I am not the shield hero

Dante and Sadeena stood just outside the gardens. A pair of knights stood waiting at the doorway. They didn't really look at Dante and Sadeena, but they didn't look away either.

Dante was tapping his foot, waiting for things to be prepared. It hadn't been long, just a few minutes, but it was still annoying.

Then, the guards allowed them to enter. The gardens had braziers around the pathways near the walls, but it looked like they set up more in the center area. On those pathways, as well as on the walls, stood various nobles, waiting for the battle to start. Dante noticed a few adventurer-looking types as well.

They made their way to the center area, Motoyasu and Itsuki meeting them there. Looking at them again, Dante could see they had on good armor. Well, it was about what he remembered from the manga and anime. He had a lot of time to look over what adventurers and knights wore, and compared that to what he got from those mercenaries, not to mention some bandits that got in their way at one point.

All in all, they're about the same quality as the castle knights here. Unlike that cheap chainmail and breastplate from Idol's knights, these ones had on good quality stuff, and more plate pieces. Ren seemed to have the best armor of those three, but Dante also remembered he was the type to grind a lot.

Of course, it looked like Dante's was the best, as gaudy as it was.

"The battle of the Spear Hero and Bow Hero versus the Shield Hero and his companion will now take place!" The king announced. He stood atop one of the walls, a throne having been brought with him. "The battle will end when one side admits defeat or can no longer fight."

Dante gave his good—and only—arm a stretch as he shifted his shield to the Stout Shield. The defense bonus on it was pretty ridiculous, considering he unlocked it from his Savage Shield devouring people that increased defense. It also didn't hurt that it was one of the shields he powered up, like the Spellcobalt Shield.

Motoyasu and Itsuki likewise changed their weapons to their preferred forms. Dante didn't know if either one had attacks that ignored defense, but he was confident he could take at least one from each of them and be fine. His HP was pretty high, after all.

"I'll make sure you face justice for what you've done." Itsuki said, taking his stance.

"If you say so." Dante replied, rolling his shoulder.

Motoyasu didn't feel the need to say anything, given that he was still ogling Sadeena. It was strange, being annoyed by that. It wasn't as if Sadeena was going to jump into his pants, but Dante still didn't like it. Not that it really mattered. The fight likely wouldn't take long.

"Now…begin!" The king declared.

The moment Aultcray started the fight, Dante made a beeline for Itsuki.

He and Sadeena had already discussed who they'd fight. Since Itsuki could do less than Motoyasu in close quarters, he would be Dante's target. Even if Dante was somehow unable to pin him down, having arrow fire focused on him was better than having it focused on Sadeena.

"Bunker Shot!" Itsuki fired off a skill quickly. It struck against Dante's raised shield. Whatever it was supposed to do, it didn't seem to.

Dante was already next to him. He thrust out his arm and grasped Itsuki's bow hand. Dante smirked as he looked Itsuki in the eyes.

"You're done." He said.

"Done?" Itsuki sneered at him. "You haven't done anything. I can just…" He tried to free his hand, but Dante wouldn't budge. "Let go!"

"Yeah, that's what I'll do." Dante raised his arm up, forcing Itsuki's arm high above his head. He struggled in Dante's grasp, but there was little he could do. "Now, let's sit back and watch the others fight."

"I'm not done yet!" Itsuki yelled. From where Dante stood, he very much was done. "As the source of your power, I command—"

Dante stopped that chant right away. He threw Itsuki to the ground, placing a knee on his arm and a hand over his mouth.

"Like I said," Dante turned his attention back to Sadeena and Motoyasu, "let's watch."

"Your opponent's over here~." Sadeena called out, swiping at Motoyasu. He'd been distracted by Dante quickly rushing Itsuki.

"Sorry, Miss, I'd rather not hurt you, but…" Motoyasu's spear began to glow, "Chaos Spear!"

Many spears formed around Motoyasu and launched at Sadeena. She was able to knock them away as she pulled back, avoiding damage.

"Not bad." She said, twirling her harpoon. "So that's what it's like to defend against a hero~."

"Air Strike Javelin!" Motoyasu launch a glowing spear at Sadeena. It flew quickly, but not quicker than Sadeena. She had more than enough time to dodge out of its way. Before it could make it to the crowd surrounding them, Motoyasu dismissed it.

"Careful now, Mister Hero~." Sadeena teased. "You need to watch out for your surroundings."

Motoyasu held out his hand. "As the source of your power…" He began to cast a spell. With that much distance, he would have enough time to cast against a normal opponent. Against Sadeena, not a chance. Of course, she didn't move from her spot. "Faust Fire Shot!"

