until her PR improved a bit, but Naofumi and Sadeena had somehow put a spin on it that had a chunk of the audience praising her for her righteous judgment and great restraint.

With that interpretation added onto her noble status and her achievement of killing the Wave Boss, Motoyasu had seized control of the room to ram through an agreement to install Yumiella as the temporary regent over Melromarc, until Itsuki could travel to the international summit and bring back word about Mirellia's preferred replacement.

Which mostly meant a lot of meetings and paperwork handled by more literate aides.

"Lady Hero?" one of the servants prodded.

I shouldn't delay... "The meal was good," she confirmed. "What is next on the agenda?"

"A military debriefing regarding the last Wave and strategies for the next one," the servant answered.

"Lead the way." Right. We need to get that out of the way before Itsuki can leave to contact Queen Mirellia about a replacement, and I need to hear their game-knowledge of the Third Wave to prepare. Motoyasu particularly said there was something he and Naofumi wanted to propose, since they'd discussed it during the mop-up yesterday.

Yumiella was neither first nor last to the meeting, which was held in a room with several large maps, mostly depicting Melromarc in various detail: trade routes, topography, known monster distributions, noble territory borders, etc.

A central map laid out on the table had two areas shaded to show where the two Waves had occurred in Melromarc.

Once everyone -- the other three Heroes, Pope Balmus, Sadeena, and several generals or other pertinent officers whose names Yumiella probably wouldn't remember -- had been assembled, Yumiella called the meeting to order.

First on the docket was a review of the past Wave: how many monsters had appeared, what types they were, which military forces were positioned to keep them from spreading, where in the Wave's area Yumiella had found the Boss, and a moment of silence for the casualties.

The second issue was to discuss preparations for the next Wave.

Naofumi nudged Motoyasu, who stood.

"Spear Hero Motoyasu, please speak," Yumiella invited.

"Thank you. My confrontation with Aultcray last night was triggered by his statement that he was 'proud of' the preparations made to fight the Wave, which I found terribly insufficient. We knew the exact day and hour of the Wave since our summoning," Motoyasu simplified, "and we know now that the Third Wave in Melromarc will strike in roughly one hour and forty-five days. This time should be distributed to every city, town, and village in Melromarc in advance of the coming Wave, so that they know to evacuate and take shelter. Yesterday, loyal citizens of Melromarc died because they were foraging in the woods, or traveling the roads, or because their houses were too fragile to hold off monsters for rescue, and we had to evacuate them to a mine and post guards at the mouth to keep them alive. If there had been a back entrance to the Riyute mine that the monsters found, the entire town could have died. We must not let innocent people be surprised again," Motoyasu declared.

It got a bit of discussion about where people could evacuate to (leave it to local leaders vs provide funds and men to build a new shelter,) and whether there ought to be a legal requirement with penalties for not evacuating, but the idea was simple and would be easy to pass along as messengers spread the word about recent events and the defeat of this wave.

"Moving on, I see that the First Wave struck at Melromarc's southern border, and the Second Wave struck significantly further north, not far from the capital. Specifically," Yumiella emphasized, "the Second Wave struck much closer to the Dragon's Hourglass than the first, much like an archer striking closer to the target on his second shot. Can we predict whether the capital itself will be the target of the Third Wave?"

"According to my foreknowledge," Itsuki volunteered, "we should expect the Third Wave to strike near a population center, but not a large one. Motoyasu?"

"Where it strikes isn't fixed, but yeah, that's usual layout. It'll probably keep going further north? We shouldn't be looking at major urban fighting until the... the fifth or sixth Wave," he guessed.

"I would have said the seventh, but the location isn't fixed yet," Itsuki agreed. "However, the types of monsters we'll face matches most of my foreknowledge, even if the exact details about the Wave Boss were different."

That prompted a few questions from the generals about those details, so the boys quickly reiterated what they'd expected -- dragon that turned into a Chimera, versus a Chimera with heads that needed to be killed separately, vs the lion turned Chimera that Yumiella actually fought -- and Yumiella took the opportunity to have a surreptitious PM discussion with the others about the progression of the meeting and their plans for later.

"The Boss was different," Yumiella intervened once the discussion segue was mostly worn out, "but the basic Wave monsters were the same. Giant bugs and skeletons in the First Wave, along with a group of magical hounds that supported the Boss Cerberus. For the Second Wave, flight-capable giant insects, assorted zombies, and small number of bestial predators supporting the Boss Chimera. Shall we expect a similar pattern for the Third Wave? Giant insects, assorted undead, and a contingent of monsters supporting the Boss?"

"Yes." "Nope."

Itsuki and Motoyasu glanced at each other, started trying to talk over each other, and shut up when Yumiella intervened.

"Sir Motoyasu," she decided, "please go first to describe the differences."

"There aren't going to be a lot of insects," Motoyasu began, "but there are going to be a lot of flying bird monsters, and a lot of dark-attribute monsters in general, especially shades. Dark Condors, Shadow Wolves, Shadow Goblins, Shadow Lizardmen, and then the Boss is a multi-stage battle with a trick to it."

"A ghost ship, right?" Itsuki checked.

"Yeah?"

"Okay, then it is the same and our information matches," Itsuki confirmed.

"Ah, got it. Well, according to my knowledge, the ghost ship is actually a disguise, and the Wave Boss is the Interdimensional Kraken whose tentacles support the underside of the ghost ship, and you need to kill it to get the real boss which is a 'Soul Eater'. Not sure why," Motoyasu admitted, "but there was some backstory lore about how the Soul Eater was originally the big kraken's baby, and when the crew of the ship killed it the baby's ghost haunted them and cursed them and then the parent kraken came and killed them? Basically, you don't need to care about the ship at all unless you board to kill the Kraken, and the skeleton crew are only important because they try to gang up on you while you're fighting. Itsuki?"

