Chapter 11
The Hearts of Heroes
The moment he exited Bell's home, Kuda was greeted by about half of his entire familia, who crowded the street in front of the house somewhat like an army troop. It had stopped raining, leaving the feeling and scent of moisture in the air. Kuda was surprised he didn't notice their arrival, but not shocked that they had come. So long as Alystar made it clear that Kyra had made the prediction, they could even believe that Ottar was coming wearing a pink tutu and riding a giant toad monster.
"Hey, guys," Kuda said. "I guess Al filled you in on Kyra's theory?"
"Yup," Barren nodded.
"It seems like a big leap to think that a few goblins randomly attacking a village could be anything other than just that," Lezanna said. "But it is Kyra's prediction, so It doesn't hurt to check it out, right?"
"I hate agreeing with the filthy amazon," Celesta said cattily. "But it isn't embarrassing to admit that Kyra's theories are always on the mark."
"What gives you the right to call me filthy, spoiled elf," Lezanna scowled at the blonde high elf murderously. "Not when you're the one who cleans herself with twigs."
"I use soap and water like a proper lady."
"More like a proper prude."
"Do you wish for death?"
"I was wondering the same thing about you, actually."
"Would you two put a sock in it," Kyra's voice sounded as she exited Bell's house. "If you two are so eager to fight, put that energy to getting back at the jerks that attack this village. Or, if you can't wait, I wouldn't mind obliging the both of you."
A feeling of dread washed over the elf and amazon. Those two had always been at each other's throats since they had met and Kra had taken up the burden of keeping them in line. They were all at the same level, but Kyra always had a kind of edge over them, or rather she had a kind of unexplainable power of intimidation over them. One thing was always certain for the Zeus remnants and that was that Kyra was the lead woman amongst them. The queen, if you would. A role she had taken on most prominently after her mentor, the Level 7 Guarda, had been killed during the Leviathan battle.
"We're good…" they muttered meekly. Bell, who was watching the former adventurers through the door, thought that Kyra could actually be pretty scary and that the kind lady he was conversing with just a moment ago by the fire was more than just nice. The rest of the familia chuckled at the three women's banter.
"Okay, Al, did you tell the mayor about the possibility of an attack," Kuda asked his werewolf friend.
"I did," he answered. "He was skeptical saying that such a theory was a leap with just a mere goblin attack but I convinced him, eventually."
"You didn't cross any lines, did you?" Kuda said, raising an eyebrow. Alystar could be rather rough when it came to interrogations, and he liked the mayor. He didn't know him well, but he knew that he was a good man. The old man wouldn't have trusted him otherwise. Plus, if Monica thought they were just a bunch of glorified thugs, then she'd be even more against them taking Bell.
"Relax, when twenty six seasoned pros tell you that when one of their members is always right, people are inclined to listen," he said. "Plus, he's a man who gets these things. Did you know he was a captain in the Empire's army before becoming the mayor of this place?"
"I did not," he said, eyes a bit wide. "Is that so?"
"Yeah. He's more used to fighting people than monsters, but he knows to trust the experts' opinions."
"Wait, did you say twenty six, Alystar-san?" Nym asked. Kuda and Kyra were away when Alystar explained the situation, so that left twenty eight of them, so…
"You excluded us?!" Phina demanded, she and Nim looking insulted.
"Yes," Alystar admitted bluntly, unashamed.
"So, you thought our presence there meant nothing?!" They both demanded.
"Yes."
"Stop answering things so bluntly!"
"I'm an honest wolf."
"Okay, enough," Kyra ordered, getting tired of all the banter. She asked Alystar what the mayor was doing and he said he was planning to write letters to all of the heads of nearby towns and villages asking if they had been attacked and sending them via messenger birds. Unfortunately, the only bird keeper the village had was an old man who was probably asleep due to the hour and rain and that it might take an hour to send the messages, not including the wait time it would take to receive replies. This wasn't Orario or any other big city. Things tended to move slowly here, because they didn't need to move fast. Of course, Alystar couldn't tolerate things moving that slowly, so he had 10 of their members take the letters to the towns and villages. Also, he asked the mayor for a good place for them to have a war meeting, so the latter offered them an old barn that was renovated to be a party hall. Kyra smiled, impressed by Alystar's preparedness. "I often forget to appreciate your foresight, Alystar."
"It's a gift," he shrugged, grinning cooly.
"So, when do you think they'll be back," Kuda asked.