The flame leapt from Motoyasu's hand. However, while he was chanting his spell, Sadeena had cast her own.

"Anti-Faust Fire Shot!" With her counter, Motoyasu's spell fizzled into nothingness.

"A counter spell…" He was at a loss for words.

"What else can you do~?" Sadeena asked, walking towards Motoyasu. He took a defensive stance at her approach.

"Sadeena, what are you doing?" Dante asked as he watched.

"Hm~?" She looked over at him, a happy smile on her face. "Just sparing with the Spear Hero~."

"Can you do that another time? I'm tired of Itsuki hitting me." Since having one arm pinned, Itsuki kept up a constant stream of punches and kicks. They didn't hurt, and likely wouldn't even if Dante wasn't wearing armor or using a strong shield. Still, it wasn't exactly fun to hold him down.

"Aw…alright." She started to approach Motoyasu in a serious manner. Well, as serious as she could be when she was still having a bit of fun.

Once close enough, she dashed forward. Sadeena clashed with Motoyasu, the two swiping at each other with their polearms, only for the other to deflect it.

Huh. He's not that bad with it. Sure, Sadeena still isn't really serious, but it's not like he's swinging his spear around wildly.

"Windmill!" Motoyasu spun his spear, creating a whirlwind at Sadeena. In response, she changed into her therianthrope form. Her added weight kept her grounded.

"Wha…" Motoyasu stared at her as his skill ended. Clearly, he wasn't expecting a beautiful woman to transform into a whale person.

"Pay attention~!" Sadeena quickly swept his feet with her harpoon, dropping him to the ground. Before he could stand again, the tip of her harpoon was pointed at his throat.

Smiling, Dante looked over to where the king sat. He was fuming.

"Well?" Dante called out to him. "I believe this fight is over."

He kept an eye out for any movement from the crowd, but he saw none. There was heckling to be sure, but no one seemed ready to interfere. He could see Malty standing in the back, unmoving.

Aultcray stood from his seat. "The winners of this battle…are the Shield Hero and his companion."

Smart move. He realized we could just beat these two to a bloody pulp if it continued. He wouldn't want to advertise that. Neither would I, for that matter.

Without another word, Aultcray turned and went back in the direction of the banquet hall. Malty seemed to look at Dante for a moment before turning as well.

And the plot thickens. No attempt to undercut our victory, no cheating, no nothing. I just don't understand what her game is.

Dante removed himself from Itsuki, allowing the boy to stand up. He glared up at Dante's outstretched hand as he stood. Motoyasu, on the other hand, took Sadeena's hand, letting himself be helped up.

"What are you mad about?" Dante asked Itsuki. "You wanted this fight."

"This doesn't mean anything!" Itsuki shouted back. "If this were a real fight, I wouldn't have to hold back!"

Dante laughed as he shook his head. "If this were a real fight, you wouldn't be around to say that. Even if it was one-on-one, I could have held you until you passed out, then drowned you in a river."

"Not if I kill you before you reach me!"

"Assuming you could." Dante wasn't impressed with his single attack. He had no clue what it was supposed to do, only that Itsuki used it when he was right next to him. "You shouldn't have challenged me anyway. An archer has no business fighting alone like that."

"Someone had to!" Itsuki turned his glare to Motoyasu. Dante watched as he seethed for a moment before stalking off. The other nobles and guests had already filtered back to the banquet.

Interesting. So Motoyasu really wasn't going to do anything? I almost feel bad for dragging him into this now.

"Mister Dante!" Rifana called as she ran up to him, giving him a hug. The rest of his party was right behind her.

"That was so fast!" Keel said as he watched Itsuki leave.

"Yeah. Faster than I expected." Dante nodded along. He meant what he said to Itsuki, but he thought he'd have some skills to escape a grapple or keep better distance. With any luck, he'd take what happened here as a learning experience.

Dante could have played things a bit better here. A lot better, in fact. He really didn't expect Itsuki to be the one to challenge him like that. Of course, the king trying to bring his companions to the church was another wrinkle in the plan. Dante was a glorified thug, not a tactician or diplomat. Planning ahead was one thing, but redoing a political or social plan on the fly was a bit difficult.

Well, no sense in worrying about that now. We have a party to finish, then we get to sleep in the castle.

That was another thing that Dante had found a little strange. While he assumed the other heroes and their parties would have rooms here, he didn't expect rooms for his own. Then again, if Malty wasn't constantly trying to mess with him and egg on her father, that might explain it.

Truthfully, he just didn't know.

"You fought quite beautifully this evening." Dante heard Motoyasu say. He turned to see the man holding Sadeena's hand in his own. She'd already changed back to her demi-human form. "Maybe you'd like to join my party going forward?"