"Same outline, but different details," Itsuki answered. "In my version, you never need to get on the ship itself, you just need to destroy the ship's figurehead, and that will release the Soul Eater that's possessing it and animating the entire ship."

"Are we talking 'genie in a bottle' release, or are we talking 'destroy the phylactery to kill the lich'?" Naofumi questioned. "It sounds like just annihilating the entire ship and everything onboard is a good tactic, since that'll release the Soul Eater no matter which of you is right, or even if there's something else on the ship instead."

"The- uh, the Shield hero has a point," one of the generals allowed.

"That is, assuming our Heroes have the raw power to destroy a magical ship and the associated monster at once," someone else noted.

Naofumi shrugged. "Sounds like a good use of the Choral fire magic from yesterday, right? We'll just make sure that there aren't any villages or civilians in the target area first."

"While not impossible," Pope Balmus contributed, "it will require a sufficiently large detachment of magic-casters to get to the Wave in good time to attack the ghost ship."

"Yeah, but yesterday I was absorbing some Wave materials while thinking to myself that I wished we'd had better reinforcements," Naofumi answered, "and my Shield got enough resources to repair itself and offer me a message: 'If preparations are made beforehand, you may arrange for those specified to be transported with you by the Dragon's Hourglass'. My version tells me jack-all about how, or what the preparations entail, but if Yumiella and Motoyasu have better entires...?"

"Yes," Yumiella said, as Naofumi had dropped them all a PM about this earlier.

"Got it!" Motoyasu seconded. "Oh, huh, it's an aspect that doesn't activate until after we've already fought and beat one Wave, that explains it." Yumiella knew that this was a lie, but they'd all agreed that they didn't want to be blamed for not using an ability they hadn't known about, so it was a convenient excuse. "Your guys' menus should have a Raid Arrangement tab beside your Party tab."

"That'll be useful, if we each take a battalion or two of soldiers to keep monsters off our backs while we focus on the Boss," Itsuki agreed.

"It will be useful, and I will leave the generals to discuss which forces will be dispatched to the next Wave and present me with a list another day," Yumiella declared. "We don't want to get too distracted."

"Righto!"

"Fine."

"Actually," Itsuki disagreed, "can you make sure that the soldiers try to bring wagons, cavalry, and other equipment? There are good odds that we'll face a Wave in the ocean around number five or six, and it would be bad if we got sent there without any ships, so we need to test that early."

"Your Eminence," Yumiella said to Balmus, "are there any records of past Waves that struck over the ocean? Or records in general, specifically from veterans who fought in them?"

"They may be difficult to translate due to linguistic drift," Balmus allowed, but we have extensive archives stretching back through several prior Waves of Calamity. I will have the relevant documents sorted out and delivered as soon as possible."

"Thank you," Yumiella said politely, since she didn't want to key him off yet that she suspected him of being another mastermind like Aultcray.

If nothing else, not having documents related to the Waves gathered during the past month suggests he is careless or incompetent, and I already know he misrepresents himself.

"While we're discussing it," Naofumi added snidely, having been appointed to introduce all of the 'unpopular' ideas to the officials, "you should see about soldiers volunteering to get slave crests, or just a battalion or two of slaves we can send out."

This, naturally prompted a lot of argument among the gathering, and while Motoyasu dove in to disagree, Itsuki and Motoyasu kept their eyes on the table to see which officials seemed more or less favorable to the proposal.

It wasn't anyone's favorite idea, but even Itsuki had agreed that former slaves were more likely to want to abolish slavery than the average person, and in addition to Naofumi's awakened Slave User Shield having a Growth Correction ability that retroactively improved their stats while they were enslaved to him, experiments with Farrie had confirmed that she gained the Growth Improvement benefits as his slave even when she was not a member of his party, or was halfway across the country from him.

If the Cardinal Heroes were willing, they could potentially power-level a few dozen slaves per month at Cal Mira, give them a secret Class Up with the underwater Dragon's Hourglass, free them, and quickly amass a heavy-hitting team of fighters who were personally invested in opposing slavery.

Whether they wanted to take that path was still to be decided, but getting a feel for people's opinions about slaves and slavery in Melromarc was an important first step.

Yumiella mentally composed some notes as the argument stormed around the table, until finally Itsuki sent her a PM.

*ding!*

ITSUKI says: I've seen enough

Yumiella nodded and rose.

"Enough. For now, we table the discussion on slave armies and enslaving soldiers, even temporarily. You were discussing precedent?" Yumiella addressed a gray mustached old general who had put on weight since he'd left the battlefield.

"I... I was, Lady Sword Hero. You see, back in-,"

"Not now. Please have reports ready for me on two topics: the viability of Melromarc soldiers accepting temporary slave crests, and the legal feasibility of getting enough slaves to form a military unit." Enslaving the soldiers will give us an excuse to get large amounts of the slave ink and the removal potion, meaning we have more samples to analyze and for Itsuki to use if he goes on more covert liberation missions. Getting the government to give existing slaves to the Cardinal Heroes would spare us some time and money in finding slaves to power-level and later free. Either way, the reports will tell us about Melromarc's overall views and how to shape our plans. "Can you prepare both reports in four days, or can you recommend another officer who is better suited for this task?"

"I will have them in four days, Lady Hero."

"Thank you. I believe we are reaching the end of the agenda, pending more research and preparation. Does everyone have their assigned duties?" Yumiella checked.

A bunch of affirmatives.

"Any other business to raise?"

"Yes," Motoyasu declared. "I'm planning to leave the capital to train in a few days, so I need to know whether Malty and Lesty are coming with me or not."