"Can't be sure. It won't take any of them to get to the locations too long, but then there's delivering the messages and finding out if they were attacked or not. All of that could take some time."
"We can't plan for much until they get back," Kuda said, turning to Kyra. "Unless you have anymore predictions?"
She grinned at him. "Sorry, my foresight ends there, but I will say that even if it turns out that only this village had been attacked, it wouldn't change my theory that the goblins were being controlled by someone. It could also be possible that villages and towns other than the ones the mayor contacted was attacked or that the enemy could be planning to totally conquer this village with all of their might. Ideally, it'd be the latter since it would be convenient if our foes gathered up to face us, but I don't think that's the case, because if they have a tamer with the rare taming magic, then they're likely a high-class warrior who's at least a Level 2. If they had that kind of strength, then they would use it to pillage somewhere bigger than this small village, don't you think? If it turns out they are targeting somewhere further than here, then we're out of luck. We could use our great speed to reach every village and town we can find to see if they were assaulted, but trying to find all that out will take time that we just don't have now."
"What about when they come here?" Celesta inquired. "If they come here, then we can capture who ever is leading them and find out their whole plan."
"Yeah, it'd be great if they did come here, but I think there's a good chance they won't come anymore."
"Why's that?" Lezanna asked.
"It's because she might've scared them off, right?" Barron spoke up. "If Kyra is right, and the tamer can link senses with his tamed monsters, then when they saw Kyra, they may have decided that attacking here is not worth the risk, and the fact that this isn't a particularly rich and bountiful village makes it even less appealing. Do you agree?"
"Unfortunately, that's exactly what I think," Kyra nodded, smiling self-deprecatingly. Count on Barron to know what's up. In a world of gods, monsters, and people with the power to kill monsters and become gods, cowardly thieves and bandits needed to be especially careful not to run into fights they might not win. "Looks like my intimidating nature has backfired on us. It certainly would be ideal if they would come to us, but I'm afraid I blew that opportunity. I guess this is what happens when you rush off like a hot head."
"It would be ideal if there were no attacks at all," Kuda corrects her, placing a strong hand on her shoulder and smiling at her reassuringly. "But because you ran off this morning, you found out about a pretty serious situation. I mean, I don't know about these guys, but if I had been the one to put down those goblins, I would have just saw the same green imps I always see. Only you would have the foresight to predict something so elaborate off of a single, seemingly meaningless, encounter. Now, because of you we have a chance to save some people."
"He's right," Lezanna said. "Don't be so gloomy, girl."
"You're someone us ladies look up to, so don't put yourself down," Celesta added. "Of course, I am a bit older than you."
"A bit? More like a lot? By like a century, right?"
"Several decades…" the former elven princess muttered, her beautiful face contorting with irritation. "Not that it matters, since I'm still a young elf by my race's standard, and you can't say anything about that."
"Except, that you're nearly one and a half centuries old and your still-"
"Cut it out you two," Barron ordered, shutting them up. "Kyra, the bottom line is that you did good, so don't sweat the small stuff."
"Your worries are pointless anyway," Alystar added. "If they attacked this village, then it's likely that they attacked at least one of the other nearby villages today as well. If that's the case, then we'll just beat the crap out of who ever comes by and get them to tell us the whole story. It's that simple."
"Wow, for someone so cool headed, you sure are really aggressive, Mr. Cool," Kuda teased his werewolf friend.
"Yes I am, Mr. Harem King," Alystar bit back venomously.
"I am not a harem king!"
His familia, the women in particular, stared at him blankly.
"Stop looking at me like that!"
"You guys…" Kyra said, averting her eyes. "I wasn't depressed or anything. I was just annoyed."
"Doesn't mean we didn't mean what we said," her husband said, calming down.
"Honestly, why are we all such saps?" She wondered, smiling good naturedly. Her thoughts were broken when she heard the loud yawn of a certain young boy. She turned around to see Bell, peeking from inside his home and listening in on their discussion. His eyes struggling to stay open, he looked like a full day of fatigue had suddenly hit all at once. Of course, that was likely the case considering this morning he was attacked by goblins and dragged around the village by Alystar trying to find them. He was hitting his limits. Kyra's lips curled upward into a smile ever so slightly as she found Bell struggling to keep his eyes open endearing. She started toward him and suddenly scooped him up into her arms and held him like a mother holding her child. She whispered into his ear. "Time to go to bed, Bell-kun."
