3RD PERSON POV
After the encounter with the shadow, the party began making their way to meet the queen.
On their way, they stumbled upon a farming village filled with demi-humans.
Ryuji: That's weird. I thought the kingdom hates demis, so where is there a whole village full of them here?
Naofumi: Yeah, this is weird
As the group got curious, Melty realized where they were.
Melty: Oh, that's right!
Filo: What is it, Mel?
Melty: I know the nobleman in charge of this region
Ryuji: Is that bad news?
Melty shook her head.
Melty: No, he's a good man. He might be able to help us out
Naofumi: Really?
Melty: You may not believe it, but in the past, there were some nobles that encouraged peaceful relations with demi-humans. The leader of that group I a wonderful man
Ryuji: And that leader of the group ons the place?
Melty shook her head again.
Melty: No, the man im referring to is the Lord of the Seyaette region. Unfortunately, the leader of the group passed away during the first wave...
Naofumi noticed the pained expression of Raphtalia and realized why.
Melty: and when he passed away, all the nobles who sided with him were banished by father to the most remote regions of the kingdom
Ryuji: *angry* that asshole. He probably sent those nobles hoping that they would be too far for the army or the heroes to reach during the waves
Filo: Raphtalia, are you okay?
Raphtalia: the village where my family is from... it's in the Seyaette region
Melty: I heard that after the waves, the villages were hit by rioters
Raphtalia: I'm afraid it was... my village was attacked by a mob of Melromarc soldiers who were completely out of control
Naofumi: *angry* The more I hear about these scum, the more I'm disgusted
Ryuji: *angry* Same here
Melty bowed apologetically at Raphtalia.
Melty: im so sorry
Raphtalia: But Melty, it's not your fault
Melty: As royalty, there must've been something we could've done, but we did noting to help. Raptalia, tell me everything you know about those soldiers
Raphtalia: Huh?
Melty: Once everything is cleared up, I'll make sure they're brought to justice
Raphtalia: Thank you...
Naofumi: So anyway. This nobleman lives around here, right?
Melty: Yes
Ryuji: And you're sure we could trust him?
???: Of course you can
Everyone was startled when a man suddenly showed up behind the party.
???: it's been a while, princess Melty, sir heroes
Ryuji and Raphtalia then recognized the man in front of them.
Naofumi: Who the hell are you!!?
Ryuji: Dude, he bought one of your accessories before. Van Reichnott, right?
Van: Indeed. i am Van Reichnott, the ruler of this region. This is no place to chat, why don't you all come to my home and we'll talk
Van took the party to his mansion, where they were offered a meal.
While eating, the party began explaining their situation to van.
Van: I see... so you reached my domain after escaping Melromarc's forces, is that it?
Naofumi: Yeah
Van: The knights came to me a while ago and informed me that the vassal hero created an explosion, which caused a wildfire on the nearby mountain to cover your tracks. Would you consider that account to be accurate, sir vassal hero?
Ryuji: Why would i--
Just then, Ryuji remembered the detail of what happened and realized that he technically was partially responsible even though Myne was the one who lit the gas.
Ryuji: *sweating* Do that? Sure, i have some fire-breathing monsters, but none of them can make an explosion that big
Van looked at Ryuji with suspicion, then realized that it was an accident.
Van: I see. What are your plans to reach the queen?
Naofumi: we'll start by leaving tomorrow at dawn
Melty: Why so soon!?
Naofumi: The longer we stay, the higher the doss odds us being sniffed out
Melty: Well, yes... but I was hoping I could rest a bit longer
Van noticed Melty's behavior and smiled.
Van: Princess Melty, if I may say so, it appears you've grown
Melty: Huh?
Van: In the past, you used to have a mature attitude that's beyond your years
Ryuji: So she became childish? That doesn't sound like growth
Melty: *blush* be quiet you!!
Naofumi: Quit making a racket, where trying to eat here
Melty: it's Sir Ryuji's fault
Van watches the three in their playful argument and chuckled.
Afterward, the party was given a room for them to spend the night.
After the sun has set, Naofumi looked about the window.
Melty: What's wrong?
Naofumi: There's no way of knowing when this place will be attacked. I make it a point of not sleeping at times like this
Melty looked down and a little depressed.
Ryuji: Well, good luck with that
Ryuji got into bed and immediately went to sleep, while Filo was already sleeping in her bed.
Raphtalia: Why don't I keep watch? That way, you can get some sleep
Naofumi: ...alright
Melty was surprised that Naofumi listened to Raphtalia and went to bed.
Melty: Wait a minute!! Why do you listen to what Raphtalia says but not me!!?
Ryuji: *yawn* because that guy doesn't trust royalty... because of your dad and sis... fault...*snore*
Melty: You're talking in your sleep!!?
Naofumi changed his shield into a small fluffy shield and then went to sleep.
Later that night when Ryuji woke up, and Melty was keeping watch.
Melty: You're up?
Ryuji: Yeah. I'll take over now
Melty: it's fine. I'm really not that sleepy, actually....
Ryuji noticed that Melty was feeling down.
Ryuji: You got something on your mind?
Melty: I was just thinking. As the crowned princess, should I really keep running like this? As a member of the royal family, there is so much more I could be doing. But I find that I'm doing nothing because I keep running...
Ryuji: I don't know how politics work, so I don't know if i can help. But try not to think about it until you're safe
Melty: But I feel so pathetic...
Ryuji stood up and then placed his hand on Melty's shoulder.
Ryuji: Don't be too hard on yourself, I'm sure there are things only you can do. For now, get some rest, you can worry about it tomorrow
Melty: Okay. Good night
Ryuji: Yeah, sleep tight
Melty went to bed and fell asleep.
While everyone was asleep, Ryuji opened the window and summoned six wingdrakes.