"That- Malty?" Yumiella checked. Is he referring to Myne Sophia?

"Myne is a pseudonym, her real name is Malty. She was a member of my party training to combat the Waves, so I think it's relevant," he huffed.

Naofumi muttered something that was thankfully inaudible, so it didn't spark a shouting match, but Yumiella really wanted to find and kill some monsters right now, EXP inhibition be damned.

"Before I address Sir Motoyasu's request, is there any other business relating to the coming Wave?" she checked. For a while, no one moved beyond some awkward shifting, so it seemed there weren't any other immediate issues.

Naofumi moved to draw attention. "I was promised some funds for my participation in the Wave, remember? I need those to outfit my team and stuff."

This part was pre-arranged, unlike Motoyasu's (admittedly predictable) request, so Yumiella turned to the footman.

"Are the purses ready?" Yumiella checked, knowing full well since she had prepared each of them.

"Yes, Lady Sword Hero," said the attending footman in the corner of the room with the package. "Here you are."

"Thank you. In light of a Wave defeated in less than an hour, we have 800 silver for Motoyasu, 800 silver for Itsuki, 800 coins for Naofumi, and 800 silver for me," Yumiella declared.

Naofumi, as per their script, opened his immediately and squawked. "What the heck?! You said silver, this is copper! What gives?!"

It was a very convincing objection, and if she hadn't previously snuck him his actual pouch (which had significantly more money than stated, as did Motoyasu's and Itsuki's,) then she wouldn't have guessed the truth.

"No, I said 800 coins, Naofumi," Yumiella answered to script as several of the generals (she wouldn't remember their names, most likely, but she'd remember their faces for the future,) smiled or snickered at his misfortune while a few others frowned at the injustice.

Surprisingly, it was Pope Balmus who intervened.

"Lady Hero, is this discrepancy truly necessary?" he inquired.

"I provided the 800 copper on my own discretion, having decided to hold the full amount in reserve until we can better establish Naofumi's guilt or innocence regarding his alleged assault of Myne... of Malty?" Itsuki mentioned something about a different name, but I wish this had been brought up earlier.

"I believe I can explain the name difference, Lady Hero," Balmus offered. "Princess Malty S. Melromarc is the firstborn daughter of Queen Mirellia and King Aultcray, but as she did not live up to Her Majesty's scholastic standards-," Several generals coughed awkwardly. "-and was prone to indiscrete behavior, her younger sister was made the Crown Princess a few years ago. Princess Malty seems to enjoy the greater freedom afforded by her diminished rank, and had been known to occasionally mingle with common citizens as an adventurer under a few pseudonyms."

"Princess?" ...Not his illegitimate daughter, but the eldest princess? No wonder everyone took her at her word for the accusation, Yumiella thought, remembering some of the things that Edwin and Eleonora had gotten away with by virtue of their ranks.

"Seriously?!"  Itsuki burst out. "The idiot king let his firstborn daughter go off unattended to fight monsters with a total stranger who was only summoned the day before, and none of you realized he was going senile?! Any foreign spy in the capital could have abducted her or Naofumi, or any noble family who wanted to undercut the crown's authority!! Dumbass, you should have mentioned this," he finished to Motoyasu, who cringed apologetically.

"She asked me to keep it secret, for her privacy," he said weakly.

"What secret, half the room knew and we didn't!" Naofumi snapped, though it didn't look like he'd totally lost his temper yet.

"I mean... I told Itsuki when he asked me?" Motoyasu protested.

"I was asking you about her being Aultcray's illegitimate secret daughter, you didn't mention she was a legitimate princess!" Itsuki protested.

"I did! I mean...?" Motoyasu trailed off. "I'm sure I told you she was Princess Malty, Itsuki."

"Well you didn't tell me or Yumiella," Naofumi snarked, "and I'd think we have a right to know too."

Yumiella sighed and let the bickering wash over her for several minutes as the boys shouted.

"Guard Dog," she intoned, and the room shut up in the face of three floating, phantasmal dog heads growling ominously. "As I recall, both of Sir Motoyasu's party members are enjoying the hospitality of the Church. Your Eminence, will you please give orders for both of them to be brought here? Gentlemen, you may remain if you wish to witness me question the women," she allowed as Pope Balmus stepped out, because having an authoritative audience for the next bit would make it easier, "but I find this meeting about the Waves concluded. Thank you for your efforts today."

Several of the officials left, but most of them stayed as Itsuki, Motoyasu, and Naofumi all gravitated into a corner together for a whispered argument.

Yumiella considered herself well out of it, as she'd had to do far too much talking and plot in the past few hours, and she'd be doing more all too soon.

I know that Itsuki took Myne... took Princess Malty with him in the Captivity Bow, and he said that several people had rushed into the room before he was teleported away, so her disappearance must be known, she reasoned, trying to guess how Balmus would react, and what he knew.

Her disappearance must have been known yesterday, but Balmus has not reported or declared it.

The worst case-scenario is that they have a way to track Malty, and they accuse Itsuki of taking her, but he already agreed to take the fall for that if it happens when he pitched this idea to me, and he may have taken precautions he hasn't mentioned to us.

If Balmus does not know she is missing, that means it has been concealed from him. If Balmus is aware, then he is concealing it and he will have to further obfuscate, or he will have to come clean. Potentially he might try to present a body double with a disguise tool, or simply obfuscate the time that she disappeared.

Which reminds me: I ought to have the Cardinal Sword free to 'detect falsehood' when I know people are lying. ...I hope I don't miss a lie someone feeds me that I'm not aware of, or that might blow the whole thing to someone appropriately skeptical of my 'ability'.

A few minutes later, Balmus returned alongside a lesser Church official, their faces grave.