"I don't need to sleep…" the boy muttered, resting his head on her shoulder as his voice drifted off. He said nothing else and the only sounds he made were his light snoring. He was warm, she thought. She liked the feeling of his heart beating against her body. They say a mother's heart beat has a calming effect for children, but it seemed like the child's heart beat could soothe the mother as well. Not that she was his mom or anything. No, she lost that right a long time ago. "Hey, Nim and Phina, I'm gonna put Bell to bed real quick then all of us will have a meeting and discuss our plans. You two, stay here with Bell."
"What?!" They both shouted. "You want us to babysit a kid who is just going to sleep-"
They shut their mouths when they saw Kyra stare at them. It wasn't a threatening stare. It wasn't a pleading stare. It was a stare that promised something. They were both certain that they did not want to see that promise fulfilled. They had gotten caught up in the moment and forgot their place in their little group. Swallowing their terror, they both said, "O-Okay…"
Their seniors sent them mixed looks of pity and humor as they walked into the house with Kyra. Kyra told them to head on without her and that she would find them shortly. Even if she didn't know the exact location of the meeting place, she was one of the familia's fastest and also an accomplished tracker. She could find the location in no time, so they had no problem. Alystar told her to hurry up since the mayor and his granddaughter were already there, and for some reason, the doctor and his nurse, Sapphire, were also joining them. With that, the familia left with Kuda, and Kyra and the two girls stayed to put Bell to bed.
Kyra wasn't sure which of the two bedrooms were Bell's, but guessed that the one with the smaller mattress was his. The room was neat and the bed was still made, albeit the drawers and floor was a bit dusty from the fact that people weren't here for a week. Kyra started for the bed, lifted the whit blanket one arm, and placed Bell under the covers as gently as she could to avoid waking him, but he was so deep in sleep that the only way she could wake him would be if she shocked him with her magic. She tucked him in and placed his head on his pillow and fluffed it.
She stared at his sleeping form as he snored lightly. Such a peaceful sight she thought. It would be nice if he could always remain at peace like he was now. But that was not possible, was it? She could tell from their conversation together with Kuda that he had the adventuring bug. He hung on every word of their stories and them who spoke those words. He wanted to be an adventurer. He was enamored with the idea, and when he grew up a bit more, he would find his way to Orario, and try to succeed. Part of her wanted to stop him, but she knew that was not her place. Part of her was actually proud that he wanted to become like them, but all of her feared for the worst. She feared that he would die miserably, brutally in the dungeon, like so many before him. Like so many right now as they speak. She placed a hand on his forehead, parted his pretty white hair, and leaned down and kissed his forehead.
Allowing herself to look just a second longer, she turned on her feet and left the room. She met Nim and Phina, who had watched the maternal display, out in the hall. It filled them with warmth seeing the mother/big-sister of the group, who was usually so cool and professional, acting so loving. Not that she wasn't loving normally, but they didn't get to see her kind side until after a lot of stern glares and harsh punishments.
"I'm going now," Kyra said, her voice even and her expression professional. "I doubt any attacks will be made before sunrise, but be prepared and protect him if the moment comes."
"Ok," Nim nodded, before hesitating. "Um… Just wondering, but did you and Kuda-san tell Bell-kun about… you know?"
"We didn't."
"Will y-you ever?" Phina asked hesitantly in a meek voice, not wanting to piss off one of the women who terrified her like an elephant terrified an ant. "Just asking."
Kyra's smile was both tired and self-loathing. "We should. I know we should. But it was harder than we thought. Seeing his face smile at us like we were some epic heroes… I admit, I didn't want to lose that. Cowardly, huh?"
"You and Kuda-san are not cowards," Nim said heatedly. "You are modern day epic heroes. You both fought and won against the Behemoth and the Leviathan."
"Not against the Dragon. Hell, I didn't even fight the damn thing."
"That was because you were seriously injured in the Leviathan battle," Phina reminded her. "However Bell-kun reacts when he finds out, you both will always be heroes in his eyes. Besides, we met him. Anger isn't exactly a natural emotion for him. You probably don't know this yet, but there was a bit of drama at the doc's house. Let's just say, he's a forgiving one."
"I may want to hear about that later," Kyra smiled, feeling cheered up. "But for now, I will help protect this village he grew up in."
"Sounds good!" The both chimed. They were surprised when she suddenly placed a hand on each of their heads.
"Thank you, you two. Normally, I see you both as bratty little pests and have on more than one occasion been tempted to throw you both of a cliff. /but moments like these really make me love you both."