"Oh my~. Aren't you the charmer?" Sadeena said with a laugh.

It wasn't exactly the pitch Dante was expecting from Motoyasu, but it was close enough. He would have thought more about it, but he was too irritated at what he was seeing.

"So, would you consider joining me? I'm sure it would be a pleasing experience." Motoyasu put on his best smile.

"Well, you make it hard to say no~." She said teasingly, laughing into her free hand. "However, I'm afraid—"

"She's with me." Dante said, wrapping his arm around her waist and holding her close. Motoyasu gave him a displeased look.

Sadeena, on the other hand, smiled at Dante with half lidded eyes. "Yes, I'm with little Dante." She told Motoyasu.

"Are you sure?" He asked, concerned. "You know what he did, right?"

"Seriously?" Dante shook his head. "You just fought her. Do you really think I could force myself on her?"

"I also saw you take Itsuki's attack like it was nothing." Motoyasu pointed out. To be fair, it was a good point. "Besides, maybe she has a reason to stay by your side, like…them." He pointed to Dante's remaining party members. They had just come up beside Dante.

"That's…actually another fair point." Dante conceded. Motoyasu was really using his brain here. Dante had him figured as a gullible idiot from the books, but he kept finding reasons to ignore those sources. The slave seals on the others was something Dante brought up with Sadeena before, and how she could kill him in his sleep if she thought he was a danger to them.

Of course, that was completely irrelevant now.

"You all mind if I show him?" Dante asked his party.

With nods of agreement, Dante opened his status. With a few quick changes, their slave seals began to crackle with lightning.

"What are you doing?!" Motoyasu yelled as he took a step back.

"Proving a point." Dante said. He let go of Sadeena and gestured to the seal on Rifana. "Right now, these are supposed to be causing intense pain. However, they're barely doing anything. That's because basic slave seals don't work much past a certain level." He turned off the slave seals.

With all their leveling and sacrificing, they could hardly even feel the seals anymore. They'd know they were going off as long as they didn't close their eyes and cover their ears. All those levels also showed Dante another limit to the seals. Where before he could lower their levels without any input from any of them, now he had to get their permission. He imagined that's how it was for non-slaves. It didn't take long for that to start happening, especially when he let their levels grow too high. Their stats really overpowered their seals.

"Interesting."

"Whoa, shit!" Dante whirled around to the source of the voice. Ren was standing behind him, watching the display. He had jumped back too at Dante's exclamation. "When did you get here?"

"Wha…I came with your party!" Ren all but yelled. He looked a bit irritated at being forgotten.

"Right…"

From there, the rest of the banquet went by peacefully.

Motoyasu wanted to talk with Dante's companions about how he's been treating them, but when they were away from Dante. He must have figured that anything they said near Dante could just be lip service. Dante was fine with it, since Sadeena was standing nearby to make sure no one—specifically Dio and JoJo—revealed anything they shouldn't. When they returned, Motoyasu was satisfied.

"I guess if you aren't forcing them into anything, there isn't really a problem."

Motoyasu let them be after that, but not before giving Dante a strange look. He didn't understand it, until Sadeena told him why. Dio, JoJo, and Rifana all told him that Dante liked to pet them while they were transformed. Even when not transformed, Dante would basically preen Dio and JoJo's feathers a bit. It was something both of them asked him to do, but it still sounded weird when he heard it out loud.

Ren chatted with Dante a little about how he'd gotten strong enough to block Itsuki's attack. He didn't want to tell him about combining the other power up methods yet. There was still a decent chance he might have to fight them all, though who would be leading the charge would change. Dante did end up telling Ren about fighting powerful monsters in the sea, but Ren stopped that conversation immediately. Dante had forgotten that Ren didn't know how to swim, at least until the boy got all anxious about the mere mention of water.

Itsuki would steal hateful glances at Dante throughout the night, but would turn away in a huff when Dante saw him. Aultcray looked over every so often, more to keep an eye on Dante, it seemed. Malty didn't seem too invested in Dante's presence.

Dante did look around at some of the heroes' party members. He didn't really recognize most of them, but he did find Armor. Dante only remembered the man's name from the web novel, but he was easy enough to pick out. A large man with shiny armor acting like he was top shit, boasting about Itsuki and his heroism. He didn't seem to consider Itsuki's loss to Dante as relevant, since Dante only held him and didn't really attack. A cowardly tactic, the man claimed. If Armor was anything like his book counterpart—something Dante suspected was very likely—he would enjoy watching the man die.