"Princess Malty S. Melromarc is no longer in her suite, and the guards can find no trace of her escape."

"WHAT?!" Motoyasu shouted, being the only one kept out of the loop about Malty's abduction, though Yumiella and the others all pretended surprise as well.

"Did she flee on her own, or was she abducted?" Yumiella checked as Itsuki quickly grabbed Motoyasu to keep him from making a giant scene.

"I- We don't know," the lesser churchman began, and Yumiella immediately shifted from her Purification Sword to the more ominous Cerberus Bone Sword.

"Enough!" Balmus boomed faster than any of the other officials could speak upon seeing the change. "Tell the Holy Sword Hero everything we know about this, holding nothing back!"

"Ye-yes, your Eminence! Yesterday," the churchman explained as Yumiella returned to the Purification form, "a woman who seemed to be the Holy Sword Hero declared her intent to interrogate Princess Malty-,"

Cerberus Bone Sword, Yumiella commanded. "To interrogate?" 

"I... the guards in question had some conflicting testimony," the churchman clarified as the other witnesses murmured appreciatively at her discernment (when in truth she knew the whole story from Itsuki). "The guards around the building relayed that she intended to interrogate Princess Malty, while the guards and attendants in her room claim she instructed them to leave for privacy involving a religious cleansing ceremony."

"Did they check if it was Yumiella? Ask her to make the Sword change forms or use a skill?" Motoyasu asked intently.

"I... everyone assumed the Lady Hero was who she appeared to be, so no one asked her for identification or doubted her, Sir Spear Hero."

"Grrrr..." Motoyasu's hands seemed to be trying to wring his spear shaft like the perpetrator's neck.

"What time did this occur yesterday? It is important to establish if I have an alibi or If I am under suspicion," Yumiella intervened.

"It was immediately prior to the Wave, and Princess Malty's disappearance went unnoticed due to the Wave's arrival soon afterward," Balmus answered. "You were at that time with me, receiving a benediction for your fight against the Wave."

"What about Naofumi? Where were you?" Motoyasu demanded.

"Literally right before the Wave? I was at the blacksmith's picking up and putting on our new armor and equipment, including some loaner gear I promised to pay for with Wave mats and drop items," Naofumi answered.

"We were. I was with him all day yesterday, even outside the door listening when he was relieving himself," Sadeena seconded firmly.

Motoyasu looked conflicted, but didn't think to question Itsuki (although Tersia had been securing Itsuki's alibi even if he'd tried it).

"You still have not answered my question," Yumiella reminded the churchman. "Did Myne- Did Princess Malty flee willingly, or was she abducted?"

"It had to be abduction! People have been targeting my party and she's the latest victim!" Motoyasu roared.

The churchman hesitated.

"There were no signs of a violent struggle, Sir Spear Hero," he stated, "but a review of the room found that some jewelry, some clothes from her wardrobe, her toothbrush, and her make-up kit were also missing."

The Spear Hero sagged, and Yumiella felt rather sorry for the deception, though not sorry enough to expose it.

I don't want to ask why Balmus or the palace were not informed immediately -- the Wave itself would probably be used as an excuse -- since I do not want to seem suspicious of Balmus yet, but this is a good opportunity to address the other prisoners.

"Your Eminence, I believe there are other noble prisoners the Holy Church is holding at the moment?" Yumiella checked.

"Several, yes," he agreed.

"We haven't heard about Lesty, or that Seaetto girl," Itsuki recalled. "Can you bring them in?"

"Lady Lesty is being summoned. Lady Seaetto may take a bit more time, as her location is more distant and I have not sent for her already."

That sounded like an obfuscation, so Yumiella made the Sword shivered just a bit as she eyed Balmus, but she didn't raise a fuss.

"Place a thirty gold reward for the location of 'the adventurer Myne Sofia, Alive Only,' as a victim of abduction, in all the coastal and border communities to make it more difficult to leave Melromarc without alerting neighboring nations that a royal princess has disappeared," Yumiella judged.

"As a victim?" Naofumi faux-objected for show.

"She was abducted!" Motoyasu shouted much more sincerely.

"With her toothbrush and make-up kit! How thick are you?"

"Enough," Yumiella insisted, and Naofumi quieted down obediently, which sucked the wind out of Motoyasu's sails too. "Someone attempted to frame me. If Princess Malty was told by the impersonator that she was being permitted 'community service' by continuing to adventure, then she would likely gather a few items before leaving. The last thing we want is for Princess Malty to be killed by anyone, be they Crown agent, enemy forces, or unaffiliated bounty hunters, because the truth of the situation will die with her." Which is exactly why Itsuki is keeping her in his Captivity Bow, so that no one can muddy the waters even further. "Naofumi, the evidence against Princess Malty is greater than the evidence that was against you, especially with confirmation that an agent with access to disguise magic has been active around the Cardinal Heroes, but we cannot even be reasonably certain of her guilt until we interrogate Malty herself. Is that clear?"

"...Yes ma'am," Naofumi grit out, his shoulders shaking as he bowed his head and then covered his face with his arms.

Everyone else probably thinks he's shaking in anger, but I suspect it's restrained hilarity. Please remain in control, Naofumi.

Day 34, evening

"How do you feel?" Yumiella asked her teammate.

"I'd smile but my face hurts," Farrie managed through the bandages. "Wasn't sure I'd ever wake up when I passed out, though. What happened?"

"A group of knights used choral flame magic on Riyute village to clear out the monsters; they saw the Shield Hero protecting the town and decided it was a bonus to catch him in the area effect as well."

"Fuckers," Farrie hissed. "Did anyone...?"