"O-Oh…" They both said, having trouble feeling pleased when she said that she wanted to throw them off of a cliff.
"I'm going now. This time, don't leave him. The old man isn't here anymore."
"Don't worry, we won't," Nim promised.
"Yeah, he's cute," Phina said. "Plus, I did sort of save his life this morning, so it kind of makes me want to take care of him."
"Ok," Kyra nodded. "I'm off."
"Oh, Kyra-san, one more thing," Nim said as Kyra headed for the exit.
"What is it?"
"It's just, um… please get your hair back to its normal color! And also get Kuda-san to take off those colored lenses!"
",,,Kuda's lenses aside, I thought I looked good as a brunette."
"You do," Phina assured her. "But you are a knock out as a snow white. A total bombshell! And Kuda-san is more of a stud with red eyes than dark."
"It's been said before, but you don't act or talk like other elves."
"I was raised by humans, and my parents didn't know how to make me into a total prick."
"I'll be sure to tell Celesta you think she's "a total prick", then."
A look of sheer terror spread across the young elf's face. "W-Wait, you wouldn't really-"
With the speed worthy of being called the fastest, it almost appeared like she disappeared into thin air when she moved toward the exit, opening and closing the door in one fluid motion. The house was silent for a few moments. Phina stood frozen for a few seconds, her outstretched hand pointing to where Kyra had stood mere seconds ago.
"...You don't think she'd actually tell Celesta-sama I said that, would she?"
"Who can say?" Nim answered her from behind, a mischievous smile on her face. "I wonder if there is any food around here?"
"Oh, gods…" Phina muttered in despair.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Zeus Familia arrived at the meeting point; an old barn house that was renovated into a large party hall. It definitely lacked the grandeur of Orario and other large cities' ballrooms, but it was still quite beautiful. It had white marble floors and stone pillars. It was almost completely empty and undecorated, but it was a big enough space to fill the whole village, the Zeus remnants, and maybe another small village's population. It was easy to imagine big parties being held there. At the center of the hall was a large wooden round table where the mayor, Monica, Dr. Oleso, and Sapphire sat side by side.
"Hello, everyone," Kuda said. "This is a nice place you got here."
"Thank you," the mayor said humbly. "But I'm sure our little party hall is nothing compared to the grand banquet halls in Orario."
Kuda shrugged, not agreeing or disagreeing. They didn't come here to debate banquet halls. "I guess you wanted to meet about the theory about how somebody sent the goblins to attack this village and will likely come again to raid it?"
"...Yes," the mayor sighed, feeling tired. He may have been an army veteran, but that was decades ago. Now he was more used to the stress of taking care of a village than defending it from invaders. He was hoping, for the sake of the villagers, that the current situation was just paranoia from washed up adventurers. "Are you sure about all of that? I mean, how can one even predict such a thing from such a minor occurrence? Alystar-san said Kyra-san was never wrong, but still."
"Kyra can see through anything even with the smallest of clues," Kuda said. "I know it's hard to believe in a person you don't know, but she's good at this. It would be in your best interest to trust her. If you want to hear her reasonings, she'll be here in a second."
"Where is she, anyway?" Monica asked, looking around at the group that had shrunk in half compared to their initial arrival at Noda Village. "Also, where is Bell-kun?"
"He got sleepy, so Kyra went to put him to bed at his old house. She left Nim and Phina to watch him."
"I see… well at least you care enough to put him to sleep," she said bitterly. "Of course, had you both not just left like you did, maybe he wouldn't need to stay at the home that makes him feel sad."
"Monica," the mayor said admonishingly.
"I'm just saying how I feel. They come here to up end that poor boy's life after he just lost the most important person in the world to him. They weren't even here for the funeral, but now they show up and suddenly all of this trouble starts happening. I don't care that they are legends or whatever, it's just not fair to Bell."
The Mayor couldn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. Monica didn't know about the Zeus Familia coming to this village until today, and he didn't tell her that they were here for Bell because he knew how she would feel about it. He realized then and there he should have told her everything right when he knew it and given her time to process everything. But since he didn't, she had to deal with the idea of Bell being taken away, his attack, and the current situation. It was all too much and it was aggravating her.
The Zeus Familia remnants silently scowled at her. It was Kuda and Kyra she was criticizing and that was unacceptable to them. They all had half a mind to tell her off, that she knew nothing about them and what they had to give up. Kuda, however, was calm faced, as if her words didn't affect him. Actually, they affected him profoundly, but he didn't let it show.