One of the knights from the village—the one with the nose scar—did approach Dante. He asked about the remains of the other knights, and Dante told him that nothing remained after the fight. Dante didn't think he fully believed it, but he didn't pursue it further. Dante did save his life, and the lives of his fellow knights.

As the banquet came to a close, servants showed the heroes and their parties to their rooms. Dante's was shown to a more remote section of the castle. When they looked inside, the two rooms were still well furnished, but not nearly as well as Dante remembered on his first night here.

"This should be big enough." Dante said as he looked around. "We don't even really need to move things around."

"Actually," Sadeena said, grabbing his arm, "I think you and I should be in one room~."

"Ah." Dante had almost forgotten the signal Sadeena chose. It was almost never used. "Do you think they'll be fine by themselves?"

"We can all take turns watching." Rifana said with a smile.

"And it's not like anyone can sneak up on you, little Dante~." Sadeena added.

She wasn't wrong. With the Two-Headed Dog Shield unlocked, he had Alert Shield active almost all the time. Since it wasn't a skill, he couldn't upgrade it, but it didn't cost anything to keep active, so it was a nice extra layer of defense for both hunting and resting.

"Alright then." Dante agreed. The other four left the room, leaving Dante and Sadeena. He shifted to the Humming Shield as Sadeena began taking off his armor.

"So, what did you want to discuss?" He asked. There weren't too many things they had to talk in private about anymore.

"How do you think tonight went?" Sadeena asked, finished removing Dante's chest armor. The helmet was already on a nearby table.

"A bit mixed on that one." Dante said. "Itsuki took Motoyasu's place, and things were a lot less crazy than they could have been." Sure, the guards tried to apprehend them momentarily, but the duel went off pretty well. There was no interference, no outcry, and Dante's side was declared the winner without issue. "Still, I could have gone about things differently."

"Hm." Sadeena hummed as she removed the bone pieces around Dante's hips. "You probably could have shown off the slave seals when the Bow Hero challenged you."

"Yeah…I wish I'd thought of that." That might have gotten Itsuki to back off a little. It was entirely possible that Itsuki wouldn't have believed what he was seeing, thinking it was some sort of trick.

Sadeena finished getting him out of his leg armor. He usually kept that on during the night, seeing as they didn't bother him too much. He was left in his undergarments, which were basically a pair of shorts and a shirt.

"What else?" He asked. There were a lot of things to think of. Figuring out Malty's plan, the king's, the church's, any outside forces. However, that could be discussed in the group. Though, he did generalize a bit when talking with the others about the books. They didn't ask too many questions, surprisingly, leaving Dante to talk about a few of the major things for the future.

Sadeena turned back to him, having just locked the door to their room. He found her standing right in front of him, a smirk on her face.

"What's—" Before he could say anything else, he found himself looking up. His back was on the bed with Sadeena above him, hands on top of his shoulders.

"Do you know how much I've held back these past weeks?" She asked, sizing him up.

"What do you mean?" Dante asked, not getting it. "We've…you know, made out a couple of times. And, we slept together every night."

"Mm, yes." Sadeena traced her hand over his chest. "We've slept next to each other."

"It's not that I'm not interested." Dante tried to reassure her. "Far from it. But, you know it's not really a good idea…to…" His voice trailed off as Sadeena removed her chest wrappings and vest.

"Were you saying something~?" She lowered herself to him, pressing against his chest. He must have been more distracted than he realized, since he hadn't noticed her taking his shirt off.

"I…" He couldn't get the words out. Especially since she silenced him with her lips.

He wouldn't lie, this was a pretty great thing happening to him. The broader circumstances, however, complicated things.

"Sadeena…" He breathed out. She had already moved down to his neck. "This isn't…we shouldn't…"

"Don't worry~." She cooed. "It's safe. Probably."

"Probably?" He asked, trying to lean up, but his arm couldn't to push himself up. More accurately, it was already wrapped around her toned waist. His body was betraying him.

"It is." She traced her tongue across his jaw, which he'd shaved a few days ago. "Sorry, Dante, but I've tricked you again~. I used our more intimate moments to find out what you like, and…" She trailed off, biting lightly on the side of his neck.

Even through the fog his mind was quickly falling into, he knew that would leave a mark for a while. Even if he had a powered up shield—which the Humming Shield was, if only slightly—Sadeena's attack was more than enough to get through his defense. Even if it wasn't, he'd found that his shield thought it was funny to let these sorts of things leave marks on him. That was his theory, anyway.

"We shouldn't do this." Dante whispered. He could barely hear the words in his head.

"I'll stop if you tell me to." Sadeena said into his ear, giving it a quick bite.