"Welt was killed, and several more bodies have been dug out of collapsed buildings," Yumiella answered, heart heavy as something black and hungry throbbed in her stomach. "Naofumi reached you and Tersia in time for treatment, although medics had to amputate one of Tersia's feet. He is stable, but he has not woken up yet."

"The twins? Raftalia and Firo?"

"Raphtalia was protected by Naofumi. None of the kids were in Riyute at that moment, delivering civilians to the mines for shelter," Yumiella answered. "Rich-kun has been wandering around killing local monsters to deal with his feelings while Doduo-chan is learning nursing skills, but they have regularly been sleeping at a cot by your bedsides to keep you and Tersia safe. See?"

"Aa! Not turning my head, sorry," Farrie wheezed when Yumiella pointed. "How'd the Wave go overall?"

"Forty-seven confirmed dead, including nine soldiers and fourteen people from a traveling caravan caught in the open."

"Wow..."

Given that the First wave had claimed several thousand lives, it seemed like an unimaginable improvement.

Given that many of those 47 deaths could have been avoided with proper preventative procedures, the improvement felt woefully insufficient.

"Your family should arrive tomorrow or the next day. Welt's funeral and the general memorial service will be in a few days," Yumiella continued.

"My family? Uuuuuuuh... Hey, we're friends right? Can I bribe you to make up a reason that my family can't crowd around my bedside for more- for more than... Scratch that, I really want my mommy," Farrie wheezed.

Yumiella produced a handkerchief and did her best to wipe the snot and tears as her friend cried.

Chapter Text

Day 35, afternoon

Bismuth T. Balmus, Supreme High Priest of the Holy Three Heroes Church, contemplated the situation in his large and opulent office (rather than the false office he used to appear humble for visitors whom that appealed to).

In the span of a few days -- in the span of a single evening! -- all Melromarc had been upended and Aultcray usurped by a Holy Hero who was divinely graced to perceive falsehoods.

Without the foolish former Cane Hero on the throne giving idiotic and indulgent orders, it would be much harder for the public at large to accept the need for a theocracy, to bring the country onto a proper path.

Removing Malty from the Spear Hero's party had been inconvenient, but at the same time Balmus had known that he won either way: if she was cleared, the patsy girl would continue to indulge her whims and sow chaos as she led the Spear Hero around; if she was found guilty, then Aultcray would sinking his ship alongside hers while trying to save her.

It has to be Mirellia, he decided. Mirellia gave orders for her own Shadows to covertly evacuate Malty so that... what? So that the chit's actions would not be revealed to reflect badly on Mirellia! She will sweep in with her forces to claim she rescued her own daughter, but also uncovered the truth of Malty's crimes, and will place down her own choice of punishment rather than allowing the Cardinal Heroes to do so.

She intends for them to see her as torchbearer, and  restorer of order... Does she have a way around the Sword's lie-detection abilities? I have not found any reference to such in the Church archives, nor by perusing the Status Magic of the Replica Weapon itself, but Mirellia has researched old tales and heroic accounts from even the other heretical nations, so she may have access to information that our records do not.

Whether said information is accurate... I would dearly love to see the vixen locked away when caught lying to the Sword Hero, but we shall need to see how those cards fall.

"Your Holiness," Bishop Peregrine announced, "The party of the Spear Hero has left the capital with Lady Eclair Seaetto in attendance."

"Leaving already? I thought he was waiting for his Filorial eggs to hatch, or for a sign of Princess Malty," Balmus mused.

"Lerno Village, a location the Spear Hero visited before the Second Wave to deliver relief supplies, has put out an emergency call for aid with some form of monster outbreak. The Spear Hero seems to be taking the event personally and left immediately."

"I see... He took Eclair Seaetto with him? Do we know her current level?"

"She was congratulated about returning to Level Five last night, so it should be no more than ten by now," Peregrine judged.

"Still fragile, to be on the frontlines of a foe requiring heroic intervention. Dispatch a Shadow adept with Wind Magic, to try to hurl her into the way of dangerous monsters if there's an opportunity." She shouldn't know that we were holding her as a back-up figurehead to sit on the throne once we'd brainwashed her, but if her sinful nature is anything like her damned father, she'll cause trouble as a pretty girl in the party of the Spear Hero. Why does Peregrine look uncertain?  "Peregrine, are you ignoring my commandment?"

"Your Holiness, my deepest apologies," Peregrine groveled, "but I do not believe we have any Shadows capable of the stealth and wind spells required."

"What? I knew two more recently died as martyrs against Mirellia's spies, but there should still be several left in the ranks!" Balmus objected, rattled. "Explain this!"

Wind Magic, being the manipulation of air, was very easy to make nearly invisible in effect with a bit of training, and thus was second only to illusory magic in importance for Shadows' work while being significantly easier to learn.

Of the seven Shadows who'd died thus far in the underground information war to root out Mirellia's spy network in her absence, two had been capable wind magicians with the stealth skills needed to hide from a Classed Up figure like the Spear Hero -- Balmus had more spies than Mirellia, but they were of lower level in general, so they needed to gang up on her agents when eliminating the sneaks -- but even so there ought to be four or five remaining.

"Eight of the Church's Shadows are missing without explanation," Peregrine answered. "They were Shadows who had been assigned to watch the Cardinal Heroes in the month before the Second Wave, and thus they did not report in regularly enough for the discrepancy to be noticed, Your Holiness. Three of their number were accomplished wind magicians, and the remaining two in our ranks with the stealth and sorcery required are on assignment outside the Capital."

"Blades and Bow," Balmus swore, and then a realization struck. An unknown with access to a Shadow's disguise tool freed Malty- No, I already concluded that was Mirellia.

But what if there is a traitor among my own Shadows? What if one of them has gone to Mirellia, or- How do you check an anonymous shapeshifter for replacement? Could one of Mirellia's Shadows have killed and replaced a Church Shadow without our knowing?