"I realize all that makes me sound like a bitch, but-"
"You are not a bitch," Kuda said, interrupting her. "You aren't wrong, either. None of what's happened today was fair to Bell. Or to the people who care about him. We… shouldn't have left him. That was wrong of us. I'm sorry. But like I said before, I love Bell. You don't know why-he doesn't know why, but I do. Before I told you I would take care of him no matter what. I meant it then, I mean it now, and I'll mean it forever. And I'll prove it by helping to keep this village safe. You have my word. Afterwards, if you still have a problem with me, you can take it up with me afterwards."
Monica and the other three village residents attending the meeting were not sure how to respond to Kuda's words. They only knew that he meant everything he said.
"Honestly, could you stop trying to take on every problem yourself?" Kyra said loudly as she entered the meeting space. They all turned to see the woman approach confidently.
"Kyra, glad to see you found this place," Barron said goodnaturedly.
"I found this place a while ago, but I decided to stay back for a bit while you guys were talking," she explained, turning her attention to Monica as she approached the round table to stand with her familia. "Monica-san, I heard what you said and your concerns are valid. Still, I want you to know that we don't want to bring harm to Bell-kun. If possible, we'd like him to stay safe forever. This was all sprung on you, I understand, but, if you don't mind, can we talk about all of this after we have resolved the current issue?"
Monica sighed, feeling exhausted. As her grandfather-the mayor's right hand, she was used to stressful interactions and negotiations with the other villages and representatives from the Empire, but somehow, dealing with these adventurers was more exhausting. She was used to wheeling and dealing to get the best results for the village, and kind of enjoyed it as well, but it wasn't like that with them. The adventurers were honest, earnest, and straight forward. Some could say that they were inflexible, but that in flexibility made it hard to argue with them. "Okay, I can do that. But about this potential attack, could you explain why you think it's happening? I keep hearing a bunch of explanations and how I should believe it since it's you, but I am going to need an explanation from you before I blindly trust your word, you know?"
"Fair enough," Kyra nodded. She explained her hunch about how the goblins were possibly controlled by a third part with a skill or rare magic. She explained how it was strange for creatures like goblins to appear where a lot of humans gather, such as the cemetery where the goblins had appeared in the first place. Even if they were to appear, then it would've been in a group much larger than 5. Showing up the way they had required a boldness that goblins just didn't possess. "We just don't live in a world where creatures like goblins act so far removed from their base nature."
"I see…" Monica said. She had to admit, the way she had explained things were compelling. She spoke clearly and logically, like a true expert. Though, she still had her reservations.
"Also…" Kyra continued, an edge in her voice. "There is one last thing that has me completely sure. The goblin that struck Bell-kun. It injured him with malice and sadism. It enjoyed brutalizing him. It had every intention of dealing him a brutal death. I could tell that much."
Monica's face paled, and the mayor and doctor looked disgusted. Sapphire felt frustration well up inside her. If she were there, she could have easily taken out the little imps. Kuda and the others were more cool headed. As adventurers who had conquered the deepest known floors of the Dungeon, they were used to the nature of monsters. Still, they could not help but feel some annoyance from the situation.
"That isn't normal for goblins. They can be be brutal, of course. They can cause lots of harm if left to their devices. But the kind of brutality I saw and felt is reserved for us humans. So, to clarify what I'm saying, I definitely believe that those creatures were controlled by an even bigger bastard." She concluded with a fierce look, the image of Bell laying bloody and broken and almost dead still fresh in her mind.
"Okay," the mayor said after a few moments of silence. "What do you recommend we do."
"That's simple. We crush them. Mercilessly."
Except for Sapphire, the village residents flinched slightly at the coldness of Kyra's tone. They knew she was the adventurer who slew the goblins, but up to this point, she didn't give off the same sort of vibe then as she was giving right now. Before they could comment, a catman entered the refurbished farmhouse and announced himself.
"I've returned, everyone."
"Adam," Kuda addressed the catman. Adam Truce was a tall brown haired cat person with the trademark ears and tail of the species. He was not at the same level as Kuda or the other five, but among the lower level members, he was one of the most capable and the fastest of the lower levels. He was sent to one of the farther and larger towns because of that. "Anything to report?"
He nodded, a serious and grim expression on his face. "I went to the town of Seymour as ordered. I expected to have to search for whoever was in charge, but that wasn't the case. Despite the late hour and the rain. There were a lot of people up for a funeral. Two kids and an old woman were killed when the town was attacked by a group of five goblins."