This was a bad idea for a number of reasons. Dante, however, couldn't think of any of them at the moment. He was sure he did before, but they didn't come to mind. But really, was this such a bad thing? He mustn't have thought so, since he found himself on top of Sadeena, instead of the other way around.

"Oh my~." Sadeena looked up at him, a massive smile on her face.

Dante just looked down, still not quite sure how that happened. After a moment of thought, he lowered himself to her. "Fuck it."

"So roman-ah!" Dante returned Sadeena's bite with one of his own. His shield gave him so little attack, but it still allowed him to do things like this.

"I'm not the only one who likes that." He said.

Dante pull off his shorts while Sadeena pulled down her loincloth.

"Damn, you really were waiting for this." Dante observed her discarded loincloth, the undergarment having a bit of her juices on it.

Sadeena slid back on the bed, beckoning Dante. "Take me already, little Dante."

Not wanting to keep her waiting any longer, Dante obliged. He moved over her, positioning himself right above her. She wrapped her arms around his waist, resting just above his ass.

"You ready?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.

"More than ready." She replied.

When he slid into her, she let out a soft wince. Her arms tightened around him, pushing him further in. Once in fully, she leaned up and gave a harder bite on his shoulder. It took all he had to not pull back and thrust in.

"You okay?" He asked, not expecting that reaction.

"Yeah." She whispered back, moving her arms up his back. "Can we stay like this for a bit?"

"Sure." Dante said, glancing down. "Was that…are you…"

"I was." Sadeena gave him a small smirk. "You knew I was waiting for someone to outdrink me, but you still thought I was that kind of girl~?"

"I, uh…sorry." He didn't really know what to say. It was a bit of a disconnect in his head, seeing how she normally acted.

"Well, I did say there were things I'd be willing to do for my family." Sadeena said, reminding him of what they discussed at Reichnott's. She fully admitted she intended to use her body to get Dante to keep them safe. "But that doesn't matter anymore."

"No, it doesn't." Dante gave her a kiss, which she returned. Her tongue played with his lips, before his danced with hers.

When they parted, Sadeena held his gaze. Her left arm had moved over his. "I'm ready."

"Okay."

~The Wrong Hero~

The night passed by rather quickly. Dante would have preferred it stay dark longer, but there were things to do. He and his party stood outside the throne room of the castle, along with the other heroes and their parties. They would swing by the inn later to grab Raphtalia and Eclair.

The others around them gave varying looks. Itsuki would glare at him and turn away whenever Dante looked at him. Ren kept glancing at him and turning away too, but it seemed far less hostile. Motoyasu didn't turn away, but he kept a look of disapproval on his face.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why. Sadeena was hanging off of Dante's arm and was practically glowing.

"Do you really have to do this?" Dante whispered to her. They decided to change the signal for the day.

"It could be worse~." Sadeena reminded him.

That was true. During their night of fun, Dante had left a number of…blemishes on her skin. Far more than he realized at the time. Sadeena didn't share his shield's impressive healing abilities. They had a water basin in the room to clean themselves off, and Dante still had plenty of healing salve to help. She insisted he apply it himself, not that he was complaining.

When they went to get the others, Rifana had an amused smile on her face. She showed them how the others were sleeping. His two kids slept in their angel forms on the bed. Between them, Keel slept on his back in his therianthrope form. Dio and JoJo both held onto him like a stuffed animal. It was another picture perfect moment.

With no issues during the night, they had a light breakfast in the dining hall. The guards had tried to turn them away, but Dante wasn't having it. It wasn't as if they could really do anything to him. They saw how Dante and Sadeena beat two of the heroes.

That was another thing Dante hadn't really thought through too well. They didn't really need to announce how strong they were, even if they planned on leaving Melromarc. It wasn't just in the capital that shopkeepers weren't buying and selling with them. By the end of their leveling, every town they went to had that problem, and a good number of villages too. Reichnott was a bit of an exception, though a few bandits did show up there. Dante and his party handled them quickly.

When the doors to the throne room opened, Sadeena released Dante. Flaunting their relationship right in front of the king would only add to the bad decisions they made.

The four heroes stood before the throne with their parties behind them. From the left side of the hall to the right, it was Motoyasu, Ren, Itsuki, and then Dante. Malty was in Motoyasu's party, something Dante mostly expected. It was possible she had gone with Itsuki instead, but this showed otherwise. In a sense, it was a good thing. That was one less irregularity he had to think around.

"As thanks for battling the wave and your work in my country, the heroes will now be rewarded." Aultcray announced from this throne.

Four attendants held bags in front of them. One bag was noticeably smaller than the others.