How would I even tell?

"Blades and Bow," Balmus repeated slowly. Can I make use of the Cardinal Sword's lie detection? Is it possible for the Replica Weapon to do the same? Supreme God, please guide the devoted follower whom you have favored above all others. Show me you will. "Peregrine, bring me the files we have on all our Shadow agents. I need to set our flock to rights."

"At once, Your Holiness. But, the Spear Hero?"

"Don't send a Shadow after him this time. He'll return to the capital in a few days to wait for news, and sending the traitor by mistake could be a catastrophe," Balmus declared. "Inform the faithful guard that I want them to muster, and then gather every Shadow we have in the city and I shall interrogate them, even under a temporary Slave Seal if necessary. Prepare the appropriate magicians and ingredients."

"At once, Your Holiness."

Day 37, morning

Yumiella wasn't really prone to crying, but Farrie was sniffling enough for both of them, being currently on her second of Tersia's handkerchiefs as the service continued.

"-was so amazed when he showed me he'd made an ice sculpture with his magic, at the height of s-summer, and I-!" Welt's mother cut off her eulogy and broke down sobbing, her husband and sister both moving in to comfort her and help her back to her seat when she couldn't collect herself.

Her sister, the Countess Bluegrass, stepped up instead to take her turn by his coffin.

"What I remember most about my nephew," the sharp-faced woman began, "is undoubtedly his thirst for all kinds of knowledge, no matter how seemingly useless. He didn't learn his first spell intentionally, but instead simply because he'd been working through every book on our shelves in turn and one of them happened to be a grimoire. He promptly repurposed the offensive Wing Blow spell to spread a less destructive gust across a wider area, using it to quickly speed through his cleaning chores in the fall and summer, and on one mid-winter gathering to win a family-wide game of ghost-in-the-graveyard by obliterating his own tracks in the snow. I arranged to further his education, and on his own accord he already repaid the investment several fold by passing on what he'd learned to other members of our household, even teaching my youngest daughter her first spell by age seven. He lived and breathed sorcery in some ways, but he always valued spell craft for what it could do, not in violence but in daily use and the gentler times of our lives."

Yumiella closed her eyes and let the words wash over her as Countess Bluegrass spoke, painting in her mind a picture of one of the friends she'd made in this third world, whom she'd not known long and now would never know longer.

Was he watching from an afterlife? Had he been reincarnated himself into another world, just like her? Balshine's theology taught that souls were judged for their deeds in an afterlife, but that had not been her experience.

Up to now, Yumiella had tried not to think too much about death.

In her first life, she had not anticipated dying at her age, and thus had never much worried about it.

In her second life, she had thrown herself into level-grinding at least partly to distract from how lonely she was, missing her family and her school friends and having no one willing to be close to her due to her appearance and her powers.

In her third life, she had been doing much the same, and while the potential annihilation of a planet's worth of people was a good goal to focus on... now she was wondering.

If she died again, would she reincarnate yet again?

Had she reincarnated from some other life into being Yumi Satou, only to have forgotten it? Would she one day forget being Yumiella if she reincarnated again?

Was there some higher power to remember her, who would judge her? She thought she had lived well, but she had made mistakes and left things undone as well.

It was Welt's funeral after he'd died for trusting her to lead him well, and her thoughts were half of Patrick and Ryu. Surely that counted as a sin?

Farrie shook her, and Yumiella realized that it was her turn to speak.

A pit in her stomach, she carefully untangled her hand from carries and walked to stand before the assembly.

She thought her face wasn't showing much, but she was very glad Farrie had insisted on them both wearing veils, as the cloth gave her a layer of insulation and privacy, a layer of distance from the grimness and death and-

"Welt was my friend." Yumiella took a moment to collect herself, and then opened her Menu to check the eulogy notes she had made yesterday. This all seems so insufficient and pointless. "He was instrumental in teaching me the spells and strategies I used to kill the Wave Boss. I'd have- I'd rather lose both legs at the knee than bury him today. And I know," Yumiella declared, "that he felt much the same. Welt would rather have died a hundred times than outlive any of his team. He died- it wasn't his fault."

Yumiella cut off, reach up under her veil, and rubbed at her face. She didn't think she was crying, but her eyes were itchy and her nose was stuffed. Blowing into a handkerchief would probably be rude, though.

"As a teammate to a Cardinal Hero, Welt Bluegrass went above and beyond in his duties, directly providing me with the knowledge, resources, and services that were instrumental to my victory in this past Wave, and that will continue to be instrumental in the coming Waves," Yumiella began again. "As a person, Welt Bluegrass was inventive, considerate, diligent... Welt, if your soul is listening to me," she said instead, as her prepared notes seemed trite and stupid, "then I want you to know how grateful I am to have met you. For the past ten years of my life, I can still count my friends on one hand, Welt. Thank you for being one of them."

Hands on her thighs, Yumiella gave as deep a Japanese-style bow as she could manage, and she hoped that if he hadn't reincarnated, then he would see her.

Day 37, afternoon

"Holy shit that was a giant pain," Naofumi groaned as the vines all finally died stilled their thrashing and began to shrivel.

"Yeah man," Motoyasu agreed, leaning on the Cardinal Spear. "Thanks, I owe you one."

"One? Try three, minimum," Naofumi snarked.

"Do you have to be such a dick? People's lives were at stake!"

"Yeah, because of your mistake," Naofumi countered, which shut Motoyasu up.

"...Yeah, you're right. Thanks," he said quietly.

Ah shit, wasn't expecting that. "Well. Yeah, it is the hero's duty schtick," Naofumi agreed. I guess if he's learning and thinking more, I ought to lay off a bit. 'Positive encouragement' or whatever. "Any worthwhile drop items?"