The Noda Village residents were shocked. Zeus Familia's eyes narrowed. It looked as though Kyra's theory was as true as they feared.
"A lot of others were badly hurt as well. They had guards and men try to put them down, but the goblins moved oddly, more savagely, but also strategically. The people I talked to said that those goblins seemed more cunning and intelligent than any other goblins they had dealt with. They went after weaker targets, had the foresight to escape before a lot of guards arrived, and when cornered, they did whatever it took to get away. The guards eventually killed them all, but not before they caused a lot of damage. When I got there, I was surprised that just five goblins could cause the kind of damage I had seen… even if you assume they were irregular or enhanced, the behavior I heard them show was just not possible for goblins under any circumstances. Not unless they were being controlled by an outside force. Well, I warned the village leaders that there was a chance they would be attacked and that they should prepare for it. I also told them that assistance would be sent to them soon."
"...Well, we will have to wait for the rest of those sent to do recon to be 100 percent, but it appears I was correct," Kyra said neutrally. "Thank you, Adam."
It took an hour for all those sent out to return and come back. Their quickness showed that even reduced to a mere 30 members, the Zeus Remnants were still as capable as they were in the past. Among the last to return were those who were sent to villages and towns that ended up not getting attacked, with them being held up due to the late hour and no state of emergency
"S-Shouldn't we get more help," Monica asked, now fully accepting of Kyra's theory. After hearing what she had, it'd be dumb to doubt it any longer."Like contacting the Empire, or even Orario?"
"Hear that guys?" Alystar spoke, a bitter grin spread across his face. "Once again, we fail one thing and suddenly everybody thinks we can't handle a bunch of bandits."
"That's not what I meant," Monica said adamantly. "It's just that there's only 30 of you…"
"Cool it, Mr. Cool," Kuda admonished Alystar, who just shrugged. "That wasn't what she was implying."
"But my granddaughter is right, Zeldon-san," the mayor said. "There's only thirty of you and who knows how many enemies on the other side targeting six villages, including this one. I was a captain in the Empire's army 50 years ago, so I am aware how strong the Zeus Familia was, but you people are not the same as you were. The villages and towns that were attacked are one we have friendly relations with. We've helped each other many times throughout the decades and we always acted in the best interest of each other. We would definitely like your help, but we would also like aid from those better equipped."
The Zeus Familia were silent for a few moments. They were used to this by now; not receiving the same trust as they had prior to their failure to kill the One-Eyed Black Dragon. Their failure forced them to leave Orario and caused a lot of pain and suffering world wide. They devoted the past decade to making up for that. For the people they failed, for those who had fallen, and for those whose futures they wanted to protect. It wasn't always easy to earn people's faith. Who'd want the leftovers of the familia that failed to do their job protecting them? Still, that never stopped them before.
"'It was only goblins,'" Kuda said, surprising the four villagers. "That's what both the Empire and Orario will hear no matter how you explain the situation to them. Orario may be the City of Heroes, but all of the familia's are managed by the guild. They won't think the same things Kyra had. They would never send a powerful familia for a goblin attack. They might offer the quest to a smaller, less capable familia who's only looking for an easy valis to make. If this is as bad as we think, a familia like that would likely run at the sign of real trouble."
The mayor and Monica exchanged uneasy glances. Kuda had a point, they knew. It wasn't unheard of for Orario to do as he had just described.
"As for the Empire… this village bought its independence from them a long time ago, right?"
"You know about that?" The mayor said.
"Before he came here, the old man told me a bit about this place. He said it was led by a man who knew what he was doing and wouldn't allow his people, or anybody, to suffer. A good man, he said."
"O-Oh, did he?" The mayor said, feeling both embarrassed and flattered at the compliment.
"That sounds sweet, but since it comes from the guy who repeatedly made passes at young women every chance he got, it kind of feels uncredible," Monica said.
"She has a point," Sapphire nodded.
"Indeed," Dr. Oleson added.
"Shut up, all of you," the mayor muttered.
As
"The annoying thing about the old man," Kyra said. "Was that, despite being a foolish pervert, he was also incredibly wise and an amazing advisor to us."
"Anyway," Kuda continued. "If you try to get help from the Empire, they may try to use it as an excuse to pull you back into them. Even if they don't do that, they could still hold the fact that you aren't a part of their territory anymore and force an exorbitant cost on you that could cost you everything. They may just decide not to help you at all."