"Each of the heroes have performed valiantly during the wave. Additionally, they have strived to safeguard my country from other threats. For these acts, they are each awarded 3,500 silver."

Three of the attendants stepped forward and presented the bags to their designated heroes. That was a little unexpected. Dante was pretty sure Motoyasu got a larger amount in the books. Then again, that might have been Malty's doing. It wasn't wise to favor one hero over the others, so treating them equally was a good move.

"As for the Shield, you have been found lacking. Your reward is only 500 silver."

Now that sounds familiar. Just 'Shield', no 'hero'.

"However," the king added before the attendant could hand Dante the bag, "threats against my knights and nobles in my court are not taken lightly. Therefore, your reward is to be withheld."

"That so?" Dante put his hand on his hip. "I seem to recall you threatening my party members before."

"Watch yourself, Shield." The king warned. "I wished to free your slaves from unjust bondage."

"You could have done that any time before yesterday with a decree for all demi-humans." Dante laughed. "Instead, you had knights going around and threatening shopkeepers to not deal with me."

"You dare throw such an accusation at me!?" Aultcray bellowed.

Dante observed his reaction. From the way he looked, it didn't seem like he was angry for being called out, just angry at the accusation. He may very well not have ordered any knights to do so. Then again, even if he was belligerent, he was still a political figure and has been so for decades. He was mad at the trial, but didn't reveal any unnecessary details. Still, the facts remained.

"Then you should discipline some of your knights." Dante said. "I have it on good authority that knights wearing Melromarc's royal emblem were the ones making threats. I've also started being refused business in other areas of the country."

"And who told you this nonsense?" Aultcray demanded.

"A man with a vested interest in being honest with me." Dante responded. "As well as a few other witnesses."

It looked like Aultcray wanted to argue further, but he held himself back. Barely. "Regardless, you allowed several knights to be killed in Lute village, where I heard you were instead of fighting the wave."

"I was protecting the villagers, something the knights would have been too late to do." Dante clarified. "Besides, are you saying that knights of Melromarc need me to defend them?"

It was cheap taunt, one that got the king to grind his teeth.

"Besides, I don't make it a habit to protect people who rain fire on me and my companions."

"The knights wouldn't do such a thing!" Itsuki yelled out, seemingly done listening to what Dante had to say.

"They would and they did." Dante said. He looked over to see the disgruntled hero. Itsuki looked indignant, but something else caught his eye. One of the knights lined up was grinning at Dante. He seemed a bit familiar. "Regardless, I had three of my party members follow the other heroes to fight the wave's boss. You can ask the other heroes how they did."

The king continued to glare at Dante for a moment before turning to the others. "Is what he says true?"

Red spoke first. "They were handling themselves well when we arrived to join the fight."

Motoyasu nodded along. "Miss Sadeena there was actually the one to slay the boss."

The woman in question had a smile on her face as she gave a light wave to the king. Aultcray grimaced.

"Very well." He waved his hand and the attendant gave Dante his silver.

"Great!" Dante chirped, looking back to Itsuki. "Now then, I believe I'm owned something."

"You are not." Aultcray interjected. "I'll not have gambling done in my castle."

"I'm pretty sure you should tell that to the nobles." Dante had noticed a few of them grumbling about losing silver on the match. In fact, it seemed like there was only one happy noble after that fight.

"My word stands." The king declared.

"I see." Dante gazed down at Itsuki. "And what of your word, Bow Hero? Did you not agree to this bet? Are you going against your word?"

It was Itsuki's turn to grit his teeth. Without saying a word, he thrust his hands forward, pushing the bag into Dante's chest. Dante quickly gripped the bag and handed it to Sadeena with a nod.

"I'm glad to see you being so reasonable." Dante said, glancing at the king. He could almost hear the man's nails scrape against his throne's armrests.

"Hmph." Itsuki crossed his arms and turned away. "Even though I could have beaten you in a real fight, I still lost that mock battle."

"Of course." Dante nodded. The knight that was grinning at Dante before now had a hateful glare on his face. Dante still couldn't quite place where he knew the man.

"If you don't change your ways, then we'll have that fight." Itsuki declared, pointing a finger at Dante.

"If you say so." Dante shrugged. "In the meantime, I have a gift for you."

 Dante gestured to Sadeena, who held a bag out to Itsuki. "For you, little Bow Hero."

Itsuki gave her a hard look for a moment before he took the bag. When he looked inside, surprise enveloped his face. "What's this?" He asked.

"About half the silver." Dante answered. "Unlike you, I wasn't about to leave you with nothing."

Itsuki's mouth moved a bit, trying to form words. In the end, he simply turned back to face the king.