"Would we?" Motoyasu checked. "I mean, we didn't get EXP since we were close to it- huh. Yeah, got a couple things, who knew? We'll clean up the body and head back?"

"Might as well," Naofumi sighed, and they set to absorbing all the vines, fruits, seeds, leaves, and other plant detritus remaining.

If someone had told Naofumi a week ago that Motoyasu would reach out for help from the Shield Hero, Naofumi would've laughed in their face, yet here they were.

Just before the Wave, Motoyasu's quest with his new (Bitch-free!) party had taken them to Lerno village to deliver relief supplies for a famine caused by monsters and bad weather.

Motoyasu had apparently recognized the town and scenario from Emerald Online, and had known of a dungeon near by with some SSR Magic Seed that was the MacGuffin to solve the famine in his game, so after the supplies arrived his party had gone to clear the dungeon and get the seed.

There had been some warnings, but they were vague, so Motoyasu had delivered the seed to the headman and promised to check back in a week or two to make sure the crops weren't poisonous, addictive, attracting monsters, draining the soil, etc.

Over the course of three days or so, the magic seed had sprouted, spread out fast across several fields, bloomed, fruited, and then animated its vines to attack the townspeople and spread further. They'd put out an emergency request for aid, Motoyasu had realized he'd forgotten to check back and set off at top speed, and upon seeing the problem he'd been upset enough to PM Naofumi begging for urgent help with healing potions and weedkiller to fix it ASAP.

Sure he was only cleaning up his own mess, and the guy had hung like a puppy on his teammate Rino's approval of the decision, but it was more progress than Naofumi had expected to see for most of his stay in this world in this crazy world, so the guy was moving in the right direction at least.

"Firo-chan!" Motoyasu called as Naofumi's ward-mount-bird-whatever dashed into view.

"Master! All the weird vines stopped moving so we figured you had won!" Firo chirped, shifting back into her blonde form. "Hi Spear Guy!"

"Receiving your words can make any heart melt," Motoyasu declared.

"Alright, enough with the poetry," Naofumi groused. "Let's finish up here and get back."

"You take the main eye-flower bit, you earned it. ...And I'll pay you the rest of what I owe later," Motoyasu added at Naofumi's look.

"Alright," Naofumi allowed.

When Firo got them back from the fields to the village -- they had a local legend about a cursed seed, so combined with Motoyasu's caution they had planted it in the furthest field from the down, which meant less property damage and casualties but that the crazy Bio-Plant thing took over some of the local wildlife to set up a bramble bush of death -- Naofumi was surprised to see Rino, who'd previously been terse and strict with Motoyasu, waving furiously as she ran to greet them.

"Sir- Sir Motoyasu, an egg- one of the eggs is hatching!"

Motoyasu made a sound like three different words at once and bolted off to his team's campsite.

"Can I see? Pleeeeease?"

"Go on," Naofumi allowed, dismounting so Firo could chase after the dope. Rino stayed doubled over, panting to catch her breath, and he meandered over to her side. "Rino, right?"

"Y-Yes, Sir Shield Hero."

"What you went through at the hands of Myne was awful, and I'm really impressed that you held your ground alongside Farrie when the tra- when Aultcray was leaning on you to recant," Naofumi said seriously. "If not for you two, my name would still be mud right now and she'd be out there doing damage to more people."

"Ah, thank you. You're welcome? I think the Lady Sword Hero did more than me, though."

"Yumiella's pulling MVP, but you're a normal person who isn't obliged to be out here like this, yet you chose to stay with Motoyasu and keep him on the straight and narrow anyway. Though if you ever do leave him, we've got a slot for you," he offered.

"Will I need to get a slave crest for that?" she checked as they started walking back to camp.

"No. Sadeena doesn't have one, and Raphtalia has one because she wants the stat boost it gives her, but Sadeena will murder me if I ever use it anyway."

"What about Firo?" Rino asked.

"She doesn't-?" Wait, does she? Checking status menu... party members... "Firo's a tamed monster."

"It's the same seal," Rino said.

"Really? I've got different Shield forms with different bonuses for her and Raphtalia, Slave User versus Monster Tamer."

"You do? I admit, I don't have personal knowledge of the magecraft, but they come up in several novels and I'd assume the authors know more than I do, since the details are consistent."

"Novels...? Look, I don't think master-slave smut is the best place for realistic details," Naofumi dismissed.

"Smu- MYSTERY NOVELS! They're mystery novels, where slaves are accused of crimes or a criminal has figured a way around a temporary slave crest, or someone is getting slaves to take the fall for crimes and the protagonist has to unravel it! I do not read smut," Rino insisted, cheeks red, "I read mystery novels, and the occasional escape-from-Siltvelt adventure."

"Sure. ...Escape from Siltvelt? Isn't that-,"

"Um. Yes. The demi-human nation that worships the Cardinal Shield. They have a lot of human slaves too, so there are a bunch of stories about soldiers or merchants or sailors who get enslaved by Siltvelt raiders and need to escape."

"Huh. Basically what happened to Raphtalia's village in reverse, then?" I wonder if Itsuki wants to meet this guy. I mean, if someone started publishing stories about demi-humans escaping human slavery, Melromarc and the Church would probably come down on them, but those same groups would all be cheering for humans to break free of Siltvelt slavery, so that's a socially acceptable way to get the idea out in general knowledge. "Rino?"

She'd stopped walking a few steps back. "I... nothing, just thoughts. The best of the bunch are written by Vomisa Caasi, really prolific with at least a hundred books, most of them involving slaves in some plot-relevant way. Sometimes it's masters ordering a slave to commit a crime and then ordering them to confess if they're caught, sometimes it's a human slave getting around their demi-human master's orders to outsmart them or escape, that type of thing."