Ryuji: *quiet* Okay, you guys scout the area for any knights
The wingdrakes squacked in acknowledgment and flew off.
Ryuji then closed the window and kept an eye out the window.
RYUJI POV
After it was my turn to keep watch, I was suddenly shaken awake by Naofumi.
Naofumi: Hey, wake up!
Ryuji: *groggy* is it my turn again?
Naofumi: No, you fell asleep on your watch. But that's besides the point
I looked out the window and saw that Van was being arrested by the knights.
Raphtalia: Why is the Lord being taken away!?
Suddenly, a maid rushed into the room.
Maid: Sir Heroes! You and your party have to hide, now!
Naofumi: What's going on?
Maid: a nobleman from the next town over, came and accused us of hiding you
I looked around and realized that Filo and Melty were gone.
Ryuji: Where's Filo and Melty!?
Maid: we've already prepared an escape plan for them
The maid gestured us to follow her.
Maid: The kitchen is the only safe way out
After following the mide while avoiding some knights, we reached a kitchen and hid behind a storage area.
Knights suddenly barged in the kitchen.
We couldn't see what was happening and were getting anxious.
With baited breath, we pray that the knights didn't find us.
While the maid did everything she could to get the knights away, we suddenly heard Melty's voice.
Melty: I'm Princess Melty Melromarc! I command you knights to stand down
Ryuji: (What does she think she's doing!?)
Suddenly, we heard the voice of a man entering the kitchen.
???: my, my. If it isn't princess Melty
Raphtalia suddenly flinched, and then her tail and hair stood straight, somehow agitated by the new voice.
Naofumi quickly held Raphtalia's hand, which was tightly holding her sword.
Naofumi: *whisper* Calm down.
???: I'm so glad to see you're all right. I rushed right over here because I was worried about your safety
Melty: Idol Rabier... I heard rumors that you had disagreements with Father in the past
Idol: True
Melty: may I assume that these soldiers are with you?
Idol: they are indeed
Melty: Then have them withdraw from the premises immediately
Idol: Before I do that, tell me where the shield devil and the calamity bringer are hiding
Melty: All I can tell you that they're gone
Idol: Really?
Melty: I encourage them to use the vassal hero's monsters and flee. There is no way your men would be able to catch them even with horses. I intend to tell my father everything, and I will do everything in my power to clear their name
Ryuji: *whisper* I can't tell what's going on out there
Naofumi: *whisper* same here. All I know is that Raphtalia is agitated by that Idol guy
Idol: I understand perfectly... I'll make arrangements at my mansion, you'll be more comfortable there
Afterward, we heard the sounds of footsteps leaving the kitchen.
After a few minutes, the maid opened the door.
Maid: it is safe to come out now
We left the closet, and we began searching for Filo.
After a while of searching, Naofumi shouted at the top of his lungs and gave Filo an order to show up.
We then followed the sound of Filo's scream, which came from the attic.
We reached the attack where we saw Filo sprawled on the floor.
Filo: Why are you being so mean master ?
Naofumi: it's your fault for not coming when I called
Ryuji: Why are you even in the attic?
Filo: Mel wanted to play hide and seek. We weren't doing anything wrong. She said it was important that I hide somewhere and not to come out no matter what. But she never came to find me
We hesitated for a moment before Raphtalia stepped forward.
Raphtalia: Filo, Melty was... Melty was taken away by a nobleman
Filo: What!? We have to go save her!
Filo tried to leave, but Raphtalia stopped her.
Raphtalia: Filo, you can't go alone. We have to make a plan first
Afterward, we asked the maid for directions and headed for the guy's territory.
As we stood on a cliff, overlooking the man's territory, I began setting up my monster party.
I added Fume (Great Wroggi), Noggin (Iodrome), Viper (Viper Tobi Kadachi), Luigi (Pukei Pukei), Underbite (Anjanath), and Hammerhead (Gypceros).
Once we arrived, we noticed that Raphtalia had a horrified expression on her face.
Naofumi: Do you know that Idol scum?
Ryuji: Was he in your nightmares?
Raphtalia: y-yes
Raphtalia told us what happened after the waves struck her town, that after some kights invaded the village, she and a couple of other children were sold to Idol, where they are tortured and evntually either sold or killed.
Naofumi: You can stay behind if you want. You don't have to come
Raphtalia: No, I'm fine. I'm not afraid anymore now that I have a sword...
Raphtalia looked at me and Naofumi with eyes filled with determination.
Raphtalia: I'm ready to face my past
Naofumi: got it
As Naofumi and Raphtalia got on filo, I summoned and rode the Viper Tobi Kadachi i named Viper.
We snuck into Idol's mansion, and thankfully, because of the demi-humans from Reichnott's domain arrived at the front gate for their lord's release, they attracted the guards attention making it easy to sneak in.
After scaling the wall, we ran into the courtyard with a monument in the middle.
While we stood there, a horde of kights came charging towards us.
Naofumi: It looks like there are more guards in here. Ryuji, Filo, you two go wild and take care of thoe soldiers, me and Raphtalia go to save Melty!
Filo: Kay!
Ryuji: Roger!
Naofumi and Raphtalia got off Filo and went straight in the mansion.
Ryuji: "Summon"! Anjanath!
I quickly got off Viper while summoning Underbite.
Ryuji: Alright, guys, let's trash the place. Make sure you don't kill anyone
Filo: Kay!
Viper/Underbite: *agreeing snarl*/*agreeing grunt*
I equipped my sword and shield and began fending off some kights.
Filo and Viper ran around, taking down as many soldiers as they could.
Underbite roared loudly while he unfurled his sails and nose crest.
The knights scurried around in fear as Underbite began stomping around destroying structures while spewing flames for intimidation.