"Now then, heroes, go forth! I look forward to your continued works in my kingdom."

With the king's declaration, the heroes and their parties left the throne room.

That went about as well as it could have, and better than Dante expected. He really thought the king would try to throw a fit about the silver, but he held back. It wasn't as if the other three heroes were totally against Dante. At least, two of them weren't.

As they were walking out, Dante approached Motoyasu, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I need to borrow you for a minute." He told the spear wielder.

"What for?" Motoyasu asked, annoyed.

"Something private." Dante said, nodding to a less crowded area.

Motoyasu sighed before turning to his companions, turning on the charm. "I'll just be a moment, ladies."

Motoyasu led the way, Dante following after him. They passed by some of the knights from the throne room. One of them was the knight that kept looking at Dante. When they passed each other, Dante got another look at his face. He turned to keep looking at the knight. Dante stood watching as the knight kept on, his eyes widening at his realization.

Davon Mallory!

That was why he looked familiar. He matched the description of the knight that organized the slave raid. According to Eclair, he didn't attack Lurolona himself, but he did organize the men that did.

"Well?" Motoyasu's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

Dante looked between the two before rejoining Motoyasu.

Damn. I'll need to deal with that guy later.

"I needed to ask you something." Dante started.

"Before that," Motoyasu said, "you need to stop picking fights with the king."

"Oh?" Dante tilted his head. "Is that what I was doing?"

"Yes!" Motoyasu exclaimed. "Look, Myne doesn't like telling people this, but…the king is her father. You're making it hard for her to bring all the heroes together."

That opened Dante's eyes a bit. Not necessarily the revelation, but the fact that he probably shouldn't have known it to be true in the first place. As far as Malty was probably aware, Dante thought he was framed by some adventurer. That added an extra layer to how he had to perceive her actions. Or, it removed one. He'd work that out later.

"You arguing with him doesn't help." Motoyasu added.

"Neither does him trying to steal away my companions." Dante pointed out.

"He thought they were your slaves. I mean, actual slaves."

"That's why he thought he could take them. If they were property, he could take them away from me. The royal family owns slaves, you know."

"That's not…You know what I'm getting at!" Motoyasu was exasperated. "You raped Myne. He must have thought you were using your slaves like that too."

"First of all, the man hates demi-humans. He doesn't care about them at all. If anyone else owned them, he'd be happy about them being treated that way."

"That's disgusting!"

"Second of all," Dante continued on, "I didn't rape anyone."

"Yes, you did! There was a trial—"

"That was held by the supposed victim's father."

"The bloody sheet—"

"Was put there to frame me."

If Dante could convince Motoyasu of this now, it would help out later. He wasn't sure if it was even possible, but he thought the gears in his head were turning at least a little bit.

"Why?" Motoyasu asked. "Why would she frame you?"

"That's…the real question here." Dante couldn't exactly pin down her motivations. He was thinking it was to get the church to view her positively and to manipulate Motoyasu. Also, just for the thrill of it. She wasn't first in line to the throne, so that led to her still having a twisted personality.

"Forget it." Motoyasu shook his head. "You don't have any proof, and I can't even begin to believe you without it."

It seemed he was thinking about it a little bit, at least. "Then we'll agree to disagree for now."

"Fine." Motoyasu crossed his arms. "What did you want, anyway?"

"Did you help a village with a famine?"

Motoyasu's eyebrows shot up. "How did you know about that?"

"I hear things." Dante responded, shifting his shield. "Did you bring them a seed from an Alchemist's temple?"

"Are you spying on me?" Motoyasu asked, uncrossing his arms and stepping forward.

Dante shook his head. "I traveled to a cave attached to an alchemist's temple to retrieve a crystal. We looked through part of the temple too, since we were there. We found a tablet that warned about the seed sealed inside the chest."

"A warning…what are you getting at?" Motoyasu wasn't getting it.

"This." Dante showed Motoyasu his shield.

It was one he got from absorbing one of the crystals in the cave he mentioned. It wasn't particularly strong, but it did have an equip effect called 'Image Record'. It allowed Dante to store a few images inside the shield and project them on a screen that appeared before it.

The images that he showed Motoyasu were from the village. One of the massive bioplant in the village. Another was the controlled villagers and some plantriwes. The last was a villager in a pod.

Motoyasu looked on in shock. "W-What is this…?"

"That is what happened to the village after you left it."

"But that's…" Motoyasu turned away from the images. "That can't be."

"It is." Dante confirmed, shifting his shield back. "We were in the area and saw what was happening there. I assume you understand everything you saw?"