"That is definitely possible," the mayor admitted. "In fact it's very likely. The ones who started this village with me, including the doctor here, left the Empire because we were tired of how they're bureaucrats operated and were sick of being a part of it. We chose this land we're standing atop of right now as our new home because it was naturally protected from wild monsters and bandit attacks. We wanted to be as self-reliant as we could be and not need the protection of the Empire or even Orario-no offense."
"None taken," Kuda shrugged.
"But we knew what kind of world we lived in. We always knew one day that our backs would be against the wall and we'd need to go to the Empire for help. Freedom is one of the most important things in life, but I won't sacrifice this village to keep it."
"But you don't need to. You have us. I know it's a lot to ask, but…" Kuda lowered his head to them, surprising the four villagers. "Believe in us. Believe in the Zeus Familia. We failed the world, but we won't fail you or the other five villages and towns. You have my word we'll destroy every monster that comes near this place.."
The other Zeus members remained solemn-faced, choosing to both not stop Kuda or join him. This was something he had to do as the captain.
The mayor wasn't sure what to say. He had limited interaction with adventurers in his time, but he had always imagined the mightiest familia would be too proud to beg. And he was begging him to let them help his village. He had no words.
"...I need to ask you something," he said after a few moments. "Why are you so adamant about helping us? And the other 5 towns? You don't have to. You aren't obligated to protect us or anybody anymore. When your familia failed to complete the final quest, you were effectively relieved of any responsibility to the world?"
"Oh, yeah, that's true," Kuda realized.
"You didn't realize that?!" The mayor and Monica blurted, taken aback. The other children of Zeus held back the urge to laugh. Kuda was nothing if not surprising.
"Well, I guess I have yet to outgrow my childish desire to lend my meager strength to help others in need. And I'm lucky that my familia is still willing to follow my lead despite my foolish behavior. But I guess if you need a more personal reason… I can't forgive what has been done. That is all."
What was done was that the boy he had left behind was nearly killed due to the selfish desires of some crooked group. That angered him more than he could show. If a deity could see him right now, then they would be surprised by the contrast between Kuda's inner rage and relatively calm exterior. He had already lost almost everything during the battle against the One Eye 11 years ago. He wouldn't let the ones who had nearly taken something else from him go unpunished.
"Alright… we'll put our faith in you, Zeus Familia," the mayor conceded. He turned to his granddaughter, Dr. Oleson, and Sapphire. "Is that okay with you guys?"
"Honestly, I'm still concerned," Monica admitted. "But if relying on them can help us keep our autonomy from the Empire and also protect the village, then I'm willing to follow your lead, grandpa."
"To be honest, I imagine skilled adventurers can deal with this more cleanly than the Empire's troops," Sapphire said. She didn't care to add that as a former Rakian soldier, she had seen the Zeus and Hera
Familias display feats of strength that surpasses imagination. Only the doctor knew her past, along with Kuda, Kyra, and probably the rest of Zeus Familia, except perhaps those two young girls who probably never participated in any of the Rakia battles.
"Well, if everyone is for it, I have no problem," Doctor Oleson said.
"Great, so if everyone is on the same page, we'll all grab what little shut eye we can and leave for sunrise," Kyra announced, the familia preparing to leave.
"W-Wait," Monica called out, thrown by the casual way they were going about. "Should we not, I don't know, strategize? Or something?"
"There's not much to strategize," Kyra said. "They attack, we counter attack. It's that simple. Besides, since we don't know what the enemy's strengths are, so all we can do on our end is be ready. In the morning we'll dispatch some people to each of the five other villages, but that's about it."
"Is that going to be okay?"
"True, we're dividing our already small numbers into six groups, but so is the enemy, unless they decide to use their whole force to attack all of their targets one by one. Honestly, that would be pretty convenient."
"How would that be convenient?!"
"Ugh, would you just trust us, lady," Alystar snapped, growing tired of the back and forth. "You already said you'd leave it in our hands, so just relax and leave it all to us."
"But-"
"He's right, sweetheart," the mayor said. "We should trust them and not question their judgement."