"I'm still learning to read the local language, but those sound like they'd be fun to practice with and if they're too complicated I can ask someone to read them to me." That second option might be better, it can keep my ears busy while I'm doing crafting work or something. "Thanks."

"Yeah. If you don't mind...?"

"Go ahead."

"What are you going to do if Raphtalia takes a hit to her slave crest?"

Huh?  "What do you mean?"

"I've never seen it in person, but in most escape-from-Siltvelt stories it's just a fact that a slave crest will immediately activate and stay active if someone tries to deface the seal itself. It wouldn't really work if a slave could neuter the crest by cutting the skin off, right? I've seen some variations where it immediately activates the lethal punishment and others where it's just incapacitating them with pain until their master can find them, but that's why you need an expensive removal potion to get rid of it properly. If the crest is damaged it'll activate to prevent removal. So if they take a hit to the crest in the middle of a Wave..."

"They could be sitting ducks," Naofumi finished. I'm going to need to talk to Raphtalia about this. And Firo, if hers works the same way. We'll need to visit Belkouas... He might have a lead on more Lulorona kids, at least. Or we've got money, so maybe another monster egg? Motoyasu got three.

"She's hatched! Rino, Naofumi! Come meet Kuro-chan, she's adorable!" Motoyasu shouted, and Naofumi left the conversation for later.

Day 37, afternoon

When Yumiella got an INCOMING CALL alert from Itsuki (they still hadn't managed to recreate a Transmission Form for the other three weapons, and Naofumi thought Itsuki had managed to do Custom Commission out of desperation,) in the middle of a meeting about infrastructure projects in light of the Waves, she selected No for the first time and then used the other officials' arguments about cost vs effort vs risk to PM him a request to PM her instead.

The series of PMs that arrived were... surprisingly verbose, even accounting for the fact that upgrading the PM system had greatly diminished the HP cost.

It seems that Itsuki tends to blather and babble when he's anxious, Yumiella noted once the meeting had ended (prioritize infrastructure like roads and walls, wait a little longer on for effort on bridges in case the Waves knock them down but get the rope, stone, and timber ready to be used near the sites because monsters won't care about those like they would people,) and she could scan the missives.

"Are we done?" she asked her aide. I think that is it, and the rest of the afternoon is for training with the kids and fun.

"Count Idol Rabier is petitioning the Crown for a team of military architects to rebuild his manor after it was burned down by assassins."

It took Yumiella a moment to recognize the name.

He would be better off as EXP...

Her hands twitched for the Sword before she caught herself.

"I see. Please, tell me more," she requested.

"Lord Rabier fought on the frontlines of the war against Siltvelt and was honored for his achievements. He's a common guest of King Aultcray's, though this also means the Count has grown used to His Highness's indulgence between friends."

"I see. Why military architects?"

"I suppose he wants it built to better standards than civilian architects, thicker walls and defended cellars, and maybe a secret passage or two that won't be leaked by commoners eager for coin," the aide answered.

underGround toRturE chambErs woulD be More accURate, beheaD him, takE his poweR...

Yumiella closed her eyes and tried not to itch, to twitch, to hunt to move to fight-!

"You said he is a friend of King Aultcray?" she said.

"Yes, and a great patron of the Three Heroes Church as well," the man added.

"Does he have rooms in the Palace?"

"Her Majesty isn't fond of him, so no."

I already checked over the suite anyway, so he's unlikely to uncover anything useful or dangerous. "Quarter him in King Aultcray's personal suite of rooms as an honored guest for the duration of his stay, attend his needs, and inform him that I will be in the training courts until supper if he wishes to petition me over a sparring match. Otherwise, I will guarantee to take a team of military architects to his domain in the next two weeks, though I cannot promise they will work on his personal dwelling. Will that work?"

"It- His Highness's personal rooms? That's a tremendous honor, Lady Hero."

"Yes." The better to have him nearby if I decide to kill him stick him in my Captivity Sword for later. "I will head to the training courts now." Her aide bowed, but Yumiella paused to skim the PMs again. "Also-," The aide paused in the hallway. "-please have someone familiar with the Ivyred, Greybrush, and Dunsilk territories ready to give me an overview about them over dinner."

"I will, Lady Sword Hero."

Glad I didn't need to come up with a reason behind it, Yumiella sighed as the aide went one way and she went out to the practice fields. Let see Itsuki... Unusually high & strict tolls, heavy taxes, impoverished people, sabotaged infrastructure in the poorer neighboring territories, unpleasant rumors...

As she neared the field where the twins were playing with Yoshi, she quickly sent off a message that she hoped would keep Itsuki from doing anything too hasty (although given what they'd accomplished last time, she wasn't going to try too hard to stop him either).

(Sadly, Idol Rabier seemed immensely please to receive Aultcray's palace suite, so he did not seek her out in the field to plead his case; on the bright side, at least that meant her kids weren't let anywhere near a man she despised enough to want to murder him, and she felt very nearly relaxed by dinner time.)

Day 39, near dawn

Yumiella woke up, checked her PMs, and sighed.

She dressed, waved off most of the servants, and went to find whichever aide or official she could leave an organizational message with.

"I need a list of candidates for the interim governor of Greybrush Territory as quickly as feasible, preferably ones who know how to make responsible economic decisions while investigating the crimes of the previous Lord," she requested.

The aide gaped, swallowed, nodded, and didn't ask any questions, for which Yumiella was grateful.

Message delivered, Yumiella went off to try squeezing in a morning workout and maybe a hunt with her kids before the sun was up, since her upgraded Restful Sword meant she could get by on 4 hours of sleep a night and her daytime hours were at a premium with governing duties.