Motoyasu nodded, turning back to Dante. "That's not how it was supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a hidden quest that unlocked another one later."

"Motoyasu, this isn't a game." Dante told him. "This is real. There are consequences to actions, as I believe you just got finished telling me."

"That's different!" Motoyasu yelled. "You knew what you did was wrong! Besides, I know these are people, but that doesn't mean it's not a game."

I would love to listen to the mental gymnastics that statement requires, but I don't think I'm smart or dumb enough to understand it.

"Whatever." Dante shook his head. "Just be more careful in the future."

It wasn't as if Dante really thought he could convince Motoyasu of anything right now. It was a good seed to plant in his head, though. Ignoring the unsaid pun, they both returned to their parties. When they did, they found Malty standing off the side a bit. Rifana and Keel kept an eye on her. Two of Motoyasu's companions were chatting with each other while the third was lowered to the ground, talking with Dio and JoJo. She seemed pretty animated, until Dante got closer. She almost seemed to scowl as she stood up.

Dante couldn't really place who was who. He believed one of the chatting women was Elena, but wasn't sure which. The woman talking with the kids seemed somewhat familiar. She had long, yellow-green hair and a sword at her hip. Definitely not the witch looking girl from the anime. When Motoyasu rejoined them, they quickly got on their way. Malty gave Dante a quick glance before following after.

"How did it go?" Sadeena asked, wrapping her arms around his.

"About how I expected." Dante told her. "Anyway, did I miss something? That one woman seemed really happy to talk to JoJo and Dio."

"She was really nice!" JoJo said, smiling.

"Yeah, the others didn't really want to talk with any of us!" Dio added.

"She certainly looked that way." Dante said. "What was her name?"

Sadeena's smile faltered for a moment. "Rino."

"Rino?" Dante looked towards Motoyasu's group. "That's…"

He really wasn't sure what that meant. On the one hand, he figured Malty would fill Motoyasu's party with people loyal to her. On the other, if Rino was useful, maybe she'd be kept around, especially is she believed Malty's story. Whatever the case, he now had a description of her for Beloukas, in case she does get sold off.

"What now?" Keel asked as they made their way towards the castle gate.

"Now we meet up with Berry and Raphtalia." Dante said, careful not to say Eclair's name just yet. "After that, it's what we talked about before."

They were to meet up with the emissaries in a village to the east of here. From there, they'd travel to Zeltoble, and then north up to Siltvelt. They'd be able to get two hourglasses registered out of it, plus some good weapon copies from Zeltoble. Technically, they'd get three hourglasses. There was a country between Melromarc and Siltvelt that had an hourglass, but it was a little close to Melromarc. Dante still had to figure out how registering to multiple hourglasses worked. It might override the old one, but he didn't want to risk that not happening and be pulled back in after crossing the border to Siltvelt once. At least, not without being able to teleport away.

Another thing to do was getting a letter of introduction from Beloukas. Dante wanted to at least meet with his relative in Zeltoble. He wasn't prepared to buy the hakuko siblings yet, but he could at least meet them—and make sure they actually exist. He was fairly sure Atla needed Yggdrasil elixir for her condition, which he didn't have. Besides, going to Siltvelt while taking care of two hakuko children might draw the wrong kind of attention.

The plan, however, wasn't going to work out perfectly like that.

As soon as Dante stepped beyond the gatehouse, he saw the emissaries to his right. His mouth hung open, not quite processing what he was seeing. Each of them were held almost 10 feet off the ground. They had ropes around their necks as they swung from the battlements of the wall.

"Oh, fuck." Dante let out as he stared up at them.

The others saw what he did and acted in a similar fashion. Dio and JoJo seemed more worried about Dante's reaction than seeing the emissaries, while Rifana held her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my." Sadeena said without a hint of her usual mirth. "Why would…oh."

"Yeah." She and Dante saw the same thing. Painted on their chests was the Melromarc word for 'spy'.

That old man really is trying to start a war. I don't think it would make much difference now if I stayed or went. If I don't go, no one will tell them not to invade, or they might assume I'm being forced to stay or something.

"We need to grab the others." Dante said. "And the carriages." Fortunately, both were at the same place.

Things have just gotten much more dangerous in the capital.

"Excuse me?" A young voice called out. "Are you the Shield Hero?"

Dante looked to the source of the voice. His eyes widened at what he saw. A dozen knights stood in two rows. They had on good looking armor and were all in their upper 50s in level. That, however, wasn't what concerned him.

In front of them, a girl around the age of 10 stood. She carried herself with a certain air of dignity and authority. She had on an expensive looking dress and had her blue hair tied in pigtails.

Why the fuck is Melty here?!