"Okay…" She sighed. Why worry, right?" If they fail to live up to their promises, then they'll only die. The mayor offered Zeus Familia the barn to sleep in. He also offered to get them pillows and blankets. Kuda accepted the offer. But told him not to waste time getting blankets as they all could sleep comfortably in worse places than a refurbished barn. As if to demonstrate, each member of the familia claimed a spot on the floor of the remodelled barn for them to sleep on and immediately fell asleep. In under a minute, the entire Zeus Familia slept as peacefully on the hard floor as one would a soft bed, leaving the other four speechless. With nothing else to do or or say, they left the renovated barn, securely closing the exits as they left.
"Honestly, will we really be Okay?" Monica asked as the four of them headed to their respective homes. She had little experience with adventurers, as well as those blessed with the falna. She had heard about them, of course. Incredibly strong warriors that slew giant monsters on a regular basis. However, that was over a decade ago, and their opponents are a group of violent bandits willing to kill to get what they want. Fighting people was different from fighting monsters. If it was just Noda Village that needed protecting, she could feel more at ease with things, but at least five other villages needed to be protected. That meant that if the adventurers wanted to protect all of them, they had to divide themselves into six teams of five. If she were a cold or callous woman, she might demand that the Zeus Familia focus on protecting the village that was housing them instead of five random villages that you only heard about because of luck. But she wasn't, so she wouldn't. Besides, she was not indifferent to those five villages and towns. The towns and villages all had good relations. Whenever one of them got into trouble, the other five would offer support. So of them were bigger than others, but none of them were particularly well off, so they all survived by supporting each other.
"It will be fine, Monica," Sapphire said, seeing how concerned she was over this. "Those guys will take care of everything."
"By themselves?"
"Yes."
"How can you be so sure?"
She hesitated. She had never told anyone else in the village besides Dr. Oleson that she was a runaway Rakian soldier. She kept it from everyone because she didn't want to risk word of her location making it back to Rakia and having her patron god Ares gather the whole army of Rakia to force her back into his service. He would do that, she knew, completely ignoring the obvious risk of getting into a battle with the Empire and even getting Orario involved. Also… she didn't tell them because she didn't want the rest of the village to think differently of her. Rakia had a rough reputation. Elves hated them the most, but others didn't like them either. "I've been around the block, and trust me, when they say this is the age of quality over quantity, they really mean it. We're in good hands. That much I'm certain of."
"…Okay," she conceded. "I suppose I can trust that if you're saying it, Sapphire."
Sapphire's brow knit at the way Monica phrased that. She wanted to ask what she meant, but the mayor suddenly spoke up.
"You know, I was once offered by a god to join their familia."
The others turned their heads in the old man's direction, surprised by what he just said.
"Of course, it was a lifetime ago. We all had just started building the village and I was still young and fit from my time as a soldier in the Empire, and when Monica's mother was still in her grandmother's womb. I was out with some of the men hunting for game, when I encountered that lone god, who had strayed from his followers, and was being chased by a monster. It was a Silverback, I think. Long story short, I led my hunting team to kill the beast with our rifles, it was tricky, of course, since monsters are always tough to kill when you aren't an experienced monster killer, but we managed to succeed. The god was grateful for our aid and offered us a reward for our help and he offered me a place in his familia."
"That's amazing, grandpa," Monica said sincerely.
"He was apparently impressed with my leadership and bravery. And he was also a god from Orario. I was honored that I caught the attention from one of the hero makers, but I had to decline, because I had the village and my family to take care of. Besides, I didn't want to be a part of something like the empire. Back then, I thought that being an adventurer would be no different from being a soldier in the Empire. I would have the power to help others, but I wouldn't have been able to do it due to some frivolous reason. I would later understand that wasn't really accurate, but tonight I saw something I have never seen before. The protectors asking-no, begging-the protectees to let them protect them. It might happen in some places, places I at least have never been to, but I have never seen it. Maybe the ones who do have some ulterior motive, but not them. I could just tell they meant the things they said and their feelings were sincere… I'm rambling, but what I am trying to say is that I'm more at ease with a small group of goodhearted people protecting us, than an army of self-interested soldiers backed by a morally ambiguous Empire."
Monica and Sapphire were silent. Neither of them had really seen it the way the mayor had. It was true that the Zeus Familia had put themselves out there by offering their help and they also discovered the upcoming attack with just one clue. Other people in their position might try to profit from such a situation, but they hadn't done that. They were more concerned for the people that were in trouble than trying to benefit from their distress. Monica started to feel guilty about giving them such a hard time before.
"Orario is the city where heroes are born," the mayor mused. "I used to think that was hyperbole… but I'm beginning to be swayed by that ideology. At the very least, those people have the hearts of heroes."